Reading & Writing...

The Grace Whisperer has been eerily silent on this blog lately. But that is because she has been focusing on homeschool craziness for the last 4 months or so. There was much to read, much to research, much to decide, and much to organize. Oh, the organization!! It continues on, believe me!

So, I haven't been writing a whole lot lately, but I've been reading, and reading and reading. Reading about curriculum. Reading about teaching styles. Reading about learning styles. Reading about organization. You get the point, I'm sure.

But some of my reading has been for pure joy, and that is what prompted me to write. If you are in the mood for some really uplifting and praiseworthy blogging, please take a moment to visit "A long way from the Theta House". This lady just blows me away with her entries. She is racking up treasures in Heaven, and so are her kids.

And then, if you are interested, why not check out my other blog, "Homeschool Digression". You see, I've been doing a little writing too. :)

Ode to February

Ah, February!

How I love thee,

O month that seems to last forever.

Thou are unyielding in thy coldness.

Unquenchable as the dry, dry air

in my dry, dry home,

cracking my dry, dry hands.

Your winds are biting,

Your sun shines bright

You bring the viruses

both day and night.

My children are puking.

My husband is moaning

My spirit is desperate

for my flesh to stop groaning.

Quiet Time for kids

Today I'm really excited... well, giddy almost. :) I finally got my hands on Word of Life's "Gopher Buddies Quiet Tiime", a devotional aimed at children 4-6. I had heard about it, here and there, but was never able to actually lay my eyes on it. So a couple of weeks ago, I finally asked at my local Christian bookstore about it. The next time they ordered it they held onto a copy for me to look at. Today was the day that I finally held it in my hands and paged through it. Definitely worth the wait!!

After dinner, while still at the table, I started telling my soon-to-be 5 year old son about it, and he HAD TO SEE IT himself.... Oh yes, and then he HAD TO get his hands on it! (So like his mom, this one!) And he HAD TO "DO IT" IMMEDIATELY!! Can't get much better of a testimonial than that, I'd say. The graphics are awesome. Each devotional page has an activity, like a coloring and activity book, that ties into the verse and "lesson". It's quick. It's easy. And we both love it.

Today's lesson consisted of

• a reading from Psalm 59:2: "I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints."
  
• a key idea: "David makes a promise in this Psalm to praise God forever for what he had done."
  
• a coloring activity, during which Ian was directed to sing a song of praise and thank God for something special that He's done.
  
• a prayer suggestion.

The front of the spiral bound book also has several pages that have blocked out space for kids to "draw pictures or write words" to remind them of special people or things they want to pray for. As soon as Ian finished his activity section, he flipped to the prayer pages and drew pictures of three of his friends from school last year.

So I'm hoping to work this in to our homeschooling day. :)

Oh yeah, and did I mention that I bought a Word of Life Quiet Time Diary for me too? I did! But I bought the adult one, even though I jealously regard Ian's. :) I have other devotionals and Study guides, but I love the Word of Life Quiet Time. I used it for years and I miss not having it.

The Singing Bible

One of the best things that might have come out of our homeschooling experiment has been "The Singing Bible". It's from Focus on the Family, and was recommended by a book called "Little Hands to Heaven", which I am planning on using with my younger son next year.

The Singing Bible has over 50 songs on 4 CD's, and basically goes thru all the major themes of the Bible in a kid friendly format. The tunes are all catchy and educational while being fun. Love this one and so do the kids. If you are looking for a new way to teach your kids the Bible, you should definitely check it out. :) We got our copy from Amazon.com at a very reasonable price. I like to keep it in the car and pop it in when we're just driving around.

The Homeschooling Experiment

Last Fall I began what I am affectionately calling "our homeschooling experiment". I've loved the idea of homeschooling for years! Long before I had children. Long before I had a husband or a boyfriend or even a degree. I'm talking a long time, people. :) What really piqued my interest initially was the children that were homeschooled. These kids were intelligent. They were eloquent. They weren't half as annoying as most kids I encountered. LOL. And they had actual interests that they pursued with passion.... And they had great relationships with their parents.

