Upwards Soccer

Here is JT's team this year--a bunch of nice boys! All but one is homeschooled (was that planned, Jeanne?!), which is nice for the boys--it is great to have other homeschoolers there all at once, doing something every other "regular school" child does.

JT, Cole, Troy, Joshua, Tyler (in back, making that face!), and Brandon

Our church puts on Upwards Soccer--a great sports program that really is an outreach, more than a sports program. At least, that is my view. The kids have fun, and learn some good things about Jesus Christ, and so do their parents.

Man of the House

Here is my Man of the House today. Isn't he handsome? John's on a short army trip and Bryan is on a church retreat. So, JT is here keeping us safe (along with our house alarm--love that thing). This morning, JT did some of the icky duty for me--taking out food scraps (his usual job) but this time he scraped out the gunky stuff without complaining, and even was creative in how he did it. Good for you, Buddy! He also helped Luci "go potty," something I can't ever remember him doing. He even emptied and washed out the little throne without any requests from me and no complaints from him. Thanks, JT!!

Another Reason to Love Miley

Who hasn't heard of Hannah Montana? Okay, maybe the grandparents reading. We love her here at our house. Here's an excerpt from a Fox News story on Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana):

LOS ANGELES — At just 15, Miley Cyrus is a multi-millionaire mogul not just for her music but for her film, fashion and entrepreneurial endeavors; however, the pop princess has managed to stay sane (and sensible) amid her very adult-like life and credits Christianity for her good behavior.

"I think it’s my faith that keeps me grounded, especially because I’m a Christ follower for sure," Cyrus told us. "Live like Christ and he’ll live in you, and that’s what I want to do."

Good for you, Miley! By the way, Miley turned 15 in November. Young and smart.

Hannah Montana image from http://kids.aol.com/music/artists-a-z/hannah-montana

Miley Cyrus image from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,342610,00.html

Don't Teach Her That!

This also happens at our house. The boys have taught Luci all kinds of icky things.

School Fundraising

A couple of days ago, our sweet neighbors came over with their teenager. The teen (wow, she is beautiful! wish I had a photo of her to show you) was selling Boston ferns to raise money so she could go to cheerleading camp. Of course, we bought one.


This got John and me to thinking. We call our homeschool The Willingham School for the Exceptionally Brilliant (it's very exclusive...so far, only two have been admitted, and there is only one other child who has qualified for admission!) . We have "field trips" all the time with our kids...camping, going to the zoo, Chattanooga Aquarium (that's in April, John has a TVA trip and we are tagging along), picnics at the creek, and oh! a trip to Disney World next fall...how many candy bars do you think we'd have to sell for all of that? (Many thanks to M&D for sponsoring the "field trip" to Idaho!)

When Audrey was in high school, John and I went to a Marching Band parents' meeting. The band director told us how much stuff our kids were supposed to sell, and how much money each kid was expected to raise.

John asked, "How much of that 'each kid is expected to raise' actually gets back to the band?" The director told him, then John said, "I'm writing you a check for that right now. We're not selling this stuff." Band director looked kinda steamed, but wow, John was popular with all the other parents!

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picture of Boston fern came from here: www.thebambooorchid.biz/flowercare.htm

marching band photo came from here: http://www.pdphoto.org/PictureDetail.php?mat=&pg=7907
click on the candy bar to find which website it came from. (Please, I know the grammar is not correct.)

Family Portrait

It doesn't look like much, but it is a family portrait drawn by Luci. It shows Daddy, Mommy, and Luci (the short one with hair), and that pencil scribble is Bryan and JT. Sometimes Luci draws more complete figures, but this is the first time she's drawn the family. I'm sure that is some cognitive step on Piaget's growth of the child's mind....

Crowns

Looks like Luci's princess crown might be more valuable than we first thought:

Won't You Join Us?

John Christy holding the CoCoRaHS rain gauge.

Taken from TimesDaily.com:





As everybody knows, in Alabama, rainfall can vary greatly from mile to mile even block to block," said John Christy, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and state coordinator of the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network.





"The more people we can have monitoring rainfall amounts, the better."





The number of volunteers in North Alabama:

• Lauderdale County 14 (I'm one of them!)


• Colbert County 5


• Franklin County 5


• Lawrence County 3


• Madison County 104

from me:
Cost: $22 for the rain gauge, and you need Internet access to report as often as you can (they know you will be gone sometimes, on vacation, etc). I've seen the weather-people on the local news use the CoCoRaHS daily totals on their broadcasts because the "official" gauges register a different amount.

Look! I'm Papa!

Can you see her "moustache?" She stuck the tape on and told me that she was Papa. Funny!

and look...she also has carrot cake on her mouth. Sorry I didn't catch that.

I Love Warranties and Good Customer Service!

A week or so ago, our dishwasher quit working. We could not find what was wrong with it. John left for an Army trip, and I called the repairman. The warranty is good until 2011 on this cheap machine (we bought the warranty on all the appliances last year when they were put into our new house). It was much less expensive to buy all the warranties as one big policy than taking them out separately (some of the warranties last until 2016!). The guy came out right away and fixed the loose wire (that's all it was!) and saved us $70.

A few months ago we blew the fuse inside the microwave/range hood (not a cheap machine) and the warranty covered that, too. That would have cost considerably more than $70.

Yesterday I took our van in for a look-see because I heard a funny noise. Whenever I turned the steering wheel, I heard this groaning. Never heard it before! In the near future, the kids and I are trekking out to Mom and Dad's, and all I could think of was us losing steering ability while driving the terrible path through Kansas City (by far the worst roadway of the trip), and flying off an overpass into the Missouri River, or even a stockyard (p-u).

