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Maiden Voyage……

September 26, 2008 by Edie Wadsworth 9 Comments

Dedicated to parents of teenagers with newly begotten drivers’ licenses:

Dear Lord, lead us towards those we are waiting for, those who are waiting for us!

May all our movements, all their movements, be guided by your Light….

and transfigured by your joy. Lonely and tired, crushed by the separations…

and sorrows of earth, we feel the need of calling to you and of pleading for the

protection of your wings…..

Remember the weak, you who are strong–

and bring us back together in due time…..
that we may again enjoy the fellowship we have together in You…
Lord, in Your mercy, here our prayers.

Congratulations Caiti on passing your test and on increasing the fervency of your mothers’ prayer life!

Why we memorize…………

September 25, 2008 by Edie Wadsworth 6 Comments

The following excerpt is taken from a paper by Andrew Pudewa called “Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization”. This part of our homeschool day where we memorize poems, scripture, catechisms, etc. is one of my favorites. It simply amazes me how much kids excel at memory work. I’ve included a video of my girls reciting “The Creation” and I hope it inspires you and your children to commit something beautiful to memory.

“Young children will naturally memorize language patterns from their cultural environment. If teachers and parents don’t provide high quality models, kids will automatically internalize and memorize random stuff from their environment–mainly TV advertisements and songs on the radio, most of which we would not find to be ‘reliably correct and sophisticated’. A child’s instinctive desire to memorize is intrinsic to language aquisition, yet for the most part we ignore it, or allow it to happen so haphazardly that we miss out on one of the greatest opportunities to build sophisticated language patterns. Poetry has long served a critical role in the transmission of culture, as it tends to convey the “rhyme and reason” of life in a concentrated and memorable form. But is we don’t provide the content and opportunity for organized memorization, kids will let popular culture be their teacher. In other words, if we don’t provide them with Bellox, Stevenson, and Rossetti, they’ll memorize McDonald’s commercials and Snoop Doggy Dog rap lines. Memorization is not only natural for young children, it is culturally powerful and educationally essential.”

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Fall Decorating 101…….

September 24, 2008 by Edie Wadsworth 24 Comments

Start by baking some pumpkin bread (use your favorite pumpkin bread recipe) and then add one cup of butterscotch chips per loaf of bread. It’s to die for….and then your house smells nice and ‘fall-like’ while you decorate……
Recruit your small children to paint pumpkins for you using apples…..
and flour sacks and plenty of creativity……
Jazz up your breakfast table with black and orange……
Put your daughter’s witch hat from last year on a pretty white pumpkin……

And if you don’t have a pretty white pumpkin…..spray paint one white and add some spook. Just a ‘peek-a-BOO’ into our fall fun. More to come soon! For other great festive halloween ideas, go the Kimba’s sight. This post is part of her fall halloween party and there are many more great ideas to peek in on. For now, we’re off to paint some birds and ferns black…..oh, and to do some latin and memory work, of course.

A Cross Country Meet from the Eyes of a Six Year Old…..translated "We’re going to the park and McDonald’s"

September 24, 2008 by Edie Wadsworth 1 Comment

“Emme, come look at all the snacks, you wanna some poptarts?”
“You wanna play on the monkey bars?”
meanwhile, Caiti shows off her new pinkilicious running spikes and tells us how they make her run soooo much faster and feel soooo glamorous…..
despite the fact that the girls are oblivious to the fact that people are actually RUNNING A RACE here, they are, in fact…..
“Emme, you wanna take some pictures with mom’s camera?” Dibbs lurks in the background.
They steal the teams’ water…..
while Caiti continues to run and sweat….
oh, she said her shoes make her feel like a superhero too…….
“I can scoot all the way down this bar like an inchworm, can you?”
more running and sweating…..
“I bet you can’t do tricks on this bar like me.”
“I bet I can”
“Mom, Emme’s trying to get on this really tall bar” “MOOOOM”
“Can you just lift me up there? Mom can we stay here til it gets dark? This is my new*BFF* and she said if she sees me next time, she’ll play with me again.”
And Elea, a bit discouraged by Emme’s new friend, takes charge of the camera again. Maybe they did know that there was a race going on but they were so in their own little girlie worlds. I love that about kids…..how they make everything adventurous. Both the girls and the guys teams’ won, Emme made a new friend, and Elea ate the teams’ poptarts and drank their water. Throw in McDonalds, and it was a perfect day at the park.

