Yes, Kaleb now needs glasses. Looking at it in a positive light our eye insurance premium just became more cost effective. Charleigh has been wearing glasses since she was three and Joshua is devastated that he too won’t be getting glasses. He says that we are a “glasses family” and he is all alone in it.

Here he is trying to convince us he can’t see a thing.

A third grade Language Arts Assignment to write a story about a treasure and how it is found:
Here’s Kaleb’s paper:

One day in my room I found a button and I pushed it. The floor slid open, I jumped in, and the floor shut. Next thing I knew I was in a secret Lab of God. I looked around. I found a treasure chest and a key on the counter. I opened it. I found a Bible I opened it. I said “I wish this was English, and guess what. The Bible turned into English! I looked around again, I found a guide book. Inside it said “Guide book of the Lab of God”. I found a lot of stuff of God. That’s a true treasure from God.

Today for the very first time I was officially the butt of a “mama” joke.

Charleigh just got off the bus semi-upset.
(That’s semi-upset which means she wasn’t blubbering just acting a little indignant.) I asked her what was wrong and she proceeded to spill out all the not so gory details of how the big kids on the bus told her she was the “ugliest girl in the school”. As I consoled her she informed me “That’s not even the worst of it!”.
She then told me that the mean boys called her mom the “S” word. (Now let me interject here, to Charleigh the “S” word refers to “Stupid” not the word you were thinking of) “AND” she loudly exclaimed “they said you were. . .” pausing for dramatic effect she then lowers her voice and completes the sentence under her breath “fat“.

“Can you believe that Mom?!? They’ve never even met you! I think they were just trying to make me mad!”

Kaleb then explained the aspects of your average bully and the best way to deal with such situations. Then he told her not to worry about the “mom” parts. He said mean boys just say those things cause they know if you talk about a little girls mommy it will hurt there feelings. After all his advice he decided it would be best if he sat with her on the way home tomorrow. What a brother!

Update: It’s not good to publish a post addressing ones intelligence without first spell checking it. Hope no one noticed those little “oopses” before I fixed them.

Wednesday night was Crazy Hair Night at church. Here’s our entries:

On September 7, 2006, second grade up to sixth grade went on a field trip. First we went to theGlobe News Center. The author of Hank the Cowdog books sang some Hank the Cowdog songs and talked to all the people in the room. The room is big.
The author of Hank the Cowdog read a Hank the Cowdog book to the people in the
room. Next we went to the park and played for a little while. I played space
ship. When I was done it was time for lunch. Mrs. Davis helped me cross the
road to get my lunch box. I ate my lunch and started to swing. After a while
Ms. Cook called some grades to pick up trash. When we were done we went to the
zoo. My favorite animal was the Spider Monkey. We say turtles, grey foxes and some black bears. After we got done we come back to school.

That was a fun day.

Having been blessed beyond
imagination sometimes it’s hard to wrap my mind around all that God has given
me.  Everyday Mommy has asked us to write "”What My Children Taught Me About God” The topic has allowed me to focus on three of the many gifts God’s
given me.  The thing is they’ve taught me so much it’s hard to write it all in a
few paragraphs so I’ve decided to do it in 3 parts.  That’s right one
installment for each child  there’s no way I could fit it all in one short essay
so I’ll have to pick the stories the Lord lays on my heart at the time.  Here’s
what little I’ve written for Kaleb.

Kaleb: A Wise and Mighty Man
of God

 A few days after he arrived
I looking into the shiny new eyes of my firstborn son and learned one of the
first of many lessons my children would teach me about God.  Have you looked
into the eyes of a newborn?  They are fresh and clear, barely used and barely
worn.  When you look into those eyes you can see deeper inside yourself.  As I
gazed into the window of his soul my spirit burned inside me.  A new layer of
God’s love was reveled to me; I knew this love I had for my boy was nothing
compared to the love my heavenly Father had for me. Then I considered the love
he had for his own son, I could only imagine how great it would be.  I know my
love for Kaleb is hatred compared to the love the Father has for the Son and yet
he gave him up for me. 

