When your daddy works in a warehouse....

You have a steady stream of duct tape around the house. Monty brings home all types of tape and glue quiet often and it is a little girl's dream come true. Especially when he brings pretty, colorful tape. We all know that duct tape can fix just about anything but when you add a little imagination there is no end to the possibilities!

 Keslee has been on a shoe making kick lately.

 This white tape with the pretty black flowery designs was perfect for some baby shoes.

 ......and they fit!!

 Ain't she a cutie?!?!

 If your G.I. Joe doll doesn't have any pants, the zebra striped tape works just great!

 Got a barbie that just really needs a pair of knee high boots? Black duct tape to the rescue.

 Use black and zebra striped to make an entire  outfit.

 The paint splatter tape was the girls' favorite but we were only able to get one roll-enough for one shoe and a pair of flip flops.

We had enough of the flowery tape left from the baby shoes for Keslee to make a pair for Kalysa.

After Keslee had made everyone else a gift she ran out of all the pretty tape. She asked Monty to bring her some more home and unfortunately all he could get was this halloween tape with skull designs. It was not her favorite but the ugly design didn't take away from the fun of creating one more pair of shoes.
Oh what fun with duct tape☺

Give 'em what they really want

 Christmas day is approaching faster and faster and everybody is doing their last minute gift shopping. I have talked before about how important it is for us to have our children's hearts. Christmas is a perfect opportunity for parents and grandparents to secure that hold. The easiest and best way is to give them what they want. Now before any one gets all in an uproar, I am in no way saying we should give our children EVERYTHING they ask for. I am not saying that we should go into debt and spend beyond our means in order to appease a child's never ending appetite for more stuff. What I am saying is listen to your child when they tell you the things they would like to have. Consider their feelings while you are shopping. Especially if you ASK them what they would like to have!! I have had several conversations as of late with a few adults that have no memory of getting just what they wanted from their parents. It had nothing to do with a lack of presents, they got plenty of presents just not what they had longed for. It could be as simple as wanting a Superman color book and getting a Batman book instead. When that happens consistently with every present they receive, a child will begin to realize that they don't really matter to you.  The adults I know that had that type of a childhood do not have the type of relationship with their parents now that I hope to have with my own grown children. They struggle putting other people's feelings before their own weather that other person is their spouse or their own children. They were taught by example to always think of themselves first because nobody else would. They live their entire life in a state of disappointment and it seems impossible for them to really trust others. I am so thankful that my parents took the time to think of us at gift giving time. When a 4 year old ONLY wants a Holly Hobby Doll bed and that is exactly what she gets, she remembers -for her whole life-that her parents truly valued her and her feelings.

Thats what I love about homeschool!

After we finished our lessons together,  I gave each kiddo instruction on some lessons to do on their own while I finally got a shower. I had to go back to the laundry room to find my socks and I noticed everyone was gone from the school area-aka the kitchen table.  I thought I better double check that things were getting done and this is what I found....

 One boy laying on the couch all cozy under a blanket with his science workbook.......

and two girls on the back porch, also under a cozy blanket, with a math test and an SRA.

