I wrote a while back about our experiences with potty training our youngest.   Thought I would give you all an update.  Praise God that we are staying dry all day!  We have BM's under control and he's even wiping himself!  He is sleeping in regular underwear and is staying dry all night long!  So....forgive me if I'm not in a huge hurry to "fix" this little glitch in his use of the potty!

Shhh!  Don't tell, but he doesn't like to stand when he goes to the bathroom.  He prefers to undress from the waist down and watch the stream like this:

...which is fine when we're at home, but in a situation when we're in public or when we're out, well, like in Sunday School, this means that he needs to take off his shoes, his socks(though I've been keeping him in sandals to make this easier), his pants, his underwear in order to use the facilities.  Then he needs to be dressed again and disinfected.  So, I know that at some point I'll need to break this little quirk of his, but how can you say no to a face like this?

Any tips/advice would be welcome:)

Blessings!

-J

Pictures from our trip to Stockton are now in my slide show!  The kids really look forward to spending the week with grandparents and cousins.  BW really enjoyed the fact that this was the first time in a long time that he got to visit his family without having a paper due, a sermon to preach or for a funeral.  Playing two days of golf didn't hurt either:)  The week was jam packed with activities to entertain the 7 grandchildren who invade Grandma & Papa's empty nest for a week.  I enjoyed the chance to watch the Olympics since we are on "no cable" at home.  Unfortunately, staying up until 1:30 am several nights straight while keeping to the jam packed kids itinerary left me feeling like I needed a vacation from my vacation!  But it was worth it to watch all the gymnastics - my alltime favorite event - and see Michael Phelps win by the smallest margin a human being can imagine. 

New on the itinerary was a lunch and shopping trip for my mother in law, sister in law and myself while the men watched the kids!!!!!   I was so excited to shop at some of the stores we don't have in our small town!  When we returned at the end of the day, we asked ourselves, "Why didn't we think to do this before?"  Another new addition was watching movies in the backyard  courtesy of a sheet and Papa's powerpoint projector.  Unfortunately, it is quite hard to find a movie that will interest all 7 cousins aged 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 8, 8 AND their parents AND grandparents.  So the parents chose to watch the Olympics instead:)--and left Grandma & Papa outside(but isn't that what they are for)  It makes me so excited that my kids will have these summer memories to treasure, though maybe we'll choose a month next year when there is smaller chance of temperatures in the 100's. 

Blessings!

-J

We've started school!  I have to admit that a couple weeks ago I was dreading this week.  But as I started planning, I started to get excited.  Of course, for me, the planning is my favorite part.  If only I could plan and then just by osmosis the information could get into my children's head, I might be positive that I would homeschool forever!   Truly, I just love the start of the new school year.  It's a chance to start over, try new things, buy school supplies and just have a fresh outlook on our homeschooling. 

I am excited that we are starting a new math curriculum!  We have been using Making Math Meaningful since the beginning, but I've always struggled with teaching it as it's not the way I was taught math.  But since I had a resident public school math teacher as principal who assured me that it would work, I tried persevering.  This year, our "principal", agreed that it wasn't working for our family and though we will continue to supplement with it(I really don't think there is much better in getting kids used to solving word problems), we have settled on Right Start Math.  It has lots of games to cement math facts and lots of manipulatives.  Our "principal" has also agreed to teach the older kids math a couple days/week before he goes to work so I can honestly say that I am excited about math this year.

We will also be doing the Konos Online co-op this  year and though I wasn't all that excited about the topics that were to be covered, the planning has excited me about this too.  I am looking forward to spending some time on American History and filling in the gaps to my own education:)  The co-op starts with Explorers and eventually gets into Settlers, Revolutionary War and the Founding of our country.  This means we will talk about elections after the elections have happened, but I don't think any permanent damage will be done.  Since the co-op hasn't started yet, though, we have gone back to a Volume I unit that we weren't able to cover last year.  The kids are really excited about studying the Medieval times for a few weeks. 

So what did we do on the first day of school?  BW took the kids to Magic Mountain!  We had some free passes that needed to be used and I just love this perk of homeschooling.  While he took the big kids, I had the priviledge of helping one of my dear seminary wife friends pack up for their pending move to Montana where God has called their family to minister.  We also brought home the newest member of our family - their goldfish Gilbert who they weren't sure would be able to make the long journey.  Gilbert joined our Goldfish Lisa who has been in our family since Boy7 turned 3.  A friend from church is giving us a bigger tank, but so far they seem to be getting along well. 

Although almost 5 months ago I was the first in our circle of seminary families to leave for ministry, it is still bittersweet to let other friends go.  It was somehow easier for me to know that they were all still down there.  But I am so excited to see how God is placing everyone (in His timing) at just the right place. 

On our second day, we started with the kids receiving their new Chorepacks.  I am trying to change their chores every six months or so and hadn't really changed it since we moved.  This helped to introduce some to some new chores.  I am thrilled that my 2yo can put the silverware away and my oldest can clean out the birdcage!  We also outlined our daily schedule though we have yet to completely keep it. 

One of my new plans for this year was to implement specific things for the kids to play with while I am doing individual schooltime.  So I pulled out some of my homeschooling books and made a list for each day.  Well, Tuesday happened to include letting the kids play with pots, pans and water on the kitchen floor.  After all, so the book said, after they spill you can just mop it up!  Well, I should have been more specific about just how they were to play with these items.  While in the middle of math with Boy7 I realized that Boy2 had dumped his whole pot of water on the floor and was dancing in it in his socks and Girls8 & 5 were starting to go through the spices to "make soup"!  I'm debating whether that will be a recommended activity next week.

I love the flexibility of our schedule because after a solid week of school we will be getting a vacation!  We will be going to Northern Cal to visit our family up there next week.  Oh the joy of making our own schedule and easing back into this school thing!   I am excited to visit and to go shopping at some of the stores we don't have here like Michaels and Target.  I am making a list of craft supplies we may need for some of our units so they I don't have to worry about how I'll get them later in the year. 

When do you start back, and if you did, how's it going?  What changes are you going to make?

