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"The sweetest part, if on may speak of one part being sweeter than another , is the rest which full identification with Christ brings. I am no longer anxious about anything, as I realize this; for He, I know, is able to carry out His will, and His will is mine. It makes no matter where He places me , or how. That is rather for Him to consider than for me; for in the easiest position He must give me His grace, and in the most difficult His grace is sufficient. It little matters to my servant whether I send him to buy a few cash worth of things, or the most expensive articles. In either case he looks to me for the money and brings me his purchases. So, if God should place me in serious perplexity, must He not give me much guidance; in positions of great difficulty, much grace; in circumstances of great pressure and trial, much strength? No fear that resources will prove unequal to the emergency! And His resources are mine, for He is mine, and is with me and dwells in me" (From the book : Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret) Read through that again and really try to digest it. Oh how sweet it would be to come to the point in my own life where I am no longer anxious about anything because I realize that the Lord is able to carry out His will and HIS WILL IS MINE. That I could come to the place where I don't care where he places me or how, because His grace is sufficient. I need to think of it this way: I am His servant; I am on the King's errand today and He will supply for me whatever I need: grace, strength,guidance, any resource I need for whatever He brings into my day. He is mine and is with me and dwells in me. I pray I will remember this as I go throughout my day! ... and you too! Pam |
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Everyone has trials some bigger than others. My trials this week would probably be classified as small but I have family members who are going through major trials and I have been so blessed by their response to them. They aren't emotionless and stoic. They hurt and grieve but in the midst of it all there is a deep abiding trust in the Lord. When I read this devotional this morning I thought of them: "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous" (Hebrews 10:11a). You will be prepared, but never pierced, by the nail-pierced Hand. "Sufferings are for chastening (child-training). And chastening is from love, a token of our Father's care. We live in a world full of trial and suffering.... Every trial comes from the Father as a call to come away from the world to Him, to trust Him, to believe in His love. In every trial He will give strength and blessing. Let but this truth be accepted, in each trial, small or great; first of all and at once, recognize the Father's hand in it. Say at once, I welcome it from Him; my first care is to glorify my Father–He will use it all for my good." "Do not be afraid of the Father's training school. He both knows His scholars, as to what they are, and He knows for what service they are to be fitted. A jeweler will take more pains over a gem than over a piece of glass; but the one he takes most pains over is longest under discipline and most severely dealt with. Once finished, however, the burnish never tarnishes, the brightness never dims. So with us. If we are placed, at times, as in a furnace, it is not merely for earthly service, but for eternity. May you so appreciate the plans of your Father that you can triumphantly glory in the love that subjects you to such discipline, though the trial itself be sharp and to the flesh hard to bear." -J.H.T. "Nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them who are exercised by it" (Hebrews 12:11b). From None but the Hungry Heart #9-20 compiled by Miles Stanford |
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How exciting it was to be able to be there for Chloe Haven’s birth!! Here is the story of how that happened. Mark and I had bought tickets for a few days after Grace’s due date ( Aug 16) . We arrived in SD on Saturday, August 22. Grace was very ready to have the baby but not much was happening. Mark and I left Sunday after church to drive to Jordan’s parent’s home 6 hours away. We visited with them Sunday and Monday. Monday Grace went to see the midwife and she stripped her membranes. She said Grace was about 2cm dilated, 80% effaced and 0 station. By that night, Grace was feeling kind of crampy and wanted me to come back. Jordan’s sister was heading that way so I rode back with her. So I traveled 12 hours on Saturday, 6 hours Sunday and 6 hours Monday. Whew!! Nothing happened that night but I was glad to be close by. Tuesday we walked a lot and later in the day Grace tried castor oil. It did what it was suppose to do but didn’t really help get labor started. Wednesday we walked some more and she had some light contractions but not painful. Thursday the midwife visited and checked Grace. She was a little more dilated, 100% effaced, and at 2+ station. The midwife said it wouldn’t be long. After she left we went to the mall to walk around. The contractions got more regular but weren’t too painful. Finally around 9PM the contractions started to get more painful and were regular. I decided to rest until things got going. Around 11:30 I heard Jordan calling the midwife so I got up. The midwife didn’t get there until around 1 AM .She checked Grace and said she was making progress but it would be a while. She got everything set up and said everyone should try to get rest. She and her assistant went to sleep and I tried to. Grace and Jordan were in the living room but they weren’t getting any sleep.  