Distractions

As if it weren't enough of a distraction to watch my handsome husband behind the drum kit during worship last night, a mom brought her child and plopped him down at our table for the entire Bible study time. Fortunately, our guest speaker was entertaining (and loud) enough to almost keep me on track.

I like children, especially my own. When I'm trying hard to concentrate, though, things like rhythmically bumping the table get on my last nerve. And every 6.2 minutes, the mom hissed: "Ssssssstop that!" I wasn't tempted to say anything until he started whining for Curly Sue's MP3 player.

Wednesdays are long for my children, church-wise. We typically arrive at the building around 3:30 so that I can help prepare food for the 400 people that we typically feed. Larry, being a middle-schooler, can go into his program around 4:30 but the littles are stuck amusing themselves until 5:45. Yesterday was cold and windy and not a playground-type day, so Moe brought Legos and Curly Sue her MP3 player. They left their things at my table to go to their program, and this child was determined to have her MP3 player. And I was determined to see that he didn't.

Fortunately, I didn't need to step in, but the child got so upset when his mom told him he couldn't take the player that he started choking. And coughing and coughing and coughing and coughing and bumping the table every time he coughed and bumping the table some more...

At this point I could barely hear the speaker and was wishing heartily that this woman would take. her. child. out. But then I started thinking...

What if she's new here? What if this is her very first night, and she doesn't know if there's a program for her child, or where to sign him in, or where to take him? Maybe he's been sick and she didn't want to miss church, and she didn't have someone to watch him at home. Maybe she's a single mom and this is her only child, and she just doesn't want to be separated from him during worship.

While I'm certain last night's speaker had some insight to share, maybe I couldn't hear him because God was trying to tell me something else through a little boy's antics. And I wasn't listening.

Middlemarch by George Eliot

I started this book on Jan. 4 and finished it today. It's a long book and I'm tired.

A good basic outline can be found here, so I'll save my fingers the trouble. Every page was worth reading, though, and it was every bit as satisfying as I had hoped. Oh, and don't do like I initially did and put it on your "classics by men" list. George Eliot was a woman.

On the homemaking side

I made some really tasty chicken fingers yesterday for lunch. Nannie and Paw-Paw fed us while Geddy was out of town Tuesday night, so my menu plan got bumped back a day, and man, these things were good! First, I made the LLL Baking Mix from my Whole Foods for the Whole Family cookbook, and I used that in place of Bisquick in the Ultimate Chicken Fingers recipe. (I also substituted 1/4 cup sesame seeds for 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese.) I was afraid I'd have to double the recipe to feed my hungry crowd, but there were three pieces of chicken left over and that would have been just about right if Geddy had been home.

The waffle maker Larry gave me for Christmas has been excellent. We've made waffles from baking mix, from scratch with white flour and from scratch with wheat flour and they have all been good. From baking mix, the waffles tend to stick a little but we actually prefer the ones from scratch anyway. I might use my homemade mix and see how that works.

In my "use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without" mode, I've been trying to pull together tasty recipes out of odds and ends from the fridge and cabinet. I found a recipe in my breadmaker booklet for feta and peppercorn bread, so I used up the last of some aging feta to make up a batch. It was very good but way too spicy to eat as regular bread, so I plan on cutting it into cubes for homemade croutons. If I make the bread again, I'm going to cut the pepper by 3/4.

Though I've been planning to try it for months, I finally got around to making hummus. I had to tweak the recipe because I didn't have as many canned garbanzo beans as the recipe called for, but I must have gotten something right because it was very, very good. Curly Sue and Moe didn't care for it because it was extremely garlicky and spicy, but Geddy, Larry and I all liked it.

Fridays around here are reserved for light schoolwork (math, games, reading, creating writing) and visiting with friends, so tomorrow my friend Kelly and her girls are coming over for lunch and playtime. Usually, I make sandwiches or buy frozen fish sticks or chicken nuggets, but tomorrow I am making a cheeseburger casserole (macaroni, ground beef, tomato sauce, cheese) and brownies. Last night after church dinner there were piles of leftover French bread slices, so I brought some home and plan to serve garlic toast as well.

The things I've mentioned in this entry may not be extraordinary under normal circumstances, but what makes them unusual enough to make the blog is this: I have not bought a single ingredient for any of these recipes. I made each one from what I already had on hand. We challenged ourselves to live out of our pantry/fridge/freezer this month after using a chunk of the month's grocery cash to pay for some unexpected medical expenses. We have emergency money in the savings account but wanted to see just how long we'd make it. We may finish out this month with a few dollars still left in checking, but even if we have to dip into the emergency fund, it's good to flex those frugal muscles every once in awhile!

Lessons from a stuffed animal

Velveteen Rabbit: "What is REAL?"

Skin Horse: "When a child loves you...REALLY loves you...then you become Real."

Velveteen Rabbit: "Does it hurt?"

