We said a sudden good-bye to one of our guinea pigs, Prairie, yesterday. She was 2 1/2 years old and belonged mostly to Kerrick (holding her in the photo above, taken about 1 1/2 years ago), but we all thought she was pretty cute. We buried her in our backyard next to our pecan tree. Kerrick is heartbroken — which, of course, breaks my heart. Certainly, there are bigger losses in life. But this kind of little loss is tough, too — for Kerrick, because it’s really the first time he has lost something he loves; and for me, because he has so many questions that I can’t answer (“Why did she have to die right now? What made her die? Can’t God bring her back if I ask him to?”). I want so much to handle it the right way. I want him to know that it’s OK to be sad that she’s gone. I want to help him remember how much fun it was to play with her. A part of me also wants to relieve him of the guilt he feels about the times that he didn’t play with her because he was busy with school work or Scouts — or because he chose instead to play the Wii. But I can’t do that, and I know I shouldn’t anyway. How else will he learn to deal with the same issues and questions when the next loss — inevitably a bigger one — comes? Mostly, I want him to know that despite the pain he’s feeling now, it was worth it to love Prairie with all of his heart.

Prairie, a true home companion (all of you Garrison Keillor fans know what I mean!).

… fun facts about Kerrick:

1. His first name is English and means “the king’s rule.” His middle name, Andrew, means “manly, courageous.”

2. He loves playing with his dog, his LEGOs and his nine Webkinz (including the newest, a red squirrel named Redwood) — and he collects Playmobil knights.

3. His favorite song is Get Back Up, performed by Toby Mac. To hear it, click on the audio player at right under Song of the Day.

4. He’s super-smart, super-funny, super-outgoing and super-adventurous — all of which makes his parents super-proud (and super-exhausted from trying to keep up with him).

5. He developed our menu for today:
• Breakfast: sprouted spelt raisin cupcakes.
• Lunch: Grilled grass-fed beef burgers on spelt sourdough English muffins.
• Dinner: Pizza (not a healthy version).
• Dessert: a gluten-free (so his older brother can eat it), double-layer chocolate cake with vanilla frosting and strawberries.

6. If you haven’t already guessed, he turns 9 today! Happy birthday, second-biggest Little!

… Homeschooling Life musings to share (answering prompts from The Homeschool Mother’s Journal):

1. In my life this week I was once again reminded that time simply won’t stand still, no matter how much I might like it to. Ever since my oldest son (Kellen, now 11) was of kindergarten age, we’ve participated in C.A.S.A. Vida, a once-a-week enrichment program for homeschoolers offered by local a public-school district. Two years later, he was joined by his younger brother (Kerrick, now 9). And this year, as the traditional school year began, I realized that we had approached some major milestones. Thursday marked not only the first day of Kellen’s last year of the program (which ends after sixth grade), but also the first day of the first year for his younger sister (Kennah, 5), who shares the same beloved kindergarten teacher that her two older brothers had. I managed to keep myself busy while they were gone all day — especially with the help of my littlest Little (Keillor, 3) — but all I could think of was how empty our house (and my life) would be if I they went away to school every day. Author Elizabeth Stone likens motherhood to having “your heart go walking around outside your body,” and that is exactly how I felt as I watched Kennah — dwarfed by her brand-new, sparkly-pink princess backpack and matching lunch box — walk into the classroom with the other kindergartners. Of course, she had a terrific time and can’t wait to go back. And of course, I know I need to let go a little. But that doesn’t make it easy. I don’t even want to envision what it will be like when Keillor heads down the same hallway two years from now — though I’m betting the backpack in that picture will look a bit different.

