Adam's Theology

Adam recently drew this "holy picture." I was thrilled, especially since the only things he seems to be drawing lately are Mario Brothers pictures. He narrated this picture to me, pointing out the yellow cross where Jesus died, the soldier guarding the tomb, and the purple angel with blue wings. Who are the three "guys" on top? "God. Jesus. Santa Claus." My response: "Wow. Really? Do those three hang out a lot together?" Adam's reply: "Yes. They're cousins."

How could I respond to that? I chuckled and gave him a hug and told him I loved his picture. Then, my bubble was really burst when he asked me if he could have a dollar for drawing a holy picture! (We've been encouraging the boys to do extra chores to earn spending money for an upcoming trip.) Sigh. He's definitely got the "Santa Clause syndrome" .... "gimme, gimme, gimme." I just hope and pray that the "holiness syndrome" ... "love, give, serve" is growing somewhere in there too.

"Special Visitor"

This morning I told the boys that a very special visitor is coming to our city today. They were excited and intrigued. I told them he's the leader of our country. Ray shouted, "PAPPY!" (My dad) Adam shouted, "THE POPE!" Yikes. It was funny.... sort of. So our first unplanned lesson of the day was about President Barack Obama, who is giving a speech at a high school in town today. We're going to try to drive past the airport and spot Air Force One.... or maybe the Popemobile.

Mass for Homeschool Families

This evening we had the great privilege of attending Mass at Saint Joseph Cathedral with Catholic homeschooling families from all over Central Ohio. Bishop Frederick Campbell was the presider! It was a very special evening. The boys had only visited the Cathedral once before. They really enjoyed "checking it out" and they both asked lots of good questions. They were especially impressed with the enormous and beautiful organ!

At the end of Mass Bishop Campbell came down into the aisle and allowed the children to ask him questions. He was so kind and personable. One child asked him when he would become Pope. He said he prays that will never happen. One child asked him about his crosier. After explaining that it was like a shepherd's staff, he joked that he used it to reign people in and wake up anyone who was sleeping in Mass (by banging them with it). He wrapped things up when a child asked him if he was going to get married when he retired. ;)

After Mass we enjoyed a social in the undercroft. The bishop graciously joined us and we had the opportunity to talk with him as a family.

Adam especially enjoyed the undercroft, comparing it's stone and pipes to a SuperMario world. As he went to bed tonight he was asking when we could go back there.

 I continue to be so thankful for the experience of Catholic community that we have. The boys are making wonderful friends. Celebrating Mass together is really special. 

What a shot, huh? Ray and his "girl"friends.

I wish this picture wasn't so blurry. In preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we lit a candle and said a prayer at the Marian shrine in the cathedral.

Where We Live

I am still loving Pinterest and I've found lots of fun ideas there that we have already used for school. We just completed one of my favorites, a concentric circle book for learning about where we live.

I had the finished books laminated and will display them near our calendar/weather center for regular review. Even when I taught second grade (three lives ago) I found that students had a hard time keeping continent/country/state straight. We'll be practicing this for a while!
Visit my Pinterest page here: http://pinterest.com/kryzenga/.

School Snapshots

Here's a peek of some things we've been doing in school.

Ray continues to enjoy "Little Stories for Little Folks" from Catholic Heritage Curriculum. He read this story - 144 words - straight through for me and we both were so happy and proud!

We followed up our habitat study by learning about food chains, herbivores and carnivores, and animals that are now extinct. We've been reading lots of dinosaur books. I surprised the boys with dinosaur fossil kits (from Dollar Tree). We had a great (and messy) time chipping away the stone/dirt and finding tiny dinosaur bones.

During Ray's early morning alone time (before the rest of us get up), he's been making what he calls "One-sticker Holiness Pictures." So sweet!

 "Chores" are now part of each day's school checklist. We have been teaching the boys to do more around the house. This has been so helpful for me. AND, they are loving it. They couldn't believe it when I let them help me scrub the tub. They were awesome scum-busters! It's crazy the things that can make a mom proud and happy!

 (I acutally edited out some of the yucky grout around our tub in this picture! ;) I wish I could take care of it that easily in real life!)

Jon was home on Monday (Labor Day) and so I put him to work helping with school. He worked with the boys on a clock game.

Geography puzzles

 Our resident "weather man!" How about that uniform.... and the boots?!? Homeschooling at it's finest!

This morning we practiced counting by two's with this "shoe" game. It was a fun and ACTIVE Math activity.

(I got those number pads from Oriental Trading this summer. They are great. We've set up lots of hopscotch games and marching games. So many uses for them! I wish I had found them a few years ago.)

Art --- We're learning about the color wheel. We did some painting with primary colors as well as some color mixing.

