Afternoon at the Museum

A couple of months ago, Danny and I spent a day at the Creation Museum. We liked it so much, we decided to return - with our three oldest kiddos. It worked out perfectly: since we'd already had a chance to check out every detail of the place, we knew which displays to focus on with the kids and which to move through more quickly.

They loved the dinosaur display; Noah's ark; the planetarium; the botanical gardens and petting zoo; and the fact that we ate lunch in the back of the van before we went in! (There was a picnic area, but we didn't feel like hauling the cooler.)

Something I never knew before: since donkeys, horses, and zebras are all part of the same family, they can breed amongst themselves. Today we saw both a zonkey and a zorse (and Danny wondered aloud why a donkey/horse mix wouldn't be called a "honkey").

So, thanks to some wonderful friends who have been kind enough to share their guest passes with us,
we thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon at the museum, marveling at God's amazing design. Karis did great, but I would definitely recommend taking kids who are at least 5 and up - a lot of it seems especially geared for elementary aged kids & teens.

And a special thanks to Aunt Hannah, Esther and Luke, who took care of Mr. Moo so we wouldn't have his craziness to deal with at the museum!

We're Finally Cool . . . Almost

Last weekend, Danny had the privilege of marrying a young couple at our church. It was a beautiful, fun wedding and reception; our only mistake was attempting, for the first and last time, to bring all four of our munchkins. (Next time we're going to have to make other arrangements for Mr. Moo!) It always brings such joy to see 2 people joined together who honestly desire to honor Christ with their marriage and to watch them grow together.

The bride and groom used my FIL's red convertible to ride away in; then they parked it at our place, so we could return it the following day, and drove their car. So, we did what anyone in our position with class and style would have done: drove it to McDonald's. We crammed Zekers, Karis and Mr. Moo in the back, and Rach, Danny and I sat up front. And did we ever live it up - we drove at least 25 mph to McD's and then around town. Are we cool or what??

So, here is a little glimpse of our night on the town . . .

Big Mac, anyone?


Rach and I had fun with the camera.



Malachi's favorite spot is the driver's seat.

Rainy Days and Sunny Days

I am absolutely LOVING this summer - cooler temps, and the last few weeks have brought a considerable amount of rain. Of course, rain means soggy kiddos, as they love to run out and "drink" it and splash around in puddles. They are never ready to come back into the house until they are thoroughly soaked. But to see their little uplifted faces, hands raised to the skies and tongues sticking out - it makes me want to run out and soak up some rain myself.

Speaking of rain, we had planned to go to the Columbus Zoo with our good friends Dave & Johanna, whom we've known since our college days, and their munchkins. But a steady downpour forced us instead to stay indoors and actually spend time talking. So, the adults spent time together while the kiddos played. It turned out to be much more fun (for the adults!) than the zoo would have been. And, as usual, we have a picture of all the kids together, and none of the adults. (The kids are a lot cuter!)

Several weeks ago, the kiddos and I also got to spend some time with their grandma and great-grandma. Poor Grandma lost her earring at the park, but other than that, everyone had a good time.

The more comfortable weather has allowed us to spend more time outdoors this summer than we normally do. Zeke learned last week to ride a bike without training wheels, thanks to the $5 bike we found at a garage sale a few weeks ago. I never realized kids' bikes come in three different sizes until about a month ago! So he had one way-too-small bike and one bike that will be perfect in about 2 years. But now, with the right size bike, he zooms around the block like nobody's business.





We've also spent many happy hours at the pool, where both Rachel and Zekers are learning to swim quite well. If you are ever in a pool with Zekers, you've got to ask him to show you his underwater swim. It may be one of the funniest things I've ever seen. How I wish I was brave enough to take the camcorder to the pool.

And finally, Moo is getting old enough to spend time with some of his friends - and having a blast. It's a messy, challenging time, but I just love little boys this age. And they're even more fun as they get older.

Anger Management

Saturday we drove to Columbus for our annual Emch family reunion (my mom's side). There were 40 people present, if you count the 2 who came in utero, and a good time was had by all. The kids did water balloons in the afternoon, and some of the adults joined in. Mr. Moo spent a deliriously happy hour grabbing one water balloon after another, sticking them in his mouth and chomping down until they burst open - all over him. Good thing we brought a change of clothes!

We left at around 7, and all of the kiddos slept the whole way home and then went straight to bed - except for Zekers, who stayed awake for the 2-hour drive and pretty frequently informed us how bored he was.

A couple of weeks ago, I started reading a book called Heart of Anger by Lou Priolo. I borrowed it from a friend because I was beginning to suspect that one or more of our kiddos had anger issues - and because I was desperate! The more I read, the more I realize I am reading for my own anger issues. Each page is more convicting than the one before; I actually stopped reading for a few days so I could let the information percolate for a while.

This list of 25 things that provoke children to anger was like a sucker punch to the stomach. I had never thought about some of these before, how they can frustrate and provoke a child. It was good to read, though - because it helped me to identify the ungodly ways I respond to my kids, but also gave me hope, because there are some things we're doing right! (by God's grace)
He gave several paragraphs of explanation for each, but I'll just list them out:

1. lack of marital harmony
2. establishing and maintaining a child-centered home
3. modeling sinful anger
4. habitually disciplining while angry
5. scolding
6. inconsistency in discipline
7. having double standards
8. being legalistic
9. not admitting you're wrong and not asking for forgiveness
10. constantly finding fault
11. parents reversing God-given roles
12. not listening to your child's opinion or taking his/her "side of the story" seriously
13. comparing your children to others
14. not making time just to talk
15. not praising / encouraging your child
16. failing to keep your promises
17. chastening in front of others
18. not allowing enough freedom
19. allowing too much freedom
20. mocking your child
21. abusing your child physically
22. ridiculing or name calling
23. unrealistic expectations
24. practicing favoritism
25. child-training with worldly methodologies, inconsistent with God's Word


Five of these items were particularly convicting for me. But now that I've identified some of the problem, I can start asking God to help me turn things around!

He also goes into the "gumnazo principle" - training in godliness. Any kind of training involves lots of practice, and disciplining kids is no different. One of the key elements in training kids to respond in the right way is to have the practice the right way. So, when I hear any of them speaking to each other or to me or Danny in an inappropriate way, I simply ask them to rephrase what they said, (changing tone of voice, body language, and words) and practice saying it the right way!

Things haven't been perfect by any stretch, but I have seen some improvement, and that is encouraging. Danny has even said that after he finishes the incredibly boring books he's currently reading, he might read this one as well.

So if you hear any of our kiddos screaming in public, just know that we're still a work in progress!

Post #300

We've all heard something to this effect when we were first married: "The number of times you have sex from your third year of marriage on, will never equal the number of times you have sex during the first 2 years." Or, as I was told: "If, during your first 2 years of marriage, you deposit a quarter into a jar each time you have sex, and every year after that you remove a quarter each time you have sex, you'll never empty the jar."

While I don't think marriage has to be this way, I do think blogging tends to be. If I blog for the rest of my life at my current rate, I'll be at least 90 before I have another 300 under my belt. (as opposed to the first 2 years, when I posted about every other day!)

This week, however, I am determined to return to the days of old and put up several updates. I have WAY too many pictures and stories from the last month to post them all, but I am resolved to post at least 2 more times before next Sunday. But I've spent so much time today already uploading pics from my camera, and getting rid of all the red-eye (At what age do kids stop getting red eyes in pictures??); not to mention deleting 4 months' worth of emails . . . that I think I will come back to this another day. I thought technology was supposed to SAVE time!