1 Man and 4 Kids Home for the Weekend!

I know it's been a while since I posted but I figured this warranted a post!  So random updates in terms of my previous posts:

- Only running shorter distances of up to 3 miles in Vibram FiveFingers, left foot feels slightly strained at longer distances, want to strengthen but not injure feet!

- Recently scored a cheap pair of Salomon Sense Mantra's on eBay in excellent condition, I might have to put a separate review of those up, so far they are awesome!

- Am hoping to put a post up about anger and how big of a problem it is for both men and women and especially as parents and how destructive, misdirected and unrighteous anger can be to our kids!  Lord wiling, one day that will be posted!

- Lastly we come to the subject of the post, I'm at home with Joshua, Hannah, Abby and Jeremiah for the weekend!  Yup, that's right, just Jesus and I with the 4 kids!  The Lord provided for Becca to visit her family in Montana for our sister's graduation, so she gets a bit of a much needed break for 4 days and I get some quality time at home! :)  

I've often thought about how dad's are viewed as babysitters or simply childcare and quite frankly that really angers me (righteously, of course).  It's as if we men are completely non-family minded and absolute hacks at raising a family.  Quite frankly, these children are made up of just as much of a father as they are of a mother, 1/2 chromosomes from both parents.   Yes either mothers or fathers may play more of a primary role in the day to day care-taking and "in the trenches" parenting, depending on who's working in/out of the home but that's a whole other sermon on male/female roles that I will not get into because I simply believe all those impassioned views aren't always, if ever truly Biblical.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand, here's a new Testament verse that describes the role a father has:

"Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." - Ephesians 6:4 (NIV)

Or in the ESV:

"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."

And the Amplified Bible does a great job at expositing a little more:

Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to resentment], but rear them [tenderly] in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord.

The whole rearing, training, discipline, counsel and admonition of the Lord thing doesn't sound like merely childcare does it?

This also reminds me of something else more old school from the book of Deuteronomy (Also chapter 6 incidentally).  Pay special attention to Verse 7:

Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord [the only Lord].

5 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being and with all your might.

6 And these words which I am commanding you this day shall be [first] in your [own] minds and hearts; [then]

7 You shall whet and sharpen them so as to make them penetrate, and teach and impress them diligently upon the [minds and] hearts of your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.

8 And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets (forehead bands) between your eyes.

9 And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

10 And when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you, with great and goodly cities which you did not build,

11 And houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and cisterns hewn out which you did not hew, and vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and when you eat and are full,

12 Then beware lest you forget the Lord, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Sound familiar?  That's not only and example of how the Bible hangs together but also a good way to correlate parenting and also what's implicit in the Deuteronomy passage is the cultural model that father's played in the very patriarchal Hebrew society.

So anyway, I'm sure most dad's appreciate the concern and the shocked reactions that say with or without words, "Are you sure you can handle them!!??!?!  All by yourself?!?!?!"  

But Jesus is with me, even our kids know that and He strengthens us for whatever He wants us to do, and if that's fathering, then that's fathering whether mom is or isn't around.

Or the Apostle Paul said it much better and thought of it long before I did in Philippians 4:13:

13 I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who[a]infuses inner strength into me; I am [b]self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].

PS. Here's a link to an article on the Hermeneutics Blog that's part of Christianity Today that initially got me thinking about this:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2012/february/im-dad-babysitter-and-other-cultural-myths.html

Friday Funnies: Randomness

I'll admit that this post is a little very random.  The events described here didn't even happen recently.  But as I was preparing dinner I found myself contemplating the various ways others have identified me in the past and figured it could be funny enough for a post.

The beginning of the train of thought was thinking of my new nephews names.  Both are very unique.  Very strong.  I like them (not that it matters what I think of their names).  Then I thought of our kids' names.  Joshua.  Hannah.  Abigail.  Jeremiah.  Very common.  Very Biblical.  Very Hebrew.  I like them.  Then I thought of my own name.  Rebecca.  Also common.  Also Biblical.  Also Hebrew (except for the spelling).  Also liked by me ("Thanks, Mom and Dad!").  And all of this reminded me of an encounter I had a few years ago as I was walking down the streets of Hartsdale, NY with our kiddos (then only numbering two).

Another stay-at-home mom, whom I had met previously, crossed my path.  She was just about to deliver her second child - a boy.  Not knowing more about me and the kids than our names, the building where we lived, and our usual time to walk up and down the street, my neighbor asked me this question, "Do you have a recommendation for someone to perform a Bris?"

