Chores Are Such a Chore

I love it when things in life knit themselves together.  I watch it happen often in our learning.  For instance, on Sunday our minister spent some time sharing about his trip to Israel.  Last week, our history focused on the life and death of Christ and early Christianity.  We are reading Ben-Hur.  It all seems to be tied together.  Those links are made in our lives and our brains without real effort or orchestration.  I love it when that happens.

The same thing is happening since I read The Power of Habit.  One of my things on my list for 2014 was to create a chore system for the kids and me that worked.  As I read that book and thought about what I really want it occurred to me that I'm trying to create habits in my children.

My old method of assigning chores was to give each kid a chore for a week (wash dishes, load dishwasher/unload dishwasher/put clean dishes away, sweep and vacuum floors/wipe table and counters, take out trash and recycling).  At the end of the week there would be a big discussion over who did or didn't finish the last of the dishes/floor/garbage and how to make it "fair".  That was a weekly issue. 

The other issue was the quality of work.  Because each child only kept each job for a week they could blame faulty results on the child who had done the job prior to their tenure.  There was no real incentive or accountability for good work or poor work.  And really, there wasn't time to train for each job and expect mastery.  By the time they understood the responsibilities and techniques of a job it was time to move on to the next job.  They didn't repeat a job for three more weeks.  All learning and skill was lost.

I've often thought that teaching kids how to do things is much harder than just doing them myself.  So many times I can get something done faster and better on my own than if I farm it out.  If I do something myself I know it's done correctly and meets whatever standard I've set.  I also know that it truly is done and won't require extra work or supervision or fussing later.

The catch is that my purpose in raising my children is to train them in the way I would have them go.  Or better yet, in the way God would have them go.  To me this means that I am not striving to have good children.  My effort is focused on creating outstanding adults.  Because of this future focus I know that I must equip my children. Equipping takes time.  It takes energy.  It's a chore.

In light of my purpose and what I learned about building a habit I decided I needed to revamp the chores at our house.  Rather than assigning a chore each week I determined that each child would do one chore for a month.  In that month's time they would be able to master each job.  While it might be tedious to do the same thing for a month, there would be no confusion over who had which responsibility.  Once they were trained for each job so thoroughly they wouldn't have difficulty remembering what to do the next time the job was theirs.  Training once and making it stick was a feature that really appealed to me.

Miraculously enough the new system is working.  I'm afraid to say it yet but it seems to be true.  I always know who is responsible and so do they.  They are able to do the jobs and take pride in them.  There is no question or debate or irritation about who should or shouldn't have done what.  This new habit is forming.  At our house, chores are not quite the chore they were.

Reflections on 2013

Another year sped by while I was busy living.  How does that happen? 
The older I get the more I realize how necessary it is to take a moment to reflect.
I was being pretty ugly to myself this morning.  It's way too easy for me to beat myself up with the momentary discontentment rather than keeping my eye on the real accomplishments.  In order to help myself out the next time I come at myself with that particular board and to get myself over the current episode of mud wallowing I offer this list of  reflections and accomplishments for 2013:

Personally, I read more than 50 books, many of them classics.  I spent time with lots of people I love including each of my family members, the Keegans, the Barnes family, cousins, and friends.  Through various activities I became acquainted with new people.  I hope that many will become friends.  I celebrated life in big ways with parties and pig roasts and joyful reunions.  I skiied, traveled (Richmond, Snow Shoe, St. Augustine, Louisville, St. Augustine, Washington, D.C., Tybee Island, Grand Caymen, Mexico), snorkled, climbed ruins, road trains, served God, my family and others.  It's been a wonderful year!
Professionally, I taught 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th and 9th grades. I raised and harvested over 100 chickens.  Hatched, with the help of an incubator, five turkeys for harvest.  Raised and harvested two steers.  Helped raise two sheep. Sold dozens and dozens of eggs.  (Yes, I had some help with all this but it's a valid accomplishment.) I continued my volunteer role with Operation Christmas Child attending a connect conference that gave me an amazing picture of God's work in this ministry.  I joined the leadership team of Cornerstone Co-op as their junior high coordinator.

