The True Meaning Of Christmas Redeemed Again

Do you know, my younger son actually wrote an essay about the true meaning of Christmas this morning?  The amazing part about this is that I hadn’t assigned it.  He just wanted to write it, and so he did.

When I talked about Christmas redeeming itself in the last post I could have never dreamed of the miracle that we would experience this Christmas season.  Past Christmases have felt void, and without room for Jesus (how ironic).  But this Christmas he is everywhere it seems, peeking around every corner.  His love is everywhere that I turn, and his opportunities to love are everywhere as well.  This is a Christmas to remember!

I am overwhelmed by the generosity of others in response to the basic needs of our family as well as those around us in need.  God is showing His love in amazing ways, and I am forever grateful.

God sees and loves us, as we see and love others.  Jesus was a humble man, and his amazing love humbles me.  Oh, that I was able to serve and love him even half as much as he loves and blesses me.

While I can’t express all that I treasure in my heart and mind right now, here are some words that represent what I am thinking . . .

. . . a family Christmas card from the grateful heart of someone in prison . . .

. . . a dear sweet man, living under a bridge, grateful for warm boots this Christmas . . .

. . . three children with not only a Christmas gift this year, but a few other little things that they want and need as well . . .

. . . a beautiful new baby, the ninth child, but loved every bit as much as the other eight before him . . .

. . . the child of the King that calls us his sisters and brothers . . .

May each of you experience God’s overpowering love this Christmas, and God Bless all of you!

-The Whole Social Homeschooler Family

Redeeming Christmas

In all honesty, Christmas has lost something for me over the years.  It is supposed to be the happiest time of the year, but somehow it has gotten all goofed up. 


Christmastime for me is when the house is busting at the seams with toys, and I’m having trouble getting into the “Christmas spirit” because I know that there are more coming.  


It’s hard when it’s the time of year when everyone is asking, “So are you done with your Christmas shopping yet?” as innocent as can be, and I am more worried about  how I am going to pay my bills . . . let alone have extra to buy presents for ANYONE . . .  especially my kids.  (Something that they are truly wishing for . . . not toys.)


In fact for the last two Christmases we didn’t even bother putting up a tree.  We “played the part” at the appropriate Christmas get togethers, but we just weren’t feeling it.


This year I’m finally beginning to realize what the problem is . . . what the void and disconnect is.  And it’s NOT the fact that we don’t celebrate “Santa” in our home. 


We decided to celebrate Jesus instead, but were at a loss for exactly how to do that in conjunction with the “Santa” in all of our get togethers over the holidays.  Where was there room for Jesus? 


We decided not to go to anyone’s house for Christmas starting this year.  Maybe we could begin a change as a family unit, and serve others on that day.


It’s not even our first Christmas at home, and already a change is happening.  The tree is up.  Our families are focusing on those that are in need in our area with excitement and purpose.  One grandma is knitting gloves, and the other is spending time and money to help fill the needs of others.  The ones that they are helping to serve are personal friends of ours, some are homeless and some are simply in need, and the excitement is mounting.  This is what is important!  This is what matters!  


This is what Christmas is all about!  Jesus!  Serving Jesus by serving others is far more important than a present under the tree . . . it is a way of life.
If someone gives me something that is only meant to serve me superficially (it doesn’t meet a need in my life), and if I can’t use it so serve others, I DON’T WANT IT!  


Temporary pleasures will never be worth the same as something warm for a homeless man,  or something that creates a smile on a struggling woman’s face.


Yes, this Christmas is more.  This is the Christmas that Christmas redeems itself . . . through the love and generosity of us and the ones that we love.  Now THIS is the Christmas I’ve been missing!  The greatest present “under the tree” is not for me or the kids, and that’s just fine with me!  WE prefer it that way!!  We’ve already received the greatest gift of ALL TIME . . . Jesus . . . and HE has made all the difference!!


Lord, watch over those that have not, and continue to use those that have to provide for them.  Watch over those without shelter in this bitter cold.  We pray this in Jesus’ name.  Amen

Check This Out!

I don’t know if you have noticed yet, but we now have a new page on the blog.  Clicking on the links on the “Show Some Homeschool Pride!” page will take you to our shops at CafePress. 

