I had an opportunity several weeks ago to hear Carolyn McCulley speak at a retreat here in the Dallas area. It was so awesome. The focus was basically around her new book Radical Womanhood. It was so interesting to hear learn about the different waves of feminism in our history. She's been working on a 4 minute video to help promote this new book. I ordered my book today and I can't wait to get it. This is something that every Christian woman - young and old - should read. This will also become required reading for my girls as I disciple them toward Radical Womanhood (although I have already begun to educate them in small ways about these facts.) Check out the this short video and then order her book. You won't be disappointed. You will be energized to live out your womanhood in a very radical way.
I had my 35 weeks prenatal appointment on Tuesday. It didn't go as I expected. I found out that my iron is starting to go up slowly BUT my platelets have drop almost 30 points over the past several weeks. I am not sure what caused that. I also got on the scale and discovered that I have put on 6 lbs in water. I was already weighing much more than I usually do in a pregnancy. Talk about discouraged. I looked so big. In fact, most people are surprised to find out that I am not due for another month because I look like I am ready to pop. She suspects that my sluggish liver is causing the excess amniotic fluid. Now I am in a position where I MUST flush my liver and get it moving again AND I MUST bring up my platelet count.
I was feeling so overwhelmed on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. This is pretty much how I felt when I am pg with K-Head. And my MW told me that if this is what I did with my other pregnancies then it's no wander I always hit 36 weeks and want it to be over. There is so much of God's grace involved when people have compassion on you and validate how you are feeling. I suspect I had some of the same problems with previous pregnancies but my midwife was so crazy and uninvolved that she just didn't care. I found myself thanking God this morning, even after 20 months, for K-head's safe arrival in this world. I am even more thankful for just how hands on my new midwife is and I regret not having switch last time.
So I am on a new diet. I can only eat fruit in the morning. I have to eat fruit when I am hungry (which is alot when you're eating only fruit) for at least 4 hours. After that I can only have proteins (mostly in the form of meats), nuts, more fruits, and mostly vegetables. I am on a NO CARB diet. Now you have to understand, that is a very hard switch for me. I really do not like the low/no carb diets. I don't think they are healthy in the least. We need the fiber that WHOLE grains give us. But with the way my pregnancy has been going I have gone back to eating easy and I wasn't getting alot of whole grains. So I started all this yesterday. I thought it would be hard. But, by God's great grace, I was able to get through my day without thinking about it much. I did have a few instances where I went in to find a snack and didn't know what to do with myself. But I found alternatives and survived a day without my carbs.
I ended up waking up about 3am this morning when a child with a bad dream needed comfort. When that happens I rarely go back to sleep. So I didn't. I went downstairs and played on the computer. After my battery ran down on the computer, I journaled and prayed for while. But I started to notice that I wasn't having as many problems moving around. I felt. . .light. I went back to bed at 5am and slept in for a while. I love my kids. They play quietly when I am sleeping in (which is rare.) I asked my oldest if she thought I looked, well, smaller. She said maybe a bit. I was moving well and breathing well. I just felt good. I decided to step on the scale when I got downstairs. I LOST10 lbs. The excess amniotic fluid was gone!!!!!!!! No wander I felt so crumby before. I was partically carrying around another baby in there.
I put the word "Miracle" in my title. I don't like to use that word often. I think it's a word that is misused in many ways. But I think I witnessed a small one in my own life. The only thing different I did yesterday was stop eating bad carbs and increased my fruit. God blessed that for some reason. I feel so unworthy that His blessing.
I am still resting on the verse in Isaiah 26:3-4.
You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
for the LordGod is an everlasting rock.
This has become my life line in a time where I felt so weary and discouraged. And as my 5 and 7 yod are learning in children's ministry, God ALWAYS keeps His promises. I am living out that perfect peace when my mind is stayed on Him and I am trusting him. He's so awesome. Not because He allowed the water to go down and make my baby a little safer in the womb. He's awesome because He is a Holy God who doesn't have to bless us. . .but He does because He loves us. He is a rock and we can always trust Him no matter the outcome.
Does anyone have a child that just seems to run up medical bills with silly accidents? I have one of those. He's become known as K-Head (short for Knucklehead - affectionately named by his father, Underdog.) In the past 2 1/2 weeks, he's been to the ER with another head injury, an emergency pediatric clinic after having 1/2 a bottle of shampoo poured on his head and then rubbed in his eyes, and then his accident today.
Today was one of those "who-knew" moments for me. Schmoo has discovered that she was carry K-Head around. She loves it. She's practicing for the time with Baby ANT is old enough for her to carry. So K-head woke up kind of cranky this afternoon and she was trying to take care of him. But he weighs about 1/2 of what she does and it's all in his head. He's kind of hard to carry. So she picks him up and set him on the arm of the couch. She loses her grip on him and he falls backward. This is where the "who-knew" comes in. Did you know that if you are holding a sippy cup in you arms when you fall backwards onto a semi-hard surface you can get cut on your eye lid when it hits you in just the right spot? That's right!! K-head has a 1/2 inch gash on his left eye just below the eye brow.
I wavered back and forth on taking him to the clinic. Underdog and BroncoFan went to the Cowboy game this afternoon so I was home alone with 4 of the children. It didn't look bad and the bleeding had stopped. But everytime he blinked or rubbed it would bleed just a bit and slit open again. I finally decided to take him in. He's fine. But still. We are on COBRA right now and really have no idea right now what our coverage is. So I imagine K-head has cost us about $800 in medical bills in less than 3 weeks. That might be a bit of an exaggeration but the MRI at the ER will definitely send the cost up. Don't get me wrong. He's definitely worth it. He's still too young to communicate with me so sometimes I just can't tell. The most frustrating part of all this is that he's been fine with each trip. We can't take the chances though. It's just part of having children.
Oh, I forgot to mention. After arriving home, JB started making us a salad so we could have salad wraps. K-Head was standing on a chair watching her. I don't know what he did but somehow he pushed the chair backward and went right over with the chair as it fell. He hit his head again (and scared the bejeebers out of the dog eating dinner where he fell.) All I can say is praise God that he was fine after that one. The little Knucklehead!!! It will be fun to see what other kind of damage he can do to himself. I always expected the Linebacker Starter Kit to be the one with all the injuries. I have been surprised to find that K-Head seems to be falling into all that. I wander if I can just wrap him in bubblewrap for a few years until he gets a bit more steady. I am sure he'd find a way to get hurt even in the bubble wrap.
This pregnancy continues to make life unpredictable. I can't remember if I blogged on this or not but my 31 week appointment with my midwife Baby ANT was in the breech position. Although it is still pretty early, my midwife did want me working on trying to turn her. She ended up turning on her own last week. I saw my chiropractor on Monday and found that she was, in fact, head down. I was very happy. But that was a bit clouded over by the fact that I began to itch this weekend. I did blog on that a few days ago. The itching goes in and out right now. When I do itch, it's bad but it's not continuous. Staying busying during that day seems to help with the itching. It's the worst in the morning and the evenings. The palms of my hands and soles of my feet hurt more than anything. They almost burn more than itch.
As I was sitting on our love seat this afternoon reading to my kids I started to have alot of Braxton Hicks contractions (still am.) No big deal until I noticed the shape of my abdomen when I had the contraction. Baby ANT is head up again. I can feel her head. She turned back around. I have alot of excess amniotic fluid right now because of the Cholestatis and the back up in the liver. That coupled with the fact that I have had many babies and there is lots of room to move make for a murky situation.
I feel so flusterd right now. I am struggling not to worry about her health and safety. I know in my heart that this is a burden and concern that needs to be placed at the foot of the cross. Where is that perfect peace that I wrote about a few days ago? Oh yea, my eyes must be fixed on Him.
