For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also - Homeschool Blogger

Moving

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 15:40:00 -0600

Hello all-
I've decided to move my blog to my own domain.
So come visit me over here...

Becoming green without being blue...

Fri, 8 Dec 2006 14:13:00 -0600

As my husband approaches his military retirement we are starting to throw around ideas for our future. For all of our adult lives we have only known the military. We have never owned a home or lived in one place for a long period of time. We both have a desire to live a more rural life and are starting to explore ideas such as organic farming and living "off the grid". My problem is this... most of the web sites I find that are about these topics are very, very liberal. We are not. We feel that we need to be good stewards of the land and animals that God has provided for us, not that we should hold them higher than humans or worship them in any way. I want my children to be able to eat the fruits (and veggies) of their labor, to understand that God gave us animals to take care of but also to be used for food and clothing. We would love to build a home that produces most of it's electricity from the sun, wind, or water. So- my question is this... is it possible to live an environmentally friendly life without becoming a tree hugger? Can you be a large conservative christian homeschooling family who grows their own food, grinds their own wheat, makes their own clothes, produces their own power.... but still drives a 15 passenger gas guzzling van to church on Sundays?
If you know of any conservative blogs/ websites that address these issues I would love to read them!

Christmas Tree Time

Wed, 29 Nov 2006 20:30:00 -0600

I love Christmas time... I love the lights, decorations, Christmas Eve services at church, cool weather, and especially the Christmas tree. Now don't get me wrong, the absolute best thing about Christmas is that God sent His Son to earth to save us, but after celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, my favorite thing about Christmas is picking out and decorating the Christmas tree. The ornaments bring back memories of times gone by, and each year another one of our children is old enough to remember the year before.
You see, when I was a child we had to have an artificial tree. My brother had asthma and the real tree bothered him. So we had a fake tree. Every few years my dad would cave to the begging of my sister and myself and take us to the Christmas tree lot and spend a good part of an evening picking out a real tree.
When I got married I decided that I would always have a real tree, and for the most part we have. A few years ago we started a new tradition, not only would our tree be real but we could cut it down ourselves. The first year we did this it was like a fairy tale. The kids rode in the back of the truck up the mountain on the way to the field of trees. Then they happily ran all through this forest finding the perfect tree, which dad cut down, loaded up, and took home for the decorating. Last year did not go as well, to sum it up, it involved lots of mud, a four-wheel drive, a tractor with some towing chains, cow poop, and flashlights.
Even though we have left the country, I was not willing to give up our new tradition, so I searched the internet for a Christmas tree farm in our area. I came across a pretty cool web site that lists places all over the country where you can cut your own tree as well as pick your own produce. They even list places where you can take a sleigh ride. Pretty neat! So Saturday we are off in search of the perfect Christmas tree. The kids are excited, I'm excited, and dad is bracing his back for heaving the tree on top of our Suburban. Let the fun begin!

Adjusting to the city life....

Mon, 27 Nov 2006 20:13:00 -0600

Well, as much as I hate to admit it, I guess I am a city girl now. We left our little house in the country for a big house in the suburbs. As I type that, I am realizing I am the opposite of many large homeschooling families- who sell the house and move to the country! As I have now lived in civilization for a little over a month, (after spending four years in relative isolation) I am making some observations about life here in the 'burbs.
First- no one, no one has more than 3 kids, and everyone feels the need to tell me how many kids I have... as if I can't count.
Second - everyone is in a hurry, I can't seem to figure out what they are all hurrying to, but they need to be exactly where they are not, at that very minute.
Third - I don't think anyone eats dinner at home, my husband and I waited over 30 minutes for a table for two on a Tuesday night at 8pm.
Fourth - Even in a big city (where you think they would be more informed) people kind of give you a strange look when you tell them you homeschool.
Fifth - Cities and neighborhoods like rules. They like to tell you how to park your cars and what you can put in your garbage.

I could go on, but I think you get the point. I am still adjusting to this different way of life, where the boys have longer hair than the girls, and all the kids have tennis shoes that are also roller skates.
My kids are still trying to understand why they can't use the BB gun in the back yard to pick off squirrels, and why they can't run free in the street.
In spite of this, I am thankful for the new friends we have made, the new church we have found, and the pharmacy 4 minutes away. It is nice driving 5 minutes to the store and not an hour, it is nice driving 10 minutes to the doctor instead of 30. And, although I hate to admit it, it is nice to stop in to TCBY and get frozen yogurts for the family after a long day. City life can be good... if you make it.
I guess what I am trying to say is that, even though our lives might not go as we planned, it is always God's plan. So I plan to make the most of every day we are here, as long as it may be.....

