Since Homeschoolblogger "updated" its site, I've been double-posting to a Blogger version of Our Side as well. It seems like I spend a lot of time waiting for HSB and often get a blank page. Sometimes I just post to Blogger and then copy the post to HSB later. At this point, I'd like to just post in one place and for now it will be Blogger. I've enjoyed the virtual community of Homeschoolblogger and will continue to visit the blogs of my friends. I hope that if you enjoy Our Side of the Mountain that you will bookmark its new location at http://oursidehomeschool.blogspot.com/ and continue to visit. I will slowly be moving past posts to the new site.
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Posted in Holidays and Celebrations
Sometimes birthdays around here are a pleasant family time at home. Sometimes we eat out at a special restaurant. Sometimes we throw a party.
In honor of Evan's eleventh birthday this year, the mood hit for a party. James did the food shopping last night, and this evening the kids and I put together a taco salad supper at the church. Six families attended Evan's party. We set up tables indoors, but the beautiful weather enticed everyone to grab chairs and eat out on the lawn.
Seventeen children (not counting two babies) attended, providing a good number for a few games of "Capture the Flag." After a healthy amount of outdoor running around, the kids came in to play "Space Base." In the latter game, James picked two "aliens" who hid the pieces to a flashlight (in relatively plain sight) around the church building while the space travelers counted in a back room. When the time was up, the space cadets searched for the "laser" parts while trying to avoid getting tagged and frozen by the aliens. The cadets were given twenty minutes to find and assemble the laser and shoot the aliens. If they failed in their mission, the aliens won. After several space battles, time allowed for another group game and the playing of some assorted board games. The parents enjoyed the opportunity to socialize as well! 
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Posted in Homeschooling 2007
My seven year old daughter has begun learning the concept of multiplication as well as memorizing multiplication facts. A friend of mine just emailed me last night and asked for ideas to help her own daughter master her multiplication facts.
This time around, I have been much more consistent in having my child learn skip counting. I wasn't as diligent with my older two boys. They do know their multiplication facts now, but I can see that memorizing skip counting lays a more thorough foundation than just drilling facts. Skip counting communicates the concept that multiplication is fast adding.
We have a skip counting tape which sets the number lists to music, but the tunes are, for the most part, not familiar, making them difficult to learn. So, I just picked my own tunes and used the word "and" strategically to make the list fit the music! For instance, for 6's, I used "Lightly Row": six, twelve, eight-teen, twen-ty-four, thir-ty, a-and thir-ty-six, for-ty-two and for-ty-eight, fif-ty-four and six-ty.
Now when my daughter solves multiplication problems (or division), she can use her skip counting to find the answer. For instance: 6 x 6 ~ She can count "6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36", keeping track how far to go by holding up fingers until she gets to six fingers. She can do this fairly quickly and with repetition is memorizing her facts. Of course, she drills the facts as well and now we have a tool to use: The Flashmaster which is just a high-falutin' way of doing flashcards, but more fun.
Even at Sophie's young age, she already has her upper times tables down cold thanks to this gem:
The advertising claims that this tool helps children to learn their upper times tables in about an hour. I purchased and used Times Tales Deluxe with my kids and found the advertising to be accurate! My boys already knew their facts, but my daughter learned them for the first time in an hour and still has excellent retention of the facts months later.
These tools for multiplication mastery work for me!
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Posted in The Kiddos
Last Saturday, the boys were treated to a trip to a dude ranch by Pastor Bob and Cheryl. Matthew asked me if he could blog about it. (Yes, my boy asked me if he could write.) You can go to The Far Side of the Mountain to read about their adventures and view pictures.
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Posted in Homeschooling 2007
As far as I can tell, this week I've been hit in succession with a cold virus and a stomach virus. I'm looking forward to feeling better and getting out of survival mode. I'm sure that my whole family feels the same...I'm glad they didn't haul me out to the corner with the broken-down washer!
In recent weeks, I've read aloud to the children from historical novels set during World War II. We finished Escape from Warsaw and are currently reading The Winged Watchman which is proving to be quite captivating and well-written. I am also reading aloud The Good Fight: How World War II Was Won, an excellent pictorial history. The children have read other non-fiction World War II books on their own as well.
Two nights ago for supper, we ate grilled bratwursts and some chorizo (spicy Italian sausage which James alone could tolerate) along with sauerkraut and succotash made with corn and edamame. We noticed that we were eating foods common to Germany, Italy and Japan (stretching it with the edamame) and called it our Axis powers dinner. I know, we're bad.
