With Great Joy

Examining our school year

2012-05-29T14:39:00.002-07:00

It's Tuesday of our last week of the school year.

Ella's 4th grade year... almost over.
Isaac's 2nd grade year... almost over.
Isaias's 1st grade year... almost over.

:: in the tulip fields ::

Wow.

This makes me reflective of this past year and I'm asking myself these questions: What worked well for us? What didn't work? What was lacking? What are the things we need to change or enhance; add or take away? What were our favorite times, all together? Why? What parts of our schooling did the kids like or respond to? How can we add to those things or do other things similarly?

My journal right now has a list going down the left-hand side of the page- of the elements of our days (listing each subject but also elements like chores and our routine), then three columns following, for general thoughts, pros and cons. I'm trying to evaluate each thing while it's still fresh (versus two months from now when things might be foggy) and have that perspective with me when I go into planning for our NEXT year.

I've also asked the kids for their input: What were their favorite things? What did they like? What didn't they like or what didn't work well?

* * *

For any other homeschoolers reading: How do you evaluate your school year? What's one thing that stands out to you as working really well for you this year? Or something that just... didn't?

I'll answer, too:

One thing that worked: (There are many! I think every year we figure out more what does work and filter out what doesn't, so that each year feels better in that regard than the one before it.) But: one thing new-to-us this year that really worked was to have a break-out one-on-one time with one of my kids each day (so... this year Isaias and I had about 20-30 minutes on Mondays, Ella and I had about 20-30 minutes Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Isaac and I had about 20-30 minutes on Wednesdays and Fridays (while the other four had buddy time.) This was one of Mark's suggestions during our planning last summer when he examined my proposed flow of our days and all that I wanted to accomplish, and it was brilliant!
Other things that are firmly planted in the "worked for us" category: dictation with Ella, copywork, new-to-us history, Bible, picture study, Nature Study w/ daddy, video for the little girls while the older kids do table work

One thing that did not work: Memory work. Each year prior to this one I have planned out our memory work. For whatever reason, this year I focused more on our overall plan for the year and neglected to hash out the finer points of what we would actually be MEMORIZING during that point in our day. Which is not to say that we didn't memorize-- we did. But I felt like any memorizing we did do was more randomly selected by me at the moment when I saw it on our schedule for the day and when we were behind, that was the thing I would skip. That is not the thing I want to skip, so: lesson learned.
Other things in the "did not work for us" category: the kids doing an English lesson with Mark on his days off (we think this happened twice all year. And he generally has one day off per week!), narrations (for the second half of the year), me not taking the time to work with Ella prior to her Math lesson (I'm learning that she needs lots of one-on-one time and lots of patience and affirmation from me to avoid tears during this time.)

One last thing I've learned: what works for our family is likely different from what will work for your family! Each family is different. We all have our different strengths. Also, what works for us one year may fall apart the next year. There are different seasons in the life of our family and flexibility is key. For instance, these past few years I've moved towards shorter readings and fewer transitions during our day due to the little girls-- it just makes things more manageable. But during another year when the girls are older, we might be able to tackle those things again. :) That's why it's so important to pray over the planning of our school year-- because God already knows what we can and should handle. He is faithful to gently lead us to the places where we'll flourish.

{from my journal today}

2012-05-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

rain. praying for Camee and the boys. for Mark's mom, in the hospital today. Audra is sick (ear ache, sniffly, lethargic, clingy and whiny). the kitchen is a mess. dirty dishes sitting there still from saturday morning. school for today: finished. Mark is working today, on what was supposed to be his day off. he has a full 6-day work week instead.

but: my heart is thankful.

2146 | Mark, encouraging me not to fret after I told him of my anxiousness over today, and this week ahead (not even knowing at that point that Audra was sick!)

2147 | praying this morning in bed together: for his day, for mine; that we would each be strengthened for it.

2148 | heading into this day feeling "behind" on rest-- coming off of a busier-than-usual Sabbath, and seeing how God has provided rest for me with Audra sick, wanting to be in my arms.

2149 | the grace to let her; to sit and rest with her, to leave the kitchen messy, dirty dishes piling up, to stay put and hold her and take care of her.

2153 | remembering this, today, from Psalm 118:24
This is the day the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
(This is the day He has made/given/ordained for me today. May I be glad in it.)

2157 | Mark, home for lunch, taking the time to wash some dishes

2158 | Mark, telling me not to worry about the messy kitchen, or dinner, that he would take care of them when he gets home. And telling me that I am a good mother.

2163 | Audra, sleeping soundly.

Life lately, in photos

2012-05-16T10:51:00.002-07:00

our new ducklings

water play in the yard with cousin Cliff

Garden: planted!

Letter Carrier Food Drive, 2012 {daddy with lots of helpers}


My favorite kind of breakfast. {this morning: an egg, sweet potato, bacon, red bell pepper, onions, sun dried tomatoes, and guacamole}

May 7th {Happy Monday to you!}

2012-05-07T09:13:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

{That is, it's morning in my neck of the woods....}

It's a beautiful morning-- clear, blue sky and sunshine. We're going to do school outside today- I'm going to toss a blanket on the lawn and pile school books onto our patio table. We're going to soak up the sunshine while it's here! I love this time of year!

All the kids are up except for Audra, who is still soundly sleeping. We're waiting on breakfast for her, but the other kids have already had hot cocoa with me at the table and are now playing happily. Well, two of them are playing happily. The other two are arguing over toys and they keep getting them taken away. ;)

I know things have been very quiet here on the blog. I don't even know if people are still checking in. It has been good, though. I deleted my Facebook account in October and since January have been spending less time online. And loving it. There has been good fruit in my life from these decisions and that leaves me unsure of what to do with this little space.

That said, I was thinking of this space this morning {and especially those of you who have read here in the past} so I thought I'd check in and say hello!

