"Leaning On The Everlasting Arms" x 7

Okay, this is just fun. This worship leader interprets the old hymn, "Leaning On The Everlasting Arms," as it might sound if written in different decades of the 20th century. I think you will enjoy it. :)

"Chick Fil A Song"

I'm assuming here, that all of you love Chick-fi-A restaurants as much as we do. The drive-thru at our little one close to my house is often wrapped completely around the building, sometimes even 1 1/2 times. So when Caleb showed me this, we had to laugh. :)

They Love Those Critters!

"It is a monstrous abuse of the science of biology to teach it only in the laboratory---Life belongs in the fields, in the ponds, on the mountains, and by the seashore."
James G. Needham




I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but even I am beginning to see a pattern here.

It's been going on for years.

It crosses "gender lines."

It covers all species.


Our children LOVE animals. And have forever! 


I love to see animals, but I don't feel the need to touch them. And I certainly don't feel the need to have them as pets! The kids, however, want to invite them all into our house!

It doesn't matter to these kids whether their latest "catch" is young,

or old.

Crustaceans, 

insects,

mammals,

birds,

fish, it doesn't matter to them. I actually had to explain to the girls that we could NOT put this in a big aquarium!

Or this!

How did she even see this tiny little praying mantis?

Ben couldn't just help herd this cow into the chute--he had to ride it.

They're everywhere!

And, of course, they always have to bring them in to show me.

It's on the bar stool!

I try to practice total denial when it comes to these things! I know they live in my house, but if I don't think about it, I can pretend they aren't in the kid's bedrooms. 


Rebekah's birthday is coming up and guess what she wants?! Another snake! And now she's added a chameleon to her wish list!!! EEEEKKKK!

They even tried to convince us that we needed one of these! Where on earth do they think we could put him? How on earth would we feed him?!

The two tiniest finches figured out how to escape their cage, which required the purchase of a new cage. But that left the bigger finch in the first cage all by itself. Of course, that wouldn't work. So this is the newest addition to the aviary. Now everyone has a buddy. I always get sucked into these schemes.

"Cup 'O Toad" is NOT my "cup of tea!"

As Spring approaches, I must steel myself. There are mental and emotional preparations that need to be made. There will be more critters. And they will come into my house. My plan? Make sure they go OUT of my house after their "photo shoot."

Where Are My Car Keys?!

Samuel is getting cuter by the day. We haven't seen him for a few weeks and when Hannah sent me this picture and these two videos, I immediately felt an overwhelming urge to grab my keys and drive the two hours to see him. NOW! 


Instead, I am being a responsible grownup and staying here. For as long as I can stand it! :)

This is really low-light, but you can still hear him practicing his growling. Little boys have to be able to perfect all those "man noises," you know. :)

Now that his growling is coming along nicely, it's on to the "raspberries."


Where are those keys?! Who needs sleep anyway?  I could drive up and be back before breakfast! I'm sure Hannah and Jeremiah wouldn't mind me waking him up in the middle of the night. :)

Never A Dull Moment

An old, but still appropriate picture of the four youngest.

That's my motto, and has been for years. When relaying the latest chapter in "You Won't Believe What Happened At Our House or To Our Family," I often sum up the retelling with, "Never a dull moment."


Having this many bodies living in such close proximity, there isn't much margin for error. Add to that the fact that we could be a test facility for the durability of various household products, and you just never know what's going to happen next. It definitely makes things interesting.


Case in point: yesterday


As you already know, we get up and start school early. So by the time lunch rolls around, the kids are ready for a short break. Yesterday, the "break" required an emergency extension. Our second refrigerator, located in the garage, had been yanked open and slammed shut just one time too many. 


The door fell off!


EEEEEEEKKKKKKK!


Josh and Ben, out of purely unselfish motives of service to their family, took on the repair. Of course, it did mean that their remaining schoolwork was temporarily suspended. They toiled tirelessly.


Joshua came in, after a while, to announce the job's successful completion.


But then Ben came saying,"Mom, something's not right about that door. I have to lift it, then shut it."


Joshua stopped, turned around, and went back to the garage.


After further inspection, he came in a few moments later with a sheepish grin on his mug, "We forgot to put the washers back on it."


They had to take it back apart and add washers.


So far, so good. The door is still hanging on.


We finished school, and chores, and dinner, and headed to the church building for our class on Romans. When we arrived home, it was time for the kids to head to bed. I thought everyone was settled in, so I went to my room to put up a load of laundry. 


Then I heard banging in the den. What/Who could it be?


