Some ramblings about what it means to be a "mother" and perhaps what God has in mind for a "mother" to be...

Quite often, after thinking of our own, the most predominant mother thought of by many Christians is Jesus' mother, Mary. I was thinking about what sort of example she was for us, and although we don't actually know a ton about her, a few characteristics come to mind: Obedience: she was obedient in her calling by God, to be the mother of Jesus. Trust: she certainly did trust in whatever God called her to do, she was a servant. Patience: I don't recall that she even questioned how God would settle the heart of her soon to be husband, she just trusted that God would handle it in His time. Supportive of Family: even while pregnant she was visiting Elizabeth as she was pregnant after being "called barren." And certainly Mary was reverent and freely reflected Praise to her heavenly Father, as in Luke 46-55, she gives all the glory to God. And it is interesting to me that after being told she would bring forth the savior of the world--a pretty intimidating task, she trusted God enough to go on with a "normal" life and have more children. How many of us can say we wouldn't have completely freaked out and only focused on Jesus, when that was never actually what God called her to do? I am quite impressed that she didn't get all bogged down in the enormity of what God had placed on her, instead, she just  L I V E D. I can admit I often allow myself to get bogged down...

Considering that as a church, we are in a position of wife to Christ...and eventually "parents" of a new heaven and new earth...I wondered if the characteristics of a good mother--what we practice as physical beings, is transferrable to our position as a church, as the bride of Christ? I wonder if Christ's church is Obedient--Are we reaching others for Christ?  And do we truly Trust God--Are we living in a way that reflects complete trust in God's Word and His prophecy?  Are we Patient--As we wait on the Lord?  Can we even say that we are Supportive of family--Both within our Church body and in our God given homes?  And are we truly Reverent--How truly heartfelt is our Praise?

God has given us many examples of mothering, of our position in His plan as the body of Christ...I am reminded this Mother's Day that my duty as a mother, in raising Godly children for the Lord, is a wonderful gift and blessing...and responsibility. Of all the ways God could have sent His son, he chose to send Him, by way of an earthly mother...that's pretty cool. Just my thoughts.

Wishing you a truly beautiful and family filled Mother's Day!!

I've tried very hard to enter the computer age and add little dealie bobbers to my page, check them out, they look pretty good if I do say so myself!! I figured about every ten blog entries or so, I'll comment on all of the things I have on my page, so that those interested can check them out, and if not, don't. Obviously, totally up to you! And since I'm not so computer savvy to be able to put all of those little links right into my blog entries like some of you amazing ladies(and gents), now my most often used companies are down the side and you can check them out at will. Some are new to me, but looked cool, so I added them.

First, you'll find a button to check out the new DIGITAL The Old Schoolhouse Magazine!!! WOW! I already bought mine, you really should too! For those of us short on time, as I know all of us homeschoolers are, the availability of immediate links already on the computer is AWESOME! No more making a list while browsing my magazine, which of course, I will still get in regular copy. I used to fold pages at the corner to mark things I wanted to jump to on the computer, NOT ANYMORE! Now, I can just check them out via the computer and still enjoy my REAL magazine in my hands on the couch in the evening. This idea is so totally fantastic, and so very well done. They even let you scope out an old copy of the mag so you can see how it will work for you, and I'm betting that it will! So order yours soon, the sooner the better, and the quicker you do, the lower price you pay AND the more freebies you get. You just can't beat that!!!

Next is my weather pixie, it's supposed to look like me, but really, it just looks generally like the weather around here! And then one of my most favorite companies of all time, ANSWERS IN GENESIS! You can check out a new question every time you pull up my blog, and run to the site for an answer and tons more information. BUT, they also sell the most awesome items for use in your homeschool. Creation based dvds, bible studies, and now even Vacation Bible School kits. now that the summer season will quickly be upon us. I have to tell you, so far one of my most favorite purchases through AIG has been the Demolishing Strongholds Bible Study. IT IS SO AWESOME! It is a ton of video clips, you work through with teens, or adults, but I've worked through with a great group of teens. It will help you find your footing in witnessing, gain strength in your relationship with Christ, and base it all on the mighty Creator!! You will enjoy every minute of it! I know we did!!

