Nov. 13, 2008 - Parial Birth Abortion
Yes, I have heard the term, a lot actually. But, I never really knew the details of this. I wish I was still in the dark about it. Then again, perhaps with children approaching the teens maybe we should all know the terminology, the know how, the how, what, when and why when it comes to their decisions.
The very thought of partial birth abortion makes me feel that it is evil through and through. There is no way that it can be okay, under any circumstances. I just can't see it.
Because of the fact that this has been on my mind I wanted to share a great site that gave me some great matter of fact information about abortion. What I really loved was that the site focuses on adoption which is close to my heart.
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Nov. 6, 2008 - When I said slow down, I never knew how slow it would go!
Several years ago I had a dear friend who called one day and asked how I was. I was sick so I told her the truth. She said "you know, sometimes, the Lord can put such an obstacle in your way so that you learn to slow down". I don't know about the Lord doing it but I know that my body gives me a swift kick at times and it did it this week. Really, it was quite unnecessary for my butt to take matters into it's own hands considering that I had already decided to slow down.
But then came election day. We did a full day of school and I cooked all day long preparing for a party the next day. Then I thought I would ask my brother over to watch the election news and stuff throughout the evening. He was game. Then, when he came at 4:30 pm we decided to invite another brother and my mother. Then my husband came home. I made Mexican food and snacks for everyone and we stayed up until Obama gave his speech. I did not fall into bed until late and then it took forever to get to sleep. The following morning we had to get up at 6:30 am to get across town for another school activity. This would be when I started getting really sick.
I have been in bed for the most part since then. Stupid me. I thought I was going to slow down, I knew we needed to. Then I didn't do what I knew was right and look where it got me!
Not that anyone cares about a blow by blow of my daily routine, I am just proving a point. Take care of yourself or your body (or maybe the Lord) will make you take care! And to think we have another school party tomorrow! Oy!
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Nov. 3, 2008 - Slowing Down
I am possibly the most impatient person on the planet. Odd that I would choose to homeschool but it works for us. It must be by some cosmic force that we are all alive today! My problem is not just impatience with people but that I am ALWAYS in a hurry! It doesn't matter what we are doing, I am telling the family to "hurry up".
This week I have decided that it's okay if it takes five extra minutes to get out the door or to get a meal on the table. I have decided to have a short term goal of one week of taking things more slowly. This will not mean that we move like snails but bring things back to a normal pace.
My reason for this is partly selfish as I suffer from tension and migraine headaches and my lifestyle plays a huge role in these things. I have gotten to where I am great about my diet and pretty good about exercise and know that these things make me feel better. I am hoping that slowing down and just choosing to be more relaxed will have the same effect on me as food and exercise.
I'll have to blog next week and let you know how it goes!
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Oct. 30, 2008 - A relief and a worry, all wrapped up in one package.
My husband's company had a 25% reduction in force today. My husband was spared. My joy today comes from the fact that he has managed to escape another phase of lay offs.
My worries are wrapped up in this same thing that brings me joy at the moment. I am panicked. So sick inside with worry that it physically hurts. I know that somehow things will work out, even if it doesn't happen in the way that we would like.
My children are healthy and happy. My marriage is in a good place right now and we are trying to do a lot of things right. I just hope that if the bottom falls out financially that I can make the choice to endure it well and with grace. I hope that I can show my children that they do not need to curl up in a ball and worry but to be happy and have a good time just being together as a family. That is what is most important.
Just typing that last paragraph made me feel like I may be able to sleep tonight.
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Oct. 24, 2008 - Get Closer, Not Louder
This "Get closer, not louder" is not my own quote. I found it on another blog but it didn't really belong to that author either. Anyway, I love this thought. I spend so much time and effort yelling across the house or whistling to get people's attention. It would be better if I moved and went closer to the children and spoke in a softer tone. I think that almost immediately we will see a difference in the atmosphere of our home. I can't wait to try this tomorrow!
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Oct. 19, 2008 - Excitement for the new week.