My hope is that, in the future, these products will feature scenes from other homeschooling families learning and having fun as well.

There is a beauty and wonder found in homeschooling, and we want to celebrate that.

The proceeds from any sales at our shops will be used not only to support our homeschool family, but others as well.

Thank you for reading, and may God lead and bless your homeschooling efforts, as he’s blessed ours.

                              -The Social Homeschooler

Lewis, The Friendly Repo Man-Part 2

As a said before in the last post, our first year of homeschooling was during an extremely tough year, for many reasons.  But our finances, or lack thereof, played a huge role in the stress of that year.  There were many times when I wondered why I had felt called to start homeschooling that year, of all years!  But God was with us . . .

He was with us when we my hubby had no job for six months, and then found one finally that paid a lot less then jobs he’d had before, but it was income . . . just before the unemployment ran out. 

He was there when we went to a real estate office to talk to a financial service representative about getting out of our big monthly payment, and moving to a home with a smaller one.  And He was there when the man at the office gently told us that he thought that bankruptcy was a better option for us, and he gave us the name and recommendation of a bankruptcy attorney to talk to.

He was there as my husband and I sat outside our house, in the car, and cried together.  He was there as we dried the tears of our humiliation and shame over the situation, and geared up to walk in the house and face our children and the babysitter.

He was there at the attorney’s office and in bankruptcy court, as time and time again our financial situation was laid bare and spoken about in front of strangers.  He was with us when so many others in the trustee’s office that day had attorneys that were unprepared, and ours was prepared for anything.  He was there as I felt compelled to pray over the ones that were caused extra pain by the incompetence of their legal representation.

And he was there as we prepared to move away from our first home as a married couple, and the only home our children had ever known.  He was there when we thoroughly cleaned our house and leased van in preparation to give them back to the bank, and we tried to show our children how to be honorable in bad situations.

And he was there when Lewis came to our door . . .

We had been working frantically to move everything that we could before the van had to go back.  We didn’t have the money to rent a moving van, and we were already working against time to get out of the home before the bank took possession.  We only needed to move a few more loads of belongings that wouldn’t fit in a car.  It was a Wednesday or Thursday when Lewis came to our door and knocked.

My hubby had taken the van to work, and was away as I answered the door. 

Lewis was a kind looking man, probably about the age of my father.  He looked at me and asked gently about the van.

“My husband has it and isn’t here now.”

“Are you willing to give the van back?”

“Yes, we are more than willing to give it back.  We understand that it is not ours to keep.”

Handing me his card with his name and cell phone number on it.  “Then call me, and we can set a time to meet.  I can meet you here on Saturday.”

“Oh, thank you!  We will be calling you later today to set that up.”

I said good-bye and closed the door with relief.  And here was God’s grace and mercy again, in this man named Lewis.

My husband called later to set up an “appointment” for the next day, and I sighed.  Now we had just enough time to move what we couldn’t move without the van.  There would be no removal of the van in the night, no surprise.  We had the grace and mercy of a little more time to move.

We made many trips between the two houses the next couple days, but once again God had provided for us . . . through a man named Lewis.  Praise God!

___________________________________________________________

As many of you know from my blog, we have since gone through another period of unemployment.  This time we were already at a point of living on less of an income, and we were able to live off of the unemployment income and pay our bills.  My hubby has again found a job . . . just as he would be set to lose unemployment insurance with so many right now.  Please pray with me now for them.

Lord, there are so many that are hurting financially right now.  And worse than that, there are many that can not find a job right now, and are losing their unemployment . . . the only income that they have.  We could have very easily been one of them.  There are so many whose hearts are breaking.  Please watch over those in need, and continue to provide employment opportunities and provision for them during this time.  And thank you for all of the blessings that you offer us every day.  Lord we pray this in Jesus’ name.  Amen

Lewis, The Friendly Repo Man

Did the title get your attention?!  I thought it might! 

It has been a few years since Lewis and I met, for the first (and hopefully last) time, but for some reason I was thinking about him today.

This is the time of school year where many of us struggle a bit.  It’s almost Christmas, the kids aren’t playing outside maybe as much as they were, and we are in this for the long haul.  If Wednesday is the hump day of the week, then this is the hump we must hurdle of the school year.

