Good Eatin'

Hubby is finally back from his trip to Tennessee. Though he was only gone for 3 days, he was thoroughly missed.

He was so thoughtful, he took and emailed me this picture of McDougal's Village Coop so I could share in his lunch experience.

"...McDougal's has a cabin-like feel, with exposed wooden beams and sloping hardwood ceilings. Stuffed animal heads adorned with sunglasses, a scarf or a trucker's cap cover the walls. Other decorating accents include Christmas lights, papier-mâché roosters and classic-rock album covers..."(www.citysearch.com)

Hubby says he enjoyed both the chicken wings and the unique atmosphere. Perhaps next time you're in Nashville, you can stop by!

Abortion Survivor Tells Her Story

Gianna Jessen's mother went to Planned Parenthood at 7.5 months pregnant to get an abortion. Her plan was to let the abortionist inject her womb with a saline solution so that Gianna would be burned inside and out, and then delivered dead.

But, God had another plan...

Part I


Part II

Guess Who Won the Giveaway!

Yes, I did! This is the first online giveaway I've won! I guess we'll be well prepared over here when it comes to spelling!

Thanks Jenn!

SpellQuizzer Giveaway!

Jenn at ::Sperjoy::. is hosting a SpellQuizzer giveaway!

SpellQuizzer, a spelling program for helping children master their spelling and vocabulary words. Developed by Dan Hite, a father of two, SpellQuizzer allows parents or students to easily enter their spelling words into the program and make audio recordings of the list. 

Jenn writes:

"I have been allowed to give away one free copy of this product to the winner of a giveaway. After you read the review, if you feel this product would benefit you and your child, please enter the giveaway by doing the following:

1. Leave a comment on this post.

2. Link back to this post on your blog letting others know about the giveaway. If you don't have a blog, you can Twitter it or do a Facebook post about it with a link to this blog post. Or you can do all three.

The giveaway will be open until midnight Friday, August 21, 2009. On Saturday morning I will randomly draw one winner from the comments left and announce that winner on Saturday."

Click here to add your comment and enter the giveaway!

We went. We saw. We still have questions.

I recently mentioned that hubby and I were planning to attend the Chicago Homeschool Expo. The expo was helpful, in that it we left feeling more knowledgeable about the legal rights in the state of Illinois regarding homeschool, which was one of our goals. However, we still have questions.

From a Christian perspective, we absolutely see the spiritual benefits to homeschooling. However, from the academic perspective, we are still leery about how we can ensure that our children are excelling academically in a way that will enable them to be competitive in the job market and/or when it comes to college admissions.

Don't get me wrong. Their salvation and love for God is our highest priority. Nevertheless, we see nothing in scripture that is against educational excellence and we believe it can actually allow a person to be a greater blessing in the kingdom of God.

We have been wondering:

How do homeschooled children do in comparison to their non-homeschooled peers on standardized tests, such as the ACT and SAT?

Are the homeschooled children who excel academically excelling because "homeschooling works" or because they are just bright and would succeed in any setting?

How do you go about ensuring that your homeschooled children are academically comparable to the rest of the population?

Are these concerns that anyone else has had? What are your thoughts?

For The Domestically Challenged Homemaker

Isn't it just beautiful how many christian-homemaker blogs you find online? Sewing, knitting, and crocheting are just a few of the many skills these homemakers employ to make clothes for their family. They get up before dawn to begin the day with prayer before they nurse and cloth diaper their baby. Then its off to begin breakfast for the family. Mind you, this breakfast consist of fresh, organic food grown in their garden and the bread they baked the night before. Not to mention the fact that they have managed to buy all their groceries for under $25.00 a week!

They manage a home that's filled with the aroma fresh baked cookies and the sound of well-behaved children (who share) and are single-handedly homeschooled by their devoted mother. These homemakers enjoy and delight in the cooking, cleaning, and the day to day task; focusing on its eternal purpose and rewards. They are "model" homemakers.

...And then there's the rest of us.

The rest of us, domestically challenged homemakers find the "model" homemakers wonderfully inspirational. However, we just don't get it.

You see, we find much of this cleaning to be...well, tedious and gross. When the clock strikes 3:30pm and we know its time to start dinner, we feel a overwhelming feeling of anxiety. We've tried to set the clock for 5:30am for prayer, but instead we are usually "snatched" out of our sleep by some small person's crying and whining.

We can barely thread a needle. We have "show-downs" with our children EVERYDAY. We love them, but we have to call on the name of the Lord for strength not to react toward some of their actions in a way that might traumatize them.

We secretly miss the office. No, we wouldn't really rather be there; but, at least there our tasks were clear and we were monetarily rewarded after our performance evaluation. We were trained to read, write, network, present, and to "climb the ladder." No one trained us on how to cook, clean, bake, or sew. When we came home, we stepped out of our "element" and left behind those things we once excelled and took pride in.

Nevertheless, we hang in there, striving to embrace our role as homemakers. We too focus on the eternal rewards, knowing that this work is more important than anything we would have ever accomplished at the office. We stick to it, pressing to learn, perfecting our skills and our hearts because we know that this is a sacred calling and we want to please our Lord.

