Homeschool Diva

We are on a first name basis with our librarians. Whether you homeschool or use traditional school, I highly recommend working your local library like a TOOL!  I unfortunately pay a consistent amount of fines as we are always keeping something a little longer then a week. No matter what, I am always leaving one book at home that should of been turned in.   Oh well, that bursts your bubble doesn’t it.  This week we scored a few fun finds at our library. I take one canvas bag with me, and we fill it until we can’t fit any more in.  That is when they have to stop. I also find tons of educational movies at the library.  Some are great and some are a bust.

I also use some great educational websites to spice up our day.  The kids have really learned how to get around on the computer so I am working that too.  Here are two great sites that our family uses often.  Hope your family enjoys them as much as we do.  Now if I could just find a fun Latin website for kids.

• the happy scientist
• national geographic for kids

Have a wonder filled week everyone~

First a few disclaimers.  #1 none of these pictures have anything to do with money but I thought they were so RAD I went for it anyway, and #2 This is a subject every family has to come to on their own before the Lord. Hopefully a few of these words will inspire you to do what God leads you all to in your own family life:-) #3 I have to get a mountain of laundry done today, but that really doesn’t have anything to do with this either so we will just carry on.

The 2 BIGGEST enemies of the gospel of Jesus are consumerism and individuality. Well, I must say we have that in SPADES here in south Florida. I think money, and the topic of money really deceptively weaves those two enemies of the message of Jesus and the gospel right into it.  Save for you, you, you so you can spend, spend, spend and then play, play, play and where the heck did the whole gospel of “prosperity come into play in western culture”?  I say this politely when I say that that crap is from the PIT for sure.  I mean when God told his people He wanted to see them prosper, he didn’t mean with monetary wealth, he meant with his Presence so that they could be a blessing to a broken world so that ultimately HE would be glorified.  That whole thing has gone awry in our culture don’t ya think?  Jesus wasn’t kidding when he said the LOVE of money is the root of all evil.  Man, that junk will come in and mess you up on so many levels.  I will just hint at saying that even saving, 401k’s, college funds, etc. etc. could be a tiny bit out of balance in our hearts and minds as Christians. AND I only say that because I have fallen head long into that trap in my life.  Thankfully I am blissfully free of it, and have never been more content with much less stuff in my whole life. I love Burkett, and financial responsibility but ummmm, how do you “teach” that stuff to those in other cultures who are making do with day to day?  Just asking the question is all.   I think the message is the same across cultures and circumstances.  “Don’t worry about tomorrow, seek His kingdom and all of the other details work out”, or something like that. Sorry.  Am I being too simplistic?  I do that some times, anyway moving on.

I also think Jesus wasn’t kidding when he said “Don’t worry about what you will eat or drink, or your kids college or what you are going to do when you get old, just worry about today it has enough crap of its own to think about.”Okay that was my paraphrase, but you get what He was saying right?  So how do we responsibly teach our kids about money and saving and giving and so forth without letting those two enemies we talked about in the beginning creep in?  Good question…glad you asked.  Like I said yesterday, we don’t give our kids a weekly allowance for a few basic reasons.  #1 our budget. Even a small weekly allowance X 3 X 4 weeks a month adds up to a lot, and really how much money do little kids need to learn how to be responsible with it? #2 I think it devalues me as the Mom who does all this junk around here all the time, with no thanks and no money.  I mean what the heck?  Do you think these clothes just magically wash/fold themselves and put themselves away.  Okay, they don’t always get put away right on time, but lets not split hairs. Nope, we work as a team, and we get it done together.  I think it helps build character AND life skills all at once which are JUST as important as learning how to rightly manage money.

Here are a few practical things you can do for your kids to help them get prepared for God to move on their hearts in regard to money.  Because ultimately we sow the seed but God will make it grow right?!

• Open a bank account.  $5 bucks will get you going.  It was a big “Ahha” moment for our kids when the realized you don’t get money out of the bank without putting money into it. Plus if it is harder to get to, it will be harder to just get spent on Bubble gum if you get my drift.
• Ask some family members to give them a few dollars at Christmas and birthdays.  Think about it.  Say they get 10 bucks for Christmas and their Birthday, that is $20 a year for a 5, 6 and 8 year old. I mean come on, how much do they need to really learn how to use money rightly? The last thing I want is them day dreaming about how much money they are amassing so they can go buy whatever the heck they desire.  Remember consumerism and individuality?  It can creep right in, right there, and I well tell you right now I am going to guard the heck out of it here in our own home.  That is also the reason we stopped playing monopoly right now.  I saw a little greedy seed crop up, when they all were reveling in owning the world.  Oops, I saw that and in my heart, I was hearing, “ABORT, ABORT like fast.”  I quietly put it away and will take it out maybe later.  Hey better yet, maybe I will invent one based on giving instead of amassing wealth.
• We offer a small monetary fee for jobs above and beyond their normal chores, if they are really wanting to work towards getting something that we have said isn’t in our budget.  It isn’t an every week thing, just here and there.  I think it is good to makes kids work towards what they want.  I don’t buy them every new thing that comes down the pike.  I mean I really don’t buy them much at all. Would you be shocked to know we didn’t buy or kids a single thing for Christmas last year? Really, not one single thing and you know what, they still got more then they could ever use.
• Once they have an account, take a day, where you sit down together and talk about what money is.  Nothing more then a tool.  We spend it, we give it, we save it, we don’t hoard it.  That’s it.  Jackson realized the other day, that at one point in history money had no value, you traded what you had.  Hey I will give you a bushel of apples if you will give me a slab of meat, and it all came together.
• Then pray with them about how much they should give and where they should give it.  I think that helping your kids begin to hear what God is saying in their heart about the poor and marginalized will give them deeper joy in giving then in just making them do it.  I did this with our crew a few months ago, and it was crazy what they felt lead to give to.  Jackson was lead to a local migrant community, Chloe’s was sent to Africa and Hudson wanted his to go to Old people. I also don’t make them do a certain percent at this point.  I tell them, it is all God’s and He gives it us so we can steward it correctly.  Listen he will tell you how much to give.
• A little business isn’t a bad idea either.  Our kids have a lemonade stand.  They pull it out from time to time to make a few bucks.  It is cute and another real world math example that REALLY sticks in their minds let me tell you what.  They have also made some cash by dog sitting and walking while friends are away.  Hey, win/win in my book.  They get to see what it is like to have a dog without out us actually having to,you know, buy one.
• This year for the first time, we gave them all a clothing budget.  Here they sat, at this computer, and shopped at old navy for some new clothes for this school year.  They had to put whatever they wanted in their bag, with the right size and color without regard to cost. Kind of gave me an idea of what they like in regards to style.  I said you must put in 2 shirts, 1 short, 1 pant, 1 dress etc.  They had to follow the task.  Then we saw how much it all cost and how FAR it was outside of their budget.  Then they had to think it through and figure out what they really needed and what they really wanted, and what to put back.  It was fascinating to watch them.  Our youngest who is 4.75 GOT this with no problem.  Now this year, they will have to take care of the things they budgeted and spent for. We also said, you can’t get this until the tax free week, so they are having to WAIT. Did I say waiting was a good thing.
• Well it is, teach them to wait…..and that will flow over into every area of their life. Delayed gratification is a very, very good thing for little guys and Mommy’s and Daddy’s too.

So there are a few of my thoughts on money and kids and apparently laundry too.  Be blessed all of you out there counting the cost even when it comes to a silly little piggy bank.  It is a bigger deal then we think.

You have to feed your kids good stuff. Not just good food, but good life experiences too. Bottom line. That takes plugging in, prayer and really observing where your kids are at, and what they need  at any stage of development.  Whether you home school or do private or public, you as the parent need to make sure you are tending your little garden. Ever hear the saying “No one can do your push ups for ya?”  Well the same is true in parenting. Lately I have been getting emails of admiration from non homeschooling Moms who want a little help on how to supplement their child’s education.  I love it.

First I would recommend taking stock of were your child is, physically, mentally, relationally, emotionally, spiritually and academically.  Make a list if you have to. Maybe we get things turned around when we hyper focus on academics and leave other very important formational stuff out?  Let the Lord lead you, on things that you see that your  child needs.  Do they need a good dose of habit training, how to do chores or how to take care of their hygiene?  Do they need to read some deep literature, other then fast food type stuff that is typically marketing to early elementary readers?  You get the idea.  I don’t know, only you will now that for each of your children.  Hey, and if you don’t know, maybe you are just too  busy and you need to slow down a bit so you can take stock or where you and your littles are at.

