Owner: Duckabush Blog URL:http://www.edgren.com/wordpress/ Join Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2007 02:07:58 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: The musings and ravings of a bloggart family with five children, a homeschooling mama and a computer geek papa; all trying to serve the Lord and survive each day with plenty of laughter (and not too much shoving). Site statistics:Click here
Sleeping Bear Dunes 2007-07-27 01:03:53 It is embarrassing to admit that I somehow missed Tim’s note (on the sidebar) explaining the banner picture at the top of the blog. Ahem. Sorry about that, Dear. I should have known that a conscientious blogophile like you would be sure to identify the picture for our readers.
While we were visiting my family in Michigan, we had the opportunity to go to the Sleeping
Bear Dunes
with my parents and my brother’s three children. I have to write about our dune adventure lest people (who, like me, didn’t read Tim’s note) think the picture at the top of the blog is just some random shot of the beach and nearby lake.
And, frankly, a rather boring picture at that.
Well, in our defense, that isn’t just some dull old two-dimensional shot of sand and water, it’s where we stood overlooking the water, 400 + feet above Lake Michigan on a mountain (okay, hill) of sand. Sand that we were going to climb DOWN. Truly a picture fraught with danger and excitement.
Disappearing blogs 2007-07-26 01:42:22 I did post a blog last night. Really, I did. Some of you even got a nice little e-mail notification. Sorry about that. Is there such a thing as blogging false alarms? The gal who cried “Blog!” Thankfully it wasn’t a very brilliant or witty, or even mildly amusing, post. The pictures, often a redeeming factor in the blog, were only average. So actually, you should be thanking me for sparring you the annoyance of a sub par blog.
What happened is I posted the blog to our old server whereas Tim has moved everything to the new server. It all seems a bit science fiction-y to me but I listen attentively and murmur words of encouragement as needed. I’m sure that I am a big help.
It has definitely been a big job to move everything over to this new server. I still don’t understand why the hosting company isn’t more helpful. Let’s see, I pay you MORE money each month and then I do all the work myself? Of course! Silly me.
David is VERY upset ab Read more:Disappearing
We’re Working On It 2007-07-24 02:03:10 I was advised to blog WITHOUT pictures this evening. What? Horrors! Is such a thing even allowed on this blog??? Truly I am a bit concerned. The last time I tried a wee little tiny blog without pictures there were serious consequences. It wasn’t pretty. Experiences like that are enough to scar a girl.
And yet.
And yet.
A post with some content is better than a blank page or even a dreaded ERROR message!!
Ahem, our website is in a bit of disarray, as Tim works to move things on to the new, virtual server. Having never done this before, he’s hitting a nice learning curve along the way. Oh, yes, and he has a few other things on his plate these days (not asparagus pancakes although those are always tasty) like work, children, church responsibilities, mine and Sarah’s birthdays to celebrate (July isn’t over yet!), important stuff like that.
I don’t know why I continue linking to old blogs since all of the pictures are temporarily (I surely hope!!!)
Bloggy Give Away 2007-07-23 18:48:00
A fellow blogger, Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer, is hosting a blog giveaway this week. Click on the blue link to check out her blog — Give Away. Bloggers from far and wide have stopped in at Shannon’s blog to list their giveaways. At this point there are over 300 people offering fun treats of all sizes and shapes. What a great idea to spice things up in the middle of the July!
Most of the contests are randomly drawn so everyone has a chance to win. Enjoy the fun! If you have a blog and want to offer a giveaway, be sure to add yourself to the list. There are instructions on Shannon’s site.
Kathy - off to sign up and WIN something!!
Walking On the Word of God 2007-07-22 03:23:26 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
On Saturday Rachel and I stopped by to visit some friends. They are just completing the building of their new home and we have been privileged to watch, with excitement and wonder, the different stages of development over the past year. Tim and his brother Mark, along with the older boys, helped move the piano into the study on Saturday afternoon. The finishing touches are slowly and steadily being completed. It’s truly amazing to look around this beautiful home and know that Pam and Jay have done almost all of the work themselves.
Zachary is excited to move into the new house.
