Disney Sketch Class (Aidan)

~Walt Disney~

Walt Disney did not start off popular or famous. He never planned to become a household name. His full first name was Walter, and he lived with his mother and sister, his father being a construction worker. Walt Disney grew to love art from his mother who drew the blue prints for his father, who used them in his work. His mother, though her art work was not as exciting as the famous artists, was still passionate about her vocation, and she taught her young son to follow. He learned from his mother, and he was happy with his home. But his father had plans. 

So, the Disney family became farmers. Mr. Disney's construction vocation had failed, but this did not suppress his ambitious idea of one day becoming wealthy and content. So, he started the task of caring for his enormously large farm. He did not believe in starting small. So Walt Disney learned the ways of the farmers along with his father, and he began hard work from an extremely young age. Walt Disney learned to be content with this job, but that was not the end of it. 

Mail routes! Again, Mr. Disney failed, and so he started a twice a day delivery to 700 individuals. And again the rest of the Disney family was uprooted from their home to live closer to their father's job. And again Disney worked hard for his father. At three in the morning he woke up to leave for his deliveries, and at five in the evening he started again. His school suffered, but he still found ways to have fun. He and his friend created an act about Abraham Lincoln and a friend. The school loved the act, and Disney enjoyed himself along with his friend.

Jam making? Mr. Disney again failed at a vocation, and so he bought a factory to make jam, and Disney was forced to work for him for free. Walt Disney knew how this would end. And as the Disney family worked at this job, a war began. World War I started, and Disney watched as his friend went off to war, leaving him behind to work for his father. Disney wished to help in the war, and he was just old enough to be a red cross ambulance driver. But there was a problem. His parents had to sign the paper. Mr. Disney refused. He was not going to lose his best worker. But his mother sneaked in and signed the paper for Disney. His father knew nothing about it.

Disney traveled to Connecticut to train to become an ambulance driver. But before he finished training, the war ended. So, Disney was to help with the wounded soldiers who were not yet able to return home heal. He heard the stories of the wounded, and he became familiar with trench rats. These rats would crawl into the pits that soldiers fought in, and Disney sketched pictures of the interaction between humans and these rats.

After Disney was no longer needed, he did not want to return to his father's business. So he thought he would work for a movie company. Movies had started to become popular, and some companies made advertisements that played before the movie. Disney tried drawing for the company, but he was no good. After a while, he left the company.

But Disney still dreamed of drawing moving pictures. So, he started his own company, and he hired some of his more artistic friends to draw for him. He failed to draw a hit for a long time, but finally, Oswald the lucky rabbit became a favorite. People became attached to this little cartoon, and Disney began to make money. He also began to disrupt the larger companies.

So, Disney was sent a letter to sign for the rights of Oswald to draw in a short clip. He signed. He did not know that in the letter it also asked for all of the rights of Oswald. Disney lost more and more money without knowing what had happened. He finally went to ask why his business was failing, and the company showed him the letter. Disney was furious. He had lost his only success, but he would not give up.

Disney again set to work. After a bit of experimenting, Disney stumbled across a great plan. He would not only make his drawings move, he would make them talk. So, he drew Mortemore, the funny little mouse that caused his fame. But his wife did not like this name. So, she suggested Mickey. This sounded more appealing, so he named his mouse Mickey Mouse.

The talking animation was a huge success, and people wanted more. So, Disney began to create his first movie. Snow White was the first full length animated movie to include sound. Disney worked hard on creating more and more movies. But, he ran into trouble.

Across the sea, World War II began. Disney's buildings began to fill up with soldiers who needed a place to sleep. He was no longer able to make movies. His buisness was beginning to fail.

So Disney met with government officials, and he made a deal with them. If they fully funded his operation and let him keep his buildings, he would make more movies, supporting the war effort and national security. These movies kept his company alive until the end of the war.

The legacy of Disney stretches all the way into modern times. Movies still are being created by the Disney company. One man's passion of acting and drawing created years of entertainment and memories. Today, two parks, Disney World and Disney Land, stand as a memory to the man who sketched a mouse Named Mickey.
By: Rus (Age 12)

This and That (Megan)

Over the past few weeks I've wondered whether I'm stuck in Groundhog Day or Alexander's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad month.  Juggling the logistics of selling our house, homeschooling with most of our books in storage, shoveling through blizzards, and caring for a houseful of kids with the stomach flu has kept me hopping ever since Stephen left to start his new job in Alabama. There are days when I want to pinch myself awake from this nightmare and others when I am awestruck by the way God has orchestrated so many details to pave our way for this next adventure!

I can't remember the last time I took a picture of the kids (or where I packed the camera?), but I've scribbled down some of the crazy things they've come out with lately...