We really enjoyed our first 4th of July in our new small community.  At breakfast, BW was giving the kids a small version of "What Independence Day is all about".  As he was talking, he stopped and looked out the sliding glass door and said "There's a hot air balloon in our backyard. "  Of course, that cleared the table pretty quick.  One of the traditions in our community is the hot air balloons on 4th of July.  This year, they went Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning.  Saturday morning, BW woke us up and drove us down the street where we could get a better look.  It was really cool and the day couldn't have been more beautiful or the sky so blue.  I once again exclaimed(which my kids get tired of hearing) "I can't believe we get to live here!"  We even got to watch one land on our street and see them squeeze the air out.

After breakfast, we went to watch the parade which included everything from horses to classic cars to riding lawnmowers:)  Then we walked around the park where booths and tents were set up and there was a civil war reenactment camp including a cannon that we got to watch and cover our ears to hear!  We enjoyed a nap in the afternoon and then went to a friends' house for a BBQ complete with slip-n-slides and vollyeball tournaments(BW played pretty well considering he hadn't played in about 10 years!).   While there, we asked about the fireworks show in town.  There were conflicting views.  Some decided it was just too much of a mob and created too much traffic to bother to go.  Some said it was a must to go and sit on the football field.  Some had found a spot in a parking lot several blocks away where they could watch them.  We opted for this middle ground and met some other families there.  

Saturday, we surprised my Dad with a 60th Birthday Party at my parents' house complete with BBQ and swimming.  At the beginning of June, my dad sent out an e-mail telling us that he did not need or want any gifts for Father's Day or his birthday.  Because his birthday is June 23rd, we all called him on his birthday, but no one gave him a gift.  He was so pleased that we had listened to him, but actually, we had been planning the party for a while now.  He didn't realize it was a surprise party for him until his friends started arriving.  It was great to see all of my siblings and my nephew!  Unfortunately, I am out of "scrapbooking" mode, and didn't get as many pictures as I would like to have.

Sunday, was our 12th anniversary.  BW announced it to the church from the pulpit.  Only thing was, that I don't know exactly what he said because I had to take 2yo out of church for "excessive babbling".  All I know is that people started coming up and saying "Happy Anniversary."   BW arranged for a babysitter, and we enjoyed a great dinner together followed by a walk.  Then after the kids went to bed, we watched our wedding video. 

Overall, we had a great weekend and feel incredibly blessed!

Blessings!

-J

We have had so many blessings since our move, but one of that I thought I'd share is Abundant Harvest Organics.  Every week, we get a crate of local organic produce at a very reasonable price.  The added bonus is that it is forcing our family to try fruits and vegetables that I would probably never actually purchase (or even notice to purchase) at the store.  Because the produce was picked that very week, everything tastes so much better!  If you are in California, I would look to see if there is a pickup location near you and, if not, send them an e-mail to let them know that you are interested.  If they get enough interest from a certain area, they will definitely try to get a truck going your way. 

Blessings!

-J

I know, I know - I'm behind on blogging.  Here is the story of our recent Potty Training Experience.

I blocked out the week before 4th of July to potty train my youngest.  The Sunday before, I dusted off my copy of  Toilet Training in Less than a Day  with it's yellowed pages that had been passed down to me years ago.  The first thing I read:  Choose a day when the only people in the house are mother and child.  Ummm, that was going to be a problem.  Next thing I read:  Required Item - doll that wets.  I went through my girls toy chest full of all sorts of dolls, but apparently the last move I must have weeded out any dolls that wet.  I had two choices - I could abandon training(but when would I ever have another week with nothing scheduled? Looking at the calendar, not till around January - since my calendar only goes to December:)  or I could press on and just see what happens. 

Day 1:  The next morning, I pulled out our potty chair (and after some cleaning) and put it in the kitchen - the floorplan of our house isn't conducive to fast runs to the bathroom and the kitchen floor is also easier to clean should their be any "accidents".  I explained to the other 3 kids what I had planned to do for the week.  They were overjoyed - especially when I said that we wouldn't be doing any schoolwork for the week.  

So I take my little potty trainee, show him his new Lightning McQueen "big boy pants" and he can't wait to put them on.  One problem for which I intend to write a letter to the underwear people - You can't actually SEE McQueen because they put the designs on the BACK!!!!!!!  My trainee insists on wearing them backwards so that he can see them. 

I pull out a boy Cabbage Patch Kid that was named "Buddy."  I put some Thomas the Tank Engine underwear on "Buddy" and demonstrate how when "Buddy" has to go, he pulls down his pants, sits on the potty, and since Cabbage Patch Kids can't really go potty, I poured a little water from a measuring cup into the pot.  We cheered for "Buddy" and his reward was a marshmallow.  My trainee was thrilled to eat the marshmallow for "Buddy".  I asked my trainee if he wanted to try to go potty and get a marshmallow.  He said yes.  He pulled down his pants, sat on the pot, pointed to the measuring cup and said "Pour it in, Mommy."  Ok - so there's something to be said for following the directions exactly the way they are in the book. 

So we spent the rest of this morning, training the doll and giving my trainee marshmallows for staying dry.  Boy7 was watching with some interest all of the marshmallows Boy2 was getting.  He finally asked if he could show Boy2 how to go and then he could have a marshmallow.  At that point, we hadn't had any success and I figured it couldn't hurt.  So Boy7 pulls down his pants and stands in front of the potty chair with our trainee watching to see how this works.  Well, I don't know if it was the pressure of trying to get it in the little potty chair, or the pressure of his younger brother watching him, or the pressure of knowing that if he didn't go he wouldn't get a marshmallow, but HE COULDN'T GO!!!  He froze up!  I told him never mind, that he couldn try again later.  He zipped up and looked quite dejected.  My trainee was very confused.  A few minutes later, Boy7 said "Ok, mom, I can do it now."  So we wait and watch and....NOTHING.  This wasn't quite working the way I hoped.  Boy7 zipped up, I gave him a marshmallow for trying and sent him off to play his video game. 

After doing lots of dry checks, we finally had successs!  He didn't quite know how to "control it" so it sprayed everywhere - great reason to disinfect my kitchen - but we were all so excited!  By the end of the morning, he had a couple more successes and a couple more accidents.  With the excption of a pull up during naptime, he wore "big boy pants" all day long.  That night we put him to bed in a pull up, glad for a day well done.

