Jocelyn, our second home school graduate, makes beautiful graphics and blog designs. It was a part of her home school training. Here is one she made:
She makes many graphics and allows them for use on blogs and websites free of charge. You will find them on her blog, A Pondering Heart, by clicking on the image.
Shalom friends!
…In the seventh month, on the first of the month, there shall be a Shabbat for you, a remembrance with shofar blasts, a holy convocation.
Leviticus 16:24
These are the days in-between the two Appointed Feasts in Scripture, The Feast of Trumpets-Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur. They are the last of the days of Teshuva, termed the Days of Awe. They are days we are to prepare ourselves and reflect upon our own sins and the offenses we have caused to others over the past year. It is a serious and holy time, a time the Father is calling us to draw closer to him and be more like he is.
Rosh HaShanah: The Season of Teshuvah
by Ed Chumney
Hebraic Heritage Ministries International
“A special season known as Teshuvah, which in Hebrew means “to return or repent,” begins on the first day of the month of Elul and continues 40 days, ending with Yom Kippur. Thirty days into Teshuvah, on Tishrei l, comes Rosh HaShanah. This begins a final ten-day period beginning on Rosh HaShanah and ending on Yom Kippur. These are known as the High Holy Days and as the Awesome Days (Yamim Nora’im, the days of awe). The sabbath that falls within this ten-day period is called Shabbat Shuvah, the Sabbath of Return. Five days after Yom Kippur is Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. Teshuvah begins on Elul 1 and concludes on Tishrei 10, Yom Kippur. Each morning during the 30 days of the month of Elul, the trumpet (shofar) or ram’s horn is blown to warn the people to repent and return to G-d.Teshuvah (repentance) speaks to all people. Those who believe in the Messiah are called to examine their lives and see where they have departed from G-d. It is a call to examine the Scriptures and the evidence that the Messiah was who He said He was.
G-d has always had a heart to warn people before He proclaims judgment. G-d warned the people before the flood, and He warned Nineveh before it was ruined. He does not want anyone to receive the wrath of His judgment (Ezekiel [Yechezekel] 18:21-23,30-32; Zephaniah 2:1-3; 33:1-7; 2 Peter 3:9).
The whole month of Elul is a 30-day process of preparation through personal examination and repentance for the coming High Holy Days.”
~from Yom Teruah Part 1
Ephesians 4:29 tells us:
“Let no harmful language come from your mouth, only good words that are helpful in meeting the need, words that will benefit those who hear them. 30 Don’t cause grief to YHVH’s Ruach HaKodesh(Set Apart Spirit), for he has stamped you as his property until the day of final redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, violent assertiveness and slander, along with all spitefulness, 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted; and forgive each other, just as in the Messiah YHVH has also forgiven you.”
Shalom and may you hear his calling you at this time of Teshuva~
Shalom!
Resources:
All of the Father’s commanded Feasts and Shabbat are found Leviticus 23.
Yom Teruah: Day Of The Shofar Blast
Rosh Hashanah / Yom Teruah – Sounding the Shofar
Yom Kippur
Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah)
The Ten Days of Repentance (Aseret Yemei Teshuvah)
Wow. So you can change the template here, but you can’t edit it. That’s no fun.
Guess I’ll keep looking.
UPDATE: OK, this is me. It reminds me of the treeline at the Wagamuth’s on Pook rd.
Shalom!
We are moving, and I will miss my home terribly. We have sold all of our animals to wonderful new owners and are waiting to see who Yahveh will bring to live in this wonderful old house of ours. This room is beautiful. We have a piano in it and have always loved being able to say "We have a parlour"!
My friend, Jamie, whom we met last summer took this of my Parlour. I know it is dark (and I should have had Jocelyn lighten it!), but I love this view. I do have more photos of my home on another blog.
Have a wonderful and blessed week!!
Hi Friends~
Life here at Dixon Homestead goes on… as the weather turns colder and the sun shines less.
We are being cautious to stay as healthy as we can, though it is difficult with the changing weather. Almost all of our children went through colds last week. We are thankful to be over them now! We are keeping them in the sunshine when it come out, because sunshine contains a lot of vitamin D, which kills the influenza virus. That and the other health remedies we are using surely kept their colds from becoming something worse.
We are up to 14 goats now, but we are in the process of selling most of them. (If you are interested and local, email me!)… We will also then have to sell our 1yo LGD, Coconut, a beautiful and sweet Great Pyrenees… Chickens will go next…. downsizing in these last days…
Other than that, we are WELL! We are discovering more and more of Torah and how to fully love and trust in Yehovah, and we are truly blessed!!
May you be blessed of Yehovah and have his Shalom, which is not what the world offers and will keep you content in all you do!
Homeschooling Boys Website and Yahoo Group
HomeschoolingBoys.com is a site I just found a couple of weeks ago. It is a site for homeschool families with boys and covers topics from homeschool issues to discipline to field trips. There is a Yahoo Group you can Click to join here!
Take A Look:
English and Grammar Curriculum:
English for the Thoughtful Child 1 is an English/Writing for children ‘Grades: 3-4′. A Simply Grammar-like course for a younger child following the Charlotte Mason approach from Greenleaf Press. It contains everything you need for language arts – wholesome classic literature excerpts, narration, dictation, memorization, and composition. Lessons are self-contained and the book is very easy to use with short, manageable exercises and assignments. Like Simply Grammar, this volume is also a revision of an older book, complete with quaint, but stimulating, period illustrations.
English for the Thoughtful Child 2 is the English/Writing for children ‘Grades: 3-4′. This sequel contains all the distinctive features of the original. It contains nature lessons, oral composition, picture lessons, memory work, and a gentle introduction to grammar, all centered around the development of writing skills.
Simply Grammar by Charlotte Mason and Karen Andreola is an expanded version of Charlotte Mason’s First Grammar Lessons. The exercises use Miss Mason’s method of narration. Most work is oral, but any of it can be written. One grammar rule is taught per lesson, and all exercises that follow refer to the rule. Your child will learn to create his own sentences, describe pictures, and tell stories using all the important parts of speech. It is nonconsumable, and can be used for a several-year program, and will enhance any language course. For 4th to 8th grade.
Easy Grammar
I used this for my girls in high school. It is actually available for all grades. In the high school workbook, students start by learning a list of prepositions. Then, by identifying and crossing out prepositions and prepositional phrases, students can see the core of each sentence. Concepts are presented in small, understandable increments, followed practice pages. It is a complete grammar course. I had the girls do their worksheets and correct them themselves. We did the pages that they needed to complete what they already knew. The workbook pages and tests are reproducible for families, although you will probably want to purchase the student workbooks because of the sheer volume of copying involved (200-300+ pages). Tests can be reproduced from the teacher book or a test booklet purchased for convenience.
Reading Fiction:
These are some of our favorite reads. I tried to categorize them into the best age groups, but many of them fit into any category, so you will have to see how it fits for you!
Blackberry Hollow by Paul Peabody
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Little Faith by Mrs. O.F. Walton A young child on the streets in the last century, the little orphan girl learns to trust people agin.
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery Oh, the lovely stories of Anne with an e, the little orphan on Prince Edward Island, who finds the real meaning of family.
Jeb Stuart by Gertrude Hecker Winders A true story about a famous American boy in the saddle.
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare The scene is Jerusalem, the time is of Christ, the characters are realistic, and you will love this historical fiction.
Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare A young family in Colonial times must make a choice to leave their young son in Indian country to get their entire family to their new claim in Maine.
Lamb Among the Stars series by Chris Walley Amanda loves with this series. It is a fully realized futuristic sci-fi/fanatasy epic. If you are interested in this series, "One thing about this series is in order to understand what is going on, you have to take yourself out of our sinful world and imagine a place where there is no sin and "The King Reigns"."` Read The Lamb Among Stars Series.
A book for moms or dads that I am reading again… and all the way through this time, is Preparing Sons to Provide for a Single Income Family by Steven Maxwell.
Thanks for joining me for this week’s Memo Monday.
Have a wonderful week! Blessings!
7-21-08
I received an email from a Mom who is considering homeschooling her two sons. She, like the rest of us, wants the best for her children in the least expensive way possible!
Hi Jacque,
My husband and I are considering homeschooling our younger two boys. Hunter going into 5th grade and Daniel going into 7th grade. Currently I am looking for any way to do this cheaply. I would have loved to use the A Beka DVD series but we just can’t afford that per month. I have been teaching for 4 years a Christian school and my boys were going there. I taught a combination class of 3rd and 4th graders so I am familiar with A Beka curriculum.
Any tips on how to acquire curriculum cheaply?
If you can give me some great ideas about how you homeschool cheaply, with great resources, let the ideas fly!! If you would prefer to Email Me, that is fine too!
Here are mine:
First of all, if you know the LORD, trust Him to lead you.
Ask Him to guide your decisions and show you ways to homeschool your family. He is concerned with them and you and your relationships – your sanity! – and does want to be a part of these decisions!
Homeschool them in the same subjects you can together.
A lot of times, doing a unit study of a topic, using the same books and movies or crafts is a great way to not have to buy separate textbooks. What can you teach together as unit studies??
Buy non-consumable textbooks.
We use Saxon for some of our children, and then we pass it down as necessary. Some workbooks we have them write in, but some of them they copy out of.
Make up your own worksheets and curriculum.
Honestly, anyone can do a google search and find resources and information on a specific topic. Children can even do their own research on safe sites after a certain age and can certainly read topic-specific books and articles and write reports to learn about them.
Teach out of the Bible.
There are many truths and a lot of history in the Bible. The Word is so precious and can sustain you for an entire year if you wish it to.
Teach life skills.
Life will last a lot longer than school days, and it is so important to equip our children to live in the world and with others. Life skills is not really a class, but a mindset. It is ok to stop and take time out of a day to talk about or include your child in your everyday jobs around the home. It is important that they learn a good work ethic and how to care for a home and family.
Buy on EBay.
A lot of times homeschoolers purchase something they loved, only to find it didn’t fit them or they didn’t have time for it. I have built up my homeschool resources library on EBay.
Stick with something you trust and love.
If it works for you, don’t change it. I am saying this because it is easier to use a curriculum you know and love instead of spending time and money looking for something else. We used to use all A Beka. Now we are eclectic in our approach, but I still buy the math workbooks and some grammar for the Littles from A Beka. It works for us.
Look into several different homeschool approaches/methods,
and choose what will fit your family lifestyle and philosophy best. There are many ideas out there and resources online that are free using these approaches.
Some that come to mind are:The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach
The Charlotte Mason Method-Ambleside Online
Unit Studies
HOW has a chart with many different homeschool methods listed. They are ones that are incorporated into the HOW Teaching Approach
There are many sites that allow you to use their resources for free. Search the internet and see what fits you. Some of my favorite FREE Resources are from:
Let’s Homeschool has a list of Educational Freeware site
A to Z Home’s Cool Homeschooling has a LIST too.Donna Young’s site is so awesome, you can find so much there! She has a lot of organization resources for mom, but also a lot of worksheets for use with textbooks in Math, History, Science, English, Handwriting and Art.
For new homeschoolers, Donna also has:Homeschool Math has free worksheets and information on free resources and math books.
Google search “free homeschool resources“, and you will find pages and pages.
with online stores you love and trust. You can earn credit and sometimes cash with them by referring people to their sites.
I explained that a bit in my TOS article. Basically, I read and correct and teach them from writing assignments they publish on their blogs, but there is so much more to it. There are also so many ways to work it. I am working on setting up my site to add more information to it. It has opened up doors for graphic design and web design. Amazing! and, we all learned HTML by designing our Homeschoolblogger blog templates. Jocelyn is now proficient enough in CSS to design blogs and just finished upgrading her blog version.
We use ours for the books as well as videos and DVDs. I do not, however, let my younger children (and I mean 14 and under) go there very often. The books on display in the children’s and youth section alone are mostly inappropriate. Most of the videos are definitely inappropriate. They do not go down those aisles. A couple of great things about the library are their inter-library loans, where you can borrow resources from other libraries through yours, and also access from my own computer to their database. I can search for resources and request them and not spend time searching at the library. We rarely have our children on library computers, and, as I said, never the younger ones. We have been thoroughly disgusted at what adults and children are allowed to view and play online just a few feet from another computer user.
As with all things in life, homeschooling economicallyworks better with a schedule or a plan. You won’t feel like you are lost and have to buy something – anything – and make an unwise purchase you will later regret.
A Beka does local homeschool displays where the shipping is free. It saves me at least $50 if I drive to it, and also gives me the opportunity to check out the products and make sure they are in line with where my children are in their studies.
Don’t get me wrong: I do not like junk mail. However, if you are looking at a product, it is a good thing to know when they are having a sale or there are discounted items you may be able to purchase.
Plan to buy. Work it out with your husband/wife how much you can reasonably sock away to use when you find something at a good price. Sometimes our children work through what we planned earlier than expected, and we will want to purchase something at an off-time. A budget ensures that you won’t be taking away from your household budget, and it won’t appear to be a burden (which it isn’t).
A subscription isn’t exactly free, but for what you get in 4 issues a year is definitely a wise purchase for your homeschool. There are many encouraging articles, tons of homeschooling information, and it is a great way to read up on and “meet” other homeschooling families. There are always free tips and ideas, and many times a free unit study. You can also get their digital version, which is a great deal too!
Find like-minded homeschool families – bloggers and familiarize yourself with what works for them. Most homeschool bloggers will readily tell you what they use in their homeschool. A blog is a great tool, in that it allows you to search what they have already written about their favorite curriculum. You will certainly glean a lot of information and find some ideas that will work great for your family. If you find a blog you like, a good way to find like-minded bloggers is to check out what blogs they read. Those are usually listed on their sidebar.
Homeschool Blog Awards for tips, contests, resource reviews and homeschool-related articles to find out more about homeschooling and the homeschool community.
If you would like to know more about how we homeschool here at our home, I am happy to tell you that I have an article in The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Summer 2008 Issue (and I got mine first!! LOL). You can also search my archives here or read them at my original blog, Seeking Rest in the Ancient Paths.
I hope this is an encouragement and some good information as you seek God’s plan for your homeschool!
Thanks!!
blessings!
We all start this homeschool journey with preconceived ideas and expectations of how it should go or what we ‘have’ to do to teach our children. We enter into homeschooling, knowing it will set us and our children free from the perils of the public school system, but sometimes those ideas and expectations are like shackles that keep us from teaching and loving our children the way we really want to. It is as if the method is more important than the goal. Which it is not. I have met a lot of new homeschool moms recently through Jocelyn’s meme on the HSBA Post: Homeschool Memoirs Meme and through Cindy Rushton’s Talk-a-Latte I have attended. I remember being a new homeschool mom.
Fifteen years ago, there were not so many resources out there that could be easily found, and considering I did not have the internet or even a computer, I had little in the way of outside encouragement. Add to that the fact that I was a 3yo baby Christian, just learning how to train my children at all. I feel for these new moms who are searching for the ‘best way’ to home school their children. I remember being a new home school mom.
Looking back to when I was a new home school mom, there are a few small things I can think of that would have made such a difference in my homeschooling had I only been told. I think I would have wanted someone to tell me we did NOT have to go into debt buying every complete set of each grade. I would have wished they had introduced me to a Bible-based homeschool method like HOW – Heart of Wisdom. I needed to know that God MUST come first. The WORD truly is our life, and outside of that, there is no wisdom.
Job 28:28
And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.Psalm 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.Isaiah 33:6
And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.
We get so caught up in what we learned in the government schools, and some of us just aren’t the ‘break the mold’ type of people. We were bound by society, and we have yet to break free. God is the one who can set our hearts and expectations free so that He is the Leader in our homeschools. If we bring all things through Him, we will not fail. It was He who told us to walk with our children and talk with our children to teach them His ways.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
6And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Read all of ‘these words’ of Deuteronomy chapter 6.
As society continues to move towards socialism, it is imperative that we stand firm in teaching our children as they need to learn. They are not cookie-cutter children. They each have their own strengths that we need to recognize and allow them to learn in, according to their bent (training up a child in the way they should go – according to their bent).
Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
This is a freedom that will stop the tears and frustration. Some children just won’t read until they are nine. Period. Two of mine didn’t. They are voracious readers now.
The three books I suggest to a new homeschool mom are these: Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach (you can get a free 75 pp. excerpt online), Educating the Wholehearted Child, and Teaching the Trivium. I like Teaching the Trivium mainly for the chapters on teaching the Bible, as the method is not necessarily for everyone. Oh, and also, I found GREAT freedom to educate in high school through the 2004-05 Elijah Co. Resource Guide (get yours now-they are $1!!) and Barb Shelton’s Senior High: A Home- Designed Form+U+la. These last two are are EXCELLENT for the discouraged high school parent who has been relaxed homeschooling their children and feel lost at the high school level.
When we listen to God and see the hearts of our children, recognizing their purpose and needs and walking in that with them, there is a freedom that will take us places that far exceed our original little expectations!
blessings to you on your home school journey,
May 21, 2008
Isaac and Caleb love to type on the keyboard. I took the opportunity of this love to teach Isaac about touch-typing this evening. Isaac is four. I had him feel the little marks on the letters f and j with his fingertips to show him where to put his index fingers. He placed them on the keys and started ‘typing’. Then he got tired and asked me to type up a few things for him.
Here is what he had to say:
I play outside.
I go in the barn, and I like the chickens running.
I go in the barn, and I see the bats.
I get the bikes out.
I like the roosters.
I go and eat on the table.
I drink lemonade out of cups.
I draw hats.
I draw pictures.
I like the blankets and the robes.
I like the pillows to lay my head on.
I like the lotion to put on my hands and feet.
I like the cowboy boots that Dad got me.
I saw a fire engine and a shriff’s truck go by again.
I love the best of the flowers and the hyacinths too.
He left the room for a few minutes, and as I was adding the rest of this story, he came in and asked me what I thought I was doing. It was not mean, but boy was it cute!
Here is his practice. It is so cute to see him typing the letters while he looks at the screen, instead of the keyboard.
erfvhjkjlopsjkfdjfkduturheryehyegeyeteteheyetytttet
hgfhfgdfgdgfghtweytetetetregetretreretrerertrwtrtwwtr
geteewrewrewtrewrertewtergeydyfrfyyfythyreruyry
xgxhgdddddctdtdtgtwdegwtegteteeteretrettrttreretrrwertrw
trwrwrwtrwrtwtwrwrwwedgs
dewtetrewtdrtretreretrertdrrewtwtrtrwtrwtwtrwgwerftwererttre
trtrwtr
xgxzsgsssxxfgsgsdgsgsgdrtsdtdgst6hsdggdshdgdsgdydtde
xfxczzxfssfsxdstsfgsgfsvvsvtsgrsdshtdjmgcmch,gxl;dydrjsjhgdytsy
tsgaskjsraywe6we
dgdcgdsgdbgydsdghdgddgfdgsdgfsdgsdgfsdgdsfsdgfwggdsfsgfgfgfgg
fggfgfgsdfsxgsgss
gsgsggdgasgsfgtwgshyfddhdysdhtdhddgdhgfdhgddyfhgfyhf
I love this little boy! Here he is with my sister when she and my mother were here.
Our children grow up way too fast. It is such a joy to use every opportunity to teach our children even the smallest things. Isaac may not keep an interest in typing, but offering him the opportunity when he shows an interest is the way to see just where that learning might go.
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
It has become a part of my mantra in our home educating. Train them up according to the bent that the Lord God created in them.
It is quite an adventure to see what interests each child. It is even more of an adventure follow that interest and walk it with them, learning everything you come across together.
blessings~
I received an email from Mr. Israel Wayne through the Gleaning the Harvest emails offering me the opportunity to raise some advertising money for an ad for Gleaning the Harvest in the home schooling magazine, Home School Digest. The awesome thing is that that is not all it is. It is a FREE Sample Issue for all of my friends too.
I ordered my FREE sample issue today, and I wanted to let you know you could too. The emphasis of Home School Digest is on Family Discipleship, Character Building and Developing A Biblical Worldview.
HSD is also the nation’s longest-running
Christian homeschooling magazine.
The link to order your FREE sample offer is:
http://www.HomeSchoolDigest.com/hsdsample.htm
and the Promo Code is: GLEAN
By using this link and Promo code, you will receive a free sample issue of the magazine, and Gleaning the Harvest will receive $1 in magazine advertising credit. You are welcome to spread the word about this also via your blogs and websites, in email, on Yahoo groups, in church bulletins and other support groups and meetings.
Thank you, and I hope you get your free sample issue and thanks for supporting GTH!
blessings,
Thank you for visiting! Please be sure to see my right sidebar and give what you can to the Gleaning the Harvest families in need. It only takes a moment and is safe to donate through Paypal.
Rachel is giving away One Night With The King – the movie. This is a version of the story of the Biblical Esther, the girl who saved the lives of her people when they faced annihilation at the hand of husband, King Xerxes.
She has three four ways to enter to get extra chances, so go on over and enter as many times as you can!
Keep an eye on her blog, because she will be giving away some other gifts in the next couple of weeks!
**Be sure to vote for Rachel for Best Teen Gal Blog in the HSBAwards!
————————
PLEASE ALSO VOTE for Eric for Best Teen Guy Blog at On the Road To Manhood, Hannah for Best Blog Design for her pretty blog, Resting in the Arms of Grace, and Feelin’ Feminine in the category(linked) at The Homeschool Blog Awards.
SORRY. ALL LINKS HAVE BEEN DELETED BY THE PUBLISHER OF GGM. PLEASE LOOK FOR THESE ARTICLES ON OUR PERSONAL BLOGS.
As it happens each month since February first, our hard work on Growing in Grace Magazine has paid off. I am so thrilled to work with such a sweet Publisher who truly walks with the Lord. She does so much in her home, at the Sarah Home for Women and on her ministries online, and I don’t think I have ever heard her complain. She always tries to display a loving and sweet attitude, and SisterLisa is truly a joy to work with!
We started Growing in Grace in January, during a particularly difficult time in our lives (after Grandma had passed away), and SisterLisa emailed me out of the blue and asked if I would be interested in collaborating with her and her daughters to create an online Christian Magazine for Bible-Believing Girls and their Moms. Knowing how well my daughters write, and how they love to write for the Lord, I agreed after considering if this was the direction God had for us. He had just released us from another writing position and we were thrilled to see what SisterLisa had in mind. After researching girls Christian magazines online, SisterLisa had found none that were particularly Christian, and knew there was a need. There are so very few print magazines out there for Christian girls that aren’t just full of pop-culture. We are not interested in that for our girls, and we wanted to share our love of the Word and desire to train our daughters up in Him with other moms and daughters.
I think we got that first issue out in a couple of weeks, and it was so good to publish it! And to see where God has brought us in just six short months is amazing to me! We have each found our places in writing, designing, advertising, publishing, editing…. the list goes on and on! Besides all of that, I get to assign the girls research articles each month as a lesson for homeschool! I mean, you can’t beat that!
I truly am proud to announce the August 2008 Issue of Growing in Grace Magazine to you! With all the planning for school and moving and coming into this final month of summer, time is really on my mind. I know it is so important for us as mothers to create and walk in Seasons of Heritage for Our Daughters as we are home with them, teaching them to live as God’s People.
Amanda is learning a lot as an eighteen-year-old about Accountability. She also shared in my heart about time and what The Consequences Are if you are not careful with it. God has also given her a heart for history too, and also for WWII, ever since she made her Great Grandfather a photo album with all of his Service photos. She was able to also research and write about The “Little Boy” Was Dropped and Honor Was Their Code, which is about the Navajo Code Talkers. We love history here, so this was a topic of discussion in our home for the past few weeks.
Hannah worked so very hard on her article about Cowboys, Ranches and Farms. I am so very proud of all the information she gathered and put into her article. I can’t wait to get to do the study on Cowboys in our homeschool this year!
It is a hard thing to praise our God in our human state. Sometimes it takes all we can muster to remember to praise the Lord. How sad that is for us, when God clearly knows us and remembers us. There have only been a few times in my life where I felt like my guts had been ripped out and my life would never be the same. I am thankful that God kept me in a place that I may have questioned others, but not Him. Not His omnipotence.
Life can be frightening sometimes. I know when Caleb was so sick a few months ago, and now, with LucyLillie being so restless, it is hard to face things that may happen that would rip my heart out. I can beg God in my spirit to please heal them and take care of it. And I know that God understands. He understands when I don’t. He understands my questions and my fears, my heartaches and disappointments. Jesus, Himself, knows these human feelings personally.
We can trust Our God. We can believe in Him and walk blindly sometimes, because He is the Beginning and the End. He is and was and will be. He knows, even before we do. We might question things we don’t understand, but we can trust Him and His Word, despite those questions.
Psalm 22
1My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
2O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.
3But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
4Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
5They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.
6But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
7All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
9But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts.
10I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly.
11Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
12Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
13They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
14I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
15My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
16For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
17I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
18They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
19But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.
20Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.
21Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
22I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
23Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
24For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.
25My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
26The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
27All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
28For the kingdom is the LORD’s: and he is the governor among the nations.
29All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.
30A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
31They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.
blessings~
I am hosting the Carnival of Homeschooling on May 27th at Walking Therein. My theme is going to be “End of the School Year – Or Is It?” Something like that. Be sure to submit your articles starting on Tuesday, May 20th for my carnival. You can submit to the other before mine too!
You can send in a submission via Blog Carnival by going here.
Jocelyn is also accepting submissions for The Homesteading Carnival.
You can go to the THC blog and find submission information or you can click on the rooster!
blessings~
I had the best swap gift of all of you this time. I got to actually meet my swap buddy irl. No, I am not gloating. At all. Ok, well, maybe a little. Here is my swap gift that arrived via FedEx a few days before she came. I am sick the we didn’t get a pic of both of us with it! I guess I will have to take it with me to Austin when we go visit on vacation!
I am not sure if my info sheet says I collect mugs, but I do. This is a “Really Woolly”. I thought it was funny that my sister asked me if it was a “Woolly”. I love green too, so it is such a great gift! I may even have to buy some more teacups and the teapot that goes with it, so my girls and I can all have matching ones!
This is all of the blogger gals outside of Chipotle’s in Fort Wayne. This is Heather’s favorite restaurant. It has kinda’ become a running thread on the HSBA yahoo group with all of us… who has been to Chipotle’s and in which, er, how many, states. So, that was fun!
There are so many more really neat photos, but I am posting this since I am so late on getting it posted!
blessings~
I just realized this week that I am missing out on some of my favorite blogs! And, furthermore, I don’t have to! I have tried using a reader, and that just does not work well for me. Let me tell you what usually happens about reading my favorite blogs:
So, I have decided that to keep up with my friends, I need to subscribe to their blogs. I need the post delivered right into my inbox. It has worked out rather well already. I can read the post right away and comment right then if I want, instead of spending hours catching up.
Here are some blogs that I subscribe to. Hopefully I will better keep up with my friends better this way!
The Daily Planet
A Pondering Heart
Bunny Trails
My Home Sweet Home
Sprittibee
Heart of Wisdom
Some of my friends’ blogs, I can’t get by email, because they don’t have a feedburner by email subscription that I could find. 
I was emailed about the news about the Duggar Family’s new baby, due in January 2009. Then, their name even came up at Jocelyn’s birthday party. I have to admit, I’m a bit jealous after thinking we were going to be expecting before the end of the year, but we won’t go into that right now. This post is about the video on their website that shows their home. Amanda said she thought it was a bit extravagant, because it looks like a hotel, and I asked her what it was supposed to look like when they are expecting their 18th baby! I love our farmhouse, and I will hate to leave it, but – oh! – all of that open space inside the house! Ahhhhh….
