Christmas

I'm having a bit of a dilemna regarding Christmas right now. When we were down in Texas, we opened presents and basically celebrated Christmas with my family. So that leaves me a little unsure of what exactly to do on the actual day. Nathan is still excited because we have stockings, but he doesn't know that, well, I really don't have anything to go in them! Usually we have some little things, and some candy, but this year all we bought were little flashlights from Walmart. And I don't have any special candy for them either, so anything food-related is going to be the same things they have been snacking on as we drove across the US! I am disappointed that almost no churches around here are having services actually on Christmas morning. There is a little church not too far away that celebrates Mass in Latin, and we have talked about visiting there, so we are going to try to find out if it has a service on Christmas morning. Maybe we will go there. If not, I think I will at least make a special breakfast dish, although there are not many of those that don't have a lot of cheese in them, making them not edible for Caleb! I am also at a loss as to what to do for Christmas dinner. We might possibly have 2 of Bob's sisters and their families come for a few nights next week, so I was thinking that I would make a ham and have a traditional dinner while they are here. For one thing, my ham is not defrosted, so I couldn't make it Sunday even if I wanted to! But what do I make to make it seem special? I can't decide! I am planning on baking a cake tomorrow so that we can do our traditional celebration of Jesus' birthday. We'll read the Christmas story while we put up the figures on our flannel background, and we'll probably sing some Christmas carols or something. Then we'll sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and eat his birthday cake. Still, it doesn't seem that special of a day, and I can't think of anything else to do. It doesn't help that we are all just so tired from the drive, so no creative juices are flowing!

Update: maybe we won't be doing much at all, even tomorrow, when we were planning on going to a living Nativity at a local church. Nathan has just thrown up for the second time. The first time, we all just assumed he had eaten something this morning at Sams' (we had tons of free samples!) that hadn't agreed with him. The second time, however, makes me think it is a bug, possible the one that was going around our homeschool co-op before we left. Apparently there were kids vomiting all over the place, and many families were affected, even the L's. Weird that it would start for us so much later, and after a few weeks of no exposure to any other kids. I guess no matter what, this will indeed be a Christmas to remember.

Tire Excitement

I mentioned that Dan and Melinda seemed to have been cursed with tire problems, and it looks like they rubbed it off on us! As we were driving through Arkansas on Wednesday (we seem to have problems mainly in Arkansas, lol), I pulled off at a rest stop to go to the bathroom. I was changing Joanthan's diaper in the van when a lady and her husband came up and told me that our back right tire was very, very low. I told Bob when he came back out, and they were quite right. Fortunately, they had one of those little guys in their car that blows up tires, so they tried to reinflate the tire. It got a little bigger, but it was obvious we had a pretty big hole, which Bob found by running his hand over the tire. We were able to make it to the next exit, where we found a can of Fix-A-Flat in our back. That enabled us to limp onto 40 more miles to a WalMart that had a tire center. When we got there, the mechanics took the tire off to patch it and found a huge goose-egg bulging out on the inner sidewall. They told us it could have blown at any time, but we would never have been warned about it if we hadn't had the leak, since we would never have seen anything suspicious. Wow! The Lord was really watching over us, and we're so thankful that he answered our prayers for safety that morning before we left. So we got a new tire, and while they were putting it on, we bought a package of turkey, some cheese, a loaf of bread, some chips, and a half-gallon of orange juice (it was a Super-Walmart, obviously!), and we had a little picnic back at the tire waiting area. What an exciting dinner stop!

We're home!!!

Here is the trip summary--3700 miles driven in 10 days, one new tire, countless M&Ms, cookies, crackers, raisins, etc. consumed, and 6 all-too-short days spent with family!

We had such a great trip. We left Tuesday, Dec. 13 and drove to Nashville. The next day we drove on to the Dallas-area, to Dan and Melinda's house. We did run into a huge traffic jam on the west side of Memphis, so we took a sudden 30-mile detour to try to get around it. That led us through many poverty-stricken little Arkansas towns such as Earle, which looked as though every building in it should be condemned. Wow, you don't see those things from the interstate. A sobering perspective.

Thursday Dan worked half a day, and then we started down to Corpus Christi in a caravan. We again ran into a traffic jam in the middle of Dallas, and we rerouted ourselves for another detour when Dan's tire blew out. Not to worry! We all pulled off between the highway and an exit ramp, and Bob and Dan changed the tire like a pair of pit stop mechanics. The detour led us through Grand Prairie, which reminded us somewhat of an urban "Earle". We also ran into lots of traffic in Austin, leading us to conclude that we are magnets for traffic tie-ups, while Dan and Melinda are magnets for flat tires, since that was their 4th in a year. We had a lot of fun caravaning with them. Melinda rode in the minivan some, giving her practice in being the "stewardress of the van", the person responsible for picking up dropped toys, getting new books for people, choosing new music, distributing snacks, etc. It's a full time job! We ate dinner at Cracker Barrel and got into Corpus pretty late.

Friday was the day of the big ceremony! It was freezing cold and rainy, but we (the boys especially) had a great time sitting in James' airplane. The ceremony was at 3:00 in the afternoon. I was concerned, since that is naptime, but the boys did okay. Jonathan and Caleb were very wiggly, but there were a lot of other kids there who were crying, etc., so it was fine. James looked so handsome and distinguished in his uniform with his wings pinned on! We were so very proud! We all went out to Olive Garden to celebrate. THere were 18 of us there, so it was quite the party!

Saturday we went to the Texas State Aquarium, which was very nice. We were thrilled to find out it is a reciprocating member of the American Zoological Association, so we were able to get half off admission with our membership card from Boonshoft. My personal favorites were the jelly fish display, and also the seahorses. They are just so cute, and you probably know that female seahorses only carry the eggs to the father--he fertilizes them, carries them until they are ready to be born, then he pushes them out by contracting his body. Very attractive species, especially to a pregnant woman!

In the afternoon, we all went back to our hotel and watched football in our room. We got an amazing room--it was literally the size of two rooms, and we had 2 king size beds, plus a pull-put couch, 2 easy chairs, and 2 poofy chairs that went around a little table. There was a ton of empty space in the middle for the boys to play in as well, and it was obviously the best place for everyone to gather and socialize! We ordered pizza and had a regular party there! We were really thankful for the perfect room that the Lord provided!

Sunday we drove back to Dallas with Dan and Melinda. As we were heading out of Corpus, we stopped to get gas, and I realized that I had left a folder with driving instructions and more importantly, the extra pictures of the boys from WalMart that I had been handing out. Bob and Dan volunteered to go back and try to find them (which they did, praise the Lord), and Melinda rode with us again. Bob thought maybe I left them there on purpose so Melinda and I could have more time together, but I can assure you that I did not! I did really enjoy riding and talking with her though--it made the miles pass quite quickly! We met up with Mom and Dad at Cracker Barrel, and Bob and Dan caught up to us there too, and we all ate lunch. Then we did a little bit of shopping at the San Marcos Outlet Malls. The only flaw in our plan was that it was the last Sunday before Christmas, and they were PACKED!!!

Monday I did laundry, and in the afternoon Mom and I ventured to Lewisville to a homeschool resource store that I had heard about on the Well-Trained Mind board. It was fantastic, but I will devote another post to it. I had too much fun! That night we celebrated Christmas together and opened our presents. Tuesday we got packed up while the boys played with their new Bionicle toy and watched Lone Ranger videos. Wednesday morning we said sad goodbyes, drove to Nashville, and then got home yesterday at about 9:30. We're all so tired, but it was an absolutely wonderful trip. My family is so spread out that we all get together so rarely, and when we do, it is a very precious thing.

Just to mix it up a little

The boys were unloading the dishwasher this morning, and Luke was complaining about all the mixing bowls in there. Nathan rather condescendingly pointed out that it was because we had done lots of baking lately.

Luke: "Duh."

Nathan: "Luke, you don't always need to say, 'duh'."

Luke: "But I don't!"

Caleb: "Yeah, sometimes you should say, 'for Pete's sake'."

It finally happened today . . .

At church, a friend was introducing me to her mother. She said something about the one in my tummy being a girl, and the mom said, "She won't be there much longer, I'd reckon!" So now I have proof that my belly is huge, and I look like I could deliver any day, while in fact, I am only almost 25 weeks along and still have a good 3 1/2 MONTHS left! Sigh. Where is the chocolate? LOL--just kidding! See, that's the kicker--I haven't actually gained any more weight than I ever have at this point. I have gained a respectable 17 pounds, which is not super great, but it's certainly not obese either. I am right on track to gain my usual 35 pounds. But I look as big as I did when I went into labor with Nathan. I think this is just another example of how people aren't really used to seeing women with big families. You can be cutely pregnant with 2, even 3 pregnancies, if they are spaced far apart. Then you can wear those modern maternity fashions where your shirts hug and accent your poochy little belly. When you are carrying number 5 in 8 years, you outgrow those shirts at about 4 months, so what's the point of buying them?! Those stomach muscles are permanently damaged!

In other news, our garbage disposal broke this afternoon. I was grinding (is that the right verb?) some cereal that didn't get eaten before church when there was a tremendous clunking, big-broken-metal sound. At least I know it wasn't because I was putting some hard thing down there! That cereal was beyond soggy! The dispposal is not a huge priority before we leave, but hopefully Bob can replace it when we get back. At least it is something he knows how to do!

I am pleased to report that I am mowing my way through my to-do list before we leave for Texas on Tuesday. I mailed off a package to Bob's mom yesterday, I got all of our Christmas cards done and stamped, all our presents are wrapped, and I've started laundry and packing.

Also, for those we will be seeing in Texas, be prepared for Luke's hole-y grin. His second front tooth came out just a day or so later than the first, so he is definitely speaking with a bit of a whistle. Feel free to sing, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth", but don't expect that he hasn't heard it before! LOL!

Well, now we know why I had my blood clot . . .

