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In spring/early summer, a homeschool mom's fancy turns towards next year's planning. Ah, the yearly running of the homeschool supplies catalogs. We are helpless in the oncoming wave of homeschool choices. Cyndi over at Mater Magistra wrote a clever, cute post on the homeschool mom's sickness, er dilemma. Go on over and visit with her for a good laugh. Her post is here.

All that is new here at home... well, Sky and I have been fighting with a cold of sinister intentions. We are just not feeling good, Sky more so than I. We skipped Lord's day meeting, that's how bad he was feeling. This cold thing will just not go away.

The bible college boys are back. We are so happy to have them over again for dinner, our house has been too quiet Sunday evenings. Last night we had 11 over for dinner and fellowship. Many of them went on a Gospel sharing trip to Russia during the break, so we got to hear about their experiences on the trip. We had a few new faces over too, boys who just started the new term.

Meg had an orchestra concert Saturday night. It went really well, it was over at a large retirement community. It was really neat to have the kids sharing music with the residents there. They were such an appreciative audience, and so interested in chatting with the kids.

Sky's garden is progressing, I think this year with be his best year ever. I will post some pictures when everything is a bit more green.

Labels: homeschool, projects, show and tell

This is the story about a bear; a story about a small bear that seeks to repay a debt of love in very, very small ways.

Once upon a time, a long time ago... there was a very sad, lonely teenage girl who wanted to die. She prayed and wished at night that she would not wake up in the morning. She flirted with thoughts of walking off high places or stealing a prescription. But, she was also afraid. She was afraid of a God who might not forgive her if she died at her own hand. This girl was anorexic for a time, but no one noticed an already thin girl growing thinner.

Her first year of high school she met a girl named Jennie. Jennie was always sweet, very funny and nice to be with. Jennie invited this girl to church. This girl's life changed forever that night because she heard of a God that loved unconditionally, a God that promised to never forsake her-even if her parents did. She asked Jesus into her heart and her future was much different and her story forked in such an unexpected path because Jennie was faithful to be a light in this girl's darkness.

Jennie had a family. Her family was loving and very funny and opened their home and hearts to this girl. Jennie's mother was a Christian "June Cleaver", and for the first time this girl began to see the opportunity and privilege of ministering through mothering.

This girl grew up, still loving her Lord, and married a wonderful strong Christian man. Not the abusive, lying louse that should have been her statistical lot. She found mercy in thousands of ways.

Angel bear is the quiet, fun way that this girl seeks to bless the friend that saved her life. Angel bear sends Jennie notes and cards once in a while. Sometimes just a card with a Bible verse, sometimes a note and a copy of an article that is fun or thoughtful. Sometimes Angel Bear sends postcards from unexpected, far-away places. This is the most fun of all, because Jennie knows that the girl never travels. The best fun of all is getting people to take Angel Bear with them on trips and having a picture of Angel Bear in an exotic place taken, to send to Jennie.

The girl does travel now, something she never expected to do, being the homeschool mom to four children. She travels sometimes, and takes Angel Bear with her.

The picture above is of Angel bear on the great wall of China. I didn't take it, my sister-in-law, who is a very talented photographer was gracious to take the bear with her and snap a picture for me. Just thought I would share.

Labels: Angel Bear, Jen's world

We have a new niece!! Her name is Emily, I think. At 5 pm it was Isabella, when we left the hospital at 9 pm. it was Emily. We will see if the name sticks tomorrow.

This is the grandkid #23 in Sky's family that we were all waiting for.

The neat part of this story, is that she has 3 older brothers and is the first girl for sister-in-law Bridgette.
The totally hilarious part of the story is that Bridgette traveled here to So. Ca from Central Ca to be here for the baby shower thrown in her honor. It's tomorrow afternoon. Her water broke this morning. And her husband was at home in Central Ca. She is hoping to blow the joint by tomorrow afternoon and take baby Emily to her own shower.
The typical part of the story is that various members of the family went out to eat in her honor. Because, that is just what we do. It's tradition, we like to eat together.

Welcome baby Emily! She is just beautiful, we held her minutes old. Bridgette's mom, sisters and a sister-in-law were all present for the birth, since her hubby had to miss it. Grandma got to cut the cord. Bridgette had a great labor, she made it look way too easy, didn't even break a sweat. While the Dr. took care of baby Emily, Bridgette ate...two dinners. Cuz, that is what we do...