So, if you would like to see a very well-planned-out home for a large family, take a look at The Duggar Family Home. That big, long dining room and table… that is one thing on my list for our new home. I have a great list, you know. Two years into the addition on our house, our children almost wrote to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition about helping us finish it, but I pretty much discouraged that. We don’t need it all torn down and started over, just the next 25% of the job completed! Jocelyn’s letter to them that I found in the trash was really cute, though! (Anyone looking to donate time, email me!) But, I digress… I love their kitchen and laundry room set-ups too. Two stove tops and two sets of washers and dryers would be great. That is on my list too.
The funny thing I noticed is that we have already come up with some of the ideas they have implemented. We have a laundry room that is quite large almost finished, and we had planned to put all of their clothes in it and get rid of dressers. Matt already wants them to hang up all of their clothes, so that would make it easy to do it right off of the laundry area. No dressers in the bedrooms makes for plenty of rooms for beds, too. Rachel would love that, since she would love to share a room with Amanda and Jocelyn…
I never would have thought about a cafeteria tray rack, but it makes sense. I love the windows. I could get used to all of those huge windows. And a real prayer closet… Anyway, I went through the video a few times. The third time, I used the pause button so I could read and inspect. I love the layout. Let me know what you think!
blessings~
>Please continue to pray for the Lirette family who lost their husband and daddy.<
Sarah, the daughter, wrote about what happened.
The Fort Wayne Homeschool Expo is this weekend. We weren’t planning to go, but is anyone else?? We can go. We only live about 20m away. Here is a link to the info: Fort Wayne Expo.
Friday, May 16, 2007 starting at 6pm
There is a preview that will be held at First Assembly of God Church from 6- 9 p.m. Workshops are also being planned.
Parents will actually be sharing their own materials, and there will be informations sessions.Saturday, May 17, 2007 8a-5p
Memorial Coliseum. Curriculum fair with many workshops.The registration fees for the Expo Preview and Resource Expo are as follows: Adults and Teens – $3.00, Children (ages 3-12) – $1.00, Children two and under -free, maximum charge per family – $10.00. Those who attend the Expo Preview will be given a free pass to Saturday’s Expo. Parking fees at the Memorial Coliseum are $4.00 per vehicle.
They also have a list of vendors on the site.
If you are a seasoned homeschooler or a new one or even thinking about homeschooling, it would be a good way for you to check into it and meet some homeschoolers in our area.
Anyone else planning to go? I might be persuaded….
blessings~
Please pray for a dear family on HSB.
Dixiecajun and her daughters blog here on hsb, and I just learned that her husband was tragically killed in a car accident last night. You can leave a comment and read about that on Dixiecajun’s blog. He was a much loved husband, father, and grandfather. This family has been through a lot, and I know they would appreciate your prayers. They moved to Alabama after losing everything to Hurricane Katrina. I don’t know them as well as the girls do, but I have read their blogs, and they are fine Christians.
Their children’s blogs are:
• Sandy
• Celeste
• Jordan
• Sarah
We at the Dixon house are so sad right now with this family. We don’t know them personally, just another family God has placed in our lives through blogging that we have come to love.
blessings~
::HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY, MOM!!::
Happy Mother’s Day to all moms!
Every year, my children ask me what I want for Mother’s Day and my birthday, and my reply has become pretty consistent: “I want the house cleaned up and my children to behave. ” That’s all: simple. Each year, I guess they figure that buying me a gift is a lot easier than my request!
This year, we are blessed because….
Read More:
Mother’s Day posts:
Amanda: To The SUPEREST Mama In The World!
Rachel: Happy Mother’s Day… Mother Dear…
blessings~
My oldest daughter, who is also one of my dearest and best friends, sent me an e-card this week with a Scripture on it that is not just a Psalm, but a song too. Psalm 3:3 But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. Oh how I love the Lord. Oh how I love the undeserved gifts He has given me. Gifts like my husband and my children. Next to my salvation and relationship with the Lord, they are IT. This verse was a great encouragement to me, and instantly I started singing it. God, our God who is our ever-present shield, is also our glory, and the lifter of our heads.
Psalm 3
1Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. 2Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.
3But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
4 I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.
5 I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.
7Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.
8Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.
blessings~
What do you say about a daughter who is like a best friend? What do you say about a young lady who makes decisions based on her convictions and denies herself those things that are harmful to her, both spiritually and physically or things that are dear to her because it is God’s will?
That I am amazed? That I am proud? That I am thankful?
I say, “I love you.”
I say, “Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to know her, to be her mother.”
Honestly, I can write these words about Jocelyn or Amanda. They are both my best friends and confidantes, and I am proud to call them friends and daughters.
Jocelyn, if I could give you the world, I would wrap it up for you. As it is,we got you a better gift. I am so glad that Grandma and Aunt Jen can be here for your birthday party, even if you did find out the surprise before they got here. Oh, and your siblings, another best gift… seven of them. And a marriage the is not perfect, but is a part of my life I can live out faithfully before you, struggling and victoriously, to teach you that God is God, and I am not.
I know that this is going to be the best birthday ever! Happy Birthday, my girl, and congratulations on seventeen years!
Thank you, Amanda, for throwing a blog party for your sister!
Love, Mom
Please go leave Jocelyn a comment and tell her Happy Birthday
and how much she means to you!
Amanda does our grocery shopping. Every week she goes with a sibling, and this time Jocelyn went, because she wanted to get some food for her 17th birthday party this weekend! I will tell you, Amanda, this girl, she is such a giver. She usually comes home with something special or something we need but it wasn’t on the list, right out of her own pocket sometimes, too. Well, yesterday was no different. Yesterday, she came home with Newman-O’s. We all love Oreos – some of us a little too much – but, these are organic oreos. That must mean they are loads better for you!
Read the rest and see the pictures at Loolie’s First Oreo.
blessings~
Tags: Amanda, baby girl, big sister, cookies, LucyLillie, newman-o’s, oreos, toddler, toofers
Posted in Daughters, Heart and Home, Little Dixon-isms, Our Children, Pictures
Happy Birthday to my dear friend, Page, in England. Her birthday was actually yesterday. Page is a sweet family friend we have actually never met! We have spoken to her on the phone and corresponded, as well as received real English gifts 
. Jocelyn posted a nice little Happy Birthday wish on Page’s blog, so, please stop on over and wish Page a Happy Birthday!
And, Miss Jocelyn’s birthday is almost upon us! Though her actual birthday is on Friday, Saturday is the big day!! I can’t wait. Seventeen… I can’t believe it! We are having a few family and friends, including some blog friends come. Amanda and Jocelyn and Matt picked up all of her party food today. I think she is getting excited… are you Jocelyn??
blessings~
I do not know Robin in real life, only through emails and reading her posts and her curriculum. She has had a rough year in her health, though she knows the Lord is with her and teaching her and bringing her through.
Please pray for her at this time also!
Urgent Prayer Request for Robin
Robin just called from the Critical Care Unit at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville to ask me to pray for her so I am passing the request on to you as well. She has lost a lot of blood and will probably need another transfusion. Please pray that the blood they give her will be clean and also pray that God will give wisdom to all the doctors treating her.
Ronnie drove her to the hospital in Shelbyville where they gave her an EKG. The EKG was “abnormal” so they took her by ambulance to Nashville. She is suffering from low blood pressure (about 80/30) as well as cardiac issues.
She sounded weak and weary. Dear sisters, please spend some time in prayer this afternoon for her healing. She has been through so much this past year and I know she would be very grateful to know her Heart of Wisdom friends are lifting her up to the throne of grace as she endures yet another setback.
Thank you so much.
Kathleen,
Robin’s friend in Virginia
I love you my dear friend. I pray that your body will be healed and stabilized and you will not be back to health, but made whole.
blessings~
On Wednesday, I got to take Caleb to the ER. Again. Yes, my dear little two-year-old had to go to the hospital again. You know, he loves being outdoors. He loves it so much that I had to put a latch-eye-hook on the screen door for his safety. And, still, that is not enough
Anyway, many of you already know the story. I am VERY thankful for God’s protecting hand and for keeping us all calm throughout the ordeal. If you would like to read, I am posting most of my new entries on my personal website/blog: Caleb Keeping Me Busy (in the worst sorta way…)
And, it’s really easy to comment on my new WP blog. Go ahead and let me know you were there! : ))
blessings~
I got this in an email. I thought I would pass it along!
Get Books, Lesson Plans, Worksheets, and Other Activities
We all owe much of our success in life to teachers everywhere. We at Learning A–Z want to thank educators the best way we know how—by opening up access to our websites. Last year during Teacher Appreciation Week, we held an Open House that provided FREE access to ALL of our educational websites. Response was so overwhelming that we are going to do it again, and for even longer!
Explore Six Websites Bursting with Materials
Each day during this year’s Teacher Appreciation Week, May 5–9, plus May 12, Learning A–Z will open one of its six password-protected websites. This will allow teachers to leisurely explore all of Learning A–Z’s resources, including our newest website for differentiated instruction, Science A–Z.You will find lessons, activities, and worksheets—for FREE.
Enjoy Six Days of FREE Access
The websites will be open on the days indicated below, from midnight to midnight Central time.
For more Info: Free Access During Teacher Appreciation Week
HT: Denise
Don’t forget about the $100 Scrapbooking Giveaway!! Hurry! Ends Friday, the 16th.
blessings~
I believe I already posted The Old Rugged Cross as a Saturday Psalm & Praise before. When I read the accompanying scripture I had saved with it on a word document, I just knew it was today’s post. "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness." And "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good." Psalm 14:1
The fool hath said… I certainly do not want that written about me. I don’t want the word fool used in the same sentence! There are so many things we are fooled by, though, even as Believers. Oh Lord, help me to walk in your ways. Help me to search out your old paths and look and walk therein. Show me, Lord. Open my eyes, give me a willing heart to receive your word, that I might not be fooled!
I pray for courage to cling to you, Lord, to the Old Rugged Cross. Some folks say it is a crutch. I say it is a beacon in the darkness of a failing and hopeless world. Thank you for the cross, Jesus. Thank you for the cross for my children and my family and my friends. Thank you for the cross for the stranger, the homeless, the mom, the dad. Thank you for the cross for all.
The Old Rugged Cross
Words and music by George Bennard – 1913
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.
O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.
In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.
To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
What do you cherish? Do you cherish your beloved? Your children? Your job, your car, your friends? What do you cherish?
Can you believe the third meaning of the word "cherish"? "to cling fondly or inveterately to." Wow.
Do you cherish your Lord? Do you cherish the One True God and His Son, Jesus?
Do you cherish The Old Rugged Cross?
blessings,
Tags: , Bible, foolishness, fools, Hymns, Praise, Psalm, the Old Rugged Cross, worship
Posted in Oh LORD, Help Me Live Biblically, Saturday Psalm and Praise Meme, Wisdom from the WORD
May 2nd, 2008
Here are my two favorite oldest daughters, Amanda and Jocelyn. We took this picture for Jocelyn’s blog. Our family has had two giveaways, and we gave away Homeschool Boutique products in both of them, so they blessed Jocelyn with a really nice tshirt! She blogged about it on her post, Homeschool Boutique. I actually won a HB tshirt in a contest last year, and I love it. I should post it too.
We took this las week, when Sprittibee came to our house. Yes, I still need to blog about that!
Hopefully soon I will be able to blog this cute picture of my girls, but I need to take it down for now. 
[PICTURE REMOVED]
Anyway, aren’t they beautiful!?! Click for a larger image.
Jocelyn is going to be 17 next week, and Amanda is officially finishing up high school this month.
You all know I am totally swamped. I wrote a guest post on Heather’s blog today, if you are interested.
I am still tired from Matt putting in the floor and being up all night with him. Post and pics already started.. coming soon!
We are almost ready to post the May issue of GGM.
We are all busy preparing and planning for Jocelyn’s 17th birthday.
We will be selecting the winner of the new read over at HSB Literary Club! You could win! All you have to do is sign up to join us!
There is a new 20 Days of Prayer Challenge.
This is a beautiful icon, made by Jocelyn.
Yep, that is *my* little boy!! My little Caleb. Is he not THE cutest??
Go on over to A Pondering Heart or Kylie’s blog, Further Up and Further In and read about and sign up for the Challenge.
blessings!
Earthquakes… Sickness…
AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, respiratory disease, meningitis, cancer, heart disease, obesity, kidney disease, diabetes, Top Ten
Men’s hearts failing them for fear…
What a day that will be,
When my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand,
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
There’ll be no sorrow there,
No more burdens to bear,
No more sickness, no pain,
No more parting over there;
And forever I will be,
With the One who died for me,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
What a day that will be,
When my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand,
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
If you are interested in finding other hymns and worship songs, Jesus is the Bridge has Old Fashioned Hymns and Lyrics to Hymns in the Public Domain, and Hymn Writer Biographies, Sheet Music, and Stories Behind the Songs.
Also see Bluegrass Gospel Lyrics.
JOIN ME for Saturday Psalm & Praise!!
blessings!
We are excited about the next book discussion at HSB Literary Club, and we hope to have you join us as we read Rosa of Linden Castle
. In this unique von Schmid classic, a daughter”s love for her imprisoned father ensures us that though it was meant for evil, God always intends it for good. Through difficult trials, Rosa learns what it means to truly love her enemies and to wait for the Lord’s perfect timing.
One of our readers will even win a FREE COPY of Rosa of Linden Castle just by joining us for this discussion! These books are such little treasures with such powerful and eye-opening messages, we don’t want you to miss out! We have also found that these books make wonderful family read-alouds and work well for character training in our homeschool. They are greatly enjoyed and understood by our children of different ages.
To join us, please visit the HSBLC blog and sign the Mr. Linky. Signing Mr. Linky automatically signs you up for the discussion and enters you to win the book.
To see the previous book discussions:
Helen’s Temper by Mrs. George Gladstone
• HSB Announcements
• Ishmael by E.D.E.N Southworth
• Literary Club Announcements
• Rosa of Linden Castle
• Self-Raised by E.D.E.N Southworth
• The Hedge of Thorns by John Hatchard
• The Inheritance by Christoph von Schmid
blessings!
Join Growing in Grace Magazine for Girls in honoring Moms! GGM is a one of a kind Bible-believing online magazine for girls! It is designed to inspire girls to live a virtuous life. Our team of authors are Christian girls under the leadership of our moderators, some of them being their own mothers. They are zealous in bringing God’s Word to the girls of today and each reader has the opportunity to communicate their uplifting thoughts about the articles.
GGM is a unique place where the readers can ask questions about the articles and receive further admonishment from their peers. Finding a good, godly place for girls to study God’s Word is very difficult in today’s world. Many girls wonder if they are the last girl in the world who still wants to live a pure life, but at GGM they’ll find that they’re not alone. Their articles cover a wide range of topics applicable to girls today from peer pressure, purity, family life, beauty, health, and much more.
We have updated our Mother Daughter giveaway and added some prizes for the winner. Please be sure to contact us with your entry by this coming Saturday, April 26th!
Growing in Grace Magazine wants to honor Christian mothers and daughters in May for Mother’s Day! We’ll be planning a special article just for this occasion and here’s what we would like to do:
-Send us your best photo of mother with daughter(s).
-Girls: Tell us what makes YOUR mom so special.
-Photos may be of you doing something together, participating in a favorite hobby, or just a still pose. Your choice.
We’ll choose one winning article to be featured in May’s issue, but all participants photos will be featured in honor of your moms.
Please contact us and we’ll send you a permission form to complete for using your photo.
All mothers with daughters 18 or younger may apply. Three/four generation photos are also accepted.
Edited to add: Deadline for submissions is April 26th!!!!
Some prizes are coming in and here is a sneek peek at what
C.S. Flowers is offering the winner! (U.S. Resident only)
Also we have an e-Book on menu planning that was donated by Graham Family Ministries.
We also have a lovely little goody basket full of stationary (note pad, scrapbooking stickers, shopping list pad, pink note cards, Mary Engelbreit Journal, and garden note cards), a $5 Starbuck’s gift card, a Semi-Precious Stone heart charm necklace with additional charms, AND that’s not all!
You’ll also get a KJV New Testament pocket Bible, and a fun book for mom, ‘Death of a Six Foot Teddy Bear’. A fun little book on Girlfriends ‘Moments of connection’
A Season’s Best Recipe cookbook from Pampered Chef.
Also you’ll get a Strawberry and a Cherry Lip Balm from Burt Bee’s, as well as their Mini Lotion kit.
Prize Package valued at approx. $100
**If you are a vendor and would like to donate prize(s) for our winner, please contact us.
Contest for US mainland residents only
This is a wonderful way to show your mom and the whole world how much your mother means to you. Please pass this news onto your friends and invite others to join us. Here are two graphics you may use:
BUT WAIT! There’s more! If you blog about this on your sites and send us the link to your entries, we’ll enter your name FOR EACH BLOG you post this on, into the drawing. So help spread the word for a greater chance to win!
Something Eric and Rachel and I were wishing we had the other day was a homemade candling box! Eric was sure he heard peeps coming from the eggs he had in the bowl of water to wash off. I was sure it was the air escaping from the shell, making a hissing sound. Rachel heard peeps. If you have ever questioned this, be sure to read what Suzanne wrote about Candling Eggs posted at Chickens in the Road. She shows you how to create a candling box.
Oh, and there were no chicks in our eggs, but the deviled eggs were sure delicious!
What is Belle’s secret to great hair without using the store-bought chemical shampoos? Find out as she shares from My diary of No Shampoo—Day 3 posted at Born 100 Years to Soon.
Rose Denson presents Grandma Rosie’s Texas Home – Homemade Lavender Water Recipes…from tipNut posted at Grandma Rosie’s Texas Home.
I know this was posted in a previous carnival, but I stumbled upon it, and we love lemonade. Be sure to take a look at Prodigal Gardens..Great site posted at Grandma Rosie’s Texas Home.
Dora Renee’ Wilkerson shows us another fun and easy thing to do. She has wonderful pictures of how to make a Kumihimo braiding on a new disk she bought. Read her Braiding post posted at Y-2K Hippie.
GP offers a philosophical look at learning from animals on the farm as she asks Are you the Hunter or the Hunted? Watching her horses caused her to consider some things about the dance of life. See this posted at Innstyle Montana- Come on Inn.
SeaBird has harvested the last of the orange flowers from their butterfly garden. She did see at least one butterfly flitting about during the last couple of months. Read her presentation of From the butterfly garden posted at SeaBird Chronicles.
OOhhhh, my favorite! Mexican food! I love to make enchilada sauce from scratch, so I can’t wait to read about Laura Williams’ Enchilada Casserole posted at Laura Williams’ Musings.
You can read some of our favorite Mexican Dinner recipes on the new blog I am trying to name. So far it has been Still Deciding (Jocelyn thinks she is funny), Life on the Homestead, and now it is Walking Therein. I am just trying the names on for size. Not sure if I shouldn’t just stick with Seeking Rest in the Ancient Paths or Seeking rest on the Homestead or go with a new one. What do you think?
Autumn Beck has been reading about the ease and simplicity of flats, and it got her itching for a trial run, so she presents Flat Diapers?No Pins Necessary! posted at All About Cloth Diapers. I have made my own diapers, and I know it is a learning experience, so I can’t wait to check this out!!
Stacy has a refreshing smoothie recipe to help start your day with energy! Her Green Tea Berry Smoothie is posted at Teaching Diligently – Homeschool Blogger. Oh man, does it look good. We have been sick around here, and in my research, I found that several of these ingredients are good for a cleanse for health. We just bought fruit and will be trying this this afternoon! Yumm!
You’ll think you really died and went to heaven when you eat this cake Abi made. It is absolutely heavenly! The bad part about it all is that good things come to an end. You won’t want to come to the end of this cake. Death by Chocolate posted at lighter side.
Erica Burgan shows us a cute little something that is also A Frugal Gift Made From Scratch posted at The Sojourner. Very cute gift idea. Or for yourself, even. And you can choose the fabric!
I am so glad we finally have flowers blooming and trees budding. It seems like it took forever for Spring to arrive here. Check out the beauty of spring and Amanda’s hand at photography as she presents Gorgeous! posted at My Learning Experience.
Jocelyn of Amusing Reflections of a Country Girl also shows her hand at capturing the beauty of Spring In Bloom.
Rachel is giving away a family secret at at Rachel’s Reasoning . You will find my (and I mean mine) special recipe out of her Recipe Box – Mom’s Recipe For French Toast.
I hope you have enjoyed the carnival this week. If you would like to submit a post to next week’s carnival, please do so on this blogcarnival form. Our next hostess is SisterLisa at The HomeSpun Life.
blessings!
Lately I have felt like I am miles behind. I think I always feel this way though. Things are so quickly constantly changing. Throw in illness or a mishap, or a goat kidding, and I feel further behind. I am pretty good about not letting it affect my attitude, but I think I am looking at the calendar, saying, "Where did April go?". Can you believe it is April 19th? Which that reminds me it is the anniversary of Waco, the OK City bombing and Columbine, if I am correct.
Here I shall digress… I remember watching Waco. 
We lived in Las Cruces, which is just 45m from El Paso, so it was weird that it was in Texas. The OK City bombing: we were in OK city on the 17th. We stayed the night there in a motel on our way back from Las Cruces to Bremen, where we had just moved to. I remember my brother and I took the Uhaul back to South Bend, and I saw it on the tv in the UHaul office. I was astonished and asked what was going on. Since we had just been there, it was quite unreal. And, Columbine. Well, most people have heard of it and remember it.
Here is a picture of Las Cruces. My mom and my dad-in-law and mom-in-law still live there, as well as many friends. We’ll be taking a trip out there this summer. Anyone living between here and there, let me know if you want some visitors… Oh, and anyone in the area interested in goat and chicken-sitting, email me! We’re throwing in the farm fresh eggs too!
Back to life today:
I am very busy. Of course I am. As are you. As are we all. I feel behind because I never caught up from our bout with Influenza. I had articles to write, articles to edit and reviews to get in that were late. I have a review to get done of a wonderful book that three of my children have read, but I have not. Had we caught up from then, I don’t think I would feel so behind. It’ hard to catch up on six weeks of life. Glad we don’t have a stone schedule.
To top it all off, Lucy and I were sick last week with some virus that I must have gotten from the IM, because it is just like what Christina and her children had the week before. No, really, it was scary for us about Lucy. She had had diarrhea and a bit of cranky fever, and I was sure she was cutting a tooth. Then three days later, when there was blood and mucus in her diaper, it really freaked me out. That in itself is strange, because I always remain calm, cool and collected for our children. I also always pray, which is not just a repetitive act, but I believe God can and will heal us, if we only ask and believe. I made it a habit a long time ago to pray with our children through fears, hurts and bad tempers.
I asked Matt what he thought. He said, "Let’s pray." I searched the internet for answers, and we just trusted the Lord to show us if we needed to take her to the hospital. We felt a peace about waiting and watching, so for the next three days, we did. I got whatever she had in that time, and she is still nursing and sleeping with me, thankfully, and after 3-4 days, we both got better. She cut a tooth shortly after! Very cute!
Now, we are nursing Isaac, Jocelyn and Rachel back to health. Matt has now had it for almost a week and has been going to bed as soon as he walks in the door. Eric and Hannah have been chasing chickens from the front yard. I have been chasing Caleb. I even put an eye and hook on the screen door. Amanda has bee doing almost all the chores that Jocelyn and Rachel usually do. She and Eric, who usually have personality conflicts (I think it is a firstborn thing) have been working very well together. Without the horses, I also realized that Eric and Hannah can feed the chickens and goats and put them away without help. And, no, Chloe has *not* yet kidded. I think the other *not-pregnant* goats will kid before she does! We do keep checking on her though.
Eric, Hannah, Isaac, Caleb and I did get to sit outside on a blanket yesterday and read the science curriculum I am reviewing. It was fun. Since the weather has been nice, they have been outside a lot more. It is hard for me to keep them in now, and I usually find them outside just enjoying it after they go to do a chore or something.
In the midst of it all – even feeling behind, I am thankful to the Lord for it all. He has put it into our living to just live life. We always work around life and through life anyway, so all of this is really not being behind. We aren’t really behind on a schedule, just projects I wanted to get done. Having a daily routine with room for flexibility, as well as planning ahead is the way to beat frustration. Otherwise, feeling behind can be very frustrating.
Projects on my list right now are:
*Finding out how Cowboy the wonder buck is getting out and fixing the pen so that he cannot. Either that or feed him so much that he is too fat to squeeze through!
*Planning and setting aside the books for our next school session.
*Getting back into the daily praise and worship habit.
*Take a daily or every other day walk with the Littles.
*Rewriting many of the course plans I made up and are on my missing flash drive.
*Writing/editing articles for Growing in Grace (side note: I realized the other day that I literally have over 50 articles/posts to correct/teach on/edit for the girls each month, and that does not include my own articles and blog posts!)
*Finish up April reviews
*Ready the garden and plan that.
*Box up all my Partylite and have the girls write their initials on the pieces they like. Decide what I want to keep, use or get rid of.
*Ready all items in the garage we are getting rid of for the town-wide garage sale. I am going to give away at least 80% of all of it.
*Set up my website and download and design a new template.
*Write up at least one of the ten EBooks I have on my list!
A praise is that the sickies are all getting better! Another is that I prayed last week and asked the Lord to provide another pen, and Matt came home with a free one last night! Even the little stuff!
Right now, Isaac and Caleb are watching a lady on a cooking show make fig preserves. They are literally riveted to their seats watching it. I don’t know if it really so interesting or if it’s because they don’t watch tv. Jocelyn loves cooking and recipes, so her request to turn up the volume is not surprise. Poor girl. She has been so sick. None of them are in danger of dehydration, because we drink a lot of water and it is no chore to get it into any of them, but she has not been hungry at all and has felt just miserable.
Maybe everyone is just hungry! lol. Isaac turned around and smiled when they showed a tortilla and cheese. We haven’t made tortillas in some time! They are making a sandwich wrap, and I must say it looks delicious! That is one thing we always made when we had company, a wrap cut into small rolls. Quick and easy, we need to start doing that again!
I am just finished nursing little Lucy and she is pleasantly and contently sleeping in my lap. Life is as it should be.
blessings!
1I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
2He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
3And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
4Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
5Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
6Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
7Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
8I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
9I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest.
10I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.
11Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.
12For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.
13Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me.
14Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.
15Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.
16Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified.
17But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.
JOIN ME for Saturday Psalm & Praise!!
blessings!
We finished reading Helen’s Temper on the HSB Literary Club. I didn’t finish it yet, but Amanda and Christina did. So did Eyebright. I am still plugging along on chapter 4.
I would like to thank Amanda and Christina for leading the entire discussion of Helen’s Temper for the past month. Just being into chapter 4, I cannot believe how horribly mean Helen is. I mean, seriously. I am astonished. At first, I could not understand why Helen’s mother is oblivious to Helen’s temper, but then I had to think about the fact that she does seem to suspect something and seems distressed over it.
I do know how it is to see one of our children acting out in a sinful manner and not be able to control it. Sometimes, not even knowing how to address it. In Helen’s Temper, Helen has fooled many. She and her prideful, snippy friends are just manipulative bullies who have not yet been caught. We all know children like this. We know Christians who behave this way, boys and girls… men and women. We have probably acted this way in some manner at some time in our lives. The question is, did we mature? The question about Helen is, "Is she really spiritually mature?".
