Friday, September 30, 2011

Homeschool

So, I don't have any pictures for this one, but I had to write about this morning. My kiddos and I spent the morning at a homeschool support group at WCUMC. I had heard about this group last year, but I never seemed to get going enough to make it. This year, I wanted to be more intentional about building a support base - both for me and for my kids. I want them to have a group of peers that are also homeschooled. I didn't do this because I was concerned about my daughter's 'socialization' (which seems to be the biggest problem everyone has with homeschooling. You know the "but what about socialization?" question). Honestly, I have never found that to be an issue as a formerly homeschooled person.

Anyway, the group consists of about 15 moms and between 40-50 kids. I loved it. Elianna loved it. Janaya loved it. Simeon? Not so sure. It is going to offer us a chance to have others teach supplemental lessons in such subjects as physical education, art, music, science, etc. There are at least 4 other languages spoken by group members - so a pretty nice opportunity there. There are people of various ethnic backgrounds - also important so that my kiddos learn to interact with people of all races. Most importantly - this is a Christian group that strongly supports the same biblical worldview we do so the learning that will go on will be taught through a biblical perspective.

I am so excited to get to know this group more. We have a diversity on all kinds of points from backgrounds to homeschooling approaches, but we are united in our desire to ensure a solid education and fulfill our God-given responsibility to bring our children up in the Lord. It promises to be a fun year!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Cranky

I am. Simeon is. ALL.THE.TIME. At least that is how it seems lately. Every time I dare to put him down, I am guaranteed screaming protests. Now granted, he is teething, but this has been going on for months and it seems to be getting worse instead of better. I kept thinking that once he was mobile, he would get past this stage since he would be able to move himself wherever he wanted to go. It didn't help. Although now he is climbing... but I digress.

I have been pleading with God to give Simeon an attitude of contentment and to help him be able to be (just a tiny bit more) independent. I have been starting to get desperate - hoping for improvement but fearful that this might be just who he is (therefore, get used to it). I love him dearly, that has never been a question, but it is exhausting having a little one who is so demanding and cranky. I wouldn't mind if he was contented when I was holding him, but even that has seemed to never happen.

Then God pointed something out to me. I have fallen into the trap that I see so many other moms falling into. We label a child a 'troublemaker' or 'difficult' or 'brat' or 'cranky' or 'demanding' or 'problem child' but in doing so, we tend to create self-fulfilling prophecies. Kids tend to live up to what is expected from them. If we expect a child to be difficult, chances are that we will view our interactions with that child through the 'difficult' lens - thereby skewing our perceptions. The other part of this trap is that by labeling these negative behaviors, we are more tuned into those behaviors and that tends to give us a very negative outlook on our child and our role as moms in general.

Yup, classic splinter-log situation (check Mat.7:3ff). I admit that I have been a little judgmental in the past with moms who are constantly negative about their kids and here I have been doing the exact same thing. Ouch. Nothing like a God check.

So, I have decided to stop telling everyone how cranky and miserable my little guy is and instead focus on the fun stuff. Have I mentioned that my boy has a giggle coupled with a smile that can melt my heart? Have I told you that he looks at me and says "mama" with a big smile - knowing full well that he has just made my day? Have I told you what a daredevil he is? He climbs everything - very well, I might add. Have I told you that he is crawling now? Have I mentioned that he loves to play the piano? Or how about the way he lights up when I come into a room? Yup, I have a great little guy. He is sweet and adventurous and determined and he loves his mommy. Funny thing is, just that little switch in language and determination to stop focusing on the challenges has made for a better last couple of days. I'm not as frustrated with him - instead I am enjoying him for who he is - a treasure and a gift. I have a great kid! Lesson well learned.
 
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Saturday, September 17, 2011

Why?

Today I had the privilege of attending the graveside and memorial service for a very special baby boy - Silas David Taylor. He was a precious, perfect, and beautiful baby boy who brought joy to many during his short time here on earth - all spent inside his mommy's belly. I still remember that day in January when Melanie came by the house to tell us in person that she was finally expecting - something her heart has longed for for oh so long. As long as I have known Melanie, she has wanted to be a mom - just like I have wanted. Now was her chance, and I was so excited for her.

Fast forward 8 months, and I was at her shower. She was a beaming, expectant mother. So excited to meet and hold her little one. We went shopping for cloth diapers less than two weeks later - the first day she had an inkling that something might be wrong. Mere days later it was confirmed. Silas would not survive. I ached for her and prayed with faith - knowing that my God is all powerful and he could heal Silas if He chose to. My girls and I prayed each morning and I found myself constantly lifting Melanie's whole family before the Throne and asking that God would heal Silas.