I hope you have a wonderful day today!

Much love to you and yours,

~Stacy (who is hungry and going to start up breakfast... Hopefully Audra will join us soon!)

Nature Study idea

2012-04-09T21:13:00.000-07:00

Mark took our kids to a nearby wooded area for Nature Study today. He asked them each to scout out a spot, and then he used some string and sticks to stake out a square yard around each child and asked them to observe what they saw in that space.

Audra made a "Little House house" for some of her dollhouse figures
[I feel that I should also note, here, that she dressed herself today.]

Isaias discovered lots of bugs in a log

Ella contentedly observed and drew pictures of everything in her area

Isaac found a spider and inspected the roots of an upturned tree

....and Adelia wandered

The kids all enjoyed this activity, and spent over an hour doing this. Whenever any of them made an exciting discovery (like a centipede or some bug or spider eggs), they would holler and the others would go join them and they'd all observe it together. Their big "find" of the day was owl pellets.

Mark thinks he got the idea from this book, which has several great Nature Study ideas:

Checking in...

2012-04-03T14:53:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,

I just wanted to check in briefly with you today to let you know that all is well here in our home and family. Many of you have emailed or commented inquiring about how we are-- and thank you!-- we are doing great!

We are busy schooling, and enjoying it so much. I think we have seven or eight weeks left until we're done for the summer! It is so rich and rewarding, and I am thankful each day for the privilege of schooling my kids.

We're getting outside more as Spring teases us with occasional appearances-- and looking ahead to new baby chicks and gardening and more sunshine.

We have celebrated birthdays-- Adelia turned 4, two days later Audra turned 3, and a month later Isaias turned 7!

I have been studying the book of 1 Peter through a Precept class in our church- and enjoying that so much. I'm also in the process of memorizing the book of 1 Peter (a challenge, for sure!- and I'm still in Chapter 1, but it's a goal I'm sticking to. I was encouraged to memorize an entire book after reading the book His Word in My Heart, by Janet Pope. ) Ella (10) is my competition. I had been memorizing for weeks and had exactly ten verses memorized. I posted the verses up on our shower wall, and one day after Ella showered she came out with all ten verses memorized. The length of ONE shower. Ten verses. Yikes! That was just the motivation I needed to press on and continue to be diligent in memorizing. :) So we're memorizing together and that has been fun. I've enjoyed this site immensely: Scripture Typer -- for those of you who are also memorizing!

We're in the midst of starting up a small group within our church community and we're excited about that.

Mark and I are happily creating fun date nights every other week and enjoying that time together.

I made it to 2000 on my One Thousand Gifts list, and am still counting. :)

Life is full and we are thankful.

I hope you and yours are doing well.

Much love,
~Stacy

2012-01-11T21:38:00.000-08:00

Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does... (Eph. 6:7-8)

We've had a challenging couple of weeks-- just fighting a virus that is making it's way through everyone in our house and lasting a long time. I am weary- feeling pretty miserable myself and yet constantly up and tending to the needs of everyone around me-- wiping noses, praying, taking temperatures, giving medicine, rubbing backs, making a cozy spot for a lethargic child, getting another drink, praying some more... and on it goes. On top of all of the stuff I normally do. Then nighttime comes and what with all the coughing and congestion and these bothersome sore throats, the kids are up so much more and hence, so am I. :) Last night Audra was up at 11:30, 12:30, 1:00, 2:00... just waking herself up with her coughing and wanting some comfort, wanting to be held and prayed for or for me to just lie beside her and hold her hand. Poor sick little sweetie. Finally at 2:20-something I brought her back to bed with us- and we all slept much better from that point on. Anyway-- as a mama I'm pretty tuckered out and am really going to try not to take it for granted when we are all feeling well again.

So recently when I read that verse--- it brought me such encouragement: God sees. He knows all that I do. Every single act of service will be not just acknowledged, but rewarded.

And it was also encouraging in reminding me that it is GOD I am serving, not man. It's all about Him. My acts of service to Mark, the kids, others... it's all an offering to God. (So, note to self: *Do more of it!* and with a right spirit, not a grumbly, complainy heart.)

* * *

Also, just a quick note to let you know that I'm going to be taking an extended break from the internet. I won't be blogging or checking blogs. I will be checking email, so you can reach me there and if you comment here on the blog I will get it via email. Blessings to all of you! ~Stacy

The Four Stages: Revisited

2012-01-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

Awhile ago I shared that Mark and I are in this stage of communication:

Stage 4: Talk to your husband?! What is that? Because there are all these other little people talking or interrupting CONSTANTLY. You can't even *think*, let alone have a conversation.

From the sounds of it, a lot of you are there, too.

It has been a challenge for us to try to figure out ways to maintain a good level of communication-- which I would define as: uninterrupted time to talk; the opportunity to share on a deeper level than just the daily conversations surrounding the management of the house and kids.

Just so you know, we're not experts by any means. We are smack dab in the middle of this stage, struggling to figure it out ourselves. I do feel so blessed to have witnessed solid, faithful, decades-and-decades-long marriages in two sets of grandparents and in my mom and step-dad. I have also seen the devastation of divorce- years ago- with my mom and biological dad. I know that my parents' divorce has shaped me and has made me even more purposeful and protective of my own marriage.

Here are two reasons I think this communication-thing is so important:

1) Titus 2 talks about how the older women are to train the younger women (that would be me) to love their husbands. I can't love my husband very well if we're not communicating; if I don't know him, if I'm not working to strengthen and nurture our relationship. It's my responsibility as a wife to do so.

2) The enemy prowls around, like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. His goal is to kill, steal and destroy. I see so clearly that he is working to destroy Christian marriages, and while that should not make us fearful (because greater is HE who is in us than he who is in the world!), I think we need to recognize that there's a spiritual battle going on over our marriages, and we have a responsibility to be prayerful and vigilant.