I would recommend you intentionally add a few things into your family rhythm to help give you some well balanced nutrition for you growing brood, weather home educated or not.  Pick a family read aloud.  Stretch and pick a classic or even, shock….. some Shakespeare.   This is also a great resource for those wanting to steer their children into some really good literature.  Living literature will take you and your child into deeper things like geography and history and science.  These books are simply outstanding and every family would do well to read through them together. We have gone through seasons of this on and off in our family and are right now back in this season.  Make your children earn video game or TV time by reading  2 for 1.   For every 2 minutes they read, they can earn one minute of TV or video game time.  It works for us.  Instead of filling your house with the sound of a TV on, play some music quietly in the background.  There are tons of online math helps out there or even some interesting math books that will help your kids.

Think through some practical things you can do with your kids.  Take them to the post office and have them do the whole deal, buy the stamp, address, and mail the letter, use the automated kiosk etc. Go to the hardware story and but the supplies for a family project and involved them in actually checking out and paying for the items.  Involve them in your whole life.  Even the simple things can be a learning moment.  You don’t have to be teacher or a school to schedule a field trip.  You can make a few phone calls in your local area and set up some family things for you all to do together.

Life is short, and there are so many things you can do and accomplish when your kids are big and have flown the coop.  Take a little time, in whatever way you can, to add a little richness to your child’s education.

Hope this helps some of you out there.   I am going to go take some of my own advice and do some phonics games with the kids.

Grace and Peace to everyone out there

My baby girl is 6 today.  Life is moving along and I always have a bitter sweet day on their birthdays.  Happy for all the time we have had to grow together.  I am excited to watch her grow and mature and learn new things yet sad at the little pudgy hands that I don’t get to kiss anymore.  Enjoy every single minute. Even the sleepless, messy ones.

She is reading and writing and working her math facts like a stellar little six year old. She is growing into quite the little artist.   I am so blessed to have her as our child.  She is a tough little scraper who has such a sweet tender heart.  I am off to take her on a special birthday outing…as we give experiences over just a flat gift.  So it is a mini-pedicure and a new dress at target.  Gotta nurture her feminine side. As you recall, she broke her arm wrestling with 4 boys all bigger, stronger and heavier than her.  She needs a little girl time.

Happy Birthday Chloe,
child of love,
[God bless you].
And blessed you are, beyond telling,
to be born to parents
who love you
and love each other
servants of the
great King Jesus.

Grow gently, Chloe in love of God.

We bless you,
and pray
Christ be near you,
now and each hour
of your life.

As you grow
may faith grow with you.
May you find the presence
of Christ your clothing
and protection.
And year by year may the
knowledge of His presence
be greater for you,
that daily you may put on Christ
and walk as His own in the world.

Chloe, May God make clear to you each road;
may He make safe to you each step;
should you stumble, hold you;
if you fall, lift you up;
when you are hard pressed with evil,
deliver you -
and bring you at last to His glory.
Amen.

I let her eat cake fore her breakfast too.  Isn’t that fun, she was tickled silly with that. Later today we are off to Gainesville. I have a few shoots booked, a family get together and some quiet time in the car with my honey.  We always have such good talks in the car.  4 hours of driving help to foster deep conversations.Here is praying you have a deep talk today with someone you love.

Grace and Peace to all those twirling like a six year old today,

Yes, I just found a banana leashed to my cabinet door in our kitchen.  Earlier, it was a stuffed puppy that had been chained to the door so it wouldn’t run away.  I come back to find fruit chained to the door and I am wondering, did she do it, or did the boys do it as a joke?  You never know with this crew. I half expect to see a dish of water and some food setting there for it next.  Not only this, but I have rescued a toy off the roof-with a fractured hip I might add, picked up unending “things” left at odd places all over the place, swept up 4 different times,  closed a million cabinet doors, and yelled  said at least 10 times….”We shut off what we turn on, and we close what we OOPPEEENNNNNNNNNNN!”  I am not sure they are getting that….. yet.

After schooling, we watched The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe today as a family (with a few fast forwarded sequences for the littles…don’t worry honey:-)).  I love the scene where Lucy pulls the sheet off of the wardrobe.  The entire sequence is breathtaking.  It encapsulates childlike wonder like no other.   I can just watch it over and over and every time I get goosebumps.  I will tell you a secret.  Our homeschool is like my own little wardrobe.  I get transported to a secret world where I get to be a little kid every day with these guys.  I am learning all over again, and it is crazy fun.  What a special gift to do this with them.  I know this isn’t for everyone, but I am sure thankful it is for me.

In other news, I am doing a little research and really stretching my cooking expertise at finding new and creative ways to cook healthy meals for many people for little money.   Trust me, it can be done if you are willing to do a little research on the food network.  Yo Peeps… I made a crazy good meal last night for a crew for only 15 bucks.   I am a “delivered” organic snob.  I was delivered from buying organic food when I realized that is was not a good fit for our budget.  I figured that we are a “Missional family” living in a suburban context, why not do what I do when we are in any other country.  PRAY! You can’t eat like a foodie in other places in the world, so we don’t do it here.  Kind of a solidarity thing with God’s people who are thankful for a plate of beans in other places on the globe.  I just pray over it, and realize that God will cover the rest.  Please, the kids drink milk and water, we watch the sugar in take, I don’t do homogenized oils or corn syrup if I can help it…..I think we will survive if we don’t by organic apples at 6 bucks a bag.  My kids eat 3 bags of apples a week, you do the math.  Even with all of this my grocery bill is WHACK!  These boys are eating machines and they are not even close to being teenagers.  Oh Mommy!So tomorrow I will give you the recipe for my pulled pork tacos that will feed 8-10 for only 15 bucks.

Grace and peace to all those praying over it, whatever it is,  and trusting God~

Yesterday we went with another homeschooling family to a wonderful local spot with all sorts of nature and history.

We took a boat ride, saw a local legend’s homestead, worked with microscopes

and made new friends. The day was glorious, the children had their imaginations sparked and I shot my camera like a maniac.

My friend has a very thorough post here and here so instead of rewriting it, I will direct you to her to read all about it.  I am working on a shutterfly book of our adventures.  (Between the two of us we have enough photos for a small novella;-)

As we slowly made our way down the river observing osprey, alligators, Spanish moss, air plants and other natural inhabitants of our local area, I said a quiet prayer at how thankful I am that we live here.  Get out there and see the world people…and please take a little one along with you…they will thank you one day 20 years from now.  Trust me it is an entire practice in delayed gratification.

Grace and Peace to all those “wondering” at the world around them~

My girlfriend had her four year old answer some questions about her. I thought it was so cute that I had all 3 of mine do the same thing and it was a hoot listening to all of them tell me their answers.  Now, remember I did this separately, so I think it is interesting on what they came up with and how common some of their answers were. The first response is our 4.5 year old, the second response is our 5.75 year old and the last is our 7.5 year old.

1. What is something mom always says to you?

• Go to bed at the right time.
• I love you.
• “No’ and “Can you please help me unload the dishwasher” which are both horrifying to me and then you also say you love me a lot too.

2. What makes mom happy?

• snuggling
• kissing her
• When I do what she asks me to and load and empty the dishwasher.

3. What makes mom sad?

• not hugging her
• not hugging and kissing her
• not doing what she says

4. What makes your mom laugh?

• being silly
• tickling her
• silliness

5. What was your mom like as a child?

• she liked inspector gadget
• she liked to read books
• she liked to climb trees

6. How old is your mom?

• I don’t know
• 15
• 35 ( not yet bud, slow down)

7. How tall is your mom?

• 15?????
• 22″
• I don’t know I am about 4′ so 11′.

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

• be with her girlfriends at night after we are asleep or be on the boat.
• hang out with me
• be a mama

9. What does your mom do when you’re not around?

• be with her girlfriends
• work
• watch TV

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

• her pictures (well thanks bud)
• collecting money???(Maybe she means saving money?)
• painting pictures (ahh they are not that good bud but thanks for the vote of confidence. )

11. What is your mom really good at?

• painting
• reading - I love when you read to me Mommy.
• taking pictures

12. What is your mom not very good at?

• driving boats
• I can’t think of anything
• you are not very good at letting us do what we want.  You have a good reason for that, you don’t want us to grow up and be rotten right Mama? (Umm, yes I think you are getting it.)

13. What does your mom do for her job?

• She goes to the art store to get pictures (I think they are getting the art thing don’t you?)
• computer work
• photography and sending emails

14. What’s your mom’s favorite food?

• salad or sushi
• sushi
• sushi and seafood and any of Daddy’s grilled food. (I think they know I like sushi)

15. What makes you proud of your mom?

• taking out the trash
• that she loves me
• taking care of me and giving us a good house.  Actually God gave us the house so I guess I should say I am thankful to God.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

•   What is a cartoon character?
• a ballerina (is there a ballerina cartoon character?)
• Jerry from Tom and Jerry (yes I liked them too as a kid)

17. What do you and your mom do together?

• go on special dates
• talk and hang out  and have special dates
• we play monopoly together

18. How are you and your mom the same?

• we both take the trash out
• we both have short hair
• we both have the same chin

19. How are you and your mom different?

• we do not talk the same
• our eyes are not the same
• are ages are different

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

• because she gives me kisses and hugs
• because she gives me hugs and kisses
• because she gives me hugs

21. Where is your mom’s favorite place to go to?

• Pollo Tropical
• The Sushi Place
• I don’t think you really have a favorite place to go.

