Sitting Time

When in the course of living one's life, you have been forced to slow down, you create.  In the past 2 and a half months, I've been down since my surgery.  After making the trip to see a dear friend to get a puppy from her just 2 weeks after my knee surgery, I came down with acute bronchitis.

This is Ginger at 7 weeks.

Ginger at 16 weeks at 26.5 pounds.

So while my new puppy was being cared for me those other than me, I was napping periodically through the day, and with every desire for a walk, I became super winded and had to sit.

A couple things happened during this sitting time.  I started teaching a crochet class at our local homeschool group.  It was important to me to be available to all these folks to learn this long forgotten craft and to pass it on to the next generation.  During my sitting time, I pulled up pattern after pattern and worked them up so every one could see what they looked like.  What a wonderful time it was in class today to see the branching out done by my students!  I am so very proud of them and their hard work!

Another thing that has happened is a subcutaneous blood clot in my left leg.  It runs from my mid-thigh to my mid-calf.  It is not a major artery, but in a very small "return" vein that brings the blood back up to my heart.  My Dr has put me on blood thinners, I wear compression hose during the day, and use heating pads 4x/day.  Every morning I wake up and thank the Lord for THIS day.  I am so very thankful for each one He gives me!

Along with the above, my surgery recovery has taken a wee bit longer due to sitting from bronchitis.  Now that the bronchitis has subsided, I can increase the exercises again and get moving on my recovery. I have been doing my leg lifts, in every possible direction, double leg lifts while laying down (works the tummy), going up and down steps (slowly), and walking.  I walk as much as I can.

One of the monkey wrenches in to the recovery from surgery, also involves recovering from the blood clot, I have an allotted amount of time that I am allowed to spend sitting in a vehicle or driving a vehicle.  I am not allowed to go over that and I've stuck to it.  Unfortunately, I've had to take a temporary hiatus from choir due to the allotted time being used by the time we leave for church this past Wednesday.  Family needs come first, then church ministry.

My health is needing to be cared for, so I'm doing all that I can do just that.  I'm taking care of myself.  I'm following Dr's orders exactly.

I'm so very thankful, every day!



God Bless,

Sharing Our Gifts

Many times when one would read a title such as that, one would think of getting a gift of money or a present.  I am talking about sharing ourselves, our talents and our time.  Some of those things require a bit of our money, but usually not giving directly to any one person a monetary amount.

Throughout the time I have spent as a parent, I've tried instilling in my kids that we need to give of ourselves, even in the smallest of ways, to help in any way we can. Many times in the beginning, I've just taken my kids with me in whichever service project we were doing and expected them to help, or I gave them things to do like wiping tables, serving drinks or something like that.  As they grew in their own walk and personal likes and dislikes, they've shown that they love helping, but in their own ways.

It has been a humbling experience for me to lend my voice to the Sherwood Baptist Choir.  I am truly stretched and challenged with my own musical abilities, along with my deafness that brings additional challenges all it's own to just about everything I do.  I have always been a soprano, but due to a 3 month long bout of a variety of colds and flu a few years ago, I went from a soprano to an alto.  This is a challenge when I've learned a vast majority of songs in soprano, so much of my work has been to relearn all these songs.  It helps to stand next to some strong alto voices in choir so I don't start singing the soprano part.  The video below has been written by our Music Minister and Choir/Orchestra director Mark Willard.  He is the main vocalist with some very talented folks accompanying and singing with him.  This song is called "Hope is Rising."  From my understanding, we will be having a *Live* worship on October 9th featuring this song as well as many other favorite classic hymns.  This has been hard work for me in this time also since I've had bronchitis since 2 weeks after my knee surgery in July.  I'm excited to be a part of this, to just simply lend my voice to the choir in praise to God.  What a blessing!

This is another video to show the choir, orchestra, and a very talented and beautiful lady who is singing "I Am."




I count it a privilege to lend my voice in a very small way to the choir wherever I am planted.  Praise God!


This is what I've learned:

*When you model serving and encourage them to help and find some place to share their gifts and abilities, be prepared for when they do something unexpected.

Each of my kids have a wonderful singing voice.  As a part of their music training, they've been in the choir with me until our move to Georgia.  I've given them a choice of whether or not to join the choir and express themselves that way, but they've gone other directions.  My daughter loves working with the kids and that's the direction she's going.  My youngest son is working in security and he's enjoying that.  My oldest son is looking in to the golf cart ministry and I'm sure he'll find a niche there.

