August 16, 2011  7:38 a.m.

Remember the movie Out of Africa, starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep?  To this day I always feel a special connection to Meryl Streep because she was the speaker at my college graduation.  She began her address to us by singing:

Que sera, sera

Whatever will be, will be,

The future’s not ours to see,

Que sera, sera..

Then she went on to tell us about how she never could have imagined her future when she was our age.  She never guessed that she would be washing Robert Redford’s hair in the African savannah.  It wasn’t a particularly erudite speech for a college graduation.  Rather, she was reminding us, in her movie star way, of the sovereignty of God.  Of how God weaves us into His story in a way that we can never predict, and never fully understand, until all is revealed.

Well, I am happy to say that we are finally out of Africa.  In sixth grade Geography, that is.  We had a particularly trying day yesterday, a day in which too great a percentage of Chips’ work was offloaded until the end of the day.  There are certain things I expect of him to do the first time through his work; I have told him repeatedly, and yet he still claims not to remember.  Again they were not done, and I had to keep at Calvert with him until late in the evening, and I was very unhappy about it (because it was all preventable) and I was unpleasant and the evening was unpleasant. 

I am trying to teach Chips study skills, so that he (and I?) do not have to suffer so much in the grades to come.  I want him to take notes on his reading, gosh darnit, especially on Geography, because Geography is not easy to remember and keep straight in your mind at test time.  Chips has been doing great on his Calvert tests, but Geography weighs him down.  Especially as we have been stuck in the African continent for the past two months (or so it seems).  One can’t help but get all the facts about all those countries confused.  I hate to say it, but with only a few exceptions, those African countries do blur together in one’s mind.  Chips is very happy to be out of Africa and moving on to Asia.  He feels certain that he will be able to keep those countries straightened out in his mind much better.  I hope so.  The fact is, he needs to take notes on his reading, that’s it.  I have been urging him to do this for Geography since January because I could see the difficulties coming.  Fast forward … he still ain’t taking notes, or very (VERY) slim ones at most.  He is able to get away with little to no notes much better with Science and History, but Geography – well, that’s another story.

On a brighter note, we have finally gotten to the point in sixth grade where we are reading The Phantom Tollbooth, and this book is going to last us through the rest of the course.  Hooray!  This is a book I remember enjoying very much as a young person, and Chips is liking it, too.  Lot’s of fun in this story, clever, and lighthearted. 

P.S. Part of the reason our day was so long was that I had a doctor’s appointment.  But that’s a topic for another post.  Nothing serious.

April 19, 2011 7:04 p.m.

Sorry to leave you hanging, friends, really, I am.  But this past week was anything but typical.  There were so many different things going on; we have been out of our routine, and unfortunately the first thing to go was my bloggy life.  I hope you don’t feel too neglected.

Thank you to Linda, and anybody else who was concerned about our well-being over the past week, especially as my prior post was so foreboding.  Sweet Girl, I am happy and thankful to report, is completely back to her normal healthy self, and has been for several days now.  So much so, that she happily went swimming yesterday for the second time this season.

Besides, that, Monday the 11th was Chips’  11th birthday!  He had a nice, quiet day at home with us.    His birthday was a bit unusual in that the celebrating part of the day was long in coming.  We always wait for Self-Reliant Man to arrive home from work before celebrating anyone’s birthday, however Self-Reliant Man was slow in getting home that day.

It went something like this: in the morning, he drove his silver car to work, except he got a third of the way there and the car started acting up, so he drove back home and instead took his red car to work.  After work, he began the drive home except the red car turned out to have a problem and had to be driven into a side street and parked because it never would have made it all the way home.  This was when history was made, for Self-Reliant Man determined that he would not be able to fix his car on the side of the road and that he would actually need a tow!  This is the first time this has happened in all the near 17 years we have been married, ladies and gentlemen.  Usually Self-Reliant Man is able to fix his car well enough on the fly to get it home, even if it requires a quick trip or two to the auto parts store in the process.  But he knew that type of miracle wasn’t going to happen this time, so Self-Reliant Man called a tow truck.  Did you hear that, everybody?  SELF-RELIANT MAN CALLED A TOW TRUCK!  Whew.  Got that off my chest.  Here is a photo from that eventful evening.

This is the silver car, that could not make it to work in the morning.

And this is the red car that could not make it home in the evening.

