Hi! Welcome to my blog! My name is Jane (PlainJane) and I am the blessed and happy wife to Jeff and doubly blessed mama of two perfectly wonderful daughters. Please join me as I share our Lifestyle of Learning through Christian homeschooling and homesteading on our little hobby farm with our prairie girls.
Amber (Bookworm) is our dd15/10th grader.
Our perfectionist and over-achiever. She loves reading, playing violin, all things vintage, riding her Paint horse, and being a farm girl.
Anna (Ladybug)
is our dd12/7th grader.
Our "girls just want to have fun" girl. She loves to play and has a great sense of humor, but also enjoys cooking, music, and riding her QH pony.
There, I said it! They say that just admitting you have a problem is half the battle, and boy... has it been a battle so to speak. I never had a problem turning 30, 35, 40, 45, none of that, until this past birthday -- 50 just seems soooo old, it's a hard pill to swallow.
What makes it worse is that evidently to some, I'm now considered a senior citizen - yikes! It all started about six months before my February birthday; I started receiving AARP mailings - about once every other week. What are they doing anyhow? I can't join until I'm 50 anyways, and since I'm in denial, it will be a long time after that! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but they certainly don't need to rub it in!
On the other hand, getting "up there" does have it's perks, about a month ago the girls and I went to Perkins Restaurant and I jokingly asked the waitress if I could have the same children's meal the girls were having and she said, "No, but I could order something from the Senior's Menu" (gasp), but when I said I wasn't 62 yet, she helped me recover by saying, "I know (wink), but we can do it anyways".
But then just the other day took the cake...I receive an "official" junkmail sort of flyer that I usually don't even bother opening or reading, but decided to open this one just to see what they were selling, and here's what it read...
"Funeral Advantage Program Assists Seniors".
Oh No!!!!!
So, as you can probably surmise, I have a bit of a bad attitude with this 50-thing. I'm NOT old, and I don't have one foot in the grave (that I know of)!!!!
Here are 4 reasons I'm NOT OLD...
1. My children are relatively young yet and I can still keep up with them.
2. I married a younger man (2 yrs, 9.5 months younger).
3. I don't dye my hair - something nice I inherited from my mom - she's 80 and still has much of her original hair color too.
4. I look much younger than my age - I see others my age or younger and once I find out their age, I'm shocked, too me they look way older than me. (Another good thing I inherited from my mom).
Another nice thing that the Lord reminded me of today was about the Year of Jubilee. Throughout the book of Leviticus, we read about the 50th year being the Year of Jubilee...
" And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years." Leviticus 25:8
"And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family." Leviticus 25:10
"A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you:..." Leviticus 25:11
The Year of Jubilee was a year of emancipation for slaves, release, liberty for all, a time of rest - a holy holiday"
THANK YOU LORD!!!!
So I hereby declare this as my Year of Jubilee - I'm on Holiday - for a whole year! No more pouting, I'm celebrating!!!
Don't you wish you were 50 too?
Again, weight loss is at the top of my list for the umpteenth time. I really need to shed some lbs. through good nutrition and getting more exercise. I need to work on my health more and losing weight and getting back in better shape would be huge in this effort and would help in fulfilling my other goals.
Spending more time in God's Word. I already have a good devotional time most every day, but I want even more. I want to pick up again my indebth word studies and really listen to all God has for me this year.
Along with that, I want to continue to saturate the girls in God's Word. We have a great time in God's Word already with the Bible being our main textbook, but in light of what I believe are end-time events unfolding before our eyes, I want to live each year, each week, as if it might be our last here on earth.
And along with that we want to do more ministry. We are already taking some steps towards that goal as we will be starting volunteer work at our local nursing home this coming year. We have other areas we wish to explore as well. And I want to buy some tracts and witness more too.
Two other things I wish to pick back up this year is learning piano -- I was doing well at this for a while (self-taught through some books we have), but haven't been doing it for a while now; and again the art of beautiful writing (Spencerian penmanship).
