Plants Grown Up

Where Did I Go Wrong?

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Mon, 09 May 2011 19:01:00 +0000

We've undergone a major food revolution at our house. Gone is the refined sugar and flour. Here to stay are organic fruits and vegetables, whole grains and pastured animal products. I have done a ton of research and experimentation to come to a place where I feel healthy rather than sick all over. Last month, I felt amazing! I was juicing a lot and eating quite a bit of raw fruits and vegetables. Then came Easter time and I started to go downhill. Just a little dessert here, a piece of pizza there but all the health that I had built just came crashing down. I went back to feeling tired, lethargic, headachy, foggy, overly emotional. What a wake up call! So back to whole foods I go and I'm feeling better already. However, something is still not right. I have a sneaking suspicion that candida may be the culprit. Ugh. So not looking forward to a candida-free diet. But, if that's what it takes to be well, so be it. I spent a lot of time yesterday praying and meditating about God's design for food and health. I am continually asking the Maker of this body to show me the path I need to take. The phrase that kept coming back to me is, "God is not mocked." He has given us the foods that we need to be healthy. Then, in our human arrogance, we come along and say "Thanks, God. Now let me just tinker around with it a bit and make it even better!" As if that were even possible. And then we have the audacity to sit down in front of our genetically modified and heavily processed "food" and ask Him to bless it. Do we really suppose He's going to place His blessing upon something that is going to kill us? How foolish we are. Now, having said that, I must admit that not all the foods in my house are organic. As much as I wish I could afford to be 100% organic, I just can't. But we're doing everything we can to get there. We've put in a vegetable garden and I'm planning to do a lot of canning and freezing this summer whenever I can find good prices at the farmer's markets. Amazon Subscribe and Save has been a lifesaver as well. And I'm so thankful for all of the people who have committed to healthy living and blog about their experiences. There is a wealth of amazing recipes out there floating around in cyberspace. I've made a list on the sidebar of some of my favorite healthy blogs. So, my quest for good health continues and I'll be sure to share what I find.

My Poor, Abandoned Blog

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 22:19:00 +0000

Yes, it's been a long time, my friend. I didn't mean to neglect you. Things just got a bit...out of control for a while. To make a long story short, two years ago I was diagnosed with panic disorder. I took the advice of the medical doctors, went on anti-depressants and lived like a zombie for a long time. Thankfully, I serve a mighty and faithful God and He has led me down a path of healing. I am happy to say that I took my last pill several days ago and I feel as though I've been reborn...again. I am full of energy and enthusiasm for life and there are so many things that I can't wait to do. And of course, my faithful blog, I will share them all with you.

Paper Airplanes

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:13:00 +0000

I don't know about you, but some of my best devotional times come when I'm in the shower. That might seem a bit strange but it's one of the few times that I have complete peace and quiet. I'm able to praise and pray to my heart's content without interruption. The other day I was doing just that, pouring out my heart to the Lord and begging for wisdom in teaching my boys the importance of spiritual disciplines. And it's not just my boys who need help in this area; I need to be more consistent as well. A friend recently said she felt that the words "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love." could have been written just for her. It could be my theme song as well. My faithful God answered me right away and gave me a wonderful illustration to share with my boys. I used it during our morning worship the other morning and it seems to have stuck. Here's how it went:

I sat down with a piece of paper and said, "What if I gave you a piece of paper and the instructions for folding a paper airplane and asked you to make an airplane that would fly across the room? Suppose you took those materials and decided that you would ignore the instructions and just do it your own way. (At this point I loosely crumbled up the ball of paper.) Would this airplane fly? (I smoothed out the paper and made it flat again.) Now suppose you followed some of the instructions but not others. (I folded the paper in half, down one side, made one wing.) Is this airplane going to fly? (I smoothed out the paper again) What if you followed all of the instructions but you did it half-heartedly and in a sloppy manner? (I did just that, not folding carefully along the correct lines) Do you think this plane is going to fly? (I smoothed out the paper again.) Now what if I follow all of the directions very carefully? Is this plane going to fly? (I flew it to prove that it would.) Can you see how this applies to our spiritual lives?" (We had a bit of a discussion at this point as they processed the information and shared their ideas).

