Pine Cone City

My husband and three oldest have embarked on a new business.  It all started about two years ago when we went out and for some unknown reason (at least I can't remember why) we collected two huge garbage bags of pine cones.  As we pulled away from the pine trees, I said something about scenting them with cinnamon and selling them in our neighborhood.  Then I got pregnant with Third Son and that was about the end of it for me, but the kids have been wondering when we were going to actually follow through with that plan.  Well, here I am pregnant and feeling huge again, so I turned this one over to my husband.  Our kids never forget anything, so we would have been discussing it at their weddings if we didn't get on the stick and do it.  ;-)

Man, did we feel fallish today!  The house smelled like cinnamon and my brain started working.....I wanted to make some pumpkin pies and a stew.  Sigh.  Soon enough.  After all, the daily temperatures here have fallen into the upper 80's! 

So here are my husband and kids acting like cheesehounds (except First Son, who is TOO old for that kind of stuff). 

My husband went to Hobby Lobby and bought some cinnamon essential oil.  We mixed it with water and sprayed the pine cones with it.  Next, they will sit for weeks and weeks so they can really absorb the wonderful aroma.  Then we will mix in some cinnamon chips and sticks, bag up the pincones in some storage bags - not Ziplocs - the kind that have twist ties to close them.  We will close them up with some pretty ribbons.  Then the kids and my Husband will go door to door to see what sort of business they can drum up.  We're hoping to add to the Christmas budget.  Who knows?  :-)  Either way, it's a fun project for my Husband and kids to do together.  He has been filling them all in on business 101 basics.  Not to mention all the teasing and kidding that goes on while they work together.  I loved listening to them work together.

Seasonal Delights

I realize that today (or tomorrow, if you're reading this on Sunday) is the very end of September, but I just found out tonight that the online mag, Seasonal Delights, is handing out a free year's subscription if you subscribe by the end of September.  Check it out!  I am always on the search for fun crafts to do with the kids because I am so non-crafty.  I'm just a big wannabe.  ;-)

Is Your Mama Home?

One of my biggest crusades these days is to get women to think about HOME.  I don't get a lot of chances to get on the soapbox on this issue because there are so many who think they are required to volunteer outside the home in some way and if I even vaguely mention "my ministry at home" I instantly feel the tension in the coversation rise, so I usually drop it.  In a previous post, I wrote about how I am a recovering "woman in ministry."  Well, I've written a few posts on this topic if you're interested.:-) 

I pray that we all eventually arrive at the same conclusion that one of my favorite bloggers, at Chatty's Fence Post did in her latest post, Musings on Gluttony.
Here's an excerpt:
Hilda takes several hours out of her week to help others do what her family waits to see accomplished in their lives.  She helps others plan their school lessons while her children flounder in their own books because mom hasn't had the discipline or taken the time to actually ensure that their lessons are completed.  Or maybe she spends two hours a week teaching new moms how to train their children while her own run wild at home.  She may teach whole grain baking to eager crowds while her own family gets burgers from Mc Donalds.

Ever know anyone like that?????

Na-Na-Na-Na-Boo-Boo

I don't know about you, but tattle-telling is hot business with my three oldest.  It seems I spend my day asking them, "Did you talk to so-and-so before you came to me?"  Of course they usually haven't, or if they have, it wasn't it the nicest of tones.  So I send them off again to work out their issues.  First Daughter knows how her Dad and I feel about tattle-telling, so she does something that totally cracks us up.  If she's involved in a situation with her big brother, we might hear something like this from the next room:
"Stop!  You took my book from me and won't give it back!"
That's her way of tattle-telling without coming directly to us with the issue.  I guess she thinks that if we hear her exposition on the situation, we will come running in and take over.  ;-)

Yesterday I came across a great blog entry by Rob Wilkerson on his blog, MOG.  The title of the entry he wrote is "Father Forgive Them..." - Applying the Gospel to Tattle-Telling - Again  Rob has great insight into this topic that is mostly a thorn in the side of parents.  Here's a great excerpt:

Again, the motivation of the tattle-tale is not to help or serve or protect. Instead it is has multiple sources. Perhaps it is to make themselves look important in the eyes of others. That's usually a key motivation for my children. Or perhaps it is to see them get in some sort of trouble, to be censured, to be reprimanded, terminated from their job, etc. This is also a key motivation for my children. Perhaps it is merely because such communication methods are second-nature to them and they can't help themselves. This has to be dealt with seriously. All of these motivations reveal something significant going on in the heart, and if that can be discovered and addressed then the problem of tattle-telling can be repented of. This is the most key factor in dealing with this sin.

The entire entry is so good.  Check it out and maybe enjoy reading a new-to-you blogger.  :-)

 

Pregnancy Update

I had an OB appointment on Friday.  It was kinda funny.......I spend a good portion of the day in the bathroom, but when asked to provide my sample at the OB's office, I had nothing to give.  Who could ever accuse a pregnant woman of that?????  Oh, well.  All is well.  I'm healthy and Second Daughter is healthy and we are officially in the Third Trimester.  Man, I can't wait to see this girl!

When my doctor asked how I was feeling, I told her (jokingly!) that the pregnancy is easy.  It's keeping up with my 18 month old that is the challenge.  HAHA!  Right?  No, she didn't think that was funny and spent a good five minutes grilling me on our homeschooling set-up, the ages of the kids, and all that stuff.  God bless her.  She's a very nice person, and I TOTALLY understand her concern for our family.  I mean, *I* have moments when I wonder what it will be like to be a mother of five.  But then I had those same thoughts when I was going to be a mother of one, two, three and four.  Of course life is a bit more intense with the three eldest in full-time school, and the youngest in full-time overdrive.  The kid is into everything!  But I know we'll all survive.  I have friends who have seven or eight kids and those friends all SEEM to be perfectly sane.  So I have every reason to believe that I will also remain sane and with-it.

There is one bit of bad news, though.  It's been difficult for me to come to terms with it being September, knowing that the juicy red, amazingly sweet and tender watermelon we've had since early summer will be a thing of the past.  It's especially hard because it is still 90 degrees here.  If it's still hot, shouldn't we still have watermelon????  I mean, come on, what's a pregnant gal supposed to do with cravings?  Just set them aside as if they are nothing?  Oh, no.  You and I both know that these cravings are nothing to be laughed at, but indulged in.  And is craving a strong enough word?  How about DEEP NEED or URGENT DESIRE?  I tried to think of things I could do to supply my URGENT DESIRE for watermelon through December, but the only things I could think of just wouldn't work.  Stocking up (another pregnancy issue I struggle with - how much toilet paper does a family REALLY need?) wouldn't do since the watermelon would rot, and growing one on my windowsill with the mint just doesn't seem possible.  THIS is the issue that my OB should have been more concerned about!  ;-)

Fireplace Joy

So.....

Riding high on the inspiration that Mrs. Wilt of The Sparrow's Nest gave me with her pretty fireplace mantle, I decided to use today, which is our regular craft day, to organize the kids in giving a hand in the facelift.  I can only be homemade-crafty after a lot of planning beforehand.  I'm very high maintenance in that way - crafts have a tendency to wig me out!  I would much rather read a book. 

After Third Son's nap, we loaded up in the Suburban and headed to Hobby Lobby.  Great idea, Mom!  ;-)  Everything was 40-50% off.  I gave the kids and myself 5 bucks each to spend.  Here is what we came up with:

As you can see, the kids have a thing for scarecrows.  We all love it.  It's such a nice change from the disorganized mess that used to be camped out on the mantle.  As we sat in the living room before the kids went to bed tonight, we just sat and stared and admired our cheesy scarecrows from Hobby Lobby.  First Son's question was what we will put there in December, and then in the Spring - that's my boy.  Always thinking ahead.

Thank you, Mrs. Wilt!

