One down - 11 to go!

I realized that with today being the end of the month...overall things have been pretty good! I started a new devotion which I have kept up with (yes 31 days is a record!) and I have been keeping my gratitude journal pretty full too. I am trying not to duplicate a thing (at least not yet anyway) and starting on the 6th day, have recorded 95 things that I am grateful for! I feel pretty good about that and am excited as I move forward with this project. I am embarrassed to say that some days it is hard and I feel so shallow for admitting that! My goal is to work on being grateful throughout the day instead of looking back at the end, but it is still good and progress is the right direction. I know that focusing on a grateful heart has helped me in so many ways. I truly am seeing things differently. There have been some truly silly on my list like chocolate and lip gloss but also some great things like not taking for granted that my kids were safe in bed when I went to wake them. It has helped me to look for the positive. I know that throughout the year, my response time here will get quicker, but again forward progress is good!

Gratitude turns what we have into enough

Also, this month I finished a book that my mom recommended and bought for me when she visited. It is one of her top 10 favorites and I was not sure what I would think, but I loved it. I feel so smart and grown up, having enjoyed a book that is on my mom's favorite picks list. It is called Crossing to Safety, by Wallace Stegner and if you haven't read it, you should. The characters are amazing, I would find myself thinking about them throughout the day and they seemed so real! I am horrible at book reviews but it was great and that is one of the things that makes a book great to me! Now, maybe I'm ready for some of that vampire literary genius...sorry mom!

Bryan and I have pretty much decided not to buy the house we are renting for many reasons and have begun to look around and see what is on the market. It seems that in the price range we want we can find a big house with a tiny yard or a tiny house with a big yard. So we are deciding if we are meant to live in suburbia or the country! What do you think?

Already thinking about moving again has forced me to think about what I am holding onto and why. I am on a mission to get rid of things that we are not using. As I move through this process I realize that I hold to things for a few of the same reasons.

What if I will need it?
I paid good money for it!
Someone gave it to me!
I plan to use it one day!

So my poor kids have been instructed to "play with that and enjoy it because I am getting rid of it!" Or this one they love..."quick watch that movie it is going in THE pile"!

I have realized that magazines are a big bummer for me! I save them full of all their wonderful ideas and have good intentions of doing that or cooking that and it almost never happens! I did start just pulling out pages but then you have to have a place for them, remember what is there when you need it, and remember where that magic place is! I found an article I have been holding onto for years which explains how to hang a straight picture and every time I have needed that service performed, I have patiently waited on my husband who does it very well already without the article! So, I am going through them ONE more time for any piece of got to have information and tossing the rest! It is a real amazing feeling to finally get rid of something that I have been holding onto, it feels great!

I found this one last night...now that I have recorded it, into the trash it goes! YES!

"May your home always be too small to hold all of your friends." - Irish Blessing

Pretty good to keep in mind as we house hunt.

Anyway, I hope your January has been just as good for all of you and may you all be blessed as we move through 2009!

Bowling for Fun!

Last week, the boys and I went bowling! I have not been bowling in a long time and they had only been a couple of times. We found this great bowling alley that has a homeschool day twice a month where it is just $2 a game! They even have shoes to fit real little guys and 6 pound balls which really impressed me! After bowling a little with the Wii the boys were SO excited to go for real! This will definitely be on the schedule from now on...we all loved it! I am sorry to say that even with bumpers, I barely broke 100, but it was still fun! I am teaching Connor to keep score at home because the new fancy lanes do all that for you now! It is great to sharpen those math skills!

After having so much fun, Connor and Brody have both tried to Re-Create the fun at home.....




There was a paper set of pins and even a paper ball created by Connor...


The only glitch here was that they were real hard to set up and the slightest move would knock them over, but a definite A for effort!



Brody made his own set with...you guessed it....cardboard! He tried so hard and had enough fun to make it worth it!


Then, with a little research, of course some duck tape, a trip to Wal-Mart, and an investment of $1.24 for the cups, and $2.50 for a big yellow softball, we made a set that is easy to set up and a whole lot of fun! The living room has been turned into the football room/bowling alley! Today the pets, (specifically the bear team) got to play!

