Taking Advantage of Where I Am

Why is it that I have a tendency to not appreciate where I am in life?  I don't mean where I fit in socioeconomically or geographically.  I'm talking about appreciating where God has placed me at any given time. 

When I look back over the past decade, I'm grateful that I did take advantage of some of those years and chapters.  In college, for example, when I didn't go live-up the "normal" college experience, I stayed home and worked, served in church, went to Bible studies, volunteered with a youth group, taught piano, babysat families regularly, and spent my free time with my boyfriend (who is now Dear Husband).  I don't have those insane college memories of dorm life or Greek parties.  And I don't have tons of college friends with whom I keep up and Facebook (see I don't need FB!).  Instead, I have some close friendships that I developed during that period, some skills that I could have only obtained while working and serving during that period, and a spiritual life that grew exponentially during that time.  Best of all, I have no regrets.

That said, I can't say that about every year of my life during the past decade.  I have missed out on some huge opportunities where I should have asked God to use me.  I have missed out on developing friendships because I've been too busy.  And I just got too caught up with where I was going to realize that God had opportunities for me right then and there.  I feel like it's taken me so long to realize that I don't have to make some earth-shattering alterations to my life in order to serve others and share Jesus with them.  Practically speaking, I'm not really in a position where I can make earth-shattering changes anyway.  I'm a housewife who works from home and a Mom who has dedicated the next decade of my life to homeschooling.  I keep reminding myself that just like in college, I need to take advantage of "these years" of my life.

As a mom it can be hard to live in the here and now.  Don't get me wrong, we live in the here and now by all the things we do.  But we forget that in the context of the diapers and the cleaning, there are opportunities to be useful.  I may not get to be a part of the ladies Bible studies at church (childcare would be helpful people!), but I'm starting to see the things that I can do.  Things like make my home available for a small group meeting.  Why not me?  I'm  home and actually have the time to make my house presentable.  Or I can use the phone to call people at church who haven't been visible for a few weeks.  Using the phone is easy for someone who is already at home.  (Assuming that people on the other end don't mind hearing train sounds and X-box games in the background.)  Or I can drag my kids to music practice like everybody else does and be a part of the praise and worship at church each Sunday.  There are opportunities there.  I just have to make myself willing and aware.

I've been really impressed by a young couple at church who are taking full advantage of their current life situation in order to do something useful for God.  This recently-graduated-from-college and not-yet-engaged couple left last week to spend 3 months in Africa.  It's the kind of thing that is hard to do once you're married and have to fully support yourself.  And it's the almost impossible thing to do once you have kids.  But it's the perfect opportunity to go love on people when you're not so tied down to life.  I've been enjoying reading their stories from Kenya every morning.  Reading about their excitement and joy has been a huge encouragement and kick in the pants for me.  Ricky and Katie are truly taking advantage of this time in their lives.  I'm so happy for them and look forward to seeing what God has in store for their next few months.  To follow their story, click on this link http://ayearofsummer.com/ or follow them via the A Year of Summer from my blog list on the right of my blog. 

Up She Goes!

I decided to allow Baby G to have some freedom this morning while I cleaned the kitchen and went about my Mommy business.  I figured that if all the downstairs doors were closed then she was pretty much contained in the main dining/living/kitchen area of our house where I could see her.  But then I made a discovery.

At this point I figured that she was stuck.  She's NEVER climbed the stairs before, and I thought that surely she couldn't get past the huge curve in our staircase, right? Oh I was soooo wrong! Baby G is apparently a fearless and strong girl.  Because this is what happened next.

I promise that I didn't even touch her as she climbed all the way to the top.  Not a bad feat for a little girl who turns 10 months tomorrow!  And just for reference, she climbed this...

Guess it's time to think about doing some serious baby proofing.

School Days Are Here

It occurred to me last week that other than college, this might possibly be my one chance to witness my son heading out for his first day of school.  Somehow, I'm not sure the pictures of him sitting at our table homeschooling next fall will be quite as exciting or emotional as this picture posted above.  He insisted that he was smiling when I took this picture, but he looks like he's scared to death.

Last week was my son's first day of Museum School.  Technically it's classified (and licensed) as a preschool.  But since the classes only meet for 2 hours a week and since the curriculum has been created as a science and history enrichment program, calling this school a preschool doesn't really describe what goes on.  Hopefully, our little guy will be in for a treat this year as his class explores animals, outer space, Texas and Native American History, simple machines, and cowboys--yes, it's only natural that a class in Fort Worth will teach about cowboys during the Stock Show!   The goal of the program is to expose the preschool-age children to science and history in ways that they can't experience in a typical classroom.  So while it might technically be a preschool, Museum school seems more like a year-long science camp.

