Shiloh

Last weekend, blessed with a visit from Grandpa (Mike's Dad), we took the crew, plus a friend, to Shiloh National Military Park.  This trip lined up perfectly with our current studying of the Civil War - how fortunate that we were able to make this a day trip. 

On our way to the park, we were recommended to stop at Pat's Cafe in Selmer, Tennessee to try out their Slugburgers. All 8 big kids sat at the counter talking to Ms. Pat.  Her famous 80-year-old-depression-era recipe gets its name not from actual slimy slugs, but from counterfeit "slug" coins, which resemble actual coins in weight, size, and shape and are meant to trick machines into accepting it as a real coin.  The Slugburger is made from "counterfeit" meat.  The burger has inexpensive filler (soybeans or flour or potato flakes) used to replace beef during hard times and is deep-fried rather than grilled. 

Then onto Shiloh.

In April 1862, Union forces arrived at Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River, camping near a log church called Shiloh Meeting House.  From here they planned to move troops south to capture the important railroads at Corinth, Mississippi.  But their plans were interrupted when a Confederate army attacked on the morning of April 6.  The battle raged for two days.  Both side suffered tremendous losses.  The 23,746 casualties suffered at Shiloh stunned the entire nation.

In 1894, Congress established a 4,100 acre National Military Park to preserve the site of this memorable battle.


We've been studying the Civil War at home - reading books and looking at maps.  Bringing the kids to an actual battlefield really helped to bring history to life.  It's one thing to read about Shiloh, but to stand at the site where Grant's Army of the Tennessee docked the steamships and came ashore at Pittsburg Landing, to try on replica uniforms, to touch an actual cannon, to drive the massive expanse of the battlegrounds, and to see the thousands of grave markers . . . nothing better can make this history more real or more tangible for our children. 

We kept this experience light and fun for our young crew, but we wanted it to be educational as we traipsed through the rain.  We wanted them to have a glimpse of the enormous tragedy of war and have respect for the thousands of brave men who fought.  They were shocked, they were amazed, they were impressed, they were saddened.

This experience will help them to better understand as we continue to learn about the Civil War that divided our nation.

Motivation

While we may have had four kids successfully potty trained under our supervision, we are far from experts.  One thing we've learned in our experience . . . you can't force a child to use the potty, especially if they're not ready.  We've tried the whole rushing a kid into potty training thing before.  It was horrible for us and horrible for our poor child.  

So, over the years, we've learned to be patient and wait - no need to worry, no need to stress.  

Nothing good can come from pushing a child too early into potty training.  Of course that means we've also had to learn to be okay with having a 3-year-old + still in diapers.  Every child seems to be ready at their own pace.  Sometimes that's at 2, sometimes 3, and sometimes not until 4 . . . but they will all eventually be ready to graduate from diapers. 

We've been talking about the potty with Kolpin for a long time, but didn't push it at all - he was clearly not interested and not ready.

Until now!

We are thrilled that Kolpin (at 3-years-and-7-months-old) is making the leap from diapers to the potty!  He's been in big boy underpants for a whole week (naps and nighttime being the exception).  He was finally ready and he's been doing great.  It helps that we have a lot of enthusiastic big siblings cheering him along.  

We do find that good motivation helps.  For Kolpin, it's been Hot Wheels cars.  In the beginning, he earned a Hot Wheel for peeing on the potty - yay!  Then we made up a sticker chart.  He was excited to add a sticker to the chart after each successful potty visit, and even more excited get a new Hot Wheel for every 3 stickers.  Now, the Hot Wheels are more infrequent.  He only gets one for going poo, the only critical potty step still needing extra motivation (for a while he didn't understand that he needed to sit on the potty for this step, he didn't want to sit!).  He is so proud of his new Hot Wheel collection.  It was well earned!  

For us, Hot Wheels are a worthwhile investment.  When a good currency is found for motivation, it really helps the potty progress.  And, not having to buy more diapers, overall we're saving money : )

It's good reinforcement and so much fun! 

Good going Kolpin!

Walker Walking

 Maclaren has done a lot of growing . . . and she's getting more mobile.

At 13-1/2 months of age, Maclaren is now sporting 12 teeth (all of her first year molars are in!).  She's eating more table food and learning how to drink from a sippy cup, which she refuses to hold.  Her siblings are more than happy to assist, although they giggle at her noisy suckling - they think sweet baby girl sounds like a farm animal : )  She still nurses, but is down to only 1-2 feedings a day.  Maclaren is a speedy crawler and is learning to master her new walker stroller. 

