Roots

Watching Roots with the girls. It really is a MUST SEE.

And again, it's AMAZING how much of it I remember. 1977 was a long time ago.

Zion...that surprisingly perceptive daughter of mine...wanted to know if Kunta Kinte was the same guy from Reading Rainbow. She hasn't seen Reading Rainbow in years! Amazing that she even remembers the show at all!!!!

Makes me want to write me some scripts. And find me some producers.

Oh, the impact of storytelling. The lasting impact.

The Waltons

Each evening...Brad and I sit down together with he girls and watch an episode of The Waltons. Believe you me when I say...this show is BRILLIANT! Deep. Rich. Thought provoking. Authentic. Sweet. Well written. Well acted.

Bradley says it's our "family therapy." And, I have to agree with him.

It is AMAZING to me how all these years later...I feel as I did when I was a little girl watching. Like a part of their family...only now more so.

Gotta get the boys on board.

So Zion has a diagnosis. Complex migraines. That's ALL!!!!!! We are over the moon with joy.

It's a bummer that she may have an ongoing battle w/migraines...but we are breathing a sigh of relief today. Goodness!!!!!! The places our minds are capable of wandering to while waiting for answers.

The poor thing. Yesterday morning she ran face first smack into a pole while playing tag at church.....

.....and last night...she seemed like she was suffering from some major allergies but today it looks more like a bad cold. We're at the library waiting for the girls to finish up with their math tutor and she's out cold.

There is much too much to discuss in detail......re: the is past week.

Snapshots:

Zion had another seizure and an er visit. MRI lasted a loooooooong 45 LOUD minutes. All seems clear.



I almost choked to death on roasted cauliflower. SERIOUSLY. Girlie called 911. Brad did the Heimlich.

Girlie has reacted to the drama in a very overt way w/ a week long spiral. Mom is especially traumatized.

My bones are aching. My heart is racing. My dreams are horrible.

Boys are in LA. Mcabe booked a shoot and Braverijah is his trustworthy chaperon.

Phoenix Children's' Hospital tomorrow to see the neurologist.

And.......this Piper video has me thinking very hard about life.

Homemade Hummus and Seasoned Baked Pita Chips

I might have died and gone to heaven.

With all seriousness...I do not think I will EVER buy hummus again. So easy to make. So fresh. So cheap. So healthy. So delicious.

Now, to buy some eggplants so that I can make some Hummus & Eggplant sandwiches!

Zion is growing up fast. Suddenly she finds herself reading longer words and multiplying larger numbers. She's also doing "chores" for the first time. I'm not big on young children doing housework...but she's seven now and it's time to start slowly. Her job is to handle what's left in the sink after someone else in the family loads the dishwasher.

She tells me Mary Poppin's advice works. A spoonful of sugar actually DOES make the medicine go down. Apparently, this mundane task is made fun by singing and by playing with the soap suds.

I know that her wanting her dolls close by this week is somehow related to her wanting to stay little for a little while longer.



You can't see them...but there are equally as many dolls over on the other side of the couch. That's where she introduced me to Ella...my "new daughter. "


We play orphanage over here.

You know how life is with a new baby. Accepting meals :)

SOLA

Sola is a blessing to my heart. A handful of friends and I usually meet there midweek to chat about life while our kids play in the breezeway. Sometimes we laugh. Sometimes we cry. We always leave renewed and refreshed. It most definitely has something to do with the place itself. Warm, welcoming, a safe spot to relax, unwind, give & receive.

My husband and I love Sola so much that it's the only spot we considered when deciding where to renew our wedding vows.


Did you know they rent out their space for birthday parties/graduation celebrations/bridal showers/baby showers etc??????

What a blessing Sola is to our family and to the Scottsdale community. Oh yeah....also.....they made that super exclusive LIST.

Free Time

PAUSE my Music Player first.



It's always interesting for me to see what my kids choose to do with their FREE time. More and more, I am realizing that I MUST surround them w/tools...NOT CURRICULUM. Tools to explore their world & cultivate their interests. Musical instruments...cooking supplies, canvases...paints...Legos...sewing machines...computers...cameras...fabric...yarn...balls, jump ropes, skateboards, snowboards etc.

I've only been at this home-educating thing for 11 years. It's about time I catch on.

Still holding out on the furry pets. It's what will speak to one particular child...I know.

It's a stronghold that I KNOW must go.

Define Good

So Braverijah finally got his car back. She's been in the shop for 2 months. That's how long it took him to gather the funds to get her out.

It's been sorta nice in a way ...having to taxi him back and forth to work...even though I grumbled to myself about it a few times. And when he would take my car to work that meant I was stuck at home stranded w/out wheels. But even that was sorta nice cause it forced me to stay home. I grumbled about it though. A few times.

A girlfriend and I were talking this week about life struggles. About allowing the Lord to renew our minds and learning how to see what appears to be "bad" as "good." We do know that all things pass thru the throne room, right? And we know that we know that we know that the Lord is good, right? So then the fact that what the Lord purposes or permisses in the lives of His children...must ultimately on some level be good, right? It's easier to wrap our heads around the coming good...I think than to walk in the knowledge here and now..that this or that is for my good and for my families good.....not only for my/our future good...but even for my/our good today.

At least...that's what I struggle with.

Wrapping my head around that.

It crossed my mind and I even dwelt for a bit on thoughts like...Why? Why, Lord would you not want us to be able to help our son w/his car? Why don't we have the resources to do this thing for him? We would like to bless him. Why the struggle? Why can't he make money to save money? Why would you have it fly out the window like that? Spent on a car of all things. We'd rather see him travel if he wasn't gonna save it. Etc. etc.etc.

I think it boils down to the definition of good.

We need to define the term.

Define...good.

Oh, Lord! Renew my mind.

The Satoralist

The Satoralist link can be found over on my Blog List...but this little short is just too special not to share here. I love when I am introduced to people who seem to see things as I do. Even if it's a cyber introduction...not a real one. ..and it's only one-sided.
PAUSE my Music Player first.

Tom Sawyer & Huck Finn

Censorship is in the news...and it got me to thinkn'.

"I wrote 'Tom Sawyer' and 'Huck Finn' for adults exclusively, and it always distressed me when I find that boys and girls have been allowed access to them. The mind that becomes soiled in youth can never again be washed clean."
-Mark Twain


It seems to me that an obvious question to ponder when discussing the above quote is what Samuel Langhorne Clemens meant by "adult"...and..... by "boys & girls. "

It was the turn of the century.

Context.

It should matter.

"Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it."
-- Mark Twain

Reading (click) Tom Sawyer with our (older) girls stands out as one of my all time favorite home-educating seasons of all time.

(Click)Memories of it's brilliance have stayed with me. Lingering. I hope they have stayed with them.

I wonder how long it is before someone messes with Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry...To Kill A Mockingbird...Uncle Tom's Cabin.....A Tree Grows in Brooklyn...The Courage of Sarah Noble...........

What... if anything should be censored? And...BIG QUESTION HERE....by whom?

Standout Holiday Memories

The Reformed Living Fish. I had my eye on that raffle barracuda from the moment I walked into the student center and wouldn't cha know it....I won it!

Quiet mornings where my Love read to me from Spurgeon & Chambers .



The J Crew bracelet I mentioned I liked weeks before and had NO idea he would remember!



The Lord's daily whispers and encouragements.

Nicolina.
And Joshua.
5 minutes of SNOW!


And new beginnings.