Quote of the Day

"...all this beauty here is not annoying if I participate in it."
~ Dandelionmom ~

My friend is so wise, isn't she?

And now I'm off to participate in the beauty.

Gotta Love a Little Friday Night in the Shoe!

I made 'em sing a couple of hymns with me afterward to sort of even things out. Seriously - I really DID. Teeheehee...

Happy Birthday Mary!

Watch the video first!



In the confusion and excitement of the birthday wishes/package contents viewing video making process, we neglected to share a couple of our favorite items from the box of goodies Mary at Hope Echoes sent us. But, as you can see below, we made up for it by taking some still pics of the kids holding a few of their (and my) favorite things.

Lily must have grabbed the Pioneer Woman cookbook out of the box first thing, because we dug all the way to the bottom - clear down there where Flat Mary was - and I never saw it. The Pioneer Woman Cooks - Wow! It really is true that one man's (or woman's) trash is another man's (or woman's) treasure, isn't it? When you do finally make it to Oklahoma, Mary, I'll whip up one of Pioneer Woman's tasty recipes in your honor! How 'bout that?











Tess latched on to this purse right off the bat, which is why, I suppose, it wasn't in the box when we went through it. More "one man's trash..." stuff here, for sure. Tess just left to spend the night with Old Man's folks and took St. Louis Mary the Birthday Girl's old handbag with her. You must be a really "with it" 56 year old woman, Mary, if a ten year old girl loves your hand-me-downs so much! Either that, or...well...my girl is...umm...never mind...
:D




I think all the stuff in this picture was in the video, but this trio of youngens wanted me to take a picture of them holding their treasures too. So I did.


And here we've got Flat Mary pinned through the chest to the bulletin board where we can find her when we're ready to take her on our next outing. Hey Flat Mary, wanna have dinner with us tonight? And tomorrow you can help us lay the carpet in Ethan's apartment. Ooooh, are you gonna be glad you came to visit the Shoe, girl!!


Hope this wasn't too much like a surprise party for you, Library Ann. If it was, I'm sorry, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY anyway! And thanks for the box o' sh...ahem...stuff.

God bless you, friend.

I Don't Care!

I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care.

Yes, I do.

Says Mamie

"Mmmm...it smells like Jesus in here!"

Betcha they drink this stuff in heaven!

Mexican Coca-Cola - made with SUGAR, not corn syrup. And it comes in thick glass bottles, which, everyone knows, makes it taste even better! In the words of the gal who pushed me off the wagon, "It's just like the Coke we used to drink when we were kids." She's right. It's DE-LISH! Trust me.

Old Woman: A Bridge Over Troubled Water

I went to sleep away camp for a week the summer I turned 11 years old. One of my playmates, a girl a year younger, went at the same time and we thought we'd be able to share a cabin. But things didn't work out that way, and she and I were placed in different groups on opposite sides of the camp. As I stood among the horde of sweaty, giggling girls that made up my "unit," using every bit of strength in my still 10 year old body to keep from crying, I pondered what the "bright side" of the situation might be - something my dad always encouraged us girls to do. And as I pondered, I spied a girl standing all alone near a tree. She was crying - sobbing, actually - so I went to her, hoping I could do something to make her feel better. It turned out she had also been separated from her one and only friend at camp. I told her that I was in the same boat, and asked if she'd like to be my "buddy." She agreed and we set about the task of choosing the cabin we would stay in. We were putting our clothes and other belongings away when I saw a sad looking little girl standing outside the cabin door. She was looking for a bunk, and had been turned away at all the other cabins. I asked her to stay with us, and, even though "crying girl" didn't like the idea at first, we were all soon settled in and happy. As I fell asleep that night I thought, "Maybe this - these new friends - is the 'silver lining' I was looking for." But by the next afternoon I knew I was wrong. That was how long it took before Lonely Girl 1 and Lonely Girl 2 decided that they were "best friends," and that they weren't accepting any other members in their club. I'm not going to tell about the remaining five days of my stay at camp that summer, but I will say they were miserable ones for me. That was the first of many times that I can clearly recall being what I now think of as a "bridge" in the relationships of others.

I bring people together; it's just part of the Old Woman job description. And, truthfully, I'm happy - honored even - to do it. I enjoy helping people feel included. I like to make people happy. So, I make a friend here, and I make a friend there, and before you know it they're friends with each other, and I'm...well...back to being a bridge. The bright side is that I'm very good at my job, which means I've got lots of happy acquaintances.

Not whining. Don't need consolation. Just making an observation.

Clara and Mama Go Out on the Town

Wednesday November 4, 2009

Giddy Up College Boy!

