Books, Books, Everywhere!

As I contemplated our latest library book pick-up, I had to laugh. We truly are the local library's dream come true - either that, or their worst nightmare. We reserve at least 20-30 books per week, and it's soon slated to skyrocket to at least twice that.

Why they're on the counter - I wipe down each and every children's book with vinegar before they are used in our home. Do you know what kids do to books?  (*Gag*) Thus the vinegar. 

As a child, I regarded libraries with something of an apathetic aversion. Our public library was dark, dingy, and unpleasant, and I associated it mainly with finding homeless persons bathing in the bathrooms and shelves full of unattractive "library cover" bound books that one could never, ever, ever find even if the library did happen to have them. I avoided it as much as possible and swore it off completely as soon as I graduated.

But then, several years ago, a dear friend introduced me anew to our local library. Our Arizona libraries are much better than the Southern California libraries that I grew up with - and libraries on the whole have, I think, changed for the better as well. They are bright, clean, attractive, and the horrible library book bindings are no longer in use (thank goodness!). Not to mention the fact that one can now reserve and renew books online! I love ordering books (by the bucket-load!) from home at any hour of the day.

Having massive amounts of books around (both owned and loaned) is an essential part of our home education program, and we rely heavily upon the libraries. I also use the libraries for lots of reading myself. I had never before known how much of an education there is in simply reading - reading widely and deeply and in massive quantity. I have easily gotten as good (or better) of an education from consistent reading of living books from the library than I ever got in K-12 or university education.

Public libraries are regrettably deficient in good-quality Christian books (theology, Christian living, Christian-based science and history, etc.), but in every other area I have found them to be excellent. (I do have concern with how modern libraries are leaning toward jettisoning quality books in favor of twaddle - but that's a subject for another day.)

Here are my newest reading projects! You'll notice they're all home education books - right now learning about every aspect of home education is pretty much my life. I suspect that that will be the case for some time!

Last Child in the Woods - The importance of getting kids OUTSIDE (and off of endless screen-time). Can't wait to read this one.

The Complete Guide to Homeschooling - A catch-all book - love these informational books! I always get great ideas.

Teach Your Own - John Holt is a home education celebrity, and I'm so excited finally to get to read one of his books.

The Homeschooler's Guide to... - Another general catch-all book.

When Children Love to Learn - I am currently reading this book, and it is great! It is, unfortunately, the only book our entire library system has on the subject of Charlotte Mason education, but thankfully it's a very complete and excellent one. I'm learning so much!

***

Other excellent books I've read lately:

Simplicity Parenting - Review coming soon! Love this book!

The Busy Mom's Guide to Daylight - We were blessed to hear Heidi St. John at last year's convention, and she is awesome - and now I got to read her excellent book! (I only disagreed with one point!) Love her, love her book.

Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe - We also got to hear Todd Wilson at last year's convention. Wonderful guy, awesome book - and the "lies" he writes about are all so true!

***

I'd love to hear about what you all have been reading lately! Any gems out there?

"The Days Are Long, But the Years Are Short"

"The days are long, but the years are short."

 In parenting - it's so true.

 But it's also true in... marriage! Today my husband and I celebrate the end of our first decade - our tenth wedding anniversary.

Wow.

It's just gone by so incredibly fast.

When I look back to that day, though, it's easy to see how much we've matured and grown. I really cannot believe, as a matter of fact, how immature I was back then. How far I had to go, spiritually and maturity-wise (though I certainly didn't know it back then!).

At 22, I was a new Christian. I was still at least mildly pro-abortion. I was still good and brainwashed by the secular and ungodly teaching that I had received through seventeen years of public school education (and again... didn't even know it - and would have been quite indignant had anybody tried to tell me so). My theology was weak (though growing), I was very immature spiritually, I had little to no  practical skills for living in the real world, and I was extremely naive, both politically and spiritually.

So much has happened since then during these past ten years.

If I had to describe this past decade of marriage, I would describe it as a decade of firsts.... or a decade of change. Everything has been new, and there have been constant introductions of new relationships and states of being into our lives.

In the past ten years, we have experienced...

- The first days, months, and years of early marriage, and of living away from my parents' home.

- Five or six moves.

- Our first experience with owning a home.

- The life-changing nightmare of hyperemesis gravidarum.

- Childbirth - three times.

- The babyhood of three very different children.

- Parenting. ACK!

- The challenges of multi-age children (which neither of us had experienced in childhood).

- Parenting a child with special needs and interfacing with the medical system.

- The beginning of our adventure into home education.

