Cow Appreciation Day

We love, love, love Chick-fil-A! Not only is the food excellent, but you have got to appreciate the speedy and polite service. Have you ever read S.Truett Cathy's books about how he started Chick-fil-A and turned it into an amazingly successful franchise? Tex just finished reading How Did You Do It, Truett? and says he really learned a lot from it about how Mr. Cathy was able to build his successful business with a combination of hard work, faith, and help from many people. He's going to read Eat More Ckikin: Inspire More People next, about how Mr. Cathy's commitment to his Christian principles has helped him achieve both personal and spiritual prosperity. I particularly like his book It's Better to Build Boys Than to Mend Men. It's a wonderful collection of stories from Mr. Cathy's experiences as a father, foster parent, and grandfather that show why it is so important to be a positive influence and example in the lives of all children, especially boys.

Let's get mooooo-vin', Mommy!!

On our way to Chick-fil-A...Yes, that is a Dalmatian costume that Firefly is wearing,

but it has cow ears and a cow tail. Sometimes you have to make do with what you have...

She moo-ed just like a cow when we placed our order!

In any case, I am a fan of Chick-fil-A all through the year, but especially at that time of year when Cow Appreciation Day rolls around. That's when we head over to our local store in cow costumes and snag one complete FREE MEAL per person...anything off the menu...just for dressing from head to hooves as a cow! (You can score a free sandwich for simply donning a sign or ears or any other part of a cow costume). It's amazing. This year I decked out the kids, except for poor Tex, who was feeling under the weather, and they each got a six-piece kids' meal for FREE! and I got my usual upsized Number One (the original sandwich), no pickle. (Boring, I know, but it is my favorite).

They rang the cowbell when we walked through the door and said, "Here comes a whole herd of cows!"

And yes, I am in all black, no spots. I told them that I was an Angus.

The kids powered through their delicious meals (and nutritious, since we were able to swap sodas and waffle fries for milk and fresh fruit), then spent an hour and a half burning off their energy by playing with some sweet children in the clean, new playland at our nearly new local Chick-fil-A. Boy, were they all loud. But they had a blast, especially since the oppressive heat, and frequent rain, had been keeping them from playing outside at home the way they usually would have. Even Boo held his own, trying to go up the slide and chasing others when he was tagged as "IT" in a game of tag. I was pleased at how all the children were such good sports and played so well with the littlest ones. Something good about Chick-fil-A seems to rub off on everyone's kids whenever they are there.

Here is the girl cow that Boo was so fond of...isn't she sweet?

The funniest thing of all was Boo, who was so friendly to everyone...it was positively adorable. He ran around grinning in his little cow costume, hugging anyone he came across who looked open to it (with me nearby, of course), especially the employee who was wearing the girl cow costume. He kept looking for her every time he took a break from playing, and would run up and give her a big cow hug around the knees. She learned to look for him if she came near our table, and thoughtfully brought all the kids balloons before we left.

They are lovin' that Ice Dream...now minus spots, ears, and tails.

As a final treat, before we left, the kids decided that they'd rather have ice cream than the kids' meal toy (which was a book, but we already had copies of those titles). I love how Chick-fil-A always has quality kids' meal prizes like audio stories or books, instead of useless plastic movie junk, and how they let you trade the toy for ice cream, if you already have one. So each of the kids got an Ice Dream cone which they devoured with gusto and pure enjoyment. I bought a cup of Ice Dream drenched in chocolate syrup for myself (my ONE purchase of the day!) which I also devoured with gusto. YUM! This is definitely going to continue to be an annual outing for us.

If you haven't heard Tim Hawkins sing his Chick-fil-A song, you need to check it out. It's a hoot.

Blessings,

 

Sermon Sunday---Proverbs

I have been listening to the series on Proverbs  by Mars Hill Church pastor, Mark Driscoll, for the last few weeks. I have been challenged, touched, and even taken aback a few times by the style of this preacher (he is not afraid to say outrageous things and speak his mind from time to time), yet I always find that he is speaking Bible truths in an honest, forthright way that is sometimes lacking in today's churches. 