Museum school sounds like a homeschool parent's dream, right?  Absolutely!  Apparently it was so popular with homeschoolers that the Museum now has special Friday classes for k-12 homeschoolers.  Somehow I'm thinking that last week marked the beginning of a long-term relationship that my family will be having with the Museum.  (Oh, and next month the Curious George exhibit will be here--this seems like a sign!)

Anyway, I didn't cry last Thursday.  Instead I felt really old knowing that my oldest baby is old enough for school.  Thankfully, I realized that I was also really excited for our family to be taking our first step into the wonderful world of formal education!

The Kick-off to Fall

We officially kicked-off our fall "season" last week by attending our first SMU football game of the year.  I must confess that at 104 degrees it didn't really feel like fall, but since our season tickets go through December we're sure that the fall weather will show up sometime mid season.  After all, experiencing fall and football is about a lot more than just the temperature.  There's just something exciting about the half mile of tailgating (at SMU it's Boulevarding), the smell of hamburgers and hotdogs that drift through campus, everyone decked out in their seasonal white dresses and cowboy boots, the band playing the fight song after every first down, and the fireworks that go off after every touchdown. 

Something about the start of college football makes us feel like Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner!  Gotta love this time of year.

He's Not Little Any More

When he was 1!

 Yesterday was a day of mixed emotions.  I was a little sad when I got out of bed and realized that it could have been my oldest child's first day of school.  It could have been the day I sent him off to a large elementary school a block away to spend the day with dozens of other kindergartners.  It could have been a major milestone marking the point in our little guy's life where mom and dad officially acknowledge that our baby is growing up.  It could have been so sad for Mommy!

Thankfully, that didn't happen yesterday. Knowing this gave me such a sense of relief and slight giddiness because my little posse of sandbox playing, football loving, railroad track building, messy little boys is intact for another year.  

Dear Husband and I have decided to hold out for one more year.  Our #1 is definitely capable of handling kindergarten, but since he's a boy who was born in July we decided to heed the advice of friends and educators who have suggested that we hold our son back.  Plus, having fall birthdays ourselves, Dear Husband and I are familiar with the advantages that come with being the older students in one's class.  So we've decided to give our little guy his best shot at success by starting school later.  And this way, we get an extra year to help save up for college (should he choose to go).

The day he turned 5!

Today is a happy day.  My little boy still seems like a little boy.  He's already been in the sandbox.  He's played football with himself in the backyard (his newest obsession).  He's built a train track upstairs.  He's walked to Grandma's and begged for Mac N Cheese for lunch.  And later,  he'll take a nap.

I know my boys have to grow up.  Next year, we'll start a more structured routine.  Next year, we'll start using curriculum.  And next year, Mommy will start making lesson plans and grading papers.  Until then, Mommy wants her boys to play and have a fun time.  Can't believe my little guy is growing up so quickly. 

Can't Believe I'm Doing This...

I should have known this day would come.  At some point in their life, every child mimics their parent in some way.  I just wasn't expecting this.  Maybe in the long run it's not so bad.  Hopefully it will save me money...

I'm turning into my father, the you-must-always-turn-off-every-light-switch and don't-touch-the-thermostat  father that I used to laugh at.  For the life of me, I never understood why he made such a big deal about saving electricity.  But we recently got our first electric bill at our new house, and it was shocking!  Now I've found that I'm turning into must-find-ways-to-save-electricity mother!

To be fair, we knew our electricity rate was going to go up.  Our new house is almost twice the size of our old house and has dozens more lights.  Plus, we're no longer in the cheap county electrical co-op, and we actually had to shop for an electrical provider for this house.  Still, this house is extremely energy efficient, and with the cheapest rate we could find, we were a little surprised at our first 2- week electricity bill.  I'm sure that there were some extenuating circumstances (like the broken AC and the movers who left all doors open for 6 hours and the triple digit heat) that contributed to the first bill.  But regardless, I have put myself on a personal mission to save electricity.  