The adorable little pic of a mother and daughter, in PINK, of course, is the link to ordering THE most wonderful homeschooling magazine on the planet! The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC. It is so incredible!! I know most of us on here probably already subscribe, considering they are the host for the homeschoolblogger, but seriously, if you don't take this magazine already, HIT THE LINK!!! You need to get it!!

After that you find all of my bloggie buddies, and my verse of the day, which helps to keep me on track, take a second to read it while you are here. It can be so amazing how it is right on time, time and again for what I need to hear from the Word of God. Funny how that works!!

Next is my Easter Link, which will soon switch over to something more spring like. This will take you to the company "Printable Games AtoZ" and I must be honest, I haven't used them yet, I just haven't had any parties I needed games for. But do some thinking along with me: I thought, boy, if you have got a baby shower or easter event coming up, it would be so awesome to buy a bundle from them, depending on the bundle you receive access for three months or a year!! And then you could just print, print, print, until your heart is content!! WOW! And we homeschoolers can be a pretty imaginative bunch. I'm thinking, ooh so cute little bingo cards we can use for word bingo, letter bingo, whatever! There are games we could use for word activities, and they even have Bible games!! So check out the site, you will find all sorts of little goodies that you can be printing in just minutes when you buy a bundle. How cool is that?? So if you have a party coming up, need some handy games, and like to keep thinking and using something long after the event, go for it!

Andrea Carter is the main character in a series of books that are so fantastic, if you have kids that are "tweens", this is a really good choice for quality reading. I have reviewed them for TOS, and truly enjoyed them. You will find prayers to God when she is struggling, old one room schoolhouses, plenty of horses, and a very well written story line that stays true to the characters and very real in regard to people and their feelings and reactions. Susan K. Marlow is a tremendous author and you will find great things at this website, including a blog by Andi, the main character. A writing workbook is also offered, complete with pdf pages so you can check it out before you buy! In my opinion, this stuff is every tomboy's dream!! And for those of us teaching, what a great way to get our kids reading, and then writing for themselves with the Fiction Workbook. Fantastic stuff!!

Next you'll find the button for The Homeschool Lounge. Imagine a blog community, filled with homeschoolers sharing information, where all of the comments are right up on the page, rather than needing to open them up to read them! Where linking to friends is a little more personal, with big pics of your fellow lounge members, and invites to gather your little group of friends to converse on the web. A great way to build even more friendships and strengthen your skills in homeschooling. It really is that visit over a cup of coffee....even if you are hundreds of miles apart!! At this point, I'm struggling to find the time to jump into it wholeheartedly, but for those who can, you will find a warm and open group to learn from, and with!

Old Time Candy is what you will find when hitting the button with the child hanging from a balloon. I don't know about you, but I was searching for these old astronaut sticks or something and ran into this company: space food sticks!! I was STUNNED that you can still find these things, and thrilled! Remember rootbeer sticks and candy watches? This is a great idea, order a gift for a friend turning 40 or 50, or even 46, whatever, and send a box of candy from THEIR CHILDHOOD!! Now someone was thinking here! What a fantastic way to bring about some memory recall in the middle of a birthday party, or in a small group of friends opening gifts, you can probably imagine the tremendous discussions that will be started over a box of various candies from when we were kids. THE GOOD OLD DAYS! Old Time Candy can give you a glimpse!! They do have a sugar free section, and even picking and choosing if you want to pack your own bag!

Next is my "Nice Matters Award"  :-)    And my little comment that I Review products for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC. Absolutely, the BEST job I have ever had!! If you hit the magazine with the Review thingy, you will be taken to the part of the TOS site where you can pull up reviews. So if you are looking to purchase a particular curriculum, head on over there and see if they have reviewed it, so you'll have an opinion from a fellow homeschooler who has already checked it out. THAT is so cool! Better than buyer's remorse, I'm telling ya!! Or if you are looking for anything in a particular subject area, but don't even know exactly what you want yet, you can browse through items that have been scoped out already...and then maybe find something that will work for you and your family. Get to it, it's awesome!! Then check the schoolhouse store to see if they carry it!