I am supposed to go to a Pamper Chef party tonight. I am not really in the party mood but think it will be good to get out of the house. I have been a bit irritable with my children this afternoon. It didn't help that everytime I started to read from one of our read alouds someone would have a question. And the only good question that one of them asked was about the War of 1812. I don't remember the question but it was actually the one that made me just put it all away for the day. we have plenty of time to finish next week. I told BroncoFan, who asked the question, that his War of 1812 question was such a good question that only someone in college could answer it. LOL!!! I had to apologize to him later. He really did have a good question but I told him that it was just bad timing. But I know that my irritation is from worry. I shouldn't be worry. For how many hours can I add to my day when I don't worry. I need time to go pray. That should have been my first response before I got irritated with my kids. <> I hate sin.
Well, the inevitable has happened. I have now crossed the threshhold of normal pregnancy into a slightly higher risk pregnancy. This weekend I staredt having itching spells. It wasn't too bad but I did notice it. Yesterday morning I itched all over but I didn't have much more after noon. Today I have gone from a comfortable itch every once in a while to "THIS IS IRRITATING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (It's weird. It's mostly in my face.)
Cholestatis of Pregnancy is a condition of pregnant women where the flow of bile is impaired somehow. The result for most women with this. . .ITCHING!!!! Now don't get me wrong. All pregnant women itch. Dry skin can cause it. Most women will complain that their abdomen itches. Naturally, the skin is being stretched. Cholestatis in NOT average pregnancy itch. This is 24/7 itching. Hands and feet are the worst. You itch in your sleep, if you get to sleep with it. The average pregnancy itch can be alleviated by creams and lotions. There is NOTHING that will help the itch of Cholestatis except cleaning out the liver or taking some of the drugs that on the market to help. Often, those don't even help.
Cholestatis has no side effects for mom but itching. But it can lead to problems with the baby. I learned today (this is new information since I first learned of all this 9 years ago) that they think that cholestatis causes babies to pass meconium in utero. That would make sense to me. My 2nd dd passed her meconium. I always thought it was the castor oil that caused it. It could have been but I now understand that it could have also been caused by the cholestatis. There is also a recommendation that baby be delivered early. Sevearl years ago I was reading that the recommendation for inducement be around 38 weeks (that was the plan for JB.) Today I now see that has changed to 37 weeks. WOAW!!!!!!!
I have only ever had this with my girls. I wander if it's this excess estrogen being passed between mom and baby. I had it the worst with JB. I was using a OB at the time and she had actually heard of this. Many drs still haven't truly heard about Cholestatis of Pregnancy yet. She was treating me for that. But she wanted me to run more tests just to make sure we were treating the right thing. So she kept me home for a full day to collect my urine. I was 36 weeks. I got up the next morning to collect my last sample and my water broke. So much for the test. JB had horrible jaundice as well.
I didn't have any issues with my second baby so figured everything had worked itself out. When I was pregnant with my 3rd baby it was a really stressful pregnancy. One thing lead to another and I ended up with horrible itching in my last month of that pregnancy. My midwife wouldn't let me induce though. I finally called her when I was 39 weeks and begged (in tears) to induce labor. I was worried about the baby and I was just miserable. We were using several herbs and SAMe to clean out my liver. But we really hadn't been using them long enough to make a difference. Schmoo did pass meconium and we transported to the hospital (mostly from my exhaustion.) I give glory to God for the lives of my little girls. I don't believe JB wouldn't have lived for very long had we waited to induce until 38 weeks. I was really sick then. And He totally protected Schmoo from our delay in inducing AND He protected her when she passed her meconium. She was perfect when she was born.
So now what? I started taking a homeopathic liver drainage/cleanse yesterday. It's VERY gentle for me and baby. I also started taking some disecated liver. I am continuing my dandelion and milk thistle as well. I will see my midwife in 2 weeks. We aren't monitoring the baby by sonogram at this point. If my itching hasn't subsided by then, then I am going to discuss inducing labor with her. Hopefully, we won't have to do this and the Lord will cleanse the liver for me.
I am not worried or frightened at this point. Over the past several months I have constantly been confronted with my belief in God's Sovereignty. Do I believe that He is in control no matter what happens? I would have to say that "Yes, I do believe." I am staying with my midwife until she believes it's something that needs to go into a doctor's hands. I can't see Baby ANT right now but I trust the Father and trust that right now she's safe. I believe He will protect her. What if something happens? Then I still have to believe that His promise to work ALL things for good is true. This is a verse that I have been resting in lately:
You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
for the LordGod is an everlasting rock.
Isaiah 26:3-4
Perfect peace!!!! A mind stayed on Him!!! I am camping out at the foot of the cross constantly seeking grace to make it through the rough parts of my final months of pregnancy. I am having many these days. This will be no different. I believe that He will give me grace to trust Him and that He will help me in my unbelief. Baby ANT is in His Hands.
I would like to turn our “First School Days” to focus on my kindergartener.There is much debate in the homeschool world as to whether children this age should be doing school.After I have been homeschooling for several years now I have come to the conclusion that this is a silly debate.I don’t think it necessary for children this age to be in a classroom all day.This is the now the trend in most public schools.Kindergarten has gone from a fun and easy half day experience to a grueling full day.But for some children, starting a little early is a good thing for them.For most of my children, so far, starting “early” has been beneficial.
My focus, today, is to be on my 5 yod and our kindergarten.I must also add that she is about to turn 6 yod in 4 weeks.So although she would have missed the official cut off date for our state, we still find it necessary to begin just a bit of work with her.(I have always waited until my children were past 5 ½ yod to start any type of formal learning with them.) I also need to preface all of this by saying that Schmoo had to attend a preschool designed for speech therapy last year.It was all we could afford and it was truly all she needed.I was initially very nervous about sending her off to school so young.But I left it in God’s hands and He truly blessed that time for her.Not only did her speech issues correct BUT she also grew to appreciate being home with mom.
My 5 yod, Schmoo, has not been the most eager learner.For a very long time, she could take school or leave it.I ran with that and didn’t force it.Just this past summer, though, she started to show a significant interest in learning to read.Again, I wasn’t in a hurry.We just started to go slow.I realized a couple of months ago that this was moving faster than I was expecting.She is making stories up as she looked at the pictures in books so I knew it was time to really dive in.
I found Scaredy Cat Reading System last year at the annual book fair in Arlington, TX.I bought it originally to do a bit of review with my older two readers but this has turned out to be a lifesaver for me.The only draw back to the editions I bought is that there isn’t any specific plan for the week.I have followed the workbook mostly in the beginning.The newer additions to this curriculum have changed drastically.For one thing they will be using a DVD to help teach the vowels.I love video school.It often leads me in what to do next.We will start the Vowels portion of the curriculum next week actually.I wanted to make sure she had her sounds for each consonant letter before we moved on.She’s ready now so we start next week.I am excited for her.I think she’ll pick it up fairly quickly.
For Math we are working slowly through the Primer of Math U See.I love hands on learning for this age but I struggle on a personal level to be able to pull stuff like that together.This has been a nice balance for me.She loves to use the blocks and color in her book and it guides in what to do with her next.And she’s learning it.Just today she finally had a break through and remembered how to say a number in the 100’s.Yea!!!!!!!Since a lot of the last part of the Primer will be learned in Alpha I am considering going ahead and moving on to Alpha with her.But I don’t want to overwhelm her so I praying about it to make sure I make the right decision.(Oh, she’s also taking lead from her brother and sister and will often start her next Math page before I ever make it upstairs to start reading with everyone.I am proud that she’s learning to take initiative in this area.)
I found a language arts book this summer that I just LOVE for this age.Language Lessons for Little Ones is so perfect for this age.(You will have to scroll down on the left side of the linkd paged to find the Language Lessons.) Sandi Queen wrote this for her children and he follows a Charlotte Mason approach.I think CM is perfect for little ones this age.We do follow a classical style of homeschooling but for the early years, I prefer most of Charlotte Mason’s ideas.So this book fit us perfectly.Here is a description of the book from the website:
This sweet collection of lessons for preschoolers (ages 3-5) introduces the young child to the Charlotte Mason method of language arts with a simple, child-friendly feel.