I stood there, searching my internal dictionary and vainly trying to make connections in order not to sound as ignorant as I was.  "A bris?" I thought to myself.  "What is a bris?"  Then I made a couple of connections based on the very little information I knew of my neighbor.  I knew her name and her daughter's name, I knew which building she lived in, and I knew what time of day she walked up and down the street.  Did I know anything else about this person?

Think.  Think.  Think.

*Ding!*  I remembered that she mentioned once that she was Jewish.  This "bris" must be some kind of ceremony.  And then I put it all together.  Baby boy due very soon.  Mother looking for a recommendation of who and where to hold a bris.  Covenant between Abraham (you know, Father Abraham with the many sons?) and God to circumcise all males on the eighth day after their birth.  Yes.  I knew what a bris was.  But why was she asking me???

Some more thinking and it hit me.  She thought we were Jewish.  After all, my first name is Hebrew.  Both of our kids' first names are Hebrew.  We lived in an area where it was common to be nominally Jewish (which, by the way, is excellent if you're into bakeries and things).  My neighbor did not know our last name.  She had never met my husband.  Of course, she had no idea that we're about as far from being Jewish as, well, Gentiles.  Pork is like a staple in Asian cuisine, is it not?  But no one ever mistakes our kids for being half Chinese anyway...even though I was thought to be part Asian by a college friend.  Anyway...back to the conversation.

So, after a slight pause, I replied, "No.  I'm sorry.  We didn't have one for Joshua."

To which she replied, having perhaps recognized her error, "Oh...okay."

I didn't think it was worth mentioning that my Chinese-Malaysian-Australian-transplanted-to-the-U.S. husband would probably be Jewish if he could.  (We are grafted in, aren't we?)  Nor did I share with her that my Grandpa Tino, being the good Italian-American grandfather that he was, sometimes called me "Rivkah" for the sheer pleasure of getting me riled up.  (As a kid I didn't know that he was calling me by the true Hebrew form of my name.)  Perhaps those things would only be confusing...and a bit unnecessary for such an encounter.

And so, having established ignorance on both our parts, we each continued on our way in true New York fashion - pretending like the whole thing never happened.  Kind of like how my neighbors who were within 15 feet of my about-to-give-birth-in-less-than-an-hour self casually walked by as if they didn't notice an incredibly pregnant woman, leaning on a rail, groaning through contractions.  "Don't worry, neighbors.  I'm not really about to give birth.  At least I hope it doesn't happen here.  Really, there's no need to stop.  I'm not really alone.  My husband and 15-month-old son are just walking up the steep hill to get our car so that we can go to the hospital where childbirth won't scare people away (except for that poor male nursing student who has no idea that he's about to witness a natural childbirth in less than an hour).  Yes, just keep walking.  It's making me laugh, actually, and that's saying something for someone who is in transition."  I jest.  That morning I was truly thankful for the skill people in our old neighborhood had for pretending like they didn't see or hear you.  I really did want to be left alone.  How awkward would a conversation about a bris have been at that point???  ;)

 Here we are, looking Jewish as only a half-Italian mom and two half-Chinese kids can look. Circa 2009. This would have been around the time of the bris conversation and several months after I learned the best way to avoid an unwanted conversation with neighbors - just look really pregnant and do your best to convince them that you are in very active labor.  They'll probably leave you alone.

Our First Year of Homeschooling

Last week the kids finished up the last of their assignments of the school year.  I can't believe we made it through a full year of homeschooling...alive!  :)

This year has been successful in many ways.  We have all learned and grown a lot, myself included.  The kids did well academically.  At the start of the year the goal was to teach Joshua to read, to work on his handwriting, and to finish his math book.  By the end we accomplished more than that.  Both Joshua (5 years old) and Hannah (4 years old) are now reading and spelling well, both of their handwriting has improved significantly, and they both completed the math curriculum.

In addition, we have worked through a few different schedules and found a basic routine that works well for everyone.  The kids have become independent in accomplishing their morning chores and the older two are able to begin piano practice and school work on their own.  I check in with them through the morning, work one on one with each to go through new concepts and to review the work they have completed, and give each their spelling list.

I have learned some of the strengths and weaknesses for each child and am also learning ways to motivate each of them.  We have had our share of meltdowns and showdowns, but in the end we are learning how to work with each other and how to be disciplined in our school time.

Claude and I wanted to celebrate the kids' first official year of homeschool, so last weekend we took an afternoon to have a little party.

 It consisted of pizza and party hats,

a spelling bee,

view a video clip here

  certificates and new markers,

 

and a trip to Sonic for some ice cream.

