Mishmash Maggie

My Husband Made Me Cry

2012-01-10T22:59:00.000-08:00

Today is Abby's birthday...
15.
High school.
Driving Permits.
Growing up.

The teenage years, in many ways, remind me of the toddler years.
Everything seems in a great flux again.The challenges sometimes seem daunting.I never know what to expect from day to day.
But while we struggle with ridiculous things like going to bed at a reasonable hourso we (she) can wake up, you know, before noon.
I get affirmation that things aren't as bad as our late bedtime makes me feel.
I knew that Abby's iPod only played sound through one earbud.
I asked her last year if she wanted a new iPod and she declined stating it was too much trouble to re-do all her playlists.
I asked her again this year.
"Would you like a new iPod?"
She replied, "No."
Me- "Why not??!!"
Abby said, "Mom, it's a luxury. It still works. It's only for my personal enjoyment.I'm fine with only having one earbud that works."
At times like that, she puts me to shame.
***
She approached me a few months before her birthday and did ask for something.
She said, "Mom, I know it may be expensive. But, the only thing I want for my birthday this year is a purity ring. But here's the thing. I don't want some cheap $10 ring that says, "PURITY" across the front of it. I want a real ring, with real, you know, diamonds or something. A ring that truly represents that I value my relationship with Jesus and that I want to stay pure until I am married. I want to pick out a ring that I love and is beautiful."
And by our gracious Lord's provision, this winter Nana worked as temporary help at the Zales outlet store.
She found her ring.

So tonight, at Olive Garden, we played paper telephone and laughed loud enough to disturb tables around us.
And after desserts were brought out, my sweet husband got up from his chair...
and kneeled down in front of his baby daughter...
and said these words,
"Dearest Abigail, I kneel before you now as your earthly father and representative of your Heavenly Father to present you with this ring. This ring represents a covenant that you have made between Your Holy Bridegroom, Jesus, and you, His Holy Bride.
This represents a covenant of purity, of sanctification, of longsuffering, to keep God's Holy Temple which He has created in you, pure and undefiled.
God has already chosen an earthly husband that He has created just for you. This man will be your earthly covering, provider, best friend, and he will cherish you with all his heart.
This ring represents a place holder until the day your husband replaces it with your wedding ring.
You will know when God brings you this individual because you will have peace that surpasses all understanding. And God will easily communicate this to you if you stay in communion with God.
Enjoy the purity this rings represents.
We (gesturing to all of us) are your family and witnesses in this covenant.
Happy 15th Birthday."

The Hobbitt- First Official Trailer

2011-12-20T19:43:00.000-08:00

My daughter is hyperventilating. It's going to be a long year ;)

All Is Well

2011-12-19T10:13:00.000-08:00

Just so very busy... but had to share.
This is Elijah's very first ever vocal recital...All Is Well by Michael W. Smith

AHL (9th Grade) Week 10 Writing Assignment

2011-11-30T22:22:00.000-08:00

**This was written by Abby and unedited by me except for breaking it up so it is easier to read on the computer**

EWH Week 10 Writing Assignment 11/25/11

Write journal entries from the Exodus through the wilderness as if you were an Israelite. Record your observations, fears, and faith.

Evening.

I feel the dust sting my cheeks as a brisk wind blows over the desert.

The sun has begun its lowering descent, and everything is tinged with burnished gold light.

I am sitting on a hill, above the bustle and chaos.

Our tents stretch as far I can see into the shadows of the mountains to the north.

I know it will only be a minute before mother calls me back to our tent.

We have to prepare for gathering the manna tomorrow.

We’ll have to get extra in the morning, for the day after is the seventh day: the Sabbath.

I sit back and remember the first time heavenly food lay upon the ground.

We had gone and complained to Moses, our leader, about bread and meat.

Everyone I know has joined the grumbling about how much better the food was in Egypt.

It didn’t look like Moses was too pleased with us.

I snuck into his meeting with the people- or at least, I peeked through the crack in the tent curtain.

His eyebrows drew closer and closer the more they complained until you couldn’t even see his eyes.

And then he sighed. He told them he would go and talk with the Lord about their complaints.

Seeing the look on his face, I felt guilty, though I wasn’t there when they grumbled.

The next day, the white manna lay on the ground. I’ve never tasted anything like it before in my life!

I like to close my eyes when I eat it, and imagine our God forming it in the night and

smiling as He lays it out for us. And I think Him, and then go and feed some to Amram.

Mother is so busywith the toddlers that Amram’s become my special charge,

and father is always out with my big brother Phineas.

In fact, I hear mother now- calling my name from the foot of my hill- that’s as far as she’ll go.

I go down the hill, my skirt brushing the dirt and the scraggly bushes.

The sun winks with one more glimmer of light before ducking beneath the horizon.

Morning-time.

Amram’s fussy today. I try and feed him some of my manna but he won’t have it,

and instead smacks his little fists into the ground and wails.

I sigh, glancing around for mother. She’s off with the two toddlers, teaching them to put the manna in the jars.

I shouldn’t bother her now.

I look back to Amram- and he’s gone. I panic.

He can’t walk yet- only crawl- so he couldn’t have gone far, could he?

I call his name and begin to run, dashing around our neighbor’s tents.

“Have you seen Amram?” I ask, but no one has. Almost in tears,

I’m ready to call mama when I hear a voice, deep and

chuckling, speaking as if to a child. I turn, and see Amram in Moses’ arms,

and father and Phineas talking with him.

I cannot believe it. Of all people! I approach them nervously. Phineas notices me first.

“Finally realized he was missing, eh, little sister?” I glare at him.

“I was looking for him this whole time!” I watch Moses holding Amram in wonder.

He’s such a powerful man, with a strange, large presence about him-

yet here I can almost believe that he was once just a shepherd in the wilderness, taking care of his lambs.

He’s smiling a little, and ruffles Amram’s curly hair.

He spots me and with a teasing look, motions to Amram.

“Were you looking for him?”

Moses said something to me! Struck dumb, I can only nod and extend my hands.

Amram jumps into them, and declares that he’s hungry. I hear the men laugh.

I assure Amram of food, then see that Moses, father, and Phineas have resumed their conversation.

I pat Amram’s back and go back to our tent.

Next Week.

Moses has gone up to Mount Sinai to receive the law from God.

The clouds are thick over the mountain- even we can feel the magnificent

presence of the Lord from down in the valley.

Moses has warned us not to go near the mountain, or we will die. I believe him.

The mountain is a terrifying sight—and yet, beautiful as well.

I wonder what it is like to have a conversation with God like Moses does.

I suppose it may take some getting used to.

Later.

The people- that is, the grown ups- have started complaining again.

Moses has been gone for days—and I think they’re getting antsy.

I hear our neighbors declare that Moses died, and that now we are all lost.

When I walk around through the camp, all I hear is talk of making a god, a better god, who will go before us.

It sounds wrong, but... The truth is, I think it’s a good idea.

Later.

I’m almost regretting giving my earring and my necklace to Aaron to make our new god, but not quite.

After all, Moses won’t be coming down anytime soon- we need a new god.

The celebration for our new god is tomorrow.

Moses has come down again.

I can’t imagine water with melted, powdered gold in it can taste very good.

But either way, I’m probably going to find out in a little bit.

I was stunned when we all looked up and saw Moses standing over us during the celebration for the gold calf-

in the end I think I’m glad Moses has returned- but it was a dire day for us.

He’s melting down the idol and is going to make the people drink water

with the melted stuff in it when he’s done, as punishment.

In his wrath, he even broke the tablets that had the law on them.

Now he’ll have to get a new set.

I even heard that Moses had to seriously intercede on our behalf,

because the Lord was even tempted to destroy us.

Building the tabernacle.

Construction on the tabernacle has begun.

It gives me thrills, seeing it being erected, piece by piece.

It is going to be the most glorious thing anyone has ever seen.

I’m ashamed that the Lord is still with us even after we have turned against Him.

But perhaps with this visual reminder, we will be less inclined to stray away.

Late Night Conversations With Abby

2011-11-27T02:17:00.000-08:00

Abby: You can rest assured that I at least learned one thing from my last science module.
Me: Oh yeah, what's that?
Abby: I know the difference between physical change and chemical change.
Me: So, when you boil an egg and it goes from liquid and runny to a solid hard boiled egg, is that a physical change or chemical change?
(Very confidently)Abby: Physical change!
Me: So, you can unboil an egg and return it to a soft state??
(Pause)Abby: Wait, never mind, I guess I didn't learn anything from my last module.
Ba-rum, dum

:D

Questions Regarding High School Posts

2011-11-14T23:32:00.000-08:00

Hi there...
I've had a few emails requesting more posts on Abby and high school.
So far I have posted what her curriculum is, how we've graded for science experiments,and a couple of her writing assignments.
What is it that you'd like to see?
Pictures of her time line book?
More excerpts of her writing?
What day-to-day looks like?
I'd really love to knowand do my best to blog it.
Thanks for your input :)

So, How Ya Been?

2011-11-14T00:02:00.000-08:00

So much has happened since I last posted.
This calls for...
{drumroll please}
Bullet Points!
(I love me some bullet points!)

• We went to and are back from San Diego where we helped celebrate Karl's parents 50th Wedding Anniversary.

Aren't they so cute??!!

• We rarely, and I mean rarely, watch television. But Nana introduced us to X Factor.Completely sucked in!
We love Rachel Crow, Drew, Chris Rene, and my personal favorite...Astro!
My kids follow me around singing this song from his audition:

• We visited a well-known California food establishment for the first time. See if you can guess where we ate...

Underneath our drinks/shakes were bible verse references!

There was a reference on our fries, too!

Have you guessed?

The answer is...

• Even though we were having lots of fun in San Diego I couldn't wait to get back here.
I was in a hurry to see a new member of our family.
In a way that only the Lord can do, Camille, a beautiful, godly young woman, now lives with us.Our family of five unanimously decided to invite her to live with us and she said yes!We are now a happy family of six :)
• We are back to school tomorrow. Nutcracker rehearsals have started (but only for Charlotte).Outdoor soccer season has ended and indoor soccer has started for Elijah.Abigail is eager to start school up for some reason ;)She looked ahead in her lesson plans and is stoked about Week 10.Go figure... {shakes head}I'm madly rearranging my house since my sewing room is now Camille's room.

• I did some baking this weekend and pulled out an old recipe.I forgot how amazing these Double-Chocolate Walnut Biscotti's were.
Whew! That is enough for now!
But I will soon have an amazing update on my health (you aren't going to believe it!)
Also, a new quilt in the making.
And the all new and improved Nana.
Stay tuned!

Digging Revisted

2011-11-11T10:18:00.000-08:00

I was looking for something on my blog and came across this post from June of 2009.
I love that Lord encourages me over and over againand is faithful to remind me of truths I tend to forget.
***

Our current read aloud is

"Lillian Trasher: The Greatest Wonder in Egypt" by Janet & Geoff Benge.

She started the first orphanage in Egypt during a time in history when unwanted children were simply thrown into the Nile or other river.

It is an amazing story of faith and of God's faithfulness which has been a wonderful way to wrap up our studies this year.

In our reading tonight, Lillian had been living and working in Egypt for about 30 years and had about 700 children and widows in her care. Money, always for any orphanage I think, was short and she was tired, discouraged, and felt out of hope.

Of course, God showed Himself faithful to her and the children but as she is worked through her struggle she remembered an Egyptian fable that children learned in school.

After Karl read it I started crying and I wanted to share this fable with you.

•••

"It was a story about a boy who had to cross a vast desert. There were no watering holes along the way, so, whenever he needed a drink, he had to stop and dig a well with his bare hands. After he had dug several of these watering holes, his hands were cut and bloody, but he went on. When he finally got to the other side, he was completely worn out.

A month later this boy watched as another boy walked out of the desert. The second boy had taken the exact same route as the first boy, but he looked fresh and happy, skipping along with a huge bunch of flowers in his arms.

"How could you cross the desert and look so fresh and cool?" the first boy asked. "And where did you get those flowers? I didn't see a single one when I crossed just a month ago."

