Mom vs. the Dot: Making it COUNT!

Can you believe Christians celebrate Halloween?  Aren't we all sticks-in-the-mud that only allow harvest parties?  That's the only sensible thing to do if you are Bible-believing Christians, right? We don't think so.  Our family loves Halloween!  The dressing up, the decorations, the candy candy candy - it's all fun to us!! This weekend we went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.  The kids had a fun time, as usual.  My oldest daughter informed me, after viewing a gory set of decorations on someone's porch, that it gave her the "geebies."  It was a gory-looking fake guy on a chair in the corner of the porch.  Meh.  Doesn't bother me so much.  But it does bother our kids. Although we prefer the happy pumpkins, friendly scarecrows and candy corn, we understand that some people decorate differently than we do.  Sometimes those images keep my oldest daughter up at night, and we hear about it for weeks.  Is the p...

When the boy's mother returned, I reported the homework had been finished and that my daughter had enjoyed playing and competing with her son.  She looked at me like I had lobsters crawling out of my ears.  Her jaw literally hung agape and she stared at me, speechless, for a few seconds.  Maybe she's astounded by my stellar teaching techniques, I inwardly smiled.  When she continued to stare, I realized that I had overestimated myself and had no idea what she was thinking. Then she quietly asked, “You homeschool, right?”  More silence.  I was at a loss for why she should respond like this, and then I realized – she thought my homeschooled child should be studying rocket science instead of doing the same level work as her publicly schooled son.  I asked if this is what she was thinking, to which she replied, “Yes!” I was blown away. I guess I've never taken the time to think about how others might perceive us as homeschoolers.  Academic s...

Last week, while babysitting some children at church with a friend, I encountered an energetic 8-year-old boy whom his mother reported had been doing homework since 4:00.  His mother was still diligently helping him through his homework when we arrived at 6:30.  When she left to attend her Bible Study group, she handed over the worksheet and flashcards that represented the remainder of his homework to be done and asked us to help him finish it. My first thought was, “Good grief!  This poor kid has been in school all day, has been doing homework since he got home from school, and now his entire evening will be eaten up by it, too.”  I had helped this same boy knuckle down and endure his homework another evening a couple weeks ago, and I recall him digging his heels in like a mule – he hates homework!  I don't blame him.  I would dig my heels in, too, if I weren't allowed to enjoy a moment of downtime after a full day's work at school.  Children ar...

My husband was at work this evening, so I decided to take the kids to the park.  Our kids love to run around, hang upside-down, swing, climb - we go to parks often to let them exercise.  This is what we refer to as "gym class" during our homeschool day.  My 4-year-old daughter insisted on wearing a Scooby Doo costume and my 3-year-old came dressed in his favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt, complete with velcro cape.  Well, it's close to Halloween.  Knock yourself out! The children played while I caught up with a long lost friend who just happened to be at the park with her children at the same time.  After they left, my oldest daughter's attention was focused on a pick-up game of baseball in the field next to the playground.  It appeared to be a group of neighborhood kids and dads playing for fun.  My daughter came over and asked if she could join the game.  After brief consideration, I said, "Sure!"  Now, my adult mind was re...

The Bible speaks to Christ-followers in Matthew 5:14-16 about lighting up the world: “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Do you remember singing "Hide it under a bushel.  No!  I'm gonna let it shine..." as a child?  Holding one pretend candle finger up for all to see? I think I've heard this passage a million times in my life as a Christian - in Sunday School, VBS, and at church camp.   But this week it took on a new...light in my way of thinking. My husband was working with the kids to carve our jack-o-lantern last night.  He carefully carved a nice-sized lid, then scooped out the slimy innards with the children.  After shaping the facial fea...

Do you remember those "picking who's it" games we played as children? "Bubble gum bubble gum in a dish, how many pieces do you wish?" "...and you are not it you dirty old dishrag YOU!" I am IT on purpose.  You may be, too.  The oddball.  The standout.  Different than all the rest. Hebrews 11:13-16 describes it this way: [Heroes of the Christian faith, who were living by faith, such as Abraham] did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth .   People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.  If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.   Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." As a Christian, is it easy for you to say ...

