It's an encouraging read for those of us who homeschool for religious reasons!
and if you like that book...
I also recommend Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham and his DVD titled "The Children of Caesar". I have links to his website in my sidebar somewhere (being technically challenged really has its limitations) The book is available at most Christian book stores.
It's just another typical day of school around here. Ds 15 was leaning his chair back onto 2 legs while taking in the scope of information I was dishing out to him. (Actually....., he was giving me the deer in the headlights look.) When suddenly a mouse scurried across the floor and ran into the foyer closet.
Like a group of hound dogs that just caught scent of its prey, our 2 boys shot out of their chairs and raced to the foyer closet. They immediately began tearing the closet and its contents apart (I will leave it to your imagination how our closet looks, but try to picture a family of 8 and all those items they can manage to cram into a tiny 4 ft long closet). Closet contents are flying across the room. You hear "THERE IT IS!" and then the poor little mouse scampers back across the room from which it came. Young girls are heard squealing as they leap for their lives to safety atop tables and chairs. Meanwhile Mom is throwing her hands up in the air because 'who gave the boys permission to leave while I was in mid-lecture'.
The boys follow chase the mouse back across the room and into the living room behind the couch. The boys uproot the couch in an attempt to locate their prey. As they do this the mouse leaps out from inside the mechanical workings of the couch, scampers into the dining room and crawls underneath the VERY heavy and clunky hutch. The boys quickly grab 2 mousetraps and begin to set and place the traps on both ends of the hutch. With traps set, they then take the broom handle and insert it below the front of the hutch and begin to wildly shove and swing the handle around. After several seconds of attempting this, the boys decide that their strategy isn't working. So they use the broom handle to set off the traps (a wise choice. I prefer that method over losing their fingers) and decide to move the clunky and very heavy hutch instead. As they do this, all the girls, while standing on the couch for safety's sake, have their eyes fixed on the floor.
To everyone's dismay.....nothing came scampering from beneath the hutch. The mouse successfully eluded the hunters. It will live to see another day...........
So there you have it....Just another typical homeschooling day around here....
Now...do I make them get back to their books or CLEAN UP the 3 rooms they obliterated during their spontaneous hunt? (Henceforth, my old saying....'it looks like a couple of tornados blew through here'...yep, 2 boy tornado's and a tiny mouse wind)
This picture has nothing to do with the title of the post. It was loads of fun watching her reel in her first catch! Its obvious the fish didn't want to pose for pictures. That's why its trying so hard to camoflauge itself.
"And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men."
They decided to take up residence in a tree just a mere 5 yards off our deck. (I hope they didn't think this was a quiet neighborhood to live in) For several days we thought the chattering coming from the tree was nothing but a bunch of boring old squirrels. UNTIL.....one of the kids said ' Dad what is that in the tree? It's moving, see...."
I said "That bump on the tree?"
The kids again insisted "It's not a bump on the tree. It's moving, SEE,..... there it goes again!"
Dad orders a kid to retrieve the binoculars and upon inspection said, "I'll. be. darned. It's an owl!"
A chorus of squeals erupts and every child demands a turn at the binoculars. This then sets off curiousty buttons and the books get dragged off the shelves, the computer gets booted up and the learnin' begins.
But fellow homeschoolers know, we can't let the learnin' be left to just reading books or searching the Internet....... We have to get hands on learnin' too. Which is why we picked up a few owl pellets to di-sect.
As you can see the kids loved it! Really,... they did!
(Ain't nothin' like pickin' apart owl vomit on the supper table.)
According to our books, we have screech owls in the tree. One is in its red phase according to 'the' books. We read that the owls are VERY protective of their nests and have been known to attack humans on the head when they come too close to the nest.
"NO ONE is to go NEAR the tree! Ya hear!"
As you can imagine the owls haven't gotten an ounce of privacy. They are spied on every minute of the day. A few days later, we thought our red owl had transitioned into the gray phase however upon further investigation it was discovered that we had 2 adults in the nest. A red owl and a gray owl. Which means..........you guessed it........BABY OWLS.......
After several evenings of intense watching we were priviledged to observe the baby birds leaving the nest......I wish I had pics but....a) our camera doesn't zoom in that far (We had to borrow a neighbors camera just to get these pics).... b) the camera's do not take very good pictures in the dark, no matter how many different buttons and flashes we tried.
We counted 5 baby owls. They were so precious! They still had downy white fluffy feather's on them. The mother or father (not sure if the red owl is a male or female) sat on a nearby tree branch chattering away to her babies as they each left the nest. The next to the last baby owl was reluctant to leave the nest. So much so, that it's sibling was more than happy to push him out. (sounds like they would fit in well around here) The baby owl attached its talons to the opening of the tree with what I would call a 'death grip' as his sibling peered out of the opening in awe of the outside world. It was holding on for dear life and flapping those wings! I turned my back for a quick second and it flew away.
