Let's open the floor for chore talk. 

Kind of spring-boarding off of my last post about motherhood being hard work.  Suddenly as a parent all the chores fall upon you...that is at first, before your offspring are old enough to be chipping in with the family workload. 

So, who hires a cleaning crew?  Who has a detailed chore chart?  Who does it all herself? 

There's a neat family out there in Dayton, Ohio.  I went to their house one Friday and walked in on the Friday Cleaning Time.   Girls were dusting atop the refrigerator, floors were gleaming...it was just so cool to behold a family (larger than average) getting it all done.  (If any of you cocoa-drinking cool Daytonites are reading this, I still want a hard-copy of the detailed chore chart.)  The great thing I saw in their kids, though, was that they seemed to not really mind the work so much.  It was just so beautiful!  They even came over and helped me with my work several times.  After they'd finish vacuuming for me they'd make cookies!  (inject longing sigh...)  I hope that one day my daughters will not only be doing that in my home, but also serving others that way too. 

I'm trying to revisit our chore procedures.  Find a system that works...get it printed, get it implemented, and get it to become a habit for everyone.  There's also the issue of figuring out what to expect from children and what level of work to accept because they are children.  The hard part is that while I know it's important training for life, following through with my expectations for everyone's duties is draining!  I'm ready for a nap after reminding everyone and making sure each duty is done properly.  It's tempting to feel it would be easier to just do it all myself.  (Ok, maybe not?)  I am holding fast to my ideals that there is much to be gained in this process of learning the value of work around the home.  That someday the chores will be accomplished without reminding...and with cheerfulness and a healthy measure of pride in their contribution.  It's a worthy goal.  But how to teach it, what to expect, how to "get there" from here is the great enigma...

Next time I'll share what we do currently, but first let me hear from you. 

So leave a comment with your tips and what works in your home.  What do you expect from your kids?? 

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So at lunch today, sort of randomly Suza, 3, blurts out, "Mom, you're joking."  I think she was just trying out a new phrase she must have heard someone say. 

Then Jamie,4, retorts with a superior air of experienced authority:  "No Suza, Moms don't joke." 

Oh really?  I did not know this.  I must have missed it in Momhood 101.  I cocked my head to one side, "They don't?  Really?" 

'No" he affirmed with wide-eyed seriousness. "Moms don't joke."  

Uh-oh.  I guess I need to lighten up, eh?  It cracked me up.  I loved that sweeping  generalization.    

Ok--big inhale, so, how's your week going everybody?  Mine's hard work.  Now I'm not being negative at all here.  But I want to be honest, because I've heard all sorts of people comment recently with some degree of wonderment that I seem to appear to be mothering this little brood of a half-dozen youngsters effortlessly.     Or that I'm making it look easy.  (What a pair of earrings, a little lipstick and a smile will do!)  While I am very gratified that I don't appear to be the poster child for Mother Goose's frazzled "old woman who lived in a shoe...with so many children she didn't know what to do" I'm here to confess.  I like the dad in the original Cheaper by the Dozen movie who when the paperboy asked him, "Gee, mister, are these all your kids?" said in a booming voice,  "YES, and believe me, it's NOOOOO picnic!!"   It really is hard work.  But it is so sweet and good.   And I am happy and thankful for each unique precious soul that God has entrusted to my care for this small season of life.  (some days it feels like forever, but it's not.) I remind myself often that these will probably be the times that I look back upon in later years as the best times of our lives.  I often do feel overwhelmed.  The organization required, the patience required, the teaching and training required, the stamina...it is all more than I have. 

 This season of motherhood is of eternal worth though.   We moms must not lose heart as we pour ourselves out in our sacrifice of service!  I think Scripture has trained my mind to cling to the peace that passes understanding.  Titus 2:11 says, "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.  It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness  and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age..." There is a peace that comes from submitting to the needs and tasks of home-life.   It can preside even when in the midst of a hectic and full day.  I feel it when I coo into the face of my sweet 4 month old baby and watch those beaming baby grins.  I pass it on when stoop to gaze into the eyes of a busy pretending 3 year old and bring her on my lap or up on my  bed for a few moments of singing the ABC's.  I seek to spread it by squeezing my 11 year old's hand as we drive in the car to football practice.  Ironically it really doesn't relate to how many children are under my domain.  It's a product of trusting in Him and obeying his call on my life right now.   

