Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Monday, November 22, 2010
It Doesn't Take a Supermom to Homeschool ... (part 2 of 2)
I would like to finish this post by sharing some of the ways that I homeschool my children. Not because I think that it's the only right way to do it, but because some of it might help another homeschooling mom. If the shoe fits, then wear it! (And if it doesn't, move on and find another one that does.)
First of all, we choose not to participate in charter school. We do not want the added pressure of having to meet public school standards. I enjoy being accountable only to my husband and God. I do sometimes wish that we had money for activities like soccer, ballet, gymnastics, or horseback riding, but my husband and I feel that God (not the government) will provide what we need when (and if) we need it.
I choose not to use prepackaged curricula for most subjects because I feel that would make homeschooling less fun for us and add unnecessary pressure. I also don't try to do every subject every day. We do try to do Bible and reading every day. The other subjects I try to do three days a week. I only "plan" school work for Monday-Thursday, leaving Fridays to do makeup work and/or something fun (like going to the library or on a field trip).
For reading, I use a simple phonics program that I downloaded from the internet. First, I used it to teach my highly motivated first daughter (currently 7 years old) to read. She quickly blew through it and now reads anything she can get her hands on. Currently I am using it to teach my 6-year-old daughter to read. She is going slowly but delights to understanding more and more words. I have not even started to teach my four-year-old formally, but he catches the overflow, and I try to read to him a little every day. My kids also enjoy workbooks, so I got them some spelling and writing workbooks. They do a couple of pages a day in each workbook.
For math, we are using a prepackaged curriculum called Right Start Math. All three of my kids are still in the first (aka, Kindergarten) level. We are going really slowly through this because I want to be sure that they (and I) really understand and enjoy it. I started out teaching my two older girls together, but it was frustrating for them both because of the differences in their abilities. It was also frustrating to me because our lessons were taking 1-2 hours a day. So I continued with my older daughter, who is now nearly finished with Level A and will soon begin Level B (when we can afford to buy it). Her math lessons now take about 15-30 minutes a day. After a break I started over with my 6-year-old and added her 4- (almost 5-) year-old brother. So far they seems to be working well together, and she doesn't seem to have noticed that I set her back. She also enjoys math a lot more now. I do too, especially since I can get their lesson done in 30 minutes a day.
For P.E. , we take walks and go swimming at a neighbor's pool.
For science, we notice things on our walks and in everyday life. The other day we saw a little snake on the sidewalk. I had my kids draw a snake when we got home, and my oldest (who can read and write on her own) wrote a few sentences describing it. I have a book of science experiments you can do at home, but we haven't cracked it open yet. Sometimes something comes up that my kids ask a question about. Last week it was, "What is lava?" I proceeded to explain volcanoes to them and wrote it down as our science for the day. Later, when a volcano erupted recently in Indonesia, we talked about it. I read a news article to them (to which they only marginally paid attention), we watched Youtube videos of volcanoes erupting (they loved that part), and they drew pictures of volcanoes. Bonus: we prayed for the Indonesian people too!
For social studies, we are currently using free stuff that I found on the Voice of the Martyrs website, kidsofcouragemag.net. They have activity booklets on several different countries. I printed out one on Malaysia, and we enjoyed reading about that country and doing the simple activities that were included. Next we will be starting to study Ethiopia. (Last year, we used Five in a Row, a picture-book-based unit study curriculum, and we loved it - it was very fun and easy to do.)
Last but certainly not least, our main subject is Bible. This is the one that we try to do every day no matter what. We are reading through a chronological Bible paraphrase called Day by Day Kids' Bible. My kids love to draw, so every other week or so, I tell them the subject headings for upcoming sections, and they draw pictures that are related. I make copies (we invested in a good printer/copier that wasn't too expensive this year, and it's great). Then, each day during "Bible Time," they color our homemade Bible coloring pages while I read to them. We have a "prayer box," a simple index card file on which I write prayer requests. I pass out two or three cards to each child, and we pray for the people listed on the cards. We also memorize scripture this way, writing a couple verses on a card and making up silly tunes to sing them together. It's a super-easy way to get the Word in our hearts. Bible is my favorite subject to do with my kids, because it feeds my spirit too! (Note: on the days when I am too tired or cranky to teach Bible, or when I need to spend some extra time on my AA daughter's hair, I turn on a "Bible" movie for the kids to watch, like The Miracle Maker.)
I hardly spend any time planning or grading or anything like that. I just find things that are easy and fun for us to do. And if we don't get everything done that I thought we should, I am learning to stop stressing about it. Instead, I ask God what He wants us to get done that day. He then reminds me that His goal is for us to love each other (John 13:34-35; 15:12, 17). Then I remember that I shouldn't worry so much about WHAT we do, and instead focus on just loving my kids.
Final thoughts (to bring this back to how I'm not Supermom): I do not do my makeup every day, and I have learned some really quick, easy things to do with my hair. I do usually get dressed since we try to go for a walk most days (it helps all our perspectives to get out of the house for a little while). However, when I'm pregnant or nursing, I don't always get dressed. My house is ALWAYS messy, except when we clean up before having guests over, and even then it's far less perfect than I'd like. My living room furniture is torn up and we can't afford to replace it (though we're praying for some good free or really cheap furniture). The dishes usually stay piled up in the sink until after lunch. Some days I cannot cook, so instead we have "snack dinner" where everyone picks something to eat like cereal or yogurt. I also make big meals so we have leftovers at least 1-2 days a week. I do not "do it all." We are not involved in many extracurricular activities. Our big outings for the week are church, the park, and the library. I teach my kids piano lessons, but we cannot afford sports or other outside activities. We have a live-in roommate who helps with dishes and laundry during the week. We cannot afford to pay much, so we basically exchange room and board for some help. When the babies are awake, we can't really get anything done, so all our school work is done during their nap times. My husband has given me Monday nights and Sunday mornings "off." This really helps to keep me sane. I take that time to do personal things I want to do, like read, sleep, etc. I try to get up early to spend time with the Lord, but I also love to stay up late enjoying the peace and quiet after the kids are in bed, so my sleep/wake schedule is pretty inconsistent.
