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:)

The Children of Caesar

Preach it brother! I have long respected this man.

I have to add about socialization. When people ask about socialization I just ask, "Have you met my children?" Take last night for instance. I took #1 daughter out for dinner and discipleship (translated that means tacos at the local diner and doing her About Me Journal, she's only six). She talked and waved to all the patrons. One woman had a small child. My daughter engaged in conversation with both. The waitress was so impressed when my daughter said, "Yes, ma'am." Another woman walked in with a sour expression on her face. It might have been a long day for her. My daughter waved and said, "HI!" The woman's face brightened. Maybe that was the first kind word she had all day. The cook came out to serve some food. He had no hair and a beard and a tattoo. My daughter engaged him in a little- Hi-how-are-ya conversation. He went back to the kitchen with a smile on his face. Now we have specific rules on talking to strangers. We are not stupid when it comes to pedophiles and the like. Our children are instructed to only speak to strangers when mom or dad is with them. A stranger is anyone that mom and dad do not know their first and last name. If a stranger approaches them in our yard, they are to all get into the house (boys protect girls and the like). They are not drilled to NEVER talk to strangers and left on their own too much. These simple rules allow our children to be social without being in danger. So what about socialization?

Tips on how to be a great mom.

This was the title on a Chuck Swindoll message that I listened to today. I have taken to riding my exercise bike and listening to a podcast when I get the chance. It was so encouraging. He looked at Mary for his example. This is a good thing because Chuck Swindoll might be a great teacher, but no matter what he does he will never be a great mom. He will never be a mediocre mom or any other kind of mom.

Anyway...

His first tip was to realize the sacredness of each conception and pregnancy. The whole message was great, but that was the point that struck me the most. In this age of birth control we have some how come to think that we are the determiners of conception. We can do all kinds of things to prevent it. We can even do all kinds of fertility things from charting to IVF to encourage it. No matter what we cannot MAKE conception happen. Each child is a beautiful gift. If that child were conceived at a different time it would not be that child. I have often marveled at how a soul is knit together with a body. We have never been able to plumb those depths of the esoteric. We can clone DNA, but we cannot make a spirit. That belongs to God alone. Even identical twins with the same DNA are different people because they don't share a soul.

I have had the privilege of carrying 10 children. Seven I carried to term. Three might have only lived to be weeks old yet their conceptions were sacred. What a beautiful way to think about those precious souls that already rejoice around our Lord's throne.

I may not ever have any more children. I can get caught up in all kinds of cyclical thoughts. I can get caught up in the drudgery of diaper changes and laundry. Or I can do what I have chosen today: sipping ice tea with a dear friend as my children play outside on a lovely day, letting the little girls play in bubble water in the sink, swinging with my baby on the swing, nursing the baby and holding her close, rejoicing in how big, strong and thoughtful my oldest son is becoming. I pray that I will continue to focus on the blessings and the sacredness and not to get sucked down into the mire. I have been truly blessed.

A little bit personal.

I like to read. If you know me at all, I know that is no surprise to you. I have become more selective in what I read. I have been burned too many times to just pick up a book from the local library because the blurb on the jacket sounds interesting. Two instances should give you ample example (that is my only contribution to Poetry Month, if you want more go check out Carmon's website, she is very poetically inclined).

A few years ago now some customers of my husband's loaned me a book. I read it and enjoyed it. I then went online to our library catalog and ordered all of the books written by that author. I received the books and went home to read them (this was before our oldest was "school age" and I had a lot more time). I was horrified at about page 45 with an explicit sex scene! I learned that was also typical of this author's books. What I had failed to realize was the book I had originally read was a Reader's Digest version and all the smut was cut (oh-oh that rhymes as well). I shame-facedly returned those books to the library. We live in a small town and I really didn't want our librarians to think I deliberately read such trash.

The second incident was when I picked up a book on the new release shelf. I read the jacket and it sounded very creative. It had great reviews on the back. Of course, I realize that they aren't going to pick a review that says it was the worst book that critic has ever read. I may be naive, but not THAT naive. I think it was only about page 18 on this book when it turned crude. Another shame-faced return to the library.

Now some might use this to prove that I am prudish. To be frank; I have a husband and I believe sex is a beautiful gift from the Lord. I am not relegated to reading about it. I mean seriously folks, I have seven children. So some can think me prudish, but I hold that they have to read about it and I can experience it.

So all that to say that I have found some great books ABOUT SEX! I had a dear friend refer me to the first one. It is called Sheet Music by Kevin Leman. I have to agree with that friend about it having a lot of healing in it. I would recommend this book to any married couple. I would recommend it especially to those with a past. In our culture today that means almost everyone. In Steele Magnolias one character quips, "These days if you can achieve puberty, you can have a past." So true and so sad. Yet where sin abounds grace abounds that much more. This book is a very gracious book.

The second book is by Kevin Leman and Kathy Flores Bell. I had to get the book so I can get the title right: A Chicken's Guide to Talking Turkey with your Kids about Sex. I purchased Sheet Music because it was so good. I am going to get this one too. It really covers the subject well. It focuses on having a relationship with your children. It reinforces how my mom talked to me about sex and my changing body as well as how I talk to my children. The reason I want to buy the book is its wonderful "hands on" examples it gives. I figure by the time I xeroxed all the copies I would need to help me remember and purchasing a folder to put them in I would spend just as much as the book would cost me. I will give you one example that we used successfully for all ages in our house last week.

Supplies you need: Hand Lotion, cinnamon, soap and water. Explain to the children that we have natural oils in our hands. The lotion represents those. Have the children apply hand lotion. The cinnamon represents germs (I called them germies for who-knows-what-reason, I am usually pretty specific on what things are called). Sprinkle cinnamon on their hands. Then show them how germs can get trapped on their clothes if they just wipe their hands on them or on anything else. Then show them how to wash their hands and the germs get washed down the drain.

After our hand washing lesson my children have an obsession with hand cleanliness. Lesson learned and applied.

Okay, okay, okay, we went anyway....

I hadn't planned on going to the Blog Sistas' BBQ. I had many good reasons to not go. It worked out for the children (minus the oldest boy) and I to go. We were all so blessed. It was a great time to pray and sing on our way there. It was a great time while we were there (I mean there was GREAT coffee and chocolate-how could we lose?). It was also a great time with the Lord on the way back.

Our SamBoy defended the known world with a bunch of his buddies. Nothing like boys getting together to defend the cause of justice with weapons:) Our oldest girl helped out in the kitchen and made new friends. The three middle girls got to play with many their own age. Tiny Tim was just plain perfect. We visited and put names to faces. I got second place on the "How Well Do You Know Kim" game. I only placed so highly because I had been talking to her before hand and unknowingly found out some of the answers. If I had been smarter I would have taken a gander at the test and asked her. I think that is called cheating though.

