Jun. 27, 2008
a quiz taking kind of afternoon.........
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Jun. 24, 2008
odds and ends.....what we have been up to
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Last Friday, the four youngest, Samantha and I went back to our old corner of Nebraska to help a dear friend celebrate her eightieth birthday. Nebraska is looking lovely, so green but apparently the crops are having a hard time with all the rain. A trade off I suppose. Lovely this year but next year there will be more water for irrigating. I guess.......mostly I am clueless about gardening stuff. LOL It was wonderful to be with Theola, and see many more old friends. We stayed overnight with a friend on her farm, and spent Saturday morning feeding and riding horses, playing outside, having a great time. I came back feeling more relaxed than I have in awhile. I thought it would be sad to pull back into our current town, but there was a good feeling there too. I know this is where we need to be for now. There are good things our family is doing here. I think eventually we will go back to Nebraska, but it felt good to look around and realize this is home for now. Monday the two oldest boys went off to Scout camp for the week. They are not bad boys at all, but I am surprised how much more mellow the house is without all that teenage boy energy. I hope they have a great week, doing great stuff and meeting great people. Last night, we went out to eat as a family, such as we were. We seem to rarely do this anymore and I remembered why last night. My younger five are terrible in public! LOL, yes I can laugh about it. My oldest four, we received such compliments on their public behavior but the younger ones, I guess we got tired or something. Their bad behavior actually made me want to take them out even more. Maybe a few trials runs at home, practicing using best manners, but definitely lots of practice out in the world. They are cheerful, good natured, obedient children, but a bit on the wild side......... We went to the party store to choose invitations and a pinyata for Jessica's sixth birthday this Saturday. Then Walt took some and went to Home Depot for wood for shelves, and I took Jen, dd 13 and Sarah dd 4 into Ross'. Walt had given Jen money for new clothes and she was eager to spend it. I was proud of her....she had planned out what she needed, and divided her money into a budget for new tops and new jeans. I like what she bought. And she saved enough to go to another store on a shopping trip with her sister. Which was a nice gesture I thought. Those older two girls are dramatically different in personality and that does not always make sharing a bedroom easy. But how can you fight while shopping for new clothes? LOL Sarah enjoyed the shopping a little too much I think. That one is going to be a budget breaker as a teenager. She got lost once and we found her in the shoes, her eyes big as saucers and her face glowing. Oh dear. LOL Anyway, there were two exhausted parents by the time we reached home. So, we were tired but the middle three....Jen, Thomas and Joshua had approached me earlier in the day with a proposed "science experiment".....what happens to the human body when it does without sleep for three days. I give them credit for understanding their mom enough to know which approach would work. I said fine though the mom in me wanted to say "are you crazy? you need your sleep". I knew it was just a pretense to stay up late and goof around, but that is what summer is for. So Walt and I went to bed, left them in charge of herding the younger three into bed. This morning, the "baby" (he will be three in Sept) was in bed with us and everyone else in their own beds. Walt says they stayed up no later than 12:30.  LOL. Today is going to be so incredibly busy. Tired already, just thinking about it. Bed tonight is going to feel awfully good. |
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Jun. 19, 2008
My two little princesses
Posted in family life
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My two sweet little girls last night........I was sitting in bed in the dark with Sarah waiting for Jessica to finish getting ready, enjoying the few moments of quiet with her. We had already had her bedtime prayer. She always gives thanks for the same three things.....our home, her mom and dad. As three things go, I suppose those should be on the top of a four year old's list. I told her that was a good prayer, those were some good things to be thankful for, let's see if we can think of some other things she could be thankful for. She listed a couple of things,, then Jessica bounced into bed. We heard Jessica's prayer and then Sarah said she wanted to say another prayer. She said "Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for my beautiful Mama, name of Jesus Christ, Amen" I said, because I had been half asleep honestly, "did you just thank God for your beautiful Mama?", she nodded happily and received several hugs and kisses. Jessica said "I said that too, except I said it in my mind and I said "very beautiful" ". Well, I was not about to tear that apart and gave her several hugs and kisses too. I always wanted seven children, five boys and two girls. I feel like I received two extra little princesses and I am thankful for them. |
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Jun. 17, 2008
Father's Day
Posted in family life
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For Father's Day this year, I decided the thought was the present. The father in our house is notoriously hard to choose presents for. He would rather have the gift of the money still being in his checking account, LOL. So I decided to go simple but fun. I bought cool but manly patterned card stock and stickers for the five youngest to make their own cards. A set of camping stickers, a set of tool/building stickers, some seashells, zoo animals, and an amusement park/carnival set. Fun things Daddy likes to do with all of us. And then I bought cake mix and premade frosting. The children helped me make the cake and then decorated it themselves, with several tubes of colored frosting. It was a wild cake! Before bedtime, Jessica thanked me and said I had made it the "best Father's Day ever". Which made me feel I had stolen some of her daddy's thunder but also reminded how simple things are the best and bring my children the most joy. I was thinking about my dad this weekend. I called him first thing in the morning but he was working, part of his crazy several days on, several days off schedule. I forgot to call him later. But we were going on the thought this Father's Day and I certainly thought of him. Maybe I can call Mom and make sure he reads my blog later. this was my dad as a teenager........  from his days of being a young father to me   In his soldier's uniform. He was in the Air Force for 22 years.  