twilight and sunrise

2011-04-30T19:05:00.002-04:00

So I told Nature Girl to go ahead and sign up for Patrol at school for next year. That's right--I've given up the idea of homeschooling her for next year.

Sigh.

I'm not very happy.

But it's ok. I need to pay off my debt, I've got a great job (well, an ok job) dog walking now, and it would give me a chance to get that monkey off my back, finally. And, it would help the family for me to be less stressed. AND, she likes school and wants to stay for 6th grade.

I swear I'll yank her if her attitude or behavior deteriorates. I swear I will.

Sigh.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T18:41:00.002-04:00

I love Easter.

What a victory! What a JOY! What a blessing.

The older I get, the more I am exploring and learning--about life, about love, about faith. I don't have it all figured out, that's for sure. Don't know anyone who does. The women at Well-Trained Mind forums have opened up my eyes to so many new terms, new ways of looking at God, new ideas. Actually, they are very ancient, old ideas that are just new to me.... I have learned about Reform Theology, Pre-and Post-Millenialism, Eastern Orthodoxy, etc., etc. I know where I stand on a lot of theological things now, things I was never exposed to in my small, Episcopalian world. It's wonderful!

But more binds us as Christians than separates us. Christ himself is the binding. Christ himself is the center that holds.

I LOVE EASTER, because I LOVE JESUS, and am so very grateful for what the Living God has done for me and for all. I lift my eyes to him and all the hard things fall away.

Hope your life is blessed by the Lord Jesus Christ, Very God of Very God, Redeemer, Saviour, Creator, the Hope of The Nations, The One True God.

I'm a Harmonizer, how do you compare? - Youniverse.com - Be Understood

2011-01-22T08:28:00.000-05:00

I'm a Harmonizer, how do you compare? - Youniverse.com - Be Understood

This is a fun little quiz, using pictures to represent options that describe how you see the world, deal with stress, dream, plan, etc. I definitely could have chosen more options!

Today is my birthday

2011-01-21T10:00:00.002-05:00

Such as it is. Godly Man has to be at a Diocesan Convention all. day. long. Sky has to work, leaving me with Nature Girl (Film Buff being at college, of course). Don't get me wrong, I love being home alone, and I love being with Nature Girl! But I am a woman who likes rituals and rhythms, so not having a birthday family celebration is hard on me.
Usually the Birthday Person gets whatever they want for dinner, and then opens cards and gifts. Tonight, I'll take Nature Girl somewhere, maybe to see a movie or something, and we'll probably just eat Buffalo Chicken Bites and fries from the freezer. No cake, no candles, and no gifts.
Sigh.

I am getting older. I am getting to the point where I realize my life is not made up of other people, not dependent on them for feelings of wholeness or happiness--but that's not how I really roll. I am selfish at times, but other-centered much of the time.

The trick for me is how to be whole and complete in the Lord, yet available to others--how to be open to influence and feelings from those I love, vulnerable with my emotions yet not so influenced by them that I become enmeshed and cannot separate who I am from who "they" are. For so long, I based my emotional life on those around me. Now I know better, but I still struggle.

So, happy frickin' birthday to me--LOL

It still matters that my hubby can't be with me, my kids are largely unavailable to celebrate with me, and I want my usual--but I will suck it up and go with the gifts I have-- today. Blue sky, sunshine, time with my daughter, etc., etc.

Thought I'd start again!

2010-12-28T09:40:00.001-05:00

Thought it might be fun to start blogging a bit again.
Here's a post from WTM Forums I recently wrote, on those little "coincidences" in our lives that we feel are really not coincidences at all--"God Winks!"
God Winks

Hope you can read it without joining WTM.

Got Snow?

2010-02-10T08:18:00.003-05:00

We sure do! There's roughly 30 inches on the ground and more coming today. I just felt a gust that rocked the house and swirled up the white stuff so much the window went blank! Poor birds. They are desperately looking for food on the snow-covered porch. We've gone thru a whole bag of corn, and have nothing but bread left--but sparrows aren't big on bread, and most of the other birds we have visiting us (towhee, cardinal, jay, junco, house wren) like seeds better.

Sky hasn't had school since last Thurday, and missed a day that week, too! His friend spent two nights at our house--brought his XBox and they put it on the "big screen" in the living room (we don't have any decorations on the wall above the couch, so we can use the projector and see TV, movies and games on an 8 ft "screen").

We are limping along in school.

I ended up making a list of our subjects and just writing where we should be--it's helpful for organization.

Off to take a shower before the power goes out!

Trying out some new looks for fun

2010-01-17T17:26:00.002-05:00

Bear with me as I try out some new backrounds and buttons from ShabbyChic and The Cutest Blog on The Block, places you can go for free stuff! StephieK at Enduring With Grace is my inspiration.
I'm home alone for a while--Nature Girl went with her daddy to take her brother back to college, and Sky is at a friend's house. No school tomorrow!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T09:02:00.001-05:00

When 2009 started, I had one son who had just limped to the finish of homeschooled high school (didn't want a graduation, so no party or celebration), one who had just entered treatment that October after running away for 2 weeks, and one little girl who was trying to navigate public school third grade after being homeschooled K-2. I was in a preschool teaching job I did not feel comfortable with, because I wanted to be home. Hubby was just getting used to his new assistant at work--one bright spot, as she and her husband are lovely, Godly, orthodox Episcopalians, rare around here. The rest of our church was falling apart.

Now, as we start 2010, Son #1 has just completed his first semester at VCU with a 3.6 average. Son #2 has been sober for over a year, has gotten nearly straight As in his new school, has joined the wrestling team and has been promoted to Varsity (even with no prior experience--either they s>ck or he's pretty good), and has not picked a fight since he's been home. I'm homeschooling dd9 and working part time. One credit card will be settled in Jan, leaving me with a "doable debt," which continues to go down. Hubby is happy at work, and we are just waiting to see if our church crashes and burns--if so, we know pretty much where we'll go.

Thru all the bad, carpy, yucky, HARD things this past year, I gained a lot of insight into myself, my family, and my world. I have far to go, but I'm less controlling, less afraid, and more grown up. The difficult times have brought me to my knees, and have brought me to my Lord. I've found truth in trusting Him, and can honestly say, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him."

This year, I hope to become wiser, stronger, more honest, and closer to my husband. I hope to cultivate more peace and more joy at home, and make my home into a place of beauty, contentment, order, and solace.

Here's to 2010.

20 Inches of Snow!

2009-12-20T11:41:00.002-05:00

We got about 20 inches of snow yesterday--here are some pics for ya! The patio picture was actually taken before the "rest" of the snow fell--there's only about 16 inches in this photo.

Today there are tons of birds nibbling at the seed, peanut butter pine cones, and cracked corn that we put out. We've seen sparrows, juncos, cardinals, house wrens (one lives in the garage! lol), and this morning, Nature Girl saw an owl!

Off to go sledding! (No church today, and we hope no school for Sky, either!)

Weekly Report--Yes, Really!

2009-12-18T12:23:00.002-05:00

Thought I'd bang out a "weekly," like I used to do--BTW, Jessica at Trivium Academy has finally updated her blog, in case anyone is interested!

We are limping to the finish around here. I think the only thing we did consistently was math! Saxon 6/5 is going well--it's so incremental, Nature Girl gets just what she needs in little, understandable bits. She's still making about 3-4 mistakes in the "homework" section, where the meat of the program is, but these are easily corrected and more an indication of impatience than incompetence. She's on Lesson 75, which means we are done for the month of December. I think we will be done all together with the book in May, leaving some time either to go ahead with the next one or just do some "math from a different direction" iykwim.

Having finished Sign of The Sugared Plum and its sequel, Petals in The Ashes, we started Indian Captive, The Story of Mary Jemison. What a heartbreaking book--yet filled with hope and the adaptability of the human spirit. The first few chapters contain almost unbearable scenes, particularly as her mother realizes she will never see her dd again. We need to read it aloud until we get to the place where Mary (called Molly in the book) begins to adapt to Seneca life. I'll have Nature Girl finish it next week.

Rod and Staff Grammar continues to thrill me with its clear explanations, Godly tone, abundant practice--lol--Nature Girl tolerates (read abhors) grammar and does pretty well. Short lessons are the key--and doing most of it orally. We are on track to finish this also in May, if not before. I am being quite intentional with the "small things done over time lead to big accomplishments" ideal. We just started writing paragraphs--I really am thrilled, because I'm terrible at teaching writing, and this has just enough hand-holding to make it easy.

SOTW has been a bit dry--we just finished the chapter on Louis the Fourteenth, and I think we will just let it go for now. I hope to come back with renewed vigor in January. We'll have to combine a few chapters to make it thru the book by the end of the year, but that's ok. I am ordering Colonial Kids and Pioneer Family at Amazon for more activities--not real thrilled with the next few chapters of the Activity Guide.

Also starting in January, we will go thru a wonderful science book/curriculum called The Elements. Can't wait--Science mostly consists of nature study (very LCC here...lol) for Nature Girl. We finished the Bird Study, but haven't really picked up anything else.

Not many pics to show this week--will post more next week as Christmas comes--hoping you all have a Merry one!

Yes, I Celebrate Christmas

2009-12-12T10:53:00.002-05:00

There has been a lot of discussion over at the WTM forums regarding Christians and the celebration of Christmas. It makes my stomach hurt.

It seems many people believe it is wrong to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. That it is pagan. That is displeases God. That one day shouldn't be valued over any other. That it isn't in the Bible.

Wow. Just Wow.

Why in the world would God have made sure that the birth narratives of His Son were included in the Scriptures if he didn't think it was an important event? Given that all of the Jewish Holidays were fulfilled in Jesus, why on earth would God be displeased with a grateful outpouring of joy and love, praise and awe on the day set aside to remember the Incarnation?!
THE INCARNATION, PEOPLE! If ANYTHING should be celebrated, it's this!

God himself comes from Heaven, to be our Light, our Way of Salvation, our Peace, our Joy--and we treat it as though it's just...well, just IS? Goodness! UNbelievable.

The angels themselves celebrated! And we shouldn't, because it isn't pleasing to God? You have got to be kidding. We should be falling all over ourselves to give thanks, Glory, Honor to our King. We should be celebrating Christmas every DAY! We can't set aside ONE DAY a year to honor Jesus?

And THEN--AND THEN--
There's the post about EASTER--THEY DIDN'T CELEBRATE THE RESURRECTION?

Oh, My.

Some of us have gotten so far off the track with this "it isn't in the Bible" crap.

2009-12-11T10:32:00.001-05:00

This is MY SON! First time wrestling.

I am so danged proud I can hardly stand it!

Bugs and Birds

2009-11-30T13:29:00.003-05:00

For science this year, we are doing some field biology, which means "going places to see what's there that we can call science." So here are some pics of a few things we've done (finally figured out how to download the pics--more to follow). Found this little creepy crawler in September--can't recall what we found out about it at the moment. Aaand that would be a good reason to actually make a nature notebook page when we find something interesting... We also found a 6-in, green and yellow caterpillar that was about as big around as my forefinger and had yellow-orange horns! Again, I can't remember much about it (we looked it up, for sure) other than it burrows into the ground and comes out in the Spring to make its cocoon (was a moth catty), so we let it go after admiring it for a good 3 hours. "Look at the SIZE of that thing!" and so on...I'm sorry, I've forgotten how to turn pictures around...We are studying birds this fall (nearly done) so we dissected an owl pellet--pretty gross, pretty cool, depending on your perspective! We soaked it in water to make it easier to dissect. Got tons of bones, and yes, it was smelly. It is still sitting on the server in the dining room...Here it is in the water--we used a paper clip and tweezers from the kit to pull it apart.You can clearly see various bones--lots of jaws with tiny teeth! I printed a bone chart from the web, although one did come in the kit. We still have an undissected pellet--probably will send it to my niece.

That's it for now! Stay tuned for some pictures from our Story of The World explorations!

First Wrestling Scrimmage

2009-11-28T18:06:00.002-05:00

Sky joined the wrestling team at his high school--had their first scrimmage today.
His thumb is busted.
He is in pain from bruising.
He neck is killing him.

Happy, happy boy!

First real match on Wednesday--pray he doesn't break anything, if you would! lol

Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T07:42:00.002-05:00

Just a quickie to wish all a happy TG--we have my mom and dad here from New England, and Film Buff came home, too. Nice to have a full table.
Our traditional menu:

Turkey--(usually provided by one of the boys from the Church Fair Turkey Shoot--Sky's turn this year!) Mom made the gravy.

Bread Stuffing--(I confess it's just Stovetop)

Sides--Mashed potatoes, baked corn (from Godly Man's mom), sweet potatoes, wild rice

Salad--Greens, mandarin oranges, sugared almond, cukes, with oil/vinegar/mandarin juice/sugar dressing

Crescent Rolls and Brown and Bake Rolls

This year we also had mashed carrots and turnip (sooo disgusting, but a Trevorrow tradition), and her meat stuffing, which contains the turkey stomach and liver mixed with onion, celery top, and ground beef, fried in butter. Yep--heart attack on a plate. We eat stuffing sandwiches the night before. Used to make this stuff by grinding everything together in a hand-grinder--fun times, watching it extrude...eeeww. Now Mom uses a blender.

Our Popcorn Traditon continues--We call it 3 Blessings (or 3 Corns, if you are under 5! lol). Everyone gets 3 popcorn kernals (unpopped) on his plate, and we go around the table sharing our blessings. Family counts, but you have to be specific! We are all glad Sky is home this year--it's been 3 years since he's celebrated with us--he was either in jail or in residential treatment those years, and as expected, his first blessing was that he "was out!" I cried during mine, as to be expected on my end, too...

I'm thankful for Sky and Film Buff being home, for my parents still being with us, for our dear kitty, Lydia, who, after 7 years of refusing to come down when the dog is up and around has finally overcome her fears and regularly joins us in the den and living room...

I'm thankful so much--here's to hearts of gratefulness.

2009-11-23T08:35:00.002-05:00

I am burdened today.
So many people have lost their belief in Jesus. I don't know if they've been hurt, if they are angry, if someone misrepresented Him, I don't know why at all. Some say they were raised in Christian homes but now just. don't. believe. Some say it never made sense and they just played along until they grew up and didn't have to, anymore.