Spiritually, Rob and I started sharing a daily Bible study and prayer time.  We are learning more about God and each other with each lesson.  We also are learning to support and hold each other accountable. 

Emotionally, I continued to nurture relationships with my husband, children, sisters and parents. I consistently took part in several groups outside my family including a book club, homeschool co-op, and church groups.  I desire to find a few close friends and am trying to identify those women.  I have met several new, interesting, challenging, fun women this year.

Physically, I lost 20 pounds over the course of this year.  I am making better smaller food choices.  For my family, I am being very conscious of the choices I make for them. We are eating more "real" food.  I'm buying non-gmo grain products.  I'm being very intentional in what I serve and eat.  A glass of water before each meal has worked wonders.

Reading List 2013

The Iliad by Homer translated by Robert Fagles


The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate

The Truth About Style by Stacy London

Someone by Alice McDermott

Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood

Confessions of a Sociopath: A Life Spent Hiding in Plain Sight by M.E. Thomas

The Good Earth by Pearl Buck

The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin

Safe House by Chris Ewan

The Hero's Lot by Patrick Carr

A Cast of Stones by Patrick Carr

The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls

Gilgamesh: A New Rendering in English Verse by David Ferry

He Who Saw Everything by Robert Temple

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Gilgamesh: A Verse Play by Usef Komonyakaa & Chad Gracia

Mighty Be Our Powers by Leymah Gbowee

The Cherry Cola Book Club by Ashton Lee

Telling the Bees by Peggy Hesketh

The Woman Who Died A Lot by Jasper Fforde

Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers by Anne Lamott

The Complaints by Ian Rankin

Die Trying by Lee Child

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

Killing Floor by Lee Child

So Brave, Young, and Handsome by Leif Enger

One of Our Thursdays Is Missing by Jasper Fforde

Disobedience by Jane Hamilton

The Good Mother by Sue Miller

TransAtlantic by Colum McCann

The Last Original Wife by Dorothea Frank

Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou

First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde

The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

The Runaway King by Jennifer Nielsen

The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen

Lost in a Good Book (A Thursday Next Novel) by Jasper Fforde

Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat by Bee Wilson

The Light Between Oceans: A Novel by M.L. Stedman

The Eyre Affair: A Thursday Next Novel by Jasper Fforde

Legend by Marie Lu

Peace Like A River by Leif Enger

Tear Down the Walls! A History of the American Civil Rights Movement by Dorothy Sterling

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Falling Home by Karen White

Showdown Trail by Louis L'Amour

The Ruins of Lace by Iris Anthony

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Thirteen Days/Ninety Miles: The Cuban Missile Crisis by Norman Finkelstein

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World by Matthew Goodman

The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn

The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott

One Shot by Lee Child

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman

Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The Merchant's Daughter by Melanie Dickerson

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had by Kristin Levine

Marmee & Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother by Eve LaPlante

Elsewhere: A Memoir by Richard Russo

The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin

Brilliance by Marcus Sakey

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

The Secrets of Happy Families by Bruce Feiler

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl by David Barnett

Prairie Tales by Melissa Gilbert

Wordless Wednesday: Yellow Belts

Weekly Recap: School Year Wrap!

We finished our school year today.  At least we finished the book part.  Our testing is complete. We still have a super special field trip coming up but I'll share more of that after we come home.

Just in case you don't remember what my crew looked like at the beginning of the school year, you can look back here.  And just nine months later...

M8 is now ready to start 4th grade.  S11 wrapped up 5th grade and is moving onto grade 6.  H14 is now a freshman.  That just makes me breathe deeply.  My oldest daughter, K16, is now a senior.  That just takes my breath away.  She's not ready to face it either.  She won't even let me take an end of the school year picture so I'll share another prom picture.

I think it's fitting that we are spending this evening celebrating our year and accomplishments with cake

and the 145,678th viewing of High School Musical.  It's nice to know that no one is too old to enjoy the good stuff.

I'll write a more in depth run down of our year later but here are the highs and lows for now.

