Today has been full of . . .

 kids . . .



banana wheat muffins . . .

I made a triple batch of these this morning, putting some in the freezer and leaving plenty out to enjoy for the next few days.

fingerpaint . . .

I love making homemade fingerpaint and mixing up the colors.

and making an offer on this house that we hope to call home soon.



It's been a great day.

Animal Care Instructions

Amanda and Austin are on vacation this week with their grandparents and other extended family. I miss them a lot but I'm glad they are having fun.

Before Amanda left she wrote me a complete set of instructions for taking care of her pets, It was so cute I have to copy them here.

Remember to put Toby's food on a plate so he does not cut his tongue.

Only put his food near his beds. I am trying to teach him he can't come on the entrance porch.

Please, please, please make sure Scout AND Toby know they are good boys.

And sometimes can you pet them a little bit.

And if you see one of Scout's toys can you throw it for him so he can chase it.

8:30AM - Toby's first meal

Noonish - Toby's 2nd meal

5:30PM Toby's 3rd meal

The rats can eat leftovers from meals or just about anything actually.  Please make sure that they have PLENTY of water.

Thank You.

Friday's Fave Five

This week I am linking up to Friday's Fave Five over at Living to Tell the Story.

So without further ado here are some of my favorite five things about this week.

1. MY HELPER IS BACK! After being gone Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday and then on Monday she was able to come back on Tuesday Her son was very ill and needed her to be with him. I'm so glad he's doing better. And I'm so glad to have her back. Everything just runs so much more smoothly when she's here.

2. Sleeping in on a rainy morning. This morning we woke up to rain, rain, rain. My early kids came in and went back to sleep so I was able to catch another hour of rest on the couch. It was awesome to lay there and listen to the rain on the windows and doze. It made my day.

3. Emely. Tuesday was Emely's first day with us and we have enjoyed having her here with us.

4.  The blessing of having a roof over my head.  Earlier this week we found out the mother of one of the kids we babysit had fallen on hard times and she and her son had no place to live. It made me realize how grateful I am to have the security of a roof over my head. We were fortunate to be able to offer her a temporary place to stay while she looks for an apartment.

5. Coffee. This week has been cool and rainy and I have been enjoying lots of coffee. Almost as good as actually drinking coffee is the aroma of fresh coffee brewing. In fact, I think I'm going to go brew a fresh pot now.

Homeschool Reflections - Looking Back at September

This year we started our homeschool year the day after Labor Day. It took us a couple weeks to find our groove we seem to be in a good place right now.

Our routine this year is very simple and takes about two hours a day. Math and Independent Reading are done in the mornings between 10:00 and 11:00. The math assignment is done first and when that is finished the rest of the hour is filled with independent reading. A few of the books the kids have read so far this year are The Black Stallion by Walter Farley (Amanda), Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (Austin and Amanda) and The Story of King Arthur and His Knights from the Classic Starts series (Austin and Amanda).

Our second hour of work is in the afternoon when the little kids are napping. During this time we sit down together and I read aloud. We do Bible, Science or Social Studies (alternating books) and Literature. Our Bible reading takes 5 - 10 minutes and then we finish the first half hour with the Science or Social Studies book that we are reading. The second half hour is spent reading our literature books. So far this year we've read Don't Know Much About Space by Kenneth C. Davis and Death on the Nile (A Hercule Poirot Mystery) by Agatha Christie.

This system is working very well for us. I feel like we are covering the basics without taking too much time away from all the other things that are capturing their interests at the moment. Things like building endless models with K-Nex, nursing a sickly abandoned kitten back to health, self inititiated reading just because the book looks interesting, walks through woods and fields, and watching The Learning Channel, Discovery Health and Animal Planet. It allows us time to work together as a family in our home daycare business and gives them the opportunity to earn money of their own. And, of course, earning money and learning how to manage it is another important part of their education.

