• Jul. 20, 2006 - As promised.. Pros & Cons of being married to a deaf man...
Wow.. this is the most I have blogged since I started.. I believe. Maybe I am getting better at this.
Okay.. now for this list.. of pros and cons. In all reality..
this list is probably very similar to many marriage
relationships. Just keep in mind that no matter what.. John is
still the best husband around!
Pros first... I am one of those people who like the positive aspect of anything..
1. Arguing in silence! We can "yell" back and forth.. and
the kids do not have to be subjected to it. This is an awesome
advantage.
2. Talking across a crowded room...through windows...while our
mouth is full.. this is absolutely great and fun too!
3. He does not get aggravated as easily.. I believe due to the
fact he cannot hear all the noise that can make someone else go nuts.
4. We can talk in secret out in the open.. as long as no one else knows sign language that is!
5. No arguing over what radio station to listen to in the
van! Now the kids might want something different than I do.. but
no problem from John.
6. He has to look at me when we talk.. so I do not have that
"husband says he is listening.. but not really" syndrome.
7. Other deaf people accept me more readily into the group.. most think I am deaf anyway!
8. I just love the beauty, flow and expression of ASL.... am thrilled to be a part of the deaf world to this extent.
Now for the cons..
1. He has a harder time making important calls... he can through
a relay.. but people do not take him as seriously at times via this
method. So I usually make them... but that is not a biggie.
2. I cannot call for him to come from another room or outside..
have to go and get him.. this can be really frustrating at times.
3. People will look at me to talk.. rather than him.. even if the
conversation is directed to him.. this is hard.. since it helps for him
to be able to see the person's lips and expressions.
4. Cannot just call and talk to him at work or anywhere.
Actually, this was an extremely hard issue for a while. But he
now has a Sidekick (pager, phone..internet handheld device).. this has
opened a whole new world for us! I can now get on an Instant
Messenger and talk to him in this way.. unless his signal is bad.
Great way to share in other ways too.. as writing things comes easier
to me than talking sometimes.
5. Have to tell others what he is saying.. and vice versa.
I am used to this.. so it is not too bad.. but most of the time it is
easier for me when I am in a deaf group with him.. this way the
understanding is both ways with me being fluent in ASL.
Obviously, it is easier for the hearing to become part of the deaf
world than the other way around.. I have found this to be true.
It is important for us as hearing people to realize this.
Well, that is all I can come up with now.. maybe I will think of more later.
Above all is the fact that when any couple in a marriage has good
communication... the marriage will flourish.. no matter then pros and
cons. In our marriage we have seen the triangle example to be
true. Think of a triangle.. God is at the top... Husband on a
side corner.. wife on the other side corner.. the closer they get to
God (at the top).. the closer those sides come together. When our
relationship with God improves.. grows.. so does our relationship with
each other. Great concept!
• Jul. 19, 2006 - How it happens that I married a deaf man...
I am a MK (missionary's kid).. lived and
raised on various islands in the West Indies and Caribbean. My
parents surrendered to the call of missions before I was born and when
I was only 8 months old we moved to St. Thomas, USVI. There we
lived for about 5 years.. while my father taught at a Bible College and
my mother took care of me.. and later my sisters.
We
went back to the States for a furlough and then moved to the Bahamas..
Trinidad.. Monsterrat and then back to St. Thomas. My dad was
asked to be President of the same Bible College that he taught at so
many years before. I lived there for the remainder of my years at
home. Almost all of the years on the mission field, my siblings
and I were homeschooled. My mom did not any of the resources that
are available today.. but we had a good education. There are so
many memories I have of growing up and maybe will share them
sometime. God really gave us such a rich childhood.
My
father had a sister whose daughter was born deaf. We never really
got to spend too much time with Mary.. but we always did enjoy trying
to communicate with her in signs etc. However, it was not until
my highschool years that I really took a true interest in sign
language. The church in St. Thomas that we attended had a deaf
ministry... so I became involved and took classes.. soon I was
teaching the sign language class there! God had plans..
unknown to me.. but all known to HIM! I never really dated but
there were two hearing guys that I, so to speak, courted.. (never went
out on a date, they came to our home).. and they both brought me into
the deaf world even more.
When I "graduated"
from my homeschooling years.. (I received an American Schools diploma..
my daughter is doing the same).. I decided to attend Liberty
University.. where my aunt worked. The first day there in line
for registration.. I met a deaf guy and his interpreter.