I hope that these posts help someone see that it doesn't take a Supermom to homeschool. It just takes an ordinary mom (or dad) who is willing to say yes to God's invitation to daily sow into her children's hearts, even when it's a struggle. A Supermom wouldn't do, actually. Not at all. It takes a weak one.
"For when I am weak, then I am strong" (1 Corinthians 12:10b).
First of all, we choose not to participate in charter school. We do not want the added pressure of having to meet public school standards. I enjoy being accountable only to my husband and God. I do sometimes wish that we had money for activities like soccer, ballet, gymnastics, or horseback riding, but my husband and I feel that God (not the government) will provide what we need when (and if) we need it.
I choose not to use prepackaged curricula for most subjects because I feel that would make homeschooling less fun for us and add unnecessary pressure. I also don't try to do every subject every day. We do try to do Bible and reading every day. The other subjects I try to do three days a week. I only "plan" school work for Monday-Thursday, leaving Fridays to do makeup work and/or something fun (like going to the library or on a field trip).
For reading, I use a simple phonics program that I downloaded from the internet. First, I used it to teach my highly motivated first daughter (currently 7 years old) to read. She quickly blew through it and now reads anything she can get her hands on. Currently I am using it to teach my 6-year-old daughter to read. She is going slowly but delights to understanding more and more words. I have not even started to teach my four-year-old formally, but he catches the overflow, and I try to read to him a little every day. My kids also enjoy workbooks, so I got them some spelling and writing workbooks. They do a couple of pages a day in each workbook.
For math, we are using a prepackaged curriculum called Right Start Math. All three of my kids are still in the first (aka, Kindergarten) level. We are going really slowly through this because I want to be sure that they (and I) really understand and enjoy it. I started out teaching my two older girls together, but it was frustrating for them both because of the differences in their abilities. It was also frustrating to me because our lessons were taking 1-2 hours a day. So I continued with my older daughter, who is now nearly finished with Level A and will soon begin Level B (when we can afford to buy it). Her math lessons now take about 15-30 minutes a day. After a break I started over with my 6-year-old and added her 4- (almost 5-) year-old brother. So far they seems to be working well together, and she doesn't seem to have noticed that I set her back. She also enjoys math a lot more now. I do too, especially since I can get their lesson done in 30 minutes a day.
For P.E. , we take walks and go swimming at a neighbor's pool.
For science, we notice things on our walks and in everyday life. The other day we saw a little snake on the sidewalk. I had my kids draw a snake when we got home, and my oldest (who can read and write on her own) wrote a few sentences describing it. I have a book of science experiments you can do at home, but we haven't cracked it open yet. Sometimes something comes up that my kids ask a question about. Last week it was, "What is lava?" I proceeded to explain volcanoes to them and wrote it down as our science for the day. Later, when a volcano erupted recently in Indonesia, we talked about it. I read a news article to them (to which they only marginally paid attention), we watched Youtube videos of volcanoes erupting (they loved that part), and they drew pictures of volcanoes. Bonus: we prayed for the Indonesian people too!
For social studies, we are currently using free stuff that I found on the Voice of the Martyrs website, kidsofcouragemag.net. They have activity booklets on several different countries. I printed out one on Malaysia, and we enjoyed reading about that country and doing the simple activities that were included. Next we will be starting to study Ethiopia. (Last year, we used Five in a Row, a picture-book-based unit study curriculum, and we loved it - it was very fun and easy to do.)
Last but certainly not least, our main subject is Bible. This is the one that we try to do every day no matter what. We are reading through a chronological Bible paraphrase called Day by Day Kids' Bible. My kids love to draw, so every other week or so, I tell them the subject headings for upcoming sections, and they draw pictures that are related. I make copies (we invested in a good printer/copier that wasn't too expensive this year, and it's great). Then, each day during "Bible Time," they color our homemade Bible coloring pages while I read to them. We have a "prayer box," a simple index card file on which I write prayer requests. I pass out two or three cards to each child, and we pray for the people listed on the cards. We also memorize scripture this way, writing a couple verses on a card and making up silly tunes to sing them together. It's a super-easy way to get the Word in our hearts. Bible is my favorite subject to do with my kids, because it feeds my spirit too! (Note: on the days when I am too tired or cranky to teach Bible, or when I need to spend some extra time on my AA daughter's hair, I turn on a "Bible" movie for the kids to watch, like The Miracle Maker.)
I hardly spend any time planning or grading or anything like that. I just find things that are easy and fun for us to do. And if we don't get everything done that I thought we should, I am learning to stop stressing about it. Instead, I ask God what He wants us to get done that day. He then reminds me that His goal is for us to love each other (John 13:34-35; 15:12, 17). Then I remember that I shouldn't worry so much about WHAT we do, and instead focus on just loving my kids.