It is fun to look back and see him so young, but this is how he looks now and for most of my life that I can remember. (he kind of went bald very quick, don't think my mom was expecting that when she married his young self) I don't think he turned out half bad.  There is a song that plays on country stations now and then. I do not listen to country music, not after having to listen to Conway Twitty and Willie Nelson as a child, country music makes me a bit twitchy, but I am a channel changer and every now and then it stops on a country music station playing a not so bad song. There is a song by Alan Jackson Smalltown, Southern Man that reminds me of the small town southern men that I have been blessed to have in my life. My Dad being the chief one of them. I have to admit I get a little teary when it comes on. In many ways, it is him, and where he came from. He is a good Dad. He was always very involved, quick to take us places, to talk to us. He was a good sounding board for me as a kid as I tried to sort out the world and how I felt about it. He has been a good example to me of always learning, never becoming complacent in life with what you think you know. He has many interests and always has some new thing to talk about. We share many of the same interests,like politics, geneology, history. I guess I can blame him for my love/obsession with sci-fi because he made me watch the old Star Trek with him. While I still do not have a love for Captain Kirk (the way he jerks while making "meaningful speeches" is makes me want to hit something) but that started something that brings me great enjoyment. We are not very expressive in our family. I mean, I am with my children but with my "original" family, we are not. I think Dad is the most expressive one of us. He can be very kind. He can also be a grumpy bear (another thing I inherited...eek) but the next time you see him, all is forgotten, blown over and done with. He never held it against you, never made it difficult to re-approach him. I have been blessed in my life with many people who have loved, cared for and shaped me. But today I am writing about my Dad. The older I get, the more I think I become like him. Which would have appalled me as a teenager, but pleases me now. |
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Jun. 13, 2008
I love summer
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Since summer began, i have noticed the amounts of hugs, kisses, "I love you Mama" and even "I am so glad you are my Mama" have doubled. More than doubled, they are abundant. I was thinking about that today and why. I think I am more approachable, more spontaneous and just all around more fun. We make lemonade on a whim, we go more places, we sit around and watch more cartoons (Little Bear and Max and Ruby are still the big time favorites) . The other day, we made play dough and on a whim, I decided to add Kool aid, for color and for smell. That won me big points. My kids are so simple, LOL, just like their mom. The gentlest breeze blows away all the storm clouds.. We are watching my favorite show right now (Jon and Kate plus 8) and Kate one upped me....she made edible playdough. Trumps the Koolaid. Jessica looked at me and said "Oh Mama......." Equal parts powdered milk,honey and peanut butter. My mom used to make them and roll them into little balls for snacks. Never thought of it as edible play dough. Sounds like fun though. :) |
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Jun. 11, 2008
Nebraska prairies vs. Colorado plains
Posted in My stuff
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or maybe I should call it, blooming where you are planted. Even if it is just in a pot rather than in nice,loamy ground and you know eventually you are going to be placed on a different porch. And have to accustom yourself to new lighting and temperature conditions. While trying not to drop all your leaves in a shameful manner. I have had a terrible attitude about living in Colorado. Colorado is a fine place. My children love it. My husband at least likes it and wants to buy a house here. I could say plenty of nice things about Colorado and they would all be true. I miss Nebraska. I try not to say anything to my family though my friends hear plenty. With nineteen moves in twenty years and the moves in my childhood as an Air Force family, I have lived many many places. Nowhere ever stirred my soul like living on the western Nebraska prairies. That beautiful rolling land with different shades of green and gold. There is something about seeing all the fields with crops, the grasslands with the cattle grazing, and then here and there, a gathering of trees, offering shade and rest that make me feel nurtured and cared for. Like everything I would ever need is right there. It calms my heart and stills my anxious soul to look over those prairies. I felt I belonged there. Yet,here I am. Not there. Here. I noticed yesterday that the sunflowers are starting to grow. Little things, by summers end,they will be everywhere. The trees and the grass was green. The crops just starting to grow,not even knee high yet. (there is no lovelier sound in the fall than a field of dried corn stalks rustling.......). Yet,here I am. Maybe this is a silly hope, but God has been very good to me so far in my life. Among other things, I have always had the ability to move on. To let go of places that I loved and fall in love with the next place. I loved Connecticut. The mad,crazy green of such an urban space. The pure rich colors of the trees in the fall. The beautiful old buildings and houses. Yet we moved on and I fell in love with Indiana. The rolling hills, the Amish country, the wonderful snows. Then we moved on and I fell in love with western Washington state. The rain forests that look almost primeval with the tall, tall firs and the ferns growing underneath them. The volcanoes we could see from any tall bridge and that we camped right beside. The blackberry vines that grew everywhere like kudzu in the South. And many more places that each had at least one bit of charm about them. For some reason, I cannot let go of Nebraska. I yearn to be there, I still feel it in my blood. There was another time I was dealing with feelings I felt were holding me back. I prayed earnestly to have them removed, to have peace from them. My answer was "no, they have a purpose in Me". These feelings about Nebraska, I keep feeling there is a purpose in them. God led me there and perhaps He will eventually led me back. In the meantime though, here I am living in Colorado! Life is meant to be joyful and I need to find the joy. No answers to that today,other than joy in my family. And joy in my house that already feels cozy and happy. |
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Jun. 11, 2008
lessons learned from a hard trip
Posted in My stuff