Immediately, I began talking with ease to him.. excited to find someone
that I could communicate with in this way. As a result of that
meeting.. I was hired on as a part-time interpreter. This was a
great way to help pay my bill too!
Well, just a few
weeks into the school year... I was scheduled to interpret for
"Pastor's Chapel". I arrived early and was waiting for the chapel
to begin. My eye "caught" a tall, dark and handsome guy coming
in. He sat in the deaf section! Well, I was smitten from
there on out.
There was someone who had asked me about a week before this if I had
met the deaf guy who was tall, dark hair and blue eyes.. his name was
John. Well, I knew immediately that this was HIM! After
chapel, he approached and asked me my name.. and was surprised to learn
that I guessed his. Two years later we were married and the rest is history.
God has blessed us with a wonderful family and an awesome
ministry. We are still VERY much in love and my heart
pitter-patters every time he walks in the door!
Some
people wonder what it is like being married to a deaf person.. well,
the next time I blog.. I am going to list the pros and cons.. so be
watching!
• Jul. 19, 2006 - Our Drawing from the Past Booth at ENOCH Convention
Here is our booth at the NJ ENOCH Convention... my mom is the one
standing behind the table.. you can barely see the heads of Rebekah and
Rachel.. our little helpers!
This was a great convention.. we could drive
right up to our booth to unload and load back up. We experienced
wonderful hospitality and everyone was so friendly.
We attended four conventions this year and had a wonderful response to
the timeline resources we have. Our approach is a little
different and seems to be something that people are looking for.
This is an exciting venture for our family and we are looking forward
to next year's conventions already!
Will be posting again.. now that I think I have the hang of getting
these pictures up easier.. I promised some pictures of my favorite
rooms and need to get them up!
I have a favorite room in my house... that is.. my bathroom! :) The next close second is my (or our.. meaning hubby and me) bedroom and they are attached.. so in a way they are really one room. These are my haven... my refuge during a busy day... where I can take a moment to relax and refresh... where I read my Bible have have my devotions. The bedroom is painted in a beautiful green color that goes so well with the purple in the sheer curtains and on my bed cover. The bathroom is a mauve with two walls a lighter version of the same color.. and there are sheer green curtains hanging. I will post some pictures up when we get back from our trip.
You might wonder why I am so enamored with my rooms... well, there is a story behind my raving. You see, we have only lived in this house for three years... before that we lived in a quaint.. very old home with three bedrooms and one full bath on the top level and a half bath on the main level. I truly loved this house.. we moved there when our son, James (now 15) was only a few months old. I actually birthed 4 of our children in the living room of that house! Even when our family continued to grow.. God allowed me to be totally content with this home. Eventually we had 6 girls and 2 boys in this home. Five girls shared one room with a very tiny closet and the boys were more fortunate to have a room to themselves.. but it was also a storage area for many of our things. Grace, our baby, shared our room in a Port-a-crib. We were crowded.. but I kind of liked being able to hear and know what was going on in every corner of the house. The kids used to think that I had some kind of magic eyes.. because I could tell by the creaking of the floors upstairs.. what they were doing and where! We all shared one very small bathroom.
When we started our house hunting journey... we had a list of MUSTS that we kept at the forefront for every place we looked at. Our family started praying for God to lead us int he right direction. We started by putting our house on the market ourselves.. and that was not successful. One Sunday we stopped by an open house.. and even though the house did not appeal to us at all.. God was working... we found the most awesome real estate agent because of that visit! Her name was Kim and she was truly a blessing to our family. She was a Christian and began with us to pray daily for God to lead us to the right place. To make a long story short... she was with us for about 2 years.. looking for just the right place. We put contracts on two homes that full through... yet each time it fell through..we felt a total peace and it never upset us.
Eventually, we began looking at modulars... which are homes that are built in a factory. We just could not afford to buy the square footage that we wanted...with an already built home. So then we began the search for land.. Kim was just wonderful.. even knowing that after all her work.. we would not be getting a home.. she still continued with us. We kept praying and God blessed beyond our imagination! We found land...in the area we wanted...about how many acres we wanted (2.3 acres is what we have)... we were thrilled! The process from start to finish was only supposed to be about 6 months... however, it went for almost 12 months before we were able to finally move in. However, we have never regretted it one day. When we moved in.. we realized that God even had blessed us in areas that we had not even asked. We discovered that next door a homeschooling family with 6 children was going to be moving in... just up the road.. another homeschooling family with 8 children lived already.. and across the street another homeschooling family with 4 children was moving in! How wonderful is that..:) We really should rename our street.. Homeschool Lane!
