Not sitting at the computer much. It seems the blog has its seasons. Not that I don't have anything to write. I write in my head all day long!
We are on our own a lot more now that my husband is gone several nights a week with school. I'm trying to fill the kids' evenings with meaningful activities. We've recently finished the book The Magician's Nephew, by C.S. Lewis, because we're going to go see the play next month, Lord willing. We've also been out working in the vines like crazy, evening in the evenings, because we really have to get them staked before they grow crooked.
At the same time, we have 3 acres of concord grapes that we decided not to pay to get harvested as it was going to cost too much, more than we would have made. So we decided to give the grapes away to friends and family and have a u-pick for anyone else. Once in awhile I get these crazy ideas in the middle of the night or in the middle of a church service! Maybe it's the only time I'm quiet enough for the Lord to talk. I felt prompted to pick 10 baskets of grapes and then hand-deliver them to our closest neighbours.
All week long I had planned on doing this, but couldn't find time. We were in the vines so much and I just kept forgetting, but then when my husband left for work that night, I thought, "Now is the time." So I grabbed the kids, I told them what I had been feeling prompted to do. I reminded them that maybe, just maybe, God had moved us here to be a witness to these neighbours and that as we went around from house to house giving away grapes, it might just be a way to continue to make connections that could ultimately lead to divine appointments. Who knows?!
They seemed excited and even picked all the grapes for me. I took the younger four kids and we went in the car and started driving. Each visit led to really neat conversations. Each house had someone come out that was shocked to see us. Each house my kids acted a little kooky, so I'm not sure how great a witness we were, but nevertheless, it led to some funny conversations. I may actually have a few of them come by and pick again which could lead to more conversations, you never know! One visit even led to a nice cup of tea with a neighbour who is also a believer. Such an encouraging time! Makes me wonder why I don't do these kinds of things more often!
The grapes have also been a way to have other homeschooling moms come over who want to make jelly or pies with their kids. Yesterday three more moms came by with their kids and picked what they wanted. It naturally led to great conversations with each mom and even a time of prayer together at the end. Such a great time!
We even had three ladies show up at our house this week that drove 2 hours looking for grapes. Someone directed them to our house and they ended up picking 6 bushels and gave me $120!
I never knew how these grapes could be such a wonderful blessing for so many reasons. They've provided a small little income for me. They've been an evangelism tool in my neighbourhood. They've been a source of encouragement for me and for others as well as provided an opportunity to disciple young moms new to the homeschooling journey. They've been a way to offer my kids new friendships as our farm is hopping with people now all the time, which is also super fun for me as I also love meeting new people and I can honestly never have enough people in my life. They've also kept my kids busy by running down to the grapes every day for a snack! These are the most delicious things to eat! We didn't spray them either so they are so healthy for my kids. I love that, too. They've also forced me to really think about how I can use them to make other healthy things. So, this weekend we are planning on picking and picking and making juice out of them. It is the most amazing tasting juice. I can't wait.
All this to say, I love grapes! I love how in a million years I would have never guessed I'd be living on a farm that provides such a great source of abundance that can not only bless me, but so many around us. More families will be coming today! It is so great. If my dad were writing this he would have said, so "grape", couldn't resist.....
Friday, 28 September 2018
Wednesday, 19 September 2018
Still Alive!
"Still Alive!" That's a quote from one of our kids' funny movie favs. We say it all the time when we come out of a stressful situation or even a funny situation or, in my case, a minor procedure, where we half-think "we could have died!" But, I didn't die. In fact, I was back on my feet the next day at soccer games with my kids.
The most time for any kind of fear or anxiety came in the 3 hours I was waiting in the waiting room. Ah, the waiting room. That sounds like a great name for a book. The waiting room of life is where all the life lessons happen. In that first waiting room and then in the next waiting room where I was prepped for surgery and then in the waiting hall and then in the waiting Operating Room was where I learned all my lessons.
I learned that I am one of the few people in this world who has rarely been in a hospital....except for giving birth, and even then I was out of there so fast they barely saw me. I've never had broken bones, diseases, stitches......nothing. The anesthesiologist was quite happy with me and said, "You're in great health!" Yes, I am. Why am I not more grateful for that every day? So, I laid there, covered in a sheet just thanking God for my health because I really hated being there. Meanwhile, other people, other kids, even babies, spend half their life in a hospital.
I was also grateful that my kids have been healthy. We have gone for the odd stitch, the odd virus, even had an overnight stay when one of my kids got viral meningitis, but he recovered! Other people go to the hospital with a child and don't come back with their child. I found myself counting my blessings for all my healthy children, all my healthy nieces and nephews, and for all my parents and in-laws. Amazing.
And though I was absolutely hating the whole waiting process, hating the unknown, I was also doing research, half-enjoying the process of having nurses poke me with needles, cover me with warm blankets, wheel me down hallways. I was getting an education on what it is like to be in a hospital. I was observing all the jobs that different people have, like the nurses, doctors, janitors. I was thinking to myself the whole time, "Could my child do this? or that?" I was ready to interview all the people working on me! How can so many thoughts go on in one person's head in such a short time - on the one hand, I'm freaking out inside, but at the same time I'm ready to interview people about their jobs!? So funny. I think I'm a very funny person.