Blog Sistas

I was graciously invited to go to a "Blog Sista" BBQ hosted by my friends, the Engstroms. It is an opportunity to get to know some folks that I know only from the blogasphere. I, unfortunately, have too much going on so that it is wiser that I stay close to home instead of attending. Even the temptation of home-roasted decaf. coffee wasn't enough to get me to go (even though it was a GREAT TEMPTATION!).
I find it ironic that I even have blog sistas. I am not very computer literate. I am still struggling with getting music to play on my blog. I am not losing sleep over that how ever. I look back on how I got to have cyberfriends. It is a funny journey.
I attended a Ligonier Conference in Portland a few years ago (four children ago). RCJR was there with his Highland Study Center booth. I looked at some information and found it interesting. I looked them up on the web. I commented from time to time. There was one lady that I connected with on the comments section. She was brave enough to send her e-mail address. She is my Val-Pal in NJ. She was doing the blog thing (note she is also much more technically savvy than I am). She recommended Carmon's (Not San Diego) Buried Treasure site. Wow-what kindred spirits I found there. From that website I have found some other kindred spirits. I feel as Ann Shirley said, "I don't think kindred spirits are as few as I once though."
I have been blessed with some REAL friendships through these weblogs. I have benefitted in so many ways. I have been challenged in my thinking, encouraged to keep going on the narrow path and felt loved through real tokens of friendship. It is so easy to give up when you feel like you are the only one. It is so wonderful to have a group of like-minded folk to chat with on our journey. It is even better when we can get together and share chocolate. I believe Stacy MacDonald says that is can be catagorized as medicinal after childbirth:)
There is so much garbage on the internet. Like any tool, though, it can be used for good or ill. I have been much blessed by this technological advance.

Amazing

I am amazed at how my children are growing. I have heard it from many older folks since we have started having wee ones. They tell us to enjoy our children because they grow up so fast. I am seeing the truth of it. I believed these lovely folks, I just hadn't experienced it until now.

My oldest boy just finished cleaning off the roof. This boy is now big enough and capable enough to do many things. He can chop fire wood, start fires, and change bike tires. He does a good job when he puts his mind to it. I am so proud of him.

The second son is a calmer. Like when we lost power and my water broke with our latest model. He gathered the younger girls together and read to them while the Ole Daddy Rabbit drove down the road to get my mom. What a way to think and be helpful.

Our oldest girl is really starting to draw. They are even recognizable pictures. She also is very helpful with the baby. All three of the oldest are capable of picking the baby up and helping out with her.

The three oldest have rotating chores. Some of their chores include the dining room area. It is so wonderful to cook a meal and then go bath small children. When I come out the dining room is clean.

It is such a blessing to have children capable of helping. I listened to one teacher that quipped how she was training herself out of a job. I am doing just that. I can see how teaching them to cook and clean and be part of a team is going to pay off the more that they grow. It is so bittersweet. We are training them to be able to be responsible adults and one day be part of their own family team. It is the way it is supposed to be. It still seems like yesterday when that big boy on the roof was the one I held in my arms like I hold his small sister now. I sure miss that baby, but I wouldn't trade that strong boy back. I do realize that I need to treasure them as much as possible at each stage they are in. It is fleeting. Let's treasure today. It is a gift.

You Know You're A Redneck When...

Your husband fixes your son's bike intertube with duct tape. When your sons want to build a robot and actually find enough scrap metal buried in the backyard for their project.

Note: The metal was not thrown in our backyard by us. It was probably quite a few owners previous to us.

Tidings of Sloopy Chickenbutt

Yes, I got that forward from a friend too. You know the kind that you get to have a new name using different letters of your real name. I have a new friend now. Her name is Doombah Dippintush. That is right. Can you guess what mine is? That is right Sloopy Chickenbutt! True life is stranger than fiction.

Pleased With Myself

I was the happy recipient of some Amish Friendship Bread a little while ago. It made me wonder about some things. Things like how Amish is it really? Why do they call it bread? It is more like cake. Why the "friendship" after distributing it to my small circle of friends, who else can I pawn the stuff off on without losing their friendship?

Our particular starter came from a good friend that asked me if I would want some before bringing it over. It makes some really good cake-like stuff. This particular one also makes four new starters every ten days. So every ten days I need to find another three friends to give it to. Unfortunately, my mom can't have wheat products. She's out. The friend that gave me the starter already has her own. My sister-in-law isn't really into cooking. All that and I would have to think of three new people every ten days. I also have this horrible problem of not being able to throw out food or potential food. I am such a cheapskate. What was I to do?

Well, I did go ahead and throw out the extra three. It was a challenge, but I did it without too much remorse. Then when I made the new friendship bread I quartered what I was to add to the starter. Then I only put 1/4 of a cup of new starter in one bag. Then on day 5 or what ever day I am supposed to add more stuff I add 1/4 of what is called for. Today I made a thing of my Amish Friendship Bread and I have one starter! I can keep making bread every ten days. I don't have to stress out about to whom I need to pawn this stuff off on either! I am very pleased with myself. I am also going to enjoy a nice, warm piece of bread.

Fixed

Okay, I fixed my over-exuberance of Tim Hawkins :)

A New Blog

I promised our boys that when they had a perfect spelling test then they could have a blog. Of course it will be duly supervised. It is a great way to get them to write too. So number 2 son had a perfect score today. We set him up with a blog spot. We will work on adding pictures and all soon.

A little crazed...

Okay...I got a little crazed with the Tim Hawkins thing. I blew it trying to post a You Tube video and then I figured out what had happened. Now I have two of the same video on our blog. So is the life when one is playing with technology beyond one's real grasp of that knowledge. Still I hope folks will enjoy these videos. We thought they were quite funny.

Kids' Rock by Tim Hawkins

And yet more Tim Hawkins...

Tim Hawkins - Cletus Take the Reel

Some more Tim Hawkins...

Tim Hawkins - GPS

Okay, I am trying to get this to post. I think I fixed it. The Redneck GPS is how folk give directions around here. We first saw Tim Hawkins with the hysterical homeschool video. He has lots more where that came from. He is a good reminder that we can be funny as christians. He is talented too.

Some People's Houses

Now if "1 boy = 1 brain, 2 boys = 1/2 a brain, and 3 boys = no brain at all" then what do six equal? A whole lotta fun if it involves camouflage outfits, guns and lots of territory to run and scream!

We picked up our new van this weekend. We parlayed that into a visit with the Engstroms that happen to live in that area. Unfortunately our trip was cut short because of illness. Oh well, it happens when you have a bunch of little ones.

It has been my hair-raising experience with children to visit different folks' houses. Some people have expensive knick knacks in breakfronts that are all about eye or elbow level with children. They have expensive furniture that nobody ever really sits on. These houses leave my heart pounding and me short of breath for the whole visit. Then there is the other extreme. The houses that you would much rather wait until the next McDonald's in order to use the restroom. There are houses which are that nice, happy medium.

Our friends that we visited have such a house. The children are safe to run and play. I was not afraid if I lost sight of a child for a little while. The food was good except we didn't get to sample the asparagus:) The children all pitched in and cleaned after the meals. It was a comfortable weekend.

I hope that our house falls into this catagory. I would like people to feel comfortable using the bathroom, but I also hope that my children will have fond memories of family fun too.

Love is in the air

We set our table for our traditional Valentine's Tea. I read some where about buying tea setting from the thrift store. Then the little ones can participate in the tea party. I did that a few years ago. The tea pots are special, but everything else came from Goodwill. We had a lovely tea. Oma came as well as our nicest neighbor. I can say that because technically speaking she is our only neighbor:) We do have many wonderful people in our neighborhood.

