Quit Wilting!

Several (as in very several) years ago, I attended a small women's college. It was a great time

for self-reflection, deep friendships and becoming more aware of life in general. Last night, I was reading the Mills Quarterly. In particular, I was reading an article on Congresswoman Barbara Lee. In the article Lee is quoting some advice she had been give by a former teacher in response to her concern over racial attitudes. The quote was simple. "The human race is endowed with a spine, and among it's other duties, it is to keep the head erect. I want you to quit wilting."

I couldn't have asked for better timing!

It is time for me to quit wilting.

In the past few weeks we have all had flu's, asthma, allergies (pretty severe ones), etc. I was

also finding myself in quite a funk. I was letting myself get sucked into politics at the Boys and Girls Club, I was worrying about Brian-Scott's declining vision, unpaid bills, blah, blah, blah

I have been completely frustrated and overwhelmed by the ridiculous amount of red-tape effecting the Darfuri families with which we work. Work visa's that expire before green cards can be finished processing, "fee's" (large ones) for refugee's trying to acquire their drivers license, lack of medical care for adults after their original few months, etc. I was really sick of the hateful chain e-mails I was receiving on refugees milking the system. What a bunch of garbage!

I have been wondering how to counter the spread of hate..anywhere..at any time. I immeresed myself in books.(remember, still in wilting mode..not socializing much) I realize that people have to quit picking sides (on any issue) and be on the side of humanity and compassion everywhere. I am intrigued by Elias Chacour (Palestine) as he talks of

countering hate by bringing dignity for all people in our daily interactions.

Are the refugee families frustrated? Of course..but they are more resilient than me..

In this picture 3 year old Sadhia plays with Cody after "borrowing" his t-shirt.

I am humbled in her presence.

I just received a copy of a letter from Kaltoum, a woman I have come to know and love over this past year. She has sent this letter to a camp in Chad, and encouraged me to post it everywhere I can. So Kaltoum, this is for you:)

Salaam alaikum. I am Kaltoum Jumah. I am from Darfur. I love my country, but I left by force in 2004, and I still love my country. I crossed many countries to Ghana, and I stayed in a refugee camp for three years. Then I came to live in San Antonio, Texas, United States of America in 2008.

I wish my country would have peace, and the people could go back to live a better life. I want to tell all the men, women, and children to keep praying to Allah. I want my people to know that people all over the world are trying to help the Darfur people, but it is important for the refugees to continue to pray even more to Allah.

Right now I live in San Antonio, Texas in the United States, and my life is better, but I miss my family, my country, my friends, and my life in Darfur. Although I feel better because I am safe with my children, here, my heart still hurts for my family and friends in Darfur, and it is still hard for me.

I want to say thank you for all the anti-genocide people who are helping my people. You are very good. I wish that my country would find peace and I could go meet all my people in Darfur.

Shokran jazeelan (شكرا (جزيلا El Hamdul 'Allah.

Salaam, Salaam ya Darfur, Salaam, Salaam,

Kaltoum Jumah

Darfur, Sudan

San Antonio, Texas USA

So..in reality, I am being pathetic.

I now physically have the strength I haven't in a long time. I realize how pathetically whiny I have been. I really enjoyed our weekend at the Odyssey of the Mind State Finals. (it forced me to leave the books and computer behind!)

It is time to embrace life. I can't believe I had to read "quit wilting" to snap out of it!

Meanwhile, the rest of the family is having a blast!

Austen and his co-op resumed yesterday. They gave us a list of what they want for co-op next year. We are now planning for drafting/culinary arts (1/2 the kids will do one, the other 1/2 the other) followed by Chemistry/Physics lab (2 year program) for all, followed by another 1/2 and 1/2 split of jazz ensemble or watercolor painting.

And the most pressing news:

Cody's Boys and Girls Club team made it to World Finals on a Ranatra Fusca for their "creative engineering in the propulsion of their water-wheel turn to crawler design"!

The team's problem was to design and build a small vehicle that visits four different environments and changes appearance during each visit.

For those of you who don't know what the Boys and Girls

Club is. We work primarily with disadvantaged youth. Our Club membership is $10 a year and many of our families cannot afford that...rural poverty at it's best. While many of the teams at these competitions are school districts that limit the program to gt and drama department kids. We try to form each of our teams with a combination of special needs, gt, alternative ed, justice department, and plain ordinary kids.

In many ways, we are the Cinderalla story.

So..if anyone would like to help us in our quest to raise $6000 in the next 3 weeks to fund this World Finals adventure, please feel free to contact me!

In this picture,the boys are making last minute changes, 10 minutes before performing.

Okay. Time to wake up Cody. Austen and Devin are patiently listening to my Sting CD while finishing up some math. I need to get Odio moving.

Hot Tub Dreams

It all started at the beach. We had gone on vacation in Port-Aransas, Texas and spent a few nights in a hotel..other wise known as "the pink place." Brian plants himself in the hot-tub..and well, stays. He occasionally ventured out to spend an hour on the beach..or sleep. Mostly..he just sat in the hot-tub. We all come back from the beach renewed..but Brian is determined to keep a peice of our trip with him.
"I want a hot-tub." he announces on the way home.
"no" I tell him. (come on..has he forgotten we have kids in college and braces?)
Brian: Aww..come on..don't you want a hot-tub? That was SO fun.
me: Of course it's fun. It's called a vacation.
Brian: But I want one.
Me: Brian..join the planet. We can't afford a hot-tub!
Brian: I know..Christmas. You guys can buy me a hot-tub for Christmas!
..and so this dialogue continued for months. He would call me during his lunch-break. Hey..I just found a really nice one at xy store..it's only $1500..I think they have lay-away.
Needless to say, Christmas came and went. No Hot-Tub..just lots of Lost episodes.
Fast-forward to March. The phone rings again. Chris's (his brother) neighbor gave him a hot-tub over a year ago and he hasn't picked it up yet. He says I can have it for a hundred dollars. I'm bringing it home.
We clear the deck. We spend a few days and another $100 on hot-tub repairs. And his moment has come.
Clear the way. I have a margarita..and I'm enjoying the hot-tub. He goes to the deck to enjoy.
A few minutes later he is back. Isn't anyone coming with me? He looks so pathetic. I agree to join him. Next comes Austen. No..no starts Brian Don't push off the sides..it will break. Then comes Cody..then Mason..then Calvin...then we are joined by two rubber ducks. The boys throw the ducks at eachother and squirt eachother in the eyes. Brian acts as if he is still on vacation. Cody complains the water smells weird. Mason and Austen pretend we are in a stew. They want to throw in vegetables.
Does Brian notice that this is not the same experience as when we are not on vacation? Never.
The following week it starts to rain. It is Spring Break. We never have less than 7 teenage boys in the house...they are always in the hot-tub. Brian is right there with him. He appears oblivious to the fact that they (the tub of tall, lanky, and loud boys) are there. How can someone do that?
I remind them it is raining..and maybe this isn't too wise. They throw water at me. Brian just grins and waves.
Now we have a house-full of sick kids. Too much hot-tubbing in the rain! Does Brian care? Nope..not at all. He calls this morning to see if the kids have put the chemicals in the hot-tub...you know..the kids that can't breathe! I remind him everyone is sick.
Oh darn he laughs. I guess I'll just have to be in it by myself now!

