Chasing Fireflies

January

January 1 found us still in Arkansas with family.  We ate a New Year's Day dinner of BBQ brisket and root beer floats for dessert (A new tradition?  I hope so!)  We also watched movies.  A great way to start the new year!

January 3 I saw a large red fox run through our back woods behind our house welcoming me back home and to our woods!

January 4 our friend's little boy comes to spend the night with us and spends hours playing with our trains.  :)

January 5 was a Taco Soup kind of night.

January 11 we love and hug on my friend who lost her mom.

January 13 was a Cream of Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese kind of night.

January 16 brought us ice.

January 18 the kids had a fun Friday night with friends.  Making peanut butter cookies was part of the fun.

January 21 we watched the presidential inaguration for our history lesson.

January 31 found us at the theatre as Olivia rehearses for an upcoming play!

History Today

Today marked the 56th inauguration of a US President.

We watched from home for our history lesson today.

Afterwards, we had prayer as we are encouraged to do so from 1 Tim. 2:1-3.

Here is a post from our Inauguration Tea in 2009

See You at the Pole

Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall

Saturday afternoon our family had a rare opportunity.  Each time we have gone to Washington, D.C., I have wanted to take my kids to the Vietnam Memorial, but it has never worked out.  Well, this weekend the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall made a visit to us in Mississippi and we took advantage.

The replica is a 3/5 scale of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., and stands six feet in the center.  The Traveling Memorial contains the names of those who sacfriced their lives just as the original.  It was sobering looking at so many names. 

According to their website: "This Traveling Memorial stands as a reminder of the great sacrifices made during the Vietnam War. It was made for the purpose of helping heal and rekindle friendships and to allow people the opportunity to visit loved ones in their home town who otherwise may not be able to make the trip to Washington."

 

I'm grateful and appreciative of the chance to show my kids the wall and remind them once again of the huge sacrifice so many make for us and our country.  Thank you veterans for your service and sacrifice!

Ford Model T

On March 21 we visited a "Museum on Wheels."  There was a caravan of 30 antique cars and Model T's on a traveling cross county tour that made a stop in our town. 

Beginning the day before, our family began a study of Henry Ford and the Model T.  The kids, Michael, and I throughly enjoyed ourselves.  I even found myself desiring one of these special pieces of history.  Which I guess really should come as no surprise, as I love history and antiques.  :)

The majority of the models were from 1923. 

We learned that even though Henry Ford has been cited for saying “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black" was not always the case.  In the beginning the Model T was not even available in black, but only in grey, green, blue, and red.  It was not until 1914 that the "any color as long as it is black" policy was put into practice.  Why black many people ponder?  Many say it was because black paint was cheap and durable, while others say it dried fast and increased production.  No matter which one, by 1926 other colors were available again to help boost sales.  (Interestingly, our favorite Model T we viewed happened to be black. :) )

1926 Model T Station Wagon

1926 Model T Roadster Pickup

1915 Model T Roadster Pickup

Acetylene gas lamps

Electric headlights

Kerosene tail light

Original wooden spokes

The three foot pedals on the Model T - The left pedal made the car go forward, the middle pedal made the car go in reverse, and the right pedal was the brake

What a grand history lesson we had that day!

Observing Hummingbirds

We have a new pastime at our house - observing hummingbirds.  The kids bought their first hummingbird feeder, put it up yesterday, and have already watched 4 hummingbirds feeding from it today.

I am so proud my kids love to watch nature as much as I do and am delighted to see ruby throated hummingbirds making their way into each of my children's hearts.  :)

Up Close and Personal with a Tiger Moth Caterpillar

Have you ever watched a caterpillar eat a leaf?  I mean really up close?  I hadn't until today, right alongside my kids. 