*Be prepared for them to tell you, "Mom, I'm not interested in that any more.  That's your interest."

Yup!  I heard it and it crushed my heart because they've all got beautiful voices.

*Be prepared to watch them shine in their chosen place of serving.

The happiness is unlike any other.  They're beginning to learn what it means to serve in an area where God may be leading them.


Other areas of service are available if we just keep our eyes out and ask God to show them to us.  What do I mean?  I've been told I have gifts in the kitchen.  For me, though, I just love to bake and bless people with yummy things from my kitchen.  Couple that with including children to help chop things, cleaning up, and serving those things and you have a family that serves.  This is a love of my own and I'm encouraging my kids to help me, even as they get older.  They each may have had their own special part of what is presented, but they know it is something they've helped to produce.

What are we producing this week?

All kinds of pumpkin bread done in Pampered Chef bread tubes to serve when company comes.  I have a lot of pumpkin to use.  :)

I'm gradually gathering zucchini to shred and freeze for future things like cakes, breads, and things like that.

What are we going to do in the future?  We're going to keep our eyes out for ways we can serve others with our gifts.

Remember, no gift is too menial or minor when it is done in the service of your God!

God Bless,

Organizing Continued

Organizing continues throughout the house.  Please forgive me for this disjointed post, but it shows some goofyness, some pets, some school work, some of my guys and my lovely daughter, boxes (still) and just trying to get things put away and in place.  

I have my calendar connected to my phone.  It is a wonderful tool to help remind me to unpack and find homes for things, appointments, when I need to leave for certain things, and other important things in my life.  I love using this tool!  It is becoming very close to my right arm!

...taking a break from organizing...

For your viewing pleasure...yes, we're goofy!  I noticed my husband and my oldest son had blue jeans and orange shirts on the other day...by sheer accident.  I called them in and asked to take their pictures in a "Like Father Like Son" sort of thing. It was fun!

They dressed alike and didn't realize it.

...back to organizing...

Organizing continues in the dining room.  I have my dry erase board and calendar up right where everyone can see it.  The bulletin board, however, needs to have a couple screws put in the concrete wall.  My youngest wasn't too sure about doing that since Daddy wasn't home.  He wanted to be sure Daddy was ok with it.

We continue to work on streamlining daily chores to keep things running smoothly.  I'd love to do so many different things to this room and have tons of stuff on my amazon and ebay "wish lists" to purchase in the future.

My dining room in the morning light.  I just have a little more to do and it will be finished unpacking.  The work, however, will continue.  LOL

"Bunny Trail"....or organizing pet care during traveling or moving...

Gus was interesting bringing down to Georgia.  The vet suggested giving him 10mgs of Melatonin while we drive each day to help calm him until we arrived at each destination.  It worked well to settle him a bit, but a lot of the time he spent in the kids' laps snuggling, or like you see him pictured here.  We purposely planned to break up the trip in to 2 days so the dogs would get a break from traveling.  Rustie, Biscuit, & Pickles traveled well.  They just curled up and slept.  Gus was a little more of a challenge because it seemed like he either couldn't get comfortable, or sensed a change was happening and was just restless.

My precious daughter holding Gus on the way to pick up my youngest son from a Civil Air Patrol function.

...moving on to the house...

 I'm trying to let these colors (3rd one down on all 3) grow on my husband.  I know that eventually whatever color I choose, it will look nice.  I have ideas!  :)

Different colors I'm considering in the living room--3rd color down from the top.

 This is the biggest wall in our living room.  It is drab and very dull looking.  I really want to brighten it up with some color, add a nice clock and some other things I find.  :)  Yes, there are still boxes in here.  I'm trying to stay "hands off" with those because I've left it up to the kids to take care of.  Here in the next week I'm going to get them moving.  It's been long enough.  :D

The large long wall I get to decorate, the wall opposite of this wall is almost completely one full huge window.

 Mr. Pickles has enjoyed our new house.  We found him a kitty condo and he loves eating at the top because the dogs cannot get to him.  He also likes his morning cream in a tiny dish while I make coffee.  He's found that visiting people while they're doing their daily work most often ends up with him perched on a table on top of a piece of paper or inside a box or something that inevitably needs cleaning.  LOL  He likes sitting on top of boxes.  I'm hoping to eradicate the boxes from the house very soon so that he won't have anywhere to sit, but on the chairs he's supposed to be on!  LOL

Pickles decided to come see my youngest while he wrote his memory verse of the day. 

