Tennesee Vacation

We had a lovely time last week in Pigeon Forge, TN, with the Wiebes. The highlight for Jon and me was the 8-mile hike in the Smoky Mountains. The highlight for the kids was Dollywood, where they braved the roller coasters but really loved the water rides. We are so thankful for chances like this to spend time with family.

Backyard Campout

We had 4 neighborhood boys over for a last-day-of-school campout back in May. We made biscuits on a stick, played with fire, took a late night walk, and told scary stories. Our backyard is a sweet spot for this.

Diaperless Days

Theo has gone without a daytime diaper for a couple months now, and hasn't had an accident in a couple weeks. Isaac and Seth want to throw a party for him, but we parents haven't approved any of the proposed party activities yet. Theo now makes three who have potty-trained before weaning.

Pflintzen

The first food Jonathan learned to make as a kid was pflintzen (crepes). This week he taught Seth how to make them. They turned out fabulous. What a treat to be on a summer schedule where we have time to leisurely make meals together (sometimes). We filled them with homemade cherry syrup.

Losing Teeth

I remember when Seth was 3 and he talked of having a "woos toof" because he wanted to lose teeth like Isaac. Now Theo is pretending to have loose teeth as Seth is losing them. Seth lost 4 within a week (3 of them in 12 hours!).

Cherry Picking

What a surprise to find out that the cherries on the tree right off our back porch are sweet and wonderful. The last photo is of Theo's cherry-honeysuckle smoothie.

still here

I haven’t intentionally stopped blogging, but somehow haven’t taken the time for it lately. For now, here are a few things we’ve been enjoying the last week.

Slumber parties, last weekend and this weekend again

Wonderful piano music by Oma Jean (here from Oregon for a month)

Spreading manure, weeding and PICKING STRAWBERRIES at the community garden

Isaac pulling garlic mustard from the yard and using it to make a fence around the clubhouse in the woods

Oma Jean’s nut bars

Italian Ice with watermelon, lemonade and ice

Seth’s business, where he sells pictures, pop-up cards, snowflakes, backrubs, kaleidoscopes, lemonade and babysitting services

Deciding not to go to the Andreas family reunion because of the expense, and then changing our minds

Reading “Enrique’s Journey”

Planning summer visits with friends from Germany, Mexico, and Canada

Something to sing about

The frog songs were amazing last night. The frogs looked so happy and peaceful. And who wouldn't be, sitting in a cool pond on a warm evening, watching the sunset, mating or knowing your would be soon?

Seth's birthday

Seth turned 7 on Tuesday, April 15th. Today we had 7 boys over for a birthday bash...some from his class, others from church, and 2 new neighbors who he has already played with a lot. Seth helped plan a lot of the party. We went to the Riley Creek Festival on campus and jumped and slid on big inflatables. They made rockets (and watched them shoot off with the help of the science club), ate snowcones and popcorn, and played corn hole. Back at our house, we did a scavenger hunt, played the telephone game, and ate fruit roll-ups off a clothesline with no hands. Seth planned the menu of pizza, strawberries, sun chips, juice. All morning he asked how long until the party, although once he said he can't wait until tomorrow so he can stop thinking about his party all the time. While he isn't always comfortable with lots of chaos, loud noise and attention, he had a wonderful time and I think he felt affirmed by a day focused on him, a day to be reminded that he is uniquely special, a gift to many.

great weekend

Spring weather
A bonfire
Singing and fellowship at church
Kids playing with neighbor kids in the woods behind the house
Seth’s detailed account of how useful bark and vines are in building his fort
Working in the ground, mulching garlic and weeding strawberries
Friends popping in after the kids went to bed, with Irish Crème in hand
Getting a lot of grant work done
Seth and I playing football keep-away with the neighbors we just met
A meal with friends
Looking around our new house and smiling about how much I love it

Equinox

On the first day of spring, I was remembering the poem that Seth, Isaac and I often said together as we started our homeschooling day.