Around 3 AM I heard Grace throwing up so I got up and this time I stayed up. Grace’s contractions were getting more painful so I suggested she get in the pool. She really liked the pool and stayed there most of the labor. Grace worked hard all night, mostly staying on her knees in the pool with her arms hanging over the side of the pool. I felt so bad for her because I knew she was tired and nauseous at times and in pain. It was hard to stay in the room and at times I left to pray and regroup. Grace and Jordan mentioned several times how they were glad I was there. That made it worth it. It would have been so much easier to have just arrived after the labor and delivery.  The rest of labor was kind of a blur. I know several times Grace was really getting tired and the midwife had us all gather around and pray for her. It was so good to have a Christian midwife. Grace had to get out of the pool to get checked a couple of times and go to the restroom but besides that she stayed in the pool. Finally around 1 PM Friday Grace got out of the pool and got in the bed to get checked. The midwife said she was completely dilated except for an anterior lip. Once that was out of the way Grace was ready to push. She only pushed for 21 minutes. At 1:36 Chloe was born!!  When Chloe was born Grace, Jordan, and I all started crying and laughing and crying some more. It was so special to be there for her birth, to know that all the hard work Grace had done was over and here was this precious baby girl. Jordan was the first to yell out “It’s a girl!” As soon as I saw she was healthy and doing well I started making phone calls. Mark was just around the corner waiting for my call. The girls were in KY trying to wait patiently. It was so much fun to call everyone and tell them the good news. I had been updating mine and Grace’s Facebook pages all day so that was my next thing to do.   Chloe was a champion nurser from the start. The midwife had had Grace wear nipple shields since the 36th week. I think it really helped Grace with nursing and not getting super sore. Grace only had a 1st degree tear so she wasn’t as sore as I remember being after my first birth with a 3degree tear. The midwife made sure Grace exercised at least 40 minutes a day during her pregnancy. I think that really helped her endure the long labor.  I really enjoyed staying for a week after Chloe’s birth. I loved to go in and steal her early in the morning and keep her until Grace woke up. Chloe and I loved rocking and snuggling. I even got to help sometimes at night when Grace was tired and Chloe was cranky. It sure was hard to leave my girls in South Dakota. I can’t wait until we can see them again in November until then I am so thankful for computers and cell phones with cameras. Maybe a webcam will be a good Christmas present. |
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How many of you want to be weak? Our culture/world views weakness as something not good. No one wants weak tea or coffee. No one wants to be the weak player on the team. But did you know that the Bible says that weakness is good.
Read II Corinthians 12:1-10
Paul had a reason to think of himself as special - caught up to heaven and given special revelations.
But God made sure that Paul would remain humble. A "thorn in the flesh" came into his life, a messenger from Satan. This could have been a physical ailment, maybe false teachers, or even division in the church. Notice that even though it was from Satan, it was part of the direct purpose of God. Paul prayed for relief but this was not in God's purpose and plan. Paul found himself in a situation that was testing him significantly. Have you ever found yourself in that place?
"my grace is sufficient for you" God is the source of grace. Grace is God's favor on His children which expresses itself as the sufficient supply/resource for the need. Hebrews 4:16 It is sufficient, all you need.
"power is perfected in weakness" Perfected carries the idea of fulfilled or realized. Paul boasts in his weakness. When we experience situations that reveal how weak we are, it opens the door for the power of God to be demonstrated.
"so that the power of Christ may dwell in me"
The Christian walk is to be one of complete weakness. Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:2-4
Weakness brings dependence, trust, reliance. We do not live for God, Christ lives in us and through us. He does not help us. He is the very life in us.
God's desire is not for relief but for resilience, perserverance. When we see our weakness and Christ's sufficiency in us, then we can rely on Him, and His power and life will be manifested. Weakness becomes strength.
"well content"
Paul saw the purpose that God had in these things that would expose his need. He was content with them because God could use them powerfully in him. Are we ready to be content in things that expose our weakness? If we do it can be the stimulus, the avenue for the power of the life of Christ to be revealed in us.
This is a devotional email from my husband, Mark. If you would like to be put on a list to recieve them, just let me know. |
Posted in Bible Bee
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Here are three videos of verses. We used a Karaoke machine that someone generously loaned us. My friend, Misti, got a kid's CD to go with the machine and I put the verses to the songs. We have Romans 5:7-8 to Bingo, I John 4:14-15 to Grand Ol' Flag, and Romans 10:10-11 to Farmer in the Dell. Be aware that this is not official Bible Bee material. It is taken from their Bible verse cards. |
Posted in Bible Bee
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We are working on Bible Bee material daily. There is so much to learn! It is very challenging. I am trying to come up with ideas of how to best memorize the verses and other material. I learn better when I see and hear and interact with things so I am trying to do that for the kids as we study. Here are some of the things we have done to learn the Bible verses:
*Writing the verse on a chalkboard or dry erase board and erasing a couple of words at a time and trying to say the verse.
* Making up signs for a verse using American Sign Language or just some made up signs.
* Make up a slap-clap to a verse( see example video).
*Make a rebus of the verse.
