Selfishness

I’ve been frustrated today with the children and their lack of progress with training. I know the real issue is my reactions to their misbehaviors.  If I were to act immediately the results would be more encouraging. I know to cry out to Him, but His answer is sometimes requires more than I am willing to give,  ie; get up on time, you’ll be better prepared for the day, plan your meals, give of yourself .  I’ve realized that I am very selfish. 

Regarding the issues I am having with the children, I would really like to do boot camp fully but I feel unable to do so because I can’t empty the house of clutter and extra toys….. now I am just making excuses.  

Question

Is a correcting swat appropriate after every misdeed?  I am struggling with this idea.  But I have to admit that my current approach is not working.  At lunch today Sissy was told to me quiet and three times she began talking and the fourth I was talking to her in answer to her question.  DUH! Mum, follow through! 

My question is, if this happens, she disobeys a clear direction, do I swat?  If not what do I do?  Nothing else I’ve tried has worked. I know that giving her a roll of nickels and taking one away each time she disobeys would work but that be teaching her to love money over basic heart desired obedience.  Hmmmm, time to post at the shed.

We will be celebrating Chay’s birthday tomorrow, his actual birthday is Tuesday but Daddy will not be here then so the cake and presents will be given tomorrow.  He’s really excited, Grandma and Uncle Aaron are coming over and we’ll have decorations, cake, presents, the whole shebang!

The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

We went and saw the new “Chronicles of Narnia” movie today.  Sissy and Moo came with us, it was pretty intense for Matthew but he was brave through the scary parts and really seemed to enjoy the rest. 

I can see how some have drawn a conclusion about it being allegorical.  I’m not completely sure about all of the connections which have been drawn by some authors,  but some things were pretty obvious.  Specifically, the sacrifice of Aslan (innocent blood) for Edmund (guilty party) resulting in the “resurrection” of Aslan, mirroring the death of the innocent Christ and His resurrection on the third day. 

I also thought the naming of Peter (while being crowned king) as the “King Peter the Magnificent”, was a pretty obviously a reference to Saint Peter being the foundation of the Early Church (the first Pope say some).

There is more I would like to say but I have a lot to do to get ready for Chay’s party tomorrow, more later!

Oh my, what a wonderful Christmas we have had!  Family and friends have visited, we’ve gone out to visit other family and even ventured into Toronto to visit Dh’s  grandmother. 

During the visit to Toronto we used the subway to save frustration with traveling in the dowtown core and to give the children the experience of riding the train.  Our dc really enjoyed the trip but I was a nervous wreck.  Toronto is so totally different from our small town home.  I was as jumpy as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.  We got on the elevator to go down to the trains and I smiled at a man, well, looked at me as though I were nuts.  I forgot that people in big cities don’t look at one another.  So disconcerting.  After that I was afraid to look at anyone. By the end of the trip I was exhausted and definitely ready to get home.

We are starting back to our regular routine come Monday.  I’ve really missed the comfort of our schedule and the predictability of our daily activities.  During this week we have been cleaning and reorganizing a few things.  The children were given tonnes of toys and books so we’ve had to reduce the older ones and put a few away to make room.   Rebekah helped me clean the boys room, it took us almost 2 ½ hours to do everything.  Then working on her room took us almost 1 ½ hours. I am tired of sorting, cleaning, and organizing.  Not to mention vacuuming and dusting, but we’re almost done and  it’s been worth it.  All that remains to be done is putting up the last of the Christmas decorations and placing the bins back up in the loft.

This evening I will do our outline for the coming week and then I can take the weekend off and spend time playing with the kiddos, they’ve been pretty much ignored for past few days, poor munchkins.

We’ve made bachelor buttons, gingerbread cookies, butter cut out cookies, brownies, and now today we made fruitcake.  Our freezer is getting full!  My Dad has bought several different type of candies.  The house is decorated to the hilt and the yard is thickly covered in snow. Christmas may begin!

I actually still have to make orange crisp cookies, and maybe some more gingerbread cookies (I burnt the first two pans). I hadn’t made gingerbread before and I didn’t realize how quickly they bake, and burn.  My Mum will make some drop cookies and the shortbread cookies.  I haven’t made shortbread before.