And I do not have to worry in the slightest about lack of socialization. Amanda has five really good friends and Austin has three that they spend time with, both in their homes and with them in our home. Then there are all the families we learn to know through our business. Add to that activities at church and time spent with extended family and they are in no way lacking socialization.

So over all I feel like our first month of school for this year has gone very well and looking forward to October.

I mentioned in my last post that Mona's nineteen year old son had a blood clot. Later in the week things took a turn for the worse and he began having seizures. Then he completely lost consciousness and finally had to be put on a ventilator. This was on Wednesday. He is now off the ventilator, awake and talking but when I last talked to his sister this afternoon the doctors still did not know what had caused the seizures. They are saying that they believe the blood clot and the seizures are unrelated. This family could certainly use some prayers right now as they go through this.

I Thought I Lost the Chicken Nuggets

When I came downstairs this morning at 6:00 I was startled to find Mona (my helper) standing in the kitchen reading the weekly menu that I had posted on the bulletin board. She wasn't scheduled to come in until 10AM so I was very surprised to see her. It turned out she had been at the hospital all night with her 19 year old son who has a blood clot in his leg. She was on her way home and stopped by to see what was coming up for the day  and to see if she could get a head start on anything. I told her she could take the day off if she wanted/needed to, but she insisted on working.

 Since there were green beans on the menu she took a large can of them and a large kettle home with her to get them started cooking while she took care of a few things at home and made some phone calls. I told her I would start the chicken nuggets and french fries and keep an eye on them when the time came if she wasn't here by then. So when it was time to start lunch I took a few minutes to get the food out of the freezer, put it on baking sheets and put it in the oven. Then I took the kids into the back yard to play. Since the door to the back yard is right off the kitchen in was easy enough to pop in and check on them now and then. After we were out a little while I decided to check on the food. I came in and looked in the oven and the fries were coming along nicely. But I didn't see any chicken nuggets. Irritated with myself for forgetting to put them in the oven I turned around to see where on the kitchen counter I had left them. No chicken nuggets. Now really annoyed with myself  I opened the oven door again to see if I had somehow missed them there. Still no chicken nuggets. I checked the freezer to see if I just thought I had gotten them out. No nuggets. Now getting a little concerned about my state of mind I looked in the refrigerator, in the freezer again, in the second refrigerator. No nuggets. Getting a little desperate I checked the cabinets. Still no nuggets.Now feeling a little hysterical I started laughing and looked some more. Nothing. Finally, I called Amanda, who was in the yard with the kids to come in for a little. I was laughing so hard I almost couldn't talk.

"Amanda" I said. "I have a little problem." She looked puzzled and very unsure of what on earth this problem might be. "I lost the chicken nuggets."

Now she started laughing. "Mona came by and got them and took them home with her to finish baking." she said.

I still haven't figured out why Mona decided to take the nuggets home with her and leave the fries in the oven but I'm sure she had her reasons. I'm just glad to know that I wasn't hallucinating when I thought I put them in the oven.

Meandering Through Saturday

All day I've been enjoying these roses that Mona brought with her when she came to work Wednesday. They are on a little shelf in the kitchen where I can see them while I cook and bake and feed the kids and clean up after them. Somehow they make me happy just to have them there to look at.

I tried some new recipes to today and they all turned out very good. I made Pumpkin Bread, Chili, and Amish Bread. The last few weeks I have been using the bread machine more and it's so much fun to try new reicpes in it. And I love the smell of baking bread. Another thing that makes me happy.

The rest of the day was spent with the kids and at naptime I printed the pages for our new circle time book and the pictures for our new wall display for next week. Most of what I printed came from one of my favorite sites for kids activities - DLTK Kids. Our letter of the week is Kk, the shape is circle, the color is purple and the number is 8. I printed several songs for the letter Kk and some pictures of things that begin with Kk, as well as some songs about dinosaurs  to compliment our dinosaur wall display. The only thing that did not come from DLTK Kids was our sign language lesson for the week. That came from Lesson Tutor.

