Book Review- By: Stella

I was given a very interesting book. It explains God’s infallible word in a very understandable way. Enjoy!

Excerpt from-Case for Christ for Kids:

If you heard that a man fell down dead, then got up and walked away, what would be your first thought? You might blurt out, “He wasn’t really dead! He was just knocked out.” There are a few of these ‘after death’ stories from time to time…That’s what many people have suggested about Jesus. It seems more believable…doesn’t it? … Let’s take a closer look at these not-quite-dead theories. The fake-death crowd offers three items of evidence to support their view: Mark 15:36 says that on the cross, Jesus was offered some drink on a sponge. A drug? Mark 15:44 says Pilate was surprised by Jesus’ quick death. Was he buried too quickly? Jesus walked and talked later. Could it be he never died at all?

Stripped and Whipped. Jesus received a severe beating at the hands of the Roman guards… This tells us that Jesus would have been in a very serious medical condition before he even made it up to the cross… Most of us have seen pictures of Jesus on a cross, but those images don’t usually tell the whole story. The cross remains one of the cruelest torture methods ever invented… Put it all together. If Jesus somehow survived all of this by being taken from the cross a little early—what kind of shape do you think he would have been in three days later? He wouldn’t have appeared fit and healthy like as the Gospels tells us he appeared! ... Being realistic, we must agree that Jesus could not have survived the execution described in his four biographies. So the whole question comes down to his burial place doesn’t it? ... So was the Body stolen? Jesus was not buried in a hole in the ground, but a cave-actually a tiny room cut out of rock… You could easily roll the rock downhill into place, but it would take many strong men to roll it back up… Also, the tomb was guarded… So, highly trained Roman guards stood by the tomb. Do you think it would have been easy for a few of Jesus’ friends to get by them and break in? … What about the disciples? There is one other piece to the resurrection puzzle. Why would the disciples change so much in their courage and hope? When Jesus was arrested they went into hiding… But something happened. Within a few years the same disciples were leading a movement that spread all across the Roman Empire-even though many believers were punished or killed for joining it… Christian history records that ten were executed (out of 11) for their faith. Their belief gave them that much courage (Strobel, 69-82).

By: Stella

For: Fundamentals of Writing Class Newsletter

The True Meaning of Easter By: Stella

Easter is a puzzling holiday for some people. This occasion has been sadly confused and used by some as a day for the ‘Easter Bunny’, candy, and gifts. People have pushed away the truth. The truth is what we are going to look at right now.

Up a road, a band of men were marching. The dust flew everywhere. In the middle of the group a man was carrying a heavy, wooden cross. He was stumbling with this burden, and being mocked and jeered at bitterly. He carried the burden and was later taken and nailed onto that same cross. A crown of thorns was placed on his head, and he had a robe put around him. The mockers laughed and scoffed.

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing!” This man looked up to heaven, praying for his unjust, cruel persecutors. Then, a moment later, he called out loudly, “It is finished! Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” Breathing his last, darkness covered the land, the earth trembled, and the curtain that blocked the Holy of Holies from all men but the priests, was torn in two.

If this was the end of this truth, would there be hope? So, a man came, was falsely accused, put to death on the cross, and placed in a tomb? If, like he claimed, he was the Son of God, then what do we Christians have hope in? In a man who died? What is so remarkable about that? Nothing- if the tale was over. But, it was not! Three days later, this blameless man rose again! The prophesies about the Son of God were true!

By: Stella

For: Fundamentals of Writing Newsletter

Tert's Birthday By: Stella

Hi all!!
I wanted to share with you some pictures and anecdotes from Tert's birthday.