I love homeschooling☺

Trying to control myself

Within the first few days of being laid up on the couch, the kids and I started talking about what lessons God may have for each of us through this trial. The fact that God knew what was happening and was in control was something I wanted to keep in the fore front of our minds. I began to pray, on my own and with the family, that we would learn the things God had for us to learn. There were many different lessons with selfishness being the big one. I could see right away that my husband and kids would have to put aside any selfish tendencies. Monty and the kids were forced to think of and put my needs before their own for obvious reasons. I COULDN'T take care of myself. I needed help with everything from getting across the room, to getting a drink, to cleaning house. Me and my leg had to be on their minds at all times. When anyone took a shower, they had to remember to make sure there were NO drops of water on the floor because the slightest wet spot would send a crutch out of control and I would be on the floor. When the girls played they always had to remember not to leave any toys laying on the floor or my path would be blocked and I wouldn't be able to get around at all. Monty had to think of things he normally never does; do we need toilet paper, what day is the electric bill due, do the kids have any clean clothes. They were all at my beck and call day and night because there were plenty of times that I needed something I couldn't get to or got into a position that I could not get out of on my own. It seemed rather obvious that God wanted them to put aside their own selfishness, and they were awesome. I was SOOO proud of them...but what lessons did God have for me?
 You see, I really like to be in control of things. I am the first born, I am the leader, I like to take care of business. There are times that I think, well I am doing everything for everyone...where would they be without me...good thing that I'm not selfish or these folks would be lost...and I could go on and on.
Well that is pure selfishness!!
Yes, I normally take care of everything because I am the only one that can do it right (or at least my definition of right). I have to  make sure things get done around here or nothing will ever get done (or so I thought). Well it didn't take me long to see that my family is capable of surviving without me. They all ate, took baths, cleaned up and the kids even did a little bit of school WITHOUT ANY HELP FROM ME. No, Kenyon and Keslee did not do the laundry exactly like I do but the clothes were still clean. Even though the clothes did not always end up in the right drawer, they still got put away. Monty did not buy groceries the way I do. Sometimes he brought home things I would never get or even got the wrong thing but it worked just as well. I was helpless without them and they didn't need me to survive.
WOW!
That is a tough one for this control freak. I was not  accepting my lesson nearly as gracefully as the others. They had so easily dropped everything to care for me and all I could think about was all I would have to do to fix everything when I was finally able. I felt selfish for asking my family to do everything for me. It took me a while to realize that they were happy to help me but I was the one that was unhappy about receiving that help from them or anyone else. God knew that my own selfishness was so deep and hidden that the only way I would be able to  learn this lesson was if I were taken completely out. I HAD to be rendered totally useless for more than a few days in order to even start to see it.  I say start to see it because now I feel like I have barely scratched the surface. I have so much to change. Now that I am able, I am trying not to just take over again. I am trying to find a balance between getting things done and letting others get things done-on THEIR time and THEIR way.  Funny how controlling things has made controlling get so out of control.  I am now attempting to take control of that control. I had always counted my ability to keep things in check as an asset but the Lord has begun to open my eyes to what a liability it really is. A liability to me and every member of my family.

Practical lessons

We have been back to school and going strong for a few weeks now. Lots of students have a fall break but we had an extended "break" break from school. While I was on pain pills, we just could not keep up with our daily school. Kenyon did work on alot of his on his own but with all the extra responsibilities he took on he didn't get a whole lot done. The girls tried and mainly only did some math and handwriting. As I mentioned before, I was on pain pills every 4 hours for almost a month. Thanks to the wonderful side effects, I could not stay awake long and often nodded off when we would try to do school. Since we use My Father's World, I teach and read most of the history to everyone together each day and we have discussions and make notebook sheets. Another side effect I suffered was double vision. I could not see straight to read. That really puts a damper on things when our days normally revolve around ME reading. Thankfully I have been homeschooling long enough to realize that not all, and often not even most, of our learning time is actual "school" time. Even though we were not hitting the books, my kids were learning every single day! Of course, most other people do not always understand that as evident by a conversation Keslee had with the little girl across the street...

Neighbor girl: How are you getting your school work done?
Keslee: We haven't really done much school lately.
N.g.: I feel sorry for you! When you are 21 years old you are going to be so stupid!

Although I knew they were learning, when my concerned daughter relayed this conversation to me, I knew I had to do better at letting the kids know that they were learning as well and how proud I was of them. I then started taking the time to point out the things that they were learning that they may not have if it weren't for this trial.

 For instance...How many (non-homeschooled) 9 year olds can make an entire meal for a family of 5? Keslee had not done much cooking but always likes to "help" in the kitchen. One night she decided that she wanted to make dinner all by herself and she did! She ordered me to stay out of the kitchen and if she had a question she would come ask. When it came time for her to drain the grease off of the hamburger meat, I told her I would come help with that so that she did not burn herself. She assured me that she could do it but I just wasn't as sure. I decided to make my way into the kitchen anyway. Since I was not as quick as I used to be, I made it there just in time to see her finishing up with a smile on her face to say "See? Told ya I could do it."  She made taco salad for supper and topped it off with strawberry shortcake for dessert.

 After I got my staples taken out, I had to remove my splint and wash my ankle everyday. The incisions were doing good but the wound that the bone had made had to heal on it's own from the inside out. That was the only spot the doctor seemed real concerned about and we had to be sure that it did not "get ugly" (as my doctor put it). Since Monty is gone the biggest part of the day, I had to do something I never would have thought I could do. I had to put my medical care in the hands of a 13 and 9 year old. Kenyon and Keslee took over and were unbelievable! Everyday one of them would help me remove the splint and wash the wounds.

