We're moving --- again!!

We're moving to England!

I feel like God has breathed fresh air into us, finally ending a long waiting time and letting us move forward. We have been praying for so long (and despairing at times) for guidance as to our next steps. Steve has been unhappy and frustrated doing work that doesn't suit him, and has longed to get the training he needs in order to fulfill his passion of reaching Muslims for Christ.

Now Steve has been accepted by Oxford University to study for his master's first and hopefully his PhD afterwards, over a period of 5 years. He will be studying Arabic and Islamic history, and with his degrees, wants to teach the history of Muslim-Christian interaction in a Christian college or overseas seminary. We will fund this first year ourselves with savings and loans, and then pray that scholarships and grants come through for the following years.

School starts on October 13, so this means that we're leaving the U.S. in just 7 weeks. Our heads are spinning. But at the same time, we're so excited. I'm grateful to have lived in Scotland already so that I have a better idea of what I should take with me (there were many things I wished I'd brought when we arrived in Scotland). The kids like the idea of riding bikes and buses instead of driving a car. I'm hoping to get in better shape by walking a lot. I'm also hoping the kids remember these coming British years better than they remember our one year in Edinburgh (which is fuzzy for them to say the least). We're looking forward to attending our Oxford church, Magdalen Road Evangelical Free, and renewing friendships we made there 10 years ago. We'll also be a lot closer to our dear London and Edinburgh friends.

Our concerns are:
*finding housing
*getting financial help
*receiving Ethan's passport in time
*figuring out how to pack our lives into a few boxes!

And it will be hard to leave our dear family here, as well as new friends we're just starting to make at our current church. I've grown accustomed to the ease of American life and I've enjoyed occassionally having access to my favorite foods and restaurants. I know I will be frustrated by not having a car. But at the same time, our 2 years in Lexington have prepared me for this transition. I have not always had my own car here, and we have not been in an urban area with our favorite stores and restaurants.

So here's to fish and chips, tea and biscuits, and the locale of our engagement! Oxford, England, here we come!

Toddler Trouble

Yesterday morning, I awoke to Josiah shaking me and saying, "Mommy, Ethan wrote on me with a marker! And he also wrote on the couches!" I glanced up and there was my 18 month-old with an open black permanent marker in his hand. YIKES!!! I grabbed it from him, turned to the white leather couches that are in our apartment but belong to Steve's parents, and was horrified to see long black streaks across both of them. Not just one long streak, but groups of 10-15 foot-long streaks.

My first thought was, "Dad's going to kill me" and my second thought was, "This is why I've never owned nice furniture!!!" My thought at the end of the day was, "I've spent the last three years making sure every pair of scissors, pen and marker are up high when I go to bed at night, but this one time, I missed one and look what happened."

Steve went online and found that others have also had this mishap and that alcohol is the recommended remedy. Sure enough, Dad spent 1 1/2 hours scrubbing with rags and almost an entire bottle of rubbing alcohol, but he did indeed get the marks off.
The biggest miracle was that he was so calm about it. I never heard him once raise his voice, though I know he must have been steaming inside.

Our Pet Toad "Germy"

My kids have always wanted a pet, and for the past 6 weeks they have finally "owned" one ... well off and on, you might say. At the end of May Steve and I captured a toad and brought it home for the kids who thoroughly enjoyed playing with it. However, Toad escaped within a few days. Since then we have caught, lost, and caught Toad again numerous times. In fact, our current toad "Germy" is not the same as our first one, but it doesn't matter to the kids.

Naomi loves Toad so much, she wantes to greet him first thing every morning, and give hugs and kisses goodnight. She and Josiah both carry him around, play with him in our wading pool, watch him jump around on the lawn, and love him to pieces.

Yesterday I took the kids to a place called Boxerwood Garden, which has a nice exploratory area for young kids. Naomi insisted we bring Germy with us so that he could see someplace new. So we did! The other kids who were also at the garden loved seeing and holding our toad. They all thought we'd caught him there, but Naomi informed them that he is our PET and that we brought him from home.

To keep food costs down but keep Germy from starving, we'll probably have to let him go today. Naomi says she's okay with this, as long as Dad and I promise to keep an eye out for Toad when she's in bed at night (this is the pattern for when we've caught our previous ones) and catch him again soon.

Refreshing Art

I am realizing more and more how important it is for me to spend some time being artistic on a regular basis. It can be anything from designing and painting shirts, to face-painting, to sketching, coloring or calligraphy. When I leave this part of me high and dry, I get serious and depressed. But when I've just done an hour of face-painting or made a wall-hanging for my nephew, I feel renewed. I've not only used a different part of my brain, I've created something that brings joy and something that reflects who I am.

Kid Update

Naomi turns 6 in two weeks and has become a little author. She stapled together post-it notes and made wordless books called "In the Light" (in the let) and "In the Dark." She was making these same books over and over again, and talking about how she was going to have a "book fair" and sell them (can you tell what my latest business is? yes, I'm selling books in book fairs and to friends!)