What's not to love? In many ways it seems like the best of all worlds. And it can be quite rewarding. But make no mistake... it's a sacrifice on many levels as well. Most worthwhile things in life do require a sacrifice. Maybe that's what makes them sweeter in the end.... Don't know. Just thinking out loud.

So this year we began the experiment. Ian just missed the cutoff for kindergarten, but was ready to learn. He wants to learn to read. He has a great interest in letters and he loves all manner of arts and crafts. Most recently, he's fascinated by what the body is made of. I felt lead to capitalize on this interest and to see if I could pull off homeschooling for a year. If so, perhaps the experiment will continue.

So that's a big part of why I haven't been blogging much this Fall. I really felt like I needed to focus on "The Experiment". In retrospect, I wish I had started a new blog about "The Experiment". Maybe I still will. I'll keep ya posted. :)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year. We've been enjoying a bit of a respite from our normal routine, and it's been nice. Normally, we are constantly on the go with Bible Study, YMCA, and MOPs, shopping and so forth. We love our routine, but with the holidays crushing in we got out of the routine, and are having a hard time returning to it. Seems we've developed a new routine, and we're pretty content with it. :) And, hey, we're actually getting things done! Now that's a new thing. We are not at all unhappy about that.... organization, decoration, playdates, shopping... N.I.C.E. :)

But it's all about to end, yes it is, because we need to get back to the Y... You see, with all that we are accomplishing, we are definitely not exercising, and that just won't do.

Normalcy

Well as predicted... or at least anticipated, with the Fall season and a return to my preferred routine comes a return to normalcy for me. I'm so thankful and relieved to be on the upswing again. And that's all I really want to say, I guess. Just enjoying life, enjoying my friends, enjoying my family and getting back to really doing what I was created for... enjoying God. :)

Grace Wrestler

The Grace Whisperer hasn't been blogging here recently. That's not to say that she hasn't been very active elsewhere, though! :) But not here.... So many reasons why, really, but the bottom line has really been that the Grace Whisperer has been struggling... struggling with herself, struggling with God and struggling with the struggling, quite honestly. As Thumper would say, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." So I have chosen silence.

Experience has taught me that it's during these times that my faith grows, and I grow as a person. So I don't worry about it so much. I just don't talk about it much either, because I've also found that there's typically two reactions to such revelations. Either I am chastised for my lack of faith (not true!) or people worry about me (not necessary!).

In my christian walk, I have often found myself identifying closely with Jacob, who wrestled with God. As soon as I heard the account about him, I thought, "that is so like me!" I particularly like the part where it describes how God touched Jacob's hip causing him to limp. I am so fond of it because my hip is messed up too!! LOL!! Maybe that's why! :)

At any rate, I do sense myself coming out of the deep funk.... Certain things in life seem to be forcing me out, really, and thank God for those things... the things that keep me from focusing solely on myself... not the least of which is my two little blessings from God Himself.

Dirty hands

You ever have one of those "Aha!" moments while you're sitting there in church, or listening to a sermon on the radio or in a Bible study? I LOVE those. I love that after 24 years of reading the Bible, walking the Christian life, and after two-plus years of total immmersion studying the Bible in College... I love that it's still fresh and new. I love that there are even moments where some little in depth tidbit surprises me and amazes me.

Yesterday, I had two of those moments, maybe more. It was just one of those days. God seemed to be speaking right to me. So here's an illustration that I want to share with you. See if it touches you the way it touched me...

"...My 3 year old son loves to fingerpaint. Nothing is better than fingerpainting in his whole world. The other day, I came home from work and there he was, at his little table, pots of primary colors close at hand. In his hands he had more fingerpaint than any child should be allowed to have; in one hand a big glob of blue, in the other, a big glob of yellow. At that precise moment, he thought it would be a good idea to clap his hands.... a LOT!! Green paint went flying everywhere.... I said, "What were you thinking? Even your face has paint on it." To this, his son reached up with his paint covered right hand and tried to wipe his face clean...."