- Massive changes and growth in our views on a number of political, financial, spiritual, and theological issues.

In many ways, this has felt like navigating uncharted waters - it's the first time through these adventures for us, of course, but our chosen way of life is very different (on the whole) than that chosen by our parents (especially mine). For example...

- My mom was a career woman. I am a homemaker (best decision I ever made!).

- Both of our parents chose voluntarily to stop with one birth only. (I am an only child; DH is a twin.) We are learning the ropes of multi-age parenting, of dealing with pregnancies while already parenting, of trying to home educate with toddlers underfoot.

- I was raised in an extremely liberal church. We have chosen to choose churches that are instead very Bible-based. (And if you know anything about Christian culture, you know that liberal Christianity and conservative Christianity are basically different religions - no joke.)

- DH and I were public school kids. We have chosen to home educate.

All of these (and more!) make for many new adventures, and our parents seem sometimes to be looking at us as if we are stark raving mad. (They may be right.)

One thing that strikes me about the past ten years is how much I can see God's hand working in my life to grow me, shape me, sanctify me, and gradually chisel away at my selfishness and self-sufficiency. Hyperemesis expecially was a huge lesson in learning humility and compassion. Parenting, also, has been one long adventure in learning to die to self and consider others as more important than my own desires. (Not to mention that it forced me to grow a backbone, something that I definitely don't have naturally! Learning to develop the virtues of persistence and perseverance has been a tough road.)

Though I have passed through many experiences over this past decade that I considered horribly painful or unpleasant, I can now look back and see God's guiding hand, and I would not wish to go back to being the person that I was before passing through those fires. As this awesome article says
(concerning hyperemesis),

"I can take pleasure in illness, I can count it joy that I suffer, I can be thankful in all things, and when I am sick now, I make every attempt to praise the God who sought me, and bought me, and won’t let me go away unchanged. He is faithful to work in me the image of His Son, to continue pressing me when I am foolish and stubborn and want to remain a child. He is faithful to complete in me, the work which He began. I hope that I might be faithful to accept, and find joy in His workings."

Not that I'm exactly eager to experience suffering (are we ever?), but the trials of this decade have been the impetus for incredible growth in my life. God is faithful to complete His work.

"'Would you exchange them - now - for two years filled with fun?'

'No,' said Rilla slowly. 'I wouldn't. It's strange - isn't it? - They have been two terrible years -a nd yet I have a queer feeling of thankfulness for them - as if they had brought me something very precious, with all their pain. I wouldn't want to go back and be the girl I was two years ago, not even if I could. Not that I think I've made any wonderful progress - but I'm not quite the selfish, frivolous little doll I was then. I suppose I had a soul then, Miss Oliver - but I didn't know it. I know it now - and that is worth a great deal - worth all the suffering of the past two years. And still' - Rilla gave a little apologetic laugh, 'I don't want to suffer any more - not even for the sake of more soul growth. At the end of two more years I might look back and be thankful for the development they had brought me, too; but I don't want it now.'

'We never do,' said Miss Oliver. 'That is why we are not left to choose our own means and measure of development, I suppose. No matter how much we value what our lessons have brought us we don't want to go on with the bitter schooling.'" ("Rilla of Ingleside", L.M. Montgomery, p. 186)

 Before I paint this decade too much as a vale of tears, let me quickly say that that is not my intent. This past decade has been awesome. We have had wonderful experiences, rejoiced in the births of our children, and made wonderful friends, along with great strides in personal growth. However, in reviewing the challenges and trials that this decade has brought, I can also see through them the hand of God in shaping and changing us for the better, and that's as much of a blessing as the joys and triumphs that have brought us pleasure.

Should I be allowed another decade on this planet, I am sure that I will look back and say the same things at our twentieth anniversary, when I am 42. Whatever lies ahead, God is using it for His glory and our good. (Though I can never remember that in the moment. I tend to be more of the "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" type - I can only gain perspective in the long term.)

***

This past year, our tenth year of marriage, has been what I would call a year of "coming together." It's been an incredible year.

When DH and I married, we had many, many, many areas of disagreement - both minor and major - in just about every area of life. Finances, spirituality, theology, practicalities, you name it - areas of all kinds where our opinions clashed. Don't we all?

While we still have those areas, this year has been a huge year of drawing together - of finally coming to agreement about a huge number of areas that had previously been bones of contention. This was truly the grace of God, and I am extremely thankful for it.

Thus, to all the newlyweds in the audience, I will say - don't lose hope! This time of coming together took ten years to arrive. For many marriages it takes longer - but it eventually can and does happen. This has been a great year, unemployment and all. (Not to say that we agree on everything, but a major shift has definitely taken place for the positive.)