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Yesterday was a very long day. The three oldest ones, Jessica and I left at five yesterday morning to travel back to our old town to empty out the last storage room and bring it all home. If you can drive normally (fast), the drive is five hours. Since we were hauling a trailer there and back, that time went up to six and a half hours. The morning was not so bad. It was cooler and we had more things on our mind to talk about. We reached our storage room, and had the trailer loaded in little more than an hour. Life was looking good. We had a couple of errands in town and we were on the road. We left Ryan and Logan with friends for the week, so it was just me and the two girls. Originally, I thought it would take several, at least three hours, to load the trailer and the van. My dh wanted me to do the trip in one day. Because timewise, I could. He could, rather. I knew though, that I never manage to drive that many hours in one day and add the packing the trailer part in, I felt certain we would stay overnight. Having the trailer loaded so quickly made me think maybe I could do it all in one day. I felt a headache coming on,but I told myself it would be nice to sleep in my own bed that night and have today to rest. So we pushed on. Within an hour into the trip, the hot, hot trip because our air conditioner belt broke over the winter with all our driving and we have no plans to fix it, my head is starting to truly ache. One hour and a half into the trip, I start getting nauseous, because that is what I do when I have a headache. And being overheated was not helping of course. Samantha seems to be doing fine, but poor Jessica was a miserable wreck. This was not the fun adventure with Mom she thought it would be and nothing we brought to entertain her was the least bit interesting. We stopped and bought some ice cream. Oh dear. My original plan was popsicles, but the gas station/convenience store only had ice cream. I was so hot and flustered and aggravated, I forgot I was lactose intolerant,in my old age. I will never forget that again, I tell you what. Never again. So by the time, we reached Denver, I was a mess,physically and emotionally. Because I hate feeling that I am incapable to taking care of my responsibilities. There is a panicky feeling that comes over me when I feel that my life is bigger than I am. Like I will not be able to keep everyone safe and healthy like I am supposed to. Then they blocked the toll road and made us exit. I thought it was the straw that broke the back but now, I think perhaps it was divine providence. We went into Super Target. I threw up, sorry for the TMI and Samantha very sweetly took Jessica into the toy section and brought her a new toy and then into the candy section and brought her some treats. In both cases, we all felt better. By now,they have unblocked the road and let us on our way. My head still aches and my tummy is still not on solid ground,but mostly I am just overtired and in an emotional loop where I was sure everything would always be overwhelming. I kept hearing a little voice whispering that after a good night's sleep, I would be fine and strong and capable again,but I was not listening. (Silly me, because here I sit after a good night's sleep.......) Walt convinced me that Samantha could handle the driving, Samantha reassured me that she could handle the driving, I let her drive. But only after we left Denver. Which was ridiculous because she is better at driving in Denver traffic than me, because she is young and sees it as an adventure and does not get overwhelmed and emotionally overwrought like her silly mom, may that ever be the case in her long and happy life. We did make it home and the first thing I did was collapse on top of my dh and start crying. Confused the heck out of him I think. Why would she cry once everything was fine? I can hear him thinking. Then I threw up again, again sorry for the TMI. And then got a bag of frozen mixed veggies out of the freezer, plopped them on my aching head and went to sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night, with my stomach nicely settled but my head still aching, and the other side of the bed empty. Apparently the children had been up roaming around, because usually Mom makes sure she is the last one asleep just because of this and she was in bed with corn and lima beans on her head. So, Daddy got up,yelled a bit (I had a dream about that) and laid down on the couch. I took my headache medicine and went back to sleep and slept until 7:45 this morning. !!!! Late for me. It felt lovely. What I would do differently and what I learned. When praying before this trip, I felt strongly that I needed to convince Walt to let me make it in a day and a half. I knew and God knew that it would be too much for me. I did not act on that prompting and I learned some things. Just because here lately I have been getting too many comments about looking young for my age (who doesn't love that at forty?) , I have been rather vainly and arrogantly letting myself forget that I am in fact older and not as strong as I used to be. I used to be fierce. Not in temper, but in energy levels and will. I never gave up, I never quit. The last two pregnancies took that out of me. God knew that about me and tried very sweetly to help me. The amount of love and understanding He has for us,and the help He is willing to give us in this life always astounds me. Next time I will remember to listen and not overburden myself with more than I can take on. |
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Jun. 4, 2008
sweet ending to a troublesome day
 The past few days we have started a routine, the youngest munchkins and I, of going outside just before sunset and riding bikes in the cooler evening air. Desert air at night feels wonderful after the hot,dry day. The sunsets are beautiful over the mountains. Last night my dh came home very late from work, the oldest six were gone for midweek youth activities at Church, so it was just me and them. While we were outside, Daddy came home and that caused a great deal of excitement. We came inside and while I finished a few things from the day, he baked cookies and made fresh lemonade with them. They let me have some too. With the fresh cut lemons, a fresh clean smell reached me all the way in the back room. I came running out thinking someone was playing with the spray cleaner, LOL. Nope,the real thing. The older children were home by now. Bedtime routines. I have been trying to be more faithful with bedtime stories too and last night we started The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe which must be my favorite book to read aloud. Jessica has only seen the movie so she was very excited. We were reading Winnie the Pooh, which is another of my favorites, so much good humor which Jessica got but Sarah did not. Wonderful peaceful ending to a not so peaceful day. And today is Ryan's 17 birthday. He already received his present, a sweet cell phone with lots of features so today is just about the cake. And for lunch, we are going to have a picnic down by the river.  |