We have continued with our beginning Latin studies which, surprisingly to me, has added more enjoyment to our read-alouds. The kids can earn a penny for any Latin derivative that they identify, defining both the Latin root and the English word. Sometimes the kids even catch derivatives that fly under my radar (or is it over?). I remember several months ago, reading from Caddie Woodlawn and beginning to explain the meaning of "portage." Before I got the definition out of my mouth, Sophie piped up, "Portage comes from porto which means I carry!" Well...Yes!
And today, while reading The Good Fight, Matthew stated, "Primitive comes from primus which means first."
I had to say, "You might be right! Let's look it up" and read "Middle English primitif from Old French from Latin primitivus from primus, first." I read the definition and asked, "Can you give me an example of a primitive weapon?"
"An atom bomb?" answered Matthew.
"Actually, an atom bomb is the opposite of primitive, because it is very technologically advanced," I explained.
Evan answered, "A spear."
"Yes, a spear is primitive," I replied, "because it is a simple weapon and it was one of the first weapons used."
I learn something new every day!
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Posted in Life with Baby
In the past six weeks, my 9 month old developed a nasty case of eczema. From past experience, I knew that our pediatrician would recommend using hydrocortisone and Aquaphor. I'm not thrilled with using a steroidal treatment on my kids and I've had limited success with Aquaphor. This time around, first I tried using a coconut oil lotion, again with limited success (though it is my favorite lotion to use on my own Colorado dry skin). Finally I listened to my cousin who recommended ... 
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Posted in A Day on Our Side
Our washing machine would have cost over $400 to repair. The Sears repairman did not charge us a thing for his trip and diagnosis. I think he realized that we had purchased a lemon from Sears and felt sorry for us. The machine was not old.
I did research on the internet to figure out a replacement machine. James went shopping Thursday evening, but without success. Today he decided to take the day off to get the job done. Good thing. It took most of the day for him to purchase the washer, drive to a warehouse and pick it up, unload it at home and hook it up. If he had waited until tomorrow to do this, there would not have been time to get the laundry done this weekend.
Now I have Mt. Laundry to tackle, and it is pleasant to do with a new machine. This washer has a sanitary cycle which takes longer to run, but means death to germs! I accidentally ran a load of darks last night without laundry detergent. Several of the jeans were caked with mud. I thought I'd have to run them again, but when I inspected the clothes, they smelled clean and were stain free. So far, very good...
Our dishwasher is dying a slow, lingering and loud death. It also is beyond repair. Funny how appliance failure often seems to happen all at once! Yesterday, as I blew dry my bangs, my hairdryer popped and died in a flash of sparks.
I could get by without a hairdryer or a dishwasher if necessary, but a washing machine? I've been reflecting on how necessary that appliance seems to modern life. I could wash dishes by hand easily, but clothes? My grandmothers have stories to tell about how they used to do dishes or laundry. My father's mother at one time, while living in Kentucky, had to get water from a creek and wash clothes in a washtub, including diapers.
I'm very thankful to the Lord for providing James with a reliable job and savings to go out and replace appliances right away.
After James took out the "old" washer, he contemplated how to get rid of it. He recalled that our town was scheduled to have a once-a-year, large item curb-side pick up sometime in May. He looked it up on the web and found the pick up scheduled for...this weekend! What a blessing that he could just wheel the lemon out to the curb this morning! The trash guys heaved the machine into the truck and I watched as it crunched the washer flat.
This episode causes me to realize how easy my life is, to thank the Lord for his good gifts, and to remind myself that my treasure needs to be in heaven even in times of plenty.
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Posted in Life with Baby
While we read an animal board book, Logan came up with his own signature sound:
Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos
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Posted in Life with Baby
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Posted in Holidays and Celebrations
This week's Works for Me Wednesday features a birthday theme. I've never been particularly fond of making birthday cakes, but my most infamous confectionary catastrophe occurred on my second child's third birthday. I baked a cake from a mix in a 9X13, and leaving it in the pan, I frosted it with whipped cream and attempted to decorate it with colorful sprinkles. Bad idea. The cake absorbed much of the cream and the lid fell off of the sprinkle shaker, dumping the candy confetti unceremoniously in a heap. Thankfully my three year old did not have much aesthetic sense and was perfectly thrilled with the mess. Unfortunately for me, the cake is memorialized in full-color pictures. (No I will NOT scan one in and post it!) I wailed to my husband, "Why can't I buy the cake and make the card? I'm much better at cards!"