After everything was clean and doctored, they re wrapped my leg. Having 2 broken bones and no hard, protective cast really made me feel like my leg was very vulnerable.  The times that the splint was also off was a stressful time for all of us. My foot was purple, about 3 times fatter than the other one, had scars, steri-stips and open wounds and I could not move it. Any wrong move or if the splint was not exactly in the correct position put me in horrible pain and my nurses were very aware of that. To be able to wash, doctor and wrap a wounded leg under that type of pressure would have to be tough for anyone. To do it for someone you love and would never want to inflict pain on, well that is serious. All I can think about are the times when my kids had a splinter or a huge, deep sticker in their foot. As a mother, you know you have to get it out but as a mother holding a crying child that is screaming "DON'T TOUCH IT!" you almost don't want to do it. That must be how my own children were feeling. (and, yes there were times when Keslee and I both cried through the whole process.)     When I say that my children amaze me what I mean is...they AMAZE me!!!

There were lots of other practical lessons that the kids were learning along the way. Kenyon cooked almost everyday. He also did the laundry and taught Keslee how to use the washing machine so she could help. Kalysa got really good at taking clothes out of the washer and starting the dryer. Since our dishwasher went out right in the middle of everything else, Kenyon got to do dishes. The girls have done dishes by hand several times and I just did not realize that Kenyon never had before. Kalysa can now sweep the floor correctly. Since Monty got to do all the shopping, Keslee was the go to girl to ride along. She knows just which kind of dish soap, toilet paper, shampoo and etc. that we use in this house. It wasn't just me that noticed what all the kids were learning. One day my grandma came by and she told them that they shouldn't worry to much about their school work because we can catch that up anytime but they were learning things that they will use their entire lives; lessons that most kids today don't ever get to learn at home. Hearing that from her was a blessing to us all.

 Oh yeah, there was plenty of learnin goin on 'round here!  And of course EVERYONE in the house learned.....





how to walk on crutches ☺.



....2 months later.....

Well, it has been 2 months since that fateful night that changed our entire lives. I would have never guessed how much one broken ankle could effect-every-single-aspect-of our daily lives!!! I mean, I had done it before with no problem.
I broke the same ankle 20 years ago. I was 19 (HEY now-STOP doing the math!!!) and in college. We had already had a good snow storm in the Oklahoma Panhandle and on halloween day I was wrestling around with one of the basketball players as we each tried to throw the other into a snow drift. In Oklahoma, we don't just get snow without a good layer of ice to go with it and I found that ice....right in front of the dorm...with plenty of onlookers...I broke my ankle. As I sat in the ER with my best friends, Amy and Cathy, we laughed and joked the whole time. I got a splint and some crutches and headed back to school. I made it back to my room (did I mention that I lived on the the 3rd floor!?!) and that night I stayed in my dorm room all alone and watched out my window as everyone else went across the street to the ballroom and a weekend dance. That dance was the only thing I remember missing out on the entire time(well, besides some classes but that can't really be blamed on the leg). That broken leg did not  slow me down at all. I went up and down 3 flights of stairs everyday, I drove, went to the sporting events,  hung out with my friends, and I even moved out of the dorm and into my first house with that broken leg.

This was definitely not THAT broken leg.

Of course I have to note that...
     I only broke one bone then and this time I broke 2
    The bone did not come through the skin then like it did this time
     I did not have surgery then like I did this time
     and of course I am NOT 19 this time
This time I almost could not even function. The pain was unbelievable!! For about the first month I was on pain pills every 4 hours. I never slept more than about 2-3 hours at a time during the day or night. I had crutches but it was not anything like the first time. Since I did not have a hard cast and did not even have the surgery for the first 10 days, I could not even rest my foot on the floor. The angle of the splint was not 90* so my toe was slightly pointed. That meant that I could not put my foot behind me without banging my toe on the floor. Have you ever tried hopping on one foot with the other held straight out in front of you?? It is NOT easy. Thankfully the church loaned me a wheelchair and I don't know what I would have done without that!! Since I was basically immobile my husband and kids had to take over. Monty did all the shopping and errand running. Kenyon took over the cooking and laundry. Keslee and Kalysa helped out being mom's nurse, cleaning up and helping Monty and Kenyon as much as they could. Through it all, God was/is still in control and we each had lessons He wanted us to learn. We each had growing to do.  I am collecting my thoughts and hope to share some of that with you soon. As for now, I am up and walking-in a huge and uncomfortable hard boot! I am now able to gradually take back over the running of my household and we are getting back into a good routine with our school work. God is good!
    

Not in my plan!

This is NOT how I had planned on spending my fall and winter but apparently God had other plans.

