Montana

Another authored by Sean.....he's on a roll!


Before we left Idaho we had a quick visit to Couer D' Alene. This town was beautiful! We stopped at a downtown park near the lake and were facinated with a 6,000 square foot play structure built by the community. It was a huge fort that could have entertained our kids for weeks - except that we had to hustle to make our dinner date in Montana!

Our dinner date was with Jim and Jacque, friends of ours who have recently moved back to Montana. They hosted us in their beautiful new home, allowing our little ones free reign of the place! It was a great opportunity to catch up with good friends.

Jim and Jacque's amazing house is complimented by an excellent community, a rock-solid church, and is only minutes away from their daughter and son-in-law. Seems to me they're "home at last!"

Jim and Jacque took us to the Museum of the Rockies, which has a large collection of dinosaur bones. They have the largest skull of a T-Rex as well as several other skeletons that were excavated in Montana.

More on Montana

During our visit to the Museum of the Rockies we were able to see an outdoor historic exhibit in which people were dressed in mid 1800's clothing as they demonstrated early life on the farm. One hard-core gun collector allowed Evan to hold an actual rifle from the Revolutionary War!





Amy and Emily in the Saddle!






Emily and Jacque grew quite attached to one another!



The farm experience included allowing the kids to wade out into the garden and "harvest" jumbo sized carrots! The farm house in the background is over 100 years old.

Idaho

Authored By Sean...........

Our next stops were in Idaho where we visited Grandpa John, Uncle Pat, and Aunt Tammi.




Grandpa John lives on a real-life farm and has hundreds of acres of wheat surrounding the century-old farmhouse he lives in. Grandpa John’s mother was actually born in this house nearly 100 years ago.



Grandpa John piled us in a trailer and towed us on a tour of the freshly harvested fields. While we bumped and bounced, we got a lesson on the topography and early homesteaders. On our next visit we’ll have to remember to rent a 4x4 SUV so we can HEAR the tour!



Below is the old corn crib (building at right) used to dry...you guessed it...Corn! Sean's great-grandfather was an award winning corn farmer from Idaho. The family hopes to restore the 12 horse barn sagging in the left.




Sean’s brother, Pat, and his wife Tammi were brave enough to host all of us, even though Tammi was eight months pregnant! They recently moved to Idaho after spending 2 ½ years in Alaska. Needless to say, they are enjoying the less extreme weather changes and are excited about the community they’ve moved to. And Emily was quite smitten with her Uncle Pat and waved at him every opportunity she got!

Visiting Cara in Oregon

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17

I met Cara the first week of school, my freshman year in college. We found out right away that we had both been dancers (Royal academy of Dance Ballet). Then we found out we were both Christians. I think we literally jumped up and down for joy! Later we realized that both our moms made bread with a Magic Mill and a Bosch mixer, and we were not allowed to play with Barbies! We had a lot in common back then.

Cara and I during our freshmen year!

Fast forward 16 years and several kids later. We are both homeschooling our kids using a Classical Christian method and growing in our love and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. We also have one other very important thing in common now, soon to be two. Cara's brother Aaron married my sister Shauna in 2000 and we both get to be Aunties to CJ and his little sister (due Jan 2007).

Cara's husband Brian is in the Military so they have moved around quite a lot. After being away from the west coast for awhile, they are now back, building a house in Oregon. We had a wonderful dinner the first night we were there; Cara is a fabulous cook. We had a great discussion about her kids' food allergies which led to the topic of sugar. Many of you know my family recently concluded a study at UCLA regarding our son's Tourette's Syndrome. One of the things the psychiatrist from UCLA mentioned was that sugar and chemicals in foods can trigger ticks in Tourette's Syndrome or make them worse.

I had always thought of just the nutritional value of sugar (0), in comparison with honey and sucanat (very minimal). I simply thought if we cut back on sugar that would help. Cara reminded me that sugar is processed chemically and it's the chemicals that her kids are allergic to. So I have been inspired to read up about this and possibly eliminate refined sugar from our diet. Its actually not that drastic for us since we don't eat a lot of sugar anyway and our kids are already used to sucanat. In fact, Evan's favorite cookies are Peanut Butter made with whole wheat flour and sucanat. I took the kids to our local farmer's market to test the different types of honey. They picked out the ones that they each liked best and are excited to get to use that as their sweetener. Amy is going through candy withdrawals, but I figure it is better for her to go through it now then at my age! He he!

The next day we went to see the land that they are going to build their house on and went swimming. Sean and Brian took the older kids to see where Brian works while the little ones napped and Cara and I got to catch up. That night after another wonderful dinner we participated in their family worship. It was such a blessing to be with other believers and see what God is doing in their lives, and have them pray for us.

It is so incredible how God works sometimes. Right before our trip I had read a post from Leslie about being Bible Saturated. In it she talks about memorizing a large portion of Scripture, why it is important and a recommendation of how to do it. I had been praying about what portion of Scripture to start with and even more importantly, how to approach my family with this idea. We have never tackled more than a few verses in a row (other than Psalm 23) and I had an idea that it might scare them if I told them I wanted us to memorize a whole book!

