I think I've decided to give up the BJU DVDs next year and really have my children focus more on developing their reading skills through non-fiction books.  My kids all love science and history, so why not build on that?  Yes, fiction is fun and entertaining, which we won't eliminate entirely, but if I can kill two birds with one stone by increasing their reading skills and knowledge at the same time, why not?

So, does anyone out there know of some entertaining non-fiction books that my children might enjoy?  They all read between a 3rd and 6th grade level.

One more thing I wanted to mention...my oldest son got contacts today!  The eye doctor thinks that may help him with his school work, since he has always had a tendency to peer over the top of his glasses instead of looking through them.  They've always been a distraction too, since he says they itch.  I'm looking forward to getting back on track with our school work to see if there's an improvement!  I'm praying this will help him.  I will be so thankful if it helps, even if it's just a little bit.

Hello everyone,

It's been a while, but I'm back.  I had surgery in June and have suffered many complications.  I'm on the road to recovery (or so my doctor tells me), but still have a ways to go.

Now I'm back, and after having quite a bit of time to think about our homeschooling life, I have to wonder if I'm just beating my head against a rock with this whole BJU DVD curriculum.  It seems like we just don't get anywhere with it.  They move through lessons - especially math - so quickly, that I end up having to stop and start (to give them practice on the skills they're being taught) so much that we don't make any real progress with the program. 

For example, my 4th grader is struggling with memorizing his multiplication tables.  BJU moves through the tables so quickly, then expects them to move on to more complex problems before really mastering their facts.  This has resulted in a lot of frustration for my son and myself!

Reading is a whole other issue.  The kids love to read, but sometimes get bored with what they are being forced to read for class.  I have to agree with them a lot of the time.  Some of the stories are simply uninteresting.  Yes, most teach a good lesson at the end, but shouldn't they be reading stories that keep their interest?

I have been consulting my favorite homeschool book "Home Learning Year by Year" by Rebecca Rupp for ideas.  I love this book, and think it is a great guide if you're not going to follow a certain curriculum.  However, I think that unless you have extremely high academic expectations of your children, it leads you towards some pretty deep water at an early age.  Shakespeare in 5th grade?  We didn't cover Shakespeare until high school, if I remember correctly, and even then it was difficult to decipher a lot of the time.

I would love to be a more relaxed homeschooler and do a lot of the teaching myself instead of depending on a DVD to do my job, but with three children, I don't know where I will find the time to instruct all of them.  I know it can be done, but I just don't know how.  I guess I am on that road right now, as we've decided not to use the DVDs for English, Spelling, Social Studies, Science and Handwriting.

I would love to wean myself off of the Reading DVDs and just let the kids read whatever interests them, but I worry about how much they are comprehending.  if it's a book I've read, I can ask them questions about it, but if I haven't read it, then how can I casually quiz them over what they've read?  How do I know they are understanding?

The kids are all using the same English curriculum - second grade Bob Jones English and Writing.  Yeah, I know...second grade curriculum for 4th and 5th grade students?  The new BJ English books cover the writing process so well, that I thought it would be beneficial to my boys to use it.  The earlier English books (which is what my boys would be using with their grade appropriate DVDs) are the same from year to year.  They mostly cover grammar and hardly touch on writing at all.

Math...I'm not at all certain about math.  How much of the stuff they are taught is really necessary?  I mean, I've gotten by on not knowing geometry for a good 35 years.  I feel that understanding basic facts - addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, basic algebra, money and time are essential.  You use those skills on a daily basis.  Am I a terrible mother and homeschooler for blowing off the rest of it until they are in high school?

Spelling has been pretty easy for us.  Each week, the kids use workbooks, look up their assigned words in the dictionary and thesaurus, and try to write stories which include all of their assigned words.

Social Studies has always been a group effort.  We read from books together and watch History Channel shows.

Bible is easy - I don't feel they need a separate curriculum.  We read from Egermeier's Bible Stories and discuss each story.  There are often great shows about the Bible on the History Channel as well.

Science is found everywhere and we just fly by the seat of our pants for a science curriculum.  They are constantly wondering about things, so it's easy to find things to study about.  Again, this is a group effort.  I don't think I need to teach it according to grade level. 

So, I now that I've written down my thoughts, I find I'm really only relying on the DVDs for math and reading.  So, I guess I'm left to ponder two things:

Is advanced math necessary, at least at this stage in the game, or should we stay focused on the basics until the kids really have a good grasp of skills they will use in daily life?