. . . it's something beautiful people have troubles with! My brother was kind enough to send me this article link , which discusses Miss Indiana-USA. She noticed her arm was purple and swollen last week, and she was admitted to the hospital. The doctors found a blood clot, and they also did surgery to remove her first rib. Here is some more information on Paget-Schroetter syndrome, which is exactly what I had, although my doctor never called it that. He always just used the more generic "thoracic outlet syndrome", but Paget-Schroetter syndrome is evidently a specific manifestation of thoracic outlet syndrome. Interesting. My clot was in the subclavian vein, and my symptoms were just as are described in the second link. And I too felt "like an elephant kicked me in the chest" after my surgery. Wow, we have so much in common! The picture in the first article looks just like me too. . . LOL!

Christmas Letters

Yay! We finally got our Christmas letter done and copied! I guess we just weren't really inspired this year--I felt like pretty much everything we're doing now is what we were also doing last year. We are having another baby, but let's face it--it's not like that is exactly an unusual occurance based on past newsletters either! So our update is pretty brief, but at least it's done. Also, I didn't want to buy any more paper this year. Each year we buy a pack of 100 sheets, and we use about 70 or 75 of them. We faithfully save the rest, which really adds up after awhile! I decided that we should try to use up all these odds and ends this year, which required some different formatting for various "editions". We're using 3 different types of papers--one with snowflakes, one with a ribbon around it, and one with some greenery. So now you all can just wait and wonder which one you'll get! What excitement! I would love to get these out before we leave for Texas, so I think I will sign off and go fold some letters. And if you are someone we are planning on seeing in Texas, then you can just expect to get yours there! : )

I can't wait to start getting everyone's newsletters and Christmas cards. So far we've gotten a grand total of two! I have never understood those people who hate them. I love them! We have enough friends that I know we won't see anytime in the near future, some we probably won't see again until we meet in heaven, and I absolutely love to hear what they and their families are up to. We usually get such boring, non-personal mail, but December is a great month!

A Crazy Night with Friends

We usually have Bible study at the L's house Friday nights, but last night Ed has his work Christmas party, and we're between books, and it's almost Christmas, so the rest of us met over here for pizza and fellowship. Tim and Amy stopped by Costco and picked up three of their take-n-bake pizzas for all of us (3 families--6 adults and 10 kids). We cook the take-n-bake pizzas from Sams all the time , so we fired up our ovens and popped 2 of them in. About halfway through, we noticed smoke coming out of the top oven. We looked in and found that the crust was pretty "done", although the rest of the pizza wasn't. That's odd. We turned the oven way down and kept watching it. A few minutes later a blob of something actually caught on fire on the bottom of the oven, so we had to rescue the pizza quickly before it really burned! In all that excitement, we noticed smoke coming out of the bottom oven--what is up with smoking ovens?!! So that pizza had a burned bottom crust too. Good grief! Can I just say again that we NEVER have had problems cooking pizzas (or really anything else either) ever before?!!! The third pizza was just fine however (are we stuck in Goldilocks or something?!). Fortunately none of us are too picky, so we did a good job on all the pizzas, burned or not.

Then the kids went downstairs and the adults sat arounds and talked. Soon we could hear Caleb wailing downstairs. To my expert ear, it sounded like someone had taken something away from him, so I wasn't too worried. It turns out that he uses the same cry for both small and big things, however, and he and Luke had banged heads pretty hard. He just had a bump, but Luke had quite the swollen and bleeding upper lip. And that tooth that was loose is now VERY loose! Luke was crying too, but fortunately I had some medicinal chocolate Snickers cheesecake on hand, and that made a cool, soothing compress. : ) It was my first attempt at a cheesecake, because I don't really LIKE cheesecake, but this one was all chocolate with a chocolate crust and cut-up Snickers bars in the filling as well as on top, along with drizzled chocolate sauce. YUM! (My oven did NOT burn the cheesecake or even the chocolate crinkle cookies I made earlier that afternoon, I am pleased to report. So evidently the oven became possessed sometime after 4:00 Friday afternoon. LOL!) The cheesecake was a big hit with everyone, as were the cookies and also the buckeyes that Amy brought.

After dessert, the kids disappeared back downstairs again. Soon one of them came upstairs to tell us that the glass in our coffee table had broken because "they were trying to put it in right". Bob leaped downstairs to clean that all up. We never did get a satisfactory story for why the glass was OUT of the coffee table, but I will say that our kids did not appear to have anything to do with it, as they all had believeable alibis at the time of the incident! I never really cared for that coffee table--another thing that Bob got I think when he graduated from the Academy in 1987, and frankly once you have kids, a table with glass in it will NEVER look clean. But still, now we have to replace it, although it is pretty low on the priority list.

So the night was full of excitement, as well as good fellowship! I guess this is why I don't as a rule throw any formal parties! LOL!

UPDATE: Luke did indeed lose his first tooth last night (Saturday) while watching football. And the 2 right next to it are also pretty loose, so I expect it won't be too long before they are out too. It was quite a hit he took!

Jonathan--another one like me

First, as funny story about Jonathan from a few mornings ago while we were eating breakfast.

Jonathan: ROAR!!

Luke (in a kindly, big brother voice): Are you being a lion, Jonny?

Jonathan (still roaring): NO! I'M A BUTTERFLY!

LOL! Luke pointed out to him that butterflies don't roar, but he was unconvinced.

A few days ago I wrote that Luke was a lot like me. Well, it turns out that Jonathan also shares some of my personality traits. Specifically, he is very picky about some anal little things. For instance, he has particular ways that his shoes must go on, and they absolutely must not be "too tight". It never fails that when we are running late, all I hear is "Too tight! Too tight!" along with lots of fussing. So I have to make a big show of undoing the velcro strap and then redoing it so that the shoe will be acceptably loose. When I was a little girl, my particular bugaboo was "shoes that slide up and down on my heels". I have distinct memories of some mall in L.A. with a Buster Brown shoe store, and us walking around trying on shoes, but me always saying "No, not these--these slide up and down on my heels". So I guess what goes around, comes around, although ironically my shoes could never be tight enough.

Jonathan's other particular idiosyncresy is that his pant legs must always be down, NOT hitched up at all on his socks or by his knees. This normally doesn't present much of a problem, but recently we've been on a real "Lone Ranger" kick around here, and so he wants to wear his cowboy boots pretty much constantly. And when you wear sweat pants and cowboy boots, it's almost impossible to keep your cuffs down around your ankles! A good deal of my time seems to be spent carefully folding over his pants cuff, then carefully inserting them into the boot, taking care to keep them as far down as possible. It's quite a process, and it rarely works to his exact satisfaction. And you can tell that my argument of "You NEVER see the Lone Ranger fussing about his pants cuffs and boots" just isn't convincing enough. I wonder what Jonathan's kids will be like? LOL!

Doctor Update

I had my doctor appointment this morning, and it went pretty much as I expected! Everything looks fine with the baby, and I told her about my rash. She looked at it, said "Hmmm . . . " and then said there were lots of pregnancy-related rashes, but it was very unusual for them to start this early and to not be on my stomach. Exactly what my research said. So she didn't have anything new to suggest, and she wants me to go to a dermatologist. Which is easier said than done! I don't have authorization to go off-base for anything other than OB care, so I think I will have to call the Fairfax Clinic, which is my primary care provider, and then see if whoever I see will refer me to dermatology at either Ft. Belvoir or Bethesda. Then I will have to try to get an appointment there. If I'm extremely lucky, I may be able to get seen before the pregnancy is over! (You may think I am joking, but alas, I am quite serious!) So I am not counting on any relief or answers in the near future, other than miraculous relief from the Lord. I have found something that does numb the itching--it has as the main ingredient camphor, and it gives a nice icy/hot sensation. I use that before I go to bed, and that does help. Right now I am praying that the Lord will just take the rash away, and that He will enable me to deal with it until it is gone, whenever that may be. I guess this is fair play, since I have never struggled with morning sickness, heartburn, varicose veins, etc. that so many other people suffer from during pregnancy!

Art Show

Nathan and Luke have been taking an art class for the last 10 weeks. It's from 2:00 to 3:30, and the class had 9 little boys, and 1 girl. Wow, brave teacher! Actually the boys were all from our homeschool group, so they were well-behaved and interested in being there, and the class went really well. Nathan and Luke had a lot of fun. Today was their last class, and they had an art show at the end. Everyone picked out their favorite 2 pieces, the teacher matted them on colored paper and hung them up, and then individually they were supposed to talk about their pieces in front of the other kids and parents. Well, the teacher called on Luke first. I was a little apprehensive when I found out that the kids were going to have to talk in front of the group, and, as it turned out, my fears were well-founded! Luke bounded up to the front, looked out at his audience, and collapsed into a puddle of silent tears. Ahh, so much like his mother, poor boy. Mrs. Mellon handled it very well though. She asked him questions about his pictures and then related his answers to everyone without embarrassing him further, so he did stop crying by the end, although he never really did turn away from the wall. Nathan was a little shy in that he faced his pictures while talking, but at least he did tell about them without any prompting or tears. Obviously, speaking in front of a group has been something I have struggled with all my life, but look at me now! I can be in leadership positions on science fair committees, lead class reunions, be in book clubs and give plenty of opinions, teach at co-op, etc.! So I have managed to cope quite well and get better at it. But I vividly remember the sense of dread that hung over me for weeks as the day to give my "oral book report" loomed closer and closer. And I vividly remember turning bright red and barely being able to talk, yet knowing that my grade hinged on the stupid report. How humiliating! I am glad that Luke has the opportunity to work through these issues without grades hinging upon them, and without a whole class making fun. It just takes time and confidence, and those do not come just from constantly being forced to get in front of people. Some people were simply not made to give oral reports in the first grade! (Or second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth as well!)

