Gardening Season Begins

This year, I got an early start on my garden, and I have been very pleased so far. In early spring, I planted peas, onions, carrots, radishes, spinach, broccoli transplants, cauliflower transplants, and brussels sprouts transplants. Oh, and lettuce... lots of lettuce. Actually, I attempted to remove the seeds from the packet and slipped, spilling the tiny seeds into the dirt. I sighed, decided not even to try extracting the nearly invisible seeds from the soil, and waited to see what would come up. As the picture shows, I will be doing quite a bit of thinning, but at least I can tell which kind is which, so we will have a variety of lettuces this year. I also planted strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries in various locations around my house and yard.

This weekend, Josh built me a second box garden next to the one we built last year. We even used some of our worm compost when filling the garden! I have so much more space now, and I also have more opportunity to rotate crops a bit to reduce pests and diseases. I could not believe how easily I filled the extra 32 square feet of space, though! I added butternut squash and two kinds of bush beans to the side garden, and I planted cucumbers, swiss chard, and celery in the old box garden with my spring veggies. I also put one asparagus plant along the side of my house, to see if it does well there. I would love fresh asparagus in the spring, but I do not want such a large perennial plant in my box gardens! In the new garden, I transplanted three kinds of tomatoes, two kinds of bell peppers, swiss chard, and a bunch of herbs, leaving myself plenty of space for a few more staggered plantings of bush beans.

Before we put in the side garden last year, weeds abounded in that spot next to our garage. Once I pulled out all the weeds and put in the veggies, however, I noticed something that was not visible before. The water run-off from our garage roof poured right into the middle of that garden, leaving a trench that eroded the soil from around any plants in that location. On Saturday, as I shopped for herbs at my favorite local greenhouse, I noticed watercress for sale. The sign said that the plants propagate themselves well in wet locations. I explained my garden situation to a person on staff, and he told me that his watercress has grown into a small waterfall in his yard and that it loves water! So, now I have watercress growing all along the edge of the trench in that garden. I hope that it will utilize previously unusable garden space, as well as hold the soil in place to prevent erosion during heavy rains. I really hope it works!

The kids, of course, love the garden and willingly eat anything we harvest - including onions, radishes, and leafy vegetables! They already love raw veggies, but they will even eat food that they typically dislike, as long as it comes from our own garden. I cannot wait to see how everything grows this year. I chose plants more wisely this year, after seeing what pests and diseases struck last year, and I think we will have a better harvest because of that. In a society in which many kids cannot even identify common vegetables, I love that my kids beg for things like eggplant and radishes! I cannot imagine a better way to teach kids about healthy eating than allowing them to harvest their own food directly from the family garden. Now, if only we lived in a neighborhood that allowed me to raise chickens...

A Super Soccer Season

We did not realize when we signed Hannah up for soccer in the fall that it included the spring season as well. After some of the tired tantrums in the fall, we were not sure how this season would go, but we were pleasantly surprised. Hannah's skill and confidence has grown dramatically since the fall, and she dealt a little better with playing soccer after a long day at school.

Hannah's soccer coach motivates each kid to do his or her best on the field. He rotates the kids into different positions, giving everyone a chance to take the ball down the field. Finally, during a Saturday game, Hannah scored her first goal! She could not stop talking about it, and the story got better with each telling. She described to Ben how the other team had really huge kids but she got around them and kicked the ball in the goal!

Because of prior commitments, Hannah's coach needed Josh to help out with some of the games, so Josh got his first taste of coaching little league soccer. I am not sure how much he enjoyed it. I think he prefers soccer on a more competitive level, and he gets frustrated that the teams do not even keep score at this age. I think he felt tired after a long day at work, too! Still, he worked well with the kids and got to watch Hannah score two more goals in another game.

In spite of the craziness of soccer season, I am glad that Hannah participated. I can tell that she learned some valuable lessons.

She learned to have confidence instead of fear. In the fall, she often hesitated instead of going after the ball when another kid had it. She wanted someone to give her the ball instead of having to take it. This season, we actually had to teach her a bit of restraint. We praised her aggressiveness in attacking the ball, but asked her to stop stiff-arming and pushing anyone who came too close to taking it away. The same child who sobs hysterically at even the tiniest scratches and bumps will get up after being flattened on the soccer field, brush herself off, and keep chasing the ball!

In addition, she learned to work with other kids as a team. I often witnessed her conferring with her team mates, deciding how they should line up to block a kick. She passed the ball instead of keeping it to herself, and she dropped back to the goal to support her team mates on defense. She celebrated the other kids' goals almost as much as she celebrated her own. When she was on the soccer field, she placed her ambitions lower than the success of her team. If she learns only this, soccer has been worthwhile!

