Grape Moments in Life

2012-02-02T04:48:00.000-08:00

Blessings

It's a quiet, peaceful Thursday morning. Just praising God today for the beautiful sunrise, a roof over my head, four beautiful children to feed breakfast to, a wonderful family, a wonderful church family, freedom, health, a hard-working husband that unselfishly works to provide for our family, food to eat today, clean water to drink, the Holy Spirit at work in lives, a garden to work, birds to listen to their sweet songs as we play outside, a gentle breeze, God's mighty hand at work in our lives and for salvation that I don't even come close to deserving because of my daily sin.

What are YOU thanking God for today?

2012-01-30T18:09:00.000-08:00

I'm proud to announce that...

WE'RE EXPECTING!!!

We're expecting a Jersey heifer, that is, in the next few weeks and we're so excited. Her name is Molly and she's 3 weeks old. She'll be weaned a little longer and then make her way over to our house. She's 1/2 Jersey full-size (mother) and 1/2 Jersey mini (father). As we've moved our garden to another area of our yard where it will receive more sun, our back garden area is empty. Because we moved our garden beds, but didn't move the dirt, we have great soil that is getting ready to be planted with wheat grass and some other grass seed that benefits Jerseys. We're scrambling to read up and become "experts" on Jerseys, but excited to get Molly to our house. We won't have milk from her, of coarse, until she calves someday. It'll be approximately 2 years until that time, but we look forward to starting with a baby calf so that she's used to our family and essentially becomes part of our family. The real test will be keeping grass growing in our back yard area where she'll be. To be honest, I'm looking forward to using the manure in our garden.

Because we live in the city, the fact that Molly is part mini-Jersey works great. Eventually, I'd like to breed full-size, purebred Jerseys, but Molly will be perfect for where we're at now. If we continue breeding Molly, we may be able to eventually breed the "mini" part out of her. Not 100%, but it'll be fun learning.

Although I'd like to be feeding her her mother's milk, it would cost a lot of money since we'd be purchasing multiple gallons of raw milk per day from the dairy. So, we'll do the next best thing by putting her on a powder/supplemental feed, just like infant powdered formula for a baby. She'll be weaned by 9 weeks (approximately) and on hay and some grain.

The kids are very excited and I'm on cloud nine myself! Rob is excited and up to the challenge as well. He definitely likes working with cattle more than chickens or a garden. It's "manly". :)

We'll definately keep you up-to-date on our adventure becoming parents to a sweet Jersey cow. Lots of fun to come.

2012-01-29T11:12:00.000-08:00

(Heavy) Random Thoughts

Thinking about the upcoming primaries. Floridians, don't forget to mark your calendars for Tuesday, January 31 to go and vote. We have Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum left. Do your research. Although I do think Newt Gingrich's debating skills exceed the other candidates, our family stands behind Senator Rick Santorum. Ron Paul's Foreign policy stance is scary to me and Mitt Romney's Romney Care is too similar to Obama Care, just on a smaller scale. I know he says he would support appealing Obama Care, but that still leaves me uneasy that he would put these practices into action in his own state. I've watched every debate with the exception of one and the most important thing is that we defeat Barack Obama. America was moulded and shaped by people that had a vision. People who gave their lives and the lives of their families for a chance at freedom. What are we saying as a nation if we say "no" to freedom and "yes" to free government hand-outs? Regardless if you're the wealthiest person in the USA or the poorest! Let's think big picture here folks! Our country is at an EXTREME risk of loosing our freedom and four more years of Barak Obama will crucify this nation like we've never seen before, and there's no going back.

I've been doing a lot of researching, soul-searching and praying for the Muslim people as a whole. For some reason, I'm drawn to them presently. My heart aches for them, putting all of their trust in one human man that had a dream (Mohammad). However, the more I learn about other faiths worldwide, the more I learn that such is common. One man declares to have a revelation from God Himself and thus erects a "religion" or faith from it. That's why Christianity (to me) is so easy. The Bible gives us countless event after event on Jesus' miracles, prophesies that were declared in Isaiah (even before Christ came!) came to be (even Muslims believed Christ was born of a virgin birth) and prophesies that are still coming to pass in our modern time. Our faith is of love. We can see God moving, shaping families, answering prayer, even present-day miracles. God is so good and although statistically we see Muslims converting to Christianity, in my book, it's not enough. Let's reach as many as we can.

"For those who disbelieve, garments of fire are certain to be cut out for them, with boiling water being poured down over their heads, with which all that is within their bodies, as well as their skins, is melted away." Sura 22:19-20 (Koran)

"Fight against those among the People of the Book who do not believe God and the Last Day" Sura 9:29 (Koran)

"God forbids you to take them for friends and guardians. Whoever takes them for friends and guardians, those are the wrongdoers." Sura 60:9 (Koran)

"As for those who are killed in Allah's cause, He will ever render their deeds vain. He will guide them. He will admit them into paradise that He has made known to them." Sura 47:4-6 (Koran)

Again, my heart just aches as I think of small children being dropped off by their own parents to war camps where they are trained in the name of Allah to kill. These children need Jesus. These men and women need Jesus. I pray daily for them.

On a lighter note...

(sunset over the dairy farm)

We had a fantastic weekend at the dairy farm with two amazing families. Friends new and old. Eight adults and sixteen children riding four-wheelers, jumping on a trampoline, chasing chickens, riding bikes, shootin' BB guns, snuggling with seven baby calves, bottle-feeding baby calves, talking about growing barley, milking cows, feeding cows, climbing giant hay bales in the pitch black night, helping with the entire dairy process from cow to jug, eating, laughing, singing, praying, talking, sharing dreams, holding babies, encouraging, catching-up, giving singing lessons, devouring homemade ice cream and cake, relaxing and watching the sun melt into the country landscape like I've never seen before (and I've seen some sunsets in my day, living here in Florida). It was a place of serenity where time stood still. Both kids and adults made lasting friendships and we drove home tired, but beyond blessed to have spent the day with our friends.

2012-01-29T10:55:00.000-08:00

"Why I Hate Religeon But Love Jesus"

2012-01-27T10:26:00.000-08:00

In need of a pep-talk moms? Has it been one of those days? Hop on over to this post from Doorposts and grab a tissue on your way over. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend. We have a full and amazing weekend planned with some very special people in a very special place.

2012-01-26T06:49:00.001-08:00

The Blessing of Sue Patrick's Workbox System
We've been using this system for a few weeks now and if you haven't heard me say what a blessing it is, I'll say it again, "What a blessing!" We get so much more done in our day which leaves us time for other fun things. For instance, we've gotten caught up with our schoolwork for this week and today we'll be doing some fun hands-on gardening activities with toilet paper rolls (Sound like fun? It is!). We'll be planting some seedlings. More on that fun task later. Anyway, it was really late when I shot this video, but I always love gleaning from others on how they "do school" so hopefully, those ideas will be of help to those wanting an easier plan of getting more done with multiple little guys. :) Have a BLESSED Thursday all!

2012-01-25T10:38:00.001-08:00

Making a Highchair Helper

Guess who's sitting up? We have this awesome old high chair (not exactly sure of the year), but I got a deal on it and love that the tray is wood instead of plastic. Only problem is that it doesn't come with a seat belt for the little guy! So, Connie over at Smockity Frocks.com had an awesome video on how to make one. I don't have any bandannas laying around, but I do have some super cute fabric that I can use. So far, our little man is eating sweet potatoes, avocado and bananas for dinner. His two bottom teeth are on the verge of appearing and he loves being a "big boy" eating food with us at dinner. Anyway, thought I'd share this great resource for your high chair needs. :)

2012-01-25T09:48:00.000-08:00

If You Spent the Day With Us Today

If you would have spent the day with us today, you would have woken up around 7:15 to a hungry baby.

Nursed the sweet hungry baby in bed.

Chatted with husband about the day.

Embraced goodbyes.

Pitter-pattering feet down the hallway to wave goodbye to Daddy as he pulled away.

Made eggs, toast and tomatoes with some orange juice for breakfast.

Cleaned up spilled orange juice.

Read the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den. Talked about loyalty and what it means. Talked about being loyal to the Lord through prayer.

Prayed.

Turned on music as we cleaned up the breakfast dishes.

Washed dishes as kids played.

Talked to two-year-old about sharing.

Baby played in exersaucer.

Everyone did morning chores (got dressed, brushed teeth, dog fed, hair brushed, etc.)

Put baby down for morning nap.

Let kids watch a 30-minute movie while I snatched a shower.

Texted back and forth about milk co-op (it's our day to get milk).

I got dressed, did my curly hair, brushed teeth, etc.

Started kids on schoolwork.

Finished most of schoolwork.

Kids had a snack (bananas, pears and water).

Baby awake from nap.

Nursed baby and read story to two-year-old, Norah on the couch.

Baby dressed.

Threw compost to chickens (fruit and veggie scraps from yesterday's dinner salad and fruit snack).

Got everyone in the car for a trip to get milk.

Arrived at milk destination (tried a new milk this week from some sweet friends). Had to wait a bit as friends hadn't arrived quite yet. Played games in the car and sang songs. Talked about owning a farm someday. Talked about getting a baby Jersey heifer. Prayed with the kids about our heart's desires and talked about the importance of God's will.

(Love those moments in our day.)

Drove home.

Gave milk to some other sweet co-op friends.

Chatted a bit.

Went inside and made lunch.

Kids rode around on a trike pulling each other and laughing hysterically. (made me laugh)

Blasted some Taylor Swift. Danced with two-year-old and baby.

Ate lunch.

Cleaned up lunch.

Read stories about earthworms and Peter Rabbit.

Talked about ways to show love to each other and not being selfish.

Quiet Time music on.

Baby down for nap.

Two-year-old down for nap.

Oldest two finished up more schoolwork and currently doing Quiet Time.

Gave more milk to co-op friend.

Looking forward to making yogurt and cranberry bread this afternoon. Hoping to fit in some chocolate chip cookies (as requested from 6-year-old).

All is quiet (for now). Reading up on Jersey dairy cows, grasses and costs.

Looking forward to small group tonight. Hoping to come to some conclusions regarding progressive creationism and the sciences behind it.

Looking forward to husband coming home and dinner together.

Now for some Mommy Quiet time. :)

2012-01-23T11:14:00.000-08:00

I only got two whopping guesses from two sweet readers. :) The answer to what trees were posted a few days ago was almond trees. So many people want to go gluten free these days with the awful processes of how the wheat is being harvested way too quickly and causing some digestive problems among other things. Many are flocking to the almond flour alternative. It's delicious, but goes bad quickly if not kept in your fridge and can actually be quite pricey. The cheapest I've found locally is $12.00 a pound! That doesn't go very far, especially for a family who loves to bake and uses it just about everyday. Call me crazy, but I actually splurged and bought a pound the other day and made some gluten free crepes (with steamed pears and cinnamon) with it just to experiment. They were pretty good, but it's hard going from yummy flour to something different. I'm hoping it'll cut a few pounds off my mid-section as well. {sigh} Four babies in five years does something to a woman, especially a woman who loves to cook and bake! Almond flour is also better for you since it derrives from a nut. Almonds are fabulous for your health. I've thought about purchasing some in-bulk almonds and milling them myself. Maybe I'll slowly accumulate some trees through the years and make clippings to reproduce them. We shall see. Anyway, we all learned our "fact for the day" today. :)

2012-01-22T19:41:00.000-08:00

I pray that each of you had a blessed Lord's Day today. After sweet time at church worshipping and being with church family, we ate lunch and put littles down for naps. I then headed out to our garden where I spent time on my knees, digging into God's earth with this tune in the back of my mind. Although I do love modern praise and worship songs, there's something about certain hymns that tugs at my heart like no modern song can and this is coming from the wife of a husband who helps lead a "modern" contemporary church service's music. There's just something about a hymn. As I continue to learn songs on guitar and mandolin (love that sweet sound, not to mention it's easier to play), I'm looking for some good chords to one of my favorite hymns, Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing.

2012-01-21T12:09:00.000-08:00

Can anyone guess what trees these are? They grow very well in our zone 9 here in Florida although you probably don't see many of them. I want to eventually line our driveway with them when we aquire property someday. Any guesses! Aren't they gorgeous?

2012-01-20T05:10:00.000-08:00

Because who doesn't take their gun with them to the bathroom when brushing their teeth?!

2012-01-17T17:59:00.000-08:00

Science Experiment

Gloves on...

Hmm...

"Just a bit big Mommy!" ~Norah

"I'll just watch from here." ~Isaac

utensils ready

our specimen

We cut our specimen open and found his heart, lungs, stomach (which was empty), large and small intestines and a few more things that we tried to locate, but as we followed the book, I was still unsure of what was what!
This concluded our Human Body unit and what an interesting way to do so.

(The instruments and specimen were bought this past summer at our local homeschool conference. They had small sharks, worms, crickets and so many more animals to choose from. I thought the frog would be interesting and it was.)

2012-01-15T20:12:00.000-08:00

Our Winter Remodel (well, sort of)

Ok, so we didn't remodel our whole house, just the most important parts. Here are the updated photos of the living room, dining room, entryway and family room I promised oh, so long ago!

The family room/homeschool room...although we enjoyed having a homeschool room, for our family, we found that it secluded education from life. We don't actually "school" our children, we EDUCATE them. Schooling is in a building. Education is LIFE and that's one of the big reasons we made the move. We also have an awesome, incredible grandma who loves to visit us now that she's back from China and needs a room to stay in. We knew that our homeschool room was a temporary fit for us, but we weren't sure if we'd be enclosing our back porch or not. We finally decided not to as we're hoping to move to a larger piece of land in the next few years and didn't want to sink the money into enclosing the porch. So, we exchanged our large, leather L-shaped couch for two softer couches and a reading chair. Moved our bookshelf, added a fun, red rug, and found creative ways to use space as we cleaned out education non-necessities and moved everything out. The old schoolroom/aka:Grandma's room is currently "under construction" as we save up for some furniture, repaint and clean out a few things left over. Won't be long though. I'll post photos of that when it's finished.

Our homeschool bookshelf...we love having things right out in the open. It's so nice to have our books and materials right alongside us as we're learning each day. We can find a book on a shelf that we need, grab art/craft supplies quickly and everything is visual so we know right where it is. Love that. Something we didn't have when our schoolroom was separate. I'm a strong admirer of the phrase "Out of sight, out of mind" as I find this SO true with my own life. Now that our education resources are alongside us as we're learning each day, we use them so much more!

Our new Living room/Music room. It's nice now that the kids are getting older and interested in musical instruments (Rob plays piano, I play guitar...a bit, mind you...,Lincoln loves jamming alongside me with his own guitar, Avonlea has a mandolin and also enjoys piano). We can all sit out in the Living room and sing.

This is my reading chair. No one is allowed on it, although there have been incidents, hence why it's also been washed a few times since we bought it in late November. I love snuggling up with a blanket, a cup of peppermint tea and a good book during nap time/evening time with my little guys are sleeping. Ahh!

Here is a photo from another angle. We decided to put our John 15 verse on the wall as well. Rob and I used an overhead projector with a transparency of a photo that I found for free on the Internet. I think with paint and all the whole tree cost us $17.00! Everybody has their photo up on our family tree. We only put immediate family members on it for now, but when I get time, we may add up other family pics.

It's been such a nice change doing our work at the table. We work harder at keeping it clean since we have to and the kids' workboxes fit so nicely alongside it. We feel so blessed with this change! I think the neatest thing though (touching, really) was that this was all my husband's idea. Although, in the beginning, I had to warm Rob up to the whole homeschooling idea, he is now just as strong of an advocate as I am and loves having our learning supplies out for visitors to see so that we can share how God has blessed us and what He is doing in this amazing experience.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the new tour of the house and hopefully once we get the kids' rooms finished, we'll post newer photos of those too. Glad I could finally share. :)

2012-01-13T04:43:00.000-08:00

Oh my! We have been busy lately. Busy changing around some schedules and adjusting. Busy reorganizing to better fit our family and school schedule. Busy driving through the rain to get nutritous, delicious milk. Busy with our new (love her!) pediatrician. Today, we'll be busy nature walkin' and journaling with friends. :) So, for now, I'm just too busy to blog. This weekend will hopefully allow for some catching up. Have a lovely Friday friends.

2012-01-10T10:50:00.000-08:00

Okay, so this video is a bit cheezy, but take from it what you will (there are some great resources mentioned). It would be nice if the FDA would put together some human studies on what GMOs are doing to our bodies. We know that they cause major reproductive complications in rats/mice. Complications that could cause miscarriages and multiple other things. You can read more HERE.

2012-01-07T20:53:00.000-08:00

Random Thoughts
It's late.

Just listening to my husband play piano softly in the background (something I never tire of).

Almost midnight.

Kids are tucked in and have been sleeping since 8:00.

Nice breeze outside.

Just finished up canning spagetti sauce from tomatoes we got freshly picked today.
Only made 2 jars with about 20 tomatoes. Ug. The sauce is impeccable though!

Watched the debate tonight. Loved some of Gingrich's answers. Bold. Santorum still reigns high on my list, although I think Romney will ultimately be the one going up against Obama.

Had fun picking oranges today. Two buckets full. Got bit by fire ants. Yowsa!

Norah wore her ballet leotard and fluffy skirt (complete with shoes) all day today. Can't get it off her, sweet thing!

Rob and I are still dreaming of land. Saw some neat properties today, but nothing that meets my criteria. I'm picky. :) Looked at some houses online as well.

Drank a Coke today, hence why my brain is WIRED and I can't sleep.

