So Much to Say

I have not blogged in weeks.  I keep thinking about it, but the time and opportunity just hasn't come up.  I've spent much of my free time reading The Hunger Games trilogy, which was fantastic.  I thoroughly enjoyed the series.

I planned out the first six weeks of school for my kiddos.  That was hard, but I'm glad I got it taken care of.  We started school last Monday, and the kids are doing so great.  I will blog about what we're doing homeschool-wise later.

Dave and I have been using one car since May.  We didn't intend for that to happen, but it has, and we're doing fine with it.  We went out one day and looked at trucks, thinking we might get one for Dave and just trade in our old Acura.  But, I didn't have peace about it, and it all felt very rushed, so we stepped back.  We are getting VERY close to paying off the last 1/5 of our student loan debt.  We just didn't want to lose any momentum by adding car debt to the pile.  We decided to fix the Acura.  So, since May, we have been waiting for a good, used engine to present itself so the mechanic can use parts from it to fix the car.  Evidently, they're not getting many leads.  And we wait.

I don't really have anywhere to go anyway, so it hasn't been a big deal.  But, people think we're crazy.  And that's okay.  We're getting closer and closer to our goal.

My twins are 7 months old and getting more and more mobile.  Milo is crawling, sitting up occasionally, and pulling up on things.  He is my earliest mobile child.  Felix is army-crawling and rocking on his hands and knees.  He has FOUR teeth and two more trying to break through.

Sam and Maryn are so stinking smart.  They're crazy good readers and constantly wowing me.  They've been pretty busy making things and playing pretty hard.

Lucy is less destructive these days.  She still occasionally puts things in the toilet, but not nearly as much.  She hasn't colored on the walls in a couple of months.  Progress!!!  I see pottytraining in our future, and I am already ready for it to be over!  :)  She's getting closer to being really ready.  Her speech is improving all the time, and we're starting to communicate better.  She still has melt-downs when I don't understand her, but they are fewer.

Lucy has also taken a liking to grand-daddy longlegs.  Here's one of her buddies:

There is another beautiful garden spider at our house this year.  This one is out by the deck so I don't get to see her as much as I did the one by the window last year.  I think she is amazing.   I don't want to touch her, but I enjoy watching her.

My dear househelp is on vacation in the Philippines.  She will be back at the end of the month.  Thankfully, my friend, Nicole, was able to come help this week.  Last week, I cleaned everything except the hardwoods (I swept but didn't mop).  It was nice to know I could do it, but made me thankful that I don't have to try to do it all regularly.

I am exhausted these days.  I am ready to figure out a way to get more breaks so I can breathe and be refreshed.  Feel free to pray for this in my life.  God knows what I need, and I think He will provide even this.

So, this is my update.  I wish I could keep up better, but I haven't been able to.  I hope to be able to blog about homeschooling very soon.  I am LOVING what we are doing this year, and I look forward to sharing that with you.

Projects Are Contagious

Beware the project bug. It is highly infectious, and if you aren't careful, it will not only bite you, but it will also bite your children.





Maryn wanted to make a blanket. She picked out her own fabric. Then, she decided she wanted to HAND SEW it! This mama was thrilled!


She worked on it for THREE HOURS STRAIGHT. She almost finished it, but we had to wait until the next day.





Her stitches were so cute. I wish they were on the outside so I could still see them.


We top stitched it as a team.


And voila!!! Her first sewing project!!!! COMPLETE.


Sam also got bitten. His aspiration was a pillow. He pinned it up after he chose the fabric.


Don't worry; he was supervised. :)


Time to stuff it!


Ready for a nap? Sam's first project--FINISHED. WOW.


Kids are capable of a lot more than many of us tend to think. Give your kid some freedom to create; you may be surprised at how awesome they are!!! I sure was!

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The Books Are Back

Since having the twins, I haven't been able to read nearly like I normally do.  I have always loved to read, and when I am sleep-deprived and going non-stop, I just don't have the time.

And when I'm nursing twins (mostly early on), I had a hard time concentrating on much...and the Facebook app on my phone kept me entertained, and I didn't have to think.

That has all recently changed.  Thank the Lord.  I have missed reading.  I have completed two books this week and started another.

1.  I started reading this back in March.  It took me awhile since I have still been in "baby fog" land.  I just finished it, and I LOVED IT.  I can't even put into words how fantastic this book is.

Buy one.  Buy some more for your friends.  Read her blog.  Be blessed, and be a blessing.

One Thousand Gifts

by Ann Voskamp

This book has helped me to really SEE.  To SEARCH.  To BE THANKFUL.  To BE A BLESSING.

To realize HE IS GOOD.

2.  I am in a discipleship group in our church.  Our pastor leads the group, and he asked us to read this next book.  It's pretty popular right now, though I don't know why--its topic is not a popular one.  I'm just going to trust the Holy Spirit is moving and using this little book.

