I Stand Amazed

I’m not sure if that is a title to a song or not, but it should be.  I am standing in amazement, once more, at how God brings people into my life EXACTLY when I need to hear what they have to say.  I hope I am that person to others.  People that I’ve known for years…. but right NOW I needed to hear their life experience that I had not heard until I needed it.

One such person is about ten years ahead of me in her mom-life-situation.  She gave me some hind-sight advice that is so valuable.  She started by saying, “If I could turn back time… THIS is what I would have done.”  It was all very applicable to me and my life RIGHT NOW.  It was wise council.  It was pointed and direct.  It was true.  I needed to hear it.  And God knew I wasn’t ready to hear it until now.

Another such person has been through several rough patches in life, which have given me insight that I did not/could not gain on my own journey.  THAT is why God gives us friends who have walked different paths, tried different things, made mistakes, and offer excellent “travel worthy” words of wisdom from a been-there-done-that standpoint.

I’m thankful that my mind and heart were open when they needed to be.  Not when it was too late.  NOW, when I needed wise council.  Thank you, God.  I stand amazed at your timing and mercy.

Headline News for May 2010

Once again, headlines and subtitles are all I have time and energy for at the moment.  Thank you, faithful readers, for still coming here and reading my blog when I’m bogged down and not blogging.

FREEDOM FOR SUBURBAN MOTHER – homeschooling is done for the year!  Whoo oHOoooOOOooooo!  Well, there are some lethargic children still finishing math, but I AM done!

INTERNATIONAL VISITORS SPARK SANITARY AWARENESS – that means my in-laws are coming for a visit from Canada and if you’ve got two arms and two legs and live in this house… start cleaning something NOW!

FIRST EVER HSG FOR AZ FAMILY- (kind of like HCG but without hormones) – we almost have a homeschool graduate!!!  Larisa’s graduation in next Friday night!  That means I survived 11 years of schooling that lovely child.  Neither of us have bald spots so we’re both pretty darn proud!

DESERT HORTICULTURE DILIGENCE WILL PAY OFF – that means it’s time to pull out all of the dead winter flowers and plant the summer flowers.

PHOENIX LIBRARY HAS RUN ON 1850 NOVELS – Yes, I’m prepared for my summer reading program to begin…. June 6th, baby!  I got four books by my bedside table making me drool with anticipation.

HARD WORKING CHILDREN REWARDED – That’s the nice way of  saying  that we made our children work to go to summer camp.  Some are still working. There is a car wash planned for Saturday and a garage sale on Sunday.  Keep it up, kids!  We are proud of you.

MEAN PARENTS FORCE CHILD LABOR – same as the last one, just worded like liberal media.

Ok, that is all.  I’m looking forward to sharing more when time permits.  Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend!

 

American History Ends!

Yes, the Mayans were right!  2012!!  THE END!  American History was the topic this past year for my homeschool class of high schoolers… and it ends day after tomorrow.  We started in 1440 (Go ahead and guess why we started there!) and ended in the 1970s.  I told the kids if they want to find out what has happened in the last 42 years, they are on their own!  The Vietnam War ended and we were done.  Kaput.  Finis. 

We did add a bit of culture and art to the study to keep it interesting (for me!) and we debunked several idols from these youngsters’ minds.  “Like what?”  you ask.  Well, it seems of few of them were drawn to the hippies…. the Jesus people… the Kennedy’s… the Beatles… all for glamorous reasons.  Then we studied some of their lifestyles, choices, outcomes and habits.  Not too glamorous after all.  Perfect!  That is why we homeschool!  To look at REAL history.

Another homeschool mom (who might just be crazier than me!) and I sat together today and did some planning for next school year… which we decided will start two weeks after all the public schools here in Arizona.  Because we can!  Yet another reason to homeschool!  We were at an Abeka display/sale in a nearby hotel.  If you don’t know anything about Abeka, it is a Christian based curriculum that is EXTREMELY thorough… so thorough that it actually contains TOO much school work for the average kid to endure.  It is great, in my humble opinion, as a “pick one topic each year” curriculum.  So we used it for American History and I loved it.  Next year we are using it for spelling and vocabulary.

Anyway, back to the two of us rockin’ cool moms sitting at the table amongst sold-out Abeka moms. We had another curriculum opened that teaches Godly character… and we were talking through a list of national parks that we hope to visit this coming school year.  We were discussing weather and what time of year would be best for us to go to each one.  She was explaining, and I was listening, all the science teaching that can be coordinated with the findings at each park.  We were planning our weeks of study at home… and our week at each park.  Eventually we noticed that the workbook moms sitting around us were all staring lustfully at our plans.  One finally blurted out, “I want to school with you two!”  hahahaha…. why do you think we do this?  We don’t want to be bored!  We don’t want to use ONLY books!  We don’t want to wear out the kitchen table!  We want to live learning!  I wanted to scream “Abeka is boring!  Look out the window at what God made for you to enjoy!”  But I didn’t.  The salesman was quite an impressive figure and I wasn’t sure I could take him, if need be.  The looks in their eyes solidified WHY we do what we do!  My friend whispered to me, “I think they just do school at home,” implying that they aren’t truly “homeschooling.”

