Celebrating Robyn's birth

Robyn is our 4th child and 3rd. daughter.  She was born on the 29th. of December.  Robyn has a lively personality.  She is filled with a passion for life.  Robyn is adventurous, talented, determined, spiritual, and beautiful, inside and out.  She loves to dance more than anything else and does it well.  When she sits down at the piano to play, it seems all life comes to a halt while we take in her beautiful choices of music.  She is a wonderful sister, daughter, and friend.  I am overjoyed to have her as a daughter.

Robyn was our first homebirth and I remember it well.  My parents had been visiting for Christmas and hoping to be present for their new little grandchild.  My father definitely was NOT for homebirthing bu he managed to settle in in his own way.  Each day he made sure he accomplished two things.  1. He kept the driveway shoveled from the snow, 2. He made a trip to the local hospital each day trying to better his time!!  (just in case he said) Our midwife George was great.  She was totally out of the 60's, in her thinking, her style of living, and in her looks! She was just great. She dropped in one day just to check on me and meet my parents. After she left I turned to my parents sitting on the sofa and all I saw were stunned and staring faces on both of them! My mom couldn't help herself.  "Sheeeee, is going to deliver this baby? Then she looked at my hubby and asked, "Do hippies know how to deliver babies?" We assured them both that she was extremely competent and that they should have no worries! Her birth wasn't what I would call quick, but it was wonderful.  I think what stands out the most is right when we were beginning to deliver daddy simply left the room with no explanation whatsoever!  I remember thinking, "Where in the world is he going at a time like this?" I had too many things on my mind though to question so I carried on!  Moments later he returned about nearly just in time for her entry into the world.  Later, when things settled down I asked him about his peculiar behavior and he only said that he went to quick stoke the fire so the back bedroom would be as warm as possible once the baby came!  Well, that was a good idea considering we were in the middle of a cold, Colorado snowstorm!  The older three children welcomed her to our family with excitement!  Vance Jr., being the only boy at the time came into the room, looked longingly at the new baby and asked, "Mom, is it a boy?"  I told him no, you have another sister, what do you think?

He stared at her long and hard and all he said was, "Well, she looks like a boy, so I guess it's okay!"  We owe Robyn's name to him as he chose it.  He loves her as he does all his sisters. 

Happy Birthday Robyn, we all love you very, very much!!

Wordless Wed.~Lots of sisters, lots of hair, lots of fun

Blessings from the sweet Arizona sunshine

These delectable treats made their way from an Arizona backyard to our table in Wisconsin.  Each year we receive a huge box of fresh oranges and grapefruits from our married daughter Juli's in-laws~The Mckendrick family.  We are delighted in knowing that many hands picked these fruits and it makes us feel closer to our loved ones far away.  The Mckendricks are parents of 16 children plus 2 foster children!!  Thanks Chris, Kelly, and all the Mini-Mckendricks! We greatly appreciate them!

Living room, parlor, family room, dining room.....

Does your home have a favorite room where everyone likes to gather? Our favorite would be our living room. Cool weather (especially) finds nearly everybody in the house gathering to this simple room for activities such as:

Reading

Sewing, arts & crafts

Games

School lessons

Cuddling with daddy

Exercising

Hair cuts

Napping

Chatting with one another

Wrestling

Gymnastics

And everybody's favorite-eating meals

Where's your families favorite place in the home?

The girls made Christmas skirts, purses, and are busy knitting sweaters and gloves!

Merry Christmas!

"Awake and sing! 't is Christmas morn,Whereon all earth salutes her King!In Bethlehem is the Shepherd born.Awake, O little lamb, and sing!"

So, dear my child, kneel at my feet,And with those voices from aboveShare thou this holy time with me,The universal hymn of love.

Wordless Wed.~I think I can, I think I can, I know I can

I have no greater joy....

than to hear that my children walk in truth. 3 John 4

Kenzie was so intrigued by our picture study of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse that she wanted to learn more. And what better way to do that than to read about it in the scriptures and follow up with a good dose of Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Old fashioned Christmas stories

Pull up a chair, gather round the family and enjoy some great Christmas Stories. They are free to read online right here! Print them off and share with everyone.

