Heart of Wisdom Academy

Family life has kept me from blogging for nearly a month! We are busy busy busy!!! Who isn't, right? My vomiting has let up and I am generally more energetic.

School is in full-swing these summer months to make up for all the long sickly winter months that killed most efforts of formal education. The goal is to have multiplication and division facts mastered by the end of the summer. I've really held off on doing mult. and div. because he is so sloowwwww with doing his add. and sub. math facts. Timed tests are torture. Literally. But if he does a multiple digit add. or sub. problem he doesn't have any problems with his math facts. We're also doing Daily Word Problems by EvanMoore, every day. I would like to start teaching the twins to read. They have been very uninterested and I haven't had the time obviously. So I really want to take advantage of these summer months while everyone is relatively healthy, because I don't know what this winter will bring...well a baby, but I don't know about hospitalizations, major illnesses etc. So I'm planning ahead, or trying to anyway. A man plans his ways, but the Lord orders his steps!

My daughter was supposed to have her hernia repaired, but the day before she got a UTI, so the surgery was postponed until next week. She isn't scared at all, and is in fact excited!

My youngest jumped out of the van, (it wasn't moving) and broke his arm. He got a cool cast put on today, which he keeps trying to eat. Otherwise he has been fairly healthy. We went to the Cancer/Blood Disorder clinic yesterday. The doctor was very friendly. We did blood work and we'll talk to them next week. He has a theory about his blood that he's going to try to prove. He's lost a patch of hair in head which looks yuck! We're normally at some doc. 2X week, so every week I've made inquiries about the missing hair. 3 people said vitamin deficiency/trauma from illness and surgery. 1 person said ringworm which he started treatment for. I don't think it's a ringworm at all. Ringworms are so contagious there is no way I'd have all these people in close quarters and no one else has gotten it, nor has it spread anywhere else on his body. Hopefully the blood results will give us the answer.

Since illness has become a part of our life I've learned many lessons and made many observations. I won't go into all of them right now; but one thing I've noticed is that people, almost exclusively women, judge you for having sick kids. There is a lot of "If you aired your house out..." or "If you fed them more vegetables..." or "If you used more bleach..." "If you got out more..." Yes, I've heard all of these. And I don't want to be too critical because I've dont it myself. But I'm convicted. Weary moms need encouragement, not criticism; not to mention the fact that none of those things will cure heart and lung disease. At any rate I cling to Ecc. 7:21 and remained sobered by the fact that I've done the same thing.

I normally watch the Duggars, but haven't for a month or so. I've been too busy even for my one TV show a week. But it's a good busy. I love most all aspects of homekeeping and domestic life. I love being at home with my family enjoying life. I feel like we've been able to do that a lot lately. I have great pictures, If only I'd upload them.

I am almost done with my current semester. It hasn't been entirely enjoyable, but I've had worse. I get to apply for graduation after this semester!! Whooo hooooo. I hope never to encounter post-secondary education ever again as a student.

My husband is taking the 3 kids to the movies tomorrow. It's a big deal! The twins have only been to one movie when they were 1 or 2. They're mostly looking forward to eating popcorn. I was looking forward to taking a nap, but we have a doc. appointment. Why was I surprised when they called today?

I hope to post pictures soon.

Everybody is doing well. Exceptionally well in fact! I just haven't felt much like blogging. It's been a chore trying to keep up with housework and laundry. I have a certain amount of energy so I have to pick and choose what gets done each day. My big chore for this week is doing my daughters hair which desperately needs to be done. However I have 4 or more scheduled doctor's appointments this week (energy suckers right there), so I'm not sure when I'll get to her hair, but I pray very soon.

We're able to go back to church! The Sunday after the baby's surgery we all went to church as a family! It was nice to be back at church altogether and Kason did much better than I thought he'd do. Understandably, he is very scared of strangers, so I thought he'd scream being around a whole lot of people. But he did very well. He started coughing night before last, and my stomach started knotting up. Oh no! This never ends well. But he has no fever and no difficulty breathing, which are all good signs. We do see infectious disease tomorrow, which I really want to cancel because I don't feel like going to Norfolk and I don't think he's "sick". But he has an appointment today in Norfolk that I'm rescheduling so I better make this one. He is supposed to be seen every week by "somebody".

My husband and I went for our first OB appointment yesterday. I was very pleasantly surprised. Aesthetically, it was beautiful, which seems so stupid but it's so important. I need to be surrounded by niceties right now! There were pictures of babies and mothers and Jesus and scriptures. A big plus. The whole reason I won't go back to my old doctor is because of the office and the staff. The doctor was very nice. But I truly got the feeling that in general they don't like kids. There was never 1 picture in any room of babies. There were tons of posters about contraception and all the pens, tablets, diagrams, and paperweights, were from pharmaceutical companies promising to stop your menstrual forever. The nurse asked me if my baby was a "barrier method failure"? Excuse me. And then lectured me at my 6week check up to use birth control and if I forget or "it" breaks, to call them immediately so they can give me the morning after pill. Uh, I didn't ask you for anything other than to check my incision. I was furious! Not to mention she made some snide remark about us not "waiting" the full six weeks before resuming our "normal activities". She said she didn't know how we had time with our baby in the hospital. Yeah...so I've had enough unpleasant experiences over there that I won't be returning. Anyway the appointment was good and we saw 1 heartbeat and everybody seemed to like children.

My biggest news is that Kason is completely weaned!!!!Whooo hoooooo! Mothers Day morning was his last time nursing. I'm so grateful to God that I was able to nurse him this long. He truly needed my special comfort for all these months. He now has nothing to wake up for in the middle of the night so he sleeps. In fact his bedtime has been 11pm since the day he was born. He just never got tired before 11pm. Two months ago it went down to 9:30. This week he's down to 8pm and he sleeps until about 6:30 pm 7, although he's still sleeping right now and it's 8pm. And the absolute best part is, I haven't gotten engorged at all!! No pain or soreness, nothing! My milk is quietly going away until another couple of months when I'll need it again. God thought of everything. I'm continually amazed that he loves us so particularly. Who am I that he is mindful of me?