The second boy answered. "Oh, the way is beautiful. There are many small wells brimming with cool water along the way, and around each well there are flowers and shady bushes. It was easy to cross. Didn't you see them?"

The first boy looked down at his scarred hands and smiled. He knew that his own suffering had made the desert an easier place to cross for those who followed after him.

•••

Lord, I don't know the deserts that are being crossed right now but I know that as a desert traveler, we get so weary and wonder if what we do will be worth it in the end.

Encourage my brothers and sisters in the faith to keep digging knowing that You are using our struggles, our labor, our digging to benefit and bless those that come after us.

I thank You Lord for Your Son Jesus. He traveled the ultimate desert of Golgotha (Calvary) as He died for our sins and provided for us sweet, fragrant salvation. We benefit from the work of His nail-scarred hands that did the work of the Cross--work that only He could do.

Strengthen us, that we would not grow weary in the work that You have called us to: to love and serve one another in grace and humility.

Strengthen us Lord, to never stop digging a well of refreshment to bless another knowing that we never dig alone. You have provided Yourself, through the Holy Spirit, to accomplish Your will--for our good and Your glory.

Amen.

Wow and Thank You

2011-11-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

I'm still in San Diego, but had a minute to check up on Blogger...
wow kazowee...
I just found out Mishmash Maggie has been nominatedover at the Homeschool Blog Awards

http://hsbapost.com/
The two categories are:
• Favorite Homeschool Mom Blog
• Best Encourager Blog

I've seen the list of blogs in these two categories andit is an honor to be listed with them.
***
But even more exciting is that Abby is nominated for Best Teen Blog (again this year).
If you participate in the Homeschool Blog Awards, I hope you'llcheck Abby's blog out and give her a vote :)

Gone Fishin'

2011-10-31T23:23:00.000-07:00

Okay... maybe not really fishing.
But we are leaving very soon, but only for a week.
Karl's parents are celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary and that is something to celebrate don't ya think??
We're going to eat lots of food, see lots of family, eat more food,see lots of friends and eat more food.
I'm sensing a theme... hm... :)
*Note to self: Pack bigger pants*
I'm silly tonight!
Before I depart for our latest grand adventure I shall leave you with some linkage...
• Miss Abigail's take on the fire
• One of our family's favorite things- Milk Toof!
(You don't know what Milk Toof is???!!!!)
Watch this book trailer to get the behind the scenes of this sweet little blog...

• My latest Pause and Ponder was a verse near and dear to my heart. You can check it out here.

• I love these thoughts about children and ministry.

• And this really blessed me... I hope it blesses you, too!
It was created by Amanda from this blog post.

I hope you all have a most excellent week this week and next!

TTFN...

Source

The Day Our House Should Have Burnt Down

2011-10-28T19:07:00.000-07:00

I wasn't feeling great this morning so after making sure everyone was up and moving for violin lessons, I crawled back into bed.
I remember hearing a softly spoken yet panicked, "Oh no," just before the I heard the fire alarm.
I wasn't worried at all.
No one was yelling and I assumed someone wasn't diligently guarding their cookingand things got a little smokey.
Our smoke detector is very sensitive and it doesn't take much to set it off.
But as I looked out of my bedroom door, I could see smoke.
The smell of it was suddenly much stronger than I would imagine.
As I got out of bed and headed downstairs,I passed the large vent in the hallway and smoke was billowing out pretty furiously.
I thought, "Oh dear. This isn't good. Is our house on fire? Is anyone hurt?"
I walked into our smoke filled kitchen and nothing was on fire.
Doors and windows were open and a still smoking pan was on the counter.
I contemplated running it under cold water, but it still looked too hot and combustible.
I grabbed the giant bag of baking soda and smothered it.
Realizing things were under control, I told my child it was a good thing she didn't pour water on it.
Everyone knows you don't put water on a grease fire.
And that's when I heard her say,
"But I did."
What??!!
Apparently, the flames were 2 feet tall, the front of our microwave was black, the cabinets above the microwave were black, and there was soot on the wall and ceiling.
She said, "I couldn't figure out how to use the fire extinguisher (that we keep in the kitchen) and I didn't know what to do,so I grabbed the pitcher (a Britta pitcher) and poured water on it."
Me: "Are you hurt?!"
Child: "No."
Me: "Do you understand how the Lord covered you today?You should be burnt on your face and hands.You should be in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.Our house should be in flames right now."
She didn't really get it.
***
We started cleaning and amazingly, nothing was damaged except the pan.
We were able to clean all the soot.
The microwave and cabinets weren't even warped from the heat.
All the soot simply wiped off.
Except for the smoke and the shrill fire alarm still piercing the air, you would never have known what happened.
We sat down together and prayed-- prayers of thankfulness that no one was hurt.Thankfulness that we still had a house.
But as we prayed, I remembered all those verses we studied last year from the Book of James.
Verses about the tongue being a fire and setting things aflame.
Another child said: The soot reminds me of what happens when we sin.Even though the fire is put out, it leaves behind a mark.
We talked about how the smoke from a little pan in the kitchen affected the entire house.
We talked about how our fiery words, even small ones, can affect our entire house.
***
I don't know that we'll ever know on this side of Heaven why we experienced what we did todayor why the Lord chose to be so merciful to us.
But, I do know that I don't want to forget the lessons of today.
This isn't the first (and I'm guessing not the last) miracle we've experienced.
I am very much aware how God's thoughts and ways are higher than mine.
A family at church lost their home in a fire this summer in the midst of doing a good thing.They were hosting children from a local ranch that ministers to the fatherless for a 4th of July BBQ.
We were completely and totally spared while being careless and negligent.
***
No neat and tidy answers.Just gratefulness.
I found this on Youtube... a visual reminder of what could have been...

1850-Modern Week 5

2011-10-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

Wow... thankfully our home improvements are finished (for now). Yet another week of school that has taken us two weeks to complete. But our roof is de-mossed, the fence stained, the house painted, the drive and walkway power washed, our brand new door installed ( and I LOVE it!!!), the flower bed expanded, trees are pruned, and our retractable awning cleaned (the first time in *gulp* eight years!).

Also, Elijah learned how to install a doorbell and he changed the hinges on four kitchen cabinet doors all by himself! He is one handy dude!

Our Hymn for this week is: There Is a Balm in Gilead
Our current Read Aloud is: Courage To RunIn Bible, we are studying a variety of verses including Isaiah 53. We are using the book A Young Person's Guide to Knowing God this year.
We also read about Daniel Webster and Elijah Lovejoy.
Our Memory Verse for this week is: 1 Peter 2:24
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

In History,
we learned about Daniel Webster and Elijah Lovejoy.
I finally ordered book basket books (I am sooooo lagging this year) and hopefully,there will be more excitement/interest in our studies.
We've sang/ learned the Southern and Northern Capitals.
The kids all had their first vocal "party" last night and did very well!
Charlotte will be in the Nutcracker again this year as a Party Girl.
Abby opted not to. Ninth grade is proving to be a challenge for both mother and daughter(more on that later).
This is not a very exciting highlight-- we will try to get our act together this week!

Hmmm, You Smell Good

2011-10-17T23:10:00.000-07:00

That's what my son said to me tonight.
He came up and gave me a great, BIG hug
and *sniff, sniff*
said, "Hmmm, Mommy you smell good!"

*sniff, sniff*

"What is that?"
*ssssnnniiiffffff*
"Mmmm, it smells like...."

*sniff*

"Mmmm, it smells just like...

beef jerky!"

Why, thank you, son.
*changes clothes so I don't smell like dinner any more*

1850-Modern Week 4 with Char-toon: Carbonaria

2011-10-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

Illness and Home Improvements train wrecked Week 4. We ended up taking week 4 over two weeks.
Without further ado...

Highlights
Our Hymn for this week is: Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus
Our current Read Aloud is: Courage To Run-which we have yet to start.In Bible, we are studying a variety of verses including Galatians 2 and Romans 5. We are using the book A Young Person's Guide to Knowing God this year.
We, in reviewing, also read about David Livingstone and Hudson Taylor.
Our Memory Verse for this week is: 1 John 3:16
Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

In History, we learned Italy becoming united after secret societies and several battles.
Charlotte has a Char-toon:

In Science, from a week ago, we finally did the DNA stranding experiment with onions...

AHL (9th grade) Week 7 Writing Assignment

2011-10-10T13:01:00.000-07:00

EWH Week 7 Writing Assignment

by Abigail Magsarili

Write a speech explaining how the people of Babylon will benefit from having the Code of Hammurabi.

(This is a transcript from the newscast aired earlier today. You can view this at bww.HLM.mon.**)

* bww.HLM.mon stands for Babylonian Wide Web [dot] Hammurabi Local News [dot] monarchy (as opposed to government).

NEWSCAST ANCHOR FOR HAMMURABI LOCAL NEWS: I’m sure you were all watching earlier today on live television, as the new monument was unveiled in the city square. King Hammurabi previously announced that this stone column was going to change the face of our beloved Babylon. Members of the city have been speculating for weeks as to what it could be, but as it turns out, the spectators have told us that this stone actually bears a set of rules. Our top reporters are here live with the king’s secretary to discuss the significance of the stone.

LIVE REPORTER: Mr. Secretary, why did the king say that this monument will change the face of Babylon?

MR. SECRETARY: You know, Hammy- er, King Hammurabi, announced earlier today at the unveiling ceremony that this code was passed on to him by Shamash, our great god of justice, as the means to rule Babylon. It’s really quite extensive, as you can see. And um, many of the local craftsmen are looking considerably distressed, and hopefully they will be taking their work extra seriously.

LIVE REPORTER: And why is that?

MR. SECRETARY: (laughs) Do you see the north side of the stone? It’s all for the stonemasons and physicians and house builders, so on- and if you’ll notice, the penalty for, let’s say building a house that is faulty and falls on someone, is death. As well, any doctor that performs an operation that kills a patient will suffer the same consequences. It’s really become a risky thing, having an occupation like that. And by the looks of the people, not all of them are pleased.

LOCAL PHYSICIAN: You know, not to be disrespectful, but personally I feel like this is a little too extreme, you know? But really, in things like my profession, we don’t know all that there is to know, and we do our best. But sometimes, accidents happen, and instead of being able to learn from these, now if we have single slip up...

LIVE REPORTER: But don’t you think this will weed out the careless people, and improve your practice instead of damaging it?

LOCAL PHYSICIAN: Well, yeah-

LOCAL BUILDER: Frankly, I’m a little scared to build anything now. (laughs nervously)

LOCAL STONEMASON: You know, everyone will have an objection or two, but if this

came from Shamash then who are we to argue?

LOCAL BAKER: I’m just glad there isn’t anything about a person dying from a loaf of

bread. (laughs)

MR. SECRETARY: The thing is, I personally believe this is a turn for the better. Because

it’ll really make people... be serious about their professions, and make this a better place to be. People will do their jobs the best they can, and we’ll probably see a drastic drop in crime, and silly accidents. (chuckles) Whether it be because of a fear of the consequences, or because of the consequences themselves. I mean, if all the criminals are getting killed, we’ll see a decrease in crime that way too.

NEWSCAST ANCHOR: It seems the leaders all have the same mindset as the royal secretary. The northern governor gave a speech today to reassure the citizens that the Code of Hammurabi it, in fact, a beneficial thing.

GOVERNOR: While this is an unexpected and bold move, we must firstly respect our king and our god. We must trust that they know what’s best for the kingdom (the crowd murmurs). We will be expecting you to be abiding completely by the new Code; for your good as well as that of your neighbors. If you have any questions or comments, please see the committee seated to my left.

NEWSCAST ANCHOR: The governor also read a large portion of the Code.

GOVERNOR: If a judge try a case, reach a decision, and present his judgment in writing; if later error shall appear in his decision, and it be through his own fault, then he shall pay twelve time the fine set by him in the case, and he shall be publicly removed from the judge’s bench, and never again shall he sit there to render judgement.