 The living room is getting cleared and a wee bit of decorating done.  I received some birthday money from my in-laws and bought the "G", plaque and candles on the mantle.  My hubby thought I was funny getting the "G" as a deer antler.  I don't want everything to be done completely with a feminine touch, but one of masculine and feminine combined.  I have a bit of my floral and lace here and there, but not much.  I'd prefer to blend the two.  Besides, my husband and sons live here too!

The boxes are dwindling, now it's getting difficult figuring out where to put things.  I know we'll need more bookshelves!  That's a given. The piles of boxes directly behind the lamp is all books!

 I'm excited to have a place for all of my fabric and crafting supplies!  Outside this picture to my extreme right, almost behind me is a table where I plan to cut fabrics and lay out patterns.  I can sit and do delicate, tedious quilting cuts or large scale work.

To the left is my office supply shelf.  To the left of that is filing cabinet drawers and my L shaped desk that I'm clearing off and filing all the papers that everyone seems to have found upon unpacking.  I thought I had everything filed or thrown out, but not so!  Just a bit more to go and it will be done.  I'm not allowing myself to do any crafting (except knitting) until this is done.

I know where all of my fabric and patterns are!  Hooray!

To the left of the above picture, just add the book shelf where the boxes are to the right.

While I organize and put things in their place here in Georgia, I'm finding that a lot of things are different than I had them in Pennsylvania.  I love the above "L" shaped desk that we bought to hold files, the printer, my sewing machine and my sewing notions.  I love the space here.  I love how large our bedroom is.  I was telling my Mother-in-law that I think it is the largest bedroom we've ever had in our married lives.  Of course there are lots of things that still need to find their place.  Yes, there are some things I'd like to give away, but all in due time.  I cannot do everything all at once.  My goal is to unpack AND put away 4 boxes per day.  However, while unpacking, the house needs cleaned, concepts reviewed and retaught in some cases, and life still needs to move forward.  Appointments need to be driven to, classes and functions need to be attended, new friendships need to be nourished, and I need to spend more time with my husband.  With all of this busy time, we need to purposefully set aside time to spend together.  I'd love to snap my fingers and have everything done to my liking, but realistically that takes time and money.  We're doing things debt free, so the changes we make will take time, as money becomes available. Until it is done, we wait, sometimes not so patiently, but in those times God is growing our patience and showing our young folks how to wait for things until the money is available.  The fruit will show itself in due time!

God Bless,

That's me trying to get a picture without glare!  LOL  I'm goofy too!  LOL

Decompression Time

Yesterday we had our last home school co-op meeting of this calendar year.  The school year continues, however.  We take a break from classes for a few weeks until we return after Christmas and New Year’s break.

This year for our holidays, things have taken a bit of a different twist.  We've had some health issues to deal with, so that involves driving, which involves gasoline, which invariably with a Suburban involves money.  Learning from our previous years of experience, we've employed an “ultra-frugality” mindset with regard to expenses as well as Christmas gift giving.  We do not go overboard with our gifts.  We plan well in advance for our family as well as for our parents and siblings.  We love giving gifts.  Giving practical gifts is especially rewarding, knowing that we’re filling a need while blessing someone.  Our children are getting their needs filled as well as some practical wants they've had.  We’re keeping it simple. We do not get ipads/pods/phones for the kids.  It is not practical to get them those expensive gifts especially when medical needs are so very pressing this year.  Maybe in years to come, our children will come to thank us for not giving them everything they would have ever wanted for Christmas.  

We enjoy the holidays, being with friends and family, making wonderful healthy foods that fill us up and thanking the Lord for those valuable friendships.  To us, the holidays are all about the love we share, not about the things we give or get.  I’m content to know that our families love us and think about us.  I love the thought that we’ll be sledding with friends and drinking hot apple cider and hot cocoa in a little less than two weeks, Lord willing.  I love quiet evenings putting puzzles together by the fire.  This is our time to decompress.  And on that note, I believe after this week I’ll be wiping out the calendar until after the first of the school year.  We need that decompression time to just be and relax and rest our brains from school work. 

I’ve learned a lot this year….