God even sent me someone to the first waiting room that I could chat with. In came a man and his wife who, I assume, was having a day surgery like me. I recognized him immediately as being a farmer who had baled our hay several years. We got to talking and they now had 8 kids just like us. We talked about funny 8 kid things, like "where do you fit all your kids in beds?" It was just "what the doctor ordered", someone to get my thoughts off myself for a few minutes and just talk about nonsense.
I was having to keep my nervous thoughts in check. Having never ever undergone a surgical procedure of any kind, I was constantly fighting the anxiety, but I was able to have my phone up until the last minute before they took me in and from the day before until the morning of, I got countless texts from friends and family, that would just be one-liners saying how I was being thought of or prayed for. Thank you, God, for phones?! Never would anyone a few years ago been able to get those tangible messages of comfort, which I certainly needed in those hours before. I chose to breathe deeply and rest in the fact I knew people were praying for me.
And then, the rest, the forced rest. I loved being taken care of! Even though the nurse told me, "So you're going in for a hysterectomy?" UH, NO!!!! She read the surgery words wrong! And even though one of the other nurses said, "So is it THAT one?" pointing to me. I was a "that" in her mind. Not a "her", a "that". She clearly has had enough of her job and looks at people as just another object to get done. And even though my legs were used as a table and I was not spoken to once about how I was feeling, I still felt oddly taken care of. I felt confident in their abilities and was, again, so grateful for Canada (even though I did hang out in the hallway on a gurney for awhile like I was in a third world) and for our health care.
They took a pregnancy test the morning of the procedure just so an unfortunate accident wouldn't occur.
The nurse asked, "You weren't trying to get pregnant were you?"
"Well, no, but you just never know, right? I wouldn't be upset at all if I found out I was pregnant."
"What?! How many kids do you have?"
"8."
She looked at me with eyes wide open and jaw down. By this point I was seconds away from oxygen and being put under, yet the conversation continued.
"That must be so expensive! All I think about is them all going to university!" Now the oxygen mask is near my head. I started to explain how my son raised puppies to pay for it all.
"What kind of puppies?"
The next thing I know the oxygen is on and I still hear her asking me questions, but I was out. I woke up with a feeling like I had bit my tongue. It hurt for days! I was probably still answering questions about my strange large expensive family while I was going under and bit my tongue in the process! Ouch!
Once it was all said and done, it was no big deal. I woke up in no pain and went home a couple hours later to a couple of wonderful meals made by family.
So the whole experience has been an odd blessing to teach me how blessed we are, to remind me I don't want to be there again, but if I do go, to be even thankful that a place like that exists. I'm grateful for nurses and doctors, even mean ones. I'm grateful for the proximity of the hospital, minutes from my home. I'm grateful for teaching colleges and universities that exist to teach these careers! I was grateful for even the job opportunities it opened up to me that my kids could maybe do! I am just plain grateful. I sit here as if nothing happened which means they must have done a good job! Pathology is coming. I'm not too worried. I suppose there is a small chance (the doctor said a very small chance) that it could come with bad news which I assume would mean more surgery, but at least now I know what would be in store for me. No more surprises.
Back to "regular" life and all that comes with that. But I am grateful for that, too, because my regular life doesn't normally involve hospitals whereas for some it does. I tried to communicate all this to my kids, but even just writing about it again reminds me I should do this every day, reminding them to be grateful every single day, for everything.
The most time for any kind of fear or anxiety came in the 3 hours I was waiting in the waiting room. Ah, the waiting room. That sounds like a great name for a book. The waiting room of life is where all the life lessons happen. In that first waiting room and then in the next waiting room where I was prepped for surgery and then in the waiting hall and then in the waiting Operating Room was where I learned all my lessons.
I learned that I am one of the few people in this world who has rarely been in a hospital....except for giving birth, and even then I was out of there so fast they barely saw me. I've never had broken bones, diseases, stitches......nothing. The anesthesiologist was quite happy with me and said, "You're in great health!" Yes, I am. Why am I not more grateful for that every day? So, I laid there, covered in a sheet just thanking God for my health because I really hated being there. Meanwhile, other people, other kids, even babies, spend half their life in a hospital.
I was also grateful that my kids have been healthy. We have gone for the odd stitch, the odd virus, even had an overnight stay when one of my kids got viral meningitis, but he recovered! Other people go to the hospital with a child and don't come back with their child. I found myself counting my blessings for all my healthy children, all my healthy nieces and nephews, and for all my parents and in-laws. Amazing.
And though I was absolutely hating the whole waiting process, hating the unknown, I was also doing research, half-enjoying the process of having nurses poke me with needles, cover me with warm blankets, wheel me down hallways. I was getting an education on what it is like to be in a hospital. I was observing all the jobs that different people have, like the nurses, doctors, janitors. I was thinking to myself the whole time, "Could my child do this? or that?" I was ready to interview all the people working on me! How can so many thoughts go on in one person's head in such a short time - on the one hand, I'm freaking out inside, but at the same time I'm ready to interview people about their jobs!? So funny. I think I'm a very funny person.
