One of the best books I've ever read!

I just finished the 500+ page novel Ishmael by E.D.E.N. Southworth. A friend lent me this precious find. It is a Lamplighter book. Lampligher is a Christian company that searches for old out-of-print novels and reprints them with a beautiful binding to treasure forever. These books have a wonderful Christian message that many books seem to lack these days.

I simply devoured this book. It's about a young man named Ishmael as he overcomes every adversity imaginable and yet with honesty, integrity and bravery. The book takes place in the mid-1800s in America. Ishmael lives to overcome his ignoble birth and poverty to become something great; and succeeds. His honesty and God-fearing nature makes you want to do more for the glory of God. This is definitely on the list of books I would love my children to read when they are older. It speaks so much to character, godly relationships, overcoming hardships, perserverance and hard work!

I found that there is no copyright on this book and you can read it for free online. I don't know if you could possibly read it off of the computer because it's so long, but here it is nonetheless. For all who do so: Enjoy!
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15774/15774-h/15774-h.htm

"I can't believe he's 5!"

"Can you say, precious?"



The nightvision goggles, he wanted.

Today we celebrated Cole's 5th birthday.

I remember the ultrasound when I found out I was having a boy. I remember being really awed and excited to have a boy, but quite frankly, a bit bewildered by it as well. I worried about typical things (at least I thought they were typical). Like, how am I going to know what toys to buy him? (Tim's department.) How will I know how to change a boy diaper? (Much easier than a girl, I decided.) And, what about boy clothes? Those aren't nearly as cute as the girl clothes. (Not really true.) And the zinger: Am I going to love him as much as I love Caitlyn? Well, to answer that, all I can say is that this little guy pulls on my heartstrings in a totally new and different way. I'm like all moms who absolutely loves all her children. But a mom and her boy? How can I explain it? If you have a son, you understand.

Heading South: A Visit to Bosque Del Apache

What a wonderful day we had! The whole family went south today to visit the wildlife preserve of Bosque Del Apache just south of Socorro.



We had never visited it before and we didn't know what to expect. It far exceeded our expectations. We ate lunch at the visitor's center and walked through an arts and crafts show. We also saw lots of wildlife that had been rescued, including owls, foxes, snakes and even a wolf. Then we drove the loop around the preserve. My photos just don't do it justice. I have never seen so many birds and cranes at the same time! They were innumerable. On the first little lake there even lived 2 bald eagles. This was the first time I'd ever seen bald eagles in the wild.

When you really think it, it is an amazing journey these birds take. Traveling thousands of miles every year. They start in Canada and head towards the equator for the winter. This is just a spot of rest for them.

The kids really enjoyed themselves too. I was satisfied that they were able to see all of this beautiful creation and appreciate it. Sometimes I wonder if I would've appreciated this as a kid, or if it would've been too "boring" for me. But I think it helped that they saw all the adults thoroughly enjoying themselves and glorying in God's creation too.

It also helped that they had their best buds/cousins there to play with too. They are all so precious with eachother. I love it! Listening to Cole and Ben in the backseat of the car, I overheard Cole explaining a game he concocted to Ben. It went like this: "Ok Ben, we are going to be ninjas and then we are going to get lots of snacks and have a tea party." Can you tell he has an older sister?

At the end of the day, as we were nearing the end of the loop, we saw the most spectacular sight of all: the "Landing". Countless numbers of birds (we never did figure out what kind they were: maybe geese of some kind), swooped down into this field to eat. It was like watching bomber plans coming in on a target; wave after wave of birds. We thought they were all in, and then off in the distance we'd see more coming in. It was awesome! Tim and I decided this was definitely an activity we'll want to repeat next year.


Ok, I'm not a professional photographer, but this photo is my absolute fav!


Cranes, cranes and more cranes


Our mystery birds




Coming in for a landing

A Visit to Sacramento

Last week Tim and I had a little getaway to Sacramento. He had a conference to attend, and Gracie and I tagged along for the ride. We had a wonderful time. I was also able to visit and reconnect with my dear friend, Amy and her sweet daughter Faith. We had such a wonderful visit. She drove 5 hours from Oregon just to hang out with us.

Old Sacramento. Cute and Quaint.

Cara and Amy with our sweet girlies.

During Tim's conference days, Gracie and I managed to fill up our time. I finished a book, walked the mall and a visited some beautiful Victorian museums in town. I also toured the Capitol building and found the "Governator's" office. There were press and security waiting outside his door for a press conference. I waited and waited for him to come out, but Gracie was getting cranky and I had to leave. Bummer. Would've been a better story if he'd come out.

The Governor's Mansion. Only a musuem now, but I loved visiting it. It was like walking through a time machine. So much history!

Of course, I had to visit the "old Schoolhouse". This was so sweet. I felt like I was on Little House on the Prairie.

Give me an O-A-K G-R-O-V-E

Just in case anyone reads my blog, besides my mom, Oak Grove is hosting our first Informational Meeting this Thursday at 6:30 at DSC. Please come and hear about what neat things are going on a OGCA!

Here's a testimonial from one of our teachers...