*We have posted the verses for the day by the kitchen sink and in the bathroom.
*We are meeting on Wednesday nights to go over material and encourage the kids. Last week, we had all the kids try to put a verse to a song they knew. They did a good job and it was fun. Here are some ideas:Romans 12:2 to Old McDonald had a Farm,Isaiah 26: 3-4 to Mary Had a Little Lamb,John 1:1-2 to Yankee Doodle, Psalm 34:4-5 to Amazing Grace.Sometimes even if the songs are not that good the child still learned the verse while trying to make it a song.
*This week the homework is to draw a picture of a verse and try to incorporate the verse reference. As an illustration, I drew a picture of a thief with a shirt on that said his name was "John". He was carrying a "10-10 " rifle ( I know there is no such thing but it gets the point across) The thief was saying, " I come only to steal and kill and destroy." Then on the other half of the paper Jesus said " I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
* I made up some online games to review the Bible Knowledge Quiz Cards:
Thanks Misti for helping me with the videos. http://elearning-games.umcrookston.edu/InterGames1/KnowMill.asp?GameID=biblebeegames_000 http://elearning-games.umcrookston.edu/InterGames1/KnowMill.asp?GameID=biblebeegames_001 *Dr.Lim also has a fun site to play. It is not an official Bible Bee site but it has good review games on books like Matthew: http://www.tagnet.org/grandforks/flashgames.htm I have 3 videos that show some of what we have done. |
Posted in Gardening
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The garden is coming along. Now is the part of gardening I don't really like- weeding. We have been weeding and mulching the last few weeks. Mark is trying to mulch everything really well this year to cut down on the weeding. Since we don't use weed killers this can be a big job! We used old hay mostly for the mulch. We found out the hard way not to put hay around the melons, squash and cucumbers because those plants like a drier hotter growing climate. Also, the hay acts as a habitat for the cucumber beetle which spreads powdery mildew on the cantaloupe. We are using landscape fabric around these.
We had to replant cantaloupe,cucumbers, and watermelons and some of the corn.
We staked the tomatoes and beans. We have tried different ways to stake the beans and tomatoes. This is the way we like best. It is easy to pick the beans with this set up.
 Here are the beans starting to climb up their stakes  Here are the tomatoes. Some have little green tomatoes. We pinched the blooms off the strawberries. These are the peppers The corn looks kind of scrawny. Mark replanted some of it. |
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Well, I had an exciting afternoon starting when Elizabeth called and said , " Mom bring a fire extinguisher quick the truck is on fire!" I grabbed the one in the laundry room and sent Anna for the one upstairs. I raced in the car to where the truck was on the side of our road, envisioning flames leaping from the truck.
Now you may ask, "Why was the truck on the side of the road?" Good question. It was sitting where it ran out of gas while Mark was driving it to work this morning. The girls were suppose to have put gas in it last night. Someone forgot.
Your next question might be " How did it catch on fire?" Another good question. The girls were trying to start it by putting gas in the carburetor. Mark has shown them how to do this ( you have to teach some "boy" things to girls when you have all girls) The girl, who will remain nameless, evidently wasn't listening too well. She didn't hear the part about not getting any gas on the air filter.
So, one of the girls is cranking the truck while the other pours the gas in and the air filter bursts into flames. Elizabeth yells to Miriam to get out of the truck because it is on fire. Miriam remembered that we had a fire extinguisher in the van, which is parked a few feet away ( I knew that would come in handy one day!) They unload the extinguisher but it is still smoking. This is where the phone call to me comes in . When I get there they spray the extinguisher I had on it too. The smoking stops.
It didn't look too bad but the air filter was toasted. Now we needed to call Mark and tell him. Good thing he had just asked yesterday at church for prayer for patience with the girls. (seriously, he had) He handled it really well, not knowing how much damage it would have. The good news is it needed a new air filter and some hose but he was able to drive it home.
I am so glad the girls remembered we a fire extinguisher in the van- they are homeschooled, you know... of course they are the ones who caught the truck on fire in the first place, but most girls probably wouldn't try to pour gas in the carburetor to start it ... of course they are the ones who let it run totally out of gas... . Lots of lessons learned and nobody was hurt in the making of these lessons... my kind of learning- real life. |
Posted in Gardening
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Well we got most of the garden planted!! Here is what we got in:
-6 rows (approximately 65 ft long) of Blue Lake Pole Beans. These are actually planted in beds of 3 rows each.