Now, I've made it a habit to check all the light switches in the house before I leave and at night.  I follow my children around during the day so that when they leave a room I can make sure nothing has been left "on."  I follow around my husband when he's home too.  I  also found the perfect way to crack all the blinds during the day so that natural light is all we need!  (I thought this was pretty genius myself.) And I'm doing my best to teach my family how to ration electricity.  It's frustrating though!  Why a 3 year old must flip every light switch to the "on" position when he gets out of bed every morning, I'll never know. I am, however, starting to understand why my Dad used to get so irritated when he would go upstairs and find me basking in the light of multiple lamps and light fixtures as I turned the upstairs into my own personal dressing suite every morning.  (I suppose, in hind site, it wasn't that funny.)

Maybe I'm slightly loco about this issue.  Maybe I just had a good electricity-saving role model in my life.  Maybe we just take after our parents whether we want to or not.  But I'm betting that my electrical bill looks a lot better next month!

Absolutely Nuts

People in California are absolutely nuts.  I know the landscape is beautiful, but the people seem to be missing brain mass.  Why else would they pass a law allowing transgender students the right to use whatever bathroom they choose?  This law has nothing to do with equality for transgender students and everything to do with "shoving it" in the faces of people who actually have morals and standards.  And once again, children are paying the price.

Equality is such a misconstrued concept these days.  Equality would mean that we either do away with gendered locker rooms entirely and just make it a free for all or that the school locker rooms are converted into miniature port-a-potty style units where everyone actually gets to maintain their own privacy.  Personally, I like option 2.  But there's nothing wrong with keeping the current status quo based on DNA.  This new law is not going to promote equality.  It's just going to continue to degrade society, create confusion, and pervert our youth.

I've got to say that "alternative schooling" is looking better and better these days.  I don't care if you homeschool, private school, charter school, unschool, TV school, or online school your kid.  At this point, any option is looking pretty good compared to leaving children in an environment controlled by half-brained pot smokers.  Okay, that's still illegal in the Lone Star State.  But once California does something, the rest of the country is not far behind.  Similar laws are already being considered in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Washington and Colorado. (For more info, see the Fox news report: Fox News Story.) 

The Not-So-Brainwashed Parent

The hardest thing about being a parent is making the decisions that are best for your own child.  As crazy as it sounds, there are plenty of children out there who are being raised based upon the influences of books, public opinion, the neighbor kids, government and media indoctrination, and "conventional wisdom." Too often, parents are brainwashed into believing that there is a right way to parent and wrong way.  These parents believe that everyone who raises their children differently are wrong. 

The brainwashed parents are the ones who give me tired-head.  They are the ones who would label me a bad parent because of the choices I've made in the way I'm raising my children.  It's true that I discipline, educate, feed, entertain, and engage my children differently than other parents around me.  But that's my business.  Please stop labeling me as a non-caring, non-aware parent. 

My husband and I have been very intentional in the decisions that we've made for our children.  Our priority for our children is their spiritual growth and exposure to God's Word, so all the other areas of parenting are secondary to us.  Our goal is to discipline our children in a biblical manner.  We want our children to be educated about God's world in such a way that they can be a godly influence on society.  Thus, they will be getting a Christian education--mostly likely in the home setting (have you seen the cost of private schools in Texas?!).  We also want our children to live godly lives that glorify God.  Thus, we are doing our best not to be pharisaical about the way we live, eat, and serve the community.  I know it's a novel idea, but instead of relying on self-help and parenting books, we want the Bible to be our main source of parenting guidance.

I don't expect other parents to make the same decisions for their children that we make.  Our decisions are based on our understanding of God's will for OUR lives, not theirs.  If they want to force-potty train their child at 12 months, eliminate hot dogs and bacon from their diets, start them in sporting or school activities before they can walk, teach them to be bilingual before they can read, send them to non-medical doctors, and solely rely on positive reinforcement for their behavior issues, then these parents should go for it.  God gave them children to raise.  So they should honor Him and do it in the best way that they know how. 

Parenting shouldn't be one huge guilt trip.  It should be an honorable role that we gladly assume.   Let us not forget that even parents were created to "glorify God and enjoy him forever."

He's Pretty Wonderful

My husband is wonderful.  I'm thinking about changing his blog name from Dear Husband to Mr. Wonderful.  To be honest, he thinks Dear Husband sounds cheesy and old fashion.  I personally don't think that there's anything wrong with being old fashion, but whatever.  If he likes Mr. Wonderful I am happy to oblige.  After all the work he did this weekend, I'll call him whatever he wants. 

