Christians on Social Media

Easter is one of the two times of the year when most Christians post overtly Christian things on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media; the other time is, of course, Christmastime. I'm not even sure how to put my thoughts into words about this topic, but I'm going to try.

I don't think there is anything wrong with posting pictures of the cross, verses, hymn lyrics, words of praise and thanks for Christ's death and resurrection now at Easter time, or all of the relevant things at Christmas: mangers, angels, baby Jesus, wise men, shepherds, and all the pertinent Scripture. I'm not bothered by anybody posting those things; it's nice to be edified by seeing other believers share their thoughts. What I wonder is: Why do Christians post all of those things for about two weeks, or less, out of the year, but then seem to ignore them the rest of the year? Sure, there are a few people who post Scripture verses on a regular basis, or who reference the Lord in their status updates, but the emphasis on Christ's incarnation, death, and resurrection only happens twice a year. The rest of the time it seems that most Christians on various social media don't refer to their beliefs much, if at all. The impression the rest of the world gets is that Christianity only matters at these two major holidays.

Shouldn't we be celebrating Christ's death and resurrection on a daily basis? Isn't that the gospel? That Jesus Christ died for our sins, was laid in a tomb, and on the third day ROSE FROM THE DEAD? This is what we are to be preaching to the world on a regular basis, not just once a year. I am resolving to post something about the resurrection on a weekly basis on Facebook this year. Maybe somebody will ask why I'm posting about it, since it won't be at Easter, and I'll have the opportunity to share the gospel with them, the gospel that is for all days, not just one weekend a year.

Sometimes Things Happen....

Caroline's car blew its head gasket. This is an example of the things that happen in life that just really smack you up-side the head. Sometimes I want to say "Okay, Lord, I get it. We have to trust You and only You."  But it must be that I haven't really arrived yet spiritually, because He keeps testing and then showing His faithfulness. We have all stayed calm with this one and are in the process of figuring out how to pay for the repair. The Lord has always provided for our family, so I know He will provide now.

On a positive note, the two younger kids and I are taking a bit of a break this week, since we don't have co-op on Friday. I'm having them do math every day, but nothing else. I spent most of Monday dealing with Caroline's car, but today I was able to do some house cleaning and organizing. I'm still teaching piano this week, so it's not really a total break.

Next week I'm starting a brand new piano student, a little girl whose older brother has been my student for two and a half years.  That should be fun.

More from the still-cold-and-wintry South, later.

On Being a Grammar Cop...

Today in my Spanish 2 class I heard a student say "Me and Jordan....."  It really bugs me when people use incorrect grammar. I try not to let it, but it does. As a former English teacher I have to bite my tongue and just let it go when people abuse our beautiful, wonderful, versatile language. I think I need the T-shirt I saw once online with this printed on it: Warning: I'm mentally correcting your grammar as you speak. Or.....maybe I just need to stop worrying about it.

Still Recovering

In my last post, We Survived Camping, I touched briefly on the subject of my difficulty actually sleeping in a sleeping bag on the ground. Even with two foam pads and an extra sleeping bag under me, I had a lot of trouble getting sleep. Two nights of tossing and turning cramped up in a sleeping bag left me with a considerable sleep deficit and an aching lower back and hips. I'm still recovering from that. Even though the last three nights I've been in my own comfy bed, sleeping seven or eight hours a night, I still feel tired and achy. The older I get the longer it takes me to bounce back from losing sleep. I really need to figure out something different for our next camping trip.

We Survived Camping!