If you are a domestically challenged homemaker, be encouraged! Don't beat yourself up because you feel behind the "model" homemaker! You are blessed because you "fear the Lord and walk in his ways. You will eat the fruit of your hands. You will be happy and it will be well with you" (psalm 128:1-2, NASB).

Your home is cluttered on every side, yet not abandoned; your life chaotic, but not in without purpose. You are tired, but not defeated; domestically challenged, but not without hope!

How To Have a Good Fight

Before we were married, hubby and I read a book our pastor wrote entitled, "Marriages Are Not Made In Heaven." Chapter 10 is devoted to teaching married couples how to have a good fight.

Hubby and I have always been grateful for the information we received from this book because it allowed us to established "ground rules" for our disagreements before we were married. Although we have not always followed them perfectly, much of the time, having them in place has kept us from hitting below the belt, if you will.

I think that many couples who get married without growing up in a two-parent home or without being close to a couple who have a strong marriage lack the communication skills needed to 'have a good fight." Consequently, many words that cannot be taken back are often thrown out, never to be forgotten.

However, I think establishing some ground rules for the inevitable disagreements that will take place in a marriage can cause even the feistiest of couples to overcome problems in a more refined fashion.

Here are the ones from the book(Dr. D. Rayford Bell, pgs. 86-94):

1. Keep it Honest- "At the altar you vowed certain things. But have you ever committed yourself, verbally and honestly in your soul, to being authentic and honest with your partner, viewing your partner with respect?"

2. Keep it Under Control- "Make sure your weapons are not deadly...Be angry and sin not(Eph 4:26) When we attack the person instead of the problems, we move into deadly areas...when we make things personal or assault motives...when we reject rather than reprove...it is harmful.

Remove gross exaggerations such as "always" and "never" from your fights...remember those sweeping universal rebukes are not true."

3. Keep it Timed Right- "Be sure that both of you sense that this is the right time to talk. That's not when husbands come in from work and battle fatigue has set in over his day. Not when wives find a mountain of dirty dishes."

4. Keep it Positive- "When you come to your mate with a justified criticism, be quick to suggest a solution. Criticism hurts. A positive, supportive comment would help take some sting out of the wound."

5. Keep it Tactful- "This probably will be the most difficult rule to implement because when we have a point to make that we feel strongly about, we tend to get louder...This is profound with tact: you say, 'I trust you and I hope as I share these words I won't hurt you unnecessarily."

6. Keep it Private-"Don't swing at your mate in public. There are at least two ways that you can do this in a marriage...you can do it with open, bold embarrassment...or...you can do it with subtle, cutting sarcasm, either one hurts deeply."

7. Clean it Up- "'And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you'(Eph 4:32). The greatest exhibition of forgiveness took place at Calvary, fully forgive like He did."

My favorite on this list is the part about eliminating gross exaggerations like "never" and "always." I can't even begin to tell you how much smoother things have turned about because we don't use those words! Instead, we may say, "it seems like recently" or "sometimes" or "often times." This takes some self-control on the part of the accuser but, is usually appreciated by the accused and makes it easier for them to accept and own up to the point that is being made.

#3 is the most challenging for me because once I'm ready to talk, I'm ready to talk. It takes much prayer in order to keep from bombarding my husband with the emotions I'm feeling right at that moment, in order to wait for a more appropriate time.

How about you? Do you have some "ground rules" that you use in order to "have a good fight?"

(Image from google images)

Ouch!

I have 15 pounds and 12 ounces of pure man-child. He seems to be growing at a much faster pace than our girls did, with 4 teeth at only 4 months old! He is a joy. Everyone was right about that whole mother-son bond thing. There's just one problem.

He seems to have taken up a habit of soothing his aching gums during our nursing sessions. It's a cycle. He's in pain, I'm in pain. He's in pain, I'm in pain.

I've heard of pain bringing people closer together, but somehow this kind seems more likely to drive us apart.

Managing The ER

"Many times...we believe that if our days aren't peaceful, predictable, and productive, we are a failure!...The truth is that our days may (actually) resemble the predictability and routine of an Emergency Room..."

~Busy Mom of 10

Read her entire post: Overcoming the Myth of the Perfect Homeschooling Mother, part 3.

Chicago Homeschool Expo ~ Aug 6th-8th

Hubby and I are preparing for the Chicago Homeschool Expo this week. Fortunately, Thursday is an entire day devoted to families who are still just thinking and learning about homeschool!

I hope to return home with an abundance of information and (between you and me) thoroughly convinced:)

How about you? Do you homeschool and/or are you considering it? Why?

I Tried

I really did try to resist buying the Mocha Frappuccino Ice Cream that you now see in my freezer next to the peas. Really, I did.

Imagine my dilemma: I see a coffee and chocolate flavored ice cream, while shopping at Target, on payday! With that combination of simple pleasures, I was doomed!

I guess since its in there now, I'm going to have to have a taste;)

I just hope I don't eat so much that what happened to Mary happens to me. Somehow, I don't think that I could pull it off as adorably as she did!