I just thought I'd let you know there are a few other ways to see some pictures of the kids and get updates on us- especially now that Eric has an iphone. Eric is on twitter so you can see some kid photos from his view there (which is also the same as what he posts on facebook).
We also have a youtube channel. You can find it by searching for user egturbo1. This is where we put videos to share with others- some that only a grandma could love- but if you have the patience there is something cute in many of them.
A classic in our family was last December when Natalie was trying on the flower girl dress she was going to wear in the Gannon wedding. I just happened upon her dancing in our bathroom and took this video. It's funny to look back and see how much she has grown since then!
For something more 'produced', you can watch Peter's First Drive- he was waiting until he was 3 years old so he could drive the little cars at Legoland. He must have rode those cars 10 times that day (gratefully it was slow at the park). Carson and Henry helped Eric put the music and effects on this one.
That's about the time that Carson got interested in making movies (with the encouragement of new friends here in the OC)- so you will find a number of his creations. Probably the easiest to watch is Man vs Ghost but he also has some lego stop action and some shaky camera clips showing our PA vacation. Carson has many more on the camera that he is waiting for me to give him computer time to finish editing and upload to youtube- so you can watch for these to come (if you have the stamina).
Probably the one that keeps us laughing the most is Who Ate This?. It's very subtle so you have to listen closely to get the humor- but I'll give you a hint- watch the carrot. But who can't smile at those swim goggles and the reality of what my lunch time looks like everyday?
Hope you enjoy! We'll generally just post videos to youtube without mention here, but I'll try to put a note on the blog if we come up with something we think everyone would appreciate.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Greek Mythology and the One True God
This year in our history classes we are studying Ancient Greece and Rome using Veritas Press curriculum. I don't think I ever studied Greek Mythology and so my first read through a book like d'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths brought shock at how absurd the stories could be! Of course the kids love them. Especially the stories of swallowing rocks and fighting against outlandish monsters!
Carson's personal favorite is Ares (the god of war). They often color pictures while I read aloud to them so he asked if he could print some of Ares, then decided to photocopy them to make a whole army. So all four of the kids were coloring while I read then recreated a war with the papers and duplo blocks.
I've included a partial list of some of our favorite books on the sidebar, but one surprise we found was a book called Olympia: Warrior Athletes of Ancient Greece by Dyan Blacklock and David Kennett.
The illustrations are incredible- very intricate modern drawings with a cartoon feel but so much emotion in every picture. There are lots of warriors and fighting in the book- so it may not be for all kids, but my boys were enthralled. The book tells the story of how the King of Elis began the Olympics in the 8th century BC and describes what occurred on each day of the festival.
One of the drawings shows the temple of Zeus and all the crowds gathering around to make sacrifices and worship the gods. Henry (who is quite the deep thinker and loves to ask questions) asked, "Mom, are these people still there?" Then in a very somber tone he added, "That must have made God so sad to see all those people worshiping idols".
It stopped me and brought tears to my eyes- how true he was! This was real history, these were real people, and the one true God was watching. He has always been watching and is still watching today, and much of what he sees is idolatry.
In our bible studies we are still in Exodus, so we've been emphasizing the fact that God chose Abraham and promised to make him a great nation. But here was a time to point Henry forward to the fact that after Jesus came, he sent missionaries like Paul to preach to the Greeks. Jesus died to save the very nation that came up with such an elaborate system of gods. And he came to save sinners like me from every nation of the world!
So for my big kids, our study of Greek mythology has helped to distinguish between the true God and the greek gods. Unfortunately we may be confusing poor little Pete (3yo). At this point he seems to be mixing it all together, but that's true about a lot of things in his world these days.
Carson's personal favorite is Ares (the god of war). They often color pictures while I read aloud to them so he asked if he could print some of Ares, then decided to photocopy them to make a whole army. So all four of the kids were coloring while I read then recreated a war with the papers and duplo blocks.
I've included a partial list of some of our favorite books on the sidebar, but one surprise we found was a book called Olympia: Warrior Athletes of Ancient Greece by Dyan Blacklock and David Kennett.
The illustrations are incredible- very intricate modern drawings with a cartoon feel but so much emotion in every picture. There are lots of warriors and fighting in the book- so it may not be for all kids, but my boys were enthralled. The book tells the story of how the King of Elis began the Olympics in the 8th century BC and describes what occurred on each day of the festival.One of the drawings shows the temple of Zeus and all the crowds gathering around to make sacrifices and worship the gods. Henry (who is quite the deep thinker and loves to ask questions) asked, "Mom, are these people still there?" Then in a very somber tone he added, "That must have made God so sad to see all those people worshiping idols".
It stopped me and brought tears to my eyes- how true he was! This was real history, these were real people, and the one true God was watching. He has always been watching and is still watching today, and much of what he sees is idolatry.
In our bible studies we are still in Exodus, so we've been emphasizing the fact that God chose Abraham and promised to make him a great nation. But here was a time to point Henry forward to the fact that after Jesus came, he sent missionaries like Paul to preach to the Greeks. Jesus died to save the very nation that came up with such an elaborate system of gods. And he came to save sinners like me from every nation of the world!
So for my big kids, our study of Greek mythology has helped to distinguish between the true God and the greek gods. Unfortunately we may be confusing poor little Pete (3yo). At this point he seems to be mixing it all together, but that's true about a lot of things in his world these days.
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