180 daily lessons guide a child through picture study of full-color paintings, narration, introduction to the letters of the alphabet (capital and lowercase), copywork of letters, writing their name, poetry and story appreciation, creative expression, and more. Lessons are the perfect length - about 5 to 10 minutes per day on average, and give a nice variety along with a sequential review of concepts.
My daughter loves this book.I think her favorite is drawing pictures to help her narrate. I do not start grammar with my children until at least 2nd grade and is ONLY if they are truly ready. I don't think Schmoo will be ready like her older brother and sister but she could surprise me.
We are also using a new handwriting curriculum called Peterson Directed Handwriting.I made some HUGE mistakes with my older kids and their handwriting that I didn’t want to make with everyone else.So I found a curriculum that would give us specific guidance in making the letters and in teaching proper pencil grasp.She has enjoyed learning this although she does get most frustrated when I have to correct her pencil grasp or start her over when she starts a letter at the bottom.She’s eager to learn cursive writing and I have promised her when her manuscript looks GREAT we’ll move on (as I started cursive with my 7 yod when he was 6 yod as well.I couldn’t stop him.He started to teach himself the wrong way and now my dd is doing the same thing.)
On most days this takes us all about 45 minutes to complete.There are days when she’s asked to be done early.Depending on the day we’ll either put it all away or we work on the character quality of perseverance.JI will definitely NOT continue on any day when she’s emotional and crying.She’s only had a few of those though.For the most part, she loves school and gaining a love of learning through her time with me right now.
I almost forgot the most important part of any Kindergarten curriculum.READING!!!!This is an absolute MUST for this age.If we do nothing else all day we always read.Right now, Schmoo and I are working our way through On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder.Schmoo loves these books.She will also read with me when I read to my Little Boys.Reading is such an ingrained part of our family.We are even reading through Stewart Little in the afternoon before nap.
I am trying something new with Schmoo this year.She’s participating in co-op classes with our church group.She is in a science and PE class in the morning.Then she joins us in the afternoon (all of this is on Friday) for our Tapestry of Grace co-op.She struggles a bit through the TOG co-op but all the mom’s are very willing to allow her to work through the teaching portions of the class as she would at home.At home, while we are reading, she will color, build with blocks, and sometimes brush my hair while I read.She also does some of the projects.Next week we’ll be working on making her War of 1812 American flag (she’ll be painting it).She’s also going to work on making several pages of our family South American book that we will present during our Unit Celebration in Octobers.Again, I don’t force much of this on her.I want it to be fun for her and not a burden.There are some days when she ends up in my room with the LBSK to play with him while I finish reading to the Bigs.She tries hard to stay with us and I am proud of her for that.
My next post (when there is time) will be focused on my older children.I am going to combine my focus on them because they are using the same curriculum just at different levels. I may wait a few weeks so that I can feature some of their hard work for their Tapestry of Grace over the past 9 weeks. I am really proud of their work.
I am continuing my series on our First School Days with my post today.I wanted to make my first focus on the preschooler in our home. I have written posts in the past that were some what against home preschool. And I am not particularly changing my mind about that. Preschool is such an important time. They learn most by reading a ton and playing a ton.
Although I don’t believe that formal preschool in necessary (especially in another building away from mom), I remember being the mom who really wanted to do something school-like with my children.I probably worried WAY more than I needed to.Formal preschool never happened for us despite all my attempts (and wasted money.)But I have walked in the shoes of wanting to work with my preschoolers to do school.That is part of the reason I am posting this first.There are many moms out there who are eager to begin and I have a few ideas for them.
Before I get into what I am doing with my own preschooler this year, I wanted to remind those moms with younger children of a few things.
Make sure that your days are very relaxed but complete with some structure.The little ones thrive on structure.I don’t think this must be rigid.Despite having a very specific MOTH (Managers of Their Homes) schedule, I don’t follow it to a tee.We simply follow the routine.And it’s still a work in progress.
Spend LOTS of time reading.How do you create a reader?READ!!!!!
“Structured, sit down at a desk preschool” is overkill.That is especially true when using workbooks and programs.If your “program” takes you longer than 20 or 30 minutes, it is overkill.But you don’t even have to spend money to achieve what these “programs” are saying you can achieve.I’ll give you more on that in a moment.
If you have older students, teach your younger students FIRST.There is no better way to guarantee you will have time to teach an older student than to give the preschooler (and toddler if you have one of those as well) undivided attention from the very beginning.(Better yet, train your older children to work independently for a time so they can continue work while you focus on your little ones.)
Don’t underestimate the value of life skills lessons at this age.Preschoolers CAN do chores and you aren’t depriving them OR abusing them by having them do a few chores.They also feel like they are part of the family to have specific jobs to do on their level.(I will share more tomorrow about what we do for chores around our home.)
Don’t sweat the small stuff.Preschool was invented decades ago to give smaller children of working moms something to do while their moms worked.In all reality, it’s a socialist attempt to separate even the smallest members of the family from their children.Preschool isn’t necessary in order for them to learn to read.Can children learn from it?Absolutely.Is it necessary when you have a toddler and a newborn that need your attention as well?Not if it’s going to make you crazy trying to accomplish the work. Don’t sweat it at this point.
This is a touchy subject but I would say that the TV needs to be severally limited with preschoolers.I have noticed with all my children that when I turn off the TV during the day and we rarely watch it on the weekend, they play and learn better.They have a better imagination AND they use it more readily.If we do watch TV at some point in the day, they have a harder time finding things to do in their free time.This isn’t proven science and I would never condemn anyone for using it.I can’t tell you how much I used it when my older children were little.Having 2 or more children under the age of 5 can be a true challenge.You are in the trenches.Sometimes it’s just necessary to plop them down in front of a short TV show.But even doing that, I would encourage you to limit that time.If you need time to clean the house, involve them in that work or work to organize yourself so the work gets done with a husband is home or your can hire a mother’s helper.I will also explain a bit more about how I organize my days to help keep my home.
If you don’t already do this, start rotating toys AND get rid of the massive amounts of toys you have.Nothing stifles play more than too many toys to choose from.You will find that their imagination is so much fuller and lively if they have only a few toys at a time to work with. I would also discourage the use of too many toys that use batteries.Let your kids make the noise for the vacuum or the fire engine.
These are just a few things that I have learned through the years.They apply to all preschoolers regardless of that unrevealed learning style and personality.J
All that said, I have changed a bit in my view in preschool in general. What I have witnessed over the past few weeks has made me seriously consider the idea that perhaps there is some merit to starting a bit earlier with them. I would certainly not be a proponent of sitting down to do formal learning with your child. No way. But I have been having such a great time just spending time with our Little Linebacker Starter Kit (LBSK) and I think this is something that all moms can do with their preschoolers (assuming there aren’t major life changes taking place in the home – like a new baby.)
This is the first year I have had 3 children doing "formal" school so I knew that I needed a better schedule (routine.) I also have two little boys very close in age with a tendency toward bored destruction. I NEEDED a fairly tight routine. I wanted to keep my younger set pretty regimented through at least the morning time. So I created playtimes and cribtimes for the two young ones and opportunities to build responsibility into my 5 yod as she plays with K-head (formally Si-bay) for a while.
This is our preschool/kindergarten schedule:
9:00am Reading; "Bible Truths for Little Kids" (catechisms); great living books; "Juniors Colors" for K-head.
9:45am Preschool for LBSK (will cover below)
10:15am Snack with everyone and (hopefully) exercise - it's been too hot though
10:45am Kindergarten with Schmoo (more tomorrow)
11:30am Clean up for everyone
That's the general routine.
I am so excited about the LBSK “school” this year. I love watching him get so excited to have something of his own.We're making a preschool Alphabet Book. I will share pictures below but I must first share that I got this idea from a website called Lapbook Lessons. I love lapbooking but it seems that I never really have time to finish any of these with my kids. But they had one idea that actually seemed achievable so I adapted it to fit our family. The idea came off their Alphabugs book. All I did was simply change our book to an Alphabet Book and used the same idea.