But where does Lewis figure into all of this?  I’m getting there. 

Every school year has it’s ups and downs, but what happens when your year has more downs than ups?  This was the way of our first homeschool year.

Our first homeschool year was a year of a learning the ways of homeschooling, homeschooling with an infant in the house, watching our finances go down the drain in bankruptcy after a layoff, giving back our house and car to the bank and moving away from the only home our children had ever known kind of year.  It wasn’t always pretty, and it definitely wasn’t easy. 

Our old home wasn’t near any homeschool activities or support groups, and other than the online part of our support group, I was pretty much flying blind.  And to top it off, I really had no real money for homeschool resources.  But God was with us . . .

To Be Continued . . . Come back and meet Lewis next time here at Social City Homeschooler.

Pray With Your Whole Heart!

The following is another guest post from my friend Jessica.

Once again, this brings up something meaningful for all of us to think about . . .

__________________________________________________

When I was in 8th grade Sunday school, my teacher Mr. H gave me something to think about. His lesson was about praying with your whole heart, with feeling and emotion!

As you sit in church this Sunday, listen to those around you and to yourself. I promise no matter the faith, you will hear people just reciting verbatim prayers and liturgy. In our church it’s the Lord’s Prayer, and confessions, and every responsive prayer …

There is NO feeling, there is no heart and no love… it’s sad!

Try this reading this as you normally would:

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory, forever and ever.
Amen.

Felt kinda like you where racing didn’t it? Now try it this way; read the bold with as much feeling as you can muster and take your time:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory, forever and ever.
Amen.

I can’t pray, sing praises, or follow responsive prayer this way without getting misty eyed! I would rather sound a little different and lag behind a little, and get more out of my church going experience then just going through the motions.

Think about your kids for a moment.  They follow your example.

If you’re just going through the motions, how do you think they’re going to view church or their faith once they’re old enough to follow on their own? Now if you really, really ENJOY church and you’re getting something from your experience, your kids will see this and want this for themselves.

Dear God, please be with us as we follow on your path, help us to pray with love and meaning and to your glory always. Amen.

Jessica

Loving Our Social Time

 

 

 

I have to laugh! Ha ha ha  

Sorry, like I said, I had to laugh!

Admittedly, there are some closest to me that are probably tired of hearing me joke about the whole “socialization issue”.

You see, I’m the stinker that will catch my children heavy in social conversation with their *gasp!* friends, and say out loud sarcastically in public places, “Wow, you’re such an unsocialized homeschooler!”  Imagine my amused surprise when a fourth grade teacher at the city park thought I was serious, and anxiously reassured me that the boys were “just fine”!  My younger son had just spoken to him, and is doing fourth grade work.  I had a hearty chuckle over that one, and reassured him that I was only joking about the whole homeschooler/socialization issue.   I don’t think he got the joke.  Oh, well . . .

The thing is, it still amazes me that it is such an issue for so many people.  It is almost literally every non-homeschooler’s first question and concern!  As if, as a homeschooling mom I just decided that my kids didn’t need to be social, and I locked each of them in a closet with their school books all day.  Uh . . . no!  But unfortunately, I believe, homeschooling is largely misunderstood in many ways and by many people.

Now about the look on my older son’s face in the picture above.  He loves to observe, and he’s just concentrating.  Glad I could clear that up, but I digress.  

The picture above was from a mock dinosaur dig, and my boys had a blast!  Just imagine, a whole lawn of homeschool kids split into small groups and playing paleontologist.  What joy, what fun, and they were all . . .  working together!

Every homeschooling mom is bombarded with the question of “socialization”, but in our support group there really isn’t much concern about it, because we know our kids are just fine in that respect.  The ironic thing is that as most of us are such social creatures, as homeschooling moms, we are constantly “exposing our children to social situations”. 

As a family, we personally take art classes, go to a gym day with our friends, we take enrichment classes within our support group and our community in general, we go to church, and we are hosting a small group bible study(among many other things).  We do all of this as a family, and we have many friends.  Just as my husband and I are very social people, our children are very social people.

There are those that are concerned about homeschoolers functioning in “the real world”.   We are learning and growing in the “real world” every day! 