-6 rows ( approximately 50 ft long) of Incredible Corn
-40 pepper plants ( combination of Big Bertha and California Wonder)
-cantaloupe ( Ambrosia, Athena, and Hales Best)
- Dark Green Zucchini
-Jarrahdale Pumpkin
-New England Pie Pumpkin
-Crimson Sweet Watermelon
- Yellow and Crookneck Squash
-Winter Density Romaine Lettuce
-Sweet Slice Hybrid Cucumber
Planting notes:
We have planted Blue Lake Bush Beans and Roma Beans in the past but we don't like picking them. Of course, Mark doesn't like staking the pole beans... but he doesn't want his labor crew to mutiny, so he plants the pole beans for us. Last year Earliqueen Cantaloupe did very well for us but we couldn't get seeds for those this year. Hales Best Cantaloupte is an open pollinated seed which we would rather plant ( so we can save seeds ) but they had a lot of mildew problems. We love the Jarrahdale Pumpkins they cook up thick and aren't watery. Mark just wanted to try the New England Pie Pumpkin this year. We have tried Kandy Korn in the past but it was too sweet for us. We put up a 6 foot fence around the garden to keep the deer out.
In a few weeks we will plant several rows of Silver Queen Corn and Georgia Jets Sweet Potatoes. Now we get to fight weeds until the harverst. |
Posted in Gardening
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Planting season has gotten underway big time. We recently planted close to 200 Guardian strawberry plants. I will give you Mark's step by step instructions on those. We also planted several rows of white potatoes. Now Mark is tilling to plant the rest of the garden. He hopes to get some of the tomatoes in today then plant the rest of the warm weather things Monday night and Tuesday when he is off. Potatoes: The Kennebec potatoes we planted in hills. I know some people don't spend too long planting their potatoes but Mark wants things done right ( read "his way"~ smile) After tilling, he digs a trench with a hoe pulling the dirt to one side. Then he ( or his slave labor) sprinkles a bone meal/blood meal fertilizer in the trench. Next the potatoes are placed in the holes about a foot a part. Last the dirt is hilled back up over the potato trench. The rows are about 3 ft apart. When the potatoes start to come up, more dirt will be hilled up around them. Now for the strawberries: Mark tills the area. Bone meal/blood meal fertilizer is sprinkled in before the last run of the tiller. After tilling, we dig a small hole with our hands. In the middle of the holes we make a little mound of dirt.  We carefully put the strawberry plant on top of the mound and spread out the roots, making sure the plant will be buried up about halfway on the stiff part where the "crown" is. The plants are about a foot apart with rows 3 ft apart.  To cut down on weeding-since our slave labor crew is getting smaller every year-we put down landscaping fabric around the plants.  Hay mulch will be also put on top of this. It is good to do a thorough job on this since the plants will be in the ground several years and keeping weeds out is important. Around the outside of the strawberries we put down black plastic then put our fence up. We use the landscaping fabric close to the plants because it will allow water through, unlike the black plastic. And the tomatoes: We planted Early Girl, Celebrity, Better Boy, Amish Paste, Brandywine , and Mortgage Lifters. The Celebrities have consistently done well for us and are good for our planting zone. They seem to be pretty disease resistant. Mark is equally meticulous about planting the tomatoes. First he tills, then we make holes with a hoe about 1 foot apart.  In the hole we put old, dry chicken manure.  We sprinkle a little dirt over the chicken manure and place the plant in the hole. Next we liberally water the plant and put more dirt around the plant up to the first big leaves.  Mark likes to cover about half the plant even if the first leaves are covered with dirt. The tomato rows are around 4 feet apart.  All this will be mulched heavily with hay. The less weeding we have to do the better. Since we are doing things organically we won't be spraying any weed killer on our garden. Mark doesn't really stake the tomatoes. Along each side of the row of tomatoes at about 10 ft intervals he puts T-posts. Then , as the tomatoes grow, he tightly stretches 3 levels of nylon twine down each row of T-post . This works well for large quantities of tomatoes. We planted about 120 plants. (In Georgia one time we planted around 700 tomato plants ! Glad we didn't have to do that tonight.)I hope this isn't all too detailed. I just figure if you haven't done this before it might help. |
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Anna and I have enjoyed Bible Drills at the Baptist Church. This group is for 4-6th graders. The kids had to learn 25 Bible verses, the books of the Bible, and 10 Key Passages. It was good for Anna and for me. As I worked with the kids I had to refresh myself on the books of the Bible and learn verses along with the kids. Bible memory has always been hard for me, probably because I am not as disciplined as I should be. Even if I remembered the verse I still had trouble with the reference. Well, I still have trouble with that but it was challenging for me to keep up with the kids. Wish I could go back to 6th grade and memorize all this. I guess I didn't do too bad for an ol' lady. Debbie was the main teacher and I was the helper. We made a pretty good team. We weren't sure how many kids would make it to the church drill but seven of the kids qualified.  Last Wednesday night we had the church drill. All seven of them did really well. They are all going on to the Associational Drill. To go on they had to get at least 12 calls out of 24. That may sound easy but they were up in front of the church, which makes anyone nervous. They had to say the verses with the reference and with no errrors. Then had to find whichever book of the Bible was called in 10 seconds and tell what book came before and after it. Next they had to find Key Passages in 10 seconds. This part was really hard. It was hard enough just memorizing the key passages. Do you know where to find the Baptism of Jesus ? The Prayer of Forgiveness? The Model Prayer? The Parable of the Prodigal Son? AND can you find it in 10 seconds... in front of lots of people? Three of the kids got all 24 calls- way to go Anna, Sierra, and Christian! Next week is the Associational Drill. It's at 6:30 at the Baptist Church if anyone wants to come. Hopefully we will have several kids going on to State! After State the Drills it will be over but then Anna and I will start the Bible Bee. I am really looking forward to that challenge! |
Posted in Gardening
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This is turning into just a gardening blog. I will have to get on this week and write about something else too. Here is what is happening in our garden this week and Mark's grow light set up. We're still having rain and the broccoli is growing.  The pepper and tomato seedlings are looking good. The lettuce seedlings are small but coming along. This is Mark's grow light set up for seedlings.
