Just some musings on life as we live it. I'm a homeschool mom with 5 children. I run a home business, I like to study my Bible, do research for school and I run (with my legs! Not only like the proverbial chicken....) http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/5inthedrive/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:40:00 -0500 Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:40:00 -0500 Summer’s lease hath all to short a lease…..William Shakespeare Summer’s here!…..for this Homeschool mom this statement doesn’t bring on the same sort of terror in my heart that it can bring into the heart of a mom who has sent her children to public school. I am glad of that! The statement "Summer’s here" sends a different chill through my limbs. It is the chill of not being able to squeeze as much fun out of the juice of my summer as I would like. So, I plan, in my head, many fantastic ideas,  however, all the things I plan (or fail to plan) never seem to work out the way I plan them. Then, I ask myself rhetorically, “when have the plans I plan ever work out as planned anyway? Aren‘t we still trying to finish  the school plans that I made months ago?” Who am I kidding, plams are fallible! I should enjoy the juice I do squeeze out of our summers, even if my plans never quite take off. You see,  summer seems to slip through my grasp and is whisked away with too many sentences starting with..“I wish we coulda….” .  All that stated still, this year, I have made a purchase of a book called the Summer Survival Guide. So with determination and despite my previously unfinished past plans , I keep all hope alive and have determined that this book will help put our summer  fun in order. Putting fun in order does seem like an oxymoron, yet I am determined! As Ann Dillard says “A schedule (plan) defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days…” I want to catch some days!  I desire to catch some days because not only does summer seem to slip away but my children are slipping away into grown up’sville. I want to have as much juicey fun with my children as I can, now, before they slip totally off my plate onto the plate of their own lives. Don’t get me wrong I do realize that the fun should, and I hope, never stops. Yet, this is a special time that I want to press into before the photo-ops are gone! So, we did something as family that I was so excited about. Even in the crazy “unredeemed” family I grew up in had a large portion of painful memories (another blog perhaps) I remember fondly all our family camping trips! So, in order to follow this pleasant memory path with our own family memories, we purchased a used “pop-up” camper 2 years ago. Yes, it is a pop-up and some hard core campers will decry such a thing as not real camping. I assure you that stuffing seven people into one small camper does constitute “hard (enough) core” for this camper. I look froward to drinking deeply from these well squeezed days! Of course School is never fully out. We will have Math Mondays and Shakespeare Sundays.     Math Monday’s are fairly self-explanatory…. But on Sundays I hope to have some fun, this is the day I hope to read some of the Lambs Shakespeare tales and to have the children each quote some of the fun lines from the actual plays! Again I plan & plan because I do hope to enjoy this summer’s fruit! Funny Story My 2 older sons, 15 & nearly 17, and I recently attended our state homeschool conference. We had a wonderful time. It is such a pleasure to see my boys become men! We attended the key note address of Steve Demme. (Thank-you Steve for your wonderful Math U See curriculum you have saved my sanity!) His address was funny and encouraging.  At one point he encouraged the children in the group to “rise up” and say “Blessed” to their mothers. I was the pleased recipient of this encouragement. My wonderful (not perfect!) sons have decided to continue giving this encouragement to me even after the conference. However, today my 17 year old surprised me by suddenly jumping out from behind the doorway and “Blessing” me. I was pleasantly surprised… He told me… “Mom, sometimes I rise up and call you blessed,  but this time I popped out and called you blessed….!” I’ll take it any way I can….Blessing! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/5inthedrive/698230/ Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:40:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/5inthedrive/698230/ Hello, I have not written in a loooong time. I feel as if the snowplow commeth! As we get ready for the fall, for the new school year and for those of us significantly "north of the Border" SNOW! Yeah and boo! The snow plow for me is already starting to push me toward the new school year, fast! And soon the snow will be on the ground & I will  working on Christmas projects! Summer will be a distant memory.....I would like to slow the pace down....I could be like my friend and get a farm! (see anneboat) Or I could savor what time I have....I will try to savor! any good Ideas? L'Chaim to this new school year! let us savor it and not be "pushed" into the new seasons by our "Snow Plow!" Silly Story: After being almost bitten by a (non-poisionous) water snake, my nearly 9 year old son, unafraid, continues to be the "self-appointed" snake catcher! He returns to camp announcing..."Mom I caought another snake & I got bit 3 times... GASP! "Dont' worry mom, I just sucked the poison out & spit!" .....Yes, my fears are totally abated, NOT!  