If the college boy in the shoe leaves his graded Spanish tests lying on the dining room table he might find that his geeky homeschooling parents have rewarded his high scores with STICKERS! Can't wait 'til my little cowboy sees 'em! Giddy up Ethan! Teehee...

The Creepy Caterpillar

by Henry Barron Shoe

My dad, my oldest sister, Chelsea, my little brother, Gus, and I were working in the backyard when suddenly a really ugly, giant, caterpillar with sharp ears, and sharp teeth, and drool coming out of his mouth crawled out of the leaves. My dad threw a giant rock at the caterpillar, and it turned into a monster. But it was a good monster and didn't hurt us. Then the caterpillar turned into a wolf, and started to chase us. Everybody was screaming. And then the wolf turned back into a caterpillar. I tried to call my dad, but he couldn't hear me. He was busy picking up tiny caterpillars that looked just like the big one. Chelsea was in the living room and the caterpillar went inside and turned into a giant bird thing. Then my dad and I went inside and killed the giant bird thing.

The End

This story came from a dream Henry had a couple of nights ago. It must have been one of those really vivid ones that that you can't get out of your head, because, not only did he have me type out the story for him, but he's also drawn countless pictures of the creatures that were in the dream. Perhaps it's because I've been reading Bringing Up Boys by Dr. James Dobson, and thinking about the way little boys need to identify with, and model themselves after good, strong men (preferably their own fathers) to become good, strong men themselves that I recognized the manly, "identifying with daddy," symbolism in Henry's dream-story. You'll notice it was my little man-cub who went into the house with his father to slay the giant bird thing, thus saving his his big sister and baby brother from certain doom. Something about that is so sweet it brings tears to my eyes. I bet you other mamas of boys know just what I mean. Don't you?

7 Quick Takes Friday

1.

The kids and I spent a couple of hours on Wednesday looking at baby pictures, and it's got all of us wishing for a new little Shoe baby. Someone asked me the other day if my children resent having lots of siblings. If she could hear all the wishing going on around here these days, she'd certainly have her answer.

2.

I stayed up entirely too late last night trying to make the second edition of Late Night with Old Woman in the Shoe. I was going to do another song for you guys, but I couldn't get the camera set right (which is code for "I looked VERY fat regardless of which angle I recorded from"), and a fly kept buzzing around my head, which is distracting and worrisome cuz a girl can't sing with her mouth closed, if you know what I mean. I also sounded pretty darn bad. It's true I was out of practice, weak, and a bit shaky in Episode 1, but last night I was approaching "downright embarrassing." So I gave up, and went to bed - at 2:30 A.M. Now I'm tired. And I don't even have a show to show for it. Sigh...

3.

My kids are outside playing "Gypsy Circus" right now, and the weather is so beautiful that I'm just going to let them stay there for awhile. We'll do some math before lunch and maybe have a read aloud session this afternoon, and call it a "school day."

4.

Two potentially excellent opportunities have recently come up for the Shoe family. The first concerns Old Man's job, and he's very excited about it. I, on the other hand, am optimistic but have chosen to reserve my excitement for when the dough starts rolling in. The second opportunity is a long shot, to be sure. It has to do with a house - a nice house, in a very nice neighborhood - and the VERY remote possibility that the Shoes could live in a nicer, lots of room for toe wigglin', shoe in the near future. I truly pray only for God's will where these (and all other) things are concerned. I sure do know what I want. But He knows what we need.

5.

I think I figured out a friendship related mistake I've been making for perhaps my whole life. It sounds silly, but I think, in some instances, I assume certain relationships are closer than they actually are. I sometimes give people my trust before they've earned it, or asked for it, or have even wanted it. I "open up" to people who really couldn't care less about what I have to say. I read too much into simple acts of kindness, and allow myself to believe that those who are just being nice to me actually want to know me. And by doing these things, I set myself up for all kinds of disappointment, and embarrassment. Now I don't, by any means, do this with every friendship, or with every person who does me a kindness. But I do see the tendency in myself. I know that love in friendship is very much like romantic love - it needs time to grow. Sometimes I think that - even more than physical attraction, or like-mindedness, how much two people have in common - successful relationships are all about time. When next I chance to meet someone who instantly feels like a friend, I'll remind myself of that.

6.

Oh my goodness!! Clara just came inside soaking wet. Does anyone know if gypsies use lots of water in their circuses? I think the time for our math lesson has arrived.

7.

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.

Viktor Frankl (1905-1997)
Source: Man's Search for Meaning

Have any of you read Man's Search for Meaning? If you haven't, you should.


7 Quick Takes Friday hosted by Jennifer at Conversion Diary.

So that's where those spoons went!