We discussed how important it is to know and follow all of God's instructions as found in the Bible. We also talked about how sometimes we just go through the motions, so to speak, without involving our hearts and how ineffective that is. Now, if I see that they are neglecting personal time with the Lord or are ignoring His commands, I just ask them something like, "How's your airplane flying today? Did you read the instructions? Are you following them carefully?" They have been responding more favorably and I've noticed that their morning prayer time has become more consistent. Sanctification is a process and we all have a way to go. I hope that this illustration will bless others as much as it has blessed us.

Our Week in Review

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:29:00 +0000

What a crazy, rollercoaster week this has been! It started off on a high note as we celebrated Nathan's third birthday. In our family, the third birthday is the first theme-oriented, friends over kind of birthday party. Nathan decided on a "fishy party" so we had a fish cake and lots of undersea decorations and games. He really enjoyed it and I think everyone else did too.

On Tuesday it was back to business as usual and I also watched the neighbor girls in the evening. Wednesday found us at Sam's Club and running errands, not to mention dealing with massive storms in the evening. Thursday was more errands and running around (and yes, we did manage to do school in the midst of it all). The boys did not have the best of days and I was at my wits' end by the time Andrew got home. But today Alek and Noah decided on their own to make books about pirates so we had lessons on composition, spelling, handwriting and art all without them realizing it. I love when that happens! Noah helped me make some Rice Krispie treats this afternoon and we ate them during tea time while we read "A Piece of the Mountain". Tonight is small group at the Murphy's house and I'm looking forward to some good conversation and fellowship with friends. A perfect way to end our crazy week!

Ironing

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:48:00 +0000

I hate ironing! (Can I get an amen?) It might not be so bad if my ironing board was not an old, rickety, accident-waiting-to-happen. Regardless, I find it tedious and frustrating trying to smooth out every wrinkle to create a starched and flawless masterpiece. The other day, as I stood doing my wifely duty (admittedly with a grumbling spirit), the Holy Spirit brought two things to my attention. First, my attitude as not one of gratefulness. As I asked for forgiveness and took my thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ, I was reminded of Ephesians 5:25-27 where Paul explains how Christ gave Himself up for the church so that we would be holy and blameless, without any spot or wrinkle. A whole host of ideas came flooding into my mind at that point: How thankful I am that Jesus fulfilled His purpose in this world so that I might be holy and blameless, how "wrinkly" I still am and how Jesus painstakingly "irons" me out as He continues the work of my sanctification, how that sanctification takes place through the washing with the Word.

Ironing has taken on a whole new meaning for me. Now, as I iron, I recite Scripture to myself and ask God to show me the areas of my life that are wrinkled and need His smoothing touch. Who would have thought that a dreaded chore could become an agent of sanctification?

Writing

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 21:17:00 +0000

Blogging seems to be a "feast or famine" activity for me. I love the idea of writing every day or two, but at this stage of my life, it just doesn't seem to work out that way. Family life comes first, and it often pushes out the opportunity to sit and post my thoughts.

I have been thinking a lot about the art of writing lately. Most specifically, the art of letter writing. I've been reading a biography of Elizabeth Prentiss, the author of Stepping Heavenward. It is filled with the most wonderful letters written to family and friends. At that time, letter writing was in high fashion and friends would write to each other regularly, often about the most mundane of daily events. Reading those letters today, we gain intimate insights into the lives of those who have gone before us. It made me stop and think. In this age of hastily typed e-mails, what kind of record are we leaving behind for our great-grandchildren? Not only is e-mail correspondence quickly sent and just as quickly deleted, it also lacks the well-thought-out phrases found in letters of old. Our predecessors tended to be far more articulate than most of us are today. It makes me sad to think of those losses, and determined to recover some of them in my own life. I have new purpose behind my blogging and I've set a goal to hand write at least two letters each month.

I'm hoping that my commitment to writing will rub off on my children and that it will inspire a love of writing in them as well.

