On Preparing for Another Homeschool Year

I'm spending time this week cleaning out school shelves, organizing curriculum materials, and preparing for the upcoming school year. As I look at all that needs to be done, it's overwhelming. This is my next-to-least favorite part of homeschooling. Therefore, I have to remind myself of these things:

God is with me, His Holy Spirit indwells me, and He will give me the strength to get it all done.

I have done this for seven years already, even while we lived in India and during Bobby's chemotherapy.

My kids are doing well academically, and enjoy learning.

No, they aren't lacking in socialization.

It is worth all the effort.

Now that I have my shelves all organized, it's time to get started on lesson planning.

Oh, and my least favorite thing about home schooling? The paperwork we have to do for Chatham County Public Schools. We used to joke that they probably just stick it in a file box under somebody's desk....and then we went to get Caroline's attendance/student status certified (in order for her to get a learner's permit for driving.) We found the right office, and told a nice man at a desk what we needed. From where do you think he pulled our file? A plastic file box that was by the man's feet under his desk. I AM NOT KIDDING.

Now back to work......

Our 18th Anniversary

Today is Eric's and my 18th anniversary. We met about 20 years ago, and I knew within a few weeks that he would be my husband. But that's a story for another time. What I want to write about today is the major events of our marriage. Just for fun.

July 5, 1991--married in Houghton, NY
May 1993--Eric graduates from Houghton College, I finish my Master's Degree from UB
February 17, 1994--Caroline Ruth born
May 1996--Eric completes Master's Degree from Alfred University
July 1996--we move to Springfield, GA
May 15, 1997--Mary Charlotte born
July 1998--we move to Rincon, GA
December 1, 1998--Robert James a.k.a.Bobby born
November 2000--Mary has cerebral aneurysm repaired successfully
July 2001--10th anniversary getaway at Jekyll Island
July 2002---we move to Wake Forest, NC
January 2005--trip to India
May 2006--Eric receives MDiv. from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
October 2006--we move to India
March 2007--we return from India
March-May 2007--Bobby undergoes chemotherapy for Diffuse Large B-cell lymphoma
May 15, 2007--Mary turns 10, and Bobby finishes chemo
June 18, 2008--Eric called to pastor Chevis Oaks Baptist Church
February 20, 2009--Caroline gets learner's driving permit
May 15, 2009--Mary turns 12, Bobby celebrates two years in remission
July 5, 2009---18 years of marriage!

You can surmise the many things I've left off this list, and the details of each story. This list is a bare-bones outline of major events in our lives over the last 18 years. Along the way we have grown in our love for each other and our trust in the Lord. We have learned more (not everything yet!) about patience, suffering, trust, and God's providence than we knew at the beginning of our marriage. I thank God every day for my wonderful husband. I pray that we will continue to grow older together, ministering to each other and to those around us. Deo volente....

The Blessings of a Christian Heritage

Something I've been ruminating on lately is how much I take for granted having grown up in a Christian home. There are a couple of reasons this is on my mind. One is that we had VBS last week at our church, and we had several children come from our community who had no previous experience with church. None. Some of these kids had never been in a church, never heard the Bible read or taught to them, never sung a song about the Lord. WOW. The other reason is that I have met and talked with several adults lately who, although they are Christians now, are suffering the consequences of their childhood/upbringing without any Christian influence. Their whole world view is different from the world view of someone who has been raised with a Biblical world view. They are struggling to learn what the Bible says about how they should live their lives, and to change how they live accordingly.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'm perfect, have the perfect world view, and live a perfect life. Far from it. But I was blessed to grow up in a home in which: we studied God's Word together as a family; I saw my parents serving, worshiping, and praying; I was taught about modesty, sobriety, stewardship, and self-control (among other things); I learned that Christians CAN have a sense of humor, have fun, and have joy; I learned how to think Christian-ly (sorry for the made-up word.) My world view was shaped and molded in an environment that fostered both intellectual and spiritual pursuits.

Throughout my adult life I have been reminded often that not everyone grew up the way I did. Not everyone had parents who advocated lots of reading and musical development, cultural literacy as well as spiritual growth. Not everyone had parents who modeled a good Biblical marriage and parenting. Not everyone has been blessed as I have. Does this make me better? NO. Why did I have this advantage? I don't know. It surely humbles me...drives me to my knees to thank God for my parents, my in-laws, my husband, my children, and makes me appreciate them more.

