Oma and Opa visit in April/May

We only see them every two to three years so our time together is precious.  Here is some of the photos of Martin's parents, his brother Peter and mine and Martin's little family during the visit.

The stories of fleeing Nazi invaded Poland and occupied Germany never cease to amaze us.  The stories about the mission field are encouraging.  My inlaws divine viewpoint attitude in many if not most things, is a direct result of enduring all of life's challenges with the Lord as their guide.

Another sweet one to love.  I hope he will get time to know them and their love too while here.

They lead us in songs we all sing together or try to anyway, we read books together aloud, share our thoughts, play some games and just take time to bridge the generation gap and cultural gap with easy conversation.

We had several meals together.  This time is from the first visit.  There were two.  They stayed with Peter.

Listening, munching.

They have been married 53 years.  My husband is one of their three sons.  They have been missionaries to one area in Cameroun, Africa for over 45+ years, supplanting indigenous pastors and creating a written language for the people of the area who did not have one when they first arrived in the early 1960's.  That is just the surface of them and all that I love to learn about them.

Bible Book Song and Chore Listing

My sister sent me this link to a YouTube of Bible Songs or all the books of the Bible, in order as written in the Bible and then, set to music.  It is a funky song that somehow reminds me of The Beatles.  Listen to it here.  In fact, often I turn up some music to change the grumpy mood that can set in among our tribe.  You know mama.  One child is not happy about something and then it just spreads among the others like a plague.  So, get some music on to change it.  It works every time, every time.  I used it this morning as the boys were fussing about the almost three year little sister who was wrecking their Lego paradise.  As if that won't happen again...sigh.  This will be a fun song to play repetitively through our days so they can learn the names and maybe the order..maybe I will too.  There was a song about the 50 Nifty United States that I believe I learned when I was about 8 years old or in second grade.  To this day, I still know it and can now teach it to my children.  I used to know how to play along on my old guitar too.  I wish to dust that thing off too and play at times but that still has stops and starts to it...as you may have read in the last post, my fingers are busy knitting and what fun all that can be for me!

Chore listing.  What is that?  Charlotte Mason has written much on the value of habit training.  Go to this link to read on about natural consequences and soak up why we should value it in teaching our children.  And, sadly, I see children when I am out and about, who just have not had much training.  They seem to "grow like weeds" as a friend said to me one day.  Besides that very hands on story, what about obedience and submission to the Lord?  These values are imparative.  Children should be permitted to be messy, uncoordinated, sloppy, forgetful and silly but that does not mean that at a young age, we do not "train" them up right.  In keeping with those thoughts and beliefs, I have realized that along with teaching Financial Peace, Jr. from Dave Ramsey, order here, I needed a definitive, monetarily tied chore list.  A list that they can choose from, on their own, in order to gain cash.  So my hope is that it won't just be me doling out chores but they can choose to work and reap the benefits, and the cash money.  I also have a new reader who can read these to his younger sibs so there will be no assistance from me in choosing to take the needed initiative.  So here is my list so far, it is very short and carefully thought out, all ages and abilities considered.  It is not finished, there is plenty to add!! :

Fold laundry load and sort into piles $.75
Collect garbage cans with lids and put back behind gate, close gate $.50
Mommy or Daddy back massage ;-)  $1.00  (so far, my favorite!)

Do you have a list to share that you tie a money value to for your children to choose from on their own?  Please share as I would love the help!  I do have chores that they are expected to do and not get paid for such as get dressed, make bed, feed/water cats, brush teeth...and all the details of those chores that still require coaching.

Surgery Prep in Martin's words

John 10 : 27-30

My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me

and I give eternal life to them and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of My hand

My Father who has given them to Me is greater then all and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand

I and the Father are one

John 3 : 15-16

so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life

For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Acts 16:31

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved

Josh 1:9

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Prov 6:22

When you walk about Bible doctrine will guide you. When you sleep Bible doctrine will watch over and when you awake Bible doctrine will talk to you.


Hi everyone,

We are but a few days away from surgery and have had time to prepare, reflect and be thankful. Since it is the week of Thanksgiving, it is a good time to think about being thankful for everything.

We can be thankful that the gift of salvation is for all of us and that it requires no human input other then your volition and saying " I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ ".

We can be thankful that nothing can snatch us from the hand of God. This is a tremendous comfort and manifestation of eternal security.

We can be thankful for the logistical grace from God that sustains us every day.

