Where your treasure is

I have heard several things from other parents as of late about how their young children (like 6-10) have discovered the different "high dollar" clothing labels and now will only wear soandso. These poor parents then fret over "Oh, how will we ever make it through the teen years when it is so expensive to have little kids."  These parents have created their own monster and will pay dearly for it later. I have tried very hard to not allow my children to be overly picky and I sure don't want them to be materialistic. The Bible tells us to lay our treasures up in heaven and where our treasure is there will our heart be also. When our treasures consist only of the latest styles, the best car, the biggest house, and ALL the latest gadgets there is no room left for God. Of course I want to be able to give my children some of the things that they want but I also want them to be appreciative of what they have. On Christmas the Lord gave me the opportunity to see first hand that the efforts I have put into my children have not been in vain. The kids know full well that this year has not been a great year financially and I honestly think they expected little to nothing in the way of presents. They never saw me bring anything home from a shopping trip (I'm very sneaky!) so they had no evidence that there would be presents at all. That did not seem to bother them in the least. The excitement was still there and we had lots and lots of discussions about what Christmas is REALLY about. They enjoyed seeing the decorations around town and even wanted to stop and explain to people why the nativity scene in their yard was not correct. They were excited to get to see their Nana, to spend a night away from home, and just have a few days of family time. On Christmas morning they woke up to one present apiece in the living room and they were so grateful. They were happy with what they got even though none of the 3 presents were even new! I was given a 10 speed bike the week before Christmas and Kenyon just happened to need a new bike. It was in perfect condition but the chain was rusted. I asked Kenyon what he thought about it and he just said "just what I wanted, all I need now is can of wd40!" I assured him I would be buying a new chain but just did not have time before Christmas to get one after I got the bike. The girls each got a Baby Alive doll that I had found on Craigslist and of course they each loved them. We then got ready for church and headed out the door. I already had the car packed with clothes, pillows and blankets for a trip to Nana's house. Church that morning was great and the kids were happy to share what they had gotten with all their friends. There was not a hint of disappointment from any of them. After church we loaded up and headed to Monty's mom's house. When we arrived, she took all three kids to her room to show them the stockings stuffed full of goodies she had prepared for them. When they came out of her room to share this unexpected treat they saw this......

 There was nothing under that tree when we walked in. It took only a few moments for them to notice that THEIR stockings were under that tree! They were in a total state of unbelief. They had no idea how their stockings made it to Nana's house. They started asking if I had mailed them or something and even "made their brain hurt" trying to figure it out.  (did I forget to mention that the pillows and blankets in the back of the SUV were not just for a overnight trip but also to cover a load of presents and stockings☺told ya I was sneaky!) They still never figured out how their stockings got to Nana's house but were pleasantly surprised that the gifts also had their names on them.
After I had been sufficiently assured that tons of gifts really was NOT the main thing about Christmas in my children's hearts, we let them open their new presents.

 Keslee really has a desire to learn to knit, crochet and sew. She got a knitting machine, a weaving loom and a friendship bracelet kit. She has plenty of projects to work on now.

 "Oh Bother." I just love Eeyore and so does Kalysa. Keslee got the matching Pooh Bear.

 Look at that smile☺ She got exactly what she has been wanting for the past year....

 Her own MP3 player loaded with her favorite songs by great singers like Brother Jayson, Kaylie, Sarah, Jessica, Hannah, and the Petricks-all of which she enjoys seeing live on any given Sunday. Kenyon and Keslee both got one last year and Kalysa has waited patiently all year to be able to enjoy her music without having to ask her sister.

 Monty got just what he wanted as well, a Dallas Cowboy trash can to go in his Dallas bathroom.

 After presents there was plenty of family time. Time to try to explain your games to Nana.

 Time to put together your new Build-a-bear.

 Even time to start on some of your crafts-like making your own head bands.
and of course............

                                         TIME TO EAT!!!