I heard that the carpeting was to be installed on Monday, covering the plywood floors of the upstairs, and thought that offered a unique opportunity. Treasuring and pondering the words in He Read more:Walking
The party isn’t over yet 2007-07-22 01:35:37 My theory is: as long as there is another present to be opened, then it’s still your birthday. My brother Thom’s birthday is on the 31st of July, so growing up there was a very definite end to my birthday celebrations. He did his best to arrive on the scene at the very end of July, but still, he was constantly encroaching on my birthday. These days, with Thom safely miles away, I am free to claim the entire month of July for my birthday.
Of course, I share one or two days with Sarah.
After all, I’m not greedy.
Timothy, Elizabeth and Mark are obviously also very excited about my birthday.
In all fairness, Sarah was the one who had a whole basket full of presents left to open. The week of camp was busy and wet, wet, wet. Did I already mention how it rained and rained every day but one? I don’t want to complain, but the middle of July is NOT the time it should be raining. Even in western Washington. Aren’t there rules about this sort of thing? So
Camp Shots 2007-07-21 02:55:59 It has been a wonderful week of camp.
Daniel and David rode their bikes most days. Monday was pretty much the only day of sunshine and dry skies the entire week.
We shared the house with my sister in law, Elizabeth, and her three children. The kids were delighted to have a solid week of cousin time.
Timothy and Joshua - as CIT (Counselor In Training) and senior camper - head off for their first day.
Rachel went to camp but Rebecca stayed home and helped me with child care. We had six little ones from ages 2 to 5 (including Sarah). It was certainly a busy week for us and I couldn’t have done it without Rebecca. In fact, she did most of the work, I was just there as a supervisor.
Cousins and friends, Rachel and Rebecca.
Fun crafts, exciting science demonstrations, rowdy games, good Bible stories, lots of songs, creative skits, and much laughter. A very satisfying week.
Kathy
Project 365 - Day (July 16th)
The Effective Prayer of Righteous Men 2007-07-19 23:15:01 Last Monday night, Kathy attended a women’s Bible study at our church. I always like to encourage her to make the most of these kind of opportunities, although it does cut short the time we have together in the evening. As she rushed out the door, I settled down to play my latest favorite computer game, Port Royale 2.
Alas, it was not to be. First Daniel, then Rachel came to my negative attention for various infractions. I spent the bulk of the evening talking with them in turn, rebuking and correcting their foolishness and sin. I was very discouraged by the experience, and I assume that they were as well. It seemed like a classic lose/lose situation, where I lost time and energy and they didn’t gain from my long lecture, but instead our relationship was further strained.
On Monday I helped Rachel to make smoothies for some roofers across the street. She has been so eager to earn money for the camp she hopes to attend in August, and I wanted to help her. We made Read more:Prayer
Account Suspended 2007-07-19 20:57:06 Today we experienced technical difficulties, such that our web host company suspended our account (and all of our other domains). You may have seen this screen:
This Account
Has Been Suspended
Please contact the billing/support department as soon as possible.
They tell me that this was done “because of a large quantity of spam sent to your account”. I’ve heard of suspending accounts of Spammers (those who send spam) but this is the first time I’ve heard of suspending victims of spam.
The long and short of it is that we were persuaded to upgrade to a ‘Virtual Private Server’ which (we hope) will be able to stand up more effectively against the onslaught of spammers.
Please bear with us as we may continue to experience difficulty over the weekend until the account is fully migrated.
I’d post a picture, but the sight of me, grinding and gnashing my teeth for seven hours is probably not safe for work or families with small children. As a
A Thousand Generations 2007-07-17 23:11:16 This is a post I wrote back in May, that has been simmering in my subconscious. Finally, with Kathy away at camp, it has a chance to see the light of the blogosphere. It is hard to live with a blog-hog, but somehow I manage.
*******************************
It is the weekend before Memorial Day, and I am about to celebrate my fifteenth anniversary with my beloved. Hard to believe that we have been married for so long, and yet in some ways I feel as though we have always been husband and wife. We had hoped to spend four or five days alone in a fancy bed-and-breakfast (well, OK, in our own home) devoid of the scampering feet of our five children. My parents had agreed to take the kids from Wednesday evening through Sunday … I had arranged to take both days off from work — what plans we had! Alas, it was not to be.