Rash Update

I did call the doctor's office this morning, and the nurse told me it was fine to put hydrocortisone cream on the whole rash. That was the extent of her suggestions, though, and she didn't have any clues as to what it might be from either. I did some internet research on pregnancy urticaria, and while the pictures do look like my rash, my experience has been totally different than their descriptions. PUPPP usually starts in the final few weeks of pregnancy, and it usually only occurs in people during their first pregnancies. It starts on the abdomen, and then spreads. Mine has never been on my abdomen at all; in fact, it started behind my armpits, and has now spread to all my extremities but is still not on my trunk! Interestingly, I do think I had this during my first pregnancy--my belly was so itchy and bumpy the last few weeks that I thought I was going to scratch myself to bleeding! But I never said anything about it, and obviously I survived just fine. Now, however, with around 17 weeks to go, I don't know that I can last the whole time! One forum I found in my search recommended bathing with mint tea leaves. Showing you how incredibly desperate I am, after lunch we all marched over to the health food store to buy some, and I am planning on taking a bath after the boys go down. Yes, me--a bath! Like I said, you can tell I am desperate for relief! I will certainly give an update after my appointment on Friday!

A Few More Details

We've been doing a few other things besides eat and play games! We're still taking care of Ned, the L's dog. He loves us because we are spoiling him! We bought a 5-pack of pigs' ears, and we have been doling them out to him every few days. He can't wait to go into his crate, hoping maybe it will be his lucky day! I feel like the grandparents, giving tons of junk to their grandkids. Poor Anthony!

Bob and my Dad have been dueling it out with our shower. Unfortunately our shower is winning. A few days ago, we were horrified to notice that one of our baseboards in our bedroom had mildew on it! Our shower hasn't turned off all the way for awhile now, dripping every so often, so we thought that must be the problem. Bob and Dad tried some things, and then they had to cut into the dry wall to try to figure out the problem. The problem is that the copper pipe itself leaks. Sigh. However it gets solved, it is going to be a hassle!

I am itching. All over. Somehow over the past several weeks I have developed a big rash all over my limbs. It doesn't look like bug bites, but rather like little pimples or something. It looks to me like a contact dermatitis sort of thing, but I can't imagine what it would be from. I haven't changed detergent or soap or anything, and I've never had really sensitive skin. The rash started with just a few bumps on my upper arm back before we went to Ohio in October. Then it spread to behind my armpits, and it was so itchy. I put some OTC hydrocortisone cream on that, and that helped. Then it just spread everywhere else, all over my arms and legs. Ack! But oddly enough it is not on my trunk at all. I would think that my pregnant belly would be a big candidate for any itching, but so far nothing there. I am going crazy! I have an OB appointment on Friday, so I'll mention it then. I hesitate to try to go to the primary care clinic for a regular appointment. The doctors there do not speak good English, and I never feel like I am really able to communicate with them. The lack of good military medical care here is the thing I most hate about Virginia--it makes me miss the nice hospital at Wright-Pat so much! So right now my strategy is just grin and bear it, but I am ready to scrape off my skin with a sharp potshard ala Job. Any other suggestions, LOL?

I keep forgetting to mention that Luke has his first loose tooth. Since he is rapidly approaching the ripe old age of 7, we were beginning to wonder if it was ever going to happen! He is pretty excited about it. I am glad that we got pictures taken in October with no big gap in the front though.

There, now it's almost like you've been here for our Thanksgiving break! : )

Thanksgiving Report

A few days ago, I was rereading a book, and I noticed this character description for the first time:

"She had . . . the wide-hipped, sturdy frame that Jude would imagine in a woman
required to carry and birth five children."

LOL! Well, I don't know about that, but after all the eating we've been doing lately, I look and feel like I now have that sturdy frame! We had a wonderful day on Thanksgiving with delicious food and warm family times. We've been playing tons of games--Life, Clue, Ginnykub, Power, Rummikub, Skip-Bo, etc. It's so nice when the boys are old enough to play more than Uno! : ) Grandma and Grandpa are having a nice, relaxing break from moving and all those boxes. I baked a second chocolate-pecan pie (recipe from Pam many years ago--it's really the only pie I like, and it's delicious!!) for our neighbors to say "thank you' for their help in cutting down a tree, but they left before I could deliver it. So after we polished off the first one, we dove right into that one too! Hey, why let a good pie get stale, or whatever it is that old pies get?!

This afternoon we put up our Christmas tree and the boys decorated it. I'm not usually this on top of things, but Grandma and Grandpa aren't going to put one up this year, since things are pretty chaotic there right now, and all of us are going to Texas for 2 weeks in the middle of December for my cousin's graduation from pilot training. I wanted us to be able to enjoy it for a few weeks before we go!

It was actually a big struggle for me to put up the tree. We have a very puny, pathetic "tree" that Bob brought into the marriage. We think he bought it when he was stationed in Alabama, so that would make it at least 16 years old. It is so scrawny and ugly. I really abhor it. I would love to get a big one (9 feet) with lights already on, since lights are such a huge hassle, and we are running out of room for all the boys' ornaments on our little excuse of a tree. Finally this year, some of the branches on our "tree" have started breaking off, so they are being held on with tape. Classy! But this means that it is finally showing its age, and maybe next year we will get a new tree. Maybe. I am not holding my breath! Fortunately, the little boys especially don't care what the tree looks like--they are just thrilled to see something new in the family room! And ornaments--what fun!! So they helped me recover some of my Christmas spirit!

Cleaning and Clutter

Yesterday we started a good housecleaning in honor of Mom and Dad coming for Thnakdgiving. Now, they aren't really the kind of people who poke around with white gloves, looking for dirt, but I have a terrible time cleaning (not counting picking up) on a regular schedule. So when company is expected, we clean. Good thing we have company fairly frequently, LOL!

I made a long list, and the boys got to work on their part. I will say they were very diligent workers, and that their future wives should be thrilled that they can clean bathrooms, vacuum, etc. We were making great progress when Bob called from the DMV office by where he works. We needed to renew our registration on our minivan and the Pathfinder. They're registered in PA, but for a variety of reasons, Bob decided we should go ahead and register them here in VA. While he was waiting there, he realized that he didn't have the bills of sales for those cars, and he needed the numbers off of them. So he called me to have me look. Well, they weren't in the "Important Papers" or "Automobile" folders in the file cabinet, although there was a lot of stuff relating to our white Mazda, which we no longer own. I found that bill of sale, plus a long and detailed insurance correspondence relating to an accident that occured when we lived on the Academy and a man ran into our car at Burger King. So if anyone wants those details, just let me know, because I can put my fingers on them right away! But for actual papers relating to the cars we currently do own, well, that was a different story. So then I started looking in other somewhat likely places, places where we have papers that haven't gotten filed. No luck. I was getting very frustrated, and I really didn't have any more bright ideas. The last time we actually had these papers was before we moved, when we went to PA to register the cars there, so who knows where they would have ended up after the move?! I wandered around, praying for inspiration, and then I started looking through a big box of folders in the study. Most of the papers related to the morgage on this house and last year's taxes, but I did find a folder which seemed to have random papers in it, and wonder of wonders, there were both bills of sale! And nothing else even remotely important, so I'm not sure at all why those papers were in there. But praise the Lord, there they were! So we leaped into the car and drove down to Chantilly to the DMV office. We got there right as Bob was being called up to the window, so it was perfect timing. We stuck around until he was done, then we went out for pizza, then straight off to art class. It was a busy day, although not accomplishing the things on my list! We worked hard after dinner though, and we did finish everything on the list. Yay!

This little episode has given me a mission though--death to paper clutter. Beware a pregnant woman with latent nesting instincts who has a target! I have been filling bags with old papers. I just hate not knowing where things are, and it wastes so much time when you just have to randomly search for things. I do very well when it comes to not hoarding actual things--every so many weeks, I go through and throw away all broken toys, unmatched things, stuff lying around, etc. In fact, I just did this in Nathan and Luke's room while they were at AWANA on Sunday (the key to successful junk decluttering--do it while the kids are not around). They came back and were so amazed at the difference! "WOW, Mom! Thanks! This is SO clean! How did you do it?!" Yes, well, I threw away a whole ton of junk. LOL! I didn't say that of course. But now they can actually find what they are looking for, and they have more room to play, so they are happy. But I have real problems throwing away papers! I have figured out what I need though--I need someone to take all the kids for at least a week so I can dedicate myself to filing and decluttering! Any takers? LOL!

Catching Up

Well, blogging has been rather slow of late! What has been happening?! Obviously nothing too terribly exciting. Starting yesterday, we are taking care of the L's dog (well, specifically Anthony's dog) Ned. He's a beautiful black lab, and he reminds us so much of Pascal. He is still just a big puppy, so he has a lot of energy. Caleb and Jonathan are terrified of him when he's out of his cage, but there is also a morbid fascination, and they are the first in the van when it's time to go over and let him out! Luke is somewhat scared, but braver than the little guys. Nathan really likes Ned, but Ned bowls him over with his enthusiastic greetings! Ned definitely responds better to Bob than to me--guess he's used to a man's authority, LOL! We took him for a walk this afternoon. Anthony has a great harness thing for him--it goes around his front legs, and it really seems to be effective. He still pulls some, but not too hard at all. Much better than the choke collar we had for Pascal!

In return for us taking care of Ned, Anthony is going to give us some free piano lessons, starting sometime after Christmas! This really works out perfectly because we are the proud new owners of a nice keyboard, and Nathan and Luke are interested in learning to play. I told them I could help them read music, and I know which notes on the piano to press, but I have no idea about hand placement or any technical details of actually playing the piano! And besides, shouldn't every child take piano at some point? : ) We got the keyboard at Sam's, and it seems like a nice one for the price.

I'm so excited that my parents are going to be here Tuesday for Thanksgiving! And then it will only be a few more weeks until we head down to Texas to see my cousin James receive his Air Force wings! Lots of other family will alos be down in Texas, and we'll also get to see my brother and sister-in-law's new house in Dallas! Tons of exciting things to look forward to!

And last but definitely not least, here's a happy birthday to my dearest friend in the world, Amy! Her husband got her tickets to see Riverdance on Tuesday--isn't she the lucky one! Bob took me to see that for one of our anniversaries in Colorado. It was WONDERFUL. I would love to see it again. I know it will be a special birthday present!

