I don't think waiting is all that hard for me. I usually find ways to fill my time, even if it is just a good book to read. But these past two weeks have redefined waiting. After my last post, I did have to go to the ER, and was diagnosed with a kidney stone which was lodged in the ureter. I followed up with my urologist, the only one in the area, and scheduled a lithotripsy (sound waves blast the stone into tiny gravel that are easier to pass). Since I had come down with a bad cold and had lost my voice, he also prescribed an antibiotic to make sure I didn't develop any other nasty bugs before the procedure. Unfortunately, I had a severe reaction to the medication and ended up hospitalized. Since then, my heart has been racing. And racing, and racing. While I was in the hospital, the doctor placed a stint to make sure my kidney could continue to function. Lithotripsy was rescheduled, and home I went. The tachycardia did not go away, though, and a subsequent EKG proved abnormal (inverted T waves), so lithotripsy was cancelled again.
So here I am. Two weeks and I still have a stone. Thankfully, oh so thankfully, I have no pain. My pulse seems to be returning to normal after 1 1/2 weeks of racing. Hopefully, I will find out soon what the new plan is. And hopefully, we can wait until after thanksgiving.
As to our Thanksgiving study--we finished Leif the Lucky and started Columbus today. We should finish Columbus tomorrow and next week we will read Pocahontus and If You Sailed on the Mayflower. We are also using a globe to trace the routes that Leif and Columbus took and a dictionary to look up unfamiliar words. And The Usborne Book of World History has been a great resource with this unit study.
When December comes, we will begin our Christmas study, which always includes reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.
More drama in our family. I have a genetic defect called medullary sponge kidney disease. It's not as ominous as it sounds, although some people do seem to have a terrible time with it. People with MSK have deformed kidneys. The drainage tubes in the kidneys have small pockets where urine collects and turns to stones. I have hundreds of these pockets in both my kidneys and hundreds of stones. I know; it sounds like I'm exaggerating. But my doctor said there were too many stones to count. I used to joke that my x-rays looked like I had been hunting with Dick Cheney. (An x-ray of my kidneys shows tw oval areas of what looks like buckshot!) Some people have chronic kidney infections, constant pain, and other problems. I am truly blessed with sporatic pain, and so far only one kidney infection when I was 11 years old. (I wasn't diagnosed until I was 38 y.o. Most people aren't diagnosed until their first kidney stone. I probably had my first stone when I was 18, but they didn't do any x-rays or extensive testing, just sent me home with an "I don't know what's wrong with her, probably in her head" look.)
Thursday I had another kidney stone, large enough to cause severe pain. The only reason I even want to write about it, though, is that I have to tell you about my sweet children. Around 8 p.m. that night after about 3 hours of unrelenting pain, I lay down on our bed. Before that I had a heating pad and rice sock (tube sock full of dry rice heated in the microwave) and sat in a chair or paced the house. By this time, I had reached the point of wanting to go to the ER. I made calls to arrange that, knowing I would probably be there HOURS if not days. Then I just lay there. Praying. Oh, how I prayed.
Then my sweet children came in to ask if I needed anything. They re-heated my rice sock, brought me water, and then began to sing the most beautiful songs. Noah sang "Good night, sweet Mommy, flush that stone right down the drain." Jonah sat on the bed and held my hand, and Gracie sang "Silent Night". What an amazing prayer meeting we had. They got ready for bed, and we had our evening prayers. Again, they prayed for my healing, and as they prayed the pain subsided GREATLY. Within an hour, I passed the stone!
I love my children and my dear husband. You're probably wondering what he was doing?! He so hates to see me in pain and feels completely helpless. He's really good, though. He makes sure I have what I need, reheats the rice sock, brings me water, stays close enough that I can tell him if I need anything, but doesn't hover. He prays for me, and reaches out to our friends and family to ask for prayer. I had prayers going up all over this country. (Just before Mark's heart attack, we joined Facebook at the urging of one of his brothers. We thought it would be a good way to stay in touch with family and share pictures. It has turned into a blessed prayer ministry. When we need prayer, we share our requests--our "friends" are limited to family and friends, no strangers--and friends post their prayer requests. So many people we have been able to pray with, so many old friends we've found, and so many relationships built with family that we saw only at reunions and so briefly, then.)
So today I am just resting. We will be celebrating Jonah's 11th birthday with my parents this afternoon. His birthday isn't until the 16th Nov., but my parents will be out of town. He's kind of excited. He gets an early birthday and then we will celebrate his birthday at home on the day.
And I'm counting my blessings!!
