Today's classroom!

The blue book on the table is our new read-aloud: The Young Carthaginian by G.A. Henty. One of the first chapters was about a night time lion hunt, so the boys are hooked. Hopefully we haven't bitten off more than we can chew!!

Just need a helmet for Baby E! 

Funny for Today

Matt returned last night from a golf trip near the beach in SC. He was talking to N (5) about playing golf and told him about an animal he saw in the water near many of the holes.

Matt: "I'll give you three guesses..."

N: "a giraffe?"
M: "no"

N: "a cardinal?"
M: "nope."

N: "a hedgehog?"
M: "noooo"


Looks like we need to do some homeschool studying about alligators!!

Matt has made up a new word: "blogable" as in, "now, that's blogable!"

A Guest Blogger

The following was written by my friend Kim, in Alabama, who just learned she's expecting #6!

Thus far the Lord has brought us
Have you ever read the story of the Ebenezer stone in the Old Testament?
It is one of those were God had the children of Israel set up a monument that would testify to the generations of God's provision. It was a stone monument and He named it "Ebenezer" which meant, "Thus far the Lord has brought us."

We have a "thing" with that story in the M family because years ago at Thanksgiving, Dave's parents told the story and pulled out a rock that they keep in their living room with the word "Ebenezer" on it. It is almost a running family joke now, and occasionally it turns up missing at family gatherings and Mr. and Mrs. M have a fit. "WHO took Ebenezer?" We all laugh and roll our eyes... but I have to admit I like seeing it there. Because I DO remember when I see it.

I think in a lot of ways, each of my children is an Ebenezer stone.
When I look at J. I remember the hard first year of our marriage and how God brought us through college, back home, and how we longed to have a family. Then I had a wonderful pregnancy, until J. and I almost died due to toxemia. And we were SO poor I dont know how we made it... but I look at Jason now and remember "thus far the Lord has brought us."

With S., I think of those hard years of having TWO babies. We spent her pregnancy trying to sell our townhouse and find a home for us, part of the time "homeless" and living in my grandparents' house. I begged God to give us our own home before our baby was born, and graciously He allowed us to close while I was in labor. "Thus far the Lord has brought us."

Ja's pregnancy was just... well let's just say it is amazing we have had more children. I had severe depression for the second half, and then when he was 5 1/2 weeks old I was hospitalized with meningitis. I spent the next 3 or so months wishing I were dead or that I could run away. It was the darkest time of my life. But I look at my precious blue-eyed, grinning, freckled-faced child, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that "thus far the Lord has brought us."

Jb pushed our family to capacity level. We were bursting at the seams... 3 boys in one tiny bedroom. Chaos was the rule. Laundry was not "+1" but more like "x2"! My oldest was starting kindergarten and I had a newborn plus 2 others at home. Plus I had started my job for the school and once again, "Thus far the Lord has brought us."

A, who was a deeply wanted baby girl blessing for our family, was a nice fit since the only space in the house was in S's room. But we were still bursting at the seams. Just a week or so after I discovered we were expecting, a dear Christian sister told me that she and her husband were going to finish our basement for us. I absolutely burst into tears, and before A came we added a playroom to our home which gave us MUCH needed space for my children to play and for their toys. It has been such an incredible blessing, and I look at Anna and think "Thus far the Lord has brought us."

So what is my problem? Why am I not finding joy with our new news? Maybe I need to swipe the rock from my inlaws and put it on my desk to remind me. Are the 5 children I have not enough? I sometimes think life is over the top as it is and I know I cant handle it. I can see that I am weak and sinful and helpless... but maybe that is the point. Maybe He just is reminding me that He HAS brought us and will continue to do so. Maybe if this is a boy we could call him Ebenezer. Mmmm maybe not.

Accomplishment!

N, who is 5, is riding his bike w/ no training wheels!
Actually the training wheels are still on, but they are bent up so high they don't even touch the ground and he is just zooming up and down the street with the 'big kids.'

I'm starting to think he is qualified to be called a 'big kid' now!

(Relating today to this Mary Englebreit picture!)

