Sadie's Stories - a time of discoveries

This is a difficult post for me to write and also an important one. There are sometimes confusing moments in our parenting journey. We wonder how we got where we are. We have to face hard truths. And when we do, we discover rare beauties that we were missing.

As you will remember from a previous post, I purposed to take the time to read stories to Sadie all by herself for school. We have been enjoying our reading time tremendously.  So far we have read:

• The Poky Little Puppy
• Scuffy the Tugboat
• Little Bear
• Frog and Toad Together
• The Tawny Scrawny Lion
• The Animals of Farmer Jones

Most of these stories can be found in A Treasury of Little Golden Books.

Our reading time has done a very important thing for Sadie. She has been brought to the forefront of my life. Previously, she was child #4, with many mannerisms and habits I didn't understand, sometimes lost in the shuffle. I love her so much, but I'll admit that sometimes she was a source of frustration as well. She screamed over the tiniest things, used animal noises instead of words, and flung her arms around in a very odd way. As a mother, something didn't seem right to me. But I was unable to put my finger on anything specific. She didn't even crawl until about a year old, and at 4, even I couldn't understand everything she was saying. I couldn't understand the grunts and moans either.

YHVH has been gently tugging me for the last few weeks, about the time that we have been reading stories together. He has been encouraging me to do some research, to find out if maybe there is something I need to know about Sadie. He led me to a very unexpected place, but the more I read the more it seemed to fit. It looked like perhaps Sadie was struggling with asperger's syndrome or PDD. When I found out that my cousin had been diagnosed with PDD many years before, the pieces started coming together. We discovered that his treatment involving a special school among other things, had left him frustrated and ill equipped for life. The "professionals" can offer no cure, no medication.

After prayer, we feel the best help we can give Sadie is not a diagnosis, but a strong supportive family that will meet her where she is, whether she "officially" has asperger's or not. At the very least, we have a framework with which to understand her. When she crawls up in my lap and starts barking at me, I try to encourage her to use words to tell me what she needs. I try to give her a little extra love when she starts grunting and flailing her arms in frustration. We try to show a little more patience when she screams about the things that seem little to us. We have also begun a journey to change our diet. (Thank you Lusi, for the link.)

Suddenly, that time of reading and cuddling with Sadie has become a lifeline for us both. She gets so excited to point out farmer Jones in the picture. She tells me how the poky little puppy is going to dig under the fence again! We laugh together and snuggle and for a few moments, there is peace and calm and safety for her. We pray that with purposeful loving parenting, her days will be easier and she will learn to tell us all the amazing things that are going on in her head.

"Your child was made just right. Your child is beautiful. Your child does
not have defects and “problems.” Look at your child as being fearfully and
wonderfully made. Why am I saying this? Because sometimes we get
frustrated with our children. Sometimes we ask ourselves, “What is wrong
with them?” We need a fresh perspective. We need to be reminded that
YHVH made our child just right. Yes, they need work and training, but look
into their eyes and see what YHVH sees. Look at what they can become.
They are a diamond in the rough. Show them that they are just as valuable
as a diamond to you."

 

from The Children's Ketubbah Project

Our daughter is beautiful and wonderful, an excellent dancer. She loves to trace and color, and play with her little toy animals. She has a great smile and loves to help me with little jobs around the house. YHVH made her just right. She just needs a bit of extra help along the way.

Show your love

Show some love to your kids today

• give them a hug
• rub noses together
• go on a nature hike
• check the mail together
• make cookies
• play a game
• share a book
• listen to them
• give your daughters a fancy hairstyle
• make something
• help them clean their room
• write a note for them
• have a scavenger hunt
• post a scripture on their mirror
• take a picture of them
• pray for them
• tell them "I love you"

Photo Shoot

We had a photo shoot at our house the other day. Would you like to see some pics?

Rags, the old-fashioned way to curl your hair.

Why did we have a photo shoot?

Stay tuned to see the finished result!

Happy Summer Days

I'm so happy to see the kids entertaining themselves outside. We have huge willow trees in our pasture, which happen to drop a lot of deadwood every winter. We use some of it  for firewood during sukkot. But there is plenty more, so the kids have been building things with the help of some baling twine.

Here is the little house that they built.

This ladder is about 8 ft. tall. They tied the rungs on with baling twine.

And they even climb up and down on it! Be still my heart.

What fun things are your kids doing this summer?

Helpful posts

I ran across some blog posts this week that were a blessing to me. Perhaps you will find them helpful, too.


