Rock Chalk Jayhawk...

... or, perhaps, an alternative title would be "Girls Rule!"

Wandering Kudos go out to K.- winner of the H Family Tournament Challenge 2008. She correctly picked the Final Four, the Final Two, and the final score within 2 points! Her secret (and it makes her brother cringe...)? Primarily she goes by colors and mascots, with a little bit of seeding thrown in for good sense. Good thing she likes blue...

Second in the Challenge? Me! Picked the winner for the second year in a row- so I do believe that would be called a streak.

Don't forget the Shining Moment video. For you sports video saps, like me, it's a annual can't miss...

To the H Family men- better luck next year...

(photo credit to KUsports.com)

Same. Different.

Same birthday.
Same age. Same last name.
Same sport. Same club.

Different teams.

L & S are playing spring soccer, and were placed on different teams. Now that's an idea that took some getting used to.

The first reaction of the twins?
S- "I can't take the ball away from L!" (yes, actually, she can, and she did...)
L- ::: puzzled look that said, "different teams?" :::

My main concern abated: they play on the same field at the same time.

The parents sitting around us must have been confused. They must have thought we were schizophrenic, cheering for green, cheering for white, cheering for the kid "L," cheering for the kid "S."

How'd they do? L scored one goal, S had a great assist. One bruised shin (even with shin guards- the victim claimed the other twin kicked THAT hard!), one pulled hamstring, two girls ready to do it again next week.

Go team(s)!

Thoughts on laundry...

if washing 11 pairs of jeans in a front-loading machine...
maybe think twice before putting your 96 load bottle of liquid laundry detergent on top of the washer.
But, if it happens to shake and dance itself off during the spin cycle,
and fall on the floor,
and create a very large and very slimy blue puddle (puddle? pond?),
one that oozes into the very corners of your laundry room,
the good news is that it will help to make your mop look very clean,
and the basement smell laundry day fresh.

I'm just saying...

Extreme Dog Makeover

Before.













After.




Clean puppy kisses to A. and R. :-)

Friday five- Kid Lit

This week's Friday Five- Kid Lit Books I Adore...

Here are five books that I would go back to over and over and over again as a child. I knew them back and forth. I visited them like old family members, and they are part of the fabric of how I remember learning to love reading, getting lost in the other worlds and situations far far from my own.

What a contrast to a Protestant girl growing up in the high desert of New Mexico- All of a Kind Family by Sidney Tayor, and the five Jewish sisters growing up in pre World War I New York City. I searched for pennies with the girls as they would dust. I commisserated with naughty girl who would stubbornly not eat her dinner. I held my breath as they had their ears pierced with a needle and a wax string. I savored their religious traditions as they worshiped together as a family.

In My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George, young runaway Sam writes, "I am on my mountain in a tree home that people have passed not ever knowing that I am here." My dream! No hemlock trees, 6 feet in diameter, in my neighborhood, but I did entertain dreams of moving into the craigs of some of the boulders at the base of my nearby mountain. Logical, brave, and independent, that Sam. My kind of guy.

Confession- to this day, I make quick comparisons to life in Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House. Road trips? Mary and Laura didn't own a portable DVD player... Laundry piled up? At least I don't have to boil the water first. Long winter? Humph! Never as long as THE Long Winter! Pa, the most beloved of all children's lit fathers. Nellie Olson, the most despicable of all childhood nemeses. I could never be as good or as kind as sweet Mary. I am much more close to Laura, always climbing, always saying one too many things.

"Mercy Maud!" Is there a more funny book than Cheaper by the Dozen, the true story of the Gilbreth family? "Doncha know that (insert any ethnic group here) come cheaper by the dozen?" father Frank would tell onlookers? He was continually trying his time motion efficiency studies on the children, and I too tried to wash starting with the soap up the left side and then down the right. Few families enjoyed themselves as heartily as the Gilbreths, and that was an inspiration to me.

John D. Fitzgerald, J.D, tells the story of his scheming older brother, Tom, T.D., in The Great Brain . Tom could solved problems town leaders were stumped by. His parents were fair in discipline and generous in love. The boys' worst punishment to one another was the silent treatment. It was fun to imagine the adventures in the rapidly growing Old West town of Alden, Utah. And it was fun to see what scheme Tom would come up with next.

