Wedding Anniversary

Yesterday, December 30th, was our 7th wedding anniversary. It is pretty hard to believe that Chris and I have been married that long already.

We took the kids to the Children's Museum in the city, which is terribly overstimulating and busy on a Sunday afternoon, but fun. Their favorite exhibit is ALWAYS the sandbox--how boring is that? We went to our favorite crunchy restaurant in the tres chic part of town. The girls spilt a 5-fruit smoothie and black bean and cheese quesadilla, Chris ordered a fish sandwich and an amazing Bloody Mary and I had a "Super Burrito" and Margarita (which was VERY strong and I was slipping under the table mid-meal). Not a very romantic outing all told, but the car ride home was especially quiet and we held hands.

It was a great day spent with the people I love most, especially my husband--who always makes me laugh.

Christmas Pictures

Stardust

Chris and I watched the movie Stardust last night. It was so great--Lord of the Rings meets romantic comedy. I am appalled that I had never even heard of the book before watching the film...maybe I need to peruse the adult section of the library more often!

Homeschool Decision

A better explanation of our decision is warranted.

After lengthy, difficult conversations we decided that we would like to homeschool our girls. It is not something that I ever pictured myself doing. I remember back when we were dating, Chris mentioned that he would like to homeschool his children one day. I laughed at him. No way would I be the epitome of the conservative Christian cliche--a pastor's wife with lots of homeschooled kids. But here we are!

It finally dawned on us that there is no such thing as a "perfect" school (well, maybe Peace Lutheran Academy). Claire's school was the best you can get academically, but there were so many things that we didn't like (Muslims...Hindus...militant rules and schedules...sub-par music education...Hanna Montana induced "tween" peer pressure in kindergarten...all the driving). I will not be able to provide a "perfect homeschool" environment, but that's okay. We were not okay with sub-perfection before now because we erroneously thought that perfection was possible.

The most important thing is to go forward in the forgiveness and love that only a family can provide. I am excited about all the great things that I can do with my kids and our more flexible schedule. Claire is going to be doing lots of learning along side the sibling hair-pulling and tea parties. Martin Loopers here I come!

Randomness

(1) The Jung Seed catalog arrived in the mail today. It is such a beautiful catalog...I ogled it for 30 minutes after I tucked the girls into bed. The prettiest flowers and the most beautiful vegetables ever! Every year I mentally write out an extensive botanical wish list upon receiving the Jung catalog...but I never order, as I tend to kill green things.

(2) My Everyday Food January/ February issue arrived in the mail as well. The recipes are inspiring to my menu planning lists like always, but even more exciting was an advertisement for PBS. Masterpiece Theater is presenting all six of Jane Austen's novels starting January 13th. Check it out!!! Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy!!! I could re-watch that version of Pride and Prejudice a million times and my heart would race every time during the carriage ride...

(3) I tried the No-Knead Bread recipe with 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat flour and it turned out great! I will gradually try adding more wheat flour and other yummies like wheat germ and millet and I will let you know the perfect recipe when I reach it.

(4) An update to wondering minds: Christopher and I are definitely leaning toward the homeschooling side of the fence. Claire's last day of Kindergarten will most likely be January 15th (which is the last day of first semester).

Wellness

The church was sent a "Wellness DVD" yesterday. It was funded in part by the Fort Wayne Seminary, Synod and Thrivent. My husband and I actually wasted our evening last night watching part of it (while eating chips). If you would like a few good laughs...check it out!

I was also sent a fundraising pack from FW. Ummm...is the money going to be used for other cool projects like the Wellness DVD ? What a waste! Certainly holistic wellness is not going to be acheived through trite DVD's.

Mannish

Sigh.

I was inundated with this ad for birth control this morning on Yahoo!. It really bothered me.

LIBERATION from being a woman! Apparently, kids and periods are a big problem and now a little daily pill is your solution to avoiding both! YEAH!

What's so bad with being a woman? Is not having periods going to be better---seems mannish to me. It can't be good for women, no matter what the drug company or the FDA says. Very unnatural.