K16

High:  Making National Technical Honor Society.

Low:  The beginning of school. All the drama.

H14

High:  How well I did with math.  I did well and I don't usually.

Low:  Science because I don't like science.  I enjoyed it just not as much as everything else.

S11

High:  My high was Bible because I'm learning about God and I'm guessing it will earn me bonus points in heaven.  Just teasing.  I do love learning about God.

Low:  Math.  Who likes math besides M8?

M8

High:  How well I did with Bible.  I finished it all quickly and that made me happy.

Low:  I don't have a low.

Me

High:  I am so proud of all my children.  They are all becoming life learners and developing skills and discipline that will help them in all they do.  As far as our homeschool year, I feel that we learned so much. We completed our first 4 year cycle and I am so pleased by that accomplishment.  When we set down this road four years ago I don't think I really believed we'd get this far.

Low:  Latin.  We managed to squeak out physics but Latin got lost somewhere along the way.



Sushi!

This is part of my effort at continuing education.  Last night I took a sushi class at The Cook's Shop.  The class was led by Chef Dave Rudie.  The time and supply fee were both great investments.

I can't get over how much sushi I was able to make for a fraction of the cost of what a sushi restaurant would charge the six of us.  We really can't get out of a sushi restaurant for less than $120.  I bought supplies for at least two sushi dinners with miso soup for less than $60. 

As an added bonus, I really love making sushi.  It's like art and food together.  Plus, it can't be rushed.  That makes sushi time the perfect time to enjoy a glass of wine while I create.

Reflections on 2012

I just found a wonderful site for two things near and dear to my heart, intentional living and simplifying.  When you have a minute go check out Simple Mom.  What led me to Simple Mom was the idea of reflecting and looking forward.  On the site are lists of questions for looking back at 2012 and setting goals for 2013.  In the spirit of the list and without making any copyright infringement I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on 2012.
How do you pick one thing in any of twenty categories that cover twelve months of best, challenge, unexpected obstacles/joys/challenges/relationships/change?  I suppose I could go with writing down the first thing that pops in my mind.  I think I'd better just stick to some easier questions and categories.  Here's what I accomplished this year:
Personally, I learned to sew and can food using a pressure cooker.  I read more than 50 books, some of them excellent, some not so great.  I survived my husband's open heart surgery.  (So did he, in case you were just tuning in and wondered.)

Professionally, I taught 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th grades.  I raised and harvested 100 chickens, a turkey and a steer. (Yes, I had some help with this but it's a valid accomplishment.)  I became a volunteer for Operation Christmas Child in a year round leadership role.

Spiritually, I learned more about God and who I am in this world and in the next.  I shared my faith in various ways with my children, husband, family and friends.  I worked to develop a heart full of gratitude and joy.

Emotionally, I continued to nurture relationships with my husband, children, sisters and parents.  I consistently took part in several groups outside my family including a book club, homeschool co-op, and church groups.

Physically, I began a routine of regular aerobic exercise and built strength by all the daily tasks that a farm and motherhood requires.

I probably have overlooked something or left out a really important event but in a brief reflective glance I think I covered the majors.

52 Books in 52 Weeks - Year End Wrap up

Here is my complete book list for 2012 in reverse order from December back to January:

Best Exotic Marigold Hotel by Thomas Newman

Blue Christmas: Now with More Holiday Cheer (New Recipes Too!) by Mary Kay Andrews
How I Came to Sparkle Again by Kaya McLaren
The Three Incestuous Sisters: An Illustrated Novel by Audrey Niffenegger
Calling Invisible Women by Jeanne Ray
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
The Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene Dubois
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
The Endless Forest by Sara Donati
The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Fire Along the Sky by Sara Donati
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
Lake in the Clouds by Sara Donati
Dawn on a Distant Shore by Sara Donati
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich
Freed to Live by Anne White
Perfect Nightmare by John Saul
Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich
Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich
The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich
Trial by Fire by Anne White
Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
Home by Toni Morrison
How It All Began by Penelope Lively
Tears of Autumn by Charles McCarry
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire: The Methods and Madness Inside Room 56 by Rafe Esquith
Things Fall Apart by Chinụa Achebe
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The True Memoirs of Little K by Adrienne Sharp
Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
An Unexpected Guest: A Novel by Anne Korkeakivi
Letters from the Corrugated Castle by Joan Blos
Lethal by Sandra Brown
A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Maid by Kimberly Cutter
Sarah Bishop by Scott O'Dell
The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta
This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman
Book of Dreams by Davis Bunn
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
11/22/63 by Stephen King
New Found Land by Allan Wolf
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore
The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal
The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson
Why Read Moby-Dick? by Nathaniel Philbrick
The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern
Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund
Celia Garth by Gwen Bristow
Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich
Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich
Sketches by Eric Walters
Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love by Dava Sobel
The Tower, the Zoo and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Ladies' Night at Finbars Hotel edited by Dermot Bolger
How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill
The Ring by Bobbie Pyron
The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel by Garth Stein
The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz

1) How many books did you read this year? 75

2) Did you meet or beat your own personal goal? Yes, my personal goal was 52 books read. One book a week seemed like it might be a stretch because I never kept track of my reading like this before.

3) Favorite book of 2012? Yes, you can list more than one and even break it down by genre if you choose.
Fiction:  Calling Invisible Women by Jeanne Ray

Inspirational: Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Historical Fiction/Poetry: New Found Land by Allan Wolf

4) Least favorite book of 2012 and why?
In fiction it would be The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
It wasn't nearly brief or wondrous enough for me.

Here is my complete review.  I didn't totally  pan it but I wanted to like it more.

My least favorite non-fiction pick would be A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson.  The only thing I discovered with Bill was that he was full of complaints and not very engaging.  If you want to read a good book on a walk in the woods try Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed.


5) One book you thought you'd never read and was pleasantly surprised you like it?
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

6) One book you thought you'd love but didn't?
The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene Dubois


7) One book that touched you - made you laugh, cry, sing or dance.
Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Calling Invisible Women by Jeanne Ray


8) Any new to you authors discovered and you can't wait to read more of their stories? Erin Morganstern, Veronica Roth, Sarah Blake, and Jeanne Ray


9) Name the longest book you read? Shortest?
Moby Dick seemed like the longest.  I read but didn't list Sarah, Plain and Tall and its sequels.  The kids and I loved these stories.

10) Name the most unputdownable book you read?
Calling Invisible Women by Jeanne Ray

11/22/63 by Stephen King
The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern

11) Book that had the greatest impact on you this year?
Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy by Nancy Leigh DeMoss


12) What book would you recommend everybody read?
Fiction:  Calling Invisible Women by Jeanne Ray
11/22/63 by Stephen King
The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern


Historical Fiction/Poetry:  New Found Land by Allan Wolf

Nonfiction:  The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson


13) Share your most favorite cover(s)
I really don't remember the covers.  I only remember the titles because I made the list.

14) Do you have a character you fell in love with?
There were so many memorable characters in Ahab's Wife and also I loved Uncle Tom.
15) What was your most favorite part of the challenge? Did you do any of the mini challenges?
 I loved keeping track of my reading and watching the list grow. 
I read Ahab's Wife and Moby Dick as part of a challenge.  I wouldn't have read either book otherwise.  I think I also read The Great Gatsby as part of a challenge.  I started reading Dr. Zhivago but bailed on that before I finished.  Too much snow and too many long train rides.


16) What are your goals for the new year? To read more non fiction? To dip your toes into a mystery or a urban fantasy or horror or romance? What book are you most looking forward to reading in 2013?
For 2013 I want to continue to read 52 books in 52 weeks.  More than that is really just gravy.  I also want to continue to read what I consider to be classics.  I added quite a few to my list this year and I like doing that.  I've been reading them as my children work through their history cycle.  They make me feel smarter.

The books I'm waiting for from my reserve list at the library are Gone Girl and Notorious Nineteen.