I do have to battle negative thoughts...more often than I'd like to admit.  Particularly at the end of the day...around six o'clock when I tend to be tired, my thoughts can become skewed.  But rest is important...and remaining in the Word.  These are my secret weapons.  Satan revels in our discouragement that robs our joy...from comparisons, busy-ness, inaccurate thoughts.  I have battled resentment at times when I feel I've been robbed of "my" time in a given day or week.  And yet, recently the Lord has revealed to me this thunderbolt of wisdom, "Hey!  You need to expect this to be hard work.  It is!"  I am praying that God continues to bring my heart to embrace it with joy, that he'll help me die to "self."  I pray that you and I both, my cherished mom-friends, will continue setting an example for others with lives that radiate joy and contentment with God's call on our lives to serve our families. 

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When the deafening rumble of jet noise rocks the house, you know the Blue Angels are in town!!  Last Thursday the kids ran from the house cheering and searching the skies for the famous jets they could hear before seeing.  Growing up on Navy bases all my life, the airshow took me right back to my own childhood.  I could see my brothers  carrying around their inflated blue angel souvenirs and remember the heat waves shimmering on the runways as we watched our favorite flying team, the Blues.  There's just something so thrilling about them that you can't help grinning.  The base nearby hosted a military appreciation day open just to the military families.  Talk about a gift!  Not having to go on the weekend and battle the crowds of the public was awesome!  We got to park and sit right up front and see the show. 

Don't the mountains and the contrails make this a cool snap?

Check out Jamie holding his ears!

Checking out Dad's work...

We spared Baby C's ears and let her stay home with a babysitter!

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I know you probably aren't thinking I owe you an explanation, but I've avoided blogging lately for a number of reasons, and I feel it's probably a natural time to take a pause/break from blogging for a while.  There are so many priorities in daily life that rank higher, and only so much time to meet all the needs.  Seven people in the flesh who need my time, investment, and attention...  And the accompanying household needs for feeding and clothing and loving my dear ones, not to mention preparation and time in homeschool planning.  In what free time there is for myself around those things, I've felt drawn to reading more or talking with a friend.  There's a big catch-up photo album project waiting in the wings.  Our social life has ramped up somewhat here as well.  I'm not sure what the cause of that is, whether we're out of the country life and in town life now.  Or if it's squadron life and the military functions generating more community and connectivity.  It is probably this latter.  With church, Bible study, AWANA, and personal friendships our family nights are precious, and then I'm just plain tired by 9:30 each night!!!  I want to be about offering Christian hospitality to folks and I can't do this, if I haven't been maintaining the home to a respectable level.   

If I were to be an amazing blogger, I'd be letting a number of balls drop since when I write I get very absorbed in it. 

In some regards, I viewed this blog as a ministry opportunity to share what God's doing in our lives and encourage other moms and homeschoolers.  I so believe in being a "Keeper at Home" and kindling the hearthfires.  This era of life is so precious to me.  I want to live it to the fullest and cherish it completely and encourage all of us homeschooling mothers to do just that.  So I wanted to let you all know where I've been and what's on my mind.  I'm not going to close my blog, but just post more infrequently most likely. 

With warmest alohas,

Christa

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Want a Mom Chuckle??  This little U-Tube video came floating into my mailbox the other day and my kids and I had a good laugh listening to (click on...)

"all the things a mom says in a 24 hour period condensed into 2 minutes"

sung to the William Tell Overture by Anita Renfroe.  I don't think Homeschoolblogger can host the U-Tube video directly...at least I haven't figured it out and since my own clan of voices is out in the dark on the trampoline watching the stars but making lots of noise in the process, I better get out there and monitor. 

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Yes, this is the dolly stroller.  We had a picture like this when Sophie was little and had Suza in the dolly stroller. 

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just following up my last post with this

Case in point: 

         Have you ever seen one of those signs on the mainland?  I hadn't.  Pretty unique. "Go ahead, make a U turn. It's OK here..we LOVE you!  ALOoooHA!!!"

So how was your weekend?  Mine was full of getaways.  Friday night a friend wanted to have all six kids over to her house to babysit (what, is she nuts???) so my beloved and I could escape for a date to downtown Honolulu.  We kept wondering if our kids were disillusioning her every moment of their stay and spoiling any preconceived notions she'd had about them being "good."  Well, it's no secret to us that they're sinners, but we sure like 'em.  I think she still does too. 

Going to the other side of the island feels like a mini vacation, since you get to visit the trendy, touristy spots for which people spend thousands of dollars to come visit from the mainland.  It's a mere hop over the mountains.  We ate at the apparently renowned "Duke's" restaurant, named after a famous surf legend at Waikiki, Duke somebody-er-other.  This was the view from our table...

I tried the seared Ahi (a kind of local fish) and didn't realize it would come out just seared on each side and totally raw in the middle. 

Finally the waiter obligingly took it back to cook it up most the way.  Was I a baby or what?  Oh well.  My taste buds just aren't that refined yet, I guess. 

