Living, Laughing and Learning with Diana Waring

Australian Tour:  22 September 2009 - 24 October 2009

Families will be treated to one of the homeschool community’s best loved speakers. Diana’s rapid-fire workshops are renowned for being packed with many personal snippets of her life experience, historical characters and memorable illustrations.

She will deliver a number of workshops covering parenting, homeschooling, learning styles and teaching world history. One of her signature talks is “Beyond Survival” titled after a best selling book she wrote. In this talk she transparently describes her struggles and failures to create a school for her three children at home before she broke through the paradigm shift to the pure joy of a lifestyle characterised by one-to-one mentoring. This is what makes home education so successful.

As well, several of your favourite suppliers will be in attendance at the seminars:  Adnil Press, Homeschool Favourites, Down Under Literature, Chariot Press, Credo Trust, Always Learning Books, and more - click on the link below for full details and dates.

Living Laughing and Learning with Diana Waring

Book your ticket now, and be part of the adventure!

From Matthew 10, vs. 11-16:

¹¹"Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. ¹²As you enter the home, give it your greeting. ¹³If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. ¹⁵I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. ¹⁶I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

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We are called to ‘fight the good fight’ - to spread the news, to love each other.

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Sometimes, though, we need to let things go.  To let some people go.  For, although we’d dearly love to take them and sometimes, shake them, there are those who simply will not listen, not even when, or maybe especially when, they are quite simply, wrong.

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Oh, I get so frustrated, when people who claim to be Christian turn out to be the most judgemental of all.  They make statements about others, criticize others, and judge others.  They take another’s words, and twist them, and try to push forward the idea that they are innocent victims of another’s attack, when the opposite is, in fact, the truth.

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Let us be humble, and let us take care.  We will not always agree on certain points, nor will necessarily like everyone we come across.  But we are called to love each other.  Even when a friend or an acquaintance refuses to listen or to see the truth.  Sometimes, we must say good-bye to someone who has been in our lives.  For the sake of all involved, we must move on, and move onto different friends, and allow the seeds of God’s word to take hold in His time, and not ours.

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Recently, after making a simple comment, I was judged as un-Christian, and despite my efforts to gently point out that this was untrue, my words were twisted, and I was slammed as, basically, a horrid person.  The comments were unfair, but, sometimes, we just have to take it.  I had my say, but, with someone who has judged you as one thing and who refuses to listen, what can you do?  

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I see this as a great concern, over the Internet, when well-meaning Christians judge others, whom they have never even met, so harshly.  My son came across a comparison chart today.  Did you know who are the most likely people to bag Christianity?  Those on the Internet.  This percentage was much, much higher than those who are gay, or who are gay activists, and those who are non-religious at all.  Simply being on the Internet means you are very likely, at some stage, to send a blow to someone who is a Christian. 

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So, please be careful.  Whenever we leave a comment that judges someone or puts someone else down, remember that on the other end of the ‘line’ is a real, live person.  Someone with a heart, someone who has feelings.  The Internet can be a wonderful source of encouragement and inspiration, but can also be a place where our confidence is shot to pieces.  

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For me, I’m staying off of message boards for a while; actually, I’m reducing my entire time in front of the computer, and  getting back to spending time with the people in my life who are here, right here, physically in front of me.  That’s not to say I don’t have any cyber-friends out there who really are my friends - I do!  But I need time to distance myself from cyber bullies who will chuck out derogatory comments in a flash, just because ‘they can’.

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Let us be as be as ‘shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves’, let us love one another, and yes, when need be, let us ‘shake the dust off our feet’ if some will not listen, and move on .

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Linda 

It's been a while since I blogged here - I've been using my blog on the AP site, but, I miss this blog!  So maybe I will pop in time to time and update it.  Chuck in a 'think-piece' here and there.

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You know, I spend a lot of time thinking.  Pondering the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ way to do things.  I spend many hours planning, researching, etc. how to home educate, looking at all the vaious approaches, and hunting through all the myriad of resources out there.