My to-do list for the weekend really wasn't that long, but I feared it might take long to complete.  And I was right. 

The first project that we had was to remove a bush from our landscaping.  I'm not sure what kind of bush it was, but in my opinion, it belonged in the African Savannah rather than in my front yard.  It was wild and huge and when I attempted to prune it, the leaves would stick to my ankles like tendrils and slice my hands.  To make matters worse, the silly bush grew as if on steroids.  So I could either commit to destroying my hands once a month or remove the bush and plant something pretty and flowery.  So bye-bye ugly bush.  Mr. Wonderful and Fabulous Father (my dad) spent hours wrestling the crazy bush out of the ground.  But at last it's gone.

Once the bush had disappeared, the guys moved on to project #2: remove the weed cloths and add mulch to the flower beds.  Someone did an excellent job creating beautiful flower beds around my house.  The problem is that they never planted any flowers.  Instead, they  covered some weed cloth with enough mulch to hide the cloth, but not enough to keep the weeds from growing.  Thus, we had lots of green bushes with tons of green weeds to match growing in these beautifully designed flower beds.  It was atrocious.  In just 3 weeks I have pulled more weeds at this house than I ever pulled at my previous home during the 7 year period we lived there.  So, once again, Mr. Wonderful and Fabulous Father obliged and brought a truck load of mulch to fill out my flower beds.  I'm sure my parents had better things to do no Saturday, but their efforts are greatly appreciated.  I still don't have any flowers planted, but the weeds are finally gone.  Project 2 completed.

Next, I begged Mr. Wonderful to help me paint my office.  I knew that this task  would be harder for him than for me, because the walls in my office are too tall for me to do much.  Plus, Mr. Wonderful is the only person I know with a professionally precise hand.  Thus, he was the only person I wanted going near my crown molding.  As a result, he spent hours yesterday going up and down the ladder in my office in order to create a cozy workspace for me.  We still have a some curtains to hang and some items to add in order to finish off the room.  But Project 3 was completed.

Then, just because he's amazing, Mr. Wonderful got out his hammer and level last night and helped me hang pictures.  That was a huge surprise, because that task was NOT on my to-do list!  I can't tell you how impressed I am with the way Mr. Wonderful's projects turned out.  Thanks to his hard work, our house is starting to look like WE live in it.  I have no doubt that his muscles are sore from all the work this weekend.  And I'm sure he has a sun burn and bug bites to show off this morning too.  I just hope he knows how much I appreciate him.  I think he's pretty wonderful!

The August Mulligan

 
Is it really August already?  August 1st is officially the back-to-school season opener around here, which means that summer is on it's way out.  Well, in Texas we might feel summer for another 3 or 4 months, but in reality, August means that I can start pulling out my tall leather boots and fall "mom bag" and pretend that it is fall.  August is also time to stock up on our college game-day gear for the whole family, because college football is getting ready to take us by storm.  Pretty soon, Starbucks is also going to be getting in the spirit of things and will be bringing back pumpkin spice for my lattes.  And there's a good chance that Kohl's is getting their Christmas trees ready for display (they always seem to be on the extreme front end of the seasonal curve).  Thus, August 1st is the ultimate indicator that change is coming.

After being miserable and pregnant last year, I forgot how much I love fall and everything that comes with it!  Just thinking about mums on my front porch and fitting into my wool coat again is making me forget how quickly I started sweating on our walk today in our 100 degree heat (there's no "glistening" when it's triple digits outside.)  Something about the back-to-school season just gets me excited and jumpy. 

When I was in school (which was for most of my life up until 2 years ago), back-to-school time marked a fresh start.  It was better than New Year's, because it meant a new teacher, new clothes, new friends, new grades, and clean slate.  I've never been a fan of the New Year's resolution, but I've always enjoyed the "do-over" that I get every fall. 

I think us adults who don't ever really get a back-to-school, fresh start each fall need to give ourselves a mental break and a personal clean slate.  We need to give ourselves permission to take a mulligan and start over.  It might mean interrupting your work-out schedule that you haven't really been keeping and starting a new one.  Or it might mean starting a new Bible-reading plan because you never got yourself caught up after missing a few days on your previous plan.  Or it just mean sending some old clothes to Good Will and going shopping for yourself (doesn't every girl need back-to-school clothes every year!?).  I love starting over. 

So happy August!  I hope you find something fresh and new to celebrate over the next 31 days.