During the worship time with Cara's family they recited the entire chapter of Romans 12 together. This has been the chapter they have been working on as a family. Sean was very inspired and spurred on to want to memorize scripture with our family in that way. I told him about Leslie's post and the books I thought might be good to start with. With God's help we are now purposing to commit to memory the book of Colossians. If we are able to memorize a verse a day (we're on verse 5 out of 95!) we will be done a week before Christmas. I am so excited! It has been fun to work on this together. And the way that God moved in my heart and then my husband's through the example of our friends just makes me realize even more God's goodness to me and my family. It also makes me love Him so much more, too.

More Pictures

My dad sent these pictures from our day at Old Sacramento.

Amy is drawing at a desk similar to those used by the French who came to seek their fortune in gold, but made more money as artists. There were booths set up to represent several different nations. They showed how the people lived and made their living during the gold rush. Many had interactive displays so the children could get a hands on history lesson.

A rare picture of all of us inside a train.

Sacramento, Ca

normally, I don't equate visiting a state capitol with an exciting vacation. But, since we were studying California History this summer and had to stop somewhere, it turned out pretty great. The tour of the capitol was very interesting, and when we went next door to the courts, the kids got to sit in the "Big Judge Chair". The court was actually closed, but some nice security guards let us in anyway. I guess a homeschool family on vacation isn't much of a terrorist threat! Here is a picture that Evan took of the capitol building.



The next day, we met my parents in Old Sacramento for a trip to the Train Museum, and "Gold Rush Days". It was so fun! All the kids had a blast, even Emily. She loved looking at all the horses. Evan loved everything, but especially the California Military Museum. And Amy had a good time, but loved the candy shop!

Emily loved this display of model trains. She could stand up and see it, and it was moving!

The Military Museum has a great collection of model airplanes. One of Evan's great loves.

Evan and Papa at the Train Museum.

Amy getting in some swim time at the hotel.

We're Back From Vacation!

We just got back from a wonderful 2 week road trip. The car is unpacked and the laundry mostly done. God in his goodness helped little Emily to sleep 4 1/2 hours today during her two naps! We'll blog more about the trip, including pictures, but for now I will leave you with our Road Trip Top Ten Things to be Thankful About.


1. After traveling over 3,000 miles and through 9 different states we made it safely home a day early. Sean wisely made the choice to hard charge the last leg of the trip cutting down our drive home from Yellowstone from 3 days to 2.

2. We enjoyed great food, fellowship, and fun with our good friends the Bergerons, and the Hays as well as Sean's brother Pat and his wife Tammi, who hosted us while being 8 months pregnant!

3. We were blessed with two unexpected special events in places where we visited. During our visit to Sacramento as part of our state required "California History" studies, we got to participate in "Gold Rush Days" where the streets were closed in Old Sacramento and covered with dirt. People dressed up in period costumes and there were many activities that helped to show what it was like in the 1850's during the California Gold Rush. The day was made even more special because we got to share it with my parents who came over to meet us for the day!

4. Likewise, in Bozeman, Montana at the Museum of the Rockies, they too had a special reenactment of farm life on a well preserved farm from 1905. Admission was also free that day!

5. God has blessed our family with an exceptionally good driver (Sean-not me! Ha Ha) with a built in GPS system in his head. After inadvertently taking the wrong road because it had moved from the last time Sean had come through Oregon, he had a "feeling" that we were going the wrong way. We then realized that the maps were all left back at the hotel room 200 miles back. Sean took a look at the mountains (I'm not kidding!) and took an unknown road that took us in the right direction and through a different route to the place we wanted to go with only 30 minutes lost in our trip.


6. We were reminded of the absolute beauty of God's creation. We were able to travel through lush thick forest in Montana and northern California, see amazing geological thermal features in Yellowstone, and pass through a beautiful rock canyon in Arizona.

7. I had a new breakthrough. On the last day of the trip I was able to read in the car!!! I always get so sick, but for some reason, I decided to try and was able to read half of Robinson Crusoe.

8. Evan became the new aspiring photographer. Thanks to his Papa who gave him a nice digital camera with a 1 GB memory card as an early birthday/ Christmas present. Evan took more pictures than Sean. We'll post some of them later; quite a few turned out really good.

9. Preschool Power! Emily would not have made the trip so well if it were not for this video series. Yes, we let her watch movies in the car. And even though we're all a little sick of the incredibly catchy songs about brushing your teeth and making a snack, it was better than hearing her cry! She also would take her naps as soon as I turned on Kenny G! We've tried lots of other classical and instrumental music, but she likes Vivaldi and Kenny G. Go figure.

10. Did I tell you how glad we are to be home?

This Week for GirlTalk

This weeks chapter in Twelve Extraordinary Women by John MacArthur is on the life of Ruth. It is a story of loyalty and love as we look at her devotion to her mother-in-law Naomi and how God brought Boaz into her life as her kinsman-redeemer husband. My answer to this weeks question is also a love story, the story of how God brought my husband into my life.

“Nothing happens by ‘chance,’ but God is always behind the scenes, working all things together for the good of His people (Rom. 8:28). There is no such thing as ‘luck’ or ‘fate’ for believers.” (page 77)

Given this truth, tell us about a circumstance in your life where you now see God was working “behind the scenes” for your good.

Most of you who read this know our story. Sean asked that I not post it for the world to read because of the personal nature (you'll understand if you read it). And if you'd like to read it just let me know in the comment section and I'll email it to you.

