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ElCloud Homeschool: Walking In His Ways
May. 12, 2008
Haircuts, Brunch, Clothing Switch, and Lunch with Grandma
We had a pleasant, but busy, Mother's Day weekend. It began Friday with showers for all the children (knowing that Saturday was going to be quite packed) and haircuts.
I set up my hair salon in the living room Friday evening, and started with cutting 3-4 inches off the back of my oldest daughter's hair, 12 yo A. She used to never want it cut, but now she asks me to trim it to her upper back-shoulder blade length once or twice each year.
Then it was time to trim my youngest daughter's hair. 2 yo L needed her bangs trimmed, and we decided to trim the hair around her face also, curving it so the wisps don't end up getting into everything she eats. We left its length in back, and thankfully, her natural wave and curl makes it look cute. I'm sure if her hair were straight, it would have been a sloppy-looking job. But with the wave and curl, it covers my mistakes.
The boys both got their hair trimmed. I do use the clippers, but I never buzz the top very short. I use the longest "cutting guide" on top, and the #3 around the sides and back. And then it was Steve's turn. He'd mentioned having me use the clippers all over his head (like the boys) earlier in the week, but backed out at the last minute, and still had me use scissors for the top of his head.
Saturday morning, the three oldest girls and I went to brunch with the ladies of our church. It was held at a tea house in our town, and was delicious. Well, I thought so. Two of my daughters didn't enjoy the meal, and one enjoyed most of it. I enjoyed *all* of it!
We rushed home from the brunch and did the seasonal clothing switch. I didn't have all my laundry washed and put away beforehand, as I prefer to do. But, now that the boxes are stored in the basement, instead of the kids' closets, I have been waiting for Steve to be home to carry the boxes upstairs for me. When we moved in, I carried many of them downstairs myself, but I wasn't pregnant then.
Partway through the clothing switch, Steve suggested I get the boxes organized again. They used to be divided by gender and size, but that was lost several years ago, and has become worse with each year. That goal, combined with needing to finish the laundry to pull out more winter items that weren't clean, meant that we didn't get the boxes put away again that day, as we usually do.
Sunday, we attended church, and then went to the nursing home to eat a delicious lunch with Steve's Grandma. It really was a wonderful meal, and Steve and I left there very full (after cleaning a few kids' plates). We visited with her for awhile, and then we left to do some quick shopping while we were in town. After a visit to the grocery store and Walmart, we headed home.
The rest of Mother's Day had Steve and the kids outside doing yard work, and me inside doing laundry slowly. We were working, but not in a rushed way. It was fairly relaxed. We went to bed with a messy living room and dining room as proof of our busy weekend, and relaxed Sunday afternoon/evening.
I woke up this morning and planned the kids schoolwork for the week, after my devotions. While the kids were doing their schoolwork, I spent quite a bit of time trying to download the Mother's Day gifts at Currclick.com. Now, the schoolwork is done and it's time to get the kids moving on chores. I need to fold the clean clothes, and have the kids put away the items they're keeping out, so I can sort these boxes of clothes and get them out of my living room. The boxes being here makes every little mess seem gigantic.
Tomorrow we have a homeschool picnic and meeting, and some errands to run in town. I'm not sure how much housework will get done at home, so we'd better get moving today. I hate to think about it, but I may still be working on this clothing switch on Wednesday. It never takes me more than two days, and this time it's just dragging on and on. But it will definitely be better to have the tote boxes organized. Then if someone gets too tall for their pants, I can go look for larger ones instead of waiting until the next seasonal switch.
While the children start picking up their messes, and before I start folding laundry, I need to get the pork chops and rice into the oven for supper. I won't have a box-free living room when Steve gets home, but we'll clean up the rest of the messes so it looks better than when he left this morning.
Trusting in Him,
April
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May. 9, 2008
Our 14th Anniversary is Coming
Next week, Steve and I will celebrate our 14th anniversary. Today we received a gift in the mail. It's another Willow Tree angel for my small Willow Tree collection. It's my 7th Willow Tree figurine, I think. One we bought ourselves when we were expecting our 6th child, one my sisters gave me, four I gained from freecycle, and now this gift.
We received the Angel of the Garden, and the inscription that goes with it says "bringing forth a garden of love and beauty."
