Homeschool and Mother's Journal, Aug. 10

In my life this week:

Well, let's see. Let me rehash a little craziness for you.

I now carry an epi pen for Paul, age 9. Turns out he's allergic to yellow jacket bees. The entire top half of his body turned into one big hive, and so, yeah, we went to the emergency room, where they assured me it would be worse next time. They taught me how to use an epi pen. Fun stuff.

And Peter, age 11? He couldn't let Paul steal all the attention. Oh, no. He tried a trick on his bike and fractured a bone in his pinky finger and another in his hand. Three weeks in a cast...but it could be worse. It could be his whole 6-week vacation in a cast.

And not to be outdone, my 90-year-old father-in-law fell at a Florida store parking lot and ended up in the hospital, but is now in a rehab facility where he will get stronger in the next month or two before moving up here to Ohio to live with us.

My father-in-law asked me tonight on the phone, "I was wondering how warm you keep your house?"

I think he's still deciding if his arthritis can take the cold Ohio winter weather, and if he can take the four children. (My children know one volume...loud...unless they're reading. No, I haven't mentioned this yet.) Instead of shocking father-in-law with the real winter furnace numbers, (about 63 at night and 65 or 66 during the day) I replied, "Luther, we'll keep the house as warm as you like it."

He was worried about my boys, who he knew probably won't like a warm house. No kidding. My Peter runs around with no shirt on at 65 degrees. We may have to give grandpa a space heater in his room or we'll lose the house over the heating bill.

Lastly, Maybelline, without asking me, decided to quit making the combination foundation/powder/sunscreen make-up I've used for a long time. It hid a lot and went on lightly, not cakey. I wasted a long time in Walmart going around and around the two make-up aisles, trying to find it and then trying to find a replacement. Not that this matters in my life that much...it was just one of the things I could count on.

In our homeschool this week:

Technically, we're on vacation but my boys did more reading this week than they do on a typical school day. Peter, because he's supposed to rest, elevate and ice that hand/arm, and Paul because he's reading the best book ever (The Candymakers by Wendy Mass). Or at least it says so over on the Amazon reviews, and my Paul agrees.



Paul confessed to me more than once this year...."I'm sorry, Mommy, but I just don't love reading." Of course I knew this. He loves maps, statistics, charts, graphs and puzzles...typical math stuff. But right now he loves reading best of all and I have to thank Wendy Mass, middle-grades author, for that. It's glorious to hear my Paul exclaiming how much he loves a book.

Scholastic's Synopsis for The Candymakers: Four children have been chosen to compete in a national competition to find the tastiest confection in the country. Who will invent a candy more delicious than the Oozing Crunchorama or the Neon Lightning Chew? Logan, the Candymaker's son, who can detect the color of chocolate by touch alone? Miles, the boy who is allergic to merry-go-rounds and the color pink? Daisy, the cheerful girl who can lift a fifty-pound lump of taffy like it's a feather? Or Philip, the suit-and-tie wearing boy who's always scribbling in a secret notebook? This sweet, charming, and cleverly crafted story, told from each contestant's perspective, is filled with mystery, friendship, and juicy revelations.

I had the boys each summarize and evaluate their school year earlier this week, but we forgot to include any science details. This year they read:

The Story of Inventions
Diary of an Early American Boy
Electricity and Magnetism
How Things Work
Light and Color
The Usborne Complete Book of the Microscope
Tops Magnetism and Tops Electricity
Space, Stars, Planets and Spacecraft

By far they were most fascinated with The Usborne Complete Book of the Microscope.



At the time they read it we didn't have a microscope, but their aunt bought them one in July, and now they collect blood from bloody noses and fallen hair, etc. for microscopic study. This week they decided their microscope is too cheap and they want a super expensive one from Amazon. "Alrighty then. We'll pray then, shall we, boys?"

Places We're Going and People We're Seeing:

You mean besides the guys and gals in the emergency room? We didn't go anywhere else. Momma was on the phone a lot to Florida about Grandpa.

