I wish Tartan had been there

I'm sitting at Whataburger, taking up a whole corner with my tribe of six- most of us wearing our AWANA shirts. A gentleman passes by on his way out wearing skull cap and shawl; he smiles slightly at us and I incline my head in acknowledgment. A couple of minutes later he returns with a set of toy fairy\butterfly wings and wand and offers them to me for my little ones. I accept, wondering where this will go and he tells us he is a missionary and asks my name and where I am from. I briefly explain and ask where he's from- Wisconsin. Did I ask his name? No- I'm an awful conversationalist with strangers. He asks how many kids I have and I claim all six and then he asks what their giftings are. Um, I'm not sure what he's looking for and say so but I can't find the words to explain that while my husband and I are always trying to discern the gifts God has blessed our children with- I don't like to discuss them lest they feel like their being compared or compartmentalized. (We talk about them one-on-one or as a family, but I *try* not to say "this is the organized one, this one is the people-person" in front of them to others) Aimee pipes up with a wave and "hello" and he delightedly says she's a greeter. Well, that sounds ok. Then he goes on to explain we must give wings to our children and how the butterfly starts off as a gentle, crawling creature that becomes a beautiful butterfly. Okay... I just sit there smiling and nodding my head- and not thinking of anything to say. He finishes off by thanking me for blessing the world with my children; I smile and nod and thank him for the wings\wand. He says "blessings to you" and Alex pipes up with "God bless you" as he walks out the door.

I'm sitting there thinking- I wish Tartan had been here! He would have continued the conversation and asked questions and at least found out who he was a missionary for.

Alex steps away from the table for a moment and then I notice the man's keys sitting on my table. Without really thinking, I send Aidan outside with them thinking that the man must be out in the parking lot and has not realized yet that he's missing his keys. Aidan starts across the lot and I have a moment of panic- I have no idea if this guy is who he presents himself as and I just sent my son out there alone. Fortunately I can see them clearly from where I'm sitting and it's obvious I'm watching intently. As Aidan hands over the keys, they speak briefly and then he walks off. According to Aidan, he was parked at the car wash and was searching the ground around his car when he came out. Aidan says he was told to help his mom, do his chores and be an example to his sisters.


So *now* I'm wondering- was he a Jew, a messianic Jew, or none of the above? Did he recognize our AWANA shirts or did he just guess that since Alex and Aidan's shirts said "Truth and Training", we believed there is such a thing as truth and it's worth training our children to know? Considering the size of our family, did he think we were Mormon or Catholic? *sigh* Wish Tartan had been there.


Tongue-tied,
Naomi for the Colliers

Disney Movie Shoot at Hollywood Studios

I know! I still haven't posted pictures from our Disney adventure. However, I'm posting the 2 videos we took of Tartan and me participating in a "movie shoot" at Hollywood Studios. The first one is about 12 minutes and the second one is about 3 minutes. I recently got the PhotoPass pictures from Disney, so hopefully I'll find some time to put together a slide show.

Swim Lessons

Pictures from swim lessons at the Y from the beginning of July.

Awaken (Ballet performance 2010)

Click on the photo to be taken to the photo album

Aimee Report

Aimee is growing like a weed and it's no wonder because she's much more interested in eating than any of her sisters or brothers. She is the queen of snack. She knows how to sign "more" and "please" and sometimes she'll do "eat". Since I didn't teach any signs to the others, I'm wondering if her increased ability to communicate is the reason. I believe her favorite food is Goldfish crackers followed closely by cheese. She also likes to drink milk, juice and water. She's still nursing but I need to think about weening soon.

Her vocabulary continues to grow. She can say "mama" and "dada", of course. She also says "cheese", "out" (as in "take me out of my crib\play pen\high chair\car seat\stroller,etc.), "up" (as in "pick me up"), "shoes", "cat" (as in any non-human creature, including horses and fish), and others I can't think of at the moment, some of which we've only heard once or twice.

She says "Abi" to mean not just Abigail, but I think any of her siblings whose attention she wants to attract. We have heard something close to "Alex". And, the one that makes us all giggle, even me, is how she attempts to say "Bug". She can't get the g sound so it comes out as "But".

She is very social, rather like Abigail. She walks up to people and waves and says "hi!" That reminds me: she can say "hi" as well as "bye". So far she seems to reserve blowing kisses for family. She really does like to wave at people and passing cars though. Tartan and I take an evening walk around the block most nights and he'll carry her in the backpack carrier. She loves the view of the world she gets way up there. One evening we were out walking and though there was no one around, she started waving and saying "hi!" We figure that she wants to be a parade float queen one day and she was practicing.

Her difficulties with sleeping appear to be over. I have even been able to set her down while she is still awake and get only a token amount of fussing about it. Most nights I don't hear any sound from her at all. She really hated being set down in her crib, even for a daytime nap, so it's a big relief that she's learned to accept that sleep is necessary.

Well, I have a lot of other things to post like: Easter, homeschool PE field day, butterfly and ladybug release, and other things that I've probably forgotten. Hopefully I'll get a chance to catch up soon.

Trusting in the Lord who works all things for good to those who love Him,
>Naomi

Blue and Gold Banquet

Aidan had his last, and I guess our last, Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet. The theme was knights, so each den decorated their table with that theme. Though Aidan's den had already had their Arrow of Light ceremony at Camp Strake a month ago, they had another ceremony in front of the pack. They take each Webelos cub's neckerchief to see if he's "worthy". It's soaked in- oh I can't remember what, but basically when they set it on fire it doesn't damage the neckerchief. It makes an impressive flash of fire. Aidan has joined Troop 895 and his brother is the troop guide for the new patrol. Alex has been the den chief for his brother's dens since Aidan started as a Tiger cub.

While it's a little sad that we're done with Cubs, it's also a bit of a relief. Now the two boys have meetings at the same time and place.

>Naomi

The Reason I Should Avoid Going to Sam's with Just the Girls

We come home with four huge stuffed animals. I'm such a pushover. :)








































>Naomi for the Colliers (real and plush)