We all awoke with many happy birthdays to overwhelmed Tert. He would look down and make this serious, downcast face whenever we wished him a happy birthday, or said something about his birthday, (unless it was about presents, that is!) We had donuts for breakfast and then hurried to prepare for Co-Op. (Everyone always hurries on Monday morning around here!). The donuts were hastily eaten, and dishes wiped. Chores were done, and we hurried out the door. We picked up Grandma Z., who had her arms full of balloons, and bags. (She was going to teach the preschool class for Tert.) She put her bags in the trunk, and we went off. We arrived at Co-Op early so that Grandma would have time to set up. We were a little too early; the doors weren't unlocked. We waited in the car for a couple of minutes until the cars started filing in. Then, we got out of the car with our backpacks and bundles and headed upstairs. Grandma took out her things, while Leo and I went to class. She taught a class, made specially for Tert's birthday. (In the preschool class they go through all of the letters of the alphabet.) Grandma got the letter U. So, she made a class-Happy Birthday to 'U'! It was very cute and fun with cake, presents to open for the letter 'U' (who was incapable of opening presents). Tert enjoyed it tremendously and was eager to show Dad his 'U' present that he got to bring home, a picture of Uncle Adam.
After we had classes and dropped Grandma off, we headed home. We unpacked our various bundles and then had lunch-banana(YUMMY!) muffins, with some milk and nuts. We finished the yummy lunch, and after a little bit of play, the boys went for naps. Leo and I went on a walk with Cora, and then came home to play a game of trivia with Mom and then watch Latin. After that we hastily got ready for a fun afternoon-evening plan with our friends-the Woods.
We drove over there and were greeted by sap boiling smokily in pans. We went into the house, and saw the new baby chicks, which Leo went off to help take care of. After watching the little ones for a bit, I went off with Mrs. Wood and Mom. We walked along the maple tree run, and looked for the sap. To their surprise (and not to mention relief) the trees were budding, which meant maple syrup season was over. After looking at some neighbors' horses, we headed back. Armed with sleds, buckets, and hammers, we kids went into the woods to pull the taps and buckets off of the trees. After finishing that, we scattered and played until, after what seemed a VERY short time, were called back to the house. We were saddened by the news that we had to leave, but sweetened by some freshly made maple candy. It was still warm; it was so fresh. It was the best that I have ever tasted. The Woods gave us a generous, GENEROUS surprise when Mrs. Wood handed us a jar of their syrup. Having made 5 gallons of maple syrup, out of 250 gallons of sap, (which meant trudging through knee deep snow sometimes 2 times a day, and careful boiling and stirring of the sap,) this truly was a labor and gift of love. We can't wait to try out this delicious treat, and MANY thanks to the devoted Wood family.
To return... After saying goodbye, we all went home, and got into pj's. We were tired and ready for supper. Soon Mom had plates of pizza ready. When a pizza had disappeared, we all cleared the table. I helped Mom get the dessert ready-brownies, chocolate sauce, and mud-pie ice cream! MMM! It was very good. Our appetites fully satisfied, we sat down and handed Tert present after present. He loved them all, and it was very sweet to watch his enthusiasm. He said that it was, "The Best Birthday he had EVER Had." I think that that is a better conclusion that I might think of, so I will end here. Well, after some pictures of course!!

I (Stella) crocheted a little frog for one of my birthday presents for Tert. He at first was a little nervous about it, but then grew to like it... :D



Birthday Boy likes his frog now!!!


Grandma Z's Preschool Class-



New PJ's, SWEET!!!!!!!!!!


Make a wish!!


What is it?!!!! OH, IT'S A...


Get ready for take off...



Fellow Present Openers...


BALLS!!!!!!!!!!!!


And the last present of all, it's A- SCOOTER!!!!!!!!!!!!


Birthday Fun!!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TERT!!!!

Mater's Musings

I'm feeling kind of nostalgic this week. It has struck me how many milestones my kids have hit this year. Last Sunday, as Stella stood before our church making a public profession of her faith and assenting to her membership vows, I realized that we have crossed the halfway mark in raising our firstborn.

Later that evening, Stephen and I indulged in a peaceful springtime walk - just like we used to when we were dating. We left our capable older children home with their younger siblings while we circled Forest Lane. No strollers, front packs or tricycles. Just the two of us, holding hands like newlyweds, and savoring uninterrupted conversation and rejuvenating laughter. When we arrived home, we found a freshly cleaned dining room - set with fancy dishes, fresh flowers and yogurt parfaits for two. Our big kids realized how much this time meant to us and got caught up in making our evening as romantic as possible.

