Merry "Kimmiss"!

Dresden is really getting into the Christmas season this year.  Every time she sees a display of Christmas lights or decorations in a store or in a yard, she says, "Kimmiss"!   Yesterday she started singing "We wish you a Kimmiss!"

All three of the kids are excited and are looking forward to Christmas Day.  My parents are in town and we have also been attending various Christmas activities at church, with another party tonight and then the church Christmas Pageant on Sunday evening.  Liam is playing the part of Joseph in the pageant and Alley is a cow!  I am looking forward to it!  Our family is also going to be lighting the advent candle this Sunday during worship.  Alley is planning on reading the Scripture in front of the entire congregation, so pray for her to be bold!

Here is a recent picture of the three kids that turned our pretty good.  Since I am not doing a mailed Christmas card this year, this will have to suffice! 

Stuff

I am now 24 weeks pregnant which means I have 16 weeks to go. That still sounds like alot and I am not looking forward to the physical difficulties that come with late pregnancy but all that also means the baby is coming soon! I feel like this pregnancy has gone by more quickly than my others in some ways and I think that must be because I have 3 other children that keep me so busy. Homeschooling two of them and trying to occupy a two year old so the other two can hear what I am saying to them keeps my days pretty full, not to mention all the other activities we are involved in with church and the homeschool group and just every day life things like cleaning house and grocery shopping.

Dresden is working on being potty trained. She had been using the potty some but with no consistency, over the last couple months but I decided I really did not want to buy diapers for two kids if I could help it so I decided to give her a little push since she is past 2 and a half now and had shown some interest and ability. I pulled out the potty chair I used for the other two, a 20 year old Fisher Price potty (it says 1987 on the bottom!) that is much sturdier than the cheap ones you can get now. The bowl part had cracked since Liam used it so I wasn't exactly sure what to do about that but thankfully, I found a small stainless steel bowl in my cabinet that I bought a little while back at a thrift store and it fit perfectly in the bowl-hole so the 20 year old potty is back in business! Dresden has been wearing cotton training pants and pull ups over the last few days and is doing very well. She had a few accidents the first couple days but did fine yesterday even though we were out at a field trip in the morning and at our home fellowship group in the evening. She used the bathroom at the home fellowship group right before we left at around 9 pm and then she fell asleep in the car. She was wearing a pull- up so I just left that on her for bed. I expected her to wet that in the night but as I was typing this, she woke up and came to me and the first thing she said was that she had to go potty. I checked her pull-up and it was completely dry! That was probably a fluke but it gives me encouragement that she really is getting this!

I also have to "brag" on my other two kids a little...Liam is 6 years old and two nights ago it was his turn to read the Scripture in our advent reading. He read Gen 17:1-8 from the NKJ Bible. I was sitting next to him watching what he was reading and he read every word perfectly without any help! Here's a few of the words from that passage: appeared, Almighty, blameless, covenant, multiply, exceedingly, fruitful, establish, descendants, generations, and everlasting. This is not bragging on me or my teaching ability because he has been reading since he was 4 and I didn't really "teach" him to read. He listened to Alley's reading lessons and watched her read Dick and Jane books and it just"clicked"! We were all amazed at how well he read this passage!

Alley has been doing a lot of writing on her own lately. She has been writing letters to far away family members but the other day, all on her own, she started writing about Pocahontas, who we have been studying about in school lately. I was going to have her draw a picture and write a short report on Pocahontas anyway but I hadn't mentioned that to her yet and she just started doing it! I love it when they show that they are enjoying and remembering something we are learning. There are so many blessings in homeschooling and sharing in these things is one of my favorites. We have so many great discussions about so many topics (from Pocahontas to peer pressure and everything in between) because we are together all the time, sharing life experiences minute by minute. I have no doubt that they will be well prepared for life when it is all said and done because God is building a great foundation for them. They are in a safe place where they can ask questions and be exposed to the world in small doses and learn all along the way. It reminds me of the way they train people to spot counterfeit money...they DO NOT let them handle counterfeit money! They ONLY let them handle real money so that they are so familiar with it, they will easily spot the fake when it comes along. This is my prayer for all of my children, that they will be so grounded in the truth that they will not be easily swayed when they are faced with false thinking in the future.

We are looking forward to my parents coming to Kansas City in one week to spend time with us and other extended family before Christmas. We also have several church activities planned in the coming weeks for Christmas that we are all looking forward to. It is a busy time and when the new year arrives, I will be down to less than 3 months left until the baby comes!

Tagged!

My sister tagged me to do this a few days ago so I thought I better get it done!

8 Things I Am Passionate About

1. God and His Word

2. Living life according to His Word, even in little things (with His strength, of course!)

3. homeschooling my kids and protecting our right to continue to do that

4. teaching my children about God and life and how to apply God's Word to every circumstance they face

5. my family and staying close to them, even across the miles

6. trying to stay organized, spend wisely and keep my house generally clean, trying to make a nice home for my family

7. church involvement, doing my part in building the body of Christ

8. rubber stamping

8 Things I Say Often

1. "Good morning" to my kids as they come out of their rooms

2. "Get to the table for school!"

3. "Put your laundry away, please."

4. "Have you done your chores?"

5. "Hush, Piper!" (to the dog when she barks unnecessarily)

6. "What are you doing, little girl?" (to Dresden)

7. "Gosh!"

8. "I love you so much, too." (to Dresden after she tells me she loves me "too much")

I'm sure you can tell I spend most of my time talking to kids!

