Friday, August 27, 2010

Eyeballs... really, eyeballs!

My wonderful father watched the kids for me yesterday morning so I could go to my Optometrist appointment to fill my contact (or eye-tact as my 8 year old calls them) prescription. I tend to stretch out their use for as long as I possibly can. I confessed this to my new eye doctor and he told me exactly, in gory detail, why it is a bad idea to wear disposable contacts for months longer than they are intended to be worn. I won't give you all the details, but if you are interested, here is a link: http://www.allaboutvision.com/contacts/fungal-eye-infections.htm.
After looking through the 2nd or 3rd machine at my eyes he made an interesting comment, "I've been doing this for years and have seen hundreds of eyes. It never ceases to amaze me how different and yet how similar each one is." Not knowing his beliefs I hesitated a moment before asking, "Proof of a Higher Power, huh?"
"Exactly!" He told me that in one of his classes there was a discussion about evolution. Evolution in a science class, you ask? Seriously, this was good. There are apparently only six types of eyes on earth. Six! Well, in his class, they were wondering about the fact that the Giant Squid's eye is the same type as the rhinoceros or hippopotamus. His classmates were, "Wow, isn't evolution something?" And he was more, "Hello! This just screams Creator!" I'm paraphrasing the quotes, by the way.
I just love how Creator God works. I love how He put an eye, just one, in a giant squid, and gave it the same kind of eye as a pachyderm. Why? So doctors-in-training can see Him in a science class? So an Optometrist can casually mention to his patient that perhaps there is more to creation than random acts of morphing? Isn't He amazing?

Sunday, August 22, 2010

NOT Back-To-School

Not Back to School Blog Hop


Beginning our school day with PRAYER!























Reading...
(2nd picture - Daniel is so excited about learning how to read! I love that he showed his big brothers the word he figured out.)











Recess



Science - After drawing the butterflies the kids set them free in their own backyard!




We took a day off and went to the lake. Just because!

Friday, August 20, 2010

Back to School

I love this time of year. I love shopping for Back To School things: New crayons that smell so yummy, folders with pictures of adorable animals, mechanical pencils, Trapper Keepers.... Whoa! I just dated myself there, didn't I?
This is our first year of starting home schooling from the beginning. My sisters recently took my niece and nephew to do some big-city school clothes shopping. Lots of money was spent. Yet another public school tradition I don't miss. Well, maybe I miss it a little. But not my spending my grown up money on boys' jeans that are going to rip out in the knee within a month anyway! What I miss is being young again and having my mom and dad buy all my new school clothes. One of my fondest childhood memories is lying in bed at night planning my wardrobe for the first few days of school. My sister's and my conversation would have been similar to this:
"What are you going to wear on the first day of school?" I would whisper.
"My red corduroy jumper with the yellow flowers on the front and my yellow socks." My sister would excitedly reply. "What about you?"
"My blue and green striped shirt with the jeans that have the flowers at the bottom. What are you gonna wear the second day?"
We had at least the first three days planned out every year.
Every once in awhile I feel a bit guilty that I am depriving my kids of memories like that. Not that I can imagine my boys being that excited about what they will wear on days 1, 2, and 3. Although they do like getting dressed up for church. I just sometimes wonder if they will feel they missed out.
Then I look at those memories and traditions they will get to enjoy instead. Things like taking two weeks off from school to drive to Texas in the fall. Reading lessons in front of the fire place or snuggled up under a blanket on the couch. Learning fractions by baking cookies.
Are we crazy for doing this? Probably. I know we are doing the right thing, though. We have already grown closer as a family. My boys are not always excited about doing school work, but they are still happy that their mommy is their teacher.
And now we're off to attend a local Home Educator Conference!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Cop's Wife

I love my husband. I LOVE my husband! There hasn't been a man, since Louis L'Amour created his last hero-cowboy, who "works for the brand" like my husband does. There hasn't been a man, since John Wayne, who speaks his mind (and is usually right), like my husband does. There hasn't been a man, since the Marx Brothers, who makes me laugh like my husband does. I LOVE my husband.
Lately he has been coming home from work late. There have been extenuating circumstances. Mostly having to do with his first two traits mentioned previously. I admire him. I respect him. I love him. Or did I already write that? However, at the moment, as with many moments around evening-ish, an hour or so past when he is due home, I am mad at him. Because I am the wife of a cop, it is an emotional thing to be mad at my husband when he is late coming home from work. I know he's fine. Okay, I know he is probably fine. But he's a cop. What if instead of his patrol car pulling into the driveway, a different patrol car pulls in and two grim looking officers walk up to my door? A girl with an overactive imagination on the best of days can get quite carried away between the time a cop-hubby is supposed to be home and the time he finally arrives. When he does come home I'm torn between wrapping my arms around his waist in complete happy relief that he's safe and wrapping my hands around his neck to throttle him!
Anyone been there? My mother was the wife of a coal-miner and she totally relates!

On an unrelated note...
My eight-year-old son just ran to the window hollering, "Daddy!" It wasn't daddy. It was the Schwan's Man. My husband and I have a running joke about "the ice-cream man" being the "other man." I thought it was hilarious that my son did that! So what did I do? I shared the running joke and the funny son-hollering-"daddy" story with the poor ice-cream man. And now I'm blogging about it. Have I no shame?