Weekend update...

This last weekend was a busy one. Knight took J-Bell to her first concert. This was her birthday gift. She was able to see Monk & Neagle, Aaron Shust, and Mercy Me. She was able to bring one of her friends and they had a great time. Listening to all three of them talk, they really were entertained, but what I found interesting is that they all preferred Monk and Neagle or Aaron Shust, even though Mercy Me was the headliner.

Sunday we were able to see almost all of Knights side of the family at a birthday party for Grandma. It was amazing how the family has changed in the last 13 years I have been a part of it. We used to see most of them at least a couple times a year. Aunts, uncles, cousins. We knew the whole family. When we walked in on Sunday I had to explain who is who to J-Bell. My kids were walking up to some of the other kids there and asking questions like "Are you Andie?" These are people that they spent a lot of time with in their young life, but in the last maybe 4 years the family has really sort of split up, as far as we are concerned. I know that the ones who live in town seem to see each other often, but since we are up in our corner of the world, we really have lost a lot of contact with everyone. It's really sad, and I hope that we can change that.

In all honesty, I feel bad for Knight. He grew up with all his family around. His cousins were like brothers to him. He stayed with his grandparents a lot. It was a very close family. I didn't have that. If my cousins passed me on the street, I would not recognize them with the exception of the 4 that Knight was close to. I seriously don't have a desire for family outside of my parents, sisters (and their families) and grandparents. That is plenty of family for me. But Knight...he misses how the family used to be. And it makes him sad to see what it has become.

Oh well, guess that's life.

For Melody

These "flowers" are for Melody. I thought about painting or taking a picture. I thought about actually sending virtual flowers. But then I thought about Melody and I knew the perfect flowers for her. Chocolate Roses. No amount of chocolate can cure her ache right now, but really no amount of flowers can either. Just Christ. And she has Him. But if I were a face friend, this is what I would bring. Love you Melody.

Just because I have nothing to say....

Carnival!!!

Yes, I have been a bad blogger (as Karen so graciously pointed out!). This week has been so busy. Birthday time for Knight on Monday, Awana Monday night, Tuesday was sewing and field trip to the new packaging place and visiting, and yesterday was the carnival. Busy, busy, busy!

The carnival is normally a yearly event at church and takes a lot of work and help to get it running smoothly. This year was no exception. With it getting bigger every year we are constantly looking for ways to make it better. I loved the changes this year.

But seriously, I don't have time to tell everyone about it. I have to clean my house. State testing is being done today and I have to prepare my house. We are having other kids do the testing here as well and so I have to at least look like I have it all together for the other mom. Wouldn't want her to know the truth! Hee Hee

I'll leave you with a slide show of the carnival....

Wrapped Emotions--Picking Through the Pieces

This week at WE featured the first guest blogger. Our assignment then came in to create a mosaic.

My challenge to you this week is to create something out of pieces,
specifically, a mosaic. Mosaic is defined (Wikipedia, yay) as "an ancient and
contemporary art form which uses individual pieces of materials placed together
to create a unified whole. The materials commonly used are glass, ceramic,
marble, pebble, mirror, shells and china." (The differences between mosaic and
collage are that mosaics tend to keep the pieces individual, whereas a collage
is more overlapping...)But I don't care what you use (the ideas above, or paper
or fabric is fine or even cookies if you'd like - the sky's the limit)...break
something or cut something or separate something and then put it all back
together into a new and beautiful whole. Breaking something changes it, perhaps
irreparably, but it gives us a new opportunity, a new chance, a new beginning,
to create something different and something whole.

When this came through I was excited. Not only did I know exactly what I was going to do, but I already had all the materials for it. I was excited, and on Tuesday while I was telling Knight what the project was, he asked how long I had to accomplish this task. I told him, and he told me that I would never get it done in time.

You see, I have had these materials since, oh...June. Sitting there. Waiting.

Good plans. Not so great ambition.

So I set out to prove him wrong.