The Ole Daddy Rabbit provided the roses. The red one was for me while the pink and white ones were for the girls. The boys got sweethearts candy. Everyone shared. The next day two children helped me wash and dry ALL the dishes we had used the previous day. One tea cup got broken, but that is why we use thrift store cups instead of grandma's china. Actually, I don't know if my grandma owned expensive china. Still I am happy to go replace our fifty cent investment. It is a small monetary investment for priceless memories.

We have most of the roses hung upside down to dry. Each girl got her own rose hung up with ribbon by her bed. I think drying flowers on the wall adds a lovely ambience to the home. Maybe that will be another poll: What do you do with your leftover flowers? I have found that my dandelion bouquets don't tend to do so well.

I am still not able to figure out how to post our "Love Story" without retyping it into blogger form. If you skip over to the Engstroms' blog you can read it there. Karen figured out how to post it from an e-mail. When I get time to figure it out I will still do that.

Blogging with one hand tied behind my back

Okay, how about with a baby in my arms.

We have a new van! It is paid for and we just have to go pick it up. We have a fun weekend planned around that too. How exciting!

Happy Valentine's Day to all our friends and family.

Odds and Ends

Our children think that it is sad that most children only get to dress up for Halloween. One of the beauties of homeschool is that my children dress up when ever they want to. I do capitalize on the after-Halloween sales. I usually buy colored hair spray, glow sticks, face-paint and costumes for very cheap prices. Then I keep them around for everyday fun. This picture shows our alien and princesses. I love to encourage their imagination.

Another little tidbit is The Engstroms are having a love story contest. It encouraged me to write our story. I now have to figure out how to save it and upload for our blog. What a wonderful thing to write about. We need to tell our stories over and over again. We need to tell them for us to remember and for our children to know the providence of God. It also reminds me how wonderful, smart and handsome my husband was and is. So why don't you check out our friends' blog, it is listed in the sidebar. Also why don't you pour some coffe or tea and looked at your beloved and remember all those reasons that you married them. Then even better, tell it to your kids.

That takes care of that.

Our three year old is washing dishes. I didn't make her. She just wanted to play in the sink with water and bubbles. She actually isn't doing too bad of a job either. So she gets to play, my dishes only need to be redone a little bit (thus saving me some work) and the floor gets washed. This is my daughter that when her physical capabilities catch up with her determination she will put me out of a job. Her daddy calls her "Tiger" with good reason. I have learned/am learning that there are so many things that cause irritation or joy. It all depends on how it is handled. I guess I could have gotten mad at her for wanting to get into the dishes and make a mess. Instead I set her up with the soap and took the knives out so she couldn't hurt herself. Viola! Good memories for both of us. One day my house will be clean and uncluttered. I will also be bored and bug my children to bring the grandkids over. I might as well figure out how blessed I am now.

Tonight we have a girlie night planned while the menfolk are away at a hunter's banquet tonight. My Ole Daddy Rabbit isn't really into hunting, but one of the main speakers is a dear friend of ours. The are going to lend support (read make weird faces at him while he is speaking) and eat free food. I hope it all goes well. We certainly are planning on having fun. Can't miss with the company and the goodies.

Ron Paul American Pie by aravoth

The more I see about Ron Paul the more I am convinced that he would be the right man for president. This is a really cool little tidbit. One of the other things that REALLY impresses me about this man is that he is absolutely pro-life. His voting record lines up with what he says. Unheard of things for a politician. Is he actually an example of a statesman? I do pray for a man like Wilberforce to rise to power. He was a man that no one thought would abolish the slave trade. We are enslaved to the voting-for-the-lesser-of-two-evils mindset just because real men that stand by what they say are not electable. It is time to stand up and take a chance. Maybe God will yet deliver our nation from its ungodliness and spilling innocent blood.

Guess who I am hanging out with.

Yup, Tiny Tim and I are again up late surfing the web. She is just a late nighter. I hope she will outgrow this phase soon. Until then I guess I have plenty of alone time to read, pray and update our blog.

Lies a Homeschool Mom Believes

This is isn't just general. I keep finding that I believe more lies than I ever thought I had. Why is that? Well, because I am a sinner and in need of saving. R.C. Sproul makes the distinction that we aren't sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners. Some how I keep forgetting that I may be in Christ, but I have a horrible tendency to trip and fall face first in the mud.

I have a great book of homeschooling cartoons by Todd Wilson.One of these cartoons portrays one homeschool mom running into another homeschool mom in public. The second homeschool mom has 8 children all lined up in matching outfits. The first has one child with his finger crammed up his nose. The caption reads something like: Betty hoped Jane wouldn't see her. Jane's children always say, "Yes, Mom," speak fluent Latin and play three instruments. Betty's son hasn't changed his underwear in 6 days. I had xeroxed this cartoon and colored. I then had it on my refrigerator. It wore off:( I should replace it.

I need to remember that I am not doing things on my own. I am dependent on God. People often say to me, "How do you do it all? I only have two and they drive me crazy." I guess I seem more serene than I am. Some of it is that I feel it is hard to share my true feelings for fear of being seen as a "desperate housewife." I am desperate, but not to escape my family and live in Tahiti with a new man (or something equally lame). I am desperate to know that I am accepted and loved for who I am not for what I do. Now my husband and children are good at telling me I am wonderful. Unfortunately for everyone involved I need to rest in my acceptance by God. I fail and fall short. My husband and children fail and fall short. Some how, though, I seem to forget that and expect that we will be perfect some how. That we will all live "happily ever after."

Part of the problem too is that I care so much about what other people say. I wish I didn't. My friend,Bucca, is such an example to me in this area. She doesn't really care what other people think. Oh I wish to be free of this sin of man-pleasing. It doesn't matter what people think of my clean laundry stacked up. I want my children to look back on their childhood with good memories. I want them to remember that we had fun, that we danced stupid dances in the living room, that they were more important than being able to eat off the floor. DISCLAIMER: Notice I said ABLE to eat off the floor as in clean. I did not say that my children didn't eat off the floor. They do. I just don't consider it clean enough to do so.

I am not making a resolution. I am simply starting to pray that God would graciously help me to relax and enjoy the family He has given me. There are wonderful truths that God hits us with even from movies (gasp!). The mom in the modern Yours, Mine and Ours said, "Home is for self-expression not for good impressions." Lord, help me remember that.

A child not a choice.

I don't think I will ever forget our first ultrasound. I know I will never forget the first one I had with our third daughter. As the wand went over my abdomen we saw an image of two perfect little feet pressed against the wall of my womb. I was eleven weeks pregnant and yet here was a perfectly formed person residing inside. What a blessing!

Thirty-five years ago Roe vs. Wade paved the way to where we are today. Those precious individuals are now only a woman's choice. If she happens to "want" that child there are no ends of the ways to pamper the pregnant woman. You can form your own pregnancy calendars on the web. You can be part of yoga classes designed especially for expecting moms. The list goes on and on. Unfortuntely, if the woman doesn't "want" that child he or she becomes an it that is easily disposed of. The range of options is equally as wide as the pampering options. A woman can take RU-486in the privacy of her own home to "terminating her pregnancy" all the way to right before her due date.