8 Things I've Read Recently

1. The Preacher's Daughter by Beverly Lewis

2. The Englisher by Beverly Lewis

3. The Brethren by Beverly Lewis

4. hand-me-down Reader's Digest from my grandma

5. Sunrise and Summer, both by Karen Kingsbury

6. Sunday Clothes by Thom Lemmons

7. Bible and various Bible Study books

8. blogs!

8 Things I Want to Do Before I Die

1. See my children grow up and have their own families

2. Go back to Europe and take Dresden to Dresden, Germany

3. Go on a cruise

4. Celebrate lots of anniversaries and birthdays!

5. Continue in sanctification

6. Buy a house with a yard and a garage and hopefully a basement

7. Travel to places in the US I have never been

8. Save more money

8 Songs I Can Listen to Over and Over

1. Dresden singing "Jesus Loves Me"

2. Be Thou My Vision

3. Since I can't think of many individual songs, I will just mention a few cds, singers or groups I like: Indelible Grace

4. Nathan Clark George

5. Steve Green kids cds...they help me memorize Scripture too!

6. Patmos

7. Mannheim Steamroller Christmas

8. Other good Christmas cds

8 Things That Attract Me to My Friends

1. Their faith and love for God

2. Similar interests/beliefs

3. Similar life situations and perspectives

4. Sense of humor

5. encouragement

6. loving, trustworthy

7. easy to talk to

8. humility, self-sacrificing

8 Things I have Learned in the Last Year

1. I CAN live in a 3rd floor apartment with 3 kids!

2. God provides what you need when you need it, usually better than you could have done yourself

3. I enjoy living in Kansas City again when there was a time that I thought I would prefer other places

4. I CAN drive confidently on the highways of a big city!

5. Kids are always learning things!

6. History is more interesting the second time around!

7. It is possible to completely rearrange and reorganize 2 kids bedrooms in about 48 hours, including setting up new beds!

8. God's timing is always right.

I am not tagging anyone because I think everyone who reads my blog has already been tagged!

Dresden-isms

Dresden is talking more and more every day. It is always so much fun to watch them attempt to communicate all that they have been taking in during their first two years of life. She is still in the stage where she needs some interpreting when she is talking to people who are not around her 24 hours/day but it is getting clearer to all very quickly!

(WARNING: this post might be a little boring to those who do not know and love her but it is mostly to help me to keep track of some of the things she is saying now before she moves on and I forget them!)

She LOVES animals of all kinds and has thoroughly enjoyed our trips to the zoo this year. The elephants are one of her favorites and she calls them "eths". She has just started adding another syllable to it, making it "ethen". She also says "hip-poo", "jaff", and "pea-ca-cock".

She has just recently started telling us all that she loves us. She will say, "I la Mommy, I la Daddy, I la "Addey" , I la "Neem". (She calls Alley "Addey" and Liam "Neem".) Sometimes she says, "I la so much!"

She knows there is a new baby in my tummy and she calls it "the tummy baby". The other day she said, "Yisten, Yisten!.... tummy baby come out, I hold dat one!"

She calls herself "Dezzen" and last night I called her a sweet girl and she said, "No, I Dezzen!"

She tries to count but it usually comes out "for, fi, six, go!" She has been adding "I like..." to the beginning of lots of her words. She is just generally communicating more and more and we are all enjoying talking to her.

The other day, Liam got his feelings hurt over something and he was crying a little bit. She went in the bedroom where he was and said, "Stop a-cyin NOW!" (Stop crying now!) He couldn't help but laugh as he came to tell us what she said!

Being Thankful

I am sure I have mentioned before how much I enjoy fall and especially Thanksgiving. Part of the reason for this is the family tradition that my parents started in our family about 15 years ago. Each year we each individually write a list of ALL the things we can possibly think of that we are thankful for, big or small, important or seemingly insignificant. I haven't yet put pen to paper this year but several things have been running through my mind over the last few days as I have begun to ponder this. The kids and I discussed in our Bible time during school one day recently that we are to "put off" complaining and grumbling and we are to "put on" thankfulness, gratitude and contentment. We talked about how we should practice doing this and "train" ourselves to be thankful in all circumstances as we are told to do in the Bible, since this does not usually come naturally to us! A Thanksgiving list is one of the best ways to practice this! Together, we have been praying that God will bring to our minds things that we should be thankful for, even if they are not obvious to us.

Last night I attended a meeting for homeschool moms in our church. We get together once a month to share ideas and encourage each other. Last night several women were telling about the tension that results as they try to balance both sides of their families and their expectations during the holidays. Because of my husband having only a "guardian" family from his teenage years to consider as his family, we really don't have that pressure. Even though I am sure there are some "in-law" blessings that I am missing out on, I am thankful to not have that particular stress at the holidays.

In the kitchen after our time of discussion, I was talking with two ladies about children with special needs and the specific challenges and concerns of these little ones and their parents. I don't know what the future holds but I am thankful that so far that has not been my lot.

I got in the van to head home and turned on the Christian radio station. I'm not sure what program it was but it was an interview with a couple who had struggled with infertility issues for years and then ended up adopting three children. I know adoption is a wonderful thing but it just reminded me to be thankful that infertility was not something we have had to walk through and that we have the blessing of having natural children.

