All things become new

On August 28th of last year, Isaac found this huge green caterpillar at a park. We brought him home and put him in a large plastic container with some leaves and sticks. Because of his "suction cup" feet, we named him "Sticky". We consulted a caterpillar identification website and determined he would become a polyphemus moth. The next morning when we awoke, we couldn't find him. We couldn't understand how he had escaped the nice little home we made for him. Eventually we found him in his chrysalis, carefully camoflauged in some leaves. And we began waiting...

Yesterday, eight months later, the boys came running into my room, "Sticky's coming out!" Sure enough, there he was, wrinkled wings, clumsy (and very hairy) legs, and feathery looking antennae. What a cool creature (and a very big one too!) We spent over two hours outside, just watching him shake his new wings and try out his new legs. We never did get to see him fly (eventually you have to go to bed), but he must've figured out how sometime during the night, as he was gone this morning.

What an amazing Creator we have. And a gracious Saviour! It was cool to be able to share with the boys, both in August and now as we saw the transformed "Sticky", how our own lives can mirror this change. "If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new!" (II Cor. 5:17). Nothing about Sticky looked the same. And he had some learning to do about these new ways. A good reminder to turn our backs on old sinful ways, and also to be patient with our brothers and sisters in Christ as we learn how to walk in the new light we've been given. We were just about to throw out Sticky; I'm glad we didn't miss seeing the moth he became. And I'm thankful for God's patience with us as He transforms us into His image.

Poor little thing...

When I went in to check on Isaac this morning, this is how I found him sleeping. All the covers were on the floor, so he had climbed inside a pillow case for warmth.

Suspension Bridge #2

Armed with our new found knowledge, we tried again, this time using wood-trim- reinforced cardboard for our deck material. And we had much better results. I think the boys could just about cross this one! They're trying to convince Pigtails to give it a try.

Suspension Bridge #1

Our first attempt at a suspension bridge ended in disaster. We discovered that our poster board deck was not stiff enough to hold up much of a load. Remniscent of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge disaster.

Engineering vs. Nursing

Friday we tested the strength of our little popsicle stick bridge. It weighed in at a whopping 3 ounces. We began by filling cups hung from it's deck with little glass rocks. After filling the two cups with no apparent stress to our bridge, we began piling books on top of it. We stopped at 20 pounds worth of load, as the boys didn't want to destroy our creation and it was beginning to moan under the load a bit. So here in the second picture, you see engineering (trusses) and nursing (textbooks) peacefully co-existing. (Barton family joke!)

In my spare time...

For any who may not know, I've gone back to work part time in the ER. As a result, some things like blogging and house cleaning have fallen by the way side. Notice I'm catching up on blogging tonight instead of the cleaning. : ) Though it's a bit overwhelming to juggle wife, mom, nurse, and teacher all at once, I am thankful that God has allowed me to be a nurse. I do enjoy making a difference for people in their vulnerable moments.

A, B, C--Airway, Breathing...

Ever since a bout with strep two years ago, Isaac has had huge tonsils, even when he's healthy, but worse when he gets any little bug. This is a picture from February. Something about no airway bothers us medical folks. We've decided it's time to consider taking them out, and saw an ENT doc yesterday. Surgery isn't scheduled yet, but should happen in the next several weeks, so please be praying for little Isaac.

Too Cute

Isaac, full speed ahead, upside down, crooked helmet and all!

Monkey Man

My poor boys are so desperate for some good climbing trees in our yard, but, alas, there are none to be found. Ian pulled an upside down bucket over next to this little locust tree, and shimmied his way up high enough to reach the branches. A boy's gotta do what a boy's gotta do!

"...and the Great Gray Bridge"

So now this week we're trying out our engineering skills, learning all about bridges, loads, arches, suspension bridges, cofferdams, cantilevers, etc. Here's a few of our experiments, with more to come tomorrow. Who knew a bridge made of 3 pieces of paper could hold 15 hot wheels cars!?! Another recommended read: "The Brooklyn Bridge" by Elizabeth Mann and "Bridges! Amazing Structures to Design, Build, and Test". Maybe I'll have boys at the International Science Fair someday following in Uncle David's footsteps.

"The Little Red Lighthouse...

Our most recent adventure in learning has taken us to the shore of the Hudson River in New York City. We're having so much fun with this one that we've stretched it over 2 weeks. Last week we focused on lighthouses, and the boys created these lighthouses of their own. Ian came up with the "paint scheme" for his all on his own. He suprised me by getting out a ruler and carefully measuring out each stripe. Another great book we discovered along the way was "Abbie against the storm"--gripping true story and amazing art! Check it out at your local library (we practically live at ours!)

A few more birthday shots...

Special thanks to:
Aunt Kecia and Uncle Kreg: Lego Mars Mission set
Aunt Nichole and Uncle Tony: Military lego set
Aunt Karin, Justin, Grandmother and Grandfather Fritsch: giant volleyball and net
Grammy and Grandpa Barton: Lite Brite
Aunt Susan and Uncle Larry: JumpStart Computer games
Wish you could have all come over for some cake!

Happy 5th Birthday, Isaac!

It's hard to believe that our "baby" turned 5 two weeks ago! Where does the time go? We had a fun day together celebrating our little "laughter" boy. Aside from the presents, cake, and family fun, our day also included a field trip to a local Alpaca farm with our co-op group. We got to see emus, alpacas, sheep, dogs, miniature horses, a donkey, peacocks, and even a new little baby alpaca and baby emus. Isaac chose to have a "Dash" cake (from the Incredibles movie, our favorite!)

Planting "Mari-gol-rounds"

A couple of weeks ago we studied plants and gardening with a delightful little book called "Miss Rumphius" about a lady who wants to make the world a more beautiful place so she plants Lupines all over her town. Of course, we had to try our hand at gardening. Those who know me know this is not my thing, but the boys were very excited. I bought some lupine seeds and several other packets of wildflowers and cosmos, we dug up a flower bed, added some better soil and planted our seeds in hope! On the way to buy the supplies, Ian asked if he could take his $3 of allowance money a buy "some of those pretty yellow flowers." I just love boys! One moment they're wrestling or sword fighting, the next they're bringing you flowers. He proudly picked out these "mari-gol-rounds", as he called them, and we planted them "to give us some color while we wait for our other flowers to grow."

The New Board

Ian has been diligently saving up his allowance for several months with the goal of buying his own new skateboard, replacing the hand-me-down he was given when we first moved here. We are so proud of his self-control and hard work as he waited and worked to reach his goal. Originally the plan was to hand his old board down to Isaac, but he decided we should buy Isaac a new board of his own for his birthday. He's got such a soft heart for his brother. Dad and the boys had lots of fun going to "No Name Skatepark" to pick out his custom board, trucks, and wheels, complete with a few stickers for the deck.

Make that TWO!

Ian was laying on our bed, snuggling with dad last Friday, when he suddenly pulled out his second tooth. No passing out this time! He's discovered that a white Tic-Tac fits nicely in the space as a substitute.