Doug took trash to the landfill, went grocery shopping (Amanda and Michael went with him), did some laundry (Thank you!) and mowed the yard at our rental house. Austin slept until after 2:00 this afternoon and then I had Amanda go wake him. He's had a cold and was really sleepy yesterday, so I thought he probably needed the rest, but I also wanted him to be able to sleep tonight. Amanda spent most of her free time either playing with Toby and Scout (our cats) or on her laptop watching YouTube videos of WebKinz.

And that in a nutshell was our day. I feel like I just kinda meandered through my Saturday and it was good.

Another Day in the Life

Some days I sit down to write and think that I really don't have anything to say, that nothing has happened today. Then I realize that I am just so used to the daily chaos, drama and doings around here that I forget that it may be at least somewhat interesting to write about.

One parent today experienced a lot of frustration and what she felt was unfairness at work today, leading to her walking out. She called me and asked to come by and talk. The kids had just gone down for naps so I met her outside and we talked. She decided go talk to the owners of the business she had worked for to make sure they understood her side of the story and then she was  planning to see if she could put in some applications at other places. About 45 minutes later she called me back to tell me that she was back at work. When she came in this evening she told me that when she went to talk to the business owners and they in turn called the manager of the place where she was  employed and they were able to work things out so that she could return to work.

Another parent, actually a grandparent who has custody of her grandchild, has started radiaton treatment for breast and thyroid cancer this week. She had breast cancer five years ago and just a couple months ago found out she has it again. It has been really hard for her to make the decision to go ahead with treatment but her love for her grandson has won out.  Prayers for her and her grandson would be greatly appreciated.

Still another grandparent is temporarily taking care of her granddaughter for about ten days after the child's mother was unexpectedly unable too. I have cared for this child in the past and received a rather frantic call from the grandmother wondering if she could come here again for a little. I'm glad to say it worked out that we can so she was back today after being gone about six months. It's amazing how much a toddler can grow and change in six months.

 The stepmother of two of our kids works at Hershey Chocolate Factory brought us a whole box of Mounds candy bars this afternoon. SO GOOD! I don't think they're going to stay around long at all. Especially with four tween/teens in the house this evening. Of course I have definitely had my share of them as well.

I had a little scuffle (playfully) with one of the kids this afternoon and lost. Painfully. I was sitting in a lawn chair outside and just when I said "You win!" the chair tipped over backward and I hit the ground so hard I heard my teeth grind together. The chair folded up and I folded with it. I think I'm going to be a little sore tomorrow. The fourteen year old I was scuffling with thought it was a lot funnier than I did (although I think it did scare her a little at first.)

Amanda is still spending a large amount of her free time with Toby, the cat who showed up at our door last week. Wednesday evening Toby discovered Amanda's pet rats, who were safely in their cage. Of course he had to get as close as he could and try to figure this out. Two of the rats stayed at the back of the cage, but Amber, the feisty one, was not going to be afraid in her own home and gave him a good little nip on the nose. He jumped and fussed but went right back to the cage so she nipped him again. At that point Amanda seperated them and took Toby outside. Our other cat, Scout, just considers them a  normal part of the family and ignores them, even if Amanda has them out of their cage playing with them. He has been known to go to sleep next to them playing.

I made this pizza recipe for lunch today and we really like the flavor and texture of the very simple crust. It disappeared very quickly and even though I doubled the recipe I really should have made twice as much. I'm planning to make it again Sunday evening for a simple dinner. I was going to make this Chocolate Chip Bread for afternoon snack and then realized that somebody (Amanda) had eaten all the chocolate chips. So I guess it will have to wait now until Doug makes another trip to the grocery store.

And now my brain seems to have gone numb and I'm having a hard time writing a coherent sentence. I think it's time to go read a few blogs and maybe play a game or two of Mahjong.

Yesterday and today have been the kind of days that just move smoothly along pretty much the way they are supposed too. Which is a wonderful and somewhat rare occasion around here.