My Favorite Thing This Week:

Hearing my husband tell his father, "My wife is a very resourceful, capable person. It's amazing what she can accomplish. Her energy and love never give out and she can handle caring for you during the day, and I'll help at night."

My husband's love language is quality time and physical touch, so he rarely compliments me. He forgets that my main love language is affirming words (though I'm not picky after fourteen years of marriage, six pregnancies, and four active kids. I'll take the love any style it comes).

Anyway, hearing this said about me...well...it floored me in a good way. I never knew my husband thought these things about me, though I knew he loved me.

My Kids' Favorite Thing This Week:

Paul - Reading The Candymakers and playing rummikub with Mary and checkers with Peter

Peter - Putting various fluids and specimens under the microscope and having his praying mantis molt for the second time. The thing is huge now.

Mary - Playing in humongous rain puddles, finding a giant cucumber in our garden, playing rummikub with Paul, catching huge grasshoppers, finding several toads.

Beth - Pretending with her dollies and strollers and dishes and books, cuddling with Momma and playing in the rain puddles.

Things I'm Working On:

I was too busy this week to read any further on the Sonlight Eastern Hemisphere reading list, and school starts in 5 weeks. Now I'll have to carve out extra time this week to get everything pre-read in time. Sonlight picks wonderful, high-quality, heartwarming books, but you have to throw out a couple bad seeds every year...before your kids start reading, preferably.

And I'm working on finding this cricket in our laundry room that never made it into the frog's aquarium. It sings every night and for the life of me, I can't find it, and it never dies! It seems like it's been 5 weeks now.

I'm Cooking:
barbecued pork ribs, taco bake, crockpot whole chicken, chicken noodle soup, spaghetti, whole wheat pancakes, turkey burgers

I'm Grateful For:

My husband, my children, the police officer who took my father-in-law to the hospital after his fall, my Lord, all the Psalms King David wrote, that the Lord looks at the heart above all, the Lord's strong, sustaining, comforting arms, and my husband's too!

I'm Praying For:

Several friends' requests, that the swelling will go down in my Beth's arthritic knees, for my father-in-law, my children and my husband, and as always, for my extended family's salvation.

Quote to Share:

Matthew 19:26
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

And how was your week, friends?

Just How Strong Are You?

Last Saturday my 90-year-old father-in-law fell as he was leaving a New Port Richey, Florida Dollar General, loading groceries into his motorized scooter. A police officer found him on the ground and took him to a hospital for treatment.

 

He was bruised, weak, and they found a racing heartbeat for which he's being treated. He will be transferred to a physical therapy facility soon to gain strength for the trip up to Ohio where we will care for him at home. Right now he can't even stand up.

 

His neighbor noticed he wasn't around for a couple days so she called around to different hospitals until she found him, and with his permission she called us.

 

He began coughing a great deal tonight on the phone and since there were previously no signs of congestive heart failure, I have to assume the coughing and throat-clearing is a side effect of one of the heart medicines they put him on (I researched this).

 

Today the inevitable happened.

 

I had a person tell me I can't handle caring for my father-in-law, along with my own children and their issues, along with homeschooling, laundry, cooking, cleaning and paperwork. Caring for an elderly person is like caring for a newborn, she warned.

 

While this person meant well, I know a verse she doesn't; her warnings didn't scare me.

 

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

 

The world will tell you to take the easy way. Put him in a nursing home--everybody does it. Divorce that husband you can't stand--everybody does it. Go back to work, put the kids in daycare and stop living so poorly--everybody does it.

 

Everybody does't have Christ.

 

But you do and I do.

 

Isaiah 41:10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

I don't know what is going on in your life, but I know this: When the going gets tough, people will tell you it's too much. "You just can't handle it and you have to face facts. It's nice that you have your religion and everything, but prayer isn't going to change the amount of work you'll have to do."

 

Today, the conversation ended with this question. "Just how strong are you?"

 

I'm as strong as He needs me to be.

 

1 Chronicles 16:11 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!

When we dare to live for the Lord, we will always be as strong as He needs us to be. He will always sustain us, always renew and strengthen us, when we work for Him.