Monday evening I stepped off my porch and ,somehow, completely missed the  bottom step. I hit the sidewalk just right and broke my left leg and skinned up my right leg. It was almost a compound fracture, the bone did cut the skin but did not come completely through. I will be having surgery Thursday to put pins in one side and plates on the other. This has really put a damper on things but my kids have been a great help during the day. They have not complained about having to do so much for mom because I can't do much of anything but make my way to the bathroom and then back to the couch. Kenyon has taken over the cooking and the kids have brought their school work in around me to do. It is going pretty slow since I can only stay awake about 2 hours at a time with the pain medicine but we are doing what we can. Monty has taken over running the errands and doing the dishes before and after work. I am not sure what exactly God has in store for us but my family is learning servant hood pretty quickly. I am learning that things don't have to only be done MY way in order for it to be considered done. One way or another, I pray that God's name is glorified through this trial we are facing.

Can you lick your elbow?

So I have been MIA in blog land but things have been moving right along here at home. Like this.....

 a typical day of homeschooling. I don't even remember what lesson we were doing when this topic came up and we had to take a "contest" break.

 We started back to school about a month ago. I still have a list of curriculum I need to buy for this year so we started by finishing up the things we did not finish last year. We had a few weeks of lessons left on the My Father's World-Rome to the Reformation. We have been working on finishing that before we start Exploration to 1850. Hopefully by the time we finish that I will have the funds to get the rest of what we need for this year which is mostly our read alouds, progeny press study guides, and some supplemental material for the girls.

Kenyon is doing a Baptist Heritage course this year that I am really pleased with. The author spoke at our church during our mission conference. We learned soooo much so I just had to buy the books. I did the course myself through the summer and Kenyon is doing it now. I now see why knowing where we come from is important for more than just cultural reasons. I may have more on this topic later if I can find the time and the words to write it out.

Keslee has still been having trouble with reading. She can read pretty good but not nearly as well as Kalysa or Kenyon when he was her age. Her writing/spelling is awful as well. She loves to write stories but I have a hard time reading them when she is finished. She has gotten into the habit of spelling words just the way they sound (which I know is allowed in many public schools now) and most of her words had no vowels. I have started Alphabet Island with her this year and I.AM.SO.IMPRESSED! We went ahead and started in level one, even though she knows all the sounds of the letters and can read and write 3 letter words with no problem and will be able to go through several of the lessons really quickly, but the beginning had a very detailed story about the vowels and how they "act". It has already opened up a whole new world for her. She has always been my child that need to experience things with ALL her senses in order to fully "get" it and Alphabet Island does that for her. Every letter is a different character (boy or girl) and they all have things they can or can not do. The story is phenomenal. The authors are obviously geniuses to come up with an on going story line detailing the way each "person" "acts". After just 10 lessons, I can read her stories. Her spelling has improved 100%! She is just as excited as I am because she doesn't have to struggle with it. It is finally making sense to her-YAY!!!!

We are still using Math U See and the girls are doing SRAs for reading comprehension. The girls are also starting to learn the recorder. That will help them get the basics down on reading music and then I hope to teach them both piano lessons. My mother said we can have her piano we just have not had a way to move it over here yet. I took piano lessons for about a year and I played the clarinet for 8 years so I should be able to get them started off with piano before we have to search out a "real" teacher.

Well, that is an overview of what is up here and I guess will work just fine as my introduction back into blogging.☺ Thanks for stopping by!

Surgery was needed

Nothing to be alarmed about, it was Keslee's baby that had to have surgery.
 Although her name changes often (currently it is Kate), this baby is very special. Not only has Keslee had her since before she was a year old, but she is also the doll that is very close to the size Kalysa was at birth. This baby's head is the same size around as Kalysa's was and they were about the same length. Actually the doll is a little longer at 14 inches than Kalysa was at just 13 inches long. As with any 9 year old doll that has been thoroughly loved, injuries occur. This baby girl's gash went around 3/4 of her neck.

After extensive surgery with LOTS of permanent stitches....

         She was as good as new!!!

And her mama was so glad to have her back and healthy that she does not even mind the scar.

You might be a homeschooler if...

I have read tons of "you might be a homeschooler if..." posts in bloggy world and I can relate to almost every single one of them. Some of them are pretty funny and all of them show the uniqueness of homschoolers. Instead of posting the same ones I've read before, I decided to share some examples from my own home. Feel free to share your own in the comments.

You might be a homeschooler if....