Little Filia is changing before our very eyes. I have felt many twinges of guilt over my sporadic photos and journal entries. I had determined to capture every sweet memory of her infancy, yet here I am with a six month old, still searching for time to collect my thoughts about her birth. The other evening I was passing Stella's desk, and I noticed a baby's first year calendar lying open. Sighing, I remembered pulling this calendar out of a box of hand me downs and thinking wistfully that it would be great for me to keep up with in those spare moments when I'm not homeschooling three children, teaching at Co-Op, chasing an active toddler, washing diapers, or nursing a newborn. Flipping through this pesky little token of my negligence, I noticed to my surprise and delight that the calendar's pages had been filled with stickers, hospital keepsakes, dates of our baby's milestones, tender little notes and anecdotes - all recorded with painstaking care and love by Stella! I was so touched by this beautiful demonstration of Stella's devotion to her baby sister. Stella has become Filia's second mother. She will carefully choose her baby sister's outfits and dress her in the morning or prop little Filia on her bed with the rest of her dolls or snuggle her in the rocking chair while she crochets. The two of them are already inseparable friends, and the measureless love that the two of them exchange when they grin at each other is one of the sweetest sights I've beheld.

Filia's big brothers also treat her with so much tenderness. I love catching Leo admiring his beautiful sister. The two of them simultaneously break out into their most charming, dimpled grins as Filia rewards him with her babble.

Filia reminds me of my Rus as a baby. Although her eye color is still pretty indistinct, she has her brother's fair skin and light hair. Their baby pictures show so many similarities, and I often wonder if she will share his fun-loving, sweet disposition.

Little Tert, our tornado, takes great delight in making Filia laugh. He has located all of her ticklish spots; however, he can usually cause her to join in his rambunctious laughter just by making silly faces and voices at her. Now that Filia can wiggle and roll on the floor, she will strain to follow his every move as he darts to and fro. She has adapted beautifully to this noisy, unpredictable environment of hers and soaks up constant attention from her doting siblings.

The Lion and the Mouse Retold by: Stella

Years ago in an exotic jungle there lived an extremely prideful lion. He would trot around the jungle with his giant paws, ready to snatch any small creature foolish enough to cross his path.

One very hot day, the lion lay down with a monstrous thud on the velvety grass. He sighed and was soon fast asleep. Along came a mouse, who was very meek. He nimbly scurried over the lion’s humongous body without perceiving the ‘king of the jungle’. The lion softly opened one evil eye. Seeing the tiny creature he made one aim at him and in a flash, had the prize dangling before him. Timidly, the mouse looked up. Terror swept over him! Before him was a huge, muscular lion! The jaws of the lion opened and revealed flashing white rows of teeth. They sparkled in the hot sun. They were sharpened to a point. His eyes were dark brown and full of wickedness. His paws had nails as sharp as iron which looked like they could tear a tree down. These same paws mercilessly clamped around the little mouse. By this time the mouse, who knew he had but one hope called out pitifully, “Please my king! I beseech that you have mercy on my humble personage. I wouldn’t make a very big snack anyway.” Trembling uncontrollably now, the little distraught animal spoke a tone louder, “Perhaps if you save me, I will be able to help you some day, and repay you for this great kindness.”

At this the lion roared with laughter. He tossed the poor animal in the air and exclaimed, “You? Save me? You are but a mouse! How could the smallest of creatures save the king of the beasts? Well-you may leave, but don’t be such a silly little creature again!” He chuckled again as the mouse scampered into the forest.