Day 2:  This morning, he was playing in the backyard (yes, in just his big boy pants - glad most of my neighbors work all day) and ran into the kitchen to the potty chair without being told or reminded!  I was very excited!  He figured out that he had to lean forward a bit to keep it in the pot.  Had 2 accidents, both BM's.  I went back to my trusty book.  I read:  BM's aren't really an issue because they always follow urination.  Sorry, doctors, but you're wrong.  They do follow urination, but rarely immediately after - you have to wait for it and my little guy wasn't really interested in waiting very long. 

Day 3:  We had a BM success and a couple more accidents, but were making progress.  Today he decided to transition to the "big boy potty".  I had a seat cover, but he was not interested.  He wanted to be a "big boy".  This requires him to completely strip down and then maneuver himself up onto the toilet, but he seems to have the system down.  His pull-up stayed dry this night!

Day 4:  We are all feeling totally cooped up and looking forward to going out for the 4th of July the next day.  Doesn't help that it has heated up.  Only one BM accident today.  Whew!  Think we may be successful in this experiment!

Day 5:  We went to the 4th of July parade (in a pull-up)  but stayed dry. 

Day 6:  Drove 2 hours down to my parents'  house in a pull-up and stayed dry! 

We are now pretty much done.  I do still go with him just to make sure he doesn't fall into the toilet, but he does know how to put his own pants on - sometimes backwards, sometimes forwards, but if I don't have to change a diaper does it really matter? 

So, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 8.5 YEARS, WE HAVE NO DIAPERS IN OUR HOME!!!!!!!  I think it's a pretty big milestone in my life.  One that I may miss in the future, but doubt it:)

Blessings!

-J

Our summer is off to a great start!  BW received a new gas grill as his Father's Day present just in time as the heat came and we are adjusting to no air conditioning.  I do have to say that while it's been hot, it hasn't been unbearable compared to all those years of 105+ temperatures.  I don't think we've hit the century mark which really makes all the difference.  However, it is great to have the option to cook outside.

Father's Day weekend we celebrated Girl4's 5th Birthday, making her new name Girl5!  I hope to have pictures up soon.  She wanted a unicorn party.  We had a full house and so much fun!  My parents, brother, sister and dear seminary family made long drives to make it.  My friend's daughter, Caitlyn, made the most adorable Unicorn for the "pin the horn on the unicorn" game along with horns made out of wedding wrapping paper!  It even matched the unicorn pinata even though she didn't even know we were having a pinata!  BW inagurated the aforementioned BBQ  and we enjoyed hamburgers and hot dogs.  Girl5 was blessed with so many wonderful presents, but the theme seemed to be shoes!  She got play shoes and clogs and 2 other fun pairs. 

We started swim lessons last week and God blessed us that all 3 kids' lessons are at the SAME TIME.  Our community pool also has a 1 ft deep "baby pool" for Boy2 to play in since I didn't really think he was ready for lessons of his own.  We are continuing a very light school schedule for now.  Looks something like this:

We are going through a chapter of Proverbs each morning, choosing a few that are most applicable. Then,

Monday - Language Arts

Tuesday - Math

Wednesday - Spelling/Handwriting

Thursday - Konos Activity

Friday - Cleaning & Organizing

Girl8 is also reading Pollyanna to me aloud.  I don't ever remember reading it before, but it is a great book!  I'm trying to resist the urge to read ahead to see what happens next. 

This gives us all a little break while helping them to not forget everything they learned before we start up again and keeps us in some sort of routine.

Last weekend, we enjoyed a visit from my sister in law & her family.  It's always so cool to see all the cousins just pick right up where they left off.  We enjoyed a trip to the park for a birthday party(so they got to meet some of our friends from church) and some time at the pool.  They left after church on Sunday, and the heat seemed to leave with them - Sorry, guys! 

This weekend my mom will be here to visit and babysit as BW will be presiding over his first wedding!!  It is so wonderful to watch God put to use all that BW has learned in the past few years.  (As an aside, there really were times when I wasn't quite sure all those seminary classes could possibly be useful for anything, but turns out that they really know what they are doing:) and have taken a man who loves God's Word and helped him to be able to use it as a tool to teach, reproof, correct, train in righteousness and be adequate, equipped for every good work.(2 Tim 3:16-17). )  It is pure joy to watch him minister to our new church body.

That's about all for now. 

Blessings!

-J

I recently devoured in a weekend Ray & Donna Reish's book, The Well Trained Heart: A Guide to the Relational Approach to Homeschooling.  I have loved Shepherding a Child's Heart and found this book to be a good, practical complement to a lot of what Ted Tripp talks about.  Their honest stories of how their parenting philosophies and techniques have changed over the course of their seven children were a blessing, and often quite humorous. 

It is always humbling to be reminded that the areas we most dislike in our children are often the traits that we struggle with and dislike in ourselves.  They remind parents that the first step in training your children is to train yourself in righteousness.  Their practical advice on prioritizing, establishing rules and a means for appeals to those rules, training children to have empathy and a servant's heart were so helpful.  It's not enough to just "shelter" them from the outside world - we need to give them something to replace it with.  Homeschoolers can tend to fill their children's heads with information so we can "show off" how well we've taught them, but head knowledge is not enough.  We also need to train their hearts.  We need to establish relationships that give them more than what a peer can give.  I am looking forward to going back through the book again, taking notes & praying, and then using it to prioritize some of the areas we most want to work with our kids in the coming year.

As for the kids, Girl8 has really fallen in love with Nancy Drew mysteries.  I've also requested some books from the Bobbsey Twins series for her.  We are also reading the Secret Garden and Pollyanna together during her reading time.  We are continuing to read the Great Brain series at night as a family.

The kids have also discovered and are really enjoying Paws & Tales.  It is an audio series from Chuck Swindoll's Insight for Living.  A new episode is featured weekly online so yesterday the kids sat around the living room while listening through the computer - great alternative to watching movies all summer.  Since we have a new CD player in the van, they are having fun listening to them in there too.