I had a table, tiles, adhesive grout, sealer. I had an idea, a plan, and started to create. I smashed the tile, picked the pieces I wanted, broke some even more, started putting them into a picture. As I did I thought about how symbolic this really is.

Breaking something to create something new. Some of the tiles were harder to break than others, just like people. I tend to be more stubborn. I don't want to be broken, to change. Most of the time, I really don't even want to become part of a new picture, unless it is a picture I picked.

It took a lot of pieces to create a whole table. There is big pieces, small pieces, curved, straight, bland, colorful, smooth, and textured. Each was used. Each has a part in making the picture complete. But each of the tiles cannot "see" the other tiles, cannot tell what their part of the big picture is, but as the creator, I know why each piece was picked, and I know that each piece was put in a certain location for a reason.

With my picture, I created smaller pictures inside the larger one. And unless I specifically show and tell someone what the pictures are, they probably will not see what I see. And I like it that way. It can mean something to me, but it's just broken tile to everyone else.

Ever wonder what us homeschoolers do for entertainment?

Lately we have been getting to know a new family. We have been asking the Lord for some new friends for our kids, ones that home school and that are good kids. We also kind of wanted them to be outside of our church.

I know that sounds bad, but we wanted them to broaden their circle a little.

Anyway, in a wonderfully weird way, God brought a great family into our lives. The kids all get along very well, and as a bonus, I really like the mom as well. The Lord knew I needed someone like her. She is so fun, outgoing, and comfortable stopping in and seeing the sty we normally live in when we are not expecting company. What a blessing this family is to our family.

So I was dropping off a cd at this families house yesterday and ended up talking. For hours. Not that the kids minded. They have a great time.

As K and I were sitting in her living room talking, the two boys come in looking for her cat. Not a big deal until they tell us that they have caught a mouse under a bucket and want to feed it to her cat. As we look out, we see that this is something most of the kids are part of. They grab the cat, bring her to the bucket, lift the bucket and run.

This poor mouse has his back legs broken. The cat looks at it for a little, and walks away without killing the mouse. So my kids decide they want to keep it. Not going to happen, people. First, Knight HATES mice. Second, I am not going to go buy a cage, food, and all the accessories for a crippled mouse that will end up dying anyway. I probably would have for a healthy mouse, but then again, a healthy mouse would have been eaten by the cat.

So this is what we homeschoolers do for fun during the week.

Thursday Thirteen--visitor on the horizon

Thirteen signs that Aunt Flo is on her way...

1. My husband decides to be completely obnoxious.

2. My husband feels the need to touch me. talk to me. Be near me.

3. My kids are louder

4. The mess in my house multiplies.

5. I don't get enough sleep.

6. The house runs too low on chocolate.

7. My whole family tries their hardest to tick me off.

8. People start driving worse.

9. The public in general decide to get in my way.

10. The idea of being romantic is nauseating

11. Hallmark Movie Channel gets really stupid movies.

12. The people that have the most annoying voices decide to talk more.

13. I think I have less patience.

ATTENTION--Someone actually thinks I'm fabulous!

The fabulous Toni from In the Midst of this Season has so graciously bestowed the I'm Fabulous Award to yours truly. Now, it may not seem like a big deal but I don't get to drink water out of that fancy of a glass everyday! And to bonus there are two of them so I just might get a sip before the kids drink it all, needing some just because it's in a fancy glass. I sure hope that this is faux fancy so when the kids are fighting over the glasses and drops them, they just have that slight sound of plastic bouncing. Don't judge...we are high society here around these parts!

But Toni, being sneaky as she will be has given this award with strings. She also tagged all of her victims friends with the 7 random things meme. But before I get to that, I will pass this award on with the same condition....you have to do the meme too. Hee Hee, us who learn our kids at home have to stick together!

Rules...

1. Link to the person who has tagged you.

2. Tell seven true things about yourself.

3. Tag seven new people (or in my case 2)

4. Leave a message with the person you have tagged so they know about it.

So my choices are...