My heart hurts, and there's a cramp in my tummy. The lofty way to express that is to ask God to break my heart with the things that break His--

But oh, God. Please no more heartbreaking. This little one simply cannot take it. I am so tired of crying.

If you are the Way, then surely you are big enough to take this burden.

So, I surrender these people--some of them dear, some of them unknown, some of them I'm actually angry at! Go figure--Take these people and do whatever it is You do when your creation disobeys, disregards, disrespects, disengages--

Please, God. Be God.

Well, This is Embarrassing!

2009-11-16T22:03:00.002-05:00

Alrighty, then--
We've been schooling at home since September, and have I bothered to update this blog? Well, no, I haven't.

So many times I've sat at my desk (really a table in the den, beside the kitchen) and said to myself, "Y'know, you really ought to write about what we did today! You really ought to post those pictures! You really ought to update everyone!" But the pics stay in the camera, the posts stay in my head, and my mind strays to other things.

So here's a mini-update, and then maybe I'll get the ball rolling and start posting weekly again. Maybe...

1. Sky came home in August, has started at the local school (transfer came in, no problem), and has...wait for it...All A's (and 1 B+) for the first quarter! He has been working his tushy off. Sky passed his one year sobriety anniversary, also. Everyone who has been down on her knees for us can be assured, "The prayers of the righteous availeth much!" Thank you so much for your faithfulness--he's doing great! We recently visited several colleges, he did ok on his SAT's, and his attitude is very good.

2. We are tooling along with homeschooling. Nature Girl breezes thru most of her work--we do math and we read aloud every day, and we do grammar, spelling, history, and Bible about 4 days a week (once in a while we double up on grammar b/c we do most of it orally and I occasionally let it slide a bit). Keeping to the adage, small things done over time lead to great things. She is currently memorizing the Nativity story in Luke, for example--a couple of verses a week.

3. I am making enough $ to pay down debt and sometimes have enough for a tank of gas--Godly Man helps out with that. I've been babysitting for a dear family (1 year old) about once a week, and can take Nature Girl with me if I need to. I'm also walking dogs/pet sitting for a local company. I would like more hours, but am not ready to throw in the towel yet with hs'ing.

4. Film Buff is hoping to get into the cinema program at his college--he is having some adjustment problems and it's been pretty rough. I'm learning to keep offering up my children (to the Lord, of course) and that he is in charge.

5. Godly Man and I just celebrated the 26th year anni of our engagement--this July it'll be 25 years of marriage. We are thinking of going to the Holy Land, but are not sure at this point. With two in college (or nearly so), it will be tight, but 25 years is worth celebrating. When I told dh that Jerusalem didn't seem like an anniversary place, he said, "Why not? Marriage is sacred." Gotta love that man.

Well that's the update for now. Every day an adventure--Keeping my hands open by letting go of control and being open to God, waiting on him to fill them with all the Good he has for me and mine.

Look for more later in the week--pictures, weekly update, etc. etc.

Oh, and HI BETH!

First Day Tomorrow!

2009-08-30T16:46:00.002-04:00

Well, I'm pretty excited, and so is Nature Girl. We made the decision to go ahead and homeschool her for fourth grade, and we start tomorrow! I still need to:

1. Clean up the school room. We revamped it a little, but it needs a good cleaning.

2. Make up a plan for the week. I have a plan book, but feel too confined by it, so I'll
probably just run off some gridded sheets today and fill them in. Most of our
stuff is open and go, but I still like to write it down, at least for the first week!

3. Gather materials for our first day. Need to decide what to do for history, first.

4. Make Nature Girl's Schultute. This is a wonderful German tradition (tho it's generally only
for the very first day of school, not every year) where a child is given school supplies and
various goodies in a paper cone. We use posterboard. I'll post a pic tomorrow.

5. Make a decision as to whether to start history with SOTW or with Homeschool in The
Wood's Explorer's CD-Rom. I'm leaning towards SOTW, adding in the HITW later.

6. Run off sheets for narration/history notebook, and copy the first 6 weeks of Writing With
Ease 3 (it's free on the Peace Hill Press site until the new workbook comes out).

7. Pray! I want to commit our school to the Lord. We've already had the schoolroom blessed
by dear Bishop "Livingstone," but I want to have some prayers and intentionality.

Gotta run! Lots to do!

Joyful Wedding Entry

2009-07-25T13:58:00.001-04:00

I know this is making the rounds--I got it from The Well-Trained Mind forum.
Such joy! I think it would be so totally fun to have friends like this.
Wedding Entrance

2009-07-22T22:43:00.001-04:00

Hi Jane.

Nature Girl's Flowers

2009-07-10T14:45:00.001-04:00

Trying my hand at sharing photos via slideshows--
Nature Girl took these pics. All are lovely, but some are actually pretty good photographs for a 9yo! Let us know what you think.

Nature Girl's Flowers

View more documents from discoverychris.

Sky is Coming Home

2009-07-10T09:58:00.002-04:00

We got the word the other day that Sky will be back home with us by the end of July.
He has been working hard to complete the program and heal--we have, too. I am still very tender in the hurt places of my heart where all the hard and bitter days still live in memory, but God is healing me, refining me, and redeeming all the lost time.
I don't know what Sky's future holds, of course, but I like to think he has much more hope than ever before.
Continued prayers would be lovely.

Revamped School Room

2009-07-08T10:42:00.005-04:00

Welcome to our school room!
We've been working hard!

We've changed around the schoolroom just a bit. The art area has been switched with Film Buff's desk--since Film Buff is off to college (!!!) in just a month and a week, and Sky will be coming home (!!!) the end of July, I thought it might be nice to give Sky a study place. He usually uses the dining room table, but this will allow him to be a little more organized.

Following the wall around the room, this is Nature Girl's main schooling area. It's a little "school-y," but we like the classroom feel. We changed the border around the white board, and some of the posters on the wall. Grammar definitions are to the right. We were going to paint, but never got around to it.

Continuing around the room to the right (passing the door to the workout room), you can see the Chalkboard That We Never Use, and the nature table. I painted the chalkboard our first year, so excited to have a classroom and start homeschooling. Then I realized that chalkboards are needed in brick and mortar schools because there are so many kids learning at once, and the teacher can't sit beside every one. Not the case in homeschool, of course. Anyway, it looks nice and occasionally we use it as a backdrop for a cool map or picture, or for Nature Girl to write her spelling words on. The door goes to the backyard. (And yes, I know there are multiple sentence frags in the above paragraph...)

This is a close-up of the nature table. We got rid of the paper wasps nests, some old insects and various other items. Living in the woods gives us lots of opportunity to collect specimens! Can't save them all...

We put this border around the door and Nature Girl made the little stained glass ornaments to hang up (really just plastic). I have a topper for the window that I'll eventually get around to hanging.

About 10 feet of wall (where NG has her art posted) separates this comfy couch area from the rest of the school room. (There's a pool table in the middle of the room, too.) Film Buff liked to read here when he was homeschooled. It's so bright and pretty, we decided to make this NG's art area, as you can see in the following pictures.

We have a great collection of art prints from dollar store calendars--Renoir is on the walls currently, with some Van Gogh in the corner. I used to post Film Buff's assignments on this whiteboard, but now we'll use it to post the pictures we'll do for our artist/picture study.

One of our goals this year is to actually use the fireplace in the basement! We tried it two years ago, but I think the flue was shut--can you say "Smokin'!" If you click on this pic, it will enlarge (they all will); over the fireplace is the mosaic Last Supper that Godly Man did with his dad when he was little. It's made of those aquarium-type rocks. And that's Nature Girl, of course, with an art book strategically placed in front of her face (I don't post her pic full-face). Our art shelf is crowded with materials, but we still need brushes and clay for the year. She can use the materials any time, and often does!

Finally, this large African map--I find Africa fascinating, and thought it would be fun to do a little geography of the region this year. Our friend, Bishop Nykoyoyo (and I'll check on that spelling!) runs the Chain Foundation, and we will be trying to raise a few dollars for them and send some letters to the orphaned kids there as we learn about several African countries this year.

Thanks for dropping by!

Park Day

2009-07-08T09:53:00.008-04:00

Isn't this dreamy? I love paths that wander off into the unknown...

We took some time off and visited one of our favorite local parks on Monday. This park has a lovely boardwalk that extends into a beautiful marsh.
There were so many blue dragonflies buzzing about!

These are either raspberries or unripe blackberries; we were unsure. They provide food for the wildlife, which is abundant!

Every time we go, we notice the changes, but there are always Canadian geese around.
Godly Man and Nature Girl are on the observation platform, looking into the woods that surround the marsh. Hard to see, but there's a fawn feeding just at the edge of the shadow of the tree on the right. Her mother was actually wading in the marsh, a good 150 feet away.
One of the many heron we saw. We also saw a red-winged blackbird, egrets, numerous butterflies, turtles, tadpoles and frogs...It is one of our very favorite places!

Changes and Challenges

2009-06-28T18:43:00.002-04:00

I've neglected this poor excuse for a blog, but I'm preparing to do more posting.

As this originally started as a way to document and share our homeschooling journey, as well as other parts of our family life, I was not updating frequently because Nature Girl started going to public school, Film Buff graduated, and Sky remained in treatment.

Things are changing, however! Sky is making good progress, and will probably be home the end of July, depending on several factors. Nature Girl did extremely well in school, but longs to be home. I fought everyday with myself about going to work this year--it turned out to be an excellent, refining experience, but I want to be home next year, too, so I'm choosing not to teach preschool next year. Instead, I'm looking for pet sitting and babysitting jobs. So far, I've got a once-a-week job with a sweet, sweet family who have a 1yodd--cutie patootie! I'm also watching Millie The Wonder Dachshund, who is a pee-er, but extremely sweet.

Film Buff was not accepted into the Cinema program at his college of choice, but was accepted to the general program, so he will go in the Fall. I'm having separation anxiety! All will be well. I'm hoping he learned enough in homeschool to get by--he's really quite a nice young man, and pretty sensible.

Nature Girl and I did some work in the homeschool room. We moved the large desk Film Buff used up to the place where the art area was, and moved the art area to the lovely, window-surrounded area where the desk had been. I actually liked it better the other way, but Nature Girl and I were both ready for something new. I will post pics when it is a little more cleaned up. We have also hung a nice African map on the wall--it's a print out using 64 sheets of paper (we couldn't do the top level due to space, but all of Africa is on the wall). Again, I'll post pics and our new curriculum later this week.

2009-03-28T09:45:00.004-04:00

Worshiping this morning at my computer...
Ever do that? I don't mean bowing down to the Holy Shrine of the Internet (though I do enough of that), I mean reading others' blogs and finding God in the midst of their every day joys and struggles.

I LOVE Stephanie's blog at Enduring with Grace. I would like to meet her someday irl.
Anyway, I spent the last half hour listening to her music. David Crowder is so awesome! He wrote a song that just had me worshiping my God--tears, raised hands, surrender, all of it.

How beautiful when we allow others to see our lives, and be inspired by our choices. Thanks for choosing the music on your blog, Stephanie!

Quickie Update

2009-03-14T10:51:00.002-04:00

Sky is coming home for a 5 hour visit in about 20 minutes! Yea!
He's doing really, really well in treatment.

Nature Girl wants to homeschool next year--and I think I do, too. I'll be looking for something I can either do at home or do after day time hours, or perhaps something like midday dog walking (if it's only 2 hours or if Sky is homeschooling too and can keep an eye on NG).

Film Buff is on the waiting list at his college of choice--keep prayin', those who do!

Lent is upon us, and I'm having a hard time keeping my discipline. More along those lines, later.

I have some pics to post, and I have some more to say, but Sky can't use the computer when he's home, so I have to sign off--

SNOW!

2009-03-02T16:16:00.002-05:00

I can hear Mike The LawnMan plowing our 550ft driveway as I type--we got about 4 inches last night! Nature Girl has been out a lot, accompanied off and on by one rather reluctant Golden Retriever--he loves the snow, but only until he sees someone will open the door to come inside!
Godly Man is off to the gym with Film Buff in tow--they are driving FB's Jeep because it has 4-Wheel Drive. Godly Man is an off-roader at heart, although he drives a Honda...

No school today meant lots of computer time for me, laundry, big chicken in the oven, and reading aloud by the fire in the fireplace. I'll probably put on some snow duds and go play in the snow for a little while with Nature Girl--wish I had real boots and some decent gloves!

March came in like a Lion for sure this year! Hope it stays cold enough to give us one more day off tomorrow! lol Just like a kid...

Weekly Update--yeah, right...

2009-02-27T17:22:00.002-05:00

I haven't done a true "weekly update" since last year, but thought I'd just go over what our week was like, for the heck of it.

At preschool, I am getting ready to do conferences with the parents. Because I have two classes and two co-teachers, I have to do half of each class' conferences. This means I have 13 children to evaluate. We are observation-based in our evals, which means we try to look very closely at what the children do naturally in the course of the preschool day, with very little "testing." We record what we see, and set up activities based on what we perceive the children's needs to be. Usually I can fill in a check list with just the copious observations I have taken during the year, but not this year. It makes me feel I have really fallen down on the job, having to call over kids to show me how they build block towers or take a sample produced on the spot of their writing or their drawing. Oh well, next year I will be doing something different, and I just have to chalk up this year's teaching experience as something I needed to do, did somewhat well, and grew from.

We had a very busy weekend--I went to a pretty good workshop that lasted allllll daaaayyyy....on Saturday, and then went to our church's chili cookoff--that was great fun. Sunday, we went to church, visited Sky, then dh and I went to Mt. Vernon for the Birthnight Ball. I wore a short, black dress, with a sheer black, soutache-covered shawl. The best part was sitting with our 83-yo df, who is such a wonderful, wonderful woman. She is everything I want to be.

This week I had to take a personal day, which gave me a little extra time to do laundry and such, and I spent the rest of the week preparing for said conferences. LOST was a highlight of the week--what does THAT tell you?

Everyone else is doing all right.

BACK AGAIN!

2009-02-15T09:01:00.003-05:00

Oh dear, here I am, the World's Worst Blogger. One of them, anyway. I have been posting very frequently on the Well-Trained Mind message boards (as Chris in VA, fwiw), and have totally neglected this blog.