Fortunately, before my children grew old enough to catch on to their mother's incompetence, familyfun.com came to my rescue. I'm betting that many wfmw participants will post about this wonderful website with a cake finder to provide step-by-step instructions for truly easy-to-make cakes that are guaranteed cute, allowing any mom to become a member of the "Fun Mom Club." Betty Crocker is another good source of easy recipes for birthday cakes. Here is a cake that I made from a Betty Crocker recipe: 
I still would rather make a birthday card! Here is a goofy card that my husband and I made together for my oldest son for his eighth birthday: 
On the front of the card, we wrote: "For your birthday, we wanted to invent a CAKE EATING MACHINE..." Inside: "but then we realized: That's Why We Have YOU!!" (I said it was goofy.) I put together a little collage below this of small scanned in pictures of my son with cake at each of his previous b-days.
Our family's most elaborate birthday party in the past was a "Flying Pony Party" (named by my daughter) which included a hobby horse craft: 
When the kids arrived, they colored posterboard pony heads that I had drawn and cut out ahead of time. Two other moms and I, armed with glue guns, stuck googly eyes on the ponies, glued on each kid's choice of crinkle paper mane, and attached a stick to make homemade hobby horses. (The mane and stick were sandwiched between two posterboard pony heads.)
This concludes a very wordy Works For Me Wednesday post!
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Posted in A Day on Our Side
Can you smell that? Sorry. Our washing machine put a spin on things by running through its cycles today...without water. I didn't figure it out until I "washed" the diapers twice~ first on "cold" then on "hot". Water did run into the drum initially, but then right on out, leaving behind a lot of suds to mingle with the mess. A Sears repairman is scheduled to show up sometime on Wednesday. Sigh. I've gotta do something with the diapers before Wednesday.
On a cheerier note, Logan just discovered that his knees work well for getting around and is crawling "for real". He has even managed to crawl up the stairs several times. The older kids make great "spotters" and cheerleaders.
We kept a program from the piano competition for posterity. Evan had to write a short blurb about his interests and future plans for the performing arts when he applied for the competition. The program listed "fact building" as one of his hobbies. I wonder if anyone scratched their head about that one and thought "geeky homeschooler". Evan actually wrote "fort building." (He knows some facts, but doesn't presume to build any!)
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Posted in Laughs
James sent me the following newspaper clipping image by email today.
This reminds me of an interview in our city newspaper where the president of the local chapter of the Federation of Republican Woman was asked to name her favorite American president. There in black-and-white, her answer read "Benjamin Franklin".
Finally, someone posted this link on a homeschool discussion board today.
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Posted in Life with Baby
Overheard yesterday morning:
"Logan is showing me that he loves me by torturing me," explained Sophie as Logan hooked his finger in her lower lip.
Read aloud during family worship:
"Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh," read from Philippians 3 by James who then yelped as Logan bit his leg.
Logan's Latest Learning:
- Have you seen his "pump action" creeping in the videos in my sidebar? He pulls himself forward with his arms, pushing with his left toes, while his right leg pumps up and down. I really hope the child learns how to crawl for real at some point.
- Turning the light switch on and off while I'm changing his diaper.
- Clapping
- Waving
- Pursing his little lips continually as if to whistle. (Reminds me of Evan who did the same thing at this age, but really did whistle in and out!)
- He lights up (meaning he smiles...he's not a smoker) when we sing "The Lord Will Light My Candle" and copies some of the hand motions.
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Posted in The Kiddos
...and the throwing up continued all through Tuesday night. The boys' room became Matthew's sick room and Evan slept on the floor of Sophie's room in a sleeping bag (an adventure for him.) School yesterday consisted of one long read aloud interspersed with Evan running through his piano pieces. I gave Matthew some coke syrup and ginger tea to sip slowly (not at the same time ~ yuk!) for the nausea which worked until 3:30 pm when his fever soared, his stomach revolted again, and he said that the room was spinning. Tylenol and a lukewarm bath helped bring down his fever some.
Evan's practicing during the day did not seem to bode well. Wrong notes popped up where all had been smooth and steady before while the tempo careened erratically. It seemed like Evan was quarrelling with the instrument and the sullen look on his face made me think he was losing the fight.
Evan's friend Caleb called to let him know that he and his parents would be attending the piano performance that evening to hear Evan play. Before Evan hung up the phone, he exclaimed, "Oh No! They are all coming!" I told him that I sure hoped that Caleb had not heard that little outburst before he had hung up on his end!
Aunt Beth graciously upheld her offer to babysit for us while we attended the competition in spite of the sickness. At the rec center, Evan warmed up on a rinky-dink piano in an entryway while other competitors stared at him through the glass doors. His confidence and steadiness returned to my relief.