Our Motley Venturers Crew

Our Venturers glad to be on the ground after a long day of climbing and balleghing (none of us know how to spell that). Pictured below is almost the entire Venturer Crew for Bandera. Crew members from left to right are Justin, Cory, Mason, Cody,Austen and Devin. Missing is crew-member Ricci.
What is Venturers? It's a co-ed Boy-Scout group for teens and young adults 14-20. There are no uniforms, no badges, etc. Crews are adventure based, and much like Odyssey of the Mind, create and plan their own adventures based on their interests..with adult help only in the form of safety-issues.

The crew decided to start with a day at Mc Gimsey Park (San Antonio) copes challenge.

It was a great day for working on team-building and trust. The crew learned the importance of constant communication between team members in order to stay safe and be able to proceed through the various elements.

The morning was spent learning how to spot eachother and

practicing on the lower elements.

Time was also given to review and

discuss what went right and what

went wrong after each challenge.

After lunch the crew ventured (ventured..get it??) to new heights on the Challenge Course and trust falls..where team members intentionally fell backward off of 20 foot beams and trusted their team to catch them and bring them down safely.

Austen debating whether he really wants to continue. 10 minutes later he really does fall..on accident..and his team brings him down safely. Mom (me) is grateful for all the time they spent

earlier in the day learning how to do this...otherwise..we would have had one broken and squished Austen. Instead..he survived to go on with the higher courses later in the day!

Mason on Monkey Bridge..part 1 of the Challenge copes course.

Cody posing for a picture..okay, maybe not. Trying to decide the safest way to proceed on Part 2 of their Challenge course.

That is it. The kids had a fullfilling peanut butter with jelly and apples lunch and spent the day discussing "Silly Willy". One rope burn injury on Justin's neck. Other than that everyone was just worn out and ready for tacos and a hot-tub by evening. The hot-tub was broken, so they played on ATV's instead. You know..because everyone replaces hot-tubs with ATV's...

What's next? Who knows..this motley crew seems to be leaning towards gold mining adventures..they just haven't decided when and where yet...rumor has it Alaska is the place to be. For the more immediate future I believe they are looking at a Copes Challenge weekend, repelling and shallow water scuba diving. All in all, a fun group of kids!

Cleansing of the Temple

Allright. I was asked to put some rough drafts of some sermons up here. If you are uncomfortable with religious topics, please feel free to ignore. I almost never say what
is actually written..but here is a draft for the upcoming Gospel of John:2..the cleansing
of the temple.


My father is a linguist. I spent the first 6 years of my life in Tokyo, Japan, where my dad was a missionary for the Lutheran Church.


Our household consisted of both my parents, our obasan (or nanny) my older foster-brother Kevin, myself, my sister Tania and my foster-sister Yuki-ye. When I was 5, my mom left for a month with my two younger sisters..leaving Kevin and myself in my dad's care.


He was determined to be a great father. He was going to surprise my mother with his child-rearing skills. He would not only keep us safe and happy, but he would educate us beyond her belief. His zeal was overwhelming.


At our first night for dinner my father announced to Kevin and I that we would now speak a different language in every room of the house. Japanese (the only language we were comfortable with) would only be spoken in the kitchen. The dining room and study would be for English, the living room Amharic, and so on.


By the end of that first week Kevin and I were repeatedly saying Nan des ka(Japanese)....algu ba num no entiendo or I don't understand..in 6 different languages.To this day, I can say, I don't understand in a variety of languages. Unfortunately, that is almost all I can say.


It wasn't until Kevin and I decided to sleep in the kitchen so we could actually have a conversation, that our obasan finally put her foot down and insited this nonsense stop. In his zealousy to be a great father, my dad had forgotten that we were children.


To lose our perspective (our intentions) in the midst of our intense desire and devotion to a cause, is an easy thing to do.


In today's Gospel we see Jesus lose his patience at the injustices at the temple. He overturns tables, and drives people out of the temple. Jesus tells the dove sellers, "take those things out of here! Stop making my Father's house a market-place!...and his disciples remembered
that it was written: 'Zeal for your house will consume me.' "(John 2:15-17 )


To illustrate how easy it is to fall into this trap. The trap of justifying unjust actions, I would like to share with you a story titled The Dove Seller. It is the story of the cleansing of the temple, told by the perspective of the dove seller. Written by Sarah M. Foulger from Season's of
Change Mental Health Agency in Maine.


