Monday!

Why are Mondays so.... Monday-ish??

As far as Mondays go, today was pretty much a bummer.  Sigh.  So, now I'm going to complain a bit, and then I'm going to be thankful, so hold on for the end of the post...

The "badness" started in the middle of the night when Hannah was awake and fussy off and on for an hour or two (it's hard to keep track in the wee hours!).  Keith and I took turns trying to get her settled down.  I finally thought maybe it was her ears or teeth and Keith gave her Advil.  That finally seemed to do the trick.  But the damage was done.  I was tired!  On top of that, I had a bad dream that pointed out some unresolved crud in my heart.  :-(

So, I slept in, which I guess I needed, but that put our day behind schedule.  Then, I made the (rebellious) mistake of checking the weather and email before spending any time with Jesus, and then it was too late.  Duh.

After that it was a series of mis-haps, mistakes, and mayhem...

- Logan woke up with the sure conviction that he, in fact, was in charge and I definitely wasn't.

- I was feeling grumpy and out-of-sorts.  I ended up getting angry at the kids and yelling and it was pretty ugly around here.  By the time we were done with breakfast and chores, I knew we had to back up and take care of stuff.  So we spent some time talking, repenting and praying.  After a discipline session with Logan, I sent him back to bed and told him we were going to pretend that we were starting the day all over. 

- Logan and Caleb were HYPER.  Made me want to never feed them another gram of sugar again.  Ever.

- It was raining and cold today.

- I tried three times to start a fire in the stove and it never did take off - until Keith came home and dumped something very flammable and stinky on it.  So I was cold a good bit of the morning.

- Caleb has a runny nose and his first instinct is to snort.  Gross!  Then when he does blow, he leaves dirty tissues everywhere.  Grrr.  Tomorrow I'm going to charge him $.10 for every snort and every tissue laying around.  Money talks to that boy!

- Caleb "shared" his runny nose with Josiah, who is taking it to another level and is pretty miserable tonight.  More on that later.

- Logan broke a stapler and I found a section of staples - sharp side up - on the dining room floor.

- Caleb broke a cool little car we just got at a garage sale on Sat.

- Keith had a rough morning and then took a night shift at the ambulance tonight.  We hardly had any time to talk, which left me feeling rather dis-connected, but we did talk on the phone tonight, so that's good.

- Josiah didn't take a nap today.  (I gave up around 3:30 or so.)

- I had to discipline Josiah a bajillion times today for a particular behaviour that we're trying to irradicate.

-I dug a small piece of plastic out of Hannah's mouth tonight - I'm guessing it was from the broken car.

- I sent Josiah to go pee this evening and when I went in there a bit later, I found pee All Over the floor.  He claimed he was trying to go in the potty, and I think I believe him.  Not 100% sure.

- Josiah has already been half awake and crying three times tonight.  I feel like just not going to bed at all because I'm afraid I won't get any sleep anyway.  He did this about 3 or 4 weeks ago when he had a cold.  He woke up crying and inconsolable about 9 times during the night.  And, ironically, that was also a night when Keith was doing a night shift and I hardly got any sleep.  

So.  That's the garbage.  As I was thinking about this post earlier this evening, I realized that even with all the junk today, I still have a long list of things to be thankful for, if I just stop and look for them.  So, here's the good stuff that I'm thankful for:

- Hannah didn't choke on anything today.  (That girl puts Everything in her mouth!)  Of course, I have no idea what all she ate off of the floor! :-)

- My boys forgave me for my anger and harsh words.

- Supper was delicious (and came from the freezer, so it was very little work!)

- No one stepped on the staples!

- For the first time since Thursday or Friday, every dirty dish was either washed or in the dishwasher tonight.  (We came close a few times over the weekend, but never got around to that one pan that was soaking...)

- Kisses.  From my handsome hubby and precious little boys .

- I was finally able to start the laundry tonight - after wanting to do it all day.

- Josiah is actually having fewer accidents and starting to tell me when he needs to go.

- And, he hasn't pooped in his underwear for a few days.  He's been going in his diaper when I put him down for a nap.  Works for now I guess.  

- Hannah really is a good baby.

- Caleb was very willing to lay down with Josiah tonight so I could get Hannah to bed.  

- Caleb can be a very compassionate big brother.

- Logan got himself and Caleb a bed-time snack without any help from me.

- Logan and Caleb willingly cleaned up toys, etc. while I was getting Hannah to bed.

- With the two "littles" asleep, we were able to do some reading that we didn't get done today.  And we were in a much better frame of mind than when we tried this afternoon.  Instead of "I don't like this book!", I heard, "Read more!"