 We had a great time on Christmas day and a beautiful day the next day. Just sunny and warm enough for Kenyon to try out his new football with his dad.

Of course, no day that daddy does not have to go to work would be complete without an impromptu wrestling match!

All in all, we had a great Christmas with Monty's mom. And I got just what I wanted-a day full of surprises and smiles, and lots of family time without greed and selfishness. There is my treasure-sitting on the couch with their Nana!

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.

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.

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.

Well, it happened :( Good-bye Fred!

It has been 20 years since I graduated from high school and I really did not keep in contact with anyone from high school. I still have family that live in the town I grew up in so I have "heard things" through the years. Except for the occasional Christmas card from the girl that was my closest friend, I had no contact with high school classmates until I joined facebook. There I have enjoyed seeing every one's kids and just exactly what everyone grew up to be.

Last weekend our family got to spend some time with another (very sweet!☺) family that go to our church. As a matter of fact, said friend and Monty have known each other since they were about 3 years old and it has been sooo wonderful that the Lord led them to our church so that we could know her husband and daughter and she and I could become friends as well!! As they reminisced about people from their childhood they mentioned several people they both know that have passed away. I made the comment that if anyone I went to school with has passed I sure never heard about it.

Well, it happened! Wednesday I checked my facebook page just to see posts from several high school classmates expressing their shock and sadness that we lost one of our our.

Fred Solis

Fred was 40 years old, a husband, a father, a Spanish teacher, a coach, and a friend. Several news clips are out about his tragic death like this one and this one.

Just a day after seeing first hand devastation from the tornadoes that ripped through and around my town(thankfully my family and our properties were not affected except for a few hours with no electricity!). Emotions were running high already so the news of the death of a classmate, especially this one, has really hit me hard. It just solidifies the truth that tomorrow is never promised. It immediately brought me back to Perryton Texas as a young teen.

(Fred, Shane, William, and Jorge dressed up in speech class 8th grade 1985)

Eighth grade was the time I got to know Fred the best. You see I was a typical Junior High girl with typical Jr. High crushes. At that time I was totally in love with William and had been since he moved to town in 6th grade. Of course he had NO idea!! That is until 8th grade. I don't even know how but everybody found out that I had a major crush on William. I was teased in the hall and totally embarrassed in the lunch room. As typical Jr. High boys, many of William's friends were extremely mean! Many were but Fred never was!

(Senior picture from the Sr. edition newspaper)

Yes, Fred did some teasing but it was never backed by malice. He was never mean or hateful but always friendly. He never tried to publicly humiliate me but seemed more to sympathize. We became friends.

(after graduation 1990)

Not best friends that hung out together often, but friends. Two people that respected each other as individuals with feelings. Friends that could laugh or talk together in class or at a school function or could have an occasional phone conversation. A friend that showed me exactly what kind of person he was during our eighth grade year and never changed throughout our entire high school years. From listening to the students he taught and the people he worked with as a grown man 20 years later-He was still exactly the same. He obviously made an impact on people throughout his entire life and his absence will be apparent.

Good-bye Fred!

A little less excitement this weekend Please!!

I have a good friend that is due to have a baby girl in the middle of June. I have never gotten to witness a birth (other than my own and they were c-section so that doesn't count) so Mamie and her husband have invited me to join them in the delivery room when the baby comes. I will be there to catch Greg in case he hits the floor since he does not normally do very good when any amount of blood is involved. Hehehe! As you know (if you have been reading here) I have been trying very hard to change my schedule and go to bed earlier. Last Saturday it seemed that all the stars had aligned and I was actually going to be able to go to bed around 10pm. That would be nothing short of a miracle around here and would have been so wonderful since I have to get up around 2:30am to throw Sunday papers. As I lay enjoying the comfort my pillow, slowly drifting off to an extra early sleep I was interrupted by the phone. Greg was calling and Mamie thought she was in labor. We headed to the hospital a little later, after making sure the contractions were not stopping. Mamie was very dehydrated. They gave her two bags of fluid through an IV and a shot to stop the labor. After she was fully hydrated and the contractions stopped we headed back home, around 3:30am.