Final thoughts (to bring this back to how I'm not Supermom): I do not do my makeup every day, and I have learned some really quick, easy things to do with my hair. I do usually get dressed since we try to go for a walk most days (it helps all our perspectives to get out of the house for a little while). However, when I'm pregnant or nursing, I don't always get dressed. My house is ALWAYS messy, except when we clean up before having guests over, and even then it's far less perfect than I'd like. My living room furniture is torn up and we can't afford to replace it (though we're praying for some good free or really cheap furniture). The dishes usually stay piled up in the sink until after lunch. Some days I cannot cook, so instead we have "snack dinner" where everyone picks something to eat like cereal or yogurt. I also make big meals so we have leftovers at least 1-2 days a week. I do not "do it all." We are not involved in many extracurricular activities. Our big outings for the week are church, the park, and the library. I teach my kids piano lessons, but we cannot afford sports or other outside activities. We have a live-in roommate who helps with dishes and laundry during the week. We cannot afford to pay much, so we basically exchange room and board for some help. When the babies are awake, we can't really get anything done, so all our school work is done during their nap times. My husband has given me Monday nights and Sunday mornings "off." This really helps to keep me sane. I take that time to do personal things I want to do, like read, sleep, etc. I try to get up early to spend time with the Lord, but I also love to stay up late enjoying the peace and quiet after the kids are in bed, so my sleep/wake schedule is pretty inconsistent.
I hope that these posts help someone see that it doesn't take a Supermom to homeschool. It just takes an ordinary mom (or dad) who is willing to say yes to God's invitation to daily sow into her children's hearts, even when it's a struggle. A Supermom wouldn't do, actually. Not at all. It takes a weak one.
"For when I am weak, then I am strong" (1 Corinthians 12:10b).
Thursday, November 18, 2010
It Doesn't Take a Supermom to Homeschool ... (part 1 of 2)
... because I'm not! (Supermom, that is.)
Yes, I have six children. And yes, I do homeschool them. (Only two of them "officially" so far.) And it is the most fun, hard, crazy, fulfilling, chaotic, exasperating and irreplaceable thing I have ever done.
Homeschooling, like every other aspect of my life, is something I have struggled with in prayer before God. Yes, I have wanted to do it since I myself was a homeschooled student (and loved it). But I still wrestle with God about giving up so much time and energy to educate my children, especially when I am told that the elementary school right across the street from my house is really good. I have sometimes fantasized about those few steps that would whisk my children off into the wonderland of education-by-others, leaving me with an easier day at home.
Easier in some ways, that is.
Sometimes, when homeschooling starts to feel like too much (like every day this week), I go back to the Lord, asking whether I should continue. His words have given me courage:
"It will be harder if you send them to school."
Harder? How?
Well, it depends on my perspective. If my goal is to have more discretionary time to pursue more of my personal goals, then sending them to school would certainly seem to make that easier. But what about the cost? How much more time would I need to spend re-parenting them when they got home? What kind of attitudes would they pick up? Would their hearts remain soft toward God? And would it be worth giving up our daily times of praying, worshiping, and memorizing scripture together?
I quickly realized that He was right. Then I remembered that His primary goal is not their intellectual education. He's after their hearts.
And so I remembered another sentence God spoke to me a couple of years ago:
"Stop telling Me why you can't and ask Me how."
Yes, there are days when I don't know if I can do it. Yes, there are days I want to quit. But on those days, the words above sustain me. I am learning to stop, breathe, and ask Him, "How do You want me to do this today? What are Your goals? This isn't working. I must be off track. Do You have a better way for us to arrange our schedule? Do we need to cut out or add some activities? I need HELP during this time of the day (or with this particular child). Should I stop trying to do ____, or is there another way to approach it?"
Every day I beg God for wisdom and strength.
And guess what? There are many days when I simply love having my children home with me. Most of the time, I look forward to our school times together. Why? Because our home school is not a carbon copy of what they would get across the street. It is perfectly designed for our unique family. It fits us, and it's fun.
It all depends on my perspective.
If I compare my school with the one across the street, I fall short. If I compare my school with private schools, I fall short. Even if I compare my school with other home schools, I fall short. But God has not called me to look at all of them. He has called me to to keep my eyes on Him. So I asked Him, "What do You want me to teach my children? What are the standards that You want us to achieve?"
Somehow, I expected Him to talk to me about their knowledge of English grammar, science, math, reading, and history. But you know what He told me? "Teach them to love Me with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love others as they love themselves" (my paraphrase of Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27).
Can they do that across the street? Will they even try?
So I continue to homeschool. And I am growing to be OK with being different, maybe even behind in some areas. Because in other areas I know that my kids are learning far more than they could "over there."
Yes, I have six children. And yes, I do homeschool them. (Only two of them "officially" so far.) And it is the most fun, hard, crazy, fulfilling, chaotic, exasperating and irreplaceable thing I have ever done.
Homeschooling, like every other aspect of my life, is something I have struggled with in prayer before God. Yes, I have wanted to do it since I myself was a homeschooled student (and loved it). But I still wrestle with God about giving up so much time and energy to educate my children, especially when I am told that the elementary school right across the street from my house is really good. I have sometimes fantasized about those few steps that would whisk my children off into the wonderland of education-by-others, leaving me with an easier day at home.
Easier in some ways, that is.
Sometimes, when homeschooling starts to feel like too much (like every day this week), I go back to the Lord, asking whether I should continue. His words have given me courage:
"It will be harder if you send them to school."
Harder? How?
Well, it depends on my perspective. If my goal is to have more discretionary time to pursue more of my personal goals, then sending them to school would certainly seem to make that easier. But what about the cost? How much more time would I need to spend re-parenting them when they got home? What kind of attitudes would they pick up? Would their hearts remain soft toward God? And would it be worth giving up our daily times of praying, worshiping, and memorizing scripture together?
I quickly realized that He was right. Then I remembered that His primary goal is not their intellectual education. He's after their hearts.
And so I remembered another sentence God spoke to me a couple of years ago:
"Stop telling Me why you can't and ask Me how."
Yes, there are days when I don't know if I can do it. Yes, there are days I want to quit. But on those days, the words above sustain me. I am learning to stop, breathe, and ask Him, "How do You want me to do this today? What are Your goals? This isn't working. I must be off track. Do You have a better way for us to arrange our schedule? Do we need to cut out or add some activities? I need HELP during this time of the day (or with this particular child). Should I stop trying to do ____, or is there another way to approach it?"
