Jul. 3, 2009 - Vacation Collage
We took an ultimate field trip this month to many different destinations on the East Coast and it was a blast! I had an idea before we left to collect brochures and things like that from the places we visited to make a collage with after we got home, as a recap of our trip!
So we did it last night. I started out with a blank outline map of the USA and pointed out on the map on our wall each state we visited or traveled through, and the kids had to match the shape on their blank outline map and write the initials of the state inside it.
We then put the map and the other items on our posterboard and put it up. It was so much fun!
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Jun. 30, 2009 - They are Happiest When They are Working!
I just published this article on MamaKnowsBest.net and I thought I would post it here too. There are many other great articles there - I hope you get a chance to check it out! I am also giving away some books there, so enter to win free books!!!
THEY'RE HAPPIEST WHEN THEY ARE WORKING
I think I have found a BIG key to happy children: giving them plenty of work to do. Good, physical labor seems to give them much better attitudes!
Don’t get me wrong – I certainly know the value of child’s play as well, and my children certainly get plenty of time for that as well. However, we seldom see the benefits of teaching children to work touted in our modern society.
Before I go any further, I want to be clear about what I am NOT saying. I am NOT saying that you should make your children your slaves and make them do all of your work while you sit and eat bon-bons while shouting orders at them and maybe cracking a whip over them now and then! (Does any mother ever do that??)
Okay, now that we are clear on that, I want to tell you how much happier my children are when they are working.
When they have too much free time on their hands, they tend to get bored with their play. On the other hand, when a good bit of their time is taken up in good, honest work, their play time seems to become much more creative and enjoyable!
When they don’t have a valuable contribution to make to the household, they are whinier, less appreciate, and just idle! I just can’t stand to see idle children! They follow me around and are always in my shadow, while I bustle about and nearly trip over them every time I turn around! It’s like they are just begging for something useful to do…
So give it to them! Allow them the pride and satisfaction of being a useful, contributing member of the household, and watch them beam with pride when Daddy gets home and you brag on what they helped you accomplish during the day. Watch your relationship with your children thrive as you include them in your everyday life work, talking and singing together as you go, enjoying one another’s company. And as you train them to perform household duties, watch your own work load lessen over time as they become more and more able to assist you.
The Amish set out with the goal of training their daughters to be able to perform all household tasks that the mother can – cooking, cleaning, gardening, caring for babies and small children, etc – by the time she is 12 years old! I can assure you, they don’t wait until the girls are 9 or 10 to begin!
In talking with other mothers, I have discovered two main reasons they don’t encourage their children to work around the house:
*It’s easier to do it themselves. I know this is true – I have four children! But let us not be so short-sighted! It is never too young to start having them help, and it will pay off, very soon!!
*They feel they are doing their children some disservice by making them work. If you fall into this category, I would encourage you to see what the Bible has to say about work. The Proverbs are FULL of verses encouraging a strong work ethic, and Ecclesiastes as well. Then, moving into the New Testament, we see the same thing, even to the point that it states that if a man will not work, he should not be able to eat! (We have employed this verse in our household as well!)
Here are some practical ideas of household duties of my children.
My 2 ½ year old can do these things to help:
-Empty trash cans
-Run errands for mommy, like getting diapers for the baby or picking something up from the floor, etc.
-Help entertain the baby
-Fold washcloths
-Empty the hamper contents into a laundry basket, and push it into the laundry room
-Put his own dirty clothes in the hamper after changing
-Spot clean the kitchen floors with a spray bottle of water and rag
-Unwrap tea bags
My 4 ½ year old can do the above, and also these things:
-Make her own bed
-Sweep the patio
-Separate laundry into darks and lights
-Fold smaller clothes, like her own size and the littler kids’
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-Take letters to the mailbox and get the mail in the afternoon
-Water the garden and pull weeds
-Peel vegetables, make salad, break eggs and other kitchen help, with my supervision
-Set the table and clear the table after meals
-Fill ice trays
My oldest is just turning seven at this writing. In addition to the above chores, he can also:
-Make beds (he makes mine every morning, as well as I could. :))
-Sweep and mop the kitchen
-Fold laundry
-Get the baby out of his crib upon waking
-Get the toddler in and out of his high chair
-Cut vegetables for our meals and fruit for snacks (yes, with a knife!)
-Hang cloths on the clothesline and bring them in when dry
-Carry groceries in after shopping
Whenever our children get out of sorts, whiny, crabby, or bored, my husband and I look at each other and know what we need to do - put them to work!
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Jun. 1, 2009 - Interview with Mrs. Kendra Smiley !!
