Laminating is Fun

Office supply nerds unite!

Some people get excited about things like comb binders, laminators, three-ring binders, and page protectors.

I'll admit it, I'm one of those people.

So, when my freezer cooking gals and I decided to compile some of our favorite recipes we've tried and make a series of menu plans complete with shopping lists, I got excited when Jenna brought the first installment in a three-ring binder.  Then we had the bright idea to LAMINATE them so they wouldn't get food on them and we could use them again!

We acted silly and laughed and laminated all the pages before we could even think about starting cooking.

Because we're just cool like that.

What's On Your Nightstand--October

I haven't played along with the nightstand posts lately, nor has my reading been terribly organized.  (Do you suppose there is some correlation?)

In September I read a couple of current fiction novels, Dark Places by Gillian Flynn and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin, and I re-read a homeschool book, Ignite the Fire by Teri Camp.  I also re-read Francine Rivers' novella, Unafraid, and read a short book by Russell Moore about adoption, and I finally got to Harper Lee's recently published book, Go Set a Watchman (which I have not yet reviewed).



As I look ahead to October, we have quite a bit of traveling scheduled, so I'm hoping to read some more current fiction a friend has recommended that I've borrowed on my Kindle, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce and The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant.

Carrie's Book Club has chosen The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for October, and it's been several months since I've read along, so I hope to get to this one.

Two friends have recommended Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakable Peace by Sarah Mackenzie, so I recently ordered a copy.  I have read the first two chapters and enjoyed them very much.  I got the pdf journal with my order, so I'm thinking I'll read it quickly, then go back through and read it more carefully while journaling through it.  I may even have to gather a few friends to read and discuss it with me!

  

I've also been slowly re-reading Raising Godly Tomatoes by L. Elizabeth Krueger.  I have read this excellent parenting book several times, and it's the one I recommend whenever anyone asks me for parenting advice or a parenting book to read.  Little Miss Aryana has necessitated my brushing up on training a strong-willed toddler.  (rueful grin)  I've been slowly reading this for several weeks and want to finish it up in October.

There are other books I'm interested in reading soon if I get time, such as I'm Chocolate, You're Vanilla and Cleaning House, but they might have to wait until the next month.  I'll be really happy if I can check the above five books off my list the end of October.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

"Why is any one book different from any other book?  They are different, A.J. decides, because they are.  We have to look inside many.  We have to believe.  We agree to be disappointed sometimes so that we can be exhilarated every now and again" (237).

I am frequently disappointed by books I read, but when an exhilarating gem like this one comes along, it makes all the other "it-was-okay" books worth it.

I found this book simply delightful.  First of all, a book about books, a bookstore, and booklovers--how delightful is that?

I enjoyed the narrator's voice, which was rather quaint and charming.  I liked the characters, and especially the growth of the characters.  I loved the little blurbs about books sprinkled throughout and now want to run away for a week to read all the books that were referenced.

When I got about halfway through the book, I thought it started to lull somewhat.  I wondered where the story would go, as it seemed all the ends were being tied up.  But hang in there through those few pages as the author introduces another thought-provoking twist that I'm not going to ruin for you.  (But I will say that I hope, hope, hope such a thing never happens to me!)

I loved a proposal from one booklover to another (YES! Say YES!):

"All I can say is. . .All I can say is we'll figure it out, I swear.  When I read a book, I want you to be reading it at the same time.  I want to know what would (you) think of it.  I want you to be mine.  I can promise you books and conversation and all my heart" (154).

And I agree, discussing books (especially THE Book) is a wonderful way to get to know someone:

"He had spent hours with the man over the last half-dozen years.  They had only ever discussed books but what, in this life, is more personal than books?" (18).

I also agreed with the "necessity of encountering stories at precisely the right time in our lives.  The things we respond to at twenty are not necessarily the same things we will respond to at forty and vice versa.  This is true in books and also in life" (41).  This supports my habit of reading books multiple times.  I can perceive the same book or situation differently dependent on the season of life.

This is a fun little fictional novel for a weekend read.  I wish I had known it would be so enjoyable so I could have saved it for a road trip or flight.

Dark Places

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

I was in the mood for a good fiction book to just escape into a good story, and when I looked for a book to immediately check out on my Kindle, this one popped up.  I didn't love Gone Girl, but I did enjoy the way the author turned a phrase, so I thought I would check this book out.

I liked it "ok" even as it was definitely not a feel-good story.  The main character, Libby, survived the murder of her mother and two sisters when she was just seven years old and fingered her older brother for the crime.  Fast-forward 24 years and she has barely existed--she has no life, no friends, no job (or skills to get one), and she's out of the pity money the public had sent her.  The book jumps back and forth between Libby's perspective in current time and the advancement of the story up to the point of the crime through both her mother's and her brother's eyes.  The title of the book comes from her "labeling the memories (of witnessing her family's deaths) as if they were a particularly dangerous region:  Darkplace" (10), and she tries very hard NOT to remember them.  Until she meets a club of people who try to solve crimes as a hobby.