And so, with all that said, we're off for our new (started last year) anniversary celebration tradition - milkshakes at Joe's Farm Grill! Of course, I can't have a milkshake, so I'm going to spend my tenth anniversary... watching other people have milkshakes. Can you imagine anything more enjoyable?? (But I am thrilled that since we have finally managed to develop an anniversary tradition, I no longer have to think about planning our anniversary! Hip hip HOORAY!!! Especially since our anniversary comes at the end of an exhausting birthday season when I am in no mood to plan yet another celebration. Bring on the milkshakes and I'll watch with complete contentment. It's five minutes that I actually get to sit down.)

Celebrating God's faithfulness for the first ten years and on into the future!

And a very happy 10th anniversary to our anniversary twins - you know who you are! Y'all may have been married five hours longer than us, but we'll catch up sometime!!

Charles H. Spurgeon, Stand-Up Comic

  

Both my husband and I are big fans of Charles Spurgeon. Not only was he a great preacher and truth-teller of his time, but he also fought the great fight against the encroachments of higher criticism, the force which would later maim many of the mainline Protestant denominations (for more information, see "Spurgeon and the Downgrade Controversy"). He was a fascinating and inspiring man!

We were, therefore, extremely excited to find a film made about the life of Charles Spurgeon, and we're currently in the middle of watching it. It's very informative and interesting, and we're looking forward to seeing the rest. If you enjoy church history, or just want to learn about Spurgeon, check it out!

After you've watched and learned, watch it again... this time with closed captioning turned on. You will die laughing - no joke.

DH and I always watch films with closed captioning, because we find that little things here and there are lost otherwise. Usually it's very helpful... but in this case, the wording is done so poorly (I'm assuming it's computer-generated) that it would be unintelligible by itself. However, it's screamingly funny.

DH, who wasn't paying attention to the words on the screen, kept wondering why I was snickering during the film. When I told him, he - of course! - started reading the wording, and from there on out we were doubled over with laughter (the kind where one is gasping for breath). We eventually had to turn off the closed captioning just because we were laughing too hard to pay attention to the film.

So... Watch it once for history, once for comedy. An all-around hit!

Any other Spurgeon fans in the audience?

A Summer Re-Do!

We are now almost four weeks into the new school year (wow!), and during those four weeks I have had time to contemplate how our first official "summer break" went. I have come to the conclusion that I did it all wrong! And here are the two biggest mistakes that I made: (1) I planned too much for our summer break, and (2) I didn't plan nearly enough for our summer break!

Let me explain.

I planned too much for our summer break - That is, I planned too much for ME. My personal to-do list  was overwhelming and exhausting (and impossible to accomplish in four weeks!). I had a hazy idea that during summer break, the children would play peacefully by themselves and let me get things done - decluttering, deep cleaning, tackling various projects, planning, making lesson plans and curriculum choices, and preparing for the coming school year.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! 

As you can imagine, that didn't happen. Kids require just as much supervision, food, diaper changes, mess clean-ups, help, etc. during the summer as they do during the school year. (Possibly more, because there's no school work to occupy them.) Perhaps I'll get a bit more "summer free time" when our children are older and can play together independently, but not right now. Thus, I experienced a great deal of frustration over not being able to buckle down and tackle my to-do list properly.

Additionally, I didn't plan nearly enough for our summer break - That is, I didn't plan enough for our family over our break. I am beginning to realize (too late for our break!) that family times require a great deal of planning - and the larger our family grows, the more planning is required. Outings, field trips, game nights, activities - all of these require massive amounts of logistical planning and preparation (and lots and lots of food). If I don't plan, things don't happen! Spontaneity just doesn't work with young children - it's usually a recipe for utter disaster.

Thankfully, I get another chance! Though our "summer break" is over, it's still summer - and there are lots of summer activities out there for our family to participate in, and I'm doing my best to dive in and make it a success. After reading a friend's post about making a summer planning notebook, I'm giving it a go!

Here is our checklist of fun family things to do over the coming summer months!

And since the computer is acting wonky, and that image is extremely blurry, here's the list again:


Things to Do This Summer! 

