I went to Blogger! 

**Edited to add: 
Just a reminder for you to check in with me over at my new site!  Though I hate leaving HSB, in order to continuing blogging without template/entry problems, I needed to make the move.  I'm still a HSB at heart!

Please come see me if you haven't already!

I just can't use this text editor anymore!  So I've moved the blog.  Come visit me HERE.  You'll feel right at home--I promise!

If you are a feedblitz subscriber, you may re-subscribe on the new blog sidebar.  I hope you do.  I'd hate to lose you! :)

I'll leave this blog up indefinitely.  I plan to get all the old posts (of value) moved soon.   I hope you'll stay in touch!

This was our first week back to our "Five in a Row" (FIAR) lessons.  Particularly, we have moved out of "Before Five in a Row", to "Five in a Row Vol. 1". 

"The Story About Ping" has always been a favorite.  I remember "ROWing" it with the son.  It was fun this time around, to add the hymn from this list and the Bible Character lessons from the supplemental book. 

Highlights included:  
Learning about bouyancy--which she understood more than I expected for a four year old.
Making playdough "Ping"s.
Learning that "Yangtze" means "yellow".
Learning about obedience and consequences.
Singing "Trust and Obey".
Coloring a map & flag of China.
Learning about customs of China.
Learning about ducks.
Learning about repetition as a story element.

I know there is so much more you can do with this book; as well as all FIAR selections.  I learned the first time around, with my son, that you can literally "make a day of it".  We don't have that kind of time, so I'm picking and choosing based on over-all value, and even ease.  I love this series and think just doing nothing but reading the book five days in a row and talking about it, has a lot of value!  My goal is to have something to notebook, which we did by putting together a lap-page (lapbook without the file folder) for her notebook. (We use a notebook method).

Daughter's favorite parts were the reading (always!), singing the hymn, and working with the playdough.  I'm seeing that if she has an actual "task" or "goal" to perform with the playdough, she likes it better than free-for-all playdough time.  She's already asking me what the next book will be, and doesn't want to "end" our Ping story!

I suppose I'm suffering from the "What happened to my week" syndrome!  It definitely flew by!

Today, daughter and I finished up our "The Story About Ping" Five in a Row (FIAR) book.  She really enjoyed it.  It's funny though, to watch her battle loosing her "freedom" to play in the morning and the "priviledge" of getting to have school time with Mommy.  She's a bit torn!  I think once I get the routine squarely in place, she'll feel better about it. 

We are still having trouble getting up on cold, dark mornings, and so our day is...well...short.  Oh for a bit more sunshine!  I'm regretting not taking our annual trip to Florida, but I can't think about that too much while we have so much to do.

Son, also, is having a bit of a time adjusting to his sister getting first dibbs on my mornings.  I moved his "on-your-own" studies to the front-end so that I could handle the preschool things while daughter is more attentive.  He's not sure he likes that!  He asked me four times today when I was going to be with him.  Hmmm.

Speaking of his lessons, we had another fabulous week studying the Tabernacle.  What was supposed to be one week in our Judah Bible Curriculum (JBC) has turned into almost 6!  I found this incredible lesson plan online and it has fit in perfectly with our Principle Approach/JBC methodology.  It's amazing to me how much of the symbolism son understands.  Much of it still blows me away.  Horns on the 4 corners of the altar=Jesus, the Horn of our Salvation.  Amazing!  The Bread of the Presence=the very presence of God, and without the smoke of the incense so that we might see Him clearly!  So cool!  There is so much to be excited about that we just keep going!  No hurry!

I was finally able to put my hands on a set of the Edith McCall history books that I'd heard so much about and were highly recommended in Truthquest.  In case you're interested in this wonderful set of books that are no longer in the libraries (unless you have a "poor" library, which is better!) they are available through Royal Fireworks Press.  I googles Edith McCall until I was blue in the face, and could find nothing.  Somehow, probably through the Truthquest Yahoo group, I found this company that's re-publishing.  Son really loves these books about all the heroes of history.  He read one (we found used) last year at age 7, and it was no big deal.  He's flying through them now. So I'd put the age at 7-10 for read alone. 

The rest of our week included starting daughter on "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons".  I used this with my son before we found "Spell to Write and Read" (SWR).  Even though SWR is much better, I thought we'd give this a try just for a little start.  I found myself adapting it to SWR anyway, but the book is friendly for her.  She really loved it and unlike her brother, she was able to do the writing.  Son, at that age, would have none of that!  First born thing?