Fireplace Art

I just discovered a new-to-me blog a couple of days ago.  It is titled The Sparrow's Nest.  I enjoy it because Mrs. Wilt, the author of the blog is one of those ladies who is constantly decorating her home to look beautfiul.  Very crafty and old timey-ish.  She seems to make everything cozy.  LOVE it.  Not because my home is like hers, but because I think it would be groovy to have a home like hers.  I can't imagine it will ever happen for me until the last kid leaves home. 

Her latest post made me laugh at myself.  Mrs. Wilt is decorating for fall.  Well, if you read my last post, you know what fall is like around here - hot.  Not at all the chilly, cozy fall that Mrs. Wilt and family are experiencing.  Anyway......she decorated her fireplace.  Take a look at it here.  It is really very pretty. 

I looked at her fireplace, then thought of my own fireplace and got to giggling a bit.  Here are pictures of my fireplace!

You can vaguely see how I've tried to decorate.  A couple of candles, some craft work of First Son's, a picture, a cross.  The effect of my amazing decorating skill is masked by the additions from my children.  On the left there is the musical piece of the mobile First Son had as an infant.  The kids found that in a box somewhere and enjoy listening to it when the mood strikes.  Next is the Mancala game, topped by our Webster's 1828.  Then in the middle is an AWANA trophy and the Pine Derby cars that the oldest three made for last year's race.  Then a couple of misc. books.  LOVELY. 

Here's a view of our entire fireplace:

And now you see the finishing touches of my deco.  All of Third Son's toys that we can hardly get him to play with when we really need him to (read: schooltime).  Oh, and over there on the left is a really pretty hurricane-type-lamp candle holder.  Well, not really hurricane style....I'm not sure what it is.  You can put a candle in it, though.  ;-)

I am so thankful for ladies such as Mrs. Wilt who inspire the rest of us with her special touch in home decorating.  Maybe, just MAYBE I'll see if I can draft First Daughter to help me "do something" with our poor fireplace.

Do You Have Real Fall?

All of our kids were born right here in Texas.  In fact, my Husband and I have set a family record, on both sides.  All of our kids have been born in the same hospital and have had the same OB deliver them.  It's a bizarre record for both our families, who are known for their moving-around ways.  But we have stayed put, and even more bizarre to me is the fact that my Husband and I are raising up a bunch of Texans.  Yeeesh!  I swore when I was in college that I never wanted to live in Texas.  I mean, WHY?  It's ugly and hot.  Man.  NEVER say never!

So my children have no experience with a northern fall.  I do, and so does my Husband.  I grew up in Buffalo, NY, and my Husband spent some time living in NC, IL and KY.  What amazes me is that here it is September 17th, and it's 90 degrees outside.  Well, at 9:33 p.m. it's 79.  ;-)  What really amazes me is that my little Texans keep waking up, expecting to be able to wear sweaters and see the leaves on the trees changing colors.  First Daughter told me the other day that we need to be on the lookout for changing leaves.  I reminded her that it ain't happenin' this early.  We didn't need to rake our yard of leaves until late November/December last year, and pretty much every year before that. 

What is it that makes them think that when it turns September it's going to be cold outside in Texas?  My first thought is that they are suffering from wishful thinking.  It's been hot here for months.  We are all ready for a break from the heat by this time.  And then pretty much every thought after that is that they are suffering from wishful thinking.  How could it not be when we look at 90 degrees as the high as a break from the heat?

So while you real-fall people are up there drinking your hot apple cider and dreaming of pumpkin muffins, say a toast for my own poor kids, who have no clue.  God bless 'em.

I'm Awake Now....

Well, it's been a wonderful weekend.  My Husband has been able to stay home all weekend, and we all feel good.  :-)  He'll have to work late Monday and Tuesday nights, but hopefully will be done with this project by then.  We can't wait!  So after some R&R this weekend, I feel refreshed and ready to go!   Re-reading the quote from the article below that I cut and pasted into my blog entry:

In general, a country's per-capita emissions rise as it becomes more prosperous, while its fertility rate declines. In other words, fewer babies are born, but each one emits more CO₂. (That's why the economic boom in China will create a massive increase in greenhouse gas emissions even if its population remains stable.) In fact, the birth of every additional child in the developed world can have a major impact on the cost of keeping global warming in check. According to studies published over the last decade, this amounts to as much as $10,000 to $20,000 per baby.

