Typical Tuesdays

I wish I would have had the following story from today to show you on video. The twins really love Stella, Stella is completely freaked out by them (as are most living things within ear shot of their screams). This morning I let Santino give Stella one of her little seed-ball treats, thinking that it may warm Stella up to him. He was asking to do it again this afternoon, but this time Teodata wanted in on it. I gave them each a seed ball treat to give her. I worked with Santino to get it to Stella through the cage, and when I turned around to give 'Data her turn, her seed ball was gone. Yes, about 5 minutes later, I noticed her trying to work the last of the residual seed down her throat. Hope it helps with  her B.M. tomorow... TMI?

I had a video of today, for today, and it was great stuff.. things like Santino standing on the bench leaning back to drink his sippy cup... you know, just about to fall backward and I'm still holding the camera as if unaware of any potential hospital trips looming... good stuff. My video, unfortunately ended with one of my boys picking his nose. Rather than immortalize him online, picking his nose, which would most likely devastate him, I'm going to show him the video in hopes that it'll make him stop. I doubt that very much, but it's worth a shot.

Do you see a man skilled in his work?

He will stand before kings;

He will not stand before obscure men.

I went through some older video and found this great one of Sam. He's an unbelievable inventor. He can make anything out of nothing. The Lord has certainly gifted him in so many ways. My sweet Sam.



It's Love and a Revolution...

 God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

The past several days have been wonderful! On Thursday the boys and I went to Butler's Bird Breeders to pick up Stella! The breeders (Bruce and Bonnie Butler) work out of their home, so they are able to breed exotic birds as well. Some of you know about Paolo's intense fear of dogs (one bad experience with a hyper puppy)... even if the dog is wee, wee, little, he SCREAMS and bounces onto Adam or I, clinging for dear life. The Butler's have two wiener dogs... that greeted us. Hmmm. Right, so Paolo is screaming and wrapped around me, and one of their macaws screeches. Have you ever heard a macaw screech? It's something akin to nails on a chalkboard, on steroids. At any rate, we finally got Paolo calmed down (and said dogs outside), had a wonderful little visit with Bruce and Bonnie (great people!), and then we brought our Stella home. I am in LOVE with this bird! She loves me too. =) All the kids love her, and she's quite happy with them as well...with all of them accept the twins, that is. They run up to her cage, "pawing" at it, yelling  "STELLWA!! STELLWA!!!" (see video below), like really bad Marlon Brando impersonators. Anyway, you will be seeing much more of Stella. By the way, I have no idea how Stella feels about Adam, as he will not hold her at all... he admires her from afar.

So, I didn't realize what a pain in rear I was being by taking the picture, but oh my! Bruce's face says it all "Are serious LADY??"  Then there's the boys..

Thought these were so cute, baby African Greys

My niece and nephew... Stella loves her

 Stella giving Sam kisses

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A joyful heart is good medicine,

But a broken spirit dries up the bones. 

On Saturday we had our "Tribute to the Revolution" tea. To wrap up our unit study, the boys planned a traditional colonial high tea. All the foods were traditional colonial foods (even had George Washington's favorite dessert, Tipsy Pudding) ... save for Aunt Mary's meatball sandwiches to satisfy us Italians. The boys displayed all of the work they did, and were so happy to do so. They worked so hard on this study.

I could say that it was "Just family", and while that is true (save for Jackie's friend) it sounds too ... smallish. There were 23 people there. =)   We had such a nice time. Adam said that this was the first time, in a long time, that he actually had fun at a party.  I felt the same way. This was the first time without Dad here, that I had pure fun. I think Adam was thinking the same thing, but kept it to himslef. I did think of Dad a lot that day, but for the first time, it was bitter sweet, not just bitter. I could actually feel him smiling at his legacy... all over the place. So beautiful, so happy. The yard looked breathtaking. We were all in church this morning (Jimmy, Jill and family were able to attend before heading back home). We had the back row because... well, we're a really distracting family. There was Mom in her little corner of the pew, and next to her sat Jimmy, Jill and family. Behind them, Mary, Aaron, and family, then all if us... we took up 3 rows... I don't know, I hate the word surreal, but that's the only word to describe it... well, beautiful surreal. Two words. Dad was there, through his legacy, he was there. I wish my brain was larger, along with my vocabulary, but that's about all I can get out to describe it.  Thankful, so thankful for that time with family.