I can't heartily recommend this book as it has more language and detail than I prefer reading. In other ways, however, Flynn had an enjoyable way with words:

"That was another of my mom's words:  glum.  It meant having the blues in a way that annoyed other people.  Having the blues aggressively" (9).

"Patty was a slip of a woman, wavery and weak, quickly optimistic, but even more easily deflated" (103).

"Ben worked the music in his head, his brain sizzling, feeling angry-frantic, the way he always did to metal, the guitar strum never letting up, bundling him tenser and tenser, bumping his head up and down, the drums shooting up his spine, the whole thing this rage-frenzy, not letting him think straight, just keeping him in a tight shake.  His whole body felt like a cocked fist, ready for release" (132).

It's Complicated

My dear friend and sister-in-law, Marcy, and I have a tradition of traveling together to Beth Moore conferences.  Sometimes I think we are happiest when the conference is held farther from us--this year it was in Milwaukee, WI which is a hefty jaunt from us.

That was okay with us as we are both incredibly busy in our day-to-day lives as wives, mothers, friends, homeschool teacher (me) and nurse (her) and we were glad to have the drive time to talk and laugh and talk some more (with no bickering children in the back seat).

See how badly we needed the break?!

As usual, we shared our hearts all the way there--our struggles, our successes, our hurts, our hopes, fears, and dreams. . .In years past, we have found the conference topics to relate directly to our conversation on the way to the conference.  As we arrived in town (after we made it into a gas station with only 9 miles worth of gas left--talking distracts us from noticing such mundane details), we quickly reviewed our conversation, wondering what Beth would teach about that we had already discussed!

Once again, we were inspired and motivated by this time of study.  The picture on the left shows the stage, and the ethereal picture on the right is the horrible picture I snapped when "our friend Beth" was THAT CLOSE to us.

Beth's message was based from Mark 4:33-34 and the idea that Jesus "explained everything."  She is a word person (one of the things I love about her studies!) and in Greek, this phrase is:

Epiluo—explained, “to let loose” (Greek) To interpret, conceived of as untying or untangling something knotted.  

Complicated, in contrast, comes from: 

Com—together and pilcare—to fold,  Lots of things folded together (Latin root) and is expanded to mean complicating the main thread of a plot. Often appearing unexpectedly and changing existing plans, methods, or attitudes.  

She added in the Message rendition of Mk 4:33-34: “He went over everything, sorting out the tangles, untying the knots", and then proceeded to consider multiple ways our lives get complicated, but Jesus is "masterful at untying the tightest knot".

Two of her main points were especially helpful to me in this season.  One was FOCUS--I need to keep my focus on Christ in all areas, but specifically in our homeschool.  It's easy for me to get distracted by academics. . .or by being tired. . .or by the constant work of keeping up the home and making meals. . .or childtraining. . .or my own selfishness or laziness. . .you get the idea.  While I questioned the wisdom of even going to the conference in the middle of August when I didn't yet have my school year planned, I came away thankful for the timing as I had my FOCUS in the right place when I spent the next week planning our school year.  The simplicity that is in Christ (II Corinthians 11:2-3) is the ONE THING (Psalm 27:4, Luke 11:41-42) I need to focus on.

The other word that hit me was RELEASE.  Sometimes we allow our lives to be complicated by issues that aren't even our knots.  I had been worrying and stewing over some issues this summer that really aren't even my knots.  I don't know who I think I am, that I want to take on that burden!  It's been really freeing to begin to learn to let that go, to turn it over to Jesus "the Master at untying knots" and to realize my control-freak tendencies are really not God-glorifying but rather idolatrous as I'm relying on self instead of on Him.

What perfect timing for these lessons!

I'm including these pictures because they are just a fun memory of how incredibly hard Marcy and I can laugh together.  A friend of hers had recommended this restaurant as a fun place to eat.  Well, it might have been fun if we were about 8 years old!  The organ music was so loud we couldn't carry on a conversation, the lights were obnoxious, the atmosphere was annoying, the service was non-existent, and the food was sub-par--just "ok".  But oh, how we giggled over this recommendation (for which we had driven out of our way and through construction).

Beth will be speaking again in Omaha next April--we had better get that on our calendar!

In Search of a Help Meet

In Search Of A Help Meet: A Guide for Men Looking for the Right One by Michael Pearl

I was pleasantly surprised.