On the outside, she appears spiritually mature, but on the inside, she is hateful, vengeful and downright nasty. Off to read the rest of the book…. I hope she matures.
You can read the discussion of Helen’s Temper by Mrs. George Gladstone at the HSB Literary Club.
We will be announcing the next book soon. I hope you will consider joining us!
blessings!
Last year, Jocelyn told me that she had been talking to Heather Sprittibee about the Homeschool Blog Awards site, and all of the exciting things Heather had planned for it. She wanted it to be more than just the blog awards site. Heather had planned to have daily columns like a magazine and was hoping it woud be more of a year-round site, rather than the site that was only busy for the three months of the blog awards.
Heather came up with different ideas to cover different things, like Memo Monday, Tuesday Tour, Winner Wednesday, Thursday Thoughts, and Foto Friday. Her plan was great and would make the site a homeschool resource that many homeschoolers could enjoy and be encouraged by. I can’t imagine the time that Heather put into planning and gathering writers to support her in the site. I think it has been almost a year that Amanda, Jocelyn and I joined her and the team at HSBA to write.
A lot of things have happened in the past year on HSBA. We are now working with a new team, but the core team from the end of the ’07 Blog Awards is still on board, and I cannot tell you the impact these Godly women have made on me and on my daughters in the past year. They are real friends. Friends I can talk to. Friends who will help and who will pray. They are wonderful wives, moms and homeschoolers.
Dawn, from My Home Sweet Home, owns her own blog design company, Barefoot Blog Designs. She has completely redesigned the site and updated our wordpress, which has been wonderful. We are now hosted by Paul at ShatteringWindows.com, and I know that Dawn worked relentlessly to get the new site in order as soon as possible. Paul was a great help in administrating all of that with her. I know that Amanda and Jocelyn worked with Dawn and some of the other ladies as we made the final changes. The new site is really beautiful. We have something I am going to have when I get my wp blog on my site all done, and that is a template switcher. The new template is warm and cozy and inviting. Dawn did a beautiful job, and I really appreciate all of her hard work.
We have added some new writers in the past month too. Our new team members may not be new to you. I am personally well-acquainted with two of them. They are two of my very good friends. I have known Christina for almost two years. I met her here at HSB, and she has become a very dear friend to not just me but our family. We talk almost every day, even if it is just to see how each other is doing. We have spoken and prayed together many times on IM and on the phone. I love her dearly. SisterLisa is a friend I just met within the past year, and she surprised me one day with an email asking if the girls and I would be interested in creating an online girls magazine dedicated to upholding the standards of God’s Word and differentiating it from the world. There is not one like it, and we are glad to she asked us to join her and be a part of it. She is a very sweet Christian wife and mom, and we have become fast friends since we pushed our first GGM issue out in February in just 2 weeks!
De’Etta, Susan, and Marybeth are three others who have joined us, and I look forward to getting to know them better. De’Etta has joined us on our Yahoo Group, and I have been enjoying getting to know her too.
Check out these Categories at HSBA:
I think you will find that the Authors on HSBA are fulfilling the motto of Encouraging, Informing and Connecting the Homeschool Community! Go on over and check it out!
blessings!
This week I am writing for the Homeschool Blog Awards site. I have compiled a small list of some of the almost 6000 yahoo groups listed under Homeschooling. There is something for everybody. DeEtta left a comment saying that they move often, and online homeschool groups have provided the bulk of support for her. Click on over to
blessings!
In his article, Homeschoolers Who Don´t Learn Science Shouldn´t Receive a Diploma, Mr. Shives opens with a telling attitude about homeschooling: "There are many, many things I find dubious about the practice of parents homeschooling their children." He then proceeds to go on to prove he knows little about homeschooling and especially about the way children learn by saying, "I wonder how a mother or father who has not been educated as a teacher, who in many cases has not even been to college her/himself, can possibly provide their child with as good an education as students receive in our much-maligned public schools. And I can´t help but think that these homeschool students, of whom there are several million in the United States, are being robbed of a crucial formative experience by not attending school with other people their age and being forced to interact with a diverse group of peers."
I have to laugh out loud with his purely simple assessment of the totality of a child’s "crucial formative experience", their learning experience, to "attending school with other people their age and being forced to interact with a diverse group of peers". The guy really needs to meet some homeschoolers, maybe read a few blogs. I don’t have to force my children to do much, if anything. They interact well with others their own age and below and beyond. They love to learn. They are excited about life. They have learned this by being homeschooled, because, by its very nature, it nurtures a love for family, people and learning.
The entire rest of the article does not even address this ‘concern’ of his, so why does he say all of this? What could be so important for him to have to give this opinion about homeschoolers? Is he worried that we need to mix homeschoolers in with the other government-schooled kids as a giant science experiment to see what happens? No. I think the word "forced" is the tell-tale word here. He believes that homeschooled children should be forced to go to a government school and learn a government-based agenda. I think the word diverse is what he wants to force on homeschoolers. As in religious diversity.
Reading further into the article, you will find that he is worried that the fundamentalist Christian homeschoolers are not learning about evolution. He makes it abundantly clear that his definition of science, which only includes an evolutionary theory as the basis, must be forced on all those Creationists. Now, his article is entitled Homeschoolers Who Don´t Learn Science Shouldn´t Receive a Diploma, but, let’s call it as it is, and just say that he would like the creationists to trade in their own religious beliefs for his of evolution.
He is so concerned that the Creationist definition of the creation of the earth is being taught to homeschooled children. He has been indoctrinated into the belief in the theory of Darwinism and evolution as the only way the earth was created, and he believes it as the truth. It is quite ironic that this is a concern of creationists about the government schools, isn’t it? We are concerned about the fact that the Creation as told in the Bible has been taken out of science and the schools, along with prayer, morality and other God-given admonishments of truth and replaced with humanism, evolution, political-correctness and immorality.
He states, "Instead of evolutionary biology, which has been the keystone of the life sciences for over 150 years, homeschool students are taught creationism—that the God of the Bible personally created the universe more or less as described in the Book of Genesis. There are several varieties of creationism—Young Earth, Old Earth, Omphalosian, Neo—all thoroughly discredited. Increasingly, it is dressed in the pseudoscientific trappings of intelligent design. Whatever its proponents choose to call it, regardless of the intellectual contortions it performs to make the Biblical creation account plausible, it isn´t science and it should never be taught as such."
First of all, science, Creationism, etc. have been around for a lot longer than 150 years. So, if we want to go the route of teaching what has been around for the longest time, let’s go with Creationism. The story of Adam and Eve, Creation, the snake, etc., have been passed down from generation to generation for six thousand years. Just because a government legislates something as what to teach does not always make it right or truth.
Secondly, to call it "pseudoscientific trappings", is purely his own conjecture. I can absolutely say the same thing about evolution. Just because evolution-proponents choose to dismiss discoveries that prove Creationism or ignore where evolutionary science has been refuted does not make evolution true.
The definition of pseudo-science is "a pretended or mistaken science," 1844, from pseudo- (q.v.) + science.
This is definitely one we as Creationists can apply to evolutionists, just as they apply to us. To me, that makes it opinion, based on our own experiences and knowledge.
Another definition of pseudoscience is "a system of theories, assumptions, and methods erroneously regarded as scientific."
In answer to his opinion that homeschoolers should have to learn his idea of science to receive a diploma, I say he is stepping into boundaries he does not have any knowledge of. He is making assumptions that Christian homeschoolers do not learn about evolution at all. Honestly, we teach our children about evolution. We teach our children in high school about evolution from an educational standpoint, not as truth overriding the Creator. We also watch public television, and when you do, you can’t help but have to explain evolution to some degree. Matt and I sit there astonished at the absurd questions evolutionists have to things we just attribute to God as Creator, all-knowing. We wonder at God and His creation. We know to whom these wonders are attributed.
The question of college is one that I do not even need to speak to. The flood of colleges who want homeschoolers in their schools has been documented many times before. Homeschoolers are good students. They are serious students. Colleges know this. Colleges are accepting homeschooled students, period.
Let us talk about careers, though. How many high school graduates actually attend, finish and receive a degree at college, then go into the field of study they received that degree in?
Now, how many of them are scientific careers requiring a belief in evolution?
How many careers require a belief in evolution?
We need people in this world to work at fast-food restaurants, check out our groceries and pick up our trash. We need police officers and highway men and furniture salesmen. Most people are not going to become molecular biologists. I am obviously not saying that homeschoolers aren’t, but if you read his article, you would believe that homeschoolers are believing fairy dust and in no wise could pass a college science course. I see no facts presented to support this theory.
I believe this article was written based on the different opinions the author has heard about homeschoolers and tied it in with the same outrage most people have about homeschooling: they can’t control it. It is good. It is working, and they can’t get their hands into it. I don’t believe he did his research about homeschooling. He even had to add and Edit into the article to correct the demographics of homeschoolers. I think his article is more about fundamentalist Christian homeschoolers not having their children indoctrinated into evolution as their government-schooled counterparts are.
So, to sum up this ideology, if the colleges only teach evolution or sciences based on evolutionary science, which is a flawed theory, then everyone must simply go along with it, in order to survive in this world. Homeschoolers must teach evolution as science in their homes in order for their students to receive a diploma. If they are not taught evolution as fact, a Christian could not survive in college based on that alone. The one factor Mr. Shives is missing, yet again, is the God factor. We fundamentalist Creationist Christians believe that with God all things are possible. Even in a world that is fooled by the religion of evolution.
If you would like to read this same article posing the question as to whether government-schooled children should receive a diploma without learning about Creationism as science, Deb did a fantastic job of putting it all together. Tia also made the excellent point that "Believing in God does not change HOW any of those things work. It only changes my perspective on WHY it works," in her take on it at Home Where They Belong.
blessings!
Matt and I were discussing religions and pharisees and Jesus’ time the other night, and he brought up the Church of Oprah. I had not heard of it. I don’t have time to sit around and watch television, and if I did, I most certainly would not watch Oprah Winfrey. I watched her many years ago occasionally, but her claim to be a Christian never did set well with me. She was way too much into her own self and her beliefs even then rang true of New Age philosophy.
I came across a video link on Dana Bailey’s blog today. As I watched it, I was grieved in my spirit. I could not contain the tears. Oh what have Christians done, believing her and supporting her show all these years?!?! And today, we are all paying for it.
Bill Keller of LivePrayer.com is doing what should be done. Now, I have not researched Mr. Keller. I am only testifying that he is right in standing up for Jesus against this flood. (I did watch another interview with him.) Are you articulate enough to debate Oprah in an open forum against her new age beliefs? We all should be as Christians. The Bible says
14But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
15But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
16Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
Oprah will probably just dismiss this little David. She will play it off, but I watched her video, and even she does not yet get what she is selling to the masses.
Christian parents: Daily. All day. Every day. Teach your children about Christ. Old Testament and New. Teach them about Truth. Make the Bible so real to them that they will know a lie when they hear it. If you homeschool, you can do this. You have your children home all day. They are not being taught this New Age guru heresy that Oprah is teaching. You can teach them about the Truth. Do not waste your time or theirs. Take advantage of every moment to talk about God and His ways. Someday soon, our lives may depend on it.
Cheers to this modern day David for standing up against Oprah the Goliath.
In further searching, I found a video where Mr. Keller found words that Oprah has already said to "debate" her false religious beliefs.
Christian, if you are watching Oprah and her ideas sound new and fresh to you; if they sound good and make you feel good, you are in danger of losing the very soul you think you are setting free. Oprah may be a good person, but she is on her way to hell, and you are following her there. Set your feet on the straight and narrow path and come off from her wide path leading many to destruction. She speaks of freedom? The Truth will set you free. The Truth is Jesus. Jesus will set you free. Period.
31Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Stop continuing in Oprah’s word and get into the Word of God. You are in bondage.
Also, please be aware the Oprah is a huge proponent for Barak Obama. That alone should be a red flag. And her support should be a big flag for Obama supporters.
blessings!
A couple of things that have happened this week have caused me to pose this question: Has this ever happened to you? After reading the last two, you can also ask the question, "What is wrong with people?".
In my warm bed, sleeping peacefully, snug as a bug in a rug….
I am startled awake by Eric running into the house yelling that Chloe is in labor. Lest I forget to remind you… none of our goats are pregnant (right Jocelyn??). So, Chloe is in labor… zzzz… WHAT? Chloe’s in labor??? I jump up, go to Amanda’s room, hand off Loolie, then downstairs… I run (yeah, do not try to picture it) down to the barn, pulling on shoes and my coat as I go… she is in labor, yes indeedy. We watched and watched and watched.
Of course, I knew she wouldn’t kid until it was either a blinding snowstorm or sleeting rain. Since neither of those weather events has happened, neither has Chloe’s kidding. No kidding. For real. This was 2 days ago. Goats…. sheesh
(For the record: Actually, the "Mom, Mom!!!! Chloe is kidding!!" did happen last year, and we ran down in time to save the first kid and assist with the other two… Same thing with Heidi)
Has it ever happened to you?
Has this ever happened to you #2:
Enjoying a delicious meal, salting my chicken, telling Jocelyn how delicious the rice is… I look out the window to see a truck stopped down in the dark on the road. Our home is about two hundred feet from the road. Matt and I run to the door and window. As our porch light is turned on, I see a man in a ball cap walk past the rear lights to our side of the road and then walk back. He gets into his truck. I was relieved because we have a freezer sitting down there for sale, and after a man left disgruntled this afternoon, wanting it for free, I thought he had come back to steal it.
Next thing I hear, our trash container is being dragged down the road!! No joke. Really. I mean, what is wrong with people?? Did they run out of dogs to kick and kittens to torture? What happened to just teepeeing a house? The bonehead thief and vandal stole our garbage can! Not a little regular can either, one of those larger, 4 foot deals on wheels with a heavy lid that’s attached.
Our next concern was our neighbor’s mailbox. See, this is a real fun game for hoodlums: drag a trash container down the road and see if you can knock out the next guy’s mailbox. Our poor neighbor has had to replace his box twice already. We keep trying to figure out how we can rig it to explode on impact from a flailing garbage can and teach these guys a lesson…
Matt hops into his truck and goes after the truck, which.. how they do this, I have no idea… he and Amanda have determined to be a Chevy truck just from the taillights. He comes upon them at the bridge, where they are stopped, out of the truck. Hmmm…. I wonder where our trash container is?? Complete morons. So, they jump into their truck, and Matt follows them. I am envisioning a whole Dukes of Hazzard thing here that is kinda’ scary. Anyway, Matt followed them into town, but lost them when his truck failed and they turned around -in someone’s yard!
And #3:
The story from last year was even better. We live on the end of a country road, so I guess these people with nothing better to do with their lives just consider us good fodder for idiocy. For a couple of weeks a Volkswagen bug kept driving up to our driveway and sitting there, honking. And honking and honking. At all hours of the night. Three am. Eleven pm. Twelve am. Well, I guess the driver and entourage were extremely bored that evening, because they came back a several times.
The third time was their lucky time, because Matt had driven his little truck down there and parked in the shadows right at the end of the drive and followed them ten miles into town. NOT what they expected. At all.As he followed them, he could tell they were a bunch of twenty-something kids. Jocelyn was along with him on the phone with me the whole time.
He got out at the Kroger parking lot where they pulled in and asked them what they were up to. Of course, they had no idea what he was talking about. As if he hadn’t just followed them all that way. Needless to say, after a police report and the officers questioning them, we had no more weekly visits!
Has that ever happened to you?
blessings!
In the spirit of my previous post about AB2943 that will make spanking in CA illegal, I am going to post this newspaper clipping that was passed to me from someone on Home Where They Belong. I received an anonymous comment saying that spanking is abuse. My reply to that comment is in this vein.
Enjoy the irony of it all…. and lament the sadness…
Click on the picture if you can’t see the whole clipping.
blessings!
I usually do not post quizzes, but, go ahead, play along.
Makes me love my Grandparents even more!!!
blessings!
I received this information in an email. I think some of these CA legislators have completely lost all of their minds. Totally. I believe in the power of the voting box, but PRAYER is even stronger than that!
Let’s pray for these decisions. I have said this before… and I saw a trickling of the CA anti-homeschool law affect other state decisions… if this becomes law, it WILL affect every American. Period. We are deceiving ourselves if we think it won’t.
Your immediate action is needed. Please contact all the committee members and your own representatives too. AB 2943 is scheduled for a hearing and vote Tuesday, April 15 in the Assembly Public Safety Committee. There are four Democrats and two Republicans on the committee. If this ratio holds firm and one Democrat votes "no" or abstains, AB 2943 would be stopped.
Campaign for Children and Families | Randy Thomasson, President
savecalifornia.com | saveamerica.net
Please forward to pro-family Californians and Americans
Good parents in California could be jailed
Californians must rise up now to oppose the new spanking ban, AB 2943. The first vote is Tuesday.
Send a powerful pre-written email to Sacramento
April 10, 2008: The legislator who wants to arrest and jail good parents who occasionally spank their children is back with a vengeance.
Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, the termed-out Democrat Speaker pro Tempore from the San Jose area, has gutted and amended her bill AB 2943, tranforming it into last year’s highly-controversial bill punishing any parent who uses an “implement” to spank their children.
AB 2943 would label good, loving parents — who occasionally use a little paddle, a ruler, a little stick, or a brush to correct their youngster’s misbehavior — as official "child abusers" in the eyes of the law.
Under AB 2943, police officers, district attorneys, juries, and child protective services will view ALL parents who spank as suspected child abusers worthy of investigation.
This bad bill would mean good parents could be arrested and spend the night in jail. Their children would be removed from the home and placed in foster care for "protection." If convicted of using an "implement" to spank their child (even if it was only one time), the parent would be ordered into "nonviolent parental education" and their children could be taken away for four years or more.
AB 2943 is scheduled for a hearing and vote Tuesday, April 15 in the Assembly Public Safety Committee. There are four Democrats and two Republicans on the committee. If this ratio holds firm and one Democrat votes "no" or abstains, AB 2943 would be stopped.
Your immediate action is needed. Please contact all the committee members and your own representatives too.
1. Contact the committee members and your own elected representatives in Sacramento
- How to call the committee members, what to say, and a pre-written message you can email them
- How to contact your own California state representatives
- Call and email Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
2. Bring yourself and your children to the April 15 hearing at the State Capitol. The committee members need to see and hear from good mothers and good fathers that AB 2943 would tranform into suspected child abusers. We need California moms and dads and their children to pack out the committee room!
Please rearrange your schedule, cancel other activities, put aside your fear, put on faith, and show up to the committee room on Tuesday, April 15. Be prepared to go to the microphone to say your name and why you’re opposed to AB 2943. Ten seconds of speaking is all that is needed. Yes, you can do it.
State Capitol, 10th and L Streets in Sacramento
Room 126 on the first floor near the north side entrance
Assembly Public Safety Committee begins Tuesday, April 15, 2008 at 9 a.m.
(Plan to park by 8:15 a.m. and get to the committee room by 8:30 a.m. for limited seating; the committee hearing is expected to last until lunchtime)
CAMPAIGN FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES (CCF) is a leading West Coast pro-family organization empowering citizens to live out their values. Sign up today for CCF’s free email updates at www.savecalifornia.com. Your partnership empowers CCF’s innovative work on behalf of children and families in culture, media and government. Please support CCF by making a secure online donation or by sending a tax-deductible gift of any size to:
Campaign for Children and Families
Randy Thomasson, President
P.O. Box 511, Sacramento, CA 95812
(916) 265-5650
www.savecalifornia.com
www.saveamerica.net
This is not an alarmist view. This is something, that if passed, will give yet another precedent for lawmakers to continue to systematically take away the rights of parents to lovingly lead their children to the Lord just so the state can further their own agenda.
This is not about child abuse. This is about the government getting their hands just a little further into our business. They want our children. They want to eliminate our freedom to act out our faith. Bills like this are only brought up to enable them to take children for their own reasons or benefit, not the family’s or the child’s. This is wrong. God did not intend for them to abuse their place in the government.
We are the parents. I know that means little to those who are power-hungry people, but it means everything to God. You cannot lump all parents into the same mold. America is not supposed to be a Socialist country. We are free to live out our faith, just as others of no faith are… or we should be free to.
blessings!
I was thinking about posting some homeschool conference information, and I was searching my Inbox, and I found a note from
THM Editor:
If you can squeeze it in your family budget, I’d really encourage you to attend a homeschool conference in your area. TOS will be at eight different ones this year. If you get a chance, stop by our booth and say hello!
- AFHE in Phoenix, AZ
- Valley Home Educators in Modesto, CA
- Southeast Homeschool Expo in Atlanta, GA
- GHEA in College Park, GA
- MASS Hope in Worcester, MA
- CHAP in Harrisburg, PA
- HEAV in Richmond, VA
- WATCH in Seattle, WA
Whatever you do, wear your comfy shoes. Bring a bottle of water, a good pen, something to write on, and then one of those rolling carts or a handy tote bag. Just don’t forget to pick up a little something special to take home for the kids. Whether it’s a fun game, book, or gadget, it’s sure to help the kids to look forward to the school year when you come home with something fun! They may need a little pick-me-up too.
Enjoy every minute!
PS – Click on your state or country to find a listing of homeschool conferences in your area!
I hope you enjoy any time you get to spend at a homeschool conference! If you get to meet Paul and Gena, give them big hugs from the Dixons!
blessings!
We had a grand time for Luli’s birthday, and I can’t NOT post photos of it.
On Sunday we had my Grt Grandparents over, along with Grandpa and his wife, Dorothy. They weren’t going to be able to Luli’s actual party so they just came over to spend time with us for awhile.
Grandma trying to get Luli to roll the ball to her.
Grandpa’s got it!
Grandpa and Eric
Grandma, Amanda with Lucy talking to Grandpa, me, and Rachel
Warming up to Grandpa
Grandma talking to Caleb, who’s sitting in Daddy’s lap.
Grandma reading Luli’s card to her
Luli loved all her cards. The highlight of the day!
Soft baby doll from Grandpa and Dorothy
Card and Baby… ready to go.
Grt Grandma with her Grt grand-daughter…
Aww…Kisses
We don’t get to see my Grt Grandparents too often because they live nearly two hours away, but we really enjoy our time with them. Hopefully this summer we’ll be able to get together more often, and since Amanda has her license we’ll be able to drive up and help them with housework.
My Grandma is quite a character. She has loosened up quite a bit over the past five years and really does love being around us and doesn’t mind the chaos so much anymore. I am so thankful for the relationship I have with her. It will be something I treasure forever. I am praying that before she passes away she will give her life to Jesus so we can spend eternity together. And this is the same grandma who is on the Feelin’ Feminine icon. I showed her my blog and told her about it (and about how you girls have it on your blogs) and she blushed. Haha.
My Grandpa is quite a character too. He will be 89 in September and is still so full of life and laughter. He adores playing with the kids and is always saying something to me make laugh. I truly love them.
On Monday, we had Luli’s party, but it wasn’t a large gathering… only fourteen people (haha that’s ten for us). I was really excited about Luli’s party because some bloggers we’d met online were coming. It is such a warm feeling to finally be able to meet someone you’ve been talking and sharing your thoughts with through emails. Emily Rose and her sister, Breezy, are two of the funnest young ladies I have met. When the Blue_Eggs first arrived we all kinda stood around and say very little. Breezy asked if we should get our computers out so we could send a few messages to each other! Haha. After awhile we all warmed up to each other and there wasn’t a moment I saw either of the girls without one of the Littles clinging to them.
Looking at the goats…Emily Rose, Hannie, Rachel, and Breezy.
Eric, Emily Rose holding hands with Hannie, Isaac, and Caleb.
We didn’t take too many photos…. we did go see the goats and the chickens. Then we came in and made dinner, spaghetti, and then we did the cake.
Getting the cake ready
Sticking in the candle
Letting Caleb blow out the match.
Luli’s cake that I made… ta-da.
Breezy holding the birthday girl.
Singing HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Luli…
Opening presents. Lucy has her card again. Luli got some very pretty spring outfits from Grandma Starr & the Blue_Eggs. One of the outfits were even the same! Haha She also got a beautiful purple sweater from the Blue-Eggs
After cake and ice cream, Emily Rose and I got on Photoshop so Emily Rose could show me a few things. I am so excited because I did my first transparent image! That had been one of my main goals in getting a graphics program, and you can see the transparent image on SuperAngel’s left sidebar, under "Published Articles".
Breezy doing what she does best…. drawing. She did a few really lovely drawings for the boys and Hannie.
The milk-maid and the cow by BreezyTulip ’08
Saying goodbye, but not without farewell photos! Emily Rose and Hannie
We had a blast while they were here. And finally I found a blogger is the same height as me. Hehe.
Emily Rose and moi.
Breezy and moi.
Emily Rose and the Boys. Yeah she was a favourite. Haha
In short Luli had a wonderful birthday, though she did sleep a lot because she was warm and a little grouchy. Mother Dear thinks she’s getting a toofer.
Fortunately it wasn’t too hard saying goodbye to the Blue_eggs because they’re most likely coming back for my birthday party, which will be so much fun too. Are you coming? If you received the email invitation and know whether are not you cannot make it, please email me back. The suspense is killing me!
written by
Repost from March 2007
It’s March!! Can you believe it?? The first ‘official’ Day of Spring is almost here! Now is the perfect time to start a little garden with your children! If you haven’t already, consider doing some type of garden. You can do a little one outside, a huge one outside or even a little container-type one inside.
Now is the time to start with seedlings. If you do that, you will be allowing your children to do something with so many object lessons, both educational and Biblical. They will be thrilled to watch as the little plant pokes its green up out of the soil after only a few days – or weeks. You will be teaching them to care for something and be responsible for something that will grow into something they can be proud of!
When you garden, there is something for every age. you can make a lesson as elaborate or as simple as you wish. Here are some ideas you can use with different levels of children.
1. Planning Your Garden
Make a list of the different plants you would like to plant according to the different vegetables you enjoy and how much you want to harvest. Your children – especially the Littles will probably love brainstorming on this one!
This is a great opportunity to spend some time outside! Look at your land and see where would be a good location to plant where there is adequate sunlight and access to water. Talk to your chidlren and let them give ideas why this is a good location or if there may be another spot.2. Order/Purchase Your Seeds
With list in hand, call and order your seeds or go pick some up at your local store. This is something an older child can do and practice communication skills.
There are many places you can call and order seeds from. Most seed companies have websites you can check out. We ordered ours this year from Seeds of Change. Read about what we have done and get some links to heirloom and organic seed companies at Seeking Rest on the Homestead. You can also read about the benefits of receiving the Organic Gardening online newsletter.
**Also – visit HomesteadBlogger. Go to the Front Porch Homestead Garden and Farm page and read their ideas. Look at the 100 most recent entries and take a look at any that pertain to gardening. I have found it a great site for information on gardening and animal husbandry! Even the Newbies (like us) have some good ideas!!**
Some I have found are:
Unlikely Homesteader
I Am Definitely Not A Farmer
Of course, you can visit *our* Homestead blog, too:
Seeking Rest on the Homestead
3. Plotting PlantTimes
Different seeds need to be started indoors andothers direct-seeded into your garden outside. Call your local extansion office and find out your last frost date and work backwards from there. Use a calendar to write down and keep track of when to plant certain seeds.4. Time to plant seedlings
Children of all ages love to work in the dirt and plant seeds. Of course, my Littles loved filling our seed trays with dirt. I just put down some newspaper, put the potting soil in the middle of the table and gave them each access to a tray and a spoon. I had 5 children, 22m, 3 1/2, 7, 9 and 13 filling trays, having fun!