I caught a tiger moth caterpillar for Isaac yesterday and placed it in his bug box so I could show him when we came outside.  (Unfortunately, I actually forgot about it until today.)  Upon seeing the box, I asked Isaac if he wanted to see the cool caterpillar I caught for him.  Isaac responded positively and I pulled a branch off a black cherry tree to entice the caterpillar out of the box.  The caterpillar seemed to be in quite a rush.  I can't imagine why.  I mean, it hadn't eaten in over 24 hours. (Ooooops.)  So the fuzzy insect made a mad dash for the leaves on the branch and immediately began eating devouring his lunch.  :) 

We watched him for a solid 15 minutes eating a portion of a leaf.  Not only did we watch, but we listened too.  He smacked--and let me tell you he was LOUD.  :)

He had half of the black cherry leaf consumed in a mere 15 minutes.  He was hungry I tell you!  After that he was full I suppose because he turned around and headed back down the branch.  Talking about a very hungry caterpillar triggered Isaac's memory of his beloved book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and he ran inside to retrieve it.  Isaac then proceeded to read to his new fuzzy friend.

After being read to and sure of having a full belly we released "Racer" (To be so little this caterpillar could move!) onto the black cherry tree, bid him "farewell," and watched as he climbed out of sight.

After returning inside Olivia, Isaac, and I drew "Racer" in our sketch books.

Watching a tiger moth caterpillar up close and personal was fascinating, as well as entertaining.  I'm so thankful I had the privilege to be a part of this amazing experience with my children today.

Around Our Yard ~ April 26, 2012

What I Learned Today (or About Roly Polies)

Lesson I learned today:  Roly Polies are not actually insects. They are instead terrestrial crustaceans.

The roly poly has been a part of of my life for as long as I can remember, possibly as young as 3 or 4.  I have always been fascinated with nature and love being in it.  As a child my cousin, Brandi, and I would collect roly polies each summer every time I visited my grandmother's.  I have such fond memories of watching the cute little ones ball up and then try to run away before we scooped them up again to see them ball up again.  We always called them roly poly bugs, but as of today, I know they aren't really bugs. 

Isaac recently has become interested in learning different types of bugs and he was calling the bug he found today a beetle.  When I realized it was a roly poly I went to my National Audubon Society Insect and Spider Field Guide to help him with the scientific name (I was a biology major in college after all!).  After not being able to locate it in my field guide, I turned to my Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock.  Again I was unsuccessful.  So I turned to the internet where Wikipedia informed me the tiny roly poly was definitely not a beetle.  In fact, it is not even a bug at all, but a crustacean.  And all these years I thought they were bugs.  I even took entomology in college for goodness sake! :)

The new things my kids teach me and point out to me intentionally or not are on a daily basis. :)  Thanks to Isaac I now know all about the roly poly, or Armadillidiidae. 

Isaac with Mr. Roly Poly The Crustacean

I also learned that they can be kept as pets. Let's not tell Isaac though because he definitely would want to keep the next roly poly he finds. He had a very difficult time letting his Mr. Roly Poly go today, even after handling him for 2 hours.  :)  

An Outdoor Spring Lunch

Today we took lunch outside to enjoy the beautiful spring day.

We ate hummus and carrot sticks, grapes, and peanut butter and honey sandwiches.

We listened and recorded the sounds around us.

Shiloh's Grand Illumination

On the evening of April 7 our family was fortunate to take part in a special commemoration.

April 6 and 7 marked the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Shiloh in the US Civil War.   

23,746 men lost their lives during these two days.

One illuminating candle represented each man who perished during the horrific conflict.

The engagement at Shiloh was the first large scale battle of the US Civil War and took both the North and South by surprise.

We followed a 10 mile illuminated path through the park.

Many fields were lit in places that actual men would have been standing 150 years ago.  Several places we drove through the center of the battle.

Candles surrounded ponds reflecting the memory of men who fought.

Cannons were illuminated by the lights of the night.

On this special night, lights memorialized men, like the stone and cannon ball memorials have during daylight hours for decades.

A giant star in remembrance of fallen men lit the ground as

the full moon and stars above lit the night sky.

It was a cool and sobering night.  On this one special night, lights memorialized the fallen men unlike any stone, cannonball, or other memorial ever has before in Shiloh National Park.

Each time my camera snapped a picture of the illuminated candles I was reminded how truly honorable these 23,746 men were.  These souls who 150 years ago fought for reasons they believed in all the way to the point of perishing.

It was truly a GRAND illumination!