Latin Christmas Gift Idea

Okay, I saw this book recommended on the Well Trained Mind board--it's called Latin For All Occasions , and it looks hilarious! Just what we need to practically liven up our Latin studies! Here's one review:

This wonderful little book was presented to me many years ago after I had completed a Latin seminar. It was a wonderful gift, and I have found much use for the various phrases, and an extraordinary amount of humour that can be derived from the blandest of statements when translated into Latin. For example, the innocuous phrase 'Darn! There goes my beeper!' becomes quite funny in Latin:
Heu! Tintinnuntius meus sonat!
One has visions of Caesar fumbling through his tunic for some beeping object.
So, if you need a little Latin on the golf course (Alterum ictum faciam); on the tennis court (minime latum!), at the beach when spotting a shark (Pistrix! Pistrix!), or you just need to say Illud Latine dici non potest (you can't say that in Latin), you'll be prepared with this volume.
It even comes with a section on what to say when at the Vatican (where it might truly come in handy). For instance you might need to say 'Ubi possum potiri petasi similis isti?' when passing a cardinal or nun (translation: Where can I get a hat like that?).
So, don't waste your time on watching reruns of Insula Gilliganis or game shows such as Periculum and Rota Fortunae -- pick up this book today, and merge the worlds past and present.
Die dulci fruere. (Have a nice day.)

Seriously, I am pleased to report that Latin is going quite well here. We finished Minimus several weeks ago, and we charged right into Latin Christiana I. I have been quite pleased to see how much vocabulary the boys have retained, especially since a lot of the words from the first several lessons are the same as in Prima Latina. They also have the first conjugation down with no problems (that's the famous one--amo, amas, amat, amamus, amatis, amant). I love Latin!

Eating Out

Last night we ate dinner at TGI Fridays. We actually ate there last Tuesday as well. Tuesday is their "Kids' Day", at least at the one by the Dulles Town Center, and so kids eat free. Well, that actually turned out to not be totally true, but anyway, more on that later! You may recall that we had eaten a few Tuesday nights at Lone Star Steakhouse, since they had the same deal on Tuesdays (obviously Tuesday is the dead night for chain restaurants in the NoVA area!), but the last time we went was not a real great experience, and I cheerfully would never go back there again. We went with our friends the P's, and I ordered a steak-ke-bob, since I was getting very tired of their plain steaks. That's the problem--I was just tired of their menu. If you want something other than a big, plain hunk of grilled meat, then you are out of luck. So I ordered the ke bob, and I got a stick with 3 hunks of meat, as well as the usual onions, peppers tomatoes, etc. There was a small hunk of meat, and it was cooked just right. The medium-sized hunk was fairly raw, and the large hunk was so raw it was mooing. Of course, I had to send it back, and they butterflied the hunk, which helped the doneness issue. When they brought it back, however, it was still just a plain hunk of meat--absolutely no seasoning whatsoever. Bleh. So you can imagine my excitement when Amy P. said she thought TGI Fridays had the same deal on Tuesdays! I knew their menu was a lot more exciting--at least it had some variety! Last Tuesday night was great. I had a delicious oriental chicken salad, and Bob had a chipotle chicken thing that was also quite tasty. And we got 4 free kids meals. So last night we were expecting the same thing, but our server told us that you can only get one free kids meal per adult meal. What?! Lone Star lets you get 2 kids meals per adult entree. He said our server last week just "messed up". So technically only kids from "appropriately sized" families eat free. Ah well, I knew it was too good to last! I'll tell what does last though--onions. I had chicken fajitas (okay, but not as good as Chilis), and I burped onions all night long. I had to have a bowl of ice cream before bed to attempt to get rid of the taste! It didn't work. Anyways, the whole thing has kind of left a bad taste in my mouth (ha, ha) about eating out. It's nice to get the break, but I don't think it's worth the heartburn on a regular basis! : )

Introductions

It has been brought to my attention that I have been remiss in making some introductions! Some of you clever readers have been wondering if in fact the "Pam" who has been commenting recently is our former next-door neighbor from Colorado Springs. Well, yes, she is, so you all win Sherlock Holmes prizes! For those of you who don't know Pam, or never even knew or cared that we lived in Colorado, then let me fill you in. We moved to Colorado Springs 2 years after we got married and right after I graduated from Cedarville. Bob worked in Cheyenne Mountain, and we bought our first house together. It was a new house in a little development in south Colorado Springs, not too far from Peterson AFB. Bill and Pam were already moved in when our hosue was done, but they wasted no time in being neighborly. Pam is a great hostess, so we had Halloween parties, St. Patrick Day parties, Cinco de Mayo parties--you get the picture! Pam is a nurse, although you will see by reading her blog that she has recently changed jobs to more of a management/development position. Pam also sells Shaklee vitamins, and she has done just about everything I have always wished I could do--learned calligraphy, cake-decorating, Irish dancing, etc. In fact, she and Bill took a big trip to Ireland this summer for their vacation, something that has always been a big dream of mine! Although we moved out of our house 6 years ago, we have still remained in contact. She's always been a good writer, so I'm sure her blog will be filled with interesting observations and commentaries on life!

Another new blog you might want to check out is that of my friend Beverly. She is also an Air Force wife and homeschooling mother, and they just moved to Nevada this summer. We met them when we first started going to Faircreek back in Ohio in September 2001. I was only a few weeks from having Caleb, and Beverly was pretty newly pregnant with their second child. Now she and Ted have Charis, who is 5, Tobin, who is 3 1/2, and Arden, who is 2. They followed us here to D.C for a year while Ted was going to a school, but they lived in Maryland, so we didn't get to see each other much. Beverly and the kids did make it over in July before they moved, and we got to talk homeschooling and curricula for several hours! We have similar homeschooling and character goals in general in common, so if you read her blog, you can see what I was doing a few years ago!

I don't really think of myself as someone who convinces people to do new things, so I am amazed that here are two people whom I have directly influenced to start blogging! Wow! Who will be next? LOL!

Early Christmas Present

Last year I posted this entry about the early Christmas present I bought myself (it was a big KitchenAid mixer, which I am still quite happy with!). This afternoon Bob and Jonathan went off to Target and WalMart to take something back, pick up pictures (of Nathan and Luke in their soccer uniforms, since we were way too cheap to do the picture deal from the team), and stuff like that. When they got home, Bob announced that he had bought me my Christmas present already and was ready to bring it in! It is a nice, big, sturdy pan that is about 12" by 16". It is technically a roaster, and it came with a nice rack, but I am also going to use it for other dishes. I have mentioned a few times that I really need something bigger than a 9"by13" pan for casseroles. We're at a point where just our family can almost finish off a pan of whatever, so I can never make casseroles if we have company over. And what will I do when the boys are in high school?! I was talking about this very subject last night after Bible study with Amy P., and Bob heard and took note. Now this is why I love him--not only does he realize that I love getting practical gifts for Christmas, birthdays, etc., he also realizes that I would rather have them immediately so I can start using them than wait to open a box under the tree! So now I am already thinking of the huge quantities of lasagna (I'll need that recipe, Ames!), enchilada casserole, chicken and broccoli casserole, etc. that I can make--enough for leftovers another night, maybe!

I am feeling better this evening--maybe my cold will just go away. I pretty much laid around all day though. I was happy to find a bag of beef barley soup in the freezer, so we had that for dinner. Here's to planning ahead and freezing meals for when you really don't feel like cooking! Since I didn't have to actually make dinner, I did feel inspired enough to make biscuits to go along with the soup. They are whole wheat biscuits, and they're pretty fool-proof. I got them from an old Taste of Home magazine many years ago, and they are big favorites here. Since my Aunt Claire often posts recipes on her blog, I thought I would follow her lead and post this easy one.

Sky-High Whole Wheat Biscuits

2 cups flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter
1 egg
1 cup milk (I use soymilk obviously, and it turns out great)

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter until crumbly. Combine egg and milk, then add to crumbly mixture, stirring just until moistened. Turn onto a floured surface; knead 10-15 times. Roll out to 1 inch thickness; cut with 2 1/2 inch biscuit butter. Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.

Happy Belated Veterans' Day!

We were thinking of all the veterans in our family yesterday!

We celebrated by . . . not doing too much. Nathan made waffles for breakfast, and then Bob decided it was time to make a decision. (Pause for emphasis) Actually, it wasn't that big of a deal--here's the story. Back a few months ago, maybe in June, he saw a tool set at Target that he really liked for $100. It had a rechargeable drill, sander, flashlight, jig saw and some other kind of saw (ripsaw maybe?). He never bought it, nd then he saw the same tool set on clearance for only $70 in September! He bought it then, but he never did anything about it except carried it with him in the trunk of his car. So yesterday was the day to decide whether he was keeping it or taking it back. He needed a project to do! I have a big cabinet over my double ovens, and it is pretty unusable. It has a half shelf in the back that I have a very hard time reaching. I store all my cookie sheets, cooling racks, etc. up there, laying flat, and it is hard to get them out of there. I have wanted a way to stand them up, like my aunt has. In our last house, we had a small, narrow cabinet by the sink that didn't have a shelf, and so I used it for these pans. I miss that! Anyhow, Bob decided to make a new shelf out of plywood that would have big slits cut out so that I would have spaces to stand the pans up. He used almost all the tools in the kit, was very happy with them, and so has decided to keep them. He calls it his "early Christmas present", although "late Father's Day present" might be more accurate! My early Christmas present is having this lovely usable space for my big pans and racks, of course! Yay!

I also took a walk yesterday, but I'm not sure it was the best thing. I've been fighting off a cold for this week, but last night I could just feel my chest getting tighter and starting to hurt. So I'm not feeling all that well today--a good day for staying in and reading a book. Of course I haven't been to the library since we got back from Ohio, so maybe a good old book will have to do!