I got home and got out of the van and headed to the stairs up to our third floor apartment. I saw a woman walking her dog in the grass. She was walking with the aid of a brace of some kind. I realized that she probably would be glad to live on the third floor if it meant she had the legs to get her there. I realized as I came into my home, where my husband and children were waiting for me, that God was answering my prayer...He was showing me lots of things for which I should be thankful.

It is easy to grumble and complain and notice all the things that others have when we don't. And rest assured, there will always be SOMEBODY with more than us but the opposite is also true...there will always be someone with LESS than us. We need to remember, and encourage each other to remember, that God's will for us is to be thankful. (I Thess. 5:18)

I read something this week that was a good reminder: Thanksgiving is when we celebrate what we already have.

(And we get to eat pumpkin pie!!!!!)

Frugal Fun

I know I have been very delinquent in keeping this blog even half way updated lately and all I can say is that I will try to do better! No promises, though, as life seems to be very busy right now but here is one picture taken just a little while ago when the kids and I went down to the Lenexa, Kansas Chili Tasting in Old Town Lenexa. Michael is working all day today so we made a quick stop at the library and then found a parking spot and walked about 3-4 blocks and started tasting chili! We probably tried 12-15 different kinds of chili and a few salsas. The kids got some candy and a few small toys at some of the booths. They also got to play on some blow- up jumping things and it all only cost $1 admission. Adults were $1 and kids 12 and under were free! Can't beat cheap fun!

Branson Baby #4

We found out a few weeks ago that we are expecting another little blessing around the end of March! The due date is actually March 29, 2008 which is exactly 30 years from the due date my mom had with me. I was due to be born on March 29, 1978. I came 10 days early so who knows.....maybe I'll have a little birthday buddy right in my own family!

I had a doctor's appointment today and they did a sonogram to double check my dates. Everything looked good...I could see the little beginnings of arms and legs and I could see the heart beating (158 beats per minute). It really makes it seem more real when you see it or hear it's heartbeat separate from your own. It is amazing to think that God has created this little person whom I already love so much even though I don't know much about him/her yet! I know that he/she is an eternal soul, even now when it is not much bigger than a kidney bean! We are looking forward to seeing this gift from God in SEVEN MONTHS and getting to know a new little personality.

Please keep me and the baby in your prayers...I have been feeling sick the last few weeks and I thought it was improving some over the last few days but last night and tonight I have felt horrible after dinner. I have a busy few days ahead of me in getting my house ready for Jana and Mara Kate's visit this coming week as well as more activities since my parents are in town for a couple more days. I took a nap on the couch tonight after I ate since I was feeling so bad (and doing that doesn't help get things done around here!) Michael kept Dresden from climbing all over me and put away the leftovers which I was in no mood to face. Now I am feeling a little better and am headed to bed!

I know it's been awhile...

I know it's been quite awhile since I posted but I have been living life and it has been busy and fun! First of all, we left on August 9 to head to Bristol to visit family and to meet our new niece, Olivia Claire Guinan. After a night in an interesting hotel in Paducah, KY, we arrived in Bristol on Friday afternoon in time for supper with my parents and my sister and her family. Olivia was passed from one set of arms to another all evening! On Saturday, we relaxed and then spent the evening with friends from church. We went to church the next morning for worship and for Olivia's baptism. Tuesday was Alley's birthday and we had my dad's famous BBQ chicken and many of Alley's favorite side dishes. Aunt Heidi made the chocolate/chocolate cake and decorated it! On Wednesday morning, we headed to Atlanta to see Jana and Kane and Mara Kate. On Thursday morning we took Michael to the airport so he could fly home and get back to work. We later went to IKEA where I found several good deals and was motivated once again to streamline my house and wisely use every square inch of space I have!! On Friday evening, Heidi and Jeph and Grant and Olivia joined us in Atlanta so all the cousins were together for the evening. On Saturday, we all headed back to Bristol where we visited for a few more days before heading back to KC-- me, mom and Dresden in our van and Dad and Alley and Liam in Mom and Dad's car.

Last Saturday, we attended the Burton Family Reunion, which was my grandpa and his siblings and as mnay of their kids and grandkids and even some great-grandkids as could come. It was a beautiful day, a nice shelter house and lots of fun to see familiar faces I haven't see in many years. My kids played with the daughters of an another Burton grandchild, my great-uncle's grandson, who we used to play with years ago. It was a fun day all around!

Contest

No, I am not having a contest myself but a website for moms that I just stumbled across is giving away a flat screen TV on August 17 and one condition for entering is that you link to their site on your own blog. I don't think I have ever done a link before so hopefully this will take you to the right place!

www.5minutesformom.com

The TV is from Best Buy. www.bestbuy.com

Welcome to my new niece!

Most of you who read this blog already know the exciting news...we have a new family member!  My niece, Olivia Claire Guinan, daughter of my sister Heidi and her husband, Jeph, was born this afternoon.  We have been waiting for her since Thanksgiving Day and she is finally here.  :) Now, we are anxiously awaiting a few pictures to be emailed to us as soon as SOMEONE can get home to download them!!! :)  We are really excited about being able to see her in person and hold her in about 15 days when we go there on our vacation.

She was due to be born tomorrow which would have made her "birthday buddies" with Liam, my son who turns 6 tomorrow but she decided she would rather have her own birthday and came today!  It turns out that she was born in the room right next door to the room where Liam was born in the same hospital 6 years ago!  So, I guess they can be "birthday neighbors" instead!

We love you, Olivia!

Love,

Aunt Tara, Uncle Michael and your very excited cousins Alley, Liam and Dresden

Happy Birthday to Michael!

