Prospectors

All of my study materials are on my computer.  So when I wake up, usually hours before the sun, I study in the dark.  Lately, I've been interrupted by strange lights, like the flashlights of a search party.  In fact, I have recently discovered that these are the lights of a search party--a party of 3 in search of early morning literature, drinks of water, and other "fings."  You see, each of our daughters was given a headlamp.  Ever since they have roamed the late evening and early morning darkness like little prospectors in search of treasure:

 

Quick Update

These have been busy times!

With everyone (except Ivy, you will recall) in school, we are in yet another phase of adaptation.

I've been spending a lot of time on the Criswell campus lately.  Much of that time is dedicated to study in the historic Wallace Library (which seems very necessary now that I will have to be able to write all 110 verses of the Sermon on the Mount from memory by October 14).  The building is 107 years old, and was the original Gaston Avenue Baptist Church facility.  The library seems to have everything one might need: periodicals, extensive reference materials in English, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, German, French, etc., historical documents on display dating from the sixteenth century, and even archeological curiosities that are thousands of years old.  For all of you mychophiles, don't feel like you will be left out.  There seems to be a healthy mycelial layer permeating the ground between the library and the main building…yes, the library even has large, edible, polypore mushrooms ;-)

 

'A Special Blessing'

This particular day started out very normal, and ended with a special blessing~

Ivy Joy and I picked up Thea & Petra from school yesterday afternoon. It was daddy's first day of classes and by 3:30 we were ready to 'get out' of the house. There are only so many 'Little Einsteins' to be seen, puzzles to do, snacks to be had and books to read! 

It was a Mama & Ivy day, and we had fun!  ;)

After picking up the other girlies, we decided to go thrifting (one of favorite things to do) I had a special coupon that day, so away we went.

Upon entering the store, Thea gravitated to the porcelain dolls with 'oooh's' and 'aaah's' & 'Mama~look!' the other two followed suit and within 3 seconds they had each chosen one that they were hoping I'd agree to buying. As always, I issued and automatic 'no' and 'girls, please follow mama.' Which they did without complaint.  Some time later, I checked out with a couple things and the nice gentleman behind the counter says to me, 'A woman over heard your girls' admiration and requests' for a doll and was so impressed with there manners and prompt obedience that she purchased three dolls~ 

each of your girls may chose one' 

I stood speechless. Surely this nice woman must be mistaken! she must have missed the 'accident' in the back room as Thea continued to touch other breakable things (and was successful at doing just that) the multiple cat fights I had to break up between Ivy & Petra, and the countless 'scary-mom-faces' I had to give in order to keep them in line 

(or should I say attempt to)

'Seriously?' I asked. And within a moments noticed I felt the Lord touch me with His soft voice: 'See Ami, blessings always follow obedience'  What an amazing example of His's love & a tremendous opportunity to share with my girls the many lessons of this divine appointment!

It was a good day of lessons-learned (especially for mama!)  & Least to say, we had a super-surprise story to tell Dad when he came home from school!

(Thea insisted the dolls have their own photo shoot as well)  :)

Blessings

~Ami out.

Words! -or- Thea's Library Book

Our oldest daughter smuggled Ami's computer into her room the other night when she was supposed to be sleeping.  We later discovered the following video buried in its data banks.  It provides an insightful look into her innocent and childish perceptions:

"Words!"

The Host Club

For those of you who don't know them, my brothers (Aaron and Adam) have put together an impressive band called The Host Club.  They recently made it as a top 5 local band with 93.3 FM in Denver, and as a result will be playing at 93.3's The Big Gig 2011!

If you haven't heard them, give them a listen at their Facebook page.  If you like their music head on over to iTunes and pick up their E.P.

They have the talent to take it all the way, so get to know them while you still can ;-)

First Day of School

This Wednesday was Petra's first day as a kindergartener, and Thea's first day as a first grader.  The morning was nothing short of an adventure, and we took pictures to memorialize the occasion.

Thea and Petra excited about school and their new uniforms.

Petra--always prepared--made sure she had a backpack that could double as a tent…should the need arise.

Thea at her desk and ready to learn.

They gave Petra the high hook.

Petra is excited to begin!