I hope, and pray, that we are bringing forth a garden of love and beauty in our family, our marriage, our children, as well as our land. I thought it was a lovely reminder of our goals for our family, and my purpose as a wife and mother.
Trusting in Him,
April
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May. 7, 2008
So what have we been up to, you're wondering?
Or maybe you're not wondering at all ... but for those who do check in to see what we're up to, I'd better post an update.
We've had company for two weekends in a row. We celebrated Steve's Grandma's birthday with his parents and siblings two weekends ago, and then my sister was here this past weekend. It's always fun to have family visit. We'll be hosting a friend of mine at the end of this month, and Steve's cousins and Uncle in June. We're looking forward to those visits, as well.
We're doing well here. We had a couple interesting weeks with 4 yo M. He was sick the week before Steve's family came, but we thought it was a fever and rash reaction from his MMR vaccination the week before. The nurse had said he would run a fever in a week, and we were also told the rash was likely a reaction to that. Except, then the fever came back, he kept having headaches, and the rash changed in appearance. So, we took him to the Dr., only to find out he had a strep infection. I'd asked him if his throat hurt all week long, and he had always said no. Oh well.
In the middle of that, he also slipped on his jacket, fell into the coffee table, and split his skin on his brow bone. We ended up super-gluing it together, because he did not want to go to the Emergency Room, but it wouldn't stop seeping on its own. I gave him homeopathic Arnica tablets from Hyland's to help reduce the bruising. It did help. He only bruised above his eye, along the bone. We expected a total black eye at first.
It took him quite awhile to get rested and return to his normal self from that infection. A sick 4 yo with company is not the most fun to be around. Unfortunately, his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins were treated to a view of his less desirable behavior -- including some major meltdowns caused by fatigue. Poor little guy. He's fully recovered now, and his eye looks great, too. The scab is off, and the bruise is almost gone.
We're enjoying Spring here in our new home. It's fun to look out the window and see a bunny feeding just 15 feet away. It's wonderful to hear the birds singing all around us, and the mourning doves cooing right outside the living room window. It's exciting to watch and wait to see what this flower or that will turn out to be, once it blooms. (Grandpa's extensive flower beds have dwindled down to scattered plants here and there that make mowing a challenge. We need to transplant them to consolidate them.) The kids are also enjoying running, playing, and riding their bikes outside in the warmer weather. I've been enjoying hanging clothes out on the clothesline, and bringing them in. 2 yo L especially likes to "help" me with that project.
Yesterday was exciting (in a new and unusual way) because the barn swallows that have nested on the front porch (unused by Grandma when she lived here) for years returned. They kept flying up to the two previous nesting sites (we've knocked down the nests each Fall for the past couple years). We kept banging on the window frame, or yelling at them to go away. I was starting to feel like a crazy woman, hollering and banging every 2-3 minutes. Finally, the kids started watching them from the window in the door, then running out onto the porch screaming to scare them away. But just a few minutes later, the birds would return. I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever settle the children down to schoolwork, but the birds finally gave up (for now) around lunchtime. I don't mind them building their mud nests on our house; but right above the front door is not a good place, since their droppings fall onto the door, its handle, and the mat beneath it. Steve doesn't want them nesting on the porch at all, because of their droppings.
We have not planted a garden yet. We've been struggling to get and keep our lawn mowers running. My sister brought her push mower with her last weekend, so we could make some progress. That helped tremendously, but now we need to figure out our mower problems so we can keep it mowed. We need to mow, and then till the garden area. We did plant annual flowers in the long built-in porch planter two weekends ago. We planted begonias and impatiens, and they will be lovely once they bush out and fill the planter fully.
We decided against chicks for this year, since we don't have a hen house in good working order, at the moment ... and we couldn't agree on a location. The old hen house and brooder house are on the far side of the property, and I'd prefer a closer one. So, for now, it's on hold. We do intend to get guineas as soon as they are available, though. We need them to help control the tick population.
Life is just settling into a normalcy right now. The unexpected expenses of the winter have eased. The cars are all running again (although some still have their quirks). Having our cars all running has allowed us to start to be more involved at church, and have more freedom while Steve is at work. The house is all settled, although the basement and garage are still disorderly. The children are all mostly well, and we've begun getting general checkups for each of them with our new family Dr. The pregnancy is progressing well. My morning sickness has passed. At 21 weeks, I'm definitely showing now, and the baby is kicking and squirming on a daily basis. Steve has even felt one of the stronger kicks.