Praying for our soldiers, especially those stationed at Fort Hood near Austin, TX. There has been a deadly, mass shooting. 7 reported dead, 20 wounded. 2 or 3 shooters with one in custody. Story here. First thing I did was call my parents to see if they had heard. My dad is retired military. Of course, as I dialed the phone my next thought was, "Surely, they didn't go to Fort Hood today." They frequently travel the 45 minutes to the base to fill prescriptions and do their grocery shopping. They were home and hadn't heard the news. This is so terribly sad. There are also several elementary schools and middle schools on base. I pray for the children, although not in harms way, they are all the children of military personnel and have so much to deal with. What a terrible tragedy!
Next week we will begin a unit study around the founding of America. We will read several books by the d'Aulaires including: Leif the Lucky, Columbus, and Pocohontas. We will also read: The Light and the Glory for Children by Peter Marshall and David Manuel, selections from History Stories for Children by Dr. John Wayland, The Christian Foundation of America by Gary DeMar, and finish with the book ...If You Sailed on The Mayflower in 1620 by Ann McGovern. I would really like to end by making either placemats or dioramas. The children are very creative, so I rarely need to assign an art project. They would probably spend their days making art if given the choice. There are several good Thanksgiving movies to include: a Charlie Brown special, the Waltons' Thanksgiving show, a more recent Thanksgiving special that I've seen at Red Box (I haven't looked into it, so I'm not sure how appropriate it is.), First Landing (Again, not sure if appropriate). I haven't really looked for movies at our library, mostly because those are so easy to find and usually available. Besides getting ready for the holiday, these books, movies, and activities should keep us very busy, be lots of fun, and educational!!
We are taking an extended break from our History of the World unit study. We have worked our way to Noah and will take up the history of Noah and his sons, the Tower of Babel, and Sumer when we resume our studies in January. In the meantime, we will NOT be idle. (Aren't idle hands the devil's workshop?) This week we have been doing a fun unit study around the book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
I found a unit study using this book here. We will be using some of these ideas as well as our own. We added a Bible study reading the story of Moses and the children of Israel who were fed manna and quail from the heavens by the Lord. Egermeier's Story Book Bible is a great resource. We have two weather books to use: The Magic School Bus: Kicks up a Storm and How It Works: The World's Weather. We continue to discuss healthy eating. And, of course, we will be eating spaghetti and meatballs.
I wanted to post this link again. We made our second batch of laundry soap. The first lasted about 6 months. (We do about 10 loads of laundry each week.) On my second batch, I was less exact. I didn't measure the water exactly, just added what I thought was about right. I really, really like this recipe. It's easy to make and works well.
Here's the link to my first post: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/JoyfulMomma/676876/
And here's the link to the recipe: http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm
We battled the flu last week, and I thought we had won. Apparently not! Because we are fighting it or something again. And on Tuesday, we took Jonah to the ER with a fever of 104.5 and severe headache. I was really concerned that he was having a serious relapse, and with all the reports in the news of death among even healthy children, I couldn't take a wait and see approach. Everyone was so kind and helpful at our local hospital, we were in a room within an hour and on our way home a little over an hour after that. Of course, by the time they checked his vitals his temp. was way down. They really could have said something about his "over-protective mother" making a mountain out of a molehill, instead the nurse congratulated me on doing the right thing. I had given him Motrin and Tylenol as well as tried to bring the fever down with a cool bath. (It kept climbing from 103 to 104.5 while I was trying these things, so we left for the ER immediately.) Anyway, we're healing slowly but surely. A long two weeks, but a blessed two weeks.
I never really went away, but I have definitely neglected my blog. I have been a bit frustrated by my lack of direction here. I post school plans, family updates, health news, and miscellaneous thoughts. And I guess this will continue to be a hodge podge of my scattered thoughts.
School Update--Plugging away! We finished The Magician's Nephew within two days and we've also read Archaeologists Dig for Clues. And we're about half way through each of the other books listed in my previous post. We have also added a few other books and movies. Biblically and historically we have reached the time of Noah. One thing different this time around is that I have given myself permission to not finish a particular book or to just read excerpts from it. We will most likely not be reading all of Genesis: Finding our Roots, but we will likely finish Adam and HIs Kin.
We have added: The Magic School Bus: Inside the Earth, The Magic School Bus: In the Time of the Dinosaurs, and Dinosaurs, a nature series by Dalmation Kids. (All completed.) We have read several chapters of a biography of Charles Darwin by David C. King and will continue to read it. We have used an Usborne Flip Flap book for reference and will use it as we study other historical periods (Homes and Houses: Then and Now). I found a book, We're Sailing to the Galapagos: A Week in the Pacific, which we will be reading and reviewing this week. I also have a book that we will be reading called The Case for Creation by Wayne Frair and P. William Davis. This was published in 1967 and I believe belonged to my dad. This is NOT an exhaustive list of what we have read, but it does include most of the books we have used for this particular study.
We have enjoyed AVKO Sequential Spelling and Edward Brook's Mental Arithmetic, although I have had to modify their use to fit our family.