We can be thankful for the extension of grace that we have to spend time with family and loved ones and to have the freedom to do so.

We can be thankful for our freedom that we have right now which is also an extension of His grace.

We approach my upcoming surgery on the 30th of November with peace of mind and a relaxed mental attitude. I will either wake up after surgery and see my wife or I will wake up in heaven. The Lord in eternity past took care of the details and we have faith in Him that all things will work out. Even if He takes me home, my wife and the kids will be provided for. That gives us confidence and hope.

My surgery will be somewhat involved and complex. They will remove half of my lower jaw that is dead or dying and all the tissue around it that has scar tissue and has not responded to any therapy. This is all a by product of radiation, the gift that keeps on giving. It will be replaced with a part of my leg (fibula bone) and donor tissue from my calf and thigh. They also plan to use a piece of titanium in the reconstruction phase. The estimated time for this surgery is about 8 hours, 3 hours to take out and 5 hours to rebuild.

At the same time, they will look and test for any new cancerous tumors that maybe in my mouth. If they do find cancer, they will have to modify the process and address that challenge as well.

After surgery, they will move me to the ICU unit for a period of time until I can be moved to the rehab floor to recover. The first 24-48 hours are critical in that the donor flap is monitored to make sure my body is not rejecting it.

One of the side effects of using my fibular bone is that I will tend to walk in circles due to the missing piece in my leg. Since it is my right leg that will have the fibular bone section removed, I will walk in only right circles......talk about hanging out with the right crowd! This will actually be very helpful for my wife because as I get older and more senile, all she has to do is throw me out into the back yard and I will wander around in circles and never be out of sight. Even the kids will be able to keep track of me.

As to the titanium plate, we were in luck. With the cancellation of the shuttle program at NASA, they have started to sell off or donate shuttle parts. We were able to get a piece from the wing in a trade for a teleprompter. NASA said that some guy in Washington needed the teleprompter as his died on 2 Nov, 2010. I also got a discount on the surgery by bringing my own tools for the surgeons to use. I had an extra Ryobi sawsall with extra batteries that will be quite handy.....not to mention the year supply of hurricane duct tape that we did not need due to global cooling.

The ongoing battle with the bone fracture and necrosis has effected me in the last weeks. My mouth has slowly closed to a point where my teeth are touching and no longer can be opened. I manage to stuff food through a small opening on one side where I am missing some teeth. I try to keep my mouth and teeth clean by using the water spray from the shower, a water pick and oral rinses that have antibiotics and cleaners in them. Even if with all that, I still have an infection that makes my daily routine an adventure.

My left side of my face has become quite swollen due to the dead bone and infection. This has spread into other areas of my mouth and made talking and swallowing a challenge. I look and feel like you know what.

I remember the good old days from about 6 weeks ago when I could still get my obturator out.....funny how 5 mm can be such a big deal.

Yet we are mandated in the Bible to be thankful in ALL things. A funny little quote from my dad puts it into perspective.

"When you are being thankful, you do not have time to complain". (He used a different word for complain....rhymes with itch)

I Thes 5:18

In everything give thanks for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

I will not be sending out an email until after surgery. Traci will get the word out via our church, email and a few other contacts while I am in the ICU unit. I plan to email everyone once I am on the rehab floor of the hospital.

Attached is the photo of the man praying and being thankful. I love that print and wanted to pass it on again. Thanks in advance for the prayer support and encouragement.

Semper Fi

Martin, Traci, Gunnar, Winston and Tessa

PS ~ With exception of a few people I have spoken to specifically or unless I have been contacted personally, please DO NOT visit the hospital while Martin is in surgery/recovery. We would prefer privacy during this challenging healing time with plenty of room for rest and recooperation, minimizing germs during cold/flu season (that is not just for Martin but for visitors too...the hospital is the worst place to find every kind of germ imaginable), etc. and would embrace your full prayer support instead. Thank you for understanding and respecting our wishes. ~ Traci

Romans 8:28 ~ And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love (TRUST) God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

"Food" for times of testing

Isaiah 57:10
" You were tired out by the length of your road,
Yet you did not say, ' It is hopeless. '
You found renewed strength,
Therefore you did not faint. "

Isaiah 41:10
" Do not fear, For I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you,
for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

Phil 4:11
" Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be
content in whatever circumstances I am."

Phil 4:13
" I can do all things though Him who strengthens me."

1 Thes 5:18
"In everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you
in Christ Jesus."

Rom 8:31 & 32
"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us
who is against us?

