testing????

I have tried to post three will this come through?

Wow, what a busy week!  I know I said that last time I wrote, and I was behind.  I am all caught up and still getting things done, but nothing is slowing down.  This week has been crazy!  Tomorrow I start Christimas shopping!  Can you believe it is here already?  I take a day off of homeschooling and children and head down to the fairground to a craft and christmas show, and lots of things to buy!  It was a ton of fun last year, I hope it goes well this year!  This week my oldest son started studying to be baptized, what a blessing that he wants this to happen also.  I am very happy for this.  And very greatful!  Life will probably remain busy through the holidays....So how does everyone deal with the busyness of things?

Life has been busy lately, which makes me feel as if I am behind!  I keep planning to blog daily, but not everything has been good.  First we had to battle head lice.  Mind you not a fun thing to battle.  But I did find some great resources online for it.  I think the best site for that was www.headlice.org.  It gave us a ton of ideas on how to get rid of the buggers and dispelled some myths, like they DON"T jump.  Now that was a few weeks ago, and thank goodness those lil buggers are GONE!!!  My aunt, who was a hairdresser for years gave me the most useful advice, treat her hair, then twenty-four hours later treat it again!  :)  I had to treat it twice in one week and was so shocked to see them back. 

Next came my migraines.  Boy those sure set you back.  One child was sick, then another, then me.  I ended up at the doctor near the end of this.  The appointment was for allergies that had been diagnosed weeks before, and the allergy medicine worked great for allergies, not colds.   :)  At one point my father had a heart catherdization (sp?) and so that day was filled with worry.  He is fine, but they needed clear pictures of his heart, and that is the only way to get them.  My sons also had their joing birthday party last saturday and all the planning that went into that, during the preceeding weeks.....What a busy life it has been!   In the process of all this a most amazing thing was happening.  My daughter started classes for baptizm.  She was baptized last weekend, on Sunday at church.  What a blessing to see your child growing in the Lord!

So in this process we have fallen behind, and in this process my house has been trashed, and in this process, my oldest has lost all motivation to work.  He is just recently 10 (last sunday same day as sis's baptizm) and he has no desire to do anything in a timely manner.  Nothing!  It took him almost two hours to shower, dress, feed his pets, and eat breakfast.  All things that could take 45 mins. to an hour tops.  As for Schoolwork?  Well we always do the math, spelling and language first...hmm...we are not finding time for anything else at all in this process, because  it takes him ALL DAY to do them.  Or he will loose the book he is supposed to read (the one that goes back to the library today....hmm...guess who gets to pay for it)  It is all a discipline thing in my eyes, but how much grounding from this or that can you do? 

Today for the first time in this month, though planned 4 other times, we are meeting a homeschooling family.  They have homeschooled longer than I have.  And I am looking forward to it.  But I am almost scared to go to meet with them.  This 0 year old has me at my wits end.  But in 45 minutes we will be at their home.  :)  Luckily we do have the math, language and spelling done for today....but it is only just now getting finished.  So I guess I am looking to ask, how do you all handle interuptions to the schedules?  How do you re-motivate your children after a hectic month or so of illness, and other things? 

Really in my heart I know the Lord wants me to do this, as each time I start to question myself, I find all the reasons and answers to why this is so important.  I just could use a boost of ideas on how to turn this into a fun and enjoyable learning environment for him, in which he knows his work needs done, and does not procrastinate in doing it.  :)

Okay I read that someone did a blog on their 10 favorite things about homeschooling.  :)  This got me thinking.  Not sure if I can come up with 10.  I am not always that creative, but here goes what I think my favorite things about homeschooling are.

1.  A flexible schedule.  That is one of the best things about homeschooling.  We have a flexible schedule.  Wether we have to move things around for vacations, or have to change things for doctors appointments.  We have control of our schedule.  And I no longer get that mid week letter from the school that says "Tomorrow" some award or meeting.  So that leads to #2

2.  Not having to deal with the public school system.  I remember doing that and among the fact that all the sudden they thought I knew nothing about my children, they also had control of all the time in our lives.  I like not having to deal with them any more.

3. Vacationing when we want.  Hmmm....these three seem very related.  :)

4.  Picking the curriculum.  :)  I love that I have control of what the children learn.  But also

5. WHEN and how they learn it.  How much time is spent on it.  Also not teaching them more than they need to know, until it is time for them to know it. 

6.Being able to do things hands on.  Things you would not necessarily think of too.  :)  Like making playdoh numbers, or shaving cream numbers.  :) 

7.  Exploring nature and going for walks on trails and making it part of science!

8. Getting out of bed, when we are rested, not to early, so we are tired and dragging all day.

9.  The fact that my son is so much more relaxed than he was in school.  So much more enjoyable.  :)

10.  I think there are more but I want this to be the most important part, GOD  is part of our studies.  The Lord is part of all our work.  I can do a devotion, we can pray, we can read our bibles, and noone, can say not to.  It is our choice. 

I think probably in all one of the best things about homeschooling is living in america we have the freedom to do this, to make our own choices and the freedom to mold our children into wonderful, caring, lawabiding, people that serve the Lord. 

Well I obviously am not good at blogging daily.  But I do try to come up with something interesting to say.  Today I noticed I had a response to my last blog and I was so excited!  Someone actually read what I wrote!  Thank you for the response!

So today I had a question to ask and I am hoping that someone out there will give me some guidance on this.  :) 

I will freely admit I was raised a very spoilt only child.  At least in the respect to what my three children would see.  I grew up in a 4 bedroom, two bathroom house.  Just my parents and I.  I never had to share a room, never had to wait for a bathroom, and never was anything crowded in our home.  I believe the house was only 1500 -1700 sq feet or so, but it only had 3 people living in it, so it seemed rather large, and compared to the home I have now, well......it was larger. 