I had an awesome opportunity to interview author Kendra Smiley LIVE last week, and I have just published the first segment of the interview on MamaKnowsBest.net!!
It was so great to meet her - she is such a godly woman and so full of life!
She has generously donated ten of her books to MKB readers, so be sure to enter a comment for your chance to win!!! The books are from a biblical perspective, on parenting, marriage, and managing a home-based business!
Here is the direct link to the interview: INTERVIEW WITH KENDRA SMILEY
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May. 29, 2009 - Proverbs Project
Well, we finished our ABC Bible Curriculum, as I mentioned before, and we also did a "What the Bible Says About Manners" study, among other misc things.... but now we are starting a new Bible study, officially and I am SO excited about it!! This one is about Proverbs, and I will blog about it in more detail in the future, but I just thought I'd post today about a project we did today. It was totally impromptu!
We read Proverbs 1 today, and in verse nine it says , "Your parents teaching will beautify your life. It will be like flowers on your head or a chain around your neck."
When we read that verse, I had an idea! We got these foam circles and flowers that I picked up last year at a garage sale, some yarn, some beads and a pen. I asked the children some of the things that Mommy and Daddy are always trying to teach them, and we wrote these things on the flowers and circles, and then we made necklaces out of them!
This project was actually really encouraging for ME, because I saw that they could readily remember some of the things we were trying to teach them!
Our supplies:
I thought it was hilarious that when I asked them what Mommy and Daddy are always trying to teach them, this was the first thing they said:
Joshua busy working on his: 
Dominique's Finished Product:
Some of her "adornments" of wisdom:
Joshua's Finished Product:
And some of Joshua's adornments of wisdom:
These are some of the things Mommy and Daddy are trying to teach Israel:
And, Israel's finished product:
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May. 21, 2009 - Carlos' Story
This is a story I wrote, based on a true story I heard. I have considered publishing it one day as a children's book, with illustrations. I don't know if that will ever happen, but it is a dream....
There once was a young boy named Carlos who lived with his mother and his younger sister on a mountain just outside of a city in
Each day six-year-old Carlos would rise early in the morning, tuck a soft flannel cloth into his back pocket, leave his mother and sister in their tiny shack, and run down the mountain and into the city streets.
The city streets were always bustling with activity early in the morning. Carlos loved to watch the people hurrying on their way to work. He hurried too, on his way to the train station.
Here he saw many kinds of people. He saw men and women, fat people and thin people, tall people and short people, young people and old people, people with very dark skin and people with not-so-dark skin. Some people were dressed up and carrying brief cases, some young people were wearing sneakers and carrying bookbags and others were dressed in casual clothing and pulling large suitcases behind them. Sometimes he heard people speaking in other languages.
Carlos often wondered what it would be like to be one of those people – a boy on his way to school, a man on his way to the office, a family on their way to vacation. Carlos looked down at his own attire. He wore the same clothes every day, for indeed, they were the only clothes he had. His pants had gotten far too short the year before, and had also gotten holes in the knees, so his mother had torn them off for shorts and now he could wear them a third year. His t-shirt used to be a pale yellow color, but now it looked more like brown from constant use and infrequent washing. And his feet were bare.
It had been a long time since he had had shoes to put on them. He could remember several years back when his father had brought home a lovely new pair of sandals for his feet, but it had been a long time since he had outgrown them. His sister had used them after him, but she also had outgrown them and now wore bare feet every day.
Carlos settled down on the floor near the entrance of the train station and watched. Next door was a little café with a bench outside it. Many times the business men on their way to work would stop at this little bench to read their morning newspaper before beginning their work day. Carlos would watch for one of them.
He did not have to wait long, for presently a gentleman in a business suit sat down with his paper and began to read. Carlos approached and asked the man through his paper if he would kindly allow him to polish his shoes. The man briefly replied that that would be fine without once lowering his newspaper to look at the little boy with the soft flannel cloth tucked into his back pocket.
Carlos set to work immediately. He worked as quickly as he could to bring the gentleman’s shoes to a brilliant shine. Carlos had been shining shoes every day for the last two years since his father had died and he had gotten quite good at it now. He felt very confident of his ability to satisfy his customers with both his speed and the sparkle in their shoes, every time. Indeed, his very life depended on it, as well as the lives of his mother and his sister. For each day with the meager coins Carlos received from shining shoes, he would buy a little bread to take home to his mother and sister in their shack in the mountain. If he shined no shoes, he could buy nothing to take home to his mother and sister and they would have to go to bed without eating anything at all.
So, Carlos worked very hard to make sure his customers were completely satisfied with their shiny shoes, and this gentleman was no exception. In a mere matter of minutes, Carlos had finished the job and quietly told the gentleman that he was through.