 

Most bosses expect you to pull your own weight--pull ahead of the crowd even. But God, the ultimate boss, expects us to follow where He leads--in his footsteps, through his strength.

 

Live each day with joy, knowing you will always be as strong as He needs you to be. Deficits don't exist for Christ followers. There are only assets for us here, and treasures stored in heaven for later.

 

Exodus 15:2 The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

Rejoice, the Lord is near.

 

Isaiah 40:28-31 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary,and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

 

Part 2 Student End-of-Year Evaluation

Earlier this week I shared what 9-year-old Paul thought of his school year. Today I share Peter's end-of-year evaluation.

 

I agree that the main theme this year was war. War is sad, depressing and lonely, with battles all over the land. Land is ruined and crops and buildings destroyed. People grieve a lot about the death of loved ones, and it is only with God's help that they get past the terrible sadness.

 

The benefit of war is freedom and yes, freedom is worth fighting for, but I think it would be very sad to leave my wife and kids. I wouldn't want them to suffer over my death. But I would fight if I had to.

 

Favorite Fiction Books:

 

Kitchen Madonna - The boy in this story started out sad because he didn't see his parents enough. He was kind of neglected because they worked so much. He had a lot of different housekeepers and nannies. His new housekeeper was also sad and lonely. He loved her and wanted to help her, so he and his sister worked very hard to make her a kitchen Madonna. This was something she had in her home in the Ukraine. To her it was a "good place".

 

When the boy worked hard to make the housekeeper happy, it made him happier too. He worked closely with his sister and grew to like her more, and he worked with people in the neighborhood too, and grew to like them. He used to never talk to anyone, even his family, and he stayed in his room.  In the end he was completely changed by love. Love healed him and his housekeeper.

 

Gone Away Lake - The book had a lot about nature, which I am very interested in. It talked about insects and many different flowers and plants. The characters were very nice and in the end they were all happier because of the friendships they made at Gone Away Lake. The elderly people were less lonely and the children appreciated all that the elderly people shared about life and plants and history.

 

From the Mixed-Up Files of Basil E. Frankweiler - The girl in the story wants to run away with her brother and plans it out very well. She brings money, and they hide out in a museum. Soon they find themselves mixed up in a mystery about a famous statue. The kids are really smart and that makes the story so interesting. At the end, when they are running out of money, Basil Frankweiler helps them solve the mystery of the statue and then drives them home. I liked it because it was fun, adventurous and very smart.

 

Favorite Non-Fiction Books:

 

Man's Slave Becomes God's Scientist: George Washington Carver - I liked this book because it had a lot of information about nature and botany, which I really like. I want to be a farmer when I grow up

 

George Washington Carver had a very special relationship with God. He had a lot of faith. This book is also about education and how Carver helped black farmers learn important information about farming so they could make a living for themselves after slavery. He traveled by buggy to farms all over the south. He told them about the pest that was destroying cotton crops, and he told them to plant peanuts. At first they didn't listen, but then their cotton didn't do well so they changed their minds and planted peanuts like Carver suggested. They couldn't find buyers for their peanuts so Carver invented a lot of things to make with peanuts, with God's help. He prayed for wisdom and God answered his prayer.

 

Bruchko - Bruchko was a brave missionary who loved God very much. He had a lot of faith and had to suffer a lot while he worked in the jungle with the South American Indians. God saved his life more than once and he became pack brothers with Bobby, his special friend. Many sad things happened, like Bobby's death and the death of Bruchko's fiance. Bruchko persevered through many things because of his faith in God.

 

Main Improvements This Year:

 

I improved a lot in spelling, writing and math.

 

 

End-of-Year Assessment, Student Addition

We just had our end-of-year homeschool portfolio assessment. As much as I don't like extended vacations, we will take 6 weeks off, just doing reading and Bible. I think the children would plot their runaway if I didn't give them this time.

 

Personally I think we all do better with the structure of school, and I suspect the children agree, but they would never admit it. Behavior and the stress level around here are definitely better when their free time and structured time are balanced. I think maybe this is true for adults as well? God knew what he was doing when he told us, after the fall in the garden, that our lives would now include work. Some work each day keeps some sinning away....