  As usual, I posted the pictures in reverse order of what I intended...Oh well.   The first picture is Michael helping to construct an arch at Science City, the next is Michael and the kids in a "newsroom", the next is them touching a display, and the others are from our dinner out.

Monday, July 16th, was Michael's 32nd birthday. He worked Sunday night and got home around 7 am Monday so he spent most of the daytime sleeping. After he got up, we all got ready and we went to eat a quick dinner at Culver's, a hamburger place just across the Missouri state line. It has become a favorite of ours over the last few months because they have these meals called Snak Packs which include a hamburger, crinkle fries and a drink for only $2.99. It seems to be just the right amount of food for us and the price is right! Since it was Michael's birthday and he loves ice cream more than cake, we got a 4 scoop dish of their wonderful frozen custard and Michael and the kids chose the topping...chunks of cookie dough! They gave us 5 spoons and we all shared. Next time we will know to only get 2 0r 3 scoops because 4 was more than enough after eating a meal. After that, we headed to downtown Kansas City to Union Station. Science City is inside of Union Station and we had never been there before. We decided to make this part of the birthday celebration because they were having a free family night. It was a little more crowded for that reason but the kids still had a blast. I would love to go back on a weekday when most other kids are in school and be able to experience it more fully without all the chaos!

A Good Find

Sometimes I am amazed at the way God provides things I didn't even know I really wanted or needed and definitely didn't pray for. A little more than a week ago, the family in the apartment 2 floors below us moved out and left several items on their patio. I didn't think much of it at first, thinking they might be back to get them but when the next weekend passed and they were still there, I noticed that among the things was an organizing cart on wheels. It was white with black tubs stacked 6 high with each tub making a drawer. I immediately thought of all my rubber stamping and craft supplies that were taking 2 whole drawers in my filing cabinet as well as a couple of boxes in the corner of the room. I first asked one of the girls in the office if it was going to be thrown away. She said she didn't know after being gone on vacation all week and that I should check back on Monday. So, on Monday I called the office and got the assistant manager. She said they are supposed to store things left for 30 days before disposing of them but she would check with the manager for me. I went to check our mailbox shortly before the office closed so I popped in there and asked her. She said the manager said to take it if I wanted it. So, I carried it up 2 flights of stairs and then washed all 6 tubs in the bathtub and then scrubbed the outside part in the shower. I took the whole thing out to our balcony to air dry. This morning I filled it up-paper in one drawer, ink pads, markers, pastels and colored pencils in another, dry embossing and wax supplies in another, 2 drawers for stamp sets and the top tub is open so I put things I need to get to more often in there, like my paper cutter, a small amount of white paper, envelopes, and all my little tools like scissors and adhesives. The best part is that it fits nicely in the same corner and I can find everything quickly and easily! It even rolls so I can roll it to the table and have everything in arms reach!

Dresden

I have been meaning to write more about Dresden since she seems to change by the minute sometimes and I don't want to forget all the cute things she is doing! But as usual, I am behind in what I want to get done!

* She likes to talk on the phone and has started saying " ello!" first thing..she sounds very British!

* She now says "Awrigh" when I ask her to do something. It sounds much more grown up than her former "O-tay" and I am sure that is why she switched!

* She likes to try to eat those famous summer-time popsicles in a plastic sleeve but can't quite figure out how to push it up as she eats it. She handed one to me one day last week and I pushed it up and then took a little bite and she frowned and said, "He-ey...don' eat!" One of her first complete sentences.

* She is very determined to do things herself, like buckle her carseat, put on her shirt, and even change her own diaper even though she is usually unsuccessful in her attempts. She is always saying, "I twy! I twy!" I usually let her give it a shot, unless I am in a big hurry!

* She loves the water at the pool and doesn't seem to be a bit afraid

* She is figuring out the Sit N Spin.

* She is speaking in more and more 3 word sentences, even if they aren't all completely understandable.

* She is learning to count and almost has the first 10 numbers down. She also tries to sing the ABC song, more by inflecting her voice with the song than saying the actual letters.

* If we ask her how old she is, she holds up two fingers and says, "I FWEE!" She knows she is really two and gets a big kick out of our reaction when she pronounces herself a year older! I guess that universal childhood desire to be older starts earlier than I realized!

Overall, she is a joy to our lives. She is always doing something new that we all find incredibly cute and funny. She loves to dance and jump and gallop across the room and she has lately started holding her thumb and pointer fingers on each hand in a sideways V near her eyes and "snapping" pictures of all of us!

One of the Best Things about Living in Kansas City!

Miscellaneous

I feel like I have only written summary-type blog posts lately, with everything going on but I guess that is better than nothing!  Besides, I know all you really care about are the photos!

 So, in summary...

Alley has been trying to learn to ride a bike without training wheels which is a little difficult with us living in an apartment but we were able to give her some practice time at my Grandpa's house last week.  She did pretty well...in the grass!  Maybe next time we can venture out onto the driveway!  Dresden received a small bike as a gift so she wouldn't be left out of the bike and scooter riding there and she thought she was on top of the world!

The kids and I had a "Fun Day" with my Aunt and Uncle last Friday.  We were all getting over colds, but were feeling much better than we had been, so we thought a day out would be good.  We had lunch at McDonalds and then headed out to a park about 20 minutes from here to play on the little beach area next to a little lake.  They said they liked it because there weren't many people there.  We got there and found 2 vans full of kids from a day camp there!  But they were only there part of the time and then we had the sand and the water (and the lifeguard) to ourselves.  That was nice until it started sprinkling!  It didn't last long but we had already gathered our things so we stopped for a few minutes at a playground and then headed home.