The home we live in.. is a two story cape cod on full basement. When we first moved in.. to save money...the upper level was unfinished. We had two finished bedrooms. Our family increased by one when we took in our foster daughter, Snezhana. Four girls shared one bedroom and two girls slept in the living room.. the boys had the basement. My father came for one week and John took off work.. together they framed up the entire 1100 square feet upstairs! Three bedrooms and one bathroom... it was totally done about 6 months after we moved in. The girls chose the colors and decorated in their styles.. 2 girls to a room. Grace got her own room for about a year.. until Jeremiah came along. This past year John built a beautiful room for the boys in the basement. So we have gone from 3 bedrooms to 6.. and 1 full bathroom to 3 full bathrooms! Our old home was not even 2000 sq. ft. and now we have over 4000 (including the basement). We feel like we are rattling around.. but absolutely LOVE it!
Well, I definitely have gone way off into a rabbit trail with this story! But back to why I love these rooms..... one of the things I longed for most was a Master bedroom with a bathroom attached. Well, I got that and more... a big closet (in my eyes at least!).. a garden tub (ahhhh! I LOVE baths!) with separate shower (John's favorite thing).. and two sinks... how could I even need anything else.. I have it all! :) One thing that I wanted to do with my bathroom was to make it a place that would remind me of God's blessings. So when I was decorating.. I put pictures of my boys.. my girls.. and my husband... right where I can look at them every time I take a bath. I try to pray for them and thank God for each of them every time I look at these pictures. I also have other pictures.. of my siblings.. and even nephews.. in other places of my bathroom.
Needless to say, I do not take my home.. rooms or anything for granted.. I thank God for them almost daily!
So that is the "story" of my favorite rooms... what is your favorite?? I would love to hear what you have to share.
• Jun. 29, 2006 - We are into the swing of summer....
Summer has hit full force and with a vengence! It is hard to believe that this is the last week of June. We are in the process of packing up to leave for our family trip to Kansas. Wow... it has been a while since we have all traveled together for this long of a trip. In fact, we had only 6 children when we took this trip 8 years ago!
I have been online trying to get good deals on hotels and even looking at campgrounds to help in the cost. I started too late to be able to secure any cabins.. :( So we will have to reserve two hotel rooms at each stop. We are planning to camp at least one night with our tent.. the kids will LOVE that!
The last trip we took to Kansas.. we took a book about the states and we learned about each state as we went through. I think we will do a refresher course on that! :) If anyone else has any great ideas for a family of 12 taking a trip through 5 states.. please, let me know.
We are also planning on visiting some places....the new Titanic Musuem in Branson, MO and Laura Ingalls Wilder's home...in Mansfield, MO. We might find some other interesting things along the way.
When we arrive in Kansas we will be spending the majority of our time with John's mom. John's family is having a family reunion and some of the ones attending have not seen him since he was a little boy.. so that means they have not seen us at all! We are excited about the visit.. the trip itself will be somewhat tedious probably.
There is so much I can blog.. but I am really bad about getting on here when things are happening! This summer I want to work on a set time to blog.. maybe I will do better then!
Until later...
Tomorrow is the day we go to our 3rd convention this year! It has been fun meeting so many new people and getting to experience life as a vendor. Our kids are helping and learning a lot at the same time. We live within less than 3 hours of Richmond... so this convention will be the closest one, which works out wonderful for us. We have had to miss our church the last two conventions and attend others.. which was really great.. but there is nothing like being at your own church!
By the way... in case you are wondering what our business is.. we sell historical timeline resources. This is a fairly new venture for our family and we are excited about the response we have been receiving. Our products are unique and different so that makes it really great! We have made some changes and additions.. so when you check out our website.. be aware that the prices will be changing and we will be adding new things. Check us out.. www.drawingfromthepast.com
I hope to start blogging more regularly after this convention is over with. There are SOO many things I want and NEED to accomplish. So next week we will implement our summer schedule and start working on those things. We have lots of things going on this summer.. and I look forward to spending some good times with the kids.
