Dec. 5, 2009 - Birth and Death
An acquaintance of ours is expecting her first baby. She thinks she wants to go natural with no epidural and wants to know my take on that since I've been through it a "few" times. 
My advice is to not watch Hollywood versions of childbirth or listen to the horror stories of everyone you know. Hollywood likes to dramatize birth and make it seem like a life and death situation that is just horrific to experience. Our culture has generally adopted that viewpoint. I think that causes women to be afraid of childbirth and pain. I loved the book, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth for the birth stories it contained that were realistic, yet beautiful.
I also think that fear equals greater pain. The more you fear something and think it will be awful, then the worse it will seem. Kinda like getting a shot. If you think it's gonna hurt bad, then you tense up those muscles and it hurts way worse than it would if you would just relax. Same thing with childbirth. If you're tense and fearful, it's gonna hurt more than it has to. I'm not going to say that there is no pain with birth, though my most recent experience was not so bad. If you know what to expect and know what your body is doing, then it is not fearful and therefore, less painful. At least it's easier to deal with it all. And the moment of birth is an absolute miracle. A holy experience. I read a book 13 years ago when I was expecting my first that really helped me understand what my body would be doing and what I would experience physically and emotionally. I think it was called Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way.
I think the same may be true with death.
A friend of ours went on to heaven this week and it has me thinking. He was so ready to go and be with the Lord. He had no fear of what was ahead. He looked forward to getting there like a little kid on a car trip. Even though he had to leave behind his wife and grown children, he wanted to be with God even more. He was uncomfortable and I'm sure he had some pains as his body was shutting down, but he didn't let that effect his attitude and he was a wonderful testimony to his doctors and friends. I have heard that being present when a believer dies can be a holy experience, though I have not had that opportunity. I've also heard that for unbelievers who are dying it is a fearful, horrific time leading up to their death. They don't know what to expect, but it is certainly not a new life.
So, my prayer is that all of you, my readers, would know what to expect when you get to the end of your life...be that tomorrow or in sixty years. Study up on it in God's Word. Get to know Jesus as your best friend. Then when the time comes for our mortal bodies to end we can look forward with anticipation to being "born" into eternal life in heaven and the wonderful reunions that await us there.
December 4, 2009 - Just Who I Am
It's funny how sometimes we try and be something or someone other than who we actually are, who our creator created us to be. I say "WE" because I'm assuming others do the same thing I do. Particularly we try to be that popular person or that social person. We worry that others don't like us. Perhaps it's a childhood thing...and perhaps it's just me...but I'm pretty sure others have walked this same path.
The really ironic thing is that others at the same time as we are trying to be liked by them, have their own situations going on underneath the surface. Maybe they are friendly to us, but a solid connection never comes from it. Perhaps they seem judgemental. But, are they really? I listened to a conversation lately, about a shy (but oh so sweet) young lady. Her mom said she had had some trouble with kids at school picking on her, particularly on the bus. This young lady would never outright tell her mom about it because she is such a people pleaser. But, the teasing and hostility built up and mom found out about it. The other partner in this conversation said that perhaps being shy and reserved was something intimidating to the other young ladies. What? Being someone who is usually reserved with all but those closest to me, I am unclear as to how being reserved would be intimidating? My view of being reserved is that it is a weakness. But, perhaps it really is neutral and that other people have their own weaknesses in how they view and accept others.
The best feedback I've ever gotten either on my photography blog or on my homeschooling blog, has been when I am writing just for me. On my photography blog, for instance, sometimes I write tutorials, mainly just so that I can go back to them myself - because I'll forget a certain technique even when I had previously mastered it.
In the homeschooling world, I like to ponder different methods of learning. If you're a long term reader of my blog, you probably know that I have a fondness for Charlotte Mason Methods, but also like the self-teaching philosophy of Robinson, and the serious nature of the Classical Method (although I'm not too fond of repitition - which in some forms of the Classical Method is a really strong component). Basically, my favorite teaching method is an old-fashioned, nurturing, self-learning style.
I think I'm getting more into my groove there. This is not to say that you need to follow my groove. In fact, unless you are an awfully lot like me, the things I do will probably drive you crazy.
When I started homeschooling and indeed before that when my oldest daughter was in Preschool, I was really itching to get started and wanted to get a good head start teaching. Now, under some influence of Robinson and Miss. Mason, as well as the influence of a child who definitely wasn't ready for formal learning at the age of five, I really see age seven or eight as the start of education. Before that intelligent conversation, phonics practice, reading practice, reading aloud, and some light math practice are on the menu. I just think, to do more than say two hours a day with my first grader, is unhelpful to her learning.