Chatted with Jacque yesterday. Praying as they get ready to take over the dairy. So much to do.

Listened to our 6-year-old daughter beg her daddy for a baby goat today. (It's never ending.) We'll see if he caves. We'll see if I cave.

Learning so much in our small group study...Hebrew and Greek translations of the Bible. The more I learn about our Bible, it's history and my Heavenly Father, the more I realize how much I don't know.

Same with gardening. The more I learn about it, the more I realize I don't know as much as I thought I knew (did you follow that?).

Looking into a gardening workshop in a few weeks. Hoping Mom and Dad can watch the kiddos for us so we can attend. Supoosed to be a 3 hour training session on organic farming practices. Super excited.

I need a "new look" complete with new hair-do. Any suggestions? My hair always thins after having babies. It comes back, but in the meantime, I need a change. Hmm.

Been organizing our family's homeschool Scope and Sequence binder lately. Glad to have that under-ropes.

Workboxes have been working well as the kids have been doing SO much more school with them, and independently I might add. I've re-read Sue Patrick's book and brushed up a bit on using the workboxes. Lending it to Jacque so she can get her kids on it too.

Getting lots more eggs now. Loving the new coop layout.

Frustrated at our gardening situation with all our shade trees. They keep growing, allowing for less and less space for the sun to shine through to the backyard. If I don't get in our spring seeds soon, we won't have a spring garden (and a fall garden is now out of the question from now on unless we plant in our front yard or take out some serious trees!). Anyone know a good, CHEAP arborist? If it's going to cost us hundreds of dollars to cut down trees (trees that I do like, just not over my garden), then it's not worth it having them cut down to grow vegetables. We'd be paying more for the tree-cutting. {sigh}

Revamped my Home Management Binder using some of

Quinn's sample pages as well as adding a bunch of my own. It's amazing how much more oranized I am with a HMB (Home Management Binder) vs. not having one. I do have a list of things I want to share in future posts, that being one of them.

Funny how time is so limited with four little guys running around. Even though I get selfish and want "Me Time", I think of how that can become such an idol in our lives as moms and I quickly dismiss those ideas and enjoy the time I have as my kids are so little. I know I'll crave these moments as they're older and I'll miss the "Mom, watch this!" and "Will you read me a story?" and "Can we snuggle?" moments. I guess that's why I've become such a night owl lately. Isaac and the big kids go to sleep between 7:00 and 8:00, so that evening time is used to get things done that I didn't have time for during the day as I'm teaching them, reading with them, talking with them and growing them. Precious times.

Well, it's off to bed for this lady. I sincerely wish you all a wonderful, worshipful Sunday tomorrow...ahem...I mean, today! (Whew. I really need to get to bed.)

2012-01-04T11:22:00.000-08:00

Enjoying Charlotte Mason

As I've been studying up on Charlotte Mason and her philosophies of education, I'm constantly astounded. I'm astounded at how raw she asks teachers to be. I'm astounded at how her "old" philosophies surpass our "new" ways to education and how much more through and better they truly are. In modern education, we're constantly trying to find the next best thing. In our schools (both public and private, I might add) we're constantly trying to make up for what modern families aren't doing with their children at home because we're just that busy (both parents working, so many after school activities/practices, etc.) Not only are teachers responsible for the academic portion of a student's mind, but the educator is also responsible for the physical well-being of the child as well as the mental well-being. Even if the parents are involved at home, the teacher still has influence and may sway opinions of students in a way you as the parent might not appreciate.

Charlotte's philosophies are exactly opposite of that. From what I have read and researched, she takes a nurturing approach to guiding and training little ones (the mother being the best teacher), but then (oh, then!) as these little ones grow, they become independent, researching on their own (by the way, computers didn't exist in her time...books and articles were used for research).

{Here is the nature book I've been using. It's written by Karen Smith and Sonya Shafer and these two intelligent women took "the meat" from Mason's books and outlined it into one nature study book. Fabulous, especially if you don't have time to read Mason's entire book series.)

The kids and I took our first nature walk today and although it took some planning ahead and organization (because I have a 6, 4, 2-year-old and infant), we had an absolute blast! I put Norah and Isaac in our double jogging stroller and the older two walked. We carried our colored pencils, nature journals and National Audubon Society Field Guides (we chose the trees and flowers books for this walk) and we kept our eyes and ears open as we walked around our neighborhood. We threw rocks in the nearby creek, identified certain flowers and trees and jotted them down in our journals. It was fun sitting on the bridge over the stream drawing as we basked in the sun and took in its rays. Lincoln drew a Venus Flytrap in his journal and Avonlea saw an orange tree and drew that. I found (my favorite) Elderberry bushes and drew those. They labeled their pictures and we looked them up in their books to get valid descriptions. Avonlea still has more to write in her journal, but she'll finish that after her quiet time today.

Even little Norah had her own journal and scribbled down pictures of "water" and such. It was such a sweet time.

It's funny. People often assume our family is caught up in technology just as they are with i-phones, i-pads, i-touches and whatever other "i" things there are out right now. Nope. We have a family computer and printer and Rob and I both have cell phones (that do not contain the Internet, by our choosing), but that's it. I guess you could count our Canon digital camera as well as our cordless home phone. Know what? We're okay with that. We've never played Wii. We've never read anything on a Kindle and it doesn't bother us. We enjoy spending time outdoors and observing all that God has created. We enjoy reading physical books, looking at the pictures and annotating them as they are our own.

There are some blogs that I enjoy following that take the Charlotte Mason approach to education. Earth Is Crammed With Heaven is one of them. Then, there's always Reformation Acres that I love reading.

A dear friend told me about this great find today. If you're a Charlotte Mason lover as I've come to be, you'll love this book. It's one she bases her Science on. Anyway, some moms got together and actually typed the entire book out (wowsers!) to share with those that might want to read the book, but have had trouble finding it (it's hard to find). Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading it. I've only just begun and love it. Happy reading!

2012-01-03T18:07:00.001-08:00

Just a "Quick" Note...
We just got back into town from a wonderful vacation in Orlando. It was a large family event with my side of the family and although we had an absolute blast at Disney World, it's nice to be back home, laundry done, cookies baking, kids in bed and later tonight I'm going to be getting ready for our first school day of 2012. We'll be going back to the Workbox System and I'm really excited to get my kids more independent in their learning. I've even got a few boxes for Norah to work through. She's so excited to have her very own boxes. Too cute.

I'm breathing a sigh of fresh air as I'm not on Facebook any longer. While I really enjoyed catching up with friends and family, I spent WAY too much TIME on it. I became so interested in others' lives that it was taking away time from other things I should have been doing. Before I knew it, 20 minutes had gone by and there was dinner that hadn't gotten prepped, laundry that didn't get taken down/turned over and most importantly, I hadn't spent time with my Heavenly Father. We all have our temptations that keep us from Him, and that was one of mine. I also slack at getting up early. I'm not a morning person. I enjoy snuggling with my four little guys in bed before we start our day. Sometimes we read. Sometimes we wrestle. I also love lazy mornings of not rushing anywhere, staying in our pjs during a homemade, hot breakfast (tomorrow, Avonlea requested waffles...blueberry syrup...yum!), taking our time during chores (as I'm still training little guys and will be for awhile) and then getting to our schoolwork. There were some mornings when I would hop on the computer for a "quick" check of e-mail or Facebook, but then I'd have somebody who didn't dress properly or slacked on teeth-brushing because my "quick" sit at the computer turned into 10 minutes! Therefore, I'm taking a break from it and feel SO great about the decision. It'll also help me to be more personable to others. Instead of hearing it from the latest Facebook post, I can make a phone call to check up on someone, speak to them face to face about something, etc. Maybe I'll return to it someday, but for now, I'm disciplining myself to better my relationship with the Lord, finding more time with Him as well as be a better wife/mother in the duties I have to get done during the day.

(Please know that this is a personal conviction of mine and I do not judge others for participating in Facebooking.)

I've been watching the Iowa Caucasus tonight and it's been neat watching Santorum sneak in with some interesting poll numbers. Don't forget to mark on your calendars January 31 (Floridians ONLY) for voting. Visit the candidates' websites and know what you're voting for too!

Robbie and I (he did most of the work, so I can't take much credit) revamped our chicken coop last week. It's a lot more open and we've separated our roosters in their own little bachelor pad...tee-hee. We were told that Dominique roosters were more docile, but one of them came at Lincoln a few weeks ago when he was out feeding them and ever since, he's scarred to feed them. Avonlea is scarred as well. So, we thought that by secluding them, it would help. We shall see. This will be our first week going back into regular chores. I just hope they don't find a way to get out, forcing us to find another way of secluding them.

Isaac still hasn't started solid foods yet. Waiting for his first two teeth to come in showing me he's ready for his first fruit/veggie...most likely mashed avocado or sweet potato.

Hmm...let's see, what else?

Looking for a new pediatrician. The only holistic one we've been able to find is 30 minutes away and it's an out-of-pocket pay. He's very flexible with his vaccination scheduling and if we choose not to have our infant vaccinated until he's older as well as spacing them out, he completely supports that.

We've been busy getting to know our wonderful neighbors, one of which took care of our animals while we were away. She loves our fresh eggs and I told her she could keep whatever she wanted as she cared for our "biddies" while we were gone. She has a bigger yard than we do which also surrounds a lake in her backyard. She said she's always wanted a goat for making cheeses and having fresh milk. I laughed at her and said that that's what my oldest daughter wanted for Christmas. Funny.

We've finally got some cold weather here. It's supposed to be in the 30s tonight. We had a bonfire in the backyard tonight and roasted some marshmallows. Our Christmas decorations have been down and Rob used our tree as firewood. He does this every year and we often joke about going around the neighborhood to take others' trees from their garbage cans. Maybe someday, we'll load up all the kids in the truck and roam the neighborhood, seeing how many trees we can find. They're just going to go to the dump anyway, right? :)

Really enjoying The Mystery of History curriculum. Wishing I could combine Veritas Press' songs and hand motions with MOH's timeline and reading. We'll have to make up our own hand motions and songs I guess or maybe I could call the writer and request them. Oh, that would be cool, huh?

No major New Year's resolutions here. Watching my computer time and trying to exercise more are the two things I'll definitely try to work on. I guess if you want to try and call those "resolutions", you could. Can I doc time for chasing a two-year-old around, babywearing a six-month-old while cleaning and playing tennis with my four and six-year-olds? ;)

Gonna get the kids' workboxes ready for tomorrow and some hot ginger/peppermint tea is calling my name. Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and New Year!

2011-12-31T05:45:00.000-08:00

A Visit With Grandma Charlotte

2011-12-28T06:32:00.000-08:00

Parents Just Want Answers!

2011-12-27T12:05:00.000-08:00

A Charlotte Mason Education
I'm falling in love with this lady's philosophies of education.

"What a loss have those children who are not brought up to the gentle art wherein the eye is satisfied with seeing, and there is not greed of collecting, no play of the hunter's instinct to kill, and yet a lifelong joy of possession." -Charlotte Mason

"The boy who is in the habit of doing sensory daily gymnastics will learn a great deal more about hte beetle than he who is not so trained." -Charlotte Mason

I love her infatuation of learning and how Science is based on the outdoors. Hours are spent outside observing, collecting, making notes, referring to field guides and identifying, the worship of God through creation, illustration observations and drawings, notes under/around drawings and nature notebooking instead of this.

"Reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books, for they speak with the voice of God." -George Washington Carver

"Once you have heard the lark, known the swish of feet through hill-top grass and smelt the earth made ready for the seed, you are never again going to be fully happy about the cities and towns that man carries like a crippling weight upon his back." -Gwyn Thomas

As our family went out this morning to a local shopping store, our son darted off in the street (unaware of cars around him) to follow a bird splashing into a puddle. He honestly just wanted to observe the bird, watch him and splash along with him, but he couldn't. We were too worried about him being struck by a car.

As city-dwellers, it's amazing how often we are constantly going against the grain of the child's natural instint to explore and learn in nature. Granted, it is important to learn to be attentive of things around you and watch for cars in a parking lot. An important lesson to learn, but it just got me thinking of how much we hinder our kids of natural learning.

Independant learning of exploring, then documenting and drawing, making notes about what was learning, finding Scripture/quotes/poems/fables to associate that drawing with and then turning to guidebooks and good written text (not boring textbooks) to take it a step further in comprehension. We slather their hands with hand sanitizer and giving our cautious "Be careful"s as we're out and about. Oh, to just let them explore. Oh, to just let them 'be'.

You can read more about Charlotte Mason HERE and her philosophies of education HERE.

2011-12-25T10:18:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas From Us to You!

Rob, Kelli, Avonlea, Lincoln, Norah and Isaac

2011-12-23T09:39:00.000-08:00

2011-12-21T07:10:00.001-08:00

Happenings Around Here
Here are a few fun photos as to what's been happening around here...

We've been finishing up our unit on the human body, ready to jump into plant life in January.

Advent wreath

Practicing our A B Cs

Found a new, local farmer's market that has great prices. Most of the food is local, but not organic (boo). The kids and I love going though.

We've been taking it easy curriculum-wise the past week or so, but lots of reading has taken a front seat and I love seeing this around the house. :)

Have a great Wednesday. Blessings!

2011-12-20T11:54:00.000-08:00

Rob and I were jamming out (piano) last night to this sweet song. Listen to the lyrics as they're simply breath-taking and oh, so true!

2011-12-19T12:45:00.000-08:00

Milking Cows For Jesus

This is a story that must be told. This is a story about milking cows for Jesus and His glory. Let’s start at the beginning.

There was a day quite some time ago (oh, let’s say a year and a half at least) when our family’s urban farm was really taking off. Our garden had been expanded and was in full swing. We had started raising chickens for eggs and we were busy. It was a good busy though. We were learning constantly and taking in all of God’s richest blessings. You see, not everyone can say this, although I do think there’s something ingrained in all of us as humans, but we love the outdoors. We love nature and are amazed at how and why God created certain things the way He did. We love learning about how things grow, reproduce, micro evolution, pollinate, etc. We love how perfect God created our world to be and how through that creation we can provide food for ourselves. Good, wholesome food that hasn’t been doused with chemicals, radiation, preservatives and ingredients that have been known for cause various health problems in people. It’s something that has always been my passion and it’s sort of grown on my husband, slowly.

I was at a place awhile back when I felt secluded, alone. I wanted to share my passions with others, trying to tread that fine line of not pushing my passions on others, but wanted to be there for those who shared in it. The more I learned, the more I wanted to genuinely share with others. I prayed hard that the Lord would bring a family into our lives that we could share this experience with. I got specific. I wanted them to love growing things, appreciating raw dairy, raw foods, pastured meats. I wanted them to love the Lord. I so desperately wanted them to homeschool like we did so I could share that too. Sometimes I’m busting at the seams to share all the blessings of home education, but reserve myself as to not “push it upon others” (I may not be doing such a great job on that one, but let me tell you, there’s absolutely zero guilt. Tee-hee. It’s that much of a blessing! Praise God for that.) Anyway, after I prayed, I thought that it was a possibility that might come true, but who would we possibly meet in such a large city that had the same passions we had. Seriously? Sometimes people look at us funny when we share weekend plans. We share that we were gardening and processing chickens. They laugh and say, “You know you can just go pick one up from the grocery store all ready to go don’t you?” We smile politely and sometimes feel lead to share what we know. Other times, we just take private pride in what we provide for ourselves on such a small piece of property in this city.

Here’s where the story gets interesting. Two nights after praying to the Lord for this specific family that we needed, He delivered. Sitting across from us in our Bible study that evening was a couple who was new to the area who had lost everything they had on their working farm in Georgia. They moved down here to Florida with a business opportunity for some work along the beach. They lived along the beach with their three adorable children, two dogs and a cat. As we’re all sitting in a circle at study, the icebreaker that evening couldn’t have been more perfect. Our pastor asked us to go around the circle and name their favorite animal and why. Our friend Jacque said that they had a cow and how much she loved fresh milk. My jaw dropped silently as she shared this. (I have secretly always wanted a Jersey dairy cow myself.) She shared that their cow couldn’t stay with them at their house on the beach, but was being kept at a small farm about 30 minutes away. My brain was churning and I jumped in asking what the farmer’s name was. When she told me his name, I think my jaw dropped even lower because it was the same farm that we buy our raw milk from. Come to find out, we had been buying their cow’s milk for the past week!

The study had finished and we slowly crept towards them introducing ourselves. It was an immediate click as we talked about agriculture. I invited her to our mom’s Bible study during the week and she came that following week. We chatted as our children played on the playground together afterwards. They had two girls and a boy as did we. When I had met all of her children, I also had a hunch…yep, they homeschooled too! In my mind, I was saying, “Of coarse they do. Thank you Father. Of coarse they do!” We invited them over for lunch a few times and we were also invited over to their house for a few meals. We talked about where we had all come from and what our dreams were for the future. They shared with us the ways of Joel Salatin and his methodology of husbandry farming. They knew so much about livestock, we knew more about gardening. We had both recently worked with chickens. Oh the conversations. I didn’t have to hold in anymore.

Later that next year, I invited Jacque to the homeschool conference with me. It was a blast and we learned so much. As we were driving to the conference, I finally told her the story of my specific prayer to the Lord and how He had brought their family to us. She was touched and it was so special sharing that.

Their family got the opportunity to move farther south later that summer. I was so happy for them to finally have land to work. It was 3 acres, not as much as they really wanted, but it was away from concrete and the city. We helped them move that summer. We were sad as we drove home knowing that there wouldn’t be anymore quick visits over to each others’ houses for Sunday lunch. However, the following months we got together, processing chickens and celebrating birthdays, chatting about what we all wanted to do and where we were going to go.