Michael has recently been placed on the "on-call" rotation at work and so far it hasn't been too bad.  He has to answer a company cell phone and sometimes find a replacement to cover a shift but he gets paid for each turn he takes. 

I have started taking a ladies Bible study on Wednesday nights at church called The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace.  We are only a few chapters into it but I am enjoying it so far.  It is challenging and I think it will get more so but I know that's a good thing!  We are learning that after God, our ministry to our husband is to be our greatest priority.  I have also been reading a book by Sally Clarkson called The Mission of Motherhood (which I highly recommend) but since it focuses on the great responsibility and privilege it is to be a mother, I have felt torn!  It just reminds me that the only way I can ever hope to do even some of what I should be doing for my husband and my children is by God's grace alone! 

Vacation Bible School is starting next week for us and the kids are getting excited.  I have volunteered to help but don't know yet where I will be working.  I am looking forward to being there but not looking forward to using all the extra gas required in making several more round trips to church than usual, since we live about 20 minutes from there!

The day after VBS is over, our good friend, Jon, is flying in for a long weekend visit.  We haven't seen him since December so we are looking forward to having him around for a few days and to taking him out to experience some legendary Kansas City BBQ!

Tonight we have a meeting of our church home fellowship group and I need to get off the computer, get Dresden down for a nap and decide what finger food I want to take!  Have a good weekend!

Update

I knew it had been awhile since I posted anything but I didn't realize how long until I checked my blog a minute ago!  I have to admit that sometimes I put off posting because I don't want to take the time to download and resize my pics and I know posts with pics are much more interesting!  I need to be better at taking the time to do this!  Of course, my life with three kids can get rather hectic at times and that is another cause of my lack of posts!

Since last time....

* Our church had a Taco Dinner/silent auction to raise money for the mission trip to Juarez Mexico that some are taking later this summer and I made 8 stamped cards with envelopes to donate to the auction.  Three people bid on them and they sold for $18.

* The kids and I drove WAY out in Kansas (about 45 miles one way) to a buffalo ranch with some other homeschoolers and we learned some interesting things about the buffalo and got to see their herd up close.  The kids also got to taste buffalo jerky and summer sausage.

* Later that evening, we went to a family picnic for our homeschool group and Michael was actually able to attend, thanks to his new and improved schedule.  It was nice to put whole  families together since the kids and I ususally just see the other moms and kids.

* We had our pastor and his family over for dinner and we had a nice few hours of visiting.  It was nice to have a few hours to get to know them better and I was able to introduce his wife to the fun art of dry embossing and she is excited about doing it.   It also inspired me to get my templates out and use them again.  :)

* The kids and I went to the home of a homeschooling family in our group for a demonstration on the process of growing wheat to making bread.  They each got their own little ball of dough to knead and shape.  It was fun and we got to eat lots of yummy homemade bread right from the oven!  It's always fun, too, to see the place where each family does their work and what they have on the walls, etc. 

* Later that evening, we attended another picnic at the next shelter house over from the homeschool picnic, this one was with some people from church to say goodbye to a family in our church who is moving to Germany with the Army in a couple of weeks.  We left early and went straight to our flock group (home fellowship group) from church.

* On Memorial Day, we drove out to the cemetery where some of my great grandparents are buried to see all the flags that line their streets.  It is an amazing sight.

* Last Tuesday the kids and I went to my grandma's house and I went shopping at the thrift store near her house, BY MYSELF, and was able to find a few skirts and a dress for Alley as well as a few new summer things for me.

We didn't have any real plans for this last weekend so enjoyed just being at home for the most part.  Tomorrow I have to take Dresden to the dentist because one of her "new teeth" (caps) that she just had put on in April came off while I was brushing her teeth last week.  On Wednesday, the kids and I are going to have lunch and visit with my grandparents and then there is a book sale I might go to that evening.  We have home fellowship group again this Friday night.  Life just keeps on going!

The Personal Hand of God

In our "school" here at home, we use several different books that I have chosen, most from different authors and publishers.  We don't use a pre-packaged curriculum so that makes it even more awesome when our lessons tie beautifully together, in a way that only God could orchestrate.  We have been going through Susan Hunt's book "Discovering Jesus in Genesis" for our Bible lessons/discussions and we usually read the story on Monday and then discuss different parts of the story, making application to our lives through the other days of the week.  We have also been going through a series of books called Hero Tales as our history over most of this year.  I usually don't read ahead in these books, I just know how much we usually cover in a day and a week and we move through them together.  Earlier this week, we read several short stories in Hero Tales about Eric Liddell, the Christian Scottish Olympic athlete who lived in the early 1900s.  Then today, I decided (which was not at all normal) to move to the next story in the Genesis book, feeling that we had thoroughly discussed everything in the story we read on Monday and should go ahead to the next.  The kids were a little surprised to get two stories in a week but glad too, since they love this book.  We were reading along and suddenly Eric Liddell was mentioned in the midst of this Bible lesson/story!  The kids' eyes lit up when they realized the connection.  I love it when this happens and they are able to see that everything does tie together.  I asked them if they thought it was neat that in God's plan, we were reading about Eric Liddell in two different books during the very same week and I used it as a chance to once again remind them that He is sovereign over every detail of our lives, even down to what chapters of what books we read and when we read them!

