Jul. 18, 2006 - Less Than 5 Weeks for Baby No.5 !!!!!
I can't believe this baby's due date is so close! All of you who've had babies know what I mean. You can't wait to hear the heartbeat, feel the baby move, have others feel the baby move, stop needing to pee in the middle of the night, be able to walk upstairs and not be tired, just have more energy, and finally see and hold your baby.
Now that the day is close, I wish I had more time to get stuff done. It's weird because I was so relaxed with our other children. With our 3'rd, I was washing baby clothes during labor 
That might not seem like a big deal but I really had a different perspective with those pregnancies. I felt "ready".
I don't feel ready now. Yet I know in my heart that God will provide all we need to welcome this baby.
Upon reflection, I'm sure all this is due to the circumstances surrounding this pregnancy. For starters, our youngest is almost 6 years which is the longest time between kids for us, I'm now 40 and very tired this time, [Jay is tired of hearing about it!], Jay's Mom broke both her tibia and fibula early this year and can barely see because of cateracts so she's needed lot's of help, and one of my brothers died tragically in March missing at least 6 special family events this year including my parents' 50th anniversary in September. Besides all that, our lives are just plain busier now , especially my husband's. And I really want another girl and feel guilty wishing for it, eventhough God has planned the perfect family for us.
Looking on the bright side, no matter when this baby is born, [or if it is born - I'm dealing with that this time too], Jesus is Lord of all. We'll eat, sleep and have all we need. And I'm soooo glad we homeschool. I could not imagine dragging 4 kids and a newborn out of bed and out of the house everyday and then dreading the days they would all be home.
Thanks to anyone who reads this and prays for us!
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May. 2, 2006 - Feeding the Silverfish and Other Joys of Homeschooling
Hello again! Maybe I should've titled this "Coming Out of Hibernation Like the Bugs"!
Some of us are "bug squishers" & others "bug catchers". I proudly belong to the latter catagory. That is unless someone is screaming bloodymurder because they can't share a room with the smallest of moths {especially the bathroom}, or if they are those "coffee ground ants" that find their way in the tiniest of cracks in your kitchen, ICK! And lastly, I 'm inclined to smash or spray "hairspray" on any "Centi-speed" that prevents any child from going to sleep . Either that or I let the cats have fun with the little critters. Oh, and any spider on the ceiling above your bed must crawl away and drop down elsewhere!
So anyway, I did catch a bug the other day. A Silverfish was in the bathtub, and after covering the drain, ran to the garage to retrieve our magnifying bug jar. I caught the little bugger and immediately planned a lesson for the next day.{ hee-hee, the schemes of a home school mom!} . The 2 youngest agreed that it looked like the illustration on the bug card , and the older 2 shouted "SILVERFISH !" and proceeded to list the dangers of having them in the house, library, etc. My husband checked his books-no damage.
My daughter named it "Silver" and she and her 8 yr old brother fed it pieces of scrap paper & wallpaper. I believe he looks fat after 2 days! My daughter even brought him to Bible Time with us outside today!
Ahh! another lovely homeschool moment! It reminds me of the time I pleaded with a friend of ours to not drive his motorhome away until I successsfully peeled a dragonfly off its grill.
Or the time a moth, stuck dead on our car antenna , stayed on from Dover, OH. all the way to our newlywed clubhouse in Tacky Park, MD!
So, what do you do with bugs? If you don't catch 'em to study them and appreciate God's creation , your kids may grow up to be "bug squishers"! At least read the cool buggy articles in the latest TOS magazine.
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Dec. 5, 2005 - Another Crazy Moment -- It All Happened At Once!!!
Hi Ho Silver, Debbie blogs again!!!
For a Monday,( I usually call them "slug days"), today was pretty good. I think I rolled out of bed at 10:00 or thereabouts. And amazingly, the kids got some good lessons done and I even spent some one-on-one time with them! Hey I even put away the Thanksgiving decorations!