I am enjoying my kids so much right now. I struggle with my toddler but this has been the case with every child. Toddlers are the cutest but in my mind, the most work and worry.
Anyway, I have some things planned for my kids this week that I am truly thrilled about. I hope that they feel the same way.
Hope you all have a great week!
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Oct. 18, 2008 - Most enjoyable Saturday
We spent a lovely afternoon at my father's house. I had my niece with me and my family, my older brother was there as well as my dad's wife. It was fun. We barbequed and visited for hours. It was relaxing and the kids were so happy there. Life should be made up of more days like this!
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Oct. 17, 2008 - I see a pattern forming here!
While reviewing a few old posts to check for comments I noticed that I had quite negative air to my blog which in contrary to the title. Yikes!
It could be that I blog when I have a lot weighing on my mind. Not always the best time. I apologize for coming off as negative. Really I am a very happy person.
My kids are all getting settled and it's an hour later than usual for them. Their cousin is sleeping over and that always causes big excitement. I'm so glad that the kids all have each other and that they are so close. It means the world to me and I hope it never changes.
I love the sounds of happy and safe children!
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Oct. 15, 2008 - Use the good silver everyday!
My husband's grandmother had the same silver that my grandmother had. I thought that was the greatest thing when I found out. The difference is my grandmother saved the silver for special occasions. My husband's grandmother used her silver as her everyday silverware. I so admire that.
Now that I have inherited my husband's grandmothers silver I am contemplating breaking it out and using it as my everyday silverware. Those small things can help make ordinary things like breakfast seem like a real treat. Shouldn't we seize the day and make it a special event instead of waiting for an event to happen that we deem worthy of celebration.
Yeah, I just totally convinced myself to break out the silver. While I'm at it, the china is getting used once per week as well. The kids well love that.
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Oct. 14, 2008 - How I wish I could void 5 minutes of yesterday!
I completely lost it yesterday over an accident that happened in our house. It was cause by poor planning, stupidity (on the part of the adults in our home), and an unattended to two year old. Not a good mix.
Those five minutes that I blew a fuse took a considerable amount of joy out of our day. We did recover for the moment but I'm sure that no one will forget my behavior anytime soon and I sure hope that no one decides to reenact that pathetic display of rage.
As the evening came around we had a lovely night as a family making Columbus Day crafts, charting maps or his journey, coloring, making ships and more. Then we took Halloween decorated cupcakes to our new neighbors on both sides of us. We know the kids that live in one of the homes and are so glad that they live here. The ages of their children line up perfectly with our children and they all have such a great time together. We visited the neighbors we hadn't met and found that they have a five year old girl (perfect for my girl to play with) and a 7 year old boy (which my 10 year old will actually love playing with. Luckily Lego's and Star Wars have no age limit and bridge the gap when necessary!
We then came home and had our cupcakes and got settled in bed. It was a happy ending to a tumultuous day. Thank goodness we recovered quickly.
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Oct. 9, 2008 - Humor me, I need to think this through.
My mind is racing with all the things that I am trying to take on right now. I thought there wasn't a better place to sort out what my mind is doing and to put things in black and white so that maybe they would seem less stressful.
The things that I have in the works right now:
Potty training a two year old
Moving in
Landscaping
Lots of household repairs
Teaching piano lessons
Attending real estate school
Homeschooling three kids
Chasing a two year old
Helping my sons with their Scouting goals
Being a Girl Scout Leader for my daughter's age group
Keeping up my blogs
Keeping up and continuing to expand many websites
Being married (right now that seems easy but it isn't always of course)
Helping extended family
Taking children to dance classes, guitar lessons, technology class and fitness fun
For the next week I am also trying to handle my mother's business while she is out of town.
I think that I jsut needed to see the list. It really isn't as bad as I thought and when I mark it out on a calendar it helps even more. I do have days that I have reserved for no extra curricular activities. I don't really consider my family or my extended family as a "to do" list or a "job". They are who I want to spend my time with first and foremost.
