G is for Giraffe & H is for Hippo

We didn't do a whole lot during G week as the kids have all been dealing with a cough/cold. We made it to the library and read a lot of Giraffe books as well as curious George books. We did a pre-writing activity and that was about it.

This week for H here are a few of our ideas. Many of them are Hippo related, but we'll also talk about other H words like House, Horse, Honey, Hat, Heart, Hide.

* Hip, Hip, Hip, Hippopatamus, Hip, Hip, Horray God made all of us song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSaJN0m70Ws

* We're using a lot of ideas on this website: coloring page, matching activity, simple puzzle: http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2010/11/letter-h-for-hippo.html

* We already listened to "I want a Hippopatamus for Christmas". It's almost November. I think it's fine ;)

* Going to play Hide & Seek

* Play dress-up with different hats. Create our own hats!

* Work on memorizing: Psalm 119:11

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

 

* H scavenger hunt around the house. I'll draw pictures of things for Hope to find around the house & she then has to find them & collect them. Isaac even enjoys helping with this one! :)

 

 

F is for FOOD

I've been a bit quiet on the blog - blame the broken arm and not feeling 100% myself. The past two weeks have been filled with DINOSAURS and ELEPHANTS for homeschool. We did some great Dino activities, read a bunch of books and Hope was really enjoying the puzzles, in particular, as she could manage those without her left hand. E week - well, let's just say I won't get homeschool mother of the year. We got elephant books from the library. I still haven't read them to the kids. We did do one pre-writing activity after I found some great paint stamps to use.

On to a new week!

Some of the ideas we'll do this week:

* make stamps out of food - you can use apples, potatoes, etc to cut simple shapes into, then dip them into paint and use them like a stamp.

 

* Talk about fruits & vegetables. Go to a market to buy some. Have the kids sort which ones are fruits & which are vegetables

* Bake/Cook/Prepare food all week :)

 

* Using old magazines (if I can find some), we will make a large F on paper and have the kids go through magazines to find pictures of food, then glue them to the large F as a collage.

 

* Learn how to set the table

* Talk about communion

* Put together a food package as a gift for someone we might know is in need,

*  Get pictures of different foods - sort by color.

* Use food to count - ex. "1 apple, 2 bananas, 3 grapes..."

* Grocery store rainbow hunt & eating a rainbow: http://www.toddlerapproved.com/2012/05/eating-rainbow-two-fun-activities-for.html

C is for Clothing

* disclaimer: My dear friend, Loretta, is also homeschooling her 4 year old here in Dar. We are coordinating during the weekends a bit and doing the same letter for the week. We are trying to get together once a week to do some activities together. She always has great ideas, and some of the weekly ideas on the blog are hers! Thanks, Loretta!! :)

* another disclaimer: I don't know what I'm doing. I try to incorporate gross motor skills and fine motor skills each week through various activities. I also try to incorporate some music, colors, counting (in English and Swahili) and physical activity each week. I also hope to expose Hope to some basic life skills - not expecting her to DO these things all the time, but showing her, i.e. cooking, laundry, using simple tools, etc.

Finally, onto the letter C...

Bible Story: A New Beginning (Noah's ark, from Genesis 6 - 9)

Activities:
* sorting/folding clothes - I'll give Hope a basket of her own clothes, having her sort them by color. Then, I will help her learn how to fold the various items.

* washing clothes - I'll show Hope the process of how we wash clothes, hang them on the line, take them off the line, and ironing.

* We will visit a few shops and pick out material to buy. We will then design a simple skirt or hand puppet or something. We will learn about how clothes are made. Towards the end of the week, we will have our friend sew our design together!

* Color Scavenger Hunt/matching: have various colors of construction paper on the floor and have Hope hunt for clothes that match the colors.

* Both Loretta and I cloth diaper, so a counting activity we will try is to lay out some cloth diapers, with a number on them. We will have the kids attach the same number of clothes pins to the diaper.

Physical Activity: Loretta came up with a great idea of doing a "dress up relay" of sorts when we get together. It will include dressing in various clothing items, but also racing/running.

Music: "Who Built the Ark", "Arky, Arky", and "Jesus Loves Me"

Craft: I have some paper dolls that my mom sent to me. We will play with the dolls a bit, and also use some scrapbooking paper to design new clothes for our paper dolls!

B is for Butterfly

 

Bible: "The Terrible Lie" - Talk about how God is absolute truth

Printable letter search: we'll use something like the butterfly letter search found HERE

Craft: Love the Butterfly on THIS site. I'm hoping to fill our dining room windows with these fun crafts from our letters each week.

Books: "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and we'll see what else we find at the library.

Counting/Sorting: Holy smokes - this lady has done it all: B is for Butterly ideas
Pretty much just going to use her site for all my B activities!! For sure going to use the matching butterly game. I plan to make some butterflies out of fun scrapbook paper that I have, then cutting them in half for Hope to match.