We got back to town just as mom was getting started on the paper route. She had rolled all the papers by herself and I met up with her and got my half. Our paper route is a rural route so we have lots of country dirt roads. I had just finished one small neighborhood off the highway and immediately turned onto a little dirt road. This road a one lane dirt road and is covered with trees on both sides. It has 1 house on it about 1/2 mile from the highway. Just a minute after I had turned onto the dirt road a car turned in behind me. Now I have NEVER seen another car on this road at night and it was going fast enough to catch up to me pretty quick. I had my mom and my brother on the phone and let them know I all of a sudden had a car following me on this out of the way dark road. It stayed pretty close behind me as I neared the house that we throw the paper to. Normally we pull into the drive way and turn around, put their paper in the paper tube and go back to the highway. Since I have a mystery stalker, I decide to pass the house because their driveway has a locked gate preventing anyone from driving the 1/2 mile up to their house. At this point all I could picture was pulling into that drive and having a crazy murdering stalker stop behind me blocking me from going anywhere! I sped past the drive with my stalker right on my tail. Another 1/2 mile and the road curves around and passes by 2 more farms. Since the cows in the field did not seem to be coming to my rescue I continued on at about 45 mph with the stranger right on my tail. Another mile and I got to a stop sign. I made a sufficient stop and turned right. Sure enough so did my stalker! By this time my heart is beating pretty fast and my hands are shaking. I let mom know I was still being followed and she headed my direction. It wasn't long before mom could see both of our tail lights and was following us. I quickly formulated a plan. We have several police officers on our route so I let mom know I was heading to one of their houses and was gonna pull in the drive and lay on the horn. Another mile and I came to another stop sign. I made a quick stop and headed in the direction of the cops house. Sure enough-I was still followed but this time, after a few hundred feet, I saw red and blue lights. IT HAD BEEN A COP THE WHOLE TIME!!! I was furious!!! I pulled over with my heart racing and my hands shaking so bad I could barely hold the steering wheel. As he approached my window all prepared to investigate me I leaned out my window and LET-HIM-HAVE-IT!!! As I started yelling things like "YOU TOTALLY JUST SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME!! WHY WERE YOU FOLLOWING ME LIKE THAT!! NOBODY EVER GOES DOWN THOSE ROADS!! I WAS CONVINCED I WAS ABOUT TO BE MURDERED!! HOW DARE YOU!!....." mister policeman just kinda took a step back. I guess he was under the impression that HE would be conducting this interview and I was the one under suspicion. As my son would say-"HE JUST GOT TOLD!!!" Of course he was a little taken back by this but after I finished my tirade I calmed down enough to let him know I was just the paper girl. By this time mom had caught up to us and he was explaining that he had just been discussing with another deputy that the area I was driving through would be the ideal place for a wave of burglaries since they NEVER see anyone out there at night. When he saw me going in and out of neighborhoods and then turn onto the lonely dark dirt road he assumed the worst. I told him my plan to pull into the policeman's house down the road and he agreed that was a good plan. After a few minutes we were both laughing about the situation and he let me go about my business without even asking to see my license and with the knowledge that Yes people do go down these roads every night but it is normally just us paper people.

Here's to hoping tonight is not near as exciting!!!