Also this week we were going through a book called "The Giraffe that Walked to Paris" which is a children's picture book based on a true story of a giraffe that was given to the King of France in 1827 and had to walk from Marseilles, France to Paris.  First the giraffe had to travel by ship from Egypt to France and during our discussion of that book we learned about the sea being "becalmed", a word they had never heard before.  Then today in our reading about Christopher Columbus, we saw that word in a drawing of a page of Christopher Columbus' travel log and they knew what it meant!  It was such an encouragement to be reminded, even in small ways, that God knows what they need to learn and He will make sure they learn it and I just have to trust Him.

Teaching My Children

I have been pondering much about home education lately, mostly because I have spent much of the last 2-3 months researching and planning and buying curriculum for the upcoming year and also attending the local homeschool conference and book fair.  I have taken in a great deal of wonderful information and encouragement and I have been planning on writing a post about these discoveries that the Lord has brought across my path.  This weekend I attended a women's conference at my church where we were reminded that "it's all about God and His glory and it's NOT about us!"  With that in mind, I came home from the conference and sat down to catch up on email and blogs and I came across a couple of blog posts regarding the age -old debate about homeschooling, the good and the bad.  Arguments on both sides were laced with the usual Scriptures and justifications.  I find it very sad that this is even a debate.  It should be a no brainer that we should desire and pursue a  godly and Biblical education for our children if we are desiring to bring Him glory in our lives and to teach our children to do the same.  It is not my desire to preach or be a Nazi-homeschooler who can do nothing but attack non-homeschoolers but I do believe great consideration should be given to the great weight of responsibility it is to be parents and our educational choice should never be taken lightly. 

First of all, EVERY parent and EVERY child are "homeschoolers".  My daughter just turned 2 last week.  Let me tell you, she has learned ALOT in the last 24 months and she hasn't set one foot inside of a public school!  Before you laugh that off, think!  Haven't you taught your children many, many things since they came home from the hospital as a newborn?  Even if your kids are in school of some kind, I'll bet you are still teaching them something at home, right?  You answer their questions on the weekends, don't you?  You read to them, you show them how to fold their clothes, make their bed, write their name.  And even public school advocates who are Christians agree that it is their job to teach their children about God and His Word and His character.  They usually ackowledge that that is not the duty of the school.  What I don't understand is why they think God puts academics in a different category.  God is the Alpha and the Omega, He is the Creator of ALL things and everything exists for His glory.  There is no neutral education-it is either God-focused and God-honoring or it is against Him.  My children would be missing so much in a public school classroom where they don't get to hear about God's almighty hand in the events of history or His wonderful design and purpose for every plant and animal He has made.  For me, this "debate" is about so much more than an educational, academic choice, it is a lifestyle.

When I was at the recent homeschool conference I went to a seminar about character building.  I was reminded and convicted again about the importance of specifically including this in what we give our time to each day, weekday or weekend.  When Alley was 4 yrs old and we were in Germany, I did about 30 minutes of "school" with her each day to prepare her for a more involved routine the next year.  I found a list of character qualities listed out and defined on the internet and I picked one per month and printed it up and posted it on the wall so we could see it, review it and try to apply it together.  I did a few like this and then we travelled back to the States and life got crazy for awhile and the focus on character fell by the wayside.  God was faithful and I think He continued to teach my children things about character just by observing life but at this seminar I was convicted about making it a more prominent part of our focus again.  The Scripture that was used was 2 Peter 3:5, where we are taught to supplement our faith (a gift from God) with virtue (or character) and to supplement our virtue with knowledge and our knowledge with self-control and it goes on.  As I said before, all knowledge is God's knowledge and this verse seems to be clear that our character should proceed our knowledge.  It wouldn't do anyone any good if we had children who were all top-scholars but they were dishonest, selfish, greedy, etc.  Now, you may object that you can add character training to your child's life regardless of where they learn their academic studies and it's true that you can try but you cannot deny the fact that they are spending many hours per day out of your sight where you are unable to see what character they are displaying and what areas need work.  One of the reasons I love homeschooling is that if I see a heart attitude in my children that needs attention, I can stop and deal with it right then and THEN move on to math and science.  This also teaches them what is most important, their heart towards God.  Yes, I want them to learn much about God's wonderful world but I want them to love the Lord their God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength and to know and love His Word MORE than I want them to be able to do calculus.  If I tell my children that reading is better and more important than watching TV but I get up every morning and turn the TV on and leave it on all day and they only see me reading a magazine while I wait at the doctor's office, will they believe that reading is more important to me?  If our whole lives are arranged to accomodate the schedule and practices of a public school where they go and only hear God's name said in vain, will they believe that acquiring godly character is more important than the grade on their math test or how popular they are among the other kids?  The same passage in 2 Peter 1, beginning with verse 3, tells us that "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence."  To me, this sounds like God has already made sure my kids have what they need for life and godliness...HIM!  The question is...do I believe it??  This doesn't mean I sit back and ignore academics but it does mean that I must keep them in proper perspective.  This verse in 2 Peter is one of my husband's favorite verses and I think, as I have recently been pondering it, that this entire passage is a wonderful passage in support of teaching your own children.  Of course, if you don't like the idea of "homeschooling", I am sure it won't take long to come up with a reason why it doesn't apply but that's between you and God.  I know that the best way I can teach my kids about God is by living it out in everything we do.  In our school day, we always do Bible first and then move on to other subjects but sometimes it seems like we are doing Bible all day because God's name is mentioned constantly as we learn about every subject through the lens of His ways.