Then…

This past weekend, we went over to do some chicken processing. (Side note: our birds finally turned out the right size…hooray!) As we caught up, they shared with us an amazing story. They shared with us how God was going to give them a dairy farm. Their dream that they’ve been dreaming about for years and God was delivering! The specifics were incredible. As they shared the story my jaw dropped (because it never does that). There was a family they had recently met that wanted to leave their dairy business due to illness. You see, Lori and Shawn have 7 amazing children (4 girls and 3 boys) and they live on 25 acres working a full time dairy farm. Lori contracted Lyme disease through an infection that had been undiagnosed and passed down genetically through her family. She is weakening each day as her muscles are sore and each day is different, resulting if she can get out of bed or not. Her husband and children have been trying to help run the dairy, but it has become too much work.

After Jacque shared the story with us and we had finished processing our chickens, she asked if we wanted to go meet them and see their farm. We said yes and headed 15 minutes down the road to their “middle-of-no-where-farm”. It was beautiful. A child’s paradise of unending grass to run in, ponies and horses to ride, a large trampoline to jump on, a pond, 26 cows, newborn calves, things growing, shade trees to climb and always something interesting to do. We let the kids out of the truck when we pulled up and they just ran. The neatest part was we didn’t have to keep tabs on them. Even little Norah. There was a grand total of 14 children who were playing like they had known each other their whole lives. Jacque and Jim showed us the dairy and I was blown away at all the different products that were made. We saw newborn twin calves that had been born days before. We watched the Jerseys out on pasture soaking in sun, munching on sweet, tender grass the way cows were meant to live.

Then, I met Lori. I’ll never forget it. I’ll never forget the deepness of her eyes and how the presence of the Holy Spirit swept over me like a flood. God was present on this farm. He was helping this family day in and day out work this land for Him. I spent a few minutes talking “small talk” with Lori and explaining that we would be praying for her and her family. I rubbed her arm and then came the tears. I couldn’t stop them. They took over and I apologized. I said thank you for letting us see the dairy and that it was nice to meet them. Rob, Jacque and I walked out slowly and Lori followed us and asked so sincerely if she would ever see me again. I said I didn’t know. Her eyes were so serene. Her curly hair was slowly graying and words can’t describe her maturity and grace as she spoke. Her calmness overwhelmed me. She knew that God was in control. I got a grip on myself and she asked if I could come in and chat in the dairy office. We talked for what seemed like hours. I didn’t keep track of the time though. We talked about our love for land and agriculture. We talked about our love for the Lord and how He is such a big and great God. He will do anything for His glory. Even this. She then asked one of her daughters to round up her sisters to come and sing for me. I sat in awe as the 4 girls (no older than 17) sang 3-part-harmony songs. I asked if my husband could come hear and as he came an listened, I coaxed him to sing along. They started singing Amazing Grace and you just felt the Holy Spirit’s presence in that room. It overwhelmed me. The Lord was doing something amazing with these two families as they were figuring out what to do with this business of milking cows.

Lori shared with me that before they met Jim and Jacque, they had a dream of moving out to Colorado to take it easy and lessen their responsibilities and work load. The kids so badly wanted to go. She shared Psalm 121 with me…”I lift my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” It’s also been called the Pilgrim Psalm, about traveling to another land and being protected by the Lord Himself. She shared how much they wanted to be near the mountains and let God do what he was going to do with her health. I’m pretty sure she’s in a stage 3 Lyme disease and some of her children have been showing signs of the disease as well. My heart aches for them.

Her girls came in and sat on her bed one day asking if the Colorado dream was going to become a reality. She said she didn’t know, but if God wanted them to stay on this farm and milk cows for Jesus, then they were going to stay on this farm and milk cows for Jesus. She told the girls to go and pray, seeking God as they look to Him for guidance. They came back and told her that they would be willing to stay and milk cows for Jesus. As their family surrendered everything they had to the Lord, He began to work. That’s when Lori and Shawn met Jim and Jacque. That’s when Lori and Shawn’s dream of Colorado came true. That’s when Jim and Jacque’s dream of running a raw dairy came true.

Jim and Jacque have a tremendous amount of pressure on them as they oversee this family business. Please be in prayer for them. Add them to a physical piece of paper in your Bible or put them in your family prayer notebook. Please pray that they would be patient as they learn. That the Lord would give them strength for the long days ahead and lack of sleep. Please pray that Jim would be able to quit his 9-5 job and work the dairy full time. Please pray that the kids adjust to moving into the new house and helping run the dairy. Please pray that Jacque would have patience and flexibility as she homeschools and learns how to make the cheeses and other diary products. Please pray that we can be supportive friends in their stressful times that God would give us the words to say, ears to listen and to help and encourage. Please pray that business would be steady and customers would continue to purchase the products. Most of all, please pray that God’s will be done and that all would have peace as it is completed. It is clear that this was meant to happen. God ordained this from the beginning and it is clear that His glory will come from it.

Now it is up to Jim, Jacque and their 3 children to “milk cows for Jesus”.

2011-12-15T10:53:00.000-08:00

Indoctrination

(Part 1)

I've posted this trailer before, but after ordering and watching the DVD my thoughts are churning and I just so happened to take some notes on the actual documentary itself. I'd love to hear some of your thoughts and opinions. I know this is a rather long post, but stick with me.

IndoctriNation Trailer from IndoctriNation on Vimeo.

(My notes)

The big yellow school bus represents where our nation came from and where it is going. We shuffle them in and shuffle them out like a processing plant.

No Child Left Behind Act isn’t working! We may be trying to help lower students, but our bright students are slipping into the role of “teacher” for these lower ones, therefore, lowering the bar for our bright minds.

“Stupid in America” book

14 countries rank higher in reading ability than the US:
Finland
Canada
New Zealand
Australia
Ireland
South Korea
UK
Japan
Sweden
Iceland
Belgium
Austria
France
Norway

Obama himself has claimed that 1/3 of our students are dropping out.

$10 Billion dollars in emergency government funding isn’t working!

With the illiteracy in America, 27 million kids can’t complete a job application (source: national Institute for Literacy) and 30 million can’t read a simple sentence!

Can this problem be fixed or do we abandon the public schools altogether? Even the church is divided over the issue.

Al Mohler is the leader of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and says that parents are in charge of their child’s education. We are to teach character and Biblical principles to them because they’re not going to get it by osmosis. Mr. Hohler who wrote the book Culture Shift and says, “I am convinced that the time has come for Christians to develop an EXIT STRATEGY from the public schools.”

While on the other side, Franklin Graham of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association says that he wants “to see at least one child in every class in every school in America who is trained as a witness for Jesus Christ.” “Let’s don’t surrender public schools, let’s take ‘em back.”

“This is a debate we need to settle. Should we protect our children from withdrawing them from the public school system, or should we leave them in the system to try to influence the schools for the better?” Colin Gunn
Colin (from Scotland), his wife Emily (native Texan) and their 6 children load into a big, yellow schoolbus and tour America in search of answers to their questions.

When you have a system that isn’t rooted on the fear of the Lord, then the system is failing from the get-go. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” says Proverbs 1:7.

But what about the good schools? Surely they weren’t all bad.

Interview with Luci who went to a top-ranked public school from Kindergarten to 12th grade. She looked good on paper but was dying spiritually inside. She wouldn’t dare profess her Christianity for the fear of what others would do or say and she even denounced her faith in Christ.

Luci’s parents had always been very involved in her education and upbringing. She was one of 2 students (out of 60) who were pulled out of the classroom for a talk on homosexuality, but admits that she learned everything that was discussed later on at recess. Abstinence was supposed to be taught in her school, but they were “realistic” and taught about what “everyone else does” anyway. Pregnancies in schools are on the up-rise and even more-so because we provide free, government funded daycare so that students can attend school! Planned Parenthood is now reaching out to children via condom lollipops…yes, that’s right, condom lollipops! Sex in schools has become so common that even educators themselves struggle with prying on our children.

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN OUR SCHOOLS? Sexual Sin

Everyone thinks their school is different! Even when the principal of a local school who claims to be a Christian and also a deacon of their church was caught soliciting young boys for sex at a nearby playground. Parents are in denial!

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN OUR SCHOOLS? DRUGS
According to a recent study, nearly ½ of American high school students smoke, drink alcohol or use illicit drugs. If you doubt that there are drugs in your local schools, just visit your local police station!

It’s not just the legal drugs that are a problem in schools today, it’s the drugs that are being pushed on our young boys. Everyone expects young boys to sit still for long periods of time when it’s just not possible for most. (Kelli-side-note: Dr. James Dobson even encourages moms and dads NOT to put boys specifically in school until they are past the age of SEVEN! They’re simply not ready for it. Finland, the top-rated country for education also does not start children in school until the age of 7.) “Nobody really knows what the long term effects are on young, developing boys.” Bruce Shortt, J.D., Ph.D. and author of The Harsh Truth About Public Schools. Essentially what you have is the world’s largest drug experiment in the history of the world.

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN OUR SCHOOLS? Violence
School buses are a popular place to find weapons and violence because there’s essentially no one in charge. The bus driver is too busy driving! There’s no discipline.

77% of American parents rate that their school is an A or a B school. However, 79% of American rate other schools as a C rating. They’re oblivious.

“Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.’ “
I Corinthians

“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this…to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” James 1:26-27

61% of graduates who were once actively involved in church are now non-active.

We don’t lose our children…we give them away!

If we send out evangelists and they come back non-believers, we’re not following a Biblical strategy.

Mentioning the name JESUS in a public school will get you thrown out whether you’re a teacher, administrator or a child.

How did this happen? Colin visits the Texas teacher of the Year Awards and interviews Christian teachers who say to lead by example. This is good, but didn’t Jesus command…

“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.” Romans 1:16

Colin travels to Pennsylvania and interviews a principal by the name of Mike Metarko, Principal of Hanover Elementary School, a national blue ribbon school in the top 10% in the state. Colin asks Metarko how he is able to be salt and light to his students. He says that it’s hard. He finds subtle ways to try and show his love for the Lord (getting involved with the Good News Club, bowing for moments of silence, etc.), but he struggles between God’s law and man’s law. He’s limited. The foundation isn’t built upon God and His truth and it’s only a matter of time before all the blocks crumble.

Colin then travels to Raleigh, North Carolina to interview a Bugg Elementary School teacher by the name of Sarah LaVerdiere. Sarah says some powerful words and she comes from a long line of public school teachers in her family. She’s heard teachers say things to students which are directly anti-Christian. Many things just happening on the playground. For example, a student calling another gay and the teacher addressing the situation saying, “You don’t know that you yourself aren’t gay. Many people find out when they’re older.” Sarah says that public schools stress that morals are “the plate” on which all other subjects are based off of. However, when you’ve taken Christ out of the morals, you’ve taken the foundation. Sarah struggles with the fact that she can’t give God the glory for anything as she teaches. A few weeks prior to the interview, Sarah had an open house for the parents to come to. She says she never felt so ashamed to be a Christian for the fact that she felt deceptive in telling the parents the plan for the school year and making them feel good about sending their children to school there.

Interview with Robert Ziegler of LaVista High School who was fired for talking about Jesus in his high school math class.

Acts 4…example that teachers should teach what is honoring to God.

"Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." Acts 4:18-19

Not only are teachers being censored, the students are as well. Here is Brittany who is the Valedictorian of her high school unable to finish her speech due to the name of Jesus Christ.

“Maybe if we had a little more respect for our creator we would have less problems in the world today. I for one find our creator more useful than 95% of the math being taught today.”

Interview with John Taylor Gatto, Former Teacher of the Year at Booker T. Washington Junior High School in New York. Author of “Dumbing Us Down”.

For teaching 26 years, he disdains tests, grades and conventional ways of teaching. He’s rather not teach in the classroom, but the school requires him to do so 4 days a week.

“Education is not bad. Schooling is bad.” John Taylor Gatto

We spend so much time studying the great people in American History, but so many of them didn’t have “schooling”. They had an education. George Washington only had 2 years of schooling and Thomas Jefferson had zero years of schooling. Jefferson was in charge of a 2500 acre plantation and hundreds of employees by the time he was TWELVE years old. “You’re stealing these kids and confining them for 12 years and are encouraged not to cooperate with each other.”

I haven't had the time to finish my notes from the documentary (I may someday), but I'll finish with this...

My thoughts have stirred with watching this movie. Many thoughts. So many Christians are divided with "Do we pull our kids" (aka: rescue mission) OR "Do we continue to train our children to be lights for Jesus, sharing Him with the unsaved in the public school system"?

Here is what Kelli thinks...

Our job as parents is to raise our children the very BEST we can and to constantly be talking with our children about Jesus (Deuteronomy 6), sharing His love and goodness and teaching them to share His love and goodness to others so that they too may spend eternity with Christ. That's the goal right?

MAKING DISCIPLES.

Some questions I have are? Can a parent have as much influence over a child if that child is in school 6-7 hours a day and spends less time with his/her parents in the evenings (amongst getting showers, finishing up homework, eating dinner, etc.)?

To make a disciple, a few things need to happen. Our children need to:

1. Submit to Jesus

2. Memorize Jesus' words (true memorization, not just memorize a verse for a week of AWANA...will they remember it for years to come and learn how to successfully APPLY it?)

3. Learns Jesus' way of ministry (time reading the Bible, taking notes and being able to recite back to you the ways Jesus ministered)

4. Imitating Jesus' life...DO YOU SEE FRUIT? Do you see your child showing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control? Do you see them striving to be like Christ? OR when your child gets home from school, are you battling sibling fights, rolling eyes, laziness of lack of chores/hard work and lack of opportunities for siblings to show this fruit to each member of the family?

5. Finding others to be Jesus' disciples. Are your children regularly sharing Jesus with others? Are you finding opportunities to invite other children in his/her class to church? Is there growth?

Acts 1:8 says this...

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

God commands us to share Him!

I can understand the pleas from both sides of Christians. Some wanting us to rescue our kids from the public school sector and some wanting to remain. But how ready is a Kindergartner ready to be a disciple and make disciples? They're in the process of still being trained themselves.

I Timothy 4:12 says this...

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."

Many would argue that a child is definitely capable of sharing Jesus. I absolutely agree. They can plant a seed. BUT, are they truly able to set an example "in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity" yet?

I know that this post is all about the public school system and I haven't touched on the private school system. I'm still pondering on that one. I struggle. My husband and I both were brought up in fine, amazing Christian schools (I also taught middle school in an amazing Christian school) where teachers who loved us, poured life into us and taught us great things. The Bible and Jesus were not names to silence. They were taught. BUT, I still struggle with even that. As I taught in school, I saw the teachers in the lounge that bashed parents, that degraded grading papers, that complained and whined and that lowered the bar through curriculum and objectives to meet all the students' needs. I saw advanced students struggle with boredom. I don't mean "advanced" as in could sit still and read a grade or two above level. I'm talking REAL "advanced" as in they were teaching themselves Greek and Hebrew on the side after they finished their English work. I saw the real strugglers who could not sit still for a lesson to save their lives. They were kinesthetic learners! They needed to be standing, tapping their pencils, moving in some way. These children in a typical classroom would be labeled "ADHD" or "ADD" and after a long, drawn-out parent/teacher conference, thoughts would go to what medication should we put "Jr." on to make the boy sit still? Ug.

There were days when my students would walk into my classroom, all desks were pushed to the sides of the classroom and we'd have class with no desks, running around as we labeled parts of speech. I even (shh, don't tell) had a student injure his finger while in English class. They loved it. They thrived on it. They learned.

One of the things I most enjoyed was having one group of students two years in a row. I can't tell you how amazing it was to know what objectives my students had met the year prior as I was their teacher. There were no questions. I knew them. I knew what they had learned, what their struggles were as an individual learner and where I needed to take them. But this is uncommon. Every year, it's a gamble as to what teacher a student will receive and you start right at the beginning, finally figuring out where they really are academically around February or so (typically, I had between 100-130 students each year).

This all to say that even though some of our Christian schools do a great job, we still struggle to meet ALL of our students' needs. I think there are some amazing parents out there who if they just got creative and sacrificed a little, would come to see that there is some amazing fruit in their children and they would see more of it if they spent more time with them throughout the day, talking about Jesus, educating them and having fun while learning hands-on.

Do I think everyone should homeschool? It's a tough question. My answer to this is no. I think some devoted, intelligent, God-fearing parents do miss out on making the best disciples possible (as well as miss out on the fun learning you can have while teaching your children), but there are also some parents out there who may be struggling with a certain sin (and we ALL have sins we struggle with...I have many myself!!) to where the home isn't the best learning environment.

The exception here is when I think of some AMAZING teachers that I have come across in life. They are few and far between, but they genuinely care about their students. They use visual, audible and kinesthetic approaches to learning with all of their students. They love the Lord and use Him to teach their subjects. They are great role models. I have had some great colleagues as well as family who have been teachers. Amazing teachers. BUT, as I said, it's a gamble each year as to what teacher a child will receive AND do we really believe that a stranger is the very best educator for our children. Aren't parents the best teachers as they know their children better than anyone else on earth, can be the most consistent as they move from year to year and the most important of all, they are teaching their children about the Lord throughout the day?