2. In our homeschool this week I began teaching my third child to read — something that in my pre-parenthood days I never imagined I would do. What’s interesting is that — thanks to my retired-teacher mom, who saved some of her favorite curriculum from her teaching days — I’ve been using the same program that was in vogue at my small-town public school when I was learning to read: Open Court (the 1973 version), which differs from most other reading programs in that it teaches long vowel sounds before short. It’s so fun to see the light come on in their little brains when they start to understand the ways that letters work together to express words, sentences, paragraphs, stories and ideas. Kennah’s first reading words (which form her first oh-so-simple reading sentence) are “See me.” (The accompanying illustration shows a clown looking into a mirror as he gets ready for a circus performance.) Can’t wait to hear her read the rest of the story.

3. Things I’m working on include our homeschool room, which I’ve spent much of the summer purging, cleaning, organizing and streamlining. I’m still not finished — there are a few more big piles to tackle as I decide what works, what doesn’t, what’s worth keeping and what to pass along (there’s that “letting-go” thing again!). But it’s a much neater and more welcoming space for all of us to use as we get back into a regular school routine. I’m also gearing up for another year of tutoring for a tuition-based homeschool program called Classical Conversations. This is my second year tutoring seventh-graders in six different subject areas: math, Latin, writing/literature, geography, science and rhetoric. I’m pretty sure I acquired as much knowledge as much as my students did last year, and I can’t wait to do it all again. This week, I’ve been busy reworking my personal stash of Latin flashcards to make them more user-friendly. Though it’s not a part of the curriculum, I’m throwing in a phrase supposedly uttered by Michelangelo toward the end of his life (and that I’ve adopted for my class motto): “Ancora imparo,” which means “I am still learning.”

4. I’m reading two books: Lumber Camp Library, by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, and The Peacemaker, by Ken Sande. The first one I’m reading alongside my sixth-grade son, with plans to discuss its characters, setting, plot and theme using a simplified version of the Socratic method as outlined in Teaching the Classics, by Adam and Missy Andrews. The second I’m reading as part of my Classical Conversations training, with the idea that I’ll gain some wisdom for handling conflict effectively and from a Biblical viewpoint.

5. I’m grateful for the encouragement of a new friend, Sue (a k a The Homeschool Chick), to get back to blogging. Her prompts — shared every Friday in The Homeschool Mother’s Journal on her site, www.thehomeschoolchick.com — helped me pull this post together. I’m sharing it in today’s link-up, along with some other homeschool moms who’ve written about what’s happening right now in their lives.

6. A video link to share that pretty much sums up my thoughts at the end of this momentous week is Stephen Curtis Chapman singing Cinderella (who, incidentally, is the favorite princess of my own little growing-up-all-too-quickly princess).

In celebration of my second son’s eighth birthday today, I’m posting an acrostic that reveals a bit of his personality and what I love most about him.

Kidder (loves jokes)
Ebullient (overflowing with enthusiasm)
Rascal (mischievous)
Reveler (life of the party)
Ingenious (see the 3D stars he made from magnets—without instructions!)
Comrade (friendly and loyal)
Keeper (I can’t imagine life without him!)

Kellen and Kerrick underwent their annual summer transformation yesterday (with Keillor joining in for the first time), when Shawn lined them up and sheared them down in the backyard. Usually, I’m the one who cuts the hair around here, but this head-shaving tradition falls squarely into their dad’s jurisdiction—a throwback to his Navy days, I guess. I do admire Shawn’s efficiency—he got three boys finished in the time it would take me to carefully cut one boy’s hair (and I noticed none of them uttered a single complaint about itchiness, either!). The boys all love their extremely short hair for several reasons: 1) It keeps them streamlined for swim team, which begins tomorrow; 2) it makes hair-washing a cinch; 3) it means they don’t have to comb their hair for the next few months. As for me, I’ll be glad when it’s time to let it all grow back.

Goodwin children (from left: Brenda, Nora, Sonya and Kenneth); Safford, Arizona; 1974.

Hemmings children (from left: Keillor, Kerrick, Kennah and Kellen); Tempe, Arizona; 2010.