Now, for the first time, the gentleman lowered his newspaper and looked at Carlos. His eyes were kind as he looked into the boy’s face. It was a dirty face, whose eyes were dull, and whose cheeks were rather hollow, not round and ruddy as a six-year-old boy’s should be. The boy seemed to be very proud of the job he had done on the shoes, and yet he was too timid to look fully into the gentleman’s face.
The kind gentleman reached into his pocket for some coins to give Carlos, while he wondered what else he could do for the boy. It seemed such a shame for so little a boy to have to be out working this way. He looked down at his freshly polished shoes and they truly shone in the early morning sunlight! A fine job Carlos had done!
And then, as he saw his own shoes shining in the sun, he looked also at Carlos’ feet which bore no shoes at all and the gentleman felt a sharp pang in his chest.
He asked Carlos his name and handed him the few coins. The hint of a smile played on the boy’s mouth as he thrust the coins into his pocket. Then the gentleman gave him a kind pat on the shoulder and went on his way to work, but he did not forget about little Carlos. Truth be told, all day long, Carlos was on his mind.
The next morning, Carlos tucked his soft flannel cloth in his back pocket once again, left his mother and sister in their shack, walked down the mountain and into the city streets all the way to the train station, sat down in his usual spot and waited. Whose shoes would he polish today?
Carlos lifted his eyes and there, across the street, he saw the kind gentleman from the day before. Soon he was approaching the bench in front of the café next to the entrance of the train station. Perhaps he was planning to sit there once again to read his morning newspaper before heading off to work. But he did not sit. As he got closer, he scanned the street to the right of the café, and then to the left. He seemed to be looking for something. Carlos wondered what.
Just then, his eyes settled on Carlos. The kind gentleman smiled and walked right toward the little boy sitting on the floor at the entrance of the train station. Carlos wriggled. It made him feel uncomfortable to be approached this way. No one had ever paid any attention to him sitting there on the floor of the train station and he wondered what this man was going to do? But, there was a quiet kindness about the man’s face that restrained Carlos from running away. He waited there until the man squatted down right in front of him.
Carlos did not look up. He felt too shy to look into the man’s face. His mother had always warned him to not trust strangers. What would the man say to him? Maybe he was not happy with his shoe shine and would want his coins back from the day before?
The kind gentleman said, Buenos Dias and gently lifted Carlos chin so that he could smile into his six-year-old face. The warmth of the man’s smile dispelled any fear that Carlos felt about the man’s approach. Then the man reached into a bag he was holding in his other hand and pulled out a beautiful pair of tennis shoes, just Carlos’ size!
Carlos’ eyes grew round as saucers. Could they really be for him? He had never had a pair of tennis shoes before, in all of his six years! And these were just so lovely, indeed, the loveliest pair of tennis shoes Carlos had ever seen in all of his life. The man was talking to him, but he barely heard what he was saying for his excitement over his new shoes – his very own pair of brand new shoes!
Next, the man pulled out a small package of socks, opened it and handed one pair to Carlos, asking him to put them on and try his new shoes on for size.
Carlos snapped out of his daze and excitedly began to pull on his new socks, the very first socks he had ever owned, and next his very first pair of brand new tennis shoes. He believed he had never felt such joy in all of his life. And they fit perfectly.
The man helped him get his shoes adjusted and commented in a calm voice about how handsome Carlos looked in his new shoes and how happy he was that they fit him nicely. Then he bid Carlos a good day, told him that he hoped to see him here again, gave him another kind squeeze on the shoulder, and turned to go on his way to his office.
Carlos watched the man walk away, on his way to catch his train, and thought. He looked down at his new shoes and as he did, he could almost hear the words that his mother told him daily in his head: “Jesus te ama, Carlos. Jesus loves you. Don’t ever forget that, my son. Jesus loves you. Jesus loves you…..” And once more he looked up at the man on his way to the train.
Then suddenly he was up and running, running in his new tennis shoes toward the man on his way to the train. He felt as though he were running on clouds in his new shoes! In a flash he caught up to the kind gentleman and tugged on the sleeve of his business suit.
The gentleman turned around and saw Carlos standing there with an earnest look on his face. “Yes, mi hijo?” the gentleman asked.
Carlos looked into the kind face of the gentleman fully for the first time and asked, “Señor, I was wondering, are you Jesus? My mother always tells me that Jesus loves me. You gave me shoes today, so I know that you love me. So, I was wondering, Señor, are you Jesus?”