Pastor went on to ask, (as do I) how much is this like us, as we stand before a holy God, trying to clean ourselves up for Him? We see a small spot on our face, and try to clean it up with dirty hands, but all we really succeed in doing is smearing it.

While his son wasn't able to clean himself, what he needed was someone who was already clean to come alongside of him and help him. This loving father did exactly that, and in the process he found that some of his son's paint ended up on himself. How much is this a picture of Jesus who comes alongside of us in our sin, cleans us up by taking our sin upon himself?

I sat there, thinking of my four year old's winter boots and spring shoes. I can't think of anything more gross that I have to do as a mom than remove my son's muddy, sandy dirty, wet shoes after he's been out playing in the yard. I really cringe everytime I have to touch them, especially if I have to help him get them back on after a potty break!! Inevitably all the crud ends up on me, my hands, my clothes... UCK!! And here I was... all clean....

I doubt I'll ever be able to handle that job or see fingerpaints without thinking of all that Jesus has done.

A Little Rant And One Rave

First, The Rave.... I haven't been on the blogosphere much recently and that's because I've been taking an online class called, "Speed Spanish". It was a six week class and they weren't kidding when they named it!! It was fast!! :) I LOVED it, and can't wait till I can take the next session. This class deals with what the instructor calls "recipes"... basically how to put together sentences to converse with someone in Spanish. I can't believe all I've learned so far and am anxious to see how much I can use when I go to ALTECO in a couple of weeks. There will be delegates there from many South American countries and indigenous tribes, all speaking espanol! :) All just waiting for me to say something profound like "No hay agua! La agua no funciona!"

Oh, and by the way.... Pity the poor hostess on The Biggest Loser! I do! Poor Alison Sweeney. She clearly tries to make for compelling conversation, ala Jeff Probst on Survivor or even Julie Chen on Big Brother. Alas she fails!! People keep attacking her!! Is it because she's skinny? Beautiful? Annoying? All the above? Did you watch it tonight? Did you? I thought Jillian was going to take her out!! Now, I'm not normally one who goes in for cussing, but I just wanted to applaude Jillian for standing up for Brittany.

I should say that I have NOT followed this show religiously, so maybe I'm not getting the whole picture. It just seems to me that Alison has no real rapport with the Losers. They don't seem to enjoy her banter or her commentary during challenges. She just seems a bad fit to me. Is it just me? Tell me people, and I will repent!

And gee, while I'm on my rant.... What happened to Moonlight on CBS' website? I have been in Moonlight withdrawal for weeks. I admit it!! Last week I went online looking to watch a full episode and the only episode offered was "Arrested Development". Not my favorite episode, but I clicked on it anyway and never could get it to run! Now? Watching a full episode isn't even an option!! Geez!

Time Travel Made Easy

So yesterday I was at my local Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) meeting.

Love this group for the fellowship, support and the great breakfasts too!! I miss my old MOPS group though. It was awesome on every level and it's hard not to compare the two.

Anyway, at the end of the meeting, we all pulled numbers from a basket for a drawing. My number was 24. As I mosied toward my discussion group, I heard my number being called.

So, with great excitement and much humor, I got to yell, "I'm 24! I'm 24!!" It's been awhile since I've been able to say that!! It made my day even more than the Bath & Body Works Peaberry Moisturizing Hand Soap I picked from the prize basket.

Happy Birthday

Today the Little Man turned 4. Yeah, Ian!! Happy Birthday, Sweet Pea!"

Since everyone has been passing THE BUG and a cold back and forth for the last three weeks, we've been a bit low key about the birthday this year. I'm exhausted from little boys waking me up 2 hours early and not going back to sleep. The birthday boy has been doing this for two weeks or so. I keep putting him back in his bed and he returns about every 15-30 minutes or so just to let me know that he can't sleep! Since he shares his room with Lumpadump (aka Shane), all this walking back and forth and opening doors has been waking up Shane as well.