God even sent me someone to the first waiting room that I could chat with. In came a man and his wife who, I assume, was having a day surgery like me. I recognized him immediately as being a farmer who had baled our hay several years. We got to talking and they now had 8 kids just like us. We talked about funny 8 kid things, like "where do you fit all your kids in beds?" It was just "what the doctor ordered", someone to get my thoughts off myself for a few minutes and just talk about nonsense.
I was having to keep my nervous thoughts in check. Having never ever undergone a surgical procedure of any kind, I was constantly fighting the anxiety, but I was able to have my phone up until the last minute before they took me in and from the day before until the morning of, I got countless texts from friends and family, that would just be one-liners saying how I was being thought of or prayed for. Thank you, God, for phones?! Never would anyone a few years ago been able to get those tangible messages of comfort, which I certainly needed in those hours before. I chose to breathe deeply and rest in the fact I knew people were praying for me.
And then, the rest, the forced rest. I loved being taken care of! Even though the nurse told me, "So you're going in for a hysterectomy?" UH, NO!!!! She read the surgery words wrong! And even though one of the other nurses said, "So is it THAT one?" pointing to me. I was a "that" in her mind. Not a "her", a "that". She clearly has had enough of her job and looks at people as just another object to get done. And even though my legs were used as a table and I was not spoken to once about how I was feeling, I still felt oddly taken care of. I felt confident in their abilities and was, again, so grateful for Canada (even though I did hang out in the hallway on a gurney for awhile like I was in a third world) and for our health care.
They took a pregnancy test the morning of the procedure just so an unfortunate accident wouldn't occur.
The nurse asked, "You weren't trying to get pregnant were you?"
"Well, no, but you just never know, right? I wouldn't be upset at all if I found out I was pregnant."
"What?! How many kids do you have?"
"8."
She looked at me with eyes wide open and jaw down. By this point I was seconds away from oxygen and being put under, yet the conversation continued.
"That must be so expensive! All I think about is them all going to university!" Now the oxygen mask is near my head. I started to explain how my son raised puppies to pay for it all.
"What kind of puppies?"
The next thing I know the oxygen is on and I still hear her asking me questions, but I was out. I woke up with a feeling like I had bit my tongue. It hurt for days! I was probably still answering questions about my strange large expensive family while I was going under and bit my tongue in the process! Ouch!
Once it was all said and done, it was no big deal. I woke up in no pain and went home a couple hours later to a couple of wonderful meals made by family.
So the whole experience has been an odd blessing to teach me how blessed we are, to remind me I don't want to be there again, but if I do go, to be even thankful that a place like that exists. I'm grateful for nurses and doctors, even mean ones. I'm grateful for the proximity of the hospital, minutes from my home. I'm grateful for teaching colleges and universities that exist to teach these careers! I was grateful for even the job opportunities it opened up to me that my kids could maybe do! I am just plain grateful. I sit here as if nothing happened which means they must have done a good job! Pathology is coming. I'm not too worried. I suppose there is a small chance (the doctor said a very small chance) that it could come with bad news which I assume would mean more surgery, but at least now I know what would be in store for me. No more surprises.
Back to "regular" life and all that comes with that. But I am grateful for that, too, because my regular life doesn't normally involve hospitals whereas for some it does. I tried to communicate all this to my kids, but even just writing about it again reminds me I should do this every day, reminding them to be grateful every single day, for everything.
Tuesday, 11 September 2018
A Spirit of Power
I'm so hungry and all I want is a coffee, but I can't cause today is the day. In a couple hours I'll be at the hospital for what should be a regular procedure and then back home in a few hours. I'm not super happy about it. Apparently my blood pressure even says so.
When I went in for the pre-op the nurse took my blood pressure and told me it was "dangerously high". I wasn't the slightest bit surprised. I had driven into the hospital parking lot angry, walked into the hospital entrance doors angry, literally muttering under my breath, "I don't want to be here. I shouldn't have to be here." So, no doubt, my blood pressure was high! My body was just listening to what I was telling it! BE ANGRY! I told the nurse just that, "I've had 8 pregnancies and never once did I have high blood pressure. I'm just mad and my body knows it." So there! She laughed and took the next half hour to calm me down. Sure enough, the next reading was better.
I don't necessarily need to be so angry. I guess I feel like it is an unnecessary procedure. I'm almost afraid this will taint my perfect record of never having any surgery, but they say the doctors don't make this decision lightly (I half-believe them). Is it because deep down I'm perhaps a little afraid? Maybe. But in my life, this is just a real inconvenience. My husband has to take a day off work. My kids "miss school" which actually does matter to a homeschool mom who tries to keep her kids on track to some degree. I just don't have time to be down and out. What about the laundry? One day of laundry gone is a pretty big deal in my house. Ah, so what. It'll be over soon. This too shall pass they say. It's all about perspective, isn't it?
