Top Referrers

A big thank you to February's top referrers! I appreciate your links, shout outs and readership!

Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

The Homeschool Village

The Homeschool Classroom

Raising Arrows

Mothering for Money

Overcoming Busy

Homeschool on the Croft

Ending the School Year Strong

photo credit: noquerajef

I just realized it's almost March. MARCH! 2011 is flying by.

And while we're schooling year round, we will be finishing up certain books by summer break so the school year will still feel like it has an end.

With that in mind I want to finish strong.

We've been in homeschool funk lately. No field trips, some productive days, some days spent chasing out tails. Not much fun. We've just been getting by.

I'm ready to break out of this winter slump and beat the homeschool blahs with a stick. A big stick. A big, spiky stick!

In order to do that I'm setting a few goals to help finish the school year strong.

1. Take at least one field trip a month.


2. Laugh every day.


3. Get back outside, move around!


4. Take more photos, record the memories.
   

How about you? Are you in a slump? Do you have any goals to help you finish strong?

Fruitful Thursday - Faithfulness

I'm sorry to say I have not been very faithful in my Fruitful Thursday posts this month. But lucky for me God is faithful, faithful beyond my comprehension.

In my previous post I mentioned the heart break I felt when we were unable to move to Libya. My husband's company had been in negotiations for months, we had told our family, had a going away party and had half our belongings packed up and in a storage unit. We were only weeks from a move.

One little bit of information I had not shared in my posts - for safety sake - was the Libyan town we were to move to. We were heading for Misurata, Libya's 3rd largest city. A beautiful town nestled against the Mediterranean sea.

Misurata - the fist city reported to be occupied by the opposition.

His faithfulness (and love and kindness) has not alluded me. When it looked like everything had fallen apart, when I wondered why He had allowed this to happen, He was still faithful.

God in His sovereignty is ever faithful. Though we may experience things that seemingly have no meaning, He is still in control. He is still faithful.

In His Hand

I'm glad to be in His hand.

I had so wanted to move to Libya. I was ready for the adventure - I wanted to live, eat and breathe another culture and raise my kids with a world view. When it didn't happen I was heartbroken. I had a good cry or two. It was definitely a blow.

With all the tragedy now going on there I can see why God said no.

There have been a few other blows lately. The most recent, we're supposed to close on a house in about 10 days and just found out the loan may not go through due to a lack of comparables.

And other, more personal issues, I can't blog about. Some things need to stay "in the vault" you know.


I just get so tired of being wrong. Of praying over decisions, having all signs point to yes, marching ahead, only to have the door slammed shut as we reach it.


But I know I am still in His hand. I know that even though I may not be hearing Him, He is with me. I know that every defeat builds character and gets me one step closer to the victory. I know that He has plans to prosper me and not harm me.


I know I am in His hand.


*photo credit

George on Presidents Day

Curious George that is!

If your child loves Curious George half as much as Bram you won't want to miss the launch of three new episodes beginning Monday, February 21 - Presidents Day!

From the Curious George team:

Monday kicks off with Downhill Racer. When George hears about the annual soapbox derby, he enlists Allie to help him make the coolest car a monkey can. Will their car made out of wagon wheels, a kayak, and brakes from a buggy race past the finish line or are they on a crash course? Next in Book Monkey, George loves books and helping others, so volunteering to help the librarian is a no-brainer! But when she is called away, George may have volunteered for a bigger job than he expected.

On Tuesday, in Monkey Size Me, George fantasizes about a life where everything is monkey-sized...where he could drive a monkey-sized car, order a monkey-sized cake, and even wear a monkey-sized yellow hat! Then in Metal Detective, George loses his favorite robot at the beach. Can a monkey rescue a robot using a homemade metal detector?

Rounding out the new episodes on Wednesday, George is entranced by the museum's newest addition: a vending machine full of levers, wheels, springs, and healthy snacks! So when George is put in charge of making the dessert for an important dinner party, he can think of nothing better than creating his own dessert dispensing vending machine -- the George-O-Matic. Then in Curious George, Sheep Herder, George buys a cool new scarf at the Country Fair, but with one tug on a loose strand of wool, the entire scarf unravels! While searching for sheep that will give him some wool for another scarf, will George's baaaaaad day turn even worse?

