Checking in....

I have almost forgotten how to do this blog! I've been contemplating putting it on a setting where only I can read it since this whole idea started out from those thoughts anyway.But ...... I liked blogging. I just haven't for a while now. Let me explain why...quickly since I need to take the children out to swim. :O)

1. My homeschooling became busier with a 6th grader, 4th grader, and a 2nd grader. Plus a toddler to keep us occupied.
2. We had several unexpected remodeling projects, which left us with a better looking house.
3. Now I'm pregnant with my seventh and over the nausea so things are much better.
4. We started school this week and we'll be doing school every other week till I have 4 weeks under my belt. This will allow me to take time off after the baby gets here.

So you see, life's been busy. My kids are now 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, and 2. We started 7th, 5th, 3rd grade, and Kindergarten. I've done gone over to the other side when it comes to teaching methods and now we use all Rod and Staff with living books on the side to keep our history and science relevant.

Life is good. God has been so good. Now we need to think of a name for this little boy in the oven. My kids like Elliot. Elliot? So blog maybe I'll blog again soon. Maybe sooner then last January. But I have an excuse....several.

It has been so long ago...

I can't believe how long it has been since I last wrote on my blog! Life just got busy or maybe I had to choose between blogging and more important things. There have been times I have thought of just deleting this blog, but I really don't want to do that. There are some very special thoughts written here for me. Things I don't want to forget So I guess I can't promise to be very frequent but I will try to share my thoughts once again.
Thoughts about God, about raising my children (which is getting more challenging as the boys get older), about homeschooling,.... about my life.

Summer Happenings (Dear Journal Letters)

Dear Journal,

Summer seems to be flying by! We haven't done much except for swim in our pool and go to the library summer reading program shows every Wednesday.
We've been out of school since early June but I have spent a lot of thought since then on our new school year coming up. We switched math for 1st -3rd grade so I've been making sure I have everything needed.
The children are bored and I feel like sometimes I'm a constant referree, especially for the two older boys.
The boys were able to go flying a week or two ago with the EAA Young Eagles program. Each had a chance to fly for about 20 minutes in a small airplane and talk to the pilot, ask questions, etc. It was a great experience for them. (I don't think we could afford them that experience anytime soon.)
They don't realize how good they have it. God has blessed them so much. July 20th they will be attending a history camp full of boy fun and living history from Creation to present. (And this a gift from a good friend.)

All this living causes me- no forces me to alter my life. I see a constant need during summer break from school to manage my time and space better and yet I have trouble with this.
So many thoughts this summer, so little time...

Sincerely,

Where have I been?( Journal Letter )

Dear Journal,

I better make this quick since I'm running out of time. Like time is fleeting right? I've been swimming somewhere in my thoughts between switching violin teachers, becoming a little more savvy about identity fraud, organizing my kitchen cabinets, and feeling a little more pregnant each day.

Have I mentioned that it is getting very difficult to bend over? That my mother in-law teases me about getting thru the door, and that when I'm done with this pregnancy I plan to get most of my waist back? By the way, mother in-law had 11 children, and I don't have trouble getting thru the door.

In other news, I'm done with my teaching turn at co-op. The children learned about Squanto, Paul Revere, Helen Keller, Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, Ben Franklin, and Harriet Tubman. The last quarter ends at the end of April, so my loyal friend and co-op partner will finish the school year with geography and I'll just smile along.

My pondering thoughts of the moment ~ I'm not one of those unbreakable people that never cry. I know about crying. I've cried over being hurt by people I love or don't even love, over accidents I've had, after I had a baby or two, when my husband looks at me the wrong way, when I feel I'm incapable to the task at hand, and when I have failed God miserably.

Sometimes, I'll go thru a season where I haven't shed too many tears if any, but then all of a sudden, it happens.
Crying is good for the soul sometimes- just as long as you don't drown in your weeping. It helps clear stuff out, keeps hurtburn from building up, and keeps you from becoming unfeeling.
Just make sure if at all possible, you're the one who turns the faucet on, and keeps it from dripping over spilt milk.