Confession- it's awfully hard to limit this to the Friday FIVE. I'd love to hear what childhood books stand out for Wanderer readers!

sold

BETWEEN TWILIGHTS
"Sometimes, between the twilights,
I unwrap my bundle from home
and bury my face in the fabric of my old skirt.

I inhale deeply,
drinking in the scent of mountain sunshine,
a warmth that smells of freshly turned soil and clean laundry
baking in the sun.
I breathe in a cool Himalayan breeze,
and the woodsy tang of a cooking fire,
a smell that crackles with the promise of warm tea
and fresh roti.

Then I can get by.
Until the next twilight."
from Sold by Patricia McCormick

Sold is a hard book, a story that you cannot put down, a story that does not easily leave you. It is told by 13 year old Lakshmi from Nepal, as she is sold into the Indian sex trade and survives. It is raw and it is real. It is a fiction book, but the story is not. This is a story that is taking place today, around the world. According to the US Department of State, "human trafficking is the world's third largest criminal enterprise, after drugs and weapons." According to UNICEF, "worldwide, there are nearly two million children in the commercial sex trade." Two million children.

I think of Isaiah 1:17, "Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless; Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow."
There is much to do...

Jazzy Jam

This weekend brought a unique opportunity for K, J, and L: to work on their piano improv skills. Their music school hosted jazz clinician Randy Sabien on Saturday, to teach a series of workshops and conduct a "jam session" in the evening. It was fun to hear the students bust out of the classical box and into the blues scales for a time. Here's a clip of J and an improv piano solo.

"Glory"- to shine; to praise, boast, be boastful...

Psalm 64:10- The righteous man will be glad in the Lord, and will take refuge in Him; And all the upright in heart will glory.

from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible:
The righteous shall be glad in the Lord; not glad of the misery and ruin of their fellow creatures, but glad that God is glorified, and his word fulfilled, and the cause of injured innocence pleaded effectually. They rejoice not in men, nor in themselves, nor in any creature, or creature enjoyments, nor in their wisdom, strength, riches, or righteousness; but in Christ, in whom all the seed of Israel are justified and glory, and in what he is to them, and has done for them.

Survey

Homeschooling friends~
Megan over at Half Pint House is running a survey for research on homeschoolers, Internet resources, and the upcoming election. Click over to help her out, and, BONUS, you might win a $25 Amazon gift certificate, besides!

Fellowship of Love

from Grow in Grace by Sinclair B. Ferguson:

"Love also means caring for the needy, for love is nothing, if not practical. Love is always simple rather than complicated, caring rather than merely demonstrative."

There's an exhortation...

PEEP Show

Some people are a lot more creative than me! I'm ok with that.

Check this out for a good smile.

Resurrection Day!

March Madness- First Round

You probably wouldn't describe our family as big sports fans. We don't really have favorite teams. There's no color that dominates our wardrobe or interior design. But, I did grow up following college basketball. Throughout my growing up, my family had season tickets to watch the University of New Mexico Lobos, in the Pit, one of the greatest college basketball venues. You've probably seen it- that's where NC State coach Jim Valvano runs around crazy, looking for someone, ANYone to hug, after his Wolfpack won the National Championship in 1983. My kids have known the response to "Everyone's a Lobo..." is "...Woof, Woof, Woof" since they could speak.

Tim and I follow the NCAA tournament every year. (shameless confession- I adore One Shining Moment; I get teary when the underdog just barely loses, like Belmont v. Duke on Thursday...) And, we've started dragging the kids into it, too. Tim fills his bracket out in about one minute- guess he goes with his gut. I spend about 15 minutes, looking at RPI and Power ratings, and if there's a draw, I go with who I like. K choose by colors and mascots. No one can understand J's logic... :-) But, by Thursday night, we all had our brackets filled, and entered in the ESPN Tournament Challenge. We are all hopeful.

And then comes Thursday, and Friday, and the games. J revels that the rest of us choose USC, and KSU wins. Drake! Drake! I had such great hopes for you. I'm talkin' Final Four, Drake! And then came the overtime buzzer shot from Western Kentucky (see the video, at about 1:10 on...). sigh... And Gonzaga! The 'Zags. Lost to Stephen Curry, oops, I mean Davidson. My bracket is a mess. But, still, we're having fun!

