The Sane Thing

School Room Whispers and Heart Whispers (combined today):

I was so angry.  And disappointed.  And feeling incapable of knowing what to do about the situation.

Sometimes I just can't seem to think of the best thing to do.  Or even a good thing.  I very much dislike being in that situation.

But such is sometimes the life of this homeschool mom.  I have, even as recently as this morning, sat and stared at my son and thought, "Why am I doing this?"

Yes, I love home education and all the benefits of it, but I'm still human.  I still have inklings of thoughts about how much more "free" I could be regarding my time, my emotions, my few un-realized dreams . . . AND it would be someone else's responsibility to figure out what to do in those trying moments.

Snap!  What are you thinking, Laurie?!

I look at my precious 5th grader, still a little boy in some ways, yet fighting to be manly beyond his years, and, even if he's glaring at me, his "unreasonable" mom/teacher, I know that God has ordained this moment to be who and where and when it is.  No, it is not of Him when I am disobeyed or disrespected.  It is not of Him when I disrespect or become impatient.

But the Who and the Where and the When are as He wills.  And the Whys remain the same.

Because it is He who has put it on my heart to teach my son at home:

• There is no better way I could be spending my time.
• There is no better way to invest my emotions during school hours.
• There are no dreams-fulfilled that would bring more satisfaction than the living of this one.

This isn't true for everyone.  Many moms obey the Lord's plan for their families by sending their kids to school.  This has its own challenges and rewards.

Whatever the Lord has us doing during our days, the most sane thing we can do is keep our eyes on Him and the truth of what He has asked of us, no matter what tries to woo us away.


Kitchen Whispers
My young friend Ella helped me make cornbread this afternoon to be wolfed down by herself, her brother and Little Mister at snack time.  It might be more accurate to say I helped her make it.  She did a spectacular job. :)

 
It's Little Mister's night to plan the menu and cook.  He chose what we simply call "Thai," and it is a most favorite of his.  The official name of the recipe is Thai Beef with Chilis and Basil over Coconut Rice.  You can find it here if you're interested.  We do things a bit differently, such as leaving out the fish oil and just using some extra soy sauce.  We can't seem to find the pepper it calls for, so we us jalapeno instead.  Um, I will be cutting up said jalapeno tonight.  Not quite ready for LM to tackle that yet, since some of the seeds need to be removed and it needs to cut into pretty small pieces. :)  We all like this recipe, and that coconut jasmine rice is soooo easy and smells and tastes divine! :)

TV Whispers
I finished a Cary Grant movie, His Girl Friday, the other night.  What is it about Cary Grant movies?  I mean, he's not the best actor ever.  His timing's a bit off sometimes or something.  But the charm draws you in, and he's funny.  Gotta like a sense of humor.

I started Sabrina with Audrey Hepburn, but haven't finished it yet.  I just love Audrey's quirky elegance.  I've seen this movie before, of course, but it's been years.  It's almost like watching it for the first time.  Again.  ;)

At the library I checked out You've Got Mail (why don't I own that?), but haven't watched it yet.  That's another one I haven't seen in a long time.

When I can't sleep at night, many times if I get up and settle on the couch and turn the TV on, it lulls me to sleep.  Thankfully, I haven't had to do that as much lately, but when I do, The Dick Van Dyke Show is a favorite.  Do you ever wonder what the colors of the set actually were on a black-and-white show?

Computer Whispers
I'm enjoying this new blog, but still feeling strangely like a fish out of water.  I'll settle in, I suppose. :)

Blessings!
Laurie 

Rainy Days and Mondays

Heart Whispers
It was gray and rainy outside when I awoke this morning.  For a second, I wondered if my mood might match the day, but then I remembered I didn't have to choose that.  The decision was mine.  It's nice to have choices, isn't it?

As I gazed out the large windows in our school room, my memory took me back to my own elementary school.  I don't know how it is now, but back then it was a great school.  Most of the classrooms looked very similar to one another, with huge windows which were divided into sections.  There was a lower section that opened (if I'm recalling correctly), a middle part that did not open, and a high section which required a long pole with a hook to open and close.

Thick gray drapes closed to cover the windows during filmstrips or reel-to-reel movies (yes, that's what I said. lol) and opened to let the daylight in most other times.  What I found myself thinking about most this morning were the times it would storm while we were in school.  Not the dangerous storms when we would have to go out in the hallway and sit with our heads down toward the wall, covering our necks/heads with our hands, but the kind of storm that darkened the sky and made the lights inside seem all the brighter.  I remember feeling so safe and content in the warm, dry, bright classroom inside while looking out at the dark, stormy outside.

As an adult, spiritually speaking, I'm in the safety of God's family--not because of any good thing I've done, but because of my faith in Jesus Christ who is good for me.  I'm more secure than I ever was in any classroom at Carl A. Sward Elementary school as a child.  Yet I don't always feel that way when I look out at the darkness, the injustice, the utter disregard for God and His ways, the rebellion, the storm if you will.  When I turn my eyes in those directions and lose sight of the One I'm supposed to be following, I panic.  Big time panic!  Panic attack sometimes!

It's fine and good to feel concern for the darkness and especially the people who choose to walk in it, but not to be blinded by it.  Once again, I have a choice.  Sometimes I forget and feel imprisoned.  But I am free!  I need to walk in that freedom!

School Room Whispers
Today began our 2nd week!  We are talking about money management, and LM "made" 3 banks today--one for saving, one for spending, and one for "sharing" (tithing).  I just gave him some disposable containers and he decorated them with stickers (don't tell anyone, but I think he enjoyed using stickers again, which he hadn't done in awhile.  wink, wink).

 

 Also, we talked about erosion and the effects of Noah's Flood on the earth.  He liked the demonstration involving soil, gravel, and a plant (ok, a weed!) in a jar, followed by a bunch of water and, with the lid tight, lots of shaking of said jar and observing what happened.  It's amazing when  you really study how the Flood changed the earth (think Grand Canyon and fun things like that!).  The power of God is amazing!

For Creative Writing, he wrote an imaginative itinerary for Noah and their family for when they exited the ark. lol

He is currently reading King of the Wind for reading "class."  I let him start out with something easy. ;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_the_Wind

Besides social studies, penmanship, spelling, vocabulary, and typing, he is also keeping a Nature Notebook and a Writer's Notebook each day.  A busy boy (and mom!) indeed! :)

The butterfly bush outside a schoolroom window appears to be dying down for the season, yet is still attracting lots of humming birds!  We love to watch them but haven't yet caught them on camera.

Kitchen Whispers
Not much going on in the kitchen tonight.  I need to get to the grocery store!  Tonight it will be pancakes.  Breakfast for dinner.  Nobody minds. :)

Blessings!
Laurie

PS--If you like this new blog and want to follow it, "join" over on the right side, toward the top. :)  I may be having a giveaway at some point for followers! :)