Since I mentioned milk, I've gotten a deal of a steal on powdered milk and have been making 2 qt. batches and using it in my cooking. If you're interested in recipes using powdered milk you ought to check out the Hillbilly Housewife link I have on my sidebar. She has recipes for everything from shakes to buttermilk, even cheese. Just make sure you keep your powder milk fresh and you won't be able to tell. (I keep mine now in the freezer)

See ....It's a good thing you don't live in my brain because you'd been swimming all over the cerebrum this week. This is why for people like me, thinking too much on a certain subject can be dangerous.

Sincerely,

Dear Journal Letter (cheese...violin, math)

Dear Journal,

I thought I'd write personally today. My mind has been in a lot of places but lately I've had it stuck between the pages of a book about cheese. How I get myself involved in these things I'll never know, but the desire to learn to make cheese has surfaced off and on for a few months now. You would think with all I have to get done and all I don't get accomplished that I would stick to the task at hand, but nooooo...not me. The thought of trying something so pioneering just thrills me sometimes and then there are other times when it makes my head spin. Then it hit me today at co-op as we were learning to weave like the Navajo Indians, "What are you thinking trying to learn to make cheese when you haven't even worked on your crocheting since when, August??" My mind reasons this out by interrupting and saying, "Hello...if I always waited till everything was complete, I'd never go anywhere or do anything."


My 7 yr. old has a nice Christmas Beginner Group performance at the Mall in December. He just started playing the violin in April and is doing good except for:

• His practice time is short(about 15-20 min.)


• He's been practicing playing most of the C sharps like C naturals, and doesn't practice pulling the bow out far enough.


• One more thing, he hasn't been playing the 1/2 notes long enough. He's been playing them like quarter notes.

With all this said, it has come time for me to step in and make sure that he practices a little better by being present and attentive during his practice sessions. It took two consecutive (1hr)sessions to make a lot of progress so far. While I was making dinner, he mentioned how he should probably quit because he couldn't imagine spending that much time every practice.

"Think about it hard and let me know by Thursday. You can let your teacher know then." (gulp..)

Practice took 40 minutes last night. He paid close attention to the C sharps and the half notes so they didn't have to be repeated as much. Half way thru, he was giddy with joy that he had improved so much. At the end of the session, he told me he couldn't quit now. All I could do is be proud.

Math has been going really well at our house. I just love that Saxon 54. I'm sure it's not for everyone, but I really like it. It has done a great job helping me teach the 9yr. old and I love the progress we have made. Maybe it is because we do a very untraditional program like Miquon at the beginning. Maybe it's because I floundered around remembering math with my first son and things are just falling into place now. I'm not sure, but all I can say is that we seem to have found some happy ground that is very stable and secure in Saxon's middle school series. Not to mention, how much Math U See has helped us round out the Miquon progress and move smoothly along with the others right behind. I now have good feelings about what I'm going to do with the others.

Well Journal, I must bid you farewell. I need to get ready to make dinner. I would like to make Chicken and Dumplings tonight.





Linda

Dear Journal Letter (a casually long update)

Dear Journal,

I've been wanting to write but I've had all kinds of thoughts running through this mind of mine. Topics ranging from how I'm going to teach Lewis and Clark to 1st and 2ND graders in our co-op to Suzuki piano becoming more Traditional to the definition of apostasy. You see, how could you possibly come up with a sensible post? My days go from good when I'm caught up with my laundry and the downstairs is organized and tidy to a poem that describes my heart is heavy and I need to take my cares to the Lord. And yet in all this storm raging within me, I find my Savior cares so much for me.

Co-op has been good this year considering I have 3 children to home school and toddlers to keep me busy. The prep time for this one hour class hasn't been hard and I've really enjoyed teaching them. I'm sharing our teaching with another dear mom who I'll alternate every 7 weeks with. So two more turns of mine and then she'll have to do the prep work, at least for 7 weeks. We've learned so far about what an explorer is, Marco Polo, C. Columbus, H. Cortes, and Capt. Cook. I've learned a few things along the way. I've been reminded of a few things -those being that greed is a great motivator and inflicter of sorrow, that perseverance and good workmanship brings forth great things, and that there is a great will to live beyond the mundane.