If any one steal a cattle or sheep, or a donkey, or a pig or a goat, if it belong to a god or to the court, the thief shall pay thirtyfold therefore; if they belonged to a freed man of the

king he shall pay tenfold; if the thief has nothing with which to pay he shall be put to death....

If a physician make a large incision in the slave of a freed man, and kill him, he shall replace the slave with another slave.

If a builder build a house for some one, and does not construct it properly, and the building which he built shall fall in and kill it’s owner, then that builder shall be put to death.

CITIZEN: My one thing, is this law appears to have several holes. For instance, what if the building falls in and kills someone but not the owner? (person next to him snorts) What? I’m just saying! I’m just saying!

GOVERNOR: (still reading the code) In any one hire a ferryboat, he shall pay three gerahs in money per day.

If he hire a freight-boat, he shall pay two and one-half gerahs per day.

NEWSCAST ANCHOR: (VO) Since the announcement we’ve noticed several new polls and internet pages discussing ferryboats, freights, and whether they should all just take swimming lessons. Or, so we’ve heard, get into the boatmaking industry.

GOVERNOR: You can rest assured that we will be seeing a significant drop in crime. Though we may also see a slight rise in deaths before that. However, expect high quality work from any stonemason, builder, or physician you hire. Overall, the people of Babylon will be benefiting from this new Code of Hammurabi, which was unveiled this morning with the promise of a better future, complete with directions for any scenario we shall ever encounter in this life. (cheers)

NEWSCAST ANCHOR: And that’s our top story for today. Small transcripts of the Code will be sent around to the local leaders, though many will find it beneficial to travel to the capitol and see it for themselves. Now, our forecast for this week is, surprising, relatively dry....

***

Note from Lainie: The assignment was to write a speech, but she asked if she could do a newscast instead. I thought it was brilliant and loved it.

When do you (or do you) stand firm on the "assignment" and when (if) do you give your children liberty to be "outside the box?" Just curious... :)

And Now A Word From Nana

2011-10-09T21:20:00.000-07:00

Conversation
Karl: Hey Lain, David Courson (from Hawaii) asked me if I wanted to go to Nepal at the end of the month to help care for lepers.
Lainie: Oh, that's great! Are we going to Nepal? I want to go to Nepal!
Nana: What?! What in the world would you do? Isn't that dangerous?*a mild scowl forming on her brow*
Karl: No, not really. We would just be helping to care for them.
Nana: I still don't see what you would be doing or why you would want to go all the way to Nepal to care for leopards.
Lainie: Ma.
LE-PERS.

Not leopards.

Nana: *laughing and slapping her knee* Oh, lepers! Now that makes more sense!

1850-Modern Week 3

2011-09-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

Highlights
Our Hymn for this week is: Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus
I love this part of the lyrics:
"Stand up, stand up for Jesus,The trumpet call obey;Forth to the mighty conflict In this His glorious day.Ye that are men, now serve HimAgainst unnumbered foes;Let courage rise with danger,And strength to strength oppose.

In Bible, we are studying a variety of verses including John 13, 1 Peter 2 and Romans 5. We are using the book A Young Person's Guide to Knowing God this year.
Our Memory Verse for this week is: John 13:15
For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
***
In History,
The Crystal Palace

We also did the Enfield rifle activity...

Our Enfield "cartridge"

A very rough, unedited *gasp* video.

From The U.S. History Cookbook,Victorian Tea!

Science will be in a different post.
That was Week 3.I hope your week last week was blessed.Thanks for stopping by!

Hunger Games Review-- Benign or Beastly?

2011-09-22T15:40:00.000-07:00

Just popping in really quick to say that Abigail just posted a lengthy/thorough reviewof The Hunger Games Trilogy.
There is a lot of "buzz" about these books with the first movie coming out soon.
Her post is definitely a heads up for Christian parents that are cautious about what their children read.
It is timely...
Hunger Games review

Week 3 "Family Ties" science about DNA

2011-09-21T15:45:00.000-07:00

So this week we are supposed to do a very fun sounding experiment involvingonions, detergent, and something called denatured alcohol.
The 100 Science Experiments book we are using says that we can get it from a pharmacy.
Unfortunately, I only read the science book and didn't read Marie's wonderful, sanity saving notes in the teacher's manual.
If I had, I would have discovered that denatured alcohol is easily obtained

from the hardware store.

Hm, pharmacy? Not so much.
This is reminder for me and all the other MFWers out there...don't forget to read your TM- Marie is here to help us!
And now to observe strands of onion DNA...

Toodles

1850-Modern Week 2

2011-09-16T17:00:00.000-07:00

HighlightsTo link up or view other Highlights, click HERE
Our Hymn for this week is: What A Friend We Have in Jesus
It's been such a blessing!

In Bible, we are studying a variety of verses including 1 John, Colossians and John 1. We are using the book, A Young Person's Guide to Knowing God, this year.
I love the stories... especially the one that drove the point home thatwe belong to God twice-- He created us and bought us back!
Our first Memory Verse is: 1 John 3:1
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
What is great about this verse is we already sing a song about it at church. We really only had to memorize the last part because we knew the first part!
My illustration for the second part was this:
If a large group of adults and children were all mixed up together,they would have a hard time determining which children belonged to which parents.
But if Karl and I were in the group and their siblings were also in the group,they would recognize their siblings because they all have the same parents-- us!
As children of God, we "know" each other because we have the same, perfect,holy Heavenly Father.

***
In History,
we finished up learning the states and I have to say how impressed I am!
Here are the pretests I gave them before we first started school. Elijah's...

Here is Charlotte's...

They both knew a little less than half of the states.
This week we plugged along with the state cards...

They enjoyed playing States rummy until we added the middle states.

Then it got kinda confusing!

They finished up adding the state postal codes to their maps...

Today was the big "test" day!

So impressed!

They both got 100%.

Here is Charlotte's

And Elijah's...

So excited!
***In Science (5th grade), we did do the experiment from last week with chemical changesand milk proteins.

This lovely mixture is warm milk, food coloring, and vinegar.

I didn't have any pantyhose and the Dollar Tree was closed.

Papa had cheese cloth-- perfect!

This is the draining of our byproduct...

Here is the E man working hard on his science notes.

All drained!

He asked for gloves... he said it looked disgusting ;)

I don't know what happened to my cookie cutters??!!

But I had some bento box making supplies and used a flower shaper/cutter thingy.

It was fine :)

They LOOKED tasty... everyone kept thinking they were something to eat.

But one whiff... um, no.

Charlotte and Elijah have both started Writing Strands.
And they are plugging along in Math and English.
I think that about sums up the week.
Having these highlights "premade" is working out very nicely!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Meet Our...POWerful Hole Punch!

2011-09-15T12:10:00.000-07:00

Isn't he a beauty?

Check out the sheet punching capacity..

Lainie, what are these "heads?"

Well, this hole punch has removable/adjustable punching heads.

This means I can decide how many holes I want punched

AND how far apart the spacing.

What??!!

Yes. It is true

*awe filled silence fills the room*

hee hee, okay, maybe that is a BIT melodramatic,

but I've had this hole puncher for more than ten years and

have never regretted it's purchase.

The increments are engraved...

These are the removable/adjustable heads...

The rubbery bottom holds all the "holes" until I want to dump them...

No confetti all over the place... unless I spontaneously start throwing it around in an attempt to be festive. Not that I would ever do that! **whistles nonchalantly**
We also have single punches...

He is perfect when you need control over the placement of a single hole or two!

***
Next time, their "cousin" the Crop-A-Dile! Sounds exciting!!
Okay... maybe not...
:)

Over at the Notebooking Fairy

2011-09-14T17:44:00.000-07:00

Jimmie, from Jimmie's Collage, invited the Mishmash gang to be a featuredguest over at

To read the Notebooking Spotlight, click here

AHL (9th grade) Week 3 Writing Assignment

2011-09-12T21:58:00.000-07:00

From The Upper Room Academy
Week 3 Writing Assignment
(This was Abby's assignment last week and I liked it so much, I asked if I could blog it.I am posting it in it's entirety, but it is slightly re-formatted to make it easier on the eyes.)

Week 3 Writing Assignment: 9/8/11

Explain what difference it makes whether we were created or evolved.

To believe, or not to believe? Creation... or evolution? Whichever we believe will dictate how we will live our lives. But why is our origin, our past, so consequential to our present?

First, let’s examine each side, and see the striking differences in opinion, starting with evolution.

The theory of evolution was first proposed by scientist Charles Darwin in the 1800’s. Darwin believed in all of life having one common ancestor and that the different species were made by a process called natural selection. From basic chemicals and chemical reactions, simple life forms came into being which gradually became more and more complex as time went on. This process was said to take millions, even billions of years. As genetic mutations take place in an organism, the beneficial mutations are passed on to the offspring because they aid survival (this is called natural selection), until so many mutations have occurred that there is now an entirely different creature.

Belief in this theory takes an incredible amount of faith, as it assumes that life not only came from non-living substances, that even the most complex of life forms came into being all on accident. According to evolution, we are all really just the byproducts of some chemical reactions and mere chance.

As well, those who believe in this theory also accept the belief that our closest relatives (and our predecessors) are animals; the monkey being the closest “ancestor” of mankind. Note, this implies that, coming from animals, we are no greater than animals.

Now, on to the other side of the coin: Christianity, and the belief in Genesis. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) This is basis, the core of the creation belief is that there is an almighty creator who designed and created the world.

Nothing was by happenstance, rather, everything is in the hands of God. (There are some people who try to blend creation and evolution, but no true creationist or believer in Jesus should try and compromise between the two.)

Creationists (and Christians) believe God created the world and everything in it in six 24-hour days. The first day, day and night, darkness and light, came into being. The second day, the expanse in the midst of the waters was made, and the expanse was called heaven. The earth sprouted with all sorts of vegetation and plants on the third day, and on the fourth came the moon, stars, and sun to govern the day and night.

On the fifth day, the creatures of the waters and the air were created; birds and great sea creatures swarmed.

On the sixth day, God created first the living creatures of the earth, each after their kind: the beasts and cattle and creeping things. And then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” And God created Man, male and female, and blessed them.

“God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and morning, the sixth day.”

Seeing the world, and ourselves, as being deliberately designed radically changes how we see ourselves, and each other. Being under the evolutionary standpoint, living with the belief that you are nothing more than the result of chance, no greater than animals, then life has far less worth than it ought. There is no purpose for your life, so you might as well live as the verse from 1 Corinthians, as Paul said: “What advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die.” (1 Cor 15:32)

No wonder so many live for themselves: if there is nothing after this life, then of course, you might as well spend your life well and live to the fullest... for yourself. No wonder so many lead meaningless lives that are wasted away as if they didn’t matter: if your origin is chemicals and monkeys, and you have no worth, why bother doing anything with your life? You’re just an accident anyway.

Then you turn and see the believer who places his faith in an infinite Creator who saw his life before the earth was even formed, who has a plan for his life and has an eternal home prepared for him after death: is there any greater reason to be able to raise your head and walk in victory? The person who believes in the great Creator can see beyond this life, and lives not for the temporary but the eternal. And that life is a marked change from the one who believes his ancestors were monkeys and soup.

Many may not even realize how the things they believe affect how they lead their lives, and yet it is a crucial part of life. For the difference between being created or evolved

determines the way you see yourself, others, the world around you... and how you should live your life.

1850-Modern Week 1

2011-09-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

Highlights
Our Hymn for this week is: What A Friend We Have in Jesus
I can't even tell you how much these lyrics ministered to me this week.
"Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?We should never be discouraged; Take it to the Lord in prayer."

In Bible, we are studying a variety of verses including Psalms 32 and119; Luke 15, Genesis 1 and Titus 2. We are using the book A Young Person's Guide to Knowing God this year.
We are loving this book! The simple stories illuminate truths and help you remember them.Good stuff!

In History,

Washington,

Idaho,

Montana,

North Dakota,

Minnesota,

Wisconsin,

Michigan,

Ohio,

Pennsylvania,

New York! Vermont!

New Hampshire and Maine!

