Category Archives: Daily Life

The Sheep and the Goats

One of my favorite Christian songs is Keith Green’s The Sheep and the Goats. The version on the Gold CD is better than the YouTube rendition, but YouTube has video, which is kind of cool. In my aspiration to be just like Keith Green, I’m working on the beard. Next will be the hair; once I have that, the only difference between us (apart from the fact that he’s dead) will be his piano and teaching skills, which I’m sure I can pick up while I am growing out my hair.

The AWANA players in action

Joshua (playing Jesus) tries to explain things to a Goat (Nate)

As is often the case, I hired the AWANA players (at double their usual rate) to dramatize the song, which they did with their usual flair.

The Sheep were a little slow to clue-in

My T&T kids (Truth & Training, 3rd-5th grades) have a little trouble with abstract thought, but this lesson from Matthew 25 is clear enough for anyone: Jesus closely identifies with the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, the stranger, and the prisoner — and He expects us to minister to them as though we were ministering to Him. It is a little sobering, to think that I might be ignoring Jesus when I ignore a needy person, intent on my own agenda.

The problem with teaching AWANA kids is that you sometimes end up convicted by your own message.

Tim

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Chore Chart 2011

Ever hopeful (and desperate), I spent some time this weekend creating a new chore chart for our family of 7. I have a difficult time picturing exactly what I want in a spreadsheet, but the internet is a wealth if information. I found several templates for Excel. None of them worked exactly for our family and what I had in mind, but it did give me a starting point. Unfortunately any type of computer work like this brings out the perfectionist in me, and I end up agonizing and spending WAY too much time making sure each square and line and title is EXACTLY the way I want it.

Thankfully it was a rainy, grey Saturday and working on the computer was a pleasant way to spend some of the afternoon. Especially when the end result was going to be a CLEAN house and less stress for me.

Here is a link to my chart. It covers the three meals of the day (with work listed for each meal) and four of the main areas of the downstairs (again with the work responsibilities detailed). I left blanks for people to fill in their names. In the past I have assigned jobs, or given the kids’ input on how to divide things out. We’ve broken up things by week or day. This time I decided to let them just pick the jobs they want and let things fall in place as best as possible.

Boys

Actually I asked Tim to help me in getting the kids signed up. So wonderful to have support from DAD on these type of things. Tim, inspired by our new game, Stone Age, had the kids take turns filling out different jobs. Each person chose two or three spots and then passed the charts to their younger sibling.

Joshua, as the oldest, most busy and nearly 18 (tomorrow) was given the opportunity to select all of his jobs at one time.

Chore Chart 2011

Chore Chart 2011 for those with older versions of Excel

Feel free to steal this chart and use it as you wish. It doesn’t have any personal info on it, just the basics.

Kathy

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A kitten would make everything better!

Hello loyal blog readers! And not so loyal blog readers, just kidding! Ha ha! Oh, this is Rachel by the way. My mom wanted me to write this blog/story. Probably because I really love this certain subject!

It all started one normal afternoon. Rachel E. was sitting on ‘Big Blue’ like a good girl, reading her slightly dull, but historic school book, when she heard a very loud noise.

“Oh my goodness,” she thought to herself. “That sounded like someone dumped a load of wild elephants on our fount porch!” (Rachel has a tendency to exaggerate a little.) Then she heard a small and pitiful meowing that seemed to come from the same area.

sweet little thing

“Well If its meowing I hear, a kitten must be near!”

Actually she thought, “Oh no, something terrible must have happened, I should go investigate!” So Rachel quickly ran outside. As she ran around the corner and down the stairs, a big brown cat slipped under her parents’ car and into the neighbors yard.

“Oh,” thought Rachel. “I wonder if that was the meowing I heard, hmm I’ll check just in case.” So she hurried down the stairs, and knelt in the dirt. There in the blackberry bushes was an adorable, perfect, completely terrified, little kitten. She reached her hand under to rescue the poor thing from its cold, and sharp surroundings, but the little imp clawed and bit her. Rachel decided it would be smarter to have gloves for this sort of rescuing. After rushing to gather the very large gloves, she gently lifted the tiny kitten from the thorns. She then showed it to the rest of her family. Some were just thrilled to see a real live kitten, but some were not as pleased.

Can I pet him?

“Now you may play with the kitten outside, but it does not come in to the house,” said Rachel’s beloved father.

“Yes sir,” Rachel replied but inside, she sighed.

Her mother chimed in, “Aww it’s so cute! Don’t let me get attached to it, or I might want to keep it.”

“And that’s the last thing we want!” Rachel thought. She reminded her mother of how little and sweet it was. :)

Rachel spent the next glorious hour holding her favorite and most sought after animal in the whole world. Then Rachel’s youngest siblings babied and cuddled the darling kitten. But eventually all good things have to come to an end, (Until we get to Heaven! There good things NEVER come to an end!! :) ) But in this story, Rachel’s good thing had to come to an end.

Definitely a baby kitten!

