Just some of my adventures in life being the lone female in a testosterone-filled home with my husband and three boys while homeschooling and serving the Lord along the way. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/RaisingBoys4Him/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Thu, 29 Mar 2007 01:25:00 -0500 Thu, 29 Mar 2007 01:25:00 -0500 Oh, what beautiful spring weather we're having today. I went out early this morning for a walk with my camera in hand to take a few pictures of some of the flowers that are in bloom around here. Little did I know that I would find lots more than just flowers to photograph. There were these beautiful spider webs everywhere I looked. It was really foggy this morning and the webs were easily visible covered with the morning dew. Then when the kids got up, they were looking at the pictures that I had taken and H and Z wanted me to go back out and go for a walk with them. So the three of us, and Sue (the dog) struck out, again with camera in hand. We just took some time to enjoy God's beautiful creation, the sights, the sounds, even the smells. We had such a good time. The kids even started to help me look for beautiful things to photograph. I thank God today for His beautiful creation. How could anyone look around at the marvels He has created and doubt the maker Himself exists? All of creation is just too magnificent to think it could all 'just happen' without a divine plan. So, have you been outdoors today to witness God's beautiful creation? If not, check it out, you'll be glad you did. Here's some of the pictures I took this morning. Ok, that's all it will let me put. I guess I'll have to remove some of my other pictures and then try again. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/RaisingBoys4Him/306529/ Thu, 29 Mar 2007 01:25:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/RaisingBoys4Him/306529/ note: I'm removing the pictures from this entry to make room for new ones. We did finally get our foundation for our new house finished last Saturday. I promised a dear friend that I would post some pictures and I'm just now getting around to it. So here are some pictures from Saturday. I have LOTS more, but these are just a few showing just a little of the work that went into finishing the concrete. I have a new appreciation for concrete finishers and thank God that I don't have to make a living doing this everyday. Those poor guys have to stay in a stooped over or kneeling position all day long. I have lots of pictures from each step leading up to this day. It has taken a lot of work to even get to this point. We have learned a lot of things along the way and we still have a LONG way to go. It was SO exciting to see those cement trucks rolling in that morning. I don't think I was fully convinced that this was really going to happen until that first truck actually arrived and asked where we wanted him to start pouring. I had a flood of emotions hit me all at once. I immediately began thanking God. Those who know us know how long we have waited and how hard we have worked for this house. It is a definite dream coming true for us. We still have a lot of work ahead, but I have no doubt that God will continue to provide, just as He has all along. We give all the honor and glory to HIM! This first picture shows the second load of cement being dumped. This is on the back side of the house and is the area where our master bathroom and closet wil be. In this picture, you can see that the trucks were coming one right behind another. There was just a flurry of activity going on. It was exciting. In this one, you can see some of the work that the finishers do. We learned that, at this point, their work had just begun. There were still many things they needed to do to finish out the concrete. This was about 7:30 a.m. They wouldn't be done until about 4:30 p.m. You can see Zac, our 7 year old in the far left of the picture looking on. Here they're using a long telescoping tool to begin to smooth the cement and pull some of the water off of it. Here they are finishing out the front porch. The man standing is using a large broom to create lines to provide a non slip surface for the porch. The one kneeling is smoothing the cement and readying it for the lines. This is a machine they use to give the cement an even smoother, even finish. They made many passes over the slab with this thing. I don't know what it's called. My boys called it a 'whirlybird'. It really put a smooth polished look on the slab. In this last picture, Stacy, my dh, is feeling how smooth the concrete is now. You can see one of the finishers still working on the far end. You can see what a fine job these finishers did. We now have a beautiful, smooth foundation for our new home.   