Book Love

Here is a collection of book quotes I amassed while taking my Motivating Students to Read graduate class for recertification this summer. I collected the quotes simply for my pleasure (though I did use a few strategically in an essay or two), but figured I should share them with you so you can enjoy them, too. I hope you do!

The Reader by Fragonard

Book love. It will make your hours pleasant to you as long as you live.

Anthony Trollope

I cannot live without books!

Thomas Jefferson

A book is a gift you can open again and again.

Garrison Keillor

We shouldn't teach great books; we should teach a love of reading.

B. F. Skinner

I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.

Anna Quindlen

Secure Daughters, Confident Sons

I was excited to receive a copy of Secure Daughters, Confident Sons by Glenn T. Stanton, and have spent the last month enjoying it thoroughly. The subtitle of the book is: How Parents Guide Their Children into Authentic Masculinity and Femininity. This apt subtitle gives you a clear picture of what the book is about: raising boys who are boys  and girls who are girls.

If you are a parent who has ever had concerns that today's society is headed for androgyny, then this book is definitely for you. If you have ever wondered how to temper the desire to teach compassion to your boys and to comfort them when they are hurt, without going too far and over-feminizing them, then this book is for you. If you have tried to figure out how to encourage your girls to be confident achievers who believe in themselves, while maintaining their femininity, then this book is for you. If you have thought that something in our world needs to change to get things back into God's order, yet you don't want your girls to be trampled on or your boys to become brash, chauvinistic bullies, then this book is for you.

Happy Birthday, Boo, Who is Two!

Boo was two on Memorial Day and it was a memorable day for all of us. We went to a local beach on the river, and had a blast. We spent a leisurely afternoon having a picnic and eating cake, blowing bubbles and building sand castles, splashing in the water and opening presents...and most of all appreciating our family and having fun.

 Tex and Bubba showed up bearing smiles...and gifts!

Boo hopes he is as cool as these two when he grows up. They are good examples for him.

We are proud of both of them.

 Cousin Brother Bear and Baby (not-so-much-a-baby-anymore...boo hoo) Boo had fun playing together.



My brother, still part kid himself, entertained the younger crowd by blowing bubbles for them to chase and pop.

What a good daddy (and uncle) he is.

 Someone was excited to get a My Little Leaptop from Nanny and Poppy. Maybe he will take apart his own laptop now, instead of mine (I am currently missing three keys on my keyboard, thanks to Boo's curiosity). Firefly is obviously interested, too. But she is being polite and waiting for Boo to look at his present first. Good girl!!

Other thoughtful gifts included: a soft handmade blanket from his aunt and uncle, a remote control car from Bubba, a latch & lock puzzle, two other Melissa and Doug chunky puzzles, a harmonica & a kazoo, and an adorable farm board book from Mommy and Daddy (and the siblings), and a few Baby Signing Time videos (we love Signing Time) from Great-Grandma. Yay! Thank you, everyone!

Daddy, Firefly, and Cowboy playing games.

My sister-in-law (Mama Bear) having a heart-to-heart with Brother Bear.

  

This puzzle isn't really a puzzle. It is a latch board with all kinds of latches and locks, from Melissa and Doug. My favorite natural health store went out of business (so sad), but that meant great bargains on stuff I'd normally not afford. Boo LOVES opening and closing all the doors and locks.

Isn't Little Bear adorable?

Daddy demonstrates the harmonica while Cowboy waits for a turn, and Boo, as well as those others you can't see behind me watch excitedly...I wanna try!! They all wanted to blow on the harmonica and kazoo the rest of the time. What was I thinking? All I can say is that it was on sale.

This is where Poppy snuck in that first sip of Coca-Cola. Naughty Poppy.

Baby Bear is wondering when it is his turn.

I think Tex is laughing at Angry Birds. Thank you so much, brother, for introducing him to that game.

Boo can't stop climbing everything in sight, even at the beach.

More bubble action. It never gets old.

The birthday boy wasn't so sure about the water at first.

The others, however, were not shy about it at all. Cowboy jumped right in and tried out his nifty water wings and cool tube. Gotta love the Dollar Tree!