Well, I have printed the last thing I need for tomorrow and it is off to bed for me! Until I blog again! God bless!
It has been so long since I have taken the time to blog. We have been so busy with many things... and I am not a natural blogger in that I can sit down on a whim and write things. My daughter, Heather, seems to be pretty good at that though!
We had a great time at our first convention and it went very well. The convention was held in Atlanta, GA so the worst part was actually getting to the place. The traffic is not my favorite thing.. especially when driving a 15 passenger van. But we made it and it was really neat to share our product with others. Our timeline products are fairly new and kind of unknown.. so it was fun explaining everything to those who were interested. There was a great response so we were encouraged.
The next convention was in New Jersey.. very close to New York. My parents are serving as missionaries in Brooklyn, NY.. so we stayed with them for the weekend. In fact, I just arrived home last night.. after making a 7 1/2 hour trip in 11 hours! I got lost about 4 times getting back home.. it was a long trip to say the least. However, the convention there was wonderful. We got to actually drive right up to our booth (inside the building) to unload.. it was awesome! :) They treat their exhibitors like royalty and we were so appreciative of all they provided. In some ways, we had a better response at this convention even though it was less than half the attendance. It was great fun to be with my parents who explained the products just as well as I did. Two of our daughters came along for this one.. (two of our sons at the one before) and we had a good time.
Now it is wonderful to be back home.. even though it will be a short stay.. we go to GA on Thursday! Our foster daughter, Snezhana, is graduating from 6th grade at the Christian deaf school there.. so we will be there for that and then bring her home. My husband will also be teaching a seminar over the weekend there at the Harvest Deaf Ministries. We plan to do some family activities and enjoy the time away together.
• Apr. 18, 2006 - My dog fell out of the house today!
You might be wondering how this happened... :) Well, we are putting a porch on the front of the house. Since moving here over two years ago.. we have just had the small front steps and deck to the front door.. which was really meant to be temporary. Finally, we have begun the process of putting on a regular front porch! It is exciting... with some mishaps on the way.
John and the kids had a blast taking down the front porch.. which left our front door off limits to children and animals. If you look out our front door it is about a 5 foot drop to the ground. Needless to say, I have been monitoring constantly to avoid anyone taking a leap! Well, today I had the door open just for a couple of minutes.. standing right in it and talking to my husband as he was working. Without me realizing it.. our old and blind dog, Diamond, decided she needed to go outside.. and she walked right past me and ended up on the grass below. At first, she just laid there in shock that the step was that far.. but thankfully, she was fine and got up with no lasting effects from the fall! This has made me all the more aware now of keeping tabs on that front door.
I hope to post pictures of our new front porch.. and possibly the old one as well.. and maybe without one at all! Of course, I keep saying this and have not done it yet!
• Apr. 11, 2006 - Our first Homeschool convention....
......as a vendor! I am excited and nervous at the same time...because it is all new to our family. Our first convention is coming up in less than a month!
We acquired this business for several reasons... and will be exciting to experience the "other" side at a convention. Our company's name was J & K Schooling and we have almost completed the process of changing it to Hearts4Home with the timeline resources being labeled "Drawing from the Past". We are reprinting and adding some new things this year, which has been a learning experience. I am so glad for the help of several good friends.. one in particular who has been such an inspiration to me. We are really looking forward to our kids learning so much from this whole venture as well! God has already blessed as we have no previous experience in this area.
We have a new URL too.... www.drawingfromthepast.com. Visit us if you would like.. our timeline figures are very unique and the kids just LOVE them!
This is my cell phone background.. I just love it! We took this picture at our Christmas Banquet in December..took it with my cell phone.. hard to believe that is possible.
Well, this is my week of testing.. I started well on Sunday with the Clean Heart, Clean Home Challenge.. and then it all went downhill from there! This week.. several of the kids were not feeling well.. headaches, fevers and just plain tired feeling. There is so much going around lately! It hit me on Thursday and laying in bed was the only thing I could envision for a few hours. There has been the normal routine.. cleaning zones.. doing dishes.. sweeping/mopping...trying to keep up with laundry. I really am thankful to have my kids on the Zone schedule.. because otherwise the house would be a disaster as I sit here!