Amazing Oils

I have not had a lot of experience with natural remedies but I am convinced that the Lord has provided us with all that we need. Over the past year or so I have been learning more and more. I must say that I am totally and completely amazed with peppermint oil. Did you know that it is a natural pain reliever?? A few years back I bought a small bottle of pain relief spray called super ouch spray. A member of our family was selling it at a family reunion. I have never found it anywhere else but the main ingredient was peppermint oil. At that time I had a horribly painful heel spur. Some mornings my heel would hurt so bad that I could not even step on that foot. I started spraying my heel every time it hurt and within a few months the pain stopped completely. Do you know that it has NEVER come back?!?! I have also used it on a tooth ache and I believe prevented myself from needing a root canal. Recently I have discovered another use for peppermint oil. I have menstrual cramps about once every 3 months or so. They are not nearly as bad as they were when I was a teenager but they are definitely not pleasant either. Just one or two drops of peppermint oil on the tip of the finger and rubbed on the belly button and POOF! the pain is gone!! I mean it is seriously that quick. No waiting 30 minutes for the medicine to kick in. It is mere seconds. It sounds completely crazy. It makes absolutely no sense. It is just a tiny drop on the skin and the internal pain is gone!!! I have a friend that has tried the peppermint oil for cramps(months ago) and was as amazed at the results as I was. Within about a month she is due to have a baby girl and is planning on a natural birth. She is gonna take her peppermint oil with her to the hospital. I'll have to let ya know if it helps the labor pain.

Time for a change

As you may know, I do a paper route everyday which means I get up around 4:30 am (except Sunday mornings when it is more like 2:30am). That in itself is really no big deal. Lots of people start their days around that time every morning. The problem for me is that our lives have never been morning kinda lives. Monty and I used to both work the late-late shift getting home around 4am. Our "normal" bedtime has always been about the time others are just getting up. As we have had kids and jobs have changed that has slowly moved up to a more respectable bedtime. Still not what most people would consider normal but it has always worked for us. On a typical day I get to bed between 12am and 2 am which gets me 2-4 hours of sleep before the paper route. Normally I take a nap after the route and we start school around lunch time. I have been able to pull that schedule off for about 3 years but for some reason it is no longer working. I have slowly gotten behind on keeping my house and, all you moms know, once you get behind a little it only takes the blink of an eye and you are drowning with no end in sight. Well, that is where I have found myself so something had to change! My first choice was to stop doing the paper route and devote all my time to my home. Since financial burdens prohibit that from happening at the moment I had to find another solution. For about the last month I have been slowly changing our household schedule. I have been making myself stay up in the mornings instead of taking my nap. Even on the days I only get 2 hours of sleep-I do everything I can to stay up. That has given me a few hours every morning to get things done before my kids are up. When they get up we have breakfast and start school in the morning. We can normally be finished with school between 1 and 3pm. After chores have been done and school is finished for the day I try to get in a nap. It has been really tough. I still don't always get to bed much earlier but my internal clock is slowly changing. I am happy to say I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Disclaimer

Ok, so once again I have been missing from blog land. I really enjoy my blog and have stopped in often with the intention of posting something new but for some reason I always end up leaving with nothing new to say. I have spent lots of time wondering to myself just why I can't seem to share anything new. Why can I not just leave a simple little post about the cuteness of my kids or the weather and move on?
Well I have come to the conclusion that the problem is within me. I am not really sure my purpose in this particular post. I guess I would call this a disclaimer. I want to let you know my heart. I love the Lord Jesus Christ. I want the light of Jesus to shine through me and that is in where the problem lies. I feel so inadequate. I know myself in all my sinfulness. I see where I fail daily and even hourly. I don't want to be a stumbling block for anyone in their walk with the Lord. Most of all, I don't want my failures to make my Lord look bad. With those thoughts in mind, when I am going through a tough situation and especially if it is a situation I have not or am not handling a well as I should, I have a hard time discussing anything. I am not very good at faking it. If I were to just blog about nothingness, I would feel like I am falsely portraying a person who is doing such a good job at living faithfully for the Lord when I know that is not always the case. If I were to just spill out all of my failures for the world to see I would feel as if I have let down the Lord and let down anyone who may be out there that has ever looked to me for inspiration or encouragement with my own hypocrisy. So there ya have it. I say nothing, talk about nothing, post nothing and here we are.
Well that is not working so good for me because....well...I like to talk. I like to share my thoughts and experiences and interact with people. That is the whole reason I started a blog in the first place. So, here is the disclaimer part.....
I am NOT perfect
I am not the best help meet
..I have a very hard time being submissive to my husband
..Meek and mild are adjectives never used in conjunction with my name
..my husband and I don't always communicate well with each other
I am not a great homeschool mom
..sometimes I yell too much
..some days school doesn't get done at all
..sometimes I don't expect enough of my kids
..sometimes I expect too much
I am not the greatest keeper of my home
..my laundry is ALWAYS behind
..my house is never really clean
..my sink holds at least a few dirty dishes most of the time
I am not the greatest Christian
..I don't always read my Bible
..I miss church sometimes
..I try to take control to often instead of letting go and letting God
..my faith is not always strong