Mary and I got back about an hour and a half ago from our camping trip. It was a great weekend, but I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own comfortable bed tonight instead of in a sleeping bag on a tent floor. I've been unpacking and putting things away ever since we got home, and still have a few loads of laundry to do, but I decided to take a break and write. Here is how the weekend went:

We left immediately after our homeschool co-op on Friday, which gets out at 2:30, and came home to finish packing the van. Our goal was to leave the house at 4:00, and we pulled out at 4:03.  Yay.
We had Mary's friend Kylynn with us, who is also part of the AHG troop. Another young lady was supposed to be with us, but she was sick. We stopped for gasoline and snacks, then hit the road. At about 5:45 we arrived at Black Creek Scout Reservation, the local Boy Scout council's camping area. It's a beautiful facility that is still under development and construction. It has a small lake, tent camping areas, and a swimming area that is still not finished (and in any case, it wasn't warm enough to swim yet.) It even has an excellent bathroom building with 12 individual bathrooms with toilet, sink, and shower! All the comforts of home, which we don't always get on AHG campouts. (Sometimes we have to use pit toilet/outhouse things...)

We set up our tents and kitchen gear, and got acquainted with the campsite. By the way, scout rules are that a parent cannot sleep in a tent with a child who is not related to them, so we had to take two tents. Mary, Kylynn, and a couple of other girls who had come with their dads all slept in our family's big tent, and I slept in our little tent by myself. A perfect setup, in my opinion! The girls were a huge help setting up the tents since by now they are old hands at it.

We went on to have a wonderful time. The weather was perfect; it was in the 70s during the day and down into the 50s at night. It didn't rain at all, there was a nice breeze, and it was sunny and warm enough that some of us got pink on our noses and cheeks! We did a lot of walking around the lake, exploring, cooking yummy meals, hanging out with friends (I had several homeschool-mom-friends who were there) and sitting around campfires. The girls made s'mores each night; well, actually, Mary doesn't eat s'mores but she hung out with all the girls while they made them. She and her friends also spent hours playing games and laughing.  I got to meet several homeschool moms I had never met before because along with our American Heritage troop, the Boy Scout troop and Cub Scout pack were camping, too, and I didn't know some of the moms. There were about 75 people, total, so it was a large group!

I love everything about camping except the sleeping bag part. And before you ask, yes, we own an air mattress, but #1) it's a double-bed size and won't fit in our little tent, and #2) it has a leak and you wind up on the ground anyway. This time I took two foam mats and an extra sleeping bag, but still had trouble with back and hip pain each morning. Also, I tend to sleep on my stomach with one knee up, or on my side, rolling back and forth during the night; both are nearly impossible in a sleeping bag.

Sleeping difficulties aside, I love being out in the fresh air (as long as I've taken my allergy meds,) cooking on a camp stove or over a fire, sitting around with friends talking and laughing, walking in the woods or around a lake, playing games, singing, and everything else that goes along with camping. This morning our Pioneer/Patriot unit (the girls I help lead) assisted in leading the whole group in "Holy, Holy, Holy," "Amazing Grace," and "And, Can it Be?" during the worship time.

So we had a nice weekend, although we missed Eric, Caroline, and Bobby. We're glad to be home!

Time for Bed

I got almost everything done today. Things actually went very well all day long, thanks to the Lord's wonderful grace and mercy, and the blessings He has given me in my husband and kids. The only thing I didn't manage to do yet is pack my clothing; I can do that in the morning before co-op. Cooking, cleaning, schooling, teaching lessons, grocery shopping, loading up the van with camping gear, packing food and cooking gear, and even the laundry are all completed. Eric and the kids helped a lot. Oh, and I prepared to teach tomorrow, too.

I just remembered another thing I didn't have time to do: write up next week's lesson plans. Not a big deal; I got all of their lessons from today graded, so I'll just do the plans Sunday evening or better yet, early Monday morning.

Please pray for me, if you read this, as I drive to the camping area tomorrow and set up two tents. It's not my favorite thing to do.

If any of you prayed for Caroline, thank you. She is starting to feel better.

Off to bed.

Too Many Things to Do

Yesterday was a much better day weather-wise here in Savannah. It was sunny and breezy, and fairly warm. Last night it went down into the 30s and today is supposed to be cooler, but still sunny.  I can handle this sort of weather!

