The World is a Poorer Place

On June 18, an amazing and talented woman, Tasha Tudor, passed away.

I found Tasha several years ago and fell in love with the way she lived her life. Her favorite era was the 1830s and she lived her life as if she were in that time - from the home her son built her by hand, to the growing of flax to weave into fabric that would become clothing, to the hand dipped candles she made and used. Her artwork was similar in style to Beatrix Potter, another of my favorites - simple and enchanting, often with beautiful flower borders around the edges of the paintings. I always wanted to have a Tasha Tudor original painting or first edition book, but I would imagine that the prices now will be even higher than before, so I doubt I'll ever have one. But, you know, that's ok. Because what I have instead is the knowledge that if you dream it, you can do it. The life she lived was on purpose. She didn't do things because life happened to her, she purposefully chose her surroundings and activities. She didn't go along with what everyone else was doing. She did things her way, in her time. She will be missed by many.

Happy Birthday!

As a Baby:




Getting bigger:











A little boy:











And now:


Happy 9th Birthday, Zach!

What I've been doing since April 29th...

Staring at this:



Isn't she beautiful? Emma Catherine - Emma because we love the name, Catherine is after both my grandmothers.

So, the stats, even though if you're reading this you probably know... She was born at 10:40 pm, April 29th. 7 lbs. 20 inches. Born at home. Yes, we planned it. Yes, we had a midwife. No, there aren't any drugs involved with homebirth. Yes, its legal (although the American Medical Association wants to change that).

So we're now a family of seven. Seven?! Oh, that sounds so big! It doesn't seem like a large family, but when you take up every seat in a minivan I suppose it qualifies. We're really enjoying having a baby in our home again. Even the middle of the night feedings are a blessing. God is good.

Cute kid quotes this week

Maddie (out of the blue) - "How do they cut the extension cord?"
Mom - "You don't cut an extension cord. It's dangerous."
Maddie - "No. After the baby's born. How do they cut the extension cord?"

Maddie - "Mom, I think I found a poocon!"
Translation - I want to buy a toy, and I think I found a COUPON.

Josh at lunch - Puts his hand on the back of his neck and looks up at the ceiling - "Oh, there's a bone there."
Zach, Maddie and Mom look up at the ceiling simultaneously and ask, "Where?"
Josh laughs and says, "In the back of my neck where it is sore."

What is the UNCRC?

Please know that I'm still learning about this treaty, so some of my information may not be 100% correct.

The UNCRC is a treaty that has been signed by all member nations of the U.N. except two - the U.S. and Somalia. I don't know why Somalia hasn't signed it, but from what I understand, any international treaty signed by the U.S. bears just as much legality as laws passed within our country, so signing this would drastically change our laws. Some of the changes. One of the good things - that every child has the inherent right to life. Most absolutely! But it also says that every child shall be registered immediately after birth (how immediately? Will someone need to attend every birth to phone, fax, or otherwise document the new child?)

Also says (in Article 9):

States Parties shall ensure that a child shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will, except when competent authorities subject to judicial review determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures, that such separation is necessary for the best interests of the child. Such determination may be necessary in a particular case such as one involving abuse or neglect of the child by the parents, or one where the parents are living separately and a decision must be made as to the child's place of residence.

Please note - it said except when competent authorities determine separation is in the best interests of the child. I don't know about you, but I have seen many cases where the authorities aren't very competent, and who gets to determine what is in the best interests of the child? Not the parents. This opens up way too many possibilities for our children to be removed from our homes because of what some stranger who may or may not be competent deems to be in the "best interests" of our children.

Now lets look at Article 13:

1. The child shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of the child's choice.

So does that mean that my children can draw on my walls, call it "art" and not be disciplined? Does it mean that if my child wants to learn about and become a Satanist I have to allow it? Sounds a little scary to me.

