Monday, April 17, 2006
Happy Birthday Nathan!
I cant believe my baby is FIVE.. my how time flies.. here are a few shots of his party.. he had a great time..
YES.. what you see there is a store bought cake.. Nathan chose to have a store bought cake this year.. The first one he has had on his birthday... Even more special that our friend "the cake lady" made it. We visit with the cake lady everytime we see her at the grocery store.. She is really sweet.
Nathan decided to have a bowling/video game party at the Campus Center this year. He also loved that he got to have his new friends in Taiwan sing Happy Birthday in Chinese and then in English to him. This morning at breakfast he got to eat Fruit Loops.. a special treat on your birthday you get to choose a sugary cereal to eat...once a year.. .. makes those Fruit Loops pretty special. AND Got to hear so many Happy Birthday wishes from the Kids in Taiwan! (please see comments on posts below.. they are great!) So .. I now have a 9 year old, a 5 year old and a 6 year old.. for just another month.. then Joseph will be Seven! AHHHH its going by tooo fast!
YES.. what you see there is a store bought cake.. Nathan chose to have a store bought cake this year.. The first one he has had on his birthday... Even more special that our friend "the cake lady" made it. We visit with the cake lady everytime we see her at the grocery store.. She is really sweet. 
Nathan decided to have a bowling/video game party at the Campus Center this year. He also loved that he got to have his new friends in Taiwan sing Happy Birthday in Chinese and then in English to him. This morning at breakfast he got to eat Fruit Loops.. a special treat on your birthday you get to choose a sugary cereal to eat...once a year.. .. makes those Fruit Loops pretty special. AND Got to hear so many Happy Birthday wishes from the Kids in Taiwan! (please see comments on posts below.. they are great!) So .. I now have a 9 year old, a 5 year old and a 6 year old.. for just another month.. then Joseph will be Seven! AHHHH its going by tooo fast!
Friday, April 14, 2006
Talking across the World
What an amazing experience. Tonight was one our family will always remember. It will go down in our childrens memory like it did in mine when I was a kid.. the first time I used a microwave, the first time I saw a VCR, and later in life when I first saw email and live chatting on the computer. Tonight was our family outing with Joel and Jessica in Taiwan. They work for a English Language school and have some of the cutest kids I have seen to work with. We did a video chat via Skype. Each child had a turn to do a show and tell or read a message/question. One girl brought her dog, another a stuffed animal, the boys in the group showed us their favorite play station 2 games and board games. One girl brought her younger sister as a show and tell.. she was a baby of 12 months old and sooooooo sweet.. we asked if she had any other brothers or sisters and we got to meet her older sister and a school mate.
We were so impressed with the children and how well they spoke. Even the younger ones .. who I think have not been having lessons long did GREAT!.. I was impressed.. and challenged at the same time.. We are definitely motivated to learn more Chinese!
Nathans birthday is on Monday so the Joel as if they could sing happy birthday to him.. They did! OH what a great memory! Wow.. Imagine being 5 and having friends on the other side of the world sing happy birthday.. in Chinese AND English!
Ok.. so I will stop going on and on about it and get to the pics I took.
Here we are getting ready and waiting. Hoping that the computers co-operate!
Here we are getting the settings correct on the computer.
"Hey Jessica!.. smile I am taking your picture!"
Catherine saying "I am SOOOOOO excited!"
Getting the mic set and letting a few of the kids practice.
Finding Texas on the Map.. Nathan said.. "Dad, its not hard to find TEXAS!" I explained that they have a different map they are use to.. the map of Asia where THEY live..Daddy then said "Is it hard to find Taiwan on the map?" .. Nathan.."Yes".. Daddy, "Well, thats what it is like for them" ..
Here is a little boy of 8 I think.. If I remember correctly his name was Neil.
So.. Thank you thank you thank you! to Joel and Jessica and the English Language school in Taiwan.. what a great experience and one we will never forget! .. Cant wait to do it again. I am sure I will have a pile of drawings and other things my kids will want to share! As well as getting a few more saying down in Chinese so the kids over there can laugh at our accents! What a great Blessing!
We were so impressed with the children and how well they spoke. Even the younger ones .. who I think have not been having lessons long did GREAT!.. I was impressed.. and challenged at the same time.. We are definitely motivated to learn more Chinese!
Nathans birthday is on Monday so the Joel as if they could sing happy birthday to him.. They did! OH what a great memory! Wow.. Imagine being 5 and having friends on the other side of the world sing happy birthday.. in Chinese AND English!