Every day I beg God for wisdom and strength.
And guess what? There are many days when I simply love having my children home with me. Most of the time, I look forward to our school times together. Why? Because our home school is not a carbon copy of what they would get across the street. It is perfectly designed for our unique family. It fits us, and it's fun.
It all depends on my perspective.
If I compare my school with the one across the street, I fall short. If I compare my school with private schools, I fall short. Even if I compare my school with other home schools, I fall short. But God has not called me to look at all of them. He has called me to to keep my eyes on Him. So I asked Him, "What do You want me to teach my children? What are the standards that You want us to achieve?"
Somehow, I expected Him to talk to me about their knowledge of English grammar, science, math, reading, and history. But you know what He told me? "Teach them to love Me with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love others as they love themselves" (my paraphrase of Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27).
Can they do that across the street? Will they even try?
So I continue to homeschool. And I am growing to be OK with being different, maybe even behind in some areas. Because in other areas I know that my kids are learning far more than they could "over there."
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Celebrating the Lamb
Lambs make me really happy these days. Let me explain.
When I was a kid, my parents made certain decisions about how we celebrated holidays. We celebrated Jesus-only Christmases, Thanksgiving but not Halloween, and Easter without the Easter bunny. Since having children of my own, my husband and I have thought and prayed through these things for ourselves and have come to basically the same conclusions my parents did. We would much rather celebrate the "real meaning" in the sacred holidays than incorporate the secularized version. We don't want to muddy the waters of our children's understanding about God.
Now I want to state up front that I know not everyone comes to the same conclusions we have. In fact, I have come across some pretty compelling arguments for making different choices than we've made. I have no intention of trying to convince or defend our choices here. Many of our good friends celebrate Santa, the Easter bunny, and Halloween. I respect each family's privilege of following the Lord's leading in their own holiday traditions. I just want to share this part of our journey.
Back to my story. I have discovered that we can have the most well-thought-out reasons in the world for deciding to make a break with cultural traditions, but that doesn't make it any easier when we are walking with our children through a store and they see HUGE egg- and bunny-filled baskets and wonder why we don't plan to get them one. Or why we aren't going to have an Easter egg hunt. These things obviously must be an essential part of the Easter celebration. And I feel like a real heel. And I want to hide at home until it all just goes away.
But not really. That's not how I want to live. Nor is it the response we want to teach our children. So instead, last weekend we took the opportunity to sit down as a family and talk about it. Though it might have been easier (for now) to just say no and leave it at that, I know it won't work long-term. Neither is it how my parents modeled leadership to me. So instead, I prayed, asked Salt Racer to join the discussion, and calmed down (as I was getting pretty riled up about it all). As we talked, I started to realize that what our family needs is not merely we-don't-celebrate-Easter-bunnies-and-eggs, but a we-DO-celebrate-Jesus-the-Lamb! The kids and I totally latched on to that. We all started to see that we could have our own special holiday traditions without participating in the ones that are not OK for us.
Since that conversation, I have been so relieved. Now we have a direction to go in celebrating with our children during this season. We gathered up stuffed lambs for our own, personal version of Easter. For our Bible time this week, we walked through some of the events of Jesus' life the week before He laid down His life for us, such as the triumphal entry and washing of the disciples feet, finding that we gained deeper understanding as we did. We had great fun making Easter story cookies that I read about on Stephanie's blog. We went to see a beautiful, moving musical celebrating Jesus at Capital Christian Center. I put together little bowls of candy crosses and flowers for a Resurrection morning surprise. Instead of an Easter egg hunt, we will have a "Find-the-Lamb" hunt where, over the next few days, they will look for a big stuffed lamb hiding with a treat (just as the disciples never knew when or where they would see Jesus after His resurrection). Finally, I hope in the next few weeks to take them to a real sheep farm. And I even have ideas as to how we can expand and deepen these traditions in future years!
So I just wanted to share that for the first time in years, I am really excited about celebrating this week, which I prefer to call Passion Week or Holy Week, though I won't quibble about "Easter" since it's what most people are used to. I am excited to make this start on creating Easter holiday traditions that our children grow up anticipating with joy.
Hallelujah! The Lamb of God is risen! And ... HE'S COMING BACK!!!!!!!
When I was a kid, my parents made certain decisions about how we celebrated holidays. We celebrated Jesus-only Christmases, Thanksgiving but not Halloween, and Easter without the Easter bunny. Since having children of my own, my husband and I have thought and prayed through these things for ourselves and have come to basically the same conclusions my parents did. We would much rather celebrate the "real meaning" in the sacred holidays than incorporate the secularized version. We don't want to muddy the waters of our children's understanding about God.
Now I want to state up front that I know not everyone comes to the same conclusions we have. In fact, I have come across some pretty compelling arguments for making different choices than we've made. I have no intention of trying to convince or defend our choices here. Many of our good friends celebrate Santa, the Easter bunny, and Halloween. I respect each family's privilege of following the Lord's leading in their own holiday traditions. I just want to share this part of our journey.
Back to my story. I have discovered that we can have the most well-thought-out reasons in the world for deciding to make a break with cultural traditions, but that doesn't make it any easier when we are walking with our children through a store and they see HUGE egg- and bunny-filled baskets and wonder why we don't plan to get them one. Or why we aren't going to have an Easter egg hunt. These things obviously must be an essential part of the Easter celebration. And I feel like a real heel. And I want to hide at home until it all just goes away.