Yes, I, er, I mean the children know the Northern Border, as well as the Southern Border of the United States.Some think the songs are annoying-- we think they are highly effective!
In Science (5th grade), we are learning about atoms and chain reactions.I'm off to the Dollar Tree right this second for pantyhose to do our first experiment.Photos to come!
In Science (7th grade), Charlotte has an update all her own-- it's here if you missed it.
It was a great first week of school. Soccer and ballet have started up and I'mcarving out time to do some extensive meal planning!

Char-toons: Apologia Science Recap of Weeks 1 & 2

2011-09-08T23:18:00.000-07:00

This is Charlotte's illustration of the experiment on density.

Abby did a video of that experiment (back when we used blog names!)

You can find the video HERE

Here is her illustration of the chemical reaction experiement.

Again, Abby's video from that one is HERE.

Ah, but now we get to the Char-toons!

(I made them as large as I could so you could see better)

These are illustrations of her experiment results...

Dropping a book vs. cardboard

Dropping cardboard vs. card stock

Cardstock vs. plain piece of paper

Experiment # 2

I love her announcement of a new contestant!

Another new contestant!

Her conclusion...

Cliff Note version...

Finally, her little commentary/sideline giggle...
Ba-rum dup

AHL- 9th grade science

2011-09-08T15:54:00.000-07:00

Abby is three weeks into her school year and so far so good.
I've only needed to make one phone call to the MFW office :)
In the lesson plans/ info regarding science, it states very clearly the student'sfinal grade should be based on the test scores.
The labs/experiments should be completed and scored--not for accuracy of information, but for effort in completion, following directions, etc...
The reason I called the office?
This-

Well, okay, not exactly that, but what heads the column next to these, is this...

*insert crickets chirping*
Perhaps it's just me. It usually is, y'know?
But I could not figure out what to put in this line!!
A check mark?
Certainly not a "grade" since it said not to grade it.But what would be the score????!!!

(Ahhhhh!!!!! *pulls out hair*)
I called the office :)
Thankfully, Bret answered the phone and suggested a 5-point scale.
Brilliant!
Witness...

0= lame/did not do at all/grounded for life (just kidding)
1= Minimal Effort - which makes me consider demoting you back to middle school(again kidding... sort of)
3= Good Effort-- you read it, you tried to do it, it is legible.In other words, eh.
5= Excellent! It's neat and complete and shows you actually care about leaving the house some time before you turn forty years old!
It worked very well for Abby's first experiment--

I thought she earned a 4.5 out of the possible 5 points.

It wasn't "perfect" but it was very, very good (I thought).
Had she used a ruler and made the lines straight, it would have been a 5 for sure.
So what do you think-- was I too hard, not tough enough, or just right??

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Notebooking

2011-09-07T18:38:00.000-07:00

The Notebooking Fairy has a great
Notebooking Round-Up for September post!

Great ideas like using calendars for copywork and reasons for using notebooking with high schoolers.
Thank you Notebooking Fairy for including Mishmash in your link list!

♥

She also has freebies... go check 'em out!

Thoughts to Chew On

2011-08-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

I've been studying Proverbs 31 and the book of Ecclesiastes.
I noticed something very interesting.
The relationships depicted in the life of the P31 woman are• her husband • servants/maidens• poor, needy • community/merchants•those in her household• her children
No where (that I could see) does it speak of her relationship with "friends."
Hmmm.
Then I looked at Ecc 1:16-2:17 and all the things that Solomon pursued.Wisdom, madness, folly, mirth, pleasure, servants, building, making, riches, works, etc...
I made a list of how I pursue those things.(For acquiring servants, I wrote buying appliances and things I think I need to help me around the house)
But then, I made a list of the things I pursue which are deeply satisfying to me.
I feel like I should know this already.But instead I was very surprised that the things I find deeply satisfying are:
•my relationship and knowledge with God•the relationships with my husband and children•having my home in order•and serving other people• making things only if I then give them away
I realized that a lot of my other "pursuits" cause me to be more discontent and restlessthan added to deep contentment.
No neat and tidy finish today-- just some observations.
Definitely, things to chew on...
edited to add:
Not seeing any evidence of the priority of female friendships in Proverbs 31I did have this thought... about us wanting/craving relationshipsand being draw to things like Twitter and Facebook.
I don't know about you but I find that the more time I spend on Facebookthe more dissatisfied I feel and the "hungrier" I am to make a connection with people.
If true satisfaction was found in those relationships, wouldn't a little go a long way and be deeply gratifying??
So many things feed discontentment and make something akin to a hungry monster that needs to be fed continually. It seems to feed on contact, generally light and superficial contact, with people. But because those are usually not with primary relationship and are generally superficial, they leave us with an emptiness and gnawing for something we can't place.
Maybe it's just me... I don't know...
Definitely things to think about and pray about and seek the Lord about...

Update on the High School Room

2011-08-15T00:28:00.000-07:00

Part 2

Well, the room was emptied out, holes spackled, and walls cleaned.

My hubs diligently taped off the trim.

Don't be scared!

Wet paint always looks more intense!

While he rolled on the paint, I waited with anticipation to tackle this

pile o' books we simply dumped into the living room...

after the hallway was too full. :/

Yes, we thinned out the books and the library will be receiving

a nice big box of donations this week.

***

Painting is finished and the new curtains (thank you TJ Maxx) are up.

We have three Expedit bookcases (from IKEA) upstairs.

We decided to purchase two desks which attach to the bookcase

since they are ample sized,

while being priced very reasonably at $50.

Now borrowing a trick I learned from Bungalow '56

(This is the same trick I used on the girls bedroom

but I don't think I ever blogged it. I'll have to take some pics and do that.)

The trick is to use that space right by the door which is usually wasted.

In our house, space is a premium and we need every square inch.

So right inside the door, there is a bookcase which juts out into the room.

It creates a little hallway...

The room isn't completely done.

I have details to fill in, but I had to share since the hallway idea might help someone else :)

Coming through the "hallway" is Charlotte's desk.

Here is a close-up.

Before we thinned out the books, every single shelf was full!

Because there are shelfs under her desk, I double-stacked

a lot of my books that I don't pull out very often but want to keep.

Double-stacking helped with opening up all four cubby spaces on the top.

Here is a fun chair I found also at TJ Maxx.

***

This is Abby's desk and the view of the doorway/hallway.

The genius thing about using the Expedit bookcase this way...

We now have room to double-stack books
BUT with the titles facing out on both sides!

Love. it.

Hopefully, I can get pictures of all the other places school happens.

Until then, happy organizing and/or schooling for those that have started already.

Random find:

These lamps are $3.99 at IKEA so the girls each have one on their desk.

Meet and Greet

2011-08-14T23:37:00.000-07:00

It is "Student Photo" week over at the Blog Hop.
This summer we had our family pictures taken so at least these are current.
If you are local, Mindy Strauss did a great job on our portraits!
And if you're not local, still go visit her because she sells lovely art prints, too.(She has also participated in several of Pioneer Woman's contests and has done very well.)
Anyhoo,
Here we are...

The High Schooler

The Middle Schooler

The Grader Schooler

Our home education is made much richer by the efforts of Nana and Papa

(That's me with my mommy and daddy!)

The "Big Guy"/The Principal/ Head over this bunch and that would be me-- wife, mommy, teacher, and certified kisser of all boo-boos.
***
If you're here from HOTM, welcome and enjoy your visit!
:)

Char-toons: Waterloo- Napoleon's Last Battle

2011-08-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

While flipping through Charlotte's notebook from last yearI came across one of her comic-style written narrations.
We have dubbed them, "Char-toons," and we allget a huge kick out of them.
I am posting the one on Waterloo.

Enjoy!
(To see more detail, click on the picture to view larger)

The very last word ended up in the binding.It should read,"He really would have made a great botanist."

For those that have already studied this time period or are familiar with the events know that her comic is very accurate. I love when my kids operate"outside the box" and express the information in a fun, easy to share, way.

I found these templates that we may use this upcoming school year:Comic Strip Template

***
Do your kids use a comic book format for narration work?
Any fun "narration" suggestions?

Notebook Pages: Now What Do I Do With Them?

2011-08-12T14:38:00.000-07:00

Hey there, Hi there, Ho there!
I'm a little behind the clean-up of last year's schooling and prepping for this year.
Good news-- we are painting the "high school room" this weekend!
After that is finished, I will be able to participate in the"Where Do You Do School" Not Back to School meme at HOTM.
Until then I thought I would show you what we do with our booking pages.
Since we are spending more for the nice binders,I remove the pages from the sheet protectors (we re-use those too), bundle them up in order, add the cover sheet MFW provides for that year,zip down to Kinkos and...

Ta-dah!

Notebooking pages, president sheets...

state sheets, state report, and loose science and art sheets are all coil bound.

Almost an inch and half!

(Random note: we are switching our rulers this year and yes, I will be posting about that!)

So there you have it.

Each child, each year has an organized assemblage (love that word) of their work.

It's amazing to see how much they've accomplished in a year.

***

What about you? What do you do with your student's notebooking sheets at the end of the year?

Divisibility Math Tricks

2011-08-09T18:38:00.000-07:00

Miss Charlotte has started math for this year since this is her first year of working independently with the Saxon DIVE cd.

It is going very well!

One of the things we talked about today, after correcting her work, are the little tricks to determine if a large number is divisible by 3 or 7 or 9.

About (dot) com has a great review of the rules:

Dividing by 2

All even numbers are divisible by 2. E.g., all numbers ending in 0,2,4,6 or 8.

Dividing by 3

Add up all the digits in the number.
Find out what the sum is. If the sum is divisible by 3, so is the number
For example: 12123 (1+2+1+2+3=9) 9 is divisible by 3, therefore 12123 is too!

Dividing by 4

Are the last two digits in your number divisible by 4?
If so, the number is too!
For example: 358912 ends in 12 which is divisible by 4, thus so is 358912.

Dividing by 5

Numbers ending in a 5 or a 0 are always divisible by 5.

Dividing by 6

If the Number is divisible by 2 and 3 it is divisible by 6 also.

Dividing by 7

Take the last digit in a number.
Double and subtract the last digit in your number from the rest of the digits.
Repeat the process for larger numbers.
Example: 357 (Double the 7 to get 14. Subtract 14 from 35 to get 21 which is divisible by 7 and we can now say that 357 is divisible by 7.

(There is another test for 7 that is even more complicated. You can check out the original entry here.)

Dividing by 8

This one's not as easy, if the last 3 digits are divisible by 8, so is the entire number.
Example: 6008 - The last 3 digits are divisible by 8, therefore, so is 6008.

Dividing by 9

Almost the same rule and dividing by 3. Add up all the digits in the number.
Find out what the sum is. If the sum is divisible by 9, so is the number.
For example: 43785 (4+3+7+8+5=27) 27 is divisible by 9, therefore 43785 is too!

Dividing by 10

If the number ends in a 0, it is divisible by 10.

Happy calculating!
All information taken from About.com and are not my original thoughts or work.

It's Okay To Cry...

2011-08-08T21:03:00.000-07:00

I'm having a little moment over here today.

While preparing for the start of school, we determined the best thing to do for our high schooler is to give her a study space that is not in her room.

The reason? So each morning she can have a place "to go to school" while her room remains a place of rest.

We have this weird little room. I think it was supposed to be an office.

It is long and narrow with no closet.

Strange.

Back in the day, it made a sweet little nursery for Elijah.

He was even in it for years after the crib left.

There is vinyl lettering on the walls that I had custom made back when nobody put words on walls!

There were four panels.
#1- See, Elijah, grow.
Grow, Elijah, grow!
Grow in the Lord your God.

#2 Watch Elijah sleep.
Sleep Elijah, sleep.
He will give you rest.

#3 Hear Elijah sing.
Sing Elijah, sing!
Sing praises to your King.

and #4 See Elijah walk.
Walk Elijah, walk!
Walk the narrow path.

Today, we peeled the letters off.

I guess I was ready... y'know considering he is ten years old.