Is there a way to ensure my children are comprehending what they're reading, without me first reading everything they put their hands on?  This is really only a concern for my oldest son, who has always struggled with reading.

I'm glad to be back to my blog and look forward to chatting with you all soon.

My oldest son seems to struggle more and more every day.  It's 2:00 in the afternoon and he is still working on math.  He's been working on it since 9:30 this morning.  18 problems, all multiplication.  He's not worked on reading, english, spelling, history or Bible yet.  We've still got all of that ahead of us yet today.  Math is usually his strongest subject, yet in the past two weeks he's gone from spending an hour, at most, on math, and getting an average grade of 85, to spending several hours a day just trying to do one assignment and failing miserably.  It's like something has switched off in his brain.

We tried out the "No-Glamour" series for vocabulary and grammar.  It was way too easy.  It's multiple choice, and you only have two choices.  One answer is correct, and the other one is so incredibly absurd, even a two year old would know it wasn't correct.  So, now I'm back to looking for something that will challenge him, but not be too easy.  On top of all of his language-based problems, now I have to find something to help him with math.

I am really beginning to doubt my ability to teach him.  My other two children are thriving and amaze me each day with how much they have learned.  My oldest can't come close to passing anything without several tries.  My only other option for schooling him is to send him to public school (which really isn't an option at all).  We can't afford the $7,000 a year that the only Christian school in the county charges, and they don't take children who are struggling with school.  I can't keep buying software and books that promise to help him advance in school.  I've tried Sylvan, which did absolutely nothing for him.  I considered another Sylvan-type program which caters to children with learning disabilities, but until a doctor diagnoses him with a particular learning disability, they can't help.  Of all the doctors we've been to, they all say "Something is wrong, we just don't know what."  I am certain that what is really wrong stems from his birth and the fact that he did not breathe for the first 2 minutes after he was born.

I'm sorry for venting like this, but I have to voice my concerns somewhere.  Since my parents don't support us homeschooling (even though he had the same problems in public school) I can't talk to them.  My husband works so much that I hate to voice my concerns to him all the time.  I want him to have some peace when he is with us.  I am so sad and I don't see any way out for my son.  I feel sorry for him and I do not know what to do.  I feel so lost.

I AM FINE!!!   I had my mammogram and the doctor looked at my new images immediately.  She said I definitely needed the ultrasound.  My u/s appointment wasn't until 4:30 (my mammogram was at 1:00), but they were able to get me in at 2:00.  I waited in the waiting for 40 LOOOOONG minutes.  Of course, I imagined the worst.  I was on the verge of tears the entire time.  I finally got to the examination room and the u/s tech looked at me for at least 20 minutes.  She said "I just can't find anything, anywhere".  She went to get the doctor and the doctor looked for a good 10 minutes and said I was perfectly healthy; no cysts, no tumors, no growths, whatsoever.  She said it has to just be an area of thickened tissue.  I am so relieved!

Thank you, everyone, for your prayers.  I appreciate your positive thoughts more than I can say.

I got a call this morning from the radiologist.  Seems I have an area of density in my left breast she wants to check out further.  I am scheduled for a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound tomorrow afternoon.  Needless to say, I'm worried sick.  Luckily, the radiologist will read my report as soon as I'm finished, so I won't have to wait to find out what they think it is.  I'll let you all know how it goes.

I felt I should post about the mammogram I had yesterday.  No, I don't have any suspicious lumps or other problems (that I'm aware of).  It was just time to get a baseline mammogram done for my own peace of mind.  I wanted to post about it for the benefit of others who haven't had one, and are fearing it the way I did. 

I was sick to my stomach all afternoon.  I DID NOT want to go.  I've never been so afraid.  Those who know me would agree that I'm not a wilting flower, afraid of her own shadow, but the whole mammogram thing...it REALLY bothered me for some reason.  I was scared to death even though everyone I talked to said it wasn't a big thing.  I knew it couldn't be a big deal since millions of women do it every year.  Still, I was convinced I was going to die from the pain.