I really want to make a habit of writing something every day, but it doesn't seem like a realistic goal. I simply have too many things to do each day to be able to carve out the time to sit down and write. Even now, I should be doing other things which I am neglecting to be able to write this. I need to figure out how to have guilt-free blogging time.

Today my to-do list is extensive since Mary and I are going camping this weekend with her American Heritage Girls troop. Here's my list:

1. Homeschool Mary and Bobby, making sure they are prepared for all their co-op classes tomorrow. Grade all of their daily work today, and write lesson plans for next week. I could put off the lesson-planning until Sunday night, but I'll probably be too tired.
2. Prepare to teach my two classes at the co-op tomorrow. This one is mostly done already!
3. Keep the house clean.
4. Cook meals. Assign clean-up duties in the kitchen.
5. Teach piano for two and a half hours.
6. Go shopping for the all the food for the campout, as well as easy-to-fix food for the rest of the family to eat while we are gone.
7. Laundry. (that's an every-day thing!)
8. Get all the camping gear out of the shed and load it in the van.
9. Pack up the food and all other needed items for camping in big Rubbermaid containers.
10. Pack my own clothing, etc. for camping; be sure Mary packs hers.

I hope I haven't forgotten anything. Also, let me admit that my children will help with a lot of these, and Eric will help with the camping gear when he gets home from work. I'm not a one-woman show; my family is wonderfully willing to assist in all these duties. But I'm the organizer and director, so I have to keep the list in mind.

One other thing: my oldest is suffering with a bad head cold. If you read this please pray for her. She's pretty miserable.

Off I go. I'll write later about how it all worked out.

Gray Day

Looking out our back windows this morning all I can see is gray. Gray clouds, gray mist, grayish rain, and the pond looks gray as it reflects it all. It's so easy on a day like today to feel down and dismal. There is no cheery light coming in the windows. It seems like a good day to crawl into bed or curl up on the couch with a book and a cup of tea. But there are things to be done: home schooling, preparing for American Heritage Girls tonight, cleaning, grading Spanish tests for Friday's co-op class, and teaching piano this afternoon. 

My solution? Open up the front door. We have azaleas blooming by our front door...

...and our neighbor across the street has more:

Even on such a dreary day these promises of Spring can cheer the heart and lighten the mood.

Now I just need to play some nice music on either my CD player or on Pandora...

Fighting something off...

Yesterday my husband felt sick all day (stomach issues) and now today both girls and I have been fighting something off.  Not fun.

I'll be back on here tomorrow. Time to get some sleep.

The Privilege of Teaching

I didn't post yesterday because we had Kingdom Builders Homeschool Co-op all day, and then when we got home it was time to cook supper and spend time together as a family. My day today looked like this: get up, eat breakfast, make up a grocery list, go grocery shopping, come home and bring in all the stuff, put it all away, eat lunch, do several loads of laundry, deep clean both bathrooms, sweep and mop the dining room and kitchen, vacuum everywhere else, sweep the front entry and walk, clean up the back patio, bleach-clean our four white plastic patio chairs (they were nasty from sitting around all winter,) re-do the peanut-butter-and-birdseed pine cone that I have hanging outside my kitchen window, (the nuthatches are thrilled!) cook supper, (chicken pot pie and a tossed salad,) and now I'm on here for a few minutes before I have to go direct the troops in the kitchen cleanup, and fold more laundry. Whew! This was a good, productive day. But that isn't what I want to write about today.

