Tuesday, September 20, 2005

It's a girl!

We had our 20 week ultrasound today and found out that our third child is a girl. She waved to us in the ultrasound and curled up into a ball feigning shyness. Cute. So now Christina is ready to get busy picking names! Any ideas?

Afterward we went and watched the movie "March of the Penguins." It is a wonderful documentary, very inspiring and amazing to watch the cycle of life and the dedication of the King penguin parents in such harsh conditions. I'm glad that I don't have to hold an egg above the ice for months while Christina goes off to the grocery store (70 miles away) and picks up some fish to feed our little one with. A highly recommended movie, go check it out before it leaves the theater.

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Field Trip!

Today the kids and I went to the A.C. Gilbert Children's museum. Our friends down the street, the Justices, came along. We were disappointed that the main Gilbert house is closed for new paint but we had a great time exploring the other house and the outside play structure. When we first arrived we were disappointed to find that all of the homeschooler science classes were filled but by the time we left they had added classes. We moms got all of the boys signed up successfully and they are excited to be able to take these together, it's always nice to have a familiar face around. I met the director and asked if they had any plans for art classes. She said that was a great idea and would plan those for the winter . She even took notes on the type of classes we would like! So now we will have even more fun to look forward to.

Monday, September 05, 2005

School and Space

For history this week we got to read some of the Legends of King Arthur. This was great fun! What little boy isn't fascinated with knights and castles exc.? We are signing David up for a once a month science class at the A.C. Gilbert Children's museum in Salem. Abigail and I will get to play with all the fun stuff while David does great boy things like dissecting eye balls. I am so glad for supplemental homeschooling classes! Eyeballs - YUCK!

For family night this week we watched an IMAX film about the space station. I am sure the effect would have been cool on the "really big" screen but we enjoyed it greatly at home with popcorn and all. As you probably know Space is a never ending fascination with David and he desperately wants to fly in the shuttle. For the next couple of weeks I will hear all of his unanswerable questions about the space station which usually involve impossible "what if's". "Mom, what if the moon got out of orbit and rammed the station..." Oh the impossible questions of motherhood!

Christina's Turn

I thought I would pop in here with a note. I can't let Adriel have all the fun, now can I? The pregnancy is going well and we are very excited about having this new little person in our family. With such an age spread between the kids I know David and Abbie will be great helpers and they are both excited about the baby. They do differ in their opinions on the gender though. David is sure the baby is (and should be) a boy while Abigail would prefer a sister.

School is going well and we are having fun with it. David's favorite subjects at our house are Bible and history. Friday the kids drew pictures of David and Goliath with sidewalk chalk while I read the story for our Bible time. David is generally shy about praying out-loud but when we prayed on Saturday after Bible reading we divided up the requests and he gladly lifted our growing baby in prayer to the Lord. It is a sweet thing for this mommy to hear her children pray. They get to the point without all of the flourishes, "God, take good care of our baby." and leave no one wondering about their feelings.

Hurricane Katrina

Yes, we are going to feel the financial effects of Hurricane Katrina for years to come. Yes, there are probably vast improvements that can be made in emergency management (no amount of simulation can prepare for the contingencies involved in a real life disaster of this size).

Yes, the poor were disproportionately affected. Yes, yes, yes....

But let's take a step back, stop and think about the enormity of what just happened to a city on our nation's soil. Let's leave the bickering and blame for later and get to working together as a nation of individuals to help those that are in need, re-root the homeless, and work to heal our economy. Civilization requires a government to lead the people, but the people must do the work. And it is the spirit of the people that define the civilization, not the government.

And to those in New Orleans that this week put on your drag and marched in the decadence parade despite the city's condition, shame on you! By remaining in the city only to flaunt your lifestyle you are putting those in need in greater danger, distracting rescue efforts, and proving that you care more about your personal desires than those around you. Find something productive to do or get out of the way of those that are suffering and those trying to help.

If anyone reading this knows of ways we can help please post comments to this entry. Christina's parents are going to be taking a displaced family into their home this week, this family has lost everything and needs clothing for a 3 year old girl, they have clothes for the older boy (8 years old I believe), toys, activities, car?, job... and I would assume clothes and supplies for the parents as well. The family coming to stay with the Betz's are related to the their next door neighbors. If you have anything that can help these folks please call or email Christina and she'll get you connected up with the family.