Last year, as some of the moms in my church were planning to start a private homeschool together, I was asked to teach science for them. It ended up being 5 girls, all middle school aged, and we had a great year. It was a lot of fun to teach them, because we had the freedom to do lots of hands on activities and field trips. I've been asked to teach for them again next year, and I'm really looking forward to it.
One of the girls that I taught lives on a big farm. Her father plants a gigantic garden every year and told all of the teachers that he always plants way too much and can't eat it all, and invited us to sharecrop with him. We can go to the farm and put in time hoeing, weeding, and helping can stuff as it comes ripe, and in return we get free produce. My husband and I, who were already balking at how expensive food is getting, jumped at the chance. So for the last few weeks we've been going out to the farm a couple of times a week and spending an hour or two hoeing. Things have started coming ripe, and we've had so many delicious salads recently! There is a big stocked pond right beside the garden, and we had also been invited to fish there if we wanted. Today was the first day we had an opportunity to take them up on that.
At about 2:00, my husband, my sister Suzanne, her boyfriend Dave and I loaded the boys in the car and headed to the farm. We weeded the two rows of potatos (2 rows! We'll have potatos all year!) in record time with three of us weeding while Suzanne watched the boys. Then we headed to the pond, where we realized we had nothing to use for bait. Suzanne quickly caught a grasshopper and I found some crackers in the diaper bag that we crushed and tossed in the water, and we were off and running. Time ticked by with lots of nibbles but no bites. We decided we needed better bait.
After a bit of mourning the fact that we didn't have a net (because plenty of tiny brim were swarming at the surface to eat the cracker bits) I realized that I had a ring sling made of Solarveil in the car and hey, that's pretty close to a net, right? So we unstrung the sling out of the rings and lowered the center section into the water, sprinkled a few crackers over it and waited. In no time we had caught a little fish, the size of the palm of my hand! Ian thought it was super cool. He rubbed it and told me about its colors. Then we led him away while "Uncle Dave" chopped it up into bits for bait. PG and Dave fished for another hour or so with no luck. A storm was rolling in, so we were getting ready to pack it up. PG was reeling in his line so we could go when BAM! something hit on it! He reeled it in and had hooked a big bass, about as long as my forearm! We were just tickled pink! Dave cast his line out where PG had caught the fish and within minutes he had hooked something big as well. It took his line and pulled it out under the dock and snapped it right off. What a disapointment! The one that got away! The storm was getting closer so we tossed our things in the car, grabbed some potatos, squash, and onions from the garden, and headed home.
PG left shortly after to go on a hiking and camping trip for the weekend with some of our other friends. Suzanne played with the boys while Dave and I cleaned the fish and got dinner going. What a great meal! We had bass filets cooked with onions, garlic, and rosemary, boiled squash with onions, and cheesy mashed potatos. Everything tastes better when you grow it yourself! We can't wait to go fishing there again. Maybe Dave will catch that big one next time!
Praises/Prayers for the day:
Praise God for good food to eat and good times spent with family and friends. I praise Him for sending people into our lives who will share their bounty with us. We can rest in the knowledge that if things get really bad, or grocery money is not there, we can go to the farm and have food.
Please join me in praying for PG's safety this weekend, as well as our friends who went camping with him. They are planning to hike and camp for 4 days in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. They will be back country camping in tents for 3 nights. I'm praying that everyone comes home healthy and with great stories.
God Bless!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Neighbors helping neighbors
We had a tragedy on our street this week: the home of one of my neighbors burned down. This family - husband, wife, and 1yr old son - live about three houses down and across the street from me. Sadly I don't know their names. We've lived this close to them for 3 years now, but have only waved to them in passing. What a horrible way to meet your neighbors, huh? I stopped and talked to them for a moment yesterday as we walked home from Wednesday night church. The poor woman was just in tears in the front yard. How hard it must be to know you lost everything material that was important to you. Baby books, picture albums, old Mother's Day cards, family heirlooms, wedding dress...all gone in a flash.