Natalie (8) this year, though, is starting to teach herself math with Saxon 5/4. And it works out wonderfully. It really does. Not to say every day she wants to do 1-2 hours of math, but she does it, and she talks about her math and figures things out (like casually saying to me one morning "mom is 3/4's of 60, 45?") because she's thinking it through herself. She reads and does written narration. We also do read alouds as a family and oral narration. She takes her spelling from her own written narration - so it's not somthing foreign to her.
I also read recently about adding vocabulary memorization to her reading. Robinson does this (I don't currently own the Robinson curriculum, but I've read about it) - he has pretty challenging vocabulary from the texts they are reading and the kids are expected to memorize it. Do you know that what kids learned in order to graduate the eighth grade in the 1800's was as much as some learn through college now? Our kids can do more than we give them credit for.
And I want her to memorize poetry. But, the more I learn about self-teaching, the more I just want her to do it herself. So, I give her a fairly long poem at the beginning of the week and part of her reading time, she'll master that poem herself and present it to me at the end of the week. Having a more hands-off approach frees me up to clean my house, make bread, play with my toddler, go over phonics and reading with my six year old, and squeeze some time in for working at our business.
And, of course, being a Charlotte Mason fan, I want all my girls to do nature study. Having the girls do more self-learning frees up time for this - otherwise, it seems to me, with the duties of the house, there is just not enough time to fit that kind of thing in.
Well, these are just my new thoughts. The real changes for me are going to self-learning for poetry and adding vocabulary to the reading assignment. I also read recently that Robinson has the kids re-write their essay (written narration) the next day with corrections made. I'm debating about doing this as well. It's hard to say as I do have them do copywork and this might make it too much writing (at least for right now at age 8). I also may add in dictation next year (when Natalie is 9), which is simply reading a passage orally to the student and having the student write it out with proper spelling and punctuation. Then, you correct this.
We also keep a timeline, but that takes little time.
Dec. 3, 2009 - Thursday Talkin' About Teenagers
Spend time with them; enjoy them; listen to them; and love them.
They are the most incredible people, these emerging adults,
and they can become the best friends you'll ever have."
~Diana Waring, Reaping the Harvest. The Bounty of Abundant-Life Homeschooling~
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If you want to join in on the fun please go see my very sweet friend Lori at Plans4You. This is my sweet bloggy friend that has a NEW meme ! I am going to do my best to participate now that I have two young adults almost 3 !
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This week I would like to share about my oldest soon to be my first homeschool graduate. I can't believe that I am saying this. We have homeschooled the WHOLE way and I am thankful. Even with the bumps in the road.
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Philip is creative in....cooking ! He has been this way sence he was let me think at least 9 yo. He always perked up with any kind of cooking shows. One show my mom would tape for us b/c we don't get tv stations was a show called Donna's Day. She was always showing projects for parents to do with their kids. Philips favorite part was when she did cooking. He is the kind of cook that just gets the basic idea of a recipe and then wings it ! I just found out one of his cooking secrets. Soooo shhhhhhh don't tell anyone , okay ? [0; When he would come up with a spice blend he would put the spice jars side by side by side and smell. He felt if they smell good together they would taste good together ! Isn't he sooooooo smart. I never thought of that and love it.
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My budding cook is going to culinary cooking school next year on the West Coast. He is going to take the culinary and management courses. Not only is he creative he is buisness smart. I can't wait to see were God will lead him in this big adventure.
Dec. 3, 2009 - Movies for Your Holidays
Loved the movie Blind Side. It is based on a true story. My husband remembers it being on the news some time ago. I think it is well worth the ticket.
Another well worth movie is the movie, Up. It is now available for purchase. Pixar has done it again with another great movie. They sure do a great job with story lines. Can't wait to add that one to our collection.
One movie that we had a lot of fun as a family was Mandie and the Secret Tunnel. It took us over a month to wait in line at Blockbusters for it. It is in huge demand. The Mandie series books are Christian books which have a great story line. Unfortunately the movie doesn't mention all the Christian aspects that the writer put into her books. However, the movie is still great.
Another movie is Dawn of the Dinosaurs. That was cute. I was very hesitant about it because the second Ice Age was so distasteful to me. There was way too much potty mouth and other offensive things. But, this one was a pleasant surprise. Much better.