The next getaway I had was a girl-bonding stay at the Hilton with two "sisterchicks."  We stayed up till midnight gabbing like teens, read by the pool, and then had fun shopping at the Ala Moana open air mall this afternoon.  A whole 30 hours away from parenting....my husband completely spoiled me with running the homefront meanwhile, and my friends' husband had bought the room and our dinner out as her birthday present.  What a treat!  But after this refreshing time away from my little chicks, I was very ready to get back to them tonight.  They really do fill my cup with joy! 

Happy Homeschooling this week...

With aloha,

Christa

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Now I’ve driven in Italy, where there are few acknowledged rules for driving.  It’s fast and crazy.  I loved it.  I’ve driven in Boston where rudeness and gutsy high paced driving is par for the course. I hung on with white knuckles driving through there.  In Jacksonville, everyone’s in a hurry and you have to look both ways before heading out on a green light.  The red lights are so long that people run them all the time because they don’t want to stop for them.  You you’re your life in your hands if you’re the first in line.  But here people drive with Luuuuv.  I tell ya.  The aloha spirit permeates the roadways. And to show their thankfulness to each other drivers stick their arm out the window and give the “shaka” hand signal.  Shaka is like UT’s hooke ‘em horns with the three middle finger down and thumb and pinky extended.  Shaka’s like “Cool, man.”    

My only problem with aloha driving is that people are so busy being so darn nice, you can’t navigate town traffic simply let alone quickly.  Drivers suddenly stop for pedestrians, let others come out, stop if they think a pedestrian’s about to step off the curb, and move over for the cyclists with surfboards under the arms.  It’s like being in a Mario Brothers game…ninja driving or something.  You have to be ultra defensive.  I’m terrified I’m going to rear-end somebody or worse yet hit an aloha-confident pedestrian. 

 Not only do they drive with aloha, people here come to expect it and depend on it from you too!  Somebody will pull out in front of you abruptly and then hang that thankful “shaka” out the window just KNOWING you were going to let them in.  “Woa there!!  oh, right, yeah, I was gonna say just come on out, buddy.” (NOT)  I’m supposed to be full of AloooHA!! 

 My other issue with aloha driving aside from my impatience is that people seem to routinely suspend the normal rules of the road in the process… For instance I’m leaving the Starbucks parking lot and someone in the far lane will kindly stops to let me in, while traffic piles us behind him.  But I have to either bank on that aloha spirit and pull out in front of oncoming traffic in the near lane and risk a collision or wait for traffic to thin.  If I got broadsided, I’d be the one at fault in court.  Meanwhile the guy’s waiting over there with all that aloha…  the pressure!!  Just drive SELFISHLY, PEOPLE and we’ll all get where we’re going just fine!!  No, really, stick to the rules of the road I say. 

 Now I’m really not a mean or vindictive driver.  Just no-nonsense and (as this post is proving to reveal) a tad impatient.  It’s a pace issue I guess.  Who knows, maybe this aloha stuff is starting to rub off on me.  I actually let somebody out in heavy town traffic the other day.  Maybe by the time our tour here is up I'll have reformed.  So what about you?  What kind of driver are you?  Would you fit in here in this aloha town with drivers just full of love and all the time in the world?? 

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Sorry it's been a while since I've updated here.  What have we been up to?  Here's a little visual sampler:

FLYING!!!!  Super-kid!! 

I have to credit my friend's husband Ryan with super photography skills in capturing those shots recently in a Dad-kid outing to White Plains, a renowned surf spot.  The Dads seemed to gather that throwing kids was much more fun than using all their efforts to catch a wave.  The moms hung back and had some precious chat time.  And then set up for a little 3 year old party.  Oh, and I got my hair chopped.  A good five inches.  I almost went bob-length but mair hairdresser Chip was wiser than to endorse that.  I'm glad he didn't let me do it. 

Our baby Suza isn't the baby any more. 

Do you ever feel like as a mom you're the facilitator of all the fun, but then settle back and witness from the sidelines?  I mean, it is enjoyable to watch our kids and families.  Truth be told, sometimes I fight the grumbles and sometimes I'm able to serve in fun and joy as I pack the sandwiches, load towels, suits, picnic gear, cooler, feed the baby and get the gang loaded up with their essentials--and not leave the house in a wake of chaos.  Family fun takes effort, doesn't it?!  Of course it's all worth it.  And then I hang back in the name of relaxing and don't go in the water or DO the thing we've gone to do.  So this weekend I DID the fun.  I went boogie boarding.  I know.. it's like no big deal.  So what, right?  (you guys are probably all much more adventuresome than I am...)  But how much more fun it actually was!!  And my kids were all grinning seeing mom take the waves not just sitting in a chair witnessing the event.   Who knows, maybe acting like a kid will be my new aerobic regimen.  My arms are sore today!  (And no, I don't have a picture for that.  Who takes pictures of Mom?)