☐ Go stargazing
☐ Game night
☐ Roast marshmallows
☐ Have a water balloon fight
☐ Go to a library event: ____________________
☐ Go to another library event: ____________________
☐ Go to yet another library event: ____________________
☐ Go to still another library event: ____________________
☐ Make s’mores
☐ Go swimming
☐ Go to Bass Pro Shop
☐ Go on a night-time walk with the lantern
☐ Go on another night-time walk with the lantern!
☐ Eat dinner outside
☐ Have dinner outside again!
☐ Play outside in the sprinklers
☐ Wading pool outside
☐ Paddleball outside
☐ Make homemade ice cream in the old-fashioned ice cream maker
☐ Celebrate the 4th of July!
☐ Go stargazing at the Riparian Preserve observatory
☐ Go to a summer camp activity at Bass Pro Shop
☐ Joe’s Farm Grill for milk shakes for our tenth anniversary!

Next year, I hope to plan proactively for our "summer break," (which will hopefully be April) as well as for our actual summer. In the meantime, I'm doing my best for this coming summer.

What fun things do you have planned for your family this summer?

On one of this summer's field trips. 

A Moment to Remember

This past weekend, while we were at the AFHE home education convention, Grandma and Grandpa took our eldest to their complex's swimming pool.

While they were, the 7yo fell into conversation with another lady who was swimming. After they spoke for a while, the lady asked him what grade he was in at school. He said, "I'm home-schooled." She immediately responded with:

"I knew he had to be home schooled! I've traveled around the world, and have seen again and again that only the home schooled kids are this well-informed and verbally articulate."

Ahhhh.

You know, moments like this are the bursts of inspiration that I need to keep focused on our home education goals - to keep motivated on this journey. Especially during weeks like this past one, in which I spent a good deal of time wanting to wring said child's neck.  

Dear readers, when you see a child exhibiting some sort of good behavior - be it moral, academic, or whatever - tell the parent! You never know how much you may encourage a struggling mother by doing so. Even though I didn't meet this woman, I will probably remember the kindness of her encouraging words till my dying day - as I do those of other similar situations. (Just ask me. I can name them all.)

Never underestimate the power of encouraging words - especially to those in situations (like motherhood and home education!) with a lot of discouraging moments when one often feels like one is doing everything wrong.

(And, as a postscript, no I am not trying to discriminate against schooled children. This is just one incident that happened to our family!)

Local Field Trip: Cerreta Candy Factory (Glendale, Arizona)

This past week we travelled to Glendale with one of our homeschool fellowship groups to attend a scheduled tour at the Cerreta Candy Factory in Glendale.

The Cerreta Candy Factory is quickly approaching its 100th anniversary - it's been around for a while! So it has a wonderful history and culture that goes along with it.

The 300-lb. chocolate football. Milk chocolate goes for $12/lb. You do the math!

When we first walked in, there was utter chaos, because one tour was going on (equaling lots of noise) at the same time that another group of people (including us) was registering for the next tour (equaling even more noise!). We didn't know what was going on, or even if we were in the right place, and both DH and I had to fight a strong compulsion to turn around and go home (made worse by the fact that both of our babies, one in particular, decide to start getting super-cranky from the high noise levels). However, we stayed, and we're glad we did! We had a great time.

Trying to hold the giant chocolate bar. 

Not sure what's going on! 

Possibly a bit ragged after holding a crying child for 20 minutes. 

The tour was short - less than 30 minutes, and there were lots of free samples that the kids (and DH) loved. We got to tour the factory, see the candy-making in process, and talk with employees. The only down side was that it was hard to hear the lecture due to the high noise level in the factory, but they did their best.

The man himself! 

The chocolate-dipping machine. 

"This machine is a replica of the machine that "Lucy" worked on "The I Love Lucy Show. "

We had a lot of fun on this tour. Were we to do it again, I would do the following:

(1) Make sure that we had 20 people in our group so that we could request a private tour (we fell just a few people short and thus had to join the huge tour).

(2) Go during a time that was NOT summer break. In other words, anything to cut down on the crowds! Apparently this is a popular tour with summer programs (Boys & Girls Club, daycares, etc.).

Watching the candy process. 

The candy shop! 

Afterwards, everyone headed to the candy store! DH and our eldest each picked out four pieces of candy per person, for a total of $2.08. Quite a bargain in terms of a field trip!

(The tour itself is free, which is awesome! For an added fee, you can join in some sort of candy-making activity at the end, something that we chose not to do this time.)

We'd definitely be up for going back!

"A Lazy Thought"

A Lazy Thought

There go the grownups
To the office,
To the store.
Subway rush,
Traffic crush;
Hurry, scurry,
Worry, flurry.

No wonder
Grownups
Don't grow up
Any more.

It takes a lot
Of slow
To grow.

- Eve Merriam

And that pretty much sums it up, folks! Love it!

Happy Sabbath, everyone!