Archives for August 2010

August 31, 2010 by: The Domestic Fringe

School is in Session

I am pleased to report that the FringeFamily has survived two days of school without incident. We even managed to have some fun!

If the next 178 days go as smoothly, I’ll have nothing to write about.

Does anyone have this game? I recently found it at Barnes and Noble and I absolutely love it. It’s creativity packed in a little box for $7.95 plus tax.

Each little cube is clad with a picture. When rolled, combinations of pictures spark your imagination resulting in stories that will make you laugh, cry, or scratch your head in wonder. Unless your children are full of bologna like mine, expect their first few stories to be short and sweet; however, after a few rolls their little minds will conjure up tales tall enough to reach the heavens.

As your children play, they explore the depths of their imaginations while building thinking, listening, and writing skills. Remember, before your child can write creatively, he must think imaginatively.

No, I am not being paid for this plug. I just think this game is worth sharing. Go have fun with your kids! They won’t even realize they are learning.

August 30, 2010 by: The Domestic Fringe

The Tale of Two Bikes

Eventually everything old and worn out ends up at the dump. I just hope my children don’t adopt the dump-the-grump philosophy when I get old, because I would hate for my last meal to be a half-rotted banana eaten in the back of a mostly rotted Chevy.

That would be sad.

Unfortunately summer birthed the death of my son’s bicycle. The cost of repair outweighed the cost of a new bike, and his once treasured mode of transportation was reduced to scrap metal. For a time he traversed the neighborhood on foot; however, his lust for wheels was intense, reducing him to borrowing his sister’s rarely available, pink bicycle. Soon he discovered a young neighborhood boy trashing his own vintage (I use the word vintage to give this hunk of rust worth.) bike, and embarked on the long and arduous task of restoration. I am certain this bike will be restored in less time than it took Noah to build the ark, but maybe only by hours.

When my daughter’s bike was stolen, the loss affected the entire family. My daughter’s right to private property had been violated, and my son’s back-up wheels vanished. If you are a parent, you will understand that their whining and fussing immobility nearly made FringeMan and I lobby Congress for tougher bike theft laws.

First offense – Loss of appendages (ALL fingers)

Second offense – Loss of legs

Third offense – Death

I kid.

Maybe.

Before I could chop any fingers, bikes began rolling in two-by-two. I repented of my heartless and unusually cruel thoughts of punishment, then pardoned our bike thief. How could I be angry when so many were being so kind?

First I received an email from Debra at Loyalist Cottage. Her generosity and goodness towards my daughter and family touched me in a special way. She told me she was sending money to buy FringeKid a new bike. I meant every word of yesterday’s post. Sometimes it’s hard to receive a gift like that, even for your child. Immediately I thought of a hundred reasons why she shouldn’t send me the money.

Number One Reason: The bike was a piece of $15 junk.

She told me to go buy the entire family $15 bikes if I wanted, but she was sending the money. There are many kind and wonderful people in blogland, but Debra is extra-special. I’ve enjoyed getting to know her a little through emails and being introduced to her daughter over at Broken Poet. I cannot thank her enough for giving of herself to bless my daughter in a very special way.

Right after the email of blessing, my husband got a phone call from some friends asking us to stop by their house. They gave us an extra microwave (see yesterday’s post for microwave story), and their young teenage son gifted my daughter his old bike. This young man’s tender heart blessed us so much more than words can express. FringeKid was elated to have immediate wheels, but couldn’t quite coordinate the workings of hand brakes. FringeBoy knows how to ride and more importantly, stop with hand brakes.

Sadness became joy; theft became blessing. Both kids got a new bike. Thieves everywhere will be spared cruel and unusual punishment.

We live a blessed life.

August 27, 2010 by: The Domestic Fringe

Sunshine & Rain, Blessing & Cursing

Recently somebody asked if we, my family, were living under a curse. I understood exactly what she meant and it cracked it me up, because in the span of about two weeks (more like 10 days), it appeared as if our little world were crumbling from the inside out.

My daughter’s bike was stolen. We had to replace the hot water heater. The microwave exploded in eerie bright red lights and pops. The dog ran away, and the room off my kitchen (my future dining room) flooded. Oh, and the car died.

Don’t we all have weeks like this?

I know we do. After a while, you find yourself kinda holding your breath waiting for ‘the next disaster’ to strike. Sometimes I wonder why God allows bad things to happen to good people.

Don’t you wonder why? Sometimes??

Matthew 5:45 “…for he [God] maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”

It’s just life. There will be days of sunshine and days when it rains so hard that your house becomes a mudroom. Literally! Often it is in the rainy times when the light of the Lord shines the brightest. God is good, no matter the circumstances.

For whatever reason, He often chooses His creation to be vessels of His goodness; however, sometimes it’s hard to swallow our pride and accept gifts from others, even good gifts. I know it is better to give than it is to receive, but it is also easier.

I have learned that although God could rain microwaves down from heaven, He will often just nudge a friend or neighbor to go grab their extra one from the attic. I believe He works through His creation for two reasons. First, it is a blessing to be a blessing. We feel good when we are able to help someone else. Second, it humbles us. It is one thing to take a gift straight from the hand of God, but it is altogether different when a friend or acquaintance lends us a hand. It reminds us that we need each other. God never intended for us to ‘do life’ on our own. Just as Adam needed a “help meet” in the garden (Genesis 2:20), we also need help in this adventure we call life.

In my relatively short life, all twenty-nine years of it (*cough, cough*), I have been blessed beyond measure. God has been good to me. So have my friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, and sometimes strangers. Their acts of goodness have made me want to be good to others also – to pass along the blessing.

Always be quick to give kindness, you may never know how it transforms someone’s day, maybe even their life.

Come back tomorrow (probably Sunday or Monday :-0), and find out how my family was blessed by….

Hint: *She’s a blogger!*

…and yes, the dog came back.

August 26, 2010 by: The Domestic Fringe

Have A Whimsical Weekend!

The rhythm of the weekend, with its birth, its planned gaieties, and its announced end, followed the rhythm of life and was a substitute for it. ~F. Scott Fitzgerald

Mommy & Me

I was going to wish you all a happy weekend, but that seemed ordinary. Instead, I am wishing you a Whimsical Weekend.

That’s better, isn’t it?

Here’s a great post from Remodeling This life on Contentment.

If you’ve ever thought about wearing a wig, you should consult the Broken Poet.

There’s a cool kid’s art book featured on Deep Space Sparkle.

For those of you considering or questioning homeschooling, visit 5 Kids & A Dog and watch the video.

Ok, done. See you next week!

ATTENTION: This post was edited at 5:32 pm to include the following statement.

DUH!

I thought today was Friday.

Does this mean tomorrow will be like Ground Hog’s Day?

August 25, 2010 by: The Domestic Fringe

Wyoming Here We Come!

We do not come from a family of cattle ranchers. We are not farmers; however, on Saturday, you would have thought FringeKid was plucked right off a cattle ranch in Wyoming.

Does Wyoming have cattle ranches?

FringeKid didn’t win first place in the roping contest, but she did win a very large photo of herself plastered across the front page of our local paper.