Do you know where your daughter is?
Mine is at the dining room table doing school. Reading, math, spelling, piano are routinely all done before breakfast.
(Brothers sleep until they are cajoled out of bed.)
It’s 6:30 AM,
Homeschooling for LIFE
One of the best things about homeschooling is picking our children’s curriculum. I believe the LORD has led most of our decisions about curriculum. I do review the books, I do ask people’s experiences, but mostly I just pray. I don’t like curriculum that is secular, or “nothing.” With the exception of two early “begin-to-read-and-use-language-books” and our Maps, Charts, Graphs series, ALL of our curriculum, even our ARITHMETIC is now Christ-centered. Oh, there is good “plain” stuff available. But WHY would I use it when I can use books that point us to the Creator and the Savior? (That is a rhetorical question.)
Hands down, in my opinion, the BEST books we use are our Rod and Staff English Language curriculum. Review after review finds it strong and relentless. Because the Mennonite education is groomed to be completed at an earlier age that tradition American education the publishers pack a lot more meat into the books at a quicker and less forgiving rate. Each level is written as a spiral. For example, all of my kids are working on verbs at the moment and stepped intervals. It grows each year. 
It is so impressive to me. My kids are learning things I NEVER learned in 12 years of public school. And I was in all the enriched English classes, from third grade on. I can promise you I NEVER learned transitive, intransitive, and intransitive complete. I never learned how to diagram and can not tell you how much more of a command of the English language I have at 40 than I did at 20. 
I never, ever, ever, ever knew the difference between lay and lie. And I can tell you that most people I come in contact with at work (co-workers and patients) do not have command of this either.
So is that why I love this curriculum?
Nope.
I love this curriculum because deep down, none of that stuff really matters. I managed a Masters degree. I married a dear man God chose for me. I am enjoying a relationship with Christ that I never anticipated. I have 5.625 children whom I love profoundly. Understanding predicate nominatives and gerunds and dependent clauses are not REALLY that important.
But these publishers remembers what is. Besides the fact that lesson after lesson uses Bible history as the material to work with they also include REAL LIFE LESSONS… like this!
All of the above photographs were taken from Rod and Staff Building Christian English Series – Building Securely, Grade 7, by Rod and Staff Publishers, Crockett, Kentucky.
Fun week –
It was almost two weeks ago now, but I can’t skip the chance to share photos from our week of fun. It was just one of those things that lead to having a week FULL of activities. It was the 10th week of this school year and as good a time as any to squeeze in fun (much of which counted as school)!
Tuesday the girls had a field trip to a stable in Springwater to work toward their Horsemanship badge for American Heritage Girls. While the miniature horses were fascinating, it was the barn cats that got the boys’ attention. Hanny was tickled by the goats.
Wednesday was our regular morning at CBS. See Hanny in her class? She is singing and gently caring for her baby doll.
Then we went with our friends to Pizza Hut to celebrate two of their birthdays,
complete with cupcakes.
Thursday found the oldest three heading to Dayton’s Corners Schoolhouse in Penfield. This is a late 1800-early 1900 school house that I got to visit for a field trip “back in the day.” (No – not the early 1900s!) They had to dress in period clothing and back an authentic lunch. We put milk in mason jars,
wrapped our muffins in dish towels,
packed rolls, cheese chunks, and hard-boiled eggs. (The latter was Marie’s idea. She is so clever!)
Grapes also went in a jar.
We did cheat and put a bag of ice in the bottom of the bucket. It was 70 degrees that day!
The little girls and I went to the Strong Museum. It had been 365 days since we had been there last and the girls had SO much fun. Johanna ricocheted from activity to activity. Tabitha could have used about 2 more hours there.
Thursday I also squeezed in my ultra sound. Heh. It wasn’t all a barrel-o’-laughs.
Friday was Nan’s birthday. Aunt Betty came down from Canada and we enjoyed the weather with an afternoon trip to the zoo.
Later in the day we had KFC and cake at our house.
Saturday evening Ba and Poppy came for dinner to celebrate THEIR birthdays…
It was a BUSY, FUN, week.
And I remembered to take photos along the way!
Narnians and pie
We have no long-standing tradition for October 31st.
Sometimes we do things like convalesce from H1N1. And other years I research methotrexate online.
In days gone by we have had Praise Parties… but those went the way of the passenger pigeon.
The last two years we’ve done zero. Zilch. Nada.
This year our church decided to host a Harvest Party and after deliberating for a while we decided we’d go. We asked the kids to brainstorm about costumes. They have a really cool opportunity a lot of smaller families do not have; they can pick a theme and really work it. I suggested going as different colored crayons. Nigel suggested going as football players. Then they got it.
They were the Pevensies and Aslan.