Ralph, the repair center guy at Honda, gave me the happy news that two "transmission specialists" (who knew there was such a thing?) looked at and listened to the van and said there was nothing at all wrong with it. Just normal noise. They even washed the van! And, NO CHARGE for any of it! Hoo-ray!

So, why did I hear the noise? Where did it come from, all of a sudden? Thinking back, it was on a day when I had the van all to myself. This is a rare event! There was no noise from the DVD player, no noise from electronic toys, no noise from boys fighting World War III. I heard NOTHING for the first time in weeks. Except the normal car noises.

Sheesh. At least it gave Ralph a good chuckle.

Easter Sunday, and Monday

Luci showing JT just who left her goodies.

All dressed up. (Yes, the boys are wearing blue jeans. I can't get them into any other kind of pants.) So happy!

Monday--just had to take a picture. Luci found her Sunday shoes and socks. I call this one:

I did it myself!

Saturday

Saturday was a big day here. First, an Easter egg hunt at church.

Go, Luci!! Found one! I don't know if you can see, but Luci's tongue is sticking out--I guess it is an "egg-locator." (Notice how well they are hidden! ha ha. This area was for the young kids, so eggs were easy to find.)
Showing off her treasures...
and trading the stuff with fake colors (like that bubble gum above) for a present from the Easter Bunny.
The big kids got to play fun games to earn some candy. (JT traded his fake color stuff for money--he was not interested in rubber duckies!) Here's JT with Britt during an egg race.
Afterwards, John took the kids to a new park in town. They had a blast! (so did I--I "ran off" to have some time alone!) Bryan, you know if I'd been there, you would have gotten in trouble for this....

JT and Troy
Perspective is a funny thing...JT and Troy.
Luci on a slide.
Bryan, where are you?
At the riverside. I like this picture of Bryan.
Troy and JT.
Luci

Christy Fest

I would love to go to ChristyFest! Have you read Christy? When I read this book (thanks, Mom for recommending it!) 'way back when, I imagined myself as Christy. When I saw the series, I knew I was Christy.

Maybe next year.

But tell me, which one did she marry? The preacher or the doctor?

Two-Wheeler! (plus training wheels, that is)

Look! A Princess Bike!

JT wanted to go to Toys R Us to spend his allowance. We found this little bike on clearance (40% off!) and wow, is Luci happy! The boys challenged Luci to a race. Look who's ahead! Luci took the contest seriously. (Yeah, all right, I do think they are letting her win.)
Sheer Delight!

Siblings

Every day I tell each child, "I'm glad I'm your Mama!" And now the boys tell me they are glad to be my sons. What I didn't expect is Luci's comments when the boys tell her, "I'm glad I'm your brother!" She tells them,

I glad I you sister!

BOO!

I a Goat!!

I think she means "ghost!"

It's just me!

Playing with Kalyn

Today Luci, JT and I went to Kathy's house after karate. I forgot my camera, so I'll just describe what the photos would have looked like:

• Luci grabbing a toy that Kalyn just started playing with.
• Kalyn grabbing it back.
• Luci throwing something at Kalyn,
• Kalyn tossing it right back.
• Kalyn wearing "dress-up" shoes that Luci wants.
• Vice versa.

The last shot:

• Kalyn standing at her door, making sure we actually leave.

It will be nice when the girls are at that cognitive age where sharing actually takes place. Kathy and I got a good work-out, separating girls and laughing a lot. JT was a great big brother and helped out, so he got a Coca Cola Icee on the way home as a reward. In the car, I asked Luci, "Did you have fun playing with Kalyn?" Her reply: "I not want to share my toys!" Well, duh.

We invited Kathy and Kalyn over to "share" Luci's toys soon. I think I saw a gleam in Kalyn's eyes....

JT's Derring-Do

Watch Quick! It's only about 12 seconds long.

The ZOO

Denna and her family met the kids and me at the Birmingham Zoo today. We missed everyone else! I hope next time you all can come. But, to be honest, it was pretty crowded and we'd never be able to keep up with each other if everybody showed up...As a homeschooler, I don't always follow the local school schedule--I do try to keep up with it, though--but I really goofed this time and planned to go to the zoo during Spring Break. Wow! We are really spoiled, we usually get to go places without crowds and get lots of attention from the docents, guides, etc. Not today.

Alligators
Luci's a bit reluctant to stay on the Carousel!
Bryan found a seat she likes. Sit down, Luci!!
We find other Families with Children from China folks nearly everywhere we go. This little cutie next to Luci is from Virginia, visiting relatives in Birmingham. They are only about 2 weeks apart in age.
Denna, Brooke, Luci and JT. Sweet!
Luci was brave on this bridge. Bryan is a good encourager.

Luci and Brooke before the birds show. JT and Bryan got to ride a camel! John--they didn't have to go all the way to Jordan to do it! (wish I knew where that picture is!)
Brooke and Luci wondering what's in that "tunnel" over there.
JT wanted to show you all how great a climber he is!! JT, watch out!!
Oh. So it wasn't so daring after all! You're funny, JT!
When we finally got home, JT and Luci still had energy to play. We stayed outside for about an hour. Luci dug in the dirt (I helping you, Mommy.). I found some mint growing in my garden. Yea! Finally something that is supposed to come back, did. I have terrible luck with gardening.After all of the zoo, and all of the mud in the yard, this is how the day ended.