And a couple of really do-able goals are to actually get caught up with my scrapbooking and get rid of the 3 stacks of books on the floor behind me.
Outside of that, I wish to always strive to be an excellent wife and mother and of course, child of God...staying on top of providing an inviting, peaceful home with good housekeeping, delicious meals, and faithful upkeep of the gardens.
I really do belive that the time is short. Jesus' return is nigh. My top priorities in our home education/life is God's Word, Ministry, and Music (for worship & ministry) --what really matters for all eternity. Upper-level math and sentence diagraming won't make one wit of difference in the end, but faithfully serving Jesus as He calls us is of utmost importance. May He find us faithful.
"His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." Matthew 25:21 KJV
It's so easy focusing on our children -- talking about them constantly, that tonight I thought I'd give my huband his moment of fame...
My Sweetie - the avid cyclist.
It doesn't matter what time of year, as long as it's not raining, too icy, windy or cold, you may find my DH out on his bicycle - even throughout our Minnesota winters. Here my DH is about to go out for a short ride (perhaps 25-35 miles) on a balmy 31 degree afternoon after work this past week. My husband use to do cycling races in his single days, but didn't get as much pleasure out of it for the amount of time and training it takes. In our earlier married years, he use to go on 100-mile rides just for the fun of it, and has done triathalons as well, but not so much any more. However, he still remains a huge fan of the sport and often rides for miles alone or occasionaly joins up with some of his biking buddies -- one of which is a personal friend of Lance Armstrong's (and has rode with Lance in France).
Minneapolis is one of the top cycling cities in the US and even out here in the country there are a good number of very good cyclists. I joke that I think one of the reasons I caught Jeff's eye when we first got aquainted was because I knew who Greg LeMond was (I am from the same hometown as where he lives and would sometimes see Greg around town). But dispite Jeff buying me a nice Italian bike when we were dating or newly married, I'm not much of a biker (understatement) - I hate those little seats. :) I usually don't mind being a biking widow at times, it gives my husband a good outlet for exercise and time to ponder. And he has cut way back on his cycling over the years as there is more to life then cycling.
I usually don't worry too much about his safety, Jeff is a safe cycliest and knows what he is doing and most drivers are respectful, but one never knows. Once someone threw a water balloon at him and between the speed of the truck, the speed of the balloon, and the speed of my husband - it hit his sunglasses and gave him quite a shiner.
When the weather is too bad to bike, he has a bike trainer downstairs that he attaches one of his bikes too and rides for about an hour while watching cycling tapes - but much perfers being outdoors.
We don't know what this winter will be like yet - depends on which weatherman you listen too, but right now have no snow (unusual) and he keeps going. When he is not cycling, he is also an avid Up North guy - hiking, canoeing, and camping in the BWCAW and would sometime like to do the Appalachian Trail. My husband's idea of a dream location to live would be where we would have to hike 5 miles and canoe 3 miles just to get to the house. It's funny how opposites attract. lol
Jeff never gives up hope that someday I'll take up biking and hardcore hiking too (yeah right), but we love eachother just the same. I am thankful for my Sweetie!
Hey everybody, I'm a Featured Homeschooler at Heart of the Matter. I did the interview quite a while ago so some of the stuff on there is a bit dated - like we sold our goats, but if you want to see a more recent picture of me - chubby cheeks and all - now is your chance.
15 years ago today was a very special day in my life...
our wedding day!!!
So, in meme style, here are a few facts about our special day...
Jeff & I dated about 2 years before he popped the question. It wasn't exactly a surprise and he's not exactly the most romantic fellow. We went to the Conservatory, one of my favorite places, but Jeff was so nervous that instead of proposing to me in one of the beautifully flora-ed rooms, he proposed in a not-so-attractive in-between room in front of the pop machine. :) I still said yes.
That was on February 6th. We set our wedding date for May 1st - less than 3 months later. I wanted an easy-to-remember date as I'm so bad at names and dates. It's good we decided on a small wedding! We didn't want to make it too big of a deal since we were older (I was 34 years old at the time - my first & only marriage - a late bloomer I guess).