I'm excited to cuddle down with my little man while we enjoy the new episodes. If you're afraid you might miss them, be sure to set your DVR!

Can't get enough if George?

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Messiness of Life

Yesterday I took my father-in-law to the doctor. While there, Bram found two children about his age to play with. I was so proud when he walked up to the first little girl and said

I'm Bram. I'm fwee (three). Let's pway (play).

Yes! I'm doing a good job. I've taught him so well. I must be a pretty good mom after all. I was proud as a peacock. But the pride was short lived. Out of nowhere he announced to his new playmate, in a very loud voice to be sure everyone in the office could hear

Bram: Our house is messy.

Playmate: We clean a lot.

Bram: We don't.

D'oh! What a horrible mother I am. Brand my forehead now with Horrible Homekeeper! I'm ruining my kids. They'll never learn responsibility if I can't keep the house clean.

But I remind myself

Ecclesiastes 3 A Time for Everything
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Sometimes my house will be clean. Schedules will run smoothly and the sun will shine without fail. Other times trials will creep in and the rain will fall.

But there is a purpose to it all.

I'm striving to not get caught up in the messiness of life; to embrace trials as character-building exercises handed out by a loving parent who wants to see me grow and succeed in life.

Guest Post - Katie

Please welcome guest poster Katie from Imperfect People - a wonderful site to share and be inspired by personal testimonies.

When it comes to organizing and storage, I would always purchase new containers to be just the right fit for the job. I never thought twice about it!

I then had a friend share some of her yummy soup leftover in an old spaghetti jar. It honestly never occurred to me that I could do that! I thought I had to use Tupperware for leftovers! That jar of soup sparked my dive into repurposing containers (not literally . . . that would be interesting).

There are a million ideas out there that go far beyond using empty 2-liter bottles in the living room to serve as a flower vase. In researching this post, I did my best to bring you ideas that are practical, easy, and attractive.

Here is a short guide to help you see the potential to your trash!

Glass Jars: While I already mentioned glass jars can serve to store leftovers (ideally soups and dips), there are a host of other things they can do. Glass jars come in many shapes and sizes. Take a second look at everyone that would potentially become trash. They may serve better as a change jar, a flower vase, or a container for homemade bath salts, pre-mixed cookie recipes, bath oils, and hand scrubs. (photo at left courtesy goodLife{eats})

Parmesan Cheese Containers: These are perfect containers for refilling with powdered sugar. Powdered sugar is often "sprinkled" yet it comes in a bag making it messy and awkward to sprinkle. Put it in an empty parmesan cheese container and problem solved! Same is true for baking soda (if you use it to clean), or any of your homemade spice mixtures.
Tissue boxes (the vertical kind): Makes a great trash cans for your car.

Egg Cartons: Take the lid off, poke small holes in the bottom and place in an empty bread or newspaper bag, and there you have an instant (free!) green house for seedlings!

Yogurt containers: The Stonyfield quart size containers are dishwasher-safe which make them another great food storing option. The smaller ones are great for making Jell-O and popsicles!

Contact lens solution bottles: I used these all the time in the homemade toiletries department. They work great for homemade shampoo, conditioner and especially great for your oil cleansing method. Just don’t forget to label them!

Tin Cans: I love the ideas showing what can be done with these! These soup cans found new life as "clutter cups": (via HGTV)

And look at this beautiful wall garden made from tin cans from Happy Sleepy:

With a little imagination, almost any container can be made to look like this one from that artist woman:

Trash Cans: They can be used to make a very simple rain barrel or a compost container! I have a trash can in my backyard for compost. I've tried several other methods of composting and this is the easiest, cheapest, and most functional option of them all.