80's Comeback

If you grew up in the 80's you'll get a kick out of this post I just read over at BooMama's blog. I laughed so hard I cried. I went to school in the 80's and even though I wasn't allowed to watch Molly Ringwald movies and I thought acid wash jean were ugly back then, I still was an 80's child. Reading what other moms thought of "skinny jeans" and what their "mama uniform" consists of was just too funny. It also made me feel better about only having one pair of capri pants and a couple of skirts that I wear with my cotton t-shirt collection.

The Verdict Is In

Yesterday we received a call from UCLA to give us the results of Tuesdays 3 hour assessment. After 8 therapy sessions and 3 long assessment sessions, they determined that Evan's tics had not significantly improved as a result of the program. It is what we thought also. His tics have changed and are slightly less impairing for him, but he still has no control over them. Actually, the group that we were assigned to didn't address controlling ticks so I'm not surprised.

UCLA has offered us the other treatment option now that the study portion is done. This was the group we were hoping to be assigned to. It will address how to be aware of the tics and how to control them using competing behaviors. The example I always use is a tic of waving your arms up and down. A competing behavior would be to tighten your arms into your body so they physically can't wave. Your body is still doing something, but it is not as noticeable or tiring.

We are hoping to take a bit of a break from the driving, and start up after the new year. It will be another 8 weeks of therapy, but will not include assessments or video taping or filling out a bunch of forms. Yeah!!! Even though it has been a lot of work, we are very thankful for the opportunity for Evan to receive help relatively free of charge. (We just have to pay for the gas there and back!)

We think that it has been very helpful for Evan to be a part of this study. And he has said throughout that he really enjoys going. We were assigned to the education group. Most of what they taught us there Evan didn't know before. He has been much more open to talking about his Tourette's Syndrome (TS) now than in the past. We have also found out that some of what we thought were ticks are actually not. And some behaviors we didn't know were associated with TS are actually quite common, like sleep problems. This is important in how we deal with certain behaviors. Ticks are involuntary and many times he doesn't even know he's doing them. But, sometimes the line between sinful behavior and behavior caused by TS is not so easy to distinguish.

I have been reading a book called Blame It On The Brain? by Edward T. Welch. He is also the author of When People are Big and God Is Small, a book I just finished reading. He seems to have a very thorough understanding of psychiatry and brain research but looks at it through the lens of scripture. It has been very helpful in understanding what role the brain plays in relation to injuries, disorders and disease. He also helps address where sin plays a role in these areas and gives suggestions on how to treat the physical brain issues, and the sinful heart issues. One of his suggestions is to first of all find out as much as you can about the disease or disorder you are dealing with. Going to UCLA and spending time with people who specialize in childhood anxiety and tic disorders has given us a much deeper understanding of Tourette's Syndrome.

God is dealing with some of my heart issues as I drive down to L.A. as well. Driving in heavy traffic in an unfamiliar city with a baby who is fussy, and a 7 year old who gets car sick has brought to light anger and frustration I didn't know was there. And feeling physically weak isn't something I'm used to (not counting bed rest). The drive there and back, especially this last time, has made me be dependent on God for each moment. The day before I was to leave I wasn't sure how I was ever going make it. Sean was not able to take the day off of work, and Evan had to be there on that day to be within the parameters of the study. If I didn't take him, we would forfeit the rest of the study and the opportunity to receive the next treatment. As I was driving down, I had time to think about where my faith was. Was it in my ability to control the situation or in God? God helped me to see that He was taking care of us, and I had to talk to myself to remind myself of God's sovereignty in this situation. This has been a difficult season, but I am confident that God will use this situation to work for the good of Evan and myself. (Rom 8:28) I just have to keep reminding myself that, since I all to easily forget! Thank you so much for praying for us. We sincerely appreciate it.

Accountability and Prayer

It is getting harder and harder to write for the GirlTalk book club. I am enjoying the book, but last weeks "assignment" had me in tears. I was not because I didn't want to write it (like when I was in Junior High), but because the subject was painful. My husband deemed it not my best writing effort, probably in part because of my emotions. And I had been hesitant to post it anyway because of the personal nature of my response. So I have chosen not to post it here. But because I view this blog as an accountability of sort in this writing adventure, I felt I needed to explain why the post was missing.

On another note, I have just gotten back from L.A. (8 hour round trip) and need to turn around and do it again this week. I am feeling extremely weary. And to top it off, my neck just went into spasms again today, and I can hardly move it. Would you please pray for me? I am not going to be able to make it this week on my own strength. I know that I never can, but today it is more evident to me than other days when I feel healthy and rested.

Ice Cream Maker Recipe

We have been enjoying making ice cream this summer with our new electric Ice Cream Maker. This recipe is from the booklet that came with our machine. The kids loved it.

Slushies

4 cups soda, lemonade, juice or Kool-Aid, chilled (do not use sugar free product)

Turn machine on and pour liquid into freezer bowl and let mix until thick and slushy, about 15-20 min. Serve immediately.

We used red Kool-Aid and it tasted just like a Slurpie.

Using a Food Scale

Even though it is not technically an appliance, since it doesn't plug in, I store my scale with my appliances so it came to mind. Plus, I use it for a couple of really good institutional size recipes.

When I was in college I cooked for a small Christian camp during the summers. Thankfully, one of my nutritional science classes was Quantity Food preparation. The text was a book called Food For Fifty. I used that book several times each week up there at camp and I still use it today. In addition to tables and charts that help you plan how much to buy to feed 50 people, the book has over 400 recipes that each have 50 portions. I know that sounds like a lot, however now that I'm inspired (again) by Jessica to try once-a-month cooking, I'm thinking that some of these recipes would be perfect, no doubling or tripling. I may cut the recipes in half, but then again, the way Evan has been eating lately, maybe I won't!