Any way I look at it, it's a call to trust. And of course, a good pastor can see into the future (I jest!) and he spoke on not having a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a self-control, which in other versions says, "a strong mind" (2 Tim.1:7). I kind of like that wording better because it was my mind that made my heart race the other day and it was my mind that calmed it down.
So I have a choice today to have a spirit of fear or spirit of power. Not much of a choice really. Of course I will choose the latter. My nurse will be mad at me if I don't and then she'll get high blood pressure!
When I went in for the pre-op the nurse took my blood pressure and told me it was "dangerously high". I wasn't the slightest bit surprised. I had driven into the hospital parking lot angry, walked into the hospital entrance doors angry, literally muttering under my breath, "I don't want to be here. I shouldn't have to be here." So, no doubt, my blood pressure was high! My body was just listening to what I was telling it! BE ANGRY! I told the nurse just that, "I've had 8 pregnancies and never once did I have high blood pressure. I'm just mad and my body knows it." So there! She laughed and took the next half hour to calm me down. Sure enough, the next reading was better.
I don't necessarily need to be so angry. I guess I feel like it is an unnecessary procedure. I'm almost afraid this will taint my perfect record of never having any surgery, but they say the doctors don't make this decision lightly (I half-believe them). Is it because deep down I'm perhaps a little afraid? Maybe. But in my life, this is just a real inconvenience. My husband has to take a day off work. My kids "miss school" which actually does matter to a homeschool mom who tries to keep her kids on track to some degree. I just don't have time to be down and out. What about the laundry? One day of laundry gone is a pretty big deal in my house. Ah, so what. It'll be over soon. This too shall pass they say. It's all about perspective, isn't it?
Any way I look at it, it's a call to trust. And of course, a good pastor can see into the future (I jest!) and he spoke on not having a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a self-control, which in other versions says, "a strong mind" (2 Tim.1:7). I kind of like that wording better because it was my mind that made my heart race the other day and it was my mind that calmed it down.
So I have a choice today to have a spirit of fear or spirit of power. Not much of a choice really. Of course I will choose the latter. My nurse will be mad at me if I don't and then she'll get high blood pressure!
Friday, 7 September 2018
Hope in the Homeschool
You would think I would have an idea how to homeschool after nearly 15 years of doing this, but no. Each child brings a new set of challenges that I have never faced before, so it is like starting over each year, like a newbie.
This year it is my youngest 2 boys. Doing school is the equivalent of prison to them. The only thing that keeps me from pulling my hair out is that the next two kids up, the 10 and 11 year old, are now so wonderfully independent that I hardly have to spend time with them. This gives me hope that I'm just in a tough stage with the youngest and that for some reason, (perhaps too much summer?) they need me to be more patient and give them more help and just keep praying that they'll eventually fall into line.
My 5th child (3rd boy) will be 12 in a few days. He was a super tough baby, one of my hardest. He was a super tough toddler, too, always running, never walking and it felt like he was always injury-ridden from bumping into all the corners in the house. He was the one who made me really start working on controlling my anger levels because he was super naughty! I would repeat, "I will be a joyful mother of children...." over and over again just to convince myself I could be.
Last year in school had to be one of the hardest with him. Looking back, I think it was just because he was really trying to learn, but if he didn't get math right away, or whatever subject it was, he would be frustrated and he would appear like he was being a "smart alec" when in fact it was his way of coping and not appearing like he didn't get it.
All this to say, something has happened to him recently. I can't explain what it is. Perhaps he has matured or taken some magic pill, but he is not the same at all. He has become one of my most diligent children. Sometimes I'm not grateful for the negative influences older children can bring in, such as music, media and other things, but in some cases I'm soooo grateful for the older children because they are influencing the younger ones in really wonderful ways. My two oldest boys are so diligent and respectful (most of the time) and rarely give me flack and I think the younger ones notice this. Last year, my then 10 year old boy, said, "I want to be just like J (my oldest son)." That was the ultimate compliment to him.
I think he noticed he hadn't been the most respectful son and hadn't been very diligent and I don't know if a switch went off in his head or God was simply answering my prayers for him, but this last year has seen such a remarkable change I had to write about it.
The best example recently was in the listing of the kittens on-line to give away just last week. I had asked my older kids to do this last year and they nearly lost their minds. All the phone calls that came in, all the emails, the juggling of the different times, the different sexes of the kittens, keeping it all straight. It was nuts. My daughter told me, "I'm never doing that again." But I wasn't going to do it either, so who would? I thought my 11 year old was a little too young, but I asked him anyway. He figured it was too hard, too and that he didn't know what to do, but then one day last week he said, "I'll try." Yay!
He somehow figured out how to get an ad up on-line and then how to post pictures with the ad. He wrote a quick little description and that was it. Problem was, I would be away for a couple of days. I wasn't interested in dealing with phone call about kittens while I was supposed to be enjoying my anniversary. So I made a big decision and gave him my phone on the condition he would only use it for kitten administration.
By the time we came home a couple days later, he had "sold" all the kittens and handled every email, phone call and adult interaction entirely himself not once getting frazzled or confused. I was so impressed! I don't think I could have done that at that age. He's hired! We have 4 more kittens to go from a younger litter and I will certainly be giving him the job again.