" He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over
us all, how will He not also with Him freely give is all things?"

An update in Martin's words

Hi everyone,

This is a short update on my family and myself. We have had quite a month of trials. Yet, we have come through it and we are still standing. We do have some battle scars though.

About 4 weeks ago, we had to take our daughter Tessa to the emergency clinic at the hospital. She had a virus and it was starting to cause dehydration. Our family physician had recommended that based on her observation of Tessa during the doctor's visit. Fortunately, once we got to the ER, Tessa revived and was able to keep some liquid nourishment down and did not need an IV. We were blessed to have a very helpful nurse who knew what to do. We were discharged after a few hours. Tessa recovered in due time and was back to her usual self. As parents, this is quite a test to wait on the Lord.

A week later we were at the same ER again. This time it was my wife. I had to call for an ambulance. She had a miscarriage at 12 weeks. The physical and emotional aspects of this were quite intense. The loss cannot be described. We were blessed to have a good doctor and nursing staff who took care of Traci. Traci was discharged later in the day and able to go home. We stayed with her parents so that she could rest. We have had to reach into our memory bank and apply divine solutions to the human problems and seek comfort in the Lord's provisions and His plan for your life. For both Traci and I, this is an incredible test, yet we can find the comfort we need in the Word of God and His promises.

Last Sunday afternoon, the left side of my face became very swollen and painful. My jaw mobility was reduced to about 1-2mm. In the process of trying to open my mouth to remove my mouth piece, I heard a load crack or pop. At first I thought I broke a tooth. When I did not find anything, I then realized that it was something else. I assumed that I had re-fractured my jaw. I went of an xray at the MDA ER which did not show anything. The doctor on call thought that the swollen tissue was a result of my "breaking" some of the scar tissue or fibroid tissue while trying to get the mouth piece out. Hence the loud crack or popping noise.

I am scheduled for more tests at MDA today and next week to determine what the cause is. I also am scheduled for a panoramic xray of my jaws so that we can with confidence rule out a fracture.
In the meantime, I continue my routine and am using ice packs and compresses to keep the swelling down.
As I find out more details, I will provide an update.

Some have asked about my hyperbaric treatments and I completed 32 dives. I will not be doing any more "dives". I accomplished what I had hoped for which was to reduce or eliminate the infection in the back of my mouth.

I left out two small minor details that happened in the last 2 days. The first was on Tuesday afternoon when I had the whole family in the van. We were waiting at the intersection for the light to turn green. It turned green and I proceeded across the intersection and was 3/4 of the way through when we heard tires squealing...I looked in the rear view mirror and saw a pickup who had run the red light and missed us by 2 seconds. Had he hit us, it would have been square on right where all the kids were. I told my wife that obviously it was not our time to go to heaven. Yesterday while I was in the ER, my wife called and calmly told me that while putting gas in the van, she heard what sounded like water running and then realized that all the gas was running out on the pavement....the fuel line was compromised...kids all in the van...3 gallons of gas all over.... She was able to pull away and wait for our mechanic who came out to take care of it.

Thanks again to everyone for your prayer support

Semper Fi

Martin, Traci, Gunnar, Winston and Tessa

(3a.m.)'Sometimes I cry a little bit'

As M was gathering up to make ready for work, I met him in the kitchen since I rise at 5:30am during the week to get ahead of the little ones and for my personal time. As I was sending him off, he tells me that G6 was up at 3am to tell him goodbye. (He thought daddy was already leaving for work then) Then what he said, made me still. He told his father that when he goes to work, 'sometimes I cry a little' and I worry about you. How precious. Stoking the fires to keep M moving and positive. A small reminder of the love here at home for him.

Healing. A long process.

Although raised by wonderful missionary parents who constantly remind me that things change, people change but God never changes!....M struggles, and so do I, with this healing 'phase' of cancer treatment. The facts are these. His mouth constantly re closes and seems to rebel against opening the more therapy and stretching that he imposes upon it. The Naturopathic doc is helping and the help is gentle but a lingering infection in his neck, probably difficult to kill because of his lack of lymph nodes (I am not sure) is preventing vigorous health. M is loaded up with great herbs, vitamins, minerals and nutrition but imagine.....I can cheat with nutrition..cookies and cake here and there...M does not eat these things (or rarely anyway since they won't fit in) and still, infections linger on. This one has sustained a good 5-6 weeks and I am concerned.