And here is something different; Thea drew a picture to explain her first day of school:

This is obviously very informative.  As we can see, Thea spent some of her time dreaming of peace and love.  Apparently there was a boy behind her who wore glasses and brought a failed bonsai to decorate his desk.  And finally there is an unfortunate girl who got stuck with the class's only triangular desk.  She appears to be drinking coffee, and--from what I can tell--is a fan of Johnny Appleseed's headwear.  "Scool" is cool!

 

Oh…and Ivy's not in school yet:

 

 

Computers, School, and Thea

I apologize to all of you for the silence which, by now, has spanned an internet eternity [12 days x internet = eternity]. Part of this can be explained by massive computer problems we've been having that have now been remedied; another part can be explained by the quickly approaching school year.

Now, regarding the latter I have made some interesting observations. As the excitement and trepidation of a new school year in a new place draws toward its inevitable apex, the girls find increasingly strange and creative ways to blow off steam.

Take, for instance, Exhibit A (Thea's rediscovery of Photobooth):

Heatmap (with reaction)

Negative (with reaction)

Close encounter

???

Brainfreeze

The [eyes] have it!

Thea has also taken a video of herself telling the story of Hercules with the help of a recently acquired library book.  But I'll save that for another post...

Nature, or "Are You My Mother?" Update

pdate on the baby bird:

I ended yesterday's "Are You My Mother?" post with "We'll see how things turn out…"  Unfortunately, for the bird family they have not turned out well.

This morning I took a look into the nest and discovered that it was empty.  How strange…  So Ami and I started searching through some bags of potting soil that sat beneath the hanging basket to see if any of the baby birds fell out.  Nothing.  So we moved our patio table, and then the bags of soil, and then Ami jumped back in terror…  Guess what we found!

Yes, a snake with a conspicuous lump in the middle of its sinuous body.  Thea put the pieces together right away, and began mourning ceremonially for the baby bird (loud mourning that lasted for about 90 minutes).  And her mourning sobs were interspersed with calls for eye-for-eye justice, "Kill the snake!  He ate the baby bird!"  Petra looked at the snake with distance and indifference (she had a kindergarten entrance test to take in about half an hour).  And Ivy, perhaps to directly contradict Thea, perhaps to express her love for her snake-fascinated father, or perhaps from genuine herpetological interest said, "I lub [love] snakes."

Are You My Mother?

few days after we settled in here, we hung one of our plants from the ceiling of our patio.  It looked like a nice spot, tucked away in the far corner, protected from the elements.  Apparently a little female sparrow thought so too.  It wasn't long before we noticed little pieces of twig, dried grass, and hair sailing past our glass patio door.  After digging out a small hole in the soil, she filled it with all of the warm, dry things she could carry, and wreathed the entrance to form a comfortable looking nest.

This didn't disturb us much, so we continued taking our coffee and tea on the patio in the early morning--the only time of day that the climate here is comfortable enough for such an activity.  But now our morning routine was disturbed by little, brown, feathery blurs of speed and noise.  The nesting bird had suddenly grown very territorial--which we forgave her for since she doesn't have the same capitalistic affections that we do, nor any knowledge of the lease contract we signed with the property's management.

A quick look into the nest enlightened us as to her change in behavior (sorry for the blurry picture, our only lens has trouble focussing on things so small):

She had laid a triplet of cream and brown speckled eggs.  So we watered the plant sparingly for the next week or so and left her alone.  But all was not smooth sailing for the mother bird.

The plant fell from its hook, and I found it upside down one afternoon next to a loud and hysterical little sparrow.  So I picked up what remained of the plant, replaced some of the soil, and took a look at the nest.  Remarkably, all of the eggs were still there, intact.  So I retied the basket to the hook, and left it alone.

A few weeks later and there were new, faint noises coming from our hanging basket:

The eggs must have survived the fall as they are now hatched.  That little guy on the edge seems to be as determined to get himself killed as his mother was while he was still in the egg (some of the nest material is made of the hanging basket's twine): tonight he fell out of the basket.  But we've replaced him to his nest and he seems well, and has received insect pâté from his mother since.

We'll see how things turn out...

NEW: Chrysalis Designs Jewelry Page

Did you notice this at the top of the page?

Ami now has a page dedicated to showcasing her latest jewelry creations.  Click on the "Chrysalis Designs Jewelry" tab at the top of this blog to check it out.