Thankfully, no one was hurt. The father is a fire chief and was in Hyde Co fighting the wildfire there, and the mother and son got out safely. I do believe the lost their dog, though. Poor thing. When I talked to her yesterday and asked her what they needed, she said everything...towels, sheets, clothes. What must it be like to not be able to take a shower because you don't have a towel to dry off with nor clothes to put on afterwards?
I've put the word out to my Natural Mamas group and my church to try to find some things for them. I was hoping I would see them outside again today so I could talk to her more in depth, find out her name, introduce myself properly, and get more details about what they need and where to take things. I don't know these people, but it just seems like the neighborly thing to do. It's what Jesus would do, right? Do unto the least of these. This family, newly homeless, without anything of value but their lives. Do they know Christ? Do they have His peace through this? Or are they feeling alone and vulnerable? Will they see His Light through my actions?
There are opportunities to help our neighbors all around us: volunteering at the soup kitchen or the local Boys and Girls Club, teaching Sunday School or VBS, donating food to the food pantry, or just helping gather items for a family in need. We are poor, we can barely pay our bills, but helping the least of these doesn't require spending money. Sometimes it just requres good listening skills or a bit of time or willingness to get dirty. Being a Christian isn't about sitting back and saying "Oh those poor people...what a shame", being a Christian is about helping pick up the pieces and comforting the hurting, even if it makes you uncomfortable. I'm very bad at confrontation...and I always get nervous when I am talking to someone I don't know. But I'm going to push through past my comfort zone and go talk to this family. Offer my help and a supper or two, find out their needs, and hopefully show them the love of Jesus through His willing servant.
Prayers / Praises for the day:
Please pray for this dear family as they try to rebuild their lives. And Praise God that they were not injured!
Praise God that my husband got a great report from his doctor today...he's lost over 30 lbs and his HDL went from 14 to 40, while his LDL went from 120 to 80-something!!!
God Bless!
Thankfully, no one was hurt. The father is a fire chief and was in Hyde Co fighting the wildfire there, and the mother and son got out safely. I do believe the lost their dog, though. Poor thing. When I talked to her yesterday and asked her what they needed, she said everything...towels, sheets, clothes. What must it be like to not be able to take a shower because you don't have a towel to dry off with nor clothes to put on afterwards?
I've put the word out to my Natural Mamas group and my church to try to find some things for them. I was hoping I would see them outside again today so I could talk to her more in depth, find out her name, introduce myself properly, and get more details about what they need and where to take things. I don't know these people, but it just seems like the neighborly thing to do. It's what Jesus would do, right? Do unto the least of these. This family, newly homeless, without anything of value but their lives. Do they know Christ? Do they have His peace through this? Or are they feeling alone and vulnerable? Will they see His Light through my actions?
There are opportunities to help our neighbors all around us: volunteering at the soup kitchen or the local Boys and Girls Club, teaching Sunday School or VBS, donating food to the food pantry, or just helping gather items for a family in need. We are poor, we can barely pay our bills, but helping the least of these doesn't require spending money. Sometimes it just requres good listening skills or a bit of time or willingness to get dirty. Being a Christian isn't about sitting back and saying "Oh those poor people...what a shame", being a Christian is about helping pick up the pieces and comforting the hurting, even if it makes you uncomfortable. I'm very bad at confrontation...and I always get nervous when I am talking to someone I don't know. But I'm going to push through past my comfort zone and go talk to this family. Offer my help and a supper or two, find out their needs, and hopefully show them the love of Jesus through His willing servant.
Prayers / Praises for the day:
Please pray for this dear family as they try to rebuild their lives. And Praise God that they were not injured!
Praise God that my husband got a great report from his doctor today...he's lost over 30 lbs and his HDL went from 14 to 40, while his LDL went from 120 to 80-something!!!
God Bless!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Ahhh...me time
A rarity in our house has occured...both boys are asleep at the same time! I've been mildly productive: vacuumed and mopped the kitchen and pantry, washed a load of diapers and hung them to dry, and I'm fixing to wash the kids' clothes as well (right after I finish up here and get myself a bowl of much deserved ice cream!).
