Incoming! November 14, 2008
Posted by Laura in Family, Scouts.1 comment so far
Benjamin has enjoyed cub scouts since he finished Kindergarten and joined as a Tiger cub. He is now a Webelo and loves it as much as ever. At the meeting last night, the boys got to build a catapult to work on an “engineering” badge.
Nearly finished.
Now, let the war begin! (And Lydia wasn’t left out of this battle. She ran right through the middle of the combat gathering up ammo- ping pong balls- as fast as she could).
Rachel and Timothy took cover out of harm’s way.
Pretty cool project!
4-H Speeches November 13, 2008
Posted by Laura in 4-H, Family, Homeschooling.3 comments
Public speaking is listed as one the greatest fears people have. Though Joe is an old pro at it with all the conferences he does and courses he teaches, public speaking is also one of the hardest skills to master. It is no simple feat to give a well-organized, informative presentation in a confident and effective manner. It can take years to become comfortable speaking before your peers, or worse yet, your superiors. For that reason, we feel that it will be more easily accomplished if our children get an early start. That’s not to say that we are pushing them into careers that will require it. It’s just that we would like them to be well-rounded and prepared for whatever God calls them to do. Here they are giving speeches to their peers and the parents.
Fourth graders all have to speak on the topic My Family. Benjamin had practiced and practiced until he hardly even needed to glance at his notecards. He made a point of making eye contact with his audience. (I apologize for the picture quality- I was zoomed in pretty far from the back of the room. The leader also promises to have his name spelled right by the next meeting).
Rachel spoke on a topic near and dear to her heart- cats. She read several books and looked up information online so she could develop a speech that told about their needs and development, personalities, and appearance. She felt very nervous but it didn’t show when she spoke.
Both children did a great job and we are proud of them.
Good-bye to the Toy Story Two November 1, 2008
Posted by Laura in Farm.1 comment so far
For the past year and a half, we have had two donkeys, Buzz and Woody. This was my brilliant idea. At one point, we were losing chickens to predators at an alarming rate but we wanted to add more livestock to our farm. My reading suggested that the way to go was to get donkeys as guardian animals. After much convincing, Joe agreed and we purchased two young half-brothers from a very gregarious old farmer not far away.
Woody and Buzz, named for some long-standing favorite movie characters.
This experiment will probably have to go in the “failed” category. As we improved our periphery fences, the need for guardian animals decreased. At the same time, the southeast was plunged further into drought and hay became scarce and expensive. And just to add insult to injury, the brown donkey bullied the goats and calves he was purchased to protect.
We’ve become kind of fond of Buzz (the white one) and thought about just selling Woody. There is something pleasant about equine companionship even if they aren’t “working” animals and we still miss our old horse Gus. But we don’t need the donkeys and their upkeep was too costly not to factor in, so we listed them both for sale online.
Yesterday the new owners came to get them. Neither Buzz nor Woody made themselves easy to load, but Woody showed his true colors and sat down on his rear end, refusing to move. He was determined not to get in that trailer for a bucket of feed or anything else. Finally, he was outsmarted and outmuscled though and off they went. The pasture seems kind of empty now, but they are going to live close by so we’ll be able to drive by and wave.
Pumpkin Fun October 31, 2008
Posted by Laura in Faith, Family.3 comments
Though we are pretty conservative people with strong spiritual beliefs, we have no problem with taking part in some of the fall festivities we grew up with way back when. We look forward to pumpkin carving, roasting the seeds, and putting on costumes from our collection of dress-up clothes. We go up to church and play games and get candy and fellowship with our friends. It’s always so much fun and there isn’t so much as a hint of the possible darker side of Halloween’s history. We feel that what really matters is how WE celebrate and our intentions and the traditions we pass on to our children.
Darth Vader, a sweet ladybug, and a princess pose with their respective pumpkins.
A close-up of their designs. (Okay, I helped Lydia a little).
The little 9-day old Pea-in-a-Pod slept through most of the activities.
In addition to the blow up bouncy things and games you always win to get candy, free snowcones & hot dogs, these Human Hamster Balls were set up in a Sunday School room . Two children play by trying to roll the other into a corner or otherwise chase each other around the room. Benjamin and his friend Zack had a great time.
High Wire Adventure October 30, 2008
Posted by Laura in 4-H, Family, Homeschooling.1 comment so far
For the city folk out there, “4-H is a community of young people across America who are learning leadership, citizenship, and life skills” (quote from the website). All the groups I’ve known of have been in rural areas, but they may exist in urban areas too. We joined last year as Clover Buds, but Benjamin has now moved up to the higher level. It has been a great experience for us.
Our homeschool 4-H group had a super field trip on Thursday. We all met out at a rock climbing wall/ high ropes course/ zip line built and maintained on a university experimental agriculture farm. Joe was able to go with us and I think he had as much fun as the children.