At the end of every game, the parents from both teams run out on the field and make a tunnel with their arms. Then, all of the parents cheer as both teams run through the tunnel.

I know that someday sports must become competitive, and she will learn important lessons from that as well. Still, I appreciate the joy on the kids' faces as we cheer them on, knowing that they all played their best and that we celebrate each of them as special. And that is a lesson that I hope she will never stop learning!

The Ponderings of a 6 Year Old

I love how Hannah writes and keeps a journal of her life. She also illustrates each entry with a detailed drawing. The journal is not private (yet) so she allows me to read what she writes and share it with others.

Here are a few recent entries:

My Soccer Game on Girls Weekend

We went to my game. I played soccer. I got the snack. We got extra snack. We got gaterade and sugar cookies and goldfish. It is girl weekend. Girl secret - girls are better than boys. Shhhhh.
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho

Bug Fun

I played soccer with a beetle on my hand! Here is a close up of the beetle.

(There is a drawing of a beetle on the page with a circle around it and the words "close up" inside.)

The Trip to the Zoo

Once mom took us to the zoo. We went on a bridge. I slid my hand down the rail. Then a yellow jaket stung me. We had so much fun. I love the zoo.

Just thought I would share a brief glimpse into the mind of my sweet six-year-old daughter.

Another Lost Tooth

Yesterday I received an email from Hannah's teacher entitled "Tooth." In it, she wrote, "Major wiggly tooth for Hannah! Pretty much had her attention most of the day! She is trying to be so brave to pull it out---but must be ready!!! Hope it comes out tonight so she doesn’t have to worry!"

Now, Hannah's top tooth has been just slightly loose for about six months, and, occasionally, she imagines that it is looser than before and fills the whole day with dramatic wiggling and excitement. Because of this, I hoped that her tooth would be coming out for real this time, so the drama could finally end, but I confess that I suspected the tooth would still wiggle the same tiny amount as always. However, when I picked Hannah up at school, her tooth definitely moved more than it had previously.

When we got home, I tried to encourage her to wiggle the tooth and loosen it more so it would fall out before bed. It looked pretty loose and I didn't want to worry about her swallowing it. She vehemently refused, though, because she desperately wanted it to come out at school. Apparently, when a child looses a tooth at school, he or she gets a special tooth necklace, and Hannah has been longing for that opportunity all year. I chuckled, remembering the email I had received earlier, and told Hannah that I thought her teacher would probably appreciate the tooth coming out before school the next day. "Yeah," she replied, "I disrupted the whole class! That's why I got a one."

"Oh, Hannah," I responded, "that's not a good thing. Even if this tooth is still in your mouth tomorrow, you need to listen to your teacher and pay attention in class."

"I know," she said cheerfully.

"I hope so," I replied, raising my eyebrows a bit.

Later that evening, I gently brushed Hannah's teeth, and cringed, squeamishly, as the tooth crossed oddly in front of the tooth next to it. "Hannah," I said, "This tooth has to come out. Why don't you pull on it a little."

"No!" she exclaimed. "I'll just bang it out like I did before."

"No," I told her. "That hurts a lot worse than pulling it. Here, let me just pull very gently and see what happens."

I pulled ever so slightly, and out came the tooth!

Excitedly, she ran to tell her daddy and put the tooth in an envelope for the Tooth Fairy. This time, she decided to write the Tooth Fairy a note. Of course, I had to take a picture!

Side one:

"dear tooth Fairy at Lunch today at school I tryed to Bite my apple my tooth riped half way out"

Side two:

"At Bedtime mom pulled it gently out. I Love you"

And of course, the Tooth Fairy wrote a nice note in reply, included a pack of gum wrapped in a dollar bill, and placed them all under her pillow. And, I am pretty sure the Tooth Fairy whispered a little, "I love you, too..."

Developing Faith

I love watching my kids learn and grow academically. I celebrate when they discover something new or begin to comprehend a new concept. However, nothing pleases me more than seeing them develop a deeper personal faith in God.

Hannah has always been a challenging child, perhaps because she and I are so similar. Both of us struggle with bending our wills to submit to authority and both of us have a too-low tolerance for frustration. I pray for her that God will soften her heart and capture her will for Himself, while using her feisty spirit for His glory.

Despite her difficulties, however, she definitely shows evidence of Christ working in her life. For example, throughout this school year she has had to deal with teasing and bullying from a particular child at school. Though she has occasionally responded unkindly in return, for the most part, she has attempted to befriend him and include him. When I asked her why she kept trying to be friends with someone who treated her meanly, she replied that Jesus told her to love her enemies. She also prays for him and tells him that Jesus loves him. The "mama bear" in me wants to tell her to fight back and defend herself, but instead, I express how proud I am that she is choosing to follow Jesus.