A New Direction

This morning I woke up and part of my life for the last 10+ years was gone.  It was a good feeling but also a strange feeling.  Last January I made the decision to resign my leadership position with a direct sales company that I loved.  Over the last 10 years my life has changed.  I've added a child, moved twice, made major lifestyle changes, and, as a result, adjusted my priorities.  While I loved building and training my team, my life was no longer such that I felt able to be a motivated and effective leader.  Giving up my team and leadership position was a big step.  While I knew I didn't want to be active in business. I also knew that giving everything up at once was more than I was ready to tackle.

Now, nine months later, I woke up and my business was gone.  The loss, long in coming, was freeing. Financially, we haven't missed the income from my former business.  When we moved to our new home, we made changes in our diet and lifestyle.  After Rob's surgery this summer, we made even more changes especially in our eating choices.  Moving even further toward whole food choices made my previous company something that holds little appeal.  Last night when I realized that I need to place an order or deactivate, I wasn't even tempted.  It's no longer a good fit.

I've already started to find activities that will use the time and talents that I developed in my business.  I am now a volunteer for Operation Christmas Child.  My job is to build a community relations team in an area where no community relations program exists.  I'm really excited about the possibilities and I'm excited to be using my talents.  I'm also excited at how this new adventure will involve my family. 

For so long my business has been about helping others by teaching them to build a business.  I set goals that moved me forward.  I helped others to get to my ultimate goal.  By sharing my gifts, everyone could benefit.  Now my focus is on Kingdom goals, sharing Christ with the world.  OCC focuses on high impact principles, in here, and out there goals.  This organization is about prayer and spiritual development.  It's about on earth as it is in heaven.

God's plan never ceases to amaze me.  As I read through the training materials I realized that I'd spent the last 10 years building skills that I would need for this new challenge.  As the team coordinator for community relations in a new area I get to build a new team and open up community partnerships in this area.  I can do this.  I know how to make presentations.  I have training in conference presentations and community event booths.  I have experience recruiting, training, motivating and leading a team.  I am ready for this.  God has made me ready for this.  I can't wait to see where this new direction takes me.

When a Tree Falls

Today S10 was completing a project that he started several days ago.  He was given the responsibility of cutting down a tree.  The trunk of the tree was about four inches in diameter.  The sawing time seemed endless to him.  In truth, he spent about an hour in real effort. 

As he neared the end of the cutting time, he became convinced that he'd never finish.  His technique wasn't efficient and he was spending a lot of effort on limited results.  Sooner or later, regardless of technique, the tree was going to come down.  I knew that when the tree came down, his sense of accomplishment and victory would sky rocket.  The trick was to teach him how to saw more effectively without making him feel discouraged.  I wanted him to remember the sawing with a sense of accomplishment and purpose.  I wanted the entire experience to be one that built him up.

As a parent, it's difficult to balance the need to teach with the desire to encourage.  I never want my children heavy with the weight of instruction and correction.  I want to foster in them a sense of accomplishment and purpose while I teach new skills.  Sometimes, I think I am successful at my effort and sometimes I am thankful that when the tree falls my children know victory no matter how I've taught them how to saw.

Weekly Recap: May 21-25, 2012

We are officially done with this school year! 

Our testing is complete and the forms have been mailed for scoring.  All our books are put away, except for H13's algebra.  We'll be continuing the summer with some art.  You can see our first art study here.  We'll also be reading and listening to books.  We might even do a little math to keep it fresh.  Mostly we'll be having fun. 

I'll do a recap of the entire year later.  For now, here are our highs and lows.

K15
High - Passing all parts of the OGT with accelerated or better.
Low - Geometry!

H13

High -  Algebra was my high because I'm good at it.

Low - Logic was my low because it's hard and I don't understand it.

S10

High - I liked history.  History had a whole lot of battles.

Low - Latin,! I wasn't really liking it because it was really, really hard to learn.

M7

High - I liked my math the most.  Math has been my favorite subject for a long time.

Low - Nothing.  I had an okay year.

Me

High- Completing Latin and all our other subjects.

Low - Not realizing that H13 was struggling so much with logic. 

Consuming Moby Dick

I just finished reading Moby Dick!
 