 

Just my two cents and it's a good thing you can't throw tomatoes at me....

 

I had both boys summarize their year (American History Year Two -  Civil War to about the 1950's. This is what Paul had to say (I'll get to Peter tomorrow):

 

Paul, age 9

The main thing I learned about this year was war. I understand better that there are two sides to every conflict. Some wars are necessary and some are not. The World Wars and the Revolutionary War were necessary, but I think the Civil War could have been avoided. Ending slavery could have occurred over more time without such loss of life.

 

The benefits of war are freedom and sometimes, land. The cost of war is death, hardship, sadness, and bloody disasters. People live sadder lives because of the memory of loss and death. The people who lived through the war go on to live better lives because of their new freedom, and the people who died will never be forgotten.

 

If the war is justified, I would be willing to give up my life. I would have fought in the Revolutionary War and the World Wars, but not in the Civil War.

 

My Favorite Fiction Books this year:

 

Johnny Tremain - Johnny became much nicer and not so prideful. At the end he was willing to give up his life for his country. He cared about something bigger than himself.

 

Half Magic - I liked this book because it was adventurous and imaginative and had a lot of humor. The writing was very good. The children really wanted their mom to get married in the end. They missed having a father in the home, after their father's death.

 

Gone Away Lake - I liked this book because it was so imaginitive. I liked the characters a lot. The children loved visiting the forgotten houses in the woods. They liked the two elderly people and having the children around made the elderly people less lonely. The children were nicer in the end and more friendly, and happy to have good friendships with their new neighbors.

 

I read 17 fiction novels, mostly historical lit. I also read 16 non-fiction books. My dad read 11 read-alouds to us (historial fiction).

 

Favorite Non-Fiction Books:

 

Fabulous Facts about the 50 States - This book has a lot of facts about the 50 states, like how many square miles the state is, the state bird and tree, and many other interesting facts.

 

Kids Almanac for the 21st Century - This book  has many interesting facts about all subjects. It has colorful graphs and many charts. It teaches you so many different things and I love the variety.

 

Two Main Improvements This Year: I think I improved a lot in reading. I understand more words than before because I read so many books. I also improved in music--now I play the Piano!

 

 

On My Knees, Clinging to Hope

Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

I'm a mother on my knees. The Lord has me right where he wants me and why am I so surprised at this?

It's the arthritis again.

Beth's joints (both knees and left ankle) didn't seem to worsen during the first 16-18 days she was off all medicine, due to her July 10 tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. The medicines increase the risk for bleeding so they have to be stopped ten days before and ten days after any surgery.

At the very end of the hiatus I thought I detected a little extra swelling, but I expected much worse. Overall I was elated, praising God for this little miracle. I even wondered if she might be close to remission (in the back of my mind).

1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

We resumed her arthritis medicines--methotrexate and an anti-inflammatory called meloxicam--on July 21. With each passing day I noticed a little more swelling, but I held onto hope, knowing the chemo drug methotrexate would kick in soon to back up the auto-immune response. Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune disease, but acts somewhat differently than the adult version.

To my horror, the worsening has continued; this week I'm begging God for mercy and healing every time I look at her knees, especially the left one, which was always her better one. The progress gained in the last six months on methotrexate has been nearly erased, except for her range of motion, which is still good. Pain and stiffness have returned in the mornings, but no limping yet and she doesn't complain.

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

We started the methotrexate last December and in March it finally became therapeutic, with even more improvement seen in June, the six month mark. Her physical therapy sessions gradually reduced from once weekly to once monthly.

She really needed the surgery, as her breathing was labored and disordered with no end in sight. The tonsils were nearly touching and weren't going down on their own, and the swollen adenoids were causing constant congestion.

But oh, that surgery was costly and God knew. He knew he wanted me on my knees. And now I'm there, interceding for Beth, clinging to all the Hope and comfort in the Bible, seeking grace like rain while my daughter's knees continue to swell.

On my knees. It's a good place to be. 

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