Early Christmas Gift

My friend Jamie has sent me the book she told me about.  Its called; Surprised by Truth.  She also was kind enough to send me a copy of the catechism and a beautiful Christmas card.  I have read the introduction and first conversion story, that of Paul Thigpen.  What a round about route to Rome he took.  Yet still arrived non the worse for wear.

School

We have three days of school next week, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  I thought of taking the week off but the children do better following our schedule as much as possible.  We will not school the week between Christmas and New Year.  With all the company and going out visiting school would be too awkward.

Rebekah is doing well with the Saxon math.  I am actually really surprised to see how much she is able to do on her own.  I am pleasantly surprised.  Matthew is enjoying CCC Math I have assigned to him.  It’s nice to have some expectations each day, it gives them both something to shoot for.  We are still doing the same English programs; the children are progressing nicely through them.  They may finish before the end of the regular school year.

We have had the most fun in the last few days baking up a storm.  Dh brought home some really cute jimmies tonight, gingerbread men (which smell like gingerbread), some candy canes (which taste like peppermint) and some are snowflakes. So cute!

Tonight I made start cutout cookies again (we ate the last bunch, drat!) and we'll be taking them to homes school group to decorate with the children. Should be really fun. 

Grandad

Grandad is quite lonely, dh's aunt says he is carrying on but is really missing Grandma of course.  I wich he wasn't alone, it breaks my heart thinking of him all alone in the house.  Too sad.

Uncle Dink

My brother apparently is really into Christmas this year, he usually enjoys it but this year he is going nuts!  He's invited us all to his house Christmas eve and he's planned some crafts for the children.  He's really turning into a great uncle. 

Kid Funny

Oh, I almost forgot, Mymy said the cutest thing the other day.  He was asking for somthing called jingle bell milk.  "What is jingle bell milk?", I asked him.  Well he takes me to the fridge and gets out the EGGNOG!  Ha ha ha ha, I nearly peed!  Oh he is so funny!

I'm sorry if I offended anyone with my too strong post yesterday.  I do believe that lying to our children is a bad idea but I feel I was a little rude in how I put my concerns across.  I appologize.

Sick Children

Our boys are stilling sniffling and grumy, this cold seems to really be hangin on.  We usually get over a cold fairly quickly, but this one is stubborn. 

Busy Weekend

We have a really busy weekend coming up, home school group on Firday morning, a choir performance in the evening, then home school group choir performance on Saturday.  Sunday the children present their sunday school play and in the evening the choir is performing at our church.  Wow, I'm tired already just thinking about it!

Baking

We've started the Christmas baking, I have made Bachelor Buttons, brownies, and tonight buttery cut out cookies.  These last one were a new recipe and they turned out great!  Oooo I'd better get them out to the freezer (we have a big chest freezer in the shop) or we'll eat them all.  Next is fruit cake (this one is actually really yummy, Honest!) Bonbons, Ginger bread cookies, Short breads, and a few other things my hubby hasn't decided on yet.   A man with a cooking magazine in his hands is a dangerous thing Ha ha ha!

Decorating Too!

We have also decorated for the most part, my husband will be bringing in the Christmas tree soon and the lights are on their way up.   The shopping is all done, Hurray! And the cards are addressed, stamped and going in the mail box tomorrow!  Okay I am too ahead of the game, what am I forgetting?  Holiday paranoia syndrome has set in, yipes!

Okay, what is the deal with parents lying to their kids about Santa Claus?  It really bugs me that lying to them is okay "just about this one thing".  Honestly, it really drives me crazy.  Don't worry I'm not one of those tell-the-kids-the-truth-even-if-the-parents-don't-want-them-to-know types.  I honour other parents decision to tell their kids what ever they want.  But why lie to your children? 

As children we (my brother and sister and I) always knew Santa was not real, we still sat on his knee at the mall, left cookies and milk out for him, sang the songs, coloured the Santa pictures, and had a great time pretending.  But we always knew that he was not real. It didn't take away the fun of Christmas at all. 

When the kids find out that Santa is not real, are they going to wonder if Jesus is maybe not real either? 

Day out

We spent the day in the city today, yikes are we tired.  Dh decided we should get grocery today.  As with most trips to the Bay we spent more time at the thrift stores than at the grocery store.  I love thrift shopping, we all do. Ds#1 found a really neat truck today, its a rig which holds 44 dinky cars.  Wow, we were all impressed.  And it was a $1.00!  Did I mention I love thrift shopping? 