Last night my husband and I had quite a bit of fun as well. One of the residents he works with is finished with her program and is moving to South Carolina to work. She was having a going away party at her house and, knowing that eating at her house meant the promise of homemade Indian food, a herd of wild horses couldn't have kept him away. She has two small children who kept Ian entertained nearly the whole time, and my hubby and I got to enjoy adult conversation and excellent food while the rest of the residents played "pass the baby" with Zollie.
Father's Day is coming up this weekend. I never care much about the fact that we are barely skimming by money wise until a holiday comes up. I don't want to be rich, I just want to be able to buy nice gifts for my loved ones to show them how much they mean to me. What I really would love is to be able to buy a new computer or a bunch of camping gear or even the new D&D books for my husband. He is so wonderful, a hard worker, loving, and such a great dad...he really deserves it. But I'm stuck with about 10 dollars to do something with. I'm wanting to do a special dinner for him, and the boys made him a card, but that just doesn't seem like nearly enough to show our love. What's a poor woman to do?
Prayers/Praises for the day: Praise God for healthy kids and for the little bits of time I get to myself (Zollie just woke up...)
Praying that our meager Father's Day celebration will be enough to show my husband just how much we love and appreciate him.
God bless!
Last night my husband and I had quite a bit of fun as well. One of the residents he works with is finished with her program and is moving to South Carolina to work. She was having a going away party at her house and, knowing that eating at her house meant the promise of homemade Indian food, a herd of wild horses couldn't have kept him away. She has two small children who kept Ian entertained nearly the whole time, and my hubby and I got to enjoy adult conversation and excellent food while the rest of the residents played "pass the baby" with Zollie.
Father's Day is coming up this weekend. I never care much about the fact that we are barely skimming by money wise until a holiday comes up. I don't want to be rich, I just want to be able to buy nice gifts for my loved ones to show them how much they mean to me. What I really would love is to be able to buy a new computer or a bunch of camping gear or even the new D&D books for my husband. He is so wonderful, a hard worker, loving, and such a great dad...he really deserves it. But I'm stuck with about 10 dollars to do something with. I'm wanting to do a special dinner for him, and the boys made him a card, but that just doesn't seem like nearly enough to show our love. What's a poor woman to do?
Prayers/Praises for the day: Praise God for healthy kids and for the little bits of time I get to myself (Zollie just woke up...)
Praying that our meager Father's Day celebration will be enough to show my husband just how much we love and appreciate him.
God bless!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Monday Morning
Today has been a humdrum day so far. The boys woke me up at about 7:30. Ian loves to run in and yell "Mama! Mama! Downstairs now!" So down we went for diaper changes and breakfast (cereal and juice) and a cartoon. Then out onto the back porch to play in the kiddy pool before it got so oppressively hot that even water wasn't refreshing anymore. Today doesn't really feel like a Monday, though. My hubby had to work yesterday so it feels more like midweek, which will come back to bite me on Wednesday or Thursday when I feel like the week should be over already.
This coming weekend will offer no respite either, as we will be back in my hometown for my sister's highschool graduation. That will be bittersweet for her, I'm sure. She'll be leaving all of her friends behind and moving three hours away. It's great for me, though, because she'll be here! And convienent for my parents...all three of us will be ECU grads/students, so she only has to worry about buying accessories for one school. Highschool is one of those weird things...as a teenager you think that these people are your BEST friends, those that will be with you for the rest of your life, and then you graduate and fall away and never speak to most of them again. Oh well, I guess that's what Facebook and Myspace are for, right?
I had a ephiphany last night that I would like to share. We just went through a trauma at our house...Ian lost Blue for three days. Blue is his blanket. I crochetted it while I was pregnant with him. He's had it since (literally) the day he was born and it's really a part of him. Trying to get him to sleep without Blue is nigh impossible. Blue goes everywhere with Ian. So when we tried to find it for bed a few nights ago and couldn't, panic insued. We searched the house for Blue, but to no avail. I tried to substitute a yellow crochetted blanket, but my husband said he found Ian sitting in bed a bit later, quietly saying "where Blue go?" over and over. It was pitiful.