This is roll on the floor funny, at least to someone like myself. I really have a hard time with computers. Every month I do record keeping for our homeschool, and every month, Sky has to walk me through my "save as" dilemma. I make a record for one of the girls, and then attempt to copy it to a new file and then I delete learning that is different, keep what is the same. Every month I am unable to do it on my own and have to ask Sky. It is so bad, that as I go to save it, I get tense trying to remember how to do it, knowing I am not going to be able to do it. It took me a good 6 months to remember how to send a file over the internet. My sidebar, I am supposed to be able to change the photos in and out easily. I can't. I did the family photo on the bottom, somehow, but messed up the box underneath...and can't change out the ones on the top.

So, for those of you like me, I offer you this from youtube. You are not alone bloggy- computer- challenged friend. Found this at Chili's place, I don't know how she found this, but I am glad she did.

Labels: homeschool

Last night as the rain was pouring down on our roof, I thought I had been a little too quick to crow about spring arriving at our house, and posting this photo. We left for the meeting this morning scrambling to find coats that will reflect water and trying to remember where oh where did I leave my umbrella? Left the meeting to see a perfect, blue, crisp day. I love Southern California! I would post y'all a picture, but it would look exactly like the one I linked to from the other day. I am sitting here looking out our big living room window at that exact view, listening to a bird sing like mad in the tree.

The "girls" are having a ball out back digging for worms.

I went to pick Amie up at her class today, she was having a rough time of it-we could not find her art work or the 2nd part of her snack that she had set aside to take home. Her teacher tried to reason with her about it, but Amie looked up at her, eyes brimming over with tears...lip starting to quiver. And she caved, like a house of cards...she grabbed the entire bag of goldfish crackers, and put it into Amie's arms. Sky and I had a good laugh over that, it's a boost to know we aren't the only push-overs in her world.

Have a wonderful Lord's day, my bloggy friends! Stay warm, everyone not here...

link for "thriller"wedding video
Had to link this, have to say my wedding reception was a little blase' in retrospect.

If you are my age, I know you are dancing along in your head.

Did your school cancel classes and show MJ's video in the multi purpose room? Mine did.

yet, another reason I homeschool, because after all, our lunch runs to Mcdonald's after the library are still more educational.

p.s. speaking of chicken dances, I am sitting here at the laptop, facing a wall of windows into our backyard. Every few seconds, a different chicken goes streaking across my span of view with the other 4 hens in hot pursuit. Seems they found a piece of bread and are taking turns plague-ing the life out of she-who-has possession. This has been going on for 5 minutes. They cannot stop running long enough to eat the bread before it gets snatched away, and the chase resumes.
It's just really funny.
really.
I guess you have to be here....

file under randomless musings

this is a continuation of this post here.

I was relating a story we have as a read-aloud in our home...when I left the story in my last post; the villagers in the Kingdom of the One True King had worked hard to get the foreigners in the neighboring land to feel comfortable in their village, and to move into the village so they would be happy under the rule of the One True King...

Well, one day the One True King came to visit the village, he was surprised to find that the foreigners had overtaken the village, but he recognized the faces of many subjects though they were dressed as the others. He asked what had happened and was astonished and grieved after hearing their 'plan'. He explained that by changing the village to make the foreigners feel more at home, and in making things less different so the foreigners didn't have to feel like they had to give up very much to come to the king,-all the villagers had done was allow themselves to be swayed into conforming to their ways. He wanted others to come to the Kingdom out of love. He did not like what he saw in the village that day.

During my highschool and college days, I worked in a Christian bookstore. (a fun place to work, especially if you like to read!). We had a special section of the bookstore where awards, stickers and toys for giving out as prizes for Sunday school were kept. We called these items "Jesus junk" and "holy hardware". Not flattering, I know..but yet an apt description, and we all knew it. These toys were various cheap plastic toys, things such as bracelets, combs, coin purses, etc. with the name of Jesus stuck on it somewhere, or His picture, or a cross or something. My point is that these items were not special, they were mostly junk and stamping the name of Jesus on them did not change what they were or add any value to them.

These stories warn us to be careful of embracing the world, in hopes that the world will feel more comfortable, more welcome, more at home. We watched this occur, in varying degrees over years at our (former) home church. The common reason offered was for outreach to the 'youth' in the community. The parties, and eventual club hangout...to me hinted of the plastic with the name of Jesus stamped onto it somewhere.
I think we need to be wary of maintaining or developing a taste for the plastic, a 'Jesus-lite' product that does not ruffle, fits into this california-cool-christian lifestyle and does not ask a choice to be made between serving the world or serving the Lord.

How does a young person (or how do we, for that matter?) learn the value of inheritence over the bowl of soulish comfort if they are never taught to confront their own soul-life, how to die to self so Jesus can have the victory? If we are not equiped to run the race as Paul exhorted us? How does the soothing message, "you are special, and God loves you very much" prepare anyone or warn anyone away from becoming profane like Esau and despising our inheritence?