Pregnancy Woes

Well, I was going to post an entry about homeschooling, since I've read some good articles and books lately. But that is too much for me right now, and instead I will complain about the minor aches and pains of pregnancy. I seem to be coming down with a cold, so I know that's making my brain fuzzy, but boy am I crabby! My real problem is that my left leg seems to be "out of joint". Has that every happened to anyone else? It's just . . . well . . . not quite right. It hurts right at my hip, and I can't really find a comfortable position. You know when you start wishing you could be put on a rack and stretched--that sounds appealing and surely it would help!--that you are in a desperate way! I remember these various vague discomforts from other pregnancies, but it seems like I should be farther along than 20 weeks to start experiencing them. {pause for reflection} Well, now I am remembering the church Super Bowl party when I was pregnant with Jonathan. I was only a few more weeks along than I am now, and all of a sudden I could hardly walk because I guess it was my sciatic nerve that starting hurting down the back of my leg. Fortunately, that didn't last the whole rest of the time or anything, but the point is maybe it's not too early for these sorts of complaints. So now I am counting down the minutes until I put Jonathan down so I can take a nap (although I can't find a very comfortable position there either!). Maybe exercise would help, although let me just say, that is not very tempting right now. It is much more fun just to sit here and gripe. LOL!

Scary

Today we had a scary happening. Ryan, our neighbors' son, had his 6th birthday party this afternoon. It was a swimming party at the local Hampton Inn. They provide pizza, pop, a party room, and use of the pool for 4 hours, all for $200. Wow, who knew hotels did these kinds of things? Pretty soon after we got there and got Caleb and Jonathan's life jackets on, I looked up to see Bob fishing Jonathan out of the pool. He had tilted forward and gotten stuck with his face in the water, but he was right by the steps behind some other kids, so I didn't see him. Talk about that false sense of security with life jackets. It was a horrible feeling, because I always read stories like that, where some kid drowns amidst a big party, with tons of people watching, and I just can't stand pools. So I consider myself pretty aware, but boy, does it only take a second. We are praising the Lord that Bob was there and hadn't gone in to change his clothes yet (so he stepped in wearing his church clothes, although it was mainly just one shoe that got wet). Scary, scary, scary. We will never have a pool, and I can't wait until Caleb and Jonathan learn how to swim--hopefully next summer. Every day I pray for the Lord's protection over my children, and I am so thankful that He answered that prayer this afternoon.

Happy Birthday, Caleb!!

Caleb is now 4 years old! Here is my post from last year on his birthday. He is still a happy boy, with such a great smile--and strangers still always pick him to talk to and rub his head, since he is by far the most engaging! Our friends, the Mc's, weren't able to be at Bible study last night, so they came over for more cake and ice cream tonight to help us celebrate the "real" birthday. My Mom and Dad got Caleb a fun game where you try to stack plastic pizza toppings on a wobbly "Poppa" pizza maker without making the pizza fall, and all 8 of the boys had a great time playing that!

I am finding it so ironic that we had our ultrasound right before Caleb's birthday. After having 2 boys, while I was pregnant with him, I sort of thought that we would have a girl. We knew lots of families that had 2 of one gender, then 2 of the other, so I just figured we would fit the same pattern. I was . . . not exactly disappointed . . . well, maybe a little I was, at the ultrasound, when we found out he was a boy. By the time of Jonathan's ultrasound, I expected we would have all boys, and I really wanted another boy, since logistically it would be easier (room-sharing and all!), so there was no disappointment then at all (well, maybe for my mom . . . : ) But Caleb is just such a special little boy, and he's such a great addition to our family--I'm so glad he is who he is. And that reassures me that the Lord knows "who" this baby will be too, and she will also be just right for our family. Actually, my faith wavered a little bit at the soccer game today! I was talking to another mom who is due in February with her 4th child. She had 2 boys, then a girl, and this one will be a girl too (she fits the pattern I was discussing earlier!). Well, she was telling me how different it was to have a girl, and the example she brought up was that her little girl will just ask to go to Target, or if the mom asks what they should do, the girl (who is 3, I think) suggests going to the mall. Ack! I hate shopping!! But Bob reassured me that if we just never go to the mall (like we currently don't), well, then, our daughter will never think of that as an option! Whew!

Friday

Well, I am slowly becoming more accustomed to the idea of sharing my "queenship" with another girl! We have been reading Caddie Woodlawn as our read-aloud lately (and the boys are loving it--what a great book!). Nathan told me today that he hoped if it really WAS a girl, that she would be like Caddie. LOL! Well, she's always been a favorite book character of mine too, so I wouldn't complain!

Tonight we brought a cake to Bible study to celebrate Caleb's 4th birthday, which is actually tomorrow. He wanted a "King Arthur" cake (since he IS King Arthur), so I made a "sword-in-the-stone" cake. It turned out pretty well. We decorated the hilt with jellybeans and Skittles (for jewels, you know), and those were a big hit. We did take some digital pictures, and after Bible study, Anthony L. actually put all of our digital pictures on a disk, so maybe there is actually a slim chance that I will figure out how to post them on here! What a great guy!

Tomorrow is our last soccer game. I won't miss getting up early to go there on Saturdays, but the boys have really, really enjoyed the Upwards soccer program. It has been great. Bob is fighting off a head cold, so it looks like I will be taking everyone tomorrow, along with snacks for after the game. Thankfully it is supposed to be nice and warm!

Ultrasound

We had our ultrasound today, and everything looked just fine and healthy. I love seeing the baby move around in there--it makes it all so real! I had a real shock though--it looks like this baby is a girl. I didn't really believe the doctor, but she was pretty sure. I said something like, "Hmmm . . . . well, . . . that will be different." I'm still trying to wrap my head around the whole concept. A girl? What on earth will I do with a girl?! I can't even do my own hair! And I can't stand girls' fashions now! And I have run into a lot of really bratty, whiny, emotionally manipulative little girls lately, so I had actually been feeling a lot of relief that we "don't do girls". Also, I sort of LIKE being the "queen bee" with no competition around here! Hmmm. A real paradigm shift. The boys were pretty blase about it all, not showing much excitement or disappointment. But we were over at the L's house, so they weren't really that interested either--just let us get back to our playing, Mom! So now I must prepare myself for all the strangers' comments in stores about how we must be so thrilled that we FINALLY got that girl we were trying for. Umm, no. Not at all. I would have been thrilled to have another boy! And we were trying to have another BABY, not a girl. I'm sure I'll be more excited later on, but right now I'm still processing it all. Wow--a girl. Hmmm.

A Good Book Day

Today was a good book day. At our homeschool co-op, someone who is moving had several boxes of free books, so I rooted through those and got a few good ones. Then the little boys and I went to a Salvation Army Thrift store that we noticed last night on our way to Chuck E. Cheese. I was primarily trying to find bigger clothes for Nathan, but I didn't find much. This store did not organize their clothes in any fashion whatsoever--not by size, or even by gender! So that made it hard to find anything. We wandered back to the back, where the books were. They had the smallest children's book selection I have ever seen at a thrift store, and it was mostly comprised of Babysitter Club and Goosebumps books. But I happened to spot Detectives in Togas, a book for which I have been looking for a long time. I've seen it recommended in several catalogues, and Mom told me she thought Nathan would really like it after she heard some friends reading it aloud to their kids during a visit to California. No library we've gone to has had it though, so I was thrilled to find it for $ .25!

Nathan started reading it before dinner, and after dinner he wanted to know if it was a library book. He was quite happy when I said it was ours, and his next question was how much it had cost. When I told him a quarter, he was amazed.

N: "Why would a store sell a book like this so cheap?"

Me: "Well, it's a thrift store--people donate stuff to them, and then they just try to sell the stuff for whatever they can get. People know the things in there are cheap."

N: " But this book is already so exciting! Why would anyone ever give it away?!"

Ahh, yes--we are training him well. You NEVER get rid of books! Books are our friends!

Along similar lines, my friend Christine told me something funny yesterday. We were talking while our boys were having art class. I had watched 3 of her boys before we went to Ohio because she had to take her 3rd child to the ER after he poked himself badly in the eye. Christine told me that as they were driving back home, her oldest son asked her, "Mom, why can't you teach us Latin?" LOL! There's some positive peer pressure right there . . . Come on, conjugate the verbs . . . it feels good. . . everyone's learning Latin . . . it's so cool . . . LOL!

I also had a really positive conversation with our next door neighbor about homeschooling today. I went out to check on the boys this afternoon, and Caleb was helping her sweep her driveway. I went over to see if he really was helping, and Stella and I started talking. She is a high school German teacher, and her husband is some kind of motivational speaker. They are really nice. This is his second marriage. I don't believe she has any kids, but he has I think 4, and many grandchildren, and they are both very close to the grandkids. They're a really nice couple, and they were positive about our homeschooling when we moved in and they asked about schooling the boys.

Anyhow, Stella started off by asking how I was feeling, etc., and then she moved on to how homeschooling was going. I gave pretty general answers because I never know really how interested people are in the nuts and bolts of it all, or if they are going to get really defensive about public schools or whatever. But I didn't get any of those feelings from her, and she kept asking interested questions, so I kept on talking! She asked about how we structured our day, so I went through one with her. She completely agreed with how little time it takes to get concepts across to only one child compared to a classroom full of kids. She also said that one thing that has really changed for her as she has taught over the years is her understanding of how boys learn, and she wished she had been more sympathetic to their need to move and just their different motivations and learning patterns. I thought that was interesting in light of my fairly recent post on the subject. So we had a good conversation, and she was very positive about the whole idea, even coming up with some advantages herself--"I bet you can avoid a lot of the bad socialization issues that I see", she said. Oh yes, that is a prime motivation for homeschooling! I didn't phrase it like that though. : ) It's rare to hear someone who isn't homeschooling talk about the negative socialization that goes on in schools, however, so that was a nice surprise. Hopefully we're being good ambassadors of homeschooling!