**PLEASE know that this post has nothing to do with a single person reading it. I know there are many who know me personally. There are many readers who have never met me. There are many readers who support all different kinds of education. This blog is an outlet for me as a mother, wife and educator. It's an outlet for thinking, researching and learning. I post what I research and learn. Sometimes, I change my opinions as I grow. Sometimes I feel the Holy Spirit's lead in posting about certain things. This is one of them. Education. It's my passion. It's my spiritual gift. Again, I'm not singling any ONE person/family out here. Just doin' some research. :) **

Part 2 will be posted later this week as I finish up my thoughts on where we've come from in education referencing David Barton, John Taylor Gatto and others as well as the research I've been doing on Finland's education system and why they are ranked #1 in the nation for education. I hope you stay tuned!

2011-12-13T13:38:00.000-08:00

Just For Kicks!

2011-12-12T10:13:00.000-08:00

There's something about a sleeping child...

Psalm 62:1-2
“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”

2011-12-09T18:22:00.000-08:00

Avonlea's Creation Story

As we've started using a new History curriculum (Mystery of History), I've been very pleased and we've been having so much fun! The Story of the World curriculum was wonderful, but it wasn't Biblically-based, only beginning with the archeology and the Ancients. We know that the world began with creation and hence, we decided to switch. I say "we" because as Rob and I were talking about the possible switch, Rob said it was basicaly a no-brainer starting with creation.

We'll hang onto our Story of the World curriculum for now as there are some fun activities we can apply as we get into Ancients and so on (and the maps are a great resource as well), but we're officially a Mystery of History family and lovin' it! It's still classical (timeline approach to learning instead of skipping around like a typical history program). It's still hands-on (I have a very kinesthetic boy and am excited to read some of the exciting lessons for the future). BUT, it's Biblically-based and that's necessary. Anyway, have fun with this video as I'm sure it'll be one of many to come. Avonlea really enjoyed putting together this play after we created our timeline figures for creation. (*Please excuse the halarious laughter as we were quite giddy after FOUR takes!)

2011-12-08T10:43:00.001-08:00

Just One of Those Days

One of those days when I want to crawl under a rock and hide, but can't.

One of those days when I'm scared for our infant son as he has RSV.

One of those days when my two-year-old didn't make it to the potty and urinated all over our bed.

One of those days when I yelled at my kids out of anger and had to ask for forgiveness.

One of those days when I just wanted to stay at the farm where we got milk and sit on the back porch, talking to Nancy about God's goodness.

One of those days when Norah didn't nap!

One of those days when we didn't get much school done.

One of those days when I wanted to bake with my daughter, but realized once again that I had no mixer (it died).

One of those days when I wanted a salad for lunch, but we had no lettuce in the garden, hence reminded of my failure in growing things this season.

One of those days I wanted to get rid of our dog.

One of those days when I kissed my husand goodbye, but wanted so badly for him to hang out with us.

One of those days when you can't stand the coorporate world and it's fakeness.

One of those days when you know you have a poor attitude, but don't work hard at fixing it.

One of those days when you get cut off in traffic.

One of those days when you're lacking sleep because you've been up the past few nights with a sick infant and you check on him at every sneeze or cough.

One of those days when you know that Jesus is with you, but you wish He was physically with you so you could crawl up in His arms and He'd whisper that everything is going to be okay and remind you of all of the blessings He's given you.

2011-12-07T11:12:00.000-08:00

We Made the News!
Our family was recently on the news for a neat story on backyard chicken coops. I tried to post the video. We'll see if it works. Blogger hasn't been letting me go back in and change posts after they're posted. Once I click the button, it's there for good. So, if a big black box pops up with no video, I apologize. Here is the website if you'd like to check out the acutal story we did.

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/local/pinellas/county-could-expand-chicken-coop-policy-120711

The reporter Jeremy Campbell was great and very interested in what our family was doing in urban homesteading. What I found funny was the fact that I "appeared" somewhat pulled together on the tape, but in reality, I was speaking to my children between takes. They were sitting on the back deck observing and trying to keep quiet so Jeremy could get his story. So glad we could have a part in educating others about where food comes from and maybe even encouraging others to homestead on their own level. What was neat was how Jeremy shared that this is becoming popular news and he asked if we'd be willing to do future stories on this topic. Of coarse we said "yes". (By the way, Jeremy gave me all of 20 minutes to get ready: freshen up the coop a bit, freshen up myself a bit...you know the drill of checking to make sure you don't have any baby spit up on your shirt, attempting to apply some make up and doing a quick shake of the hair before you're about to go on tv.) It really was a fun day and we felt so blessed to be a part of it.

County could expand chicken-coop policy: MyFoxTAMPABAY.com

2011-12-06T20:24:00.001-08:00

Doorposts Contest
So, I didn't win (didn't have my hopes up), but there were some amazing photos that I competed against. Jump over to "Doorposts" and take a peek at all the amazing photos of the winners. Lots of fun ideas in decorating your home with Scripture. I already have images swimming in my mind of some fun, easy-to-make ideas. Happy Decorating!!!

2011-11-29T11:14:00.001-08:00

Doorposts
Doorposts' blog is having a contest and I wanted to enter. Hey! Who doesn't like free stuff?! The contest is regarding Bible verses around your home, how you place them, what they look like, creativity, etc.

So, here are some of the verses around our home that we've come to cherish and help to hold us accountable.

This is something I splurged on when we moved into this house about 4 years ago.

In our sitting room, we have this verse from Psalm 33:1-3 which talks about praise and instruments. I typed it up on our computer, found a fun photo to go along with it (via Google), printed it out in color, placed it in a Dollar Store frame and wha-la! It sits on the piano in the sitting room amongst the guitars which we hope to hang on the wall (out of reach for a little one who will be crawling in the months ahead).

This verse is taped onto our phone and says, "Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips." Proverbs 4:24

Enough said.

During Bible Time in the mornings, we have been working on I Corinthians 13 together. The verse is all about love and how we should treat one another when we love each other. I took a red poster board. Glued a computer print out page with the verse and photo on it and laminated it. Then, I laminated pictures I found (via Google) of the characteristics of love (patient, kind, protects, no proud, not rude, etc.) and after placing Velcro tabs on them, we're able to place the cards where they go as the children say their verse and tell me what love is and is not. It's wonderful as I train the kids. When a child is being rude, I can bring them back to this giant heart and ask them if love is supposed to be rude and then they can apologize to who they have been rude to.

This verse hangs in our kitchen and reminds me daily to be grateful for food and nourishment. It's James 2:15-16 and encourages us to feed those who need food and not just "wish them well", but to do something physical about it. This verse holds me accountable in times where we should be giving to others in need.

This is a precious verse that we have displayed in our bedroom alongside some photos of our children. We are so thankful for each of them.

This is a verse we have in our bathroom and I see it each morning as I'm getting ready, reminding myself that wearing flashy, expensive clothes aren't what pleases the Lord. Modesty and a gentle and quiet spirit are.

This is a photo of one of the changes that has been happening around our house lately. Rob and I found a great picture of a tree online, printed it out, blew it up at Office Depot and put it on an overhead projector to trace and paint. We found some $2.00 IKEA picture frames and the whole thing cost us less than $18.00. We then ordered some wall words and applied them next to the tree...John 15:5.

As we've been moving things around our home, this is one of the frames that has been sitting in the garage lately, but a verse I love.

These two sit in our sitting room and are Psalm 33:12-14 saying "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord..." and the other verse is I Thessalonians 4:11,12 talking about leading a quiet life and being a hard worker as on-lookers watch as you lead your Christian life by example.
This is a verse that we keep on our computer.

Here are two precious verses we had up in our schoolroom (alas, the schoolroom is no more and it's been wonderful...pictures to come) that had to come down and we're waiting to find a good spot in the family room/school room for them. They're Proverbs 1:1-7 (...the beginning of knowledge is fear of the Lord) and Deuteronomy 6:5-9 which God wants us to constantly be talking to our children about Him throughout the day, which is one of the few reasons we homeschool.

You don't have to spend a lot of money on placing verses around your home. Like I said, I used Dollar Store picture frames with simple verses and photos I found online. I've got a few verses that I want to place in our boys' room and girls' room, but haven't gotten around to them yet. Each of our children also have Bible verses which I also need to work on making and displaying. I love the comfort of being surrounded by Scripture throughout our home. I see them everyday and it's a great way to memorize God's Word and hide them in our hearts. I hope this has been a blessing to you and has given you some ideas for Scripture in your own home. I know I've been blessed by seeing some in others' homes as well.

2011-11-28T14:11:00.000-08:00

BUSY!
All of my sweet, precious blog readers, I've been BUSY! Busy planning school lessons. Busy rearranging our home (I do promise, pictures to come). Busy getting down Thanksgiving decorations and replacing them with Jesus' birthday decorations. Busy in the garden. Busy with a (maybe) pregnant bunny. Busy making a Word Wall out of a large piece of cardboard. Busy creating our family's homeschool Scope and Sequence methodology. Busy cooking. Busy cleaning. Busy nursing a sweet baby boy. Busy potty training a two-year-old. Just Busy. Blogging has taken the backseat this past week with family in town, gatherings and ministering to friends. I've got a schlew of fun things I want to share, but I'll keep you on the edge of your seats until then. :) I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

2011-11-23T13:05:00.000-08:00

Think You Know Your GMOs?

Check out this site (copy and paste because Blogger doesn't like me and won't let me 'link' you) regarding GMOs in your "health food".

Here's part of the article by Mercola.com...

"Another report recently published by the Cornucopia Institute investigated "all natural" and organic cereal brands. Shockingly, their independent third-party testing revealed that many trusted natural brands contain genetically modified (GM) corn and soybeans—including brands enrolled in the Non-GMO Project.

This is information you simply cannot get anywhere else, and reason alone to support the Institute's efforts. Natural products that contained, unimaginably, as high as 100 percent genetically modified grains included:

Kashi®

Mother's®

Nutritious Living®

General Mills Kix®

GoLean®

Bumpers®

Hi-Lo®

Two breakfast cereal products that are currently enrolled in the Non-GMO Project, Barbara's Bakery's Puffins and Whole Foods' 365® Corn Flakes, contained more than 50 percent GM corn... Meanwhile, the research control Cornucopia used, Nature's Path® USDA certified organic corn flakes, contained only trace amounts of GM contamination (less than 0.5 percent).

Cornucopia writes:

"These test results underscore the importance of the organic label, which ensures consumers that the manufacturer uses only non-genetically engineered ingredients. More extensive testing is necessary to draw conclusions regarding the truthfulness of "non-GMO" claims, but these preliminary results point to several problems. First, manufacturers can claim that they avoid purchasing genetically engineered ingredients, but these claims may be meaningless unless they are verified by a third party, such as an organic certifying agent.

In addition, many of the most reputable organic companies have developed their own testing protocols to ensure the purity of their products. Furthermore, the Non-GMO Project, which "enrolls" products before it verifies them as being non-GMO, may give consumers a false sense of security. Our test results reveal that several "enrolled" products were in fact made with GE ingredients."

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/19/mark-kastel-cornucopia-good-food-movement.aspx?e_cid=20111119_DNL_art_1

2011-11-15T18:36:00.000-08:00

Homeschooling With "Littles"

I get this all the time, "How in the world do you do it?" (schooling so many little ones)

Well, let's just start with the fact that organization is KEY. Schedules are KEY. Hard work is KEY. HOWEVER, flexibility is also KEY. AND, we're not perfect (that's a big one!) Not everyday goes smoothly or how I like it. We have little guys, therefore we have distractions. We have spilled water, a two-year-old who likes to travel from room to room making messes. We have a rambunctious four-year-old who is "all boy" and very kinesthetic. We have a four-month-old who needs his mommy a lot. Once you come to realize these things and that everyday won't go perfectly, you're starting on the right track.

***{Just as a side note, when I was teaching in a traditional school, it was rare when everyday went exactly according to schedule also.}

We have a daily schedule that we follow (in 30 minute increments). We have morning and afternoon chore charts. We have certain times in the day when we do certain subjects. We have certain days when we do electives (Mondays-Art, Wednesdays-Polished Cornerstones, Thursdays-History, Fridays-Science). We also schedule out our electives according to our larger chores (got this nifty idea from the amazing book Large Family Logistics...a must have for every mommy, even if you don't have a large family!): Mondays-Laundry Day, Tuesdays-Office Day, Wednesday-Baking Day, Thursdays-Errand Day, Fridays-Cleaning Day.

This helps keep things in perspective. Now, on to homeschooling with "littles"...

First, I try to make sure that Isaac (our 4-month-old) is down for his morning nap. This automatically eliminates one child's attention for Mommy. Then, I get Norah busy with something whether it be painting, stamp art, playing at the sink with bubbles, playing in a small tub of rice with toys on the porch where I can see her, placing her on a blanket with dollies and books, bringing out her dollhouse to play with nearby the table, playing with homemade play dough, coloring, gluing things to paper, etc. Sometimes, I let her sit on my lap and observe if she's behaving and quiet, but this is rare.

I actually keep a box for just Norah to play with for just this time. Sometimes, she likes to join us at the table and do "her school". I make extra copies of what we do (especially for Bible time at breakfast) for her because she likes to participate and she knows when it's the same thing/sheet her brother and sister are working versus when she has something different. Bottom line, she likes the same thing so even if I'm working on something totally irrelevant to a two-year-old, I make a copy for her to feel included (My Father's World homeschool curriculum...from what I've heard...is great at catering to this exact need with multiple children of different ages).

Many times, Lincoln (4-yrs.) will join her if I can see both of them, making sure no quarreling breaks out and if it does, I can discipline accordingly. For the most part, they get along because they don't want to be sitting along the wall missing out on the fun. I don't let the kids stamp, play at the sink, play with rice, etc. at any other part of the day. It's what keeps these activities exciting and keeps them busy while I school Avy.

Most of the time, as I have Isaac sleeping, Norah busy with an activity, I can school Lincoln and Avonlea together at the table. I give Lincoln his independent work while Avonlea needs instruction. Then I switch with Avonlea doing her independent work and Lincoln getting instruction. Sometimes, when Norah doesn't keep busy with an activity and I have a longer lesson with Avonlea, we'll put on an educational movie. I like movies because it's something I've previewed and it has an ending (sort of like a timer).

To sum things up, we pretty much have it down to a science now, but it took practice and time. It took a GOOD ATTITUDE on my part, patience and CONSISTENCY. Now, we move like clockwork. We have our days though, don't get me wrong. On days where things aren't running smoothly, we take a break and plop a blanket on the floor for some serious book reading. Funny, sometimes those days are what spark their learning the most. We'll read a book about tadpoles, then get an idea to go out to the pond and catch some, put them in a jar, draw pictures of their life stages, name it, try to find things to feed it, write a narrative story about it...endless learning. Real life learning. Life really is just one, big classroom! I only get one shot at this and I love learning alongside my children. What a precious gift.

2011-11-14T10:10:00.000-08:00

Happenings In Our Fall Garden
With each new planting season, I learn. Some of the learning is refreshing while some, not-so-much! Some learning has cost us money while other learning has gained us free produce. It all evens out is my motto, but the fact that we grow it ourselves is so cool. This fall, our garden has thrown us another learning curve. My husband and I have slightly different opinions on this one but never-the-less, something needs to be done about the amount of sunlight distributed to our garden (or the lack thereof, rather). Things have been planted since the second weekend in Septemeber (10th and 11th and a few dates after as well) and as I've been watching things grow, some have really struggled. Duh! Sunlight helps. We have a large tree in our backyard that has grown more than anticipated this past year and as much as I hate cutting down trees, we're really thinking about it. Due to the fact that it's fall and the earth is at a different tilt, we do know that some other trees are effecting this shadow-like-effect on our garden. The question is, will cutting down the Jacaranda tree help? It definitely needs pruning, that's for sure, but should we cut it down altogether? We could definitely use the firewood and I'm sure Rob would love some of the lumbar to build with. I don't know what kind of lumbar it would produce since Jacarandas aren't very strong to begin with. This tree has to be at least 70 years old though. It's huge! It produces beautiful purple blossoms in the spring and I'd hate to loose it, but if we can't grow anything in the garden, it's costing us money and food. Sigh. Something will be done, just not 100% sure what yet. Anyway, here are a few pictures of the fall garden. These were taken back in late September (I'm so late, I know). Certain things really took off (ones that didn't need an incredible amount of sunlight) and certain plants (tomatoes, legumes, lettuces, etc.) are struggling to survive.

Blueberry plants transplanted.

A tomato plant struggling for sunlight. Can you see how it's curved? It's naturally growing the way the sun is in the yard. Tomatoes should grow straight up and this one is saying, "Help! I need more sunlight!"

Beans are actually producing, but the leaves are slowly turning yellow from lack of sun.

Pumpkins were coming up beautifully until worms destroyed them. Sometimes I wonder why I even try squashes. The cucumbers are doing nicely though.

Watermelon came in great, but even though they got transplanted out front, they still don't receive enough sunlight and aren't growing nearly as fast as they should.

Zucchini are doing well. I do think the squirrels are attempting to eat the blossoms though. Need to place netting on top.

Despite our bad luck with the garden this fall, these ladies are laying nicely! We're getting approximately 10 eggs each day and they are so pretty. This photo doesn't do them justice in how beautiful they are. (Do you see the rooster in the background? We have two.)

These little ones are our Freedom Rangers which we'll be processing in a few weeks. They're huge now and I'm so glad we gave the meat birds another try since it was only the protein level in the food that we messed up with. They're beautiful birds and love enjoying their fresh air and sunshine. We have 7.