We're keeping an eye on 2 yo L, who is showing signs of having a return of her Reactive Airways from 2 summers ago when she was just a baby. She had no problems last Spring and Summer, so this is disappointing. I took her in last Friday because I had heard some rattling in her lungs, but they were clear while we were at the Dr's office. She seemed okay over the weekend, despite her deep cough and runny nose, but the rattle returned in her lungs Monday and Tuesday. I can hear it with the stethoscope. There isn't a wheeze, though, so I'm watching her and trying to decide when to take her in ... I want them to hear what I'm hearing next time, but I don't want to let things wait too long. Of course, I'd prefer that she recover and we not have to go down the path of breathing treatments and steroids again.
When we moved here, we knew we'd be opening our home to more pollens, since it is not air conditioned and we will be opening the windows more often, through 3 seasons. But we moved from a fully carpeted home to this house with wood floors, which we knew would be an improvement. We removed all the old furniture, drapes, and two very old dirty carpets which could have held allergens. So, now we just wait and see how all the children react. So far, I would say that the Spring allergies aren't any worse for the kids, Steve and I, than they were the past two years in our old home and environment. But we're still watching 2 yo L.
Homeschooling is moving steadily along. Some of the children have finished their handwriting workbooks, so I'm printing things from the internet for them until we decide to place an order. We're studying the American Revolution in the final unit of Tapestry of Grace, year 2, at the moment. We'll move on into Year 3 as soon as we finish. Because of our 3 month moving break last Fall, and the maternity break we'll take this Fall, we're planning to school through the summer months. We've never schooled completely through the summer before, but every year is different.
I just started using Before Five In A Row with 4 yo M last week, because I felt he was needing some time with Mommy. He's excited about it, and enjoying the snuggle time. 2 yo L usually listens in, too. I need to print some simple handwriting things for him to do when he wants to "do school", as well. And I need to be sure to read to him and 2 yo L more often. 7 yo J has been asking me to do Five In A Row again. I'm not sure if I want to do FIAR, B4 FIAR, and Tapestry of Grace, though. So I may either move 4 yo M up into FIAR and do it with 7 yo J ... or I may just make more effort to read to 7 yo J from some of the Tapestry of Grace books. He had become bored with them, and seemed resistant to listening, so I had quit trying to read to him ... assigning 8 yo C to read to herself instead. But now J seems to miss that reading time, so we'll work it back in.
7 yo J still lacks confidence in reading. He's working through the Bob books, and can read, but is slow to recall the sounds at times, is easily distracted, and just needs more practice for skill and confidence. He keeps saying he can't read, and I have to keep reminding him he can ... he just needs to keep practicing. The summer reading program begins this month, so we'll try to find simple books he can read for that.
This morning, we have been watching a yellow plane fly back and forth around our house. I had heard it fly VERY close to our house a few mornings ago, but the curtains were still closed. This morning, I saw it when it flew right over our tree line. Then 4 yo M woke up, and he and I watched it together. It is circling over a field behind a hill across the highway. We see it every now and then over the hill. Then it will cross over the highway, fly over Grandma's field, turn around and go back over the highway. I finally had M go wake up 7 yo J so he could watch it, too. I sent him just in time, because it only continued for a short time after that. But in the end, all the children had a chance to watch him.
Now the children have mostly finished eating breakfast, and it's time to turn our attention to schoolwork and chores for the day. As I said, life is just routine for us at the moment, but it's a good routine.
Trusting in Him,
April
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May. 3, 2008
$100 Scrapbooking Giveaway
Apr. 29, 2008
Enter to Win a free Ergo Baby Carrier!
I promise to post a real update on our family soon -- hopefully tomorrow. But I wanted to post this chance to win an Ergo baby carrier, first. The deadline for entry is May 31, 2008 -- and the winner will be announced on June 15, 2008.
Good luck!
Trusting in Him,
April
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Apr. 14, 2008
And the verdict is ... drumroll please ...