It's always my goal that our marriage is thriving, not just getting by. Now for some practical stuff:

I think a key to thriving in your marriage is prayer. Pray for your spouse*, pray with your spouse, pray over your struggles, pray for the strength of your marriage, just pray already! So many times in our marriage, God has answered specific prayers and I can look back and see His faithful hand in our relationship. He is good, and He desires good things for my marriage and for yours.

The main thing I recognized that needed changing in our home in regards to our communication troubles was this: the constant interruptions from our kids. As a mother, our time is very rarely our own. Throughout the day, we are continually being interrupted by our kids- for a drink here, a snack there, a diaper change over here, a squabble that needs sorting there, a heart that needs mending, a hug, a word, an instruction, a prayer, a meal. You name it: as mothers we are on call, all hours of the day. But when Mark comes home, I need to mentally shift from being available to the kids to being available to him. That's a difficult thing when all day long your focus is the kids. That doesn't mean that I'm no longer available to them- but it does mean they may just need to wait.

What that means for us is that when Mark comes home from work, we make an effort to sit together or work alongside each other to talk about our days. {This is often a time when I'll say- "Okay- everyone outside for 20 minutes!"} When the kids run in- and they do! numerous times!- to say this or that, we are learning to tell them to wait; to not interrupt, to please let daddy and mommy talk for a few minutes. I think it's important for our kids to see, too- that we are loving and honoring one another that way. And for us, taking that initial time together to cover the basics opens up our evening time to get to more quality conversation.

[One other thought I'm going to tuck in here, and that is to encourage your husband. Compliment him, tell him every single day how thankful you are for him, for his hard work, for his provision for your family. Speak well of him to your children and to others. Tell him you love him, and show him with service and thoughtfulness and kindness and affection. Greet him warmly at the door, give him a hug and tell him you've missed him. Okay- that could be a whole other post entirely, but that's all I'll say now.]

The other thing we are always trying to be more diligent at is having planned at-home date nights. (If you have a sitter and can afford it, by all means: get out of the house!- but if you're like us: just plan dates at home.) I emphasized the word planned because it makes all the difference for us. When there is a regular night set aside for that- written on the calendar, anticipated and assigned (either Mark or I in charge of the plan for the evening)- we have far greater success at those date nights actually taking place. Or- at least they're not a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants "Oh yeah! It's date night. What are we doing? Who was supposed to plan tonight?" kind of an evening. If I know it's my night, I am far more intentional and thoughtful about what we'll do and what we can talk about.

One more thing: because we rarely have an opportunity to get away, Mark and I try to go away for even one or two nights once or twice a year. This has become eagerly anticipated by both of us.

I'm counting on your inspiring ideas in the comments of this post, too!

*Here's a link to the list I posted in 2006: Praying for my husband.

Praying...

2012-01-08T15:34:00.000-08:00

(Will you join me in prayer for this dear family?)

What is there not to love about two?

2012-01-03T16:15:00.000-08:00

Just today, from my Audra Joy:

"I wuv you. You're my sweetest mommy in my whole wide world."

Then again, later- as we discussed whether to bring Ella to the doctor or not, she chimed in:

"I think we should see Doctor Baker." This is who she's referring to:

I sure love my sweet girl. :)

A chapter a day...

2011-12-30T15:11:00.000-08:00

That's my read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year checklist, and all those boxes are checked! {Thank you, God, for giving me the perseverance to stick to it!}

It is so gratifying to be sitting at the end of this year knowing that I read every single word of God's Word this past year. I love that. I love His Word, and my time reading the Bible always expands my worship of Him. I am so thankful.

I feel compelled to take more time this year for prayer, so I'm not committing to reading through the entire Bible again this year. I want to grow in the discipline of prayer and of listening and responding to God's Spirit. I've been thinking so much lately about how easy it is to feed on God's Word and build our knowledge-- but how often God moves/leads *when we pray*... there are just so many examples in the NT of the disciples meeting and praying and knowing where to go and what to do and seeing God work and move *because* they prayed, and I want that, too. I want to spend my days being led by His Spirit and doing His work. This past year I spent way more time reading than praying, and I really missed that sweet intimacy with Him that comes from time spent in prayer.

I am working on a plan for reading-- it will just be at a bit slower pace. I've decided to scale back and read "a chapter a day" this year, which will allow for more time of focused prayer and also the freedom to dig in and study. And- Mark is going to do my chapter-a-day plan with me. Sort of as an afterthought, I asked Ella and Isaac (our able readers) if they wanted to do it, too. Ella is very excited and agreed without hesitation. (Her comment: "Then we can all read the same thing and talk about it!") Isaac is still deciding. He told me he's in the middle of reading the Psalms right now and isn't sure he's ready to commit to more reading. ;) I know Isaias would like to, but he's not quite at that level of reading yet, so we'll just have to do a lot of narrating what we read to him so that he can participate in our conversations.

Reading a chapter a day means that we will read through 11 books of the Bible this year. These are the books I chose:

Joshua
1 Kings
2 Kings
Psalms
Proverbs
Isaiah
Zephaniah
John
1 Corinthians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians

That's exactly 366 chapters- out of 1189 total chapters in the Bible. (At this rate it would take us a little over 3 years to read the entire Bible, but: one step at a time. This is our goal for *this year*, and we'll see what next year holds.) I've already promised to email a friend my chapter-a-day checklist, so if any of you are interested, just send me your email address and I'd be happy to email it to you, too. :)

Early morning gratitude

2011-12-28T14:51:00.000-08:00

I was up early this morning with the girls while everyone else slept. They were vying for a position on my lap- both were sleepy and wanted to snuggle with mommy and Audra did not want to share lap space. Adelia is very sweet about sharing, so for the most part she will let Audra have me to herself. This is quite unfortunate because I *love* it when Adelia just wakes up from a night of sleep or from her nap. It's the only time she will sit still, and she wants to be held. (Audra, on the other hand, wants to be held fifty times a day!)