On the Move

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 13:23:00 -0500

Well I am almost done with my self imposed blogging break. I have recovered well and and now we are packing up the computer and the rest of our stuff and moving to Virginia. I will start back up once we get settled in our new house with our new high speed internet! Yipee! Have a great week!

History Blues

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 18:22:00 -0500

As I now have a significant amount of free time, due to my surgery, I have been thinking a lot about our homeschool curriculum choices. I figure since I am not doing school with the kids at least I can think about it! History has always been my favorite subject, I almost majored in it in college, but for some reason I have not been able to complete a full year of any history program with the kids. I have been through many of them; BJU, Prairie Primer, American Girl (before they started supporting abortion), Weaver, Light and the Glory and we have dabbled in others. Anyway, sometime last year I came across Mystery of History- which we use and like, in fact I have even convinced many friends to use it as well. But I have a small problem.... sometime last year my nonhomeschooling neighbor asked me what the kids were doing for history and I explained to him the classical model of education that I was attempting to follow and how we were starting at Creation and going forward. He was starting at me like I was crazy this whole time and finally he said, "you mean you are teaching your kids ancient history while you currently live in one of the best places in the country to study the Civil War?" As a side note, we are a military family and move every two years so we don't spend a lot of time in one area. Ever since he said this to me I have wondered if I am doing the right thing, I have missed opportunities for my kids to visit battlefields, museums, and other things. Now we are moving again as we finish up the first volume of MOH. It is almost time to start a new history series and I wonder.... we are moving close to Williamsburg, VA..... so do I ditch Vol 2 of MOH and focus on Colonial America or do I just keep going with the other stuff? I don't like to be wishy washy, but I am torn.... Any ideas are highly appreciated!

Home from the hospital

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 19:09:00 -0500

Well, I am home from the hospital. The surgery went well and I am recovering. I have to stay in bed for a couple of days. Today I slept most of the day so it went by pretty fast! I hope to be able to sleep tonight. My leg pain is gone, but my leg does feel funny, apparently that is normal. I do have a lot of back pain so I hope that goes away soon. I have to wear those white support stockings for two weeks! They aren't bothering me now but I know they will become annoying soon!

That's all the energy I have right now, hopefully I will be able to type more soon!

Surgery

Sun, 10 Sep 2006 20:03:00 -0500

Well, I am finally back on the blog. We have enjoyed our time with Dad and are getting used to being a family again. I am scheduled for back surgery tomorrow. God has given me a peace about the surgery and it's outcome, whatever that should be. I elected for the less invasive surgery which should mean that I will be home the same day or just need to stay one night in the hospital. From what I understand the Dr. will make a small incision in my lower back and then (after doing some other medical things) remove the disc that is crushing my spinal cord. I should have complete relief from my leg pain soon after surgery and hopefully I will not have long term back pain, due to the fact that I won't have a disc. The Dr. said there is a 90% chance that I will be pain free. My mom is here (and has been for weeks) to help out and my husband will be here until October. It is a six week recovery, with no lifting at all. That means no holding the baby for six weeks! I haven't been holding her much lately because of the pain, but at least I could! I am still trying to figure out how to get school done and keep the house livable! I look forward to catching up on everyone's blog soon while I am recovering. I have missed my blogger friends! Have a great week everyone!

He's Home!!!!!!!!

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 08:33:00 -0500

My big secret is that my husband returned from deployment this weekend. I am so excited that he is home! Well, he isn't home quite yet, but he will be home soon. He actually is returning two months early because he wanted to be home for my surgery. Isn't he great?!??!?! I know that doesn't happen very often in the military, but I am thankful that he was able to make it work. I also realize how hard it was for him to leave behind the other guys to finish the job.

Of course, my husband had a big surprise for me as well. When I picked him up at the airport I almost didn't recognize him. He had lost over 30 pounds! He looks great and I am so happy about his new healthy lifestyle. We had to go and buy him new pants because his clothes were falling off! I am so proud of him. I told him he should of entered Small Town Mom's contest and he could of won me some scrapbooking stuff.

I have posted a before and after picture so you all can see the difference!

Before

After

He did not want to stand for a picture this morning but I was just so proud of him, I made him!

Well, I am alone all day in a hotel while he is doing work stuff, so I think I am going to catch up on all my friends' blogs and find out what is going on!

Shhhhh......

Thu, 24 Aug 2006 16:39:00 -0500

I have a secret....