Watch out on the trash talk, though, kid! :-)

No "whatever"

from "Happy Crossmas!" by James Martin, Slate online magazine, Thursday, March 20, 2008-

But Easter demands a response. It's hard for a non-Christian believer to say, "Yes, I believe that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, died, was buried, and rose from the dead." That's not something you can believe without some serious ramifications: If you believe that Jesus rose from the dead, this has profound implications for your spiritual and religious life—really, for your whole life. If you believe the story, then you believe that Jesus is God, or at least God's son. What he says about the world and the way we live in that world then has a real claim on you.
Easter is an event that demands a "yes" or a "no." There is no "whatever."

Friday Five- Easter!

This week's Friday Five: Easter!
Here's five things that I love about Easter.


1. Malted milk eggs
I only eat them at Easter. I don't even know if anyone else in the house really likes them, but I give them to my entire family, and then when I run out of mine, I can steal theirs. As Lucy from Peanuts says, "All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!"

2. Easter finest
Little kids getting dressed up. Little girls with hats and purses. Little boys with ties. I have a picture to prove the cuteness, but the scanner and I are not on friendly terms with one another today, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

3. Dying Easter Eggs
Family tradition. My kids WILL NOT let me forget it. I like brightly colored eggs. I leave them in the dye for a loooooonnnnnnggggg time.

4. Easter hymns
You only get them once a year. No Alleluia! can be sung with as much gusto as those in Jesus Christ is Risen Today. No bass part ever sounds as good as the harmony of Up From the Grave He Arose (don't you hear the echo, "He arose!"?). One of the best lines in all of hymn-dom- "Where thy victory, O grave? Al - - le- lu- ia!"

5. The Resurrection
Christ victorious. Life everlasting.
"He is not here for He is risen, just as He said." Matthew 28:6
"And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him." Mark 16:6
"Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies." John 11:25
"But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power." Acts 2:24

What a wonderful celebration Easter should be! Hope your weekend is filled with rejoicing.

Spring!

Pippa's Song by Robert Browning

The year's at the spring,

And day's at the morn,

Morning's at seven;

The hillside's dew-pearled;

The lark's on the wing;

The snail's on the thorn;

God's in His Heaven-

All's right with the world!

A cheer for the first day of spring- that season that we've been waiting for through the bitter cold days of winter. Not a bud to be seen around these parts (the photo comes from the cherry blossoms of Suzhou), but we're optimistic nonetheless. I realized I was hearing birds chirp during my early mornings last week. Without even jackets, we delivered meals this morning, and nearly every client commented on what a nice day it is. "God's in His Heaven; All's right with the world!"

Trust and Obey

A word for today, especially for those traveling new roads, from Keep a Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot:

"Moses said to Israel, 'I offer you the choice of life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life and then you and your descendants will live; love the Lord your God, obey him, and hold fast to him: that is life for you.'

When you take the risk of obedience, you find solid rock beneath you- and markers, evidence that someone has traveled this route before. 'The Lord your God will cross over at your head... he will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not be discouraged or afraid.' (Deuteronomy 30:19,20; 31:3, 8) It's what the old gospel song puts so simply:
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.
(John H. Sammis)

As in 12 disciples, for example...

from Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder-

"Margaret Mead once said, 'Never underestimate the ability of a small group of committed individuals to change the world.' He paused, 'Indeed, they are the only ones who ever have."

(note: photo credit to the PIH website. The lady shown is carrying rocks to contribute to the building of a health clinic in Lebakeng, Lesotho, Africa)

Friday Five- the 'hood

This week's Friday Five is in honor of a fellow Bensonite (Bensontonian? Bensonere?) who is soon leaving the 'hood for warmer (well, warmer in the winter months, anyways. We'll even out when it gets to humidity in the summer...), more beachy and Southern views. S. lives exactly one song away from me, .8 miles according to mapquest, which would be .8 miles closer to downtown Benson (ok, "downtown" might be a stretch...). Technically, she lives "out west" by my standards. So, for those times when you miss the bustle of the burrough, here's some pics to remember us by, west to east...

First on the list HAS to be the Lizard King. No other neighborhood business establishment has amused us more in recent times. Sadly, last week the Lizard King cleared out- gone is the plywood, gone are the exclamations for revenge, gone are the warnings. Alas. The Lizard King will live on in memory only.