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Jun. 3, 2008
Posted in education
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I had one of those conversations today at the park. The sort where you try to explain to non-homeschooling moms how and why you homeschool. Why did I do that? I know better, usually I can see it coming and duck. It started as a compliment, as it usually does. "your children are so great. It must be so hard to homeschool all of them with all the different age levels" For some reason, I found myself explaining how learning comes all in forms, how we do not have to be sitting in front of textbooks to learn and all the fun ways we do things. Oh dear. So then, she very cautiously asks me about testing. (there were a group of moms gathered from our church for a park day.......oh that it could have been a random stranger I will never see again) By now, I can sense the mood around me and my shackles are up. I am a good girl but I am a bit of a rebel too. And very stubborn. "No we don't test" "Doesn't the state require it?" said in the tone of "surely the state monitors these people and their weird ways,please tell me the state monitors......." Very stubbornly and with a touch,just a faint touch of arrogance, I say......"Well, if you are teaching your own children you know where they are. You know how their multiplication skills are coming along, you know how they are reading, how much they know about history. You don't have to have someone else tell you those things".  The conversation ended there with just an "I see". Then she and another mom beside her start talking about the "wonderful" advanced school program the other mom's son is in, and how they worry about burn out but they are watching him very closely and wow,with this program it really takes dedicated parents to make it work for the children, and how great it is that they learn so much,so hard and fast. They are "stage whispering" to each other, but all of us are listening. Dead silence. Everyone knows I am getting spanked. LOL but not LOL. Eventually, probably only those eternal two minutes that last forever, the conversation resumes again. We start talking about babies. Honestly,when she starts talking about "learning so much so hard and fast", I thought "what the ***mild swear word that is found in the Bible*** point is that?" Our gentle sort of rambling ways...........my children know Shakepeare and medieval Europe, they read books like Ivanhoe, Don Quixote, Les Miserables, Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, The Scarlett Letter just for fun. They know American History.....not just what happened but the ideals our country was founded upon. They know what the founding fathers were aiming for and why. They have read the Constituion. We never studied spelling or grammar but they are all gifted writers who mastered the language through literature and writing and being corrected. They know science.......wow,do they know science. They constantly surprise me, their ps taught, college graduate mom with their understanding of the laws of science and how it affects and explains the world. And.......... They know how to cook. They know art. They know music....classical, jazz, 80's new wave and 70's folk (LOL....I have warped them). They know mechanics....how to fix things and create new machines. They all play musical instruments. I know I am getting defensive, but my shackles are still up...........what the heck more could have been gained by pushing them hard and fast? I know much of this is from different lifestyles. I have very deliberately chosen a different path for my family and in so doing, turned my back on many of the things that are so important to them. More than just if my children learn at school or at home. The pace of our life is different, the things we fill our time with are different. Except for the technology buzzing around us, we are living a life from a different time, more like Edwardian England (I am thinking Mary Poppins...........maybe Little House On The Prairie is more accurate) I guess maybe I made them feel defensive too. Which I would not have truly wanted to do. Ultimately it is sad.......at least I think so from my perch. I love our rambling days............ |
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Jun. 3, 2008
Posted in family life
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Today is definitely a "count the hours until bedtime" day, at least so far. It is only 9:32 am so I guess there is hope. One of my favorite shows is Jon and Kate Plus Eight, about the Gosslen family who have eight children under the age of seven (twins and sextuplets). At the beginning of every episode, while they show images of children playing, laughing, having meltdowns, you hear Kate's voice "today I may very well lose my mind". Today I may very well lose my mind. Usually I watch that show and think my nine children look easy compared to hers. Last night I was watching and thought.....we need discipline, we need a schedule. I am not a schedule person. I am not a discipline person. I firmly believe "teach a man correct principles and he will govern himself". For most of my children that works beautifully. But.....everyone is different, aren't they? So today trying to start this family on a schedule. Trying to teach teenagers that speaking to Mom in that tone is not acceptable. Not fun. For me or them. However, if I have learned anything at all over the years, is that good things usually start out like this........MISERABLE. For now, the schedule involves two things......our morning routine (clothes, bed, chores, healthy breakfast) and continuing on with our summer program. Then I will work on more orderly bedtimes. Then maybe going on in public....... I don't know. This is a family, not a military unit. I had a dear friend in the last place we lived who loved our family and told everyone (or so I heard)...."those older children are so helpful and polite......and she is so patient with the younger ones". Not that the younger ones were well-behaved, just that I was patient with them. I thought it was funny, I still do. But maybe....I could be patient and they could be well-behaved all at the same time? Today I could very well lose my mind........... |
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Jun. 2, 2008
Posted in family life