Patience

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:05:00 +0000

Do you ever have days where you have to stop and pray that God would not give you quite so many opportunities to exercise patience? Today has been one of those days. We've had sibling spats, fits over chores, disrespectful attitudes, and to top it all off my two-year-old tracked Georgia red clay from the front door to the kitchen before I even realized what was happening. Ugh! So I've taken lots of deep breaths, done lots of praying and this is the answer I received: I need to do as I say and not as I tend to do. I need to do what I am constantly telling the kids to do and find something to be grateful for.

Sooo....
I am grateful that my children are healthy and able to run, even if it is with muddy shoes.
I am grateful that God has blessed me with three loving little boys.
I am grateful that He has allowed me to stay home and disciple my children, that I might deal biblically with their heart issues and guide them back to the ways of the Lord.
I am grateful that my children are generally quick to repent when I reprove them.
I am especially thankful that I am never alone in my struggles. My Heavenly Father is always with me, providing a way out, training my heart just like I'm training the hearts of my children.

My Day

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:03:00 +0000

Yes, I'm quite prolific today. I guess I'm going through blog withdrawals. I just thought I'd share a bit of what I have accomplished today. Aside from the normal school and housework routine, I have also completed some notebooking pages to use with hymn study as well as copywork pages for our hymn of the month. Our church prints a family worship guide in the bulletin each week which includes a hymn of the month. (If you are interested in using it in your own home, you can find it here.) We sing the hymn each morning during worship and use it for copywork and sometimes memorization. Both documents can be found at my Homeschool Launch page.

Also, I thought I'd share another recipe. We've been working on getting healthier and slimming down a bit (a cruise looming on the horizon is great motivation!). I found a great recipe for Harvest Muffins which are very healthy and practically fat-free. Honestly, I was expecting them to be dry and disgusting, but they are surprisingly moist and delicious. Each muffin contains 171 calories, 1.5 grams fat, 5 grams protein, 1 gram fiber.

Harvest Muffins
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
2 1/3 cups oats processed in blender until finely ground
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/3 cup honey or agave nectar
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 jar (4 oz) carrot baby food puree
1 cup grated peeled carrots
1/3 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup water (use a bit less if using agave nectar)
1/2 cup raisins
3 egg whites, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl, combine rolled oats with ground oats, baking soda, cream of tartar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Mix well and set aside.
In medium bowl, mix together honey, vanilla, applesauce, carrot puree, grated carrots, juice concentrate and water; pour into oat mixture. Stir to blend. Stir in raisins. Gently mix in egg whites. Do not over mix.
Using nonstick muffin pan, fill each muffin cup with batter
Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes and remove muffins from pan.

Catechism Bookmarks

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:59:00 +0000

The newest catechism bookmarks are up at my homeschool launch site. If you are working through this book in a different spot and would like bookmarks, please let me know and I will create them for you. Enjoy learning!

A Much-Needed Vacation

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:15:00 +0000

If you ask me, one of the best ways to relax is on a beach with your family, and we were long overdue! The last few years we have spent our vacation time in Naples, FL visiting with Andrew's mom as she battled breast cancer. Our vacation this year coincided with the one-year anniversary of her passing, so it was a bittersweet time. We spent five days in Myrtle Beach at the Dunes Village Resort. I highly recommend this hotel! We loved everything about it: the room, the staff, the facilities, the beach, everything. O.K., except for the fire alarm and evacuation at 12:30 in the morning. It was stormy one night and the wind blew so hard that it set off one of the fire alarms. We were very thankful that there was no fire but it was a bit scary nonetheless. Other than that, we had a fantastic time.

We spent most of our time on the beach and at the on-site water park just relaxing and having fun. We did venture out to do some shopping, play some miniature golf at Broadway at the Beach, and attend the local Greek Festival. I love Greek food and pigged out on spanikopita, Greek roasted potatoes, loukoumades, and chocolate baklava. Yum!! I was so in love with the roasted potatoes that I came home and tried to find one just like it. This one is extremely close:

Greek Style Potatoes

3T olive oil

1/4 tsp dried rosemary

3/4 cup water

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2T fresh lemon juice

1 tsp dried thyme

2 tsp chicken boullion

ground black pepper and salt to taste

1/2 tsp oregano

6 potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, mix olive oil, water, garlic, lemon juice, thyme, rosemary, oregano, boullion, salt and pepper.

