My kids spent the day with their grandparents, so I missed hanging out with them after school. Tonight, they were all being extremely nice to me. I thought it was maybe because they’d missed me.

My son asked for hot chocolate, so I said I’d make him some, and he said, “Well, that’s great if you can make me some, but if you can’t that’s OK too.” Then he thanked me about five times after I popped a mug filled with cocoa and milk in the microwave.

Um … you’re welcome. Really, it’s not that big of a hardship.

Later, my girls kept thanking me for little things, and then as I kissed both of them good-night they said, “Thank you for being a nice mama, Mama.”

My heart was so FULL … until my oldest daughter said, “Our chapel teacher told us to say that. Today our chapel was about contentment and they told us to stop whining so much and to tell our parents how thankful we are for them.”

OH!!!!! Did I tell you today how much I love their school? Oh, maybe that was yesterday.

Consumerism is the god of America’s children. Cultivating contentment is the response. When we are discontent, we are not grumbling about our circumstances, per se. We are actually grumbling, raising our fists against God. Who owns it all? Who provides for our every need? When we complain and practice discontentment, we tell God that He is not sufficient.

Amy and I emailed a few times last month as she and her family are looking to buy some land and relocate. They briefly considered our area in Georgia, but I read today they’ve narrowed it down to Tennessee or Kentucky.

Bummer. I guess I need to keep practicing contentment that one day I’ll have a blogger friend who lives nearby. 🙂

Yesterday, my fifth-grade son asked if he could spend the night with one of his classmates Friday night. “It’s his birthday,” he told me. “And he’s invited all the boys in the class.”

A few years ago, I would have told him no, we don’t do spend-the-night parties. That’s what my husband and I had decided when the future was hypothetical, and we imagined all sorts of nightmarish things for our precious little boy.

Well, we’ve changed our thinking. That’s part of parenting — not being legalistic about things. Instead of making rules that can’t be broken, you have to pray about everything, and pray that you’ll be obedient to God.

He goes to a Christian school this year, and there are four boys in his class. We know all the families of these boys; we cheered on the sidelines together for flag football, and now we’re cheering on the sidelines together for Upward basketball. We know where they go to church; we’ve visited their homes.

So I told him yes — but that doesn’t mean I won’t pray about it. The main concern I have is materialism. We are STILL the only family around who doesn’t own a single video game. My husband doesn’t see the point in having kids stare at flashy pictures on a TV screen that will make them long to sit inside instead of going outdoors to play basketball or run around in the fresh air.

This morning, I told my son, “We wouldn’t let you go to __’s house if we didn’t know his family well.”

“Why not?” he asked me.

“Because, well, they might let you watch a movie that wouldn’t be good for your mind. Like something that’s rated R.”

“What does rated R mean?”

“It’s something that could be violent,” I explained. “Or something that could have adult stuff in it that’s not good for you. The Bible tells us to think on those things that are excellent, things that are pure.”

Here’s where I see the hugest difference in public school and even our homeschool (the way we did it). At their private Christian school, they’re memorizing HUGE passages of scripture in the lovely King James version of the Bible. They say these scriptures every day out loud, in unision, over and over again. There’s something to be said for being with a group of people when you repeat scriptures out loud together.

“That sounds like what we learned in Philippians 4:8,” he said. And he quoted this to me, verbatim, after breakfast, while he dribbled a basketball in the kitchen.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Thank you Lord that our children are going to a good Christian school this year! They’re encouraging even me to search the Scriptures and find YOU, find YOUR best plan for our family. Please continue to protect their minds and hearts so they can enjoy a few more years of the innocence of childhood. And then give them the weapons they will need to fight the Good Fight in the years to come.

I tell ya, there’s Power in the Word!

P.S. In case our kids’ grandparents are reading this, thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re impacting the next generation through blessing your grandchildren with the gift of Christian education! We couldn’t do it without you unless I went to work outside of the home!

A couple of days ago, one of my college roommates called after she received my Christmas card. The years melted away as we caught up. The day before that, I talked to another one of my best college friends, trying to track down her snail mail address. In both of these conversations, I admitted something I haven’t talked about here at all.

I want to teach English again … someday.

There. I’ve said it!

It seems to be a trend among my friends that as our kids get older and start school, we are either becoming homeschool moms or we’re heading back to the work force. Both are full-time jobs that require enormous amounts of creativity.

