A look into a life being restored... It's been hard for me to get what's in my head out, whether talking, writing, or typing. Mostly, I just won't talk, or leave pages blank, and when I try to tell what's going on in this head, I try to get out too much information all at once, and it comes out sounding like something different than what I meant. I know that God is restoring me in this area, but I have to walk it out. Hopefully this blogging will get me going, and 'grease' those old gears in my head! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homy711/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Sun, 28 Dec 2008 21:58:00 -0600 Sun, 28 Dec 2008 21:58:00 -0600 Perhaps my writing hangups will be cured in this book: (links to CBD) Nurturing the Write Relationship: Developing a Family Writing Lifestyle and Traditions By Mary Ann Froehlich & Robin Sampson / Stl Distribution I'm just beginning to read it; I'll be back with my comments. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homy711/637496/ Sun, 28 Dec 2008 21:58:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homy711/637496/ Have you ever found a site on the internet, didn't bookmark it when you HAD to leave the computer, then can't find it, nor any resemblance of it anywhere?  I've spent the last week looking for this site that apparently doesn't exist anymore. I retraced my steps (keystrokes), and looked in my browser's history, and to no avail. Well, the site got my brain tickled anyway. I can remember just enough to get me started. The idea is to write letters to your family members, as well as giving help for writers who need confidence in their writing. (Right up my ally!) Since I can't go back to see their suggestions, I'll have come up with my own. I was thinking to write to tell them that I love them, and include some of the things that they did that day (or that week, or that month). Tell them how proud I am of  strides that they have made. Things that I don't say on a regular basis, (that I should say on a regular basis). That's why I wanted to start doing this, to make it a regular thing, so that my kids don't go through the rest of their lives thinking that I don't love them. (Not that I don't ever say it, but I just spend so much time harping on what they don't do.) I wasn't sure how often to do it, or whether to give it to them right away, or what. I guess that's all for now. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homy711/474129/ Mon, 4 Feb 2008 09:48:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homy711/474129/ Well that last post was a bummer. Sorry about that. I was going to write more at the time, but, I had to stop and I don't remember exactly what it was. Surely it was bad news about chocolate chip cookies.  Who wants to hear about that?! Wow, this year went by pretty quick! My kids became 16, 12, 3 and 1. My hubby and I have now been married for 10 years! We also got to see a lot more of some old high school friends this year, and plan on seeing them more often now. We've all been through so much. Some have overcome some bad stuff, and some still need to. The same goes for some of my family members. My hope is that in 2008, there will be a lot more change going on - changes for the better! I know that God has started a work in all of us, and I know that he will finish what He has started, and my prayer is that we all will hear His guidance , that still small voice, and know that it is Him - and that we move forth with His plan for our lives. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homy711/451437/ Fri, 28 Dec 2007 09:47:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homy711/451437/ Recently I've been battling with my...gulp...sugar addiction. I got off cokes for a few months, then allowed myself to have just a little here and there. (a note to non-Texans, all colas, sodas, etc. are called 'cokes' no matter what brand they are..) After a while, though it just turns into a roaring need.  I also love to eat chocolate chip cookies, preferably the gooey kind, but Chips Ahoy will do, or even the store brand equivalent (gooey, no need for milk - crunchy, must have milk.) And to make things worse, my husband is also a (not self-acclaimed) sugar addict; but he'll eat more varieties than I will. One reason that it makes it worse is because when he eats sugar, it doesn't show on him physically, AND he'll buy sweets or cookies that I won't eat, so that I won't... well... eat them. I sent an article to a friend, as we had recently been talking about our cola preferences. ...here is part of the article by Dr. Reginald B. Cherry, M.D. : " Are you a cola drinker? Then you might want to consider this important information. In a Tufts University study, women who drank colas daily were shown to have lower bone-mineral density than those who drank clear soda (or who drank cola only once a week or less) even though both groups had similar calcium intake.  For years, some experts thought cola drinkers had lower bone density because they consumed soft drinks in place of milk. However, in this study the decrease in bone density wasn’t because of lower calcium, according to Katherine Tucker, Ph.D., associate professor of nutritional epidemiology. Apparently, the problem is increased levels of phosphoric acid, which can interfere with your body’s absorption of calcium. A typical can of cola contains 44 to 62 milligrams of phosphoric acid per 12-ounce serving, and diet cola contains 27 to 39 milligrams. (Phosphoric acid is added to colas to give it its tartness but is not added to other sodas.)  While phosphoric acid is present in other dietary sources, including dairy products, it doesn’t appear to cause the same sort of problem.   “When phosphoric acid comes packed with other nutrients, it’s absorbed normally and everything is in balance. We think the problem with cola is that you’re getting those doses of phosphoric acid without any calcium. It’s not balanced, and that extra phosphorus binds with calcium and prevents it from being absorbed, says Dr. Tucker. " http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homy711/391287/ Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:25:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homy711/391287/ Well, I don't want  to admit it, but, I need a schedule - a schoolyear schedule.  I wanted to just do what we need to do, book by book, move on to the next level whenever we see fit. But, my kids are stuck in the old school mentality. Maybe it's a good thing, I don't know. I just wanted to have a plan for each week, and if things happened that would cause us to stop schooling for a few days, then it wouldn't hurt because we're always doing school.  