We are wrapping up the school year this week though we will continue the 3R's through most of the summer.  The kids begin swim lessons next week so we will be at the pool most of the time the next few weeks.  Their lessons are at 11:45 so I'm planning to bring a lunch and hang out until the youngest needs a nap.  I am really looking forward to some down time from the academics and a chance to focus a little more on some character issues that have cropped up lately.  I am also trying to schedule a week to do what will probably be my last season of potty training(After almost 9 straight years with a child in diapers, I think I'm ready).

What are you reading & listening to this summer?

Blessings!

-J

Picture the regular chaos at the dinner table in a family of 6.  Mom is serving kids food and trying to have a conversation with her Sweetie whom she hasn't seen all day.  Girl4 has finished her water and is asking for more but Mom has kind of tuned her out while talking to her Sweetie and cutting up meat for Boy7.  Boy2 decides to take matters into his own hands.  He takes a large sip of water out of his sippy cup and spits it back out into Girl4's glass.  What a good brother?!?  Dinner conversation stops as Mom and her Sweetie try not to laugh and piece together what just happened.

Blessings!

-J

After church on Sunday, I returned home with 3 of the kids and began the mundane, normal things of life.  The cat had thrown up on our bed...again... so I threw it in the washing machine, started clearing the last of the breakfast dishes.  I was thinking to myself that this dreary cloudy day might be a good day to invite a family over for dinner.  Girl4 was playing near me in the kitchen.  Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye sparks flew and Girl4 began screaming.  The key left in the electrical outlet filled in the blanks for me. 

Oh, the thoughts that race through your mind!  Was there a fire?  Should I call 911?  How could I have let this happen - I was standing two feet from her!  How could I have forgotten to put the covers on after the move?  Although screaming, she seemed fine.  I looked at her hand and 3 of her fingers were black.  I tried calling BW on the cell phone.  It went to his voice mail.  Grrr!  I dialed again(and again and again-he must have been in an area of cell phone dead space) while getting the "owie pad" (a bean bag) out of the freezer.  After a few minutes I finally got hold of BW and realized that the circuit had been tripped.  I tried wiping the black off with a baby wipe but she screamed and said it hurt.  Eventually I got a hold of BW and he was down the street. 

BW came home and took a look.  He called his mom, a nurse, while I offered Girl4 some lunch to calm her down.  Through her sniffles, she asked for her lunch to be served on the couch and if she could pick a movie.  Our private nurse's orders were to soak it in water for a little bit so we could see if the black would come off.   It didn't come off and she didn't want us to touch it at all.  Her little nails looked like marshmellows that had been held over the fire.  They looked charred.  We decided she need to go to the ER to get checked out. 

After they left I busied myself by looking up everything I could find on electric shock online and putting the electric covers on every outlet in the house.  I called my mom(it was her birthday anyway) and while on the phone there was a knock at the door.  It was the wife of the church administrator offering to watch my kids so I could go to the ER too.  Since BW's cell phone only had one blip I took her up on it.  As I was driving, I kept looking at the other side of the road half expecting them to be on their way home already.  Upon arriving at the ER(an indirect route as I had forgotten exactly where it was in our new town), I found that one of the other pastors had beat me there!  I just love our new church family!

While in the waiting room, GIrl4 was asking to be tickled and other than wanting to keep the icepack on, seemed fine.  We got called in and waited to see the doctor.  At this point, she is asking to go home.  The doctor comes and we relay the story.  The doctor tells us that electric burns can be very serious, says he is going to call a burn center.  Then a nurse comes wanting to do blood work and hook her up to an IV.  BW steps in and has the audacity to ask WHY this is necessary.  The nurse, visibly annoyed, goes back to get the doctor.  He explains that a risk of electric burns is that a chemical from the electricity can get into her bloodstream and affect her organs.  The IV will flush it out and the blood work will see if there is any affect on the organs.  We consent to it, but Girl4 is now begging to go home.  At some point, the doctor tells us that he recommends that we go to a hospital with a burn unit 2 hours away and that they are ordering an ambulance. 

The calm I had felt was gone.  I run home to gather some things - some books for her to read, the teddy bear she's requested and make arrangements for the rest of the kids.  I called grandparents to update them and then called a friend to send an e-mail out requesting prayer from our seminary family.  Right outside the parking lot, I break down and the guilt really sets in.  My friend reminds me of God's faithfulness and that is the chorus that is playing through my mind as I go back in and the ambulance arrives.  Girl4 is sleeping soundly. 

The paramendic assures me that ALL children fall asleep in the ambulance within minutes.  Well, he had never met my daughter!  I knew that since she had just had a nap that would not be the case.  Sure enough, she talked his ear off for the ENTIRE two hours.  She told him knock-knock jokes and asked him to show her how everything in the back of the amublance worked and wanted to know what everything was used for. 

We finally arrive at the hospital at around 10:30 pm.  There is a team waiting for us as she is wheeled in.  BW is about 10 minutes away in his car.  The ER doctor takes one look at her and says "I'm really embarrassed that your doctor sent her here.  The black on her hand is just soot.  You should be out of here in about a half hour."  The paramedics joke that we will probably beat them home.  BW gets there and is surprised, but excited, that we are going to just turn around to go home.  Then I watch in amazement as the burn unit nurse uses SOAP AND WATER to take all the black off and show just a minor superficial burn.  They give us a prescription for neosporin and pain relief. 

Soon, we are on the road again.  I realized I hadn't eaten since breakfast so we stop at McDonalds.  We plug in the portable DVD player for Girl4.  As BW looks back, he begins to laugh as he looks at this little girl in her car seat, eating her french fries, watching her movie, happy as a clam completely oblivious to the emotional turmoil that had been experienced by the adults around her; oblivious to the financial cost of this little adventure(praising God for our insurance); oblivious to EVERYTHING!!  We arrived home around 1:30 am, very tired and drained. 

We are so thankful for God's protection for our little girl who has had a record 3 ER visits in the past year, the only one of our children to ever have to go to the ER.  We are thankful to all those who prayed for us.  We are thankful for our wonderful church family who has ministered to us so greatly since our arrival 8 weeks ago(through flood, fire, 2 broken down cars, and now an ER trip--has it really only been 8 weeks?)  

Hoping next Memorial Day weekend won't be quite so memorable!

Blessings!