There ya have it! Now I am not too vain to believe that anyone ever really believed that I was anywhere close to being perfect but I just needed to say that. Now I feel like I can share again. I don't know yet how much of the bad I will share but just know that it is there. Through it all, I am still growing in the Lord. I am always learning and changing and now you have many specific examples of areas you could pray for me about.

November is not over yet!

Ok, I just could not let an entire month go by without one single blog post going up. I know I am cutting it kinda close but November ain't over yet! (ok, so it may be by the time anyone reads this but anyway...)



WOW! I can't believe November is almost gone. Where oh where has it gone?? I am just sitting here wondering what exactly was it that has kept me from my blog? What did we do in this past month? Wasn't it just yesterday that the neighborhood was being decorated with pumpkins and scarecrows? Now the trees and Christmas lights are popping up all over the place and another page is being ripped off of the calender.
Well let's see.....I spent a lot of time this month trying to get back on top of the mess piles in my house, school has been chugging right along, Kenyon has had a great time being busy with boyscouts, Kalysa had 2 trips to Shreveport....I guess we have been kinda busy.



About my house...It has been a long time since I have felt on top of things. I am much more familiar with the drowning under piles feeling. Well, enough was enough and we have done something about it. It all started with the girls bedroom. For the past several I don't know how longs, they have had the bunk beds separated into two independent beds. Come to think about it, that drowning feeling started not long after their beds were separated. I never realized it but their room was holding up the entire house! With two beds in their not so large room there was very little play area left. That room was the most disgusting room in the house. I am not exaggerating at all. Even after spending an entire day with them cleaning, 2 days was the record before you could no longer walk through the room. I had tried helping them, punishing them, and even removing their toy box and leaving them only with 1 baby doll apiece. Nothing worked. That room always looked like the after tornado pictures we have so often seen on the news and it inevitably spilled over into most of the rest of the house. Well 3 weeks ago I put those bunkbeds back together freeing up over 1/2 of the room. The girls and I went through everything. We got rid of trash and found a place for everything. They were excited to have so much room to play. And would you believe that 3 weeks later that room is still clean and has even been the cleanest room in the house several times!?!? (I am tellin ya, if you would have seen it before-you wouldn't believe it now!) Once that one room was conquered the rest of the house just seemed to fall into place and I feel like I am on top again! YIPPEE!





Remember the stick system I started in our school? Well they are really working out good. It has kept us all on track and nothing is getting forgotten. They have been a great motivator. One week Kenyon did not want to cooperate and did not get many sticks done at all. I did not say a whole lot to him about it but come Monday morning his cup was full again and also held the dreaded black stick. When it hit him that he had NO games-gameboy, xbox, OR computer-he decided he did not like that option at all! He spent Tuesday and Wednesday almost dawn till dusk both days getting his entire weeks worth of school work done (besides the part we all do together). He worked hard and I was very proud of him. It was very encouraging to me to see him work so hard on his own to make sure he got everything done. That confirmed to me that by the time he is ready for high school he will be ready to work independently and be responsible for himself (which is one of our goals).