I have yet to figure out how to organize a shared bedroom.  Organization was not a strong point of mine a child or teen.  I remember we moved into an apartment my junior year as my parents built their new very large home (5,000 sq ft).  The apartment was just a 2 bedroom and 1 and a 1/2 bath home.  It was still fine for us, though I had a freezer in my bedroom and the large roll-away bed from the old houses spare bedroom.  Everything of mine was mostly in storage.  But I did not have to get rid of anything, because in the new home there would be room for it all.  So no need to organize or get rid of things, just pack them up an save them for the year.  And that is what we did.

I remember marrying my husband and moving "some" of my stuff to his home. He had a two bedroom 1100 sq ft trailer.  With two baths.  I filled his cupboards and his closets.  Never thinking I had to much "stuff". 

Now I look around me and I think "we have TOO MUCH STUFF"  and I am not quite sure what to do about it.  :)  Mostly I can clean up and organize and I am getting better at getting rid of things.  But my big problem is my sons room.  I love the idea of a large family and I don't think my home is too small, just to cluttered.  :)  But how do I decide what things to not have in the boys room?  How do I convince them of the value of sharing that room and loving and respecting eachother.  :)  I can tell them how much God wants them to love and respect eachother and I can read them scriptures, but I know when they head into their cluttered room, even they get frustrated.  I want them to know the value of being siblings, the value of having eachother.  See I can't give them a home as large as the one of my childhood, (though mine was up for sale at the same time this one was, and in our price range, just noone purchased this one)  But I can give them eachother and a respect for eachother. 

They have the one thing I did not have as a child, siblings.  :)  Now I can tell you I am not sure if I would have enjoyed sharing a bedroom or not.  I had the second largest room in the house and boy did I like my "stuff".  I don't necessarily see that as a good characteristic in me either.  :) 

So my question today is how do you organize a small room with two rambunctious boys and all their things in it?  How do you as a parent convince those boys of the value of respecting eachother and eachothers belongings?  And how do you convince them that it is okay to get rid of stuff?

Today was pretty productive day.  :)  I find that if I relax, follow a tentative schedule and bring out lots of new manipulatives and books, that I can re-spark and interest in my children.  Todays favorites, a book made by an old Kindergarten teacher my older two had.  I pulled them out the year my dd was in Kindergarten.  Mrs. R. loved my children, but dd was also the 8th child she had taught from this family.  She was very supportive of my homeschooling and wanted to give me tons of resources.  She also was a very devoted teacher whom spent hours at the school making up new "books" for the children.  All that she made up with her Word program.  I have color books, site word books and alphabet books.  Today I handed my son an alphabet book so he could put it in his desk. He was so excited.  I gathered together some other resources I have that teach the alphabet and brought them from my storage filing cabinet, to the new classroom.

Speaking of classroom and desks.  I have never thought that homeschooling had to look like a classroom, but this year we decided to give it a try.  Since we could not build and extra room onto our home. We moved furniture around, turned the porch area into a t.v. room, and turned the living room into a classroom.  There is not much room for entertaining, but it seems to really work for us.  The children love the classroom and they all wanted their own desks.  The older two have some old fashioned desks that went to storage last year.  My oldest ds was given his when he was 3.  It is a special desk to him.  One of those old fashioned desks with the wood top, and metal storage area.  The top is hinged.  Well my uncle and cousin found them at an sale of old school furniture.  It was not in great condition, so they bought it, brought it home, sanded it all down to the fresh wood, and the clean metal and painted it just for my son.  He felt so special.  Later we found one that needs work for my dd.  It is pink and has some paint peeling that we want to refinish but she loves it.  The children really wanted to get those desks from storage and use them in the classroom.  The only thing was I did not have one for youngest ds.  He was very upset by this.  So last week while visiting another homeschoolers house, I saw that she had four very nice desks, that were a bit different and newer than what we have, but along the same lines.  Another mother asked her where she found them.  It was a local business that often gets in old school desks and sells them.  Dh and I had been by there many times and not seen any.  But lo and behold we ran by there that evening, in the rain, and sitting outside were some desks.  This one is made from a durable plastic resin and metal.  The business was closed but dh went by the next day and was able to purchase one for $5.  What a deal!  He brought it in, we cleaned it up, and I think ds has been sitting at it every second he can since.  He loved being able to keep all his books in one place and having his own place to sit to do his work.  How long will this last?  I don't know, but I am glad to find something that makes my lil man feel special.  :)

So this all got me to thinking.  What types of areas do you have that you do your schooling at?  Do you have a classroom area?  Do you all sit around the kitchen table?  Or on the couch?  We still curl up with books on the couch.  And some activities are still done at the table.  :)  Since I have a new table, we tend to bring in a folding table for art projects.  Do you have a seperate table to eat at and a seperate table for school?  Do you have reading areas?  Quiet areas?  Play areas? 

I think sometimes we do need to have different areas, partly for us, and partly for the children.  Having different areas helps us to focus on whatever it is we need to do at the time we are in the area an not be distracted by other things.  :)  I found if we school in the kitchen than I want to do dishes and clean my counters.  And of course the kids love it if I get distracted.  :)  So tell me about your homeschool environment!  I would love to hear all about it! 

Well I doubt this post will be filled with great wonderfully moving thoughts.  :)  I just had to write a bit about today.  Nothing grand or wonderfully moving happened.  But we did get a major bulk of our work done this morning and finally had time to start reading "The Story of the World, Ancient Times"  I am really excited to be sharing and reading this book with my children.  I also purchased the activity book to go with it and have looked through many of the activites anticipating the chance to do them.  Though I am not shocked at all by my childrens reaction.  My boys only want to play.  So the reading time was very tough on them.  They brought out some lego toys and paid more attention to them than to the reading.  We also started the first activity, the history of my family activity.  My dd was so excited to be able to make a book about her family.  My oldest ds is okay with it, not looking forward to it, but not dreading it.  :)  I am hoping a good story from grandpa in the interviewing section will peak his interests some.  :)  The youngest ds can not write yet on his own, so I am helping him with his if he chooses to do it.  I am not pushing it.  He is only in Kindergarten, I asked him to color his front page and he is working on it.  I told him that when he interviews his family members he can just give them the interview sheet and have them fill it out for him, but that he needs to listen to their stories.  I am really looking forward to hearing what information they get back from family members.