Adam's Math book featured an ice cream sundae activity in which we had to count and add several toppings to our ice cream. Yummy fun!

And so we're off to a good start. We've been enjoying a mix of "table work" and fun activities. We're beginning to find a rhythm to our days, including afternoon quiet time in our rooms (for mommy too!) and no TV or electronic games until after 3:00. Hooray for homeschooling!

My Man Shoes

Dear Friends,
In the coming weeks, as the weather gets colder, you are going to see me sporting these "lovely" MAN SHOES. That's right.... Men's Asics size 8.5. I know you'll be jealous, but please keep your comments to yourself. It's a sensitive topic for me. The really sad part of the whole thing is that I LOVE these man shoes because they actually fit and feel good on my feet. And I have my fabulous sister-in-law Susan to thank. When I mentioned to her that I'm having a terrible time finding shoes that fit, she suggested I try men's sizes. Duh!!! AND.... she told me about a great sale that was going on and she drove me to the store and helped me find the perfect pair. I was outlandishly thrilled to find these man shoes and get a good deal on them as well. So, it's man shoes for me this season. No cute pink stripes or glittery embellishments. But they fit. Thank you for your understanding and for keeping any rude remarks to a minimum.
Sincerely,
Katie

Dear Shoe Manufacturers,

My name is Katie and I used to be one of your best and happiest customers. Size 9. Narrow heel.... not usually much of a problem. I really enjoyed buying and wearing shoes of many different types and styles. I looked for bargains, but paid big bucks for pairs that I really liked. My closet was stocked with so many cute shoes, different colors and styles just right for every occasion.

But, alas, those days have passed. EVERYTHING has changed since I had children, including my feet. You see, my heels are still narrow. But the front of my foot mysteriously widened. No more size nine. Now it's 9.5 or 10. If I buy wide size, I walk right out of them. If I buy narrow or regular, my toes are pinched. I love my children dearly, but nobody ever warned me about this side effect!

I have tried on 8,475,243 pairs of shoes in the past six years and about 17 of those have fit fairly well. Four or five pairs have actually been comfortable. I have walked past shoe displays and actually cried real tears as I longed to wear the latest styles. Although I am a stay-at-home mom, I do occasionally get to go out to places other than playgrounds and grocery stores. And when I do, I like to wear shoes that match my outfit or at least look ok with nice(r) clothes. When I do try to wear such shoes, I pay for it for days with foot and ankle pain.

Dress shoes and athletic shoes are really tough to find. A few years ago I went to a big name athletic shoe store and the associate tried just about every pair in the store on me. I ended up paying BIG bucks for a pair that fit "pretty well." Well, those shoes have reached retirement age and I was pretty stumped about how I would find a better fitting pair. Then, my brilliant sister-in-law made a crazy suggestion. She said, "Have you tried men's shoes?" My response: "Ugh! Ugly! No way.... Ok, let's try it." We went to the mall. The FIRST pair I tried on fit me so great! I literally danced in the store. So now I'm strutting around in men's shoes, but my feet are happy.

It seems to me that I can't be the only one in this predicament. I am not a business-minded person, but I can't help but think that you could be making a LOT more money if you made shoes that actually fit weird-footed women like me. I would be so much happier - and would pay more money - if I could find a cute feminine pair of shoes that felt good. It seems to me that you could just take the same pattern you use to make the men's shoes, but throw on some pink stripes and perhaps some glitter or sequins and mark them for women. That would be awesome!

An entire line of wide-footed, narrow-heeled shoes would be a dream come true!  Please let me know if you can make that happen. I'm sure my husband will gladly raise my shoe budget, just so he won't hear me whine and complain about my feet. I'd be happy to serve as the line's spokesperson, model, or infomercial personality.

Thanks so much for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Katie

Quick Trip to Michigan

We enjoyed a nice visit with Jon's mom -and assorted aunts, uncles, and cousins - in Midland, Michigan last weekend. It was a fun and relaxing weekend. (Somehow I rarely come home with pictures of Grandma.... that's a goal for our next visit!)

We brought our tent and Jon and Adam camped out in Grandma's yard.... until it got too chilly and they came in around 4:00am! :)

 Midland has an AWESOME Farmers' Market on Saturday mornings!

Adam and I have declared this our FAVORITE booth! We always get the BIG bag of kettle corn.



Jon and the boys standing on the "Tridge" - a three-pronged bridge that spans the place where the Tittabawassee River and the Chippewa River meet.



Ray's new family! ;)

 We surprised the boys by taking them to a hotel with a water park on Sunday night. This was our first visit to "Splash*Universe" at Dundee. It was a lovely hotel and really fun water park.

We love our family in Michigan and we really enjoy our visits!