‘Great’ Grandma with Sarah (June, 2003)
My Grandma’s death on Tuesday changed all that, and instead of snuggling down with my sweetie, I fle Read more:Generations
, Thousand
Girl Power 2007-07-30 03:01:18 Excuse me, we’d like to chat but sometimes a girl just has to swing.
We will, however, stop for food. Food and giggling are very important in the Girl Power
world.
The big girls just sit around looking beautiful, but the rest of us have things to do.
Pick those flowers faster, girls!!
We had friends over for dinner and games this evening. The little girls were busy and a bit difficult to capture on film without quite the blur of action. Rachel, Hannah and Bethany, however, were more than willing to step outside for a few pictures. We are very blessed to have good friends in our life.
Tomorrow we’ll have three extra boys over. Yikes! Don’t you know we’ll have some fun moments to capture on blog while they are here.
Kathy
Project 365 - Day 209
Never Ending Dodge Ball 2007-07-29 00:47:59 One of the delightful things about having a houseful of children is that we almost always have enough people to play games. When I was growing up, it was much more difficult to put together a good game with the resources at hand:
Me: “Hey, Mark, how ’bout we go play a game of tag?”
Mark: “Who are we playing with?”
Me: “I figure you … and me … and Posie … ?”
Mark: “Beat it, kid, I’m gonna draw instead.”
“The swift cannot flee nor the strong escape.” (Jeremiah 46:6a)
As it turned out, Mark was actually drawing up operational orders for armored-cavalry attacks on defenseless villages, a valuable skill which stood him in good stead in later years. Posie, though she was often willing, was too little to be a credible opponent in any game, six years younger than me and nine years junior to Mark. I usually had to find other ways to amuse myself with her. For the record, there are no witness Read more:Dodge
, Ending
End of the line - the contest is over 2007-08-02 01:34:39 All good things must come to an end.
Actually, this is rarely true. More accurately, the mediocre, not-very-good, half-baked things come to an end, as do a host of bad things, like death, disease, sorrow and empty Nutella jars. The really good things, like God’s faithfulness, His love, our life with him in Heaven — these things don’t end at all.
David and Sarah say, “Cheers!” to our winner.
Not to detract from our our silly July Comment Contest, but it does end.
Thank you so much for participating. It has been a pleasure hearing from all of you. We have been so glad to welcome you to the living room that is our blog. We’ve tracked the comments throughout the month, and we’re delighted to announce that Cynthia has won the contest, with Aunt Kate as runner-up. There were a total of 321 comments made throughout the month, with 43 different people commenting.
Cynthia gets first pick from among these CDs, and Aunt Kate chooses second, f
WFMW–Travel Outfits 2007-08-01 01:13:39
This is our first entree into the world of Works for Me Wednesdays. Shannon, over at the Rocks In My Dryer blog, hosts a fun carnival on Wednesdays where other bloggers chime in to share their tips and tricks and general advice.
This week the topic is parenting which is timely because I am a parent. If the theme had been Creative Ways to Decorate with Lint or Techniques of Professional Grouters, I would have been hard pressed to come up with something helpful.
Tim and I are very passionate about parenting. We are constantly studying, learning, and praying for wisdom in our parenting. One of our desires is to start a Tips for Tuesday Parenting Blog, to post, conveniently, on Tuesdays. We will begin next week, so come back and visit us for some further thoughts on parenting.
Today’s Parenting Tip - Coordinating Travel
Outfits
Whenever we travel as a family, I make sure we are dressed in matching colors. This is done for both safety (easy to spot a wandering child in a c
A Day of Boys 2007-07-31 01:44:07 Well, yesterday the estrogen was flowing good and strong as girls (over) ran the house, giggling and laughing and posing pretty for pictures. Today was a wee bit different.
Ding Dong!
8:15 am (For you morning people, who don’t understand nightowlism, this would be considered EARLY.)