A friend loaned this book to me and I have now ordered a copy for Destry.  I like Pearl's blunt voice, although sometimes he is a little crude and that raises my eyebrows in surprise (really?  horny?  a married woman dressing "fit-to-be-bred"?  It didn't offend me, and I really don't think I'm a prude, it just surprised me a little. It seems like there was another one that raised my eyebrows, but I'm not remembering it now.).  Overall, however, I think his "command man", to-the-point voice is appropriate for young men.  It seems men can say things to other men that women just can't get away with.  I even like the way he occasionally said things to the effect that he's wasting his words on many of the young men out there who won't have their priorities straight.  I think it could make a young man determine not to be one of the "punks" that Pearl is writing off.

I really like the way he counsels a young man in seeking a wife.  He encourages him to seek the Lord first, to seek many counselors, and ultimately to accept responsibility to love the one he chooses.  He realizes that anyone else arranging a marriage is just not as likely to work.  I like the way he reminds a young man that he is not perfect himself, and he is likely to attract a girl of a similar standard (so work on yourself and your relationship with the Lord first).

I think my favorite aspect of the book is the "time to consider" at the end of each chapter.  I'm hoping Destry will take these seriously.  I also found it interesting that it includes a Bible study for a young man to lead a prospective wife through at the end.

His thoughts on divorce are particularly good.  Sadly, some of his commentary brought specific couples to my mind, particularly the following:  "Divorce never just happens; it comes in increments, daily making decisions to love one's self and protect one's pride rather than love as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. . .(that couple) has been actively hating each other, baiting each other, and living so as to cause grief instead of glory" (138).

Alan has started this and is planning to read it with Destry, and I have to admit I am looking forward to some of the conversations even Alan and I will have from the topics in the book.

A New School Year

It's that time of year again, time for school to begin.  This year Briana is a nursing student, Destry is a senior, Easton is in third grade, Kiana is in second, Tyrell is in kindergarten, and Aryana is "into everything".

I knew it was going to be a busy (read:  challenging) year, so I've been doing all I could think of to get ready and set us up for a successful year.  In addition to lesson planning, I made schedules for everyone and hung them on the wall, created a list of quick and easy lunch ideas, and even cooked up some hamburger, pork roast, and chicken breasts ahead of time.

Most importantly, I stocked up on Pepsi! ha!  Really, cubes were on an amazing sale (how timely, don't you think?).

I have some incredibly cute students this year, if I do say so myself.  One of the many reasons I enjoy homeschooling is because of the relationships it fosters.  My children get to learn how to work things out with one another and really are best friends (and some days, best enemies, but we won't get into that right now).

Easton has been very excited to study Spanish and he is catching on very well.  I finally invested in Rosetta Stone for him and for Destry to get his second year's credit.  Easton loves computers, so I'm not always sure if he loves Spanish itself, or the opportunity to work on the computer--and to wear the cool headphones!

Tyrell is loving learning how to read and melted my heart on our second day of school as he exuberantly cried "Mama, I LIKE learning!" at the conclusion of our day's reading lesson.  Oh how I hope I can nurture that love for learning throughout his childhood!

Briana, with her servant's heart and love for science, has discovered her niche in the nursing field.  She has completed her first CNA class (she plans to take the advanced course next month) and loved every minute of it.  I giggled at her final score of 99% as I remembered her disappointment the day she missed two questions on a test.

Destry has a full but interesting year planned with classes like anatomy and physiology, psychology, pre-calculus and of course the ubiquitous literature and music.  He has been invited as a guest speaker  in October for the 100th anniversary celebration at a congregation we used to meet with in Missouri, so he also has that to prepare.

Aryana is just as cute as she can be in her piggy tails these days, even as she is a force to be reckoned with.  Above she's pictured on our first day of school with the bag of brand new pencils.  She had a grand ole time using her teeth to pull the eraser out of every pencil and spit them on the floor.

Please excuse the screenshot above, but a friend texted me this picture of Easton with his friend at their Lego Robotics meeting and I didn't know how to remove the trappings of the screenshot.  (Hey, I only recently learned how to TAKE a screenshot--and I was QUITE pleased that I figured out how to cover my name and phone number.  Technology is not my gift!)  I'm still not 100% sure what this Lego Robotics thing is all about--Alan is taking him--but I do know that Easton is loving it.  Something about building robots with Legos, computer programming, and problem solving--right up his alley.

Kiana is SUPER excited for her homeschool tumbling class to start next Thursday.  Until then, we continue working on our other subjects.  I must insert here that I am happy that the Dianne Craft sightword cards are helping her with her reading.  I will never cease being amazed at the ways our brains work.  She is a right-brain learner and thus can "take a picture" of the card and store it in her brain.  I tried this for myself, but I see nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  It's not the way I learn, but I am grateful for others who have figured out ways to accommodate different learning styles to pave this path before us.

We now have eight days of school under our belts.  Six of them have gone well/as I planned.  The other two were pretty rough (and necessitated some editing of the schedules and perhaps a mama-retreat to the bathroom for prayer and a few tears).  But overall, we're off to a good start.  Full speed learning ahead!