If you notebook, then Notebookingpages.com is for YOU! And if you don't notebook, you should start! It is a great way to gather information, work on penmanship, writing skills, and learn to organize in a style that really looks good!! This little family has set up a series of free and inexpensive notebooking pages for your use, and you can even sign up for their newsletter which will enable you to receive exclusive freebies, important updates, site specials, and more! You will even find Notebooking and Homeschooling information on the site that will add great value to your homeschool, whatever method you use predominantly. Great resource, don't miss it!!

Next you will see the "Nest Entertainment" button with those cute little bears on it, cycling through with Bibleopoly and a puzzle. This place is fantastic! They carry a great line of Bible videos for your littles, and you can even find a few coloring books and a great amount of Bible based board games, including The Left Behind Board Game. Really awesome store, if your family loves little videos, you just have to check this out. If you've got older kids who are enjoying board games, then why not focus on Bible based ones? You'll find them at Nest Entertainment!

My sad little "Wonder Brains" link is a link, plain and simply. This store is quite interesting, and you can get lost in its little virtual world. They carry a great little train or race car kit to decorate on your own. What a great gift for an older child to decorate for a younger sibling!! Or it certainly would be great as an art project in your homeschool. They also carry a "Make a Clock" kit, complete with gears and a see through case so the child can watch the movement once completed. And they have the old crank jack in the box!! I found two: one with a Jester in a box and one with a Curious George in a box. They are an old style, absolutely adorable. I must be getting old, getting so nostalgic and all!

Educational Toys Planet is huge, and they carry a broad spectrum of items, I found several I thought were pretty cool. They include break downs for Multiple Intelligences and have little icons for the different aspects alongside the toys. So if you are looking for something that will go well for verbal or math or kinesthetic or naturalist...whatever, it is already marked for you to make the whole thing much easier. I really liked the Young Architects Kits that allow a child to build a Coliseum or Empire State building, they even have the Alamo! They use real kiln-fired bricks and would make for quite the little study on architecture and building styles. I also noticed plenty of science kits, the "Adventures in Science" kits really looked pretty cool, but I can't tell you whether they include evolution content, so be careful any time you are purchasing with a desire for a Creation based curriculum. I suppose that is why I leaned toward the building items, we can use those alongside a biblical curriculum without fear of running into false teachings. Anyway, they do have some great items, I just wanted to give you a link there.

Donna Young for Homeschoolers has got to be one of my absolute well springs for creative items for use in homeschooling!!! If you have not discovered her site yet, oh my goodness, run right over there and check it out!! Free use of tons and tons of well organized printables for seemingly every aspect of homeschooling. You can browse by subject area, and if you have a desire to be more organized for next school year, this will be a truly tremendous place to start. And it's free!! You can't beat that price tag! And if you use the book "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons", you can find printables to use right alongside the process. Fantastic!! Saves you time, and still helps increase the learning value in something you are already using, so great. Two favorite words for most homeschoolers: Printable & Free, you'll find both here!

Addie Kate Creations is that cute little pastel colored link for birth announcements. Now I'm not much into spending a boat load of money for announcing our babies, we just don't have it. But I was thinking, in this world of photo album happy people, these little postcards and such are really great ways to share the arrival of your little one in a keepsake worth placing in a special album by all of your friends and family. They carry an adorable twins line, and can certainly present your newest blessing with style!! You'll want to at least check it out, it is worth the investment to spread around those memories!!

Who doesn't know Knowledge Box Central? Oh my goodness, if you are reading this and don't know them, GET TO KNOW THEM!! Lapbooks, copywork, entire kits for everything you can imagine in the way of notebooking and lapbooking, this place is tremendous!! And you can purchase for however you want to, from something printed, to a CD ready to print from, whatever your family prefers. They even carry ready made starter supplies to get you going into the world of lapbooking if you have never started! There is truly something for everyone here, every subject area, and tons of specifics, you could spend hours browsing this site, so be ready!! Great product and great people.