Arrange potatoes evenly in the bottom of a medium baking dish. Pour the olive oil mixture over the potates and stir to coat. Cover and bake 1 hour, turning occasionally. Remove cover and continue to bake until potatoes are tender and most of liquid has evaporated. Yum!!

I am so thankful for the time to get away together and enjoy being a family. It was really a blessing and did us all a world of good!

Nathan's Baptism

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:48:00 +0000

What a wonderful and precious day! Our dear friends came all the way out from Monroe to be with us as we took our membership vows and had Nathan baptized. The service was beautiful and Nathan was so sweet snuggling with Pastor Jon!

Here we are with Pastor Jon and Stephen, our elder, listening as Pastor Jon speaks of our responsibilty to teach and train our children in the things of the Lord. I love that not only do Andrew and I vow to fulfill our responsibility to disciple our children, but the entire congregation stands and vows to provide that guidance and discipleship to my children as well. It's a beautiful picture of covenant community.

After service, we took our two families to Chuck E Cheese's so that the kids could play and the grown ups could talk. Although with two two-year-olds, I think we spent more time checking on them than talking! When it was about time to go, we gave the kids a "heads up" and told them to use up the rest of their tokens. Alek and Levie had a whole bunch left and when asked why, they responded that they had been going up in the big climbing tubes to rescue small children that had got lost or stuck! Our little missionary couple!

By the time we got home, we had just enough time to take a nap before heading back to church to end a glorious Lord's Day with evening worship. Sundays are always the highlight of the week, but this one was extra special and full of wonderful memories.

I've Done it Again

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:48:00 +0000

I hate when I get so caught up in "life stuff" that I don't take the time to post, because now that I am taking the time, I don't know where to begin!I suppose I'll start with school since that is primarly what this blog is about. We had a great week off, despite our colds, and are just finishing up our second week of the next three-week block. I'm realizing that our current schedule is not allowing for enough time with Nathan and it's expecting too much from Noah. I've been working on tweaking things a bit, giving Alek more of an opportunity to work independently, allowing me to spend more time reading to Noah and Nathan, and giving more one-on-one time to Noah. I'm still working out the kinks, but I'm sure we'll come up with a workable routine that benefits everyone.

I have enjoyed, over the last couple weeks, discussing with my dad our views on how salvation comes about. It is always a good thing to dig into God's word under the direction of the Holy Spirit and to challenge and sharpen one another to a greater understanding of Christ. We don't agree on everything, but it is a blessing to have open lines of communication and to study the Word of God together.

We are getting very excited for our trip to Myrtle Beach during our "off" week. We've been doing a study on oceans using Oceans for Every Kid by Janice Van Cleave and the Oceans Project Pack from Hands of a Child. It will be great to have time doing some "hands on" stuff while we are at the beach.

The other exciting news is that, on Sunday, our family will be joining the church that we have been visiting for the last several months and Nathan will be baptized. We love this church and the people that will be our new church family. I am so thankful that God has led us to this particular body of believers. Our small group is starting next Friday, so we're hoping that it will provide the opportunity to really get to know some families that we haven't had a chance to meet yet.Whew, I guess that about does it. I would say that I won't leave another huge gap like that, but I know myself well enough to know better. :) Just stay tuned!

Catechism

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:39:00 +0000

Our family is working through Training Hearts, Teaching Minds this year during our family worship time. We have thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. I've wanted a way to help my boys stay focused on what they are learning and allow them to be prepared for discussion. I decided to create weekly bookmarks for them to keep in their Bibles. Each bookmark has the weekly question and answer from the Westminster Shorter Catechism, a checklist of daily Scripture readings from the book and a question to meditate on that relates to the week's theme. Hopefully these will enhance our family worship and help us retain what we are learning. If you'd like to use them in your own family, you can find them here at my Homeschool Launch page. I'll be adding more as I have time. I hope they'll be a blessing to others as we teach and train our children in the Lord.

We Made It...