The first one is for a very tasty Coffee Cake. I usually pan it out into 4 lasagna type baking pans. The beauty of this recipe is that you can make the batter the night before and bake it the next morning. I have also frozen the batter and thawed the night before baking. It also tastes good if you freeze it after baking. Just thaw and reheat.

Coffee Cake

Topping:
10 oz butter or margarine (2 1/2 sticks)
1lb 4 oz sugar (2 3/4 cup)
3 oz flour (3/4 cup)
1 oz cinnamon (4 Tbsp)
1 1/2 tsp. Salt

*Using a flat beater in a stand mixer mix ingredients on low speed until crumbly. Set aside to be used later as topping.

3 lb 6oz Flour (13 1/3 cups)
2 oz baking powder (4 Tbsp + 2 tsp)
2 lbs sugar (4 1/2 cups)
1 Tbsp + 2 tsp salt

6 eggs, beaten (10 oz)
1 1/4 quart milk (5 cups)

1 lb 10 oz butter melted and cooled (6 1/2 sticks)

1. Combine dry ingredients in very big bowl.
2. Combine eggs and milk; add to dry ingredients.
3. Mix on low speed until dry ingredients are just moist. (I use a hand mixer for this since my Kitchen Aid is not big enough.)
4. Add butter and mix on low speed for one minute (or until it is all mixed in).
5. Scale dough into four 9 x 12 x 2-inch pans, 1 lb. 1 oz per pan. Or you can just eyeball it. I usually do.
6. Sprinkle with reserved topping mixture, 1/2 lb per pan.
7. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes or until done. (I usually have to bake longer for some reason.) Allow 5-10 extra minutes if you have refrigerated the batter the night before since the batter will be cold. (Again, I think I've had to bake longer maybe even up to an hour total to get the center to come clean with a toothpick.)


I remember this recipe for Mac and Cheese being really good at camp. I haven't tried freezing it yet, but I think it will work.

Macaroni and Cheese

3 lbs. 8 oz Macaroni, cooked, and drained
12 oz butter ( 3 sticks)
8 oz flour (2 cups)
2 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp Dry Mustard
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 gal milk
4 lbs cheddar cheese, sharp, shredded

1. Melt butter, stir in flour and seasonings. Cook 5-10 minutes.
2. Add milk gradually, stirring constantly with wire whip. Cook until thickened.
3. Add cheese to sauce. Stir until cheese melts.
4. Pour over macaroni and mix carefully.
5. Scale into baking pans.

Topping*
1 lb bread crumbs (4 cups)
6 oz butter (1 1/2 sticks)

1. Mix crumbs and melted butter. Sprinkle over macaroni and cheese.
2. Bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes until 180 F.

Deep Fryer Recipe

I normally don't like fried things. (It must be the nutritionist coming out in me.) But, my kids absolutely love it when I make homemade chips. We don't keep chips around much so it's kind of a special treat. It is also really easy if you have a deep fryer.

Homemade Tortilla Chips

Package of corn tortillas
Canola Oil
Salt

1. Fill the deep fryer to maximum level with oil and heat to 375 F.
2. Tear tortillas in fourths and fry 10-12 at a time until crisp (just a couple of minutes).
3. Drain on a paper towel and salt according to taste. They are best warm, but my kids like them the next day too.

If you watch the first batch you'll get an idea of the time required to make them crisp. The more tortillas you use at a time, the longer it takes to fry. You just need to keep them separated a bit. These go great with Taco Soup!

Crock Pot Recipe

I have a thing for small kitchen appliances. I just love them. Weirdly enough, I even ask for them as Christmas presents. A couple of years ago, I asked for and received a new crock pot. I had been using my grandmothers orange one from the 70's for awhile. So now I have a really big one that I use all the time. Here is a great recipe I got from my friend Samantha. It comes from the Fix-it-and-Forget-it cookbook on page 36.

Taco Soup

(Eats more like a chilli)
makes 6-8 servings

1 lb. ground beef or turkey, browned and drained
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
15 1/4 oz can corn, undrained
15 1/2 oz can red kidney beans, undrained
15 oz can black beans, undrained
1 envelope dry Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix (other brands work well too)
1 envelope dry taco seasoning

1. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on low 4-6 hours.
3. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, chips or cornbread. Add a salad and you've got a meal!

My Book Club Contribution

I did it! We went out of town, so I didn't procrastinate, but wrote my little paper on Tuesday to send to GirlTalk. I actually feel embarrassed to post it now because I have been in such a bad mood since I got back yesterday, hardly the ideal of being a helpful wife to my husband. And, I realized that it was actually from reading Feminine Appeal (not the book that's featured in the book club!)that I got this idea. Oh well, here it is anyways.

How did this chapter influence how you think about your true priorities as a woman?

I think I first have to ask myself, "What have been my priorities? What have I spent most of my time thinking about and planning for?"

This past year, I've spent a great deal of time planning homeschool lessons for my two older kids. I've spent a lot of time thinking about my new baby, and all the demands and joys that go along with baby girls. I've spent too much time and effort trying in vain to get my "body" back. And I've spent a lot of intentional time with good books that have helped me to grow spiritually during a time of upheaval with my church and friendships.