The kind gentleman’s heart was pierced by the earnest expression on the little boy’s dirty face as he waited expectantly for his reply. He put his hand kindly on Carlos’ shoulder and said, “No, mi hijo, I am not Jesus. But Jesus does love you, and I can tell you all about Jesus’ love.”
And the gentleman proceeded to tell little wide-eyed Carlos all about the Jesus who loved him, so much that he gave his own life for him and wanted Carlos to live forever with him in heaven. In fact, He was there now, preparing a mansion for Carlos to live in! Not only that, but He also wanted to live in Carlos’ heart, so he would never be alone again.
Carlos stood wide-eyed as he listened to the story of Jesus for the first time. He always knew that Jesus loved him, but he did not know who Jesus was.
After a few short minutes, the kind man explained that he really must be going to work now, but first he prayed with Carlos, and Carlos asked Jesus to come and live in his heart. Then the gentleman promised to be back again to speak with Carlos, and he was off.
Carlos went back to his usual spot and sat back down on the ground to wait for his first customer just as he did every other day, but today was not like every other day. His black eyes shone just like the shoes he polished as he looked down at his very own pair of brand new tennis shoes and thought about the Jesus who loved him so much that He was preparing a mansion for him in heaven where he would live forever and ever. He would never be alone again!
“…Inasmuch as you’ve done it to the least of these my brethren, you’ve done it unto me…..” ~Jesus
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May. 12, 2009 - Have More Children and Raise Them for Christ!
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May. 4, 2009 - Breakthrough!
I will try to make this concise, but we had a MAJOR breakthrough w/ my 6year old about the end of March!
My little boy had been SO difficult about that time. We had been consistent, keeping him close to us, faithfully spanking, teaching, instructing, enjoying time together to tie heart strings, etc, etc....
but he was still resistant. He had the HARDEST time admitting when he was wrong! He would cry when a spanking hurt, but not tears of brokenness. His heart was hard and I didn't know what more to do about it. He is the one I posted about a few posts down, about how we were quitting "academics", to work solely on character training and training in godliness.
I cried out to the Lord, ALL the time, for my boy. For his heart to be reached by the Lord, and for wisdom in how to effectively deal with him...
The weekend before the 'breakthrough' was the worst! I was about to knock my head up against the wall, and his too!
Then on a Sunday night... he needed a spanking... again. He got it. Afterwards, we were talking and I just said, "Joshua, you need Jesus! The Bible tells us that the Lord will give us a heart of flesh when Jesus is in our hearts. That He will help us realize when we are wrong and that we have sinned and that we need HIM! Your heart has been stony. Unyielding. Stubborn and resistant to correction. Not teachable. Do you want to pray that the Lord would replace your stony heart with a heart of flesh?"
Then... he broke. He started crying, tears of brokenness! He said he did want to pray, and we prayed together. I was crying too. He was so genuine! We had an awesome time together, and then we read Ezekiel 36.
Later we were in the kitchen and he was playing w/ my 6month old so nicely. Then he looked at me and said with the sweetest smile, "I love you, Mommy. And there is something else I want to say." He hesitated, so I went closer. Finally, he said, "All these days I have wanted to obey you, but I just found it so hard to do!"
I cried again, and hugged him and told him that I understand completely and that none of us can do what we wish we could without Jesus - that's why we need Him so badly!
Last night was certainly not the first time I had shared the Gospel with him, but it was the night that the Lord chose to break through to him personally. It was amazing. I wasn't sure that he was not saved before that, and I didn't even know at the moment that we prayed that that was what was happening, but the fruit has made it evident.
Later that same evening, he told my husband that it was the best day he'd had in a long time. When asked why, he said, "Because Jesus changed my heart!"
He brought me a note that said, "I love you, Mommy!" on one side, and on the other side it said, "I love you, Jesus!!!"
The following day, he got several more spankings... but he was SO much more teachable. And since then, he still needs correction. He is still a child and does foolish things, but he is definitely a new creature. He is not resisting; he is admitting he was wrong. The change is marked and refreshing.
I have no greater joy...
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Apr. 9, 2009 - Bible Curriculum Wrap-Up Lapbook
Well, as I mentioned earlier, we finished up our Bible curriculum, and as a review and wrap-up, we did this lapbook. It took a long time, as all of our lapbooks have, lol, as simple as I try to keep them. The children love doing them, but they can only take so much per day of cutting the same shape over and over and tracing and writing and such. So, we did it a little at a time over about three or four weeks or so, and it was probably better that way, really. I am the kind that would rather just work on a project obsessively until it is DONE, but children don't function best that way. I'm learning. 
We made this lapbook with two file folders, which I folded each separately, the traditional lapbook way, and then laid them side by side and glued the right flap of one to the left flap of the other. That sounded a little confusing, but it wasn't. Just hard to put into words. Hopefully you will be able to see in the pictures.