Last night I had some “social time” . . . mommy style.  I love the support group that I belong to.  I love the ladies.  I love their friendship.  I love their faith.  I love watching our kids play together.  I love the fact that together we are always striving to give our kids the best in education, life, and love . . . and that we are on this journey together.

Lord, you know that we would love to live in a world where we are better understood by those around us.  If it is in your plan, please give us this blessing.  But even if that never happens, thank you for the blessing of you.  You love us and understand us and bless us as homeschoolers and moms.  You are working in us for your plan and vision for us, and the families around us.  Thank you for blessing us on this journey together.  Amen

Confession: I Love A Deal, And I’m Never Going Back

 

I didn’t used to be so concerned about getting a deal.  I was one of those blissfully naïve people that paid full price for everything and thought nothing of it.  But I’ve learned a thing or two the last few years.  I had to.  It was sink or swim time.  When the finances take a nose dive, you have no choice.  But, I have to say, in the end it made me a smarter woman.

Being a homeschooling mom has also forced me to be even more conscience of my purchases.  See the picture above.  That is one awesome easel.  It’s a classroom quality easel, and I never could have paid full price for it normally.  The local educational resource store had this easel on clearance.  It was missing the little tray that holds the paint, and was marked down from about $80 to $20.  Sounds good to me!

Recently I needed a new winter coat.  The old one didn’t fit right anymore.  A local store had a sale on their coats ($16.99), but they weren’t that great, quality wise.  Head down the road to the thrift store.  I walked into the thrift store and found a really nice down winter coat for $16.99 that was much better made than the coat at the last place.  But wait . . . it was 50% off that day.  It was only about $9 after tax.

Today my younger son and I went out to a restaurant to celebrate our birthdays together.  We had a delicious meal, and chocolate sundaes at the end of the meal.  Because our birthdays are less than two weeks apart, we both used our free birthday meal certificates.  My only cost was the tip.

I am learning to be a good steward of what God has given us, and I refuse to go back!

How are you able to save money in ways that blesses your family?

 

Social Disconnect Or Simply A Different Life Path?

I admit it, I am probably not stereotypical for society’s view of what a typical homeschooling mom looks like.  I am probably not stereotypical for society’s idea of a typical Christian mom these days either.  But is that so wrong?

I am proud of being a homeschooling mom.  It is extremely satisfying to watch my children learn and blossom.  I saw a comment somewhere from a non-homeschooler about homeschooling parents making their kids “as stupid as they are”.  Oh please!  

With the wealth of resources available to us we are learning things as a family that my husband and I had never learned in all of our years of school. 

My wish is like that of Jim and Karen Stobaugh, founders of For Such A Time As This.  We had the joy of listening to their son, Peter, speak at a homeschool convention earlier this year.  Listening to this bright and articulate young man was like listening to a man well beyond his years in wisdom and grace.  According to Peter, his parents’ wish was for “their ceiling to be his floor”.  Their wish was that their children would far exceed the path that they had tread.  What an inspiration for homeschooling families everywhere!

My husband and I not only have this wish for our children as students, but as Christians as well.  As a family we do not value many of the things that others do.  Like Jesus, our family is not just those related to us by blood, but by faith.  We look to God to teach us how to better serve in the ways that He sees fit, rather than to value what society cares about.  Of course, just as in our academic studies, in faith we are always learning and growing. 

And I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Lord thank you for your guidance in life and in family.  Please continue to provide for us in the ways that you see fit.  Help us to learn and grow to your glory and honor.  Amen.

My Secret Weapon: Wilton

There is so much online that no one can know everything that is out there.  But here is another thing that I love.  I love it because, with this site, I can give my nut allergic sons something like what others take for granted . . . an awesome professional tasting birthday cake!

Remember Wilton, the company that sells all of the wonderful cake and muffin pans?  Well, like most companies these days they have a website, and part of it is devoted to recipes!  Mmm, yummm!

While I can’t generally go to a bakery and just order a cake for my children for their birthdays (unless it's one of the few nut-free bakeries), I know I can go to Wilton's recipe page and find just the recipe that I want.  I can adjust the ingredients to suit their allergy (ie. use vanilla extract in place of almond extract) And I know that it will even just as good as any bakery cake, probably even better.