In the evening, I was " indoor grilling" chicken, since the lovely oven won't ignite. My oldest son needed help rolling up his sleeping bag(we had a cozy fire the night before & the kids slept in the LR). So I left the chicken (but not in Wesson oil like Mrs. Brady on those commercials), to help my son. About 2 minutes into it, our big fluffy black kitty had been visiting the pet lizard, except not from her usual perch. She must have stretched from the table to get on top of the cage and in process brought the whole thing down. And this was after my son had dumped the whole container of WORMS onto the floor! So I yelled "CAAAT" like I do when they're naughty kittens, and grabbed the unbroken tank off the floor.
But while still holding it another son who rushed to see the cause of the chaos, was screaming upstairs. He had fallen on the stairs. So, upstairs I went to help him. And that chicken just kept grilling away. Thankfully my dh rescued it and was chiseling it off the pan when I came back. And it was still edible. Plus I got rave reviews for the instant mashed potatoes!(I had never used those before).
Then we all took a night walk to see the Christmas lights!
At least this bit of chaos beats the old pot boiling over, while the doorbell rings and the phone rings, and the baby cries!!
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Nov. 7, 2005 - Women's Fashions and Modesty
Tami wrote at her blog about women's fashions. I agree with Tami about the unattractiveness of the new fashions, especially the ones made for juniors and young adults. What bothers me most is how immodest they are.
Except for a brief period in my teens, I've always tried to dress modestly yet feminine. I love shopping at thrift stores because I can usually find older styles that are still modest. Sometimes when wanting new clothes the womens sections of department stores will have good things. My husband even found me some nice clothes that were modest and stylish, and got me to like wearing fuscia as a color.
I have a five year old daughter who I've already taught to appreciate pretty clothes and be modest at the same time. I'm amazed at how she notices girls her own age that are dressed immodestly. Ever notice how even the clothes for young girls are inappropriately styled to make them look like little adults?
It is so important that as we live "in the world but not of the world" we train our girls to be strong women of God. How have you trained your daughters?
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Oct. 30, 2005 - Helping with b's and d's, or p's & q's, or L's & J's
Hi anybody! I posted this as a comment to Jeannie Fulbright's Blog and really hope it can help others .
When teaching our 3rd child to read he had difficulties with distinguishing between b's & d's. When younger, he struggled to articulate and used to get frustrated if people couldn't understand him. When trying to read, he could pronounce a word incorrectly even though he had just seen and read it on the line above! I thank God for patience because after efforts to teach we can easily lose our cool and further frustrate our kids.
So, one day as we were learning together (BTW I used the 100 easy lessons book), I wanted so badly to help get my little boy over this hurdle. I needed something visual for him and thought of the fingerspelling alphabet used with sign language. Using the RIGHT hand,the "d" is made the same way as you would point to something, except you hold it vertically. Try it. VOILA! A d! Using the LEFT hand, you can make a "b".
It was really exciting to realize this and when he reads, all I have to do is make the letter with my hand or tap his hand and he'll make it. Now he seldom struggles. We've even had fun with it . One day while excercising, he created the "b-d" exercise by touching a foot to the opposite knee. While standing, it becomes the "p-q" exercise!!
One more fingerspelling shape works for those L's & J's. With your LEFT hand an L is made with the hand in a fist and the index and thumb extended. Do the same with your RIGHT hand , curling the thumb like a hook and you have a J.
I hope these ideas help someone . It sure is great to really "GET IT" sometimes!
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Oct. 29, 2005 - Hi!
Hello out there! Thanks to my husband I have my own Blog. Now all I need is time to go a'bloggin! I'm rarely on the computer and when I am it's usually to read over J's shoulder while he's typing. I've read some really good stuff too.
What I am always puzzled about is how so many of you have so much time to spend on the computer. I mean do you wake up and turn on the pc like you'd put on your slippers or glasses or what? 
Inquiring minds want to know!!
Hoping to join in on the fun!
