Homeschooling Through Osmosis

The other day, Ellie told a lady at the store that she was born in New Zealand.  
And Sarah reminded us all that "the tiny country near Malaysia is Brunei, guys."  
Well, of course.  How could we forget?  
I don't always count on the unit study for the older kids meaning so much to the younger kids. But how fun to hear these things coming out of their mouths!

Natty, in Number Heaven

 



I love how the learning happens around here.  It's a wonderful trickle-down, really.  
How many times have I heard a 4 or 5 year old ask what something-times-something is, after they hear an older sibling reciting multiplication facts?  And boy do we all remember when a much younger Tommy calmed down a sibling fight at Goodwill (somebody else's family!) by telling them what the fruit of the Spirit was. I recall a tiny Sammy telling the people at Safeway that their grocery carts were designed using hexagons. And now whenever Nat sees shrimp in the store, he is sure it comes from Australia.
It's a lot of fun over here.  Even if Ellie wasn't really born in New Zealand.

Sarah, Making Wooden Sandwiches for Lunch

Snake-Bite Sam

I'm a bit late in posting this, but hey, I have 10 children.

About 3 weeks ago, Sammy was bitten by a little baby snake, outside a church.  It was close to 10:00 at night, and he, Tommy, and Kenny were heading out of a prayer meeting.  Kenny called to say they'd be a bit late, as they were heading to the ER to check out the bite.  The above photo shows the very beginning of the night, with the bite just under the top knuckle.  (Those dark lines are hospital markings to check swelling.)

 

 

Sam wasn't too thrilled to be spending the evening in the ER.

 

Throughout the night, I kept getting calls from Kenny.  The finger is swelling.  A lot.  His arm is swelling and in pain.  The photo taken on his phone of the snake looks like a baby rattler.  There is venom in Sam's blood.  He is in an ambulance on his way to St. Luke's in Denver- where they specialize in limb preservation.

Now I have to say, before I went up in the morning to see Sammy, I never felt panicked.  Why?  Because I am married to a very easy-going man.  And he never sounded disturbed.  Not sure I'd want him taking care of me if I was near-death or something, but then again, he'd probably call half the state and get a prayer rally going for me, as he calmly sat by my side.

Anyhow, Sammy spent a long day (15 hours) in the ICU getting vials of anti-venom and being monitored. He got to come home Saturday night and all is well.  Okay, he got his plum-sized, grotesque blood blister popped by (who else?) his oldest brother (an accident, I'm sure...).  But the swelling went down well and I praise the Lord for taking good care of my son.

Labor Day Fun

After talking about it ALL summer long, I took some of the kiddos down to our new pool on Labor Day- the last day it was open.  Kenny and the older 4 boys were at the park, heavily engaged in a large game of ultimate frisbee with many other friends, and so Hannah, Emma, Nat, Sarah, Ellie, Michael Jude and I just really enjoyed staying cool at the pool. And the vanilla swirl ice-cream afterwards was amazing, but we were too busy eating it to take pictures!

 

Emma, coming down the water slide!

 

Beautiful Sisters resting from the current of the lazy river

 

Mama, take another picture of me!

 

Bathing Beauties, drying out

 

Hannah was wonderful.  She swam for an hour, then watched the younger 2 so I could have some fun.  And yes, that is a water-logged diaper on Ellie. 

 

Eliana ended up swallowing some water, and just got tuckered out.  She laid down and was fast asleep in a minute or so...Under these beautiful skies.

 

 

And Baby didn't last much longer!



The Handiwork of God

I think the mystery of God's creation is absolutely awe-inspiring.  This little girl started out as something smaller than the eye could see.  But in her tiny beginning was everything that would make her Sarah.  I had no choice in how she would be formed (and seriously, who needs more choice these days??!!). 
She is beautiful; the handiwork of God. 
I'm so glad we get glimpses of Him this side of Heaven.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

We made these this summer, and thoroughly enjoyed them.  They are filling, but healthy, and lighter than a burrito.  And they are easy to make, which is a big bonus around here!
I served them with fresh fruit.
This recipe serves 4-6.

Ingredients

• 16 Boston Bibb or butter lettuce leaves
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1 large carrot, shredded
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 2 teaspoons Asian (dark) sesame oil

Directions

1. Rinse whole lettuce leaves and pat dry, being careful not tear them. Set aside.
2. In a medium skillet over high heat, brown the ground beef in 1 tablespoon of oil, stirring often and reducing the heat to medium, if necessary. Drain, and set aside to cool. Cook the onion in the same pan, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, carrot, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, sugar, and vinegar to the onions, and stir. Stir in chopped water chestnuts, green onions, sesame oil, and cooked beef; continue cooking until the onions just begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.
3. Arrange lettuce leaves around the outer edge of a large serving platter, and pile meat mixture in the center. To serve, allow each person to spoon a portion of the meat into a lettuce leaf. Wrap the lettuce around the meat like a burrito, and enjoy!

Thanks-Giving

"Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,

And for His wonderful works to the children of men!"

Kenny usually leads the family in Bible study each night, but he was out with Danny and Joey tonight, so at home we did it 'Mom Style'.  That's where we each choose a passage of scripture, read it aloud, and say why we chose it.  Tonight Sammy chose the above passage from Psalm 107.  After talking about thanks-giving for a bit we decided to go around the room and give thanks to God, and not ask for anything.  I told the kiddos that I know there are many things to ask for, but they will have to wait until tomorrow.  Tonight we just gave thanks to our wonderful Lord. 
The time was so sweet.  I had a room full of half-cranky, sun-warmed, exhausted young ones who had just come home from 4 days of camping with half our church.  What wonders thanks-giving does for a worn-out soul! 
Remembering His works are so sweet and life-giving.  And besides that, He deserves our gratitude!

Our Favorite Baby

Kenny and I snuck out for a walk in the park tonight (oh, the joys of having built-in-babysitters!).  The weather was perfect and Kenny had some fun trying out the camera on his new phone.  This picture makes me smile.  I'm so very glad God brought this baby to us!