I see the quote a bit differently.  It seems he is saying that yes, when a country becomes more prosperous, fewer babies are born.  To me, that seems sad.  But he goes on to say that every new birth hurts the globe, especially  in developed countries, and could potentially cost big bucks in controlling global warming.  He seems more concerned about global warming than about a way to bring new life into the world.  He likes to live in a prosperous nation.  He is willing for his own comforts to take precedence and nullify what God says are the true blessings in life:
Psalm 127:3-5
Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
       children a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
       are sons born in one's youth.
Blessed is the man
       whose quiver is full of them.
       They will not be put to shame
       when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

I guess I can understand his worry.  He agrees that there is an issue with global warming.  Because of that, having children is a deadly enterprise.  But I don't take any stock in this issue of global warming and put more stock in what God says.

hsmomof2, I left you a comment in the last post.  :-)

Double Minded Man

I don't know if I'm just fried from this week or what.  My Husband has been working on a big project at work that is due next Tuesday.  He has had to work until 10:30 or 11 p.m. ALL week.  We are all feeling the pain of this separation from such a wonderful Husband and Father.  Wednesday was the day when I felt as if I was done with the situation, and I can tell that today the kids are ready for life to go back to normal.  They were grouchy with each other all day, and tonight after putting them in bed, they have come down about 50,000 times with issues.  Poor First Daughter.  She always feels things the most.  She came down crying for her Daddy.  I let her give him a call, held her while she cried and sent her to bed to read Psalm 23 and to pray for her Dad.  That seemed to make her feel better.  God bless her.  The hope is that First and Only Husband will be able to come home at the normal hour tomorrow.  :-)

ANYWAY......

All that to say I don't know if I read this article wrong because I'm fried out of my brains, but maybe you all can verify for me.  I came across this article titled Global Swarming: Is it Time for America to Start Cutting Our Baby Emissions?  You can tell from the title what the article is about.  You know our family is a full quiver kind of crew, so I clicked on the link to this article with a nasty feeling in the pit of my stomach.  I didn't really want to read it, but decided I needed to get over it and read some stuff from the "other side" every now and then.  So I plowed through.  The article started out, to me, sounding as if yes, we should limit the number of children we have.  Then about halfway through, I came across this:

In general, a country's per-capita emissions rise as it becomes more prosperous, while its fertility rate declines. In other words, fewer babies are born, but each one emits more CO₂. (That's why the economic boom in China will create a massive increase in greenhouse gas emissions even if its population remains stable.) In fact, the birth of every additional child in the developed world can have a major impact on the cost of keeping global warming in check. According to studies published over the last decade, this amounts to as much as $10,000 to $20,000 per baby.

Doesn't it sound to you as if the author is saying that having more children is a GOOD thing for the environment????  Again, maybe I'm fried.  Maybe I'm just not reading what he wrote correctly, because by the time I got to the end of the article he wrote:

Whether it's eating vegetarian or wearing organic eye shadow,  we're all shopping for absolution. We know that babies add more to global warming than anything else in our home. Isn't it time to cut back?

Am I going insane, or does this man sound like the double-minded man from James 1:8?  He says one thing, and then seemingly contradicts himself.  It seems that if this is the best he can do, he should have come up with a better argument.  Something like, "Common man and woman just doesn't have the patience to have all those kids."  Or "The average couple just can't afford that many kids."  Or "The world needs love, but who has that much to go around for a passel of needy little ones?"

Body Snatchers

Reading this short article today made my blood boil:

Female Prisoner Dies in Eritrea for Refusing to Renounce Faith in Christ

Allie Martin
OneNewsNow.com
September 11, 2007

A ministry, which informs Christians about the plight of persecuted believers worldwide, says persecution is on the rise in Eritrea, a small African nation located along the southwestern coast of the Red Sea.