Light and Love give us the power
To grow together as a flower.
In wintertime, dreaming deep,
In springtime, joys to keep,
In summertime, colors bold,
In autumn time, shining gold.
Day by day we find our way,
Guiding Angels show the way.

ethnic minority

This weekend I made zweibach for the first time. Sure, I had helped my mom and grandma make them numerous times, but this time I was on my own. I took them to church for the Easter breakfast. The president of the college came and asked if I had made them. He and Karen had surmised that it could only be Paul Dyck or myself. I hadn't realized there were quite so few of us Russian Mennonites around. I think I saw Jim walk off with the basket that contained the paska.

front view, back yard, and fairy garden

finally...a house

We are in the process of buying our first house ever. Jon can get to his office by walking through the back yard, never having to cross a street, and the boys can walk the 2 blocks to school. It has a large back yard that feels very private, and the creek is just a short distance through the trees. It is plenty large (4 Br 2 bath), has nice wood floors and a large eat-in kitchen. Then there are touches from when Wendy and Andy lived in it (see bathroom songbook wallpaper), and it has good vibes from when Paul and Laurel and Benji and Sarah lived in it as well. The seller's son rented from Andreas' in Newton, living in Jon's childhood home, and the seller's mom is Theo's adopted Oma in town, so how couldn't it be meant to be?! Not to mention that it has been the ONLY place we've seen that Jon and I have both liked. We'll probably move in at the beginning of May, once Jon finishes his semester. Come visit us!

love at the end of the day

On a day last week when Seth was filled with so much anger that he drew blood on his big brother and left us all tired, he also sat down and spent many hours creating 20-some Valentine cards for his classmates and grandparents. He laid the cards down around him, asking for a photo. I treasure this picture of him surrounded and protected by love, still emanating from him and still flowing towards him.

unabashed brainwashing

before and after

Following the Waldorf tradition, we've waiting until after the second birthday to cut each of our boys' hair. Theo's day was today, since Opa and Oma Wiebe were here (and one of them has been looking forward to this day for a long time). Our baby is growing up.

Embracing the Cold

Last Saturday Wendy took the boys skating on Riley Creek, 3 blocks from our place. It made the Lima News! The next evening, we 5 went out in the dark and skated under the stars. I pulled Theo around and around on a sled until our toes got cold and we walked home clinging to each other's body heat. Isaac and Seth have really gotten the hang of skating.

Jonathan on TV

Fox TV from Lima came to campus today to interview Jonathan about the economic stimulus package. They aired 2 segments, but I messed up with the video camera on the second segment. Can you recognize him in that suit and tie?!

free rice

The kids had fun tonight on freerice.com, where answering multiple choice vocabulary questions earns free rice to be sent to the hungry through United Nations World Food Program. The kids earned 8,000 grains of rice, which we estimated to be about 8 bowls full of rice. And we learned a bit about munificence in the process.

stupid badgers

Tonight I was talking with Seth and Isaac about the house we might buy, comparing pros and cons with others on the market. I told them that we like the idea of having a space like a basement where the kids, when they get older, can have a connected but somewhat separate space for being with friends. When they are teenagers, I said jokingly, they might want a place where they can say bad words with their friends without us parents hearing. They laughed out loud at this idea, and Seth started blurting out, "Stupid, oh stupid this and stupid that..." and Isaac starting saying "Badger!" which was his made-up swear word when we was 3 and mad. They then suggested that this teenage space be named the "stupid badger club."

Glory Bound

I just got the Firecracker CD by the Wailin Jennys. This morning when the chorus of Glory Bound started "Hallelujah, Hallelujah," Theo folded his hands in prayer, which is his sign for "church." I asked him if we had sung Hallelujah in church, and he smiled and affirmed my interpretation with a "yeah." How I'd love to sing this particular Wailin' Jennys hallelujah in our church! I don't know which church song he was thinking of, but I'm glad he associates this word more with church than with Mr. Bean.

Theo turned 2

Theo, how precious these first 2 years have been with you.
We celebrated on Friday night with our potluck group.
We played"Happy Birthday" with your new boomwhackers,
ate pizza and calzones, played hide-and-seek, parachute games,
watched a puppet show, ate brownies and milkshakes. The
grand finale came when Oma Glennys brought in the rocking
horse that she had just scored that morning at Et Cetera.
Saturday we went to the Toledo Zoo for the day.