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:32:00 +0000

through our first three weeks of school! I've got our schedule set up to do three weeks on and one week off. I'm so glad I decided to go this route. It makes it easier to stay motivated and on track because we know there's a break coming if we just persevere. Plus, the house is generally in need of a deep clean by that time and I just can't seem to get much detailing done while I'm teaching. I'm especially glad for the break this week because we all have awful colds and none of us feel like doing school. What a blessing to be able to relax a bit and let our bodies heal!

My Curriculum Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:42:00 +0000

We have been using some new curriculum this year and I thought I would share my favorites. As you can see from the picture, we purchased the All-In-One Curriculum for Pilgrims Progress by Ken Ham. I am currently reading through it and trying to figure out how to work it into our schedule; I will work it into our schedule because it's that good. I may talk to Andrew about using it during our family worship time. It contains the complete text of Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan (broken up into manageable lessons), relevant scripture references, sidebars that help explain the allegorical elements, memory verse, vocabulary w/definitions, Truths to Ponder for younger students and Digging Deeper for older students. The book comes with a CD-ROM that contains all of the worsheets for easy printing. For those who want to expand their studies, they have included a 13-week unit study that includes history, science and language arts activities. You can also buy an audio CD of the text, if you prefer to listen to someone else read. It is also found (for free) at Librivox.org. This book is very well done. I have thoroughly enjoyed going through it and can't wait to dig into it with the boys.

My other favorite resource this year is The Mystery of History III by Linda Lacour Hobar. It is a complete classical world history curriculum covering the Renaissance and Reformation years. It is beautiful and very well written. The Companion Guide that goes with it contains lots of hands-on activities, quizzes, reviews, map work, timeline ideas, living book suggestions, etc. I've also created some mini-books to go with our studies, so with all of that put together my boys are really enjoying and remembering what they learn!

First Week of School

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:35:00 +0000

I am pleased to announce that our first week of school went wonderfully! I can't say enough about how much I love my Homeschool Tracker Plus. It has helped tremendously in keeping us on track. Not only do I have our assignments all planned out and ready to go, I also have meals, chores, grocery list, etc. all planned out for the week. It has made our days run so much smoother.

We did tweak the scheduled assignments a bit. I'm realizing that History may be a little over-done. Also, we decided to hold off on starting astronomy in favor of completing a lapbook on oceans because my incredibly generous parents are taking us on a cruise in December! Plus we're going to Myrtle Beach in September so we'll have plenty of opportunities to study oceans first-hand. I love the flexibility that we have to change things up and study what is relevant to us right now!

I am also happy to report that Noah is finally making some noticeable progress in his reading ability. He has definitely grown over the summer. I am concerned about his lack of focus and short-term memory. I can't tell if it is simply immaturity or something else. I had him sit on the bouncy ball during Bible this morning to see if the kinesthetic activity would help him retain what he heard. It seemed to help a bit, but the novelty of the ball tended to be a distraction. I'm going to keep praying through this issue.

I'm noticing more spiritual growth and maturity with Alek this year. Academically, he's still a bit ahead of his peers, but his maturity in several areas is what I've noticed the most. He's becoming more patient and less prideful, more quick to repent and apologize.

I just love the start of the new school year! I'm encouraged that we have developed some better habits over the summer and I can't wait to see how much we can grow this year!

You Might Be a Homeschooler...

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:58:00 +0000

if you have a frog as a centerpiece on your kitchen table. And if your trifle bowl spends more time holding wildlife than trifle.

Andrew found a frog in one of the buckets that we use to collect rain water. We observed it for a while, looked up frogs in the Handbook of Nature Study and discovered that he (or she) was a Southern Leopard Frog. The boys made some very good observations and drew them in their nature notebooks. I was very impressed. Their observation skills as well as their drawing skills have improved quite a bit over the last year.

We kept the frog inside for an hour or so while we enjoyed watching him and then took him outside and let him hop away. It was a nice, impromptu nature study.