Article 15:

1. States Parties recognize the rights of the child to freedom of association and to freedom of peaceful assembly.

So now my kids can be friends with whomever they want to be friends. We can't tell them not to associate with someone we don't approve of because it would be illegal. And if they want to spend countless hours "hanging out", we need to allow it, no matter where, no matter when, no matter with whom.

Article 16:

1. No child shall be subject to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation.

So, for all parents of young children who need, um, assistance in the bathroom - that would be illegal as it would subject the child to interference with his or her privacy. Also, parents of teens - no snooping through snail mail, email, or my space comments - it is an invasion of privacy.

There are several other Articles in the treaty. Feel free to educate yourself on it.
The good news is that the U.S. hasn't signed it. Yet. The bad news is that if the U.S. signs it, parents will no longer have the right to decide how to raise our children. Not unless the Constitution is amended to protect parental rights. Check out Parental Rights.org

I realize some of my interpretations are a little silly, but the reality is that this treaty could allow the state to have access to our children and our homes any time they want. This treaty could allow the state to decide that it doesn't like homeschoolers, and remove children from their families. This treaty could allow the state to decide how we teach our faith to our children, or worse, decide that we can't teach our faith to our children. This treaty opens up too many possibilities for the government to take our children away from us.

Snow!

We actually got snow! In Texas! And not just a little! There's about 6 inches on the van. I'm not sure what the official reports are, but I'd say 6 inches here.



Kate and Josh went outside about 9:30 last night to play with one of Josh's friends.



Guess what they made? A Snowman, of course. But not just any normal looking snowman. See, if our kids are involved, they need to take it to a different level. So would you like to see what they built?



Look closely. The snowman on the left is bowling. What's he using? The head of the snowman on the right! See the little bowling pins? See the snowman's head rolling toward them?

Here's a picture of the scene this morning. You can see the headless snowman searching for his head.



What happened to this guy?



Look closely. See the pole going through him? He was impaled by the stop sign.



I love my kids!!!

Planning

Its only February, but we need to start planning our homeschooling for next year. The first part sounds easy - complete a survey for our co-op group so they know which classes to prepare for high school and how many parents they'll need as teachers. The math and science survey is easy. Josh will do Geometry and Physics next year. BUT, if Geometry is only going to be taught once a week instead of twice a week, we may not want to take it at co-op, we might do it at home on our own. If Physics is taught by the woman who absolutely LIVES for science, then he'll take Physics at co-op (even if its only once a week), but if it is taught by the other person who seems to make everything more difficult than it needs to be, well, then we'll need to do that one at home, too. So if we do math and science at home, which curriculum will we use? Well, math - there's Teaching Textbooks - we used it last year for PreAlgebra and Algebra 1. Great program for homeschoolers. There's VideoText - what Josh is using this year at co-op for Algebra II. It comes highly recommended, but I'm not thrilled with it - its a little complicated for home use, but it works well for co-op. Then there's Saxon (lots of drill), Singapore (not even sure which book teaches Geometry), Bob Jones, Abeka, and several others. Ok, Math might be a little complicated. Let's move on to Science.

If Josh takes Physics at co-op, it will be Bob Jones curriculum. Ok. BUT if we do it at home, do we use Bob Jones? Abeka? Apologeia? Do we even do Physics at home? Maybe we'll go back and do Biology next year. But then the same curriculum question comes up. PLUS, we have to make sure we do the labs - can't give full credit without the labs. Oh, and there's always the option of dual enrollment at the community college - take a science class there (with the lab) and let it count for high school and college credit. Possibly an option. Hmmm, maybe Science is a little complicated, too. Let's move on to English.