Rachel preparing to climb the rock wall.
Off to a good start.
“Let me rest just a second…”
Benjamin scales the rock wall while another kid tackles the high ropes.
Joe nears the top.
Don’t worry grandparents, that sad look is because we didn’t let Lydia harness up.
Benjamin has made it to the top of the pole.
Now for the really scary part.
And there goes Joe…
All the way across and down the zipline.
What a great adventure!
HomesCOOL Day October 29, 2008
Posted by Laura in Family, Homeschooling.2 comments
Several times a year, the Adventure Science Center in Nashville (formerly the Cumberland Science Museum, but I am dating myself) offers special science learning programs for homeschoolers. Wednesday we went for the first time.
As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, Benjamin spied the new zero-gravity and Space area through the huge windows. That had to be our first stop.
Waiting for weightlessness.
Boing!
Boing!
There were also some workstations that gave you a taste of what working in space would be like. You had to keep your feet on the wheeled chair and try to operate the controls. You quickly found out that without gravity’s pull (and the resistance your feet gave against the floor) you were the one moved, not the levers and things.
And of course, if big brother and sister could do it, Lydia had to also.
The first scheduled activity of the day was a visit to the new planetarium. We took our reclined seats, but not for long. The loud music and foreboding voice alarmed Lydia and Benjamin and I both became motion sick, so we tried (unsuccessfully) to exit quietly and go back out to the exhibits.
Lydia got in a little exercise climbing stairs
… and she put some miles on this ambulance racing to rescue scenes.
Benjamin had courses in Dinosaur Detectives and Pond Creatures. Rachel got to assist in a Senses course, holding and displaying a snake skin and then she also had a Pond Creatures class. In that one, the students learned to use microscopes and make their own wet-mount and well slides to observe tiny organisms in lake water. They both had a good time. I wish I could have gotten pictures of them doing those but we weren’t always in the same place and I was alternately chasing a napless toddler and nursing a newborn, occasionally both at the same time.
Before we left, we had to revisit an old favorite. In this area, the children can use real wheelchairs on ramps, a small basketball court, concession stand, etc to see how challenging it could be to get around if you are handicapped. It helps drive home the need for wheelchair-friendly public places and compassion for the disabled.
Just prior to a pick-up game of B-ball.
One happy mommy! October 27, 2008
Posted by Joe in Family.1 comment so far
Just a quick post to share another picture of Laura and Timothy. This picture was taken by Grams the day Timothy was born. They both look happy, don’t they?
Laura and Timothy
It’s a boy! October 22, 2008
Posted by Joe in Family.11 comments
Timothy Holt Webb was born this afternoon at 2:11pm. He is 9 and 1/2 pounds and 20 and 1/2 inches long. Both mother and son are doing amazingly well. Laura is a tough, tough, woman! She did an all natural child-birth.
As I mentioned on Twitter, if it were up to men to have children Cain would have been an only child and that would have been the last generation.
Here are a few pictures. I’m sure we’ll post more later so stay tuned.
Our new family photo
One happy momma and her youngest son.
...and the little guy we've been waiting for - Timothy Holt Webb.
Thanks to everyone who’s wished us well and has offered their prayers for us. We feel incredibly blessed.
Lord willing, today is the day October 22, 2008
Posted by Joe in Family, Uncategorized.1 comment so far
Laura just checked into Vanderbilt Hospital. If the Good Lord is willing, we will welcome Timothy Holt Webb into this world later today.
I plan to post updates to my Twitter account. If you are interested you can follow our joy at http://www.twitter.com/joewebb
Girls’ Afternoon Out October 18, 2008
Posted by Laura in Family.1 comment so far
Benjamin is camping this weekend, working on his Arrow of Light projects in scouting. Recent storms have brought trees down close by and our friends were glad to have Joe come cut them up for firewood today. Benjamin and I got to have a final date night before Timothy comes (induction date is Wednesday) last night, so today seemed a good day to have some girl time. Rachel, Lydia, and I decided to go to a ballet together.
The Nashville Ballet really wants to encourage young children to get involved in the arts, so they have been performing in various places that will allow children of all backgrounds and income levels to see them. Today they performed for free at the downtown Nashville library. We got to see the Carnival of the Animals.
There was a bit too much narration at the beginning for Lydia’s taste, but once the ballerinas took the stage, she and Rachel both really enjoyed it. Members of the audience were invited to come up on stage and participate in the scene with the prancing horses. After the show, all the children were allowed to go up and learn some ballet steps. Both girls were eager to go. Here are a couple of pictures of them performing.
I don’t remember the real name of this position, but it was described to the children as “beach ball arms.” Lydia had ping-pong hands.
There was some leaping involved (and almost some toppling over).
And finally, take a bow (or squat).