Earlier in the year, he developed necrosis. It is decaying, dying bone tissue resulting from the radiation. It is somewhere in his jaw and actually causes pain. It was a concern of the oncologists and now a concern of mine. M will be calling M.D. Anderson today I think. He has to keep the Naturopath in the loop with what these docs will be recommending. It requires M to be a real discerning consumer with a bunch of white coats which is challenging for most folks.

So now, I want to share more of his (Actually, I wrote this particular one about him which includes an inspiring article by Tony Snow that was very meaningful to him at the time and even now) inspiring testimony when he was in the thick of treatment last year. I know of one thing for sure. God honors obedience and faith in His perfect plan...no matter how imperfect we may perceive it.

How do I keep going? I blog, I knit, I craft, I nurture our children and home educate...I drink a little wine but most of all my soul is restored when reminded of God's perfect provision.

(photos courtesy of Schindewolf Road on Christmas Eve 2009)

An email from me, almost 14 days after M's first cancer surgery (August 26, 2008, 12:34am) :

Hello friends and family,
I am embarrassed because I know these emails I write late at night are shared with all my misspellings and scatological rambles but here it goes again. ;-)

Today was a busy day. Martin has begun to do even more for himself and this morning, it allowed me time to enjoy what Erica Stark made for me at breakfast. An English muffin half topped with a perfectly poached egg with sauteed carrots and spinach with a big bowl of fresh raspberries and blueberries and then a hot decaf cappuccino to sip...yummy!! I have told her that her care of me is the very reason I have not gotten sick since surgery and recovery. She says it is the Lord sustaining me and I believe that is true. I need my mommy friends to know that I, the caregiver, also have a wonderful caregiver in Erica as well as her family pitching in for errands. It is a tremendous comfort. You know me...give me good nutrition and I'm good to go! ;-)

Martin and I got to the hospital to meet the plastic surgeon...he said Martin's healing was coming along fabulously. We then went on to the clinic, one floor up to see about getting the trachea tube removed from his windpipe. Well...I feel like a dope for not calling on Friday to set up authorization from the head and neck surgeon so that we could do it today....we were waiting an hour in clinic while the nurse tried to get a hold of the doc's nurse..she finally did but we will have to meet the doc on Wed. and then he will decide to remove it or not....the plastics physician's assist. seemed to think it would be removed soon as well as the feeding tube. We have a barium swallow test tomorrow to determine so that is today, tomorrow and Wednesday that we go to the hospital...pray that Martin does not want to knock me out at some point..he hates not being the driver which he cannot be since I drug him regularly with hydrocodone for his pain and on top of that...he particularly does not like MY driving. Oh well...we got there in one piece today anyway. So anyhow, while we were waiting in clinic for an hour, I struck up a conversation with a couple that looked a little younger than us (well, they were about my age or a bit younger). I remembered them from the critical care floor where we were transferred after ICU. The husband, named Kyle, had similar bandages as Martin and I could tell was eager to meet someone (as was Martin) who really knew what it was like 'in his shoes'. Turns out, he had the same type of cancer and had over 70% of his tongue and under his tongue removed with a tumor and then had it 'rebuilt' using his forearm tissue on the same arm and same site as Martin. Both he and his wife had a wonderful attitude. He was a strapping 205 pound man who had lost 50+ pounds prior to surgery with radiation and chemotherapy which was unsuccessful in eradicating his tumor so then he had to do the surgery. A different path than Martin's but a positive result. They are returning home to Mississippi tomorrow and we plan to keep in touch via email.

Seriously, I pray for Martin's continued reliance and trust in the Lord's plan. He will need to stay focused when in mid September, the next chapter of chemo and/or radiation begins with a new set of side effects. He is my hero and I love him even more watching him cope with this thing called cancer.

If you have time, please read a wonderful piece written by Tony Snow prior to his eternal promotion after battling cancer. Here it is...it is wonderfully written and puts things much more eloquently than I do here.

Thank you all for continued warm emails and prayer support. Even the little children who know 'Gunnar's daddy' are praying for him.

with love,Traci

The Man and the Scars

(August 2008. The night before the first surgery to remove the tumors. The way I liked the way he looked, just the way he was already...a major time of uncertainty and fear.)

(November 2009. One year and 60 pounds later. A mouth like a vice but still manages a smile as before the surgeries, chemo and radiation. His voice is altered due to the tight mouth. He still looks good to me!)

"for Christians, this is the closest to hell we'll ever experience. For non-believers, it's the closest to heaven."