Amy also posted about riding bikes, but her's is much more spiritual, of course!

It's official!

Kim is having another baby!!

That makes #6 (or 6&7!!) for her and since we live parallel lives, I wonder what that means for me?!?

Much love to you, Kim and David, and congratulations!!!

Not growing weary.

My aunt and uncle live in a Winnebago.

Seriously!

They have seven children, all grown now, and starting to have babies. So, Aunt & Uncle decided about a year ago to sell their house (where they've lived for at least 20 years) and travel from place to place visiting each child and family, staying about six months or so. They have gotten to be present at and available after the births of both of their grandchildren. What a great plan!

Tonight Uncle was passing through town on business (in his car, much to the children's disappointment) and took us to dinner and showed us pictures of his grandbabies. All my life I thought their family was a little crazy... I mean seven children?

I know, I know -- we are only two away from that number!!

Now that they are grown -- wow. They are a neat family -- still pretty crazy but, loving each other and loving the Lord.

Hanging with Uncle reminds me to "begin where we intend to go" and to keep on running this race because the rewards at the other side are pretty amazing.

Thank you, Lord, for my precious children.

N is learning this verse:

Proverbs 17:6
Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are
the pride of their children.

I know something you don't know!

Mom? Are you reading? Because this one's for you!!

hee hee hee...

A Good Day

It's been a dreary, drizzly, chilly, eye itching, clothes folding kind of a day.

But oh, so good.

It is such a good feeling to say a happy good night to the children and tuck them in; tonight to a rousing rendition of O Worship the King sung lustly from both bedrooms as the lights went out.

We finished Caddie Woodlawn tonight over pizza. With a few breaks for music practice, math, chores, soccer (yes, in the cold and drizzle), meals and memory work, we read the last eight chapters today! Several times, I was fighting back the tears and the children groaned, "Mom, why are you crying again?!"

Anyone else do that?

The following quote was said to Caddie, a pioneer tomboy, by her wise father after she was disicplined and sent to her room with no supper... (well, I won't say why in case you've never read the book!)

"... It's a strange thing, but somehow we expect more of girls than of boys. It
is the sisters and wives and mothers, you know, Caddie, who keep the world sweet
and beautiful. What a rough world it would be if there were only men and boys in
it, doing things in their rough way! A woman's task is to teach them gentleness
and courtesy and love and kindness. It's a big task, too, Caddie -- harder than
cutting trees or building mills or damming rivers. It takes nerve and courage
and patience, but good women have those things. They have them just as the men
who build bridges and carve roads through the wilderness. A woman's work is
something fine and novel to grow up to, and it is just as important as a man's.
But no man could ever do it so well. ... I want you to be a woman with a wise
and understanding heart, healthy in body and honest in mind."

Oh, what a wonderful message to give my dear daughter, and of which to remind myself... all done to the glory of God, of course!

Good point.

Last night I was washing H's leg with zanfel to soothe and heal her poison ivy.

B said, "H, it would be better if you had poison ivy on your arm instead of your leg."

"Why?"

"Because if you had poison ivy on your arm, no one would bite it."


Okay...

Cyber-Shakespeare

This information is from HomeSchool Free Stuff.com and I haven't checked it all out, but I plan to:

The Complete Works of William ShakespeareThis is a server of the complete works of William Shakespeare, provided by The Tech-MIT.

ISE: Shakespeare's Life and TimesThe Internet Shakespeare Editions present this extensive site on Shakespeare's life and times. "Topics covered include Shakespeare's life, the stages he wrote for, and the context of the society of his time, the politics and history, the background of ideas and religion, the dramatic tradition he was part of, the literary background, and the music and art he would have encountered. There is an extensive reference section, including maps, a detailed chronology, and thorough bibliographies." There are also online texts of Shakespeare's plays in the original spelling.

Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet"An annotated guide to Shakespeare resources available on Internet." Covers resources related to Shakespeare's works, his life and times, theater, criticism, the Renaissance, sources, and educational materials. Also includes an excellent guide to searching for Shakespeare on the Internet. Highly recommended.