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And, with time and effort, I come up with our ‘plan’.  I listen to what others suggest, try things out, but ultimately, we settle upon what works for us.  In our home, with so many of us, this usually does include text books and work books, and yes, the huge marking pile at the end of the day.

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But not always.  Sometimes, despite the wonderful timetable each child has in front of them, we’ll get part way through the day, and just think, ‘nope, not today!’.  Like yesterday.  We did some basic Maths, Copywork, English, etc.  But my youngest simply sighed at the bookwork - she wanted to play a game.  At first I resisted - after all, it was ‘school-time’.  But then, I thought, ‘why’?  Why struggle over a pile of books, when we could be having some fun, and ‘really’ sharing time together.

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So, that is what we did.  The board game came out, the books went away, and we did have fun!  There was laughter, chatting, playing, and even those who were not playing the game became caught up in the conversation, which covered many topics by the time we were done. 

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I forever question the right and wrong way to do this whole homeschooling thing.  Sometimes, It’s full-on bookwork - you MUST learn those Math facts!    Other times, I think we should just have some fun, and enjoy being together, for this time with our children is very short.  Soon they will grow into adults themselves.  Do I want them to look back and shudder over all that bookwork, or look back and smile over the time when they had the delight of thrashing Mum in a game, or the time we took the day off, and wandered through the local forest?

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There does, of course, need to be some formal learning, but it’s an interesting challenge to find the right balance.  Hopefully, in our patchwork of various days, we’ll be able to look back and say, ‘yes, we enjoyed homeschooling - we had fun’!

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May God bless your day,

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Linda.

To all who have tried to access our site over the past few weeks - thankyou for your patience!

After many hours of hard work, our new site is now up and running, same address:

www.adnilpress.com

We have an opening special in that the first 20 customers will receive a free product with their order!

The site not only includes shopping cart and all our products, but also includes links, a forum, articles, reviews, RSS feeds, search features, and even my blog.

All this means that I will no longer be blogging here, but from now on,  it will be at the new site.

Check it out, at: www.adnilpress.com

God bless,

So there we were, ‘trying’ to get ‘some’ schoolwork achieved for the day.  The children were a bit restless – a bit, well ‘unruly’.  Finally, though, after some threats and rather stern words from me, they did begin to calm down, and eventually we found ourselves at the table, with heads back in the books.

About this time, my 13 year old son began scratching his head, staring with puzzlement at his Maths book.  Looking up, he asked ‘Mum, what’s a polygon’? 

Without flinching or even breaking a smile, my 11 year old, who was seated at the opposite end of the table, threw up her hand, exclaiming, ‘oooh, oooh, I know what that is!   It’s a dead parrot!’.  

Well, you could have heard a pin drop, as we all tried to comprehend what she had said.  All of us at the table turned our heads in her direction, completely bewildered.  “Y’know”, she continued, “Polly   -    Gone!”

And thus ended  the quiet, calm day.

Today was one of those days when you really begin to feel you just should have stayed in bed....

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It was 'back to school' day, after a few days off, as I had been unwell, and needed to go to hospital for some tests (which I've not heard anything about as yet - I'm guessing it's a case of 'no news is good news').

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So, the 'plan' was to get back into the schooling, and get things happening again.  This all began with me sleeping in far too late, but not to worry, we did have a bit of late night with watching the closing ceremony of the Olympics, after all.

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And there I am - about to get moving and drag the young ones from their slumber, when whamo!  Those 'twinkling lights' begin to flicker in front of my eyes, meaning just one thing - a migraine is on it's way - wonderful.

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I take some pain killers, and call the youngins (several times), and then decide to 'quickly' answer a couple of emails, as well as typing up a fax which needed to be sent this morning.  The fax was dependant on the answer contained in one particular email, but naturally, when I went to open the email, the computer spat a fruity, and in the end, it took 40 MINUTES to open - which included shutting the whole thing down and trying again, but  no, let's just add to the time already wasted this morning - just long enough to place me in, shall we say, not the BEST mood to begin the week.  Of course, the light from the computer was killing my head, but, we got there in the end, took a deep breath and had a cuppa, and eventually continued on.