Yes, we have come a long way baby! In a hideous direction that robs women of their true God-given womanhood as well as dehumanizes those wonderful children. When I read the absolutely disgusting way human beings, made in the image of God, were treated under the slave trade and then how people are treated under the enslavement of abortion I can't help but see the links.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if a woman got pregnant under horrible circumstances and she was surrounded by incredibly strong, loving people that encouraged her to embrace her true feminine power and bring forth life? Instead of having people just tell her to get rid of that unwanted piece of flesh. Then turning their backs on her when she is stupid enough to ruin her life by keeping that little leech.

Children are a blessing. I am convicted to remember that pro-life doesn't stop with being anti-abortion. It is a way of life. The children in my womb are as precious as are the ones that old enough to help around the house. I have a couple of children that weren't conceived and born necessarily convenient for me. I couldn't dream of not having those children. I look at their sweet faces, their beautiful hands and sweet little feet and feel like weeping that I was so blessed with them. My heart breaks for those women that have bought the lie and the only thing their womb has held is death. On this anniversary (I am posting a day late) of Roe v. Wade I remember and encourage other pro-lifers to continue to pray and fight for the unborn. William Wilberforce did not give up fighting against the horrors of the slave trade and was one day triumphant. May God see fit to raise up such a leader to fight for the unborn and end the travesty. May we never grow weary of fighting for life.

Whining and Dining

I just had to get a picture of this. The Ole Daddy Rabbit bought some IBC Creme Soda when he went out shopping the other day. We enjoyed it as a treat last night. It was sooooooo good. I had to drink 2, one for me and one for our nursing baby. We looked like a bunch of beer-swillers (not that I am against drinking, but each child having their own bottle might be a little extreme:). We also are saving those bottles so when we make Root Beer we can use them. I always hope that our children have fun memories from growing up and I hope this is one of them.

I AM married to Mr. Incredible

Since we have a two and a half week old baby the Ole Daddy Rabbit did our once a month shopping yesterday. I made a list out. I tried to make it in order that the items are found in the stores. He successfully got everything on the list. He didn't make it home by one o'clock, but he made it home for dinner. He took our oldest daughter and they seemed to have a good time together:) I love that our girls are so loved by their daddy. When they got home everyone pitched in and we got all the groceries put away. Yesterday was just one example of how the Ole Daddy Rabbit has been incredible by leading and loving his family in the past couple of weeks.

Mr. Heath, you are my favorite husband and I am blessed that I am married to you. Don't give up! I know God is using you!

John Piper is Bad - extended video

Here is a really funny video on one of our favorite theologians.

What Next?

When you have children...okay...correct that...
Since I have been blessed with the children I have been life can be kind of exciting once and a while.

I had one lady remark on how incredibly calm I was as a mother. I have even had poison control thank me for being calm and acting quickly. I don't particularly think I am that calm. I just know that if I freaked out about everything I would have died from a heart attack long ago. It might, however, explain the gray hair:)

For example, one day last week the Fireball bloodied her nose. She was racing with her sister and ran face first into a wall partition. We iced it, stopped the bleeding from her nose and administered some Motrin pain reliever. I wish I could say that taught her to not run in the house, but alas I cannot. That same day our oldest son came shrieking in the house that his brother had been bitten by a raccoon. We have one sneaky, surviving raccoon in the vicinity. We had the victim come inside. He had indeed come across a raccoon. I was relieved to find out that the animal bit his rather too large rubber boot. It didn't get him hard enough to go through the boot. I have been told that raccoons are one of the worst rabies carriers. So twice in one day I had heart stopping incidents. Thankfully both without major trips to the ER necessary.

I know my children are keen on adventure, but some days boring is just fine. I probably would have darker hair. I still wouldn't trade any of them for the world or a bottle of Clairol.

New pictures and other odds and ends

Here are some cute pictures of the kiddos. Tiny Tim is adored by her brothers and sisters. They argue over who gets to hold her. They are all very helpful. They also got to play in the snow. It is getting to where only the big piles and remains of snow forts are left. All the children had fun (including the big ones:)

We had a quiet and uneventful New Year. After all of the adventures we have been having it is good to be boring for a bit. We hope everyone is having a great 2008 so far.

Christmas Adventures

Here are some pictures from the past few days. We have had quite the adventuresome Christmas this year.

We currently have about 6 inches of snow and it is still snowing. We have had snow off and on since Christmas day. Our beautiful new baby decided to arrive at 8:30a.m. on the 26th.

Christmas saw us celebrating at Oma's house. Our oldest boy went home with family to spend the night at their house. We got home and got sort of organized with stuff. You know how sort of must be with six children's Christmas presents, left overs and snowsuits to put away. We were getting ready for bed that night when the power went out due to downed trees. We put the big girls and remaining son downstairs on the sleeper sofa because they had no night lights in their room. That Samboy did an awesome job of staying calm and helped his sisters too. We got power back around midnight.

The Ole Daddy Rabbit got up to go to work. He was informed that he needed to call our midwife and not go to work. We called the midwife once. We weren't going to go in quite yet. Then we found out we REALLY needed to go. We then lost power again. Our cell phone was down because it hadn't been plugged in. The Ole Daddy Rabbit raced to get Oma to stay with the other children. We called the midwife from the van because the car charger worked. It then took us two hours to make the trip. We passed some downed trees as well as a couple of cars that had slid off the side.

We made it there in one piece. Our midwife never lost power:) The power came back on at home. Timarie Joy arrived with one push. She has eclipsed her brother with the biggest baby status at 9lbs. 3oz. He still holds the record at 23" because she only measured 22".

Everyone is home and safe. We are snowbound right now. The Ole Daddy Rabbit built forts and had snow fights with all the kiddos (except the baby). You seem to have two choices when stuck together like this: You learn to love each other and work as a team or there is chaos. We seem to be choosing the former. All is good and we are thankful to God for that.

Blessed

Some days I get reminded that God is taking care of us even in the little things. Today we were at the store. The store manager walked up to us and handed us a 25 dollar gift certificate for groceries from someone. It was signed Santa Claus, but the children and I all know it was from God:) It was hard not to cry at that simple act of kindness towards us. We have so much to be grateful for. We have always been warm, clothed and fed. We even get some wants as well as needs met. I am always amazed when God shows us that He is real and He does indeed take care of His people.

Late Soccer Pix

This is our soccer team this year. Can you pick our beautiful princess out of the bunch? I will give you a hint: She's the only girl.

Our oldest daughter played soccer this year. This is the whole team (we did have one other girl that showed up sometimes). Even though we had a small team they were undefeated the whole season. They played hard and practiced good sportsmanship. We were very proud of the whole team. Our girl played hard enough to keep up with the boys. She also did so in her modest capri pants and her pink shin guards:) It was worth all the travel time, coaching and other inconveniences. We worked together as a family. I got a certificate for coaching. Our princess got a trophy. We all got cake and goodies. Not a bad deal.

Steamy Gossip

The Ole Daddy Rabbit has a new job! He is still going to be working at the mill, but he has a new position. It is called Fuel Tending. It is working with the Steam Boiler that fuels the kilns. He is going to be challenged with learning new things. He will also get a chance at furthering his schooling. It is a great opportunity for him. We are so proud of him.