My thoughts have been consumed by vacation lately. I don't consider myself the vacation sort of person. In fact a couple of years ago my husband and I went to a timeshare and I told the saleswoman that I'm perfectly content and really don't desire to go once or twice a year anywhere. I remember feeling so happy about staying at home that every day was like vacation to me. Oh but lately, all I can think about is vacation. Kason got sick on Sept 1, 2009 and has been sick nearly every week since. When we're not in the hospital we're at the doctor and when we're at home we're administering 7 meds, 3 of them twice a day. I'm mentally, physically, and spiritually worn out. It's a type of fatigue you can't really describe in words, but if you've dealt with a chronically ill child, you know what I'm talking about. So the plan is as soon as the baby is well for 4-6weeks consecutively my husband and I are getting away by ourselves. This whole ordeal has been a trial for my husband as well, and I can see he's worn out. We already have babysitters and we're exciting. I don't want to sight-see, I don't want to go on walks, I don't want to watch TV, I want to rest and sleep and sleep and rest. I'll let you know how it works out.

"Moooooom Kasey threw up in his bed"!...I gotta go.

The surgery Monday was a complete success. My baby no longer has a hole in the heart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so thrilled and relieved. There was a complication during the procedure. Instead of the procedure lasting 2 hours it lasted nearly 8! It was a very tough day for all of us. He spent 1 day in ICU and home we went. He is so happy, and looks as if nothing has happened.

So this procedure may or may not fix a lot of the problems he's had lately, but what it will do is decrease the volume in his blood vessels. His enlarged heart will not get any bigger. He won't go into heart failure. He doesn't have excess blood pumping to the right side of the heart. He should start growing. These are all good things.

The procedure may not fix the lungs, which has been the source of most of his problems. Time will tell.

A new problem was discovered during the course of the procedure, so he's being evaluated by Hematology right now and we'll meet with them sometime in the future. We'll also see Infectious Disease next month.

In other news...my dryer broke :-( How will we go on? God will sustain us like he always done. A family has offered to buy us a dryer. How amazing is that?

The rest of the family is very well. Aside from struggling with wicked thrush and intense fatigue I'm making it too.

I never realized how contradictory the word almost really is. All+Most. They are total opposites. You can't be all and most at the same time. Very deep and convicting!

We're home and everyone is ok. I'm too sick and tired to really post. But we are home and the baby is doing alright. Thanks for your prayers.

It was so nice while it lasted. Good health I mean...We're back in the hospital. The baby started with fever on Sat. and continued to decline. We went to the ER on Mon. He didn't have pneumonia so they sent him home. The fevers continued and he became very lethargic. We had a pulmonology appointment on Tue. During the 4 hours he was there, he didn't wake up and when he did he was very listless. He had another chest x-ray which showed increased vascularity. His blood vessels are swollen because they're working so hard. He needs the surgery in a couple of weeks in order to help him. They won't do the surgery if he has a fever or any other infection.

At Pulmonology she noticed that he wouldn't bend his head down. Fever plus neck stiffness made her increasingly worried. So he had a neck x-ray which they thought revealed an abscess between his spinal cord and his throat. He then got a CT-scan to confirm. During the CT-scan he stopped breathing. They manually gave him air until he started breathing again. The CT-scan didn't show an abscess, but inflammation in the neck. He then got a spinal tap and lots of blood work. So we're here. Please pray that they can find the source of the fevers and that he can have the surgery soon, and that we can all have strength, energy, and faith.

God has answered so many prayers lately, for which I am grateful. The baby is sleeping through the night!!!! That's big. No more nursing every 3-4 hours. And he is eating food!! Very big news. He's eating applesauce, yogurt, ice cream sandwhiches...I'm excited. And he's healthy. He's not sick, not even a little bit. His lungs are totally clear, no cough, no congestion, no nothing. I've been praying for months, and all my prayers were answered at the same time. Thank you God.

The secret is out. We announced today that we're expecting a baby in mid-November!! Who would a thunk it? Our family...well they beared the news as best they could, no doubt it was hard for them. I even recorded one family members reaction for fun, but they don't know that. We let the kids announce it, they're super excited.

So that's been my big push to wean the baby, well the toddler. I stuck it out, I went 30 hours without nursing and he was pretty content. But then I broke down. All he ate in 30 hours was crackers and water. I had visions. What if my plan backfired, what if instead of eating more, he won't eat anything at all and I've taken away his only nourishment? We were almost to the finish line, but it wasn't worth it, not yet. We will give up night nursing, but continue nursing during the day until he eats more.

Well that's all I have time for now...

In the words of Laura Ingalls Wilder, "Home is the nicest word there is". I couldn't agree more. The baby is "better", better is subjective so I'll use it sparingly. We didn't try to redo the picc because the heart failure has caused vascular abnormalies and we would have to go under general anethesia if it were going to work at all. Since he's "better",we'll continue oral meds. and more aggressive chest pt several times a day. They ordered a machine to do the chest pt, so it will come tomorrow and a nurse will show us how to use it. I've spent the morning trying to recover the house, and I'm going to spend the afternoon recovering myself and the baby.

They were unable to get the picc line in yesterday. His vascular system is different from ours and they couldn't thread the vein. On to Plan B. I don't know what that is. I guess we have to decide by today. Two doctors have different opinions so I guess we have to choose between the two. We're sooooo ready to go home, at this point, it's completely clouding our judgement. We'll see what happens.

