Feb. 28, 2010 - A Good Book

I ordered some new books to read to Henry and Sophia.  I always wonder what it would be like if one of our kids hated to read.  I personally can't imagine why anyone would not be interested in reading as much as possible.  Lydia (11yo) reminds me of me when I was that age.  Constantly with my nose in a book.  My Mom is not a booklover (got it from my Dad).  She did not understand why I always wanted to hang out in my room and read, but she did keep a steady supply of good books coming my way. 

Once when I was around 12, Mom and I drove way out in the country to check out an antique store.  It was in an old barn.  We were the only ones there, and it felt as if we were the first ones to be there in a long time!  Looking around,  I found an old copy of Little Women that Mom bought for me.  Of course I started reading it in the car on the way home.  I read it two or three times during the first year that I had it.  Each time I read it, I would write in the corner of the page the date and time that I started reading, and then when I had to stop, the date and time for that.  Nowadays ya can't get me to even write my name in a book.  I like to keep them looking perfect.  A losing battle in a house with six kids!  Back when Jack was potty training, he let'er rip on a book that he found on the schoolroom floor.  sigh.  I was on the phone with a fellow homeschooling pal when it happened.  Every time she borrows a book from me she asks, "This isn't THE book, is it?"  hahaha  No, that book is long gone!  ;-)

One of the books I ordered for Henry and Sophia is a collection of Eloise Wilkin books.  Sophia was looking at it the first day we got it and has already accidentally ripped one of the pages.  Our books are destined to be well-loved.  ;-)  This one most of all, I think.  Sophia has taken to carrying it around.  It's a collection of nine stories, so it's a good, thick book for a 2-year old, but because the illustrations are so meticulously done and interesting, we read through the entire book without stopping for a break.

 

 

 

One of the really cute things Sophia does through the book is assign the characters in the book one of her brother's or sister's names.  Here is what she called Ben.

Here is herself:

Here is Lydia:
It doesn't seem to matter to her whether or not the cute little people in the book actually look like herself, or brothers and sisters.  It doesn't bother me, either, because she's so CUTE, giving the characters a name.

 

 

If you're a fan of Charlotte Mason, you might be able to relate with me on this.  Eloise Wilkin's books make me want to run out right away for a nature walk.  I've decided that her books are perfect Nature Study books for the Pre-K - K crowd.  There are a lot of flowers, trees, bugs, fish, forest and even jungle creatures to identify, and each in their own habitats.

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Jan. 29, 2010 - The Simple Life

I predicted that Baby #6 was going to be my biggest challenge and I was right.  Not the baby herself, but having six kids.  There's a lot to do around here these days.  Grace is now six weeks and we love every  minute of her.  She is squooshy and cuddly and smells so sweet.  I love to kiss her fat little cheeks.  That was one of the things I daydreamed about there at the end of the pregnancy so getting to actually do it on a daily basis is literally a dream come true.  :-)

With so many kisses to give, I've been working on simplifying.  Here's what I've been doing so far:

1) This one is not so popular with the kids, but it has saved my bacon.  I have been using the same menu plan since Grace was born.  It's full of easy meals like tacos, chili, spaghetti, quiche and a frozen pizza here and there.  Grace usually nurses around 4:30 or 5 every afternoon - right when I should be making dinner, so a meal that I can put together in 30 minutes is my goal.  And using the same menu plan makes making my shopping list a short and sweet affair as well.

2) I remember back in the day when a friend and I would talk about how our kids would only have memories of our profiles because we spent so much time on the computer answering emails and surfing the web for homeschooling curriculum.  ;-)  Those days have been long past for me, but now I feel the need to cut back even more on computer time.  A five minute check in the mornings and evenings is my goal, so I've begun unsubscribing from email updates that I don't LOVE.  I never realized how many things I was getting from family organizations, homeschool curriculum vendors, news organizations.....I can survive without it!