Part of the reason is because I originally started this blog to be a record of our lives as homeschoolers. This year, Nature Girl went to 3rd grade at our local brick and mortar, and Film Buff finished his high school years in December. I went back to work (reluctantly) as a preschool teacher, because our expenses were high, and I wanted to contribute some $ to Film Buff's college fund. So, the blog "weekly updates" on our homeschooling progress really were nonexistent, and it's hard for me to just plunge in with a topic if I don't have a framework like that (witness my post about Survivor, of all things! lol --btw, it's on again, and yes, I'm watching...).

So here's a little update, and then I guess I will try to find another framework to make this blog workable (and readable) again!

Sky has gone back to treatment, and is finally doing very well. We expect him to start home visits around the end of March or so, with the hope that he may be home in June. He got straight A's, has been working on deeper issues, and seems genuinely on the path to recovery. I've never seen him work so hard or do so well. It is a pleasure to see him every Sunday, and I think things will be ok. Hard to have total hope, of course--"fool me once..." and all, but I think he's in a good place.

Film Buff got his GED (YEA!!) because his college of choice wouldn't accept a homeschool diploma, so he is officially out of high school. He did very well in English and pretty well in the other areas--math continues to be his bane, but that's ok, as his proposed major doesn't require a heck of a lot of math. He sent off his app to the college and got back an invite for an interview, which he did in February--we'll hear in March if he made it in. We are all hopeful, but it's a tight race for one of 20 slots in the cinema program.

Besides the interview, something else wonderful happened to Film Buff--he got his first car! A dear friend at church sold him a 1993 Jeep for $1, and he got it yesterday--fun Valentine's for him! He has to learn to drive a stick, but he's watched some youtube video on that, lol, and has his dad to help him. They both spent about 2 hours outside tinkering yesterday--big boys, big toys. It really is neat, and we are all so happy for him and grateful to Mr. W.

Nature Girl got a nearly perfect report card from 3rd grade, with one G and all the rest O's. She is not covering a lot of new material in the core subjects, but the way things are asked and the assignments are different, so I'm ok with it. She doesn't particularly like school because of the waste of time she sees, the boys talking too much, and the projects (though she does well, but doesn't like the pressure), and also because she feels she misses things at home. Next year, we are considering homeschooling again. I have to work somehow, so I just don't know. I can't really see her going next year, but I have to figure out what to do. Other than school, she's happy and pretty healthy, enjoying outside as much as ever, and awaiting Spring like the rest of us.

My hard working preacher man is fine--really taking his health seriously, working out 3 times a week. He finally found a wonderful assistant at work, after a lengthy search. We have high hopes for our church.

I'm still on the fence as far as whether or not to remain Episcopalian. Enough said for now.

That's the update--pictures and more interesting stuff to follow.

Read-Aloud Thursdays

2009-01-01T10:52:00.002-05:00

OK, we'll try this! Amy over at HopeistheWord is tracking her read alouds and asking bloggers to do so with her! So, every Thursday we'll try for an update on what we are reading. I was doing weekly updates on our homeschooling efforts, but that will have to wait, as we are...DONE! More on that, later.

So, for today, our RA--We are going thru English Fairy Tales and will start a couple of Scheheradzad tales (not sure if I spelled that right!). I have a whole list to work thru from the gals at Well-Trained Mind (SUCH an excellent site! lol), so I'm excited to see what I can find at the library from their suggestions.

Here's to reading!

Ok, So I Failed The Great Experiment!

2008-12-24T08:22:00.003-05:00

Wellll...looks like posting everyday is just not in the cards. Here's a quickie update:

Sky is now in a rehab for a few months. We will be able to see him for several hours today--two gifts, no electronics, a big dinner, no church--your basic Rehab Christmas. Sad, but we make the best of it. Two in a row for us. Maybe next year.

Parents are here--had a good drive down. They will watch the kids and the dog (and our df's dog, too!) on Friday while Dh and I are away at the house.

Nature Girl missed the last day of school before vacation due to a cold, but it was one of those Useless Public School days--they showed a video.

Film Buff is eagerly awaiting Christmas Day so he can watch Batman again--yes, he's getting it for Christmas! He can't wait to see all the movies that will be out in the next week or so. We did find out that he has to take the GED--wish we had known earlier. Pray for him to be able to schedule it in time to get his application in.

Have a Merry Christmas! Gotta run to the Dollar Store so NG can buy Grampa a giftie--

Survivor Finale--What did it MEAN?

2008-12-15T14:37:00.003-05:00

So we had quite the dilemma last night--to watch the Cowboys beat the Giants, or watch the finale of Survivor. (What does that say about us? lol)

I watched about half the Cowboys game, then went to bed, as I was falling asleep on the couch. I woke up this am to hear that my favorite Survivor, Sugar, did not win, and was the "victim" of some really horrible words said by Corinne, another Survivor contestant.

So I was thinking, what does it take to insult (really, really insult, to the point of cruelty) someone on national television? Corinne had a chance to be nice later, to be repentant, to say she was "caught up in the game," but she didn't. How sad is that?

And why do I care? Survivor has always been a guilty pleasure around here. We talk about how people can lie or act badly under pressure, or how the ends don't really justify the means, but the "World" acts like they do. Survivor has been part of our moral development training around here--not really effective, but sometimes negative examples are a good thing.

Anyway, I wish Sugar had won.

Our Day Today

2008-12-13T08:46:00.003-05:00

(Yeah, I've pretty much given up on posting every day--but at least I'm posting more, and getting back into the habit.)

Today Nature Girl has practice for the Nativity Play at our church. She's a sheep, again. Sigh. She could've been a camel (haha "I coulda been a contenda! I coulda been a camel!" in my best Brando voice...), but the Friendly Beast parts are supposed to go to 4th grade and up, and I am a big believer in letting things for older kids be for older kids. No pierced ears yet, for example. Rites of passage are important. So, a sheep it is.

Film Buff is taking the ACT this morning. He was late registering, so he had to pay an extra $40, but I will reimburse him, because it was my idea for him to take the test. His SAT's came back, and he could use the extra score--plus, the ACT is descriptive, not prescriptive (tells what you know, not predicting what you may do in college, necessarily), so it's easier. It's not written by the morons at ETS, either, those cretins. (Letting my Princeton Review training out for a walk here...) I hope he does well, but he's not taking it seriously, he didn't eat before the test (Glucose! Glucose for the Brain, Son!!! You need Glucose! Didn't work.), and basically he doesn't give a crap. He's just waiting for his high school career to be over, and honestly, I can't blame him. Seniorities even hits homeschoolers. He's a good boy, tho, by and large. I think he'll do ok.

Sky is awaiting transfer to the rehab place up the street from us. His disfunction is pretty deep. I'm just waiting and hoping, but I'm not that emotional about it all yet. Christmas is kinda sucky this year. It's not much fun to have your family's rituals and important times destroyed, year after year, by one of your children. He was telling me about a kid in jail with him who has missed 2 Christmases in a row, and will miss this one, too. The kid just keeps messing up around the holidays. I do feel sad for the moms of kids like that. I have to say that Fairfax County Juvenile Detention is really, really good, and they do care about the kids. No one wants to be there, but it's definitely not the horrible place that Arkansas JDC is, that's for sure. Dh will see Sky tonight, I'll see him Sunday, and then his transfer will be good on Tuesday. Nature Girl can see him next Sunday and on Christmas, at the family visitation times. We are glad he's transferring before Christmas.

I've got to clean up today--not fun, but ok. Laundry and floor sweeping, bathrooms and clutter control claim me today.

Hope your day is terrific--Seek the good.

I Will Change Your Name

2008-12-08T19:23:00.002-05:00

Oh. (Breathe) Oh.
I found it.
Finally, I found it.

While reading one of my very, very favorite blogs, Ann Voskamp's Holy Experience, I came across a song that is incredibly dear to me. It's a little song called I Will Change Your Name. Listen at youtube here, and know how precious you are to Jesus Christ. There is nothing he cannot fix, even in the depths of your heart.

Oh...
I'm so Glad he led me to discover this again.

I've Got So Much To Do!

2008-12-08T13:57:00.002-05:00

I'm not feeling quite as overwhelmed as I have the past few months, but still, there's so much to do! Here's my list:

1. Christmas shopping--I love doing this, if I know what I want to buy, and if there's $. Not too bad
this year.
2. Finish things for my classroom at school--there are always games to make, and I have to make
little block people (putting photos of each child on a block and putting them in a nice basket so
they can use them in the unit blocks), block signs, and some writing table items.
3. Clean my bedroom, organizing the books, papers, and clothes that are taking over! AHHH!
4. Clean the rest of the house.
5. Organize Nature Girl's bedroom closet, as well as de-cluttering her room.
6. Finish Film Buff's curriculum planning. I have to figure out what he's doing for Shakespeare--
probably Hamlet and Midsummer, but time is getting away from me!
7. Paper work for Sky, including physician's papers that must be signed and faxed.
8. Other faxes to send including work papers and new job papers (dog sitting may be a reality).
9. Figure out how to celebrate Film Buff's graduation--ordering a diploma, too.

And that's just for starters! What's on your list?

"It feels so good to give"

2008-12-06T19:26:00.002-05:00

Today Nature Girl and I sort thru some of her clothes and found some to give to a friend who needs things for her littlest. We relived some memories ("Oh, remember when you wore this?" "This is so cute!" "This is the dress in the picture on Daddy's desk!" and so on), and then decided what to give. We also let go of some of my Discovery Toys samples, and one of my favorite kids' books that I had saved for a long time.

As I was going down to the basement to find another toy or two, my heart just put up a prayer--"Lord, forgive me for hoarding." I have had a hard time letting go of Nature Girl's clothes and of some of the books and toys I've kept way past their usefulness for us. NG has a whole side of her closet taken up with two big boxes of old clothes--it's so time to get rid of them!

It does feel good to give. Let's all remember that this season.

Question from WTM--Parenting and Church Workers

2008-12-02T08:52:00.003-05:00

The question was asked on the Well-Trained Mind Forum about how being in the public eye at church changes or influences your parenting--in other words, do your standards change when others are looking? Here's my response (it's rough, because it was spontaneous, but I think it lays out how I feel):

Well, as a priest's wife with the Ultimate Preacher's Kid (mine is in recovery right now), I can say this--

I don't feel my standards for my kids are any different than if we were not a clergy family. I feel the standards for all Christian kids are pretty darn high. Yes, the scripture about the overseer being in charge of his family is a reality (sorry, can't remember what verse), but we are not holding high standards because of being in the public eye or because of a need to be a good example because of Dad's position.

When I feel embarrassed or worried about my kids' behaviour, and I'm aware of my own "looking around to see if anyone noticed," I count it as sin. Yep. Sin. Because I don't want to be a "whitened sepulcher," and I think clergy families who simply must appear perfect are not acting in accordance with scripture. There should be no acting involved, even if the motive for trying to appear to be what you are not is that you don't want to be a stumbling block for someone.

We have got to be real. Real clergy families are just like any other Christian family--we sin, we fall, we do wrong things. We happen to be extra aware of Grace in our family, because we so desperately need it. I'm not a model of perfect parenting, I'm not great with my Quiet Time, I'm cranky sometimes, my house can get messy, and my language can get ugly. I'm human. So are my kids, and so is my husband. What I do try to model is that, in my imperfection, I am not left to myself. I have a Great Big God who loves me as I am but wants me to grow. He works in and thru every one of my carpy decisions, failings and sinful desires. He can take anything and make it part of the beautiful tapestry he is weaving out of this world. I want my life to point to him as the one who is behind everything good and joyful and right in my life.

One of my very favorite authors is Oswald Chambers. In the wonderful devotional, My Utmost for His Highest, he talks about the Christian's life as being a highway for God. No one can stand this unless he has the Holy Spirit's help. Don't be afraid of letting your life become public. Just remember that the standard applies to all Christians, and we all fail to meet it. We are not a group that believes we can do life as it should be without God, because we are never going to reach the standard God sets, but it's ok because Christ reached it, and God sees us clothed with Christ's Righteousness. He is making something beautiful out of all of us.

Extend to others the Grace you need from them. You may get slammed, but be a model, not of perfect behaviour, but of the Perfect Work of God.

Please Pray for Our Family--Tragic Day

2008-12-01T21:44:00.002-05:00

We heard today that my husband's brother lost his wife last night in a drunk driving accident. She was driving home from work and was hit by someone running a red light. He apparently got woken up by the police knocking at his door at 3AM this morning.

I did not know Artiffany well, but I do know she was a perfect match in all ways for my brother in law. They shared a love of art, of travel, and of each other, and so much more. She was very kind to my son when he was preparing to travel to Ireland this summer, sharing her travel tips and giving kind encouragement. A gifted, generous and intelligent woman, she loved and laughed and gave of herself to all of our family, and her work as a nurse was just one indication of a compassionate and caring nature.

My husband will go down for her funeral; because of work/school/economics, the rest of us will attend only in spirit. Please pray especially for Tif's parents, siblings, and most of all, for Andy, her husband and kindred soulmate.

I Don't Think I Have Enough to Say!

2008-11-30T18:48:00.003-05:00

I don't think I can post every day. I don't have enough to say!

I spent today surfing the net for jobs--I'm ready to stop being a preschool teacher because I lack focus and have not done the job I really want to. My standards are high, and I am not living up to them. I'd like to work 3 days a week, perhaps walking dogs and doing a little tutoring. Fat chance. I do have a job waiting for me if I want it, but I don't know if they have a dog-walking route for me yet, and it's hard to quit a job if you don't have a good one to replace it. Bird in the hand and all.

Isn't it funny how discontent rears its ugly head? I am feeling more discontent since I started looking for something else. I should hear this week if I get any (contract) walking jobs. They have been so terrific at the preschool, and I hate to leave them in the lurch, but I'm ready to live my life as I want to, and I don't think it's wrong at this point to seek something else. Sigh. Any one got a dog I can walk?

Film Buff got his SAT's back. Wow. Just Wow! He went up 50 points in Critical Reading, went down in math by the same amount, and raised his Writing Score by 140 points! Guess which section he prepped the most---Math! Hilarious, tho painful. Thank God I heard colleges usually take your best score in each area. He's now trying to finish his application to college. He has to write a 250 word script pitch for the Cinema program. Luckily, he has a friend who is a producer in LA. He can run it by him and perhaps get some pointers. It would be so great if he got in next year!!