But not really. That's not how I want to live. Nor is it the response we want to teach our children. So instead, last weekend we took the opportunity to sit down as a family and talk about it. Though it might have been easier (for now) to just say no and leave it at that, I know it won't work long-term. Neither is it how my parents modeled leadership to me. So instead, I prayed, asked Salt Racer to join the discussion, and calmed down (as I was getting pretty riled up about it all). As we talked, I started to realize that what our family needs is not merely we-don't-celebrate-Easter-bunnies-and-eggs, but a we-DO-celebrate-Jesus-the-Lamb! The kids and I totally latched on to that. We all started to see that we could have our own special holiday traditions without participating in the ones that are not OK for us.
Since that conversation, I have been so relieved. Now we have a direction to go in celebrating with our children during this season. We gathered up stuffed lambs for our own, personal version of Easter. For our Bible time this week, we walked through some of the events of Jesus' life the week before He laid down His life for us, such as the triumphal entry and washing of the disciples feet, finding that we gained deeper understanding as we did. We had great fun making Easter story cookies that I read about on Stephanie's blog. We went to see a beautiful, moving musical celebrating Jesus at Capital Christian Center. I put together little bowls of candy crosses and flowers for a Resurrection morning surprise. Instead of an Easter egg hunt, we will have a "Find-the-Lamb" hunt where, over the next few days, they will look for a big stuffed lamb hiding with a treat (just as the disciples never knew when or where they would see Jesus after His resurrection). Finally, I hope in the next few weeks to take them to a real sheep farm. And I even have ideas as to how we can expand and deepen these traditions in future years!
So I just wanted to share that for the first time in years, I am really excited about celebrating this week, which I prefer to call Passion Week or Holy Week, though I won't quibble about "Easter" since it's what most people are used to. I am excited to make this start on creating Easter holiday traditions that our children grow up anticipating with joy.
Hallelujah! The Lamb of God is risen! And ... HE'S COMING BACK!!!!!!!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
And a Good Time Was Had by All ...
Today we went to experience the snow with our children before it's too late for this season and it all melts away. The only way we were willing to venture out to do this was to have a specific destination in mind that offered hot chocolate, restrooms, and a place to go indoors. We decided on Squaw Valley. After spending the first few hours of the day getting everyone breakfasted, dressed, lunches made and all the accoutrements that go with babies and small children packed, we pulled out at 11am. We'd hoped to leave between 9-10am, but with a large brood, we're learning to be flexible.
Two hours later, driving two cars and having had only one baby scream for the last 20 minutes, we arrived. (Beloved Pearl and I had an awesome time chatting the whole way up and back. Though we do live and work together every day, we're pretty busy and don't always have as much time to talk as we'd like.) Packing the babies into the double stroller and making sure everyone had their warm things on, we discovered that Laughter had forgotten her coat and Mommy had forgotten to remind/help her find one. Well, we'll make the best of it. We planned to make this a short trip anyway.
After wandering around base camp to get our bearings, we decided to eat lunch at an outdoor barbecue area where we could see the skiers riding the lift and ending their runs. It was worth braving the cold wind in the shade for the chance to soak up the atmosphere and people-watch. (Plenty of people were watching us too, I'm sure!) As soon as the food had been consumed (and bottles warmed by nice taco-sellers at Beloved Pearl's request, and enjoyed by two hungry babies), we were ready to re-enter the sunshine and find some snow to play in. We trooped behind our brave leader as he scoped out the possibilities and settled on a patch of snow in front of a store. It was just the right size for our little crew! We laughed as we pictured how silly we must look playing in this tiny patch of snow and taking pictures as if this were the most marvelous experience we'd ever had while entire snow-covered mountains surrounded us. But we were having a blast! Even Thunder got to enjoy this snow adventure in miniature. Our brave Little Tree was delighted to discover another snowy hill just a few feet away, so we hiked across the pavement to have snow balls chucked at us by four gleeful children.
Laughter was unfortunately starting to turn blue, so we ended our snow exploration to retreat inside a Starbucks. Finding a little corner to take over (the only other occupants being a pair of very nice ladies who spoke kindly to our Precious Crown), Saltracer ordered a bunch of hot chocolates (our only expense on this trip besides gas). These having been consumed with great enjoyment (and only two spills, a few dozen napkins and a mop), we headed out. Stopped by the restroom to make sure those who could go potty in the toilet went and those who couldn't were changed (discovering after the first un-diapering that all diapers had been left in the van, so auntie ran to tell daddy who ran to get them while auntie stayed with those outside the bathroom and mommy stood guard over aforementioned un-diapered baby and those children who were still in the bathroom). Loaded up the cars two hours after having arrived with four tired and happy children, two tired and not quite as happy babies, and three tired and happy grownups for an uneventful drive home.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
Two hours later, driving two cars and having had only one baby scream for the last 20 minutes, we arrived. (Beloved Pearl and I had an awesome time chatting the whole way up and back. Though we do live and work together every day, we're pretty busy and don't always have as much time to talk as we'd like.) Packing the babies into the double stroller and making sure everyone had their warm things on, we discovered that Laughter had forgotten her coat and Mommy had forgotten to remind/help her find one. Well, we'll make the best of it. We planned to make this a short trip anyway.
After wandering around base camp to get our bearings, we decided to eat lunch at an outdoor barbecue area where we could see the skiers riding the lift and ending their runs. It was worth braving the cold wind in the shade for the chance to soak up the atmosphere and people-watch. (Plenty of people were watching us too, I'm sure!) As soon as the food had been consumed (and bottles warmed by nice taco-sellers at Beloved Pearl's request, and enjoyed by two hungry babies), we were ready to re-enter the sunshine and find some snow to play in. We trooped behind our brave leader as he scoped out the possibilities and settled on a patch of snow in front of a store. It was just the right size for our little crew! We laughed as we pictured how silly we must look playing in this tiny patch of snow and taking pictures as if this were the most marvelous experience we'd ever had while entire snow-covered mountains surrounded us. But we were having a blast! Even Thunder got to enjoy this snow adventure in miniature. Our brave Little Tree was delighted to discover another snowy hill just a few feet away, so we hiked across the pavement to have snow balls chucked at us by four gleeful children.