 After the seeds germinate he puts them here. He keeps the lights as close to the plants as possible. He has a chain with an "S" hook so he can adjust the height of the lights. You can probably see he used PVC to build this. He uses regular florescent bulbs .He keeps the lights on 12-14 hours a day. You can use more expensive grow lights and not have to put them as close to the plants or keep them on as long. This set up has worked for us. Mark usually chooses cheaper over more convenient. :) Mark waters the plants as needed and feeds them. He uses natural liquid fertilizer from Peaceful Valley called Omega 6-6-6. It contains equal amounts of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. He feeds them about every week and a half after they get their secondary leaves.
 I thought you might like to see part of how we fertilize in our garden. This is Mark's portable chicken coop. We move it around in our garden area and the chickens fertilize for us. Mark just built a second one for us. The back open part is where the chickens nest and the eggs are easy to get out.
 We got our strawberry plants in but it will be hard to find a dry time this week to plant them. We will have to coordinate planting them with Mark's work . Also, this week we are watching Mark's dad while his mom is out of town. We won't get much done in the garden this week! |
Posted in Gardening
 I know some gardeners have been frustrated by the rain we are having this week because they want to plant. Mark watches the weather closely even in the winter but in the spring and summer he really watches it. If he sees a dry time we plant, or he plants, even if it is inconvenient. Since he works a full time job, we have to plant when he is off to supervise. The garden is his baby and we don't want to mess it up.  Mark planted around 30 Premium King Broccoli plants last weekend and Walla Walla Onions. Our spring broccoli never does as well as our fall crop and this year is no exception. Mark thinks the Premium King variety is more susceptible to the cold. One day when he was hardening them off ,he put the plants out early before he went to work. The plants looked kind of wilted when he came home.( Packman Broccoli is usually what Mark orders but he wasn't able to get those for spring planting.)So our broccoli is off to a slow start but hopefully we will get a good crop. I was very happy this week when Miriam noticed we had several bags of frozen broccoli still in the freezer at my mother in law's house. ( She lets us use part of her freezer and we give her fresh produce all summer ) Now on this rainy afternoon Miriam decided to make broccoli soup -Yum! Over the next couple of weeks we hope to plant some Kennebec Potatoes. We usually get those locally at Potters where Mark works. Mark says there is a potato shortage this year, according to their suppliers at Potters, so better get your potatoes soon! I don't know if it will affect the price of potatoes later this year or not. If our Guardian Strawberries that we ordered from Simmons get here, we will plant those this week-200 of them! This is a good resistant variety for this planting zone and they have a good taste. Some of you may want to know that Mark orders our seeds mostly from Fedco and Shumway. Fedco has good seeds and cheap prices. They are more organically oriented. We got our onion plants from Steele plants in TN. I know Mark should just write these gardening blogs but he doesn't have time. I can get him to dictate them to me so I can post them on here. Guess that will have to do. I love eating the produce but I don't love the gardening part. Too bad you can't eat flowers . I like flower gardening! Sorry there are no pictures again. Maybe next week... |
Posted in Gardening
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This week we will be planting broccoli plants- 50 of them. I can taste it now... Here is step by step what we do: 1- Mark tills the plot. We plant the broccoli seedlings about 12-15 inches apart in rows. The rows are about 2feet apart. 2-Dig the hole with a hoe 3-Use a spading fork and loosen the soil 4-Toss in a handful of chicken manure ( We let Mark do this part and yes he uses his bare hand-yuk) 5-Toss a little dirt over the manure ( so the manure doesn't burn the plant) 6- Plant the seedling 7-Water the seedling and press the dirt around it. 8- Pray it grows and produces We are also planting around 150 onion sets. Mark isn't as picky about planting the onions so I won't explain that. Misti asked about hardening-off- Hardening -off is the way to acclimate seedlings to outdoor conditions. A few days before transplanting into the garden we leave them outside in the yard to get toughened up. The seedlings are still in their trays to they can be brought in at night and if the weather gets bad.The seedlings have been in a controlled environment and need to gradually get used to being outside. I will try to get pictures when we plant. |
Posted in Gardening