Leeann from The World:through the eyes of me. She is a neat person, but what I think is really neat is that she is going to to naked for a great cause. Well, only naked at the top of her head, but anyone willing to shave their head for someone else is fabulous in my world.

As the World Scraps (sorry I couldn't find her screen name) I have just recently been introduced to her blog, but let me tell you, this woman is fabulous! I love her creativity, her energy, and her faith, and the fact that she feels comfortable just popping in unannounced and eating all my M&M's!

Onto my 7 random things......

1. I love organizing but hate cleaning. I can find almost anything in my house in a short period of time, but I couldn't tell you the last time I dusted. (my mom is so proud! lol)

2. I am probably an eccentric. I get weird ideas and want to implement them, but Knight tends to be the voice of reason. For example, I have a huge front porch. I have wanted (still do) to fill it with sand, put up some bamboo shades, fake palm trees, some lawn chairs so I can pretend I live at the beach. Is that normal for a 30 year old mother of 4? Do I care if it is?

3. I spend a lot of time on the computer but 99% of my time is at 5 sites. Gmail, Bloglines, finetune, foxnews, MyYahoo (news again)

4. I don't like calling people. I don't want to interrupt their day. I will email, or text all day, but I generally don't call. But I like it if people call me.

5. I consider my genre of music is pretty diversified. It tends to be all Christian, but I like and have found hip hop, country, praise & worship, contemporary, reggae, and classical(ish) all with Christian or clean lyrics. My MP3 will go from Randy Travis, to Casting Crowns, to Jars of Clay to Toby Mac. No one can say my kids only know one type of music.

6. I have been playing with my beads lately making necklaces. This is the one craft I really enjoy that I can afford. I don't wear jewelry. Not even my wedding ring.

7. I think math is fun. I love learning the new ways to do math as I teach my kids. I will buy the penny press puzzle books when they have the Math and Logic ones for sale. Sudoku is relaxing. But don't try to get me to do a crossword. I am horrible at those.

Homeschooling is Yummy!

The best thing about homeschooling is you get to learn as you teach the kids. Today was no exception. Not only did I learn a sort of different way to multiply decimals (thank you Mr Demme!) but we finished up with our Mesopotamia unit, have already been to Egypt, and now we are following Moses out of Egypt into the promised land and are going to take the next 3 weeks studying different things about Judaism.

I am so fascinated! I have never thought of Judaism as a completely different religion from Christianity. A lot of the stories are the same, and never really gave much thought into the differences. But boy, are there differences!

We are learning about all the ritual, from Shabbat (the Sabbath) to Rosh Hashannah (the Jewish new year). So, as we were reading and learning about Shabbat today, the book mentioned Challah (braided egg bread). I have only had Challah once before when I decided to make it for Thanksgiving (why? Who knows. That was YEARS ago.) I did remember that I loved it, and it tasted like pretzel bread to me.

So today, we made Challah for supper. The kids loved it. I hope they didn't REALLY love it. I would hate to have to make it all the time. That's work!

These next few weeks are going to be so great!

Now I remember!!!

Whenever I had a new baby, I would constantly be having moments where I am thinking "Oh yeah, now I remember what this was like." It started early in the pregnancy with all the sickness. Then again as the baby would grow and it would be close to delivery and you just want to be done being pregnant. Then as I would be in labor I again would think-"Oh, yeah. This really hurts! I forgot how bad!" And as the baby would get me up in the middle of the night, interrupting my sleep I would think it again.



NO, I'm not pregnant. That chapter in my life is done, and I am SO thankful. Not that I don't like babies, but now I like babies as long as they are going home with someone else. We will leave the baby scares to Melody, the baby hopes to Leeann, and relearning the new baby stage all over to Molly (I really need to try to get over there today and see her new one!)



We are using a new product in our home and it is reminding me of the baby days. (link is provided to not embarrass the user but to let the readers know what I'm talking about) I never know when I am going to be woken up. But if this product works it is going to be a miracle.



But in the mean time, I'm one tired mama. Now, I REALLY remember the hell the good old days.

