The History Center

Another busy week is behind us! Our February field trip took us to the History Center in Fort Wayne. There the girls were sent on a scavenger hunt. All the exhibits in the museum are numbered, so as we moved from room to room, they looked for answers to the questions on their guide. It was fun and interesting, but by the time the final exhibit was seen, we were all tired and ready to go.

Megan's favorite part was the last exhibit - the jail. That night around the dinner table, the girls talked the most about this particular exhibit. Strange, isn't it, just cement walls and iron bars, but they found it fascinating that the benches inside each cell were about a foot (if that) off the ground. This was because the prisoners in these cells were drunkards, and the low benches prevented them from hurting themselves if they fell off their bed. The walls were full of graffiti. Grace found a section of tally marks, so she counted how long that prisoner was behind bars. Leah wasn't so sure about being behind bars.

Grace liked seeing the replica of a Conestoga wagon. She had recently finished reading a book about traveling west in the covered wagons, so it was neat to see a model of one.

Leah enjoyed the doll house. When she pushed the buttons at the bottom, the light in that respective room lit up. She really did a great job keeping up with us as we moved from exhibit to exhibit.

I personally enjoyed the Underground Railroad Code-Quilts. It is amazing to me all the intricate work put into each section, each with its own message in assisting the slaves onto freedom. Here is a sample of some of them.

~Wee

Eeeaaakkk!!!

That's the sound that came out of my mouth several times this afternoon! The reason ~ I spied a mouse in the girls' room. After seeing movement out of the corner of my eye, I saw it run from their bathroom, along the wall, behind the bed, and there it stayed until Alex (oh, I'm so glad he was home!) could move some things away from the wall so we could better see it and get at it. We had it cornered behind Grace's bed for a while (thankfully her bed has a solid wood frame that goes clear to the floor), but it got away from us and ran into the closet. Ha! There it was trapped. As Alex cleared away shoes, bags, and more junk, I blocked the door to the closet with a flattened box, which worked great at keeping the little rodent inside the closet. That is, until it got away and ran behind the door (must have gotten past my barrier due to my jumpy reactions). Anyway, Alex, however, was ready with the end of the broom handle and that is how he killed it. Sick, I know, but it's dead. Throughout the whole episode, I think I frightened poor little Leah by my reaction every time I saw the fast little critter. It gives me the willies just thinking about it again! Once Leah was on top of Megan's bed, rather than on the floor, she calmly watched everything. I am just so thankful that I was in the right place at the right time in order to even see it.

I very much dislike mice. We have been in this house for 4 1/2 years and have only seen and caught two mice. That was over 2 1/2 years ago, and we have never seen any evidence of their presence since then, and even before that we hadn't. About a month ago, I found droppings in a small cupboard/drawer. Everything inside the drawer was taken out, washed, and the area disinfected. A trap was set, but no further evidence was seen for a few weeks. So, everything was put back inside. Recently, though, I saw droppings again in the same location. Once again a trap was set, only this time with peanut butter on it. Today after seeing the mouse, Alex went and got that trap and the peanut butter was gone. That blasted creature.

Alex swept and cleaned out both registers.

Well, "good" did come from the "bad" in that the girls' room is extremely clean and disinfected. Any holes or cracks were sealed up with steel wool, beds were literally turned upside down and stripped and those linens were washed. Registers were swept out. Walls were wiped down. Oh my goodness, we cleaned and we cleaned. Their room looks so nice, and it gives me great satisfaction having most of the main floor thoroughly cleaned! Grace kept saying, "I like my room. Dad, thanks for helping us with our room. Mom, thanks for cleaning. I'm not glad that there was a mouse in our room, but I am glad to have our room cleaned." Now, if they would only keep it that way! When I asked them if they now understand the importance of keeping their room cleaned and picked up, they both answered, "that since they had a mouse in their room, yes, they understand."

The girls loved the finished product and I do too! I just wish I had taken a before photo. What an improvement. I know a few posts ago, I claimed that I had a greater appreciation for God's animal kingdom after visiting the vet hospital, but that appreciation does not apply to mice, and I could name several others that it doesn't apply to, as well.

As we put the girls to bed tonight, I will admit that I was leery about having them sleep in their room. Lord, even though it's very freaky, if there are any more mice in our house, please bring them out into the open so they will be caught. And Lord, I would really love it if that mouse was single! Amen."

