Happy Birthday Marina!

Fourteen years ago, God brought forth a cherished little baby girl with a song in her heart. With each passing year, we have been so privileged to hear new verses of that song emerge as that precious baby has become a lovely young lady.

Happy birthday, Marina.

We all love you very much.

"O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things!
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody!"
Psalm 98: 1, 4, 5

A Message for Weary Homeschooling Mamas......(including myself)

We're headed into winter, in more ways than one. I've heard it said that November and February are the two hardest months for homeschooling moms. By November, the books don't smell so new anymore and the novelty of the new schedule, new chore chart, new you-fill-in-the-blank has worn off for everyone.

Fortunately, having the holidays just around the corner helps fend off the November blues. The air is getting crisper and I can almost smell the frasier fir tree that will adorn our family room in a few weeks. List making, menu planning, and the smell of cinnamon candles burning will keep me chugging along until we break for Christmas. Anticipation of the holidays and meaningful observances of Advent and Christmas can often keep a weary homeschooling mom's head above water.

January comes and things seem fresh and new again. (Some things literally are new if we've scrapped our curriculum plans from first semester and ordered all new books! Admit it! You know you've done it!) The break has left us recharged for the challenge.

But the charge is short-lived. Because by February, we're longing so very much for spring, and the end of school, and summer. It's winter. Cold. Dark. And in the coldness and darkness, even the smallest tasks can feel like a struggle.

Elizabeth Foss has a wonderfully encouraging post up today for homeschooling moms. Whether you're needing prevention or remedies for the "winter homeschool blues", I think you will find both in her exhortations. So click over.

"Find God. In the beginning, we can be carried through the challenges of this lifestyle on the shoulders of great ideas and good friends. But that's not enough for the long haul.....................I must let go of my idea of what this is all supposed to look like. Less of me. More of Him. Until it's all Him. We're climbing Calvary here and it's getting steep all of a sudden."
--Elizabeth Foss

Unintentional Internet Fast - Lessons from the Unconnected Life

We experienced, what I at first considered, a most unfortunate internet fast last week. My laptop was unable to connect for 6 days during which time our family computer also was "attacked" by what appears to be either a virus or malware. Upon realizing that our predicament wasn't going to be fixed quickly, I moved my laptop out of the kitchen, where it normally lives, turned off our most disagreeable family desktop and lamented how much I'll miss my daily email and blog reads. And then I began to notice some really interesting things.

• The laundry I started on Wednesday morning got dried, folded and put away.....on WEDNESDAY!
• Thursday, when we worked halfway through lunchtime without realizing it, I hadn't one time looked at my watch wondering if it was time to check my email yet.
• A pile of books (really three piles but stacked into one gigantic mountain) that had waited - I kid you not - MONTHS to be moved onto shelves are now neatly resting on shelves.
• We played games.
• We read aloud.
• On Friday night, when August was able to finally get my laptop connected again.......I felt sad.
  

I don't think this unintentional experiment means we need to pull the plug completely but it does mean that for me, cyberspace is a bit like the chip bowl at a Christmas party. If I park myself too close to the bowl, I'll have downed half of it before even coming up for air. With a little space between the bowl and myself, moderation is so much easier to exercise. The use of my time is much the same way. Without even realizing it, I can get lured into my computer screen and not even notice the minutes ticking away.......or the people (both little and big) needing my attention until a half hour later.

The beginning of Advent, the season which not only prepares our hearts to welcome an infant Savior but also heralds the beginning of a new Church year, is quickly approaching. We were challenged this morning at church to ask ourselves how we would live the next year if we knew we were going to die November 15, 2010. Hmmmm..... The little and big people around here need me - all of me. I need them. And we all need so much more of Jesus. I think the laptop will live tucked away in a corner for a while.

My Paycheck.....

I found this in my inbox today. Sent from one of my "students". I love this "job". ;-)

Go Ahead......Laugh

Today, as I'm carrying Brayden and walking in to our local homeschool co-op to pick up the girls from their classes, another mom stops me.

"Hi, Martha." She says, eyeing Brayden. "Did you all decide to adopt one or two?"

What?! Now, I'm fighting to maintain my composure and not laugh at this poor woman who sees the look of amusement on my face.

"No." I say cheerfully. "I had him. Maybe your thinking about my friend, Susan."

"Oh!" She says. "I thought when I saw him that maybe you decided on one now and then one later."

I smiled and kept walking but in my head I was thinking, "Yes, I KNOW my children look nothing like me.....they're CUTER!" ;-)

Oh well, (insert deep sigh here).....I guess I'll just have to keep praying for that blonde!

Food Challenge - APPLES!

After a beautiful morning of apple picking with an internet-turned-real-life friend recently, the girls started planning for their next food challenge. Marina was working on baking cookies for some friends on challenge day so she bowed out of this one. Here's what the others came up with:

(Note to self: Remember to get the camera out BEFORE the challenge foods are consumed! Sorry folks, I was so distracted by the beauty and yummy-ness of these treats that I plum forgot to pull out the camera before all of Olivia's creations were gone!)

Juliette's entry (shown above): Spiced Apple Spirals with Cinnamon Cream - Apples peeled and spiral cut then sprinkled with brown sugar and cinnamon sugar and baked. Served with a whipped cream/cinnamon sauce.

Olivia's and Eliza's entry (consumed before photo shoot!): Apple Pockets - Sliced apples tossed with brown and white sugars and cinnamon, then wrapped in dough to make individual servings. (Sort of like an apple turnover.)

As of this posting, I don't have permission from all of the participants to share with you which entry won. I'll just say both were tasty and we all enjoyed the judging.

Until the next challenge............(which they're already plotting)

How We Spent Our Weekend

Introducing Maizy

Would somebody please tell me how much cuteness can possibly exist under one roof 'cause we've got an awful lot of it around here! ;-)