Mom thinks it's time to review Nature Safety & Ettiquite. For those who are concerned...as I was... It was a garter snake!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/5inthedrive/578136/ Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:41:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/5inthedrive/578136/ I always feel that Martha got the short end of the "spiritual  stick".  I  have always been "accused" of being a  Martha. Yes, I said accused. I don't mean that the person who called me a Martha was being unkind, really, they were trying to help me see how God views me. His view of me, of us, is that He loves us no matter what we do, He loves to just be with me and have communion wiht me (not just bread & wine but time together)... yet, I think he gave me a Martha heart bent torward action. I too love action! Yes, I do need to remember to sit at His feet and just soak in His love & care, but sometimes I just need to "do something"! When Lazurus died & Jesus showed up (what seemed at the time to be late) Martha was the one who actually ran to Jesus and was, rather forceful, it trying to tell Jesus about Lazerus. As you remember, Jesus raised him from the dead. Martha's brother is dead...this is a time for action! So instead of always condeming the Martha's in the world because they are moved by action. I think we need to remember that we, being either a Martha or a Mary at heart, need to listen to the God's Holy Spirit as he direct's us....either we sit and wait in a prayerful position...or listen as he calls us to prayerful action....Just as scritpture states in Ecclesiasties "there is a time for everything under the sun", a time for Action & a time for solitude.....Go Mary, Go Martha. Go listen to His voice! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/5inthedrive/511788/ Sun, 6 Apr 2008 22:04:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/5inthedrive/511788/ It has been a while since I have written....I simply feel like all my days are spent running around trying to accomplish the un-accomplishable! Don't get me wrong I am really not complaining, but doesn't it seem to you that when you wake up in the morning life looks as if one could actually do all the things one has set out to do? I am always surprised when, halfway through the day I realize that am already behind and nearly out of all the time that was guaranteed to me at the beginning of the day. And I still have dust bunnies left to be chased down and removed! The best cure for that thinking is "tomorrow is another day"!  I give knowing nod of agreement to Scarlet O'Hara, and look at life from her perspective as she tried to chase down an un-acomplishable task and looked toward her tomorrows with hope! Yes, I am grateful for my tomorrows...although I know that our tomorrows on this earth aren't guaranteed, but gladly, I will always have the hope of some form of tomorrow...even if it is waking up in heaven..... (no dust bunnies there!) I will not become a slave to the unaccomplishableness of life! (Shakespeare look out I'm going to make up some of my own words as well!) All this to say..."it's been a while since I have been able to accomplish the task of writing in my blog"....Homeschool perspective: Yes, My kids do their schoolwork... and they seem to be able to finish their work most days. I stand in awe of them with a dust mop in my hand! Funny Story My youngest, 6 is upstairs alone! A horrendous crash is heard from upstairs,. We look up in wonder (mixed with some fear and trepidation).....He shouts down. "No bad incident!" Oh good!