Vacation Days 3 and 4

On Day 3, Papa Runner and I left all the kids for a day with Grandma and Grandpa and had a "date" at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. That was really interesting and worth the visit. All kinds of memorabilia from different time periods. I especially liked the Inaugural Dresses worn by First Ladies. Brett liked the History of Transportation. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures there.

On Day 4, we took the twins with us to another Air and Space Museum by Dulles Airport. Also worth seeing. It had one of the retired Space Shuttles (Discovery).

He didn't want to go up in the tower
because "towers are for princesses!"

Once we got inside, they all loved
watching planes take off and land.

They want to be the first twins in space:
Sassy the pilot and Monkey the space walker

Vacation Day 2

Our second field trip was to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Some of the highlights:

Exploring a Cockpit

A rocket

A plane

Lunar landing module

Smartie's

Sweetie's (with some help)

The Wright Brothers' Plane

Smartie's is 3D

Sweetie's version

We watched an IMAX on the Hubble telescope

Sweetie looked at the Big Dipper with hers

I especially loved this because Smartie
learned about the Orion Nebula this year.
It was featured in the movie

We walked past the Capitol

Sweetie's version

and Smartie's

Hard at work with her notebook

Our final stop of the day was the National Archives to see the Declaration, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. No pictures allowed, but no problem with drawings!  

                      

Family Vacation/Field Trips

My in-laws spent a month in DC at our church house. We were able to spend a week (including travel days) with them. It worked out that the girls had two school days left to finish out the year, so we turned our vacation into field trips. A great end to our fourth year of home schooling. Papa Runner and I, along with my brother-in-law and his new bride, took the girls around the National Mall on day 1. Here are some of our pictures along with the girls' "notes" they took. The note taking is something we started on a field trip last summer, and it really helps the girls remember what they saw.

Washington Monument

Smartie's interpretation

Sweetie's interpretation

World War II Memorial

As seen by Smartie

As seen by Sweetie

MLK Memorial

Profile view a la Smartie

Sweetie dutifully copied it

The Lincoln Memorial

Smartie liked the quote

Sweetie made sure to add shoes

Our "Tour Group"

As we left the Lincoln Memorial, we saw Marine One (Presidential helicopter) fly overhead, make a left turn by the Washington Memorial, and head for a landing at the White House. I wasn't fast enough to get a picture, unfortunately, but it was exciting.

"He's actually in there, Mom!"

Sweetie drew this before seeing it, and was
excited to see there really were guards on the roof

Smartie

Blessed

You know that saying, God won't give you more than you can handle? Well, I must be the most pathetic baby Christian ever. This is what He's given me to handle:

• loving parents who cared for my needs and raised me well
• a husband who loves me and our children and who provides for our needs
• a beautiful, large home
• a van AND a car
• four fabulous children who are smart, beautiful, and well behaved
• a healthy family
• access to quality health care the rare time we're not
• plentiful food and clean water
• a safe city with low crime and no war
• a college degree so I could provide for my family if I needed to
• enough money that I can stay home
• freedom to worship Him as I choose
• a wonderful church family
• sisters who are my best friends
• a great extended family

In fact, I can't think of one problem to complain about. Oh sure, my life isn't perfect, but it isn't a struggle. I've been so blessed.

Home with Sick Kids

We stayed home from church today with sick kids. What do we do when we're sick? Watch Sesame Street videos on YouTube, of course. Is it sad that I know these versions better than the real songs? Some of our favorites:

Volunteer Profile: Marathon Runner

Volunteer Profile: Marathon Runner

How cool is this? I'm the featured volunteer in the September newsletter for the Preeclampsia Foundation!

Weird Dream

Last night I dreamed I was a superspy who could turn invisible. I was having a lot of trouble sneaking into the terrorist compound despite my invisibility. Suddenly, I realize I'm dreaming. I turn to my Handler and say, "You know this is a dream, right?"

He says, "Yeah, so?"

I say, "Well then, I can just *fly* in."

"No," he says, "that's not your superpower."

Can I nitpick a moment?

What idiot came up with the current breast cancer awareness campaigns? When I was at the doctor this week, there was a big sign promoting mammograms and self exams. The tag line said, "Many things run in families. Don't let breast cancer be one of them." Ok, I'm pretty sure mammograms don't alter your DNA. Self exams can't prevent you from passing on certain genes to your offspring. If you have a genetic predisposition to breast cancer, it runs in your family whether you get checked or not.