Sky goes to treatment Dec. 16. All you who pray, please do. Fourth time's the charm and all that. I'd cross my fingers, my toes and my ears if I thought it would help. Gotta be his work--we'll do what we can to make home good for him, and to work with our family counselor, but the majority of the work will be Sky's.

Well, that's it for now. Maybe I'll have more interesting stuff next time!

Preparing for Advent

2008-11-28T08:49:00.005-05:00

Advent, the Church season seen as preparation for Christmas and the Coming of Christ (both first and Second), starts on Sunday. We use an Advent Wreath, lighting a candle every day at dinner time. As the time for Jesus' coming approaches, the light grows brighter--it's something I've done since I was a little girl, and I love the tradition. Here's a little history of the Advent Wreath.
I'll post a pic of ours when I can get the camera working!

Giving Thanks--To Someone

2008-11-27T15:50:00.003-05:00

Dear Husband made an excellent point in his Thanksgiving sermon this morning. So often we look at Thanksgiving as a wonderful time to be appreciative of all we have. It's wonderful to cultivate an "attitude of gratitude." But like just writing a thank you note without sending it, we must remember to direct our thanks to God, the author of all good gifts.

And I also want to remember, that some good gifts come disguised. We can't celebrate with Sky today, but we know he is safe, and we are hopeful that the next few months will be a time of healing and grace. Only God can see the right side of the tapestry that is life--only he knows where every thread contributes to the pattern, and only he can take something that seems a horrible tragedy or mistake and make it beautiful. One day, I think we will see the whole of the tapestry, and we will be amazed at the picture on the front. It will not only make sense, but it will be lovely and grace-filled, and glorify God.

Did You Eat Too Much? Take a Nature Walk After Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T15:46:00.002-05:00

I love Thanksgiving. The food, the chatter, the traditions. But NOT the bloated, uncomfy, "gotta take a nap now" feeling. So this year, we may take a walk after dinner--a walk with a purpose!
Here's a fun Nature Scavenger Hunt you can do with your little ones or big ones after dinner (and if you can steal away and leave someone else the dishes, well so much the better! Just kidding...).
Enjoy!

Scavenger Hunt

BTW

2008-11-26T11:36:00.002-05:00

BTW, I reset my counter. Let's see who comes and visits! Most traffic is from the Well-Trained Mind forums.

Field-Based Science For 4th Grade

2008-11-26T10:18:00.003-05:00

Nature Girl is in the 3rd grade this year at the local elementary school. Next year, she would like to homeschool, and so would I, but I will need to find a creative way to keep up with financial obligations. As I am thinking more and more about this, I am trying to plan a little for her 4th grade year.

Science has always been a tough area for me--it's clear that Nature Girl is a hands-on, experiments and field trips kinda gal. She actually came downstairs the other day with a homemade science kit she had put together, containing her Tasco microscope, a pair of plastic tweezers, a mini-notebook, and some other small items. She took a little basket with her on her way outside, after telling me she was going out "to make some observations." I found her later in the garage, sitting on the cold concrete, absorbed in using her microscope to carefully look at the items she had collected. She shared her written observations with me later. This was completely on her own, and showed me how much potential there is for her to enjoy a field-based/observational-type of science instruction.

So, I've been doing a little of my own research (tho not sitting on the garage floor!) to see if there are already some curriculum options out there. While there are many biology/botany/nature study ideas and books floating around, I have yet to see something that's open and go. My idea is to pull together some living books (Jessica at Trivium Academy has tons of great ideas for these on her blog) on several biomes/habitats, and then go visit the ones in our area. Jessica's kids are also using the Junior Ranger program for a park in their area, so I investigated that, too.

I went to the website of one of our nearest National Parks, Prince William Forest Park (PWFP), and downloaded their Junior Ranger Corps packet. Inside are 13 fun activities for children to do at the park. Each activity is introduced by a "kid" from PWFP's history. The activities vary from visiting different trails of the park, looking for specific items, to walking thru the various displays at the visitor's/nature center, reading displays and filling in information on birds, animal life, etc. It really looks like fun! We could do it in 4-5 visits, or do fewer activites and go more often.

At the end of the Ranger program, Nature Girl would earn a certificate, a patch and some little extra thing that they don't spell out in the packet. I think it would be a good beginning to our studies. We may even go before next year ( I have a hard time waiting on things like that! lol).

Last year we took a monthly nature walk in a marsh area not far from us--it was amazing to see how the marsh changed from month to month. We'd probably continue doing that, too. We also have another marsh nearby, as well as our very own woods in the backyard (we are situated on 40 acres of church land, 20 or so which are developed). Could be a lot of fun!

I will be looking for notebooking pages, some living books (I'm thinking One Small Square would be good, as well as using Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study, which we have), and a scope and sequence.

Thoughts on Election

2008-11-25T08:37:00.003-05:00

Fooled ya--not the Election you may be thinking of!

I've been pondering the Christian denomination/worldview/theological stance (proper term?) called Reform. One of the tenets is the idea of predestination and election. Here are some random thoughts. Let me know what you think.

The question came up on the Well-Trained Mind General Board (an excellent, fabulous, wonderful, fun, helpful, interesting bunch of homeschoolers) about the need to evangelize--How should the idea that God chooses whom he will save influence the Christian's witness? Sort of a "Why bother witnessing if God's already predetermined who is saved?" Good question. I had a different spin off from that--as I age, I am refining my ability to put into words what I truly believe, and let me tell you, it isn't easy. To sift thru what I've been taught, what I've learned on my own, and what I feel Holy Spirit has guided me to, is difficult sometimes. It involves pretty deep thinking, and not being general, but being very specific.

I think it's easy to live an unexamined life. I think it's easy to hear a doctrine or some theology, say, "Oh, that sounds pretty good, I'll believe that" but keep it so general that you don't apply it to your own life and loved ones. On the idea that God elects whom he will save, and all others are screwed (oops) are not saved, well--Ok, I can see God being the Boss.

I can give God permission (not to sound heretical or anything) to do whatever he wants, and be whatever he wants. He gets to choose and do anything he wants to, because he's the Head Honcho. Creating everything gives him that right--actually, he has that right just because of who he is,not because of what he's done. So I'm good with that basic concept.

But what I find inconsistent with who I think Scripture and the witness of the saints shows God to be is that he would create someone who cannot choose him. Not someone who WON"T choose him, but someone who cannot, because God did not first choose him. You see, I believe God reaches out to us first--We love because he first loved us. That's in John. I believe he desires all to come to a saving knowledge of him. I believe he wants all his creation to live in relationship with him.

So I simply can't be a member of a Reform Church, who believes there are some who are never woo'ed by God, who are out of his Thoughts, and whom he does not love. For it would take the absence of Love to allow the formation of a human who has no chance and no choice to ever choose God.

I was worried about this because of those in my life, particularly my son, who have not chosen a relationship with God (yet?). Could he be one of the "non-elect?" When you take the concept out of the general and apply it to the specific, it's one I simply cannot believe. I can see how perhaps he is one who may not choose God, and therefore will not spend eternity with God. I can go there, tho it's hard. But to think God made him but doesn't love him? He's not a throw away. He's not to be created then discarded like some forgotten children's scribble. He's a masterpiece, and I believe God wants him.

Let's be careful to examine our statements of belief, and see if they "work" when we take them out of the general and apply them to living, breathing people, that we know and love like our own flesh.

Then I think, How big is my faith--could I give God my worship if he, indeed, does only choose some to be saved? If he didn't choose Sky? Can I allow him to be God over that, too?

Ok, Here's What I'm Gonna Do

2008-11-24T17:45:00.002-05:00

I've decided that, from now until 2009, I am going to Blog every day. I may not have readers. I may not have anything interesting to say. I may not spell well. No matter. Every day, from now until Jan 1, I will add to this blog a thought, a funny joke, a devotion, an update--SOME sort of entry, every day. So there.

Yesterday Was Our Anniversary

2008-11-13T08:24:00.004-05:00

25 Years. Wow.
Not quite what you are thinking. Dh and I have been married only 23 years, but we got engaged 25 years ago yesterday. We celebrate both dates, every year.
I'm not going into the story of our engagement b/c I have to go to work in a few minutes, and it's quite a long, involved tale. Suffice it to say, we have chestnuts and a little Auschliese (is that spelled right?) every Nov. 12, and we thank God for His Hand in our lives.
Ok, I have to tell a little of the story.

We dated in college (met at an Episcopal youth retreat the summer he graduated from hs and the year before my senior year--known each other a Long Time), long-distance, getting together mostly in the summers. Around the end of that particular summer, dh knew he wanted to marry me. I was clueless. He saved for a ring, and gave God 3 conditions to meet, so that he could be sure it was the right time to ask me, and I was the right woman for him.

I had to get a ride to his college. The ring had to arrive on time. And...are you ready?
His college had to win their football game. Sigh. Men.

To make a long story a little longer...I got the ride, but we had an accident while getting onto the highway (snowing and icing all over the road!). After several hours, we all decided to rent a car and continue.

The ring arrived in time--I think the day before?

We went to the football game on Saturday--it was FREEZING cold, and, as our team was losing, I really, really wanted to go. I couldn't understand why my man was so darned INTENSE, and so into this game! "Wow, he must really love football."

They won. In the last, oh, IDK, 20 Seconds or so?
Dh was preeettttyy excited. He rushed the field, dragging me along. Little did I know...

That night, we made chestnuts and drank some cheaper (not cheap, just cheaper) wine, and he asked me.

And I said...

No.

Well, eventually, I said yes. Dh always says that he forgot about Free Will. Very important theological lesson.

We got married in July two years later.

And, if you stayed with this post this long, you should know...
I'm crazy about him still.

Finally, an Update

2008-11-09T08:45:00.002-05:00

Is anyone still out there?
I have let this blog go because so many things have gotten in the way of my sitting down and composing posts--

1. I am now working as a preschool teacher 5X a week, wanting to pay down debt and save for
Film Buff's college. I am hoping for another job.
2. Nature Girl is therefore attending ps for the first time.
3. We have started an Alpha Course at church--I am not leading it, but I do help set up.
4. Unfortunately, Sky has relapsed and is awaiting trial to see what the judge will say. We are
investigating yet another residential program. Uggg.

It is so not fun. But, as usual, there is good and bad, light and dark, Twilight and Sunrise. God is refining me further, and at least, this time (with Sky's situation), I know the ropes a bit. One good thing is that I have stopped the unhealthy practice of putting myself in his shoes--or what I think they are, and then reacting with great sadness. I have been dealing with the Loss of the Ideal all thru his turmoil--I didn't know I had so many hopes and dreams. I am simply living this life here and now, wanting for the future, but no longer weeping so over the loss of the way I wanted life to be. That's actually a much better place. I even stopped setting my clock 10 minutes ahead--I found it a symptom of my wanting things to be different and denying them the chance to just be as they are, and dealing with it.
Does that make any sense?

I'll be updating more today, adding in what NG is doing at brick and mortar school, filling in the blanks with Film Buff's curriculum, and musing more about salvation, goals, good works, and other light subjects...

Welcome back!

Can We Go Home Again? Children And Nostalgia

2008-08-04T00:21:00.002-04:00

It should be interesting, going back to Texas for the first time in 7 years. It has been a really difficult move for 2 of my children, and they are excited and a little, I don't know, nervous? about going back. I've gone back to my old neighborhoods before, but always as an adult, never as a teen. I don't know how it will go. They don't have any family or even friends still there--dh and I have friends, but they are from our church and never had kids my ds' ages.

One son is worried that he will be bored with family time, and that hurts my feelings. He feels isolated from the rest of us, and I am hoping it will be a bonding time for us all, but that's tough when he doesn't want to be with us at all. Please pray we can just practice being a family.

Nature Girl and I are thrilled to be going to Gramma's House--it's just the most wonderful place. I love my mil with all my heart, and spending time with her is a great joy. I'm hoping it just all works out. I know better than to be anxious!!

All Packed!

2008-07-26T13:26:00.002-04:00

Film Buff takes off tomorrow to Florida, to visit with his aunties, cousins and uncles, then his Auntie L is taking him and two of the oldest cousins to Ireland! They will stay in various places and see wonderful things. He'll also get to visit his Uncle A, and see him teach his college art class at a Florida university. What a lovely opportunity. Uncle A's wife, Aunt T, actually made Film Buff his very own video on youtube, in which she gave excellent travel tips and best wishes. Everyone has really embraced him--I am so grateful. We rarely see Dh's side of the family (these particular siblings, anyway) so it is very nice that they are offering FB this gift, of a wonderful trip and TIME.

I repacked his stuff just now--we got clothes for a week into a very small suitcase--I'm proud of myself! lol Here's hoping he has a great, great time.

Pray For China During the Olympics

2008-07-24T13:57:00.002-04:00

I followed a link to Voice of the Martyrs, a wonderful organization that deals with the Persecuted Church around the World. They are giving away free prayer wrist bands for those who want to pray for China during the Olympics this August. (Here's the link)

Want to join me? Leave a comment if you are going to be in prayer. Even just one time can make a difference. I don't know how prayer to Jesus works, but I do know he cares, and I do know he desires all to come to him, so why not pray?

First Day of School Outfit

2008-07-23T17:34:00.001-04:00

She's picked out her dress to wear the First Day of School. We got shoes, too, but they are a little big--who knew finding black flats would be difficult?

Red Dress

Have Backpack, Will Travel...to 3rd Grade

2008-07-19T09:38:00.003-04:00

Here's Nature Girl's Land's End backpack. Love it--sturdy, not too heavy, lots and lots of pockets!

Backpack

Wish I knew how to include a photo from a website, but this will do.

I can heartily recommend Land's End for so many things--Film Buff has had his backpack for 5 years--no rips, tears or significant wear.

Great Math Worksheet Site

2008-07-19T09:31:00.002-04:00

I have long looked for supplemental math worksheets that have math facts in a vertical format, with 100 on the page. I ran across this awesome site today--

Math Fact Sheets

I am going to have Nature Girl work on facts the rest of the summer, so she can go to ps with them down pat. She is looking for things to do and sees it as fun.

We've been talking a lot lately about school and what it will be like. We both know there is change coming--I've tried to inspire confidence in her. Having fluency in math facts will help give her a boost.

A Funny Thing Happened on The Way to The Library...