3) During the pregnancy, I designated some shelves in our school room for toys that are in clear, plastic storage bins.  I am not allowing more toys in the house than can fit on those shelves.  So when we got new stuff for Christmas, the old stuff that was already conveniently stored in the bins went up to the attic and the new stuff was added.  Keeps clean-up time from being so stressful and....SIMPLE.  ;-)

4) There's a lot ot be said for The Basics.  I've slashed a lot of extra workbook-y type stuff from Lydia and Jack's schedules and have been concentrating on Math, Writing skills and reading good literature.  We've been able to fit in everything amid the feedings and Henry and Sophia's needs which makes us all happy.

If anyone has any other suggestions for the simple life, please let me know!  I'm all ears.  :-)

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Nov. 24, 2009 - Blog Breaks

A lot of my favorite bloggers seem to be taking blog breaks.  I hate it, because after all, they are my favorite bloggers.  I love reading what they have to say.  I realize that I love their blogs because they are the type of women who place their home and families first, so them taking blogging breaks to focus on the most important things is encouraging to me because I want to keep my family my first focus as well. 

During the last month and a half or so, I've been working on keeping my head above water around here as I've gotten slower and more tired.  As usual, my brain has been going faster than my body.  I've started off many days with big plans for a deep cleaning of some room, only to find myself satisfied with a general cleaning-up. No one would know what a neat freak I am if they walked in our house today.  And I'm okay with that.  One of these days I'll get to clean to my heart's content while wondering what all my kids and grandkids are up to that day.  Maybe I'll forego the cleaning and just go find out.  ;-)

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Aug. 9, 2009 - Home Making

We are well into our busy season and Darin and I are counting down the days until November.  ;-)  We are homebodies deep down and all the going is really stretching us!  It's funny...in high school and college I was always extremely busy.  I was one of those girls who was too busy to do much dating.  I loved it.  It was easy to juggle everything since I was a single gal.  Now that we have five kids and one on the way, I've had to readjust my mental frame of mind to realize that it's okay to not be so busy with outside activities because I have replaced the outside stuff with my children, husband, homeschooling and housework.  It's really sad to me to hear other mothers denigrate the importance of what there is to be done at home in favor of outside activities.

I love what J.R. Miller wrote in Home-Making:
"We are fast moving on through this world.  Soon all that will remain of us will be the memories of our lives.  No part of our work will then afford such a true test of our living as the memorials we leave behind us in our homes.  No other work that God gives any of us to do is so important, so sacred, so far-reaching in its influence, so delicate and easily  marred as our home-making.  This is the work of all our life that is most divine.  The carpenter works in wood, the mason works in stone, the smith works in iron, the artist works on canvas, but the home-maker works on immortal lives.  The wood or the stone or the iron or the canvas may be marred, and it will not matter greatly in fifty years; but let a tender human soul be marred in its early training, and ages hence the effects will still be seen.  whatever else we slight, let it never be our home-making.  If we do nothing else well in this world, let us at least build well within our own doors."

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Jul. 16, 2009 - Bizzeee, bizzeee, bizzeee!

Darin and I are entering a time of life that we never truly realized we would be entering.  We started out a very busy family.  Co-Op, tons of church activities, playdates & etc.  After two or three years of that whirlwind we were happy to get off.  The negative impact all that had on our family was not what Darin and I were looking for.  A lot of people might say it was "normal kid stuff."  We don't think there has to be such a thing as normal kid stuff.  So we went the total opposite way and have been accused on more than one occaision of sheltering our kids too much.  So be it.  We have been able to focus on other "normal human stuff" with our kids - i.e. sin.  It's been nice to have the time to work on character issues with our kids that we didn't have time for before because of all our running around.

But life with a big family constantly changes.  The things we have been able to do for our older children we are probably not going to be able to do in the same way for the younger set.  Ben is going to be playing football this fall which will take us out of the house three or four times each week.  Add in AWANA at church on Sunday nights, chiropractor visits, piano lessons and other misc. committments and we're back in the busy life again.  I went to DonnaYoung.org and downloaded some calendar pages for the rest of the year and filled them out.  Once AWANA starts, we will have somewhere to be every day of the week! 