He'll be getting the picc line sometime today. We should be able to go home late today or sometime tomorrow; granted everything goes well. He's pretty happy and playful. The docs. are really pushing Pediasure. He hasn't grown for about 8 months now. Cardiology has told me that he should start growing after the surgery. Because of the heart failure, his body is using all of it's energy to pump, so he doesn't have much energy left for growing. But cardiology isn't here, and the doctors here want him on Pediasure and he's suppose to see occupational and speech therapy today. We'll have a full day. I miss the other kids. They're having fun bouncing back and forth between grandparents' houses. The hospital lifted the H1N1 ban, so kids can visit the hospital now. So now I'm trying to decide do I do homework or watch Dr. Quinn?? That is the question!

We're here again. We'll be here until early next week sometime. Prayerfully he'll get a picc line put in, and we can go home and continue meds. there. The baby is stable and happy, still trying to get rid of the pneumonia he's been hanging on to for nearly a month. I'm very tired. I'm going to take an exam and then go to sleep...

Read full article here:

Imagine a new trend…people found out that they could get a lot more work done if they got a catheter. Think of it, you could go for hours without the need to stop and go to the restroom. At first people are hesitant, but after a while it catches on. Then one day somebody gets the idea that they don’t want to use a catheter–they found it caused infection and just doesn’t seem normal. Problem: the “norm” has been changed. And now, if you don’t have a catheter, you’re weird. So, authors start writing books, blogs and articles about how it’s “OK” to go catheterless. And despite all the encouragement, those catheterless people will continue to receive criticism simply for not interfering with nature. If you ask me, that’s insane. Should people be allowed to get catheters if they want them? SURE! But should that be the norm?

You’re smirking at my example. And yet, it’s entirely comparable to the birth control issue with one difference: there is a lot more at stake…namely, living people.

What would I say to a young, new mother?

1.Keep your eyes on Him who gives life. Ridicule will come–be sure of it. If the Lord has shown you that “it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves”, you can get it settled in your heart that every child born into your home is a good gift and then set your face like flint to the Son. If He blesses you with many children, pray that it will be an instrument through which you can glorify Him as you become “set apart” in a culture hostile to life.

2.Research all the health benefits from having babies, avoiding birth control, ovulating less and breastfeeding. Every bit of research I have done about health-related issues has only confirmed God’s design for our bodies.

3.Keep far-sighted vision. We have to train ourselves in this society to look past today. In an instant-gratification kind of culture, it is harder and harder to invest our time and energy into things that can take years to see the final product of our labors. Keeping our eyes focused on heavenly things–the immortal souls of our children–provides the needed stamina to keep at a job that may seem never-ending.

4.Stay mission-minded. Motherhood is a natural calling a woman can embrace with full confidence that this is God’s will for her life. It doesn’t require a plan on our part, a decision we have to make or second-guess. It’s usually the natural result of marital love. And if and when it comes, it is our mission field. Think of it as such. No missionary ever used the ease or hardship of his circumstance as a measure of God’s will in his ministry. Nor should we. The Christian life doesn’t promise anything beyond basic needs regarding our physical realm. Consider arguments like “affordability”: If God said he would take care of His own, emphasizing with the statement, “O ye of little faith”, we mock Him to assume we need to take control out of His hands. ”His own” includes our children, since He, in fact, is the author of life.

It is a foreign idea that motherhood and childbearing are natural parts of life. I certainly did not grow up with the idea that childbearing is a natural part of life, I know very few women who truly believe so. We are not "quiverfull" in the sense that we let God direct the time and spacing of our children, but we do believe that children are blessings from the Lord. And we do reject the modern ideals about children. This article does make you think...

We have been less than consistent with our homeschool this year. I've been listening to Bev Bradley's Overcoming the Distractions of Motherhood, which has helped me to better understand God's plan for my life as a homeschool-mom. Obviously I am distracted by the greater needs in my life therefore only the bare minimum is getting done in every area of our life. When you are in a crisis situation you live in survival mode and that's where we are. However the kids still need to be educated, so I have prayed tirelessly for weeks on a solution. Some moms at co-op suggested I switch to online/computer based program until things even out. I slowly had to come to grips with the fact that what I want and what I can do are two different things right now. I like teaching my children, personally. However, I am personally not here, much of the time. And when I'm here, sometimes I'm so drained that I feel like I'm not here. My friend told my about time4learning a couple of days ago and I bought a membership for the kids. Well they're as happy as can be. It seems like a great resource and it will get the job done for now. I probably won't use it forever. In fact I'm so horrified at the amount of time I think they'll be spending on the computer, I'm making eye-doctor appointments for all of them today! Just kidding. Well-I am making eye appointments, but I'm not really worried about computer time, I do know how to set limits. I guess life is all about compromise and being flexible. Two things I'm not entirely good at. But today when I go to the doctor and I'm gone for hours on end, I'll feel better that the kids will be working and not doing who-knows-what when I'm not here. When mother is away-the children do play!! :-) I am profoundly grateful that God has given me the life and family he has given me. Even though we are going through trials right now, I'm not at all convinced this is the worst thing we'll ever go through as a family. I still think we are living in the Golden Days, we have a few hiccups now and again, but we are definetly in the Promised Land and I am so thankful and undeserving of His goodness. Only God knows how thankful I am to be a homekeeping wife and mother. I'm aware that circumstances could change in an instant and I never take that fact for granted, even when I'm tired and worn out, that at least I get to do this job and no one else. When my oldest was two I worked outside of the home for a year. He had bronchitus and needed the breathing machine once or twice a day. His daycare was literally right next door to my job. My boss gave me the hardest time about going to do his treatment. I ended up leaving on my lunch. I hated that a boss had the power to tell me what I could and could not do with my own child. I hated being on someone elses schedule: when I could serve my family and when I could not. A child's illness becomes loathsome when you have to face your boss and it shouldn't. Sick children need and deserve love, sympathy, tender looks and carresses. They should not be greeted with sighs, whines, and grumbling. They should never be made to feel like an inconvience or a burden. I think a child's sickness does a mighty work in pruning the heart of a mother. It has for me, I am truly humbled.