I have several resources that I pull from. The first being simply an idea that I got after reading Marilyn Boyer's book called "HOME EDUCATION with Babies and Toddlers." Most of the information I pretty much already knew. But I was sincerely challenged by her admonition to be placing the Word in the hearts of our preschoolers. I bought her "Proverbs for Preschoolers" book as well. This is our guide for the Alphabet Book. We are memorizing 2-3 Proverbs for each letter now. LBSK loves it.He's so proud that he can recite these verses on his own.
Our focus is mainly on scripture that is related to our letter.Beyond that I pull coloring pictures and projects off a few favorite websites. He gets a choice of what he wants to do each week. To be honest, he's mostly coloring and pasting while I review letters and their sounds.He grows excited every time he recognizes his letter for the week. He'll stop whatever he's playing to come announce to me that he found a specific letter.
ColoringCastle is being used to review shapes and numbers.We will be making books of these.Once a week, we'll do a coloring page with a shape and a number on it. I will be making him a special book of his very own to review shapes and numbers when he's finished. He knows his colors backward and forward so I am not focusing on those to much unless they start with the letter we're focusing on.
We have a few other things we work on if he doesn’t want to work on his book that day.I have taken the time through the years to make file folder games so I have a good collection of those that he will work on as well. We work on stringing beads and puzzles as well. I have a special board called a Trace Erase Board that I bought used at a local book fair.
Let me share some of the pictures so you see first hand what he has done recently.
Front Cover
“Aa” page front cover
Inside the “Aa” book; the red cardstock contains the Proverbs for the week and a picture.
This is the inside of the “Bb” book.I had my 5 yod hold the side up so you can see where it folds like a book.
This won't be a long post. I think I just need to put how I am feeling into words and my journal isn't available right now.
I am struggling so much with the latter part of this pregnancy. I am sure you could go back into my archives and see the same type of post with my previous pregnancy. What is it about the last trimester that causes me to simply withdrawal from life? My kitchen is still waiting for the dinner dishes to be loaded. It's so hard to stand at the sink to wash dishes when there is a extra 30lb lump in the way. My 19 mod wants to wrestle at every chance he gets. Wrestle? He obviously doesn't notice that I don't move much anymore. My little 5 yod has been hinting all evening that she just simply needs my undivided attention for even a few minutes. I have been shooing her off to play or what have you. URGH!!!!!! On top of this, we are so tired and waiting to see if the colds that are starting with my children will turn into chicken pox. I told my children yesterday and a watched pot doesn't boil. It's hard to not to watch though. BroncosFan is miserable right now. Schmoo didn't feel well today. The LineBacker Starter Kick started to complain that his tummy hurt and then he told me this throat hurt. K-Head is just being a toddler boy and he's rather agreesive about it. Jennibear seems to be skipping over it and it wanting peole to play with. I got tired just watching everyone be sick today.
We found out on Monday night that the baby is in a breech position. I am only 31 weeks so there is still plenty of room and time for the baby to turn. I must admit there is concern there. I have wrestled for a long time with worry over this baby. She's my last. My experience with my friend and her loss haven't helped me. Part of me wanders if she's secretly praying that I would lose my baby just to spite me. I don't mean that as a judgment on her. I mean that as a judgment on my lack of faith in the Sovereignty of God. I suppose that is where I stand right now. I am having a bit of faith crisis. I am fearful of preterm labor. I am fearful that I will wake one morning and not receive the happy "Good Morning Mommy" kicks that I receive from this little girl right now. I am fearful that when she's born something will be wrong. . .and I will reject her. How could a mother reject her child but I am afraid that I will. I am now fearful that she won't turn and I will end up with a breech baby for the first time. I know that woman can give birth to a breech baby and that midwives do deliver that way. But I will admit, I am not sure I would take the chance. That would put me right back in the very position I have fought so hard to avoid. All in God's Sovereign will but my evil pride doesn't want to end up on an operating room table because I am such an advocate for natural home births. In that scenerio, I am fearful of her not nursing well just like her oldest sister. I LOVE nursing. I don't want to loose that relationship. I have friends who are supplementing with formula. It's been necessary for these women. But I just can't do it. I almost supplemented my 3rd baby (first to nurse) with formula. I cried through that whole almost feeding (she fought the bottle the whole time as well.) I mean no judgement against those that bottlefeed their babies. But my heart is to have my babies at my breast exclusively for as long as possible. That is me as a mother. Home birthing is what I am as a mother. While I have strong opinions and I do blog on them every once in a while, I would hope my opinions would never offend anyone. I just want to make women think. But they are my passions. They are who I am. Perhaps I fear loosing ME. Isn't that what we're supposed to do though. . .loose ourselves? We're to die to ourselves? This life isn't about me. It's about glorifying God.
Does the above paragraph express in anyway that I lost about 2 hours of sleep last night with terrible heartburn? The last time I had heartburn like that I had my appendix removed the following evening. I was also pregnant then. That won't be happening this time because there is nothing to remove. Orange juice mixed with alot of an herbal iron supplement do not make for happy sleep at night. I suppose the large bowl of buttered popcorn I had before that didn't help either. Needless to say, I am pretty tired and probably not thinking clearly. What I am most confident in right now is that I sense the Holy Spirit calling me to foot of cross. . .and I am being terribly rebellious. I need my Jesus and I need His grace to get me through the next 8 weeks or so. I am already tired. I am already big. I am already extremely uncomfortable. My hips will not stay in alignment. This precious girl has a mind of her own and it doesn't include sitting in the most comfortable position for Mommy. And my heart has one of the worst attitudes I think I have ever had in the midst of pregnancy. Sin abounds. . .grace abounds more. I think it's time I end this post and leave to go rest in the arms of my Savior.
What a day our family had!!!! We are trying a new adventure in our homeschool journey this year. We have joined a co-op. This is a special co-op because it's organized by our church right now. All of the children that my kids go to church with each week are part of this co-op (at least most of them.)
I wasn't sure what to expect. One thing I did expect was to sit around with lots of time on my hands. And there were wonderful people that opened their home for those of us that live far away and couldn't just go home and wait for an hour. I did learn today that there wasn't as much time to sit around and do nothing. Once you finally sat down after getting toddlers inside a home, explain the rules, and go to the potty, it was time to leave to pick everyone up. HA!!!!
My three oldest were enrolled in a Science and PE class. My oldest dd was also enrolled in a writing class. The moms that put all this together did such a great job.
My greatest struggle with co-op this year was going to be the addition of a new class (not associated with the morning co-op but put together by several moms and myself.) We decided to join with other moms and form a Tapestry of Grace co-op. I was really excitec about this until I found out that the only time we could meet was at 3pm. YIKES!!!! All of our classes were finished at noon today. What in the world do you do with a toddler and a 3 yod who need naps between noon and 3pm. I made up my mind this morning that I just wasn't going to be able to participate. But then I got an idea. Although we live pretty far away, with one of the highways near us, it only takes about 25 minutes to get home. That would leave 2 hours for naptime. Then it would take us 25 minutes to get back. So I decided to give it a try. It was perfect. Not only did my little ones get to nap and rest but "I" got a nap as well. My older children played together quietly or played alone.
At 2:25 pm we were off again for the rest of the co-op day. They really had a good time with it. We're alot further ahead than most of the other families but my children are also the youngest in the class. I think being ahead helped their confidence. I was proud to see them participating and answering questions. Broncos Fan made it obvious to several moms that he LOVES history. Jennibear got to show off her neatly finished state and president cards. And I was really proud of Schmoo for being so patient even though she was bored through the discussion time. I let one of the other moms know that I was going to bring something for her to color while she listens to discussions in the future. It won't always be discussions but at least we'll be prepared in the future if we do. I brought my laptop so the Linebacker Starter Kit could watch videos for an hour. I was actually able to occupy K-Head for an hour by simply changing things up every 15 minutes. Pretzels do wanders for a 19 month old with nothing to do. I will be glad when Baby Songs will entertain him for a longer periods of time than just 3 minutes.