"I just wanted to share a fun instance where I have really seen the 'tools of learning' coming into play at school. In science, we are studying earth science currently. As part of our unit on water and erosion, we have studied the Grand Canyon. On a home day, I asked the students to find some interesting information about the Grand Canyon at the library, in an encyclopedia, etc. Two students in particular shared stated an interesting fact or two, but then quickly added something to the effect of, " . . . and, this is totally wrong, but the book I read said that the earth was millions of years old" or "well, it says this, but we all know that it's not true . . " I love, LOVE hearing - and really seeing - that these kids are already at a stage where they are discerning the things that they read. Those library books can sure look 'authoritative'. But our kids are gaining skills to really call things what they are, and I'm so thankful to have the opportunity to see it happening. And I know that the curriculum isn't shoving the 'right' answer down their throats. It is really giving them the tools to approach other things - things that are definitely outside of the curriculum - with the confidence of the truth. Just thought I'd share! What a great blessing God has given us in Oak Grove."

All Hallow's Eve

My little pumpkin's first Halloween!
Even I got into it this year. I just had a wild hair to dress up this afternoon. I've had this poodle skirt since 6th grade. Thank goodness for elastic waistbands!
My little ninja, pumpkin and princess Buttercup.

What beauties!
Jake the Army-man, and Emilie the Beauty (Belle that is.)

What a blast we had tonight! We trick-or-treated down in Mom and Dad's neighborhood, which didn't disappoint! They seriously got into it. I wish the kids dove into their chores and schoolwork with the same gusto as they collected candy! For that matter, I wish I did too.

Zeus' Family Reunion

On Thursday, Caitlyn's 2nd grade class had a Greek party to celebrate the end of a history unit on Greek mythology. All the kids dressed up as a different Greek god or goddess. Caitlyn was so excited to be Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. (We decided it was best not to mention how Aphrodite is linked to false religion and worship throughout history.) In her mind, it was all about love and beauty. We fashioned a homemade toga out of a bedsheet, and a single red rose, a great up-do and a dash of lipstick.

Mrs. Green once again pulled off a very special event. She had Greek music playing, tablescapes and ambrosia (the food of the gods)for us all to enjoy. I got the biggest kick out of all the student's costumes. We were graced with the presence of Hera, Athena, Poisden, Zeus, Apollo and Demeter. I know I'm forgetting some, but the point is they were adorable.

A trip to the Aquarium

A beautiful autumn day at the Aquarium. Diamond days...

A Visit to Dad's New Shop

Today the kids and I visited my dad and brother's new shop. This has certainly been a walk of faith and a labor of love for both of them. I'm so happy to see it coming together and anxious to see the end result!

Atypical baby shower

All right, this is a little late, but better late than never, right? Leah, Kim and I took Ruth out in celebration of the birth of her impending little one. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Indigo Crow out on the patio. I can't remember what we all ate, but I do know it was delicious, and more importantly the company was fabulous! The weather was perfect; the village of Corrales was celebrating fall with hay rides down the street. We even heard the faint sound of a bag-piper. We followed lunch with a massage at Massage Envy. A story in it's own right, right Ruth?

Up, up and Away!

On Friday, my dad, Caitlyn and I had a wonderful opportunity to go up in a hot-air balloon. This was the kick-off event for the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, and balloons took off from schools all around town.

How did we get here? Well, let me back up. This summer, Oak Grove held a Silent Auction/Fundraiser event. This balloon ride was an item up for bid. I got in a bidding war with another person, and in the end, I had the winning bid. (Partly, because I was stalking the bid sheet, and giving dirty looks to anyone who might attempt to outbid me.) Dad and I decided this was going to be our thing. My sweet husband took me on a hot-air balloon ride on our honeymoon 11 years ago and vowed never to do it again. I knew he must really love me to do this, since he is afraid of heights.

The pilot of our balloon "Sky Draggin" was kind enough to allow me to bring my adventure seeking daughter, Caitlyn for the ride of her life thus far. I think it's funny that my dad is over 60 and this was his first flight, and Caitlyn, at 7 has already had this awesome experience.

So we got up at the "butt-crack" and went to Northstar Elementary. It was a thrill to have all these kids screaming and waving at us as we lifted up off the ground. Our ride took us over the Sandia Reservation. Albuquerque looks beautiful, calm and diverse from 1000 feet off the ground. The river valley was green,blue mountains and brown landscape all added to the beauty. It was fun to try to locate familiar landmarks. We saw our neighborhood, dad's new shop, downtown, Sandia Resort, Placitas, the Railrunner train, volcanoes way out west, and almost to Santa Fe.

Our pilot, Buzz, told us that he didn't want to land on the Res because our crew wouldn't be able to get on and we'd have to call the Indian police to be escorted off. When we landed we just barely made it to the other side of the Sandia boundary If you look closely in one of the photos you can see the fence just a stone's throw from where we landed. There was very little wind and so we ended up just "sitting" up there for a very long time. Which was totally okay with us. We were in no hurry to get down. (Buzz probably felt differently. By the time we landed, the fuel was very low.) Most flights are about 20-40 minutes; ours was about an hour and a half. The landing in and of itself was quite impressive. Buzz brought us down very smoothly in the middle of a cactus-filled landscape.

It was really neat to see how the crew works together to make a flight take place. It takes a lot of people to see these balloons safely off the earth, and safely back again. The crew initiated us by having us help deflate the balloon (quite a job!), a champagne toast, and certificate, and signing the official Balloon Fiesta banner that hangs on the gondola.

I think my favorite part of this whole experience was taking my dad. He kept saying how this was one of the highlights of his life. I could tell he was diggin' the whole experience. I love that it was a memory made for the books and we shared it together!