The other day Connor warmed my heart by saying, "Mom, you have true beauty, not that pasteurized beauty."

The twins have introduced some fascinating and hilarious dynamics into our family.  They keep poor Brandan a bit off balance since he's never quite sure which baby is which.  The other day he was a little too rough with one of them, so I told him to apologize.

Brandan - "Okay, who did I hit?  Was it Baxter, or was it Cade?"
Me - "Ummm, I don't know.  Just say you're sorry to both of them."  :)

I have been astonished by how quickly Brandan has learned how to read.  He is fascinated by every phonics rule and enjoys filling pages with his "school work."  The other day he informed me, "Mom, I'm just going to write my numbers in general."

We have to keep a close eye on Brandan, or he'll slip off and play hours of chess on the computer.  He has memorized all of the passwords and PINs for the Kindle's and can provide technical support when needed.  The other day, I heard him bemoaning the fact that our internet filter was bogging down the computer.  He said, "I just HATE these covenant eyes!"  

The twins are in perpetual motion!  Not only have we installed every conceivable child lock and gate, but we've had to bungee cord their dressers shut, or they'll empty all the drawers and flip the thing over onto themselves during nap time.  After they snapped two curtain rods, we resorted to thick dowels they could use for chin ups. They climb like little monkeys and have been known to leave lipstick graffiti on their sisters' walls.  Bedtime is quite the ritual.  It's next to impossible to put them both down before one of them springs up and escapes.  The other day I was certain I had "Baxter and Cade-proofed" the room for nap time, but Baxter stripped the toddler bed, moved the mattress, and got stuck in the bed frame.  I could fill a novel with accounts of their antics, but I'm too sleep deprived to think of anything else amusing at the moment.

Poor Baxter is having an identity crisis.  Whenever he sees his reflection, he grins and points, exclaiming, "It's Dade (Cade)!  It's Dade!"

If Cade finds anything distasteful, he'll hand it to me and say, "It's a blah!"

The twins love to play church.  They'll sit on the hearth together with any book they kind find.  Pretending it is a hymnal, they'll break into the most passionate chorus of a song they've made up together.  Sometimes it will be to the tune of their favorite hymn, but they'll replace it with the chorus, "Holy, Holy, Mama!"  Their older brothers are convinced they are going to turn out Catholic. 

 

Feeding the Waves - Reflections on Sea Glass (Megan)

Feeding the Waves - Reflections on Sea Glass

 

I was 7 years old, splashing and twirling in the waves. 

“Look, Daddy!  They’re hungry!”  I squealed, tossing my treasure trove of shells into the voracious belly of the sea. 

With childish abandon I fed them again and again.  They must have deemed my offerings too pitiful,  for the great waves crashed down and tried to swallow me.…

Rolling billows sucked air from my small lungs, replacing  it with the briny foretaste of death.  My screams for help were drowned by the pounding surf.

Just as my body went limp with fatigue, I felt the strong arms of my father envelop me.

I was rescued and reclaimed.  My fears were calmed.  I was safe.

 

I was 17 years old, drawn to this same beach by a force as strong as the lunar tides. 

The surf was nothing more than background noise.  I walked here alone to collect trinkets and hear myself think.  I didn’t bother to get my feet wet. 

My eyes were fixed on the treasures I had collected.  Holding them to the light, I watched them sparkle and imagined the beautiful things I could make with them. 

Energized by the pounding surf, I relished my sense of independence and potential.

My destiny was mine to shape.  My horizons were limitless.  I was invincible.

 

I was 37 when I found time to return to my beach.  Salty tears mixed with the ocean spray.  Screams of disillusionment and rage were drowned by the pounding surf .

“You’ve taken everything else!  Won’t you let me keep just one for myself?  Reluctantly I opened my palm to gaze on the last of my treasures.  It was shaped like my heart and reflected my likeness.

I clung so tightly that glass began to cut my hand.  Salt stung my wound. 

Closing my eyes, I remembered the small girl who had relinquished her treasures so freely, and I decided to let go. 

Limp with fatigue, the greedy waves would have consumed me had I not been supported by the strong arms of my Father.

I was rescued and reclaimed.  My fears were calmed.  I was safe.

 

Someday I will return to my beach, an older woman, yet filled with childlike wonder of the sea. 

My hands will be empty, and the waves will no longer thunder their demands. 

I will think back to the beautiful shells and trinkets I fed to these waves.  So many dreams turned to “broken chards, tossed, and tumbled smooth by years of waves and currents.” 

Some of them will be returned to me as sea glass, refined by my Father and more precious than ever.  “For what He does not always return in kind, He replaces in value.”

My future is His.  “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.”  I am safe.