Have a reading child read how many seeds and such to put and how to plant them. Help the Littles and they really can’t do it wrong.
Other Lessons – Ideas to teach:
1. Littles can match seed packets and separate them into baggies.
2. Study seasons – why God made created each time.
3. Science -Botany of Seed to Plant
4. Schedule – watering, sunlight, and heat lamp.
5. Measuring and graphing the garden spot, the times to plant, the days of growth to germination.
6. Determinate/Inderterminate Seeds/Plants
7. Study Different Types of Soil – Nutrents in Soil.
8. Research Companies – Pick out and order seeds from Seed Co.
9. Weeding and reasons for it.
10. Organic gardening and the use of harmful pesticides on our soil and in our foods.
11. Bible Lessons: Diligence, Bounty
12. Biblical Planting, Watering, Harvesting can be shown in a physical, tangible way.
13. Do an indoor greenhouse.
Other benefits of planting a garden:
Fresh Air & Exercise
As you can see, there is ample opportunity for you as the homeschool teacher to incorporate math and science into your learning. They can also incorporate english/writing as they write about their experiences. Reading can include any books on gardening, reading seed packets or the science books you already have that give information on what you are teaching.
The *best* part about gardening is all of the lessons from the Bible you can incorporate!! Search online for bible references to planting, harvesting, and the like and read your children a story each day, before you start. *Always* incorporate God’s Word into your lessons. It makes your lessons more real and makes God more real!
Be Blessed!!
There are many things the relationship between mother and daughter can be. The world gives us a different attitude about motherhood than the Word does. The world’s view is of one that is not really much of a relationship and totally without a Godly influence. It is seen as something that is only by means of blood-relations or selfishness, getting what you can get from the relationship. It is not of two loving hearts bound together working toward a common goal in the Lord.
On the other hand, the mother-daughter relationship the Word gives is very different. It can be that uncommon relationship of God’s love, like the love Ruth showed to Naomi, her mother-in-law. A love that walks miles with the other, loving, denying one’s self, lifting up in words and in prayer, working and providing for if necessary.
Most of us have relationships as mothers and daughters somewhere in -between those two types of relationships. A completely giving relationship is a rare find. Some of us have the lesser one. I believe mine with my mother was good until I started to care what the world had to offer me. I did not grow up in a Christian home, but my mother is one of the biggest Givers I know. She was easy to love. She cared about us and our lives. She put herself and her love into my life, and I returned it for awhile. Then I ‘grew up’, so I thought. I didn’t need my mom as a daughter, in my own immature eyes. I turned to friends and listened to what they thought was best for me. They were wrong. I needed my mother, not their influences.
A Godly loving relationship as mother and daughter carries a sweetness that is uncommon in the world we live in. It is not a selfish relationship. It is out of a heart of love. A love for our daughters, a daughter’s love for her mother, and a love for the Lord. The blessings we reap from such a relationship are so numerous, it would be hard to list them all. Even when there is conflict, when God is in it, His love comes through. Such a sweet relationship allows us to pray for our daughters and their futures according to what God may have for them.
I am so blessed to have five beautiful daughters. I remember when my oldest, who is now eighteen, was a little girl. What she doesn’t realize is that she will always be my little girl. And now, as a young lady, she is my friend and confidante too. The sweetness of childhood is not gone, but changed. It is still there, but in a different measure. A measure she can experience as an eighteen-year-old daughter while seeing a different measure with her eight-year-old sister. Or her ten-month-old sister.
Our relationships will change as time passes. They will change as life changes. They will change as we each grow in the Lord. One of the loveliest things about a relationship between a mother and a daughter is that growing. The relationship will change, but the sweetness will remain, if we walk in love. It will be a bittersweet love at times, when things don’t go as we think they should, but if it is rooted in God’s love, it will always return to its sweetness.
Ephesians 5:2 tells us to "walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour."
As mothers and daughters, we can always be a sweet-smelling savour to our Lord. We can be that as mothers. We can be that as daughters. We can be that together. When we do that, walking in love, we will also be a sweetness to each other in our mother-daughter relationships.
Blessings!
This is originally posted at Growing in Grace Magazine for Girls
Bridging The Gap – A Sweet Relationship
Oh man, I am so looking forward to sunshine, and we are still behind on getting the seedlings going.
We were talking about gardening on LucyLillie’s birthday with Robin and our neighbor, and he said he had just gone over his garden that afternoon with the first tilling. Matt had just been thinking he needs to get out the tiller and get it going.
Rachel planted several seeds a couple of weeks ago, and we saw plants at the market, and we so wanted to get out and plant them! I spoke to my Dad yesterday, and he said that we could still plant peas here, and get in the potatoes. Our planting date isn’t until the middle of May, so we usually wait until around the 22nd or so to put in the seeds and plants into the ground.
Matt said it is supposed to snow here this weekend, so we’ll see. That is what happened last year; it was 80′ the last week in March and snowed the second week of April. Crazy Indiana weather!
I can’t wait til we get the peas and potatoes in tho! I hope we can keep the chickens out of them!
ack!
If you are interested in reading about our gardening adventures from last year, you can look at
Monday, October 15, 2007: Summer Homeschool – Gardening, A Photo Essay
blessings!
Last Chance to be a Charter Digital Subscriber!
Today is the last day to subscribe to TOS Digital Magazine and receive 2 bonus digital back issues AND the International Geography Quest Project Pack ebook from In the Hands of a Child. See the full details HERE.
Charter Digital Subscription
Our Price: $ 16.95
Special offer ends midnight April 8!
and, don’t forget about this:
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine’s Spring Promo is in full bloom.
Subscribe now to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and receive
25 BONUS gifts valued at over $550!
Our Winter promo sold out, don’t miss out the free gifts this time!
See why I highly recommend TOS!
blessings!
Jocelyn is this week’s COH host. Be sure to jog on over to A Pondering Heart for her "Working Out" edition! She did such a great job of tying in her theme and making graphix! Sorry, I can’t run… jogging is all I can do for a bit! And I will need a triple stroller!
blessings!
Happy Birthday Loolie!
Today, our Little sweetheart is a year old!! We are all in shock. Truly!! This year has really blown by! God is so good in placing this little sweetie in our home.
Lucy, we all hope you have the best birthday today! You are such a joy in our lives.
There will be several tributes to our Little Girlie for her special day, so we will be linking them as they are posted! We will also be adding pictures too!
Happy Birthday Loolie. We are all so proud of you!!
Wow. It has been a year. A year. And I love you more now than I did then, though I don’t know how that is possible. It is 3 am here now, on the 7th. Last year at this time, I was just starting to have the hard contractions. I woke up after a bit of rest and woke up the midwife. It was time.
29 minutes later, we met you for the first time. Our little girl. Jocelyn and I knew you were going to be a girl. We were ready for one. You were so tiny. And content. You nursed well and were so sweet. The next weeks were full of joy and trying desperately to figure out a name for you!!
And now, a year later, you are still so sweet and content. I cannot believe a year has passed.
You are such a little baby doll still. So smart and loving.
You let Caleb grab you around the neck and give you all the hugs he wants, and you hardly make a peep.
I love your little delicate fingers and the way you sing with me, reaching the right pitches and stopping and holding the words you can’t even speak yet. Your words are only understood by us, but I know you understand so much more than you can tell us yet! We love your aaaah when you say yes and the way you have started shaking your head yes and no.
Had we ever put you down sooner, I am sure you would be running around by now, but we all want to hold you, so it is a small sacrifice.
Besides, to see you stand from crouching is so fun, and you do it so well now. We are anticipating those first real steps.
But don’t expect to be put down too much just because you start walking. We will still be holding you all the time!
I cannot even say how you have captured your Daddy’s heart. To see his eyes light up and a huge smile on his face each time he sees you and the way he just watches you is priceless.
You simply light up the room, my little darling!
You remind me of each of your brothers and sisters, and it is a joy to have you.
I love to see you raise your hands to go to your sister or lay your head sweetly on Eric’s shoulder as he sings to you. What a blessing.
Our times together nursing are so vey precious to me, and they will be kept in my heart forever.
To look into your eyes, to feel your little hand on my face or to watch you doze off to sleep, it is our time, and I love gazing at you.
Thank you Lord, for this precious gift you have given us. Thank you for loaning her to us to teach her and love her and be blessed by her presence. It is truly humbling to know, my dear little Loolie, that you are God’s and I get the privilege of having you here. I truly do not deserve you.
I will tell you that you are in great company too. God has filled this home with great children, your sisters and brothers, to love you and teach you and care for you. You will never be alone or unloved. God put you in exactly the right place at the exact right time.
I am still as overjoyed and in love with you, Little Girlie, as I ever was. You are a light in our lives. I can’t wait to watch you grow and see what God has planned in your life. I love you my dear. Love you. Love you. Love you!
Mommy
blessings!
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine’s Spring Promo is in full bloom.
Subscribe now to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and receive
25 BONUS gifts valued at over $550!
Our Winter promo sold out, don’t miss out the free gifts this time!
I cannot recommend The Old Schoolhouse Magazine enough. Amanda and Jocelyn literally fight with me to look at it first.
The magazine has something for everyone. In it you will find encouraging articles, a Teacher’s Lounge section with ideas and answers from regular homeschool moms just like us. There are articles and ideas, as well as the resources included for all different ages of children. In it you will find homeschool resource and book reviews, international homeschool families and news, and special unit studies – well, there is so much information, it is an investment in your homeschool.
blessings!
Oh how easily sin does come upon us and into our minds. And to our hearts. How easily frustrated are moms and how quickly we can lose heart. But our strength does not come from ourselves alone. It comes from Our Lord and our husbands. It comes from quiet times in worship and communion with God. It comes from reading and knowing and trusting in His Word.
1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.
3 But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.
4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.
6 There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.
8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
blessings!
We are getting ready for Loolie’s birthday on Monday. Wow!! Do you remember when she was born? I had so very many well wishes and blessings! It was phenomenal. It really blessed me. And then naming her. Yes, it took a month. Maybe 6 weeks. I don’t remember. But, at least with a record like a blog, I can check!
Speaking of her name, LucyLillie; we named her LucyLillie because we wanted to name her after her Great Grandmother. This is the same Great Grandmother who had alzheimer’s, who we never got to take Lucy down to meet. She went to be with the Lord in January. Matt did let her know her name last year on her birthday, and he said she was surprised and very happy to hear it.
I liked the name Lillie, too, when we were naming her. Lillie and Lucie. Those were the two I had picked out. We really wanted to use Lucy. Matt really wanted to use it especially, as her first name. I liked Lillie a lot more. Her birth was the day before Easter, so Lillie fit right in with that one. We tried so many names. First names, middle names, middle names as first names, first names as middle names, forgetting the whole thing all together!
The vote here was pretty much in favor of Lucy. I am thinking Amanda and I were the only ones who loved Lillie. I don’t know if Mom or my sister gave their opinions on those two names. Gena liked Lucy. I can’t remember what Paul liked. I think the boys liked Lucy. On a side note: Amanda still calls her Lillie, usually LillieGirl.
Then Matt pretty much nixed Lillie in favor of Lucy, and, well, that was just not cool Honey, sorry. No, not really. Actually, he really grew to like both names and fell in love with our Little Girlie, so it didn’t matter in the end which one to him. On a tearful day, as I sang to my girl, I realized it had to be Lucy. I had chosen a few other middle names, and he liked Avigail. Me too. Of course, it means Father’s Delight, so of course it fit our Little Sweetie so very well!
When I came up with the idea that we would just call her both names, it seemed like too much of a tongue twister to put the two names together. But they had really grown on us. Our blog friends had been waiting anxiously for an official name, and I think Lucy and Lillie were growing on them too. We just had to decide which came first: Lucy or Lillie. We were still divided on that one. LillieLucy. LucyLillie. 
After a month of deciding and searching and praying, we decided on the perfect name: LucyLillie Avigail. Yes, that seems like a mouthful. It sure rolls off the tongue so easy now. It does fit her perfectly.
Isaac will occasionally break out singing her a little song we all made up when we were deciding names and nicknames were given to our little girlie. It goes like this:
It is quite soothing to her and even the rest of us when he sings it so sweetly in his little four year old voice. You have to give each and every syllable of LucyLillie Avigail a hard count to get the right rhythm. And the last line of the song is usually, "I love her."
We have all been quite proud of her long sweet name that she seems to have grown into. Then, when Matt went to NM for Grandma’s funeral, he discovered something extraordinary. In looking through all of the family information on both sides of his family, he discovered that his maternal Great Grandmother had a special middle name of which we had no idea: Lillie. So, our sweet little Raspberry, whom we named after her saint of a Great-Grandmother, was also named after her Great-Great-Grandmother too. That, to me, was extraordinary. It just blessed me. Really.
Grandma’s passing was such a time of sorrow and turmoil, with all the extenuating circumstances, and this really blessed me. I could not believe it. Is that a blessing or what? Naming our children has always been an important part of their lives, and I was extremely happy that she had been named after two Grandmas.
And now it is Spring again. And Lucy will be one. She is such a sweet little character. I can hear the birds chirping away outside, and it makes me smile. She was born at just the right time. She is so full of life and laughter. I can testify to this: no matter how many children God gives you, you will never run out of love. You can’t. They supply it for you!
blessings!
We homeschoolers know that home education is the best for our children, and that socialization is not an issue, but many think that we parents are as obtuse as they think homeschooling is. The interesting thing about that is that most homeschool parents were schooled in a public or private school setting, and therefore have the knowledge of that type of education under their belts. For the vast majority, the same cannot be said for parents of public/private schooled children. Or, an even more interesting thing about it (read:ludicrous) is the adults who have such experience in education and opinions on homeschooling who have *no* children.
Many homeschoolers do believe homeschooling is the best life for all families and children. A lot of us see it as a mandate from God in His Word, where we are instructed as Believers to
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."
However, this belief is personal, and most of us don’t care if you send your children to public or private schools or not, in regards to our opinions of you personally. We know, from seeing both sides of the coin which is best, but we also know what God’s Word says, and we truly do believe it is the authority of the parents to make that decision. In other words, we may disagree with the choice to not homeschool, but it does not mean we feel superior or that you are ruining your children, we just know what we know about homeschooling.
Part of the reason many have ridiculous opinions of homeschooling is because they either know no homeschool families personally or have known of a bad homeschool family whose children are hoodlums. I have not heard of someone whose pool of homeschool knowledge went further than those two reasons. As a matter of fact, almost twenty years ago, my mother had neighbors who homeschooled, and I distinctly recall her making comments about how all the kids did was played outside all day. I can laugh at that now.
The fact was that they weren’t outside all day, and when they were, we had no idea what they were playing or even the ages of the children. And, did they get up at 7am and do workbooks until 10am? Or maybe they had read their assignments and drawn their pictures or maybe they were learning social skills relating to one another outside on the swing set. Regardless of what they were doing, we had no idea that all experience is learning, only because of our jaded knowledge of learning as deemed by the public school system! Funny; I had forgotten about that.
Fast forward to now, and I could come up with a million things our children not only do outside, but learn when they are outside! See how perspective changes with experience and a little understanding?
The collective wrong beliefs about homeschooling are called myths. Like the way you carry a baby in utero tells you the sex of that baby. Or that we only use 10% of our brains or that shaving legs causes hair to grow back thicker. These are unproven ideas, and as a matter of fact, the only reason people believe them as fact is because someone else said it. Kinda’ like myths about homeschooling.
I don’t know; if I address all of these ideas, this could become a book, instead of just a blog post. I can truly say that almost all of those can be defeated in Scripture, so if you are a Believer who supports those myths, pray and ask the Lord to reveal what He thinks about them. Too many times we buy into pop-culture christianity and don’t really think through why we believe certain things. We homeschool our large family on one income, budgeting our money. Mostly, it is faith. God set us on this course, and He will provide. Period. Everything. Skill, knowledge, time, desire, money, everything.
I actually have had Christian parents tell me *in front of their children* that they could not stand to be home with their children all day. How very sad. Are children a blessing or a curse? The Bible tells us they are a Blessing, each and every one of them. He tells us that they are a heritage and a reward.
3Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
4As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
So, maybe it’s the parenting then or the influences of society, the public school system and children of families who do not serve the One True God. Whatever it is, 50% of the battle is in our minds and spirits, and it is high time to get it that God calls children a Blessing and even says that a man who has many children is happy. Happy, like blessed. I don’t personally care if you choose to have one child or even none. I am reading the Bible. I am saying it says:
5Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
Interestingly enough, the beginning of Psalm 127 says
1Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
2It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
Except the Lord build the house. Not the state. Not the public education system. Not the church. The Lord.
So, if you are a homeschooler, you may not need to read these links, but it will give you great encouragement to know other homeschoolers not only understand, but have the same passion about it that you do. If you are not a homeschooler, read them over so that you may hear the truth from someone who does have it on authority and not just an opinion they heard somewhere.
Common Homeschooling Myths Dispelled
NHEN: Dispelling The Myths About Homeschooling
By Christine Webb
Family Lobby.com: The Most Common Home-schooling Myths Exposed and Explained
ChildAdvocate.org: Myths About Home Schooling/Self-Directed Learning & Commonsense Answers © 2003 by Laurie A. Couture, M.Ed, LMHC
Lew Rockwell.com: Homeschooling and the Myth of Socialization
Family Education:Social Skills and Homeschooling: Myths and Facts
If you have written a post about Homeschool Myths, feel free to link it in the comments.
blessings!
Please join me today at the Homeschool Blog Awards for Memo Monday. This week we have plenty to participate in, peruse, ponder and even to purchase! If that isn’t enough, we also have some things to pray for. Have a great week at home with your kiddoes, and I hope the weather is nice where you are and you get to get out and enjoy it!!
blessings!
I just posted about the new HOW community in my last post, and then I got an unrelated email. Here are some HOW Links. If you have more, leave them in a comment, and I will get them on here!
The HOW Blog:
My HOW Writings:
You can also download part of Robin’s book, The HOW Teaching Approach and some of her others on her
This is a 70pp. download, so it should give you a feel for her philosophy. Be warned though: If you look through it, you will really be impressed and purchase it! )
Blessings!
The past four or five days have been a bit of a blur to me. And I have to remember not to send personal emails or instant messages or leave any lengthy comments when life is like this, because I inevitably say the wrong thing. Not the unforgivable thing, mind you, but I am tired, and in a hurry or kids are asking about getting pizza for dinner or watching The Lone Ranger, and I am not in a state of mind to discuss some things. So, note to self: No really deep conversations between the 25th of the month and, well, whenever all the GGM articles are written and edited to the site. Ok, maybe if I get a very loud buzzer that goes off during that time, I might be ok. Probably not.
On breathing: whew. Big deep breath. Matt, Amanda and Rachel got home from Paulie’s party, just in time to go on a 4-day computer marathon for GGM articles. I am completely exhausted and half brain-dead (hence the previous paragraph). In addition to that, I realized I forgot my own meme again. How dumb is that? Ok, I didn’t even realize it; MamaArcher told me. So, I am still going to do one, because I love them, and they lift my heart and spirit as much as I want to praise the Lord and lift Him up. But, not til tomorrow, but it will still be saved on Saturday’s date.
EDIT: I am happy to say that I got my meme done ~Saturday Psalm & Praise – Take Me Into the Holy of Holies ~ and wrote my Bridging the Gap article as well as correcting the other 11 articles the girls wrote for the April Edition of Growing in Grace Magazine for Girls, coming out tomorrow!
The breaking News is that Caleb has a fever again. Not sure why. Watching him diligently and praying. I know the Doc said the influenza could take a few more weeks until full recovery, so we are watching that. It’s just a fever, which means, whatever is wrong, his body is doing what God created it to do. Amen.
I have not posted about the Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach in some time, but I do love Robin’s HOW Bible-focused homeschooling. This is a community of HOW moms.
Another community I joined is CMOMB or Christian Moms of Many Blessings. I found the site last year, and I thought I signed up to join the forum. Maybe I did and then never completed it. I don’t know, but I have now joined. I am excited about it. There is a wealth of motherly information there!
And while I am posting such a random post, I am going to tell you a couple of my most- favoritest reference sites: Biblegateway and Noah Webster 1828 Dictionary online. I use Biblegateway on a daily basis. It is wonderful.
Oh, and do me a favor an go over to Jocelyn’s The Weekly page and let her know how awesome Keith Green is on her poll, ok? LOL
blessings!
GGM wants to honor Christian mothers and daughters in May for Mother’s Day!
We’ll be planning a special article just for this occasion and here’s what we would like to do:
-Girls: Tell us what makes YOUR mom so special.
-Photos may be of you doing something together, participating in a favorite hobby, or just a still pose. Your choice.
Please contact us and we’ll send you a permission form to complete for using your photo.
All mothers with daughters 18 or younger may apply. Three/four generation photos are also accepted.
**If you are a vendor and would like to donate prize(s) for our winner, please contact us.
This is a wonderful way to show your mom and the whole world how much your mother means to you. Please pass this news onto your friends and invite others to join us.
blessings!
Praise be to God the Father. He is a merciful and terrible God, and I praise Him!
Nehemiah 1:5
And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
I have really been enjoying the songs on my player here on my blog. (Though I may need to find a different hoster). I love worship music. I am not at all big on just music. One song that has really blessed my soul lately is Take Me In.
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
TAKE ME IN (To The Holy of Holies)
Verse:
Em Take me past the outer courts
CM7 And through the holy place
D Past the brazen altar
Em D Lord, I want to see Your face
Em Pass me by the crowds of people
CM7 And priests who sing their praise
D I hunger and thirst
For Your righteousness
Am7 C/D But it’s only found one place
Chorus:
Em D/E So take me in – to the Holy of Holies
Am7 Am7/D Em Take me in by the blood of the Lamb
CM7 Em D/E So take me in – to the Holy of Holies
Am7 Take the coal,
Am7/D A/B Cleanse my lips
B+7 Em Here I am
The Holy of Holies. We have no idea. Really. We do not realize that all the Old Testament holy things we read about are in the Tabernacle. It was central to the lives of God’s people, and it was a foreshadowing of the holiness and sacrifice to Christ. You can read about The Tabernacle and the Holy of Holies in Exodus 25-31. I found an awesome-looking wall chart with these Tabernacle items on it, if you are interested. The Wall Chart is large and colorful and interactive.
This is another really awesome MAP of the TABERNACLE. It is very detailed in pictures and information.
blessings!
I hate forwarded emails, and I usually delete them. However, if they are credible and important, I will keep them and share the information. Grandma had a stroke almost fifteen years ago, and I did not undestand anything about it, nor had I ever known anyone who had ever had a stroke. The older you get, the more you realize the importance of knowing about these things. )
Blood Clots and Stroke
STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters…. S.T.R. If everyone can remember something this simple, we could save some folks.
They Now Have a Fourth Indicator, the Tongue.
Seriously Please read:
STROKE IDENTIFICATION: During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall – she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) ….she said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid’s husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital – (at 6:00 PM Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don’t die…. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead. It only takes a minute to read this… A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke… Totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.
RECOGNIZING A STROKE Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps, STR. Read and Learn! Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke .
Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:
S * Ask the individual To SMILE
T* Ask the person To TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (I.e. It is sunny out today) .
R * Ask him or > Her to RAISE BOTH ARMS. If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 999/911 immediately and describe the Symptoms to the dispatcher.
New Sign of a Stroke ——– Stick out Your Tongue
NOTE: Another ‘sign’ of a stroke is this: Ask the person to ‘stick’ out his tongue.. If the tongue is ‘crooked’, if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.
I found the rest of this information on a site about the same email:
Diabetes 101 also has a drawn picture of a clogged artery and effects of a stroke on the brain, if you are interested.
Editors Note: Remember, a diabetic has 4 times the chances of having a stroke, as a non-diabetic.
To whoever put this together, we are sorry we can not credit you because we do not have the information, but do think this sounds like a very important message, and tests, our readers should know about…..immediately, thank you.
Since this came from an unknown source and theire are so many wild invalid "warning" emails sent around we all get suckered into every now and then, we decided to check this out at a Hoax site. We went to http://www.hoax-slayer.com/identify-stroke.htm and here is what they said, in part about this apparently well known email being sent around.
Commentary:
The procedure for identifying a stroke that is getting released in this email forward is valid.
According to information available on the American Stroke Association’s website, the three questions outlined in the email are a medically viable method for a layperson to ascertain if a person is presenting with stroke symptoms.
The procedure was originally outlined in a report to the American Stroke Association’s 28th International Stroke Conference.
The report states that a bystander may be able to spot someone having a stroke by giving the person a simple, quick test to see if they can smile, raise both arms and keep them up, and speak a simple sentence coherently.
Certainly, the core information in the email is worth heeding. Knowing how to conduct this simple test could indeed save a person’s life. The aforementioned report explains that if bystanders can relay results of this test to an emergency dispatcher, it could speed treatment to stroke patients. Time is crucial in treating stroke.
America’s National Stroke Association lists the following as common symptoms of stroke:
Given this list of symptoms, it is easy to see how the simple three-question test could help identify a stroke.
However, there is an important point that needs to be considered. While the central information in the email is true, the absence of these symptoms does not necessarily indicate that a person is NOT having a stroke.
It could be extremely dangerous to reach the conclusion that a person did not require medical attention just because he or she could successfully carry out the three steps outlined in the test.
Editors Note: This means that the test can be helpful in diagnosis, of a stroke and the immediate need for treatment, However, complying with the test does not prove that the person has NOT had a stroke and you need to proceed as if they had, until proven differently by additional actions and means.
blessings!
We all just realized today that we hadn’t announced the winners of the Blogoversary Party. We do apologize. We’ve been so busy lately with birthday parties, de-junking, and writing over 10 articles for Growing In Grace Magazine (the 3rd issue will be published soon!!) between the four of us! Anyway, thank you to those who celebrated with us and hosted a party at their blogs and invited friends. The chocolate cake was yummy.
The winners are as followed:
Miss Elizabeth – Bundled In Prayer handmade apron or poncho
*Julia – The Old Schoolhouse Magazine (one year subscription)
Alycia – The Wash Basin $10 Gift Certificate
Bluejane – Joyous Home Ebook: Making Whole Grain Crackers: A Holiday Helper
*Jessica L. -No Greater Joy: Good and Evil Comic-book Bible
Sisterlisa – Heart of Wisdom $15 Gift Certificate
*Devildogwife – The Old Schoolhouse Magazine (one year subscription)
Beth – Homeschool Boutique $15 Gift Certificate
*Sweetpeas – The Old Schoolhouse Magazine (one year subscription)
vintagegirl – Homestead Originals $10
*LivingforGod – Greenleaf Press: Famous Men of Rome history book
*Arya – The Old Schoolhouse Magazine (one year subscription)
CONGRATULATIONS to you all!
Thank you so much for partying with us! Please email me at missjocelyn@kconline.com with the prize you won and your email so we can get your prizes sent out. The winners with a * by their name will need to send their snail mail address to we can ship their prizes.
TOS Mag winners also have the choice of getting their subscription in digital or print form. Click on the image to receive more info from TOS on this new format!
blessings!
He wrote a song about 15 years ago, entitled A Simple Man. The lyrics, he reminded me, not the song. Anyway, that is his blog name, A Simple Man.
But, Levi did ask for a post of some kind to be put on here so he can leave comments:) So, I put up a post on Matt’s Un-Blog, and I liked the pictures so much, I thought I would post them here. Yes, some I have already posted, but some are new. As you know, Matt and a coule of hte girls went to TN. Have you ever seen a picture of Matt?