Finally, an update on the kids. And they have been doing so much lately which needs to be written down before it is forgotten.  Levi, who is 32 months,has recently taken back up wearing underwear and doing very well. He was fully trained in January but with all the moving, regressed and had no interest. Now he is doing well and not only that but has finally learned that toilets are not for playing in. We are all so relieved. I guess finally using it for the correct purpose brought that home for him. He looks down at the water and says very sternly to me "that water is nasty, do not play in it". I nod very solemnly back and agree. While doing the happy dance in my mind. He is at a dead heat with Joshua for being my most conversational child. Every time you or he walks into a room, he asks how you are, and replies pleasantly when you ask the same. He asks how you slept, if you had good dreams, in fact, he spends the day asking questions and truly listening to the answers.   Sarah and Jessica are becoming very best friends. They have always been friends, but now they play together all day long, usually some imaginative game that they create together. They never seem to tire of each other. They compliment each other and look out for each other. I always think this is what sisters are supposed to be like.   Thomas and Joshua have finally caught up on their reading. They are not advanced for their age but they can read scriptures, newspapers, cookbooks easily and smoothly and are reading books for enjoyment now. I did not realize what a burden their being behind was to me personally (I was always thinking about how they needed this skill for life) until it was behind us. They are both so very smart, I really enjoy watching them learn and putting new things in front of them.  I feel hesitant to even talk about Jenny, afraid I will ruin the improvements I have seen in her lately. She is much more friendly in the family (that "eat snails and die' look was pretty standard when this picture was taken).....takes an interest in all of her younger siblings and if she still fights with the older ones, it is never around me. She does not seem to find me nearly as annoying as she used to, though I guess I have my moments. She is going to a church youth retreat this summer and is excited about it. I guess the difference between twelve and nearly fourteen is a big one.........  Logan is doing well. He keeps his own counsel mostly but he is a good young man so I cannot take issue with that too much. He plays the piano beautifully, mostly self taught. There for awhile he was playing from this classical/jazz book, songs like "Maple Leaf Rag" by Choplin, and whoever wrote the Peanuts theme song. He and Ryan have been doing yard work for a couple of families around here and making their own money. I firmly believe the answer to raising teenage boys is keeping them busy with hard physical labor. It is not natural for boys their age to be staying at home with the women and children and I think they feel that deeply. Yet, I am not about to throw about fifteen years of hard work raising a good man by throwing him into public school just so he will have some place to be during the day. He turns sixteen in five months......then he can start working. Luckily, he and Ryan have three different church youth retreats this summer and at least one week long Scout camp. That will help them feel engaged. Not that he is hard to live with, you can just sense the "caged animal" feeling. When he turns sixteen, he can start at the local community college too. There was a funny situation yesterday. I guess funny depends on who you ask. I needed Logan to stay home with the five younger children. I was teaching a class, Samantha was playing the piano in the children's group, Jennifer and Ryan were both receiving callings (being asked to be class presidents....there is a semi-formal ceremony involved). So it had to be Logan. Logan was called to be his class president last week, so he had responsibilites but his were the least pressing of all of us. And Walt was at work. Was Logan ever mad at me. Not yelling, he knows better than that. Just being stubbornly stoic. I laughed to Ryan, Samantha and Jenny on the way to church that all over children were fighting their parents refusing to go to church, but my son was fighting mad because I was making him stay home. He rebels by being more righteous than me. Sometimes I appreciate the irony of that, sometimes it annoys me immensely.........  I already wrote some about Ryan already. He is a good kid. Sometimes a bit smart alecky.....it is rough being smarter than your mom and still having to listen and obey. He is just so darn competent, just like his dad. He turns seventeen in two days. He has recently starting dating and enjoying that. Not any one particular girl, just friends, even double dating sometimes. He is such a geek. I admire his ability to be his own person and swim upstream, but yes, he is a geek. John Denver is his favorite singer, everyone always thinks we are kidding about that. Nope. He rides the unicycle, juggles, makes balloon animals and plays the harmonica. He wanted a sharper phone for his birthday, researched and found a phone he liked. Lots of features, very techno savy. Including being an MP3 player and with FM transmitting capability so you can wirelessly play your songlist on the car radio. What did he load his memory with? John Denver, the Chieftians, and church music. What a wonderfully odd teenager. This is a list of what he carries about in his pockets...... a pen, a harmonica, four bucks of change, phone, comb,marker, pen(one of those old school ones with four colors of ink) , chapstick , a pirates coin and a toothpick holder. In the back pocket, wallet, notebook, calculator. He used to carry a small roll of duct tape but he found that his body heat messed up the adhesiveness. And he lent out his pocket knife and it was not returned. He jingles when he walks but anytime you need something........Ryan has it.  Samantha has so much going on in her life....very good things. She recently came back from a month in England. She is starting college this fall. And in January, she is leaving for Russia to teach English to school children for five months. So many good opportunities/blessings coming her way....... |
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May. 31, 2008
Posted in My stuff
