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Today I opened my A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola.  I read her chapter titled Fall Diversions.  It was a wonderful section that gives ideas and inspiration for celebrating the season.  This afternoon we will take our quilts and sit under Lone Pine while reading Robert Frost.  The hills will be the only entertainment we will need.  My children will be content and their day will have been full.

Speaking of the hills, I shared with my children this morning that our hills and mountains felt alive.  Every morning when I wake up I feel as though I am watching a symphony that played all night long.  Each tree, shrub, bush, and blade of grass waits for their cue.  When that cue comes they burst into their assigned color.  Every morning a new song has been sung.  Ever changing.

This morning for breakfast we had this yummy pumpkin bread I made last night!

And for lunch Sissy made us her famous Nutty Cheese Ball.  This has always been a requested item at our teas and get togethers.

I was so glad yesterday that we had taken the time and kept our noses to the grindstone last week when it came to our schedule.  One week was all we needed to train us.  I can now enter my days of carefree planning.  The phone can ring.  A neighbor can come by for a visit.  A trip to the grocery store or and unexpected outing.  Any of these things can pop into our day and we will still get done the needful things.

Sissy is really enjoying her Botony course.  I let her do this instead of sticking to what her brother is doing this year.  This was an extension of her already God-given interests.  I am not into shoving things down their throats because the world says it is important to learn.  God knitted each child seperately.  They each have their own talents, interests, and strengths.  Would you ask a fish to hike or a bird to swim?  I won't ask an artist to learn gobs of senseless math or a scientist to write poetry and study art.  I have long since followed the wise words of an aged homeschool mom:  "If it isn't fun for all, it isn't fun at all.  Learning should be fun and if it isn't, mom you are being a bully!"

Here is Sissy studying a bean seed yesterday.  She now knows all about the cotyledons, the radicle, the hypocotyl, the epicotyl, and the plumule.

So, yesterday I had one of those rare moments when I looked at God and asked Him if He was sure that I was the one He had in mind to teach my children a particular subject.  I knew that what I shared with them would follow them well into adulthood.  It would be the basis on which they judge current and future political events.  Their eyes may be forever changed in the way they viewed the world.  They may even come back someday and judge what I taught them as fact.  They may tell me that I taught them wrong, that I lied to them, that I was ignorant.  There was no one else....no other way...I must go on.  I was thankful.  At least today they will hold my worldview.  The subject was brought up while doing a lesson in the Beautiful Feet Horse Study.  They needed to study the Islamic religion.  Finds it's origins.  It's differences from the Truth.  They needed to read about Islamic commandments.  This would have all been fine if the questions hadn't ensued.  What about Israel and terrorists?  What about homicide bombings?  Weren't the 9-11 terrorists Muslim?  The inquiries came hard and fast.  They lasted all day.  They still continue this morning.  I amswered each question as best as I could, as best I knew.  I would like to find a few Henty-style books so that my son can read about the history between Israel and Palestine.  Sissy seems content to know what I told her.  My son is hungry for more knowledge on the subject.  He wants the history.  Yeah, I was up for the task-who else would have taught him the truth?  The public schools?  The liberal-biased media?  I don't think so.  There was just me.

The evening ended with yummy homemade pizzas and everyone snuggling into mom's room for the first installment of the Christy Series and a good night sleep...that was until my Jack Russel fell down the stairs and woke us all up!

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Posted by Anonymous

I hope Jack Russel is OK.

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Posted by WisdomBuilders

It's been several years back, but one of my friends from my college days was Muslim. She worked with me at Franklin-Covey and her name was Mizna. She was very sweet and hungry for God's truth in a way I rarely find in Americans. She would ask me question after question and listen for hours as I told her of Jesus and his love, the similarities and differences of our religion, and tried explaining to the best of my ability their misconception of the trinity. One of the main things they have against us is that we believe in "more than one God". They think because we believe Jesus is God in the flesh and that the Holy Spirit is also part of the God-head, than we believe in three Gods, not one. This was difficult to explain to her, but one of the deepest conversations I have ever had. She challenged my faith by making me think through things that were stagnant beliefs in me and changed my very heart to be more firm in the faith of Christ than ever, but it was hard. I will probably not know until eternity whether she excepted Christ as her Savior or not because she moved back with her family in Afganistan (I think), and I haven't heard from her since. She had and aranged marraige waiting for her of a guy she had never met. It gave me comfort to know that her Father was a fairly gentle man, seeing pictures proved this so, and that even though he was missguided in his beliefs, that he had her best interest at heart. I prayed and prayed for her that God would place her with a secret Christian, but I will never know. I continue to pray for her every time I think of her, and hope and have faith that His Word in her will not return void.

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Posted by wilsonclan

on you blog really helps to put my ever-seemingly chaotic days into perspective. My relationship with my children should be like that bear and cubs - playful without letting them stray. That should be my motto for the day. I love how God uses nature to remind us of how He made things. I love watching animals on our prairie and being reminded by Him that life should not be all work. I love the way nature combines play and work. And, yes, I should be looking for ways to make all subjects fun for my children. I was on that before I read your blog this morning. :)

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Posted by Bearingfruit

Hello and thank you for sharing your pictures with us! My dad is absolutely busting at the seams to travel to Montana!! We have been discussing the thought of going next summer with him. He wants to say one month, don't know if we can stay away from home that long. This would be a wonderful education for my girls.

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Posted by Anonymous

It's so hard to answer questions like that, and I give you a lot of credit for teaching your children about everything going on in the world. Also, I'm jealous that you already have leaves changing to wax paper! Ours haven't started changing yet...

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