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Some people have asked me about our garden. I am just the slave labor when it comes to gardening. Mark is the brains behind all our gardening endeavors. I questioned him to make sure I got this right. We have been planting a garden for about 20 years- that sounds like a long time! Some years were more successful than others. Weather, of course, is a big factor in each year’s harvest. Oh, I should mention that we do things organically- read that “the hard way”. Generally this is what we do this time of year. I will try to keep you up on what we’re doing. Mark usually plows our garden spot in early March. (He says it is better to do it in the fall but he usually doesn’t get it done then) He starts our spring crop of broccoli by planting seeds inside around February 1st. He uses seed starter potting soil from Bonnie Plants. He plants them in Styrofoam seedling transplant trays from Mark also started cool weather lettuce(Romaine) around March 1 to be transplanted toward the end of March. Onion sets could also be put out the last half of March. Potatoes can be planted anytime from now to mid-April. Mark started tomatoes and pepper seeds inside the 1st week of March. These warm weather crops will be transplanted around the 1st of May. The average last frost here in southern KY is around April 15th. There have been some years when we have had to cover all our plants because of a frost warning so don't plant too early. I guess you are wondering when the slave labor comes in since Mark has done all of the seedling planting. Well, we get to help when we put them in the garden. |
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Wow! I haven't been on here since Christmas! Well, Anna and I had a great trip to South Dakota. It was very cold and at the Cutlers they had lots of snow. We got to ride snowmobiles- a first for us southerners. Anna got to sled behind snowmobiles, 4 wheelers, and horses. She also got to ride horses which was one of the highlights of her trip. We did have fun visiting with Grace and Jordan and seeing their place too. And we got to play Whist again. Must be a northern or northwestern card game. They all love it up there. I had never heard of it. I am finally catching on to it but nobody down here knows how to play. Since we got back it seems I have been going through a few minor trials. Our van got hit from behind while I was stopped to turn left. There was only minor damage but I got whiplash that is still a nagging problem. A massage therapist visit and my physical therapy friend ( who I think likes to torture people ) have helped.Our family is still recovering from the flu . It is weird I have never seen homeschoolers have a flu epidemic but this was. We all went to a funeral and it got passed to almost every family there. It has been a rough sickness. I don't think we have had a the flu in our family for about 16 years. We all got it except for Mark. Glad he missed it so he could still work. Here are some things we learned about having the flu. Others who have gone through it may have more to add : 1- Have lots of Kleenex, lots of fresh citrus fruit, lots of different juices, Ibuprofen,and lots of videos on hand. 2- Make sure everyone drinks a lot of liquids. 3-Just fold out the sofa bed and put everyone in one place. It is easier to keep up with them. 4-Make sure everyone gets enough rest. This wasn't too hard to do because we were all wiped out. Some peope I talked to who have had this flu tried to do things too early and then crashed again. 5-Have garlic oil on hand for ear aches. It really does work! 6- Have a sinus headache remedy on hand . I gave Miriam one that I had mixed up a long time ago and it worked. I can't remember exactly what it had in it but I remember it had cayenne pepper and Golden Seal. It is a little painful to use but opens you up. 7-Have something on hand for sore throats. Mine was so sore it felt like strep. I used Chloroseptic spray and lozenges. Warm apple juice mixed with orange juice felt good too. 8-Don't leave the house until you are not contagious so it doesn't spread to other people. 9- If you have have insurance and don't want to go through all this, get your doctor to order Tamiflu. It worked for my neighbor's family. It is expensive though. 10- Be thankful you won't have to ever have this strand of the flu again... of course there are many, many other strands of the flu. Oh , well next time you will be prepared, right?  PS. I have another blog www.veryhelpful.blogspot.com. I set it up to encourage others in homemaking especially in cooking. There are lots of good recipes on there. |
