Election 2012

This is on my FB page as a note, but I am putting it here too. 


These are fully my thoughts and beliefs on my page, and as much as they are volatile for some, they are also not up for debate. Read if you desire, but be warned, you just might be offended if you do not share my thoughts/ideology. I do not claim to know or understand all things political. I have tried to be straightforward and kind.
I have heard many religious conservatives say that they will vote for the candidate that is most like their thinking and beliefs, even though that person does not have a chance of winning. They want to vote their conscience, which is understandable, but I hear things like, "you have to vote with God". I tried to explain to some that due to the way our process works, no matter how many candidates are on the ballot, only two have a chance of winning. It WILL BE Mitt or Barack, whether people like that or not. It is just the fact of the matter, the way our system works...and voting for people who cannot win will not change the process, but it will help insure Obama a win. I hear them say that Mitt has in the past not been totally pro life enough for them, or that he is not Christian enough for them, or that he had a government health insurance plan that they think mirrors obamacare. That logic is stuck in the religious issues and cannot see the forest for the individual trees. People need to see the big picture...socialist/marxist/muslim supporter/anti-American  vs. god- believing/honest/capitalist/constitutionalist/proAmerica/pro freedom.  No man will ever meet all the criteria each religious conservative wants, for they are all human and imperfect.
 Anyone who works the elections knows and understands that to get Obama out of office you MUST vote for Mitt because he is the only one who can defeat Obama. You either want him out and will do what is necessary, or you don't really care either way. God is not on the ballot, nor will He be in a nation based on Christian principles but not intended to be a Christian nation. I think most of the religious conservatives "think" they want a Christian nation...they just fail to consider "whose version of chrisitanity?" Then you get into a whole other mess. The religious conservative vote scares me the most for our country because it threatens to not vote for a man who could turn the country around, but instead to vote for those who will not win in any scenario of reality, therefore giving the election to Obama. Obama is the most frightening scenario i can imagine for the future of America.
Last part cut and modified from a friend's post.... "For those of you, who are born-again Christians, and who are hesitant to vote for Mitt Romney because he is a Mormon *and you don't fully agree with his stances*, please realize that Scripture is FULL of cases where God used non-believers to further His purposes!! * Maybe* God in His mercy is offering to use a * man named Mitt Romney, a Mormon, to save us from Obama." Worth thinking about....

Another Week Almost Gone

I love homeschooling. LOVE IT. And better yet, my kids love it. Not that they know anything else. As the weather cools, the older two even play outsode with the younger ones, even though they are both well past "playing". It is great to see. I love to watch their growth as people becoming adults. It is too fast, to be sure, but I get to experience all of it...almost all of it. I love seeing them become independent from their family, yet always drawn back to us. That is heartwarming. Truly. I love seeing them with their friends, and the activities they choose...so different from what I chose as a teen (thank GOD!).  So centered on goodness and purity and being godly in all they do. Makes me proud. Makes me hopeful.
So another week of our lives is passing away, and the memories are priceless. God is so good to have led us to this place, and these choices. I cannot have a day pass without feeling the blessings in abundance, and I am ever thankful.

Homeschooling Week 4

A lot has happened in the past few weeks. It is hard to believe that four school weeks have passed! I was, and always am, a bit concerned about how the year will progress. So far it has gone amazingly smooth. Having the 9th and 7th graders independent is SO incredibly helpful, not to mention that the 9th grader is doing Sonlight. I bought the manual for the year for him. It has 36 weeks of lessons all laid out week by week with 36 tabs. All i had to do was get the books and materials and he was set. No lesson planning at all! He just works through the weeks and that was worth every bit of the $85 I paid for that manual.
The 7th grader is getting her plans made by me, but her LA and math are laid out in 36 week format and she is reading literature for history and has a 36 week science schedule, so all I have to plan for her is bible and fine arts.
That leaves me the 4th/5th grader, 3rd grader and 1st grader. I just rotate them through math, LA, and bible before lunch and we do history/science/spanish, PE, and fine arts as a group in the afternoons. I justperiodically check on the older kids and grade science tests. It is working very well.
All kids are loving their dance classes and ECD. They are mostly getting together regularly with friends, and those who aren't, don't complain about it much. We registered for co-op and begin classes this friday. The oldest is taking art, economics and drama, the 7th grader is taking survival skills, geography and drama.The 4th/5th grader is taking chemistry, schoolhouse rock and mission field. The 3rd grader is taking chemistry, survival skills and PE. the first grader is taking latin, mathtacular and snacktivities. With 17 families we are heavy on older kids once again. It will be great though.
I have been working on a paper scrapbook for homeschool and plan to continue, but from here on out I am going to use a program called "my publisher" and have them make it from my digital photos. I'd rather pay them to make a pro book than spend the time pasting for hours. Much easier and longer lasting.
I also ordered some jersey fabric and plan to sew two dresses andsee how they turn out. I think I may have to sew in thespring for the girls and need a practiced hand.
We spens the last two weeks doing a LOT of shopping. The oldest two kids needed church stuff and shoes and husband was in need of work clothes. Labor Day sales were quite productive, but the shoes were costly! But hopefully the oldest two are almost through growing their feet, and the shoes will last a good while. We can pass most of it down to the younger ones...except pants and skirts. The variation in waist sizes in our house is just astounding! But God makes peopel in all shapes, sizes, and statures, so it should not be surprising that they can't wear everything of each others'.
As always we are trying hard to be great parents, protectors of our kids, and we fail often and learn along the way, and there are heataches, but we are doing the best we know how, and so far I am thankful for the work God is doing in these precious kids.
I will try to update more than every 4 weeks. Blessings to all!