Most of the children in this co-op have done this before so they didn't share the same enthusiasm toward classes that my kids did. Jennibear LOVED her writing class. She reported to me that she was the only one that didn't cheer when her teacher announced there would be no homework for the follow week. I don't know what her teacher did today but JB simply fell in love with her. She waited to be the last one out the door so she would give her teacher a hug and tell he she would see her at church on Sunday. She's very excited about writing. I hope this enthusiasm stays with her when it does get hard. This was a VERY light day for her. But she was able to tell me what she learned and that was worth it.
Overall it was a good and successful day. I am glad we decided to participate this year. Now all I need to do is figure out how our schedule for Thursdays are going to play out so we don't leave the house looking like WWIII was fought here the night before. I hated walking into the house all messy. But the priority this week was figuring out how co-op was going to work. Now that we know, I can tackle Thursday's schedule and have my week pretty much organized for our family. And at least I will get 2 months to enjoy it before Baby A arrives and causes all things normal to fall apart.
This post is the start of a short series I wanted to do around how our school is functioning this year.I had originally intended to post about how we are doing preschool first but that will come next.I was convicted this morning that this topic needed to come first.
This year I am starting the 5th year of our homeschool journey.It’s not a lot of time consider there are so many who have been doing this much longer.But for me, 5 years is a long time and I have gained a bit of wisdom from the experience so for.And considering that I am pregnant with our 6th and final child, I will have many more ahead of me.But this year has been a bit different in that I have had many people asking ME for advice.I have also been given the tremendous privilege to join a great friend and a veteran homeschooler in mentoring new homeschoolers.As I have been placed in these situation I have learned just how much I have learned over the past several years.
The Spirit convicted me this morning in how I am handling all this in my heart.I have made honest but feeble attempts to be humble with inquiries and in giving advice.And it’s very possible that on the outside it looks like I have been humble.But I know that deep in my heart I really haven’t been.I am enjoying the attention.(Ouch!!!That hurt to admit.)
The Lord brought me low this morning though.He reminded me that I am simply dust.
“For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.”
Psalm 103:14
There is nothing I do in all my life that is not done without His grace in my life.I have no room to become prideful any area of my life.Shamefully, I spent a good portion of my young motherhood NOT truly seeking the Lord.I spent a lot of that time seeking outside parenting advice from “Christian” author (mostly chock full of psycho-babble.)And I really wasn’t a very good mother.I used man-made wisdom to guide God-made children.I would say I had a similar situation with my early homeschooling years.Although I was doing a “quiet time” everyday, there was no meat in it.I was either reading homeschooling books that would inspire my day and make me “feel” good or I was journaling about a bunch of nothing.
In my own personal walk recently, I have been asking the Father to build in me a love of the Word.My favorite person online is Laine from Laine’s Letters.I stand in awe of her Bible knowledge and in the workings of the Father in her heart.I understand that she is fallible.We all are.But I consider her a tremendous Titus 2 mentor and the Spirit has used her to inspire me to greater things.God has also been gracious to provide some AWESOME in the flesh Titus 2 women from my church.I have learned so much from watching, listening, and learning from these seasoned women.Their knowledge of the Word amazes me.Most important, the knowledge and application of the gospel is something I have never experienced until recently.God is lifting the veil over my eyes to see the true meaning of His gospel and how it applies to my life.
It is these women in my life whom have led me to seek the Father in ways I never have.I am digging deeper into the Word.My prayers have become more purposeful and meaningful.They are full of His will and not my own.I still ask for the things that I need and desire but they are all with the vision of His will in my sight.It’s in this seeking and the Lord work in my life that I have realized that all I have accomplished this year (and much before this) is not of my own doing.All that I do successfully is made possible because of gifts God has given me AND is fuel by His grace in my life. I have done NOTHING worthy of boasting.All boasting MUST be in the Lord.And it’s should cause me to do nothing but bring honor and glory to Lord to realize just how much He has blessed me.
So it is in this frame of mind and heart that I start my series of blogs. . .with a boasting in the Lord.For all that I publish this week and next will be evidence of His grace in my life and in the life of my children.I hope that some of the lessons I share will be something that will encourage you.I hope that perhaps you might be able to walk away with a few good ideas.
Well, it turns out I am anemic. My midwife took a blood sample. She was able to check my iron levels and my glucose.
I am a pretty strict regimen of supplement now. Not only am I taking the chlorophyll for iron but now I have to force myself to take the nasty Floradix. I had to order them online so they haven't arrived yet. I am sooooo tired right now.
My glucose was a little low but nothing to concern her. I doing pretty good with my diet and have stopped gaining weight so quickly.
I can't remember if I had blogged before about our name. We have chosen to name our last little girl Ashley Nicole. I have been forbidden by my brother to name her this but it's because he dated a girl with that exact name. All I can say is, "get over it." We've been calling her Ashley for weeks now. It's weird already having named her. It's been over 9 years since we found out the sex of a baby. We found out this time so logistical reasons. It would be really hard to have 4 boys in a small room so we needed time to rearrange if it was needed. Besides, I have been dying to fill this house with pink again and I wanted to get started early on it. :)
Ashley is growing well. She loves strawberry chocolate smoothies. Her liveliest time of the night is around 9pm when Underdog and I sit down to watch a little TV. We ended up getting a DISH a few weeks ago because it was going to lower our bill for the internet and cable. It's actually been great because now we dictate when we sit to watch. We can also record with the DVR so we're in even more control. With the Olympics we just kind of fell into an enjoyable evening on the couch together watching "The Closer" or an older movie we've recorded. We also just enjoy watching Ashley's acrobatics. I can't wait to hold her but I must not let myself run off too far with that. That will just make time go by too slow.
There is a young couple at our church who lost their baby at 17 weeks. She caught me in the bathroom Sunday and asked me about bleeding. It didn't sound good but I wasn't sure what to tell her without scaring her. I simply told her that if it happens again she needed to call her dr. I suppose she started bleeding again in the middle of service because they left early. I found out on Monday night they were keeping her overnight to induce labor.
I haven't slept well since I found out. This is such a precious family. They have 3 little girls and were just so excited to add to their quiver. I even had a dream about them last night. But what I have struggled with most is what happened several weeks ago. I have a friend (close I thought) from college who lost her baby 26 weeks about 2 years ago. I simply cannot fathom ever going through that myself. I have tried to place myself in others shoes when it does happen. But even having a compassionate heart will never bring me to a point of knowing that kind of pain. So a few years ago I was honest with my friend and told her that I didn't want to say anything that hurt her and asked her to educate me on how to love another family through the loss. I have respected her space and have been sensitive toward her in all this. She asked me not to tell her with my youngest was born, and I didn't. Last year I mentioned that I was sewing baby blankets for other people and she asked me to sew one for her baby that died. She was to be involved in a walk with a group called MEND in her area to remember the short lives of the babies they've lost. They set up booths to show off their babies. I thought it was kind of cute idea. So I agree and was in the planning process. Things changed dramatically several weeks ago.
When I posted several weeks ago that we were having a girl, I sent the link to my blog through a mass email to all my friends. I received an email back from my friend telling me that she didn't feel I was being sensitive to her needs and that she didn't think we should be friends anymore. I was shocked. I think I cried for 2 hours after that. All I did was send an email out to all my friends asking them to rejoice with me over the news that we are having another little girl. I honestly didn't think I was asking too much when I asked everyone to rejoice with us over our news.