The Summer My Parents Turned Off the Computer

Can extended family impact a child's faith? My Mamu sure did!

Focused discipleship

Parenting takes real commitment. It takes some "on our knees" time. I want to do better and be more purposeful in guiding my children and teaching them scripture. Do you have ways that you share your faith with your children? Please share in the comments! I am anxious to grow in this area.

Chore grid

Most children's chore charts do not meet my expectations. I am sure my standards are too high lol. I am trying to teach my children how to properly do various jobs, but often, I find it easier to just do it myself. However, as my husband often reminds me, you cannot run a house of eight singlehandedly. My kids are willing to help, but they get frustrated if they think they are stuck with loading the dishwasher for the rest of their lives! So I found an easy way to rotate jobs, but only have one chart.

I made a list of all the jobs that need to be done to keep the house running smoothly. I probably missed some, but it's a good start. I then broke the jobs up into small portions. I didn't write "clean the bathroom" but broke it into scrub toilets, scrub sinks, scrub tub, sweep floor. Now all the jobs can be done in ten minutes or less. I have had to accept the fact that a poorly scrubbed toilet is better than a toilet not scrubbed. They will get better with practice and direction.

I opened up a spreadsheet and created a six day grid (no Sabbath.) I typed in all the jobs and color coded them. Purple is for everyone, turquoise is mom, red, yellow, green, and blue are kids' jobs. They pick a color at the beginning of the week and do, for example, all the red jobs for the week. Then they pick a different color the next week.

I have included a link to my chart below. It is specifically for our family, and includes scheduled baking. Feel free to use the idea to create one with your family's jobs. If someone else thought of this, well, great minds think alike. :)


Download chore grid here.

Torah parenting - Noah

Torah parenting - Noah

Noah found favor in YHVH’s sight. He was “a model child” for our purposes. How did YHVH deal with the good kid?

(Gen 6:8)  But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

(Gen 6:12)  And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

(Gen 6:13)  And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

(Gen 6:14)  Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

(Gen 6:15)  And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

(Gen 6:16)  A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

(Gen 6:17)  And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

(Gen 6:18)  But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.

(Gen 6:19)  And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

(Gen 6:20)  Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.

(Gen 6:21)  And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.

(Gen 6:22)  Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

First, I would like to point out that there was a very serious situation going on. YHVH was about to destroy the whole planet. But, since Noah was trustworthy and faithful, YHVH chose to share the details with him. Sometimes our children are in a position of maturity and trustworthiness where we can share burdens with them, and they can be of great help. They can pray with us and see prayers answered. They can help with extra work that must be done. And since they have been told why we are struggling, they are happy to pull their weight and be a help to the family. What a blessing this is! Don’t underestimate your children in a time of need. They want to feel that they are part of the team. They don’t need every single detail or financial statement. They just need enough to know that everyone has to pull together and pray together and trust YHVH.

As I read through the instructions for building the ark, a scene began to play out in my mind. We ask our child to clean the bathroom. When we check it twenty minutes later, we are shocked to see that it looks worse than when they started. This could be rebellion, but it could also be ignorance. Did we ever take the time to show them how to clean the bathroom? Did we help them practice until they could do it to our specs? YHVH gave Noah the details he needed to do the job right. He didn’t simply say, “Build an ark.” That would be the equivalent of us saying to our children, “Build a barn.” We need to take the time to give them training. We need to show them what we expect. We need to walk them through it until they have mastered it.

In summary:

1. Encourage your children to mature and be team players by letting them in on family struggles. Lessons in faith, hard work, and empathy are in store for them.
2. Take the time to train your child in household jobs. They need to know exactly what is expected of them. Hold their hand until they can do it themselves.

Torah parenting - Cain

Torah parenting - Cain

I am tempted to say that I am glad I do not have a son like Cain. But then I realize I must be very careful. A “Cain” could be waiting for me tomorrow. What can we learn from this very sad story?

Cain and Abel were different, with different personalities and tastes. Cain preferred working in the dirt, Abel preferred animals. But for some reason, Cain was found lacking. Let me just say that I don’t really think it matters what Cain did wrong, at least not for this purpose. The point is that we have a scenario where one child did well, and one child failed. How do we wisely handle this situation? Let’s take a look.

(Gen 4:1)  And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.

(Gen 4:2)  And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

(Gen 4:3)  And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.

(Gen 4:4)  And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

(Gen 4:5)  But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

(Gen 4:6)  And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

(Gen 4:7)  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

(Gen 4:8)  And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

(Gen 4:9)  And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?