We can't wait to go again, but until then, this will do!

Sunday Sermon Question

Today we were onto the 2nd church, the church of Smyrna. There was a lot of great information about the city of Smyrna and the history. The people of the city worshipped a lot of different gods. In the message from Jesus to the church, they were given no rebuke! They were told that they would "suffer" in the upcoming times, and were told to "be faithful, even to the point of death." In the sermon we touched on suffering in people's lives which is always a tough question and it actually has once again gone along with the devotion I picked up from Kay Arthur called Teach Me How to Live which I have been going through. We were given an outline on how to suffer with a smile on our faces with some great information.

I however, only realize how blessed I have been and when I think of things I that I have "suffered" in my life they have no place with true suffering. I know I needed to hear this information, and can use it with the things in my life so far that I have considered to be horrible, but the truth is that I have to look at this and realize that I have not endured true suffering.

I go to bed almost every night with the last thought in my mind of Corrie Ten Boom and parts of her book I read called, The Hiding Place. I am grateful beyond words to have not experienced something so horrible in my life as what they went through during the Holocaust. I think about how cold and hungry they were and just say thank you for my blanket (ok 3 blankets!) and that my children are safe in the next room in warm beds. The things I have read about that time in history truly haunt me, and I see that as true suffering, as some of the most horrible things any human being could experience.

The question today was, "How do you truly suffer with a smile on your face?" Well, I can't even answer that, I can only feel guilty for the times that I have wallowed in any self pity taking for granted how good I have it. I can only be grateful that my family has been protected from certain unthinkable horrors and I can bank on the promise of God to be there with me should I have to walk through one of those valleys in the future. Today I think of people all over the world actually dying for believing in Jesus and wonder if I would have the strength to "be faithful, even to the point of death." Today I am grateful for the freedom of religion we have in this country and thankful that for now, I don't have to answer that question.

Tell me what you know!

One of the main reasons I am passionate about home schooling my boys is because I want to know what they are learning and I want them to know and learn just for the sake of doing so. I don't want them to only try to get the right answers or just get passing grades like I did in school!

I love Charlotte Mason's philosophy on narration and have been working to incorporate more and more of it in our school! I have been learning a lot in the Charlotte Mason companion book I have mentioned before and am really enjoying it. I have so many things highlighted but one of my favorite parts is a quote from H. Clay Trumbell in his book Teachers and Teaching where he says...

"You cannot fill a bottle with the cork in...you may pour your stream of knowledge upon them till you drown them, and not get a drop of it into them because their mouths are shut."

I just love that. Basically narration is teaching kids to tell back what they know about something. They learn to think things through and pick out important parts and Charlotte Mason is quoted as saying "what the child digs for becomes their own posses ion." It forces them to use their own mind and form their own judgements which I am seeing clearly come out. I believe it be more effective than multiple choice questions or even filling in blanks and I am truly loving the results. Even though Brody is not of age to be pushing it, he is taking to it real well too. So, we do a few things, I will ask the boys to just tell me everything they learned about _____. Or, I will ask them to tell me 5 things they learned about _____. They really like the number ones and I will usually type either one on the computer, but not always.

This week we went through a book on Martin Luther King, Jr. to celebrate the holiday. I explained to both of them about the first black man being nominated President when the election took place. I also told my mom that I thought it was neat that because they haven't "studied" any of the history yet, they didn't really "get" the big deal! I think after studying about Martin Luther King, Jr. they have a better understanding and we even snuggled up and watched the inauguration together...it was a neat time to be living history with them.

So, all this is leading up to what I want to share. I want to give an example of narration and post the ones they did on Martin Luther King, Jr. Connor asked to "tell me 10 (we usually do 5!) things he learned" and I always ask them to end it with their opinion about that person or to tell me why they think we studied that person to begin to with. Brody came up with 4 but as you will see they are good ones. They both took a couple days to do this and there was no pressure put on them. I simply ask them to "tell me what you know" and this is what I got. They are not in the same room when one is giving a narration when I am going to have Brody do it too! I hope you enjoy!

Connor Narration - MLK, Jr. 1/22/09 - 2nd Grade

1. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta Georgia.