I wonder if God allows those moments as sheer encouragement to the parents to press on, it'll all work out, eventually they do mature, they do come around, they don't stay little. Never did I ever think I'd see the day when he would be able to handle such a big responsibility. This was the one who had me calling RM last year, often near tears, wanting to give up, wishing I had an "out". The change has been so fast and so recent I would almost call it a miracle. I'm so grateful that the Lord hears our prayers for our children and gives us this kind of encouragement at just the right time. I sure needed to experience this kind of answer to prayer right now because my two young boys have me believing that this could be the toughest homeschool year yet.....a great reminder that God hears my prayers, my crying out. There is hope for these two as well!
This year it is my youngest 2 boys. Doing school is the equivalent of prison to them. The only thing that keeps me from pulling my hair out is that the next two kids up, the 10 and 11 year old, are now so wonderfully independent that I hardly have to spend time with them. This gives me hope that I'm just in a tough stage with the youngest and that for some reason, (perhaps too much summer?) they need me to be more patient and give them more help and just keep praying that they'll eventually fall into line.
My 5th child (3rd boy) will be 12 in a few days. He was a super tough baby, one of my hardest. He was a super tough toddler, too, always running, never walking and it felt like he was always injury-ridden from bumping into all the corners in the house. He was the one who made me really start working on controlling my anger levels because he was super naughty! I would repeat, "I will be a joyful mother of children...." over and over again just to convince myself I could be.
Last year in school had to be one of the hardest with him. Looking back, I think it was just because he was really trying to learn, but if he didn't get math right away, or whatever subject it was, he would be frustrated and he would appear like he was being a "smart alec" when in fact it was his way of coping and not appearing like he didn't get it.
All this to say, something has happened to him recently. I can't explain what it is. Perhaps he has matured or taken some magic pill, but he is not the same at all. He has become one of my most diligent children. Sometimes I'm not grateful for the negative influences older children can bring in, such as music, media and other things, but in some cases I'm soooo grateful for the older children because they are influencing the younger ones in really wonderful ways. My two oldest boys are so diligent and respectful (most of the time) and rarely give me flack and I think the younger ones notice this. Last year, my then 10 year old boy, said, "I want to be just like J (my oldest son)." That was the ultimate compliment to him.
I think he noticed he hadn't been the most respectful son and hadn't been very diligent and I don't know if a switch went off in his head or God was simply answering my prayers for him, but this last year has seen such a remarkable change I had to write about it.
The best example recently was in the listing of the kittens on-line to give away just last week. I had asked my older kids to do this last year and they nearly lost their minds. All the phone calls that came in, all the emails, the juggling of the different times, the different sexes of the kittens, keeping it all straight. It was nuts. My daughter told me, "I'm never doing that again." But I wasn't going to do it either, so who would? I thought my 11 year old was a little too young, but I asked him anyway. He figured it was too hard, too and that he didn't know what to do, but then one day last week he said, "I'll try." Yay!
He somehow figured out how to get an ad up on-line and then how to post pictures with the ad. He wrote a quick little description and that was it. Problem was, I would be away for a couple of days. I wasn't interested in dealing with phone call about kittens while I was supposed to be enjoying my anniversary. So I made a big decision and gave him my phone on the condition he would only use it for kitten administration.
By the time we came home a couple days later, he had "sold" all the kittens and handled every email, phone call and adult interaction entirely himself not once getting frazzled or confused. I was so impressed! I don't think I could have done that at that age. He's hired! We have 4 more kittens to go from a younger litter and I will certainly be giving him the job again.
I wonder if God allows those moments as sheer encouragement to the parents to press on, it'll all work out, eventually they do mature, they do come around, they don't stay little. Never did I ever think I'd see the day when he would be able to handle such a big responsibility. This was the one who had me calling RM last year, often near tears, wanting to give up, wishing I had an "out". The change has been so fast and so recent I would almost call it a miracle. I'm so grateful that the Lord hears our prayers for our children and gives us this kind of encouragement at just the right time. I sure needed to experience this kind of answer to prayer right now because my two young boys have me believing that this could be the toughest homeschool year yet.....a great reminder that God hears my prayers, my crying out. There is hope for these two as well!
Tuesday, 4 September 2018
Back At It
Today will be Day 1 of our little homeschool. I started last week to give the kids a mini-trial of what was ahead. I wasn't even in it for a few minutes before the 6 year old started crying. Oh dear. This will be tough, I thought. So I don't know what the year holds. I certainly didn't accomplish all that I had hoped last year. That didn't stop me from making plans and schedules for this year though. I thought I would again! So we will! I picked a theme based on John 1:4, "In Him was life...." I'm trusting that our homeschool, our "life", if based in Him, will be successful, not based on all the schedules and school work I hope to accomplish.
It will not be an ordinary fall. Our afternoons will be in the vineyard! I never thought I'd be writing those words. We are now at the "staking" process. The plants are now so tall they are falling over, so we now have to stake all 6000 plants. We just finished the weeding of all 5 acres. Now we have to start that all over, too! RM and I have looked at each other so many times and said, "What were we thinking?!"