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 "A nurturing parent naturally provides a world of learning."

Many of my friends out there are just beginning or even have yet to begin their homeschool experience.  For you in particular, I wanted to highlight this article I found on the needs of preschoolers.  It's easy to worry about what our kids are missing out on when we choose to keep them home at this stage.  The article reinforces my hunch and experience that reading with Mom (or Dad or Sis, etc), creative playing,  and cuddling go the farthest in equipping our child educationally at the preschool age.  But the article goes beyond that and informs of other bases we can and should cover at home that are introduced in a preschool setting.  It's helpful to refer to these and keep them in mind.

Whenever I read articles like this, though, I sort of marvel that it takes experts and specialists with Ph.D's "informing" us of what would seem to me like no-brainers for any good mother...teaching a child to use please and thank-you, listen, count, use language to form whole sentences, showing how to snap or button.  We so readily listen to the experts in our culture while questioning our God-given intuition and the Bible on rearing our children.  My earliest prayers as a new parent were that God would grant me wisdom.  It still is the prayer of my heart.  God blessed King Solomon with that and much more.  He'll be faithful to equip us too if we ask and step out in faith!  God placed children in families, his ordained environment for learning, not the state.  And now educational experts with all their research are informing us that a nurturing home environment is actually the best learning our kids can get!  God has equipped you!!  Keep encouraged on the path, friends...

Warm alohas,

Christa

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Fresh off the tree, it made a delightful mess! 

The tree trimming guys showed us Hauolis (pronounced howlie) how it's done.  They just took their machete and whacked off the top to get at the juice and meat. 

To get it open without a machete you bash it on a spiked stick and start pulling off the husk. It's harder than it looks.  I felt certain I'd probably be doomed if I were marooned on a desert island with only coconuts.  It reminded me of Tom Hanks in that movie...Cast Away.

Somewhere along the line, the kids picked up this phrase, "Put the lime in the coconut."  Just one of those silly things they would chant at random times...so they had to try it.  It actually tasted really good.  The coconut milk of course is not that sweet, so I added a little Splenda, and voila

...a tasty island concoction!

mmm....good!

Week 2 of homeschooling....a field trip in our own backyard!

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It's free time!  Woo-hoo.  The nappers are nappin'!

So, yeah, what she said!   Y'all want some inspiration?  Go check out Emily's post at The Learning Never Stops.  Aside from the fact that she made me blush with some total nonsense about me, she's written a fabulous food-for-musing entry about the legacy we leave for our kids.  About how we do life with our family and what's really important.  Are we doing what's really important or are we letting the lesser things take priority?    As I wrote in my very first blog entry from way back, we parents are creating the childhood memories our kids will have for a lifetime.  I have to admit I know I often become a slave to lesser things and then selfishly want cave-time when it comes time to being relational with all the people needing me to relate to them or doing the things that really mean the most to my kids.  Getting into their world can take all kinds of forms: setting up trains with them, putting together lego's, getting out the art supplies and doing it with them, or playing pretend.  This week our backyard playset morphed into a covered wagon going West and we made friends with a blond Indian girl who traded coconuts with us.  My daughter kept glancing at the fence to see if the next door neighbors were watching her mom act so weird and alternately grinning with incredulity because she couldn't believe her mom was actually pretending.  But I think she liked it.  Perhaps for older kids it's getting out on a mom-kid date and getting to talk without the flurry of home duties around.

One thing I love about my childhood memories was my dad's unpredictable bouts of zaniness.  A man we always respected and admired and whose personality was generally straightforward, goodnatured yet strict...I remember how he would suddenly do something wild or sneaky or silly and how much we kids just LOVED that.  Suddenly without any warning, he'd just disappear in the house and start turning off lights and hide from us.  It turned into a giant game of hide and seek in the dark, which we dubbed "Ghost."  There weren't really any rules except the goal was to find Dad so he couldn't scare the daylights out of you by reaching a scary hand from behind some door and grab you.   It was thrillingly scary, yet not truly scary.  You know.   Another time we were all sitting around a nice spaghetti dinner Mom had cooked and he got this wild look in his eyes.  We were riveted as to what was coming next.  Then he plunged his bare hand into the pile of spaghetti noodles and shoved them into his mouth.  The boys went wild.  Mother looked horrified, but went along.  From hands, it went to no hands.  Woa.  He just picked up the plate of spaghetti and put his face in it and ate no hands.  What kid wouldn't want to do that?  This was way before Nickelodian and all their goo antics.  So ofcourse the boys followed suit.  I don't even remember if I did or not.  We always referred to that night as "Animal Night."  And Dad's always had amnesia regarding it. He never admits it happened.  "Hmm?  What's that?  I don't know what you're talking about."  Apparently it's a figment of our imaginations.  We all dreamed it up. 