The schedule will take some getting used to as well as the extra time he might need for school. I know some people might be surprised, but I am such a rut person. I get things in a system and I have a hard time getting out. This is a good opportunity for me to learn to be more flexible (yet again). That seems to be the big lesson in my life: flexibility. I need to rely on the Lord so much more when life is not static. Life, in general, tends to throw us curves. Since I have six, almost seven, children and live in the backwoods you can imagine how curvy my life can be. Also if you consider that we engage in many atypical activities like homeschooling and homebirthing, we are in for quite the ride. We might as well break out the refreshments and revel in it.

MR. HEATH,
We are soooo very proud of you. You are awesome. Good-on-ya!

Irony

n. a combination of circumstances or a result that is opposite of what might be expected or considered appropriate.

Not too long ago I won some books, wonderful books. The books titles are all something like "Clutter's Last Stand" and "Make Your House Do the Work." I have six children, a medium size house and not a whole lotta storage room. I am constantly recycling to the thrift store, making the children PUT THINGS WHERE THEY BELONG, and assigning various chores to be done. The irony is that these wonderful books are sitting in a pile of to-be-put-away-when-I-find-a-space. They also seem to be wandering since the boys think the cartoons in the book are hysterical.

In my defense, I do have all of my Christmas things finished, delivered or in the mail. I have made cookies with the children. We made goodies to deliver to neighbors. We have read together, played games together etc. I am also due tomorrow with our seventh baby. I am trying not to feel badly that it is 10:00a.m. and I am still in my jammies. I think it is better to observe the irony and laugh rather than compare myself to my perception of other "perfect" homeschool moms. I might have to include some of this stuff in our next poll:)

I Finally Can Do Videos!

My friend, the awesome and wonderful Bucca, has shown me how to post a video to my blog. This one is incredible. I cried the first time I saw it. The message is great!

Well, I got that to work!

I actually got the poll thing to work. I am very exctited. Of course, this blogspot stuff does make things a little easier then some of the other ones I have seen. I am going to see what else I can do with the site. You know, in all my spare time:)

I really don't wanna...

I think most of us don't want to suffer. I will admit that I don't want to sign up for that one. I am getting closer to our due date and it causes me to think of pain and suffering. We receive the Desiring God e-mail. Today's was about suffering. It is the second time I have seen an article about the same passage recently. I don't know what God is saying. I do know that looking back over my life that all the suffering that I have seen (in a limited scope compared to others) has drawn me closer to the Lord.

I know, just like in childbirth, that suffering is no fun while it endures. I also know that when I hold that precious child in my arms that they are worth it. So it makes me wonder why the idea of suffering makes me fear so much. I know that Jesus will hold me in His arms and it will be worth it. See what happens when I am nine months pregnant? I remember my dreams and I get very deep.

Well, those are my deep thoughts for today. Maybe I should see about embedding a poll on my sidebar. I could see what we should name our new baby. I know some one rooting for Tebecca. Weird!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

I am so excited about my Christmas craft projects. I downloaded a free e-book awhile ago. The home made gift ideas all started out with supplies I have laying around my house. We are trying to live within a budget and get ready for Christmas. I made seven presents last night that used left over socks and mittens, ribbon, wood and some paint. I was quite pleased with the results. Unfortunately, I am not able to post pictures or brag too much because some recipients of said gifts are my only avid readers. More importantly my huband was impressed with the results. I think he was doubtful of the end product when looking at my raw materials.

I have pretty much all my Christmas stuff done. I am trying to be cheerful and thankful. I have a great husband. I have Christmas things done. I have indoor plumbing. If anyone thinks the last one is strange talk to our pastor that just spent two weeks in Botswana. I have only 2 weeks left until our due date and I am extremely uncomfortable. I am trying to not grumble and complain. Unfortunately, on this issue as well, I am uncomfortable enough to not try very hard. That is one reason I haven't blogged as much recently. I am usually tired and crabby. So I am either resting or not in the mood to post anything witty. I hope one day soon that we will be posting about our beautiful baby soon. I know I will be feeling better then. That and my family won't laugh at me while I try to tie my shoes!

We will see...

I am still having trouble loading pictures from our camera to anything useful for me. The Ole Daddy Rabbit has gotten it to work. I need to sit down with him and have him show me some things.

This is our little bug baby. She to a glow worm for Christmas last year. It became her lovey toy. It even made it into our friends' wedding pictures! Over the garage sale months we picked up another one. We some how ended up with three. Then we lost one shopping. Now we have two again. She calls them "buggies." She sleeps with both of them. I actually got a good picture of all of them to upload on the web:)

We are getting ready for Christmas. We are going to make our craft projects this Sat. Then we should be about ready for Christmas. That is a good thing because some day soon we SHOULD have a baby. They never check with your schedule though. I remember being sooooo excited with our first born. I had everything washed and stacked and all three weeks before his due date. When that came and went I had to rewash everything and put it back away. Still we need to be prepared.

We now have new glass in our woodstove. I broke it yesterday. We have snow so number two son and I raced to town to get it replaced. We are so thankful for the good weather and Oma's wonderful babysitting.

And I saw her face...

There are so many wonderful things that come with technology. One is the beauty of ultrasound. Our wonderful midwife, Laura, has an ultrasound machine at her office. We get to take a peak at the amazing work going on in my womb every month or so. With five weeks left until our due date there is quite a bit of clarity. We got to see our precious one's little face yesterday. It makes the backaches and the physical discomforts so worth it. After our appointment last night the Ole Daddy Rabbit and I got to go out to eat all by our lonesomes! The beauty of having an easily-bribable babysitter nearby! The Country Cousin has an all-you-can-eat buffet of ribs, fried chicken and the trimmings. Unfortunately, all I can eat is one serving, but it is good stuff.

Another wonderful blessing is having children getting big enough to really be helpful. The older ones rotate duties concerning the dining room. All the children have regular chores to do. I am starting to drag with the last month of pregnancy. This morning my boys started a fire and got the house warm. The oldest daughter made hot chocolate for everyone. I eventually got up to a warm house and minimal breakfast duty. It was such a blessing. It is also a big blessing to have a peaceful, joyous home. It has not always been thus. I have learned that happily ever after is a myth. With diligent commitment, prayer and the Lord's Grace peace that passes all understanding is attainable. I will take that any day over living in Neverland (because Neverland is always a promise of tomorrow and tomorrow never gets here).

I don't know why I live in Afghanistan.

I have confessed before that I am not very computer literate. My family and friends think I have many talents, but would probably agree with me about my computer ability. Here is yet another example of why I am not on Bill Gates' payroll. My good friend, Bucca, asked why our profile lists us as living in Afghanistan. I don't know. I am going to try to change that. Nothing against that country. I have never even visited there so it would be incorrect to claim to be residing there.

We live in the good ole U.S. of A. We have so many blessings here, yet often times I think those things blind us to reality. We have some basic needs right now as an expanding family that I am praying diligently about. I feel so humbled though when I find out about one third world country's church that we support. They have so little yet they are endevoring to finance so much for the gospel. It brings up all kinds of questions about my selfishness and other character flaws that go deeper than how well I can use a computer. John Piper makes the point about riches not being evil. It is just that God might be blessing you financially in order for you to give more rather than for you to have more stuff. Mr. Letournou, that made big equipment, got to the point that he was giving away 95% of his income. Wouldn't that be awesome? I know that it started out that he was faithful in the little. Well, food for thought. Maybe a little do deep for the morning, but it will give me something to think and pray about on our walk that I hope to get in this morning. It is just a question of how far can I waddle?