Well, she likes it and even "wrote" a little in her "Ping" lap-pages we created. (Not a file folder backing, but colored paper for our notebook approach. )

Both children are trying the violin.  This will be interesting because it is just about the only instrument that I couldn't teach to them if my life depended on it.  Son's getting pretty good on the piano, and daughter just wants to do what brother does.  It's convenient--REALLY convenient!--that they have a music store full of instruments they can choose from at no charge.  Grandpa's legacy!  I doubt daughter will continue, but son is doing very well so far.  Having asked to play it since he was 5, I figured I'd best not wait any longer.  My own longings to play cello have been heightened by all this.  Getting a Yo-Yo Ma CD from the library doesn't help! :)

Back to the SWR thing...I realized today that according to grade levels, which I DO NOT believe in or follow, son would be finishing 3rd grade in another 38 weeks at the rate we are going.  Hmmm.  I think we'll bump us his words to 30 per week and see if we can at least make a dent.  At the worst, he'll be...gee...ahead of the public schools anyway!!!   No pressure!

As far as his recovery from his injury.  We have passed the one week mark and he is chomping at the bit to play--REALLY play.  He misses his buddy who is on vacation, and all the friends I won't let him see for fear of a wrestling, play time.  One more week should about cover it.  We did have to take a trip to the Chiropractor this week for his neck which, as you can imagine, hurts from his head slamming and bouncing off the ice!  ICKKkkk!  Not fun to think about.  I'm a bit tired of people asking me if I saw him fall.  The truth is God is merciful and if I had seen him go down, I would not have been able to function, let alone get him to the hospital.  For whatever that's worth, which kinda seems like a lot at times!

So, big weekend plans--laundry, book sale, laundry, freezing my rear some more, laundry.  That about covers it!  Is it really Friday?

In case you are a Bloglines or other feed reader, you may not know that upon making my recent template change and gaining new focus, I decided to use my sidebar to track (somewhat) some of the things we are doing for school.  You will see book titles we've read, our hymn of the month, poet of the month, and game of the week.  This is new for me--keeping better track of titles, etc.  We'll see if I can keep up!

If you can think of anything else that may be helpful to a reader, let me know!  I believe I will enjoy this format more as it keeps me "current", so to speak. 

As far as the other resources I used to list, I will be adding them back, reviewing them and so forth, as time goes on.

I'd never seen the movie, Dr. Zhivago, though I've heard of it most of my life.  Upon seeing it at the library, I snatched it up thinking, "Finally!  I'll see this classic, award winning movie."

Husband and I watched it over two nights--though I'm not sure why, other than it's very long, and like most train-wrecks, it was hard to NOT finish watching it. 

Our dialogue during this incredibly depressing, morose, moral failure of a movie, went something like this...

"This is horrible."

"Wow.  This is horrible."

"The whole thing is nothing but infidelity!"

"This is horrible."

Husband returned home tonight to inform me that all day he thought about this movie and how horrible it was. 

Apparently, it won like five Academy Awards.  It was horrible!  Even the acting was bad.  The history was not even told in a manner that you could figure out what was happening.  It was wretched from the first scenes.  There was absolutely no redeeming quality about it.  The so-called famous "Somewhere My Love" song was repeated to such an absurd level that it became the montra for a cheating spouse. 

In case you've never seen it, don't bother!  Did I mention it's horrible?!

According to Erasmus (c.1530) these are a few etiquette tips we should remember:

"Turn away when spitting lest your saliva fall on someone.  If anything purulent falls on the ground, it should be trodden upon, lest it nauseate someone."

"To lick greasy fingers or to wipe them on your coat is impolite.  It is better to use the tablecloth or the serviette."

"Some people put their hands in the dishes the moment they have sat down.  Wolves do that."

"You should not offer your handkerchief to anyone unless it has been freshly washed.  Nor is it seemly, after wiping your nose, to spread out your handkerchief and peer into it as if pearl and rubies might have fallen out of your head."

"Retain the wind by compressing the belly."

"Do not be afraid of vomiting, if you must; for it is not vomiting but holding the vomit in your throat that is foul."

"If you cannot swallow a piece of food, turn around discreetly and throw it somewhere."

"Do not move back and forth on your chair.  Whoever does that give the impression of constantly breaking or trying to break wind."

What can I say?  Pure genius! 

From "Healthy Foods", by Leanne Ely, C.N.C.  More on this book to come!

Today we started back with our schedule and all in all, it was a great time. 

Son is having a bit of hard time, since the accident, coming to terms with the fact that he may not jump around, slide down the stairs, participate in any physical play whatsoever, or do any of his normal "boy" activities.  Two weeks, at least.  I'd like it to be longer, myself.  I haven't told him he will not be getting together with his friends for a while either.

We were warned that with the kind of injury he has, any addition jarring of the brain, or trauma in the slightest order, could be extremely dangerous.  Just jumping up and down can be catastrophic.  Though he has no outside signs of injury, other than forgetting the accident itself, he is still an injured little boy.

So today, he broke down and in his frustration cried out all the "why" questions.  Heartwrenching, to be sure.  It's so easy to forget in our "wisdom of old age" how easy it is to doubt and be afraid when you're little (or even when you're not!).

