The instructions to this meme can be found at this location: Small World at Home blog.

So here goes...

June 2008: This is the first post of my first blog.

July 2008: It's July 1st.

August 2008: I saw the symptoms before affluenza became a known buzzword.

September 2008: On this Labor Day, I hope my friends and readers have been having a pleasant break from their daily routine.

October 2008: We arrived back home safely on Monday, without any incident, after ten nights of camping with perfectly sunny and cool weather the entire time.

November 2008: Go ahead, laugh at me.... I can take it.

December 2008: Please keep our friend, Raymond S., in prayer. He is in immediate need of a heart transplant. Could you pass this prayer request on to your praying friends as well?

... and I am feeling a bit daunted. While it is true that I was excited to see the Calvert fourth grade box arrive this month, and there are parts that we are looking forward to, I am concerned. The workload looks ---- well ---- daunting. Fourth grade is when Calvert hits that accelerator pedal, when things begin to get serious. I can see there is a significant difference from third grade. We cannot wait to dig into A Child's History of the World, and the reading selections. But I can see that composition is going to be more intense. Don't get me wrong, because I know that the challenges of fourth grade are what distinguish Calvert's curriculum from so many others. It's just....that....well, now that we are here, now that we have arrived at fourth grade, I am very mindful of the challenges that lie immediately before us.

Some good news is that Baby Girl has already proceeded about 15 lessons into first grade, and she really likes it. Her skills in the three R's are already quite well developed, so much of our labor will be lightened for first grade. For this I am grateful.

Now I will be teaching fourth grade to Little Son, and first grade to Baby Girl. We will be doing school lessons for a much longer time than we are used to. We will need to begin earlier in the day, say, 8:30. I will need to focus better on time management, and spend less time on the internet. In short, I will need to live a more disciplined lifestyle than I have been living lately.

My morning routine goal will be for me to rise, tend to the dog, do my personal morning tasks, have my quiet time, and be ready to serve the children by around 7:45 each day. Then at 7:45, do Bible and/or catechism with the children, have them do their morning responsibilities at 8:00, and eat breakfast at 8:15. And if this doesn't allow enough time for everything, then we will move the start time of the children's schedule to 7:30.

Change is difficult. We are not used to getting up and going so early. I have been coaching the children a little about this during their break. This change will require prayer. I will need to become a more prayerful person this year to effectively meet all the challenges that 2009 will produce.

One thing I have done is to purchase a Christmas present for myself. It is called the Beautiful Life Management System by GraceWorks. I did splurge on this planner, but I am hoping that it will help me to keep house a little better and to keep up with details that I have let slip in recent years. But a planner is not a magic wand. The word of the year is going to have to be "pray".

We are beginning our school year on Friday, with lesson one. This is a day when there are no scheduled events, activities, or violin lessons away from home. I will let you know how it goes.

UPDATE in bold font below.

... and started reading a couple of articles in today's N*w Y*rk Times. One, in particular, I felt compelled to respond to. The article is here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/opinion/30warner.html

The article discusses an inexplicable longing among some for the traditional ways of the 1950's culture. I sent in a reply and am wondering whether the moderator will post it. My reply was:

You will find a quiet revitalization of the traditional lifestyle of former decades in the homeschooling subculture, particularly that associated with conservative Christianity, but including those who merely choose to homeschool for academic and idealistic reasons. Social scientists need to be studying these families. We are such a family, and I personally know over a dozen other such families. Their marriages are intact after many years; many of them have children well into their teenage years. They often have 4 or more children. These are happy and satisfied wives and moms and dads who are making it on one paycheck (or in some cases, developing cottage industries and other forms of working from home to meet their needs and those of the growing homeschooling populace). We are working hard to teach our kids non-materialistic values, self-control, self-discipline, self-reliance, and diligence in all we do. I, personally, have sought out a particularly rich and rigorous curriculum to aim for excellence with my two children. It requires self discipline on my part, but it is certainly not impossible. So far, our kids are pretty happy, too. They are doing fine academically and socially, able to keep up with others of differing ages. They are well mannered; they make good eye contact with others. They are able to participate in substantive conversations with adults about all manner of topics. They are thriving in learning to be excellent in various skills. In our group, we have several who play musical instruments and sports. Much can be learned about our subculture by simply visiting our blogs (there are hundreds of honeschooling families who maintain them) and simply by observing us with an open mind. The traditional family is alive and well and growing in number, and busily raising and teaching tomorrow's leaders with God's help.