As I look at where my priorities have been, I reflect on where I've placed my husband in my planning. Yes, I love him and know in my head that he is to be my first priority after my relationship with God. But when I look back at the past year I don't think I put as much effort in seeking to be as creative and intentional in being a helper to him as I did in other areas of my life. By God's grace, I am seeking to understand my husband better and embrace God's design for my role as his wife.

One practical way I am trying to do that is by asking him what I can do around the house that would help him. How freeing this has been since I obviously can't do very household chore every day. However, I can usually do what he's mentioned in adition to "my" list for the day. This has helped me to prioritize how I spend my time in a way that is effective for my family and blesses my husband.

If you write to GirlTalk and send it in, I'd love to read it even if they don't publish it. You can read what they did publish here. It was very inspiring.

We start school on Monday. So I'm planning on posting something easy and fun: a weeks worth of recipes featuring some of my favorite small kitchen appliances. (I had a lot of spare time to think while driving to and from L.A.!)

Tour of Homes

Welcome to our home! Although we won't post it on the official "BooMama" site, she is the inspiration for letting other people into your home who read your blog, but aren't able to visit your house. We have added on to our home recently. And many friends and family who live in other states have not gotten to see Sean's handiwork.

This is our front door. My poor flowers are not looking too hot after the recent heat wave. Usually they are a glorious riot of blue, my favorite color.

My favorite thing about our living room is our new (used) piano. I just love to hear my husband play. I told him whenever I am stressed to sit down and play worship music. It soothes me like nothing else. The leather furniture we bought on eBay! The chair with the ottoman is my favorite place to read and have my devotions.

The next two pictures are of our kitchen and dining room, where we used to homeschool until Sean built me a homeschool room. Yeah!!

This room functions as our homeschool room, family room, TV room and library. We start school next week so I'm glad that I had the extra motivation of taking these pictures to get it cleaned up and organized. It sure doesn't stay that way for long once school begins!

I just love having a walk-in closet, not for my clothes, but for my school supplies.

Upstairs, we built new rooms for the older kids. Evan loves everything to do with airplanes, especially vintage World War I and II.

Amy likes her dolls and "old fashioned" things. The vanity was her birthday present wish this year. Sean found it at an estate sale for a steal. The canopy bed was mine when I was a little girl. I'm glad my parents saved it.

This is the kids bathroom. When Sean went to Uganda on a mission trip last year, he brought back the cute little wooden animals that matched the "jungle" theme.

This is our bedroom. My kids gave me the hardest time about taking a picture of it clean, not piled with laundry like it usually is!

I just love how Emily's room turned out. My mom made the crib bedding out of a black and white toile and the softest pink fabric that we found on Wal-mart's $1 a yard table.

Tour of Homes (Continued)

I was having problems uploading pictures so here's the rest of the house. This bathroom (guest) is my favorite. It's hard to see the color, but it is a really pretty purple. The lower part is beadboard my friend gave us. The mirror Sean's dad gave us.


Here is our guest room. It is also the place where I do my blogging.

This is our back yard. The little house you see in the background is the kids play house.

Before the heat hit, we had tons of flowers. This picture also shows the kids "clubhouse" that Sean built and the patio.

I hope you enjoyed the tour!

Why We Don't Publicize Our Blog

Just a side note on why we don't "publicize" our blog for now. Sean has extensive personal experience with identity theft and fraud (not that that he's wanted by the FBI or anything like that). And while I was in college, I was briefly stalked by a homeless man. Because of this, my husband is particulary protective of me and our children. I am thankful for God's provision in my husband as I was very nieve and trusting of everyone (to a fault) before I met him. Thank you for your understanding to those who have had to ask for our blog address.

Book Clubs and Learning to Write

For the past year I have been wanting to join a book club. I haven't been able to because the clubs met too far away or were at a time of day I couldn't make. So, I was thrilled when Girltalk announced they were starting a book club. Finally, I could read a book (a really good book at that) with other people and experience it with them.

The ladies at Girltalk are assigning a chapter per week to read and a question about how the chapter pertains to your life. If you want, you can e-mail your answer to them and they will pick one answer to post each week. Of course, it is completely optional. They hope that the writing process will help you to put your thoughts together and learn more from the book. It probably will. But......

I hate to write. I've always hated to write. I used to cry in junior high because I hated it so much. I even cried in High School a few times over writing assignments. By college, there were no more tears, but it still was not my favorite thing to do. So normally I would opt out of this part of the book club. But, I need to teach my kids how to write. And the one thing I learned in college about writing is the more you do, the better you get. So, I am going to write each week and send it in to Girltalk. Then I"ll post it here because you probably won't ever see it there. I'm hoping that with the extra practice, I'll gain a little more confidence and sharpen my skills in order to better teach my kids.

This week the question at Girltalk was, "How does your life feel ordinary and how can it be truly extraordinary?" (We are reading Twelve Extraordinary Women by John MacArthur.) I had lots of great ideas floating around in my head. I re-read the chapter assigned. And I waited until the last minute, the day it was due, to write about it. Then we had unexpected company come for the night. Our computer is located in our guest room so I never wrote anything. My first lesson to myself on being a better writer is one my High School teacher Mr. Gier used to tell me over and over again, "DON'T PROCRASTINATE!" He even wrote it in my year book. Seriously, he did. It's so nice to be a grown-up now and not have my grade get knocked down because my paper was late.