Then there's the PSA done by the women on a local news team reminding us to do our monthly exam and annual mammogram. It says, "The best prevention is early detection." Hello! If you're detecting it, early or otherwise, it's *already happened*! You haven't prevented anything! Unless they're referring to preventing deaths by getting treatment sooner rather than the cancer itself,  but that's not how it sounds.

"Logic! Why don't they teach logic at these schools?"

Stop following

There's a blog in my reading list that I can't stop following. I don't mean that in a "this is so good I can't help myself" way. I literally can't make it stop. I've followed the instructions at least twenty times on multiple days, and it just keeps coming back. There are other blogs I can't stop following, but I don't mind the others so much. This one, though, never fails to make me feel horrible about myself. It's no good to just ignore it and not read; its very presence in my reader is enough to remind me I'm not good enough. Who can I contact to make it stop?

Fear and Violence

I've been reading a fascinating book called The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker. It's all about who commits violence, the warning signs that most people miss, and how to trust your instincts to keep yourself safe. He talks about many types of violence: serial rapists/murderers, wife beaters, stalkers, children who kill parents. I had just finished the chapter on attention-seeking crimes entitled, "Better to be Wanted by the Police than Not Wanted At All," when I heard about Aurora, CO. Why did this man commit this crime? Easy! He wanted the attention. And we're giving him exactly what he wants.

De Becker maintains violent people are in many ways just like the rest of us, and only in a few ways are they different. They want to feel powerful. They want to matter. And when they can't get what they want in socially acceptable ways, they turn to violence to make it happen.

On Facebook the last few days, I've seen this picture from several friends. I don't know if this note is real, or if someone made it up. More important to me, it has tens of thousands of likes. We like it because we like justice: the bully will get what he deserves in the form of a beating. The bullied will be protected. But is justice more important than safety? Will the bully react the way the rest of us would, avoiding the pain and embarassment of a showdown with the linebacker? Remember, his goals in bullying is to be powerful and significant. Will this make him more or less powerful? More or less significant? Will his desire to avoid the linebacker be greater than his desire for power and significance?

Maybe the bully will stop bothering the gay kid (or maybe not). Maybe he'll avoid the linebacker (or maybe he'll bring a gun to school to get revenge for stealing his power and making him insignificant). Maybe this note will temporarily avoid violence. But not forever. Eventually, one way or another, this bully will get his power and significance. Maybe he'll shoot his boss in revenge for firing him. Maybe he'll stalk an ex-girlfriend. Maybe he'll beat his wife and children.

Or maybe, he'll walk into a crowded theater and open fire. What can be more powerful than taking someone's life? What can be more significant than being on the news for months, years even?

We say tragedies like these are "senseless", yet our very society contributes to it by advocating violence. How different could it be if, instead of threatening and embarrasing the bully, someone helped him find his power and significance in something other than violence?

Olympics

I'm looking forward to the Summer Games. Four years ago, Smartie loved watching. All four kids will be excited, I think. While I appreciate him as an athlete, I really hope these Olympics don't become the Michael Phelps Show like Beijing. Yes, his 8 golds were amazing, but there were a lot of other fantastic athletes who were ignored. I remember one female swimmer who won gold. When they interviewed her, they said, "You just won the gold! What do you think of Michael Phelps?" Her face fell for just a second, then she graciously said he was so great, etc. I felt so bad for her. I wish ALL our athletes well, and hope they all get the praise they're due.

Zynga

I read an article today that the stock of Zynga, the complany that makes Farmville, Frontierville, and a dozen other -villes, is dropping fast. I can't say I'm surprised. I played Frontierville for quite a while. It's a pretty fun game. But the business model is inherently flawed. It's a "free" game. How can you make money off a free game? By offering virtual in-game money paid for with real money.

You can spend your virtual money on the ability to skip a mission, or to purchase the items needed to complete a mission. (Also on decorations, but how many people will buy a virtual rock garden?) Think about this: you can pay money to not play the game. Really. Why would I pay money to not play the game when I can not-play for free by just, you know, not playing? Not to mention the whole reason a game is fun is the sense of accomplishment when you conquer it. Very few people will pay actual money to skip/complete missions.

They made the missions harder to complete in an attempt to force people to pay. When I finally quit playing Frontierville, I had 15 missions in my queue. In order to get the things I needed to finish said missions, I would need to request gobs of items from my neighbors. I can only make a certain number of requests a day, can only receive a certain number of items per request, and can only get a limited number of items per day by answering my neighbors' requests. I counted up the number of items I needed, and it would have taken me at least 2 months to get the needed items, assuming I was able to ask the full number of allowed times and got the full number of answers every day. And that was just for the missions currently in my queue! The only way to catch up is to pay to not play which, as I said, defeats the whole point of playing.

