In Which I Make a Delightful Discovery

I had much puttering to do around the house this afternoon. The Little Ones were napping and the Big 3 were doing schoolwork, so the house was quiet. I was thinking how nice it would be if Gateway to Joy were still on the radio - and on at this time slot - and wishing my Elisabeth Elliot talks were not all on worn-out cassettes hidden away in boxes b/c I no longer have a working tape player.

My Sweetie suggested I look for mp3s online and guess what? They exist! I found a website called Blue Letter Bible that has more than a dozen Elisabeth Elliot talks available for free to stream or download. Go check them out here.

The one I listened to today was called "Sulking." I was attracted to the title because it's something I never do. Har har har. It was SO good to hear the voice of my old friend again, a spiritual mother whose writings and talks have encouraged me since I was a teenage girl.

(The BLB webste, along with this one , this one, and this one, are going to come in handy as I load my iPod for some long runs ahead in prep for the half marathon in December!)

While on hiatus...

...among other things, I've been working on some Hidden Art. Ya'll know I love me some Hidden Art! (If you're not sure what I mean, look here for an old post, here for another one, and here for Edith Schaeffer's inspiring book.)

After several weeks of hunkering down and working hard to keep our little home and school on track, I just needed some beauty! You know what I mean? So I poked around on a couple of user-friendly decorating blogs (The Shabby Nest and The Nesting Place are my favorites - go check 'em out) I got inspired.

Now, remember, I'm no Martha Stewart. Don't wanna be. Just want to bring a little beauty into the lives of the people I love and make our home a haven. It all began when I found this little basket at Good*will. It used to be an icky shade of sea foam green. But I liked the shape and thought it would be a cute way to contain our keys, etc. on the kitchen counter. So my Sweetie spray painted it black for me. Isn't it cute? (I'm really loving the way black looks with my fun green kitchen paint. hmmm.... )I had noticed how both of the bloggers mentioned use monograms a lot in their decorating. Lettering is definitely a fun trend. Our guest bathroom has needed some art for a while, so I found an old picture frame, got out the black spray paint, and went to work. I removed the glass, cut a piece of burlap to size and used spray adhesive to stick it to a piece of cardboard (also, amazingly, cut to size LOL.) I looked and looked for a letter just the right size and shape at the craft store, but struck out. "C" is not a very pretty letter. But as I was about to give up, I found this little one in the dollar bin! It's really meant to be a little velvet coloring project for kids. But more black spray paint and voila! (I'm really getting addicted to black spray paint. And burlap. Just think of all the things we can do with them....)In the closeup you can see the how the "C" is embossed with little stars for coloring - oh well, adds texture, I say! The fern leaf was created using an inexpensive stencil and black acrylic craft paint. Next I tackled the need for art in the guest bedroom. I bought frames at I*kea months ago, but finally printed some of my photography to put in them. (The "Sisters" frame was a gift from - you guessed it - my sister! Aren't we cute?)Then I "shopped my house" for another set of frames and random accessories (and added some more of my photography.) My Sweetie helped me hang everything.Next I put away the pile of shoes and purses that tend to collect on our hearth and "shopped the house" for some happiness to put there. (The picture frame is another .99 GW find. I just added my 13yo son's favorite art print.)Throw in some little punkins from W*l-M*rt and the fireplace looks almost pretty. Speaking of WM, I found the most adorable ceramic pumpkin for $5! Added to a clearance charger and placemat and I ended up with a cute fall centerpiece.
I also prettied up the front porch. More burlap (yay), some beads I already had on hand, a welcome sign on clearance, a punkin and some mums on sale at the garden center.
All of these little changes were affordable and quick - we did most of it in one weekend afternoon - but make a big difference. A little frugal creativity can go a long way to achieving a little Hidden Art. That is Mrs. Schaeffer's main point, after all - that ordinary people can have beauty in their homes without spending a lot of money or being interior designers by trade. Simple. Cheap. Beauty.

Happy Fall Ya'll!

Thought for a Rainy Thursday

I'm still sort of on a blogging hiatus; I just came across a wonderful quote by George MacDonald that I thought fits well with the season of life I'm in (and the theme of my blog, LOL!)

"Bethink thee of something that thou oughtest to do, and go to do it, if it be but the sweeping of a room, or the preparing of a meal, or a visit to a friend. Heed not thy feelings. Do thy work." (quoted in George MacDonald: An Anthology, C.S. Lewis, ed.)

Time to Regroup, Prioritize, and Lay Low

I've been here before. I'm sure that as long as I'm on this side of Glory, I'll be here again. Burnout. Frustration. Overwhelmed.