The Shakespeare Art MuseumFeaturing the writings and visual works (oil paintings, graphics, and watercolors) of visual artist Hannah Tompkins, these works based on the plays and themes of William Shakespeare were displayed at the Shakespeare Art Museum in Ashland Oregon. The Museum was founded in 1984 as a non-profit organization by Wolf Tomkins and Hannah Tompkins. "At the museum, Hannah often gave gallery talks and tours sharing her wit and wisdom of the Shakespearean experience." The museum closed in 1990 and Hannah died of cancer five years later. This online art museum displays Tompkin's oil paintings, multi-color graphics, and watercolors with her text and descriptions, all dealing with the works and themes of Shakespeare.

Shakespeare Resource CenterYou'll find here collected links from all over the World Wide Web to help you find information of all sorts on William Shakespeare.

Shakespeare Books and Videos For KidsThis is a collection of videos and books you can get form your public library system to introduce young children to Shakespeare.

Tales From Shakespeare (For Children)The following Tales are meant to be submitted to the young reader as an introduction to the study of Shakespeare, for which purpose his words are used whenever it seemed possible to bring them in; and in whatever has been added to give them the regular form of a connected story, diligent care has been taken to select such words as might least interrupt the effect of the beautiful English tongue in which he wrote: therefore, words introduced into our language since his time have been as far as possible avoided.

Shakespeare Magnet PoetryThis JAVA applet combines the idea of refrigerator magnets and the poetry of the greatest sonnet writer of all time. As the page loads, a scattered assortment of doths, thous, and dosts from Shakespeare's lexicon appears. Your child can arrange words to accurately re-create a famous sonnet -- the first screen came up with Hamlet's famous lines -- or create their own poetry. Click Roll the Dice and generate a new collection of word magnets to begin again!

Teaching ShakespeareThe Folger Library teams up with the National Endowment for the Humanities to bring teachers this wonderful collection of support materials for teaching Shakespeare to your child. There are more than 100 archived lesson plans, and two or three new lessons are featured every month. Thrill to such titles as It's Elementary!: Stomping and Romping with Shakespeare, "I Will Hear That Play": Using Sound to Enhance the Text, and A Boxful of Character. Teacher/Parent's Lounge requires registration (gratis) and serves as a discussion board for educators to share ideas and resources. Links lead to additional resources, including the Folger Library itself.

Elementary, My Dear ShakespeareLots of great lesson plans to teach your child about Shakespeare including lots of great writing lesson plans. This site is put together by PBS and has lots of rich resources to use to introduce your child to Shakespeare.

Dreaming ShakespeareLionel came on stage and said, "Hoorah for Shakespeare Day!" Shakespeare Day is when everyone wears funny clothes and quotes Shakespeare all over the place. (William Shakespeare was a famous writer. He wrote many plays and poems.) "The actors are at hand; and, by their show, You shall know all that you are like to know. I, prologue like, your humble patience pray, Gently to hear, kindly to judge our play."

Contents of my "purse"

Filed under: useless information

I just dumped out my "purse," (which really is more of a tote bag) looking for the new insurance information that I KNOW I had somewhere, and was amused by the contents:

• A brown wallet (the contents of this are nunya!)
• Two matchbox cars (one green, one orange)
• One orange matchbox truck
• A broken hair clip (I really liked this one, too, darn it!)
• Four bulletins from Sunday's evening worship
• Cell phone
• Baby E's pretty silver bracelet which she loves, but won't keep on
• Two medicated ChapSticks
• Sunglasses
• Two pull tabs from Diet Coke cans
• One blue m&m (well, not anymore, ummmm)
• Three Hershey kisses wrappers (silver, red & green)
• Four white plastic spoons
• One size 3 diaper (Pampers, of course; must've been here awhile, b/c we're using 4s now!)
• My hp iPAQ
• 2oz. Germ-x hand sanitizer
• Two pencils
• Two crayons (blue & "beaver")
• Two samples of Oral-B "Brush-Ups"
• Business card from the hair salon
• Colorful baby teething beads
• Suzuki Piano School Volumes 1&2 CD
• Blue baby hair bow
• Purple hair rubber band
• One children's Tylenol Cold tablet
• Two regular Tylenol Cold tablets
• Visine A.C. eye drops (which I don't need anymore thanks to the zyrtec!)
• Tea bag wrapper
• Addition Wrap-ups
• Crabtree & Evelyn Nantucket Briar Hand Therapy (.8 fl oz)
• Lotion from our room at the Sheraton in Chattanooga
• Small box of Harris Teeter brand raisins
• 11 Chick-fil-a coupons
• One Harris Teeter check-out coupon for coffee
• One Care-Free bubble gum wrapper
• Mary Kay mascara in black
• Mary Kay lipstick in Mocha Freeze
• $1.22 in change
• The Slab Club card from The Marble Slab with two stamps!
• A Bi-Lo "bonus card"
• Two sets of scripture memory cards
• The old insurance card

Two things I like start with Z

zyrtec -- for my allergies (I can see and breathe again!!)
zanfel -- for H's poison ivy

Elisabeth Elliot's Daily Devotional

Title: What Shall I Do?
Author: Elisabeth Elliot
It is not always possible to know whether the source of an idea or deed is God or Satan, since God sometimes covers Himself in cloud and Satan is often an angel of light. It is, however, always possible to trust the Shepherd who has promised to lead us in paths of righteousness. We must do the thing that appears to be right to do at the right time and do it by faith. That is, we do it with an honest desire to obey God and a willingness to have what He wills us to have, or not to have what He does not will us to have. If it were not for uncertainties, we would have no need to walk by faith.

Show me the way that I must take;
to Thee I offer all my heart.
Teach me to do thy will for thou art my God.
Keep me safe, O Lord, for the honor of thy name.


--(Ps 143:8,10,11 NEB)

Psalm 143:8-10 (New International Version)
8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.
9 Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD ,
for I hide myself in you.
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
lead me on level ground.

Check this out!

There is an On-line Homeschool Convention going on here! I just read about it at Molly's blog, and popped over wondering what on earth that could mean... WOW! Looks like a lot of great articles... anyone looking for me during rest time, that's where I'll be.

One last thing before I go clean up after the cake decorating extravaganza...

At the conference I picked up a copy of their magazine, Every Thought Captive, and found a great quote by RC Sproul, Jr. worth sharing here:

"It is true for the Christian that God is in control, and that nothing bad will happen to the Christian, understanding that "Bad" should be defined as anything that isn't helpful in the believer's sanctification. Comfortable is another matter altogether."

For the first time ever, I allowed the children to decorate the b-day cake. This one is for T, who turned 4 on Sunday when we were on our trip. I think they did a great job! 

What I should be doing... 

In bloom! 

"Spring Break," part two

Well, I just wrote this post and my computer just cut off, twice (why is this happening, Matt?!?)! Supposedly there is a 'recover post' feature, but I can't make it work!

So...

On Friday morning, after what seemed like an eternity packing for our crew, we left for Abingdon, VA and the Conference at the Highland Study Center (which I discovered is in RC Sproul, Jr's basement, we actually met at the Higher Education Center).

(Yes, Kim, I like to link!!)

Anyway... the HSC conference was great. The three sessions I was in on were encouraging. There were no planned children's activities; the children all sat in for the entire thing. A big part of their focus is the blessing of children, and the importance of families worshipping together. We like that, it's just a little challenging...

We were glad the children were welcome and ours did fine, (notice I didn't say great, we have some things to work on...). I gave them each a notebook and a couple crayons. At one point I gave them candy (ooooh, twice this week!). They each had a book to look at and B snuck in a matchbox car. During the breaks we took them outside and had them run as fast as they could. Baby E (who is now officially 18 months; can I still call her baby?), however, was not going to quiet down enough to sit through even one session. So, we took turns going out with her.

Matt felt a special kinship to three of the four speakers. The three were about his same height, and all made short jokes about each other. This, of course, gave them an extra measure of spirituality in Matt's eyes.