The kids ask "did you order school books?" anytime UPS is in the neighborhood.

Your kids say "the only Lady Gaga song I have ever heard was when preacher read some of the lyrics to us at church." and they are not afraid to explain to others why they shouldn't listen to it.

when your kids insist on getting the "Antony and Cleopatra" dvd even though dad is trying to convince them to get a cartoon movie.

you have ever heard "we haven't done school in awhile, can we please do some today?" in July.

you have to beat your kids to answer the door during school because they don't know the rest of the block is on spring break and you want to keep it that way.

you hear your kids say "You've never heard of the Barbary wars?!?" as they then explain them to their public school friends.

your kids negotiation techniques sound like "instead of cleaning my room right now can I just do some more math?"

when asked what grade he's in your son answers "7th-ish."

if you leave your computer and your son comes along and corrects the spelling in the blog post you were writing.

when you tell the kids to get the living room cleaned up and they immediately ask "Why? Who's coming over?"

when your doing school while others are out for a snow day but playing outside in the rain while everyone else is at school.

your kids think you've gone crazy if you say "we are only getting one book apiece at the library today."

your 8 year old can't tie her own shoe yet but can tell you who Julius Caesar was, recognizes a Roman Soldier in pictures, draw every phase of the moon, can explain why we can't live on Mercury or Venus, find the Mediterranean sea on every map, knows what country is shaped like a boot, etc. etc.....

It is no doubt that just because we homeschool makes us different from most and I love that. Just because our life is different makes it easy for the kids to go against the grain. They don't have to think as hard about not doing something just because everyone else does it. They don't worry about not being like everyone else. That is their whole life-constantly learning to stand alone.

Happy 4th!!!

 Here is to hoping you all had a safe and happy 4th of July!!

Thank you Lord for this great nation that we were born in.

Can I just get an essay test please!!!

Anyone that has tried to live for the Lord for more than a day knows that satan will attack you every chance he gets. Although the Lord allows us to face these tests He is faithful to be there with us till the end. Each test, trying as they may be, is really there to strengthen our faith. Now I have always been a pretty good test taker. Throughout school essay tests were always my favorite. I know, I am kinda weird that way. In high school everyone else groaned when Mrs. Cooper (Sr. English) would announce that the entire final would be done in essay form. I rejoiced! In college, when I found out that every single Philosophy test would be 1 to 3 questions-all essays-I knew I had a A for the semester. Unfortunately, in our Christian walk, we are not normally given the kind of test that we always do well with. Oh no, that would be way too easy and our Christian growth would come so slowly with each effortless battle won. Instead the Lord teaches us the same way that we homeschool our own children.
If you fail the test you retake it until you finally get it right!
This is not some government run system. There is no moving on to the next level until you are really ready. There is no option for skipping ahead. Not only is skipping ahead not allowed, your test will get harder and harder until the lesson is learned through and through.
Let me tell ya, I am really wishing there was an essay test available now! You see, the tests that I am a big failure at are the financial tests and I do believe they may just be the hardest ones out there!
It all started about six years ago. We bought a house with a mortgage payment based on 2 incomes. Within months of buying our house the Lord got ahold  of my heart and opened my eyes to the fact that I was not living for Him or raising my children for Him. No Problem!  We started being faithful to church. A+ Each week, it seemed, brought to light more worldly things we needed to get out of our daily life and we did that (for the most part-I am definitely not claiming to have removed every sinful thing from our home then or now but there were some serious changes fast!) A-  A few more months passed and the Lord showed me where He would have me to be as a mother and a wife-at home! Monty and I immediately began to make plans for that to happen. God saw our plans but implemented His own timing which sped our plans up significantly. We didn't fight it. A It was great to be following the Lord's leadership and each step seemed to be lit with a bright flashing arrow from the Lord leading to the outcome that He desired. Just a few more months and Monty got saved. Now he was also faithfully in church with the kids and I. A++ Another unmistakable flashing arrow appeared showing us that the Lord's plan for children was to be learning from us at home. You got it, Lord! A+ Within about 18 months we went from a 2 income family trying to live the American dream with a new mortgage, a little too much credit card debt, and a car payment to a homeschooling family living on about 1/2 the income we started with and the Lord was faithful through it all. The car and the credit cards were somehow paid off even without the extra income. You would think passing several tests of faith so easily would have built my faith up enough to make it through anything but then the Lord said it is time for you to tithe faithfully and support My church. Ok, we can do that-until something unexpected comes up. B- Whoops! That one wasn't so easy. So we try again C and again D and again F and each test gets harder and harder. I really do understand the importance of honoring God with our finances. I am sure I could write an awesome essay about just that but an essay is just not gonna cut it this time. My heart reminds me that my God is faithful but my head keeps reminding me of that mortgage(based on 2 incomes) that is passed due regardless of the fact that the truck HAD to have 2 new tires because the others had wires sticking out AND 2 new shocks to replace the broken ones that we discovered while changing the tires, AND a new battery because the old one had to be jump started every single time-all in one month. Not to mention the electric bill that should arrive any day now reflecting the charges incurred by 10 days of 100+ degree weather already this summer and it's not even July yet! Oh, yeah-there is still the rest of next years curriculum to buy.
Now I am not telling you these things as an invitation to my own personal pity party but because I need your help!
 NO! I am not asking for money!
I need something with much more value than money. Oh, me of little faith! I need your prayers and I need them badly!!!! You see, I know how this works now. I see how much harder each test gets when you continue to fail and I am really ready to move on. I HAVE to pass this time and there is no easy A coming my way. !