2008-07-17T23:58:00.002-04:00

I am so tired of not being able to find modest skirts and skorts for Nature Girl! We have tried just about every where. I don't fancy the Little House look; we both want skirts and skorts that go just to the knee. We've tried Land's End (excellent for so many things, but their skorts are too short), LLBean, JCP, Sears, Kohl's, Hanna Andersson, Gap, Gymboree...ARGHH!

I ended up taking NG to the library today. We needed some books and I wanted to look at some of the Teaching Company dvd's on Shakespeare and other lit. Found what I wanted, for the most part. But what was funny was that I saw a sweet-looking young girl, probably 14 or so, wearing an attractive summer skirt--she had homeschool written all over her, not to promote the stereotype. I actually approached her, admiring her skirt and asking if I could speak to her mom--I know, ballzy me. She kindly led me to her mom, and I ended up having the nicest conversation with her mom. Liz told me she absolutely emphathized--and gave me the names of two thrift stores in the area that often have a good selection of girls' skirts and dresses.

We went to one later, bought a nice pair of jeans (a little pricey for a thrift store, but not too bad), and are now convinced it's an option for other wear.

I don't understand why it's so darned hard to find good quality clothing for dd that isn't black, doesn't have some logo on it, doesn't cost an arm and a leg, and doesn't make her look like a little tart. I'm going to ask C if she'll sew some skirts for dd!

This Will Not Sit Right With Some

2008-07-15T13:29:00.003-04:00

I just read a lovely short story called, "When Queens Ride By." I had seen it in the Vision Forum catty, and was pleasantly surprised to find it posted on a homekeeping blog.

I feel I have a better, grander and more doable vision now, of a role I want to embrace. Not everyone will agree--that's fine by me. This is mine--my good moment. No one has to validate what I am feeling after reading this story.

You may enjoy it.

When Queens Ride By

Back Again

2008-07-15T13:20:00.003-04:00

Hi All,
We have not restarted school, but I decided to restart my blog entries. We've done a little school here and there, mostly from Apologia Zoo 3. Film Buff is off on a mission trip, will come home for a week, then jet off to Ireland, courtesy of a nice auntie. We take off for a visit to where we moved from 7 years ago soon after that. He's supposed to be working on 50 Great Short Stories, edited by Crane, but has only read about 5 of them. He says he'll take the book on the plane--sounds ok by me.

I have accepted a position as a part-time preschool teacher for the fall, which means Nature Girl will go to 3rd grade at the local ps. I'm kinda nervous, kinda excited for her. I think much of the textbook curricula will be redundant, but she will have other things to learn--I just want the "hidden curriculum," as they say, to not be too hard on her. I am going to take this year by year. I would love it if she could stay in ps until 6th grade, then come home for Jr. High and the first two years of High School. But we will have to see.

There's a chance I could get my certification, and make some $ by homeschooling other people's kids, along with Nature Girl. Not sure if this would work. Ideally, I'd tutor after school about 10 hours a week, but I'd have to find my own clients, and I'm not sure I can really do that.

We'll see! It's hard not to want to plan curriculum for NG next year. There are some fun things we could use. I don't think a year of school will harm her, but I want to minimize any damage it might cause. That will sound weird to those of you who do not homeschool--I am mostly talking about the social stuff that happens at school. She is quite sweet, has no doubts about God, and still watches Big Comfy Couch and Mr. R. I don't want that ridiculed.

Last Weekly Report for a While

2008-06-17T08:04:00.002-04:00

School is dwindling down at our house. Sky's last day was Friday. Film Buff has to continue with math with Dad, and I'm going thru 50 Great Short Stories with him for the rest of the summer (except the 4 weeks we will be off on vacation). Nature Girl has been fooling around with Saxon 5/4--a dear friend who is moving to Okinawa gave it to us, and I casually showed it to her. After 3 weeks with no math, she was intrigued, and we've done the first 4 lessons this week, mostly orally. But we are not going to do much more--it will start to get too hard.

We are continuing with Apologia's Zoology 3. I don't like the heavy-handed Creationist perspective, but I can overlook most of it. Not that I don't think Creationism isn't valid--far from it--but I'm not sure I agree 100% with the way it is presented in this book. It is, however, full of interesting facts, engaging in tone, and beautifully illustrated--it "feels nice" to read. Did you know rabbits have their sweat glands in their lips?

Gotta go--several meetings and appointments this week. We need to figure out what to do with Sky. We need to get Film Buff's registration process completed for Community College, and we need to prepare for our parish retreat. Lots to do!

Almost Done With School! June 2-June6

2008-06-07T05:52:00.004-04:00

Just a quick update on school work-
Nature Girl is nearly done, so this week was very light. I gave her some phonics and math pages almost every day. I wish I had kept up with Adventures in Phonics C--there's such good info in that little workbook! I did think it important for us to go over the rules of dividing syllables (and I learned a lot in the process), so I assigned a few pages for independent work. We were off to the dentist on Tues with Film Buff, and yesterday I was here:
so I gave NG small packets to work on in my absence. I must say, she a "git 'er done" kinda gal!

We did the chapters on Queen Elizabeth I and Shakespeare, in SOTW. The Royal Tudors--what a fun bunch! Nature Girl thinks the name is funny...a little base humor. We followed some of the recommendations for extra literature and non-fiction from the Activity Guide. Talk about a valuable resource--truly, a top find for the year. NG did lots of map work, these narration/copywork pages, and we did this extra reading. Love Love Love the Bruce Colville Shakespeare adaptations! Illustrations (particularly in Midsummer...) are outstanding, and he weaves the original language into the retold stories effectively. In fact, Film Buff will be studying Hamlet and Midsummer next fall, so I picked up our Barron's plays to prepare, and was pleasantly surprised that quite a few of the original phrases showed up in the picture books. Now I know the plots, too--which was my goal for Nature Girl, so that Shakespeare won't be so intimidating when she gets to the real stuff. I asked her what she thought of his stories, right after we had finished Hamlet--she was quite impressed, and thought he was a great storyteller!
We are on our last timeline page. We just need to cover Sir Walter Raleigh and the Lost Colony, and the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Nature Girl is reading Elizabeth I from the Royal Diaries series--much better than the one I bought on Eleanor of Aquitaine (never did get to it). We are going to continue history until we finish, even if it's into July.
Apologia's Land Animals of the Sixth Day arrived in the mail this week, and Nature Girl couldn't wait to start. I know, it's weird to start a new science program when school is almost out, but we did such a little science this year, and this looked so good when I was surfing the web--she said she'd really like to do it, so what the heck. It will give us something to do on those long summer days (of which there will be too few, of course). The first experiment involved creating a "habitat for M&M's" out of 3 colors of contruction paper, torn into pieces and crumpled up. She had one minute (changed from the 2 minutes in the experiment as written) to hunt for as many as she could find. We should have used the smaller candies, or Skittles--the Peanut M&M's we used were quite easy to find. Anyway, she learned a little and we had a good time. The idea was that the candies of the same color as the paper would be harder to find--like well-camouflaged prey.
She made a chart, and filled in her first "lab report." She also made me take a picture of her eating an M&M and called it "M&M's in their natural habitat," which I thought was pretty clever! I don't post pics of her face, so that's just for her notebook!
The text comes from a 6 Day Creation viewpoint--I'm not there, but I want to give her several perspectives. It was like a mini-Bible study, too--and we both really enjoyed that aspect.
Sky took this picture of a lovely rainbow created by the sprinklers in the backyard. We has so much rain right after this--huge, tornado-filled thunderstorms that knocked out the power for a few minutes, brought down several trees and many branches, but did no other real damage.

Couple of happies--Film Buff got his driver's license!! Yea!! I know he's proud. Ibaked him a cake and Nature Girl and I decorated it with little cars from the dollar store. We will be traveling to see my sil and nieces in OH this weekend, but he will not be driving there! Not yet. J is graduating from HS--we are so proud of her. I'll get to see my parents, too.

Keep us all in your prayers, esp. Sky.

Hopefully, I'll be able to post more regularly in the future.

Weekly Report 5/19-5/23

2008-05-24T13:25:00.005-04:00

We had a light week, mostly doing testing (ITBS) and history. We finished the sections on Martin Luther and the Reformation, on Gutenberg and Henry the VIII, and the first section on the Counter-Reformation. We have not done any supplemental readings this week, focusing on our read aloud, Anne of Green Gables. We'll probably do some potato printing this week for fun, and there are a few activities in the AG I want to cover. I think we will extend our history into June, just because there are so many fun thngs to do with this time period. I want to get into Shakespeare, also--we'll read Lamb's Tales From Shakespeare next week.

Nature Girl finished her Saxon 3 math two weeks ago, so I gave her last week off from math, and this week, we didn't do much either. I want to find something easy to give her to do over the summer, just to keep her facts fresh. I know I can just copy some worksheets, but I may look for something more interesting.
Nature Girl likes the Draw Write Now series of books, and worked on a couple of pictures independently. We had lovely visitors from Sweden last weekend and she wanted to give each of them a picture. Here's her starfish picture--she wasn't satisfied with it, so she didn't give it to them.We have a "Seasons" door by the school room--she decided to make a forsythia picture out of tissue and pastel. No help, just her creating.

I'm considering starting a Tea Time once a week. I've collected various tea cups over the years, mostly from yard sales. The idea is to use the time to read a couple of poems and/or a story with a moral, like from The Book of Virtues. Nature Girl will be thrilled to help make a goodie or two--she loves to bake. The boys may not participate, but I'm sure they will stop by for a snack if one's available!
Nature Girl has been doing her Nature Notebook on her own for the last few weeks. Here's a pic she took of some berries in the woods. We haven't identified them yet. She's been pressing lots of flowers, too, and making pages with where she found the items. We have so much around--there are lady slippers in the woods by the driveway, the locusts are blooming, and the honeysuckle looks like it's ready to pop this week (yum!)
We have some bat boxes up in the other house--Nature Girl took the camera when she went down with her dad last Monday. I like to just give her the camera and let her click away.
We are getting so many birds and critters today! Just while I've been posting this, we've had cardinals, a nuthatch, a titmouse, a sparrow, and a very cute chipmunk all eating the seeds Nature Girl scattered on the back porch. The dog has been very interested, too! It's definitely getting closer to summer here.
Hope your week was great!

Weekly Report, sort of!

2008-05-16T15:43:00.004-04:00

Wanna see what we've been doing in history today?

This week's lesson

But Nature Girl likes this one better (same song, second verse!)

Lot's of rockin' fun at our house...

Where Have You Been?

2008-05-15T10:57:00.004-04:00

Tee Hee--
I've been so busy, both physically and emotionally, that I've neglected this poor blog. I can just imagine it asking me Where have you been?

Well, I'm just here for a minute. Nature Girl has finished Saxon 3 math, and that makes me feel like we are almost done for the year. We've learned about 3 great American civilizations (Maya, Aztec, Inca) and learned about Columbus, Magellan, and Cortes (with Vasco De Gama thrown in there, too). Nature Girl had a terrific idea to sail some paper boats down our swollen creek--yes, it was 40 degrees outside and raining, but by Gum, we did it! My shoes are still wet.

Film Buff took a practice SAT math test--oh boy, we have some work to do. But we'll get there. He is signed up for the June test, and we need to get cracking on cracking the thing. He's also almost done with his Behind the Wheel class--still working on turns. Last lesson is Sunday--here's hoping.

We've determined what he should take next year, and I've been working on a lit list--I'll post our plans soon. I'm so glad for the WTM boards--so much good advice there.

Gotta go! Pictures of our work will be up soon.

Weekly Report 4/21-4/25

2008-04-28T07:07:00.005-04:00

Nature Girl finished a variety of history projects this week, including a pop-up card of the Tower of London, where the little princes were kept by Richard.

We went on to the rest of the African kingdoms chapter of SOTW, and then to the chapter on India. She thought Akbar and Babur were pretty interesting leaders! We'll make Indian food this week as one of our activities. Unfortunately, our salt blocks from Mali did not turn out, but we will still play the trading game, as described in the Activity Guide for SOTW.

Nature Girl always does such neat and pretty map work. Here's a map from the AG about India.

We read about Prince Henry the Navigator the week before, and are now approaching the Explorers chapters in SOTW. Columbus is first up--We are going to read a bit from Marshall's
The Light and the Glory. It feels strange to have come so far in history and finally be talking about the New World (although we learned about Vikings already, so it's not the first introduction).

I would put up pics of NG's nature notebook entries this year, but they keep coming out flipped! I've learned Adobe PhotoAlbum on my own, and I don't know how to correct them, so you'll just have to read text. She pressed wisteria, cherry blossoms (from our trip to Washington), and pine needles, then mounted them and wrote a bit about where she found them. All of it was done independently. There's so much blooming around us! All the leaves are out on the trees, too, which means the shade is back--but we lost some trees last year, so it's not as gloomy as usual.

We have also been speeding thru grammar with Rod and Staff. We've done at least 25 pages the past two weeks. We'll be finished with Unit 3 this week. She can now pick out the noun in a sentence, tell if it's common or proper, find the verb, find the pronoun and find the adjective (if any). She knows a sentence starts with a capital letter, and ends with a mark of punctuation. (I love how Rod and Staff teaches her word order when there are two people in a sentence--they teach the children to put their name last, because Jesus said to let others go before you--I thought that was a great reason!) Spelling Workout has reinforced these, especially with the proofreading paragraph that comes at the end of every lesson. Nature Girl did struggle with spelling "gh" and other digraph words this week, but we can slow down and redo the lesson without a problem.

She's almost done with Saxon 3. This week, we worked on more division, working with a remainder and with quotients greater than 10. I know she'll be ahead next year, and I do plan on reviewing her math facts with her nearly every day during the summer.

That's about it for this week.

Notebooking Pages

2008-04-25T11:43:00.002-04:00

I've added a notebooking widget--scroll down to see some great, free notebooking resources. We printed out the bird mini-books for NG's Nature Notebook. I love the clear illustrations, colorful and accurate. I often visit this site for ideas--Enjoy!