A mutual friend of a friend and her husband have learned that their unborn baby #4 may have some genetic problems. She sent this quote to me in reference to them. We are praying for them to be thankful to God for their challenge and for their fears to be comforted. Every time I awoke last night, I thought and prayed for them. I know it is like being squeezed through the neck of a very narrow glass bottle. You won't fit but you must go through anyway. That is how I felt last year and even now.

Another friend once said to me regarding M's cancer...'no one gets through life without some stuff.' You may think that it just isn't fair right? I did and have and continue to struggle with it all. But, if you regard it as a challenge with blessing attached to it, the whole problem becomes an opportunity (for the believer and unbeliever alike). If you let yourself go to this quite contemplative place inside, then it is possible. I have said to M that I think this cancer may be the worst thing we ever experience on earth. Or, it is preparation for something much, much more challenging that we will face one day. Maybe something with one of our children, our parents or other loved ones. I am always this optimistic in reverse I guess you would say. I tend to see the glass of lemonade have empty but hope for the best...like maybe a fresh pitcher of lemonade...then, it feels like such a treat..and, in these cases, a blessing.

The Man and the Scars. Sounds like the Moon and the Stars. Here I share the Man's first email following his first surgery:

Hello everyone,

" In everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" I Thes. 5:18

" When I am afraid, I will put my trust in Thee" Ps. 56:3


Tuesday, 12 Aug, was my surgery date. Traci and I left the house early to be at MD Anderson by 0500. After the check in process, I was assigned a bed and here we waited for the day to begin. A chaplain came by and prayed with us. I thanked him and also told him what a remarkable mission field he had to give the gospel and be an encouragement to believers.

My time came and I was wheeled into surgery. I remember telling Traci that I would see her soon. I was on the operating table for 9 and a half hours. It took that long due to the extraction of the tumor and the reattachment of the donor skin and tissue grafts. The surgical team kept my wife informed of the progress. After surgery, I was kept in ICU for 24 hours. This was to monitor me to make sure that the surgical recovery was on track.

The entire tumor was removed and the skin, muscle, tissue, artery and vein grafts from my arm and leg have been successfully transplanted. At this time, I am still on a feeding tube and have a tracheotomy tube to provide relief for breathing. My face did swell up quite significantly which gave me cartoon like similarities.

I was released from the hospital this past Monday. I am currently recovering and will be back to MDA for two follow up visits next week. One visit is with the plastic surgeon to assess his work and the other visit is for a barium swallow test to make sure that there are no leaks in the mouth and nose. Once I pass that, I can begin eating somewhat solid food again which means the nasal feeding tube comes out. The trach tube will also be coming out soon. I refer to it as my dog collar.

The final decision as to whether I will have radiation therapy is pending the results of the lab reports on the tumors that were removed. We will know more by next week.

This week my wife also had her checkup from our midwife. Everything is going well which is a relief due to all the extra activity that we have been having.

My thanks to all for the many kind words, helping and prayer support. It has been overwhelming.

Semper Fi

Martin, Traci, Gunnar and Winston

What a mission field indeed as time would tell. Though I thought his naivete was deep in approaching his cancer treatment, in time, his confidence in God and His timing never wavered and even today, he continues to rely on the Lord for his strength. There really is not any closure with cancer. Not people, not the government, not his finances, not the weather, not his wife's good or bad attitude or his children's rebellion or contentment but the Lord and his grace.

(This is the first installment of M's journey in email updates through cancer and the aftermath. It is offered as a comfort and encouragement to my readers.)

I think I am getting this homeschool thing

First of all, I have to say, I decided to blog when I read that I could turn it into a book. That sounds fantastic! That is why I am here. So here is my first post on our new homeschool and the beginning of what I hope to be a long, fruitful chronicle of our journey.

Welcome to Oma and Opa, Mimi and Poppy and all friends and family who peruse our adventures!

Now, some rules. 1.) To protect my little ones since this blog is internet searchable, my oldest will be referred to as G5, my middle as W2 and my wee one, T1. The letter refers to the first letters in their first names and the number is their age by year. I am T and my cancer warrior is M. 2.) Please click on my links. You will get a broader picture of what feeds my interests and my philosophies on things. Here we go....