Music has lately troubled my heart torn by what I feel would be most appropriate and an excellent teacher who has a different opinion than I. We began Suzuki piano when my little boy was 5. If I had to do it all over again, I would have waiting till he was 7. He has had good piano theory and very good ear training. But alas, we are moving to a more traditional approach. We
have decided to drop the Suzuki Vol. 2 book and pay more emphasis on his reading. His teacher is really a good teacher and has the better in mind for him. But the Suzuki method, I feel requires more time than I have to give now, plus I want his reading to progress further on. She wants him to have the freedom to untimidly move about the keyboard, to be able to feel the music. Who would know that this would be such an issue in my heart, to play by ear or read the music? She has began to introduce an option that I'm beginning to see as a wonderful compromise. He's in the process of memorizing A Gift to Be Simple and Kumbayah after the fact that he can play them both fluently by reading the music.

It seems that it has been so long since I've spoken to anyone about Apostasy, that I kind of forgot the exact meaning of the word. I had to look it up in the dictionary. I knew it either meant someone who was saved and left the truth or I was thinking it might be someone who knew better and was teaching false doctrine. Turns out that it was someone leaving the truth.
I read 1st and parts of 2ND Peter along with Jude today. The thoughts that stuck in my mind was the dog going back to its vomit, and having been better not to have known of the truth and left it since the end of apostasy is worse.
I'm not a believer that once you're saved - you're always going to be saved. I believe you can walk away from God. I also believe someone who has genuinely been born again will have quite a time leaving the Savior. For He will not easily let you go. He tugs at your heart through His Spirit. But His Spirit can only be grieved so long. That makes apostasy ever so sadder I think.
I've been thinking about that and the parallel of marriage came into my mind. Salvation is like that vow of marriage. Perhaps they forget their first love. It is a decision to stay married. A decision to be faithful to the groom. A choice made out of love for Him who first loved me. When you break the vow, you've committed adultery and unless you make things right with the groom, you are an adulteress. The Bible tells us about no adulterers entering into Heaven. Or perhaps it was idolatry or.....
The prophet Hosea comes to mind. He loved Gomer yet she would not.
This apostasy that I speak about could happen to me, to my heart. Would I go back to the heart I had previously to coming to Christ? I could if my heart gets hard. I could if my eyes waxed dull. I could if my love turns to other and I forget the Savior. And the scary thing is that it all could happen and I could remain in church. A waterless cloud with no savour, with withered fruit that has no roots, or perhaps I could leave it all and start over -but that I don't know how to do. For how would I erase the feeling of His presence or face life all be myself again. It could happen, and if it did, mark that I would be what is called an Apostate.

Dear Journal Letter (Long Absence...#?)

Dear Journal,

We finally got our computer Internet going again. This is good in some aspects because I can now keep up with what's going on in our community concerning homeschooling, but I liked the absence. I really did...

School will soon start for us. I haven't decided whether to start the 2ND week of August or the last. I'm not in a hurry since I want to get a few more decorating things done around the house, so I'll probably start the last week or September 1st. I finished painting the boys' room except for the doors and a little bit of trim. I'll start on the stenciling soon. We moved the bunk beds into their room which cleared a lot of space for them and now their room looks so nice. I think they like it. This project has stirred within me feelings concerning our home. Feelings that have been asleep for awhile, I think. I've been so busy homeschooling and taking care of children that the joy of homemaking has been on the side burner.

Is there really a joy that comes from making a house a home?

There is. And mine has woke up. I keep thinking that if a baby comes our way again that perhaps it will become tucked away somewhere in the filing box of my life. And this may happen, but for the meantime, I'm going to feed this desire to make our house a home sweet home. The old wood that perhaps shows, for the time being will show with glee. And the furniture that shows it's wear will compliment its occupants.

In other news, I've been sick lately and just starting to feel better. Seems I caught Walking Pneumonia. Didn't I get this nasty plight sometime before this year? I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I thought I'd cough my abdominals out! Thank God for modern medicine, because I don't wish to know how bad it could have gotten.

Sincerely Yours,

Linda

P.S Today is Friendship Day.

Dear Journal Letter #6 ("Do what works for you."said I.)

Dear Journal,

This is really my favorite time a year. The used curriculum sales start next week for us here in my spot of the world. Homeschooling has its pros and cons but picking out and buying the curriculum is a big pro for me. I actually have lots of fun. There are so many choices and I get a real kick from looking at books that are at a great price and go with our school stuff. Plus, don't let me forget the fact that I get to sell the stuff we don't want or need any more.