*sigh*

I was talking to our neighbor today and I shared with her that this year we have:

One high schooler
One middle schooler
and One grade schooler

But that this is our last year of grade school.

Say what??

Yes, next year we will have one high schooler and two middle schoolers.

Dude, where did that go???
And I was here for all of it.

I can't imagine how fast time would be zipping past if I had to work outside our home.

(Stares wistfully off in space... remembering baby chub, baby smells and slobbery kisses...)

***

This is what the room looked like today as we started to take it apart...

I was doing fine while I peeled the letters off.

And writing this post has helped me through my little bump of emotions.

Thank you for listening (ahem, reading) and being there.

I'll keep you posted on the progress of the room. I think it is going to work out very well for both the girls.

Thankfully, I have two more years before Elijah starts to move into independent subjects.

I think a big part of my focus this year will be to simply enjoy my children...

"He will bless those who fear the LORD,Both small and great.
May the LORD give you increase more and more,
You and your children." Psalm 115:13 & 14

The Heart of My Father's World

2011-08-05T17:06:00.000-07:00

Last Friday was my last evening in Rolla, Missouri.

I had been there for two weeks working in the home office of My Father's World.

I was able to see (and get to know better) sweet friends that are knit together by the Lord and our common threads of a love of Jesus and gratefulness for MFW.

This trip was extra special because I really felt like I got to know the heart of MFW better.

And for me, the heart of MFW is Marie Hazell.

You rarely see Marie's picture or hear her speak at conferences, but if you look at the cover of your teacher's manuals, with simplicity and humility, you will see her name.

As you use the curriculum and understand the long term vision, you will invariably see her heart.

I received a first glimpse when she shared what was in her heart and mind as she wrote "Exploring Countries and Cultures," or ECC as we all call it.

Marie said, "When I wrote ECC, what I wanted the children to learn most of all was that God loves all people."

ECC was our first experience with MFW and I can testify that this indeed is the heart of the curriculum.

ECC very thoroughly teaches physical geography, but Marie masterfully guides you and your children through each country and shows you all the wonderful people that God made and loves dearly.

It's more than learning country names and coloring flag sheets.

It's about really seeing all the people that God loves and calls His people, believers in Jesus, to love.

Her heart for missionaries, her compassion for the lost and her passion to see all people with the Word of God in their heart language is at the foundation of all she does.

The work that God has called her to has inspired others to come along side and help.

With MFW profits, God's Word for the Nations is able fund translation work.

Every morning before starting work, the MFW staff prays for one another.

But first, always first, they pray for a specific people group or team working on a translation.
Everything at MFW is viewed within the larger context of how they can spread the Word of God to people who are hungry for it.

The My Father's World curriculum is simply a tool.

It's a tool for parents to help them achieve their God-given goals for their children.

It's a tool to provide a great, solid, biblical foundation for our students while freeing up our time to focus on other areas of ministry the Lord has for us.

And, it's a tool for funding translation work so the Word of God can be read.

It's also been the passion, focus, and labor of love of Marie Hazell for nearly a decade.

I am grateful for the opportunity to see the depth of her love for the children in all our homes.

For those of us committed to using MFW, please know that the heart behind it is genuine and real.

Lame, Lazy or Complete Genius??

2011-08-04T17:46:00.000-07:00

You'll have to decide for yourself...
Historically, I blog like crazy/consistently in the beginning of the school year, but by about the ominous Week 12 (The month of dun,dun,dun... No.vem.ber) the posts drop off and I go into survival mode.
We are doing school. We are learning.We are having fun.But, there is no documentation except our student sheets/notebooks.
I wanted this year to be different.Especially after the epic fail of the blogless Exploration to 1850.
But what to do, what to do???
I'm certainly not going to be less busy with a high schooler, a middle schooler and my, gulp, last year of grade schooler.
**excuse me while I freak out-- Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

(source)

Wah, wah, wahhhhhhhhh**
I'm back*sniff*... I'm okay now *deep breath*
When I post about school there is always a similar format, plusI know what we'll be studying because I have my teacher's manual.
So today... guess what I did??
I borrowed an idea from my dear daughter and I made post "frames" or "skeletons" that I can easily pop pictures and details into and I saved them as drafts!!!
Yes, one post for every week of school just waiting for funny stories, crazy pictures, or deep thoughts.

All 34 weeks are ready to roll and now I have an even greater idea of what we'll be studying and it makes me so excited for school!!!
Whew, pardon me. That is too much excitement for these old bones :)

So you can now decide for yourself if I am a lame & lazy bloggeror
If I am like Wile E. Coyote...

(source)

Our Curriculum 2011-2012: Here is what we're doing this year

2011-08-04T13:12:00.000-07:00

Better late than never, right?

The blog hop might even be closed by now, but I still wanted to share what we are doing this year.

Abby is our *gulp* high schooler.

She will be using My Father's World Ancient History & Literature.
This will be abbreviated AHL forever more.

Includes Bible, English, and History

Daily Lesson Plans
Taking the Old Testament Challenge
The Tabernacle (pamphlet)
The New Answers Book
The Purpose Driven Life (This is a very small, tiny part of her year.)
Daniel Teen Inductive Bible Study
Unwrapping the Pharaohs
Literature and Composition Supplement
The Epic of Gilgamesh (condensed version by Robert W. Watson)
*The Cat of Bubastes
*Bulfinch's Greek and Roman Mythology
*The Iliad (translated by Robert Fagles)
*The Odyssey (translated by Robert Fagles)
Eric Liddell (by Catherine Swift)
Encyclopedia of the Ancient World
Exploring World History (Notgrass)
Exploring World History Quiz and Exam book
Timeline Figures (Creation to Christ)
Ancient History Timeline Book
World History Map Activities
Rand McNally Historical Atlas of the World

This should definitely keep her busy!

For math she is using Jacobs Geometry:

For Science she is using Apologia Biology:

She will continue to dance ballet. Her and Charlotte are both in Grade 7 for dance and both are in Intermediate Foundation 2.

Abby is currently on Suzuki Book 5 for violin.

Our little Miss Charlotte (that is now taller than me) is in 7th grade and Mr. Elijah is in 5th grade.

They are finishing the 5 year cycle this year!!!

We will be using the 1850-Modern Times package from MFW

Includes Bible, History, and Science

Teacher's Manual
Student Sheets with State Sheets
A Young Person's Guide to Knowing God
Tales of Persia
Witnesses to All the World
States & Capitals Songs
Jumbo U.S. Map Pad
The Story of the World, Volume 4
The Story of the World, Activity Book 4 Timeline Book
Children's Encyclopedia of American History
America's Favorite Patriotic Songs
The World of Science
100 Science Experiments

Art..God and the History of Art & Music...The Stories of Foster & Sousa in Words and Music, George Gershwin, and Sousa to Satchmo

For Math, she will start Saxon in 8/7. She completed Singapore 5B and actually started 6A last year.

She will do two Progeny Press literature guides:Anne of Green Gables and Swiss Family Robinson:

She'll do formal grammar with...

Continued use of Spelling Power. I think she is on Level I.

And Science with Apologia General Science:

I got her the Modern Cursive Book as a review. She actually has beautiful penmanship.

She will continue to dance Ballet and take violin lessons.She now has Tagalog Rosetta Stone.
My goodness she is going to be busy!
Finally,
Mr. Elijah will continue in Singapore Math with 4A & 4B.

He will continue in Intermediate Language Lessons (as a supplement since there is so much language arts built into the MFW program).
He is also doing Modern Cursive:

And we'll give Writings Strands a go with him this year.
He is currently on a break from both violin and drums. However, he just started voice lessons and I think that will be a good fit for him.He is also playing soccer this Fall.

All of us attend a mid-week bible study at church, as well as Sunday services. The kids are not in any other type of "youth group."
And I think that's it for us!
For all visiting from Heart of the Matter Online, Welcome!!

2011-2012 MFW Blogroll

2011-08-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year! If you are a blogger, blog about homeschooling, and a My Father's World user, then please share a link to your blog!

It is both fun and useful to see how others are "doing school."

Like last year, the blogroll will have a thumbnail picture visible so you can give us a sneak peek of your blog world.

When signing up please...

pretty please...

fill out the entry like this:

*Your Name* doing (list the year(s) of curriculum you are doing)

For example, I am Lainie@ Mishmash Maggie and this year we will do 1850-Modern and we have a high schooler doing the Ancient History and Literature program, so my entry will look like this:

Lainie doing 1850-Modern/AHL

There is a 30 character maximum so abbreviate where needed.

Below is the code to grab a NEW 2011-2012 button for your sidebar.

Your readers can find other MFW users for this year and

you can easily navigate back here from your blog.

If you have questions please ask...

Welcome to a new year of learning and adventure!

***NEW THIS YEAR*** There is a "LIKE" button next to each entry so if you find a blog that you really like, click it! This way you can help others find blogs that are helpful and encouraging! Thanks :)

Easy Canvas Prints

2011-08-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

Over the years, I've gotten emails from companies asking if I would do reviews for their products in exchange for a free copy of whatever they wanted reviewed.

I have always turned them down.

It's not that I'm completely against reviewing. Honestly, most of the stuff I don't want, I don't need, and would never want to recommend.

But in June we had our family pictures taken by Mindy Strauss and I was thinking about how I would like to have the pictures printed (after purchasing the disc).

That is when I was contacted by Easy Canvas Prints!

I went to their website:

I clicked on "Your Photo On Canvas" which has a drop down menu.

From there I selected, "Start Designing Now."

I picked the size of the canvas they offered me (8 x 10).

I selected the "Gallery Wrap" option ( I picked black).

I clicked the continue button and followed the easy prompts.

I wasn't home when the canvas came, but I'm pretty sure it was really fast.

The canvas was in a clear plastic bag, then wrapped in paper and shipped in a box.

It looks great!

Here is a detail of the canvas:

I will definitely be ordering more from them!

I just checked and I think they are having a sale (love sales!) and I hope you'll go check them out!

Oh, and if you "Like" them on Facebook, you will received 50% off your order AND free shipping.

How awesome is that??

(This is my honest review. I was compensated with one, free 8 x 10 canvas.)

MFW Blogroll Update

2011-07-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

Hey all-- Just a quick post to say I've gotten all the comments and emails about the MFW Blogroll.

I am not currently home, but will be returning on July 31st (Lord willing).

I will create a new icon and establish the new blogroll as soon as I get home.

Thank you for being patient-- I know many of you have already started school.

I will announce it here, as well as, on the MFW message board.

If I can figure out a way to make the icon sooner, I will create the blogroll sooner. I just don't have the same software on my notebook computer as I do the desktop computer at home.

Hope that makes sense :)

Until then, happy blogging!

The 5th of July

2011-07-05T10:15:00.000-07:00

All last week I was asked, "What are you doing for the 4th of July?"

Amidst the preparation for a national holiday, I try to remember that we don't celebrate a "date."

There is nothing about the fourth day in the month of July that is special in and of itself.

We, as a nation, celebrate this day as an anniversary of freedom. We celebrate independence from a monarchy, the rule of a nation by an earthly king.

I am very grateful that I live here and am able to raise my children in these United States of America. We are far from being a perfect nation, but I would not choose to live anywhere else.

I am grateful for the people who took a giant leap of faith and traveled across the ocean to start the country I now call home.

I am grateful for the men and women who have lost limb and life defending our freedom. I don't think lightly of the privilege to vote. I am grateful that I am given a voice in the direction this country turns.

But there was something about remembering that it was "Independence Day" and not just the 4th of July that tugged at my heart.

I think it is good to be free and independent from an earthly king, but I think that it is only half of the answer. Being submitted to and dependent on a heavenly King is the other half.

God's heart has always been to govern His people. You would think that we would be eager to be governed by God who describes Himself as,

"The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth," (Exodus 34:6).

Yet we, both as a nation and individually, have cried out like the children of Israel did in 1 Samuel 8:5-7:

"And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us.

And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.

And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them."

Are we listening to God's heart as He says this?

"They aren't rejecting you Samuel, they are rejecting Me, God Creator over heaven and earth, God giver of Life. God that faithfully loves them. They don't want me to rule over them."