During the competition, two other pianists played prior to Evan. After each performance, we sat whispering during the three minutes of silence while the four judges recorded their scores and comments. Evan said that his stomach felt queasy from nerves while he waited. I leaned over and whispered to him, "Three minutes seems like a long time!"
"Contestant #106"
James noted to me later that Evan had the biggest "fan section" in the room. Evan's grandma, friends Cheryl and Michaela from church, and Caleb's family sat with us. We appreciated their interest and support!
Early this morning, James received a phone call from Evan's piano teacher saying that Evan placed in the top three out of fourteen finalists in the beginner division and will receive an award at the final recital!
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Posted in A Day on Our Side
An Actual Conversation At Our House Today:
"Mom, can 3 go into 11?"
"No."
"I wish it did, because then the answer to this problem would be right."
An Actual Product Available At Our Local Grocery Store:
The Wait is Killing Me:
Not really. But I seem to be thinking more about Evan's upcoming piano performance than Evan himself. Of course, he is a ten year old boy!
This past weekend, we attended a seminar at our church and Evan played his pieces for the attendees. I was thrilled that he performed them nearly flawlessly under pressure. (He bowed when he was done and ran out of the room while people were still clapping.) I hope he plays that well this week!
Note to Self:
If child #2 says that his stomach hurts, but that he isn't going to throw up, DON'T BELIEVE HIM!
Note to Child #2:
If your stomach hurts and you are finally convinced that you are going to hurl, don't get off your bed and try to make it to the toilet! It is much easier to clean up sheets than carpet.
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Posted in Family News
Thank you, friends, for your concern and prayers while I've been ill. My health problems seem to be caused partly by a postpartum hormonal shift and partly by gluten intolerance. I'm still not feeling 100%, but I have been sleeping better in the past week which certainly makes life more pleasant.
I've always felt sorry for people with weird dietary restrictions, but now I'm in the club. Someone asked me via email if I have celiac-sprue. I will probably never know the answer to that, because I don't intend to get a biopsy of my short intestine to find out. A lab report confirmed that I am intolerant to gluten which means that I have antibodies in my body against gluten. The only solution is an immediate and permanent gluten-free diet so that the antibodies don't start attacking and damaging my body (if they haven't already). This is not as easy as just not eating wheat. Unfortunately gluten is in many foods and under many disguises so that I will have to become a conscientious label checker.
Thankfully, the meals I typically cook for my family are easily converted to gluten-free. My sister-in-law has already been down the gf path and has already answered many questions.
Yesterday, my kids asked why some cereal that I bought was called "Mighty Good Hot Cereal." "To try and make people feel better about it being gluten free," I replied. Actually, along with my eggs in the morning, I have replaced my usual oatmeal with brown rice with raisins, cinnamon and applesauce. It's a lot better than the "Mighty Good" cereal!
In other news, Evan got past the first audition for the piano competition. One night this next week, he is scheduled to play on stage before judges and an audience. He says that he is not nervous, but we will see when the time comes. Please pray that he handles the pressure well. Thanks!
I opened a free account with Dropshots.com to upload some videos. You can find the link to watch them in my sidebar, if you like. One of them is of Logan jamming to the music of Evan's piano practice which you can hear in the background. Of course, you can also hear our dying dishwasher which we didn't think to turn off.
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Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1: 2-4
I haven't been feeling well which puts a damper on cheerful posting. I'm learning to submit myself to what God has for me at this time. Feeling sick and frustrated physically is like getting turned to face a mirror so that I can see my own sins and shortcoming more clearly and where I need to trust and obey God more in my life. I also have been praying more for others, some who are suffering more deeply.
Please pray for me.
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I know I've been scarce around here lately, but I want to let you know that 5 Minutes for Mom is giving away a Dyson slim vacuum! Yes, I said a Dyson! Click on the first link above and enter the contest!
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Posted in In the News
Cocoa has wonderful health benefits according to this article. My question is, did the cups of cocoa include any sugar?
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Babies do not comprehend time changes! I started wondering why Logan was so wide awake at a late hour tonight, then James reminded me of the time change. Oh yeah. Duh. That's probably why I had such a hard time holding my eyes open during the sermon today. I really wish that we could just pick one time and stick with it. I wonder how long it will take to adjust to this time change. I do not remember the fall change with fondness.
This week the Genevans, the choir of my alma mater, performed at our church. We had four of the choir members stay overnight at our house. Our kids were thrilled to get to sleep on a bedroom floor in sleeping bags. It is funny how small changes can seem like such an adventure to them. James and I stayed up talking to the young men for a little while. (We're old fogies now. The college kids were probably born when we were in high school!) They did a little laundry. At one point, one of them started looking out the window into the night. We wondered what he was doing, but then he asked, "Is that a helicopter!" We laughed, because the loud noise and vibration shaking the room was actually caused by the spin cycle of our washing machine!
