Shelter my little seedlings

I get a daily devotional sent to my email that pertains to homeschooling families. Todays really hit home. It has to do with sheltering and the fact that that, even in the Christian environment, is looked at negatively. I can't tell you how many times I second guess my decision to not let my kids watch a certain show or say certain words. This article really affirmed to me that it is my JOB to do these things. Crazy as some of them might be... Allen and I will be the ones to slowly bring in outside influences into their lives. Our choice to homeschool develops from this "gradual philosophy." We will gradually let them go out into the world and when they are ready they will be worldchangers for Christ. It's like having a mini army in our home! So exciting.

Here's the article...

Learning how to be in the world but not of it is difficult for Christians-young or old. The unbelieving community sees us as trying to live "holier than thou," but sometimes we must allow God to sanctify us by removing ourselves from the temptations that would lead us into sin. God even commands us to run away (flee) from idolatry (1 Corinthians 10:14) "and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Ephesians 5:11). However, Jesus also gave us the example of reaching the lost by meeting them in their homes and on the streets. Finding the balance between loving the lost and not getting caught in sin takes discernment and wisdom that comes from studying God's Word, prayer, and listening to the Holy Spirit.

So how much do you shelter your children from the evil in the world without quenching the redemptive work of Christ? After all, as Christians, we are to be salt and light. My answer to that question came one day while gardening. The Master Gardener showed me that if I transplanted my seedlings that had been started inside the house into the outside garden too soon, they would die from the exposure to the elements. However, if I moved them at the right time and carefully nurtured the seedlings for a time with extra protection and fertilizer, they would grow into strong, healthy plants that would not only resist bugs, heat, and hail, but also produce an abundance of fruit. Don't let anyone's "sheltering" argument convince you to transplant your precious homeschooling seedlings too early!

Oh how I love this..... I'm excited for the opportunity to grow my seedlings into healthy plants and then let them go into the world.

A glimpse of the future....

Today we are watching two little boys so their mommy can work. That makes 5 kids under 6. Our kids get along great, so it's really no issue. I was sitting at my desk getting some computer work done and kids were playing outside. When they are outside, I leave my bedroom window wide open, so I can hear everything that is going on. Well, I happen to check on them and this picture is what I saw.

Avery was sitting on top of our hot wheel table with one leg propped up and her arm was resting on it. She was staring at the two boys playing with the cars. She looked like a mini-16 year old and I swear her face had just the little mischievous smile on it. Like she was dreaming of her future with one of these boys. 

Then next to this picture, was Mason. He was standing on one of our patio chairs singing at the top of his lungs. On the radio was playing a hideous Alvin and the Chipmunks song and he knew all of the words. He was dancing and singing as if this was his audition to the American Idol. I know that this seems cute for a 6 year old, but I can also picture him at 16 with the same charisma, dancing and singing on a chair. The song choice may be a bit different, but the heart behind the singing will still be there. 

This picture that I saw in my head made me smile. I can only imagine what their personalities will look like in 10 years. I hope that they are hanging out at our house with their friends. I pray that they are making good choices and that they are following God. These next 10 years will fly by and I hope I can savor all these little nuggets of fun that my children offer to me. 

Homeschooling our children

I was motivated to jot down some of our reasons for homeschooling Mason. These are just a few, but this seems to be my "short" answer when asked, why we are doing this......

The most important reason we are homeschooling is the spiritual side. Proverbs 22:6 - Train up your child in the way he should go, even when he is old he should not depart from it. This verse has been on my heart for months and both Allen and I feel that that is best accomplished with us being the primary teachers in all areas of their lives.

Educational reasons came in to play with Mason, since he is above grade level in all subjects. He is reading at about a 2nd grade level and really his school could not accommodate that. His teacher had 29 other students to help learn letter recognition, that Mason was the least of her worries. He didn't seem to mind this at school - but doing the mindless homework was a battle at home. We tried to challenge him at home, but his brain was already done and he didn't want to "do school" anymore.