The reason that I didn't link the MEND page is that I have a very bad taste in my mouth concerning them. They are supposed to be a Christian organization. But from what I can tell they certainly don't teach the idea of forgiveness. I will fully admit that I possibly made a mistake when I sent my link to her. I made an honest mistake though. I thought she might rejoice with me because she is my friend. I didn't even get a chance to apologize for my error. She cut me off immediately and gave me no room to be forgiven. I suspect that MEND (at least the branch she is involved with) teach and encourage them to put up boundaries even if that means cutting people off, then do it. Does this group teach you to forgive when mistakes are made that might hurt you. People really do have the best of intentions when they are trying to comfort others who have been through a tragic loss. It's not like they set out wander how they can hurt people that day. And while I understand the need for boundaries, this seemed extreme to me. I haven't gone through her pain. I can't fathom it. But I had been nothing but sensitive. And to be honest, I have walked on egg shells around her for more than just this area of her life. (I know nothing about MEND and mean no offense to others who have benefited from their care and have give room for others to make mistakes. But my friend seems to have worshipped this group she's been in and it's honestly left a bad taste in my mouth.)
How is this related to the couple at church? Well, it's brought of bit pain to the surface for me. But the loss has helped me realize that I have built up some bitterness toward my friend. I was a lot more angry about it than I realized. It's not an anger or bitterness I want to hold onto so I have been in prayer over it all day. Although I love my friend, I don't want to hold her in a bondage that she's held me in for so long. And if I truly believe that God is Sovereign, then He planned for this to happen and He's in complete control of it. I have prayed He might convict her but mostly I have prayed He would heal her broken heart that pushes me away so often (this isn't the first time.) I have put up a boundary myself and will no longer have any contact with her (per her own request but to the relief of Underdog whose wanted me to do this for a long time so I don't get hurt anymore by this friend.) But what I really desire most is to see my friend come to understand the gospel as I have come to understand it over the past few years. We deserve nothing. We all, as sinners, deserving death. To have any unforgiveness toward people is to forget all that the Savior has done for us. The lack of forgiveness on both our parts is simply ungratefulness for Christ's sacrifice and pride on our parts. We deserve nothing.
I have been praying that God would give me words to speak encouragement and life into the lives of this family at church. I don't want to say anything to hurt them. But there is grace to cover me even if I did accidently say something hurtful. But this has done another thing for me. It's caused me to look at ALL my children with a more grateful heart. I deserve none of the little lives I have been given to nurture and love. They are gifts to me. They are on loan. God could easily take one of them from me. . .or all. And the little life within me has yet to arrive safely in this world. So much can change over night (as we've been reading this day of the family that lost their little 3 yod in a drowning.) My dh could be taken this night as he drives home from a late dinner meeting he's attending. I have spent too many years fearing that very thing. But I can't anymore. I trust the Father with it all now. I must hold them loosely and trust them in the hands of our Almighty God.
Before anyone would misunderstand, I love and desperately miss my friend. I think of her often and pray for her each time. I wish she would allow herself to share in the joy of other people. But God must work out that bitterness in her heart as much as he must work out the bitterness and hurt in my heart. OH, to see her walk in victory. To love that precious baby that she never nursed but to move on and relish in the joy of the Lord. That is truly where our joy should be found. If we find joy in anything but the Lord, then we've created an idol that very thing we seek joy in. Our joy needs to be found only in the Lord. And when it's hard to do that, then we MUST be on our knees in repentance for placing anything above Him. I need that lesson as much as my precious friend does.
I will be 30 weeks on Monday. I was hoping time wold be going by a bit faster as I am pretty, well, uncomfortable right now. But I am relishing this pregnancy right now. I love this baby already and trust her in the hands of the Father. Time will be hear soon enough and then I will move into another season of my life. . .simply raising the children I have been given. There will be no more pregnancies. There will be no more nursing after this baby. Our quiver is full unless we're called to adopt later on. The next time I will hold a baby close in my arms will be my grandchildren. I am struggling to except that season but Lord has been gracious to me. Mostly He's patient with me as I learn to submit to Underdog and his desires to be finished. The learning is so hard but I know that the Lord is building so much in me in this process of sanctification.
My kids have been exposed to chicken pox. Bring it on!!!!!
It's kind of a long story but a friend called yesterday and had to cancel plans that we had with them. Apparently her kids were diagnosed that afternoon with the chicken pox. My day brighten despite the change. You see, I am one of those weird people who feel that this is one of those diseases where natural immunity should be build up in the body (as in many other cases as well.) We live a healthful lifestyle anyway so my kids are pretty healthy. I don't mind them being sick and giving them some special treatment as they go through what most adults now a days went through when we were little (and we actually survived.)
Of course, there will be people who will tell me terrible horror stories and try to scare me. That would be mostly the media and people who believe everything they tell you. I am no dummy. I know that there are times when disease can be serious. I will not live in fear though. My pediatrician is 100% supportive of my natural medicine and encourages it BEFORE I come to her. And we've had times when it was necessary to go to her. Both of those times we almost ended up admitting a child to the hospital. She helped us NOT have to go there.
But I also believe that our God is a Sovereign God and in complete control. He's even in control of whether or not my children would actually catch the chicken pox or any other disease for that matter. So I am not afraid to expose my children to the chicken pox in hopes that in a week or 2 we'll be rubbing essential oils all over their bodies to relieve the itching. I did my research and made sure that I am safe with the baby and we should both be fine. I am immune (unless I turn out to be one of those rare people who would catch it again. I have big guns in prepared if I do catch it again. Boy would that stink.) The only problem we might run in to is that people with eczema can have a more severe case when it comes to breaking out. So I am preparing for the possibility that my 18 mod is going to be fairly miserable. I may pull out the bigs guns just him but I mostly want him to build up the immunity and let his body fight and grow stronger. I would rather him be miserable now than to be really miserable when he's a teenager or older and it can be really serious.
The funny part of all this is how excited my kids were to go play with their friends last night. I finally had to ask them if they understood what mommy was exposing them to. . .itching, fevers, sickness. hehehe!!! They knew. They didn't care. And once they saw that their friends weren't too bad off, they relaxed even more. There must be something pretty special about having the chicken pox that I missed when I was little and had them. I think their attitude will change in the end. I have a few friends also lined up to join us if we do turn up sick. That will be fun. The only problem I will have when all of this is done and making sure that we find them one more time. Ashley will have missed the fun.
Oh, one more funny thing about yesterday. We discovered just how true it is that you can create sickness in you head sometimes. I walked into the house to get the kids last night and just felt itchy. Then my 9 yod started itching. She was really worried. I had to reassure her that she didn't have them yet. Then she got up this morning and asked what are the symptoms of chicken pox. I told her that I wouldn't tell her. I don't want her creating it in her head. What I really need to happen is for fevers to come on or even just simply for the spots to show up, as happened to my friend.
PS: I know that there are people out there that don't agree with me. I would appreciate it if you would not leave negative comments on my blog. We will simply have to agree to disagree in this area. I won't debate nor will I respond to the negative comments. As we always tell our friends, if you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up" (1 Thessalonians 5:11 :)
School has started around our area again. It doesn't really effect my family, obviously, but it did effect my mom. She's a 1st grade teacher. She's been faithfully teaching for 24 years. She calls me yesterday with a story. I forgot to call her after the first day and I felt kind of bad. Just as I was thinking about how stupid I had been for not calling she calls me. She just HAD to tell me something because she knew I would appreciate her story.
She begins to tell me about how kids these days are not like they used to be. They aren't afraid of teachers. ALL of them talk. It's not just a few that talk, ALL of them talk. And the parents are even worse. She and her team teachers decided yesterday that they needed some extra time to get a few things done and they figured the kids were getting tired of having the rules pounded into their heads. So they opted for an afternoon educational video. Believe it or not, she told that videos no longer entertain kids. I was kind of blown away with that one. Gone are the days when a video was the most exciting part of the day. We used to LIVE for videos when I was in school (this is the same district I grew up in.)