The Dove Seller
I’m trying to understand what happened. I’m trying to make sense of what Jesus of Nazareth did. My next door neighbor says, "It’s about time somebody did something about the corruption in Jerusalem." But as far as I’m concerned what Jesus did is just plain crazy. And honestly, what is the big deal here? It’s Passover. Every faithful Jew in the region is expected by law to come to Jerusalem for the Passover. But Jews from all over the world come too. The place is mobbed!
Everyone who comes to the Temple is required to pay a Temple tax. and it must be paid in sanctuary shekels. Foreign coins are unclean. It may be alright to pay other debts with foreign coins but the debt to God must be paid in coins that are blessed. Only temple shekels are pure enough for a temple tax. Jesus must know this. And how are people supposed to pay their temple tax if they can’t exchange the coins they bring from Rome and Egypt and Greece? This is way it has always been. Doesn’t Jesus know that?
In my opinion he is being unreasonably judgmental and demanding. The money-changers are providing a service. Of course, they charge a lot of money for this service but that’s to be expected, isn’t it? I’ve heard people complain about what a hardship this is. Most Jews are poor. Of course, it’s a hardship. But life is hard and I don’t make the rules. I can’t change the rules. If Jesus thinks he’s going to storm in here and change the rules, he’s got another thing coming!
I’ve heard people complain that the temple is rich. "They have millions of drachmas – why do they need so much money?" people say. They have a point but I’m no priest. I don’t know what they do with all that money. I’m a simple seller of doves. I just do my job and stay out of politics and if Jesus knows what’s good for him, he’ll stay out of politics too!
I’ve heard people complain that the money-changers and the animal sellers are greedy but we’re just trying to make a living. You can see that, can’t you? Every Jew who comes to Jerusalem at Passover wants to offer a sacrifice to God, a thank offering. As a dove-seller in the temple court, I provide an easy way to do that. You may think it’s a racket. I say it’s just making the most of an opportunity.
Here’s how it works. We have special sacrifice inspectors and if an animal brought in from outside the temple is impure in any way it is unacceptable. We all chip in to make sure the inspector will reject any animal from the outside so they’ll have to buy them here at the temple. Of course, any animal we sell will always pass inspection. Sweet, don’t you think? Let’s just say if you want to make it in this business, it’s important to have a good working arrangement with the right people.
I realize that a pair of unblemished doves can be purchased for much less on the outskirts of town. I charge twelve times as much – or more - but every dove seller in the temple does the same. And our mark-up is not as high as the sheep and cattle sellers at the temple! You have to remember how much trouble we spare all the pilgrims who come to the temple. They don’t have to transport any animals. It’s not easy to carry animals around. Not having to bring animals all the way to the temple is worth something isn’t it? Maybe it’s not worth as much as we charge but, like I said, I didn’t invent this arrangement. I’m just working with it. I didn’t create the system. I’m just trying to make the most of it. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there? It’s not as if my big goal in life is to exploit poor people. I’m just here to make a living – like everybody else. The temple is big business. Why shouldn’t I get my cut? Jesus cant rant and rave all he wants about how God’s temple is supposed to be a house of prayer and not a public market but can’t it be both? What’s wrong with that?
I had heard about Jesus but I hadn’t heard he could be so angry. I tell you that fanatic from Nazareth had a whip in his hand and was racing through the outer court of the temple cracking that whip and shouting and turning the tables upside-down. He was trying to clear out the money-changers and all the other merchants. He yelled at us – the dove sellers – insisting that we get all of our things out of the temple! I hope he’s not like these prophets – like Isaiah and Jeremiah and Hosea who think we should do away with sacrifices.1
Let me tell you something. People like sacrifices. It’s much less trouble to sacrifice some poor animal to God than to sacrifice something more personal - like the way you’re living or the grudge you’re holding. In the long run, it’s a lot less expensive to buy a couple of my dear doves than to change your life, for heaven’s sake. Does Jesus think he’s going to revolutionize the way we make amends with God?
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anyone so angry. My neighbor says it was "passion" but, make no mistake about it, it was anger. His rage was large enough for all Jerusalem and by now all Jerusalem has heard about it. Who does he think he is, God? The man needs to get a grip or he’s going to end up like the doves I sell.
After the episode at the temple, some people confronted him. (Not me – I try to stay out of the fray. I mind my business; you mind your business. That’s what works for me.) But some people took him on. They asked him how he can possibly justify his actions. We’ve all heard the rumors that he can perform miracles. Why, I hear he can turn water into wine. That’s a useful trick! So they asked him for a miracle as a way of proving he was really carrying out God’s wishes in creating such a stir at the temple. Well, he didn’t do anything but he had some big talk, I’ll tell you. He said, "You destroy this temple and I’ll resurrect it in three days?" What’s that supposed to mean? Did he think we were going to knock down the temple just so he could prove he can perform such a miracle?
I want Jesus and his judgments out of here. I want him to leave me alone. If he thinks he’s going to get me to turn my life upside-down just like he did the tables of the money-changers he needs to think again. Could I be a better person? Of course I could. Could the temple be more like a house of prayer. Of course it could. Could the world use a few improvements? Well, you catch my meaning. I’m doing the best I can. Well, maybe I’m not doing the best I can. But I’m not a murderer, I’m not an adulterer. I just cheat a little here and there. What’s the difference?
I guess I don’t want to understand what Jesus was doing or what he meant with all that talk about the temple. I don’t want to change. I don’t have to change. I don’t want to worry about being fair to the poor. I don’t want to worry about corruption. I have enough worries of my own. And if Jesus doesn’t watch out, well, let’s just say, he’s the one who should be worried. Keep your eye on him. He’s a very demanding character. And he’s in for trouble.

So what does this mean for us? How are we like the dove seller? Where are our misplaced allegiances and religious presumptions? Are we overzealous in our national idolatry? Have we forgotten to listen to the wisdom of God? Have we forgotten to live a life of agape love?

Prayer of the Dove Seller
Lord of Life, thank you for the opportunities you give us and for the strength and intelligence to command such opportunities. Forgive our little trespasses and help us to offer every sacrifice you require of us.

Whatever Happened to Customer Courtesy?

Okay...my back deck is now full of herbs. Why? Because I am on strike. I am on strike from
our local grocery store. I am now on strike from our local dollar store...and somehow this led to a porch-full of herbs? I'm still trying to figure out how that happened.

We live in a small town in hill-country Texas with one..yes one..grocery store. Over the past few years, I have watched the prices increase....ridiculously. "I'm investing in my community" I would tell myself..as I paid $5 for a box of cereal...or $3 for 6 dinner rolls.

I knew I was being screwed...but I wanted to believe that I was investing in the people of this small town.

So, two weeks ago, I am in the middle of cooking dinner when I realize I am missing..mushroom soup. That is all. "Can you pick up some Lucky Charms?" asks Austen....oh...and some dinner rolls? "Anything else?" I ask. "Stew meat would be nice" pipes in friend Sandy. We can make stew for dinner tommorow. I have $20 in my pocket. Surely, I think, $20 should buy 4 items.

I get to the store and start the tally in my head. 1 box of cereal, 1 pkg. of dinner rolls...I am already close to $10. This, I think, is insane. Then the voice...you are investing in your community. I pick up a package of stew meat...small package at that..over $7..I am now at $17 for 3 items. Now..if I could just find the mushroom soup. It figures..moved again.

Just then I hear a voice (a real one this time). May I help you ma'am? (remember..living in the South) I see a gentlemen stacking mushroom soup..and a sign that says...well..I can't read it. He's standing in front of it.The man asks again, "would you like a basket ma'am?" No, I tell him..I just want to see the sign.
I ask, "I'm sorry, does that sign really say $1.27 for a small can of mushroom soup?"

Then the huffing and puffing begins. "Well (says nice gentleman gone angry) if you don't like it, I can always raise the price!" "Excuse me?" I ask. (Is this guy for real?) "You heard me..(he responds) I can always raise the price."

Then it happened. My arm (with hand attached) was returning the stew meat. My feet walked to the cereal aisle and returned the cereal. "oh", I think. "It appears, I'm done shopping here."

I return the other items and decide to wait until I am in San Antonio.

Fast forward to last Friday..the day before our OM tournament. I run to our local dollar store (where I shop all the time!) to pick up 3 containers..I don't want to go into all the details..but essentially it ends with me asking the price of what was labeled $9 and rang up $15. I was having a hard time justifying paying almost $50 for plastic crates..so I said..dumbly.."really..are you sure? It was marked $9".