Toward the bottom of all of my little links, is the link for ShareASale, a company that helps push other companies. If you have a company, but don't want to deal with the hassle of promotion, this place could be for you! I am using them for a few of my links, not that I am paying for them, I am an affiliate that might get paid if you shop there. In all honesty, I'm not expecting great things, I just wanted to get some good links for items that might help some fellow homeschoolers. Quite a few of the links I've just run through have absolutely nothing to help me financially, but I do believe they may very well help you and your family!! And I truly hope that they do. If you shop at someone who ends up passing a little bit to my family, that would be cool, because we'd sink it right back into our homeschooling, but if not, I feel good just spreading the word for some options we have as homeschoolers. There are so many companies out there these days, it is hard to know what to check out. I've told you what I liked about a few, and I hope you can find something you can use at one or all of them.

THIS is my advertising bloggie, you will not find it again for quite a while, particularly with it being this long! Sorry about that, but I wanted to get my two cents worth in, even though it may only be worth just that! I hope that your school year is nearing a wind down, or at least that you are getting outdoors more and enjoying God's creation during your studies. I know we are!! We are out there with you, learning every minute of every day, and LOVING IT!! So do you have a favorite place you like to shop? Tell me about it!!

I have finished reading the book "When You Rise Up" by R.C. Sproul Jr. This one will surely get you to thinking about many things. Truly, this book will challenge you to make teaching your children about God your ultimate focus of every single day you homeschool, which is exactly what we should be doing. We are in the midst of a battle here on earth, one of principalities and powers...we need to raise our children to be ready, and we need to be ready ourselves. On some level that sounds so lame. Really, as if this battle is about to take place, when in reality, the battle is on!! Please, if you wonder what the focus should be of your education, sit down and read this book. Too many of us have this idea that we should shelter our children and keep them innocent, and certainly I want my children to enjoy their childhoods as much as the next person, but Satan is not waiting. We homeschool to keep our children close to us, AND to spend every waking moment teaching them about their heavenly Father. We have witnessed families close to us losing their children to the world: to teen pregnancy, drugs, various addictions, and more. God entrusted us with raising our children to know HIM, not the world. But in order to live in this world, we definitely have to keep a mind on the next one! Focus on heaven, look to Christ, and follow God in every single step of your teaching. Children are such a tremendous blessing, do not risk losing them to the world: to Satan himself.

Along this same thought, I was questioning our sending our 2G16 to the United Kingdom this summer on a mission trip. Some, particularly the older generation, have questioned the validity of children on the mission field. We spent a great deal of time in prayer and bible study over the very idea of allowing our teenager to take on such a huge trip...but God is faithful. The Holy Spirit brought to my attention that although the Bible may not reference "little" missionaries, or children directly on the mission field. It certainly does highlight the influence of the little children. Who do we recall not only had the loaves and fishes, but freely gave them for use in the hands of Jesus??? Was it not a child? And when so many soldiers stood before Goliath and cowered, who stepped up boldly knowing that his slingshot was surely to be used by God??? It certainly was no adult. And why are we taught to have the faith of little children? Because they truly understand the wide open trust in their heavenly Father that we seem to lose as we are weighed down with the responsibilities of adulthood. We too, are to be as little children. I fervently pray that each of us humble ourselves and allow God to work from His position of heavenly Father in our lives. Turn it all back over to Him, He has promised to care for His children, He will, and He does.

Our daughter will be going into the mission field, as a student, learning more about what the work of a missionary truly entails. Will she witness? Oh, I pray she takes hold of any opportunity God may present to her. She has already come so far in terms of her faith, God supplied her funding three full months before the final payment was due. He has brought her to her knees before Him, strengthened her in Bible Study, and offered an example to our entire family of true faithfulness, an open heart, and willingness before God to go where ever He leads. I pray this trip will bring more answers for her as to exactly where God is calling her as she nears adulthood. And I pray that I will find the heart of a child within myself and fall on my knees before God each and every day, thanking Him for every tremendous blessing He bestows on this family...and continually asking for His guidance in the educating of them.

