A Look Back at D.C. Vacation

We arrived in D.C on Tuesday, August 24. We stayed with our good friends John and Becky. We met them at Eglin AFB when Becky and I were both childless. There are now six beautiful children amongst us. They have made MANY trips to our farm so I am sure you have seen them around and about. I actually failed to get a single pic of our six kids together, but I did capture this picture which includes our buddy William later on in the trip so I'll include that.

John and Becky's sons are in the front. That is Jonah (left) and Joshua (right)

We hung out Tuesday evening and went to bed super early. Becky made an AWESOME curry that we just gobbled up and had for leftovers the next day as well. John and Becky had a wonderful guest set up for us in their basement. After living in one tiny room, it felt like a palace!!! They are such wonderful people and a great family. We love having them as life-long friends. Becky and I realized that Isaac will turn ten this year. She and I met right before we adopted Isaac. SO NEAT!

JB also LOVED their backyard. It backed up to a nature trail. He saw SO many birds from their backyard and said it was the best birding backyard he has ever seen. A huge compliment! :)

On Wednesday morning, Becky let her boys go in late to school so the kids could play and then we decided to take off for the UDVAR HAZY MUSEUM. Neither JB or I had ever been there and it is amazing. It has the Enola Gay and the Space Shuttle Discovery among many, many other things. Here are some pictures from our day there:

Space shuttle Discovery

We let the kids decide if they wanted to try a simulator or not. These three said yes.

Our more cautious boy opted to take a turn operating the controls on a plane.

Scavenger Hunts for my kids are such a great idea. Isaac especially takes the museum on in a whole new way. It was so cool of the museum to have this for the kids.

Abigail the Astronaut

On Wednesday evening, my good friend from the Azores, Claire, came to Becky's house for dinner with her kiddos. It was so nice of Becky to host everyone. Here is a picture of all of our children:

A great picture of all the kids I love how kids can just play like they haven't not seen each other in so long.

Not a great picture, but here is Abigail with Claire. She went right to her!

On Thursday we decided to do a BIG day touring in D.C. since it was the only day with really good weather. We went just the six of us and oh did we have a wonderful day. The weather was GLORIOUS. And it was just so fun.

The kiddos at a fountain by the building housing the Declaration of Independence!

Abigail saw the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and asked, "Is that how tall he really was?"

Me: "No."

Abigail: "Even without the thing he is standing on?"

Abigail: "Is Thomas Jefferson still alive?"

Sidge: "No, he died."

Abigail: "How?"

Hannah: "Probably from oldness."

Probably one of my favorite family fotos ever!!!

We got to see the White House. We also had lunch at the famous OLD EBBITT GRILL which has been open across the street from the White House since 1856. We took a chance and showed up without a reservation and were seated right away! I love traveling in off-season time.

We did a quick jaunt around the Natural History Museum.

So fun!

There were even some Cherry Blossoms in bloom. I must admit, I really see myself in this little face.

In front of the Capitol Building

Hannah actually said, "Dad, take a picture of me with this rock. It's my very favorite rock."

When we got home from touring, everyone wanted to watch National Treasure after seeing the Declaration of Independence up close. Oh, and by the way, when we saw it, Hannah said: "That's just a very old piece of paper with nothing on it.

Here we are watching the movie!

On Friday, my good friend Stebbs who lives not far from Becky, let her William play hooky to go touring with us. She dropped him off at Becky's and we took two vehicles to the metro stop. Becky and her boys joined us for a fun day at the Bible Museum!!

Here's Hannah getting herself dressed for the day. She picks out the most interesting clothes.

The kiddos reading on the Metro ride

First up was the Bible Museum. Oh was I excited to see this!!!!

The highlight of my day was being able to see a copy of the TABURU scriptures in the Bible Museum.See all those yellow boxes behind me? Those are all the languages that still do not have a Bible in their language!

There's my Aunt and Uncle listed under the translation team!!! (Ed and Jan!) Folks the Bible Museum was simply AMAZING!!! Truly I could have spend a gazillion more hours there. I can't wait to go back.

Fun with William in the Bible Museum

Check out Abigail! Lol!

Check out this picture above of my boys walking with their buddy William. 