Having begun very earlier grounding him in the Biblical truths and principles of God's Word, I sometimes think he remembers everything I've ever told him.  Like just how much his Heavenly Father loves him and cares for him.  We talked once more about why bad things happen; how sin and a cursed world effect our time here on earth.  How even as God watches out for us, that doesn't mean we are never to be without the consequences of a fallen world.  I reassured him that if he had died, he'd have been home--we'd have been a wreck, but he'd have been ok.  I had the pleasure of telling him in no uncertain terms, that God has an incredible plan for him--a reason and purpose for laying His healing hand upon him and for having him be right here where he is.

We also talked about the things we know like scripture.  I quoted to him some of the many verses he's learned and applied them to the situation.  Tears filled his little eyes and I told him to remember the truth that God has shown him.  I know there are reasons we've learned the verses we have, and God has blessed us because of them.  We talked about how God's Word does not return void and helps to uphold us even in our times of need.  We prayed together and he spent some time praying alone.

His depression didn't last long.  I know he's frustrated not being able to run and play.  I know he's scared about how easily he was hurt.  Time will help, and I think he'll grow from this experience. 

Thank you for all your prayers, emails and comments!  I've had my own moments of near collapse in all this.  I know in the grand scheme of things, it's such a minor accident.  I just can't imagine going through ANY trauma without the hope of Christ.

Today definitely ranks in the top 3 all time birthdays.  I do believe husband is getting better at them.  He has for sure learned that if you forget presents, I get bummed.  What can I say.  My Mama showered me with presents.  She made me a "present" person.  But, the challenge of being married to a very NON-present person has been interesting.

Though he still waits till the last minute, he's getting oh-so-good at them!  This morning he blessed me with a new printer.  Mine died like...yesterday!  He also gave me a spiffy digital picture frame/changer thingy!  I just saw one at my friends house!  How cool is that?  Did you tell him, Suz?  He did tell me that my 8 year old son wanted to get me a new dress and a new computer.  That's my boy!!

So I was treated to "no cooking day" with a marvelous brunch at Paradise Bakery.  Oh goodness!  Really good.  Cookies were my cake of the day...at least until the surprise cake with dinner!  Oh yes!  Dinner too!  Finally I got to go to St. Elmo's.  It's way moved past my other favorites to the top of the list.  The kids did very well for such a shmaltzy (sp?) restaurant.  And yes.  I have to have my kids with me on my birthday. 

Did I mention the Chocolate Molten Cake?  Uhhhh.  Fierce. 

So, my day also included a movie with the family (home video), foot rubs, back rubs, breakfast made to order, tons of hugs and kisses and the piece de resistance (like I can spell that!)--a trip to Eddie Bauer!  There are some things a girl can live without.  A day like this, is not one of them!  Ok.  Well.  Maybe.  But who would want to?

A bunch of my friends called, my dad treated me to dinner a night early, and...did I mention the Chocolate Molten Cake? :)

I just tucked one baby in.  I've got one to go.  And Dr. Zhivago on video with the husband.  Never seen it. 

Am I ready for school tomorrow.  Almost.  I should hustle and get a few things prepped but I'm basking in the excitement of my day. 

Now I know why people post about their birthdays.  They can be so awesome you just want to share.  I won't mention that I'm OLD and found not one, but TWO snow white eye brow hairs this week.  I won't mention that I'm pretty sure my nose is bigger than last year and that I'm OLD.  We'll just stick with the whole "29" thing.  I'm pretty sure I've convinced my children.  Hey!  What do they know?!  Hee Hee.

I’m so happy right now because my son is recovering nicely (God is so Good!) and my house looks beautiful!  Of course, it’s raining, gloomy and cold outside, but I’ve got the fireplace going, cocoa on the stove and…did I mention my son is recovering?!!!

Back to the house business—had a “guy” coming for business to stay with us.  That always puts the heat on, so I turned up the gas and made up with my house for being a disaster.  It took a lot of effort, just like any “relationship”, but I think we now have an understanding.  It will continue to be a mess as long as I do nothing.  That’s the deal.

I was so glad to get it done and see it kept that way for more than 24 hours—I just can’t tell you what a relief it is!! J  Tomorrow is my birthday, and the thought of having to clean before starting back on our school schedule Monday…well, I didn’t want to.  As it is, me and the laundry pile still have a bit of negotiating to do today.  Every time I think I have it mastered, it rears its ugly head.  Can laundry sin?  I’m pretty sure it has a horrid sin-nature…oh wait, that would be me and my messy family.  Hmmm.  Well.  Regardless, progress is being made and I’m nearly back on track for Monday. 