Eight weeks on and two weeks off sounds really nice!!!  In theory, finishing in early April is good…

BUT

Sometimes, the decompression time is something everyone’s brain really needs!!!

What's Up?

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I've blogged!  I've certainly been busy and just plain filling my time with lots of lovely things to do.

We've had a couple birthdays--my sweet daughter's and mine.

She's decided she likes her hair red, so we dyed her hair last Sunday.

She loves it! :)

As for me, I've been reading and reading and reading when I get a free moment.  I finished Dave Ramsey's EntreLeadership book, I'm working on two more books for Sunday School and Wednesday night Bible Study, then in my free time, I'm re-reading Dating vs Courtship.  I am super excitedly waiting to be able to buy Trim Healthy Mama because I've heard so many good reviews/reports about it.  

I continue to look at curriculum and make note of things that I need to purchase and/or change about a few things in our home schooling.  That's one of the things I love about home schooling is the flexibility to stop where you are, switch gears, and go another direction.  Well, we're there now with our oldest son.  We need to do some rethinking, nothing major, but a different direction nonetheless.

We began our year at our home school group, called "Co-op".  For those of you who are not familiar with it, we meet twice a month.  Every parent volunteers to either teach or help in the variety of classes offered each year.  Every parent is placed on a "team" to help with the various extra duties that need to be tended to--like setting up and tearing down after our group has been at the church we meet at, communications team (newsletter--which I write...hence much of the reason I haven't blogged in a while), support team (much like nurturing the group through prayer and sending cards to those who need it, among other things), events team (field trips and performance night), academic team (standardized testing, academic fair and more), and I know there is more, but I can't remember.  Anyway...I get to teach the 8th grade Physical Science Lab which is based on the Apologia Physical Science curriculum.  I also get the privilege to help in the Kindergarten/First Grade Literature class.  I absolutely adore this age, so this is right up my alley!  Over all, with all the activity, by the end of the day I'm exhausted.  The kids on the other hand are needing some quiet time to process their day.  They're not exhausted like Mom, but they need some "down time" nonetheless.  This last Monday Mr. G had off work and had an absolutely TO DIE FOR scent wafting out to the driveway when we came home!  He made us a wonderful delectable pork roast with all the trimmings for dinner while we were gone.  He's definitely a keeper!

I have also finished the pieces to a Bolero I've been working on for my daughter.  I have to wash and block them, then sew them together and knit the edge ruffle.  I probably won't get to it until Monday since Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle A are coming for a couple of days over the weekend.  I'm not sure how long they will be here, but I'm hoping they'll be able to stay for a bit.  

I guess that's about it for now.  I'll leave you with this lovely picture of my daughter's beautiful flowers she grew from seed.  

I won't be canning any more for this season.  The deer decimated our garden, so my youngest decided to take the sickle to it.  Here are the culprits~

They brought all of their friends one evening!  We had 7 of them in the back yard!

Guess who is having lofty thoughts of building a nice fence next Spring?

Beginning our 12th Year of Home School

The beginning of our school year is in full swing.  We started our book work on Monday August the 5th with very light school and very low expectations.  I gave them only 2 days worth of school, but months ago we were planning to go camping and we've had to wait to see what new schedule my husband was getting since his promotion.  I just kept the original plan of 2 days of school in place and had them work at their own paces to get their feet whet for school this year.  Now that we have 2 full weeks of school under our belts, we're well on our way.

I've counted days for school since July 1st, however.  We've done tons of things that are education related like field trips, work, drama, VBS, consumer math, hospitality, among a host of other things.  Our "book work" began in August.  How can I "get away" with starting to count days on July 1st?  We live a lifestyle of learning every day.  Each thing we do establishes a learning opportunity.  Even though every day can be different, it is still bringing us learning experiences.

I have a Senior, a Sophomore and an 8th grader this year.  I have very little to help them with daily because they're independent learners now.  I check their work to see what they're having problems with, explain and teach when necessary with the older 2.  With my youngest I have a bit more to do, but it is decreasing with each passing year.

As much as I enjoy not having as much teaching time, it leaves me with time to sit on the front porch with my hubby talking, enjoying our coffee and doing our Bible study together.  It is such a blessed time for me to spend time with my husband studying the Bible together.