I am SO not qualified for this

I have four completely different children. Different personalities, different temperments, different learning styles, just different. Personally, I think they look completely different too. Yet, others have asked if they I have twins, they confuse my kids and can't tell them apart.

J-Bell is my take charge, controlling, little mother. She is generally happy, learns easily, ultra responsible and bossy. She is not a naturally clean person, but is naturally obedient. She tries her best to learn so she can do it for herself. In fact, if she could drive, she could probably run the L.D. route on certain days. She comes at the world with a very analitical point of view.

Desti is my emotionally driven child. She is very in tune with others and can make almost any little kids feel comfortable around her. She is very giving, thinking about how to serve others. She has a little tougher time book learning in a conventional way, but don't discount her smarts. If there is a way around a problem, she will find it. She tends to see things in black and white. She is normally the first one to point out if something is not "right" and has actually asked me if Knight would approve of a song that I was listening to.

Rara is a little quieter. Not wanting to upset others, she tries not to argue or say negative. She lives in her own world and loves to play with others, but can be just as happy playing with herself. She is a very hands on learner, and is best taught with experiments. She loves to cuddle and be held but she is discusted by germs. She doesn't like kisses or nakedness. When she gets married she plans on sealing her wedding vows with a handshake (she is dead serious about that!)

J-Bird is my boy. Football, tennis, action, hands on, he sometimes has a hard time controlling his anger and is the only child yet to tell me they hate me. He doesn't like to be the youngest child. At times he feels like he can do nothing right, since he is constantly told how to do everything. I am still learning his learning style, but so far it seems very hands on too.

The Lord has given this challenge to me. To look at them, at their differences, at the challenges I see coming, I feel so underqualified. I truly don't know why the Lord felt like I was the best person to bring them up. I know that there is no way I can do it on my own. And I take no credit for how great each of them are. That is totally GRACE.

More humor in Paradise

I have children that love to be with Knight and I. To a fault. You hate to constantly shoo a child away, but sometimes things need to be said without little ears around.

We do our best to only shoo a child away when it is absolutely necessary. So we will have these big long theoretical discussions between Knight and I while the kids listen, or half listen, or not listen at all, but they always feel the need to add anyway.

For example tonight we were doing our fall chores. Putting plastic on our 100 year old windows, taking the trampoline down for the winter, and cutting some of the bushes back. After all of this, we started a fire to burn the brush we had just cut.

Knight and I were talking about some miscommunication earlier. I had gone with him when he went to sell some out dated product in town, and while we were there he said..."Is there anywhere you would like to go? I have already eaten, but is there anywhere you want to go?" I wanted to go to Shopko and even though I would have liked to grab a bite, I did not want to eat alone while he watched. Later we were talking about how he would not have minded grabbing a bite while we were out. The rest of the conversation went like this--

Me- "I don't like to eat alone when I am with someone. I don't mind eating alone, but when someone is with me I don't want them to just watch me eat."

Knight- "Well, sometimes I just like to be out with you. I might not be hungry but I like being with you. Especially when we are alone."

Desti- "Daddy, you know...sometimes I imagine the garden of Eden......."

Her timing was so funny! We started laughing, and she sat there confused on why. So we listened to how she pictured the garden and started talking about different theories.

If the bible says that "sin entered the world through one man, and through sin - death, and thus death has spread through the whole human race because everyone has sinned." (Romans 5:12) So we were debating if that meant that NOTHING died, that sharks didn't eat flesh, that lions were vegetarians, or does that mean that no man has died, since man is the only one with a soul that has free will. Knight mentioned he thought that even mosquitoes would not have sucked blood before the fall. Then Desti pipes up again after listening to us.

"You know, one day I felt a mosquito on my leg and before I swat it, I looked down and it was THIS BIG!"

We are so glad they pay such close attention

Wrapped Emotions 6

Keep a Crayon Handy

Life is full of texture...physically and emotionally. I love
texture...to touch...to see...physically and emotionally. Scratchy, bumpy,
smooth, woven. Texture stimulates sight as well as touch. We identify emotions
and life events in terms of texture...a bumpy relationship, woven with love,
smooth sailing. Can you name more?