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/5inthedrive/486147/ Fri, 22 Feb 2008 21:54:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/5inthedrive/486147/ I have a new name...this name is being tested, daily....I shall explain. My 8 year old son wanted to begin his new year by doing a devotional using the word new. So, as I was breezing through his Children's Adventure Bible, I came across Exodus 32, which contains the story of Jacob receiving his new name, Israel, from God. Israel means 'struggles with God' and according to my Baker's Theological Dictionary the idea of struggling with God, is that Jacob/Israel struggles with God and when he submits to God, Jacob/Israel wins. The "pre-loaded" devotional that accompanied this story suggested an idea . The idea is; the child is to choose a new name that will help build his character. Great idea! We decided to choose new names. My son choose the name Helpful and I choose Patient....I'm sure you can see just where this is going! We then sealed the deal by making ourselves decorated name tags. We were to wear them all day as a reminder to ourselves (and others) of our new names and characters. This would help change our approach to the day. Well I started my stint as Patient by misspelling my name, as my oldest son cleverly pointed out. I had to redecorate a new name tag...patiently! However, it was such a great exercise, learning to be accountable! I have to say, it is incredibly difficult to loose your patience when you have tell your 14 year old son, for the millionth time, not to throw his dirty socks on the kitchen counter, while you are making BREAKFAST!! All that day I found myself having to redirect my attitude and approach to the frustrations of the day. I began to wonder if it was such a brilliant idea after all .  It reminded me of a former pastor who had encouraged us to prayerfully ask God to intervene in our lives. We were to ask Him to divinely help us in the development our characters. He encouraged us to be specific in our prayers about the things we wanted to change....He did give a caveat, he told us to really consider the implications of asking for humility, because, as he said, "God does honor our prayers with REAL answers." Well, I will give the same caveat about asking to develop patience, especially while your children are still in residence....it is a lifeCHALLENGING experience! I have often contemplated on the fact of how easy it was to be a Christian, before I had children to test my faith! But, all kidding aside my new name was mind & heart changing! Every time I looked in a mirror and found the name tag Patience (correctly spelled!) staring back at me. It gave me pause, it reminded me of just how far I was from being patient....in my own strength...I need the Lord to help me in my commission to become a patient mother. It also gave me pause before I reacted to any situation, because the person I was dealing with knew my new name, as the word patience was nicely printed on my cute little name tag to be seen by all.  I found out just how much I must depend on the Lord to help me be what I am not naturally, patient.....I thought of some other names that I could re-name myself names like; One Who Doesn't Worry, Loved of God, Kind, Joyful, One Who Trusts God.....Beloved of God, Not Afraid....the list is unending....God's mercy is not. I brought the idea up with the rest of the family at devotion time they wanted to do it.  So, today we all wore the name "Patience" on our name tags...I had a good effect. I hope to try this several times during 2008....not everyday, but we will occasionally rename ourselves and pause during our daily actions and ask God to be in us what we cannot be naturally.  We must remember; as Ephesians states, ".....put on the new self, created to be like God, in true righteousness and holiness"....(and patience). And if we fail we must remember that "His mercies are new every morning.."   I give you a 2008 challenge...do you have a new name to try out this year? Even if you have to wear it very close to your heart, try it out...God will honor your efforts... Silly Story My 6 year old decided to keep his name for the day...he solemnly told us that "Laughter" was just fine for him. Great! However, he had a hard day too! "Laughter" found it hard to laugh when "Thankful" decided NOT to play his game! "Patience" had to give "Laughter" and "Thankful" a time out....patiently.... http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/5inthedrive/457962/ Tue, 8 Jan 2008 21:17:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/5inthedrive/457962/ I was thinking about Christmas and all the things I have to do in order to prepare. Technical stuff like finding all the decor, checking the lights (ugh!), putting up the tree, making the cookies, buying the gifts, attending the parties, etc. The list is long....and at times daunting. I can and often do push the important parts of Christmas to a "side table" and let other plans take over... Let me explain.... One tradition our family has enjoyed has been putting up the Nativity scene on the mantle of our fireplace before putting up the tree. In doing this we hope to to begin the season with placing the emphasis on Christ as the proper focal point of the season. We pray, sing some carols and read the Christmas Story. Please, don't picture a "perfect family scene" the children do argue about who "gets" to place the characters in the scene. We sing off tune and shuffle about during prayer, however, when we finish our children (usually) know Who is to have first place in our hearts at Christmas.  ..I shared this idea of putting the Nativity up on the mantle first with a friend, and she asked me, "What do you do with all the stuff you have on the mantle now?" I replied, "I pack it away so that nothing hinders the display..." This made think of the mantle of my heart, do I make Him the display, the focal point, of my heart? Do I make Him the focus of my life? Do others recognize that I put Him first? Is there anything that hinders His display in my life? What items should I clear off of the mantle of my heart in order to "Prepare Him Room"? Yes, I need to clear my mantle....of many things like the picture of My Family (possibly being an idol of sorts), or the little china "worry" plate, or the candles that I burn to myself? Or maybe just the dust of inattention to my hearts need to have Christ as my prominent feature? I am sure my hearts mantle could use some clutter control.  Yet another question that came to mind was; Who am I making room for? Just a Baby in a manger? No, He is much, much more than that....Here are some verses that describe Christ from Scripture: Colossians 1,...  15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And he is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. I need to prayerfully clear off my heart's mantle so I can prepare Room for this awesome Savior so He can become the focal point of my life..... As the Carol lyrically puts it "Let Earth Receive Her King, Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room...." Silly Story: My youngest ,who is now 6, came and gave me a hug and some really sweet kisses, as he ran back to rejoin his game he turned to me and asked, "Mom when I kissed you did you see all pink hearts coming out?" "Yes, I most certainly did!" http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/5inthedrive/439496/ Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:48:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/5inthedrive/439496/ I found this great website called freerice.com here is the link... http://www.freerice.com/about.html It is fun site that teaches English definitions AS WELL AS  feeding hungry people! For every correct answer you give the site will donate 10 grains of rice to the hungry. My husband & I have earned 2000 grains of rice and my children find it fun every day they add "rice" to the bowl...learning AND fun AND helping what more could one ask for! Blessings!     http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/5inthedrive/435322/ Wed, 28 Nov 2007 15:11:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/5inthedrive/435322/ Hello, I just wanted to put in a plug for the movie Bella...it was Fabulous! Despite coming down with the stomach flu during the movie (I did make it home to bed!) I willed myself to stay and watched the whole movie. It was a charmer.  Not preachy , just  beautifully  stated that life is valuable! I enjoyed this piece of the movie especially after I had to say goodbye to someone I loved dearly (see blog Jesus Loves Me) it was a huge blessing to see life itself called a blessing....See it if you can! LOL http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/5inthedrive/434415/ Tue, 27 Nov 2007 10:15:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/5inthedrive/434415/ .....this I know 'cause my grandma SHOWED me so.... I know that this is not how the song lyrics are written but this it is how I want the song to be sung in my life. Here is my reason, I blogged a week or so ago about my grandmother and how she was making her final journey home into the arms of Jesus. Sadly, for us, this Sunday morning, she completed her earthly journey and went to her true home in heaven. She "fell asleep in the Lord" after being surrounded by loving family and friends who read favorite scripture to her and played her favorite Hymns for her.  She was finally embraced by Jesus early Sunday morning, and is now worshiping Him. We will miss her presence and her personality, she was bright & funny and always willing to help. She always pointed us to Jesus with her life's action and  with her words. We will also miss her prayers, as she prayed daily for each one of her children, grand children & great grandchildren. For me she was always an encourager. She was a great example of God's love. She made the song "Jesus loves me" have an outward cast to it wasn't just "Jesus loves ME this I know" but when I looked at her life, I seemed to hear the word's-"Jesus Loves You." Grandma was our families Living Bible. She SHOWED us the love of Christ through her life. She showed love, even during the tough times of life by her actions....and her prayers, she "prayed without ceasing". She always used the Bible to illustrate God's great love for us, by linking her actions of love to the scripture. This brought the scripture to life. If I could I think of how she sang the "Jesus Loves Me" song, it would have gone like this; Jesus Loves YOU, This I show, for