Category Archives: Management

About doing and coordinating

by

Pre-School begins

Couldn’t wait to share these. This many pix is an experiment.

Let me know if these are too much (Teena) and clutter up your modem– I’ll still do pix if you want, but maybe not so many in one post?

I didn’t think to get out the camera until the second activity, but you can see what we’ve got started.

pleased-look.jpg

This is Natasha’s sweetly pleased with herself look. (I think she got it from my “I’m pleased but don’t know what to say” look)

I set the kids’ table inside the baby-pen to keep all the pre-school stuff from the baby (they started with playing with beans), and the mess contained (they have to clean up each project before getting a new one).

chair-climbing.jpgElisha was *really* not this pleased to be locked out.

Though he did show a remarkable (and basically new) interest in sitting still and listening to stories. We got all the way through Going on a Bear Hunt for the first time. It was like he recognized his regular source of entertainment (Melody) was unavailible, and “Well, I guess this is entertainment too.” The cutest part was when he would repeat “Uh-oh!” at that part of the story.

So this is good for Elisha too. I’m a little nervous that it might create a (new) “mom entertains me” mentality, but we’ll wait and see.

They played with dried beans first– scooping, spooning and pouring with different-sized containers and spoons– then got the lovely practice of detail-work getting all the loose beans re-collected. Natasha practiced with her little broom.

After that I brought out the big beads that have been out-of-reach for a while and suggested they match beads by color.

beads.jpg

Then we did playdough with some letter-cutters I got from Dad’s school’s stuff-dump last night. One advantage of this over magnetic letters is that you don’t run out of the letters you need– you can just make more 🙂 .

spelling-rat.jpg

This was also the first word the girls got the sound-it-out figured out on. The blending of sounds has been a concept just beyond them every time we tried before. They both “got it” at the same time, which was sweet, since Melody’s feeling (being) increasingly left behind in some things.

And then here they all are in rubber boots outside– probably no one is in boots that actually fit, but the novelty-factor beat out any discomfort. (Natasha requested they be brought out of the garage to wear in the wet grass.)

booted-crew.jpg

booted-boy.jpg

So there you go. First day. Not even done yet.

Not sure how far or long this will go– but (especially!) getting a specific space figured out has made it more likely to carry on.

by

Home Again…

Was gone much of the last week for our last (immediate) family wedding.

Random “over-heards” from the weekend.

A tee-shirt on the groom:

No, I don’t have a girlfriend.
But a know a girl who would be pretty upset if she heard me say that.

After the wedding:

60-something uncle: So, [Groom] what are you planning on doing tonight?
Unbelieving stare from groom.
40-something uncle: Has it really been that long since you were married?

And then there was the one on the drive home where my oldest asked,

Are we going to Fairbanks and real-Alaska, now?

And here we are, at almost 1400 miles of driving, five in a Subaru Legacy, in less than a month.

Family 8/07

Do we look a little dazed to you? (In case you didn’t know: these pictures are “clickable.” Click to see the picture full-size.)

Now, Lord willing, my goal is to really set up house and find a balance now that sickness, dog (yes, dog 🙁 ) and crazy-fast weekends across the state are over for the present.

by

So long… Farewell…

So we’ve had to end this dog-round-2.

Reasons we could give, but that’s the conclution.

Two nights ago after the new home was nearly confirmed I told the girls.  Melody was impassive, but Natasha was very sad.  Distressed.

I told her what I could, and felt how unhappy she was about it.  And prayed about it.  Thought a lot (and asked advice) about what else to say.

Came up with nothing.  Kept praying.

Next morning Natasha got up and, very cheerful and lucid (she’s not normally a morning person), explained that she was very sad last night but she thought about it and had a dream, and was thinking about it and now she knows that Shadow just has to go.

“Because, she’s just, got to go.” She gesticulated with her open hands and made that self-conscious grin and the half-laugh she gives when she’s testing the waters about being more grown-up.

Just like that.  The most simple, basic answer to prayer I could have gotten.

God is so good.

by

Lingering

Well, this illness has just been holding-on, finger- and toenail.

Thankfully no one else seems to have gotten sick, and I only cough when I’m tired, but that seems to be pretty consistently every evening now.