Well, so far they know I love art, sushi and them passionately.   I guess we are doing pretty well so far.

Grace and Peace to all~

1). Go to the park - your house will be too messy for you to relax anyway, so get out in the fresh air. You might start feeling better. Better to feel the fresh breeze than get overwhelmed with all the mess that has grown up around you, in your demise.

2) Read a book, it may just take your mind of how your head is throbbing.  I suggest Outliers.  It is a fascinating read.  I wonder how homeschoolers fit into all that junk?

3) Give your kids tons of responsibility.  They will really enjoy being the boss for the day.  You shouldn’t be surprised at how well they all work together. You may, however, vacillate between being disturbed and proud at how well your oldest can do your job as teacher, how your middle can do the job of  a Mommy and how well your youngest listens and narrates to his siblings…..Really mind blowing stuff.

4) In risk of milking it….take a day where you don’t speak..at all….to the kids. Heck I would be sick again just to do this once a week.  It was fascinating and so calming at the same time.  Only motion, do a ton of hand clapping to get their attention, write cryptic notes on scrap paper and make your oldest be your runner. It is amazing how quiet you will find your children, when they have no verbal cues to go on.  Little tip, 7 year olds can not read short hand….so write the whole thing out neatly, or you will have to write it 2 times.  Do the job right the first time and it will save yourself time in the long run. Isn’t that what we tell the kids about a bagillion times a week?

5) DON’T…I repeat DON’T get overwhelmed with what you have fallen behind in in regards to your homeschool schedule.  Take a deep breath, take another Tylenol, drink tons of water, and then right when you are feeling about back up to speed, just do the basics, reading, writing, math…then put it all away. Take your book “Treasure Island” to the beach. Read a chapter and then “play” like you are on the real treasure island and you just found Ben Gunn.  Tomorrow will be another day, and you are waiting on the next level of math to arrive in the mail anyway.  Relax…life is short…and even real teachers get sick too.

Grace and Peace to all who were sick, are sick or will be sick in the next 24 hours the way this bug is running around~

We have had a little virus running through our house.  Our daughter is feeling better but weak and our youngest is starting into it so I have been a little preoccupied.

Because this space has always been a place that I can record ideas and insights along my journey of life, I wanted to leave a few thoughts about why I am in love with the space that God has us in in regards to homeschooling our kiddos.

Firstly, you have space.  Space to work on habits consistently over a long period of time. Space to be still as a family and really watch your children move along in their own formation.  Space to stay clear of the “parenting rat race” that is oh so common.  Space, to pick up hobbies and customs that would not be possible if we did not live our lives this way.

Secondly, you have time to really see what each child needs, and meet them there.  Learn really who they are, and pray that God would show you exactly what they need at any given time in their overall development. Like any parent, there are days you feel like you are not doing enough, your kids are not getting something of what they may need etc. etc.  When those days hit I re-read my homeschooling philosophy, and re-read the scope and sequence provided by AO and relax all over again.  Whenever I get stuck in the details, I pull back and remind myself of the big picture. Speaking of big picture look at these two jokers.  You will have to go to my flickr  and read the whole story.  I was laughing so hard I could hardly focus my camera.

I say this over and over but honestly it is sooo true.  If you can read a recipe and bake a cake, you can homeschool.  You have to learn to be disciplined, but hey if you are not, I would say that is a good life skill to work on anyway, so why not give it a go.  If you are on the fence, this is what I would say. Try it, you may like  it.  Hey you may love it, and then tell all your friends and they do it with you and before you know it, you have a regular homeschool party kickin’.  If you do want to give it a go.  Check out what we use.   It is awesome on so many levels.   Every time I read the FAQ’s I get so tickled that God lead us to this and I can give this level of education at home without me having to spend GOBS of money and without me having to do hours and hours of work to put something of this caliber together. MAJOR props to those homeschool Moms out there who can pull it together on their own.  I know a few and my hats off to them.  I just need some traintracks to run on, and I am good to go. Ambleside gives me that.  I know the “why” before the “how”, and even then when I don’t understand the “why” I trust the method and in time see the amazing fruit in it.

So, today I really had it on my heart to say GO FOR IT!  You have nothing to loose and only buckets of insight to gain.   It isn’t a cake walk for sure, but what is? Great Googly Moogly I could go on and on, but I will stop now.

Grace and Peace to all those who love learning~

 and the pool is heated!

Well, you know what they say “it pays to save”.  Yesterday we opened the kids savings accounts.  They all received a gift of money for Christmas and have been saving change.  So, I offered them a deal.  You know me and deals.  Well maybe you don’t know me and deals, but I love a little incentive to do something I wouldn’t push myself to do otherwise. Remember, I ran a half marathon just for the goal to keep working out even when I did not want to. (Little tip, it works…for me at least.)

Did anyone else read the report on children who were trained to save early?  It was fascinating.  Money management and saving is actually a skill that can be learned and learned early. So I am attempting to impart that to our  dear young ones.  They were sitting at the dinning room table thinking of all the stuff they would buy with their loot.  Well, there is not a thing in the world they really need in the way of toys right now, so I threw down a gauntlet.  I said, “You can buy whatever you want, or I will pay you $10 right now to save it and put it in the bank”.  They all slowly sat for a moment thinking about it.  They did the math and added up how much that really meant, and then like dominoes, they all went for it.

With great ceremony we went to the bank.  I took pictures. All the tellers oooed and ahhhhhd and told them how smart they were.  Then I handed them their ten smackers as they deposited their loot, and counted their coins out loud to the lady.  They even signed their names on official paper work….4 times.  They were so proud.

My next real world math plan is to give them 5 bucks in various types of bills and coinage.  Give them a list of 3 things they need to find, for something we need to create or build, then take them to our local good will and let them shop and buy for real with real money.  I just need to think of something we can make together, that we can buy items to work with. Any ideas?

Well the day is too pretty to be wasted, we are off the beach to collect some shells.  See you tomorrow.

Peace to all savers today!

Why spend gobs of money on fancy toys that fall apart 3 days after Christmas? Here are the best tried and tested gifts that will give them hours of imaginative play.  Trust me, they are all kid tested and Mother approved, at least in our house.  Give them a try, you will be pleasantly surprised.

• an empty box
• a box of band aids
• a roll of tape
• a ball of string
• a bag of balloons

There you have, an amazing day for under 5 bucks.  Now, don’t say I never gave you anything.

In all of the picture cacophony around here, I realized, I have no pictures of me and my beautiful works of art. I have them and everyone else in my family in their natural state, but I am kind of lost behind the lens.  So I was inspired by my blog friend who has a stunning series of herself and her kids on her flickr.  I just had to follow suit, and get a little  bit of me in the action. I typically hate being in front of the camera, but it was fun to get my kids involved.  Kinda….I will through the outtakes up on my flickr so you see we all are not airbrushed around here;-) I was stunned at how much they understood and some of the technical lingo they were throwing around.  They really do pick up WHATEVER you have floating around in your environment.

This is our youngest, the future worship leader/comedian.  He keeps me on my knees.  Many say he looks like me, but that is because they have never met my brother.  Good Night, this child takes me back to my childhood.  It is fascinating to me.

This is our oldest, the spitting image of my husband in almost EVERY way.  He does have my chin though. He longs for righteousness and wants to make sure we all are following the rules. I am learning how to give him more responsibility and treat him like a big kid.  He lost another tooth yesterday.  He is growing up and FAST!

This is my mini-me.  She is like me in EVERY good and not so good way.  God teaches me how to let go through her. She also lost her first tooth yesterday.  She was so proud and finally felt like a big girl.  I cried!  They grow so fast.  She cried when she thought she had to give it away for the possibility of money from the tooth fairy.  She decided against it, and kept it, just like her older brother.  She said later, “Mom the tooth fairy isn’t really real, is she?”  I said, “What do you think?”  She said, “No, I think it is just you who take my tooth and I want to keep it.”   So, she did.

So there you have it, a little piece of us, now held fast in time, so when they are 16 and out and about working and such, I can look back and smile.

Go take a picture of you and your offspring today!

Today we had a little tea, these three and I.  Our oldest read a part of the Christmas Story, I read some poetry about “tea time”.  Our youngest poured hot tea for the first time successfully, our middle sipped through the new hole in her mouth were her first baby tooth used to be. We listened to Handel’s Messiah playing in the background.