2011-11-11T10:57:00.000-08:00

Pumpkin Patch, 2011
Better late than never, right? It was a gorgeous night for the pumpkin patch. The temperatures were in the 70s and the skies were immaculate! Something about Florida sunsets.

The kids had an absolute blast.

Somehow, we managed to get all four in a picture and smiling (minus Isaac, obviously).

Sweet Norah.

Hmm..."Daddy, which one should we pick. I like the baby pumpkins best."Lincoln showing off his brute strength by lifting numerous pumpkins.

Rob tried to talk Avonlea into getting a more pale-orange pumpkin with white spots this year. (She later talked him out of it.)

Rob getting a picture with his pumpkin that Avonlea talked him out of. Poor guy. Next year babe, next year. :)

Like I said, the skies were immaculate.

Isaac finally woke up for a few photo opportunities.

Our pumpkin was finally picked and somehow found its way into the baby carrier.

Paid, picked up some lollipops, coloring books and a free pumpkin cookbook the church gives out every year. Now, it's time to load up.

Driving home. Our Creator never seems to amaze me with His awesome artwork.

2011-11-06T16:24:00.000-08:00

Sundays...
There's something about Sundays. God's day. A day of rest, relaxation and serenity.

Today consisted of an extra hour to sleep in. A warm shower. Hot eggs, oatmeal and spearmint tea. A fun, twirly skirt worn to church and church family to catch up with. A sermon on devotion {not commitment}. Pure, dedicated devotion. More on making disciples. I think about it everyday. I may not be out in the world teaching and preaching, but I'm making four little disciples at home during the day and God gives me the most incredible peace and at the same time, excitement about that. Hot noodles with veggies for lunch hit the spot. A sweet smiley baby to play with this afternoon. Quiet Time/Nap Time. Time for Kelli and Rob to steal a few quiet moments and some chit-chat while little ones slept or played quietly. Relaxed gardening. Realized that our backyard Jacaranda tree (the most beautiful, tropical purple blossoms in spring!) has taken over above our garden area. Tomatoes and strawberries {amongst many other fruits/veggies} are not getting their 6-8 hours of sunlight they need to properly grow. Seedlings are two months old now and not growing to where they should be. Potted up what ones look to be strong and placed them in the front yard to soak up more sun. Note-to-self...call lumberjack to cut down certain sun-blocking branches in the spring! Don't want to loose the whole tree as I hope to start some bees in the next few years {still pondering on that one}.
"Chicken-watched" with my husband and baby. They are the silliest things sometimes. Freedom Rangers {meat birds to be processed in a few weeks} are getting so big. That 30% protein grain is certainly doing the trick.
Watched as a certain baby around here almost got his toes. Avonlea was really struck with the sermon today on The Persecuted Church and the Day of Prayer. She and I had some sweet moments at church today as we discussed how blessed she is to live in America and not be under persecution for lovin' Jesus. She must have found at least 4 opportunities today to ask to pray for "those other people" suffering for the Lord abroad.

Watched a National Geographic Documentary film with our son about Anacondas in the rain forest. He eats, lives, breathes and sleeps with snakes {pretend, not really real}. He wants one for Christmas...gulp. Isaac is officially a thumb-sucker and I'm so excited about that. Self-soothing babies are the best! This house is looking SOOO different. We're moving around furniture, thinking about paint, getting ready to sell furniture and using that money to purchase other furniture, cleaning out schoolroom "stuff", cleaning out bedrooms and toys. I painted my and Norah's toes a pretty pink today. I snuggled with each of my kids today. I got to fellowship with church family today. Longing for land {probably always will}, but realizing that the Lord wants us here for now. Beginning stages of being okay with that and knowing that God's timing is best. Met our neighbor Ashley today who is a historical genius. She travels to many different locations in the US and Canada giving historical tours, including Prince Edward Island where the notorious Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea (amongst others in her series also). She was floored that our daughter's name was Avonlea. She told us the most interesting stories and facts about the quaint, little town. We gave Ashley some eggs for putting up with our crowing roosters and clucking hens. She says she loves listening to them in the morning from her window. We've been so blessed that the Lord has given us the tolerant neighbors that He has. With four little ones home all day, a barking dog, 19 hens and 2 roosters, you'd think they'd be calling the police on us all the time but they aren't. They welcome the excitement and love our eggs we spoil them with. ;)

For dinner, we got adventurous, loaded the kids up in the SUV along with a blanket and some drinks. Picked up two pizzas and headed out to the beach for the sunset and some sand castles. What an amazing night. It was cold, but relaxing. We lost a few slices of pizza to aggressive sea gulls, found some neat shells, watched a bride, groom and wedding party take sunset pictures right next to us. We snuggled on a blanket, talked about the day and watched as the sun melted into the glistening gulf.

Thank you Father for Sundays.

2011-11-05T10:16:00.001-07:00

All Becuase of Tomatoes

Depressing trip to the grocery store today. I was pacing the produce aisles and glazing at the tomatoes. I've always bought tomatoes that are organic and/or ripened on the vine. They aren't supposed to use a certain ethalayne gas (the gassing process is really gross, stripping out all natural flavor or tenderness in a tomato...of coarse everyone knows they're picked green and the gas is what turns them red and hard as a rock, right?). Well, on weeks where our budget is tighter than others, I'll just buy the "ripened on the vine" tomatoes. Well, today I noticed that the sign above the tomatoes said "tomatoes ON the vine". I was perplexed. I grabbed the produce guy next to me who was stacking carrots in the fridge and asked him why the sign changed. He told me that the tomatoes weren't gassed, but were ripened on the vine. I asked him, "Then why did the sign change?" The manager who had been lurking our way immediately jumped in on our conversation and replied with a "everything is gassed now" comment. I asked if there were any choices of tomatoes without the ethalayne gas and he said "organic" which was a bit pricy. {sigh}

So, what's a girl to do? All I wanted were some juicy, delicious, red tomatoes for my salad for lunch today, but I'll settle for the pink, hard, tastless rocks (harsh, I know) before me.

Do things ever just urke you to where you want to do something about it, but wonder what kind of impact you'll have as "JUST a stay-at-home-mom"? Of coase, we all know that our jobs as mothers are SOOOO much more important than the world visualizes us to be. After all, we are shaping tomorrow's youth for the future!!!

I get urked though and today it didn't stop with tomatoes. For example, there was an opprotunity where a man next to me in the parking lot could have been a gentleman, but wasn't. I get urked when so many feminists have fought for women's rights (don't get me wrong, I'm glad to have the freedoms to drive a car when I want and vote), but there have been times in my life (sometimes, when I'm very much pregnant!) and am struggling with a heavy package or something and the man standing next to me can't give me a hand. Maybe he's thinking, "Hmm, I don't want to assume this woman is in distress and needs a man's help. Don't want to offend her that she can't do the job." All-the-while I'm screaming inside my head, "Yes! Please! I'm about to drop this. Never mind the three little ones in my car that need my attention. Can you help a lady out?"

Or of coarse there's the ever-so-popular door opening scenerio where a lady would LOVE the door opened for her, but the guy doesn't want to offend her by opening the door for her. Or better yet, the young lad hasn't been taught proper manners to think of others by being a gentleman and helping the girl out.

I'm not trying to put on a whine fest. Just stating the obvious. It urkes me that I get "beeped" when I'm walking out of a grocery store as if I'm being counted as a number for a customer who shopped there that day. It urkes me that there are cameras everywhere now and you're always being watched. It urkes me that those cameras can actually give you a speeding ticket (not that I've every gotten one...I haven't, really) as well. It urkes me that America (and the world, for that matter) is so uneducated about food (not that it's entirely their fault either) and where it comes from that we just believe what The Food and Drug Administration says and don't think for ourselves. Thinking for ourselves. Now that's a concept!!! We don't do it anymore. We ship our kids off to a public school building to total strangers and trust that they know what's best for them and that they will give them this grand education which trains them to love and serve the Lord. It urkes me that my pediatrician gives me a blank stare when I say, "No, we're not going to get that vaccination today" as if I'm a weirdo that has no clue what she's doing as a mother. The phrase "you've got your hands full" is getting so old I could scream at every little old lady we pass by in the store. I know I have my hands full...full of sweet blessings that yes,need training when they're being selfish, rude or inconsiderate, but that's how we all are, right? Sinners. I'm doing my best to train it out of the sweet little ones, but your comments aren't helping! Try, "My, what a beautiful family you have."

And all this because of a few tomatoes. {sigh} What's a girl to do? :)

2011-11-04T11:11:00.000-07:00

Think You Know Your Disney Princesses?

So thankful for this post today. I thought I was the only one who wasn't a fan of Rapunzel. We have seen the movie and Avonlea got the princess dress for her birthday last year, but after watching the movie more than once, I was convinced it was somehow different. I know that villains exist to make a good story/movie, but both my girls clung to my arms while in the theatre during the suspenseful parts. What I didn't like about it was the sheer fact that although Rapunzel's mother was wrong, Rapunzel's disrespect and back-talking were also unacceptable, unBiblical and not to mention all of the little girls who would later try to pull off the same talk to their own mothers at home! (I'll admit that my daughter was one of them. It was quickly corrected.) Large Family Mothering hit the nail on the head. She took the words right out of my mouth. Disney princesses are definitely different now. It's funny how we think of the word "Disney" and we automatically think "safe". Not always the case! Thanks LFM for making us think today about the influences on our little girls.

2011-11-02T17:22:00.001-07:00

This...
Today, I felt like this...

I wanted to crawl under one of these...

I wanted to roll over in bed this morning and beg for him to stay home and help me...

I did a lot of this...

and needed to take a lot of this...

and took lots of this...

I was so groggy, that I forgot to start my day with this...

and this...

So, for now I'll have one of these...
Take one of these...

and head off to bed. Praise the Lord for a new day tomorrow!

2011-11-02T10:08:00.000-07:00

Family Strategies

Family Strategies: An Invitation from Doug and Beall from Douglas Phillips on Vimeo.

"If you are a Christian parent living in the twenty-first century, you need to think strategically about your family. Settling for the priorities and practices of the world is a proven formula for disaster. As parents, we must do more than settle. We must self-consciously choose. This requires strategic biblical thinking. It means self-consciously building your family culture. And whether the subject is entertainment choices, home décor, travel, music in the home, or dealing with antagonistic relatives, it means that wise, Scripturally-informed parents must think creatively as they aggressively engage impediments and obstacles to success.

As the parents of eight children and the founders of Vision Forum Ministries, Doug and Beall Phillips have spent the last decade collecting and implementing helpful strategies for building a strong, safe, and visionary family culture.

Now, beginning Tuesday, February 28, Doug and Beall will be sharing some of the most practical and proven strategies for building a vibrant family culture through their new 20-week, 30-minute episodes audio series called Family Strategies.

Here are the titles of Doug’s and Beall’s weekly messages:

1. How to Organize Your Home to Promote Family Unity
2. How to Cultivate a Love of Reading with Your Children
3. How to Make Mealtime Meaningful
4. How to Prepare for a Year of Home Education
5. How to Take Children Safely Through an Airport
6. How to Involve the Whole Family in Family Worship
7. How to Address the Plague of “Jive Talk” in Your Home
8. How to Encourage Masculinity in Sons
9. How to Encourage Femininity in Daughters
10. How to Handle a Social Worker Visit
11. How to Wage War on Sibling Rivalry
12. How to Use Household Decorations to Teach Character
13. How to Talk to Your Children about Miscarriage
14. How to Involve the Whole Family in Hospitality
15. How to Build an Entrepreneurial Spirit in Your Children
16. How to Watch a Movie As a Family
17. How to Cultivate a Love of Meaningful Poetry with Your
18. Children, and Why Doing So Is Important
19. How to Prepare Your Children to Listen to a Symphony
20. How to Take a Road Trip with Your Family
Plus: How to Select the Best Locations for Family Vacations"

2011-10-31T13:54:00.000-07:00

Lookin' Into Grain Mills
I recently celebrated my 32nd birthday in the beginning of October and along with a romantic date, a sweet homemade card and a night alone, he told me that for my gift, I could finally order a mill. I've had my eyes on one for awhile, but wanted to make sure that if I was going to fork out a substantial amount of money for it, that it be a good one. I'm still doing some research, but am liking the Wonder Junior Deluxe and Wonder Mill Electric (as shown in this video). Now it's down to do I want a loud, but fast one or a quiet but slow one I can use if power goes out? Anyone ever used one and highly recommend one or the other?

2011-10-30T07:16:00.000-07:00

Love This Guy!

Okay, so he's been smiling for a few weeks, but this is the first awesome shot I got of him really grinning. He's also rolling over, front to back and back to front. He's giggling when tickled, laughing at siblings and loves tummy time (scooting a bit as well). Sleeping GREAT too (7:30pm to 7:00 am with one feed around 3:00 am). I can't believe he'll be 4 months old on Nov. 3. What a blessing!

"Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him." Psalm 127:3

What a look here, don't you think? :)

2011-10-28T06:56:00.000-07:00

Reformation Day...An Alternative to Halloween

I was visiting on Doorposts http://www.doorposts.com/blog/

and Mustard Seeds http://www.mustardseeds.typepad.com/

blogs for some great ideas for Reformation Day ideas and activities. What a great way to give such a pagan holiday back to Jesus Christ! I wish I would have been more prepared this year to celebrate in our own family to go "full-fledge" with the celebration of Martin Luther and what he did, however next year, I'll be ready. {smile} Be sure to visit their sites for some great ideas. Copy, paste them, print them out and put them in a folder so that you can collect great ideas and wonderful children's books about this historical, God-lead event to celebrate for years to come. Get together with other families who are also looking for alternatives to Halloween and have a Reformation party with costumes and everything. What fun!!!

2011-10-27T17:23:00.000-07:00

Dear Hailey,
Thanks for your sweet comment. As far as milk goes, I haven't found anything wrong with almond milk, but know that it is nutritionally different than cow's milk. Almond milk doesn't have the enzymes that a cow or goat's milk has. There are actual antibodies in the cow's milk as well, just as there are antibodies in breast milk. It's funny, if you think about it, you wouldn't take expressed breast milk and heat it to extreme temperatures right? All the good stuff is in the RAWNESS of it. So why in the world would you do that to any other milk?

Answer: So that supermarkets can place milk on the shelves for longer periods of time and make a profit because no one farms and "does" their own dairy anymore. We depend too much on the grocery stores for our food and grocery stores are slowly dwindling down to only a few running the whole show. When I was little, there were so many different kinds of grocery stores here in the state of Florida. However, now there are only a few that are buying the others out in a Monopoly-like attempt. Publix is the front-runner down here and who can beat Walmart's prices, right?!

If you'd like to try and locate some good milk for your family, try this website:

www.realmilk.com

Just click on your state and it will list all of the available raw milk providers in your area. Please note that there are many other milk providers that just aren't listed. I found our dairy farmer by attending a bee-keeping field trip with our homeschool group and found out that the bee keeper also sold his Jersey's raw milk. Our families have been friends for over 3 years now and we also purchase honey from him as well as load up our truck with manure for our garden from his horse stalls. He loves the Lord and has never had a problem with pathogens invading his milk. He's a dairy farmer and knows what he's doing. Get to know your local farmers. It's an awesome experience! Once you get to know your local farmers, SHARE the wealth girlfriend. :) Share with friends and family so we can stop paying the grocery stores. They want us to be 100% dependant on THEM and not ourselves. Let's prove them wrong!

2011-10-24T11:22:00.000-07:00

Milk...Does a Body Good (or not?)

Laugh if you will (city-folk), but the more I learn about pasteurized/homogenized milk, the more I wish for one of these...

a sweet Jersey cow who produces out-of-this-world, healthy, creamy milk. The more I research and find out, the more I've observed its link to cancer, especially breast cancer. Not to mention the high hormones that are suggested to allow young ladies to develop earlier and the enormous links to heart disease. Last I checked, heart disease was the number one killer of Americans, with dairy (cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc.) contributing to it.

Call me crazy, but I've actually looked into miniature Jersey cows! They're half the size of a standard Jersey breed and oh, so sweet. They don't produce as much milk either, but that's okay. The rBGH hormone is a hormone that stimulates a cow to produce more and more milk. At least 80% of cows are treated with this hormone each year. Organic dairy cows are supposedly not treated with the hormone, but the pasteurization process still encourages obesity and heart disease. (People don't realize that pasteurized skim milk is more apt to make you fat than raw, whole milk...healthy fats can actually help you LOOSE weight along with other natural fats like almonds, salmon, avocados, etc.)

So, I'll let you know if my husband ever gives me the "OK" to get a female Jersey calf. (I won't hold my breath...he-he.)

2011-10-21T11:16:00.001-07:00

Mystery of History Anyone?
So, we've been using The Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise this year for our History lessons, but what I'm most disappointed about is the fact that it's not Biblically-based. There's some Bible events included, but many are skipped. Bummer. Didn't know that upon ordering last year. We do have a Bible Time in the morning when we work on character traits, Bible verses, read Scripture, etc. but as far as Bible History, I feel let down by TSOTW. Anyone ever used Mystery of History? I've been jumping around on their website and really like what I see so far. I know Veritas uses it as their curriculum and I've only heard good things. It is so important for us as a family that the kids learn the truth about HIS-STORY and the true chronological order in which the world was set. The more I learn about classical education and timeline learning, the more I wonder why in the world would traditional schools not do the same? How confused students must feel as they jump around from country to country, different era to different era and graduate clueless as to what happened and when! (I know I was confused as a traditionally-schooled graduate.) Just sayin' is all. {smile}
Love this timeline that another fellow homeschooler created with their family. What a treasure to hold on to and keep as reference for the future. I do love reading nursery rhymes, Playdough and all the fun Early Childhood Education we do (don't get me wrong...love this stage of my kids' lives and I know I'll miss it when it's gone), but I'm very much looking forward to when they're all able to create things like this! Too fun!!!