Empty Coffee Cans:

Speaking of compost, you know those fancy containers that sit on your counter to collect your compost until you can bring it outside? My “fancy container” is an empty coffee container. It collects

vegetable peels and everything else just as well as the expensive ones. The bonus? The little bit of coffee that was left helps to mask odors. Plus, it’s free!

Next time you need a container think outside the box. Did I mention boxes? You can break them down and lay them flat under your mulch; they suppress weeds better than landscaping fabric and as they break down, they feed the earthworms!

What containers do you repurpose at your home?

Katie is a stay at home mom to two little girls 21 months apart. She loves all things green, simple, and frugal. When she is not chasing children, gardening, or doing a random home improvement project she is writing at www.imperfectpeople.net

Favorite Movies

My friend Stef over at Layton Family Joy posted about her top 10 favorite movies and asked via Twitter what movies her followers love. So I thought it would be fun to do my own top 10 posting. But I have to admit, this was difficult for me, I LOVE movies, I used to have a movie review blog...it would be easier for me to make a top 100 list. But here we go.

SOMEWHAT CRUNCHY'S TOP 10 FAVORITE MOVIES

1. Underworld
2. Tristan and Isolde
3. Jack and the Beanstalk
4. Diary of a Mad Black Woman
5. Meet Joe Black
6. The Horse Whisperer
7. Dirty Dancing
8. Out of Africa
9. P.S. I Love You
10. Endless Sunshine of a Spotless Mind

How about you? What are your favorite movies?

Love One Another

Happy Valentines Day! I hope your day has been beautiful and enjoyable. Mine has, I just love my family, even when they drive me crazy. What really drives me crazy is the commercialized idea of love I've been inundated with this month.

Chocolate

Diamonds

Sex

Clothes

But that's not what it's all about.

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34

So have you really loved someone today - reached out and shined God's love? I think that's what Valentine's Day should really be about.

Fruitful Thursday: Faithfulness

Yesterday I realized it's a new month so it's time to move on to the next fruit of the spirit, faithfulness. When you mention faithfulness Job comes to mind. He was faithful during so many trials. He had a spiritual maturity I worry I'll never have and, to be honest, part of me doesn't want.

Why? Because spiritual maturity is developed through trials and tribulations - being faithful to Him when our world is crumbling. I want to be that person...but am afraid what the road will bring that creates that person in me.

Are you a modern day Job? Do you know a modern day Job? I do. Though we've never met in real life, I have such admiration for Amy of Raising Arrows. She stayed faithful when her world crumbled and has used her trial to bless others in the name of God. So I thought it would be fitting to dedicate this post to her.

Three years ago today, Amy lost her precious little girl Emily. Amy walked the long, hard road that I cannot even imagine and came out the other side with her faith intact. Not only intact, but with a desire to honor Emily's memory, help others who are grieving and glorify God in the process.

So she wrote a devotional specifically for those who are hurting, Psalms for the Grieving Heart, and offers it to everyone for free. If you are hurting or grieving I encourage you to go download a free copy - allow yourself to be blessed. If you know someone who is hurting, send a copy to them!

And if you are fortunate enough to not be grieving a loss today, join me in remembering the short but powerful life of Emily. Say a prayer over her soul, remember those who are left behind and say her name out loud.

Emily.

Amy, thank you for your faithfulness and thank you for blessing others.

*Amy will be leading the Homeschooling in Stress and Crisis break out session at The 2:1 Conference.

Adorable

I realized I haven't shared any photos of my Pug pup, Monroe, since Christmastime!! I couldn't deprive you any longer ;) Isn't he adorable?

Simple Purpose

At church last Sunday the preacher had a simple but powerful message that spoke directly to me. I'm one of those people who wants to know their purpose. Why am I here God, what do you want me to accomplish? I know I am here to serve Him but in what capacity? The preacher put it plainly and I've been carrying this statement close to my heart.

Don't ask 'what is MY purpose', ask 'what is my place in HIS purpose and plan?'

I love that, don't you? And even more amazing God laid a verse, one I never noticed before, on my heart. It deals with this same subject and carries such wisdom in a small phrase.