This has been a family tradition since they were tiny little guys.  We do not have it scheduled, it just happens spontaneously. We sit and read a little poetry, or invite Great Grandparents over to share a little time with us.  We say please and thank you, we let the ladies go first, we try not to slurp our tea. We feel so special.  You know how you feel when you put on a pretty shirt and fix your hair just right.  It is the same thing.  They feel so special when we put away all that darn plastic ware and give them pretty plates and tea cups and let them have a go at working with the adult things.

We got a full size tea set last year for Christmas, because the tiny play one we used to use, was just too tiny.  They feel like grown ups, I feel like I am having a special time to just give them a lesson on manners without the rush of dinner, and tiredness falling down upon us.

Just 15 minutes, breaking up the day, allowing for a special space to open up right before us. Then they clean it all up and the normal roar starts up again, trucks zooming away, board games resumed,  the “Mom can we….” converstaion about whatever thing they just can’t let go of. Oh how I love the tea that calms the storm. Now I have to go and sweep the dirt up on the back patio from the plant that has just been knocked over and used to fill up a dump truck.

Peace to all and a good cup of tea.

Our middle child is a girl bookended by brothers. She is tough and can throw down with the best of them. I work hard at taking her on “princess” dates and doing special little things so she can see through modeling that being a girl is great. I understand that she will learn about her femininity through watching me. She does like to wear dresses and look pretty, just not overly girly in anyway.

We enrolled her in ballet, so she could have girl time, and be prissy and wear pink etc. You know a break from all this boy stuff around here. The testosterone, drowns us out at times. Guess what. She could care less. In fact, she doesn’t really ever want to go, and would rather stay home and play soccer with her brothers. I do have a loose game plan on things that I am exposing her to, and working with her on in regards to the wonders of being a woman but I am now seeing that ballet doesn’t have to be one of them.

Here is the reality. She is just like me. She doesn’t really like pink, she told me the other day she doesn’t like princess stuff. It is “dumb”, a word we don’t use so I am sure she really meant it. The other night we were sitting outside playing and she asked if she could get the skate board to skate. The hysterical thing is, it is her brothers and he never touches it. She is rockin’ on it. Honestly, she is a total athlete, even over the boys. The boys are athletic and do well at athletic things, but she is a natural at almost everything and has crazy spacial awareness.

So I gotta say, I think it is totally RAD to have a skater chic for a daughter. We are discontinuing ballet. I agree that we should require children to do certain things even if they don’t like it because it is good for their character training…like cleaning their room, and eating their vegetables, not something that we are stretching to pay for and she isn’t really diggin’. We are rethinking something else I can get her involved in that would nurture her feminine side, that she will be down with.

Any ideas for an athletic, rad, little 5 year old who thinks she is invincible and can do anything she puts her mind to.

Dang, I want to be like her when I grow up!

Well, I never told you what we got Hudson for his birthday. Since we are big on giving meaningful, experiential gifts, we got him a 10 gallon salt water fish tank. We took a little field trip to the local pet store. I think it is so cute that Chloe and Hudson have their notebooks to take notes.

Last year, he received 2 Beta fish for his birthday, and sinse we are no where close to getting a dog, we thought a step up in fish life would suit our family well. So today is the day. You know, Carpe Diem and all that. We are taking the tank down to the beach and getting it all set up. Now before I get a slew of emails on why I shouldn’t do this because of PH etc. etc. Relax. I called our local salt water fish store and that is what they do for their very own tanks. If it is good enough for them, it is good enough for us, plus I don’t want to spend a bazillion bucks on this little ecosystem.

Once we fill it and add the sand, rocks and shells, we have to let it sit for about a month. Then the little fish and crabs can enter into their new home. A friend of ours has one in her kitchen and it is so pretty. I am calling her for pointers. I just had the idea but really didn’t know much about the whole process. Kind of like me to decide to do something before I really know all there is to know about something. I do a lot of things on heart, which is a good thing because if I knew what it may cost, I would of never taken it up in the first place. Good Gravy that is another post in and of itself. Now I am a little overwhelmed because the fish can be pretty expensive. Thankfully, it is a small tank and we are getting small fish at about a dollar a piece and a few hermit crabs for the same price.

Look at this little guy. They say they are super special because whoever catches them, tattoos them with little symbols or numbers. Imagine having a fish with a heart on it in your tank. Too bad these are fresh water guys.

I will keep you posted on our progress. I am just praying we don’t have a wet sandy mess in the car today…I mean other than the kids of course.

Peace to all fish enthusiasts today~

Oh to be four!

I’ll be back tomorrow after a little birthday fun.

We had a lovely week outside now that the weather is so pleasant. We read In the Small, Small Pond and observed the pond near our home. This year I purchased the book, The Natural World Through Children’s Literature: An Integrated Approach.

It has really enhanced our nature study and gives me some great ideas for break out activities in the afternoons. One of the things it recommended was taking samples. So we did in some recycled baby food jars from a friend.

What has 2 eyes, a body like a dragon fly, feet like a duck, is the size of a tiny dragon fly, swims and yet appears to have wings? WE DON’T KNOW? We found it in our specimen and at first we thought it was just moving in the sample due to our shaking it. Now after a day we have found many living things in our sample. It is like a mini pond in a baby food jar.

Just a few fun things we are adding in this year. Enjoy~

or at least that is what they think. Let me explain.

Lately, I’ve been PULLING my hair out over the issue of food with our children. The reality is, if I let them, they would stuff them selves on goldfish and pretzels all day. We do not eat out a ton, and I don’t have tons of junkie snacks in the house, so I had the false idea that they were eating a balanced amount of all food groups. I was wrong. Now, I have 2 choices, roll over and give up saying what is the use, or rethink our previous plan so that our little guys start to get the reality of this. I will be honest and say, I was about to roll over and throw my hands up in frustration because the simple “Eat whatever is put in front of you” family rule, wasn’t producing the actions we wanted.

My friend uses a chart for her son, to keep track of his snacks during the day, so I took a cue from her, and modified it a bit for my brood and have come up with a mini science lesson all in one little task. I told the children that I was going to teach them how to manage themselves when it comes to food, because one day, Mommy wasn’t going to be right next to them to show them what to do, so they needed to learn a good plan so they could stay healthy and strong as long as they live. I sat down with the children, giving them a detailed description of what are good foods to eat, what they do for us, and not so good foods we can eat and what they can do to us, along with a little talk about what it can do to our teeth. I then presented them with a little experiment that we were going to conduct for the next 30 days, to see how we feel and how we act based on what we are giving our body for fuel.

We created a foods chart, that they must monitor what they are eating by checking off in each column, fruits, vegetables, proteins, snacks, along with any observations they discover about how they are feeling during the day. Now when they say , “Mom, I am hungry I need something to eat.” , I say “Go look at your chart and find something appropriate.”(I help our youngest with the chart but the older two work at it mostly on their own)  My daughter who is the picky one of the bunch, is eating everything with joy and a twinkle in her eye because somehow it hasn’t become a battle between her and I, it is simply a decision she has to make based on guidelines I have given her. (Note to self: remember this as life moves along with this one!)

I have noticed a huge change in their overall attitude. They are not as cranky or seemingly as hungry all the time. They are still required to try new things I make, and do the best they can to eat what has been put in front of them, but somehow a shift has occurred among them that makes the whole situation much more enjoyable. I know as an adult, for me, there is a HUGE correlation in my attitude and how I feel based on what I am eating, so it must be true for them as well.

Sometimes, it is just a little tweak, and a previously challenging family exercise becomes fun.

Peace to all “tweakers” today~

Poor kid turns 7 tomorrow and is sick as a dog.

I was gently stirred this morning at 5am, by his little brother yelling “COME QUICK IT IS AN EMERGENCY” and the subsequent sounds of wretching in the background. That is always a good way to start any day I am here to tell you!

Boys are sick, Sissy is fine, but wants to stay in her PJ’s and drink Gatorade too. Only thing we did different, I took the boys to the Super Wal-mart (first time, new germs) to kill some time while sissy was on a princess play date. They are sick, she is fine, you do the math! So who’s up for Gatorade and Ice-cream today?

Mommy wants a nap! Mommy is thankful for the stupid box TV on days like today, and Kleenex and flushing indoor plumbing and washing machines and air conditioning,and Gatorade and…..and…and….. I am a spoiled western American. Every time I go through this, I think what do single working Moms do, what do Moms with no medicine and sanitary conditions living in third world countries do? Mommy is thankful in the midst of vomit, and you can’t say that everyday now can you!

Goodness - you hear the left say “It is the end of the world.” and you hear the right say, “Oh come on, the earth goes through natural warming and cooling cycles. This is all normal stuff.”

I respectfully say, “BS people!” To those lefties out there, I submit that “God is in control of when it is the end of the world, so pipe down.” and for all you conservative righties out there “Your smokin’ the good stuff, if you actually think that we don’t need to consider the way we live and how it affects the earth.”