Family

We've been feeling under the weather for the last few days.  Ds#2 has what sounds like laryngitis and Ds#1 now has it.  Ds#3 starting with the fever this afternoon while we were out.  Dd seems fine, I'm extra glad to say, our Sunday School play is this Sunday (I think, I'd better check). 

Grandad is alone now, Aunt Bea had to go home on Wednesday so today was his first full day alone.  I've thought alot about him today, I can't imagine how lonely he must be.  I'll ask Dh to call him and see how he is doing. 

School

Because we've been feeling sick and sluggish our schedule this week has been pretty light, Dd has done most of her scheduled school work but Ds's 1 & 2 have done a little here and there. 

I've pretty much decided to go lightly with Ds's until 7 or 8 years old. Ds # 1 is 6 1/2 and I will continue with daily penmanship, math, and english (learning to read basically).  It takes only a combined 1 hour per day so I don't feel this is too much for him.  At the least it will teach him the discipline of sitting and focussing on less than really fun stuff.

Our Dd is loving Saxonmath, I have to say the more I read it, the more I like it to.  Strange, I have heard some negative things about it but so far we really like it.  To each his own I suppose.

We are all feeling under the weather.  Ds # 2 seems to have laryngitis.  He's our "screamer" so its a mixed blessing.  He is sad because he can't be heard easily and we are happy because we can't be heard screaming. I noticed a hoarsness in my throat today (of coarse, our choir performances begin this Saturday) and DS # 1 has a low grade fever.  Ah well I can't really complain, we get sick so rarely and recover quickly we are well looked after.

I am struggling with the idea of relaxed versus organized school for the children. Ds#1 does so well with a relaxed, more natural, approach to learning.  Our Dd on the other hand needs a firm schedule or she would learn nothing.  I have heard something about the concept of better late than early then I hear about four years olds reading.  Which is better, or is it a case of, better for which family, or even family member?  Hmmm food for thought.

How do you school?  Relaxed, unschooling, strict (school-at-home) type or somthing in between?  Do you use the same techniques for each student?  Does age factor into the learning style as well. 

from Grandma's funeral.  The funeral mass was so moving, beautiful.  Father Frank was so honest and kind. He shared how sometimes Grandma's great enthusiasm could be slightly problematic, so true.  Grandma had a zeal for the Lord, and a devotion to Mary that I don't understand or necessarily agree with but I honour her commitment. 

We found it hard to leave Grandad, knowing that after Aunt Bea goes home next Wednesday, he will be alone.  I know this time will have to come, but its hard to think of him sitting in a empty home.

The children are doing well, we'll be missing school tomorrow. We need to do some grocery shopping and some Christmas shopping, not to mention straightening up the house after time away and the upheavel of Daddy being away for almost three weeks. We'll get back to our routine Tuesday. Hurray!

thank you all for the expressions of sympathy, I appreciate the kind words.  Grandma is at peace, now the living need our support.  Grandad is doing well, he actually is able to rest now because he know she is out of pain.  Dh is coming home tonight and we will be going the the funeral on Friday or Saturday, we are not sure when the church will be available.  Grandad is insisting on staying in his home, I'm not sure how good an idea that is but it is ofcourse his decision.  Dh may be there during the week if he gets this job at Honda he is seeking.

Speaking of Dh's unemloyment, I wonder if the Lord allowed this long job search so dh would be available to support Grandad.  Also to teach us a thing or two I'm sure.

The children are doing well with school,  I just received Saxon Math 5/4 free so we will be using that starting today. I love freebies!

the funeral will probably be on Friday.   My dh will be home tomorrow and then we'll drove down Thursday for the funeralon Friday.  I am glad for Grandma and really sad for Grandad, they've been married 50 some odd years, he'll be so lonely.

My Mum has graciously agreed to drive the children and I down to Barrie tomorrow.  That way we can say good bye. 

At church today we were singing alot of praise songs and I really felt encouraged and up lifted.  At one point I even was excited that Grandma is going home, she gets to see Jesus!  I know the sadness and grief will come again. I really appreciate the measure of joy that God has afforded in this otherwise sad time.

