Thursday, May 29, 2008

Scary or what?


Talk about congratulating yourself!

This is what it feels like parenting this little tike sometimes:) She has that much love to give, though, too.

Didn't know I had a twin, did ya?


All pictures were taken by the Ole Daddy Rabbit. He is too funny.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Who wants to be normal?

Our oldest son has been playing baseball this season. He has also gotten a lot of flack for being homeschooled. The children display their (and might I say actually their parents'?) prejudice and ignorance of homeschooling. To my mind it is sad. His best buddy also isn't playing anymore, making it doubly hard for him. We are so proud of him that despite these things he is determined to finish the season.
I read a recent poll that showed people believed homeschooling was just as viable education-wise as public school. They also believed, some what contradictorally, that homeschool doesn't prepare you for the adult world as well as public schools. I have heard those sentiments repeated often in our small community. Those spewing such nonsense often point to the homeschoolers that are now adults and working at the mill. They point out that they don't fit in with others their age. It is true to some extent. I ask, though, what are they not fitting in with?
In our area we have an epidemic of meth use. We also have an incredible number of drinkers (not that I am against drinking in moderation). Am I to be upset if I or my child doesn't fit in with that?
I think Kevin Leman put it perfectly in his book Adolescence Isn't Terminal; It Just Feels Like It!:

I think it's good to be different. I think it's healthy to raise
kids to stand apart from the crowd.
If your son isn't "different," his adult life may look like this:
He may marry and divorce within the first five years of his adult life.
He may drift from partner to partner. If he marries or moves in with a
woman who has already been divorced, he will merge his life with someone
whom somebody else has already discarded.
If your daughter isn't "different," she may have half a dozen
sexual partners before she graduates college. She may also contract a
sexually transmitted disease. Her sexual experience will actually make
her less likely to have a successful marriage, leading to a number of
broken relationships....
I think it's good for kids to be different. When the
popular route leads to disaster, I want my children to choose a unique
path. If I raise my kids to be exactly like everyone else-letting them
watch whatever they want to watch, turning a blind eye to premarital
sexual activity, running them ragged from morning to night so that the
the family never bonds, being too tired on Saturday or Sunday morning
to take the family to synagogue or church-I should expect them to grow
up to be like everyone else.
And that thought terrifies me.

I don't want my children to be average, I want them to be great. I am so blessed because my children already are great. They are a blessing. I am so very proud of them, especially my oldest boy in this situation. Way to stay at it buddy!

One...Two!






Our Lit' Firecracker just turned two! She is pretty wild and sweet. Happy Birthday you special girl. We love you so very much.

Monday, May 19, 2008

I don't remember THAT!

We saw the first Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in the theatre when it came out. We enjoyed it. We promised the oldest children that we would see the next one, Prince Caspian, when it came out. So we went to the theatre last night to see it. We took the oldest three, three stayed with Oma and we had to take the latest model.
We met some new people at the theatre and some old acquintances. That was fun. We parked next to a white 15-passenger van. It turned out to be the vehicle for another family of seven that homeschools. We had some good conversation before the movie started and that was great. We got popcorn and soda. All a big treat.
Now I think I would have enjoyed the movie greatly if I hadn't read the book. I am placing this movie on my list of It-bears-the-same-name-as-the-book-but-that-is-about-it. The two glaring changes they added, that I thought took away from the story, were a rivalry between Peter and Caspian and a romantic intensity between Susan and Caspian.
The screenwriter seemed to add a whole tone of coming of age angst and rebellion that is not in any of the books. One telling line, for me, was when Peter is encouraged that, "This is not the time for chivalry!" Hello? The book is always clear about the good guys acting honorably in contrast to the villains acting dishonorably. When is the time to act chivalrously? Integrity is demonstrated when the circumstances are hard. That defines character. All the Narnia books are infused with the idea of character.
C.S. Lewis didn't believe in talking down to children. He had many children write to him and he wrote back. His letters always had a man to man tone to them. Children responded well to his tone of respect. He used this tone in his books. I think that is why they were so immensely popular. I think it all got lost in this movie.
The Pevensie kids are argumentative with each other. Peter is excessively rude to Caspian. In the book Peter is very clear that he did not come to rule, but to aid Caspian. They add a whole ivasion of the castle that doesn't exist in the book. It detracts from the whole overall story. Susan also figures prominently in the battles as opposed to being with Lucy in awakening the trees. So much for "battles are ugly when women fight." A quote thoughtfully altered in the first movie and completely dismissed in this one. The romance between Caspian and Susan is pretty nauseating. She even kisses him before crossing back into our world. Blech! Definately not in the book.
On a whole I was dissapointed. There were some bright spots. Edmund was pretty cool in this movie. I liked his character. Reepicheep was wonderful! He was even better than I imagined. He is worth renting the movie for when it comes out on DVD.

Friday, May 16, 2008

They're Here!




