The Boss'

I snapped this picture of Ben the other day as he removed plaster and lathe from a wall in a bathroom that we hope to remodel. I’ve made this demo project part of his unofficial school work. You should have seen his eyes light up when I led him into the bathroom with various hammers and pry bars, and told him that he could use whatever tools he needed to remove the plaster, lathe, and nails from the walls. He has attacked this project with gusto. Every afternoon, when his more academic school work is done, he’s free to go in there and see what else he can accomplish. Emma and, to a lesser extent, 4 year old Grace, are also getting in on the act. There’s something about breaking things with a hammer that a kid just can’t resist. I honestly didn’t expect him or the other kids to be able to get all of the lathe and nails removed, but they have surprised me.  The walls are virtually picked clean as high as their little hands could reach. All I have left to do is the top two or three feet, all around the room. They’ve actually saved me a lot of time and have made a very valuable contribution to the project.

I look for opportunities like this everywhere. When I spot an appropriate job for Ben or one of the other kids, I tell them that I really need their help with something, and that I’m not sure how they’re going to do it, but that I know they’ll be able to figure it out. I might suggest a few tools that they may or may not need, and then I just get out of their way and watch them go to town. I find that this sort of thing really builds confidence and makes them feel that they are valuable part of the family. It’s also a valuable learning tool. I find Ben “teaching” the girls how to use the tools and how to work safely. I can see that he’s really learning the “material” as I watch him teaching others.

I’ve posted some photos from our weekend in the upper peninsula of Michigan. We stayed at a small cabin right on the shore of Lake Superior. (Waiska Bay, actually) It was cozy with 13 of us in the cabin, but we and the kids had a great time. The big green van performed well, except for the fact that we had to make last minute repairs to the brakes the morning we were set to leave. That ended up costing $592, but you need brakes, right?

We’re still trying to settle on a name for the new van… The Hulk and Shrek are currently in the running. Feel free to submit your own suggestion for a name. We’re heading to the U.P. this coming weekend, so we’ll have to post a full post vacation report to detail the pros and cons of the new vehicle. Did I mention that gas prices have gone up by about $0.60 since we bought this thing? Yeah, that’s some good timing.

Here’s a pic of the rafter design that we’ll use in the attic space so that we’ll be able to insulate it for Emma. The existing roof rafter is the darker colored item in the screen capture below. Sister’d next to that is a 2×12, which will create a space for R-30 insulation. The smaller 1.5 inch square spacer will create a cavity to keep hot/cold air against the ceiling. Once the 1.5 inch spacer is installed, plywood is installed to maintain the air space and keep it from collapsing, like a plastic baffle would.

Lindy has been hard at work the last several days putting together a schedule for this fall. I’d hurry to say that it is much more than just a “school” schedule, it’s more of a home management plan. She asked for my input a few times, but, for the most part, the management plan is her own creation. I think the best part of the day was wrapping up by 9 o’clock this morning. That’s not to say that the rest of the day hasn’t been great, but from 8 til 9 was our family worship time. This morning we used the book, Hymns for a Kid’s Heart. We looked at the hymn “This is My Father’s World.” The book contains some background on the hymn and the author, and also the hymn itself, along with the music. It’s quite an experience trying to sing a hymn like that a’ cappella, but I think we did okay. I’m no singer by any stretch of the imagination. I appreciate good singing, but I can’t do it myself. Dogs and cats run and hide when I sing. There’s even some evidence that bats are disoriented by my attempts to carry a tune. Despite this, I still think it’s important to at least try to have a singing and praise time each day with the kids. We are created for fellowship with God. We are to walk with Him each day, when we sit in our houses, when we walk by the way, when we lie down, and when we rise up. (Deut. 6 – paraphrase) Often I fear that we get so caught up in making our own plans, that we fail to give the LORD any room to work. In light of Deuteronomy 6, does it sound like “Bible” is like any other subject that can just be tacked onto our schedule any old place? Seems to me it must be central. All else should radiate out from this point.

Anyhow, that was my favorite part of the day. The kids stuck to the schedule for the most part. There was some resistance to academic endeavors, which is typical after a long break away from the books.

This will be an exciting year. Emma is 10, and getting to the age where she can handle more challenging academic work. It will be fun to see how she meets that challenge.

Saturday, Ben and I helped Grandpa Boss split some wood. It was hard work, but brought back many good memories. I remember watching/helping my dad split wood with my uncles when I was Ben’s age. I was happy to introduce Ben to something that I remember so fondly from my childhood. There are more photos here. 

Somewhat related to this is something that I read recently in R.C. Sproul Jr.’s book, Bound for Glory: A Practical Handbook For Raising a Victorious Family. In talking about the fifth commandment, honor your father and your mother, he said that one of the ways he is able to honor his father is by doing “donkey work” for him. I think that is very well put. I hope that Ben and I honored my dad by doing a little bit of donkey work for him.