All of the cake, cookie, cupcake, dessert, filling, and icing recipes you could want, all in one place.  After trying one of their recipes, you'll never want to buy a can of frosting or a box cake again!

And if you need ideas for decorating your cake, brownies, etc.  they have that too!  Click here for ideas for decorating your favorite baking projects.

The Excitement Of Learning

I found a lid on a pot that my son had been using to boil water for tea.  Why did he use a lid?  Flashback to our earlier science lesson about Venus . . .

We are using Apologia's "Exploring Creation With Astronomy" for our science textbook this year, and in our study about Venus it talks about the thick atmosphere of clouds being like a lid on a pot of boiling water.  The lid keeps the heat in the pot (and the water boils faster).  The atmosphere on Venus keeps it hot all day and night.

Remembering that, my son wanted his tea water to boil faster so he put a lid on the pan while he heated the water.  He was heating tea water and performing a science experiment at the same time! 

Isn’t homeschooling great?  I love the fact that I know exactly what he is learning, and we can use that to make connections between “school time” and “regular family time”.  We congratulated him on his experiment, and hopefully another lesson was forever cemented in his mind. 

Hmm . . . I wonder which awesome Apologia science book we’ll decide to use next school year?

Yes, I’d Like The Garment Of Praise Please

The following two verses have come to me as the “Verse of the Day” from Bible Gateway the today and yesterday.  I have been receiving a verse everyday for awhile now but these two are especially timely.  I’ll tell you why they mean so much below each verse below.

Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
I want to believe this so bad right now.  With the chaos of life swirling around me, I need for this to be true.  And the beautiful part of this is it is.  The problem isn’t that it isn’t true, the problem is that for a time I became caught up in the chaos, and took my eyes off the blessing.  Instead of delighting in all that the Lord has blessed us with, I let myself stay in frustration over what isn’t going well right now. 
 
Our school year is going well, and we have everything we need to have an abundant school experience this year.  Grammy blesses us with the means to provide some of our extracurricular activities.  We are healthy (for the most part), our children have clothes to wear (in abundance thanks to hand-me-downs), and food to eat.  We have a beautiful 60 year old house with beautiful original woodwork to live in, and we can pay all of our bills.  We have a beautiful little family, and a wonderful group of friends.
 
But a couple of people have been upset with me lately over petty things, the house needs so much work, and our house organization is . . . not working right now.  My husband still does not have steady work, and the unemployment is not going to go on forever.  The job situation is bleak and I’m sick of not having money.  Why am I focusing on this?!  Where is my delight?  He is taking care of us!  And this is where today’s “Verse of the Day” comes in . . .

Psalm 51:12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
I’ve had so much joy in the past, and now I find myself getting bogged down.  That’s just where Satan wants me.  Why do I let him do that to me?!  Argggg!!


I was talking to a spirit led friend of mine the other day.  She told me about the importance of positive affirmation in the face of adversity.  When we are negative in our statements about what is happening in our life, we let Satan steal our joy.  It burns us out physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.


“I'm Trading My Sorrows” as Darrell Evans says in his song.  I am making a conscience decision to believe that God will bring my husband steady work.  He will continue to provide for us.  I will focus on doing what I can do to better organize our home, and continue to enjoy this wonderful homeschooling journey that we are on.  We will enjoy the blessing of living where we are living until God moves us.  I will try to bless my husband, and others that bless me in so many ways.  And I will serve those I can in the ways that God provides for me to do so.  I will be grateful for what God has provided for us, instead of focusing on what we don’t have.


I will put on “a garment of praise, instead of a spirit of despair" as Isaiah 61 says. 

Thank you Lord for my family and friends. Please help them to know the same blessing and joy that they bring me.  Please give us all “a garment of praise, instead of a spirit of despair” and help us to focus on your blessing so that you may restore the joy that only you can give, especially in the tough times.  Amen

Fast And Fun Treats

 
As I’ve mentioned before, we do not have a lot of money these days.  To be creative and frugal is to make sure that my kids don’t feel like the jingle in my pocket is as small as I know it is.  My mother-in-law actually complimented my husband and I once on the ways that we find to help our kids not to “miss out on things”.  She’s a good woman.  She appreciates me.  She’s in her 70s.  That might come in handy for her later . . . wink, wink LOL ;)  Actually she’s a feisty woman, and I love her, but I digress . . .
I love it when I can look in the pantry and just whip up a surprise for my family as a special treat.  It amazes me how much time and money is wasted on premade treats.  There are so many easy treats to be made that taste so much better.  Here are a few of our favorites. 