Outside Play: Our home has a cement wall around it, which means I can use sidewalk chalk AGAIN this week! :) I'm going to draw butterflies randomly on the walkway and wall around our house, and we'll go on a "butterfly hunt" to try and find all of them. Who knows? Maybe we'll see some real butterlfies on the hunt!

Music: "If I were a butterfly": Do you remember this song? Can't wait to teach Hopey, she's going to love it! :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imO2NiKo_AQ

Snack: My friend sent me a picture of the cutest butterfly snack - found it on pinterest here. So many of the snack ideas I find are unavailable here in Dar. We don't have a lot of crackers, hard to find pretzels (and they are expensive when we find them), and cereal is over $6/box for the very very off brand. So a snack with apples, PB and carrots is a perfect fit!

A is for Apple

Hope is turning 4 on Septmeber 15th.  For her to attend Kindergarten at HOPAC, she must be 5 years old by the start of the school year. Next year she will miss that cutoff by 2-3 weeks. Therefore, she not only has this year home with me, but next year also.

 

I want my daughter to love learning. I want her to be engaged. I want her to love books and being creative and enjoy music and activity. I am not naturally a 'pinterest' mom, nor am I a teacher. I don't love or have a passion for crafts and creating fun things for my kids. I used to adore when Hope's speech therapist came over with all kinds of fun activities and let all of my kids engage - at least my kids were getting it somewhere! :) So this is a bit of stretch for me, but I'm feeling called to attempt a little bit of "mommy school" with Hope this year. I'm trying to really be intentional in these precious years I have home with my kids.

 

I'll document a bit of what I do, hopefully regularly, on this blog. It's mainly a way to keep track of different links I use and if it goes well, to reference it if/when I need to for Geneva. Feel free to send me ideas, links, blogs, etc.

 

At this point I'll plan a 'theme' and just see how long it takes to get through it. We're not going to direct our lives around having a regular 'school time' so it may take a few weeks just to get through the letter A.

 

For our Bible stories, I'll be using the JESUS STORYBOOK BIBLE

A is for Apple

 

Printable color page: HERE

 

Bible: Read the creation account "The Beginning: a perfect home" -  GOD AS CREATOR.

 

Craft: coffee filter apples: HERE

Activity: make applesauce (incorporate counting/measuring)

Counting: counting activity - we will probably use beans, as those are always in my pantry

Sensory: I think I'll attempt a sensory bin. It will likely include various dried beans as the base and perhaps small laminated apples and both upper and lower case "A"s. I don't have a great Hobby Lobby near by to pick up cute other apple accessories. I'll throw in a few small plastic cups for sorting and maybe a sand shovel. Hope's not ready to start identifying 'things that start with A", thought that would work in a sensory bin for older kids.

Outside Play: I'm going to write in sidewalk chalk all the letters of the alphabet, with multiples of  both lower and upper case A. We'll try different activities - have her find and circle all the A's, jump from one A to the next, and probably a connect - the - dot type activity (so when I space out the A's, I'll make them in the shape of an apple)

Book: Check out the HOPAC library for a book on apples!

The Story of the Apple Star: HERE

Music:

Sing to the tune: I'm a Little Teapot I'm a little apple, short and round, I make a munchy, crunchy sound, If you bite into me you will see - I'm delicious as can be!

Apples (sung to tune of "Are you Sleeping?") Picking apples picking apples one by one one by one Put them in a basket Put them in a basket Oh what fun! Oh what fun!


Apples, Apples 
(Tune: "Twinkle, Twinkle") Apples juicy, apples round, On the tree or on the ground. Apples yellow, apples red, Apple pie and juice and bread! Apples crunchy, apples sweet, Apples are so good to eat!

http://www.alphabet-soup.net/dir2/applesong.html

Almond Poppeyseed Bread

Almond Poppyseed Bread

Bread:

3 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

1 1/8 cups cooking oil

2 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 T. poppy seeds

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp butter flavoring extract (or 1 1/2 tsp melted butter can be substituted)

Glaze:

1/4 cup orange juice

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp butter flavor extract (or 1 1/2 tsp melted butter can be substituted)

Instructions:
For the bread: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all of the ingredients together. Pour into greased and floured baking pans. Makes 6 small loaves or 2 large loaves. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes for large pans and less for smaller pans. If you have a dark metal pan make sure to bake it for less time at a lower temperature. I overdid this batch a little bit because I used a dark pan. I like the disposable foil bread pans the best.

For the Glaze:

Pour all ingredients into a small saucepan and let cook on stove on medium heat until sugar dissolves. Remove bread from pans and pour glaze over warm bread. Use knife or spatula to bring the glaze that has run off up and over the warm bread until it stays on.