I have a very large extended family and thought about incorporating them in on the project, by sending them an interview page and each child writing a letter to them expressing that they would like them to fill it out and send it back for their family history book.  Hmmm...That idea just came to me, I will have to pass it on to the children. 

The other plans for our day is to finish freezing up some tomatoes and also make another batch of homemade salsa.  :)  I have not found any way to freeze or save it, but If anyone has some suggestions.  I was given the recipe by a hispanic friend and she has never canned or froze it.  I am very tempted to try.  It is all fresh, tomatos, chili's, onions, peppers and cilantro.  It is a wonderful fresh recipe. 

I don't have a great inspiring thing to write about and hope to at some point again, but I just got to thinking about how great this day has been and how wonderful it is that we have chosen to homeschool.  Yesterday afternoon the children all started a lego village and today they have new plans for it.  They spend time together playing nicely during the school year.  The summer months are so hectic and seem filled with other children and mine tend to not get along as well.  But during the school year they all help eachother and spend time together, getting along better than ever.  What a great testimony for our homeschooling.  :)

I was looking through my old blog pages from last year and saw that I had posted our thoughts on a schoolroom.  Well that did not seem to work out the way we had planned.  We still have rafters, were even lucky enough to get some insulation from our church, but have yet to come up with the funds for other things needed in the building of a schoolroom.  We even looked into renting our home and moving to a larger home.  Not one thing worked out and we figure the Lord has his own reasonings for this.

So here we sit in our little home, only little because of all we have in it, and wonder how to make it more educationally friendly.   Our home is about 1200 sq ft.  We live here, with our three children, and mil. Last year I packed up bookshelves of books.  Totally 21 boxes.  This was to sell the house.  It did not pan out.  So we want to bring thiese books back.  The idea came up that we have a small den study type room and a larger living room.  The small den is actually and enclosed half of our front porch.  The room is maybe 8-9ft, by 10 ft?  The living room is 16* 13, not a huge difference but a significant difference.  Dh did some measuring and figured our couch could fit in that tiny front porch area, and across the room we could put the t.v.  Hmm...we don't watch it much.  We do have a few sitcoms, dh and I like, but we don't even have very many channels, so what would it hurt?  Then the t.v would not be in the main living area, and not a main focal point in our lives.  (a problem for older ds, he thinks he must always watch t.v.)   We would also put the stereo in there.  IN the process we could bring home the rest of the books an bookshelves.  It would open a wall to be lined with these and filled. We could put a table in the middle of the room and do our studies at it, with little desks off to the side that the kids could do their studies without being bothered by their siblings.  (they like their little desks, presents from family members years ago, old time school desks, to play at, these are currently in storage and they asked if they could be brought home)  We like to do crafts and things and could have a wall to display them.  The piano would not have a couch sitting in front of it and would be easier to access.  :)  We would take our big recliner and our glider putting a table and light between them in the "school" area and have a reading area.  Something we all could benefit from. 

There are some drawbacks to all this.  One if you decided to watch t.v. you would be sitting right on it!  lol...Also the computer is in this particular den area, it would need to be moved.  But there is not a hook up for it in the house.  We would have to call and get the phone company to come and either re-route things or hook the two phone lines together.  (we have a business phone and a home phone line, only one is active as a cost measure we canceled the home phone a year ago, all outlets through the house are home lines, except the one that has the dsl and business phone on it)  It all seems workable, but also odd.  It would make things more interesting if we decided to entertain guests.  As the sitting area would only be a couch and maybe we could pull a chair in there.  :)  My oldest ds mentioned that we often have friends over for the superbowl (child thinks ahead, and and loves football).  He was concerned as to how that would happen.  Honestly it probably would not be able to happen. Or would be more difficult if it did. 

So last night weighing in all the pro's and con's I sent up another prayer to the lord and asked him to show me a sign that this was the best idea for our family.  If it was I am sure he will show us, if it is not a good idea I am sure he will show us.  :)  I don't mind at all being excentric or odd by changing things around.  Personally I would rather have a library than a family room any day.  I still like the t.v.....love HGTV, even though I don't have it any longer.  But the t.v. is not something we need to have on all the time in this house.  Reading grows your mind.  AT this time, that t.v is taking up space in the largest room of our home.  My boys are building with legos on the floor in front of it.  The radio is on, still playing the cd over and over that youngest ds must lear for the christmas play at church.  We are not missing the t.v. at all.  :)   Hmmm is that my sign? 

It is the begining of another year, okay, well it is 12 days into that year.  What a rocky start!  We are doing 3rd grade with oldest ds, 2nd with dd, and K with my youngest ds.  Oldest Ds started the year up with all the resistance in the world.  Boy did he fight my every single thought, my every single lesson.  Everything that was to be done on a daily basis.  He really was testing my authority as his parent.  And it got old fast.  My dd loves to school and does not tend to follow others. So for the most part, other than talking to her brother instead of waiting for him to finish his work, she has done great.  She even gets her work done quickly so we can do "fun things" in the afternoon.  Oldest ds is not like that.  He will procrastinate till the cows come home.  We live in town, so I don't expect any cows today or any day soon, but I do know he will continue to procrastinate.  He had me doubting myself by the first week and I have done this for 2 and 1/2 years, going into my third year.  And really he had my youngest ds, whom is a handful anyways, testing me also.  Not wanting to work and acting in much the same manner as his older brother, as he looks up to him.  What a test.  The week had me worn out.  And the second week we all became sick, with a cold my husband had brought home.  So the second week of school wore us out even more.