~Wee

It was a Civil War-filled Day

After finishing up Math and Spelling this morning, we devoted the rest of our school day to our Civil War lapbooks/and history pockets. We literally worked on them from about 11:30 to 5:00, breaking only for lunch and to tend to other areas of necessity. As patriotic music played from the speakers in our school room, we sang, we cut, we glued, we colored, we laughed, we talked....we really enjoyed our time together around the table.

Some of the time Leah sat with us at the table and cut little pieces of papers to glue down on her own paper. She spent some time looking through her own lapbook that Megan had made for her with numbers, letters, shapes, etc. Or she went off and read books or just played. She did a great job entertaining herself. She even brought us a snack of pretzels and cheese.
Here she is with a pile of books, one for each letter of the alphabet, and she went through the entire stack!

Allow me to share some fun snippets of conversations that emerged from our time spent around the school table :)

We were discussing Taps - what they were and how they were used in the Civil War. We came across a little song that went along with the notes to Taps, so I went and played it on the piano to help demonstrate what they would have sounded like. Before we had started our discussion, however, Grace asked, "What are taps?" To which Leah answered, "Taps is what you do in ballet."

After Megan had assembled her Civil War Recipes booklet, she decided to plan our menu for tonight's dinner. Some of those items were swamp cabbage stew, pickled pigs feet, skillygallee, coosh, crawdads, johnny cakes, and fried hardtack. Does any of that sound yummy, or even appetizing? You can imagine the comments that were said as she read through the recipes.

Then, talking about the soldiers' life and the types of shelters they would have had, the girls each made a model of a pup tent. After Megan had hers constructed, she sat back to admire it.

M: "Look at my pup tent."

G: "Maybe we can make one."

M: "With a gun? We don't even HAVE a gun."

(FYI, just in case you didn't know, the soldiers would use their rifles to prop the tent up.) They went on to discuss how they could construct their own real pup tent since we don't possess a gun.

By the time 5:00 rolled around, we were becoming a little slap happy ~ every conversation hit its funny mark. It was fun to hear all the laughter and even silliness. Though we were all pretty tired of cutting, coloring, and gluing, the girls sure had some neat things to show off to Dad when he arrived home.

~Wee

A Tribute to Tess

Today marks the 10th anniversary of my sister's death. This entry is in loving memory of my sister, Tess, who flew home to her Creator, Redeemer and Lord 10 years ago today ~ February 18, 1999.

10 years ago I didn't know at the time that I would spend the last week of my sister’s life with her. 10 years ago I had no idea what it was like to say goodbye, for good. Though 10 years have passed, my memories are still very real. I don't mean this to be sad or morbid, just a reflection back on those days, 10 years ago....

