Birthday Weekend

Yesterday was the last birthday of the year in our immediate family, and that honor belongs to Ben. He would gladly trade that honor in for a date in the late winter or spring, like the rest of his siblings because while everyone else is having parties and receiving presents, he has to wait... and wait... and wait... which is not the strong suit of any boy that I know. But now he is nine. It's hard to believe it's been nine years since that VERY hot afternoon when he was almost born in the car on the way to the hospital... that was lots of fun, let me tell you. But Ben is a joy: sensitive, easy-going, anxious to please, goofy sense of humor... he's a great kid.

Grandma and Grandpa came in on Saturday morning just in time to see the last half of Philip's flag football game and all of Ben and Nathanael's game. You must understand that this is not real football, but it is highly entertaining, especially if you're watching one of the younger teams. They're generally clueless, but the coaches are out on the field with them, lining them up and telling them where they need to run on the next play... if the other team was even half-way paying attention, it would be a blow-out, but the other team is equally clueless, so you have a bunch of small kids running in circles around a field and occasionally, someone makes it to an endzone with the football. I know those coaches and refs must be exhausted by the end. After a full morning of this, we are more than ready to go home too.

After the games, we all headed downtown for the Barbecue Festival- one of my favorite weekends of the year! With a family of our size- plus grandparents- John went up to a vendor and told him, "Just give me three slabs." That's a lot of ribs! With sweet tea and lemonade, a corn-on-a-stick for everyone and a side of cheese fries and fried pickles to share, we were all plenty full. And still had room for fried pies and ice cream. Delicious, Southern, artery-clogging cuisine- it just doesn't get any better than this!

Ben opened presents last night, but Grandma and Grandpa brought John a big gift too. They felt sorry for John and his poor minivan and brought him one of their "extra" cars as a gift. (You can probably tell where John picked up his car philosophy of If one broken car is bad, then four must be better!) However, this car is very nice, looks nice, sounds normal, and- most importantly- runs well, just like other people's cars. Imagine! John is thrilled and we are very thankful for their generosity.

We all went to church together this morning and then the potluck afterward. Grandma and Grandpa headed home and John took the boys fishing. Becca and I will leave in a bit to go see Becoming Jane. I have been waiting for it to get to our town, but our theater is more into the latest horror flicks and potty humor. Sigh. We had to wait for Becoming Jane to show up at the "artsy" theater downtown. That's ok- we like the artsy theater, as long as it is showing something... well, normal.

It's been another fun, fun weekend. Goodbye, September!

Fall Into Reading: Tramp For the Lord

I have begun reading Tramp for the Lord by Corrie Ten Boom and if you love The Hiding Place, then you have to read this too! It picks up where The Hiding Place left off and tells the story of Corrie's ministry after the war was over. I've only read about half the book, but I've been taking copious notes.

After the war, Corrie spent the rest of her life sharing her testimony- how, through the grace of God and her obedience to His Spirit, she was able to forgive the person who had betrayed her family for helping Jews. This betrayal had led to the death of her beloved father in prison and resulted in Corrie, age 52, and her sister Betsie, age 59, being sent to the Ravensbruck concentration camp in Germany. They were there for almost a year. Betsie died in the camp and Corrie, by an administerial "mistake," was released one week before all the women her age were killed. During their time in Ravensbruck, Betsie had a vision for their ministry after the war, in which they would reach out to the German people who were living in such terrible spiritual bondage. After her release, God led Corrie to begin the ministry which Betsie had envisioned. Corrie ministered to the people of Holland and Germany, and later, she traveled throughout the world preaching forgiveness and the message of the gospel.

I love her writing. She seems real to me, not one of these "super-saints" to whom everything seems effortless. She shares her ongoing struggle against bitterness and selfishness, and her sense of humor shines through.

A few of Corrie's insights on forgiveness:

"If we forgive other people, our hearts are made fit to receive forgiveness."