This is how Santino felt this morning...

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Won't Let Satan Blow it out (NO!) I'm gonna Let it Shine...

I had planned on doing the Pumpkin Gospel for all the kiddos Saturday night whilst my brother went out to dinner and a movie , and whatever to let them celebrate my big brother's birthday (which is today). Well, I always think that my brother and I share very few of the same genes, but yesterday I found out that we share the fact that we really hate going out. =) He decided that they would go get some shopping done (yep, like me!), instead.


So Jackie and her friend Evan are indulging me (poor Evan actually stuck around late for this). They're sitting at the table acting interested so the kids will follow suit... wanting to be like the cool teenagers. I painted a freaky cartoon smiley face on the pumpkin. I talked about how some people have smiles on their faces and when bad things come along, the smile is easily washed off (I take a soapy rag and wash the freaky face off). This is making my mathematical, engineering minded niece nuts, because she's never seen the Pumpkin Gospel presented this way... plus the painted face was really creepy... and the kids were getting wigged out. Right. I then cut the top off of the pumpkin and began cleaning the "yucky" stuff out, "just like God cleans the yucky stuff out of us."

There is SO much "yucky stuff"... the kids' eyes are glazing over. I make another analogy, not typically used in the Pumpkin Gospel, I talk about how God can, and does, use our sinful past for good, just like we can eat, or plant the pumpkin seeds, or make pie out of the yuck. I hear a small voice coming from the living room, it was Mom. "Bad, analogy Ann."  At this point all the kids are screaming and swinging from the chandeliers (slight exaggeration), because they're bored out of their ever loving minds... Jackie is teasing the mess out of me (seriously though, there was SO much PUMPKIN GUTS!!) , and Mom and I are having theological arguments... sort of (I won, I tell you!)

I'm certain Evan was regretting having stayed for this. I'm carving the pumpkin (It's like a half of an hour later at this point) and the pumpkin is looking more and more evil... I can't for the life of me, get this thing to look happy. I mean the idea is that God cleans you out, puts a smile on your face, and lights you from within. How can I use "Demon Pumpkin" to illustrate that? The simple answer is, "You can't Andrea". So I told the poor children the rest of "what should have been"... don't think it worked. I think Jackie and Evan were wondering how on earth I was able to screw it up that bad... their faces showed it. Kudos to my sweet niece, and Evan for standing by me throughout that mess.

Here it is... How could I manage to do this?!?

Typical Tuesdays

Today...

The boys were working on some school stuff in the dining room whilst I was in the kitchen messing around with who knows what, and Paolo says (completely out of the blue) "You know what I really, really, really hate? choking hazards!" Okay son??

I'm finishing talking to the boys about some school related subject and I notice Johnny day-dreaming... smiling away. "Johnny, what are you thinking about?" Snaps out of it, and quick as a whip ( in a bright cheery voice) he says "Oh, writing practice Mom." Mmm-hmmm

"Sam. Honey. You have to stop talking... just for a few minutes."

"But I can't stop talking, I love talking too much. I can't stop. You know why I like talking so much...." ('Too Much" as in that's how much he loves talking. He does. He does.


Scenes from today. And WE PICK UP STELLA ON THURSDAY!!!

Couple of things

So I didn't know if this video struck me as really funny because I homeschool, or because it's just plain funny. I'm going to go ahead and assume it's the former, but perhaps if you're not a homeschooler, you'll at least get a kick out of it because you've said or thought these things yourself. =)



Secondly, I've promised myself, and a host of others, that I would not make this blog political. I do feel that the following is political, but it is not partisan, and runs so much deeper than politics. It's about parental rights that are being taken away from us by the government, and from right under our noses to boot. If you feel so inclined, please view the following movie trailer here. When and if you view it, there's an opportunity to sign a petition below the trailer. Thanks!

Peace and Blessings,
~Andrea

Typical Tuesdays (with a late birthday post)

Today was indeed typical here at the Phillips household, however, I was so nuts last week that I didn't post anything from Johnny's birthday (which was Thursday the 7th). Below are some scenes from his birthday party. 