So last night I took time before going to sleep to just sit down and pray.  I was given scriptures to read, for the daily reading, in my womans devotional bible, that I myself could not understand how they pertained to me.  I just was unable to comprehend how Ezekial pertained to me.  I did understand that Jerusalem had sinned and I know I have sinned, but I did not know how that was laying out for the answers I needed about homeschooling. So I prayed more and more.  I remembered that this bible had daily devotions in it, part of why I picked it up, not just the read the bible in a year plan in the back that I was following.  (no I have not stuck to it daily, a sin I confess, I don't talk to God on a daily basis as I should, I try to do to much on my own.)  I thought to look at the next devotion in the part of Ezekial I was in.  Hmm...It said Monday on the top of it.  What a coinicidence!  It was about the Sacraficing the Children, the verses were Ezekial 16:20-21.  By the end the author of the devotion, Dorothy Patterson gave a good testimony for moms "keeping the home and rearing our children."  She wrote "Nothing has Challenged my body and mind any more or showered mor rewards on my heart and soul than investing my educatoin, skills and energies in the people I love most and want most to succeed."  What a thought.  As I read that I thought of all the times the boys have tested me, and even my daughter has tested me in the last few weeks, but also of all the joys that have come from having them here with me all day.

I want them to succeed, I want them to learn, I want them to be a great contribution to the world.  So last night I prayed, I asked the lord to forgive me for becoming so stubborn myself.  I asked him to help me listen to my children and to help me to find a way to guide them with a calm voice and help them to find things of interest in our schooling and our lives.  I also asked him to help me to be a better wife, to help my husband to have patience with us.  All things that are so needed in our home on a daily basis.   I felt a wonderful peace come over me and I went to bed.

This morning I woke, feeling better than I had in many days.  (I was terribly sick from that cold, it moved to my chest and really has bothered me)  I took a moment to make some tea, and get myself ready before waking the children.  We started our day with some chorest that I never get accomplished.  Put in the christmas CD youngest ds is working on learning for church.  Read a devotional with my dd at the couch and started our day.  (ds has misplaced his devotional and will be looking for it soon)  Oldest ds is still procrastinating.  He probably always will.  I am going to pray on that though.  I have faith he can not procrastinate.  Youngest ds worked hard on his studies, put up a bit of a stubborn streak, but not about school.  (he wants to jump rope in the house, hmm...no not here)  My dd has worked hard.  Today we might actually get to start on our "fun things" as dd likes to call it.  :)  I do believe just that lil prayer has really helped to make things flow much better here. 

Well today marks the technical end to another year.  Why do I say technical?  Well we have our 180 days required by the state in, but do I think I could ever stop teaching them?  We were going to head down to Indy today to the childrens museum, but a lovely migraine knocked me out of the loop for a bit.  We were able to get the few basics done that were needed, but not take a long trip.  So today I am feeling better and by tomorrow I plan to drive us down to Indy.  :)  And spend a day just learning whatever they guide me to wanting to know.  When I was a child and my parents took me to visit the museum, ususally once a year, we would start on one floor and either work our way down or up.  (there are four floors to the building)  We would make a day of the musuem.  Be there from open to close.  And other than having to go from one floor to another, there was no directed guideance from my parents. That is my plan for tomorrow. 

I have also been doing some thinking about my blog, about how little time I spend at my blog.  I spend time each day online, answering emails, but I don't spend time writing on my blog.  Then I figured out why the other day, I want my blogs to all sound very well thought out and to make sense to someone.  I read blogs of others, blogs about why homeschool, about why not to.   Blogs about different types of homeschooling and different curriculums.   As I read these I love the stories shared and then I think often, "am I doing enough?"  Well after time to think that out, yes I am.  No maybe we had to chuck our History curriculum last year because it just did not hold our interest.  Maybe multiplication and division was hard this last year.  Maybe we had point in reading that we were really struggling just to pronounce each word right.  But we made it through all of those.   We got books from the library on Historical events, stories that take place in the times of history we were interested in, wether fictional or non, when Ben Franklins birthday came we looked up strange and silly facts online.  We have gruelled over multiplication and division.  One child struggles to get the answer, but he has the concept, the other was so bored waiting to learn it while I was off in the corner with the first that she taught herself.  As for reading we never have stopped and those stumbling blocks become less and less of blocks each day.  We found science everywhere, got a bird feeder just to watch the birds eat and ended up with a stack of books trying to identify them and learn about their living habitats.  We found a park with a stream through it that we spent hours walking along and learning about everything living in the stream and along the banks.  My children even taught me about poison ivy this year.  A feet my father could not teach me for years, I just avoided all green stuff, but my oldest took a picture for me, so I could put it in my memory.  He figured out that I have a memory for sight things and since I needed to see this particular thing often that was the best way for me to know what poison ivy looked like. 

Yes I might question myself and think I am not doing enough, but I seem to be doing things okay.

Lastly I had a thought today as I sat down here, the older two of my children whom are only 14 months apart were not wanting to play with their brother who is collectively 3 and 4 years younger than them.  I remembered  back to a simpler time, when the oldest were toddlers and the youngest was all new and wrinkley and they told me "mommy he is so boring, will he ever play with us?"  I smiled as I listened to them trying to get away from the one deemed "boring" again.  Not because he was small and wrinkley, but because his dinosaurs had just destroyed the barbie/action figure-indian villiage set up on my dd's bed.  Time changes quickly.  And what a wonderful blessing my children are.

Thank you for listening to my rambling.  And I hope your days are blessed with much joy. 

SpunkyHomeSchool is having a contest.  I stop by her blog daily just to get some inspiration and recently read her article in the TOS magazine.  Yes I am still trying to figure out what type of blogger I am!  :)  And since I can't figure out how to get links to work and have those cute little subtitles instead of the whole long link, well I sorta stepped back till I could figure it out.  Since SpunkyHomeSchool above was supposed to be a link you can still tell I have not figured that out.  :)  So I am going to copy and paste her contest sentence below.  :)  Hope whoever wins really enjoys the prizes!   And if we won?  Well we might have more to think about blogging about.  :)  Enjoy the contest all!