We try and make little choices to recycle and live simply and sustainable. We have a long way to go. We have a lot to learn. There is more we could do, but I am a firm believer in baby steps. It is not an “idol” in our families life but for us it is a stewardship issue. We are supposed to be good stewards…right? Being thankful and respectful for what we have and learning how to follow Jesus in it.

All I am saying people is, do your part. Be a part of Jesus’ redemptive message to the world, subversively. One day, the entire earth will be renewed, and not just humanity ether. All of it.

Here are a few tips:

• Recycle your junk. (Is it that hard to have 2 trash cans in your kitchen, one for trash and one for recyclable things?)
• Stop buying every new thing that comes down the pike. If you have last years version of the i-phone do you really need this years version?)
• Think locally-buy things grown in your area, try to buy green. (Better yet hand made - sorry folks you can’t get that at Wal-mart - I am really trying to figure out how to do this in our town, because for the life of me I am not sure where to find anything grown around here.)
• Think about how much you drive. Consolidate all of your errands on one day. (Gas prices may force us to think of this.)
• Start a composter - (It ain’t that hard, and your plants will thank you.)
• Start a garden, or a pot at least. Grow a few herbs, start small.
• Quit using paper plates and napkins. (I promise a few dishes and throwing some napkins into the wash wont kill you. Hey, make your kids do it! My Mom started this when we were teenagers and it kinda stuck with me.)
• Donate your unneeded items, to local charities that help those less fortunate then you. (I promise hording your junk does you no good. - God will provide for you - not holding on to that one little widget that you are sure you will need one day, although you have not needed it in the past 5 years.)
• Make it a game with your kids. Go through you whole house, and create a donate pile. Pray that God will show you who needs all of that unused stuff and then go give it to them.
• Shoot, sell some of that stuff on eBay and use the money to pay of your debt! If you don’t have debt, then give it away yo!
• Dang - we even have a few friends who have gone all vegan. Willingly giving something up for a deeper reason. We aren’t there yet, but hey people are thinking about it.
• If you eat meat/animal products, think about how it came to you. Was it humane?

Here is the deal, our kids are the ones who are going to have deal with all of this mess down the road. In the west what we buy, consume and throw away, day after day after day, affects more then just how many times you take out the trash. Here in the states, we have nice little land fills that hide our dirty little secrets. In many other underdeveloped countries around the world, they don’t. So it just sits all over the place, and you step over it, and you pick through it and you smell it, in some cases you live in it. I was thinking the other day, how most of the world, still lives in a type of poverty that was prevalent when Jesus walked the earth. What would it be like, if we sent missionaries around the world who could teach agriculture and sustainable farming, conservation, how to have clean water, safe trash removal and infuse it all with the redemptive message of the kingdom of God and I am not talking the Peace Core here. Better yet, what if I could be a missionary in my own context. What if I could actually make little choices in my life, that speak volumes about what I really think.

Just sayin’ is all~ I’ll tell you what we are doing in this vein tomorrow, well, after we do it ya know:-) Pray I follow through.

Peace to all~

Word of the week - Angaboo! What is an angaboo you ask. Well, we are not sure, but Hudson is using this new found word like a tool.

Mom, I just found the Angaboo.

What is an angaboo bud?

It is under the house.

What does it do?

It sticks on to the house and holds it up.

What color is it?

black.

Can you draw one for me.

No - it’s just an angaboo. You can’t draw one. I wish I could dive underneath this house and get it for you Mom and show it to you.

Walks away singing a little made up song about the glorious angaboo. We thought it was a fluke and he would forget about it, but almost everyday for the last 10 days he brings up the mysterious angaboo. Mike and I are perplexed as to where he came up with this one, and what he is trying to communicate to us.  Poor kid is getting frustrated with our lack of knowledge on all things angaboo.
What is your best guess of what it is?

(I wrote this so, when he is 16 and I want to pull my hair out at him, I will think of his little angaboo and chuckle.)

It’s time for quiet time kids. Up to your rooms. I’d give her a 10 for being quiet, because I swear I never heard her!

Another 10 for creativity. Panties on her head and her brothers PJ bottoms on make the most creative and ingenious super hero outfit.

10 for athletic prowess. Leaping buildings and in this case bunk beds in a single bound is a prerequisite for any super hero. Not to mention the extreme strength to get the mattress off the bottom bunk. She must of enlisted her brother’s help. (Hey at least it wasn’t off the top bunk.)

So for overall task completion she scores a 10. Go to your room and entertain yourself quietly for one hour and Mommy will get you when the time is up. Like I said 10, 10, 10.  Remind me to tell you of the time I climbed up on our families roof when I was 4, oh yeah and brought all my friends with me.  Good Times People!

(I only knew to grab the camera when I saw her sneak from her room in her “outfit” to use the restroom. All I could think was, I better grab the camera quick because this one is gonna be good.)

Yeap that is what the salesman said when he sold us our , then new, microfiber, brown suede sectional coach. That was 4 years ago, and it looks almost brand new, well kind of. OK let’s be serious, we have three little kids running around, nothing is brand new in our home.

Our previous coach we had moved from Gainesville, had been slip covered, reupholstered and finally left out for the trash. I wouldn’t dare give it to goodwill. So when we went searching for a new coach, the one requirement was it must be kid proof. This couch, like many of our possessions, is a pure workhorse. Don’t even get me started with our minivan and dining room table. I must be a horrible mother that I can not contain the mess, nor discipline, train, beg and plead the young members of our clan to stop being so messy. Oh well, it is what it is.

Dark trendy brown, not because that color is a hot color now, but because it hides the many stains

.

This microfiber can almost be hosed off, which in our case is a very good thing. A scrub brush, a bucket of soapy water and Folex cure all evils on this bad boy! (Trust me cats - BUY THE FOLEX! - it is worth every penny for so many reasons!) The cushions become a sailboat for hearty travelers many times a week much to our chagrin.

We store many, many, many little toys amongst its comfy cushions and underneath its carriage.

I have to vacuum it out often, because, even though we have a NO FOOD ON THE COUCH rule, there seams to be unending food product wedged between its cushions.

So, Lora asked me to join a group of moms who list some of their favorite things each week, and as I replaced the cushions once again, to this couch, I knew this was a definite favorite thing. Families with young kids shouldn’t decorate without it!

Today we read King Lear. You may be surprised to know that we LOVE Shakespeare.

However, we decided to do it at the beach!

We had to mix up all that tragedy with a little levity. I scheduled my homeschool evaluation with an old family friend who helped pioneer the homeschool movement here for the end of April. She was also our wedding coordinator, so I am excited to get her take on what we are doing. The fact that she loves Susan Schaeffer Macaulley is a huge relief to me.

On our way to the beach, we passed an officer who had pulled a young kid over on his bike. They boy was on his cell phone and the cops were obviously checking to see why he was out of school. I felt like rolling down the window and yelling, “I’d skip school too with a day like today.”, but I didn’t, I acted like a grown up. Shocking I know but there are days I rise to the occasion:-)

Peace to all~

4:34

Chloe: “Mom, I want to take the training wheels off my bike.”

Me: “Well, honey the wrench is in the garage. ”

Chloe: “I know Mom, please I know I can do it.”

Me: “Well, the garage is such a mess, we may have to wait for Daddy to come home.” (I am stalling because I don’t want to do the running along side thing right now.)

Chloe: “Mom, I know where it is, PLEASE!”

Me: “Well, honey it isn’t like you are going to just get on and go like your brother does now. He had to practice to get that good. It is going to take some practice.” (I am still stalling)

Chloe: “I know that, I want to practice, right now.”

Me: “You really think you can do it?”

Chloe: “YES MOM I KNOW I CAN DO IT!”

Me: “OK - Let’s give it a try.” ( I finally get that there is no way we are not trying this, so I embrace it, and gear up mentally to do the run along side thing.)

4:45

The training wheels are off and we begin. After about three passes she has the balance thing, but we need to work on steering and breaking.

5:00 Daddy home, park the bike out front, eat dinner.

6:00 Family clean up time. I remind everyone that we need to put our outside toys away in the garage. She hops on the bike again and rides it around to the back alley where she sees another family with her friend, and then I felt it in her spirit. It was like “sea biscuit”. She said “Let go Mom I can do it!” and with all the force her little frame could exert, she was off. And not a casual pace, I mean I couldn’t even keep up running along side her, let alone stop her from falling. I gulped and said a quiet prayer and she rode away from me, like she had been riding her bike for years. (Wow that is a metaphor for parenting, isn’t it?)

6:15 All the other little girls in the neighborhood wanted their training wheels off too. (Way to lead by example Chloe!)

6:15 - 7:00 Riding, and Riding and Riding, steering and breaking are old hat.

Today we work on starting by herself and at 4 and three quarters our little Chloe is a dare devil on wheels!

Oh the days they are a flyin’ people! Next thing I know she will want the keys to the car!