***

(Case in point: as I was typing that statement, Audra came over and said, "I want to sit on your lap." ;)) So: I closed the laptop and set it aside and pulled her onto my lap.

Anyway~ back to what I started to say earlier: I sat this morning on the couch, taking turns with the girls- when Audra was off playing happily, I'd pull Adelia into my arms and vice versa. At one point, Adelia was snuggled in beside me and Audra sat on my lap, facing me- squeezing my cheeks and poking my eyes and giving me tight hugs and chattering about all sorts of things, (if she says 'Jofuss' (who goes with Mary and baby Jesus for those of you who don't know who 'Jofuss' is) I might actually die from cuteness overload.) And I thought: "This is the greatest job in the world." What other occupation could you be in where people approach you several times a day just to tell you how much they love you, and to cheer you with countless hugs and brighten your days with smiles and laughter? What wonderful years these are! And how gracious God is to allow us- as mothers- to get to play such a big part in their lives.

I was overwhelmed with thankfulness this morning. How dear my children are, how much I love them and delight in them, and how grateful I am to get to be their mommy. Yes, the days are long and often challenging, but God is gracious and is so faithful to give strength and perseverance with each new day. It is such rewarding work, isn't it?

Blessings to you and your children today. (Don't forget to tell them how much you love them!)

Happy day-after-Christmas! (& our Handmade Christmas recap)

2011-12-26T23:12:00.000-08:00

I kept meaning to get on the computer during the past couple of days and wish you all a Merry Christmas, but... there was just no time. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and reveled in the amazing gift of Jesus!

We have had a great week together as a family. We began our festivities on Sunday night- the week before Christmas- by pulling our mattresses into the living room and sleeping by the tree. Then we surprised the kids with a Pajama Ride announcement (which included a trip to DQ and a drive to look at Christmas lights.)

Settling everyone into bed before our Pajama Ride.

Then we spent a couple of days doing the finishing touches on our handmade gifts for one another and other odds and ends (wrapping, grocery shopping, baking, etc).

Doing some knitting with the girls. (Doesn't Audra look so wiped out from her knitting project? ;))

On Thursday night we celebrated my grandpa's 91st birthday-- which doubles as an extended-family Christmas party. There were over 100 of us there- and it was a joyous occasion. So many aunts and uncles and cousins and their kids and my grandpa smiling with happy tears in his eyes through it all.

Friday was our own family Christmas. We had a yummy breakfast of coffee cake (birthday cake for Jesus~ candles and all!), sausage, bacon, and Orange Julius-drinks in the blender. Oh, and hot cocoa, too- with dollops of vanilla ice cream. Then we read from Luke and prayed and opened our gifts for one another. Here's the rundown of our handmade gifts:

Audra drew Adelia's name. Mark and I puzzled a bit over what she could give Adelia- since, at 2- she can't really *make* many things. One thing Adelia loves is food- so I contemplated making homemade crackers until I decided that I was spending enough time in the kitchen and why complicate things when she'd be just as happy with popcorn? But then- THEN: Mark had the brilliant idea of making a "snack mix" for Adelia. Bingo. I grabbed a few bags of snacky stuff at the grocery store, and Audra did the work of dumping out the bags, stirring, and transferring into a container. Then I made a label for the top that said Adelia's Snack Mix (made by Audra), and Audra happily colored all over the label. We wrapped it up together and we were done.

She was so focused.

When Adelia opened it, she pretty much thought it was the best.gift.ever, and ate it throughout the rest of the day.

Adelia drew Ella's name, and she had a lot of help from me. I gave Adelia some paint pens she went to town decorating a blank canvas that I had. Then I found a picture of the two of them- Ella holding Adelia as a baby- and used some stickers and scrapbook paper and mod-podged it all on the canvas. It turned out pretty cute. I don't have a picture of the front of it, but here's the picture of Ella opening it:

(I had also knitted up a hat for Ella and sewed a bird ornament from this book so I had Adelia give those to her, too.)

Isaias drew Audra's name, and he drew her a paper doll- knowing how much she loves getting into Ella's paper dolls. It was such a sweet, thoughtful idea. Mark and I helped him come up with an additional idea, too (just in case she wasn't quite as enthused with his torn-out stick-figure paper doll as he might think she would be). Mark sat down with him one afternoon and looked up coloring pages online and let Isaias choose a bunch of them for a coloring book. He did a great job- choosing nativity scenes, kitties, Hello Kitty, Little House, and all the things she loves. We printed them out, 3-hole punched them, and he wrote Audra's Coloring Book ~from Isaias on the cover. Then Isaias selected some crayons and put them in a baggie and wrapped it all up for her.

Audra looks at her coloring pages as Isaias looks on.

Isaac drew my name- and he had remembered me saying a couple of months before- on a day when I was craving something sweet but we had nothing at all sweet in the house- "All I want for Christmas is some Swedish Fish, some Skittles, and some chocolate." (Immediately after that little declaration, I regretted it because I saw a slight look of panic on Isaac's face and figured he had 1)drawn my name, and 2)was trying to figure out how on earth he was supposed to make mommy some Swedish Fish, Skittles, and chocolate!) He did great. His idea was to make me a treat jar to keep by my bed, so he decorated the outside of a jar and then made a LEGO smiley face and taped it on top of the jar and filled it with Swedish Fish. He also drew me several small pictures (he called them "pennants") that I can hang up on a little string near my treadmill so that I have something to look at while I'm on the treadmill. (Is that not the cutest thing?) I loved it all. :) And the Swedish Fish are all gone.