Emotionally: I feel that kids grow up too quick these days. Girls as young as 4 are watching High School Musical and Hannah Montana. These shows are not bad in themselves, in fact they are great shows. But these shows are all about older girls who are boy-crazy and my little girl doesn't need to know about this stuff until much later. Boys are more violent these days and I know it plays into the video game/TV overload of our society. We are very conservative when it comes to what our kids watch, sometimes I think we might be too conservative, but this is just how we choose to play it. If I can "shelter" him and keep him young as much as possible, then that is a plus for our decision. We want to be the ones to mold his character, not his 5 year old peer. We want to be the one to teach him right and wrong and to give him "God knowledge" through out the day.

Just yesterday, our first day of homeschooling, Mason asked me about being baptized and what that meant. We were reading a bible story that mentioned that. This solidified my decision. I was there to answer an important question in his mind. The most important subject that we can teach our kids is about loving Jesus and I'm excited to be able to be there to do this with him.

I feel like most of my reasons can be accomplished in a school setting, but for our family it can be accomplished better at home. Allen and I have to stand before God one day and answer to the way we raised His children and we want to be able to say that we did the best that we could.

Snow Pictures

Let it Snow!

The High Desert is known to get snow once a year. Since we moved here 4 1/2 years ago, we've seen snow twice. The storm that came in this week was brutal, one they haven't seen up here since the 1930's (so says my Grandma). It snowed for over 24 hours and we had at least 14 inches of snow on our ground. It was amazing, while it was happening. The kids enjoyed watching it come down and play in it. I can't imagine living in this all the time. The steps it takes to get children outside in the snow is very tedious, especially when they only are out there 20 minutes. Two pairs of pants, socks, shoes, 1 shirt, 1 sweatshirt, 1 winter coat, mittens, beanie and a scarf. Then when we get back in, all the wet clothes need to come off and new warm clothes need to be put on. 

Mason loved the snow. He could have been out there for hours. He loved to make snowballs and throw them at his sister. He even ate some and thought it was so cool. He did make sure to remind us that we only eat white snow. 

Avery loved it just as much, but only at the beginning. She got the hang of making snowballs right off the bat and began throwing them at anyone she could find. She assisted with the snowman that Allen and Mason were making. Then she fell down and the snow started melting in her hands and legs. She was cold and over it.

Jackson didn't like it at all. Immediately after walking out side he said, "I go inside, I not like this cold snow." We told him he could go inside, but then he remembered that he would be the only one inside with Monkey and decided that being cold was better then being alone and scared. He sat like a grumpy old man under the patio cover. He ventured out one time to put the buttons on the snowman and of course was fine when being held by Mommy. That kid is all talk because ever since we got in from the snow, he couldn't stop talking about going back out and how much fun he had. 

Allen and the kids made the cutest little snowman, straight with a carrot nose and rock eyes. We really did have a great time being stuck in the house for two days.... but I've decided that I could not live where it snows more frequently than this. At least right now, while I'm in the "it takes 20 minutes to bundle kids up to go outside stage," I don't think I could do it. Maybe when my kids are older and find interest in keeping themselves entertained all day without fighting, I could find a good book and curl up by the fire. This would make it feasible to be stuck in the house all day.

A few things that have happened lately.

Our cat situation is getting better. It took about 9 days, but the kids are adjusting nicely. Avery and Jack are far from being friends with Monkey, but at least the screams have gone to a minimal.

We got some snow here on Monday. Nothing stuck to the ground, but it was still fun to talk to the little ones about snow and experience it through their eyes. 

Since it only snows a few times a year in the High Desert, people have no idea how to react. The freeway was closed down because of the weather, which caused much congestion on the freeway. It was like every semi was congregating right by the freeway on-ramps in hopes that any minute the highway patrol officer would allow them to get by.  The semi party was super annoying and caused me to be in traffic for over an hour on my way to Mason's school. Needless to say, I didn't pick him up on time and once again looked like the slacker-mom who forgot her kid (yes, it has happened more then once.) 