More recipes

Posting a few more recipes that are 'easy' to do here in TZ. Kind of for my own reference, but hope you'll enjoy them too! Let me know if you try any of them!

Chili Recipe that Marc really loved: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/simple-perfect-chili-recipe/index.html

Quinoa Cheddar Bake: A variation of the chicken/rice/broccoli bake. I left the chicken out & it was yummy: http://thescrumptiouspumpkin.com/2013/03/28/easy-quinoa-cheddar-bake-with-chicken-and-broccoli/

Tortillas. So many recipes. So many attempts at making them round. Here's Marc's fav from all I've tried so far: http://thehippyhome.blogspot.com/2012/06/homemade-flour-tortillas-without-lard.html

Making cakes from scratch. I've only tried a few recipes. This is good cake - didn't make the frosting listed, but will likely try it next cake baking time: http://sweetapolita.com/2011/07/fluffy-vanilla-cake-with-whipped-vanilla-bean-frosting/

Homemade Mac & Cheese. No Kraft around here - gotta make the real stuff: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/04/macaroni-cheese/

Meal Plan for this week

Wednesday, September 4

Sausage Smothered White Beans

1/2 lb. dry white beans, soaked overnight

1 T. oil

1 lb. smoked sausage, quartered and sliced

1 large yellow onion, diced

1/3 c. green pepper, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 T. cumin

1 t. black pepper

1/4 t. cayenne pepper

1/4 c. green onion, sliced - haven't found yet!

1 1/2 t. salt

 

Heat oil in a large pot. Add sausage and cook 3 - 4 minutes. Add onion,

green pepper and garlic. Cook 5 more minutes.

Stir in beans, cumin, and peppers. Add water just to cover. Bring to a boil,

reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for at least 2 to 3 hours, until

beans are tender and creamy.

Just before serving, stir in green onions and salt.

NOTE - If you want to make this a vegetarian meal, omit the sausage and

serve the beans over brown rice.

 

Thursday, September 5

Beef & Tomato Bake, Side: carrots & peas

1-lb. ground beef(or 1lb. cooked lentils)

1 lb. rotini

1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes, undrained

2 tsp. Italian seasonings

½ c. each Mozzarella and cheddar cheese for topping

¼ c. each Bread crumbs and grated Parmesan for topping

Brown ground beef with 2 tsp. Italian seasoning. Drain. Add can of diced

tomatoes, undrained, and 2 tsp. basil. Let simmer uncovered for about 20

minutes until liquid is evaporated.

Meanwhile cook pasta, drain, and set aside.

Mix together meat and pasta and spread in 9×13 baking dish. Top with

mozzarella and cheddar cheese, bread crumbs, and Parmesan cheese.

Ground beef can be substituted with lentils.

Friday, September 6

Grilled Pork Chops, sides: mashed potatoes, roasted veggies

4 – 6 Pork chops

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 c. honey

½ c. soy sauce

Sprinkle salt and pepper on pork chops. Place in a glass dish. In a small

bowl, combine honey and soy sauce. Pour over pork chops and marinate at

least one hour. Grill about 5 minutes per side, or until done. Or bake at 350

degrees for 30-35 minutes.

For the barbecue sauce:

1 1/2 c. ketchup

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 t. each – allspice, crushed red pepper flakes, pepper, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder

Add everything to a small bowl and stir until combined. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes

before using to allow the flavors to blend.

Saturday, September 7

BBQ Biscuit Cups, side: green beans

Yields: 1 dozen

1 ½ c. flour

2 t. salt

1 T. baking powder

¼ c. butter or margarine, cut into small pieces

¼ - ½ c. milk

1 lb. Ground beef, fully cooked and drained or 2 c. fully cooked kidney beans

or lentils

1 c. barbecue sauce

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

In a bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder. Cut in butter or margarine

until crumbly. Slowly add milk, starting with just ¼ cup and adding more as

needed, to form a smooth but not sticky dough. Roll out dough and cut into

12 circles. Press into muffin tins.

Combine cooked ground beef with barbecue sauce. Scoop into biscuit lined

muffin tins. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven,

cover each cup with some shredded cheese and return to oven until cheese

melts, about 3-5 minutes.

 

For the barbecue sauce:

1 1/2 c. ketchup

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 t. each – allspice, crushed red pepper flakes, pepper, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder

Add everything to a small bowl and stir until combined. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes

before using to allow the flavors to blend.

 

KITCHEN TIP – These freeze really well. You can freeze any leftover or make

a double batch. Freeze in plastic freezer bags. To reheat, bake from frozen

at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, until heated through.

 

Recipes

I've had to try many new recipes here, as I'm cooking everything from scratch and there are different things available here than back home. I thought I'd post a few of my favorite new recipes here every so often!