Part of the reason I didn't write earlier was because I was on a cleaning spree. We start school in a few weeks and I also have been working on taking pictures of our house to post here and be a part of BooMama's Tour of Homes. (Even though I'm late in joining!) My husband gave me an A for cleaning, and my son even thanked me. I was also prepared for unexpected company! So it turned out alright.

But next week I'll write out my "paper" earlier in the week. I hope I've learned my lesson. My husband, who is a very good writer, has promised to help me edit and thus teach me a bit. And if anyone reads this and sees something that could be written differently, or fixed grammatically, please, please tell me. I don't have Mr. Gier to mark up my papers with red anymore!

If you want to join the book club, you can read all about it at Girltalk by clicking here.

Questions about Tourette's Syndrome

Evan has gone down to UCLA medical center once a week as part of a research study on childhood tics. Each week he has homework to complete that corresponds to the following weeks topic. This past week he was asked to list questions he and his family has about Tourette's Syndrome, tics and any other related symptoms. If you have any questions would you please e-mail us or post them here in the comment section? We will get a chance to talk with the psychiatrist about them next week, August 11. If you are interested we will let you know what we find out.

Baby Jamba Juice

Where we live Jamba Juice is very popular. We have one within walking distance of our house! We all love it including Emily. But because they use nonfat milk and sorbet (a little too much sugar for the baby), we've taken to making hers at home. Yesterday it was pretty much the only thing she would eat! Here's the recipe for any other 1-2 year olds.

Baby Jamba Juice

One 4-6 oz container of whole milk yogurt
1/2 very ripe banana
1/2 -1 cup frozen fruit
whole milk to make it the consistency you want

Blend it all up in the blender. Leftovers keep for a day or two but are more like a yogurt drink. It also freezes well into popsicles. Yesterday we used peach yogurt and frozen raspberries. Yum!!!

Schooling At Home

My friend Jessica introduced us to the world of blogging. (Thanks Jessica!) She also introduced me to an encouraging blog called Girl Talk, and her circle of blogging buddies. One of them asked her homeschool readers to post about their homeschooling philosophy and curriculum choices. So here it goes... I hope it's helpful to any of you who teach at home or are thinking about it.

I follow a Classical Christian approach to Homeschooling. Since we are still in the early stages(2nd and 4th grade next fall), we are in what classicalists call the "grammar stage" where students learn the "grammar" or building blocks of each subject. They then build on that foundation in later years.

We started homeschooling three years ago when my son was in 1st grade. I don't qualify for "veteran homeschooler" quite yet, but there are some things that have been working for us that I am really excited about. I won't bore you with the flops!


Bible: We started out using Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament History. This guide takes you through the history of Israel by reading one or two chapters a day from Genesis through Nehemiah then asking a few inductive questions to get your kids discussing the chapter with you.
Another series we have enjoyed is Susan Hunt's ABC Bible Verses, Big Truths for Little Kids, Discovering Jesus in Genesis, and Discovering Jesus in Exodus. When we were through, Evan asked if there were "Discovering Jesus" books for all 66 books of the Bible! Solid doctrine, scripture memorization, engaging stories and even a recipe for Miss Jenny's Shortbread made this devotional series a favorite for our family. It's one we will come back to again when Emily is older. By then she will have learned (hopefully) that our "A" verse is "A quiet answer turns away wrath." Proverbs 15:1 (Just a note, in Big Truths for Little Kids, she talks about infant baptism. I thought it was presented in a way that we were able to talk about why some Christians practice this and it wasn't a big deal. But I wanted to mention it.)

Math: One thing that we have been doing this year to help with multiplication is a timed multiplication table drill. My husband did it in 3 and 1/2 min. with no practice. I give the kids 5 min. to see how much they can fill in. We do it every day in the morning. Evan is now up to 120 out of 144 possible. You can click here for a link to a blank multiplication table.

Language Arts:

• Reading: We have used Phonics Pathways to teach reading skills. It was simple, inexpensive and thorough. To jazz it up a bit at times, we would play the kids favorite games but switch out the dice or cards with flash cards that had the words or sentences they would have read in the book. My kids loved that. We would also go through readers each day. Evan really liked the ones from Veritas Press. (You can order them separately if you call and ask.) Amy liked Modern curricular Press. I would also recommend Educators Publishing Service's Primary Phonics readers. They are phonetically based and my kids really liked the stories.
• Spelling: This year Evan started Phonetic Zoo, a program put out by Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW). It was a little expensive, but well worth it. It comes with flash cards of all the spelling rules with the words they will work on, an instructional video, CD's for the kids to listen to for their lesson practice, and reward cards. Basically, the child listens on CD and spells out the word and writes the word correctly everyday until he can get it right two times in a row for mastery. Evan really liked working with a CD player, and he is learning to spell! The auditory approach works well for him. It is recommended for 3rd grade and up.
• Handwriting: We have been using Italic handwriting with a lot of success. It has even improved my handwriting!
• Grammar: We really like First Language Lessons by Jessie Wise. It covers two years worth of material. My kids really liked it because they got to do fun chants to learn things, and memorize poems. I liked it because it is scripted and required almost no prepwork. It has beginning writing assignments that start with copywork, move to dictation, and end with the student writing his own paragraph.
• Poetry: This spring I ordered Developing Linguistic Patterns Through Poetry Memorization from IEW for next fall. We started listening to it and my kids have already memorized 4 poems and are working on their 5th. They love it! The program is laid out so it's easy to understand, and we are enjoying the poetry selections.