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I got the best Christmas gift a day early. My daughter, Grace, and her husband, Jordan, are expecting!! I am going to be a grandmother! Grace was going to wait until I got out there on Sunday but she wanted us and Jordan's parents to know at the same time. Well she and Jordan were driving to the Cutler's today and Grace was throwing up this morning. She knew they would figure things out pretty quickly. ( They already have 10 grandchildren) So she sent us a picture of her positive pregnancy test by email. My husband, Mark, wondered why I was sitting at the computer yelling and telling him to come here quickly. The picture was a little fuzzy so I wanted a second opinion about what I was seeing. He confirmed it. So we called Grace and Jordan ... just to be sure. ~ smile. They are excited but Grace is feeling kinda yuck. After we talked to them I called lots of other people and emailed others. Yes, I am excited. Anna and I fly to South Dakota on Sunday. An anonymous, generous person gave us the trip.I can't wait to see Grace and Jordan. Now the trip will be extra special. Guess I need to think of some fund raisers so I can make another trip to SD in August. I have to figure out a grandma name too. |
Posted in Courtship and weddings
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We have two married daughters, Dating is the way my husband and I were brought up. Somewhere in our parenting journey Mark and I read about courtship. We read, talked, and prayed about it. We decided we did not want our girls to go through dating the way we had. We wanted to raise our girls with a different standard. We started when the girls were young talking to them about the idea of courtship, in kid’s terms, of course. When relatives or friends asked the girls, “Who’s your boyfriend?” we encouraged them to answer, “We don’t have boyfriends.” When we watched a movie where unmarried people kissed, we would say, “They will have to get married now”. I know it is corny but it made an impression. As they got older, we talked about what they would look for in a husband and how they should just think of boys as friends until they were old enough to marry. We talked about how when they were older if a boy was interested in them the boy needed to talk to us, the parents. We didn’t hide the girls away and never let them interact with boys We invested in books about courtship: I Kissed Dating Goodbye and Boy Meets Girl by Josh Harris, When God Writes Your Love Story and When Dreams Come True by Eric and Leslie Ludy. We watched a video about it, “Pamela’s Prayer” and a TV special. If I read a good courtship story, I shared it with the girls. We discussed how neat it was that God brought the couple together, how special it was that they waited for the person God had for them, and how exciting it would be to wait until your wedding day for your first kiss.
My oldest daughter, Then in February 2005 Quinton’s family came to the church we were attending to sing. Afterwards, we enjoyed catching up with his family over a covered dish lunch. The kids especially had fun. (Quinton is the second of 12 kids) Late in February For the next few months our families did things together like hiking, playing volleyball, playing games, singing, and having meals together. At this point, we didn’t know Quinton was interested in In April, Quinton called Mark and asked for permission to get to know So now Quinton could call and talk to
Now I will tell you Grace’s story. Remember Grace’s fiancé, We met the Cutler family briefly in November 2003 at our friend, Annalisa’s, wedding. Annalisa was marrying In May 2005 We didn’t see The Cutler family planned a trip south in August 2006 and asked if they could visit us. They spent a few days with us and we loved their family. In February 2007 In May we got a letter from Mark decided we would plan a trip to Our families spent time riding horses, playing at the lake, working together putting up fences, putting up corn, making applesauce, more volleyball and games. I could see Grace and Jordan struggling and suggested that At the end of their trip to
These are my girls’ stories but I have read many others. From these stories you can see how courting looks different from dating. In case you missed it…. there is parental involvement, they don’t spend time alone, they spend a majority of their time in groups working and playing, they don’t start a relationship until they old enough and ready for marriage, and they get insight and advice from others. There is no step by step formula. Each courtship will look different but there are guiding principles. While your kids are young seek to instill in them a heart of dependence on God. Seek to develop a trusting, solid relationship with them. You need to have their hearts. Develop in them a commitment to the truth of the Word of God. If these aren’t a reality it will be a struggle. Your husband has to be in agreement with you about this and he must take the lead in it. Pray for your children and with your children about their future mates. Pray for wisdom. Help them to evaluate young men’s character qualities. One more thing for those of you with girls: Don’t allow your girls to dress to attract guys and call attention to themselves. Encourage them to concentrate on seeking God instead of seeking a boyfriend. Encourage them to spend time preparing for marriage by developing spiritually, in character, emotionally, and financially. Teach them practical things they will need to know.
