There are more things in heaven and earth...

"A Christian...living as he does in the huge universe all ringing with the footfalls of hurrying seraphim, cherubim, archangels, angels, men, and devils, will never be too peremptory concerning what creatures aren't in on the traffic. He can only demur and say, 'Elves? I don't know much about them. I've never come across one (worse luck).'"

- Thomas Howard, Myth: Flight to Reality

(I've been reading The Christian Imagination this term--one of those happy occasions when the interests of school and inclination converge on one book. It's an excellent, inspiring anthology of Christian perspectives on art and literature; this quote is from one of the essays printed in it.)

Keeping your kids from being dumb as rocks

I saw this article posted at HomeschoolBuzz.com.

Read a provocative column recently from the SF Gate titled "American kids, dumber than dirt: Warning -- the next generation might just be the biggest pile of idiots in U.S. history." Ouch. The writer, Mark Morford, maintains -- as if none of us knew it already -- that the problem "is not bad at all. It's absolutely horrifying."

Read ten things parents can do to help here.

In the Mirror

Similar?

Miss M's picture reminded me of another picture of another child - it was taken almost exactly 14 years ago of another 3 year old. But that 3 year old is now 17. Where does the time go??

The Yellow Dress

This dress was given to Miss M by one of our favorite people, and we have an adorable picture of that person wearing the same dress as a toddler. So we wanted to have Miss M's picture in the dress, too. The problem is, I can't decide which picture I like best. I know that "less is more," but I have the hardest time weeding through and culling pictures of my kids.

OK, I deleted three. That was hard!

Cleaning

On one of my message boards, there was a post about the ten germiest things in our lives - would you believe that a load of clean, wet laundry was near the top of the list? Clean laundry - it topped even public drinking fountains! That led to a search of disinfectants, which led to some websites about hydrogen peroxide, which led to more natural cleaners, with the final result that my kitchen floor is cleaner than it's been for years.

I found these sites about replacing toxic household chemicals with natural products:
http://allnaturalbeauty.us/ani12.htm
http://www.using-hydrogen-peroxide.com/

I haven't used a lot of different chemicals to begin with - some diluted bleach for disinfecting, and soapy water for almost everything else - but these ideas will help me to get things clean that weren't really getting clean before. I used a vinegar/baking soda paste on my floor with a little bit of elbow grease, and it made a big difference.

Set Out to Dry

Morning in the Field

Evening on the Street

My Newest Hangout

I just found this a couple of days ago. I have to watch my sugar intake, so I live vicariously by enjoying others eating stuff. This woman tries and reviews various candies on her Candy Blog. Her FAQ is interesting, she explains how she's able to work her candy samples into a balanced diet that maintains her weight and wards off diabetes. I think she tries to review one new candy a day.