These are the two children who are enjoying every minute of the experience, as well as the husband who is not enjoying the experience. 

Any questions?  Yes, we recovered from the history-making day, and yes, Chips eventually had a pleasant evening celebrating his birthday with cake and presents.

Other highlights from the week included…

Another Science Day at our house, this time to learn all about BLOOD!  That is our wonderful teacher holding up a giant model of a red blood cell. 

Here was our first brave participant in the blood typing part of the lesson.  What is your blood type?  Do you know?

Speaking of science, here are Chips’ models of hydrocarbon molecules.  I know I didn’t know what a hydrocarbon molecule was in sixth grade.  But then, there are a lot of things in the Calvert Sixth Grade course that I never had that early in my education.

Finally, best of all, is the next photo…

Here is a peaceful moment of team work between Sweet Girl and Chips, folding the laundry together.  This was too sweet to miss with the camera (although it isn’t that rare, this level of mutual cooperation certainly isn’t an everyday occurrence, you know what I mean?)

So, bloggy friends, things are moving along pretty well at our home.

So far this week, other opportunities have included:

1. Both children did a violin performance for a very elderly woman who is in hospice care, the mother of our neighbor, and the actual owner of the violin that is being loaned to Chips.  I have to say that, although she was largely unable to speak, this lady thoroughly enjoyed the music!

AND

2. Today and tomorrow the children are taking the Iowa Test of Basic Skills.  They actually eagerly anticipate the “Iowas” and consider these days to be “free days”.  Go figure.  I am glad that tests don’t make them nervous.

AND

3. Today we paid a visit to a luthier to have an adjustment made to the violin loaned to us in this post.  Nothing serious, just an error in setup on the part of the violin shop it visited last (way up north of here in Vermont).   This is a man in his seventies, who supports himself staying very busy in his in-home shop where he doctors string instrument such as violas, violins, cellos, and basses.  A neat short documentary about him is here.  It was neat visiting him today, after seeing him in this video. 

Well, I am truly humbled if you made it this far in this post, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

April 2, 2011 10:01 p.m.
In my life this week...
When I have time, I am cutting and pruning vines, cabbage palms, low hanging branches, and tall weeds in various places around our yard.  This is a never ending job, and even though I spend hours doing it, a casual observer cannot tell I have done anything.  However, I mustn’t let that deter me.

In our homeschool this week...
Sweet Girl completed her third test set in Calvert School’s third grade course.  We made the decision to split her test over two days’ time, and it made everything much more relaxed.

Places we're going and people we're seeing...
Monday evening brings a Mom’s meeting with one of my homeschool fellowship groups.  Tuesday brings kickball (P.E.) with the other homeschool fellowship.  Wednesday brings an early morning chapel performance for Chips and his friend, J, at a local Lutheran school.  They will play the same hymns they played at the talent night and dinner theatre.  Then, hopefully, things will slow down toward week’s end.

My favorite thing this week was...
Seeing the children performing their little hearts out at our church dinner theatre last night (April 1st).  It was an entertaining, hunger satisfying, and exciting time for all who were involved.  I hope to post more videos of this event soon.

What's working/not working for us...
My staying off the internet until one o’clock every weekday has been helpful in allowing us to get done with lessons at a reasonable time.  I have also enjoyed, very much, keeping up with Chips’ literature, history, science, and geography reading, even though they are those dread textbooks.  I am particularly enjoying geography, now, as we are doing some in-depth learning of all the eastern hemisphere countries.  Yesterday, I read about Israel. 
Sweet Girl’s social studies textbook is turning out to be a little more enjoyable than I expected it would be.  When I first saw it, I wanted to barf  was dismayed, to say the least, but I guess it is because I had such low expectations of this subject that I am enjoying it all the more.  Strange…
What’s not working is the internet being “down” when we have extended rainstorms, as we did on Wednesday and Thursday.  We went 24 hours without functional internet service, and it put my students behind on the online portion of their work.  Chips is behind by about 7 videos.   I hate having to rely on a robust internet connection for homeschool, especially when we don’t have such a connection!