BTW…my husband just called me a “library fiend”.  Stating that he’s never even had a library card (how sad!), he’s shocked that I “log in” to the library and visit it regularly.  Poor thing.  Well, I’m off to pick up Lisa Whelchel’s book, "Busy Mom's Guide to Bible Study", and Philip Yancey's "Prayer: Does it Make Any Difference" , then…back to the laundry.

So what do the sniffles and peroxide have in common?  Amazingly, one cancels out the other.  In other words, 3 drops of plain ole hydrogen peroxide in both ears helps to stop cold symptoms. 

I first read about this on DeeDee’s blog and couldn’t quite believe it.  Then, within a week I read about it here (scroll down to the non-bold type).  I just kept thinking…”Antihistimine?   Or Peroxide?”  It seemed kinda weird to me.  Sort of like the first time I heard about nasal irrigation and laughed so hard I thought I’d wet my pants! 

However!  Both of these unusual treatments really work!!  Being a chronic sinus sufferer, I tried it on myself first.  You repeat the drops about every 4 hours and it really does relieve the symptoms.  One time I think I put the drops in too fast and my ear kinda popped—like on an airplane, but I go one at a time now and it hasn’t happened again.  So you do have to take it easy.

Now, I tried this on my son who gets terribly ill from even a simple cold (cold induced asthma).  He hated the fizzy sound and screamed and carried on like a wild man.  He’s gonna have to get over that one!

My daughter started in with the sniffles yesterday.  We began “treatment” and it worked so well for her that she keeps coming back for more when it “wears off”.  I’m very encouraged.  This helps with our desire to remove the habit of over-the-counter medicines from our lives.  Even the financial benefit is so ridiculous, I felt bound to try it!  I will say—the earlier you start, the better it works…as with any natural treatment.  It’s funny how we go into “denial” that we are getting sick.  We think we can wish it away, but really it’s to avoid medicine and doctors and contagious spreading that we ignore it.  Backwards?  Grrr. 

I suppose I should tell you the story of the nasal irrigator too.  My cousin—another in my family’s long line of sinus sufferers—found this “device” that you attach to a waterpik.  It has a cone shape on the end and you hold it up to your nose, blowing salt water up one side, and out the other.  This was the most outrageous thing to see.  Now I don't know why I thought it so funny, but there you have it!  I literally had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard.  I just could NOT imagine it!...till I tried it!  Can I just say, getting’ out the nasties may be nasty, but it’s better than leavin’ ‘em in!  Enough said.

I’ve been working away on our history plans for the rest of the year and I’m stunned to realize that not only are we not even close to being half way through Truthquest AHYS II, but chances are we won’t finish this year.  Eek!

But that’s okay.  We raced through the first book only to realize that as good as it was, we hadn’t taken the time to record as many of our lessons as we should have.  The books in this series are so good and to not have any paper to show for it isn’t the end of the world, but it would be nice. 

I know some people skip topics in the guide, but I can’t bring myself to do that unless there are absolutely no resources available on the topic.  I learned so little history in my public schooling, that I’ve enjoyed getting a grip on it as much as my son!

I’ve also come to terms with something that is often taught in regards to the Principle Approach methodology of learning and that is teaching one idea per subject, per day.  This has helped us in a lot of ways.  Most specifically, it’s helped us not to hurry, but to enjoy what we’re learning more. Sometimes it’s so hard to just stop because you’ve learned the one idea, but you can overload.  We’ve done it more times than not!  I’ll tell you about another way we’ve used this another time.

So I’ve dug through my books today and made my lists.  I’ve found it helps me if I have a separate list that is just the books for boy to read by himself.  I’ve also tried to date my list and if we go all through the summer, we might finish by fall. 

In the midst of trying to plan, I’m also trying to move all 2000ish of my books from the upstairs down to husband’s old office.  It’s a great room with two windows but no direct light.  I’m about half done, but every time I sort through them,  I get more perplexed as to how to arrange them.  So far I’ve organized the history books chronologically, but I haven’t decided whether to include the historical fiction in with them.  Hmmm. 

Well, I’ll throw in one history recommendation for today.  It’s a series, actually.  The Sowers Series Biographies.  They are Christian based and specifically focus on the many providences of God.  I’ve mentioned before how wonderful the George Washington book was.  Since then we have also read the Samuel F.B. Morse bio.  Another thing to note about these books is that they are written using primary sources:  diaries, letters and the such.  We are about to start the Johnny Appleseed one.  We look forward to each title!

We passed the 24 hour mark very uneventfully—thankfully!  Son is doing much better.  He still cannot remember exactly how he got hurt.  It kills me that I didn’t see it happen.  I just keep flashing on him lying in an unmoving heap on the ice.  Not fun.

I’m so used to the type of head bonks that are accompanied by a goose-egg.  He never had but a very slight bump and now there is absolutely no outward sign of his rather dangerous injury.  I have a new appreciation for those goose-eggs and those outward signs of injury.  I would have taken that, over this, any day.