Perhaps the bottom line is that in the wee hours we all start to feel like our load may be overwhelming. It is good sometimes to make an actual list of what you are up to. This can cause you to reflect and either omit things from the list of life or to come to the realization that maybe you could be doing more either for yourself or others.
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Oct. 7, 2008 - Trying to fit everything into a day!
Lately I am struggling with fitting all the subjects the children should be covering into one day. I know that I stress more than needed but I hate feeling behind. It is just my personality. I love to be able to freely take time off without any stress which in my mind means that when we are really focusing on school, we need to stay on task.
During these times it is harder than ever to remember to find the joy in this journey. Today as I played a few songs on my wonderful piano my toddler was right by me dancing her heart out. She is so expressive in dancing. The thought that came to my mind is that "one day I will look back and miss this so much". I hope that I can cherish it all while I am here, in this day. I hope that I can somehow quit wishing certain "phases" away and embrace them as part of the journey. I know that no matter what a parent does we will look back and want to do it over or to go back and cherish it even more. I just don't want to regret not being in the here and now, even if the phase is driving me crazy.
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Sep. 28, 2008 - Finding Joy is Hard Sometimes
For anyone who reads here you know that I am not a perma cheer person. I have my moments and usually vent on my blogs. The title of this blog "Joy in the Journey" is what inspired this post.
I was without internet for the past few days and believe me that was not fun. Besides that we moved and we left a lovely home behind. We have more space now but I am fighting so many anxieties about this home. It doesn't feel as safe. It smells of cigarette smoke so much and we are not smokers. The yard is not perfect for my kids yet. The list goes on and on. I have really been having a pity party all by myself. Then of course at midnight last night I woke my DH from his sleep after a day of heavy lifting (our whole house contents) and unloaded on him as well.
What would be good to know is: Where did my joy in this journey go? When will I get it back? How do I get it back?
I am going to ponder this and if I come up with anything brilliant I will share it with you!
If you have any ideas, please share!
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Sep. 23, 2008 - Not as much getting done as I had hoped.
Here I had such high hopes that I could move and keep everything going as usual with school. I guess now would be a great time to mention that I am Queen of the "Unreachable Goals" kingdom! Luckily we were ahead of the game with progress so no harm done. I just love it when we are into our routine and don't stray too much.
The greatest thing is that the kids are learning regardless. I can't tell you how many hours have been spent reading at our house in the last few days. Also, my 10 year old decided to write a novel so he is working on that. Anyway with a 10 year old son knows that it is not always easy to get them to write anything! YEAH!
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Sep. 22, 2008 - Over scheduled?
Are your children over scheduled?
My kids do their full day of school and practice the guitar everyday. They also practice keyboarding for 30 minutes per day because they are part of a "technology club". Once in a while they do a park day with other homeschool children and we have a lot of family get togethers that take up our evenings and weekends. Then in the spring they usually play at least one sport.
Now my five year old daughter wants dance classes. I know that she is entitled and I want them for her but I see my life spinning out of control. I'm sure that within a year or two my main vehicle will need to be a motorhome so that while transporting the children to one thing or the other I can fix meals and potty train. Wouldn't a motorhome be the ultimate carpooling machine? We really need a fuel efficient motorhome design or I'm going to sink!
My daughter will get her dance lessons. I will start teaching piano again. My kids will keep up their clubs and guitar. I will be starting a chess club.
I am starting to doubt the wisdom in taking on and enrolling in so much. It seems that it all takes us away from what really matters. I'm all for activities and enrichment but I am struggling with where to draw the line.
How do you do it? How do you find balance?
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Sep. 21, 2008 - The children.
My children have been amazing. We have been moving around a lot lately and their positive attitude and ability to "find joy in the journey" is something I truly love about them. They are all optimistic and excited. How did we get so lucky.
Today they were all out taking care of the yard, getting it ready for us to vacate our home and leave it beautiful for the next person. I am really weird about this particular thing and take pride in leaving our homes perfect. It's so sad that we rarely get to move into anything that we don't have to clean first. Still, the kids were having fun getting into it.