The big day was cool and rainy. The wedding was in a small chapel of the large church that Jeff & I were attending. And the reception was in a room in the lower level. I wanted a small but tastefully formal wedding and so there were less than 30 in attendance - including the wedding party. We didn't even have a rehersal the night before.
Finding a gown was a real adventure....after visiting countless bridal shops and looking through many bridal-type magazines, my mom and I stopped in at a bridal consignment store in a posh area of the Cities. My mom found a gown the SHE loved, a replica of Jackie O's gown ~ it was everything Mrs. Kennedy complained it was -- super heavy, and I looked like Little Bo Peep, not to mention it was so tight I was afraid I'd pop the zipper in the middle of the wedding. My mom loved the dress and told me to lose weight (my ribs can only get so small) and offered to pay for it, but I hated it and declined. Instead, we ended up going to one of those bridal sales at a hotel where about 200 young brides stampede into a ballroom at 8 am and start grabbing gowns off the racks (very fun). I already knew what I was looking for, and found a near-perfect match - a candlelight white, dupioni silk gown with a very full skirt. It was slightly big on me, but it would have to do, I didn't have time for alterations. Of course, my mom (pouting the whole time) was mad that I didn't get "her" gown, so she didn't volunteer to pay for any of this one, but I bought it just the same and made my own vail (I still have the silk roses I had glued on the headpeice).
Pictured: Jeff's brothers were his groomsmen & two of my best friends were with me. A third friend I would have loved to be up there too, but I had her with the guest book, lest I have more up front than in the pews. Btw, fushia was not my top choice for the maid's dresses; I love blue, but since my best friend/matron-of-honor had "my color" for her wedding, I decided not to do the same.
Of course that wasn't the only thing that didn't go smoothly or perfectly (and I won't go into all those that involved my mom), but if I had to do over again, I wouldn't have had my hair put up. I had/have fairly long hair and even though some of you gals look great with short hair, I never have - I should have wore my hair down, but after spending lots of time & $$ that morning at the salon, I was afraid to let me hair down.
Also, my bouquet & the fresh flowers on the cake didn't turn out anything like I ordered, but once they arrived at the chruch, it was too late to do anything about it. I really wanted a long bouquet with some pink & lavander flowers - I even gave them a magazine picture and told them to make my arrangement EXACTLY like the picture - it was NOTHING like it. The perfectionist in me was crushed. Also, I forgot to tell the florist that my wedding cake was small, so you can imagine my surprise when I find the cake topper almost as big as the cake itself. lol There were other little (or not so little) problems with the caterer; with forgetting my Seiko watch in Jeff's tux pocket ~ never to see it again; and with my mom in a YELLING rage at the price of catering (boy did that put a damper on the day).
All in all, it ended up being a tiring, so-so day. We spent our wedding night at home (Jeff owned a little house already) and opened our gifts the next day at my parents' townhouse. A couple of days later we flew off to the Florida Keys for our honeymoon - which even then we had flight delays and missed a connection and spent way too much time in airports.
Dispite all the faux pas of our wedding day, our marriage has gone swimmingly. Oh, not that there is never any hiccups, but I praise God for a happy and strong marriage and a faithful husband.
ps - Bookworm was born nearly 11 months later and we felt God calling us to homeschool even before her birth. I Love my life!!! Thank you Lord!!!
Oh, and btw, tonight we will "celebrate" by just going out as a family to Applebees -- boy, are we ever partiers.
Things are a little boring around here lately, it's COLD (currently -16 with a -40 wind chill) so DH says to stay home (gladly); Ladybug is coming down with a cold; and life if a bit routine right now, so for lack of anything else to write about today, I thought I would do my friend, DiamondsintheRough's tag.
ps - Yes, this is still a NO TAG/NO AWARD zone! I just wanted to post an entry.