Upon entering, I found Rebekah swinging a towel around. What on earth?! Then I realized that one of her finches was loose and she was trying to shoo it lower so she could catch it. Nothing doing. It eluded capture for quite a while. We thought we had it trapped, at one point, in the game closet. Boy, were we fooled. It escaped the closet and settled on a bookshelf in the hall. Rebekah got so close--she almost had it. At the last possible moment, it escaped into the kitchen/dining/family room. And we had NO idea where it was for a few minutes. Then we heard a little flutter and she saw it beside the refrigerator (the one inside the house whose door was still firmly attached). Stealthily, she inched closer. We all held our breaths, knowing this could go on all night long. It must have been tired, because it finally allowed her to sneak up on it and gently secure it for the return trip to birdie jail.


So much for a nice quiet end to a busy day. 


Each morning, it starts all over again.


After actually sleeping until the alarm went off this morning, instead of awaking an hour ahead and waiting for it to go off, I felt chipper and cheerful to begin a new day. 


Rebekah is not hungry first thing each morning. She would rather get a few school subjects under her belt and await hunger. Along about time for Memory work and Poetry Memorization, she is usually ready to eat. So far, so good.


I looked over at her. She was sitting at the island with her poetry, eating.


Her choice for breakfast this morning?


LEFTOVER, COLD SAUERKRAUT!! 


Oh my.


I have a strong stomach, but that's just not okay.


There was only a small bowl of kraut left (thankfully), and so she followed it with a Cinnamon Chex chaser. 


I'm feeling a tad nauseous. (We say it this way: NAAWSHUS, for emphasis)


I'm thinking it highly unlikely there will be any dull moments today, either.


I believe boredom may be highly underrated. :) 


Just teasin'! Wouldn't have it any other way. 




Hope your day is filled with fun twists and turns. 




After all, we wouldn't want you to get bored.

Bob Hope's Definition of Democrats (And We Have to Include Many Republicans, Too)

Okay, politics is not a common topic here at the Antbed. A friend showed me this video clip and it is pretty funny. Who knew Bob Hope understood things so well? But, we can't just limit it to Democrats. :)

New Words for an Old Tune

Things have been chaotic around here since our return from our trip. There's so much to catch up on, and new things keep adding themselves to our "list" (as if we could ever have finished the list we already had). 


So, this morning, I received inspiration to write a revision of this "classic" (but odd) nursery rhyme.


Without further adieu, here's my version:


My head is full of snot,
My head is full of snot,
Heigh ho the dairy-o
My head is full of snot.


It makes it hard to breathe,
It makes it hard to breathe,
When your head is full of snot,
It makes it hard to breathe.


I think it may explode,
I think it may explode,
I've reached the point of critical mass,
I think it may explode.


That would make a mess,
Oh, that would make a mess,
Heigh ho the dairy-o
That would make a mess.


Who would clean it up?
Oh, who would clean it up?
Without me here to tell them to,
Oh, who would clean it up?


I've cleaned their mess for years,
I've cleaned their mess for years,
They're such great kids, they'd step right up,
I've cleaned their mess for years.


Homeschooling must go on,
Homeschooling must go on,
Even though I may not live,
Homeschooling must go on.


Mamas can't be sick
Oh mamas can't be sick
Ignore it, it will go away,
Oh mama's can't be sick.


A sense of humor helps,
A sense of humor helps,
Even when your head blows up,
A sense of humor helps.


Okay, I know this is really odd, but it has just been that kind of day. So just humor me, okay? :)

Do Everything: SCC

I Love This One

Photo Credit

This one has been around for a long time, but I still love it! 

Billy Graham was returning to Charlotte after a speaking engagement and when his Plane arrived there was a limousine there to transport him to his home. 
As he prepared to get into the limo, he stopped and spoke to the driver. 

'You know' he said, 'I am 87 years old and I have never 
Driven a limousine. Would you mind if I drove it for a while?

The driver said,

'No problem. Have at it.'

Billy gets into the driver's seat and they head off 
Down the highway. 
A short distance away 
Sat a rookie State Trooper operating his first speed trap.

The long black limo went by him doing 70 in a 55 mph zone.

The trooper pulled out 
And easily caught the limo 
And he got out of his patrol car to begin the procedure. 
The young trooper walked up to the driver's door 
And when the glass 
Was rolled down, 
He was surprised to see 
Who was driving.

He immediately excused himself and went back to his car 
And called his supervisor.

He told the supervisor, 
'I know we are supposed to enforce the law.... 
But I also know that important people are 
Given certain courtesies. I need to know what 
I should do because I have stopped a 
Very important person.'

The supervisor asked, 
'Is it the governor?'

The young trooper said, 
'No, he's more important 
Than that.'

The supervisor said, 
'Oh, so it's the president.' 

The young trooper said, 
'No, he's even more 
Important than that.'

The supervisor finally asked,

'Well then, who is it?'

The young trooper said,

'I think it's Jesus, 
Because he's got Billy Graham for a chauffeur!'

Artistic Endeavors

Homeschooling offers infinite opportunities to be entertained. 