In trooped three boys, mitts and baseballs in hand and scooters and helmets in the driveway. With mom and big sister both in the hospital and dad working, they were ready for a day of fun at our house.
They sweetened their early arrival with a pan of brownies and a lovely thank you note. Chocolate is really the perfect entree, don’t you think. Especially if the world is looking blurry and it’s early, WAY before 9 am. Nothing like a little chocolate to brighten a person’s outlook on the day. Really, I’m surprised salespeople don’t cart around chocolate when knock on doors these days. A few well placed dark chocolate M&M’s and they might find people welc
Aslan’s Country 2007-08-04 01:50:04 As we straggled home at 8:45 pm, I think we all agreed that it was OK for our church’s Vacation Bible School program to be over. The kids had fun, but it has been difficult to snatch a bite to eat and rush off each evening — we’re really not used to having to meet a particular schedule, day after day. Joshua and I served the snacks each evening to about 75 kids and leaders — I actually found it rather stressful, trying to ensure that we purchased enough ingredients to supply all the kids with a tasty snack. Some of the kids (and leaders) didn’t find time to eat supper, which made it difficult for them and for us (we hadn’t bought a lot of extra food for seconds).
I actually know very little about this VBS program, since I was in the snack room each day — I didn’t even take any pictures!
The kids and I’ve been reading The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis lately — the final book of seven in the all-time favorite, Chronicles of Narn Read more:Country
A Month by Proxy 2007-08-03 02:14:15 One of the things I hate about being a Dad is that I am often away at work when interesting things happen. During the Winter, Kathy and the children try to be discreet, but in the Summer, caution is thrown to the winds and they revel in their fun, in defiant disregard of my feelings.
This weekend Kathy is away, attending a homeschool conference (or so she says) with a friend, and I have been asked to write a blog in her absence. Looking back over the photos from the last month, I have unearthed a handful of pictures worth mention, especially since I seem to lack a topic on which to pontificate.
We had occasion to visit The Refuge several times this month, and it is exciting to see the progress being made, as stone and logs continue creep around the outside of the building. Even someone as visionarily-deficient as I can begin to imagine what the Main Lodge will look like when it is finished.
Of course, inside the building, there is still a lot of work to be done.
One of my dreams i Read more:Month
, Proxy
Tuesday Tips for Parenting - How to Call Your Child 2007-08-07 01:32:31 As threatened promised last week, we are ready to start our new Tuesday
Tips for Parenting
. Our desire is to have something to share each Tuesday in the category of parenting. Please come back and visit us each week for further parenting discussion. We love to hear from you, so share your favorite tip in the comments section. Parenting is one of the most difficult and rewarding blessings in life and it is our belief that we can (and should) encourage and build each other up as parents.
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17
Tuesday Tip for Parenting - Child Training
If you’ve ever been at a park where young children play, you’ve seen this familiar scene play out:
Mom: “Sam, it is time to go!”
Sam: (Ignores his mother, keeps playing.)
Mom: “Sam, I mean it, we have to go, now. Come here, please.”
Sam: “I don’t want to go!”
Mom: “Yes, I know, but we need to get home to get dinner ready. (Mom
Frappe Freeze, Anyone? 2007-08-06 00:19:58 Yes, it’s that time of year — the Annual Church Picnic!!
For some reason (historical smoothie scholars are not unified in their positions) our family maintains a tradition of serving blends, or smoothies, at the church picnic. Today was our third year of making mocha granitas and strawberry/lemonade blends for 400 to 500 people, or possibly 250 people, twice. However you do the math, we prepared between 400 and 450 drinks.
With our faithful blend assistants, Greg and Tina, now serving as missionaries in Thailand, we had to rely on family and a few random passers-by (Thanks Michelle and Terry!) to keep things moving efficiently. This year Rachel and Joshua moved out of the ‘carry supplies, hand out straws, and clean up the mess’ job positions and actually alternated the operation of one of our three Smoothie machines. It brings a proud tear to the eye to a smoothie-loving Mom or Dad, to pass along a love for blend-mixing to their progeny.
