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.