And that's why players are leaving Zynga games in droves, and why Zynga stock is dropping like a rock.

Motherhood is a Ministry, Too!

Last year, Papa Runner and I participated in a three-session Bible study on spiritual gifts. The last night of the study, someone mentioned, with my talents and interests, I was probably involved with the crisis pregnancy center. I said I would like to work with them someday, but not at this time since my children are young. This threw the conversation off on a tangent where someone (I don't remember who) said we can't use having kids as an excuse not to serve God. A young mother mentioned how guilty she felt that she couldn't do more to serve the Lord, and a mother whose children were grown felt guilty that she hadn't done more when her kids were young.

This conversation upset me a lot, but I didn't say anything at the time, partly because I'm an introvert and partly because when we got home I discovered I had a fever of 104 and just wasn't able to organize my thoughts properly. It's been over a year, but it still pops into my head from time to time. I know I won't be able to let it go until I get my thoughts out, so here goes.

I am not working with the crisis pregnancy center or any other formal ministry at this time because my children are young, and I don't feel the least bit guilty. I am already called to a very important ministry, and it takes number one priority. In fact, it's SO important, it takes numbers two, three, four, and five priority! My calling is to raise my children to know and love the Lord. Period. Any other ministry that takes away from my first ministry is NOT what I am called to do, no matter how good it is, no matter how well it fits with my gifts.

Now, if I can serve God in other ways without neglecting my role as mother, great! If I can find ways to serve God with my children, even better. Part of my motherhood ministry is to teach my children to serve God and others. But the ministry of motherhood is of utmost importance!

Part of what bothered me that night is that I'm already getting the message from the world and from the feminist movement that being "just" a mom is not good enough. Motherhood is not valued, and only productive work outside the home counts toward my worth. I do not need to hear that from the Church. Quite the opposite, the Church should value and support the ministry of motherhood. If we fail in raising our kids to know the Lord, there won't be a Church much longer. I don't have to serve God outside the home to have a worthwhile ministry. In fact, I shouldn't serve God outside the home if it takes away from my calling within the home. I'm not saying it's wrong to be involved in other ministries if you can, but they should not take away from raising our children.

So mothers, don't feel guilty for not doing more to serve God. You're already doing the most important ministry you will ever do. And don't get so busy in outside service that you neglect your motherhood ministry.

"And ye shall teach them [the Word of the Lord] your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Deuteronomy 11:19 KJV

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." 3 John 4 KJV

VBS Object Lesson: Gentleness

ETA: I get 50ish hits a week on this post most of the year, and 250 hits a week during VBS planning season. I'm glad people are interested in the lesson! If you'd like to take the time to come back and comment, I'd love to know if you used it and how it went, if you have any suggestions or alternative stories, etc.

Last night I taught the object lesson on gentleness for VBS. Here's what I did.

Topic : Gentleness

Intro: Has anyone ever been mean to you? Have you ever been mean to someone else? Have you ever seen someone be mean to someone else?

Story: The Woman with an Issue of Blood (Mark 5:25-34). Emphasize the woman was unclean, dirty. If anyone touched her, they would be unclean, too. If she sat in a chair or ate from dishes, they would be unclean and no one else could use them. No one wanted to touch her or be near her because, eww, she was dirty. How did she feel? (sad, angry, lonely) She spent all her money on doctors, but all their medicine just made her worse. She suffered for 12 years. Finally she went to Jesus and was healed by touching the hem of his garment. When He found out what had happened, He didn't say, "Gross, you're unclean and you made me unclean, too." No, he treated her with gentleness. He said, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace."

Object lesson

Supplies: two raw eggs with smiley faces drawn on them (VERY IMPORTANT: make sure there are no cracks in the shells), safety pin or straight pin, q-tip, bowl and table, drop cloth to protect floor (or do outside), apron for adult

Process: Did you know it's impossible to break an egg by squeezing it, if the shell is intact? Let kids squeeze it. [I did not let the VBS kids try to squeeze it, too many kids who might throw it! But I would let a smaller group try to squeeze the egg.] Give your egg a name. Have the kids say mean things to the egg. You're stupid, fat, ugly, you smell, I don't like you, etc. For each mean thing that is said, carefully use the pin to poke a small hole in the shell.

I did a pattern with one hole in the center and several holes in a circle around. [I drew dots to show what I mean. In actuallity, you can barely see the holes.] Does "George" look any different? No, he's still smiling. But what happens to his heart when mean things are said?

If you put your thumb in the center of the pinhole circle, you can smash it easily. Crush the egg with your hand into the bowl.

Can we put the egg back together? No, only God can heal a broken heart.