Is my glass half-full or half-empty?

I think that so many times it is a matter of how you look at your life. There are a few things that hinder us from gratefullness. We forget what God has done for us in the past, we don't look to Him for the future and give in to fear and doubt, and we don't have an understanding of what blessing truly is. Our pastor has been preaching out of Micah, Jude and 3rd John about trusting God now (He is the God of the living). He is really right on. We need to practice the things I mentioned in order to trust God today.

What has that got to do with the Vision Forum contest that Kim from Life in a Shoe is offering? Well, I will tell you:

Now I know that my next statement will appall and/or incense some of our family members, but I am going to forge ahead anyway. My husband and I are a part of the first generation in either of our families to have a godly home. We are not alone in this generation. My husband's sister and brother-in-law are also with us in the striving to have a godly home and raise up godly children, for example. We also have been blessed with family members that are christian now and are a tremendous encouragement to us.

The problem with not having come from generations of godly forefathers is that we don't have experience to draw upon. The blessing of not having godly forefathers is not having experience to draw upon. I know you think I am repeating myself. No, that is the point. I do like Doug Phillips' desert island idea. It is basically the idea that if you were trapped on a desert island with only the Bible, what kind of society or home would you make? If we come from a godly heritage our tendency is to just do things because that is how it was done in our family. Now there are many good things that are perpetuated because of a godly heritage. If, however, your children ask why you do something a particular way and your answer is because my dad did it that way, you have missed the mark. We should have a Biblical reason for what we are doing or maybe it really isn't valid.

Now not coming from a godly heritage, it is my propensity to think that God blessed those with a godly heritage more than me. That is nonsense and a lie from the pit o' hell. This is my glass is half-full/empty tie in. We have the opportunity to start from scratch with the Bible as our foundation for our home. We also have the blessing of folks, like VF, that share their wisdom. We also have the opportunity to speak the gospel into other folks' lives that might not darken a church's doorstep. My husband has had many people tell him how the church might cave-in on them if they crossed the threshold. He can honestly say that it hasn't done so on him so they have nothing to fear. My husband attracts those kind of brawlers.

We live in a tough area. There are lots of tough people here. Most folk here think dressed up is a clean pair of Carharts. I think maybe, just maybe God has made us for just such a time and place as this. We could also use these wonderful resources from Vision Forum...

So here is our list:
Jonathan Park (all five CD series)

2 boys Jonathan Park baseball hats

The Elsie Dinsmore Audio Collection

The Centrality of the Home in Evangelism and Discipleship CD
by Voddie Bauchum

Teach Them to your Children by Sarah Wean

Destination Moon by James Irwin

How to Avoid the Destructiveness of a Wrong Self-Image
by S.M. Davis

And last, but not least:
Passionate Housewives by Jennie Chancey and Stacey McDonald

How was that for a lengthy blog with heavy thoughts and a plug for Christmas stuff for us-ins?

Survival.

We survived! "What?" you may well ask. My mom and I took all six kids grocery shopping to Costco. and Walmart yesterday. Now I am on a budgeting kick. I figured that it would be pointless to try to spend less and then take 6 children plus myself out for fast food. So we packed a picnic lunch. We took off early in the morning to make it to Costco. My mom has one of those nifty handicapped placards so we got a front row handicapped spot (my mom says crip card and crip spot, but only those bearing the card may use such lingo). What a blessing. My mom took the older children and checked out Christmas decorations and snack options down the aisles. I took the two youngest in the shopping cart and the third one was (gasp, are you ready for this?) on the harness. Then we shopped. I had already made out menus for the month and made concise lists. I stuck to my list and I cut my bill by over half of what I had been spending at Costco. in recent months. I was so pleased.

We made it to a really nice park where we ate our picnic lunch and the children played. I changed all the small fry into the last diapers I had on hand (this is an important detail). We loaded up to get going to the Health Food Store and Walmart. This was the time that all the girls needed to empty their bowels. The oldest is a potty user, but the rest are still challenged in that area. I did the best I could for them, made it to Walmart and bought diapers. My mom sat in the van with the stinkers (is she a saint or what?). I then changed all bottoms and we shopped Walmart.

I again stuck to my list and we made it out with plenty of groceries and within budget. I counted at least 5 older ladies that complimented on the harness. They said that they did that to their children and got a lot of flack for it. I just figure that my children are too precious to risk them wandering off in the middle of a store out in the "big city." I know there are quite a few people that think it is a training/discipline issue. All I can say is: You go ahead and shop in Walmart with 6 children 10 and under with no harness. You may not yell at them, lose your temper or lose any of them. If you think you can do it, I would ride a really good pizza dinner on that one.

We then found a place for all the children (legally restrained), the groceries and ourselves in my 8 passenger Astro. I think we deserved a Starbucks treat. My mom and I each got a Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Frappacino. Yum, yum. The children all got a juice and chocolate cookies (the juice was purchased at Walmart and the cookies came from Oma's house:)

We even made it home in one piece. We survived and saved money and learned patience. I guess it is a good thing that we are working on memorizing scripture passages that have to do with endurance and perserverance:)

Our new family vehicle.

The Ole Daddy Rabbit was browsing the internet for new vehicles for our growing family. Come December we won't be able to squish everyone in our 8 passenger van so we are going to have to upgrade. He found this neat 4x4, diesel, expanded cab truck on e-bay. The asking price was what we paid for our house. Do you think we should go for it?

Double-digit Birthday Boy.

Our BusyBeeBoy has finally seen double digits! Our boy chose Grandma's Special Chicken, French Fries, Coleslaw and Homegrown Corn on the Cob for his birthday dinner. He received a machete, military helmet and a new camouflage jacket from the family. Oma made him an astronaut outfit. Pretty cool!

He wanted to go shooting for his special treat. The "Golden Adonis", a.k.a. Mr. Steve, is a friend of ours that has his own clay launcher. He graciously brought it out to another friend's property and the we got to shoot clays. Our birthday boy shot quite a few clays with my 410 shotgun. Everyone was really impressed. I don't know how many he shot, but it was definately more than his mama's two:) We all had fun. We are so blessed to have this boy in our lives. May God make his next ten years wonderful.

Yeehaw!

The Ole Daddy Rabbit got us up and running so here are the Fireball's birthday pix!

She wanted "chips" for her third birthday dinner. So we went with nachos. They're chips, right? She got some "clipper-clopper" shoes, which is her name for those plastic dress-up shoes. She also got a toy cell-phone with its own purse. She got a special stuffed bunny with a handmade backpack from Oma. She was thrilled with her gifts. She enjoyed the cake and ice cream, but she was more interested in her toys.

This princess was one of the most easy, memorable births. When we got to our midwife's about 1:00a.m. She was ready to come out. She was born twenty minutes later. Her labor and delivery was relatively easy. She was the only one of my babies that I remember crying for any sustained amount of time. I was kind of worried when she cried so much. I wondered what we had gotten ourselves into. She is quite a whirlwind, but so full of life that we wouldn't trade her for anything in the world. She is a most precious gift.

The Curse of Technology.