Along other lines, the kids recently finished a sailing course here.  I wish I'd gotten to be in the class too! 

It'll be sorta quiet on my end for a few days with my great wrangler bro and his lovely Irish bride coming for a visit to check out the Aloha life for 9 days.  So I'll pop in when I can!   Go paint some home memories with your kid(s)!! 

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So how's IT going?  That's the big question for everyone who's started homeschooling this month.  We're at the end of week 2 and "all's well that ends well."  This is a good time --when you start wondering, "umm, and why exactly were we doing this?"-- to have your homeschool mission and purpose typed up in a convincing and glorious font and pasted on the refrigerator.  For some it may seem we homeschoolers are reinventing the wheel, so to speak, to do at home what someone is being paid to teach to a whole bunch at once up the road in the schoolhouse.   And there are times we all witheringly hope it's all worth it...the sacrifice and time and effort.  But from what I've heard from the folks with grads, that answer is a resounding YES!! (isn't there a book out right now about that?) 

I had one of those great witness-the-lightbulb-go-on moments today with my dear daughter in math.  She got the borrowing concept.  Being an artsy kid as she is, I carefully clued in on drawing big red stars for the tens and little blue stars for the ones and gradually got her to work the problem that way on a whiteboard before she did it with the numerals.  I'm pretty sure she was disappointed there were actually numbers involved and it was really about subtraction in the end and not more drawing of stars. 

Another priceless moment I wish I could have captured on home video was the voice of my 4 year old who while holding a chapter book open and peering so earnestly into it called, "Mom, will you teach me to read?"  All of the big kids were having their "reading time" with their individual books and he so wanted to be one of the "club."  Truly, my teacher-mom book-loving heart just about melted right there.

  In Bible we are reading in 1 Kings where Benaiah, King Solomon's right hand man goes out and executes all the trouble makers King David was too soft to eliminate.  Everybody jerked to attention when we're reading along and suddenly someone whips out a sword and starts taking out bad guys.  Proof positive that the Bible is not boring by any stretch.  I chuckled because the boys really looked incredulous as if this stuff just couldn't be in the Bible...

Well, enough words.  I'm sure everyone has other blogs to read.  So here are some update photos of the youngest member of our home school.  Little Charis is learning to smile.  And I caught her studying for the thumb-sucking examination during her naptime this afternoon! 

In her favorite "with Dad" napping position. 

Aloha,

Christa

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Hey.  Progress report time!  The first day of school went surprisingly well.  After finally spending some alone time over the weekend carving out a schedule that would hopefully be realistic and not just idealistic, I went to bed Sunday night determined to get up in the range of six something.  This was also the first day of our getting back into a schedule for our day, so it all hinged on me getting my act together and lugging myself out of bed early.  Staving off the kids with free pop-tart access (yikes!!) so I could snatch another hour of slumber  would be a thing of the past.  A minor miracle....drumroll please....I did it! (getting up before the wee ones) And I did take the time to invite the Lord's presence in our home and day.  Asking for the grace and strength to do it all.  (Ok, well maybe not the laundry)

The order that prevailed, the smoothness, the marked decrease in bickering and squabbles was amazing!  The difference from last Friday and today was really something!  Lest you think it was a walk in the park, I'll assure THAT it was most certainly NOT.  A lot of time was wasted in finding the books we needed, rediscovering the pencil sharpener, stuff like that.  But it was good.  And some of the kids had to overcame initial doleful countenances (like they just had to drag their feet and act like they weren't excited, ha ha)  and then showed actual enthusiasm at various points in spite of themselves.  Others were ready to face the rigors head on, fastidiously ordering their work domain.  I heard cries that their new spelling program was too easy, and I feigned astonishment that they'd turned into such amazing spellers over the summer.  But it was fun.  (It does get harder...success is a good thing right off the bat!)  One key that kept the day upbeat and moving was that we changed activities roughly every half hour.  They didn't have time to get overwhelmed or bogged down.  If something wasn't finished it would get shelved till homework time which would be late afternoon and cut into free play time with the neighbor kids.  So there was big incentive to be efficient. 

And as is our little tradition, we had our school supply scavenger hunt.  Mom just hides pencils and notebooks, scissors, paper, and all the new whatnot under couch cushions and in other silly places.  We do "hotter, hotter, colder" till everythings found, and then have fun figuring out what thing mom's absent-moinded brain forgot and is still left undiscovered.  They love this!  We'll probably find a protractor in a flower pot in December or something.  I always lose count!  Well, if I'm to repeat the minor miracle tomorrow, it's time to get the needed rest.  Here's to a great school year to all my homeschool pals! 