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After writing two weeks or so about being dissatisfied with my blog, I spent some time, probably a ridiculous amount of time LOL, thinking about this, what I expected from it, what I wanted to give to it. For someone who started off feeling more than a little self-absorbed two and a half years ago when I started blogging, I fussed and worried over it far too much. I decided what I truly wanted to talk about was my nine wonderful children. To record what we do, how we grow,those moments that get lost because I never will sit down and write in a journal. I enjoy reading though some of my old posts, remembering fun days, seeing how far the children have come. The children read my blog now and then too for the same reason. And maybe, just maybe, to show anyone stumbling upon this, that large families can be wonderful. Though I think the Duggars have covered that in a much grander scale. So I changed the name from Along the Way to Finding Joy(in motherhood). It changed the focus just a touch, at least in my own mind and I feel more at home on my own blog. And then........LOL, I had to go and start another blog, about cooking and recipes and menus. Just one entry so far. And then.......   .......I have ideas for another blog, about trying to go green something I have wanted to do for awhile and now that we live in Colorado, has become an irresistible force. I mean, Vitamin Cottage is right down the road! That will take a lot of effort, many,many small changes and I thought it might be good for me anyway, to record those changes and how we do. I thought I could call it "It's not easy being green". I tossed that idea to my kids.......they stared at me blankly. So I sing the song,in my best Kermit voice......they stare at me with shock, amusement and just a touch of horror. What they missed by not being a child in the seventies.........Maybe later in the day, I can write an entry about something other than my self-absorbed blogging obsession LOL, like how those nine children are doing............ |
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May. 28, 2008
Posted in My stuff
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The summer plan, into day two, is better than I even hoped. They actually love the list,and are having fun planning what they will do. Yesterday Joshua taught Jessica and Sarah a math lesson,which was somehow twice as fun as when Mama does the exact same thing. Thomas planned an art activity for the younger children....helped them make their own books and then draw a picture story in them. Thomas made us all breakfast this morning. Bedtime was so easy.....I usually get very cranky, it is like being ringmaster of a circus, organizing bathroom time, dragging along the stragglers. It is only day two, plenty of summer left for the novelty to wear off but hey, if I get a good month of not nagging out of this.......joy. So, around the house this morning.......there is that wonderful summer feeling. Relaxed, easy yet full of time to have fun, do what you want, do new things...........we are actually all a bunch of geeks. The History Channel was having some Civil War marathon yesterday......we watched them all. And then last night we watched PBS about some African tribe having problems with termites. Summer is fun because we do all the learning things.........but because we want to. I think we would be great unschoolers.......this is where I am thinking about heading last year. With the children sorted out, I am thinking about how I want my summer to go. This is my chance to work on my projects, have a bit more free time.......what am I going to do with it? I have some ideas but this list might, hopefully will, evolve over the summer...... Camping.........we have a beautiful place already found last weekend. There is a lovely creek there, more of a brook really. Just deep enough to play in, maybe four inches deep. Trees, rocks to climb on, privacy. I think I would like to be more creative with our camping menu though. We head out into the woods and fresh air and nature........and eat food that is more chemical than food. This summer would be a fun time to find some yummy,healthy recipes. Maybe it would be fun to plan a couple of activities for the kids......leaf rubbings,or flower pressing or nature scavenger hunts. Not to take away the fun and make it a planned actiivty the whole time, but I think my children would respond well to this Gardening.......we just decided last night that a garden might work. We will have to bring it several inches of topsoil because the dirt here is sand and lime but it will be great to have the children help in the garden and grow some of our own. Organizing the house........so it is easier next year when my focus goes back on the kids....... Ok that is the boring stuff LOL.....here is what I want to do for me..... *write a chapter a month for my book **decorate the house with pictures and my little touches (which what I love and finally we have a little bit extra for me to be creative with) ***start moving this family a little bit toward the green side........I am a hippy,earth mama at heart but I have a very conservative family (husband). I think a recycling center in the garage, natural cleaners, organic produce(that we grew ourselves) and more whole grains would be a good place to start and would go a long way to making me feel my life was more authentically me ****work on my list of books from earlier this year. that was a great idea that has slid a bit...... And there is a long list of family outings I want to take along with the camping.......spending a day at Manitou Springs (a lovely town in the mountains with some Indian cliff dwellings fifteen minutes away)......a day spent at the Denver museums (science, history) and then a great restaurant......... a train ride through Royal Gorge........weekly hikes through the trails around here with guide books and nature journals........ I say this every year but, LOL, I think this is going to be a great summer! |
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May. 27, 2008
our summer program
Posted in education
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Today is our first day of summer vacation. I decided this year to implement an idea I learned from another homeschooling mom a few years ago. I am hoping this will give our lazy summer days a bit of structure, but not too much. It would be nice if this led us back to more child-led, curiosity based learning which I would like to do next year. This is how it works. The children must earn 100 points every day before watching non-educational tv (they are all addicted to Andy Griffith reruns.....) or playing computer or video games. They can carry over points from one day to the next, so they could earn themselves a free day if they wanted. Here is the list of activities they have to choose from..... Summer points system…. 1. Doing chores 5pts, doing chores well 10 pts 2. Brushing teeth without being reminded 5pts 3. Bathing without being reminded 5pts 4. Making bed without being reminded 5pts 5. Getting dressed in morning wbr 5pts 6. Extra chores for Mom 10 pts 7. Playing outside/being active for 30 min 10pts 8. Playing with siblings (board game or toys) 10 pts 9. Cooking food for family 10 pts 10. Watching educational tv for 30 min 5 pts (2 hour maximum) 11. Doing a math lesson 20 pts 12. Doing a worksheet book 20 pts 13. Art project/making something 10 pts 14. Reading for 30 min 10 points (no maximum) 15. Practicing musical instrument for 30 min 10points 16. Going out with Mom (zoo, nature center, library) 20 pts. 17. Creative writing 5 pts per page 18. Making a full entry in nature journal 5 pts (4 per day) 19. Reading scriptures alone 10 pts. 20. Family scripture reading 10 pts. |
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May. 23, 2008
Have you seen it?