-J 

BW & I just returned from a week-long vacation!!!!  BW had a 2-week seminary class called the Pastor's Home that is supposed to be taken with your spouse.  BW's parents went well beyond the call of duty to watch the kids for us from Sunday afternoon(Mother's Day) through the following Saturday.   We hadn't been away together for that long(just the two of us! We had gone on a Short Term mission trip 5 years ago) since our honeymoon.   It really did feel like a second honeymoon in many ways. 

Sunday evening we had the priviledge of attending the seminary Graduation.  I was surprised that I wasn't upset that we weren't graduating too - guess I'm growing!  I did tear up though as they called all the graduates forward to have them prayed for by the seminary staff and elders of the church.  The thought that all 70+ of these men are going to spread out over the whole earth teaching God's word touched me and helped me remember why we came to seminary in the first place.  Please lift up in prayer those men(and their families) who are still waiting for God to reveal His plan for them on where they will be serving.   What a blessing to be back at seminary and catch up with those who have been such a part of our lives in the past 3 years. 

We got to stay in a hotel! for 3 nights! No kids in bed with us!  Waking up when we felt like it!  Eating wherever we wanted and not worrying about if the kids would like it!  Not having to cut anyone's food!  Not having to cook for anyone at all!  Days with nothing planned and nothing we HAD to do!  We got to pick up my long lost van which had been greatly improved with a new transmission, new A/C, new brake pads and some other things that sound important but I couldn't tell you what or where they are.  Then BW surprised me with a great Mother's Day present - a new CD player for my van!  The tapedeck in my old van became extinct years ago when the kids decided it was a bank and put LOTS of change in it.  In our new area, there are few radio stations and I am so excited to get to hear my favorite CD's now when I am driving instead of static everytime I go over a hill. 

We received great teaching during our class and many "homework assignments" that gave us some  things to talk about that we usually don't have time for as we get stuck in just getting through life.  Topics included finances, conflict resolution/communication, biblical roles and goals for our family.   

On Tuesday, I was blessed to visit a fellow seminary wife whose baby had been in Pediatric ICU for a month.  The baby went home to be with the Lord on Saturday morning.  Please keep their family in your prayers.  And pray that there would be much fruit from the witnessing of the parents during this trial. 

What else? Visiting & catching up with friends, walking around at the beach, seeing Prince Caspian, shopping, napping, a great dinner with my parents - such a wonderful week!

The kids did great and had lots of fun with my in-laws.  Apparently, they didn't even miss us or ask about us!  Highlights for them included visiting just about every park in town, eating breakfast with syrup EVERY morning and not having to do any schoolwork. 

So, I've had my rest and was excited to come home.  Those big gi-normous hugs upon our return was a great reason to come back.   BW went back today to finish out the class.  He will then be out of seminary until January since the last 2 classes he needs will not be offered until then.   We will, Lord willing, be graduating next Mother's Day. 

Kind of funny to go from a week with no children to a week as single parent.  I might need another vacation sooner than I thought:)

Blessings!

-J

Last week, while my littles were napping, I was feeling generous and gave my big kids a piece of licorice - something rarely done during the day(Yes, Mom, it is the same batch you gave me from Valentine's Day).  All of a sudden, I heard Boy7crying hysterically.  After much deciphering, I figured out that he had bitten into his licorice and his tooth became very loose, to the point that a little blood had come out.  The taste of blood in his mouth completely freaked him out.  He would not let me touch it and wasn't even wild about me looking inside.  He was crying that he didn't want to lose his tooth.  I explained that it was part of growing up, his older sister has lost 2, that it isn't painful to lose them.  He continued to cry and asked why God didn't just put in his big teeth right away.  This made me giggle as I pictured how he would have looked as a baby with adult teeth!  Nothing I was saying could console him or calm him down so I could look to see how loose this tooth actually was.  He even said that he would never eat licorice again!

He was so inconsolable that I called BW to see how far he was from home and prep him for what he was walking into that evening.  I thought that his father would have words to console him, but while Daddy used all the same encouraging words that I did, the wimpering continued.  At dinner and at breakfast an at lunch the next day, he complained about everything he ate saying that it was hurting his tooth and he didn't like that it was wiggling. 

I offered to tie a string around his tooth and slam the door(completely joking).  A few minutes later, he asked if we did the door thing if it would hurt - he was seriously considering it!

That night, during his bath he called me in.  He told me that he had just prayed that God would help him to be brave about his loose tooth.  I told him that I knew God would answer that prayer. 

Fast forward to Sunday night.  We returned from a trip to Northern California for BW's Grandmother's funeral.  It was his turn to brush his teeth.  As he brushed, his tooth just popped out onto the sink!  BW happened to be in there brushing Boy2's tooth.  Boy7 was so excited!  He was jumping around and showing off his tooth to everyone.  So now my guy looks like this:

The next morning, he was in our room to wake us up.  He was excited that God had helped him to be brave, that it didn't hurt and that he received $2 from the tooth fairy.  He also loves sticking his tongue in the empty space and grossing out his sisters. 

Never a dull moment around here!

-J

We spent 3 weeks studying the character trait of Honor to include the culture of Japan.  Boy7 really liked learning about samurais while the girls enjoyed making maps and dressing in "kimonos".  I had a minor mutiny with the Japanese dishes I made.  We were blessed to be able to pray for a missionary family in Japan and talked a great deal about Buddhism and Shintoism and how it differs from Christianity.  The only bummer about that is that Girl4 started to announce that when she dies, she wants to come back as an ant!  Apparently, I hadn't been as thorough as I thought in my discussion of reincarnation.  So, I explained it again and now she says she wants to be an ant when she goes to heaven!  Maybe it's time for Daddy to talk to her...

We are now studying the character trait of Orderliness and Animal Classification.  So far, the kids are pretty disappointed as we've been spending a lot of time on invertebrates while Boy7 wants to study mice and Girl8 wants to study horses.  Jessica Hulcy, creator of the curriculum, encouraged us to pray that God would provide us the different specimens we would need if we couldn't afford to pay for science class quality specimens.  I was hesitant to pray for this as I wasn't sure what would show up in my bathroom, but in the name of my child's education I began praying.  Within a day, Boy2 dragged me over to see a beautful moth that had died near our sliding glass door.  I bagged him up.  The next day, dh found a spider and was quite surprised when I told him not to squish it, but to put it in a snack bag with a cotton ball of rubbing alcohol.   Another spider has built a web and has been catching bugs outside out front window - and I'm going to let it stay there for a little while longer.