Today he is complaining of neck pain, which he had pretty bad last night as well.  He also says that everything he does feels like it’s happening in a dream.  That’s a bit scary.  Husband keeps “reminding” me that he had a brain injury.  Thanks.  I needed THAT reminder!

I have to share with you how the hospital staff was “right” with us on preparing for a law suit. (I’m being sarcastic.)  Right off the bat, they were assuming the rink was at fault and wanted “names”.  It was kinda sickening.  We just looked at them and said, “Uhhh…it was an ACCIDENT.”  This was not something they swallowed very easily.  On a higher note (and it’s totally weird that I remember this) I was looking at the young man (teenager) that helped us at the rink.  As we were leaving, he was sitting at a table with a girl and between them was an open copy of Elizabeth Elliot’s “Passion and Purity”.  Hmm.

So, more rest is in store today--at least for my boy.  I’ll be planning our school time, hoping to still start on Monday.  I suppose it’s a good thing we didn’t start Wednesday…we’d of had to have a “do over” day.  Actually, I wish we could have a “do over” day!

By the way, when we were in the ER and constantly checking his memory, he was able to remember all his scripture verses!  That just goes to show you—there are more uses for memorizing scripture than you can imagine!

Well, we went ice skating.  For five minutes before my son landed on his head.  Even with a big, thick hat on he hit hard enough for a concussion and memory loss.  We went right to the ER as soon as we realized how bad it was and there we sat for the usual hours and hours.  They ran a CT scan of his head while we listened to him ask us 3000 times what happened. 

He had no memory of the day, as well as he was forgetting things that happened within a minute.  Over and over he would ask us the same things.  Very scary.  The part that I had to laugh at, was when after praying together, he forgot we had, but remembered he wanted to.  He kept asking me over and over if we could pray together.  So we just kept praying! 

The Doctors felt like he should improve after six hours—he didn’t.  Then began the whole “transfer” ordeal.  They wanted to transfer him to the local children’s hospital where a children’s neurological surgical team was on hand in case he began bleeding in his brain.  The CT was completely clear. 

My husband having had this exact same experience (must be hereditaryL) wasn’t sure that we needed to go.  The doctors released him for us to take up there.  We took him home to eat, gather his things, take his sister to a friends, and make some calls.  We talked to a doctor friend who was reassuring in that the doctors were probably just covering their rears and though they told us there was less than a 1% chance of a problem, assured us he needed to be watched.  Our doctor friend made it clear that because most people would not carefully watch and check their child, the hospitals are going to want  to do it.  After prayerful consideration, and since we aren’t “most people”, we decided to watch him ourselves for a couple of hours, then take him in at midnight if need be.  By midnight, he had regained 99% of his memory and was no longer loosing recent minutes. 

We decided to put him to bed between us and wake him every hour and a half.  We did.  He doesn’t wake up very good when exhausted—imagine that! J  But he was aware and knew what had happened—the good news!

He’s not out of the woods yet.  After the 24 hour mark—about 3:30--I’ll feel better.  He’s got a whopper of a headache this morning.  We also have to keep him from getting re-injured over the next two weeks.  That won’t be easy.  AND we also get to wait and see if there are any ramifications for us not showing up at the other hospital.

If you think about it, would you please pray for our boy?  It just rips my heart to pieces seeing him hurt and confused and so sad about it all.  He keeps saying, “I hate ice skating!”.  Last night, when we kept having to repeat what happened to him, he kept asking, “Do I even know how to ice skate?”  The answer was, “NO!”  So, we’re making progress and we won’t be skating again for quite awhile!

We had planned to start back with school today, but I’m still not ready.  All of the festivities and visiting took away from my time needed to plan and prepare.  With all the running around, the house is a bit turned upside down.  A very scary looking dust-bunny has been looming in my entryway—only a symptom of the whole condition.  Oh!  It would have been so nice to start the year with perfection!  But alas!  I spent the day cleaning, re-arranging and purging.  There’s more to come today…and tomorrow…and probably Sunday as well! 

The husband has a business associate coming to stay for a couple of nights which means the guest room will get my attention today.  There is nothing like ‘having’ to get something done!  Very motivating!

Well…we will start back on Monday one way or the other.  Daughter is going to get to “ROW” again (Five in a Row) and son will be back on his schedule.  I hope!

I’ve agreed to take the kids ice skating later today.  I’m scared to death!  I haven’t been in 20ish years and my fear of falling and screwing up my neck again is high.  I think they’ll have fun. 

I’ve always wanted to add some sort of art appreciation to our days.  I’ve read the Ambleside Online posts about this topic many times.  Implementation seems to be my problem. 

