Silverwaters

Cherise is sick with a nasty tummy bug. It seems like she’s the only one for now, thank God, but it hurts to look at her, so tiny and usually so full of life, just lying there, calm and not moving much. I had to go out in the afternoon, but since Jo was out for the day in ZG, I didn’t know how to get there. I was thinking of hitch-hiking, but it would have taken too long, so I called my good friend who usually works during the day. As it turns out, she got off work early, and her father came back early with the car, so she drove me there and back. Thank God for His little set ups and that He worked it all out in the end. I’m just jealous that Jay got a nap with Cherise while I was out I need rest…

Cute kid: Cherise’s word for chicken nuggets–luggets

Jordan says thank you for everything right now. I hope it’s not just a faze, it’s so cute and well mannered. He’s also incredibly clean at the table. I was told I was like that as a small child too, though I distinctly remember making up for it around 6 yrs old when my dad threatened to put a bib on me, I was so messy, ha! We picked the bones together today after boiling the chicken for soup. He would pick a bone and eat the meat off (I’m talking little rib bones, not legs and such), and then wipe his hands on the little cloth he HAS to have next to him at meals. Each. and. every. time.

It’s about time I attacked the dust balls under all the beds and lurking in those hard-to-reach corners. Every year for a few years now I’ve been getting terrible allergies, kind of like hay fever when the snow begins to melt. I’m not so sure it has to do with seeds or anything like that, but more the amount of dust that gets everywhere once the snow melts and things dry out a bit. I’ve decided to try and get ahead of it this year, as I’ve been feeling itchy the last few days since the snow is melting. We’ll see if it works. Oh, and I’m getting a great workout at the same time, working the arm muscles while cleaning windows, doing squats to get under the beds clean, etc. Somehow, I know this will be good for me…

So it was up bright and early (considering it’s SUNDAY!) and off to a town over the mountain, around the hill, across the bridge, past the tree, into the village…you get the picture. We were invited to a little town carneval, so Jo and I took Cherise, two of our Croatian friends (who also helped with the animation, God bless them) and wound our way into the village just in time for our stomachs to settle with lunch. Cherse’s tummy was so upset, she couldn’t eat for 2 hrs, poor thing! We finished lunch, and then found out where the ‘parade’ was to be. We sloshed through the melting snow into the school courtyard where half the village was gathered, looking like, well, carneval. After the band led up the circus sounding music, we paraded through the streets to the delight of the other half of the village. I’ve never been in a parade before, as in, part of it, so that was a new experience. We just had to smile, wave and the girls did their juggling. Once in the little square, we were introduced and then the kids ran over to our little table to see the little gags we had brought and get balloons, of course. Since we didn’t have a stage, I ended up getting on top of the table with one of the girls to translate, and then the little volunteer got on the table as well. That was fun! Since we didn’t have enough balloons (we only got 2 bags rather than 4 from the guy who had told us he would get us 4…) we could only make balloons for the little kids, which made for a little riot. It reminded me of Drnis in the summer where we were swamped, but thankfully without the very rude preteen boys and with our two Croatian girls who were bold, tough, and made them get into lines (most of the time) and explaining over and over why not everyone could have one. I remembered that we had a big bag of regular balloons which we handed out to the bigger ones, and that made most of them happy. It was great fun making animal balloons from the table top where I stayed until the crowd was gone!

Back at home, Charlotte made a beautiful mask for the little kids disco party that one of her friends at dance school invited her to. She’s never been to a disco/dance party before, so she was looking forward to it. We basically had to take her as soon as we got back, and after one hour of hopping and jumping and wiggling all around, we headed back home where we watched the closing ceremony with a late dinner. My, what a busy day. I’m so glad I decided to get up early for my special time alone with my Maker and His Words! I’m bushed, the kids are happy, and the house is messy…will take care of that tomorrow…

We were asked to entertain at a local supermarket for their carneval children’s competition. There was a competition for the best outfit, and we were to entertain before it started and make balloons afterwards. It was fun for the kids to get out tracts and meet other children, and Cherise got 5th place for her little fairy outfit complete with facepainting. Tomorrow we have another program, and on Tuesday the madness ends, TG. Actually, we’re really thankful for these jobs, seeing as Feb is a bit of a ’slow’ month.

In other news, Jordan talks in sentences now. It’s adorable how he puts words together, and we all have fun just listening to him talk. Sometimes he just says jibberish since everyone else is talking, but at other times, he’s very clear. Like at dinner tonight he said, ‘puppies jumping up on me’ as he tried to enter in on our conversation about our day.

Cherise finished her first three readers this last week, and is making steady progress. She’s gettting the point that reading isn’t just quoting what we read at some point, or making up a story. We played a game where she had to point out the words on a page, which helped her to see similarities in words as well.

Charlotte does very well at remembering all the rules she’s learning. I’m amazed at times when she can remember which word uses which spelling, though there’s not even a rule for it. Like dear and deer. It’s amazing to me how much they pack into first grade. She started with vowels and consonants, now there’s consonant blends, consonant diagraphs, vowel sets, short and long vowels, not to mention question marks, periods, capital and lower case letters, nouns, and then of course addition, subtraction, colen, inches, cm, feet, nickles, dimes, pennies, cents, place value, and number lines. She’s also learned the seasons, weather changes, etc, etc. And this is just what comes to mind this minute! Wow! I’m making an order for next years’ books sometime soon, as I want them here before she’s done with this grade. She’s going through the books really fast, as it’s a lot of review, but review I wanted her to have, as it’s important to me that she gets the fundamentals down pat. Her fun activity now is looking through the new Word program (locked to her age group). Even though she’s read a lot in there, there’s always something new to find, and the format makes reading old material ‘new’. I’m encouraged by her reading comprehension, and often ask her something about what she’s read to make sure she’s getting it, which she usually does.