I love some of the things technology provides. Answering machines and microwaves and some items that make life easier. I enjoy the contact I have with friends far and wide on the internet. I am stymied, however, by the fact that I am technically challenged. I have run into some trouble with loading pictures from our digital camera to our computer. I need to see if our neighbor and friend has time this weekend to show me how to get around the problem. She said she was willing. So until then our Fireball's birthday pictures are sitting irretrievably on my technological torturer. We dearly love her and she is very special, but she is going to have to wait for her birthday post.

The Ole Daddy Rabbit's Blog

Okay, I think I can insert this link to The Ole Daddy Rabbit's Blog. Well, here goes...

Boys, bugs and things.

I have been reading Where the Red Fern Grows to the boys. We are almost on the last chapter. They also like to listen to stories as they go to sleep. It is hard to find books that have heros boys can look up to or identify with. It is also hard to find books I would WANT them to identify with the main character:) So I looked up our local library for some new reading/listening material. I am so glad that I looked up the classics for all ages first. There was some really good stuff to choose from. Authors like Robert Louis Stevenson and Mark Twain. I requested quite of few books and audio books. I then looked up the top children's book list from 2005. Yeesh, nothing looked remotely decent. I didn't even want to waste my time "previewing" such stuff. Well, C.S. Lewis held that if we are to be well read that 2 out of 3 books we read should be from a different century than ours. That makes it easy because Lewis wrote some great things and he wrote in the last century:) I find that I enjoy the classics myself. Some authors are just too morose for me. I know they are very good writers and my children will have to read some of their works in high school (ugh, which means I will have to read them again). They might actually like them.

Today is the Fireball's birthday. I will take pictures tonight and post pictures tomorrow or Monday about her. We have some fun things planned for her so we need to go get on them.

Colds and patience.

I sure seem to have an abundance of one and not the other! I used to think I was a patient person and then I had chldren. I read some where that each child we have helps us be conformed to the image of Christ. When I have a cold I find that I am more short tempered than usual. I need to be praying. I don't want my children to grow up and remember how grumpy mom was. I hope they grow up remembering they were allowed to shoot BB guns and dig holes and get dirty. I want them to remember listening to the Bible with their daddy. It helps me to gain perspective when I think about the fact that one day they will all be grown and gone. I will have clean cabinets (that are shut) and no ring of dirt in the tub. I might be able to harvest fruit from the vine because it wasn't picked before its time. I won't be peppered with requests to help find the nasty bug that got loose in the house or have to wonder what Fireball is doing. I am sure I will look at my small pile of put away laundry and call the kids to beg them to bring the grandkids over.

The Ole Daddy Rabbit has started his own blog. I am not too sure how to link to it. I know I can get there from here, but I don't know about the rest of our vast reading audience. It is pretty neat though. He is especially smarmy about his wife. When we were first courting (or whatever you want to call it) he was memorizing the Gospel of John. We would drive in his truck and he would quote all he had memorized. He is now working on it again. It sure takes me back to those days. Of course, we have windows in the van and quite a few more kids. I think we need to remember those times as couples. It is so easy to dwell on the negative and we can get stuck there. The Bible says to think on things beautiful, lovely and noble. I need to do that with my children and also with my husband. The more I think about the good things the more handsome he looks and the more I believe in him for good things for the future. Most of all I need to trust the Lord. I can do nothing, my husband can do nothing etc., etc., etc. without the Lord. We only have good intentions. My friend and I have gone through the Excellent Wife book. Martha Peace suggests a list of good things to do for our husbands. The top of the list is pray for him. I think that is an elementary one, but I know I don't do it enough. He has such a hard job-not the one at the mill. He is to lead his family, love his wife and train his children. That is a heavy responsibility. I need to uphold him in prayer first and foremost. The others on the list are important. I know some which would really energize him:) I am challenged anew to pray for my family and do some nice things for them despite my cold and crabbiness.

I wash them in hot, but they don't shrink!

Whenever I clear out the laundry from the dryer the smallest fry climbs in. Here I have a couple of cuties in there. They look like they are just emerging from a lunar module or something.

I wish washing them in "hot" would keep them from growing up too soon. Alas time flies by so quickly. Carmon is right. She has been posting about making memories with your children. They sure don't stay little long.

I am made thoughtful by friends that just had their son get married and leave their house. He is a great young man. I want to be like them when it comes to our children leaving the nest. They are very excited for him and his wife. They feel a big hole in their home that only he could fill. It is bittersweet. So many people can't wait for their children to get out so they can live life. Why aren't we living life with our children? How else will they learn to live it? If we are doing so many things that are not child-friendly, why are we doing them? I don't think our whole world should revolve around our children. R.C. Sproul Jr. points out that the Bible does teach "date night." (That was a joke:) It brings up questions though. Why did we have children if we don't want them around? Seriously, little dogs can be loving and demanding. You can also put them in a kennel and go on a trip. You can leave them home all day and they are still happy to see you. I guess that is why so many in our culture are leaning towards dogs instead of children. I know the number of children I have is demanding. I am pushed to my limits most times. It forces me to be less selfish and more prayerful. I would miss so much if I didn't have them. Oh how worthwhile they are. Granted dogs will not grow up and be in a twelve stelp program blaming their parents for everything wrong in their lives. They also will not grow up to be part of a treasured legacy.

Draggin'

AAAAAAAA! We have gotten hit by colds. Yuck. I have been trying to think of something fun and/or amusing to post about. I am stuck. My brain has frozen and I need to spend all my brain power on getting life going here. I am soooooooo thankful that the Mister washed dishes last night and I made banana bread last night for breakfast this morning. The former makes me feel so taken care of and treasured. The latter makes me feel frugal and that I have foresight (probably neither of which are completely true:)

I just don't belong.

Have you ever sat in a crowd of people and known that you were peculiar? That happened to me last night when I took our oldest daughter to soccer practice. The parents sitting around got off into the troubles their children and children of their acquintance are having in public schools. I did add some comments when I just couldn't take any more. The comments had to do with the "process" of math as compared to getting the right answers. I finally piped up that I wanted my car mechanic to get the right answer to the problem and I really didn't care about the process he uses to get there. My car mechanic was in the crowd and seemed to get a big kick out of that. Now we have our reasons for homeschooling and some people might agree or be agin them. That is all fine. This whole conversation bothered me extremely because the teacher in the group made the point that since they switched to the new math they didn't have any discipline problems anymore. As a disclaimer, I am all for switching curriculum if it doesn't work for students. We have done that three times now with spelling. The underlying thing seemed to be that answers don't matter as long as we are all happy on the way. What if we applied that to our medical professionals, car mechanics or law enforcement? What if the dr. couldn't diagnose your cancer or do anything about it, but you both enjoyed the process and felt good about it? What if your car mechanic fixed the wrong part of your car and you and your family were in a horrible accident because of it? What if the police came and arrested you because they thought you were a horrible criminal, but if they had made the right connections it would have been your neighbor? I mean seriously, we don't apply this logic to real events. Why do we apply it to classroom logic. We have a whole generation of children we are just raising to be another brick in the wall. Days like that and I am so aware that we are not bricks in that wall. We are strange and peculiar. That is okay because we are being built into the temple in which God will dwell.

Well, I tried.