At Kingdom Builders Co-op I teach two classes of Spanish: Spanish 1 and Spanish 2. I have ten students in the first and fourteen in the latter. I love teaching them. I have always loved teaching. Even when I was little I liked helping out other students, explaining things to them and enjoying that moment when understanding lit up their faces. From 1989 to 1997 I taught high school English and Spanish, and although it was difficult to juggle having children and working full-time, I always enjoyed my time in the classroom with the students. In 1997 I quit teaching just before having Mary, our second daughter. A few years later I began teaching piano lessons from our home, and since then I have taught piano for all but two years, and I love doing that, but it isn't the same thing. There is something dynamic and energizing for me about classroom teaching with a group of students, and being able to teach one day a week at co-op is a real blessing. This is our fifth year in the co-op, and over the years I've taught Biology, AP British Literature, Expository Writing, Spanish, and Sign Language. It has been lots of fun. It is a privilege to take part in the students' lives.  I pray for my students every day, and have seen the Lord at work in their lives.

I plan to continue teaching at the co-op for at least four more years after this, until Bobby graduates from high school.  After that, who knows?  I still haven't decided what I want to do when I grow up my kids are all grown up.

Embracing Middle Age, or When did I get this old?

About ten years ago asked my mother (or my mother-in-law, I can't remember which, and that's part of the point of this whole post) When do I have to start taking a bunch of different pills each day? The answer was vague: Some time in your 40s.....

I will be 46 next month, and I'm already at the pile-of-pills stage. Allergy meds, thyroid hormone, vitamins, fish oil, herbal remedies for pre-menopausal issues....Oh yes, I take them all.

I also have started having to write things down in order to remember them. This is because I'm juggling homeschooling two teenagers, teaching ten piano/voice students, teaching two classes of Spanish each Friday at our homeschool co-op, and co-leading Mary's unit at American Heritage Girls. Oh, and tutoring two teens in English/writing. There are just too many people and too many subjects to keep straight in my head. Ten years ago I could do it.

The other middle-age thing I'm experiencing is the need for bifocals and/or reading glasses. This actually happened in the fall of 2011, but I'm still in denial. I had to get bifocals. I tried doing the bifocal contact lens thing, where you wear a lens in one eye for distance and in the other for reading, but my brain just couldn't make it work. So when I wear my contacts I have to use reading glasses. When I got my bifocal glasses, the lower half (the reading part) was a +1.5 and so I used reading glasses of that strength when I wore my contacts. I have now had to increase my reading glasses to +2.00, so the lower part of my regular glasses isn't strong enough anymore. Occasionally I do the really old-lady-ish thing of putting on my reading glasses in front of my regular glasses. Mostly I just wear my contacts and keep a pair of reading glasses on my head, holding my hair back like a headband. Then I forget where my reading glasses are. I think it's time for another trip to the eye doctor...

I keep wondering when did I get this old? How did this happen? Then I realize that my eldest child is 19, and I have two other teenagers. My hair is starting to go gray around the temples. My joints occasionally ache for no apparent reason. I am not "cool" anymore and don't care. Yup, I'm middle-aged.

Now, I'm not complaining, you know. There are definite perks to middle age. My children are fairly self-sufficient and are good at getting their schoolwork done and helping with chores around the house. They are also really fun to hang out with. My marriage is wonderful, going on twenty-two years now, and my husband is my best friend. I don't have a lot of drama in my life and I like it that way. I am blessed with good parents, parents-in-law, in-laws in general, and friends. God is good, even though He didn't stop my aging process at 29. 

What I just listened to on Pandora

I really like using Pandora online radio.  Right now, as the kids and I do homeschooling, I have a channel on that is hymns and praise songs.  We just listened to Louise Stead's "Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus."  I really love that song!  Whoops, gotta go, "Praise to the Lord the Almighty" just came on...

’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His word;
Just to rest upon His promise;
Just to know, Thus saith the Lord.

• Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him,
  How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er,
  Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus!
    O for grace to trust Him more.

O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
Just in simple faith to plunge me,
’Neath the healing, cleansing flood.

Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life, and rest, and joy, and peace.

I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.

