Much needed quote

To manage a life of pain, as a believer in Jesus, remember: This is all the hell you will ever bear. (M'Cheyne)

I read this quote this morning, and it was exactly the reminder I needed. My back has been "out" again, and causing a lot of pain. If I am honest, my body was giving me warning signs for about a week. But I didn't listen. Which, at this point, I think we can all agree, was just a little stupid. This is my first pregnancy with the back trouble. (And most likely, the last, although that is a whole new post and many prayers and tears away). But anyhow, Ben stayed home from work on Monday, to help take care of me. I got a massage, and was feeling better. I had Grammie and Grandma all lined up to help with Ezra so that Ben could go back to work. Tuesday morning, I woke up, still quite sore and moving very slowly, but moving nonetheless. Got some coffee and some toast and was heading back down the hallway. And, then, it went!! I was fortunate enough to make it to a chair in our bedroom. I was in so much pain, but I knew no matter how bad it hurt, I had to make it to the bed. So I did. But, I was in a lot of pain, even after getting there, and couldn't move at all. I am normally pretty quiet about pain, but I heard Noah say, "Mom is hurting so bad, I heard her say 'Aah!!'"

Caleb came in and asked if they could pray for me. Then I heard him go back in their room and say to the others, "Okay, let's lift our hands to the sky!" I also heard him ask, "Okay, how many of you think that God is going to answer?" (On a side note, I think it's totally awesome that our family size is so big that one of them can ask a questions like "how many of you???" as if there are soooo many!!!)

Ben came home quickly and despite my tears and moans was able to get me turned over. Just kept having spasms in my back. Very painful. The thought crept in, "I can't do this!" It has been kind of a painful couple of years, between the trigeminal neuralgia, then the back stuff, etc. But God is so gracious and faithful, I knew people must have been praying for me, because I corrected my thinking. "I can do this." We are going to make it. One day at a time. And so, this quote was particularly meaningful to me this morning. The Lord is walking us through. Praising God for the prayers of my kids. He is using even pain to shape them into prayer warriors. (They made a "prayer club" for me.) Praising God for my husband's job, which has allowed him to be home with me when I needed him so desperately. (Another side note: as he was helping me try to get to the bathroom, I had my arms wrapped around him, and I told him, "Ahhhh, best part of my day.")

Praising God for family and friends that are willing to help and to pray and to care.

Praising God that in my greatest pain, I still know remarkably little of it.

Have been super encouraged by the song, "I love your presence." Here's a link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prbw1s5gVX8

Baby Update...

Man, I have been really bad at even mentioning this new child which will be coming soon. He seems to just go with the flow.

At church, we are going through the book of Philippians, and we just had an awesome sermon on not worrying (see Ch. 4) Anyhow, the question was asked, "What is keeping you from sleeping?" (Obviously meaning, what are you worrying about?) But I had a little giggle as my answer went through my head, "My bladder, my esophagus, and my pelvic bones!!"

I saw the midwife today, and she went through the kit I need to order, and things we need to have ready for the homebirth. She said the baby is head down, and it seems as though (his) head is quite tucked in there. Similar to Emma, she had a little bruise on her head from hanging out so low in there. =)

Anyhow, I am getting really excited to meet this little one.

The Power of Jesus!

Tonight, we have my two nieces, Cadence and Lyric staying the night. We were reading a Bible story about Jesus walking on the water. We got to the part where Peter asks to come out of the boat, and he walks on the water. Noah exclaimed, "It was the power of Jesus!!"

I love the way he tells the story. =)

New Season....

We have never been much for organized activities. For many reasons, but as the kids get a little older, we are now taking advantage of some of the neat opportunities here in town:

The little Miss, in a long-awaited ballet class.

Noah in pee-wee soccer, loving it and already loving on his coach. He is a goofball!!

Caleb in his guitar class. Only four kids, and he is so excited.

So, we will try this out and see how it works having places to go and things to do. At least until we have another little person around, then it will really be a whole new season altogether. =)

The World of Homeschooling...

We are really enjoying the use of Rod and Staff books for English. This is our first year using them. I had researched until my face turned blue, and purchased Shurley English. When I received the books, something just felt a little overwhelming about them. So, I waited. A couple of days later, a dear friend went through the FREE table at our homeschool co-op and picked up both the Teacher Book and the Student Book for Rod and Staff. One good look at it, and I knew it was a good fit. Very thorough, but super simple. No overkill. So, this year we are "Building with Diligence", and I thought I would share a sweet little poem from the book. These poems are sprinkled throughout.