• A little over 10 years ago, four-month-old Megan and I flew to Austin, Texas, for 2 weeks to be of help to my sister, Tess, and to stay with their two boys while she went to Houston for treatment. Tess and I would walk the Austin mall searching for a new warm-up suit to fit her thinning body that she could wear that Christmas, her last.
• 10 years ago, we would hear a doctor say, “There’s nothing more we can do here (at M.D. Anderson). We’re sending her home to be placed on hospice care."
• 10 years ago I would fly to Austin, Texas, with now six-month-old Megan to hopefully spend some quality time with Tess before the cancer changed her personality or affected her speech or consciousness.
• 10 years ago, I would walk in the front door of my sister’s home to see her lying in a hospital bed in front of the big picture window, make eye contact with her, and hear her raspy, weak voice say, “Hi Wee.”
• 10 years ago, I would sit for many hours by her bedside, hold her hand, rub her skin, place my warm hands on her cold feet, speak promises of scripture into her ear, join in song as her husband sang her favorite songs to her, or just…..sit and pray. I would watch as she looked wide-eyed up at the ceiling (seeing angels, I'm sure) or point off into the distance.
• 10 years ago, I would witness a horrendous scene - that of my sister having a grand mal seizure as a result of the pressure built up around her brain. From that point on, she basically was unconscious.
• 10 years ago, I would know what it’s like to be waiting for what seemed to be the inevitable. I would know what it was like for my sister’s friends, her church family, her Bible Study gals come to share their love for her or to say their good-byes.
• 10 years ago, I would know what it was like to actually be thinking that I'd rather see my sister go to heaven than to see her suffering continue.
• 10 years ago, I would actually look for various “signs of death” on my sister's body.
• 10 years ago, I would experience excitement as it seemed she was regaining consciousness, only to have it be possible because her body was no longer taking in fluids and the pressure around her brain was decreasing.
• 10 years ago, I would know that helpless feeling of hearing my sister’s lungs fill up with fluid and being unable to do anything about it. I would know what it was like to watch my sister struggle to even get a breath.
• 10 years ago, I would know what it was like to feel a warm, strong hand go cold and limp. To watch the flesh colored skin turn to gray.
• 10 years ago, I would know what it was like to feel that final heart beat, pull out the feeding tube, and unhook the IV; to throw away all unused medications and supplies.
• 10 years ago, I would sit around the bed that held the empty body of my sister and meet with the pastor, reminiscing about her life.
• 10 years ago, I would make the phone call to my husband telling him about my sister‘s death.
• 10 years ago, I would sit by, listening and watching my mom as she contacted family members and rehashed the details on every single phone call.
• 10 years ago, I would watch as the funeral director came to the house, placed my sister’s body in a black bag, and wheel it out of her house on a stretcher for the final time.
• 10 years ago, I would lie awake in my bed next to my sleeping baby realizing how drastically my life had just changed.
• 10 years ago, I knew what it was like to hear plans of my sister's funeral take place, to sit in on the meeting with the pastor and funeral director. I knew what it was like to receive cards, flowers, and phone calls saying, "I'm sorry for your loss. I'm praying for you".
• 10 years ago, I would love on her two young boys, who are left without their “Mommy.”
• 10 years ago and 1 day, I would wake up to an empty hospital bed in the living room, reminding me that my sister is no longer with us on this earth, but at home with her Creator ~ whole, healed and healthy.
• 10 years ago and 1 day, I would stand in my sister's closet and help pick out her burial dress. Later that day, I would fly back home to Iowa.
• 10 years ago and 2 days, I would take my husband to the airport and send him off to the Dominican Republic on a scheduled medical work team, then I would drive to Illinois and await my parents’ arrival back from Texas.
• 10 years ago, I would know what it was like to figure out what to wear to my big sister's funeral; learn how to eat when I wasn't hungry.
• 10 years ago and 6 days I would learn what it was like to see my big sister, lifeless, in a casket. I would know what it was like to see friends and family come say their final good-byes.
• 10 years ago and 7 days I would know what it was like to attend the funeral of my sister I knew for 31 years. I would know what it was like to watch my sister's body get buried in the ground, fully knowing her soul was home, in heaven. I would receive a rose from atop her casket.
• 10 years ago, I was learning what it was like to begin to live life “without my sister.”
• 10 years ago, I had no idea how those events would effect my life. God has been there through the struggles, the laughter, the tears, the life lessons, etc. He has seen our family through the 10 years Tess has been gone, and yet it makes me sad that I didn't get to share motherhood with her, home-schooling with her, my girls with her, my life with her. I still miss her so much. I miss her friendship. I miss her laughter. I miss her being only a phone call away. I miss our long talks. I miss her encouragement, her perspective, her positive attitude, her understanding. And I miss her unending love.

But, it doesn't matter anyway ~ because I know what she has been doing the past 10 years. And the best part is, she doesn't have to come back to this sinful world ~ full of death, loss, heartbreak, hunger, tears, etc. But I get to go where she is and where our Father is, waiting for us. I get to run on the streets of gold and worship God as I, too, was made to do. That is the day I long for.

So while these 10 years have been far from easy, I look forward to time again with my sister where there will be no more cancer, no meds, no sin, no guilt, no shame, no regret...I long. I ache. I crave that day.

~Wee

A Visit to the Vet Hospital

The January (though scheduled in February) field trip for the younger grades took us to the Northeast Indiana Veterinary Emergency Specialty Hospital. It was very interesting. While we were waiting in the lobby waiting for our tour to start, several owners walked in with their pets. One dog looked like it was trembling, but I overheard the owner tell the assistant that he was having one of its seizures. That dog was taken straight back, bypassing the exam room.
This St. Bernard was getting an IV put in. They had already shaved him and put the iodine on. I asked if the dog felt much pain, and they said that since he was sedated, he didn't feel much, if any.

