Well, the boys of summer are back, and I could not be more excited. Of course, the Royals are off to their usual start (Brewers 5, K.C. 2), but there's a whole season of baseball yet to be played! I must say that some of the happiest moments of my life, aside from the biggies like marriage and children, have been spent at the ballpark. There is nothing more lovely, for me, than sitting at Kauffman Stadium with Carl and the boys, watching the scoreboard, dancing during the 7th inning stretch, seeing favorite players in person, watching the game I love. Of course, Carl only truly loves Kauffman Stadium when the Red Sox are in town:-) Can't wait to get down to K.C. for a game or two or three...
Equally as lovely for me are the times spent watching any kind of baseball. One of my fondest memories from my time in Maryville was the beautiful summer evening Trent, my best friend Melissa Pratte and I spent sipping Sonic drinks and watching a summer ball league play until the sun went down.
I also had a lovely time last summer watching my little Luke play t-ball. From his red high-top sneakers to him picking his nose in the outfield to his injury when he got hit in the eye by a ball, I will always remember the special times spent watching my sweet boy play the game I love. Can't wait to do it all over again this summer:-)
Reading like crazy this week! Here's the scoop:
Short stories by Crane, Cather and Poe as Carl, Trent and I continue our literature circle. Lovely reading:-)
I'm off to Wal-Mart to purchase Nature Notebooks for the boys. Spring is here so it's time to get outside into nature and check out all of the cool birds, bugs and fish. Speaking of which, I must remember to purchase my fishing license this week too. Steinhart Park has already been crowded with people fishing, and I want to take the boys next weekend. A fishing trip would definitely cap off what promises to be a lovely weekend -- Trent is training as an altar boy Saturday morning (so, so proud of him) and Carl's surprise (sort of) 44th birthday party is Saturday afternoon with the whole Calfee crew here from Clarinda, IA. Can't wait!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Flannery, I love you!
It's a spring Saturday here in Nebraska, and that means garage sale time! Carl and the boys are holding our annual garage sale to move stuff out and get ready for a new season of Omaha garage sale trips! Love, love, love garage sales so much:-)
Started Henle Latin with Trent this week, and I am pretty scared about learning a new language. Trent is off and running, while his mama has to admit she is not a language expert!
Reading a ton right now. Here's a list:
What's So Great About Christianity by Dinesh D'Souza. Just finished What's So Great About America by the same author. These books will change the way you view America and the Christian faith!
Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty Over Liberalism by Sean Hannity
Plan to start (again, for the millionth time) The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor. You know, Flannery O'Connor is my literary hero. I first discovered her in the graduate English program at Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, MO. I immediately loved her stories. I was drawn to the dark humor, but also to the faith in her writing. I was so angry one summer when my favorite English professor (now Graduate Studies chair) decided we would not read O'Connor's ground-breaking novel Wise Blood during a course called "American Novel 1945 - Present." He said he had no knowledge of the Bible or religion and would not be able to discuss the novel. This novel was also on the reading list for the Comprehensive Exams graduate students must take. Soon after I entered the program, O'Connor's novel was replaced by a Margaret Atwood novel, for goodness sake! I had had my first taste of life on a secular university campus! Atheism really does abound!!! Thankfully, I did later complete a course entitled "The Bible and Literature," where the professor discussed the Biblical themes in much of O'Connor's work in great detail. This man was a Christian who never did quite fit into a liberal English department more concerned with "queer theory" than an author as important as O'Connor. Lesson learned: religion is a dangerous threat on a liberal college campus. I never did feel the same enthusiasm for the instructor who had once dazzled me with his insights on postmodernism. It was kind of a spiritual awakening for me. Luckily, I've been reading and re-reading Flannery O'Connor ever since. I have her collected letters, and those, too, reveal what a deeply devout Christian woman she was. Her themes are never easy; indeed, they are still controversial today. How lovely that a small, sickly, deeply devout writer from the Deep South is still so relevant today. So here is a list of my favorite Flannery quotes:
"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."