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It’s that time of year again.  The school year is on the horizon.  For many it’s already begun, since they school year round.  I’m not in that camp, for though I like the kids to stay brushed up, I find my enthusiasm for school and theirs is renewed by a healthy break from the rigors of our schedule.  And now I find myself really looking forward to it again as we enter our seventh year of homeschooling.   Man, seven seems like a big number.  I never dreamed I'd be doing HS this long.  I think 5th grade was my mental eject button on the homeschool project, although we've always taken it one year at a time.  But God's given the grace and desire to continue.  So here we go. 

I’m going to be checking in with a local homeschool support group to get connected.  I like feeling connected with other homeschoolers.  I think it’s so important to do.  For we home-school moms have indeed taken on a real job and need the support of the “teacher’s lounge” so to speak! 

I thrive on inspiration.  So I begin picking my favorite homeschool books of my bookshelf and revisiting some of my favorite authors.  Perhaps in my next post I’ll list a few of my favorites to recommend.  It’s like having a personal cheering section in the wings to spur me on.  Just skimming type reading of course. 

The burden of ordering is passed, and our boxes arrived last week.  (A little curriculum aside here:  K-12 has begun a free homeschool curriculum project.   Check out the article.)  Since my box of  Sonlight Core 5 readers and read-alouds had  mysteriously ended up in our household goods shipment this last year since November, completely unavailable to us for 8 months, I’ve decided to finish up those studies on Eastern Hemisphere instead of plunging ahead into World History.   It’s the only economical thing to do.  Use up the material, while starting new in math and Language arts.  As my granny used to say, "Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, or do without!"  Sometimes this mantra applies in HS curriculum buys, and obviously other times it doesn't.  If something isn't working I don't guilt over it, we just move on.  But not buying a whole new core has freed up some money in the budget to purchase a long-awaited high powered microscope.  One really neat book we’ve loved that isn’t in any curriculum is Anna Botsford Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study.  I hope they have some stuff from Hawaii in there. 

Next I’m scheduling a pray and plan for the new school year.   It’s time to really start looking through the material and planning the schedule.  We all function better when our day is mapped out with a clear sense of what we should each be doing.  If you've never checked out Terri Maxwell's Manager of Their Homes, do it!  Creating a detailed schedule was tough, but so worth it!  Plunging in to the home school year is a bit like jumping off the high dive.  Deep breaths and a lot of prayer! 

Lastly, I have to remember to praise my great husband, without whose support I couldn’t home school at all.  He works hard serving in our military so that I can choose to stay at home and be the framer of our children’s childhoods.  So that I can personally “paint the memories” of our home life.   I am glad his priority for my time is the nurture and teaching of our children, not chasing after a bigger net household income.  Josh listens when I’ve had a rough day or week, isn’t critical but offers helpful practical solutions.  He likes to protect my down time and takes me on dates frequently.  From time to time he suggests I go meet a friend at a coffeehouse and, he even cooks willingly!   

So we’ll meet up again soon, friends.  What’s on your agenda for the new school season?  Any favorite ways to kick off the school year? 

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Hey everybody.  Just kicking back here with my feet up and catching up on blogs.  Want to come over for a mango smoothie?  Here's a little virtual tour of some of our new house.  The little chefs in the kitchen are ready to bake you some cookies...

We'll first head to the living room next...  I like this room for its beach cottage feel.  The slanty ceiling (and floors!) give it some real charm, and you'll notice the absence of a big TV.  We've been without TV (reception) for several years now, but this is the first time our entertainment center hasn't been the center of attention (for movies or videos) in the LR.  Rather, I'm so pleased it's now BOOKS.  I feel like this room just invites you to come and and sprawl (or sit daintily) on the couch listening to pleasant music and getting immersed in a good book.  In fact, Micah did just that this evening.   I just grinned to myself when I saw him, because we've conquered the screen-magnet! 

Next we'll head out the back door just a few feet away here and check what's out there... a little breezy spot for soothing a fussy baby!

You can see the Koolau mountains in the distance and the early signs of the tropical storm that's been headed toward Hawaii the last day or so.  (Thanks for keeping tabs on us Kakalena!!)  So far no major downpours yet!

Back inside, we're in the dining room.  This is actually where the front door is as well.  But no one uses the front door of this house--or most houses here it seems.  Most people come in the door in the garage which leads to the kitchen.  But everyone...plumbers, movers, handymen, distinguished guests, EVERYONE takes off their "slippahs" (flip-flops) or shoes at the door when they enter a home!!  I couldn't believe it when the Sears delivery men removed their shoes before coming inside while carrying the frig.  It's a very ingrained tradition here, probably stemming from the population being largely of Asian descent, I imagine. 