David may be too Read more:Anyone
, Frappe
, Freeze
Those Who Look for Beauty Find It 2007-08-05 02:07:32 This weekend I was invited to join a friend at a homeschooling conference in Seattle. Tim cheerfully sent me on my way (no doubt plotting to get his hands on the blog) and off I went. It was a lovely time of fellowship with an old friend; long conversations about parenting, faith and marriage; homeschool shopping, instruction and encouragement and of course some pampering.
We found this wonderful little spa during our travels. The decor was lovely and I was especially drawn to the mirror in the back.
Between us, Martha and I have 11 children. That’s quite a collection of little (and not so little) voices and messes and concerns and needs and hearts in our care. I hardly need say that finding time for quiet and rejuvenation is pretty rare. How much more precious to have an extended length of time in which to reconnect with a friend and be away from the responsibilities of life.
To make the whole weekend all the more delightful, Martha treated me to a birthday pedicure.
We Read more:Beauty
Fairy Tale Lessons 2007-08-10 01:32:00 Instead of attempting mighty feats of blogging creativity tonight, I believe I’ll introduce a guest blogger, my niece Rebecca. Rebecca currently resides in Norway with her family. She and Joshua spend much of their time exchanging amusing and clever stories through e-mail. I received permission to include this one on the blog.
Fairy Tale
s … the Moral of the Story
by Rebecca
I have noticed that fairy tales are rich with lessons and moral teaching. Here are just a few I’ve found over the years.
1) Don’t stay out late at parties. If you do plan to stay out late, be sure your shoes fit snugly.
2) Avoid Evil Knights. You will recognize them by a black charger, a huge black cape, lots of black armor, and a visage obscured in shadow. In fact, avoid shadowy visages in general.
3) Watch your manners around old crones, they are extremely touchy. When planning a celebration of any kind, extend an open invitation so no one will be neglected or offended.
4) Be nic Read more:Lessons
Graphic Design and Staged Photos 2007-08-09 01:48:16 Tim and I are in the midst of an artistic project for church. Yes, I said artistic, as in creative design. I have to wonder how many other people said ‘no’ to serving on the committee before they came to us.
“How about Tim and Kathy? Maybe they could be on the Publicity team.”
“Hmmm, Tim and Kathy. Do they know anything about graphic design?”
“No, but they have 5 children who sometimes wear matching shirts so they must be creative. “Plus, everyone else said no and the event is next month. We’re getting desperate and they have a camera and a computer, what else do you need?”
“Right, Tim and Kathy it is.”
I’m sure it went something like that. Thankfully Tim and I do have years of experience with desktop publishing, newsletters, web design and stick figures. Tim specializes in stick figures. Not everyone can convey a jaunty attitude in your basic stick figure. It’s a gift.
Tim’s drawings a Read more:Graphic
, Graphic Design
Addicted to Blogging? 2007-08-08 01:34:03 Last night Tim and I went to a meeting at church. We met upstairs in the middle school room where we spread out in comfy couches and overstuffed chairs. That’s the way to run a meeting - recliners and couches and plenty of chocolate.
The couple coordinating the meeting looked so dear sitting together, I just had to take a picture. Someone laughed and wondered aloud why I was taking a picture in the middle of our meeting. Come on, the meeting hadn’t even started yet. Before I could say anything the subject of my photography spoke up quickly and said, “She has to, she’s doing that Project 365 thing and she has to blog every day.”
See how Beckie is poised to defend me.
Whoa! I guess that is how things get distorted. I am indeed committed to taking a picture every day as part of Project 365 but I never said I was going to blog every day. That implies a high level of creativity and some sort of original thought being generated daily. Not to mention Read more:Addicted
, Blogging
Enemies in the Gate 2007-08-13 01:07:20 When I was 21, I visited my Grandma’s house, and (in an unusual impulse of helpfulness) spent some time raking in her backyard. I had a short military haircut, having enlisted in the Army a little more than a year before. A little four-year-old boy came over to see what I was doing, and to tell me (as boys do, to men everywhere) things of serious manly import, like the name of his dog or the cool beetle he’d found the day before. Man-to-man, I nodded sage approval and continued raking, until a startling question commanded my full attention:
“Are you a Daddy?”