I saw this chart somewhere else but I can’t remember where. If someone else know tell me so I can give them the credit. Dating Courtship Peer-oriented family-oriented For pleasure for marriage Alone with chaperone Self directed parent directed Any age age when prepared for marriage Hide faults discuss faults Come and go toward a committed relationship |
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Someone asked for help with presentations at things like our Science/History Night. I am no expert but with five girls and with home schooling for roughly 17 years we have had lots of presentations to do. Sometimes I have helped the girls be creative and sometimes it just didn’t happen. So what I am writing now are things that would happen when I did things the way I should. Also, since we only had four families participate this year in our Science/History Night, I thought I would try to encourage others to get an early start on next year. I like for my girls to have interesting presentations since I enjoy listening to them practice it more. ~ smile. I think the kids enjoy doing it more too. They gain more self confidence when they get positive feed back from their audience. My main suggestion, I speak from experience here, don’t wait until the week before the presentation to get your child to pick their topic. As you go through the school year look for topics. Allow your child to choose a topic in which he is interested. When you come across something that catches your child’s interest let him stay there a while instead of pressing on to finish your text book. Spend time reading and researching the topic. Get other books on the subject. Look up things on the internet about the subject. Talk to people who know about the subject if possible. Don’t let the topic be too broad. Like if my girls said they wanted to do a presentation on horses we would have to narrow that down. We could do breeds of horses or pick a famous race horse. Once you have your subject, how can you have a good presentation? The simple answer is- be creative. I know schedules are busy and there are other things to do. Just take 10- 20 minutes and brainstorm with your kids about how their presentation can be more than just a report that you read to the audience. I usually get my girls to sit with me and we just talk about their subject and how we can make it interesting. Some of our ideas may be a little off the wall but we just need to get them thinking outside the box. Sometimes our creativity just isn’t there or we just don’t have the time, I understand, but at least try. You can keep it simple and still be creative. One of my favorite presentations was when on of my girls, Anna, wanted to do a presentation on her insect collection. Just pointing to insects and telling about them can get boring, so we did some brainstorming. Several of the girls helped us think about it. After everyone started giving their input we came up with the idea for Anna to dress up like an insect and show off her “unfortunate relatives”. We had fun writing her speech about how her Aunt Monty ( aka monarch butterfly) was so beautiful and how she loved to travel. She told about her Cousin Twiggy, the walking stick and others. Anna got excited about her science project presentation and it didn’t take a lot of time or energy to do it. Dressing up like a historical character is always fun. You don’t have to have the perfect costume. Let the kids get it together. They learn more this way. It also helps to have props to go with your outfit too. Use visual aids to let your audience see what you are talking about. For example saying an albatross’ wing span is 12 feet doesn’t mean much until you roll out a string 12 feet long. That gets people’s attention. You can also use posters, diagrams, and power point presentations. Another thing my girls always enjoyed doing was making their presentation an interview. This can work for Science/ History talks or Geography Night. Have one child be from a certain country or a person in history and the other child the interviewer. You could even do this with science and have one child do an experiment that the other child questions him about. A couple of other suggestions are : have your child ask the audience questions in his presentation or in some way get the audience involved to make it more interesting. Using humor can keep peoples attention too. Keep the presentation short and to the point. Make sure your child practices his speech at home until he is comfortable with it. If you are pressed for time, they can give the speech to a sibling or dad or a grandparent. You can listen while you are cooking supper or doing other things if you are really busy. I am not always creative and I don’t always have my kids put the time into a presentation that we should but it sure makes a difference when we do. We all enjoy the process a lot more and they learn more. Please add your suggestions. |
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OK it has been a long time since I wrote on my blog and it is time to get at it again. We just had our 7th Annual Fall Festival at our house. This year we had ( the best we can determine) 114 people. It was a fun night but different from our other ones. Some of our favorite families were missing or parts of them.We especially missed the Hingles and Meyers. They have been coming to our Fall Festival for 5 or 6 years. We had several new families that had never been to our house before so it was fun to meet them. We didn't really get to talk to them too much since the Fall Festival is a crazy time for our family. For those who have never been to our party, I will describe it. We play volleyball, of course. Mostly the older kids and whatever adults want to join in. Some of the guys play football. I coordinate games for the younger kids. We do things like Marco-Polo, sharks and minnows, drakes and drums, freeze tag, and circle dodge ball. Some years we have played tug of war but the folks who brought the big rope couldn't come this year. We were suppose to do sack races and 3 legged races but I forgot. (If it isn't written down...) We roast hot dogs,roast marshmallows, and make s'mores over an open fire. And we talk a lot. As more of my daughters leave home it gets more challenging to do this. I have a hard time doing the games and greeting people who are bringing food. We will have to work on that- IF we do it next year. I say if, because I am not sure we will do it again. It is a lot of work especially when your work force is shrinking. It takes days to get everything ready and then there is the clean up. We had some friends who loaned us their kids for set up on Saturday morning and some folks stayed to help clean up which was nice. We do enjoy meeting everyone and getting to see friends we might not see very much. The kids enjoy the games, the hot dogs, and the s'mores. We were thankful for the nice weather on Saturday. Some of our FL friends thought it was too cold but we need it cold so the folks don't get too hot roasting their hot dogs. Maybe if I don't loose any other daughters before next fall we will try to do it again. Or maybe someone else will want to do it and we can be the helpers... what about it Misti? Carri? anybody?  Elisabeth L and Miriam getting things ready Volleyball warm up Getting food Roasting hot dogs around the fire Warming up with hot chocolate |