Ella drew Isaac's name and has been thoughtfully saving the tickets she's earned from school store in anticipation of gifting them to Isaac who is saving earnestly for a LEGO set he desperately wants to purchase from school store. (Mark found a nice LEGO set at a garage sale ($3) and added it to our school store but priced it *really* high (100 tickets)-- knowing that Isaac knows how much that set is worth and recognizing that Isaac will have to buckle down and save for-- something he is not very good at doing. He wants that set more than anything but keeps getting distracted with other school-store purchases, so he's only saved up about 30 tickets for it all year.) In the past two months, Ella has carefully been putting away nearly 40 tickets for her gift to Isaac-- to add to his saved 30.) This was the gift I was most anxious to see opened-- it was such a thoughtful gift from Ella and I knew Isaac was going to be overwhelmed with the magnitude of all of Ella's tickets. Both Mark and I were teary-eyed and Isaac was literally speechless when he opened his gift. He really could not believe that Ella would be willing to give up all of her tickets for him.

Isaac, staring at the container of Ella's tickets

(Ella has also been knitting Isaac a green and gray striped scarf, but she didn't finish in time for Christmas, so she drew a picture of it and told him that it was his when she finished. (He's seen her knitting it and had hoped it was for him and is excited for her to finish!))

I drew Mark's name. (I had thought that drawing one of the kids' names would be so easy-- I could sew for the girls or knit for the boys, but-- MARK? What could I make him?) I Googled "handmade gifts" and it took me just a couple of minutes to decide on an idea of a Memory Jar. I sat with my journal for several quiet-times and wrote down memories, then eventually transferred all of those ideas onto slips of colored/patterned paper and filled up a Memory Jar- 365 days worth of memories for Mark to open.

Mark- trying to figure out what his gift was

Finally (and you're amazing if you're still reading because I know this is a long post!), Mark drew Isaias' name, and puzzled over what to make him until he settled on a football theme (Isaias loves football) and decided to created a game for him. [If you have boys who are into football you're going to want to pay close attention and do this for them or have them do it.] Mark cut out a picture of a player from each NFL team from a Sport's Illustrated NFL Preview Issue (free at the library!) and then printed out corresponding team logos (from online) and made a deck of 64 cards. Each card was given a value of 1-10, based on the actual offensive and defensive ranking for the teams this season. We used clear contact paper to "laminate" the cards and on the back of each card it said: Isaias' NFL Challenge, along with some football clip art. Rules of the game are similar to the card game of War, where your cards (or in this case, teams) face off, and the highest number takes all cards. When there's a tie (or in this case, "overtime"), they play it out just like you do in the game of War. This was a HUGE hit and our three older kids played this for literally hours that day and days since. (I KNOW. How creative is my husband?! He should patent this.)

Isaias opens the box and all the cards tumble out

Two hours later...

So that was our handmade Christmas gift exchange. We all want to do it every year, and we will. We did our Samaritan's Purse giving later.

Saturday we spent the whole day (10:00 am to 10:00 pm!) with Mark's wonderful family- and the kids had a blast with cousins and uncles and aunts and grandpa and grandma and pizza and lots of laughter and games (Twister! Hide and Seek!) and gifts.

Sunday morning we did our stockings here and then headed to my mom and dad's (joining my brothers) for a full day of Christmas there- complete with a huge breakfast and snacks all day and games and puzzles and singing and prayers and gifts and lots of laughter.

We are so, so blessed to have such wonderful family so near. Mark goes back to work tomorrow and we have one week to undecorate, rest, tidy, and ease back into a more scheduled life.

What was your favorite gift to GIVE this Christmas? (Mine was probably my gift to Mark- because I knew he would be blessed and it is such a fun gift because he gets to keep "unwrapping" it for a whole year!)

Why I said yes

2011-12-15T23:56:00.000-08:00

It was on this date, December 15th, fifteen years ago, that Mark proposed to me.

As he knelt to express his love for me and his desire for me to be his wife, I happily said yes. We had been dating for three years and I knew him well.

I knew that during Mark's first couple years of college, he was also taking care of his grandma who had Alzheimer's. He spent his weekends caring for her. In her tired, confused mind- she often called him the wrong name- and she could be awfully stubborn about things. Sometimes on a Friday or Saturday night, his grandma would insist that it was "time to go to church". He would patiently explain, "No, Grandma. It isn't Sunday. No one is at church right now." But she would get herself all ready for church, and insist upon going. So Mark would carefully help her out to the car and he would drive her to church. They'd reach the dark, empty parking lot, and she would have a puzzled look on her face and realize that no one was here for church, and they'd go back home.

I remember thinking then- when I heard the stories Mark would tell me of his time with his grandma- that he was a remarkable man. What guy in college is spending his weekends taking care of his ailing grandma? My Mark was.

When we began dating, I was eighteen; had just moved out of the house- and had two little brothers still at home. Micah was seven and Seth was two. Whenever we'd go to my house, Mark would end up on the floor with my brothers, playing with them. I loved this. I knew he wasn't doing this to impress me or anyone else- he just genuinely liked them and got down on their level to play with them.

We'd file into church next to my family on a Sunday morning and Seth would reach up to Mark, wanting to be held. Mark is so tall that his arms offered the best view. Seth liked to be held in a sitting-up position, but facing outward. (Not real comfy for whoever was holding him.) Mark would steadily hold him just that way, facing out, during the whole of the worship service.

For years Mark taught the two-year-old Sunday School class, and those two-year-olds loved him. They would climb all over him and he made them laugh and they were just so taken with him. He loved each one of them.

I watched Mark with my brothers, with his nephews, and with his two-year-old classes, and knew he would be a good daddy someday.