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The new Indiana Jones movie? No, we did not go camping last night. The goal is for tonight. DH has already packed the camping gear in his car, gathered the food together (which he also bought). I just have to put the food and the cooler in the car, gather together the sleeping bags and blankets, clothes and the children. I am very lucky when it comes to these camping trips I know. DH does the cooking, for the most part, and runs the campsite. I watch the munchkins (with considerable help since we are all just right there) and help here and there. I love camping! He takes care of so many details, mostly I am able to enjoy nature and my family. I have gotten to where I can cook fairly well over an open flame and know a few recipes that we like. This time though, he bought the food and I saw many cans and many hot dogs, so I guess there will not be much actual cooking going on. When he told me he was not going to be able to wrap things up at work to take Friday off, I immediately thought "here is my chance!". The kids went to the midnight showing........which by the way, how can you even enjoy a movie when you are half asleep! but they love to go so hopefully they will have wonderful memories of these crazy nights........so that left Walt and I. We made it to the 5:15 showing. I had read some bad reviews, but the movie was just what I would have expected. How could they change it up from what we have come to expect from Indy? There was more salty language than I remember in the other movies.....which we watched in a marathon just last Saturday......but I came away with feeling like I had reconnected with an old friend. It was a good movie. |
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May. 22, 2008
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The ravoli was wonderful. Next week, we are going to have to be making some ravoli around here. We watched a demonstration, went over a few recipes and then ate. Several at our table had spent some time in other countries and we had a wonderful conversation about our experiences. Being from an Air Force family, I lived in Italy for two years as a teenager. It was a very formative experience. I am so pleased that my oldest daughter is finding these experiences out for herself (a month in England this past spring, and now she is planning on spending a semester in Russia teaching English to schoolchildren). Then a man who spent two years in Italy as a missionary spoke of his experiences and his love for the Italian people, which was done in a very lovely way. He even spoke some Italian to us.....it was nice to hear the language again. I used to speak it well enough to get by but I have lost that skill. I came away thinking about taking some classes........ I am describing the day backwards but we went to the nature center as well, yesterday afternoon. Living on the Colorado plains, it was undescribably nice to be near a river and trees and wildflowers and grass...even if the grass was already yellow........and see squirrels and butterflies. I took some pictures but I will wait and post them Monday, maybe with some pictures from our camping trip this weekend....that I should be getting ready for LOL....... |
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May. 21, 2008
yesterday and how I think today will go............
Posted in family life
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My oldest daughter and I spent the afternoon shopping for summer clothes for the younger three, having lunch at a cute deli she found and wanted to try (in the middle of the mall, but not your typical mall grab and go) and wandering around the bookstore. It was a lot of fun. I am not usually much of a shopper though and by the time we pulled into our driveway, I breathed a sigh of relief. Shopping always gives me a feeling of lost time. Not wasted time, but lost, like I have been removed from the world. On the way home, we had stopped and picked up National Treasure 2, which the munchkins are watching right now. History! Walt came home very soon after that and said he was thinking about taking the younger three to Prince Caspian. The oldest six went to the midnight showing,and he and I went on Friday night, just ourselves. The girls had fun picking which of their new dresses they were going to wear first. We decided though on the way that while it was a great movie, the plot was too intricate for them to be interested for 2 1/2 hours. So we went out to eat instead. It was lovely to sit and talk about things they were thinking about,rather than manage the crowd or talk to the older ones. I enjoy eating out with the family but it does take some mental energy to keep everyone happy, in control and yet look relaxed, like having a family of nine is the easiest thing, not the least bit of work. My silly pride. Of course, I love my children and my big family, but of course,it is not the simplest thing being in public and not making everyone feel like the circus is in town. And I have found that others' attitude toward us is founded largely on my attitude. If I seem happy and relaxed, even if the children are just a bit loud or one or two is unhappy at the moment but I am handling it calmly and with humor,we get the doting looks and nice comments. If I am stressed and looking out of control myself, we get the disapproving looks. So anyway......only having three to manage/enjoy, it was nice. Another thing that was going on yesterday, we had some jerky going in our dehydrator. The smell that filled the house.......oh my. I asked my veggie daughter if she wanted to become a carnivore again,she looked disgusted and said "I think it smells like chocolate" . Whatever,LOL. We tried two kinds,one with a store bought jerky mix and one a homemade marinade. The store bought turned out better but I want to be able to make it without all the artificial stuff,so we will try again. We have been working on building up a food storage supply. We have about three months of food stored up,though by the end of it,we would be eating rice and beans,rice and beans, rice,rice,rice. It is a good feeling to know,when you have nine children,that you will be able to feed those nine children,no matter what is going on in our weird world. As for today, well,it is going slow so far. My plans are to gather everyone, read scriptures and have family prayer, have a fifteen minute group clean up, assign them each one individual chore and then give them the day off. I even plan on taking the younger children off to the nature center. My older ones help me quite a bit, they need this break I think......... And then tonight, Samantha and I are going to a ravoli making class. I am looking forward to it. |