Working through high school math

One of the most asked questions concerning our homeschooling is, "How do you get your kids through high school math?" Simple question, simple answer. I use Saxon Dive cd roms. My children use Rays and some Singapore math until they are ready for Saxon 54. From there they stay using Saxon all the way through. But those upper math books can be a challenge to a mathematically challenged mom like me! These cd's are a lifesaver for me. They are thorough, to the point, and extremely easy to use. Or, you could always get your big sister to talk you through it. That works well too!

101 Reasons as to why I homeschool

Reason 88

"Retarded? Disturbed? Attention deficit? When I read those weak excuses for the schools' failure, I have a definite belief deficit!"~Donn Reed

Reason 89

"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike rather than those who think differently."~Friedrich Nietzsche

Reason 90

"Bless me, what "DO" they teach them at these schools?"~C. S. Lewis

Reason 91

"Education is the period between which you are being instructed by somebody you do not know, about something you do not want to know."~G.K. Chesterton

Reason 92

"We no longer see the teaching of facts and information as the primary function of education."~Dr. Shirley McCune 1989 Kansas Governor's Conference

No small part of the reason why American school children fall so far behind their contemporaries in other countries in educational achievement is that Japanese and other young people are studying math, science and other solid subjects while our children are being brainwashed about homosexuality, environmentalism, multiculturalism or a thousand other non academic distractions.

Few parents or citizens realize the pervasiveness of classroom brainwashing, or the utter dishonesty with which it is smuggles into the schools under misleading labels.

Does anyone ask himself why it should take years and years to teach school children so-called "sex education?" Obviously it does not. What takes years and years is to wear down the values they were taught at home and lead them toward wholly different attitudes and wholly different conceptions of the world. Brainwashing takes time-and it takes this time away from academic subjects.~Thomas Sowell, Washington Times

"Theoretically a society could be completely made over in something like 15 years, the time it takes to inculcate a new culture into a rising crop of youngsters."~ 83rd. Congress 1954

Hey mom, I think it's my birthday today

I think she's right!  Today we began another season of birthdays beginning with our Mary.  She was barely awake this morning when she excitedly said to me that she thinks today is her birthday!  I have tried to chronicle her day as best I could in between the happenings of life.  The morning we spent prettying her up. (Yikes, no picture of her princess dress) Then we went shopping, out to dinner, and scooted home for cake and ice cream.  She always falls asleep in the van but that wouldn't have been a good thing for her to fall asleep at 7pm.  She would be up all night.  So every time we saw her close her eyes we would jolt her back awake.  Out of desperation she decided to try pulling her hat down so we couldn't see her closed eyes!!  In the end we lost the battle.  But she woke up to celebrate with her family and now, at nearly midnight she is still wide awake!!  (obviously, so am I)

She was given a box of candy canes for one of her gifts and she sat down on the bench staring at them and quietly said to nobody in particular, "Wow, I can't believe I have my very own box all to myself!"  

What better Christmas gift could anyone ask for other than a baby!  Mary Nowelle is our first Christmas baby.  We all love you bunches and bunches Mary.  Have a great birthday. Here is her intense/funny haha/funny interesting/fantastic birth story.

Wordless Wednesday~Peek-a-boo

It has to be colder than 5 degrees.....

to stop my kids from playing outside!  We had our first serious snowfall this week and it didn't take the kids no time at all to want to play in the fluffy white stuff.  Cold just doesn't seem to have an affect on them!! I'm guessing it's called 'youth.'

Mary landed head first in a snow bank and needed some serious comforting from big brother.

Nothing warms you better than a hot mug of cocoa after a long romp in the snow!

Is it too late for me to squash the tooth fairy idea?