Source: http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/568#ixzz2Mm38QUc2

This Homeschool Year

One of my friends, Jamie, recently started blogging here, and she has inspired me to start writing again on a regular basis. I may not have much to say, but I think I need the discipline of writing daily or at least several times a week, even if it's just a short post. So here goes...

Since I haven't posted on here since last June, I never wrote about what we are doing this year for our homeschooling. Mary is in 10th grade and Bobby is in 8th, so I'm already planning for next year when for the first time I'll have two in high school at once. That'll be interesting.

This year Mary is studying: Teaching Textbooks Algebra 2, Apologia Biology, Lifepac American Lit, Lifepac American History, Switched-On-Schoolhouse Spanish 2, Easy Grammar Ultimate Grade 10, S.O.S. Physical Fitness, and Mixed Media Art (co-op class.) Bobby is studying: Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1, Apologia General Science, S.O.S. Civil War History & Spanish 1, literature as determined by me, Easy Grammar Ultimate Grade 8, Music Appreciation (co-op class,) and two half-year classes at co-op, Art 1st semester and Cooking this semester.  Their days are full, and so are mine! In addition to teaching them and helping them with their co-op classes, I teach both the Spanish 1 and Spanish 2 classes at co-op each Friday. I also teach piano three afternoons a week.  We stay very busy, and I love it. Off to do more homeschooling......

Father's Day: Lessons I've Learned

     On Mother's Day I wrote about my wonderful mom and mother-in-law and the things I have learned from them over the years. Today I would like to write about my father, John Putney, and my father-in-law, Vic Carpenter. Both have been wonderful blessings to me!

     I remember, when I was little, seeing Dad on his knees in his study praying. That image is burned into my mind; I never had to ask where my father got his guidance and wisdom. He led our family in daily devotions, and stressed the reading of the Word, the memorizing of verses, sharing of prayer needs, and praying together as a family. When I was little I took this all for granted; surely everyone had a family like this! But now that I'm older and wiser I realize how unusual it was, and thank God for it. Even now, my dad and mom pray for all of us kids, and all of our kids, every day. If I have any prayer request, from the most trivial thing to the highly urgent, I know that I can call my parents and ask them to pray.
    I learned many other things from my dad.  My dad taught us to work hard (one of these days I'll blog about the Chore List) and yet imbued our lives with a sense of fun, too.  He sang silly songs in the car (do you still do that, Dad?) as we drove along. My teenagers still enjoy "Mareseatoats" and other crazy songs. Dad made sure that we went to the beach together as a family for breakfast on the beach every once in a while (thanks, Mom, for all your work in that, too.)  We saw the beautiful sights of Puerto Rico along with living the daily grind of school, work, housework, and church activities.  Trips to El Yunque and Luquillo Beach were day-long adventures of fun; as an adult I now realize just how much work went into planning those trips, and it inspires me to do the same sort of things with my children.
     Dad taught all of us the importance of consistent, loving discipline. I will never forget being in his study, having been disciplined for some naughtiness or other, and Dad giving me a huge bear hug, telling me that he loved me very much and wanted me to be a grown-up who loves the Lord and lives to please Him. Through his loving discipline I learned self-control and self-discipline.
     I thank God every day for Dad, and realize just how blessed I am to have him as my daddy.
     When I met and married Eric, I gained another dad, Vic, my father-in-law. God has blessed me greatly through him, as well! Who knew, back in 1985 when I took French 1 at Houghton College, that my French professor would one day be my father-in-law? Vic has a great sense of humor, and has endured much goofing-off on my part over the years. He can make a pun out of nearly anything, much to the we're-groaning-but-we-love-it dismay of the kids. He and I can make cross-lingual jokes out of things, and while I help him learn Spanish, he can continue to help me learn French. Vic inspires me to keep learning throughout life; he has learned multiple languages as an adult and continues to both take and teach classes at a local senior center. He shares his knowledge with others and maintains a personal quest to learn more all the time. He plays tennis as his life-time sport, continuing to play despite having both hips replaced about fifteen years ago.