Here is the front, followed by the picture of the back. After we had finished all the contents, we looked through a bunch of magazines for pictures that would represent unreached people groups, or anything about the Bible, or sign language. It was fun! Then we cut and glued in collage fashion, and, of course, I later covered it all with contact paper. 
When you open it up, you see our little "table of contents":
-Bible verses
-Bible-less people
-Sign language
Hopefully here you can see how the folders were put together, right? I later stapled them too, to make it stronger.
We made one "library pocket" for each letter, using a free template from here, but I looked the other day and didn't see this one there any more.... but Im sure it must still be available for free somewhere. The cards we used were also from a free template from the same place.
Here is a closer-up of the cards from the inside. Each pocket had three cards, one for the Bible verse, one for the sign language, and one for the Bible-less people group - with a sketch of the country they live in. On the flip side of the people group cards is written the name of the country .
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Mar. 30, 2009 - What Will Our Children Remember?
I published this last week at www.MamaKnowsBest.net, and I decided to post it here as well. :)
About a month ago, we went to a local restaurant that we hadn't been to for quite a while. My husband and I were *shocked* when we pulled into the parking lot and our 6 year old told his sister, "Yay! This is the place that gave me a free ice cream cone!" We were shocked because that happened about 4 1/2 years ago, when I was still pregnant with his sister; he was just barely turned 2 years old. We have not talked about it since it happened, so how could he remember that?
On the other hand, he was 4 1/2 years old when his little brother was born, and he was present for the birth. It did not seem to make much of an impression on him, however, because he does not seem to have any recollection of the event!
This has really made me think about the things that make an impression on our children. They may not always be the things we think! The really "big" things, or at least the things that *we* think are "really big" may not be of much consequence to our children. On the other hand, the smallest gestures of kindness (or unkindness), the looks, the time spent or a game played - these may be the things that stick in their minds.
Last week our home group watched a video by Paul David Tripp, and he made a good point: most of our lives are made up of mundane moments. We will likely only make 3-4 big decisions in our entire lifetimes! If God is not God of the mundane moments of your life, He is not God of you at all.
This has inspired me to make the mundane moments I have with my children special. We don't have to go fancy places or spend a bunch of money to make our children feel special and loved. As mothers, we may feel like there aren't many significant events happening in our daily lives - but let's start seeing those mundane moments we have with our children as significant, because they are! And I'm sure our children see them that way too.
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Mar. 25, 2009 - Recent Sewing Project
I finally got around to making this dress for my daughter, with a matching bonnet and handbag. I thought it looked like something out of Sense & Sensibility! I just love older style dresses and have often wished I could dress like they did in the 1800's without sticking out like a sore thumb! :-)
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Mar. 18, 2009 - An interview with my children
I had so much fun interviewing my children yesteday! For the record, at the time of the interview, Joshua is 6.5yo, Dominique is 4yo and Israel is 2.
1.What is something mom always says to you?
Dominique: I love you
Joshua: I love you
2. What makes mom happy?
Joshua: doing something good, like cleaning up or washing and polishing metal somewhere
Dominique: getting water for you
3. What makes mom sad?
Joshua: disobeying and leaving a mess in the room
Dominique: making a mess in the room
4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Joshua: tickling and doing something fun
Dominique: tickling, and ya, something fun like we did yesterday (the park)
5. What was your mom like as a child?
Joshua: playing in the snow!
Dominique: still thinking….
6. How old is your mom?
Joshua: 17? 70?
Dominique: 21!
Israel: 2!
7. How tall is your mom?
Joshua: a yard
Dominique: THIS tall (jumping up with hands in the air)
8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Joshua: play with Joshua and Dominique and the legos
Dominique: making presents when its my birthday and you don’t like when I don’t get a birthday.
9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Joshua: cry and gets kinda sad
Dominique: makes food for herself, fixing her hair, changing Johann’s diapers and playing games and sewing diapers and all kinds of stuff
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Joshua: I don’t know – oh! Maybe diaper making!
Dominique: scrap-booking
Israel: Diaper making?
11. What is your mom really good at?
Joshua: diaper making, playing games like perquackey
Dominique: sewing, fixing hair, making piggy tails
12. What is your mom not very good at?
Joshua: k’nex, cause you don’t play with k’nex that much
Dominique: not very good at making towers?
13. What does your mom do for a job?
Joshua: ummm…. I don’t know
Dominique:ummmm….. I know! Scrapbooking!
14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Joshua: uh, I think I know. Oh yeah! It is celery!
