ShenanINGRAMS

I've had several people ask my why I haven't blogged very often or in so long. I'm busy. That's the simplest answer. I homeschool 7-1130, eat lunch 1130-1230, teach piano 1230-430, then there's soccer or church or babysitting or porch nights with friends. At some point I have to shower during the day, so the last thing on my list of things to do is to sit and write, which is actually shameful because I like to. So, I am 'borrowing' something from my Dad this go-round, to make things faster and hopefully it will entertain the millions of people who read this blog. :D People often ask me what ethnicity I have running through my veins. At least 10 people in my life have told me that I and my daughter Caylea look 'exotic,' which makes me think of exotic plants, which makes me think of those big Venus fly-traps that have been known to eat people. I don't know why my brain goes that route, but that's free association, Tori style. I&#

I think the last time I wrote in this blog was some time back in March. Things have been hopping since then! The kids completed their academic testing, which is always a blast. They say things like, "Can we do this every day? This is so easy!" I hope that translates well on the tests. Otherwise, their teacher may get fired. :) In early May, I hosted my second piano recital at Burg Lichtenberg. It was fabulous, as usual, and a completely different feel from the last 'winter-wonderland' recital that we had. Everyone messed up, which is just how I like it. I played 3 songs this time, because I didn't play at the last recital and some parents heckled me for it. I just didn't want to seem to be showing off. This time, I chose songs that I love to play, even though I rarely sit and play for hours like I used to, and during one song, two of my precious little girls (7 years old) stood behind me and turned pages for me. We stayed for dinner and overfilled t

As my wonderful husband turns 40 and my oldest 'child' turns 15, I have had a chance to just slow down and think a few things through. We live such an amazing life! It is easy to get focused in on the day-to-day drudgery and forget how beautiful a family can be, and I praise God for the reminders that He gives me that we are so blessed! Even after the toddler years, when you're striving to be the kind of wife and mother God outlines in Scripture, you find that you don't have tons of time to yourself. "Girl time" becomes a distant dream and you settle down into the trenches. The toddler years are hard, but nothing swift, firm, loving discipline can't handle. The preteen years are tough, and require lots of heart training for mom and kids. There is no greater mirror of yourself than how your children treat each other. God really had me change ME first, and then my kids started coming around. When they get older, there are even more things to discuss &

AH HA! So, it's not torn badly enough to require surgery, which makes me very thankful. I've been told to take it easy (ha ha ha) and wear a brace if I run, and to try not to tear it any more. If I knew how I had done the damage in the first place, that advice may have come in handy. However, since I have no idea which of my many accidents caused the damage, perhaps I should just stick to the brace. :)

We celebrated our spring break early, simply because it's not yet spring in Germany, but my parents came to visit. We took them to Luxembourg, Belgium, (where everything was closed and we had no waffles), rock climbing, race-car-driving (IF I HAVE TO HEAR 'MUSTANG' ONE MORE TIME....!!!!), and thrift-store shopping; not to mention the super lunch at Burg Lichtenberg. It was an amazing, quick, fun-filled, relaxing vacation. Caylea finally beat PaKenny at Chess, although there is some debate about the help she received. Joshua made it out of the PaKenny "Boring Family" attack with fewer bruises than I anticipated, and the massages we sent the grandparents to get had them completely melted. I know they had a good time and I hope we get to spoil them like that more often! I get to go find out if I need knee surgery today. It isn't one of those things you like to advertise, but there it is, and since I only managed to run 1/2 mile this morning before the give-

I wish I had a hidden camera in my kitchen. Most of the time I eat with the kids for breakfast, or I'll finish eating and clean dishes while they finish; but today I'm down here, catching up on banking, etc., and they are eating. I let them sleep in today. We've been fighting a roaming cold...it roams from one of us to the next...and you can tell they all got their fill of rest. Chloe is the loudest. You will hear her voice, followed by cackles and peals of laughter from Caylea and Josh. Josh laughs the loudest. (He who laughs the loudest laughs last? How does that saying go?) Anyway, the fact that she can entertain them is pretty amazing, but it also hysterical to me that she often goes just one step too far, to the point that there is dead silence and then inevitably either Caylea, usually, or Josh will say, "That wasn't funny." At that point, Chloe will laugh one of her hysterically evil "mad scientist" laughs and the laughter will resou

I am trying to learn Italian. I have finished one lesson on Rosetta Stone and it made me laugh so hard, I can barely start lesson 2. It's not the language, it's my pronunciation of it. No, I'm not one of those genius people who likes to learn languages. I am trying to learn just enough so that when we go to Italy in a few months, I will be able to do three things: 1. Get where I need to go without entering a slum neighborhood. 2. Order food, and lots of it. 3. Find a working toilet. Joey says I need to learn how to say, "Back off, I'm married," but I doubt that. I have a skunk streak that rivals that of my brother and I have no doubt that my appeal is largely in my husband's eyes and no one else's. I'm perfectly content with that. If he thinks I'm the golden apple, then I can't ask for more. I don't know where 'golden apple' came from, but I'm not changing it. :) He's my golden apple too. I wouldn't hav

It's a New Year, which means resolutions, right? Not really. The Ingram family has always strived to maintain some level of physical activity, be it hiking, biking, chewing... Last year we started taking the kids to the gym with us, albeit sporadically. We always had a good time together playing soccer, dodge ball, 4 Corners, etc. The gym provided hours of family entertainment. This winter the weather has been incredibly cold and the kids and I have been 'forced' to do activities here at home. We would normally love that, and we did for about 2 months. After a time, though, you get tired of your at-home elliptical, your at-home Leg Magic, your Wii Fit, and various other methods of at-home work-outs. We decided to try something different since the roads have been relatively clear all week. We home school, so it's pretty easy for me to get my kids up at my discretion and say, "We're doing this today!" Today, I woke them up for breakfast with Daddy, th