I know I mentioned a lengthy, informative post was planned for you, but the last two weeks or so is pretty much a blur for me!  (Not to mention that the book I was recording notes in has mysteriously disappeared!)

A couple of Saturday's ago, Michael joined with some of the other men in our church to do some maintenance for a few of the older women who have no-one to help with those odd-jobs about the house and garden.  I thank God that we have such active men in our church.  They take on the job of caring for the practical needs without question!  Many weekends they are out helping with odd-jobs or moving someone to a new house or driving someone somewhere.

We have begun to reorganise our house.  We are sorting, storing and getting rid of clutter.  In the process, the house seems to have become more cluttered!  It seems to take such a long time to get anything done!  4 children under 5 require alot of attention and there is only so much they can really help with.  But slowly and surely the task is being achieved.  And the kids will learn valuable lessons if we keep them involved - even if it means things take longer to do!

In the reorganising process, the office has moved upstairs and the school-room downstairs.  This is good space and practicality wise.  But, it means that I can't simply pop into the office and quickly do something online.  My computer time needs to be more scheduled.  Actually, it's a good thing.  I'm getting all areas of my life back on track.  Scheduled and organised...bring it on!  *lol*

The school-room is actually more like clothing factory at the moment though!  I have been sorting through all the clothes we have been given (believe me when I say we have been given heaps of stuff!)  to be either washed and put in the kids closets / drawers or stored away for later.  I think I need to buy a few more vacuum storage bags...

I mentioned previously that everyone has had coughs and colds.  Mostly we are better.  Tonight however, Jeremiah has been quite ill.  He was definitely a knight out-of-action.  He fell asleep on me around 5pm...so unlike him!  He had a big throw-up earlier on and has been shaky, pale and generally not well at all.    We are praying a good night rest will do him the world of good.  I'll see how he is in the morning, but judging by tonight, I might keep him home from FDC tomorrow.

We have gone TV free!  It had been planned for the last couple of weeks and today the TV offically went "on holiday".    It could be considered bad timing really...with the olympics and all, but we feel that God has been steering us to be TV free for a while.  It's funny.  Just after we made the commitment, I came across this poem by Roald Dahl:

Television

The most important thing we've learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your television set --
Or better still, just don't install
The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we've been,
We've watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in someone's place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
They sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they're hypnotised by it,
Until they're absolutely drunk
With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don't climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink --
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK -- HE ONLY SEES!
'All right!' you'll cry. 'All right!' you'll say,
'But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!'
We'll answer this by asking you,
'What used the darling ones to do?
'How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?'
Have you forgotten? Don't you know?
We'll say it very loud and slow:
THEY ... USED ... TO ... READ! They'd READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One half their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching 'round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be?
Good gracious, it's Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and-
Just How The Camel Got His Hump,
And How the Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,
There's Mr. Rate and Mr. Mole-
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks-
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They'll now begin to feel the need
Of having something to read.
And once they start -- oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts. They'll grow so keen
They'll wonder what they'd ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you did.

Roald Dahl (1916-1990)

On the work front, Michael is still at the recycling plant - until Tuesday.  Then the work runs out.  We'll see what God has planned next!

For the moment, that's all from me.  I'll be back on track with posting soon.  I want to organise my photo's and post some of those too.  And I am so behind in TTL - DP101.  I haven't even started assignment 3!