Mistake.

I then listened as the clerk ranted and raved about customers moving all their items. Truth is, the store had only been opened 10 minutes that morning..and I was trying to envision..anyone..moving this huge pile of crates from one shelf to another without being noticed. I thought it was funny. She did not. Led to lots of screaming on her part.

I walked out of that store also. So..in less than two weeks, I have resolved not to buy anything from two of the stores in a town that is only 10 blocks long. Yikes!

Truth is, I am all for supporting my community..even letting them gouge me a little..but not if they are going to be rude about it.

Fast forward to today...I have been informed by Cody's soccer trainer that he needs to eat like a real vegetarian (not a blanca-vore..in the term of my friend Carol)..or acquire carnivorous habits in order to continue training and not, well, pass out. In other words..eat healthier.

I decide to start cooking two entree's an evening..instead of the haphazard approach we have been taking. So over the weekend I bought lots of herb plants. Yes..plants. I figured I needed them to cook with..and it sure beat running to the "big city" to buy herbs. I didn't realize that to chop a cup of parsley we would be chopping two entire plants!

So what happens? Well..we are eating a lot of plants..right off of my back deck! Why? Because the manager of a grocery store felt the need to create a scene over mushroom soup.

Weekly menu:
Monday: taco's...bean and cheese/taco-meat
Tuesday: tabouleh and pierogies/ cheeseburger pie
Wednesday: spicy cabbage and potatoes/baked chicken breasts
Thursday: chile relleno (cheese), rice and beans
Friday: pizza again:)
Saturday: lasagna with green beans and french bread
Sunday: no idea

Austen in Action

Let's face it. Austen is just plain fun. We always said Austen brings levity into a houselhold of intense personalities.How can someone who is so busy and deals with such serious stuff all the time, have such a great disposition?

Here Austen comes in from the back deck after spending a morning on Odyssey stuff. He is getting ready to work at the Club, showing some of the elementary kids how to wire circuit boards...



And what sane kid has fun with Homer? Austen and his friend Mandy dissolve into a pile of giggles over ways to "trap" their "enemies" in a game they are creating on quotes from the Illiad.

Yet with all this playfulness, Austen genuinely enjoys the structure a nd friendships he develops with his Civil Air Patrol peers.

This picture was taken after the San Antonio Lackland Squadron participated in a drill competition. They were seriously reviewing what went right..what went wrong..when Austen peaks at the camera and has the entire squadron laughing until they cry with one commentary after another on how they did. They then try to focus before performing their innovative drill. (Which they placed 1st in, by the way!)

Austen next to one of his good friend Josie. We all like to say that Josie and her cousin Sammy are Austen's body-guards. Both girls participate in both Civil Air Patrol and Odyssey of the Mind with Austen..and they are all Club kids. In other words...they have spent a LOT of time together over the past several years.

Austen has recently helped his dad fix a 4 wheeler. This has by far,
been the favorite past-time of all. Austen plans to spend his summer lifeguarding, traveling, attending a Shakespeare theater session and 4 wheeling everywhere!

Home Office?

Allright. I really want to know. Just who thought up the idea of

a home-office...and does anyone really..I mean really use them

efficiently? This is a shot of our school-room (now there's a laugh)/

home office/morning room/laundry room..that also houses our piano.

Rumor has it that this is the spot where I can accomplish all my

home paper-trail stuff. You know..grant writing, social service

forms for various families, program development for the Club, occasional sermon writing and..heaven forbid.. eventually produce a transcript or something for the boys.

When you turn the corner..you can see that I have an actual desk with computer (I stole it from Austen..my laptop has been in a repair store for..count this 4 months!). We just happen to have

all my books on shelves next to the washer and dryer around the other corner.

I told Brian this morning that I didn't think this was working. I need space! I tell him. He looks

at me incredulously. Well..there's the tree-house. Oi..I think..here we go with the tree-house again. I stare back at him. Do you want to put your stuff in our room again? he asks. I try this every year. It lasts a month and drives me crazy. The problem with having all your work stuff in your room is you never really rest. Let's face it. There is always more work to be done in any social-service type work. Going to bed and waking up to piles of unfinished work makes me unbearable to live with. No. I tell him. I want my own room. Can't you build me a room?

I know I am being unreasonable..but come on..how hard could it be? Really.

The truth is..our house is too crowded to work in any open space. Just around the corner is thekitchen. It usually looks like this. You

know with people and stuff. And while I am a pretty social person, I don't think I have sat at the computer to do, well, anything, in over 5 years without someone peeking their head from the kitchen (and there is always someone in the kitchen!). If it looks like I might be remotely involved in something than I feel a presence of some tall boy or man looking over my shoulder. And then the question "Whachya doin'?". They don't really want to know. They either want the computer, or want to tell me something important. You know..where my undivided attention is needed immediately!

Now add Odyssey of the Mind into the equation. For the next month or two my living room

will always look like this..only with many more small people not seen in this particular picture. They are great kids!..but they are constantly looking for stuff. Glue, duct-tape, paint basically, anything that might be stored in a morning room/school room/office/laundry room!

I realize (again) that my quest for quiet office space is in vain. I do not want to climb a tree

to find quiet. Luckily, the weather is getting a little warmer. I look at our back deck. It has served me well every Spring so far.

The floor and roof need to be painted, new plants could be hung, but it's sure quiet.....

I think it's time to claim my new office!

Weekly Menu:

Sunday: catfish, beans, corn-bread, onion

Monday: quiche, spinach salad

Tuesday: black beans and rice, fruit salad

Wednesday: Quesadillas, fruit smoothies

Thursday: Lasagna, french bread, green beans

Friday: dinner in Austin

Saturday: out-to-eat with Brian :)

Packed weekend

It is 6ish this morning. Brian, Michael and I are sitting in a fog...drinking our coffee and trying to absorb that it is Monday. "So" says Michael (mason's dad)..."That was a blur" (meaning the weekend). "A bit packed...is everyone okay?"


He is right. We have all been running different directions since Friday night. Austen spends the night at Lackland for more Civil Air Patrol stuff. Mason has a game. Brian and Michael are working late. Cody and I stay home to watch movies. Early Saturday I leave with a car-load of
volunteers for a day of judges training. Michael spends the day working. Mason has a soccer game. Cody has more practice..Brian drives the soccer boys places..and then they head to the church to work at the annual Wild Game Dinner.( etc. etc. Are we getting the picture here?)

I will not go into detail on everyone's schedule for the rest of the weekend. But in a nutshell..everyone ends up sleep deprived (think church lock-in). Michael, meanwhile, is still working.