While blog reading today, I saw an idea mentioned twice:  Jenny at Little Acorns Treehouse shares this wonderful idea of an art calendar.  I can’t wait to get mine!  The ‘ole cut and paste and print method has worn quite thin! 

Reasons to switch:

·         Microwave corn is ridiculously expensive!

·         And…it’s not that great for you!

·         And…corn (as in most corn products) is the most genetically modified of all crops.  In other words, man tried to make what God made, better.  Think it worked?  Ugh!  I'm a little sensitive about this issue because it appears to be a reason why my dear boy has a peanut allergy--the genetic modification of peanut crops is huge.

 How to switch:

·         Buy a bag of loose corn; preferably Black Jewel (available at Meijer), non-genetically modified yummy popping corn.  (Pennies compared to microwaveable).  ***Edited to say...I've had mixed results with this corn.  It pops about half the size, and not all the kernals.  Might be me, but can be a bit frustrating!  Still looking for a really, great Non-GMO popcorn!

·         Using your stock pot (with a lid) place 2 Tablespoons of the oil of your choice.  While your at it, go healthy and choose Coconut Oil (available at any health food store in the supplement section), or Canola Oil.

·         Place 1/3 cup of corn in the pot and turn it on.

·         With lid in place, move the pot back and forth across burner a bit to mix the oil and corn.  THEN…

·         When you hear the first pop, get those arms moving and don’t let that pot sit still (unless you like burnt corn!) 

·         Keep going till every kernel pops. 

·         It DOESN’T take as long --less than a minute!

·         Top with a little sea salt or other seasonings you might like.

·         Enjoy a wonderful snack.  Whole grain.  Yummy!

You may have noticed that "Honey From the Hive" has changed to "Living Life Between the Trees".  I'm excited about this change for a number of reasons.  The main reason is that I've re-discovered the worth of blogging and have come to terms with my limitations and purposes for spending my time here at HSB.  Here is my new blog profile statement:

In the beginning there was a tree.

The Tree of Life.

When sin entered the world, we no longer had access to that tree.

We waited for another tree.

The Cross.

Jesus, as the perfect sacrifice for our sins once again gives us access to the Tree of Life.

But we have to wait.

Wait for Heaven.

Until then, we live life between the trees.

It has been a very uphill battle, in that regard, this year.  Many times I felt like I was beginning to despise the computer and blogland.  Many times I hungered for the input of the friends I've made online.  It seems as I've journeyed through all of life this year, I've "taken it out" on my blog.  Not it's fault! 

I'm embarrassed and humbled by my errors in taking my blog both too seriously, and not seriously enough. As in all things, I'm slowly learning about moderation, patience and my worth in the eyes of my King. 

The fact is, I've missed what I started here.  I've missed the sharing and growing, while taking on a role both perceived and not justified.   Here is where you are either shaking your head in agreement, or in total confusion!!  Ha!  You're not alone!  HeeHee!  Let's just say, I hope to re-claim some ground in pursuit of recording our homeschool journeys.  The biggest difference now from when I began in September of 2005 is that now I have the added purpose of growing in the once neglected area of homemaker/caretaker.

I hope you enjoy this new journey with me! 

This has been the most amazing year--chock full of all kinds of amazing discoveries.  What better way to come upon the year's end than to reflect on a few, remember them for posterity, and share them with a few friends!

Goods and services:

·         This year we discovered ChristianCinema.com--Christian/family movie rentals that have blessed us and saved us a fortune in DVDs!

·         If you've never tried Burt's Bees products, you are missing out.  These unprotentious products actually DO what they are intended to and they are (mostly) all-natural which makes us all very happy.

·         MPIX free downloadable scrapbook designer!  Fabulous!

New Discoveries:

·         New knowledge regarding vitamin supplements...and with that, supplements that actually have had a positive affect.

·         Raw honey!  Yum!

·         Coconut oil--fabulously good for you!

·         Herbal tea!  Yum!  I think herbal tea is one of those things you grow to appreciate.

·         Stevia! This herbal sweetener (along with raw honey)  got us off of all artificial and processed sweeteners.

·         The Biblical holidays & feasts--learning about them and beginning to reflect on them, if not fully incorporate them, into our lives.

·         Re-Discoveries:
The joys of board games. 

·         The joys of poetry.  Our addition of a poem a day (Ambleside Online) has been so great!

·         Hymns really are better!  We've incorporated more hymns and less K-LOVE in our music listening. We've really enjoyed Selah's recordings of hymns and the Douglas Bond book series Mr. Pipes.

·         Picked up crocheting again!  Whoo-eeee!  That is fun!  AND I've found some great free patterns from the web and library books.  Love it!  Crocheting is not just for granny-square afghans anymore!

·         Also picked up my soprano and alto recorders again to bring some musical flavor to our home. 

·         The love of sewing.

