Speaking of Perching

Meet Derek and Odette - so named by my Swan Lake loving girls. We can't quite get a full identification from our bird book, it's not specific enough. Some type of finch to be sure. Derek is beautiful in his bright orange suit. Odette, a little more subtle, is striking nonetheless. They've taken up residence in one of our hanging baskets, but they also love to perch on our windows, when open. It only took one day for them to build their next, another to populate it with two eggs. The number is now up to four, but we're not sure when the last two appeared. It's been great fun to greet them throughout the day. Welcome new neighbors!

Mr. Waters got into the action too, putting up this luxury bird palace/feeder in the garden yesterday.

Here's Hoping

“Hope does not disappoint us.” Romans 5:5

What are you hoping for? At times, my hope list is long. Right now, it’s short: I’m just hoping for a little time to myself after the children go to bed!

What we hope for makes a huge difference in how we live. Are we hoping to get a promotion? Then we put lots of time and energy into our jobs. Are we hoping to finish a marathon? Then we pour ourselves into training and building endurance. Are we hoping to just to get through the day? Then we drink more coffee and persevere.

The problem, of course, is that the hopes of the world tend to disappoint. The promotion doesn’t solve our problems. The exciting marathon finish leaves us longing for a better time, a longer distance. The end of the day doesn’t bring the relief we had hoped it would.

The promise of Scripture is clear: hope in God does not disappoint. It always delivers, always satisfies, never fails. Sing with me, “My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’ blood and righteousness!” The rest is just sinking sand.

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chilliest land
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Emily Dickinson

Quotables

The children are loving Mozart: The Wonder Boy -- part of our Mozart and Monet summer. An unforeseen benefit has been their willingness to quote the young maestro's words. The girls love that out of love for his father, little Wolfgang said, "Next to God, Papa."

Last night, as my four year old was having a hard time falling asleep, she asked for some orange juice. Sucker that I am, I gave in to this request. When I returned with the aforementioned, after-teeth-have-been-brushed-beverage, she looked up at me and quipped, "Next to God, Mama." Best narration I ever did hear!

First Things First

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,

and all these things will be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33

Coffee and quiet. Those are the first things I need every morning. Believe me, it’s not pretty if I don’t get a little of both before the rest of the family wakes up. The whole day is thrown off if it’s not started right.

Of course it’s neither the coffee nor the quiet that gets me going in the morning. It’s the time spent seeking the kingdom of God. Just by making an attempt to meet him in the pre-dawn stillness, he blesses me with “all these things.”

Jesus never said, “find the kingdom of God.” He simply said, “seek it.” There are many mornings when I haven’t found anything at all. I can barely keep my eyes open and my thoughts focused on his word. But he blesses my intentions nonetheless and adds patience, love, joy, and countless other gifts to my day.

Mozart and Monet

It's Mozart and Monet at Living Waters this summer. We'll be using Mozart: The Wonder Boy as a read aloud, listening to the Story of Mozart in Words and Music, and coloring a few pictures of Mr. Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart from the Bellerophoron coloring book of great composers.

As for Monet, we'll do a picture study, rotating prints each month. I can't wait to decorate our learning room wall with these! I've ordered a Monet calendar and plan on cutting the paintings out for display and study. On the advice of Susan Andreason in A Charlotte Mason Companion, I will not offer much information about the man behind the paintings until the children have had a chance to really live with them for awhile and come to their own conclusions.

Fear Factor For Moms

A successful camping trip with the big kids despite severe thunderstorms, a flood watch, and tornado warnings. I was at home with the babies biting my fingernails. But our weather was much worse than theirs - they were about an hour and a half away - and the girls slept through it all!

Everything I Need to Know I Learned Homeschooling a Kindergartener

We did it! We managed to get through our first year of official homeschooling. Not only did Bobo get quite a bit accomplished, we all grew a little in wisdom and grace. The biggest surprises for me were how much I would love this thing called home education and how much I would learn.

• PATIENCE. I'm not a particularly patient person. I get anxious at stop lights, I finish other people's sentences more often than I'd like to admit, and sometimes (gasp) I even hurry my children along (Let's go, let's go, let's go!). Homeschooling has taught me to enjoy the journey. To stop once and in awhile and thank God for giving me this great privilege. To allow my children to be children.
  