Dominique:I don’t know, but Joshua does. He thinks very good!
15. What makes you proud of your mom?
Joshua: she reads books to me and taught me how to read
Dominique: um, HAPPY!
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Joshua: The Flintstone wife
Dominique: Bob the Builder
17. What do you and mom do together?
Joshua: we do read books and go to parties! Read books. Oh, did I already say that? Play with me! Um, take me to my cousin’s house to see best buddy and to church!
Dominique: we play together and we make yummy food
18. How are you and your mom the same?
Joshua: our noses and eyes look so much alike at 6 ½ years old.
Dominique: we have red hair!
19. How are you and your mom different?
Joshua: our eyes are different colors
Dominique: we aren’t different!
20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Joshua: she always reads books to me and plays with me and takes us to parks in the summertime! Presents!
Dominique: kisses and giving hugs
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Mar. 10, 2009 - Home Discipleship
Homeschooling has taken a whole different direction for us for the last couple of months. We have always tried to make the Bible the cornerstone of our homeschool (and lives), and we have been sticking to the basics in school ever since Johann was born, but we felt the Lord was leading us to lay off on academics for a time with Joshua, and just work on character training and instruction in godliness.
The verse the Lord gave us was 2 Peter 1:5-11: 5For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith) with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The Lord used this verse in a creative way to speak to us, showing us that you have to have faith first, and add to that virtue, and to that knowledge. Without faith and virtue, we would not be serving our children by packing in the knowledge!
Joshua is very bright, and far above where his grade level in every subject, so there is no trouble in that department. That is part of the problem. He is smart, and he knows it, and people constantly tell him so. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up (1Cor 8:1). He is a very proud little boy, often feeling that he can correct even adults, because he “knows” so much. It’s awful! Knowledge is definitely not a virtue! I read an article this week that summed it up perfectly: Arrogants Anonymous. It is a fabulous read that I would recommend to every parent.
So, what have we been doing instead?
Well, we did finish up the Bible curriculum that we started last summer. We have been continuing to review the verses we memorized and pray for the Bible-less people we have learned about. As a review of this, we are now in the middle of making a lapbook about it. I will post more pictures once it is done. Here is a teaser. :-)
Other than that, we have been seeking to have him do things that focus on thinking about other people rather than himself. We made valentines for his cousins when it was valentine’s day, we learned about Purim and made our costumes for that, and we have looked up things in the concordance like “diligence”, and had him copy some of the verses about the topic in his journal. He really enjoys doing that.
We have also been trying to seek opportunities for him to work with his hands, serving around the home and even going to work with Daddy on some days! This has been SO good for him, to be discipled by Daddy as they work together. Daddy has the opportunity to turn him into a man and shape his character, as well as build a good work ethic in him.
We have explained this process to Joshua as well, instilling in him that the MOST important thing for him to know is Jesus, and that the most important thing he can do is hide the Word of God in his heart.
Daddy recently used this creative hands-on activity to drive the point home with the children:
He got all this rocky “soil” and gave each child a section to “cultivate”. They used forks to get out all the rocks and debris in order to prepare a good soil for planting. Then he gave them each a “seed” to bury in their plot, and on each seed was written: “Thankfulness”. As they worked, he explained to them that this soil was like their hearts! The rocks in their hearts were things like complaining, grumbling, disobedience, and strife. If they wanted to have a good attitude, they had to cultivate a thankful, happy heart!
After they had planted the seeds, they bowed their heads to pray that God would honor their work at cultivating their hearts’ soil, and when they opened their eyes, look what had grown!!
We pray that this will be a true picture of what grows in our children's hearts as we seek to cultivate the soil of their lives with the Word of God!
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Feb. 6, 2009 - Mama Knows Best
I have often mulled over the idea of a resource website for mothers ever since my first child was a baby. I just wasn't sure how to make that happen! Well, a few months ago, my dear husband got onto the idea, and we have been brainstorming about it since then. He has built the site for me, and as of yesterday, it is up and running!!! I am SO excited! BUT.... I really need your help! I do not want the site to be "all about me" - about me writing about all the things that I do that you really should know about, LOL, but rather of mothers helping other mothers with their contributions. I hope to have a plethora of information about pregnancy, breastfeeding, household management, homeschooling, other schooling and education concerns, discipline issues, encouragement for mothers, caring for your family's health, using herbs, and much, much more! So, PLEASE! Come, and contribute! I know all of you mamas have lots and lots of wisdom that you can share to help other mamas out there! I don't mind if you submit things you have already posted on your blog either - and you can even link back to your blog, so you will get more traffic there too!
