Blog Archives

Randomness on Late Friday Evening

1/31/2014

Let's see... what randomness can I post about

1. sleep alludes me tonight. I'm tired, yet I feel wide awake....This is annoying as I need to get up early tomorrow morning to go out of town....

2. I have plans to go out of town tomorrow because I need to pick up some rabbits. Not my rabbits (though I may be buying one). But rabbits that people don't want anymore and can't find homes on their own. These plans may be changed as we're supposed to have a BIG storm tomorrow. Time will tell if we can get out the door or not.

3. I went skating with my boy today with the homeschool group. We had fun but a fair number of people weren't there today.

4. My son is enjoying studying the Names of Christ with me. I asked him if he wanted to do another study of something when we were done this. No, I don't think so mom... then five minutes later... what kind of study are you thinking about mom? I said "I dunno, I figure we'll find something.". :)

5. Oh.. watched a movie tonight about Sam Childers and the orphanage in Sudan. I don't know how much is true or not. There's mixed reactions if you check on-line. All I know is ...wow... A man tried to do something to help children and it was MEGA difficult. Did he fall down on the job? Perhaps, perhaps not. I can't judge, I haven't been there to see what's happened. But the movie was interesting and makes me wonder what I would have done... He was uniquely qualified for the job though. A man, used to weapons, going in to a war zone, and had this heart for children in need.

You can find more randomness by heading over to the Pebble Pond. :)

Five Minute Friday: Hero

1/31/2014

We write for five minutes flat. All on the same prompt that I post here at 1 minute past midnight EST ever Friday. And we connect on Twitter with the hashtag #FMFParty (It stands for Five Minute Friday Party).

No extreme editing; no worrying about perfect grammar, font, or punctuation.

Unscripted. Unedited. Real.

It started because I’d been thinking about writing and how often our perfectionism gets in the way of our words. And I figured, why not take 5 minutes and see what comes out: not a perfect post, not a profound post, just five minutes of focused writing.

So now on Fridays a group of people who love to throw caution to the wind and just write without worrying if it’s just right gather to share what five minutes buys them. Just five minutes.

Your words. This shared feast.

Just remember, the one rule is that you need to read the post of the person who linked up before you. And tenderly unwrap their words and share a note in their comments.

Today's word is HERO.

Three
Two
One
GO.

The picture above is of my parents.
I can't always say that I had an easy relationship with my dad. We are too much alike in so many ways.   Quick temper, independent, strong-willed, stubborn, fast and firm love, blunt, easy laughter, and so many other things. :)
But one thing about my dad is his faith.
He knows and loves God surely.
Has he struggled with his faith?
Most definitely, particularly as his health began to fail... starting with a hip surgery that went badly in SO many ways.
But did his love for God remain firm?
Did his love for my mom remain sure?

Yes.
I see my father and I see me in about 30 years... and I hope and pray that my faith is as strong and sure as his is.   That God will surely sustain me as he does my dad.

And my mom.... wow.... she sticks to dad like no one's business. Her love for that man is so strong and sure, just as her love is for God.   She depends on God every day to see her through... through my dad's struggles with being confined to a chair and a nursing home. She loves her family fiercely.

I can't say that as a child she was an inspiration to me, but once I got past myself as a teenager I saw her more clearly for who she is... an inspiration to love as strongly and fiercely as she does.

And so I learn and grow because of not one, but two heroes in my life.

And that's a good thing.

STOP.

Oh Sorry.... almost forgot to tell you where to find us. We're over here at Lisa-jo's! :) Join us won't you? It's only five minutes out of your day. :)

A Hip-Hoppy Day

1/29/2014

My lovable lad this morning had REALLY really good intentions. Mom, we're going to do good homeschooling today right mom? So we are done right after lunch right mom?

"That's my plan lad" says I.

"GOOD. come on mom.. let's go". Please says the lad pulling me by the hand up the stairs...