I broadened her scope two days ago, though, by suggesting that she write a book about her toad. She grudgingly changed gears to write more words and actually have a topic, but now is thrilled with her "toad book." She takes it with her everywhere. She's not done yet, but she has three pages written. "mom and dad fownd a toad. i put it in a box. it was cuqte. it jumped a way. i put a toad in a boat. it wus a box."

I've suggested other topics as well, so I'm looking forward to seeing what my budding author puts out in the next few weeks.

Josiah really likes learning French. I'll hear him (occasionally) counting things in French on his own. He gets excited, too, about the idea of teaching our friends French! He still loves his animals and tells everyone that he is going to be a zoo-keeper when he grows up. He can spend hours playing with plastic and/or stuffed animals, in the sand-pile out back, or on his bed and floor, or in the bath. It really doesn't matter!

He has heard me recount many stories of our family when I've said that one of our kids was still in my tummy. I'll tell about something happening and they'll say "Was Ethan there?" "No, he was in my tummy." Well yesterday I was telling the kids about a trip I took with the two older kids when we were in Scotland. Josiah asked if Daddy had been there. I said no, and Josiah replied, "Oh, he was in your tummy, right?" Then he smiled as we laughed.

Ethan loves to go outside. If we mention anything about going anywhere, he runs to get his shoes, brings them to us and then stands by one of our doors, waiting to be let out. It doesn't really matter what he's doing outside; he just likes to be there. He likes throwing pebbles, watching bugs, riding a three-wheeler, pushing the stroller, playing in the sand, playing in the wading pool, watching people mow their lawns, etc.

He is enthralled with trains and cars right now, especially of the matchbox-sized variety. When we see him walking around (or going to church, heading to bed, sitting down to eat...) he usually has a vehicle in each hand. He makes engine sounds as he pushes them around, but still doesn't say the word "car." In fact he hardly says any words at all, which at 18 months, is a concern to the pediatrician, but not to me. Josiah didn't talk until 23 months, and Steve didn't talk till he was almost three!

All three kids like creepy-crawlies. Naomi likes catching them and putting them in "The Bug Box" (a cheap plastic container from Wal-Mart). Josiah does that too, but then wants to let them go. Ethan doesn't like to touch them, but enjoys watching them walk around the box. It's been fun to see what they've found, and watch their excitement.

No Pencils in Math?

What if math education used no writing for the first few years? What if all sorting, arithmetic, geometry and algebra problems were done with movement and objects? Chocolate-bar fractions and M&M probability. Area and perimeter using square tiles and real rulers. Graphing using footsteps and string. "Solving equations" using a scale and bags of goodies.

I wonder how much of people's math difficulties and fears stem from premature writing, and too few hands-on activities. "Manipulatives" is a current buzz-word, but if they're only tossed in as an extra now and then, are they enough? When I tutor math students and they're struggling with a particular concept, I always try to show them in a hands-on manner what is going on. But why should I wait until they're struggling? Why can't math be kinesthetic all along?

My kids are (almost) 6 and 4 1/2 and they've both been doing kindergarten this year. I have done no worksheets about numbers and counting, but we talk about numbers all the time. We spent all Fall doing math activities concentrating on classifying, directions, and quantities. Numbers were something I brought up every now and then. Now my kids bring up numbers themselves and are continually telling me things like, "Mom, 2 and 3 make 5!" My older child has tried writing equations on her own because she's becoming enamored with writing in general. But I wonder if I wouldn't be better off saving the writing for later.

I think I would have more fun teaching and I know the kids would have more fun learning, if math were taught this way. And maybe, as a small side benefit, our next generation would not be so math illiterate.

Freedom to Imagine

I am constantly amazed at how creative children can be with little structure and few supplies. My one-year-old now loves playing with small toy animals and vehicles, but today, even a razor cap became a “car” for him to push around on the bathtub edge (don’t worry – Dad had possession of the razor!!).

And while the kids all enjoy the toy barn at the library, they really have quite a good time without one at home. Ethan has figured out how to balance plastic horses on a box’s edge, and Josiah creates “zoos” every chance he gets. He groups his animals by types and puts each kind in a special spot (under a chair, on top of a box).

When they run around outside, they also need very few toys. They’ve got a slide and some trikes, but mostly they catch bugs, play in puddles, watch the cows, run down our hill, and play with their few toys. They can make any type of string into a leash for a stuffed animal, and turn any stick into a sword, hobby-horse or a shovel to collect worms. Oh that I were so creative!

I’m thankful that God made humans in his image. The kids and I have been talking a lot about animals lately as we’ve seen quite a few in the past few weeks: fox, turtle, possum, woodchuck, caterpillar, grasshopper. We talk about the distinction between mammals and other types. Naomi asked the other day if we are animals, and I had the joy of telling her “yes” in the scientific definition, but that we are “different” because of God’s grace. He made us creative, emotional, communal, intelligent, and communicative, and we are set apart from all other beings!

Thank you, Lord, for children who remind me of you in so many ways.