Mixed Up About Mixed Vegetables

"Hey Mom, can I eat this for lunch today? I was standing in the kitchen, holding what appeared to me to be a can of vegetable soup.

"Vegetables?" Mom queried. "What else?"

I, in my disconnected state took this to mean that I needed some vegetables in my lunch.

"It's vegetable soup," I replied. "It has vegetables."

Mom proceeded to stare at me in the way that informs me that it is time for me to engage my brain. I busted up laughing. What I held in my hands was not a can of vegetable soup, as I had presumed, but a can of mixed vegetables. What a riot.

(Editor's Note: Please welcome Miss Bookworm as a new author on this blog!)

A Thanksgiving Video

Thankful for . . . Technology!

There are lots of things to be thankful for this thanksgiving - God, country, and family to name the big three.  But let's not forget about technology!  The turkey-day tech fest began while GrandpaD and GrandmaD were still in the air on the way to our house.  Even though they were flying privately, they let me know how I could track them online while they were still in the air.  I was thrilled that I could see just about everything related to their flight - that they had left early, where they were in the air, that they were diverting north a little to get around some weather, and their estimated time of arrival.  Here is a screen shot.

Ahh, the wonders of modern technology.  As we sit back and enjoy the old traditions of today it will also be good to enjoy the new tradition of googling any question that comes up during the day.

A House Divided - OSU vs. Iowa

OSU had a big game against Iowa last Saturday, as most of you know.  Rather than having the wonderful experience of sitting down with the family and rooting for OSU, I had to navigate the difficult waters of watching the game with an Iowa fan.

It all started a few years ago when my Iowa-born father was in town for an OSU/Iowa game (OK, I was born in Iowa as well).  He engaged the unethical practice of trying to brainwash some young minds to root for Iowa.  When that did not work, he turned to bribery.  Most of my kids were able to say no to the temptation, but two fell to the dark side.  Anna has mostly recovered from it all (notice she is shrugging in the photo and is wearing an OSU jersey but Iowa sweats) while poor K.D. has had to suffer through year after year of losses to OSU while donning Grandpa-provided game gear.  I was doing my best to comfort him while they interviewed Coach Tressel, but it was hard after all.

But now that we have this game behind us, we can all root together for OSU against Michigan and Iowa against Minnesota.  Oh, wait.  My sister and her family are in Minnesota . . .

P.S. A very special thanks to our friends who donated an old tube TV to the cause so we did not have to watch the game on our only surviving TV which is a measly 10".

TV Saga

Note:  It is not really football if you can never see the football.

Haste Makes Waste

“Um, Hi.” It was CrazyMom on the phone and I could tell that something was not right. I was driving home from F.G. and Buddy’s soccer game with five kids and two grandparents in the car. CrazyMom had beaten me home from a soccer practice and was supposed to be getting dinner on the table.

“You know how GranpaF said he wanted to buy dinner. Maybe you should go ahead and do that,” she said.

That morning we had been in Hocking Hills camping with GrandmaF and GrandpaF. We made it back to our house with 1 hour to spare before we had to head out to a soccer game and a practice. GrandpaF had offered to buy dinner after the game to make things easier, but CrazyMom and I thought we would be able to get the kids to bed earlier after our big weekend if we ate at home.

So in that 60 minutes of unpacking, taking showers, and getting the kids in uniforms we added into the mix cooking dinner. Everything was going according to plan until CrazyMom got home with the two girls from practice to find the house full of smoke. It turns out that a burner had been left on under dinner, on high.

After several days with all of the windows open day and night, we finally called our insurance company. After days and days of professional cleaning, the smell has subsided and we are optimistic that by the time all the work is completed, the smell will be gone.

Oh yeah. Turning the burner off was not the only thing we forgot to do that fateful night. We also forgot that K.D. and LittleFoot had a soccer game in addition to F.G. and Buddy’s game. Oh, well. I guess you can’t remember everything.

Rainbow in the Sky

We all just ran out in the drizzle to take a picture of this rainbow in the sky.  It was fun that you could see both ends of the rainbow.  If you look close, you can see that there was actually a double rainbow.

Camping at Hocking Hills

A couple of weeks ago GrandmaF and GrandpaF came out to see us and we went camping in Hocking Hills. The leaves were turning, which made the whole area delightful. Also, the days were warm while the nights were cool. It was the perfect fall weather for camping. We had a lot of fun while camping, but one of the highlights was when GrandmaF and GrandpaF headed back home . . . in the RV! One less thing to get rid of before heading to Africa!

Rift Valley Academy Video

Since some of you may not be on our email list, I wanted to share a video that I shared with the list. Africa Inland Mission (our mission agency) has this video on their website about Rift Valley Academy. This is the school in Kenya that, Lord willing, we will be teaching at in less than a year. In just 7 minutes it does a great job of not only giving you a feel for RVA, but also for seeing the impact that the school is having in enabling the work of missionaries in Africa.

Click here for the RVA video.

Click here to check out RVA's website.

I keep thinking that the excitement about the move to Kenya may fade a little here in our home, but it has not.  It seems like it is hard to string together two hours in a row where the move is not mentioned.  It is a fun time for the family as we dream about the future.

The Breaking of Bathroom Use Policies

“Why don’t you take a little rest when you go up to change?” suggested CrazyMom. I had just gotten home from work last night (Friday) and it had been a long week for me. CrazyMom knew I was dog-tired and, as always, was looking out for me.

So I did.

Well, the rejuvenated me then stayed up too late. But I knew that I would be able to sleep in on Saturday morning because the first of three soccer games was not until 9am (sleeping in is a relative term, I know).

Because of our big family we have certain fair use policies about when and under what circumstances certain bathrooms can be used. I would like to note that these policies state that if a child has to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, our master bath is off limits.

But rules are meant to be broken.

When K.D. needed to make a run to the bathroom this morning at 6am, the kids’ bathroom was already in use – yes, we have lines for the bathroom even before it is time for the kids to get up. He hung out as long as he could, but then the situation went to code red. According to policy, the next bathroom that should be investigated for availability is down on the main floor, but since the situation was now critical, K.D. burst into our room. So much for sleeping in.

While I am excited about our upcoming move to Kenya to teach, it is moments like these that make me think about some of the lifestyle changes that lie ahead for us – like moving from a home with four toilets to a home with two. Maybe we should also sign up to be dorm parents. Surely there would be more bathrooms in a dorm.