Latin: Last year Evan started Prima Latina by Leigh Lowe. He really enjoyed learning the prayers in Latin. I thought it was fairly easy to teach. The CD really helps with pronunciation.

Science: We are following The Well Trained Mind's suggestion of doing Biology the first year, Earth Science and Astronomy the second, Chemistry the third, and Physics the forth. This year I had Evan keep a science notebook of the experiments we did. I purchased a black and white composition book and had him write definitions, observations, results and draw diagrams when appropriate. We have had a lot of fun with science. It is probably one of the easier things for me to teach since my major in college was a scientific one. (Nutritional Science) I loved organic chemistry! If anyone is interested in more specific science ideas just let me know, and I'll post more.

History: We have been using Susan Wise Bauer's Story of the World. It has been a lot of fun for me and the kids. It is probably their favorite subject. I really like the activity book with reading lists, crafts, maps, coloring pages and games that all correspond to the lesson. We started with book 1, Ancients in first grade. Next year we will finish up the series with book 4, Modern History.

Art: Amy has enjoyed the Draw Write Now series. Step-by-step instructions are given for simple drawings that can be expanded on. There are handwriting exercises too, but we haven't used them.

My weakest area as a teacher is writing. It was my weakest area as a student also. I'd love to hear any suggestions, especially for boys.

Fun Boy Adventures

Today Sean and Evan headed out to Cub Scout Camp. Having grown up with 2 sisters, I am really enjoying being the mother of a boy. While looking through some photos of this past year, I came across some of the fun "boy" things Evan has done that I would have never dreamed of doing in my childhood.
















Sean and Evan built a catapult to fling water balloons and/or buckets of water. They also built birdhouses with Amy for Christmas presents.

I remember being teased in first grade by a boy because I called them "Lightsavers". I was pretty clueless. Having a boy who loves all thing Star Wars, I can now answer any trivia question you want to throw my way. Not really, but I think I have watched it with Evan and Amy about 20 times.

We had Legos when I was growing up, but it was the cute little animals with houses. By the way, if you dump Legos on a blanket, clean up is a breeze. Just grab the corners of the blanket and lift up into your storage bucket.

Have fun at camp guys! I love you both!

A Passionate Pursuit

On Monday, as I was stuck in LA traffic on my way to Evan's appointment, I sat behind a car who's licence plate holder said, "Lexus: The Passionate Pursuit of Perfection". It got me thinking. I'm certainly not pursuing perfection with my car. I drive a Toyota minivan with coffee stains and Cherrios on the floor. But what would people say about me. I want to be passionate about Jesus and living a life that glorifies Him, growing in likeness to Him and thus into "perfection". But sometimes, I'm afraid my actions are like that licence plate stating to the world that I passionatly pursue a perfect body image, or a perfect house, or perfect kids, or a perfect homeschool.

I just finished reading Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper. He talks a lot about passion.

God created us to live with a single passion to joyfully display his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life. The wasted life is the life without this passion. God calls us to pray and think and dream and plan and work not to be made much of, but to make much of him in every part of our lives. -John Piper (emphasis mine)

I think it took me two weeks of thinking about not making much of myself, but making much of Christ before I could even read anymore of his book. It seemed to make sence to me that I would feel better and more loved if people (and God) would make much of me not the other way around. Again Piper writes:

God is the one being in the universe for whom self-exaltation is the most loving act. Anyone else who exalts himself distracts us from what we need, namely, God. But if God exalts himself, he calls attention to the very thing we need most for our joy. If great paintings could talk, and they saw you walking through the gallery staring at the floor, they would cry out, "Look! Look at me. I am the reason you are here." And when you look and exult in the beauty of the paintings with those around you, your joy would be full. You would not complain that the paintings should have kept
quiet. They rescued you from wasting your visit. In the same way no child complains, "I am being used" when his father delights to make the child happy with his own presence.

I am still thinking about this and God is changing me and the way I think about people. I also just finished reading When People are Big and God is Small by Edward T. Welch. He says, "We need to need people less and love them more." Hopefully, by God's grace, I am learning to do that. Then, my "licence plate frame" will point more toward my heavenly Father, and less to my imperfect self. And I'm learning that actually, in doing so, there is joy.

Emily's Dedication

"Children are a gift of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward."
Psalm 127:3

A little over a year ago God blessed us with the gift of Emily. While on bed rest during my pregnancy with her, I thought about this verse a lot. Even though bed rest for 6 months was a trial at times, it did help to remember that her life is a gift. She has truly been a blessing to our whole family.

This past weekend we had Emily dedicated at our church, to publicly acknowledge that she is a gift from God. We reaffirmed our faith in Jesus and expressed our desire to train Emily according to His Word, the Bible, and teach her about Him. Our church body pledged to support us in this, and pray for her as they are prompted by the Holy Spirit, or as a special need arises.

Grandma Ree and Papa were there to take these pictures. The day before, they watched the kids for us while Sean and I celebrated our 11th anniversary. It was just as hot at the day we got married! (105 in the shade) But, we had a fun time getting to see a movie, and a play all in one day.

Backyard Party!

Emily absolutely adores her big brother! It's no wonder, with the all the attention he showers on her!