Now have the kids use gentle words to the second egg. For each nice thing, rub the egg with the q-tip. Can we break "Bob's" heart? No, no matter how hard we squeeze, we can't break this egg because it's been treated with gentleness.

Conclusion: Treat others with gentleness, as Jesus did to the Woman.

Verse: Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Matt 11:29

Sunday School Nominations

Nomination ballots went out for Sunday School teachers today. This fall, all of my kids will be in Sunday school. I have a degree in education, and I love working with the 10 and unders. So if you're wondering whether being nominated would make me happy or sad, the answer is happy.

Crunchy Chili

Back in 1999, I spent a month in Mexico with a missionary family. The wife, Jan, went back to the States to visit family, and my friend Emily and I were left in charge of the household. We were to make the midday meal every day for the men.

One day we decided to make chili--nice, easy recipe we knew by heart, right? So we made the grocery list and sent Marshall to the market. He came back with a bag of dried beans. What on earth are these, we both said. We'd never seen beans that weren't in a can. And to further complicate the issue, the instructions were written in Spanish.

We got out our Spanish-English dictionary and started translating, only to discover these things had to be soaked overnight! It's now 10:00 and lunch is at 1:00. We did the only thing we could think of: threw the beans into a pot of boiling water for the next three hours. We prepared everything else for the meal and waited until the last second to add the beans to the soup.

We held our breath while Marshall, Loren, and Josue took a bite. No one said a word. We breathed a sigh of relief and took our own bites. CRUNCH!

We laughed so hard we had tears streaming down our faces for the entire meal, and yet the guys were very good sports and ate the whole pot.

I am a Mother

There are lots of comments I could make, but I won't. I refuse to be free advertising for Magazine-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.

I will just say this: I am a mother. I am unique. My children are unique. My specific circumstances are unique. I do the best I can for my family with the information, resources, and support available to me. I have nothing but respect for ALL mothers who are doing the same. Your version of best may not look exactly like mine, and that's okay. My choices are not a judgement on yours, and yours are not a judgement on mine. They are merely what works best for us.

Do you have a preeclampsia story?

If the course of your pregnancy, birth, and/or post partum was altered by preeclampsia, I would like to share your story. It doesn't matter how dramatic or "routine," you are a sister survivor. I hope to make "Survivor Saturday" a regular feature on my running blog, and my weekend training run will be dedicated to you and your baby. Stories can be submitted to kingtaran at yahoo dot com. And if you are a family member who lost someone to PE, I would like your story on her behalf as well.

What AM I Running For?

Cross posted from my running blog:

When I was in Jr. High, High School, even college, I hated running. I even got in serious trouble for refusing to run in gym class. (Oh, what a rebel I was at my VERY small private school!) How on earth did I get from there to here?


Five years ago last month, I lost my best friend to leukemia. A few months later, her husband, parents, and another friend raised money through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team In Training by doing a century bike ride. My second child was a year old, and I wanted to get back in shape. My husband and I decided to do a fundraiser of our own. We ran our first half marathon in San Diego in June of 2008. We both caught the bug.

These days, I run for a number of reasons. I run for my health. I run to keep up with my children. (When my son makes a break for it, as he does at least twice a week, I need to be able to catch him. He's a fast little booger!) With four children, I run to get some me time.

As of today, I have a new reason to run. May is Preeclampsia Awareness Month. Preeclampsia is a common pregnancy complication that can potentially be life threatening to both mother and child. I am a three-time survivor. I signed up for my second marathon today, and I will be running to raise money for the Preeclampsia Foundation and to raise awareness of this devastating condition.

If you would like to sponsor me, you can visit the Preeclampsia Foundation's secure donation page and click on "Donate As a Guest". Be sure to select the box that says "This is a tribute in honor of" and enter my name. If you'd prefer to send a check, you can make it payable to the Preeclampsia Foundation and mail it to me. If you need my address, e-mail me at kingtaran at yahoo dot com.

While it is important to raise funds for research so we can end this condition, it's also important to raise awareness so mothers and babies can have the best chance of survival. I have a number of posts planned for this month. I knew nothing of preeclampsia before I was diagnosed, and it nearly cost me my life. It is so important to know the signs and symptoms and to advocate for yourself.

Memories

I was in Jr. High when Wayne's World came out. My friends and I saw it about 40 times together and especially loved the Bohemian Rhapsody scene. One day, my mom was driving us to a field trip in her Dodge Omni. We sang this at the top of our lungs and head banged away. The teacher driving behind us said the whole car was bouncing, and over the next week all four tires went flat. Ah, memories. J-JASS forever!