Johnny is just so sweet, and can make you feel like a million bucks with one kind gesture or word. I was feeling so sick on Friday (the day of his party). I was dragging myself out the door to get his cake and party "props", and Adam asked me if I wanted him to go instead. Johnny interrupts, grabs my arm and says "Mom, now I'm very serious about this, I would rather walk to get my cake and stuff, or not have it all, than to have you go shopping while you're sick."  I mean what a kid, huh?

At any rate, I did get out, I did shop, but Johnny's medieval birthday dreams were not quite so medieval... however,  he was so happy with everything. Of course. =)

A wise son makes his father glad

Below, is from our Typical Tuesday. Before I took the video, they were really going at one another. They are forever stealing off of the other one. No matter that they each have the same exact thing, they want it because the other one has it, and they don't... It's nature, not nurture, trust me. You can still see the remnants of the 'tude in Teodata when she kicks her bowl at the end.

Birthdays

Today was bittersweet. This is Dad's birthday, and the first one without him. Today is also my niece Jackie's Sweet 16 birthday. Jackie was born on Dad's 50th birthday. She was the first grandchild, so all the way around , it was pretty darn exciting. I remember being in the waiting room whilst my sister Mary was in hard labor with Jackie. It was around 11:30 PM and Dad said "Let's put her in the back of a van and drive her to another time zone." We didn't find out until about a quarter after midnight that Jackie was born about 45 minutes before midnight. She made it. =)

DAD ARGUING POLITICS AT PAOLO'S BIRTHDAY LAST YEAR

(I miss that face, and those hands waving when he talked...er, yelled =) )

"It is my desire to give to this last man the same as to you."

Back when Dad passed away I wrote about how my cousin Eddie, when I was musing over the condition of my Dad's eternal soul, had said "Annie, your Dad's gonna be the worker in the Parable of Laborers in the Vineyard . He's going to be the one who was hired at 5:00 PM." I then wrote about how, after Dad had passed on, Eddie asked me what time it was, and indeed, it was just about 5:00 PM. I still struggle sometimes with where Dad was with the Lord, but He shows me time and time again, that my Dad had to have known Him. Today we did our Children's Through the Bible in a Year devotion. We missed yesterday, so I decided that I should read from October  5th thinking that it would have been for Paolo. As it turned out, it was for all of us. October 5th's devotion was the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard.

Happy Birthday Dad.  

 Strength and dignity are her clothing,  And she smiles at the future.

 We are celebrating Jackie's birthday on Saturday. This birthday was tough on her, and I think it's good that she was able to change things up a bit this year. Typically, Jackie and Dad would have a birthday dinner together, a tradition they both looked forward to.

This year she went out with friends and celebrated with pizza and ice cream. I cannot begin to explain what a blessing Jackie has, and continues to be, in our family. She amazes me daily with her strength and wisdom... So beautiful, in every way.

Happy Birthday Sweet Jackie!

(NOT A) Typical Tuesday

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD,

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

 

Today was not a typical Tuesday. Today was Paolo's 6th birthday!! I still can't believe it, my little Pie Man is 6 years old... Paolo wanted an "Agent Birthday Party." He loves Lego Agents, so an Agent party is what he got.


We spent most of the day building his new Lego Agent Speed Boat Rescue. Lego's are the coolest toys ever... probably the most expensive as well... seriously, we all but have to put a lien on the house for Christmas, when they all want Lego's... another post? Right. So, I also bought the cake this year. Last year I had more energy, but this year we're going with Giant Eagle Cakes. Let me tell you, they could have put a little more "oomph" into the decorating (Paolo wanted the Lego Agent "A" symbol on the cake), but oh, MY, did it taste good!!


So let me preface the video and pics by saying that I feel really bad. Our kids rarely get straight up candy. Today they had a bag full, plus the cake and ice cream. Honestly, Paolo looks like he just did heroin... the poor kid may not even remember the events of today. At least he had fun...




The boys were diggin' the agent thing

 Teodata dug them in their gear

I don't think the sparkler "6" added anything at all good to an already out-of-it Paolo... strike two Mom....

Poor Guy was afraid of his own cake

When the thing finally went out, he blew the candle out before I got a chance to take a picture. Strike three Mom, you're out! You blew Paolo's sixth birthday....

A blurry vision of cake filled babies

I mean, doesn't he look like he was just at a Zeppelin reunion tour?

By the way, this was all typed yesterday (on Tuesday!) but Blogger was giving me trouble posting photos. Finally got it up and running. See you tonight... more birthdays!