I didn't take "first day of school" pictures at all.  I use to do that, but it has fallen by the wayside this year.  I think it is just because our first day of school came and went without fanfare.  However, I do have a picture that I took with my phone of the 3 children together not too far from July 1st, at a wedding at the end of June.  =0)

From left to right:  JL(14), HJ(15), & Daniel(18)

My husband tells me that once our children turn 18, we can address them online by their first names.  Daniel just turned 18 on August 19th.  We took pictures when we woke him up, but I don't think he was ready to wake up.  LOL 

Needless to say, he and Mr. G continue to look for just the right car for him.  Of course it has to pass Mr. G's expectations.  Once he gets a car, he'll take his behind the wheel exam a second time.  He took it with our Suburban and when he parallel parked, the front driver's side corner was sticking our 6" too far and forgot to turn his blinker on once, so the tester failed him. :0(   Now, we wait until Daddy can find a car for him. =0)

This school year began with a rotating schedule for my husband.  Now that he's been promoted, he has regular predictable days off each week.  I've adjusted our school schedule to accommodate Daddy's days off so each of us can rest, have fun, and work together on a variety of things.  Since this is Daddy's 2nd week in his new position, it has left my kids a little out of sorts.  While we usually take Sundays off, rarely have we taken 2 days off in a row on a regular basis.  They were looking around and at times, wandering around wondering what they could do with themselves.  LOL

As time moves along here in the next week, we'll probably increase the amount of canning that we're doing with the tomatoes ripening.  We count canning time as school too.  I just remove their computer school work from the day so it doesn't "pile up" on them.  Young folks learning how to can the produce from the garden is important, so we integrate that in to our days in the late summer.

A life style of learning is something that has allowed us to not be encumbered by limiting our learning to just school times, but has expanded our learning to all parts of our lives.  Just this morning I left the weather loop on the computer for the kids to see when they came past.  Daniel found a map of water temperatures when upon closer inspection, they discovered where water currents are due to those currents being a different color.  

Life is full of learning experiences.  It encompasses each of our daily lives.  What a wonderful blessing, if we recognize those potential learning opportunities and embrace them with thankfulness.

July Fourth-Two-Thousand-Thirteen

I'm finding myself a bit melancholy lately.  I guess it probably doesn't help much that an upper level "Low" has stationed itself above us and is keeping the area cloudy with lots of rain and thunderstorms.

My work continues inside regardless of the weather, but when my work is done inside and it is raining outside, I've been looking on Google maps in preparation for our vacation next year.

I've looked at how to get to Dinosaur Park in Rapid City, SD so that my family can see what I use to see as a child from Skyline Drive while we enjoy a picnic lunch.  I love watching their faces when they see lovely and glorious things!

I've looked up a variety of campgrounds and I find myself faced with a difficult decision of which one to stay at for however many days for this stop or that stop.  I'll need to do the majority of the research, then present my findings to Mr. G to see what he'd like to do.  Here are a few that I've found:

Lake Park Campground--Located 30 minutes from Sturgis and 30 minutes from Mount Rushmore.

Days End Campground--Located in Sturgis.

Whistler Gulch Campground--Located in Deadwood.

Sleepy Hollow Campground--Located in Wall, SD.

I know he'd like to visit the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum.  I'd like to see it as well since my great uncle Al was one of the founders since he use to live in Sturgis.  =0)

I'd love to take the family to Lead & Deadwood, SD to see where Black Hills Gold is mined.  My mother use to work in the gold mines when I was 8 years old, so it has a bit of historical significance for me.

Of course Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and Custer State Park would be visited. =0)

Why all these preparations now?

Every time I'm around a pine tree the scent of the Black Hills comes flooding back to my memories.  The west is calling me greatly.  The search on Google maps has brought me blue skies and glorious scenery of the west.  The memories of God's magnificent beauty and the experiences there--both good and bad--come flooding back to me.  I want to replace the bad with new memories, and I want to share those things with my beloved husband and my wonderful children.  I feel as if my time is running out with my kids at home and it is time to hasten the trip.

Does this seem unreasonable?  I don't think so.  Things like this are very attainable, if prepared for ahead of time and as many details worked out as possible, right down to the miles driven daily and planning how many times you'll go out to eat, adding 10-20% for tips.  Additionally, what foods you'll pack in the cooler, bottles of spring water to bring, right down to which rest stop you'll be at when you eat your sandwiches or salads.

I need to plan very well for this trip, for the sake of my husband, for the sake of my children, for my own sanity, right down to where and when we'll do our laundry.  Why so meticulous?

In the planning, there is peace.