Yes, my new Official Homeschool Cartoon Books Volumes 2 and 3!
I will try to share a couple of my favorite/convicting cartoons by that funny man, Todd Wilson.

I don't have a scanner so here is my best attempt at these great exerpts. I know that Mr. Wilson lives in Indiana, but I suspect he might lurk under a bed around my house every once and a while:)

Thursday, May 15, 2008

I don't know why they were small.





Here are the pictures that turned out small in my previous post and a couple of new ones.

Tiptoe-ing through the tulips.






My great friend Bucca took these lovely pictures. I framed some for my mom for Mother's Day and I also framed some for my wall:) I thought they were great.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Admissions of a Recovering Perfectionist

I was awarded an "E" for having an excellent blog by a very sweet lady. She wrote a very nice blurb about me on her blog. It made me think about my life. I really think I appear better in print when I can modify what I share and even make my blatant sin have a funny twist.

There are days when I think I have it all together. I have cleaned the house, fixed a great dinner, and wonderfully educated my children. Unfortunately, the truth is that the more children I have and the older I get those days are fewer and much farther apart. Maybe I should say fortunately because it does drive me to my knees. If I only had, say, two children I would probably be one of those annoying individuals that think they have it all together and give advice to everyone. Maybe not considering the disposition of the eldest. He is enough to take all the parenting techniques I knew would produce perfect children and send them up in flames.

I have a list of "bad mom" moments that I wouldn't share on the blog. I don't want them to be in permanent print. It is enough that they pop up every now and then in conversation with the children. Like, "Mom, do you remember when we had to go to the doctor for ipecac when T.... drank all the Tylenol?" I will never live those moments down so why torture myself? They do come in hand, though, when another mom feels down. Then I can assure her that if my children have lived then hers will too. I will offer her a listening ear over tea and hopefully make her feel like a great mom.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Guess What I Got!






If you guessed a brand-new Fuji Film 10 megapixel digital camera complete with camera bag you would be right!

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

How do you spell LOVE to a man?

R-E-S-P-E-C-T!

If you are a woman, like me, that probably sounds weird to you. My husband and I were privileged to go to a Love and Respect Conference last July. It was great. So much so that MY HUSBAND bought the videos and small group books. We are going through it again with some dear friends of ours. We would also like to some how touch more people at church with it (our group is discussing how God would have that to look). I am trying to learn to speak the language of respect. It isn't my native tongue. I figure if I can work on Greek and learn essential phrases in Russian then I can do something in Respect.

With that in mind, I get excited when I run across more on how to speak to my man in particular and then men in general. It changes how I mother my sons and my daughters. I pray every night over my small girls (daddy usually prays with the older ones:). I pray almost every night that God would help them become Godly women and that their mother would become a good example to them. I pray that as I learn to speak and act respectfully to my husband that my daughters would pick the language up far better than I ever could. Children tend to pick languages up easier than adults. My husband gets Family Life Today podcasts. Yesterday's was with an authoress that wrote about this subject. The show was an incredible little tidbit. I am wanting to burn it to CD to give away at church. I am also going to try to link it here Hopefully, that worked.

When I was going back to try to link that show I saw that there are 5 whole days on this subject. Maybe I will wait until Friday to burn them all to CD. I think that might be a great Mother's Day gift at church. I would also like to get that book For Women Only. They even have it on audio CD for those that would rather listen than read.

Anyone else interested in taking language lessons with me?

Friday, May 02, 2008

Prayer

The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. I also recently read an incredible book, Passionate Housewives. In that book Stacy McDonald encourages us to not feel guilty about the "sacred quiet time" or lack there of in your life. She says to pray in "droplets." She also says, "but PRAY!" (emphasis added) That has really inspired me to pray more often and more specifically. The practical aspect of that is that I have written sripture, dear people and prayers down. I have contact papered them and stuck them in various areas of the house.

For instance, I have my husband and children written down with scripture that I am praying for them tacked above the kitchen sink. Since I spend a good amount of time there I pray for them often:)

My husband gave me a great devotional book by one of my favorite authors, Joni Eareckson Tada, for Christmas. I wrote out one of the scripture verses and the prayer at the end of one recent devotion. I have been praying it every day. Let me share it with you: Just for today, Lord, keep me and guide me, just for today. For the next twenty-four hours, fill me with grace to face each setback with patience and joy beyond my own.

I am not into those silly prayers that people often send via e-mail (or snail mail sometimes) that involves some financial payoff. Or the ones that promise all kinds of problems from hemmoroids to acid reflux if I don't pass it on. I am encouraged, however, by the prayers of saints past and present. It reminds me that we are part of a greater fellowship than what we may suspect. I once stood in a thousand year old church. It hit me that the Lord always has a remnant. I could almost see the saints from the past holding hands throughout the ages down to me. We all need to remember that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. We are not alone. That is part of being in the body of Christ, who said he would never leave us or forsake us. His body is made up of believers throughout history. I am strengthened when I think of my fellow members:)