But "a bruised reed He will not break." The Lord has given me counsel through His word, through re-reading a good book , through a convicting blog post, and through good, godly friends. (you know who you are! thanks!)

The truth of the matter is this: I've got toddlers to teens; high school to preschool - with everything in between. Faithfully mothering young children is a full-time job. Faithfully mentoring teens as they become young adults is a full-time job. Homeschooling is a full-time job. I think somehow I assumed that since I'd been at this for 15 years that I was somehow coming to the easy part. You know, the part where I get to workout whenever I want, attend book clubs, shop in the middle of the day, and get lunch with friends. And oh, yes -- blog and read others' blogs!

Not that I can never do those things. But I'm realizing (again -slow learner!) that the best contribution I can make to the world - and God's Kingdom - right now is to be a faithful mother to my children and a helpmeet to my husband. And do it with JOY (James 1:2; Phil 4:4) and THANKSGIVING! (I Thes. 5:18; Psalm 107:1). And without complaining. (Phil 2:14)

I'm performing surgery on my schedule, cutting out activities that are getting in the way and causing me to be all "hurry and flurry" about the things that matter. I'm letting the phone go to voicemail during school hours, staying home more, checking addictive social networking site (you know the one!) less, and laying low in the blogsphere. Please forgive me if I have not stopped by your site recently, or if I miss a few of your lovely posts. I'm so blessed by all the blogs that I read. But I must be careful. Five minutes on the computer quickly turns into half an hour, and then I'm frustrated at myself, behind in my work, and not in the frame of mind I need to be to tenderly train and teach my children.

So thank you for understanding and please bear with me as I blog less and live more. Blessings! :)

Today's Mercies

I am using John Piper's fantastic book A Godward Life as a devotional with my older children. The portion we read today was very fitting for our family as we adjust to the stress of a new school schedule, but I suspect we all can identify in one way or another, so I share the first part here.

(Meditation on Matthew 6:34 "Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

Piper says:

Part of saving faith is the assurance that you will have faith tomorrow. Trusting Christ today includes trusting him to give you tomorrow's trust when tomorrow comes. Often we feel today like our reservoir of strength is not going to last for another day. The fact is, it won't. Today's resources are for today, and part of those resources is the confidence that new resources will be given tomorrow.

A Godward Life, (Multnomah Books, 1997) p.25

You do what you've gotta do...

Today is my "easy" homeschool day. The Big Boys go to Veritas, and I will start attending a ladies' Bible study at church in a couple of weeks. So I've not scheduled Tuesdays as a big workday for M (10) and A (5). Today I decided I would try to get in some kind of run on a local Greenway after dropping S (14) and C (12) off at school. Operative phrase being "some kind."

Here's how it goes: Drive around aimlessly for 20 min, unable to find Greenway until helpful bro-in-law gives directions to a park with easy access. Ok. Now, get out the clunky, old Gra*co single stroller for K (3), as well as scooter & helmet for A. Think to self: "why do I not own a jogging stroller?" Decide that training for a half-marathon requires some actual time running, and this is the best I'm gonna get today. Load K in the stroller and set off. (M leaves her scooter in the car, saying she'd rather run like me. I'm concerned about this, but I'm also concerned about how I'll carry 2 scooters and push the stroller when everyone gets tired before 3 miles are up. That's one of the reasons I picked the Greenway, though, instead of a loop trail ... once we're on it, ya gotta finish to get back to the car! *wink*)

Running with this old stroller isn't easy - it has to be man-handled through every turn and I have to bend over to push. Hard on the back, but good for the biceps! ;-) Jog at a pretty good pace for the first 1/4 mile or so. Concrete sidewalk gives way to lovely boardwalk along the creek. Splat! A wipes out on his scooter on the wet wood (did I mention it was drizzling? What is wrong with me?) Biker speeding by beeps a wimpy little horn and narrowly misses the fallen boy on the trail. Hug, wipe the knees, and lay the scooter over the stroller handle so A can go on foot. Continue jogging, with the scooter's extra weight now making the stroller a real challenge.

A quickly tires of running. Asks to get in stroller. Ok, K is ready to stretch her legs, so I slow down and walk a bit. Scooter still "parked" on the stroller handle, as we're still on wet wood. Wood gives way to asphalt and M decides to take a turn with the scooter. A doesn't want to give up his spot in the stroller, so I put K ... in the basket! Running uphill with 2 kids in a non-jogging, single stroller! Are we having fun yet?

