As my husband noted in the last post, yesterday we experienced an earthquake of 5.6 magnitude that lasted about 30 seconds. Afterwards, my oldest was so shaken up that he was unable to fall asleep. Daddy said a prayer for him, reminding him and thanking God for His sovereign control over everything. It wasn’t until after that he went to sleep. When he woke up this morning he told me:

Matthew: “Mommy, that earthquake was heavy.”

Me: “You mean, it’s still heavy on your mind?”

Matthew: “Yes.”

His mind is still churning over the earthquake last night and he still expresses real fear of the event. Later in the day he asked me:

Matthew: “Mommy, I don’t like the earthquake.”

Me: “I don’t like it either, but earthquakes do happen and we need to trust God.”

Matthew: “Are we going to have another earthquake?”

Me: “I don’t know when we’ll have another one, but most likely we will.”

Matthew: “If we have another one, we have to get out of the house, but what if the house falls over? Where are we going to go?”

Me: “Let’s not think about what might happen in the future. Let’s be thankful that God was merciful in protecting us this time around. Our house still stands and we still have a house to live in.”

Natural disasters do happen and it is important to me that I convey that to my son. I almost wanted to say, “It’s ok, Mommy will always be here to comfort you.” However, this statement isn’t true. It is not possible. I cannot make such a promise and only God can. As much as I want to offer my presence as a source of comfort to him, I had to redirect him to God because truly, He is the only One who is able to protect, sustain, and be omnipresent.

While most people know October 31 as the day of Halloween, most people don’t know that it also marks the day when Martin Luther nailed 95 theses protesting the corrupt practices of the Catholic Church to a church door in 1517. This act - commemorated as “Reformation Day” by many - may seem a small act, but it marked a banner day in church history, and marked the beginning of a restoration of a sound Biblical view of salvation to the church worldwide.

This year I decided to do a lapbook project with my 5.5 yr old son to learn about Martin Luther and the Reformation. Soon after we started on the project, Tim Challies posted a Reformation Day Symposium where he is accepting writings on the reformation. While our project isn’t a deep theological treatise of Martin Luther, I’m entering my son’s project for the contest. Perhaps Challies will give brownie points to a five-year-old? Maybe more brownie points for pictures? Pictures do make reading go faster and soothing and pleasing to the eye. Perhaps a generous reward for five days of hard work?

Here is my son holding the Reformation lapbook which reads “Reformation Day October 31, 2007.”

Matthew holding the lapbook open:

A close-up view of the inside. To the left is a picture of Katharina von Bora, Luther’s wife. Below her picture is a red quarter circle mini-book that talks about her life.

The middle of the book contains two pictures with one overlapping the other. The picture showing is the map of Europe with the city Wittenberg colored in red. (Side note: my son loves saying the word Wittenberg because the “w” is pronounced as “v.”) Underneath it is a picture of Martin Luther (see the next picture). Below it is a mini-book about Martin Luther’s life.

To the right is a picture of Martin Luther and beneath it is a red mini-book explaining the doctrine of justification by faith.

More details of the inside. To the left, the red mini-book is opened up and it lists six things about Katharina von Bora’s life: was a nun, married Luther, was 26 and Luther was 42, had 6 children, lived in “The Black Cloister,” and died on 12/20/1552.

In the middle, the picture underneath the map is brought to the foreground. It is a picture of Martin Luther nailing 95 theses to the church door. As you can see, Luther wears a quite colorful garment for a monk. His face even exhibits a severe case of jaundice. Compliments of my son’s artistic abilities.

To the right, the red mini-book on “justification by faith” is opened and reads “God declares a sinner righteous by faith alone. Salvation is a gift from God through faith in Jesus.”

Focusing on the middle page at the bottom is a blue mini-book where my son entitled it “My Little Martin Luther Book.” Matthew wrote an eight page story of Luther’s life which reads: “Martin Luther was born in Germany on November 10, 1483. His mother and father wanted him to be a lawyer but he became a monk. He taught theology at the University of Wittenberg. He learned about justification by faith from the book of Romans. The Catholic church taught that your sin may be forgiven if you pay money to the church. Luther write 95 theses to say that the Catholic church was wrong.” As you can see, my son decides to be creative and writes each letter with alternating colors. He said he likes to create a pattern.

THE END. I am quite proud of my son for accomplishing this project, even if we don’t win the contest.

Blogging is an interesting communication medium. Depending on what you want to write and convey, readers form an opinion or idea of the person behind the blog. On occasions I read my own blog and if I can stand back and assess what kind of person behind our blog, I would say this person/couple is serious, most of the time. I’m laughing now because WE’RE TOTALLY NOT THAT SERIOUS. In reality, we are a goofy couple who likes to joke around. Our close friends (ok, all two of you please chime in and say so) can testify to that.