During college I worked at a Christian bookstore. Usually I had the closing shift. We closed at nine o'clock, and I was by myself, vacuuming, closing out the tills, and locking up. Not so when Mark began dating me. He would drive out to the store about half-hour before closing and just browse the bookstore while I closed up. He wanted me to be safe: it was dark, I was alone- and he would just show up. I never asked him to nor did I expect it of him. He just showed up one night and kept coming, each night I was closing. And I felt treasured by him.

I lived with a bunch of other girls through college. We had meals together each night, and divvied up the household chores. Chores were always expected to be done on Saturdays. I worked Saturdays, so when I came home from work those nights I had my chores to do. I remember coming home from work one night (with Mark) to discover that my chores had all been done for me. I wondered aloud which of my roommates had done this? I think I even asked a few of them, and it was one of them who told me that Mark had been by earlier in the day to do my chores for me. (I think that week my chore was the living room/dining room area and the kitchen). He did it simply to bless me, knowing I would be tired when I got home that night.

He was the most romantic guy-- he courted me with near-daily cards and flowers and thoughtfulness packed into every date. When he knew I would be celebrating my birthday while on a missions trip, he tracked down a birthday card well in advance and sent it along with me. I still remember being on a sleeper-train riding through Poland, and opening my birthday card from Mark- which was a Polish card! How he found me a Polish birthday card, I'll never know- but somehow he did.

I watched the way he interacted with his siblings and the way he honored his parents. He loved them. He spoke well of them, and there was great fondness and camaraderie in his family. I loved that.

He spoke well of everyone, actually. Any time I would complain to him about anyone, he always- annoyingly- believed the best in a person; giving them the benefit of the doubt and encouraging me not to be quick to judge someone else's motives.

Mark quickly became my best friend.

I was deeply afraid to get married. I was so fearful that someday I would be left-- the way my mom had been left by my dad. It was my greatest fear. I wanted to know, for sure- that this would not happen to me. I wanted assurance that this man, Mark, would never be that man.

But that day, on top of that hill- fifteen years ago, I was unafraid. I knew Mark. I knew his character. I knew he loved and feared God above all. I knew he loved me. And I trusted him. That's why I said yes.

Fifteen years later and he's still the guy who will lay aside his own interests, his own time and comfort, for someone else. He is still selfless- always thinking of others before himself. He is still great with children: he is an amazing daddy to our five. He still courts me with cards and flowers and thoughtfulness. He still loves his family and others well. He's still my best friend. He is trustworthy. He loves and fears God more today than he did back then, and I admire him more than anyone on this earth.

Christmas gift-giving

2011-12-12T05:45:00.000-08:00

The view from my favorite spot on the couch

We're doing Christmas a little differently at our house this year. We decided to draw names amongst ourselves and give homemade gifts (using what we already have) in lieu of purchasing presents for one another. (Stockings are still fair game, but the only presents under our tree for one another will be homemade.) The reason we decided to do this is twofold:

1) None of us need a thing. We are so rich already.
2) There are so many people on earth who truly DO have needs- real needs like food, clean water and clothing.

So we decided to start this new tradition in order to be able to give more generously to those who do have needs.

Our kids were completely on board. The idea of making a gift comes very naturally to them-- and they have been full of creative ideas for their name-draw and that alone has been such a joy to behold. I love it that this requires us all to be more thoughtful, and I think much more time is spent thinking of the individual we're giving the gift to (as we mull over what they would like, and as we put in the actual time of making the gift.)

I can't wait to tell you all about the handmade gifts we've been secretly working on around here-- after Christmas, of course.

Oh! And-- I must tell all of you fellow book-lovers about this idea (one that I first heard about at Amanda's blog, at the end of this post): You know the moment when you get out your bin of Christmas books to enjoy for the season? Wrap each book in wrapping paper, and then put them into your bin and let your kids open one each day leading up to Christmas- so that they can have the joy of rediscovering their treasured Christmas books all over again! (Isn't that the BEST idea?) I can't wait to do that next year.

Two other Christmas gift-giving posts, from the archives:

The Part of Christmas I'm Most Excited About
Our Favorite Kind of Gift-Giving

Wednesday, December 7th

2011-12-07T15:52:00.000-08:00

Last night we had a bit of a long night. Audra (2) woke up sometime around two o'clock, hollering for daddy, and he went in to settle her. (Me? I went back to sleep.) I don't know how long he was in there, but I heard her calling again at around 3:40. Mark was getting out of bed to go to her and told me then that this was the fourth (!) time she had called him since that initial two o'clock wake-up. I was awake, then- and listening to all the goings-ons, and hoping she wasn't going to wake the other girls, and ready to assist if he needed me. Then I heard Ella's voice, and Audra asking, "Daddy? Will you please scratch my back?" ;) He did that, yes he did, at 4 in the morning, because that's the kind of amazing daddy that he is.

We all went back to sleep sometime in the 4 o'clock hour. I left a little after 6 to exercise and when I got back, I came back to bed. I then asked Mark for a recap of the night (in my foggy middle-of-the-night state I hadn't understood why Audra had initially called out-- Did she have a bad dream? Was she sad/scared?) As Mark was giving me the timeline of events, he said that after the second time he'd soothed Audra back to sleep, he went back to bed only to hear Adelia (3) calling out for him. He went in to her- quickly- as to not wake Audra again- and Adelia asked him to find one of her stuffed animals that she likes to sleep with. (I think he said no, he could not find that right now, as it was dark, and to please go to sleep.) He went back to bed, and then Adelia began calling "Dadddddyyy"- quietly at first, then more loudly.

Then Mark overheard Audra, now awake, holler from her bed to Adelia: "He's MY daddy!" Mark heard them bicker about that for a few minutes (Adelia replying, "He's my daddy!" and so on...) and then they quieted. Mark and I were laughing about it this morning- it reminded me of the whole idea of getting your dance card punched- it was as if Audra was telling Adelia that she had daddy reserved for the entire night and Adelia could not use him. Silly girls. Wonderful husband and father.