During the movie there are a couple of girls who just kept talking. My mom gave them "the look" telling them to be quiet. One of the little girls just looked at my mom and kept talking. How rude!!!!!!! I would have come out of my chair with that kind of disrespect. My mother calmly calls her to her desk to address the situation. She asked her what was so important that they had to keep talking during the movie. Are you ready for this? They were talking. . . .ABOUT THE BRAS THEY WERE WEARING!!!!!!!!!! Yes, ladies and gentleman, these two little 1st graders were discussing the bras they were talking about. Now what was kind of funny about all this is that my mom wasn't surprised by this. I guess this has been going on for a couple of years now. Last year one of her team teacher had a girl wearing a padded bra. She was more shocked at the blatant disrespect they were giving my mom. Naturally. But I think my mouth would have completely dropped to the floor if a 6 yod had told me to my face that she was talking about the bra she was wearing.
I have a 9 and 5 yod little girls. And yes, I do refer to them as little girls. That is just what they are. . .little girls. They have absolutely no anatomy they would require an undergarment such as that. They don't even know they exist for their age. So what in the world are these parents thinking? Nothing at all, I guess.
I don't think it must be stated just how important it is to protect our little girls. Pushing them to grow up faster than they are ready to grow up is just flat out dangerous. My 9 yod is already starting to show signs of the "growing up" beginning and I am resisting it as much as possible. We have practical things we've had to do for her but beyond that, I am in no hurry. None of us should be. They will grow up. Let's not encourage them to grow too fast.
I have been very interested in getting my oldest dd the magazine "The Girlhood Home Companion". I have held off just simply because I wanted her to be closer to 10 when she reaches the recommended age for the magazine. What intrigues me most about this magazine is their reason for calling it "The Girlhood Home Companion." I'll quote the editor here:
"During the Victorian era, when life moved at a much slower pace, there were distinct periods of development in a girl’s life: babyhood, childhood, girlhood, and womanhood. I have seen a marked difference between the girl my oldest daughter used to be, and the lovely woman she has become in Christ. One thing I firmly believe is that girlhood is a priceless training ground that should not be rushed." Jill Novak
Did you notice there is no mention of the word "adolescence?" It's missing because it's a word that wasn't coined until early last century. And now is has nothing but a negative connotation. My dd and I decided that we will not call these years coming up for her, adolescence. Instead, she is going to go through girlhood, as will my 5 yod and their not yet born baby sister. This will be a time of preparation. It will be a time of change. Most important , it will be a time to develop a close relationship with mom and hopefully their Savior. Rebellion, while possible, isn't an option. I have no unrealistic expectation here. I know my girls could rebel. But that, I believe, is where some of the guardianship of the parents come in. If we've won their hearts, there is less likely to be rebellion. Winning their hearts opens up a trust in our children that most teenagers don't have with their parents. This is what I am working on right now with my oldest. Our relationship is growing daily. We have a weekly breakfast that we go to together. Sometimes we study scripture and other times we just talk about what lies ahead in our week. She's a part of my life and I am part of hers. She's not exposed to Hannah Montana and other annoying preteen trends. In fact, she's more annoyed by all the HM junk around than any of us. She's kept from the computer right now and when it's time will be walked through how to discern the right places to be (with a trust filter to help in that area of well.)
The point of all this is that we simply must protect them. Our daughters are very precious to our families. It's important that we guard their hearts. Most importantly we must lead them to the cross. They must be daily reminded of the meaning of the gospel in their lives. Right now, that usually comes when discipline and correction are needed. It will eventually come when there is rejection from friends or hardships hit. They must be given the gift of the gospel to remember during those times just what the Savior did on their behalf.
This post turned out longer than I expected. I suppose it's what was on my heart. My mom was naturally very annoyed by those girls in her classroom. I would be as well. But I feel most sorry for them. They don't have a mother who will protect them and keep them as innocent as possible. My mom was never one to be overly protective but she did give me some direction. She doesn't often understand how extreme I tend to be and I can understand that. But I feel such a burden for my girls to be protected in ways I now wish I had been. I didn't make terrible mistakes in my teen years but made mistakes nonetheless. My parents honestly did the best they could. I am thankful for the guidance they did give me. I supposed being a mom now, I want just a bit more for my girls. They are so precious.
I am so proud of my children. They have been working so hard for the past 4 weeks. We started school right at the end of July this year. It was a bit early for Tapestry of Grace to start but they had finally mailed out the teachers manual so I just dove right in. We started early with the date of November 14th in our sights. we should be finished with this semester by November 14th. If we do that successfully, then we will have from that time until the first week of January off. It will be so wonderful to just enjoy our newest arrival AND to enjoy the holiday season.
Jennibear has made vast improvements in her schooling this year. She would be considered a 4th grader this year (sorry, still struggle to let go of that school teacher in me.) Her handwriting is so beautiful. She practiced alot this summer to be faster and better at it. I have removed all handwriting books from her curriculum and now she just does copywork. She moved to a different math book and continues to prove that she has mind geared toward math. Her grammar is moving right along and she's blowing her spelling out of the water. I have learned recently that she LOVES to read. She'll read just about anything that is around. She's recently discovered "Elsie Dinsmore." I have a feeling that is a collection of books that will be quickly gracing our bookshelf. She races through them and can't get enough. We've even been working in the area of accepting correction with a better attitude and she's making great strides in that as well.
BroncoFan is struggling a bit. He's so smart. Too smart for his own good at times. But he's developed some bad habits that I am determined to weed out of him before I really allow him to move forward as quickly as he wants to go. He'd be considered 2nd grade this year but I think he's really doing alot of 3rd type work. He's working in the Upper Grammar of Tapestry and keeping up very well. Spelling is going well for him. And if he'd slow down in grammar he'd almost be perfect in there. It's really like that all around. If he'd just slow down and take his time. Sometimes he's in a hurry to go play. Sometimes he's just bored with the work (not sure what to do there.) He knows the material but he gets sloppy about it. So I am pulling him back on some things in order to convey just how much we must work with excellence. He did a bit better with it this week, I must say. I think in the next few weeks he's going to figure it out and then make leaps and bounds through the rest of the year.
Schmoo is truckin' right along in her Kindergarten work. She doesn't like math but I am so proud of her perseverance. She only does one page of the Math U See Primer per day. But she's having trouble with some of the concepts and the ways it's taught for I am having to jump in and change a few things to help her eyes "see" it properly. She'll get it though. I am not worried. She learning her letter sounds very well. She's not been in any hurry to learn to read so I would somewhat consider her beyond in learning phonics since she's just now learning the letter sounds at 5 1/2 yod. But it won't take her long to get there. We're using Scaredy Cat Reading System this year and she's loving it. So I am. I am also using a different handwriting with her. Peterson Directed Handwriting is so wonderful. It's helping me to guide her away from the bad habits that my other two formed when they were learning to write. She's working so hard to learn her pencil grip right now. She's been such a sport about going back and relearning somethings in this area. Oh, and she's practicing having beautiful hands. I took her and Jennibear out on Saturday morning and read them the chapter of Beautiful Girlhood about our beauty. I had to explain alot of the story to her but she was really taken with the story of the girl who served her family and friends having beautiful hands. She's really been trying hard to have beautiful hands. I love that little girls heart. She just so sweet (with a bit of a silly sense of humor to go with it.) She's nothing but smiles these days. So different from her meloncholy spirit she used to have a couple of years ago.
The LInebacker Starter Kit is also doing school. I am not a big fan of doing home preschool with children. He's the first I have actually done anything. We're making an ABC notebook/lapbook each week. I am using "Proverbs for Preschoolers" that I bought from Marilyn Boyer and teaching him Bible verses with this as well. He's been listening to "Hind 'em In Your Heart" CD during afternoon quiet time. That boy has more scripture memorized right now and doesn't even know it yet. He's also being included with our huddle times now to learn our scripture memory for the week. I am so amazed at the preschool mind. I would be so confused with all the scripture memories he's doing right now. But he knows it all and he'd proud of it. :)
Si-Bay isn't doing anything buy terrorizing me. I have never been very good at occupying my 1 yods. He's into everything right now. He does know what crib time in though. And his favorite toy has to be the loudest hammer and ball contraption I have ever seen in my life. He loves that thing. We keep it on top of a high shelf to everyone will leave it alone. Today when I said crib time he went and pointed to the shelf. I thought he was pointing at the games and told him he couldn't have those. He got so upset. Then I realized he was asking for his hammer. Smart kid. He is learning to sit in my lap and read now. I think it's important to read to children from a very young age, but I really don't start training them to sit until about 18 months. I want reading to be fun. If I force a younger child to sit and read they scream and have a fit no matter how much discipline. How does that make reading fun? They are better able to sit for longer periods at 18 months so he's doing that more often. We're working the traditional family color book "Junior's Colors." All of my children have learned their colors very early from this book. He will be no different.
