deck the hallway

The kids are anxious to put up the Christmas decorations.  Me... not so much. 

So, Dylan, Zachary and Lily decided to do their own decorating.  Dylan made this Christmas tree out of K'NEX and construction paper.  They added tissue paper snow and the boy's Geo Trax train.  Lily contributed one of her teddy bears, a shoe box "gift" wrapped in red construction paper, and a plate of plastic cookies and milk for Santa from her kitchen set.

The exhibit can be found on display, for the rest of the year, decking the (yet to be finished) hallway between their bedroom doors.  Oh, and although it doesn't show in the picture, the exhibit also includes a K'NEX stand to hold a strategically aimed flashlight, placed on the other side of the hallway, to light the display in the dark.

Don't you love the creativity of kids?

underwear bandits

This would have made a great blog post... but, I just can't do it.

I had their (some of the smaller people in our house, who shall remain nameless for their protection) permission to take the photo.  They thought it was funny and wanted me to post it to the blog.  It involved underwear... and Nerf guns (but the photos were in no way indecent) and it was funny. 

However, I don't think they thought it through very well.  So, good Dad that I am, I did some of the thinking on their behalf. 

You see, I recently picked up a new "follower" on my blog.  She calls herself "Leezard".  (Welcome, Leezard!)  I told them about Leezard following my blog and they had a blank look as they thought about it for a moment.  When Leezard's actual identity clicked with them, they got a slight panicked look on their face... and, they changed their mind very quickly about the "underwear bandits" post! 

"You didn't post that, did you , Dad?" 

No, I didn't post it (you're welcome)... but, I am keeping the picture... and you just never know were the underwear bandits might show up again!

have you considered...

Have you considered... over 130 million children worldwide have lost one or both parents?*

Have you considered... at least 16.2 million children worldwide have lost both parents?*

Have you considered... every 18 seconds another child becomes an orphan, without a mother or father?*

Have you considered... every 14 seconds a child loses a parent due to AIDS?*

Have you considered... it's not their fault?

Have you considered... what you can do?

"I am only one, but still I am one.  I  cannot do everything, but still I can do something;  and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do."  --Helen Keller

Lily recently talked to me about being an orphan and I asked her what "orphan" means.  Her reply:  "It mean you not a family.  You all alone."

November is National Adoption Month... have you considered?

(*statistics copied from http://www.showhope.org/Resources/TheNeed.aspx where specific sources are cited.)

Chinese Bluegrass

I have pretty eclectic music interests.  Perhaps my favorite genre, however, is Bluegrass.  Having a Chinese-American daughter, I have explored some Chinese music, and found it very fascinating.  I stumbled onto this YouTube video, which brings together both music interests, and thought it to be worth sharing.  Enjoy!

my kind of day

Sunday was one of those days that might have been the perfect autumn day in Ohio... sunny, dry and breezy; with temperatures in the upper 60's and leaves near their peak color, both on the trees and crunching underfoot.  After church and dinner, it was obvious that hiking would be a must.

We used to live in an area that was abundant with local hiking options, but when we moved here (only about 40 miles) we discovered that we are in a hiking dead zone.  With few trail options under a half hour drive, we get a little bored with the same trails.  I got on the internet to search for more options, and, to my surprise, I found something I had previously missed.  Less than a half hour from our home, I discovered a large property, owned by a private college, but open to the public.  With two main trails, the shorter of which is 2.4 miles, it seemed worth a try.  The GPS took us straight to the trailhead, and we loved what we found... a mature forest of maple, beech, oak and evergreens, with well maintained trails and no crowds.

Benny usually rides in the backpack carrier, but I decided it was a good day to introduce him to actual hiking.  We hiked the 2.4 mile trail and I started off with the carrier empty to see how he would do.  Jen was a little aprehensive about letting him roam on his own (his walking and balance is still delayed and he is fairly unsteady on his feet).  But, since he goes to physical therapy sessions two days per week, I figured we'd do some physical therapy, Daddy style.  After all, what could be better developmental physical therapy than negotiating the tree roots, dry stream beds, inclines and declines of a hiking trail?  I held his hand only when I felt it necessary for his safety, but basically let him hike and explore on his own.  He fell many times, but he had a blast.  He loved the crunchy leaves and stopped to explore many aspects of nature along the way.  It was so fun to watch him come alive in the woods, and he hiked over 3/4 of a mile before I put him in the carrier... not bad for a just-turned-two year-old!

golden beeches

my little hiker

Not sure who uses this fire pit in the middle of the woods?

walking the log

really large chicken feet?

nature's playhouse?

my favorite people

witchy wife

Title got your attention, didn't it?

It may not be quite the juicy post you expected, but friends of ours had a Halloween party and bonfire at their home Saturday evening.  It was a perfect fall evening, and, of course, costumes were required.  See where the title came from?

the Ben-osaurus

the indian girl

Captain Zach

the ballpark snack vendor

the witch (and a cute witch she was)

The used car salesman (and, for the record, the beer gut isn't real, but I did actually wear these glasses in the late 80's)

three letters shorter

For now, I'll call him Zachary.  Over the course of his eight years, though, he has been known by a number of names in our home: Zachary, Zach, Zachy, Zacharini and Zacharini the Great (sometimes morphing into Zacharini the "Grape" by the younger members of our crew).  For the first three or four years of his life, I mostly alternated between Zach and Zachary, not sure which I preferred.

However, when he started learning how to write his name, he meticulously (with great penmanship) and proudly wrote every letter of his name, and made it known that he preferred his full name, Zachary.

OK, Zachary it is.  And, Zachary it has been... until recently.

Just new this school year, I've been noticing "Zach" at the top of his school papers.  I recently inquired of this change, and was informed that he has decided that he likes Zach just as well, and it is three letters shorter than Zachary... almost half as many.  He figured with the amount of times he would have to write his name over the course of his school career, shortening his name from seven letters to four would save a lot of time and effort.  He told me I could still call him Zachary, if I preferred, but, at least at school, he was going to go with Zach.

Wow, I'm not sure what to make of that. Is school really so busy that he feels the need to shorten his name to pack everything in a day?  Is cutting his name in half the epitomy of laziness?  Is he to be praised for his efficiency for pondering the effort saved in writing half his name?  It could be any of the above, but it's more likely just a kid experimenting with a little independence and finding his identity.

Well, Zach... ary, I fondly remember you being proud of meticulously writing every letter of your full name, and you have conditioned me over the past few years to call you Zachary.  So, although I will still alternate between Zach and Zachary, I think I will continue to prefer Zachary.  (But, you may never escape Zacharini... at least when your friends aren't around!)