And so it went for the first two miles. We had no other major incidents, even when the trail briefly followed a busy road, then went d.o.w.n a steep ramp to cross under it. We finally hit our stride for the last mile, with M happily scootering (wth only one little wipeout - silly wet wood!), A running, and K in the stroller. After all his complaining on the first leg of the trail, A ran the whole last mile! I had told them we were doing 3 miles total, and when he reached the car, A kept saying, triumphantly, "I ran a 5K! I ran a 5K!"

And you know what? Perhaps not the most serene run I've ever had, but definitely a workout and definitely a memory made.

Week 1 Report

I'm going to try the weekly reporting thing again this year, mainly for my own accountability and record, but also on the chance that someone out there is mildly interested!

We had a rough week, to be honest! I posted the picture at right (taken at Cloudland Canyon while on our anniversary trip last month) because it reminds me that in our school year there will be times we are on the mountain-top and times we are in the valley. And times in between where we, with firm resolve, struggle to climb back to the top!

Monday was spent organizing last-minute details for the boys' first day at Veritas Classical School, as well as getting books ready for M & A to study here at home. I hadn't run errands - or run my feet - in a while, so I ended up doing both Monday afternoon and evening, and was a little scattered and tired Tuesday as a result.

The boys liked their classes and teachers, but it's going to take some time for them to adjust to the workload. S (almost 15) did a tutorial three years ago and we learned the hard way how easy it is to leave too much work to do at the end of the week. So the 2 boys and I sat down Wednesday morning and mapped out their assignments by days. S. had quite a lot of literature / writing to get done over the weekend and will have a busy day Monday. C. has been able to keep up with his assignments, but he's a fast reader.

The other big change for the boys is that we've dropped Saxon math. It simply wasn't working for us anymore, and the DIVE cds weren't helping, either. So S is doing Jacobs' Algebra, and so far is loving it's straightforward lessons and narrative style. C. is using BJU Press 7th grade math. No cd-rom or DVD means Mom will have to be more involved in the instruction, but I've scheduled that during K's (3yo) nap and A's rest time. I'm pretty good at algebra and at least this way when they have a question, I won't have to spend 45 minutes reading through what they're doing to answer it - we'll all be on the same page, so to speak! ;-)

M (10 -5th gr) and A (5 - K) got a little bit of work done each day, but I'm still tinkering with the schedule and still trying to get my planbook organized. M is really motivated this year, and is already reading ahead in history! I'm stremlining for these two, using mostly curriculum from Christian Liberty Press, with a little A Beka and some living books thrown in.

My mission for this school year is:
-to help S & C succeed at Veritas and spread their wings as young men, learning to be responsible for themselves, be challenged academically, and begin getting out from behind Mom's apron strings and into the world;
-to get M up to grade level. As the middle child (and one with special medical needs that at times distract us from school), her academic progress has gotten kind of lost. I'm calling her a 5th grader, though some of her work is still 4th, but I'm optomistic by the end of the year, we'll "be there." If not, we'll just call next year "5th grade, part 2!"
-to simplify!!! I'm learning more and more that the specific curricula we use and the grand plans I make matter less than just "doing the next thing" - just diligently working through whatever we're using.
-to create a pleasant, Christ-honoring atmosphere in our home, no matter what we accomplish academically. I've only a few years left with S at home, and I want to impart a love for the Lord, His Word, His people, and the nations. He can always study and learn and fill in the gaps of "information", but I don't get a "do-over" in training his heart.

I finally posted C's 7th grade line-up here, and M's 5th grade on this page. Kindergarten ideas still to come. (And no, I've not forgotten about chores! More on that coming soon, Lord-willing.)

It wasn't pretty, but we survived!

Today was the first day we had a full school workload. We officially started Monday, but that day was mostly organizing and preparing for Tuesday - the boys' first day of classes at Veritas. So today was day 1 with assignment sheets from Veritas, plus our work at home (math & science for the big boys; all subjects for M (10yo 5th grade) & A (5yo, kindergarten.)

To be honest, it wasn't really even "full" - M is taking science at an enrichment program and classes there have not officially started, though she does have some taxonomy cards and reading to work through before the first day; C's (12 yo 7th gr) math books haven't arrived (mainly b/c his mother forgot to go pick them up from the homeschool store -- oops!); and we didn't get to phonics or math with A.