Yeah, I think I just need to stop apologizing for my inconsistency with keeping this blog updated. Suffice it to say that I’m still recovering from last weekend. We went down to ZG for our traditional Family birthday celebration with people from all over attending.

It was great fun, overall, with a new addition to our usual program. This year we went ice-skating! There’s a mall there that has an outdoor rink that’s cooled, and entrance is free if you have skates, but only Euro 0.70 to rent skates. Cherise had a great time learning to skate, and CC got to practice for a while, dancing around with the big girls. Jo and I took turns, though I was mostly with Cherise in the last hour. She picked it up remarkably fast, and was so adorable in her tiny skates!

Once back, I took a rest with Jordan while the kids played and the adults had basketball and soccer games. After dinner, the band played! It was so loud and everyone really got into it! They played some songs they had written as well as oldies and newer songs. They are really good! Actually, we’re booking shows for them to do next month at the high schools in this area as they do anti-drug programs. Their drummer is only 13! After that, the traditional dance, which was also great fun! (Took me a while to put the kids to sleep, but it was fun after that!) Actually, we hardly got to slow dance, because as soon as we were about 3 songs into the slower music the power went out, and most of us headed to bed. It was after all around 1.

Next day, we had a meeting and then headed back home after lunch. Jay stayed to help the home, as they were busy for two days and didn’t have enough people to be able to do everything they were booked for. Hence my delay in writing, I’ve been tired, plus busy, some days not even going online. Anyway, I’m back, we’re healthy, and we had a great time!

I made chapattis and paneer for dinner, and since it’s a bit of a bigger deal I have to start earlier than when I cook ‘regular’ food. Jordan was hungry early as well, so I was having a bit of a hard time keeping him happy until Charlotte taught him how to knead the dough and then flatten it so I could roll it out. He had a great time doing that, but the best part was when he would hand me the flattened one and I’d give him the next little ball, he’d say, “Thank you” each and every time. Next, he walked over to his little chair kneading dough while saying, “Hab dich lieb” (I love you) and once he was on his chair blowing me a kiss. Now that’s a precious moment!

Personally, I get the feeling it’s way overrated and has quickly become a commercial holiday trying to get more of our money. I prayed about it this morning, and was reminded of how we used to make home made gifts for such occasions. The girls know it’s a special day because Jo is REALLY into it, but I didn’t want them to think it was just about chocolates. The Lord showed me to do a baking project with them–we made heart shaped donuts. Not only was it great fun, but the girls realised (we talked more about it while baking) that love is shown through deeds and words more than just buying something special on a special day. CC suggested we decorate them with red icing, since it was too late for a chocolate topping. They brought one to Jo as soon as he came home bringing roses for all ‘his girls’. Sweet! The girls also spent a good 1 1/2 hrs making glitter cards for everyone, including Jordan. I thought that was a really sweet thing for them to do, and the collection of cards I get from them has a special place in my heart. Long live True love!

I finished posting January pix on my photo site. It’s very basic, but enables me to get our pix out the way I want. There will probably be more Jan pix, and some Feb ones are on the way.

You can see them here

We had the chance to watch the opening ceremony with the kids, which was lots of fun! It only happens once in a while, so it was a ’special occasion’ type thing. Cherise wanted me to repeat the names of every country represented, and where in the world they are, etc. They all cheered for Croatia and Germany a bit. Cherise fell asleep during the second round of dances/performances, and Jordan followed shortly afterwards. CC of course, stayed up for the whole thing. We all agreed that the way they lit the flame was original and cool. Only one of the acts was a bit strange, and they had to sing John Lennon’s Imagine, which I discovered I really don’t like! The words are horrible! Anyway, all in all, it was good, and an experience for the girls they haven’t had before.

So I was tagged, thanks to Loxy.

I didn’t really want to get into it, as I wanted to be original in what I said, but everything I thought of had been said by someone else. Oh, well, I’ll keep it short. Oh, and let me say, I’m not saying one male has all these attributes. God gave them so many good ones, but these are my favorites, and since no one is perfect, not all can apply to one single guy!

“List 8 traits about your perfect partner, and tell if they are male or female. Then tag 8 other people to do this”

1. Honest. I hate dishonesty; if I lie I feel terrible and have gotten in trouble just because I couldn’t keep it to myself. I love guys that say it truthfully, even if it hurts, and that don’t try to flatter or cover anything up. Honest in answering questions, but also not evading the truth by not saying something that should be said.

2. Good sense of humor. The ability to laugh and make me laugh, yes, that’s just great!

3. Love for the Word second only to his love for Jesus. This one speaks for itself.

4. Caring. Cares more about others than himself. Unselfish is another good word for it. Taking the time to think things through–the way it will affect others, will it make someone else feel good, etc.

5. Empathy. Tries to understand what I’m going through even though I might not express it right. Tries to understand others around him.

6. Mature. No point in having a body of a 35 yr old and acting like a 15 yr old!

7. Clean, tidy, smells good, takes care of his body. Yeah, these speak for themselves as well. Nothing turns me on quite as much as a clean smell on a guy, even if it’s just soap.

8. Well mannered. Opening doors for women, eating quietly, says all the ‘magic words’, and not the belching, farting, crotch scratching! Ewwwww!

I do not have 8 people I want to tag, so I’ll make my little list here:

Serena
Kaia
Zeth

Yep, that’s all folks!