Two years ago we met a couple who had been reading our blog prior to our first meeting. After interacting with us for several days, the husband said to my husband, “You are not who I think you are based on your blog. On your blog you are really spiritual and serious, but in real life you’re really funny too. I think you’d be a great youth pastor.” To that we just laughed. We’re quite amused.

Based on comments and feedbacks from people who have visited on blog, we do come off as pretty serious and intense. Some have said we’re the type of people they would want to meet or have coffee with. Hmmm. . . now that I let the cat out of the bag concerning our goofy personality, I’m not sure if they would still want to meet us.

If we’re truly goofy, why then is our blog so serious? Our blog is an expression of our thought life and even though we’re quite nutty, we do have a serious side. The topics that interest us and are important to us tend to be more serious. The intent of our blog is to write about things that would bring glory to God, and thus far we are only able to express our thoughts in a more serious matter. I believe that bringing glory to God can also be expressed through being funny and goofy. However, I think at this point we lack talents and gifts in this arena.

We use a crate to store all of our current school books so that they are all contained in one place. I chose a crate instead of a box because I can put hanging folders in the crate to separate each subject. Binders and large books are placed in the back of the crate without a hanging folder. With this system each book or subject is readily accessible without much searching. When our next child is ready for formal school, we will use another crate for that student. Here is a picture of my crate:

I use a plastic caddy to store school supplies such as pencils, pens, crayons, scissors, glue, money, ruler, etc. See picture below:

Whenever I feel the onset of a cold, I make a cup of garlic tea for myself. I’m still amazed that this little remedy has worked for me for the past year. It is all natural, cheap, and simple to make. The substance allicin in garlic has anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties which acts as a medicine.

The flu and cold season is upon us and this garlic tea recipe will prove helpful in keeping you from getting sick. To make the tea, crush several cloves of garlic and steep them in a cup of hot water. Wait 30 minutes and then drink the tea. You might want to hold your nose because most people don’t like the taste. You can also add honey if the tea is too distasteful for your palate. As for me, I have acquired a taste for garlic and don’t mind it. The side effect of drinking garlic tea is rather obvious: BAD BREATH. However, my kiddos don’t mind it. If you need to be out in a public place, you can still drink the garlic tea, but be sure to pack a lot of breath mints. From my experience I have found that if I drink the garlic tea with an empty or near empty stomach, I tend to get some intestinal discomfort. To remedy this, I make sure I have some food in my tummy first before drinking it. This tea works best at the onset of a cold. From experience, this remedy does not work as well when the cold is full blown.

One of the things I like and dislike at the same time on having children is how they act just like me. I like it because it is so funny when they act out my idiosyncrasies. I dislike it because they act out my unrefined moments as well. They are my personal mirrors and they often reflect my current mood. I know how I’m doing personally when I look at how my children act and behave. Sadly, I haven’t been very patient, loving, and kind towards my children recently. Having children is such a refining and sanctifying experience because I get immediate feedback when I am sinning. Such immediate feedback are not normally present when interacting with adults. Even when we behave badly, most of our friends are patient, and are not quick to point out our follies or to be too forthright about it. Children, however, by their tendency to mirror our actions, tend to show us (if we are willing to see) exactly where our faults are - in “real time.” I am humbled. Even though I don’t like my current reflection, it drives me to repentance and hopes for a better tomorrow. His mercies are sufficient for each day’s toil and this is what I rely upon.

Inspired by Kim at Life In a Shoe, we made funnel cake tonight. I had always enjoyed eating funnel cake at the county fair or farmer’s market. Thanks to Kim I can now make my own and enjoy it without the expensive price.

Swirling the batter into the pan.

Frying in the pan after it’s been turned.

Sprinkled with powder sugar.

Some happy customers.

On Saturday our family went to the Ardenwood Historic Farm for their annual Harvest Festival. The children had a great time wandering through the farm, looking at different animals, picking corn, sampling some cookies and ice cream, and best of all, riding the train. As usual, I had my oldest write a simple field trip report to document the day.

Men milling corn into flour using a tractor to power the mill:

Daddy and the kids looking at sheep:

Mommy, Calissa, and Andrew at the pumpkin patch:

Matthew helping us to harvest popcorn:

Here’s Daddy and the kids shucking the corn we harvested:

Today was one of those days where I lacked motivation to do school. In order to redeem the lost morning, I decided to do something fun for the kids. I packed the kids in the car and off we went to the Children’s Discovery Museum. Now that we’re members, I can really go whenever my brain decides to shut down temporarily.

The boys playing with a floating ball.

Andrew inside an ambulance.

Emmie driving a big truck.

Andrew and Calissa looking at a bee hive.

Andrew and Matthew in the water play area.