However, this week is brand new! So we will rearrange the schedule to fit our weekly agenda and start again... At the very moment, we are working on one room that is almost finished being remodeled... and I WISH we had taken a before picture! Why do I think of these things when it is too late? So we will check that room off as done by Monday...yahh!
The room we are working on is where Jeremiah, our youngest, now sleeps. It formerly was Grace's room.. so was done in all pastels. We are in need of a "school area" on our main level.. so we decided to "split" the room and create two spaces. One side will be for Jeremiah.. and the other will be the "school area". I will try to post a picture this week when it is all done.
Well, need to get back to preparing for Palm Sunday.. which is tomorrow. I pray everyone takes time to truly realize all Jesus did for us as we approach Easter Sunday.
This weekend our Homeschool Group and church sponsored/hosted a Fashion Challenge Weekend for girls... grades 6th - 12th. It was a HUGE hit and all the girls seemed to really enjoy themselves. It started last night with a DVD presentation (by Donna Gresh - The Secret Keeper) and Bible study on modesty etc.
Then the girls were all put into teams.. and given the challenge to design and sew outfits to wear in a Fashion Show that was to be held at 2pm on Saturday (today). We all brought sewing machines.. material.. everything needed for them to work on their designs. This is exactly the kind of thing that my daughter, Hannah, just LOVES to do! She drew several designs the day before and brought them with her. She has such a knack with the sewing machine and design. I wonder all the time.. where she got her talent from.. I surely am not a fashion bug at all!
The moms were present for the Fashion Show and it was wonderful! The girls had a wonderful time presenting their designs.. with music and even a fog machine.. it really was so much fun to see these girls enjoying themselves so much! At the end, each girl received a certificate for the area she was the strongest in.. and Hannah, my daughter, got the grand prize... for best seamstress!
I hope to post up some pictures soon.. my camera failed me during the show and I had to ask my friend to take pictures for me.. so will have to get them from her to be able to post them.
All in all, it was a great experience for the girls.. and we can mark this one off as a success... Thanks to all the hard work of those who really made it happen!
We as a family.. desire to have our girls look nice.. but at the same time be modest and show Christ through their dress and mannerisms. In this day and age it can be hard.. however, it is so important to start early. We have certain rules that are just set in our family.. and there are no questions..
1. Sunday morning.. we dress up... as some might say. Boys.. in collared shirts and dress pants (no jeans). Girls in dresses/skirts (no pants).
2. Skirts are to be right below the knee or lower.... we do the "bend over" test... this immediately can approve/disapprove a skirt.
3. Shirts or blouses must cover the entire abdomen area.. the "raise and praise" test.. where you raise your hands over your head is great... if the stomach shows.. then it's no way!
4. Shorts have to be fairly long.. finger-tip at least.. and still have to be approved.
5. Pants have to fit nicely and "skin tight" is not allowed... shirts/blouses also need to be nice and not revealing.
6. No spaghetti straps... tank tops have to be double layerer and still approved.. no low cut shirts either.
These are things we both as parents have discussed with our children.. and it has not really been an issue much at all. Having Dad talk to the girls about how their dress can affect the guys really does help them to see the situation better from a male's point of view. Some of our favorite resources for modest dressing are from Nancy Leigh DeMoss's website and program.. we listen to that at times.
God has blessed us with 7 beautiful daughters to raise in His way.. we are thankful for each of them and proud that they are beautiful on the inside and out! Of course, I do not want to leave the boys out of this equation.. but as we all know.. the issues center around the girls.
Raising a generation that will love and honor Christ....
We are sooo thrilled! Our sweet daughter, Rachel, she is 7.. accepted Christ this week... yahhhhh. It is said the angels rejoice over one soul that receives Him.. well, they rejoiced this week. She was with me on my drive to get the boys from band.. and we started talking about salvation and sin etc. I asked her if she wanted to pray right there in the car.. and she looked up at me and said.. "Really?? Yeah!" It was a precious moment.. and we are thrilled that yet another one of our children has now joined our spiritual family. Nothing can really compare to that!
I have been asked to blog about my daily schedule. Well.. we do have a schedule even though it is not followed to a " T " every day. But it is printed and posted on our frig.. and when it is followed things go quite smoothly!
We do have an alternative schedule for Wednesdays because we attend the homeschool group and usually run errands that day. Saturday is also different and more laid back (that is if we do not have anything planned.. which is quite a bit of the time!). All the schedules are printed and laminated and on the fridge.