  
• PERSEVERENCE. We're Charlotte Mason/Classical in our approach to learning. That means we spends lots of time reading great books and less time on seatwork. Somehow, more than one math book got completed, 2 copybooks, 3 McGuffey readers, and a spelling book to boot. Not to mention lots of history and science, which my daughter doesn't consider school because "they're so fun and we read them on the couch." Slow and steady may not always win the race, but it definitely gets the job done.
  
  
• PLAYFULNESS. Last week my daughter was singing her math facts as she did her worksheet. It probably took her twice the normal amount of time. I almost told her she'd get it done faster if she stopped singing. But then I came to my senses. Isn't this the reason we're homeschooling? So that she will enjoy learning, have fun in the process, and even whistle while she works? I started singing right along with her.
  

Patience, Perseverence, and Playfulness...That's all I really need to know. And I'm learning it right here at home. Thank you, Lord, for the joy and the privilege.

It Was Lost But Now Is Found!

"The Lord has done great things for us,

and we are filled with joy."

Psalm 126:3

I lost my watch this morning, somewhere between my house, the car, and the grocery store. Pulling in to church a few minutes later, I checked my wrist for the time, only to discover the watch was gone. It was gift from my husband for our tenth anniversary so I was more than a little concerned. After a frantic search, the friendly folks at the grocery’s courtesy counter placed it safely back in my hands.

There is always great joy when something that’s been lost is found again. Today was no different. But it was a watch. A beautiful watch that is deeply meaningful to me, but a watch nonetheless. Sometimes I need to be reminded just how attached I am to His gifts, rather than to Him.

“When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion, we were like men who dreamed” (Psalm 126:1). It was too good to be true! They had lost everything, now it was being found again. Those who witnessed it marveled and exclaimed: “the Lord has done great things for them” (Psalm 126:2).

He’s done great things for us too, and we are filled with joy.

Best Laid Plans

Inspired by Dawn, we were all set for our Ascension Day tea. Egg whites beaten to nice, stiff peaks, our "light as air" cookies were ready to be popped in the oven. My two year old was seated up on the counter, "helping."

"Mom, fire!"

Sure enough, through the oven window, I saw flames engulfing my oven. I swung the door open and found the problem. That same two year old, now so sweetly being Mom's Helper, had left at least 10 plastic plates in the oven -- yesterday. Ten! Plastic was literally dripping from the lower oven rack.

Needless to say, instead of tea time we had a massive clean up project on our hands. All was not lost: we still had a chance to talk about how when Jesus ascended into heaven he didn't leave us alone, without a helper. Even in the midst of the everyday messes, he sends the Holy Spirit to grant us love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, self control...

Did I mention PATIENCE?

Five Fat Files

Elizabeth George got me started on the Five Fat Files. It's nothing more than gathering info -- in one place -- on those subjects you're always coming back to. For a long time, especially during grad school, my files were mainly theological subjects. Now that I'm a wife and mom, they're a little more... practical.

A new one for me is SEWING. My daughters are constantly asking (a.k.a begging) to sew. A few of their favorite people - Mary and Laura Ingalls, Samantha Parker and Nellie O'Malley (American Girl Dolls) - are always working on their "samplers." At four and six, there's not a whole lot my girls can manage on their own. We've done all the projects for little hands we can find at Michael's. We've even unearthed my Tiny Tailor a few times and tried to remember how to thread it.

We think we're ready for the big leagues. Inspired by all the projects going on at Elizabeth's -- not to mention the amazing fabric they're using -- we're going to buy a real sewing machine.

Hopefully, soon we'll be posting a few projects!

72nd Carnival of Homeschooling...

is up at Palm Tree Pundit.

The Man of the Hour

Hubby has been busy, busy, busy! But the results are beautiful: a new playset for the children. The box promised, "build and play in one day." That's a bit of a stretch, to say the least. But it's done and the little ones LOVE it! Thank God for sun, swingsets, and a steadfast dad...

Happy Mother's Day

Breakfast in bed made by little hands, a no-bake cake later (made by Daddy's hands) and a gift certificate to Merry Maids! It doesn't get any better than this...