Laughter was unfortunately starting to turn blue, so we ended our snow exploration to retreat inside a Starbucks. Finding a little corner to take over (the only other occupants being a pair of very nice ladies who spoke kindly to our Precious Crown), Saltracer ordered a bunch of hot chocolates (our only expense on this trip besides gas). These having been consumed with great enjoyment (and only two spills, a few dozen napkins and a mop), we headed out. Stopped by the restroom to make sure those who could go potty in the toilet went and those who couldn't were changed (discovering after the first un-diapering that all diapers had been left in the van, so auntie ran to tell daddy who ran to get them while auntie stayed with those outside the bathroom and mommy stood guard over aforementioned un-diapered baby and those children who were still in the bathroom). Loaded up the cars two hours after having arrived with four tired and happy children, two tired and not quite as happy babies, and three tired and happy grownups for an uneventful drive home.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Brain Fog
I suffer from brain fog. It's pretty strong right now so I'm having trouble concentrating enough to even figure out what I wanted to write. I didn't wake up with it. This morning I had energy and motivation. I was in a good mood, and I was looking forward to a great day with my kids: giving the babies baths, twisting TaTa's hair, cleaning the kitchen, vacuuming, folding cloth diapers, and then maybe doing some fun things like reading, watching a movie with my girls, or doing a project like making bubble gum with them (Laughter got a gum-making kit for her birthday last summer).
Then, about four hours after I woke up, the brain fog began. I thought maybe it was because I needed to eat something, so I did, but it didn't get better. Instead of feeling happy and motivated, I now feel tired and easily overwhelmed. I can barely do anything and I feel disconnected. It feels like there's a cloud in my forehead and behind my eyes. I just want to go to sleep. And it's frustrating, because there are so many other things I know I'd really rather do, but I don't have the energy anymore to do them. What happened? And why?
I told my sis-in-law, so she and the girls prayed for me. While praying, I thought of looking up "brain fog" online. I'd never thought of doing that before, so I thought perhaps it was the Holy Spirit's leading. To my surprise, quite a few links popped up. None terribly helpful though. Brain fog can be linked to a whole lot of things including fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, menopause, stress, depression ... and the recommended remedies are just as varied. Exercise, rest, diet, meditation, supplements, and more are possible treatments. Oh, and it's also apparently not a recognized medical diagnosis. Just something that a lot of people say they suffer from. Even a lot of teenagers, which also surprised me.
What to do? I don't know, except to throw myself into the arms of my Creator Father and ask for His help. Abba, please heal me. I want to be well!
Then, about four hours after I woke up, the brain fog began. I thought maybe it was because I needed to eat something, so I did, but it didn't get better. Instead of feeling happy and motivated, I now feel tired and easily overwhelmed. I can barely do anything and I feel disconnected. It feels like there's a cloud in my forehead and behind my eyes. I just want to go to sleep. And it's frustrating, because there are so many other things I know I'd really rather do, but I don't have the energy anymore to do them. What happened? And why?
I told my sis-in-law, so she and the girls prayed for me. While praying, I thought of looking up "brain fog" online. I'd never thought of doing that before, so I thought perhaps it was the Holy Spirit's leading. To my surprise, quite a few links popped up. None terribly helpful though. Brain fog can be linked to a whole lot of things including fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, menopause, stress, depression ... and the recommended remedies are just as varied. Exercise, rest, diet, meditation, supplements, and more are possible treatments. Oh, and it's also apparently not a recognized medical diagnosis. Just something that a lot of people say they suffer from. Even a lot of teenagers, which also surprised me.
What to do? I don't know, except to throw myself into the arms of my Creator Father and ask for His help. Abba, please heal me. I want to be well!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
A Baby Break
My babies have been at their grandparents' house for the past 24 hours. It's the first time they've been away from home overnight. I've enjoyed having a bit of a break from the complicated round of diapers, bottles, naps, and laundry which make up much of my daily life. I have been able to relax a bit with only my 7-, 5-, 4-, and 2-year-old children to think about. This morning I had to change only one diaper before breakfast. I was able to eat my own food without spooning food into two other mouths between my own bites. I found myself reflecting that if we had made some different choices last year, this could be my life. Much simpler. A bit quieter. Less stressful. I must admit, it was kind of nice.
I knew that I needed some perspective. So, the next time I went into the bathroom, I picked up the most recent issue of Lifelines magazine that we receive from Bethany Christian Services. With a prayer in my heart that God would restore me to His perspective, I opened it up and read about families who have adopted. My heart resonated when I read one mom's words, "We were comfortable in our routine, yet I knew that we weren't put on this earth to be 'comfortable.'" I read profiles of children who need to be adopted and cried as I prayed that God would place them in families. (Yes, I read and cry and pray in the bathroom. It's sometimes the only place I can be alone!)
Later, I read some articles on the Above Rubies website. Then I went to my Google Reader and saw Stephanie's post. (I am so glad to know I am not the only one who has these thoughts. God knew what I needed to read today!)
I did enjoy the break. It was nice to have time to get my refrigerator cleaned this morning with my girls' help while Saltracer (hubby) took the boys on errands with him. And I didn't quite feel ready for the babies to come home as soon as they did. But we all have a choice. We can invest in our own comfort, or we can invest in others. I have made my choice. If I could go back to last year and decide all over again, I know that I would not change a thing. Besides, I did miss my babies a little bit. :)
"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matthew 16:25; also in Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24, and Luke 17:33)
I am not living for today. I am living for eternity. Then I will rest. Until then, I am resting in faith that He is sufficient for today.
