This is what my sweet boy does most of the time. He loves pulling up on things and is even trying to "cruise" around the house by way of the couch and coffee table. I do think that this "Princess" container is his favorite. Excepting how terribly girly it is (Karina is so nice to share!), it's a great toy because Joseph discovered the very fascinating drumming sounds he can make with it. You can see the delight he has in this toy. :)
So, that's the picture fix for all you junkies. I don't have anymore. We've been distracted scrambling around the Norman area looking for a place to live next month. We were hoping to move to Fort Worth soon (this summer, even); but in light of Baby Payne #2's arrival this winter, we decided to stay around a while to make sure our midwives can be there for his/her birth. Thus, the scrambling. Please pray God provides us with a house!
Now on to my real reason for posting. I read blogs. Yes, I might even be a junkie. I'm working on that. I don't call them my "friends" anymore, and if I won't contact them in real life, I don't read their blog anymore. Aaron calls that stalking. : /
"Many of my friends probably have bigger libraries than I do. I would guess I have somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 books, which isn't as big as it may sound. But I have what I think is a good library - a good selection of the classics from every age, some great sets, decent language references, and theology; there are also a lot of random fill-in-the-gap categories (flyfishing, Mexico, hunting, sailing and navigation, astronomy, science fiction, literary criticism). If I never bought another book I'd have good reading for the rest of my life.
And I'll repeat what I've said before and will continue to say, probably to everyone's great annoyance. This is the heart of a good education: a small but well-chosen library, a place to sit and study, some friends to do it with, and the time and tranquility to do it in. There's such an immense, mind-bogglingly complicated tangle of extraneous issues attached to the concept of education, it's a wonder anybody ever gets one or even knows what one is. It's not about grades or credits. Those things may be necessary to get into college, but they're not part of education and it's all we can do to keep them from interfering with real education; mostly we fail at that. It's not about getting a job; that's for machines, not men and women created in the image of God. It's not about schedules and buildings and administrations and academic years and budgets and playgrounds and buses and meetings and athletics and art and field trips and curricula and email lists and offices and secretaries and science fairs and trips to the principal's office for misbehavior and lunchroom tables and drama departments and spirit week and community service and field day and school newspapers and multimedia. It's about Mark Hopkins on one end of a log and the student on the other.
Read the best books and talk about them with like-minded friends. That's been the essence of real education since antiquity, and nothing about our modern world changes that except perhaps the pandemic idiocy that gives this idea even greater urgency and even less chance than ever of being taken seriously. "
I appreciate what this man says about education. Having studied Greek and Roman history (and world history, for that matter), what I found in common with all the great minds in history is leisure. From Socrates, to Seneca, to the American farmer of the 18th century who was smarter than our Ph.D.'s of today - they had leisure. They worked hard, but that wasn't life. If knowing God is a great part of the journey here on earth, then certainly it must happen that we take time to reflect on the more meaningful things in this world, and pursue being truly acquainted with God's creation.
For the record, though, I do not believe leisure can be equated with rest (though they might be related), and certainly not with idleness. Leisure is not plopping on the couch with a coke, bag of chips and a remote. It is work in itself, but a different kind.
Aaron and I have been talking about this. We feel very busy. We're a newly-married couple with one child, a 5yo niece who is staying with us and one more blessing on the way. That may keep us busy, but we shouldn't feel so urgent. We are talking about the "simple life" and are discovering that it's possible it doesn't just exist in our long-term dream of being on the family farm in Missouri. We suspect it has more to do with our pace, with our family priorities and committments than anything else. We know that when we are not home as often we pray less, we sing less, we meditate on God's Word less, we talk less, we read less. We want to change that.
If you're wondering how I'm going to justify discussing this on Joseph's blog, here's my explanation. All this talk about leisure, the simple life and our "pace" is really just another way of discussing our philosophy of education or homeschooling. I've been homeschooling now for 9 months, so it would be impossible to give you any concrete assertions or observations. But I believe that Aaron and I might not fit into any particular category of homeschooling style: Charlotte Mason, classical, unschooling, unit studies, etc. I think we talk more about our family culture and what that should look like. What is home? What will it feel like? What will our loves be? Our goals? Priorities?
Whatever we decide will have an impact on (or direct correlation to) how our children are educated. The "methods" and curriculum matter very little. What do you love? What do you do with your free time? What do you say is important to you? We want a home and a family life that reflects our desire (for our children, and also for us) to love God and know Him more.
He says "drink, please" at breakfast.
He says "drink, please" at breakfast.
Doesn't he look smug? I'll just call it a "smirk". ;)
Typical Joseph in the car. We were on our way to the Farmer's Market!
Waking up (happy!) from his morning nap. Yes, naps are still required on a birthday. :)
I should teach him a sign for "milk", because sometimes he'll say "drink" when he really means "milk" - because he won't take water!
Joseph enjoyed playing on his birthday, and was so happy that he was able to spend it with Karina. 
For dinner, I actually planned on making Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas. I didn't quite get that far, so we had a "treat": macaroni and cheese with smoked sausage. Pretty much a terrible meal nutritionally, but a Payne favorite! It was Joseph's first pasta dish and (of course) he gulped down every bite! Maybe it'll be a birthday tradition for him?
He's never had free reign over a plate of food. Can you tell?
Two favorite things to attempt with birthday peaches: put them in cupholder; put them on floor. I encouraged the first. 
And this morning, J was playing in his new favorite place. I wanted to document it! 
He's never had free reign over a plate of food. Can you tell?
Two favorite things to attempt with birthday peaches: put them in cupholder; put them on floor. I encouraged the first. 
And this morning, J was playing in his new favorite place. I wanted to document it! 
Aaron built a door in the front that swings out. 
This is the nesting area, seen from a "secret" door that Aaron built so that we could just grab eggs from above. It's been working wonderfully! They're actually laying in the nest boxes!
The Happy Payne Hens! 