May you rise up and walk and talk and teach your children of God every single moment!! I'm in the trenches with you, loving every bit of it! God is so good.

I've begun another book, and this one is going to be interesting. "When You Rise Up: A Covenantal Approach to Homeschooling" by R.C. Sproul Jr. Thought I'd share with you the first of my thoughts.

I haven't taken the time to dig around html and do those little linkies, so you'll just have to look up the book on your own until I get to figuring that stuff out, sorry. I've barely begun this book and it is already making some very good points. So, it wastes no time in questioning exactly what we truly want to teach our children. We say we want to lead them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, but then...are we done? Do we throw up our hands the day they fully understand and say that special prayer to receive Christ into their hearts with excitement that our goal has been reached? I would hope not. And certainly, an education goes well beyond salvation, and yet, it is the most important goal, in my mind anyway. This book looks to delve further into truly "living" the life of homeschooling, and I hope to gain a better knowledge of our own plans and tactics to reach our children for the cause of Christ.

I love homeschooling. I love starting the day in Balancing the Sword and digging through the Bible with my 2G16, and undoubtedly learning new things right along with her. I love drawing out our timeline from the first day of Creation and working through the 6,000 years in the Mystery of History book, we are on book two this year. And Creation Science? What a blessing companies like Answers In Genesis and Wes Olson with Biology 101 have become for our family and the entire homeschooling world. Our library is overflowing these days with books on so many subject areas, we scarcely have time to read them all. We had started this homeschooling endeavor thinking we would be using the Robinson Curriculum, and so we own the CDs and read many of the books in his plan, but have not stuck to only his plan. Oh the great joy of working through bookkeeping because it was a job I held for a few years and could pass that knowledge onto my children. I wonder if I would have done so had they remained in public school, I doubt it. LIVING HOMESCHOOLING, what a concept. We continue using math manipulatives with 3B8 as our 2G16 works through her Geometry textbook, I'm so thankful this year we purchased a DVD tutor system with her math course! 3B8 takes to basic math computations easily enough, perhaps it is the autism tendencies, or maybe it is just his gifted area, we shall see. His work is getting progressively more difficult, although he is still delayed in many areas, we continue to trudge forward. His DESIRE for learning has increased, which is such a blessing all by itself. There is so much to do every day, every week...I don't want to lose sight of God's plan for our family, or His calling. I am hoping this book, and more prayer and research, will help me continue forward teaching for God, with an urgency for His kingdom, rather than my own. Worldly needs and dreams can so easily drag us down, I have to remind myself to keep looking up so that we stay on track at the task at hand...

So how is your teaching going these days? Have you switched curriculum that wasn't working? Or ended up bogged down in the same old rut rather than taking advantage of the very heart of homeschooling: the ability to drop what is not working and move on to better things if necessary!! I urge you to go to God in prayer and stay focused on your family and His desire for you! What the Jones' down the street are doing is not your goal, neither is that which your friends and family urge you toward. Staying within necessary requirements and discovering the gifts of your children by thoroughly educating them in all areas will build a complete education. God's calling is what will lead your family to success. He has made your children, placed them into your home, with your gifts and challenges, and He will guide you to the right methods and materials to educate His children. Be faithful!! He is!

Over the last few days I have completed a few reviews and a couple of them have really gotten me to thinking how similar individuals can be to curriculum products. I know, it's a little strange, but follow my thoughts....

One item was very well packaged, it had the bells and whistles for looks, beautiful CD-roms with full color detail, several books each printed with fantastic glossy paper and in full color, supplemental materials that children would enjoy playing with and would help keep their attention, and all with a price tag at the top end of most curriculum budgets, but....then there were the typos, my goodness were there typos, an unbelievable amount of typos, and the stories didn't work-they didn't match up/read well/or even do the job they were intended to do, there was no use of the Bible at all, and did I mention typos? I wondered how the product ever made it past a publisher in any form. But dad gum it, it sure did look good!!

