Anna Meets John Calvin

Anna got to experience what research and scholarship is recently. We went to the Henry Meeter Center For Calvin Studies to do some research. She was very interested in everything and asked a lot of questions. She got to see some of the rarest books in the world including a first edition of the Institutes of the Christian Religion and Calvin's liturgy and Catechism. She also got to see 'the Calvin chair' and numerous coins and stamps depicting his image. We spend some time compiling a bibliography on Calvin and the Holy Spirit and then we moved on to other things. It was nice that Polly Pocket was able to go with us.

A 4am Rambling Story About Maggie, Stainless Steel, and Calico Brownies.

A few weeks ago (or longer) we had Maggie and B over for dinner. We were sitting in the family room chatting away about the joys of being a Christian and we forgot about the potatoes on the stove-top. They boiled over. They actually boiled the pan dry.

Then our oven did not work. Hmmm. There is a connection. Water fried out our electrical panel in the range. (I know, I know, buy gas- blah, blah, blah. But this oven was in the house when we bought it.)

So as the weeks are passing, Lydia and I continue a discussion about what to do. Do we replace the range? Do we have it fixed? What to do? Now, we have a really nice built in range with stainless top, etc. Very nice. At least $1200 to replace it. We could get a junky thing for about $500, but it would not look as nice. What to do?

Lydia calls a service person to come and look at while I am at work. She emails me about it. The whole thing is fried. It will cost way more to fix than to buy a new one. Okay.

So as the weeks are passing, I am not thrilled with replacing what we have (OCD...maybe). I do not want to replace it with lower quality. That is very annoying.

I call Apex on Plainfield. We talk. Then I call again. "Cathy, its Nate again..."

We decide on having one of her service people come and look. That is a $69 fee just for having them come to the house. I am not impressed, but we will see what it can be. They decide that it is one of two parts.

One part- $140

The other part $375

Labor and service call included.. you got yourself the junky range.

I decide to have it fixed. Bob the builder, as Owen calls him comes to the house and decides that is AT LEAST the $140 part. He says we have to replace that one first to decided if we ALSO need the $375 part. Okay Bob.

Murphy's law would tell you that this story is going to end with me paying $42,500 to have a $1200 range fixed; but you would be wrong. We got the old girl back on her feet for $250. I am ecstatic. So happy that Anna and I made Calico brownies before work today.

See, there is such a thing as a happy ending... now I think that the goat cheese pizza party can be hosted by our good ol' oven in honor of Maggie graduating! Any takers?

They Conspire Against Me...

I must say that today was a long day of classes at the seminary. We are having a special class called "Minister and His Family" in which we go through all the Greek exegesis on how a minister and his family are to behave themselves. Of course, all ministers fall short to some extent, but it is something that we are all called to nonetheless. The guest lecturer is Rev. David Lipsey who is finishing his doctorate in Nouthetic Counseling at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He is also the future father-in-law of Rev. Terry Klaver.

So I get home from class and take Sedgwick out for some afternoon business. I told Anna and Owen that they were not going out with me because I did not want them to get all wet in the midst of the snow storm. Of course I was using authority over my children since I just got back from 9 hours worth of lecture, one of which discussed the obedience of the minister's children.
Thank the Lord, they were obedient. They did not follow me out in the snow as is the normal routine.

Anna believed that I had delegated the authority over Owen in my absence. She thought that it would be wise to lock the door behind me so that Owen would be compelled to obey his father. I turn around, upon Sedgwick's completion, and turn the door handle to find that I am, yet again, locked out of my home! This time I was at the back door which is a beautiful French door with18 panes of glass. Owen waved at me and smiled, not realising that I was stuck outside in 35 mile-per-hour wind and pouring snow.

I knocked.

And knocked.

Anna finally came to the door, 'hi papa!' Anna please go get your mother. She said okay and I watched her go into the family room downstairs to get her.

A few minutes pass and Anna comes back up. I knock and say through the glass, 'Anna did you get your mother?' She said, 'Oh yeah!' She then ran back down stairs to get Lydia.

What an event. Was it last Saturday that Owen locked me out, now Anna? I will have to ask Rev. Lipsey how to deal with this type of problem according to the Scriptures!

Side Note: This is Anna's new favorite hat. It is a $1.00 item from Target's junk section. She insists on wearing it out of the house even. It is not my style. It is a mix of Anne of Green Gables and Southern Fundamentalism.