Homeschool questions/thoughts I have...
I am always thinking ahead to the day when we start high school.  And as I think, and peruse websites, the Potter’s School Classical Track is becoming more and more attractive to me all the time.  But I still have plenty of time to make this decision.
I also really agreed with this post over at Old Earth Creation Homeschool blog.  We cannot rely on the magic textbook for the high school subjects.  Our students are young enough that they still need more guidance.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share...
None other than our son, Chips, in his performance here yesterday evening.  We still cannot believe what we hear and see, and we are so proud of him and his on stage poise and confidence, no matter the size of the crowd.  The Lord has really given him a gift!

February 20, 2011 9:37 p.m.

If you buy a boy a package of freeze-dried Ramen noodle soup
When you get home from evening service,
pretty soon he’ll put it inside the microwave oven and press the button.
If he presses the button, he’ll go off to play and forget that he didn’t add water.
While you are sitting in the kitchen, you’ll begin to hear a hissing and crackling sound,
Whereupon you will open the door of the microwave --  just in time..
..To allow stiflingly rank smoke to fill the kitchen.
Entirely.
And when it fills the kitchen, pretty soon the smoke will fill the entire house,
And your family will run around opening windows and doors
And turning on exhaust fans.
After that, everybody will be driven outside, eyes watering and gasping for fresh air
to the breezeway to enjoy a leisurely Sunday evening supper, what’s left of it.
Even the dog will not want to be in the house.
And the rest of the evening you will want to spend outdoors;
The night, too. 
And your boy will end up practicing his violin for all the neighbors to hear
Outside underneath the stars, amidst a chorus of barking neighborly dogs,
And he will soon work up another appetite,
And after his practice is over, pretty soon,
He will request another Ramen soup.
                                                   -- Anonymous

November 19, 2010 5:00 p.m.

We are nearing the end of our academic year.  Chips has six more days of Fifth Grade and we will be done until January.  I have to admit, I am so ready for it to end.

It has been a year of much learning, but it has been long.  We have worked really hard in 2010.  I have spent so much time on academics, leaving very little time for much else.  I do love Calvert, but it has been very time consuming this year.

Anybody who has read my blog for awhile has surely noticed a dearth of posts this year.  It couldn’t be helped.  I have had very little spare time.  But….when I look back over this past year, I am sure of a few things. 

• I am sure that there have been very solid academics accomplished in our home. 
• I am sure that our kids have learned much in our scripture and catechism studies.
• I am sure that they have been diligent in their music practice. 
• I am sure that they (and my husband and I) had a great time traveling out West this year. 

Don’t get me wrong; I am thankful for those things.

But when I look around, I am dismayed at all the other things that have gone undone.  I have often looked around the house in frustration over its state of disarray.   I have noticed the stacks of papers piling up on my desk, begging for a little attention (and/or a circular file).  I have seen the weeds in the yard, many more than I could ever pull.  I have seen the piles of books going unread.  I have seen the emails I have not replied to and the stacks of unfolded laundry.  I have bought ingredients to make meals for a lady with cancer, but it has been two weeks and I haven’t been able to get to it.

At times like this, it is impossible for me to not get on a guilt trip.  I see other mothers who have more children than I do, who homeschool them, and who seem to be always serving at church, so much more than I do.  I see other homeschool mothers who are baking more, crafting more, gardening more, reading more, blogging more, socializing more, and I wonder how they can do it all.  Either I am very, very, very inefficient, or surely they are not doing the academics that I am doing (?)    I do not mean to say this in a prideful way, although it probably sounds like I am.  I am just mystified, I guess.  Either I lack the energy, the brainpower, the computer / technological/ digital prowess, the help of extended family, or something else, because by the time I get done with all my have-tos, I have scant pockets of time left to do anything else.  My actual reading of printed material (not blogs and websites) has consisted of about two books for me this year, some read-alouds for the family (although I admit I haven’t even had much time for these), and reading the Calvert Fifth Grade reading books. 

Which leads me to ask a question.  I don’t know what other Calvert moms are doing about literature, but I find that if I don’t actually read the books that Chips is reading for his lessons, then I cannot fully draw out his thoughts and get proper answers from him for the discussion questions.  The answer key provides answers, but I am not equipped to evaluate the answers he does give unless I have actually read the chapters myself.  Does that make sense?  The same thing for American History.  It isn’t always easy for me to keep up with the reading, either.  I am often still trying to read the chapters of the day after dinner.