I don't think I've ever looked at it in quite that way before. Yes, there is a direct command to forgive if we want to receive forgiveness from God (Matt 6:14-15) but I had always looked at it as one of those "You better do this or else!" commands. It never occurred to me that by refusing to forgive someone else, I would be unable to accept forgiveness, from God, myself, or even the people around me who offer me forgiveness. A determination to hold on to that bitterness prevents me from receiving forgiveness.

Corrie writes about an experience she shared with a German man who had lost both legs in the war and had given himself over to bitterness and hatred. But even after he had accepted Jesus, he still struggled with these same things. He asked Corrie,

"After you forgave your enemies, was it settled once and for all?"

"Oh no," I answered. "Just this month I had a sad experience with friends who behaved like enemies... they took great advantage of me. However, I surrendered my bitterness to the Lord and asked forgiveness and He took it away."

"Was this bitterness gone for good then?"

"No, just the next night, at four o'clock, I awoke and my heart was filled with bitterness again... Again I brought it to the Lord. He filled my heart with His love. But the next night it came back again. I was so discouraged. God had used me often to help people love their enemies, and I could always give my testimony about what He had done in my life, and now I felt defeated.

Then I remembered Eph. 6:10-20 where Paul describes the 'armour of God.' He said that even after you have come to a standstill, stand still your ground. I was at a standstill, so I decided to stand my ground and the bitterness and resentment fell away before me."

"I am glad to hear that," he said. "For sometimes my old bitterness returns. Now I shall just stand my ground, claim the victory of Jesus over fear and resentments, and love even when I don't want to."

My friend had learned well the secret of victory. It comes through obedience.

Corrie shared how, while speaking in Munich, she came face-to-face with one of the brutal guards from Ravensbruck. He did not recognize her, but she immediately knew him. He joyfully told her that he had become a Christian, and he asked her forgiveness and thrust his hand toward her for her to shake. She almost couldn't do it:

"I stood there- I whose sins had again and again to be forgiven- and could not forgive. Betsie had died in that place- could he erase her slow, terrible death simply for the asking?

"I had to do it- I knew that... Since the end of the war I had had a home in Holland for victims of Nazi brutality. Those who were able to forgive their former enemies were able also to return to the outside world and rebuild their lives, no matter what the physical scars. Those who nursed their bitterness remained invalids. It was as simple and horrible as that.

"And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion- I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. "Jesus, help me!" I prayed silently. "I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling."

He did.

Isn't it an incredible story? More to come later.

Copeland Farley

"My conversations with God right now are more like those you have with a junior high boyfriend as you pass them in the hall at school: necessary in order to remain in a relationship, but short, probably somewhat insignificant to any on-lookers. "Hey." That's about all I can muster at this point. What do you say to the God of the universe who chose not to heal or save your baby? Who, though they are giving you strength to endure, moment by moment, actually allowed the situation that require endurance in the first place? I call on you to pray for me. I will not turn my back on Him. But words fail me."

On September 18, Conor and Boothe Farley gave birth to a daughter, Copeland Fair Farley, who was born with Trisomy-18, a chromosomal disorder which is fatal. Copeland lived for 8 days. You can read her story here.

Why Teach History?

"If a nation expects to be both ignorant and free . . . it expects what never was and never will be."

Thomas Jefferson

One of the things I've noticed among homeschoolers is that people tend to be either "science" people or "history" people. The reason I noticed this difference in the first place is because on different occasions, I've had "science" mothers from our homeschool co-op come to me wondering why I assign so much history in my classes. This always seemed odd to me, especially when compared to the science classes, which easily assigned as much or more work than what I had assigned. To be fair, it's not that they don't think history is important; it just doesn't seem to be as important or as necessary as other studies. Yesterday, one mom explained to me, "These kids have to be ready for the SAT, which is mainly science and math and writing. They need that to get into a good school."