Sandy in Texas, if you read that article, I am sure you have a good reply to send in.

UPDATE: -- I cannot complain anymore. They did post my comment. They must have read my blog and felt guilty. LOLOLOL. Comment #63.


The second article, seeking out whether church attendance in 2009 just might be able to help the heathen to keep his New Year's resolutions -- well, there is no serious way I could respond to that one in a single comment that the moderator would post. You decide if you can by reading the article here. It is interesting how secularists try to describe the actions of the Holy Spirit in people's lives when they don't have the proper words to do so. It is also interesting that this article appeared in the Science section.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/science/30tier.html?th&emc=th

... actually, she didn't make it up herself, but she often said:


See this article: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16882.html


An intrusive press is part and parcel of an open democracy, especially when you are the POTUS.

If the day comes that the press are barred from such interaction with the president, then we all better worry. This would be an earmark of a repressive, totalitarian form of government. It would be a very foreboding sign indeed.

And now it is time for my 100th post. I could say that in honor of my 100th post on this blog, I am going to give away 100 dollars to the person who leaves the 100th comment on this post.

The fine print rules are that the 100 comments have to be left by 100 different people, and that the contest ends in 100 hours, or around midnight on 12/27.

You can tell I'm really taking a big risk here. The operative words, here, being "could say".

What I really wanted to post in this 100th post is a photo of my favorite view of the year.

My baking is done. I have made seven different treats. They are:

Pistachio Bars;

Almond Bars;

Tropical Lime Oat Bars;

Praline Sugar Cookies;

Candy Cane Cookies;

Snickerdoodle Pinwheels; and last, but certainly not least,

Double Chocolate Espresso Bars!!

Ostensibly, I made these treats to eat and share with friends.

But you know, and I know, that it was really to post their pictures on the blog!

In addition, the children are in three performances this year. Last Sunday, they played violin for our church Christmas Fellowship night, and Baby Girl participated in a lovely girls' dance performance to "Away in a Manger".

Today, both children will be performing Christmas songs on violin in a group for a local Rotary club.

On Christmas Eve, the children will be in a Christmas Pageant titled "The Mystery of the Manger" where they don't have any speaking parts, but will be in the singing groups.

The challenge is in keeping them healthy for all these events. Little Son developed a cold on Thursday evening, and I have my doubts about Baby Girl right now. She was complaining of the same symptoms last night.

But otherwise, shopping, wrapping, and baking are essentially finished, and this girl can coast the rest of the way.

Coming up ... this blog's 100th post.

You Are 69% Likely to Survive Another Great Depression

Even though you may not be expecting the worst, you're the type of person who prepares for the worst. You live a relatively modest life. You don't overspend, and you aren't very materialistic. You are also quite self sufficient and independent. You have many useful skills. You can take care of yourself and those you love... which is crucial to surviving another Great Depression.

Speaking of keeping one step ahead, I have another story. Our family never goes shopping on Black Friday, but this year, we saw such an extraordinary price cut on something the children wanted, that dear dear DH got up early in the morning on Black Friday to procure that item. He was up around 5 a.m. and slipped out of the house before I even woke up - what a gem he is! He drove a half hour to the store, was first in line (or close to it), got the items, loaded them into the van and returned home. By the time he returned it was daylight and I was up reading in our family room. He deposited the items into a slick and sneaky hiding spot and entered the house. Then he put his jammies back on and went to bed, and actually fell asleep again (as only a man can do).

The children arose a little while later, and found him as normal as ever in bed, never suspecting anything. It was the perfect plan.

Or so we thought.

The next day, as our family was driving down our street in the van heading to P*nera Bread, Little Son piped up a question: "Daddy, did you drive somewhere early yesterday morning?"

DADDY: "Er, why do you ask?"

LITTLE SON: "Well, I was riding my bicycle yesterday in our driveway, and I noticed that the most recent tracks in the sand were from a car, not from my bike".

Mommy and Daddy exchange "parent" glances.

And I (Mommy) hastily volunteered: "well, I think the meter reader is due to come read our meter. Maybe he came by??"