My Beloved and our oldest, beautiful daughter
Matt with Paul (and Susannie) and Levi hiding his face.
Levi and Rachel washing dishes
Amanda got Susanni to sleep. She is such a great ‘big sister’!
I got some of these pictures from Timothy’s blog. Great pictures, Timothy!! Others are from Amanda. Thanks!
Now for those of us who stayed home, goat- and chicken-sitting:
My Favorite-est Little Girls
My favorite-est Little Boys!!
Eric helping Lucy eat her first solid food. Bananas – Yum!!
There you go….. our awesome family!!!
blessings!
Please go by and join the fun as we testify why and how the Lord led us to homeschool our children.
In this Homeschool Edition of The Share Your Faith Carnival, we will share our testimony about how God led us to decide to homeschool. If you’re a young lady/lad still being homeschooled, we welcome your point of view as the student, so long as it builds up the body of Christ.
We want to encourage our readers by sharing our faith as it pertains to us personally. This is not an opportunity to be critical of non homeschoolers and build a debate about out of the home education. (public or private schools) But rather, we want to share our homeschool convictions with love and respect in how God led each of us personally in our decision. If that is conveyed by how the Holy Spirit convicted you personally about a previous education plan that that is fine, as long as it pertains to you personally.
If you already have a post like this on your blog you may submit that article, but in a new link on your blog.
She will receive submissions for this carnival until April 2nd, and the carnival will begin on April 5th. Please send your submissions to thehomespunlife@gmail.com.
Name:
Blog Name:
Blog Link:
Article Link:
Brief description of the article:
Or you can use the form on her blog.
Other carnival news!!
Henry Cate of Why Homeschool has the current edition of Good News Thursday up.
"Much of the news today is depressing. Newspaper headlines tell us about awful things happening in our neighborhood, at the national level, and around the world. Google News today reports that the fighting continues in Iraq and the conflict escalates in Tibet.
I am trying something different. I invite you to join with me in focusing on good news. This can be as local as the newspaper boy put the paper on your doorstep. It could as earth shattering as peace has broken out all across the world. It could be some new insight you had about a topic you are studying, or life."
Please feel free to join him with a Good News post. Be sure to sign your diect link to Mr. Linky!
Carnival of Homeschooling:
Shannon is hosting this week Carnival of Homeschooling at her blog PHAT Mommy.
Shannon has created the "S" edition of the carnival. She addresses the dreaded word, Socialization, but she also writes about Sovereignty, Sunday (Easter Sunday) and Styles of Homeschooling.
blessings!
As per Homeschool.com, below is a list of the Top 100 Educational Websites of 2008 from and email I received tonight.
You’ll find websites with:
After reviewing thousands of websites, the following sites have been selected as Homeschool.com’s Top 100 Web Sites for 2008. These websites contain some of the best educational content on the Internet today. Best of all, almost all of these sites are free or have free sections.
Reference
Gateway Educational Materials
http://thegateway.org
Ed Helper
http://www.edhelper.com
Learning Page
http://www.learningpage.com
Britannica
http://www.britannica.com
Discovery School
http://school.discovery.com
Educator’s Reference Desk
http://www.eduref.org
Internet Public Library
http://www.ipl.org
Merit Badge Research Center
http://www.meritbadge.com
New York Times Learning Network
http://www.nytimes.com/learning
ThinkQuest
http://www.thinkquest.org
Miscellaneous
Autism Today
http://www.autismtoday.com
BBC Online Learning
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/subjects/basic_skills.shtml
Ideal Lives
http://www.ideallives.com
Tutor.com
http://www.tutor.com
Math
Ask Dr. Math
http://mathforum.org/dr.math
The Math Worksheet Site
http://www.TheMathWorksheetSite.com
Math Goodies.com
http://www.mathgoodies.com
Math Playground
http://www.mathplayground.com
Mega-Mathematics
http://www.c3.lanl.gov/mega-math
Purple Math
http://www.purplemath.com
Web Math
http://www.webmath.com
Science
BrainPOP
http://www.brainpop.com
Chem4Kids
http://www.chem4kids.com
Exploratorium
http://www.exploratorium.edu
HowStuffWorks
http://www.howstuffworks.com
Imagine the Universe!
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov
InnerBody
http://www.InnerBody.com
Kids Dig Reed
http://www.kidsdigreed.com
Life Beyond Earth
http://www.pbs.org/lifebeyondearth
Science Friday
http://www.sciencefriday.com/kids
NASA Kids
http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov
Neuroscience for Kids
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html
Nine Planets
http://www.nineplanets.org
Ocean Planet Home Page
http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/ocean_planet.html
Sci4Kids
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/kids
StarChild
http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov
The Electronic Zoo
http://netvet.wustl.edu/e-zoo.htm
The Franklin Institute: Learning Resources
http://sln.fi.edu
The MAD Scientist Network
http://www.madsci.org
The Yuckiest Site on the Internet
http://yucky.kids.discovery.com
Try Science
http://www.tryscience.org
Arts & Crafts
Arts Workshop
http://www.childrensmuseum.org/artsworkshop/index.html
ArtsEDGE
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org
Art Lessons for All Grades
http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/lessons.html
Inside Art
http://www.eduweb.com/insideart
Kinder Art
http://www.kinderart.com
Crayola
http://www.crayola.com
Kids Space
http://www.kids-space.org
Reading
Starfall
http://www.starfall.com
How To Learn
http://www.howtolearn.com
Bartleby.com
http://www.bartleby.com
Children’s Literature Web Guide
http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown
Pink Monkey
http://www.pinkmonkey.com
Project Gutenberg
http://www.gutenberg.net
Writing
ABC Teach
http://www.abcteach.com
CRAYON – Create Your Own Newspaper
http://crayon.net
Free Rice
http://www.freerice.com/index.php
Maggies Earth Adventures
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/adventure/grammar1.htm
Online Writing Guide
http://oswego.org/staff/tcaswell/wg/para.htm
Take Our Word.com
http://www.takeourword.com
The Write Site
http://www.writesite.org
What Makes a Good Story?
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/literature
Word Central
http://www.wordcentral.com
Geography and Virtual Travel
Amazon Interactive
http://www.eduweb.com/amazon.html
Colonial Williamsburg: Electronic Field Trips
http://www.history.org/trips
CyberBee
http://www.cyberbee.com
Global Online Adventure Learning Site
http://www.goals.com/Index.htm
The Jason Project
http://www.jasonproject.org
Virtual Field Trips
http://www.uen.org/utahlink/tours
Xpeditions @ National Geographic
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions
HyperHistory Online
http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html
K-12 Africa Guide
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Home_Page/AFR_GIDE.html
Lewis and Clark
http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark
Life in the Middle Ages
http://www.kyrene.k12.az.us/schools/brisas/sunda/ma/mahome.htm
New Perspectives on the West
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest
States and Capitals
http://www.50states.com
The American Civil War Homepage
http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war
The Canada War Museum
http://www.civilization.ca/cwm/kidsection/cwmindexeng.html
The Civil War Homepage
http://www.civil-war.net
The Oregon Trail
http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Oregontrail.html
Geography Worksheets
http://homeschooling.about.com/od/freeprintables/qt/geogprintables.htm
White House for Kids
http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids
Homeschooling
About Homeschooling
http://www.homeschooling.about.com
Homeschool Learning Network
http://www.homeschoollearning.com/approaches/
A to Z Home’s Cool
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/
Homeschool Blogger
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/home.php
Homeschool Buyers Co-Op
http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/
Homeschooling Forms
http://www.donnayoung.org
Homeschool Oasis
http://www.homeschooloasis.com/
The Well Trained Mind
http://www.welltrainedmind.com/
Educational Games
I know that
http://www.iknowthat.com
Study Stack
http://www.studystack.com
Family Fun
http://www.familyfun.com
Teach With Movies
http://www.teachwithmovies.org
The Smart Guide to Financial Aid
http://www.finaid.com
Fun Brain
http://www.funbrain.com
Study Spanish
http://www.studyspanish.com
By Kids For Kids
http://www.bkfk.com/
Family Travel
http://www.familytravel.com
blessings!
printed with permission from publisher*
We use the Bible in our homeschool. The older children who can read are to read a Proverb in the morning and a Psalm at night, before bedtime. I am not as consistent as I would like to be with a time for us all to sit and read the Word and notebook the passages, but we do talk all day as occasions arise to put the Word into action. When there is conflict, we apply the Word. When a kindness is shown, we talk about it as it reflects the Word. If there is a selfish attitude, we talk about God’s providence in our lives and how being selfish and depressed about not getting our way is not trusting in what God has for us. It is trusting in our own expectations and ways and plans for our lives. We just do not trust God at these times, and it is sin, and it is taken into account as we walk and talk daily.
Deuteronomy 6
1Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: 2That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.3Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.
4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
We studied Romans 12 last week, and it was a very good study. We take time to sit and talk and pray. We put together worship folders, and we all love to worship in song. All of this is an important part of learning. Worshiping at home, in prayer and Scripture reading and song. I feel it is a mandate by the Lord to do so. We take our relationship with the Lord seriously, not just a Sunday-goin’-to-meetin’ type of faith.
Recently, our understanding of Scripture was corrected in ‘the original Greek’. I take issue with that. When we are addressing life and looking to God’s Word, we do not search for the version that best fits what we mean. We search for God’s meaning in His Word. I believe the Word stands on its own merits in English. The KJV has stood for almost 400 years. It is well-written as the Word of God, and through it He speaks to those searching for His Will. I think many times, Believers feel they must show their expanded knowledge as a puffing-up or even to make it fit their own meanings.
I am not going to argue versions here. We use the original King James Version in our household. It is the accepted version, and I personally love the way it is written: Thee’s, Thou’s and Tho’s included. It is not someone’s opinion of what the verses might mean. I had no idea ten years ago that The Living Bible is just a man’s understanding and translation of what the KJV said. I do NOT want to read his opinion as the Word of God. I also don’t want to read what is presented for today’s pop culture in today’s lingo. We have diluted words and definitions, and I would prefer to go back to the simple and pure meaning. I want our children to be articulate and have understanding of words, not lower their vocabulary by finding the easiest-to-read version. My choice. Matt’s choice. No arguments.
I take no issue with my friends who are learning Hebrew or Greek. However, if God meant for us all to learn Greek and Hebrew and go back to the original language to be able to gain knowledge from His Word, well, then, not too many people would even get saved or pick up the Bible, would they? There are far too many who do not speak Greek or Hebrew for that to be a pre-requisite to understanding.
Paul took the Gospel to the Gentiles. More than likely, they knew many languages. Probably not Hebrew, but they did not need a Hebrew degree to understand what the Spirit spoke and the simplicity of God’s Word. I do not think going to the original Greek is imperative to understand what God is speaking to you. Jesus Himself spoke to farmers, fishermen and tax collectors. I do think learning Hebrew and learning about the culture is a great thing and will cause a greater understanding of God the Father and Our Lord’s sacrifice, but that is for another time!
blessings!
Happening around here lately….
Recovering from a long weekend. No goatlings yet. Not sure if there will be any. Matt, Amanda and Rachel made it home from Paulie’s big 18th party! Jocelyn is more upset they didn’t bring Schooter home than that she didn’t attend! I think she got over the fact she didn’t get to see everyone again – well, sorta’. I think….
Just to let you know that we will be drawing for our Blogoversary! I can’t wait to see who wins what! I was so excited about giving out the TOS subscriptions. The Old Schoolhouse Magazine also has a digital version now, in case you didn’t know. If you signed up on the 23rd before Brooke (iloveyougod), then you are entered… it was still the 22nd in some parts of the country then!
I AM going to get back to those of you who are interested in purchasing some of our stuff I have listed For Sale. This weekend about did me in, and even now, I am going to go take a nap! But, I did cross off what you asked for, and I will have one of my secretaries beautiful daughters get those totals and email each of you today. If you have not looked, please do: For Sale: Books, CDs, Other – Oh, and Goats!
We are now busy finishing up our articles for GGM, again working on one desktop. Boy do I miss my laptop!! wwwaaaaaaahhh…. The battery was only keeping alive unplugged for about 26 minutes, and we had not yet fixed the cracked screen, so we took it in about two weeks ago. I have reviews to finish, and my GGM article to wrap up. Hopefully, Matt will be able to get it today. Yes, the Best Buy geek (their words, not mine!) called and said, "You do know it will be $578 to replace the screen, right?". Amanda had answered, and just said, "Yeah, ok." I hate it when companies have no idea what is going on like that. We purchased their ADH protection, which means, Amanda dropped it, it is covered. Period. Which the real BB guy confirmed when I called him the next day. So, hopefully they won’t give Matt a hassle.
Speaking of GGM… I’ll betcha’ can’t wait for the new issue. It comes out next week! We have had several requests for a print copy, and SisterLisa asked for some votes and opinions, so please go over and give us your vote. This will run until the end of the month. If you are interested, we uploaded a pdf version of our March issue for you to try out. We are making additional changes to our formatting for April.
We are still praying for David and Leah Ortiz’ family. Their 15 year old son, Ammi, was critically injured by a booby-trapped Purim basket on Thursday afternoon. I have not heard or found an update. I have other sites linked on my original Prayer Request for them: !!Updated: Prayers For A 15yo Boy Injured From A Bomb
Also, continue to pray for The Sams family who lost Joshua to Trisomy 13, and also Eva’s family. Just a warning that there is a bare-n*ked, pierced belly at the top of the page… in case you have Littles with you as you go there. Not to be judgmental; I don’t want them looking at anyone’s bare-n*ked belly, ok? But, pray for this family. They also lost their baby to Trisomy. See her sidebar for other details about their family. They have 2 children going through it too, which made me sad.
Another sad loss is little Emmy. I don’t know Amy, but I hurt for her and Ty and their children. Please keep them in prayer too. Raising Arrows
I just received an email that my cousin, Amy, has surgery in 2 weeks to try to relieve her Trigeminal Neuralgia. My Uncle and Aunt and Amy’s husband, Dennis, have to take her to Detroit for the surgery. The surgery is very rare and they are the only ones currently performing it. People are referred to them from Mayo’s.
They don’t like to do the surgery and that is why they waited so long to see if the pain would lesson some. With the meds, the pain is still there but tolerable. The surgery is in the brain. It doesn’t take long but they will be keeping her in ECU for 2-3 days to watch for Blood clots and swelling problems.
They will try to put separator pads between the Trigeminal and Facial nerves and the corresponding blood vessels. It has been successful in most cases, My Uncle, Aunt and Dennis have talked to the Doctors, and said they seem confident.
See my sidebar for other prayer requests, and also let me know if you would like to be added or know of someone to add.
I think that is all – unless you know of someone who wants a fine Nubian buck (we have 2 for sale) or doe yearling, which we have for sale. We are located in northeast Indiana. Near fort Wayne.
blessings!
To celebrate our family blogoversaries and to thank you for being great friends, we are giving away some really great prizes!
Please take a moment to enter for the Door Prizes!
EVERYONE is invited!!!
So, welcome to the party, and we are happy to have some really cool door prizes for you to win!
All four of us will be giving away a TOS Magazine subscription along with some other prizes.
Did you get that? 4 subscriptions to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine! When Jocelyn held her Family Photo Contest, I read of several of my friends who really wanted a subscription. I would really like to give you one!
And, you can even choose the hard copy or the digital now!
Heart of Wisdom $15 Gift Certificate
Homeschool Boutique $15 Gift Certificate
The Wash Basin $10 Gift Certificate
Homestead Originals $10 – a vintage soap dish and your choice of a Homestead Originals soap scent. Here are the scents:
2 EBooks from Joyous Home I am reviewing this mag, and I am very pleased with the spectrum of home, homeschooling, family and girlhood/womanhood it represents. Take a look; I know you will love it too!
Bundled In Prayer
2 winners will get their choice of a poncho, shawl, or apron
Good and Evil Comic-book Bible by No Greater Joy
Greenleaf Press: Famous Men of Rome history book
I Spy: Extreme Challenge book
Plus a book or two from The Funny Guy, I mean, The Family Guy, I mean, The Family Man.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
If you want to join us (and you know you do!!), here’s the official stuff so we can include everyone.
Blessings!
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Leave A Comment! 
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Paulie, my Honorary nephew, is eighteen today. The Suarezes and our family have become fast friends, and it seems as though we have known them all our lives. Right now, they are all celebrating with a bunch of other great families, and, since you are already having such a great Birthday Bash, I will just post the poem I wrote for you.
The party started yesterday on Paulie’s blog. If you want to join the party, you can follow the posts on Happy 18th Birthday, Dude! from Mr. Linky. Matt and Amanda and Rachel left on Thursday for TN (yes, Jocelyn stayed home to be with me-and the goats, and Amanda is missing her already!!) ), and the rest of us are home. They are having a BBQ for Paulie’s party, and the picture on his post looks delicious. I also love the gifts Amanda selected for him. Go take a look. I couldn’t take time away from the goats (eye rolls), so all I have to offer is the family who did drive down there and this poem:
(((HUGS))) to you Paulie, and to Mom and Dad. What a milestone! Thanks for sharing it with us. God has blessed us to know your family. I hope you have a great time of fellowship and, of course, great food!
Btw, I read that you didn’t take my advice about *not* staying up all night… how do you feel right about now then?? )
blessings!
By request of Isaac, our four-year-old, my selection this week is Nothing But the Blood. He got up and got the the hymnal and asked me to find Nothing But the Blood. I believe it is his and Eric’s favorite hymn. I told him it is number 208. The chances of him remembering that number is greater than the chances of me remembering it! I started singing it to him, and he got up and let everyone else know I was going to sing it to them all.
This is one of the first songs I remember singing after I was saved from the worldly lifestyle I was living and all my sin. I was attending an Assemblies of God church in Las Cruces, and we had about fifty or so members. I loved singing hymns. I had grown up Catholic, and knew many of the old hymns, but they took on new meaning as a Believer who understood what the blood was for. I had met Matt and his family even before I became a Believer, and his Grandmother was well-spoken in the Word and discernment, so I learned a lot.
Nothing but the Blood
Robert Lowry, 1876
What can wash away my sin? nothing but the blood of Jesus;
what can make me whole again? nothing but the blood of Jesus.
O precious is the flow that makes me white as snow;
no other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
For my cleansing this I see—nothing but the blood of Jesus;
for my pardon this my plea—nothing but the blood of Jesus.
O precious is the flow that makes me white as snow;
no other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Nothing can for sin atone—nothing but the blood of Jesus;
naught of good that I have done—nothing but the blood of Jesus.
O precious is the flow that makes me white as snow;
no other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my hope and peace—nothing but the blood of Jesus;
this is all my righteousness—nothing but the blood of Jesus.
O precious is the flow that makes me white as snow;
no other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Now by this I’ll overcome—nothing but the blood of Jesus;
now by this I’ll reach my home—nothing but the blood of Jesus.
O precious is the flow that makes me white as snow;
no other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
About ten years ago, we had a missionary speaker from about twenty miles away visit our church. We were privileged to go out to lunch with them and some very good friends afterwards. We became friends with them, especially Jocelyn, who felt a special love for the Cambodian people. We did a country study on Cambodia for a homeschool fair, and watched movies about the Khmer Rouge and the atrocities they did, wrote reports and built a 3D map the size of a poster board. Mr. Bell even let us borrow some of his authentic artifacts to display. In one of his talks, he spoke about the Blood and how we as Christians understand the one side of the cross, the salvation side, where the Blood washes away our sins, but the other side of the cross seems to escape us. The side where the Blood was shed for our healing. The other side of the cross where "by His stripes we are healed".
See, he was explaining that the Cambodians and cultures like theirs really do deal with the spirit world. They are fearful, and they do offer sacrifice to the gods of their fear. They have customs that reflect that fear, like tying a string onto the ankle or wrist of a newborn to ward off the spirits and keep them out (or keep them in, I can’t remember). We need to also experience ‘the other side of the cross’, the healing of the sacrifice. We, as Believers, accept the Salvation, but many times we do not call upon the Lord for miraculous healing, which was also why He shed His blood.
Please remember to pray for Ami Ortiz, a fifteen year-old who had a bomb explode in the basket he was holding. Pray for his miraculous healing.
blessings!
Please pray for this 15yo boy who was injured by a bomb when he picked up a basket:
We just received word from our closest and dearest friends in Israel David and Leah Ortiz, that their son, Ami, was seriously injured by a bomb at their home in Ariel today.
Apparently some one left, what looked like, a Purim Basket outside their door. Ami, 15 years old, was holding it when it exploded.
I just talked to David. He and Leah are right now waiting for the doctor to give them a report from surgery. David said Ami is hanging on to life with severe shrapnel injuries to his whole upper body including his face.
Please pray for a complete healing. Pray that they are able to save his eyes and limbs. Pray for David and Leah to have strength through all of this.
Ami is part of the Christian youth group in Ariel which Brayden and Zac are leaders and all of our older children are a part of. Ami is very close to our family and spent many hours at our apartment which is just down the street from his.
We are desperately crying out before our Father for a miracle.
In Yeshua’s Name.
Tommy Waller
Update as of this morning:
I just received some positive news that Ami (pronounced Ah-me) is doing better. He was able to say a few words to his mother, Leah. Hallelujah! Our prayers are being heard!
At this moment (Friday, 3 am CST) they are preparing him for eye surgery. This is a critical time so please keep praying ……..specifically for his eyes.
Please also pray for Brayden, Zac, and me to have provision to go and be with Ami and his family in Israel. The believing community in Ariel is in shock right now and it is important for us to be there …..to stand with our Israel family during this crisis.
Yesterday was the Feast of Purim. The feast given to us in the book of Esther. One of my fondest memories was last years Purim gathering in Ariel. Ami played King Ahauserus and in my opinion he was one of the best King Ahauseruses ever. I don’t remember when I laughed so hard.
Israel is 7 hours ahead of us in the Central time zone so much happens in Israel while most of us in the States are sleeping. I should know much more in the morning.
Please know your prayers are being heard, The battle for Ami, to save his eyes, is still going on. And its not just his eyes ….he has many broken bones and major wounds to his upper body.
My friend Yoav, who is staying at the Ortiz’ apartment, just called me. The explosion broke out many of their windows so he’s having to keep the place secure. Pray for Yoav and the whole community of Ariel.
Thank you for standing with our family …..here and in Israel.
Tommy Waller
I have received many searches on Ami, and I found an update at Joel’s Trumpet:
Jerusalem Post: Son of Ariel pastor injured in blast
A short update on Ami.
He is out of surgery. The Lord has been merciful. The boy is still a mess but stable. Amazing news – no shrapnel got into his arteries or vital organs. One lung was crushed but they managed to save it. His brain is not injured. His body is intact except for losing several toes (not sure why “toes” instead of “fingers”, but this detail is from his mother Leah). The swelling in his face has gone down.
It’s truly miraculous, given the fact that the bomb was right in front of him. The Lord had to have been shielding him to keep him alive.
That was the good news. The rest… he has 2nd and 3rd degree burns, deep gashes all over, both arms broken. And his eyes are badly damaged. The med team hasn’t even had a chance to take care of that yet, because of all the life-threatening things they were working on all night. He is stable but heavily sedated.
His parents were at the hospital all night and are obviously in a state of shock and exhaustion. I haven’t seen their apartment, but the older Ortiz kids went to the house and they say the entire kitchen and living room are destroyed. No one is even thinking about that, because Ami is alive and that’s enough for now.
The Shabak (general security people) are doing a complete investigation. They were just here at the house. The two theories of “who” are still being considered – either antimissionaries (Jewish extremists) or Arab terrorists.
For the record, I strongly doubt the antimissionary theory. The hostile hareidim do things very differently – usually going wild and/or bringing a crowd to demonstrate. In the most extreme cases they have set fire to a meeting place (while empty). They do not try to carry out cold-blooded murders – and they certainly would not use the tradition of Purim gift-giving (a mitzvah they take quite seriously) for the bait!
In fact it was not a traditional Purim food-basket – it was a wrapped package, unusually bulky and large. Ami called his parents to comment on it, about 20 minutes before opening it….
This bomb was designed by people who knew what they were doing, how to set and hide a trigger, and how to maximize its blast effect. It was packed with metal shards, a trademark of PA-sponsored terror. David has had a “fatwa” on his head (death threat) from Hamas for several years, for the crime of bringing Palestinian Muslims to faith in Yeshua.
There was not much media coverage of this angle. I personally think the police have downplayed the terrorist theory because it would mean having to face the fact that Palestinians got in and out of Ariel without being noticed. (We have never had a terror attack inside our gates for the 30 years of Ariel’s existence, in spite of being in the middle of Samaria.) They don’t want to open that ‘Pandora’s box’ until they absolutely have no choice.
We are praying that the guilty parties will be caught – and I’m specifically praying that they will feel the Lord’s intense pressure on them.
We’re very thankful the Lord has spared Ami. Bless all of you who have been praying, and thanks to all who replied by email and phone. Please keep praying. Ami is still in bad shape. The family obviously has a long, hard trial ahead of them.
blessings and Shabbat Shalom
There is also a lot more info here: Please heal Ammi, Lord Jesus
blessings!
Time to get rid of a lot of items that we have had sitting around our home, waiting for an Ebay listing. We are planning to move in the near future, so we must remove a lot! This will be a friendly way to get rid of some of it and bless you with items you may not be able to afford from somewhere else. I tried to cover all the bases, so have a look-see and Email Me if you need to.
PLEASE understand that I am guesstimating on shipping, and if I am off, I will pay it, but if I am waaaaaay off, I will contact you and offer you the new shipping rate, ok?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If you have any questions at all about any of these items, please email me. Many of the movies were given to us, and I know they are in great shape, but I cannot vouch for the content of any of the movies, of course! The Vision Forum items are leftovers from when we sold homeschool books and supplies. We no longer endorse VF.
Also, please give me a day or two to contact you about an item. First emails are first-served, so no worries there. I will also let you know if the item is already sold in email RE: Please Email any offers; I am open to fair offers.
Thanks!
CATEGORY: BOOKS
SHIPPING for first book is $2.00 Media Mail or First Class, depending on weight. Priority Mail is $4.60 base rate for one book.
Additional books:
Media Mail Each additional book is 0.50.
Priority Mail $2.00 for each additional, up to $8.95/$12.95 for flat rate box.
Desecration – Anti-Christ Takes the Throne
Book 9 in the Left Behind Series HCDJ
Tim LaHaye Jerry Jenkins
$1.00
When Godly People Do Ungodly Things SOLD
Beth Moore HCDJ
$1.00
Ten Lies About God
And How You Might Already Be Deceived
Erwin W. Lutzer HCDJ
$1.00
The Kingdom of God is a Party
Tony Campolo HCDJ
$1.00
The 5 Love Languages of Teenagers SOLD
Gary Chapman
$1.00
NEW Experiencing Community Small Group Study Guide
Thom Corrigan ~ Navpress
78pp; includes Leader’s Appendix
$1.00
Character ~ Who You Are When No One Is Looking
Bill Hybels
6 studies for groups or individual
Includes Guidelines for Leaders and Study Notes
$1.00
Your Family Time with God
John Maxwell HCDJ
$1.00
So Much More
Anna Sophia and Elizabeth Botkin
HCDJ , Vision Forum
Like New
$8.00
The Prayer of Jabez Devotional
Bruce Wilkinson
$1.00
The Prayer of Jabez
Bruce Wilkinson
$1.00
Yucatan Deep
Tom Morrisey
softcover. used.