I also have our rotating breakfast menu printed and taped up inside one of the kitchen cabinets. The kids have it memorized though! It is as follows:
Monday - Cereal
Tuesday - Eggs (w/bacon, toast or biscuits)
Wednesday - Waffles
Thursday - Muffins
Friday - Cereal
Saturday - Dad's Surprise (which is usually eggs w/biscuits and gravy or pancakes)
Sunday - Oatmeal or cereal
This has been a "life saver" and most of the time the children can independently take care of their own breakfast since they know what the plan is. Of course, this was not possible when they were all young.. however, with our oldest being almost 17.. it is nice to have hands to help during the morning hours.
Later I will blog about our Zone charts.. which we also have put up in various places.. I find them invaluable!
With our family size.. I am still learning ways to make our life easier and more organized.. not sure if I will ever "arrive"! Maybe by the time I have grandchildren..
This week has absolutely flown by! One week ago exactly.. I was on the road to Ringgold, GA to pick up our foster daughter from her deaf school there (this week is Spring Break). She attends a school for the deaf.. it is actually the only Deaf Christian school in America at this time! She is staying with my cousin, who is also deaf. My cousin has been a missionary to the deaf in Peru and Ecuador for many years and is now back in the US.. sharing her experiences.. by teaching the deaf at Harvest Deaf Bible College.
We arrived back home on Sunday and have been enjoying having Snez back with us. On Tuesday, our company arrived.. missionaries to the deaf in Russia! They are on furlough now and we were blessed to have them stay with us for a few days! What a wonderful time it was to get to know these people.. who we have met only through phone communication... let me back up and explain some.
When Snez arrived at our home in September 2003, we had no idea what God's plan was going to be. We knew that her mother was in Russia.. was deaf and was not able to come to the US due to immigration problems. Snez accepted Christ as her Saviour very soon after joining our family. She immediately became very passionate about reaching her family for Christ as well. We would help her write emails to them and she would tell them point blank.. they needed to be saved! It began to be a bother to them.. as they feel that this is not something they needed. We told her that she needed to start praying for God to send someone to her mother.. as missionary perhaps that could share the gospel with her.
Well, God is definitely in control! Very soon after we started praying for this.. we received a call one Sunday morning.. and on the other end was the voice of Kris Courson (missionary to the deaf in Russia) interpreting for Tatyana.. Snez' mom! We were so thrilled! So for about a year now.. we have begun to develop a friendship with this missionary family via these phone calls while communicating with Snez' mother. Her mother is not saved yet.. but keep praying.. God knows when she will turn to Him.
Back to the present.... they are now on furlough and visited this week.. and we were finally able to meet the "voice" in person! What amazing stories of life in Russia we heard. They spoke to the deaf during our Wednesday evening Bible Study time as well. Just listening to them share about the overwhelming need among the deaf there in Russia was heartrending. There are 42,000 deaf in Moscow alone.. and $800,000 deaf in all of Russia. There are less than 10 deaf churches in all of Russia!
Needless to say, this week has been one that we will not forget! We did not know why God allowed us to have Snez in the first place.. and times have not always been easy.. but we do know one thing.. our lives will not be the same because of this whole experience. Snez' has mentioned many times.. her desire to be a missionary to the deaf in Russia. God only knows how far reaching the results will be.. we only pray that we remain faithful to His leading.
U.S.A...(Under the Son Academy) is the name we have given our homeschool group that meets at our church on Wednesdays. This group has grown over the years.. from just being a time for us moms..with toddlers.. to a couple of subjects being done together.. and now it is a full-fledged homeschool support group! Our family was one of the founding members.. actually.. my friend, Lenaya, and I started getting together and inviting other moms to join us nearly 10 years ago probably.
There are a variety of classes and moms take on different responsibilities such as teacher, childcare, organizer etc... this year has been one of the best yet! I teach a Journalism class and we produce, publish and distribute a newsletter entitled, "U.S.A. Today".. the kids came up with the name. It has been a fun class and really not too structured. Some of our other classes offered are Geography, Ancient History, Drama through Literature, Sign Language (taught by my daughter, Heather), Auto Mechanics, Cosmetology, Choir, Instruments (band), Spanish and P.E. We also have classes for the 2-3 year olds, 3-4 year olds.. and K-3rd grade. The older kids go from class to class while the younger kids stay in one class the whole time. Classes start at 9:45am and go until 2:30pm with a lunch break.. however, some families choose to come in later or leave earlier.. it is totally up to each mom as to what they think works best for their family. It has been a great time for the kids and moms.. to get together and share resources and at the same time have a protected environment for our children!
