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Day two of crashing on the loveseat included watching The Prince of Egypt with Ellie, again with her thorough and intensive commentary/questioning. It was interesting to see her making the connections between what she was seeing and what she has heard read to her, preached to her, and spoken of with her.  I could tell she was working through the this is a movie, so it's not real, but yet this is real thing. Brain cells were bursting left and right.

Ellie: Why is he mad?

Mom: That's Pharoah, honey, the King of Egypt.  He's angry because God wants to rescue the Hebrews.

Ellie: WHAT ARE ALL THOSE?

Mom: Frogs, bugs, and other things God sent to judge the Egyptians.  Those are the plagues. 

Ellie: Gross.

Mom: Yes.

Ellie: What are they doing?

Mom: That's the first Passover.  They're smearing the blood of a lamb on their doorposts so that God will see it and spare them when he comes for the next plague. 

Ellie: Why is he sad?

Mom: Because his son is dead.  Remember the blood on the doorway?  If the house didn't obey God's instructions, the firstborn son in each house died.  God is rescuing his people.

Ellie: Why are they happy?

Mom: Because they're leaving Egypt. God rescued them and is taking them to the land he promised them.

Ellie: There's a lake in the way.

Mom: That's the Red Sea.  Wait and see what God does next.

Ellie: WHAT ARE THEY DOING?

Mom: That's Pharoah and his armies.  Pharoah is so angry at God and the Hebrews that he wants to kill them all.  He thinks they're trapped against the Red Sea.

Ellie: Woah.

Mom: See?  God is making a way for them to pass...he's protecting his people.

Ellie: Woah.

Ellie: NOW WHAT?

Mom: Well, the Egyptians chased them into the Red Sea and God is making the water crash back on them so they can't hurt his people.

Ellie: That's a GREAT idea!

Thanks for all the cheers for Ellie!  She read her book today!

Jonathan was in charge of photographing the occaision.

We are all so proud of her!

And Katie is pleased as punch that she is on her last lesson of Saxon 3 math today...she starts using the textbook and writing out all her own problems tomorrow!

Celebratory apple pie!

In my not-so-humble opinion, exercising should be like a word document.  You should be able to save your progress at any point and return to it, at your convenience, to progress further.  In such a document, words and paragraphs do not disappear as time passes, forcing you to cover the same ground again when you come back to write more. 

The older 3 and I went out jogging again today for the first time in weeks.  Ouch.

This morning, the children made pancakes and bacon for breakfast for us as a Valentine's Day treat.  It was yummy and very kind, and they had a great time cooking.  They even cleaned up!  The following was overheard during breakfast.

Andy: The greatest thing in the world is waking up to the smell of bacon.  I love that smell.  They should make a candle out of that.

Mom: A bacon-scented candle?

Andy:  Yes.  And also one called "Subway."  And one called "Mom."

Last night Sean took the JAK to a high school basketball game, so Ellie and I had some time for some extended coodling and silliness...

Ellie: I love Momma and Daddy.

Mom: We love you too, sweetie!

Ellie: The kids are disgusting.

Mom:  What?  Ellie!  Your brothers and sister love you very much!

Ellie:  Well, Andy is disgusting.  He has polka dots all over and they are disgusting.

Mom: (recalling a little rash Andy had recently during an illness): Well, honey, those dots went away when he got better.

Ellie: No, Mom!  HERE! (points to her face)

Mom: You mean his freckles?

Ellie: (nodding soberly) Yes.  They are disgusting.

Mom: Oh, no, honey, freckles are cute! You know, Katie has freckles, too.

Ellie:  (gasps)

Mom: And I have some freckles, and Daddy has some, and you'll probably have freckles, too.

Ellie: (rolls back her sleeve and points to a single, solitary freckle on her arm)  Don't tell Andy that I've got one.

Sean found out yesterday that Barak Obama is going to be speaking in a nearby town today, in preparation for the upcoming Kansas voting.  Now, we're not fans or anything, but we thought it would be a neat opportunity for the children to get a live view of the U.S. election process.

This morning, we were hit with some cold (and I mean that literally), hard facts:

1. The auditiorium seats 2000 people.

2. Seating is first come, first serve, meaning "get here early and stand in line if you want a seat."

3. It is 22 degrees outside, with a windchill of 3 degrees and light snow.

4. Parking is across campus, so count on a hike before you wait in the balmy Kansas January weather.

5. Two of the JAKE are on antibiotic, making #3&4 seem less wise.

6. We'd have to drive and spend $500/gallon on gas for the privilege of experiencing #2, 3 & 4.

7. I'm not sure they'd let me bring in my knitting for the hour-long wait between when the doors open and when Mr. Obama is to appear.  Total deal-breaker.

I would gladly endure all these if it were, say, Jane Austen who was to speak.  But a political candidate?  Eh...

We'll catch the local news.

HAPPY KANSAS DAY!