What an amazing event to have watched. Not only were I and dh in awe, but the kids were just as excited and had a blast keeping track of which tree, each bird was on. They were even blessed with an extreme close-up view when one of the baby owl's landed on top of our bird feeder, just a few feet away, for a brief few seconds. I am sure the owl was given a fright of its life when the kids squealed "Awwww's!" of delight loudly!
The following night, we were trying to see if all the birds came back to the nest or left for good. While trying to count, through our binoculars, and determine how many birds were in the nest we watched 2 Bluejays approach the hole in the tree and proceed to attack the owls inside the hole. What another AMAZING site to witness! Lots of flapping wings and loud squelching. Fortunately, the owls won that battle. Sadly, we came out the next morning to discover that all the owls were gone.
I guess they decided that this neighborhood was just too noisy and inhabited with rude neighbors who don't knock when they come over. Personally I would have talked to people in the neighborhood and scoped it out a little before I decided to move in....but that's just me...
Have an owl-fully good week!!
"And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good." -Genesis 1:21
Why is is that I am ALWAYS the last know? Why won't anyone ever tell me these things? I thought you all were my friends and now....well.....I think I may just have to reconsider our friendship. .....A real, true, open and honest friend WOULD NOT have allowed me, her FRIEND, to miss out on the MOST AWESOMEST homeschooling event EVER!!!!!!
For the first time in our 11 year journey of homeschooling, dh and I attended the HEAV (Home Educators Association of Virginia) Convention. IT WAS A BLAST!!!! Why didn't anyone ever tell me how awesome this event was? It was awe inspiring, encouraging, uplifting, revitalizing, educational, edifying, resourceful, magnificent, and also overwhelming! Words can't describe how wonderful it is to actually place your hands on a curriculum and glance/read through it before you purchase it. All those wasted dollars over the years. ... ..And being the cheapskates that we are, it was a blessing to our budget to be able to take advantage of free shipping and discounts that some vendors offered.
And the Keynote speakers.........SENSATIONAL!!!..... I have been listening to Voddie Baucham's podcasts for a little over a year now. His lecture on "Education and Worldview" was more than worth its standing ovation it received! I HIGHLY recommend his book 'Family Driven Faith' and his podcast "The Centrality of the Home". Dh and I loaded up on his other books, taking advantage of course, of discounts at the HEAV table. (We can't help being cheap, it's just ingrained in us) I have a link to Voddie Baucham's blog on my sidebar somewhere (remember I am technically challenged). Also, look up his sermons at sermon audio. You will be truly blessed, encouraged, uplifted and more confident with your Christian homeschooling walk/journey with the Lord. If you want to listen to his HEAV Lecture's, you can order a copy of ALL the workshop session's/Lecture's or just certain workshop session's/lecture's at Best Christian Conferences. The workshops are truly amazing and inspiring! Refreshing and invigorating..............
The Exhibit Hall was overwhelming!..... All those vendors! Right at your fingertips! It's what homeschoolers dreams are made up of! Not to mention, the fun of running into your fellow homeschooling friends in such a large and crowded place.
Speaking of crowds......many of you know I. AM. NOT. A. CROWD. PERSON! I can't stand crowds!!! I have been known to change shopping days because I can't deal with crowds, plus shopping, plus children, and still try to be a good wife and mommy when it's all said and done...... It is beyond my margin levels of sanity... With that said....yes, the convention was VERY crowded. Yes, we mentally prepared ourselves for the crowds ahead of time. Yes, we intentionally left our kids at home locked in the closet (just checking to see if your still awake. My sister babysat for us.). However, this crowd stood out. I forgot that this crowd of people were all fellow homeschoolers with similar goals, lifestyles, and mannerisms. This wasn't any crowd, this was a crowd of well mannered, patient, and polite people. There wasn't any pushing and shoving. If someone accidently stepped on your toe, they apologized for it. Then you returned their polite sentiment with a few kind words and then they replied with more kind words and then you found yourself trying to politely get out of an endless conversation. There were many traffic jams, but no one pushed their way through it or walked over people or jumped ahead in line. They were all patient, waited their turn, and gentlemen politely held doors and allowed the ladies first. (At one point, I was halfway down a hall when I realized my husband wasn't with me, only to discover him still holding the door back at the exhibition hall entrance.) I can deal with crowds like this! These are my kind of crowds!! I wish all crowds were like this!