My true passions are literature and writing. With a good book to read and a notebook to jot down one’s thoughts, life is more than bearable; it becomes joyful! I haven’t taught formally since the 1995-96 school year, when I taught sophomore and senior English in a public high school. It was exhausting, but richly rewarding.

Since our kids have entered the Christian school system, I’m now partial to the wonderful Christ-centered education they’re receiving. Yet I know tuition only increases as children get older. So I’m dreaming that one day, maybe my reading/writing/blogging decade can help land me a teaching job that would help pay private school tuition for my kids to go to a really great school. The grandparents have been so generous this year … but how in the world will we manage when we have all five kids in school?

With that said, I’m starting to collect books on teaching writing, and I’ve just found another wonderful book on the subject. The Train-of-Thought Writing Method by Kathi Macias offers the perfect analogy that demystifies the process of writing an article, short story, or longer work of fiction or non-fiction.

I can relate to trains. My two sons are both crazy about trains, and I’ve read them books about trains hundreds of times. Macias instructs writers to first begin “laying the track,” which means to write out one sentence that describes the heart of the work. Then you must have a “cow catcher,” something that will grab the reader’s attention and invite them along for the train ride.

Other aspects of the writing process include the locomotive (purpose, pulling the story along), the boxcars, the couplers, the observation car, and the caboose. Macias includes plenty of examples from her own writing, as well as other well-known authors, such as C.S. Lewis.

I’m really excited about owning this book, which can be used by a teacher like a workbook. Each chapter would make a nice weekly lesson, in which students can be instructed to work on a piece in process. Throughout the book, Kathi Macias’ can-do tone makes anyone feel like tackling a long writing project is not insurmountable.

I especially enjoyed the author’s example of being invited to speak at her old high school on the topic of writing. She was a nervous wreck about her first public speaking assignment! Yet it was a springboard for her lifetime career of helping others become better writers.

The author is an award-winning writer who has authored or coauthored fifteen books, including the popular Matthews and Matthews detective series from B&H (Obsession, The Price, and The Ransom) and the bestselling women’s devotional, A Moment a Day from Regal Books. She has also edited, rewritten, or ghostwritten more than 100 other books and published a wide variety of articles, short stories, and poems. She also serves as a staff member of a major manuscript critique service.

With these credentials, Kathi Macias has a great background for writing a book using the train-of-thought method to help new and established writers accomplish their goals of publishing.

I highly recommend this book and am glad to have it on my bookshelf. Not only will it help me to work on my personal writing projects, I also dream that someday … if God opens the door … I’ll be able to incorporate it in my classroom.

Wherever that may be.

Wow. Thank you so much for your compliments on my home. I should have invited you in a year ago, and I would have felt a lot better about myself.

It’s amazing what a few cleverly angled shots can do for a gal’s self-confidence. (Notice: you did NOT see my basement or laundry room. Those areas are messy projects in process. Um, for about three years now.)

I have to thank Alyice Edrich of The Dabbling Mum Magazine for inspiring me to try using our digital camera. If you’ve not visited her DM Writes blog lately, she is starting a new journey in photography, and I’m tagging along for the ride. Her husband bought her a snazzy new (incredible) camera, and she’s learning how to use it and sharing what she learns. Her post, Develop, Print, and Share Photographs, explained all the basics for me!

I still don’t understand the mysterious process of how the pictures go from our camera to the computer. My husband does this — and I’ve learned not to ask stupid questions, like “How’d you do that?” because then my loss of brain cells from full-time mothering the last decade becomes all-too apparent. I just don’t get it. If I touch it, it will crash.

I had never even HEARD of digital scrapbook pages until I read in Scribblings by Blair that she was selling her old scrapbook stuff so she could convert her scrapbooks to digital. Huh? Then I read more about this in DM Writes. So, now I’m … thankful that I’m several YEARS behind in my scrapbooking because I’m sure I’ll jump on this digital bandwagon with glee once I figure it out. I never did like putting tape on the back of pictures to stick them in archive-safe pages. (It bends the pictures if you ever decide to pull one out of your scrapbook to put in a frame.)

But I digress.

This is a post about last-minute Christmas shopping! Which officially begins today, with six days before Christmas — and most of us with our kids home from school! I just discovered that Hobby Lobby has permanent 40% off coupons if you go here and print them off. So you never have to go in that store without a coupon. Hobby Lobby has GREAT craft kits for kids — giving us moms hours of quiet!