With her new activity, she's slimmed down considerably.  Maclaren is now 18.5 pounds (10th percentile) and 31 inches (90th percentile) . . . girl is LONG with some skinny legs! 

 

Maclaren is such a delight.

Ballerina Girls

It's a treat each semester to have the opportunity to watch our ballerina girls in action.  Just once a semester, us parents get to see what goes on behind the closed studio doors.  

Every week our giggly girls excitedly demonstrate what they're learning in class, but what a joy to actually see it unfolding in class (armed with cameras!). 

This sweet group of 5 and 6-year-olds are dancing together for their second year, with their beloved Ms. Carolann energetically guiding the way.  This year the focus is on ballet.  They're learning the basic positions and terminology: passe, pique, releve, chasse, plie, demi-pointe.  And the girls are also working on good flexibility, strength, and coordination: skipping, somersaults, cartwheel.  

They are already looking forward to their end-of-year Recital. 

What a joy!  

(We couldn't be more proud of our girls!)

Watoto

Last week we had the incredible pleasure of hosting a few ladies from Uganda.  They were a part of a children's choir representing Watoto.  Watoto is a care program developed to help orphaned children and vulnerable women in Uganda.  Using the healing love of Christ, Watoto's goal is to "rescue an individual, raise each one up as a leader. . . (to) rebuild their nation."  The Watoto Children's Choir travels the world as ambassadors to raise awareness about the plight of orphaned children in Africa.
Their performance was moving and inspiring as the choir of 22 children (ages 7-12) sang, danced, and told their stories.  Then, we had the blessing of sharing our home with two sweet girls, Mercy and Gloria, along with Auntie Anita. 

These children are extraordinary.  It was a joy to share our home, share our table, and share our toys with these amazing young ladies.  It was an honor to host them for a few days.  We pray God will continue to use them to bless thousands as they continue their 6-month USA tour and that people's hearts will be stirred to make a difference in Uganda and in other regions where children need our help and support. 

Sick Days

When Mama's sick . . . how does a family of 10 manage?

It's hard!

I have had an absolutely horrible cold for 3+ weeks: stuffy nose, sore throat, no energy, headaches, sleeplessness - yuck!  I have been down for the count.
 
But Mommies doesn't get sick days - I am still responsible for 8 little ones.  So what's a family to do?
(besides mom feeling incredibly guilty : )


1.  Helpers.  Everyone needs to pitch in and help.  The kids all have daily chores, but when Mom's feeling sick, I depend on them even more.  The kids help each other with school, make lunches, take siblings to the potty, and even help change diapers.  Daddy is also a HUGE help! 

2.  Prioritize.  With mom not fully at the helm, some things just can't get done, so figure out the "must do's" and the "can waits."

3.  Rest.  Moms typically don't get a lot of downtime, but when sick, rest is critical to the healing process.  Afternoon naps have just been a necessity.  When the littles are all down for their nap, the big kids have quiet-time so mommy can nap too.

4.  Enjoy the chaos and be thankful for the help of children and the much needed rest!


We survived!

Thankfully I'm on the mend.  I know my children and my husband have missed having their mom and wife these past few weeks . . . and I've missed playing a more active role in my household. 

Mechelen

 If you have to go on a business trip . . . it might as well be someplace good.

Mechelen, Belgium fits the bill. 

We are very fortunate that Mike's work rarely requires him to travel.  That said, he has had 3 trips in the past 4 months (incredibly rare for him).  I know he would prefer to be home, and we certainly miss him when he's gone, but I'm so glad he had an opportunity to travel to Belgium.  Maybe next time I can go too!  

Mike was only in Mechelen for a short 4 days, working for the majority of the time.  He did have the opportunity to enjoy good food and drink, and brought home a lot of delicious Belgium chocolate : )

I am thankful for my parents, welcoming me and the crew to Cincinnati and helping to care for us while Mike was overseas. 

Painted Piano

When  Mike and I were first married, we became the owners of an old family piano.  This piano was purchased by Mike's family in the early 1980's and was the piano he and his sisters learned on.  It has moved with us 4 times.  It takes up a lot of space and, with our children, has (unfortunately) taken a lot of abuse.  I've remained firm in my stance that "the piano stays!"  Despite it being horribly out of tune, I felt we were fortunate to have a piano in our home.  I had dreams of our children one day making beautiful music on this grand old piece.  

The kids are of a great age for learning, and they're very interested . . . so finally the time has come.  Our boys are starting piano lessons this Spring! 

