Balance

As autumn flowers and foliage (and allergies!!) come into full swing, I find myself making thoughtful efforts towards balance. Each year there are new and different opportunities for me to continue to hone my skills in this area. I have found over the years, that there are times for purposeful activity, and times for quiet. Times for heavy academics, and times when real life provides enough learning for the day. Times when schedules are the rule, and times when grace is the rule. Times when opportunities for service can be fully embraced, and times when the many "good opportunities" must be answered with a "no". Times when I can keep up with the lives of my friends and family, and times when my mind, heart, and plate is full simply caring for those within my own household.
I have come to praise God regardless of which end of the balance I am currently seeking to tip. He is so good to carry me, guide me, provide wisdom for me through His Word. Each year holds new learning opportunities. This year He is stretching me as I continue to seek balance and live within the vision of my husband and therefore, the will of my heavenly Father.
In the meantime, the cold days are just around the corner. The potatoes need harvesting. There are still blackberries to freeze, grapes to can, herbs to dry. Each day there are three precious hearts to mold and shape and love. I'm so very glad "His mercies are new every morning ..." Aren't you?

Tired, but Happy

I just finished telling Joe that this has been one of the most exhausting homeschooling days since I began -- and I didn't even leave the house! Grading and administering tests, practicing instruments, encouraging children, coordinating schedules, facilitating learning, nurturing hearts, discipling attitudes, reading literature, praying through God's Word, ordering violin strings and books, cooking meals, folding laundry, emailing my husband, climbing hundreds of stairs, organizing outside help, arranging lessons and appointments, cleaning up books and toys, reminding of chores, uplifting the downhearted, gearing up for play, singing on the teeter totter, harvesting potatoes, smiling through weariness, snuggling the needy, washing the dishes, riding my bike alongside my three precious ones, laughing at the dinner table, tucking in and saying those precious nightly words ... "Goodnight. God bless you. I love you." Longing for stillness.
Ahhhhhh ... bed will feel good tonight.
Good night fellow travelers.

The Root Cellar

I have been remiss in sharing with you a HUGE project my husband and sons have undertaken -- that of digging and building a root cellar. In our efforts to live out a more agrarian lifestyle, one of the desires we have is to not only grow much of our own food, but also to find better ways to store it. The root cellar is an ideal solution -- particularly for our large store of potatoes (which typically spoil in the refrigerator by January). This has been a big undertaking due to the hard pan Joe hit at about 5 feet. One jackhammer later, he grows closer to finishing the digging each night. It will be just in time as the kids and I have begun to harvest our "patch" of potatoes. The clock is ticking as we approach nightly frosts!

Josiah drives the tractor to move the dirt to various places on the property which need fill dirt.

Isaac and Isabelle love playing on the dirt "mountain". Check out my daughter's back side!

Isaac having a turn at the mini-excavator. He's just "practicing" for now. Soon ...

You get a better idea of the the root cellar's depth from this picture. From the outside, it will just be a small hump roof and will be barely visible from the gravel driveway. I'll keep you posted on it's progress. We figure, worse comes to worse -- we've got a pool all dug! :)

September Cantaloupe Harvest

Our cantaloupes went gang-busters this year! We've harvested nearly 100 of them since August and several have been left in the field to ripen and rot simply because we can't eat or give them away fast enough!! Although we're rather tired of them right now, I know we'll long for their sweet ripe taste come winter.

Homeschool Speech and Debate

One exciting addition to our homeschooling this year is the advent of Treasure Valley Homeschool Speech and Debate Club. Another homeschooling mom and I have joined forces to create this extracurricular option for our outspoken kids. Several families have joined and we have 6 girls and 8 boys from the ages of 12-16 participating. Today was our second club meeting in which the kids were asked to give an open interpretation speech which was to be memorized and last between 2-4 minutes long. Josiah performed beautifully Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" for an audience of 20. Speech and debate is an area of interest that Josiah has had for the past year since his involvement in Generation Joshua (www.generationjoshua.org) where he has gained invaluable information in the area of political activism, civics, and government. I'm excited to see how God uses this forum to teach our kids how to present themselves and their views for audiences large or small! I'm proud of you son!!

Autumn Sunrise

Dill

This is what happens when you allow your dill plant to go to seed. I will be pulling out dill for the next few years I'm afraid! A word of advise from one gardener to another: pull out your dill right when it flowers -- in spite of how pretty it is!!