Last week, we were discussing the group Annelida including earthworms.  After reading to them from a library book about earthworms, I sent them outside to try to find some that we could study.  Since it was a pretty cold day, I really didn't know if they would find any and if they did, I expected them to find the small worms I had remembered from my youth in the suburbs of Los Angeles.  Nothing prepared me for this:

They kept digging and found lots more including a nest with about 20 baby earthworms!  Here is a picture of all of my budding scientists with Boy7 holding his prize on a stick - the only one willing to do the task - so good to have a man around!  I decided that it wasn't quite necessary to dissect them even though we had lots of specimens - have to save something for high school biology (or for Dad to do), right?

The next day, we went on a "field trip" to the grocery store where the seafood guy showed us mussels, clams, oysters, crabs and lobsters.  Hoping to find some tadpoles and frogs next week, but after that I think I need to pray that God would stop giving me specimens as it's freaking me out!

Blessings!

-J

BW's almost 13yo Saturn's (140,000+ miles) clutch had been giving him trouble and then finally lost a couple gears on Sunday.  We immediately talked to people in our church for recommendations of mechanics.  Monday, he was able to get it seen, but needed to wait for some parts.

So, he took my van with almost 200,000 miles on the two hour drive to seminary on Wednesday.  The plan was for him to stop at Costco on the way home, pick us all up, drop the kids off at Awana and then I would take him to pick up his car.  On his way home the transmission on the van went out!!!!  This left him stranded an hour and a half from home and leaving us without much food in the house as he was scheduled to make a Costco run on the way home. 

But...We are praising God for the following reasons:

1) For the entire time we were in seminary (almost 3 years) and had a low if any income, God saw to it that our old cars did not break down!  Someone I relayed this story to today likened it to the Israelites wandering in the desert without wearing out their sandals.  I guess now that we have had a full time position for a month, God must have decided it was all right for us to have this inconvenience:)

2) When the van broke down, BW was in a city where he could actually get to the national chain from which we had bought the warranty on the transmission - there is no such chain in the city we live.  Also, part of the 2 hour drive is through desert where he could have been stranded!  It also didn't happen when I was driving with 4 children in the car as is usually the case.  AND he had not stopped at Costco yet where lots of food would have been spoiled - I had quite a long list(I do miss Costco...).

3) Because he had taken the van, he decided to drop some wardrobe boxes to a friend that wouldn't have normally fit into his car.    This meant he had taken out all of our carseats before he left!  He didn't have to worry about how to get them home.

3) The national chain owner was a Christian who had sent his children to the seminary's sister college so he was willing to work hard for the warranty confusion to be sorted out(see below)  AND the warranty information happened to be IN THE VAN and not 2 hours away in our file drawer! 

4) Because he was closer to the seminary, he was able to find a family who extended hospitality for him to spend the night on almost no notice - Thanks to Jay & Julie, Aiden & Corbin (for giving up his bed)!  And Happy Birthday, Julie!

5) He was able to get a rental car to come home and stopped to get our much needed "provisions" from Costco on the way home.   God had also stretched what we did have in our pantry so no one went hungry:)

6) A family from our church has a Suburban that they will let us use until the van is fixed and we can get it back.

7) That the chain is going to honor the warranty.  Apparently the chain we bought the warranty from doesn't offer 5 year warranties.  The guy we bought it from was selling these 5 year warranties (without company approval) so he could get money up front and then sold the business.  This caused quite a bit of confusion as to who was going to pay for the new transmission the van now needs since the owners had changed.  So it has taken a couple days just to determine that the transmission was originally from a company in Oregon.  The company in Oregon will honor the warranty, but will only send the transmission to Sacramento which is where the warranty was purchased.  So we have to wait for it to be shipped to Sacramento and then driven down to Southern California and then for it to be installed.  So it may be a while before we see our van again. 

8) We are getting a pretty large tax refund that should just about cover the cost for both vehicles to be repaired. 

9) Just when I was really starting to have that "I've been cooped up with no car with 4 kids and I could really use a little break from them" feeling, a dear Christian sister from our church called (with no previous knowledge of how our week had gone) and offered to watch my kids for a couple hours if there was any errands I wanted to run!!!!  Ummm, I took her up on it:)

So... even though it's been a hard week , I want to offer praise to my God.  And that leads to another praise - God has really changed my perspective and I see all the reasons to praise Him when in the past I really would have seen it as a reason to complain and be pretty grumpy (to put it lightly) for several days.  So wonderful when God gives us glimpses of the progress we are making in becoming more like Him.  It really does make a difference when we make the CHOICE to be thankful even in the midst of trials. 

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thess 5:16-18

Blessings!

-J

I was recently given the book Practicing Hospitality: The Joy of Serving Others by Pat Ennis and Lisa Tatlock and I it has really opened my eyes to a biblical perspective of hospitality.  I have found it to be both extremely practical and also feeding(and sometimes convicting) to my soul.  There are many things that I am learning from it, but one that I have really taken away from it is remembering to pray before, during and after we have people to our home.  I have to admit that most of the time when we entertain in the days (and especially) in the minutes preceding guests arrival prayer has not been on my list of things to do and it really needs to be! 

From the book:

PRAY BEFORE I EXTEND HOSPITALITY BECAUSE I

• should have a sincere heart when I extend the invitation(Phil 1:10)
• know that for the event to bring glory to my heavenly Father, I must have His strength(Phil 4:13)
• want to have a heart that submit to my heavenly Father's instructions(Rom. 12:13b)
• need to approach any opportunity to minister with a "hearty attitude" (Col 3:23)
• have a desire to wear "the garment of humiity" to the occasion (1 Pet 5:5)
• desire to have a gracious spirit in the midst of unforeseeable circumstances( Prov 11:16)
• wish to glean from the wisdom of my guests (Prov 1:5)
• seek genuinely to meet the needs of my guests( 1 John 3:17)
• long for my extension of hospitality to have far-reaching implications(Heb 13:2)
• need to be excited about allowing others to catch a glimpse of my character where it is most graphically displayed - in my home - especially if I am in a position of leadership (1 Tim 3:1-2; Titus 1:7-8)
• desire to stimulate conversations that are edifying (Rom 15:1-2) and encouraging (1 Thess 5:11) to my guests

I have realized that this translates into my day with my children as well.  As we make each transition during the day, am I taking the moment to ask God's blessing upon it? Change my heart/mood towards this child? For graciousness and patience? Realize that interruptions were allowed by God to make me more like Christ? Etc, etc.