We can't wait to go back. We'll probably take the kids with us next time (only after weeks of mental preparation first). One things for certain though....... I won't be inviting my so-called 'friends' to tag along! I can't believe they've been holding out on me all these years! *Humph!*
O.K. not really....its just raining frogs and turtles!
This guy really captured the curiousity of more than just the kids.
Fortunately for me, these guys didn't wear out there welcome! They were on their way within a few short hours. You know *wink, wink* they had to get back to their moms and dads before they were missed.
I don't blame them for heading for higher ground. If my home looked like this I would too!
I have been telling the kids since we moved here, that we are bound to find fossils in the tons and tons of shale that surrounds us. They never had a desire to dig around and look...(Probably because digging requires a lot of effort and work, since you ARE digging into nothing but rock.)....Then sure enough....this weekend...they F-I-N-A-L-L-Y stumbled onto some! And only NOW do they get excited about it. *insert my rolling eyes here*
They found these two rocks down in the creek crick bed.
Now every day I hear "Can we go down to the creek bed Mom and look for some more rocks?". Still having 5 children at home this question is multiplied and amplified accordingly. With the last person who asks, sadly receiving the brunt of my now lost patience. (moms of many know what I am talking about) Poor kid!
I think these fossils are an educational goldmine!!
This one is my favorite! So many and so much detail!
Well, I managed to survive April Fool's Day! In this house of jokesters it is hard to believe. I did succumb to a whoopie cushion or two but the greatest joke of the day was successfully pulled off by the 7 yr old quiet and painfully shy little girl. (They say its always the quiet and shy ones that surprise you) Her prank was sucessful not once...but TWICE!
All was calm and quiet in the house. Everyone was working on their math assignments (or SHOULD HAVE been working on them) and I had just finished posting to my blog. When a sudden loud wailing scream came from the kitchen! Everyone immediately knew the first prank of the day had been accomplished! We came rushing to the kitchen to see who the victim had been and what prank had the victim succumbed to. It seems the poor victim was our 11 yr old son. He had gone to the kitchen sink to wash his hands. As he turned on the faucet, water came spraying directly at him from the faucet hose.
A little side note here: I believe the orginally targeted person was suppose to be me. Who else in this household spends 94.75 % of their time in the kitchen?
So, we all get a great laugh, including the targeted victim while we try to diagnose who the original prankster was. No one was owning up to the prank. I assume it was because the day was still quite young.
So the poor guy goes and changes his shirt. Everyone resumes what they were doing prior to the event. When suddenly our son lets out another scream from the kitchen! It seems that during all the previous chaos our darling son FORGOT to remove the original booby-trap set-up. So everyone gets an even better laugh than before! Some of us, who shall remain nameless, were tearing up from laughter.
It became quite clear that the award for the day had been won! The practical jokester came forward and owned up to the offense! To our great surprise it was our 7 yr old daughter. The quiet, shy type. The one you would least expect to pull off such a feat!
And believe it or not.....the photo below was a true action shot! It was not posed. Making it all the more cherishable to me!
As for the lesson of the day.......Well.....I believe the picture below explains it all!
Never wash your hands on April Fools Day without putting on your raincoat first!
Yep! I think I am starting to feel comfortable with this Grandma role! I can't wait till I can spoil her, dope her up on pure sugar and send her home with her parents. She's a whole 2 weeks old now. She's aging beautifully! She doesn't look a day over 1 week. Don't ya think?
"Children are divinely placed gifts, not accidents. They are a privilege. They are part of the life that God is bringing to us, every day. Thay are on loan with a divine purpose." -Real Family Life magazine.
Every day is a new lesson for me. A new virtue to learn relearn. A new concept of understanding. The repeated lessons of PATIENCE! I have learned so much more from our children while homeschooling than they have ever learned conceptually. Each child has their own set of unique gifts and lessons. God placed each child into our lives and used them to teach us/me a particular lesson at a particular time in our life. God is perfect. He does not make mistakes/accidents. He has a plan and our children/God's children is/are part of His plan.
God has/had a divine purpose when He placed our children, and now grandchildren, into our lives. Perhaps that divine purpose was to draw my heart closer to Him through the lives of the children....Or perhaps the children are small glimpses of the joy eternal life will bring. I do know they are the most precious gift God has ever intrusted to these horrible sinners. What a blessing it is to know that He must have incredible faith in us.
He has blessed us beyond measure by placing those precious babes into our hearts and our arms. No matter how many "bad" school days we have or how many horrible bumps life places in the road. I will never be dissapointed in the joy and the heart lessons that our children/God's seed, have brought into our lives.