Tomato Jungle

Daily Prayer

One thing I do with my children at various intervals in our homeschooling journey is focused daily prayer. In different periods of our lives, this has been a memorable part of our day. I remember vividly two little boys with fat nobby knees kneeling at the piano bench in Baltimore. And now, I have one teenager, one preteen, and a grade-schooler sitting on the couch with heart-felt words directed to God each day with a particular focus in mind. Of course, I have a daily, ongoing, personal conversation with my Lord and Savior and encourage my children to as well -- but I've found that it can be meaningful, particularly as a close to our daily Proverbs study, to have a time of focused prayer. The following are our prayer requests we talk to God about each day:
Monday -- Our pastors and their families
Tuesday -- Our nation, its leaders, and our armed forces
Wednesday -- Our homeschool
Thursday -- Our extended family and friends
Friday -- Our vision as a family and our Daddy

An Incredible Resource!!

Dear friends and family -- I have come across an incredible resource that I want to share with you. Franklin Springs Family Media offers many wonderful educational documentaries from a Biblical Worldview. We have personally viewed the three above and each of them has provided amazing, family-oriented insights on raising godly children as well as making and living out choices which often go counter-culture. These were inspiring DVD's which we joyfully add to our library, and we look forward to adding more in the future! Check them out at www.franklinsprings.com.

Applesauce -- Tree to Jar the Homeschooling Way

We raise our own apples and this year had a bumper crop! We harvested them last week and allowed them to continue ripening in the garage. Today was the first day we had enough free hours to make them into cinnamon applesauce. Thankfully the weather was great and my helpers were very willing!


Josiah was the peeler-extraordinaire and loved using our new "fancy" peeler. Isabelle walked around eating the long strips of peel and trailing them behind her.


Another willing helper! Everyone begged for a turn with the peeler. Now if I can only make the vacuum seem as interesting ... :)


My hands were raw by the end of it, but it was worth using the fruits of our harvest and labor to make something we can share and enjoy all year long.


Spooning in the chunky, cinnamon applesauce -- all of our work today was done outside on the back porch.

This was the first batch canned, I made several more quarts -- enough to last us a good part of the winter. An interesting side-note is that during this process we received a documentary DVD in the mail and set up my laptop on the backporch and had ourselves a little educational moment while canning applesauce!! Only while homeschooling.... :)

Brother and Sister

I know, without a doubt, that I will come to cherish these pictures in the blink of an eye. Praise God for precious relationships between brothers and sisters and for the opportunity to educate them at home where this is fully and freely able to happen. He's 11 years old. She is 6. They are the best of friends at times and I cherish moments like these . . . I think they do too.

Prepare

Might I suggest that now would be a good time to stock up on pantry staple items and other long-term necessities (toilet paper, dishwashing liquid, etc.)? No need to panic, but better to be safe than sorry.
She looketh well to the ways of her household ... Proverbs 31:27

Quote for the Day

This afternoon as I was helping Isabelle into her THIRD outfit (!) due to stains and dirt, I picked up her latest pair of dirty (we're talking dirt pouring out of them) socks and threw them into the freshly emptied laundry hamper in her room. I scoldingly remarked to her that this was yet another pair of dirty socks for the day -- at which she replied winsomely with a bit of a 'Little House on the Prairie' accent, "That's just what happens when you're a farm girl, Ma!"
Smile.

Football Season

3 games under his belt, 3 stars on his flags, 5 touchdowns so far, 1 proud and screamin' mama.

"Boys are Stupid"??

This morning as my children and I snuggled into our seats to listen to the 21st chapter of Proverbs and discuss it, the boys were tickled at the verses that talk about wives of a quarrelsome nature (vs.9 and 19). We talked about them as well as our focused verse for today which was vs. 23 "He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity." I shared with them (again!) about how true these Proverbs are -- particularly the ones that I can most relate to which are always those which relate to the taming of the tongue.

Through a round-about conversation (aren't those always the best?!), and then our focused prayer for the day (our family's vision and the leadership of our Daddy) the subject came up of the often advanced maturity of girls to boys. Unexpectedly, Isaac proclaimed, "It's not fair that girls grow taller and are smarter then boys." Upon questioning him, I learned that his worldview has slowly been shaped that girls are smarter then boys. Heartsick, I asked him how he came to that conclusion. He shared with me the many times that many of the girls (big and little) in his small social circle had told him so and belittled him so much that he was now believing it. When I looked to Josiah, he concurred that he had held similar conversations with girls and, choosing to not be rude in return, they had not fully defended themselves.