Thank goodness I didn't have to wait in the waiting area long.  A very nice nurse came to get me.  Her name was Jane and I was immediately comfortable with her.  I undressed, put on a gown and was quickly taken into the mammogram room.  Jane explained to me what would happen, and I should let her know if I begin to feel real pain.  I just knew I was going to be in horrible pain, so I was ready to tell her to stop.  To my great relief, it didn't hurt at all.   Oh, there was a little discomfort, but it wasn't so tight that it caused anything that even resembled pain.  It was just tightness.  After the first image, she asked me if that was too bad.  I asked if that was as bad as it would get and she told me that was it.  I was so happy!  Once I realized I was not going to die during the exam, we began chatting about homeschooling (her daughter homeschools her two children) and about sewing, as I've been planning on buying a new machine.  The whole procedure was easy as pie.  

The best part about the day was that my husband offered to take the afternoon off to take me, even though he is totally swamped with work right now.  I told him I'd be fine, but he knew I was nervous even though I didn't tell him how scared I was.  So, he and the kids took me and I was so happy that they were there.  I really didn't want to be there alone. After the exam, he surprised me by taking me to buy my sewing machine and out to dinner at my favorite restaurant.  How sweet is that?  He worries about me even if he doesn't say so all that often.  I was just thrilled he offered to take me.  I told him the sewing machine and dinner wasn't necessary, but he insisted.  What a wonderful man.  I don't deserve him.

I just thought my experience might help others out there who haven't had a mammogram and are dreading it.  It really isn't a big deal!

I spent a lot of time on the computer this weekend, looking for materials to help my oldest son, who is struggling with language arts.  We've been using Bob Jones DVDs for two years, and while he IS learning, it is such a struggle for him.  I've been looking for something to help him master some basic skills that he just didn't master when he was younger.  I just didn't see how repeating 3rd or 4th grade was going to help.  If anything, I figured it would make him feel inferior to his younger brother who is simply thriving with the Bob Jones 4th grade DVDs.

I took the suggestion from Youngwife, to change the way he's being educated.  I decided to remove the Bob Jones spelling, english and reading DVDs from his curriculum completely for the time being.  Since he is so great with computers and loves everything about them, he will instead use interactive software geared toward children who are struggling with reading, spelling and english.  I found the software at Linguisystems.  I purchased a few programs from the "No-Glamour" series for helping him with grammar and vocabulary.  I also purchased a workbook with short reading comprehension stories that have questions to answer in complete sentences (instead of the usual multiple choice), which I hope will help with the capitalization and punctuation problems he has.  He has always struggled with putting thoughts from his head onto paper, so this should give him lots of practice at that as well.

The "No-Glamour" software also has a program for improving social behavior.  My son has always had a hard time "reading" people.  The software leads him through social situations and he has to choose how to respond.  It also teaches manners, the importance of doing your chores and taking care of yourself.  I hope this helps him get along a little better not only with friends, but with his brother and sister.  My husband and I are always telling him it's time to grow up, so I hope the sections on taking care of himself will help us define what we mean by "grow up".

I am going to give him several weeks of practice on his language skills with these programs.  He has taken an interest in a series of books, so I'm going to have him continue with those in addition to the reading comp worksheets.  When  things begin to click for him, I will slowly begin re-introducing the DVDs.  That's the plan...but as I sit here, I wonder if that would be the best thing to do...hmmmm....that will take some more thought, but I will cross that bridge when I come to it.  Thank goodness homeschooling is so flexible!

Thanks again to everyone who responded to my earlier post.  Your comments and encouragement really helped!

Spunky is giving away a Benz Microscope and Apologia Biology Set this week. Click Here to get the details.

I found this great website that tells what a stay at home mom should make each year, depending on what jobs she does and how many hours per weeks she works.  I did find the calculator lacking a category for teaching, so I substituted running a daycare facility for the number of hours I teach.  My salary should be over $200,000 per year.  I told my husband I was expecting back pay for all the years I've been a mom.  He instead offered to raise my life insurance coverage, just in case something should happen to me.  Gee, thanks honey!

Try it out!  http://www.mom.salary.com.

We started our usual Bob Jones DVD curriculum in January.  My 12 year old son is in the 5th grade and is struggling in every subject.  He has a very difficult time retaining what he has been taught, which is why he is already struggling.  They are reviewing skills taught last year, and he doesn't remember ever seeing the math or the english skills they are teaching.