"A Wise Old Owl"

A wise old owl

lived in an oak;

The more he saw,

the less he spoke;

The less he spoke,

the more he heard.

Why can't we all

be like that bird?

-Edward Hersey Richards

We are still using one of my favorites: The Greenleaf Guide to the Old Testament.

And we are loving Window on the World as we pray for other countries and people groups.

Still using Veritas Press history cards, although I found myself not enjoying Greek Myths as much as we had previously. Still using Saxon Math, and it is working out just great. Oh, yes, and we only do this on Mondays, but it is still a favorite for us all:

Last year we read through "Missionary Stories with the Millers" and loved it. So this has been a really sweet journey through Proverbs.

Other than that, we have a really sweet line-up of read alouds, some cool comprehension guides to go alongside some of the kids' reading, and some things that we just haven't even touched because I was advantageous in my planning.

What are some of your favorite things???

George Muller

I don't know how to make those cute marks above the "u". Oh well. Anyhow, our family read-aloud is a biography on George Muller. Man, these authors did a great job... everyone is enjoying it. We can hardly wait to read a chapter or two each evening. Not to mention, it is such an amazing testimony of God's work in the life of an ordinary man.

Well, we have a couple of things coming up which we are not quite, *ahem* financially prepared for. So, it seemed only obvious that we would pray George Muller style. This guy is so cool. He is so certain and sure of God's provision, and as a result, God proves Himself faithful over and over again. His sweet wife certainly got used to using the phrase, "Do whatever you think is best, George."

Ben and I had a really sweet prayer time, and we are trusting God to meet our needs. And to show us when we have thought of some wants as needs, as we certainly have a way of doing. But I found it so *interesting* this morning, in a book I am reading called, "Violent Prayer" by Chris Tiegreen, that he references George Muller, and his prayers of faith, believing and trusting in God's absolute provision.

God's timing is perfect.

Thought-provoking....

"Mr. Carter, do you expect the world to 'pad their corners' for you, because you are blind?"

(excerpt from our current family read-aloud, "Follow My Leader.")

This quote was especially thought-provoking for me last night. I really mulled it over in my mind. As we homeschool, there are so many philosophies and paradigms and ways of thinking.

Each family is so unique, and must submit to the Holy Spirit and discern wisely what is best for their children. In our approach, we wanted to start with God, and His Story among the nations... including the ugliness of idols, sin, wickedness, and war and gore, and tell His story of redemption. Now, this is not to say that we never censor anything!! (And of course, each individual child is different in what they can handle, and age is a factor here too). In fact, we find ourselves on the very conservative end of movies that we allow, music, etc. But what I loved about this quote is that it reminded me to examine myself, and to ask myself whether I am preparing my children for "sharp corners" in this world, by talking with them, answering questions, making them aware of certain things, or am I am padding the corners, teaching them to expect the world to change for them? Because this world is full of ugliness. But it is also full of beauty. And this world is not going to change for them. But, one day, this whole world will once again bow in submission to it's Lord, and it will all be changed and made glorious. I don't want to "pad the corners", but I do want to make them aware that there are some sharp ones out there.

Decorating Grandma's Tree...

We asked our kids what some of their favorite Christmas traditions were... and of course, decorating Grandma and Grandpa's tree was high on the list!! So we got together with the cousins and had a blast. Ezra was sick that evening, so he missed out. But the older kids enjoyed themselves immensely:

Uncle Scott and Ethan finishing up the tall places.

The finished product. =)

I had a couple of adorable videos of the kids singing some Christmas songs, but unfortunately, the annoying pregnant lady leading them in song can be heard much too loudly. We will try again soon.

The Nutcracker Ballet...

Well, for our special Christmas date, Ben took both Emma and I to the Nutcracker Ballet. It was very exciting, because at age 7, Emma really is the perfect age. It was her first time going to a real ballet. And to top it off, it was a local ballet company which included a young woman from our homeschool co-op, who played the role of the Snow Queen, among other things.

It was a delightful evening, and our sweet girl seemed to feel loved and treasured all around.