Another thing is, I try hard to uphold a high standard, not accepting any written work unless I feel it is up to par.  I have even had to reject two or three compositions this year that I felt were not Fifth Grade work (or a reasonable effort).  This is aside from the work that we send in to the ATS teacher.  If we have an outside activity in the afternoon, like chorus, or violin, then we return just in time for me to prepare dinner, and I don’t wrap up the school day until 7 or 8 in the evening (from checking work, evaluating work, having Chips correct and return the work, and in most cases having to go through a second iteration of this before accepting it and calling it quits for the day).   So, there have been days when I have felt resentful – feeling that I am “doing homework in the evening” like a public school  mom, but without having the benefit of the free time in the early part of the day – because I am teaching then, too.  Just being honest, here. 

So, I know there is a greater need for balance in my life right now.  January brings 3rd and 6th grade, and I don’t know if things will become better, or worse.  I know my younger student will still require a lot of supervision and one on one time.  But what about my 6th grader?  Will he get more independent of me this year?  Here’s hoping.  Any feedback I can get from other Calvert Moms would be most appreciated.

Anyway, six more lessons days.  Six more.  Then we will be free until January 4th.  Hopefully it will be a time of refreshment and recharging, as well as a time to regroup and think about what will work for us in 2011.

November 16, 2010  9:12 p.m.

It has been an eventful week for me so far, and it is only Tuesday.

First off, on Sunday we bought a new computer, after using our prior computer for nine years.  We felt it was time, and we didn’t want to have to endure the crisis of a failing computer before getting a new one.  So we got an Acer with a pretty fast processor and we are very satisfied right now.

This was not an event that I looked forward to, much, as I don’t know enough about computers to feel confident about transferring to a new one.  In fact, part of me was dreading the task.  As it turned out, we picked it up before heading to church for the Sunday evening service, so I didn’t get a chance to open the box until some time after 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.  Well, we got the basics plugged in, and turned it on around 8:00 or so, and were relieved to find out that functions such as an Internet connection were established rather quickly.  I was taking nothing for granted.  So I managed to get that going, and the first thing I did was to make the factory config backup (recovery) DVDs.  Apparently, computer manufacturers no longer include these; customers have to make them on their own.  A sign of our times.  So after doing this, I set about downloading an email client (Windows 7 does not include this – go figure!)  Next I worked on adding Virus software – Vipre, which I had on my old computer and I liked how it worked.  And finally, I added our printer into the mix, and our scanner.  Here was an “oops” because there is no driver available for our 7 year old scanner with Windows 7.  So while I was trying to do research to find if there would be a work-around for this, I grew very tired and went to bed.  This was about 2:00 a.m. Monday morning, by the way.

On Monday morning, I awoke to find the computer acting very poorly.  Apparently something had gotten to it, maybe a virus.  It would not respond to the simplest request, nor would it behave after a reboot.  It was hosed.  Completely hosed, and I was one frustrated lady.  Believe, nothing in life frustrates me more than computer problems!!!

So, after realizing that our brand new computer was completely beyond hope, out came the brand new recovery DVDs that I had just created the evening before.  I installed them, and allowed them to do their thing.  Basically, everything was wiped clean off the hard drive, and the factory default installation was created afresh.  So that, when all was done, it was as if I had turned back the clock to 8:00 p.m. on Sunday night again.

In effect, I got a second chance.  This time, I would not attempt to install my own choice of virus software; I decided to go along with the recommendation of Acer and install the McAfee internet security software it included.

Lesson learned: Make those recovery disks immediately!  And be very careful about installed a second virus program.  I really think, in retrospect, that I created my own problem.

Fast forward to today.  We love the computer.   It is lightning fast, and the new software has great features!  Just look at the picture above.  The old computer is on the left, and the new one is the tiny black tower on the right.  So much smaller than the old one, yet it can store so much more and can run many, many circles around the old computer.  It is remarkable.

November 12, 2010 11:11 p.m.

My life is full.  I want to blog, but often I cannot.  Every minute of the day is accounted for.  I long for days when I don't have to drive anywhere.  Haven't had any of those for awhile, now.  I shudder to think of what is yet to come in the next 6 weeks, as Christmas is notoriously busier than other times.  I don't know what happened to October.

We have been plugging away at our lives, doing lessons, and doing violin lessons, homeschool support group activities, church chorus, and then those things that come along in between like a dead car battery, laborious yard work, and unexpected root canal.  Oh, and any spare time that I might have had were taken away by those last three items.