Sigh.

Of course, I shared with them what the Bible clearly says and tried to assure them of their strength, intelligence, leadership qualities, and God-given talents that make them uniquely designed to lead, provide for, and defend their families. But ... I've been sick about it all day.

Here's why:
Even with our careful attention as a family to the viewing material, reading material, choices of friends, and activities to pursue -- the feminist agenda has slowly creeped in to our home and into the hearts of my sons. Could it be that it came from me? And, worse yet, could it be that I am inadvertently living this out for my daughter to emulate?

Sweet friends, I challenge you today (as I have been challenged) to think and pray through your words, past-present-future. Is it possible that our daily prideful attitudes are infecting our families so much so that our daughters adopt this in their play and speech with others? Talk with your daughters and train them in the truth. Girls belittling boys is a straightforward imitation of them watching us belittle our husbands (however subtly or without meaning to). It is wrong. It is not living out the truth but instead falling prey to the lies of this world.

Our sons need constant nurturing and encouragement to live out their God-given responsibilities. Our culture today is a direct result and a living out of the choice made so very long ago in the Garden. Like Eve -- we women are prideful, seek constant approval, and desire to be "like God". Like Adam, so many men today lazily avoid their responsibilities to disciple their wives and families -- to provide direction and shelter.

Let us rise up dear friends! For the sake of our children ... rise up, guard your tongue, and teach your daughters to do likewise. Rise up, encourage your sons, and live out your belief in their intelligence and their potential as future men of God.

The Cure to Fussy Children?

It was one of those days today. The boys took turns grumbling and pouting, crying and complaining. The combination of their "Interview with Napoleon" paper to create and write, Isaac's continued work (it's due by 5:00pm tomorrow) on his illustrated and labeled coral reef, the realization that their laundry must get done (by themselves!) today, AND that extra math work is required because of their lack of attention to detail -- has led to the need for a time-out with chocolate chip cookies. I'm thankful I prayed so diligently prior to our school year that on days like these (and all days actually) I would reflect Christ's character in my actions and attitudes -- NOT those of my children. He has been faithful to answer that prayer.
This afternoon, Josiah proclaimed, "I'm in DESPERATE NEED of cacao!!" Smile. Thus, before we head off to do errands, buy school supplies for our co-op beginning next week, and attending flag football practice -- cookies will be baked and consumed fresh from the oven. Even though I desire for my children to effectively use their time and gain valuable time-management skills (the lessons learned from today), I also want to keep their hearts and let them know that, in the end, I'm first and foremost their Mommy. Chocolate -- the cure to most ills (at least for this little family).

Creator's Masterpiece

Apple Harvest

We worked as a family tonight to get our largest apples off of their tree before the wind and the birds did any more damage.

Look at the size of these beauties!! They'll make terrific home-canned cinnamon applesauce .

Dad and son carrying the burden together to the garage where we'll let them finish ripening.

Smaller apples from our upper pasture orchard were sliced directly into the dehydrator for dried apples to be enjoyed this winter.

Homeschooling?