Skin Horse: "Sometimes." (For he was always truthful.)

Velveteen Rabbit: "Does it happen all at once...or bit by bit?"

Skin Horse: "It takes a long time. You become. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or who have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept."

Snow day

Yesterday it snowed like crazy for the first time in about six years, and when it started sticking and showing no signs of slowing down, I made the rash promise that if the county schools were out today, my kiddos could be off as well.

County schools were out. Snow was mostly melted. Roads were clear. Geddy went to work on time.

Meh.

We ate Ramen noodles and Spaghetti-O's for breakfast, kissed off all but the bare minimum of chores and had a lovely, lazy morning. We squeezed in a school day by reading, playing math games on the computer and going on an afternoon field trip to the local newspaper.

The IT guy, (Ricky) who led our newspaper tour turned out to be a freelance photographer in his spare time. On his office wall were stunning photographs of birds of prey from an exhibition at Callaway Gardens, where several years ago I met the falconer I later featured in a magazine piece. Turns out, the Ricky's photos were the ones that accompanied my article.

Very odd to meet someone for the first time with whom I unknowingly collaborated more than two years ago!

Ha, ha...it is to laugh

Bubby called yesterday because he'd seen the Bookmobile coming toward my house. He wanted to know if they'd had to call it out to pick up our library books because they wouldn't all fit in our car.

Big dummy! :0)

The Teacher

Today would have been Ben's 44th birthday, and it is my father's 72nd birthday. Cause for celebration, cause for a few private tears. And my brother Bubby wrote this beautiful lesson that I borrowed without permission to post here.

January 15, 2008

The Teacher: Sitting Down on the Job

Scripture:

Matthew 5: 1-2 (NIV):

Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him and he began to teach them, saying: (The Sermon on the Mount)

Luke 5: 1-3 (NIV): One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2 he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3sat down and taught the people from the boat. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he In Jesus' day the "teacher" would not stand behind separating lecterns or tower over his audience behind raised pulpits. No, in Jesus' day he would sit in a chair, on a stool, on a rock, in a boat, and truly teach the people. In return, the audience would normally sit also - in acknowledgement of the teacher's authority - and take the lower ground (literally sitting on the ground!). This would also invite the teacher to walk among the people so as to touch them, look them in the eye and truly connect with them. Jesus used this form of communication very effectively and it is possible that one reason the Church struggles today is that we have lost the ability and/or desire to connect with our audience in this way. I believe that the world has lost out on an opportunity to promote one such communicator, one whose desire to teach and to connect and to love was at his very core, is what made him "tick." He tried to jump through the hoops of the teaching establishment so he could gain access to our youngest ones while they were still impressionable, moldable. Unfortunately, they (whoever "they" are) were not ready for him and did not allow him into that prestigious club. Once again, as happened so many times in his life, he fell short of a dream's fulfillment because of another's lack of vision. But he was not to be thwarted! In the style of Jesus, whenever he could gain an audience, he would teach. He did not need a degree, an official position, permission or license. Just give him a subject and an opportunity to speak and he was off! Imagine if he had been allowed the opportunity to teach our young and impressionable, or even our old and impenetrable? Why can't we ALL be like that? When God gives us an opportunity to fulfill the Great Commission or even to commission our kids, let us follow the example of Jesus like my brother, Ben, did. Sit down. Make time. Connect. Love. Change the world. When I, in my own mind, tried to imagine Ben in Heaven, I saw him as a little boy either sitting at Jesus' feet, listening and asking questions like Jesus did at the Temple, or piling his plate with all the good stuff from God's table he had been forced to avoid on earth because he was diabetic. But in the dreams I feel God sent me to comfort me in my grief I saw Ben in a very different light. I saw him sitting down and teaching! What this really means, I'm not sure. But I would like to think that the world was just a training ground for Ben and his Heavenly reward was to get to eternally do what was his heart's desire here on earth: teach! In one dream I saw Ben sitting and teaching a group of people I recognized as his friends and they were sitting at his feet, on the ground, completely engrossed (like children) in what he was saying. In the other dream, Ben was teaching me. In his passionate way, as he sat - left hand on his knee, right hand chopping the air like a knife, leaning forward and looking me in the eye - he taught, "Bubby, I'm all right! I'm o- (chop) kay (chop)!" I hear you, Bro! Lesson learned! So, anyway, Happy Birthday, Teacher! I can't wait to sit at your feet again. Bubby

I'm better for the smile you give

Geddy called me last night on the way home from Bible study. I was at a homeschool meeting, but I was very glad he called because he just wanted to tell me that he was thinking about me and "our song" was on the radio.

Long ago, in my other life, I dated a boy with problems. He was my first serious relationship and I loved him even though he was cruel to me. We were supposed to be engaged, but he finally did one too many things wrong, and then Geddy came into my life and I learned about forever love. Geddy and I were married 10 months later, nearly 15 years ago.