And honestly, it was one of my favorite moments as a mom to see them dressed like this together. Yes, I know. But that is how much I love Narnia. Oh, yeah, and how much I love my kids. 😉
I had signed up to man a game and Nan helped me.
The kids played lots of different games and hung out with some friends. They also LOVED the maze our piano teacher/worship leader built in the lower level of the church. We also “enjoyed” the fire alarm that caused us to evacuate the building temporarily…
But I have to say one of the highlights of the night was seeing my kids’ reactions when they realized I was the mystery contestant for the pie eating contest.
Yes. You read that right…
A few weeks ago it popped into my head that it would be so-stinking-hysterical for me to do the pie-eating contest. First, I have never, ever done anything like that. Second, no one would EVER expect ME to do something like that. Third, I loved the idea of surprising and delighting my kids with the absurdity of such a thing. Fourth – there aren’t many opportunities to be silly and crazy at my age and the idea of passing up a moment like that seemed wasteful.
So – when the game host introduced the contestants I proudly donned my garbage bag and took my seat alongside two teenaged boys, a teenaged girl, and a man about my age. He joked it wasn’t fair as I was eating for two. 😉
I could hardly stop laughing long enough to even try to eat. We had two minutes to eat as much pie as possible. When the hostess proclaimed “One minute,” I thought I was going to die. It felt like I’d been there 10 minutes already. It was really sweet and thick.
Seeing my kids’ faces as I had sat down was more than I could have hoped for. Tabitha’s face was just overflowing with LOVE. She just had the sweetest face of adoration I have ever seen. Marie looked so happy and hopeful. She and Nigel had both wanted to join the contest but the minimum age is 13. Nigel looked amazed. Stewart told me later he felt bad for me. He thought I was going to embarrass myself. Must be a 12-year-old thing.
I would just get my laughing under control and get a few bites in when I would hear one of my kids yell, “Faster, Mom! Faster!” or “Stop laughing, Mom. EAT!” Or my mom yell, “Come on, Momma!” And I’d start cracking up again.
I didn’t win. But that was never my goal.
An added bonus was the faces of so many of my friends… wide-eyed disbelief is the best description I can think of.
60% of the way through our pregnancy…
And how 100% is no longer our goal…
Normally, I am all about making it to my due date. When Marie was 4 days early I was considerably disappointed. Perhaps that was because of Nigel’s VERY early arrival. But more likely, it is because of my type-A personality.
But these days… my goal is 85% (a/k/a 34 weeks), although I’d love 90% or better!
Last Thursday I had my follow-up ultrasound and meeting with the perinatologist . And I don’t know if it was just a case of me hearing what I wanted to hear or what, but I left there not terribly concerned at all. Maybe it was denial. But Friday morning I got to meet with my OB and we talked a lot more about where we were.
The fluid in my womb is just as much as when I had Nigel in 2002. Our polyhydramnios did not go away. What is different about 2002 and now is in 2002 the baby’s kidneys were of concern and his legs measured two different lengths. That made three things of concern and three is a magic number where they start considering syndromes, etc., etc. Ducky looks fabulous and is offering no concerns which is, of course, wonderful. We still get to avoid extra testing and the stresses that accompany them.
HOWEVER… Nigel wasn’t born at 32 weeks because of faulty kidneys (they are fine) or because of uneven legs (if they’re uneven we can’t tell) but because of the fluid trouble. And that is what we have here again. 😦
So – in the nutshell, our prayer request is, are you ready for this? It is very deep and profound… our prayer request is that if it is God’s will, our baby will not die. Yup. I think that sums it up. It is certainly what the kids keep praying.
Once Nigel was born and in the NICU it was the universal belief of every involved provider that had I not had the U/S the day that I had it he would likely not have been alive even a day or two later. This opinion was not once refuted that I heard of. John and I believe completely that God’s hand and His timing were 100% responsible for that little boy (who teases his sisters, puts too much jam on his sandwiches and learns past participles) being here today.
We are praying again that His timing reigns.
We are not scared and that is a huge blessing. Huge. He and I were both scared to the point of tears in 2002. We have seen God *show up* so many, many, many times for our family in the past decade. We know what He can do. So we aren’t scared. But it isn’t fun to be walking this road again. Of all the things in our lives we would love to repeat, this would not have been one of them. But we are counting on our faithful Father.
So as much as I’d love to make it to 40 weeks, I’ve truncated my goal and am praying we make it to at least the 34 week mark. With Nigel, at 32 weeks we discovered the fluid was GONE. Likely used up and my body stopped making more. He had to come when he did. We are prayerful God will allow my body to sustain this little one longer this time. We strongly desire skipping the NICU and the other things that went along with that trial. And while we are at it, I’m praying boldly that I will be able to avoid a Caesarean delivery.