LITTLE SON: "But how would he get through our gate if it was closed?"

DADDY: "So have you figured out what kind of bagel you guys are going to order?"

MOMMY: "Do you think our friends will be there this morning?"

And the matter was dropped. But of course, Little Son may appear to "drop" a matter of conversation, but that certainly doesn't mean he stops thinking about it, you know what I mean? Is it me, or are they making kids smarter these days? Or does it just appear that way since their minds are getting sharper and sharper even as my own becomes duller and duller.

Inquiring minds want to know.

A dear friend of mine has suggested that Little Son may have a future in the CIA or the FBI.

Like most of my readers, I have been very busy this past week, and haven't had time to write blog posts. It isn't that there isn't anything bloggable in my life, it is just that some of it is too complicated to write out quickly. I am in the middle of writing a longer post about a more complex subject, but that might not be posted for a while yet. But I do have a current short anecdote about a conversation I had with Little Son yesterday while his sister listened in.

Our church asked our family to light the Advent wreath for the fourth Sunday in Advent. This will be our first time doing this in the six Advents we have been attending this church. So yesterday, I reviewed the passage of scripture that our family is to read, and practiced it with the children. It is from Luke 1:26-35. Basically it is the story of the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel appeared to a young virgin named Mary and announced that she would give birth to a son.

So, I could see the question coming before it did, and both children were present at the time.

LITTLE SON: What is a virgin?

MOMMY: A virgin is, well, you know how animals and insects have to mate to have a baby? Well a virgin is someone who never mated.

LITTLE SON: Then I'm a virgin, too.

MOMMY: That's right, you are. And the fact that Jesus was born this way is another amazing miracle about him, another way he was completely different, because Mary had never mated.

LITTLE SON: You mean, Mary and Joseph never mated?

MOMMY: Well, sure they did, later on, when Jesus had younger brothers and sisters, but at the time Jesus was coming, they hadn't. Remember, at that time, Mary was just engaged to Joseph. They weren't even married yet. So this is just one more amazing miraculous thing about Jesus; the way he was born. Different from everybody else.

LITTLE SON: Well I believe that miracle is true.

MOMMY: Good for you!

And then I was off the hook. It was that quick and simple. I didn't bat an eyelash. Whew! That was easy enough. Until next time, that is....

You see, Little Son and Baby Girl have been learning about the Birds and the Bees by, ...well, ....studying birds and bees. Little Son has been reading books about creatures for a couple of years, and has "explained" all this to me several times. They have sort of discovered at least some things about the facts of life through the "back door" of nature study, as it were.

So Mommy continues to try to keep one step ahead...

If a dog pees into a low bush at night while the Christmas lights are on, will he get electrocuted?

THEME:
This week it’s seriously going to be just fun. This week share your favourite candies. I know from being on the HSBA Post team that Sprittibee and Dawn love gummy-bears, and maybe Bunny too. Have fun with this… and you’re welcome to post a photo of YOU eating your favourite candy. Haha!
God’s Word is also like sweetness to our souls. His sweet love, forgiveness, comfort, peace, and more is what makes our lives seem a little more bearable when things get rough. Whenever you eat your sweet piece of goodness remember that God loves you and will always be there when life seems sour.
Share a scripture for this week as well. One that lifts you up when you’re feeling discouraged.

It is impossible for me to simply identify one favorite candy, so instead you are going to get many fine candies that I enjoy.


York Peppermint Patties









Spearmint Leaves

Yes, there has been a cease fire in my battle with perimenopause. And it has been all about better nutrition.

First of all, many thanks to Paula over at A Large Room for recommending a good book to me: "What to Eat", by Marion Nestle. This book was a whopper, over 500 pages, but I read all of it, and it was very informative. Just when a previous book I read about Perimenopause and nutrition had me thinking I had to go to a different planet to find safe food, this common sense nutritionist showed me I didn't have to. I highly recommend this book! This lady is smart. She is a good analyzer and thinker. She writes in an engaging, and often humorous way about a subject that can be pretty dry. She has done hours of research into the politics of food marketing, and how it should affect our choices on what to purchase and what to eat, and how to choose well at the supermarket.

Second of all, thanks once again to Leanne Ely for helping me get on the good nutrition wagon again. Thanks to her recipe plan, we are once again eating well at dinnertime. And these dinners often mean plenty of healthy leftovers for lunch later in the week.