But still -- it was a full workday. I had a conference with each of the boys and we mapped out which assignements need to be done each day. (In the future, I hope to do that on Tuesday evenings, but we had a little family birthday celebration last night for A - my little BLT turned 5!) C's teachers started off light -easing the students into things, I guess. Not so with S (14). I guess they figure "Hey, this is high school, get used to hard work!" He hung in there today and got the list done, but he's definitely going to have quite a workload.

The house, of course, looks like we spent all day on school! The kitchen is a mess, any room K (3) played in while we were working is a mess, dinner is going to be late, and the laundry is not caught up. My attitude has been horrible all week - feeling disappointed with myself for not being more ready for the beginning of the year. But .... we survived and lived to tell the tale!

Now ... on to "do the next thing!"

Ninth Grade Curriculum Plan

In case you're interested:
S – 9th Grade Curriculum Plan, 2009-2010
(S will be attending Veritas Classical School one day per week for humanities instruction. Their book list is copyrighted and is only available to registered students. So I can't list the books here, but trust me, they're good!)
Veritas Curriculum
Bible - New Testament Survey
History -U.S. History
American Literature
English - grammar, writing, vocabulary
Rhetoric / Debate
Greek I
(S. will also be taking an apologetics elective at a local a la carte homeschool enrichment program)
Apologetics -The Quest for Truth Chris Sherrod
At Home
Algebra I - Elementary Algebra Harold Jacobs
Physical Science - Exploring Creation with Physical Science Dr. Jay Wile
Fine Arts - Appreciation: Annotated Mona Lisa Carol Strickland
Young Persons Guide to Music Neil Ardley
The Story of Classical Music CD by Darren Henley
Various composer studies
Studio arts: Various drawing exercises
Guitar - weekly lesson & practice
PE - fitness training and various group classes at YMCA

And the winner is...

...Shannon! Congratulations - you are the proud new owner of Exploring God's Creation!

This was a fun giveaway, and I wish I had something to mail to all of you! Thanks for visiting and commenting. If I can ever find time to blog again (with the craziness of illness, last-minute end-of-summer trips, and school starting) I look forward to making some new homeschool bloggy friends!

Have a great week!

We interrupt this program....

Ok, so I promised to get the Part 2 Chores post up and running the other day. But then the Chicken Pox decided to visit our house and I've been a little distracted. So blogging is on the back burner for now, but stay tuned.... (and thanks for understanding!)
*Note to the curious... yes my children received the vaccine. But 10yo M has a rare blood disorder and she just marches to the beat of her own drummer, medically speaking. =)

Homeschool Giveaway!

*******Update: the Giveaway is over. Go here to see the winner! Have a great year, everybody!

Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations is sponsoring a Curriculum Cleanout. Now through August 15, lots of great resources will be recycled through giveaways. Have something that needs a new home? Need a few items to round out your curriculum? Then check out this great blog carnival that grows daily!


My giveaway is for Exploring God's Creation Science workbook from Christian Liberty Press. First, I just want to say how much I love Christian Liberty Press! They are affordable, user-friendly, and have a solid Biblical worldview. This science workbook (we used it more as a "text") has information and activities on a range of topics in all the major areas of elementary science. It's listed in their 3rd grade materials, but we used it as a group when my kids were in 4th, 2nd, and K. (The first couple of lessons have some marks - before I got smart and photocopied the lessons.) Each chapter has a bit of info on the topic, followed by some questions and an experiment that uses easy-to-find household items. We supplemented each topic with books from the library and spent about a week on each lesson.
The way to enter this giveaway is to leave me a comment on this post - it's that easy! (Be sure to leave me a way to contact you.) Contest ends at midnight on the 15th - I will randomly select a winner from all the entries. Hope you win!

**Tune in tomorrow for part 2 of the Chores series!

Overheard

If you were a fly on the wall in the Next Thing house this week, you might have heard...

"Can I do yogos on the map, Mom? Can't I? 3yo K asking to do yoga on the mat one morning. I had to stop laughing to say "yes." She tends to end all questions with a sweet little, lilting "can't I?" What - does she think that makes her hard to resist? She's right!

K's Dictionary
shaps ships -- chap stick
sssip sslops -- flip flops
precious -- princess
Blessed Jesus to Your Name -- title of her favorite song, "Blessed Be Your Name"

"I think 21 Gu*ns is the best song ever. It makes me cry." 12-going-on-13 yo C, commenting on music by Gre*en D*ay

"Mom, K had to go potty at 5am and I took her." 10 yo M being a sweet big sister. She's done a good job with the middle-of-the-night potty breaks and hugs now that K has a big girl bed and shares M's room.

That's some of the chatter happening around here. Go visit Mary's place for more Tiny Talk Tuesday.