We went for our ultrasound today. Technically, I am 17 weeks, 6 days pregnant. Baby looked healthy, with all its parts in good working order. Heart rate was 132, once it held still long enough to get a good measure. Baby likes holding its arms up around its head, and across its face ... sleeps like Daddy, I guess. It measured at 18 weeks 6 days, and 9 ounces. Since the dates can be off by a week, either way, my due date will likely not change. Or I may be having another big baby ... which from the best we can tell, is most likely a boy. Both my boys were big. J was nearly 9 lbs, and he was 10 days early. I always have wondered how big he would have been, if we hadn't induced early. M came right on time, but he was 9 lbs. 12 oz. Yikes!
It wasn't easy to tell the gender, at first. The umbilical cord was running between the legs, blocking our view, although I kept thinking I was seeing a "turtle" to the left of the cord. We checked again later, and although baby didn't like holding still, it looked like a "turtle" to the technician and me. She was a little hesitant to declare it a boy, but that's her best guess. All the kids and Steve were there, so we all were able to see it, and hear the verdict. We won't go all-out buying blue stuff, but it's probably another boy. And an active one, at that. 
Made me smile because when I was pregnant with 2 yo L, the only gender specific items I bought were a couple girlie outfits at a yard sale. Last weekend at a yard sale, I bought two gender neutral sleepers, and one boyish one at a yard sale.  Maybe I have some subconscious ideas, after all. Or, God just provides what we need, even when we have no idea.
Then there is our name issue. We have been undecided on one gender name with the last several pregnancies ... only to not need that name, after all. God has helped us settle on the name we DID need. This time, I have had a hard time even making a "top favorites" list of girl names. The boy list of names is much shorter and I like almost all of them. Steve has asserted this baby is a boy, all along, and has used a specific name a couple different times. The kids are sure we've chosen that name, but when I asked Steve if he was settled on that name, he just gave me "a look". So, I guess not.
We'll see. It could be a girl, but ... it looked like a boy. I keep reminding the kids that we can't know for sure, but they are convinced it's a boy. Of course, I've had to try hard not to refer to the baby as HIM all through this post. Regardless, it's healthy so far, and that's most important.
Trusting in Him,
April
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Apr. 10, 2008
Musings about my mothering
The featured blogger for the past week or so has a blog title that has caused me to think: "The days are long, but the years are fleeting." I'd been pondering that statement off and on for awhile, ever since LifeLongAlaskan was first chosen as featured blogger. And then on Sunday, I found an old note card a friend wrote me a few years ago in my Bible. Her last line in her encouraging note was "The days are long, but the years are fast." There it was again.
I've been thinking about my failures as a mother, my weaknesses, my selfishness. Somehow, things have changed over time. I've changed. I interact with my children differently than I did before. The older children need less of my time in their schooling, but I'm not giving the younger ones the same attention I did to the older children at that age.
I can't think when I last read a book aloud to the children. I probably read a board book to the 2 yo a week or two ago, but a story book to the preschooler and elementary students? Not lately.
But I have to admit it's not because I'm so busy with chores, housework, or teaching, either. It's just a laziness, distance, and selfishness that I've settled into. I've allowed other distractions to keep me from interacting more with my children.
Somewhere, somehow, I've let myself settle into just supervising them, rather than mothering them. Once upon a time, I felt God urging me to do more than just discipline my children, but to disciple them. To lead by example, and frequent conversation. At another point, I felt that my goal needed to be "immersion mothering", as opposed to just childcare. I need to reconnect with my children.
Besides my mothering, I'm also feeling I'm just letting the days pass by without accomplishing many of the projects and goals that I say are important to me. Where is my focus? Is this how I want my days to continue?
"The days are long, but the years are fleeting." They are fleeting, and I'm just letting them slip away. My oldest daughter will be 13 in a few months. I don't have much time left with her. And each of these children needs me to be focused on their growth and their needs. Our seventh baby is coming, and our oldest is almost a teen. Time management isn't going to get easier anytime soon. I need to make some changes.
"Lord, help me to change. Show me what my priorities need to be. Help me to be focused each day on my goals and priorities. Help me not to waste the time you've given me with my family. Amen."
Trusting in Him,
April
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Apr. 9, 2008
Free educational software contest on HSB Front Porch
Apr. 8, 2008
A Chance to Win 2 Free Books!
Apr. 8, 2008
Fleeting Flutters and Tiny Thumps ...