Now occasionally, late at night, I do snatch a few minutes to practice the piano with headphones.  And I have been getting up before six a.m. to snatch some time to read, study the Bible, and walk the dog.

And another thing: we have been doing a little research for pricing for a new computer.   Although the prospect of a faster machine sounds nice, I am quite intimidated by the unknowns associated with getting another computer.  I have never switched computers before.  The one we have is nine years old and it is the first one we ever owned.  I am not sure how to switch over, and I don't look forward to the task.

But amidst the clamor of the unending details of daily life, there is great beauty.  For on the brighter side, Chips has really taken to playing the piano, since we acquired a digital piano in August.  He has learned to play The Entertainer and he is learning to play The Well-Tempered Clavier I, Prelude No. 1 in C major by J. S. Bach.  This is the kind of music that, to me, is unspeakably beautiful in its simplicity. The kind of music that can bring tears to my eyes.  I think this music will be playing in heaven when I arrive.



Soli Deo gloria - To God Alone be the glory!  I learned recently that J. S. Bach signed the initials "S.D.G." to the bottom of several of his musical compositions because he wrote them to the glory of God.  It is quite obvious to me that so many of his compositions are God-given.  This Prelude is most certainly one of them, and Chips is taking to it like a duck to water.

We are blessed to have music fill our home every day.  My life is full.

My heart is fuller.

Soli Deo gloria.

 June 23, 2010 11:01 a.m.

We're out of sync with the rest of the world!

Summer has a full grip on us these days.  I mean, it is as summer as summer gets.  Long days, stepping out of the house at 6 a.m. to walk our dog, feeling the humidity envelope me and getting soaked feet from the heavy dew on the grass.  In addition, I have to be more vigilant when walking under the oak trees to make sure I don't walk into an orb weaver web.  They are difficult to see until the sun's rays begin to illuminate them.  The cicadas are still making noise at 6 a.m., too, which is the truest reminder that we are in the throes of summer.  So there it is.

By now, all of our homeschooling friends are on summer break.  I am starting to wish I were, too.  As many of you know, we are year 'round homeschoolers, and due to the climate of our state, we plan on getting more school accomplished in the summer than we do during the cooler seasons of the year.  The brilliant rationale behind this is because right now it is too darn hot to do much else, with the exception of swimming.  The plan sounded so practical, and some of my friends would comment on "what a good idea" it was.  But as the children get older, I find that we are out of sync with the world, and summer is not so simple as I expect it will be every year.

During the traditional brick and mortar school year, all of the outside activities are kicked up into full gear.  We are out of the house doing P.E., music, field trips and other activities so that we end up just managing to complete four Calvert Lesson-days per week per child.  Some weeks even less.  So it becomes all-important for us to do a full five lesson-day per week schedule during the summer, when most activities have ceased.  However, here's the deal.... when it comes to social days, visiting one another's homes for play dates and such, everybody is too busy to fit them in during the traditional B&M school year, and they are only free for such gatherings in the summer.  But summer is when we are trying to get most of our school done.  So we are out of sync, and again we are not fitting in those five lessons a week.  In fact, every Friday this summer, there will be a get together that will prevent us from doing school.  It is great, because I prioritize friends and getting together, but we are out of sync with the world, even the homeschool world.  Also, since there are fewer activities at this time of year, I have chosen this time to schedule all our medical, dental, and eye doctor checkup visits.  Then, subtract a week of Music Camp, where I volunteer, another week of VBS, and a few days of standardized testing, and before you know it, summer is gone.

So in a way I am busier these days than I expected.  Not what I expected from summer.  The cicadas I expected, the schedule I didn't.

Well, I won't be complaining this fall when our family takes a 23 day vacation trip (sans schoolbooks)!  But I'm afraid we won't be getting as many days off at Christmas time as I am used to.  Oh well.  Complaining about the trivial stuff, I guess.

So, why do I have time to write this boring blog post, you might ask?

That leads me into a discussion about Calvert.  As I expected, I find that teaching Calvert 5th grade, and Calvert 2nd grade, in the same year makes for a pretty teacher (mommy) intensive year.  I look forward to, and wonder, what it will be like next year when Chips is in 6th grade with Calvert.  For 6th grade, Calvert writes the lesson manual to the student, thereby giving them an opportunity to begin true independent study.  While I have heard of Calvert parents who haven't been able to pull this off with their 6th graders, I am holding out hope that we will when that time comes.  Then I will be able to concentrate on my 3rd grader more, earlier in the day, and hopefully have more efficient school days.  We shall see.