2. He was a negro because he had black skin.

3. He died in the fight to stop unfair laws.

4. The Jim Crow laws were very bad and rude because they couldn't drink at the same fountains, eat at the same restaurants, go to the same schools, or sit next to white people in movie theatres.

5. He won 10 battles and lost 1. He fought with words and ideas to stop the Jim Crow laws.

6. He lost the battle in Birmingham Alabama to fight the Jim Crow laws.

7. Now the Jim Crow laws are gone forever because of Martin Luther King, Jr.

8. Martin Luther King day was 3 days ago.

9. He skipped 9th and 12th grade when he was a boy because he was so smart.

10. He got put in jail 30 times when he was alive and then while he was in his motel a bullet blasted through the window and he fell to the ground. He was dead in about an hour.

I think God liked Martin Luther King because he fought really hard for freedom for all the blacks.

Brody Narration - Martin Luther King, Jr. - 5 years old - Kindergarten

1. Martin Luther King, Jr. did not fight with guns or swords, he fought with words.
2. The Jim Crow laws were very bad because black people couldn't drink from the same fountains.
3. He got shot by a gun and fell down in an hour he was dead.
4. He got put in jail 3 times because they didn't like what he was doing.

I think Martin Luther King, Jr. did the right thing.

They are both doing so well in school and I am proud of what they are learning. I am SO grateful to be able to home school and try different things. I know we will be working to get better at this as we move forward and I am even trying to use it for myself when I read something. For I believe that "Whatever a child or grown up person can tell, that we may be sure he knows, and what he cannot tell, he does not know." (Charlotte Mason, Philosophy of Education)

Dragons, Dungeons, and Castles...OH MY!

Wow, did we have fun today! We "flew in our pants" as Connor would say (his version of flying by the seat of our pants!) and spent the morning doing an art lesson and studying the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. It was a great morning and fun to go off course for a change. After all it was a holiday, we realized!

I found this art lesson through a friend's blog (thanks Joanna) that belongs to an art teacher, Ms. Julie! She teaches art in La Quinta California and is a homeschool mom! It just so happens, that we read a great book last week called, The Sword in the Tree that took place in the time of King Arthur and the knights of the round table. So, when I saw this on her blog, we ran with it and the boys were so proud of their dragons! I think they did very well too!

She had step by step drawing instructions and a lot of ideas for a lesson which we did also. We read about Raphael and looked at some of his paintings including St. George and the Dragon. We have this wonderful fairy tale in our Book of Virtues so the boys were already interested!

She gave me permission to post her link and I would highly recommend those with kids take a minute and check it out! I even drew a dragon myself. Brody didn't think it was that good, but truly I think he was just very proud of his own work! She has some great stuff on there and even posted a new project today!



http://msjuliesartschool.blogspot.com/




Have fun and maybe you too can find time to fly in your pants!

Sunday Sermon Question

Well, today, my pen was writing very fast to keep up with all the questions put to us this week at church. We are moving forward through Revelation and were in chapter 2 today with the letter to the church in Ephesus. The part of the message that screamed out to me was where they were told that they have "forsaken their first love", basically pointing out that they had lost their focus, and become content and stopped falling in love with Jesus. So, here are a few of the questions to ponder...

Have you lost your "first love"?

How do you know you have a genuine love for God?

Are you sold out for God?

Then, this is the one that my mind has been tossing around all day long. It was found in a book by Jimmy Carter where he said that someone once asked him this question that changed his life....

If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

'

Wow, that is a good one, huh? Of course my first thought is to rationalize it with the actual legal system. Then I think things like well it would depend on who was trying to convict me, if I had a fair trial, and what the rules are. But after I stop trying to complicate it, I realize a few things.

I think if someone visits my house, they could notice things that would say I am a Christian such as scripture decorations and books about Jesus on my shelves. They would find bibles all over because Bryan and I have a lot of them. But then I realize that they could dig a little deeper and maybe find some things that would confuse them, such as some of movies on the shelves or other books that could go against the moral teachings in the bible.