No, I'm not referring to mice in the walls, or any other critters. Nothing that goes bump in the night ... except a little tiny baby growing inside me. Just before 14 weeks I was blessed with a "sneak peak" when I felt 4 or 5 fast kicks against an elastic waistband. But in the past week, I've begun to feel little flutters and thumps. This morning as I was reading my Bible, I felt several thumps in a row, in the same area, that was definitely the baby greeting me.
I'm so thankful for those fleeting flutters and tiny thumps. I love hearing the baby's heartbeat around 12 weeks, but until I feel those daily movements, I can't help but worry and wonder at times. Is my baby still okay? Will my next Dr. or midwife visit still find that heartbeat?
But now the baby and I can communicate daily. If I start to wonder, I just need to drink some juice and lie down to rest for awhile. Baby will wake up and reassure me that he/she is well. And I love feeling that new life and new personality growing inside me.
In 6 days we will have our ultrasound, and I will get to see this new little one. I've lived without ultrasounds before, and I could do it again ... as long as I could feel those little thumps and flutters, and eventually bumping and banging around inside. (Yes, I've had some rowdy little babies before.)
Praising God for this precious gift today,
April
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Apr. 7, 2008
Yet another new homesteading experience ...
Yesterday we had yet another new homesteading or "country living" experience. DH set our yard on fire. On purpose, of course. A large portion of our land had not been mowed for years. Only the area right around the house was mowed regularly. Last year, a family friend brush-hogged the overgrown areas for us. But, there are too many bush stumps and such mixed in with the grass. It's difficult to mow, and even worse to walk through.
So, Steve set two areas close to the house on fire. They were areas where pampas grass and peonies were planted. We hadn't been mowing it, to protect the peony bushes. But, it was overgrown with other weeds and bushes, too. As the brush burned, and the new peony shoots appeared in the ashes, we watered those specific areas to protect the peony bushes. Hopefully the pampas grass will also return. We need to use Tordon to kill the bushes that have intruded, and we intend to try to fill in the beds with more peonies (transplanted from various places in the yard.)
Then we burned the bigger area that was never mowed until it was brush-hogged last year. Now that we can see those bush stalk/stumps we intend to get rid of them, too. We don't expect to turn it into an immaculate lawn, but we would like to be able to walk through it without tripping constantly, and mow it without ruining the mower.
The children were not comfortable with this process. They've seen us burn brush in the burn pit, and they've seen us burn trash in the burn barrels. But those are contained, and they don't mind it. They were not used to us setting a fire, and letting it spread.
They didn't worry too much about the two small areas. We didn't want that to spread far, so we stood by with water and it dwindled fairly quickly. But we let the larger area spread, and we just stood back and watched it. We put out one front as it approached the lawn and the house, but we let the rest burn longer.
Our children were nervous, and kept wondering if we should call the fire department. I admit that I was nervous at first, also. When my family was here for Easter weekend, they'd seen a fire truck heading to a field fire that had become a problem. I feared we'd have a repeat of that situation, but with stronger consequences since this is our home, not just our field. But, Steve assured me it was under control, and working well, so I chose to trust him and reassure the children. That took some effort, because some of the children moved from asking if we should call the fire department, to threatening to make the call themselves. At which point, I told them that if this fire got out of hand, I would come get them out of the house and call the fire department, but they had better NOT touch the phones.
I helped Steve play fire fighter, as we stood guard over it, and then finally made the choice to put out the edges of the fire, after dark. It had moved as far as we wanted it to, so we put it out. I manned the hose, and he fought to move it to the areas I needed to reach. It kept snagging on those bush stumps and he'd have to go unhook it. Fighting the HOSE was harder than fighting the fire, at that point.
We came in covered in black soot. Our white tennis shoes may never be the same. And we found out that boys should not be allowed in the burned area. They run instead of walking, so when they trip over bush stubble, they fall into the soot, and cover their clothes with it. Then they come inside and track it everywhere. Yikes! I'm going to have to rewash some laundry my four year old stepped on in his sooty boots. I had to tell him NEVER to step on Mom's clean laundry, but especially NOT when all SOOTY.
As Steve said last night, "Now that's something you never did when we lived in town!" No, it isn't. But, it's one more country living experience under my belt.
Trusting in Him,
April
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Apr. 7, 2008
The Evolution of a Clothesline ...