Rachel’s father said, “Okay, now take it back where you found it, so its mother can find it again.” This is a very logical statement, but at the time, Rachel thought she would be a much better mom to that little kitten. After all, the mother just abandoned its child! But Rachel knew she must obey, so sadly she took the kitten back to where she found it, but in a slightly more comfortable place, and went back to her school.

look at those faces!

That is the end of our tale, Rachel has not rescued the kitten again, and she knows that she probably never will. Even though at this very moment she knows where her little friend is. (And one or more of it’s siblings) ;) So, if anyone of you loyal blog readers think that Rachel should be allowed to keep, or at least attend the kittens, please comment!!

buddies in the grass

Thank you,
Rachel

P.S. if you don’t believe that this tale is true, just ask Sarah, she saw it too!

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Poolside in Washington

When we first moved to Washington State in March of 1999, we arrived on the heels of the rainiest winter in recent memory. “It rained for 90 days in a row,” people would exclaim, shaking their heads mournfully. The rains continued as we settled into our rental home in Kirkland, and we worried about what it would be like to live here year-round.

pool lounging

David, Daniel and Emma hang out by the pool.

Kathy used to ‘chase the sun’ by driving around town with our three oldest children, looking for blue sky and trying to get near it. East of Seattle, the sun can often be found near the lakes; she bought a detailed map and learned where all the parks were, in her search for sunshine.

Usually the month of June can be relied upon for some serious rain; summer may reign in other parts of the country, but June in Western Washington is often cold and wet. So I was skeptical when Kathy talked about joining the local pool association this summer.

cool goggles

We buy goggles in bulk at Costco.

“It’s not like we have a lot of extra money kicking around,” I reminded her. Between Kathy’s recent crown replacement and my allergy shot bill, we’re hard-pressed to meet our bills these days. “Besides, you’ll go to the pool, what, maybe four times? How often is it going to be sunny and warm between now and August?”

One of Kathy’s great strengths is that when she thinks something is important, she pursues it tenaciously. She began assembling her money and marshalling her reasons:

“Let’s see, if I join before the 31st, the price will come down from $425 to $395. If six of us go to the pool at least 20 times, that brings the price down to less than $3 per person, per visit.”

Diving girl!

Rachel spent quite a bit of time this afternoon, teaching Sarah diving tips.

Kathy and I are fundamentally different in this respect: the idea of being somewhere away from home to relax appeals greatly to her, and not to me. My home is where I want to be, most of the time – but ‘home’ for Kathy comes with an associated burden of laundry and dishes and a need to ‘tidy up’. The image of reclining at the pool with her friends proved a strong lure to my beloved:

“OK, so I’ve got $120 from our exercise challenge, and $150 from setting up that checking account (some of the banks in our area have begun incentivizing new customers). If I refer Michelle and we split the referral bonus, that’s another $25.

Two of Kathy’s friends gave her the $45 ‘Diet Fund’ to which the three of them had contributed as an incentive in their weight-loss program, which brought her to $340. Add a bit from the anniversary check that Kathy’s folks gave us, and the pool membership was paid for, all with guilt-free money!

look at that boy go!

beautiful!

David is surely ready to join the swim team!

In spite of my gloomy weather predictions and Eeyore-like shaking of the head, now Kathy and the kids spend the afternoons at the pool, soaking up this unprecedented June sunshine, as our hot, sunny weather persists into a third week of record-breaking temperatures. The pool deck area has tables and two propane grills so that you can eat a picnic dinner right there at the pool with minimal cleanup and fuss.

“I better break out my Grilling cookbooks,” Kathy remarked smugly.

Tim

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Sunshine Warped Their Brains

Has Spring finally arrived? Sunshine. Warm weather. Homeschooling out on the yard. Dandelions covering the grass. Allergies for Tim.

eat this little fishie

This goldfish is a goner.

Okay, so not all of the signs of Spring are positive.

Glorious sunshine is one aspect of the season that we all adore. Perhaps in other parts of the US a sunny day in April, with temperatures in the mid to high 70′s, would signal the beginning of summer. I’ve heard of such places.

Not so in western Washington. Pretty much what we can expect is … rain. Oh we have wonderful, beautiful sunny days in the spring and summer, but you’re better off planning on clouds and gray weather.

beach buddies

Sand, beach and buddies, ah life is good.

Every ray of sunshine is an unexpected delight and sends us rushing outside to savor the warmth. Some of us rush a little too far and end up in the water.

suck it in, boys

The Puget Sound is a cold body of water, but there are spots with warm sand.

Yesterday there was a terrible rumor that our warm weather (70′s two days in a row, a near miracle) was coming to an end. I received a desperate email from a friend begging for suggesting an afternoon outing at the beach. Who was I to deny a mom in need of sunshine? We called/texted/emailed around, inviting others to join us. Off we went with chairs, snacks, and bathing suits.

crazy children

Is it just me or do their lips look blue?

Crazy children! It’s NOT summer yet, dear hearts. Still, we did so enjoy our first day at the beach. I have hopes (dreams) of many more to come.

Kathy

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