Spunky is giving away a Benz Microscope and Apologia Biology Set this week. Click Here to get the details.

Today I got to thinking and decided to write something that sounded intelligent and well was a part of my thoughts.  I took the time to research and think out what I wanted to say.  To find verses and place them in my writings.  And below is what I came up with.  I have not written anything quite like this in my life and wanted to place it below.  Years ago I wrote every day.  Now I just write here and then.  Most of it on here.  So when I went to find a place to put these thoughts this was my forum.  I hope someone enjoys my ramblings about success and what it means to me.  :)

Success

Hmm…I was listening to a radio broadcast on the local Christian radio station today.  There was a man on there, whose name I don’t know, but he was giving a sermon on being successful and the meaning of success.  Well, I think that was the sermon.  I was in my own world, driving along and only half paying attention to what he was saying.  I heard him give the definition of success and I just let my mind go.  I thought to myself, what makes a successful parent?  What makes a successful marriage?  What makes a successful homeschool?  What makes a successful life?  Not in societies eyes per say, but in the Lords, and in our hearts. 

I do not remember the man on the radio’s definition of success, so I came home and looked it up in my American Heritage Dictionary, third edition.  This dictionary defined success as “1. The achievement of something attempted.  2.  The gaining of fame or prosperity.  3. one that succeeds.”  Okay I can agree for the most part with that definition.  The second part of that definition is what gets me thinking.  Is this type of success truly satisfying?  I don’t need fame to be successful as a wife, mother, teacher, or Gods servant.  Financial prosperity would be a nice benefit to life, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t need it to be successful as a wife, mother, or a homeschooling mom.  And I don’t have to have financial prosperity to serve God in his word.

So many of us in life go in search of money, of fame, of prosperity, but is that the true measure of success.  The bible tells us that “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction” Timothy 6:9(NIV).  How many people do you know have fallen into undesirable straights just trying to get to success, trying to get to financial prosperity?  I myself have fallen time and again.  My family has been fractured from time to time, all for the price of the dollar and finding success in it.  And at what cost?  We buy things, we want things, and we have to work harder to have those things, but in those things we do not find true success.  And the cost is always time spent away from family, away from the peacefulness of Gods words. 

Jesus told us “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Matt. 6:19-21 (NIV)  How many times have we heard this scripture?  I know I have heard this many times, at bible studies, in sermons and even in teaching my children’s bible course at home.  And yet I know this scripture, I know what Jesus was saying and still I look at the beauty of many material things, and I want them.  As I am human, but more material things does not make me successful.

So I ask what does make me successful?

To me the meaning of success is to have a happy marriage, a marriage with love and respect.  The type of marriage in which the husband “…must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”  Ephesians 5:33 (NIV)    Many times I have made mistakes in treating my husband with respect.  I can be caught arguing with him and holding things against him, well after the disagreement is finished.  But I strive to not do this and place upon my heart the words of Ephesians.  And to me success in marriage will be the day that my husband feels my respect and love for him and knows in his heart that his wife supports him in all his endeavors. 

 The meaning of success in parenting, in my opinion, is to raise our children up in Gods word, placing it upon their hearts.  To raise them to be joyful contributors to society, whom show the light of the Lord in their daily work.  The bible says “….bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”  Ephesians 6:4.  Teach them the words of the bible.  Give them the peace and the security of knowing our Lord, a forgiving Lord whom loves and cares for them.  If I can give my children a love for the Lord that as adults flows from them for the world to see.  I shall than have found success as a parent.

Homeschooling success fall in much of the above.  To homeschool well, I need a successful marriage, it helps to give my children a sense of security.  I need to be a good parent teaching them the words of God.  And thirdly I need to teach them a sense of responsibility, to be hard working, intelligent people, people whom make a joyful contribution to society.

To me success is all of these things, but on a day to day basis how do I see it breaking down?  I see it in the young five year old son of mine, bringing me a first bible story book, asking me to read page after page.  I see it in my children smiling and laughing and playing together.  I see it in the look on my 9 year old sons face when he finally gets his multiplication problems right.  I see it in my 8 year old daughters eyes, as she reads to me successfully from one of her books.  And I see it in my husbands face and actions when he comes home to our house, the home we build together.  I can measure my daily successes on the happiness and peacefulness in the ones around me. 

Am I successful every day?  No, there are days when there is much to much noise, much to many distractions, and the home does not exude a peaceful existence.  Those are the days that I am greatful for the Lords grace for all my imperfections.  I am greatful that only one can be perfect and that is Jesus.  I can only try to be the best at all times that I can.

So to me success is much more than that little definition in the dictionary.  So much more.  Someday I hope that I can look back at my definition and the words typed here and say “yes I have seen success in my life”  Not the success of society, but the success of the Lords work in my life, my marriage, my parenting, my homeschooling.  Because that is the success that satisfies.  Satisfying success does not come in the form of prosperity or fame, but in the works of following the Lord and loving your family.

I have been thinking about this.  We have been working so hard to get our workbook materials done in that "180 day" time frame that the state requires.  It is the states only requirement, that we have 180 days of school.  We are doing pretty good with our schedule that we follow now, and a part of me does not want to stop just because Summer is coming.  I really want to finish out the books, and we have some exciting new books to start, that I could see starting, oh, say, mid-summer? After a, oh, maybe?  three week break? 

Anyone out there homeschool all year with texts?  Or do your school days just go all year because your lifestyle is that of a learning style?  Just rambling here, but it sure has my thoughts going.