Two more things:
If you visit the site and find any glitches there, please let me know about them!
and
If you would be so kind as to post this adorable little banner on your blog, I would be very appreciative! You can find it on the front page of the site. Help me get the site out there and known, but even more importantly, help me get helpful content on the site so that it will be a wonderful resource for mothers everywhere!
Thank you all in advance! You're the greatest!
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Jan. 4, 2009 - Happy New Year!
I have been away almost since Johann joined our family and I have really missed blogging! Once I was feeling somewhat "normal" after our new addition joined us, the holidays hit and adding shopping, wrapping, decorating, baking, travelling, partying, writing/sending cards, etc to an already full schedule... well, it was a little stressful. I was trying to enjoy it and not get stressed, but I must admit I was relieved when I could say that the holidays were behind us! I got our Christmas decorations put away on Jan 1st, and planned to reorganize through the weekend to start back on schedule on Monday (tomorrow).
However.... we were apparently exposed to a flu bug at a New Year's Eve party, so that isn't exactly happening... It hasn't been the greatest weekend! Tomorrow is Monday, and I am NOT feeling ready to get "back on schedule"!
We also had a houseguest join us on Friday from England, and she will be staying with us for the next six months.
One more "variation" to our "normal schedule" is Fabio- he has been laid off again, so his schedule is unpredictable and therefore so is mine! He is also trying to start a business building websites, so when he is home, my computer time is limited - er, nonexistent! You can check out his site at www.fabiosdesigns.com, ifyou are interested!
Anyway, I am hoping, among other things, to get back to blogging here! I've missed it a lot and I have a ton to post if I ever get around to it!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
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Nov. 12, 2008 - So about night people...
I really didn't mean to step on toes with my last post - so if you have any rotten tomatoes to throw, throw them at Martha Peace! LOL. I guess you could throw some at me too, since I agreed with her enough to post it, though. Anyway, I just wanted to clarify what *I* think, in case anyone cares, lol.
I do believe that there are people with a natural tendency to be either morning or night people. I grew up with an extreme morning-bird mother and an extreme night-owl father. You could not pay my mom enough to stay up late, and you could hardly pay my dad enough to go to bed at 9pm. And, come morning, my mom would spring out of bed, while my dad would drag out of bed.
But even with his natural tendencies, dad never slept late, and he never allowed us kids to sleep late. On occasion, if we were really "lucky", he would let us stay in bed until 8am on a Saturday morning, and then it was "up and at 'em"! I didn't always appreciate that at the time, but I am thankful now for that early training.
I think I am more of a night person by nature. Once I was living on my own, my work schedule was 2pm-10pm, so I would get home around 11pm, without having had supper yet! By the time I had supper and let it settle and "chilled" a bit, it was always at least 1am by the time I'd hit the sack. At first I thought this was fun, but after a short time I quite liking it. I would wake up at 10:30 or so, and still be dragging. Half the day was already gone! It seemed I never got anything productive done.
So, I started making myself get in bed almost immediately upon arriving at home, so I could wake up at a decent hour and then, I had the WHOLE day until I had to be at work at 2pm to do as I pleased. I felt so much better that way.
Ultimately, I believe God designed our world and our bodies so that we would sleep at night and be awake during the day. Sounds almost silly to say so, because it is so obvious! Back not so long ago when people didn't have electricity, Im sure "night owl syndrome" was not nearly so prevalent as it is today! They had to "make hay while the sun shone".
And, as is always the case, modern science confirms the wisdom of God's design. Every hour of sleep we get before midnight is worth two hours of sleep after midnight! It is not healthy for our metabolism to eat after 8:00 pm. Morning is the best time to exercise, etc, etc. If you do some research, it will speak for itself.
And more importantly, what does God's Word say? "Rising early" is all over the Scriptures, from David in the Psalms, to Isaiah, to Jesus Himself who rose to pray while it was still dark. Even the Proverbs 31 woman "rose while it was yet dark" to begin working. (Although it also says her candle goes not out by night - when does this lady sleep??)
I almost always have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning. Actually, I think I could safely say "always", not just almost always! But I find it is SO worth it! When I get out of bed, even a half an hour before the kids, take a quick shower during which I begin meeting with the Lord in prayer, and then have a quick quiet time, even if only one chapter - then I feel so ready to greet the day and greet my children with a smile when they wake up! On the other hand, on those days when I give in to staying in bed instead until they wake me up, things do not go so well. I have a hard time getting a shower once they are up, so I feel grungy instead of fresh. I don't get to spend even a moment before the Lord, so I tend to be grumpier as well. And as I have not had a chance to get in the "drivers seat" of the day and figure out what direction we are headed, I feel the day takes off with me being carried along with no control of the direction. Did you ever have this feeling?
