Every Walking Thought

It is exactly a 3.13 mile round trip from my backdoor, east at the end of the driveway to the corner, and then back west all the way to the cemetery, around the corner headed north to Hughes road and then all the way back home. My max speed today was 4.3 mph, with a moving average of 3.0 and and overall average of 2.9. The 2.9 probably comes from when I stopped at the end of our driveway before heading west to make sure the girls went and told Papa they were home. They walked the first half mile with me, but they way they walk~back and forth, weaving all over~it was probably closer to a mile for them!

It takes less willpower to walk outside than it does to walk on a treadmill, for several reasons. Walking outside is prettier and more entertaining by far. But you also only have to have the willpower to go halfway. Once you get a mile and a half from home, you have no choice but to complete the trip and come back, especially if you leave the cel phone home on purpose. On a treadmill, you can bail out at anytime.

It is astounding what you can hear when you also leave the ipod or headphones at home. Did you know that a beetle actually makes a noise when it walks on pavement? The sound of the breeze in the grass, far away traffic, jets ever farther away, the metronome beat of my shoes on the road, the thrum of a ladybug's wings, and the waterfall of burbling, twittering, chirping bird song were only a few of the sounds I noticed today.

I probably should have worn sunscreen, but I've waited so long for the sunshine that it will be worth it if I'm a bit toasted later. And why do my fingers feel puffy when I walk? It goes away almost as soon as I get home. Hmmm.

The picture above is a trading card made with two stamps that I carved. It is one of my favorite quotes.

Power Trip

Frequently my mind makes comparisons with the society and lifestyle that we live with today and what it must have been like at different times in history. What impact would something that we take for granted have on someone from a distant time period? For instance, how would Mary Todd Lincoln, an adventurous sort, react if she were sitting next to me in the car on the interstate headed into Chicago? Or what would Laura Ingalls Wilder have to say about the clothing choices offered to young girls at the typical shop in the mall?

Sometimes I imagine the situation reversed. How would my life have been different if I had been born in another time period? Could I have kept my mouth shut in a time before women could vote or have any political influence? Could I have worn a corset or a bustle? Could I have dealt with housework before the convenience of electricity? I complain enough as it is.

For no apparent reason, the power went off at about 2:30 this morning and we were transported into the past several hundred years. Again. In fact, this happens so often out where we live that even in our sleep, we automatically switch into survival mode and hurry to complete the few tasks that must be done before it is too late. We run clean water into several pitchers and then put as much water into the bathtub as we can before the tank off the well loses pressure. We light candles in strategic places (all ready and waiting) to keep us from tripping in the dark. And I take a meal out of the freezer that can be heated on the gas stovetop. Eventually when it starts to get stuffy, or the sound of the dog's panting is keeping us awake, Hubby will stumble down to the basement, throw a couple of switches and then fire up the generator in the garage. We have to avoid using electronic equipment and its not enough to run the central air though. We have it so rough.

I wonder what the Proverbs 31 woman would think.

*originally posted 8/12/07

Lessons at Shedd Aquarium

Yesterday we (a friend with three girls and me with my two) took a much needed break and went to the Aquarium in Chicago for the day. Now I need a break from the break, but we did learn some valuable things:

• Do not attempt a field trip into Chicago during The Taste.
• The Taste of Chicago continues even when the fourth of July is over.
• It is not in any way easier, cheaper or more fun to take the train into Chicago.
• A single adult's definition of "not far" is not the same as that of an adult with small children in tow.
• By all means, pay the extra money for the ticket that gets you in to see everything, but be prepared for the child with Asperger's to be more enthralled with the fake trees and rocks than what you actually paid to see.
• Why do they always have to play the "Jaws" music in the shark exhibit and creep the little kids out?
• It is not wise to put an unsecured fruit cup in the backpack to save for later.
• Make sure you prepare the four-year-old for the fact that the dolphin show in Chicago is not in any way similar to the Shamu show in Orlando.

On a more positive note:

• We saw "Granddad", a lung fish that has been at the Shedd since it opened in 1933.

• The seahorses and frogs were really neat.
• We found almost all of the characters from "Nemo".
• The lizard and Kimodo Dragon exhibit was cool and M made a new friend. This little bearded lizard followed her back and forth around the cage and had her laughing quite hard.
  

"Sting"rays look like pancakes when they are sleeping.

The morray eel was bigger than me!

There are 36 species of dolphin and J wants to learn about them all.

We got to touch live sea stars and anemones!

Two four-year-olds and a plastic shark with a squeaker in it can entertain a whole train car of people with no effort whatsoever.

Planning next trip for after school starts!

Note: I refrained from posting alot of pictures here. I'm fairly certain that just about everyone has an album somewhere filled with the same blurry images from trying to take photos of cool things in fish tanks.

*originally posted July 7, 2006

The Non-confrontational Approach

I had the privilege of attending the ICHE homeschool convention this year, and now that my brain has had a week and a half to process the flood of information, I think I’m ready to share some of what I learned.

