strongly opinionated priest's wife: Jurassic Park for teens or Jurassic World for 5 year olds?

It was daughter #2's birthday. She would be 15 like her older sister for some days. Then daughter #1 turns 16. I had heard rave reviews of Jurassic World, so I thought they could go see it after they saw the first Jurassic Park. Lavender-mint lemonade in hand, we watched it on our small screen, and my girls were ....

 

"wow....cool brontosauruses"...and then...

 "nooo....that dino ate the guy...tell me what happens....I can't look"....

The next morning, I told the office manager about the girls' reaction. I said, "And to think there were five year olds in the theater when I saw it new." Open mouth, insert foot. She said, "yes, I took my 6 year old to Jurassic World and she had nightmares." This child has suffered divorce and deaths in the family in the past year. How about a steady diet of Kipper, Trotro and Beatrix Potter videos? Why does society think that it is good to expose small child to images such as in Jurassic World? Are there no standards to protect children anymore? Cannot a child's early years be filled with beauty, truth and wonder?

If I were a perfect Christian, I probably would not watch it myself, but at least I am an adult and I can make choices for myself. The world has decided that children should see and do everything with no moral or developmental limits, but also that adults shouldn't really ever grow up.

awesome random links to better bloggers than I....

Spiritual but not Religious- How do you do that? (Standing on my Head)

Setting up Housekeeeping, Building a Home (Like Mother Like Daughter)

Homeschooling with rigor and diligence? (Amongst Lovely Things)

The 6 Lesson Schoolteacher (John Taylor Gatto)  

How to Homeschool the High School Years (Susan Wise Bauer) 

Free Language Lessons! (duolingo) 

Free math & other lessons! (Khan Academy) 

 (throwback Tuesday...)

and a yummy Masala Chai (Indian Spiced tea) recipe- yum.

m-ai întrebat: why haven't you, priest's wife, posted in a month? short answer: a battle with a rusty nail & summer plans

Is that a long enough post title? Very catchy, I thought....I'm sure many new readers will be searching for information on rusty nails, toe/foot surgery, wives who became de facto home healthcare nurses, celebrating Divine Liturgy on crutches, and the reason why deacons are lifesavers.

I also haven't posted much lately- even before the nail fiasco- because I am a highly busy person. I won't bore readers with details. I am also a highly sensitive person, so when someone writes me an email stating that they like the old posts better than what I have done in the past year or so- it stings. I am also a highly practical person. So many bloggers are doing so much more than I have the time and talent for, so why should I bother? I have been really enjoying and benefiting from the blog, Amongst Lovely Things. Go visit it!

In any case, we shall see what this space becomes. Summer is a time to slow down and enjoy family and friends. We will report back how that is going ! Blessings to all!

celebrating the father & grandfathers of my husband on Father's Day

My mother-in-law is holding my future husband, the first grandchild on bother sides, in the over-exposed photo above. We have so few photos of his childhood in communist Romania that every picture is precious.Great-grandmother recently passed away, looking exactly the same as the photo except forty years older. Memory eternal!

May God grant Grigore many more blessed years in health and happiness- memory eternal to +Grigore & +Gheorghe!

pretty happy funny real - fun with friends & a new crockpot

pretty- We recently went with friends to a beautiful botanical gardens and museum complex. I'm sure more of my photos will make their way here; there is a large garden for every possible climate except arctic as well as word-class European and American art collections.

happy- For Mother's day, I gifted myself with a new crockpot.I had had my old dented and stained one for years. I try not to replace something that actually works, but this new one makes me happy in a housewifely way. I was also happy that one house guest who is famously clean at all times did feel the need to scrub and bleach this crockpot when she saw it. At least not yet!

funny- I was trying to find a 'pretty' or 'happy' photo on my camera phone to depict our 'crafters for life' sewing/knitting/crocheting circle. We, mostly teen girls, are making blankets and booties and such to donate to crisis pregnancy centers. In any case, all of the good photos showed the girls' faces, natch. I didn't want to publish other children's faces, so I am left with a blurry photo of one of the younger siblings running amuck and another lying down in the fabric. I would say it is an accurate snapshot of our club. It is a lot of fun to work together!

real- My big girls (16 and 15 this summer)had their last dance performance of their lives, most likely. They might take a dance class here or there, but it will not be like the past where they were dancing four days a week and en pointe. Two years ago, we reduced their dancing when they developed other interests, but the girls were still dancing a lot. This past semester was their swan song, simply dancing for a very amateur troupe of children 7 to 17. And they were really left out of the core group of teen dancers. I was amazed at how little they danced at the performances. Unbeknownst to me, they refused to dance in skimpy tank tops and sparkly red booty shorts, so they were excluded from certain dances. I was proud of them, but it was hard to see their love of dance drift away.

more {phfr} at like mother like daughter