We're home again! It's great to be home. The baby is stable. They aren't sure what triggered the respiratory distress. He isn't well enough for the surgery Mon. so they cancelled it. We're doing breathing treatments every 4 hours or 6 times a day. In theory, I'll be going to bed early tonight, because I'm exhausted. In reality... who knows. I took pics in the hospital, which I never did before. My camera was in my bag so I used it. I may post one later.

Well since I'm not doing much right now, I thought I'd update. We're settling in for the night. Poor baby has been stuck 12 times already today. Yes, I'm counting, because it's excruciating every single time. I thought my mom and G would faint! They're not used to seeing all that. After 6 tries they got the IV started. I'm currently waiting for some labs to come back. They were abnormal twice, this is the third time they've ran it to see if it will become normal. I didn't see the kids today, I was gone at 6 this morning, and they were still sleep. When G came over, I made a video for them. I've talked to them quite a few times today, they're quite happy. When mom's away the children do play. It's like having a substitute. So many people have taken care of us. I feel so loved. My mom, brother-in law, and family friend all took off of work and came to the hospital to encourage us. The children are at home taken care of. God is always in control. I'm going to go now and read scriptures that my friend sent me...God Bless you for your prayers.

He's in the hospital now. He has pulmonary edema and we're not sure what else. He's too sick at present to have his surgery on Mon, pray for healing. I'll write back when I can.

Lots of pictures in completely random order :-)
and Happy 100 Posts to me!!!!!!

He decided to use the eraser instead of eating it.
Playing games at church.
My very helpful daughter.
The baby loves my ipod, my speakers just broke so he gets to use the headphones.

In need of a haircut again.

This is a couple days after.
Just another item I refused to buy when I was pregnant: a baby bathtub. The kids don't mind him using their toy bin.
The Wedding. It was splendid. The rest of these are pictures from the wedding of our brother Q.




















I couldn't resist taking so many pictures of the flower girls. They were so cute!!!

FOR TODAY
Outside my window... It's dark and windy
I am thinking... About how much I love being at home. I like cleaning and folding laundry and taking care of my husband and children. I like the noise and the normal routine of home-life.
I am thankful for...My sweet baby Kason and all his wonderful doctors that truly care for him.
From the learning rooms...My oldest had an English test today. We only test after each unit, which is a couple of times a year. He knows the material but he doesn't pay attention to detail. I'm a hard grader too. He got 6 problems wrong because he forgot to end the sentence with a period. I need to help him not be so careless. I heard from many homeschool moms it's a boy thing. He is all done learning about nouns this year. He's learned about singular, plural, possesive, common, proper, and pronouns. Next we go on to a detailed study of verbs.
From the kitchen...I haven't seen the kitchen much in recent weeks. What are we living off of? I don't know, nothing good, ha!
I am wearing...Pj's
I am creating...I'm working on crossstitching a faceless amish doll.
I am going...I'm thinking about going to homeschool gym tomorrow. I haven't been since last year. But I can't take the baby out, so that will depend on whether my husband is home to watch him tomorrow.
I am reading...The Christian Mother at Home, The Imitation of Christ, Numbers
I am hoping...To pass my class.
I am hearing...The baby playing with toys.
Around the house...I must say I've been quite caught up with laundry since we've moved to this house. Oh and the heat is fixed!!!!
One of my favorite things... Being home with my family.
A few plans for the rest of the week:I'm looking forward to going to the Women's Teaching at church tomorrow night. B/c we can't take the baby anywhere I've missed a lot of church.
Here is picture for thought I am sharing... An Amish sunset.


More Day Books here

Well the last time I posted we were getting ready for the bronchoscopy. That was last Monday and it went well. They found what was causing the collapses in his left lung. His main left and right bronchi are compressed. We'll have a CT-scan this week, to see what is pressing on his lung, although it is most likely his enlarged heart.

Wed. He came down with the stomach flu and had complications with that. He was admitted to the hospital on Thur. and we came home Sun. This was a hard hospital stay. I caught the flu too, so I was vomiting every 20 minutes. My husband and mother-in-law took care of the other kids. The twins came down with the stomach flu on Sat. and Sun. My husband got it Monday and my oldest got it on Tuesday. This virus overtook our household in less than a week. We are all better now.

Now enough about health woes! Our marriage retreat was last weekend. It was fantastic! The theme was a sacred marriage. We took the baby and he did great. He slept through all the sessions, so we heard all the lessons. I think what I personally took away from the lessons; is to be partners together in the Gospel of Christ, to really work on advancing God's Kingdom together. I really had to ask myself who is our marriage impacting? Hopefully our kids in a positive way, but what about my neighbors and friends. Are they tempted to seek God, when they look at our life? For years I've put personal evangalism on the back burner. I'm in a very evangalistic church we are all taught to fulfill the Great Commission, however after several years I forgot why I was doing what I was doing, so I stopped doing it. I got caught up in bringing people "church" and not Christ. I stopped seeing people the way that God sees people.

So I guess I'm mostly caught up. It has only taken me 4 days to write this post. Life stays at lightning speed.

I'm still here. We were busy with wedding preparations for our brother for a week. Then we were busy at the Cardiologist and Pulmnologist the next few weeks. I suffered mild and momentary depression from all the doctors' visits, upped medications, more tests, impending lung and heart procedures, fatigue, anxiety,and inferiority. Thankfully, joy does come in the morning! God has renewed my strength. I am learning invaluable lessons about drinking His cup of suffering and wanting for my life all that will bring Him glory. I'm currently recovering from Strep Throat. I tried to suppress a smile when the doctor offered me cough syrup with codeine. Blessed sleep, how I miss it! I haven't taken it yet, but just knowing that it's there for my sleeping pleasure makes me feel happy. My husband has so lovingly taken care of me and the kids during my infirmity for which I am grateful. So grateful in fact that I stifled my inclination to complain about the kids playing video games all the live-long-day! Wedding photos will follow on a day that I have lots of time. But for now, some videos of the kiddies.