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But why, oh, why, is it that on the very day one is suffering from a migraine, do science experiments crop up in the older one's text books that involve dropping books on the floor?  And why, I have to ask, was this also the very day that the younger ones charge outside and make the exciting discovery of what happens when you pound on an old drum? 

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Anyway, the day continued - I was struggling, but, I was determined to 'make it' through the lessons.  After lunch came Science with my 3rd, 5th and 6th graders.  We were to boil some water and place it in various containers to test conductivity.  All was going well - the water took some time to boil, but eventually, it was almost boiling, when my 12 year-old commented, as casually as you like, 'By the way, the stove is on fire'.  And so it was.  Flames shot out of the element, and smoke began billowing from the stove.  So, instead of our planned, organised Science experiment, we ended up with this:

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I called my 'knight in shining armour', and sent the children outside, practising our 'fire drill'.  I just had to photograph it, but when the flames only grew higher, I left darling hubby to handle it, and shot outside as well (being so brave and all, I thought someone had better look after the children).

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After it was extinguished, and amongst all the smoke, we did eventually get the 'planned' experiment done, but then I resigned to the fact that the rest of the lessons were just not meant to be, and so hubby loaded up most of the children and headed for the tennis court.  I settled down for a movie, while my darling 11 year old cooked chocolate cake - which she thought may just be the thing!

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Ah well, tomorrow is another day (and yet, this one ain't over yet!)..........

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Well, we're back to 'school' on Monday, but following on from my 'timetable' post, I thought I'd write about what resources we are currently using, and take a look at what has proved to be our favourites so far this year........

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LATIN:   Prima Latina with the four youngest, and Henle Latin 1 with the older four - love it - both programmes are going well.  We also supplement with Lingua Angelica, and while we have been singing the hymns for some time, we've just started using the workbook as well - this really adds to the Latin programme - I like it.

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MATHS:  Signpost Maths for grades 1-6, supplemented by 'Developmental Math', and then 'Teaching Textbooks' for grades 7/8 and up - as well as using a drill programme - either Caculadder or Beat the Tape, depending on whether we're in 'computer' or 'bookwork' mode, and we have fun with 'Times Tales' as well.  Maths seems to be pretty much a 'breeze' these days, there's rarely a problem with any child - smooth sailing at the moment.

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LOGIC:  Currently using 'Building Thinking Skills' for grades 4 and up.  It's good, and the final book of the series is proving a bit challenging for the older ones - we've enjoyed the series, and it's been simple to use.  On completion, we may go back to the 'Mind Benders' series for a while - they're fun!

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ENGLISH:  Still using 'Voyages in Literature' and 'English for Young Australians' (an old grammar programme from the 50s).  As well, my 11 year old is using 'Student Writing Intensive' course, and we incorporate the 'Teaching Writing, Structure & Style' lessons into our history programme.  It's going well, but I am beginning to feel more time needs to be dedicated to the writing units.  We may take a temporary break from 'Voyages' to concentrate more on writing lessons for a time - and, I may just use 'Ancient-History Based Writing Lessons', which will match up with our history nicely.    For Copywork, my younger ones use a combination of the Memoria Press Copybooks, the Adnil Press Copybooks, and Voyages in Language.

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SPELLING:  Some are using the 'Phonetic Zoo', others are using 'Essentials in Teaching and Testing Spelling' - depending on personal choice.  Both of these programmes are working well.

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PHONICS & READING:  Voyages in Phonics and Phonics is fun - these two seem to work well together.  We've also changed from the Fitzroy Readers (which worked wonders for a time) back to the old, Happy Venture Readers - good old Dick & Dora, and we're using the accompanying workbooks.  They're fun!  The older children are required to select at least one book from each of the  'Australiana', the 'Classics' and the 'Saints' shelf to complete during the term - they usually read more than this, but that is the minimum.  As well, I try to read to them after the evening meal - unfortunately, time often gets away from me - but we WILL finish the Narnia series eventually!