School has never been easy for him.  I removed him from public school when he was in the 3rd grade because he was failing to learn anything.  I asked for the school to test him because he was so behind in everything.  It wasn't the first time he'd been tested.  We took him to a developmental pediatrician when he was 7 years old because he couldn't remember the names of letters or numbers.  We were told "something" was wrong, but they couldn't put their finger on it (after some $5,000+ worth of testing).  That's basically the same story I got from the psychologist who tested him in the public school.  Yes, there's a problem, but nothing so distinct that they could give it a name or help him learn.

I repeated the third grade with him and he seemed to grasp what was being taught.  He didn't fail every single assignment like he did while in the third grade in public school.  He still struggled, especially with spelling, but seemed to understand what he was being taught.  Fourth grade was a struggle as well, but we managed to get through it and his CAT test scores (if you put any faith in them) skyrocketed from the previous year.

Here we are again, with him failing every single assignment.  Yes, I think a lot of it comes down to the fact that he is lazy a lot of days.  There are days when his writing is like that of a kindergartner.  He doesn't use even one capital letter or punctuation mark, even though he knows he has to use them.  He says he forgets.  Now, how he can forget to capitalize the first letter in his name, I just don't get. You can forget about him memorizing math facts.  He still counts on his fingers.  His spelling is so bad that when he "writes" in his free time, he colors pictures of what he's trying to say.  Last night my kids were all making up new smoothie recipes.  My 10 and 8 year old children were writing down the names and amounts of each  ingredient in their recipes.  My oldest was drawing pictures.  When I asked him why he wasn't just writing the ingredients down, he said he couldn't spell them.  I just didn't know how to react, so I said nothing, but it is really getting to me.  He's like a preschooler, drawing pictures to communicate.  He's not able to communicate at a 12 year old level.

This problem doesn't present itself just at school.  He is extremely immature.  He has to be watched every second.  He is always trying to break things when he thinks no one is looking (he's done that since he was four years old), he picks fights with his brother and sister every chance he gets, he tries to hurt our cats, etc. Anytime I turn my back he is into trouble.  I would never dream of leaving him home alone, even if it was just to run down to Albertson's (less than a 1/4 mile away) for a gallon of milk.  Despite his actions, by all outward appearances, he appears normal.  My children are always complimented on their behavior when we are out in public.  Yes, my two youngest are truly little angels.  I would trust them in any situation to make the right decision.  My oldest would choose the wrong path every time.

I think a lot of the problem with school could simply be that he is lazy, but I also have to take into account that he had a very tough birth.  We were both lucky to live through it.  He wasn't breathing the first two minutes after he was born.  His apgar scores were all 2 or below.  I know that must have something to do with it, but what really gets me is that he is able to memorize the names of Pokemon characters.  He's able to beat almost any video game within a couple of tries.  For that reason, I think a lot of the problem could simply be that he's not interested.  He can spout off facts about every single Pokemon, but can't remember what 12 minus 9 is.

I guess I'm wondering how many of you have ever had to repeat more than one grade with your child?  Have any of you had these types of problems?  If you were in my shoes, what would you do?  I hate to discipline him for his bad grades, especially on days when he seems to really be trying because I know there could be an underlying problem.  Other days, when he's obviously done as little as possible to get through his studies, I feel like he shouldn't be allowed to do anything but study.

I know this is all having an impact on his self-esteem.  He sees his brother and sister excel at every subject, while he fails practically everything, every day.  I don't want  to hurt him, by putting him back in the 4th grade, but I don't want to hurt him by pushing him to do something that I'm not sure he's capable of doing.  I had to put him back into 3rd grade spelling a couple of weeks ago because he wasn't able to spell simple words like "they", "also" and "same".  He's doing much better, but I hate seeing him not progress. I wonder if we'll be doing 3rd grade spelling again next year....

I know I'm rambling on here, and I apologize.  I'm just looking for some input.  I feel lost.  All I know is that something has to happen, one way or another.

Living in the Phoenix area until I was 31, I experienced A LOT of thunderstorms in my life.  I love thunderstorms.  I can remember as a child, sitting on our back porch bundled up in blankets, watching  storms pass through.  You could count on one at least weekly during monsoon season.  There is NOTHING like the smell of an oncoming storm.  It was my favorite smell until my children were born.  The smell of a storm had to take a back seat to them.

When we moved to the Portland, Oregon area and  then Spokane, I was disappointed to find that there just aren't thunderstorms in this neck of the woods.  We've lived here almost four years and have had a grand total of two thunderstorms in that time.  Tonight we had one of them.