Why buy hot cocoa mix?  Do you have Hershey’s baking cocoa, water, milk, sugar, vanilla, and a little salt?  Why not try Hershey's hot cocoa recipe?  It tastes so good, and it’s not that much harder than making cocoa from a mix.  Too hard?  If you follow the recipe for a single cup of cocoa (it’s listed as a variation of the recipe I linked to), well, it can’t be much easier than that. 

Want chocolate milk? 
-Put 2 tbsp. each of baking cocoa and sugar in a mug. 
-Add a dash of salt.  Mix well. 
-Add just enough boiling water to make a thick chocolate syrup.  (Stop here and you have syrup for ice cream, etc.) 
-Add 1 cup of milk, and mix well.  That’s it.  And Hershey’s has a dark chocolate baking cocoa too ;) 
Oh, and their recipes for chocolate cake and frosting on the baking cocoa container are soooo good!

Another family treat is cinnamon rolls, but why add any more dyes and preservatives then you have to.  Remember the pizza dough balls that I mentioned buying?  I don’t just use them for pizza, oh no! 
-Just stretch a ball of pizza dough into a giant rectangle.
-Spread a thin layer of butter over dough.
-Next sprinkle on a thin layer of flour, brown sugar, (and maybe even apple sauce if you have it). 
-Sprinkle a little cinnamon. 
-Starting at the short end, roll the dough into a tight tube.  Take a pizza cutter and cut the tube into slices.  Flip the slices on their sides on a greased cookie sheet, and bake about 10 minutes at 450 degrees (watch and adjust this if necessary). 
-For glaze just mix a little melted butter (about 2 tbsp.) and powdered sugar until you form a thick paste.  Add a splash of milk and about 1 tsp. of vanilla.  Mix well.  When it’s the right consistency, you are done!

They taste so much better than store bought!
Maybe some day I’ll add pictures so that I can really make your mouth water ;) 

But till next time . . . God Bless!

The Call Of Apple Cider

When the leaves change, and orchards open, it’s time to buy apple cider.  Pies, apples, donuts with cinnamon and sugar . . . they are start calling.  So we decided to go to an apple orchard as our field trip this afternoon.  We have only lived here a short time, so the question became, which orchard?   We ended up picking one with lots to see and do.

We picked the wrong one.  Have I mentioned that I’ve been having an unusually hard week?  Yeah, I have so we’ll move on.   In the past we have had some fantastic family outings at other apple orchards.  This one was grossly overpriced, confusing in it’s layout, and you literally could not do anything for free there. :(

So we went down the road to the next orchard and stopped in their store.  We bought a bag of our beloved Honeycrisp apples (1/2 peck for $2.50 less than the last place), and a gallon of apple cider.  We didn’t go on an overpriced wagon ride, or pet animals at an expensive petting zoo.  We’ll use the money that we saved for something even more fun another day.  Maybe we’ll even try another orchard before the season is over.
Sometimes that’s just the way it goes.   But in the meantime, I have a fantastic husband and kids, and a few fun photos. 

It’s a crazy, goofy life but I still love it!

Mama Said There Would Be Days Like This

 This has been such a crazy last couple weeks at our house.  The drainage from the kitchen sink and dishwasher isn’t draining.  We have boiler issues just before the cold season starts.  We way too many smaller projects demanding our attention.  And then there’s the children . . .

I love my children, and I love homeschooling with them.  It is a passion that we share as a family.  This week has been especially challenging though.  The little one has back molars coming in.  My biggest child (my hubby) and I are not getting a good night’s sleep these days.  The little wiggle worm in between us has something to do with that.  Her brothers are having a hard time settling down at night right now.  They stay up too late talking and whispering some nights, which of course makes for some testy moments during school.  We are working on making the time before before bed a more relaxing transition.

