A trip to the store

Nathan and I ventured out, just the two of us, to Sparta last Tuesday night. We needed some accessories for his costume, so he was willing to take part in this expedition. Normally Robyn (a shopper like her mom) and Seth (always up for any adventure) are my eager shoppers/errand-doers. So, to the dollar stores we headed...Dollar & More (yes, we went there first, Joanie!), Dollar General, and then Rite Aid. There's good stuff in Sparta! Here's how the trip went:

Nathan pushes the cart and follows me all around. Of course, we don't just hit the costume/accessory area, we check out all the aisles for some deals. He cracked me up as we shopped...chattering away to himself, such as, "Now we're looking at the picture frames. There are lots of different picture frames and when are we going to get out of this aisle?!" We eventually found the hat area and found a snazzy black cowboy hat. A true smile from him! We checked out, and off to the next dollar store down the road. In this store, again quiet chattering about all the items we saw, then, "Mom, you're a buyer! You like to look at everything AND buy things!" How true is that?! :) Our expedition over, on the way home I asked him, "What did you think of your shopping trip with Mom?"
"Well, it was fine."
"What could have made it better?"
"If we would have gone somewhere more interesting, like a bookstore!"

Ahhhhhh...do you think he's related to his father? Once Ken's sister Valerie threw his book on the roof of their home because she was tired of him reading so much! :)

I do love to read, but I do tend to love ALL stores!

I went on errands yesterday morning. Seth was my eager-beaver helper!

Pics of a good-looking cowboy (with his black hat!) to come.

A Story to Share

Want to read a true, funny, and 'ewww' story? This was published in the Advance newspaper this week by columnist Mike Taylor, who has won "Best Humor Awards" from the Michigan Press Association. It made me laugh out loud, picturing what "Clarence" went through. I plan to share it with my students in the coming week. Click here to read.

What did you think?

Fall Tidbits

Thoughts from the Homefront:

• Wow, have the standards changed! Aaron and I were in the kitchen this afternoon and he discovered that exciting kitchen "toy" - the dog's water! Of course it was immediately turned over (thankfully only 1/4 full). My response? I ran for the towel and when I came back, watched him happily patting and slapping the floor and having a grand time with the water. My next response? Let him enjoy himself as I sat and watched him soak himself and listened to him 'chatter' away.


• New fitness workout routine discovered! If you're in need of a varied, active, interesting fitness routine, I suggest . . . volunteering in a kindergarten classroom! I did this for 1.5 hours this morning in Robyn's classroom and it was a happening place. They were doing learning labs, including art, science, math, writing, ABC, and muscle strength labs. They do one lab each time it is learning lab time. Robyn was assigned to art lab today and she cut out a white pumpkin and then tore small parts of green (stem) and orange (pumpkin) paper and glued them on her paper. She enjoyed it and did a nice job. I asked Mrs. Taylor if I could call her if I needed a workout and could come volunteer. :) She had everything so organized and the children knew what they were to do. It was eye-opening what a range of student abilities are present in kindergarten. The best part of the volunteering (I'm scheduled once per month) was Robyn's quiet smiles whenever ours eyes caught each other during my time there. She's been asking when I get to come to her class. It was fun to give her a little hug when I was near her and to sit next to her at lunchtime in the lunch room. She has adjusted to the schedule of kindergarten and often tells us interesting things Mrs. T. taught them. She rather adores Mrs. T., which I think is a special thing for a little girl and her first year in school.


• Bought a bushel of 'seconds' - Courtland & Paula Red varieties. Borrowed a strainer (is that what it's called?) and plan to make & freeze applesauce. My Grandma Richards made a wonderful chunky applesauce, which I made last year. I loved it, but Nathan told me he preferred the 'smooth kind' so we'll try that this year.


• We were able to go on a date Saturday and saw the new movie Fireproof. We knew it featured Kirk Cameron (ooh - a heart-throb of mine during my adolescent years!) and that it was a Christian movie. We weren't sure what to expect as far as the quality of the movie...and we were pleasantly surprised. It had an engaging story line, believable characters, moments of humor in a serious plot, and shared God's love and message clearly. The actors weren't professionals, and that was obvious in spots, but all in all it was impacting - for a marriage in any state, whether strong or suffering - and I highly recommend seeing it. Apparently, even though it is a 'low-budget' film, it has had very high ratings among theatre-goers! Both Ken & I and the couple we went with were touched by the movie's themes. I think anyone who has ever been through troubled times during any relationship can relate to this storyline....I know we all did. Go check it out if you have the chance! It will make you smile, cry (at one poignant spot toward the end of the movie, you could hear sniffling all over our theatre), and think about your relationships with those around you....the real deal.


• Ahh - the weather has been gorgeous here in Kent City/West MI this past week! Love the warm temps and the vibrant fall colors, which seemed to have popped the past few days! Whether driving up our driveway or standing on the deck looking out at the woods, the fall foliage surrounding our home is stunning to me. I can't believe we have so many trees around us - so pretty! We took a family walk on Sunday to our favorite Howard Christiansen Nature Center and wow - the smell of fall was pervasive, the paths crackled with our footsteps, and we were all reminded of what a Master Artist God is.


• Cubbies is Wednesday night - Seth LOVES attending and is proud that he remembers his verse each week. Last week on the 3 mile route to church, he repeated his verse over and over again. Mom: "Seth, do you think you could stop repeating it, please?" "But I don't want to forget it!" Do you know how many times a 3 year old can repeat John 3:33 in 3 miles? Approximately 17. :) And then I thought more about his words - he kept repeating because he didn't want to forget God's Word and Promises. Hmmm - from the mouths of babes.

Ken reminded me that he thinks people enjoy reading short blog entries. Is that true for you? I responded that since my readers weren't my students, they could choose whether to read or not. Being concise is not a skill I possess, but one I should work on...

Enjoy God's artistry today! :)

Precious

Isn't he precious? It has been such a joy to watch each member of our family shower his/her love on Aaron. (yes, sometimes a bit too much, but I suppose that's to be expected). Each of the kids has their own ways of sharing friendship with him - and it's very sweet to watch. He interacts so much these days - grabbing for all toys (and anything else within reach), giggling at his siblings, following us with his baby blues all around the room, loving being played with, giving big smiles to all. I've enjoyed the cooler days and putting various overalls on him....there's something so cute about little boys in overalls! He's experiencing his first cold this week - and no teeth yet, but everything immediately goes to his mouth to be sucked on. He likes to reach out for Mama and always gives a grin to Daddy when he comes home from work. I think he's going to be a mover and a shaker...on the go - rolling or moving backwards or somehow able to get from one end to the other. Why is it that with the first child or two we were eager to have them crawl and get to the next developmental stage and with my fourth I think, "Oh! Let's just sit right here and play with toys! No need to move anywhere else!" :)

He is a precious blessing. What a joyful, splendid addition he has been to our home!

And yes, I will try to blog more consistently. Thanks for sticking with me in my absence. And thanks to Amy for the great pics. I am falling in love with that setting on her camera where the person is clear and the background is a touch blurry. She's such a good photographer!