It is easy and even natural to prefer the sugary imitation syrup to the real thing. The real thing can go down a little bitter sometimes, it requires a dying to self, a dying often to the preferences we naturally enjoy, even sometimes the way of life we would enjoy. That which is imitation is an easily-made, man-made substance,-manufactured in a day. That which is real is organic, and takes a lifetime to produce. -and I admit, too, sometimes I steer first for the "lite", it does go down much easier...

We are able to enjoy Christ today as the promised land, we are not meant to merely occupy and amuse ourselves in a shallow way until we die and go to heaven. All we have to do is step in and enjoy Christ in a real way, enter into His rest fully. Our enjoyment of Christ today is a foretaste of the enjoyment of the coming kingdom. How sad if we, or our children settle for the imitation now, running the race poorly, wandering in the desert, unable to deal with the giants in the land, weak-baby-christians.

I read somewhere this quote "my daily struggle is not between the world and I, but between me and the Lord." The struggle comes down to how much I love my soul-life and will I choose the bowl of comfort, or if I will step forward and choose the inheritence.

"let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us," Hebrews 12:1

"He who finds his soul-life shall lose it, and he who loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it." Matthew 10:39

"And do not be conformed (fashioned) according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:1

"as it is written, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated". Romans 9:13

A few years ago, we did a unit study on Little House in the Big woods. For a math project, we made blueberry pancakes and taste-tested several "flavors" of syrup (all imitation) plus one "real" maple syrup. We made bar graphs and recorded everyone's favorite. I was very surprised to find that all of the children but 1 (we had another family over for the fun) preferred the imitation syrup. I was a little flabbergasted. Afterall, real maple syrup was a very big treat. Upon reflection, it made sense. Our children had grown up knowing nothing else but imitation syrup, so-to them, syrup was supposed to taste the imitation way. It was what they were used to. It was was they liked. It was what their taste buds looked forward to.

"And when the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. Now Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. And Jacob cooked a stew. And Esau came in from the field, and he was faint. And Esau said to Jacob, Let me swallow down some of the red stew, that red stew there, for I am faint. Therefore his name was called Edom. And Jacob said, First sell me your birthright. And Esau said, I am now about to die. Of what use then is this birthright to me? And Jacob said, First swear to me. And he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose up and went away. Thus Esau despised his birthright."
Genesis 25:27-34

I noticed in this account, much about "taste". The story of this family centers around preferential love,natural preferences and taste. Esau, it would seem, was a man who indulged his natural tastes, his wordly enjoyments, that which pleased his natural likes. And the parents likewise, chose to favor the son who pleased their own preferences and natural affections.

Hebrews 12:16
"Lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one meal gave up his own birthright."

"Profane"- bebelos: one who either was or ought to have been debarred from the threshold or entrance of a temple. Unhallowed, the opposite of "hieros"-sacred.

Essau's birthright was the double portion of land, the priesthood, and the kingship. This also included the promise of God to Abraham regarding the good land and the blessing to all the nations through his seed. This promised good land and blessing are Christ. (Gen. 12:3, Gal. 3:14)
As Christians, born of God, we are a type of firstfruits of His creation (James 1:18) sons of God (Romans 8:14) and" heirs of God...-joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him that we may also be glorified with Him." Romans 8:17. Hebrew 12:23 speaks of the church of the firstborn.

The promised land, the good land is a type of Christ. In the old Testament, Christ is portrayed by different types; the unleavened bread, the passover lamb, the manna, and the rock that was struck and flowed with living water.

We as Christians are meant to enter into this promised land. After being redeemed by the passover lamb, enjoying Christ as our manna in the wilderness and being saftisified with Christ as the living waters, we are meant to enter into Christ as the good land. It is common to confuse the good land as a type of heaven, but if we follow the type given in the Old Testament, the good land was was filled with pagan tribes and idols and the people had to fight against them after they entered in. Heaven will not be filled with pagans and idols...these things represent frustrations in life that keep up from possessing the land. In Phillipians 3:8 Pual writes of obtaining Christ, gaining Christ, laying hold of Christ; when we are doing this, we are possessing the promised land. The promised land was for enjoyment, we are meant to enter in and enjoy Christ.

Essau was profane for giving away his birthright. The Children of Isreal during their journey to the promised land longed for the leeks and garlics of Egypt and wished to turn back. As Christians, I wonder how easy it is to give away our birthright of the goodland for a bowl of natural, soulish comfort? The children of Isreal remembered the tastes that they enjoyed and were used to, they began to complain of a diet consisting of manna only and wished for the good things they liked to eat in their old life.

