Living IN Canaan

The Boy Who Doesn't Like Homemade Pizza

When I was pregnant with my son, it was our weekly Friday night ritual to make homemade pizza.  Well, I say 'our' like I really had much to do with it.  I should say it was our weekly ritual for me to mix up the crust and for Paul to make me homemade pizza.  I ate so much of it when I was pregnant I was sure that my baby was going to come out looking like a pizza.  But it appears what you eat while pregnant has zero effect on the growing baby, because this is the face he made tonight when we made homemade pizza.

In case you can't tell from the photograph, that is NOT a smile.  That is more of an "EWWW!! GROSS!!" face.  He tried to be enthusiastic for our sake, he really did try.

In case you couldn't tell that is a face of feigned enthusiasm.  As opposed to, you know, real enthusiasm, which looks something like this:

So tonight, Dad and I learned that you just can't make someone like homemade pizza AND it can, in fact, be something within the same category as water-boarding to make someone eat homemade pizza.  I wish I had some pictures of his face during the actual eating but I was too busy being one of those moms who try to make their children be something they aren't, which I swear I will never do again every single time I do it.

On that note, his favorite Christmas gift was an egg shaped alarm clock that tells the temperature and changes colors.  It fell today and broke.  He cried.  We drove 20 minutes away to replace the $4.99 alarm clock while quietly wondering why he can't play with nearly indesctructable G.I. Joes instead, like other boys.  Why? He isn't any other boy. Each day he teaches me something about me when he teaches me something about himself.  God made him exactly who he is, exactly.  We can guide and teach but we can't really change that thing that is him because God put it there.  Truth be told, we wouldn't want to change it if we could. 

On the way home from the getting the alarm clock, he told us all about his plans to create a new computer operating system that would rival Windows.  He also said he planned to sell it and make lots of money like that guy at Bill.com (Bill Gates).  He then made sure that I knew he would give me a set of disks for free because I am his mommy.  

So if anyone asks me why I homeschool?  That is why.  Could any teacher respect that sacred place in him, that God-breathed, unique, one of a kind place? That place in him that may never like homemade pizza or play with action figures.  I am not so sure, and I am not taking any chances.

"Everybody is a genius.  But, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing it is stupid." --Einstein

How Soon....

I took Dawn's wonderful suggestion to bake bell-shaped cookies for the New Year after sharing the Tennyson poem with the children.  It was sweet and simple and they enjoyed it.  As you can see, I let them go whole hog with the icing. 

I had dough already in the refrigerator that was another one of my 'we didn't get to it' Christmas projects.  They are deliciously light and lemony German butter cookies that I found here.  The photographs of her cooking/baking are marvelous. 

Martin Luther once said, "How soon not now becomes never."  I have been thinking on that a lot this New Year's.  It is the great lament of the procrastinator, but I do not want it to become a recurring theme for my life  So tonight, as the hours ticked away, I was not feeling like making a cookie mess with the children and realized that we hadn't marked this holiday together in any real way.  I remembered Luther's admonishment. How soon not now becomes all grown up. How soon not now becomes never.  And I immediately called them downstairs and began to gather the flour, dough, cutters, and wax paper.  It took maybe 10 minutes from first flour sprinkle til I slid the cookie sheet into the oven.  I would have missed marking this moment with my children, completely and totally missed it. 

So in the spirit of not missing a moment, I am really committed to chronicling 2009 on this blog.  Not so others can see but so I can stay accountable with my own self about the 'not nows.' 

Happy 2009!

Adventures on the Gulf Coast

One of the great joys of our family life is living in and visiting different parts of the country.  Every city we visit or every time we move we find wonderful, unique, and extradordinary things about that particular place.  We have truly been blessed by the time we have spent on the Gulf Coast.  We aren't sure if or when we are moving again, that is up to God and the Air Force, but we sure are having a good time while we are here. 

I wish every day was like Friday (another of our blessings here is that my husband is off every other Friday).  We went on a family adventure, which we seem to do a lot! The replica of Christopher Columbus' ship, the Nina, has been touring ports throughout the states for several years.  We missed its port in Mississippi last week because of sickness so we decided to go see it in port at Lulu's in Gulf Shores, Alabama. We had such a good time seeing the ship and the children were absolutely fascinated by it.  On the way to Gulf Shores, we read 2 books about Columbus in the car, so they were full of information when we boarded the ship.  It was a cloudy day but the temperature was perfect. 

We have spent lots of time in the panhandle of Florida and lots of time in and around south Alabama but we had never been to the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach area and to the city of Foley.  We were pleasantly surprised to find beautiful sugar sand beaches, lots of good food, and plenty to do!  Even though rain was threatening we spent some time squishing sand between our toes at the beach.  My son said it best when he said, "Mama, this is the best life!" I couldn't agree with him more.

We browsed a souvenir store, went to a large outlet mall, and went thrift storing (that is for another post!) Foley is an adorable town with a small town feel and a huge outlet center :)  We plan to return soon on a prettier day (the rain came at us hard by evening).  We had a long list of things we wanted to do like visiting a cheese farm, going to a model train museum and shopping several other thrift stores but the rain and closing time came upon us fast. I also plan to eat at Lulu's next time we go; it looked fabulous. We had a wonderful day exploring and piddling, as my husband would say.  We feel so privileged to get to see and experience the things we do as a family.  We have found that it doesn't take much money just time and effort.   

A Trip to Bass Pro Shops or How Far Will You Go To Buy a Bow???

My husband...oh my dear husband!  He loves himself a good Bass Pro Shop!  After visiting his first one in my hometown of Hampton, VA nearly 2 years ago, he has made it his personal goal to visit as many as possible.  If we are traveling and pass a billboard for one, we are going.  So as a result we have been to Bass Pro Shops in Atlanta, Destin, Nashville, Louisville, Charlotte, and, as of today, Jackson, Mississippi.  Yes my friends, we packed up the van and drove 3 hours north to get to the Bass Pro Shop.  Of course, the trip consisted of more than that but the main motivation was the Bass Pro Shop.  My children think it is an amusement park. Paul will pack his pocket full of quarters and the children will play in the shooting gallery and get pictures taken with every taxidermied animal in the place.  My daughter affectionately calls it the "fishie store." 

My husband early on decided I needed a motivation to love the fishie store as much as him.  So, bless his heart, he searched and searched til he found something there I would love.  I have wanted a cabinet full of Lodge cast iron cookware for as long as I can remember.  Bass Pro carries the whole line.  Every time we go,HandyMan treats me to one piece.  I have a wonderful collection, each piece with a story to tell of the trip we were on and the fun we had. Today my pick was a fajita maker/server.

But today was extra special, because today my son got the next size bow...a real compound bow.  My 5 year old is shaping up to be quite the archer.  Unfortunately, compound bows take a certain measure of strength.  But the sweet salesman worked with my husband and son til they found the perfect fit!  Needless to say, there was a happy little boy and a very proud daddy walking out of the Bass Pro Shop today. 

  The trip included a visit to Target (we don't have one on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi..a travesty!) where my daughter bought fairy wings for herself and then informed us that they made her an angel (Shhh...be nice Mommy!)  HandyMan then spent his Home Depot gift card from my dad on a miter saw.  And then a trip to the bookstore was in order where I came away with a bag full of 50% Christmas books for next year's Advent season, including a Treasury of 8 Jan Brett winter stories for only $9.99.  And finally, a meal at Outback where we enjoyed chatting and endured horribly tough steak and bad service.  HUMPH!!  Luckily, the calming beat of the rain on the roof of the van, the quiet children and the good conversation  on the ride home made up for the dinner!  Oh, and he let me take the pug on the trip!