Today we were doing our million errands that the holidays bring. I always seem to think I'm getting stuff done early, but for some reason things still are on the list a week prior to Christmas. We were at Target today, partly to kill time before getting Mason, but also to cross things off our list. We had about an hour to shop and with a 3 year old and 2 year old that could seem like an eternity, depending on their moods. Jack is approaching the ever-famous 2.5 year old stage which is horrendous. He is moody, screams a lot and has an opinion about everything (which seems to always be the opposite opinion that I have). Of course he had to pee when we were across the store and when I told him "one more minute," he screamed that he was going to go in his pants. We took off running. I was pushing a full cart with Avery inside and Jack was running along side the cart moving his little legs very fast. We were about 25 feet from the bathroom when he slipped and fell flat on his face. The screams were so loud that every worker in a 30 foot radius came running. I picked him up and kept running, nodding to all the nice workers that he was fine. Between screams, Jack begins yelling, "My penis hurts!" I try with no avail to press his head into my neck to muffle the noise coming from his mouth. I cringe as I see the snickers coming from the people around me. Just for the record, his penis was fine and he stopped yelling the minute we were behind closed doors and to top it off, he did not pee! 

Another Monkey in the house

I've blogged about my kid's fear of animals and how it's the most annoying thing to go somewhere where we encounter a dog or cat. The screams that come out of their mouths are that of sure terror. You would think that they once had been attacked by an animal with how they react. I've never seen something like this before. So a few months back, Allen and I decided that something had to be done.

We had contemplated getting a puppy. I was never really excited about that since I would have to do most of the work and puppies are a lot of work. We then thought about getting a cat. Two problems with that. 1 - I don't like cats and 2 - there could be a chance that this cat would not like us, as cats tend to be moody, and hide under the bed all day. So we put our plans to "de-fear" the kids on hold. Sunday we were at a friend's home and they have a kitten that they had hinted of getting rid of. Allen and I took the kitten in the back room and Allen gave the cat a "look over." He played with her and determined that she would make a great match for our family. We told the kids and they immediately went into a panic. No one wanted to take this cat home. We played the parent card and put our foot down. The cat was coming home.

The ride home was eventful. Avery whined in the back seat most of the way. Jack was the closest to the animal in the cage and every time the poor cat peeked out with her nose or paw, Jack would scream. We decided that it was time to discuss a name. Jack shouted out "monkey." Mason had to make sure that it went well with the list of our names and once he was convinced he gave his blessing. There we had it... a name for our first family pet! 

Sunday night was an adventure. Monkey was locked in our bedroom for a good hour and  the kids went to bed early. 

Monday I flew solo. Avery and Jack couldn't go or do anything without being attached to me. I carried them into the kitchen to eat. They sat on the counter while I made pancakes. I carried them into the bathroom to pee. Let me clarify that, yes, I did carry both of them at the same time. More then 50 pounds in my arms walking the halls of our home is not my idea of a good time. I put an end to the carrying really quick and that resorted to them clinging to my legs everywhere we went. 

One would think that Monkey might get tired of all this screaming. NO! This cat is very playful and just loves that she gets any attention, even if the children are louder then most. 

I have tried as many tricks as I could think of. I did a therapy session with them, asking them to define the reasons they were afraid. Avery narrowed it down that she thought the cat "would get her." I attempted to show her that this would not happen, but she was not convinced. We tried chanting that "We are not afraid of Monkey! We love Monkey! Monkey is our friend!" I had felt that I had made a breakthrough with this method of psychology because they were repeating the chant and laughing at the same time. Then Monkey walked around the corner and the mayhem started all over. Whew! 

Needless to say it's been about 48 hours since Monkey joined our family and Avery and Jack have made little progress and I'm wore out. Monkey seems to know no different and wants to be with them wherever they go. This presents a problem while they use the bathroom, take a bath, eat breakfast, play in their rooms, etc. 

Mason is adjusting fine and is attempting to show the others that Monkey is not out to get them. He also has very little patience and begins yelling at them when they start to scream.

I have high hopes that by the end of the week things will be significantly better. 

Monkey is not going anywhere, despite what Jack thinks and so far CPS has not been called about the screams coming from our home. 

Stay tuned because I'm sure more stories will follow. Attached you will find the pictures of our first hour home. Mason was doing really well. The others... well, the pictures tell it all!