Oh, how she loves that Daddy of hers....

We were able to find some suitable souvenirs, including a Clara ornament (holding her Nutcracker, of course), as well as three small Nutcracker ornaments, each in a different color for the boys.

Emmanuel....

One of the things that just amazes me about the living God, is that He knows us each so intimately, and allows us to know Him. It is astounding to think about coming to know Him, but it is, at times, even more astounding to think that I am known by Him.

"But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him." 1 Cor. 8:3

Anyhow, for the last couple of years at Christmas time, I have just been amazed, and in awe of this concept: Emmanuel, God with us.

I love the Casting Crowns song:

God is in us, God is for us, God is with us, Emmanuel...

As a momma, we all go through different seasons. There are seasons where you feel like you can barely catch your breath. Like the waves are crashing over you and you just don't have enough in you to do all that needs to be done, taken care of, disciplined, washed, and put away. The Lord was so sweet to me. I was at our homeschool co-op, feeling like I had just barely made it there. I was scheduled to be on prayer team, which is normally my favorite, but for some reason, I just wanted to sit in a chair and not get up (and eat the delicious food!). (The Lord KNOWS me so well!!) Well, for some reason, that day, none of the food was appetizing. So, no reason to stay and eat... might as well go pray!! It ended up being me with two other lovely, godly women. One of which has 8 kids!! They so sweetly encouraged me and prayed for me, and then we all in turn praised God and prayed for the other families there in the co-op. But my dear friend with 8 children (most of whom are grown now) said something, something that would not have meant the same to me unless the Lord had already been working out this awe of Emmanuel in my heart.

She said, "There were days I would come to the door, holding the baby. My husband would walk in the door and ask what we did that day. I would tell him, 'Nothing. Absolutely nothing. We didn't get anything done for school, we didn't clean. Nothing!' And he would respond...."But, who was with them?" "I was." "That's all I ask. That you are with them."

I thought about that.... It is amazing that our truest, greatest need is to have the wrath of God removed from us. And the way that God did that was to be with us. For Christ to enter in, to be near us, to be for us, to be with us. And then He bore that wrath on our behalf.

Being a mom, especially of a large family, is sometimes exhausting, overwhelming.... And homeschooling sometimes adds a responsibility that can make you lose sight of what you started in the first place. But as I relayed the story to my husband, he emphatically agreed that my job is not to produce rocket scientists, or presidents, or engineers. My job, is to be with them. My job is character training, under the leadership of Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit. My job is to be honest about my own failures and short comings, and to always point them to Christ, who bore God's wrath on my behalf too! And what the Lord develops from their personalities and their gifts.... well, that's His job.

I saw this verse in a new way this week... I have had the first part heavy on my heart the last two years, the second part was heavy on my heart this week:

"Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." James 1:27

Just trying to spend my time with the kids these days being with them. Not distracted, not busy, not overwhelmed.... just with them. And whatever we get "done" is just a bonus. (I do normally find that when I am truly "with them", we seem to accomplish so much more. Hmmmm......)

Park Day!!

A day at thepark with our homeschool friends.

Our friends, Kristen and Micah.

My crazy climber.

We had five moms, and 15 kids. How fun! The other kids were playing too hard for me to get many good pictures. =)

Halloween

The Whole Gang (Daddy was taking the picture)
Obi-wan Kenobi (when he is old, hence the beard drawn by Daddy)
Luke Skywalker
Spider baby
Prairie Girl
Momma had been sick, so we either wore what we had, or did some last minute costume creation. We headed up to Ojai Valley Baptist Church for their Harvest Festival. We saw so many good friends, and had a great time.

Palm Springs

Wow, we had such a great time. I don't really know where to start, or finish, except to say that the Lord knew our family needed this time away together, and it was made even more sweet by time with friends from church and our homeschool co-op. We celebrated Noah's 4th birthday there, and had movie night at our hotel room with 17 kids!! We hope we will be able to go back every year!!

The Birthday Boy!

Ezra in the kiddie pool-only a foot deep!

Emma and her friend Savannah riding scooters!

Carmel Apple night!

Apple picking!!

Okay, so this is old news, but I just uploaded pics from my camera.

A few of us homeschooling moms made the drive up to Solvang for apple picking. You can see that when just a few of us get together, there ends up being quite a gang. I think we had almost 20 kids. =)

And Noah!!!