Easy Foccacia Bread (Amy Medina, USA)

Mix:
* 2 cups flour
* 2 cups very warm water
* 2 t. yeast

Add:
* 2 cups flour
* 2 t. salt

Dough should still be sticky. Cover & let rise until double.

With fingers dipped in oil, spread dough onto an oiled cookie sheet. Sprinkle with coarse salt, rosemary, garlic powder or Italian seasoning.

Bake at 450 F for 25-30 minutes. Cut or tear into strips and dip in olive oil and balsamic vinegar or garlic butter.

Pizza Crust

Mix:
* 1 1/2 c tepid water
* 1 1/4 t yeast
* 1/2 t sugar
Leave for 10 minutes

Add:
* 1 t salt
* 2 T olive oil
* 2 1/2 c flour

Knead and continue to add one more cup of flour. Leave to rise for 1 hour. Hit it with your fist & push it down. Spread it on a greased pan. Cover with pizza sauce, cheese & toppings. Bake at 425 F for 25 minutes.

The cookbook doesn't say how much this makes, so the first time I used one batch for 1 pizza. It covered an ENTIRE cookie sheet and was probably 1-2 inches thick. It took much longer to bake, but was really yummy. The second time, after I realized how much it made, I split the batch & did two regular size circle pizzas. The crust was 'normal' thickness, and a little more crispy than the first batch. Make to your own liking!

Pizza Sauce
Fry half a chopped onion and a few cloves of garlic in 1 Tbsp of olive oil.

Add:
* 1/2 can tomato paste
* 1/2 cup water
* 1/2 t salt
* 1/4 t pepper
* 1 t oregano
* 1/4 t garlic powder
* 1/4 t thyme

Cook for about 10 minutes or more. Spread over pizza dough & top with cheese & other toppings!

Mirjam's Cappuchino Muffins (Mirjam Smits, The Netherlands)

Combine:
* 2 cups flour
* 3/4 cups sugar
* 2 1/2 t baking powder
* 1 Tbsp instand coffee powder
* 1/2 t salt
* 1 t cinnamon

Combine in another bowl:
* 1 cup milk
* 1/2 cup melted butter
* 1 egg
* 1 t vanilla

Combine all but do not over mix!

Bake in oven 10 - 15 minutes (pre-heated)

So, the cookbook says to bake 'gas over 4', which I don't know what that means. I think I had the oven between 350-400. I also added 1 Tbsp of cocoa powder, because I wasn't sure the kids would like just the coffee flavor. They turned out great and the kids (and Marc) liked them! It would be fun to add chocolate chips, but I can't find them here. :(

On Being a Mom

* I only have three pair of pants that fit me 6 months postpartum. My nursing bras don't really fit that well & are severely uncomfortable. My muffin top has become more of a cake top. Stretch marks cover more of my body than not. Three kids and four pregnancies have left their marks all over. Your genuine compliments of my appearance last me months. For real.

* I haven't slept an uninterrupted eight hours of sleep in who knows how long. Comments about looking tired, while they may be completely true, are not helpful. Rude comments heard on perpetually little sleep are not a good combo. On the outside, I'll probably laugh and agree, but inside I'm rolling my eyes and maybe even punching something. And while we're at it, comments like, "You've sure got your hands full" will result in the same inner reaction.

* I love offers for help. When I get over the initial, "crap, i'm doing soo poorly as a parent it's obvious I need help" thought, I really want your help! But don't assume you know what type of help is most helpful. A friend mentioned that she would rather get meals when she starts back to work after maternity leave, rather than the weeks following delivery. Who knew? Nobody. Cause they didn't ask. Please ask instead of assume, so that your help is truly the best use of your time and most beneficial.

* I want to hang out with my friends without kids (mine, theirs our both) present. I do. But sometimes, it's just so much stinking work. There's lining up a sitter if the hubby isn't available. Then there is picking up the house for the sitter, because my house is a disaster pretty much all the time. And yes, when you see it, that's what I call "clean". There's pumping and getting bottles ready. Thers's finding a cute enough outfit that hids the rolls and isn't a sweatshirt. There's actually having to care about my appearance. Sometimes, hanging out in sweats on the couch with ice cream after the kids have gone to bed is the best plan ever.

* My kids have a lot of crap. I love the thoughtfullness and generosity of friends and family who bring over random surprises for my kids, but at some point it has to be enough. Instead of material things, give them your time. Read them a book. Take them outside and play soccer. Go on a kid-date with them. Play a game. Have them help you with a project. I don't want to perpetuate a materialistic, entitled attitude in my children. If you do bring a goodie, make is a perishable, usable one. My dad brings a sucker for each kid almost every time he comes over. It's simple, it's appreciated, it's gone after a few minutes and doesn't take over my toyroom.

