In our last installment you met our little hobbits.

But wait… there’s more.

I was originally cast as the “Lord of the Dings.”

But we were unable to find a costume of a large fiery eye mounted on a high tower.

And besides… that Sauron guy was mean.

So we went another direction, seeing as Lois had a bunch of spare fabric from making the children their “fellowship cloaks.”

Meet me, this time as “Strider” (a.k.a. Aragorn, son of Arathorn), as we attended a local church’s “Harvest Festival” with the kids fully donned as hobbits:

And showing off the very warm cloak with full hood (who needs a Snuggie blanket?!):

Next year, methinks we’ll work on adding some more costuming (like an authentic-looking leaf brooch) and cast our little Bethany into the whole crew.  Lois says the easiest would be casting her as Gollum, we could just give her a loincloth and we’re good to go!

And maybe my lovely wife as the lovely Arwen.  We’d just need some really prominent elf/Vulcan ears.

Most of are you are familiar with the epic trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings.  And of course, Peter Jackson made movie history with his grand movie rendition of the tale in three great productions.  The primary characters in the tale are four simple hobbits from the Shire thrust into a great saga of good against evil in Middle Earth:

This year, in the spirit of LotR fare, as enthusiasts of both the books and the movies, we offer to you our Halloween-costumed “hobbits” in this year’s production of The Lord of the Dings, starring:

Matthew Ding as Peregrin “Pippin” Took (as the tallest and most impulsive of the four)

Andrew Ding as Meriadoc “Merry” Brandywine (as the most sensible or at least sensitive of our children)

Emmaline Ding as Samwise Gamgee (cuz she loves to help around the house)

Calissa Ding as Frodo Baggins (cuz she’s least likely to lose the “precious” ring around her neck!)

(click the above to go to a full-sized image suitable for the average LotD fan to use as a desktop background =-p)

The kids gleefully tromped around the mall this morning barefoot.  Most shoppers looked at them with amusement, but one store employee, obviously a LotR fan, inquired as to why their feet weren’t hairy! =-)

OTHER CAST AND CREDITS

The Lord of the Dings – Evers

Costume design and production – Lois

Here are a few more photos from the “set”…

Cheerful hobbits grasping the hilts of their daggers:

Not quite forlorn “Frodo,” Calissa attempts to feel the inner angst of her character:

Donning hood and cloak, the hobbits offer the “monster faces” by which they plan to frighten any Nazgûl that may threaten to either harm the Ringbearer (or take their candy):

This week we went to the fabulous Monterey Bay Aquarium on one of their “Homeschool Days”.  It was a great family day learning about the sea animals.  As with each field trips we take, my second-grader completes a Field Trip Evaluation sheet that I had developed.  The the purpose of this was to help him think a little bit of all the things he’s seen and learned.  This is a simple form where I ask the following questions:

• Date of the field trip
• Location of the field trip
• What did you see or do there?
• What was one thing you learned?

I make sure my child completes the questions in complete sentences.  Upon completion I filed it away in his Second Grade School Record portfolio.  For our home school, the goal is to go on one field trip per month, and this also includes family vacations.

Here is the photo journal of our day:

Learning about jellyfish and plastic pollution in our oceans in the Discovery Lab:

Here are the Leafy Sea Dragon seahorses at the new seahorse exhibit.  Notice how they look like leaves — this is how they camouflage and avoid getting eaten.

Baby seahorses.  Did you know that in the entire animal kingdom, only seahorses have babies through the father and not the mother?  Interesting, isn’t it?  I love learning along with my children.

After a long day of fun and learning, we finished it off with yummy ice cream sundaes at the Ghirardelli Chocolate & Ice Cream Shop on Cannery Row.  It was a wonderful and delicious way of ending the field trip:

Jim Elliot, a missionary who was martyred at the age of 28, once said, “Wherever you are, be all there.  Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.”

