Advent Advances

How is it that walking into the dark, 
we are really walking into the Light?

Our family continues to walk forward with Safe Families. The new year will eventually hold new kids in our home. Right now, we must get off our duffs and finish our paperwork, a Christmas gift for our Lord. We are no Magi. We have nothing sweet, nor expensive for the Babe, but we have space. We can make room for one more weary head in our home. So, we walk into the dark, following the Light.

The shepherds quaked this year. No jest. One hit the deck, and he wasn't decking the halls. Maybe the cold night got him, or maybe he was in the barn struggling with a bad head cold, but quaking shepherds are real. Sometimes they look a lot like us.

Last week, a quaking threatened. Chaos sought us. In our home, in our community, and in our tummies. Because when we walk into the dark carrying the Light, in spite of our brokenness, because of our brokenness, we face an enemy who wishes to push us back into our dark places and dark spaces. "Get back into your dingy dark hole." he says.

Our enemy knows that when we bravely step out of our darkness, when we look up, we are given a Flame. The Flame that illumines a pathway to God. Ironically, this Flame most often leads us right back into the darkness, theirs and ours. Yet now, we hold the Flame. We are lit by the Light. The Flame burns  within and throughout our night.

Last week, Flame, God, Manna met with us, and we trekked to First Lego League qualifiers, not to Seattle Children's. God met a real need. The Flame bid us, "take off your sandals and praise in this wilderness." Manna consumed, healed. While we quaked, sustenance arrived in a manger. We only needed to walk with the Light. This week? We're still working on our chaos. Darkness ever threatens, but we know: the Light overcomes.

 So, let us walk towards the Light, like the shepherds. 

And let us carry the Light within, like Mary.

God of the Manger and God of the Barn, God of Manna with ministering hands, Flame of Fire and Light of Mankind, consume our darkness. Bring your light into our world, into our quaking and into our breaking. Let us carry your light, until it streams into a broken world and makes whole the weary, wandering, and woeful. Us. 

Light of Mankind, never give up on us. Meet us at the manger. We come empty handed, but quaking we come. Fill us dear Shepherd, that in turn, we may feed your sheep and give them a place to lay their weary heads. This Advent, help us look for your light and your life. Surely, we will find you in a dark space filling a manger, Manna for mankind.

‘My people are so poor, that God can only appear to them in the form of a piece of bread.’ ~ Ghandi

We Qualified!

Pretty darn proud of these kiddos!

   First Lego League asked students this year to improve learning for kids in ____________ field. Each team got to choose their focus. Our students decided to enhance and improve the study of architecture for kids in Oregon. They visited the University of Oregon School of Architecture, and interviewed architects, professors, interior designers, and students to learn more about architecture.  Each student also made their own architectural design and build, because architects: invent, design, and build! They've also been working on a future web site that will help kids learn more about the study of architecture in fun and engaging ways, as well as preparing to share their information at a local library in late winter. On top of all that, they've been learning Lego Robotics, game regulations, and programming. Their hard work paid off! Today, they won two trophies and qualified for the FLL Oregon State Tournament.

Table time at our station. There was hardly any down time.

Presentation time before the judges. One judge was the head of ORTOP. No stress there!

The "real" table time!

Will it do what we want!!!!?????

A future Robo Builder

 

 

Did we just qualify for state?

Now: breathe, prepare for state, and have a good time!

Way to go!

Home for the Holidays

From ice...

to balmy nice.

He was in the water within 5 minutes of arrival.

Honu everywhere, everyday. 

Lost in story. She's currently obsessed with Arsene Lupin.

We saw a rainbow each day, but the day we flew home.

 Boogie boarding at Beach 69

On the way to Mauna Kea

On Mauna Kea, sunset above the clouds.

Telescopes and astronomy were certainly a highlight of the trip.

Mid-trip, we moved to the east side of the island to be closer to the volcano.

Kapoho Bay and Tidepools

Kilauea Caldera

We quickly hiked the 4 mile Kilauea Iki trail to get Jr Ranger badges before the NP closed!

   Home again, and I'm in denial that Thanksgiving is 2 days away, but we are very thankful! We need to buckle down and do some school, though we did take both math and writing journals along on the trip. We learned a lot about earth science on the Big Island. 

   Advent is almost upon us, a time of reflection, prayer, and praise. Surely, we went to Hawaii praising for her good health and the blessings the Lord has bestowed upon her, and us, in her health journey. 

   Yet, I can't help but wonder: Does a mama truly ever sigh, let go, and release her children to the Lord, trusting for His good care over them? I'm learning. I'm so thankful for what God has done for her, and us, this year. For His presence and graciousness, we are indeed thankful.

*Maybe at some point, I'll write about taking kids to the Big Island, and the locations we chose (we are introverts, but one). For now, we are basking in the memories. That said, I will add that using Costco for gas and groceries is the way to go, but eat at Kona Brewing at least once. The food and beer is great!

Creative Rest

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. ~ Einstein

Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree. 

~ Emily Bronte

Those who create, live.

   I have looked through the lens so little this fall. I feel the difference in my spirit. The schedule has at times been frantic. Grief and loss have found us, again. Yet, today the sun shines bright, the leaves rustle in a cold wind. We prepare for Thanksgiving and Advent, soon upon us, with stillness. Thankful for each other, family, and yes, our Veteran's. 