It is Sunday afternoon and we finally all get home. Brian wants everyone to clean, clean, clean?
We think he is kidding. No, we are going to have company for the super-bowl.
Super Bowl? Who's playing? I ask. Cody grunts. Brian shrugs. Does it matter? he asks.
Mason fills us in before guests arrive so we do not embarass him. We are told we should cheer for Arizona.
Mason and Cody grab the "best seats" and kick back to enjoy the game....but guests trickle in..and their evening becomes a bit chaotic.



We enjoy a Cajun
Crab Boil and eat way too much food.






Michael returns with 3-D sunglasses for everyone. Don't we all look cool?






Now it is Monday. We have returned to the normacy of the
week. Cody is holing up in his room to work on math. Austen and Devin work on Odyssey something or another.

Some of the co-op kids (Angela, Devin, Austen
and Amanda) play Cranium, after more octa-tetraing and a discussion
on Homer, Locke and the characters of Lost...(Calvin, Sawyer...) They listen to AC/DC and Duke Ellington. They hide from eachother under the house. Finally, they ask if they can just play Dungeons and Dragons next year. We tell them maybe.




Weekly Menu:
Monday: fish and veggie tacos
Tuesday: sausage and tomatoes, biscuits, corn-on-the cob, baby carrots
Wednesday: enchiladas, beans, corn-bread
Thursday: breaded pork chops, french fries, salad,
Friday: pizza again
Saturday: spaghetti, french bread, salad (another OM day)

Chronicles of Cody

Cody eating home-made ravioli's at grandma's house.

Cody with some of his cousins and brothers, as well as Angee (Brian's girlfriend) and Jerry (RoseAnn's boyfriend).Everyone agrees, they count as family.

Cody is our sullen one.We like to say he can't help it..he was sort-of born wearing that look. Those who get to know him, learn that he has a huge heart for those less fortunate,can be very funny, unusually loyal and has learned to balance an extremely competitive nature with playfulness. (this, however, is supposed to be a secret). So, just who is this kid?

I thought I could start with some of his passions.

First of all. Soccer. Cody is living, breathing, sleeping soccer at this time of his life. He wants to push himself to see how far he can go "in the soccer world". (Is that vague enough?) He is playing with his second team since the Fall and working with two trainers. So..Mondays and Wednesdays..he trains..Tuesdays and Thursdays he practices and trains. Friday's are usually games (along with some of his practicing/training days) and Saturdays hold more games or practice. Sundays? He recovers before starting all over again.

This is Cody's 11th year playing soccer, but his first year as a goalie. He had gotten very comfortable at mid-field. After a little hesitation in the beginning,Cody discovered that he can be more aggressive as goalie than just about anywhere else on the field. He is loving it!

So..maybe passions is a short-list...although he recently re-discovered his guitar, and continues to spend hours plotting stories for computer games.

We are trying to put a little balance into Cody's soccer/family life. Cody has returned to studying Latin prayers verses translations of biographies of assassins. The prayers are a little more managable. He is working through St. Martin's Guide to writing, reading Tao Te Ching for co-op and plugging along in math. He is cursing himself for involving himself (yet again) in Odyssey. Insisting he will never do it again. He says this every year at this time.

Finally, he has recently joined Venturers. They are planning to do some ropes courses and scuba diving locally for the short-term. For the long-term they have narrowed down their adventures to either gold-mining in Colorado for a month or scuba-diving in Belize. He has "respectfully declined" any leadership positions with this group.

As for service? Well..he is continuing to lead the Boys and Girls Club city-wide paper recycling program. and helps tutor at the Club one day a week.

Cody's next big interest these days has been micro-financing with non-profit organizations such as Kiva (Keeva?). He has found that he can loan money to , say, a fisherman in Lebanon..and see his money put to use. He insists this is far more gratifying than letting his money sit in a bank and earn $10 a year in interest.

Cody continues his advocacy/awareness-raising on the genocide in Darfur and offering family support to local refugees on a weekly basis. (grocery shopping, playing with children, tutoring, etc.)

I forgot. This has become a request. (who knew?)

Weekly Menu:

Mon: Potato chip chicken, broccoli/cauliflower/potato/cheese stuff, fried okra, biscuits

Tues: stir fry veggies with rice

Wed: ribs, mashed potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, biscuits again

Thurs: chicken and dumplings, salad

Friday: pizza again:)

Saturday: veggie chilli and Wild Game Dinner at the church

Sunday: church pot-luck

MLK March/Inaguration

Wow.

A lot of history in a short span of time.
We have participated in the San Antonio MLK March every year for over a decade. (except one year when the Tx. Hill Country roads were closed due to ice and we couldn't get there). This year the boys insisted on going as part of the Darfur Coalition.

In this picture Elle, Mathew, Hannah and Cody hold the sign while others (Mason, Austen, Joel, Jules, Galen, Harlan...) pass out literature on the SADarfur Interfaith Coalition and get signatures on post-cards to encourage the ending of the genocide in Darfur.

I was questioned by a dear friend as to why we march. Our children were marching to make a stand for Darfur, but why me? Why would I march?

My response? Because it is our priviledge, right and responsibility.

We have the priviledge to march for what we believe in this country. I have spent some time in countries that are not so privilidged. It is not a priviledge I take lightly.

It is my right. I believe that here in the United States, we have come a very long way in social equality and justice for all...but I also know we have a long way to go. Our current public policies regarding immigration, people with disabilities, and same-sex marriages are just a start. I feel it is our right, to make a stand on these issues. The way I see it, equality means equality..not..oh..actually just for x, y and z group. This is my belief. For this I march.

Finally responsibility. It is my responsibility as a parent, to make sure my children know the history of our country. All the history, the parts for which I am proud, the parts for which I am embarassed. We study history to learn from both our successes and our mistakes. The civil rights movement is a HUGE part of American History. I cannot and will not deny this lesson in social responsibility to my children.

We have just spent the morning watching Obama's inaguration into office. Once again.

Wow.

I saw a sign yesterday that pretty much sums up my feelings about all of this:

Rosa (Parks) sat so Martin(Luther King) could walk.
Martin walked so (Barak)Obama could run.
Obama ran so all children could fly.

Odyssey is back...

My house smells like kids and Odyssey of the Mind.

My kitchen smells like spray paint (they painted outside..I swear) My living room smells of burning sauder, and snacks...(popcorn and pizza actually).

I thought we had another month before the kids hit this mode. I was wrong.

The Club is sending 4 teams this year to the Texas Central regional tournament. We are sending one highschool, one middle school and two elementary teams. The highschool and junior high are both meeting out of our house (although they have coaches other than me). Elementary is meeting out of the Club. All teams are meeting together on Tuesdays for spontaneous problem practice. You know..when they work together to answer questions like, "if you made a bumper sticker for the space shuttle, what would it say?" or to build things..like a cantilever out of toothpicks and marshmallows.