I'll keep pondering it. And I'll keep it in mind as I counsel, pray for, and talk with others whose life experiences are vastly different from mine.

On Getting Bitten (for the second time) by a Hamster

We got Mary a Russian dwarf hamster like the one pictured above for her birthday on the 15th. It's a cute little thing named Lizzie; only about four inches long fully grown. It bit me the first or second day out of fear, and I forgave it. After all, she was in a new place with strangers, right?

Tonight's incident was a little different. She was running around in her little clear plastic ball while Mary cleaned her cage and changed her food and water. Next thing we know, Mary is saying, "Um...Mom...Lizzie got out of her ball...." WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Sure enough, there in the kitchen was an empty, open hamster ball. What to do.

Eric got a flashlight and quickly located the rodent under the stove. We pulled out the drawer under the stove, and there she was, hiding from us. Now, here is where I should have checked online for how to pick up a scared hamster. I SHOULD have gotten some of her food or a treat, put in in my hand, and then gotten her to climb on my hand. Better yet, I should have made Mary do all of that. But no, I had to be dumb and just reach in there and pick her up. She squeaked bloody murder and bit my thumb. HARD. Blood-drawingly hard. Painfully hard.

Lizzie is now back in her cage, and I have a band-aid on my thumb. We live and learn!

Spoke too soon...

I finished my last post by promising to write about why we were having a respite from troubles. A day or two later I got sick. Upper respiratory infection that led to acute bronchitis and then to allergy-induced asthma. So here I am 2+ months later finally writing. I still think our family is in a relatively calm period of life. The kids are all pretty healthy, which I used to take for granted but never again. Eric is truly enjoying ministering and preaching at our church Chevis Oaks Baptist, and I'm also enjoying being part of life there as well as home schooling the kids, teaching piano lessons, and generally loving life in our new home. We are so blessed to have the friends that God has given us. Our house is perfect for our family. Our church is an alive, loving place with people who really love the Lord and want to grow spiritually. So what if I was sick for a month and a half? As my husband/pastor so eloquently reminded us Sunday night, we all deserved the Lake of Fire, but God has saved us from that. So what else could be that bad?

I do think there are reasons for our current season of calm. (Oh, Lord, please let it last a little longer!) The first is that we needed this after two and a half years of transient living and uncertainty. The kids in particular needed a sense of stability and peace. The other reason that I'm seeing more and more is that Eric and I both need a place of calm and quiet to refresh ourselves since being in ministry takes a lot of energy. We have people in our church who are dealing with
tough issues in life, among them: marital difficulties, illness (their own or a relative's,) job insecurity, children in crisis, unanswered spiritual questions. In order to be able to help them/encourage them/talk to them/cry with them/pray with them we need a fairly calm life of our own. To take on others' burdens is a privilege, mind you. I find it actually blesses me and strengthens me to be there for others. But if Eric and I were dealing with crises in our own lives, we wouldn't be able to help others.

Since we don't know the mind of God I won't dare to guess what our next real trial will be. Please don't misunderstand, our lives aren't perfect (whose life is?) We have to budget our money, discipline our kids, pay taxes, clean the house, do the laundry, pay the bills, etc. But these are merely the normal tasks of life. During this time we need to be sure to stay in God's Word and not slack spiritually. Isn't it funny how we tend to cling most tightly to the Lord in times of trouble? Should I be praying FOR a trial? Or should I be thanking God we're not in one right now? Or both?