We just don't want to be so busy outside the home, but Ben is at the age (he'll be a Freshman in high school this year) where he truly needs to start exploring his interests and working out just what he wants to do.  Right now he has a list of things he wants to "be."  We're hoping to help him narrow that down.  One of the things on his list is Football Coach.  So we're gonna let him go get all roughed up every week to see how he likes it.  ;-) 

It should be an interesting fall!  The great thing is that everything seems to come to an end all at once in the first week of November.  Good thing.  I will be in the last month of pregnancy by then, doing my Jabba the Hut impersonation, and not moving too quickly.  Just TRY to get me off the couch by then.  ;-) 

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Jul. 11, 2009 - Random

I fell asleep on the couch at 9:30.  Darin woke me up at 11:30 to go to bed, but now I can't sleep.  There's so much going on in my head.  Thinking about our new baby.  In NINE days we will know if this baby is a boy or girl.  The name will be Stephen if it's a boy, but we're still haggling over a girl name.  Darin still likes Beatrice.  I like Helen.  At this point, we're sick of talking about it.  ;-)  Really, in the past, when we've been able to settle on a name for a boy or girl first, the baby ends up being the gender of that name.  It has worked with every baby so far.  We'll see in nine days! 

Ben is in Colorado with his Aunt, Uncle and Cuz.  We miss him.  Henry especially.  Poor Henry.  He's just 3 and doesn't get it.  He thinks Ben should "come home now."  So do I, but I guess we'll survive till he gets back.  I know he's going to have a load of fun on this trip. 

I'm craving a chai from Starbucks.

We are going to a new chiropractor!  This guy is the cat's meow, man.  We have benefitted from chiropractic adjustments for three years now and are excited, thinking that we will benefit even more with this new doctor.  Darin has begun to experience some numbness and weakness in his hands and I am especially anxious for him to get better.  Our new chiro said the section of spine that this is related to is in Darin's neck and also relates to heart issues and high blood pressure.  Darin has been diagnosed with high blood pressure which we've kept in check with cod liver oil.  I'm praying hard that these issues are worked out for him with this new chiropractor.

Today I was cleaning up in the office - toys everywhere.  Sophia (19 mos) came in the room and backed into my lap for some cuddling.  I can't resist that.

This pregnancy has left me highly sensitive to noise.  Hmmmmm.  Not a good thing with five other kids in the house!  My impulse is to take all of them up to our bed and for us to all nap the day away.  But you know, they don't want to take naps all day!  LoL  In fact, we are in a phase where the boys cannot stop roughhousing, and they are all very testy with each other and each seems to want to be the parent of all the others.  I have to call out to God for every bit of patience He can spare.  Spending hours at the pool three times each week has helped a little because it wears them out, but I'm concerned about their hearts.  Darin and I keep telling each other, "just be water over the rock.  Water over the rock.  Make their rough edges smooth." 

My niece has been able to hook up with her birth father's family and I'm so glad for her. 

Okay.  I think I can probably go to sleep now.  Yawwwwwwwn. 

 

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Jul. 7, 2009 - 10 Years Ago

On the 4th of July we bought a month-long membership to our local Community Activity Center.  We're taking the month off from school - sorta - so we thought it would be a fun thing for the kids.  They've got the indoor/outdoor pool thing going with all the slides, lazy river and stuff. 

When we arrived at the pool, Darin and I couldn't believe the TATOOS all over the place!  We live in a fairly conservative suburb of Dallas.  Anywhere ya go, you're gonna see khaki shorts and boat shoes.  It's inevitable.  Little did we realize what everyone was covering up with their khakis!  Oh my.  I mean, these people kind of scared us a little.  And it wasn't just the men.  It was the women, too.  I think we saw just about every symbol of the Chinese alphabet.  The only thing missing was the heart tatoo with "Mom" written in the middle.  But I guess that was another generation.

As I looked around, I noticed that all of the peeps with tatoos looked to be in their early 30's.  They mostly had one or two very young kids.  They were in the same place Darin I were in....er....10 years ago. 

It just made me think of all the things that can happen in 10 years.  10 years ago it was not at all common, as far as I know, for women to cover themselves with tatoos like I saw at the pool on Saturday.  I mean, really.  I wish I had pictures!!!!!