Homeschooling has taught me more than any book (besides the Bible) ever could. God will not judge me on how many math lessons we accomplished this year. He will not ask me why I didn't get Jane into the best college. I believe he is going to want to know why I didn't read the Bible more often to them, why I didn't teach the children about God's love and God's Word. And why I lost my patience so quickly and so often!
Homeschooling isn't a race to see who can put out the best and most advanced student. It is.... "that part of the life that God is bringing to us, every day." It is part of God's divine purpose.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field." -Matthew 13:44
I love this life! I wouldn't trade it for anything!
Have a blessed week!
"Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you." Habakkuk 1:5
Well chaos has gotten loose in our house once again. But this time I am not in any particular hurry to get it back under control. We officially became the proud grandparent's to this little angel on January 18th! She is our first grandchild!
Scarlett weighed in at 8 lbs. 12 oz and was 21-1/2 inches long. (Can you say OUCH?) Her parents are elated to finally have her to hold in their arms!
As you can see below. There will not be a shortage of love for little Scarlett. Or babysitters.
Amidst all the chaos of the week....I have to wonder what the dog has been up to while we have been away..... I discovered this photo among the baby pictures on my camera...... Methinks she has been in cahoots with Murphy and Chaos. What d'ya think?
Have an incredibly blessed and joyous weekend! I know we will!!!
"Is being a mother just this endless round of doing things over and over and over?"....No, it couldn't be, because some people are paid to be nursemaids and thay aren't mothers. It isn't just the work side of it that makes a mother. Not the washing and ironing, the cleaning and cooking - the countless demands throughout the day, the weary confusion around dinner-time, the calls in the night - that isn't it.
Nor is it the joyous rewards of motherhood that make a Mommie. The shared delights of birthdays when eyes are ashine at the beauty of it all; the way the four babies bend their sweet little faces over the mudpies they are so carefully making....the feel of one of them snuggled down soft in one's lap; the sight of all of them sound asleep when the nightly round is made to tuck in each bed and to straighten each pillow.... no, not just these rewards explain it all.
What, then, does make a Mommie in the truest sense of the word? There must be some answer and it is probably a combination one! Mommie thought back to the bathnight and Daddy helping with the children. "That's it - or part of it," she decided. "It's the sense of doing the work together, the sharing of the burden and responsibility, the mutual dependence one upon the other. Something...not everything, but something is missing when being a Mommie is an all-alone job. God recognized that, for He said, 'I will be a father to the fatherless.' "
But is just having children and bringing them up to the best physical beauty and moral perfection enough? Isn't there a higher conception of motherhood, a God-given understanding?
Mommie thought of the things that had been whispered to her heart when each time she first knew there was another baby on the way. "Another, Lord? My hands are now so full."
"I know it, child,...I filled them, and I'll supply the grace and strength....Will you take another one to raise for Me? And I'll be there."
What could one do but gladly receive the trust, rejoicing that one had been so blessed? And looking forward to the future years, if the Lord tarry, one sees eight grown sons and daughters in His service, and one senses a fulfillment. The heavy burdened years seeem but a dream, and one begins to perceive what it means to be a mother.
Excerpt from the book "Musings of a Mother: Mixing bowl adventures and the joys of family life" by Doris Coffin Aldrich. Published by Moody Press in 1949.
Our 4 yr. old, while getting her dessert after supper, spoke to her sister, Grace....."You know Dwace, ice cweam is not vewy healfy for you, that's whyd they made it a dessert."
This is the conversation I overheard this morning between our 4 yr. old and 7 yr. old daughters.
4 yr old - "O tay. I will let you do that as long as you PWOMISE. NOT. to let go. of my legs."
Suddenly my brain is envisioning another strange sibling experiment, so I moved rather quickly to check on them.
You don't want to know what they were up to......I will give you a few hints though....it involved heights, hard floors, a bed, and the 4 yr old who was the tool for the experiment....
Sometimes....I think they take this homeschooling journey a bit too far.....especially when it comes to lab science.......
Confessions of a SAHHM (Stay At Home Homeschooling Mom). SAHHM to six children, 3 cats, 1 German Shepherd, Chaos, Murphy's Law, Notme, Idunno, and one incredibly loving and patient husband! :o)
If I haven't blogged recently, it's probably because chaos has gotten loose. It does that from time to time. Rest assured I will be back as soon as it is under control again.
The book is available at most Christian book stores.
.....A real, true, open and honest friend WOULD NOT have allowed me, her FRIEND, to miss out on the MOST AWESOMEST homeschooling event EVER!!!!!! 
Not to mention, the fun of running into your fellow homeschooling friends in such a large and crowded place. 
I can't believe they've been holding out on me all these years! *Humph!* 
Poor kid!