On another note...Rob and I got to go on a middle-of-the-week date to see Todd Wilson speak last night at a local church. He was hilarious. I have some things I want to share about that in a future post so don't let me forget, okay?

Blessings and enjoy this beautiful weather on this beautiful weekend!

2011-10-18T11:28:00.000-07:00

America's Public Schools

2011-10-18T10:36:00.000-07:00

Large Family Logistics Annotations

So, I ordered Large Family Logistics over the summer and had it read in a little over a week. I couldn't put it down. Kim Brenneman is a mother to a large family (9 children, I'm pretty sure) and she wrote this book for her daughters so that someday, they may take her advice, learn from her life as a mother and glean what they can as they too become mothers someday. I love they way Kim shares the ups and downs of being a mother, how she remains Biblically centered, quotes Scripture and how she breaks down the book into several specific chapters on raising a family, keeping a home, homeschooling and basic managing skills. So many girls today are not being taught the simplistics of keeping up a home and running a family. It's sad, really. We're too busy! We're too busy to teach some of the most important things our little girls will need to be truly successful in life. Thanks Kim for writing this and I hope to collect one of these books for each of my own daughters and give it to them as they ready themselves to raise a family, God-willing. *Please note that this book is not for mothers who have 9 or more children. Although I have four, I found this book totally applicable and would find it applicable to any mother no matter how many children you have.

I've written down annotations for the book and this post, I'll share chapters 1-12 (scroll down if you don't want to read the chapter titles). The chapters that are covered in Kim's book are as follows:

Chapter 1 - The Wise Woman

2 - goals

3 - Systems

4 - Self-Discipline

5 - Attitude is Critical

6 - Where Does the Time Go?

7 - The Interrupted Day

8 - The Psalms-Your Spiritual Multi-Vitamin

9 - Give Your Children a Work Ethic

10 - Repeating Yourself?

11 - Teaching a New Chore

12 - Rejecting Me-Centeredness, Redeeming Time Alone

13 - Life with Littles

14 - Baby Balance

15 - The Family Dynamic

16 - Your Own Personal Spa

17 - Dress for Success

PART TWO

18 - Your Home Management Book

19 - Laundry Day

20 - Kitchen Day

21 - Office Day

22 - Town Day

23 - Cleanign DAy

24 - Deep Cleaning

25 - Gardening Day

26 - The Lord's Day

27 - Tea Party Day

28 - Morning and Evening Routines

29 - Meal Time Routines

30 - Table Time

31 - 15 Minutes of Phonics

32 - Quiet Time

33 - Read Aloud Time

34 - Afternoon Chore Time

35 - Bathroom Management

36 - Bedroom Management

37 - The Children's Hour

38 - Family Worship

39 - Home Crafts

40 - Homeschooling the Large Family

41 - Health and Wellness

42 - Teh Playroom

43 - Feast Night

44 - Meal Planning

45 - Project Day

46 - Pregnancy and Preparing for Baby

47 - The Buddy System

Appendix A - Coping While Exhausted and Overwhelmed

Appendix B - Moving Beyond Survival Mode

Chapter 1: The Wise Woman
Breaking down the Proverbs 31 woman.
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Colossians 3:23-24

Chapter 2: Goals
Set clearly defined goals for yourself and your family (with your husband, of coarse).
Some goals may be...learning how better to train your children, growing spiritually in the Word, goals in marriage, exercise, hospitality, etc.
Write them down. Have steps planned out for each goal. Make them monthly, focusing on one per month if you like.

Chapter 3: Systems
Kim shares on how to work through a new method while teaching a new thing:
1. Show them how to do it, demonstrate the protocol.
2. Watch them do it, giving correction.
3. Let them do it unsupervised with you checking later, and give further instruction if needed.
4. Require independent work with occasional checks; if they begin to be sloppy (they are human), then start over.
“Systems don’t work if you don’t work the system.” (Kim’s husband)

Chapter 4: Self-Discipline
“You can have wisdom on how to rightly live and have the most refined set of goals and well-tuned system in the world on how to get there, but if you don’t pursue your goals and implement your plan, your ideas are next to worthless.” Kim

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

Be like Jesus!

Chapter 5: Attitude is Critical
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23
Jeremiah 17:9, Psalm 119:10, Matthew 15:8, Numbers 14:18 (anger), James 1:20 (anger)
Obedience is a CHOICE!
“I once heard a speaker at a mother-daughter retreat tell us mothers to get in line with Jesus and that our daughters would follow our lead. If our children see us being Sunday Christians, then theywon’t take Christianity seriously, and church will just be a Sunday social club.” Kim

Chapter 6: Where Does the Time Go?
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under the heaven.”Ecclesiastes 3:1

Kim shares how to break down your day and tips for managing time wisely.

Chapter 7: The Interrupted Day
There will be days when things don’t go as planned. There are interruptions, but you have to make the choice whether to recover and get back in the saddle, or sulk. Attitude is everything!
(Note: I had one of those days yesterday when we had a totally fun-packed day, but we came home and the house was a MESS and I had to get dinner ready and the house cleaned in 1 HOUR. I pulled the troops together, we tidied up the house and I made a quick dinner. We also had enough time to light candles, put on some dinner music and set the table with pretty dishes. Rob never knew our day was so chaotic! I was so close to just having a “pizza night” and cleaning after the kids went to bed, but we pulled it together and we recovered. So happy we did.)

Proverbs 16:1-9…An interrupted day is God’s plan for the life of a mother!!!

Chapter 8: The Psalms – Your Spiritual Multi-Vitamin
Go to sleep with a Psalm. Wake up to a Psalm. Even if you can’t have an in-depth study to start or end the day, at least get some of the Word and some prayer time in.

The “I’m Stresses Psalm”…(131) O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.”

Chapter 9: Give Your Children a Work Ethic
“The principal cause of boredom is the hatred of work. People are trained from childhood to hate it. Parents often feel guilty about making children do anything but the merest gestures toward work. Perhaps the children are required to make their beds and, in feeble and half-hearted fashion, tidy up their rooms once a month or so. But take full responsibility to clear the table, load the dishwasher, scrub the pots, wipe the counters? How many have the courage to ask this of a ten-year-old? It would be to omuch to ask of many ten-year-olds because parents have seriously asked nothing of them when they were two or three. Children quickly pick up the parents’ negative attitudes toward work and think of it as something most sedulously to be avoided.” – Elizabeth Elliot

Kim laughs as she has read chores suggested for multiple ages from other sources. She says, “Scraping hog floors didn’t make the list?”  She touches on how farm kids work hard and have a lot of dirty work. Hard physical work builds character. Practicing character traits happens with work and provides opportunities to see the rewards. She also touches on how boys need physical work (chopping firewood, mending fences, pruning trees/bushes, digging holes, etc.), start YOUNG so it’s habit-forming and expected, don’t expect children to do the quality of work that an adult would but to encourage them to do excellent work. Study God’s Word and what it says about work. Set a goal such as going for a treat when the work is done well. Older children will help teach the younger ones attitude, character traits, and the chore. Be sure to teach the older children WELL. Teach children to be helpful when you visit others’ homes or social events. Teach them to ask the host/hostess “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Some verses on work:
Proverbs 6:6
Proverbs 10:26
Proverbs 13:4
Proverbs 14:23
Proverbs 18:9
Proverbs 20:4
Proverbs 20:13
Proverbs 21:17
Proverbs 22:29
Proverbs 24:30-34
Proverbs 26:13-16
Proverbs 27:1
I Corinthians 4:2
Philippians 4:13
Colossians 3:22-23
II Thessalonians 3:10
I Timothy 5:8

Motto: “We work before we play.”

Chapter 10: Repeating Yourself?
We fall into this habit a lot, repeating ourselves louder with each direction when children should obey the first time we ask. We are busy moms and we’re great at multi-tasking, but child discipline isn’t something that can be multi-tasked. We need to stop and focus. We need to train ourselves to hear ourselves. It’s hard, but repeating ourselves is training our children to continue in disobedience.

Train children to respond with “Yes, ma’am” when they’ve heard you give an instruction. That signals to you that they heard you. Make eye contact with them if you have to give the instruction again so that they have clearly heard you.

When men focus their attention in loving or disciplining a child, it is beautiful. We need to take a lesson from the men here!

Role play attentiveness!

Perhaps you are instructing a child and there is bickering going on the next room. Assuming there’s not a major crisis, focus and finish with the first child. Then go to the bickering children and give instruction and discipline there.

If you have a friend whose child-rearing standards are different, and who brings you down, get some space from her. Misery loves company, and you need to choose encouragers to be with, not the miserable. Don’t be the one who drags others down; be an encourager! (Prov. 13:20b) Spend limited time with that person because bad influences will undo your children’s training.

Chapter 11: Teaching a New Chore
“Inspect what you expect”

1. Tell them
2. Show them
3. Do it with them
4. Supervised practice
5. Independent practice

Do not expect a child to do a chore well when you have only done the first two steps with them. It can take a long time to get from Step One to Step Five, depending on the child and the specific chore.

Make it a fun event…the teaching of a new chore. Celebrate with a treat!

You should never treat your children like slaves or your personal minions. The goal is to raise a godly seed.
Don’t complain…Philippians 2:14
Do your work unto the Lord…Colossians 3:23
A cheerful heart is good medicine…Prov. 15:13
Do more than the minimum required…Colossians 1:10

Remember that attitude is everything and little eyes are always watching you and how your attitude is towards work.

Chapter 12: Rejecting Me-Centeredness, Redeeming Time Alone
Motherhood is a life of sacrifice; it is a life poured out for our children. So what are we to do to get some space from it all? When we are honest with ourselves, we know that it is not “Me Time” we need or a “Girl’s Night Out”. Children are not a burden to escape or endure; they are a blessing that drives us to Christ because we are incapable of parenting well without Him. God is who we need. While there are helpful strategies we can employ in order to have a more peaceful day with our children, the number one thing we must do is to deny Self and cling to the cross.

Early morning silence can be a balm to the soul. Sit by the fire with a coffee/tea and Bible in hand. God doesn’t always give us a beautiful start to every day though. If kiddos are up early, read the Bible to them. Deuteronomy 6 (the Sh’ma) is always great for the whole family to appreciate God’s gift of beauty and quiet in the morning.

Naptime is also another good time to have quiet time to yourself to read the Bible, do a quiet craft or take a nap yourself. Keep your focus right by honoring God with your Quiet Time. Yet don’t let Quiet Time itself become an idol.

Evening…your bedside table is a good place to keep those most important things to rejuvenate your life. Your Bible and a prayer journal should always be there awaiting you.

Relationships – Make Jesus your best friend! A stay-at-home mom can easily miss the interaction of friends and it can be a lonely job at times. It can also be the best job in the world.

Friendships – There are good ones and bad ones. The Bible is chocked full of examples.

I love how Kim breaks down relationships/friendships…God first, then husband, then nurturing our children. Don’t let friends take over these relationships. There’s a reason God has set family relationships as priority. If friendships with other mothers are taking over our relationships to our God and immediate family, then we need to prioritize. However, if you’re never leaving home to fellowship with other like-minded ladies as well as older sisters in Christ, then you won’t have a chance to grow such as Titus 2 says. If you find that your friends are not making godly decisions, you may want to rethink that friendship. (Romans 14:19; I Corinthians 14:26)

*I'll be sharing remaining chapter annotations in the future so stay tuned! ;)

2011-10-17T12:04:00.000-07:00

Cinderella Girls...

2011-10-14T11:29:00.000-07:00

Morning Breakfast
There's something so warm and cozy about morning breakfast, don't you think? :)
{Yes, I need to wash our windows...holy cow!}

2011-10-12T11:19:00.000-07:00

The Story of Selfish Sally {and Discipline}

There once was a woman named Sally. She was a wife to a great husband and three adorable children. Although Sally loved her family, there was something missing that she couldn't put her finger on. She claimed to discipline her children, but not Biblically. She had trained them to "be nice to each other" because it was the right thing to do. She didn't look to the Word for answers on HOW to train her children. They would fight constantly, but a time out and "be nice to each other" when it was over was the extent of it. She would spank her children, but not Biblically. She would discipline out of anger. She was definitely DONE having children and couldn't bare the thought if she had one more. It would put her over the edge. Children weren't a blessing to her. They were a burden. She couldn't wait to shuffle them off to school in the mornings so that she didn't have to deal with the fighting on and off throughout the day.

She would schedule "Me Time" for herself and look for ways to satisfy her needs instead of her family's. Although she loved going to get manicures and pedicures at the local mall (not sayin' there's anything wrong with occational manicures or pedicures), she thought she had the right to spend it on herself, even though she knew she should be saving the money they didn't have for that kind of thing for bills and groceries.

Selfish Sally had time during the day to do whatever she pleased and it usually revolved around her. She didn't take the time to look for good Biblical parenting books and try to discipline in a better way. She didn't read the Bible to search for answers on how the Lord wanted her to discipline. She wanted to run errands that she wanted to run. She had people she wanted to meet up with for coffee. She had friends to go shopping with.

Sally was almost worse during the summertime. She would sign her three kiddos up for every Vacation Bible School in the city. She couldn't wait until her children would be away for two weeks at a Christian summer camp miles away. And when August rolled around and it was time for school to start up again, Sally never hesitated when running into a fellow mom at the local grocery store to give a little "praise God school started up" (as her children were present).

The problem with Selfish Sally is that her "problems" are being dealt with temporarily. She may have some peace and quiet to herself during the day, but if she never learns to train her children in the way they should go, the lack of discipline will soon catch up. Her daughter's rolling of the eyes, "Whatever Mommy" s, fighting, selfishness, lack of self control and discipline will catch up with her. The little children will become big children. The little problems will become big problems. Her children will not have the boundaries that they need to become successful. Or worse, they could become good fakers who know their mother and father so well that they can mettle their way out of anything. They know to say "sorry" after an offense (with an almost meaningful look about their face) just so they can get what they want.

I know that when I became a parent, I really had to search out the Biblical way of parenting. If I'm being honest, I may have had a bunch of these same "Selfish Sally" qualities myself. However, I knew I only got ONE shot at bringing up my kids in the way they should go. In the beginning, there were so many times when I would discipline for the wrong reasons, out of anger or frustration, inconsistently, etc. But just like practicing for a marathon, studying for a test or learning a new skill, such is this of parenting. It's the MOST important job we'll ever have!!!

I know.

I remember longing to go back to work shortly after having my first child. I craved the approval of others. I was being offered the head of the English Department. I had students that loved me. I had parents that I got along with great. I loved my job! BUT as my little baby (who is now a whopping SIX years old) was growing, the Holy Spirit completely took over and convinced us of the lifestyle He wanted for us.

Ask the Holy Spirit Himself to be evident in your life. Ask Him to lead you in ways that God would want for your family, raising your children the very BEST way you can. It may not be the most comfortable way. It may not be the most convenient way. It may be a way that you're scared to death to change or tackle, but remember that God promises to give us strength for the tasks He has in store for us.

Philippians 4:13...

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Dig deep in God's Word for discipline. I know that I have been so blessed to come across the following books of wisdom from some God-fearing writers...

This blog isn't in existence to make people have a warm and fuzzy feeling. I truly enjoy sharing how our family is growing, learning and being pruned in various areas, but not everyone is going to like every post that is written.

As we look in Luke chapter 12 verses 49-53, Christ gives shares...

"Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division."

What qualities of Selfish Sally do you have? What ones can you change. What can you do better in your discipline to glorify the Lord more with your family?

2011-10-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

I don't think Blogger likes me, either that or my two-year-old has seriously reprogrammed something on our computer. Sorry the link to Doorposts doesn't work, but the website can be found here at http://www.doorposts.com/blog/. Just copy and paste instead. :)

2011-10-10T11:40:00.000-07:00

Doorposts Has a Blog
I just today discovered (via Facebook) that Doorposts has a blog. I knew they had a website to purchase all of their amazingly helpful charts, tools and information on discipline and parenting, but I didn't know they had a blog. Whoo-hoo! Lots of wonderful tips on organization, raising godly sons/daughters and so much more. Be sure to check it out!

2011-10-05T11:37:00.000-07:00

Happy 6th Birthday Avonlea!
Our sweet, firstborn turned a whopping SIX years old last week and I can hardly believe it.

Avonlea, you are such a kind girl.

Constantly putting others before yourself.
Your gratitude exceeds your age.

Your love for Jesus is evident in how you pray for others. I didn't think a young person could have such a relationship with Jesus like you do.

We love you so much.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Here are some fun party pics...

(Great Grandma and Isaac at Avy's pool party.)

(Grandpa, my dad, hangin' out in the shade.)

(Avy's cake...yes, Ariel is still pulling it off!)

(Passing out goodie bags.)

(Norah with some loot.)

(The weather that was about to come our way. We left just in time.)

2011-10-03T11:33:00.000-07:00

Isaac is 3 Months Old
Sweet baby boy...

You are growing up so fast.

You are watching everything around you for the first time.

Oh, what that must be like.

Everyday is full of first sights, smells and sounds.

You are growing up way too fast. I'm afraid to blink!

