Growing Boys into Manhood - Homeschool Blogger

The Great Turkey Hunt

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:07:00 -0600

Can you believe how rapidly the Holiday items appear in the stores? And why does Thanksgiving seem to be ignored and the great jump to Christmas??? Today, I went to find a Turkey on sale. I was inundated with Christmas food items and Christmas holiday stuff. Oh, for the simplicity of Thanksgiving without the commercialism of the world breathing down our backs. I remember when the boys were little, we would snuggle on the couch and read stories of the first pilgrims and even made a huge cardboard Thanksgiving tree. We would write things we were thankful for on paper leaves and pin the on the cardboard tree. Now that they are older, it seems we are just waiting for the "Meal"...Turkey Day! I guess I'm longing for a simpler more meaningful celebration. I'll let you know if we figure it out.

Proud of the Men they are Becoming!

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:47:00 -0600

In August, our oldest son went away to a University...nothing causes more growth and change in a family than to have one member of the family embark on an adventure like that! We made our kitchen table smaller so that we wouldn't feel the impact of not having the oldest at our family mealtime gatherings. Cell phone calls and making care packages became things we cherished.

Almost instantly, I noticed a change in my oldest. He became the confident young man I knew he was capable of being. You see, when someone has been homeschooled since the very beginning, they wonder to themselves how they actually compare to the rest of the world. Sure homeschool mom's and dad's think their kids are way ahead academically...but the kid often needs to be convinced for themselves. For my son, it was not until he actually was in a classroom setting and found himself competing well with his peers did he gain that confidence.

The other day he urgently called me and asked me to "Pray!" because a class he needed to take in the spring was already filled to capacity. Then later he called me back and told me that at first he sent the professor an email and then actually went to a class the professor had just finished teaching, introduced himself and the professor allowed him to join the class roster. He said, "See Mom, a man needs to seize the moment if he wants to get some things in life." (I smiled to myself, knowing that he had come a long way in a few months, to actually have the confidence to present himself to the instructor and ask to be added to the class.)

Also, I noticed our 2nd oldest son begin to grow and mature over night. Sure, at first he tried to assert his new found position at the top of the son chain of command on his younger brother but the past few months has seen him begin to take control of his education. He is actually accomplishing more in a school day realizing that he is now preparing himself to be able to go to college one day.

That is what we hoped they would do, isn't it? To take charge of their lives. I am humbled and amazed that it seems to be happening in front of my eyes. I guess I really did think they would stay little forever.

Hurt Feelings...

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:43:00 -0500

Lately, I have hurt a number of family members by my insensitive comments....It seems that because I am used to saying what is on my mind with my children, I have opened my mouth to do the same to others and it has hurt their feelings. Not that anything that I said was bad in itself, but that the timing of the comments made and the people it affected, made my comments totally insensitive and hurtful to the hearers. Now I just want to crawl under a rock and hope the people affected will forgive me. Jesus is our Rock and deliverer and only He can make things right again in situations like these.

So all night long, I have tossed and turned and asked Him to forgive me and right the situation. Why do I feel the need to speak what is on my mind? Can't I trust God to work in other people's lives and keep my eyes on my own problems? When does caring and compassion cross the line and become mean and hurtful? Who am I to think I have the right to speak into others lives what I think they need to know? Time to go back to God's word and hide myself in Him....Please Pray for me.

How to ruin a recipe...

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:14:00 -0500

Yesterday, I spent the day in the kitchen. First I made banana wheat muffins which turned out great. Then I made wheat bread which flopped. Next I made Cabbage Casserole which was a success and yet my Israeli Salad absolutely flopped! Finally, I canned 6 quarts of tomatoes and forgot to add Lemon juice to each quart! I learned these lessons:

1. Don't try to do too many things in one day.

2. IF you add 2 pkges yeast to a Rapid rise recipe and the flour used was self rising...it ain't gonna work!

3. Only use fresh vegetables in a fresh vegetable salad or the old ones will turn the salad bitter.

4. Don't try to do the canning and cook dinner at the same time - too many distractions! Can early in the day!

Hope my lessons learned help ya'all.