$1.00
I Spy Spooky Night A Book of Picture Riddles
New Condition; Name in face plate on inside cover
0590481371
Cartwheel Books Scholastic Inc.
$1.00
Moments Together for Couples HCDJ
Devotions for drawing to God & one another
Dennis & Barbara Rainey
0830717544 ?90000
$1.00
HOMESCHOOLING BOOKS
MORE COMING~ I FOUND A BOX!
Some of the bigger books (Lesson plans and TE), I have added a dollar, because they are quite heavy and more to ship.
+ADDED+ K-grade
K God’s World A Beka Science Series
Student Text 16454 2nd Edition
ret. $8.95 $2.00
K God’s World A Beka Science Series
Student Text 16454 2nd Edition
ret. $8.95 $2.00
+ADDED+ 1st Grade
A Beka Health Safety, Manners 1
Student Text Reader Second Edition 54089003
ret. $9.95 $5.00
A Beka Discovering God’s World Science 1
Student Text Reader Third Edition 50512
(bottom has very minimal humidity wrinkling)
ret. $9.95 $5.00
+ADDED+ 2nd Grade
Letters/Sounds 2 Teacher Edition Test Key SOLD
Third Edition 20621003
ret. $7.15 $2.00
Arithmetic 2 Teacher Edition SOLD
41718004
ring-bound answer key to text. front cover is bent
ret. $21.15 $10.00
Arithmetic 2 Tests/Speed Drills Teacher Key SOLD
41734
ret. $9.15 $2.00
+ADDED+ 3rd Grade
A Beka Reading 3 Curriculum and Lesson Plans
with Phonics Review 75485004
ret. $25.00 $11.00
A Beka History 3 Curriculum and Lesson Plans
Our American Heritage 76848003
ret. $11.00 $5.00
A Beka Arithmetic 3 Curriculum and Lesson Plans
75507003
top corner of binding torn
ret. $30.00 $12.00
A Beka Arithmetic 3 Teacher Key to work text
Fourth Edition 54798007
ring-bound answer key to student text. front cover missing
ret. $21.15 $10.00
A Beka Language 3 Teacher Edition
Third Edition 36455007
ring-bound answer key to student text
ret. $23.00 $11.00
A Beka Language 3 Teacher Test Key
Teacher Edition Third Edition 36471008
key to student tests
ret. $9.15 $2.00
A Beka Science & Health Curriculum and Lesson Plans 3
for Health Safety and Manners 3 and Exploring God’s World 3
Some highlighting and back cover bent 7692003
ret. $15.00 $7.00
A Beka Health Safety and Manners 3
Test Quizzes and Worksheet Key
Second Edition 58130007
ret. $9.15 $2.00
A Beka Exploring God’s World Science 3 3rd Edition SOLD
Student Text 57312007
Used. There are some erased answers.
ret.11.95 $5.00
A Beka Exploring God’s World Science 3 3rd Edition
Answer Key to Text 58610010
ret.6.15 $2.00
A Beka Exploring God’s World Science 3 3rd Edition
Teacher Edition Test, Quzzes, Worksheet Key 58130007
ret.9.15 $2.00
A Beka Health Safety and Manners 3 2nd Edition
Student Text 58106007
$5.00 SOLD
A Beka Health Safety and Manners 3 2nd Edition
Answer Key to Student Text 58629012
$2.00
+ADDED+ 4th Grade
A Beka God’s Gift of Language A (4) SET
*Writing and Grammar Tests (Some writing erased)
Second Edition 61131004
*Writing and Grammar Test Key
Second Edition 61158002
ret. $13.65 $7.00
A Beka Spelling and Vocabulary 4 Student Test Book
Student Tests Book Second Edition 60054004
-4 pages of erased answers
ret. $4.60 $1.50
A Beka Spelling and Vocabulary 4 Student Test Book
Student Tests Book Second Edition 60054002
-8 pages of erased answers
ret. $4.60 $1.50
A Beka Spelling and Vocabulary 4 Teacher’s Test Key
(NOT the same as student books above)
(probably) First Edition 44784
ret. $9.15 $2.00
A Beka Arithmetic 4 Teacher Curriculum
Second Edition (Brown book) 43737
ret. $30.00 $7.00
McGraw-Hill Learning Materials
Spectrum Writing Grade 4
Main ideas, Sequence, Cause and Effect, Details, Comparison, Facts and Opinions, Making Your Point
This is used. Almost all of Unit 1 is missing.
There is no writing on the remainder.
The back cover is bent.
Includes answer key in back.
$1.00
+ADDED+ 5th Grade
A Beka Spelling and Vocabulary Tests 5 SET
*Student Tests Book Second Edition 60321002
-1 page of erased answers
*A Beka Spelling and Vocabulary Tests 5 Teacher Key
Second Edition 60348002
ret. $13.65 $7.00
A Beka Arithmetic 5 Tests & Speed Drills Key
Third Edition 26220003
ret. $9.15 $2.00
+ADDED+ 6th Grade
A Beka Spelling & Vocabulary 6 Set
*A Beka Spelling & Vocabulary 6 Teacher’s Edition 13.15
ring-bound edition to student workbook 60364001
*A Beka Spelling & Vocabulary 6 Student Tests 60372002 4.60
-1 page of erased answers
*A Beka Spelling & Vocabulary 6 Teacher Key to Student Tests 60380001 9.15
ret. $26.90 $12.00
used A Beka Spelling & Vocabulary 6 Student Tests 60372002
3 Lessons of answers in pencil with ink corrections
ret. $4.60 $1.50
A Beka Arithmetic 6 Teacher’s Edition
ring-bound Third Edition 61859001
paper cover is tearing from ring a bit
sticker mark on cover
ret. $21.15 $11.00
+ADDED+ 10th Grade
A Beka Grammar and Composition IV Test and Quizzes Key
Third Edition 76252001
ret. $9.15 $2.00
HOMESCHOOLING-OTHER
SHIPPING is as specified
These are mini flash cards with the Bible story on the back.
Please note the size is MINI: 3 1/4"x 4 1/2"
A Beka Book Flash-A-Card Miniature Set #1
1997 #17221
Heaven- A Beautiful Place
Adam-How Sin Began
$5.00
SHIPPING is $2.00 Media Mail, $4.60 Priority Mail
A Beka Book Flash-A-Card Miniature Set #2
1995 MFSB SS/B
Crucifixion
Resurrection
Growing Spiritually
$5.00
SHIPPING is $2.00 Media Mail, $4.60 Priority Mail
CATEGORY: CDs
SHIPPING for first CD is $2.00 Media Mail or First Class, shipping class depends on weight. Priority Mail is $4.60 base rate.
Additional CDs:
Media Mail $0.50 for each CD thereafter.
Priority Mail $1.00 for each CD thereafter. Depending on quantity, they can be shipped Flat Rate at $8.95/$12.95.
Vision Forum
*PRICES EDITED*
$5.00 NEW Defending the Fatherless CD
$5.00 NEW Defending the Fatherless CD
$5.00 Like New Defending the Fatherless CD
$5.00 NEW The Blessed Marriage CD
$5.00 NEW The Role of the Grandfathers in Local Church CD
$5.00 NEW The Role of the Women in Local Church CD
$5.00 NEW The Role of the Women in Local Church CD
$5.00 NEW What’s A Girl To Do? CD
$5.00 NEW Jennie B. and the Pilot CD
$5.00 NEW How to Evaluate a Suitor CD
$5.00 NEW How To Think Like A Christian
$5.00 NEW What Expect When Establishing a Local Church CD
$5.00 NEW What Expect When Establishing a Local Church CD
$5.00 NEW The Joy of Family Worship RC Sproul
$5.00 NEW The Joy of Family Worship RC Sproul
$5.00 NEW The Home as a Factory of Church Leaders Scott
$5.00 NEW The Home as a Factory of Church Leaders Scott
$5.00 NEW A Biblical Vision for Multi-Generational Faithfulness Einwechter
$5.00 NEW A Biblical Vision for Multi-Generational Faithfulness Einwechter
$5.00 NEW Weapons of Our Warfare: Truth Sproul
$5.00 NEW Weapons of Our Warfare: Truth Sproul
$5.00 NEW Weapons of Our Warfare: Beauty Sproul
$5.00 NEW Weapons of Our Warfare: Beauty Sproul
$5.00 NEW Hollywood’s Despised Villian Botkin
$5.00 NEW Pilgrims vs. Indians CD
$5.00 NEW Making Wise Decisions About College CD
$5.00 NEW Making Wise Decisions About College CD
$5.00 NEW How Modern Churches Are Harming Families CD
$5.00 NEW How Modern Churches Are Harming Families CD
$5.00 NEW Home School Vision Victory CD
$5.00 NEW Home School Vision Victory CD
$5.00 NEW 6000 Years Earth History CD
$5.00 NEW Women and Children First CD
$5.00 NEW Women and Children First CD
$5.00 NEW The Promise Phillips CD
$5.00 NEW Rebuilding A Culture of Virtuous Boyhood CD
$5.00 NEW Discovering Life Purpose CD
$5.00 NEW Discovering Life Purpose CD
$10.00 NEW Victory for Daughters CD
$10.00 NEW Victory for Daughters CD
$10.00 NEW Victory for Daughters CD
$10.00 NEW The Spotless Bride CD
$10.00 NEW The Spotless Bride CD
$9.00 Like NEW The Spotless Bride CD
$10.00 NEW The Heroism of the Fathers is the Legacy of the Sons CD
+ADDED+ $10.00 Give Me Your Heart, My Son, Vision Forum conference
This is a set of 8 cassettes and has been listened to.
SHIPPING on this item is $4.00 Media Mail or $4.60 Priority Mail
$10.00 Building a Family That Will Stand Vision Forum Conference
This is a set of 8 cassettes and has been listened to.
SHIPPING on this item is $4.00 Media Mail or $4.60 Priority Mail
MUSIC CDs
The Prince of Egypt CD SOLD
Music from the movie.
$1.00
Real Life Music CD 1996
Used CD
Amy Grant, Bryan Duncan, Michael Card,
Amy Morriss, Grover Levy, Crystal Lewis,
Guardian, Anointed, Greg Long, Jaci Velasquez
$1.00
Music You Can Believe In CD 1995
Used CD.
Clay Crosse, Wes King, Brent Bourgeois,
Church of Rhythm, Carolyn Arends,
Michael W. Smith, Ashley Cleveland,
Michael James, Ian, Rich Mullins
$1.00
Mercy Me – Almost There
like new CD.
$1.00
People Get Ready CD
Like new CD.
Crystal Lewis, Geoff Moore, Rebecca St. James,
dc Talk, Margaret Becker, Barry McGuire, The Impressions,
Big Tent Revival, Rich Mullins, Audio Adrenaline,
Michael W. Smith, Al Green
$1.00
CATEGORY: VIDEOS and DVDs
SHIPPING for first video is $2.00 Media Mail or First Class, depending on weight. Priority Mail is $4.60 base rate for one video.
Additional Videos/DVDs:
Media Mail $0.50 for each thereafter.
Priority Mail $1.00 for each thereafter.
The Prince of Egypt VHS video
Used. Plays fine. Clamshell case is crushed.
$1.00
BibleMan DVD The Incredible Force of Joy
Used. Plays fine. No insert.
$1.00
Hercules – Walt Disney
ISBN: 0-7888-0584-3
clamshell case
$1.00
Dumbo – Walt Disney
ISBN: 12257-0240-3
clamshell case
$1.00
Toy Story 2 – Walt Disney SOLD
ISBN: 0-7888-2454-6
clamshell case
Very good condition
$1.00
Mary Poppins – Walt Disney SOLD
ISBN: 0-7888-2220-9
clamshell case
Very good condition
$1.00
Walt Disney’s Masterpiece Lady and the Tramp
0788812807
clamshell case
$1.00
Walt Disney’s Masterpiece Robin Hood SOLD
1558901892
83m rated:G
clamshell case
Very good condition
$1.00
Top Hat
Fred Astaire Ginger Rogers VHS
b/w 99m
Classic Romance
1980
$1.00
Shall We Dance
Fred Astaire Ginger Rogers VHS
b/w 108m
Classic Romance
$1.00
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas
3775725429
1954
$1.00
The Bishop’s Wife
The Classic Collection Samuel Goldwyn Home Entertainment
Cary Grant Loretta Young David Niven
Classic Romance
$1.00
An Affair To Remember
Cary Grant Deborah Kerr
Classic Romance
1957
nr
$1.00
Funny Girl
Barbra Streisand Omar Sharif
165m 1968 rated G
$1.00
How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Robert Morse
2h 5m 1967
nr
$1.00
CATEGORY: GAMES
SHIPPING for first item is $8.00 Parcel Post. Priority Mail is $12.95 flat rate box. Sorry, I did have to change that, because they won’t fit into a small Flat Rate box.
Scooby Doo Monopoly Collector’s Edition
never played with, but opened
$8.00
Disney Edition Monopoly
includes 8 Collectible Themed movers
the plastic is torn, but it is unopened and unused
$10.00
Please feel free to copy and forward this list to groups and friends.
Email Me!
We also have a three of our Nubian goats for sale. We have two bucks and a doe
Cowboy
Full-blooded Nubian yearling, buckling
DOB: 2-25-07
weight: 97#
$125.00
Ellessar
Full-blooded Nubian yearling, buckling
DOB: 3-2?-07
weight: 102#
$125.00
Eamane
Full-blooded Nubian female yearling, doe
DOB: 3-25-07
weight: 142
Never bred (unless she is presently!). Mother is a good milker.
$100.00
I will get good pictures up soon, as well as their measurements. You can click on the photo above to see a bigger one. It is from last year. I just put it on so you can see the bucks’ coloring.
Shipping: You must pick up.
We are located in northeastern Indiana, near Fort Wayne and Warsaw. We are only 90 miles from Indianapolis or South Bend – Mishawaka and 40 miles from the Ohio state line.
blessings!
This week I celebrate my 2nd Blogoversary. The girls and I all celebrate 2 years of blogging this week! Amanda, Jocelyn, and Rachel celebrate theirs too! I cannot believe I’ve been blogging for two years. I don’t know if it seems like a short time I have blogged or a REALL-LLLLY long time, but I have loved meeting great friends and learning so many things.
We have been so blessed to have been given the opportunity to meet many bloggers. Some of my very best friends are ones I have never even met, surprisingly enough! We are looking forward to meeting many more. As a matter of fact, when we travel down to Texas and New Mexico, I hope to meet several of you!
Blogging To Learn
Blogging in the Dixon household takes on a new meaning, because we don’t just use it to share our lives, but our girls got their blogs for very specific reasons to use in their learning, and boy has it been quite the learning! It has opened up doors for writing opportunities for all of us, business opportunities and, of course, relating to different people from different walks of life is (or should be) a humbling and maturing experience.
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EVERYONE is invited!!!
So, welcome to the party, and we are happy to have some really cool door prizes for you to win!
All four of us will be giving away a TOS Magazine subscription along with some other prizes.
Did you get that? 4 subscriptions to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine! When Jocelyn held her Family Photo Contest, I read of several of my friends who really wanted a subscription. I would really like to give you one!
And, you can even choose the hard copy or the digital now!
Heart of Wisdom $15 Gift Certificate
Homeschool Boutique $15 Gift Certificate
The Wash Basin $10 Gift Certificate
Homestead Originals $10 – a vintage soap dish and your choice of a Homestead Originals soap scent. Here are the scents:
2 EBooks from Joyous Home I am reviewing this mag, and I am very pleased with the spectrum of home, homeschooling, family and girlhood/womanhood it represents. Take a look; I know you will love it too!
Bundled In Prayer
2 winners will get their choice of a poncho, shawl, or apron
Good and Evil Comic-book Bible by No Greater Joy
Greenleaf Press: Famous Men of Rome history book
I Spy: Extreme Challenge book
Plus a book or two from The Funny Guy, I mean, The Family Guy, I mean, The Family Man.
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If you want to join us (and you know you do!!), here’s the official stuff so we can include everyone:
Party Rules:
1. Leave a comment on all the Dixon’s Blogoversary Posts (haha, at least the four of ours!)
2. Grab a Blogoversary icon, and put it on your sidebar or in your post!
3. Post about it on your blog… have a little party of your own (I love chocolate cake!!)
4. So that others may join in and win some great prizes, please try to invite 5 friends to your party by leaving them your party link in a comment or send them an email
5. Party!
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Jocelyn said this, and I cannot say it any better: "This is going to be fun. Can’t wait to celebrate with y’all! I want to thank all my blog friends who have remained faithful readers and commenters of my… interest… life and articles. I truly treasure your friendships!"
blessings!
We each have our own icons linked to our blogs, so grab whichever icon you want to.
They are all pretty neat-o; I have such talented girls!! And boys!
I think we are all over this six week flu bout. Finally! I just realized we went from crisis to crisis since last November. It started with Grandma and the nursing home abuse, and then she went to be with the Lord in January. At the time Matt was in NM at her funeral, our dumb sweet dog lacerated her paw and needed CONSTANT care… which lasted over 4 weeks. This was when sickness crept up on us a bit with Eric the first week of Feb., and then came out full-blown when Matt came home with influenza on Feb. 20th. Everyone but Amanda got it, and Caleb worst of all. I mean WORST. And that wore on all of us.
Anyway, I took Caleb to the Doc, and he is still in recovery-mode, but needs to be seen in four to six weeks to check his breathing and his lungs. He kinda’ "pauses" when he breathes sometimes. It was scary when he had a 106′ fever and did it. and then, the past week, week #2 of influenza, he started saying his chest hurt, and, well, that was a concern. I am so thankful the doc cleared him, tough it was with reservation.
That said, Caleb is probably still going to be a bit under the weather for a few more weeks, but is well other than that. He acts fine, but I guess Influenza effects can last up to six weeks. His chest sounded ok to the Doc, so that was good to me. These photos were taken last week, before he was feeling much better. He fell asleep that way. Poor little guy! 
The next photo is the day of his Doc appt., and you can tell he is much better! We were happy to meet with the Suarez’s for a couple of hours.
I feel like I have been a bit out of commission online, only doing what I can, though I have blogged what I could. Now we are back to one computer online, because I am finally getting my cracked laptop screen fixed! Of course, that is just in time for the four of us to get our ten articles in for the next issue of GGM, so go figure!!
There are things we are also preparing for around here. Ever since reading Mrse’s post about Stuff, we have been de-stuffing! The town-wide garage sale is coming up at the end of April, and we are going to be ready this year! I am giving away so-o-ooooo much, and we have things to go through. We have also decided to sell our two bucks. They are a year old and, believe me, ready to be big bucks! We also have a she-goat, a yearling, to sell, and I wish we had bred her, because I know of two blog-friends who want a milk goat, but, alas, she needs to be bred first.
I also am hoping to give away 20 of our hens (I think) – at least 10-15 to a friend locally. I have not spoken to her in awhile, and I need to dig out her email and ask if she wants them. (Bethany, if you still read, email me!) I also have a bunch of roosters, and while we wanted to butcher them, we didn’t get to, and I am open to trading a couple for some butchering services, if anyone is interested!
I am finally going to finish up the reviews for TOS… WE will be able to get to the Sally Ride Science Classroom Set this week, hallelujah! We got sick right about the time I had gotten the teacher info to get on it, and then we couldn’t! I also have oodles of homeschool-related books that I am contemplating listing here. I need to talk to Christina and see how her sale turned out.
Ha. Another fun thing we hope to do for the town garage sale is put out our life-size Spiderman we won (yes, we win weird things like that!!) from Blockbuster in the summer of 2003. If I can use our camera with our printer and ‘photo-dock’ it (I think I can – do you know, Heather?) or use the memory card, then we will be all set to take photos and sell those too.
So, all in all, these are just more of life’s lessons we will have opportunity over the next couple of months to practice life and learning. Oh, and we got the tax check, so getting that budgeted and deciding what we want and what we need and what we can afford – I am hoping school supplies/books/etc. fit into that! – that will all be another math, decision-making, maturity load-full of lessons!
Did you see those cute pictures of Luc’s photo shoot??
And, ALL four of us Dixon-bloggers are having our Blogoversaries next week, so be looking for a Party!! And gifts too! Wanna join us!!??
blessings!
When I created this meme, I set out with very specific intentions to post songs that are truly in worship of God and not of me and my sin or even what He has done for me. I think worship has gone awry in many cases and is directed to the Believer, not Father God.
This is a very special Saturday Psalm & Praise. It is actually in praise of a Father God who is a sustainer and a miracle-worker; the One who calms fears and dries tears and knows when our humanity is more than we can bear and our faith is a shred of reality to hold onto… and He is there to provide the rest of that faith and reality.
Jocelyn and I spent the past two hours reading over the past three months’ posts of a special family I had not heard of until tonight. The Sams family. They have lived the past few months not knowing what the next moment may bring with their little Miracle Boy Joshua. It is quite a story, and Susie is quite candid about their lives and answers many questions. I don’t know that I could be so strong. I think the entire family is strong and courageous, as they deemed Joshua to be, though Susie would probably say she is not.
This song is one I found on her blog, on Day 11 of Joshua’s life. It is 11 days more than they expected to have him, and possibly more than that. When I read it, I knew I had to post it here.
I am dedicating this post to their precious family, and not just theirs, because they don’t seem like the selfish types… but to all families who have gone through similar days. We know a couple families personally who have, and despite all other things, we can all grieve together and love together and thank God for, well, just being God to us in times like this.
Blessings and prayers to your family, Mike and Susie and little Oceana and Grandpas, Grandmas, Uncles and Aunts. And a great big HUG.
Susie wrote this song onto her blog and prefaced it with a beautiful word picture of her rocking and dancing around with her precious boy, letting these words sink in, and then crying….
There is an endless song
Echoes in my soul
I hear the music ring
And though the storms may come
I am holding on
To the rock I cling
How can I keep from singing Your praise
How can I ever say enough
How amazing is Your love
How can I keep from shouting Your name
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing
I will lift my eyes
In the darkest night
For I know my Savior lives
And I will walk with You
Knowing You’ll see me through
And sing the songs You give
How can I keep from singing Your praise
How can I ever say enough
How amazing is Your love
How can I keep from shouting Your name
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing
I can sing in the troubled times
Sing when I win
I can sing when I lose my step
And fall down again
I can sing ’cause You pick me up
Sing ’cause You’re there
I can sing ’cause You hear me, Lord
When I call to You in prayer
I can sing with my last breath
Sing for I know
That I’ll sing with the angels
And the saints around the throne
How can I keep from singing Your praise
How can I ever say enough
How amazing is Your love
How can I keep from shouting Your name
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing
Susie also then posted again about this song and what God showed her through it: Day 17.
What I really want to say is that I have been deeply affected by this little boy’s life and everything Susie wrote about him and their family. My heart, my tears and prayers go out to them.
blessings!
p.s. If you join me today, please leave me a comment.
Jocelyn did a photo shoot today. Of our Little LucyLillie. She had to get pictures of her in her purple outfit, which is called Butterfly Kisses, from Christina. I have been asking the girls to get the outfit and the rest of the tops and dresses she sent together so I could blog them. Jocelyn beat me to it! She tried to get a good picture of her looking right at the camera, but she wouldn’t let her. I went out and helped a bit, but she’s a cutie, whether she is looking at the camera or not!
My Admittedly Biased Opinion: THE Cutest Baby (well, her and Sus) )
And, yes, that is her Bundled in Prayer custom, handmade afghan! Also made by Christina! And, oh, that beautiful purple satin-y on one side and soft on the other side blanket is my favorite. It matches the purple outfit and bib she is wearing!
blessings!
I am so bad. I really have enjoyed participating in the Saturday Swap at Homeschool Blog Awards, and I didn’t even post about it to let you all know so *you* could too!!
Here is the information from the site:
Welcome to the March & April HSBA Saturday Swap!
We had only 3 sets of swappers last month. This time we don’t have any links to showcase, so I figured it was time for a change in the procedures for the swap. I know how busy you all are (because I am just as busy). So my new idea going forward is to make the swap EVERY OTHER MONTH to give us all the time we need to get our swap gifts in the mail. The extra time can also be used to get to know our swap buddies better. What do you all think about this new change?
Here’s the schedule:
SIGN UP (HERE): By March 15th (Sat.)
PAIRED UP: By March 20th (Wednesday)
MAIL SWAP: By April 17th (Thursday)
POST PHOTOS: By April 30th (Wednesday)
EMAIL LINKS TO ME: By May 7th (Wednesday)
NEXT SWAP: May 10th (Saturday)So this time, the sign up will be for March AND April. Our next swap won’t be until MAY. Be SURE TO MARK YOUR CALENDARS with these dates!
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Now, trust me, it is not a big hassle. It won’t break your bank. It *will* give you a chance to make some new friends and pray for a fellow homeschool moms. It is also fun to pick things out to send and to receive what is sent to you!
Here is what I received from my February Swap Buddy, Robin of Life of Rileys:
Robin was so very sweet. She sent me a nice note in a card that had my favorite verse on it:
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
She also sent me some dark chocolate truffles. I love dark chocolate! Now, the questionnaire you fill out for the swap says that chocolate doesn’t mail too well. There were a few barely-melted ones, but it made it all just fine and DELICIOUS!! For Christmas last year, we got oodles and oodles of chocolate from Page, our friend from England, and not a lick of it was melted. So, sending chocolate is just fine. Not sure about the summer months, but I suppose Priority Mail with a cooler bag in it might work. hehee.
She also sent a very nice scrapbooking package. We use Creative Memories, but this will come in so handy with all the crafts we do! It has tags and saying and seasonal stickers! It is really cute! And, we all love to make cards and decorate our homeschool scrapbooking pages. This is a really nifty set!
I also received a coupon organizer and a cute little notebook! It is covered in striped paper and has a band around it that says, "My kids say the darnedest things!" I think that is my favorite part of the gift. Call me a little weird… I think my favorite gift from Dianne was the covered notebook she sent me too!! Very cute, and I cannot wait to write down all the cute-sie things my kids always say! )
THANK YOU ROBIN!!!! I hope you liked the gifts I sent you as much as I liked yours! Thank you! It is so fun to get a package in the mail!! Right Vicki??
I’ll have to blog next about Vicki’s package(s) and Christina’s… and I never did blog about Page’s, did I?? I tell you, I am a bad blogger! But, I have GREAT! Friends…. speaking of which… I have pictures of the short but wonderful time we spent with Paul and Gena and the kids on Thursday at Olive Garden. There are a few on Amanda’s blog and there will be some on Rachel’s soon too. I have some sweet ones I want to post too.
Here’s a sneak peek:
My Little Ca-bug, feeling much better (Luc and I are in the background)
Loolie and Susanni – or Luc and Sus! BEST GIRLFRIENDS!
blessings!
Today is Gena’s 39th birthday. We won’t go into all the poetic-al words that come to mind… like par-tay and birth-a-day… or is that natal day??
Anyway (ha that rhymes too), we all love Gena to death!!!! I posted this on her blog today, and FORGOT to post it here!! Sorry. It’s not too late, though… even with the time change, which we hate. And, it’s even earlier in California!
I wrote her a special poem. Of course, then the TOS Store and Customer Service staff had to go and wa-a-aaaaay out do my piddly little poem! If you want to laugh and celebrate Gena’s special day today with her, watch this video and then leave her a comment. You will not be sorry. Trust me.
"The little birthday tribute from all of us in the Store and Customer Service can be viewed in Quicktime if you download it at http://www.aaronott.info/gena.mov."