Weekly Report 4/14 to 4/18

2008-04-21T17:10:00.004-04:00

Here's a summary of what Nature Girl has been doing this week.
History: Story of the World continues to intrigue and inspire. This week, we learned about the Wars of the Roses, and some of the Medieval African Kingdoms. These are examples of what Mary copied from the white board--and I can see a couple of my own spelling errors! Oops, we'll have to correct those. Have to say her handwriting is back on track--nice and neat. We haven't done any projects for a while, so I'm looking ahead to see what we can swing next week.
Bible: NG did a few lessons independently in Studying God's Word A this week. She wanted to get back to making her lapbook, largely because I told her she could have her very own Bible when she finishes it (the "give it to her at Easter" didn't happen). She made a mini book about Leviticus--hopefully, my summation on the inside is sufficient.

We are finishing up Saxon 3. The end of the year always brings more advanced concepts that don't show up again until about Lesson 40 of the next year (so far, that is!). This week, we learned about obtuse, right and acute angles--easy to remember for Nature Girl; she said "Oh, A Cute angle! It's little and cute!" Good enough for me. She also learned about division with remainders. That was hard, but she got it.

We picked up Farmer Boy again, and will finish it next week. It's so good, I don't mind reading it for the 5th time (out loud--she's read it herself 4 times now). Dh finished Prince Caspian with her, just in time for the movie. And Sky is reading her Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (second time thru for that one). On her own, she's continuing her Nancy Drew spurt, and read The Secret Garden this week, too. She loves to read, that's for sure. We didn't do any outside history reading this week, but next week, I'm going to go to the library and pick up a few more books.
The camilia's are out, as are plenty of violets, wisteria, and azaleas. She pressed some wisteria for her nature notebook, and, while in the phone book (our "press!") discovered pine and violets that she had pressed previously. Nature Girl really loves flowers--she'll add a few descriptive words to her pages this week.
Speaking of descriptive words, we are on Adjectives in Rod and Staff Grammar. I thought it would be fun to make a word wall--so we started writing out all the adjectives we could think of, and here's what we came up with (in the half hour we had for grammar!):
She liked it so much, we added more words today. The wall is about 12 feet long, so we have plenty of room to add other parts of speech. We do grammar mostly orally, so we can usually get 3 or 4 lessons done at a time--that won't continue, but at least we are on Unit 3. We blew it off for several months, and I did want to cover all the parts of speech before she goes to 3rd grade.
That's it for last week! Here's the back of our house, from the hammock where she spent a good half hour snuggled next to Sky while he read to her:
It's soaking wet around here, and plans are in the works for an Ark...Hope it's a good Spring where you are!

A Gift For You

2008-04-11T21:15:00.001-04:00

Scroll all the way down and share my video. This is my Jesus. He can be yours, too.

Weekly Report 4-4

2008-04-07T11:15:00.003-04:00

Not much to report this week. As I wrote, we went to the Cherry Blossoms on Monday. We did get school done, but it was a very quick morning! I am so sick of the freezing weather and dreary grey skies. We walked in drizzle in DC; we park at Gravelly Point and walk over the bridge to the Jefferson Memorial, where the blossoms are--got pretty damp, but not soaked.

As for academics--Nature Girl started timed division tests, and upped her score by about a dozen points by the end of the week. We also started functions in Saxon 3. Since we were behind in Rod and Staff Grammar, we whizzed thru numerous lessons, and I feel we are doing all right now--still learning the parts of speech, and are on pronouns now.

Spelling went well, and NG has been doing her Bible lessons on her own. I expect she'll finish her Bible book by the end of May, and I'll probably get her started on Christian Liberty's Book C. It's funny to me that so much of what she is learning is new--I thought our Sunday School covered a lot of the stories, but really, they leave so much out. It's such a complex Book, I shouldn't expect the church to do as much as I can at home. Still, I'd love it if they could add in a little more, especially for the older kids.

In history this week we learned about the Black Plague, Henry V and Charles VI at Agincourt, and read about Joan of Arc. We used a beautiful picture book about JoA. I didn't realize it was quite so detailed, so it went a little slowly, but got the points across. We will make our mini-cannon from back in the Rus chapter, this week.

We also have almost finished our read-aloud, Chancy and the Grand Rascal. This would make an excellent resource to add to a US Geography course--or at least it would've been fun to map the trail they took to find Chancy's sisters and brother. Such a funny story--but now I have to find another book to read! Any suggestions?

Sky continues to do well. He needs some reminders about chores and homework--hopefully we can work that out. Film Buff is getting ready for driving school, which starts tomorrow! Everyone clear the roads! lol Not really. He's so motivated, I think he'll do fine. He got to see Leatherheads on Friday--love George Clooney.

That's our quick update for now.

Cherry Blossom Time!

2008-04-01T09:04:00.003-04:00

Dh always has Monday off, so the week of his birthday, we usually go to see the Cherry Blossoms downtown. Here are some pics! Aren't they lovely? I wanted to post some of Nature Girl, but I'll have to send them to individuals, since we try not to show the faces of our family. She looked so sweet, all in pink and flowered pants--We have to walk across one of the biggest bridges to get there, and she was old enough now to make it all the way without a lift from Daddy.
Although it rained, we had a fun time.

Weekly Report 3-28-08

2008-04-01T08:17:00.003-04:00

We had some Nature time this week at our local park. The bay isn't the cleanest around, and we have to be careful to wash our hands after, but Nature Girl just loved stomping around in her orange flowered boots, picking up large snail shells and listening to the water on the shore. We saw many hawks, and maybe even an eagle or two (there are quite a few further down the peninsula).

We had so much fun that we invited some friends to join us. The park has a great new playground, too--

Nature Girl's birthday is coming up, so we are going to rent an itty, bitty cabin on the grounds of this park, and spend the night star gazing and playing with fire. (Shhh, she doesn't know she's getting a telescope for her present from us!)

We finished the SOTW chapter on the Rus on Friday. We read some wonderful Russian folktales, and started Chancy and the Grand Rascal, which is written by the same guy who did By the Great Horn Spoon, which we previously enjoyed. Chancy tells the story of a young boy's search for his siblings, who were fostered out during the last part of the 1800's. It's a great way to learn about life along the Ohio River. Funny, too! I have fond memories of my brother reading this in the car on a trip to see faraway family, and laughing his head off.

Here's a picture of Vladimir the Great Nature Girl colored for history. I love how she used several colors to make his skin. Following are also some history notebook pages for the week. I let her copy from the white board instead of taking narrations.

This week, it's on to Suleiman, then the Plague. Can't wait.

Film Buff starts driving class this week. Everyone stay off the roads in NoVA! LOL He has a retreat this weekend; Sky may go, too. FB has also started Write@Home's Essay 1 class, and is doing very well. I hope it gives him enough instruction to be able to start writing more essay answers to test questions, and to give him confidence and ability in the SAT's. We are reading Cry, the Beloved Country this week, and he's up to 1970 in History. We have several wonderful movies coming to supplement his history--as I've said, it's my desire to acquaint him with at least some of the "Canon of American Film." He's looking now at VCU for film school, but we will see.

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T15:10:00.001-04:00

Wishing everyone a fabulous Easter!

The Lord is Risen! Alleluia!

(and the proper response?--All together now...)

The Lord is Risen, Indeed! Alleluia!

Meditation on Christ's Arrest

2008-03-21T06:46:00.006-04:00

After Judas betrayed Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, he was led away to the house of the high priest. The soldiers mocked him and beat him.
While it was still night, Jesus would have been held prisoner, waiting for his trial. This picture is of a hole in the basement of Caiaphas' house. It is just big enough for a man to be lowered into--it is too narrow to provide room to sit--one has to stand up inside.
This is probably where Jesus would have been held.

While at our Maundy Thursday vigil this morning, I read Psalm 88. I'll bet Jesus was quite familiar with the Psalms, as they were the hymnal of the Jews. I wonder if these words came to his mind as he waited in the darkness.

Oh Lord, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before you; turn your ear to my cry.
For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like a man without strength. I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care.

You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. Your wrath lies heavily on me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. You have taken from me my closest friends, and have made me repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape; my eyes are dim with grief.

But I cry to you for help, O Lord; in the morning my prayer comes before you.

I wonder if these words were on his lips, as he spent the remainder of the night in the pit.

Two, Two, Two Weeks in One!

2008-03-18T12:44:00.006-04:00

(For those of you who remember the Certs commercial...)

We've had two pretty good weeks since the last report. Now we are on break, but here are some highlights.

In History, we are just finishing the stories of Marco Polo, and Genghis and Kublai Khan. We read some really wonderful books about them, and had fun mapping various journeys and territories. I find the Silk Road fascinating, and Nature Girl was intrigued by stories of Marco Polo opening the East to the Europeans. We are also reading Heidi. Just love this story.
We also went back thru the AG and picked up some map work and this game (Fox and Geese) from the Richard the Lionheart chapter. It gave us a chance to review.

Nature Girl is making a lapbook for Bible. Here is an example of one of the mini-books. The idea originally was to give her a Bible after completing the lapbook, but I'm going to put it in her Easter Basket instead. This is the mini-book for Exodus. I'll post more pics as we go along.

We did a scavenger hunt with our Home Science Adventures kit. The idea was to gather various plant materials, then view them thru the microscope. We found everything on the list except the leaf borer. We also dissected the daffodil to see the pistil, pollen, stamen, and other parts. Pretty cool! Loving this curriculum.

Here's another lapbook mini-book--sorry I didn't put the pics in order. This one has the flaps that open, for the child to take notes or write a verse. We may go back and do that, but I just wanted to move on. Nature Girl wrote very neatly, and I didn't want to overwhelm her. She also started Christian Liberty's Studying God's Word A. I had it laying around, and decided to let her do it. It's quite simple, just reading a story paraphrased from the Bible, then answering 4 or 5 simple questions (the answers are provided for copying). She is intrigued by some of the stories we haven't covered before.
That's it for now. I'll try to be better about posting more next week!

Enormous Grace

2008-03-18T10:30:00.002-04:00

The short and sweet...
For so long, we've been dealing with the effects and consequences of addiction. Trust me, residential treatment is not fun. When needed, it's a Godsend, but it's never the ideal. (I suppose the ideal is not needing it in the first place!) And it's very, very hard on the family, at least in our case. So, there's this difficult place where we've been living--on one hand, we knew RT was necessary. On the other, we all felt incomplete--like missing a limb might be, like a small death had occurred (are there any small deaths?). Something needed to be done, but the sacrifice showed, in all of us. Then Sky bombed out of RT, went to JDC, and we waited to find out what the judge would do.

Sky is home.

It is not a perfect solution. We still have therapy to go to, meetings, work at home. We have a covenant to both live up to and uphold. There is risk. Great risk.

But there is something more, something so difficult to put into words, and something the professionals in our lives do not understand, or at least, do not dare embrace, because there is Great Risk.

It is Enormous Grace.

Grace--"unmerited favor" "getting what you don't deserve" "not getting what you do deserve"

Do you ever wonder what happened after the Father welcomed home the Prodigal? We know about the Older Brother. We know how the Father felt. But we don't get to see any further into the Prodigal's story. Perhaps it's because Jesus knows each of us is a prodigal, and we all will be able to finish the story for ourselves. We have all turned from home, gone our own way, thought we knew better...

Rebelled.

And those of us who have returned, have left again. And again.
Maybe the second and the third and the fourth times, we went less and less far away, or maybe we went even farther.

But at some point, we received
Enormous Grace.

The Father was waiting, for the son to return. He wrapped his cloak around him, called for the feast, welcomed his son home with a joyous proclamation.
I wonder, did the Enormous Grace the Father showed change the Prodigal? Did he finally understand just how much his Father loved him? Did he ever want to leave again?

Sky was stunned by the judge's decision. Sky was stunned we'd want him home. Sky is just beginning to remember what home is, and why he'd want to be here.

Enormous Grace.

How sweet the sound.

Music That Matters

2008-03-04T14:38:00.003-05:00

One of my very favorite blogs is Stephanie in FL's Enduring with Grace.
What an incredible woman. She's been thru so much, but now things are looking up.
On her blog, she had a bunch of songs she handpicked--so I followed the link and made a list of my own. How fun!

One's musical choices say so much about one's personality, inner heart, inner self. I guess I'm pretty eclectic, faith-filled (by Grace alone), a searcher, a finder, joyful, irreverent...or maybe I just like guitar, piano, some clever lyrics and some humor now and again.

I need quiet in my life. I don't keep the radio on, unless I'm in the car, and I worry that I haven't exposed my kids to enough music. But when the time is right, music fills my heart with praise for Jesus, with a desire to reach beyond my own life to the life of God, with laughter and joy, and sometimes just with a deep appreciation of beauty and of the talent that can turn such deep emotions and the experiences we all share into these wonderful songs.

I was especially glad to find some Tom Lehrer to share with you LOL!
Now everybody go "genuflect, genuflect, genuflect!"

The Spring Purse

2008-03-04T08:27:00.005-05:00

This is my blog, so I can post what I want to, right? I need to vent. I am feeling irritated with two homeschooling issues brought up by one of the wonderful boards I frequent.

First--Under the category of THEN WHY BOTHER?--
There was a recent post by someone who claims she wants to homeschool her child, but then goes on to say that she's looking for a way to do it that won't require anything from her. (and here I've edited something very uncharitable...) Oh. MY. What's up with that? I get the "I'm overwhelmed" feelings, and I really do empathize with wanting to give but feeling drained. But why do we let that be an excuse for such behaviour? I just want to scream, "COME ON!" Put the kid in a decent preschool and move on. A poor homeschool is NOT better than a good preschool. Some think it is, just by virtue of being at home. That's such crap.

Then--Under the category of RELAX, AND ALLOW YOUR CHILD TO BE A CHILD--
So many times, people are afraid to let their kids explore with art materials, or make messes in general. OOO, it's messy! OOOO, they might spill! OOO, MUD! OH HORRORS! Geez, Louise. Can't you clean up spills? Doesn't paint wipe off? Ever hear of a wet rag and some newspapers? Because of Mom's (or Dad's, or whatever adult--even teachers at school!) obsession with neatness and cleanliness, germophobia, or simple anxiety about product over process, the child never gets to DO anything that might create a tiny bit of chaos. Art has to be confined to coloring (and that better be with washable crayons and a coloring book, and it better be "within the lines..."), juice has to be poured for the child, outside can't be explored. I just want to shake these people. The kids sometimes survive intact (kids are quite resilient), but what do they miss?