Last August I posted an entry entitled "Falling In Love with Whole Laundry" about my love of my clothesline. I followed it up with "Photos to Go with My Laundry Love". At that time, my clothesline was an umbrella-style clothesline tree.
We left that clothesline behind, when we moved to the farmhouse. We talked about digging it up and bringing it with us, but just haven't done it yet. We still own that house and could move it later, if we choose to.
After we moved here, we tried to string a new clothesline on the existing clothesline poles. One pole was loose, though, and the clothesline we bought was too stretchy. It sagged to the ground, when it had clothes on it. We only strung one line, since the rope was so bad. I posted about "Our Rustic Laundry System" in November, about two weeks after we'd moved in.
I wasn't able to use our saggy clothesline for very long, before winter really set in. Then we spent most of December using our two indoor wooden drying racks. I was able to keep up with drying clothes this way, as long as I washed a load or two of clothes daily, washing exactly what would fill the two racks. We set a fan in front of the heater vent to blow on the racks.
Then in January, my parents came to visit, and my Dad put his electrical knowledge to use, and installed some wiring that would let me run my electric dryer in the basement. We continued to use the indoor drying racks, at times. I tried to air dry half my laundry, and use the electric dryer for the other half.
In March, my Dad and Uncle came to visit over Easter. They came to help do some work on the house, as I blogged about in "Making the Family Homestead our Home". One of the many things they did was to fix my saggy baggy clothesline. After they left, we just had too many cool rainy days to use the clothesline. I could have used it some days, but worried that the items I line dried would have to come in that evening and finish up in the electric dryer, since rain was expected overnight.
But this weekend, we had warm, sunny weather and I finally was able to test my new clothesline. It worked wonderfully, although I think we are going to tighten the lines (THREE LINES) a little bit more. It was a bit challenging hanging out clothes in 30 -37 mph winds. I realized we really need to put a new windbreak along that property line. The previous one (an orchard) was cut down several years before we bought the farmhouse. I had to hang heavy items like jeans indoors, because they just blew off the lines.
Now that's a clothesline I don't have to be ashamed of! We've finally arrived!!
Trusting in Him,
April
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Apr. 7, 2008
THe Old Schoolhouse Magazine Contest
In case you hadn't heard ...
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The HSB Front Porch is having a contest
and you can win a $50 gift certificate
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Click HERE for details.
Just click on the picture above to see this special offer from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.
Trusting in Him,
April
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Apr. 3, 2008
Cure for the homeschool blahs?
Well, we may have found a cure for our homeschool blahs, especially my own. We are working on a project for our homeschool group. We will be having an International Fair, where each family presents a project/report on a specific country.
So, we are happily researching our country, and making our plans. We're still working on our Tapestry of Grace, but it's fun to have another project, as well. Something new and different to work on.
Since I got some great and encouraging comments about overcoming the homeschool blahs, I decided I should post an update about our project that has been inspiring us.
Trusting in Him,
April
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Mar. 28, 2008
Yet another 2 year old!!
Our kids seem to start "acting two" before they really turn two. Sometimes as early as 18 months. We've also had a couple babies whose first days being two were rather memorable. They came into being TWO with a BLAZE of GLORY!
Unfortunately, Baby L's 2nd birthday last week was memorable in a different way. She woke up very very early that morning, throwing up. It was a sad miserable birthday for her, and she wasn't acting better for another 4 days. She threw up for four days (the last two days only at night), and didn't act herself for 5 days. It made her visit with her grandparents and Aunts a bit different, and her birthday celebration was very low-key.
But the last few days of their visit, she was back to herself. And then we saw just how TWO she really is as the words "My toys!", "No, no baby!", "Mine!", "No, no BOY!", and "Bad bad boy!" came out of her mouth. She did not like having her 9 month old cousin here playing with her toys. It was funny, and yet not funny, all at the same time. The morning he left, she grabbed up four toys as soon as he entered the room and said, "My toys!" Then she put them down and started pushing a tub of toys around the room, staying out of his reach, and watching him carefully. I guess it's a good thing that was the end of the visit. Hopefully by the next visit, she'll be better at sharing.
And here is a picture of my little sweetie. I was given this hat by my secret sister for Valentine's Day. I only got to try it on before 2 yo L claimed it as her own. Well, she wasn't 2 at that time, but she is now, and she still likes wearing it around the house, even to bed at times.