There is much I could say to defend Deut 6 or I could talk about why we shouldn't expect our little 5 year olds to be equipped to be salt and light when it's still really hard for us as adults or I could try the danger and drugs tactic but really it comes down to whether or not we want to teach our kids (and ourselves) to love God first or to fit Him in where we can.  We are all learning and growing together each day.  Our kids learn by watching us deal with real life and watching God sanctify us.  And really, there is nothing greater than watching the lights come on when your child realizes he is reading or when they want to do a spelling bee just because its fun or when they beg for another history story!  Think back to when that little newborn came home to your house.  It seems like they should still not even be able to sit up, right?  Well, before we know it, they will be driving and then in college and then on their own and we won't be able to go back and do it again.  We only get one chance to instill these things into the deepest part of who they are.

One last verse to ponder: Proverbs 23:26 "My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways."  This jumped out at me the other day and I realized that it is not wrong to want my kids to have me and my husband as their examples.  This doesn't mean we are perfect...far from it, but it's much better they learn about life and God from us than from the nine year old they sit next to on the school bus.  And we should never fool ourselves into thinking we still have their heart after so much time each day is invested in a world where we and God have no part.

P.S. I wrote the above and saved it for my husband to read before I posted it and then I came across yet another blog responding to the much-mentioned post by KimC and I had to add this:  the debate about Christians and their educational choices could go on for ever, each side participating in division matching their desire to be "right" and get their point heard.  The purpose of my post here is to share my viewpoint, as gently as I can, but I want to make one thing clear.  I know what I believe the Bible says regarding parents and children and I know what obedience to that looks like in my life and NOTHING is going to convince me otherwise.     When you are really sure of something, the opinions of others fade away and don't matter at all.  I know there are people around me who think I'm crazy for homeschooling but I really don't care what they think.  All I care about is God's opinion. I find that I am swayed by the opinions of others when I doubt what I am thinking or doing but when I am truly convicted about something, I stand firm, in His strength.

In closing, we are blessed to be part of a church that is committed enough to Christian education that they started a Christian school several years ago, at great sacrifice, to give their families a place to send their kids where Christ was pre-eminent.  At this time, teaching our children ourselves is still best for us for many reasons but I take great comfort in knowing that if something ever happened to me, there are Christ-honoring schools out there where my husband could send our kids if he was not able to work and teach them , where they would be surrounded in their formative years by godly people and taught the Word of God.  I think the real issue, and the real dividing line in this debate, is not between homeschoolers and all others but between those who value a Christian education through homeschooling OR Christian school and those who think a Christian education is optional.

Happy Birthday, Dresden!

I realize this is a few days late but I thought you would still enjoy some pictures of our celebrations of Dresden's second birthday on May 3. 

We had pizza (peet-zah as she calls it) for lunch and I made chocolate cupcakes.  We had these right after lunch, around 1:30, before Michael had to get ready for work.  After he left around 3:30, the kids and I headed over to my grandparent's house to share some cupcakes with them.  My aunt and uncle ended up meeting us at Culver's, a hamburger place,  for dinner together and then we all returned to Grandpa and Grandma's for presents and cupcakes.  Dresden didn't really understand what was going on exactly but she loved all the attention and smiled great big when she heard us all sing her name in "Happy Birthday".  She got several nice gifts from several family members, including clothes, toys, books and the new Charlotte's Web movie, which she calls "pig".

Here are some pictures of her taken over the last couple weeks.  What a little personality!

Good Stuff

Things have been crazy around here the last couple of weeks...we have had sickness, dental surgery, a homeschool conference, dental appointments, as well as some spring organizing of our home and schedule.  It seems every day has been packed full but the good news is that God has been faithful in giving me several opportunities to learn more about Him and His Word in the midst of the craziness and I have been convicted and encouraged in many ways.  I want to share more of these details and I hope to over the next week or so when I have the time to sit and blog. 

For tonight, I just want to get down some of the cute things Dresden has been saying and doing lately before I forget them (since this blog actually gets written in from time to time and it is all too easy to let the baby book sit on the shelf!)  Anyway, her vocabulary has really grown lately and she gives most words a try.  She also seems to understand pretty much everything we say to her and does her best to communicate back to us.  She has been calling Liam "mi" for the last few weeks, which I am assuming is part of Liam backwards!  She has learned to open the dvd player and place the desired dvd into the proper place for it to be the one played when the tray is closed and also how to close the tray and hand the remote to one of us.  She LOVES to be outside and usually wants to go with me when I take the dog out.  Her newest phrase is "I tired" which she says slowly and with a suprisingly strong southern accent so it sounds more like "I tard".  She has also started saying "sorry" which sounds more like "sawwy" but at least she is trying!  She recently had dental surgery and now wants to show off her new "pretty teef".  Her second birthday is one week from today...hard to believe!

Updates

Please keep praying for us...this is a weird sickness because all three kids felt fine and acted fine and then out of the blue lost their lunch again but then seemed pretty much okay after that.  We all decided to stay home from church this morning because even Michael and I weren't feeling exactly right last night.  Thankfully, the night was normal for all.  Being well is especially important because tomorrow afternoon is Dresden's dental work and she will be going under anesthesia for the procedure and she cannot be sick or it will have to be postponed again and I really don't want that.  She can eat and drink normally up until 7am and then only clear fluids until noon and then nothing until after the surgery which is scheduled for 3:15 pm. Please pray that she doesn't get too grumpy and that all goes well.