The English survey for co-op asks what we want/need for next year. A writing program? Well, yes, but I'm not too thrilled with the program this year, but then I don't have any better suggestions, so I suppose it is better than nothing. Literature? Absolutely! But that's one we can easily do at home. Its just a simple matter of deciding which books to study. I hate using a textbook for literature - they give you just a snippet of great writing, ask you to analyze it, and move on to the next snippet. I definitely think literature should be studied by actually reading an entire book! Radical, I know. And then there's the WordView curriculum option at co-op. An amazing curriculum. Teaches our kids how to think, how to reason through things. Yes, another radical idea. If we choose that option, it will count for 3-4 credits, so we might not need anything else other than math and science. The downside of it is that the books are a little on the challenging side, and Josh isn't an amazingly strong reader, so I'm afraid he'd be more frustrated with trying to keep up than anything. But then, sometimes a challenge is good. Still not sure about English, so I'll put it off and discuss with hubby when he gets home tonight. Unfortunately, the surveys are due tomorrow, so we don't have a ton of time to mull it over.

Then we have the other items - SAT prep. Pretty important. Music. Important to be a well rounded individual, plus Josh really loves playing the guitar. History? Not necessary if we do WorldView, but if we don't then I need to find something. Kind of takes us back to the curriculum question. If we do all this at home, do we use a prepackaged curriculum? Build our own? Satellite? Videos? Textbooks? Real books? Some make credit counting easy, others make you really think about how to count the subjects being studied.

So all that is just for how to get Josh through 10th grade. But I also need to plan out 11th and 12th for him to make sure he gets everything he needs to be prepared for college (and more importantly, for life).

Then there's Zach and Maddie. I like using whole books. Something about actually reading a real book and learning from it makes sense to me. I don't like textbooks and workbooks (except for math - they work for math). BUT with a new baby in the picture, I'm not sure how much time I'll really be able to spend reading and teaching, so the video programs and textbooks/workbooks are rather appealing to me. But I don't want to shortchange their education just because I'm busy with a new baby. But I don't want to plan on having time to read and teach and then shortchange them by not really having time to read and teach. (Sigh.)

The thought of just sending the kids to the nearest school on the first bus that comes by is starting to look appealing. Let someone else make the decisions. Then if it doesn't work out, I have someone else to blame. But I guess it would still be my fault for sending them to school instead of teaching them at home, so maybe that's not the answer at all. Sure would be easier in the short run though!

Anybody out there have an answer? I don't want to be in charge right now. These choices are too hard. I want it to be simple. One size fits all education. Oh, that's what the public schools do. Doesn't seem to always work very well. Back to square one. What are we doing for next year?

Cleaning Results

The hall closet cleaning carried over to cleaning off the baker's rack, which carried over to cleaning out the pantry. Why? Well, stored in the hall closet was the box of Tom's Grandma's china that his parents sent us back in October. We stuck it in the closet because it was packed so well, and at the time we weren't sure whether we were staying or moving. We're still not sure, but I decided that Grandma's china doesn't belong in the back of the closet, it belongs out - so how pretty would it be displayed on the baker's rack? However, in order to make room for it, I needed to clean of the other items we already had there. Then, in order to find a home for all those things that were displaced by the china I had to clean out the pantry. That took most of the afternoon yesterday. I still have a couple of things I need to find a home for, but its taking shape. The cleaning domino effect continues.

Another result of cleaning out the closet - Zach and Maddie have found a new place to play. Tom came home the day we cleaned it out to find them playing in the closet - they had on their swimming goggles and snorkels and were pretending they were underwater explorers! How fun! Yesterday they did all their school work in the closet, then spent time in there with flashlights making shadow puppets on the wall.

You know, in the last year, we have gotten rid of enough "stuff" to fill another house. The more we get rid of, the more we realize we need to get rid of! I guess its an ongoing process. That would be the "keeping" part of "housekeeping". You don't "housekept", so its not something you do once and then you're done. Its ongoing (hence the "ing" at the end of the word). And you can't put it off to do later, that would be future tense, as in, "I will housekeep." Someday, my children will housekeep, so they can use future tense, but for all of us who already have a house, or an apartment, or an RV, or a boat, or a space of some sort that we're responsible for, we can't use the future tense - that would be procrastination. Kind of like what I'm doing right now as the laundry sits in the dryer waiting for me to come fold it. I need to get that done, but its lunchtime, and I'm hungry and need to feed the munchkins, so laundry will get put off just a little longer, then on to finish cleaning out the pantry. See? Ongoing. Housekeep-ing.