“All my stories are about the action of grace on a character who is not very willing to support it, but most people think of these stories as hard, hopeless and brutal.”
"I am not afraid that the book will be controversial; I'm afraid it will not be controversial."
“When a book leaves your hands, it belongs to God. He may use it to save a few souls or to try a few others, but I think that for the writer to worry is to take over God's business.”
“Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them.”
"Conviction without experience makes for harshness.”
"Faith is what someone knows to be true, whether they believe it or not.”
"The novelist with Christian concerns will find in modern life distortions which are repugnant to him, and his problem will be to make them appear as distortions to an audience which is used to seeing them as natural; and he may be forced to take ever more violent means to get his vision across to this hostile audience. When you can assume that your audience holds the same beliefs you do, you can relax a little and use more normal ways of talking to it; when you have to assume that it does not, then you have to make your vision apparent by shock ~ to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the blind you draw large and startling figures."
Started Henle Latin with Trent this week, and I am pretty scared about learning a new language. Trent is off and running, while his mama has to admit she is not a language expert!
Reading a ton right now. Here's a list:
What's So Great About Christianity by Dinesh D'Souza. Just finished What's So Great About America by the same author. These books will change the way you view America and the Christian faith!
Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty Over Liberalism by Sean Hannity
Plan to start (again, for the millionth time) The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor. You know, Flannery O'Connor is my literary hero. I first discovered her in the graduate English program at Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, MO. I immediately loved her stories. I was drawn to the dark humor, but also to the faith in her writing. I was so angry one summer when my favorite English professor (now Graduate Studies chair) decided we would not read O'Connor's ground-breaking novel Wise Blood during a course called "American Novel 1945 - Present." He said he had no knowledge of the Bible or religion and would not be able to discuss the novel. This novel was also on the reading list for the Comprehensive Exams graduate students must take. Soon after I entered the program, O'Connor's novel was replaced by a Margaret Atwood novel, for goodness sake! I had had my first taste of life on a secular university campus! Atheism really does abound!!! Thankfully, I did later complete a course entitled "The Bible and Literature," where the professor discussed the Biblical themes in much of O'Connor's work in great detail. This man was a Christian who never did quite fit into a liberal English department more concerned with "queer theory" than an author as important as O'Connor. Lesson learned: religion is a dangerous threat on a liberal college campus. I never did feel the same enthusiasm for the instructor who had once dazzled me with his insights on postmodernism. It was kind of a spiritual awakening for me. Luckily, I've been reading and re-reading Flannery O'Connor ever since. I have her collected letters, and those, too, reveal what a deeply devout Christian woman she was. Her themes are never easy; indeed, they are still controversial today. How lovely that a small, sickly, deeply devout writer from the Deep South is still so relevant today. So here is a list of my favorite Flannery quotes:
"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."
“All my stories are about the action of grace on a character who is not very willing to support it, but most people think of these stories as hard, hopeless and brutal.”
"I am not afraid that the book will be controversial; I'm afraid it will not be controversial."
“When a book leaves your hands, it belongs to God. He may use it to save a few souls or to try a few others, but I think that for the writer to worry is to take over God's business.”
“Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them.”
"Conviction without experience makes for harshness.”
"Faith is what someone knows to be true, whether they believe it or not.”
"The novelist with Christian concerns will find in modern life distortions which are repugnant to him, and his problem will be to make them appear as distortions to an audience which is used to seeing them as natural; and he may be forced to take ever more violent means to get his vision across to this hostile audience. When you can assume that your audience holds the same beliefs you do, you can relax a little and use more normal ways of talking to it; when you have to assume that it does not, then you have to make your vision apparent by shock ~ to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the blind you draw large and startling figures."
Monday, March 24, 2008
Spring is Finally Here!