And I'm the crazy one?!?!

LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. Psalms 3:1

I know it is to be expected. I realize that the Bible warns us about it. People will hate us for His name's sake. The choices we make will often convict others about their own lives without us ever saying a word. They immediately get defensive and go on the attack when all we were doing was raising our children the way God has led us to raise them. It happens almost immediately when you start making changes in your life to honor the Lord. It is sanctification- setting us apart from the world and unto God. It is the growing pains of our Christian life. It is wonderful yet painful. Especially painful when the people you love are the ones against you which, in my experience, is most common. Most difficult for me is trying to remember that their eyes are often still closed to the truth. No amount of arguing and defensiveness will change that. I have made that mistake and have the ruined relationships to prove it. The hardest thing for me is to hold my tongue when other's logic makes NO sense!

Here are several of the things I heard when we started to homeschool and the things I thought(or said-probably too often):

"Well I could never homeschool." Ok, well I didn't ask you to.

"You just want to keep your kids home so you don't have to be held responsible" uuuhhhh...what? I believe now 100% of the responsibility is on me. I wont have the chance to blame the teacher but you still do.

"I think Christian kids need to be in public school to be a light to the others" so let me understand...you send your kids to school for years then college to prepare them before sending then into the world to have a career and support themselves but a Christian child should be held responsible for the salvation of others by the time they are 5 (which is very often before they themselves are even saved)?

"How do you even know they are learning anything" Well, let's see. I am with them 24 hours a day. I see what they do in school and then how they are applying that in everyday life. How do you know? Oh, right! They brought you home a paper that said so.

"Well you can't just keep them hidden away from everybody" Of course we can't....at least not until we finish the moat! ;)

Well now that we have been homeschooling for 4 years the people that know me must be convinced that they will NOT sway me on that one so they have to move on to another issue. The hot topic as of late has been purity, modesty and courtship. I can understand some of the questions about homeschooling but why anyone would not want purity to at least be the goal for their children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins or any other child is just beyond me! Now understand, my children are only 13, 9, and 8. Really it is only the 9 and 8 year old that I receive these comments about. For some reason my son's choices seem to be ok with people but the raising of my not even teen age girls is who people seem to have a problem with. You see, there is still several years before even my opposition would be comfortable with my girls dating so the topic is not one that comes up naturally. Some of these people could make big bucks writing for late night talk shows with the inventive ways they come up with to segway into this issue just to cause conflict and start a debate. Here are some of my favorite arguments:

"That isn't fair, did you and Monty wait?" Maybe it is just me but I thought all parents wanted to prevent their children from making the same mistakes they did.

"I would NEVER ask my daughter to wear a dress all the way to her knees!" Now your on the right track-I don't ASK my daughters either. I am the mother so I TELL them what is expected!

"That (courtship) is never gonna work. You know Keslee has a mind of her own and will do what she wants to!" First of all, ALL of my kids have a mind of their own and that is kinda the point. They are being taught to think for themselves instead of just doing what everyone else does!

"You don't want them to date?! You can't just never let them meet people!" Since when did "dating" mean "meeting people"? We live in a town, we go to stores, libraries, parks, restaurants and every single time there are people there. There are people at church. There are houses all around us and people live in all of them. They already meet people all the time and haven't dated yet so....