The result is that I have been doing better in the hormone department. The symptoms and issues I reported back in this post have largely improved. There have been some days with a couple of symptoms, but not nearly to the extent that I complained about during the summer. I know that our diets left a lot to be desired. My DH and I had emerged from our successful weight loss year (he lost 35 pounds last year and I lost 30 pounds) without a decent eating plan for sustaining the weight loss, so we ended up eating too many packaged "calorie--controlled" meals without enough nutrition in them. Hey, Stouffers can be a good thing in a pinch, but too much of this sort of eating will take its toll. Not to mention the high sodium content. So now we are happily home cooking a wide variety of foods, and this is one area where it has been helping me.

Another things is that the book I mentioned above helped me to identify what may be the emerging signs of lactose intolerance in Baby Girl. So, after recently upgrading to organic milk for her benefit, I now find that I need to purchase organic and lactose free milk for her. I have been doing this for a week now, and her tummy aches have gone away. That is, until this morning when she complained about it again. I thought about what she had eaten and remembered that she ate a large portion of a casserole I made last night that contained cream cheese. Whoops! I guess I forgot about the lactose content there.

I spent the first 31 years of my life in the shadow of New Y*rk C*ty. That is, if you were to drive up on a ridge in my town and look to the southeast, you could see the entire Manh*ttan Skyline on a clear day. The Big Apple was probably 20 or 25 miles away, as the crow flies. Yet, our town (called a "borough" in New Jers*y) was relatively small, and had a population of under 10,000. It shared a post office with the neighboring borough. And any of our trips to the post office were of a small town nature. My dad was a collector of stamps, so this meant we were there often. We waited with him on short lines of five people or less. We had plenty of time to look around the room, poring through huge zip code directories and studying the Wanted posters. It had a creaky squeaky door with a jingle bell fastened to it at Christmas time. Some of the people either knew my dad by name, or at least by sight.

When I moved to my present state, I, too, moved into the shadow of a big city, just like where I grew up. Except now things are more urbanized. Things are bigger: shall I say, more "consolidated". Banks, shopping centers, and post offices are built for big crowds. There are huge parking lots, and widely sweeping driveways with multiple entrances and exits off a road that may be a six lane or more "street". Yes, in our area, roads that would be called highways anywhere else are simply "streets". Post offices can be hugh urban centers, with multiple long lines of people waiting, and post office stores on the other side of the waiting areaallowing you to purchase interesting products with postage stamps as the theme. There are massive adjoining rooms with p.o. boxes lining them, many vending machines for stamps, and even do-it-yourself package weighing and posting machines.

So one of the benefits of living in our small rural hamlet of 2,800 people is our tiny little post office. About three years ago, the Postal Service closed the tiny little post office of a neighboring town (to their profound disappointment!) but we still have our tiny little post office. So on Monday morning, when I went with my children to get Christmas stamps, we were greeted by a postal clerk who knows us and who sees us often. She rewarded our children with a ring of her bell for being "so good today". There was no line, only me, and a lady who came in after me. I had the time to pick out the stamps I wanted, and buy some 1 and 2 cent stamps to amend some older stamps I found in my kitchen cabinet (whose face value I didn't know, and had to ask). And yes, even the door squeaked and creaked, and had a jingle bell attached. And when I got over to the counter, I had time to calmly attach the stamps, including 1 and 2 cent-ers to my various pieces of mail, and the children gleefully took turns dropping the envelopes, one at a time, of course, into the "Out of Town" slots. After all, there is rarely a reason to drop much in the other slot. As we left the building, another incoming lady greeted us and held the door open for us.

I was thankful that I could deposit a little bit of "small town" into my children's memories, just like I have. Thanks to our tiny little post office.

Please keep our friend, Raymond, in prayer. He has been in the hospital almost continuously for the past two months. I will try to update you as I find out more in time. Thank you.

Please pray for Raymond S., a long time friend of ours. He is in immediate need of a heart transplant. He has had a long history of heart disease, having had his first bypass surgery at age 36. He is now 49 years old and has a wife and 8 year old son. Please pray that the Lord will uphold him and his family throughout this time until, hopefully, a successful heart transplant takes place.

Could you pass this prayer request on to your praying friends as well?