Which brings me to today, and why I have time to write this blog post.  Chips came to me this morning and said he wanted to try to navigate the lesson manual himself, today.  He wanted to go through each subject and teach himself the material, working through all the homework as he goes, no mommy needed.  I looked through his assignments for the day and said, "Okay, let's give it a try".  He might be on to something, and I don't want to squash his desire for independence in this area of life.

I will write my next post with a discussion of what my daily Calvert schedule has looked like up until this point.

March 29, 2010 11:19 p.m.

If you are ever driving behind a garbage truck, keep this in mind.

You could be happily driving behind it, minding your own business, on your way to work in the morning. It could be a major thoroughfare; a six lane highway, such as Alfalfa Trail.

The truck in front of you could pass by a stuffed garbage can, and not realize it until it has driven an addition 150 feet or so. The driver might not have any way of notifying you that it missed a trash can and wants to get closer to it, now, to pick up the trash. At that point, it could stop, suddenly, in its lane in traffic. After a few seconds, it could begin to back up. You might immediately honk your horn to announce your presence behind it, but the driver might not hear you. It might just continue to back up. You might try to shift your vehicle into reverse, but before being able to do so, the truck might have smooshed your front bumper and hood. Or even worse. At that moment, thankfully, the driver might realize that something is resisting his backing motion. He might stop, get out, and look behind the truck. Or he might have his buddy do it.

If this should happen, do not hesitate to call the police to the scene. And make sure the officer reminds the driver how he is required, driving such a truck, to refrain from backing up until he has sent his buddy behind the truck to make sure all is clear.

Yes, this did happen to Self-Reliant Man last week. And yes, the lowest estimate he got was for the repair was $3000. I am just so thankful that the driver realized his error when he did, and not later. I am also thankful that the business that employs these garbage trucks has good insurance.

This has been a public safety announcement.

January 9, 2010 10:50 p.m.

It didn't snow here, today. The forecasters teased us all. Thousands of Florida children had visions of snowflakes dancing in their heads last night, but precious few around here actually got to see them.

I think my kids were disappointed, a little, but I think I was disappointed a lot. Now mind you, it was an unusual day here. In all my 17-1/2 years here, this was the coldest Florida day I have ever experienced. It never got above 36 degrees here all day. That's one for my personal record book. And yes, indeed, we did get sleet here. And the children ran outside and rode their bikes through it, and collected ice pellets in their inverted umbrellas.

And the local radar showed the familiar blue color oh, so close by, to the north of us, but where we lived it was pink, so we had to settle for sleet. So close, yet so far.

The failure for snow to materialize triggered emotions in me that I had forgotten. Emotions related to the loss of earlier parts of my life, when I was younger and when I lived where it did snow. I always was a lover of things cold; I was the kind of person who would travel to Canada in the winter months, who couldn't get enough of the cold and snow, with all its beauty and all its inconveniences.

Marriage brought me here to the land of only two seasons and no snow, and I regretfully left my four seasons behind. I truly did, although I was simultaneously gaining a new and wonderful life. Were Self-Reliant Man and I to have settled down where I once lived, life would have been very different for us. Probably more difficult. Perhaps we would have had to remain a two income family, and we may not have been able to afford to homeschool. Who knows? The Lord has us here for his perfect reasons.

But on a day like today, I admit I found myself briefly pining for something different, and as I worked to pack away all of our Christmas decorations, I found myself thinking deeply about life issues, like the matter of contentment, and of the fragility of our own hearts.

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. PROVERBS 4:23 We are warned here to guard our hearts, and it is our duty to do so, and to do the same for our childrens' hearts. I thought, today, that if we were able to see the complete spiritual scenery of our lives, we would realize that we are each traveling on a narrow, rocky trail to our destination. Not only is the trail narrow and the footing difficult, but our path is flanked on one side by a steep drop off. So fragile are our hearts. We are helpless wanderers, dependent on the wavering affections of our hearts. If our hearts go astray, so do we. Go astray a few inches too far and off the edge we go.

Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path. PROVERBS 23:19 We need to protect the hearts of our kids, too. For me, that means being very careful about what sort of things they are exposed to in their young years. Too much too soon and they become jaded and bored with life. Train them to find joys in the simple things, most especially in the beauty of God's creation, which is forever renewed, day by day. Show them how the Lord can be their portion, day after day. Don't roll out the fun experiences of life too quickly.

I had lunch with a dear friend this week, and we talked a bit about friends we each know who "have more". These friends have more money, they travel more, they go places that we only dream about going to. They have healthy, active, willing and available parents to further enrich their adult lives. We all have these kinds of people in our lives. You know who they are. They are the friends who send out Christmas letters every year detailing their world travels. And when we read them, it affects us. It affects our children. Makes us envious. Makes us discontent, even for a moment.

If anybody were to ask me on a typical day if I am happy -- if I am content -- I would quickly answer "yes!", for indeed I am. It is so easy to compare ourselves with those people who mail out those Christmas letters. But also this year, I am aware of friends who are thinking about far more than their annual vacations. They fear for their jobs; fear for their health. They wonder how they are going to make it through that next chemo treatment. They wonder if their husband will come home from active duty on the expected date. They wonder if they need a home health aide for their elderly parents. They wonder how their mother is handling life in the nursing home.

These friends have caused me to think nearly every day of how blessed and precious our lives really are. How thankful we are to have our health. I am thankful that I feel pretty good most of the time, even though I have my off days. I am thankful that we are able to homeschool our children. I am thankful that my kids are so healthy, happy, and easy to please. I am thankful that we are not actively worried about my husband's job security. I am thankful that our biggest problem right now is dealing with our rotten home insurance company, and that we can happily make plans and preparations for our next camping trip fifty miles from home.

Contentment is all about trusting the Lord to provide the things he know we need most of all. He knows our hearts better than we do. He is most concerned with our heart "health". He knows what is coming down the pike for us. He protects us from our own foolishness and poor judgment. He knows how easily we can be bored with our precious lives, and he sees all the cliffs and drop offs -- all the spiritual dangers that lurk around the bend that we cannot see or anticipate.

Contentment is about trusting the Lord. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. PSALM 27:4

No, maybe it didn't snow today. But this winter is far from over.

January 5, 2010 12:20 p.m.

I thought I lived in Florida. I thought I was home. This afternoon it is 43 degrees and sunny and windy. Where did I wake up this morning?

Taking my kids, now, to what is perhaps their coldest (outdoor) P.E. class ever. They are supposed to play tennis.

Brrrr....

This Friday, we will travel three hours to the state competition for our state Federation of Music Clubs. Little Son will be competing in three events this year: Violin Solo (Elementary level 3); Violin Concerto (Level 1-B) and Piano Chamber Trio (Medium level). This is an event for which he has practiced and worked very hard. It will include a single night stay in a local hotel, so it is something of a big deal for us.

Two weeks later, the children will participate in the end of year graduation recital for our local music school. Baby Girl will be playing "Judas Maccabaeus Chorus" and Little Son will do Bach's "Concerto for Two Violins, 1st mvmt." with his teacher, Miss S. Baby Girl will be receiving the "Bach Award" for completing three Bach minuets, and the Suzuki Book 1 trophy for completing that challenging book of 17 pieces. Little Son will be receiving the Suzuki Book 4 trophy. I truly cannot believe we have completed six (6) years of violin!! I never dreamed we could be committed to an activity for such a long time. (I only have 12 years to go - ha ha ha!)

This past Friday evening, they performed for a benefit dinner for a local charity. They did fine, and were happy to eat all the refreshments that were provided for them. After all, isn't that what it is all about?

Tomorrow, our homeschool group will arrive at our homestead en masse for a morning of science experiments. Hopefully there will be no explosions.

As for Calvert, Baby Girl is up to First Grade lesson 73, and Little Son is up to Fourth Grade lesson 53. That will go on all through the summer. We actually get much more school done during the summer than we do when all the activities are in full force during the "traditional" school year. After all, it is too hot in the summer to do anything else, except swim.

That's what's new with us. Hopefully the dust will settle soon! We will have earned it.

... you just need some renewal of spirit.

This morning's prayer from Baby Girl went something like this:

Dear God, please help my teacher, mommy, not drop school, and keep teaching me. Please help her like what she has to do. Amen.

Not that I have ever talked about "dropping school", but she is aware that it is a big commitment for me.

Certainly, a prayer like that one can do much to renew my spirit!