Some days later the lion was strutting through the forest, looking around ravenously for a bite to eat. He was as prideful as ever that day. Little did he know, because of his foolish boasting, he was going to suffer. He quickly pounced around a tree, hoping to snag a victim. The next thing he knew, he was snagged in a mass of ropes and locks! There were hunters in the jungle, in hope of catching a lion to bring to the circus. It looked as if they were about to make a pretty penny. The lion was struggling vainly to get out of the ropes, but with every movement of his colossal paws, the ropes grew tighter. The lion set back his head with his glossy mane and ROARED! The roar went through the jungle like a rocket. The trees swayed. Animals leapt into their homes; mothers sheltered their children, and on the other side of the jungle, a certain little mouse lifted its head…

“Oh, my!” mused the little mouse. “Could that possibly be the same kind lion that set me free?” He pondered a moment, and then scurried across the cool, damp grass of the jungle. The mouse looked around. The jungle was in a tizzy! Animals were popping their heads out of their burrows to discern if the lion was still roaring. They would huddle together in fear as the roar was heard again. The mouse ran faster and halted. There was the same lion that had once held him captive. The same eyes were there, but this time looked weak. The lion had sweat rolling down his giant brow. The mouse hurried forward at the next, “ROARRRRR!”

“Oh! Please, do please stop! Oh no! The hunters will hear you! Please!”

This caused the lion to look up for the first time, (or rather down) at the little mouse. The mouse darted forward and with his velvety brown head looked up at the lion. He quickly glanced at the ropes. He picked up one, and SNAP! The little white teeth pierced swiftly through the sturdy ropes. The lion, who was very surprised, looked down at the bustling creature before him. Once the last rope was snapped, the mouse sat down, exhausted. The lion reached up to a tree and knocked down some food for the mouse. The mouse smiled at this kind gesture, and gobbled it up.

The lion spoke in his deep tones, “Little mouse, because of your kindness, you have taught me one of the most important things in life. Kindness goes through the hardest of hearts. Even the strongest can be helped by the weak, or shall I say meek?”

The mouse smiled and only muttered, “I was just keeping my promise, great king.” The mouse stood and hurried off.

From then on the lion was changed; no one could recognize this gentle, kind, lion from the haughty, proud one that they had previously seen. Even the lowly can help the great.

By: Stella

For: Fundamentals of Writing Paper

Leo's Report on the Planetarium Field Trip

On April 29, Stella and I went with some friends to the Planetarium. The first exhibit we were told about, while we were taking a tour, was a replica of the Freedom 7. This was the space shuttle in which flew Astronaut Alan Shepard Jr. Now before take-off astronauts eat a breakfast consisting of Orange juice, Coffee, steak, and eggs. Alan's capsule remained stationary with, cramped, Alan Shepard, waiting inside. His wait turned out to be a six hour wait! The space engineers were waiting too. Tiny sweat beads soaked their faces. They kept on waiting, with fear of trouble swarming through their heads. They waited with the beads of sweat dripping down their faces, until an anxious call from Alan Shepard came that he had to use the bathroom. Now the idea came to them that if he came down from the shuttle, flight would be delayed. This would be a great catastrophe, so the men told Alan to go in his space suit. A few minutes later, the take-off was accomplished and 15 min. later, Alan's small capsule was floating in the water. In a later meeting held by NASA, Alan strongly suggested to have some way to use the toilet while in space. They did! The absorbent material used in disposable diapers, was manufactured. That's right! Astronauts wore diapers in space. The products were given to the public.

The next thing we were taught about was the space shuttles now used to launch equipment and people into outer space. The first thing I will highlight is the food used in outer space. Food is contained in small plastic pouches. The food is dry, but cannot contain crumbs. The crumbs could not be in food because, as you well know, there is no gravity in space; therefore, the crumbs could damage the delicate equipment. Droplets of water can also damage the highly regarded machines. This is why the means of getting water is to use the water dispenser. Every once in a while, astronauts will have need of someone to get out of the space shuttle, to perform a task. Though astronauts have many protections, when performing a task in outer space, the fact still remains that this, as all astronaut duties, is a very dangerous job. As we see the progress we have made in space exploration, we continue to raise questions. Over outer space there remains a Veil, a Veil that has not yet been uncovered, even as we discover every day.