I was pretty useless last night, from a bit before Jay got home.  As much as I enjoy the license to just sit around and read, I’m beginning to want more to go for walks or take Shadow for the runs she’s not gotten in so long.

It also seems like everyone is having some species of sleep issue several nights each week. I honestly feel that we’d lose 85% of all our attitudes, disobedience and tensions here if we could fix that one problem.

But I guess that could be true of most households.

by

About Feeding…

One of the largest concerns in my mind after Natasha made her decision for Christ was how to feed her. And then, how did I know it was real?

I poked around on-line and made some calls (knowing I’ve seen a very competent “arrival kit” for adult new believers I hoped there might be something I could use with my 4-year-old). Not easily finding something, my mind went next (I’m sorry! It’s been trained!) to “Maybe that means I should write something myself…”

Then, as my mind was there, I began to wonder how I could know if Natasha knew what she was doing (after all, 4 is awfully young…). I didn’t want my clumsy efforts to guinea-pig her and cool her interest in things of the faith.

God graciously encouraged my heart, though.

  • Natasha didn’t want to call and tell anyone (e.g. grandparents), which was what made me wonder in the first place, but when I was on the phone she wanted me to tell them.
  • She’s had an increased appetite for the Word (tell me that isn’t inspiring), wanting the real thing.

I grabbed the picture-bible because it was near-by and I was nursing the baby, but she said, “No, Mama, I don’t want the picture one, I want mine.” “The one with just words?” “Yes.” And she went and got it.

  • She’s been willing to pray “publicly” for the first time (volunteering to pray over dinner tonight)
  • And she told grandma about her decision as soon as she saw her.

So I was encouraged. And I did find a couple picture books that bring up concepts I wanted her to think about (because I expect she’ll still want picture books at her age).

The break-through for my first concern came when a church secretary called me back and said none of the right people were around to ask the curriculum question of.

Then she pointed out that with her three daughters (all grown, and all raising their children in the Faith) she had just continued with the same tack as before, reading bible stories, talking about the things of faith. The difference being that after a decision for Christ those talks have more meaning for the child.

This was such a wonderfully simple truth and I had never seen it this way. It lifted my concern (that I believe most young parents have) about how to feed my baby “right” on my own.

~

In all the bible stories we’ve read since Wednesday night, I’ve been able to bring up questions about our response to God and how He interacted with the people in the stories.

As a storyteller, the idea of staying with the stories themselves is so freeing. I don’t need to find a way to introduce a “simplified” Romans or Galatians to my 4-year-old. There is plenty of time for that later. For now I can be thankful for the many truths that God has provided in the stories he gave us.

From Balaam and we’ve already filled-in some gaps I had woken concerned about the morning after. God is faithful, and will always make provision for the right thing at the right time.

In the same way that I can say, “No, we’re not reading about Judah and Tamar,” knowing it’s not age-appropriate, I can wait on many other things as well.

“Jesus loves me, this I know,” is a beginning that has confounded scholars and kept them busy long enough to let my daughter grow ready for other eternal truths.

by

Training some more

Shadow started retrieving this afternoon.

She progressed from simply chasing a ball (which she wasn’t doing three days ago) to picking it up, to carrying it around, and eventually to bringing it back near me (to me is a little more precise than she’s yet mastered).

Have I mentioned Elisha can throw now? About a foot. It’s adorable. It makes him feel very grown-up, especially when he’s playing with Daddy.

We were playing in the front yard and Shadow came and lay between us. She kept leaning over to pick up the ball after he threw it, and he’d crawl to her (I swear he was exasperated with her: That’s not for you.) and take it out of her mouth.

I was right there the whole time and was impressed with them both, his fearlessness (purposeful but not mean) and her compliance.

At one point I threw a ball across the yard and Shadow just stayed panting in the shade. Elisha looked from me, to the dog, to the ball and booked over to get the ball himself. He was almost there when Shadow seemed to realize he was serious and trotted off after him.

He sat up and looked at her when she came even with him, then turned his back and collected the ball he was after. Shadow went over and picked up a different ball nearby.

In all this Shadow has never tried to challenge Elisha’s “authority” and is gaining great points of confidence from me.