August 27th, I got a phone call that Melanie was in labor (during a hurricane, no less). I prayed so much - for Melanie and Jerome, their families, and baby Silas. I prayed that God would perform a miracle. My prayer echoed the prayers of countless others who know and love the family and even those who had never met them. We prayed and believed and hoped. Sunday, August 28th, I got the text message that Silas was resting in Jesus' arms. I was crushed and I cried. I wondered why God hadn't chosen to heal Silas. Why had he allowed this family to be dealt this crushing blow? I knew that my God was the same and I never doubted His goodness, but I ached for their pain. I wondered why God had given Silas to them just to take him away so quickly.

Over the next two weeks, I did what I could to help - offering support, sending songs of encouragement, and most of all prayers. I was reminded of a plaque in my parents' house when I was growing up "Father, I may not understand you, but I trust you". I knew that to be true. It still hurt.

Today was the funeral. Melanie invited us to the graveside service and my heart broke again and again as I watched Melanie and Jerome and their family grieve this loss. It broke as I saw the tiny box with Silas' remains. It broke as I looked at my own three blessings and realized how much I take for granted.

The service afterwards was beautiful. There were photos and a music montage that brought everyone to tears. The pastor did a wonderful job of reminding us that Silas' life and death were not without meaning. God is using this little guy - even though we never officially got to meet him while he was alive. He reminded us that Silas has had more of an impact by his life than some have in 70 years of life. So true. He reminded us of how precious life is. And most of all, he reminded us that God is good. We can trust Him and rely on Him.

I am grieving this loss of such a precious little child. I am grieving for my friend. I am grieving for the pain they must walk through. I am inspired by their strength and faith in the midst of this storm. They know their Redeemer is the same yesterday, today, and forever and they are holding tight to Him. What a testimony of faith! By their testimony, I have been convicted of all that I take for granted, and for my complaining when things don't go the way I want them to.

There is nothing I can do to fix this. I hate that. It just is rotten and there is nothing that will make it hurt any less. But I know that my Redeemer lives. I trust that His purpose in Silas' life will be fulfilled. I know that there are those who probably think that she should have found out about Silas' condition earlier and terminated the pregnancy, but I disagree. Silas was a precious gift from the Lord. Even in the short time he had here, he has had an impact and is pointing others to the Lord which is our ultimate purpose here on this earth. His life is bringing glory to God and his parents are a testimony of God's faithfulness even in the storms of life.

So, I will continue to pray and grieve with my friend. I will also celebrate this little life with her and her husband. What a treasure they were given, though for a short time. To God be the glory. Thank you God for Silas and for the testimony of his life.

One of the worship songs at the service:


One of the songs during the slideshow (great testimony behind this song)

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Heartbeat

First let me start this blog by letting you know that I am NOT pregnant. There, no confusion :)

There are few sounds that rival the sound of a baby's heartbeat while in utero. That sound brings promise, excitement, anticipation, and it has a unique way of working its way into our hearts before we have even 'officially' met. Such a powerful sound. It has the way of calming a new mother's fears. Holly and Joel shared that sound with us via text message today and it was such a special, unexpected treat. Thanks for sharing the joy, you guys :) I am so excited to get to finally meet your little one next year!!

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Scripture Memorization

My mom always did a great job of helping us tuck God's word away in our minds. We memorized Psalms 23, the Lord's Prayer, part of Psalms 119 and more. Mom knew that young children could memorize so much easier than adults could. That was such a foundational part of my growing up and I am so grateful for it.

When I went to Teen Missions Int'l ('92,'93, '94), I had to memorize more verses. The first year, I had to memorize 40 verses - almost one a day. In subsequent years, I memorized verses on either side of the original 40. To this day, there are situations that will arise and some of those verses pop right up in my mind. I think that is part of what the Scriptures talk about when they say to be "ready in season and out of season".

Kids are able to learn way more than adults give them credit for. They may not understand all of it, but the verses are there and ready when they need them. We have been memorizing all kinds of Proverbs and some select New Testament verses for close to 2 years now and I decided to take on a challenge. I read about a family that encourages their children to use Matthew 18 as a biblical model for conflict resolution, so I decided to join them. We started learning Mat.18 this summer and, while we haven't been as regular as I had planned, we have been doing it in bits and pieces off and on. I keep a copy of Mat.18 in the car so that when we are just sitting and waiting, we pull it out and work on our verses. I also review them with the girls at mealtimes when I am waiting for them to finish eating :) I strongly encourage you, if you have young children, to start memorizing with them. Hand motions help a lot, but they can learn faster than you probably can!