Oh, the song is Toby Mac, I'm for You

What I've realized about homeschooling is that everything affects school time. If someone is sick, school is delayed or significantly reduced. I found myself discouraged this week by our "progress". We have had 6 weeks of sickness!!!! That's ridiculous. Everyone had the flu for a week, the baby had pneumonia for a combined 4 or 5 weeks not to mention the RSV and intermittent bouts of tachypnea and wheezing. My oldest had his tonsils removed and it took nearly 2 weeks for him to recover. I am "behind" on my self-made schedule, and I'm not entirely happy about it. If my oldest were in school, family sickness wouldn't affect him any; however, I am mom, teacher, and nurse which are competing roles at times. My husband and I have prayed about it a lot this week. We're not even half way through the school year, so all is not lost, and I have to remember to be thankful and grateful for all the lessons we are learning. I do stand amazed at how many things we have learned this year and how many good books we've read and experiments we've done. I think my best defense is to plan meticulously so that when our plans our interrupted Daddy or Nana can pick up where we left off, but to be at peace and surrender to God's timing because my thoughts are not His thoughts and I ultimately don't know the plans He has for our homeschooling. And when I say plan meticulously I really mean just to put down my plans in writing so that someone else can supervise their work. I very loosely write down my plans because they're all in my head and I know what I want to do each week, but if I'm not hear if I have written down that we're studying weather, look at this you tube video, read this book, make this experiment, etc; someone else can supervise while I'm gone.

Disney has been on my mind a lot. I want to write an article about some things that really concern me about the movies and TV shows that Disney puts out. I actually want to watch a weeks worth of Disney's most popular shows like Hannah Montana, and the Suite life of Zack and Cody; I found a list online. I don't know when I'll find time to watch those shows, because I don't want the kids to watch it. I do really want to put out this article, but I think I could do a better job if I watched some of the shows. I've seen 1 or 2 episodes which is all I needed to alert me to some dangers. But many Christian parents are allowing their kids to watch these shows and I don't think they understand some of the dynamics that are going on. I also am curious about Sesame Streets agenda. I was at my friends house and Sesame Street was on. Jamie Foxx and Alicia Keys were guest stars on the show. I just don't get why they have adult entertainers on a kids show. Are they trying to indoctrinate the kids with their worldy music and sinful TV shows. Can you really justify having Sarah Jessica Parker from Sex and the City; on a program intended for preschoolers? I have a whole lot ot say about all this...when I find the time.

I am making one new years resolution this year: pray with my husband every day no matter what! Usually I make a list of resolutions, this year I'm just going to focus on one thing; uniting my heart in prayer with my husband.

I love these happy memories.
Tired of taking pictures honey? Brother is happily playing away.
Now you're singing...Indescribable, no doubt!
We're making a joyful NOISE!
We have an 8 year old now!!! I read that 8-12 are the preteen years. We have been praying daily for God to teach us how to raise Godly seed for Him. These next few years are very very important. We firmly believe that raising godly teens and young adults starts right now. We've never had an 8 year old before, so we are leaning heavily on Jesus to guide us. We are specifically praying for him to hunger and thirst for righteousness; choose to walk with the wise; choose not to covet; love the things that God loves and hate the things that God hates; honor parents; purity; and not to follow the crowd to name a few.
Multi-tasking.
He is so kissable!
Who has ever seen a cuter little bear?

A car full of car seats. I got this one off of craigslist for $20.00. I love being thrifty.
I love his happy expression.
My little Ballerina. I'm so grateful for the homeschooled teen that teaches her ballet class. There is four other little girls in the class. We have wonderful fellowship over there, I never want to leave!

Well for an update, after we came home from the hospital. The baby continued to do worse. Finally around Midnight on Monday, I really started debating about taking him to the Children's Hospital. I really prayed hard. In my heart, I wanted to take him, but I was so tired and run down. It was already midnight and that meant trekking across the water by myself. After praying and talking to my husband we decided it was best for me to take him in. So at midnight we got dressed and trekked across the water. They admitted him to the hospital with pneumonia in both lungs with RSV on top of that. We stayed in the hospital until Thur. night. It is so good to be home! He is doing much better being at home. I love seeing my family all together. It is hard when we're apart. I kept thinking of the parable of the sheep, when I was in the hospital. I felt like the shepherd who left the 99 sheep he loved in order to find his one lost sheep. That's how it is, when I leave everyone at home that I love to tend to my one sick little lamb. The hospital wasn't depressing this time. I felt Gods loving care and comfort. I wasn't anxious or nervous. God gave me peace and understanding that this is a very light and momentary trial. Not all trials are light, but this hasn't gotten overwhelming for me yet. My amazing husband held down the fort at home, and we always have lots of help from my wonderful and church family. We go to the doctor tomorrow for a progress report. The baby will have a sweat-chloride test to test him for cystic fibrosis. The test is the exact same day as his heart surgery 12 months ago. We'll then meet again with the Pulmonologist who will do more tests on his immunity and a detailed study of his lungs. Prayerfully they can determine what is going on with his lungs. It is comforting that we can trust the Great Physician. Update:(i'm writing this over several days) Went to his primary care physician. Personally she doesn't think he has cystic fibrosis. She thinks he has an immune deficiency. Time will tell I guess. We can't have the tests done until he his well. His right lung is still wheezing, his left lung is much worse. He still has collapses in his left lung. We're praying for his healing. He is very happy. Almost nothing gets him down, you wouldn't even know he's sick.