This year we used First Language Lessons by Jessie Bauer, the folks from A Well-Trained Mind. This is a great book for first and second grade grammar. It follows a Charlotte Mason approach-incorporating poetry, dictation, memorization, and covering the grammar they need to know in an effective way that steers away from the fill in the blank approach. Our 7yr. old has done great with it.

We also used Language Arts Through Literature ( the Yellow Book) and Primary Language Lessons for 3rd grade. If I could only show you my son's composition book! The yellow book was easy but it covered the things that perhaps were not quite settle in his mind. The Primary Language Lessons is basicly a drill book
which rounded out the easyness of LLATL. Both these books follow a Charlote Mason approach incorporating nature study, dictation, art, memorization, and copy work to teach grammar.

So what will I use for 2nd and 4th?

The 2nd half of First Language Lessons for 2nd grade.

LLATL Orange and we'll finish the second half of Primary Language Lessons for 4th grade.

I already have these handy in my bookshelf, so what am I going to the book sales for? To get all the other things I might get that we'll enjoy. Things like Adventures in Odyssey sets, educational games, maybe some math, some interesting Bible books I saw recently, Christian Light Readers, Story Hour vol 2-5 cd sets, non-fiction living books...... I could go on.

Maybe next time I'll tell you why I won't have to hunt for my core curriculum.






Linda

Dear Journal Letter # 5(vacation and rollercoasters)

Dear Journal,

It seems I have reached a happy pace in blogland. Perhaps this hobby has finally had a chance to cool off in my one-track mind.

We decided not to go to Washington D.C. and opted out for season tickets to Dollywood. D.C wouldn't have been as fun for the little ones and from what I hear, included lots of walking. Perhaps, we'll catch it another year when my little ones get more out of it.

We took advantage of the nice weather recently and went to Dollywood for the first time. It has been at least 20 years since I've been to an Amusement Park! There are several advantages to homeschooling and one of them is that you can go to places like this when other children aren't there to make it crowded. That almost doesn't sound nice, but it's the truth. We rode some of the rides twice in a row without even getting off because there were hardly no lines. Everything was great and we had a lot of fun except for one thing, - when I rode the roller coasters.
I must have experienced amnesia and forgot about the last roller coaster ride 10 yrs. prior at one of those little carnivals that come to town and park in a huge parking lot. It obviously was a little roller coaster but it looped upside down 9 times!!! I got off that thing thanking God I didn't lose my cookies! So what was I thinking getting on the first roller coaster? It must have been one of those moments when you want to feel young again- not to mention, I thought it only went upside down once. It turned out to go upside down 3 times. I knew I was about to regret this when I got to the gate to wait for the ride to load and read a sign that mentioned the roller coaster was only about one minute long. All I can say is that I had to breathe through the upside down loops and wished one minute wasn't so long.

The next roller coaster ride I rode on is probably the reason God appreciates us humans. It reminded me of the fun I had riding something that looked similar to it in Six Flags when I was 14 or so. I got on this ride thinking this was definitely going to be a positive experience. It wasn't. Not only was it not pleasant, I thought the G-forces had caused me to be in several car crashes and my emotions were about to cause some unnatural phenomena to occur. If the thing would have lasted 15 more seconds at the speed it was going, I would have lost it completely! When the ride was done, though I looked normal on the outside, the inside felt like jello and the best I can do to describe it is the way I feel after delivering a baby. How in the name of common sense can people get a thrill from those things is beyond me now. I must have outgrown them. No sooner were we off that contraption of death than my lower back began to hurt. My nerves were shot for an hour or two afterwards, and if you think 5 children is stressful at times, you wouldn't have doubted it looking at me shortly after that. I was not the picture of peace and tranquility. Thankfully, it was the last ride and we were ready to go home.

After all the trauma I went through, the next morning I woke up sore from the experience. But all we could do was reminisce at the fun we had. So we're hoping to go back soon and catch a few of the rides we missed, and ride the ones we enjoyed!