What We Did to the House

Today our friend Tom Lingenfelter came and installed a beautiful storm door for us. Eric's parents blessed us with the storm door, and Link, as we call him, blessed us by installing it for us. Once it was installed it became clear that we would have to change out the light fixture just outside the door since the door banged into it and could only open a third of the way. Link took it down, and I ordered a new one. This whole process started me thinking about everything we have done to this house, with a HUGE amount of help from family (especially Eric's mom, Charlotte,) and friends: Ralph and Vickie Benson, Mike May, Kenny and Betsy Collins, Tom and Mary Lingenfelter, and a few others I'm probably forgetting. I'm trying to remember everything:

--Stripped old wallpaper in kitchen.
--Fixed walls in kitchen.
--Painted nearly every surface, including all ceilings. Closets were left alone.
--Tiled the dining room, kitchen, pantry and laundry area.
--Replaced ceiling fans in Caroline's room.
--Replaced carpet in living room, hallway, and three bedrooms.
--Replaced moulding around fireplace.
--Had a window/hole/pass-through thing cut between kitchen and living room.
--Fixed ceiling fan in one bedroom, replaced remote control for it.
--Replaced all outlets (Eric did most of this, electricians did a few GFCI ones.)
--Installed hood microwave over stove.
--Re-floored master bathroom.
--Removed old whole-house water filter that was gross and disgusting.
--Had electricians repair doorbell, broken light switch, and a few outlets.
--Finally, today, had storm-door installed.
--In about a week, we'll be putting in a new light fixture outside over the door.

There are probably other things I'm forgetting, but those are the main ones.The bulk of the work was done by Eric and all those other people I listed. I did a lot of painting and wallpaper stripping, but I was trying to keep the kids doing school for the three weeks it took to do all of this. The kids also did quite a bit of painting in their own rooms in the afternoons after school. God blessed us greatly with friends who know how to do all of this stuff and who volunteered their time and labor. We could never have afforded to do all of this otherwise. We now have a house that looks and feels inside like a brand new home.

PRAISE THE LORD! His mercy and grace are never-ending. He has taught me in great detail over the past couple of months that He will provide all of our needs (and many of our wants!) according to His riches in glory. When Eric and I sold almost everything to move overseas, I had great fears and doubts--What will we do if we have to come back? Should we put everything in storage? What if? What if?
Eric always steadfastly maintained that God is in control and would provide if that happened. Sure enough, since we came back He provided us with a place to live and then with this house, furnished by donations, outfitted with love by our family and church family. What have I learned? Well, I can't truthfully say as Buttercup says in The Princess Bride "I will never doubt again." However, I do know that what Westley says is true: "There will never be a need." My sin nature will arise and I will probably doubt, but there is no need. God will provide.

NEXT POST: Some reasons I think God is letting us have respite from troubles these days...

New House, No Voice

So, we've moved into a new house. We bought it on Dec. 29th last year, and spent a month renovating. We painted every surface including ceilings, tiled the dining room and kitchen, and re-carpeted all but one of the rooms. And be "we" I mean our whole family, Eric's parents, and MANY friends who volunteered time and talents to make it a beautiful home. We are so blessed! Our church family threw us a house-warming party, and ALL of our furniture was donated except the couch and love seat (which we bought new, and have yet to be delivered.) Even the TV was a gift. God has shown us over and over how He provides for his children. We moved in on Jan. 24th, and have been enjoying it ever since. My desire is to have our home be an oasis of peace for our family and for anyone who comes over to visit.

On a different topic, I lost my voice last Thursday and have not been able to talk out loud since. I can force it to come out as a raspy thing that sounds like I've been smoking for thirty years (no, I haven't!) The kids say my Roz-from-Monster's-Inc. imitation is spot-on...."Wazowski, did you do your paperwork? Your stunned silence is very reassuring." But seriously, it hurts to talk at all. Therefore, I'll be having Caroline call the doctor for me in a few minutes.

Now that we're back on-line I'll be writing more often.

Things For Which I'm Thankful

(This is only a partial list and may be expanded later....)

My salvation. The Holy Spirit. His comfort and peace. His conviction of sin.
My wonderful husband. A good marriage. Laughter. Love.
Having grown up in a Christian home. My excellent parents and their patient wisdom.
My sweet children. Bobby's cancer is still gone. The girls are healthy and beautiful.
My great in-laws. My mother-in-law may very well be the best one ever. (I don't know all the mothers-in-law everywhere, so I shrink from making an absolute statement about how great she is....)
My allergies have abated somewhat, and are under control with Claritin and Flonase.
We have electricity 24/7. My washer and dryer work. We have heat. We can drink water straight from the tap.
Our church. What a blessing!
Good friends.
Chocolate.