The fact is, Creating and Exploring (and they do deserve Capital Letters) are the work of childhood. Neatness, orderliness and yes, even safety, are not what they are cracked up to be. When these get in the way too much, children become fearful of making mistakes, and of "looking ridiculous." Adults sometimes just need to step back and let the process reveal itself. Let the kid explore. Let the kid risk--
Risk. There is a fine balance here, between letting that risk happen and keeping our kids safe. Yes, we definitely have to provide safety, but my Goodness, can't we do so without squelching the heck out of every creative endeavor?

So, I guess my point is, get off your ass, stop thinking only of your own comfort level in raising your children, and see this time in both your life and the lives of your kids as precious and worth the investment. It goes FAST. It blazes by. One day, they will stop giving messy kisses. They will become so capable that you will be fazed out--just like that, you will become unnecessary for their survival. Instead of a wardrobe staple like black pants, you will become the Spring Purse. Nice, but not essential.

That's our job, isn't it? To become the Spring Purse. Nice to have around, full of good information, but if left behind, not crucial to one's day--because they've learned, you see. They've learned that mistakes are part of the process of becoming whole. That creativity doesn't fit within the lines, and that sometimes the paint spills, and that's OK.

Vent over.

Late! But Here's Our Weekly Report Feb.25-29

2008-03-02T14:27:00.010-05:00

We've done lots of reading this week, and lots of Language Arts. Here are some highlights:

Nature Girl had a good week. We've read a lot of picture books about Judaism, as we are on the chapter about the Diaspora in History. I can't recommend Golem, but the Shabbat was quite good.

We made charoset and talked about the Jewish holidays. Passover usually coincides with Easter, but not this year. This was pointed out by a fellow WTM Boardie-- thank goodness people read this blog and correct me!
As you can see, Nature Girl is currently into Nancy Drew. She read these 3 over the last two weeks, as well as two in the Boxcar Children series. Susan Wise Bauer (of The Well-Trained Mind) says to be careful of allowing too many series books, because they can turn kids off to using their brains, as they are often not very well written. I'm ok with these two series, however, because they are wholesome, interesting, and Nature Girl reads plenty that stretches her.
We've also done some other reading aloud these past two weeks. (I'm sorry for the dark picture--I can't seem to edit it correctly on Adobe.) Coraline has got to be the creepiest book for kids EVER. Can't read it to dd at night! We are going through Mary Pope Osborne's 6 book version of the Odyssey again, and will finish that by Monday. Good read--for a younger audience than Sutcliff's Wanderings of Odysseus. We are enjoying comparing different "Cinderella" stories across cultures. Rough Faced Girl and Raisel's Riddle come from American Indian and Jewish cultures, respectively.

Nature Girl is currently curled up on the couch, on day 2 of a fever and cough. We are going to be out of town for a night, so we probably will just call it a sick day tomorrow.

A Small Update

2008-02-26T16:26:00.004-05:00

It's hard for me to post right now, because my mind is definitely elsewhere. Sky is still in JDC, and will be until the middle of March. We are trying hard to come up with a plan--think we've got one, but it is dependent on many factors outside of our control (aren't all plans?). I appreciate all the people who are praying for us now. I know it is honoring to God, and I know "the prayer of the righteous availeth much."

We finished up the Beth Moore Bible Study (on the Tabernacle) two weeks ago--what an amazing group of women! I wish we could continue, but I'm also glad to have Mondays free. Not sure what we will do next year--maybe a quick study over the summer. I'm looking at BM's Loving Well.

Dsil came with her youngest for the weekend. They are such a joy to have around. We get along well--many similarities in outlook, but just enough differences to keep it interesting and have something to talk about. She is thinking of homeschooling next year, and was kind enough to be interested in what we do with Nature Girl. I hope they can find what works the best for them.
Had to be enthusiastic about Story of the World--just love our history.

The girls made tea-stained paper on which to write their "Magna Carta" projects from the Activity Guide. Nature Girl decided today not to finish it, which is fine by me. I quizzed her on what the Magna Carta was, who signed it and where (do YOU know? lol), and she passed. Making notebook pages really does help retention! This pass thru history is all about exposure, anyway, so I'm not concerned about memorizing names and dates yet.

Had a nice trip to Mt. Vernon while our family visited. The education addition is phenomenal and I heartily recommend it to everyone.

That's it for now. More at the end of the week. (I know, this is boring! Hang in there.)

Math

2008-02-19T12:27:00.004-05:00

I love Saxon Math. I'll say it again--I LOVE Saxon Math.
Ok, did that sound convincing?
Actually, it is going better for Nature Girl. We hit a rough spot about 4 weeks ago, with Nature Girl obviously feeling anxiety and lack of confidence in math. As I wrote previously, I wasn't sure what to do, but decided to put Saxon aside, as we were ahead of schedule, and working a year ahead, anyway.
We are back in Saxon now, and today, for the first time in about a month---

TA DA!

she had an excellent timed test, and pretty much sailed through the lesson. Her confidence has returned, her attitude is better, and things went smoothly. Whew, what a relief.

I really do love Saxon--mostly because it's so intentional. It builds precept upon precept, doesn't let old material disintegrate into the Nether World of Kiddy Forgetfulness ("Honey, you've had this before! Why are you acting like it's completely new?" "HuuuH?" ), and teaches appropriate use of algorithms while making sure the kids handle the concepts,too. I hope we can use it for a looonnnggg time.

BTW, I'm learning to change text color and form!! Yippee for me.

The Week That Was 2-15-08

2008-02-15T22:15:00.003-05:00

Eew. Just Eew. The short and sweet? Some good things--tried Microphotography (well, sort of), finished Castle Diary, Film Buff took a practice SAT Critical Reading and didn't do abysmally, Sky is safe. Valentine's was ok, and Lost featured Sayid. Small mercies.

Our family is pretty on edge right now. Film Buff is a little disrespectful, my fuse is a little short, Nature Girl is still having some, I don't know, respect issues? Anxiety? Growing Pains? She's really such a tender little thing that anything like that is unusual, but, I feel, must be nipped in the bud. I'm careful not to slam her when she says negative things, but I also want to teach her to tame her tongue, to work hard (not fall apart if things don't come easily), and to trust us and God, that we will do our best by her. We're having kinda a...um..."human" week.

One fun thing we did was to observe crystals with the Tasco Microscope. (We found we could get the light to work by beating it against the table...) The experiment involved observing salt and sugar thru the microscope, and then describing and comparing the shapes, clarity, etc. I thought it might be fun to see if we could hold the digital camera up to the eyepiece and see if we could get a picture or two. The light finally gave out, so Nature Girl is holding a flashlight on the microscope so I could take the picture. Next up will be actually watching crystals form. I just love the Home Science Adventures Micro Kit!

Not much else I can say. Sky is in JDC for a month. We have new information that leads us to believe we may have to find another placement for him. It is heartbreaking, as we thought he might be coming home in a month. Those who pray, please do. God is so very faithful. Information came to us in the nick of time today, and in a curious way. God's timing is perfect.

Hope your eyes stay open to the blessings around you. Trust Him--He is Good.

Weekly Report 2-8-08

2008-02-09T17:00:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, this will be quite short, until I have time to get a decent report up (probably next week).
The week was going fairly well, with Nature Girl's history and LA providing our framework, as usual. She was showing signs of stress with Saxon, so I decided to go to Barnes and Noble and find a nice, colorful math workbook. I just wanted something easy and cute, to provide a break. I found a wonderful workbook, containing not only math exercises, but also writing and reading comprehension. Yippee! NG agreed, looked great.
Well, we cracked it Wednesday only to find the math problems were really too challenging. She is very good in the computation side of things, but this was asking for pretty serious thinking skills that were just a bit beyond her. We did several of the problems, but went back to Saxon on Friday.
History was fun, as usual. We had started Adam of the Road, a lovely book about a minstrel boy, but ended up putting it down, as it got too scary, and the language was just a little difficult. I'm sure it will be fine the next go-round, or even next year. We then went on to Castle Diary--what a great book! Highly recommend it. It's the story of a boy, Toby, who lives in the 13th Century in England. Toby goes to his uncle's castle to learn to be a page. The book is full of information told in a diary format--great illustrations, and its large format makes it a pleasant book to pour over.
Film Buff is quite pleased that the Writer's Strike has been settled. He keeps abreast of all these things. We both are thoroughly enjoying the new season of Lost, and hope it will go beyond what they've written already--and we enjoy all the theories and spoilers we can get our hands on!
All his work was fine this week. He is reading Alas, Babylon, and watched Dr. Strangelove to supplement (what a weird movie). I'm glad I preread it, because I can really check his understanding.
And that brings me to Sky. Ah, Sky. He is my teacher. I am learning to love unconditionally thru him, and Mama, it ain't pretty. Sky was terminated from a treatment program, and is now in JDC. I know many of you pray for us, and I really appreciate that. There is more to the story, but I am conscious of how public I make his life, so all I want to say is, please hold us before our Heavenly Father, and ask for the gift of discernment for us. We would like to bring him home and do outpatient therapy, and I really have a strong feeling of the rightness of this, but I don't honestly know if that is a good idea.
I'm sure I'll have some pictures up during the week.
Blessings to all.

Weekly Report 2-1-08

2008-02-01T16:50:00.000-05:00

Welcome to February! Our week was a little "hit and miss,' but not too bad.
Nature Girl continues to be a little stressed with math, but did very well on her timed tests. I think I may slow Saxon down, as I think it is catching up with her--we are using it a year ahead, which has never been a problem, but even so, I don't want to quench her confidence.
Spelling and Phonics went well--SWO C is also starting to get a little more challenging. She did a chapter and a half this week. It's great review, and it just meshes so well with Adventures in Phonics. Nature Girl is also learning cursive writing. She started up again, learning c, d, o, q and g. Here are her d's.
History remains intriguing, and we did a lot this week. We are finally in the 1000's! I loved the way Susan Wise Bauer, in Story of the World, ties people and events together so well. I finally understood that the Normans were the Vikings' descendants, and that made the Norman invasion of England more interesting. We found a youtube video of the Bayeux Tapestry that helped us visualize the events of the invasion and the Battle of Hastings. Check it out here!
We also did a quickie castle project, using the Activity Guide for Story of the World--we mixed marshmallows, butter and Kix (marshmallow treats w/Kix instead of Rice Krispies) and molded them to make a motte and bailey castle. I actually just wanted to eat the treats, but it only took 10 minutes to mix it, mold it, and read about that sort of castle, so hey, that was history. You can read about the development of castles here, like we did. Here are some pics of Nature Girl's history notebooking this week.
Film Buff finished Old Man and the Sea last week, and we discussed it. He started and finished China's Long March, a book about the Chinese Communists in the 30's. He viewed Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator, and we have FailSafe and Dr. Strangelove coming. I read Alas, Babylon last week, and will assign it next week. His driver's ed on-line class is 1/5 finished, so we had to pay for it finally--he's taking that on his own time, but I am giving him credit for it as an elective. I'm going to have him plan a trip to Orlando and grade it to add some content. Math is going well, but since Dad is teaching that, I have no idea what he's doing. That feels good, actually! He got a B on his chem test, and we started listening to Naxos for classical music history. I had a book called The Classical Music Experience, but didn't use it because I had lost a cd that went with it--come to find out, we got a free subscription to Naxos with it, so we are thrilled to have access to all the music. His other curricula for music history has been interesting, utilizing Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers and The Gift of Music, but this other book gives more info about the actual music.
That's about it for the week--oh, we also had a couple of visitors yesterday. I'll see if I can post a pic of them.
Hope your week was filled with blessings, large and small.

I've Been Tagged!

2008-01-29T12:38:00.000-05:00

Wow, validation--My 5 Wolf Cubs has chosen me for a book meme.
Here's what I'm to do:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).

2. Open the book to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the next three sentences.

5. Tag five people.

So, I just went to the library yesterday, and books for Film Buff are all over the den table. I picked Sound and Sense, a book about poetry. Page 123 contains some of the text of MacBeth's speech after the death of his wife (has the Out out brief candle! part). Fifth sentence, ok--now here's the next 3 from SandS:

"Macbeth's first words underscore the theme of premature death. The boy also "should have died hereafter." The rest of the passage, with its marvelous evocation of the vanity and meaninglessness of life, expresses neither Shakespeare's philosophy nor, ultimately, Frost's, but it is Macbeth's philosophy at the time of his bereavement, and it is likely to express the feelings of us all when such tragic accidents occur."

Whew. I may need help when we get to this part of homeschooling.

I don't know many blogs, but I'll tag these:
Daisy at Lesser Road Academy
Stephanie
Remudamom
Needleroozer

That's only 4, but I hope that's ok!

Depression

2008-01-28T22:22:00.000-05:00

I struggle with depression. There, it's said, no secret. For years, depression has been the ugly dog nipping at my heels, the overstuffed baggage to be carried, the neverending stairs to be climbed. Sometimes I've taken medication for it, but the serotonin reuptake inhibitors, while helpful, make me very tired. I went off meds about 6-7 months ago, and have felt much more energy and alertness--of course, that was also when I started drinking coffee every morning, but I digress.
This week has been particularly difficult, especially concerning Sky. He has some decisions to make, and it isn't something I can control. Actually, I am in control of very, very little, and this is not a comfortable place for me. That's very, very good. Very good. The less I foster the illusion of control, the more I can live life as it is, and the more I can surrender to God's control. And who better to surrender to, of course, than the God of the Universe that holds all in his hands? Makes so much more sense than pretending I have the ability to read other's minds, influence their futures, and make everything pretty and nice. Can't do it, might as well stop trying.
But, as with most things, part of me wants to keep trying things my way. Part of me wants to have my say and make everyone listen to it. Part of me wants "Mama knows best" to be "Mama knows all, and dammit, you better listen to her."
But I don't know all. I know nothing at all. Nothing, perhaps, other than who I am in Jesus Christ, and that He loves me. And that he is good, and that he loves everyone. And that he wants everyone to come to him. And that...well, you get the picture. Start with God, move out from there.
I had Beth Moore Bible Study today. The ladies showered me with blessings by giving me a birthday celebration. Cake, food (other than cake), gifties, even a tiara, complete with flashing purple heart in the middle (which I wore throughout the Beth's video presentation). Grace upon Grace.
God knew what I needed, when I needed it, and how to provide it. He set it all up, just for me. Grace upon Grace.
Oh, he is so awesome. He loves me so very much, and he can lift me out of any pit. There is no place where he cannot grab ahold and pull me up and into his arms.
The more I yield, the more I rest, the more I surrender, the more the depression loosens. Satan cannot have me. He cannot discourage me. He cannot take what belongs to God. I belong to God. I am His. Forever.
Right now, I don't feel so depressed anymore.