The weather has been nice, not too hot and not too cool. The kids have been in pretty good moods, homeschool has gone well and life looks good.

At the moment (9:22PM) we only have one daycare child here and he's asleep as is Michael.

The Wednesday evening children's program at church has started again so Doug took Michael and Austin. Doug always stays and helps out then brings the boys back home. Amanda would rather stay home and we have decided not push the issue. So she was home with me. I stay home because of the kids we have here in daycare. Some are too young to go and some leave at a time the would make it difficut to go to church. But I enjoy the quieter evenings with Michael occupied at church.

Yesterday I heard a sudden little yell from Amanda and then Austin and Amanda came running to the kitchen to tell us they had found some kind of strange insect and didn't know what it was. I had an idea when I saw it what it was but wasn't completely sure. The kids caught and kept it until we could look it up. This afternoon we did looked it up online and found I was right. It is called a camel cricket. I think the kids are planning to take it along to Grandma's tomorrow evening to show everyone there and then they will probably let it go.



Vacuum Repair Lessons

Austin was vacuuming the nursery today and accidentally got something caught in the vacuum cleaner resulting (we thought) in a broken belt. So Doug told him this was a good time to learn how to replace the belt on the vacuum cleaner. As it turned out, he had turned off the vacuum before the belt broke but since they had already taken it apart Doug went ahead and showed him how to replace the belt. My very important contribution to the whole process was to take pictures.

Catching Up Again - Our Somewhat Crazy Week

This past week has been a little crazy. In some ways not so great, in other ways wonderful, but either way very busy.

Tuesday we began our homeschooling year. We had a great day Tuesday and the kids really enjoyed it even though they weren't to excited at first. Math is our biggest challenge and it is done first thing in the morning and gotten completely out of our way before we move on to anything else. The other morning subject is reading and they are both loving the books they are reading. In the afternoons we are doing Bible, Science/Social Studies (alternating days), and Literature. We are also spending about 30 minutes each afternoon watching a video from Snag Learning. We watched 3 Points and I felt it really made all of us think about how fortunate we are and what role each of us has in making life better in some way for others.

On Wednesday we had two new kids start coming to daycare. Unfortunately I got up that morning and discovered that I had been hit with some kind of stomach but. There absolutely no way I could handle taking care of the kids so I had to call Doug home from work. I felt so bad doing that but Mona (my helper) had left early on Monday because she was sick and had not been able to work at all on Tuesday. I had no idea if she was coming in Wednesday or not but even if she was she normally doesn't get here until 10AM. This was 6:30AM and I new I couldn't handle things that long. Thankfully, Doug was able to leave right away and as soon as he got home I went to bed and stayed there until about 3:00 that afternoon. Also, thankfully, Mona was able to come in for a few hours and make lunch, clean up, and get dinner in the oven, before she had to leave again. I was grateful that the mother of the two new kids took everything in stride and understood these things happen and they were back the next day to a much more normal schedule.

Thursday evening shortly after Mona left for the day she had to turn around and come back because the radiator in her car developed a big leak. So Friday her son brought a new one and Saturday Doug put it in for her - with supervision.

Another wonderful fix-it project that Doug had to deal with when he came home from work on Friday was a stopped up toilet. It turned out that "someone" (translate that to Michael) had flushed the end of a paper towel holder (that I accidentally broke the other day and should have thrown away) and it was causing major issues. Lovely!

The church we attend just finished building a new addition and this weekend in celebration of that there were a lot of ativities going on all weekend long. We've had to miss most of it because of daycare schedules but we were able to go Friday evening to a concert by No Greater Love. It was great to get out for an evening and the music and singing were beautiful. We took our kids and some their friends and they had a great time as well. Michael was even out in aisle dancing for the last half of the concert. Also wonderful was getting see for the first time all the renovations and additions that have been going and I have to say the architects and builders did a wonderful job.

