Comments Added

Hi, this is Valerie talking. I just added Comments to this blog for my mother. So, if she makes you laugh, or reading something she writes makes you think of something to say, leave a comment.

By Joyce Kilmer

Because the road was steep and long,

And through a dark and lonely land,

God set upon my lips a song,

And put a lantern in my hand.

Pass the Lantern Please
Have you ever read the American classic _A Lantern in Her Hand_ by Bess Streeter Aldrich? I too see my dreams unfolding in our children's lives. I wanted to write, be on the school paper--Daniel is doing it (with wit and brilliance I might add and as his mother I would think I should have the privilege of saying so.) I wanted to do a magazine, play the piano, handquilt a quilt, sing in a choir. Never did any of them unless you count helping Valerie with _Joyful Heart_, the two lessons on the piano I had before I broke my leg and a few quilted hotpads. Yes, Valerie has done and is doing all of these dreams of mine and a lot more. I wanted to be a missionary. I begged my husband (when I was expecting David) to go along on a short-term missions trip to Mexico. (He didn't let me go for an obvious reason.) The closest to missions I ever got was Urbana Missions Conference in Ilinois in 1976. My mission now is a homemaker and, of course, everyone has a little mission field right where God has them, but you know what I mean. Now our third born, David, is interested in a mission trip next summer to build a building for Russian orphans and provide school supplies. Now, don't get me wrong. I am extremely happy about all of these things our children are doing. I just can't help but relate to Abbie. "And so Abbie Deal went happily about her work, one baby in her arms and the other at her skirts, courage her lode-star and love her guide--a song upon her lips and a lantern in her hand."

A Deadly Toe
Luke stubbed his big toe yesterday. After his bath last night I pulled him into my lap to clip a little flap of skin with some nail clippers. As he tensed up I reassured him that it wouldn't hurt because it was dead skin. He said, "Yeah somebody shoot it."

Third World Mud

Valerie quilted and watched a video of Elizabeth Elliot speaking about her missionary experiences. Stephen caught a sentence about living in a hut with a mud floor. He was quite enthralled at the idea of a mud floor. You could see the wheels and gears of his five-year-old entrepreneurial mind start turning just thinking about his favorite subject these days. With a dreamy look in his eyes he only said one word. "Mud."

All in a Day

Luke's Potty Training Statistics:
A success rate of one out of six tries.

Name of peoples that give nose kisses
according to a 5 year old:
"Neckicles" (Eskimos)

Exciting Discovery of the Day:
Duplos float!

Muddy Conclusions

Today Stephen (age 5) continued to talk about his favorite topic these days--MUD. He said, "Mama, God likes mud." "He does?" I said with some surprise. Stephen said, "Yep and He made it up. Don't you know God made the first man out of mud?"


A while later after some more thought on the subject Stephen said to me: "I wonder how God got the first man to walk? When those mud legs dried they would have cracked and fallen right off."

Most People
David (age almost 16) had some friends over and they ordered pizza. I asked him if he would like some salad with it. He replied, "No, most people don't eat salad with dinner like we do." I nodded my head. Though I didn't say it, I immediately thought of this response. "Yeah, and MOST people die of heart disease or cancer."

A Moment of Silliman Silence
Michael (age 12) said: "For the first time in Silliman history we were quiet for a full minute at the dinner table."

Muddy Advice

In reference to his big brother's comment about how he'd probably not patronize Stephen's mud seller establishment, (see "The Glory of Being 5" at www.danielsilliman.blogspot.com) Stephen said: "Daniel doesn't need to come to my mud seller house. He can make his own mud at Hillsdale College. Mud is very useful. Daniel could put mud on his face so he doesn't get a sunburn. Whenever it is a hot day he could just jump in the mud and cool off. He could make some money for college if he made some mud and sold it. He could have his own mud business, but he probably won't because he's too old."