I do usually snatch a few quite moments at night after the kids are in bed to spend time with Fabio, read a bit, blog a bit, or whatever, but I try to limit these activities to not more than one hour after they go to sleep. A kitchen timer can come in handy if you find it difficult to limit time spent on certain activities.
So, anyway, I think Ben Franklin had it right when he said, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." (Well, healthy anyway, and maybe wise. Still haven't figured out the "wealthy" part yet.... ) 
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Nov. 5, 2008 - Night Person?
Tonight we had a provoking talk at our church about women being "busy at home", from Titus 2. I especially liked this quote that was read, by Martha Peace:
I have heard of women who pride themselves on being "night people". That means they have trouble getting up in the mornings because they come alive at night. They may stay up till all hours reading, watching television, or pursuing some sort of interest. They next morning they are too tired to get up and care for their family... these women are not "night people". They are lazy and selfish. Who would not rather stay up late to do whatever they please and sleep late the next day? Once a young wife begins getting up earlier than her children and husband, she will cease to be a "night person". She will be tired and go to bed at a reasonable hour so she will be there to serve her family the next morning.
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Oct. 27, 2008 - Bible Time for Busy Mamas
If you are like me, it is hard to have a "quiet time", since the house is rarely quiet! So, I thought I'd share something that has been a real blessing to me lately: the Bible on CD!
We have had the children listening to these CDs for several years now at night while they are falling asleep, but I only started a few months ago, when I picked up an extra CD player at a garage sale. I used to think I wouldn't like to listen to anything at bedtime, but I have found it to be wonderful! Many times, I have a hard time controlling my thoughts after the lights are out. I dont think about anything bad, but I can't seem to shut my thoughts down to be able to fall asleep! Trying to focus on the Bible playing has helped me to keep my thoughts from wandering a million directions while falling asleep. And, as I usually keep the same CD in for a week or more, it has really helped me to "lock it in" my mind and heart, and I often contemplate during the day what I listen to at night. Sometimes if I'm up with the baby in the night and feel wakeful, I will push play then too.
I still try to read my Bible during the day, but getting it in at night provides a richer quantity of Bible time than I would be able to do only by my reading. I highly recommend it, for yourself and your children!
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Oct. 21, 2008 - New Student at our Homeschool
I thought I would post after a long absence... about the newest student at our homeschool! We welcomed Johann Luiz into our family on September 18. He weighed 8lbs 4oz (my smallest yet) and is adjusting quite well to our family life. ;-) We didnt really take a break this summer, so that we could now, so we have officially been "off" since he was born. The plan is to start back the first Monday of November - less than two weeks away now! We have been using that time to wrap up a few loose ends in the academic department, and enjoy some good read-alouds that we don't always have time for otherwise, like Pilgrim's Progress. Here are a couple pictures of our little prince, at one week old:
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Sep. 2, 2008 - The Mayflower Pilgrims Project
We are studying the Pilgrims now and I ran across a really fun idea to mark their voyage. You mearsure a long wall at 22 feet, labeling one side "England" and the other side "America". Then you make your Mayflower (I covered ours with contact paper, of course!) and post a calendar on the wall. I found a calendar of 1620 to make it as authentic as possible, and we started our "voyage" today on the 16th of Sept, 1620, just like the Pilgrims did! Each day, you measure out 4 inches and move your Mayflower that far along the wall, marking off one day on the calendar. In 66 days, you should reach your destination of "America"! (Did you notice how you're fitting in a little hands-on math, too? ;-)
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Aug. 28, 2008 - Mama's Lapbook Project
Mommies are allowed to do lapbooks, too, right? LOL. I wasnt planning on doing this, but I found out about a free download from Hands of a Child on the LAST day it was available, and it was too cool to pass up. It was a lapbook kit to do an interview with your grandfather! I tried to involve Joshua in it as much as possible, but it was a little involved for his level, and an hour-long interview was a bit much too... but I was so excited to record some of the family history this way! A lot of the things focused on childhood memories, and the neat thing about the kit is that I wouldn't have thought of a lot of the questions on my own. :) Things like, "Tell me about your jobs" "Did you get an allowance as a child?" and "How did you get to school?" (I was surprised at this answer - on his pony!) This was the first time we've used a lapbook kit, and it took a lot of the work out of it, since I didn't have to come up with much on my own - just print, cut, paste! (Although, I really enjoy doing our own too.)
The interview was so much fun, and I learned so much I didn't know before about my Grandfather's history! We also filmed it, so we have the little tidbits that didn't make it into the lapbook too.
A few pics:
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