Hikes a'Plenty

Aaron and I picked a cold Saturday to grab some fancy coffee to go and drive over to the Lake Sylvia Recreation Area.

We chose the Lake Sylvia Loop that also included a small portion of the Ouachita Trail. We added the Chinquapin Mountain Spur for a little extra length and elevation. Now that I know this gem is less than an hour away, we'll be back!

A few days later, Lauren and her kids joined me for a jaunt around the Kenny Vernon Nature Trail. And she taught me about frost flowers, which the kids delighted in finding EVERYWHERE.

 

Heart Dissection

Katherine continues to work her way through Advanced Biology. The dissections are by far the most fun part of the curriculum!

 

The Quiet Soundtrack of Joy

"You could argue that joy is the defining feature of a life organized around God. But it's rarely the explosive happiness of an emotional high, dramatic yet fickle and fleeting. It's more like a quiet undercurrent that slowly accumulates at the base of your soul, increasingly welling up like a soft melody that over the years becomes the soundtrack of your life." 

~John Mark Comer, "Practicing the Way"

This industrious orb weaver made a home in the azaleas by our front porch. Every morning when I go out to sit on the swing with my coffee, I see this beauty.

Our spaghetti squash are blooming and thriving, but so far the only flowers are male. I realize that is the normal way that squash blooms work, but I planted the seeds late this year. We may not get any fruit before the first freeze!

We turned an eye appointment into a little date recently. I love living close to downtown, so many places and events are within walking distance.

Walking the mile to and from the eye doctor allowed us to chat and share our hearts in the middle of the day, a time when we usually are busy with our own endeavors. What a sweet way to reconnect in normal, everyday life. This "quiet undercurrent" of joy is a rich treasure.

Reminders of God's Presence and Glory

"We must never quit reminding ourselves of God's presence and glory lest we quit doing what we're doing out of allegiance to him and love for others and do it for ourselves." 

~PD Tripp, "Lead"

October held so many beautiful things to remind us of God's presence and glory. Spider lilies that always seem to shoot up overnight.

Wheel bugs. New to me, but according to Wikipedia:

North American wheel bugs are highly regarded by organic gardeners because they consume a variety of insects and their presence indicates a healthy, pesticide-free ecosystem. "They're the lion or the eagle of your food web," Dr. Michael J. Raupp, an entomologist at the University of Maryland, notes. "They sit on top. When you have these big, ferocious predators in your landscape, that tells me that this is a very healthy landscape, because all these other levels in your food web are intact."

As silly as it sounds, when we are overseas, I miss acorns. This year is a mast year, and I keep collecting acorns of all sizes and colors. I just can't get enough.

Cow's Eye Dissection

Katherine didn't have to take Advanced Biology this year, but she wanted to.

We're finally to the "good" part, the dissections. Truly, creation shines with the design and the majesty of the Creator.

 

Birds and Books

This Spring we've watched several nests near our house, and one of them was in a bush low enough that we could watch the progress. We piled books in our basket (because you are NEVER too old for picture books) and enjoyed observing and learning until the baby birds grew up and flew away.

Have You Seen the Nesting Bird? by Rita Gray

Bird Builds a Nest by Martin Jenkins

Tanglebird by Bernard Lodge

Cradles in the Trees: The Story of Bird Nests by Patricia Brennan Demuth

A Nest is Noisy by Dianna Hutts Aston

You Nest Here With Me by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple

Mama Built a Little Nest by Jennifer Ward

This is the Nest that Robin Built by Denise Fleming

This season of life feels like our baby birds are all grown and flown. I'm so thankful for our kids and for the choices they are making as young adults.

 

February

 

In February, Aaron and the Lavukal Translation Team met via Zoom to continue slowly checking the gospel of Matthew.

Bulbs began to produce fragrant flowers heralding the arrival of spring.

Cellotrio explored more waterfalls on an epic, be flexible, day of adventure.

We visited Falling Water Falls,

and Six Finger Falls

which were both near the highway.