(Gen 4:10)  And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.

(Gen 4:11)  And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;

(Gen 4:12)  When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

(Gen 4:13)  And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

(Gen 4:14)  Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

(Gen 4:15)  And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

(Gen 4:16)  And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

First of all, we see that YHVH did not make a big deal about Cain’s offering. He did not accept it, but there is no patronizing, harping, embarrassing, or belittling. Cain is the one who immediately develops a bad attitude. He pitches a fit, as it were, and YHVH then has to deal with him. Cain is not a five year old, so YHVH does not treat him as such. He talks to Cain man-to-man, which can be done with little boys sooner than many people think. He asks Cain to explain his attitude. Then He logically explains to Cain where his behavior will take him. If he chooses to do right, blessing will follow. If he chooses to do wrong, curses will follow. (Sounds a bit like Torah, doesn’t it?) Then He leaves Cain to make his own decision. (Ouch! That’s a risky one. Are we willing to let our children make their own decisions? Again, remember that Cain is no five year old. This level of parenting is much farther down the road.)

Fast forward: Cain has obviously made the wrong decision. He has murdered his own brother. Even now, YHVH does not approach Cain in a belittling manner. But He makes it clear, with no question, that Cain has messed up very badly, and the curse that follows is inevitable. We reap what we sow, and that will never change. Cain was warned, and did not heed that warning. Now he must pay for what he has done.

Our children must pay the consequences when they do wrong. We cannot bail them out. We cannot make their sin disappear. The beauty of parenting is that we can have some control over those consequences while they are learning. But we mustn’t remove those consequences, or they will follow a path with consequences we cannot save them from.

Cain begged for mercy, and YHVH graciously gave him some. But please notice that the punishment did not change at all. YHVH simply promised to avenge Cain if anyone killed him. (That does not bring me much comfort.) If only Cain had corrected his bad attitude at the beginning of the story!

To summarize:

1. We must address bad attitudes before they become bad actions.

2. We need to warn our children diligently that they will reap what they sow. Take the consequence right down to the end of the road for them, so they can begin to see the seriousness of sin.

3. Use natural consequences for punishment whenever possible. Rig them if necessary. Spanking is essential when natural consequences are unavailable or too dangerous to inflict. For example, spank your child to train them to obey your voice. You cannot risk them getting injured by ignoring you.

4. Patiently instruct your child as you discipline. We are only asked to discipline as a tool to help our children stay on the right path.

5. Avoid comparing children. Each is unique, and each struggles in different areas. Deal with each as an individual.


I hope you are finding this study as helpful as I am. I am reevaluating myself as I go along, and see much room for improvement. As always, happy Torah parenting!

Torah parenting - Adam and Eve

The theme of my website is "Torah family living." How can we apply Torah to everyday family life? What does the Torah say about parenting? Can we go beyond Deuteronomy chapter six, and the teaching that rebellious children are to be stoned? I think we can. But it might require a little thinking outside the box. :)

YHVH is our Heavenly Father, so it is not a stretch to say that He deals with us, the children of Israel, as a parent deals with children. Perhaps as we look at how He deals with His children, we can learn how to better deal with our children.

Our first stop is Genesis chapter 3, where we find the first sin.

(Gen 3:8)  And they heard the sound of Elohim walking about in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adand his wife hid themselves from the presence of Elohim among the trees of the garden.
(Gen 3:9)  And Elohim called unto Adand said to him, “Where are you?”
(Gen 3:10)  And he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid myself.”
(Gen 3:11)  And He said, “Who made you know that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
(Gen 3:12)  And the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I ate.”
(Gen 3:13)  And Elohim said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
(Gen 3:14)  And Elohim said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all livestock and more than every beast of the field. On your belly you are to go, and eat dust all the days of your life.
(Gen 3:15)  “And I put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed1. He shall crush your head, and you shall crush His heel.”
(Gen 3:16)  To the woman He said, “I greatly increase your sorrow and your conception – bring forth children in pain. And your desire is for your husband, and he does rule over you.”
(Gen 3:17)  And to the man He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘Do not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground because of you, in toil you are to eat of it all the days of your life,
(Gen 3:18)  and the ground shall bring forth thorns and thistles for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field.
(Gen 3:19)  “By the sweat of your face you are to eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are, and to dust you return.”

We've all been there. You walk into a room and see children with sticks, poised for the attack. One is sneaking up from behind, ready to throw a blanket over someone's head. The first thing that comes out of most parents' mouths is, "Who started it?"