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POETRY:  'Developing Linguistic Patterns Through Poetry Memorization'.  Fantastic programme!  The poems are just wonderful, and are a delight to learn.  We're working through this one all together.  Every now and then, you are asked to select a poem of your choice - it is here I'll add in some good Australian poetry as well.

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DRAWING:  As a base, we've used 'The Drawing Textbook' - most of the children are now finishing up this little gem, and will either move onto a 'How Great Thou Art' text of their choice, or, will begin using the new Memoria Press 'Copybooks' for cursive - these look absolutely marvellous!  They include Latin prayers, hymns and saying, so this will match up perfectly with our Latin studies.  I like the font, too - much like I learned at school.  The reason I include cursive in the 'Drawing' lesson is that learning to write beautifully is indeed more 'Art' than 'English' - they will be required to do the best they can - it's not so much what they write, but how they write it.

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RELIGION:  Catholic Mosaic with the younger ones - fantastic programme!  A very Charlotte Mason approach, with lots of 'real' picture books, beautiful stories, full of faith and morals.  With the older ones, we are using 'Faith and Life', books 6 and 8.  I like this series, it's very comprehensive, covering many topics - we've all learned a lot from these books.  As well, we memorize the catechism, and read from other supplemental material - one excellent book we're currently reading is 'St. Patrick's Summer'.

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AUSTRALIAN HISTORY:  We have recently begun 'Australia's Yesterdays' once again, as it's been a while since we did this programme, and I'm working with the younger ones on our new publication - more to do with Australian Geography - mountains and rivers, looking at each state, etc.  We're writing it as we go!

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SCIENCE: The older children are working through the Apologia High School series, while the younger ones work with me through the 'God's Design' series.  We've just begun the 'Heat and Energy' book, and enjoying it thus far.  We've tried various primary curriculums, but each time, come back to the God's Design series - it seems to suit our needs very well.  The three youngest children also enjoy the 'Magic School Bus' video series.

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HISTORY and GEOGRAPHY:  Currently, we're using 'Famous Men of Greece' with the younger ones, and the 'ABC's of Christian Culture' with the four oldest.  I am absolutely loving both programmes.  The ABCs of Christian Culture has really stolen my heart - every now and then you find a resource that just suits you perfectly - and this is one of those resources!   It uses 'real' books, along with 'spine' books, and has map work, the making of time-lines, reading assignments and essays, as well as final tests at the end of each module.  I've not really been one to impose 'testing' on my children up until now, but it really all fits together well, and rounds out and finalizes the unit perfectly.

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As well, the little ones do 'Galloping the Globe' - which is a wonderfully fun book to do - we don't always 'get there', so we're moving through it rather slowly, but, we do enjoy it!

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MUSIC AND ART:   And then, there's Music Theory and Music Practical (Piano, Clarinet, Flute, etc.), 'Colour the Classics' or 'Meet the Great Composers' for Music Appreciation, and various resources for Art Appreciation. 

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OTHER:  Finally (I think!), the children use 'Typing Instructor Deluxe' for typing skills and 'Pure & Simple' for Computer Skills.  These subjects aren't covered as often as I'd like - but hey, there's only so many hours in a day!

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And just briefly to mention Physical Education - we don't do any winter sports as such, but we do love Bush Dancing, and lately, we've headed outside each afternoon for the family 'baseball match'.  We tried cricket and football, but baseball seems to be the 'in' sport at present - and we all love to play it - and have a few great laughs along the way!  Trying to explain to a six-year old to run to the next base, and NOT take off after the ball, has been the funniest thing - one of those times you just wish you had a video camera with you!   

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All in all, most things are going very well - and amazingly, the timetable seems to work most days - I think we're all at a point now where each one knows what is expected of them, and so they mostly 'get on with the job'.

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Have a great week!

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Over the past week, we took a break and headed off to Gawler for some time out with friends.

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We enjoyed a night of bush dancing, went to a cooking demonstration, tackled the shops for some 'retail therapy', and us girls even had an afternoon where we disappeared for a quiet coffee, cake and a visit to the 2nd hand book shops.    And of course, there was time to simply sit and chat, and to relax.