For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. James 3:16

Homeschool Moms Valentine's Giveaway! *CLOSED*

Have you heard that The 2:1 Conference, for homeschool moms active or interested in social media, is being rescheduled for April 27-29, 2012?? That gives you a full year to plan, secure sponsorship and get to know 2:1 speakers! And what better way to get to know them than to read their work?

I am excited to offer a special Valentine's giveaway for the Homeschool mom's heart from 2:1 Keynote speaker Heidi St. John.

The Busy Homeschool Mom's Guide to Romance

About BUSY MOMS GUIDE TO ROMANCE (from HeidiStJohn.com):

Homeschooling offers parents the best opportunity to shepherd their children both academically and spiritually. Yes. It's worth it. But do you ever feel as if your life is "all homeschool—all the time?"

Do you ever wonder where the girl your husband married went? This book is for every mom who has collapsed into bed at the end of the day, looked into the eyes of her husband and promised "tomorrow" she'd have time for him.

Trouble is, tomorrow finds her more exhausted than the day before.

If you have ever felt caught between the demands of homeschooling your children and meeting the needs of your husband, you're not alone. Read and discover how even a busy homeschool mom can make time to nurture her marriage. It’s not as hard as you think—and more important than you may realize.

ABOUT HEIDI (from HeidiStJohn.com):

Heidi St. John has been married to her husband Jay since 1989. They have six children (the St. Johns are expecting their seventh child late in fall of 2010) and have homeschooled all the way through high school. A favorite conference speaker, Heidi approaches homeschooling with humor and grace at events all across North America.

Jay and Heidi are also the founders and executive directors of First Class Homeschool Ministries, a parachurch organization dedicated to helping churches start homeschool cooperatives. First Class has been in operation since 2000 and has over 40 locations across North America.

RULES:

• You must be at least 18 to enter
• Open to US and Canada residents only (sorry everyone else!)
• You must leave a contact email address or link to your blog for notification purposes
• Each entry must be left in a SEPARATE COMMENT OR IT DOES NOT COUNT

This contest closes Thursday, February 10th at 1PM EST. One winner will be chosen. The winner will be notified via email. They will have 24 hours to respond and claim their prize. If the prize is unclaimed a new winner will be chosen. Thank you and good luck!!

HOW TO ENTER:

• Leave a comment (1 Entry)
• Friend Heidi St. John on Facebook (1 Entry) - and leave a comment that you did
• Like The 2:1 Conference on Facebook (1 Entry) - and leave a comment that you did
• Copy, paste and tweet - then leave a comment that you did (Unlimited Entries) : I want to win The Busy #Homeschool Moms Guide To Romance by #2to1 speaker Heidi StJohn from @SomewhatCrunchy

HAVE FUN AND GOOD LUCK!!!

Weekly Wrap Up

Thanks to some crazy weather, we've had a roller coaster these past two weeks. We follow the public school's lead when it comes to snow days. My kids love the anticipation, wondering if they will wake to a snow day. Due to snow and ice, we've lost five, F-I-V-E, school days the last two weeks.

This week I made the executive decision that snow days would now be half days because we were losing too much time.

I did have some good quality time with my toddler, Bram. Our favorite activity lately is mixing colors in the bathtub. He had so much fun making green and purple, orange and brown. And getting all pruney. He would smile at his wrinkly fingers and say "Huh? What's happening to me?" Too cute!

My teens, Fox, Tony and Billy, LOVED having so much time off school and thought I was quite the spoil sport insisting on half days. I have to admit, it was nice to have time to do what we wanted and just enjoy hanging out with one another. But that doesn't satisfy the homeschool evaluator! HA!

We did have an issue when, while catching up on grading, I discovered one of the big boys has been skipping their math and grammar lessons. I wasn't happy - but at least he has time to catch back up. Especially since he can't play any video games or use his computer for anything but school work - uh huh.

That's about it. Its been an on and off couple of weeks but now that the ice storm has passed, I'm trusting next week will be smoother and more productive.