At our house, we have a set of books called "Pearables-character building kingdom stories" that we read to our children. One of the stories is called "The conquered Village" The story is about a land of the One true King and a village near the border of the kingdom. The people of the One True King's land were different from the people of other lands in their speech, (only speaking what is kind and true to each other) clothing, music, and training of their children. They could see that the foriegners in the land bordering them would be so much happier if they would have The one true king rule their lives, so they set out to sway the people into the kingdom. So, to let the foreigners feel more comfortable in their land, they began to play the foreign music, dress like the foreigners and train their children in the same manner as the foreigners. All so the foreigners would feel more comfortable in their land, hoping they could sway the foreigners to follow the King, hoping the foreigners would feel comfortable enough to stay and live in the village.
Part II tomorow...

Labels: being mom

I had to take a photo of the view from our front porch on Sunday. The days here lately have begged for excuses to be outside.

A thought for the day;

Antique mommy has done it again, I am sitting here with tears rolling down my face, laughing so hard. Go read this, about her date night out and being carded...sort of, not...

I was carded a few years ago, I don't drink, but was sitting at the bar in a restaurant due to lack of seating elsewhere. I think I did actually 'skip' out of the restaurant in sheer giddiness. Kind of made up (in a cosmic sort of way) for the time I was asked at the hospital if I was there to "deliver" and had to fess up that my baby was born last week and I was there to visit her in intensive care. That had to be my most humiliating moment ever. hands-down.

go visit Antique mommy...scoot!

I'm trying real hard to tie some kind of spiritual lesson into this, but I just can't...

Today was the annual friends and family recital for Meg. This recital is special, because we get a break from the Suzki playlists, and have the pleasure of seeing our kids play pieces of their own choosing-playing with a friend or family member.

The act that stole the show...The "40weeks +" pregnant mom and her preschooler son, she played the cello (beautifully) while her son played pizzicato (pluck at the strings with a finger) on the violin. They played "Pop goes the weasel". It was so cute, and she was so beautiful, so pregnant...she was glowing. I was kicking myself that I didn't have my video camera to capture it.

Meg played "Turkey in the Straw' a fiddle song with a friend. They were very cute, the little girl's mom accompanied them on the piano.

Demi and Amie have been sick for a few days, Amie had a fever on Thursday but is much improved already, only with a lingering runny nose. Demi had the fever on Friday, and is having some asthma and the runny nose. It is really a big effort to get a sitter for something like this, our sitters are in another city, it turns into a 40 minute deal to go get one...so we decided to take Amie and Demi with us. How bad could it be?? These recitals are always under an hour long (the teacher is a very compassonate person!). How bad could it be? Famous last words.

Amie snuffled and snorted through the whole thing. The scene became particularly grievous during Pachabel's canon in D; Amie's wet, constant snorting was drawing chilly fingers down my spine. I looked over to catch Demi with his finger in his nose..I caught his eye and lifted my eyebrow. In response, Demi grabbed a tiny corner of a torn tissue and jammed it into his nostril. And there it remained, sticking out of his nose... I then looked on horrified as the lady sitting next to him realized he had piled his used tissue onto her chair.
It was truly one of those writhering, sink-thru-the-floor, mom moments.

I guess I have become more of a philosopher through these snapshots of life, and sometimes manage to not cry over spilt milk. I continued on, unruffled..you just have to let go of some things, as they roll down hill, picking up steam and an energy life all their own, you realize you can't really affect the outcome in a meaningful way.

I really cannot come up with something spiritual and profound to wrap this up with, though verses about pride keep running through my mind..

After all, the question of the day remains..."How bad can it be?"

This video is a little long, but worth the viewing if you have ever wondered why so many incoming college freshman need to take remedial math classes, or if you know a child struggling with math at school. I was simply astounded..and appalled.

So far in our homeschool, I have taught two of my children the process of division. I was greatful for a logical sequence of steps I could teach them to successfully solve division problems. I can imagine the frustration a child would feel, having to face a page of problems using one of the alternative processes taught to solve them. I am not surprised the teacher manual would emphasize calculator usage. This move in mathmatical pedagogy is not really surprising, if one remembers the abandonment of phonics instruction in favor of "whole language" years ago.

I feel sorry for parents of children in public school who are being instructed in math this way. Truly sorry that after a 6 hour school day, many parents will have to spend the evening after homework is done, reteaching math using superior material that they will have to go out and buy. Or, have to send their children to an afterschool tutor center.

I hope the word spreads on this.

Labels: homeschool