Grandma has taken a drastic turn for the worse.  The doctors did the procedure to close the gap in the sac around her lung and reported that her lungs a literally full of cancer.  The family has decided to stop all treatment and even to have Grandma's IV removed.  It is a matter of hours a few days at the most. 

I am really bothered by the fact that they are having her IV removed.  It carries only saline to hydrate her.  It would perhaps prolong her life for few days but atleast she will not dehydrate and die that way.  This sucks.  

Enough for today.

I'm having an ongoing discussion with a friend I met at the shed (the message board for the Raising Godly Tomatoes site) and Jamie (her name) has really helped me understand the truth behind alot of misconceptions I had about the Catholic Church.  I don't understand everything, but most of my "big" questions have been answered.  I was really confused about what I thought to be the worship of Mary, now I understand it to be veneration, which is very different.  I asked her about what I thought was praying to Mary and I now understand it as asking Mary to pray for you.  She cannot answer prayers and has no power of her own,  she (Mary) intercedes for us, the way a friend or pastor does when we ask them to  pray for us.    Here's the Hail Mary incase you've never read/don't know it. 

Hail Mary full of grace the lord is with thee

Blessed art thou among women

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus

Holy Mary, Mother of God

Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

Amen

No worshipping there, just asking for help. 

Now don't get me wrong I still have major concerns and lots of questions but I really thought that was interesting.

Another thing, the ark of the covenant had angels adorning the top as ordered by God, the hebrew children followed a cloud and fire througth the desert the tabernacle had major gold adornment and special and yet the Catholics are slammed for having a few statues.  Perhaps I don't understand the depth of the problem, I realize there's alot I don't know.  But this has always bugged me.  If a little is okay then how do you know what is too much.  Why is a statue wrong if it helps you remember/think of God, Jesus or the help of Mary.  Isn't that the same a cross a protestant might wear?  I know some people who treat their Bibles as though they are living things which will be offended is set on the floor are tossed on the counter.  That is extremism. and every faith has them.  I'm sure some Catholics do worship the statue of Mary/Jesus etc or even worship Mary herself but there are people in every bunch who consistently miss the point.  Many christians ome close to or actually do (subconciously or not) woship their pastor or a TV evengelist.  Some worship money, their car, their kids. By woshipping I mean setting that are more important than God and what He would have for them and their lives.

My pastor's wife came over today to have tea.  We has a nice visit and the children were very well behaved. Yippee!  We talked for quite a while and really enjoyed our selves, its realy nice to talk to a grown-up I'll tell ya!

My brother and Dad went deer hunting this morning and saw nothing.  It would be so nice to have some venison for the winter but we may not get any. Too bad, venison stew is so delicious.

Dh is coming home on Sunday!  Yippee!  He’ll be home over night and then drive back on Monday.  I am excited!  One night home is not much but I’ll take what I can get. J  The children are really excited, we’ll have to make a special dinner for him to help him really miss being home! 

Good news, Grandma is going to be having the procedure after all.  This prodecure involves closing a gap in the lining which surrounds the lung.  Apparently this will help prevent her lungs from filling again and if she improves she may be able to have the operation to remove the breast cancer and perhaps even give her more time, maybe as much as a year. 

Secret Friend Party

The children are making gifts for their secret friends, we have the mugs of course and today they decorated a bag for each and will be making some other craft, exactly what we don’t know yet.  I had thought of doing can lantern but I don’t think I have the spray paint for the cans. I do have the candles and the time to do them but it would be better to make a craft that we already have all the materials for.

Is the Lord leading us/me to the Catholic Church?

I have been chatting more with my Catholic friend and a lot of questions are being answered for me.  Mary is not worshipped by Catholics, only venerated, and (big surprise for me) Bible does not, in fact, speak of brothers of Jesus but brethren, meaning “friends, believers”  I’m don’t understand all of it and I still have some doubts but perhaps Mary was ever Virgin as the Church believes. I’m still not sure where this is going, I don’t need to, I will wait for my husband and trust the Lord for His timing.

School

The new relaxed schedule is working well, we are still getting more done each day and are still feeling relaxed and enjoying school.  I thank the Lord for bringing us to this point and showing me the way to direct school more positively. 

Sissy has the goal of completing her daily schoolwork in cursive by December but I am not sure if we will stick to that or not. She stresses so much about errors that I don’t want her stressing about writing perfectly as well.  Hmmm, is the pressure good or counterproductive? We’ll pray about it.