In other news, Hubbie & I have started to take a class online called "Speed Spanish". It's really great for me. I know next to NO Spanish, but am regularly meeting Spanish-speaking people! Hubs on the other hand speaks Spanish very well, but hasn't studied it before, so he decided to take the class with me. Unfortunately, we are two lessons behind and this week we get two more lessons! What's the Spanish term for "YIKES!"?

A Wake Up Call

Today was such a beautiful day: blue sky, bright sunshine, a few clouds. A perfectly crisp, cold winter's day. Perfect for those of us who actually enjoy northern winters! But it wasn't the weather that gave me chills as I drove down the road with Little Man (almost 4!). Nope, it was this comment from the backseat: "Mom, I see a trumpet in the clouds!" Whoa!! I said, "What?!" My mind was racing! Where the heck did that come from?! What's he talking about?! Is this it?! Is Jesus coming back RIGHT NOW?!! Then Ian explained that the cloud he saw was in the shape of a trumpet.... Oh. Kind of a let down. :)

So here's my question, dear reader, when was the last time you thought, "Maybe today...."? Do you know that there is a crown reserved in Heaven for "all who have LOVED His appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8c)?

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

Vampire Bugs and Menu Plans

Here at Whispers of Grace, our family is still fighting the little bug that the Little Men brought home with them. It sure is strange. I'm going to call it the Vampire Bug. Except for a general loss of appetite, this thing only manifests it's symptoms at night! For the first 3 nights that Ian-almost 4 years- was ill, he woke up around 11:45 at night with a fever. The rest of the day he was "fine"! If he hadn't been waking up with a fever and aches, I'd never have known he was really sick. (See previous post!) Since then, he just wants a little extra sleep, but that's about it. The last two nights, just before bed, he's had some other symptoms running thru his body, if you get my meaning. But again, I say, that's it!

So with that lovely segue, I'm contemplating this menu for the week. But I'm not going to be very strict about it, feeling rather blah myself.

Monday: Pasta with vodka sauce
Tuesday: Fish & Potatoes
Wednesday: Teriyaki Pork & Rice
Thursday: Chicken Pot Pie
Friday: Homemade pizza
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Breakfast! :)

Check out what else is cooking at "I'm an organizing junkie"

Plagued by Whining?

The problem with 3 year olds is that they whine. Some days they whine A LOT! Some days they whine to get out of things. Some days they whine for no reason at all. So when one of them whines at breakfast and tells you that his arm hurts and his leg hurts, you take a look, give it a smooch and then tell him it will feel better when he eats something. Then at lunch, when he whines that his eyes hurt, you kind of roll your eyes privately and then tell him to eat his lunch.

Okay, that was my "full of compassion" mothering moment for the day. Turns out though his eyes really were bothering him. They were red and stingy, so I figured he had rubbed them with his fingers. Dutifully, we washed them. We rinsed them several times over the coarse of an hour. Then we sent the Little Man to preschool with instruction to tell his teacher to call me if he wanted to come home.

They didn't call. He didn't want to come home. Now don't get me wrong. I think it's great that he loves school so much, but when Daddy picked him up, the child looked like he had the plague! All around his eyes and lips, the skin was RED! By the time we got him home and into the bath/shower, we realized he had a fever as well.

So there you have it! First illness of the year! Yay. :P As you may imagine, I am feeling like a "bad" mom today. For not believing the boy in the morning, for not believing the boy at lunch, and for sending him to school (against my better judgment) to infect the whole class. Go Mom!

Brotherly Love

Little Man (aka Ian-almost 4) and Lumpadump (aka Shane-1yr) were riding in the back of our car this morning. As I pulled into the parking lot of the local Dunkin Donuts, Ian said, for no apparent reason, "I love you, Shane!! You're my BEST friend!" I looked back and saw that they were holding hands between their carseats. Aw!

Happy New Year!