But that is not as messy ..the spontaneous. The long-term stuff will take over my house. At the moment we have two small vehicle models and one pieced together robot and something that explodes for the high school. They are rumoring about spies and the Pink Panther. I can only imagine what they will end up with.

Junior high is working on a problem involving "the lost labor of Heracles". They have spent the day, painting shoes, working on signs and downloading info on the Greek alphabet and Pythagorus (don't ask). They also have lots of brown material, tie-dye (again with the tie-dye), sheets, leaves and various forms of triangles. They don't know if they are using triangles or not..but are playing with an idea.

The mess, however, is not limited to competing members of our house. Since the rest of us are not allowed to offer any ideas..we often immerse ourselves in our own creative endeavors. I managed to get myself lost in a book. (not so creative) Brian-Scott and Angee (who are both going to be judges) are trying to stay out of it..so they are dismantling a d.v.d player and discussing "puppy launchers" ..as in maybe they could "launch" our dog.

"Big"Brian spent the day at Pick-n-Pull..for no reason other than to scavenge for car-parts and clear the house. He did bring home the pizza, though. The pizza, however, is not enought. Here we go with the food theme again.

So while we're at it...this week's menu:
Sunday- vegetable tempera and rice
Monday- lasagna, french-bread, salad
Tuesday- grilled cheese and tomato soup
Wednesday-chili-mac and steamed potato and cauliflower with cheese.
Thursday- left-overs
Friday - pizza again.
Saturday- still not a clue

Now that his team is gone, Austen is moving himself into the tree condo. He claims his room will have to hold his team's stuff. He may be right.

Lucky Austen.

Serious Study?

Silence.

It is a welcome, but eerie sound in this house. For 3 days, the boys have studied at least 4 hours every morning. I am the noisy one around here. I do not have their attention span.

The boys are calling this our "season of study". If history repeats itself, it will last about one month..then we will be in OM crunch mode and will once again, be going through the motions.

Sandy and Devin are coming over every morning. Sandy patiently sits with Austen each morning as he works himself through the confusing world of fractions, polynomials and figuring area and perimeter. He is spending a lot of time reading 39 Clues and The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy triology.

Devin is a bit more mathematically self-sufficient. He plops himself in a chair and just works through textbooks. He occasionally murmurs he is stuck, but before you reach him he inevitably says,'oh, never mind..I got it." He is spending a lot of time reading Usborne's Book of World Religions and looking at grammar and German.

Both Austen and Devin are spending a little bit of time each day diagramming sentences (like 15 minutes) and have returned to daily essay writing.

We all read together each morning..mainly because I like this time together. We are almost finished with Brizinger. The boys are also reading the Bhagavad Gita for next week's discussion during co-op.

Cody and I are plodding through his Latin together. We decided in the Fall that since the bulk of his time is spent on the soccer fields, Latin was a way to get comfortable with English grammar and meet college foreign language requirements in one shot. At the time, he was debating whether to spend a semester playing soccer in Mexico for his senior year, or go to Italy for his first year of college (also for soccer). We figured a year of Latin wouldn't hurt him, either way.

We started with Latina Christiana. We worked about 1/2 way through it and then Cody decided it would be more interesting to switch to the Oxford Latin Course. This is one brother Brian used for a year. It involves lots of translations, but revolves around the biography of Quintus Horatio Flacus...the assasin of Julius Ceasar. Am I surprised that he finds the life of an assassin more interesting than liturgical prayers?! The biography of an assassin is a bit more time consuming though. Cody is reading and re-reading Darren Brown's Trick's of the Mind. He is returning to the routine of working through the Saxon Alg.II book.

As for me, I am stalling. I need to read the book of Acts, identify some specific groups, etc. for discussion. Instead, I am reading Three Cups of Tea, lots of magazines, The Shack and a book on care-giving. I am filling out a zillion impact assesment things for work..and..well..blogging. Like I said, don't have the boys' attention span.

Why am I writing this? Because years from now, I want to say.."do you remember that time when we studied...like every day? I think it was January of like, 2009 or something.."

taking time to regroup

Our vacation mode is finally ending (sigh), and I am taking the day to regroup. I am preparing for this next semester of study, OM madness, soccer games, C.A.P. competitions and work by spending the day doing laundry, planning menus (if I don't have a vague plan, we tend to go days scrounging..it is quite sad, really), and rearranging the house. I bought myself a christmas c.d...Winter Wonderland from Starbucks this weekend. I am playing it at nauseum as I get ready for our next few months. This is, in a way,
my deep breath before jumping back into our routines.

I have mixed feelings about this. I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting with Brian-Scott.I will miss him. I loved drinking too much Hot Damn, cheating at dominoes and watching the kids playing with fireworks over New Years. I spent a few days in Brian's Austin apartment with my mom and sister where we spent some long-overdue time together. However, I am ready to return to more structured lives.

We are actually missing our routine with the kids at the Club. I have only worked 3 days in the past 2 weeks. It seems much longer than this. We all function better around here when we balance our days with work(like paid labor) service (volunteerism galore) study and play. We have spent the past month abundantly heavy on the volunteer and play side. I am ready for more balance.


Okay..just for fun: Our Weekly Menu (think mixed family part vegetarian part carnivorous)
Sunday: fajitas, ranch style beans, corn and rice
Monday: cheeseburger pie, fruit cocktail and salad (soup bar: cream of bean)
Tuesday: spaghetti, green beans, bread-sticks (soup bar: huitlacoche)
Wednesday: baked ham, mac and cheese, peas (soup bar: tomato-basil)
Thursday: leftovers (soup bar: veggie soup)
Friday: pizza night
Saturday: not a clue!
So it's an almost weekly menu. Truth is Brian usually cooks on the weekends. During the week, I take out all the ingredients in the afternoon before leaving for work. We usually have a first one home cooks dinner rule. This includes the boys. We cooked a lot with them when they were younger so they are all pretty comfortable in the kitchen. Hence, the need for a plan . The other reason we have a plan is so everyone in this house knows what is available to create, snack on, etc. Otherwise, the kids eat the ingredients. Looking for sauce? Cody ate it. Looking for basil? Austen used it all in a tea experiment.. Noodles? Mason built something with them.
All for now. Laundry awaits!

LOST in vacation mode

WE seem to have a very twisted form of family bonding. We have spent almost 2 days watching the t.v. season 1 from LOST. We still have seasons 2 and 3 to go. It has turned into a sickness. We watch for hours and assure ourselves that it is okay to "lose" ourselves in lost because we are on vacation. I am sad to say it has become like an addiction. We stay up to wee hours of the night watching this show. It is insane. I am relieved that today we actually have to be somewhere/do something.
Austen is spending the morning flying an airplane. Mason is at soccer. Cody is sleeping (too many Lost episodes late at night) and then programming some computer games. Brian, Michael and I are finally returning to work.
We all agreed this morning that we will give ourselves the rest of the week to watch this insane series in the evenings..to feed our addiction, so to speak, and then???? I think we will be shutting off the t.v. for awhile.