I just completed my first semester of graduate school yesterday. The work load is much more intense than undergrad. Between the two classes; I wrote one or two papers a week in addition to exams, projects, and discussion posts. It was a busy semester, but I made it out with 2 A's. My goal isn't to achieve an A, but it's nice when I do. My goal is to glorify God, then serve my husband and children, whatever is left over after all of that I give to school. People ask me all the time how I do school. I guess at this point, I've passed the learning curve so I'm at an advantage. I started my undergraduate work in 2003 and have been going to school ever since so now I'm just used to this pace of life. I set aside a couple of hours a day to do my work. I do it early in the morning before the kids rise or at their nap or bedtime. I spend a lot of time on the weekend finishing up assignments. Prayerfully after graduate school I'll be able to get a job working from home teaching online, and if necessary nights and/or weekends. Sometimes people say that I'm a good example because I'm a stay-at-home mom and I go to school. I really don't hope to inspire anyone to go school. If the Lord calls a busy mom to go to school in addition to all of her other responsibilities than you have to obey God, but I find that a lot women want to go to school for self-fulfilment. In that case, I would never go to school. I am quite fulfilled and busy enough living out my God-appointed role. However, I'm in the situation where we need two or three incomes. My husband usually works two jobs and I usually have a daycare running simultaneously. It would be better for all of us if I could teach online. I'll be able to stay at home, and have a "real" job and help my husband.

My oldest turned eight today. He is a wonderful boy and I love him so much. When I was in the hospital I spent a lot of time praying for my relationship with him. He loves me so much and wants to spend time with me, and so often I am "so tired", but I know I'll want to spend time with him when he's a teenager, so I have to invest now. I've taken up playing video games with him. He thinks that's the coolest thing ever. He is so patient with me. He waits for me and instructs me in certain phases of the game. My husband thinks it's fun too. He had a blast creating my Avatar and my oldest son dressed me. My game of choice is A Kingdom for Keflings. I want to download the Pride and Prejudice soundtrack to put on the console, while I play my game. My husband is entirely paranoid that I'm going to take over his game :-) I assured him that I won't neglect my responsibilities. :-)

Well that's it for now...

I remember having to call 911 three times in my life. Once, when I was eleven because my brother was hyperventilating. Then a couple of years ago, when my Dad had a stroke. And then 12:30 this morning my baby couldn't breathe. I was by myself b/c my husband hadn't gotten home yet and I was terrified. I immediately gave him an albuterol treatment and the paramedics came and took him to the nearest ER. He got sick out of nowhere! He hasn't had a cold or a cough, not even as much as a sniffle or runny nose. I was completely caught off guard. X-ray's showed that he has pneumonia...again. Poor baby. They gave him a shot immediately and some meds to come home. We're thankful for God's mercy and loving kindness towards us and our family. I tell ya, mothering is not for the faint of heart!

I've been away from my blog for so long. We're busy with life. I have lots of pictures and videos I want to share as soon as I upload them.

My oldest son's surgery went very well. It took him two full weeks to really recover. He is now back to his happy-hyper self.

My youngest son had a birthday. He is now one years old!! He is walking and talking a little. He says "mama", "dada", "op"(stop), "hi", and "bye-bye". He is the first one year old I've ever nursed. My oldest I weaned two days before he turned 1, and the twins I weaned at 9 months. I actually haven't thought about weaning him. My only thought has been I'm sure he won't still be breastfeeding at two.

I've been listening to Parenting Young Children Seminar during laundry time. If you have children birth-10 you need to hear it as well as the Godly Home Series. These messages have changed my life.

I got this for my birthday! It is the whole bible on one poster. It is the coolest thing ever, I absolutely love it!! I like reading it for fun.

I painted my daughters room. It is so cute. I used a pink and green. Maybe I'll take a pic. I also bought a bunk bed off of Craigslist. Eventually she and the baby will go in there. I would like to buy her a pink and green quilt or comforter and some matching curtains.

KK or as he is affectionetly called by my dear friends, "Caspian"; wants an orange room. Not sure if that is going to happen.

The twins are slowly learning to read. We're using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons as a flexible guide. We also heavily use Starfall. I love Starfall.

In the learning rooms we're tackling multiple digit addition and subtraction, intro to multiplication, problem solving, time, money, measurement, typing, the writing process,Mars, the Vikings, singular nouns, plural nouns, and possessive nouns. All the kids are almost done memorizing Psalm 1. Maybe I'll make a video, they're so sweet. My oldest is currently reading Christmas at Camelot which ties in with our study of the Middle Ages. Last week he finished Viking Ships at Sunrise. I've been babysitting a little girl and the dad is a meterorologist. My son asked how the weather is predicted and I didn't know so I requested some books from the library about meterology; we'll read and do experiments for a couple of weeks and then have him and his wife over for dinner to pick his brain.

Well that's about it for now. We are blessed far more than we deserve...until next time.

I just recieved my free copy of Salt and plan on ordering more. The magazine encourages Christian, homeschooling, quiverfull, courtship minded families in the ways of the Lord.

I can use words like that cause I've been watching Jane Austen movies :-)

The tonsils come out. I'm happy, my son...not so happy.

Normal tonisls:


My son's tonsils:

Which Little House on the Prairie character are you? Your Result: Caroline Ingalls   You are sweet generous and kind but not afraid to take charge and be a diciplinarian when the need arises. You are strong and can fend for yourself, but you love the company or your family.
Mary Ingalls
Carrie Ingalls
Laura Ingalls
Charles Ingalls
Almanzo Wilder
Mr. Edwards
Which Little House on the Prairie character are you? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

I mentioned that as a church we read the book Crazy Love; a wonderful life changing book.