 

Since we're schooling year round with regular breaks throughout, we'll be starting back up in July.  We have a much bigger academic load than we did this year.  Joshua will be starting first grade which means extra subjects.  In addition to math, handwriting, and spelling he will have grammar, writing, history/geography, science, and Greek (more on that later).  Hannah will be starting kindergarten although she is working at a first grade level.  She will continue with math, handwriting, and spelling and will also add history/geography, science, and Greek.  Abby will be working through a series of Toddler Bible Lessons with me along with practicing some math, writing, and reading readiness skills.  And Jeremiah will be tagging along...hopefully keeping out of trouble!  ;)

Because we are adding several additional subjects, I am taking our school break to practice building in a few key elements to our daily routine.  We are getting back into violin practice after struggling to find a good time of day to do it.  We are also tacking on an extra school session after lunch when we will work on history/geography and science.  In order to accommodate these additions, we are continuing violin and piano practice through our break and have added a read aloud time during what will be our afternoon school session.  It's only the first week, but so far it's going well and seems doable.

Before I sign off, here are some insights from the kids on their first year of homeschooling:

The best thing about homeschooling this year was...

Joshua: I think it was Math.

Hannah: Ummmm.....handwriting!

Abigail: Preschool!

The worst thing about homeschooling this year was...

Joshua: The worst thing of mine was...SPELLING!

Hannah: The worst thing of mine was doing math.

Abigail: Uhhh..playing???

And there you have it, folks!  One year down.  I have no idea how many more to go...

Pool Time

The kids finished up their school work this past week, and after a celebration (more on that later) we have officially started summer.  And what better way to enjoy summer than to set up the kiddie pools and have some fun in the water?

Everyone was melting down today after three days of being out of the house from morning till night, so Claude and I had a goal to keep everyone busy and also to wear them out enough for an easy bed time.

So, we did this in the morning:

And this in the afternoon:

And here was the end result (for one of the kids, at least):

Ahhh, sweet success!

Now for the other three...

Friday Funnies: Jeremiah, Mighty Man or Puppet?

A dinnertime conversation.

Joshua:  I know all of David's mighty men, but my son has more mighty men than David anyway.  My son has 20-hundred-5-thousand-1-hundred-20-thousand mighty men.

Claude:  Well, that's nice, but have you read about David's mighty men?

Joshua:  No, I'll never read about that.  You can just take it out of my Bible.

[Ummmm....very concerned parents here!!!]

Claude, staying calm:  Well, I think you should read it.  I'm pretty sure you would really like it.

Joshua, not wanting to admit that his parents could choose reading material that might satiate his appetite for excitement:  I'll never like it.  Anyway...I know there were three might men.  One of them was Jeremiah.

Me:  No, Jeremiah was a prophet.

Joshua, getting back to his dinner...or at least trying to so that he doesn't show how much his interest is piqued:  Well, that's okay.

[Momentary silence...okay, so it's NEVER silent around here but it got as quiet as it ever will.  Think baby jabbering, 4-year-old rambling about loose teeth, 2-year-old humming random songs, and 5-year-old grunting while he tries to cover up his intense curiosity about David's mighty men...now you've got the idea of what I call "silence".]

Abby, out of the blue:  Yeah.  Jeremiah is a puppet.

Jeremiah: Mighty Man or Puppet?  He's cute either way!  :)

Snapshots: Self-Portraits

Self-portraits except for one...Jeremiah can't really hold a camera yet.  :)

 

 

Friday Funnies: Abigail

Meet Abigail.  Most often we call her Abby but sometimes we call her Abs or Absters.  I'm not sure if she likes it...  :/

Abigail is 2 1/2 years old and has a way of making us laugh.  She likes to push the boundaries, like most 2-year-olds, and she loves princesses and guns, in that order.

A few weeks ago Abby came out of her room wearing a yellow tutu and a pair of pink sparkly shoes.  "I'm a princess," she announced.  And then she proceeded to perch herself on the back of the couch, whip out her Duplo gun from her waistband, and start shooting...with sound effects.  "Pachoo!  Pachoo!  I'm a princess, Mommy!"  While this gun-shooting was solely influenced by her older brother (who is all about weapons and warfare) I found assurance knowing that Abby will not be eating a poisoned apple or pricking her finger on a spinning wheel any time soon.

Abby is also at the stage in life when learning new things is an hourly endeavor.  Recently she has been picking up some new sayings.  She likes to walk around the house exclaiming, "I just can't imagine [fill in the blank]!"  And, "What in the world!"

Just the other day, while helping me wash the dishes, Abby said, "Mommy, I just can't imagine!  These bubbles are amazing!"  Maybe I should view dish washing with the same wonder and amazement.

While she is now in the height her 2's, Abigail is eagerly preparing for her birthday this fall.  She has requested candy, cupcakes, flip-flops, and a Roman Soldier cake.  She's the third child...her interests are not always her own.  ;)