Dear Noah,

You are four!! You were so excited to turn four, and since then, you have done many things, "because I am four." You like to eat beans, because evidently, four year olds like beans.

We celebrated your birthday during our vacation in Palm Springs. You still had donuts, and friends over to share them. We had a movie night in our hotel room on your birthday with 17 other kids!!

You are such a special little boy. Sometimes, it seems like you are living in your own little world, but it must be a fun one!! Your smile lights up a room. You are a goofball!! You are learning to read ("The cat ran fast.") You love doing school work like your big brother and big sister. You LOVE legos, especially Star Wars legos like brother. You run on your own timetable. The other evening, we had finished dinner and momma was starting to clean up, while you were at the table. You looked up at me and said, "Mommy, you're beautiful." And then you smiled that "million dollar smile" that made me feel like nothing else in the world can.

We pray that your heart of love will be filled with compassion, just like Jesus' was. And that your smile will touch hearts and lives for His glory. And that just maybe, the people who feel like they have no place, will spend a day in your world with you, and find the hope of Jesus and the love of a Savior. We love you Noah!!

Ezra....

Dear Ezra,

You are two now!! You know, I already had two boys before you came along, but nothing really prepared me for you. You are such an amazing boy, full of life and personality. Before you were 6 months old, my main describing word for your personality was "tenacious." I continue to maintain that position. When you see something you want, you go after it until you get it. I never baby-proofed the house for any of the kids until you came along-and then, it didn't matter because you would figure out how to get around it, or overcome it by brute force. You have the best belly laugh... I could tickle you for days, just to hear you laugh. You think you are a big kid, and want to do everything that "Emma", "Pau", and "Wo-wa" do.

You have such a special connection with Daddy. I don't know if it is because he delivered you, or not, but you sure do love your Daddy. You usually prefer to be with him. (But, you sneak me all kinds of special hugs and kisses while he's gone at work). You are learning all kinds of words everyday, but you usually like to leave the endings off of them. You love to ride your "bike", which is brother's Razor scooter. It's kind of scary to see you on that thing, but we just put on your helmet and let you go, because containing you is even more of a problem. =)

You bring so much joy and excitement to our house. We love you so much, and we pray that your tenacity will be of great service to the Lord for His Kingdom.

Pumpkin Patch

We met Ryan and Kelly (and the girls) at the Pumpkin Patch and Kelly took some amazing pictures. I cannot believe she got this one with all of us looking!! Hahaha. We didn't do the hay ride, or the maze, or come home with a pumpkin. Those things cost money! But, thankfully, making memories doesn't cost anything, so we opted for that.

Mycenean Culture

So, we use the Veritas History Cards, and have enjoyed them quite well. I am hoping to do a post soon on homeschool books and tools that I love. But for today....

Veritas is now offering their history courses online, as self-paced classes. They offer a free 30 day trial, so we started the Greece and Rome trial. It was so helpful, and really kept me on track on days that I wasn't feeling well. But, both Ben and I were not very pleased with the brother and sister (teaching the class) and the way they interacted with each other. So, we are back to "normal" school, without the fun online course, but enjoying ourselves nonetheless. Finishing up the overview of Mycenean Culture with a beautiful picture of God's word. Today we made pottery with clay, and once they dry, we will paint them with beautiful colors.

"The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: 'Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.' Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 'O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?' says the Lord. 'Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!'" Jeremiah 18:1-6

We had a wonderful discussion time, as we used water to smooth out the cracks in our clay, and as we shaped our pots, we talked about God shaping us and smoothing out the cracks and making us into a useful vessel.

In awe...

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you..." Jeremiah 1:5

What an amazing thought... that even now, God is knitting this little one together, and this child is known by God.

First Day...

It was the first day of our homeschool co-op. The kids were so excited!! Ezra didn't want to be in a stroller, he wanted to walk like a big boy with his backpack on.

Emma's Classes:

1. Art for Kids

2. Land Animals (Apologia science)

3. Fun Games that Teach

Caleb's Classes:

1. Kids in the Kitchen

2. Land Animals

3. Just for Kicks (Tae Kwan-Do)

Noah is in the K-4 class (kindergarten), and Ezra is in the toddler class.

I am an assistant for Papercrafting, and teaching Math Fun.