Ah....spring is here, I see my daylilies sprouting out of the ground, they have pretty yellow buds on them, my tulips are all coming up to.  I love when those flowers bloom and the newness of the season.   Oh...wait...put your breaks on....spring is NOT here yet.  Yes the calendar said it was officially spring....but the weather said differently.  :)  It snowed here yesterday, the second "official" day of spring.   It snowed much worse south of us, and I am thankful that we only had an inch of snow AND it is all gone today. Well for the most part, some shaded areas have snow in them, but the roads are dry (that is very important) and the yard is dry.  (that is a bonus) 

Now I like all seasons, I think they all are great, each holds its own excitement for me, Spring, I love the newness of the season, I love digging in the ground and getting some plants going.  Summer, I love summer activities, the warmth in the air.  Fall, ahh...sweet peaceful fall, with all its vibrant colors.  And winter, with its holidays and the ending of one year and the begining of another.  All the seasons are just wonderful.  But as I get older, I start to like Spring a bit more. Fall has to reign in a close second.  Spring just shouts of new life and freedoms.  It promises of warm playdays and walks in the park. 

Honestly we could use a bit of spring weather here.  I have two very active boys, whom during the winter months get a bit to rambunctious for the house.  This week they have both been a bit more ancy than normal.  Another sign spring is around the corner.

Another spring great in Indiana, at least now that I homeschool, is the homeschool convention.  This is the first year since I started homeschooling that I won't be attending.  But the catalogs are coming in, the sales on curriculum are coming out, and looking toward next years books seems so exciting.  Figuring out what has worked this year, what is not working for us, and what we just plain could not get interested in and did not use.  Some of it did work, some I would like to work better.  And the things we did not use, well need pitched, because they did not work for us. 

Usually with spring there is a new sport.  This year we have not found one to join, and I am afraid I am too late to get the boys signed up.  But instead we found 4-H.  My oldest had his Jr 4-H meeting last night, first one.  He is so excited.  He was only signed up for one event, Woodworking.  And he was okay with that.  He would have signed up for many more, but I did not let him.  So last night we are at our meeting, which happens to be in an Archery shop.  They discuss the shooting sports club.  Hmm...is he interested?  That boy could not sit still!  He was so interested!  My oldest has loved to fish (another spring favorite for him) since he was old enough to hold a pole.  I think at the age of 2 my father would take him down to the lake and they would fish for hours.  Friends of my fathers were all amazed that a 2 yr old would last that long, but I tell you he has a heart for fishing and hunting, but also for animals in general.  Someday his mind will probably battle over saving them all, or hunting, but right now he just is enjoying the ideas at hand.  This Archery shop, had all the bow hunting things his poor lil heart could handle to see, and he was just bursting at the seams with excitement.  So yes mama broke her rule of only one event and said, "go ahead and sign up for the shooting sports club"  (I read the book first and saw that the first thing that all are taught is safety.)  Just another new spring event.

My dd will be having her mini-4H meeting at some point, she chose to do her project on a pet.  Plans to take pictures of our huge Shepherd and make a poster on him.  :)  The mud loving long haired dog....guess I will have to work hard at getting him cleaned up for his photo opts....ah Spring will be good for that...all the rain...lol.....

My youngest ds, just can't stand that the sun comes out, it gets warmer (50's) and then the next day it is cold again.  He wants to ride his bike, he wants to run, he wants to....just be a part of SPRING!  Winter is not so much fun for him.  To cold.  He is not fond of that. 

So all this newness....all this spring....I can't wait to see how it continues to come in.  :)  And those flowers...well so far they all survived the snow....Hoping they survive it again on Friday and Saturday....cause I sure would like to see them bloom!

I have always wondered what other homeschoolers did when they have sick children or are sick themselves.  And of course today I thought of it again as I have one sick lil boy.  He is one of those children that is constantly on the go and into everything, but once sick, he is just a snuggle bug.  This morning was one of those mornings.  Before we homeschooled, I would have to get him up very early with the other kids, try to get him dressed and out to the car.  We always walked in his older siblings, so he would have to get out of the car and be dragged into the building wiht the other children.  He also has asthma, so many of those times both he and I would be going on an hour of sleep after spending most of the morning in the ER, getting steroid injections or whatever other treatment he needed. 

This morning was completely different than it used to be, and also educational for the older siblings.  The youngest one was able to crawl into my bed, turn on PBS and watch some cartoons.  His older siblings and I went to the living room and to the kitchen to do their schooling.  We were able to get through math, spelling and language.  Then even my head hurt a bit.  (I had been up a bit last night with the sick child)  and I asked for fifteen minutes of quiet time.  (my lil power nap, get rid of the headache time)  At this point the youngest one walked up to me, with his pillow, his blanket and said "mommy can I nap with you"  The older two were going over their reading work and decided to make themselves sandwiches for lunch.  My son and I took a nap.  We laid there for and hour, on the couch, snuggled under his blanket. 

Schooling still happened, it still went on.  That younger child is now off in the other room playing at a much slower than usual rate, but never did he have to leave the comforts of his own home while feeling miserable. 

When the older ones are sick we curl up on the couch to do our studies.  And we just take our time.  If we are too sick we let things go for that day and pick up on it the next.  This is a small benefit, for us to homeschooling.  But one of the many many benefits we find each day in the homeschool world.

So it poses the question in my mind, What do other do when homeschool gets sick?

Lately I have been contemplating the WHY of homeschooling.  Why are we doing this?  Why did we start this?  Of course it is also February and we are on a bit of a burn out here. That is why we headed to the museum.  :)  And it helped.  But I have been questioning our curriculum and questioning our style of teaching.  I think it would be wonderful to add more literature, real literature to our texts, and I have my husband actually agreeing to letting me build and refine our own studies.  :)  (Just picked up "Home schooling Methods" by the Suarez's at my local bookstore also, so happy to see it there, so dh could get it in his hands and see what I wanted to buy for once!) 

Over this last week my Indianahomeschoolers message group began discussing a move by the state to test children for Mental disorders.  Now I have vaguely heard about this idea, and was not to happy about it.  But life being extremely busy lately, I had not had the time to follow up on what is going on with this new "idea".  Though I must say the idea scares me a bit.  From there the topic went to schools causing many of the mental issues, or other problems children have.  And again it got me thinking as to WHY we decided to homeschool.