A Small Miracle

I already told some of you this, but I am still so excited about it, I wanted to share. I told you in my last post that Caleb was still really struggling with his asthma, and that we ran out of his albuterol inhaler. A few months before we left Wright-Pat, I had gotten another prescription of it, as well as another "puffer" thing, for some reason--I think a doctor just prescribed it to us, not realizing we already had one or something. The bag with the extra puffer is in the linen closet in Caleb's bathroom, and for awhile I knew where the extra albuterol was too. But then it just kind of disappeared, and although I looked diligently, I couldn't find it. But I never really needed it, so it was mainly just something that bugged me at odd times, that I couldn't find it. Well, last night I decided to look for it again, and amazingly, I found it right away in the closet! I was so thrilled! Praise the Lord! So now I do not have to start my day tomorrow calling for a doctor appointment! I know it was the Lord, because I have looked in that closet several times before, and I am a careful "looker", but I couldn't find it. I felt like the woman in Luke 15 who looked through her whole house for the missing coin, and then threw a party for all her friends when she found it!

This doesn't really relate to the above anecdote, but I was reminded of it, since I was thinking about doctors. There was a bill waiting for me when we got back, from a lab company. They did the 5 standard prenatal blood tests, as well as the pap smear I had done at my first OB appointment. The grand total for these 6 tests? A whopping $952. WOW! They also don't automatically bill your insurance, so I have to resubmit the bill with all my insurance info on it. I hope Tricare covers it, although I am not holding my breath. Although I gripe about Tricare quite frequently, I will say that it is a very nice thing, when dealing with military medicine, to not be surprised by bills like this appearing in your mailbox! Who knew blood tests were so darn expensive?!!

We're Back!

We got back from Ohio last night, and we even made it over to Bible study! It was a no-brainer--we got home around 7:00, and our house was a chilly 56 degrees, since we had not left our heat on. So we all ate quick bowls of cereal, then headed over to the L's warm house in time for prayer time and dessert! Actually, when we got back home, our house was still cold--Bob had to go up to the attic to discover that the HVAC guy, when recharging our AC system this spring, evidentally turned off the gas. Whoops! No wonder nothing happened!

It was a wonderful trip. Obviously I didn't do any blogging--in fact, I only looked at a computer once during the whole trip! It was really nice to just be away from it all--especially the politics. That is one thing about being near D.C.--politics are a big deal--and it was good to have a break. Of course, now that means we have tons of emails to catch up on, and tons of junk emails to delete, but oh well, a small price to pay!

We stayed with my best friend Amy, and we had so much fun. I told Bob that I haven't spent this much time with Amy since we roomed together in college! We could just talk while we went about the day, washing dishes, folding clothes, keeping kids entertained . . . it was great. We even did some scrapbooking, and I did Nathan's book for this past year! Amy and Jason gave us their huge master bedroom, so it was like our own luxery hotel suite. The 3 older boys all slept on an air mattress there, and Jonathan borrowed Jacob's pack-n-play. The older boys had a great time playing with Zachary, especially with his Playmobil figures. Joanthan and Jacob sometimes played well, sometimes had territorial disputes--you know, they were both 2! LOL!

We got to see my parents' new house a few times, and it is looking so great! I was so glad to finally be able to see it--phone descriptions just don't do it justice! It's just so light and airy, with so much open space. SO different from their other house! We got to see all their flooring choices, except the carpet, which isn't down yet, and I really liked them all. The paint and wallpaper looks great too. I can tell we are really going to enjoy staying there! The boys liked racing around in all the space and getting really dusty. Just a few more weeks until it's done-wow! They said I could organize their books too, once they move in. LOL!

We did have some struggles during the trip. Bob is fighting off a horrible case of poison ivy. It's 2 weeks old now, coming from when we cleared out our back yard. He is just really sensitive to poison ivy. He went to the doctor before we left, and he got a course of steroid pills plus some antihisitmines. I can truthfully say those did nothing at all. The rash spread all over, and he was so itchy and uncomfortable. Finally he had to go in to the Wright-Pat ER, where they gave him a steroid shot and some stronger antihistimines. He seems to be slowly getting a bit better, although he is still itchy.

Caleb is really struggling with his asthma. He always has problems when the weather really changes, and the temperatures dropped about 20 degrees when we got to Ohio. It was so cold and wet the first few days we were there! He wheezed and coughed away, and we used the last of his albuterol inhaler. Fortunately Amy has a breathing machine, since Zachary also has struggled with asthma, and so we used that for Caleb. It really helped, but now we are trying to make it until Monday, when hopefully I'll be able to get an appointment for Caleb so we can get some more medicine. None of his coughing seemed to slow him down, but we did have one really bad night where no one got any sleep because of it! That was when we decided to start using the breathing machine, and he slept really well after that.

Well, that was pretty much the trip. Now we have to settle back into our routine again. Nathan and Luke are playing soccer this morning, but the little boys and I are home because I didn't want Caleb to cough too much. We're going to meet them and the L's afterwards for lunch. And at some point I'll have to unpack those suitcases--my absolute least-favorite part of traveling!

New Stage

As I am packing for this trip to Ohio (which, by the way, Bob is going to get to go on--he's just taking leave for it), I have realized that we are in a new stage right now, one we haven't been in for many years. I don't need a diaper bag. Yes, that's right! Jonathan is still technically in diapers, but he doesn't go much while we're out, and even more rarely would he go poop. And I always have diapers in the car, so I am prepared for emergencies. Neither Jonathan nor Caleb are wearing bibs anymore. That was sort of a surprise, but Jonathan is a much neater eater (hey, what a rhyme!) than Caleb, so I let him stop wearing them about the same time Caleb stopped! With the new baby being due the end of March, we're going to have a gap of 2 years, almost 10 months, and that is the longest between any of our kids. I am getting a little used to the comforts of not having babies! I can still say that I have had no breaks in changing diapers though--I've been at that for over 8 years and counting, always having at least one in diapers. Once I was sitting by a new mom in some casual setting, and I changed someone (Caleb? Jonathan? Can't remember) on my lap really quickly. She was amazed, but I told her it was all experience. Who knew I would ever be such a pro at diapers?! Certainly not me. Anyhow, when we went to WalMart yesterday, I bought a new purse. It's big enough that I can fit the little travel diaper wipes box in it, as well as Caleb's Epipen and other little things that I used to carry in the diaper bag. I found that the only time I was really missing the diaper bag was after going out to eat, when someone was really sticky or something, and I just needed a wipe. So now that problem is solved, and I will not even be bringing our diaper bag to Ohio! I figure the diaper bag deserves a little break between now and March--it has earned a reward for faithful service rendered!

Distractions

I've been sort of blogging-distracted lately. Last week, Bob told me that he had a TDY this next week to Ohio for a conference. I was so excited! I am absolutely dying to see the new house that my parents are building, plus it has been a so long since I've seen Amy (since June). I was very cautious and didn't get my hopes up ALL the way, but it was all I could think about. On Monday everything looked good to go, so I really did get excited. But this morning Bob found out that it was denied. NO! When I called Mom and Dad to tell them (sobbing), Dad couldn't even tell who I was! Just some crazy, emotional pregnant woman. It looks like I am going to drive out with the boys myself on Saturday though. Still--what a bummer. Crazy Air Force.

On Monday Bob also mentioned the possibility of an assignment in England. Wow! That also got me excited! He had almost no details to give me, so instead of waiting patiently for more information, I tried to figure out stuff by spending a long time on the internet (sorry to be so deliberately vague). Today we found out that the one little piece of info we had was totally wrong, so all my "research" was for naught. Again, though, this has been all I can think about! I think he is still going to put in for the job. We'll see what the Lord has in mind.

Yard work, money management, etc.

Today was a busy day. Nathan and Luke had a soccer game in the morning. Their team played very well, and they won. Nathan even scored 2 goals! Then we went out for pizza and came home. Today was also a warm, sunny day, which is important because it rained every day last week, and Nathan was dying to rake leaves. So this afternoon was his big opportunity.

Why was he so anxious to do yard work, you may ask? Good question! The answer is that he is "in the hole" financially speaking, and we told him he could earn extra money by raking out the area that we cleared last Monday. You may now be wondering for what he could possibly be in debt. The answer is a Bionicle. Nathan and Luke have enjoyed playing with these "things" (they're by the same people who make Legos) at the L's house during Bible study. I think they are ugly, but I couldn't really find anything wrong with them. They sort of remind me of the transformers and gobots (was that it, Dan?) that my brother used to be so enamored with at about the same ages. It must be a boy phase. Anyhow, I didn't see a reason to disallow bionicles altogether, but I didn't want to buy them. So we told them they could buy some with their own money. Luke is rolling in money. Not only does he save his meager allowance, but he also is always on the lookout at stores, and he has found so much money. It's amazing, really. Nathan, on the other hand, has invested in Dum-Dum Pop merchandise. Even though we told him many times that the stuff you can get with your saved wrappers (plus a goodly amount of shipping and handling!) is pretty much Dollar Store-quality stuff, he has sent away for a frisbee, yo-yo, and cheap binoculars. So when the time came that there was something he REALLY wanted to buy, well . . . He was several dollars short. Hmmm. After we talked it over extensively, Bob gave Nathan a loan and bought a bionicle for him. He made up a spreadsheet showing his payments over the next few months. He also made up a spreadsheet showing his payments if Bob would have charged him interest. That was certainly eye-opening for Nathan! This little exercise has actually been very beneficial from a money-management standpoint, and I think Nathan will think a lot harder about what he chooses to spend his money on in the future. But to get on with the story, Nathan is now a little closer to his big pay-off day. He was a great worker this afternoon. He raked leaves, put them in garbage bags, pulled weeds, picked up these little fruit things from a tree in our yard, and so on with a great attitude for about 4 hours. For his troubles, we're going to pay him $1.25. Don't do our yard work and expect to get rich, LOL!

