Weathering our Storms Together

Weathering our Storms Together
Us....

Friday, July 31, 2009

Where Did We Go Today?

We usually take the first day of school and do something FUN! However this year it was the SECOND day of school that was fun....My kids are getting older now and the trip to Chuck E Cheese's, or the park, or a paint your own pencil box day doesn't cut it! So we went here:













"Here" is Octagon Hall (or Octagon House). Dear Daughter and Sweet Son have been wanting to visit for several months. Dear Daughter LOVES to tour old homes. Sweet Son does not, but was more than happy to visit here due to reports of Paranormal activity...LOL.






Octagon Hall was completed in 1859, 12 years after the first block was laid. It became an asset to both the Confederates and Union forces. This place is FULL of History. We viewed the slave grave yard, summer kitchen, and slave quarters on the property. We also encountered a filming crew gearing up to film a movie.....




My least favorite place was the nursery and down the stairs near the kitchen......




My fave place was outside in the yard looking up at the house.




We also had lunch with Handsome Hubby, stopped by the Library and made a trip to Target to get my Nephew his bday present. Glad to be home!

















Thursday, July 30, 2009

OFF WITH(out) A BANG! OUR FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL...

OUR DAY started out pretty much calm, the kids are used to routine...this is our 8th year. Dear Daughter doesn't remember our house without Homeschool. :-) We started on Thursday to give ourselves a little headway to go over the "new stuff" this year and to go on a fun field trip tomorrow......betcha can't guess where we're goin'! I'll post pics tomorrow. The first semester looks full for us as we will be doing 4-H, Red Cross, Tuesday Science Lab Classes with BRHSA, Theatre School Day productions, and Sweet Son will start his online HIGH SCHOOL classes. Yikes! Take a peek below at our "school"....check out the messy, out of order living room that is the "norm" for our days.





This is my cat FISHER on his first day of school. LOL, nothing changes much for this guy.
Sweet Son, working on a new program...Vocabulit....something new to try until his KVHS online classes start August 19.
Dear Daughter, is at work reading "Farmer Boy"...gearing up for a six week book study.
The "FORT KNOX" of our Homeschool, our Library Cabinet, stock full of new curriculum, misc. books, pens, paper, science misc, and other new goodies for this year!


Well, that's about all for today!!!
Beth


Tuesday, July 28, 2009

A Praying Dad


One of my fondest childhood memories are of looking out my bedroom window to see my Daddy headed to the red building at the back of our property. I was familiar with this journey, he made it often. I would give him a few minutes, then tiptoe my way to outside of the building and make myself comfortable and quiet. I was always intrigued to hear what he was praying for or about...I would listen as he called the names of family, friends, neighbors, and of people that I didn't know. I would wait intently and sometimes I could tell when his petition changed from words to praying.... I would hear him pray for me and my brother, his words always sobered me. When I thought he was almost finished, I would run to the house, or walk noisily as if I had just came up...then slide my hand in his and walk back to the house. As I grew up, after I was saved, I still listened to Dad (and Mom, too, it's just Dads are on my mind) pray. I was the kid full of questions (wonder if that had anything to do with Dad's frequent trips to the building to pray?? LOL). Sometimes he grew impatient with them all, but always answered. He wasn't the kind of Dad who wouldn't allow the question "WHY?". And ask why I did...when he wouldn't let me do something, or go somewhere...and he always had an answer, only ONE time do I remember him saying to me "because I said so" after I asked.

He also encouraged me to "pray your own prayer"....he told me I had the same access to God as he did. I love him for that.

NOW, my kids have their own praying Dad. Handsome Hubby prays with us as a family, but there are times he heads off to his own building, or to the bedroom. I have watched Sweet Son and Dear Daughter as they listen....or they will ask "who is so and so?" after hearing Handsome Hubby pray. Sweet Daughter often sets on his lap has he reads the Bible....priceless to me.

I've learned a lot from praying Dads. I've known several and have come to the conclusion that kids like to hear their parents pray. Handsome hubby is one of the most humble men I know, I'm thankful to have him as the father of my children.

Monday, July 27, 2009

A Lady Liberated.....


Liberate: To set free.........this afternoon coming home from groceries, dropping off 4-H projects, and other errands, I was, once again, sickened as I listened to a program on NPR (I know, what can I expect?). The program was about women...their importance, their power, their LIBERATION...
ARGHHHH.
Somehow, a woman slave to her work, thoughts, power and achievements is considered liberated...and somehow along the way a female who stays at home, cares for her children, likes to cook, ect. is looked at as ignorant, tied down, repressed or all of the above. :-(
And let's not mention that God created a woman to be a "help meet" to her husband.