This Week

I know, it's a very creative title, but I figure that I'd better at least get one post up, creative title or not.  LOL

Since last year, a friend of mine and I have decided that one Saturday each year in June that we would take our kids to Presque Isle in Erie, PA.  Mr. G enjoys riding his motorcycle to Johnstown, PA for the motorcyle rally there with his friends from work, so we usually take the kids and go to Presque Isle.  This year it was a little different since the gear (something or other part) on Mr. G's motorcycle decided to stop working or strip out or something and he came with us.  The specific beach we go to is Beach 10, as you can see in the above picture.  This particular beach has some wonderful views.  We watched a huge barge come in to the port last year and thought we'd see it again, but we didn't.  

The night before, I found out my friend couldn't go, so we invited her oldest to go with us.  Her younger two sons were going to Encampment for Civil Air Patrol and she had to ride along since there was no one else available.  He had a wonderful time!    He's got a heart of gold and is a big young man with the understanding of a college student, but speaks and acts like an 8 year old due to his Aspergers.  My little dog, Biscuit, just loves him!   

Here they are building an "inlet" or a "landbridge", I can't remember what they called it.  You could sure tell though, that it was geography based.  LOL

She was playing in the sand above too, so she needed to rinse off.  (Coincidentally, she wants to find a different bathing suit.  She swam at another friends house and noticed her bottoms, that are underneath her shorts, didn't cover as much as she'd like.  So, we're back to finding another more modest swim suit.) Due to the very cold Spring we've had, the water was still pretty cold.  Mr. G and I decided not to go in above our knees...shivering cold.  We talked about going to the beach when we move to Georgia in a couple of years.  We think the water will be just a wee bit warmer then.  LOL

Mr. G took this picture of me.  

Waiting for someone to drop some food so they can say, "Mine!" "Mine!" "Mine!"  LOL!

There is a 10 mile path around Presque Isle that people rent bikes and surreys and all sorts of neat things to ride around the Isle on.  We may have to come back up some time and rent a surrey for the day.  :)

Lovely view of one of the many ponds filled with wild life.

Driving out of the park.  What beauty!

When I uploaded the pictures I realized that Mr. G was snapping quite a few on the way home and found this one.  It reminded me of the scripture verse above.

I love going through small towns and seeing all the neat architecture.  Another wonderful sight to behold is all the flags and red, white and blue banners.

 Earlier in the week...

Dear sweet sleepy daughter just waking up having breakfast.

The day after his first brace adjustment.  He said it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.  We can see a HUGE difference in his teeth already! :)

My Mr. G.  

Well, even though my pictures are out of order, the last ones being random, as you can see we're still plugging right along.

Today, after the children return home from work, we'll finish up work on the portfolios for tomorrow's evaluations.  It's been a rough year with Momma being so sick for 3 months out of the year, so hopefully we'll be able to pull it all together for tomorrow.  I think we'll be fine and thankful when it's all over.  Then we'll have a Senior, Sophomore, and an 8th grader!  Wow!

God Bless,

In the Kitchen

This week, according to my calendar, is the week we deep clean the kitchen.  Yesterday was Monday, so it was dusting day.

This morning already, I've taken care of the kitchen windows on the inside.  You see, I'm the detail person.  It is my job to take care of each detail in the house.  What about the every day things?  Well, the children have been trained to vacuum, sweep, mop, do the dishes, unload the dishwasher, dry and put away dishes, wipe the counters and table, wash, dry & fold and put away laundry as well as hanging it out on the line.  So if my kids can do all of this, why do I do anything at all?  Well, as it goes with children, they don't see the details most of the time.  This is where I come in.  

The above schedule helps me to remember which room we're in for the week.  Yes, I need reminding.  I write things down so I don't have to remember it.  With all the appointments, classes and responsibilities I need to take care of, the less I need to remember the better!  This reminder is wonderful!  

I take care of myself better when I know things are done and cared for.  While "everything" isn't done at the end of the day, I know that I can see progress.  I've learned that this is better than not seeing progress, or heaven forbid, things get worse.  I don't kick myself in the pants for not doing xyz because I know it is going to be done on the above rotational schedule. So there is no guilt.  

Does my house resemble "tornado" status at times?  Yes!  But, the wonderful thing is that with one hour of steady work from 10 hands, things are much better!  

