This Pregnancy

I'm coming to the homestretch of this pregnancy. Only a few weeks left, depending on the Lord's timing. I don't gestate well- is that a proper phrase? Anyway, I have thus far been very sick the first half (or longer) of each pregnancy. When that's over, there are other things I deal with that make life uncomfortable. Right now, I just feel so pregnant. Its hard to move around in bed at night- but I can't stay in one position. Its hard to get up- but my bladder makes me. Its hard to stand too long, sit in one place too long, its hot...you see my point. (Oh, and the sickness has somehow crept back upon me- no fun!)

All that said, this has been my BEST pregnancy so far! I have enjoyed it more, gained less, and it has gone faster (so far). Since we are planning a home birth this time and I visit with a midwife, I haven't had stress that sometimes comes with doctors. Nothing against doctors- I love them! But I don't really want to see them unless I need help with an injury or illness. (God bless the doctor who stapled my son's head a few weeks ago!) We have had great memorable experiences with the births of each of our previous children. But I hope to avoid the few stressful situations and needless interventions we did come across. I'm looking forward to being in this comfortable, familiar place. I don't feel like I have a sickness that needs to be resolved, I have a baby- and many others have been pregnant before me. I'm praying that there will not be any complications that merit a visit to the hospital.

A few random things about this pregnancy...

...I have wanted watermelon and fried chicken for most of this pregnancy- neither of which I have had very much of- I can't seem to buy a good watermelon! This baby seems to move more than I remember the others moving. The suspense of not knowing if we have a boy or a girl is exciting and makes me even more eager for the day. (Husband doesn't think he'll know how to raise a girl but I'm so outnumbered, I think it might be nice.) The boys all like to hug, talk, poke and feel my tummy. I sometimes put a book on it when the baby is moving around and we watch the book move all around. While writing, I often have to erase mistakes caused by sudden jolts of movement to my notebook. The boys have been able to hear the heartbeat when my midwife has checked it the last few times. 6yo is excited- he often sits patiently to feel the baby kick, offers name ideas, and plans what he will do with the new baby. 4yo is happy, he mostly feels my tummy for a few seconds to humor me, but the other day he actually realized the baby was moving and got interested. 2yo pats at my tummy and says baby. I cannot wait to hold this bundle in my arms! (But, I will happily wait so he or she is fully developed!)

Sweet Corn and Sweet Friends

Two weeks ago, a friend called us to offer some sweet corn they had grown. My husband and I planned to pick some to prepare and freeze to have some yummy corn on hand. Well, after thinking about all we had going on those next two days, we realized it would not work out and the corn would go to waist here if we picked it...

When a friend called me a said her and some others were thinking about getting together to freeze some corn two days later, I was all for it! Not only could we get more done working together, but its always fun to do something together with friends. I got there a little late and they had already shucked it and started boiling it. As we worked, I should have put two and two together...

We filled baggies with corn and cleaned up our mess before I heard someone say it was all for my family! They tricked me into letting them give up their time (and corn) to do all that work for me. Okay, maybe trick isn't the right word for it because I was sure blessed by it. And because I was the one who received the favor. And because I'm definitely not going to complain about it. Each of them had already spent much time working on corn for her own family. Then, they came and did it for mine.

I was baking with a mom and her daughters once who were making sandwiches for lunch. The mom said, "Would you make me one? And then I'll make yours." I was a little confused as to why, if she was going to make a sandwich, why not make her own. She explained that it just tastes better when you make it for each other. I think this corn just tastes better because it was done with the hands of three servant- hearted friends.

Last weekend I got to go to a two day curriculum seminar for Spell to Write and Read. It is my favorite find for homeschooling so far. I have found many neat curriculum and fun ideas, but this is one that I'm sure I will hold on to through all our homeschooling years. It is a teacher friendly version of Writing Road to Reading. It can be used for homeschooling or in a classroom. I like that the author (Wanda Sanseri) is a Christian and she incorporates the Bible and literature with value if you choose to use it.

This review explains the program much better than I could:

http://thehomeschoolmagazine.com/Homeschool_Reviews/reviews.php?rid=598

And here is the Spell to Write and Read website:

http://www.bhibooks.net/home.html

Because it is very thorough, I've had to read through the book 3 times over the past year and a half to feel confident teaching it. I also attended the seminar which helped me. Now, there is a new DVD I'm guessing is a big help ( HIDDEN SECRETS TO LANGUAGE SUCCESS: VOLUMES 1 & 2). Its not a program that students can do independently and it does take an investment of time, but I like it a great deal. It seemed overwhelming to me at first, but I just jumped in and started teaching it. My son has not been confused one time (so far). The curriculum makes sense of our crazy written language! Him and I both enjoy having a better understanding.