In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I Thess. 5:18

ENT Visit....Nasal Rinsing

So, I went to the ENT, Dr. Rashleigh, yesterday afternoon. The good news is I don't have a deviated septum or any other physical abnormalities that could cause my sinus issues. The bad news is that I apparently have, as he put it, "severe allergies." So I'm now on the generics of Allegra and Flonase, and am doing nasal rinses--a procedure that feels as though you are trying to drown yourself. Weird, but it seems to work. You just have to get over your natural tendency to NOT want water to get up your nose. Once you tackle that psychological hurdle, it's pretty easy to do and cleans out your nasal passages with a salt-and-baking-soda type rinse. I grew up with a former-nurse-mom (or is that once-a-nurse-always-a-nurse-mom?) who always made us do salt-water gargles for a sore throat, and this seems to work on the same principle. The ENT wants me to do all of this stuff for a month, then stop it all abruptly in order to see if these are seasonal allergies (to some sort of pollen) or general-year-round allergies to dust mites, mold, etc. To find out definitively I will probably have to go to an allergist and get tested--to see what things I should avoid or change in my environment.

Oh...one last thing...THANK GOD for generic prescriptions!

To the tune of the Beatles' "Yesterday"

Allergies...
rhinitis is taking over me...
more snot than I thought that there could be...
oh, I'm beset...by allergies

Help me, please...
sneezing, coughing now exhaustingly...
is there any simple remedy?
oh, allergies have bested me...

why..they...will not go, I don't know! they're here for keeps...
my head's stuffed up tight and at night I cannot sleep... (oh, oh, oh)

Allergies...
and "non-drowsy" antihistamines...
will I ever see the end of these?
Oh, suffering from allergies...

Suffering...from allergies.

UPDATE:
Allergies...
off to see the ENT at 3:00.
A nice man whose name is RASHleigh...
otorhinolaryngology.

I was humbled and overwhelmed...

...on Tuesday night when what I thought was just a Ladies' Night Out with women from our new church turned out to have ME as the guest of honor! I had no idea that it was really a welcome thing for me. God has blessed our family greatly by bringing us to Chevis Oaks Baptist Church, and Tuesday night was just more of that blessing. We me at a local mall and played a photo scavenger hunt. This meant that each team had to have their picture taken doing a variety of things. Then we went to Logan's Roadhouse, a local restaurant. There, I had fun playing a guessing game where a description was read off a card and I had to determine which lady it described. I think I nailed all of them! This is because people at our new church have been amazing--welcoming, loving, and very open with their lives. I've been able to get to know a large number of people faster than I would have thought possible. I had a nice 6-oz. steak, a baked sweet potato, and sauteed mushrooms. I had a good time getting to know some of the ladies even more at our end of the table. It was a fun evening, and to top it off one of these wonderful ladies picked up my check. All I can say is that God is good, all the time.

It's amazing....

...what just one night away from home, kids, responsibilities, and chores can do. This is where Eric took me Friday night to belatedly celebrate our anniversary. On the actual date of our anniversary, July 5th, I was in New York state with the kids and Eric's mom, and Eric was down here in Georgia. So on Friday his mom and dad took the kids for an overnight, and we went on an overnight of our own. It was great--I didn't know where we were going, and Eric had it all planned out. The River Street Inn is right on Bay Street in Savannah, overlooking River Street on the back side of the hotel. The river was just outside our windows. It's in an old building that was once one of the cotton warehouses which comprised the bulk of Savannah's business in the 1800's. We went out to dinner at an Indian restaurant, ate way too much (thali meal for those of you who know Indian food,) and then just enjoyed being in a nice hotel (with bed turn-down service, plush robes, and chocolates on your pillow!) As much as I dearly love my children, it is nice once in a while to have some alone time with my husband. We went to pick them up on Saturday feeling relaxed and refreshed.

On a side note: When we left the hotel on Saturday, there had been an accident just a few doors down with pretty impressive results. We walked down to see what was going on, and some German tourists asked us if it was part of a scene for a movie. (Savannah is used quite a bit for movie-making.) We had to tell them that no, this was reality. The lady driving the car took out my favorite statue in Savannah, a terra-cotta lion which was made in the mid-1800's. It's irreplaceable. Sad.