(That should have been my first clue). :)

We bounded upstairs, licketty split and did the names of Christ amid many questions and distractions (second clue) .. as usually he's very focused on getting the letters down for the names very carefully and thusly is very quiet. What does this mean, what does that mean? Mom.. I don't know that word...

We moved over to the book room so we could work on reading and math.. well... Let's just say an eager boy child suddenly turned into a cat!   A cat who wanted to play and have fun and bat at things and quelling that playful cat was JUST not going to happen.    We did read our science book, we did complete a couple of think it through problems, we did manage to get our reading done...but doing all this with a cat (in the form of a boy) is a very difficult task.

Combine that lack of attention with a mom whose body is rebelling against her supper last night and I said.. okay.. GO PLAY. You can play until I find a lapbook or some pages we can do on Johann Sebastian Bach. (we started reading a book on great composers yesterday) so I want to help cement some of that learning.

So he plays, I visit the bathroom and look for info on Bach.

Here's what I've found thus far.

Homegrowner Learners.
Bach Composer Study.
Lots of items on Pinterest.   More here.
DIY homeschooler.
Homeschool Share.
Making Music Fun.
Stephanie the Journey. and here's part 2.

We learned a lot about Bach, and listened to music by him as well. Hopefully my son will gain some appreciation for him, and for what his music brought to the world. :)

Blogging through the Alphabet: Q is for Quash

1/28/2014

This is my boy....and he's in many ways all boy... eager to fight and defend, expresses his love in physical ways that sometimes alarms his mother and is just a fun rambunctious lad.   He makes my heart smile in so many ways.   He can be careful, considerate, helpful, has great recall and likes to learn (except for math).

BUT because he's a rambunctious lad of eight, his thoughtfulness is not always there as he whacks me across the back with a sword or pounces on me from the bed, or falls on me when he plays dead after a sword fight.

I have to admit.. there are times when I wish I wasn't a 48 year old woman! Oh my... I"m NOT in shape, I'm not physically always strong or up to sudden tackles and I talk much with my lad about BEING careful, DON'T hurt me, but I don't want him to be afraid of just loving up on his mom in the manner in which boys love up on their moms.

I don't want to quash his spirit or his willingness to just be a boy who is full of life and laughter and conversation and joie de vive (if I have my french right).

I find it a bit of a challenge sometimes to say "I love you to son but you need to stop it". But I don't want to say stop it to him all the time and sometimes that's how I feel. That I am always saying stop it, enough now. I'm raising a singleton who doesn't have other children close by to run off energy and boyness with, so how do I help a lad do that?

I don't always know and am looking for suggestions.
This afternoon I had him run up and down the stairs 10 times.
I have him sit on a exercise ball when we do book work.. which sometimes has some interesting results. :)

But what else can I do with a boy who likes to be physically involved with a mom who isn't always up to the challenge? (He's SO not into sports so that's not an option for me, not that we can afford to put him into a regular sports event).

I don't want to quash his spirit, I just want to manage his exuberance just a little.
Any thoughts out there?

Join with us at BenandMe as we continue to blog through the alphabet. It'd be great to have you join us. :) This week the letter is Q.

Making Cookies with an Eight Year Old Boy

1/28/2014

Amidst the getting of ingredients and the mixing

and has the joy of...

But the victim soon revives...

And when the tasting is done, and the cookies are made....

As a watchful eye, this boy he keeps.

It's all in fun... as share he will .. with beloved dad as chocolate mom can't have.

But just ONE more comes the cry I hear

As into the mouth it disappears... :)
We had fun and the lad had SO much fun posing the choosing pictures for this post. :)

Oh.. the recipe we used

1 cup butter , softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 egg s
2 tsp. vanilla
2-1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 pkg. (300 g) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Instructions

Heat oven to 375°F.
Beat butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla in large bowl until light and fluffy. Stir in flour and baking soda until well blended. Add chocolate chips; mix well.
Drop tablespoonfuls of dough, 2 inches apart, onto baking sheets.
Bake 10 to 12 min. or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheet 3 min. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

Go check out other recipes over here at Try A new Recipe Tuesday.