I also loved the chapter on Hospitality and Family as it really convicted me to "treat my family as good as guests".  We extend hospitality to them too and model it when we show love to them through it.  Do my children see a different person in the moments preceding the guests' arrival than they see two moments AFTER my guests' arrival?  Do I show more kindness toward strangers than I do to my own family members?  I occasionally wonder what kind of mother I would be if I treated my children in the way I treat children who visit our home or children I might minister to at church. OUCH!  Areas to grow...

If you are looking to grow in this area and see that Hospitality is not all about serving some gourmet foods and bringing out your china, I highly recommend it.  There are some great recipes too!

Blessings!

-J

Wanna know a secret?  Planning my curriculum choices is one of my favorite parts of homeschooling!  For others it may be enough to tear their hair out, but I just love looking through catalogs and trying to find just the right fit for our family and individual children. 

Now I haven't always been this way.  When I first started hsing, I wanted a strict regimented system from one company where I could check the boxes so that I could prove to anyone who asked that my kids were learning and "all the bases were being covered".  Eventually, though, I learned that the flexibility was one of the pluses of hsing.  If something is not working, I can toss it out and try something else, something that's not as much of an option in a traditional school setting.:)  Of course, I try NOT to toss out if possible and choose wisely because I do want to be a good steward.  But I'm at the point as I am finishing up my 4th YEAR (Wow!) of hsing where I actually get excited to pick and choose.

So here is what we have planned for the coming year:

All Kids

Konos Volume II Co-Op - I've written before about how wonderful the online co-op has been for us this year.  It has been such a blessing to really learn how to teach from a veteran homeschooling mom and have an online network of other moms who are all teaching their kids the same topic at the same time.  The Volume II Co-Op will include Explorers, Weather, the Revolutionary War and Government/Constitution and, as important if not more important, the character traits of Inquisitveness, Responsibility, Courage and Wisdom. 

Bible Study Guide for All Ages -  We have really enjoyed using this curriculum for our morning devotionals this year (when there wasn't a specific Konos related Bible lesson).  We will just continue with these and I'm excited that within 2 more years we will have gone through the whole Bible as a family.

3rd Grader - 1st off, I have to say that I can't believe she's already going to be a third grader! Where is the time going?

Character Quality Language Arts - This is a new curriculum we have already switched to because she had finished the 2nd grade Learning Language Arts Through Literature in January.   I came across this initially after a review in a homeschooling magazine where this woman said she had created a language arts program using models of all of her favorite Language Arts Programs (which all happened to be curriculum I have been impressed with and was thinking about using) - Learning Language Arts through Literature, IEW and Easy Grammar.  I had really thought I was going to have to piecemeal Language Arts until I found this one.  (As a side she is having a sale through April 30th.  There is also a month of free samples on the website so you can try it before buying it). 

Spelling Power - We have already started using this as well.  I love that I will be able to use it for all my kids and that instead of spelling lists each week with some words she already knows how to spell, she only has to study the words she misspells. 

Making Math Meaningful - We've struggled with this curriculum this year, but dh who is a former High School Math teacher has promised to be more involved with Girl8's math and we are going to try sticking with it - mostly because we haven't found anything that we really like better.

Handwriting without Tears Cursive Success - Girl8 REALLY wanted to learn cursive this year, but fizzled out in her excitement for it.  Right now, we are doing it 2-3 days/week.  We will continue that(maybe up to one more day/week) in the coming year.

2nd Grade

Language Arts - Boy7 has required quite the eclectic Language Arts compilation this year, but has made huge improvements in his reading from a year ago.  I've made the executive decision to hold off on formal grammar or spelling until his reading is just a little more fluent - probably mid-year.

Explode the Code - For a kid who I never thought would be a "workbook" kind of kid, he has really come around this year and is able to do much work independently now, though he prefers mom to be sitting there for moral support and to see what he's doing.

Abeka Readers - Someone in my homeschool group had blessed us with the 1st & 2nd grade readers and they have been a hit.  He likes that they are short stories(1-2 pages) and there are often boys in them - something that annoyed him with some of the other beginning reader books.

Handwriting without Tears Printing Power - Just continuing with this.  His writing has improved this year, but there are still several letters that he forms from bottom to top rather than from top to bottom - probably something only mom would notice:)

Making Math Meaningful -  Boy7 has really done well with this curriculum this year and, and will be very close to the same level as his sister soon(Shh! don't tell her).  Amazing how each one has their strengths and weaknesses!

Kindergarten - This is another one that I can't believe is old enough to be where she's at, but she is more than ready and really enjoys school (could it be because she has the choice each day to do workbooks OR just be read to for her school time and it will change when she hits the age where she HAS to do the work?  We'll find out...)

Explode the Code - She completed the primer series this year and has already started Book 1.

Everything for Early Learning - This is a workbook that covers all the major kindergarten themes including phonics, math, and critical thinking. 

Abeka Readers - She's one reader behind her brother right now, but the silent e/long vowel sounds have started slowing her down a bit.

Making Math Meaningful Level K - I really enjoyed these activities (almost no workbook pages, but learning math concepts through everyday things around your home) with my older two kids and I think she will have fun with them too.

Preschool 2/3 - My 2yo has one of those dreaded September birthdays - what will we do with him - should we start him early or hold him back someday when he is Kindergarten age?  Well, for now, I think we will just stick to reading his favorite books during his "school time" which right now include Green Eggs and Ham and Goodnight moon.  He will also be soaking up information from the other kids' schooltime.  I really think my younger two are going to have the best education of all when it comes down to it! 

