Parenting Tip

I read this in my Moms flip calendar for June 30, and thought it was so good...how applicable for my own children and those I work with at school and church. The words were thought provoking and convicting for me. They were a good reminder, especially these days of 'everyone being with everyone' almost all the time all summer. Parenting is hard work, but sure is rewarding, too.

"Discipline is to teach; punishment is to unload anger.
Discipline is reasoned; punishment is inflamed emotion.
Discipline is thought through; punishment is too enraged to think.
When parents discipline, they are working on their child's needs, but when they simply punish, parents are working mostly on their own needs."
-Ron Hutchcraft

What do you think of his words?

Wheels and Deals

We are in full garage sale mode around here....organizing, sorting, tables, pricing, you name it. Tiring? Yes. Rewarding? Hopefully! It's a fun feeling that there are lots of sales on our street and the development to the south of us, so hopefully that will build some momentum for the shoppers. My concern? How I am going to hit the other sales!! :) When Amy Fisher and I used to do sales together, Ken wondered how I could only make like $5 the first day of our sale. My response? "You'll be grateful when Robyn has lots of cute clothes to wear!" (Katelyn's) And now I am selling lots and lots of those clothes. My darlin' has looked cute for all these years...the clothes bring back happy memories as I sort.

A place I've visited lately is www.sarahsdeals.net Check it out if you enjoy finding good deals. She researches ways to combine sales/coupons, stretch a dollar, etc. I don't do everything she suggests, but she's helped me be more conscious of it. I look forward to making $ at the sale so I can go to sales this summer and spend $ on more kids clothes for them! :)

Nathan is at Lake Ann this week. We are happy for him and believe he must be having a grand time. LA is such a neat place - so many activities and great Christian input. We discovered the speaker for the Juniors this week is Mr. Steve Brower. He is the man who runs the Starwood Ranch in Kalkaska, where we went for Ken & Shirley's 50th anniversary! He's fun and full of vitality and I hope Nathan gleans much about God from Steve's speaking. We look forward to having him home Sat.

A highlight of the year is having the Belmonts visit from Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, this is the week that worked for them, because of scheduling issues. We had a grand time with them and the extended Vanderwests on Monday night. It's fun to see the cousins play and rowdy with each other, the adults talk, and of course the food is always delish!

Back to work early in the AM! Come see us if you can! :)

Musings

• Is it bad when the vocational school that is going to fix your truck for the cost of PARTS ONLY is $2,000?!?! Yikes. That tree should have jumped out of the way as Ken came toward it in December. It's only the front left corner, but hit four or five panels. Eww!
• The last Saturday in January is becoming a reserved date on my calendar each year. I am able to accompany many students as they head to solo & ensemble, where they play for a judge. I accompanied 15 middle school students in December, and have 8 HS entries tomorrow...just up the road at Grant MS. It is fun to be able to sit down and play the piano while helping the students...and a little extra $ is nice, too. I love teaching English, but I do miss teaching music. All the students I'm working with are ones who started in 6th grade beginning band with Rob and me.
• Julius Caesar is now dead, Portia has killed herself, and others are about to experience the results of betrayal and conspiracy, as my 10th graders finish Shakespeare's tragedy. This is the first time I've taught it, and I am enjoying it. I've been reminded recently of how thankful I am to have a job I love going to each day. Kent City students and families are great.
• Anyone read Frank Stockton's "The Lady or the Tiger?" My 8th grade is finishing this story. Which way do you think the princess directs her lover...to instant death by the tiger, or to an instant wedding to a beautiful maiden (who the princess despises)???
• I now have tables and chairs in my classroom at school...how wonderful! My previous desks had a small desktop and when students opened up their books, there was little room for anything else. There is a lot of furniture in the room, but it's worth it so they can spread out some. My students seem to like it a lot.
• Our computer is dying a slow death....only one USB port works some of the time, the power cord will not charge the battery at all, so the computer turns off immediately if unplugged, the power cord doesn't stay in the computer well, the screen will not stand upright on its own, etc., etc. Can you believe we found a new laptop through Dell (and the Education Employee's section) for about $400? The best part? It has a CHERRY RED top!! My favorite was the pink top, but since Ken and I share the computer, I thought that might be going overboard.
• The sun is beautiful as it makes streaks through the snow, cutting diagonally through the lines of pine trees. I love looking at the woods.
• Why is it nap ("rest") time and I hear random sounds coming from upstairs?? Better go check on that. :)

Enjoy this weekend!

REV

Sayings

The kids say things that take me off guard sometimes...they're very cute, insightful, or at times just odd.

Setting:

Tuesday morning, 7:15 a.m.

First day of the second semester. Kids have had a 3 1/2 day weekend.

Robyn - 1st grade.

N, R, S at island eating breakfast. Mom sitting at table eating breakfast. Mom feeling a touch nervous about the new semester - lots of new kids, needing to set a good tone in the class and get things going in the right direction, etc.

Robyn, in a sweet, thoughtful voice:

"Mom?"

"Yes, honey?"

"I've been thinking."

"Oh? What have you been thinking about?"

"I've been thinking ... [pause] ... I'm just ready to be done with school."

Oh dear. It's a LONG ways until 12th grade! I didn't bring that up! I said, "Oh, sis, you love Mrs. Vanderlaan and I bet you'll have a great day today. Sometimes it's hard - for me, too - to get back in the swing of things after a break." That seemed to help her, and off she went to finish her morning routine.

And, of course, she had a fine day! I relayed the conversation to my 10th graders, and one of them said, "Don't tell her it just gets 'boringer' when you get older!" "Umm - what was that? More boring?" "Yeah - that's what I meant."

Have your kids said anything funny lately?