Firetrucks

I need to start with a picture of my hair after Caroline and Henry spent time "fixing it". Notice the dinosaur-like row of clips along the top? There are two pigtails as well as lots of clips. They seem to place a high value on ornamentation. They declared that I looked beautiful and should wear it like this more often. Perhaps I have been under-doing it a little?

These are a few pictures from our trip to the local fire station. We went with a group of homeschoolers from our church, a mix of ages and stages. It was a wonderful trip. The firemen were genuinely kind to our kids. They answered questions, tried on their uniforms for us and allowed our kids to climb on their trucks. More than that though, they were genuinely interested in our kids; they lifted them up and down from seats, called them by name, and were incredibly generous with their time and attention. They showed our children that the men and women who serve us really are local heroes.
A picture with ages from almost two to fifteen years!
John Mac and his friend, Leah, age 5.
John Mac and Henry show their clear delight to be up in a BIG truck!

The Mother Report

I found myself referring to the weather report as the "mother report" last night. It slipped across my lips by accident and then I realized that my mixed up phrase was spot on. If the weather is warm and sunny and my children can play outside, it is a "good mother day". If the weather is cold and dreary, it is a "bad mother day". A good mother day means that there will be less bickering, less indoor wrestling that goes wrong and more cooperative play. A bad mother day is of course the opposite. We have an almost four year old and a five year old boy in our home and they really were not built for the indoors. In studying their design closely (which I have had to do as a mother that did not have a brother to grow up with), boys seem to need to conquer worlds, move quickly and find personal challenges on a regular basis. Yes, the wooden blocks sometimes allow for a new kingdom to be created, or the small plastic army men allow for a battle to be played out, but on the whole, these things happen much more easily outside. The makers of x-box and wii are very well aware of this; they are trying to create an indoor adventure, a challenge without fresh air. I know I am prone to thinking to fondly of "life on the farm", pre-industrial revolution days. (Wendell Berry is a favorite author and I always said I would have done well if I had been born in prarie days.) But little boys really do need to repair fences, and feed animals and exhaust themselves in meaningful work. I see this every time they rig together leftover pieces of rope to create a new swing off the playset. Or last week, when I found them trying to ride the bicycles into the ditch very quickly to fall into the leaves. And every day there is a race, a challenge of speed or distance. Perhaps one day all these little adventures and challenges will allow them to be ready for something bigger and even more awe inspiring. Until then, I will keep checking my mother report, wishing for good weather and big adventures.