The Christmas Crud

Don't get me wrong. I truly love this season. I enjoy this holiday. But with this time of year, always seems to come the Christmas crud. You know, that blend of allergies/cold/flu that you just can't shake.
Austen and I get sick last week. We come out of our fog just before Christmas Eve day..and I realize that we are surrounded by others in the same condition. I understand that Cody and Mason spent a fair amount of time sleeping these past few days also.
We enjoyed spending the day with family and friends..but I can't seem to notice that many are just worn-out and sick! Why do we do this to ourselves?!
On another note. We have had a very relaxing and lazy Chritmas day. Actually, the word 'gluttony' comes to mind. We are surrounded by tamales, chili, ribs, tacos, cakes and chocolate. We have more sodas and other junk-food in the house than we will probably have for the rest of the year.
The kids have spent the past week playing Scrabble. Today was not much different..only now they are (or rather were) spending the day playing Rock Band. At least that was until they ran out of batteries. Why do we NEVER have enough batteries on Christmas?
I try to watch It's a Wonderful Life. It is tradition. We do this every year. Nothing happening. The kids protest. Well fine, just any Christmas movie. Somehow we end up watching Tom and Huck instead. Still not sure how that happened.
The kids did break up their ongoing game-playing for a little more tree-house time, bike riding (Brian-Scott got a new bike!), downloading voices on a GPS and painting.
Now? The day finally winds down. Brian-Scott leaves with Angee and her brother Kevin. They are off to Colorado. Mason and Cody are comparing soccer gear. Austen is playing a video game.
It appears that it is Brian and Michael's turn to be sick. They are fighting fevers and trying to sleep.

Nature Trails, Soup and Tie-Dye

I realize a little over a week ago that the kids will never be full. I used to be able to throw some dinner in the crock pot. Well, now that only feeds half of us. We have turned one of our kitchen counters into a Soup Bar. I fill the crock-pot with soup each day and put a basket of dinner rolls beside it. This is not a meal, just an ongoing snack for whoever is in the house. You know, because hot-pockets, popcorn, apples/bananas/oranges, cookies and bowls of cereal don't cut it anymore.

When I leave for the Club, I take what is left with me for staff and kids. In this picture, Austen is dancing in the Club kitchen. He likes to claim it is his kitchen. We start the next batch of soup before I leave. So far we have had 15 bean soup, minestrone, tomato, brocolli and cheese, tomato and potato. I suspect it will not be long before everyone starts groaning, "please, no more soup!"

The boys (dad included) cleared out a nature trail over the weekend. It starts in our backyard and includes the backyards of a few neighbors. They cleared a path/maze just big enough for a golf-cart to fit through. It overlooks the river, winds through trees, brush, etc. We put up our "Trees for the San Antonio Region" poster and are trying to see how many trees we can identify.

The tie-dye continues. It has now taken over our morning room and deck.Now that the "business of Christmas" is settling down, we are starting to fall into old daily rhythms. This is always the time of year we just put down formal study for a month. It is too crazy and people are too stressed during the holidays to try. I really enjoy this..and then I always start thinking "what would happen if we did this f-o-r-e-v-e-r? "

We don't. I'll panic shortly after the new year. But for now..it is really nice.

The boys are getting way too much leverage out of this break with their schooled peers.

Just the other day Austen was helping his friend Ricci with an essay on the Holocaust.
Austen was naming off the current genocides for him, when Ricci stops abruptly:It's not fair miss...how come he doesn't have to write.

Austen grins:Because I'm spoiled.

Me: That's not true! (yikes..he is going public with our huge vacation)He writes an essay a day.

(I don't mention that he writes about whatever he feels like.)

Ricci (big grin):Ha!

Austen: Of course, right now I'm not doing anything for a month..AND I get to sleep late, so HA back!.

Ricci:Is that true, miss?

Me:Yup..sure is.

Ricci :Aww..that's just not right!

Austen (again): Ha!

We have got to work a little on manners!

Keepers of the Magic

Santa has thrown up in my house.



Over the years, as the boys began to discover Santa's other identities, we often remind them that now they are officially, "Keepers of the Magic." As they have become older this Magic Keeping business has taken on a life of it's own.

We dedicate at least a week to magic making in this house...and we share this fun with my friend, Sandy and her son, Devin.


Yesterday as Brian and I drink our morning coffee, I remind him this is the week that we make magic. "Oh jeez!. Can't we just do this..and then have it all cleaned up before I get home?" "Yeah, right..whatever." He grins. "Well, can we at least remember to have some dinner? or do I need to bring home something." He leaves for work threatening to live at the garage until this nonsense is done."...oh, and don't forget x, y and z family",he adds. "I think they're hungry."

So we begin. I do remember to throw some dinner (Beef strognaoff) in the crock-pot. We take over the living room with various food boxes. It will take the next several days to sort and deliver these anonymous gifts of food. Hopefully, we will have the food delivered in time to sort and package the toys/stockings, etc. collected by SAHERO for the kids at the Club.

We set up a table in the living room to make our Christmas gifts. Have you ever tried to tie-dye a towel? It's like trying to tie-dye a sponge. We set up another table in the kitchen for baking. The cookie baking begins. Yesterday? 28 dozen Cracker Jack Cookies. Today's plan? Sandy informs me it is Pumpkin Bread. My she is brave.

We leave the dining room table clear, because yes, we do still have co-op.

We need the table for looking at fungus slides through a microscope. We thought it might be nice to keep the fungus samples away from all the food. Lovely, eh?

Here the kids are making some sort-of Octa-Hedral hubs,
split octas and vertex. (Did I get that right?) We discuss
the Epic of Gilgamesh and yes, fungus as they eat cookies. Today's musical selection? The kids move from Belafonte to Elvis.



Finally, Austen and Devin deliver the food in our immediate area. Elf Austen is not very wise. It is 28 degrees and he makes deliveries in pajama bottoms, flip flops and a jacket. It takes him awhile to recover.