Transitions are hard.  There is no way around it.  All summer we stayed up late, and slept in.  There are days that sticking to a reasonable bedtime is a struggle.  Our little one’s bedtime needs hamper that.  But ultimately we need to buck up, and plow through.  We are the parents and that’s our job.  If we don’t hold our kids accountable to the rules that we set we pay for it in the end, and so do they.

Lord please help all of us to get a good nights sleep tonight, and bless us with an even better school day tomorrow.   Amen

The Lone Heron

When my husband first saw this Heron he couldn’t resist the temptation to get a few good photos.  As a family we love nature and photography, so why wouldn’t he?  We were very delighted and surprised that the Heron “stayed put” after so many photos (some of them taken very near to him).  Even so, we walked gingerly and respectfully quiet toward him.  Through it all the Heron did get a little nervous at the end, but remained tolerant of our photos, and quiet “oohs and aaahs” at being so close to such a beautiful bird.
Sometimes I feel like that Heron.  He had taken a different path from the others, and was alone when we saw him.  In the same way our family is alone among other family members, in some of the choices that we have made.  We are so much happier now that we have made the choices that we have, but sometimes we get the feeling that we are being watched closely and observed.  Sometimes there is open encouragement and support, and sometimes not so much.

Some of our family thinks “that all kids should be in school”, and they are leery of our decisions.  “We are definitely NOT mainstream!”, they say.  So we don’t watch the latest TV shows, but we do watch some of the older wholesome TV shows online.   We educate our kids at home.  We work together, and watching educational videos are as much of a treat for our kids as watching a movie.  They read, and watch the news, and check out the weather radar online.  They take the classes that interest them at the co-op and in the community at nature centers and such, and play “pretend” rather than video games.  We do a lot of activities with other kids, and their families outside the home.  We visit friends after church on Sunday.  And we enjoy games together, like “Scrabble” and “On Assignment With National Geographic”.  Why does that make us so weird?

We all make different decisions for our families.  I don’t make the choices that you might. And you might not make some of the choices that I have.  When looking at me, learn to see things from my point of view before you form an opinion.  If you give me the gentle understanding and grace that I deserve, then I will be able to let you know me better.

I am looking forward to knowing you better as well!  If you have your own blog, let me know.  You may also drop me a line at my profile page.
Blessings ;)

From Grouchy To Great In A Matter Of Hours

Where we live the days are getting shorter.  The sun shines less, and the days are cooler. 

More often than not we have good days despite the gloomier days of Fall and Winter.Today is not one of them :(

I do know that there is pattern to our not so great days in school.  We are more likely to have a bad school day after a jam packed weekend, or a bad night’s sleep.  Seeing the patterns that lead to a good school day as opposed to a bad one is important.  Not every day is going to be great.  But it is important to empower our children with the tools to succeed in their studies as much as possible by instilling healthy sleep patterns. 

On the days that sleep is an issue, my patience with my children can work wonders.  But it is a temporary fix to a bigger issue.  On the Monday after a busy weekend, patience is also vital, but so is a good night sleep the next night.  Here’s hoping for a good nights sleep to all of us tonight, and a blessed school day tomorrow ;)

The Beat Of Both Drum And Heart

I was listening to "Creed" by Rich Mullins tonight.  It is one of my favorite songs.  It has a way of breathing life and meaning to this important but dusty, old creed that is refreshing to me.  It is amazing to me all of the things that we commit to memory, without first committing them to heart as well. 

Sometimes songs bring to mind related thoughts that are just as important, but unrelated to the song's intended message.  Tonight, listening to this song, I found myself focused on the drumbeat above all else.  That's saying a lot considering the amazing, and beautiful Hammer Dulcimer music featured there.  Wow!

The revelation to me seemed to be that while music and life are beautiful, without a regular drum or heart beat they can get horribly off track.   A band can practice a song until they have it down pat, but if the drumbeat isn't right it can mess everything up.  It's the same way with our heart.  I don't mean the human heart.  It's to fickle and fragile.  I mean the heart behind what we do during our time on earth.

If God is the power behind the beat of our heart, then we have His strength to lean on in the bad, and praise  for all of the good.  But without God, and a beat, life and music will never have the meaning that they were meant to have.

Lord may all know the beauty, and joy, of the beat given to my heart through you.  Amen



Also, praise God for the life and heart of a dear aunt that went to be with God this last week.