Good grief, I don't post much!

So, something happened to January. I'm not sure what it was, but it disappeared before I knew it! We had company, but still, you'd think I would have noticed that we were actually IN January before it left! And now, here we are. February 6th!

I spent this afternoon cleaning out the closet under the steps. It looks great! Except I now have an abundance of things that were in the closet but I don't want to return to the closet (since it doubles as our tornado shelter, and I don't want to spend precious minutes trying to dig out our shelter from behind a pile of stuff when we really need to take cover). So, to find a home for all the items that are still out, I need to clean out another room - maybe the laundry room. There's a shelf above the washer and dryer where I could put a lot of these things, but the shelf is full right now, so if I clean it off and organize it, I might find the space I need. Does this ever happen to anyone else? You clean one area, and as a result you clutter another, so need to clean that one, then end up cluttering another, and so on, and so on. I think we need less stuff.

Parenting

Found this great article on parenting.


What they say makes sense. Note that the article was written back in 1996. How much better are we 11 years later? I'd say, not much. Seems like Americans in general are getting worse. Maybe we're more sensitive to it now, but hubby and I have noticed a huge increase in commercials, print ads, and just general statements about "getting away from the kids" and "spending time alone". Whatever happened to the idea that children are a blessing? We get more joy from time spent with our children as a family than we do from any other activity. Granted, there needs to be a balance. Children need time to be children just like adults need time to be adults. But something needs to change in our society. We're raising a bunch of grown up children. You know who they are. Think about it. In our society, debt is increasing, divorce is increasing, job changes are increasing, bankruptcy is increasing, people buy new cars every 2 years. So Americans have successfully raised another generation that views responsibility as what we owe ourselves. Hard work has become an old-fashioned notion. Delayed gratification? No way! So how do we fix it? By being the best example we can be to our children. Will it solve the problem tomorrow? Nope. Will it change the world? Yep. One day at a time.

Cute quotes from Maddie

"Do it like you think it how."
- As she tried to tell Zach which song and what signs they needed to do to perform for the rest of us.

"My nose is all snuffily."
- Pretty self explanatory.

P.S. No, we didn't get a kitten. The photo was taken in May when we were visiting a farm.

Music, health and an ultrasound

For your listening pleasure:



I love Christmas songs!

On another note - Maddie is feeling much better, a few sniffles and sneezes and that's all. I came down with a cold yesterday morning. Made it to church, but shortly after we came home I felt like my head was going to implode. I'm a little better today, still very stuffy and sneezy (stuffy, is that the name of a dwarf? it should be). Josh is starting to feel like he's catching something. We're downing vitamin C like crazy!

Went to our ultrasound this morning. The baby looks great! Heart beating, brain growing, all systems go, kicking, punching, wiggling little baby! We were able to count 5 fingers on each hand, and 5 toes on one foot, we couldn't see the other one clearly. The technicians said they could tell whether its a boy or girl, but we couldn't. They zoomed over THAT area pretty quickly because we said we didn't want to know, but now Tom's going nuts. He had me call to see if they'd tell us what it is, but I got voicemail and haven't heard back yet. Oh well. Well find out for certain when its born!

One more note - when we were looking at the ultrasound, the technicians explained to Zach and Maddie that the black area was the fluid or water that the baby is floating in. Zach looked at the screen for a minute and asked, "Does the baby have goggles to see in all the water?" Too cute.

Good start, strange middle, beautiful finish

Yesterday was interesting.

Zach, Maddie and I were able to get school done by lunch. Kate slept late (till lunch) as it was the first week day she didn't have a class since August. Josh had fun getting the fire going and cutting up pallets to burn (gotta love free firewood).