It's an interesting comment in light of a recent study done by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute entitled, "Failing Our Students, Failing America" which asks the question, "Is American higher education doing its duty to prepare the next generation to maintain our legacy of liberty?" Suzanne Fields commented on the report in a recent column:

"Civic literacy" is found to be declining at some of our finest (and most expensive) colleges and universities. Many graduates leave college with less knowledge of American history, government, foreign affairs and economics than when they entered as freshmen...

"Though a university education can cost upwards of $200,000 and college students on average leave campus $19,300 in debt," the report concludes, "they are no better off than when they arrived in terms of acquiring the knowledge necessary for informed engagement in a democratic republic and global economy." (italics mine)

USA Today picked up the story and noted,

"The study from the non-profit Intercollegiate Studies Institute shows that less than half of college seniors knew that Yorktown was the battle that ended the American Revolution or that NATO was formed to resist Soviet expansion. Overall, freshmen averaged 50.4% on a wide-ranging civic literacy test; seniors averaged 54.2%, both failing scores if translated to grades.

"In general, the better a college's U.S. News & World Report ranking, the less its civic literacy gain."

Apparently, Harvard seniors had the highest scores at 69%, but the study points out that this is still only a D+. Our best schools may be turning out educated scientists and entrepreneurs, but it seems that they are not turning out educated citizens.

Fields' column concludes,

"The study ... was aptly titled, "Failing Our Students, Failing America." Thomas Jefferson knew that education was essential for the republic to remain strong. He wrote that the purpose of education was to "enable every man to judge for himself what will secure or endanger his freedom." That was crucial in his 18th century, and it's crucial in our own 21st. We forget at our peril."

And that's why I teach history. My kids may not learn it anywhere else.

Want to take the quiz that stumped the best and the brightest from Yale and Princeton? You can find it here.

Hat tip to Why Homeschool and Right on the Left Coast

Fall Into Reading 2007

Who woulda thunk I'd have a hard time fitting my favorite hobby into my schedule? But it's true. It's all the First Steps and Step Into Reading books I've been reading lately. Sam and Ann and Tab the Cat are wearing me out, ya'll. So here's what's on the agenda for grown-up reading this fall:

*Tramp for the Lord by Corrie Ten Boom
*I might have to read The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom again, because I love it so much. But no promises.
*A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
*Heaven: Your Real Home by Joni Eareckson Tada
*The Ultimate Book of Homeschooling Ideas: 500+ Fun and Creative Learning Activities for Kids Ages 3-12 by Linda Dobson
*The Ways We Choose: Lessons for Life from a POW's Experience by Dave Carey

And the Maybe I'll Get to It List (actually, that would be all of these, but we're thinking positive here):
*The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (have to read it before I see the movie!)
and
*The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust by Edith Beer

Heavy on the biographies this time, hey? Well, wish me luck before I begin speaking in monosyllables just like Sam and Ann:

Look! Look! See Mom read!

But Mom can read a book to me!

Jump! Yell! Sing a song!

Sing a song and Mom won't read long!

See what I'm dealing with?

(You can join the Fall Reading Challenge too at Callapidder Days)

The Two-Week Recap

I've been derelict in my blogging, so I'm forced to resort to bullet points. I think my problem could be described as "Help! My life has been overtaken by algebra!" But here's what else we've been up to:

**Have minivan, will travel: week before last, John was exploring potential hunting spots for the upcoming youth hunt with JM and took his minivan onto some tertiary roads that simply aren't meant to be traveled upon. He got stuck in a mudhole at dusk in the middle of nowhere and was rescued by a redneck angel who later had to give him a lift back to civilization after the minivan gave up all together and quit on the way back home. He had to rent a trailer from U-Haul to tow the van home later in the week, since he decided that this job was beyond even my excellent towing abilities. I was very thankful for this. He only partially learned his lesson though, since the kids reported that this weekend, he attempted to travel yet another rutted tertiary road, but common sense prevailed and he turned back. I can tell that the Siren of the Untraveled Road still beckons, but the poor minivan won't be going anywhere for a while-it's dead in the driveway.