It was a perfect ending to a perfect day.  My new blue washer and dryer arrived around lunchtime.  After they were installed, we went to lunch at McDonald's, then went on to Lowe's, Walmart and finally to Costco for one of those giant, inflatable water slides.

When we got home, my hubby mowed the lawn while I worked on our plants.  I sadly had to announce the death of  all three of my rose bushes and one dogwood tree.  They perished partly due to the fact that they were relatively new plants (I planted them when we first moved into this house in September), and partly due to the unusually harsh, frigid weather we had in November and December last year.  After we finished with the yardwork around 5:00 p.m., it was still over 70 degrees outside, so we set up the water slide.  The kids played on it for an hour and a half and had a ball.  They should sleep very well tonight.

I cooked homemade pizza while my husband and kids all showered.  It was then I noticed the big, puffy clouds heading our way.  By the time we sat down to eat, you could hear thunder in the distance and could smell it coming through the open windows and doors.  By the time we'd each eaten one piece of pizza, the storm was on, so we all bundled up in blankets and took our pizza to the front porch to watch the show.  The kids decided thunderstorms were way better than TV.  As the storm really rolled in, the clouds took the shape of a giant pirate ship.  It was truly a sight to behold.  My kids imagined the thunder was the pirates shooting their cannons.

We sat and watched the lightning and clouds for a good half hour or more.  At one point, the lightning was so bright and lasted so long, it fooled our street lights into thinking it was daytime.  They shut off for about 10 minutes, until they figured out it really was nighttime.

It was just a wonderful day.  One I will remember for the rest of my life.   I hope one day my children take their kids out on their porch, bundled up in a blanket to watch a storm, and tell their children all about our pirate ship thunderstorm.

It seems like we are always busy with something.  

This entire past weekend was spent running around looking for a new washer and dryer (I hate my Neptune front-loader), going to Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. etc.  We didn't eat at home on either Friday or Saturday.  Sunday we went out to breakfast (Old European Breakfast House has the BEST breakfast anywhere!) before we began running around.

Yesterday was my daughter's birthday so we celebrated at Chuck E. Cheese before going to Home Depot, then Baskin Robbins to pick up the cake.  We got home, answered birthday telephone calls (we love it when our families call to sing Happy Birthday...American Idol material they are NOT), opened gifts, ate cake, built the Belville Mermaid Castle, took showers, read from Egermeier's Bible Stories and then fell into bed sometime around 10:00 p.m. 

Today we left the house at 3:00 to take the kids to pottery class.  While they were in class, my husband and I visited the Sea-Ray dealer since we're in the market for a new boat.  After that we ran to the mall and bought a new pair of shoes for my daughter and one for me.  By that time, it was time to head back downtown to pick up the kids.  We went out to eat at the Chinese restaurant, came home and got in the spa, fertilized all of the trees and flowers in the back yard and returned phone calls we missed while we were out.  I still have to:  bid on ebay auctions for a friend (she doesn't have a computer right now), unload the dishwasher (o.k., so the kids will do that, but it's something I still need to address), fold a load of  laundry, change the kitty litter box, watch American Idol (I love Taylor Hicks!), serve up leftover birthday cake to the kids for their bedtime snack and think about what I'll be making for supper tomorrow.

Tomorrow we will leave here around 3:30 for our chiropractor appointment.  After that we are going to Pool World to pick up some chlorine and shock for the spa.  Since we're in the area, I'm sure we'll end up at Target so Sage can spend the gift card she got from Uncle Johnny for her birthday.  On the way home we'll run to the grocery store to pick up milk (I should invest in Darigold since we drink so much) and a few other things.  Once I'm home, I'll cook while my husband begins draining the spa and the kids will probably play on the new swingset (aka Pirate Ship).  I'm certain a hundred other things will rear their ugly head during that time and my evening will be spent doing something.

I could go on and on, but you get the picture.  It's something every night.  I would love to have nice, quiet evenings.  I'd love to make supper, clean up, take a walk or bike ride around the neighborhood with my husband and kids, get a shower, put on my jammies and spend a few quiet hours before going to bed.  My husband wonders how I can have insomnia since I go and go all day, but that's just it.  I am constantly going from sun up to sun down and don't have any time to unwind.  I am lucky if I get to sleep by midnight, and I'm usually up and at 'em by 6:00 a.m.  I hate that we are busy every single night of the week.  It's just not right.  It seems like our activities have gotten out of control.  And now, instead of doing all the things I have to do yet tonight, I'm here, typing on my computer.  Yeah, that makes sense.

