"Pecos Bill" - by Paco Zapato

This is an oral narration by Paco, of a tall tale he is reading...

Pecos Bill was eating some deer. A pack of coyotes gave him the meat to be friendly. Bill got lost by falling out of his family's wagon. It was 4 weeks before his family knew he was gone because there were more than 12 kids in his family. He was a year old when he got lost. Then he lived with the coyotes.

Total Momsense

Okay, Moms - you have to watch this video at the bottom of my page. Click on the 3rd one, the far right, as the other two are only partial recordings. You gotta watch the whole thing! Unfortunately I can only tag things from YouTube in groups - everything that has my search criteria comes up, so it is impossible to only show one video unless that video has a title that is different than all the others... Oh well! This is just a free, hodge podge kind of operation I'm running anyway ;o)

Okay, we found this the other day (Super Jirafa and I) and got a chuckle. Then he and Sr. Smith heard it on the radio - apparently Anita Renfroe is becoming quite popular! We watched it again this morning and as we were laughing at it I asked Super Jirfa if I sound like that. "No," he said, "That's what moms sound like whose kids go to public school." My mouth is hanging wide open because I think I sound JUST like this!! God's grace must be translating what comes out of my mouth before it hits my childrens' ears, because I feel like I bark orders at them night and day! I think this woman is hysterical, and I know I've heard many of those exact words out of my own mouth, my mother's mouth, and countless friends whose children are public schooled, homeschooled, or not even in school yet! We'll give Super Jirafa some grace to grow up and live a little... but I had to post what he said because it just cracked me up. It made me wonder how we've portrayed public school before him... but also eased my soul a little to know he isn't negatively affected by my sometimes negative comments ;o)

I also added a link to our favorite homeschooling resource, Ambleside Online. Super Jirafa is working really hard trying to finish Year 4 by February, so that he can start Year 5 & finish it before next fall. He really wants to start Junior High next year, so we're letting him. And Paco Zapato is in Year 3. Yesterday he had drawn the coolest ship with vikings on the dry erase board, but of course by the time I went to get my camera he had erased it and was drawing a steamboat... I'll try to get a picture posted if he'll leave anything alone long enough!

Well, off to get the school day started! Columbus and Franklin and DaVinci - Oh my!!

Eat at Chili's today!

"100 % of the profits from Chili's today will benefit the Chili's St. Jude Research Hospital being opened in the next few months. This is such a worthwhile organization and one of the leading research hospitals for Children's Cancer. There is so little being done for Children's Cancer research that it is great when these opportunities come along!" quoted from my friend whose precious 4 year old son is battling cancer for the second time. Take a night off from your kitchen, and eat as healthy as you can from the Chili's menu ;o)

My thumb is thankful to be kept away from sharp utensils for the night - I'll write about that & give you all a chuckle (or the heebie jeebies) at my expense later. Suffice to say, all is well thanks to my wonderful nurse neighbor ;o)

Teachable Moments

Well, my day started on the porch as all the best ones do, and I decided I needed to memorize a verse about fatigue just in case I get weary this week while Sr. Smith trots about the country doing something important for internet telephony. I wrote it down, read it several times, tried saying it from memory a couple times & got it. "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous hand" Isaiah 41:10. Then I heard the sound. It wasn't a crash. It wasn't a thud. It was the unmistakable sound of glass spreading about in a thousand directions across the tile floor in the kitchen. And I knew that inside that kitchen was Paco Zapato - sin zapatos nonetheless. I went in, and when I asked if he was okay, he started confessing immediately, "I was playing with my apple. I threw it up there and I almost caught it!" What the apple had landed in instead of Paco's hand was my 2 cup pyrex measuring cup, which was what I heard hit the floor. Sr. Smith came around the corner to check the scene, and I just smiled and quoted Isaiah 41:10. I put barefoot Paco on the stairs and started cleaning up.