2011-09-29T10:54:00.000-07:00

Homeschool Time Management and Attitude

One thing I've come to realize with having four littles is that time management is key. When it comes to us (Rob and I) schooing our children, gardening, raising chickens, selling eggs/produce/vegetable seedlings on the side, participating in homeschool co-op, field trips, baking/cooking, keeping a house clean (or attempting to anyway...not my strong point in this particular season of life [smile]), finding alone time with my incredible husband of 10 years and keeping our marriage alive, kissing boo-boos, training children how to do chores and be diligent workers, cloth diapering (b/c is saves us A LOT of money not having to buy diapers, especially with two in them!), making runs for fresh, outta-this-world milk, time with Jesus, time training our children how to talk to and have a relationship with Jesus, family time and just time to kick back {whew!}...

BALANCE IS KEY.

I don't have much time to blog. I don't have much time to garden (I have a lot of catching up to do this weekend!). I have to prioritize and time manage more than I ever have before in my life (even when I was teaching in a traditional school, full time). I still find time for me though. (I'll be working more on my quilt tonight...so excited about that.) I have to schedule it. I also have to remember that ATTITUDE is so important.

I wake up thankful for the day, thankful that my husband has a good job, my kids are healthy and happy. I wake up thankful that I have the best job in the world, parenting, training and guiding my children in the Lord. I wake up expecting some spilled milk, a few sibling quarrells, a missing bunny, some boo-boos, some time-outs/discipline, a to-do list that may not get done, etc. and if I expect that, then when those things happen, we roll with it. If these things don't happen and our day runs a bit more smoothly (as all days are different just like any other job in the world), I thank God for the blessing of it.

If I'm being raw and honest, there are days. There are days when I've thought, "That's it! I'm shipping everyone off to a school building and day care centers tomorrow morning {knowing that I really won't}". There are days when I wonder if God will truly grant me enough patience for the day to be consistent in discipline with a toddler who is in love with the word "no!". There are days when I wonder if other families go through the same feelings and emotions that I do {knowing that they surely do}. Truth is, I know that every other homeschooling family goes through these feelings and emotions. Some more than others. It's a journey. It's growing our children the very BEST way we know how. It's not having the "mommy guilt" of wondering if I made the right choice. It's knowing that I'll never look back and regret taking the time to instill these values and character into our kiddos. It's hard work! It's praying with them throughout the day. It's the nature walks, the fun art, the snuggle time reading books {WE heart BOOKS!}. It's the baking {oh, the math you can learn through making a loaf of bread or some yummy cookies!}

When Rob and I started out on this crazy adventure, we had no one that we personally knew who did this. I felt very alone, but KNEW this was right. This was how God wanted us to raise our children. As months went by and I researched local groups, we found SO much {too much} to do and so many families we could connect with. People often wonder if our children are "social". {lol} There are times we have to restrain our children from continuing a conversation with an adult or friend. (That's one thing I've noticed about the difference between homeschooled children and traditionally schooled children. A homeschooler can have a comfortable, respectful conversation with an adult.) Although I didn't have a lot of personal friends who homeschooled, we soon found some. I also found comfort in some awesome websites and blogger friends who helped me organize our day, carefully choose curriculums, point us in the right direction as far as electives were concerned, show us how to implement character and consistent discipline into our children (not that we're perfect at it, by all means, still learning!!) and how to BALANCE and TIME MANAGE.

The reason for this post isn't to say that if you don't homeschool, you're "wrong". I simply wanted to share some of our joys, struggles and thankfulness for the help along the way. The Lord is our constant source of encouragement for everyday. At times of frustration, I merely remember that these are not truly our children. They are God's "on loan" to us to raise until the day we are all called home. There is a reason He specifically gave us Avonlea, Lincoln, Norah and Isaac. He knew that Rob and Kelli would be the best at raising these four specific children.
So, for all the homeschooling mamas (and daddys) out there, I wanted to be an encouragement to you today. I can only hope that as others have been there for us, we want to be there for others. We're still learning. We're still growing. We're making mistakes and learning from them. We struggle just like the rest of you and WE ARE BLESSED.

Galations 6:7..."Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

2011-09-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

Random Thoughts

Being the mom of four is so much fun. I thank God for my "little guys" everyday.

A certain black, lop-earred bunny got loose in our newly planted garden the other day and ate all my Rattlesnake pole beans. {insert groans here} Replanted with a new type of pole bean. Excited to try pintos this year.

Happy Birthday to my sweet first-born daughter who is a whopping SIX years old today! We had a pool party this weekend past and I was so honored by her thankfulness for the gifts she received, for the "thank yous" on the way home for throwing her a party, for the friends/family that could make it, etc. What a grateful little girl we have.

Still have cloth diapers to sew.

A family-friend is coming over tonight to help me learn how to quilt. It's been on my bucket-list for years and I actually called her a few weeks ago to shop for the fabric and get together to make it. I found the most darling picture of a quilt in a magazine and am going to try and replicate it. We'll see how it turns out.

Did I mention that we have 8 new little darlings at our house again? Yepper. Eight meat chickens that we're going to try. We ordered Freedom Rangers again and split them with the same friends. We'll be processing them in about 10 weeks approximately.

Chickens finally started laying eggs! Hooray. :) We're getting about 4 a day at the moment. Should start picking up quickly too.

It's amazing when a "Stay-at-home-mom" stays at home, oh the things you can get done!

Really enjoying the rain here in Florida during this time of year. We don't have to water the garden nearly as much.

Isaac has begun laughing and it just makes me smile watching him grow and learn.

Love our Bible Time in the morning together (the kids and I). We've been putting hand motions and songs to our Bible verses and repeating them each time we sit down for meal. Daddy gets to participate at the end of the day with us. I've made close to 40 Biblical character cards so far and we'll see how many verses our kids can learn this year. They love learning verses at AWANA, but they're not always applicable to what we're learning as a family and I've found that many times, my kids learn verses for the week and then quickly forget them. When we learn them as a family, they get more repitition and truly memorize them, applying them to our day to day tasks and discipline. I've seen amazing things happen in the past few weeks with our verse memorization. The kids really enjoy this time.

Re-did my Home Management Binder and I need to share.

Wish sometimes that there were more hours in a day, but know that God gave us just enough time in a day that He knows we'll need. What an awesome heavenly Father we serve. He really does know what's best for us.

Gonna go pick up and cuddle my baby who's now awake. Have a wonderful Tuesday everyone!

2011-09-23T11:52:00.001-07:00

Republican Debates

As I've been watching the Republican debates, so many thoughts run through my head as I'm trying to make mental notes of who stands for what, who said what and who has the same values that I have as an American conservative (notice I did not say Republican).

I wasn't really sure what all the "hoopla" was about Rick Perry. Some have liked him for the jobs created in Texas, but I'm still skeptical. It's not like it's just him creating the jobs. Still, hats off to the state of Texas for it. Not happy about his border patrolling. Exactly just what HAS he done? We need a few more details about how you plan on doing this and please stop saying that we just need to get "boots on the ground", because we all know it'll take more than that. Don't even get me started on your decision for vaccinations for innocent teenage girls. We need govornment to be SMALLER, not BIGGER. With all due respect, you make me nervous, sir. I also think he's spent way too much on his first trailer, um (gulp), I mean political campaign commercial.

I'm really enjoying watching Herman Cain and Rick Santorum. Not sure why we have Romney and Perry highlighting the stage with each debate. Let's hear more from decisive gentlemen who aren't worried about ratings, shall we?

Mrs. Bachman, I love how you hold America in your heart just as a mother should. I'm not too sure about you yet. I still think you lack a little confidence, but you've devinately got your "A game" going. I applaud you for your sacrifice in raising so many foster children though.

Ron Paul has some great ideas, but I'm not on the same pages with him 100% in everything. A little radical, but maybe that's what we need. Then again, maybe not.

Johnson, Huntsman and Gingrich aren't really in Kelli's playing field at the moment. With that said, thank you former Speaker Gingrich for your service to our country.

2011-09-21T11:31:00.000-07:00

A Classical Education...No Problem. We Can Do It!!!:)

2011-09-20T05:33:00.000-07:00

Character Breakfasts
I've been working hard this summer to put together a great character program. As I've shopped around, I couldn't find anything that I really liked and was BIBLICALLY based, which was of utmost importance. I wouldn't teach character without basing it on God's Word. Any child can learn how to share a toy because it's the "nice" thing to do, but I want it to be so much deeper than that. We share toys because God tells us "Blessed are the peacemakers" in His Word. Anyway, I've enjoyed making this curriculum and matching reading books, coloring pages, fun activities, Bible verses, etc. to our character traits. We have our Bible time in the morning at breakfast, hence why my kids are in PJs. :) Enjoy!

2011-09-18T07:37:00.001-07:00

Random Thoughts

Enjoyed dinner at Mom and Dad's last night...

lasagne, salad, bread and mom's homemade cookies.

Grateful my husband took me shopping for nursing shirts so I can be "decent" in public. Motherhood Maternity had some great bargains.

Garden is planted. I say "planted", but there's still transplanting that takes place a few weeks after everything sprouts up...moving things around so plants have enough space, potting things up,tweaking our new {so excited about this!!} sprinkler timer that comes on at the same time every morning.

Painted some signs for a vegetable garden seedling sale we want to have in a few weeks.

Getting tired of giving my hens pep talks to begin laying their eggs...any day now as they're reached the 20 week mark.

Our two roosters are now crowing away and it's so fun hearing them cock-a-doodle-doing as we're eating breakfast in the morning.

Isaac is growing, scooting, smiling and cooing and it's oh, so fun to watch him grow.

Had an interesting talk with Dad and the Holy Spirit last night. It's so neat to see how the Holy Spirit is working in others' lives.

I'm really enjoying reading "Shepherding a Child's Heart" by Tedd Tripp. I don't usually buy parenting books, but this one is a must read if you're currently disciplining children OR if you have a new baby and you're new to the world of parenting.

Sometimes, I feel overwhelmed with prayer. Do you ever feel that way? There are so many things on my heart that I want to lift up to the Lord, when I know He already knows my heart. He knows the outcome of every situation, every trial, every time of blessing and it's such a relief knowing that I don't have to list every one to Him. What a mighty God we serve!

Looking forward to the months cooling off a bit. The days here in Florida have been breezy and this morning, I looked at the thermometer in the garden and it said 78 degrees! So exciting.

Still need to finish sewing my cloth diapers...replacing the velcro. Thankful that Cotton Babies sent me 40 FREE velcro tabs.

So thankful for an amazing husband who works with me as a team as we train and teach the children God gave us. Sometimes it's hard. Some days require more patience than others. Sometimes are full of bliss and complete blessing.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

2011-09-15T16:32:00.000-07:00

"Questions Answered"
In the past week or so, I've had a few questions that can't be answered in a "quick post", so I've taken the time to answer via a long post tonight.

The first question was from Tessa at Aimed At the Heart and she asked:
"I'm so wanting to get more into homesteading and your blog is a constant source of entertainment and encouragement.
Any suggestions for a good book I could get? Homesteading for Dummies or something :) I know very little about gardening but we are dairy farmers so we've got milk and lots of space. I think it'll be such a great way to raise my family! So far I've thought about buying The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery, and The Backyard Homestead by Carleen Madigan."

{Sigh, here goes nothin'.} I have an addiction to books (we all know this) and most of them are gardening/agricultural/homesteading books. Some books have been given to me for birthdays and Christmases. Some books I have bought. I have read each one through at least once and many I keep tabbed for references in the future when I need quick answers.

My favorite books are:

The Self-Sufficient Life and How To Live It

(A great all-around manual on how to live sufficiently from gardening to soap making to dairy and building a self-sufficient home.)

Organic Farming Manual

(Another all-over great book that talks about everything, but in an organic sense. Not as thorough as the above book.)

The Southern Living Garden Book

(It takes each plant and breaks it down to tell you how to care for it.)

Seed to Seed

(A guide to storing your heirloom, non-GMO seeds [because we know that you can't store and save GMO seeds...they won't reproduce!])

Organic Gardening (DK)

(A guide to growing things organically and chemical free. A nice read, but not a necessity for your library.)

Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal (by Joel Salatin)

(This book...any book by Salatin, really...is a good read. Very informational for SERIOUS farmers and homesteaders on what's legal, what's not and why.)

The Backyard Homestead

(Great for someone wanting to get started and it shares how to lay out your homestead depending on how much land you have. It touches on everything from city life homesteading to having a few acres and managing things from there. It tells you how to keep everything from your own wheat and hay [feed for your livestock and poultry] to beekeeping, dairy goats/cows, keeping manure and rotating crops [because we all know that's the best way] and composting.

George Washington - Pioneer Farmer

Keeping Chickens

(A how-to on keeping chickens.)

The Wholistic Garden

Guide to Florida Fruit and Vegetable Gardening

(Only if you live in Florida will this one be helpful. We have a totally different gardening schedule than other areas in the US. We're tropical and "special" like that...smile.)

How to Store Your Garden Produce

(This is helpful if you have a cellar, but for Floridians who don't, it has some alternatives, but not enough.)

Preserving Food Without Freezing or Canning

(A great source to learn the old-fashioned methodologies of keeping food by burrying things in boxes in the dirt amongst elderberry blossoms all the way to drying fruit/veggies out on homemade screens in the sun. A very INTERESTING read!)

The

Art of South Florida Gardening

Neem - The Ultimate Herb

The Sheer Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer (by Joel Salatin)

You Can Farm (by Joel Salatin)

(Another great one by Salatin for those who wish to begin farming.)

Question #2 was from Rachel E. over at

Ladybug's Abode who asked:
"I loved watching the feather plucking. Where did you get the machine?"

The plucker is not ours, but belongs to our friends who helped us on processing day. There are MANY different kinds out there, some good, some not-so-good. There are also directions out there to help you build your own. Check out You Tube for some laughs as you watch some attempt to build them and many farmers using them for plucking processed chickens. Someday, we'd love to have one of our own, but we'll have to save up for that. Good ones start around $800.00 from what I've seen.

The other question was from Julie at

4 Sweet Sisters who asked:
"When do you all plan on planting? I'm totally ready but have been holding off for the weather to 'cool' down a bit."

We have already planted our garden, I just haven't posted on it yet(so stay tuned). In Central Florida, as long as the weather is in the range of 75-77 degrees at night, you're safe and things will germinate properly (taken into account crops are watered once a day, preferably in the morning before 10:00 so that you aren't assisting molds and mildews forming on your plants, especially squashes and cucumbers). The key is to plant as much as possible during the months of September until February as this is our "cooler" time to grow food. Summer is TOO hot (but you know this my fellow gardener...tee-hee).

I hope this helped answer some questions. Our family is still "new" at this, but we're happy to share what we've learned along the way. I've always appreciated bloggers who take the time to answer my questions as well.

Happy Farming!!!

2011-09-12T12:42:00.000-07:00

Getting the Garden Ready, Fall 2011

It's that time again. Well, actually it was that time a few weeks ago, but I'm just that late at getting my blog updated. Ug. Anyway, our family (Isaac and all) took a trip over to the farm where we buy our milk and we picked up some free manure from Mr. Lambert's manure pile. No, my kids weren't just playing in poop. The manure is a mixture of pine shavings and composted manure, meaning it's had time to mix with grass, leaves, dirt, the shavings, etc. It actually smells very earthy and is incredible for your vegetable garden. So, we stocked up by loading our truck and heading back home. The kids got to visit with the animals and the people that run the farm. A hot, but fun day!

Lincoln was a great helper. I've always heard the saying that farm kids are very hard workers and we sincerly hope that that's true for our children as they get older...that they'll know the true meaning of hard work and not be afraid to "get a little life on them" (as Danny Gokey says in his song "Get a Little Life on 'Ya".)
Norah had fun trying out the wheel barrow.

Avonlea mostly posed for pictures and talked (because she's not a social butterfly or anything...like her mother!) to Mr. Lambert, Mrs. Lambert and their hired hands.

A girl and her PINK boots. :)

Norah looking on as Dixie Lee gets milked. Dixie is a beautiful Jersey cow who is sweet and gives off great milk.

We got back home, mixed in the manure and were able to get up our more sturdy trellises.

Last year we used nylon, but our viners just weighed them down. After our series of storms this spring, some trellises broke and we decided that wire would be best from now on.

For some reason, Lincoln LOVES cucumbers and only likes to eat them whole.

Sweet Norah

Just about 90 degrees.

Rob making sure everything is properly fastened down.

...and that's a wrap.

2011-09-12T12:15:00.000-07:00

Homeschool Art
This year, I really went back and forth on if we should be doing any "formal" art or not. I browsed the two (no, there aren't very many out there) art booths at the homeschool convention and although I fell in love with the Atelier video-based program specifically for home educated children, I left it empty-handed due to the fact that it was a bit costly. I enjoyed the next day's classes and activities and found myself (yet, again) at the same art booth for Atelier talking with the representative about the fact that I have three small children and is this program really necessary. Well, after calling my husband and talking it over with him, we decided that we should go for it and give it a try. After all, it is the only homeschool art program that I found that I really liked and since I stink at art, I wanted a video-based series with an actual experienced teacher and this one had it. Can I just tell you that IT IS FABULOUS!

Every child of any age can watch the teacher and participate at their own level.

Here's the caterpillar (a lesson on different types of lines) on TV that the art teacher did.

My favorite thing to do is sit down on Monday afternoons and do art with the kids. We've had three successful Mondays (we do art on Mondays) of art class with the program and Avonlea especially never wants to put it away. They beg to move ahead to the next lesson.

