Green Books

After playing in the snow (see the following entry), we warmed up inside and had some relaxing snow day fun. The kids played games and enjoyed being over the awful tummy bug. I decided to decorate for St. Patrick's. (I know, quite ironic that in a winter storm, I am decorating for Spring!)

After Valentine's, we focus on Missions (inspired by the great missionary St. Patrick, and by my Irish heritage). Green always reminds me of growth. Spring. New Life.

No leprechauns or pots of gold here. Just green everywhere. A sign of new life! A reminder for us to GROW in Him.

"...we will in all things GROW up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From Him, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, GROWS and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."

Eph. 4:14b-15

Those who have been in my house know I LOVE BOOKS and I use them to decorate. They are all over the house. I began to move my usual decorative books to make room for all things green when....

BAM! The idea came upon me all of a sudden...

I could decorate using books that have GREEN bindings!!! (Scarlett, you are probably the only one who also thinks this is a fun idea...the rest of you are probably rolling your eyes ;-)

I had so much fun ravaging through all of our bookshelves and finding green bound books! The kids thought it was fun, too!

So, we are now decorated for our focus this next month on Missions. St. Patrick was an amazing missionary and we can learn much from the man who evangelized an entire pagan nation...a nation whose people had killed his parents and cruelly enslaved him years before.

Each year, I love using a green and white doily crocheted by my great-grandmother (whom I am named after). It is a physical reminder of the spiritual heritage given me by those gone before.

I love flowers and the softening presence they bring to a room. Another sign of spring...

Another focus during this time of years is the Trinity. St. Patrick used a three leaf clover (very prevalent in Ireland) to teach the pagan Irish about the Trinity. So, I often have groupings of three to remind us of our Triune God.

Every year since 2002, I place the very first Willow Tree figurine I received front and center of the St. Patrick's decor (thanks for my sweet angel, MMG!) She is holding three green branches, reminding me of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I also put out a St. Patrick's card my mother in law gave me a few years back. I put it out on my greeting card easel (below):

So, while you might not be as jazzed as I am about St. Patricks and books with green bindings, I do pray that this post nonetheless finds you GROWING in love and knowledge of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Come and visit our "green house!" We'd love to see you!

SNOW DAY!

(Otherwise known to our kiddos as "the Winter Olympics in Salado")

Okay, so it's not a 10 inch snow (you folks in Midlothian!) but it was a 4 inch snow, which for Salado is pretty awesome!

The receptionist at the vet's office (where I took Gracie today for her grooming appointment) said in her VERY southern accent, "Giiirrrrlllll, can you believe it? I ain't ever seen s'much SNOWWW! My lands!"

Well, we've seen a little more than 4 inches at once, but I didn't dare burst her bubble! Here are my kiddos in the first snow we've seen since Midlothian in 2008.

This was Caleb's first snow and he LOVED it! He said, "phno" for snow. You just had to hear it!

It was perfect to have snow during the time of the Winter Olympics! The kids kept trying to "ski" down every "slope" in our yard! Ally Beth was hoping that Salado creek would freeze hard enough for her to go ice skating in one of her leotards and tu-tus! I asked her what she would use for ice skates (since we don't exactly own any!) She said she'd just use her roller blades! Hee, hee!

Caleb quote, "PHNO, Mommy! PHNO!"

(translation: "Snow, Mommy! Snow!")

Caleb Cam: My Youngest Student

Caleb insists on being "BIG" like his brother and sister. He wants to have the spoons and forks they use, not his baby plastic ones. He wants to "do school" when we are doing school. I shared my desk with him for awhile, but it was getting quite messy. So, I set up a makeshift desk for him and he thinks he's it!

The first time he sat at his desk, he sat there for almost an hour coloring and playing. He would NOT get down.

I have been warned that this is very common when there is a big spread in ages. I'm sure seeing it. Just yesterday, the kids and I were running dribbling drills up and down our long driveway. Caleb rounds the corner with his basketball, ready to participate.

Then, last night, as I was cleaning the kitchen, he drug the stool into my bathroom to my sink, got out my toothpaste and toothbrush and brushed his teeth! The little toot!

Great Ideas...

Hello, my friends!

I have stumbled upon a couple really great ideas that I just had to pass on.

Rain Gutter Bookshelves. Here is an article about the effect that displaying the covers of books

has on the literacy rate of children.

Here is what rain gutter bookshelves look like (pic borrowed from raisingolives.com):

Here are some blog links with pics of folks that have put this to use in their homes:

Bedroom Shelves

Classroom Shelves

Installation Tutorial

Can't wait to give this idea a whirl...somewhere!

The next great idea is the NO MORE NAGGING MOMMA idea. This is a tool to help me keep my kids accountable with their chores and putting their belongings away.

How many of you in the course of mothering have found an incomplete/improperly done chore and ended up very frustrated with the child who always is doing a shoddy job? (Hopefully, I'm not the only one who does this!)

Or, how many of you have asked a child to pick up certain belongings, only to trip over them as you are putting the baby to sleep and then brake bones in your hand and wear a cast for 6 weeks and a brace for 6 weeks more, all because a child didn't put their things away when asked? Hopefully, I'm the only one that has had to endure that one...but I know there are lots of you out there who ask their kiddos to put things away and they forget to comply.

To help with this, I kept saying I need to inspect their work to make sure the job is getting done. This is part of training them in responsibility.

What you expect, you must INSPECT.