Amanda has adopted a stray cat the she originally named Lola. When we realized that Lola is a boy she changed the name to Toby. It was very malnourished and starving for attention and Amanda has been spending a lot of time nursing it back to health. She even bought him special food yesterday when she went grocery shopping with Doug.

 We have five daycare children so far today and three more scheduled to come later this evening but it has still been a pretty quiet and peaceful day. Hopefully the week is that way as well.

Catching Up

It's been almost a week since I've been here. I didn't intend to be gone this long but things have been pretty busy.

Austin's 14th birthday was Tuesday (8/31) and Michael's 4th birthday was Friday (9/03). We had a small party for them here at home on Sunday. It's amazing how fast they are growing up and I am enjoying seeing them grow and learn but at the same time I find myself wanting to hold on to each day as it passes, not wanting to miss a moment.

Austin had a friend here from Friday evening until this evening. Amanda had two friends here overnight Saturday night and then another friend came to visit for a  few hours Sunday evening.

Even though today is Labor Day we were open for business and had seven daycare children. My helper came in for awhile but left early because her allergies were bothering her so bad she just wanted to go home and try to sleep.

I spent a large part of the day doing the final preparations for our homeschool year which begins tomorrow. I had gotten all the materials we need but needed to organize a little and plan out our time. The current plan will probably take us about 2 1/2 hours a day. I'm looking forward to it and I think Austin and Amanda will enjoy their studies. Math may be an issue because neither of them like it but we will do that first thing in the morning and get it out of our way. We are doing a lot of reading aloud with me reading to both of them. We always enjoy learning this way, it gives us a chance to learn together. History, science, Bible and literature are all going to approached this way, at least at the beginning of the year. There will also be silent reading assignments for each of them.

So I guess I'll get some rest and get ready for our fun tomorrow.

Special Needs Links

Here are some links to some articles that I found interesting. Linking to an article does not always mean I agree with everything written there, but it does mean that I feel it has some good food for thought. Enjoy.

Co-Ed Resdidental Treatment Facilities  from Tips for Troubled Teens

Sensory Links from Hartley's Life With 3 Boys

Setting Up an Autism Classroom on a Budget from Autism Classroom.com

Five Benefits of Growing up With an Austistic Sibling from The Autism News

Helping Kids Manage Anger from Dr. Michele Borba's Reality Check

Shut Up from Both Hands and a Flashlight

Closed Doors and Hidden Rooms

We know what we are, but know not what we may be.

                                                            - William Shakespeare

I've had some lofty goals recently and quite often failed fantastically. Actually, most of the time, I've failed fantastically.  I've truly considered giving up. I've had quite a few days when I thought maybe I'm just asking too much of myself.

Maybe these dreams of mine are just pipe dreams, mirages, castles in the air.

Maybe I don't have the backbone, the know-how, or the determination to make them happen.

And maybe it's just selfish of me to want anything other than what I have right now. I have a husband I love, wonderful children, and a thriving business. I have a roof over my head (admittedly it's a sometimes leaky roof, but it's a roof), plenty to eat, decent clothing, health. I have friends, and am blessed with a wonderful church family.

And I love all the people in my life and am very grateful for the blessings that I have. And yet I often feel that I am choosing to crawl at a time when I should be walking, running, maybe even flying. There are nights when I have dreams that I am literally soaring through a huge mansion that is beautiful, well appointed, with more mysterious rooms, nooks and recesses than I can find, filled with potential . . . and yet unused. Other nights I dream that I am living in a house and suddenly discover there are rooms in this house that I have never opened the doors to, filled  with potential and possibility for many uses and again . . . unused.

I've been thinking a lot about these dreams and, while I don't often feel the need to interpret dreams I am beginning to feel that there is something here I need to examine. My life is before me. My house, my mansion is here and ready to be used.  It is well furnished with family, friends, and so many opportunities. And yet I am not making full use of these blessings.

So I ask myself - What are some of the unused rooms in my life? Which rooms have I only peaked into, yet never made use of all they have to offer?