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But, all good things must end, and after only a few days, it was time to head home, and begin catching up on work, emails and phone calls.

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It was a lovely break, and we look forward to the next time we're able to get away for a few days. 

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And, as amazing as it seems - Welcome to August!    How the year is flying by!

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As everyone who knows me knows, I like lists.

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I seem to have a plan, and a timetable for everything - and, although we rarely comple everything I will plan to on a certain day, it is very important to me to have that plan visible, so I can see what it is we're aiming for.

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With eight children all of 'school' age, it became quite a juggling act to fit everything in on our homeschool timetable, but, it's proving quite successful, and most things are actually being acheived!

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So, after hours of planning and re-arranging, here is our current timetable:

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*GTG = Galloping the Globe

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While we don't necessarily complete everything 'on time' or in the suggested order, this is 'THE PLAN' - and for the most part, it's working well thus far.

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We also have Literature in the evenings - currently, we're reading 'The Silver Chair'.  And, each child is expected to read one 'Classic' book, one Australiana book, and one Saint's book each term.

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Have a great day!

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Well, it was the first day of the new school term today, and we have begun our High School Latin course. 

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I feel like we've really achieved something - after so many years of chopping and changing as we searched for the 'right' resources for us, we finally found a Latin course we liked (Latina Christiana), and we have now completed the series.  So, we're moving right on into Henle Latin! 

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And, the little ones have begun Prima Latina, so it's Latin all round - Henle with the oldest four, and Prima Latina with the younger ones.

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One thing about working through a book the 2nd time around, you feel like you know a little about what you're doing! 

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Honestly, some days I feel like by the time I have this whole homeschooling thing figured out, my last child will be grown and gone - it's true what they say, it's a journey for all of us.

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Have a super day!

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On Sunday, we took some time-out to take a ride on a steam train, through the Pichie Richie pass, which is just over an hour's drive from our home.

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It was a marvellous afternoon, and we were blessed with wonderful weather for the trip.  All up, it lasted nearly three hours.

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Here's a photo I took from our window:

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It was great fun - certainly a 'different' way to spend the day!

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Well, it's been holiday time in our house - not that we went anywhere - the children have been ill, I've been ill as well, but, we're getting there!  We have had a nice break from the 'norm', though, and I've been able to attend to my oil paints once more.  Here's my latest painting, of our local natural springs:

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I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.  I'm continuing to enjoy oil painting, and I'm learning new things about it all the time.

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Keep smiling!

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The Springs are BACK!

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We paid a visit to our local springs on Tuesday - they had all but dried up after a whopping great flood did some major damage last year.  We have had some rain of late, and were delighted to find water in the springs - so much so, that it is almost back to its original level!

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The water is happily flowing from the springs to the rockpools, and we even found mini waterfalls along the way.  The birds were back, as were the frogs, the crickets - and the moss!

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I can't tell you the different place it is now to when we visited a few weeks ago - it's beautiful again - praise the Lord!

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Linda.

The Scene:  All eight children are sitting around the table, working at their own, individual workbooks.  Mum enters the room.......

Mum:  How's everything going? You all right, Jessica?

Jessica:  Yep, going fine!

Mum:  How about you, Emily?

Emily:  I'm fine!

Mum:  Lizzie?

Lizzie:  I'm doing OK

Mum:  And you, Aimee?

Aimee:  {sighs}  I want a biccie......

The children are back happy and healthy, meaning this week we really 'were' able to start school.

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We covered most subjects this week;  didn't get to music appreciation, and I only completed one lesson of science with the little ones instead of the three planned, but, we're off to quite a good start.

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I'm really impressed with our new history programme (The ABCs of Christian Culture), and thus far, it has been well received by the older children.  The younger children will be studying about Australia - we're pretty much writing the program as we go;  it will be in the same format as 'Australia, the Wide Brown Land for Me', but it will focus more on geography, landforms, animals and birds, etc.   We made a good start this week, working out the introductory lesson.

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And, we also returned to Little Athletics and tennis.  All were a little 'sluggish' after the holiday - but aren't we all??