Before you click the links see if you can figure out who I am talking about. 

I’ve been thinking about some of my heroes.  This is one of my all time heroes, interviewed on a rare you-tube video. If you know me well, you will already know who this person is. 

This person, to me, embodied incarnational living is such a way, that to be in their presence you experienced the peace of God.  Thanks to Tivo, and you-tube, my children know this person too. An activist, humanitarian and advocate for young people, their life inspires me to be “best I can be.”

Who are your heroes?

I found this great site that gives you step by step instructions on how to make ice cream at home. It is also a great science lesson.

I intend to do this once we are home from Peru.

I left our children quietly carving soap at the dinning room table as I prepared our dinner.  As you see from the picture, the soap is setting next to our little fish tank.  I vaguely remember hearing Hudson say something about the fish being hungry.  I obviously never thought it would end in this.

 He explains that the fish were VERY hungry, and that is why you see the tablespoon in the fish-food.

The fish were gorging themselves on food. If fish do grow according to the amount you feed them, I should wake to find Shamu in our living room.

As I frantically try to recover the fish from suffocating on food, I absent mindedly poured them both into the same container. (People - You try to think clearly when you have the life of family pets on the line.  It is clear why I never went into the medical profession.) I move about my business of cleaning out our grubby little tank when I hear a sweet angelic voice say, “But Mom they are fighting fish. Now they will have  a war.”  I forgot they shouldn’t be in the same container so I frantically am trying to scoop “red fish” out of the way of “blue fish” with a 1/4 measuring cup.  I called my girlfriend “stat” who is well versed in such matters and she said “Be Brave and use a Dixie cup!” Note to self, “Buy a fish net.”

Chloe and Hudson hid their eyes for fear that I would squish them.  Jackson calmly played legos as the rest of us were in a “code red” situation. I prayed I would not drop them down the drain, in front of little eyes.  That would be tramatizing for sure. I can hear it now “Mom killed our first pet.”

            “red fish”                                   “blue fish”

Chloe rubbed my back after the episode was done and said “Good job Mom, that was a close one.”And people think stay at home, homeschooling Mom’s don’t lead an exciting life.  Hillary Clinton I dare you to do any better! On the up side, we got a clean tank out of the deal, and I REALLY needed to do that.

Hope the spaghetti’s good tonight.

Despite all of my pleading,  the last faint bastions of baby days with my big boy are dissolving, or should I say, falling out….out of his head.  Another baby tooth is gone. 

Here they are coming in!

And here they are coming out!

We have now taken to calling him the “Double toothless wonder.”  He thought of it himself. Turkey!  Chubby hands and diapers have been long gone, so I guess I have to wave good bye to baby teeth too.  Shhh! don’t tell anyone, but he still likes to snuggle.  I will take it as long as I can get it!

I have  a great idea for you for last minute Christmas shopping for your kids.

Sponsor a child with them, about their age through Compassion International. Our children start to sponsor a child on their 5th birthday.  Jackson was able to choose the child he wanted to sponsor and has written letters and sent pictures to him regularly the past year.  I showed the children the video clip on the Compassion website and it has really stuck with them.  They talk about it amongst each other frequently.

It is one of his most favorite days when a letter comes in from Josias from Peru.    We will be visiting Josias in Feb. on our trip to Peru.  I am excited and interested to see how this will shape and form Jackson as he grows in understanding of the kingdom of God and being a disciple of Jesus. 

It is only about 30 dollars a month to sponsor a child.  You can pay for an entire year at one time and it is tax deductible at the end of the year. Come on, it is only $360 for and entire year to change a child’s life.  Just stop going out to eat one time a month and you have the money right there. 

OK - I am getting off of my soap box now.  Merry Christmas to all~

Shh, I will tell you a little parenting secret that Mike and I have stumbled upon.  But don’t tell our kids, because so far they don’t know it is happening yet.

I have a friend who has a degree in child psychology tell me that it only takes 15 minutes of one on one time a day with each child to make them feel extra special.  You just need to plan for it and work it in.  Mike and I are very good about having special dates with each of the kids alone, and date nights for each other as well.   Everyone gets their own time throughout the day to be alone, and I work on one on one time throughout the day too so I feel like I am covering the bases so to speak.

So here is our little twist.  Mike and I secretly keep one of the three children up after the other two have gone to bed for about ten minutes or so for special Mommy and Daddy time.  They all get ready for bed together, brush their teeth etc. and secretly one of us takes one down stairs and the other of us puts the others to bed. 

Give it a try….it is so much fun.

Well…It is official.  Our oldest can tie his shoes all by himself:-)

Jackson turned 6 in August and it was a “clue” to me that life as I had know it with him was shifting.  He wanted his own shoes and wanted to have “big boy” lace up shoes.  Thank goodness I had him with me when I was buying his birthday present so I could check for the right size.  I showed him what I had thought he wanted and he gave me this disappointed look, like I had picked out baby booties or something.  Instead, He wanted these “cool kicks” shown above. I acquiesced on the premise that he would learn to tie them himself, to which he agreed.

Well, He has had steps 1, 2 and 3 down for ever but the last step has been eluding him/frustrating him to no end.  I never made a big deal about it.  He just got as far as he could and then I finished up for him.  I noticed in the last 2 weeks or so, his fine motor skills have progressed rapidly.  The big clue has been his writing.  He just can do it now without a problem.

 So today we went over the ”tying procedure” again.  We figured out the problem and within precisely 1 minute and 26 seconds he was tying his shoes as if he had done it his whole life.  I wish I had the video camera going, but I didn’t think it would happen that fast.  His little happy dance at the end was too cute.  I would of shown it to his wife one day if I had it on film.

So tying shoes has been like every other thing.  Potty training, riding bikes, swimming, reading….if I just wait until he is ready and try not to push it too early, he does it in like nano seconds.

OK - I am going to go shed a happy tear.   

Our family has done a really good job this year of not getting tripped up in all the Christmas madness.  We have intentionally not been busy.  We are still making time for friends and neighbors and we have been very modest in our spending for Christmas.  Because we rarely watch network television (our children watch none) we haven’t seen all the crazy Christmas ads and I am blissfully unaware at home during the day of outside happenings.

That coupled with my desire to help our children grab hold of the joy of giving I have been thinking through some things we can do together.   I am considering having us make some special pictures to deliver to a local assisted living facility with maybe carnations.  The children have so much fun delivering special treats to neighbors near by, I thought I would make it a big deal and prepare a whole day of giving for us.  I don’t want it to take a ton of money to pull off or be stressful in anyway to prepare.

Have any of you done something like this or have any ideas?

To celebrate the season we have a few selections playing throughout our home during the day. Music is a big part of our families life.

Handles Messiah

Charlie Brown Christmas

The Nutcracker

It’s the Most wonderful time of the year!  Tomorrow Advent is upon us.  Early in the morning, once we are all awake, we will get out our nativity scene, and read out-loud the Christmas story and allow the children to act it out with the figures.  It is a favorite activity for them.  We will hang a purple bow on our door signifying that we are in “preparation” mode.  For the children it is fun Christmas tradition , for me it is a discipline.

Dig into the waiting this year! Peace to all!

Our dear missionary friends from Peru gave us a hand made creche last year.  We will be staying with them for the month of February as we teach, train and serve God’s people in Peru. Please pray for us.

They found it up high in the Andes by Lake Titicaca in a city called Puno.  Yesterday the children asked why “baby Jesus” was in a little canoe.  I got to tell them how the people who live there lash reeds together to create floating islands.  The weather is hard and cold and the altitude is very hard on their bodies.  Imagine living in a cold wet environment your whole life.  Be thankful for what you have today and where you live.  There are people all over the world who live a very hard life.

Yesterday, I took our 6 year old to the Theater.  We saw an hour long production of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.  They took a wonderful, classic piece of rich children’s literature and crammed it into an hour and set it all to music.  You make your own decision about it.

After the performance was over, I asked Jackson “What did you think?”  He said “I didn’t really like it.”  I asked why and he said “It didn’t match up with my imagination. The chapter book was much better.” 

I had to force myself not to laugh out loud because I understood what he meant.  It felt just like when you see the movie of a book you have loved.  It never matches up.  We will see other things and look to go to theater that hasn’t been “dumbed” down for kids.   

I read out-loud the first chapter of Genesis.  I asked the children to listen once.  Then we read it again and I asked them what day they would like to paint.  I then let them draw what the “saw” in their minds eye on the boards and then we let the paints fly.  They really seemed to enjoy mixing the colors the most.  I understand, I like that too.

They wondered how big God was.  Chloe asked if he is very fat.  I was silent and let her explain.  She said if he is all around the world he must be very big.  I then got to explain the vastness of God. (Here is my humble, yet God inspired attempt. I was wondering how I would explain this to them and praying about it one day and this is what God lead me to.)