Newest Librivox Recording

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:17:00 +0000

Hurlbuts Story of the Bible Part Six is now complete! I read story 31 and this has been my favorite recording so far. Probably because I read it without errors on my first try! This is a wonderful story Bible. I'm working on burning it to a CD so the kids can listen to it as they fall asleep at night. I hope you enjoy it too

S.E. Homeschool Expo

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:06:00 +0000

Whew! I'm exhausted. Today was the Southeast Homeschool Expo which I attended with my wonderful (and very patient) husband and all three children. I was a bit apprehensive about bringing Nathan as he is very independent and doesn't take kindly to being forced to hold my hand. I'm happy to report that he did very well and we had a great day. I am so thankful that Andrew agreed to come with me. He notices and investigates things that I would probably pass right by. He sees the boys with a different pair of eyes and his insight has been invaluable to me. We found several things that were new to us, and we were also able to get a clearer picture of some other products that we had just glanced at previously. We've got quite a list of "wants" going, the hard part is prioritizing. There's only so much we can afford to do right now. Our top picks (I would welcome feedback from anyone who has used these):
Rosetta Stone Spanish
Ebaru violin package
Lego Robotics
Membership to Atlanta History Center
Championship Chess Home Study Package

It was also nice to have the boys there and to get their opinion on different products. I think they really enjoyed themselves. It did make for a long day though, so I think it will be an early bedtime for me tonight!

I Have A Dress!

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:23:00 +0000

O.K., maybe it's silly to be so giddy over a dress (two actually!) but I can't remember the last time I owned one. Let me explain. First of all, as the mom of three boys, sometimes my femininity seems to get lost among all of the super heroes, car noises and various (loud) bodily functions. I have a new appreciation for all that my dad put up with living with my mom, my sister and me. Secondly, although we went to the store to pick up a couple pairs of pants for Alek, my precious husband encouraged me to try on a dress. The first one didn't work (it never does) so he and the boys proceeded to bring me dress after dress until we found the right one. (Try not to be too jealous, ladies!) Turns out we actually found two. And I get to buy new shoes to match! Now although I have several skirts, there's just something special about a dress. And there's something extra special about having your husband and three boys help you remember you're a girl. So maybe it's silly, but it's nights like this that remind me just how blessed I am.

Being Controlled

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:43:00 +0000

Andrew just informed me that he was out talking to a neighbor today and Andrew jokingly told him that he should talk to a mutual acquaintance and ask him to keep his woman under control. Our neighbor said something to the effect of, "Man, you're the only husband in our part of the neighborhood that can say he has his woman under control." Now, I have to admit, my first reaction was to be a bit offended. I don't really like to be thought of as being "under control". It's that rebellious spirit in me rearing its ugly head. But as I thought about it a bit, I realized that it is actually a compliment. I am obviously doing an O.K. job of being a Christian wife if my neighbors notice that Andrew and I work together and that I submit to his authority. My neighbor's understanding of control is flawed, however. It is not really Andrew who controls me, it is my love for my Bridegroom, Jesus. He has placed my husband in authority over me for my good and the good of my family. And for the good of others around me who see our example and may gain a better understanding of the triune God. Though Andrew and I are equal in worth and value and have an equal voice in our marriage, I choose to defer to him as God has called me to. And although Jesus and the Holy Spirit are equally God, they happily defer to God the Father in all things. I wish that I could say that I always submit to Andrew's authority and never try to usurp his position. But, alas, Eve's curse is still in effect and I do have an independent and rebellious streak. But God has begun a good work in me and He is faithfully carrying it on to completion. I've grown in this area considerably since I've known Him. And today I'm glad to be known as a "controlled" woman.

Goings On

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:55:00 +0000

Honestly, there hasn't been much in the way of "goings on" this week. And sometimes that's a good thing. This week, however, it was kind of depressing. We found out that our prospective buyer couldn't get approved for enough to buy our house. Andrew had a rough week at work. Our open house on Saturday brought in a whole 0 (yes, that's zero) visitors. I did create a lapbook on plants for Noah, but ever since I have been plagued by insecurity and the feeling that my work isn't "good enough".

But in the end, I know that none of it matters. My God is sovereign. Not only is He perfectly holy, majestic and almighty, He is also my Abba, and He loves me with a fierceness and a tenderness that defies understanding. Nothing is more important, or more precious, than that.