Sincerely Young at Heart and Still in-tact in Body,

Linda

Dear Journal Letter # 4 (grocery shopping, healthy eating)

Dear Journal,
Last night I went grocery shopping. As I was standing in line I thought about the cashier and all the different kinds of people and groceries she encounters. I've been thinking about posting about useful food items to have on hand. Notice the healthy foods to have available to eat. This might be long and boring but it will give you a good idea what I feed my family. If I put a $, this means it is far cheaper to go this route. I won't always have these on hand depending on the season, quantity on hand, and how they are priced. So here it goes:

Canned Goods -
green beans, corn, sweet potatoes, mandarins,
gallon size pineapple chunks $ (once open separate into plastic ware and freeze appropriate portions),
gallon size applesauce $(once opened we keep ours in the refrigerator in a one of those huge gallon size pickle jars),
gallon size peaches $, canned pumpkin
gallon size apple slices $(freeze or refrigerate depending on family size)
tomatoes, tomato sauce and paste
Cream of mushroom and chicken soup (or you can make it :O)
Spaghetti sauce, Baked beans, Mini-Ravioli, Tuna, pickles (gallon jar $)
Coffee(this is for my husband), raisins

Staples & Condiments (we are the queen and king to this one)
Aluminum-free baking powder, cornstarch, cream of tartar,
cocoa powder, chicken/beef bouillons,
pumpkin spice, garlic salt, onion powder, basil, oregano, pepper, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, chili powder, taco seasoning, Ovaltine, yeast,
vital gluten, jello, puddings, vanilla abstract
Parmesan cheese, processed Velveta-type cheese, mini marshmallows
Tea, Peanut Butter, Jam

brown/white rice, instant mashed potatoes, spaghetti, macaroni, wide-egg, lasagna, manacotti noodles,
navy,pinto, northern beans,

wheat and all-purpose flour or hard and soft wheat kernels, 7 grain,
cornmeal mix, oatmeal (quick or old fashion), chocolate cream a wheat,

mayo, mustard, barbecue sauce, tartar sauce, vinegar, salad dressing, ketchup (we go through tons of ketchup!), pancake syrup, unsulfered black strap molasses $,soy sauce, honey and sugar, instant powdered milk, brown sugar, evaporated milk, shortening, corn or vegetable oil, chocolate chips, cake mix, almond bark,
Potato and Corn chips, some cold cereal sometimes

Refrigerated/Freezer items
1% milk, qt. size yogurts, cottage cheese, cream cheese(lighter version)
light sour cream, buttermilk(for biscuits), butter and margarine, spread
eggs, wheat germ (not a refrigerated item but we freeze)
shredded mozzarella/cheddar cheese (32 oz size -I freeze it and use it as I needed for cooking), pepperoni slices
Block of sliced cheese (This is getting quite expensive so I try to get it on sale.), minced garlic

Sliced bologna, 5lb ham which I slice at home $, ground sausage,
5lb frozen chicken strips, fish, chicken, ground chuck, pork chops, beef roast (which I have cut in small pieces), pork roast,
tater tots,
ice cream, orange, apple, grape juice, spinach, corn, broccoli

Fresh Produce
Granny Smith/ Golden delicious apples, pears, kiwi, celery, green peppers, leaf lettuce, carrots, onions, potatoes, spinach(one of our favorites), strawberries, broccoli crowns, sweet potatoes

Whew! Did I miss something? We do occasinally get hotdogs and the like. Let me know. If I did and we eat it I'll come back and fill it in with italics. Now, I'm off to make a nutritious dinner, and pumpkin pie. We do occasionally get hotdogs and the like. And I didn't mention the little Debbie Cakes my husband brings in every once in a while, but that was intentional. They aren't really healthy so I try to avoid them in my shopping. But every once in a while...we splurge or poison ourselves with the nitrites. The thought is awful isn't?

Dear Journal Letter # 3 (flour ramblings)

Dear Journal,

My last post was about playdough, which is made partly with flour. I use white flour to make playdough. White flour's labels say that it is "enriched". Enriched means they put back some of the essential vitamins and minerals they took out. They took the germ and the bran out.