Radical

by David Platt

The ideas and concepts in this book (discipleship, multiplication, wartime lifestyle, Great Commission) were not new to me.  In fact, I had three years of training in these ideas back in college.  I've lived as a mobilizer in the past, we regularly give to missionaries and have committed to long-term service overseas, we support a child with Compassion (that's her in the photo--Umutesi).  But, for the million things I'm NOT doing, this book was a GREAT reminder.  I didn't feel guilty when reading it, instead, my zeal for giving my life to the Great Commission was renewed.  I feel recharged and encouraged to press on.  There are companion materials online as well.



3.  The book I am now reading is to help prepare me for homeschooling.  I homeschooled Samuel last year, and we were successful.  He learned what he needed to, he blew me away with his brilliance, and unfortunately, we fought a lot.  This year, I will be homeschooling TWO kids.  Maryn will be in kindergarten, and Sam will move on to first grade.  And then there is busy 2-year-old Lucy and the baby twins.  I turned to my friend, Annette (who is a missionary is East Asia with 6 children that she homeschools), and said, "I want your advice."  THIS is the book she told me to read first.

For the Children's Sake

by Susan Schaeffer Macauley

I had been curious about Charlotte Mason, the woman whose ideas this book is patterned after.  She was a teacher/philosopher in the late 19th century.  I had read bits about her and how she viewed children as persons, not merely as containers to be filled with information.  I am excited to see what I learn from this book.  So far, I am enjoying it, and it is helping me to look at my children differently--each as unique creations by God with their own ideas and personalities.  I think when it comes to school, it is easy to lump them all together and do the same thing for each.  The beauty of homeschooling is being able to play to your child's strengths and to meet them on their level--to listen to them and learn from them as well.

I've been informed about a couple of online communities that espouse the Charlotte Mason philosophies:

Simple Homeschool

Ambleside Online

Thank you, Melissa and Laurel, for your suggestions.  I can't wait to spend more time on these sites.


Finally, I have another Charlotte Mason book (the Companion, actually) that I am going to read/peruse (cuz it's so big!!!).  And for fun, I am going to start with the first of the popular, new trilogy, The Hunger Games.

Happy Summer Reading!

The Baby Weight

I have a new theory.  Before I share, let me clarify a few of my beliefs.

1.  I think childbirth is a picture of Christ on the cross--the agony, the pain, the laboring, and then the new birth--I bring forth a baby; He brought forth the Church.

2.  I think women stress too much about losing baby weight (self included).

3.  I don't believe there is a certain time frame in which you must lose it (Ignore that "9 months to gain, 9 months to lose" lie.).


So, my theory?

I think a pregnant body and a postpartum body is beautiful.  Even though I sometimes struggle with the way I look now (usually a result of comparing myself to others), I do truly think it is a beautiful thing.  Why?

In the same way that Jesus' body was battered, bruised, torn, tattered, bleeding, gushing water, heart exploding, so does mine.

Now, I know you may be thinking that I'm crazy to compare the pains of pregnancy and childbirth to a crucifixion, and I get that--just hear me out--I, in no way, think I have EVER physically suffered even close to what my Savior endured on that cross.  But look at the similarities:

1.  He had stripes on his back from being whipped (cannot fathom that kind of pain).
     I have stretch marks.

2.  His body was torn by the cat of nine tails.
     Mine was torn by babies.

3.  He had blood pouring out of his body.
     I did too.

4.  When he died, they stabbed him with a spear, and blood and water gushed out.
     When my bags of water broke, the water gushed out.

5.  He labored to breathe.
     I labored with measured, meted breaths.

6.  His heart finally exploded.
     Mine exploded in JOY.

Now, I realize I may be reaching with this one, but I thought of it the other day after I'd been asked if I was pregnant with #6 (and I'm SO NOT)...which doesn't HURT my feelings, really, because I know my abs LOOK pregnant. And this has happened to me many times because twins just destroy the abdominal muscles.  But, I was mourning my pre-baby body, my pre-TWINS body, and then this thought occurred to me:

After Jesus arose, even His glorified body still had scars.  Why?

As proof?  For Thomas?  For me?

So, when I stand in front of the mirror and see my twin-skin, the stretch marks, and the separated ab muscles that could only EVER be repaired with surgery, I am going to remind myself of what I accomplished--

I brought forth NEW LIFE.

And so did He.  And for that, I am ever grateful.

Naming His Gifts

I love that as I thank God for the gifts He's given, I worship Him.  I'm telling Him that He is a good Father, a good Savior, a good Creator, and the list will never end.

"To name a thing is to manifest the meaning and value God gave it, to know it as coming from God and to know its place and function within the cosmos created by God.  To name a thing, in other words, is to bless God for it and in it."  Alexander Schmemann (For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy)


And so, today, I take some time here, in this bit of cyberspace, to name some gifts and bless Him for them and in them.

I bless Him...

for blue skies with white clouds,

for wild roses by my front door, 

for prequilted cotton for little girls' skirts, 

for a baby learning to crawl,

for a baby getting two teeth and still smiling,

for sharing the playmat,

for an eldest who daily surprises me with his brain,

for my vivacious sing-songy girl,

for those curls,

for sweaty, red-faced "Bright Light,"

for popsicles on a hot summer day, 

for boxes just her size, 

for wiggly guys...

who climb on each other, 

and think it's normal.