TO SUM UP:  I have been greatly blessed through my own parents, John and Ruth, and Eric's parents, Vic and Char. They have taught Eric and me by their example how to have a good marriage, how to raise our kids, how to manage our finances, and how to serve the Lord and keep Him first in our lives. I don't deserve any of these blessings; I consider them unmerited favor, or grace if you will.  I praise the Lord for His enduring kindness.

Stream of Consciousness...On Mother's Day...

….I want to celebrate the incredible blessings that God has given me in my own Mom, Ruth Putney, and in my mother-in-law, Charlotte Carpenter. They have both shaped and influenced my life greatly, and I thank God for them.

One of my earliest memories of my mother is of sitting in her lap, being rocked in a rocking chair, and hearing her humming and singing me to sleep.  In fact, I remember hearing my mom hum and sing a lot during my childhood as she cooked delicious, nutritious meals for our family, as she folded laundry, as she mopped the floor…my theory that life should have background music, as my older sister Ruth once put it, clearly comes from my mother (and my dad, let’s not neglect his singing in the car, but that’s a topic for Father's Day) who always seemed to be making music of some kind, whether her own humming, or playing the piano.  Oh, yes, the piano!  She played for multiple church services on Sundays, for choir practice, she played for us kids to sing along at home, (how can I ever forget our family sing-along Messiah times?) she played Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King” for us to dance around to like total maniacs in the living room—one of my favorite childhood memories—and I remember some nights going to sleep to the sound of my mom’s hymn arrangements floating down the hallway.  My lifelong love of the piano and pretty much every kind of music has deep roots in the musical garden that my parents cultivated every day in our home.   

Now that I’m forty-something and have three teenagers of my own, I am in awe of my mom and the incredible amounts of work she did daily to keep a household of eight running.  I learned cooking and baking from her, and how to shop wisely: my mom organized a collective shopping group with other missionary wives, going to a wholesale warehouse to buy flour, sugar, meat, frozen vegetables, and other staples in large quantities at wholesale prices, in order to stretch the family budget.  She cooked wonderful meals at home, taught us how to bake bread, pies, cookies, how to cook, and how to roast a turkey (don’t even get me started on the enormous Thanksgiving dinners at our house with 30+ people on our back porch.) I learned how to sew from my mom, how to mend clothing, how to clean a house, how to do laundry, and in general how to keep a home running. She taught me by example how to nurse a sick child, how to juggle work and home responsibilities, how to manage finances, and how to be loving and yet firm.  Does Proverbs 31 pop into mind?

When I got a little older, my mom began teaching at the mission school, Wesleyan Academy.  I had the privilege of having my mom as a choir leader and as a teacher in a class for the Seniors called “Personal and Social Development”  (think:  Sex Ed, Marriage, & Family.) My mom was a wonderful teacher, and I know that my own love for and rapport with high school kids is really just an echo of her ability.

Where did my mom get the strength to do all of this?  Well, another thing I learned from my mom is the importance of spending time daily in God’s word, and speaking with Him in prayer.  From my earliest childhood I knew that my mom (both parents, actually) placed a high importance on personal and family devotions. I know now that the only way she did everything she had to do each day was through supernatural strength from the Lord.

When I met and later married my husband, Eric, God blessed me for the second time with a mom, this time my mother-in-law. Like my own mother, she is a true Proverbs 31 woman. She is constantly serving others: cooking and serving in the ministry at her church to senior citizens (yes, I know technically she IS a senior citizen, but she is not old in any way,) ministering to the homeless, caring for the flowerbeds at her church, helping me and her own daughter Esther with our kids and homes in pretty much any way we need her, counseling many people through difficult times…and the list could go on.  She has helped us move from north (NY) to south (GA,) then halfway north (NC,) and finally all the way around the world from India back to Georgia. For that last move, she did all of the telephone leg-work to find out where we should have Bobby treated, and even set it up so that when we got off the plane, we already had an appointment to see his pediatrician. What would we have done without her?