The boy seemed to be trying to organize me into the proper category, but he wasn’t sure if I was a big kid or a Daddy, or if there was perhaps a third category.
For a moment, I stopped breathing, stunned speechless by the enormity of the question. Until that day, I had considered myself a teenager, or a college student and (more recently) a soldier. But in the time it took him to frame that Read more:Enemies
A Father’s Rebuke 2007-08-12 01:26:55 The garage is thoroughly trashed. No cameras allowed in there.
There are three laundry baskets overflowing with clean clothes in the family room. Do not take a picture.
The kitchen table is covered, and I mean COVERED, with papers and cd’s and books and misc things that need attending. Definitely don’t want a picture of that mess.
My bedroom and all of the children’s bedrooms are, ahem shall we say, cluttered and lived in looking. Pictures are forbidden.
I’m sorry, but I have friends who read this blog who only see my house after the children and I have run around, picking up frantically. They might still think I am a passable housekeeper. As much as I strive for ‘keeping it real’ on the blog and living my life ‘in the light’ in general, there are some times when delusion and ignorance and denial are just grand.
So, if the house is in such a deplorable state, why is it I spent an hour cleaning one drawer this morning? One drawer! Read more:Father
Homeschool Conference 2007-08-11 01:17:43 Last weekend I said goodbye to my darling husband, adorable children and set off for the big city. Since we live in the suburbs this doesn’t have quite the dramatic flair it could have, say if we still lived out in the country. Ah well, we take our flair where we can, exaggerated if necessary.
I wrote about my search for beauty during the weekend (found it in my feet, of course) but I never blogged about the homeschool conference itself. I thought it was obvious that the conference was just an excuse to go away for the weekend, enjoy some time with an old friend and shop, but I guess I should at least write a little bit about the conference.
I would certainly be remiss if I didn’t mention one particular individual I saw at the homeschool conference - Lee Binz. Lee is an amazing woman I first “met” through an online homeschool e-mail group. Last year we visited over coffee with another loopie, Cynthia. My family has learned to accept the fact that a good Read more:Homeschool
Lakeside Visit 2007-08-16 01:55:01 Obscure movie quote: “Seattle? It rains nine months a year in Seattle.”
Not today! Not yesterday. Tomorrow? Showers are likely. Sigh. What’s a girl to do in the pacific Northwest on a sunny day but head out in the sun. I have a wonderful friend who generously opens up her home on the lake. Hearing it was going to be warm today, she kindly invited several families over for a swim. The begging, bribing, and pleading worked and we managed to score an invitation as well.
The kids swam, ate snacks, swam, devoured more snacks, and swam some more. Swim, eat, dunk repeat.
The sunshine and fellowship time was just what I needed.
The children gathered around a big bowl of grapes and a platter of watermelon.
After the fruit and another swim, the kids moved on to a ’sweeter’ treat. Michelle brought out a large box of fudgesicles and chocolate covered ice cream cones. How to choose??
I’ll take one of each, please!
Joshua had to rough it for a good Read more:Lakeside
Tuesday Tips for Parenting - Using the Timer 2007-08-14 01:41:50 Be creative in the use of a timer. It can be a stop watch, a hand held kitchen timer or even the timer on the oven or microwave. The clock is unbiased and dispassionate. It doesn’t care what day it is or who started the fight or who had more cookies, it is just there to keep track of time and count down the minutes. This is an invaluable tool for today’s moms and dads.
We use timers in our house for all sorts of things. We clock our computer game playing in 30 minute intervals. Rachel brings the timer into the living room with her, to keep track of her piano practicing time. When there is trouble and one child needs some time alone, we set the timer and send them to their room. This can either be as a part of punishment or just a well-needed rest.
These two look like they could use a time out.
When the babies/toddlers stopped napping but Mama hadn’t, we would have “quiet time” each day. The children were required to go into their rooms and play q Read more:Parenting
, Timer
, Tuesday
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