I think I may have to make a schedule for all of us.  I just don't feel like I'm using all of my time wisely during the day.  I know my kids could be spending their time more wisely.  If I could just eliminate a few things each evening, maybe I could get in a walk with my family and have a reasonably quiet night.  Even if I just accomplish it a couple of evenings each week, it's better than none.

I was pleasantly surprised that the week-long visit with my parents went so smoothly.  We giggled and talked and had a great time.  After they left I told my husband I wanted to move closer to them (we moved over 1500 miles away from them about 5 years ago - something they have never forgiven me for) so we could visit more often.

The day after they left I got the phone call that changed my mind about our "nice" visit.  My mother informed me that my oldest son was "wierd"...I guess because he isn't dating (he turned 12 while they were here).  There is nothing "wierd" about my son or my other children.  Just because they don't act like my nephew (he's 11 years old, has several "girlfriends", and is always in trouble for lying and not being home from his dates on time), doesn't mean my kids are wierd.  We are raising moral, sweet, caring children who will grow into moral, caring adults.  I don't want my children to be what society considers normal.  I want my children to be exceptional...and they ARE!

She also said we don't include him in our family activities.  She said we needed to send him to school where he can be included....

WHAT? 

Where she got that I will never know.  I'm really at a loss as to where that came from.   We have always done everything together...all five of us are like peas in a pod.  We have never, never, NEVER left anyone out of our activities.  Even when we aren't doing anything but watching TV, we do it together.

She also blamed me for my son's gait.  He has always had a slight problem with his gait.  His knees are turned out, so his feet turn out like a duck.  It's NOT severe.  I don't think anyone on the street would even notice unless they really studied him.  We asked our pediatrician about it a couple of years ago.  He said to wait and see if it's something that would correct itself.  It hasn't, and we have an appointment with the pediatrician to have him reevaluated and to get a referral to a specialist.  For some reason it is now my fault he walks the way he does.  My mom said he never had the problem before we moved away (even though she was the one who pointed out that he didn't crawl normally when he was just 6 months old), that it must either have something to do with being so far away from the family or because he isn't in public school.  Uh, o.k., I guess.  Yeah...I've heard of that happening.

That's when she suggested we move back so she could take "her" kids whenever she felt like it.

Excuse me?  "Her" kids?  When did MY children become hers?

That's when my normally even keeled temper exploded.   I hated losing it and I am upset with myself for it, but something had to be said.

I told her they were not her children.  I told her that even if I lived under the same roof as she did, she would never take them whenever SHE felt like it, that it was solely up to my husband and me to determine when she could see them.  I told her I really didn't care if she approved of the way they were being raised, that riding me about homeschooling only angered me, and that she would never change my mind about it.  I also told her if she ever calls my children wierd, or if I ever hear of her talking to anyone about my children in that manner, she would never see me or them again.

I mean, I can imagine that everyone in "Blogland", who doesn't know my family personally, must think that we let our children run around dirty, unfed and unloved.  Like we live in a cave somewhere and are completely abnormal.  I assure you, we are just as normal as the rest of you.  We just moved to a brand new house in one of the most upscale neighborhoods in the area.  My husband quit his job and started his own business so he could be with us more (he works from home).  We do things together as a family or not at all.  My children actually get along...   well, not all of the time...and enjoy being with each other.  The kids are out with other children at least weekly at the various classes they take. They do have friends (just not girlfriends and boyfriends). If anything, my children are spoiled (but they are not brats).  They want for nothing.  We are just like everyone else, but my parents think because we moved away from them and because we homeschool, we are unfit parents.   

I'm thankful my husband's parents are supportive. When I told my father-in-law about all of this, he said he was so sorry they treated me that way, that he loves me like I am his own daughter and thinks I am the best mother he has ever known.  Why can't my parents feel the same way?

Of course my mom said she was sorry, but she doesn't mean it.  She'll be back to criticizing me in no time.  I can't wait!

I read this article this morning as I scanned the news section of Yahoo.  I got a real chuckle out of it.