4 Jobs I've Had: 1. Working at an Exclusive Country Club
2. Waitress
3. Executive Assistant
4. Paralegal/Office Manager
4 Movies Watched Over and Over:
I'm not much of a movie watcher,
but besides all my daughter's favorites that they
play often and our horse training tapes:
1. The Search for the Real Mt. Sinai (I know it sounds wierd, but this is my all-time favorite)
2. A Journey Home
3. Inherit the Land
4. Bill Gaither videos (confession time) I esp. like the George Younce & Guy Penrod ones.
4 TV Shows I Watch: Nothing on a regular basis, but
1. News (usually just the weather)
2. History Detectives
3. This Old House
4. Dragonfly TV (when it's not a repeat)
4 Places I've Been: I've never been outside of the USA
1. To about 21 States
2. Caving (with college friends)
3. Snorkling off the FL keys
4. To the Barn
4 People Who E-mail Me Regularly: 1. DiamondsintheRough
2. Ruby Girl moms
3. People trying to sell me something
4. Lots of people trying to sell me something
4 Favorite Things to Eat: 1. Chicken
2. Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
3. Raspberries
4. Milk Chocolate
4 Places I'd Rather Be: 1. Florida
2. Arizona Visiting Friends
3. Anyplace Tropical
4. In Bed
4 Things I Look Forward to This Year: 1. The Rapture, please. (borrowed from Sally)
2. MACHE Homeschool Conference.
3. Camping with the Family
4. Losing weight. ?? (also borrowed from Sally)
My friend, NaturalPaths, has blessed me with a "7 Things" tag that I am going to attempt...
Here are the rules:
Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, including links to their blogs.
Let the people know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs.
It is hard is determine what is random and what is wierd in my life, as it all seems to run together. Lately I've been borderline normal, so I hate to disappoint you with just boring facts; but dispite the risk of seeming wierd right at the time when I may have a few new visitors during Blog Awards time, here it goes anyways...
Well, anyone that has been reading my posts for a while knows I LOVE Florida, but perhaps you don't realize to what extent: I just LOVE the Atlantic coast, sunshine, sandy beaches, palm trees, hot weather, fresh fruit, and tropical flora. My family vacationed there often when I was young and I've lived there twice in my life. We went to Key West on our honeymoon & we finally vacationed there again with the girls this past May. But lately I have just been sooo longing to be down there again - too bad dh doesn't share my obsession. :) So, in the meantime, until I win an all-expense-paid trip there - someday, I check out a couple of web cams down there - daily, and live vicariously through seeing other people having fun in the sun -- collecting shells on the beach, watching the ocean waves & palm trees sway. Am I sick or what? lol It's my mini mental vacation.
Okay, just to redeem myself, I did show my dh some web cams for up in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), his love, just to make it even. lol
The reason I chose the username of "PlainJane" is not because I have a poor self image (lol), but because it rhymes and I thought it would be easy to remember; plus I do love the simpler things of life. My favorite ice cream flavor is vanilla, i prefer good home cooking to gourmet any day, and things like that.
I love to laugh and be goofy - I'm an easy audiance.
I'm a homebody - I just love being at home and almost never go out (away from our property) at night. Thankfully, so is my husband.
I'm a technology dummy (no secret there).
I am living my dream "career", but If I had to work and I could pick any kind of career (and lets pretend money & schooling was not an issue), I think I would either like to have 4-6 condo/rentals on the Florida coast (or a B&B), or be an architect. I love looking at house plans!
I have done two other of these "Things about me" tags in the past -- see my May 25th Post and my August 6th Post if you really want to know more about me - and who wouldn't (tongue in cheek).
Keeping true to my resolve some time back though, I won't be passing on this tag to 7 others, but if you would like to volunteer some wierd facts about yourself and let me know, I promise I'll come read them -- don't worry, it will be just between you and I. teehe
Us Minnesotan's love Peanuts, the home of Charles Schultz. I am Woodstock (although I don't know if I'm always where the fun is) :). What are you? (warning: this quiz does ask you what your horoscope sign is - I wish they would leave that out of it).
I'll be doing my Friday Show & Tell a little later, but in the meantime, I thought I would finally do my "7 Things You Probably Don't Know About Me" meme. (It took me this long to think of 7 seven things).