ECD

ECD happened to us this week. Friday actually. No, it is not some horrible disease.And it didn't actually happen to us. We voluntarily went.

Letme back up a bit. We were in the final stagesof our first week back to school which went VERY well. At our Friday School registration EMily was invited to ECD practice that evening from 6-9pm.We knew about it but I had never asked anyone but Jacob about going and he said he could care less.(ECD is English Country Dance---like they do in Pride and Prejudice---very old school stuff, but great social fun) Well, EMily was excited, and Lizzy overheard and asked if she could go. I said yes, they could. Well, I took them at 6pm and we got to see the awesome Mike Sager who is visiting for a week while on break from performing Joseph at the Sight and Sound Christian Theater in Branson. It was worth going just to catch up with him. But Jacob had musical theater class until 7pm. While he was in class, Kim decided she wanted to watch his class, but she didn't make it in time, so I offered to take her to watch ECD practice. Jacob and Jordan also decided to go. Everyone ended up dancing except Jordan, who really dislikes that kind of thing. The 4 who danced want to go every month now. At the end of the year they hope to have a big ECD family get together...more formal. I love this SO much more than the homeschool family prom idea. So family friendly and social. Everything is just really nice.
SO next time we go to Rockwall we are going to shop for skirts and dresses ( standard dress for girls at ECD) and some nicer pants for Jacob. He only has one pair that fits right now. And I do believe the kids are literally counting the days until they can go to ECD again!

First Day of School

I started the day with a walk at 6:45am. When I arrived back home at 7:05, i woke the kids (except Jacob who was already up) and got coffee for them. I took coffee with me on my prayer walk. We watched Spongebob and visited and then i made my bed and got breakfast prepped and meat set out to thaw for supper. By 7:30 we were walking the dogs and bike riding in the neighborhood. It was really nice outside. After the walk we came inside and made and ate breakfast. While the kids went outside to play driveway soccer, i cleaned the kitchen. They came in at 8:30 to make beds and brush teeth. We started our devo at 8:40 with beautiful singing, bible reading, memory work and prayer. At 9am the oldest two went to work on their studies and I worked with the youngest three off and on until lunch at noon. Then we did chores at 12:50 and PE bike ride and basic exercises at 1:30-2:15. We are a bit behind right now. We took a jello break....The oldest two are completing science and spanish while the younger ones are about to work on history and have read aloud time. that will wrap up our day. They can play games together until time to clean up, make supper, and go to dance classes.
And that is our first day, in a nutshell.

PHOTO TIME!!!!

Well, I have been mostly posting words with no photos so here are some summer photos. This is just a tiny glimpse of our summer, though. Still, they brings great memories.
riding bikes as a family!
kim gets a new bike (because I ran over the old one)
kim wants to learn more math
kim turns SIX!!!!!
lizzy and sarah hanging out
girls day at church--modesty, boldness, and respect bruncheon
kim and ellie again
lizzy and katy playing girl lego
jordan, jack, and zeb hanging out
kids kung fu panda 2 party
kim and ellie
kung fu panda 2 party
swimming
slip and slide
4th of July fireworks

and still no photos

Ahhh...i am sitting here pondering life in about 3 weeks. Because that is when our homeschool year will begin. As for now, we are just chillin"...but i think we will have to have some structure or the kids might get into trouble. Some of them anyway. Yes, I know my grammar leaves much to be desired in this post, but i'm on summer break, ok?

Here is what I think school will look like this year with a 9th, 7th, 4/5th, 3rd and 1st grader:
I hope to wake and walk with coffee in hand by 7am, and wake the kids before I leave. I hope. And then i HOPE to walk the dogs by 730 and have breakfast ready by 8:10 so we can be into devo by 8:40. We'll see how that works. From there, at 9 or shortly thereafter, i hope the oldest two will beging working independently while I rotate through with the other three, giving two breaks. Lunch should come at noon followed by free time, chores, and PE by 1:30. I plan to have each kid in charge of a day of the week to be lunch and dinner workers. After PE, we have science and electives for the oldest two, and combined subjects of fine arts, spanish and sci/history for the other three. Then an afternoon snack/down time, cleanup, and supper...then extracurriculars and service and family time. Full days, to be sure.
And that about sums it up.
I am looking forward to seeing how it goes the first two weeks.
I can't believe how much homeschooling has evolved for us as we move through the years. I couldn't have pictured it. But I learned a while back to go with the flow and make it work for us. If we are happy and moving toward independent, godly adulthood I am happy. And sad. But mostly happy.

So I am off to enjoy kids and the rest of our day. May God bless you and yours!