Our first lapbook

We finished our first lapbook today and had a blast doing it. I say "our" lapbook because neither one of has ever made one, and since R is only five, I did just as much work on it as she did. She has a never-ending list of things she wants to study, but she was able to settle on sea horses. We spent most of the week reading books and looking up cool facts about sea horses (did you know that the father carries the eggs and pushes the babies out when they're ready?!?) R's favorite part was coloring a bajillion sea horses. In the lapbook, I wrote the questions and she wrote the answers. She also did all the glueing, but for some reason insisted that I do the cutting. She's already talking about what we'll study next. You think she'll be this excited about calculus?

Table for five, please!

Praise God! We got the phone call today from our agency that we have final approval to adopt Ning, aka Noah! We have our travel meeting Monday and we hope to leave in about four weeks. We're off to sign paperwork this afternoon. Please pray for speedy travel approval.

As I type, the girls are in the background squealing with joy!

Lil' W's first sentence!

We were playing in the backyard tonight and feeding Dora the Explorer. Dora ate a few bites of lettuce and then headed back to her cool dugout under the slide. I asked her if she was really done eating, after all she had practically chased Dave down to get something to eat, but she ignored me and kept plodding along. Lil' W wanted to contribute something to the care of our family pet, so she ran over to Dora and said, "_ora, eat!" (You know she's not fond of initial consonants)

Now that, folks, is a sentence! Trust me, I earned a BA in English and just attended the state homeschool convention. I know a sentence when I hear one, and that one counts.

Patience is a virtue, or how to keep a waiting mom distracted

Well, it's day 102, but who's counting? I was hoping for a phone call today, but it didn't happen. Good thing too, because we were waaaay to busy to go sign paperwork ;-) We were making cake! The girls have been keeping me hoppin' this week as we try to entertain ourselves inside. It's blazing hot outside, so we decided to increase our carbon footprint and turn on the oven ;-) (I promise that's the last smiley face for today).





So, little R wanted to make a "summer cake" and she
was all jazzed about decorating it. She made some stencil art and taped them on toothpicks. It was all her idea and I think it rocks. We even made a special trip to buy jelly beans. Did I mention that I'm trying to stay busy?

A refreshing conversation

The girls and I escaped to the air conditioning of the mall today -- you can only stay inside for so long playing board games and reading. As we pulled into the parking space, I realized that I was right next to a car driven by a U.S. veteran with obviously different ideas than mine. The car had at least 25 very conservative bumper stickers. Some of the usual ones -- Republican candidate for fill-in-the-blank, and pro-gun rights -- but some were ones I had never seen before. Some sounded a bit angry, some with foul language, and some were just downright mean. Needless to say, I was nervous parking the mommy-mobile with the Obama and "Books not bombs" stickers next to it. So nervous, in fact, that I memorized his plate number should I return and find my tires slashed.

As we walked toward the entrance, a man was coming toward us with a VietNam vets shirt and cap, with accompanying hat pins. I decided to risk it and I told him that I thought I might be parked next to him. He knew exactly what I was talking about. I told him how much I appreciated the freedom I had to even have bumper stickers and was glad that he exercised his right to cover his car with whatever he wanted. Right from the get-go I let him know that I was somewhat more politically liberal than he is, and he let me know where he stood especially when it comes to the candidates for president. But we had the nicest conversation and stood there in 105-degree heat for about 10 minutes! We even shook hands and introduced ourselves. We actually ended up discovering several things (more important than politics) we had in common.

In a climate where many things are expressed in terms of "us vs. them," I was giddy that I could have a conversation with a total stranger about things that matter to us and about which we totally disagree, and still shake hands and say "pleasure to meet you." For a few brief moments, we saw beyond the bumper stickers and were just fellow human beings. Imagine that.