I used this program with my 6yo for a few months so far with great results. This coming school year, we'll hit it full force and also begin at a preschool level with my 4yo who is looking forward to it. He's now able to sound out some basic words for fun and feels good about that. Its really nice that I don't have to buy new books for every student, or even every grade level. The basic kit is all I need (except a new Learning Log each year which is cheap) for K-12. Extras are optional, but it will be important to either invest in or find some good reading books at the library. She gives suggestions about reading materials.

No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

I went away for two days to attend a curriculum seminar. I knew my boys and husband would have a great time together, and they did. My timing for arriving home couldn't have been better. Just as I walked in the door I was summoned to the bathroom where my husband was holding a cloth to our 6yo son's head. He gave me a peek at it. OUCH! He had been jumping on our bed (after my husband had told him not to) and fell backwards onto the edge of our ceder chest.

We loaded up the family and headed fro the ER. The cut wasn't bleeding much by then, and 6yo seemed to be handling it well, so we had a long wait. Thank the Lord for Grandpa who came to take the younger boys so we could both concentrate on comforting 6yo. We did have such a long wait- understandably since there was a more serious injury they were attending to.

Finally after cleaning the gash and pouring on something to numb the surface...and more waiting...the doctor put seven painful staples in his head. He squeezed my husband's hand as hard as he could, and there were some tears, but made it through. He's a tough boy. We spent plenty of our time waiting discussing how God is our strength and thanking Him that it wasn't worse. 6yo also really enjoyed hearing the story of Ezekiel and the dry bones. He especially liked hearing the alternative endings my husband would make up before finally telling it right. There is not always laughter in the ER rooms, but we were blessed to have it.

Okay so back to a previous statement, maybe I COULD have planned my homecoming time better had I gotten there before he decided to jump on the bed. But you can't dwell on maybe's. I'm just thankful the Lord was there.

Family Devotions

I thought I'd share how the Lord has blessed us with a helpful resource for family devotions. We visited a church on our last vacation (to Texas). We found that they encouraged what they called Family Alter Study Time. They offered a free printable "curriculum" that each family could follow throughout the week at home. The Scriptures and topics coincided with the topic for the following church service.



We decided to use those plans they had already so thoughtfully put together for our own use. Since my husband is the preacher at our little church, he is able to adjust a FAST to fit the topic for the week and add/change things if need be. Then, he can offer them to the families in our church who are interested in participating. (However, I would find it useful for our family even if we didn't do it as a church.) Since the focus for a week is not too broad and we cover the same passages most days, we get a good grasp on it. When Sunday rolls around and the children (and adults) who have studied it hear about it in the message, they perk up and are able to answer questions and get involved.



It has been a major support for our family because it is a simple plan for the whole week. It is something we can really stick to. If we fall behind it is not difficult to jump right back in. We like to do our family alter study time just before bedtime. But, we can adjust and do it during dinner if we know there are other things happening. We've even rarely done it in the car while traveling. It is a fairly short, but meaningful time for us to hear from God's Word as a family, hide it in our hearts- and to do it consistently.

My husband chooses a memory verse to add the the FAST each week. We have this old barber's station in our living room that had a scratched up mirror. I scraped it and painted it gray, and got very tired of looking at the blank piece of glass for years. Then, I realized I could write on it with white board markers! So that is where I write our weekly verses- it has helped ME tremendously in memorizing them.

So, here is the link if you are interested in looking at the FAST plans. Happy family devotions.

http://www.fairparkbaptist.org/FAST/FAST.html

"Famous for the Fourth"

Well, we had another big 4th of July celebration here in our little town. It prides itself on the carnival, activities, parade and fireworks. We can't really ignore it because it all occurs within a couple blocks of our house, we can see it from our window and hear it at night. Excitement builds up for the boys when its approaching. 6yo has been waiting for the city to hang the American flags on all the streetlights for weeks- that was his sign that the festivities would soon be here. Today, they took them down and 4yo almost cried.

We watched the parade (after church) and let the boys ride a couple rides (the night before). Mostly, we visited here at the house with a few relatives who were in town.

Our yard is a convenient place to watch the fireworks display, so we had snacks for whoever wanted to join us. This year it started to rain just in time for the fireworks, so many watched from the garage and some got soaked. After all the excitement- we all slept very late the next morning!