We did get away for our 23rd anniversary somehow in all the mayhem. My only regret is that it is never more than a night, but we made it two full days on either side, so it seemed longer. So fun.
I could write much more, but my poor kids will be woken up soon. They are like newborns. On a really bad schedule....up late all summer and sleeping in. No more. So just like new babies, I'm going to put them to bed earlier now and get them up earlier. They'll be wasted in no time. Love that.
It will not be an ordinary fall. Our afternoons will be in the vineyard! I never thought I'd be writing those words. We are now at the "staking" process. The plants are now so tall they are falling over, so we now have to stake all 6000 plants. We just finished the weeding of all 5 acres. Now we have to start that all over, too! RM and I have looked at each other so many times and said, "What were we thinking?!"
We did get away for our 23rd anniversary somehow in all the mayhem. My only regret is that it is never more than a night, but we made it two full days on either side, so it seemed longer. So fun.
I could write much more, but my poor kids will be woken up soon. They are like newborns. On a really bad schedule....up late all summer and sleeping in. No more. So just like new babies, I'm going to put them to bed earlier now and get them up earlier. They'll be wasted in no time. Love that.
Wednesday, 29 August 2018
Summer Reflections 2018
We're now in the fourth day without the older children. They're all away at the worldview camp they go to every year, though this is the first time they are all away together. Nothing makes us happier that they are together. They all love it so much, too, and have mentioned already how it makes it so much better to be there at the same time.
Meanwhile, I'm cooking less, cleaning less, doing less laundry, less driving.....less everything! Those older ones demand a lot more than I realized!
And, while I'm on the topic of doing all sorts of work for my older kids, why is no one giving me an award for all the driving I did this summer?!!! Why? I ask you! This past Saturday marked the last day of all my driving to MarineLand. I honestly don't know how I did it except that I was being prayed for all the time. But I have to say, I really ended up loving it. My oldest son is by far one of the funniest people I know, so we had such a great time each day, laughing all the time. I'm sure I gained weight, too, because in addition to the gas he contributed each week, I made him take me out for coffee each time I picked him up. "Give me your money," I would snidely say and he would hand it over knowing he had NO choice. Ha ha ha. That's a great feeling when you have rich kids, spending their money. Loved that.
We marveled on that last drive in and back at what a wonderful summer it had been and how we had been so protected the whole summer. Not one accident. Not one delay. Going into Niagara in the summer is typically a nightmare. If you go too late in the day you will inevitably hit hours of traffic, but we didn't. His shift always started at just the right time to miss it all. I was also in awe of the fact I was kept safe and that the car didn't have a single issue for all the driving I did. Not to mention that we were somehow able to fill up the gas tank time and time again.
It also seemed to help the kids who were left at home to rise up and do more than usual. For the first few days of all the driving I would come back and nothing had been done. I would feel so frustrated. I thought to myself, I better make a list, something they can see so they'll know, not just guess, what they should be doing while I'm gone. So that's what I did. Each morning I would write a monster list of all that should be done such as laundry, dishes, feeding kids/animals, vacuuming, etc. To my amazement, it was usually all done by the time I came home. They had to become responsible kids and they did it!
To top it all off, my son got his performance review and he did great. They'll gladly hire him next summer where he hopes to work with the dolphins - yet another dream job.
RM and I had set some goals for the summer - pretty basic ones - get the puppies sold and clean up the farm by selling some of the broken down vehicles like our van, and get rid of the final bull. The bull was caught and slaughtered a couple of weeks ago. I now have, no joke, 500 lbs of beef in my freezer - 10 huge boxes of beef. That should last me a good long while. Meanwhile the other goals were accomplished last weekend in one fell swoop.
We had listed our old 12 passenger van for a very low price because it wasn't working. Who would buy it, we wondered. Amazingly, some guy who runs his own mechanics shop offered us a decent price - sold, just like that. A tow truck came in and picked it up.
While we were waiting for the tow truck to come, an older couple came to look at the final two puppies. They immediately picked one. While they were picking their puppy, an e-transfer came through for the last puppy! That was when the tow truck came and took the van....all within minutes of each other. Talk about accomplishing the goals in a short time frame. When things like that happen, it feels like God is smiling down on us. Those had been huge prayer requests for us. We were in awe. Now we just have half a million kittens to list.....
I'm sitting here with what feels like a Florida summer breeze off the ocean. It has been the hottest summer ever and we had no air conditioning, but I can honestly say I didn't need it once. I loved the heat so much. We had a constant breeze. I think a lot of people wondered how we did it, but we were thinking, "How did people use air conditioning?" If we went somewhere that had air my kids would say, "It's so cold in here!" I always feel healthier without the air, so I'm so grateful for where we live. I read we're going to have a very cold winter....I won't think about that just yet......I'm hanging on to the warm breezes for a little while longer.......
Meanwhile, I'm cooking less, cleaning less, doing less laundry, less driving.....less everything! Those older ones demand a lot more than I realized!