She has been there for Eric and me through life-threatening medical issues with two different children, through the infancy of two of them, through life’s ups and downs, and we always know we can count on her to help if she can. Like my own mom, she is multi-talented and frugal; she, too, knows how to shop well, how to manage finances, and how to run a household efficiently. She has added to her abilities in the last year by learning how to quilt, and making Mary a beautiful quilt, with plans to make each grandchild one. This inspires me to continue with my own quilting efforts!

As I reflect on motherhood today, I realize that God has given me two of the finest examples of mothers that there could ever be. My mom and my mother-in-law are truly two of my best friends and closest confidants.  How many women can say that? Next to Eric, who is my best friend, they are the first ones I think to call in life’s hard times, or if I need Godly advice, or to share a joyous moment.  I am blessed beyond compare. 

So today I praise God and thank Him for both of my moms. May I continue to grow as He shapes me to be the mother I should be; this would mean becoming more like each of them.

I read two books recently....

....that really shook me up a little.  I got them both from our local library. The first was Making Supper Safe, by Ben Hewitt.

It's about our food industry and the lack of oversight which leads to food contamination. A good read, but also a little frightening. The only way we can ever be truly sure that our food is not contaminated is to grow it all ourselves, something which in our society today is nearly impossible to do. It makes me wish I had enough of a backyard to have a huge garden.

The other book was American Wasteland, by Jonathan Bloom.

This one is about the massive waste of food that goes on every day in our country, mostly due to the fact that we Americans want all types of food available at all seasons of the year, and we want it to look pretty and seem fresh-picked. Stores throw out thousands of dollars' worth of food every week. This book, more than the first, made me really stop and take stock of our own food consumption.  There isn't much I can do about food contamination in the supply line before we buy the food, but there is a lot I can do here at home to prevent wasting perfectly good food.

My current non-fiction read is The Smart-Aleck's Guide to American History, by Adam Selzer.

My sister-in-law and brother-in-law gave it to me for Christmas.  It's hilarious, but also a seriously well-researched book on American History. I'll blog more about it when I'm finished reading it.

And Then There Were Two....

In May our oldest child graduated from home schooling. Yes, home schooling can be done successfully all the way through high school. She is currently doing quite well in college, majoring in English just as I did. The nine years I had with her at home, teaching her and watching her grow, are so precious to me now! She's off on her own, although still living at home, forging her own way on the collegiate scene. One advantage she has discovered in living at home is that she has a live-in proofreader and discussion partner for her papers. So in a way the home schooling continues.

So I have two children still attending Salt & Light Christian School full-time. It seems odd to only have to keep track of two kids and all their work. As I have done in the past, here is a summary of what we are doing this year for their schooling.

Mary is in 9th grade this year. Through our co-op she's taking Physical Science, Spanish 1, Art-Mixed Media, and Art-Drawing. She currently has an "A" in every class. At home she also studies Geometry, Geography, Health, and Language Arts.  For Language Arts this year she is doing Easy Grammar 9 and four Progeny Press Literature Guides (A Christmas Carol, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Fahrenheit 451.) She has completed the first two so far.  The Progeny Press guides cover reading comprehension, vocabulary, literary terminology, literary interpretation and criticism, and writing everything from short answers to long research papers. In addition to the assigned books, Mary is constantly reading books from the library, and about 90% of her Christmas wish-list consisted of books. Mary is also still working on writing left-handed; she can already print very neatly and is starting to learn cursive. I never knew that someone could decide to be ambidextrous!

Bobby is in 7th grade. At co-op he's taking Art-2-D (taught by a former home schooler who is a junior at SCAD,) Critical Thinking, and a middle-school level Human Anatomy & Physiology. At home he adds to these: Pre-Algebra, Sonlight World History and Literature (what used to be Core 6 and is now Core G,) Jump-In Writing, and Daily Grams 7. The literature in the Sonlight Core G is not really challenging him this year, so we are supplementing with lots of books from the library.