It is not uncommon these days to hear parents say that they have no influence over their teenagers. It is also not uncommon to hear teenagers say that they don’t listen to their parents. My children are still young and they still depend on me for many things so I’d say that I have a lot of influence over them. I also believe that they value my opinions and see me as an authority figure whom they respect. Will this change once they hit the teenage years? Will I accept this as the norm, seeing that this is the current phenomenon?

Someone once told me that it doesn’t matter what you may think of your children when they are young, or what they think of you, but once they hit the teenage years, they are off to the emotional psycho land where there’s nothing you can do about. That was rather depressing to hear, and that certainly wasn’t an encouraging comment as I was pregnant with my first child at the time. Contrary to this advice, however, I have seen examples of parent-teen relationships that are close, tight-knit and loving! I really hope and pray that my children will value my opinions when they are older. But I also know there is more to this than just prayer. It requires work. In those families where I have seen teenagers valuing their parents’ advice and would confide in them their deepest thoughts and feelings; those parents made explicit choices in how much time and what kind of time their family spent together.

I’m well aware that my children are “not there yet.” As I noted above, I’ve been reminded on numerous occasions when others have observed our close relationship with our children, “You just wait until they’re teenagers…” with ominous overtones. And I know that indeed as children become older, there is undoubtedly going to be a shift in how we relate to them. But I refuse to accept the common wisdom that such a shift must be negative.

Here’s my conclusion, then: being our children’s main influence beyond the early years requires premeditated parenting! How often I encounter moms of young children whose “plan” for parenting is essentially: get them to the point they’re in school, then … send them to college. Thus, the bulk of their parenting is focused on… getting them to college! And for those from this group that are Christians, it seems that while much concern is certainly there for their children’s salvation, little thought seems to be put on the parents’ role in discipling their children, and the ongoing relationship between parent and child through the years. So it seems to me that many parents today reap what they sow: they’ve invested in conversion & college, but not personally in discipleship, maturity, and wisdom. It’s almost a recipe for “the teenage years” as they are typically depicted.

What sort of premeditated parenting is required? Based on those observations, and in reflection on this subject, here are some ideas that have come to mind on how to remain my children’s main influence:

1. You must have their hearts. This means you know how your children think or feel, what motivates them, what gets them going, what makes them tick, and what they treasure or value. When you know them this intimately and lovingly, they will most likely confide in you and treasure your opinions.
2. You must be humble, teachable, and ready to ask for forgiveness when you have wronged your children. I grew up in a culture where asking for forgiveness is not known. It is acceptable for an older person not to seek forgiveness from a younger person when they’ve wronged that younger one. Yet asking for forgiveness from my children is something I firmly believe in, and clearly a Biblical command. Even though I may have been reluctant in the past to ask for forgiveness, I believe I have always apologized to my children when I have clearly wronged them.
3. You must spend a lot of time with your children. While the children are young, you spend many hours caring for their physical needs. When they are older, they need a lot of time from you to satisfy their emotional needs. Quality time with your children can’t be scheduled. Quality time is a result of spending quantity time with your children. It is often in the mundaneness of life that quality time comes about. So, press on even when the time you spend your children seems boring or pointless. I really believe that your children value the fact that you are taking unhurried time to sit and listen to them.
4. Be vigilant in how you allow your children to spend their time. Involving children in sports, music, and other extra-curricula activities is commonplace in the American culture. While I don’t have anything against these types of activities, I believe we often spend too much time entrenched in activities that are not lasting. We need to practice moderation. Sometimes good things become the enemy of best things.
5. Be careful of whom your children befriend. Proverbs 13:20 says “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” This proverb is very simple; if your children walk with the wise, they will likely be wise. Conversely, if your children walk with the fools, they will incur harm. Don’t let the unwise steer your children’s hearts away from you.
6. Be authentic with your children. Children are especially keen on whether mom or dad is being real or not. They live with you so they know. If you don’t practice what you preach, your children know. Be a good role model for them and live a life that is real and honest. When they see you walk the talk, they will most likely listen to you when you give them advice or suggestions.
7. Pray for them constantly.

I first started researching about homeschooling when I was pregnant with our first baby and I continue to research and read up on homeschooling now 5 1/2 years down the road. One thing that stood out for me during my research was the importance of cultivating a love for learning. One of our measures of whether we will have successfully raised our children is whether they will have developed a love for learning.

Too often we see children stop learning or wanting to learn when school is over. It’s as if they have a switch in their heads where it can be turned on and off depending when school is in session or not. It saddens me when I hear kids say that school is boring or that they are not learning anything. There is no enthusiasm for learning and all of life seems like a drag. This seems so often the rule rather than the exception.