Baby Ashley is continuing to grow. I started some preterm labor the past Sunday but after alot of Red Raspberry and a hot bath they finally stopped. I am so big. NO, I won't put up pictures. Let me just say that when people find our that I am not due until November 10th, their usual reaction is "REALLY!!!!!" (with a great amount of shock and surprise.) I don't know how much longer I can hold out. I am really uncomfortable. She's already very low in my pelvis. Si-Bay did that as well and my last month with him was awful. The Braxton Hicks are getting stronger as well. I am really praying for strength to persevere and enjoy our little finale but I am wearing thin. Even Underdog is kind of tired of the pregnancy. He's been excited that this was our last and actually enjoying it with me. But he's even tired now. But I just say, my children have been so awesome in helping me.
I was on another message board (won't be anymore though) and someone on the homeschooling board asked about chores and responsibilities for her 4 yod. Her issue was that he's through tantrums when she asked him to do things. This isn't a Christian board so there isn't that awareness of obedience to authority. But I gave some practical ideas and was clear that obedience in important. Several people liked the ideas. But there was this one mom who didn't like them at all. She considered the behavior normal. She truly expects her sons to learn to work hard on their own. At first I was a little put by her criticism. But now I realize how foolish her words are just how much she will eat those words when they turn out, well, like me. My mother took that philosophy. Children need more play than work. My mother has confessed that she regrets not teaching us how to work better. But I mention this because that woman is so work. My little children who are taught at an early age to work have been such a blessing to me in my current physical state. My 9 yod learned how to load the dishwasher. My 7 yod learned how to run the washer and loves that job. My 5 yod is learning how to clean doorknobs and wipe off the kitchen table. Her favorite is sorting beans for me to soak. Although my 3yod is having some issues with authority right now, he's even having moments and cheerfully obeying. And they bless me so by working as hard as they do. They truly sacrifice some of their free time to help momma. I think they understand that they are playing a small role in bringing their baby sister into the world.
I believe it is very important to build modesty into girls even at a young age. Underdog and I have emphasized modesty with both of our girls since they were very little. Most of it started by simply buying them only dresses to wear. Now, we don't have a problem with wearing pants. But in order to express our femininity we feel it's important that dresses play a major roll in our wardrobe. We wear dresses only to church and we try to wear them when we are out unless our destination warrants pants or modest swimsuits.
Although I totally believe that modesty is a matter of the heart, I honestly don't believe that young girls (at least most of them) truly grasp the meaning of modesty beginning in the heart. I guess I believe that because I struggle with that even as an adult walking with the Lord. Of course, I didn't grow up in a home that emphasized modesty as a means of honoring the Lord. Modesty was important but only because our bodies and s*x were taught as being shameful (of course, the core of that was that they were shameful outside of the marriage but the later wasn't taught. It was all shameful and it's taken me years to break free of that lie within my marriage.) But all children are tangible need something solid to put their hands on. When they are young, little girls just simply need the practical parts of modesty to be taught to them. Eventually, as they accept Christ and grow in relationship with Him, I believe that conviction about the specifics for each individual young girl will come.
I am beginning to witness this in my own 9 yod. She is quite a mature young lady for her age. But she's is only now beginning to develop a "style" of her own. She's probably more modest than I am as an adult. She's very picky about her dress length (it's often longer than daddy requires) and she wouldn't be caught dead in a pair of shorts. These are her "rules" no necessarily ours. But she's also beginning to ask those important question that will grow her into a godly young woman and this will eventually lead to her questioning the standards that we've put in place for modesty. I welcome this questioning. I awnt her to make them her own or she will not be walking in freedom with Christ leading her.
We must start young, mothers. We can't expect them to dress in slinky little outfits when they have no curves and then expect them to accept that they can't wear them anymore when they do start to get curves. And for those of you with very young just out of babyhood girls, they grow FAST!!! I have been shocked at some of the physical and bodily changes my 9 yod has already started to go through. She's seem so little and yet. . . . They do mature fast when they hit what is common called the 'tween ages. It's important that we be prepared ahead of time for things to begin changing early. We must be prepared to give them a very positive imagine of these changes taking place. I am not talking positive self-esteem. While I admire Dove's campaign to reach the average girls and give them a higher self-concept, that is missing the point. Self-esteem isn't the issue. As sinner as have enough self-esteem. We must first have an understanding of our utter depravity before God and our intense need for the Savior. As that concept is understood, then we need to give a positive image of who God created them be as a woman. That comes from giving them a positive view of their bodies. Most little girls were created for a special young man. He's has ordained that. She must view her womanhood as being a positive change in her life. For those of us who grew up thinking that our monthly cycles were a literal curse, we must rethink this. We must see it as a positive thing for without that monthly cycle you wouldn't have that precious daughter that you've been called to lead. But long before this message comes the need to teach them to guard their bodies and honor the men in the their lives by not causing them to stumble due to their immodest clothing choices. Not only that but it's a protection of her future relationship with her husband. It's a protection of her purity. It must begin early or they will be sucked in by our society in thinking that they are only worth anything if they dress in all the current styles and look a certain way like a certain Hollywood star. We see this everyday when we see young girls as young as 5 and 6 wearing immodest clothing.
Raising young girls to appreciate their womanhood and practice modesty is a passion of mine. I don't hesitate to help my girls see the immodesty around them and why it is wrong. I am careful not to judge. For must women who are dressed extremely immodestly have no relationship with Christ or concept of their depravity. They need our prayers and in some ways our godly example. And there so Christian woman who have just never been shown they are being immodest. They need godly older women to take them aside gently and help them to see this. The older woman in the lives of your little girl is YOU!!!
I pray that this will reach the heart of a young mom struggling with teaching modesty in a world that doesn't accept it. As the world (and unfortunately, church at times) turn more and more from godly living there will more and more pressure to compromise. This is a call to set your standard based on the Word of God and your relationship with Him (and you husbands) and stand strong. Do not waver because you are uncomfortable. Be strong and courageous. Protect those girls of yours. Protect yourself. Honor the men in your life. Seek modesty for your sake, your daughters sake, the men in your life and church. But most importantly, see modesty because we are encouraged in scripture to be modest and discreet and we are command, as the older women, to teach this to the younger. (Titus 2 and 1 Timothy 2:9-10)
It's rare for me to write about the specifics of my day but it's been a very blessed day for our family and I just had to write about it this evening.
I knew today would be busy. But I had one of those sleeps that left me saying "Where am I? What day is it? What am I doing today? Oh yeah!" I was so dazed when I woke up. Finally I remembered the order of events and hopped out of bed. Today was going to full and I needed to spend time at the feet of Jesus preparing for it. I had such great intentions for that time. . .until I discovered I left my Bible in the car. Being the modest person that I am and uncomfortable with walking outside in the PJs, I just spent time praying. Finally it was time to get up and get ready. I wasn't moving too fast despite the fact that I needed to get out of the house at 8:15am. For some reason my body and mind were about 30 minutes behind. I hate when I get like that.
When it was nearly 8am I sent my oldest down to make bowls of Cheerios for everyone so we could eat fast and run. You see, my children started swim lessons for the first time today. God was so gracious to provide some extra money a few mon
Being the modest person that I am and uncomfortable with walking outside in the PJs, I just spent time praying. Finally it was time to get up and get ready. I wasn't moving too fast despite the fact that I needed to get out of the house at 8:15am. For some reason my body and mind were about 30 minutes behind. I hate when I get like that.