This morning I finished up my BOOK shopping! Don’t you know I would have a ton of books to buy? I love supporting our local independent bookstore in town, but this year I just can’t do it. I can’t take the kids into a store full of breakable knick-knacks so I can browse. And the nearest Borders is an hour away. Not good. So I’ve done my book shopping on-line this year.

I ordered several books from Amazon for each of my elementary-age children — the classics I loved as a child, as well as some of the newer ones that have won awards. One thing I’ve missed at the kids’ Christian school this year is a school library — the school is too small to have one. So we go to the public library, which is always stressful when you bring toddlers who SPEAK IN ALL CAPS. And then I have to keep up with the books and make sure they’re returned on time.

Last year in public school, my son went to the library every day on his own. As soon as he finished a book and took his AR test, he’d go back and get another. (Two hours of reading for a Hardy Boys novel, four hours for a Narnia book, he said.)

All that to say, if you want to order books this year for Christmas presents, now’s the time. To see my Christmas recommendations, check out my December Book Buzz column at Christian Women Online — or read some thoughtful reviews at Christian Book Previews. I always get a little spooked at Amazon — I pick out a book, and then the site recommends a few other books that are PERFECT. Eery.

Definitely beats last-minute browsing in a store full of breakables with toddlers.

Does anyone have any advice on where to find a good set of encyclopedias? Of course, we’d like to buy them used — but I don’t want anything older than 2003 or 2004. The more recent, the better. We’ve been looking at World Book and Encyclopedia Britannica. Whoa…they’re expensive!

Our kids have all had research projects lately — specifically, science projects. While the internet has tons of information, we have to monitor them while they’re surfing (unfortunately), and we’d love to let them have at it on their own with encyclopedias. Plus, we’d like to know their research comes from reliable sources. (I’m also thinking this would be helpful for me writing children’s books and articles!)

Some of my husband’s favorite books growing up were his family’s set of encyclopedias — he loved browsing. You look up one subject, and you end up discovering tons of other things. I guess that’s what made him so smart. (Well, he does have his doctorate!) 😉

If any of you out there have recently bought a set of encyclopedias for a good price, where did you find them? We’re hoping to have these shipped to us by Christmas!

[Edit: We found a good price on a 2005 used World Book set. Fingers crossed it will arrive in time for Christmas.]

The blogosphere is still reeling from Spunky (Karen Braun)’s announcement on Tuesday that she’ll no longer be blogging at Spunky Homeschool. She has built a loyal readership of homeschoolers and others who enjoy her inspiring faith and wisdom. Her popular blog was recently chosen a finalist in the “Best Education Blog” category of the 2006 Weblog Awards.

Karen is one of the best researchers and writers I’ve ever come in contact with, and I hope she’ll continue writing in some other capacity.

Her last post, titled See Ya ‘Round, explains a little of why she’s decided to stop blogging for now. She says:

Please accept as I have, that at times it’s necessary to end one activity and move on in order to continue to walk with the Lord and in His ways.

That’s all. There isn’t a reason for leaving, but a calling to go forward. What that is will unfold as I obey and take the first step in leaving this behind. Is that being secretive? No. It’s telling the truth as I always do. If there were more to tell I would tell it. You deserve that from me.

We’ll certainly miss Spunky. I’ve gotten to know her as a fellow reviewer for Active Christian Media. I wish her the best in life — and look forward to reading one of her books one day. If you’ve enjoyed Spunky Homeschooling, I hope you’ll click over and leave her a comment. She says she’ll keep her archives up for future reference.

Karen, along with her husband Steve and their six children, specialize in living history presentations of the Civil War time period. They also conduct a variety of workshops through their business, Liberty Family Resources. I read on their website that Steve has an extremely popular military drill for ages 10 and up. The site says:

It’s the perfect history lesson for any homeschool support group, private or public school, or church youth event. We bring Civil War history to life! Join us for the fun — leave with a new appreciation for the sacrifices of our ancestors.

If I lived somewhere closer to Michigan, I’d love to see their presentation! You can see some beautiful pictures of the Braun family here.

Well! Here’s some exciting news for ya.

I’ve been clicking around the NaNoWriMo site, hemming and hawing about whether I’ll actually get up the nerve to join in the fun. You can sign up now, though the gates won’t open for you to start writing your 50,000-word novel until November 1.