**Other than that fiasco, we've had two great weekends in a row. Last weekend, a friend gave us tickets to the Symphony Pops concert, so John and I got to have a "dress-up" date- dinner and a concert. The guest artist, Dee Daniels, was great, and her presentation of Ray Charles music was really enjoyable.

**This weekend, the scheduled Boy Scout campout fell apart, so John went ahead and took the kids camping anyway. I will not camp with them, since he insists on primitive camping and I like the little luxuries of life like, say, a toilet. The little boys couldn't go the first night because they had Upward Football on Saturday morning, so it was just John, JM and Becca. They went to John's favorite spot and found it jam-packed with people! It was already dark so they didn't have time to find another spot, but upon closer inspection, they found that the campground was full of friends from church- what a happy surprise! They brought over lanterns while John and the kids set up in the dark, and they already had supper going too.

**John happily related this story when they were on their way back home the next morning... the same morning which I had spent frantically picking up and delivering doughnuts from the Children's Chorus Krispy Kreme fundraiser, trying to get back to Philip's Football game before it ended, and get the little boys delivered to their coach in time for their game. I was not a happy mama. Our hot and sweaty football crowd came dragging in the front door to find the happy campers showered and waiting for us so we could leave for John's company picnic. Grrrr. I grabbed my second bath of the morning and we took off again. The weather was beautiful but a little too warm to be perfect. We ate hamburgers and grilled chicken, chatted with friends, and played Bingo while the kids ran all over the park doing the various activities: Bungee Jump Trampoline, putt-putt, carnival games, and large inflatable slides and obstacle courses. Afterward, John and the four boys took off for camping again, but Becca decided to hang out with me, which meant a trip to the mall, a movie, and Books-A-Million. To each his own, right?

**John has begun physical therapy for torn rotator cuffs on both shoulders. He's been working through the pain for years, but it's gotten progressively worse. The PT will meet with him twice a week to help strengthen the other muscles in his shoulders in an attempt to avoid surgery.

**We are really enjoying our home Bible Study group. We laugh and laugh together, and after spending the summer in anxiety over leading a group again, we are delighted to be a part of this wonderful group.

**During our co-op break earlier this month, I managed to get some stuff listed on ebay, and I was thrilled to have good sales and refill my paypal account. I had tried to sell the outgrown Simba costume, which at least one child has worn every year since John Mark was five years old, for $5 at the Children's Consignment sale, but no takers. It sold on ebay for $26. Very satisfying, I must say! I love ebay.

**School is going well this year, but I've had to pretty much give up all of "my" things to ensure that all five kids are on top of their studies. So, no more piano lessons, no visits to the gym or yoga class, no ladies Bible study, no "fun reading" or even blogging! I'm going to have to figure out a way to fit some of this back in, especially some physical activity, but for now, I have a real sense of satisfaction in knowing that my kids are, for the most part, getting it all done- even the math and spelling, which have traditionally been difficult things for us to stay up on. I am pleased to find that I actually retained some of the algebra from those agonizing math classes in high school and college, but I know I will soon reach the point when I am learning it all over again. Fortunately for all of us, John loves algebra. :-)

Whew... I think those are the highlights. Somewhere in the mix of all of that, Autumn officially arrived, AWANAs began again, we took the pool down, John managed to make the downstairs toilet flush again but we are still waiting on the inoperable dishwasher... but this is life, and a tragedy within our church family this weekend reminded us that life comes with no guarantees. I am reminded to be grateful for all of the blessings I've been given, broken cars and appliances included. O Lord, you have been good to me.

Simply...

Pretty cool, huh? Go to Spell With Flicker to get yours! (If you don't like one of the letters, just keep clicking on it until one shows up that you like!)