Weekly Report 1-25-08

2008-01-25T18:01:00.000-05:00

We've had a week of running around--Sky had to have his cast checked, but it's a-ok. He had a great day last Saturday, but now he's bucking the system--has to do an anger management packet. He will, but everything is a struggle when it comes to submitting to authority.

Nature Girl had a pretty good week, overall. She had more attitude problems, esp. in maths, but today was awesome. I sat with her almost the whole school day, and helped her instead of giving her independent work. We just plowed thru the worksheet stuff, and she did well. I have some examples here of Saxon 3, Adventures in Phonics and Rod and Staff Grammar. Her handwriting isn't as lovely as usual, but she also had a fever yesterday and snark today.

We did have an excellent history week. One of these pictures shows our Viking Sundial and some notebooking work that we will finish next week. The cards in the picture are downloaded from Hannah's Homeschool Helps (sorry, don't know the link). We heard the story of King Alfred this week, both from SOTW and from Famous Men of the Middle Ages, so we made King Alfred cakes today--mmmm! Think scones, made with nutmeg, dates and raisins. We were so happy they turned out well (unlike the Viking Bread last week!).

There's also a pic here of her using her Tasco microscope to find the "hidden" states on the $5 bill. She was thrilled to find so many on the Lincoln Memorial, and remembered to turn the bill upside-down first. Loving that Home Science Adventures kit!!
We really enjoyed reading this book on micro-photography, which told about a man who was a scientist and a photographer. We got to see great pictures of him collecting samples and viewing them under different kinds of microscopes. We also finished reading (aloud) The Apple and the Arrow, about William Tell and the founding of Switzerland. Since Heidi has been one of her favorites for years, it was interesting to her to hear another tale of that part of the world. Nature Girl also read 5 Magic Treehouse books (they are definitely candy to her!) and is beginning the Little House series all over again, for the 5th time. Sigh. I'll just let her.

Film Buff was thrilled to hear No Country for Old Men got so many Oscar nods, and also that his boy Viggo (Mortensen) got a nod for his work in Eastern Promises. It's always so fun to watch the Oscars with Film Buff, because he gets truly excited and it's a pleasure to watch him have a good time!
This week he finished Module 7 in Apologia Chem; had lessons on Brahams, Tchaikovsky, and Dvorak in music; started the 1950's in Sonlight 300; and started and will finish over the weekend The Old Man and the Sea. We are mostly using the Sonlight commentary for this. I am pre-reading Alas, Babylon, and really loving it. I skipped Brave New World with him--he can pick it up on his own later. He is on Module 6 in his Driver's Ed dot com class, and did math with Dad all week (I'm hands off on that one--Thank the Lord). We have 4 more chapters in French before we are done with the book. I am going to give him credit for this year's work, labeling it Intermediate French. He will not be ready for the public school class in French 2 this next semester (starts Tues.), so we will just slog thru. He says it's like being Homer Simpson, when Homer finds he has to learn French to put together the grill ("Le Grill? What the H@ll is THAT?"). At least he knows his limitations. He was happy to find out he will not have to continue in French next year.

That's about it from here! Hope your week was filled with blessings, big and small.
(Sorry about the photos being all over the place--still trying to figure it out!)

Whew! Is It Wednesday Already?

2008-01-23T08:43:00.000-05:00

It's amazing, how much we cram into our lives. I am not one to be constantly occupied, nor do my children have many items on their plates--this is the first year we've had so many activities, and that's just with two at home. Even so, our lives this week have been more "psychologically busy" than physically busy.
My mom and dad came from the Great Frozen North on Saturday on their way to the Land of Beaches and DentuCream, stopping by here as they do every year. Conveniently, it's also my birthday weekend, so I get to see them on that special day. Their visits are always appreciated, but do involve a lot of preparation. If anyone has seen or read The Accidental Tourist, you will know what I mean when I say my mom is alot like the main character in that book. Anyway, we spent Saturday cleaning up. Thank God (and that's a prayer) Film Buff is an awesome helper. He really has a servant's heart when it comes to helping me around the house. (Take heart, all with younger kids--it can happen eventually.) Dh was out of town at his brother and new sister-in-law's wedding reception, so he escaped the frenzy of cleaning and tidying.
The day before, Sky had surgery on a broken pinkie--he got to come home to recuperate for about 24 hours. It was his first overnight since September. More on that, later. We had had to prepare the house for him, also. Sunday was church, and a visit to Sky. He had had a fabulous day therapeutically on Saturday, so the Sunday visit held good things.
Anyway, the weekend involved driving many places, keeping things under control at home, cooking decent food, and generally staying awake for long stretches of time. Doesn't sound stressful, but it's all in the company you keep, Baby.

Monday was my birthday, so Film Buff, Dad and I went to see CloverField. Fun, but not that profound. Just what I expected. Dh was sweet to me, preparing Fondue for us all, and encouraging me to skip out for an hour before dinner with two of my dear, dear friends. They took me to have coffee and wonderful conversation. More on them later, too--Can't tell you how blessed I am to have friends that love me so much.

And now, it's Wednesday. Nature Girl goes on a Surveyor's walk today with Brownies, Sky goes to the Dr. for a check up on his casted hand, and we have school. Guess I'd better stop blogging and get on with it all!

Look for weekly update on our school coming Friday! And check out the new Well-Trained-Mind Forums--aka The Hive. I'm *this* close to becoming a Worker Bee! (that's an insider joke)

My First Weekly Report!

2008-01-18T21:08:00.000-05:00

This is so exciting! I guess I have to make an official request to Jessica at Trivium Academy to be put on the list, but here's our week in review until it's official--it will still be our week in review when it's official, it'll just be official. (You will not continue to read if I don't stop this, will you? I do this all the time irl.) I'm just going to do Nature Girl's, because it's the first time.

Nature Girl had a good week. We have noticed a bit of a change in her attitude at times, which I attribute to very early hormones. (Did you know girls can start hormonal activity (THAT kind) at 7?)

We always start the day with devotions from Little Visits with God. It is the perfect devotional for us, kind and sweet. I can tell when we skip a day. Nature Girl made several important connections with the material this week, and that was rather nice.

LA: She started Spelling Workout C last week, and has breezed thru 4 lessons already. She did two this week, earning perfect spelling scores on the tests. She continued Adventures in Phonics; today she reviewed the syllable "ture." We are on page 75, working about 4 pages a week (we started last year).

MATH: In Saxon 3, she is learning multiplication, and had an assessment today. She did fine. She's a little afraid to be tested on new things, but lots of practice and time helps her feel more confident. I decided we need to make sure to do flash cards almost every day, outside of school time. I have been giving her one side of the math workbook sheet during class, and telling her to finish the other side for the next day. I'm trying to prepare her for homework at public school.

HISTORY: Ah, fun, fun! The Vikings have been good to us this week. As you can see from the pictures, we read several wonderful books, made Viking Bread (which was horrible but fun to make--there's something wrong with the recipe in the Activity Guide), and Nature Girl and her daddy made the Viking Longship from the Viking Treasure Chest. I highly recommend this resource! I think even 6th graders could get something out of it. We also did the Viking Mythology poster and stickers from the VTC, and next week will try to get to the other stuff (sundial, Runes--won't do fortunes with them, just copy some for fun--another poster, and a chess-like game that may be too hard for her). Oh, and I also want to make the house from the AG. Nature Girl gave two nice narrations, pictured.

SCIENCE: Nature Girl took her mini-microscope from Tasco outside to observe snowflakes. It was so fun! We really had wonderful weather--lots of windy, snowy fun. She played around in the creek, and generally appreciated the out-of-doors this week.

LATIN: I let her do her latin flash cards by herself, as well as a page or two in Prima Latina. I had to be gone an awful lot with Sky this week, so one day I just assigned independent work for Nature Girl, and she did really well. I'm amazed at her retention of Latin--we don't even get to it every week, but she rarely forgets the vocab from week to week. Of course, there are only about 30 or 35 words, plus a few phrases.

We didn't get to music this week, except for Choir. Our kids choir at church is taught by a wonderful public school teacher who is a member of our congregation. She volunteers her time, and also sings in the adult choir. What a voice that woman has--a sweet soprano with the biggest heart! I love that my daughter gets the benefit of her gifts.

I think that's it for the week. Oh, and I don't assign reading to NG--she devours books all by herself. She just finished a Nancy Drew and Caddie Woodlawn (a repeat favorite). We finished our read-aloud, The Borrowers, so we need to find another one. I will assign her Bulla's Viking Adventure, because I remember reading it as a kid and loving it.

Hope your week was lovely!

He Loved His Mother (or, This will get me in trouble with some of you)

2008-01-16T22:51:00.000-05:00

As a classical home educator, I feel I must inform the Blogosphere (is that one g or two?...) regarding an important contribution to the musical education of our children. As we strive for a history centric curriculum full of connections between traditionally segregated subjects, I thought this little ditty particularly appropriate for Year One (Ancients) of the history rotation. Enjoy.
http://members.aol.com/quentncree/lehrer/oedipus.htm

Later:
Oh dear, it's not the song, only the lyrics. I searched for the actual performance on YouTube, but only came up with video of "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park," and others. Which was, actually, ok with me, as I love TL, and didn't know those videos were out there! Perhaps someone could use that one--let me know what the cross-curricular connection would be. Oh! Almost forgot--there *is* a wonderful "Elements" song. The entire periodic table, sung by Tom Lehrer. There ya go--sometimes it takes a while to find the perfect resource. I think out loud, I blog outloud, I discover out loud. Aren't you happy with me?

Me, Only Thinner!

2008-01-16T16:09:00.000-05:00

So I'm surfing The Well-Trained Mind (only the BEST homeschooling message board EVER...) and someone posts their "Meez." Since I don't have a picture of me on this site, I thought I'd try to make one. I'm totally hopeless at these sorts of things, but not afraid to experiment!
So here she is--Chris as a Meez--If only I could get into those jeans! lol
Does anyone know how I can shrink this to fit neatly into the corner under the bike picture? It's just so...
Tacky?

Update: I made a different MEEZ and successfully shrunk it to fit in the corner. Yea, Me!

Nature Girl's K and Grade 1 Nature Journal

2008-01-12T18:11:00.000-05:00

Nature Girl spends a lot of time outside, especially lately, as it's been spring-like weather. I like to encourage her appreciation of God's creation, so I have her keep a nature journal. Unfortunately, we haven't done a lot this year! Here are some examples of her work in Kinder and Grade 1.
How do we do nature study? Easy--we just go for a walk or to the backyard (we have 20 acres to explore). Whatever catches Nature Girl's eye is fair game. She draws it and puts the page in her 3 ring nature study binder. If you are looking for guidance, I highly recommend Cindi Rushton's Nature Study the Easy Way. She gives great ideas for how to build a beautiful journal, complete with quotations, poems, Bible verses, and examples of her children's work. It's an encouraging resource.

Our School Room

2008-01-12T16:35:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of our schoolroom. We live in a lovely, 4 bedroom house in the middle of the woods. We have a walk-out basement where we've set up our schoolroom. Dd 7 has a pretty big area, with an art section and an academic area. Ds 18 has a large desk, a couch by the windows, and a shelf, at the other end of the room. The pool table is in the middle of the room, but I couldn't post the picture of it because of size limits. (Besides, it was covered with unfolded laundry!) To the left of ds' desk is a large couch against a set of windows, and to the right is the laundry room. We don't use the fireplace (but wouldn't that be nice?!).
I write his assignments on his white board, and he erases them as he goes. Just click on the pictures and they will enlarge to full screen.

How I Got the Title of My Blog

2008-01-09T23:22:00.001-05:00

I post frequently on the Well-Trained Mind's homeschooling message boards, and they have requested a little more info about this blog. I am so new at this that I don't even know how to add a comment section here, so I get all the comments at the WTM board! But I'm learning.
Someone is bound to ask about the title, Twilight and Sunrise. I never know exactly how much to share publicly, but I guess it's ok to answer this one. One of my family members struggles with addiction and cannot currently live at home. It's a heartbreaker, for sure. (channeling my inner Minnesotoan--if that's even a word) I was thinking the other day about people's need to know they are loved, not because of how they behave, but because of who they are. Don't we all think, deep down, "If you knew me, could you love me?" I know that's a common thought among people who have screwed up big time. So, as I often do, I started humming a little nonsense tune and fitting words into it. I know there's a poem in here somewhere, but I got to
If you knew me, would you love me?
(then something something something,
then)
I love you
good and bad,
light and dark,
twilight and sunrise.
Sunrise happens to be a significant place name for my loved one.
Anyway, I just thought it would be nice to make a blog about the "whole thing--" you know, good and bad, ups and downs, all the things life is.
I love that wonderful poem about life being a "dappled thing"-- what is it, "In Praise of Dappled Things?" or something like that. That's how I feel about this life--it's such a mix of that which is lovely and that which sucks. (oops--can I say sucks in a blog post?) Some people call it giving thanks for the thorns. I'm ok with that, because I know the creator of those thorns, and I trust he is good.
Thorns, twilight, shadow, sucky stuff--it's all the refining, you know. It's all used for our good. How can that be?
I just know more certainly now that God is. Just is. That's enough.
So, here's to the whole of life, in all it's murky, stinky, hilarious, beautiful, stunning, upsetting, big-deep-breath-here-we-go-ness. Gotta love it.
Oh, and the picture? One I took (yes *I* took it!) in Sweden. I just love it, and come to find out, it had the proper twilighty-sunrisey colors in it. How about that.

Here We Go

2008-01-08T13:06:00.000-05:00

Hello, All
I've decided I spend so much time on the message boards at Well-Trained Mind (a wonderful homeschooling resource) that I would go ahead and start a blog. I must warn you, I'm not much of a writer. I write as I talk, and my talk is full of pauses, reconsiderations, and asides. I don't punctuate well, and I over-use parentheses and dashes. If you can stand that, as well as strong opinions, and you are interested in the musings of an over-40, Christian mom of three, then read on.