But YHVH handles things a little differently. He walks into a situation and immediately senses that things are amiss. He knows they are hiding something, but He doesn't ask who the instigator was. He calmly begins an interrogation to find out what happened. He gives each person a fair shake at a response. He doesn't challenge their answers, even though they are unbelievably lame, and obviously excuses. Then He punishes everybody, because everybody did something wrong. I don't  know why many parents don't see that. We try to punish the person that started the mess. But if criminals were treated the same way, only the first robber through the bank door would be arrested. Rarely are there innocent bystanders in childhood quarrels. Someone may have started it, yes, but someone else will invariably finish it. So YHVH punishes everyone, but He does not dish out the same punishment to everyone. Satan crawls on his belly in the dust. Eve will have pain in childbearing, and Adam will work the ground by the sweat of his brow. Each one was given appropriate punishment for them individually. Children should be dealt with the same way, if possible. One child needs a stern talking-to, while another should lose priveleges, etc.

To summarize:
1. Don't look for instigators. Recognize the guilt in multiple parties.
2. Calmly collect the facts from each person.
3. Give each person a chance to give their side of the story without interruption, particularly from you.
4. Punish all who took part.
5. Give punishment suitable for the individual child. Punishing in a separate room allows you to give individualized attention without children comparing notes. For example, my husband disciplines in our bedroom. One child needs a gentle verbal reminder to obey, another may need a few swats and a talking-to. Then he can give them a hug, etc. and restore the relationship.

Happy Torah parenting!

A "girlie" service project

I love cloth pads. The disposable varieties drive me crazy, so give me my flannel! That said, I came across this blog post, and thought I would pass it along. It describes a ministry of making cloth pads for girls in other countries that need them. I think this is a wonderful idea, and some time in the future, I hope to participate. I would encourage you ladies to start with your own home, and perhaps make a few to send to another girl who would really appreciate them.

Two words

Green grass

 

Happy 9th Birthday!

 

Two weeks

 

Fluffy chicks

 

 Cheap gas

 

Long driveway

Little scarecrows

 

Happy 4th Birthday!

Hippy Hair

Hi Daddy!

Shabbat Shalom to everyone.

Bulletin board letters

My children found some bulletin board letters from my old Sunday School teaching days. I have them organized in a file box. They were quick to put them to good use making words, etc.

They also had fun with numbers. My set has punctuation, too, so they could have fun making sentences.

Do you have old forgotten items that your children could use? They have wonderful imaginations and are fascinated by old, interesting things that we forgot we had. Way better than toys! And, for your enjoyment, here are some pictures of Elisha with a diaper cover on his head.

Now go have fun enjoying your children!

Helpful daughters

(This is last year's milking season. We don't have green grass yet lol.)
Milking has been so much nicer with some helpers. My daughters have taken it upon themselves to go with me to the milking parlor. It is easy to underestimate what they are capable of, but they have proven very helpful.

Here is what milking looks like at our house.
The girls usually get a headstart on me while I get the milking pail and filter ready. When I get to the milking parlor (which used to be a grainery that Doug made over for me), Holly has usually caught the does and has one on the stand waiting for me. Naomi is very good at filling the grain which they get to eat while milking. Sadie likes to stand on the milking stand looking out the window. She lets me know if she sees the baby lambs. Holly can milk Pomegranate pretty well. I just have to finish her off to make sure she's empty. Then Holly tucks the goats in their stall for the night. If I decide to catch Peach, Holly makes sure her baby Magnum is all tucked in in his stall. Naomi enjoys sweeping and cleaning out the stalls. So I only have to milk Kiwi and Peach (only in the morning), and filter the milk into a big jar. When we're done in there, we make a quick trip  through the barn to check on all the babies. Sometimes the girls do this for me, too. Then I carry the milk in, and we're done!

The bigger I get, the more grateful I am for their help. Any job is easier if you don't have to take it on alone.

Stereotypes

I was recently accused of being stereotypical.  I accept that “insult.”

In our house, Daddy does certain jobs, and Mommy does certain jobs.  Daddy defends the home, protects us, guides us, earns the paycheck to support us.  Mommy does the majority of the cooking, cleans the house, and teaches the kids.  We do the jobs we are best designed for.  I would never survive in an outside job, and Daddy couldn’t teach his way out of a paper bag.  We’re okay with that.  We do the jobs we are best at.  It just so happens that we are doing the jobs we were created to do.

Without apology, I will proclaim that Mommy is better at giving out hugs, cookies, and understanding words.  Daddy is better at throwing hay, dealing with colleagues, and chopping firewood.