'

If they were required to spend a day with me, they would hopefully see me spend time in the word and quietly with Jesus. Hopefully they would notice me pray and talk about Jesus with my kids. But then there is that other side where they might wonder how I divide my time, and my resources. They might wonder some days where my "joy" is and how could I possibly get so grumpy?

'

But I think a big part of it would come down to character testimonies. So, I have been thinking about what people would say if someone asked them the question. I think there is a lot of people that know me real well that would say yes, but I can't help but think about others that I am meeting especially being in a new place. How many people in Salem would say I am a Christian? So for me, I see this as a big opportunity as I meet new people and come in contact with strangers every day! It reminds me of my first trip to the grocery store here called Winco. It was SO weird to be shopping there and I kept thinking how strange it was that there was no way I was going to run into anyone I knew. I hadn't felt that alone in a long time. I guess it makes me think and wonder if I have been "conducting" myself in a way that shows I am a follower of Jesus when everyone I meet is a stranger. I have very little chance of running into someone from church after all!

'

It was a great sermon and one that really got me thinking!

Grateful for 40!

40 degrees that is!

I got an e-mail from sister from her work in Red Bud, IL where it was a very cold 7 degrees with a wind chill of -10!!!! Ok, now that is cold! It is not so bad here after all! As a matter of fact is was 40 and about 12:30 the sun came out and the sky turned blue! We hadn't seen that for a couple of days and I wanted to enjoy it! Plus, we needed some exercise and so did the dog so we bundled up and headed out! We got a special surprise when we noticed that this tree in our front yard bloomed these amazing pink flowers. It was so cute because Brody looked at it and said..."Mommy, is it still winter?" I guess this is a special winter blooming tree and I LOVE it! What a wonderful sight and I am so grateful for it's beauty! I need to find out what kind it is!

I started a gratitude or grateful journal and am recording 5 things each day that I am grateful for. It sounds pretty easy, but some days it is hard, and some days it is hard picking just 5! Sometimes I forget to think through the day and I have to sit down and go back through the day at the end. I know today I'm grateful for 40 and for this splash of color much needed to the landscape! Three more should be a piece of cake....

Cake...there's one...just two more to go!

Something or Someone to Love

My all time favorite book (thanks to my friend Liz Allen) is A Charlotte Mason Companion written by Karen Andreola. I love the Charlotte Mason style of homeschooling and try to incorporate her ideas as much as I can. This book has been so helpful to me and Chapter 3 is titled What is Education? In there she explains how each day we should be sure that our children have 3 things...

• Something or Someone to Love
• Something to Do
• Something to Think About

I was chuckling to myself the other day thinking I doubt that Charlotte Mason from the late 1800's could imagine something like this filling part of that bill!

But my boys are CRAZY about their Webkinz!! They got them from our friends Kim and Zack and I had no idea what they were all about, but she assured me they are good clean fun. They are so excited to take care of these virtual pets and are having a total blast with them! The games are a little addicting and I'm not sure how I feel about sharing my computer time but it is kind of cute to see them so excited about this! I don't know how long it will last, but they are really caring about these little stuffed animals and enjoy seeing them come to life on the computer! They like checking on their little meters to see how happy, healthy and well fed they are. I have to admit, my first thought was I didn't like them making their pets happy by filling up their rooms with a bunch of stuff...but I took a deep breath and listened to my husband say that some things need to just be for fun! So, Ok, I won't count them in the education category you boys just enjoy your toys!

A Tough Question

Today I realized that I have been attending church regularly for close to 11 years. Thoughts, comments, things I have learned have been scattered on bulletins, in my bible and some have even made it to long term storage center of my brain. A large amount sermons will usually ask a question during some point, or as Pastor Don put it, ask you to move something into the column C which means to do something with it. I have to admit sometimes I think later about these things and sometimes they sit in my bulletin without me taking the time to think them through any more. So, what I want to do is use my blog as a place to record some of these thoughts and answer these questions.

