The healing journey of a widowed, unschooling badass in Delaware.
My younger son blows me away with his solid, creative, colorful, and original builds.
I’m hoping to find him a couple black window frames as he wants to maintain his black and green scheme.
God bless and thank you for reading,
Jason
I don’t know what the inspiration was for this creation except that most of the elements come from a Lego set titled Orangutan’s Banana Tree.
I love the way it looks in tea time light and the inviting way Mr. Monkey beckons his guests.
God bless and thank you for reading,
Jason
I’m angry with the mocking Snow Moon. Delaware hasn’t seen a snowfall worth a ball all winter and this full moon was accompanied by a cold bath for my son and more rain.
As the rain persisted and I was stuck home all day getting our hot water heater replaced, I built an antidote inspired by Delaware Art Museum’s Chinese New Year celebration: The Lion Sun.
God bless and thank you for reading,
Jason
My sons got up for adventures in the night and fell asleep on the floor of our living room. They wouldn’t be woken for church, okay no big deal, if we don’t honor and care for our bodies we can’t honor and care for God. I eventually rallied them for a Chinese New Year celebration at Delaware Art Museum, but the younger stayed cranky…for five hours. The only thing to sort him out was time back in our home neighborhood with his friends.
I was wiped out from trying to please him and napped before discovering that our water heater was leaking somewhat dramatically. At the same time I learned a close friend was having heating issues and could use my help. This all hit the fan as I was due to go to a soccer game this evening. Fortunately, we played our butts off and I escaped my responsibilities for a good 55 minutes. My girlfriend let me use her shower after the game and my boys and I got home safely, all blessings. I really wanted to teamwork on our Delaware Fun-A-Day at some point today. I was still hopefully pushing the idea as we got home, but my sons had not yet decided to be cooperative.
We’ll have to catch up on our Lego art projects, a busted water heater, and a friend in need tomorrow. Instead of pushing to tonight, I’m recognizing my limits and taking care of myself.
God bless and thank you for reading,
Jason
It took a few days, but I finally got moving on a treacherous hedge maze today. My sons helped pick the hazards and thought of sending Theseus back to Daedalus’s prison for the Minotaur.
Part Harry Potter, part Greek myth, this is the heftiest build so far and just busy enough to remain fun.
God bless and thank you for reading,
Jason
This one got weird.
Frustrated with a couple other builds, I thought I’d return to the relaxing mandala form. This time I chose to stick with blue tones and my son insisted I include purple (his mom’s favorite color).
As I got into a flow, it started to look more like a flower and the dark/light contrasts brought a yin and yang symbol to mind.
God bless and thank you for reading,
Jason
Each of us started a few builds today and came up with new ideas.
This jungle tree house is the result of a collaboration between my older son and a home-educated friend.
God bless and thank you for reading,
Jason
I’m a stereotypical ten-year-old when it comes to Lego building: monster trucks and spaceships most of the time.
For this month’s projects I love thinking about color and more complex forms of shape and symmetry. The mandala shape has spoken to me and I’m diving into the possibilites.
God bless and thank you for reading,
Jason
My eight-year-old is my moving target. Just when I think he’s locked on to a thing, he’s on to something else. I try to release the pressure from completing tasks as he always seems to find his own groove.
This is what happened today as he kept wanting to copy builds from the various books we borrowed from the library. I tried to encourage him while explaining that our entries had to be original works. Unbeknownst to me, each time he was frustrated by a complex build, he went back to work on his own UFO. He has a way of working secretly right in front of you, I swear I never see the process. He may ask for help finding elements, but he knows just what to do with them. His UFO evolved into a spinning top that worked perfectly on the first try and didn’t lose one piece in a dozen or so spins.
Only four days in and we’ve already broadened our building skills and strengthened our familial bonds.
God bless and thank you for reading,
Jason
Energy. My wife and I could feel it the first time we visited Aldersgate United Methodist Church. From potluck dinners and member-led Bible studies to food drives and homeless outreach missions to the countless efforts being made by the clergy and congregation, we felt that this was an active faith community. It was a community where our talents could come to use.
Mary was always a giver, volunteering at Ronald McDonald House and Sunday Breakfast Mission, organizing many service opportunities through her position at Bank of America, and donating blood to award-winning levels.
I’ve modestly continued her amazing ways by saying “Yes,” as often as I can to chances to serve our community. Fortunately, Aldersgate offers many such opportunities.
This week we were able to help deliver canned food and monetary donations to several local charities, including Neighborhood House in the Southbridge neighborhood of Wilmington, Delaware.
For me, there is no separation between “acts” and “love.” We must act, there is no choice. We choose to love. When we choose love in every possible moment we will act in love.
Mary chose love. She acted in love. Through Aldersgate I not only get to act in love, but I get to visit Mary’s resting place while doing so. Her remains are at the memorial columbarium there, a beautiful, quiet place I often visit and share with friends.
God bless and thank you for reading,
Jason