Our First Hockey Game (by Leo and Rus)

On March 11, Taurus and I went to our first hockey game. As the spotlights flashed around the Verizon Arena, and as the lights snapped off, Taurus' eyes grew wide as saucers, while he sat unmoving in his seat. Now the reason we were in all this excitement, was because we bought a membership at the Planetarium, giving awesome benefits each month, including 5 tickets to a Monarchs hockey game! The seating, as I remember limited only the golden seats. The Monarchs played a good game, though they lost against the Worcester Sharks. Now I will give Rus' account.

Account by Taurus- "We had some giant pretzels. Now let's see... Well two boys came into the rink. Sam, the Monarchs mascot drove a tractor. Sam is ten years old. He's a little less. There were two boys in a brand new car. They came out and went to the Blue line, which had ten pucks set up on it. One boy hit 6 shots and was brought up into the harder test which he completed and received $5000,789,000 ($500) for. This last test was hitting the puck from center rink. No I'm not done. Yes I am done. Giggle! Giggle! Whoa! Whoa! Flip! Crash!! BOOM!" (No damage done.)

Our Little Fairy Princess (Pictures and Captions by Stella)

I have put below some pictures of our little Fairy Princess!!


This was one of her first little bites of baby food! She loves eating about everything EXCEPT for carrots. I guess Dad gave her his carrot-hating-genes.

Fairy Princess


Our Little Prin- Puppy???

WHAT A MESS!!!


We are amused by the postures she makes, it really makes her look like a dainty little princess. She fits in perfectly in her family of crazy, wrestling, 'princely' brothers.


Prim and Proper


Filia

Walrus By: Stella

Lyd has recently been teaching me (Stella) how to crochet. She taught this to me as one of my very first projects. Thanks LYD!!
(It's a little walrus!!)

Planetarium Trip By: Stella

Hi All!

Yesterday we went to a fun field trip with our Co-Op to the Planetarium. I would like to tell you about it!
We went to the planetarium, were greeted by our friends, and went into the group waiting room. After everyone got there, Mrs. Foreman, (who was heading the tour) introduced us to our tour guide, Sam, who would be with us for the beginning of the program. We went to a cool display which showed a model of the Freedom 7. That was the ship that Alan Shepard had gone in. Alan Shepard was the first American in space. He was not the first person in space. The first person in space was really a Russian man. We heard a funny story about Alan Shepard.
The day that Alan Shepard was to go up to space in the tiny little cramped space shuttle, everyone was nervous. Shepard ate a big breakfast of steak, eggs, orange juice, and coffee. After having breakfast, they waited a couple of hours, and then brought him to the little space shuttle. He waited inside there for six hours, and still the people were hesitant to send him up. After six hours of waiting, there was a problem. Shepard had to go to the bathroom. The men knew that if Shepard got out of the space shuttle, then there would be no mission that day. There were all sorts of wires hooked up to him which showed his blood pressure, heart rate, etc. They unhooked those wires, told him to just go, and then they FINALLY got him up into space. After hours of waiting, the entire flight took only FIFTEEN MINUTES!!! All that for a little flight. He returned safely though, and then when he splashed down into the water, they picked up Alan Shepard. When on the ground, he told the men in a meeting, hey guys, you've got to figure out a way for astronauts to go to the bathroom!!!
The tour guide then showed us an experiment. He had two cups. He poured water from one cup into another cup, and then after a couple seconds, dumped the cup with the water. Nothing was in it!! It was really amazing. The astronauts then were instructed to use a special type of clothing, hmm... can you guess what that clothing might be? Give up? DIAPERS!! No, I'm not joking, REALLY!!! The astronauts wore diapers up to space. The material that they used to make that was so useful, that the making of them spread, and guess what? Disposable diapers are what astronauts used to wear. I know, it was crazy to me too! Well, your little baby is wearing what astronauts wore. Weird, huh?
After everyone finally believed Sam, we moved on. We watched a video where an astronaut in the International Space Station. We saw liftoff, the space craft hook to the space station, and then the guy showed us his, (LITERALLY!) standing room only bedroom. The camera couldn't even fit in there! There was only room for one person!! It was really fun. We saw all of the different rooms in the station, and the weightlessness was what was really cool. The guy just basically used the same motions that you use when you swim to get around the station. It made us kids jealous!! It looked so fun! We also saw an eating demonstration. It was really cool. They showed us the machine that astronauts use to add moisture to their food. The guy showed us the food, and would pick up a food off of the tray that held the food down, and the drinks, fish, etc. He would pick up a food, hold it up, and then just leave it in the air. The guy did all sorts of stunts with his utensils and stuff (that you could only do WITHOUT gravity). The way that they did the juice box was that they squeezed the juice box so that the drink would get out of the container, and then he would suck it out of the air with his straw. It was cool.
Then they had a thing that looked like you were flying through the space station, and you saw out of the window of the space station. Earth was so beautiful. It was amazing. Our planet is nothing like the flimsy little earth demonstrations and pictures that you see. You just have to see it in reality to take in the real beauty of our amazing planet. I think that it is so humbling to see the hugeness of our planet, our universe even, and the beauty of it all.