Dec. 1, 2009 - Tightwad Tuesday ~ Making A List of 10
Making A List of 10
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One thing I started when my two oldest were very little was the list of ten. At Christmas I didn't want the give me gimmies. I remember as a kid making a list that was over 50 items long and it came to me to only allow 10 items. Only ten items and list from what you want the most to least and I re-affirmed that they would only get a few things if they were reasonable. [0=
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I kept up this tradition for many years now and usually the boys can only think of 2-6 things now. And they know if it is over a certain amount that people "might" pool thier money together. For example my 1ds wants to become a cheif and there is a expensive knife he wants but that is all he wants. So there is a good chance that all the relatives will pulll together for this one. He said he would be very happy if that is all he got. Or, if a fair chunk was pooled together and then he would work towards saving the rest.
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It was really nice to hear my boys say that it isn't about getting things. They are focusing on our Lord and also all the fun times and family times we will have this season. It made my heart sing when I heard it all sunk in. This year will be a thin year but a fun year of good memories.
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Now to join in the fun of Tightwad Tuesday....
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Link your TWT post click on MckLinky and give exact the URL of your post. (each Tuesday that you join in on the fun)
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example of a URL ...
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Canadagirl/693425/
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Now go ahead link and read and comment on all these other's wonderful TWT's.
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Lets save our pennies, nickles, dimes, and dollars together !
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"There are only a few big ways to save money but there are many small ways ....that all adds up."
Nov. 30, 2009 - The Story of Our Little Colt (and modern technology - AI)
It all began one day while I was on the internet. Although I rarely do Impulsive Shopping, this time, within 24 hours I was the proud owner of a Modern Haflinger named Lady (this was in April of the year 2007.) Actually, it wasn't that impulsive - I had been horse shopping for this special horse for over a year. I had been looking for a mare that was 15.0 tall. I found when shopping for this that a Modern Haflinger of this height was hard to come by as most of this breed is for the most part, peaks at 14.2. I had this novel idea of breeding a 15.0 mare with my favorite stallion, Major Commander of Maple Grove Farms, who is also 15.0 plus.
Lady turned out to be a fine horse - she loves children and has always been our horse of choice when putting small children on our horses in the round pen. She had no naughty habits, and was generally a great horse to ride. After a year of riding her, I wanted to breed her as I had originally intended when I purchased her.
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My favorite stallion happens to live 2 hours away, so I either needed to take Lady to Maple Grove, or to use AI (Artificial Insemination). Not having access to a horse trailer at the time, I chose the latter.
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AI is not my preferred method as I found it to be very expensive. First, my vet had to make a farm visit to check if Lady was ovulating, at approximately a hundred dollars per visit ($60.00 just for the house call, the rest for the ovulating test.) The first time she came, it was a negative test, so she had to make another hundred dollar visit to check again. Thankfully, the second time she was ovulating.
I called Gerald and Darla and had them send me the specimen overnight. A somewhat costly investment here I discovered when first investigating this option. Have you ever looked for a horse for sale on the internet? It's an interesting experience - you will look at a list of horses for sale, but some of these horses that they list for sale are really only in the form of insemination. I was rather surprised when I first discovered this in the world of horse classifieds!
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The speciman arrived in a small box that had been packaged in a way that would not be destroyed by heat. My expensive vet arrived again to perform the A.I. When she got all done, she pulled out her little microscope and told me the bad news. Not a good specimen she told me - she doubted that my mare would be getting pregnant, and then had me look through the microscope. all the while talking and telling me what to look for and why this mare's chance of getting pregnant was slim to none.
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There was an extra vial included the package - there is usually only one my vet told me - so she said that she would come back the next day to try one more time, but again, “Don't get your hopes up."
~Lots of prayer was offered here!~
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After the second AI, she said that she would be back in four weeks to perform an ultra sound to determine the pregnancy result. Did you know that horses have ultra sounds, just like we do? I sure didn't!
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Four Weeks Later:
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And needless I need to tell you, I was standing there very nervous for the results! I had bought this horse for the purpose of breeding, and I had spent significant amount of money for this. My vet had strongly instructed me that the chances of there being a positive result was slim to none.
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The Vet told me to look into the computer that was in her truck bed. The results were positive!There he was - our future little colt.
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When I heard those words, "Congratulations", my feet lift off the ground as if I was a superstar basketball player. Too bad I don't have a picture of that
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The Pregnancy
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Did you know that a horse is pregnant for 11 months? And even at that, they can go over that and be pregnant for 12. I've even read of horses that were pregnant for 13 months before giving birth. That's a long time to be pregnant! Lady went over her 11 month mark and week after week we waited. Rachel and her friends would give Lady lots of hugs and talk to the "baby" inside. They tried out different names, and remarkably, every time they talked to the foal in the womb and called him "Hot Shot", he kicked! Every single time he kicked at being called Hot Shot and kept still whenever they called him by a different name.