Open Doors USA has recently learned of the death of Eritrean prisoner Migsti Haile. The 33-year-old woman was a Christian who was imprisoned, tortured, and then killed for refusing to renounce her faith in Christ.

Haile was among a group of ten single Christian women who had been arrested at a church gathering and then spent a year-and-a-half imprisoned under harsh conditions. Dr. Carl Moeller, president of Open Doors USA, says the Eritrean government is scared of religion and its influence.

"It's incredulous for most Americans to think about a small country like this, taking out such aggressive violence against Christians -- and for what reason?" he questions. "They have a quasi-Marxist government there that is power centric and ... afraid of the force of religion in their country."

He says Open Doors is maintaining an "active campaign" to raise awareness of these types of situations to European, U.S., State Department, and human rights officials. "We have programs where people can, of course, get informed about what is happening, because you're not going to see this in the New York Times or CNN," he states.

Moeller points out that four Christians have died in Eritrea during the past year as a result of persecution. And currently more than 2,000 Eritrean Christians are imprisoned and tortured because they refuse to renounce their faith in Christ.

It's going on all over the globe.  I get anxious for God to take His revenge on the persecutors of my fellow believers, but realize that I have to simmer down and let God take care of issues like this in His own time.

In the meantime, I talk daily to our kids about persecuted people from around the world.  I think it is so important that they realize that it's real.  It's happening, and their futures may not be all about living out the American Dream, but about living out their faith in Christ in a way that may seem all too shockingly real.  I pray that if the time comes that they have to suffer for their faith that they stay strong and remember that no one can snatch them from His hand.

 

Surprises

I like to read blog entries about tips for saving money.  I try to be frugal in as many ways as possible and it's always fun for me to read what others do in this area. 

One of the things I have had to learn as an adult is that I can't always get what I want, when I want it.  Don't get me wrong.  I was no pampered girly-girl growing up.  My parents put me to work as soon as it was legal for me to work and I was responsible for buying my own clothes, paying for my own entertainment....I enjoyed it and found I was naturally thrifty and able to save money for big purchases.  The only problem with that was that it was all about me.  I bought MY clothes, paid for MY movies, records/tapes/CDs.....my, my, my!  Since I was single, I didn't have to worry about anyone else's needs and was able to get what I needed, usually when I needed it.

Fast forward 20 years, and now here I am with a family.  *I* want things for MY family.  I can still make it about me.  What a gift!  ;-)  So I've had to learn to discipline myself to chill out and not run to the credit card when there's something I think the kids, husband or our house needs to have and instead of debt, I've discovered God's blessings. 

I normally hate surprises (I always read the last few pages of a book before I'm done with it), but lately I've been asking God for them.  I mean, who could resist, when God delivers things I've been praying about in such fun ways?

Last month I was sitting, waiting for my pal to arrive at our local homeschool bookfair so we could cruise around and look at all the stuff that we've tried and rejected.  She was running late.  Not a biggie.  I'm one of those geeky moms that carries around her recent craft project, so I pulled mine out of my bag and kept myself occupied.  While I was sitting there, a friend from our support group walked by, we saw each other, and she joined me for some conversation.  We chatted away, and I told her about how excited I had been to go to the Sonlight booth to get a hands-on look at the new Language Arts guides.  I told her that I was going to buy one level for each of my kids that are schooling.  Her oldest is about the same age as my oldest and she said, "Why don't you just take my daughter's L.A. guide?"  It was tempting, but I told her that I really needed to go ahead and buy it because I would eventually use it for the other kids. 
She said, "No, TAKE it.  We're not gonna use it after all."
"TAKE it?????  Let me pay you for it!"
"No!  Just take it.  I'll be glad to get it off my shelf."