Today has not been the easiest days.  I am not and early riser, but I was motivated recently to get up at 6-7am'ish to work with my oldest, one on one, on his math.  He is great at Math, or was until we introduced Multiplication.   And well he is not great at memorization.  So this morning, we went over some work he had trouble on, and re-did some problems, and then discussed todays assignment, which was estimating,  he is pretty good at that.  And did all this before I woke up his siblings at 8am.  Well being that I did not sleep well last night...I am a bit tired.  It is almost 2 and I have yet to shower, but all our work, except some reading is done.  :)  To me that is success. 

I have been able to sit online with some quiet time before mil comes home from work...I rush through a shower and  I get ready to take Dd to girl scouts.  I even got her cookie money all ready to turn in, A WEEK EARLY! 

And of course all this free time leads me to thinking about WHY do I homeschool.  And the topic of the public schools turned to their lack of time, and some teachers, not all, because I know great one, but some not caring or listening to professionals when there is a learning disorder.  Or teachers trying to diagnos the learning disorder. And it helped me remember a few things.

See my older two started in the public schools.  My first son, was okay, but school stressed him, he was only there till 1st grade, and by then his whole personality had changed and he was a nervous wreck.  He is such a lil perfectionist and can't stand to not get A's on everything.  My middle child, my dd, has mild Cerebral palsy.  She is smart as a button, the school system of course picked her up at age 3 and provided services for her.  PT and OT.  They IQ tested her and said "wow, she is very smart! Her IQ is much higher than any CP child we have ever seen."  She has the IQ of a gifted child, but could not possibly be taught in a gifted class because she has CP.  Now of course I could have fought them on all this, but why?  She was in a mainstream kindergarten class, and bored.  Her preschool teachers told me over and over, make sure the challenge her.  But she did not get that.  Her kindergarten teacher was a great woman.  Actually I still have her phone number on my refrigerator, and we go visit her from time to time.  She really cares about her students, but then again my children were the 6th and 7th children from my husbands family that she had taught.  So she had a long standing relationship with this family, and she really enjoys my dh's family.  But even she looked at my 3 year old and told me "please get him to calm down before you send him to school"   I know she meant well, but he was three, and is very energetic, and next year he won't be in school.  At least not public school.  He will be in Homeschool, our school....Red Maple Learning Center.

You know I can sit with my son, when he stresses over math and work through each problem with him. That is WHY I homeschool.  My daughter can be challenged, not bored.  That is WHY I homeschool.  I can teach at their levels, not whatever level everyone else needs.  That is WHY I homeschool.  And my youngest next year, may get Kindergarten reading, or he may not.  He may need to build more with legos, run around the yard and have a lot of hands on things.  He is just that energetic.  And I can provide just what he needs.  That is WHY I homeschool. 

I am glad we had our experiences with the public school here.  And I will say that I know and am related to some GREAT and wonderful public school teachers.  But I homeschool because I can tailor all and everything to my children.  And most importantly, I do feel that the Lord has asked me to do this.  When I run into a snag, when I need some help, I pray, I ask him.  Just as I did when I was investigating homeschooling that year my son was in first grade and my dd was in kindergarten.  I pray daily.  We have our bumps, but I see them for what they are, bumps...things we need to work out, and we pray on it, we ask for the Lords help, we ask for his guidance, and he is good, he provides our direction.

So I figure out my WHY's....I know in my heart all will be wonderful, and today after all their work has been completed, I listen to the joyful sound of my children playing in their room.  They are each others best friends.  They may not always realize it, but they are.  Yet another reason WHY.

Well the Lord had different plans for us.  The job did not come through for us.  We are disappointed, but we also know that the Lord has his reasons.  So we turned it over in prayer.  It looks as though we will be staying here.  And truelly as much as we wanted that job in Michigan, we also know that there were many reasons for us not to be away from Indiana.

As we plug along with our schooling, I find this time of year is very easy to become burnt out.  So this last week we took an adventure to The Children's Museum of Indianapolis.  While there we purchased our year long membership.  For a family of five this is a great investment to be used with our homeschooling.  I think the children most enjoyed the Dinosphere exhibit.  My five year old for the first time really found something that interested him.  Even today he is spending more time with his dinosaurs.  He was able to dig up dinosaur bones in part of their exhibit. He thought it was great till he asked what bone he was working on and the museum staffer told him it was the dinosaurs lunch.  He quickly found another spot to dig at.

Amazingly my 8 year old with all her fears of the bones and the actual dinosaurs was very content to learn and read about them.  A friend of mine suggested that I let her take a flashlight and a small stuffed toy when we go on these trips and she feels out of her element.  She walked right into the exhibit flashlight in hand, ready to learn, there were flashing strobe lights and the simulation of a thunderstorm.  All things that normally send her into a total fear state, and she did not have this reaction.  After about 5 minutes she handed me that flashlight and off she went to dig and read and learn all about the many dinosaurs. 

My oldest, the 9 yr old boy, had the most fun being the know-it-all in this area.  He found every computer and sat through the presentations.  Bringing us all back facts and leading to interesting discussions. 

All-in-all the day led to a great rejuvenation of our desire to learn.  I am very grateful to be able to use this as a resource in our education.

Last I wrote we were looking at building a classroom, now all that seems to be up in smoke.  Okay not totally, but at least on hold.  Today my dh is at a job interview, 6 hours away from here in Cadillac, Michigan.  We have so many emotions with this prospect.  And so much excitement.   The idea of moving to Michigan is a dream I have always had.  My family is there.  But also there is many family members whom think my idea of homeschooling is just nuts and as soon as I get there I can put my children in their "Good" schools that they have and get myself a job. I just don't plan to do that. 

In the process of this job inteview, and the planning, and the possible moving, I keep turning my prayers over to the Lord, I keep telling him, let his will be done.  Telling him to take away my worries and anxieties and that I know he will provide.  Then I worry about What he might provide.  And grab all those worries back again.  I know he will provide what is best, but I can not help but worry.