My Future in Publishing

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:57:00 +0000

I have, at last, heard from "the publisher" regarding the production of several lapbooks to go with the history curricula that they publish. I did not receive a definitive offer because they are meeting next week to discuss several big projects, of which the lapbooks are one. They did share with me their "vision", so to speak, and it sounds quite a bit different from what I had intended to produce. They are thinking about something very simple with minimal graphics. Those of you that have seen my Gratitude lapbook will know that that is not my style. I really envisioned doing something with a wide variety of mini-books and fun, colorful graphics. There are a few reasons why I want to go this route. Most importantly, this is the style that my children enjoy. We've done lapbooks that we've purchased from other companies, but the simple, black and white mini-books do not inspire my children. Getting them to complete the mini-books is like pulling teeth and when they are done with the lapbook, they don't ever want to pull it out and look at it again or show it to anyone. One of the things I love about a good lapbook is that my kids love to show it to friends and family or look at it themselves and they get a good dose of review. The simple, black and white ones just don't look as impressive and my kids don't feel as much a sense of accomplishment when they complete one. Secondly, there are other companies that market the black and white lapbooks. I can think of only one company that puts together a fun, colorful lapbook and I think there is more of a market for a product that is in color. The last reason is just my silly preference, but I really prefer to buy one package of white cardstock and print everything on that, rather than have several colors of paper to print on in an effort to liven up a lapbook with black and white graphics. I realize that colored ink can be more expensive, but with colored graphics a person still has the option of printing in grayscale and foregoing the colored ink.

The bottom line is, I don't have any desire to produce a product that my own children won't use. So if the "minimalist" approach is the one that this publisher intends to take then I may rework the books that I have done so that they will be the perfect supplement to any history curriculum and go out on my own.

I would love to hear the opinions of those who have used different types of lapbooks. What are your preferences and what would you like to see? What kind of a product would work best in your situation?

Selling the House

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:03:00 +0000

Good grief! Just when I thought things were going to slow down a bit, they have actually up and gone crazy. We have finally decided to put our house on the market, so all of my time seems to be spent cleaning and tackling all of those little projects that we've put off over the years. Rather than pay massive realtor's fees, we have chosen to go For Sale By Owner. That way we can price the house a little more aggressively than our neighbors and hopefully have an edge. The reason for the big push to sell is that we have found the house of our dreams. (O.K., it's a realistic "house of our dreams". I'd rather be buying a 20 acre piece of property in southern Oregon and building my own house, but that's a whole 'nother dream.) This house is a foreclosure in a great neighborhood with a big yard and a bunch of trees. You can take the girl out of Oregon but you can't take the Oregon out of the girl; I gotta have my trees. There is at least one other family who is interested in the house but they haven't put an offer on it yet. We're hoping to get the house sold and beat them to it, but we realize it is in God's hands and that is just where we want it. He knows whether or not it will be good for us and He is sovereignly in control of all of it. What a wonderful feeling it is to rest in that truth!

Where Has the Time Gone?

noreply@blogger.com (ajrenae) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:32:00 +0000

I don't know about you, but sometimes I tend to lose track of what day it is. Not so much whether it is Monday or Tuesday, but what day of the month it is. For instance, it just hit me that today is June 25th. The 25th! What in the world happened to June? It seems that the older I get, the faster time flies. But the real problem is that if today is June 25th, then I only have about six weeks of summer left. That may sound like a lot, but I know from experience that it will be gone in a blink of an eye. I'm sitting here with a "to-do before school" list staring me in the face and it does not have enough items crossed off. So, my current projects are: finish entering all of my lesson plans into Homeschool Tracker Plus (I cannot recommend this product highly enough!) and start putting together some activity boxes for Mr. Busy Toddler. Currently, his favorite thing to do during school or any read-aloud time is to grab his own book and read it at the same time, out loud. No, he's not a child prodigy who learned to read at the age of two. He's just making up a story to go with the pictures. But how to you explain to a two-year-old how to read in their head? It's very cute but very distracting, so I've decided to put together his own "school box" just like his brothers have that will contain special activities that will only be used during school time. I have found some wonderful ideas on Paula's Archive and Linda Coyle's page. I love the idea of having a small plastic pool for them to sit in and keep all of the water or rice or other messy activities contained. I may try to find one on clearance at the end of summer. I would love to hear how others have handled teaching with toddlers present. Please share your wisdom! I'm off to make activity bags!