She’s also seeming like more fun as she’s becoming interactive and available more more than snuggles or belly rubs.

by

Settling In

Well, it’s been nearly a week and Shadow is finding a rhythm.

She has perked up a bit and shown more interest in exercise and the world around her. She’s also begun playing with her toys– mouthing some rings and tossing a soft ball around. No “serious” chewing since I gave her the knuckle bone, but she is showing a penchant for used tissue, which was something Tilly used to do that always grossed Jay out.

I am very thankful for whatever work her last home did in kennel-training her.

I put her in when I got to bed or when I leave the house for a couple hours. She settles right down, and even when I’m up in the night with the baby she generally figures out this doesn’t involve her and she doesn’t beg to get out.

Posted in Dog
by

Still Getting Old…

Jay expressed concern about his fitness level while he was gone, highlighting in particular the hip that seemed inflamed the morning after a brisk, 2-hour walk.

I pitied him, but attributed it (in part, at least) to his sedentary job. Mine keeps me moving enough I shouldn’t run into that stiffness problem myself.

Ha.

Two days ago I walked Shadow on my own, wearing Elisha. I think I was hoping the walk would put him to sleep. It didn’t.

I woke yesterday morning with my right hip stiff and sore. I attributed this to waking faster than before with the extra 20-pounds on my back.

Monday night, when I got home, both my calves felt pretty tight. I was reminded I aught to strech before every exercise at my age. Even a simple walk.

But then on a day like yesterday most of me feels pretty tight and uncomfortable.

Jay asked for the first time post-Shadow if this was really the right time to have a dog, and I, who felt the dog might have been the only bright spot in my day (it was Jay, not me, who found the partially-chewed roll of USPS stamps) said today was not a good day to make that evaluation.

So yesterday was my fourth day in a row to get out on a walk. Some kind of record, it feels like. Shadow is gaining confidence next to the loud expressway, and has learned to ignore passing bicyclists.

Her energy-level seems to be picking up too, and I wonder if it’s her new, “high-quality” food or the regular outlet for energy that’s perking her up.

I was initially wondering if she’d ever be interested in jogging (I think she is now) and now I’m wondering how she might do with a bike– though that would be later in the summer when we know each other better.

Whatever’s causing it she’s definitely becoming more interested in moving, and I may end up getting that no-pull walking harness soon, since she’s becoming less responsive (or, maybe “selectively responsive”) to her collar on these evening walks.

Posted in Dog
by

We Have a Dog Again.

I’ve started this post four or five times, and it keeps being more of a laundry-list than anything else.

But:

I now have my dog.

She isn’t vizsla (though she does have the compact, muscular body with the short hair– dark brown instead of russet), and she isn’t a Brittany (though she is that size and already proving quite trainable and perfect with the kids).

I just mention the above because those were the breeds I was researching/pursuing the most recently.

A lab-mix, Shadow displays the best of the mellow of that breed, and has learned since Thursday night several things that are very desirable to our family.

She has even managed to not-bother Jay, though that may be as much to Jay’s credit as the dog’s.

It was Jay who emphasized we shouldn’t consider the animal shelter’s 10-day exchange policy as a trial period.

“I expect the transition to be bumpy,” he said. “So we just need to commit to her and go for it.”

Amazingly, the transition has been rather smooth, so far. The girls are becoming more assertive and Shadow is learning quickly.

The one rough spot we’ve had was Friday night when the neighbor across the street brought her dog over to meet our new arrival. That deteriorated into awful barking from both of them, so we didn’t trust them nearer each other.

We neither of us lost control of our animals, but neither dog really listened to our embarrassed orders to be quiet or “nice” either. We might try again in a week or two, to see if Shadow being more settled will make a difference.

In the mean-time, I’m going to begin classes with her, and I’m hoping the presence of a more experienced dog-person will make a difference in canine introductions. There have been no problems with people.

Both girls have really embraced their role as the dog’s boss (something in question earlier in the week), and Natasha’s favorite thing right now is “walking” the dog– holding her leash and pretending to chose which direction they go in. She frequently tries to “sneak” the leash out of my hand when I’m talking to someone, but I will only let them walk together in the fenced yard.

Sometimes Shadow indulges Natasha’s preference, and sometimes Natasha is reminded the dog is stronger.

It is very fun to watch them together.