Additionally, though the poor child ends up spending quite a bit of time in her room (especially after school when her tiredness leads her to attack her siblings and speak disrespectfully to me), she very often uses that time to read her Bible and pray. Then, she comes downstairs and apologizes for her wrong behavior, with a renewed humble spirit. Those glimpses into her faith encourage me that she will eventually triumph over her temper and develop into a sweet, God-fearing young lady.

Likewise, Ben has acquired a passion for learning about God and reading His Word. For his 5th birthday, we purchased a Scholastic Read and Learn Bible, so he could read and study Bible stories on his own. He loves it! He has been reading it nearly every day and then excitedly telling me about what he has read. We read the regular NIV Bible together every night as a family, but I knew, as a developing reader, that he would not yet be able to study that by himself. I thought this Bible would serve as the perfect step between the "baby" Bibles he used to read and a regular "grown-up" Bible, and I love seeing him studying it and earnestly applying it to his life.

Unlike the other two, Becca is just beginning to learn the concept of faith. She knows God loves her and she has heard the Bible stories again and again, but her little heart is still very focused on herself and her own desires. Still, she occasionally amazes me by expressing faith in her own, sweet, three-year-old way.

As the end of this school year approaches, I had been wrestling with what to use as a Bible curriculum when we begin homeschooling full-time. After previewing a friend's books, I strongly considered purchasing the Grapevine Studies "Stick Figuring Through the Bible" series. But then, last weekend, my father gave me a book he had discovered when ordering some other books from Westminster Seminary's bookstore - Might Acts of God: A Family Bible Story Book by Starr Meade. Wow! I have never seen a Bible story book like it. The author recounts the familiar (and some not-so-familiar) Bible stories in a way that focuses not on the main characters or events, but on what those stories tell us about God's character and plan for the world. Each story has a couple of discussion ideas as well. I have decided to use this book as our curriculum for next year, and I cannot wait to see how the kids continue to grow in their understanding and love of God.

When I look at my own failings and imperfections, I often struggle with whether I am succeeding in passing my faith on to my children. Do they see Christ in me or do they just see someone who frequently fails to live what she believes? Seeing my kids' faith encourages me that God uses me, in all of my weakness, to show my family who He is and how His grace and strength can overcome our failures. Just as Hannah can overcome her strong will to show love to her "enemy," I, too, can teach my children faith, even as my own imperfect faith continues to develop.

"Fun-et-ic" Spelling

Becca is learning to spell things phonetically. Today, she announced, "Look, mama! I spelled 'actually!'"


Here is a closer look:


Can you see it? "Ax - uh - lee"

I love "fun-et-ic" spelling!

Learning Life Skills

I would like to take credit for this bit of learning, and I typically do this job, but Josh gets credit for passing the skill on to our kids. Too often, I avoid allowing the kids to help with chores, because I can do them better or more quickly. Unfortunately, as a result, I ultimately end up doing everything without help.

Last Monday, I went to a day-long training seminar to help me with my business. While I was gone, Josh tackled the too-large mound of laundry that I had been ignoring for weeks. In fact, he washed and folded every piece of dirty laundry he could find in the house! And he did this in between shuttling kids to and from school and soccer as well. I could not believe everything he accomplished! Anyway, when I asked the kids how Daddy managed to do all of the laundry on such a crazy day, Ben told me that he and Becca had helped him fold the laundry. I smiled knowingly, imagining that their "help" probably kept them from fighting and getting into trouble, but likely did not make the work go more quickly.

The next evening, Josh brought a load of towels up from the dryer and placed them on the couch in the living room. He and I were talking in the dining room, when I looked into the other room and saw this:

While we had been discussing dinner, Becca had folded nearly all of the towels, and she did a fairly good job, too! She noticed the shocked look on my face and began grinning and pointing at her work. "It's amazing," she said, over and over again.

I asked her to show me how she folded them, and she happily gave me a demonstration.

After laying the towel out flat on the floor, she folded the sides over and lined them up nicely.

I never imagined that my three year old would be capable of folding towels. Yet, my husband recognized an opportunity to pass on an important life skill. I have been pondering this for a week now, and I wonder what other jobs the kids could learn to accomplish if I gave them the chance. They already pick up their toys and clear their dishes from the table, but I bet they could do so much more! When we begin homeschooling full-time next year, I plan to integrate chores into our daily schedule - making beds, straightening their rooms, and organizing their school work and supplies. But, now I may include them in my household tasks, too, like laundry, mopping, dishes, and dusting. If we make a game out of it, they may even find it fun! And eventually, I will appreciate the help from kids who have already learned the importance of working together as a family.