Some of the best sessions were with Dr. Jeff Myers from the Myers Institute for Communication & Leadership (http://www.myersinstitute.com/). He is a very engaging speaker and I think it would be well worth purchasing the recordings of his workshops. I believe that they can still be ordered from HERE. I particularly enjoyed his lecture on Discernment: Raising a “Thought-full” Child. Dr. Myers spoke about training your children to think with a Biblical worldview and gave several good tools to help develop and defend that perspective. The easiest tool with the most immediate results is a series of questions that you can use when discussing an idea in our culture that clashes with Scripture. Dr. Myers laughingly pointed out that we seldom need to arm our children with more questions.

• “What do you mean by that?” Just because a person uses the same terminology that Christians use does not mean that their definitions are the same. Be sure to clarify. This also gives you a chance to voice your Biblical understanding of a word for their clarification.
• “How do you know that is true?” This is the point that worldly ideas begin to fall apart at the seams.
• “Where do you get your information?”
• “What happens if you are wrong?” Dr. Myers stated that this is the question that keeps on asking even when the conversation is over.

These questions can be asked more than once and not necessarily in this order, but the key is to ask them in a non-confrontational manner. II Timothy 2:25, 26 tells us “And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel. Rather, he should be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”

Obviously, this is a two minute summary of an almost hour-long talk. There is really no way that I can effectively duplicate everything that Dr. Myers had to say. Nor should I. I would really encourage you to consider purchasing the session for yourself. No matter your style of homeschooling or the state you live in, you could benefit from it. And no, I’m not getting paid to say that!

*originally posted 5/30/06

Protecting what he provides

A while ago, I heard a speaker at a woman's conference (but I can't remember who!) say that my husband's job is to provide for the family and my job is to protect what he provides! That has been my mission ever since.
That is the main reason why I started using Mvelopes Personal (see the link on the left) and making my own laundry soap and the like. With all of the medical bills that we are acquiring this year (!), I didn't start any too early!
But I am so excited about today! Last week when we had a couple of early warm days, I realized that J had no hot weather clothes. Not one stitch. So today we went shopping at a local thrift store! We prayed before we left and came home with 32 items of clothing (13 shorts, 13 shirts, 2 skorts, 1 jumper and 3 dresses for my niece who now lives next door and I couldn't resist!) and only paid $37.89! Hooray and Thank You, Lord!

Another part of this protecting what he provides will arrive in August-we have ordered a corn furnace! It should more than pay for itself in less than five years. As the price of propane continues to climb, it will be so nice to cut that bill down to size!

Update--I originally posted the above on April 17, 2006. Now, almost exactly two years later, we are still going to the thrift stores and I am always amazed at the wonderful things we come home with. Just last week we went for the girls' summer wardrobes and found more than enough and paid next to nothing. The corn furnace was installed last December and we fired it up the week before Christmas. I am happy to report that our house has stayed toasty warm all winter and the Service Gas man has not gotten to fill our tank even once! We just stand at the window and wave as he checks the gauge and drives away. We have used only about 15% of the tank in the last four months. Normally it would have been filled at least three times by now! Since we farm, the corn we are burning is free! I think I actually giggled out loud when Chad told me to "Turn the heat up, it's just corn!"
Praise the Lord for His provision!

High Tech Yard Walking

Thanks to my trusty Garmin e-trex GPS, I have determined that walking around the perimeter of our yard 7 times is 2.06 miles. My max speed today was 4 mph, and average speed was 3 mph.

This might not sound like a big deal, but it is a breakthrough discovery for me. I have been desparate for a way to get regular exercise into my schedule. Because of a knee injury, most of the aerobic things that you can do in your living room are out of the question. My doctor wants me to walk. I like to walk, but I have two younger children who can't seem to take more than a dozen steps before reaching complete exhaustion--at least when it isn't their idea. We live on a wonderfully quiet country road where I know everyone. Just walking down to the corner and back is a convenient 2 miles. But Hubby is in the middle of the spring field work and I can't expect him to hang around the house with the girls while I walk. The nearest gym or Y is almost 15 miles away. Plus it's expensive!

But now I have figured out how I can do all the walking that I want without ever leaving home! The girls can play in the yard or inside and still have full access to me if they need something. I can do the walking in several sections if I have to, or even do it several times a day. I can do it whenever I please, instead of having to wait for someone to watch the girls. And it's free!

Walking in our yard is a little harder than on a treadmill (which I don't have anyway) or the road. Our lawn is lumpy and rough and you have to watch out for all the ground squirrel holes. I have been wearing my hiking boots, which are heavier, but give better support. All in all, it's probably a better workout and may even help strengthen my knee over time.

Skinny jeans, here I come!

I wonder if I can figure out how many miles of grass I mow every week with my GPS? Hee Hee.