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Please pray for a cousin of my husband who is suffering a relapse of anorexia. Though she is a tall girl, her weight is down to 97 lbs. She is in serious condition with a heart rate of 30.
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Posted in Favorite Recipes
Last Wednesday evening, I needed to make supper, but didn't have any planned meals. Since I knew I had some cauliflower and some red potatoes in the refrigerator, I did an ingredient search on allrecipes.com. Only one recipe came up with those ingredients, and while I didn't have every ingredient listed, I thought I could safely make some substitutions. The original recipe on the site was named "Broken Thermostat Curry" and called for a yam, cayenne pepper, and red pepper flakes which I replaced with garbanzo beans and raisins.
Here is my version:
Ingredients:
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 cup carrot pieces
- 1 T. olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (1 tsp. jarred minced garlic)
- 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 2 cups water
- 1 (14 1/2 oz.) can garbanzo beans (a.k.a. chick peas) drained and rinsed
- 5-6 small red potatoes, cubed (The second time I made this, I used turnip instead.)
- 2 cups cauliflower florets
- 1/2 c. raisins (or so... I just threw in handfulls until it looked good)
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon garam masala (Can omit this without much consequence, but I actually have some!)
- plain yogurt
Directions:
- Finely chop the onions and carrots in a food processor. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven over medium heat. Saute the garlic until lightly browned. Pour in the carrot puree and saute for 5 minutes.
- Pour in diced tomatoes, water, garbanzo beans, red potatoes, cauliflower, and raisins. Season with turmeric, curry powder, cumin, and garam masala. Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 30 minutes.
- Serve in bowls with plain yogurt.
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I decided yesterday to add a new category to my sidebar for youtube videos. The pictures are clickable links which will take you to the video on youtube. Hopefully linking to the videos instead of embedding them on my blog will help the blog to load faster for those of you with slower connections. Let me know whether you like this idea or not. Also if you end up seeing objectionable content on youtube, let me know, and I'll start embedding the videos again.
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Posted in Life with Baby
Who needs a doll when you've got a baby brother? Two weeks ago, we let Sophie try to hold Logan while she stood as opposed to her usual way of holding him on her lap. She can manage with one arm under his armpit and one arm around his leg. If he gets too heavy, she just sets him down with his feet on the floor. Now we have yet another baby-carter, and both parties involved enjoy the interaction.
One evening this week, James did not arrive home until 8:30 pm. I held Logan in the rocking chair, his eyes closing in sleep, when I heard the key turning in the lock of the front door. "Logan, Daddy's home," I quietly told him. His eyes flew open and he quickly twisted his body to look behind him. He beamed when he caught sight of his dad, and after James had a chance to transition from work to home, he held Logan for another hour. Logan wasn't about ready to let sleep interfere with his daddy-time.
Disclaimer: Matthew spends a lot of time with his little brother too, but I don't have pictures of him carrying Logan lately. He gets tired out very quickly. I'll try to post a video clip of him pushing Logan in the wagon soon.
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Posted in Life with Baby
After seeing the fun and usefulness of this baby walker wagon depicted on Susannah's blog, I ordered one for Logan. He thoroughly enjoys riding in it, while the older three love to push him around. I've been surprised that he even enjoys sitting for some time in the tiny space while playing with toys ~ like a miniature playpen on wheels. However, Evan explained that he's not surprised, because it looks "cozy." The kids also have put it to use in rounding up toys to be put away. Of course, it ought to come in handy in several months when Logan learns to walk.
Thanks Susannah for blogging about this classic baby wagon!
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Posted in Home Management
This past fall, I grew discouraged over the length of time it took my kids to get ready in the morning. When I came across a CD program online that set a morning routine to music, I thought "Great idea, but I'll do it myself!" The tasks featured in the program would not have been all that helpful to my family, but my husband James and I took the concept and created one of our own tailored to our family.
First I made a list of all the tasks that the kids needed to accomplish in the morning and listed a time frame that I thought would be appropriate for each. Next, I located short, upbeat classical pieces or kids' songs that would fit the time needed. James found a blank tape and recorded his voice cheerfully greeting the children and instructing them step-by-step through the morning chores with music following each instruction. (Since the kids hear my voice for the majority of the day, we decided to have James give the instructions.) Some of the chores differed with each child. For instance, my daughter was told to brush her hair while the boys cared for the guinea pig. Finally, I made a chore chart on the computer with each child's chores listed and a place to check them off when completed each day.
