Trent and Sarah had a baby boy!

Trent and Sarah had a baby boy
Trent and Sarah had a baby boy
and they called his name
John Paul Dougherty!

I wish I had the appropriate calypso background music, but you get the idea.
Congratulations! My email box runneth over.

Scott is engaged!!!!!!!!

To all my fellow Capitol Alumni, if you haven't heard yet, Scott is engaged. Congratulations, Scott! I knew this day was coming. Congratulations to Heidi as well. You got a winner.

From Olive to Valiant

This is my last post from my old laptop, affectionately known as "Olive." She was a gift from my husband after the discovery that sharing a PC was terribly difficult for two creative types. Olive's been a great help and the inspiration of all sorts of creative adventures from a modality intensive reading curriculum website to a small apron business and now on to my first novel. Thank you Olive for all your years of faithful service.

My new laptop is also a gift from my husband who valiantly stood in line for four hours starting at 2:00am at Best Buy on Black Friday. She's a beaut, and certain to carry me through several years of new adventures.

Paternalism

Seen and not heard
is not
silent.
You cannot scribe
peace on
a blank rage.

My favorite kid's catalogs

I've been so busy since I started my series on catalogs, and of course this is the year we keep bumping into the right gifts without the catalog. Anywho, just to spread the love for those who may not have discovered these fine retailers, let's take a spin through the kid's gift Christmas catalog "Hall of Fame."

Fisher-Price
The toys are classics, but the catalog has "exclusives" like actual shepherds for the Little People manger scene. I really enjoy the Shop-at-Home catalog, though I usually buy whatever we decide on at a store--unless it's an exclusive catalog item.

Toys to Grow On
This is an off-shoot of the venerable Lakeshore Learning catalog for early childhood educators. The toys in this catalog are more geared to home use rather than classroom use, and they have some interesting toys. This year I was impressed with the Step by Step sculpting kits, though we've decided to satisy our artsy kido's yen another way. We've occassionally been unhappy with the longevity of some of the items we've bought from this catalog, which surprised us since we've always had good luck with Lakeshore. Maybe they're still working the bugs out.

Delta Education
OK, so it's not a toy catalog, but if you have a kid who's oriented toward maths and sciences this is the catalog. It has everything from serious hardware, such as microscopes and telescopes to ant farms and Quarto. Buying a gift from Delta feels like an investment not an indulgence.

Hearth Song
This catalog comes at the toy business from it's own unique direction. I find lots of interesting little projects and throw back toys in this catalog. The emphasis is on imaginative play with such intersting gift ideas as "silkies" dress up cloths and wonderful puppets. A word of caution about the puppets, wait until your puppeteer is at least 10 before buying the Storytelling Hand Puppets, as they require tender loving care. Other products also have proved less than hearty, but still this catalog deserves a look, if only for it's pleasantly different appeal.

Oriental Trading Company
The teacher's best friend, this catalog is loaded with great craft ideas and projects, not to mention a nativity scene manned by rubber ducks. Oh yeah, I'm all over that one! Prices are good here too, but be sure and check the size and quantity.

Young Explorers
No surprise, this is an educational toy company as well, but this one has some really exciting games, such as a kind of Twister game with World Geography instead of circles. Spy kits, RC Stealth Bombers, pottery wheels, phonics laptops, lots of great stuff.

Chinaberry
Sometimes this catalog gets a little goddess heavy for my taste, but nevertheless, they do find interesting books, games and ways of showing love. Sometimes different is good, and this catalog comes at spirituality from an admittedly new-age angle. I've found that they are freer to appreciate the more mystical sides of Christianity and so they find books that would never cross my radar otherwise. Approach with caution, but do give them a look over.

American Girl
All right, I admit it. We love American Girl dolls. When one of our girls turns nine, she gets to choose one of the American Girl dolls and we begin the slow process of collecting the items a little at a time over birthdays and Christmas. The girls really get excited about history when they are thinking about the period in terms of whichever doll they are most excited about. The movies are wholesome and full of period detail. These dolls are a splurge. The items are over-priced, but we've decided that in the end they are worth it for us. We are all looking forward to Molly's movie. This catalog is definitely a girl thing.

Discovery Channel Store
Once again, a treasure trove of educational toys and products that are also a lot of fun. From the plastic frog for dissecting to the Paz Art projector this is a great place to look for unique gifts for the brainy kids in your life.

CRICKET
Don't miss Cricket or Ladybug or Spider or any of the other offerings from this terrific publisher. They also have a catalog with interesting gifts and books. I have loved Cricket for years. My parents gave me a subscription after the librarian pointed out that I'd read every back issue the library had. These guys are pricey as well, but I believe they are worth every penny. It made a difference for me.

Mindware
This catalog has received the Parent's Choice award three years running. It's another great source for truly entertaining educational games.

That's the list so far. Happy shopping

Nearly Perfect Day

Today has been a picture postcard of family life. I woke up late after stealing a few more moments to savor a dream about camping in one of those old fashioned, aluminum trailers. The kids and I have been talking about personal responsiblity, and the three oldest ones started their quiet school work and had made good progress by the time I made it down to the classroom. I was so impressed. The fourth, who is learning to read this year, suddenly clicked with the idea of sounding out words. She just kept going until her brain popped out of gear. We had a tremendous time with loud school in the afternoon, and then everyone pitched in to tidy up the house and cook a special "breakfast" dinner just as Kurt arrived home. We had waffles, basil and mozzarella eggs, and maple-link sausages, which we ate in the living room while we watched Curious George. Our little spud monster kept asking "Where's George?" until Ted reached Africa and then he just about lost it when George came on screen. It has been one of the happiest and coziest days ever.

Here's hoping your day was even better.

Awakenings

In the black of my mind
Golem is thinking.
The weak light awakens Psyche.
First a candle,
Then a flashlight,
Then a floodlamp,
Seeking the Risen Son.
But it is only Golem
Reflecting.

Not a promise, a command

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

I have to admit I am not a receiver. I hate being on the needy end of things. When I come to God, I come for energy and for direction, I don't come for rest. Recently though God has refused to give me anything but rest. I come to Him with questions and problems and ideas and he gives me rest, no answers, no direction, no work. Normally, that wouldn't slow me down terribly because I'd just reach into my own resources and work from there, but lately I've been plumb out of resources. I've had to humble myself and ask for help that I really needed, not help that would have been nice, but help that if it hadn't come I would have been lost. I'm finding it frightening to need other people, to have no back up plan but to ask for help. It's hard not being able to supply my own needs, but at the same time I am finally getting some rest.

I've tended to look at Matthew 11:28-30 as nice promise God made to us, but now I am recognizing that it is a command. There is no qualifier, no pretty please, just the command--"Come unto me." Rest must be far more important than I thought it was, because every effort I am making to come to God, has led me to rest. No work, no direction, no answers, just rest. Instead of the Slough of Despond, I seem to have fallen into the Slough of Hope. Every struggle to get back on the road sinks me deeper, but the deeper I sink the more powerfully I feel the hand holding me up. The more deeply I engage in this rest, the more I discover that I am surrounded by the love of God expressed not merely in His manifest presence, but in His presence in people. The more I rest and accept the love of God as He expresses it through His servants, the more I see how bountiful and beautiful is the work of God in mankind. I am hopeful that as I grow in my appreciation of the work of God in others I will begin to see and value the work of God in me. Maybe it's just trading Bunyan in for Merton, but whatever it is I'll never again undervalue the blessings of obeying the command to come and receive God's rest.

Homeschooling Hurricane

Before

and After...










Could we apply for federal aid? It's been a full quarter. One down, three to go!