Quotes on my mind from Crazy Love:
"Perhaps you start a movement called Aspiring to the Median, where people commit to living at or below the median U.S. income ($46,000 in 2006)and giving the rest away. Is it intimidating to think about giving radically and liberally?"

"Maybe you have already made sacrifices...The temptation is to level off increases with each passing year. Pride tells you that you've sacrificed more than others. Fear tells you it's time to worry about the future. Friends say you've given enough, that it's someone else's turn now."

"The idea of holding back certainly didn't come from Scripture. The Bible teaches us to be consumed with Christ and to faithfully live out His words."

"If one person "wastes" away his day by spending hours connecting with God, and the other person believes he is too busy or has better things to do than worship the Creator and Sustainer, who is the crazy one? If one person invests her or his resources in the poor-which, according to Matthew 25, is giving to Jesus Himself-and the other extravagantly remodels a temporary dwelling that will not last beyond his few years left on this earth, who is the crazy one?"

Luke 14:12-14 Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

One day when my children are teenagers, I'll be in the fellowship and hear about a mom who is at home nursing her many sick little ones, and my heart will sympathize for her and I'll want to rush over to her house and relieve her; I'll want to let her sleep or bring her a meal, or do her laundry, because I'll remember all the many many days I've needed to stay home and nurse the children and I'll miss those days. I'm so grateful to my mom and all the Saints that glory in helping take care of all of our needs. There is no end to my gratitude. I want to remember these sick days fondly. Yes my house is messy, and the laundry pile is higher than usual; but my husbands needs are taken care of and the children's needs are taken care of. Everyone is happy and relatively healthy. One day when my children are all older I'll miss the warmth,cuddlinessness and unpredictability of sick days. I'll miss the late night feedings and cool rags. I'm sure to miss the Motrin, nebulizer treatments, and endless doctor appointments. I'll miss everyone piled up in bed with me reading books and listening to music. One day down the road, when that mom is missing from the fellowship because she is caring for her family, I'll say a prayer for her that she rejoices in ministering to her family in that way. I am tired and weary, but I am grateful to be home, taking care of my family. I am thankful beyond words that I get to care for their needs and not someone else. I remember when I worked outside of the home when my oldest was two. Working moms can't afford for their kids to be sick, literally. The boss has an attitude because you miss work, you have an attitude because you miss work. Most of the time the child can never completely heal before they have to go back to daycare because mom can't take off that long. I'm thankful that when I stay up all night, I don't have to be dressed and out of the house by 6am. I'm thankful that I don't have to rush their recovery and send them out of the house before they're ready. A company in my city actually pays a nurse to come to your home to care for your sick child so that you don't miss work. A day care across the street from the one I worked at, was a sick care center. Sick kids went there so that their parents didn't have to take off, and they stayed there until they were well enough for regular day care. I know these programs are lifesavers to the single mom who has no option, and I sympathize for them. All of these reminders fill my heart with gratefulness as I take care of Kason who has pneumonia and has I prepare to care of Kyle who will have a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy next month, and as I care for my husband who's come down with the flu.

I'm thankful for Praise Her in the Gates: The Calling of Christian Motherhood by Nancy Wilson. The fourth chapter is titled-When the Kids are Sick.

"When children are ill, it is a wonderful opportunity for teaching. You can model patience and cheerfulness to them when you get upin the night to comfort and minister to them."

"Mothers do have the capacity to make illness a happy memory."

"Sickness is a good time to teach them about compassion and mercy, as well as about he frailty of life. Use all these times for spiritual profit."

"When you feel crumy, you ought to be home. This is simply the golden rule when you apply it to your child. Sick children do interrupt our plans; that is what they are supposed to do. And we are to be interrupted cheerfully, even if it means missing church."

"It ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our final day." Crazy Love

Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him-Proverbs 22:15

We've been having devotionals on foolishness for more than a month. No Greater Joy's article Unbinding Foolishness came right on time. We're still working through issues of folly. I'll be glad when they're just a memory. Folly is hard to discipline, it's not mean or rebellious, it's folly-and it's annoying and usually always leads to something else.

Time Changer is an amazing Christian movie! My heart is so stirred after watching it. I realize how tolerant and desensitized to sin, I really am. I am convicted that the frivolous movies that I let the kids watch, in no way point to the Savior, and time is short. Time is so short the Savior is coming! I don't think enough about that, I don't think enough about the enemy and the war we're engaged in. I thank God for people who use their talents to edify the Saints. I pray that more and more young people will rise up and use their gifts and talents to glorify the King. This movie has truly convicted me and I can't wait to go to God about it.

We finally finished Hedge Fence. It was every bit as wonderful as I hoped it would be. We will read this book again and again over the coming years and I especially recommend this book for young boys. In this book a young boy Frank is writing letters to his cousin about his adventures with his hedge fence. After he got in a fight with his brother he huffed under his breath that he wished he had a hedge to keep him from doing wrong. An older friend overheard him and offered to send him a hedge fence once a month. The hedge was a scripture. Every month Frank couldn't see how that scripture could help him, but every month the scripture proved invaluable. Frank came to depend on those scriptures. He truly treasured them and contemplated often about them and he was ever so mindful not to "jump the fence". One thing I really appreciated about this book was it's applicability. Frank has problems real boys have. He gets made fun of, laughed at, and mocked for not following the crowd. The most memorable lesson for my son was "be sure your sin will find you out". Even today, he prayed that everybody will read this story and know that their sin will find them out. This book has been the spring board for so many good conversations. I can't wait to read it again and again. I just found it online FREE HERE I'll always love real books over ebooks, but I'm sure there are plenty of people who love ebooks. Enjoy. I hope to write a review about our newest read aloud Captive Treasure .