Fast forward about 20 minutes. I still wasn't finished on the porch, but Super Jirafa and Hermosa were up and looking for adventure. So they came outside to walk around on the sidewalk. Poor Hermosa - she must have grown in the night, because she had no balance. I don't know exactly how many times she fell down, but she kept getting back up and out there. Until finally Tio brought her to me with a bloody lip and skinned knee. Bless her heart. Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to her "well" check in the morning! Isaiah 41:10...

The First Day of School...

The first day of school was always something that gave me knots in my stomach, both as a student and as a teacher. But not once we started homeschooling four years ago. Being home with my kids during their school years was exactly what I never knew I always wanted. This year was different, though. I was more prepared by far this year - with a great schedule, a list of books I couldn't wait to dive into. And my kids were eyeing the books on the shelves like candy, "Please, can I just read a few pages?" Yet, I was also more anxious. Why? Maybe I'd put everything together so perfectly hoping for a perfect year, and didn't want to be dissappointed? I don't know. But as I sat on the front porch with my Bible, Señor Smith came out on his way to work. He sat down beside me for a moment, and I just started crying. I'm sure he felt full of confidence entrusting the soup ingredients to me and going out to earn our living at that point! But he actually did. And he gave me such encouragement. "You have been doing this for years. Yes, it is hard some days. Yes, we will have struggles. But we aren't doing this for each day to be perfect. There is a long term reward here, and look at how far we've come." I knew I married the right guy ;o) Well, off in Old Red (the truck we bought 12 years ago) he went. And I opened my Bible. Here is what I wrote that morning....

Jesus had a difficult task ahead (that puts it mildly - he was looking at death on a cross), so he prayed. He prayed and asked God to be glorified through him, among other things. He prayed for me, for all believers. Not that we would be taken out of this world, but that we would be protected from the evil one. I am so weary, and feel so anxious starting this school year today. It will be our fifth year - it isn't new to me. I opened my Bible thinking, "God, I bet you are going to speak to me today about my fears regarding school." I almost dared Him to try. And sure enough, I was on John chapter 17. So like you, God. Do I have a cross to bear? Nothing like Jesus' cross. Which gives me some perspective and does help. Do I have a difficult task that God has called me to? Absolutely. But Lord, please glorify yourself through it. I lay out my weak, sinful flesh, and give it to you as clay to mold. Give me a gentle answer when my children disobey or argue. Let our work together bring honor to you. Let me be a light before my children. To model your love and patience and mercy. Let me so show them your love that they see You in me. Love you, Lord.

My First Post!

I'm a little nervous getting this blog started... so many friends have ventured to the cyber-blog world, and I agree with the one who noted it took awhile to share her blog address with others because as it turns out these things end up being so very personal!

So why am I blogging anyway? Well, for one my children are writing more and I wanted to give them a place to share their thoughts outside of our home. And also because I feel like I'm behind the times if I don't - hah! So who knows how much we'll use this, and if anyone will be interested besides the grandparents who want to keep up with us... but perhaps we can be a source of encouragement to others on this journey, as so many others have encouraged us.

I will start by explaining our blog title - La Sopa Smith in Spanish means "Smith Soup". We are a Christan, crunchy-conservative, vegetarian, working on becoming bilingual, homeschooling family, who likes to eat soup. Kind of simple, but if you think of all the different ways you can enjoy soup - all the recipes out there, and especially the ones you create as you go - "soup" is a great way to define us. None of us are biologically related as God has built our family first through marriage, then through adoption. We are all different, although there are lots of similarities between us. But our soup flavor wouldn't be the same without each one of us. It was like God started making this soup in His pot, and it didn't taste just right, so he added another ingredient. And another. And another! And just as a carrot does something wonderful for a soup, think of what would be missing if there was no onion? Or potato? And all the seasonings that go along with it - the life experiences and other family and friends who enrich our soup? So, there we are - Smith Soup. And in Spanish because our goal is to have the whole family speaking Spanish fluently!

Now... my next post will be what I wrote in my prayer/Bible study journal the morning we started school two weeks ago. Which is what propelled me to actually set up a blog in the first place.