I JUST FINISHED MOBY DICK!

 I READ MOBY DICK!

At the beginning of the year, I decided to take the 52 books in 52 week challenge from The Well Trained Mind Forum.  After counting the number of books I read last year I realized that I was already there and to participate in a group of voracious readers would give me a never-ending list of interesting books and challenge me to read different things.  I was right!


Moby Dick is a book I never would have selected on my own.  Obviously, I've avoided it for more than forty years.  While reading it I thought I would never get through.  The sense of accomplishment that I feel now is far greater than I expected.  I have consumed the whale!

Sew Successful!



A beautiful new skirt for M7 made with love by Mommie.

  If you look too carefully you might see some flaws in construction and technique.  My best advice is to step back and take in the picture as a whole.  There is almost nothing as delightful as a little girl wearing her favorite color, spinning in circles to make her skirt float out.  It's especially satisfying to know that the skirt is only a skirt because you took the time and energy to make it.  I am sew pleased with my efforts and with the results.

Ending 2011 in a Good Place

As this year draws to a close, it's easy to see how far we've come.  This time last year we were homeless and a bit unsure about what the future had in store for us.  We had complete confidence that whatever came, it was going to be good.  Now it's easy to see the good.  Some of it was a little bit harder to trudge through.

We are now a farm family.  Several times we had friends and family visit us for the first time and express surprise at the fact that we are living on a real farm.  It's not just a house with a shed in back or a house with a big yard.  It is a farm.  We have chickens and a cow.  We are farmers.  I'm not sure I consider us real farmers yet.  We live in a community with real farmers.  We know what they look like.  We know how hard they work.  We aren't there yet but we hope to be, someday.

On the whole the farm has been more than we dreamed. We are a stronger family, physically and emotionally. We have learned about life and death, planting and harvesting, sowing and reaping.  I know more about chickens than I ever thought possible.   The kids have spent countless hours outside exploring the property.  We've learned that eating our own eggs and chickens taste better not just because we know where they came from but because we are the ones that put in the time and effort to get them on the table.  We have definitely become more responsible for ourselves and for others.   We are more connected with the world, right through the land all around us.


As we continue to grow and thrive, I pray that our first priority continues to be to glorify God.  I am so thankful that we are ending 2011 in such a good place.

End of an Era

The key to change... is to let go of fear.     -Rosanne Cash

Yesterday I quit my job.  It was a hard decision and one that I struggled with and put off finalizing for about two years.  Now the deed is done and I'm still not sure how I feel about it.

For the last nine years I worked as an independent consultant for a direct sales company specializing in easy to prepare gourmet food.  I built a team of 50+ consultants with about $250,000 in annual sales.  I enjoyed the products, the work, the interaction and the challenge...until I didn't. 

The fit just wasn't right anymore.  It took me a really long time to admit that.  I wanted to make things work.  I wanted to be able to just float along, let the paychecks come in without doing more than the minimum requirement of the job.  Admittedly, I liked getting a paycheck each month for doing five hours or less of work.  I wanted to continue to enjoy the social interactions that conferences and training provided even if I didn't really intend to do anything about the training I received.   I wanted things to stay the same.

Unfortunately, I was raised to feel very uncomfortable when my values and my actions are out of line.  My job was causing havoc between my values and actions.  As I learned in my counseling classes in college, change usually is caused by pain.  The discomfort of my actions finally exceeded my tolerance and I made a change. 

There was a lot of fear involved in delaying my decision.  I feared what people would think of my choice.  I feared what conclusions people would come to about me and about the company.  I feared a loss of personal worth.  I feared a loss of influence. I feared disappointing others.  I feared regret.  So many fears kept me frozen in place, even though I knew it was no longer my place. 

Today, I feel a sense of relief and a freedom from fear.  I know that I made a good choice for myself.  I know that it's time to end this era and move onto I'm not sure what.  I really have no idea what comes next but I know that it's going to be good.

Keeping Perspective

Today I tried to catch up with my own Bible study of Job.  The kids are on lesson 8 and I was on lesson 5.  A little free time this morning enabled me to complete lessons 5 and 6. 

