April Quiz

So, here it is Thursday and I'm just getting around to posting about the quiz last Saturday. I thought this week was going to be a little less busy than last week-and it is-but there's still been something going on every day lately.




We were in niece Vicky's neighborhood so she came to see us, left for a while to work, then came back again after work. She made it back in time to take in a quiz or two, then stayed for the awards.

The girls' team took 3rd place for the day.

Allison took 3rd place in the YT Vet individual competition. Julianne took 2nd place in Sr. Teen Vet individuals.

Then they handed out the end-of-year awards as this was the last Michigan quiz. (We still have a regional in May and Nationals in June.)

Each quizzer's average "points per question in" is figured for the year. The more points, and the earlier they quiz out, the higher the average. Julianne took FIRST place for the year in the Sr. Teen division!

Their team also was named "Team of the Year", which surprised me because they've had several months of being 2nd or 3rd place. They won this based on their total points for the year as a team.

I can't believe it took me this long to brag share how the day went. They study hard to do this well and we are continually amazed at them and incredibly proud of them.

Another child's perception...

Mom and I visited her oncologist Thursday. It's been four or five months since her last check-up and the news was all good. Her doctor joked with her, and told her that he has sick people who need to see him more than she does. She doesn't have to return for 6 months this time. We were pretty happy to hear that!

The girls were attending a concert with friends last night so their adopted grandparents kept them overnight and delivered them to our friends' house for me.

When they got home last night, I was telling them about the appointment and mentioned that the doctor told Mom she "looked like a million bucks". Allison said "Whoa, whoa, whoa! To him, if Grandma looked like a million bucks, wouldn't that mean she looked really sick?"

A child's perception

We were going through a Bright Lights lesson recently and one of the passages we looked up was James 3:7-8, which reads:

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. (NIV)

Reading this prompted Allison to share a memory. You can figure out where this is going, right?

One day, Allison was in pain because she bit her tongue. Being young, and very literal, Julianne was terrified that her sister was going to die because she remembered learning this verse in Junior church.

We were laughing at the story when Julianne started to explain what else she thought about this passage when she was young. She wondered why Clarence and I had never told her about this secret weapon. Just think-if someone tried to hurt you, you could bite your tongue and spit that deadly poison at them, allowing you to escape. She was so thankful Mrs. Carlson had let her in on the secret or who knows how long it would have taken her to find out?

She had an antidote figured out as well, so that she wouldn't be harmed. Simply press your tongue against the bottom of your mouth, which would release a cold liquid to counteract the deadly poison.

I'm not sure how long it took her to understand the figurative meaning behind the verse. She says she was both relieved and a bit disappointed when she came to that realization.

Signs of Spring

Miss Paula was asking why no one was updating their blogs and then Kimberly inspired me with the pictures of her spring blooms.



We were outside this evening and I asked Allison if she wanted to grab my camera and take some pictures of the crocus since they just opened today. She continued to take pictures of other things that caught her eye.

The cherry tree is budding.

Her pal, Belle, was taking it easy on this beautiful day-as if that's anything new.

The daffodils are up.

And I thought there wasn't anything worth sharing going on. I'll have to hand my camera to Allison the next time I don't have anything to blog about...'cause I love the shots she took.