Throughout the month I take note of areas that need my attention and when that time comes up, I take care of it then.  This goes for the kitchen as well, unless there is a cupboard full of ants going after that ONE drop of honey that may have spilled.  (Ask Me How I Know!!!!)  Yes, there are times when you absolutely have to take care of those details that are right in front of your face.  It is a wonderful reminder for this Momma to remind children  who use the honey to make sure the bottle is wiped well before placing it back on the shelf.  We don't want any more ants!  Whew!  

Now, I'm sure there is another question running through your mind right now, "Why not just clean the whole kitchen instead of small bits and pieces at a time?"  I'm glad you asked!  I have many many hats that I wear throughout the day that need my attention (call my name, demanding at times...) so in order to maintain my own sanity by making sure those attention grabbers are tended to, I try to make sure the 15 minutes it takes me to tend to details in the room of the week after the necessary people needs are cared for.  Yesterday I wiped down walls.  It took me a little longer than 15 minutes, but I was the only person here at home.  After I was done I hung sheets out to dry and rotated the calendar above to the next 5-6 weeks.  Hurrying in the shower, I shuffled off to get the kids from berry picking, bring them home, push the oldest along to the shower to get ready for an appointment almost 2 hours away.  You see, the details were done in the morning.  This morning it was the windows.

Tomorrow the calendar says "declutter."  The refrigerator needs cleaned out and wiped down.  I need to go through my drawers to see if there is anything I can put in the yard sale we're having over the 4th of July.  I also have a junk drawer that needs some attention.

Thursday it says to "detail the floors."  I'll have my daughter sweep the floors really good this afternoon, then I'll scrub everything after taking them to work in the morning.

What about my husband's days off?  I try to spend as much time as I can with him when he's home.  But, when he's in the garage, I try to get my own work done.  Sometimes it happens.  Other times there are other things that pull at me.  The important thing is that I look at the calendar and make plans to do the work the Lord has given me and plan accordingly when I know I'll be busy.  Thursday I plan to do my Friday work in the afternoon so that I don't have to worry about it when I'm spending time with my hubby.  

Will this system work for you?  I don't know.  You can use it, but feel free to tweak it to your own family, home and needs.  Just pray about it and ask God for His direction.  That's what I did!  

Have a Blessed Day! 

Lifestyle of Learning

Today was a day of dissecting a cow's heart, piano and cleaning up outside.  Full days...wonderful days!

They decided to use a kitchen knife to cut the cow's heart.

 It's definitely not for dinner!

Adding up his driving hours and Biscuit decided to jump up on his lap for a snuggle.  He's got just a few more hours to drive until he can take the behind the wheel test for his license.

A full life of learning, it's good.

New Schedules

Ephesians 5:15-16 

So, then, be careful how you live. Do not be unwise but wise,  

(16)  making the best use of your time because the times are evil.

Today the whole family is looking at their schedule and use of time to make the best use of their own time.  We're hoping to instill self motivation and accountability.

Home School Discipline

I don't have all the answers.  I don't have every experience for every possible child.  I do have experience based on my own children.  Do I have frustrations?  Of course!  Do my kids have weaknesses?  Yes!  I have weaknesses as well.

One of the biggest things I struggle with right now is when to hand over accountability for work done or not done to them?  I am so very certain that this is the time of my children's lives where they show not only how much they know, but blatantly show their weaknesses as well as MY flaws.

I love my kids deeply.  I so need to step back and let them reap the benefits or detriments of their life's choices whether it is a good use of their time or not.

It comes right down to--obedience to me as a parent, respecting my position as authority in their lives, and whether or not they're going to respond to my assignments for them.  If their choice is to disobey and disrespect me, then there needs to be consequences in place that would help them realize they need to obey and respect me in my God given role as their parent.

Ephesians 6:1-3  

Children, it is your Christian duty to obey your parents, for this is the right thing to do.  

(2)  "Respect your father and mother" is the first commandment that has a promise added:  

(3)  "so that all may go well with you, and you may live a long time in the land."

This means every child, not just mine, who needs to be obedient and respectful to their own parents.

This is what every parent struggles with at some point in time or another.  It doesn't matter what the circumstance or the situation, if the child is disobeying or disrespectful [however you decide that in your own home], it needs to be handled swiftly.

Proverbs 19:18  

"Discipline your children while they are young enough to learn. 