* I make mistakes. I'm not perfect. But please let me parent my own child. At McDonalds the other day, I was reminding Hope that she needed to eat all of her nuggets before she could have the coveted happy meal toy. There was a woman trying to talk with me, admiring my kids and trying to act like "grandma". She butted in and told Hope she just needed to take "a little nibble" instead of eat the whole thing. I'm sorry - who are you? And what gives you any authority over my kid? Let me do the parenting, please.

* I'm not a pinterest mom, and that's okay. While I love looking & pinning ideas, I don't really follow through on most of what I pin. I feed my kids junk sometimes. We buy valentines from the store. Birthday party decorations come from the Dollar Tree and the cakes from Sam's Club. We've been stuck in a "lets make cards with stamps and stickers" craft rut for about 2 years now. I bought almost everything to make resurrection eggs over 2 years ago & still haven't done them. Sometimes it's hard  not to feel bad about my lack of 'pinteresty' activities for and with my kids. But my life, my time, my kids, my ministry and my gifts are different from other moms. And it's okay.

* I love to talk about my kids. I'll tell you all about the latest adorable thing Hope said, or Isaac's latest accomplishment at school or how Geneva is starting to growl (seriously, she growls like a dog...no idea what's going on there). I'm also very happy to not talk about my kids. Engage me in converstaion about my dreams, my passions, my church, my community. Let me hear about yours, too. Inspire me with YOUR dreams and passions. Let's dream together, pray together, or just sit in silence. That's not something I get often. And it says something about our relationship if we can sit comfortably in silence together.

* Sometimes I don't know how to answer the question, "How many children do you have?". Four pregnancies. Three children. Somedays I don't even think about the one we lost. Other times I am reminded. I'm willing to talk about it. And I'm willing to listen. I know too many women in my life who have had 1, 2, or even 3 miscarraiges. I have friends who have carried littles ones they knew they would not have the chance to meet this side of heaven. I have friends who said hello and goodbye to babies way too early. I have friends who long with all of their heart to be pregnant, carry a little one, and be a mama. While sometimes I take my role as a mother for granted, or sometimes  complain, get overwhelmed or wish for a break, I really do understand the amazing gift of motherhood and the incredible blessing it is to be 'mommy' to Isaac, Hope, Geneva, and baby D.

These are some of my random thoughts after some friends and I had a book study this morning on the book, "Desperate" by Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson. I'm sure I'll add to it as I have more time to think (and actually finish the book ;)

What are your thoughts on being a mom? I'd love to add some to the list.

Reformed Creeds & Confessions

We are starting a new unit in Inklings this week on Reformed Creeds and Confessions. I am excited to teach students about the history of these important standards of our faith, as well as help them see their relevance and use for our own faith formation - still in 2013! We are going to start out tomorrow morning with a little pop quiz, just so I can gauge what students already might know and what they do not. Want to take it? I thought you might. Here it is - a simple 10 question quiz. How did you do? Want to come sit in our class at Plymouth Heights to learn more with us?? You're welcome to!

I'll post answers after my students take it. :)

Reformed Creeds and Confessions

Inklings, March 3, 2013

POP QUIZ!

1. How many creeds has the CRC adopted?

               Name them:

2. How many confessions does the CRC hold to?

               Name them:

3. What do you think are the purposes of creeds and confessions?

 

4. What are the three main divisions in the Heidelberg Catechism?

 

5. In which confessional document would you find the five points of Calvinism, or TULIP?

 

6. What does TULIP stand for?

               T:

               U:

               L:

               I:

               P:

7. Which confession was written first?

 

8. Which creed is most widely accepted and used by Christians today?

 

9. Which creed addresses the doctrine of the Trinity most extensively?

 

10. What role do the Creeds and Confessions play in YOUR life and faith?

Genetics 101 - update (already!)

Many of you know we have been to see the geneticist several times now with Hope. She has a few possible indicators of some genetic disorders/abnormatlities. As the geneticist has said several times, there aren't enough indicators for it to for sure be something, but there are too many indicators for it to be nothing. Our latest appointment in October brought up having a spectrum array test done. It's a simple blood test (though over $1000 - so thankful for insurance that covers it!) that he thought might be helpful.

He has described genetics essentially as a book. Each person has a book. In that book are supposed to be 46 pages - a page for each chromosome. Each page has tons of words on it (genes). The test we had done is to see if all of Hope's 'pages' are there. We should get the results in another 2 - 3 weeks or so. The geneticist has told us that only 10 - 15% something is found. There are other, more in depth tests we could have done, but we will not pursue it further if nothing shows up on this one. We'll keep another appointment for April and likely have another scan done, and then not see him again for 1 - 2 years.

UPDATE: Crazy - seriously crazy. I posted this and not more than 5 minutes later, I got a call from the geneticist that the results were in & everything is NORMAL!!

Thoughts on Quimby

In my class, I had to reflect upon a life event. Thought I'd share it here, since so many of you followed our "Quimby saga". :) Just a snippet of what God taught me through it all.