At lunch on Saturday, we ate at BK with Amy and her family, Valerie, and another couple from FL (and their two week old baby!). Since we've been home, I've read a little bit of Valerie's blog, and especially liked the post about hospitality on April 14 and her acronym, EGEATP.

We met Doug Phillips of Vision Forum and his daughter, Jubilee, at his book table. He has many people in his family named Elizabeth, and told our baby about all of them. He also correctly guessed that H gets called "banana." Jubilee is 7, and H enjoyed talking to her for a few moments. Our little socialite also got to know Darby and Lauren and some other girls from the church there. They were very friendly and invited H to play "British Bulldog" with them. They must learn well from their very hospitable families.

After the conference was over on Saturday, we found a Kroger, and then took a drive through the beautiful country until we found the perfect spot for a picnic (I really wish I'd had my camera b/c I would love to post a picture here) -- it was in a little valley, in a grove of trees beside a river... just idyllic. The boys rolled up their pantlegs and threw their crusts to the fish and then threw rocks at them. B found a stick and a string and a worm and went "fishing." H sat and finished her book... all too soon the sun started to go down and we headed back to the hotel.

On Sunday we worshipped with the congregations of St. Peter's and went to the 3rd Sunday covered dish lunch (a "pot providence"). Oh my! I have never seen crock pots as big as the ones there -- one was big enough to fit an entire turkey and the fixins' (which was very good, I had some)! I need to find out where to get a crock pot that big, I already checked at Wally World, they didn't have one.

Anyway... we ended up sitting across from Dr. Sproul himself; I sat next to his 4 year old daughter who will be 5 in four weeks and has a green dress she likes to wear on Sundays (and was quite a conversationalist!). When I actually talked to her dad I found out her b'day isn't 'til August, but she was close! I felt like a doofus telling him how much I liked the book, When You Rise Up and finally shut up when I realized I was gushing. It's a good thing Matt had already told me I couldn't ask him to sign my copy.

Things I came away from the conference with:

• Some books (Including one I bought especially for Matt: Drinking With Calvin and Luther)
• Encouragement to live "Biblically," to Fear (believe) God
• Admonition to love my children, to delight in them
• A challenge to pray for whatever God would send my (and my family's) way in order to make me (us) more like Jesus (a scary prayer that I can not honestly and unconditionally pray... but I am praying for the ability to pray it)
• More thoughts about living a "simple, separate and deliberate" life
• A stirring story about a solder, killed at Iwo Jima, who had written many, many pages to his then five-year old son... Illustrating the importance and impact of a father's influence in a child's life
• Encouragement from talking with other moms also walking the halls with little ones
• Amazement at large families with children who cheerfully sat together and helped each other and their parents...
• Instructions from another mom about how to make a baby "pocket" sling, should I ever need one...
• etc., etc., etc.

Okay, there's much more I could say, but I think my family needs to eat tonight. The children are decorating T's b-day cake so I should go check on them!

(By the way, in case anyone is wondering if we ever have "real" school: today we actually did math in the workbooks, read our history, did our Bible, worked on memory work and language arts, read aloud two chapters in Caddie Woodlawn, practiced music... "spring break school" is officially over!)

"Spring Break" travels, part one

Last week was our Spring Break. But, as you know, everything we do is 'school!' We had two great field trips, actually, in the course of the week. We did travel to one end of the state (the beach) and back, and then the next day, traveled to the other end of the state (the NC/VA border) for this conference. So, even though it was our 'spring break' and we did nothing in any of our workbooks, or read our history, or work on any memory work... we were indeed 'in school.' [geography, NC state study]

We crossed this bridge to get to Sunset Beach with my friend and her four children (thanks, Susan!). Traffic here stops every hour on the hour so the bridge can open and boats on the Intercostal Waterway can go through. In spite of the cold and drizzle, the children played in the water and on the sand near this pier. Baby E, who hates her bath, was terrified at first of the huge expanse of water, but eventually discovered she liked the sand and was running and playing with the best of them by the time we left. We discussed irrigation when the boys dug a ditch from the edge of the ocean to their castle moat. We brought home bags of sea shells, and even found some sharks' teeth! During the rainy afternoon, our oldest girls read, worked on their scrapbooks and colored with the youngest boys. [telling time, p.e., history, science, art]

