January, 2024
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“Balloons — From Injurious to Ingenious!”
When I was a young mom, I HATED balloons! I mean, REALLY hated them. They were DANGEROUS – downright injurious, and the rest of the world seemed asleep at the wheel in protecting children from balloons. Can any of you relate?
So, whenever our children were at a party with balloons, I would become Eagle-Eye Mama who could see almost literally behind my back, in every direction simultaneously, to make sure one of our children didn’t put a balloon in their mouth where it could pop and be sucked into their throat, causing instant loss of breathing and death.
Hey, that kind of tragedy really had happened, and reading the first news story about it vibrated my mama antenna and cemented my combative attitude toward balloons early in my parenthood.
But they’re so FUN!!!!! And Educational! And they stimulate creativity! What an ingenious invention!
I learned that it’s impossible to balance safety vs. fun; safety vs. creativity; and safety vs. education. And that I have to live with potentially “injurious” in order to benefit from “ingenious.”
There’s SO much to learn from balloons:
- Scientific principles galore
- Colorful artsy configurations and ideas
- Mathematical principles
- Even historical events
OK, it looked like in order for my children to have fun, be creative, and learn new things, I’d need to sacrifice my hatred of that dangerous childhood wonder and stop seething about the nitwitted, reckless inventor.
So, I relaxed a bit (still keeping my alert eagle eyes, but not panicking about it), and I watched as our children – and now our grandchildren – played with balloons.
But as all grandparents know, we are even MORE cautious with our grandchildren’s safety, so I have been elated with the newfangled gadgets that automatically load and tie water balloons. I can actually participate in a balloon activity instead of standing guard! It’s fun!
But the most creative use of balloons I’ve seen was just posted by a Colorado grandma — an Ice Balloon Igloo! This far exceeds my unsophisticated childhood practice of tunneling into snowbanks to hollow out forts. An ice balloon igloo is more like a scientifically built structure that you’d see on a blueprint. It is awesome! (Apologies to you southern grandparents; you’ll have to come up north to try this.)
The grandma that built this ice balloon igloo for her grandchildren said it was EASY! Just fill balloons with water, tie shut, and set them outside to freeze. Preferably on cement, as snow insulates and it will take longer to freeze. (You also can optionally add your favorite colorful tints to the water and then peel off the outer balloons when frozen.) Then assemble the igloo, using snow to pack in spaces between the iced balloons. Use a spray bottle with water to wet the snow for hard-packing and hardening. You can curve the design into an igloo with a ceiling or leave the top open to create a fort for snowball fights.
Whether you want to surprise your grandchildren and build this before their next visit, or wait till they come and build it together with them, either way, you will be the rock-star grandparents of the year in their eyes!
Oh, and, ummm …. this eagle-eye, safety-conscious Mama/Gramma is returning for one more caveat: Make sure you’re present when they play in the igloo if it has a covered ceiling. Because ICE-FILLED BALLOONS that come crashing down can be DANGEROUS!
There. I said it.
Have fun!
— Barb Heki, for Grandparents of Homeschoolers™
Join the “Grandparents of Homeschoolers” Facebook page for a variety of information, resources, and ideas:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1000573393148
Sometimes … It Takes A Grandchild — Looking back at Christmas, and Forward to Easter
A grandchild, a cell phone, and a church service. Picture that!
Actually, it’s much different than you probably are imagining because this grandchild unknowingly taught Grandma a lesson that not only enhanced but expanded the pastor’s message.
It was Christmas Eve, and the pastor was teaching from Luke 2:10-14:
“Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’ “
I gazed at my cell phone with that passage loaded, then at our 6-year-old granddaughter, who is a voracious reader. She loves to read everything from books to product labels to signs to hymns to Scripture.
So I immediately showed her the passage on my cell phone and she was overjoyed to read silently along with the pastor. Soon, she had taken custody of my phone and was continuing to read.
A few minutes later, I glanced down and realized she had scrolled to read ahead as the pastor was still expounding on the original verses. And she had gone ahead … and ahead … and ahead! She was at … wait! Where??
“Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them. But they shouted, saying, ‘Crucify Him, crucify Him!’ “ — Luke 23: 20-21
“No!” I thought to myself. “We’re supposed to be celebrating Jesus’ BIRTH! Why are you reading THAT?”
Then it hit me. The reason for the *season* is Jesus, BUT — the reason for *Jesus* is Calvary. That’s WHY God sent Him to be born on earth.
We all know that fact in our minds, but we don’t want to think about Calvary at Christmas time. We’re saving that for Easter — Resurrection Sunday. At Christmas time, we want to ponder and celebrate the miraculous birth and the rejoicing that took place on Heaven and Earth. We want to drink hot cocoa, exchange gifts with those we love, eat beautifully prepared foods, and just relax.
But without Calvary, we would not have needed the miraculous virgin birth. And without Christmas, we would not have a sinless Savior who lived a perfect life and was the only One able to pay the penalty for the sins of every human being, ushering all those who trust in Christ alone into a totally undeserved paradise with Him for all eternity.
It took a grandchild that day. A grandchild scrolling through Scriptures on my iPhone, stopping at the correct landing place — Calvary — the reason for the season.
We pray that God blessed your dual celebration this year — God in the flesh being born as a baby in Bethlehem, so that God in the flesh as an adult could pay the penalty for our sins at Calvary and give us eternal life.
May we all be enlightened, inspired, and blessed by the unexpected insights that God can impress upon us through our much-loved grandchildren!
— Barb Heki, for Grandparents of Homeschoolers™
Join the “Grandparents of Homeschoolers” Facebook page for a variety of information, resources, and ideas:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057339314848