Very often I am the same way. I seek out an earthly king too.

I place my own faulty, fleshly self on the throne of my life and ask God to step back. I declare my independence from Him and attempt to fight battles I've no business in and govern a life I've no rightful claim to.

When I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior I declared that I was giving up the rights to my life and handing my life over to the nail-scarred hands of Jesus.

How quickly I forget. I don't want to forget though.

Yes, I want to remember that I live in this free country. But more so, I want to remember that I am truly free.

John 8:36 declares, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."

Am I free to do what I want, when I want, with whom I want?"

No.

I am free from sin (my earthly king) and am able to be ruled by my Righteous King.

"But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in {further} lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:17-23

Yes, our country has had much blood shed for it, to protect it.

But not more blood than what was shed by Jesus on the cross of Calvary to free us from the bonds of sin.

Yesterday, July 4th, we celebrated wholeheartedly the gift of living in a free, independent country.

But let us not forget to re-commit ourselves today, the 5th of July, to being governed by a great and gracious God.

This is an adaptation of a post which originally appeared July 3rd, 2008.

The Quilt That Started It All

2011-07-03T01:18:00.000-07:00

Hi there,

Remember me? I used to blog around these parts :)

We've been so busy. Incredibly, mind-numbing busy and the problem is I don't see an end in sight.

I've heard the high school years go twice as quickly as the grade school years. I believe it!

Abby will start high school in the Fall and I've already planned her high school graduation in my head!

Anyway, awhile back The Hawaiians turned Alaskans that I have affectionately dubbed the Hawaskans came to visit us on their way to their new home.

You can refresh your memory with these posts: The Coconut and The Chicken Pox

Okay, so what I forgot to post in the Chicken Pox post was that Tammi decided a week-- yes, seven days, before she was moving to another STATE, to make me this...

She made me a quilt! A beautiful quilt that I really don't like to share with anyone ;)

Well... as you know, we are just finishing up year four of the five year cycle. So this year we studied early American History.

One of the things we studied was quilting and our assignment was to make a simple quilt.

I said I would never quilt.

You know, like I would never live in Oregon, drive a mini-van, or home school.

*shakes head*

Ahem, back to school... I taught Charlotte and Elijah how to use the sewing machine and they each made a simple quilt square that we turned into a pillow.

In keeping with the historical aspect, I had them choose their fabrics from fabric we already had in the house.

Charlotte made hers first: ta-dah

Didn't she do a great job?

And here is Elijah's pillow (that he keeps on his bed):

I'll post pictures of Abby's quilt pillow just as soon as it's completed.

Papa's mom was an amazing quilter and all it took to wake-up the genes was helping these two make simple pillows.

Yes, one more "I'll never" has bitten the dust.

This is my very first quilt, but definitely not my last. In fact, I've already started another...
the Lord, He sure is funny. I never realized I would enjoy it as much as I do. Crazy.

Anyway, here it is... it was a birthday gift for a special friend...

( I used the "Around the Block" pattern by Sweet Jane and the fabric was Moda's Just Wing It. All purchased from the Fat Quarter Shop.)

It's been very fun.

What about you? Have you done anything new and exciting lately??

To Encourage One Another- May '11

2011-05-18T03:35:00.000-07:00

"To Encourage One Another"
is a homeschool mom prayer group that meets once a month from May to September and a few times during Fall and Winter.
We met on Monday and the Lord just met us right where we were at and blessed us. I came away encouraged and excited and motivated to finish this school year well.
I recorded the devotional portion of the evening and am posting it here for those who would like to listen.
I hope it is a blessing for you.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T21:38:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

I have been so busy but have been wanting to catch up over here. Hopefully, that will happen very soon!

I wanted to pop in to say, "Happy Mother's Day," to you all and share something the Captain gave me today.

He is "Mr. Music Mixes." He loves to create music mixes as those of you that received our Christmas one can testify too!

Well, he made me a Mother's Day mix and played it on the way to church this morning.

So I was all "gussied up" in the dress that Andrea found at an estate sale for $3.00!!!

I was feeling very festive and happy. The mix was great!

Then, just as we are nearing church, song #5 which I had never heard before comes on.

Oy!

I was crying and was all red-eyed by the time we got there.

I just had to share the song.

It's called, "In My Daughter's Eyes,"
by the (get this) Country Dance Kings from an album titled,
"A Tribute to Martina McBride."

Seriously, how obscure is that???

But the song! Oh, it got me... I'm warning you--- get tissue first...

I hope your Mother's Day was blessed and I can't wait to get you all caught up on all my recent adventures!

All About... Fun!

2011-04-14T18:21:00.000-07:00

Just popping in really quick to say not only has All About Spelling been a good fit for Elijah (the girls use Spelling Power), but today he discovered how to make spelling even more fun.

As I read each word, Elijah spontaneously acted the word out in pantomime before spelling it.

Then we did the phrases and, finally, the sentences.

He was making me laugh so hard!

Especially when he acted out things like "Compost pile"

Photo from Cultivatorscorner (dot) com via Google search

and "gold mine."

Photo from Tripadvisor website via Google search

(He has a very expressive face!)

He was amazed when I told him he did an entire level (should be a week's worth) and he wasn't even tired.

He said, "I think I should do that every time!"

Yes, I would have to agree :)

It made it fun for me, too!

Don't you just love spontaneous moments that work out?Have you had any lately? Do tell! :)

Preserve Me

2011-04-11T16:16:00.000-07:00

Psalm 16 vs. 1- "Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust."

I love strawberries.

I especially love fresh picked strawberries on a summer day. I don’t love reaching into a pile of strawberries and finding some that are so furry they look like road kill.

In the heat of summer, it doesn’t take long for strawberries to mold. Thankfully, I learned to can fruit a few years ago and I can preserve them for future use without fear of fuzz.

I also love Vera Wang dresses. Her designs are so beautiful and simple… and expensive.

I had always wanted to have a Vera Wang wedding dress but $6000.00 wedding dresses weren’t in my budget. I expressed my desire to the lady at the bridal shop before I told her my reality. I wanted a dress that was cream without a train and I really couldn’t spend more than three hundred dollars.

She gave me a funny look and disappeared.

I thought she might be hiding from me but, she returned holding a very red, yes red, dress.

She said, “ I know this is red but try it on.”

I did. It was beautiful.

She said, “This is actually a bridesmaid dress so there’s no train and it happens to come in cream and… it’s a Vera Wang.”

No way! But now for the big question, how much?

I was living in Minnesota at the time where there is no sale tax on clothing.

The price -$280.00. I was thrilled!

After our wedding, we took the dress to a special drycleaner that preserves dresses. It is safely store in an archival box for either of our daughters or our future daughter-in-law.

Now the process for preserving strawberries is quite different from preserving a dress.

I wouldn’t recommend stuffing a wedding dress into a jar and boiling it. But even though the processes are different the motivation is the same.

Webster’s says it well, “ Preserve: to keep safe from injury, harm, or destruction and to keep alive, intact, or free from decay.”

Whether it’s moths or mold, preserving keeps something in tact, free from destruction. As I read Psalm 16, I marvel at the faithfulness of God to preserve me.

He preserves me for eternal life by providing His Son as propitiation for my sins. He preserves my peace by giving His Holy Spirit to live inside of me. He preserves my sanity by giving me His Word so I can know His will and heart and His plan for me.

Sometimes the process is different. The Lord has preserved my physical body and life through seven surgeries and several procedures. I have been kept alive through medical intervention. Often He preserves me by speaking to my heart about the choices I am about to make.

The promptings in my heart have kept me safe from harm. Occasionally, He preserves me by using another believer to speak truth to me. I am free from decay building up in my spirit by those that love me enough to speak truth.

Although the process or means were different, the motivation is still the same. To preserve my body, soul, mind and strength for a future use. Sometimes the future use is a week away. Sometimes it is years away.

But I know for sure that I am always being preserved for my future home in heaven and life face to face with my God, my Jesus. So, even though there are times when I feel spiritually fuzzy, furry and moldy. I can know and trust that God is preserving my soul for future use in His presence.

The psalmist said it well,

“Preserve me, O God, for in Thee do I put my trust.”

All fabric rots eventually. Even canned strawberries aren’t good forever. But a person, trusting in the Lord our God, is preserved perfectly and forever. May we always trust in Him who is worthy of our trust. Here’s to preservation.

All comments are tax-deductible :)

Try Not To Faint- A Homeschool Update

2011-04-03T22:59:00.000-07:00

Shocking, I know.

But, guess what? I'm feeling better and my brain has made a guest appearance :)

Let's hop to it before it disappears!

(knee-slap & giggle as I crack myself up)

In Bible,

we are studying the book of James this year and so far we have memorized up to the end of chapter 3.

Let's talk about this for a minute...

James Chapter 3 has verses in it like, "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell."

'Tis been an interesting last few months going over and over and over these verses.

During our school time, we did a little activity to demonstrate just how easy it is to spill out careless words, but how difficult (impossible??) to take them back.

We covered our table with plastic wrap and then had each child write with toothpaste...

It wasn't too difficult. To limit waste, we just wrote a few letters that represented our words...

Ah, but here was the tricky part... try to take the words back!

Very messy and difficult. It was a great visual reminder to "squeeze" carefully our words because once they are out... you can't put them back in...

In History,

I cannot believe how long it's been since I've posted about school.

{shakes head in disbelief}

Tomorrow, we start Week... 23 (oops)

Previously, we studied the American Revolution. Elijah is so enamored of this time period we got him a tricorn hat which he wears everywhere! Except, of course, when he is wearing his Daniel Boone one :)

We studied the Constitution and I finally understand our government.

Unfortunately, I am not the cartoonist that my husband is and the president ended up looking like a bald 3 year old ;)

Moving on, we've finally started doing our State Sheets!

We love these!

We are up to Maryland becoming a state.

This week we are finishing up the French Revolution.

The girls and I enjoyed watching the Scarlet Pimpernel-- Sink me!

(With kissing scenes covered, of course ;)

In Science,

we are studying botany. We germinated then planted seeds...

For Read Aloud,

we read Mary Jones and Her Bible which was soooooooo amazingly awesome.

Just tonight, we read chapter 7 of William Carey's biography.

Math, English, Spelling, etc... are coming along. And All About Spelling has continued to be a great fit for Elijah.

He is joyfully reading independently. His current read is, "Mouse and the Motorcycle."

He had a follow-up eye appointment and his eyes are doing great!

Yay for no therapy!

His drawing and writing are coming along.

In fact, the other night I found a note on my bed...

This one says, "How I started Revelation."

And this note says, "My night was good until my iPod died. (He has a shuffle) But that's ok ;) I don't mind. What I have been thinking about Heaven. That made me think about the Book Revelation and that's how I started the Book of Revelation..."

Isn't it so sweet?? I love that he is becoming a voracious reader like his sisters.

The girls had their first of two ballet exams. Charlotte has become quite skilled on the unicycle!

And Abby continues to blog at Castles, Quills, and Cameras.

Whew.

I know that was a lot, but I had to seize the day.

How are you guys doing??

Did you know that Kathi at A Heart Like Water is doing a weekly Homeschool Highlights?

I hope you'll join her so we can see what you're up to :)

May the Lord bless your week and remember...

All comments are tax-deductible :)

The Broken Bracelet

2011-03-22T23:22:00.000-07:00

My bracelet broke.

Not the one Margeaux made at the retreat. This was a new bracelet.

After reading the last story, “The Blessings of a Bracelet," she surprised me with what I call

“My Life” bracelet.

It had all these different beads- BIG and small. Black, clear, blue, pink and red beads. Some were simple in shape while others were quite silly. This was her representation of my life manifest in a bracelet.

It broke.

I don’t know how it happened.

I was slipping it off before bed one night and poof! All these beads were rolling round the bathroom.

I was finding beads for days afterwards.

I think I must have been tugging too hard on it at night. All that tension and stress just built up until --breakage.