In the fall of 2008, my husband Marc and I became landlords. We moved into the parsonage of the church where I worked, and we decided to rent out the house we had bought as a newly married couple.  The house was nothing special, but it was something we had carefully decorated, updated, cared for and held many special memories for us. When time came for a new lease and another month's rent, we discovered the woman on the lease was in jail, had others living there who didn't have rent money and the house was completely trashed. What followed included phones calls to lawyers, locksmiths, a dumpster to remove all the trash, gutting the kitchen, insurance claims, thousands of dollars that we certainly didn't have, every single free night and Saturday we had for about six months and asking help from family, friends, and our church.

As we filled the dumpster with loads of trash I kept asking how in the world people could live this way. How could she let her children color in permanent marker all over the walls and ceilings? How could she let other people live there who couldn't pay? Why were there eleven mattresses in a three bedroom house?  How could she let a leaky faucet ruin an entire kitchen and never correct the simple problem? How could she sell lawn mowers and other things out of the garage that didn't belong to her ? How could she allow drugs, alcohol, tobacco and pornography to exist in the same home as young children? How could she break doors, put huge holes in the walls, ruin all the carpet and wood floors and never think about the damage she was doing to us? How could she be so completely selfish, neglectful, filthy, ignorant, broken and utterly disgusting?

As Marc and I were the landlords of a simple, one hundred year old house, God is much more significantly the landlord of the earth, and the creator of all life.  He gave us the responsibility of caring for his world and one another.

Genesis 1:29-31 ²⁹ Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of               the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰             And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that        move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there          was morning—the sixth day.

 We are God's people, yet we have acted and continue to act like the renters of our Quimby house. We are completely selfish, neglectful, filthy, ignorant, broken and utterly disgusting. Does God not have every right to ask us the questions I wanted to ask of my renter? How can we continue to live this way? How can we do so much damage to ourselves, others and the world and not think of the damage we do to our Lord? We have taken the good gifts of God and exchanged them for unworthy imitations.

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
¹¹ there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
¹² All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”

^{Romans 3:11 - 12}

It took longer than I care to admit for me to forgive my renter. The anguish she caused and my disgust at her lifestyle were overwhelming and I am not sure she has any idea what her actions did. It felt good to be furious with her. I needed a direction for my wrath and anger, and she was the natural recipient. In my mind, she deserved my judgment and unforgiveness.

God's wrath also needs a direction and we are the natural recipient. We deserve God's judgment and have no right to be forgiven, but instead he imputed the guilt of our sin to Christ, and we are declared righteous in his sight.

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.  Isaiah 53:6

Our sin and brokenness is so much worse than a simple ruined kitchen and marker on a wall. God's wrath is much more severe than our anger as landlords of the ruined house. Yet, the awesome gift of God's grace is more than we can comprehend. His love for his people is deeper, wider, higher and more intense than we can fathom.

"Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies." Psalm 36:5

I will not forget the feelings I experienced through the discovery of the trashed house, the rebuilding and restoration of it and finally the selling of it. It will serve as a reminder of the amazing reconciliation to God that has been offered to us through Christ. Praise be to God!

Izzy Fighter

http://fightingforizzyauction.wordpress.com/about/

This is a link to an online auction for friends of mine, Molly & Kendrick. Their 4 year old daughter, Izzy, is fighting stage 4 cancer. She's fighting for her life. They should be getting results tomorrow from a bunch of scans they did today to see how effective the chemo has been. Please pray for Izzy, Molly, Kendrick & older brother Carter. If you have a few dollars to spend or are looking for a gift for someone, head over to the auction & see what there is!

GIve Thanks

I've missed more than a couple days of Giving Thanks! Let's catch up:

* I'm thankful for my new little one, Geneva Claire!

* I'm thankful for my husband, who works so hard at work and then still comes home and gives, gives, gives. He even takes a turn at night holding Geneva, changing her, etc.

* I'm thankful for how well Isaac and Hope have adjusted to having a baby around! They love her and always want to hold her, kiss her, etc.

* I'm thankful for our family - both blood & church - getting meals delivered is AMAZING! While I feel pretty good and have gotten out of the house a few times, I'm not ready to go to the grocery store, let alone try to cook something when we're no where near on a schedule and I'm exhausted. It's truly a blessing. And man, people in our church can cook! I'm going to be requesting some recipes.

* I'm thankful that Marc has had some great conversations about our move to Tanzania with his principal and administrators. I'm thankful for all the support and encouragement we've received since we've told people about our plans. While some people might think we're crazy, not many people have told us that to our face.

* I'm thankful for my volunteer leaders at church. Maternity leave would not happen without ALL of them. Everyone has been so willing to step in so that I can have a few weeks at home with my family. I am so grateful for this time.