10 years ago, Darin and I only had two children.  A three and one year old. 

10 years ago, Darin and I were at the beginnings of understanding what it really means to live our lives for Christ.  Thank God, He's still teaching us all that.

10 years ago, although Darin and I loved our babies, we did not truly understand yet what REAL blessings they are.

10 years ago, Darin was still finding his way in the Web World.  He taught himself everything he knows.  He's our first homeschooler in the family.  Now he's a pro and has even written a book with a friend about it.

10 years ago, we were just gearing up to begin homeschooling Ben.  I started with him when he was 4 because I was just so darn excited.  We did Preschool three times a week until I got pregnant with Jack.  Then we took it down to two days.  ;-)  Oh, am I ever glad to be out of the homeschooling newbie stage.  Life is so much more manageable these days.

10 years ago, my car was a 2-door Honda Civic.  Today I tool around in a Chevy Suburban and once this baby is born, it will officially be FULL. 

10 years ago we were able to sing Prince's "1999" and really mean it.  Although, really, I never partied "like it's 1999" because I got pregnant with Jack in October and I slept from then on.  But we had fun singing it! 

Okay, okay.  I guess I could go on forever.  It's just interesting, thinking of all that happens in 10 years. Gets me started thinking about 10 years from NOW.  Oyve.  I don't want to go there yet!  :-)

 

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May. 21, 2009 - Poison Ivy

Well.  It's been weird around here the last week and a half.  Back on May 9th, our family got together with the rest of Darin's family for a photo session in a beautiful park close by.  We had a great time, but the entire time, Henry wanted to get and get over to the waterfall to play.  It was a busy day in that park.  TONS of people were there getting their pictures taken, and the waterfall was a hot spot.  Our photographer took us to a gorgeous bridge where we took most of our pics.  So we were finally done, and Henry and I braved the irritation of the other photographers to go stand on the edge of the waterfall for just a minute!  :-)  Henry had a leaf he wanted to throw in so he could watch it go down the falls.  He couldn't quite get it into the water.  It kept landing just short, in the weeds.  So I retrieved his leaf for him each time, until he finally got the leaf in.  Woohoo!  Success.  :-)

The problem is that I got poison ivy from that little jaunt by the water, and I don't just get poison ivy.  It gets me!  The last time I had it, it was on my legs, arms, face, stomach....everywhere.  I went to the dr. for it and she gave me a steroid pill.  I was back two days later and she gave me the pill AND a steroid shot.  My friend's neighbor thought that I was a burn victim.  The nurses at the doctor's office were afraid they would be the one asked to be my nurse.  When my doctor wanted me to get a blood allergy test, the phlebotomist (my next door neighbor!) was afraid to touch me.  God bless them all.  I would have been freaked out, too!  But just so everyone knows....it's a bloodstream thing.  The poison is passed around our bodies through our blood.  Not contact.   :-)

Anyway, after the shot and pill combo, I spent two days being wide awake, but the stuff was gone.  This time, it was only on my arms and a little tiny bit on my chest and stomach, so I thought I could handle it on my own.  I especially wanted to do this because I really didn't want to take drugs while pregnant.  I could just kick myself.  I tried just about every home remedy I could get my hands on, but ended up at the doctor's office on Wednesday afternoon with a low grade fever and infected poison ivy.  Waaaah!  So now I'm taking oral steroids for a week, an antibiotic for the infection, and have to take Claritin for 2 months.  My doctor said this will be a slooooowwww recovery and I believe her.  After two days on the antibiotics, I don't feel all that much better.  I am frustrated with not being able to do much!  Thank God that Darin was able to stay home today and help me take care of everything around here.  What peace of mind that brought!  It was also nice to have some meals stashed in the freezer that we've been able to use.  God is good.

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Apr. 9, 2009 - Misc.

My older brother came for a visit this past week.  OH MY GOODNESS.  What a nice time we had.  I come from a family of six and he is10 years older than me.  He left home when I was in 2nd grade, and I haven't seen too much of him since.  When I was a teen, he was beginning his family.  When I was starting my family, he was on the tail end of raising his....busy, busy, busy.  Now he's a Papaw and has time to travel to see his little sister!  Love it.  I almost cried when we went to church together and sang the hymns and praise songs standing side by side.  Is that corny?  Whatever.  I loved it.