And, while I'm on the topic of doing all sorts of work for my older kids, why is no one giving me an award for all the driving I did this summer?!!! Why? I ask you! This past Saturday marked the last day of all my driving to MarineLand. I honestly don't know how I did it except that I was being prayed for all the time. But I have to say, I really ended up loving it. My oldest son is by far one of the funniest people I know, so we had such a great time each day, laughing all the time. I'm sure I gained weight, too, because in addition to the gas he contributed each week, I made him take me out for coffee each time I picked him up. "Give me your money," I would snidely say and he would hand it over knowing he had NO choice. Ha ha ha. That's a great feeling when you have rich kids, spending their money. Loved that.
We marveled on that last drive in and back at what a wonderful summer it had been and how we had been so protected the whole summer. Not one accident. Not one delay. Going into Niagara in the summer is typically a nightmare. If you go too late in the day you will inevitably hit hours of traffic, but we didn't. His shift always started at just the right time to miss it all. I was also in awe of the fact I was kept safe and that the car didn't have a single issue for all the driving I did. Not to mention that we were somehow able to fill up the gas tank time and time again.
It also seemed to help the kids who were left at home to rise up and do more than usual. For the first few days of all the driving I would come back and nothing had been done. I would feel so frustrated. I thought to myself, I better make a list, something they can see so they'll know, not just guess, what they should be doing while I'm gone. So that's what I did. Each morning I would write a monster list of all that should be done such as laundry, dishes, feeding kids/animals, vacuuming, etc. To my amazement, it was usually all done by the time I came home. They had to become responsible kids and they did it!
To top it all off, my son got his performance review and he did great. They'll gladly hire him next summer where he hopes to work with the dolphins - yet another dream job.
RM and I had set some goals for the summer - pretty basic ones - get the puppies sold and clean up the farm by selling some of the broken down vehicles like our van, and get rid of the final bull. The bull was caught and slaughtered a couple of weeks ago. I now have, no joke, 500 lbs of beef in my freezer - 10 huge boxes of beef. That should last me a good long while. Meanwhile the other goals were accomplished last weekend in one fell swoop.
We had listed our old 12 passenger van for a very low price because it wasn't working. Who would buy it, we wondered. Amazingly, some guy who runs his own mechanics shop offered us a decent price - sold, just like that. A tow truck came in and picked it up.
While we were waiting for the tow truck to come, an older couple came to look at the final two puppies. They immediately picked one. While they were picking their puppy, an e-transfer came through for the last puppy! That was when the tow truck came and took the van....all within minutes of each other. Talk about accomplishing the goals in a short time frame. When things like that happen, it feels like God is smiling down on us. Those had been huge prayer requests for us. We were in awe. Now we just have half a million kittens to list.....
I'm sitting here with what feels like a Florida summer breeze off the ocean. It has been the hottest summer ever and we had no air conditioning, but I can honestly say I didn't need it once. I loved the heat so much. We had a constant breeze. I think a lot of people wondered how we did it, but we were thinking, "How did people use air conditioning?" If we went somewhere that had air my kids would say, "It's so cold in here!" I always feel healthier without the air, so I'm so grateful for where we live. I read we're going to have a very cold winter....I won't think about that just yet......I'm hanging on to the warm breezes for a little while longer.......
Wednesday, 22 August 2018
Weeds, Camp, Health and Homeschool
I have sore muscles. I'm probably the only person out there who has sore muscles because I'm weeding 6000 plants. Last week, not quite single handedly, my kids and I weeded nearly 3 acres of vines. This week the remaining 2 acres are left to go. Most people hire this kind of thing out, but not us. No. I'm the hired help.
There is something satisfying though about the whole thing. Even my kids don't mind so much. You see the plant covered in weeds and then with a little hoeing the plant is uncovered and it looks up at you and almost seems to thank you for clearing away a path for the roots that had been blocking its way to water. The rows seem to come alive.
I was given multiple options for the kids last week. All sorts of day camps and even evening youth camps, but we just couldn't swing it and get the vineyard weeded as well. Yet no one complained. The only thing I can think of is that we replaced it with meaningful work. Work, yes. No one seems to love work just for the sake of work, but if it is work with a purpose it seems to be more embraced.
The kids know this vineyard is not just for mom and dad. It is their vineyard, too. They know if they help keep it alive, they will benefit one day, too. They seem to have grasped this concept and are willing to contribute, especially the older ones. The 6 and 8 year old get in there, but not perhaps with the same vigor.
But there are blips in the road of course. I went in for what I thought was a routine checkup and now have a D & C ahead of me. Having never even had a cavity and now facing the word "surgery", I'm not particularly happy about this turn of events. But the doctor is erring on the side of safety due to my sister's run-in with cancer awhile ago. From what I've heard it is a straightforward a procedure and I'll be home within hours not noticing a thing. The results of the D & C could be another matter, but that's out of my hands for now. Why borrow worry from tomorrow?
