sand dollars and sea shells

Just over a week ago, my dear, sweet friend, Kay (or as my kids call her "Gramma Kay"), entertained the kids and me for a couple of days at her lovely beach house on Hood Canal . It was a delightful time (as it is every year) and the weather cooperated beautifully for playing on the beach. One highlight was the looooong walk we took one morning to see the sand dollar beds.







Now, I'm assuming I'm not the only one who didn't know that sand dollars live in these HUGE beds together and when they are alive--they are black. When the water becomes extremely shallow in the beds, they lay down and somehow burrow a bit under the sand. When the water is a bit higher, the stand up on their sides (see next pic). There must have been hundreds of thousands of these sand dollars in beds scattered all over that area of the beach.









Another amazing part of that walk was the discussion we had about sea shells. The kids observed that many sea shells that are plain on the outside are beautiful on the inside and vice versa. Kay and I shared how we had often observed the same pattern in people. Just because someone looks great on the outside, doesn't mean they are beautiful on the inside. And, some of the people we've known who weren't much to look at on the outside had some of the most beautiful hearts. We also observed that just in the same way a shell's beautiful, pearly inside is usually made by the animal inside experiencing some sort of irritation, so it's the same with people. Usually, the "beautiful people" I know have experienced some sort of tragedy, pain or hardship that, while difficult to endure while it's going on, helps produce the loveliness left behind.


I love the Deuteronomy 6 principle of parenting--teaching your children God's wisdom, "...when you sit in your in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up...."--and I'll add, "When you're on the beach!"

Life is full of teachable moments. There are so many lessons all around us just waiting to be used to help our children understand the ways of the Lord. I love how He encases nuggets of wisdom in the most surprising places....like sand dollars and sea shells!

waving goodbye to summer

So, I'm finally sitting down to blog...it's been a fun, busy, challenging summer and I haven't been as disciplined in blogging as I want to be. I sometimes have a hard time balancing what's important.

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As I type this, I'm watching my 4 year old pour out water onto our sports court and watch facinatedly as it spreads out before her. Such are the images of summer that stay with me...the time when the press of schedules was less and the chance to pursue activities that we would call "a waste of time" during the rest of the year. After all, there are "places to go, things to do".

Right now I am reminded of how important it is (as fall approaches) to create my routines in such a way as to make sure we have time to enjoy simple moments that don't appear to have much value on the surface...

I guess this is one of the things that reminds me of one reason homeschooling appeals to me. Yes, I know that routine is important, but being able to lay on your stomach on the carpet all afternoon with a good book isn't a waste of time, IT'S SCHOOL!

I remember when I first started "officially" schooling at home and (not being a "school at home" type--but having been schooled as a child) often questioning myself as to whether particular activities could be "counted" as school. I mean, who would have thought sorting socks is math for a young child? And don't get me started on the possibilities that exist with sidewalk chalk!

So, I'm off to do some planning for this year. I'll make sure to fit in all the important subjects like math, science, history....and pouring water onto the sports court!

Random thoughts

I confess, I've kind of been waiting for inspiration to hit--but when it does, it's usually not the most convenient time and then I forget what it was (yes, the pleasures of middle-age approaching!)

Recently, I was paging through a Target ad and noticed they had large totes on sale. Why do they list the sizes for large plastic containers we use in our garages in LIQUID measurements? It's true. The ad will list "30 gallon tote". Do you know anyone that stores liquid in these things? I don't. Why don't they just make it easy and say something like,"20 winter sweaters size" or how about, "1 Christmas Tree worth of ornaments size" or even, "15 sets of Lego size". That way, I'd at least have an idea of what I could store in them!

Well, it's that sleepy time of afternoon on a warm day that makes even typing too much exercise, so I'll sign off after just a few words....