The gave me the much needed "kick" to get this piano in shape!  

The first step was to fill in the scratches (including the large "Hendrick" across the face, scratched in the surface several years ago).  I then sanded the entire piano, took as much of it apart as I dared, then taped and tarped the innards.  

Of course, this got me thinking about the history of this family piano . . .

 

F.C. Lighte was a prominent figure in America's 19th century piano industry.  Lighte's original piano manufacturing company was established in 1848.  There were several partnerships with several people.  Lighte & Co. began manufacturing pianos in 1863.  Lighte continued to build pianos until about 1900.  

The upright piano didn't become popular in the American culture until the last quarter of the 19th century.  In the last decade of the 19th century, pianos were often incredibly ornate and lavish.  After the turn-of-the-century, designs became a lot more streamlined.  The 1920's were considered the "Golden Age" of piano manufacturing, most pianos being with very little ornamentation or frills and generally of excellent quality.  Upright pianos were built up until 1930, when the Great Depression hit. With the economy falling, piano manufacturers scrambled to find a way to save the industry, ultimately producing shorter Spinet and Console pianos.  The large upright pianos of the 19th century were never built again. (information from antiquepianoshop.com)

Based on what little I've been able to find out about our piano, we believe it dates to the very early 1900's.  

After two coats of primer, three coats of grey paint, 3 coats of polyeurothane, repainted black keys, sanded down white keys, and new glass knobs . . . our piano is fully refreshed! 

 

The next step to to get our "new" piano tuned : )

Fort

The latest craze in our household . . . fort building. 

The boys spend as much time as possible (a great motivation for getting schoolwork done) outside building and perfecting their ever-changing forts.  Sometimes the kids work on two teams and create two forts, sometimes they all combine forces on a single mega fort.  They work on each fort for about two weeks before they're ready to disassemble and start all over.  The building process is definitely the most fun. 

We're amazed with their creativity.  They have accumulated a some materials from our scrap wood pile and recycling bins, but most of it was scavenged from the woods: fallen tree limbs, branches and grasses.  Tesfaye proudly crafted a "Sidama broom" - tying together dried grasses to be used to keep their fort clean. 

Tesfaye and Hendrick most recently combined forces on their biggest fort yet, compete with treasury, weapons room, and a small side doggy area for Olive.  It even had two chairs and a space for playing games.  It has also been weather tested, with good reviews.  We are thoroughly impressed!

The Queen

Two weeks ago, we had the incredible pleasure of traveling to Pittsburgh to celebrate a very special birthday: the 95th Birthday of our Queen Bee, Grandma Vee. 

29 family members, from near and far, gathered together to celebrate this beloved matriarch.  The weekend festivities were all (tastefully) bee-themed.  Grandma has proudly carried the nickname of "Queen Bee" for nearly 20 years.  Grandma was thrilled to have everyone, she had put a lot of thought into planning all the details for the event - it was a big deal!  She was a ball of energy the entire weekend. 

My Grandma is pretty incredible.  At 95, she teaches a weekly line dancing class and keeps a packed social calendar.  She is a natural athlete, is willing to try anything, and loves to laugh.  She is very intentionally involved in the lives of her children, nieces and nephews, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  She also finds time to travel the world.  We are very lucky : )

Happy Birthday Grandma!

No party with Grandma would be complete without dancing!  Grandma cannot keep her feet still.  I only hope I can dance at my own 95th birthday celebration - awesome!  

For a special gift for everyone, we put together a book celebrating her past 95 years.  When we were together at Christmas, we sat with Grandma and voice-recorded 2-1/2 hours of stories.  Grandma has some amazing stories: born in 1918, she caught the Spanish Flu as a baby, helped in her grandparents store in Massachusetts during the depression, was in Virginia when her grandfather who served under Jeb Stuart was buried in his confederate uniform, was married in Hawaii in 1941 and drove my grandfather to his ship at Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941 . . . These were all stories we wanted to record and remember.  Many were stories we had heard before, but we learned a lot more too!  For the book, I typed out her stories, filling in the gaps with the help of my dad and aunt.  Then, thanks to the hours of scanning by my parents, hundreds of pictures and newspaper articles were added.  The resulting 150 page book is one Grandma is (rightfully) very proud of, and one that we will cherish.  I am so thankful Grandma was willing to share her stories - such a gift!  

West Side Bowling

While in Cincinnati, we took the kids out for some West Side Bowling.  The kids are naturals (with the help of bumpers : ) 
What a fun time!