Evening of March 26, 2012

7:42 P.M. ~ The Moon and Venus appearing in the western night sky

7:49 P.M. ~ The Moon, Venus, and Jupiter just beginning to appear

8:02 P.M. ~ The Moon, Venus, and Jupiter all visible

8:21 P.M. ~ The Moon, Venus, Jupiter, and The Little Dipper (above the Moon and Venus)

8:45 P.M. ~ The Moon, Venus, Jupiter, and The Little Dipper

WHAT AN EVENING!!!!!

I saw ~ The Crescent Moon, Venus, Jupiter, The Little Dipper, and hundreds of fireflies lighting up the woods surrounding my house

I heard ~ frogs and toads in the pond next door and crickets in the woods

I smelled ~ damp dew

I felt ~ cold, damp grass on my barefeet, coolness of a spring evening

(The next opportunity we'll have to view the moon, Venus, and Jupiter lined up in this fashion will be in 24 years.  WOW!)

Colors of our Weekend

RED, WHITE, BLUE, and GREEN

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We enjoyed a special 3-day weekend and:

Took a field trip to Huntsville, Alabama, to the US Space and Rocket Center.

Celebrated St. Patrick's Day - wearing green, eating green food, and searching for clover.

Hung out in the hammock while getting some sun.

Explored our woods and discovered a turtle shell.

Olivia finished up another cross stitch piece.

President's Day

For President's Day this year I wanted the kids to sample some of the same recipes that George Washington and Abraham Lincoln ate while living.   A living history culinary experience you might call it.  :)

I began by doing some research myself. 

According to the Mount Vernon Kitchen website page: 

General Washington's typical breakfast has been described by members of his immediate family and several guests. His step-granddaughter, Nelly Custis Lewis, who was raised at Mount Vernon, wrote "He rose before sunrise, always wrote or read until 7 in summer or half past seven in winter. His breakfast was then ready – he ate three small mush cakes (Indian meal) swimming in butter and honey, and drank three cups of tea without cream."

We made hoecakes (a corn cake named so because orginally they were baked on the blade of a hoe) for our breakfast, and drowned them in butter and honey as George did.  To drink in our Mount Vernon garden house tea cup we had Liberty tea*.  Because as we discussed, we feel sure George would have had liberty tea and not English taxed tea! 

*Background of Liberty tea:  When the king of England placed a tax on tea, many colonial families, protested it. Colonists who did not agree with the kings rule were called Patriots. They refused to buy, sell, or drink tea. Instead, they made their own ‘liberty teas’ from flowers, herbs, and fruit leaves. We made our Liberty tea by steeping raspberry leaves in boiling water.

Isaac and Joshua dressed as George Washington for the day

Later in the evening, for dinner we ate Chicken Fricassee in honor of Abraham Lincoln.  The Questing Feast website writes: 

"It is said that his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln had a hard time getting him to remember to eat at all. When she did discover things that he truly enjoyed, she made sure that they were available whenever he wanted them. For the most part, his food tastes were simple. He loved fresh fruit, particularly apples. One of his favorite meals was simply fresh fruit and nuts, cheese and crackers.

President Lincoln did have two favorite dishes, Chicken Fricassee with biscuits and Oyster Stew."

I served rice, broccoli, and 9 grain bread alongside our Chicken Fricassee.  

I cooked ours in the slow cooker and used thyme, parsley, and oregano for herbs.  It was delicious especially with the rich cream sauce.  It's easy for me to see why Abraham enjoyed it so much-it might become one of my favorite dishes, too.  :)

Although our President's Day was busy and eventful, we had a grand time celebrating two of our country's most honorable president's.

Leap Day

Leap Years are needed to keep our calendar in alignment with the Earth's revolutions around the sun. It takes the Earth approximately 365.242199 days – or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds (a tropical year) – to circle once around the Sun.

However, the Gregorian calendar has only 365 days in a year, so if we didn't add a day on February 29 nearly every 4 years, we would lose almost six hours off our calendar every year. After only 100 years, our calendar would be off by approximately 24 days!