Here is a another little story about Nathan so you don't just think of him as a money-squanderer. In our Children's Bible reading on Friday, we read the story in Daniel 2 about King Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the mysterious statue with gold head, silver trunk, bronze thighs, iron legs, and iron/clay feet. When we got to the part where Daniel was interpreting the dream, I read what would be Dan. 2:38b " . . . You are that head of gold." Nathan interrupts and says, "Hmm, let me guess. The iron part must have been Rome, since that was the strongest empire. That means Greece was bronze." I said yes, and that Persia was the silver. So then Nathan asked who the iron/clay part could be since, there wasn't another strong empire after Rome, and I told him that was the point--all the kingdoms after Rome have not lasted as long or been as dominating, just as was predicted in the Bible. Nathan was impressed with the accuracy of the Biblical predictions, but I was impressed that he put it all together like that, making the connections. I love classical education!

First Doctor Appointment

I had my first doctor's appointment for this pregnancy today, and it went really well! I really like the doctor, and I LOVE being in a civilian practice. It was like they wanted to please me! Like I was important! Everything looked and sounded good; absolutely nothing exciting to report. I'll go back in 3 weeks (Nov. 3) for my ultrasound. She agreed that my due date is March 28 (Amanda L's birthday!).

Bob came home to watch the boys while I went, and when I got back home, he suggesting we all go to Olive Garden for lunch before he went back to work. If you know me at all, then you know that I love Olive Garden, especially when I am pregnant, so of course I said yes! We have only been to Olive Garden once since moving here, so it was such a nice treat. We got the pasta fagiole (sp?), salad, and breadsticks, our lunchtime usual. I ate 2 bowls of soup, many helpings of salad, and several breadsticks to round out the meal. Now I am stuffed and sleepy, so a nap is definitely in order for this afternoon!

When the boys and I got back home, the mail was here, and I received my second letter from Tricare. This new one is because we changed doctors from the one they had originally assigned us. Imagine my surprise when I saw a completely different doctor's name in the letter, one who is not even very near us, but rather is in Leesburg! I can not imagine what happened, since I talked to 2 different people at Tricare 2 weeks ago who assured me that everything was changed. And in fact, they did fax my information and approval to the doctor I wanted, because that is why I was able to make an appointment last week and see her today! I am continually amazed at their incompetance. I called again, and another lady assured me everything was REALLY changed this time, so I'm sure I'll be getting a letter next week with a doctor in West Virginia named! LOL! I won't be laughing if there's a billing problem though . . . Off to nap on the couch!

My Journey To Homeschooling

A few posts ago, I wrote that I would share how I came to start homeschooling, after I declared that I would never do so! My family moved to Ohio from Okinawa when I was in middle school, and one of the first girls I met was a girl named Jennifer. She had 2 sisters, and they were all homeschooled. When you think of homeschool stereotypes, they fit a lot of them--skirt-wearing, long-haired, lived in the country, etc. Our moms were friends and wanted us to be friends too, but to my immature mind, she was a goody-two-shoes (this coming from someone who was probably considered that by many acquaintances!), really prissy, and just odd. She spouted a lot of pro-homeschooling talk like "My mother is my best teacher because she knows me best!" (said in a sugary sweet voice). Blech! "No way!" I thought! "Not ever me!" and when I later learned that she graduated from homeschool and then went on to "midwifery school", well, I just thought that was so weird. Ironically, now I think that is pretty cool, but . . . back to high school, where I was full of big plans.

I went to a wonderful Christian high school, with dedicated teachers that also were committed to discipling us, so I had a great school experience. I went to Cedarville College, which is a Christian college in Ohio, and there were certainly lots of homeschoolers there, even in the early 90's. Some of them were the weird, unsocialized type that get such a bad reputation, and those were the ones that strengthened my resolve to never homeschool!

Bob and I got married after my sophomore year of college, and we moved into a duplex on base, just 5 duplexes away from our friends the L's. They had just started homeschooling their oldest, Anthony. I had a light schedule my last year of college, so I offered to do science with Anthony a couple days a week so Elizabeth could have some time with their 2 younger kids. We had such a great time making volcanoes, looking at things under a microscope, going on nature walks, etc. Hmmm. . . doing stuff one-on-one with kids is pretty fun. A big shift in my thinking!

After I graduated with a degree in biology and math, Bob and I were transferred to Colorado Springs. Two years later, Nathan was born, and a few weeks after that, the L's transferred out to Colorado Springs too. They were trying to sell their (rental) house in Ohio to buy a house in Colorado, so they ended up living in our basement for 8 months while that happened. Slow market back in Ohio! Elizabeth was pregnant with their 4th child this whole time. Now I could really see the nitty-gritty of how homeschooling worked, and to be honest . . . I liked it! People were always amazed that we could all live together for so long, but it was so much fun. The L's kids were so much fun to be around, and such huge helpers. They entertained Nathan when he was fussy--he grew up thinking he had 3 older siblings!--and I never had to unload the dishwasher, vacuum or clean the main floor bathroom while they lived with us. Needless to say, the L's were who we ran to with parenting questions, since we liked their results so much, and it was great to see right in front of us all these great parenting examples!

During this same time, my mom somehow got on the mailing list for Veritas Press. I loved looking through their catalogue, and now I was interested in homeschooling from an academic perspective as well. Although I had had a very good education, I always felt like there was more out there that I didn't know--gaps, if you will. I knew I was weak in ancient history, and there were lots of myths and other literary allusions that I didn't always understand. And I SO wished I could have taken Latin in high school. In Colorado I met another girl about my age who taught Latin, and I was so jealous of her students! So when I considered that I could teach my kids the stuff in the catalogue, and learn it myself at the same time--well, that was a very appealing idea. I decided that I would have to start at the very beginning with Nathan, because I was sure that if I didn't start with kindergarten--no, even preschool!--then I would never be able to jump in. We did fun workbooks and read a lot of books for preschool, and then each year we would add more. Now I hardly do anything for preschool, which was in fact the advice I got from experienced homeschoolers that I knew back then, so I have obviously gotten a lot more relaxed about it all! As I started doing more research on the internet, I came across the Well-Trained Mind website, specifically the message boards, and because of that, I read the book The Well-Trained Mind, by Susan Wise Bauer. This book solidified in my mind a lot of my goals for the academic part of our homeschooling, and it gave me ideals to aim for, especially in terms of future years. So now we've been homeschooling for 4 years, and I am still learning. I am actually becoming very interested in a more Latin-centered form of classical education, and so we have made Latin an essential part of each homeschooling day, just like math. I am sure I will post more on this as I learn more! I joined a Latin-centered Yahoo group several weeks ago, so I have enjoyed getting those emails.

As I think back on my journey to considering homeschooling, I realize that God brought the right people into my life at just the right time to answer my questions and be examples to me. Now obviously homeschooling is not for everyone, and I don't even think it should be. But as I heard someone once say, "If you are wondering about it, then be open to it--God might be leading you to do it. But if you never even wonder about it, then He's probably not calling you to that!" I feel like the Lord is blessing our homeschooling journey, and that right now, we are where He wants us to be!

Another Productive Day!

Another day in which I did not have to take an afternoon nap! Since this is a holiday for Bob, we had originally planned to go camping this weekend with the L's. But all the rain and cold weather put a damper on that plan, literally, so then we decided we would just go hiking for the day up in Maryland. But still . . . it was so cool and cloudy, so we decided not to that either. When Bob and I woke up this morning, we really didn't have any specific plans for the day. Bob decided to start stripping the paint off his dresser. It's been in our garage since we moved because, well, it's painted a lovely maroon color, but this bedroom is a beautiful shade of light blue, and it clashed horridly. We have a ton of shelves in our closet, so he's just put all his folded stuff on them. It has certainly not been a priority to do anything with this dresser, although I had bought all the stuff we needed back when we first decided to strip it. So he applied the "goop" to it, and then he searched around for something to do while he waited for the paint to soften. He decided to trim some of the trees in the backyard which were hanging way down. I went back there too, to give helpful advice as to which branches to trim. We really went to town! The yard looked so good, and it was so nice not to have to stoop down under low-hanging branches to walk around the back yard. So we kept right on going. We have this little area of trees that has developed quite a case of poison ivy, as well as a scraggly look because of all the underbrush and puny little saplings that have grown up. I told Bob that I thought we should clear out all the scrubby, scrawny weedy-looking trees, and then maybe we could see to get rid of the poison ivy. He started chopping, and a few hours later, wow! What a difference! It was like reclaiming our yard! There are still some areas of poison ivy, but it looks so bright and airy in there, instead of spooky and icky, like bugs were going to drop down on you since you were all the time brushing against low branches. We left the big trees, and now you can actually see their trunks, instead of all the weeds! We need to rake out all the nasty dead leaves, and then hopefully we can put some mulch down there in the spring to help keep down the poison ivy. After all that tree-chopping, we had to cut everything down into 4 foot sections and bundle it together for the trash men. Bob did go back and scrape off the top of the dresser, but there were I think 4 layers of paint on there, so it needs a few more applications of "goop". Definitely an on-going project. The yard was the most dramatically improved thing today, however. I am looking forward to waking up and seeing how good it looks out our back windows!

Schooling Boys

The Washington Times had an interesting article again today. This one was called Schools Learning About Boys , and it talks about the startling research that has discovered "the vast differences in boys' and girls' brains and how they affect learning." Once again, they do not ask the real experts (people like me who ONLY teach boys, LOL!), but they interview scientists who just study boys from a detached distance. Here are some of their findings as they relate to learning:

1. Boys learn better when it's cooler and lit with "cool lighting tones", whatever that means.

2. Boys don't hear as well as girls, so often teachers need to speak louder to them than to girls.

Here are some things they recommend doing to help boys:

1. Cut out computer game and TV screen time, since they don't do anything to help them develop their verbal brain centers.

2. Read out loud to the boys a lot, making sure to link pictures with words.

3. Schools should let boys draw, and then write about their picture, instead of the typical writing assignments like "Write a paragraph about what you did this summer".

4. Sitting should be optional; boys should be allowed to "move around in a disciplined way", although frankly I am not sure how that would work in a classroom setting.