Stebbs put these side-by-side. This was them when we lived together in Turkey. Man oh man. Emotional.

A close up look at Hannah's outfit 

Sidge and Joshua -- these two are like two peas in a pod. (That's his mom Becky in the background.)

Hannah and Jonah. Jonah usually pops between playing with all four of my kids. He plays Legos with Isaac or goes on adventures with Abigail or does whatever it is a Hannah does.

Me with the kiddos in front of some beautiful tulips (my favorite flower!)

When we got back on Friday, we headed over to the Stebbins' family house, saying good bye to John and Becky. Ryan made homemade pizza the first night and smoked a pork butt (his specialty!) the second night. Both were sooooo good, and we had such a great time. I also got to run over and see Claire one more time and introduce her to Sarah Stebbs. (They live only a few minutes away from each other!)

The rest of the weekend was spent laying low. Chik-fil-A, Target, sword fights, video games, and just having an awesome time catching up with our friends.

Stebbins sent me out front to watch the kids playing. Major FAIL here folks. That's me -- enjoying vacation. I work hard but I am not afraid of a vacation!!!!

Graham, William, and my kids. Graham and Hannah are six weeks apart in age and really played great together!!

The three amigos. I think the best part of this picture is seeing Sidge in an Auburn sweatshirt! Roll 'Tide. Oh, wait, that isn't Auburn it isn't. Isn't it a War Eagle? 

How a city girl, gone country grieves (and raises cows): Old TImes

 How a city girl, gone country grieves 

(and raises cows)

I met Kimberly through farming. She, like me, has been dropped into this life and is learning to love it just like me. She is a Christian, however, our pasts are nothing alike. I've asked her to share her story on my Blog over the next weeks or months or however long it takes. It is filled with much grief and loss but will hopefully make you laugh and smile and grow and grieve along with her.

If we measure the character of our society by the way we treat our elderly, we are in serious trouble.

I’m not sure where to begin. I’m angry, appalled, frustrated, mortified, and yes again angry. This is our last week in a nutshell. While it had some redeeming qualities, it breaks my heart to tell this story.

My husband’s father now lives in TN with us. We moved him down from PA last weekend. He had an opportunity to unload the farmhouse he’d lived in for 27 years with his wife, my husband’s mother, until she left him and filed divorce 8 years ago. Since that time, he had been alone. There are three other siblings; one in the wind (sister), one about 30 min from dad and one about an hour from dad. Not a single one checked in on dad, his living conditions or his health. When the one brother did visit it was to use the garage for his own needs and not stay long. This is the tip of the proverbial iceberg of a tragically deep and wide boulder of an issue.

When we arrived to pick up dad, he was in a state. It was hard for him to leave the only home he’d known for nearly 75 years. It was hard for him to let go of something he’d worked hard to keep, even if just barely. The living conditions were, at best, poor. He had been eating out of cans for over a year, his only hot meal was what the family that bought the house from him delivered the day before. I think he may have had hot meals when he visited his one son, but those occasions were so rare he’s not sure he remembers eating. His wood stove had been sold out of the house while he was still there as a vain and despicable attempt by ‘family’ to force him to sell the place sooner and move out. This last winter (we all know how long this winter has been!) he survived the coldest nights sleeping in his vehicle with it running to stay warm. I could continue, but the stories are so heart-breaking it would make you sick.

Within 24 hours, we noticed dad seemed to come alive. He was a little gray when we picked him up, and by the time we arrived in TN he was getting rosy in his cheeks. We stopped and bought his first new clothes in many years. He slept in a bed for the first time in decades. He has his mind about him; he’s so terribly conditioned from many years of an abusive relationship and neglectful children.

We were some of those children once.

Admittedly, it was always ‘the wrong time’ when he would call my husband. After a few attempts, he’d call me. I rarely answered and just passed him back to my husband. “Call your dad. He’s blowing up my phone too.” After witnessing WHY he was so desperate to connect with us, I am ashamed. I am angry with myself. The ‘we didn’t know’ excuse is so wimpy and I take responsibility for my ignorance. While we really DIDN’T know how bad things had gotten for dad, I have made it my mission to console, guide and help him for the rest of his life with us. As long as we are able, this gentle old soul will never see the inside of a rest home, will have food, shelter, family and love.