I don’t want to live in a home where Mommy and Daddy are so afraid of being stereotypical that they end up confused and poorly suited to the jobs they end up with, seemingly by the luck of the draw.  Yes, I know of homes where whoever has a bigger income brings home the money, and the leftover parent gets the kids.

In our home, we are right where we need and want to be.  I can’t think of a greater joy that teaching my children, braiding their hair, fixing a meal they all like, and kissing their booboos.  If that is stereotypical, then make me the poster child!

All hail the mighty mommy!
She who rocks the cradle rules the world!

(As a side note, Daddy does all the grocery shopping, occasionally cooks, and Mommy throws

hay when necessary.)

Terumah - my lesson plans

I seem unable to actually keep track of what we are doing in school and organize it in a post.  I do keep track of our schoolwork, but you aren't interested in my cute little checkmarks lol!  But I can tell you what we plan to do this week.  This will give you a fairly good idea of how school has looked in our house lately.

We always start school by reading one chapter each day of the current Torah portion.  This week I hope to add torahclass.com lessons to match what we are reading.  My children enjoy the illustrations you can download.

We will continue reading "Tirzah," a book about a girl who lived through the Exodus.  It has been wonderful to see the possible details and points of view behind the story we read in Scripture.

We will probably spend some time studying light this week.  This is an ongoing unit study we work on when I don't have anything striking in the torah portion.  I have a couple websites that we can spend time exploring.
Discovering light   Life before artificial light 
I also found a new preschool site with printables for Sadie here.

Okay. my apologies.  Since I began writing this post, I worked on Terumah for Torah School.  I was amazed at how much I found in the next Torah portion!  But in keeping with my rule to stay within my limitations, we will focus on building a paper model of the tabernacle.  Pdf printable is found here.  This is incredible and very doable for younger children with mommy's help. 

We will do the Torah copywork lesson for Terumah, available under the tab "Torah Family Printables."  We do one sentence a day and practice some reading with it.

Holly and Isaac will continue their reading lessons in Language Lessons for Little Ones 2.  This is helping me go systematically through the various sounds.

Naomi is getting near the end of Language Lessons for Little Ones 3. 

Naomi will finish lesson 25 and start lesson 26 in Math-U-See Alpha.  She works mostly independently.  She has been getting 100% on everything, so I am very pleased with her progress.

Holly and Isaac are working on Lesson 8 in Ray's Primary Arithmetic.  They get to play around with bottle caps, etc. and do all their lessons orally right now.  Naomi will switch to this book when she finishes the Math-U-See she is working on.

Naomi will do about 4 pages in her cursive workbook.  She has the most beautiful handwriting for an eight year old.  She is very precise, which can also be a real time sucker.  It's a mixed blessing lol.

We do hebrew lessons with Daddy.  I have a dry erase board on an easel.  We do most of our school at the kitchen table.  They copy down the hebrew words I write into their notebooks, including Daddy.  Then I have them come up and write words that we have already learned.  Sometimes one person draws a picture on the board and we try to label everything in hebrew.  We also do reading practice with the help of "Time to Read Hebrew."  This book has helped us begin to learn our vowel points.

I download coloring pages from aish.com for the current week's torah portion.  The kids can color those if they finish a subject early, etc.  They use the pictures to tell the story of the torah portion on Sabbath for Daddy and I.

Each child has a folder which I fill up at the beginning of each week.  Any printables like their copywork, coloring pages, cursive etc., are put in the folder.  This week they will have their copywork and coloring pages, a map of Israel and Egypt, which we add to each week, and Naomi will get a math test.  Sadie always gets extra coloring pages because that is the majority of her schoolwork right now.  We also often do pages where the kids label the parts of something.  Last week we labeled the parts of a tooth.

So that's the plan. It's not glamorous or complicated.  But it is do-able and I have been able to remain faithful to get it done every day.

In reality, Isaac will be more interested in building a gun with duplo parts and shooting the "monsters" in the hallway.  Holly will want to draw pictures.  Sadie will distract everyone by building towers with the math blocks when they are trying to read a sentence to me.  Naomi will complain that the cursive is too hard even though her cursive nearly exactly matches the example.  And Elisha will bang a spoon in a pan on the floor so no one can hear what I'm saying.  But we'll stick to it.  We'll get the work done.  Lunch will taste really good when we are done.  And I will delight in Naomi getting an A on her math test.  I will be proud of Isaac when he sits still long enought to finish his copywork.  I'll be thrilled to see Holly making up math problems with the bottle caps for her brother to solve.  And Sadie will use three different colors in the same picture and stay in the lines.  Even Elisha will crawl up in my lap as I teach and snuggle into my neck.