That
was the first lesson I received through my boy but not the last.  Kaleb is
different than most boys his age, he always has been.  He knows where he’s comes
from and where he’s going.  He has a tender spirit and a pastor’s heart.  He
hears the voice of God and he has the faith to follow it.  A few years ago after
tucking the kids in for the night Kurt and I settled on the couch for a late
movie.  I heard little footsteps coming down the hall and I prepared myself for
a plea for one last drink of water or some other excuse to stay up another 5
minutes.  With stern words ready to jump off my lips I held my tongue the moment
I saw Kaleb’s face.  He was gleaming, a smile plastered on his face as he ran up
to me and announced "God just told me what I’m going to do when I grow up!" 
Kurt looked at me, picked up the remote and turned off the TV, this deserved our
full attention.  We looked at him and asked him what God had told him.  "I was
just laying there, listening for God and the Holy Spirit talked to me" he said. 
"What did He say" we asked.  "He told me I was going to go around the world and
tell people about Jesus" my 6 year old proclaimed.  "You mean like a
missionary?" Kurt asked.  "Is that what it’s called" Kaleb replied, and then he
ran back and got in bed.  Kurt looked at me and said "I wish God would tell me
what I’m going to be when I grow up” I shook my head in agreement and said
"perhaps we should start listening more".  You see every night in those days
after I would give Kaleb "night nights" I would pray for him then he would pray
for me then he would say "Ok Mom, you go now.  Now it’s time for me to be alone
with God."  He had heard the story about Samuel laying in bed and hearing God’s
voice as a child and he had claimed that story as his own.  He wanted to hear
God’s voice too.  So he listened, each night he lay waiting, listening for the
voice of God and God spoke.  Kaleb has taught me to listen; to listen and to
believe. 

The next morning Kaleb awoke
with a fresh joy.  "Just think Mom" he laughed, "Six years old and God
FINALLY told me what I’m going to do with my life". 

Yeah,
just think.

I read my first Narnia book.  It was The Lion, The Witch
and The Wardrobe.  It was mostly a pretty good book to read.  The book starts
with a war in London where Peter, Susan, Edmond and Lucy lived.  Their mom sends
them away because of air-raids.  They go to this big house where the Professor
and a lady named Mrs. Macready live. 

The children decided to explore the house; they found and
empty room with nothing but a wardrobe.  (A wardrobe is a closet that you can
move around from room to room or house to house)  Lucy stayed behind and she
went inside the wardrobe.  She found a new land and met a friend named Mr.
Tumnus (he was a faun).  This was the beginning of lots of adventures.  Soon all
the children were in Narnia, they met friends like Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, Father
Christmas, other Narnia animals and Aslan.  They fought against the White Witch
and her followers.  In the end Aslan gave his life for Edmond.  My favorite part
was when the stone table broke and Aslan came back to life.  He said:

“It means,” said Aslan, “that though the Witch knew the
Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she didn’t not know.  Her
knowledge goes back only to the dawn of Time.  But if she could have looked a
little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she
would have read there a different incantation.  She would have known that when a
willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead,
the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards”

This is a good book, you should read it!

Kaleb-age 8

Cul-de-Sac Kids Volumes 1-24 By Beverly Lewis / Bethany Your 7- to 10-year olds will have a ball (and learn to rely on Jesus) reading about the Cul-de-sac Kid’s funny exploits! This exciting and lighthearted chapter book series for young readers centers on the often humorous escapades of a group of neighborhood friends. Nicknamed the “Cul-de-Sac Kids,” they learn important lessons about friendship, teamwork, and faith through their adventures and mysteries. Collect books 1 through 24 in 4 slipcased sets. Each softcover book is approximately 80 pages.

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The Sugar Creek Gang Series, Volumes 1-6 Sugar Creek, Indiana. Once your 8- to 11-year-olds join in the faith-building adventures of Bill Collins and the rest of the gang, they’ll discover that Sugar Creek is anything but a quiet little town. This 6-book set includes The Swamp Robber, The Killer Bear, The Winter Rescue, The Lost Campers, The Chicago Adventure, and The Secret Hideout. Softcovers, from Moody.

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Trailblazer Books, Volumes 1-5 By Dave & Neta Jackson / Bethany These thrilling stories blaze through history as make-believe kids meet real-life Christian heroes! Your young readers will time-travel around the world as adventures take them across the paths of William Tyndale, Amy Carmichael, David Livingstone, and others! The first five volumes include Kidnapped by River Rats, The Queen’s Smuggler, Spy for the Night Riders, The Hidden Jewel, and Escape from the Slave Traders. 110 pages each, softcovers from Bethany.

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My Life as a Smashed Burrito: The Incredible Worlds of Wally McDoogle #1, Hardcover By Bill Myers / Thomas Nelson Check out Wally as you’ve never seen him before in this special hardcover edition with illustrations! In this book the hilarious mishaps at Camp Wahkah Wahkah come to life in the new illustrations interspersed throughout the story. Readers will laugh and learn along with Wally as he discovers all about loving his enemies–even the camp’s number one, all-American bad guy. Whether they’re long-time McDoogle fans or first-time readers, kids will appreciate the indestructible quality and added illustrations in this upgraded edition. For ages 8-12.

Kaleb made this cake with his Daddy and Grandpa. What fun! It was quite tasty but the icing/frosting stained our faces blue.

The crazy characters came home completely coo-coo. I got them all to hold still all of 5 seconds to get this shot.