Have we forgotten that we are COMMANDED by the Lord to see after one another? Have we forgotten how we became the men and women we are today? Are we so self-focused that we cannot see the real mission field begins at home? I realize many folks do not have a choice; the mental and physical conditions of their aging parent warrants a facility designed to give them the best care and comfort. Yet for those of us with folks like dad, who has his mind but maybe struggles with a little anxiety and some physical impairments, he’s still able to shower and care for himself; what say we of these?

We already share our home with my 89 year old mother. I am extremely fortunate that to date she is still capable of managing her personal care. She no longer drives and has lost sight in her left eye and can’t hear worth a dime, but she is sharp in her mind and enjoys being a part of a very active family. Adding dad, almost 75, who is quiet and quite happy to return to a farming atmosphere is the icing on the extremely complicated cake of many layers and flavors!

I am calling you out. I am not demonizing; I can totally relate to the constant chatter, repeating myself a dozen times, the extra layer of stress being sure she eats, drinks, where she is in the house, will she be alone anytime during that day, what appointments does she have, etc. I relate to frustration when we don’t see eye to eye and she doesn’t get that she is incapable of doing certain things. It’s like a child but worse; she has lived. Watching her deteriorate, even at a slow pace, is heart-wrenching. New discoveries of what she can no longer do then the revelation of what she can still do, and so much more than others younger than her age. It’s literally a day to day carousel of emotion; all on top of marriage, children, farm, businesses, faith-walk and now dad.

I know one fact that most folks are terrified to admit; all families are dysfunctional. Dealing with aging parents reveals the absolute worst in some families. It reveals the selfishness of our younger generations, like the businesses that turn over to the next generation just to watch it railroad into the dust from which it came. Some of the most atrocious acts of neglect today, while appalling, are not new. That’s the tragedy of the whole thing. Some families literally IGNORE their family members until they die, then rifle through the remains of their legacy for a little cash value. I have seen this myself and I’m disgusted and mostly saddened. Regardless the lives of these folks, their histories, these are still people. Make peace with the past already, material things don’t last and physical people don’t either. Which of these are really more valuable?  Dreadfully, I believe the former is true for more families than one can count.

What can we ‘look forward to’ then? I am no more sure of the future than you. I just know that my conviction is to share our story, as each chapter emerges, and pray someone will discover and help their family members. Check in on them, even if they are crotchety old monsters. A lot of the time, loneliness will create that defensiveness.  One of the most heart-breaking things dad has shared is those many hours he spent just staring at the floor, wondering what he did to make his children ignore him. If that doesn’t pull your heartstrings, well, you must not have a pulse.

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”  1 JN 4:11 KJV

 

Until next time, 

Kimberly

Review: Weigl Publishers

Weigl Publishers sent us three media enhanced books to review, and boy were we in for some fun!! Glaciers, A Lion's World, and There Once Was a Cowpoke Who Swallowed an Ant were a ton of fun for my four children who range in age from 4-9. 

Guys, these books are just plain FUN. I want to take some time to look at each of these books. Let's start with: 

Here is a picture of my two daughters listening to the book. (You have an option to just read it yourself or listen to it read. If you listen to it read, there are all kinds of cool sound affects!)

There Once Was a Cowpoke Who Swallowed an Ant is simply a "basic" story. It is a fun book kids can listen or read online. This makes it great for kids as young as 3 and as old as, well, me! Here's a video demonstrating some of the fun sounds you can hear as you read along:

The "fun" however only starts with a book like the one mentioned above. Let's step it up a level, shall we? Glaciers was simply UH-MAZING! Seriously this book was sooooooo cool.

   

  I really debated how best to illustrate the amazing things within this book. I finally decided to take a short video to show just a few of the features. There are quizzes and links to other sites, and image galleries. The fun (and learning!) is intense and fun. Here's the video:

I love the idea that I can use this one book and have a whole unit of amazing study for my kiddos. This book is for slightly older children. (I put the age range at about 8 years old and up although younger kids could just surfacely read the book and get something out of it too!)