·         MOTH: Managers of Their Homes

·         Lavender: Growing it, smelling it, and using it in the home!  Thank you, Mrs. Meyers!

·         Quiet times. 

·         Stove popped Popcorn!  Especially Black Jewel Popcorn--non-genetically modified popcorn without the "pain" of too many hulls!  You can save a lot of money getting "off" of microwave popcorn!  Stove top is easy--I'll post about that soon!

Accomplishments:

·         The purging of all processed foods from our home-life.  Still working on what happens when we leave home!

·         Learned how to bake my own healthy bread and now do so regularly. 

·         Learning how to cook real, raw foods--no cans, boxes or freezer bags.

·         Meal planning is a GO!

·         The continuing progress of establishing good habits--Laying Down Rails!

·         I'm not sure if this qualifies as an accomplishment...but coming to terms with blogging and what my hopes are for this hobby that has been sometimes good, sometimes ugly.  I'm hoping to stick with the good!

Personally Speaking:

·         I've thoroughly enjoyed getting back into the Word on a daily basis!  WoW!  God is good!  I've so enjoyed the journey of finding out why God created me the way I am--what purpose's he has for me and my individual gifts--how I'm to grow as a wife, mother, caretaker of the home, child of the King. 

·         It's been a year of change--God-induced, God directed, God and all His infinite mercies.  I'm excited for 2008 only to receive more of the same!  Laying it all at His feet--that is how I hope to worship Him with all we do. 

Absolutely FABulous Turkey Chili Burgers!  FIVE STAR!!
Adapted (for children's taste buds)from a recipe by Rachel Ray

1+ lb ground turkey

Mix together 1 T chili powder, 1/2 T McCormick Montreal grill seasoning, & 1/2 T ground cumin.

Add to mixing bowl meat, seasonings, 1/2 a med. onion; chopped finely, 2 cloves of fresh, crushed garlic, 1T Worstershire sauce, & 1/3 c tomato sauce.

Lastly, add 1/3 lb chopped up pieces of sharp or smoked cheddar.

Shape into burgers--I use the "cookie" drop method so I don't have to touch!  It's amazing how well you can "shape" with a wooden spoon!

Add a bit of olive oil to your pan and cook for 4-6 min on each side (covered)--depending on size of burger.  Keep the heat on medium after you heat the oil.

Easily doubled.

*Rachel Ray's version called for double the hot spices and the addition of 1 T hot sauce.  My kids just can't take that!  My adaptations, however, are still nice and spicy!  You'll love the flavor!

Warm Your Bones Hot Cocoa
Mix together:
8 qt box of powdered milk
3 c chocolate milk mix (Quik)
1/2 c sucanat (sugar)
6oz of Coffee Mate or Cremora

Fill your mug 1/3 full; then add your hot water.

I haven't tried this option yet: add a drop of peppermint extract per mug.  Could be good!! :)

If you ever take digital pictures or have ever scrapbooked, boy do I have a surprise for you!!  Just last week, through my ever-investigative cousin, I was turned onto the most incredible picture tool imaginable and all for FREE!

As an avid scrapbooker, once a Creative Memories rep. and the whole works, I have had a lot of trouble getting to my craft as I've grown in homeschooling, homekeeping, etc.  As it all sits precariously piled and collecting myriads of dust, I've considered digital scrapbooking--but lets face it.  It's hard.  Hard to know where to start...hard to pay money to experiment with it.  It's pretty much a no-go for this paper-pusher.  I'd about given up hope when Andrea said, "Try this!"  So as not to keep you in too much suspense, it's a free program that you download from a photo lab company.  You load the pictures in and make a book.  They print it out and get some $$$--BUT it's not too bad a price AND WAY cheaper than paper scrapbooking.  If you've ever done one of those business tests to determine what your time is worth per hour, you'll understand.  I just printed a 46 page hardback 10 X 10 photo album, had the cover embossed, all on high quality paper + shipping for $54.00. 

So back to this program!  It is amazing!  You can arrange your pictures, crop and zoom.  There are tons of templates that are all adjustable!  They have back ground papers to use, or you can use photos as background.  It's SO cool.  Also, as I've considered my next few albums, I've realized it wouldn't take much to take digital photos of my current pile of favorite scrapbook paper, sort them into a file and use them as backgrounds!  Did I mention the FREE part?  The journaling is really great too.  Just open a text box anywhere and it will pull from any font you have on your computer.  How cool is that!  You can add borders,  fade pictures, do b&w and sepia shots--the works!  The only things it won't do is get your groceries and actually edit your pictures.  Apart from that, we're good!

So my 46 page album (50 pg max) is printed on linen paper (no extra charge!), hardback 10 X 10.  They embossed my cover for $7.  There turn around time is lightening fast and here's another great thing:  You will now have a digital backup of your pictures and books!  Drop it in the toilet?? No problem!  Just get a re-print.  Need one for Grandma--no problem! 

