Dandelions

April is Military Child month.  Even though today marks the end of April, I have come across a writing I wanted to share.

The official flower of the Military child is the Dandelion. Why? The plant puts down roots almost anywhere, and it's almost impossible to destroy. It's an unpretentious plant, yet good looking. It's a survivor in a broad range of climates. Military children bloom everywhere the winds carry them. They are hardy and upright. Their roots are strong, cultivated deeply in the culture of the military, planted swiftly and surely. They're ready to fly in the breezes that take them to new adventures, new lands, and new friends.
   

Experts say that military children are well-rounded, culturally aware, tolerant, and extremely resilient. Military children have learned from an early age that home is where their hearts are, that a good friend can be found in every corner of the world and in every color, and that education doesn't only come from school. They live history. They learn that to survive means to adapt, that the door that closes one chapter of their life opens up to a new and exciting adventure full of new friends and new experiences.

We can only hope that we are busy raising a bunch of beautiful dandelions.

 

A boy

A boy.

Look at those cute dimples!
 He is ALWAYS on the move!

A boy and his dog....

 A boy and his wild hair!

 So loving.

He loves to chase her and torture her and she seems to enjoy it too.  He is often very sweet to her.  Look how her eyebrows have grayed. Poor thing doesn't have the same energy to keep up or to wear him out like she once did.

A boy and his fascination with drains.

I am sending him to plumbers school.  Either Grandpa Jim or great uncle Jim can train him up, or they can take turns, but he needs to go.  I am tired of being the plumber, to his clogging.

Things he should learn while at plumbers school:

1. proper use of a plunger.  As in, to unclog a toilet drain, not to try and force toys down it.

2. how to effectively use a zip it thing a ma jig to unclog toilet paper smashed down a sink or tub drain.

3. how to take a part a drain and pipes to remove the tooth brush stuck in the drain, and how to put it back together ensuring no leaks.

4.  how to use a toilet auger.  Now I realize this tool is meant for someone over 6ft tall and have an octopus set of arms, but if he is going to continue to flush soap bars, medicine cups, and toys and anything else, he needs to get them out too!

5. Extra credit.  How to fix a garbage disposal. So far he hasn't broken this, but I know it is a matter of time.

6.  how to turn off the water main, and a local water source and why one might need to do so.  Of course turning it back on is important as well.

7. how to remove a toilet from its base to unclog the foreign objects that won't budge with a toilet auger.  Again, putting it back together is key to this step as well.  I also don't want to hear any belly aching on how heavy it is.

8. Toilet tanks. Basic working functions, common issues and a few not so common issues. -no this is not where your poop goes and there is no reason to remove the tank lid each time you flush to see if that is where the poop went.  Another field trip to where Uncle Josh works might be useful in this one.

9.  fixing leaky faucets.  If you're already there, just learn it!

10. correct way to hook up appliances such as washer, dishwasher, and installing a sink or a shower/tub.  It's good to be well rounded in your skills!

So, ten basic skills.  Yes, I COULD be his teacher, but I think I may have ran out of patience in this area.  I just want him to be my personal live in plumber, is that too much to ask for?  To his teachers, I don't need him to be state certified or anything extreme like that.  I don't plan to hire him out, that would probably be against child labor laws.  I, and the rest of the family, would just like to be able to use the bathrooms as they are intended, when we need to.

A boy, well on his way to his first career and possibly passion of his life.

Electricity!

 The kids received a snap circuit kit and they worked through the first 15 experiments.

 Light bulbs were lit. Fans spun. Fans flew into the air. A safety pin can complete a circuit.

 And a siren was sounded.

This took a good part of the morning and was fun to have Daddy enthusiastically helping with the projects.

What a week!

This past week was Holy Week and while we didn't make it to the somber, quiet, reflective services held late in the evenings, we did talk a lot about what happened to Jesus through out this week.  A couple of quick pictures to highlight it.

First the last post, was an announcement that we have a bun in the oven.  I sent this picture out to several people, they did not get it.  And my sister has said that she believes I will keep having babies until I run out of "creative" ways to announce the pregnancy.  I don't know about that....maybe it is her turn and I'll just help her be creative in her announcement!  It seemed fitting with this week and Easter to share our exciting news.

 Palm Sunday. The kids followed directions well and got dressed while I was in the shower.  He adores his big sisters and he had a blast twirling for everyone who commented on his pretty dress.

Easter morning I always make cinnamon rolls. this was only half the dough and we do share with others!

And then, after church, I attempted to take a picture of the kids, it went something like this:

And now it is nearly April 9th.

So, I will write as if it is.  Today marks 10 years since Eric joined the USAF.  In those ten years he has spent over 3.5yrs in training of one sort or another --from basic training to officer training, from boom operator to pilot.  He has also done 9 deployments in support of 3 different contingencies.  He has had at least double that number in TDY's (that is talk for "short" trips such as switching out planes, moving people or equipment to another location or some specialized training, ultimately it also means he is not home).  We have lived in 4 different states, -lived the central time zone from North to South!
The reality is, we really haven't seen too much of him, but when he is home we do our best to demand and monopolize all of his time and keep him on his toes!  He has 6.5 years left on his current commitment but intends to stay in and retire out.  I have joked, that if his deployment tempo keeps up at this pace, his last assignment should be a non-deploying one, so we can test out living together again and make sure we still like each other, before he retires.  :-)

Most people would not consider giving their life to service. When a family man does, then the family is also serving. I know deployments are hard on Eric in ways that are different than they are for us.  We miss him, as he misses us, but we still have all of our comforts of home, friends, and activities. He has a job to do and maybe some class work in his off time, so his time goes by very slowly.  I ask nothing of you, but if you can spare a prayer that our world could find more peace, that those protecting our country are kept safe, that would be great.

WAY TO GO ERIC!  Thanks for all you do!

Mathemetics

Our sweet CJ is working on fractions.  Yes, apparently first grade means fractions now. While addition never seemed to hold her attention, she loved subtraction especially when they got into double digit subtraction! She has a family history of being math buffs, so watch out!  My concern is that by third grade I'll be lost!

I never took overly advanced math, like calculus, but I did alright in math. I will admit that in college when the story problem kept asking the probability of me pulling a certain color of sock out of the drawer, I felt like it was ridiculous question. 100% is the answer because I'm not color blind and will LOOK as I pull out which ever color of socks I wanted.  I have a dear friend who is a math professor, and she just sighed and said it was a simple way to show a more complex idea. Blah Blah Blah....

Most of the time this was how I felt about the crazy story problems. 


And then there are the equations that will never be solved:

That's right...no matter how many socks are put INTO a dryer, a different, smaller number will come OUT!


Now I have a bit of math challenge for YOU!  It is fun to challenge our brains with something different than our checkbooks!  I will give you the equation, and it is a true equation.  All you have to do is explain it!  Simple right?  I KNOW you can do it!

1x + 1y + 3c = 6f

or

1 + 1 = 6

And I checked with CJ...I got my math right!  ;)  Feel free to leave your answers and comments!

Listening ears

I found the kids' listening ears.



Too bad they have to stay in the cave with the bats!