Lastly I want to touch on a book that I feel is a combo of the above two options. It is more simple, but very cool. It has live videos of lions and sounds and all the works. It was probably a favorite here for us because it wasn't too educational and included a really awesome animal and all the cool things it does:

   Folks you have to check out Weigl Publishers. These three books are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to amazing things they offer. There are, honestly, nearly a limitless number of books from a book on every state in the USA to books on nearly every sport you can imagine! Social Studies, Science, Language Arts, Fiction, Spanish ... you name it, they probably have a digital book on it. As always, feel free to contact me to get more information and hear from me directly. What fun this review was! I am sure you will feel the same.  

We Bought a Farm: One day at a time Sweet Jesus

So the good news is: THE UPSTAIR IS COMPLETED!

There are still a few odds and ends to finish, but it is mostly done!

But with that, comes a whole new set of challenges. The downstairs is now completely out of commission. Because the upstairs wasn't completely done, and the garage was jam packed, we had to basically "dump" any remaining items in the downstairs in our bedroom or the camper while we waited to move the kids upstairs.

Now the kids are upstairs. And now begins my work of re-moving in upstairs. UGH! This is NOT for the faint of heart. 

Just so I can keep it real, here is a video of the current state of my bedroom. And this is after a lot of work. Now granted this is basically everything we have been living with for three months PLUS stuff I had nowhere else to put when they needed to tear out the kitchen.

Here is what the downstairs looks like right now:

Those boxes are all the kitchen cabinets going to be installed!

While I have no kitchen, I have been trying hard to get our camper kitchen functioning. Only thing is, it was a play area. So I have to get that emptied out and the camper set up to be our kitchen until this kitchen is installed. 

While the above has left me feeling like I am drowning, literally, there are some highlights. Like ... PUPPIES!!!! They are one week old today, and we think we have a home for every single one!

Review: YWAM Publishing

YWAM Publishing offered us many different choices from their Heroes of History series of books. I was excited to be chosen to review Heroes of History - Harriet Tubman.

I love adding Christian biographies to our studies. And this isn't the first time I have reviewed for YWAM Publishing. You can read one of my previous reviews of Benjamin Franklin by clicking here. I loved doing the Franklin review and this one was as much of a joy.

This series lists its intended audience at 10+, and I think this is very spot on. The last time I reviewed for this company was nearly exactly one year ago. And at that time, my boys were not able to read the book themselves. I read it to them. But this year I was able to let them read it solo! What a difference a year makes.

Each boy would take turns reading a chapter in the book. We then downloaded the included Study Guide that goes along with each book, and they would answer the questions that went along with that chapter in the book. The Study Guide included questions for each chapter that my boys worked through. But it also included other interesting things like:

• Key Quotes (quotes from other famous people about the topics presented in this book)
• More Books and Resources on the topic of Harriet Tubman
• Chapter Questions (answers are provided as well)
• Topic ideas for: 
• Essay Questions
• Creative Writing 
• Hands-on Projects
• Audio/Visual Projects
• Community Projects
• Related themes to explore

The book tells the familiar story of Tubman who died in 1913 after being born into slavery. She escaped tp Philadelphia in 1849 and then returned to Maryland to rescue her own family. One group at a time, she guided her relatives out of the state. This lead to her helping other slaves -- not only members of her family.

During the American Civil War, Harriet worked as a cook and nurse for the Union Army but graduated to scout and spy! She was actually the very first woman to lead an armed mission in the war, and she was personally responsible for helping liberate more than 700 slaves during her lifetime.

But Tubman is only one of dozens of people your child could read an autobiography on. From Abraham Lincoln to Clara Barton and George Washington Carver the list is seemingly endless. It goes on and on with wonderful options for your children. This could easily be your child's history unit for an entire year!! 

These books are simply fantastic. They read like a story and are a joy to read. We've done both out loud and self reading and have thoroughly enjoyed both ways. In addition, the corresponding Study Guides offer the unit study every homeschool parent loves. Here are a couple pictures of my boys reading and answering the questions in the Study Guide:

You can read more about this amazing company on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or their Blog.

The Kitchen is GONE! (and a peek upstairs)