During these last few months we have had to take time off for illness, the death of my grandmother, work and vacation. Currently, we are battling the H1N1 Flu (no complications) so we haven't been doing the basics (spelling and math) but have instead been listening to books on tape and reading aloud. We have also, these last few days, been watching Al Gore's An Incovenient Truth. We have watched about an hour so far, and we are watching only a few minutes at a time then discussing what has been presented and examining the facts and the conclusions he draws compared against facts and science presented on other websites.
The children have also had individual projects that they have worked on. Noah is busy creating stories, comic book heroes, and comic book drawings. Jonah has tried his hand at gardening and has quite a pepper patch. Grace has been sewing clothes for her stuffed animals and a nightgown for herself.
So...that is our semester. I'm glad we started early so that I haven't had to worry about taking our time. We will likely finish what we can this month, then take a break to do a Thanksgiving unit study and then a Christmas unit study. (If we can get to Abraham, then we will begin incorporating the Weaver curriculum into our studies in January.)
The Cross-centered life, I mean?
This is what I want to know. What I want to see. What I want to, by God's grace, do. Live it. Daily. So...as God has been revealing Himself to me in new and fresh ways, I have decided that one way to keep myself accountable to this focus would be to post here each day some new way He has shown us how to keep the Gospel of Christ at the center of our lives.
Yesterday it was through an experience where one family member felt that he/she should punish him/herself by hurting him/herself after sinning. Our pastor graciously explained (we were at their home) to this person that by doing this, this person was saying that the punishment Christ bore, His death on the cross, was not enough.
I'm so grateful for this simple but profound truth being revealed to us anew. Do you desire to punish yourself when you've sinned? If so, consider why. If Christ has paid the price, God raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand, if HE is satisfied...why would we seek to "add" to it? Why would we, mere mortals, not be satisfied? After all, Scripture says...Jesus said...IT IS FINISHED. No more payment is necessary. The price has been paid IN FULL. May we not cheapen the high price that was paid by our mighty and merciful Savior for our forgiveness and freedom!
May we live in light of God's glorious grace revealed to us in the cross of Calvary. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ! Praise His Name for that!!!
Okay, so now it's really been awhile since I've posted! I've got great reasons, though. Lots of cuddles, kisses, diaper changes and all of the other newborn joys. Since mid-May we've been enjoying our sweet little one, and to say that we're grateful to the Lord for her just doesn't come close to our true sentiments! Thank You, Lord, for this precious miracle that You've brought to us!
We wrapped up our last school year and had our evaluation. Our evaluator is a precious woman and dear friend now. A kindred spirit who is filled with grace and wisdom. It was a joy to share time together here as she measured the boys' progress and also gave me advice and godly insights. Another evidence of God's grace to us...the gift of bringing her into our lives!
We are enjoying the new year's academic material, as well as our daily life lessons. God continues to humble us by giving us very specific, detailed lessons and teaching us to trust in and depend on Him. It amazes me, how the Sovereign Lord of the entire universe cares enough to chip away at the ugly sin in my heart and graciously work to make me more like His Son, Jesus. It's ALL about Him, after all!!! How we long to bring much glory to Christ in our lives, our home. Our actions, attitudes, words...Lord, please help us to make much of Jesus and bring glory to Your Name!
Baby's well visit (4 months!) was today, and it was impressed upon my heart, once again, what a gift from God our pediatrician is. I love this woman. She is kind, funny, brilliant, gentle, gracious, patient...and so much more! We are so thankful to have a doctor who truly cares about us. Each one of us. It makes all the difference in the world! She never makes me feel like I am a fool because I'm not a health care professional. She listens with a genuine attentiveness that I admire and appreciate. Each time I leave her office, I am either bouncing off the walls with giddiness, or blinking back tears of joy, humility and gratitude. Another evidence of God's grace in our lives...our sweet pediatrician!
Then...a visit to a friend today who cares so tangibly for my family. Prays diligently for us. Serves us by coming to spend time and help and encourage. Being around her always lifts my spirits.... She encourages me in Truth and gives advice and ideas to help my daily life be more fruitful. I believe she "picks me up" on a more frequent basis than anyone else I know. It seems as though she's made it her mission to reach out to me and encourage me on a daily basis. And she's got plenty on her own plate, so this is no small thing. More of God's grace.
Lord, I'm so thankful to You for these things and many more! Like the way you enabled me to fix the alarm on the sewer pump/grinder last night! What a blessing that was. You amaze me. Nothing is too difficult for Thee!!!! I do not want to take Your grace for granted. Please keep my eyes fixed on You, I pray. Please remind me of all the ways Your grace is made manifest in my life. I am humbled, grateful, blessed, filled with joy...all because of You. May I bring You glory, dear Christ! I long to be a light in this dark world for You. Thanks for Your grace, which You truly lavish on me daily. I love you!!!
In Your strong, mighty and matchless Name I pray, sweet Jesus,
Amen.