Will my children suffer the same fate? I certainly hope not. How then do I plan to help my children cultivate a love for learning? Here are some of my ideas:

1. Be a role model. Children read and want to learn when they see mommy and daddy enjoy reading and learning.
2. Surround your child with great books. There are nutritious foods and junk foods, and likewise, there are nutritious books and junk books. Provide what’s nutritious for your children’s minds.
3. Help your children to relate what’s written to real life. If you’re reading about fish, take them to the aquarium to see the actual fish. If you’re learning about plants, take them outside and go on a nature walk.
4. During their early education, make school as fun and exciting and interesting as possible. For this reason I continue to research and find what makes my children tick. We do paper-and-pencil school work, but I try to do as many hands-on activities as possible. I find that learning through games gets my children excited about learning. Of course, as they grow older, I expect them to be able to learn in “non-fun” ways as well.
5. Go on field trips. I find that if I make plans in advance, we will more likely go on field trips more consistently. Our current goal is to go on one field trip per month.
6. Whenever we can, teach them in the “milieu” of life. Enthusiasm over the most seemingly mundane things can give them a sense that the world is full of things to discover (which it is!).
7. Talk often with your children. My husband is a better communicator than me and I often see him explaining a concept or idea to my children using very tangible examples and analogies.

Of late I heard people say, “I don’t stay at home with my children because I’m too impatient” or “I don’t homeschool because I’m not patient enough.” One can insert whatever task to the “I don’t do ____ because I’m too impatient.” This, of course, makes me wonder about myself and my patience level because I do stay at home with my children and I even homeschool. Does this mean I am more patient? Perhaps I have perfected or almost perfected the virtue of patience? On the contrary, I’d be the first to tell anyone that patience is something I continue to ask and beg of God when I homeschool and take care of my children. I am keenly aware of my shortcomings, especially being impatient towards my children.

I strongly suspect that when people say they are too impatient to do this or that is because they don’t want to. We must all search our hearts and souls for the real reason. One thing we must understand is that even if you are greatly lacking in patience, God can help you and He uses circumstances, especially tasks that you deem as impossible, to shape you. There are many times where I ask God why I was given so many difficult circumstances, and over and over again I learn that God gives me trials to sanctify me.

Next time you’re tempted to give the impatience excuse, search your heart and trust in God. It may be very well that the very task you think you’re unfit for is the very task that God wants to use to shape and mold you. Rather than taking the easy route, consider taking the more difficult route and let God stretch you and grow you.

Last Friday our family went on a homeschool field trip to the Hidden Villa Farm. We had a great time learning about nature, farming, and animals.

The children wandered around a two acre farm and saw a number of different fruits & vegetables being organically grown. We actually harvested some of these for our lunch!

Here’s a picture of Matthew cutting a lemon cucumber in preparation for lunch, which was prepared by a number of the homeschoolers (and parents) participating in the day’s events:

Later on, we got to watch a recently killed rat (not from the farm) being dissected:

Here is Matthew looking at a resting pig:

The children having a seat in a “vine house” in an educational garden:

For our science lesson today, we did a Color Changing Milk experiment. By the way, the Steve Spangler Science is a great website for easy science experiments that can be done at home. The website has many videos of different experiments. Not only do my kids enjoy doing science experiments, I enjoy learning alongside them. Thanks to my husband who found the website for me!!!

The children learned that milk is composed of water, vitamins, minerals, protein, and fat. When the soap molecules are introduced, the bonds in the protein are weakened and the soap tries to bond with the fat molecules in the milk. This reaction creates a swirling movement of all the colors in the milk.

5, 3, 2, 1.

These numbers denote each of my children’s ages. Interestingly, someone commented that it sounds like a lift-off, but we’re just missing the number four. Because we have four little ones, many have asked and wondered how I take care of four high maintenance kids, and here’s my answer: do things in assembly lines as much as possible. To offer you a glimpse of what I mean, here are some of the things we do in assembly line fashion:

1. Baths: Hose everyone down with water, then shampoo all the hair, next wash all their bodies, and finally, hose everyone down again. Thank the Lord for six-foot long bathtubs.

1. Potty: No, we’re not trying to save water by all going to the potty at the same time. But since we’re potty training two of them right now, it’s just easier to get both of them up to the bathroom at the same time. Naturally, the other two feel left out so they want to join in too. So, there you have it, four at a time, in an assembly line fashion.
2. Brushing Teeth: Our children still need much training in the personal hygiene area so once again we have to use our assembly line method of brushing each of their teeth. Each child has a color-coded toothbrush and I still haven’t learned which belongs to whom.
3. Hair: I spray their hairs with water, then comb, and style. With the girls, I tie a pony tail or a whale spout.
4. Vitamins: Eating a vitamin is like eating a candy for my children. Whenever I take out the vitamin bottle, the kids line up to get their treat.
5. Medication: There was a time when all three of the older ones had colds / runny noses. So they all had to take some cold meds, one of which they really liked the taste of. We made it a chance for a toast:

Life with four lil’ ones can be dizzying at times. Maybe much of the time. But there’s also potential for a lot of fun when we do it together!