Anyway, today a church that we have been attending called Court Street Christian Church began a series in Revelation which I am excited about. Bryan and I will also be attending a bible study on Wednesday nights which will follow along and dig deeper into this book of prophecy. I have to begin by admitting that I have stayed pretty far away from this book. If I am honest, I'm not sure I have even read through the whole thing. I know I have read a large part of it through sermons and bible studies that I have done in the past but a huge sigh of relief comes over me when I get to turn to something else. So, I have to start by saying...why is that? There are a couple reasons that came to me as I was washing dishes this evening. Some are; I am downright scared of it, it challenges me to much, and I'm afraid I won't understand what the hec I'm reading and after all who wants to feel stupid! But as of today, I'm moving forward and will see what I learn.

Today, the question was clear, no need to "figure" this one out...

Am I living with the end in mind?

Before this question was asked though a few important things happened. He led us to the verse in Acts 2:17 which explains that the "last days" began the day of Pentecost when the apostles received the Holy Spirit. However when it comes to timing, that is all we know...no one can predict the exact time because we are told that only the Father knows this. He also cautioned about being paranoid or indifferent to the view of prophecy laid out here. I have to admit, I've been both of those things. Part of me is scared and part of me just doesn't think about it. He gave us some things to remember as we move through this book that will help us to understand such as; God's timing is different than ours, and to recognize John's audience when writing this book. Then the very last thing....he popped the big one....

Am I living with the end in mind?

I find myself even now wishing he just would of asked if we want to, or hope to, or really work hard to shoot for that goal. That would be easier to answer, but that wasn't it. So, I can say that I try but not hard enough. Is there a proper Christian term for "half a_ _" ? That is where I would fall here if I'm honest. I look back and realize that part of what brought me back to church and into a relationship with Christ in the first place is a downright fear of going to hell. I believe it to be a real place and I don't want to go! I'll take a place at the gates of heaven, a tent right inside the door or the mansion, I'm not picky! Now, I won't say that is the best way to get where God wants you, but He knew it would work for me. After all, aren't a lot of us scared of consequences? I think that determines a lot of our actions if we are honest. I think about my end time and that of my kids and family more than anyone outside of that...wow...that is pretty selfish, but it is brutal honesty about where I'm at. I think about us dying but not the rapture in that sense. If I truly expand that thought to the end for everyone it would and should call me to more action. That is where I can grow from this sermon, and look for ways to do that.


So be it.

December Flashback

I just have to report some of our fun family adventures for December! On Saturday, December 20th, we had a Christmas Party for Bryan's work which we were looking forward to. I was excited to meet some of the people he talks about and we have not actually been out together for a long time with the crazy year we had! Well the weather was very interesting that whole week before. Bryan was not able to work almost the whole week and the roads were very icy and full of snow. He even wore jeans that night because he knew we would need chains to get there! But, we were able to make it through and had a pretty good time. We had Christmas that day with the boys since we weren't going to have another morning before we left for California. We had a fun day opening presents and playing with the Wii which of course was a big hit!

We got home late and exhausted and all settled in for a good nights sleep. When we got up we had no electricity and it was getting colder! The trees were covered with ice after the rain and it was actually quite beauitful to look at! Talk about a winter wonderland! This is one of the trees just by our front door and the whole neigborhood was covered with ice trees!

It was sleeting, and snowing on and off so we all bunkered down in the family room where we were so blessed to have a working gas fireplace! In the afternoon we decided to venture out for some emergency lighting and extra batteries. (we were told this never happens here so we weren't so prepared as we would of liked) We had lunch, ran a few errands then came home. We hung a quilt over the doorway to the family room to really heat the room and made beds for all of us in there. Of course being 5 and 7 the boys that this was the best thing ever! The rest of the house got down to just 44 degrees but we were pretty warm and toasty in front of the fireplace! All night long, we heard ice breaking off the trees and falling on the house, it was a little scary! We have some limbs down in the backyard but lucikly there was no damage. When we woke up the next morning, there was still no power so we decided to just take off early on our trip which we did! We drove to Saramento that day and then pulled into Yucaipa at noon the next day to start our Christmas vacation!

I guess for our first year here, now we know how bad it can get! Everyone swears this is not normal for Salem but they sure did enjoy the white Christmas!