So a couple of days ago when I popped my head in the living room to find Ian snuggled up with Blue, watching cartoons, my heart leapt. I asked him where he found it, and he took me to the dining room and pointed to his kitchen set (we had looked in the kitchen set at least three times by three seperate people). But life in our house is markedly calmer now. Ian will take naps and go to bed without fussing, and there have been far fewer tantrums.
What I realized last night is that God is a lot like Blue. He's always with us, He's our comfort and our stability. But we take Him for granted too much. Just like Blue we drag God around through the dirt and leaves too often, and only turn to Him when we need something like comfort or warmth. We leave Him behind when we get busy doing our own thing and sometimes it's easy to forget that we really need Him with us all the time. I think that far too often we only realize how important God is in our lives when we try to do things on our own and fail...just like Ian trying to go to bed without Blue. We whine and complain and everyone around us is made miserable. Only when we seek Him out - in His Word, in church, in our prayer life - do we go running back into His arms and realize how much we missed Him.
Let's all strive to give God the important position He deserves in our life.
Prayers/Praises for today:
Praise God that we had enough money in our account today to pay a bill that we bounced a check on last week, and that the person we owed was graceous enough to be understanding and not to charge us a late fee.
Praise God for our new neighbor, who seems really nice and friendly. I pray that we will get to know him better and that he will see Christ's light shining through our family.
I'm praying that God will lay His hand on our finances, as we have recently had a lot of medical bills come due.
God Bless!
Vallere
This coming weekend will offer no respite either, as we will be back in my hometown for my sister's highschool graduation. That will be bittersweet for her, I'm sure. She'll be leaving all of her friends behind and moving three hours away. It's great for me, though, because she'll be here! And convienent for my parents...all three of us will be ECU grads/students, so she only has to worry about buying accessories for one school. Highschool is one of those weird things...as a teenager you think that these people are your BEST friends, those that will be with you for the rest of your life, and then you graduate and fall away and never speak to most of them again. Oh well, I guess that's what Facebook and Myspace are for, right?
I had a ephiphany last night that I would like to share. We just went through a trauma at our house...Ian lost Blue for three days. Blue is his blanket. I crochetted it while I was pregnant with him. He's had it since (literally) the day he was born and it's really a part of him. Trying to get him to sleep without Blue is nigh impossible. Blue goes everywhere with Ian. So when we tried to find it for bed a few nights ago and couldn't, panic insued. We searched the house for Blue, but to no avail. I tried to substitute a yellow crochetted blanket, but my husband said he found Ian sitting in bed a bit later, quietly saying "where Blue go?" over and over. It was pitiful.
So a couple of days ago when I popped my head in the living room to find Ian snuggled up with Blue, watching cartoons, my heart leapt. I asked him where he found it, and he took me to the dining room and pointed to his kitchen set (we had looked in the kitchen set at least three times by three seperate people). But life in our house is markedly calmer now. Ian will take naps and go to bed without fussing, and there have been far fewer tantrums.
What I realized last night is that God is a lot like Blue. He's always with us, He's our comfort and our stability. But we take Him for granted too much. Just like Blue we drag God around through the dirt and leaves too often, and only turn to Him when we need something like comfort or warmth. We leave Him behind when we get busy doing our own thing and sometimes it's easy to forget that we really need Him with us all the time. I think that far too often we only realize how important God is in our lives when we try to do things on our own and fail...just like Ian trying to go to bed without Blue. We whine and complain and everyone around us is made miserable. Only when we seek Him out - in His Word, in church, in our prayer life - do we go running back into His arms and realize how much we missed Him.
Let's all strive to give God the important position He deserves in our life.
Prayers/Praises for today:
Praise God that we had enough money in our account today to pay a bill that we bounced a check on last week, and that the person we owed was graceous enough to be understanding and not to charge us a late fee.
Praise God for our new neighbor, who seems really nice and friendly. I pray that we will get to know him better and that he will see Christ's light shining through our family.
I'm praying that God will lay His hand on our finances, as we have recently had a lot of medical bills come due.
God Bless!