My favorite color is Robin Egg Blue. I don't have anything in the house that's that color except a few remains of a robin's egg laying around.
The first time I ever was in a pizza parlor or had pizza parlor pizza was in college.
Once-upon-a-time I was the Sunday school teacher to one of Billy Graham's grandchildren. It was in my single days when I lived in South FL. GiGi (Graham) lives down there and went to the same church. I had her youngest son. The really big thing about it was that when Grandpa Dr. Graham came to visit, he preferred to sit in on a Sunday School class with a grandchild rather than go to an adult class as it would cause too much of a distraction in the class (and for the adult teachers). I had to always be prepared just in case (but never had the opportunity while I lived there). My "job" interview was over 1 hour long to teach the 5 year olds.
I am claustrophobic & acrophobic (afraid of small spaces & heights). Not crazy so, but enough to be way out of my comfort zone in tube slides or ski lifts. I don't mind painting up high though.
My favorite foods are raspberries, watermelon, and mashed potatoes & gravy.
I have never had a cold sore.
I was almost a missionary in Tanzania, Africa. This was way back in my 20's, and it's a long story, but I felt God's call. Took Swahili at the U of M, and had an interview lined up with African Inland Mission at the up-coming Urbana Conference. Well, about 3 weeks before the Conference, I ended up having a huge kidney stone, the surgeon messed up the surgery and I almost died on the table, spent a week in the hospital recovering and another several weeks gaining my strength back due to loss of blood. I missed Urbana and wasn't sure, but thought maybe God was telling me he had other plans and was just testing my willingness.
Bonus: I have never been on skis - neither snow or water. And I use to drive a little red sports car (a sweet little Mazada RX-7 with all the bells & whistles).
That's all! Now you truely know EVERYTHING about me. Kinda disappointing aint it! LOL
If you haven't done your 7 yet, please do and let me know so I can come visit.
From A to Z:
A- Available or married? very happily married
B- Best Friend? Jesus, dh, dd's
C- Cake or Pie? Pie - Apple, Pumpkin with real whipped cream, key lime
D- Drink of Choice? Water with lemon
E- Essential Item? Bible
F- Favorite Color? Robin Egg Blue
G- Gummi Bears or Worms? Neither
H- Hometown? A posh small town, home to lots of old money - just not mine
I- Indulgence? Books. I never have time to read them, but they look pretty on my shelves
J- January or February? February. Valentines Day & my birthday.
K- Kids & names? Bookworm (12, almost 13), Ladybug (10)
L- Life is incomplete without? God
M- Marriage Date? May Day 1993
N- Number of Siblings? Zero. I know, that explains a lot.
O- Oranges or apples? Honey Crisp Apples
P -Phobias/Fears? ledges - I can't stand very near the edge of a cliff, bridge, building - but being on ladders to paint my walls - again - is okay.
Q-Favorite Quote? Anything from Vision Forum
R- Reason to Smile? Jesus, Children, dh saying the word "vacation", shopping
S- Season? Summer
T- Tag three people! Lest my friends begin to hate me, this one is voluntary
U- Unknown fact about me: I use to be the Sunday School teacher to one of Billy Graham's grandchildren.
W- Worst habit? Snacking
Y- Your favorite food? Raspberries
Z- Zodiac? I'd rather look at the stars on a beautiful clear night and thank Jesus for his creation.
(I don't know what's up with the spaces & I don't know how to fix them - so we're leaving them)
Hi, and welcome to my blog. I am so glad you stopped by!
Wow, My first blog – something I have been wanting to do for about a year now. Kind of scary since I am not real computer savvy. I hope you find something here in the days to come that may encourage, inspire, or perhaps just entertain you. I am just here to join in the fun and hopefully make a few friends along the way. I don’t have anything to sell – at least not yet – just sharing our days with you. So grab a cup of your favorite beverage, and won’t you join me on our front porch (family room in the winter) and sit a spell.