By the way, one of the boys took the picture of us, the camera was pretty heavy so they come out pretty crooked but they are getting the hang of it! It comes in handy because there are so few pictures of just Bryan and I!! I can't believe this year we will celebrate our 10th year of marriage!

Grateful in 2009!

Webster's Dictionary defines grateful this way; warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received; thankful.

I am unexpectedly stealing and idea from my friend Christy. I don't think she will mind, since she too got the idea from a friend also. The idea is to come up with a "word" to live by for the year instead of a resolution. Great idea huh? My thoughts exactly. Thanks Christy and Christy P! I hate resolutions and can't remember the last time I came up with one or especially kept one. They have always made me feel like a failure and since I needed none of that in my life, I let it go.

This however is a new concept and one with focus and clarity and I love it!

I actually liked the idea after reading it on her blog, but didn't plan to implement it... but from the moment I woke up yesterday morning all through the day my mind kept bringing this word up. OK, God...I get it!

So, I came to realize that if I can focus my heart to be grateful this year it really would accomplish any resolutions I might have come up with. Here are some thoughts......

• If in my heart I am grateful for the realization that the Creator of the Universe actually created a way for me to talk directly with Him and realize that He wants to hear from me, how could I not pray more?
• If each and every day I can be grateful just for the presence of my kids and my husband, how could I resist spending more time with them and treating them the best that I can?
• I mean if I can truly be grateful for this body (even in the sorry shape it is in) and my health, then that should encourage me to take better care of it. Right?
• If I can open my pantry and be grateful for all that is in it, how could I not reach out to those that are hungry?
• If when I lay my head down at night and look up at my ceiling grateful for my home and shelter, how could I not think of those without that blessing or be discontent at all with what state I am in or what house I have?
• If I can be grateful that God's word has sustained through all these years and is so readily available to me in a country that offers freedom of religion, how could I not open my bible more?

These just scratch the surface, but the list goes on and on! I look forward to discovering more and more as I work on a heart change and focus for this new year.

I looked down at my computer just now and saw this verse from Proverbs 4:23 that I had put there a while ago.

"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." I hope my course this year to be a good one focused on gratitude and thankfulness. Wish me luck!

Quality Time - Not Overated!

I will have to create a few posts to capture the last few crazy weeks of December! Life got crazy starting with a power outage due to a ice storm here in Salem! When we left for California we still did not have power and we just got back yesterday. Boy is 44 degrees cold, especially when it is in your bedroom! I was packing for the trip with gloves and a winter coat on!


We were blessed with fantastic weather for our trip to California and let's just say that "sunny So Cal" lived up to that nickame for us!


Since I had roughly 16 hours to think on our trip home yesterday, I mulled over a lot of things in this brain of mine! One thing I realized as I thought back over the last few months is how important quality time is really to all of us. I have lived away from some immediate family member almost my whole life and recently left more family and terrific friends when we moved to Oregon. You know with all the great ways we have now to communicate such as snail mail, e-mail, cell phones, instant messaging, and even webcams, nothing can beat actually spending time with people important to me. I am thrilled that all those things allow us to keep in touch, but the rest way in my opinion to reach out and touch someone is still with our arms wrapped around in big hugs!

In October, Grandma Louise (my mom) came to visit...
Then we got to see Kim, Matt and Zack when they came to Oregon to see Kim's mom and us!

Also, in November we had visits from our friends The Johnsons who are missionaries in Mexico!

For Thanksgiving we were so excited when Aunt Lara came to visit....

Then in December we were so lucky to go California to see mom and dad (Bryan's parents)...
Our special friends, The Loomis Family...
The Barker Family..very few pictures because Josiah was sick :(, but Connor, Brody and Caleb had some fun playing football at the park and I got to finally see little Abby! We didn't get to visit as much as we would of liked, but we make due!
Also, one day Caleb, Luke and Morgan came to the apartment to play and I didn't get my camera out for some reason! Plus, we saw the LeVesque's again and the boys even had a sleepover, but Kim has those pictures!

We also saw Kelly and our great nephew Aiden...

I didn't get to spend as much time with everyone as I would of liked to, but it was all good and the hugs alone will last me until I get to see everyone again! Until then, blog on...e-mail away and let's talk soon!