Trusting in Him,
April
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Mar. 28, 2008
Making the Family Homestead our Home
This Easter weekend, and into this week, we had my parents, sisters, nephew, and Uncle here visiting. My Uncle and Dad came to help us work on the house. Their original intent had been to redo some of our wiring. But after examining it, they felt it was actually safe ... a little wonky in its arrangement, but safe. We do need to replace our fuse boxes with breaker boxes at some point, but we didn't do that this weekend.
So, then they started looking for other projects to tackle. They reworked some of our plumbing, and replaced our toilet with one that actually flushes well. They added wiring for two ceiling lights in the living room, so we can flip a switch and have bright lighting instead of turning on 6 lamps to have less light. They added insulation over the kitchen and master bedroom, so that area will be easier to keep warm. They redid my wobbly saggy clothesline. They got the chain saw working again, and the 4 wheeler. They hauled fallen limbs (from the ice storm) to the burn pit, with the 4 wheeler. They changed a door knob, and generally made us ladies feel rather lazy sitting around inside, although we were caring for the children, cooking meals, doing dishes, etc.
Steve was only able to work with them on Saturday and Sunday, then he had to return to work. But Dad and Uncle Howard stayed busy. They are such hard-working men, with lots of experience in many different areas. We were incredibly blessed by their loving and generous acts of service this week, and are very thankful.
We've been buying little electric heaters as they go on clearance. That, along with the added insulation in part of the house, should help us prevent using so much propane next winter. We will also do something about our windows before next winter ... caulk them better, or cover them with plastic. Something to prevent the cold drafts. The thermal drapes have helped, but it could be better.
We are slowly making this our home. It is Steve's family homestead, and he is the 5th generation to live on it ... our children are the 6th generation. But we are making it our HOME, not just our family history. We haven't painted yet, and there are many things left to do. But it feels like home already, and we are slowly making changes so it will work better for us.
Trusting in Him,
April
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Mar. 28, 2008
Homeschool Blahs Confession
I confess, I've got the homeschool blahs. I struggle with this every Spring. It is hard to push through to the end of the year, at times. Especially when a moving break is pushing the end of the year into the very middle of the summer. And a "maternity leave" next Fall means we likely will not take a summer break at all.
But the other part of the problem is honestly just curriculum doldrums. We've been using this curriculum for 2 years now, and it's no longer new and exciting. I don't have any new and exciting curriculum, and I'm not planning to buy any new and exciting curriculum, either. Oh, I started to do some window shopping and dreaming, but I know that isn't the real answer to the problem. Every new and exciting curriculum becomes familiar and bland after awhile.
It's just a matter of pressing on. And sometimes putting one foot in front of the other is just "blah". The normal struggles with reluctant workers doesn't help promote excitement, either. I need a new source of inspiration, to be honest. But I keep looking at the inspirational homeschool books on my shelf and thinking ... read that one already, just finished that one, don't feel like reading that one.
I guess it's time to just "do the next thing" as Elizabeth Elliott teaches, whether it's exciting and fresh, or not. And to discipline myself to continue to do it well, rather than giving it the half-hearted efforts I've been giving.
I wonder if it would help my children to know that Mommy gets the homeschool blahs, too? That teaching them and planning school and grading school isn't always fun and exciting for me, either.
Does anyone else have the homeschool blahs? How do you deal with them, and overcome them?
Trusting in Him,
April
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Mar. 13, 2008
CONTEST: Heidi is celebrating Spring!!
Heidi is celebrating Spring, and her birthday, by giving away books, a puzzle, math software, and a 1 year subscription to The Old Schoolhouse magazine. Stop by her blog to see the great prizes, and to enter. She'll choose winners on March 20, the first day of Spring!
I'm hoping to win the 1 year subscription to The Old Schoolhouse magazine. 
Blessings,
April
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Mar. 12, 2008
Aaah ... now that looks like home!
Four months after moving in, I finally hung our pictures and art on the walls. When we first moved in, I did hang a few large items that weren't packed in boxes (on pre-existing nails). But that was all I'd done. At first, I thought I'd wait until after we painted. But since that hasn't happened and Steve was starting to talk about having company over for dinner, I decided I really needed to get them hung up.