Then the other item, with a fairly low price, no bells and whistles, all contained in one simple book with beautifully printed illustrations, a wonderful story line, one simple CD containing the entire book read aloud and songs, with so many possibilities for its use beyond the intended simple reading of a good book. It was simple, but had so many options for its use. It will be used even beyond its intended quality reading and use of the imagination.

The first curriculum I'm not going to name, but it was disappointing. Just remember any time you consider a curricululm regarding teaching Character traits to your children to be sure to use something that is based on the Bible and stands on God and Jesus Christ as our perfect example of good character. It made me think of the people I have come across over the years who really looked like they had it all together, when they didn't...at all. Funny how I could see a type of person in a curriculum resource. Some things in life come packaged so perfectly, we think we will find what we need in them if they look good, if they are printed well, or worse, if we simply trust what we are told by the maker of the item.

The second curriculum item was a book called "I Can't See, But...I Can Imagine" by Patricia Bennett Wilson and it was beautiful. (www.icantseebuticanimagine.com) This book includes the entire book read on a CD with songs that are an integral part of the story itself. In an effort to reserve the memory and songwriting gifts of her grandmother, the author wrote the book around five songs her grandmother wrote for the grandchildren more than fifty years ago. There wasn't much to it, but it included encouragement from the author to have children use their own imaginations and even act out some of the songs or sing along with the CD AND the CD included the songs without vocals so that children could do just that!! So awesome. While listening, our family saw wonderful opportunities in playing out the songs and their stories. Dressing up as a frog and tad was only one great way to use our imaginations. Each song held at least one way to act out a little program in the midst of your living room, and our family will come up with many ways to run with our own imaginations as the author encourages us to do.

A simple book, one little item written with a full heart of love in an effort to help others use what they already have, an imagination. Such a great gift from God!! The cost wasn't great, a mere 10% of the high cost of the huge curriculum that looked so wonderful. And yet we can turn it into a grand series of plays and skits as my children sing till their hearts are content, and mine will be too. I pictured some of the more frail women of my church family, those who have reached out in seemingly small ways to those around them with words of encouragement or small acts of kindness. People so often overlooked or ignored, those who may not dress as well or present themselves in physical grandeur...what a gift they really are, regardless of packaging. Sometimes they can be our most precious gifts and resources and contain so much more than we could ever imagine.

As usual, I am rambling, nothing new. But I wanted to share a few of my crazy thoughts and remind us to look beyond the packaging, when choosing curriculum AND people to share our lives with...there are so many options,

Look within the heart and soul, look closely, and never choose a book by its cover alone.

Do you have a book that has made a lasting impression on you recently?

I am so ready for school to get back into full swing. We have been so busy and bogged down with this entire basement mess that it has been hard to be excited about much of anything. We have continued some schooling projects all summer, but full swing will begin September 10th and I can hardly wait. Back into daily work with Balancing the Sword and Mystery of History, those are easily our favorites. And we will be checking out TeachTown for 3B8, the computer program designed for autistics. We'll see how that goes during their one month trial and go from there. I am feeling much more organized for some reason this year, ready to balance working with 2G15 while I have 3B8 set up with an activity and vice versa. Wow, I do so love homeschooling! What a blessing to watch our children learn every day. God is Good, I know He is teaching our whole family through schooling.

I am so ready for vacation. I'm already packing and we don't leave for another week and a half! Crazy, I know, but I couldn't help myself. I have a little pile of snacks ready to go for the drive. I've bagged the swimsuits and swim shoes and another bag for beach towels. I even bagged light jackets for everyone, Colorado tends to cool off at night much more than Oklahoma. I'm still organizing activities to keep the boys busy in the car and in quiet times in the hotel in the evening after all of the visiting. I wish the circumstances for the trip were better, but I plan to make the best of things and enjoy as much as we possibly can. God is Faithful, I know the trip is in His hands.