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Oh, and the idea of having the older ones take care of their own checklists is working beautifully!  Each day, they phsically need to 'tick' off each lesson as they complete it;  and then tick again to say their books have been put away.  I'm already seeing that this is making them feel more responsible for their own lessons, and not once did I have 'oh, I forgot to do science...  or maths... or English....'  because it's all there, to be checked at the end of the day;  and they simply KNOW if it has not been done.

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So, we're off to a great start!

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Well, we're here.  The new school year has begun.  The books are handed out, the timetable is up on the wal, and today was marked as 'the day'.

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So, this morning (well, beginning last night, actually), my children began coming down with a tummy bug. 

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Currently, I have FIVE of my children lying around groaning, chucking, and all of that WONDERFUL stuff. 

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As well, I seem to have developed an in-grown toenail (ouch), so I'm hobbling around in bare feet, trying desperately not to whack it on any furniture as I escort little ones to the toilet, clean out bowls, offer a cuddle when needed, and such.

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One has to wonder if it's not some sort of conspiracy;  suddenly, on the 'return to school' day, we're all ill! 

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Ah, well;  I did read to them, and we did the 'introduction to history' cd - it's just a classic example of 'the best laid plans'.  I'm sure we'll get through it - and next week, NEXT week...........

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Well, here we are;  nearing the end of January, and school begins next week!       

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I 'think' I'm ready for this juggling act - 8 children, all of school age this year!  But, my older ones are quite independent, so it does make things easier.

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Some of the resources we'll be using are:

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Signpost Maths (Gr K-6), or Teaching Textbooks (gr 7+)

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Voyages in Phonics

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Phonics is Fun Workbooks

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Voyages in Language and Literature, and then 'English for Australian Schools' (gr 8+)

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10 year old to also do 'Student Writing Intensive, Level A'

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The Phonetic Zoo or Essential Spelling List (some of my children enjoy the first, others prefer the latter)

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Catholic Mosaic combined with St. Joseph's Catechism

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The ABCs of Christian Culture (with the 4 oldest children), combined with

Teaching Writing, Structure & Style (IEW), and also

Ancient History Based Writing Lessons.

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Galloping the Globe (with the 4 younger ones)

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Language is going to be interesting!  We're finishing up Latina Christiana 2, and then moving onto Henle Latin.

But....  my oldest daughter wants to learn French, so she plans to begin 'First Start French' as well,

AND...  my youngest 4 want to learn Spanish.  I have this Spanish prgramme called 'Puertas Abiertas (Open Doors) Spanish Kit', which we've had for a while, so we'll begin with that.  I'd rather have begun 'Prima Latina' with them, but well, they have an interest in Spanish (thanks to Dora the Explorer!), so we'll see how it goes.  We may go through this one programme (about 20 weeks worth, maybe), and then move onto Prima Latina.

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Science will be Dinah Zikes 'The World of Insects and Arachnids', and the older ones will be doing Apologia, Physical Science.  My son, who is around grade 7, will be using 'Science For Young Catholics', from Seton.

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I'll also set them each a reading list for literature;  maybe four books a term, and I'll be reading to them in the evenings, also.  Hopefully we'll finish up the Narnia series, and "John of Sydney Cove" & "John and Nambaree".

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Art and Music will be a combination of things;  How Great Thou Art Workbooks, Meet the Great Composers, Colour the Classics, and so forth.

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And no doubt there's a host of other things I forgot to mention;  I keep trying to cut back, but there's just so many good resources out there!

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God bless,

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We live near a natural spring - or at least we used to.

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Last November, our area experienced two floods - the first was very severe, followed by another, less severe, but still we had a good 'drenching'.

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It seems the effects will be long-lasting.  Yesterday, we took a visit to our local springs, and were dismayed and shocked at what we found.

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Here's a photo taken of the springs in flood.  This is the second flood, and you can see where the level of the first flood was, by the twigs and leaves lodged in the tree in the foreground.

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Now, here's a photo of the same springs, taken yesterday, 13 of Jan 2008 -  two months after the floods.