So homeschooling is a wonderful thing.  Teaching Torah to my children is a great honor.  Watching my children remember to help their siblings like Torah says is a reward in itself. 

So here's to praying for a good week for all of us.  Stick to it.  Teach confidently.  Trust YHVH to lead you and give you discernment.  Be patient for just a few minutes longer.  And enjoy the fruits of your labors.

Life in my brain

Yeah, I know, this post sounds kind of scary lol.  But I thought I'd take a few minutes and share some of my hopes, dreams, and failures of late. 

~ I am working very hard on setting up long term food storage in our home.  Doug put up three shelves in the basement today and I filled them with all the canned goods I put up this last summer.  Very good feeling!  I have been putting in larger grain and bean orders at the food coop.  I also am trying to make food with the ingredients I can keep on hand at the house.

~ I am anxiously awaiting my new kitchen island.  Well, ok, it's actually two woodworking benches that we will be making into an island.  Doug wants to keep the vice on the end, just in case he wants to do some woodworking in the kitchen!  It will probably double my island storage, give me eight drawers, and two big shelves underneath.  Very excited!  Oh, and it's made of oak!

~ I am trying to write a beginning reader's version of Leviticus.  That is a real stretcher, and makes me wonder what I was thinking!  But when YHVH gives us a job to do, He helps us figure it out.  I have the first portion in Leviticus written, and I learned alot about the sacrificial system in the process.  I concluded that if we still had to sacrifice an animal every time we sinned, we would a) quickly run out of animals, and b) probably sin alot less.  We, and I speak for myself here, seem to easily lose touch with the cost for our sin.  We get careless.  I want to be more careful with everyday living.  Did my Messiah die because of the nasty attitude I am displaying this morning?

~ I have been on a mission to get my house running smoothly and have my children helping where they can.  Thus far, Naomi and Holly feed and water the chickens every day.  Isaac and Sadie help bring firewood up on the porch.  The kids know how to use the dishwasher, load and sort the laundry, clean the bathroom, sweep, tidy, cook simple foods like eggs and pasta, and help with baking.  My hope is that as I get fatter and after baby comes, they can help keep things running somewhat smoothly with mommy overseeing.  Not to mention, I want them to be well prepared for their own homes and have the varying jobs second nature.  I also moved all the sheets to the laundry room today.  Why?  Because now they will get put away right out of the dryer, rather than getting buried in a pile on top of the dryer, never to be seen again.  Hey, I know my limitations!  Better to work with them than fail miserably.

~ I was surprised to get an email that took me back about four years.  I used to have a business knitting, and dying yarn.  I was asked if I would consider dying a little yarn for a previous customer.  It was really nice to know I had been missed, and if I have enough yarn, I think I might just dye some for her.  It's been a while, and I've missed it.

~ On a daily basis, I go into the bathroom to look at my belly in the mirror.  I say, "It's not that big."  Doug says, "Not for twins!"  He has teased me for six pregnancies, and never misses an opportunity.  It will be an amazing day when he actually gets proven right!  YHVH only knows!

~ I am planning a blow by blow post of our typical school day.  However, I don't know if I'm ready to reveal that!  People will find out how simple our school is and laugh at me lol!

~ Well, I could keep going but I have to visit the bathroom again!  Oh, there's another little tiny kick!  Hello, little one!  By the way, congrats to all you ladies that are expecting blessings.

The girls are having fun playing with photography!
Bye bye for now.

Little fiber artist

"She worketh willingly with her hands."

Holly used her "Chanukah" money from Gramma to buy a wooden peg loom.  I am so thrilled to see her take to it like she has.  She comes from a long line of women who worked willingly with their hands.  My grandmother made embroidered tablecloths.  My aunt spun wool and hooked rugs.  My mother did a lot of weaving when she was younger, and is currently the best seamstress east of the Mississippi.  (I love you, Mom!)  I spin, dye, and knit.  So, I am thrilled to have a budding fiber artist in my midst.  She has about completed her first project, and is thoroughly enjoying it.  Paper and scissors are great, but I love seeing my children involved with really useful projects.

We wouldn't want to leave the boys out, so here's a tribute to my little man, Isaac.  He's a true knight in training.  If only he didn't cry louder than the girls when he gets hurt lol!

Have a great day with all the little people in your life!