Back Home Again

I went back to Alabama this weekend for my cousin's wedding. It was a quick trip, down on Saturday and back on Sunday, and I wish I had another week there. I love driving the streets of my home town and seeing the sights that were so familiar when I was growing up: the rockets at the Space Center, just across from my neighborhood; Big Spring Park, downtown and across the street from the civic center where I performed in the Huntsville Youth Symphony; the big water tower which we watched them build one summer during long, hot hours on the marching band field; First Baptist Church with the bizarre painting of Jesus on the front, where I took piano lessons when I was 9; the pond at UAH (University of Alabama, Huntsville) where my grandparents took me to feed the ducks; the mall where my Gran worked at Castner-Knott's and where the two of us shopped to our heart's content with her employee discount; the church of Christ on Jordan Lane which I attended with Gran and Grandad on many Sundays. My favorite place may be Monte Sano mountain, which was always part of the background of my childhood scenery and on which my husband asked me to marry him on Christmas Eve, 1990. I love my home town.

Sarah's wedding was up on the mountain too, and it was gorgeous. My crazy family was a bunch of dancin' fools... this must be where Becca and Ben got the dancing gene. It was a wonderful time.

Three Generations: my mom, me and my daughter

Thoughtful Thursday

Things I'm thinking on this gray Thursday:

Some blogs just make me feel good, and Karla Dornacher's is one of them. I discovered Karla's work by accident several years ago, and I fell in love with her beautiful watercolors and gentle spirit.

Another blog I love is happythings. The photography is gorgeous, as are the craft projects and quilts she makes to bless her family and friends. Her posts chronicle the everyday joys and adventures of a mom and her 3-year-old daughter, Bea.

I am thankful for those who remind me that my life is filled with hundreds of small blessings every day.

Wordless Wednesday: King Tut Lives Again

Who needs horror movies? This is the scariest group of mummies I've seen in a long time!

The boys in my 3rd-4th grade co-op history class: Ben, Rook, Andrew and Ethan

For more Wordless Wednesdays, check out 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordless Wednesday!

Another Book Meme

While digging through my blog drafts for posts begun and never finished, I found this. It originally came from Shalee's Diner and I probably got it from Karen... who knows? Anyway, it looked like fun so I finished it. And you can see why my home decorating style could be termed Early Library... or perhaps more appropriately, Messy Book Lover...

Here are the instructions:

Bold the ones you’ve read.
Italicize the ones you want to read.
Cross out the ones you won’t touch with a 10 foot pole. (This could include ones you read but would never read again and would not recommend to anyone.)
Underline the ones on your book shelf.
Asterisk the ones you’ve never heard of. (*)
Color the ones you loved.

The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
Outlander (Diana Gabaldon) *
A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry) *
The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)*
A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)*
Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Rowling)
Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald) *
The Stand (Stephen King)
Ulysses (James Joyce)
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
The Hobbit (Tolkien)
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
Life of Pi (Yann Martel)*
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
Dune (Frank Herbert)
The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
1984 (Orwell)
The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley) *
The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett) *
The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay) *
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (Gregory Maguire) *
The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
Bible
Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
The Blue Sword (Robin Mckinley) *
She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb) *
The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card) *
Great Expectations (Dickens)
The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence) *
The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand) *
War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)
Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
The Hiding Place (Corrie Ten Boom)
The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Les Miserables (Hugo)
The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel Garcia Marquez) *
Shogun (James Clavell)
The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
Redeeming Love (Francine Rivers)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
The World According To Garp (John Irving)
The Giver (Lois Lowry)
Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley) *
Of Mice And Men (John Steinbeck)
Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind) *
Emma (Jane Austen)
Watership Down (Richard Adams)
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields) *
Blindness (Jose Saramago) *
Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer) *
The Talisman (Stephen King)
Lord of the Flies (Golding)
The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
Lightning (Dean Koontz) *