I am so ready to hear real news on my MIL. We really don't know much of anything right now, other than that she has a brain tumor. I am hoping to lock down what we really should expect once we are there visiting. They have cancelled a knee surgery for her because the doctor handling the brain tumor told the doctor who would have handled the knee surgery that they would not know how anesthesia would effect the brain tumor. So she will continue with pain in her knees and difficulty walking. The stroke back in October was definitely from the brain tumor, and I am fairly certain she has known since that time that she had the brain tumor and didn't want to worry everyone. I pray for answers during our visit, but most importantly, for an enjoyable visit and memorable moments for my children. God is Love, He knows what we can endure.

So, what are you "SO READY" for this August???

I've been tagged.
TAG RULES:
1. All right, here are the rules.
2. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
3. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
4. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight
things and post these rules.
5. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged
and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read
your blog.

1) This is the first time I've ever been tagged officially on my blog! I don't keep up well enough on my blog, but I do love to write, although not always very well. In high school, I regularly wrote poetry.

2) I am one of four children, the third in the family of three girls and one boy.

3) I have five children and have recently discovered in just the last few years the joy of trusting God completely about our fertility, or any lack thereof.

4) I can't dance, at all, and attended dances in high school but danced only once.

5) Home improvement projects are very enjoyable for me. I love to paint and do minor fix up jobs. I hate that there are some jobs that I am simply not physically strong enough to do. Luckily, my hubby doesn't mind stepping in to help me.

6) Singing is a gift I have, I don't consider it a grand one, but I'm able to sing well enough for church solos and special events, not that I enjoy singing at funerals, but weddings are good, and I've done both.

7) I've run a daycare home for a total of fifteen years over the last 21 years of my marriage and was even the President of a large county family child care association and Secretary of the state family child care association when we lived in Colorado. I have since closed and am currently a SAHM and home school teacher.

8) I have a weakness for those little packaged apple pies from Hostess and such, unfortunately for my waistline my husband works for the company and can bring them home for me!! I'm trying very hard to quit wanting to eat them. He thinks he's being so nice when he brings them home, it's almost cute.

OK, so those are my random pieces of information. Sorry I couldn't do better, but it's one of those brain block kind of evenings for me. :-)  Now, who to tag: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/TNMOMTOMANYBLESSINGS/, http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/quietcajun/, http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Heidistjohn/, http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Sweetie/, http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Emily23/, http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/JacqueDixonSoulRestES/, http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/solidrockhomeschool/

I tried to browse and make sure none of you had already been asked to do this. I completely understand if you choose not to complete this tag, I passed it along for fun. I look forward to seeing some info about each of you!! I hope the summer is closing beautifully for everyone.

Please, if anyone has some informed Biblical opinion regarding having children, or more importantly, stopping yourself from having children, I could use some help.  We are on our fifth child, spread out after years of using various methods of family planning, and we have extended family members that are really becoming difficult about whether or not we plan to "stop after this child" for the sake of financial responsibility or the chance that something could happen to one of us and then all these kids won't have anyone.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  I don't want to end up in a huge fight over this, but I do believe God is telling us to trust Him in this area.

Baby number five is being formed as I write this...what a wonderful Blessing from God!!  We are all thrilled at this new gift.  By the time the baby arrives next April, my children will be 19, 15, 8, and just turning 2, plus the newborn!  What fun this will be, in a crazy sort of way.  God is blessing our little family, I feel so truly lucky to be carrying another of God's children once again.  The whole family was thrilled and is already discussing baby names!

WARNING:  The following blog entry may be too direct for some readers, read with caution.

So we have to comment on how we reached this point...you know, having children when I'm nearing 40 (almost 39 actually) and while we have some already growing up and planning their adult lives already.  Add to that the fact that we have at least one child with special needs, some may wonder why on earth we would get pregnant again!  I must answer this question as straight forwardly as possible:  God thought we needed another one!!  We have come to the point in our lives where we are completely turning our fertility over to God, trusting that He knows exactly what this family needs, and that He will do as He so desires in our lives.  Faith.