Julius Caesar introduced Leap Years in the Roman empire over 2000 years ago, but the Julian calendar had only one rule: any year evenly divisible by 4 would be a leap year. This lead to way too many leap years, but didn't get corrected until the introduction of the Gregorian calendar more than 1500 years later.

In the Gregorian calendar 3 criteria must be met to be a leap year:

• The year is evenly divisible by 4;
• If the year can be evenly divided by 100, it is NOT a leap year, unless;
• The year is also evenly divisible by 400. Then it is a leap year.

This means that 2000 and 2400 are leap years, while 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, 2300 and 2500 are NOT leap years.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While teaching my kids why we have leap years we sipped Froggy Floats. 

What did you do for leap day?

Information taken from:  http://www.timeanddate.com/date/leapyear.html

100th Year Anniversary ~ Discovery of the South Pole

100 years ago Roald Amundsen along with four members of his team and 16 dogs reached the South Pole and planted the Norwegian flag in the frozen Antarctic ice.  This discovery was historic as man was still trying to conquer the earth just a century ago. 

Olivia has long been fascinated by the story of Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott and their "Race to the South Pole."  I recall her receiving a book on explorers several years ago which sparked ignited her curiosity.  The following weeks she checked out probably a dozen books on the subject from the library.  She researched and learned all about details of their routes and explorations. 

Even today she is so interested in their stories she included The Story of Polar Conquest on her Christmas wish list over a month ago.  In fact, she has shared so many intriguing details of Amundsen and Scott with me that she has now drawn me to their story.  :)

When I realized today was the 100th year anniversary I knew I must do something special in honor of the discovery. 

Tonight after dinner I made a South Pole Marker, grabbed our stuffed penguin, scattered some marshmallows around, and then scooped Polar Cream (vanilla ice cream) and whipping cream into white ramekins, and topped them each off with a miniature south pole marker.

The kids thoroughly enjoyed their Polar Cream and Olivia enjoyed sharing facts about the Amundsen exploration with us while Isaac talked about our "Captain Cook," of Mr. Poppers Penguins, of course.  :)

I'll leave you with this excerpt from the New York Times:

When Roald Amundsen's ship, the Fram, left Norway on Aug. 9, 1910, it carried, in Amundsen's words, "nineteen men, ninety-seven dogs, four pigs, six carrier pigeons, and one canary." The ship was nearly 20 years old, and the expedition leader, Amundsen, was 38. He was already a formidable polar explorer, but this voyage to Antarctica and the South Pole made him one of the greatest explorers who ever lived.

On Dec. 14, a century ago, Amundsen and the four members of his team reached the South Pole. "That day," he wrote, "was a beautiful one," and at 3 o'clock in the afternoon they planted the flag of Norway, each man with one hand on the flagpole. Like so many other days on that polar journey, that day was "like a pleasure trip," as Amundsen later reported. The weather was good, but even better was the planning. The Norwegians were born skiers, excellent dog handlers and skilled navigators. They proceeded across the ice exactly as they had done across the ocean, fixing their location again and again by dead reckoning and with sextants. They also left innumerable cairns and markers to guide them on their return.

In his book, "The South Pole," Amundsen makes none of this sound heroic. He admired the English for their "pluck and grit," but what you feel in reading his account is joy and adventure. Even now, Amundsen is too little admired, mainly because his straightforward success was eclipsed by what a member of Robert Falcon Scott's expedition called the "first-rate tragedy" of Scott's polar push, which ended in the deaths of Scott and his four-man team.

On Dec. 14, Amundsen was at the pole, writing a letter to Scott wishing him a safe return. Scott was 34 days behind him, on a different route. Scott's journal for that day reads, "We are just starting our march with no very hopeful outlook."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Information and pictures taken from:
www.wikipedia.org and www.visionforum.com

Colors of our Weekend

RED, WHITE, BLACK, and BLUE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This weekend we:
Visited the replicas of Columbus' Niña and Pinta,
Treated ourselves to The CrepeMaker,
Baked 3 loaves of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread and 3 loaves of Banana Bread,
Made 2 quarts of applesauce with cinnamon and cloves.

Mona Lisa

1) by Olivia
2) by Isaac
3) by Joshua

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Lift off!