Well, I've gotten better at inspecting. The only problem now is that when I announce that a particular chore needs further attending, the child who needs to follow up and finish their chore is in the middle of making a meal, or doing a timed drill on the computer and can't get to the chore right away, or otherwise unavailable. So, I tell them to do it when they are done with the current task. Then, I forget and they forget that it needs to be done. Bottom line, there is no follow through on either of our parts.

Then, I read this idea in Family Fun this month and have put it to use. I have a white dry erase board hanging in the hallway. The kids see it when they leave the kitchen and school room, and I see it when I'm standing in the kitchen or headed to the laundry room. So, we all see this board several times throughout the day. (This is key in this tool being effective.)

Each child has a dry erase marker that they chose (each picked their own color). When there is an item left undone or a belonging not put away, I just grab that child's color of dry erase marker and write the chore that needs to be completed or the belonging that needs to find its way to its home. When the kids go to the bathroom or to their rooms, they see that I have something in their color on the board and without me nagging, they know to complete the job. When they have attended to the task listed on the board, they check it off, letting me know they have done the job. THEY CANNOT ERASE THE TASK...just check when it is completed. Then, as I go to fold laundry or go to the restroom, I see the job has been done and I take 5 seconds to see if it really is done properly. If it is, then I erase the task. If not, I alert the child, erase their check mark and go about my business. At the end of the day, I check the board to make sure all tasks are done properly. Each night, the kids go to bed with a clean white board and I go to bed happy, knowing we accomplished our tasks for the day.

While this sounds tedious, IT IS NOT! I used to do all of this in my head...which means a lot of things never got done or followed up on. This frees my mental check list from having to remember everything that needs to be done!

Here is the dry erase board....as you can see, the gal in hot pink ink needs to tend to the bathroom sink, but has not yet done it. The boy in blue needed to pick up the Legos all over his floor. He did it and let me know he'd done it by checking it off. This checkmark alerts me to follow up and check his work. And, the momma in lime green has a list of things to tend to as well!

This board does not have a ledge for markers, so I made my own out of a 50 cent pencil tray and 2 3M hooks (next to blue Dap ticky tack, 3M hooks are my addiction!!! THEY DON'T MESS UP YOUR WALLS OR DOORS!!! Amazing!)

I needed an eraser for this board. But, they are $5 at Wal-Mart. So, I got creative and made my own out of an old wash cloth and the miracle fix all...Duct Tape! The tape gives you a good grip and the wash cloth is just the right size when rolled up.

And Voile--- no more nagging momma! No need to nag, we have a dry erase board to help us all remember!

(BTW, the kids are NOT ALLOWED to write on this board, other than their check marks next to the tasks assigned. This keeps the effectiveness of this tool. And, lest you think this is cruel, they each have their own dry erase boards elsewhere to doodle on!)

The results are up to God

I have been challenged of late by a sweet friend...I hope she will not mind me sharing the impact she has had on my life :-)

There are many things about this momma that I have needed to learn and see in action. Her friendship has changed me in so many ways.

Her friendship is a breath of fresh air. We all need momma friends like these to help us on our journey. She has often said, "Welcome to my crazy life." And I am so glad to enter in! Her "craziness" has shaped me spiritually and mentally.

Her family is different than the average home schooling family. They face challenges that no other families will most likely ever face. They have embraced "undesirable" children that no one else would embrace. They have even embraced children that others have rejected. Their challenges are many. And the way they deal with these challenges inspires me! They are living examples of Christ's style of discipleship. They do not shy away from "the hard things."

Being the planner that I am, I am always trying to make sure what we as a family are doing now will yield the results we hope for in the future...in regards to the curriculum we use, the family devotions we do, the disciplinary style we utilize, etc. I am always trying to extrapolate out the impact of things to see where they will end up, i.e. what fruit they will yield.

Part of this is wisdom. I think it is only right to evaluate what seeds you are sowing so you will know what you are reaping in the future. But, the other more encompassing part of this is CONTROL and FEAR. Weather and environment greatly impact seeds. Weather is out of our control. Our pure seeds, so carefully selected, will have to endure harsh conditions...conditions we can't anticipate or plan around. How will the fruit turn out?

I want a guaranteed plan and formula...one that is proven and true.

There are no such formulas. I know this, yet I still search for them. Isn't this futility???

I believe there are ways of doing things that are better than other ways...but even if we do most everything right, there is no guarantee of the outcome of our children's hearts. Many children have walked away from the fellowship of the saints to instead enjoy the broad way of life. Many never come back to the narrow way. How can I keep my kids on the narrow way?

I can't....so why even toil to do things "right"? All of this toil...for what? If I can't guarantee the results, why do I try so hard?

This is where my sweet friend enters in. As I ask her myriads of questions and pour out my heart to her, her simple responses leave me dumbfounded. When asking her how she faces the future with some of her emotionally challenged children, she responds, "The future is not up to me. I just need to work with today. Tomorrow has enough troubles of its own."

Hmm....seems I've heard that somewhere before? Yet, I am obviously much worried about tomorrow. I am not walking in obedience to these words of Jesus.

This momma gives her all every day. Her primary concerns are the spiritual condition of her children's hearts and their character. She doesn't get in a fuss about the material and academic. She has said, "I will choose the spiritual battles over the physical any day."

I have never met a mom so focused on the HEARTS of her children.

She said to me recently, "I just need to be faithful and obedient today. That's my job. The results are God's job."

How freeing it was to let go of my death-grip on the "results" of our labors in our children's lives!

I read Ann Voskamp's blog entry today (Holy Experience author). It is a great entry, but her closing quote is what really spoke to me.

Do not depend on the hope of results. When you are doing the sort of work you have taken on, essentially an apostolic work, you may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect.

As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself.

-Thomas Merton