The Weekend Away

Anna and I left Lydia and Owen this weekend so that we could attend my cousin Stephanie's wedding. We had a really nice time, although we were very happy to come home so that we could have our family together again.

Lydia and Owen gave Anna a gift so that she would be occupied while on the plane. She played some while on the plane, but thought that the best part was describing everything that was on 'Anna's airplane'.

She also brought some pretzels to eat while on the plane. She loved the tray and thought that moving it up and down then latching it over and over was a great thrill. The man in front of her was asleep, so I am sure that he would not have been pleased if he were awake!

When we got to Oma and Opa's we swam, ran in the yard, weeded some for Oma and had a great time. We got to meet the new dog of the neighbor's. Wrigley is a Royal Standard Poodle. He is so cool. Anna wants one but I told her we would have to wait for Sedgwick to go to the taxidermist first.
At the wedding my brother's daughter was the flower girl. She did pretty well. She looked super cute too. It is hard to believe that a couple of fat ol' brothers can have such cute kids!
Anna danced at the reception. She was the life of the party. She must get that dancing ability from her mother because I certainly do not have it!
I will post one of the wedding party as soon as my cousin Erin emails them to me.

It's Ba-yoo

Do you remember those nasty candy necklaces that you could get at the candy store when you were a kid? They used to be a pretty well built item.
That is no longer the case. They are garbage (and I am not referencing nutritional value.) The string always breaks leaving sticky junky candy all over the floor....and the colors run and get everywhere.

Tonight Anna was chomping away on one of those confectionery accessories and it happened to be blue.

When I noticed that the pieces were all over the floor, I took a look at her face.

A real mess!

Her response to my, "Anna!"?

"Papa, it's ba-yoo!"


It looks as though my desk chair and my laptop are having a smurfy day as well!

Highlights from Anna & Nate's birthday party

Anna and Nathan had their birthday party last evening. It was quite an event...many....many people filled the rooms of Union. With the basement completed we were able to filter the kids to the basement and have the adults (and a few of the kids) on the main floor of the house. Lydia baked a beautiful cake for Nathan and Anna....not our Lydia...Sam's Club's Lydia.
Anna got this sweater and hat from her grandmother in Pennsylvania. She really loves it. She wore it to the party. (Of course her baby was there too.)
Anna said, "O-poo fisss" She wanted to open the one with the fish paper on it first.
She thought that the stack of gifts was impressive enough without even opening one.

People filled the rooms of our beloved little English Cottage. We enjoy having a lot of people over. (We also enjoy the quiet at the end of an evening like this....but don't tell anyone...it will be our little secret.)
Here is a pack of Pickerings or a lot of Lannings depending on which end of the photo you start from. Linda enjoyed holding the babies, while James yelled in German at his lovely sister.
Here is a friend that shall not receive a name since Google can pick them up. Let's just say that he is writing up a legal disclaimer saying that he is not responsible for any of these children.

The Vedra family was there as well. Seth was snuggled in his sling and Noah played with all the boys that were here. As a side note, Emily, you left your nappy bag here.

We sang Psalm 2 as well as Psalm 28 before we sang the birthday song and cut the cake. Anna did not seem interested in blowing out the candles. I was.
Anna thanks everyone for coming on behalf of her and her baby. She hopes that you all had a great time.

Lazy Bones, Sleepin' in the Shade, How Ya Spect To Get Your Corn Meal Made?

Nathan had to go to a class from 8:30am until 4:00pm that dealt with some real exciting stuff:

1. co-concurring illnesses
2. lessening the use of restraint as a non-theraputic tool
3. principles of compassionate care
(There is more, but you will stop reading out of boredom!)

Let's just say that I got tired.

When I got home I had to mow the yard and water everything that grows. Anna was outside with me and helped me to see how the mundane can even be turned into play. It was nice.

Lydia is currently transcribing dictations.

When Anna and I completed our yard chores, we sat on the bed and looked through magazines together. Anna looked through Mothering and I looked through Old Schoolhouse.

We fell asleep. (Not from lack of intellectual stimuli, but due to built up exhaustion. )

Lydia then discovered that Anna and I were not the only characters in this house that had passed out on a warm, breezy August evening. The whole family was asleep, but she continued to type. And to type. And to type.