Well, God is so faithful and good.  Sometimes it is the times of stretching and turmoil that give us a greater appreciation for the ordinary and simple.  You know, I noticed walking around the house recently that if I keep my eyes downcast on the floor as I walk around, I see all the dirt and dustballs.  But if I lift my eyes up and look at the positive things around me...a view out the window, a tree, pictures on the wall, something that makes me smile, I feel so much better.  Our thoughts can run the same way.  If the eyes of our spirit our downcast, we see the dustballs of life.  If we "lift our eyes to the hills" (Psalm 121:1) we can experience the hope & joy of our life with the Lord.  Life is beginning to feel normal again and I'm looking forward to starting up our school time schedule again soon.  Thanks for stopping by...grab your slippahs on the way out! 

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I'm almost too sleepy to post anything.  But how sweet and irresistible a quiet house is with newborn baby asleep and all the others tucked in for the night.  I can't resist the moment to catch up with blogging and reflect on motherhood and all of the changes we've had lately.  I've had some great help in the form of Kim, a former babysitter of ours from several tours back.   She's made us her summer project. 

I've felt somewhat badly that she's come all the way from Florida to Hawaii and not seen much of the touristy or interesting sights of the island.   So this past weekend we trekked up to the North shore.  We drove by the famous town of Haleiwa with all its surf shops.  I did virtual shopping, just driving by.  That's the best kind...no spending money, no guilt, no impulse buys and best of all: no getting tired.  Just enjoying how cute the shops look.  Perfect.  We stopped by Haleiwa Beach, but didn't stay long there either.  Doesn't this just look like a postcard?

We finally did stop at Shark's Cove, a neat little snorkeling spot up the coast.  Before anyone thinks we're diving with sharks, I'll tell you that the place got it's name for being in the shape of a shark in its aerial view, appparently.  Here's most of the gang...all ready to snorkel. 

Being under doctor's orders to stay out of the ocean for 4 or 6 weeks--can't remember which--I opted to stay with Charis and Suza up on the blanket under a shady tree.  I played with my camera settings and took pictures to pass the time. 

Bright eyes...she is so alert and has great head control!

 On our way home, Josh pulled over at a roadside stand to check out some local Hawaiian produce.  I liked how attractively the lady had displayed her fruit.  Mangoes are in season right now.  But since we have a mango tree in our own yard, he bought hot steamed ears of corn to pass around to everyone in the car for a snack. 

Kind of an unusual travel snack, I thought., the way it was steamed in its leaves.   No butter or salt, you just peeled it and ate it. 

Well, I better take advantage of my sleep opportunity at hand before it's time for another feeding.  It always seems like the getting over the sleep-through-the-night hurdle takes ages to get to, while in retrospect one's babes grow up so fast and are 4 or 8 or 11 before you know it.  I just want to treasure every moment of it and not wish a single one away.  Babies are so precious.  I'm enjoying Charis with a much more relaxed feeling now than when I parented my first baby.  Crying doesn't really phase me or stress me out the way it did the first time around.  My eyes aren't glued to the clock, minding the schedule, the way I was the first time around either.   I'm a little more sentimental now, perhaps more keenly aware of how time passes.  Sometimes I wish I could just bottle up a moment to take off the shelf years from now and experience all over again...like the way she sleeps against me with her bottom all skooshed up and feet tucked under like they've folded back into position.  Or the feel of her soft hair.  And the way she takes little triple breaths, like a sob and exhales with a tiny squeak or sigh.  I love the way babies stretch up their arms and fall asleep midstretch letting them dangle.  I just feel amazingly privileged to GET to do this again.   

With warm alohas and goodnight...

Christa

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Well, here we are...ten days after my little baby Charis (pronounced Care-iss.  Rhymes with Harris and Paris...the root of the word charismatic) made her appearance, and I finally have a breather to sit down and type!  What an amazing week!  A baby and the movers all in one 5 day span.  Would you believe it?  Could life be any crazier.  I submit that it can not!  Well, maybe.  I'm thankful I got to come "home" to our house and not a hotel room.  Thats for sure! 

Well, for those of you interested in birth details, here they are.  Josh and I were sleeping on an inflated mattress on the living room floor.   I'd been feeling pangs here and there but woke up with definite contractions about 8-10 minutes apart the next morning.  I went ahead and ate breakfast...and even lunch.  I called my aloha-friend "N" and put her on alert...she was planning to be my "doulah" and encourage me to make it "all the way" unmedicated.  Knowing things were really happening, I lay down for a nap that afternoon to try to rest up.  Charis was awfully sweet in deciding to come on a Saturday.   Josh got his nap in too.  Things began to intensify when I woke up and we timed contractions for awhile, finally heading to the hospital which was a half hour drive away up over the mountains.   My mother-in-law, Sophie, and my aloha-pal all followed behind.  Sophie had expressed a real desire to be there for the birth, and I'd promised that if the timing worked out well we'd try to let her be the one to cut the cord. 