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others. ~ Cicero

Random Learning in Our World, While Yet Intentional

   Isn't she darling? She's holding my schnitzel. She had pineapple fried rice and bubble tea made with coconut cream. Food truck yummy. We hit up the food trucks after an Oregon Ballet Theater 25th anniversary event. Pink Martini performed live!

 Reading and Discussing

Target and Girls Clothing, Time for a Change of Clothes? Absolutely.

How Techies Raise Their Own

Technology and Inequality from MIT
Why China and India Love U.S. Universities
We must improve STEM offerings for our kids. 

American Schools Are Training Kids for a World That Doesn't Exist.

   I don't like the provocative title of this article, but it certainly offers some worthy thoughts for consideration. How do we bring discovery to every avenue of learning? We live in a world that desperately needs risk takers. How do we help kids: home schooled, public schooled, or hybrid schooled discover, risk, persevere, and find and share creative solutions to incredibly complex world problems? One teacher, one mentor at a time, community involvement, discovery based learning with tangible outcomes for success, and making failure acceptable, but expecting them to take ownership to challenge themselves to grow, learn, and stretch. We must model passion in what we do. Kids pick up on anything adults are passionate about. What's your passion? What's your investment? What hits your truth button? What makes the world a better place to live?

   Given pandemics, food shortages, inequalities and injustices, gun violence, global warming, and the earth quaking in response, what are we going to do about it?  Even here in the quiet Pacific Northwest, change is upon us, while Decade Volcanoes snooze. Slumbering giants, don't snooze forever, we'd better be doing something with our time.* An education book I read, aptly said, "the east coast may slice the pie, but the west coast makes it." We need more pie.   (*My plate tectonics theory :-)

   Seattle will have another city the size of Portland crammed into its metro area within the next 20 years. Who's working on their transportation system? I sat in traffic for 7 hours last week. Who will build more schools and feed these people, when we're not expanding farmland? Where will they obtain health care? Live? Because of real questions like these, First Lego League challenges kids to ask hard questions and seek solutions today, for their time and future.

   This year, our FLL 2014 team is learning about architecture. Architects: those crazy people who invent, design, and build. It might just make us go crazy, but we are going to learn a lot while we go crazy, and we might, just might, do something crazy good with our time: invent, design, and build, in a fun, crazy kind of way. We visited the University of Oregon Architectural Majors Faire this week, met some people, and asked some questions:

Why did you choose to teach architecture instead of joining an architectural firm?

Why did you choose to pursue your current field of architecture?

What do you think has been the most major contribution to the world through your field of architecture, and what do you think your field of architecture will contribute in the future?

If you were to change the current licensing process in Oregon, what would you change? 

   As a sideline participant, I learned architects in training like their coffee black. (I would not do well here.) They have no time for sugar and cream, they are too darn busy! I also learned they are social engineers. You'd better be an extrovert to be a good architect, because you're going to work with a lot of people!

They really liked Product Design, as does everyone else!

Talking to Professor Chan in Landscape Architecture

Overheard on Orthodontia

    On the scale of really nice cuddly kitty cat that wants to cuddle with you, and the other end of the scale is the annoying brother who barges into the bathroom while you are trying to use it, I would rate my expander, as losing an argument with your mom about whether you can have pie for breakfast. 

Books Are Good

American Kids in History, WWII

Rescuing the Children (Kindertransport)
My Family for the War
The Twelve Disciples

The Winter Horses

Nest

Letters to a Young Mathematician

Alice in Quantumland

The Red Pencil

Treasure Island

Blast to Past, Betsy Ross' Star

George Washington's Rules to Live By

The Encyclopedia of Earth

The 50 Most Extreme Places in the Solar System

Junk Drawer Physics

Geography, a Visual Encyclopedia

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

Hiroshima, a Novella

Try This! 50 Fun Experiments...

Mad Scientists, the Not So Crazy Work of Amazing Scientists

Immortal Max

The Winged Watchman

Fahrenheit 451

   We'll pass the books on to our children, by word of mouth, and let our children wait, in turn, on the other people. A lot will be lost that way, of course. But you can't make people listen. The have to come round in their own time, wondering what happened and why the world blew up and under them. It can't last. ~ Fahrenheit 451

Friday Fun

Mom, you get light coconut milk. 

     You might have noticed: I'm barely keeping up with the blog these days. All the learning we are doing around here is hard work. Did I mention I'm back to algebra? If someone had told me years ago, I would repeat algebra through my child, we might not have had any, but we're gonna make it. What doesn't make me go crazy will make me stronger. Right? I am tweaking a few writing projects here and there and some new ideas flowed in this week. New ideas are good. They remind me my brain is still working, and God's grace flowing.

Hanging Out in the Gorge

Time and trucks fly by, but for the boy...

...who plays with ooblek of the river.

She's scaled a lot of walls this year. She's overcoming. Thank you, Lord.

How we do anything, is how we do everything. ~ Richard Rohr

 

   Praying for Jack the kitty to return home. Pray with us? Trying to count our blessings in the midst of the pain. The rain has come. We hold onto hope: He finds us and fills us. He fills cisterns and deep aching places. He abides within, and in Him, we abide. He is present in hearts and heartaches.