I'm telling you...this is the greatest thing since sliced bread!  It could very well steal the market.  I have to caution you...this is very addictive and a joy to work on!  Finally a completed album.  Over 400 pictures (chosen from 700) in just a couple of afternoons.  Suzette, Angel, Missy!  You're all gonna love this!

 PS...Memorabilia!  Lay it out...take a digital photo of it...put it in the book.  Works for me.  Anything that won't work that way, you probably shouldn't have in there in the first place!

Wow! Have I  had my head in a bunch of books lately!  God's Word tops the list and then we added a few more...

Read alouds have included:
... too many from Truthquest to list (though I will say I did not enjoy the Landmark book about Dolly Madison--that's a 1st!).  I'll also add a true gem we really loved--another Sower series book, "Francis Scott Key".  Awesome series!

"Mr. Pipes Comes to America" by Douglas Bond--really a fun book and a great way to learn about hymns and hymn writers.  This is part of a series.  Can't wait to get to the rest!

Lamplighters..."Shipwrecked, But Not Lost" & "The Giant Killer"  --both FABULOUS!!

For myself (and our family!)...
"The All New Square Foot Gardener", By Mel Bartholemew.  Never have I been so enthralled with a gardening book!  It has the potential for great changes to our lives.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, check it out from the library.

"Better Basics for the Home" by Annie Berthold-Bond--about home-made formulas for every cleaner and household product imaginable.  Pretty interesting.  Save big bucks. 

"Keeping Our Children's Hearts" by Steven & Teri Maxwell (Titus2.com)  This is, as to be expected, great wisdom taken from the Word of God.

For myself (for fun)...
"The Cottage at Bantry Bay" by Hilda VanStockum
"Eight Cousins" by Louisa May Alcott

All so good.  You gotta love books!

You know the saying about the best laid plans?  Well, we awoke to the sound of serious coughing from our boy.  Not a good thing for a child who has suffered from cold-induced asthma and major bronchial upheaval. 

As we've headed into flu season, we've wrestled once again with the flu shot scenario.  For the past several years we've gotten them (all but the husband) because of son's high risk of complications.  We've avoided the flu (all but the husband!) and so in many ways it has seemed a no brainer.  Why it no longer is so simple is because we've felt like we needed to help our son keep from becoming dependent on the inhaler and various cold meds AND even flu vaccines. 

I grew up in a family where "sinus problems" are prevalent.  Decongestants, antihistimines...a constant battle with sinus infections.  As I've found myself using them more and more with my children, I've felt terrible uncertainty regarding how they would affect them long-term.  It's always so "easy" to justify their use--wanting them to rest; not to suffer. 

As we've taken on the task of eating healthier, it's become a natural extention of that desire to examine all health issues.  Recently, Kerimae over at Happy Home shared about LearningHerbs.com.  The site offers a lot of introductory, free info on how to actually use some natural remedies.  A free tutorial made it easy to learn a few basic things.  I didn't expect that I would get to put them to trial so soon.

So, as son woke up this morning coughing--a lot--we put him back to bed and began treatment.

First, it was a ginger, honey & lemon tea.  And actually, he had been drinking this since the day before when he said his throat hurt.  The combination are things that are good for immune system as well as specific cold symptoms.  

So boy has rested today and Mommy has been in school.  Lab class, if you will.  After a quick trip to the store, I made up a batch of cough syrup:  chopped onion simmered in honey.  I added a bit of Ecinacea to his tea, as well.  Soup for lunch:  chopped onion, garlic & chicken broth.  And a garlic/olive oil infusion for applying to the feet at night.  Weird, I know...but a great way to get extra garlic in the system.  Garlic helps the lungs.  I also roasted some garlic for toast for an extra boost for all of us.  Whew!  Do my hands stink!  All that garlic and onion chopping!  All of these things were explained in detail through the LearningHerbs.com site and their free e-course "Supermarket Herbalism".

The good news is that it all seems to be working.  He's not getting worse and that is a good thing!  It's also interesting to me that his sweet little 8-yo self has been so willing to try everything.  Even daughter has wanted to try everything.  The husband smiled at me.  Like "good job" smiled.  It does feel good learning about healthier alternatives and giving them a try.  We'll see how things go overnight to know for sure if we are on the right track.

If you know me at all, you know that this stuff is so far out in left-field for me.  But not for long.  The Lord has really burdened my heart over the last several months with taking more of an active role in the health of my family--including myself.  It's a long road, but one that can truly bless.  I know that anything God made that can help us is a good thing.  Many of the sources of information and searches have made it quite clear that what God has meant for good, man takes and distorts.  My prayer from the start has been, and will continue to be, that He make it clear what information is profitable for us and His glory.  We will not be worshipping the creation, just the Creator!