5. Provide a wider variety of reading materials, such as "how things work" books that boys like. Do they need more suggestions? I can give them bookshelves upon bookshelves of titles! Adventure stories are very appealing too! My boys have always loved non-fiction books, no matter what they were about.

I certainly agree with all those suggestions! It turns out that 2 Virginia elementary schools are experimenting with having "boys only" classes for some grades, andthe boys are thriving there. We are way ahead of the times! I don't know about the lighting and temperature, but homeschooling certainly allows for movement, tailored and gradual writing assignments, lots of exciting books that boys WANT to read and listen to, and very little TV and computer game time! The key here is that finally researchers are realizing that the way boys learn isn't "bad": it's just "different". And teachers can work towards incorporating that into a classroom, although it would be more difficult in a mixed environment, since girls wouldn't like all the movement, and it might be hard to control. So it seems to me that the ideal situation is one where there are only a few students per teacher, and the teacher can look at each child individually to determine exactly what works best for him (or her), based on how they learn. Hey! Sounds like homeschooling!

Some Idiosyncrasies

A few days ago, my Aunt Claire posted a list of her idiosyncrasies. I decided to take the challenge, and it's taken me this long to come up with 5 of them--just kidding! LOL! I came up with 5 right off the top of my head! I just never sat down and typed them up. I didn't even have to ask anyone else to help me, although I'm sure Bob would have been glad to contribute. And I know Amy knows some others of mine, but since she doesn't comment on here, my secrets are safe with her. : ) (Now nobody go bugging her to spill the beans)

1. I must have a glass of ice water available at all times. I have 2 lovely insulated cups with straws that I got at the hospital after having Caleb and Jonathan, and one those goes upstairs every night with me, filled with ice water. During the day, I have a glass on the counter that I constantly refill. I even often take water with me in the car (like when we go to the commissary or on a longer errand), in case we get stuck in traffic and I get thirsty. At restaurants, I'm the one who always needs a water refill, and it really bugs me if the ice is all melted. By the way, I do have to use the bathroom often, even when not pregnant. LOL!

2. I eat no coconut ever. I don't even eat stringy things that have the consistency of coconut, like crushed pineapple in salads. I'm sure Amy remembers me eating a Kudos bar in our dorm room, stopping to look at the ingredients, and triumphantly announcing that I could tell there was coconut in there! I can't. stand. coconut. Period.

3. I must have everything done before I sit down, lie down, etc. So I always go to the bathroom, brush my teeth, and so on, even if I am just settling on the couch to read a book. I hate getting up when I am relaxing for something small! And along those same lines, I always try to only make one trip. Why waste the effort? I carry as much as I possibly can at one time!

4. Going along with #1 above, my drinks must be very cold, so I put ice in my milk, orange juice, well, everything. Except hot cocoa.

5. I can't stand eating soggy cereal so I gulp my cereal down each morning in record time, and no one must disturb me while I'm eating it. Soggy cereal with warm milk, like at hotels, is the absolute worst. HOW do I survive such torture?!

So there you have it. I was a little surprised to see how many of those dealt with food/drink. I don't even consider myself to be a picky eater! I guess I am an "idiosyncratic" eater (or, to be more accurate, drinker). I don't usually ask people to do these things, but I am thinking that we would all love to see my brother witw do this. I'm sure if he has problems coming up with any, he can always ask Mel! LOL!

In Honor of Shakespeare

Today we read about William Shakespeare in Story of the World. With that in mind, I'm going to share with you something we all thought was really funny that I read on The Well-Trained Mind board. It helped the boys see how Shakespeare wrote by having something familiar to them written in his style.

The following is from the Washington Post Style Invitational contest that asked readers to submit "instructions" for something (anything) but written in the style of a famous person. The winning entry was:

The Hokey Pokey (as written by W. Shakespeare)

O proud left foot, that ventures quick within
Then soon upon a backward journey lithe.
Anon, once more the gesture, then begin:
Command sinistral pedestal to writhe.
Commence thou then the fervid Hokey-Poke,
A mad gyration, hips in wanton swirl.
To spin! A wilde release from Heaven's yoke.
Blessed dervish! Surely canst go, girl.
The Hoke, the Poke--banish now thy doubt
Verily, I say, 'tis what it's all about.

"Don't Forfeit Your Peace"

I am just way too tired to post anything original tonight! The boys and I (along with our homeschool co-op)spent the day at Cox's Farm for their big Fall-Festival type thing. We went on a hayride, went down slides, drank cider and ate apples, had a picnic, saw baby animals, etc, etc., and now I am so exhausted! Bob took the day off to do some interviews with local real estate offices. He is wanting to move more in that direction, doing it part-time. As I look towards all the uncertainty of his looming retirement, I got this Elisabeth Elliot devotional in my email this morning and it really spoke to me.

"Don't Forfeit Your Peace"

It would not be possible to exaggerate the importance hymns and spiritual
songs have played in my spiritual growth. One of the latter, familiar to most of
you, has this line: "O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we
bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer" (Joseph Scriven).
Prayerlessness is one of many ways by which we can easily forfeit the peace God
wants us to have. I've been thinking of some other ways. Here's a sampling:

1. Resent God's ways.
2. Worry as much as possible.
3. Pray only about things you can't manage by yourself.
4. Refuse to accept what God gives.
5. Look for peace elsewhere than in Him.
6. Try to rule your own life.
7. Doubt God's word.
8. Carry all your cares.

If you'd rather not forfeit your peace, here are eight ways to find it
(antidotes to the above eight):

1. "Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them" (Psalm 119:165 KJV). "Circumstances are the expression of God's will," wrote Bishop Handley Moule.
2. "Don't worry about anything whatever" (Philippians 4:6, PHILLIPS).
3. "In everything make your requests known to God in prayer and petition with thanksgiving. Then the peace of God... will guard your hearts" (Philippians 4:6,7, NEB).
4. "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me... and you will find rest"
(Matthew 11:29, NIV).
5. "Peace is my parting gift to you, my own peace, such as the world cannot give" (John 14 27, NEB).
6. "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts" (Colossians 3:15, NIV).
7. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing" (Romans 15:13, KJV).
8. "Cast all your cares on him for you are his charge" (1 Peter 5:7, NEB).


"Grant, O Lord my God, that I may never fall away in success or in failure;
that I may not be prideful in prosperity nor dejected in adversity. Let me
rejoice only in what unites us and sorrow only in what separates us. May I
strive to please no one or fear to displease anyone except Yourself. May I seek
always the things that are eternal and never those that are only temporal. May I
shun any joy that is without You and never seek any that is beside You. O Lord,
may I delight in any work I do for You and tire of any rest that is apart from
You. My God, let me direct my heart towards You, and in my failings, always
repent with a purpose of amendment."
--St. Thomas Aquinas

Some more thoughts

When my brother told me that friends of his had read my "Day in the Life" post and became convinced they could not homeschool, I was amazed! Didn't you all notice I don't get up until after 8:00?! We only do formal schooling for at most 3 hours, from 9:30-12:30 except for Wednesday, where we do history in the afternoon?! I thought people would be ready to turn us in because our schedule was too light! LOL! The problem with writing down your schedule is that is everything sounds too neat and tidy--like everything just runs like clockwork. Well, sometimes that is true, but often it isn't! and the addition of each baby and each child who is ready to start formal schooling really plays havoc with whatever schedule I may have had. That's why I felt like I had to start homeschooling when Nathan was in kindergarten--so I could ease into it all. Believe me, there is nothing intimidating about teaching kindergarten to your own child! There are a zillion workbooks out there, even at Sams and WalMart! As I got more into homeschooling, I did more research and found different curricula I used, as well as different homeschooling styles. It was all gradual though.

Nathan is in third grade, so think back to your third grade class. You probably went to school form 8:00-2:30 or so. Your teacher would spend a long time going over various concepts a bunch of different ways in hopes of getting the slowest kid to understand while you were bored silly. You read little snippets of stories for "literature" and "reading comprehension". You were assigned several book reports of differing styles, ensuring that reading would also be "work". You did a lot of worksheets and busywork, and then you still had homework to do when you got hime. You were happy to not be learning, since it was so boring.

Well, in a nutshell, that's what I hope not to achieve with our homeschooling. I think that one of the most important things I could teach is how to learn and enjoy learning. Along with that goes a love of reading . Schools mainly focus on passing along information, especially if they must teach to tests. I can go deeper and help my children want to learn stuff on their own, as well as follow their own interests and move along in sujects as soon as one skill is mastered. I don't have to help 20 people understand a concept--just one! That's MUCH easier! I can surround my kids with great books so that reading is something they choose to do for fun--and why not?! The books are interesting and exciting, and you learn all sorts of cool stuff!

Really, every parent should be a "homeschooler", even if you contract out the academics. You have to be the one to model a love of learning, to encourage your kids to follow up on their own interests by taking special "field trips" with them, getting books out of the library that they find interesting, and so on. A teacher in a classroom simply can't focus all her attention on your child, so that part is up to you.

And if you are a Christian parent, God has called you to "homeschool" your child's character. (Deut. 6:6-8) He will be holding YOU responsible--not your child's school teacher--for the character development of your child. That requires you to search out teachable moments and stories that illustrate the Godly principles you are trying to impart. You must know your child and spend time with him to see what areas he is weak in, so you know what God wants you to be focusing on.

So in conclusion (finally!), instead of thinking that you could never homeschool, start thinking about how you already are or will be. And be open to the possibility that God may at some point call you to homeschool the academics too. That shouldn't scare you though--God ALWAYS provides the strength and ability to do the things to which He has called you. He is faithful! I am a testament to that! In some future post, I'll tell about how I knew that I would never homeschool (LOL!), as well as some of our shortcomings here, so you know I am definitely not up on some pedestal as "super mom" or anything. But for now, this post is long enough . . .

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or
imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory
in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and
ever! Amen!"

Ephesians 3:20-21