My Two Very Different Daughters....

Caroline is a Marianne Dashwood, and Mary is an Elinor Dashwood, despite their birth order.

I know I said in the post on school that we always know how Mary feels, but I should have qualified that by saying "about school." She loves school and learning, and isn't afraid of hard work. We usually have very little idea what she's thinking or feeling about everything else. She has very deep emotions that she keeps well-hidden. Only occasionally does she "let loose" and cry or get angry. On the negative side of this, Mary seems to have a harder time showing affection, hugging others, or being sympathetic to others' pain. I'm not saying that she's cold or unfeeling--she's NOT--just that she doesn't usually let her emotions show.

Caroline, on the other hand, wears her emotions on her sleeve...and on her chest...and on her back...and all over her skirt...She tears up easily, gets angry or upset fairly often, but also shows great sympathy for others easily. She is extremely affectionate and it hurts her to see others in pain. She is learning to watch what she says and not let her emotions rule her, to stop and think before flying off the handle.

Those of you who have known me all my life already know that when I was Caroline's age, I would have scored as Marianne. But the Lord has taught me through my life's circumstances how to be an Elinor. Learning self-control is a hard lesson, but I think God has brought me to a place of knowing how to balance my emotions with reason. It's something I still pray about every morning.

Which is Which?

A challenge for those of you who know my daughters well (actually, even if you just barely know them you can probably guess)AND have some knowledge of Jane Austen novels.

They have both taken the "Which Jane Austen Heroine Are You?" Quiz (see sidebar to take it yourself.) One of them came out as Elinor Dashwood, and the other as Marianne.

Which is which?

Ten Months of Slavery Followed by Two Months of Jubilee

That's how Bobby described school Monday morning when it was time to start. He sure has a way with words. His statement also shows how little he really knows about slavery and its horrors. Home schooling is like a party compared to what his life could be like! Yesterday actually went quite well despite his prophecies of doom. Caroline began 10th grade, Mary started 6th, and Bobby was propelled unwillingly into the 4th. By this morning he had decided to get with the program, and was up early doing schoolwork along with Mary. We're (meaning I'm) excited to be back on a more regular schedule, and to be learning new things. I took a few pictures yesterday to commemorate the start of the school year.
Caroline looking totally bored as a teenager doing her Algebra 2 (this was a posed picture):
With Mary you always know how she really feels:
With Bobby we never have a doubt, either:
But I did get them to pose for a nice "First Day" shot:

Current Happenings...

This past weekend was our church's Homecoming Sunday. Saturday we had a church clean-up day to spiff up the grounds and inside. Lots of people showed up to clean, straighten, landscape, set up, and fellowship. We worked for about three hours. While we were all doing that, the Cub Scout Pack that the church sponsors had a fund-raising car wash in the front parking lot at the church. It was really hot out, but those little boys worked hard and raised over $400 for their activities.

Saturday night we had a hot dog supper, and then a Gospel group sang for us. There was a lot more sweet fellowship.

Sunday morning we had about 230 people at church (we usually have 140-150.) Eric preached a sermon called "You're not a good person, and neither am I." He laid the gospel out there, and now we are praying for it to take root in the hearts of those who were there who are not saved.

After the morning service, what do you think we did? Ate, of course. We are Baptists, after all. We had a HUGE covered dish dinner, where everyone ate plenty/too much/enough for an army.

So here's what I've been thinking: There are aspects to Homecoming Sunday that are kind of sad. Seeing people come to church who have left for some reason, knowing they may not come again until next year--that's sad. Knowing that there are some people who won't come back for Homecoming because they had their feelings hurt in the past--that's sad. Realizing that there are church members missing this year because they went Home to be with the Lord--that's sad. Oh, wait, that's also happy! And it leads me to this: there are plenty of happy, joyous, wonderful things about Homecoming Sunday. Family members get together, old friends are reunited, everyone worships together and praises the Lord for His goodness, and we have a big feast. Does this sound like anywhere else to you? It makes me long for heaven, for the ultimate Homecoming of which all believers will be a part someday. The great weekend we just had here on earth is nothing compared to the fellowship, worship, and feasting that will take place in the presence of God.

While we're waiting for that Homecoming, the special Sundays here on earth are a great reminder of what awaits us.