It dawned on me today that this blog has been a whole lot more about "Garden" then it has about "Homeschooling"! Smile.
Actually, our homeschooling year, albeit short thus far, has been going well. This is our first absolutely full week -- meaning that we resume piano lessons this week, begin Biology (for Josiah), have our Spanish tutor come regularly, and had our first Treasure Valley Homeschool Speech and Debate club meeting today! Life is full.
Our school days are needing to be more flexible this year. With the advent of two new violin teachers, Speech and Debate, horseback riding lessons, and Spanish tutoring occurring a least a couple of times a week, we are learning to "go with the flow" a bit more. Up until this point, I have held fast to the HOME in homeschooling, and still prefer to be home most days during normal school hours, but we are all learning flexibility this year as well as adaptability.
I've learned over time to let go of what is most comfortable to me (home, order, schedules, planned activities only) in order to meet the differing needs of my children.
For one child this means time to talk (about EVERYTHING!). I'll admit, this isn't easy for me. When you tend to have every last minute filled, it's hard to stop and listen (really listen) and just be present. It's worth it though.
For another child, I need to set aside specific time for him to be alone. Like me, too much social interaction leads him to be burdened and overstimulated. Purposely encouraging him in this alone time benefits us all.
And for my wee one (who's not so little any longer), I must simply allow her to shadow me all day long! :) My little social butterfly needs to be with others and so I must be purposeful to schedule playdates and other opportunities for her to play and learn alongside others -- both young and old and everywhere in between! Unlike the boys, she seems to need a LOT more of my attention and greatly enjoys doing whatever I'm doing. This is a tremendous blessing of course -- God's gift of time to truly train her up. Of course, it is also a huge responsibility and one that I must remind myself will not last forever.
What I'm most excited about this year is our efforts put toward excellence rather than accomplishment. We are being purposeful to spend a portion of each day in Bible study, both individually and together. We are praying with purpose and enjoying the process. Our read alouds draw us together at the beginning, middle, and end of nearly each day. I've told my friends that I'm going for the "Underwhelmed Homeschooler of the Year" award! :) I've done the comparison-can't-keep-up-must-finish-every-page sort of thing. This year, I'm remembering why we chose homeschooling and praying every day that God will keep that vision at the forefront of my mind.
So, this is what we're up to! Learning with books and computers and tutors and group classes, learning through serving others, learning with life lessons, learning through work, and learning by loving each other. This is homeschooling. What a gift.

Getting Over the "Bumpy" Spots

As Isabelle was working on her handstitching while I read aloud from "Little House in the Big Woods", she came to the spot where four quilting squares met up, leaving the material bumpy and a bit unmanageable for little 6 year old hands. She looked up with anxious eyes and said, "Mommy, I need help with this bumpy spot!" I stopped my reading and smiled a big smile at her. I took the "quilt" in my hands and showed her how you have to hold on tight when you come to these "bumpy" sections. Sometimes you even need someone to do it with you or for you. As I was saying this, my heart was gently warmed as I thought of the privilege it is to walk alongside her through her "bumpy" spots. It made me thankful to have these opportune years to
help her through, show her how, and sometimes even do it for her. It was one of those deep and earthy homeschooling moments when joy and satisfaction reign and thankfulness is breathed through every breath.

The "Perfect" Life

Hmmmm ... again I'm surprised at the words spoken to me of my "perfect" life. In one sense, I am thankful and pleased because I believe strongly that God has called me to "think about things that are true, noble, beautiful" etc. etc. I try to live that way. It helps me. My personality is such that it would be very, very easy for me to get bogged down into the mire of my own inadequacies (not to mention everyone else's). So when someone suggests that my life is "perfect," I look around in thanksgiving and agree -- to a certain extent.
Of course, my life isn't really "perfect" -- nor am I. I have sin that I struggle with just like everyone else. I have anxieties and fears that sometimes ruin a perfectly good day -- or year. I have people in my life whom I love that hurt me deeply -- and on a regular basis. I have doubts. I have insecurities. I have days when I really shouldn't be homeschooling because my words, my attitudes, my emotions get in the way of any real teaching -- aside from "avoid mom". I have moments when I am not a kind wife, or mother, or daughter, or friend.
My life may look "perfect" -- and, yes, in sooooooooooooo many ways I am blessed by this generous and merciful and gracious God of mine. But I'm not "perfect". And quite frankly, I often don't deserve this "perfect" life of mine. Do any of us?
In the end, I choose JOY. I've tried it the other way. It stinks. I may risk offending you by this choice. Oh well. Don't you find that you can offend people just by breathing and living at times? I guess I care less and less about that, and more and more about living out my life in a way that is pleasing to my God.

For the Love of Pumpkins

I'm not sure when my love affair with pumpkins began ... but ever since my first pumpkin patch experience, I've been hooked. They are a symbol of my favorite season -- everything warm and cozy, the smell of ginger crinkles in the oven, the need for lamps to be lit, and the sound of giggles trickling through the house. I've been fortunate to grow my own pumpkins for several years now and my smiles are always the biggest on harvest day when I can cut and place them EVERYWHERE! This year I grew an antique version as well as the white ones that I love and which fit so nicely in my house (although the orange variety make it inside as well!). Pumpkins will last for several weeks outside -- until the frosts are regular and hard. I don't can my own pumpkin (yet) but will try my hand at making a pie or two this year. Mostly they exist to bring smiles to my face all through the autumn season.