For all of us. 


And, just so you know, humor is definitely an essential element of any homeschool if sanity is one of your end goals.


So I thought it might be enlightening to my dear readers to take a little peak into our morning. 


Prepare yourselves.


During our drawing lesson today, we were practicing the principle of foreshortened circles by attempting to replicate a birdbath. Our drawing curriculum comes in the tiniest of packages--a 60 page gem called Drawing Textbook, by Bruce McIntyre (tragically now out of print, so if you find a used one online somewhere, snatch it up). 


I attempt to draw the example on the whiteboard, explaining the sequence and the things to pay special attention to, even though I need the lessons as much as the kids do. :)

My examples are always lopsided because I try to stand off to the left side while I draw so the kids can see me from their seats. At least that's the excuse I'm using.

This first one is Ben's. We were joking with him that his looks a little like a bathtub.

Here's Josh's. His is for baby hummingbirds. He thought that was pretty funny. :)

Elizabeth's is of the bathtub variety. 

And Bekah's is dumping all it's water out. 






I asked them if they would like to see the example from the lesson. 


Rebekah, always with a flair for the dramatic, said, 

"NO! I don't want to see it! It would mock me for the rest of my poor, young life." 

Told ya. 


Humor is essential. 


And no matter what size your class is, there will always be a class clown. :)

My Lawnmower Man

My sweet husband has been teased for years about the tale I am about to tell. He made me promise to let him approve it before I let the world read it and I have honored that request.  It's such a great story, it really does deserve a broader audience.


Kregg grew up outside Abilene, Texas on two and a half acres. His family are all hard workers that can turn their hand to just about any task. When things needed to be done, they just took care of it. If they didn't know how, they would find out. They are still like that.


When we got married, we followed the same game plan. If something needed to be repaired or built or whatever, we would just take care of it. Our first little house had plumbing problems, so Kregg just dug it all up and fixed the mess. It never crossed our minds that there needed to be a permit or an inspection to tie into the main in the alley. Out in the country, you just took care of it. So he just took care of it. He did a great job, too. Dug a 60 foot trench, replaced all the sewer pipe making sure he had the grade just right, connected it to the main line and covered it all back up. Never gave us another bit of trouble. 


He taught himself to build furniture, too.  We had a little one car garage that he used for his projects. He built everything from cooling racks for the kitchen to a baby bed for each of our babies. I could just tear a picture out of a magazine and he would build it. It really is amazing. 

Anyway, the point I am trying to make is he is a man who analyzes a problem, comes up with a solution, and then carries it out. He doesn't think anything about it, that's just what a man does. 


When we moved to the house we have lived in for the last 16 years, we had to make a few adjustments. Our yard is one acre. The first season or two of mowing, we managed with a push mower. In fact, I remember carrying Caleb around on my shoulders when he was a baby while I mowed the yard. He would sit on my shoulders and I would hold both his ankles in one hand while I pushed the mower with the other. Sure glad he was smaller then!


When we could afford it, we decided to buy a riding lawnmower. Kregg researched the different models, asked his dad's advice, and picked out the one he wanted. It was at Walmart. We went to look at it after church one Sunday morning and he decided to just go ahead and buy it. We didn't own a truck or trailer at that point and so I asked him how we would get it home. Silly question, Anne.  He said, "I'll just drive it home." 


At that time, Walmart was about 4 miles from our house. (They have since built one just 2 1/2 miles away.) He bought a gas can, went across the street to get some gas, came back and filled the thing up. My job was to take the kids home, feed them their lunch, and get them down for their naps. He would be there in a little while. I was a little concerned, but knew he would figure out a way to take care of it. Of course, this was also before we had cell phones. So I left him at Walmart as he prepared to embark on his journey. 


I didn't get really worried for a while, but after an hour and a half, I began to wonder where he was. The babies were asleep so I couldn't go find him. I was supposed to be helping with a baby shower and it was getting close to the time I needed to leave. I kept thinking that any minute I would hear him coming. I finally hopped in the car and drove to the end of the street to see if I could see him coming. Sure enough, there he was. It ended up being about two hours after I left him at Walmart that he finally pulled into the driveway. No big deal, right?


Well, for the next two to three weeks I had the same strange thing happen over and over and over again. A friend would come up to me with a sheepish look on their face and hesitantly say, "Anne, was Kregg driving a . . . riding lawnmower the other day?" Followed by an awkward pause. "We were on Mockingbird/Midkiff/Midland/Briarwood/etc. street (all major, busy thoroughfares) and we saw someone who looked just like Kregg, in his church clothes on a riding lawnmower!"


Of course, I would start laughing again, and explain why they had indeed seen my husband out for a Sunday afternoon drive, all dressed up, on our brand new, bright red, riding lawnmower.

From  an earlier post