Stahlke Adoption: August 2012

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Never Thought I'd Need to Know

To identify unknown medicine, google the shape, color, and imprinted number.

For example, a "white oblong pill L484" is acetaminophen (Tylenol).

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Made My Day

As I cleared the breakfast table this morning, one of the kids grabbed some dishes to help me, completely unprompted.

"Thanks for helping clear the table," I told him.

Very softly, I heard the words "you're welcome."

The whole thing made my heart sing!

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Ukrainian Language

One can learn about a foreign language by hearing how a speaker uses English. The following two terms, which I hear from our kids, persuade me that Ukrainian uses these constructions. A quick browsing of the internet didn't prove my theory, but my hunch is pretty strong.

haircomb--instead of comb

seatcar--for a carseat

Monday, August 27, 2012

Comprehension

One must become a parent to understand your own parents better. Now I know why my mother rejoiced so much on the first day of school. I too am doing a happy dance! Can you hear the stomping?

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Devotions

After our evening meal, Jonathan reads a chapter from the Bible, and then we sing a hymn verse. To close our devotion, Jonathan takes prayers requests and offers petitions for them. In recent months, many of our relatives and friends have been dealing with cancer, and so every night we've prayed for them.

At Peter's bedtime recently, he asked me the meaning of our current devotional hymn verse:

When peace like a river attendeth my way,
And sorrows like sea billows roll,
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Many of those words required explanation--attendeth, sorrows, billows, soul. At the last of those words, he equated sorrows and soul. "When I do something bad, is that 'soul cancer'?"

"No, Peter, the word for that is 'sin.'"

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Safety

Early on Sunday mornings, one of my substitute organists practices in the dark, using only the desk lamp on the organ. When I play at night, I turn on one of the overhead lights, just enough to traverse the steps to the balcony safely.

I babysat one of our kids tonight at church, and I allowed him to play the organ while I ran to the church office downstairs. When I returned, every single light in the balcony was blazing. Can't have too much illumination in a dark church!

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Phone Message

One of the kids took the following message [the underscore is mine]:

Henry S____.
773-624-675_.
renew organist thing

It took a call to Henry to find out the "thing" was my membership in the American Guild of Organists.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Camping

We spent almost two weeks in Texas during a recent vacation. For a few of those days, our extended family camped at Huntsville State Park north of Houston. It was a little disconcerting to read the sign prominently posted there on the fishing pier:

Do Not Feed or Tease the Alligators

Friday, August 17, 2012

Solace

"Come unto Me, ye weary, and I will give you rest."
O blessed voice of Jesus, which comes to hearts oppressed!
It tells of benediction, of pardon, grace, and peace,
Of joy that hath no ending, of love that cannot cease.

- Lutheran Service Book, No. 684, st. 1

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Recipe for Dog Shampoo

Ingredients:
2 quarts hydrogen peroxide
1/2 cup baking soda
2 tsp. dishwashing liquid

Directions:
Drive to a 24-hour Walgreens to make a late-night purchase of the hydrogen peroxide. Upon arriving home, combine above ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir thoroughly. Locate old rags that can be discarded in the trash after recipe is done.

Find dachsund in the back yard, hold one's breath, and carry him to the bathtub. Remove his collar and throw it away, reserving the dog tags for later use. Wash dog repeatedly with shampoo mixture, rinsing occasionally. Do one's best to stave off nausea. When odor on the dog reaches a manageable level, towel dry him and then remove towels from the living area of the house.

Makes:
One dachsund with a slight hint of skunk spray

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

First Day

Our three high schoolers began their school year today. Euphoria reigned last night as they shopped for new clothes items, while this morning mostly showed us sleepy faces. 7:00 am differs a great deal from their late morning (or early afternoon!) wake-up times during the summer. All three kids are old pros at high school, as they enter their sophomore, junior, and senior years.

I was reminded how much things have changed since the first day a year ago. Rachel's excitement at starting high school could hardly be contained. As she bounded downstairs, she looked around to see if anyone noticed her. The males in the house (Jonathan, Paul, and Adam) didn't skip a beat, but she and I caught each other's eyes. Rachel's glance asked me if she looked ok, and my glance back to her gave approval. I really enjoyed the moment.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Appreciation

A few days ago on August 6, I wrote post #1000.

Thanks for sharing my stories. It helps me a lot to write them.

Thursday, August 09, 2012

Age: 13 years and 2 days

Last night, we found tobacco and a cigarette lighter in David's pockets. Sure didn't take him long to start the teenage rebellion phase.

Monday, August 06, 2012

David's Birthday

As of today, we have FIVE teenagers in our home.

Thursday, August 02, 2012

Inflation

With lunches every day, and church/chapel twice a week, we always need small change. Five years ago, my weekly visit to the drive-through at our bank entailed collecting rolls of dimes and quarters. Now I ask the teller to break my twenty-dollar bills into singles!

Stahlke Adoption