I fixed pancake sundaes for four of us for breakfast. 

Afterward, we completed Bible, grammar, math, algebra, Latin and reading.

I made sure everyone had lunch.

I did three loads of laundry.  Washed, dried and folded.

I made French bread and pasta for dinner, from scratch.  I topped the pasta with my delicious shrimp scampi. 

I helped the family as we got the house straightened for overnight guests visiting tomorrow.

Even after all that I still feel unsuccessful for the day. 

Some days success is just not possible.  It has nothing to do with the activities completed.  It is a result of my own frame of mind. 

Weekly Recap: 7/24-7/29/11

This week involved home improvement and preparing for the school year.  I finished painting the walls for S9s Star Wars room.  It looks great and once the stickers are up I'll take pictures and post them.  I still have the closet doors to complete and plan to finish those this weekend. 

K14 and H12 were so inspired by the painting of their brother's room that they decided to paint their own room.  I taped the trim for them and gave them a lesson in using  a roller and some tips on painting and left them to it.  By the end of the day they had a beautifully painted room.  Frankly, I was surprised.  The mess that they made while helping paint their brother's furniture made me wary of turning them loose with paint and brushes again.  I suppose my ranting and raving after the last episode had it's effect and while there was paint on clothes and skin there was no paint on floors or furniture. 

As a family we cleaned out the upstairs closet and rearranged things, decluttered and organized the laundry room, moved seldom used items to the attic, found a pile of things to donate to the football league yard sale and hung a bunch of  pictures. We also cleaned and organized the school room and all our supplies.  The shelves are tidy and in a few weeks we'll be ready for the start of the school year.

To celebrate successful completion of the summer reading program our library sponsored a pool party at the community pool.  We all completed the program but only S9 and M6 were interested in the pool party and they both had a great time swimming last night.  We'll be writing thank you notes to the library for such a fun way to celebrate their accomplishment.

S9 started football practice this week.  I'd forgotten how that throws our family time off.  He doesn't get home until after 8:30pm.  M6 loves to go play with her friends while their brothers practice so practice ends up involving half our family which makes it impossible to eat a family dinner or spend time as a family except on the weekends.   Once school is in session he'll only be practicing two nights a week but our weekends will be totally tied up with practice and games.

I mailed M6's registration for soccer today.  She'll begin playing mid-August.  Thankfully, football and soccer are held at the same school on neighboring fields.  At least the practices and home games are.  The away games will have us traveling far and wide.  M6 will have her games on Saturday and S9 will have his on Sunday.

Finally, I ordered our materials for the last two subjects for the coming year.  I'd been debating over the best route to take for H12's math and Bible for all of us.  After much discussion, H12 decided that she'd like to try algebra and that a teaching DVD might be a good way to go.  I purchased a 36 week Algebra class from The Great Courses.  We both liked that each class was 30 minutes.  We envision watching the class on Monday then spending the remainder of the week reinforcing the learning before moving on to the next lesson.  It's wonderful that my math hating child feels confident enough in her ability and understanding to want to tackle algebra this year.  Frankly, I figured she'd take it in 9th grade when she started high school. 

Bible was another tough choice.  We are all missing our Community Bible Study program.  The only similar thing here is Bible Study Fellowship but it is a day class and BSF doesn't offer a day program for school age children so that wasn't a good fit.  Community Bible Study doesn't offer their materials for sale outside their class setting.  I've been looking for something similar.  I value the Bible study and the way we were all learning the same thing at the same time.  The kids liked the straight forward nature of the materials.  I'm hoping that the Explorer's Bible Study programs will satisfy all of us.  We'll be studying God's Wisdom this year.  I thought Job, Psalms and Proverbs was a great place for us to go after our last two studies.

I got our homeschool letter and test scores sent into the school system last week so now it's just a matter of getting the acknowledgement back and waiting for the first day to arrive.  I'm happy to hold onto these last days of summer and hope they crawl by.

