Back to Basics or Art 101
It finally happened! We had an art lesson.
When marrying my husband, who is an artist, I had visions of our future children drawing and painting for hours on end. When children came I exposed them to art books, art museums, and art supplies, hoping that they would naturally turn into Monets and Rembrands. To my dismay, that plan didn’t work! On the contrary, they grew up equaling drawing a simple illustration or coloring a page to pulling teeth.
I have never hoped for them to make their livelihood off of their artistic abilities. Iwould just like them to be acquainted with basic drawing concepts, principles of perspective and composition.
Eric started with the basics: it was simple, it was fun, and I think we might actually have some art lesson lovers in this home.
And I learned something new as well: apparently our eyes are located right in the center of the head. I didn’t believe it at first, but after some measuring I had to admit to my husband that he was right.
P.S. Don’t let this deceive you. Doing those projects was like pulling teeth, and they were pretty much the only ones we actually did in the years since then.
My Reading List
My aunt (left) & friend, circa 1959
I am really good at starting books but not good at finishing them. I hope making this list will keep me accountable and help me to stay on course.
Daily
One Year Bible (I follow the one year reading plan but read the passages in my own Bible. I just pencil in the dates in the margins)
Daily Light (Have been reading this one for years and absolutely love it)
July
Absolute Surrender (I read it in Bible College 17 years ago, and it was life changing. Just reading the first few pages this morning has been convicting and encouraging at the same time. It definitely causes me to look soberly at my life and ponder my walk with the Lord)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Teaching the Trivium: Christian Homeschooling in a Classical Style (Still trying to decide where I stand regarding Classical approach to education and what exactly classical education is)
The Core (I read it last summer, I am not going to read it from cover to cover, just look over it to help us decide if Classical Conversations is for our family)
August
The Pursuit of God (another reread but I need it)
September
God’s Pursuit of Man (I bought it 3 years ago and as much as I love Tozer’s books, I am yet to read it)
War and Peace Volumes 1 & 2 (Back in January while visiting my hometown I realized that I need to reread some of the Russian classics that I once was so familiar with. I felt like a foreigner among my people because I couldn’t remember the characters, the story lines, the poems that I once knew. I couldn’t read between the lines because of my “illiteracy”. I told my mom that this was the year I would start rereading Russian classics. Several months have passed and I haven’t read one book yet! I hope making a plan and writing down the titles will help me achieve this goal)
October
War and Peace Volumes 3 & 4
November
How to raise your children for Christ
December
The Idiot (Dostoyevsky has always been a difficult author for me to read, so I am allowing myself 2 months to finish the book)
I am linking up my list to Sarah Mae’s 2012 reading list.
new beginning
we are moving. very soon. may 15 is the day a new family will get to call this beautiful place their new home. my emotions have ranged from sadness to denial to anxiety. not knowing where we will live in just a few weeks, nor not knowing how we will fit all our belongings into any place we can call home in ca have produced them. i have grown to love the this place, the friendships we have developed here . i will miss it. i will miss them. yet, the page is turning, and my sadness has been replaced by excitement. i am excited to see what the LORD has for us, excited to let go of possessions, excited to have a new beginning.
so, my goal for the next few weeks is to let go of stuff. pack only what we need and absolutely love. everything we bring with us will have to fit into our new home. no more storage boxes in the garage. no more saving things just in case…
Can I sit on your head?
Grant asked Daddy numerous times today. So Daddy let him, and they took some pictures while at it.
Day One
In reality Grant is well aware of how and when to use the potty. He is just very stubborn. He knows we ran out of diapers, and underwear is the next best thing we’ve got. So, except for a couple of minor accidents, we are doing great. Can’t imagine him not being completely trained by the end of this week.
Washington Skies
All photographs were taken from our living room, and are unedited.
It’s quite beautiful here, isn’t it?
2010
We are not a family that makes unrealistic resolutions at the beginning of a new year. Yet, I decided to make one; and that is to return to blogging.
Happy New Year!
Of cats and clean houses
Primary Language Lessons is a great tool to teach children to speak and write English correctly. I am really enjoying using it for our studies. However, the volume was written in the early 1900’s. Thus some of the topics covered are a bit irrelevant (e.g. the care of pets speaks of caring for ponies). Today Benjamin needed to read questions silently and answer them in complete statements. Some of his responses made me laugh out loud. Thought I would share them with you.
Q: When does a cat shed its fur?
A: When it gets really tight!
Q: Of what use is a cat about a house or barn?
A: To clean it.
Q: What does a cat eat?
A: Cat food.
We don’t have a cat. But I am thinking about getting one now … to keep our house clean!
My Knights in shining armor
Creation movie
Eric and I just watched a beautiful movie on creation. God’s handiwork is stunning! Click here to watch it.
Enjoy! Can’t wait to let the boys watch it.
The Urquharts 