What do You Think?

Alright...the Animal School video I recommended the other day has brought much lively (heated) discussion into our household. My dear husband is completely opposed to its message and interpreted it completely different than I did. I understand what he's trying to say...I just didn't come to the same conclusion he did when I watched it.

Here's a sampling of what Kevin had to say..."That is the most liberal, anti-discipline, anti-education piece of liberal propaganda I've seen in a long time. Of course all kids are unique but liberals take that too far until you get to what I perceive as lack of academic rigor and discipline."

I really just walked away from that video thinking all kids are unique and we need to be sensitive to that. Is he reading too much into it, or am I not reading enough?

Did you watch it?

What do you think?

More Oregon Pictures

Here are some pics I got from Ian...

Most of the group gathered in front of the magnificent Multnomah Falls


Standing at Crown Point, looking out over the gorge


Ian and I...Ian is my new regional manager for Compassion

Oregon

What a wonderful weekend I had in Portland, Oregon! I went for a leadership training retreat for Compassion and also had the chance to look at some houses and get a better feel for the area.

I met some wonderful new Compassion friends and got some great coaching training! I'm excited to put it into use with my team of Compassion advocates. It also has great applications to parenting so hopefully my girls will benefit, too.

We had the opportunity to experience the beauty of the Columbia River Gorge on Saturday evening. We went to Multnomah Falls and did some hiking around.



I got to meet my blogging friend, Juli, on this trip...she's the first blogging friend that I have met face to face!

I also got to reconnect with a dear friend from my Minnesota days...Jane.






This is called Vista House and it has a beautiful view of the gorge.


While enjoying the view, we heard this group singing some praise songs. We went over to listen and join in. I got a small movie clip too.


We stayed up on Crown Point long enough to watch the beautiful sunset...we weren't disappointed!




I'm excited that in a few months I will be calling this area home.

Animal School

My cousin, Brandi, brought this short movie to my attention.

http://www.raisingsmallsouls.com/

It's good...really good.

Meet Cup Girl

Father's Day

For Father's Day we packed a picnic and headed to a beach near us. Kevin has been learning to make sushi and so he made some for us. It's fairly time consuming, so it's a special treat.

It started out well...girls playing.






It just didn't end well....let's just say within seconds of setting out the sushi, it was covered in sand.

Kayaking to Lake Michigan

On Saturday we drove south to the Ford River and did some kayaking. It was a beautiful day.




We saw some baby geese...


This was the mouth of the river opening up to Lake Michigan


When we found a beach on Lake Michigan, we got out for a snack and swimming.







I was brave enough to get completely wet, but Sydney and Kevin swam for quite a while. It wasn't that cold...I'm sure Lake Superior is much colder!!

Flying Sydney

Thank you Auntie Tara!

A while back I emailed my friend, Tara, and told her I thought these certain "ruffle" skirts I had seen were cute. She's taken up sewing in the past year and I thought maybe she'd be interested in a new project.

So this is what we got in the mail this week....


Thank you....the girls love them!

Happy Father's Day

To all the Father's in my life...HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Here are some fun pictures of me and my dad...the first is Father's Day...1978



And this one is from 1975, when I was 15 months old.


Besides my dad....I have my father-in-law, Frank....a step-father, Keith....and a step-father-in-law, Tom.

You are all great and I love you all!!!

And then there's the father of my daughters...Kevin, you are the best!

And last, but not least...my Heavenly Father.

Great Quote

"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing." - Phyllis Diller

I have 3 girls playing in the house and it's a blizzard in here!!!

A Very Strong Woman....

with a very strong faith.

Read about Jang Mi-Ran and how she's using both her strength and faith to glorify God.

One Million Changed Lives

This is so beautiful....the prayer and the video.

One Million Changed Lives

I love their commitment to honor and glorify Christ in all they do.

Watch the video to the end...there is a beautiful surprise at the end.

The Magic Word

What's the magic word?

In our house, it's "Hocus Pocus, I want to come through"

I don't know where that came from, but Syd and Kay will do this every chance they get. Here's Sydney giving a demonstration...notice Kayleigh in the background.

Chores

I've been on again, off again with assigning the girls chores around the house.

I've done charts. I've nagged.

Then I came up with this idea....


writing simple chores on pieces of paper that I can rotate at my discretion.

For example, when I see the bathroom trash needs to be emptied, I can find the paper that says trash...then I can tell Syd or Kay that there is a new chore for them to do. They will go to the refrigerator and find out what it is.

I have to credit Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish (authors of "How to Talk to Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk") with the idea of the "written sign". It's helping them (Syd and Kay) create autonomy...take responsibility with a simple unspoken command.

So these are the signs I made: Trash, Laundry (help sort or deliver), water plants (they each have a pot on the deck), Den (pick up), Playroom (pick up), Bedroom (pick up), Set Table, Shoes (pick up randomly scattered shoes and put in closet)

Sydney is obsessed with making some money (she wants to buy a donut?!?!) so...I will give her a quarter for doing extra chores (she has to do a minimum of 3 without pay). Maybe the novelty will wear off...maybe this will work.

We also have a new rule....PUT IT AWAY NOW SO WE DON'T HAVE TO PICK IT UP LATER!! Just before bed we were reviewing the new rule and chore system. I asked Sydney if she understood and she said, "I'm on it Mom!"

I would love to hear your ideas and/or suggestions.

Enjoying the Sun