Oh, and if you want to read my poem, I am posting it anyway, below. It’s not as good as the video. Man, oh man…. the video is funny… Schooter….. LOL… and Sus, the mochas, and, well… you just have to see it!
My sweet friend, Gena, with whom I share
My age for nearly half the year,
Today you are getting closer to forty,
But who really cares my dear?
When counting years one can only hope
That hers will never stop
So let us count instead the joys
And giggles and tears that drop.
For who would ever want to trade
A moment of her days
To have less candles on a cake
Or even lesser gray?
You’ve earned those candles- every one
And all the gray hairs too.
The blessings that accompanied them
Are all a part of you.
My birthday wish to you today
Is quiet time with Paul
and your precious children, having fun
And special times with all.
blessings!
Homeschool: Scrapbooking, Lapbooking, Notebooking
Scrapbooking To Learn
A great place to learn about lapbooking or notebooking or whatever term you use is Scrapbooking To Learn™, sponsored by Heart of Wisdom Publishing. Heart of Wisdom suggests using scrapbooking methods as a creative outlet for school work. Combine scrapbooking techniques with Charlotte Mason’s copy methods for a great display or addition to your unit study portfolio! Scrapbooking is incredibly rewarding, Students show enthusiasm about almost any subject if there are able to scrapbook.
STL creates various Christian homeschool materials and unit studies dedicated to motivating parents and children to focus on the Bible as their primary learning tool. Scrapbook folders are just another way to encourage children to love to learn, and this site has so much information, surely you will find something to fit your teaching needs.
At their site, you will learn about digital scrapbooking, booklets, notebooking, timeline books, portfolios, and the difference between notebooking and Scrapbooking To Learn™ folders.
Come visit our Notebooking Pages Store for a growing selection of affordable notebooking pages - for any subject and style of homeschooling! From copywork to nature study, notebooking is a fantastic and fun tool that captures all that we have learned about a particular topic and turns it into a concise, artful piece of work. The kids are always excited to share what they have learned in their homeschooling experiences through their notebooks. It is much like looking through an old photo album or scrapbook. The more you look back through them, the more you remember, and what a joy it is each time!
Homeschool E-Store is now CurrClick! This week, from March 10th-March 17th get 10% account credit on every purchase you make. They have products in almost every subject for Parents and every age of student. Downloads are easy; they offer a newsletter and free products that change every week or so. If you love EBooks, check them out. If you have never really gotten into EBooks, check them out – EBooks are easy-schmeasy! Print right off of it for as many children as you need it for! You are in control with EBooks and you will love their ease of use. You can find so many unit studies to use for lapbooking here!
Good Deals For Homeschoolers
Don’t forget about another favorite place to find free resources for homeschoolers! Donna Young has a great site with many resources and a lot of information!
She has a Free Homeschool Planner Home that includes Homeschool Planner Guide, Lesson Plan Forms, Administrative Planner Forms and Homeschool List Forms
If you are new to homeschooling, you may want to check out her Planning for Beginners, How To Make Simple Lesson Plans, and (Surviving) The Curriculum Fair.
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Blog Carnivals
Carnival of Homeschooling
Amanda, Jocelyn and I have participated in the Carnival of Homeschooling for the past year pretty consistently. Part of having the privilege of participating and hosting is to announce the carnivals each week. The posts are always interesting and many are newsworthy. Be sure to check them out and submit your own! Last week the 114th Carnival was held at Palm Tree Pundit. The 115th COH will be held this week at At Home With Kris.
The Carnival of Homeschooling is also into Phase two of the contest for Carnival of Homeschooling icons… I am picky about names so I was sure to vote for the ones that are correctly labeled. It is the Carnival of Homeschooling or COH.
The Homesteading Carnival
Erica Burgan presents The Homesteading Carnival – Definitions Edition at The Sojourner. "Broadly defined, homesteading is a lifestyle of simple, agrarian self-sufficiency. Currently the term homesteading[1] applies to anyone who is a part of the back-to-the-land movement and who chooses to live a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle. While land is no longer freely available in most areas of the world, homesteading remains as a way of life. A new movement, called "urban homesteading," can be viewed as a simple living lifestyle, incorporating small-scale agriculture,sustainable and permaculture gardening, and home food production and storage into suburban or city living."
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Blog Memes and Contests
A meme is a blog post that is in conjunction with a theme set forth by its author. Participating in memes is a fun way to meet other bloggers and also a great way to have interesting ideas for blog posts. Many times you sign a Mr. Linky and can even put one on your own post for your friends to sign and join you on. There are certain requirements for each meme, and you usually are asked to link to the original post and put the meme icon on your blog.
Tuesday In Other Words is a meme based on a posted quote each week by Amy at In Pursuit of Proverbs 31.
Sunday Seven: Share your joys, your blessings and your burdens. List seven things going on in your life this week. Go back to the hub and comment on the current week’s thread so that other Sunday Seven’ers can visit you.
The Super Simple Spiritual Sunday Meme is simply a list of favorite finds for the week (also called link love or Speedlinking).
Meal Plan Monday. Plan your menu each week with others by joining Laura, the passionate organizer at http://orgjunkie.blogspot.com.
Saturday Psalm & Praise is held each Saturday at Seeking Rest in the Ancient Paths. To participate, you can post a Psalm/song or you can tell what impact is has had on you and your thoughts. Sometimes just the Psalm is enough. Sometimes we have to let out our own words of praise!
To see a more complete list of memes, you an look at Robin’s Meme List.
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Homeschool Freedom
Have you heard about the ruling in CA that is tantamount to outlawing homeschooling in their state??
"A California Court of Appeal recently decided that homeschooling is illegal in California unless a parent is a certified teacher. The Court could have restricted its decision to the facts before it, but instead, it issued a broad ruling that effectively outlaws home education in California. The Court also certified its decision for publication, which means that the decision can now be cited as legal authority by all other courts in California."
HSLDA has a petition to sign. If you are interested, go to CA Homeschooling Freedoms. I have stated that I am concerned about CA public school and homeschool laws, because, sooner or later, however CA goes, so goes the country…. sadly enough.
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Prayer Requests
Please keep a couple of prayer requests in mind, if you will. A homeschool mom of three got pneumonia this past week and died in the hospital. She leaves behind her husband and children.
Also, four-week-old Baby Grace is in the hospital with RSV. She is on oxygen and needs our prayers. After taking Caleb to the hospital twice last week, I am hurting for her. Rachel had RSV when she was about 6weeks old, but fortunately, she wasn’t hospitalized. Even in our faith, it is still a scary place to be in as Mom.
There is a lot of the flu going around all over the country. It is not just the flu, but varied forms of it. Please keep yourself healthy and pray for those you know or even blog with. It is so easily spread and takes so long to recover from. If you use home remedies, you may want to look at my Honey For What Ails You post or the GOOT Recipe. It has become a popular link this season and was of incredible help to our family.
Our two-year-old, Caleb, is doing much better, I am still worried about him. Having viral influenza can lead to other things at his age(like RSV), and I am obviously concerned. I know God can heal him, and I am thankful He has kept him and is strengthening his immune system. Now, if I could get some sleep!
Please continue to pray for Robin Sampson. She has come through heart surgery and is recovering.
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Homeschool Lounge for Mom-Teachers
A new fun place for homeschool moms I found is The Homeschool Lounge. Ok, it isn’t that new anymore, with 1900 members, but it is kinda’ new!
SisterLisa sent me an invite in January to test it, but it wouldn’t let me sign on, so I just signed up last month. It was created so there is a place join all homeschool moms from all over the internet and all blog servers in one "Lounge".
Stop by my "Nook’ and say hi.
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Lastly, don’t forget to sign up for the next Saturday Swap. Heather has extended it to two months to accommodate us busy homeschool moms, because many of us (myself included) were getting them out quite late. I do think it is really fun tho!! I am participating this time, but I will need to just work as though it’s a month just to get it out in time!!
I hope you have a wonderful week this week! If you have any ideas or links you would like to share with fellow homeschool moms, please feel free to let us know!
The first one we looked for was Amazing Grace, because it has become our theme song over the past three weeks, and little Caleb knows almost all the words to four verses. Even Lucy hums along with us. Another favorite is this one, by Selah. Press On. I do not believe the walk of the Believer is supposed to be easy. Jesus walked a hard walk; the hardest of all men to ever live. He steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem and pressed on.
And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem…
Sometimes, we have to do that: Press On. Sometimes it is not about things being the way we hope or wish or even pray. Sometimes it is God strengthening and growing us, walking through the valleys and shadows and up the mountains with us. Sometimes we must take his hand and just Press On. This is life, not Hollywood. We must set our eyes on Jerusalem, where that cross is, and Press On. And know God is there, walking with and even going before us.
Press On by Selah
When the mountain is steep
when the valley is deep
when the body is weary
when we stumble and fall
When the choices are hard
when we’re battered and scarred
when we’ve spent our resource
when we’ve given our all
In Jesus name we press on
In Jesus name we press on
dear lord, with the prize
clear before our eyes
we find the strength to press on
Dear Lord, with the prize
clear before our eyes
we find the strength to press on
In Jesus name we press on
In Jesus name we press on
Dear Lord, with the prize
clear before our eyes
we find the strength to press on
we find the strength to press on
to press on
If you would like to listen to Press On, it is on my player below.
blessings!
I was thinking the other night about our family and where we are at now, at this time. We have eight children. Eight children I love being home with. We drive a 15-passenger van. We have goats and chickens. We homeschool. We do not attend church at this time. We do believe the Word of God to be true. We are hoping for more children, as the Lord sees fit. The only thing I am missing right now is living by our parents and a family church. This is a radical way to live in today’s Christian circles. Because of most of these things, we have been stared at, ridiculed and chastised.
Then I read what MamaArcher posted: a Disclaimer on Convictions in response to the seemingly offensiveness of large families to so many Christians today. It was confirmation of what I had just been thinking about the night before. I had gone to sleep remembering why we were "asked to step down" from positions at the church we had attended for 5 years and were very much in leadership and helping them to get ministries started, as well as having our older children involved and helping us.
There was a distinct and ridiculous question posed to me ~ among other ones, like homeschooling and breastfeeding ~by the Pastor(with whom I had worked closely when Matt was on the Board and I was a Worship Leader). It was, "So, if a man gets a vasectomy, then what do you think about that?". I was astonished. And embarrassed. What a question! Especially for a man to ask a woman about! My reply was, "I think that is none of my business!". My feelings were hurt. Like he could trap me in those convictions. I didn’t even feel trapped; I felt sorry for him, a Pastor, who totally misunderstood that these were our – and my – personal convictions. It was not for us to decide who else would follow this path, and it certainly was not something he could trap me in.
Most Christians would agree on the fact that you have to accept Christ as Saviour to be saved, whether it is believed by everyone or not. That is fact, just as the Bible holds many facts. Some beliefs are not simply convictions. They are spiritual truths. Holding to those truths does not make you a judgmental person. It does not make you legalistic. Sometimes, things are just TRUTH. We don’t make it up; we don’t make more out of it than it is: It is just Truth. Just because someone, Christian or not, does not want to hold to that truth does not mean it is just our convictions.
Obviously, we have eight children, and it is one of the first things people notice about our family. It is a great source of opinion on people’s minds. We have heard it all, believe me, from Believer and unbeliever alike. We smile and say what a blessing it is to have all of these children, and state that, no, we don’t know if we are "done yet". Whenever this issue of convictions comes up among Believers, Matt and I are usually labeled legalistic. We try to follow the Word and listen to God in our hearts, so we are legalistic. Legalistic. The Pastor told Matt he was "copping-out" when he wanted him to make a decision without me that went against something we had already agreed upon as parents. A "cop-out".
Legalism: relying on one’s own integrity and God’s Word to stand in your convictions in the face of ridicule by fellow Believers. How’s that for a definition?
It was not fun at all leaving our church. Because we were reading the Word and putting what we learned into practice, we lost a lot of friends, and it was very hurtful. We have known since all that happened six years ago that God would use our family as an example by which His Spirit will convict others in their own hearts just by us living out our faith… but, what??? are we to deny the Word or His Conviction in our own hearts to make them more comfortable??? I think not.
Why are Biblical issues so controversial between Believers?? When have they not been? Jesus was always in controversy. I believe there is controversy today because of the war between the Culture and God. Christianity is many times too seeped into the culture and its mindsets. We need to get a Biblical worldview, not a pop-culture Christian one. The question is, can we live with our convictions amongst each other? I know what I believe to be true in the Word. I have friends and family who believe differently. I can live with that. We are all at different places in our walks, and none is greater or lesser than another. I have not arrived. I have not always been where I am today. I can love them and hope they can love me.
The problem is that many times they cannot. No matter whether I keep my mouth shut and just live as we are or shout our beliefs from the rooftops, they cannot live with our convictions. We are still being legalistic, even without discussing a thing.
The enemy will steal, kill and destroy all he can… and what a better way to do that than in the name of our own ‘Christian’ beliefs? He has deceived many in and through our own faith! We must be discerning!
After thinking all of this through the other day, I looked into my spam folder, and I find this link on an email from my friend Ashley:
Sounded kinda’… weird, so I went to see what it was all about. Here is what it says about the movie and site: "…seeks to reawaken society to the importance of the stable, intact family, and engender a discussion and greater focus in the media, in academia, in the halls of policy makers, in religious circles, in the committees of civil society and in households around the world. Our hope is that all of these circles will bring to bare on the problems facing the family the tremendous contributions each can uniquely make. In this way, we hope to avert the storm that is now most surely coming on."
It is all relative to the family. And not just the family, but family size and convictions. God had a reason for opening and closing wombs in the Old Testament and the New. He is God; we are His people. It is simple. He is in control. We little humans plan our lives and worry about things and buy all of our stuff, and God is up there, probably wondering who we think we are. The Romans thought they were smarter than God. They weren’t. They were the ‘best’ in their own eyes. They realized too late the importance of family and large ones at that. Study the history.
From the site:
Question: If the United States has near-replacement fertility, why should we care?
Answer:
All of the factors that are leading Europe into the depths of Demographic Winter are present in the United States as well, including high divorce rates, the rise of cohabitation, families putting off procreation to pursue careers, an anti-family culture and voluntary childlessness.
We may be a few decades behind Europe, but we’re heading in the same direction.
National economies are interconnected to such an extent that the impact of economic collapse in one country or region can be felt around the world.
The social, political and economic decline of previously stable nations can destabilize entire regions and create perils for neighbors and far-away allies. The United States is connected to Europe economically and through multiple security treaties.
I remember reading about how the Romans finally, at the time of Julius Caesar, realized their population was not at a pace where they would be able to keep up their own armies. How sad a realization come too late. It is sad that God devised a way for us to sustain ourselves throughout our lives, and we have allowed selfishness and pride to come in and steal all of that away from us. It was interesting the point made that soon there would be too many elderly and not enough young people working to keep our economy going. That seems impossible, but looking into demographics and man’s mindset today, I can see it happening.
I have felt for some time that God has provided a way for families in all seasons. We have children who we are caring for, and we are living with and investing in them, and they will care for us in our old age. I believe this is God’s provision and is handed down from generation to generation, if we live and teach accordingly.
I think the main lesson here is that we need to rely on God completely in this crazy, upside-down world. In all things. I am praying we can all come to a place in our lives to do just that.
blessings!
Urgent Prayer Request
Please remember Robin in your prayers. She has gone back into the hospital. To put your mind at ease, please start by reading her first sweet, cheerful, faith-ful post on the matter at her blog:
We Interrupt This Blog For Medical Testing….. The medical update is Update on Robin. They don’t really know much yet, though.
***UPDATE*** You can read a little about Robin’s surgery and recovery: Answered Prayer – Praise God!
Also, continue to remember Baby Grace (4 weeks old), on oxygen in the hospital with rsv.
And, Caleb had a great night last night. He rested quite a bit yesterday, and I think that helped so very much. Thank you for your prayers!! I am still going to be taking him to be checked out on Monday. I don’t like the ‘pains’ he is having. I don’t know if they are from the influenza or something to worry about. Please pray for complete healing in his blood and all of his organs and immune system.
Homeschool Freedom in California
The court’s opinion came down in February 28. In it, CA Justice H. Walter Croskey wrote,
"Parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children."
I also wrote up a great post about the CA ruling outlawing homeschooling. The new info is that Governor Schwarzenegger has come out stating that he will fight for a parent’s right to home educate their children. *double-take*
"Every California child deserves a quality education and parents should have the right to decide what‘s best for their children. Parents should not be penalized for acting in the best interests of their children’s education. This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts and if the courts don’t protect parents’ rights then, as elected officials, we will."
You can read about that here:
Scharzenegger: Homeschool Ruling Outrageous
Governor Vows to Protect Homeschooling
A Real Threat to California Homeschoolers
I am concerned about the way California public educators and officials interpret their capacity in enforcing the education laws they have. As though parents have no rights.
California’s compulsory-education law is widely interpreted to mean the state is obliged to make sure every child is educated.
That needs to be changed, especially in light of the past year of what California public educators think is necessary to be taught to children. That is why this stand by Governor Schwarzegger is astounding to me. What do you think?
blessings!
I will try to get a more detailed update up here soon. I have one started, but I am too tired to find it and add to or edit it. So, I will leave you with this little bit of info about Caleb: Last night was hard on me and on Caleb. Neither of us slept well. I don’t know if Caleb is doing better or not. He is with the influenza (I think), but his chest hurts, and I don’t know if this is a flu pain or rsv or pneumonia. He was up several times last night. I don’t know if he really knows what hurts. I hated hearing his breathing tho.
He really needs to rest. I know this is viral. There is nothing really to be done about viral, except rest and fluid intake… sigh. I need to rest too.
I think we may have a movie day upstairs for the older kids and let Caleb, Lucy, Jocelyn and me rest downstairs. Eric has been wanting to watch True Grit, and I know he is tired of the Lone Ranger and The Cisco Kid being on all the time for Caleb.
Like I said in my last post: though Caleb is doing much better, I am still worried about him. Having viral influenza can lead to other things at his age(like RSV), and I am obviously concerned. I know God can heal him, and I am thankful He has kept him and is strengthening his immune system. We have been battling this with Caleb since the 25th, and it is really not easier on me. He needs his rest, and I am concerned about his breathing. sigh. So pray for me too. And LucyLillie, who needs momma when she has to hold brother!
Thanks, my friends, for your blessings and prayers.
(((HUGS)))
blessings!
A Few Announcements:
Happy Birthday Mom!
First of all: HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my MOM!!!!!! I had all the intentions of having a GRANDE PARTY for you Mom, but, you know how it is!! My Mom turned 60 this week!! Wow!! And all I can say, besides HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM, I LOVE YOU!! is that I miss you and wish we were A LOT closer!! Soon perhaps~hopefully!
Prayer Requests
Secondly, please keep a couple of prayer requests in mind, if you will. A homeschool mom of three got pneumonia this past week and died in the hospital. She leaves behind her husband and children.
Also, four-week-old Baby Grace is in the hospital with RSV. She is on oxygen and needs our prayers. After taking Caleb to the hospital twice last week, I am hurting for her. Rachel had RSV when she was about 6weeks old, but fortunately, she wasn’t hospitalized. Even in our faith, it is still a scary place to be in as Mom.
This is not a formal update, but, though Caleb is doing much better, I am still worried about him. Having viral influenza can lead to other things at his age(like RSV), and I am obviously concerned. I know God can heal him, and I am thankful He has kept him and is strengthening his immune system. We have been battling this with Caleb since the 25th, and it is really not easier on me. He needs his rest, and I am concerned about his breathing. sigh. So pray for me too. And LucyLillie, who needs momma when she has to hold brother!
There is a lot of the flu going around all over the country. It is not just the flu, but varied forms of it. Please keep yourself healthy and pray for those you know or even blog with. It is so easily spread and takes so long to recover from. If you use home remedies, you may want to look at my Honey For What Ails You post or the GOOT Recipe. It has become a popular link this season and was of incredible help to our family.
Homeschool Freedom
Have you heard about the ruling in CA that is tantamount to outlawing homeschooling in their state??
"A California Court of Appeal recently decided that homeschooling is illegal in California unless a parent is a certified teacher. The Court could have restricted its decision to the facts before it, but instead, it issued a broad ruling that effectively outlaws home education in California. The Court also certified its decision for publication, which means that the decision can now be cited as legal authority by all other courts in California."
HSLDA has a petition to sign. If you are interested, go to CA Homeschooling Freedoms. I have stated that I am concerned about CA public school and homeschool laws, because, sooner or later, however CA goes, so goes the country…. sadly enough.
Homeschool Lounge for Mom-Teachers
A new fun place for homeschool moms I found is The Homeschool Lounge. Ok, it isn’t that new anymore, with 1873 members, but it is kinda’ new! SisterLisa sent me an invite in January to test it, but it wouldn’t let me sign on, so I just signed up last month. It was created not to be in competition with HSB, but to join all homeschool moms from all over the internet in one "Lounge".
Stop by my "Nook’ and say hi.
The Homesteading Carnival
I am hosting The Homesteading Carnival as of yesterday. It took me awhile to get it up, but it is up! Be sure to look at The 39th Homesteading Carnival: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM Edition.
Family Photo Contest
Help Jocelyn choose the winner!! There are too many cool entries! I have my favorites, but what are yours? The prize is big and everyone wants to win it! Go to he blog and leave a comment of whose you like the best.
Photo Contest
Also, be sure to enter GGM’s Photo Contest.
"We are looking for photos that could appear in any of our upcoming devotions or columns. We like to add photos that help give you a visual of the scripture being shared."
Here are some ideas of photos that can be submitted:
Any water ways, such as rivers, streams, waterfalls, oceans, etc., Flowers in bloom and/or in bud form that shows life, Any kind of pathway or road that portrays a scenic expression, Trees that show God’s majesty.
We are planning to use these photos in upcoming articles and each photo chosen will receive an ‘Editor’s Choice’ award tag from Growing in Grace and be entered into a contest to win a Premium BetterPholio at BetterPhoto.com , the world’s largest online photography school."
Carnival of Homeschooling
Amanda, Jocelyn and I have participated in the Carnival of Homeschooling for the past year pretty consistently. Part of having the privilege of participating and hosting is to announce the carnivals each week. This week the 114th Carnival is being held at Palm Tree Pundit. Jocelyn did not get to put in an entry, because she is still ill, but go on over to A Pondering Heart and wish her well instead!!
They are also into Phase two of the contest for Carnival of Homeschooling icons… Be sure to vote for the ones that are correctly labeled! It is the Carnival of Homeschooling or COH. Sorry, I am picky about names that way. I don’t like to be called Dixon or Jac…. If I order a banner ad, I want the proper name of my business and slogan on there, not the author’s own interpretation!
I just received this into my inbox. Are you a regular subscriber to TOS magazine? If you are, you will soon be receiving the Teacher’s Toolbox, a monthly mini-supplement to TOS that will focus on a different topic with words of encouragement, hands-on teaching ideas, book recommendations, field trip suggestions and more. There will even be some type of a bonus download item! This will be free for subscribers only, so if you have always wanted to, but never have, this is a great time. I mean, it is only $25 for a yearly subscription. That is half of what it costs us to eat out one meal!
Share Your Faith Carnival
SisterLisa will now be hosting the Share Your Faith Carnival each month at The HomeSpun Life.
"Each month the carnival will be a different aspect of sharing your faith. The first one is sharing your faith about homeschooling. Titus 2:3 says to be ‘teachers of good things’. As women we are instructed by God’s Word to teach the younger women and that’s what we aim to do here."
She will receive submissions for this carnival until April 2nd, and the carnival will begin on April 5th. Please go to her blog for further details!
blessings!
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!
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My Mother turned 60 yesterday. Had I been up on this, I could have had it published for her birthday! Anyway, I have always been late on things like this. My Mom, on the other hand, would have sent a card out last week, scanned pictures, written a great tribute and posted it fifteen minutes early, because she always arrives fifteen minutes early!
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Good Health
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I am usually not too worried about my Mother in the way of her health, because, as far as I can remember, she has always been pretty healthy. In the past few years, though, she has been in the hospital, and it is very difficult being so many miles away with her sick.
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Life. Money. Development. presents Diet Tips for Preventing High Cholesterol Levels posted at Life. Money. Development..
My Mother sends me emails for healthy home remedies all the time! I was so thankful to get the email with recipes and remedies about Honey For What Ails You since we have all been out with influenza for weeks.
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Sewing
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My Mother never had time to sew. She was a working mom taking care of her family. She always got up early and went to the rat race and made a pretty good wage working at Kroger as a checker and as the department head. She was responsible for making out the schedule for all the checkers. Since I am a working at home Mom, I have time to sew, for which I am thankful.
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Little girls love tea parties and they like to have things to play with as food for those parties. Laura William’s 5 year old asked for PB&J sandwiches. See what she did to make her some in Sew Crafty Friday #1 AND Online Craft Club – Felt PB&J Sandwiches posted at Laura Williams’ Musings.
Abi presents Dish Towel Bunny posted at lighter side.
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Gardening
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Because Mom worked, she also never had time to plant a garden. This is perhaps one of the things I wish we had done most. Now that I am a Mom, I can see the great value in the lessons learned by the hardwork and also the sowing seeds and cultivating and caring for the plants to reap an abundant harvest.
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Jennifer in OR presents Rouge-Bleu: A Newbie Vine Farmer in Provence posted at Diary of 1.
Tiffany Washko presents Now Is the Time to Pick a CSA posted at Natural Family Living Blog. I had no idea what a CSA is, so I had to go see. CSAs work when the farmers sell a portion or a share of their harvest to their neighbors. For a seasonal fee they get a box of fresh farm fruits and veggies every week. A very informative and important post!
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Mom’s Cooking
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One thing that was not hindered by mom working outside the home was her cooking. My Mom is one of the best cooks I know. Though we did eat out when we had games to get to, Mom always made sure we had a hot meal for dinner. We usually sat all together at the table to eat and talked. Mom was a member of the Clean Your Plate Club too. My brother had a hard time with that one. He hated his veggies. There are some pretty funny stories about that.
I also remember making things like donuts and frying apple fritters. We loved to cook and bake when we were little. I am thankful we were encouraged to do that. It has gone a long way in my encouraging our children to cook and bake in our home. Mom and her friend, Dee, came up for a visit last year when Loolie was born, and they were delighted at the service and the delicious, nutritious meals the girls cooked while I was resting with a newborn.
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Belle presents her delicious crescent roll recipe in her post Homemade Cresent Rolls….YUM! posted at Born 100 Years to Soon.
Karen Dowell presents Oatmeal Gingerbread (and a cure for dizziness) posted at Wiggly Wigglers.
Sister Brenda says that this gingerbread is so good, it a must make, as she presents Our home – Gingerbread recipe from( Diana Rattray) +picture posted at haflinger.
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Hard Work, Learning and Organization
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Mom had no problem having us do chores. I don’t know that we had a strong work ethic (because we hated it so much!), but we were definitely not strangers to washing dishes, mowing the lawn, cleaning and dusting, taking care of the yard and taking out hte trash. We learned how to be organized and get our chores done.
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Robin Sampson presents The Single Most Productive Tool You Need to Stay Organized posted at Heart of Wisdom Blog.
Rachel of The Milk & Honey TeaHouse is excited that her first article is being published in the new online girls’ magazine, Growing In Grace Online Magazine — March Issue!
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The Good Olde Days
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I think my Mother drinks mostly water now. When I was growing up, though, she drank Tab. Ewwww! Do you remember Tab?? Then she moved onto Diet Coke. I was a Diet Pepsi drinker myself. Tab and Diet Coke left too much aftertaste.