"I understand God has the perfect spouse picked out but what if that person never comes?" That either means you don't think God is powerful enough OR your ok with my kids settling for less just in case. Either way....WRONG!

"Expecting your kids not to kiss other people before they get married is just plain stupid!" Even if you think it is an impossible goal, why would anyone not support it as something to strive for? What good ever comes from making out with lots of people before marriage?? Can you give me one benefit.....didn't think so!

And I think my all time favorite would be "Every time I talk to you, you just sound crazier and crazier!" to which I say Thank you! That tells me that I am most definitely on the right track!

Now everything I have written are quotes from various people in my life. All of which claim to be Christians and all of which claim to love me and my children. If either of those are really true I wonder why it would be perfectly acceptable to them for my children to grow up to be promiscuous, scantly clad, relationship hopping adults. Some of the same people that told me "you only fail if you fail to try" when I was growing up are now telling me "Your goal is to hard and it is stupid to try!" with my own kids. People that ask their own kids "if everybody else jumped off a bridge, would you jump off also?" argue to me that I must be doing things wrong because I don't want to do it like everyone else. And then of course there is "I know what the Bible says but..." STOP RIGHT THERE! If you are convinced you know more than He does and could have better explained what He meant to say than the way He already said it then this is obviously something you need to take up with God before you bring it to me!

Now let me get this straight...the ones that refused to let me listen to Michael Jackson but now have no idea what is on their own child's ipod; that ridiculed me as a teenager for wearing a knee length denim skirt because it was not proper to wear to church but now allow their own teens to run around in itsy bitsy teeny bikinis; the ones that say "when your child is out of your sight they are in danger" but send their own children to spend 8 hours a day to be supervised, taught and indoctrinated by a person they met for 10 minutes at meet the teacher night; the ones that told me I could be anything I wanted to be and do anything I set my mind to; the ones that have had innumerable physical relationships that didn't work out; The ones that say we should live for God but now tell me am going overboard for my stance on Biblical principles.....These are the ones that think I am the crazy one!!??!!
Yeah! OK! Gotcha!

WHEW!

What a weekend! We were busy, busy, busy! Just a quick rundown of what all we had to do.

Friday-make a modest swimsuit for Gabby before camp. spend the day doing laundry. get the girls clothes ready to pack for church camp on Monday. Family fun night at church from 6-midnight. Our theme verse for the year is "As Newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby." My preacher is helping us all to focus on growing in every aspect of the word; grow in grace, grow in knowledge, grow in numbers, and grow as a (church) family. One way we grow together as a family is to spend time together, laugh together, get to know each other, work together and play together. Every other month we have a family fun night at church where we get to do all of those things. We have food, devotions, games and movies. The movie we had this month was "As with Roses The true untold story of Obadiah Holmes". Unfortunately I was trapped in a Monopoly tournament (that I did NOT win but I DID beat D.J. in one round so my goal was accomplished!!)and missed the movie so I will definitely have to borrow it from the church library.

Saturday-got up early to sell candy bars for the last camp fundraiser. Kenyon had a birthday party for a fellow scout right after the fund raiser. Monty took the kids out to sell a few more candy bars that we have left, continue laundry, finalize my children's church lesson and pack the girls suitcase.

Sunday-teach children's church, come home, cook lunch and take a nap, go back to church, birthday supper fellowship after service. Only I did not get to enjoy the fellowship.

Right at the end of the service our cell phone went off 3 times(it was on vibrate in Monty's pocket). Since someone was calling non-stop, Monty checked and it was Greg. Greg is Mamie's husband and Mamie is my good friend with a baby due in a few weeks. I slipped out and called him back (Mamie had not been feeling well so they stayed home from church). I called him back and he told me that Mamie's water had just broke. We made plans for them to come by the church and drop their other 3 kids off and pick me up. Monty agreed to take her kids home and Jacinta went to babysit. It took about 25 minutes for them to get to the church and then we had about 30 minute drive to the hospital. Mamie's contractions were coming about every 3 minutes so I was able to help "coach" her through them as Greg drove (80 mph down the turnpike!) When we got there they checked her and she was already dilated to a 7 so they moved her directly to her own room and started the IV. As soon as that was finished the nurse checked her again and she was fully dilated. They did all they could to get her not to push since the doctor was not there but the baby was not waiting. She was crowning without any pushes.

One push later Shaelynne Grace was born-less than 2 hours after labor started, less than 30 minutes after we got to the hospital with no doctor present. It was the first time I have personally witnessed a birth and it was AMAZING! I stayed with them until around 12:30am and drove their vehicle home to throw the rest of the girl's stuff in their suitcase.