The original CD program recommended rewarding the children with a one-on-one date with a parent as a reward when a certain number of points were achieved. We used that reward once with each child, but then changed our minds. We told them that we didn't want them to feel like they had to earn time with their mom or dad. We wanted to just spend one-on-one time with them whenever we felt like it. I suggested that we change the reward to a book for each child which they thought was a good idea. Recently, after about a month of work, each kid earned a book.
As to the effectiveness of the tape, it works wonderfully! Though it took some time to set up, we are extremely pleased with the results. The tape reminds the kids what needs to be done in an orderly fashion and they are motivated to get each chore done in the time frame to earn a point. There has been less "forgetting" and more timeliness without nagging. I've been able to take care of the baby without distraction, knowing that they are getting their jobs done!
We have used the morning routine tape in our family Monday through Saturday (later start on Saturday) since early October. My seven year old daughter says that she has the tape memorized and doesn't really need its prompting anymore. Maybe we ought to test that claim sometime! My nine year old son still likes the tape. Prior to the tape, he was the most likely to space his duties and dawdle. The tape has been a cheerful, upbeat way of keeping him on task. My ten year old son appreciates the tape, because it helps them to get going faster, which allows a timely start and finish to homeschooling each day. He says that he doesn't want to ever quit using the tape! Of course, they all enjoy the positive reinforcement of rewards.
Works for me! To read more helpful tips, visit Rocks in My Dryer.
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I'm trying to make more of an effort to respond to some comments in the comments section, especially if a person asks a question. Lately, I've had two anonymous comments where the person didn't leave a name. They were nice comments; I just didn't know who was commenting. If you leave a comment without being logged into homeschoolblogger, just type in your name so that I know who you are...if you remember.
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Posted in Homeschooling 2006
Overheard during Latin today:
"Barbie is a derivative of barbarus (barbarian), because barbies are so uncivilized and rude!" (Matthew, defender of all things boyish)
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Posted in Movies
I learned from the movie Chariots of Fire not to prejudge a "sports movie." When I was eleven, I reluctantly went to the movie theater with my family to see Chariots of Fire but came away inspired. I deeply admired Eric Liddel for seeking God's glory in all that he did, including running, and for standing on principle in the face of opposition.
Recently on a homeschool discussion board, some people were recommending the movie Facing the Giants as inspiring and family friendly. I gathered that the movie was a football story, and while I'm no football fan, I allowed that the movie could possibly be worthwhile. 
James and I rented the movie this weekend, and we quickly realized that it was a "Christian" movie.
In my opinion, the word that best describes the movie is "fake." Setting aside the poor acting, it was a sermon-driven story, leaving me feel very manipulated. (I don't mean that sermons are usually manipulative!) A good story should be able to communicate important truths without preaching. This particular movie has a good message: Praise God if you win and praise God if you lose. Live life for his glory. What bothered me about this film is that the only losing that occurred (apart from one little token loss! that got reversed!) happened when the characters were not trusting Jesus. As soon as they started living for him, they were showered with victory upon victory in all areas of life. The manipulation part of the movie is that if one raises a skeptical eyebrow, the message is "With God all things are possible." I believe that. Really, I do. But I also know that the kind of "advancing still from strength to strength" that occurs in the lives of heroes of the faith in the scriptures and in all Christians' lives today involves a good bit of suffering and failure from a human perspective. The glory goes to God when we trust in His strength through our weaknesses. That's the kind of faith that people take notice of and that God uses to change lives.
Facing the Giants is not based on a true story. It is not that I am opposed to Christian fiction. However, it seems to me in this case that the purpose of the movie-makers would have been better served by telling a true story of God's work in peoples' lives. Testimonies abound. This movie, in my opinion, actually misrepresents God.
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Posted in Books
Yesterday morning, Sophie told me that she did not have a book to read, because she had finished both books that I had checked out for her recently at the library. I perused our shelves and picked out King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry, thinking that it would satisfy my little horse freak.
She finished the book by 4 p.m.
Yes, she did her schoolwork, and I insisted that she put the book down to eat lunch and to practice piano. Apart from that, she could not put the book down. (At least she didn't cry when she finished it...this time.)
I recently watched the BBC film version of Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell. I enjoyed the movie much more than the BBC version of North and South by the same author. This weekend I purchased Wives and Daughters to read. The kids are calling it my "big pink book." It is 644 pages long and Mrs. Gaskell died before she finished it. (I hope writing such a long book didn't kill her.) The kids compared the book's size to the paperback LOTR trilogy on our shelf. They remarked that it would probably take me a long time to read the pink one. Actually, I re-read the LOTR trilogy in two days after the first movie came out. I'll restrain myself this time, though.