But mostly, I’m just praying our baby doesn’t die.
Due Date #2
There were no entries last week. We were too busy having fun. We flew from activity to activity and recorded them all on the camera and I will share them soon. But that isn’t what I woke up thinking about today. Today was due date number two. Last February 16th we learned of another Butler baby. Although the idea of a second miscarriage nagged greatly at my heart I worked hard not to give in to fear. And I wanted to celebrate the life we DID have with joy and thankful feelings. And I was excited for a few weeks.
And then, you know how the story goes… an ultrasound. A question of viability. A second ultrasound. A prognosis of loss. And through it all huge questions for God and huge battles with the Enemy and the doubts he wants us to succumb to.
Wednesday, March 7th my friend and I had taken our kids to Chuck E. Cheese as a reward day. We stayed well past lunch and I got home in time to meet the sitter who was going to watch the kids while I ran for the ultrasound. Our sweet baby was not quite the right size, and while his or her heart was beating, it was beating far to slow for the age we knew it was. The perinatologist was kind and honest. He suggested that this little one may not make it, but that we would look in one more week to see if the heart was just starting up.
On March 15th I headed back. And while the heart rate had increased a little it was no where near high enough for the age. I would miscarry. This extremely kind doctor gave me my Rhogam despite it not really being the role of an ultrasound office but saving me a return trip. Receiving compassion is just such an awesome feeling, isn’t it?
It is a pain that my very great doctor and very great perinatologist are so far from home. I joke that it is a long way to drive in labor, but really, it is an even longer way to drive home in grief.
About a week later it was all over. And then one night at work I found myself choking pack sobs as I had to erase all the weekly countdown from the calendar I keep in my work bag. I left the due date in the book. Not that I would forgot, but just to keep it a little bit real.
I read a really cool quote online a few weeks ago: “When a woman a child, she will do anything to protect him. When a woman has a miscarriage, she will do everything to protect his memory.”
Yup. That is how I feel anyway.
Isaiah 55:8 (NKJV)
“ For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
Psalm 34:18 (NIV)
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Which foods have starch?
I love Apologia Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology.
I wasn’t looking for it…
but I got my answer to a burning question…
Why have I been having heartburn on and off?
Some days it is unbelievable, and then I can go weeks without it occurring. About a month ago I emailed a few friends who have had more babies than I have and asked their experiences with heartburn. I got some great suggestions… and then it went away.
But it was back today. And today… it finally clicked.
Now – the irony is that I rarely indulge in this divine condiment. It is expensive and high in fat and calories. Eating for two, however, always grants me a little leeway in the comfort-food department, and this is the second jar I have purchased since August.
Sadly, I will enjoy it no longer. It isn’t worth the chest burning that troubles me the following day.
But come February… you had better believe it will find its way into my shopping cart at least one more time.
Resident wildlife …
Over the years we have had different animal groups take up residence and seemingly “claim” our yard as their own. The first year it was absolutely a deer haven. Other years we saw an abundance of ground hogs (yuck), or a prevalence of mice. Last fall we had entirely too many snakes. That was the worst animal season I can recall. We’ve seen other bunches of things as well.
John has worked the last two years to cull (a/k/a kill) the ground hog population. He has had my full support. We saw very, VERY few this year, and only early on in the summer. We have seen far less deer these last 12 months than all the other years we’ve been here. We believe construction on our neighbors’ property is the culprit.
What we did have this year was lots and lots of bunnies and squirrels. One mama bunny went so far as to make her nest in the garden by the front porch! Sadly, her offspring were killed quickly.
Two of the bunnies that we saw regularly earned the names Monica and Doug. There was a third large bunny that joined them mid-summer whose name we did not catch. But the kids and I seriously enjoyed their company all summer, often spotting them near the garden. They were caught IN the garden one day, but Tabitha scared them off quickly and found the hole for Daddy to patch.
Then… in September… we had a new friend come to live here. A fox. Yup. It seems that a yard full of bunnies and squirrels is very good real estate for a fox. We’ve seen him or her a LOT. In the front yard, in the back yard, down the private drive just far enough away from the neighbors’ dog. It is often in our hedge row along the private drive. It seems to behave in normal fox fashion and we aren’t concerned with rabies (at this point, anyway).
We haven’t seen Doug or Monica in at least two weeks. I hope their Realtor found them an alternative location…
Today we took some burnt biscuits out under a tree for the birds. That lent to a lot more out-the-window-watching for my crew. Around 9:00 A.M. Marie spotted our fox. I was able to grab the camera this time; the fox had been too fast up until now.
Can you see it?
Dayspring Disciples 