My kids LOVE it and if we have to miss a Wednesday.. they all are disappointed. I even can use it as an incentive for them to get things done... "You better get your school and zones done.. or you will not be going to Homeschool group!!" is an often heard phrase around here! :) To be honest, I do not always enjoy taking the time out of the week and getting 9 children ready and out the door to go.. but I have realized that there are some things we do for our children because it is something that they really do enjoy and benefit from. It also reminds me of how glad I am that I do not have to do it everyday... if my kids were in regular school! So where I would never actually "send" my children off to school... I am more than happy to join them for "school" once a week. I cherish the time with them so much more when I realize how soon it will be before they are all gone!
Another wonderful benefit with our group is that we put on programs at times. The last program we did was during the Christmas Season and went over so well! The kids who wanted to participate and use their talents were involved in making it a glowing success. The choir truly sounded professional and did many of their songs with no music.. but the music was angelic! The drama throughout the program was top notch and everyone was really impressed. The program was done during a regular Wednesday night church service.. so our whole church was able to be there.
We are delighted to have this opportunity even available to us and so close by! God has blessed us greatly..
As I sit here....my kitchen window is open on one side of the house and the living room window on the other! Hard to believe that we can actually leave the windows open without freezing to death. I was commenting to one of the moms at our homeschool group on Wednesday that I all the sudden have a renewed sense of vigor.. and I want to get that bedroom painted.. the one that has been put off for the last 3 months! Wow.. it is amazing what winter can do to a person.. especially someone like me who was raised in the Caribbean (my parents were missionaries there all my growing up years). God in His perfect wisdom knows that I need the wintertime to really depend on Him.. and then also I am all the more thankful in the Spring and Summer months! :)
An update on my dear niece, Kayla... she is now over 5 lbs. and growing like a weed! :) We are all so thankful that God has blessed her with such great health. Maybe I can post a picture soon.. if they will send me one.. have to bug them about that.
My mom FINALLY started a blog.. well, she signed up for one at least. My children are watching it daily to see when she is going to actually blog on it! She is on my friends list under the name GrannyFran.. so if anyone has time... they can check it out too.. hopefully, she will put something up pretty soon. Heather, my daughter, is "going to town" with her blog. I told her that very soon she was going to pass me right up! I have to work on keeping up with her.
Well, have been asked to help someone find a flight for a vacation coming up.. so need to close for now. God bless!
My two oldest children have started their own blogs. We have been discussing blogs a lot lately in our home. Really it kind of got started because of all the talk about MySpace.com. This is a totally popular place.. however, not something that we really want our kids posting on... especially when they have a place like this to blog. So today they both started one. This will really be a good way to work on their writing.. really grammar skills. They are great writers.. just their grammar is lacking... sometimes quite a bit! This is hard for me to see.. as I can pick it apart!
So... if you want to check them out.. their names are... Heather's is Dogalways524 and James' is Bladerunner51.. hope you enjoy! They are also in my Friend's List.. :)
This blog is dedicated to our Hearts4home ministry, family business and homeschooling endeavors. We are a family of 12 living in Forest, Virginia. John is the deaf pastor of Living Word Baptist Church. Denise (the one who will be blogging!) is a stay-at-home mom, teacher and homemaker.
There was someone who had asked me about a week before this if I had
met the deaf guy who was tall, dark hair and blue eyes.. his name was
John. Well, I knew immediately that this was HIM! After
chapel, he approached and asked me my name.. and was surprised to learn
that I guessed his. 
Two years later we were married and the rest is history. 
It is said the angels rejoice over one soul that receives Him.. well, they rejoiced this week. She was with me on my drive to get the boys from band.. and we started talking about salvation and sin etc. I asked her if she wanted to pray right there in the car.. and she looked up at me and said.. "Really?? Yeah!" It was a precious moment.. and we are thrilled that yet another one of our children has now joined our spiritual family. Nothing can really compare to that!