- In spite of hyperness and bad attitudes, the boys actually did quite well on their school work today.

- I was able to sweep the floor and put away some miscellaneous stuff this afternoon.  Yay.  Let's hear it for sweeping!

- This afternoon, Keith and I watched part of a Beth Moore video that we watched in our ladies' Sunday School class yesterday.  (I got there late and didn't get to see the whole thing, so I borrowed it.)  It is So Good!  It's from her Bible study series called, "Breaking Free" and the session is titled "God's Unfailing Love."  I think I should write a whole post about that, but we'll see.  I have so much growing to do, but she offers so much hope!

- My Father God, loves me!!!!

- Yeah, there's a small mountain of laundry, but hey, we have clothes to wear! And I have four precious kids to make them dirty!

- Caleb and Logan can do chores!  Today Caleb sorted the laundry and Logan cleaned the bathroom counter and sink.

- Tomorrow we get to start swimming lessons.  We're all excited.  And I'm a little nervous about getting us all out the door by 9:10!!

- Any day now, "my" new computer (a refurbished MacBook) will be arriving.  And I won't ever have to use this stinking, old, dinosaur of a PC any more!  Oops, this was supposed to be the thankful list.  Let's see...  I've been very thankful for it's years - or was that months - of somewhat faithful service.  And for the friend who put it together and gave it to us!

- Tomorrow night I get to go to a Stampin' Up party.  Just me.  No kidlets.  Just grown-up ladies, who can carry on grown-up conversations.  And after that, a prayer time with some ladies from church.  What could be better!

So, as you see, I really do have many things to be thankful for!  I just need to remember them and thank my Completely Gracious and Good Heavenly Father!  

Now, my question is, do I go to bed and try to get some sleep, or just sit here at the computer and work all night.  Josiah has already been awake and crying 4 - no, make that 5 - times and it's only 11:45.  He "barks" like a seal and his nose is all stuffy.  He's been laying on the living room floor for the past while.  Poor little guy!  

If you've read all the way to the end, congratulations.  You're a true friend - or very bored!  :-)  And now I will quit rambling!!

Confessions Of An Intrepid Home-schooler

I want to tell you a little story and give all kinds of praise and glory to my “Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.”  

For a long time I've thought that I would want to home-school my children – at least for the first few years (when it's the “easiest”) Haha. That goes to show what I knew way back then. Anyway, when the time came to start educating Caleb, there was no longer a Christian school here, and public school wasn't what we wanted to do.  So the only option I was left with was home-schooling.  I wasn't always sure if I was doing it because we really wanted to, or because it was our only option.

Up until this year, it was fairly easy to be low-key (and half-hearted) about the whole thing since Caleb learns easily and was ahead, and Logan was pretty young yet. But, with this school-year looming ahead of me, I knew it was time to get really serious. As I mulled over my feelings, I had some disturbing revelations. 1) I don't really like home-schooling.  I guess that wasn't actually a new thought. I just freely admitted it to myself. 2) I have this nagging feeling that I'm not really “accomplishing” anything when I'm spending so much time doing school. This feeling that I really should be doing something else. 3) I've never really become whole-hearted or “given myself” to home-schooling.  

I have to take a little rabbit-trail here to explain a bit. For a long time I've been goal-oriented, achievement-driven, and very fond of having a clean and organized home. And I'll quickly admit that I've often taken that to an unhealthy extreme. Not that my house is too neat or clean. Ha! But my task-focus and drivenness too often have taken priority over my children's and husband's needs. I'm very happy to spend lots of time at home, taking care of my home and my children and “accomplishing things”.  

What I've discovered is that home-schooling takes a lot of time away from “housework” time and I sorta resent that. As we were approaching this school year and these feeling were crystallizing in my mind, I realized I really, really don't want to go on this way. I started praying and asking God to please, Please, PLEASE help me LIKE this home-school business that we've gotten ourselves into. And I told Him I accept this task He's given me and I commit myself to it.

So, now, a few weeks into school, suddenly I'm realizing that I'm having fun! I'm actually enjoying our learning time together. And the funny thing is, this year it's more demanding and time-consuming than ever before. And I don't resent it. I'm so excited about that I could just, uh, well, I don't know, but I'm really excited. Along with that, I'm enjoying my kids more than I ever have before, I think. Another huge answer to prayer.

Yes, sometimes it all makes my head spin: keeping a toddler occupied, the baby happy, and the older two motivated and focused. And I'm still trying to figure out how to get the necessities done around the house and get enough rest and exercise, etc. But I mostly have joy through it all. Mostly. :-)  And please don't take this to mean that I've pretty much got it together now.  I'm just saying this feels like a victory.  Even on the days when I'm asking forgiveness for losing my temper at someone.