If you don't, you are helping them destroy themselves."  (ISV)

Planning Continues

In November I wrote this post, Home School Planning Begins Now about how our home school planning begins and moves forward. To give all of you a little bit of an update, our planning is moving forward. Yesterday I had asked my daughter HJ to look at books based on "Russia," "India," "Wars," "Prussia," & "The Effects of Nuclear Radiation." Of course, she found the Catherine and Anastasia from the Royal Diaries. She already has Jahanara from India, so we didn't need to look at that one.

How do we come up with our topics to study? Usually something comes up where we have a conversation about a topic and it comes to our attention to add that particular topic needs to be covered more in depth. This year we will revisit Wars in general. We've already covered the Revolutionary War quite extensively as well as the changes in munitions over the years with each new war. (What can I say? My boys enjoy studying munitions.) So next school year we'll study wars, but the political aspects as well as the people involved, famous names and what those people did and perhaps some biographies of those people. Right now the children have been fascinated by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin and Napoleon Bonaparte (only because our little dog, Biscuit, exhibits a "Napoleonic Complex!" LOL)

Today I hope to get one of the boys on the computer to look up books for themselves according to their likes and dislikes. It certainly makes for an interesting challenge for me!

One of the Hazards of Home Schooling

I've had a wonderful time reading all of the book suggestions this school year that we've had while using the materials through Door Posts.  We use Plants Grown Up and Polished Cornerstones for character training, writing, business, finances and as many other topics we can glean from the materials.

This year my oldest son, DA, decided to study the section on "Loving a Wife."  The section begins with memory verses as follows~

Genesis 2:23
Proverbs 18:22
Romans 13:10
1 Corinthians 7:1-5
1 Corinthians 11:3
1 Corinthians 13:1-8
Ephesians 5:22-33
Colossians 3:19-21
1 Peter 3:7

When I brought DA's list to my husband to review, I asked him if it would be a good idea for us to read those books before he completes this section.  He agreed.  We do this so that if there are issues that come up in our conversations, we will be fully aware of what they are reading as well as where their questions are originating.

While reading through the section, you would see books like Dating vs. Courtship by Paul Jehle, Christian Manhood by Gary Maldaner, Establishing Biblical Standards of Courtship by ATI [converted to be included in the Wisdom Booklets], Youthful Romance: Scriptural Patterns by Jonathan Lindvall [pamphlet now converted to article online],  Passion and Purity by Elisabeth Elliot, and last but certainly not least Preparing for Marriage God's Way by Wayne and Nathan Mack.  This list is in no way exhaustive, but gives you some idea of what needs to be read and studied.

I have read quite a few books this year.  Currently I have at least 5 of them going on at any given time.  I have them tucked in areas where I can access them to read for just a few pages, then move on with other activities.  I've read His Perfect Faithfulness by Eric and Leslie Ludy, Love and Respect by Emmerson Eggerichs, The Love Dare by Alex and Stephen Kendrick and I am currently reading Becoming Heirs Together of the Grace of Life by Jeff and Marge Barth.

You get the idea...

A LOT of reading!

While at the moment, you may be thinking that with all this reading, the reading itself is the hazard which the topic of this blog post is referring.  

Rest assured, the sheer amount of reading is a joy to me.  I love to read.

That means the hazard is something else.  

What could it be?  The hazard of reading all these good books on love, respect, marriage, faithfulness, praying for one's spouse, submission [yes, it's in there!], among a host of other things is sheer

CONVICTION!!!!!

Every year we home school our children, the Lord brings something else to my attention that needs to be addressed within ME.  I am responsible for my own growth and change in to the godly person the Lord would like me to be.  It it my responsibility to listen to His voice.  Ultimately, I will stand before the Lord and answer for all the times I didn't listen to Him and in disobedience, went off to do my own thing and reaped the ever so painful consequences of my own actions.

Last Monday a lady told me that I must have the patience of a saint to home school my kids.  At the end of the week, I had another dear friend tell me that I have such patience with my husband and his needs.  I am here to confess that I have NO patience whatsoever!  With each day that I read and study more, I am faced with my own sin and resolve to do just a little better.  Does it always work?  No!  I lose it on a regular basis!    I am nothing without the Lord's grace, mercy, love and strength.  I home school my children to give them a better education based on their own needs.  I do not have the patience of a saint, but I do have the grace and mercy of God and with His strength, I can do all things.  

How is the Lord convicting you lately?  

Have a blessed day!

Regina