The midwife on call greeted us at the hospital and checked me.  I was 5 cm.  This was a slightly discouraging number because I felt like the contractions were unusually painful for only being five, as compared to my recent previous births.   But they admitted me, and showed me to an amazing birthing suite.  It was huge, with glossy wood floors and a jetted tub in the bathroom.  I bounced on the ball for a little bit--the pressure from the sitting on the ball really cuts the pain of the contractions in half.  I almost didn't want to get off, but decided to try the tub they had filled up for me.  It felt great to get into the warm water and get my lower back up against the jets.  J massaged my lower back and I used an audible moan to get through the contractions, a technique proposed by my aloha-doula-pal.  I liked it.   After a short time I suddenly felt super-nauseous, which is I guess my body's reaction to bigtime pain.  I must have been in transition.  So they helped me back to the bed.  I gave up the idea of walking around.  It was almost time to push! 

The pushing stage is a relief to get to.  Finally, you feel like you can do something and not just get through contractions.  Charis, however, decided to give me a run for my money.  My last four children were out in about 3 pushes.  Charis took an hour, and I was perspiring like mad, on oxygen, and asking for forecepts.  In retrospect, I wonder now if the midwife's pronouncement that I could "push anytime" was premature.  I wasn't really feeling the true urge at that point.  It wasn't until the end, that I really felt that true "URGE" to push.  I think I may have wasted a lot of energy on pusing before she was really descended enough.  Come to find out, the happy girl was "sunny-side up" (face up) hence all the back-labor and tough push.  Quite the birth for going "au-naturale."  But I was really glad afterward to have gone unmedicated all the way.  Sweet Sophie was a great little cheerleader.  She stroked my hair and said, "You can do it, Mommy!"  What a brave girl!!   When the final push came and finished, I was so overcome with relief and so completely spent that I could hardly lift my arms to or head to "take in" the little new life plopped on my belly.  Sophie did indeed get to cut the cord. 

Everything was a blur at that point.  I lost a lot of blood with the placenta, and suddenly the midwife and nurse whisked the baby away, were pummeling my stomach and giving me a shot in the rump of something to get the bleeding to stop.  It felt like I was getting beat up.  They got me on pitocin quickly to help the uterus contract.  (I'd had a hep-lock but no IV up till that point).  I began to shake and my hands began to tingle.  I was suddenly freezing cold and my hands were white.  It was a very queer moment.  I guess it had to do with all the blood loss happening so quickly.  But it all came out fine.  Things settled down.  I asked for piles of blankets to be brought to help stop the shivering.   

So, to wind it all up, I love giving birth in the evening...you get to actually go to bed and sleep some that night.  Charis nursed right away and slept really well right off the bat.   Josh made a big sacrifice and slept on my bedroom's pull-out sleeper chair all night so I could have his company.  All the kids came the next morning and were even there when our family friends the F's and E's showed up for a combined total of eight adults and eleven children in ONE small hospital room!  What fun that was.  She was born on Saturday night and I came home on Monday to flowers, signs and a welcome home cake.  My dear M-I-L had facilitated that endeavor! 

I had a day to recoup, and then the movers came on Wednesday with all our household goods from Ohio!  And my mother in law flew back home that night.  So I've been nursing and unpacking boxes, nursing and unpacking boxes.   There are only 2 boxes left in the whole house!  Books are in nooks and it feels SO great to be settled at long last!  Thank you, everyone, for your warm congrats and prayers.  We felt really surrounded with love and help.  What a victory and real sense of God's grace to us.  Charis is Greek word for "grace" in the Bible.  After the losses of two pregnancies before we're so happy and thankful to the Lord to have new life again in our arms. 

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Name Update!

Just in time for Father's Day,

Charis Elena

was born at 8:19 (2019) Hawaiian Standard Time on June 16th...

She was 8 lbs 2 oz and both mother and baby are doing wonderfully...

Thanks for all the Hawaiian name votes. 

In the end, we decided to forego the Hawaiian names, but had fun "trying them on" for size! 

Greek-Hawaiian-German was just a little too all over the map for one baby name! 

These were the voting contenders...

Kalena:  pure

Keilani: glorious heaven

Leilani:  heavenly flower

Christa at Kailua Beach	Before...
Momma, Poppa and #6	Charis and Suza
Charis, Kids, Kim and Mom	Looks like older Brother?

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