After the tour guide explained the various aspects about their facility, the first stop was one of the exam rooms. As we were heading into the room, Leah whimpered and asked me, "Where are we going, Mommy?" I realized that her recent visits to the dentist were coming back to her. I assured her that we weren't there for her, but that this was an animal hospital. Now I understood why she wanted me to hold her while we waited in the lobby and was clinging to me as we moved toward the exam room. Poor baby.

We saw tools used for examining the animals upon their arrival at the hospital. In the x-ray department, the girls were able to try on the lead aprons, gloves, and mitts used by the technicians when taking x-rays. Megan has on an apron and a thyroid shield.

Grace puts on the mitt. Everything was so heavy.We were allowed to examine x-rays and see if we could identify what was wrong.
This dog was muzzled and still sedated from having x-rays taken.

From there we got to peek into the surgery room where a surgery was actually taking place. There was a dog in ICU that had an oxygen tube in its nose and was getting ready for surgery. We ended our tour in the isolation room, where contagious animals are seen and treated.
Surgery being performed.

I am not a big pet person, but I will say that I left there with a greater appreciation for the animal kingdom God created!

~Wee

P.S. All pictures were taken with permission.

Week No. 2

I realize it's been about two weeks since I've entered a post. Things have been busy here ~ between basketball, school, field trips, work, basketball, school -- it's a cycle that keeps on moving. Thanks for joining our whirlwind lives!

Here, Megan is crouched down in the middle. Notice the TALL girl behind her. I didn't stand next to this young lady, but I reckon that she is taller than I am. Grace is on the far right.

The highlight of this game was that since the head coach had to work, Alex got to be the assistant coach. Here, Megan is enjoying break time by Dad.

Once again, Leah is with me on the sidelines. As you can see, she does a great job occupying herself during the game. Give her a snack and she's happy.

~Wee

Living History

In history, we have been studying slavery, Harriet Tubman, and Abraham Lincoln, and are on the verge of heading into the Civil War. The girls are devouring the books we have on the subject matter, and after hearing them report facts they're learning, I feel I'm the one missing out. I might just have to go back and read the books, as well.

After putting Leah down for nap time this afternoon, this is the scene I encountered upon entering the family room.
Megan Grace

So..... the above leads to this....stop #2 on the Underground Railroad. I walked up behind the girls last night: Megan dressed in street clothes, and Grace and Leah both in their prairie dresses. Megan was loaded down carrying two pillowcases, stuffed (and I mean stuffed) full of their "belongings." Leah was pushing a cart, which was just as loaded. Grace had already rounded the corner, so I didn't see what she was carrying, but I'm sure her arms were just as full. Walking up behind them, I heard Megan holler out to Grace, "Grace, help her " (Leah couldn't quite get her full cart over the thresh hold). "Grace, hurry! I hear hoof beats! They might be coming!" Maybe those hoof beats were me creeping up on them from behind, I don't know. (Didn't think I had that heavy of a foot.)
I asked: "Whatcha girls doing?"

reply: "We're slaves and we're running away."

Me again: "Where are you going?"

reply: "Canada." (of course!)

I guess I should have figured that out, because they had come out from their bedroom and "hid" under the dining room table for a spell. They were on the way to the next stop on their journey to freedom (which was our bedroom) when I happened upon them.

Tonight their play resumed. Alex was hanging up several of his shirts on the doorknob of the game/toy closet, getting ready to iron them. Noticing that the closet light was on, he promptly flipped the switch to off. This action was met with a bang on the door and a scrambling sound coming from inside the closet. He opened the doors to find this....Leah quickly said, "Shut the door; we're running away."


After a day like today, I must say that I truly hope they NEVER run away. I sure felt like a mean master!


~Wee

Students can be Teachers

Tuesdays the girls have their ballet and tap classes. Today, after her school work was done, I found Miss Grace "teaching" Miss Leah (a very willing student, indeed!) various ballet positions. Snippets I heard as I listened in are:

• "Let's go to 1st position."
• "Everybody face me."
• "We're going to go like this...open this...ready...go up and place your hands on the bar...go back down..."
• "Hands on hip. Jump to 2nd."
• "You did good! See you next week."

Here, Miss Grace is demonstrating how to land in a jump.After working on her floor positions, Leah moves to the bar (which, in our house, is the edge of the dining room table).

Tap class follows under the leadership of Miss Megan.

~Wee