Last year I began to grind wheat grain. Can you believe someone would want to grind it? There's enough in life to do besides grind grain. That's why we all buy it at the grocery store, right? Well, I purchased a Whisper Mill (which by the way is a good mill but definitely does not grind quietly), and bought some soft wheat, hard wheat, and even some 7 grain.

You may be wondering what the difference between soft wheat and hard wheat is. Soft wheat is used for pastries, biscuits, pancakes,tortillas..etc. Hard wheat comes in hard red( red has a stronger wheat taste) and hard white grain. It is used to make bread, -the kind that you make sandwiches with. I have used it for cornbread, and even for pancakes, but it doesn't make good tortillas.
Switching over to the grain was a little of an adjustment and an extra step in cooking at times. I find that if I grind enough soft grain for biscuits and anything else I might want to make during the week, and I place the flour in the freezer in a freezer bag, it saves me the extra step.
I put it in the freezer because flour spoils and goes rancid without you being able to tell. So is it worth the trouble? This has been the first year that I can remember where my kids did not get a bad, last forever type of cold. They got colds, sniffled a day or two, and it was gone. Those markings on food products that say "enriched" are very questionable in my mind now.

Dear Journal Letters # 2 (time, blogging, spoiling children)

Dear Journal,
I'm on this computer a lot earlier than usual because we got in real late last night. We didn't start school at our regular time of 6:30am. I have really enjoyed blogging. It has been a while since I've found an activity that I enjoyed this much. Writing down my thoughts has been good too. There's only one problem with this new hobby. It's additive and time consuming! I have really debated on how I can have the cake and eat it too. So for right now I've decided to blog only at night after everyone has gone to sleep or moments like this. I'm hoping this will keep me honest about how much time I spend on this activity, since a tired and weary body is less likely to waste time. We also started logging ourselves in and out of the computer. This way everyone knows how long they have spent on it.

Here's some thoughts about moderation and stewardship. Yesterday we went to a really nice birthday party for a 2yr. old. It was held at an elementary school, with access to the gym. It seemed they had over 20 boxes of pizza, plus chips, cake..! That's a lot, but my husband's side of the family is large. His mom had 11 kids! The birthday boy had a pinata, a beautiful cake, and so many gifts. My kids had a ball. As I sat there and watched the baby boy open his presents (with help from my girls), some very real questions came to my mind. Is it good to give a child all its heart desires in the name of love? What will it do to the surprise element as he gets older and really knows what's going on? These are questions I face every year as my kids have birthdays and celebrate Christmas. It could make them ungrateful, self-centered, and unsatisfied. I realized early in our years as parents that there is something good about waiting for those things we truly want. Why wait if you can have it now? Because it causes us to discern between the things we don't want. It causes us to appreciate them, and take care of them. It also causes us to learn that things that are worth something don't come without a cost. Whether they cost money, time, sweat, sacrifice, diligence...etc.
Jimmy reminds me every once in a while that less is more.
LESS IS MORE ..less is more. More time, more space, more money, more of the attributes that money can't buy, more freedom from the bondage of things. Less is definitely more!

A Dear Journal Letter # 1 (parting w/ clothes, the love of learning together)

Dear Journal,

I've had two things on my mind: laundry and school.
I'll tell you about the laundry first. Laundry must have been put here by God to cause us women to evaluate what truly is important and get our priorities in line. Sometimes I know I'm my worst enemy. I want to somehow go through it and only leave about 7 outfits to each child,plus a few dress clothes, but that is easier said than done. (And still, this would be a lot of clothes.) Why can't I part with the clothes? I part with mine just fine, but not theirs. My excuses range from , "..the next child will need it... to... that is such a nice outfit..." The thought that comes to me is that these THINGS will drown me if I let them. The other thought that comes to me is that it is not God's desire for me to set my affections on things here below. Jimmy says less is more. I want to have less clothes.

The second thing I want to tell you about is school. I really have enjoyed homeschooling our kids. I haven't enjoyed the bad days but I guess we have had more good days than bad because I like homeschooling. I love talking to them about a school subject and then snugling down to read about it in a book like Little House on the Prairie. We've been learning about weather (storms, snow, thunder, seasons) We decided to read the first in the Little House on the Prairie book together, and it fit in so well. I'll always treasure these times with them. I guess when they're gone I'll also miss some of the laundry.