But then I put it off for another couple weeks, because I wasn't sure where I wanted to hang things. With our large picture windows here, and the tall bookshelves, we have less wall-space in the living room than we are used to. I didn't want to relegate the family photos to the hallway, but I also didn't want to clutter the living room walls.
This weekend, I just got them all out and started playing with them. In the end, I did put most of the family photos in the hallway, but hung a group portrait of our children, and one of the whole family in the living room. It took two days, but we finally found a place for almost everything. One of my kitchen pictures will need extra care to hang, because I couldn't get a nail to go into the plaster walls ... they're hard as rocks. And we decided to get rid of 4 smaller plaques.
I wasn't expecting the children to be so enthusiastic about the project, though. They were actively involved the whole time. Watching, admiring, offering suggestions. And little L (turning 2 next week) is still talking about the pictures as we go from room to room ... especially the family photos. We've walked down the hall naming off each family member, immediate and extended, repeatedly.
We hung our maps in the dining room, and we're all glad to see them again. We've missed having them easily accessible.
After that, I unpacked my last box of breakables and "knick-knacks", including my Willow Tree collection, and found safe homes for them.
The only things left to hang are three long shelves (one of which will display the girls' china dolls in their room) that Steve really wants to wait to hang after painting, and my two coat hook bars (one for towels in the bathroom and one for jackets in the hall). I'm hoping to convince Steve to let me hang them for now, since he hasn't given me a time-frame on painting, and we really could use them. He did say that they will not be re-hung until 2 weeks AFTER a room is painted, and has had time to cure. We hung them too soon in our old home, and ripped paint and drywall off when removing them to move.
I didn't realize how much I missed having these out, until after I hung them. I wish I hadn't taken so long to hang them, but at least they're unpacked now. And it does look and feel a little more like home now.
Blessings,
April
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Mar. 11, 2008
Pregnancy Update
Yesterday I had my second prenatal appointment. I like the Dr's office, and my Dr. even more after my second visit.
First, it was so fast. No one was in the waiting room when I arrived. I was taken back in 5 minutes ... and only waited for the Dr. about 5 minutes after the nurse left.
I had lost a couple more pounds, adding up to 6 lbs. lost since becoming pregnant. Since I'm only a week from my second trimester, and morning sickness should be over very soon, I shouldn't lose any more weight. The Dr. isn't happy that I'm losing weight instead of gaining, but she accepted that I've done this with almost every pregnancy and I assured her I'm eating healthily and frequently.
My blood pressure was 90/64. Last time it was 110/60. Both those are good baseline normal non-pregnant blood pressures for me. It will go up later, but I'm glad to see it is starting off normal, as usual.
We heard baby's heart after some searching ... 156 beats per minute. The Dr. didn't expect to hear the heartbeat, but I was almost certain we would. I have always heard it around 12 weeks, even though Dr's usually say I likely won't. I usually feel baby moving before most do, as well.
Then the Dr. walked me over and showed me the maternity ward. They have two birthing rooms, and baby is examined right there in the room ... and rooms in. They have one hot tub, but it's in one of the rooms, so if someone is birthing in that room when you get there, I guess you're out of luck. I don't think they have both rooms full very often, though. Both rooms were empty today, and I didn't see anyone there at all. It's small, but it looks good. They don't have many births in this hospital since most people choose to go to a different town, and they don't have a NICU, for which I'm actually thankful. It is small, and more relaxed than bigger hospitals. I'm not going to have to fight a mandatory nursery stay, for instance. Perfect for me!
I like the Dr. alot. She's calm, quiet, and she listens. At my first appointment, she took a long time getting my pregnancy and birth history recorded ... as long as my midwife took when I first met her. I like that she took the time yesterday do to show me the maternity ward, too. I think we'll work well together, and that she'll try to accommodate my desires and follow my birth plan, as well. I prefer working with family Dr.'s like her.
I scheduled my ultrasound for April 14. I'll have my next prenatal appointment a week later. I'm looking forward to my ultrasound. I didn't get one with my two home births, and I really missed it. If baby cooperates, we hope to find out its gender. The children are so excited, and can't wait to know whether this is a new baby brother or a sister. They think April 14 is too far away.
So far, all is well. In a week, I'll be in my 2nd trimester. I'm looking forward to more energy and the end of morning sickness. So is my family.
Blessings,
April
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