Why is this man so set on "proving" that God didn't perform the miracles written about in the Bible?  First he tried to prove that Moses did not part the Red Sea, now he's trying to prove that Jesus did not walk on water.  Why are scientists so bent on giving a scientific explanation for every miraculous event in the Bible?  What's the point?  Does he think he is bigger than God?  Does he think we are all going to just throw up our hands and say, "Oh, you are right.  The Bible is all a big lie"?  I don't get it. 

I will stick with what the Bible tells me is truth.  No amount of scientific proof will sway me.  So go ahead Professor Nof, spout your theories about what could have happened.  The rest of us know what really did happen.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my question.  I know I am doing the right thing, but when everyone around you insists you're doing the wrong thing, it gets a little tough to take.

My parents are coming to visit next week.  They'll be here for a whole week.  I already told my mom I didn't want to hear anything about how my children needed to be in public school and how there would be something wrong with them if I didn't put them in school.  I know what I said went in one ear and out the other, so I hope to be able to control my temper while she's here.  I will just cut her off if she starts up, especially if she tries it in front of the kids.  It will only make them feel like something is wrong with them.

Again, I appreciate everyone's encouragement.  It feels good to know I'm not the only one in the world who thinks the way I do. 

My mother and I had a conversation today (again) about Tanner getting older (he will be 12 this month).  She seems to think that unless I expose Tanner to lots and lots of kids, that he will be "warped".  She says he needs to go to school so he can be exposed to children on a regular basis.  She says we need to let him go out with friends.  She preaches this to me every chance she gets.

My question is, how many of you out there agree with her?

I completely disagree, but maybe I am a minority.  I feel he gets plenty of interaction with other children.  We go to our homeschool group activities on a regular basis and he takes a pottery class twice a week with other kids.  I feel this is plenty of time for him to interact with children.  I don't believe turning him out in the world, with no one to watch over him is acceptable.  I look at the things 12 year old children are doing and what they are exposed to in public school and it frightens me.  My mother talks about my nephew, who is 4 months younger than Tanner, taking girls out on "dates".  My brother takes him and his "girlfriend" to the movies, to the skateboard park, etc., drops them off, and picks them up hours later.  She talks about all the trouble he gets into because he lies to his parents, he doesn't come home when he's supposed to after school and he argues with them CONSTANTLY.  My children are only exposed to children who have similar backgrounds and beliefs.  My children are learning my husband's and my morals and beliefs before turning them out into a world that tells them it's o.k. to do whatever they want as long as it feels good.  Is keeping them on a short leash a bad thing?  Is my nephew having experiences that will prevent him from being "warped"?  I don't think so, but maybe I don't know as much as I think I do.

My mom, who works for a police department, never goes into detail about cases she's worked on, but I can always tell when she's been working on a particularly bad case involving children.  She always tells me to watch my children closely, that I don't know what horrible things adults (and other children) can do to children.  Yet days like today I hear how I need to give him his freedom.  He's TWELVE (or at least he will be in a few weeks).  Does such a young boy, need that kind of freedom?  Should I be taking him and a "girlfriend" to a movie and dropping them off for hours on end?  I don't think so.

Yes, we live in an area with very few children, so we don't have kids in and out of our home all day.  The children in our neighborhood who are the same age as Tanner have parents who work in the public school, so of course, we have cooties or something.  They won't even look at us, let alone allow their children to go across the street to the park with our children.  Still, do I want my children to go to the park with girls who have their bellybuttons pierced at the ripe old age of 11 and wearing clothes that resemble lingerie?  Do I want my son to start thinking these boys with their baggy pants, pierced ears and lips and mohawks are "cool"?  No way.

I think my children will grow up just fine with a limited circle of friends and a limited amount of freedom.  I think, until they are much older, they don't need to spend a whole lot of free time away from us.  I think that's the only way they are going to grow up to be responsible, caring and moral adults.

What do you think?

I woke up Monday morning at 6:00 to get ready for my 8:00 surgery.  I went into the bathroom and immediately felt the need to throw up.  No, it wasn't a bout of stomach flu.  I was just nervous.  I went back into the bedroom, sat beside my husband, who had the surgery last October, and told him I couldn't do it.  He told me to do whatever I wanted.  He knows me well enough to know that if he tries to talk me into doing something, I will fight it.