This year all my resolutions are related to simplifying my life with a goal to become more Christlike. We live in a great age. Everything is at our fingertips. Anything we want to know, research, read or buy is just a click away. I LOVE it. I HATE it!

Meanwhile, I have unfinished (and unstarted) projects filling up cabinets, closets and our pantry! Yes, our pantry!! Some of these were started before our first son was even a glimmer in our eyes. I never found the time to work on things then, but somehow I continue to deceive myself into believing that I will NOW, two kids later, suddenly find some free hours to cross-stitch the Christmas tree skirt, rubberstamp birthday cards and Christmas cards, scrapbook the last 10 years of my life (thousands of pictures), organize and try the new recipes buried in a folder, order wedding pictures (from almost 10 years ago.... Yep, haven't even gotten a wedding album yet). Don't even get me started about all the programming books I have stacked on my bookshelf, half-read.

So the goal this year? SIMPLIFY, Simplify, simplify!! I need to kill the clutter in my home. I need to be ruthless in tossing out the projects gathering dust. I need to focus on my goals, and rid my life of just about everything that does not help me reach them! I find that I can't even THINK at times, as the physical clutter (carefully and tastefully squirreled away, mind you) seems to lead into mental clutter.

To that end, I am determined to Simplify my life, organize the stuff that survives the cut, sell or toss the stuff that doesn't, and beautify my surroundings.

How about you? Any resolutions to share?

Tips?

I updated my previous post to include the recipe for Garlic Lime Chicken. The link is actually to a page on Flylady, but if you're looking for the recipe you're going to have to scroll down quite a bit to find it. Does anyone know how I can include a link to a Word document in the future? I'm sure there must be a way, but I haven't had the time to really look into it. I'm sure this guy would know! But I'm afraid to ask! :)

No longer dreaming of a white Christmas!!

I know I don't write that often, but since no one complains I'm taking that to mean I write just enough!! Frankly, I enjoy reading more than writing. But that's just because at the end of the day my creative brain cells are all burnt out!!



Anyhoo, Hubby arrived home in one piece last Sunday. Life was GOOD!! Then we got snow on Thursday, and more snow on Saturday... Life was BETTER!! And we even got a tree up and almost decorated! So bring on the Christmas!! We're ready!! (Almost!)


Well, in the spirit of Christmas, I am trying something "new". I've been a lurker over at "I'm an Organizing Junkie", and am working on being inspired by the organizational wizzes over there taking part in "Menu Planning Monday". This is SO not my forte, people, but I'm forever working on growing in this area of my life, so I'm going to give it a shot.



Monday: Mac & Cheese with Broccoli & Hot Dogs

Tuesday: Roast with Potatoes & Carrots, possibly in a crockpot

Wednesday: Garlic-Lime Chicken (a new recipe I want to try! Thank you Flylady!)

Thursday: Lentil Soup, Crusty Bread & Salad

Friday: Mince, Mashed Potatoes & Baked Beans

Saturday: Pizza & Salad

Sunday: Baked Potato Bar

Christmas assemblies

We are coming to the end of 9 days without "Daddy". We are actually doing pretty well. I've been keeping the boys and myself busy, busy, busy all week. Today was the first day of relaxation we have had since last Friday.

After Lumpadump went down for a late morning nap, Little Man asked me to build a stable for his stuffed animals. That was a first!! So, I decided the time was right to bring out the Playmobil Nativity set that I had bought last year (but had not yet given to him). It was our first experience with the Playmobil stuff, and took awhile to assemble everything, but Little Man took to it like crazy!! He played with it all afternoon and every chance he could get in the evening! No sooner had I gotten everything assembled than he quickly disassembled it all... right down to the hair and the beards!! At one point he actually came to me, pieces in hand, and asked for help putting a wiseman's beard on Mary!! Not exactly what I had pictured when I bought it!

Currently the boys are in bed and the Playmobil Nativity site looks very much like it was hit by a hurricane!! Pieces and parts are everywhere... animals and people are lying in disarray. I'd take a picture for you, but Hubby took the digital to Peru.