sometime after church today. I haven't fallen off the face of the blogsosphere--just been busy, like everyone else. I've been mulling over a few somethings for quite a while now and maybe I'll blog abot it. Don't give up on me!
We've done the Abeka cursive for two years, and it's great, too, but this series I bought from my favorite homeschool resource company, www.timberdoodle.com, is just wonderful. The children work on Bible verses to write in cursive. I have a son who loves to write in cursive and who has just beautiful handwriting. Once he's spent a few days practicing a verse, he writes it on a lovely sheet of paper with a border to hang up or give to a friend. That's why it's called A Reason For Handwriting.
Highly recommended!
I homeschool because our options are limited here in our Western town. I'm not sure if we ever moved if I'd continue to homeschool, but would probably put my children in a Christian school. With that said, I find it very unhelpful to hear comments like:
"I commend you. I could never homeschool."
This comment came after a family member who is visiting watched us homeschool. My almost 8 year old is a challenge, in every way, and if you've been reading over at Lisa Writes lately you'll notice her post about her contrary child. Well, he's mine.
This remark is more of a backhanded way of saying, "I think your kid is obnoxious and difficult, and you must be a saint to put up with him everyday when you could send him to school for free."
To which I think: "Yes, he's a challenge. But I know this is the right choice for our family right now and even if it IS difficult I will persevere. And I know the only way I can have any success is by God's grace and mercy on our family, because His power is made perfect in my weakness. Any gains we make spiritually, academically, emotionally will be because in His unmerited favor he chose to bless our endeavors. It's certainly not because I'm the most patient, devoted teacher. But I can see His hand in using the difficult season of homeschooling to mold me into a more patient and devoted mother, instead of the quick-tempered feminist I have been most of my life."
On our vacation to Ouray I picked up this book in the Colorado history section of a small bookstore on Main Street. It's autobiographical by a woman who spent most of her life in the Southwestern part of Colorado in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, cooking for mining camps, raising her children, and eventually getting elected Treasurer for her county! Here's some favorite quotations from the book:
"Why will people call cooking a menial task?-when it is the art of arts, and a good cook is a genius whose price is above rubies; who handles, daily, expensive materials, which, properly prepared are the foundation of all life and achievement. Of course, I think to waste good food by poor cooking is a crime and should be punished as such."
On her daughter moving away: "I hadn't expected to miss Neita the way I did miss her, and as the days passed I realized what Browning meant when he said something like this: 'We rear them and we love them, then we lose them.'"
"To read is almost as essential to me as to eat. And I feel far more hunger pangs when I am denied mental nourishment than I do at the loss of meals."
Anne Ellis lost her husband at a young age and had to make it on her own in a time when that often felt impossible. She had no formal education, but educated herself by reading. She won political victories to the astonishment of her rivals and kept whole mining camps full of men in line as the cook, knowing that good food can go a long way to make men behave themselves.
I've found this book fascinating!
Sunday is an exhausting day for the pastor, especially if he's the only staff member. Sometimes he must do Sunday School, music, and preaching. It's not a day of rest most weeks! So how do you encourage your man when he's physically, emotionally, and spiritually spent?
I LOVE this on fresh greens! Whip up a huge batch to keep on hand. It's so much better than store-bought!
1 c light mayo (I like Best Foods/Hellman's)
2 T. red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. italian seasoning or just oregano
1 T. sugar or splenda
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Whirl in a blender or whisk together. YUM-O!
Got on my new fancy schmancy scale that gives you your weight and body fat percentage and BMI. I thought it would be cool to have, but it's really just depressing...anyway, I got on it this morning and I'm down a pound or two to 175.8. That's encouraging since I've been having knee trouble for almost two weeks. I'm hoping to take a stab at walking/running this afternoon the treadmill. Hoping for the best!
Found this on Girl talk-a perfect example of why we teach our children to memorize Bible verses!
I'm not into your average contemporary Christian music. There are some artists I enjoy, but by and large, what you find at your local Christian megamart doesn't suit me. Either it's cheesy, trying to sound too much like some secular band out there (I'm sorry, but I grew up in the era of grunge and that guy who sings for Third Day sounds just too much like Eddie Vedder-I can't handle it.), or it doesn't say ANYTHING substantive (in other words, singing, "Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain" for 20 minutes doesn't say much about Christ and the cross, but maybe that's just me...).
With that said, a few years ago while at Seminary we stumbled across Indelible Grace music. In a nutshell, these are folks who take old hymns and put them to new music, and by new music that might mean new tunes or just a more folksy rock version of an old favorite. These people are part of the Reformed University Fellowship out of Belmont University in Nashville, TN. I've heard them three different times in concert and their music has become the soundtrack for my daily life.
There are four volumes: Indelible Grace, Indelible Grace II Pilgrim Days, Indelible Grace III For All the Saints, and Indelible Grace IV Beams of Heaven. The earlier albums have music that is more singable for a congregation (take note music minister's wife!). You can get on their website and download their entire hymnal (for free, I'm pretty sure!).
So if you want music that says something, that encourages you in your faith, then CHECK THIS OUT!
www.igracemusic.com
Let me know what you think!
What? A favorite swimsuit? Now THAT'S an oxymoron. With all my knee problems and because sweet baby girl is getting bigger and might enjoy the baby pool at the Rec Center, I purchased a swimsuit. And I LOVE it.
It's modest, easy to put on, comfortable.
Land's End has the best swimsuits around. I ordered the Original Sport Tankini (I tried to post a photo but it didn't take, so if you're really interested, just search for it at www.landsend.com) by mail order and it came quickly and was worth every penny. How's that for not having a Cathy comic strip moment in a department store dressing room?