I understand that many homeschoolers have a "living is learning" mentality, but how do you get your kids to understand this. Sometimes I have to tell them that they just learned something. " We just did 'school', Ha!" So what was my point? I guess I'm just babbling. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homy711/370632/ Thu, 9 Aug 2007 11:52:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homy711/370632/ This is talked about so much that I almost hate to do it myself, but I just need to get these thoughts out there.   Graduating from high school: For kids, this is supposed to be a great milestone and the adults congratulate them. They also talk to kids that are wanting to drop out, and encourage them not to, telling them that graduating and getting a high school diploma is such an important thing to do. Then,  later in life (and having not furthered their schooling) people murmur that they 'only' finished high school. So, which is it? Graduating is a great thing or simply not that much of an accomplishment? How much of an accomplishment is it? I ask that, because once I was asked if I was qualified to teach my kids. That is such an ignorant question. So, most parents can't teach their kids anything? Is this what some people really think? I graduated from high school. I don't see why I wouldn't qualify to teach my children what I was taught. That's true in anything, isn't it? Anything that you were taught, you should be able to teach. I don't have anything against teachers in the public school, generally speaking. I had a few good ones. So people who ask the question "with only a high school diploma, how do you qualify to teach your kids?" are really belittling the teachers in the public schools. Which brings me back to the question..Is graduating from high school a great thing, or not really much of an accomplishment? I think that it's a great accomplishment. If someone thinks that a high school grad can't teach anything, then they must think that it's not, and so why worry if someone else's kids graduate? (A little irony here?) Socialization: Are they kidding? We were always having to shut up! What social skills are being taught in public schools? How to pass notes, and talk behind the teachers' backs? Social interaction can't happen in great measure in the five minutes between classes, how are they supposed to socialize without skipping class? That's what happened in my schools. Maybe that should be a different post, there is so much to be written on that, and this post has been long enough!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homy711/302409/ Tue, 20 Mar 2007 15:56:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homy711/302409/ Before I started going to church again, and even before I was interested in doing so, I caught a message on the radio. I was just flipping stations while I was driving to work and I heard something that touched on my current situation. So I went back to it. I don't remember exactly what it was, but, something to do with marriage, and it really hit home at the time. Then I was listening to that and other shows every morning as I worked. Then one morning a preacher was teaching about what witchcraft was (and mediums and that sort of thing) in the practical sense. Apparently this was a problem of mine, as I was greatly convicted and started crying - uncontrollably. To become aware of things that you have done that were abominations to God is frightening. After I started going to church, I began to read the Bible through. I had always wanted to, but it was such a struggle with the KJV for me that I just never did - hubby got us some new Bibles, and so off I went. As I read, I kept seeing references to 'asherah poles'. One day- all day - those words just kept echoing in my head. As I drove home from work, I realized what it was. My mother and I had gone to a psychic fair. Twice that I can remember, maybe three times. We had our 'cards' read, and she bought a set. I used them once or twice.  (We did this between '89 and '93 I think.) I had to burn the cards - because I had used them. So, I went to Mom's house, and told her all of this. She seemed a little bothered by it, but she let me take them, and I burned them right in her backyard. But she wouldn't let me burn the book that they came with. I then thought that maybe she would have to be the one to burn it or get rid of it, since she seemed to have an attachment to it.. I don't know if she still has it - this was back in 2000. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homy711/292865/ Thu, 1 Mar 2007 00:32:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homy711/292865/ Okay. I'm going to take a deep breath and attempt to write about my spiritual journey. I was saved when I was either 8 or 9 years old, when I was up in an old mimosa tree by myself, talking to God. At church camp I told one of the counselors about it. I didn't get baptized because they said I wasn't ready yet. (That seemed strange to me that a Baptist church wouldn't readily baptize someone!) Nothing had seemed to change about me. Our church attendance started to get less and less. Then we just stopped going, occasionally visiting other churches with friends. One time that was a bad thing. My friend and I went to the 'kids church', and when it was time to sing, I started to sing (like a good little girl) and my friend says, laughing, "You're gonna sing!? I'm not gonna sing - we don't have to!" Kind of shocked me. I felt like an idiot the rest of the time I was there, and felt really hurt. I always had trouble singing in church after that. It was stolen from me - like the scripture says about the enemy. He comes to steal, kill and destroy. I'm still recovering. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homy711/289142/ Thu, 22 Feb 2007 08:18:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homy711/289142/ I got a score of 1210!! WOO-Hoo! ( on the easy level of course) http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homy711/269027/ Sun, 14 Jan 2007 16:45:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homy711/269027/ Having a toddler and a newborn - they are 2 years apart. I don't know how I'll ever get myself together. Those of you that have 2 or more small children: How do you do it?   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homy711/267358/ Thu, 11 Jan 2007 00:12:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homy711/267358/