At approximately 8:00 I found myself in the examination room where they "mapped" my eye.  The test was wild.  I can't really explain it, but I felt like I was in a Dr. Seuss book.  There was a big red light, swirly black and orange lights flashing on and off.  The nurse was ticked off with me because I couldn't keep my eye open long enough for her to get the photos she needed.  She had to take two photos of my left eye, poor thing.  Things didn't go exactly how she planned and you could tell she wasn't happy about it by all of her heavy sighs.  I grew tired of that REAL QUICK.

By the time she was done with me, I was mad AND nervous and REALLY didn't want to go through with it.  My husband told me he'd take me home if I wanted to, that he didn't care either way if I went through with it, but he knew I'd hate myself for not going through with it.  About that time the surgical nurse came in to get me.  I left my family behind and entered the point of no return.

We went over post-op instructions, what all of the eye drops were for, things I could and couldn't do, what to expect, etc.  Then I put on a lovely blue surgical bonnet and waited to see the doctor.

The doctor gave me a Valium (thank goodness), checked my prescription and looked over the scans of my eyes.  All looked good, so he sent me back out to the waiting room until he was ready for me.

I sat and chatted with a very nice older lady named Shirley and a woman who worked there, whose job I could only imagine was to keep the patients from bolting out the door, scared out of their mind.  She was quite sweet and calming.  After about 10 minutes, the Valium hit.  That's when I knew what the lady's job was.  It was to keep the patients from sliding out of their chair and onto the floor.  I was feeling quite relaxed.  They could have told me they were going to gouge my eyes out with forks and I'd have happily gone along with it.  I was floating up somewhere near the ceiling when the surgical nurse came in, pulled me down off of the ceiling and took me to the operating room.

She put numbing eyedrops in my eyes which felt like they'd been stored in the freezer.  They were COLD!  The doctor came in after that and started the procedure.  He was great about telling me what he was doing.  They put two "spoons" in my right eye.  I'm not sure what they are really called, but they held my eye open during the surgery.  The "spoons" were my biggest fear.  I just knew it would hurt, but I felt nothing.  The doctor brushed some more numbing solution on my eye, then applied a suction cup on my eye and told me my vision would black out for about 45 seconds while he cut the cornea.  It seemed like it only blacked out for a few seconds.  I felt a little pressure, which was to be expected.  The suction was removed and I heard the laser go to work.  Before I knew it, they were on to the next eye.  The left one was a little more difficult.  The spoons didn't want to stay in.  It took three tries, but they got it done. 

Immediately after the surgery I could see clearer, but it was like I was in heavy fog.  Things were very white.  It was difficult to keep my eyes open.  They wanted to be closed, so I kept them closed for the most part, but I wanted to open them because I could see!

I came home, put on my pajamas and snuggled in to my recliner.  My eyes burned for a while and they watered a whole lot.  I took some Tylenol and a couple of Benadryl so I could nap.  I woke up a couple of hours later and my vision had cleared quite a bit.  I wasn't allowed to watch TV, do computer work or read, so I just sat here with my eyes closed as my husband worked from his laptop in the recliner next to me.  We chatted a bit and I listened to the kids while they played outside.  Sage came in, sleepy from getting up so early.  She put on her jammies and took a nap with me.  My eyes were even better when I woke up and felt almost like I'd not had surgery at all.  I felt really good.

I got up this morning and was surprised to find my vision was clearer than it ever was with my contacts or glasses.  I had a 7:30 check up to get ready for and was so happy not to have to search for my glasses or put in contacts!  I was surprised to see my eyes had many broken blood vessels, which made big bloody spots all over my eyes. The kids were grossed out by them.  To tell the truth, I was too.

At my check up, the doctor tested my vision.  I went from 20/200 to 20/15!  How incredible is that?  I feel great today.  I occasionally feel like I have a piece of hair or sand in my left eye, but it's common to feel like that for a couple of days following surgery.  He said the broken blood vessels are from the suction, completely normal and will heal within 3 weeks.

All in all, it was a good experience.  If I had to do it again, I wouldn't hesitate.  For those of you considering it...it is SO worth it.  Go for it.

I'd like to get the Bible on DVD.  I've found the book of Genesis, and the entire New Testament, but I would like to find a complete version of the Bible to watch with the kids.  We've been reading from Egermeier's, but my children are all visual learners and I think they would get more out of something they could watch.  Anyone have any suggestions?