I asked the two of them recently what they would like to be doing more of, or learning, that we are not already doing. Mary said that she would like to be doing more community service (at the Humane Society and America's 2nd Harvest,) and Bobby said he would like to study Middle English. Their personalities, likes, and dislikes are so different! Mary's request is pretty easy; we can just schedule in time to do that.  Bobby's seemed a little daunting until I discovered that you can study Middle English online. He has always loved all things Medieval, and now he can learn to read Chaucer in the original. How about that!

Next post: what I'm reading in all my spare time!

What Have We Been Doing?

I haven't written on my blog since July. I've had several people ask me why. I figure the best way to explain is to write about what we are doing these days in our family, since I actually have a few minutes to sit down and write on here.

Eric is working about 65 hours a week at J.C. Bamford here in Savannah. They make skid steer vehicles, and he inspects them as they come off the line for defects. He's exhausted pretty much all the time. And yet he makes the effort to hang out with the kids and me in the evenings, and is keeping a good sense of humor about life in general. We try to keep our evenings fairly free so we can spend time with him.

Caroline just finished her first semester at Armstrong Atlantic State University. She's living at home while attending college, and working her same job at Chick-fil-A. I'm proud to say that she got a 4.0 GPA her first semester in college while working 15+ hours a week. Good girl!

I'm home schooling Mary (9th grade) and Bobby (7th grade); more about that in a minute. I'm also teaching 15 piano/1 voice students. I'm also teaching three classes of Spanish (2 classes of Spanish 1 and 1 class of Spanish 2--how's that for confusing?) at our home school co-operative every Friday. I'm also one of the leaders of Mary's unit in the local American Heritage Girls Troop 2007, which meets on Tuesday nights. This all adds up to not a whole lot of free time. It's all great stuff, and I'm enjoying it all, but it just means that time to spend online is limited.

About the home schooling:  a lot of people don't seem to realize that home schooling by itself, if being done diligently, is a full-time job. It involves selecting appropriate curriculum for each child, creating yearly goals, writing weekly lesson plans, and THEN spending time each day helping each child learn: math, language arts, history, science, etc. After they are done with each day's work it must be corrected and evaluated. These things don't just magically happen. A home schooling mom has to stay organized and persevere so that she and the kids do not fall behind. In addition, we have to plan extra-curricular activities so that our kids have some fun along with their hard academic work.

So why haven't I been blogging?  Well, I have a full-time job home schooling two of my kids, and a part-time job (8 hours a week)  teaching music, and another part-time job (approximately 5-6 hours a week) teaching at the co-op. With all of that and keeping the house clean, doing the laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, etc....well, blogging has not been a top priority.  And before anybody comments: yes, my children do help with household chores, and yes, I know that they are not toddlers anymore and can do a lot of their school work independently, and yes, I know that many people have extremely busy lives that are much harder than mine.  I'm not complaining about anything here; I really do love my life as it is right now.

And with  that, I'm off to wrap presents!

Next post:  what we are doing for home school this year.

Home Educating Family Publishing

Home Educating Family

We learned about Richard Kirkland when we visited Fredericksburg National Battlefield. Apparently a movie has been made about his bravery and compassion. Hope it's good!

It's a command, not an option.

Yesterday during our house fellowship we found ourselves in Matthew 6.  We are currently studying through the book of Matthew, and when you study straight through books you can't avoid the passages that you don't like....
I have written about being anxious before.  I just want to point out, again, to myself and anybody else who struggles with worry, that we are commanded  in Scripture not to be anxious:

Matthew 6: 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? [7]28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Philippians 4: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Wow. I make supplication to the eternal, holy God of the universe, and He blesses me with His peace. Again, wow.