I'm just so thankful that I have a God who is willing and able to work in me and change me. As I write this, it encourages me to ask Him to change some other areas in my life that need a serious make-over. If you think about me, you can pray for me/us. I'm always kinda nervous to share a victory story like this, because I'm afraid I'll just crash in a few days. So, I'm resisting the Enemy and standing in the victory that Jesus has given me.  

In case you're interested, here's what we're doing for school-work this year:

Caleb:
Math – Abeka, Grade 3
Language Arts – Some Sonlight, MCP Phonics, Wordly Wise, Sequential Spelling (that is so cool!), and some of Mom's ingenuity for Creative Writing (because he hates it and I'm trying to help him not hate it!)  (Does anyone have any good ideas??)
Science and History – finishing up Sonlight Core K and soon moving into Core 1. We actually did Core 1 two years ago, but it was way ahead of Logan so we backed up and will hopefully catch Logan's interest this time around.  I'm thinking of supplementing him with lots of good library books. He loves to learn by reading, so I think I should capitalize on that.
Electives - An art appreciation book for kids that we haven't opened yet this year.
       - “Do You Doodle?”, a fun drawing book I got from Sonlight. Hopefully Wendy will be doing some art with the her kids and mine and I'll do Science activities with them all.
       - “Mavis Beacon teaches typing”. I think he's anxious to start that, but we're having computer issues right now – and I'm not sure right now how we'll fit it in time-wise...

Logan:
Math – Math-U-See, Primer level. We're having so much fun with this! I'm thinking I'll switch Caleb over at some point this year or next.
Language Arts – Abeka, K-5. He did some Sonlight Language last year but I'm switching back to Abeka. It's easier for me. Since he already knows most of his letters and is blending simple words, I think we'll follow the curriculum loosely and probably go through at least the first part of it fairly quickly.
Science and History – the same as Caleb, but without any supplementing.
Electives – the same as Caleb, but without the typing.

And, of course, there's still music. We put Logan back in the same level as last year. At the end of last year it was getting to be overwhelming for him. He's having a lot of fun this year. I think it helps that Keith is practicing with him most of the time. Caleb was dragging his feet this year with the piano thing, but this week he got a song he really likes and that has piqued his interest much more. Whew!

And next week we start swimming lessons, so that takes care of Phys. Ed.  Well, that and all the running, jumping, and riding bike they do anyway!

I really didn't mean to "talk your ear off like that."  You don't have to read the whole thing...  :-) It's time to head for bed...  Oh, ugh.  I told Caleb I'd order some shoes for him from Sears before I go to bed tonight.  The poor child has no shoes - only sandals, dress shoes, and rubber boots.  Sometimes it's not so good being the oldest.  There are no hand-me-downs when you need something now!  Okay, I'm signing off!

Hey Ya'll, I'm Alive! (Is Anyone Still Checking Here??)

Hello? Is anyone still out there? I'll have to see if I remember how to do this blogging thing still. Oh my, where do I start. See, this is the problem with me: The longer I wait to write, the more there is to catch up on and the more daunting it seems. So I procrastinate some more. Nasty cycle!

So... Hmmm.... It's hard to get started here. Some day I will post a whole photo album, but for now I'll just write for a few minutes. Here's a quick overview of the last month or so.

* Wedding madness - lots of fun, friends, and family.

* A little vacation on the way home - more time with friends and family and a few days close to Lake Michigan. Ahhhhh....

* Home again - recovering from the trip and all of Keith's family was here for a week. Party time! It was like Christmas without the snow and presents!

* Iris and her kids were in town and, of course, Matthew and Rhonda and family, so we did a bunch of stuff together.

* Oh My It's Time To Start School! It took me a bit to get organized and started, but we're getting into the swing of things now. It's like learning how to juggle! I'm learning how to teach Logan to read while giving Hannah her bottle, keep Josiah occupied while helping the others, keep Caleb encouraged and motivated, and just now I even gave Caleb his spelling words while working on this blog! Please dont' take this to mean that we're just doing just peachy, though. We are definitely a work in progress!!

I have much more to say about the above subjects, and many pictures to post, but we'll see how and when that happens. I'm really hoping to post more now that we're getting into a routine. Hoping.

Now, I'll hold my breath and see if anyone is still checking here, and willing to comment. Someone just said the other day that they read this, but never comment. That was you, Yvonne, right? :-) Hint, hint...