September 23, 2008 by Edie Wadsworth 3 Comments

Dedicated to Jamie Knoxville- On my knees for ya! The ‘Monday’ prayer from the Lutheran Prayer Book;

Lord, in this morning hour I come boldly to Your throne of grace in full assurance that there I shall obtain mercy and find grace and help in time of trouble. I need Your help and Your grace as I again turn to the routine of my vocation and schedule. Grant me true faithfulness in the performance of my calling. Guard me against becoming selfish, careless, and lazy in carrying out my daily work, so that all I do has not only the appearance of being pleasing among men, but it also true service to my neighbor, that I may be a servant of Christ, doing the will of God.

GRANT TO ALL WHO ARE OUT OF WORK USEFUL EMPLOYMENT! Feed us all with food necessary for our lives, and teach us to receive it with thanksgiving. Grant us the godliness and contentment without which there can be no true happiness, and let us so walk through the things temporal that me may not lose sight of the things eternal; for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

https://www.lifeingraceblog.com/2008/09/73/

Letting go……..

September 22, 2008 by Edie Wadsworth 9 Comments

So, the Dibbs (Taylor’s best friend Andrews’ parents) and Emme and I take off to go see our boys perform near Johnson City yesterday. As you might remember, they won Battle of the Bands about a month ago and part of their “prize” was that they would get to open for Group One Crew, a christian hip hop band that reminds me a lot of BlackEyedPeas. We were all excited…..I even did my best Tammy Faye eyes with my favorite ‘Humid’ MAC eye shadow. (thanks Jamie Knoxville). On the way it occurred to Cindy and I what horrible ‘stage’ moms we are. “We should have helped the boys make some T-shirts or buttons or something…….ya know ‘band paraphernalia’ that they could sell at the concert.” But because we’re not good stage moms and because we feel proud of ourselves that we’re actually gonna MAKE it to the concert….and likely ON TIME….we didn’t dwell on it too much. How surprised were we to find THIS when we got there…..
THEY HAVE T-SHIRTS…….and paraphernalia……and no, they don’t have stage MOMS……they have stage GIRLFRIENDS! How did we miss this Cindy? We are slowly being replaced, aren’t we? It’s an insidious inevitable process I guess, but I am so not ready for it……
I mean, they look so grown up…..and responsible…..and talented…….it hardly even seems possible that when they get home tonight we’re gonna threaten to take their cell phones away if they don’t keep their rooms tidy…..but we are, for a few more short months. Alas.
I feel like I still have so much yet to teach him….like how to make a killer red sauce, and how to use a plunger , and which fork is the salad fork. I sometimes lie await at night and wonder if he knows how to use a mouse sander. It makes it hard to breath when I even entertain the thought that he’ll be gone. He is so predictable and kind and thoughtful. The sound of his guitar playing upstairs has been a steady, soothing comfort for so many years.
How do you learn to live with the changes? The tears already flow for me. (which makes me regret the whole Tammy Faye thing). Maybe it’s better to let him go in small pieces, day by day. I’m not sure it makes it any easier but maybe it’ll save a complete break down next fall.
So bear with this ‘poor excuse for a stage mom’ as she laments the losses. I will miss finding your guitar picks in every single nook and cranny of the house…..I will miss the amazing speed with which you text message…..I will miss how you pile your food in a conglomerate heap…..I will miss how Emme runs upstairs to ‘bug’ you while you do your homework…..I will miss how you turn sideways so I can kiss your cheek (or more frequently: the air)…..I will miss scrambling around making sure your uniform is clean…..I will miss the way you sling your head to the left and right to get your hair just perfectly messy….I will miss your smile…….I will miss your smelly car……and your ‘i love you too’s’ and your frequent calls and mostly……. just you. I will miss you so much Taylor. I know it’s early but I can feel it. The winds of change are blowing. I felt so privileged and proud to watch you and your band. I will miss that too.

Enjoy the video!
FYI: I am completely sobbing now!

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