Sometimes taking a photograph of something just doesn't seem like
enough. I want to take part of it with me.This week let's do crayon rubbings.
You will need an unwrapped crayon and thin paper such as tracing paper, onion
skin paper, or tissue paper and your eyes and finger tips.

As this week's prompt came through, I of course, thought of leaves. That is the only crayon rubbing I have ever done. And with all the leaves changing colors and falling to the ground, it would have been easy to quickly get my project completed and move on.

And yet, I didn't want to cop out. So I looked around. I touched. I actually tried a few things. My grass skirt that I received as a thank you from a lady in Yap, Micronesia...didn't really show the texture I wanted. My walls...it didn't do the trick either.

Then I noticed "the window" again. I have an old window from our house (we have put new windows in). It had four panes, and I let each of the kids paint one pane and I have it displayed in my classroom. The paint is thicker, and the kids gave it some texture. I thought it would make an interesting piece and hopefully unique. I don't go and visit the other Wrapped Emotions posts until I post mine, that way I cannot use someone else as inspiration.

*Sorry you can't click on a picture and get a closer look. My camera battery is dead--again so these picts were taken by my phone.*

Thursday Thirteen

13 Great Proverbs and Sayings. All of them have great truth in them. Take your time. THINK about the meaning.



1. After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box.~Italian Proverb



2. All things good to know are difficult to learn.~Greek Proverb



3. All sunshine makes the desert.~Arab Proverb



4. Listen or your tongue will keep you deaf.~Native American Proverb



5. Whoever gossips to you will gossip about you.~Spanish Proverb



6. We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.~Winston Churchill



7. We have no right to ask when sorrow comes, "Why did this happen to me?" unless we ask the same question for every moment of happiness that comes our way. ~Author Unknown



8. When it is dark enough, you can see the stars. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson



9. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear. ~Ambrose Redmoon



10. Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. ~Attributed to both T.H. Thompson and John Watson



11. Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something and has lost something. ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.



12. Opportunities do not come with their values stamped upon them. ~Maltbie Babcock



13. Don't do what you'll have to find an excuse for. ~Proverb

Humor in Paradise

We are finishing up learning about Mesopotamia this week. We've talked about the Pangaea theory, settling, and some of the ancient towns. Ur, Babylon, Sodom, and Gamorah, just to name a few. As I have each week, I have asked who lived in Babylon. Each week they are able to get Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Actually, no matter who I ask, J-Bell pipes up and starts singing the "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego" song. So I asked Rara who else lived in Babylon. She thought about it and answered "Mr. Nezzer!" At least Vegi-Tales taught her something. *For the record she did end up answering Daniel*

I entertain myself, a lot. The other night I was straightening my blanket to get ready for bed and Knight was already cuddled up under his blanket. I took notice that he took the warmer of the two. (No, we don't share blankets) I had a thought that I thought would be funny, so I crawled under my covers, grabbed the corner of his blanket and rolled to steal it. Apparently he was ready for me. He rolled with the blanket and cuddled right up to me with a "I'm so glad you want to cuddle tonight!" Apparently being married long enough, he knows all my tricks!

Having friends over the other day, the kids were talking about Knight's birthday that is coming up. Then they got on the subject of how old he was going to be, then it went to how old I am. Then the friends piped up. "My mom is older than both your parents. She's ____!"

Never a dull moment!

Mike Huckabee

We intrrupt this blog for this announcement--I normally don't get political here, but since it is MY blog, I just thought I'd share who I've started to think would be a great canidate. At least look. Then make an informed decision.--ok, back to our regular programming...

Birthday Gift +

For J-Bird's birthday we gave him a 3-ring binder, football card sheets (you know the things that hold football cards), and a new box of football cards. The kids have gotten into football cards this year, and J-Bird has shown a lot of interest in football as well.