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It was in July - we had gone to bed and had been asleep for just an hour. The phone rang. It was our missionary neighbors that were living among us at the time. "It's a boy!" were the words I heard when I groggily answered the phone. It took me a moment to gain my senses to realize that Lady had given birth. I ran and got Rachel, and out we ran to the pasture. Although we had birthing stalls just for this purpose, we had decided for various reasons to let her give birth in the pasture. When we came running into the fenced area, Rachel called the name, "Hot Shot!"
Now, if you've ever been around foals that have just been born, you’re going to find what I tell you next hard to believe, and if you've never been around a just birthed foal, you may not appreciate the full value of it. Foals seem to be instinctively a little timid when they are just born, sticking right by their mom. But when Rachel called, "Hotshot!" the little guy ran to us! We could not believe it. He'd just been birthed and couldn't have had that many walking steps as of yet, and instead of sticking by his mommy, he ran to us, totally unafraid. It was as if Hot Shot recognized our voices calling, Hot Shot! when spoken to within the womb.
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As friendly as Hot Shot was, though, his mommy did not appreciate it! Her usually kind disposition turned into a fierce lion-like protectiveness. She was really scary! The missionary and his son, two big-sized men, helped us lead Lady to the new nursery, prepared just for her and her baby. Without these two brave men assisting us in this, we would have never accomplished taking Lady anywhere.
After Lady and her colt were safely secured into their newly prepared baby nursery, Rachel and I enjoyed thoroughly getting to know our new little addition to our ranch. Lady seemed o.k. with us handling her baby in this secure environment, opposite of what she was like when we were in the wide-open pasture.
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All the children got out of bed and came out to the barn in their jammies to see our new little colt. Our good friends, Margie and her girls, came over and brought some of their neighbors, too. It was past midnight and we were having a Barn Gathering, enjoying this special event together.
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"Imprint Training"
Have you ever heard of the word, “Imprinting”? Imprinting is the science of handling a just born foal in order to condition it for future handling. Many horses have “issues” with their ears being handled, especially when one puts the bit and bridle over its head; others get hyper when having their hooves handled by the scheduled six-week Ferrier visit.
(This book is called, Imprint Training of the newborn foal. I got this book before we ever started our horse ranch - the breeding part of horses and the birth process was a big part of my desire to have horses here.)
There is more to tell....
coming soon....
stay tuned!
Nov. 29, 2009 - Homestead Ramblings ~ Getting Back On Track
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Homestead Ramblings ~ Getting Back On Track
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After a hectic season of harvesting and craft fair I am craving some... routine. I have been feeling that our home has suffered with lack of good old routine. We kept up our basics but our focus on really diving in our science and history hasn't been what I would really like. I will be very careful what my famiy fills our time with. I don't want to let too many things distract us from what we need to be doing.
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I also noticed I haven't done a Weekly Wrap Up sense just before Philips virus attack. I didn't realise how much time actually went by ! I am going to really work at getting back to that. I really enjoy Carol's meme of Weekly Wrap Up. It is a wonderful way to keep track of what is going on in our little homeschool and family life. Also to see what other homeschool families are doing too. We get to encourage eachother in this road less traveled and cheer eachother on.
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I have been really trying to learn what balance in my life means. Boy, this has been a real hard one to figure out. If I am not careful things come in and crowd out what is very important to our family. I have commited myself to going the distance with all four boys in homeschooling to the end. I have to really work at putting blinders on and coming to Jesus' feet each day and seek out the Lord's will for my family. Not a small task to take on but what a worthy task it is. If you think of it please pray for me and my family as we seek his direction and if you want me to lift you and your family up in prayer please let me know through my comments or email me privately. Just click on my link on my sidebar that says Email Me above my cbox. I would be priviledged to pray for any who want me to. I know prayer is the only answer in all circumstances.
November 25, 2009 - Happy Thanksgiving Everyone
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!
I am thankful that we are just passers through on this Earth. As beautiful as it is and as rich as the contacts we make here, it is nothing like that which is promised for those who love the Lord. He holds us in His hand and the rich blessing of following Him far outweighs any possible trials we may go through in the here and now. How great is that?
It's been a beautiful couple of days here. I saw the sun! :) The girls were so giddy with anticipation of Thanksgiving. I was so dizzy with their giddiness. It's the equivalent of "are we there yet?" What are you making Mom?! Look at the picture I'm drawing for my cousin Mom? Are we leaving in the morning Mom? Look Mom I finished the cross-stitch I was making for Grandma! Do you need any help Mom? I know boys are a lot of energy movement wise, but some days I tell you the honking that goes on in our little flock of geese is deafening. And, lovely. They are so sweet.