Tree House Wars

Well, the weather is warm (again) and the tree house wars are waging in my neighborhood. When the boys were younger they spent 10 months out of the year building tree houses, club-houses, you name it. There are 180 acres in this dirt-road subdivision of mine. Building forts, treehouses and clubhouses is a favorite pastime for all the neighborhood kids. You think you see deer in the bushes....no, boys moving a couch into the brush. Oh look, a fallen log. No, that is the bridge to the "boat-house". Is that a cave in the side of the hill? It wasn't there last year. Of course, it is furnished with car seats and road signs. Aren't all artificial holes in the side of a hill furnished this way?
But the building isn't the fun part. The fun part was sneaking into the "other" tree-houses and finding treasures. Arguments break-out..and then the neighborhood boys decide to start over with combined efforts to "outdo" the children in the neighboring R.V. park.
This is a favorite past-time in my neighborhood. Kids as young as 4 and as old as 17 can be found building these shanties. The only other past-time that can come close is summer flashlight tag and playing in the river...but most of the year it is too cold or too dry for the river.
Then it happened. Dadsgot involved. A few years ago they (the dads) built the ultimate tree house in my back yard. It was complete with sliding fire pole, deck, patio lights and a smoke detector. The rest of the neighborhood contracting seemed to stop. We had now crossed into ridiculous..or so I thought.
Now when I can't find my husband I simply ask, "Where's dad?" The kids sigh.."oh, he's in the tree house again." When I climb up to see if he is there Brian inevitably says, "sh..I'm hiding. I don't want anyone to find me." This nonsense has gone on for years.
Austen and his friends reclaim the treehouse in the summer months, but they add a t.v. and d.v.d. player. Last year, when we had 7 (yes 7) children in our house, they all begged to move into the tree house. We told them no. They whined that it was the best place around. We said,"too bad. You must suffer in the real house with the rest of us."
This fall, Brian decided to renovate the tree-house. "Do we have to help?" the boys would ask. "Go help your dad. It's important to him." I respond. So..they rebuild a floor with no trap. They put in sheet rock, carpet, a fridge and a couch. Once again, the boys enthusiasm has returned to hang out in "the condo". Brian shows off the tree-house to any unsuspecting soul that enters our home. Older ladies from our church he leads to the ladder saying, "Just peek, isn't it great?" Everyone oohs and ahhs for him. He is so proud.
Last week, Austen grabbed a hammer, board and nails. "Where are you going?" I ask. "To build a tree-house." "What about the condo?" "Eh..it's okay I guess." I know what he means. It is not so rustic anymore. The fun of building and stealing is gone. The next thing I know there are 4 teenage boys pounding rotting boards into a tree in a field across the street from us. Now some of the other neighbors are starting to scout their perfect tree-house spots. Boys are starting to rob parts off of eachothers trees. Any piece of wood, roofing or old furniture that can be scrounged is fair game. Is Dad Brian upset?
No. "Finally", he states, eyes gleaming as he looks teary eyed at the tree condo in our yard. "It's all mine."
Hmm..I think I might add a ripline to it for Chrismas:)

Swing of the Holidays

The story-telling has begun. This seems to be the time of year that we put aside all our normal routine...whatever that is. We start with Thanksgiving..and then through the Holiday season..which in our family consists of Thanksgiving, Hanukah, Christmas and New Years..we spend most of our time in the midst of various traditions and LOTS of storytelling. We started this season with Thanksgiving at my mother's house.

We reminisce, we tell ouigi board adventures, ghost stories, the older generation discuss the pros and cons of large family life (many of my aunts and uncles come from families of 7 or more) and politics seem to be fair game to all. Cody says our story-telling is more like flat-out lying. We like to call them "fish-tales". I remind him we all like to out-do eachother in our ability to tell a good story...and that when topics become serious, the "stories" stop...and everyone feels free to give you an honest opinion. Opinions are free, wanted or not.

We jump into the traditions of our small Lutheran congregation.. We prepare for advent service homilies, sermons, cantoring, acolyting, Christmas programs, and fellowship.

Food drives, time to listen to those who are grieving, helping relieve the stress of underworking families. This becomes the priority in our lives for the next month. It is a reminder that we should live this way more often.

Finally, our traditions at home. Austen insisted we could not decorate our tree this year until Brian came home. Brian made a trip to help us decorate the tree. I believe he decorated most of it himself while the other boys ate dinner and played Fantastic Contraption. Somehow I don't think that was the original plan. We ate quesadillas, rice and chicken, cookies and listened to Pancho Sanchez Latin Jazz.

We buy a small tree for Brian. Let's face it, most trees are bigger than his entire apartment. We enjoy decorating his first Christmas tree with (gasp) matching colors and everything. I'm a little jealous:)

Our tree is old, our ornaments older. Many were made by the kids when they were younger. Our star is a paper-plate cut-out that Cody decorated when he was 4. It has water-damage from a flood in our neighborhood a few years ago. We clothes-pin it to our tree.

The stories, once again, abound. Brian has a great time imitating the boys behavior when they were younger. The boys start doing there imitations of dad. The story-telling has now become animated. Cody, our story-telling cynic, is right in the thick of it.

Co-op

I really love our co-op! Yesterday the kids finished their 6 octa tetra-hedral while discussing Perelandra and singing Belafonte songs.

This past summer, four families got together and decided that we were tired of driving to San Antonio for our children to participate in larger co-ops.

When the boys were younger, we ran a small Waldorf-co-op out our home. We called it the Riverside co-op..since much time was spent playing in the river, climbing trees, acting, painting, playing instruments, learning to sew and Spanish(like I said..they boys were much younger)It lasted for a couple years. We remember this time fondly.

The families went different directions when the children grew older. With this past summers inflated gas-prices, we decided to reconvene. The children and parents got together and discussed what they wanted out of this time together. What goals were they trying to achieve?

Moms wanted time together to feel less isolated. Teens wanted to be able to go to specific colleges or open certain businesses. Food, games and play were also high on the list.

So every Monday from 1-4:30 we meet. We start with board games and snacks...Boggle, Apples to Apples and Cranium being the favorites.

Judy (Zalen's mom) begins study with bio-lab. The teens have been expriementing with pond life and identifying protozoa. We are now moving onto algae! Zalen..by the way, is missing from these pics.

From Bio-Lab we move to Octa-tetra designs. Sandy (Devin's mom) alternates between reading about the geometry involved to simply letting the kids build. The kids often work on the octa-tetra designs while discussing biology or their lit.

We usually move to the back deck (unless it is cold and we are octa-tetraing) for Socratic Discussion. We have chosen to start with Ancient Lit from the WorldView Academy's great books program.

Some weeks we have very interesting discussions..."what is suffering?" "Is flying spaghetti monsters a religion?" "What is the difference between religion and faith?" "What is value?" Other times..we have more the.."huh? oh, there's a bee in my tea." non-discussions.

Finally movie-making. We pull a lot of stuff from the Boys and Girls Club movie tech and drama matters programs. Currently they are experimenting with claymation.

The fact is, this is just a fun group of kids. They all have such varying views and personalities, yet maintain strong respect for one another. A lot of adults could learn from them..I know I do.