             Matthew is progressing very nicely.  I introduced carrying/regrouping this past Monday and he has grasped it very well.  Repetition will cement the concept.  Michael and TJ are still working on letter sounds and counting to five.  I know and agree with the idea of better late than early but sometimes I want to rush them but I know that it will come in time.  I am thinking of buying the leap frog letter sounds fridge magnet for them for Christmas, I also wonder if some phonics audio tapes might be good.  Hmmmm, any ideas?

The children were very well behaved (Yippee!) and I was able to get almost all the things I went in for.  We purchased a mug for each secret friend and have bought candies to put inside.  The children will also be making a card for the secret friend and decorating some gift bags.  Our groceries cost less than I anticipated, which is really nice and I was able to buy some personal things that I had been putting off buying for a little while now. 

Police station

I went into the OPP station to get a police check done inorder to be able to do respite/releif work for the association for community living.  Mymy came in with me and the desk officer gave him a badge and a neat colouring book.  Mymy was particularly impressed with the badge as it is the same as on the officers uniform.  I thought it was really nice.

Grandma

Grandma now is showing signs of having low hemoblogin.  The implications of which I am not sure but it seems to be part of her body shutting down.  She has had little appetite for the last week.  Grandad is having an increasingly diggicult time, of course. I must pray for him.

All for tonight

Andrea

he's been away for a week now.  I know he's needed with Grandad and I am glad he is able to be there for him.  Dh tells me that Grandad is now realizing that Grandma will infact not be coming out of the hospital.  It's so sad to know how much it hurts him to realize he will soon be alone.  I praise the Lord for knowing both Grandad and Grandma are saved so they atleast have that peace and assurance of their destination.

Heading into the city

We are heading into the city tomorrow to do a little shopping for the children's secret friends.  They big reveal is on Saturday and the children are really excited to know who their secret friends are.  We will be doing grocery shopping as well. It will be a long day, so I am hoping the children will cooperate so we can enjoy ouselves.

Waiting on the Lord

I have been feeling drawn to the Catholic church, which is really weird considering I have been a staunch "anti-catholic" for most of my life.  I don't wish to offend anyone reading this, I'm just explaining how out of character this interest is.  I have been reading about infant baptism, Mary veneration, etc. I am still unsure about some of the doctrine, like transsubstanchiation (sp?) not to mention that it's just gross to even consider actually consuming flesh and blood, and purgatory.  I have nothing in my protestant Bible about these things.  I will be digging out my Grandmas Catholic Bible and read the seven book not included in the Protestant Bible.   I am not making any large gestures regarding this pull I feel to the Catholic church just waiting on my (nonpractising Catholic) husband before I make any decisions regarding where we go to church. God has really been moving in my husbands life and it is really exciting to see!  I know He has a plan for our lives and I am excited! Did I mention I am excited!

Andrea

Grandma's doctors are again saying that all they can do is keep her comfortable until she dies.  The procedure is too risky for her (she could have a heart attack on the table) and it will only prolong her life for a few days, maybe a weekor two, so the risk is not worth the possible outcome.  Dh is still down south and may be for sometime.  I'm glad he can be there to support Grandad but I sure miss him.

Homeschool Group Today

Just got home from our homeschool group.  We had a great meeting, we had choir practice and then the chidren watched a movie while the Mums did some planning regarding our bible study (Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit by Terri Maxwell) and had a chance to share a few prayer requests.  We also talked about parenting and Sheparding a Childs Heart and another book written by Tripps brother, Age of Opportunity.  I've read SCH but not AO.  I am thinking of borrowing it, apparently it's quite good.  We'll see, I felt SACH was good but the idea of removing a chlld from the room and have a big ceremonious spanking rather impractical for us,  May be great for others though.  Also mentioned Raising Boys by Dr Dobson, I've heard of this book before and have continued to hear great things about it, I'll have to read it as well.  Anyone read these two (raising boys and age of opportunity)?  I'd love to hear your opinion.

Driving

I still have to drive with a liscensed passenger until next summer and I am starting to feel frustrated by it.  I have been driving since June/July and I feel confident enough to drive in our small town and on the back roads on my own and I can't for another 8 months, Grrr, frustrating

Andrea