Ok.. so I will stop going on and on about it and get to the pics I took.
Here we are getting ready and waiting. Hoping that the computers co-operate!
Here we are getting the settings correct on the computer. 
"Hey Jessica!.. smile I am taking your picture!" 
Catherine saying "I am SOOOOOO excited!"
Getting the mic set and letting a few of the kids practice. 
Finding Texas on the Map.. Nathan said.. "Dad, its not hard to find TEXAS!" I explained that they have a different map they are use to.. the map of Asia where THEY live..Daddy then said "Is it hard to find Taiwan on the map?" .. Nathan.."Yes".. Daddy, "Well, thats what it is like for them" .. 
Here is a little boy of 8 I think.. If I remember correctly his name was Neil. So.. Thank you thank you thank you! to Joel and Jessica and the English Language school in Taiwan.. what a great experience and one we will never forget! .. Cant wait to do it again. I am sure I will have a pile of drawings and other things my kids will want to share! As well as getting a few more saying down in Chinese so the kids over there can laugh at our accents! What a great Blessing!
Monday, April 10, 2006
Some Things I Learned Recently
Here is a list of things I learned recently:
1. I can no longer wear fake nails. When I was working in the residence hall I went and had my nails done on a pretty consistant basis. Now that I am a full time stay at homeschooling Mom.. I dont think they work for me. A few weeks back when Mindy was here visiting we did our nails. I didnt last a week in them. Here is a short list of reasons why (1). too hard to get my contacts out (2) hated having to dig stuff out from under them esp when cooking (3) do people with long nails actually debone chickens? if so how? (4) am I so strong that opening a oatmeal box causes a nail to pop off?
2. I am not a fan of Press and Seal.. I know I know.. its the next NEW thing in plastic wrap. I waited for months and just bought my first box of Press and Seal.. I find that I get frustrated for using too much, if it does seal around the edge then I am being wasteful to have it hang over the edge.. I will just stick plan old plastic wrap thank you.
3. That sitting around drawing for three hours a day does not get the house clean.
4. That latin is fun!
5. That if you dont work out of months on end.. and then begin working out.. squats are NOT the first excersise you should do!
6. That Trixy is an excellent running partner.. even protecting me from large black plastic bags along the way.
7. That I am only 3 years away from being in the "masters" category in most 5k races.
1. I can no longer wear fake nails. When I was working in the residence hall I went and had my nails done on a pretty consistant basis. Now that I am a full time stay at homeschooling Mom.. I dont think they work for me. A few weeks back when Mindy was here visiting we did our nails. I didnt last a week in them. Here is a short list of reasons why (1). too hard to get my contacts out (2) hated having to dig stuff out from under them esp when cooking (3) do people with long nails actually debone chickens? if so how? (4) am I so strong that opening a oatmeal box causes a nail to pop off?
2. I am not a fan of Press and Seal.. I know I know.. its the next NEW thing in plastic wrap. I waited for months and just bought my first box of Press and Seal.. I find that I get frustrated for using too much, if it does seal around the edge then I am being wasteful to have it hang over the edge.. I will just stick plan old plastic wrap thank you.
3. That sitting around drawing for three hours a day does not get the house clean.
4. That latin is fun!
5. That if you dont work out of months on end.. and then begin working out.. squats are NOT the first excersise you should do!
6. That Trixy is an excellent running partner.. even protecting me from large black plastic bags along the way.
7. That I am only 3 years away from being in the "masters" category in most 5k races.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Pics-round chair, kids, etc
This is my round chair.. its 40 inches round.. and is PERFECT for reading a book to the kids in.. we got this at a garage sale and I could not pass it up.. it's the coolest chair!
Here is a shot of Catherine at her first horse riding lesson.. more pic of this will be on her blog later tonight.. she had a GREAT time.. and so did I
Did I already post this? Well.. its such a cute picture I had to post it again! The hats Joseph and Catherine are wearing were made by my NeeNaw many years ago.. My mom had them and the kids found them and LOVED them.. Nathans is actually Nannies hat.. Itsn't that just a great grandma to give her own hat away!We have been having a great week. I am back to working out and running.. it makes me feel so much better.. and Trixy is a great companion. I have been working hard on my art website and trying to keep up with the housework.. I would rather do art and the site than housework :) I updated my homeschool blog today and there are some great pics of the kids at the park.. I am so glad spring is here.. Joels gladiolas are coming up and our flowers seem to be doing great. The grass is almost all green!