* I'm thankful for fall. I'm going to miss fall next year. I love fall in Michigan. The colors, the smells, the foods, the activities...it's beautiful.

* I'm thankful for coffee. Seriously. I'm going to get myself a cup right now.

* I'm thankful for Hope's speech therapist, Becky. She's been awesome and very encouraging. We're going to bump up the amount of therapy Hope receives as we look forward to moving. We are not so sure there will be many resources for speech therapy in Tanzania, so they therapists are going to try to teach me as much as possible so I can continue working with Hope while we're there. I'm so grateful for the resources available here, and that they're FREE! What a true blessing!

* I'm thankful for an amazing home that is spacious and allows us room to be hospitable. Growing up, we had several non-family members live with my family; a couple of college guys (family friends), and a few of my mom's small group students who had rough family lives. I got used to sharing my space and family with others. It has seemed natural that throughout our married life, Marc and I have had 2 of his sisters live with us at various times, and 5 international students. This would not have been possible without this home that we rent.

* I'm thankful for my church; for my co-workers, for my students, for my volunteers, for my friends, for community, for the fact that I live next door, for the freedom to worship!

* I'm thankful that right now, WE DON'T OWN QUIMBY! Whew. I HATE still having to make payments for it, but at least the actual physical burden of owning it is no longer on our shoulders.

* I'm thankful for the doors that have opened and the clear leading that the Lord has given us in our decisions regarding Tanzania. He has truly made his will known to us and we are humbled and excited to be on this journey.

* I'm thankful for technology that makes the world a bit smaller. I love that I can keep up with friends and family that are not in GR easily. I'm thankful that when we move, we have these tools to keep up with everyone here!

* I'm thankful that we could pay off a debt this month!

* I'm thankful for slippers.

* I'm thankful that I'm in my last class at CTS and that I will (pending internship & oral comps) graduate this spring with my Masters!

* I'm thankful for clean water, indoor plumbing, healthy food, a warm home, more clothes than I need.

* I'm thankful for coffee. Did I say that already? ;)

So many gifts to be thankful for. I am certainly blessed.

Geneva Claire

So I thought I'd share a bit more of the birth story for those of you who might be interested (and for my own memories).

I had a doc appt the Monday after my due date and the doc scheduled a non stress test and another appt for the following Friday (11/2). The non stress test went fine and at the appt the NP told me I was still only 1 cm, about 50% and baby was still at postition -2. UGH. Seriously I know God made women's bodies to have babies, but I think he forgot something in me...my babies have all needed medical motivation to come meet us.

I was sure my doc would schedule another NST for the following Monday or Tuesday and then induce, but to my surprise, he was comfortable setting the date as I needed induction with the other two kids and they had both been successful. So, we planned for Sunday night. When the receptionist called over to set it up, Sunday AND Monday were full. I almost cried thinking it would be Tuesday, but then she said, "How's Saturday?". Um, YES PLEASE!

Now, I am not all about inductions. I hate them. I hate that I've never gone into labor on my own. I've had to spend an extra night in the hospital with each birth. I've had long labors. I've been afriad to not get an epidural because of how long the labors are. BUT, when you're already 41 weeks and realize you're probably going to be induced whether you do it the next day or next week, it's a welcome relief to have it scheduled.

So, on Saturday we went out to Wolfgangs for breakfast as a family of four, came home and cleaned a bit, went to the store to get food for Jun while we were away, packed the kids and brought them over to my parents house. We grabbed some Jimmy Johns as my 'last meal' and headed to the hospital.

We had a resident, a med student, my doc & our nurse all talking to us about the 'plan'. It was refreshing to be a part of that discussion, and tell them my hopes (no pitocin, probably epidural) and to have them truly consider my past inductions and what worked (cytotec) and what didn't (cervadil). So, we went with what had worked - cytotec. It's a 4 hour med that is to help you dialate, essentially. The first round produced a few contractions, but nothing serious. So, around 1:30am they started a second round. We got a few hours of sleep and around 6:10am I woke up to a painful contraction. The doc checked around 6:30am and I was at 5cm. I soon after asked for an epidural because the contractions were 'tripleing' - I would have 3 in a row with no break in between. Then about 30 seconds rest and 3 more. I got the epidural around 7:15/7:30am and when the doc checked me around 7:45am I was 10cm. Went from a 5 to a 10 in about an hour. The doc had me labor down a while so baby could drop more and a little before 9:00am I got to start pushing. It probably took 15-20 minutes of pushing, and Geneva arrived! The epidural didn't fully work because things progressed so quickly, but it at least took the edge off.

Geneva Claire was 8lbs 9oz and 21 3/4" long and born at 9:06am.

She came the easiest, the quickest and was the smallest!

We chose the name Geneva because we liked it. :) We've typically done a 'Bible' type of name, and while Geneva isnt' in the Bible, Eve is (Hebrew for Life), and we will most likely call her Eve as a nick name. Her middle name is Claire after my grandmothers, who both had the name Clara.