Summer Update

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:46:00 -0500

Sorry to get so behind in blogging! We have been busy graduating my oldest son from homeschool! What an amazing journey homeschooling for the entire time!!! Now he is preparing to leave for college in 3 weeks and I still have 2 sons at home to continue our homeschooling adventure. But I want to warn ya'all...It hurts. When you have never put your kids on a bus and you are a close knit family....I am already tearing up at the thought of him going away to school. God has a plan though and I have a need to trust in His plan and be still. His strength is new every morning and I am just starting to look toward the new school year with joy! (It is amazing how much junk a homeschool room can accumulate in just 2 months time.) I have a ton of curriculum to sort through and get down to basics since all my guys are now in the high school years. (Why I kept some of the elementary curriculum was because I enjoyed it so much!!!)

Anyway, I'm back and will hopefully update you on our journey to get ready for the new school year.

Computer Troubles

Sat, 1 Dec 2007 08:25:00 -0600

Well...I am hating the new computer!!!!! It is slower than the old computer and I have been on hold for technical support all morning! Why, oh, why do they make things so difficult?? Then I switched to earthlink from aol to see if it was faster for dialup and it is soooooo slow it is unbelievable! Needless to say, I expect to be on this thing all day long until I can get it to function the way it is supposed to. I'll keep you up - to - date! Kathy

A New Computer!!

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 07:54:00 -0600

We finally bit the bullet and bought a new computer...actually have it here, but not out of the box yet. There is a certain sadness about getting rid of this ancient computer we have been using since the beginning of time... First of all, I have a zillion favorites saved on this computer and haven't the slightest idea how to save them onto the new computer. This computer is as comfortable as a sock with holes in it. Yes, it has problems...but it still feels comfortable. It is familiar to me and I am afraid of the new technology and speed of the new computer. My sons are chomping at the bit for me to open the box and set up the new computer...They are longing for speed and new technology so they can soar faster over this invisible highway called the internet. I miss the days when they just wanted to play Lego Island or Sammy's Science House. Life's pace will pick up...I guess I won't have time to make coffee while I wait for a download anymore... and I will have to learn this new technology to keep up with the times. Oh, well...time to put this old machine to rest. I'll let you know once we are all set up and back online.

Pencil, oh, pencil...where art thou???

Sat, 3 Nov 2007 17:07:00 -0500

Some people have disappearing socks at their house...but at our house: PENCILS DISAPPEAR!! Whenever I ask everyone to grab their stuff for school, no one can find anything to write with. Now, ya'all don't judge me for mot buying them...I buy them every September. But by the end of October they have vanished from the face of the earth!

I once saw a Funniest Home Video about someone hiding a video camera to catch a thief...So I thought I would play detective and spy on the guys last week to see where the pencils where disappearing and here's what I came up with:

1.) We have one son fascinated with the electric pencil sharpener. It seems he likes to write with one inch tall pencils and sits there and creates one after the other.

2.) My boys like to take pencils with us when we take a drive...needless to say, I found a huge pile in our vehicles!

3.) Underneath the boys beds I found a treasure trove! It seems that they like to draw in their rooms at night.

Sooo, consequently, I bought some more pencils and have restricted the new ones to the scool room. Now we will see how long it takes for these to disappear!

Another photo for ya'all

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 13:40:00 -0500

Well, I added a photo of the boys and I when we went to Baltimore Inner Harbor. My oldest, Nate is 17, Aaron is 15 and Josh is 12. I am looking for a photo of Belle that I had on my computer but my husband often manages the files on the computer and I can't find it at all. Hopefully by the end of the day I'll find it. Belle is in rough shape. Hopefully our pastor will get a chance to visit with her this week to pray with her and encourage her. She is so tired of fighting and yet desperately wants to see her little girl grow up. My heart longs for her to be healed. I know that Jesus could do a miracle for her at any moment and the cancer would be gone...yet He tarries. We wait on Him to turn and be gracious unto us. Talk to ya'all soon.

Love,Kathy

Photo of the Boys and I

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 13:33:00 -0500