My New Necklace

I have a new necklace. It is a pink yarn "chain" with a key on the end. The key belongs to the new locking doorknob we put on our pantry door. The pantry holds all the "good" snacks. You know, chips, crackers, soft drinks, etc.... I've had a hard time enforcing many of our food rules, rules such as; one soft drink a day, only one snack between meals, eat at the table, and so on. I was constantly having to yell "Close the pantry door" from another room and my kids were constantly eating. I don't know how they got so food obsessed but it is time for the obsession to stop. Now I unlock the door only at snack and meal times. The change since the lock has been on is amazing. Just knowing that the door is locked seems to have helped the boys focus on things other than "let's see what is good to eat in the pantry."

Fat Tuesday

Yikes! It's Fat Tuesday already. I still haven't decided what to give up for Lent. It has been a tradition in our family, as it is in many families, to sacrifice something during Lent in remberance of the sacrifice Jesus made for us. The boys have decided to give up T.V. and Laine will give up snacks. I still don't know what to give up. It needs to be something that will cause me a good bit of discomfort. I'm thinking maybe I'll give up one of my favorite things, sleep. I'll get up an hour earlier each day. (Mason, who is reading over my shoulder and laughing, just told me that this would be impossible for me........no encouragement there.) That settles it, sleep it is. BTW, Chill still hasn't decided what he is giving up. Anyone else out there sacrificing something for Lent?

Happy Anniversary to the Man of My Dreams

11 years ago today I married the man of my dreams. I kid around alot, but you're the best husband any woman could want. Happy Anniversary Pappy B. I love you.

Shamgar's Fifteen Minutes of Fame

After Ehud, Shamgar son of Anath saved Israel. Shamgar killed six hundred Philistines with a sharp stick used to guide oxen.
Judges 3:31

Wow! The boys and I are reading through the Old Testament. Today was Judges 3. After discussing Othniel and Ehud I almost missed Shamgar. Mason, who always reads ahead, said "Whoa, mom, read the next verse." He was amazed at this feat performed by Shamgar, as he knows that Philistines were usually heavily armoured and armed military men.

Should You Shelter Your Kids?

The second most annoying question home schoolers are asked (the first being 'What about socialization') is 'Aren't you afraid you are sheltering your kids from real life?'. Check out this guys answer to the question 'Should you shelter your kids'.



http://branthansen.typepad.com/letters_from_kamp_krusty/



On a side note, I was amused at his statement about not caring if you homeschool your kids or not. He obviously gets the same response I do when people find out we homeschool. If they have kids of school age, they volunteer a list of reasons they don't homeschool. I find this amusing, as I NEVER say "we homeschool, why don't you?"

Happiness

Laine wrote this in her 10th grade Literature class during a freewriting assignment. I think it is worth sharing.

"Happiness is a decision. I'm learning how true that is. Happiness is not based on circumstances, or things, or other people. It is a choice made solely on yourself. I see evidence of this everyday by coming in contact with people better off than me who are miserable but also people worse off who truely enjoy every moment of life they are granted. The question I ask is "How?" How does one go about making this lifelong, lifealtering decision of happiness. If it depends on nothing then why is it so hard to make?"

I'm Baaaaack

I can't believe it's been so long since I last blogged. One of my New Year's Resolutions is to try to blog at least a couple of times a week. I'm awful at journaling so it would be nice to be able to look back at my blog and see what has happened to us over time.

So much has happened in the last 4 months. Anyway, we are now in the process of pulling the kids out of GVA/K12 (Georgia's newly approved virtual public school) and returning to traditional homeschooling. Bryan is changing jobs. My sister and her family are moving to North Carolina. This will be especially devastating to Eli, whose best friend is his nephew Tyler. Our church is moving. So much change in so little time. My head is spinning.