I knew that I needed some perspective. So, the next time I went into the bathroom, I picked up the most recent issue of Lifelines magazine that we receive from Bethany Christian Services. With a prayer in my heart that God would restore me to His perspective, I opened it up and read about families who have adopted. My heart resonated when I read one mom's words, "We were comfortable in our routine, yet I knew that we weren't put on this earth to be 'comfortable.'" I read profiles of children who need to be adopted and cried as I prayed that God would place them in families. (Yes, I read and cry and pray in the bathroom. It's sometimes the only place I can be alone!)
Later, I read some articles on the Above Rubies website. Then I went to my Google Reader and saw Stephanie's post. (I am so glad to know I am not the only one who has these thoughts. God knew what I needed to read today!)
I did enjoy the break. It was nice to have time to get my refrigerator cleaned this morning with my girls' help while Saltracer (hubby) took the boys on errands with him. And I didn't quite feel ready for the babies to come home as soon as they did. But we all have a choice. We can invest in our own comfort, or we can invest in others. I have made my choice. If I could go back to last year and decide all over again, I know that I would not change a thing. Besides, I did miss my babies a little bit. :)
"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matthew 16:25; also in Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24, and Luke 17:33)
I am not living for today. I am living for eternity. Then I will rest. Until then, I am resting in faith that He is sufficient for today.
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Let's Get Real Some More
Well, that was fun! It was a relief to get some of my hidden fears into the open, and I loved reading yours too. More stuff has come to mind today, so I think I'll keep sharing.
7. I really struggle to appreciate my children's artwork. I know that they need to create, and I love to see what they do, but in the pit of my stomach there is always this feeling of dread when they bring me something they just drew. Now I have another treasure, priceless to my child, which they want me to display prominently (preferably hanging on the wall next to my bed) and which I want to throw away as quickly as possible. Then I feel guilty for being so heartless. I have set up a system that works pretty well, but they keep insisting that this one is SO special that I just HAVE to hang it in my room (which is my husband's and my sanctuary and I want to keep it as clear of toys and kids' clutter as possible).
8. Speaking of keeping my room kid-free, we have had babies sharing our room for much of our marriage. And we have never had a real bassinet. They sleep in portable pack-n-plays. I feel bad about it sometimes, but mostly I just haven't seen the need to invest in something fancy when this works just as well.
9. We do not have enough storage space for our kids' clothing. Currently our 7-year-old keeps her clothes in a plastic 3-drawer thingy from Walmart that we happened to have. Our 6-year-old has a broken down dresser that was found as junk in front of someone's house which we refinished for her, but the drawers don't really work right. Our 4- and 2-year-olds have overflowing baskets on shelves in their closet (I actually like this arrangement; less fussy than a dresser and easier for them to put their clothes away themselves. Well, at least for the 4-year-old. Though he rarely puts them in the right basket.) Our babies used to share one dresser/changing table combo, but now that they're getting bigger I can't fit all their clothes in it, so our 9-month old has the dresser to herself while our 6-month-old's clothes are in (and on) a plastic bin next to the dresser.
10. I dislike crafts with a passion. The mess, the trouble, it just gets to me. Especially when there are toddlers around to make it more complicated. So, unlike my friend who does it anyway, I do not. At least, we do as little as I can get away with. Tonight my girls are painting because we got our school work done early and I told them we could do fun stuff this afternoon/evening. So I could hardly tell them no when they've been waiting weeks (or months) to do these projects (one of them is an unfinished box my 5-year-old got for her birthday last June). When I finally do let them do it I feel like SUCH a good Mommy though!
11. We usually eat dinner sometime between 7-8pm. Then the kids get in their jammies and go to bed. It's not how I grew up, and it seems rather strange to me, but our kids are used to it. And it just seems to work for us. But I always feel a little guilty that we have snack time around 4pm and don't have dinner until late. I'm not sure why I feel guilty about it though, except that we are not like a lot of other people who eat earlier.
Okay, my kids want me to help them with their crafts. Sigh. Guess I'd better go!
7. I really struggle to appreciate my children's artwork. I know that they need to create, and I love to see what they do, but in the pit of my stomach there is always this feeling of dread when they bring me something they just drew. Now I have another treasure, priceless to my child, which they want me to display prominently (preferably hanging on the wall next to my bed) and which I want to throw away as quickly as possible. Then I feel guilty for being so heartless. I have set up a system that works pretty well, but they keep insisting that this one is SO special that I just HAVE to hang it in my room (which is my husband's and my sanctuary and I want to keep it as clear of toys and kids' clutter as possible).
8. Speaking of keeping my room kid-free, we have had babies sharing our room for much of our marriage. And we have never had a real bassinet. They sleep in portable pack-n-plays. I feel bad about it sometimes, but mostly I just haven't seen the need to invest in something fancy when this works just as well.
9. We do not have enough storage space for our kids' clothing. Currently our 7-year-old keeps her clothes in a plastic 3-drawer thingy from Walmart that we happened to have. Our 6-year-old has a broken down dresser that was found as junk in front of someone's house which we refinished for her, but the drawers don't really work right. Our 4- and 2-year-olds have overflowing baskets on shelves in their closet (I actually like this arrangement; less fussy than a dresser and easier for them to put their clothes away themselves. Well, at least for the 4-year-old. Though he rarely puts them in the right basket.) Our babies used to share one dresser/changing table combo, but now that they're getting bigger I can't fit all their clothes in it, so our 9-month old has the dresser to herself while our 6-month-old's clothes are in (and on) a plastic bin next to the dresser.
10. I dislike crafts with a passion. The mess, the trouble, it just gets to me. Especially when there are toddlers around to make it more complicated. So, unlike my friend who does it anyway, I do not. At least, we do as little as I can get away with. Tonight my girls are painting because we got our school work done early and I told them we could do fun stuff this afternoon/evening. So I could hardly tell them no when they've been waiting weeks (or months) to do these projects (one of them is an unfinished box my 5-year-old got for her birthday last June). When I finally do let them do it I feel like SUCH a good Mommy though!