After years of attempting to control this area in our lives through various methods of contraception and the lack thereof, we have found that God will do what He wants to do regardless of our actions.  We have become pregnant while using "protection".  We have had years go by while using no "protection" without any pregnancy, particularly during a time when I was told that I was menopausal and it was very doubtful I would ever become pregnant again.  We even had some fertility assistance at one point when told it was our only option if we ever wanted any more children.  I might add that we had two more children years after the "assisted" pregnancy that was supposedly so near impossible.  Through more recent events that I won't bother going into here, we have finally realized that we should have been trusting God all along.  It is HE who creates our children, it is HE who built our marriage, it is HE whom we follow and therefore we should trust His plan in our lives.

And so for some thought (and a little sarcasm):

What about Abraham and Sarah?  My goodness, they had years with no children.  I suppose the condom bills must have been absolutely horrendous!!  Or perhaps it was the birth control pills, I'm sure Sarah was tired of the annual doctor visits in order to stay on those annoying little things.  Or how about this idea?  Maybe they just never had sex!?!?  Could  that have been it?  I think not.  They did not conceive because GOD chose to keep conception from them.  And yes, I believe that HE is the same God today as He was yesterday, all the way back to the days of Abraham.  And how sad that today we still feel led to control our child bearing situations with major medical treatments and procedures just as Sarah attempted to change her child bearing situation by adding a handmaiden for her husband.  I know, plenty could disagree with the extreme nature of this thought, but what else was available to her???  Our times have changed, certainly our methods, but our meddling has not.

How about Hannah and the birth of Samuel?  What a wonderful blessing he was for her, and for all of us.  Perhaps the years without conception were a time of learning and growing for her that took her to the place of turning her son over to her God and Father?  Are we willing to accept that God had a plan for her life, even through the years of no children?  That it was all in His control and His timing?  I believe it.

I should mention there are many fantastic large families and remind us of the significance of families like the twelve tribes of Israel, in more recent years individuals like Benjamin Franklin, who was the fifteenth child in his family, or all the many positives of being a part of a large family and all of the cooperative learning and fellowship that takes place in a positive, God-fearing family blessed with many children.

I think most of us know that there is a down side to contraception.  Condoms and the birth control pill have allowed for increased promiscuity and rampant adultery in our country.  More important to me is my own marital relationship and it's calling before God.  Our marriage bed should be a haven for us both, stopping to deal with a condom wrapper is a nuisance and mood dampener at the minimum!!  How about those thermometers for fertility?  Having your spouse counting the available hours to "get to it" certainly does tend to decrease the spontaneity that I believe every marriage should thrive on in their sex life!  I just wish we could all get back to trusting GOD, wasn't that what we were supposed to be doing all along?  When did we decide that WE should be in control of our families?  God was supposed to be in control.  I enjoy that our marriage bed is a place of acceptance, no expectations, and loving warmth whenever we so desire it to be.  I hope that more families will come to the realization that God is in control in their lives and their Faith should be trusted so much more than any of man's contraptions and attempts at control in any area of our lives.

Psalm 127:3 "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is His reward."

Just my thoughts, don't be offended.  We support large families, God's blessings, teaching our children the Bible, and trusting God in our lives.  We are truly thrilled to be pregnant again!!  I hope your schooling year is beginning beautifully.  Ours, now has an additional class:  Pregnancy and your growing sibling!!!

Just had a little thought, when all else fails, take something off the shelf.  I know that many of us have accumulated homeschool materials, games, great books, curriculum, etc., sometimes we just need to take something off of the shelf!  When you are having a rainy day, out of motivation, the kids are grumbly and want something new to do....take something off of the shelf.  Having things packed away in a cupboard or cabinet, doesn't do a thing for learning every day.  We have made the habit of putting something out on the table for a week at a time.  A different game, a stack of a series of books, a few unused workbooks, whatever!  Having something right there and available can make all the difference in the world for really getting things done and accomplishing more activities.  Try it, it might work.  Praying everyone is having a good week!