Genesis 2:20
And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an HELP MEET for him.
Now don't get me wrong, I appreciate women in all walks of life and their achievements (hey, girls invented paper bags, windshield wipers, and DISPOSABLE DIAPERS!!). But I'm saddened as women feel they have to be the equivalent of men and are continuously competing to "one up" the male gender, I'm most sorry for the children of these women.
For me I am:
Financially dependant upon my Handsome (hardworking) Hubby
Happy to have a door opened for me
Glad to be a stay at home wife and mommy (Mom these days)
Happy to budget and cut cost anyway I can
Loving to have a hot meal on the table for Handsome Hubby
Not bothered at all to iron Handsome Hubby's clothes and fold his undies
Relieved to have Handsome Hubby have the final say in tough decisions
Thrilled to hand over the pickle jar to "muscles" when I am "incompetent) LOL
and Feeling very LIBERATED to be a pink loving, dress wearing, worm hating, hubby loving, kid doting, cake baking kind of Lady.
Beth

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Identity Crisis.....


It's hard for me to remember how I identified myself before coming a Mom (much less a homeschooling one). Moms kinda loose their identity for a while, I think. I remember when I was in the 3rd grade and I noticed my mom doing stuff.....that SHE liked. I remember being awed, I began to notice things she enjoyed. She painted crafts, took ceramic classes, and went shopping with friends, to name a few things.

Most people identify me (and my family) as a "homeschooler". (thus the name of my blog) It's pretty odd in our small community to homeschool, I don't mind, really, it just seems kinda strange. In my church there's the lady that has a wonderful garden, one that has unique animals, the lady who decorates well, the "quilt lady" and so on. I am "the one who homeschools". LOL

I do wonder what I will do when my days aren't filled with lesson plans, projects, grade averages, read alouds, reports, journal prompts, curriculum choices, logged hours, etc. juggled with errands, laundry, bills, meals, cleaning and other daily duties. My life is one fantastical juggling act.....which is ok, we're the circus type of people. :-)

The first two years, I took great offense at the comments from well meaning aquaintances, friends, family. Pretty much after that I became comfortable with what we were doing and why. I was ALWAYS amused at what people thought were our reasons to homeschool as well as their assumptions about my family.

Well, anyway, I decided to list a few things about me that my jog my memory of what I like. I tend to forget, I usually get the pizza the kids want, listen to the music they like, make meals catered to my clan, run errands associated with whatever activity or club is striking the kid's fancy....even most of the books I read have something to do with them. :-)


THINGS I LIKE:

Time alone with Handsome Hubby (now there is something that has limited availability!)


Oranges...and orange suckers, orange juice, orange Popsicles, etc.


Daily time for prayer and meditation


CATS!!!


Pizza Hut's Veggie Lovers Pizza


MEXICAN FOOD!


Baking and creative cooking


Most animals


Looking at the clouds


Reading a good book with a cup of cinnamon tea


Bubble Baths


Bubble Gum


Old Houses, quilts, old yellow pottery


Hmmmm......random, not in any order and most certainly a partial list.


THINGS I DON'T LIKE:


Confrontations


Coke


Fishing


Camping


Grumpy men


TV commercials


oh well....not much food for thought here.....



Well, don't guess I REALLY have an identity crisis. I do LOVE being identified as MOM and most of all WIFE. Handsome Hubby's pet name for me is Peaches.....that's identity enough for me!

Sunday Disappointment....



Sweet Son is really sick right now. :-( Had to take him to urgent care this a.m. Has croup, upper respiratory infection and ear infection. He feels really bad, but I am thankful this is just run of the mill stuff.


I was, however, disappointed that I didn't get to go to church. Was really needing that.

Will be glad when Handsome Hubby and Dear Daughter get back. Looking forward to spending some family time together.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Living the Life....
What does living the homeschooling life mean? To me it means the obvious of teaching our children at home. But the decision we made to homeschool 8 years ago came with a host of other life changes, adjustments, sacrafices and blessings that there was no way I could forsee.
My daily life now usually means lots of laughs, a few arguments, lots of cooking and cleaning up, errands, teaching, projects, etc. The thing that is hardest on me is the no time alone. Sometimes I camp out in the bathroom with my laptop or magazine, but there's always the knock on the door, which usually ends in me opening it to have a discussion or look at a math problem from my perch on the toilet. My 12 year old son stands just out of my sight down the hall to have these discussions, my 10 year old daughter makes herself right at home....LOL
There are the days I look longingly at the school bus as it passes wishing for a trip to the mall or even the grocery store alone, but most days I am truly thankful we've been led on this journey.
My kids have become accustomed to tagging along with me to the gynecologist's office, the grocery, the mall, visiting.....most of my running is for them, 4-H, Science classes, library, Red Cross Youth meeting, volunteering, Ham radio meetings. (We aren't the sports oriented family at all). My kiddos enjoy being outside (we don't have a TV). Sweet Son likes to fish and hunt. Dear Daughter loves animals. We learn as much as we can from everyday experiences, but hack away at the books as well. Both of my kiddos love to read as well....
Homeschooling is really about looking outside of yourself all of the time.....it's one of the most unselfish things I've ever done, it's also one of the most rewarding......

About Me

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I'm a daughter of the King, the wife of a wonderful man, the mother to two caring, earthly children and two heavenly babes...

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