The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. Psalm 126:3 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/RaisingBoys4Him/303718/ Fri, 23 Mar 2007 09:05:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/RaisingBoys4Him/303718/ I have never seen a child get so excited about buoyancy in all my life. Z studied about buoyancy in science today and he has been going all through the house this afternoon gathering items to test in the bathtub, and even some things from the yard. He keeps coming back in here all excited telling me about what floats and what doesn't. I think his biggest surprise was that a glass bowl could float unless it is filled with water. He was thrilled to find that out, though I don't know why. He also got pretty excited when the tomato stayed half in the water and half on top (his words). Then after a little while in the water, it sank. He has definitely provided some entertainment around here today. It was truly a joy to see him having so much fun while also learning! I would have missed out on that if he was gone all day to a public school. Oh to see that kind of joy in his eyes everyday! Days like this remind me once again why we do this.   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/RaisingBoys4Him/303329/ Thu, 22 Mar 2007 14:13:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/RaisingBoys4Him/303329/ I have prayed for a long time that God would give me a humble, meek and quiet spirt. It is my heart's desire to be loving, kind and meek in everything I say and do, to have a true servant's heart, a heart like Jesus. It is days like today that remind me just how far off that mark I truly am. Yes, it has been one of those days. A day when I am just overwhelmed with all that I have to do. As usual when I am feeling overwhelmed, my children are the ones who suffer for it. I have been anything but humble, meek, quiet, gentle, loving, or kind to them today. I am praying for a better tomorrow, and also a better evening for this day. You know, so many times, I think people, non-homeschooling people have the impression that we homeschooling mothers have super human powers or that we have it all together and are just the epitome of what patience should be. I base that on the number of comments I, personally, receive from people telling me that they would never have the patience to do what I do. To which my answer is always, "neither do I". That is the truth, I don't have the patience it takes to teach three children, on three different grade levels, about six different subjects each, plus extra-curricular activities, keep the house clean or at least not in filthy disarray, which it is usually bordering , make sure everyone has clean clothes and food to eat, make sure the bills get paid, the dog fed, the library books returned on time, plus duties at church, and the list goes on and on.  I'm being honest, I don't have the patience, the strength or the perserverance for any of it. It is only with God's help, grace, and strength that anything ever gets accomplished around here. It is days like today that remind me of that. I can do nothing on my own, absolutely nothing. Which leads me back to my prayer for a humble, meek and quiet spirit. I'm thinking, maybe the reason God hasn't fully fulfilled that request is so that I fully remember that I can do nothing without Him. Perhaps He wants to be sure that I am reminded often how much I DO need Him and how far off the mark I get when I don't fully rely on Him and rest in His presence. Thoughts anyone? http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/RaisingBoys4Him/301834/ Mon, 19 Mar 2007 15:29:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/RaisingBoys4Him/301834/ Oh you all should see us today. It has been somewhat of a comedy around here. We have been so busy. Dh took off work today so we could finish up our foundation for the house in time for the concrete and finishers to arrive first thing tomorrow morning. So here's what we had to do today, some of which we still have left to finish. We're just taking a late lunch break right now. We started out bright and early this morning finishing up some last minute preparations on the dirt and form boards before the exterminator came to spray the foundation for termites. Then the exterminator arrived and totally drenched the dirt. So we let that soak in a bit, then it was time to spread the plastic sheating over the dirt. This is where it began to get quite comical. You see, the wind has been blowing something fierce all day long. Well, just imagine two adults, one teenager and two children trying to work with 20' wide by 40' long pieces of plastic sheating with the wind blowing so hard that you would have absolutely NO trouble getting a kite off the ground, without running with it. Now, what we needed to do with it is to spread it flat on the ground, covering the whole foundation of the house, in 20' wide strips down the whole width of the house. It seemed like everytime we would get one side down, the other side would fly up and once the wind got up under it good, it was REALLY hard to get it back down to the ground. Then we would start with the next row, and the one before it would fly up again. Then we would have to start all over. It took us quite a while to get all of that done. Now we're all worn out from wrestling with the plastic, but we still have more work to do. Now we have to put down the rebar and the wire that will go inside the concrete slab. Who knows what kind of comedy of errors that might bring. Ok, we're off to eat and get back to work. Who says homeschool is boring? We're covering all kinds of subjects and topics today with lots of hands-on practice. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/RaisingBoys4Him/300441/ Fri, 16 Mar 2007 14:26:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/RaisingBoys4Him/300441/