Monday morning I finished the paper route and then woke the girls up about 7:30am so I could fix their hair. I like to put Keslee's hair in lots of braids so she wont have to worry about it at camp. With hair as thick and as curly as hers you either know how to fix it or you don't so it is best if I just make sure nobody has to worry about it. We then loaded the car, went and picked up Mamie's 3 kids and headed to the hospital. They all got to meet their new baby sister. We passed the baby around for a little while then loaded back up and headed to the church. Keslee, Kalysa and Gabby (Mamie's daughter) and the rest of the group headed out for Church camp. When Kenyon and I got home around 3pm, it was definitely nap time!!!

Tornadoes

As you probably heard, Oklahoma City and surrounding areas were hit by massive tornadoes last week. I have to say, our meteorologists are AWESOME!! Channel 4's Mike Morgan and David Payne had been warning us for several days that the weather pattern was setting up to look exactly as it did in May 1999 and May 2010 when Oklahoma saw some of the largest most devastating tornadoes to date. I attribute the fact that Oklahoma had about 5 massive tornadoes that day affecting about 14 different towns but only 10 deaths to the exceptional meteorologists we have. It is obvious by the number of awards these men have won that they are great at their jobs but watching them work together on air, usually with Mike watching the radars and David out chasing the storms, is just amazing. Their love for their field, respect of the storms and concern for the people is evident in every broadcast. The footage that David Payne has captured in his chases is unbelievable. During this storm it almost felt like we were watching the news in 3D because he got so close. We got to see a electric pole snap and fly right over his vehicle as it happened. Actually he got a little too close but thankfully was able to get out of the way.
I have seen lots of the damage over the last few days but the roads have been so crowded with volunteers and clean up crews, I had not been able to get close to much of it. Since the sun was just rising and the streets were empty yesterday morning, after the paper route, I decided to check out some of the damage around town that I had not been able to go by. This is what I found.....

A pile of debris in a front yard after 3 days of clean up. The houses in this neighborhood look fine but the debris is everywhere!



It is kind of hard to tell but this tree is basically cut in half

Insulation and tin scattered throughout the field beside a veterinary clinic.

The front of the Vet clinic.

The side of the clinic. The Vet, his wife and daughter where inside when the storm hit. Thankfully they are all ok. This is the 3rd time this clinic has been hit by a tornado and they took cover in the center kennel-the only spot that withstood the last two hits.

Trees shaved off just above the ground.

The sunrise makes it hard to tell but the glare is actually the roots of this tree ripped right out of the ground and laying on its side.

More trees snapped like twigs.

I am pretty sure this belongs in a field and not a drive way! This house has some roof damage but if you look in the background, the shed or barn is demolished.

The large square in the top of the tree is a piece of some one's roof.

This WAS a 2 story house, now only one remains (sorry about my finger☺).

Tin, boards and trash mangled in some broken trees.

More trees just splint in two.

Another house that looked fine but their yard is littered with debris.

This house looked ok but the garage is caving in. From the other side I saw that a tree is actually on the roof of the garage. Not sure, but since the way the cars were parked in the yard it looks as though the residents may be staying there.

This is what is left of a house of one of our paper customers. We were not able to get down their street for several days because of down electric poles and debris in the road.

Another angle of the same house. I thought I recognized their house on the news and was just able to confirm that this morning now that the road has been re-opened.

Kenyon's scout leader, Geoff, let us know about a command station set up at a church in town so Saturday the kids and I volunteered there for a few hours. They have all the classrooms set up with table and tables of donated clothes. Here is Kenyon sorting them by size.

They are also serving hot meals to victims and clean up crews. Even little one's can help divide girl scout cookies into separate baggies for dessert!

While we were there they served a couple hundred people a meal. Several came in and ordered 10 or 20 meals to go that they were taking to the crews working all over town cutting trees and cleaning up. They also had cases of water and toiletry items for those in need.

Since Monty has the car during the week I don't know that we will be able to help again even though they are continuing with meals for several days but if the opportunity arises we will gladly go!

Once again God has shown us His power and once again we are thankful for His protection!!

You know I have lived my entire life with tornadoes in Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle but the last several years seems to have produced more powerful storms than ever before. Combing that with the fact that we have broken several records on amount snowfall, amount of rain, lack of rain and others it just makes me wonder...Were we warned about that somewhere??? Maybe Matthew 24:7??? I'm just sayin.