Here's a picture of him and my sister-in-law, Shirley, holding my babies.  This is when we went to pick-up our goat's milk and fresh eggs.  The kids love to go visit the goats and feed them leaves from the bushes that grow by their pen.

Oh my.  I just tried to download those great once in a lifetime pictures, but they're gone.  NOTE TO SELF:  Do not allow 8-year-old to play with camera anymore.

In other news, I did it.  Someone sent me one of those cheesy questionnaires that are so fun to fill out.  In the one I got, we could only answer the questions with one word. 

When it came to this question:  Hobbies?

I took the plunge and typed: Family.

GASP!  REALLY?  Yes.  Really.  I know that these days that is total sacrilege, but yes, really, I love doing things for and with my family.  Why can't that be my hobby?  Yes, I do stuff like cross stitch and knitting, but that's for during those times when Darin is reading a good book to us in the evenings, or when we sit down together in the afternoons to listen to one of our favorite men, John MacArthur.  Really, it keeps me from falling asleep, which is what I tend to do if I'm sitting still.

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Feb. 15, 2009 - Imperfect Motherhood

The other day I was talking with an acquaintance who has three children.  We both homeschool our kids, so we were talking shop.  She looked around at my five kids and asked, "How do you do it all?" 

My reply was pretty quick.  "I don't do it all."  She literally shook her head and gave me one of those disgusted sounds.  She was not happy with my answer. 

Another day, I was chatting with a new friend at Starbucks about schoolish things.  She was struggling to find the right curriculum combination.  Her oldest is the same age as my oldest.  After she finished her tale, I filled her in on my own quest for Ben.  Poor guy.  I constantly apologize to him for having to be the oldest - the guinea pig.  When I finished, I learned very quickly that she had called the meeting at Starbucks because she thought I was going to give her the equation she needed in her struggle.  When I finished talking she said, "Well.  You're in the same situation I am.  You don't know either!"

It's strange.  There's the crowd out there who thinks I'm completely insane because Darin and I have five kids.  They shake their heads at me and wonder how I could ever have time to love all my kids equally.  Then there's the crowd who thinks that just because I've given birth five times, that I have all the answers to parenting, marriage and homeschooling.  I break these ladies' hearts all the time because just like them, I learn as I go, yet they think that I have some magic formula that will make their days hum. 

Every new baby brings new experiences that I've never dealt with.  Every grade level for my oldest brings new territory to explore and learn from.  Circumstances that surround our school days are never static.  One week we're dealing with our Daddy working long hours.  The next week, I've got a cold, the next week no one wants to do their work, the next week...and so on.  It's all new.  Life constantly changes, and yet we somehow make it through.  Chores and schoolwork get done.  We have fun together.  We make it to church together.  And so how do we do even that? 

The first is that we don't sweat the small stuff.  I was so serious when I told my friend that I don't do everything.  I don't.  I just don't.  Laundry, house cleaning, cooking dinner....that stuff is optional, my friends.  It's a-okay to dig a pair of jeans and a t-shirt out of the dryer for the day.  It's perfectly dandy to forget to dust the mantle for awhile.  No one will have an asthma attack over it.  PB&J on those hectic days is grand. 

The second, and last principle I work extra hard at applying to my days is discipline.  My biggest fault is that I love to get things done on that dang "mental list of things to do."  When we first started this journey, if it seemed we weren't going to be able to cross everything off that list, I could feel myself start to get tense.  But that's when everyone else starts to get tense and tempers flare cause you know what they say - if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy! 

So I've disciplined myself to stick to the goal - the vision - the mission statement that Darin and I agreed on when we started homeschooling.  Rather than crumbling into a heap and giving up, I've learned to move on to the next thing, then the next, and the next.  Giving up is not an option.  Freaking out is not an option.  Choosing self-control always gets more done than losing it. 

And that's all.  Once we can all accept imperfection, we'll all be a much happier bunch.  ;-)

  

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