I said, you know when you go swimming, and when you dive down deep and enjoy how the water holds you? How it is all around you?  They all said yes…they love swimming.  I explained that this is how God is.  He is the water we swim in, he gently holds us in all of our comings and goings. We can never go anywhere that he is not there.  I could tell this struck a chord with them, especially Chloe.  I will tell you where this conversation lead to at the dinner table in another post.  For now enjoy their handy work. 

 ”land & plants” ~ Chloe 4 years old

“water” ~ Hudson 3 years old

“sky” ~ Jackson 6 years old

Have you heard of them?  As in…all of this Halloween candy MUST-GO!

They are my own secret invention to terminate many of these Halloween goodies.  We are chopping them all up and making them into decadent brownies and sharing them with our church family.  We told our kids they could pick their favorite 15 pieces and the rest we need to get rid of.  Does anyone else hear at 7am, “Mommy can I have some of my treats?”. 

Well, my husband predicted it accurately.  We had clear weather for the party and one trip around the cul-de-sac and then the rain cut loose.  Imagine a costumed group running in mass with candy, fire men helmets, tiaras and capes all a flurry.  Many ended up back at our house soaking wet sorting their loot.  It was a good time. 

I am happy to have our kids interact with the neighborhood kids in limited doses on our terms.  I have already discovered we need to come up with some family rules about it. Like letting neighborhood kids know when they enter our home, they are going to have to interact on our rules and not theirs. Every day is a learning process.  Enjoy the pics!

This is a good investment.  We borrowed it from a friend.  She calls it her portable play yard.

Food galore.  I made Swiss cheese fondue. 

Honestly, I am washing all our costumes and selling them on eBay next year in August.  I am sick of seeing them.  The tallest one is one of the kids Nannies.  Yeap - here they all have nannies, so the moms can work their high powered jobs.  Our neighborhood is a ghost town during the day.  Everyone at work or school/day care. 

Loot sorting has begun.

Our three tired, wet, candy hounds enjoyed the party.  They went to bed tired and happy.  As we all grow together, Mike and I will continue to make space for others in our home and teach our kids that this is what part of being “salt and light” is all about. Go throw a party.  You will have some fun and  just maybe some of your family will rub off on the world, which I am sure would be a very good thing!

a tropical depression darkened our door. 

Our poor weary travelers are ever so worried that treats and goodies will not be forthcoming.  A wonderful gala event has been planned for neighboring children and their parents at the gates of our humble abode and we fear that all might be lost.

Oh the scandal, oh the injustice, the travesty.  The earnest and humble prayers of three young saints have been on their lips since sunrise.  Me thinks there will be no “trick or treating” if 40MPH gail force winds persist but we believe that prayer does move mountains and in our case weather systems.

Please pray with us!

…that no one else in the North American Continent, dare I say even the world….

started their day with a 5lb bag of sugar being poured all over the floor, the couch and the carpet.

I found him after he started trying to clean it up. SIGH!  At least he was trying to clean it up. Honestly, people, don’t ask OK - School is postponed a few hours for some KP.

*****Update*****

OK - I bagged the agenda and we got most of school work completed by dinner time.  I am also almost positive that no mom in North America ended the day by sitting on the stairs and having their 4 year old princess say…

“Mom you don’t look so beautiful, you look a little wild. Sit down and let me brush your hair”  She then proceeded to brush my hair and put pretend makeup on my face.  I said I was sorry for having a bad attitude today.  She said “It is OK - I understand.  I get really frustrated when my stuff gets ruined too” and then she gave me a hug. 

One bonus…..I have a REALLY clean house to start my day off tomorrow.

OK - so I have taken your thoughtful comments to mind and have been inspired. 

 Of course I will be purchasing books.  I consider those “hand-made”.  It is like buying an author’s art and as I said before I am “down” with that. I am purchasing the Tales of the Kingdom Trilogy. Holy Moley you need to read these with your kids if you follow Jesus and love allegorical tales  plus some Christmas classics like, The Other Wise Man and The First Christmas Tree.

For Jackson, I will be making a quiver and new bows for his authentic bow that came from Peru.  It only had 2 arrows and one of them was broken by his little brother.  One arrow is a bunch of work so we need a few more and a quiver to hold them all.  And I think a target too.  I am not sure how to pull that off, but I will think on it.

 I will get Chloe a full size tea set.   It is store bought because making one from scratch would be crazy expensive and time consuming.  The idea being that she and I will make and have tea together with special guests.  That to me is where I am at with gifts.  I strive to make things experiential so this qualifies. 

For Hudson I will purchase him a small starter set of real tools.  I know I am not making them, but we will make things together.  He is forever pulling out Daddy’s tools to work with.  I think I will make a small work bench for him with screws and things he can work with.  I had a small tool set with a had crank drill when I was his age and I still remember how much I loved it and how much I worked with it. 

Then if I have time and am adventurous enough I will make them all swords, shields and capes.  We have been learning the Armor of God and of course reading the 50 Famous Stories so we fight many battles around the home.  I may regret it, but I thought it would be fun….. if I can get them to not whack each other with them.  Hmmmmm, I will have to think of soft sword material.

They will have plenty of “store bought things” from extended family, so the store bought toy thing will be met there and I can start making the toys that we will enjoy and then in time when they grow past them I will keep them for the grand kids.  (OK - now I am thinking too much but we are creating a legacy right?:-)  These are hand made wooden items people. If I am spending the time to do it I am making them to last! Or at least I hope I am but you never know with our youngest.)  

I was thinking that on Christmas morning we could have a scavenger hunt with clues to find their gifts.  My mom did that one year and my brother and I had a blast, so I thought it would make a nice memory.  For advent we will beginning reading out loud together each evening and working on delivering gifts to friends and neighbors.  We like to put the tree and decorations up Thanksgiving day after we eat.  This year we may even put lights on the house - heaven help us all.

OK~ now sound off people!  What say ye?

October 19th at 9am.  Trying to beat the heat that just wont quit! They thought they could help the turtles by digging a nest for them. Not quit sure it works like that but the thought was nice!

The kids and I are gong to be making and giving as many hand made gifts as possible this year.  The glitz and glam of Christmas, not to mention this whole toy thing with China is a bit sickening. The goal is to make Christmas special and instill that since of “wonder” without it being about the gifts.  Tricky I know but I am going to give it my best shot.

I have found some cute and inexpensive things online to make and give to neighbors and will be using ETSY as a resource for anything I don’t want to do myself. If you haven’t been to this site, you should go right now and look around.  It is like eBay but with all independent business owners from all over who sell handmade items. 

When Mike and I first got married we decided we wanted to make sure we purchased hand made art in every country we visited.  It was a simple way of blessing some-one’s craft and supporting independent business owners in poor places.  Over the years, that has grown to simple things like buying items form those we know who are just starting a business or are in business for themselves.  When we get bagels on the weekends we go to the local Mom and Pop shop instead of Einstein Brothers.  For us, it is a symbolic way of sowing our resources in a life giving way into people instead of machines.  We can’t do it all the time.  Home Depot and Wal-Mart are unfortunate evils but at least we try.

I am not sure how to make things for the boys though.  Our oldest wants a Transformer or a Bionicle.  He doesn’t watch commercials or movies with these things on them but somehow he knows they are the “it” thing this year.  Isn’t it strange?  Does anyone have any thoughts on a hand made Christmas gift for a 6 yr old boy?

One of the spiritual disciplines I have started teaching our kids about is one of “acting in the opposite spirit”. This is how I started our discussion. What is the opposite of black and they responded white.  I continued with hot and they said cold, fast and they said slow.  Then I said, one of the little secrets about how Jesus calls us to live in the kingdom of God is acting opposite of how you feel.  It is a secret tool to keep our hearts soft like clay so God can keep working on us, otherwise we get hard and then we don’t hear God very well. I was relating this all back to the story of “The King of the Golden River”.  I wont tell you how because I don’t want to ruin the story for you, but the kids understood exactly what I meant.

So I continued, If you are mad at your siblings how could someone who follows Jesus respond?  They thought about it and said, be nice and hug them and help them.  We talked about a few other things too.  Like what could we do if we REALLY wanted money or things and that was all you thought about. (again relating it back to “The King of the Golden River”) They said, give money and stuff away.  Now I have a reference point to refer back to as we move forward together as a family.

We talked about how throughout the story of God’s People, we have been learning how to act opposite and do what Jesus would do and not what the world would do or what maybe feels the best. So this morning the children were playing Lego’s upstairs and Jackson came down and explained an interaction he had with his sister.  Then he said “Mommy aren’t you proud of me I acted opposite”.

If you are interested in learning more about spiritual disciplines I HIGHLY recommend the book Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster.  This book is on my all time top ten list. 

My thought was to do a little school each day while we have been away at Sea World.  Firstly, I forgot my computer so Kim and I have been sharing one and secondly, WE ARE AT SEA WORLD!  What was I thinking?