Vallere
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Hi! I'm new here!
Well hello everyone! I'm new to this whole blogging thing, so I guess the best way to start is to tell everyone a bit about myself and my family. My husband and I have been married for almost 6 years. They haven't all been easy years...the first couple were spent with me working full time while my husband was in medical school. The last couple have been spent with him working 60+ hours a week in residency while I stay home with the boys. We are poor, but blessed. God has provided for all our needs and even a few of our wants.
So far we have two sons: Ian Gray is 2.5 and Zollie Isaac is almost 8 months. Both boys were born at the Women's Birth and Wellness Center...a freestanding birth center in Chapel Hill, NC. They were both wonderful experiences, and I'm a huge advocate for natural birth now that I've had two of my own. Ian is full of energy and enjoys anything that involves splashing in water or throwing a ball. He's smart as a whip, too...he already knows his letters and numbers, shapes and colors. I can't wait to start formally homeschooling him and seeing his little mind work! Zollie is my high needs baby and needs a lot of being held, though now that he's getting mobile, he's happier to play on his own or chase his big brother around. He's already walking behind push toys (and he's not even 8 months old yet!) so I think he'll be an early walker. Ian is definately more interested in him now that he can interact more, though lately Ian has become more clingy, and wants me to "put Zo-yee down!" and hold him more. It's always hard when that's not immediately possible (like when Zollie is nursing), but I know it's very important to meet all of Ian's needs as well. At least we have a big recliner that will hold all 3 of us!
My hopes for this blog are to have a place to just chronicle my life. To be able to keep up with all of the silly and annoying things my kids do, to write about our homeschool journey, and to encourage other families who share similar interests or are just curious about what those crazy, crunchy, Christian folks do all day. So right now I'm going to go do some living: Ian's hungry after his nap, Zollie needs a diaper change, and my hubby is fixing to help me get some ribeyes soaking in marinade so we can grill out later. Talk to you soon! God Bless!
Prayers/Praises for today: I praise God for the time I got to snuggle with my boys today. I praise him for a husband who works hard to provide for us (even when he has to work on Sundays) and for a pantry that has food in it. My prayers go out to a friend who just lost her baby a few days ago and for my stepdad's boss who just found out he has a brain tumor. May God's peace rest upon those families.
So far we have two sons: Ian Gray is 2.5 and Zollie Isaac is almost 8 months. Both boys were born at the Women's Birth and Wellness Center...a freestanding birth center in Chapel Hill, NC. They were both wonderful experiences, and I'm a huge advocate for natural birth now that I've had two of my own. Ian is full of energy and enjoys anything that involves splashing in water or throwing a ball. He's smart as a whip, too...he already knows his letters and numbers, shapes and colors. I can't wait to start formally homeschooling him and seeing his little mind work! Zollie is my high needs baby and needs a lot of being held, though now that he's getting mobile, he's happier to play on his own or chase his big brother around. He's already walking behind push toys (and he's not even 8 months old yet!) so I think he'll be an early walker. Ian is definately more interested in him now that he can interact more, though lately Ian has become more clingy, and wants me to "put Zo-yee down!" and hold him more. It's always hard when that's not immediately possible (like when Zollie is nursing), but I know it's very important to meet all of Ian's needs as well. At least we have a big recliner that will hold all 3 of us!
My hopes for this blog are to have a place to just chronicle my life. To be able to keep up with all of the silly and annoying things my kids do, to write about our homeschool journey, and to encourage other families who share similar interests or are just curious about what those crazy, crunchy, Christian folks do all day. So right now I'm going to go do some living: Ian's hungry after his nap, Zollie needs a diaper change, and my hubby is fixing to help me get some ribeyes soaking in marinade so we can grill out later. Talk to you soon! God Bless!
Prayers/Praises for today: I praise God for the time I got to snuggle with my boys today. I praise him for a husband who works hard to provide for us (even when he has to work on Sundays) and for a pantry that has food in it. My prayers go out to a friend who just lost her baby a few days ago and for my stepdad's boss who just found out he has a brain tumor. May God's peace rest upon those families.
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