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That's the same tree on the left;  but this shot is taken from the opposite direction.  You can see the line on the rocks where it changed colour;  this line is where the water level of the springs has been for as long as I can remember - the springs are gone!  There's only a small amount of water left in the bottom, and it seems that it is slowly evaporating.

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I'm not a naturalist, so I don't know exacty how these things happen, or whether the springs will somehow restore themselves, but it is very sad to see.  These springs are the life-source for a host of plants, birds and animals.

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Here is one more photo, which was taken in April, 2005.  The children are on the very rock that was pictured in the photo above, showing the previous water line.  You can see how calm the water was, how the reeds grew, and now we can see just how deep the water used to be.

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It's so amazing how a flood can change a landscape so much.

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So there you are…  zooming along life’s highway.  Things are mostly going fine – good days, some bad days, and then it hits.  Like a ton of bricks, it smacks you down with a vengeance.  You realise with horror that you have just turned forty.  Ack!  Half way to eighty!

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So you think;  ‘Well, it’s only half-way – I’m still young, really”.  You try to convince yourself of that, but don’t really succeed.  What ever happened to twenty-one?  Gone.  Gone forever.

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I look around, at the things that make up ‘my’ life.  I’ve not done too badly, really.  Sure, we don’t own our own home, but we don’t have any loans with a bank, either. We own whatever we have, including our vehicles.  We have eight beautiful, happy children, who are fast turning into teenagers (and by the way, nobody told me ‘forty’ also meant dealing with horrid teenagers – one side-effect they neglected to mention).  But, life is pretty much OK.

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Mind you, there are the health issues.  After those eight babies and the forty years, the body simply doesn’t ‘go’ like it used to. I’m tired, the muscles ache and groan, and I carry around far too much weight. And try as I might, it just won’t seem to go away.  The doctor has me on various medications for a number of ‘things’ – and all of these were prescribed in the last year.  Not to mention the grey hair; man!  You’re zooming along just fine, and then it’s one, two, three; FORTY grey hairs!  No fair – they could have waited, just a little while longer.

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They say ‘life begins and forty’.  I hope they’re right.  For me, I’d just love to make it through one bush dance without collapsing.  I have, however, made it through all the nappies, and all the screaming toddlers.  The children are older, and while it terrifies me in once sense (time with them is running out), it’s also allowing me the freedom to pursue some of my own interests, like art, especially oil painting.

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So often in my life, I’ve quoted the line from ‘When Harry Met Sally’: 
“And I’m gonna be FORTY!”  
“When?”  Harry asks.
“Some day!”  sobs Sally.

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Well, so much for ‘some’ day.  Here it is – I AM forty.  I tried to avoid it, to deny it, and just to ignore it.  But it happened anyway, darn it all.  When I turned thirty, I spent the day in tears.  No tears today, although I am trembling a little; more from fear this time – I see why people go through a mid-life crisis! 

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Ah, well – it comes to all of us, I guess.  Unless you’re dead, of course.  And when you look at it like that, I’d rather be forty.  I’m still young enough to have dreams, plans and goals.  I’m still young enough to loose that weight and increase my fitness.  I’m still young enough to laugh and enjoy life.  And by golly gosh, that’s just what I’m going to do.

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Linda Maher
12 January 2008

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Just after Christmas, we packed our bags and headed for Melbourne.  We had a wonderful time, catching up with other homeschoolers, and also with dear hubby's family from all over Australia;  as his mother now lives in Melbourne, it has become the 'meeting place' for the family once a year.

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On our way home, we visited Sovereign Hill, near Ballarat, where they have a tourist village set up to remember the 'Gold Rush' days of Victoria.  We panned for gold, went 'back to school', and took a ride on an old, horse-drawn wagon.

(Panning for Gold)

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(Back to School)

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Then, we visited a wildlife park, where we were followed around by deer and kangaroos - it was just lovely!  Kind-of gave one the 'Snow White' feel, really - although I suspect the animals were really only interested in the little bags of animal food we were carrying with us!

(patting a kangaroo)

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All in all, it was a wonderful trip, and we are now glad to be home safely again.

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God bless,

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