Another things that I loved was that my husband handed my kids boxes and told them to fill them with things from their rooms. Sure enough they loaded almost a dozen boxes and tubs with things. All they left were their clothes and beds. They are so capable and I loved my husband for giving them the room to prove it! They were so proud of themselves.
Here is hoping that the rest of the week goes as well as today!
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Sep. 20, 2008 - Co-op fun
A few years ago I had a lady in my neighborhood who loved to get the kids together in the neighborhood and put on plays during the summer. It was just something she enjoyed and it was such a great enrichment activity for the children that were able to attend. She inspired me and I wanted to do something that helped to make them well rounded as well.
I contacted Kids for Saving Earth. They sent me a whole packet full of goodies and ideas on how to get started. It was a wonderful thing to see our children take an interest in the planet that we are all responsible for. It was fun to start composting, even on a small scale. It was fun to learn about recycling.
I just wanted to pass this idea by for anyone looking for ideas on what you can do if you get a few homeschool families together. The opportunities are limiteless.
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Sep. 18, 2008 - I'm on a recipe kick!
So, I've been going through all of my recipes and just had to share a few here and there. On this post I want to share this great chicken enchilada recipe. I am all about the Mexican food and always add extra stuff, it's fool proof and fun to play with. Hope you like it.
Chicken Enchiladas
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Instructions
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1)
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Combine chicken, soup, sour cream, chili peppers andd mushrooms in saucepan and heat warm (not hot). Fry the tortillas in cooking oil very slightly, just until they soften and then drain the oil off of them well. Fill each tortilla with approximately 2 to 3 tablespoons of chicken mixture and place them side by side in a pan. Pour remaining chicken mixture over the enchiladas and spread it evenly. Now sprinkle the cheese on top and then the green onion over the cheese.
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2)
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Bake in 400 oven for 20 minutes, until cheese is melted, and they are hot throughout.
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3)
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I have never used the chopped mushrooms but I do put a bit of cream of chicken soup in because they seemed dry to me. I would also suggest adding salsa, red pepper flakes or some hot sauce just to add some "bam" factor.
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4)
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These are good done ahead of time and then just put in the oven when you are ready to use them.
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Recipe Origin
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Kathy Murphy (Ascension Luthern Church in S.D.)
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Sep. 17, 2008 - My fathers wife.
My mom and dad got divorced about six years ago. I was about 27 and had three kids. I also miscarried on the day that my mother moved herself out of the house. Not my best memory.
Fast forward a bit and my dad has remarried and they have been together for a few years now. She is a nice lady, "pleasant" is the word I would use. What amazes me is that she loves to craft and put together little token treats for people.
Today Dad and wife stopped by with a cute basket lined in red fabric that was filled with apple juice boxes, little things of caramel dip and apples. They also had a notebook and pencil for each child. These are things I can totally appreciate as we always need food, who doesn't. Also, children of all ages go through a lot of paper and pencils. Notebooks and pencils are always a blessing here.
I am amazed at her ability to get creative and to think of little things to do for others. This month, it wasn't so little but it was thoughtful and fun. It's nice of her to put so much effort into her relationship with our family.
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Sep. 16, 2008 - To have cable, or not to have cable.
As we prepare for our move I have had to switch over utilites, phone, electric, cable and internet. We spent a lot of years without cable and each time I change providers or move I revisit the idea of being without cable. There is a lot of peace that comes with not having cable.
Then I go to the fact that there are so many wonderful things on that help to enhance our school days. PBS has virtual field trips and Discovery Kids has quite a few programs that my children love. In between there are the shows for fun that I will admit to using as a babysitter for a while here and there.
The bottom line is that I, for selfish reasons, like having cable. I don't want to be without House or Boston Legal for the winter. Yes, I know these aren't the most family shows and my children never watch or even hear them if I can help it. Still, I don't want to go without my few shows. The problem that comes then is that I have to be very vigilant in being aware of what the children watch and what they are exposed to. Even with parental controls and channel blocks, it is scary. I don't even like everything that the Disney Channel plays.
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