We are up to Mat. 18:14, but the last 4 verses are a bit more challenging and we just learned them this week, so Elianna wasn't ready to try them yet. So, here is Elianna with Mat. 18:1-10 and Janaya with verses 1-4 or so. Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Addicted....

I admit it. I am now addicted to knitting. My soaker I made for Simeon turned out sooooooooo cute (if I do say so myself). I finished knitting it last week and I feel at a loss of what to do to relax in the evenings. I had no idea how much I had come to look forward to my evening knitting until I started feeling symptoms of withdrawal (restlessness, irritability, etc.) without it. So, like any good addict, I started searching for a new source/supplier and I hit the motherload. I just spent the last hour + on Ravelry.com browsing all kinds of knitting ideas. Bolstered by my success on the soaker pattern, I am ready to tackle another new challenge. I have about 20 projects in my favorites page now and the next step is to figure out which one to start with. Oh yeah, and then I get to go shopping for new yarn and needles...... I can't wait to get started! My evening date with my knitting needles will soon return (probably coupled with a bit of a drought in blogging...though I'll try to be more disciplined this time around).

 
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Thursday, September 1, 2011

A quick adventure

A week or so ago, B.J. and I decided to have one more summer adventure. We had been wanting to go to the Family Cow farm for their tour (it's where we buy our raw milk from...YUM) and then we were discussing what else we wanted to do. Originally, we were thinking of making it a few day get away with a stop in Lancaster overnight too, but with B.J.'s new position and some other scheduling issues, we ended up deciding on an overnight trip only.

This was all complicated by the fact that we lost power on Sunday for 12 hours, so I couldn't get the laundry done to pack! We ended up turning on all the lights so that when the power came back on we would wake up and get stuff going. So at midnight, we started the laundry and then again at 2am I switched things over. We ended up getting out by 10:30 or so (I was impressed :) (Upon our return, we realized that we had forgotten to check everything before we left and found our middle cat, Chipper, had spent the overnight locked in our bedroom with the obvious outcome of that, but I digress.)

We drove out to Lancaster, had lunch at a really cute diner and then went to the historic Strasburg Railroad where Janaya and Simeon got to go on their first ever train ride and Elianna got to experience a historic train ride as opposed to a Septa one. We all had a wonderful time.

Mommy and Simeon
 
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Father and Son
 
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Elianna loving train ride
 
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Janaya on the train
 
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Family Pics
 
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And we played a bit:
 
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We drove the rest of the way to Chambersburg late that afternoon, checked into our hotel (the highlight of the trip for the girls), ate dinner  
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and then - though well past bedtime, couldn't resist a nighttime dip in the pool. It was chilly out, but the girls and Simeon didn't mind in the least. We were saving a hot bath to thaw out afterwards :) 
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Tuesday morning we were up bright and early for an amazing (*free!) hotel breakfast (complete with spilled OJ) and then off to the farm tour. The Family Cow is the place we have been getting raw milk from since December. I love their milk and credit our really good health this past winter to drinking it. Expensive? Yes, but so worth it! They are believers too. We decided we wanted to visit the tour when one morning I asked Elianna where milk came from and she replied "Halo Farm". Time for some education.


The tour started off with a visit to maternity ward.  
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This was where the cows have a two month paid vacation, as Edwin put it. Then we went on to visit the calves. There, we got to feed them giant bottles of milk (talk about hard to bottle feed - they were determined to tug the bottle right out of our hands) and let them suck on our fingers. Janaya was especially taken with that part.

 
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Then we were back on the wagon to visit the baby chicks and the grown chickens.




Elianna got to hold one of the baby chicks and she loved it and both girls got to collect an egg.
 
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Finally, we continued our ride out to where the cows were at pasture. It was so fun. The Jerseys were so friendly and curious and all came over toward us as if they were coming to meet us.  
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Along the way, Edwin (the farmer) explained how and why they do what they do with pasturing and caring for the animals. When we got to the end of the tour, we hung around to watch the actual milking. The girls were fascinated with how it all worked, but they especially loved playing with the farm kittens that were nearby and pretty friendly. It was the cleanest farm I have ever visited - there was really no manure smell anywhere and I was impressed. I have been to other dairy farms and this one was by far the cleanest and nicest.

 
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Did I mention how PATIENT these kittens were? :)

Back in the van, we visited a local creamery for lunch (and apparently missed an earthquake) and then headed home. All in all, it was a wonderful final family adventure for the summer. On the way home, I asked what their favorite part of our adventure was. Answer? The hotel. B.J. commented that next time we should drive down Rt. 13 and stay in a hotel five minutes from home. Second favorite? The farm and the kittens. I asked Elianna where milk came from and she responded with "cows". Success :)