This week, I downloaded the Mozilla Firefox add-on called "Scrapbook" in hopes that it might help me to save and print out a hard copy of my blog. I really, really don't want to read the online manual. I hope I can persuade James to read it for me and then just show me the key features. He he. James doesn't read novels, but he has read the riveting story Build Your Own Pentium II PC.
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Posted in Life with Baby
My oldest three children love to make their baby brother smile. The problem, though, is that they think that his smile is a justification for any of their actions.
Case in point: This morning one of my sons screamed like a ringwraith in the house. I told him to stop making that horrendous noise. He replied, "But Mom! Logan smiled!"
Speaking of Logan, he is fascinated with shadows right now. This morning he smiled with delight watching the shadow of my lips move as I talked to him. This afternoon, he lay on his tummy on the floor near a pool of sunlight trying to grasp leaf shadows cast by a bush outside the window.
I'll make a wild guess that Logan's first word will be "No." When he is bothered by something, he shakes his head emphatically from side-to-side. Of course, he also does it sometimes just to entertain himself.
I don't know if this child will ever need to learn to walk on his own. The older kids certainly enjoy carrying him around. Sophie likes to wrap her arms around him under his armpits and "give him a tour" around the room by lifting him up and setting him down on his feet while she walks on her knees. And today, for the first time, Evan put on the Ergo baby carrier (adjusted to its smallest circumference) and carried Mr. Fussy around a good bit. (Logan had a fever earlier this week and now has a rash. Must be Roseola.) I enjoyed seeing my baby carrying my baby. Logan gazed adoringly up at his big brother. Tonight before bed, all three kids took turns carrying Logan around, giggling as he kicked the air wildly and babbled.
The youngest child gets a lot of attention!
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Posted in Home Management
The following is a repost in order to share this idea with WFMW participants:
The messy collage of pictures precariously held up by magnets all over my refrigerator has been getting on my nerves. This week I decided to try a new idea.
Sophie has a French memo board in her room where she puts pictures of her friends and cousins, as well as birthday cards, or presently, Valentine's cards. She did such a nice, neat job of arranging it, that I decided to figure out a way of attaching such a board to the fridge. I bought a board, found strips of magnets that I had saved, and with a glue-gun, attached a generous amount to the back of the board. Here is the result:
For more Works for Me Wednesday tips, visit Rocks in My Dryer
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Matthew took this video of Sophie demonstrating how to open one of the tricky Valentine cards that the kids made. The cards were easier to make than they look and the children made nineteen to give to family and friends.
Click here for card-making instructions.
Today I've been feeling sick. James has made Butternut Bisque for supper (in favorite recipes in sidebar) and dark chocolate pudding for dessert. Beats cards or flowers or candy!
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Posted in Life with Baby
What's the scoop?
Stop Touching Me!
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Posted in Life with Baby
This video is from a few weeks ago, but I just got around to uploading it.
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Are you enjoying my little film festival? I'm apparently a little video happy nowadays. Here is a video of Evan this morning playing Spinning Song. The video is to help him see what he still needs to work on and what areas may be shaky under pressure. Lord willing, he will play this piece and another at a music festival in April.
About a month ago, I began to wonder if he'd ever get his pieces pulled together. Everytime he practiced he just played the pieces and kept practicing the same mistakes over-and-over. It drove. me. nuts. I told him that when he made a mistake, he needed to stop and practice that measure and the measure before and behind it until he could play it perfectly several times in a row. He was just getting depressed by his mistakes instead of correcting them.
Several weeks ago, I asked the teacher to do something about the aimless practicing, and she began to write down short mini-goals for him to work on. It helped him that she said that she didn't care how many got accomplished at each week and at each practice, as long as he worked on them one at a time until he had met each goal.
Now he has a practice log. Each day he writes down a goal(s) and how many measures he actually accomplished with that goal. Last week at piano lesson, his teacher sprang up and shouted "Yes!" after he played his piece better than ever before. He blinked and pursed his lips to try to hide his smile, but his eyes danced with pleasure.
Often Evan is a perfectionist which means he gets discouraged easily and has trouble accepting correction. He often sees tasks as impossible. We have discussed that when he faces a seemingly insurmountable problem (in his head), whether it be in piano or in math, that instead of fretting, he needs to take it to the Lord in prayer and trust God to help him. We have discussed that Evan's weaknesses are opportunity to trust God's strength and to seek His glory in all things. Our discussions are reminders to myself as well, because guess who is a lot like Evan!