We want our kids to love learning, to see creation as an organized and amazingly ordered system that WORKS, to appreciate great men and women who have endured and suffered and succeeded and lost and lived out their beliefs. But most importantly, we want them to know God.  To love God.  To serve others.  To use their individual talents for the kingdom.  THAT is why we do what we do!

Nora-isms: Skills of Language Acquisition

Until our Colombian princess learns how words are spelled, she will continue to pronounce them the way she hears them, which is not always clearly nor correctly.  It may be contributed also to our lazy speech or the rapid-fire delivery we occasionally use.  It makes me laugh.  Have a glimpse into our kitchen this afternoon:

Nora: Mom, will you paint with me tomorrow?

Me: Sure, I will paint with you.

Nora: What is taint?

Me: I don’t know what taint is.

Nora: You just said taint.

Me: No, I said paint.

Nora: Oh, ok.  What does taint mean?

Me: (thinking that I don’t want to explain a tainted woman) Nothing really.

Nora: Isn’t that where you put the gas in the van?

Me: No, that is TANK.

Nora: Oh, I thought it was taint.

And so our lives go on as she learns to carefully pronounce words in English.  I distinctly remember the Colombians laughing at my Spanish.  I’m sure I had some doozies as well.  Later today she asked if I wanted to watch a movie with her. Sure. 

Nora:  How about Robin Hoove?

Me: What?

Nora: Robin Hoove…. you know with the wolf and the chicken.

Me: Oh!  You mean Robin Hood, and he’s a fox.

Nora: Hey, just like my book I read Sox the Fox!

Me: Yep! 

Nora: Can we start Robin Hoove now?

Her words make me laugh over and over again.  And the word Congratulations has lots of syllables.  Too many to remember sometimes. 

Later I asked her to pause the movie so we could eat dinner.  She replied, “Yes, man.” 

Me: What?

Nora: Yes, man.  I learned that on a Focus on a Famly story.  The boy kept saying “Yes, man” to his mom.  She said it was good matters. (manners……)

Me: It is actually, “Yes, Ma’am.”

Nora: What is?

Me: Yes, Man is supposed to be Yes Ma’am.

Nora: Oh.  I wondered why he was calling him mom a man.

And later again, we were in my bedroom looking for matches to sterilize a needle….

Nora: Did you look under the covers?

Me: No, why would I keep matches under the covers?

Nora: I seen them there before.

Me: YOU DID?  (Reflecting back 15 years ago when Larisa tried burning the house down by lighting matches in our bed!) Who’s bed were they in?

Nora: What do you mean bed?

Me: You know what a bed is.

Nora: Why would you keep matches in a bed?

Me: That’s what I want to know.   (She stares at me like I’m stupid.)

Nora: (Exasperated) Look under the covers in your bathroom…. I seen the matches there.

AHA!  Cupboards = covers.  Good grief!

The English language is a beast.

Yesterday, 25 Years Ago….

I married the man of my dreams!  It hardly seems possible that we have made it to our silver anniversary.  That is for old people.  And after 25 long, memorable years, are you wondering how we celebrated?  Not only is Rick sick (with a fever and chills and cold) but he is also in Texas at SimCom, renewing his pilot training.  I’m at home with our four lovely children.  Big celebration, right?  Wrong.

However, we did throw a shindig last Saturday, that beat the band!  I’ve been dreaming of decorating for a party for a few years now…. all shabby chic, bird cages, vintage books, roses, old picture frames and lace.  Pinterest has held my interest in this avenue for quite some time now.  All my decorating dreams came true for our 25th celebration.  Here is my photo tribute to Rickey, my knight in shining armor, who tore up the dance floor and didn’t mind all the fru-fru in the house.

The Love Birds name tag table on the front porch.  I love birdies.

Here was our guest book table and my wedding dress…. 25 years later.

These were the thank you gift bags that my friend Ginny made.  They were darling.  We put nuts in the bags and the tags said “Still nuts about each other after 25 years!”  See, corny! But it made us laugh!

Another friend of mine, Darla, helped me assemble the largest collection of pink, white and brown edible delicacies this side of the Mississippi.  It was a sugar-loving haven.

We displayed the dress my mother wore to the wedding as well as my banana-yellow going-away suit.  :o)

The party was such fun!  Yes, I’m saving all the decorations for the next family wedding, or baby shower, or birthday, or retirement party, etc.

Senior Year Comes to a Close…. Almost

Here is our first original baby girl…. all growed up and glowing.  She is graduating from homeschool highschool.  It doesn’t get much better than that (except for her mother, who is DONE teaching this one…. one down, three to go! I can smell freedom in 2022!) 

Our church, CCV, put on a grad appreciation night that was a tear-jerker.  Good grief!  What a great bunch of kids who have a solid foundation to build on as they go their separate ways next fall.  One thing I loved was the youth pastor’s encouragement to them to find a church where ever they are at college and SERVE!  Love it!  Don’t just go and coast.  Don’t be a pew warmer.  Reach out and be Jesus to others.  Awesome.

Here is Larisa trying to face the 18 year old fact that she has cheesy parents.  You’d think she would have caught on by now!