Last month we also read lots of Arabian tales. Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves, The Three Princes, The Enchanted Horse, Sinbad the Sailor and so many more. My oldest read The Sword in the Tree which was an excellent book. It way exceeding my expectations. Now we're enchanted by knights, and castles. So most of our books for Nov. are about King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, knights, castles, Camelot, etc.

I started my MBA this week. I'll blog less and less and less and less. I'll do everything less, I guess. Glad I got my reading in before school started. I read the hilarious yet very informative Don't Eat This Book: Fast Food and the Supersizing of America . Find out what happens when I guy lives off of McDonalds food for a month! You'd be amazed. As a church we read Crazy Love This book I will have to read again, it really was too good to soak it all up in one read. This guy is truly consumed with a passion for Christ. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I love books and I really enjoy picking my own books, so it's honestly hard for me when we read the same book as a church, for some reason I almost never care for the book. This book was very convicting! As was our book last year American Idols: The Worship of the American Dream.

In family news: My baby almost has one tooth!!!!! My darling daughter is a ballerina, my oldest son is having date night with Dad, and my middle boy is practicing medicine. That boys loves blood and medicine. I overheard him asking my husband if he could touch his blood. My husband got hurt at work last week and had to get stitches. Stitches are no match for my four-year old Doctor who would have sewed them in himself if we'd let him. Ha!

I wrote a paper for school earlier this year titled Women and the Work Life Balance. It was a very interesting study. Here are snipets of my paper...

Women have a unique job. In addition to childbearing, childrearing, domestic, and familial duties; seventy two million women also work full time. (US Department of Labor, 2008) The demands of maintaining so many roles are often dizzying. Consequentially, there is an urgent need for balance in the lives of these women. The Work-Life balance describes the balancing act between work and personal life.

Angela Thomas-Jones advises women to be realistic about trying to achieve the work life balance. She asks women to accept the fact that they are not home for eight or nine hours and when they get home they can’t possibly compensate for those hours lost, that would equate to working two fulltime jobs. “At some point one (job) will need more attention than the other. If you realise this then you can decide about your career and family trajectories.”

The 20th century gave way to the Superwoman or what may be better known as the Superwoman myth. Women gained the right to work full time, but their childrearing and home keeping duties did not disappear. Instead women found that working full-time was in addition to marriage, childbearing, childrearing, cooking, cleaning, laundering, gardening, etc. Instead of women having one full-time job as wife and mother; women now have two full time jobs; wife/mother and career woman. This is the crux of the work-life balance; women and their pursuit of juggling two full-time jobs.

At the onset of the Women’s Liberation Movement women thought that “being successful required becoming a man…success was about the male definition of money and power…”(Belkin, 2003) Today, “when women talk about success they use words like satisfaction, balance, and sanity.” (Belkin, 2003) In fact, “seven out of ten working women tell pollsters they would stay home with their kids if they could…”(Bennett’s, 2007) Many women started asking, “What happened to all the self-fulfillment we were supposed to feel? …What’s wrong with me? I have everything! Why am I not happy? Why am I so tired?”(Carter, 1995) By the end of the eighties women began to understand, “we were being used. We were lawyers, doctors, judges…but we were still swabbing out the toilets at home!” (Carter, 1995) Women are the ones caring for sick children in the middle of the night and taking off from work the next day. Women still do almost all the housework and children’s homework. “None of this sounds much like real freedom…women seem more burdened and vulnerable than free.” (Bruno, 1998) “Women use phrases like “torn apart, ripped in two, to describe their lives…”. (Berg, 1986) What is there that makes combining a job and motherhood so terribly hard? (Berg, 1986) The answer according to Berg: “Guilt, the excoriating interface between our two roles…insistent guilt.”( Berg 1986) Working women feel guilty about working long hours, too tired for sex, too tired for housework, not spending enough time with children, missing important milestones in children, childcare arrangements, quality time vs. quantity time, etc. Working women are bombarded with guilt, and there is no end to all the things working women feel guilty about.

It was just fifty years ago that women coveted the role of working outside the home, yet today seventy percent of them would choose home. Not even a century later most women bemoan their positions and many women are opting out of the work-life balance for a semblance of balance. Now that women have it all, they are finding out that they don’t want it all and it isn’t worth it all.

Well most of this week has been consumed with nursing two sick boys. My oldest and my boy twin are sick with high fevers. We've canceled school for the rest of the week and we've moved into the den. We have lots of blankets and pillows and good movies and good books. There is lots juice, soup, and tea. I've been taking Airborne (which works very well). I actually had a cough at the beginning of the week that's all but gone now.

In other news by youngest still has no teeth at 10 months and we has almost no appetite for real food. Vanilla wafers is about the only thing he eats regularly. However, I am constantly taking carpet fluff out of his mouth, as well as every other non-food item he can get a hold of. I'm always wondering if he has some kind of vitamin deficiency or if it's just normal baby grazing. The other one's never had it this bad.

I signed by sweet girl up for ballet. A homeschooled teenage girl is teaching the classes very affordably! She'll start in a couple of weeks. We explained to each of the children that as an opportunity presents itself they'll all get to do a special activity, but most likely not all at the same time.

I'd like blog more regularly...perhaps when all is calm again.

Who would believe that we had our first Homeschool Fellowship Day at my house! When we first began homeschooling we were the only family in our church. I prayed and dreamed about the day when other families would choose to educate their own children for God. "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." Ephesians 3:20 It was a wonderful time. Including myself there were 5 women there, there are also three other homeschooling moms that were unable to make it. It was truly a blessing to encourage one another as we educate our children for the glory of God. And my friend loaned me Educating the Wholehearted Child, which I'll add to my Top 5 homeschool resource books! It is phenomenal!

After a long day at work, honey came home and played with the kiddies. This was little's bears first time on the slide.




My sweet girl nursing the sick little bear back to health.





The twins celebrated a birthday this month. I can't believe their four! They have such unique personalities, they are truly a treasure.