All of the kids were organizing, sorting, opening the cards.



Then they came across what they all have hoped to get.



A signed card.



J-Bird is thrilled. I think it's so neat that he got one on his birthday. In the same box was a Favre card(His favorite player). The fun is not knowing what you are going to get. And getting what you were hoping for.



It's amazing that God blesses with the little and the big.

Happy Birthday Boy!!

J-Bird,

You are 7 today. I can't believe how time goes by, and yet I love watching you grow from a baby to my little man.

When I found out that you were a boy, I still had a couple of months to get used to the idea before you made your appearance into this world. Having a boy scared me. I had all sisters. Then I had 3 girls. I didn't know if I would know how to do the boy thing.

There is so much more imagined pressure on raising a son. Our goal for all of our children is to be strong in the Lord, a compassionate person, a hard worker. But we know that someday you will probably lead a family. We pray that we are able to prepare you for that role correctly.

I love to watch the boy in you. The love for the Packers. The love for fishing. The love for building things with your hands. I also love to watch you care for the weaker ones around you, your desire to do things the right way, and your willingness to play with most anyone.

Happy Birthday. You make me proud to call you son.

Wrapped Emotions 5

This week let loose...get edgy with your style...free your
spirit...absolutely no fear. We had enough of that last
week. This prompt is not associated with any tangible or figurative
wrapper. I simply want you to experience the fun of creating. This week we're
working to feel the emotion of JOY. Not necessarily expressing the actual word
or symbolism of joy in your art...you can celebrate shoe polish if you choose.
But enJOY the process. Let's create our own graffiti.



Graffiti artists develop their own styles. They work quickly,
intuitively, randomly and never stop the process to think about what to do next.
You should try anything, everything...collage, paint, stains, spray paint,
markers, colored pencils, markers, stencils, doodling, marks, lines, swirls,
symbols, written words, calligraphy, images (photos, magazine cutouts,
photocopies, sketches), stamps, prints...whatever.



Think of urban graffiti walls. The art is vibrant, multi-layered,
freestyle, textured. Do not over think as you work, and do not think neat,
orderly. Think juxtaposition.

Sorry, I'm not going to explain. I will just let you see what you see. That's the way it is with graffiti

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Google searches that brought someone to my blog....yeah, really. I don't get some of these ones either, but oh well. If you click on the phrase, it will bring you to the post it brought them to.

1. "living in Wisconsin not fun"

2."Akiane Kramarik and home schooling"

3."Little Debbie Distributor"

4."aww shucks"

5."woke up in another reality"

6."Meditation on Trust"

7."Miracle on Main St"

8."Billy Mays"

9."the battle for helms deep"

10. "Menards Fire pits"

11. "blogs on living in Wisconsin"

12. "when I was in my younger teans"

13. "Wisconsin homeschooling"

Wordless Wednesday--Waiting for the Waterfall

For more Wordless Wednesday click here

Masters Mind Academy

I give up!

If any of you actually went to the homeschool blog, you will know that I just was having trouble getting myself to post on there. One of the reasons is because education just happens in this house. We do have school time, but I find myself teaching my kids at all hours. School is just the stuff I "have to" teach. So tonight I deleted the homeschool blog. I figure that if I want to talk about school, I will do it here.

Not that I have much to say on the subject.

Obviously

We're Back!

We just got back from our mini-vacation to Duluth, MN. We love this city. And this year was even better because there is a new waterpark that they have put in since we last vacationed there a couple years ago.

But if your not familiar with Duluth let me tell you, this is a perfect place for a relaxing vacation. They have beautiful buildings (I love brick buildings and they seem to build with brick and stone everywhere

There is also the lake, light houses,and the lift bridge. Nothing will give you instant peace like going to a huge body of water and listening to the waves.

There are tons of free things to do in the summer. You can play at the lake, go to the rose garden, Engar Tower Park that overlooks the whole city, window shop the various shops. You can spend days there and only pay for food and lodging.

This city is on a hill. The view from up by Engar Park is spectacular.