As I’ve said before, beads are not my thing so I don’t have any of the supplies or tools to make jewelry. Instead of trying to fix it myself, I called Margeaux and told her what happened.

She said to give it to her and she’d be happy to fix it.

She didn’t yell at me or make me feel bad that I broke it. She just offered to fix it.

Actually, not fix it because I snapped the nylon in half. She is recreating it for me instead.

One night after bible study, I remembered my little baggie with my broken bracelet in it. I handed it to her and said, “Look at my life!”

She laughed and said, “It’s a mess! Don’t worry, I’ll rework it.”

As I drove away I started to chuckle.

How much insight was the Lord going to give me with these little bracelets anyway?!

Well at least one more thing...

For a very long time, my life looked like that broken bracelet with pieces everywhere. My life was barely functional.

What did I do then? Well I picked up the proverbial pieces and I tried to fix it.

I didn’t have the tools or supplies but I tried anyway. It was always in vain.

All I needed to do was tell my Creator, “Oops, I broke it. Can you help me?” Without guilt or condemnation, I would have heard a loving, gentle, “Yes.”

But I never asked Him and I never gave Him the chance. At least not until later. Much later I’m afraid.

Instead, I actually wore my own creation. People kept asking me, “What is that?”

"Why, it’s my life can’t you see?"

No, they couldn’t because it didn’t look much like a life that anyone would voluntarily wear. But that’s what I did. I wore it for years.

It didn’t fit and truth be told, it was quite ugly.

Finally, thankfully, it broke for the very last time.

I couldn’t even find all the pieces. I was scattered and lost. At my core, I was empty.

Then His hand reached down to me. The very beautiful and very scarred hand of Jesus.

He took the pieces I had left and placed them around His Spirit. He gave me gifts and added them too. I didn’t have to do anything. I didn’t have to help or worry. I simply trusted and received what He had for me.

As we know from the “Blessings” story, His reworking of my life is exactly that-

His work.

I just simply wear it for all to see.

A Mid-Blog Crisis

2011-03-20T16:02:00.000-07:00

Those of you who have been my companions for the last few years know long blogless droughts are not the norm.

Those of you who have been faithful readers know at the very least I'll make mention of school.

But as the title suggests, I'm having a bit of a "mid-blog crisis."
And blogging about not blogging is never a good idea.

My thought is, most of you are moms. Moms are busy people. You are my friends and you will understand the quiet.

But you are such good friends that not only have you understood the quiet, you've grown concerned.

For that I love you all.

My quiet has more to do with ability right now.

My frail "tent" is giving me trouble and I am waiting and hoping on the Lord to provide answers.

In Him timing... in His way...

'Tis not an easy wait, especially since I am an impatient person. But, I know that is all part of His divine plan. More of Him means less of me.

***

The only thing I can think to do is this challenging season of my life, to keep sane, is to appreciate the little things and to be grateful for all I have.

I know some are doing this as they are reading Ann's book, One Thousand Gifts, which I'm sure is lovely. I, however, do not own that book. But I do have a Book that says,

O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good;

for His mercy endureth for ever.

1 Chronicles 16:34

My list may seem strange to you. But right now, these are the things I am truly thankful for.

I am thankful...

1. I woke up in my own bed today.
2. That I have bladder and bowel control.
3. That I can smile.
4. I can breathe on my own.
5. I can swallow.
6. That we have medical insurance.
7. That the internet makes the world smaller, closer.
8. That I have a husband that loves me and never makes me feel "less."
9. That my children are very gentle with me.
10. For my parents that live next door.

11. For good friends and show their love for me.
12. That God loves me even when reading His Word is difficult.
13. For a good church that faithfully teaches through Scripture.
14. For Rocky Road ice cream :)
15. For Asian Pears
16. For a working vacuum cleaner.
17. For running water.
18. For working toilets.
19. For a dishwasher.
20. For a refrigerator.

21. For food to put in the refrigerator.
22. For a great curriculum that helps me stay on track when days are hard.
23. For Stash Fusion Breakfast Green and Black tea.
24. For raw honey.
25. For a car.

I am thankful...
26. For music.
27. For iPods.
28. that I can speak (even when it is slow and painful).
29. that my hands work.
30. that Jesus is faithful.

More next time...

Hopefully, I can update school soon too. We are heading into Week 21, I think ??

Oh wait! # 31- I am thankful for this beautiful ring Andrea made me...

Life with a Film Maker...

2011-03-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

Abby: "Be nice to me. I have a bruise."

Me: Very skeptical, "You? Have a bruise?"

Abby: "That's what I told Elijah."

Me: "How did you get a bruise?"

Abby: "I told him I dropped a frying pan on it."

Holding her hand out to me, she showed me her "bruise."

(Note: if you received this post via email, the pictures might not show up.

Click here to see the entire post.)

Me: "You used your makeup."

Abby: Very proud, "Uh huh!"

Me: Knowing that she made dinner tonight, I said, "A real bruise wouldn't show up that fast."

Gazing admiringly at her "wound" she added,

"Yeah, but it looks looks good, right?"

{Pause}

"You know, except for being sparkly..."

Oh. dear. Sparkly bruises courtesy of eyeshadow.

This is life with a film maker.

Nana? Is that you?

2011-03-14T23:44:00.000-07:00

Picture the scene...

We're all snuggled up in the family room waiting for the news to start.

Karl wanders over to the calendar to see what the topic for Continuing Medical Education is on Wednesday.

He calls out, "I don't know what this is... it says the topic is,

"Mindfulness as a Therapeutic Tool for Treatment of Anxiety, Chronic Pain, and Stress."

The reply, "I don't know about that. It sounds like a bunch of New Age mango-tango to me."

New Age Mango-Tango?

Nana?

Is that you?

Actually...

No. It wasn't Nana.

It was...

Me!!

{{{hangs head in resignation}}}

I knew it wasn't correct, but I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out what the saying was!

Unfortunately, Miss Abigail was sitting right across from me on the couch. I could tell from her face that I got it w.r.o.n.g.

So I covered my head with the blanket to obscure the look of shocked disbelief spreading across her face and she slowly and carefully said, "You mean, mumbo-jumbo?"

Mumbo-jumbo!!!!

That's it!

Oh.dear.

Now more than ever, the poem is true...

Mirror, mirror on the wall.

I've become my mother after all.

It's a good thing I think my momma is pretty cool ;)

Now Showing:

Nana-isms: The Next Generation

hahaha

Blessings of a Bracelet

2011-03-08T15:57:00.000-08:00

A few years ago Karl and I went to a Couple’s Retreat in southern Oregon. We were able to spend a few days away from our three children where we fellowshipped with other couples. We also learned a lot from our pastor about loving each other and learning from one another.

We mainly learned about looking to Jesus as not only the author and perfecter of our faith, but He is the author and perfecter of our marriage as well.

He is to be the center of our marriage. He is the strong main cord which my husband and I are to wind ourselves and our marriage around creating that very strong three-fold cord.

A three-fold cord is not easily broken. Neither is a marriage easily broken that has Jesus at it's center.

A good friend and her husband were also at this retreat. She loves to make jewelry for other people. She blesses those around her with her talents, of which there are many. She knew I was wearing a dress on our last day of the retreat and wanted to make earrings and a matching bracelet for my outfit.

I quickly accepted her offer but she wanted me to pick out the beads. Well, it is very safe to say, jewelry making is not a talent of mine. Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not being self-deprecating in some attempt at a false humility.

The Lord has blessed me with many gifts and talents that I am so grateful for. But, making beautiful jewelry is not one of them. This is merely a statement of fact.

But my friend was not easily deterred. She pulled out her organizer, two of them in fact, and wanted me to choose the beads that I liked best. There is only one word that I can use to describe my thoughts and emotions as I gazed at the vast array of beads, doodads, and assorted hardware--

overwhelmed.

There were too many choices, too many potential outcomes. I just couldn’t wrap my brain around any of it.

I knew what she was capable of so I trusted her to make the choices and decisions for me.
I knew I would love it and I knew it for two reasons.

First, I’ve seen other things she’s made and they were lovely.
I trusted her from past experience.

Secondly, she was making them for me, not because I was asking her to and paying her to do it. She was making it for me because she wanted to, because she is my friend and has a very generous heart and because she loves me.

I trusted her because it was a gift motivated by love.

I was thinking about my very beautiful bracelet this morning as I was cleaning the kitchen. I know the two things don’t seem to go together but be patient I’ll get there soon enough.

So like I said, I was cleaning the kitchen, which was quite messy after cooking breakfast. It felt so good to put everything away. It was satisfying to clean what was dirty. I had peace seeing something that was once in disorder now be in order.

Oh, that was when it hit me...

My friend could take a jumble of beads, varying shapes and sizes and colors that were thrown into a container, and make something very beautiful and orderly of it. All of my life experiences are like a bead.

I have a blue bead of sorrow when my grandparents died. I have a red trinket of shame when I’ve lost my temper with my children. I have fun yellow doodads when I’ve laughed with my husband.

In my container, I have silly pink beads of dancing in the kitchen for my children right next to black beads of a painful past. I look at the container of my life and I am overwhelmed.

What do I keep? What can be used? I have no idea.

There are too many choices and too many potential outcomes.

What do I do?

Do I live with a container full of seemingly random experiences all jumbled together in chaos? No.

There is a much better choice. Surrender my “beads” of life to the Perfect Artist who has shown me time and time again that He can take disorder and create order.

“In the beginning...” there wasn’t and then there was. He can turn despair into joy. In His expert hands He can turn random and haphazard into order and beauty. Our God does this everyday.

I heard it at the dining tables at that retreat. There was story after story of how the Lord took what looked liked unsalvageable pieces of peoples lives and from those ashes created a thing of beauty.

Our marriages were each different looking, just as each bracelet my friend made that weekend were different. But they were all beautiful in their own unique way. Some of us had similar beads just as some of us have similar life experiences. But no two lives are identical so no two outcomes are identical. But there was a commonality, the center of the bracelet.

The core of a person or marriage was same. In order to make sense of all those beads, they needed to be placed onto a common thread. All of our lives were being strung onto the common thread of Jesus Christ. He is the beginning and the end. He is the knot holding it all together. His masterful hand picks through the beads of our life and chooses, if we let Him, what to keep and what not to keep. He then takes the useful things, both good and bad, in our life and arranges them in stunning order and breath-taking beauty.

How many times however do we try to tell Him our choices and our opinions?

We’ve seen His handiwork before.
We know His heart is generous and loving and yet we don’t trust Him to recreate us.

We want to pick what we think will be best. But let the truth be told- we have no idea! Not one clue.

But He does. He knows all the outcomes. He knows what will be best.

He has shown us time and time again His wonderful gift and His loving heart.

In the same way, I could trust my friend to make my bracelet, the Lord wants us to trust Him to make our life a thing of beauty and order. I am relived to know I don’t have to know. I don’t have to choose and then fear that I chose unwisely. I can instead trust and surrender to His masterful hand.

It is only then that I can be delighted with the surprise of the life He has given me. Delighted with it’s beauty and surprised that it surpassed all of my expectation.

The bracelet of my life is not yet finished, but even now I can see that it is more wonderful then I could have ever imagined. It is more beautiful that I can describe. And most of all, it fits me perfectly.

***

(This is a bracelet made by another friend, Jennifer, at Yellow Girl designs.)

Her One Woman(ish) Show

2011-02-22T23:54:00.000-08:00

We thought it was amusing when she wanted stilts, which Papa made her for Christmas a few years ago.

Then, we got her Mr. Darren-- ferret extraordinaire.

She has taught him to leap (31 inches is his record), jump, hop, and now he jumps through a Hula hoop.

This past Christmas she asked for...

a Unicycle!!

And Nana and Papa bought one for her!

It took several weeks for her to be able to ride more than a couple of inches.

But if there is one word to describe this daughter of mine, it would be

Perseverance

Not much has come easy for this sweet one of mine.

Respiratory problems, significant speech delays, and fine motor delays marked her early years.

But that girl is a fighter! Oh, the tenacity!

Then, we discovered significant allergies which broke our hearts.