I am coming along in my curriculum choices and purchases.  I attended a used curriculum/book sale yesterday and found several good things, and even came across a couple of things that I think will sell well on ebay which will help me make back some of what I spent, which wasn't much anyway, but every dollar counts!  I am looking forward to the Homeschool Conference next weekend and the new book fair there also.  I have only a few things left on my list to purchase and if I don't find what I am looking for there, I will then be checking out my remaining options.  I am looking forward to this coming year.  I think each year gets more exciting as my kids can understand more and more and I see them learning and progressing.  It is still a huge challenge and responsibility but one I wouldn't change for anything.

In light of that, I have to share a question Alley asked me yesterday.  For a little background, Alley has been wanting to spell words spelling bee fashion lately so I found a list of second grade spelling bee words on the internet this week and we have been going through them.  Liam can actually spell several of them, too.  Anyway, on the way home from the book sale yesterday, Alley says, "Mom, I know it's Saturday but can we please do some spelling words this afternoon?"  Just what a homeschooling mom wants to hear!  :)

Even Dresden took a turn spelling...she was watching Alley and Liam getting up on their little step stool to take their turn at spelling and then she climbed up there and looked at us very confidently and said, ".......E........E.." and then clapped for herself, complete with some excited squeals!  Very cute and funny.

Sickies

We, once again, have sick people in our house.  Around 3 am on Tuesday Alley came to me and said her tummy hurt.  She didn't quite make it all the way to the bathroom before losing the contents of her stomach which left me with a mess to clean up at 3am.  She continued to be sick throughout the next several hours and Michael woke up around 7:00am  saying he felt sick.  We pretty much determined that it was likely food poisoning because Michael and Alley were the only ones who had eaten a particular kind of Easter candy the evening before and the rest of us were fine all day.  Alley slowly improved and was able to keep liquids down by the end of the day but Michael was in bed all day not feeling well at all.  We finally decided we should take him to an urgent care clinic because I was getting a little concerned about him.  We loaded up in the rain and headed over there but by the time we got to the clinic, he was feeling a marked improvement and didn't want to go in and incur a charge for no reason.  He was still weak and not completely well but his stomach was no longer hurting.  This was an answer to prayer. We went home and he went to bed.  I think the food poisoning diagnosis was not right however, because a few hours later, after going to bed, Dresden woke up sick and an hour later, Liam was sick as well.  I am fine so far, thankfully, but I had a long night running from one kid to the other and back again and getting more towels and damp rags and all of that.  I managed a few cat naps but was only half sleeping waiting for the next need.

So far today, Dresden seems completely fine.  She has kept down some fluids and is playing and happy like her usual self.  Liam is on the couch watching videos and trying to keep his mind busy and off the fact that he is not feeling well.  Alley is better but not 100% back to normal.  She has eaten a few crackers and drank a cup of Sprite.  Michael is at work but is not 100% either.  He is weak and doesn't seem completely like himself yet.  Please keep all of them in your prayers and me too, as I take care of them and do the mounds of laundry that they have created!

On another note, I recently stumbled upon a fun website for parents called www.parenthacks.com and it has all kinds of great ideas for parents and sometimes links to other cool sites.  I just saw on there today a link to another site that showed how one family took an old entertainment cabinet and with great creativity turned it into a play kitchen for their little girl.  There are pictures and it looks great and they said total cost was around $40 for the few things they had to buy.  Very creative idea.

Three egg hunts-church brunch-worship-lunch at Grandma's-fun

A few days ago, in the book Alley and I are reading together, telegrams were mentioned and the characters had only 10 words to convey several important facts to someone else far away.  In the car yesterday on the way home from my Grandma's, we came up with our own "telegram" to descibe our Easter weekend so I decided to make it the title of this blog.

On Friday, we gathered with several homeschool families and had a play time/craft time/egg hunt and they had lots of fun.  No pictures of that since I forgot my camera.  Friday night we attended a Good Friday service at our church where I was asked to read a passage of Scripture.  Don't worry--I survived!  A little over 12 hours later, we were back at church for the kids Egg Hunt.  First, all the kids decorated bags and then we did the hunt.  The toddlers got the sanctuary and the hall outside to themselves so they would not be run over by a herd of bigger kids rushing to the eggs.  By this time, Dresden had caught on to this idea of hunting eggs so she thought she had hit the jackpot when she saw eggs lining the walls in the hall and she tried to grab as many as she could!  The games came next and since it was more than a little chilly outside, we played inside and needless to say there was quite a mess to clean up!  But great fun was had by all!

We spent the rest of the day at home preparing for the next day.  On top of the usual Saturday chores of ironing clothes and supervising the kids' baths,  I boiled, peeled and pickled 2 dozen eggs, a Burton family tradition.  I made extra so that I could make one dozen of them into deviled eggs for our brunch at church on Sunday morning.  They turned out very pretty and tasted pretty good, too.  (Picture below)  Our church had a very nice brunch in place of Sunday school and the sanctuary was full during worship.  After church, we headed up to my Grandma's house for yet another egg hunt and lunch.  There were various relatives and friends there during the course of the afternoon and much good food and candy, too.  We headed home around 6:30 and tried to relax as much as possible for the remainder of the evening.  It was a nice weekend, celebrating the resurrection of our Lord together.

Enjoy the pictures!