We often need to remind him that she does need to breath every once in a while!

The Kids celebrate with Uncle Tim on the awarding of Tim's graduate degree! Rumor has it this life-long professional student has landed a REAL job! Way to go Tim!

(Photos and text by Sean)

Books We Are Reading

I love to read. My husband wishes he loved to read. My kids are learning to love to read. As part of our summer schedule, the kids and I are reading an hour each day during Emily's second nap time. OK, most of the time I fold laundry and wish I was reading. But if I get the chance, I read with them too. Here's what we're reading currently.

Sean is reading Knowing God by J.I. Packer, and we are reading Stop Dating the church by Joshua Harris together.

I like to have a couple books going at once. Right now I am reading When People are Big, and God is Small by Edward T. Welch, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper, and Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney.

Evan is like his mother and has several books going at once. Some books he prefers to read in the daytime, some he looses for awhile, and some are developing interests he feels he must satisfy now! He is in the middle of The Boy knight by G.A. Henty, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, Davy Crockett by George Sullivan, and various military airplane books.

Amy is working her way through the Henry and Mudge, and Billy and Blaze series.

Emily of course can't read, but she loves to look at her little board books. Her attention span has lengthened a bit too and she asks us (points and grunts) to read her more than one book at a time now. It's very cute to see Evan and Amy reading to her.

The kids and I are listening to Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain on tape. And I am reading Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens to them.

At night, when Sean is home, we read individually to them. I am reading through the American Girl stories to Amy. And Sean is reading Boyhood and Beyond by Bob Schultz to Evan.

Whew! That's a lot of books! Obviously, we don't get through any of them fast, except maybe the Henry and Mudge books. But, reading is a big part of our day, and we like to meander through them, reading more of one book one day, and another the next.

While I put links to Amazon.com and other places that sell these books so you could see what they are like if you cared to, we didn't buy most of them. We are very blessed with a great library. Most of these books we've checked out, so we can't go too slow! The librarians have come to know us and we love them. Some of the books have also been gifts from family and friends. Thank you so much!

Many of these books have been recommendations from friends, family and homeschool catalogues. If you have a favorite book, let us know!

Christina

UCLA Research Study

Our son Evan was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome when he was 6 1/2. Recently we learned about a study being done at UCLA to compare the efficacy of two different behavioral interventions for tic disorders. Evan will go and meet with a psychiatrist every week for 10 weeks in either a Psychoeducation/Supportive therapy session, the traditional method of treatment, or a Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT) session, the method being tested. He will be randomly assigned to a group by a computer.

When we talked with Evan about participating in the study, he was very excited. He also realized that even if the therapy doesn't help him, it will help researchers understand Tourette's Syndrome better, which will help others with the disorder.

Evan went last week for and initial assessment which lasted 5 1/2 hours! This week he'll have another assessment done, and then his first therapy. We are hoping that he will be able to learn some techniques that will help him control his tics, and that the education and support from psychiatrists specializing in this area will help our whole family. In case you were wondering, there is no medication involved in the study.

Please pray for Evan and Sean. It is a long drive to LA and back each week. They are looking forward to some good bonding time together. We are also thinking of taking the whole family along one or more weekends for trips to Disneyland or Sea World.

Waffles with Grandpa John

Last weekend, Sean's family came to see Uncle Tim graduate from Cal Poly. Grandpa John stayed with us, and as a treat we made waffles for breakfast. After trying many different recipes over the years, this has become our hands-down favorite. It is still good without the citrus zest, but super yummy with it. You can see the recipe at William-Sonoma by clicking here. In case you have extra (or want to make a double batch) they freeze well. We enjoyed them with whipped cream and blueberries!

Christina

Day by Day

I have had days when everyone woke up cheerful, we got all our school done for the day, Evan and Amy were kind and helpful, and Emily was a joy and delight. Yesterday was not one of those days. Maybe it was because we had "too much special" the weekend before, but everyone was having a hard time and everything seemed to go wrong. Actually, it started the night before when I threw up driving home from Karate. Those who know me know I easily get car sick, but this was the first time I lost it while driving! Thankfully we got home safe. Sean came home a few minutes later and graciously put everyone to bed, including me, and cleaned up the mess. He is still my knight in shining armor, even when the rescuing is not so glamorous.

Anyway, in the midst of the day as I was wondering why God had allowed just about everything to be a trial, He brought to remembrance this song.

Day by Day

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for fear.
He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Every day, the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
He Whose Name is Counselor and Power;
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,
This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then in every tribulation
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faiths sweet consolation
Offered me within Thy holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
Ever to take, as from a fathers hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.

That God had deemed the trials of that day best is still a mystery to me, but I can put my trust in the Lord who is "wise and kind beyond all measure". The day did get a little better. We had a good laugh at this funny video Sean showed us when he got home. It was nice to go to bed laughing, with the words of this hymn on my mind.

Marine World Africa USA

We started a tradition of letting our kids pick a special place to visit for their 7th birthday. This year Amy chose to visit Marine World Africa USA, a theme park that also has animal shows. When I was a little, this park only had animal shows. However, Six Flags amusement parks bought Marine World out and added the "big rides." Grandma Ree, Papa, Aunt Shauna and cousin CJ also joined us for the day. We had a great time! The babies had a a lot of fun even though Emily missed her nap. And Amy and Evan got to ride an elephant with their Papa!

Christina