We're Cool....

We are back in normal temperatures in our house, thank God. A nice man came Thursday morning and fixed our AC unit, HALLELUJAH! We got out of here while the house cooled down and took the kids bowling and to Chik-Fil-A for lunch. I haven't posted since Wednesday night because I couldn't get online here in the house and was too lazy to walk over to the church to do it. But this morning the internet is up and running here in the house, also a reason for praise. If it's still on later, I'll post about the great weekend we just had. Right now I have to leave and take Mary to the neurologist for her annual check-up.

For Shannon, Renata, and Chandra: Thanks, my wonderful sisters, for your comments on the last post. I miss all of you a lot! Wish I could teleport and suddenly be with people I miss...but that's a subject for another post.

90 Degrees

That's how hot it is in our house tonight. Our AC unit is not working, and it was 102 today in Savannah. So here we sit, sweating....

Tomorrow we're going to get out of here and go somewhere air-conditioned. I hope that someone can come fix this tomorrow. What a spoiled American I am, expecting to live in a comfortable 76 degree house all the time. How dare the AC unit quit on us!!! At least I can imagine what it's like for our friends that have lived through the heat season in northern India. Although they deal with 115+ degrees over there, so this isn't anywhere near as bad.

It's too hot to keep holding this laptop on my lap. More tomorrow...

Vacation recovery, VBS, and Vertigo

We came home and spent a week recovering from our trip. Doing laundry, cleaning the house, finally doing my home school curriculum order, and spending some much-needed time with my husband filled the first week back. Then last week we had VBS at our new church. It kicked off on Sunday night and lasted through Thursday night, averaging 200 people each night. I helped in the Craft Shack, and had a blast. It was fun, if exhausting, to work with the children. I also had a great time getting to know the people I was working with. We are blessed to be at a church with a lot of people who have a great sense of humor and who enjoy laughing together.

The one blot on my week was on Tuesday morning when I woke up and the room was spinning. This condition, which is called vertigo, has plagued me a time or two before, and it comes from my having too much fluid in my inner ear canal. I usually take Zyrtec every day, and had forgotten to do so. Twice before vertigo has hit me in the evenings, which is not really a problem since I can just go to bed. This time it hit as soon as I got up. I couldn't keep my eyes open, or walk around without becoming nauseated. I spent the entire morning lying on the couch as perfectly still as I could. I took decongestant as well as Zyrtec, and by about 2 p.m. I could at least get up and walk around slowly, holding my head as steady as possible. I didn't go to VBS that night. On Wednesday I still felt a little dizzy, but by Thursday I was up'n'at'em.

On a very sad note, I read an e-mail today from my friend Denise, to find out that a little boy I've been praying for, Jair, has gone home to be with the Lord. He was fighting cancer and seemed to be doing great when, after the doctors tried an autologous bone marrow transplant, he reacted badly and became very ill. His parents, Teo and Lety, are now grieving the loss of their little boy. This hits me pretty hard. I can imagine their pain.

Also, this last week I tried to e-mail my friend Hilda in Puerto Rico, whose husband passed away in May due to cancer, and have not heard back. Nildi, I tried to write to you--did you get it? I love you!

HOME

The children and I arrived home Friday evening, along with Eric's mom, after two long days of traveling. We are all still tired but we're thrilled to be home. I missed Eric so much while we were gone, and I definitely don't do the "single parent" thing very well. Saturday night a family from our new church had us over to eat dinner with them and some other friends, and that was great--I didn't have to cook, and the food was outstanding! (Thanks, Heather and Kenny!) Then today we went to church and were invited to another family's house for Sunday dinner. (Thanks Mrs. Leola and Mr. Donald!) It was another wonderful meal. What's even sweeter is the fellowship that we have with our new church family. It makes me thank the Lord again for bringing us to Chevis Oaks. This morning we all shared in the Lord's Supper together, and at the end we sang:

Blessed be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like that to that above.

Before our Father's throne
We pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one
Our comforts and our cares.

We share each other's woes,
Our mutual burdens bear;
And often for each other flows
The sympathizing tear.

When we asunder part,
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart,
And hope to meet again.

What a privilege it is to share in communion with other believers.