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May. 20, 2008
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Last week was a whiny week. Dawn will forever be seen by me as a good friend for being nice in the middle of my whining. I have learned though that sometimes you have to let yourself have those weeks...whine, grumble, be discontent....because then you start thinking about how miserable you are and how you do not like being miserable and how the only way to not be miserable is to stop being miserable and how the heck are we going to accomplish that little miracle. I spent some time in quiet reflections (meaning....somehow I managed to do the dishes and clean the living room without anyone coming in to speak to me), and spent some time in quiet prayer (actually I think that came before the quiet reflection) and remembered a few things. I do become a little miserable when I read some of these wonderful blogs from homeschooling homesteaders. I keep saying all I ever wanted was a little farm with a few fruit trees and some chickens. I love to read how others are living this dream. I come away with a smile on my face. And then look around at my suburban home, wherever that happens to be at the time, and sigh and then whine to myself about how I will never have my dream. Well! I remembered something Saturday. Long before the dream of fruit trees and chickens, I wanted to be a mother. I mean, I really, really, really wanted to be a mother. I remember longing for this as early as three. I made several female teachers angry over the years because I would not write essays about how I wanted to become an astronaut (though I did) or a Supreme Court judge (I did) or a foreign ambassador (I did, though the first two years of college). What I wanted foremost was to be a mother. Even when I was a whiny teenager and thought I would never have a boyfriend thus never have a husband, I figured I would wait until after law school and the first two years of my practice(this was during the Supreme Court justice phase) and then have two children by artificial insemination. Being a mother was always on the agenda. I am the mother of nine beautiful, smart, healthy, delightful children. God has given me my dream. How silly of me to forget that. And he gave me a husband who was the third oldest of twelve so nine feels like a small family to him. And who makes enough money that I can stay home in relative comfort with these nine children, even if that means moving every year or two from one interesting place that I love to another interesting place. There is still time in my life for the dream of scattering grain to chickens from one of those big aprons to happen, too. I have to let my life unfold and be grateful and smart with what I have been given and then stand back and let God be God. |
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May. 16, 2008
confessions.........
Posted in My stuff
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Okay the first one.........my blog is starting to seriously bore me. I keep changing it up trying to make it reflect who I really am.......boring! I am starting to realize the very best blogs that I love are completely organic, sprung from simply beautiful minds. So, what does that mean for me? I keep thinking I need to define my blog's purpose....what am I trying to do here? I think mostly just record my random thoughts...... I like my new design, though dd is still promising me she will add some pictures. I hate my blog name. I hate my blog little snippet, whatever you call that thing that is supposed to summarize me......hate it. It sounded cute in my head but it screams "corny, trite, tried too hard" everytime I look onto my page...... Haven't decided what I am going to do about all this, but there is my first confession. The second one.....after eighteen/thirteen years of homeschooling (depending on if I started at my daughter's birth or when she would have entered kindergarten), I feel the need to spend the summer redefining the way I do homeschooling!! How ridiculous is that? The third one....and I feel very shy about this one.......I have started writing a book. I am not sure if it will ever amount to anything or if I can do it properly, but after years of thinking I should, I am. That feels good. No fourth confession yet, ............... |
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May. 16, 2008
Posted in family life
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This has been a good but nothing special kind of week. Most of us have been recovering from a stomach flu, which is thankfully behind us. Life in this new house is starting to settle into a comfortable schedule. Mostly unpacked, mostly organized, which feels very good. Days which would probably sound boring to anyone else of watching the History and Discovery Channel, trying to finish up our math for the year, reading books, cooking good food, daily chores, sitting around talking about nothing, reading the Scriptures together. Playing in our great backyard, spending time with our new neighbors. A quiet little life but it makes me happy. We went to the library nearest to our home yesterday for the first time. (we were going to one fifteen minutes away for some reason??). It was very very small, but when we walked in, they have a wonderful children's section. We came away with some very good books I am excited to read and use. Last night five of the oldest six went to a midnight showing of Prince Caspian so I know today is going to be a sleepy sluggish day for the family. A good time for me to catch up on my things. Like my bedroom...and I am this close to actually being caught up/finished for a minute with the laundry. How many times does that actually happen!? My two oldest boys are going camping with their Boy Scouts tonight so dinner will probably not be very fancy..........maybe spaghetti and salad. Walt is working tomorrow so no fancy family plans this weekend. I am thinking this gives me a great chunk of time to get caught up, gather my thoughts and stuff together and plan a great week for next week. More on that later.......... |
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