Review: The Calling of Emily Evans

1/28/2014

I just finished reading a book entitled "The Calling of Emily Evans". It's another book that my mom gave me in her stash of books. It was about the sister workers of the Missionary Church during the 1920's.

At 222 pages Janette Oke wrote an easily read book. I finished it in two nights. It was interesting enough to keep me awake and when finished to do a bit of research of my own on these sister workers.

Some of them lived in horrid conditions and had to work awfully hard just to survive. In this book we saw some of the hardship that Emily went through, trying to reach people for the Lord and her success in starting a small church.

Janette Oke brings her characters to life and makes the stories she tells real. I could almost imagine sitting down to a cup of tea and store bought cookies with Miss Emily. It was clear that Emily didn't have all the answers, but she had excellent human resources she could call upon in case of need, but she still needed to manage her day to day affairs as best she could. It called for hard work, determination, a steadfastness to the call God placed on her life, and her faith in God. This is all evident throughout the book.

Well written, worthy of a read. :)

Review: Blessed Assurance

1/24/2014

I recently read a book called Blessed Assurance. In the introduction to this book the author wrote the following and it was like he was speaking directly to me.

But this book is not primarily about how to be saved. This book is about how to know that you are saved. And it is personal to me. I have walked through false assurance of salvation. I have struggled with doubt. I now know blessed assurance. When it comes to assurance of salvation, I have been there and done that. But I do not merely speak from experience. The Word of God is our authority and it is there that we find Truth.

Product Information.

Book: Blessed Assurance
Product: I reviewed a PDF version. comes in paperback and on kindle
Author: Eric Douglas
Length: in PDF 66 pages, in print 37 pages
Price: that information is not yet available.

My Review:
A short book packed with biblical reference, the compassion and care of the author for our salvation comes through very clearly. I felt as if I were sitting next to a man of God who was so concerned for my life and well-being for eternity.

Three tests: upward call of faith, outward test of change, inward test of knowledge. All three work together to give assurance of salvation.

It is a short, succcinet book that aims to do one of two things.
1. help the struggling believer rest assured in their salvation or
2. convict those who are resting on only one of two tests of salvation of their need for true faith in Christ.

It's a good book.
I highly recommend anyone read it and apply it's principles to your life.
It would also be a good guide for those who are talking with others about their salvation, and the assurance they may or may not have it.

Review: Let there be Light

1/23/2014

A picture book that delighted my lad to look at and provoked laughter as well. :)

Product Details.

Book: Let there by light
Type: Hardcover, children's book
Author: Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Illustrated by Nancy Tillman
Length: 26 pages

My Review:

This review in done on behalf of Booksneeze.com. :)

I sat down to read this with my boy, he's eight years old and still gaining confidence with his reading. Between the pictures on the pages and alternating the pages we read, he was able to read this book and understand what he was reading as we went through it.

He loved the pictures.
He laughed at the cat and the mice. :)

I could see much younger children demanding to have this book read to them several times, it's quite a nice book.
It only deals with the story of creation and is fairly accurate to scripture.

Easy to read for the emerging reader.
Great pictures.
Makes a child laugh in delight.
Just a good book.
Yes, I recommend it. :)

Review: The Ruby Ring

1/23/2014

Romance, mystery, history all rolled into one package. Well written, makes you want to read more to find out what happens. This is the book "The Ruby Ring".

Product Details.
Title: The Ruby Ring: Tyndale's Battle for an English Bible
Type: Soft cover
Author: Karen Rees
Publisher: Crosslink Publishing
Type: Historical Fiction
Length: 423 pages

My Review:

I read this book, on behalf of Bookcrash.com, over a period of four days, each night staying up later to read it until finally last night I just HAD to finish it and so I stayed up quite late in order to do so.   Karen Rees did a good job writing this book. Lots of historical detail a compelling story is told.   I was impressed with how well the author brought to life the struggles that Tyndale had in bringing the English bible, and how divisive the whole process was.