Linked To : Weekly Wrap Up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

BE SURE TO COME BACK MONDAY FOR A VALENTINE'S DAY THEMED GIVEAWAY!

Fruitful Thursday: Goodness

Have you ever played that game, six degrees of separation or human web? You take two people that presume to be completely unrelated and through friends, cities etc, you can see that they actually are connected in six steps or less. It's all about the global culture and proving the world actually is small.

Well I decided to play six degrees with the word good and see how long it would take me to reach a reference to God. Surprisingly, it didn't take long. In fact, four degrees is as long as I could stretch it. Why? Because God is goodness! You simply can't talk about goodness without invoking His name.

Goodness - the state or quality of being goood

Good - morally excellent; virtuous; righteous; pious

Virtuous - characterized by or possessing virtue or moral excellence; righteous; upright

Righteous - acting in an upright, moral way; virtuous: a righteous and godly person.

Isn't that neat?

Bad Day

Do you mind if I whine just a little a lot?

Today has been a rough day. We have a lot of things going on at my house that, while most are good, can cause a lot of stress. We're house hunting, in fact we have an offer in on one now; my father-in-law is living with us and, though we love him, he has a completely different idea of propriety than we do. *sigh Plus life, work, homeschooling etc.

And while I try to share all the fun aspects of homeschooling, in the name of "keepin' it real" I'd like to share the not so fun side too.

Homeschool moms don't get a break! I'm not talking about the time to myself kind of break, I generally don't crave time away from my kids. I mean the - I can't catch a break, this job is HARD - kind of break. Though I'm sure any parent can say the same thing.

I love homeschooling, I love making life living education! But the follow through is hard for me. I don't like grading papers. It's my least favorite thing to do. And now that I have two high schoolers the record keeping requirements have exploded. So when things get stressful, grading is what usually gets put on the back burner.

Yesterday I sat down to catch up on almost 3 months worth of paper grading. I stopped grading over the holidays, telling the boys to keep their work because I would check it when life slowed down. My older boys do their independent work (math, grammar and reading) on their own and are to come to me if they have any questions.

Apparently one of the boys, who will remain nameless to protect the guilty, decided he didn't need to do his math or grammar. At all. For over 6 weeks.

This wasn't "I didn't understand it", this was will full, willful, disobedience. He said, and I quote, "I knew I'd get caught eventually, I just didn't want to do it."

Congratulations buddy, you just jacked up your summer. Now while your brother gets to enjoy 6 weeks with your mom, you get 2.

I was fuming mad. I firmly explained that every day he asked me if he could _____ (fill in the blank, go outside, play video games, get on Facebook, etc) and I asked "Have you completed your school work?" And he said yes, he LIED. I'm not patient with liars.

I then listed his great characteristics (kindness, generosity etc.) but explained that this episode demonstrated deep seated character flaws, i.e. sins, like lying and selfishness. And now that he's lost my trust it is going to take a very, very long time to get it back. Once bitten, twice shy. Trust is the easiest thing to lose and the hardest to gain.

I'm not sharing all this for your pity, though that would be nice. I'm sharing it to illustrate the daily diligence it takes to raise and homeschool children. It doesn't help that this particular child has, until now, been raised with a "Do it till you get caught, it's not a lie till someone finds out" mentality. But ultimately, I gave too much freedom, now I need to tighten the reins until a certain level of maturity is reached.

I have hope, he's a good kid with a good heart, he just needs firm guidance. All kids do. Raising kids is a daily adjustment game in which you ask yourself "what is in this child's best interests?". And God has promised that if we train our children in the right way, when they are older they will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). We may not live to see the reward but our children will.

I don't think any of chose homeschooling, or parenting for that matter, because it's easy. It will be one of our most challenging undertakings. But there is a reason and a purpose, trust in that. I want every in the trenches homeshooler to see that while there will be tough days or weeks, big and small set backs, there is beauty in the journey. And most of it is good!

But on days like this I like to fall back on my friend Stef's favorite verse:

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. - Galatians 6:9