I thought it would be fun to show my sisters and I wearing the coordinating Easter dresses my mom made for us when we were young, and then show Kennah wearing the dress I made for her this year. (My brother and my sons had to settle for store-bought attire in these photos, but I’ve promised my boys that I’ll try to at least give their Easter shirts some mom-made attention next year.) Here are a few more fun shots of Kennah (and her baby doll, Mary) wearing their matching dresses. (I don’t know how my mom made three whole dresses for her daughters several years in a row! It was all I could manage to put together one dress—plus a quarter-size replica—in the weeks leading up to today!)

Kennah in her "sparkly pink butterfly" confection—because it reminds me of cotton candy—of an Easter dress.

Perfect match: Kennah and Mary.

…from Kellen (who created an army of candy-covered robots)…

…from Kerrick (who assembled button-candy cell phones with sweet text messages)…

…and from Kennah (who combined beauty and brains—in the form of fancy folded cardstock rings wrapped around rolls of Smarties) in her creations.

Handmade valentines are a tradition at our house (though I admit that sometimes we all look longingly at the hassle-free boxed cards at the store—complete with elaborate treats or cute tattoos). These are the designs the kids chose this year (from one of the places we usually look for ideas, www.familyfun.com). With a little (OK, a lot of) encouragement from me, they worked really hard for several days to cut out, color, glue or tape and address each one. Kellen, Kerrick and Kennah were so proud of their painstaking efforts and excited to give the end results to their friends. And the projects did kick some character-building qualities—creativity, problem-solving and stick-to-it-iveness—into high gear for each of them. It was enough to warm this crafty mom’s heart—at least until this time next year, when we get set to do it all again. Gotta L-O-V-E it!

That headline describes much of my Kitchen Life this past week. Despite battling a cold and working to pack up and put away the holiday decor (let’s just say I was “functional,” but with most of the “fun” taken out), I decided to experiment with a couple of things I’d been wanting to try.

Almond butter before. . .

. . .and after.

First was homemade almond butter. Because two of my children experience allergy symptoms from eating peanut butter, we have long substituted almond butter for it in everything from sandwiches to cookies. And ever since I learned about the benefits of soaking and dehydrating nuts to make them easier to digest, I’ve wanted to make my own version. Following the soaking/dehydrating directions and an actual recipe (including honey, coconut oil and salt) for almond butter in Nourishing Traditions, I ended up with a result that tasted fantastic but had some surprising characteristics. For starters, I wouldn’t really say it was spreadable—more like a somewhat crumbly topping—especially straight out of the fridge, where the recipe recommended storing it—that you could pile up on a piece of toast and pat into place. Of course, once the warmth of the toast kind of melted it a bit, it was easier to smooth out. And it had a soft and creamy—not gritty or dry—mouth feel, as well. I think the coconut oil contributed to both the crumbly texture and the incredible taste. I’ll definitely be making it again—especially because now that I’ve sampled it with everything from pancakes to oatmeal, I don’t have enough left over to use in a single batch of cookies!

Garbanzo beans, from sprouts. . .

. . .to spread.

The next thing on my list was making hummus from sprouted garbanzo beans. I had two different kinds of garbanzos in my pantry—the traditional golden-colored ones and their smaller, darker chana dal cousins. I started sprouting a jar of each variety and was surprised to see that the chana dal beans sprouted sooner than the traditional kind. Once the beans in both jars showed sprouts (after two days), I combined them and cooked them until they were tender—they simmered on the stovetop for about two or three hours. Then I blended them with the usual hummus ingredients (garlic, cumin, olive oil, lemon juice, salt) in my Vita-Mix. The result was a tasty dip and spread that we enjoyed all week—especially wrapped up in whole wheat tortillas made from a soaked-flour recipe I borrowed from Wardeh Harmon’s site, www.gnowflins.com. (Click here for the tortilla recipe. I had so much more success with this recipe than with an almost identical one using sprouted flour, that I’ve called into question my grain sprouting/dehydrating method. I’ve decided that dehydrating my sprouted grain in the oven is too hot a process—most likely eliminating the beneficial enzymes I’m after by sprouting in the first place, and ultimately drying the grain out so much that the resulting flour is parched and requires a lot more moisture to work with. I’m holding out for an actual dehydrator, which will allow better temperature control and energy efficiency.)