But we ran out of time to explore the other waterfalls on our itinerary

because our road went through a flooding river and just disappeared!

But we got to stop at one of favorite coffee shops, Rock-N-Java.

And our teenage chauffeur did a great job!

We planted several different kinds of tomato and pepper seeds during February

in hopes of glorious summer backyard produce. Isn't the Queen of the Night a great name?!? Reminds me of the famous Mozart aria.

On another weekend, we visited Buzzard Roost Trail.

and navigated beautiful rural roads still icy with snow.

Katherine enjoyed her biology dissections for school.

The mornings started getting a little bit lighter which made biking more enjoyable.

And National Ice Cream For Breakfast Day found us waiting in line for the Loblolly Creamery truck and its deliciousness.

September

 We've slipped into September beautifully.  I've started working part time with the public school orchestras again to help them cover a bell schedule change.  It's a perfect fit, spending time with people and a program I love while supporting the teachers and students on their journey to make music.

To celebrate the launch of Nasa's Artemis, we splurged on some Krispy Kreme Artemis donuts.  Since the launch was scrubbed, I'm curious if the limited-edition donuts will return for the next attempt.

I love it when people feel comfortable enough to call and ask, "Could we drop by for a few minutes?"  My cousin's family popped in and gave us a beautiful opportunity to pop some apple crumble into the oven and get some baby snuggles.

As our kids continue to blossom, we see them less often.  So it was with great delight that we answered a rousing YES when Sarah asked if she could stop for a quick lunch on her way to participate in a wedding in Missouri.

And Katherine faithfully chugs along with school.  Sometimes it's lonely as the last Choate kid at home, but we call ourselves "Cello Trio" now!

Spring Equinox

Spring finally conquered Winter.  Taking a walk on the morning of the equinox, I was stopped in my tracks at the huge glowing ball of a sun at the end of each intersection.

Later that afternoon, I read that many streets in the US are oriented north-south or east-west.  So, this was the perfect day to be amazed by the sunrise as the grid of streets framed the spectacle block after block.

Which also meant it was time to replace our toothbrushes.

 

Fossils

Now that we are back in Arkansas for a few weeks, I'm turning my attention to enjoying my professional development hours to keep my teaching license up to date.

Our educational co-op offers some incredible classes.   Although I do want to continue growing as a music educator, I also want to grow in life long learning of every type, so I recently took a class about the geology of the Arkansas River Valley and learned a LOT.

We spent one day driving around central Arkansas looking at rock formations and finding fossils and the second day we spent in the classroom discussing what we saw and learning even more.  The Arkansas Geological Survey has some great resources...go take a look!

Fireflies

Fireflies evoke memories of running around in the dark summer night, cupping my hands to hold the delicate shimmering creature.  I still find joy in watching these brilliant beetles light up the evening, and I'm loving all of the books, both fiction and non-fiction, filling up our book basket these days.

 Silent Sparks: The Wondrous World of Fireflies by Sara Lewis

Fireflies by Sally M. Walker

Fireflies in the Dark: The Story of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis & the Children of Terezin by Susan Goldman Rubin

F is for Fireflies: God's Summertime Alphabet by Kathy-Jo Wargin

Fireflies at Midnight by Marilyn Singer

Firefly Mountain by Patricia Thomas

The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle

Fireflies! by Julie Brinckloe

When Lightning Comes in a Jar by Patricia Polacco

Leo the Lightning Bug by Eric Drachman

Thursday, January 21

The 2020-2021 school year is finished! These hardworking girls jumped straight from one academic year to the next without a break, knowing that we would need to be ready to leave for America when most of their friends were enjoying Spring Break. Olivia and Katherine diligently tackled school, day after day, with only short breaks for moving back and forth from the village. 

Today’s fetal pig dissection culminated thirty-six weeks of curriculum, and now I’m down to my last student at home. I’m bursting with pride for these two and thankful for their contributions to their own learning.

Carnation vs. Orchid

When it comes to science experiments, carnations win.  Our little orchid didn't soak up the food coloring very well.  But it's still beautiful.