At the first of the month, Kalysa had her year check up scheduled in Shreveport. She had a gait analysis to compare the way she walks now to the way she walked before the surgery. After that test, she had a new splint molded to account for the growing she has done and saw the doctor. When the Doctor did all the measurements, they were still not real happy about how tight her calf muscle is so they decided to put her in a cast to hold it in a slightly stretched position. That decision really felt like a step back for me but she was super excited about it. She just really loves having a cast on-crazy kid☺. I guess after about 25 casts in 5 years ya either love them or hate them. I am glad that she doesn't hate it since they are such a constant part of her life. She got a green cast and 3 weeks later we made another trip to get it removed and pick up her new splint. Although her measurements were not as good as the doctors hoped, she really has made a lot of progress. She can now stand on her left foot and balance for a full minute. Before surgery she could not do that at all and after surgery she could only balance for 6 seconds. She can also hop on her left foot and actually come off the ground-something she was never able to do before. She has been working hard on walking with the heel-toe step instead of just toe. She can do it great and now just has to break the habit of stepping on her toe. I sometimes have to remind her but it is getting closer to becoming more natural for her. She will continue physical therapy and wearing her splint and we will have another check up in May. We will also be doing some shoe shopping soon since the new larger splint wont fit in her most perfect girly shoes.





Well there ya have it-our November-in a nutshell-all in one post for the month. Hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving and hopefully I will be able to stay on top of things which will give me more opportunities to check in here.

I think we made it!

I know, I know! I have been missing from the blog world for a while but the good news is that I think we have finally made it! We have made it through the summer and it is time for school to start and life to get back to normal. I have wondered what could be busier for a homeschool mom than the school season. Well now I know...it is summer! I feel like we have run and run all summer long. Problem is I don't know that we ever really got anywhere or accomplished much besides just busyness. For the last few weeks, I have been sooooo excited about the upcoming start of school. I am excited about all the learning we will be doing of course but also for the simple fact that crazy summer life will slow down and a more structured and scheduled life will take it's place. I AM READY! As a matter of fact....

we are starting in the morning!!

Isn't this the coolest thing?!!? My aunt went back to college and gave me this 4ft. by 4ft. chalkboard that she used while she homeschooled her girls. I got it up on the wall and am so excited to have it this year instead of just the 1ft by 2ft dry erase board I have used.

I know "Taylor Christian Academy" is a rather generic school name but it is all I have come up with so far. I figure I don't have to solidify a name until I start making transcripts for high school so I am up for suggestions!! I want something different and unique but also representative of the Biblical teaching that goes on in our school . What do you call your homeschool?

I actually had not had a start date set but Tuesday, when we finally got the chalkboard on the wall, I wrote this little note to see what the kids would say about less than one week left of their summer break. The girls were so excited that they wanted to start then! (actually the girls have both done several lessons in their math. A few weeks ago, when they saw me watching the Math-U-See videos in preparation, they just couldn't wait any longer.☺) I did not hear anything in favor of or protesting the 1st day of school from Kenyon so I wasn't sure if he noticed the message. That is until the next morning when I found this note....

"Important-Do Not make it hard!!!!! Kenyon:)" That little note told me that he was ready but just not ready to let me know he was ready, know-what-I-mean?! That's my boy! Never admit you may be a little excited about something like school, especially since your mama is excited!

One thing we did to prepare for the new year was to add a splash of color to the playroom/schoolroom.

Ok, so it is really more like a full on tidal wave of color than it is a splash! When the color swatch says "bright green" it means "BRIGHT green"!

All three kids helped with the painting and it certainly brightened the place up! I totally love it!

Especially after we got our maps hung

and our bookcase loaded with new school supplies. So, are you ready for school?? Have you started??

Now that we are trying to get back to about as normal a life as any homeschool family can have, I hope to get back to a more regular blog schedule as well. Hopefully I will be able to share about all the learning we have been doing before long!!

Have a Great week!!