ksl.com - Experts hope more kids learn how to argue

ksl.com - Experts hope more kids learn how to argue

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What I've Learned From the Belgian

Life is pretty fun with a 17 year old in the house. Things I've learned since I added an exchange student:

*I have good taste in music
*Rules are important to lay down from the get go
*By the age of 17, they seem to outgrow the need for constant food
*You can say anything when you say it with humor
*High school girls are still the same (even after 20 years)
*High school boys are the same (even after 20 years and even if they are from another country)
*One person can make/break a household
*My oldest likes having an older "brother" to look up to
*Facebook is a secret organization that is quietly taking over the world
*Apparently no one makes their bed until they graduate from college
*It's nice to have a big family where all the chairs are filled at the table

International House Of.....

Exchange students! Last night we welcomed exchange student number two, Quentin Vander Eede (17) from Belgium. We are super excited to have Quentin here, he speaks excellent English and is super outgoing and kind. He and WonSeok met a few weeks ago at a get together and hit it off so it was a pretty easy choice to host Quentin when we heard they were having trouble finding a host family.
As we were trying to decide, we couldn't help but think of my Grandparents and all their efforts to offer their home to many and we felt so impressed to follow in their footsteps that we said yes. I will admit though that I am secretly hoping for Belgian chocolate someday in the future! We'll see.

I'll post some pics of our Benetton ad family soon!

I Will Survive

So I've survived my first Joy School teaching experience. Survived is about the right word for it too.

Things I learned at Joy School yesterday?

*Send the older sibling to a friends house.
*Children are possessive of their OWN toys.
*Doing the actions to the "Circle Song" makes you break a sweat
(totally counted as exercise yesterday!)
*Chocolate covered raisins are like gold.
*If you have a hamster, hide it.
*Two and half hours of teaching preschool is like five hours in mom time.

You Really Don't Know What You're Saying

Here are some words of wisdom/ideas I have discussed with our exchange student!

1) The Internet is inaccessible in winter due to the snow.
2) Basketball makes you taller.
3) It's okay to use metal silverware on cooking pots.
3) Ketchup is good on EVERYTHING.
4) You CAN sleep under the top sheet.
5) TV is inaccessible during the winter due to the snow.
6) Bacon is it's own food group
7) It's difficult to raise children in the US because you can't hit them.
8) Fluency of any language is considered met if you know more than 10 phrases.
9) EVERYONE loves a midnight snack.
10) There is NO SUCH THING as an inappropriate time to laugh.

Ah, schucks!

Here's the first day of school for our little pre-schooler!
Don't you LOVE the back pack!

GRRR

Do ya ever just have days where you're in a crabby mood? Today was that day for me. I just couldn't shake it.
Just wondering, what do you all do to get rid of crabbiness?

Bang, Bang, Bang

I recently had the thought that adversity is the tool that God uses to chip away at the natural man so that our souls can break free. I have to remind myself that even though the dark enclosure of my natural self feels better at times, I know ultimately I want freedom for my soul.

It's hard to trust that the constant banging of the "adversity hammer" is doing any good but I guess that would be the practice of faith.

The Man On The Floor

I went to WalMart yesterday,(please don't hold it against me.) because I had to pick up some cheap organizational containers. Coming through the front doors I noticed a man on his hands and knees on the floor. As I approached him, I wondered what on earth he could possibly be doing on the floor of WalMart, ick. Coming closer I realized that he was a janitor, complete with cart and all, and he was cleaning. It was then I realized that he was removing scuff marks from shoes with his bare hands.
I was impressed.

As I walked past him, I realized I was witnessing a great example of excellence.

Anyone can sweep/mop a floor, but this man was committed to getting the job done well!

It's rare that I find inspiration at WalMart, but yesterday I was grateful for the janitor.

Don't Worry, They're Washable!

For some reason today was the day we decided to clean out the toaster. I don't love doing this but as far as household chores go, this one is pretty simple. My six year old was very excited to help and as I was dumping the crumb collection out of the upside down toaster, the task of cleaning the crumb trays fell to him. It took me a minute to realize that he was simply holding the trays under running water without touching the crumbs, (It takes some elbow grease to clean my crumb trays. That should tell you how often I clean it.) I could see he was avoiding any sort of skin contact with said crumbs.
I told him that he would have to use his hands to get the crumbs off the tray and that it was okay to get his hands dirty, they were washable.

Isn't that the point of life really, that we're here to get our hands dirty in the service of others and our savior? I guess we shouldn't be so concerned with how big the mess is or how dirty we'll get but always remember that through faith everything is washable.

It's especially comforting to think that even the bad things we do, intentionally or not, can be removed. And while it's never okay to make bad choices just because we can fix it later, I am thankful that whether we soil our hands with service or sin, Christ will always help us wash away the dirt.

I am grateful for washable hands and a washable soul.