Weekly Recap: Summer version 6/19-6/26/11

We arrived home from Shoopa (our annual Tybee Island family vacation) early on Sunday morning.  The drive was long but we had all day Sunday to rest.  With Father's Day on Sunday, we worked to get some things done that we knew would make R happy.  The grass was mowed, the laundry was done, the house was straightened.  We went out to dinner at a Mexican place we hadn't tried before and were pleased with the food, service and atmosphere.  We weren't quite ready to name it our Mexican place yet but it's the first one that we've been willing to consider.

Monday-Friday the kids and I tried to do lots of reading and listening to books and complete one big project each day.  Monday we weeded the garden and flower beds.  Tuesday we cleaned bathrooms.  Wednesday we washed the front of the house.  Thursday we welcomed 100 baby chicks.  Friday we cleaned the barn and I picked up two hives of bees. We discovered that one big job in the morning left us all feeling satisfied with our efforts and not overworked. 

The weather was our biggest challenge this week.  It rained and rained. The hay didn't get put up.  The lawn didn't get mowed.  The raspberries didn't get picked.  The bee work was delayed several times.  The hen house fence didn't get finished.  We are all hoping for better weather next week.

You are Amazing (and Beautiful and Accomplished) by Smrt Mama

A fellow homeschooling mother from the Well Trained Minds boards shared this on her blog and I decided that the exercise was definitely worth the challenge.  It's great to have such smrt womn around to keep things in focus.  Thanks Smrt Mama!

Make a list of five amazing, beautiful physical qualities about yourself.
1.  my legs
2.  my hair
3.  my dimples
4.  my arms
5.  my hands

Make a list of five amazing things about your mind.
1.  I love learning
2.  I share what I know with others
3.  I love to read
4.  I love trying new things
5.  I am constantly thinking/planning/preparing/plotting/scheming/making lists

Make a list of five amazing things you have accomplished.
1.  I have a successful business and a team that produces over $250,000 in retail sales yearly.
2.  I gave birth to four amazing children.  (This could actually take up numbers 1-4 but that seemed a bit cheatish.)
3.  I can make my own pasta, whipped cream, cheesecake, pizza and a large variety of other tasty dishes.  I love being a great cook.
4.  I have a M.A. in counseling which has been a definite benefit in my life.
5.  I have been married for 21 years. 

That all being said, I want so spend a moment acknowledging how thankful I am to God for the gifts I've been given and for the opportunity to use my talents in ways that benefit those around me.

I'd love to read your lists!  Please add them here or share a link so I can read them on your blog.

Slow Forward Movement

It's done.  Official resignations have been made.  In an effort to keep a wonderful employee, the current employer offered a two year assignment in Pernis.  As tempting as that may be, we aren't ready to risk that they would send all of us and not just Rob.  I suspect two years of missing Rob would do us all in.  So, we move forward with moving forward.

I've talked to our relocation coordinator, our packing coordinator and our mortgage coordinator.  I've fired a realtor and hope to hire one or two more this week.  I've been pre-approved for as much money as I can carry out of the bank.  I've cleaned out M6's room and added to the pile of stuff in the garage.  I think we'll be having an all-you-can-stuff-in-a-bag-for-$3 yard sale soon. 
It's been a busy weekend for us.  They all are really.  We spent Friday night having pizza with neighbors.  Who knows how many times we'll get to share time and food with these wonderful people?  It's best to take advantage of every moment.  Wine flowed, laughter rang and it was a wonderful night. 

Saturday brough football and band.  We experienced a loss on the football field and a gold rating in the band competition.  The evening continued with a stop at the Red Box and a movie watched in the van when the dvd player went on the fritz.  Sunday we communed with the world and followed with a meal at our favorite Mexican restaurant.  If Jesus had been Hispanic would we commune with margaritas and tortilla chips?  After lunch Isaved more than I spent at Kohl's.  They were having a sale.


Some effort was made at cleaning up and cleaning out rooms.  Letting go is hard.

The week stretches before us.  Who knows what will happen next?  We seem to be moving forward, slowly.  Or perhaps we are just flying by the seat of our pants.  Our prayer is that we are moving in God's will and glorifying God with every step we take.