This quote summarized my grandpa’s life.  All of his life he toiled endlessly for God, even to the very end.  He lived a life of discipline, faith, devotion, and love for God.  He lived his life purposefully and solely for the glory of God.  I am privileged to have known him.  He was also the one who introduced me to God.  My grandpa introduced me to the greatest thing in this life and the next, and for this I am forever indebted to him.

One of my fondest memories of my grandpa was how he loved my kids, his great-grandchildren.  Every time we have been blessed with a new child in our family, he would come to visit and give the baby a red envelope.  Another fond memory is how he loved to have pizza with us at our house.  He wasn’t so much there for the pizza, but rather, it was a pretext for coming to see the children eat and play.  I’m very thankful that our entire family was able to see him 11 days before he passed on to eternal glory.  All the kids were able to hug him and see him one last time.  Even though he was in a lot of pain then, he was all smiles upon seeing the children.  Even though we miss him dearly, we are comforted by the fact that he now dwells in a place where there is no more pain or suffering, but of heavenly delight and joy.  I miss you, Grandpa, and I look forward to the day when we shall meet again.

Grandpa holding our two-week old Bethany:

Grandpa sitting with the kids after a pizza dinner:

Our family with my grandpa, 11 days before his death:

The following video depicts highlights of my grandfather’s life and ministry.

I’ve been listening to “It Is Not Death to Die” from the Come Weary Saints album for the past several days in light of my grandpa’s frail condition.  I had wanted to go over earlier this week to sing to him but was not able to.  Then I got a call this evening that he had passed on.  Tears fell.  It seemed so strange to not have him anymore.  It was difficult to see his body so still and motionless.

We know for a fact that he now dwells in a place where he’s happy and full of joy.  No more pain.  No more suffering.  No more death.  He is home with his Savior and Maker.  I am sure he is getting a great reception in heaven right now, but those who are still living on this earth grieve for this precious loss.

It Is Not Death to Die

It is not death to die
To leave this weary road
And join the saints who dwell on high
Who’ve found their home with God

It is not death to close
The eyes long dimmed by tears
And wake in joy before Your throne
Delivered from our fears

O Jesus, conquering the grave
Your precious blood has power to save
Those who trust in You
Will in Your mercy find
That it is not death to die

It is not death to fling
Aside this earthly dust
And rise with strong and noble wing
To live among the just

It is not death to hear
The key unlock the door
That sets us free from mortal years
To praise You evermore

O Jesus, conquering the grave
Your precious blood has power to save
Those who trust in You
Will in Your mercy find
That it is not death to die

Update: online audio here

I love it when I can combine school and fun.  Recently I discovered a new twist to a game of War.  This is a game for two where each person turns over a card, and whoever has the higher card keeps both of the cards.  You keep repeating until all your cards are gone. It think this is an excellent game for the little ones because it teaches them which number is higher.  However, my 7.5 year old is way beyond this game.  To make it more exciting and challenging, I have each player turn over TWO cards and multiple the two numbers.  Whoever has the higher number gets to keep all the cards.  We keep playing until we run out of our initial pile of cards.

To keep it even more interesting, we count up all the cards.  This is great because he now gets to do addition.  I have my boy lay all of his cards on the table, face up.  He is to look for cards that have sums of 10 or 20.  Once he locates a set, we can quickly add the numbers together.  After he adds up his pile of cards, he gets to help me add up my pile.  We then record the score on a piece of paper.

To keep the game going, we go for another round or two or three or till we drop.  After round two, we add the second round score to the first round to get a new total.  Next, we go for another round and then add the new score to our previous sum.  We keep repeating this process until we reached a previously agreed number of rounds.  Now, whoever gets the higher number after all the rounds WINS!  My kid loves this game and so do I.

I love the fact that he gets to do multiplication and addition (both double and triple digit addition) at the same time.

We use all the cards except the Joker card.  Ace is equal to one, Jack is 11, Queen and King are both 12.