the Bible tells us so"....I knew God's love because she loved me with her actions. And, without excuse, she pointed to Jesus as the "author & perfector of her faith". She never claimed personal perfection just a personal faith in Christ Jesus and salvation in Him. I want my life to be like her’s I want to become less self focused and change the song from "Jesus loves ME" to, "Jesus loves YOU, this I SHOW for the bible tells me so..." I want His life to show through me to others by my life's actions, just like my grandmother did for us... As far as homeschool is concerned, I think that my children are learning a bigger life lesson than just Geography & Mathematics...they get to see an eternal perspective on life: real math-eternity, real geography-this earth is not our home, real family dynamics-how to love a person as they journey on to their heavenly dwelling...Next week we will move back to earthly math and finite geography....in the here and the now.   SILLY STORY: This is about my Grandmother, just a caveat she had a great sense of humor, and was VERY ready to meet her saviour and friend, Jesus: Just a few weeks before my Grandmother passed on into the arms of Jesus, she was visited in her retirement center room by her doctor. He asked her "Do you have any questions for me today?" "Yes," Grandmother quickly replied, "Why aren't I gone?!?" (To heaven) The Doctor, who knows Jesus, replied, "I'm not in charge of that part of your life someone else is and we will leave it up to Him." She smiled and said a little wearily, "Oh, alright." The Doctor smiled and left. My sister & I were in the room at the time suppressing giggles at my grandmothers humor. My Grandmother asked us to get her face cream to sooth a dry spot on her cheek. I went into the bathroom and found her cream, I came out of the bathroom and said, "Grandma, I found out what's holding you back from heaven.....You are using Age Defying cream! If you want to go to heaven quicker you must change your brand!" Grandma let out one of her best laughs I've heard in a long time.....No fear here! She was excited to meet Him http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/5inthedrive/429467/ Sun, 18 Nov 2007 15:33:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/5inthedrive/429467/ I like to call the picture "Sassy Girl." I love this photo so much because it is an actual family photo taken in Sweden in the year 1905. The young man in the light suit with the moustache is my Great Grandfather Erick. The other people pictured are his siblings. The little girl who grabs your attention with her jaunty, VERY un-turn of the century pose is Emilie, My Great Great Aunt. She was, obviously, the "Queen of Everything"! I love the photo and relate to it in at least 2 ways; One, is that I grew up as a "Rose among thorns".....but I could throw a snake and climb a tree like the rest of my brothers! However, I did have my own room until I moved out of the house, despite the fact that there were 5 Children in a 3 bedroom house! I always got first morning dibs on the only bathroom in the house, I think it was because I remembered to set my alarm early and actually managed to get up in the morning. I did have a precious sister, she joined the family when I was 12, boy was I happy..... yet, for some "magical" reason, I still managed to keep my own room for 5 more years..... hmmmm....I think this is due to the fact that my brothers grew to enormous sizes and flourished in the carpentry trade. Because of this they were able to build rooms for themselves in the basement, a kind of large family "escape hatch"! Well, due to the fact that boys ruled the house, I did have to learn Karate, how to get out of a "full Nelson" wrestling grip, name all the parts of a car engine, clean fish, catch worms and bait my own hook. No room for girlie stuff with all that testosterone about! It makes me wonder what Emilie had to learn & keep up with? The other reason that photo touches my heart is because my daughter is also stepping off in the same direction, A Rose Among Thorns sailing in a sea of dirty socks, smelly boys and interesting pond experiments..... and the best is yet to come. I too gave birth to 4 boys and only one girl.... I call her my oreo cream filling between the chocolate cookies! I do love the whole cookie, but there is only one sweet cream filling to enjoy! Just like My Only Girl, the sweet cream filling between the chocolate boys! So, when I look at that picture I think God must have set this up, boys vs. girls, as a generational joke, he must be having a good laugh, I, for one, enjoy the cosmic joke.  What this has to got do with homeschool...not much I just love the photo! Hey, weren't they all homeschooled back then? http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/5inthedrive/427277/ Wed, 14 Nov 2007 21:35:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/5inthedrive/427277/