At lunchtime, though, things kind of fell apart. I gave everyone our lunch options to get their orders (yes, sometimes I feel like a short order cook). Everything was fine until I asked Maddie what she wanted. She started to cry. Hmmm. Unusual. Then she said she only wanted a little yogurt. Hmmm. Why? Turns out her throat was sore. She'd been sniffling the day before, but I didn't think much of it. She ate her lunch completely wrapped in a blanket with her head on the table most of the time. After she finished she wanted to snuggle, so we sat on the sofa and I bundled her into a couple of blankets. She slept on and off (mostly on) for hours. Definitely had a fever. Definitely didn't feel well. When she woke up at one point in the evening she went to use the bathroom and change into warm pj's. Tom went to check on her and he found her sobbing in the bathroom. Why? Not really sure. The effort of trying to change was too much for her. He helped her change, put her back on the sofa, and she fell back asleep for a couple more hours. Whatever it was, the sleep seemed to help. She's a little pale this morning, but otherwise ok.

The evening was spent with everyone home (yes, EVERYONE). Josh and Kate brought out their guitars and played around a little. Josh taught Tom a simple rhythm on the guitar. Kate talked me into trying to play a violin duet with her. Maddie rested next to us, and Zach played with magnetix. The fire was burning in the background and it was a simply beautiful evening. Yes, we are definitely blessed.

Putting the kids to bed - as Zach was falling asleep, he opened his eyes and looked at me and asked, "Do angels have birthdays?" I love the questions they ask.

The news is out

Well, finally, the family knows. Mom's known for a while. I told my dad and brother a couple of days ago, and last night I called my grandparents. Its not a secret anymore! What is it? Oh, only that we're having a baby. May 3 is the estimated date of arrival. Of course, everyone knows that babies don't have a calendar hanging next to them, so our little one will come whenever he or she is ready.

The reactions were great!
Mom - "How?" (gee, after 2 of her own children, I thought she knew that.)
Dad - "Your kidding. Why? Well, if that's what will make you happy..."
Grandmom M. - "Oh! But you already have so much to do! Do you know what you should call it? Quits!" =) (she's too much!)
Grandpop M. - "As long as you're both healthy."
Grandmom K. - "A What? A Baby? Who's having a baby? You? Get out! How wonderful!" (Please note, she is NOT hard of hearing, just happily, well, shocked.) When I asked her during our conversation if she had any regrets in her nearly 84 years, she said, "Yes, I wish I had more than 2 children." She laughed so much during our conversation she said she was gonna pee her pants. See, babies bring joy. At least, I think she was happy, she may have been laughing at me instead of with me. =)

So there you have it. Some think we're crazy, some are concerned, some are thrilled to the point of laughter. Doesn't matter. We're excited. Five children. Who would've thought.

Yard Sales and Birthdays

Had problems signing in, so I couldn't update, but not much has been going on here.

We had our GIANT yard sale Labor Day weekend. We got rid of lots of stuff! The remainder went to Goodwill, except a couple of things that I'll ebay. Its so nice having all that stuff gone, but it seems like our house is still full. I need to do another decluttering pass soon.

School is going well. Zach and Maddie are using a new curriculum this year. So far so good, but I need to buy a new printer to accomodate all the books we need to print. Laser printers are much more cost effective, so I'll be ordering one soon. Josh really enjoys the co-op classes. I think he enjoys the time with friends more than the classes, but that's ok. I need to find a program to start getting him prepared for SAT's.

Kate's enjoying her new car. I'm enjoying her new car. She's working a ton and going to school, so we don't get to see her very much these days. We really miss having the whole family together for supper.

Birthdays were fun. We celebrated both Josh and Kate's this past Sunday (the only day everyone was home together). Chips, soda, ice cream cake and tacos. YUM! Josh loved his guitar. Kate loved having her car paid for. Debt free is a beautiful thing. 2000 Chevy Cavalier - paid in full. God is good.

The day is winding to a close. Maddie's taking a bath with her baby Belle doll. Josh is playing the guitar. Tom's installing a new breaker for his shop with Zach's help. Kate's working. I'm going to trace a new shirt pattern out. Haven't decided what fabric I'll use to make it - something from my stash or something new. We'll see.