Brother Bear is contemplating whether he'd rather dig in the sand or swim.

Ladybug does not wait one minute to dive in and refuses to get out until the last possible moment. She is part mermaid. I knew this already because she likes to take her bath last so she can stay in extra long until she has gone way past prune-y to positively mummified.

Mommy finally convinces Boo that the water isn't too scary by spending time sitting in the shallows with him playing (and examining numerous shells and rocks), then slowly working out into the water floating on a tube. Once Boo got out on the water, he did not want to quit. He liked spinning around slowly and riding on the waves gently.

Digging is fun, too, says Brother Bear.

Chatting and watching the little ones play keeps us all young,

with a smile on our lips and joy in our hearts.

Something about this sand is fascinating to Boo...isn't it amazing when everything is so new?

He's so insatiably curious. I think he will be an inventor, or a mechanic, or an engineer, or a researcher who will find a cure for cancer. The possiblities are endless.

Happy birthday, precious one...irresistible, fun-loving, mini-mayhem, octopus arms, tornado boy, kiss monster, sweetie pie Boo Bear. We love you!!

The little guys had a hard time leaving behind their sand castle to succumb to the incoming tide, but we reminded them that there is always more sand, and there are many more days of playing on the beach to come.

We had a wonderful time and can't wait to do it again...

I hope you are having a blessed summer, filled with love and laughter.

Blessings,

Oh wait, we can't stop without a birthday cake picture. I hope you like it!

Boo's 2nd birthday. Cake. With blue icing. Everywhere. Yum!

And thank you to all who served, and continue to serve, including Hubby. We appreciate your sacrifice. Especially to those paid the ultimate price for our freedom. God bless you and your families.

GET.be.STAY.organized

GET.be.STAY.organized

I won't claim to plan to do every one of the useful and, uh, well, organized suggestions listed here, but having come across this link AGAIN (I forgot I "liked" their FB page a while back and happened upon it once more today), I am thinking there is a reason I saw it now, my real first day off since finishing my classes. I guess it is time to get hopping and start all that cleaning I just longed to do when I was in the throes of sprinting through six weeks of grad classes.

Why is it now that I have the available time open ahead, cleaning is just not quite as appealing as it looked then?

Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life

I just read the book Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life by Jenna Woginrich. It is the true story of a city-working, house-renting, homesteading wanting young woman and it is utterly charming, and is full of fun anecdotes and useful advice.

The book covers many topics: making your own clothing, training dogs to pull, buying used instead of new, baking bread, establishing a beehive,  raising chickens and  angora rabbits, growing your own food, and playing mountain music. I've had an enjoyable evening and quite a few laughs out of this one. I think I am going to try out her pattern for making "green" grocery bags out of old tee-shirts

Read for the Heart

Read any good books lately? I have. Quite a few, in fact. It all started when I signed up for a graduate class called Motivating Students to Read (for the purposes of maintaining my certification as a teacher in my home state). The two texts for the course, The Book Whisperer and Readicide were actually very enlightening. I say "actually" because I am a homeschooler and the course is, of course, geared towards the public school teacher so I wan't expecting much I could apply to our situation. Instead, to my astonishment, I discovered that there are members of the public school community now who are decrying the common tendency to "teach to the test"

Talking About Books With Children

Yes, I should be working on my graduate classes. They are due (to be postmarked) by Tuesday. Boo's second birthday is Monday, so I'd like to be finished before then, but still, as I proofread these conversations with my kids (that were required for my Motivating Readers class), I couldn't help but smile and want to share them. I wondered, have you talked with your kids about books lately? I don't mean have you had them narrate back the plot to you, or have you asked them to tell you what the deeper meaning was, or to identify the main character, but have you talked with them about how they FEEL about books?

Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan Monday

It's a busy week for Mom, as she races to the finish line, trying to complete the Herculean task of doing two graduate (online) courses in just six weeks. A total of twenty-eight lessons finished (with five to seven tasks to do for each) and six quizzes taken. Now just two final papers, three to five pages long each (and about ten questions to answer in each one). Aaaah. Can she do it? Tune in next week and see.