Default: theirs and mine

2011-12-06T16:27:00.000-08:00

One day as I was trying to get the kids ready to go somewhere--- which always seems to be an extremely Long and Trying Process at our house, and one in which I'm usually exasperated at my children who want to play or goof around instead of getting on their hats and coats and shoes or boots, or in which I'm usually exasperated by the child (not always the same child, mind you) who is not at all ready while the rest of us are standing at the door ready to go--- I had a thought.

It was simply this:

Their 'default' is play.

It's the way God created them, these children of mine. And it's a good and beautiful thing. They naturally, inherently just want to play. (My personal default happens to be work, hence the exasperation on my part.)

My boys in their room together-- with clear instructions to clean their room-- will inevitably end up in some drama or giggles or play-fighting or jumping or climbing or a dumping out of a toy bin in order to build or play something. That's just the way they were made. They look for it, they celebrate relationship with each other by playing together. Any two of my children who pass by one another in the process of doing their individual chores will interact with each other on some level and that will lead to a disruption of my personal work-default and an entry into their default of play. If I want to leave the house, and right now, please, or we're going to be late!-- one of them will find something to do instead of getting their shoes on and will end up sitting comfortably on the floor, playing. It puzzles me, truly- and I usually think it's absurd: Hello? We are leaving. As in, now. Do you see us? How could you possibly be [sockless, shoeless, coatless] and PLAYING right now?

And yet: it's their default.

Now- I'm not eschewing obedience or my desire and intention for my children to learn responsibility and a good work ethic. I want those things, and we are fully in the process of teaching our kids those things. But it is helpful for me to remember that it is a process. They are firmly, cheerfully situated in their God-given play-mode and it will take years of gentle, faithful, patient instruction and our own example to teach them and show them that there is real joy to be found in work-- and in the reward of getting to play when your work is finished.

In the meantime, I am finding great joy in observing their playfulness-- in everything they do, and I'm marveling- truly- at their ability to pause in any given moment and laugh and play and relate to one another, forsaking all work. I think I could (re)learn to do a good deal more of that myself. I am- more often- settling my exasperated self with the truth of how God has designed them, and by realizing that more often than not- they've gotten it exactly right.

Adoption link

2011-11-30T14:42:00.000-08:00

If you've read here for any length of time, you will know how much I admire David Platt. He's the pastor of a church in Alabama, and whenever I have the opportunity to listen to a sermon online, I choose one of his. Don't ask me how I stumbled upon him-- some link somewhere led me to the church's website one day and I listened to him then and I think he's an excellent communicator of God's truth. I read his book Radical last year and loved that, too.

Anyway: David Platt, his wife Heather and their two boys are in China right now. They've just adopted a little girl and he has been blogging about their experience.

Today I read his posted entitled The Gospel and Adoption and I just know some of you are going to want to read it.

Here's just a snippet:

In the gospel, you are reminded on a daily basis that there was a day when you were a child of wrath, filled with evil desires, totally unable to control your sinfulness, and desperately in need of Savior, and God reached down His hand of mercy past the depth of your wickedness in order to adopt you as His own. When there was no initiative to draw you to Him, He initiated a relationship with you. So now, when you see a child with minor or major needs, you reach out to that child, simply because you realize you are that child.

and another quote:

We adopt not because we are rescuers. No, we adopt because we are the rescued.

Yeah. Go read it.

If you're interested in starting at the beginning and reading their entire adoption journey, start here.

Also, for any of you fellow AGCI adoptive mothers, this post in particular reminded me so much of our experience in Guatemala, meeting Isaias' Special Mothers and saying thank you to them- especially this young woman who nurtured him the most while he was at Hannah's Hope.

Good read

2011-11-30T05:26:00.000-08:00

This was the best blog post I read all week.

Go read it, and then go see your kids-- really see them.

{Thank you, Tonia~ for the link}

School-to-vacation transition

2011-11-28T12:22:00.000-08:00

Each year we take the whole month of December off-- no school at all. We spend December decorating and playing and resting and singing and reading through all of those Christmas books we bring out once a year. We wrap and we buy or make gifts and cards and- the month flies by. Several times over the past few days I have chided myself for not just beginning our vacation time at Thanksgiving. Why didn't I plan it that way?

{last night, decorating the tree}

This past week was filled with family gatherings and we leapt into vacation mode. Yesterday we got our Christmas tree and brought the decorations out but today we have to pull back and get busy with school for our final week. I've decided this was poor planning on my part. (I keep wondering: has this not bothered me in previous years, or this is new?) Anyway: new note to self: When Thanksgiving hits, start vacation.

This was my solution this morning:

I took out our schedule and highlighted the "have-to's" for the week and listed them ALL on the board, with a note on top saying: "When you've crossed off everything off your list, you're on vacation!!!" I'm pretty confident this means we'll have a day or two of school frenzy, but then we can start celebrating already. (We'll see. Isaac and Ella are already about halfway done with crossing off their lists, but Isaias opted out of school for the day in lieu of watching The Sound of Music with the little girls (movie.of.choice these days)).

How was your Thanksgiving? [What was the best thing you ate? The stuffing was my hands-down favorite this year.]

Good read for adoptive parents

2011-11-21T15:05:00.000-08:00

“ I followed a God into this story who heals and redeems, who
restores wasted years and mends broken places. This God specializes in the Destroyed. I've seen it. I've been a part of it. I have His ancient Word that tells of it. I love a Jesus who made reconciliation his whole mission. My children will not remain broken. They are loved by too good a Savior. I will not remain exhausted and spent. I am loved by too merciful a Father. ”

* * *

Read the entire post, called After the Airport, here.