I was SO excited!  Our budget has been tight this summer because we have been paying our OB, who expects to be paid in full before the baby is born.  When I finally worked out what I needed to order for the kids for school, we didn't have the cash on-hand for me to buy everything yet.  I had to wait a few weeks.  But it was agony.  Even after schooling for so long, I still get excited about new curricula, and couldn't wait to place our order.  I was tempted to go ahead and order everything on our credit card so I could get it ASAP, but I asked God for patience and prudence.  And because I waited, God blessed me with a savings of $35 on our Sonlight order!  How's that for frugal???  ;-)

Last weekend, we were chatting with our next door neighbors who are loading up to move to Vegas.  They gave us one of those bike trailers.  You know, those thingys that you put your toddler in when bike riding?  I have wanted one of those for months, but we just couldn't afford it.  Not even from our neighbors who were selling one in a garage sale.  Like I wrote, it's been just plain tight around here this summer.  Whenever I would think of it, I would shoot a prayer up to God about it and he answered us through our other neighbors.  What's so funny is that they don't even have kids.  Their youngest is in her 20's.  They bought the trailer for their three yipper doggies and never used it.  Woohoo!  I would have never thought that God would have answered my prayers for this trailer thingy through these particular neighbors.  But God knew what they had sitting in their garage!  ;-)

My husband and I have had so many stories like these during our marriage.  God has been so faithful to us.  Reminds me of the verse:
For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
      Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
Isaiah 55:8

My Girl

Last night I went to a Mom's Night Out at Starbucks.  As usual, a thousand different topics came up.  All of us there had daughters, and we started talking about them.  Specifically their seeming quest to fit in more than their fair share of words each day.  ;-)  God bless 'em.

One of the Moms started talking about how her daughter is sometimes very difficult.  Stubborn, opinionated, & etc.  It hit me like a tidal wave that OH MY GOODNESS, Second Daughter, due in December might very well be just like that! 

Big pregnancy DUH moment.

First Daughter is definitely strong-willed, but at heart, is as soft as they come.  She is SO SWEET.  She has a real desire to serve those around her - especially her Mom and Dad.  She has never been one to throw herself on the floor to throw a fit.  She gets over her issues with my Husband and me quickly.  When she gets a spanking, all she can think of is making things right with us.  On and on.  She is really a blessing.  I guess during this pregnancy, I only thought of Second Daughter in the same light as First Daughter.  First Daughter has been around for a good nine years.  I'm used to her ways. 

So just who IS this Little Petunia who is going to come along in December and interupt our groove?  I can't even begin to imagine her personality at this point, but she is already a blessing to our family and really, I am truly thankful for her future arrival and the opportunity to be her Mom.....as long as she doesn't rock the boat TOO much. 

Father's Bedtime Song

My husband and I laughed so hard at this YouTube Video.  We can relate in so many ways!  ;-)  Enjoy.

 

Latin

I haven't pushed learning languages on my kids because I just don't have the time to do it.  Back when First Son was in Second Grade, we started learning Greek, but the program we were using was very teacher-intensive and as the other kids started schooling I just couldn't squeeze it in. 

Imagine my stress levels as First Son, now 12, announced that he's ready to study Latin!  My first thought was, "I have no idea when I can do that with him."  But I told him I would investigate, so this afternoon I went to my favorite homeschooler's site.  Trivium Pursuit.  They recommend Artes Latinae.  I was oh-so-glad to read that it is a totally self-paced, self-learning program. There is a book version or a CD-Rom version of this program.  Knowing my son, the CD-Rom version would be the best choice.  The only thing is that it is a hefty 297 bucks on the Bluedorn's site.  Youch!!!!  So I've been searching for some feedback on this program.  I can only consider laying out that kind of cash because the likelihood of our other kids using the program is good. 

So, if you're interested, here are some links I've found that give some feedback on the program.  And if YOU are using this program with your kids, please let me know EXACTLY what you think!  :-)

Latin Programs (reviews of more than just A.L.
Learning Latin at Home with Artes Latinae
From our friends at TOS
Cathy Duffy Reviews
Homeschool Chrisitian
- - there is a broken link to a Demo of A.L. on this page.  This is the correct link.