But I discovered the coolest thing — this year, there’s a program for kids! How’s that for a dream assignment for English teachers? If I were in the classroom, I think I’d probably pick my best and brightest students and tell them about this. And of course if I were homeschooling, my kids would have no choice. heh.

Can you imagine how much that would rock your confidence if you wrote your first novel at 13? Yeah, baby. Look out New York City. That would definitely be a better way to spend your time than watching TV or playing video games — almost as good as getting outside and exercising. Balance is good. And for you adults reading this, wouldn’t you love to have a copy of a novel YOU wrote at 13? Or 16?

If you’re interested, click over to the NaNoWriMo Young Writer’s Program and see how you can get your teacher’s kit, full of “goodies and incentives to get your students writing.”

When my kids are older, maybe we can all do this as a family. Wouldn’t that be fun? All of us, pulling our hair out over plots, characters, dialogue — at the same time! Then we could have a family reading. Hmmm…I’m getting all kinds of ideas here.

Now, back to my hemming and hawing about whether I will actually sign up myself …

Our Carnival of Beauty topic this week is “The Beauty of My Life,” hosted by Sallie of Two Talent Living.

Since so much of my life right now revolves around my family and our children’s schooling, I thought it would be appropriate to share with you our educational journey.

It’s funny how the topics that interest me as a parent have changed over the years. Before I had children, there were ISSUES that I thought were truly life-and-death matters. Can you relate?

During pregnancy, I discussed with great passion these topics: will I use a midwife or doctor? Have a homebirth or hospital birth? Prepare for natural labor, epidural, or C-section? Breastfeed or bottle? Feed on demand or feed on a schedule?

Next, I headed into the baby development milestones and toddler years, which is where I still am with some of my children: bedtimes and discipline, what to eat and when, potty training, breaking habits like pacifiers or thumb-sucking, early educational ideas, etc.

Now, I’m deep in the trenches of this issue: how to educate our children. This is a HUGE topic of course — as it covers the ages of at least 3 to 18 for each child. Will we homeschool? Send them to a private school? Send them to a public school?

These are the years we have to do something … to make sure our children are raised to grow in wisdom which comes from fear of the Lord — and also to have the skills and knowledge they’ll need to get along on their own someday.

It used to be easy. There were fewer options. People let their kids all walk to the same school, which was down the street. Now the vast array of options is overwhelming.

Several people have asked me lately about why we homeschooled, and why we’re not now. Well, I don’t want to go into all that in such a public forum, so I’ll just say a few things. From the day our first child was born, I was drawn to homeschooling. I was surrounded by wise, godly families in our church and neighborhood who homeschooled. I hung out in their homes and knew that’s what I wanted for our family.

I read a million books about homeschooling. Well, not a million. But several dozen at least. I went to conferences when our oldest was only four years old! We joined a great local support group, and I went to all the meetings. So, we homeschooled for three wonderful years. But then I needed a break. I’ll spare you the details, but I had a lot of stress going on in my life, and I needed someone to help me out during school hours. The Proverbs 31 woman didn’t do it all either, you see. Our best option was public school, unless I went to work full-time to earn private school tuition, which we didn’t want me to have to do.

Our kids have wonderful teachers, many of whom read my blog, and I’m so appreciative of their sincere commitment to love our children and be a light in the world. I know many of them have strong Christian faith and do the best they can within the parameters of the system to teach our children God’s ways.

Yet … we still take things year by year. Child by child. I miss so many things about pouring my time and energy into homeschooling, and I miss being part of our homeschool group. I really, really, really want our children to have time to take music lessons and play instruments … and I love the Sonlight curriculum. But home educating is a consuming full-time job for me. If we ever did go back to it, I know without a doubt that I would not have time to do any writing from home. And maybe that would be fine. I’ve so enjoyed all the online friendships I’ve made in the past couple of years and working with editors and other writers … but we may be entering another season of change. I don’t know.

I try to think long-term, surround myself with positive people, and take it all step by step. That’s what we do every year. I have a ton more to say, but I’d rather not say it all here in my blog.

Raising children who want to serve God is a serious calling, one that takes constant thought and prayer. As parents, we want to do all we can … but ultimately we have to leave the results up to God and pray for His blessings upon our educational journey.