But, our God has been generous in His healing and overwhelming in His love.

All these trials have been such an intense flame of refinement and seeing what I see in her, I am amazed at His work and applaud Him for it.

She has a strong, determined sweetness about her.

She is gentle mercy and unmoving steadfastness.

She is our Charlotte...

and she now rides a unicycle ;)

(Abby shot the footage while riding her skateboard :)
And she made the video of her baby sis.

Our Father: Part Five

2011-02-16T02:21:00.000-08:00

Our Father.

My parents have a will.

I am an heir.

I will inherit a portion of their earthly riches. A portion of their accumulated wealth and possessions are intended to go to me upon their death.

However, I am also a joint heir to the kingdom of Heaven.

Heavenly riches are mine because our "testator" Jesus did die thereby making me a joint heir with Him... and with you.

(See Hebrews 9:17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.)

God is the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

We aren't simply inheritors of a token or bauble.

We are royalty!

Why then do we live as spiritual paupers? It ought not to be this way.

Let us be like the prodigal son who received the robe, the ring, the refreshment and the reunion.
Let us resist being like the other son who has access to all of it yet harbored bitterness and resentment in his heart.

God has granted us access to all He has through the death and resurrection of His Son.

Let's not squander it on pursuits of the flesh. Let us spend our inheritance sharing the truth and knowledge of our riches with our brothers and sisters that do not yet know they are fellow heirs too.

Love Never Fails

2011-02-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

I fail.

Epically.

And often.

Take today for example. Today is Valentine's Day.

I had lofty ambitions of heart-shaped breakfast foods and yummy muffins in heart-decorated cupcake cups.

Perhaps some streamers or bags of goodies to share, with my children, a little bit of non-routine joy in our little home school house.

It didn't happen.

I slept later than I intended and woke up in pain.

It was gray, gray, gray outside with lots of rain, rain, rain.

Rather cheerless if I do say so myself.

I was out of sorts already because the night before I emailed a response to a friend that was well-intentioned, but poorly written.

I know this for certainty because I showed my email to Karl and he read it and said
(as gently as he could),
"There is no way to NOT be offended by that remark."

Ouch.

So I went to bed in a funk and woke up in a funk.

Downstairs I realized I had forgotten about Valentine's Day and about doing the dishes before going to bed.

A gray day, a messy kitchen, and funkiness crowded out new mercies in the morning.

I glanced over and spotted the notebook Karl and I use to write to each other.

And the balloon.

And the Ghiradelli Hazelnut Chocolate bars.

And a fabric little pouch that I knew was holding a gift card to one of my favorite stores.

We had gone out together for dinner on Saturday night and had a wonderful time.

And now all this too?

His thoughtfulness and generosity seemed to highlight my profound lack of either.

***

We managed to get everyone fed but a general feeling of malaise permeated the house.

Morning hymn and prayers were... obligatory.

We moved to the kitchen for bible study and then I realized we're studying James Chapter 3 this week.

James chapter 3, as in,

"And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity.

The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body,

and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell."

and

"But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison."

Oh dear. This explains a LOT. My failed email. The recurrent bickering between two of my children.

We can't just learn these verses in our brains.

Oh no.

The Lord is making sure these verses are fleshed out.
And boy do we have a whole lot of flesh and yes, we need it out!

Bible study was... strained. Prayers were... painful.

I left the room just before starting history and heard bickering. Again.

I felt like, "Epic Fail" was stamped onto my forehead.

We made it through history and then I disappeared upstairs feeling very, very glum.

They followed me.

Not all at once, but one by one they showed up in my room.

Something happens in my room though. There is less... pressure. More... coziness?

I don't know what it is. Everyone piling up on my bed means giggling and whispering and unguarded silliness.

Maybe, even, a little bit of hope?

***

Papa made one of his specialties for dinner tonight. Something special.

We needed something special.

We braved the rain and the wind and more rain to traipse next door.

Dinner was good-- in taste and in temperament.

We headed back and the questions came, "Are you having bible study tonight? What can I do to help?"

Something changed. The heaviness that was present all day lifted.

Piles of books were straightened. Dishes were loaded. The bathroom was cleaned. The floors were vacuumed.

In a matter of minutes, everything was ready and everyone was... happy.

A neighbor popped in with Valentine's Day cards for the kids and I realized-

Love Never Fails.

God had it under control.

Where I had lacked, others "stood in the gap" for me.

One by one the ladies came.

Wonderful ladies that encourage and hug and pray for me and let me cry my day out.

The last one came, with gigantic red glasses on.

Her "Love Glasses" which she had us all wear so she could snap-off pictures.

She came with a smile, joy, cookies, and chocolate-covered fortune cookies that my children enjoyed.

They had their special treats after all.

Why?

Even when I fail in my flesh, I am hidden in Christ, and He in me, and He never failed.

Love Never Fails.

***

Our study was... perfect. We gleaned what we needed to glean. We shared, we encouraged, we exhorted, we prayed for each other, we laughed, and we loved.

I was noticeably better and grateful the Spirit encouraged me to press in and press on today.

I'm glad I was able to see and experience the Love of God through His people coming along side of me when I thought I had none to give.

I'm grateful they were able to give Love to these that are so precious to me...

***
I managed to make a mix for Karl, as a gift, for Valentines Day. I titled it, "Love for Karl" and this is the first song.
It's called, Love Never Fails...

Our Father: Part Four

2011-02-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

Our Father.

We belong to Him.

I belong to Him. I need reminding of that.
When my flesh affords itself flagrant freedom I forget I am His and He loves me.

Even in my wretched state, before I was reconciled to Him, while I was still His enemy, He loved me. Why then as a blood-washed, reconciled, entering into Heaven, child of God do I think,
"Now I've done it. Now He's really mad at me."

I could never earn His favor for salvation. Do I believe I could lose it now?

Why, if I could cause the Lord to remove His grace from me I would be capable of causing God, Creator of Heaven and earth, to deny His very character.

I (should I be saying "we"?) am not that powerful!

We must face facts- Jesus loves us with an everlasting love.

Love is who He is and we could never change Him.

Instead, we must cooperate with Him, as we are changed by Him, to be like Him.

Love.

Our Father: Part Three

2011-02-12T22:13:00.000-08:00

Our Father.

We're home schoolers. A few years ago we studied China in geography.
We learned a sweet little song in Mandarin and the English translation is this:

"School is out and the sun is low
I take my books and home I go
My parents wait so patiently
I bow to them and they smile at me."

Life is our school room. When our number of appointed days have come to a close we shall gather our "books" and head home.

The Father, Son and Spirit are waiting patiently to welcome us home.
But notice what precedes the parents smiling at the child's return in the song.
"I bow to them."

Have you bowed your knee, your life, your will, your desires to "Our Father"?

Our bowing must precede the loving, smiling, welcome home.
If you will not bow, you will sadly hear,

"Depart from Me; I never knew you."

"I bow to them and They smile at me." Please come and bow your knee...

Our Father: Part Two

2011-02-11T18:52:00.000-08:00

Our Father.

A father, as well as a mother, is a parent.
I have the honor of living next door to my parents.
Over the last year in particular I've learned things about my parents that I hadn't known before.
It's added a new richness to our relationship. They are so much more than "just my parents."

Likewise, as my children get older, I share with them more of my life prior to their existence.
They always seem to be astonished that I was a person before they were born!

"You've been there?! You've done that?!" they exclaim.

Their reality of me begins with their existence but I, as their parent, existed before them.

My reality began long before their perception.

As I learn more about God and ponder His eternalness I realize I'm just like my children!

I can't wrap my brain around His existence outside of our concept of time.
Yet, it is so simply mirrored in my existence before my children's "time."

God is our Father.

He had to exist prior to "us" because from Him we came to be.
I am eager to learn more of my Father beyond how it affects me.
I want to learn of Him to know His heart and to see His face.
I'm grateful I will be in His presence for all eternity.

I hope eternity is long enough to truly know "Our Father."

Our Father: Part One

2011-02-11T00:02:00.000-08:00

I'm currently reading "Experiencing God through Prayer" by Madame Guyon.

She encourages the reader to experience God by meditating on His Word.
Her definition is:
"To meditate on God's Word simply means to take a portion of Scripture and begin the following procedure. Read only a small section and allow that passage to be "digested" before going on to another."

She uses the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 as an example. I have picked up this book twice before and have yet to get beyond "Our Father."

I wrote a short series of posts about what I learned from meditating solely on these two words.
***

Our Father.
My first realization is that we are all part of the "our" and He alone is the father.

If He is the Father, and He is, then we are the children. As a mother of three children, there is nothing that blesses my heart more than to hear and witness my children being kind and loving to one another.

My heart was pierced the moment I realized that.

How many of my "brothers and sisters" have I been rude to? How much love have I withheld? Once again, I am swiftly brought to the cross of Christ Jesus with gratitude that He washed away the marks of sin I accumulate.

"Lord, I need Your humility to see everyone as Your beloved children. Holy Spirit show me how to love His children and be a blessing to "Our Father."

This series was originally posted on my very first blog which is no longer active. I ran across it today and wanted to keep it closer to me. Thanks for indulging me :)

Products That Help: Rock? Paper? No, Scissors!

2011-02-02T21:01:00.000-08:00

Am I really going to write an entire post about scissors?

Yes!

When I use scissors, I use these...

They are by Fiskars and they are spring-loaded! No hand cramps. No fatigue.
The orange deallymabopper is a safety-lock to keep them closed when not in use.

They do make smaller, kid-friendly sizes, but I like my kiddos to use regular scissors.

And boy, have we tried scissors.

Plastic handled, rubber covered, blunt tip, sharp tip.

You name it, we've tried and we have most of the pairs we have purchased over the years.

Although, there must be some weird vortex in my house that sucks up--
rulers, scissors, and socks.
But, only the left ones. What's up with that?

(Bonus points if you know what movie I just quoted from. ABBY do not help them and please go do some math).

Oh.dear. Where was I?

Oh yes, scissors for the wee little ones.

I bought these ones for only one reason--

they were green.

Apparently with all the school supply shopping I have done over the years, our house was over run with pink and purple scissors.

To help preserve his manhood, I purchased "Special" scissors for the little man.

Aren't they cute??!! Shhh... don't tell him I think he scissors are cute. I meant to say...
they are COOL! Yes, that's what I meant ;)

These scissors work so great that I often go looking for them if I only need to cut a little bit.

The girls will gravitate towards them as well.

But, there is no mistaking the rightful owner because these come with a handy-dandy name tag...

We purchased ours at the Container Store but I don't think they have them any more.
I did locate them for the same price (I think??)It was a stocking stuffer so I splurged ;)http://www.sassafrasstore.com/product.asp?pfid=SAS00061
They also have cat, dog, zebra, giraffe, duck, lady bug, robot, rocket, penguin, polka dot, and garden scene scissors :)

But we just can't seem to get away from frogs, can we?

Products That Help: Calculatis Eliminatis

2011-02-02T20:33:00.000-08:00

“Calculatus Eliminatus is the best friend that you've got.

Calculatus Eliminatus always helps an awful lot.

The way to find a missing something is to find out where it's not.”

And the best way (well, the way we ended up doing it) to find a great calculator is to buy one that is completely frustrating and finally give up using it.

Then, ask your husband to pick one out.

Now do the happy dance because it works great AND comes with different colored covers!

Yes, this was our calculator experience.

The first calculator we purchased, which I won't waste time taking a picture of,
was the Texas Instruments TI-36 X Solar.

When it worked, it worked great. However, it would not hold a charge to save it's life.

Now I realize buying a "solar" calculator when you live in "Oregon" is a bit of an oxymoron. But still!

Anyway, the hubs picked out a Casio...

Abby is using the blue cover but it came with three other colors: black, green, and purple.

Now be aware... this calculator apparently has a "student mode." This means that if the problem is too easy, it won't calculate it for you :)

Apparently, they are trying to save some of our childrens' brain cells.

I think the "student mode" can be turned off, but we haven't taken the time to find out.

It works great and so far, so good.

2 + 2 = ?