By: Stella

(I will leave it to Leo to tell about the rest of the field trip, as I don't want to write about everything!!)

Origin of St. Patrick's Day

By: Stella

Define St. Patrick’s Day:

Shakes, leprechauns, and three leafed clovers!!

No, no, and no! This holiday has much more of a meaning than that! This holiday is used to commemorate St. Patrick. Not much is known about Patrick’s childhood. We do know that he was Scottish, and was born in a wealthy Romano-British family. At the age of 16, Patrick was captured by Irish raiders and taken to Ireland to work as a slave. After six years, Patrick escaped, walked 200 miles, and found a ship that took him to England. He later believed that he was being called back to Ireland to share the Gospel with them, so he studied in Gaul to become a priest. The Irish practiced polytheism, (belief that there is more than one God.) It is said that Patrick used the shamrock (plant) to teach the Irish about the trinity. What a great example of showing love instead of getting back at your enemies!

Though this is the true meaning of Saint Patrick’s Day, it doesn’t mean that we can’t still have fun!! People dye the Chicago River Green every year!! We should still keep in mind, March 17 as a day when we remember a brave man who was willing to commit his life to help the people of Ireland understand God’s Word.

Shamrock Shakes!! By: Stella

Hi, Readers! I wanted to share a recipe with you that I got from my aunt. She made these delicious shakes. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

¾ cup light vanilla soymilk

½ cup Breyers Double Churn Free Creamy Vanilla fat-free ice cream

1 tbsp. Coffee-mate Sugar Free French Vanilla powdered creamer

¼ tsp. peppermint extract

2 drops green food coloring

1 no-calorie sweetener packet (like Splenda)

1 ½ cups crushed ice (8-12 ice cubes’ worth)

Directions:

Place Coffee-mate in a glass and add 1 tbsp. very hot water. Stir until powder dissolves, and then transfer mixture to a blender. Add all other ingredients to the blender. Blend at high speed until mixed thoroughly. Sláinte! (“Cheers!” in Irish!)

Daylight Savings Time By: Stella

Daylight Savings Time

Daylight Savings Time, (YAWN!!) I’m sure that some of you wonder why we make this change to our clocks. Well, though it may not make sense nowadays, it sure did in the 18^th to 19^th centuries. Two people can be recognized for having a say in this. The man responsible for modern day Daylight Savings Time is George Vernon Hudson. Hudson proposed setting the clocks forward. Some people incorrectly state that William Willet started Daylight Savings Time. He went through town one day, and was dismayed to see that many Londoners slept through the summer days. He personally disliked cutting short his golfing at dusk, so he also suggested Daylight Savings time. Benjamin Franklin was also a man who had suggested to the French that they get up earlier at dusk to reduce candle usage. After all-

“Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise!” Benjamin Franklin