The first lesson talked about lines and we drew caterpillars with all different kinds of lines. The second lesson was based off of Picaso's picture with the hands holding flowers, which we drew our own version of. The third lesson is using potatos (cut in half) to make faces (you mix the paint to your skin color) for a family portrait. The lessons are for preschool-aged children who can follow simple directions (which is what we started with) up to high school-aged kids for more in-depth lessons.
I just love how our house looks after "Art Day" as we've got paints, brushes, oil pastels, and colored papers everywhere. We usually do it at around 3:00 when the oldest two are up from Quiet Time and the younger two are sleeping, but for this video, we got a late start and everyone was up. Norah loves participating though and Isaac just sort of hangs out.

We also used this program for our mom's group homeschool room today and painted Picaso. The kids couldn't get enough and were still painting as parents came to pick them up. We also started a neat lesson on "The Family Portrait" by painting with potato prints for the faces and learning how to draw the features. If anyone local wants to visit our house on Monday afternoons to join in on some fun art, let us know. :) Hopefully, we'll post more videos in the future on the various lessons.

2011-09-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

Missin' Grandma

Dear Grandma,

We miss your amazing breakfasts of bisquits and gravy, pancakes and cinnamon buns.

(Yes, my son is in his underwear. He's 4, what can I say?)

We miss your hugs, kisses and smiles.

We miss the way you've taught us so much in such a small amount of time this summer.

What can we say? We miss you!!!

2011-09-08T13:51:00.000-07:00

Just felt lead to uplift this family today, a sweet family who kissed their darling daughter goodbye as she is now dancing with Jesus and safe in His arms. Please be in prayer for Jana, Charles and their family in the many months to come.

2011-09-05T13:44:00.000-07:00

Welcome To Our Zoo!

2011-08-31T10:35:00.000-07:00

Isaac at Almost Two Months...

2011-08-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

Chicken Processing, Summer 2011

As I mentioned months ago, we purchased 25 Freedom Ranger chicks for processing this summer. We split them with friends and this past weekend was our processing party at their house. With the exception of one previous rooster (who's name was "Jack"), we have never done chicken processing before. This day, we did multiple birds and pretty much everything went off without a hitch. There was one thing we did learn and it was concerning the feed of our chickens. When we showed up, our friends' chickens were twice the size of ours!! I didn't know Rangers were capable of growing at the speed that they did, but after much thought, we narrowed it down that our problem was the amount of feed they received. Our hens had competition, period. We had 14 veteran laying hens, 21 replacement hens for the 14 we were going to give away (which we did a few weekends ago...no fresh eggs in this house...sigh) and then came the Ranger chicks who apparently did not receive the full amount they needed. After the processing, our hens looked more like quail (insert laughter here!). It was a valuable lesson learned. Anyway, here are the photos of our day. We learned a lot, laughed, our kids played together and we got time to catch up with friends whom we miss very much.

Their hens awaiting execution

Our hens awaiting execution. Can you see the size difference? There are 4 turkeys in this brooding box which will be their Thanksgiving dinner this year. They were beautiful and will be organically grassfed.

"J" with Isaac

Rob hooking up the turkey fryer. Using the fryer (filled with water for relieving the feathers before plucking) allowed our water to maintain a constant temperature. We kept it between 125 and 145 mostly. Younger birds can stay closer to the 125, as the older birds need a higher temp.

killing cone and drainage bag

Norah watching

Avonlea

Rob, "J" and Mr. Jim putting up the shade tent.

processing

On the way to the killing cone. I was very impressed at Rob's professionalism. I know he was a bit nervous at first, but it quickly became a quick assembly line-type function and I think that helped.

Rinsing the plucker...no hand-plucking for this crowd. We saved so much time.

Stocking the freezer after we finished.

In the meantime, the kids came out and helped, but also enjoyed playing indoors as we processed.

It was a long day and we were tired, but we enjoyed some food, cold drinks and some Wii afterwards. I love the fact that our freezer has healthy, free-range, fresh chicken in it that we raised ourselves. No hormones. No antibiotics. Nothing artificial. I can't wait to get our large chicken tractor finished up (Rob's working on plans for one now). We're still trying to figure out the best plans since we don't live on acres of land. Our backyard is officially cleaned out of grass, but the tractor will allow for them to range in the front yard.

What a wonderful and blessed day it was!

2011-08-18T18:19:00.001-07:00

As the School Year Approaches...

...and for many of you, has started already, I'd like to kick things off with a bit of laughter. :) I received my book Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe by Todd Wilson today and after reading the first chapter, I'm already impressed and love it. There really are so many lies that we as moms believe. Someone else is always doing things better than we are. Can I let you in on a little secret? It's not a competition! There's also no magical magazine article, blog post or book that contains the missing ingredient you need to be that perfect mother and wife. It just doesn't exist. There is a lot of great information out there to help you in the process of raising your children, but choose carefully and don't fall into the trap that you have to "do it all". We've all been there! I hope this is an encouragement to you today and these cartoons by this wonderful (and funny!) homeschooling dad of 8 are a blessing and bring you a little chuckle.

Familyman Ministries

Mr. Todd Wilson, dad of 8

2011-08-18T10:39:00.000-07:00

Random Thoughts

Ahh...Thursday. It's quiet time in our home. It's peaceful. It's quiet. Just sitting down...thinking to myself.

Thankful for playdates with friends.

Enjoyed baking cookies with my girls this morning.

Wondering how this presidential race is going to pan out...we'll see if Rick Perry surpasses Romney and Bachman in polls as frontrunners. Not quite sure who I like best just yet. Just enjoying the debates that have started. I'm thinking (my my prediction) that since Obama has nothing positive to run on for his campaign slogan, he'll wait until the last minute to paint his opponent as a conservative "nutcase". If the other party is in fact a Christian (as many of them proclaim to be...praise God, there may be hope!), he'll turn to books he/she has authored and bring out the most controversial topics. Ahem. We won't mention the question asked to Bachman in the first debate about her being sumissive to her husband should she win the election. {sigh} I do think she answered perfectly though. Wondering if Paul Ryan will run.

I love sweet potatoes (currently eating one for my lunch)! Wish I would have tried them in the garden this year.

I'm awaiting some interesting books I splurged on this month. Can't wait to read them.

Looking forward to starting school with the kiddos, being back into a routine, starting up co-ops, mom's groups, etc.

Avonlea is starting a ballet class this year and it's run by a lady who loves Jesus. Her students wear very conservative, appropriate attire while dancing. There is prayer before class as well. We're really looking forward to it.

Isaac is doing well. Growing like a weed! He's struggling a bit now in going down for naps as we're letting him cry a bit and soothe himself. He's such a sweet baby and I adore him to pieces.

We've really been enjoying Grandma being here and the fun things the kids have done with her. She's leaving soon and we'll definately miss her.

Loving how our character program is coming together. Can't wait to start it with the kids at breakfasts in the mornings.

Praying for that "Restoring Courage" event that will take place in Israel in the next few days. Hoping it will bring peace and not bloodshed.

Looking forward to the days cooling off, kissing extreme heat and humidity goodbye.

Also looking forward to starting our garden in two weeks. Hopefully, temperatures should start cooling down a tad and getting into the higher 70s at night. Going from the 80s into the 70s assures me that it's time to plant and things will germinate properly.

Impressed with my son's ability to build Legos! He's come up with quite some amazing things lately.

Nervous about another major recession in our country. The stockmarket continues to roller coaster and is plumiting more and more. Wondering what would have happened if "Cut, Cap and Balance" actually passed.

I have about 40 cloth diapers that I'm working on taking out the velcro seams. Cotton Babies is sending me free velcro tabs to replace them...whoopee! By the way, if you've been reading here for over a year, you'll remember that I "lost" about 20 cloth diapers awhile back. Well, they reappeared in an old squeaky dryer we were getting rid of! I was so excited when I discovered them.

Wondering if it's actually "coveting" to want to not live amongst concrete, building after building and have more space. Struggling with being content with what God has given us. Extremely grateful though.

Norah is doing well with the potty, but we still have a ways to go.

Wondering what it would be like to have a basement. So many gardening/canning books talk about food storage in your basement, but us Floridians don't know what that's like. If we kept digging, we'd hit water! Just a tad frustrated. Someone should come out with a book about food storage for tropical climates who don't have basements.

Chicken processing this weekend with good friends we don't get to see often. They splurged on a chicken plucker, so I'm excited to see how the process will work. We'll be processing 12 of our own chicks and 12 of our friends'.

Made yogurt and canned strawberry jam last night. Looking forward to enjoying them.

We have a large, sunny part of our yard that we would desperately like to use in terms of more garden space. However, it's in our front yard and I'm worried people may steal from it. We can't put up a 6-foot fence since it's our front yard and I don't want to put in hours of watering, weeding, planting and care to have people steal from it. What to do...what to do.

Any suggestions?

2011-08-16T13:59:00.000-07:00

Lies Homeschool Moms Believe

Just curious if anyone has ever done this study before? I've been looking and I love how this one is described...

"You look around, Mom, and what do you see?
•Everyone else's kids are better.
•Everyone else's home is cleaner.
•Everyone else fixes better meals.
•Everyone else is more disciplined and more spiritual.
•Everyone else's marriage is better.
•Everyone else can do it all.
•Every other mom loves homeschooling.
•Everyone else is more capable.
•You are the only one who is falling apart and who feels the way you feel.

Why do you see those things? Because, believe it or not, everyone else sees them too, and feels the same way you do---the crushing pressure to meet expectations, to be perfect, and to at least keep up appearances when they can't. Let Todd Wilson draw back the curtain and show you what you can't see. Go behind the scenes with him and discover the reality. With gentle encouragement, anecdotes shared from his own life, and that lighthearted wit that brings such comfort and the relief of laughter to those who can identify, Todd will help you see the lies that bind you and steal your joy. You are not perfect---you may even be far from your ideal---but you are not a failure and you are not alone! Learn the truths that you need to lift your heavy load, take your joy back, and gain the courage and freedom to be real with others . . . and give them the precious gift of being able to be real with you."

What an encouragement that there's a study out there about how we'll never be the perfect homeschooling mom!

2011-08-15T11:42:00.000-07:00

When A "Bug" Hits Your House
I definitely consider it a blessing our kids haven't been sick in so long, but I guess we were "due" a few weeks ago when they came down with a virus. Lots of shakes with Echinacea, plenty of water and baths with Epsom salts and Castor oil (for hydration) helped us get through. We did wind up giving a bit of Tylenol to Norah (who had it the worst), but no antibiotics (remember that antibiotics kill off all the good stuff that help you fight things off) were necessary and we pulled right through. I also felt blessed that Issac and I were able to sail by without getting it.

(Thank you Lord.)

Movie Time on the couch

Sweet Avonlea with her pillow pet and bunny

Linkster

Poor Norah had it the worst, but got through it within about 4 days.

I took 4-6 of these each day and was able to pass up the lovely bug.

I also added Echinacea to shakes with lots of elderberry, Vitamin D and blueberries. They were a hit with the kids as well as myself.

2011-08-10T12:23:00.000-07:00

Just For Kicks!

2011-08-09T10:51:00.000-07:00

Newborn Scheduling

As most of you know, we just recently had a new baby added to our family. While there have been some stressful moments as I seem to not have enough hands at certain times of the day, having a schedule can make you or break you as a mother of multiple little ones. I'm serious. I have definitely seen the difference this summer as opposed to the school year. This summer, we have been very casual around here...watching more TV than I'd like, many more outings and hardly any schoolwork (I know, I know, I thought we might get more done, but that didn't happen and somehow I knew that deep down...ha!). When we slack more on our older children, I've seen a difference in not only behavior, but they have definitely been more bored (not that that's a bad thing...boredom sparks creativity and ownership over self-created projects) and they don't always know what's next. There's uncertainty.

Well, it's the same with a new baby. They're born into this strange world, new sights, new smells, new sounds, not knowing what time of day it is or that time even exists. As parents, it's our job to "show them the ropes" and get them worked into the family schedule. I've seen first-hand families who don't believe in scheduling. Children napping at whatever time of day they feel like it, napping in whatever area they wish, going to bed when they feel like it, wherever they feel like it. No structure. This not only makes life unpredictable for the kiddos, but parents as well. When can you schedule a time of no interruption each day that you can depend on to make phone calls, do laundry or dig into the Word and pray? This can bring about a lot of frustration on the parents.

Hence why I (just Kelli's opinion...to each his own) advise a schedule for every child at every age and stage of life. This includes a newborn baby. My pediatrician recommended this book The Secrets of the Baby Whisperer and I've been a different mother ever since. My newborns have also been a "different breed" as well. :) I've been able to successfully get them on a flexible schedule (I say flexible because it's not down to the same minute everyday, obviously) by around a month old. I'm seeing it in Isaac now and that's encouraging. He's 5 weeks and for the most part, on a loose schedule that I can depend on as a mother.

I'd love to share some of the major highlights from this book and hopefully, be a blessing to any other moms of new babies. (Please note that I am not a pediatrician and this is simply advice from one mom to the next.)

NOTES:

*During the day, don't let baby sleep longer than 3 hours as this may allow them to get their days and nights mixed up.

*Night time...By the time baby is 6 weeks old, feed him/her every 2 hours before bedtime (for us, this is 6:30ish and 8:30ish). Then "dream feed" (meaning no diaper change, burping, clothing change...don't even wake them up, just feed them in their sleep to fill their tummy one last time before bed.) This allows their bodies enough calories to sleep for a good 5-6 hours. This also makes for a great Daddy job. Then baby can successfully go to bed at 10:30/11:00, about when we go to bed.

*How Much Should Baby Be Eating?

4-8 weeks...nurse up to 40 minutes. This can vary with each child. My girls took longer to feed than my hungry boys who could eat in 10 minutes flat! (formula, 2-5 ounces)

8-12 weeks...nurse up to 30 minutes (formula, 4-6 ounces)

3-6 months...nurse up to 20 minutes (formula, 5-8 ounces)

*Growth spurts usually happen every 3-4 weeks and last around 48 hours. Baby will eat about every hour and after the growth spurt, sleep a lot. ;)

Sleep Needed Per Day:

Newborn - 16-20 hours...nap 1 hour in every 3 hours; sleep 5-6 hours at night

1-3 months - 15-18 hours until 18 months...nap 3 times a day, 1 1/2 hrs. each nap, 8 hours at night

4-6 months - nap twice a day, 2-3 hours each nap, 10-12 hours nightly

6-8 months - nap twice a day, 1-2 hours each nap, 12 hours nightly

8-18 months - nap twice a day, 1-2 hours each or one 3 hour nap, 12 hours nightly

E.A.S.Y. Schedule

E stands for Eat

A stands for Awake

S stands for Sleep

and Y stands for Yourself

This is the schedule you can keep throughout the day with your new baby...he/she should Eat, then be Awake for a while (45 mins. to an hour), as baby starts showing you signs of being sleepy (yawns, eyelids becoming red and drowsy, cranky crying) place baby in a safe environment (crib, bassinet, etc.) with no loose blankets or stuffed animals (suffocation) with dimmed lights and we always use a fan for white noise and drowning out the noise of other siblings. ;) Then you have time for Yourself to sleep, get a few things done or just relax with a glass of sweet tea and a book. Ahh!

*Remember to read your baby!!! He/she will show you signs of what kind of mood he/she is in. Sometimes, they just want to be talked to and paid attention to. Isaac is very much this way. He LOVES attention and can often be soothed with a conversation with Mommy or a song from big brother or sister.

*Remember that a bad habit takes 3 days per habit to break, so don't give up when breaking a habit you want to change.Don't try one strategy one day and a different one the next. You'll end up encouraging the very behavior you're trying to change!

Finally, a peek into our newborn schedule:

7:30 - Isaac wakes up...I'll usually sing to him, change his diaper, feed him and dress him. He then hangs out with us until he starts showing signs of being tired. Often, we're going on an outing just in time for his nap, so he will sleep in the car.

When he wakes up, diaper change and eats. (Remember the EASY schedule.) He hangs out until we all go down for quiet time/naps in the afternoon in which I'll try to keep him awake until then. One thing that I found very helpful (brownie points to my sister-in-law for sharing this with me when we had Norah) was that it's okay to let your baby cry for a few minutes when you put him/her down for nap. Think about it, they're changing positions from a nice warm, comforting embrace of your body to a (probably) cold blanket/sheet in their crib and the motion of putting them down mimics a falling type movement. It usually always wakes them up. We tried letting Norah cry for 3-5 minutes with each nap time when she reached about a month old and although it was hard hearing her cry, after about a week, she went down without a problem and it was so nice to know that it was her nap time and she would just go down for nap! Easier on her and me. It's also okay to go in every so often, rub baby's tummy (my babies always like their foreheads stroked and a light "shh" sound) letting them know that you're still there and they're not alone. A pacifier can also help soothe. Stay patient with this as it can be harder on mom and dad than your actual baby.

Isaac usually takes a long afternoon nap and then wakes for a feed, diaper change and plays until a short evening nap around dinner time. Wakes, eats, diaper change and then a bath around 9:00ish. I'll feed him again after the bath and then a "dream feed" right before bed as he's still sleeping.

Each day is different. Some days harder than others. Some days Isaac throws me totally off (especially last week during his growth spurt). Just be in tune with your baby and read their cues...sucking on hands and a "Whaa" type cry can mean they're hungry, a more cringed-type cry can mean they have gas bubbles they need to get rid of.

Having a newborn can be such a sweet experience. Pray every morning for God's guidance and wisdom as you parent your new little bundle. Be patient, be patient, be patient! Blessings to all you new mommies!