So the classroom is on the back burner, the jobs are in the forefront.  And the Lord, he is protecting us, guiding us and watching in frustration as I worry away. 

Well in all my ponderings I kept hinting to my husband that I would love some school space.  So I mention that somewhere I read, wether on the blogs, or on a message board, I can not remember, that one homeschooling family is planning to change their storage shed into a classroom.  WHAT A WONDERFUL IDEA!  So I shared this with my husband, who responds with.  "I told you I would build you a classroom with the rafters we have."  This of course gets me dreaming.

See a few years back he had to tear down a single wide trailer that was his fathers, the inside was destroyed to water damage, but the old rafters were in great condition.  He has given away some to friends, and sold some at times, but he had many rafters and still has enough left to make a room that would be at the largest 15x20 or so.  Hmmmm  That could be a nice classroom.  Larger than any room in my house.  All the windows from this single wide were still in good condition, so we have some of them, and somehow over time he has aquired, a regular walk door from a home, and many sheets of plywood.  The major costs to us would be cement for the floor, and two by fours for the walls, then drywall, oh and shingles.  But even those things could be pieced in place, and somehow, I have learned he always seems to aquire things from friends and their leftover projects.  

So I am thinking about this and wondering, where will he build it.  His answer "attatch it to the back of the garage"  Hmm..okay so if we sell the house in the future than this could be looked at as a workshop.....See I am all about adding to the value of a home if you fix something or at least making sure that whatever you add to it will be useful to the future residents of you home.  Then my next thought is "how will we heat it?"  The garage is not heated. The electricity is ran, at least the wires, but it has never been tied into the homes electric.  Something that we really need to add and finish.  He tells me "with a propane heater"  I think again, good idea, we have one, in the garage that he bought years ago, just for that purpose.  Okay again I like this idea.  When I mention the electricity, and that of course I would need it, he tells me that it would be a major priority. 

So in my head I am thinking, what a great idea, I could have our books on shelves out there, put in cupboards and long counters and have plenty of table space.  The walls could have tack board up to display our maps, we could actually make a time-line...When I put up my greenhouse I could keep the plants out there.  Some of the clutter could be out of my house.  What a great idea!  And as these thoughts go through my mind he turns to me and says....."at least it would be a great playroom for the kids, right?" 

As I come home excited, I mention it all to my mother in law.   She smiles at me and says "when will he have time to build this?"  I think, Great question...he works many many hours already.  I know his friends would help if and when the time comes.  Then I remember to be patient.  Patience, something I have to work on.  God will make sure we are provided with all we need.  So tonight I will turn this up in prayer to the Lord.  And if it works out for us, I will enjoy our new classroom, but if it does not, I know that our Lord has another plan for us in the future.  Time will tell.

I am working hard at trying to figure out how this blogging goes.  I have been reading other blogs and trying to think of great things to write about.  This and restructuring, at least in my head, our homeschool  has been the things that play on my mind lately. 

I think I figured out the blogging part, you write about what is on your mind and hopefully it interests people.   Then I wonder if I am intersting at all.  lol... I am sure some part of my life is. 

As for homeschooling, oh I have figured out that well....things are okay the way they are, but it would be nice if we had more fun.  And my son WANTS science, I really need to give it to him.  I am just not sure I am ready for science clutter.  I was all cool with clutter and mess till we tried to sell our house last summer.  Wow!  I loved how clean my home was.  I have never been all that much for neatness...but I loved how clean it was.  Then somewhere in that process we subscibed to more cable channels.  Hmm....home improvment channels.... hmmm, home decorating channels...hmmm I can make my house look so pretty for so little money....So there is the trap...laid out.  So the childrens messes were regulated to only one room and nothing of theirs could come out to the "main rooms" of our house except our texts. 

So every day we sit at the table and do book work.  Toys in the bedrooms or in the yard, but nothing can mess up my perfect living room and my perfect kitchen/slash dining room.  And somewhere a little voice in my head is saying....wait?  What happened to you?  Did you bring them home to live in a sterile environment?  So off goes my brain thinking again.  :)  Remember restructuring things...now only if my dear hubby would get on board.   See he is a neat-nick of his own.  But don't look in his garage, cause well...he is only a neat-nick in his house.  :) 

So halfway through the year I am realizing that even I can't keep up with the clutter.  I need more space if I want the house to be neat.  Hmmmm....Then my son says SCIENCE...oh my, all I see is a volcano on my brand new table?  AHHH.....I don't want to invision that mess! But that little voice is at work in my head....I hear that voice it says "why did you bring them home, yes to make it more fun"  So I am thinking maybe, jsut maybe I should broach the topic of Science with hubby.  Maybe we need space in the garage for it? 

Though I know that this will not work.  That poor garage is FULL.  Tools, toys....hmmm science items?  As I type this and think through my thoughts I think...huh...maybe I should re-look at that garage, but that was not totally where I was going with this post.

Somewhere in all of this I decided that the House, as neat as it is, is our home.  Even if we do try to sell this tiny thing that has 6 people living in it.  (mil lives with us also)  maybe...just maybe those people could look past me turning the living room into the classroom?  I am toying with this thought.  That dreaded cable that makes me think my house must look perfect like all the pretty ones on TV is leaving next week.  Our choice.  So the T.v. is really only going to be for basic needs.  Lets move it into the small lil room in the front of the house.  Put the couch there.  Turn the living room into a classroom.  Mil says "what will you do if guests come over, with no furniture in your living room?"  Valid point....hmmmm gotta think that through....Dh says "are you crazy?"  Hmm....I don't think so.  And all I can think is we need a classroom space in which we can organize our school belongings. 

And that still tiny voice in my head says "be patient, all good things come in time....enjoy what you have now"  And I say okay......thank you tiny voice......And patience is what I am working at.....(though I am not so good at patience, not so good at all)  But I am working at it.