In all seriousness now, I am asking myself what I started over 20 years ago when the teeth began to fall out of the mouths of my children! Maybe I just didn't know any better. After all, the tooth fairy was always faithful and on time when I was a kid. I just assumed she/he would stay that way. But now, I'm thinking that the tooth fairy must have run out of gas or gotten old, or something because in my house she is a naughty, forgetful, loathsome creature that can't keep up! This child misplaced 3 teeth in just one week! She's not even giving her little sisters time to catch up. Let alone the forgetful, naughty, broke tooth fairy that's been camped out on my doorstep for the last 2 decades!!

Getting acquainted with the nativity

Mock Cheese Cake

This yummy little snack is so easy to make and tastes just like cheese cake. Our favorite jams to use are black raspberry and strawberry. Just take a box of Ritz crackers, package of cream cheese, and some jam and you can make a quick and tasty snack or dessert!!

Home Alone!

Cameras do more than just take photos and videos. They also show mom and dad what has been going on when we are away from. I feel so honored that they decided to share their life threatening activities with me!

The guys' weight room has all kinds of fun things to hang on!

I'm only thankful Mary survived her balancing act!

(video created by Emma)

Aaron on the other hand didn't balance so well as this video shows. Kaydee is taping Emma singing her song while at the same time the boys were acting up in the background! However, I don't think they intended for the camera to catch their 'unbalancing' act! I assume he wasn't hurt too badly because at the end Emma continues her act while brother Gregg gets up and walks out of the room leaving Aaron on the ground alone. (No, he said he didn't hurt himself at all, that he was lying there laughing at himself. What a great sport.)

Wordless Wednesday~Eating cake the way nature intended!

On the tree, off the tree, in the mouth, and so on...

And it starts all over again! Mary has been putting candy canes on the tree, taking them, putting them back on all day! And in between she's been eating them too. I think for every two that comes off, only one goes back on the tree. The other goes into her mouth!

This little picture ornament of Christie really bothers Mary. Four times in the space of one hour she would bring it to me and say, "Can we take this off the tree now? Why does it have to be on there?" What do you think? Does it stay on the tree or do we put it in cold storage?

Homeland Security

When we think of Homeland Security exactly what comes to mind? 911? At least that is where it began. The role of the Department of Homeland Security was set in place to protect our nation from fanatical terrorist who seek to destroy us through acts of terrorism against US citizens.

Those two words, Homeland Security can have other meanings as well. Let's consider our very own HOMEland Security. The homes in which our little ones are growing up in. All one needs to do is look around to see that the family is under attack. I was reading that over 50% of Christian marriages end in divorce. As if that isn't sad enough, we need to think of our children and under what influences they are growing up under. There are TV programs, movies, questionable friends, music, magazines, drugs, alcohol, and a myriad of other negative traps set by the adversary that our children can fall into. Are we being diligent to protect the borders of our homes?

"How indignant and horrified we would be if our national homeland security was so slack as to allow an army of terrorists from abroad to break into our nations homes and kill, rape and destroy over 50 percent of our families. Yet, in many ways, this happens morally on a daily basis and few are up in arms and appalled about it." ~Nancy Campbell

Just as our armed military is important to the safety of our nation so arming our children with the word of God is even more important. If our children are 'strong' spiritually in the Lord then that will automatically transfer to being strong in the physical being. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."~2 Timothy 3:16 This scripture pretty much covers everything. The answers are there for us if we just incorporated it's teachings everyday in our lives and into the upbringing of our children.

My determined 4 year old

If you are not in the mood to bake cupcakes then don't read this blog post from Karen while having your 4 year old sitting at your side!! Because there will be no rest for you until you whip up a batch of them with your little one at your side! And since it's nearly Christmas you have to icing them green and red. (her idea!) But plain green has to work since the red was all gone! Somehow I don't think it mattered though.

I think the pan would have been full but I couldn't keep up with the kids. Every time I got icing on one and sat it down it disappeared.

Sure made Mary's day!

Wordless Wednesday~All I want for Christmas is my.....