The main character is Jane Horne and the relationships she had with various people, William Tyndale is a secondary character but we hear much of his struggles.    Various events happen in Jane's life that further the story of getting Tyndale's English bible printed and available for the people.

One aspect I missed in this book that I've read in other historical fiction is what the true facts of the book are and where fiction took over.   I always appreciate that in other historical fiction and had looked forward to that section but was disappointed that it wasn't there.    It would be lovely if such a section where present in future books that Karen Rees might write.

Well-written, historically detailed, excellent read.

Would I recommend reading it?
Definitely. :)
It was a good read. Provides good information that makes this part of history come to life. A nice way to learn this part of our past.

Homeschooling Essentials, Day Four: Affording the Homeschool Life

1/23/2014

Welcome to day four of the five of blogging about homeschool essentials. :) Today I am going to talk about affording the homeschool life.

I was originally going to call this post, let's talk about money, and it is about money, but it's about more than that you know. It's about time and family and money and... well, kinda everything. :)

It's about the time you spend as a family... Time spent together. It's take it's toll sometimes doesn't it? I know in my household I crave silence... I just crave time to my own thoughts without any background noise. I live in a household where hubby often works best sitting in front of the tv with it running some show or other as he types out his sermons, or works out thoughts for sermons, or simply puts together an agenda. He works best with noise. Then I have a lad who likes to talk and play video games and talks as he builds with his lego. Like his mother, words come to him easily. And don't take me wrong, I love having my son and hubby around almost all the time, but I also relish when hubby needs to go out on visits or to a meeting as then I can more easily control the sound in the house. :)

It's about family.. whether it be your church family or your birth family or extended... Homeschooling sometimes means it's harder to be with family. When you have things that need to be done, and family lives 1.5 hours away and you can't do it in the car... sometimes you just need to plan out your days really well and sometimes things just can't happen as often as you would like. And then there's the family expectation that children should be reading well by a certain age, or being doing everything at grade level or should behave perfectly all the time, or be more fiercely independent. It's balancing out expectations and needs and wants. Sometimes it is a bit of a challenge to work out, particularly if you have ill members who do need and deserve your time.

Visiting Dad in the nursing home. The love my parents hold for each other continues to amaze and encourage me. :)

There's also the financial aspect of things.   Most homeschool families that I know are single income family. One parent works full-time while the other cares for and teaches the children.    It means there are things you simply can't afford to do. Bills that take longer to pay off, curriculum you can't afford to buy and budgeting that needs to be done.    It's just the way it is.

When you are in situation where your pay gets cut or you lose your job it makes it harder to continue to homeschool when it seems like you have the option to send your children to public school and get a job to help pay off the bills and such like.    But if homeschooling is what you are called to do, then you figure out how to make it work.      There are lots of frugal ways to homeschool available on-line.   I have some of them listed on my pages.

In our household we raise critters for pets and show. We have rabbits, guinea pigs and mice. :) My son raises the mice and sells them for $1 each. We jointly raise the guinea pigs and I raise rabbits. :)    This not only teaches my lad animal husbandry/stewardship but how to manage his money, his time, and teaches business skills. Just like when he grows vegetable plants in the spring and sells them as starter plants.     The show aspect of the rabbit world encourages him to learn good sportsmanship, listening to rules and presenting himself and the rabbits well. These are all useful skills for him to develop.

Raising our animals is a rewarding hobby that also helps to make ends meet. It is what works for us.

my lad's rabbit at last summer's show

Different families have different pulls and stresses on their journey into homeschooling, figuring out how to manage them is an essential part of the journey.

What are things that you have to a balance as you work to afford the homeschool life?