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Read what Erica Burgan has to say about remembering how her mother saved money at the grocery store, and how is doing the same as she presents A Review of The Complete Tightwad Gazette posted at The Sojourner.
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Homemade Is Best
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I don’t recall if Mom used cloth diapers or not. I seem to recall that she did, indeed, use them. I started out using them with Amanda. I did not have much support from my friends, tho, and I stopped using them shortly afterwards. We did decide with Isaac, baby number six, that we were going to use totally cloth diapers. This meant I had to learn a lot more about sewing, as I made all of them. I really do not see all the fuss about using cloth diapers. We do what we must. I realized that it would be so much better for the earth to use cloth, instead of burying more and more plastic diapers in a landfill. We have cloth-diapered 3 children in the past four years. Let’s see…. at eight diapers a day for three children, let’s say two and a half year’s each…. that is 21,600 diapers we have *not* buried in a landfill. And, at about $7.00 a pop for thirty diapers, well, that’s a huge savings!! We use organic cleaners, too, so we have learned a lot over the past four years!
We also have tried our hand at homemade soap, raising goats for milk and raising chickens for eggs. We have not gotten to kill any of them yet, but that is another story!
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Jeanette Fields presents a very nice picture essay of her dealings with the Attack of the ……. bobcat! as she shows us how to prepare a chicken to eat at The ol’ homestead.
N. & J. presents The Making of Homemade Soap Making posted at Bad Human! Don’t take chemicals from strangers!.
Autumn Beck presents 6 Reasons Why Cloth Diapers Are Making a Comeback posted at All About Cloth Diapers.
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Being Grandma
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One thing I have regretted since not living near Mom is that our children have not gotten to go to Grandma’s or have birthdays with Grandma. She has come up and visited each new baby, but not been here for the births or firsts that are so fun to experience. It is strange, tho, how well Isaac, the four-year-old, knows his Grandma. He has only seen her a handful of times, but misses her and talks about "his Grandma".
I remember spending Sundays with my Grandma. We went to church and out ot eat with her. My Grandmother died when I was about 12, and I am glad we had time Mom made that time for us to spend with her while she was with us.
Amanda, Jocelyn anf Rachel probably kow my mom the best, having lived near her when they were little. Mom also took some time the last time she was here to show Amanda a little about horse training. She also shipped her saddle all the way from New Mexico to Amanda.
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Amanda has some exciting news about her horses in A Praise and A Prayer! at The Daily Planet.
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The Value of Time and Faith
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I have not had the privilege of living near my Mother for the past ten years, and I miss her terribly. This being her 60th Birthday means we are both getting old! She is exactly twenty years older than I am, and I will be turning the big 4-0 later this year. I think it would be well-advised that we live much closer to each other for the next ten years. And, then, we will be old, so we may as well live closer for the rest of our lives, don’t you think?
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Amanda of The Daily Planet brought up a very important nugget of Truth this week in There’s Got To Be More To Life.
Jocelyn of A Pondering Heart poses her thoughts on Keeping My Eyes On Jesus. These girls are a real tribute to their family.
So often people take the things they treasure the most for granted. Life has a way of offering us the opportunity to evaluate and review those things in our life that are important. Many times this occurs through a tragedy. Yet, many tragedies turn into amazing blessings, which help us to clearly understand our path in life. Learn how one woman turned the tragedy of her father’s heart attack into the blessing of having the courage to live her dream as Patricia Twitchell presents Comfort Comes from Unexpected Places Read about the dream that has blessed so many others who have come to know her as The Teddy Bear Lady of Myrtle Creek, posted at Just Bears and Stuff.
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I hope you enjoyed The Homesteading Carnival and a little walk down memory lane to celebrate the Birthday of a very special person in my life. Happy Birthday, Mom!! God bless you and keep you and may we be close soon! I Love You!!
Blessings~
Since we have been battling influenza in our home for almost 3 weeks, I have learned that day and night are relative. I take the 3rd shift to watch Caleb and make sure he gets his tylenol and ibuprofen and take him potty. He is at the stage where he needs to be held by Mommy ONLY, so I am here. On the couch with him. And, Jocelyn, who is still recuperating, is also down here. As a matter of fact, I was thinking last night that our living room really is like a mini-recupe center.
Anyway, my midnight shift gives me plenty of time on the computer between rehydrating children, potty breaks and coercing meds(if I can keep my eyes open) to research and make lists or do some planning. I spent time last night perusing The Old schoolhouse Store. I went over to download my EFreebie, which I found on my TOS Enewsletter.The Freebie right now is E-BooK: The Play Book from Art of Eloquence. Afterward, I started looking for math products. Then I went to the A Beka site. We used A Beka with Amanda, Jocelyn and Rachel. I liked the strong base it gave them, and the workbooks are near as extensive as I remember them to be. We have used Saxon, but it is not for everyone, and a lot of times, they skip things they already know anyway.
In searching for math, I remembered Donna Young’s site. It is probably something most online-savvy homeschool moms already know about, but I always find these great sites (like DonnaYoung.org), and then I forget shortly thereafter. So, I will be linking her in my sidebar, and hopefully that will help me to get over there for all her great ideas and free worksheets, printables, etc.
I actually went over there after searching the Charlotte Mason Resources at TOSstore. I went over to find the timeline I think I already blogged about. It is very nice, and you can use either a ring-bound book or a 3-ring binder to make it. Amanda and I were talking about it, and I was showing her the pictures of it, and I thought how fun it would be to copy pictures of my grandparents and different events in our families’ lives and put them into the timeline, just to see what they lived through.
The timeline is Charmaine Wistad’s Timeline Book. If you are interested, here are the Timeline Book Instructions.
She has a Free Homeschool Planner Home that includes Homeschool Planner Guide, Lesson Plan Forms, Administrative Planner Forms and Homeschool List Forms
If you are new to homeschooling, you may want to check out her Planning for Beginners, How To Make Simple Lesson Plans, and (Surviving) The Curriculum Fair.
Here are some of the many other subjects she has on her site:
Calendars, Homeschool Attendance Forms, Homeschool Time Forms, Homeschool Course of Study Forms, Grade Recording Forms, Transcripts
Nature Journal, Homeschooling Science – Grades 4, 5, 6
Donna’s site is so very full of information, I can’t do it justice. You will just have to go peruse for your self. You will not be disappointed. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to navigate her site. The site has been re-done since I was there last, and it is very nice. Get a cuppa coffee, take a little bit of planning time and find some resources you will surely use in your homeschool! Be sure to look over her blog, Donna Young: Another Blessed Day in the Life.
Another favorite EBook Freebie resource of mine is the Homeschool EStore.
I don’t always use every free ebook, but I have found many useful ones, and I have not been disappointed. I am still getting used to using EBooks, but I love the print-ability of having one for each child without purchasing several.
Blessings!
blessings!
Mama is still taking care of our super Cal-Eb and has asked that I do her Saturday Psalm & Praise for her.
Every time Cal-Eb is really feeling sick or is really tired and can’t get to sleep, he asks us to since "Mazing Gace" to him. He knows almost the entire song and it brings tears the the eyes of anyone around when Cal-Eb half asleep and so very sick, starts singing along to his favorite song.
So for today’s SP&P it will be Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace
John Newton (1725-1807)
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
T’was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
‘Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.
When we’ve been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’ve first begun.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
We don’t know these verses, but I found them and wanted to share.
May you all be blessed and stay healthy this coming week! Please continue to pray for us. Cal-Eb is still battling his flu and Jocelyn has come down with it too.
Also please pray that Mama and I don’t get sick again and we will be able to be rested to care for the sickies.
Love, Blessings and Prayers As Always,
[EDITED]
For those of you who don’t know, we took Caleb to the hospital yesterday morning about 7am. He was shivering, and his skin was splotchy. When I took him into the bathroom light to get a closer look, he was just so hot. We took his temp, and his fever was about 106′ under the arm. I gave him some motrin. He has no problem drinking water at all, so he was not dehydrated. I figured out that the shivering was good, that it is just his body trying to cool itself.
Matt got up very shortly afterward to go to work, and I told him what was going on, and we decided to go to the hospital. I took his temperature again with another thermometer, because Matt could not believe his temp was that high, and it was the same. His temp was at 105′ when we left.
The hospital is about ten minutes away, and they took us right in and gave him an exam room in the ER. They did the usual temp under the arm. It was down already to 101′.
I don’t have time to go into detail, but these are some things they did:
-looked at his ears,
-looked at his throat,
I gave him tylenol, which he took very well.
-drew blood
-did a throat culture
-did a chest xray to rule out pneumonia, (boy was I mad at the Tech who wouldn’t just leave him alone and let us help him. He was fine when his Dad helped him, and he was fine when he and I both helped him. He stood on the chair and held our hands, but then she would try to move him or something, and Caleb just wanted her to leave him alone. He ended up getting three shots, and they wanted another and to strap him to the board, and I would not let them. He let them take blood without so much struggle, he hadn’t slept much, and if they really needed it, we could try later. She was dismayed that I wouldn’t consent. I really didn’t care. We went back to his room, and he slept for an hour or so. His fever went down to 99′, so I was a lot less worried.
His white blood cell count is good. He is not dehydrated. He does not have pneumonia. His ?ketones were up a bit, since he hadn’t eaten.
After I talked to the Dr. again about Caleb having been sick last week, and that he had not vomited or had diarrhea, she realized that what I was saying about him having the flu was probably true, and she had them do an Influenza smear. This meant they had to stick a swab clear up his nose and get a sample.
He rested for awhile after that, which is just what he really needed.
The Dr. came in to let us know that he did indeed have influenza, and gave us our ‘options’. One was hospitalization. She gave us a Rx, and we went ahead home. He does so much better when he rests, so I am trying to focus on that. He is also eating and drinking what ever we give him, mostly just ice water.
TODAY:
Caleb is still bouncing all over on his temperatures. It will go right back up to 106′, if we don’t keep it down with fever reducer and wet cloths. I want to keep him home and not hospitalize him. He is very coherent and can tell me how he feels. I finally got some sleep last night, but I missed his tylenol time. So I awoke to a high temp.
I am very worried, of course, and trying to keep some composure, but also crying out to the Lord. 
Sometimes, I just don’t get this faith thing. I trust the Lord, tho, as Caleb is his boy, his gift to me. I am confident the Lord means what He says when he says to children to obey your children that it may be well and they may live long on the earth. I believe it is His plan for them to live long on the earth.
Right now he is sitting up eating a popsicle, asking to watch The Lone Ranger, so I hope he is on the mend. Hopefully, we can have some quiet, and he will rest. He really hates taking his medicine now. I don’t blame him.
Blessings!
What is the weather like in your neck of the woods?? We have been having -what else? – SNOW. and more snow and more snow… It snowed all night and most of the day, and this is what we awoke to Tuesday morning. What a design of beauty by God’s own Hand.
We are all feeling so much better! I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have all of our children well. It was almost too much for awhile there. It is always hard seeing a child suffer, but seeing Loolie so sick with the flu, and then Caleb had it twice; well, it was very trying. Especially since I got it with them! Thank God He gave us our family in His design, with Amanda and Jocelyn and Rachel to care for any or all of us. Using Goot and Honey remedies sure were a great help!
As a special treat, Matt and Amanda got everything we needed, and then Paulie helped us set up our wireless dsl network, and we are now off dial-up! Amanda and Jocelyn have had quite a time – well, me too- but, it has been fun for them to instant message back and forth and to be able to be online at the same time.
I don’t know if you all heard at Amanda’s blog, but we did sell the horses. The lady came to pick them up today. I am grateful. Less feed. Less worry. I took some pictures of them leaving, but I will let Amanda post them first. They gave us some trouble, and she had to lunge-line Estrella right there in the driveway! hahaa But they are now at a 300ac. horse farm with eight other horses!! Karla said that they were so happy and ran and bucked all over. She knows well how to handle horses, and I am glad they are with her, though I will miss them.
Amanda also posted the Homestead Carnival theme in their honour, if you wanna check it out:
You must also look at the wonderful jobs she did on her two other writing~carnival projects:
I would have to say that Amanda is the Carnival Hostess with the Mostest these past couple of weeks! A week and a half ago, she hosted the:
Being almost well now, we have been running down to the barn in an eerily-familiar setting as last year at this time. We are not quite sure if we are expecting goat kids or not in the next hours or days or weeks~or even at all! As long as there are no surprises, that will be fine. If you would like to read more, Jocelyn tells all in her post, Goooo-at-ie!
See this beautiful icon here for the Feelin’ Feminine Challenge that Jocelyn is hosting? Well, besides the fact that Jocelyn made it, and I think it is beautiful, it is a portion of a family photo. It is the picture of my Grandmother on her wedding day. Isn’t she pretty?
Some of Jocelyn’s friends said she looks a bit like her.
Rachel, my darling sweet third daughter is also writing for GGM, so be looking for her new column in the March issue. It is entitled, Snuggle Up With A Good Book, and the title rather suits her! She is so sweet and snuggly herself. she has been giving up her blogging time lately too, so that her sisters can write and manage what they need to. She is such a Giver! I have been mothering her a little extra lately, because she has had an earache on top of the congestion, but I think she is about over it! She is also officially LucyLillie’s favorite sister at present!
Eric is totally enjoying the Kingdom series books! We bought them for him last June, but he was reading the Chronicles of Narnia then, and he moved directly on to the Lord of the Rings, so he is just now in book two of the Kingdom series. He is just mesmerized. We do need to get him the next three, though, because he only has one through three, though I think they may have them at our library.
What do you think of that? My son who didn’t read (could have, didn’t want to) until last June, and now he has all these pages and words under his belt! aaahhhhh…. Homeschool!
Hannah. Oh, my dear little egg-gathering, diaper-changing little girl! She was the first to come down with the flu, after her Daddy did. She types up a blog post a few days ago, and we were talking about subjects and predicates and how to double a consonant to add a suffix. I think she was a bit perplexed as to why I thought she wanted to know that at first. I have always had a rule that I will sound something out, but not spell it, and she looked quizzically at me that I wasn’t just sounding the word out. However, to give her a five minute lesson on suffixes that she won’t forget as long as she continues to use it was well worth it, even though we were sitting in our jammies, drinking warm broth on the couch!
Issac and Caleb, the dynamic duo. The dynamic cowboy duo. They ride their imaginary horses all day and can tell you what a Haflinger is and an Andalusian. 
Caleb just knows that he is "King of the Cowboys", and he and Isaac both can say it just like the announcer on the Roy Rogers show. You have no idea how many times I hear about "Trigger, the Go-o-olden Palomino-o-oo". And, they are going to absolutely love this picture.
He will be thrilled to see this on "his-a blog".
LucyLillie is walking along everything. She says "bite" when she wants you to share a bite with her and smacks her little lips together about ten times to get the point across. She likes bananas, soup, and mommy’s milk. She drinks water out of a cup and adores Caleb (and Rachel and Hannah). So, it has been really hard to keep her away from him since he got sick again. She is our sweet little cutie-patootie, and he is my pumpkin-pie. They are best buds.
See more pictures at Luli
blessings!
Well, we still have one straggler, who was almost better the other day but would not not rest enough to get all the way better. It doesn’t help that he is two-and-a-half. My dear Mother, knowing my affinity for homeopathic remedies and receiving this from my aunt at just the right time, sent me a list of a bunch, a bunch! of remedies that honey is good for. Misty, you asked me last year to list the benefits of honey, well, a year late, but here they are!
My aunt, who sent it, has been a nurse for, oh, as long as I have known, since I was about four. She is very holistic, and I would totally trust her knowledge of this.
We have had the flu and a chest thing/hacking cough for about a week now. We have eaten more popsicles, broth, chicken rice soup, honey tea and used more GOOT than I can account for. It smells like a sweet Italian Restaurant around here, I tell you!
What homeschooling family cannot use these home medicinal tips?? Or any family, for that matter!
(email:)Cinnamon & Honey
>Bet the drug companies won’t like this one getting around.
Facts on honey and cinnamon:
IMMUNE SYSTEM: Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacteria and viral attacks. Scientists have found that honey has various vitamins and iron in large amounts. Constant use of honey strengthens the white blood corpuscles to fight bacteria and viral diseases.
INFLUENZA: A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural Ingredient which kills the influenza germs and saves the patient from flu.
COLDS: Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon lukewarm honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for three days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold, and clear the sinuses.
FATIGUE: Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful rather than being detrimental to the strength of the body. Senior citizens, who take honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts, are more alert and flexible. Dr. Milton, who has done research, says that a half tablespoon of honey taken in a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, taken daily after brushing and in the afternoon at about 3:00 p.m. when the vitality of the body starts to decrease, increases the vitality of the body within a week.
ARTHRITIS: Arthritis patients may take daily, morning, and night, one cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. If taken regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured. In a recent research conducted at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon Honey and half teaspoon Cinnamon powder before breakfast, they found that within a week, out of the 200 people so treated, practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain, and within a month, mostly all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis started walking without pain.
BLADDER INFECTIONS: Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink it. It destroys the germs in the bladder.
TOOTHACHE: Make a paste of one teaspoon of cinnamon powder and five teaspoons of honey and apply on th e aching tooth. This may be applied three times a day until the tooth stops aching.
CHOLESTEROL: Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of Cinnamon Powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water, given to a cholesterol patient were found to reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10 percent within two hours. As mentioned for arthritic patients, if taken three times a day, any chronic cholesterol is cured. According to information received in the said journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol. (By the way. if you’ re taking cholesterol medicine STOP! They all contain STATIN which weaken your muscles…including YOUR HEART and none has been shown to stop heart attacks or strokes!!!!
UPSET STOMACH: Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomach ache and also clears stomach ulcers from the root.
GAS: According to the studies done in India and Japan , it is revealed that if honey is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved of gas.
HEART DISEASES: Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply on bread, instead of jelly and jam, and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol in the arteries and saves the patient from heart attack. Also those who have already had an attack, if they do this process daily, they are kept miles away from the next attack. Regular use of the above process relieves loss of breath and strengthens the heart beat. In America and Canada , various nursing home s have treated patients successfully and have found that as you age, the arteries and veins lose their flexibility and get clogged; honey and cinnamon revitalize the arteries and veins.
INDIGESTION: Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food relieves acidity and digests the heaviest of meals.
LONGEVITY: Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly, arrests the ravages of old age. Take four spoons of honey, one spoon of cinnamon powder and three cups of water and boil to make like tea. Drink 1/4 cup, three to four times a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age. Life spans also increases and even a 100 year old, starts performing the chores of a 20-year-old.
PIMPLES: Three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder paste. Apply this paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash it next morning with warm water. If done daily for two weeks, it removes pimples from the root.
SKIN INFECTIONS: Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts cures eczema, ringworm and all types of skin infections.
WEIGHT LOSS: Daily in the morning one half hour before breakfast on an empty stomach and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup of water. If taken regularly, it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also, drinking this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body even though the person may eat a high calorie diet.
CANCER: Recent research in Japan and Australia has revealed that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured successfully. Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should daily take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder for one month three times a day.
BAD BREATH: People of South America, first thing in the morning, gargle with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water, so their breath stays fresh throughout the day.
HEARING LOSS: Daily morning and night honey and cinnamon powder, taken in equal parts restore hearing.
Remember when we were kids?
We had toast with real butter and cinnamon sprinkled on it!
I am on my second day of warm honey tea with cinnamon in it, and it is true: my cough did a turn-around as of this evening. I have noticed a decrease in severity and occasion! Another thing I credit our recoveries to is GOOT. I also started taking a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and a teaspoon of honey. That was also a reminder from Mom! Prayer, of course, is the forerunner and most important of all these things, and I thank you all for the many prayers and blessings.
blessings!
*If you are taking prescribed medication, I would not advise you to stop taking it without talking to your Dr. Though I believe in homeopathic remedies, we must exercise caution and common sense when doing so during an illness.(I know you all know that!) :)
Hi everyone-
This is Rachel, dd14. Mom is ill and so cannot post her meme for this week. She has bestowed the honour of posting it on me… I have decided on doing Psalm 39 for her.
Psalm 39
1I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.
2I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred.
3My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue,
4LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is: that I may know how frail I am.
5Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
6Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
7And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.
8Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish.
9I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it.
10Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand.
11When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah.
12Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
13O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.
Please pray for Mom that she and Luli will be better in no time! Luli had a high fever and had to take some medicine. Mom and Luli are eating lots of popsicles and smell of garlic and olive oil.
blessings!
Homeschooling is not the same as a winter break or a public school vacation time, but sometimes we need some creative ideas of what to do when we have to keep our sweet little darlings inside! I would much rather bundle them up and send them outside, rain or shine – and we do that then – but the bone-chilling winter weather we are having is not ok for them to be out in. Besides, it takes as long to get ready as the time you can spend out in the weather, so it is hardly worth it!
While our five oldest do go outside twice a day to take care of our goats, chickens and dogs, playing soldiers and running races is quite out of the question! Yes, some of these may be lame… but you know what they say about desperate times!
blessings!
We all have been so busy writing articles for our blogs, Growing in Grace Magazine for girls, the Homeschool Blog Awards site, and HSB Literary Club. I haven’t even gotten to get in an article to Tia for Home Where They Belong! Sorry Tia!
I have to not only write my own, but also edit and edit and edit with the girls, who are writing for several columns each, weekly and monthly. The February issue of GGM is published, and we are preparing for the March issue now.
I do have several things on my bookshelf to Review, including:
Sentinel City of Destiny
by Landel Bilbrey
I am reviewing the book Sentinel City of Destiny by Landel Bilbrey. We have only just begun reading, but I did skim through the middle and end sections to get a feel for it. It has a Glossary to define some of the terms used, because the story is fantasy fiction, and some words are allegorical. The feel I get from it is like The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. This story is set in more of a knights fashion, though.
Some other items I am reviewing are:
Seasons at Home Magazine by JoyousHome.com
LOVE this magazine. It is all-encompassing. It is for girls and moms, but also sets a family atmosphere. The present issue is supposed to have articles about home birthing, and I cannot WAIT to read it! I love the issue I have with its recipes, crafts and even a couple of articles that, as Amanda pointed out, could be used as unit studies.I am looking forward to writing a very positive review for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.
Generations of Virtue: Setting a Paradigm for Purity
by Julie Hiramine
I like this video. I like a lot of what she has to say. We stay away from the pop-culture youth group ideals, and I was afraid this was going to be up that alley. It isn’t. I have n’t finished watching it because I was having a hard time getting it to play. I tried it again the other day, though, and it worked, so I am looking forward to finishing it and writing up a review for TOS.Sally Ride Science Set
I wanted to start using this last week, but Eric being sick halted that. It is a classroom boxed set, and I can get to lesson plans and other ideas online. I am not happy with the first and foremost ideology of the focus being on girls education being so important (almost to the point of excluding boys), but I understand that society feels it necessary to give girls an "equal chance" to what boys are offered. I disagree with that notion, but I am looking forward to seeing how well this fits our "classroom".I will be writing a review soon, and I hope that, as a Creationist, there is not too much evolution I have to wade through, but we will see. I am pretty sure I saw that this is evolution-friendly.
So there you go! Some things I have been quite busy with lately. Matt and the girls are busy figuring out our taxes. We are determining what to use them for. We have not purchased homeschool books for a few years, so we may be doing a bit of that. Even Eric asked the other day, "Mom, when are we going to be ordering some new books? We haven’t done that in awhile." I thought it was funny that he wants new books to work out of. Of course, I think it would be highly beneficial to get a computer lab set up, don’t you? Maybe a couple of new laptops??
A CD I have not been asked to review, but I will give you a blurb right now anyway:
‘Tis So Sweet CD by Steve Sensenig – Worship Keys
If I can sum it up for you: LOVE IT. You can find it at The Schoolhouse Store. There are a few technical things, like fading, but I honestly had asked Jocelyn the very night before if we had an instrumental hymn cd or something similar, and the next day, an envelope came from our dear friends Paul and Gena, and there it was! I immediately popped it into the laptop. I love it. Steve is an extraordinary pianist, and we all love it! Amanda even asked me if she could take it with her the other day when she was going into town. Sorry, I said, "No way!
blessings!
The Homeschool Blog Awards site will be hosting next week’s Carnival of Homeschooling on Tuesday, February 19; our theme is “One Room Schoolhouse.” If you would like to participate in the carnival, please follow this link. Not sure what a blog carnival is? Find out here.
We would really appreciate it if you could spread the word! Feel free to grab either of these buttons to use in a post or your sidebar.
Then the week after that Amanda will be hosting the Carnival of Homeschooling at The Daily Planet!
blessings!
Honey. Oreo cookies. M&Ms. Dr, Pepper. Ice Cream. Chocolate chip cookies.
Sweet. Sweet. Sweet. We have a little idea of sweetness.
Snuggling a baby. Snuggling our 18 year old. Watching a smile come over the face of a child. Holding our Beloved’s hand.
Sweet. Sweet. Sweet. And yet, we still don’t have the meaning of sweetness.
This song gives a glimpse of the meaning of sweetness. A sweetness that is not man-made or even of warm, happy feelings of love.
It is of a peace everlasting and a knowing. It is faith, but something real that we cannot necessarily explain. More than a warm fuzzy feeling, but very real is its assurance.
It is so sweet to trust in Jesus. That is indescribable to someone who has not experienced it. But we have all experienced pain and loss. Sometimes things cannot be explained except in its opposite. Such as the opposite of the peace God gives us. The turmoil we live in and the fear of live itself until we have God’s peace, the sweetness that comes in trusting in Jesus.
I cannot explain how people live life with heartaches. I cannot explain how friends and loved ones face trials that I could not fathom going through. I don’t know how I have made it sometimes. Except for the Lord.
I think God made man and woman strong creatures. We are made in His image, and we are strong and resilient and determined, and I think we can make it through very trying things. But I am talking about the gut-wrenching things that would drive us away from God, and into a pit of despair. Except for the Lord.
And, yet, we serve a mighty God in the simplicity of this sweetness. In the simple repentant heart of one sinner, and asking the Lord, Jesus, to be the Lord of that life, such a ruckus in caused in the heavenlies. To trust in Jesus. To take all the burden of sin and drop it and just trust in Jesus.
‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
and to take him at his word;
just to rest upon his promise,
and to know, "Thus saith the Lord."
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!
How I’ve proved him o’er and o’er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust him more!
neath the healing, cleansing flood!
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!
How I’ve proved him o’er and o’er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust him more!
Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
just from sin and self to cease;
just from Jesus simply taking
life and rest, and joy and peace.
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!
How I’ve proved him o’er and o’er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust him more!
I’m so glad I learned to trust thee,
precious Jesus, Savior, friend;
and I know that thou art with me,
wilt be with me to the end.
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!
How I’ve proved him o’er and o’er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust him more!
I have known the Lord as my Saviour for 19 years. I still am thankful I can drop things, stuff, junk, burdens, at His feet and trust in Him.
I have not proven Him over and over, but He has proven Himself. When I am faithless or unfaithful to Him and His Word, He is faithful and He proves Himself over and over. He will never leave me nor forsake me. He is sweetness. Trusting in Him is sweetness.
I have not even come close to the last verse. I have not yet learned to trust Him. I am learning.
It is a silly thing being human; to know what to do, but not quite be able to do it. Oh, I get around to it every time, but my gut reaction is to trust in my own knowledge. Very dangerous business.
I know the sweetness of denying my own knowledge to allow God to work in a situation, and by God’s grace, I will learn to trust Him.
blessings!
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