My own home is one. While it is livable and comfortable enough there is so much more potential for beauty, for providing an oasis of calm, of nurturing and caring, as well as of creativity, love and laughter.

My business in another. Business is good and growing and yet I am getting a sense within myself that I have been looking at it too narrowly and missing opportunities for growth, for greater outreach and positive connection to those served directly as well to the wider community.

Writing is yet another. Yes I've dabbled in it, played around with it, but it's time for me to get serious and do what I need to do to make the time to write. I have so many thoughts, ideas, questions and stories, words just welling up inside with no place to go. It's time to get them out and go where they lead me.

These are just a few of the rooms in my life that I need to make full use of.  I know there are more but these are where I need to start now.

What rooms in your life remain unused, gathering dust, and hidden behind closed doors, waiting to be opened and used as they are meant to be?

Vacation is Over

We had a great vacation! Time to relax, time with family and friends, sleeping in (as much as Michael would let us), shopping, eating out, catching up on a few projects here around the house.

And now it's over.

But that's okay.

Today two of our kids were back. It was a slow easy start back into the routine. I got a text earlier this evening from another family saying their daughter was excited about coming back tomorrow. That's always good to hear and makes me happy to be back at work.

Doug is glad to be going back to work as well and anxious to see if the new machine they've been expecting at work has come in yet.

I guess we're lucky to have work we love and are excited about.

Genesis 15

1. After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield, your very great reward."
2. But Abram said, "O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?"
3. And Abram said "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."
4. Then the word of the Lord came to him: "This man will not be your heir but a son coming from your own body will be you heir."
5. He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars - if indeed you can count them." Then He said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
6. Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
7. He also said to him, "I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."
8. But Abram said, "O Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"
9. So the Lord said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."
10. Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however he did not cut in half.
11. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12. As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.
13. Then the Lord said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
14. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possession.
15. You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age.
16. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
17. When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeard and passed between the pieces.
18. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates -
19. the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,
20. Hittites, Perissites, Rephaites,
21. Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.

My Thoughts:

Abram was so close to God that he had conversations with Him. And not just polite, religiously correct conversations that began with "Dear God" and ended with "Amen." These conversations were open, honest and direct. Abram was hurting and he told God about it. And he received an answer. But before he received the answer he was given some instructions. He carried these instructions out. And waited. And chased away birds. And waited. I'm sure during this time of waiting a lot of thoughts were going through Abram's mind. Maybe he questioned what he had just heard. Maybe he wondered if he had been to free with what he said to God. Maybe he thought God had walked away and forgotten him. The Bible doesn't tell us that part but we do know Abram was human and as fellow humans it's easy to imagine that the waiting was probably hard. But in the end - God answered. God answered and Abram believed.

Doug

Although I've written a little about each of us in the About Us page I thought I'd like to write a little more in depth about each family member. So I will be writing about one family member each Sunday for the next few Sundays.

I thought I would start with my dear husband.

Doug is one of the most gentle, calm men I know. He is very patient with the kids, and with me. I'm not always easy to live with.

Doug has worked as a machinest at McKee Foods for 17 years and enjoys his work there. He has an analytical way of thinking and is very mathematically inclined so is a natural at this job.

Doug is also an EMT and volunteers at our local rescue squad one evening a week as well as runs calls if needed throughout the week. His first aid and medical knowledge has been a wonderful asset here with the kids many times.

On Wednesday evenings during the school year he can be found at church, helping with the children and youth program. He is the fill in person there, helping out wherever needed.

Here at home he helps with the kids, does a lot of the paperwork for the business, takes care of all our finances, keeps all our laptops up and running, does the yardwork and the vehicle maintenance, and spends time with the family. He enjoys the Syfy channel when he has some spare time.

He makes me laugh, makes me think and makes me feel safe. I love you Dear.

Zoo Pictures

On Thursday Doug and I took the kids to the Natural Bridge Safari and Animal Park. We had a lot fun and I took a lot of pictures. Here, in no particular order are a bunch of them.