There are still a few unknowns that we are praying about right now.  I really want to find a homeschool support group and Independent Study Program in our new area to take care of the record keeping end of things.  I also need to figure out when we might be taking some breaks this summer and when our "new school year" will officially start.  But it is nice to already have everything ordered and have new things to get excited about.   Now I just hope that no shiny catalogs come in the mail...

Blessings!

-J

(picture taken during first snow day)

BOY2 WANTED: For household troublemaking

Today's schooling lasted a little longer than usual.  Boy2 was quiet, but I knew that other kids were in the back of the house so I figured (well, if I'm honest I was pretty engrossed in school with the others and didn't think about him much since there was no crying or loud crashes) that he was playing with the bigger kids.  After finishing school, I became a detective and re-traced numerous crime scenes to determine Boy2's activities throughout the morning:

1) Based on the evidence of cat food all over the laundry room floor and in the cat's water dish, I have concluded that Boy2 started his morning in the laundry room.  It seems he was originally trying to feed the cats, but then found that mixing the cat food and water was pretty fun.

2) His next stop was my bedroom where I found the linen closet door opened and pretty much every towel and blanket pulled out.

3) Apparently looking to see what trouble he could make in other bedrooms, his next stop was his sisters' room where he completely took apart two 100 piece puzzles his older sister had completed.  She may forgive him one day...

4) His final activity was in the kids bathroom where he had pushed a stool over, climbed onto the counter, opened up the medicine cabinet(which fortunately contains no medicine!) and pulled out and unpeeled EVERY bandaid we own - a total of about 3 boxes!   

The very curious thing is that he did not seem to spend ANY time in his own room!  Checking his room, his bed was still made and everything looked to be in perfect order!

I have a feeling I am going to be in trouble because he is just so cute that it's really hard to be mad at him!  When I showed him the messes room by room his defense was "Oh my goooooodnessss!" to each one in a way that made it really hard not to laugh.

And while I'm talking about "his cuteness", he transitioned from the crib to the boys room bottom bunk when we moved.  He's been pretty consistent about going to sleep in his bed, but coming into our bed(with pillow) before morning.  I have been sleeping pretty soundly because most of the time I don't notice he's there until morning(when my back is all tweaked!).  A couple weeks ago he started waking me up with a smile and saying "Mommy, you are my su-shine"...and then he wants me to sing the song to him.  It took me a while to even figure out where he heard that song though one of the kids finally helped me to credit a Veggie Tales movie.   Now, usually when he's in trouble, he will look up at me with the eyes in that picture and say "Mommy, you are my su-shine!" and put his little arms around my neck!  How can the manipulation begin so early?

Blessings!

-J

I have always battled with Girl8 in completing writing assignments.  Part of the problem is her(and maybe my) perfectionistic attitude toward writing - thinking that it has to have good handwriting, everything must be spelled right and grammatically correct as well as communicate the idea.  I have had the pleasure of participating in the Konos Online Co-Op this school year and benefitted from getting input from a veteran homeschool mom, Jessica Hulcy.  Jessica has really been stressing (especially in the younger grades) PROCESS over PRODUCT in writing all year.  And you know what?  I finally got it! 

Here's what we did.  This week, the writing assignment was to write a paragraph on one of the biographies we read this week(Corrie Ten Boom, Mother Teresa or Martin Luther King, Jr).  I received the normal resistance.  Until I told her that she could dictate all that she could remember to me!  I wrote down the sentences as quickly as I could - I could hardly keep up with her!  Then I asked her if she could narrow down what she had written into three parts.  Once she did, I gave her 3 highlighters of different colors.  She grouped together by color what happened first, middle and last.  Then we went through each color and she ordered the sentances further.  The end result was several paragraphs and a very cohesive report on Corrie Ten Boom!!  We copied the whole thing on "good paper" and then she drew a picture at the top.  Wow!  Writing without tears!

Boy7 didn't have much to report on Martin Luther King, Jr. but did draw a touching picture of some white boys playing while a little Martin(with some tears) and some friends looked on.   He explained to me that the white boys weren't allowed to play with the black boys, but that Martin taught people when he grew up that blacks and whites are the same and can do things together! 

Some of you may get a picture from my blog that my kids are always doing really well and I'm this really great teacher -  Well, I don't really write about all of our struggles at schooltime(like the fact that right after the writing assignment went so well we had actual tears over Math!) and I often have the homeschool mom plague of self doubt .  So when my kids show me that they are actually learning something and I'm not messing them up forever it is such a blessing!   

We have also been studying kindess and manners this week.  I am so thankful for the dedicated time to focus on this subject.  There have been numerous training opportunities to re-do conversations so that they are said with Honor(kindness and respect).  Today we will be focusing on how to properly set a table and practice good table manners - very timely now that we are the "new pastor's family".  I guess the test will be at the next meal we are invited to:)  Tomorrow afternoon we will be making some goodies to share with our new neighbors. 

Blessings!

-J

Konos is having a great sale on their Electing America's Leaders Study.  You can get the whole study for only $15.00(regularly $35)!  And this summer they will be offering an online teaching co-op at www.homeschoolmentor.com so that you can hear from creator Jessica Hulcy herself the best way is to teach the study.  I am planning to do this timely unit during the height of this very important presidential campaign.   

Blessings!

-J

We started back to school yesterday.  After a 3 week break that included a major move and a camping trip, I was ready to get life back to normal despite my kids' protests.  We are studying the character trait of Honor and yesterday we looked through the Bible to see to whom we should show honor.  At dinner, they reviewed the list with their dad and I cracked up when Girl4 said that we should honor the President of the bushes.  Her older sister told her matter of factly that it was the President of the United States whose name was President Bush! 

We also went through the fruits of the Spirit and made a "Fruit of the Spirit Tree".  We read a book on Corrie Ten Boom and talked about how she honored the Jewish people even though she didn't believe what they believed.  They really loved the part of her story where she had hidden her Bible and the German soldier skipped over her during the searches.  And they laughed out loud when they heard that the fleas and stench kept the guards away from the womens' barracks so that they could study God's word undisturbed.   

We are also reading through the Great Brain series at night.  Although we often don't agree with how the adults (and many of the kids) in the books handle situations, it has been a great source of conversation starters with the kids.  It also gives some great historical background on life in Utah at the turn of the century.  I recommend them with a lot of adult interaction.

Blessings!

-J