Spring is finally here, and I've found a bit of time to blog. The weather is warming, and the boys are itching to get outside for fishing and running and owl tracking (a new adventure). Trent began his birding earlier this year, and he has already identified many birds. Soon both boys will have Nature Notebooks in hand, drawing animals and documenting everything nature related. Although life in Florida sounds WARM right about now, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else but here in Nebraska. Love seeing all of the deer and grass, flowers and clouds. How lovely:-)
No pithy quotes from my boys recently, so here's what I'm reading:
Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right by Ann Coulter
Here's a link to the Kansas City Royals website. Check out their Opening Day countdown!!! It's almost here:-) Love baseball so much:-)
No pithy quotes from my boys recently, so here's what I'm reading:
Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right by Ann Coulter
Here's a link to the Kansas City Royals website. Check out their Opening Day countdown!!! It's almost here:-) Love baseball so much:-)
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Being Sick is No Fun -- Literally!
Well, friends, it's finally going to be a warm March day and guess what? Both boys are sick! Each has the stomach flu, and so for them on this warm, sunny day, being sick is no fun -- literally! No park, no shorts, just a day of rest and fluids. Oh well, there's always tomorrow:-)
Luckily, this week is pretty low key. Homeschool band doesn't meet, Trent's piano/voice teacher is on vacation, etc., so we'll just take it nice and easy this week. Plus, it will be summer soon enough, with all of the rushing around summer involves. I love summer, and so do my boys, but sometimes it's nice not to have to run around to 50 different activities:-)
School is winding down for the year, and I find myself a bit wistful about it. I have loved our classroom time this year. It's been fun and cozy and exciting. We'll continue with math and literature and spelling through the summer just to keep both boys on their toes. I am so blessed to be able to homeschool these beautiful boys. What a lovely opportunity God has given me!!!
Luckily, this week is pretty low key. Homeschool band doesn't meet, Trent's piano/voice teacher is on vacation, etc., so we'll just take it nice and easy this week. Plus, it will be summer soon enough, with all of the rushing around summer involves. I love summer, and so do my boys, but sometimes it's nice not to have to run around to 50 different activities:-)
School is winding down for the year, and I find myself a bit wistful about it. I have loved our classroom time this year. It's been fun and cozy and exciting. We'll continue with math and literature and spelling through the summer just to keep both boys on their toes. I am so blessed to be able to homeschool these beautiful boys. What a lovely opportunity God has given me!!!
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Busy Saturday
Today is a pretty typical Saturday around here -- errands, laundry, maybe some time to stop at Longhome Coffee for a bit.
Here's what I am reading and watching now:
Power to the People by Laura Ingraham
American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic by Joseph J. Ellis
Persecution: How Liberals are Waging War Against Christianity by David Limbaugh
In Treatment on HBO
Fox News
Have a lovely day:-)
Here's what I am reading and watching now:
Power to the People by Laura Ingraham
American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic by Joseph J. Ellis
Persecution: How Liberals are Waging War Against Christianity by David Limbaugh
In Treatment on HBO
Fox News
Have a lovely day:-)
Monday, March 3, 2008
Snowy Monday
It's March, and it's snowing. It's been snowing for almost five months now! Not much to update -- school is moving at a furious pace, spring is almost here, my reading time has seemed to disappear over the past week or so.
Lovely Quotes From My Boys:
Trent to Luke after I thought I had lost Luke's birth certificate: "If mom doesn't find your birth certificate you'll die!" Gotta love Trent!
Luke, on why he will never marry: "I can't get married to a human; I'm a Vulcan with Vulcan ears!" (Again, gotta love Trent, who has convinced Luke his [somewhat] pointy ears make him Vulcan.)
All in a day's fun with two growing, lovely boys:-)
Lovely Quotes From My Boys:
Trent to Luke after I thought I had lost Luke's birth certificate: "If mom doesn't find your birth certificate you'll die!" Gotta love Trent!
Luke, on why he will never marry: "I can't get married to a human; I'm a Vulcan with Vulcan ears!" (Again, gotta love Trent, who has convinced Luke his [somewhat] pointy ears make him Vulcan.)
All in a day's fun with two growing, lovely boys:-)
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