I did try to upload a video on our blog. I don't know what I did wrong, but it didn't work. It is a really cute clip of the Ole Daddy Rabbit rockin' out with one of his little groupy babes:) I wanted to post it for his birthday entry. Oh well. Maybe I'll get it figured out one of these days.

Anyway...

The Ole Daddy Rabbit celebrated his birthday on the 11th again this year. The family got him the Ligonier Regional Conference. He and his brother-in-law are there right now. He called me last night from the book store. I could hear the saliva hitting the phone as he drooled over the clearance rack. They even had John Piper stuff there! I know the menfolk will have to return home when they finally close the doors:) I am sure they will be energized by the great teaching and the wonderful stuff they bring home. I know both families will benefit. What a blessing that my sil and I have men that get more excited than little boys with their first set of army men about John Piper and R.C. Sproul. I don't think they will ever recover. I can live with that:)

We also got to see a wonderful wedding this past Sunday. Two of the young people in our church committed to becoming one flesh during our church service. One of the most beautiful things was their first kiss. That was sweet, but I think even more beautiful was when Ole Daddy Rabbit turned to me and said, "Our kids could have that too." That was so wonderful to me. What a thought! We have been through so much, but God willing, our children can be the benefactors of us struggling through sanctification. I do pray that one day we can witness our beloved children savoring their first kiss like we witnessed this couples'. We also had a lot of fun. It was potluck. Lots of good food-I was stuffed when I got home. The Ole Daddy Rabbit was pretty funny. He is quite witty. He made me laugh a lot that day. They even played a worship song that we played in our wedding. Ah nostalgia!

We also have dear friends hit with a tragic providence. Those of you that know-lift them up in prayer. I don't know what is harder; enduring personal tragedy or watching a beloved endure it.

This past week or so has brought much to celebrate, congratulate, and mourn for. All of it to be brought before the Sovereign Lord of the Universe's throne in prayer. The longer I live the more I find that life is so bittersweet. I also see how much I depend on the Lord for everything. I heard of one believer accused that he just used God as a crutch. He replied that God was not his crutch, but his wheelchair and oxygen tank. How true!

Happy Birthday!

Back to School

It is that time of year again. The time when the school bus rumbles down the street.
Every morning at 7:30a.m. or so I remember how thankful I am that I don't have to have my kids dressed and ready to get on that bus. There are so many reasons that I am thankful to homeschool. Most of them are not so shallow. We did officially start the book education part of homeschooling this Monday. In the wider scheme of things we never quite homeschooling. We also don't have an age that we "begin" with either. We have six children and we homeschool them all. From the moment they are born they are learning from us. The challenge is for us, their parents, to be learning from God the lessons He has for us. The biggest thing we can teach our children is a relationship with Jesus. One day our children will graduate from "school" just as we did. Hopefully, they will learn that there is always further and deeper to go with the Lord. That lesson begins at birth and extends on into eternity. So Happy Homeschooling to all of us that are on that path.

Our First Princess

On September 4, 2001 we were blessed with our first girl. We try to make each child special and do something personal for their day. Our Butterfly Princess and I went shopping and out to lunch. She picked where we ate. She got to pick out a comforter for her bed in her new room. We made a pit stop on our way out at our midwife's house. She has the cleanest bathroom in the county, I think:) Our midwife, Laura, gave the birthday girl ten dollars. She also let her make a necklace and bracelet. Butterfly Princess picked out a new Barbie (we do the "princess" Barbies, but the short-skirted, red-light district ones are out). She wants to take it to our appointment tonight to show Laura what she purchased with the money.

Last night our birthday girl picked chicken, potatoes, corn and carrots for dinner. Each child gets to pick the menu (within reason) for dinner on their birthdays. Our girl got an air-soft pistol. She also got a beautiful wedding dress from Oma. The top photo she is sporting both. The Ole Daddy Rabbit had to remind her that she doesn't get married unless he says so:) The poor man has four daughters (so far). I don't know how he will survive their courtships and weddings. I bet Steve Martin won't have anything on him.

What a special day. What a special girl.

The Sunrise Princess

Four years ago on the second of September we had a baby daughter born just as the rose. She looked like a china doll. She has added to our lives so much. For her birthday she got to pick a movie(The Twelve Dancing Princesses) from the video store. She picked hot dogs and fruit salad for her special birthday dinner. She wanted cheesecake instead of regular cupcakes. She got a new quilt and heart-shaped pillow from Oma. The family got her a little view master with Charlotte's web and some princessy one slides. She also got a bunch of girly-colored play-do. She was ecstatic. We managed to video tape a good deal.

So Happy Birthday Precious Girl.

The New Kiddo Picture

Heath Kids

Thank Heaven for Little Girls

It is finally finished! Okay, there is a little bit more to do like add some trim and such. The girls' room is finally finished though. It is done enough for the potty trained ones to go up there. We are hoping that it will also act as a carrot for the one that is dilly-dallying about the potty training thing. The room is all pinks and purples and whites. Sigh. We are thankful because most of the room furniture was free or picked up at a yard sale. It is definately "princessy" and the girls are so pleased.

The Absolutely Cool Zip Line.

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And they are off! The Ole Daddy Rabbit put up the zip line a little bit ago. Here are some of the first slides down that thing. It is quite popular. Even adults up to 250lbs. can ride on this thing. It gets low at the bottom so you have to pull your feet up at the end:) Everyone tried it except the pregnant mama. I just looked on with envy. I will go down it in a couple of months.

Recovering...

We have been hither and thither and now we are home again (jiggety, jig).

The best news is that 6 weeks today the Ole Daddy Rabbit kicked the chew habit. So very awesome. He does seem to be eating a bit more recently. I wonder if the two things are related. HMMMMMMM? He is still more handsome than on the day I married him and he was pretty fine that day!

We were blessed with being able to attend a Love and Respect conference the last weekend in July. We received great teaching (good enough that the Ole Daddy Rabbit bought the series to share with our church too). We got to know new friends. We also got to make friends out of computer acquintances. The Engstroms put on the conference and made us very welcome. We knew they had to be great people because they like John Piper:) Unfortunately the head of their house was called away to work so we didn't get the pleasure of his company. Our kids played with their kids and had a wonderful time. We came home feeling very blessed by the Lord.


We turned around and went camping at the beach. The kids had a blast. I am finally able to clean the lint trap on my dryer without sand flying everywhere. I am beginning to think that I am not a camping person. I think I am with my mom and roughing it is slow room service. I think I will send the kids and such, but I think I am going to stay home close to indoor plumbing. We also got to implement some our Love and Respect stuff. Always good to practice.

We had a great anniversary. Twelve years on the twelfth. He got me a wedding ring that fits (six and a half kids later the old one was pretty tight). He also took me out to Applebee's. I wrote him a letter that I read to him in church. It was great-we were both embarrassed:) He got an air compressor from me. We then got a new computer for us. Wow! We are not usually big time spenders and shoppers like that. I feel so overwhelmed with new stuff. Oh and I bought some new curtains for the dining room. With the center piece decorations that I made and the beautiful, hand-quilted wall hanging my mom made our dining room looks pretty cheerful and classy (at least I think so).

Next week we need to start looking at school stuff so I am familiar with the new material. We also need to start getting on a good schedule. We seem to do so much better with a schedule.

There I think I am caught up.