The photo below is of a thing (school/art/animal science/bible history...) we did the week before we officially began homeschooling with the traditional school year. The book, 'The Great Wall' is an African book about the great wall of Sin. The different animals try to break it down...the snake tries to go under it, the elephant tries to knock it down, the hyena tries to go around it, etc. and so forth....in the end, the only thing that can tear it down is, as a believer, name your sins to God the Father.
So for a way to help remember it and to be fun (and because I happened to have this around!) G5 used the 'peanuts' from the last Frontier order to make a wall as well as the jungle on the other side...note the palm trees in front of his arms? The pile at the front center is the animals. So..I have been schooling for a long time actually..I just did not really know it or appreciate it until this week.

So when we began two weeks ago now, we used a new curriculum called Five In A Row. It is a unit study using great literature and studying one thing or unit per day that relates to the book for that week. So here are some photos and things of note from the week.

This is the first day and as you see, W2 gets in on this too...he loves to work with G5. G5 gets frustrated because W2 does not 'do it (school) right'. I tell him that W2 is not yet in school and he says, okay...but still gets upset that he just doesn't do things 'right'! Oh dear, my perfectionist nature has definitely been passed on...for better or for worse. The challenge of the two of them working seperately but together is going to be an interesting dymanic for times to come again and again. It is the wonderful and challenging part of developing tolerance, focus and concentration and not developing peer dependency that can happen in a large school environment.

These photos are from our Chinese dinner at the end of the week studying 'The Story About Ping' by Marjorie Flack. Those are chopsticks and a funky bean paste cracker we picked up at the Hong Kong market. (Note: G5 is wearing an authentic Chinese mandarin collar silk top he received from his cousin who is from China...he wore this on and off all week long.) We played with chopsticks which was fun and loved eating our homemade egg rolls. I even made a sweet and soury type dipping sauce..yum!

This was all good and fine..until this week, when I realized that this curriculum, if I follow it verbatim, is far too schoolish for my new little school age boy...too much cutting, pasting and, worksheets if I let it be that way. So, I got back into my roots. Began re-reading things Charlotte Mason (her philosophies here) and found us doing a real nature study by Thursday. I let the boys collect snails from the yard following a big rain that afternoon. We counted 40 of them..they were thrilled. The boys herded them on the kitchen table..allowed them to make slime trails as they scooted over their arms to their delight with the coolness of the slime, etc. We also pulled up a diagram online of the anatomy of a snail and learned about what they eat (plants) and why they make slime (to protect their bodies and give them something to glide their foot on)...all we needed to do was make observation drawings..but that will come. ;-)

So getting my Charlotte back on..so to speak..felt really good, natural and sincere for learning new things. So I am feeling upbeat again and the boys seem much more content. I feel like I was homeschooling on the side of homeschooling before I had this epiphany about how to go about this thing called homeschool. I have also realized that I am learning along the way..tweaking as I go and it is okay. You see, I thought I already knew how to do this but what I realized is that I know my philosophy but did not yet have a clear idea of what direction to acutally take it.

Last week we studied the book, Lentil. A story about a boy who could not follow the crowd in school and sing with his teacher so...he finds a different way to make music, a harmonica. We talked about the state of Ohio, and for a couple of days, Patriotism. I played patriotic music, we watched a dvd of The Patriot Guard Riders at a memorial service that took place at our church. We colored an American flag (well, began coloring..that is a little too confining for a 5 yo boy perfectionist to color all those little stripes and stars!) and talked of its symbolism. I also introduced the Pledge of Allegiance and explained its meaning. We watched a memorial on YouTube about the 9/11 attacks and again, the sacrifice and service of so many that day. For Art, I introduced vine charcoal, a kneadable art eraser and real charcoal paper. G5 drew his idea of Old Sneep, the jealous one in Lentil whose expressions went from jealous/angry to happy and content as Lentil turned the day around by playing his harmonica. (You have to read the story to get the full idea you know ;-) For Math, we used a cucumber and G5 cut it up from whole to half to quarters and talked about notes that are depicted in the book as Lentil plays his harmonica. For our last day, we conducted a Scientific experiment in the bathtub! G5 thought this was school??? Huh? (perfect ;-) He played the harmonica in the bathtub, as Lentil did, and we noted the tone improvement because of the hard tiles and porcelain and the reflection of the notes from them. That night, I made Lemon Chicken and Lemon bars for dessert..it was fun...Sorry, no pictures...I was studying CM when not 'doing' school.

This week, we will introduce an old book in a new way called Madeleine. We have read about her many times but now we get to study her a little closer. Wish T1 could understand..I think she would love it!