This week my oldest is a leader at the worldview camp she starting attending 4 years ago. Her siblings will all follow suit next week. It has such an impact on her so long ago, I'm excited to see the impact on the other ones now. What I love so much is that her first day there she kept looking for her siblings! She knew they weren't coming until the following week, but she's just so used to seeing them all the time and being with them all the time that she really missed them! That made my heart sing.
These next two weeks will see me up early making schedules and chore packs for the younger ones for September. That is a dangerous thing to do as I did that last year and it was nearly impossible for me to follow through with all the driving I did this past year. However, I will do it again, pretending that life will be "normal" (whatever that is around here). Even if I don't achieve all that I write down, I do it anyway so that there is some kind of goal!
I will go in with my eyes more wide open this year. I think last year I went in thinking if I didn't achieve all that was on my list, I was a failure. This haunted me throughout the year and made me want to send them all away to someone else's homeschool where more work was getting done. I had to give myself many a pep talk that our life was school even if I wasn't getting all the academics done that I had hoped for. The kids were taking in all that was happening and we did more school in some ways than I had done in all my previous years of homeschooling. So every year is different. I just love being with my kids no matter what happens. It is so fun to watch them grow up.
I've become a "suburban mom" again. The kids love splash pads (I don't know why) and so because we don't have a pool I head over to the one in town a couple times a week. It is my goal every time to talk with another mom. I've used the kittens and puppies lately to start conversations, "Do you want kittens? We have lots? No? What about puppies? No? Ah, too bad...." and then we start talking about why I have so many animals to sell or give away. Super funny. They usually find out I have 8 kids, homeschool, live on a farm.....that's when the shaking heads start, but I love it. It leads to really interesting conversations.
Now the week is at the half-way point. I started writing this two days ago and got interrupted. It is funny how time flies. We did get some weeding done, but then the rain hit so that just helps the weeds grow! It's ok. It'll get done. Coffee's done......time to enjoy my giant mug of the day.....
There is something satisfying though about the whole thing. Even my kids don't mind so much. You see the plant covered in weeds and then with a little hoeing the plant is uncovered and it looks up at you and almost seems to thank you for clearing away a path for the roots that had been blocking its way to water. The rows seem to come alive.
I was given multiple options for the kids last week. All sorts of day camps and even evening youth camps, but we just couldn't swing it and get the vineyard weeded as well. Yet no one complained. The only thing I can think of is that we replaced it with meaningful work. Work, yes. No one seems to love work just for the sake of work, but if it is work with a purpose it seems to be more embraced.
The kids know this vineyard is not just for mom and dad. It is their vineyard, too. They know if they help keep it alive, they will benefit one day, too. They seem to have grasped this concept and are willing to contribute, especially the older ones. The 6 and 8 year old get in there, but not perhaps with the same vigor.
But there are blips in the road of course. I went in for what I thought was a routine checkup and now have a D & C ahead of me. Having never even had a cavity and now facing the word "surgery", I'm not particularly happy about this turn of events. But the doctor is erring on the side of safety due to my sister's run-in with cancer awhile ago. From what I've heard it is a straightforward a procedure and I'll be home within hours not noticing a thing. The results of the D & C could be another matter, but that's out of my hands for now. Why borrow worry from tomorrow?
This week my oldest is a leader at the worldview camp she starting attending 4 years ago. Her siblings will all follow suit next week. It has such an impact on her so long ago, I'm excited to see the impact on the other ones now. What I love so much is that her first day there she kept looking for her siblings! She knew they weren't coming until the following week, but she's just so used to seeing them all the time and being with them all the time that she really missed them! That made my heart sing.
These next two weeks will see me up early making schedules and chore packs for the younger ones for September. That is a dangerous thing to do as I did that last year and it was nearly impossible for me to follow through with all the driving I did this past year. However, I will do it again, pretending that life will be "normal" (whatever that is around here). Even if I don't achieve all that I write down, I do it anyway so that there is some kind of goal!
I will go in with my eyes more wide open this year. I think last year I went in thinking if I didn't achieve all that was on my list, I was a failure. This haunted me throughout the year and made me want to send them all away to someone else's homeschool where more work was getting done. I had to give myself many a pep talk that our life was school even if I wasn't getting all the academics done that I had hoped for. The kids were taking in all that was happening and we did more school in some ways than I had done in all my previous years of homeschooling. So every year is different. I just love being with my kids no matter what happens. It is so fun to watch them grow up.
I've become a "suburban mom" again. The kids love splash pads (I don't know why) and so because we don't have a pool I head over to the one in town a couple times a week. It is my goal every time to talk with another mom. I've used the kittens and puppies lately to start conversations, "Do you want kittens? We have lots? No? What about puppies? No? Ah, too bad...." and then we start talking about why I have so many animals to sell or give away. Super funny. They usually find out I have 8 kids, homeschool, live on a farm.....that's when the shaking heads start, but I love it. It leads to really interesting conversations.
Now the week is at the half-way point. I started writing this two days ago and got interrupted. It is funny how time flies. We did get some weeding done, but then the rain hit so that just helps the weeds grow! It's ok. It'll get done. Coffee's done......time to enjoy my giant mug of the day.....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)