New fam favorite: Sloppy Joes in a Bowl.

Finally, our family enjoyed another of Wardeh Harmon’s recipes two times in the past week and a half: slightly different incarnations of her Sloppy Joes in a Bowl (click here for a link to another site where she shares the recipe). Both times, I soaked brown rice overnight in water with a little apple cider vinegar (to break down the phytic acid that makes all grains difficult to digest). The first time, I opted not to rinse the rice after soaking, but simply added chicken stock and cooked it. It came out a little vinegar-y, which I didn’t mind but the kids definitely noticed. The second time, I did rinse the rice before cooking it in fresh water and chicken stock, and the kids were much happier with the outcome. My son Kerrick helped to make the meal and even photographed it for me, declaring that he could eat it for dinner every night. Now that’s what I call a rave review!

This post is part of the Tuesday Twister blog carnival hosted by www.gnowfglins.com. To link to today’s Tuesday Twister on that site, click here.

All year long, Kellen and Kerrick each worked to fill a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child, a mission project coordinated by the Samaritan’s Purse relief organization. Every December, Samaritan’s Purse delivers the boxes—containing fun things such as toys and candy, as well as essentials like toothpaste and soap—to impoverished children all over the world.

This was our first year to participate, and the boys kicked off their efforts in January by purchasing plastic shoebox-size containers. (We debated at length about whether to use plastic or actual cardboard shoeboxes—favorable because we’d be recycling and the box would be biodegradable. But in the end, plastic won out because we thought the recipients might appreciate a more durable, waterproof container that could later be used for another purpose.)  Kellen and Kerrick each opted to fill a box for a boy in their age group (5 to 8 years old) and—following the guidelines outlined on the organization’s Web site—they made lists of the items they wanted to include. The next order of business was planning their purchases. (I need to explain here that anytime the boys earn or receive money, they are required to divide it into “save,” “share” and “spend” categories. With this year’s project in mind, their “share” money quickly became allocated for shoebox items.)

Our shopping excursions provided plenty of lessons in budgeting (the boys learned to make their money stretch by looking for sales and by buying some items—pencils, toothbrushes—in bulk that could be split between their boxes). And, with a little coaxing, they even turned their joint birthday party into an opportunity to draw their friends into the fun, requesting voluntary donations in lieu of any gifts.

By November, Kellen and Kerrick had filled the shoeboxes to the brim with the following items:
• Clothing (shirts, underwear, socks)
• Candy
• School supplies (pencils and sharpener, erasers, crayons, paper)
• Toiletries (toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap)
• Toys (Hot Wheels, LEGOs, Playmobil figures, tennis ball)
• A letter from—and photo of—each boy

Kellen’s shoebox stuff. . .

. . .and Kerrick’s.

When we discovered that the church we attend would serve as a collection place for shoebox donations this year, we scheduled an afternoon when we could both drop off the boxes and volunteer to help with collection efforts. The day we were there wasn’t a particularly busy one, but Kellen and Kerrick still got to help put rubber bands around all of the boxes that came in and load them into larger cartons that were packed into 40-foot semi-truck trailers to be hauled to regional sorting centers. The highlight for the boys was getting to climb inside one of the trailers and pose for a photo. (Kennah even got in on the action, and has decided that she wants to fill her own shoebox—for a girl her age—next year. Of course, knowing Kennah’s fascination with footwear, chances are pretty good that her shoebox will actually contain at least one pair of shoes.)

Several days before Christmas, we learned that our shoeboxes were both delivered to children in Peru. So the learning experience can continue as we find out more about that country and what life might be like for the boys who received Kellen’s and Kerrick’s gifts. And a slim possibility exists that we might actually hear directly from the children who opened our boxes. But even if we never do, we know we helped make two Christmases a little brighter, and we can’t wait to do it all over again next year!