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Posted in Life with Baby
Logan has graduated from blowing raspberries to tongue clacking. Clacking, as anyone knows, requires a higher level of skill and finesse. Yesterday, he clacked his tongue during a diaper change, and while Evan stood guard, I grabbed the camera again. After gaping at the camera a bit, Logan began clacking again with Evan. Evan needed brushing up on the skills, after all.
I don't know if I should be worried. Logan's favorite toy is a plastic axe from Matthew's fireman costume. The other night, he held it by the handle and purposefully and repeatedly hit himself in the head with the axe head. He also poked his eye with the pick end. He then closed his eye and poked it a couple more times! James and I were in stitches and grabbed the camera. But you know what happens when the camera appears:
Zombie Boy
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It has been a topsy-turvy day in many ways. This morning, while I ate breakfast, Logan bounced manically happily in the Jumparoo on loan from Elijah. ("He" traded the exersaucer for it.) After a while, I noticed his eyelids drooping. bouncy bouncy bouncy bouncy Head drooping. Bouncy bouncy bouncy bouncy Eyes closing. bouncy bouncy Eyes Closed. Still bouncy bouncy bouncy bouncy!
I grabbed my camera, snapped a few shots and took a video. In keeping with the topsy-turvy day, it is sideways. (Youtube will only do horizontal frames and I forget and hold my camera vertical.) If you have a laptop, turn it sideways. If not, I'm sorry...
The piano music you hear in the background is Evan practicing.
This afternoon, we began the
We arrive at cello teacher's house. Unsack the cello...
NO BOW in the bag! Nooooooooooooooooooooo! (Okay that was in my head.) Why is it that the one time I do not ask if the bow is in the bag or check myself, it is not in the bag?! All the other times that I've checked it has been there. Sigh. The teacher looked at me with raised eyebrows, blinking and shrugging. I asked, "Pizzicato?"
After Sophie's lesson was cut short by the teacher who could not think of enough to do without the bow, we drove home. I very clearly instructed two of the children to put the cello and chair inside the door, come straight back and get buckled again. One child was to get #1 the Ergo and #2 the shopping list on the refrigerator. I stayed with Logan in the van. Children ran inside.
I waited.
I tapped the horn.
One child came back. Another child appeared at the door, and I inquired as to the whereabouts of the other
We drove to the store. I reached for items to take into the store. As I picked up the "shopping list" my eyes focused on...
THE MORNING ROUTINE CHECKLIST! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! (That was in my head again.) My chest began to hurt.
We drove back home. The
We're okay, and I'm hoping that we are right side up now.
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Posted in Family News
Another one of my Colorado cousins has a new little baby. My cousin John--the one who used to make me play "Jump" by Van Halen on the piano over and over(a dubious accomplishment that I picked up at school), the one who taunted, "Missy's got a boyfriend! Missy's got a boyfriend!" when I went out to eat with James before we were married--welcomed his first baby girl, Piper, into the world last Saturday.
Saturday turned out to be an eventful day for the extended family as well. While John's wife, Linde, was laboring, John's sister, Julie was admitted to the same hospital for emergency surgery. Thankfully, Julie is okay and is recovering. She is not allowed to lift her baby, Elijah, for four weeks. She is planning on staying at our house for two days next week. She'll be the brains leading the homeschooling whenever I'm called upon to be the brawn for baby-lifting.
Welcome to the world baby girl! (Note the afghan that my Grandma crocheted!)
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Posted in Life with Baby
When my oldest three children were babies, the house where we lived had a bathroom with a long counter next to the sink. I enjoyed having a diaper changing station on the counter by a water source, making clean-up a snap.
Seven years later finds us in a new house with a new baby, but no bathroom with a counter long enough for a changing station. After a week with my newborn, I came up with a new plan. Our new changing station is in our powder room/laundry room. The changing pad sits on top of our front-loader washing machine with room behind it for a basket containing cloth diapers and a small diaper pail. The sink is within arm's reach and the cloth wipes are located in a small basket on top of the toilet. We have a colorful mobile hanging by fishing line from a clothes pole above the washing machine to provide entertainment for baby during the changes.
- Access to a water source
- Hard surfaces for easy clean-up when baby behaves like a human fountain (saves the carpet in the "nursery")
- Mom can multi-task. While baby is still happy on the changing pad, a load of laundry can be thrown in the washer right below, or switched to the dryer. (If I had a top-loader, the changing pad would be on the dryer.)
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