Kids At Work

Just thought I would post a few pictures of the kids hard at work!!! I am so impressed with Katie Aunna's handwriting. She is truly an amazing little girl. Of course, I could be sort of bias. Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. God is so good to us. I will post more later. Many blessings!!!

Karissa's New Ear

Well....we just got home this evening from Lubbock and I am so excited to tell you that Karissa's ear is clean and dry. The bottom line is that she is ready for her middle ear implants!!!!! YEAH!!!!! Karissa will soon have hearing in both ears and we are delighted. So, now the preparatory part before the surgery will be a regimen of medication to prepare her to receive the implants. In either January or February she will fly (with me of course) to Dallas and have her surgery at Baylor Children's Hospital. I am also going to have a strabismus specialist in Dallas, whose reputation is outstanding, look at Katie's eyes the day before Karissa's surgery.

Also in the news....Katie's post-op check up with Dr. Neal was great. Her throat has healed nicely. Finally, John-John has received a referral to Lubbock to see a pediatric urologist for his "Nip-N-Tuck" (circumcised....the big ouch). So, I keep telling Duane, now that all our kids are medically sound, I will get a good check up for myself. Guess we aren't getting any younger...Ha Ha;-). Just a short post today and I will get some pictures up later in the week. Many blessings!!!!

School Zone

I saw this sign in Switzerland and I thought "how adorable!" The sign is spelled close enough to be understood in English. Actually, there were quite a few words that were spelled in German that we could tell what they meant. I begged Duane to get a saw, cut down this sign, and take it to be installed in my kitchen floor for the home school.....Ha Ha....Just joking.....sort of;-). Isn't it cute????

Well, the home-school process is coming along very nicely!!! Katie Aunna is actually beginning to read simple books. I am planning on making a short movie of her reading and post it to the blog. Also, I intend to take a few pictures of them working in our classroom. Some days I think "Oh, this is wonderful" and then other days I think "Oh My Gosh....what will I do with all these kids....two in preschool, two in kindergarten, two in second grade, and two hormonal teenagers?"

So, I pray to the Lord to thank Him for the beautiful bright children we have been given and for me to be the right kind of teacher that they may learn a Godly curriculum and acquire a Godly style of life. Sometimes that is a difficult task. I get horribly frustrated when no one wants to work and I feel we are falling behind on the amount of materials we need to cover. Which leads me to becoming discouraged and think "maybe I should make my life lots simpler by sending them to school every day. Then I would have only John and Mary at home during the day!!!"

However, life would not be as interesting. Worse, I would miss the majority of their life, the kids would be exposed to more secular minded teachers and children, and I would not be given the credit for teaching them how to write, read, spell, think, and just simply GROW UP!!! Speaking of little kids with secular minds. TV blows my mind and I really thought the "70's" generation was open minded. But, as I have matured and look at the fast changing morals of society as a whole, it disturbs me greatly, to expose them to the world too soon.

I was asked about that recently. This person said "sooner or later your kids will have to be a part of the world. You aren't doing them any favors by keeping them from seeing the whole world." My answer is "Children are like delicate little flowers. They need many of the same things flowers need. Fresh air, nutrition, warm sunshine, and a healthy place to plant their roots." My thinking is that exposing your delicate flower to the harsh and vulgar things of the world too soon will predispose them to possible failure.

They would shrivel and can not bloom to a full-blown flower with all this trash in the world right now. I want to protect my flowers and not put them into rough soil or an inappropriate environment. A child can be exposed to see and hear thing way too soon. So, it is best to protect and nurture your flower until is time to let them be placed outside. I intend to keep them, as unexposed to the world, for as long as I can. As children, they do not have reasoning skills. But, as young adults I am hoping that logical reasoning will have been instilled by me into their hearts and minds with God as their guidline.

This is the beauty of home-school. I can put the children in various controlled outside activities and they get socialization. As a matter of fact, not only is Katie reading well her begining books....Annie is catching on to reading as well. Mary is coloring within the lines now. John scribbles and is learning to work puzzles. Karissa and Christian are excelling in math and reading. They have learned to count money and tell time this first half of the school year. Casey is learning to improve his writing skills and Algebra. While Trish is becoming strong in math, reading, language, and her spirituality is growing for God.

What a precious time, for mother and child, when the world of educating the children opens up, and Mom is the means to this process. So, there are times of discouragement in being Mom/Teacher and yet the rewards just keep me going on with it. I'll take some pictures of the kids at work tomorrow. Just a peek into my life every day.

So, Thursday I will document the happenings of the day;-). Lord I pray the kids are good tomorrow because I am filming everything...the good...the bad....and the ugly....at home-school!!!! Oh, by the way....Dad is setting up our Dairy Farm Tour and the little ones get to feed the baby calfs....awe....won't that be cute??? Guess this is all for now!!! Many blessings;-)

New Pictures

I have finally posted pictures from my new camera. Hope you enjoy the kids as they play. Mary made friends and she just loves her pictures of her caterpillar!!!! I haven't explained metamorphosis to her yet;-).

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Three Eggs Short Of One Dozen

I thought this was a rather funny thought from my eight year old daughter!!! She said that we are only three kids short of having one dozen eggs;-).

Some days it is so easy with seven children and all home-schooled. Most days the two grown ones stress me out far more than the seven at home. The little ones are with me 24/7 and I love it. Naturally, there are those days I really feel like I need to just be able to go to the bathroom without someone watching or playing toys they have brought into the bathroom with us. Then there are times that I go out somewhere without them and it is so lonely...rather boring actually. Although, a little peace and quiet is periodically nice.

This is exactly the reason I am blogging nine-tenths of the time late at night. It is so difficult with the kids to try and spend any amount of time just sitting on my computer. I guess some of you are wondering what all this egg talk is about. Karissa blew Duane's mind and sent him into a real tail spin when all the kids were seated around the dinner table. I miss counted and shorted a child a fork. As I stood to retrieve the needed fork....dear Karissa said "Mommy, we are like eggs, aren't we?"

I just looked at her baffled and said "I suppose we all were eggs at one time in the beginning of our life." She smiled and said "No Mommy, I mean that all of us kids sitting here remind me of a carton of eggs. We are three eggs short of having a dozen." Then she just cracked up laughing as her father choked on his food. My response to that revelation was "Honey, God has a plan for every one's life. I don't think He is planning to make us a full carton."

She merrily said "Well, wouldn't that be a shame to not be filled up in the carton. You told me God's work is always perfect and Heaven is a place of perfect order. This is like buying a carton of eggs and when we get home three are missing." The only thing I could think to respond to that remark was it is better to have nice tasty eggs to which we are thankful for each day than none at all.

Strangely enough I have never thought of us as an incomplete carton of eggs....ha ha. Guess you never know how their wonderful minds will take lessons of math, cooking, and religion and turn it into a complete and all inclussive life lesson;-). I am still trying to find some time to upload and post new pix. I promise to do that tomorrow.