11. We usually eat dinner sometime between 7-8pm. Then the kids get in their jammies and go to bed. It's not how I grew up, and it seems rather strange to me, but our kids are used to it. And it just seems to work for us. But I always feel a little guilty that we have snack time around 4pm and don't have dinner until late. I'm not sure why I feel guilty about it though, except that we are not like a lot of other people who eat earlier.
Okay, my kids want me to help them with their crafts. Sigh. Guess I'd better go!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Friday, August 07, 2009
40 Weeks Plus 2 Days
Our life has been rather on hold for the past couple of weeks since we really expected to have delivered this baby by now! (Our previous three were all delivered by 39 weeks, so naturally we thought Tayan would be too. His estimated date of delivery was August 5.) So today, since we are still waiting, we decided to make this a fun day for our family. No chores, just play! Here we are at Lonetree Park meeting Daddy for lunch and water play.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Silly Faces
This is how we're entertaining ourselves this morning while we're feeling a bit under the weather.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Happy Independence Day!
From the Swagerty kids:
Thunder, Rainbow, Crown, Laughter, and Mr. Tree
God bless America!
Thunder, Rainbow, Crown, Laughter, and Mr. Tree
God bless America!
Friday, June 12, 2009
The Fountains
My sisters and their kids joined us at The Fountains too! It was only about 80 degrees, but everyone had tons of fun.
Posing
The kids have been so incredible this week that I really wanted to do something special with them this afternoon. Cassie helped me take them to The Fountains. Here they are posing for the camera.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
My Dream Car
I have recently found my new dream car. Here is a picture:
I can just imagine driving up to church in this beauty and piling out with my half-dozen kids. Wouldn't that be awesome???
I can just imagine driving up to church in this beauty and piling out with my half-dozen kids. Wouldn't that be awesome???
Thursday, March 19, 2009
The Heart of a Mother
Here is a beautiful article about life by Lorraine V. Murray. This is so encouraging to me with our surprise baby #5, because it reflects my heart.
Most life stories of great men open with their births. But in the case of the greatest man ever born, a man who was also God, the story starts with the actual moment of his conception.
And what a poignant moment it was, when an angel told a young girl that she would bear a son and call him “Jesus.” We can imagine her tangle of emotions at hearing this news.
She had to know that she was in danger of being harshly criticized. In fact, in her day, an unmarried woman who became pregnant faced death by stoning.
So when Mary said, “Let it be done to me according to thy word,” she was in effect saying, “I am willing to face death.”
Mary had plenty of reasons to tell the angel “Go away. Ask someone else.” She could have said, “I’m too young.” Or “I’m not married.” She certainly could have said, “I’m afraid!”
She obviously could have used many of the reasons that women rely on today when they decide to say “no” to a pregnancy: “I’m too poor” or “I’m too young” or “I’m unmarried” or “I have other plans.”
Talk about the ultimate unplanned pregnancy: This was what Mary faced!
It is very likely that many readers of this article are the results of unplanned pregnancies. Some may have been conceived after their parents had decided their family was big enough. Maybe others were conceived because Mom thought she was past childbearing days, and then: Surprise!
But even if a pregnancy is unplanned and comes as a shock to the parents, here is the important part: There is no unplanned life.
You see, God doesn’t create any child accidentally because God doesn’t make mistakes. So even if we stunned our parents, we certainly didn’t surprise God.
And the feast of the Annunciation reminds us of the old saying that “God writes straight with crooked lines.”
Here are some crooked lines in the life of Christ: His mother was very young, and she wasn’t married. But God had everything straightened out to protect Mary, so that Christ would be born nine months later.
God sent an angel to let Joseph know in a dream that Mary’s account of her pregnancy was true. And because Joseph accepted God’s plan and married Mary, she avoided social ostracism and stoning.
There are crooked lines in every life. In my own, my mother had a miscarriage before bearing my older sister, and my sister’s birth was long and dangerous. So arduous, in fact, that the doctors sternly warned my mother against having more children.
And then, on a day near Thanksgiving in Chicago, where my parents were visiting family, my story began: I was conceived in my mother’s womb. And I have to believe that my mother, Grace, had very mixed emotions when the doctors confirmed that she was pregnant.
After all, as she looked into the future, she saw another arduous delivery and maybe even death. But she went ahead and had the baby, the one she named Lorraine with Grace as a middle name.
Obviously, St. Luke could have begun the story of Christ’s life with his birth in the stable, rather than nine months earlier at his conception. But it was not by accident that he opened the narrative where he did.
He was following God’s plan when he wrote the narrative of Christ’s life, and was guided by the Holy Spirit to tell the truth with a capital T.
And that Truth is this: Christ’s life started just like every life begins. The Word was made flesh not in a hospital room, not in an inn, not in a stable.
Instead, God became man in a womb at the very moment Mary said “yes.”
And that womb had to be nurturing and protective, just as the wombs that brought each of us into the world.
Perhaps a reason that Christ’s story begins at conception is to bring a message to a world in which the womb is no longer a safe haven.
Perhaps it is to remind us that the most beautiful words in the world are not those spoken at the birth of a baby when the doctor pronounces the child alive and healthy.
Instead, the most exquisite words are the little veiled conversation that goes on in the heart of the mother many months earlier, when she first learns that she is pregnant.
The loveliest words of all come despite inconvenience, despite having other plans, despite being too young or too old, despite being too poor, despite being scared, despite being unmarried, despite being afraid of death.
The most beautiful words of all come at the moment when the mother whispers to God: “Let it be.” And that’s where the story begins.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)