"Our song" is a quite beautiful one by Genesis called Follow You Follow Me. This is my favorite part:

I can say
The night is long but you are here
Close at hand, oh I'm better for the smile you give
And while I live

I will follow you will you follow me
All the days and nights that we know will be
I will stay with you will you stay with me
Just one single tear in each passing year there will be

I'm really not a very sentimental person, but whose heart wouldn't melt at that?

5-5-5 Challenge!

I've been struggling through the good-but-lengthy Middlemarch since the beginning of the year and wondering if prioritizing some things around the house is going to rob me of the opportunity to re-educate myself in some areas this year.

Translated: Am I going to be able to actually read eight books in eight categories before the end of the year? Is the 8-8-8 Challenge out of reach?

My friend Paprika at the Frugal Families forums (a steal at $10 a year -- come over and join in the fun!) had a solution I can embrace: FIVE books in FIVE categories (so we still have FIVE minutes a day to post at FFs?).

Now, I could easily read 56-64 mysteries, kid books, school books or the like in a year, but my personal challenge was to read meaty, educational books after which I would be improved in some way, or at least more solid in my ideals. So if I set the goal of reading through all of Charlotte Mason's personal writings in the original language, I'm likely not going to be able to read through all of Shakespeare's tragedies, so some of my 8-8-8 categories were likely to be gimmes.

So here is my new and improved list of categories for my new and improved 5-5-5 challenge:

1. Classics by women
2. Classics by men
3. Charlotte Mason
4. Memoirs, diaries, biographies and autobiographies
5. Poetry

My personal rules are that none can be re-reads, all have to be completed in this calendar year and all have to have some substance. So there it is: 5 books in 5 categories so I can have 5 minutes a day to post on FFs.

Thanks again, Paprika!

Slave labor

Larry, Curly Sue and Moe get an allowance each week, half their even-year ages in dollars. Larry will get an increase to $6 on his 12th birthday in April, Curly Sue got an increase to $4 on her 8th birthday in September and Moe will hold steady at $3 because he turns 7 next month.

I don't pay them to do chores. They get spending money because they're part of the family and they do chores because they're part of the family. Theoretically, it teaches them to manage their money and run a household. Realistically, it keeps them from nagging us to buy them stuff and us from having to pick up after them.

Starting yesterday, they each got a sheet on their clipboards outlining morning routine and chores and evening routine and chores. (In our house, the "I forgot" excuse has worn thin.) I awoke at 7 a.m. ready to do battle and prepared myself for a long, long day.

Instead, I was in the bed at 9:30 p.m. for prime reading time. Lessons were planned, clipboards were loaded, sixth-grade math was taught and corrected, dinner was cooked and dishes washed and outside was enjoyed for several hours. I had clean toilets, clean sinks, clean floors, clean children and clean laundry.

Long have I maintained that if five people live in home, one person should not be responsible for its sole care. Perhaps I am on to something. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

"You're an ANGRY elf!"

(You know that part in Elf where Buddy infuriates the writer by calling him an elf? Yeah, that's the one. Just settin' the scene here.)

I am angry. All the time. About everything.

Not that I'm sweetness and light normally. (Shut up, Misty.)

All I can figure is that the anger I don't feel toward the woman who killed my brother is manifesting itself in every other area of my life. Guess I'm gonna have to break down and add a "Grieving for Dummies" book to my 888 Challenge list.

During my Bible study time this morning, I was planning to continue Beth Moore's Living Beyond Yourself but instead I found myself drawn to Larry's lesson, which was a mini-sermon on different kinds of anger and godly responses, so it looks like I'll be doing some work in Proverbs and putting Beth on hold for awhile.

On the bright side, we started school back today and it went very well. We added in some chores for everybody using the Motivated Moms calendar and incorporated some Ambleside Online Year 1 books into the littles' schedule.

It doesn't hurt that the weather is as absolutely gorgeous, warm and sunny as it can be and the kiddos are running off steam outside. They're playing some kind of police detective game right now, complete with fake corpse. I'm sure the neighbors all wish their children would play more with mine.

Carnival of Homeschooling

Go to Why Homeschool. Enjoy!

8-8-8 Challenge

The challenge is to read eight books in eight categories in 2008. For more on the challenge, read here.

Here are my categories:

1. Diaries, memoirs, biographies, autobiographies
2. Classics by male authors
3. Classics by female authors
4. Young adult fiction
5. Poetry
6. By and about Charlotte Mason
7. How-to, cooking, gardening, self-help
8. Science fiction, fantasy

C'mon, join up!

My wish for all my friends-and-relations in 2008

May you never lay your head down without a hand to hold
May you never make your bed out in the cold
May you never lose your temper if you get hit in a barroom fight
May you never lose your woman overnight.

--Eric Clapton (but of course!)