We have  loosely read through our literature and listened to some extra reading in the car thanks to librivox. Life is learning and petting dolphins qualifies as a bit of school if you ask me.  Not only that, we have been experimenting with tons of nature photos around here.  I will post those soon.

We pray all is well with you all, where ever you may be.

Grace and Peace to you.

Yesterday the children and I went to a local wildlife center to enjoy God’s creation together.  I took an entire photo journal of our time so check out our nature blog.

So what have you found in your fridge lately?

The afternoon was young, the sky was clear, the water was calm and we had set our course for adventure.  We watched the horizon anxiously in hopes of viewing our destination.

The waterway was our own.  Not a soul out and about.  The only noise we heard was the loud hum of the motor and our own laughter ringing out. We had set our course on the “high seas”.

“Land Hoe” was the cry! There it was…our island destination.  Our little oasis sitting proudly, surrounded by the clear, cool, blue waters that gently and graciously rippled up on its shores. 

Quietly our craft glided into port.  For a few brief moments, the only sound was that of the water lapping up against the dock.  The familiar in and out motion that fixes these times deeply in our minds and in our hearts.  The sound that is synonymous with life on the sea.

We greeted the locals who had been anxiously waiting our return.  They stood as sentinels, observing island visitors with both curiosity and fear.

The lush tropical foliage gives little relief from the heat.  Its fronds lightly waving in the breeze applaud our arrival, cheering us in our exploration.

The long awaited moment of using new birthday gifts was finely being realized.  What would be found under the beautiful, blue ocean?

Schools of fish dotted the surface of the water like soft rain and with a bit of fear and trepidation, underwater fish and wildlife were observed.

The sun hung low in the sky, signalling the end of a glorious water adventure.

As we boarded our craft and headed for home, the sky displayed a spectacular show of corals, pinks and oranges.

Before the stars made their triumphal appearance, the sun fell like a fiery ball, off to greet lands unknown. A final farewell to a day well spent.

So I salvaged my hard week last week on Friday by making sure we had “Something to do, something to think about and something to love”! 

I actually took “the show” on the road and went to our favorite park located adjacent to a marine rescue center.  We did some of our lessons in a favorite forest that shaded us from the heat!

Doing narration from high up in a tree always makes it more exciting.  We read Travel and imagined we were hunting for our own “deserted city”.  Mommy had fun too!

By the end of the day the children were back on track, happy and cooperative.  I think we all had cabin fever.  Outdoor time is so important and not just in your front yard but new places as well. 

Do go out with all of your children.  Enjoy the weather and your community pool.  Interact with the neighbors.

Don’t leave your keys at home, thinking oh I don’t need them, lest your two year old runs back home before the rest of you and locks you out! 

Then you will not have to hear the impish laugh behind the locked door, “Mommy you are locked out! hahahahahah”  Rest assured, there is little coxing that will persuade a 2 year old to open the door when he knows he has the upper hand.  Be sure to have a tricky 6 year old handy in this event who knows how to disarm said 2 year old and claim victory for a weary Mom!

Oh yes these are Good Times People!

Here is a beautiful post on how to Learn to play piano on a shoestring over at Lindafay’s blog.  It is very inspiring.  I am a “do it yourselfer” so this really got me thinking about the viability of really teaching your kids to play piano.  I studied violin and piano for 8 years growing up at huge expense to my parents.  I loved it and it is so much a part of who I am now.  I have wanted that for our children and her post gave me the confidence to give it a go.  Isn’t blogging a beautiful thing!

Summer is slipping away in Sunny South Florida.  It is still hot and humid here but there are little signs that fall is near.  Very early in the morning, there is a slight shift in how the air feels.  The sun rises just a few moments earlier than a month ago and the quality of the light during the day is slightly softer. Small things I am noticing due to my slowing down. Finding the metaphysical in the mundane….God in the daily Grind. 

It is not enough however to prevent our daily jaunt to the pool.  Pool and Popsicles, the quintessential summer pastime.

Yesterday our oldest spent about 2 hours with his G’Pa building a rocket. When he came back….he was somehow older.  I saw it in his face and his continence.  He had picked up little words my Dad uses and started using them in his vocabulary.  Our youngest is almost out of potty training and our daughter is teaching herself to read. Life is fleeting.  Why worry about tomorrow, it will take care of itself.  Enjoy the day, right were God has you.  Even if it is hard because the older I get, the more I understand that “hard” is usually “good” being birthed in your life.

So our 4 year old is still in 2T’s.  She is in the 25%.  She is healthy and thriving, just small.  So her jeans still fit everywhere but the length.  My friend recommended putting some ribbon on the bottom to give her another year out of them.

 Aren’t they cute?

Picture this, hazy smokey atmosphere,  80’s music blaring and lots of gutter balls! Bowling..I guess it is a big deal.  Our neighbors invited us to go bowling with them yesterday.  It was our first time.  It was not theirs.  It was kind of like Tiger Woods inviting their neighbor out to golf.  Maybe not that bad but it was intense!  Poor neighbor kid is an only child and you can tell…..if you know what I mean.  Kind of bratty, and his parents ride him like “white on rice”.  Maybe that was the intensity I was picking up on.  Crazy amounts of toys and never having to share with anyone….ever.  Interesting playing with them.

So what do you all think? When you invite people over to your home for entertainment or a play date, do you ask them to clean up after themselves or do you enjoy their company and expect to clean up afterwards?

Honestly, I don’t know how I will top this today, but give it a read and see for yourself.  This Diva is “off the chains”. She is on my reader now!

I am in my third week of homeschooling using the Ambleside prescribed curriculum.  This week both of my boys were sick.  I thought for sure we would bag school.  That was what I had planned to do because I was cleaning up vomit all day.  (That was fun!)  Anyway, I digress.  I realized between the cleaning and the rocking and the laying on the couch (they did watch a video that day) and the not getting out of their pj’s until noon, and the no real prescribed “school time”, they finished ALL of their lessons in 15 min segments throughout the day. 

It was incredible to me that 1) they asked for certain lessons by name 2) they did them in short increments and then went back to throwing up 3) they had fun and it kept their minds off of the sickness thing.  Can you believe it?  I still can’t.  They ask for lessons every day. What do I say…. no?  I don’t think so but what do I know, I am knew to this.   They don’t know  a weekday Monday from a weekend Saturday, so they just keep going.  At this rate we will be done with the math book by Christmas. Jackson is half way through his phonics and it is only the end of August.  I only read the chapters/selections that are slated for the week so they have to learn to think on that one piece for a week before we move on, despite their begging. (Can you tell they love the books?)

Really People….is this normal?  I am thrilled they are enjoying it but I am kind of shocked.   The other day, Chloe said I go to “Turtle River Montessori”  (her old school) and I said, “No honey you go to home school. ” She said “I do?  Where is that?”  I said at home with me and your brothers.  She said “I never have to leave you again?”  I said “Nope” she squealed, I smiled.  It hadn’t even occurred to them that all of these months we had been schooling. 

So what do you think of that?  I guess I just go with it….right?!  OK this is where all the older wiser homeschooling moms jump in and tell me whats up.

This year I am keeping a record of all of our activities digitally.  I am keeping a monthly project going with picaboo to keep all of our adventures organized and kept in one place.  I plan to scan certain written work that is appropriate and drawn narrations to add to the piece.  It will be a fun family keepsake. 

The children have one from the former preschool and they cherish it.  I wish to keep the tradition going without all the actual cutting and pasting.  It is a whole new digital world and I intend to use it like a tool.

 Grace and Peace to all,

Today I am participating in the “All Woman Blogging Carnival” over at 4fabmoms.  

We live in a small three bedroom town home.  Currently the two smaller rooms are occupied by our three young children.  One is a playroom and the other is a sleeping room.  As you can imagine there are some nights we have to split the three of them up in order to  get them to settle down for the night.

One of these particular evenings, we put our tiny daughter (then just 3) on our bed so she could fall asleep.  Things were quiet and all was well for some time, until we heard noises up stairs.  I went upstairs to see what was going on, to see our daughter had gotten into my makeup in our bathroom.  It was all over her, the walls, the floor and the tile grout.  It was a beautiful mess.  I had to not only clean her up but the entire bathroom that night.

What amazed me most was that she was able to put on the mascara perfectly?  Thankfully I use non-toxic make up. In retrospect I should of taken a picture so I could remember the look on her face when I found her.  Now, I lock my bathroom door always, because you never know what mischievous little hands want to explore.

Here is the nature blog as promised.  I think it is going to be a fun addition to our homeschooling rythm.  Jackson would love a comment or two, so Grandparents, please chime in:-)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziDeUbifKIM&mode=related&search=]

My kids ROLLED on the floor when they saw this.  See if it makes you roll too:-)