First of all…
I always like to read the profiles to get to know about the person behind my favorite blogs – to personalize it and become friends first – so here is a little about me/us:
First, and foremost, I am a child of God (What an awesome statement!). I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior when I was 9 and have always had a passion for God’s Word and children – in children’s ministry for most of the past 30+ years. LOVE my family; SUPER-PASSIONATE about Christian home education; and ADORE our animals. I am a bit of a late bloomer; I guess, and didn’t marry until I was 34 (I’m 47 now – but feel 23). We are blessed with 2 WONDERFUL daughters, Bookworm (12) & Ladybug (9). (Not real names of course). They love their horses and all animals, reading, playing violin (and handbells in Co-op), reenacting history – esp. as prairie girls, our Proverbs 31 Bible Study, ministry, writing pen pals, and homeschooling.
We have lived in the country for 10 years now, and love country life. We are blessed to have a 10-acre hobby farm, complete with a small barn full of animals – a real learning experience. We put in a fairly large garden – organic of course; can & preserve the harvest; and care for our extended family -- 2 horses (a paint & a quarter horse); 3 Angora goats; a few chickens; 1 rabbit; 2 cats ("barn cats" that spend most of their time in the house); and a Boston Terrier. We (us girls) love playing (training) our horses using Parelli Natural Horsemanship.
God called us to homeschool before our first child was born and we have followed that leading ever since. This is our 8th official year of home educating and we are in it for life (Duet. 6:5-7; 11:18-22; 32:46-47). I currently do 99% of the teaching and my DH, Jeff, is a wonderful support and provider who makes it all possible. Our homeschool style is more of a Lifestyle of Learning – incorporating all of life in our learning process. And although we maintain high academic standards, more important than academic knowledge is the development of Godly wisdom and character and to walk in a manner pleasing to our LORD. We use a Biblical (Hebraic) approach to education with God and His Word paramount and character study. Bible first. HIStory is studied in chronological order using God’s Word and living books. Science is studied in the order of the days of creation, centered on God’s Word and God’s World, with mostly living books & Apologia. We do a lot of lapbooking, timelines, notebooking, mapping, hands-on, and field trips as well as an occasional unit study or workbook. Math varies, but we are currently enjoying Systematic Math & Math-U-See.
Additionally, I am currently a board member of our local Christian homeschool co-op and write our co-op’s newsletter and lead field trips – but will be cutting back next school year to focus more on family ministry, family business, training our horses, and beginning our oldest daughter’s high school studies. If there is any "spare time," you will find me either with my family or reading; baking, cooking, scrapbooking, shopping, or with the animals.
So there you have it. I hope you will visit often and PLEASE email me. I look forward to hearing from you and making new friends!
Finding a gown was a real adventure....after visiting countless bridal shops and looking through many bridal-type magazines, my mom and I stopped in at a bridal consignment store in a posh area of the Cities. My mom found a gown the SHE loved, a replica of Jackie O's gown ~ it was everything Mrs. Kennedy complained it was -- super heavy, and I looked like Little Bo Peep, not to mention it was so tight I was afraid I'd pop the zipper in the middle of the wedding. My mom loved the dress and told me to lose weight (my ribs can only get so small) and offered to pay for it, but I hated it and declined. Instead, we ended up going to one of those bridal sales at a hotel where about 200 young brides stampede into a ballroom at 8 am and start grabbing gowns off the racks (very fun). I already knew what I was looking for, and found a near-perfect match - a candlelight white, dupioni silk gown with a very full skirt. It was slightly big on me, but it would have to do, I didn't have time for alterations. Of course, my mom (pouting the whole time) was mad that I didn't get "her" gown, so she didn't volunteer to pay for any of this one, but I bought it just the same and made my own vail (I still have the silk roses I had glued on the headpeice).
Pictured: Jeff's brothers were his groomsmen & two of my best friends were with me. A third friend I would have loved to be up there too, but I had her with the guest book, lest I have more up front than in the pews. Btw, fushia was not my top choice for the maid's dresses; I love blue, but since my best friend/matron-of-honor had "my color" for her wedding, I decided not to do the same. 