Give Thanks - Days 2 & 3

Today I'm thankful for TCBY. I've been craving it the last few weeks and had a few coupons I've cashed in finally. It's the simple things sometimes, folks.

And for yesterday, I'm thankful for a washing machine and dryer. Not having a working dryer for over a week a while back made me realize how much I depend on it and appreciate it. I had a few nice days where I could line dry our laundry, but a few wet & windy days that made it difficult to keep up. I actually love drying things, but being this pregnant & having to carry the baskets upstairs, outside & hang the laundry was about as much as I could do in one day. It zapped me. Things will be a bit different next year when we have to line dry/iron EVERYTHING!

Give Thanks Day 1

Year after year I see people do the "Give Thanks" month on their blog for November. Well, this year I'm hopping on that bandwagon!

As I hope to instill in my children thankful hearts, I must model that attitude for them and figure this is a start! I'll also be doing some activities with the kids this month but am trying to come up with those yet. We did a thanksgiving tree last year, which was fantastic, but they are doing one in Isaac's class this year so I'm trying to think of something different. It also has to be flexible enough to be interrupted with baby girl coming and the chaos of a newborn at home. So, nothing set in stone, but hoping to have some fun this month with the kiddos as we look forward to Thanksgiving!

What I am thankful for today is medicine. As I am now overdue and think on my past pregnancies, I wonder what would have happened (and what would happen) without modern medicine!? Would Isaac have survived 100 years ago being overdue with low fluids & not coming out after 3 hours of pushing? What would have happened? What is this baby was overdue & there was no way of interveening to make sure she comes out healthy? I have too many friends who have or are dealing with cancer right now - in themselves or their children - and the chemo they are receiving is sustaining their lives. From a simple prilosec that allows me to eat without throwing up every day to the life-saving measures that doctors and nurses perform each and every day - I am grateful.

CHRISTMAS CRAFT & VENDOR BENEFIT

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1ST

9:00AM - 1:00PM

PLYMOUTH HEIGHTS CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH

1800 PLYMOUTH AVE SE, 49506

This craft and vendor show is a fundraiser to support our family moving to Tanzania, Africa through Christian Reformed World Missions in July 2013. Crafters and vendors will include: * Blessings Unlimited * 31 * Miche * Tupperware * Just Jewelry * Lia Sophia * Tastfully Simple * Oragami Owl * Scentscy * Premiere * Life Expressions * Bring them Joy * Pampered Chef * LaVa Babies * and MORE are being added all the time! There will also be home crafted goods, such as beaded jewelry, handmade cards, hair clips/bands for kids, knitted and crocheted kids hats, sweater mittens, baked goods and MORE! Come start your holiday shopping while supporting a GREAT CAUSE! If you're interested in having your own booth, there are a few spots available. Email me at gretchendriesenga@gmail.com for more information and an application.

Hope Update

We had our 6 month appointment with the geneticist this week. We were there for over an hour going over updates, checking her out, wondering, planning. I love this doctor. While the first time, it was hard to hear him describe Hope's features with such medical terms, he always mentions how cute she is and that seems to help. :) We spend about 20 minutes with the genetic counselor, and then the doc comes in and spends over 30 minutes with us. It was probably closer to 45 with Isaac interjecting and wanting HIS head measured, and HIS arm length checked, etc. They are very patient over there, that's for sure.

While Hope's growth curve for height, weight and head circumfrance all continue to grow parallel to one another,  her head circumfrance continues to be off the charts. We hope each appointment that the gap will begin to close and her head growth slows down, but that's not the case yet. The doc noticed a few new things, but nothing that would ease him into a diagnosis of any kind. So, we still don't really know if we're working with anything at all, or something that has a real name. We will likely be getting a Microarray test done soon, which is a simple blood test that will determine what Hope's chromosones look like - if there are mutations, additions or deletions from what should be. About 10-20% of these tests turn up helpful info, so it's likely it won't do a whole lot of good, but with insurance covering it all, worth the shot.

In addition to the geneticist, we met with one of the speech therapists one on one this week. She brought up her thoughts about Hope's development and wondered if she  might have Childhood Apraxia of Speech (Apraxia info) rather than just a delay. Reading through the info, it seems very likely. She and the other therapists are going to pay specific attention to her in the next few playgroups and do a little diagnostic work with her to see that's what it is. If it is, the playgroup we're in now (Hanan "It Takes Two" program - 2 1/2 hours a week) is good, but not sufficient. It would require much more intentional work with her to bring her up to speed.

The next few week to a month will likely bring more answers in both of these arenas - which may or may not be connected.

I continue to feel a peace about it all - knowing that God has made my little girl as his beautiful daughter and that we are doing all we can to see if there is more we should be doing or not.