On the way home, I learned a very important lesson (see, even for me, everything is school): when I am driving, I must watch for the road signs. [reading, following directions]

Even when I am quizzing the 9 & 6 year olds on their math facts. And when I lose my patience because the 9 & 6 year olds seem to have forgotten what numbers even are (but really aren't paying attention, just looking out the window...) I still have to watch out for the road signs. Especially when we are taking the 'scenic route' through every small town between Charlotte and the beach on hwy. 74 which has some interesting twists and turns around interstate 95... [math, map skills]

We ended up somewhere in a tiny town near Lumbertown, but found a very helpful florist who shook her head, corrected my pronunciation of Whiteville, and directed us back to the right road. [life skills]

I had to apologize to my children for getting us lost. I had to confess my sin of impatience and the sweet things forgave me and told me they loved me and that I am the best mom in the world. Then I gave them a piece of candy. We really only lost about half an hour and we saw a different part of the great state of NC! Plus, they enjoyed retelling the lovely story to Matt. However, B will forever remember the sum of 8+8, and H will not blank out again when skip counting by 8! [Bible, narration]

At least I hope not.

Home

We came home this afternoon from our travels... (more about them later!)
I am a homebody. So glad to be back!
This is the song in my heart:

Michael Card’s “Home”
(From the CD “poiema”)
Home is a comfort
And home is a light
A place to leave the darkness outside
Home is a peaceful and ever-full feeling
A place where a soul safely hides

And being at home should remind you that still
There's a place that's prepared just for you
And I think that home is just heaven's reflection
As long as my home's here with you

Going to the beach!!

I'll be taking a break from bloggin' this week... 'cause we're going to the beach!! Yippee!

Well, I'll be there with a friend and our 9 children, ages 9 & under!

You can pray for us.

April 7

I have been looking forward to April 7 all year long. This is the most encouraging entry in the little devotion book Joy and Strength, compiled by Mary Wilder Tileston.

April 7
“When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then Thou knewest my path.”
Psalm cxlii.3


“DO not yield to the temptation of looking at everything all at once, as if everything would happen at once, and all the events of the day be crowded into an hour. Do not thus forecast, but take each thing as it comes to you, and look upon it as the present expression of the will of God concerning you; then regard the next in the same way, and thus receive your day piece by piece from Him who will remember always when He gives you work to do, that you need strength to do it.

Often, when you have almost fainted in spirit, the thought comes, “If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, what shalt thou do with the horsemen?” Put it from you, it is a faithless thought; if you need more strength, you will have it, be sure of that; or the call to greater exertion may never come to you. Your business is with the present; leave the future in His hands who will be sure to do the best, the very best for you.”
Priscilla Maurice



Today I am especially glad for this verse; I will have 10 children here this afternoon!

Pretty Days

We spent a couple hours doing botany this morning! Yesterday and today have been so beautiful (I actually have a little sunburn to prove it) and we finally got outside and dug around a little in the garden. The children dug up the weeds and raked out the beds, I trimmed the grass in the paths (and ohhhh, my eyes watered and itched after that...). The climbing rose is about to bloom, and the daylillies are coming up. Much to our delight, the mint, chocolate mint, chives, lamb's ear and black-eyed susans are coming back! Perennials are wonderful!

Today we planted:
Basil
Oregano
lavender
Flax

Also in the plans:
Rosemary
Sugar Snap Peas
tomatoes (& cherry tomatoes)
Lettuce
Broccoli
Corn
Parsley
Zinnas
Delphinium
sunflowers

Garden

T's Garden Picture

Yesterday we started our garden planning. This is 3 year old T's plan!

Signs of Spring!
I zoomed way in on these new leaves... we noticed that overnight our trees are filling in and spring is officially here!