We love driving by the Bridal Gallery and seeing the latest dresses on display. (in case you can't see in the photo- this week, one black and white, the other violet) One week, it was chartreuse- even though you don't know that color, exactly, you knew that dress was chartreuse! My younger girls never tire of looking at those dresses.

The Benson Public Library! A gem! If you can't find what you are looking for, you can request it on the computer and it's delivered ASAP. We miss Mrs. Wagner, the children's librarian, who was always eager to greet us as we walked in. But, we're still regulars at the Benson Branch.

Louis Market. (for those not "local," SAY: Lou-ees, as in Huey, Dewey, and Louie, you know, Donald Duck's nephews) What more can you say about Louis? (well, I'm sure that my friend can say a few things, but I'll leave that for HER blog... :-) )

Lisa's Radial Cafe. Truthfully, Lisa's is not in Benson; it's almost in the shadow of our church. (however, there are a couple of good breakfast spots in Benson) But, being 6:00 regulars at Lisa's (the Early Bird #2, two pancakes, one egg over easy, bacon, coffee, multiple refills, table for two in the corner), I couldn't leave it off the Five list. Won't be the same without you, friend.

I'm hard pressed to think that your new digs will have the, uh, shall we say "character"?, of the 'hood we love so much! Send photos! :-)

Veggie tales Chinese Menu

This little clip might start to sum up the food we enjoyed in China! No forutne cookies though, not a one! Must be an American thing...
Enjoy! :-)

Signs (& wonders?) :-)

The funniest thing for us about China was the signs. Talk about "lost in translation"! Some made us giggle, some caused us to scratch our head and ask, "what does that MEAN?" So, it became a great amusement to find good signs to take pictures of...

China sites and sights- Shanghai

We spent two days and nights in Shanghai, a city even bigger in population that Beijing, though smaller in area. Shanghai is in the midst of change, new buildings, skyscrapers!, are changing the horizon. The first photo shows the Shanghai skyline as seen from the Bund, across the water. We were in awe of those massive buildings, up to 88 stories tall.

In contrast, on the other side is "Old Shanghai," the area formerely known as the British Concession area, with old style brick buildings. See K & J under a Shanghai street sign.

We toured a silk carpet factory, tedious work for the craftswomen. The picture is of a bin of silk thread that will be used to weave the rugs. The rugs are beautiful works of art. Their color seems to change depending on the angle and light- as the tour guide told us, "So magic!"

In the "Chinatown" area of Shanghai (I am not making that up- they really call this area of the city Chinatown- all the others since are "knock off's" said our guide...), we found a Starbucks. Yes to a latte! See also a photo of the Chinatown area at dusk- too bad it took me all week to find that "night" setting on the camera! :-)

On our last night in Shanghai we went to a Cirque d'Solei style show- ERA. The feats were amazing and left us gasping. Chinese acrobatics, a man who could spin a huge ceramic pot on his head, eight (8!) motorcycle riders in a caged ball at a time!

Sites and sights of Shanghai.

China sites and sights- Suzhou and Hangzhou

After leaving Beijing, we traveled by air, south, landing in Shanghai, and then by bus to Suzhou and Hangzhou, "small towns" by Chinese standards, "only" 6-7 million people in each.

The temple at Tiger Hill is famous for being the "leaning tower of China," though you can hardly discern that in the photo. It lilts 7 inches on one side, stopped now by shoring the foundation. The guide told us about building on sandy ground. That made us smile. The kids and I learned that lesson long ago... (Matthew 7:25-27)

The Lingering Gardens in Suzhou is among the top 4 gardens in China. Planned to the smallest detail, it wanders and intrigues. K admired the carefully manicured bonsai trees.

Canals run through Suzhou, and such, it is known as "Venice of the East." As we traveled by boat through the canal, we saw a woman dying her hair, laundry being dryed, residents walking along the way.

In Hangzhou we visited a tea plantation, and sampled the finest of green tea. Tea grows, terraced along the side of the mountain. It was a rainy day, and the mist lay heavy over the landscape.

We also visited a Buddhist temple in Hangzhou, where the smoke of incense offerings hung in the air.

A few more sights and sites of China.