Blueberry-banana muffins

2011-11-21T10:06:00.000-08:00

{what we had for breakfast this morning}

Blueberry-banana muffins

(preheat oven to 350, yields 20 muffins)

Puree or blend together, then set aside:
1 1/4 cup frozen blueberries (I set these out for about 15 min so they were slightly thawed)
1 banana

Mix together:
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
berry/banana blend
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup applesauce (I buy this applesauce in bulk and substitute it for oil in all baking recipes)

Scoop into buttered/floured muffins cups and bake @ 350 for 12-13 minutes.

Remembering my life two years ago

2011-11-13T21:26:00.000-08:00

I came across this photo the other day and I kind of marveled at this snapshot of my life just a couple of years ago. This picture was taken when Adelia was 16 months old and Audra just 4 months old. (And people comment *now* that my hands are full!) Um, no. Those were the days when my hands were positively the fullest: two babies, both of them so needy for their mama. Nevermind three older kids that also occasionally needed me. ;) I spent the days juggling these two and trying to determine which child was the neediest at that moment: usually one of my little girls. So many times it was both of them- they both needed me to hold them, to soothe them, to feed them, or to change them. I *often* walked around the house like this- one of them in the Ergo, and the other on my hip, or we'd settle on the couch and look at books together. These were exhausting days, and I felt utterly spent by the end of each one of them.

I know there are some of you who are in this season right now. I was trying to think of what I could say to encourage you. Most importantly, this: God is faithful. It is He who has entrusted these little ones to *you* and He will be faithful to equip you. He will strengthen you and help you.

Some practical things: it was during this season when I dropped everything that I didn't absolutely *have* to do. I didn't intentionally drop these things- it just happened naturally. Things like getting the kids dressed for the day, going places, sending thank you cards (or any cards, for that matter), organization of the clothes the kids had outgrown, balancing the checkbook, etc. (The list goes on and on and on.) You just do what you have to do to make it through these days.

Try to get as much sleep as you can, accept any help anyone ever offers, try to spend time with Jesus each day, take breaks when you are able (when your husband comes home you can run errands all.by.yourself: it's dreamy), pray out loud- with your kids, make simple, easy meals (or get take out), and just love your children well. Find delight in these little persons God has given to you: laugh and play and tickle and cuddle and be silly and read another story and change another diaper- and don't forget to kiss their bare belly when you do- and watch and wait for daddy when he comes home and sing songs together and just love them. They truly are a joy. Embrace this season. It goes by so quickly.

I LOVED this book.

2011-11-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

You do read Katie's blog, right? Now that I've read this book, Katie Davis is officially my new favorite person. You must read this book. (Have I ever let you down with a book recommendation?) I love this girl. I love her heart, I love her dependency on Jesus, I love her simple, pure faith. I was challenged and inspired and convicted and blessed so much by this book. Ella (9) is reading it now, and I hope the truths in this book impact her for a lifetime.

While you are waiting to get a copy of the book, go watch this video. (It's not even 4 minutes long, and it's well worth your time, but my *favorite* thing she says is at 2:52.) See? -why I love her so much? You will, too.

Copywork selections

2011-11-07T10:53:00.000-08:00

We're 10 weeks into our school year and it's already time for me to refill Ella's Copywork Jar. I changed it up a bit this year- there are no longer different categories for different days of the week (Mondays-Poetry, Tuesdays-Quotes, etc); we just have several selections tossed in. The other change is that I really aimed to make the copywork selections shorter, so that Ella will not get bogged down with a long passage (as was the case last year) and neglect neat handwriting. Our focus is on quality, not quantity. So far I have had her print each one, but the next "batch" she will do in cursive. She often draws a little picture to go along with it. It's been going really well! I've listed her copywork selections below if any of you are interested in using them for your own children:

Thirty days hath September, April, June and November.

January brings the snow, makes our feet and fingers glow.

*

February brings the rain, thaws the frozen lake again.

*

March brings breezes loud and shrill, stirs the dancing daffodil.

*

April brings the primrose sweet, scatters daisies at our feet.

*

May brings flocks of pretty lambs, skipping by their fleecy dams.

*

June brings tulips, lilies, roses, fills the children's hands with posies.

*

Hot July brings cooling showers, apricots and gillyflowers.

*

August brings the sheaves of corn, then the harvest home is borne.

*

Warm September brings the fruit, sportsmen then begin to shoot.

*

Fresh October brings the pheasant, then to gather nuts is pleasant.

*

Dull November brings the blast, then the leaves are whirling fast.

*

Chill December brings the sleet, blazing fire, and Christmas treat.

*

Many hands make light work.

*

Practice makes perfect.

*

A man is known by the company he keeps.

*

A child should always say what’s true
And speak when he is spoken to

*

O wind, a-blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!

*

A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea.

*

Red sky at night, sailors delight;
Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.

*

Adopt the pace of nature: Her secret is patience.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

*

Never let us reflect upon small annoyances, and we shall be able to

bear great ones sweetly.
    ~Charlotte Mason

*

All beautiful and noble possibilities are present in everyone.
    ~Charlotte Mason

*

Kindness is to make everyday life pleasant and comfortable to others.
    ~Charlotte Mason

*

A grateful heart rejoices not only in the gift but in the giver.
    ~Charlotte Mason

*

I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.
    ~George Washington Carver

With Great Joy

Examining our school year

{from my journal today}

Life lately, in photos

May 7th {Happy Monday to you!}

Nature Study idea

Checking in...

The Four Stages: Revisited

Praying...

What is there *not* to love about two?

A chapter a day...

Early morning gratitude

Happy day-after-Christmas! (& our Handmade Christmas recap)

Why I said yes

Christmas gift-giving

Wednesday, December 7th

Default: theirs and mine

Adoption link

Good read

School-to-vacation transition

Good read for adoptive parents

Blueberry-banana muffins

Remembering my life two years ago

I LOVED this book.

Copywork selections

What is there not to love about two?