This is what we heard as we witnessed the final space launch this morning from our living room.  What a great lesson for the day and I wanted my kids to have the opportunity to remember "the day of the final space launch."  The kids and I were all captivated by the whole experience-the kids because it's not everyday you get to watch a space shuttle launch into space and me because it's sadly the end of an era. 

Prior to the launch, Isaac located his toy launching pad, booster rockets, and space shuttle to play with while watching the "real deal."  We all listened and watched intently as the countdown took place and then as Atlantis made its way into space.  

I would be lying if I didn't say I was left melancholy after viewing the historic event.  I have been watching shuttle launches my whole life and am always awestruck.  The earliest memory I have was when I was home sick from school in the 6th grade.  The launch was a huge deal because a school teacher was being sent into space.  I remember sitting by my mom as we watched on that day as the Challenger had it's tragic ending.  I have watched Discovery and Columbia launches through the years.  I watched as John Glenn returned to space in 1998.  I was watching the day Columbia made it's decent into earth's atmosphere and desentigrated.  After watching the horrible fate, I was left numb.  So, watching the final space launch this morning was bittersweet, for watching space shuttle launches has been exciting for me over the years and I am sad to see it coming to an end. 

But then, when I was left feeling so melancholy and sad, I heard Isaac playing. 

"ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE. COMMISSION!"

And the shuttle lifted. 

And then I felt all better.  :)

Helen Keller's Birthplace ~ Ivy Green

I have been doing a unit study with Olivia and Isaac about blindness and deafness.  To try to explain the conditions, I blindfolded the kids and let them try to manoeuvre around the house.  Then we went outside, covered our ears, and missed the noises that we are used to hearing.  When Isaac's "light bulb" went off he said, "Mommy, you mean their eyes are broken? And their ears are broken?"  I replied, "Yes, Isaac, unfortunately some people in the world are different from you and are not able to see God's world through their eyes or hear it through their ears.  They have to learn to "see," "hear," and "talk" in different ways from you and I."

In learning about these conditions we read about the life of Helen Keller and her beloved teacher Annie Sullivan.  We studied what Braille is and tried our hands at sign language.  We even watched the movie The Miracle Worker.  To have a real hands-on learning experience I scheduled a field trip to Ivy Green, the birthplace of Helen Keller.  Olivia has long since wanted to visit Ivy Green as she has read books about the remarkable woman whom shares her same birthday. 

An added blessing was having Granddad and Grandma join us on our field tip.  During the time at Ivy Green the kids were able to see where Helen lost her hearing and sight (at 19 months of age), but where she also found how to communicate with others and learned how to "see," "hear," and "talk" in a new way (at 6 years old). 

 

 

The cottage where Helen was born and her parents lived when Helen was a baby sits near to the larger home.  This was the room in which she lost her hearing and sight.  It is also the cottage that Annie Sullivan brought Helen in order to get her away from her family to really teach her.

 

This is Annie Sullivan's room in which Helen locked her in and she had to exit by way of the window.

The dining room in which Annie and Helen fought for many hours until Annie finally taught Helen to sit mannerly, eat from her own plate with a spoon, and taught her to fold her own napkin after completing her meal.  Previously, she had walked around the table at each meal using her hands to scoop food off each persons plate.

 

 

Feeling of braille

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last time I visited Ivy Green was when I was as a Girl Scout around Olivia's age.  I can remember standing in this same spot many years ago appreciating this as the place that Helen Keller learned to "see," "hear," and "talk" in a new way.  This time I was able to experience it again through my children's eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a memorial in honor of Helen by the Lions Club because of the work she did advocating for the disabled.

We were blessed with a beautiful warm day on the day of our visit to Ivy Green.  I pray that my children will remember their visit and not limit their ways to "see," "listen," and "speak" to the world.  Helen Keller's life is a wonderful example.  May we all learn from her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are some of my favorite Helen Keller's quotes: 

Life is either a great adventure or nothing.

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.

I can see, and that is why I can be happy, in what you call the dark, but which to me is golden.  I can see a God-made world, not a manmade world.

Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived.

The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision. 

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.

When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.

Do you have a favorite Helen Keller quote?