"I want to hold on to my kids a little longer," a parent explained while discussing why she decided not to send her little one to preschool.  I don't blame her.  Not one bit.  Our kids are going to be in school for many, many years to come.  If you keep them at home, they will benefit from extra time with mommy for one or two extra years before entering kindergarten.  Bully for you, I say.  "That's the question of the day.  Everyone is asking me when my little one will start preschool," she continued.  While I watched her 4-year-old yipping and skipping around the park, I knew her mom and I had something in common...besides being moms of little ones.  We love our kids.  We love being moms.  We are not rushing, or at this point, even willing, to relinquish our mom duties and joys to someone else. A teacher who may or may not see the wonderful potential in your child - their creative energy, their fantastic abilities, the...

Underpants in my toilet. "Why are there superhero underpants in the toilet?!!  I actually said this aloud this afternoon.  It's one of those things that surprises you when it exits your mouth because it's so crazy...who lives this way? We do. Millions of other parents do. We live with children.  They are not orderly or quiet, and they do not have good manners.  They have no sense of duty, nor responsibility.  They are born this way. My three-year-old son is in the middle of the potty training marathon.  When nature calls, he marches upstairs and removes his pants, then lowers his underoos and kicks a field goal with them before he plops himself on his little froggy potty.  Those little underpants land in the darndest places.   I've found them in the tub, the sink, and all over the bathroom - sometimes behind the toilet, and when he's especially lucky, in the toilet.  Goal!! I had none of those mythical children who...

I recall my husband's first adventure with our daughter - he wanted to take her away for a few hours to give me a break and show her off to his best friend.  I packed up the diaper bag and prepared a bottle, clicked her snugly in her carseat, then kissed them both goodbye.  I cried.  I know, sappy - but it was the first time since the day she was born that we'd been separated.  I prayed for their safety - I couldn't have the two people I cared most about in the world getting in a car accident.  It just wouldn't do!  I spent the next few hours washing laundry, catching up on dishes, and resting on the couch.  Something I hadn't done in months.  When he returned, he was shell shocked.  He said the baby was fine on the ride up, but began crying after his arrival and refused to take a bottle.  After a half hour of crying, neither of the men could hear each other, so he gave up and came home.  Defeated.  Discouraged. But I ...

Overheard, "I could never leave my children at home with my husband for more than an hour - I don't know what I would return to. "  Similar quotes have been overheard at mom's groups, in passing conversation, at Walmart - everywhere.  I was one of "those" moms - the kind that don't trust their husbands with their children.  Especially when our children were infants. When I was the sole source of nourishment for my baby, and comfort and entertainment - I was indispensable .  My husband worked two jobs when our first child was born.  I rarely saw him, and my child saw him less than I.  By the time she was two years old, our little girl refused to let daddy put her to bed because he was a virtual stranger.  She did not know him.  She did not trust him.  Nor did I trust him in his parenting skills, because those were untested waters.  I fed, bathed and dressed her, read to her, went on walks together - we were each other's lives i...

Recently I met with a mom friend who was fed up with her children's experiences in public school.  Too much.  Too hard.  Too soon.  That's why we homeschool.  We can take our time.  We do not have to push them with rigorous academics beginning in kindergarten.  And today I was thinking about some other mom friends who homeschool and are very comfortable with their methods, which may include taking multiple days off at a time when needed.  It also includes "organic" learning, which occurs when the children/students ask their parent/teacher to teach them subjects that have arisen from natural curiosity.  No pushing to achieve certain skills by certain ages or dates.  Just let the children develop these skills naturally in their own time.  A very gentle approach with a relaxed pace.  There are others in the homeschool movement who choose to drive their students academically and their children begin community college by age 1...

You know that you did a really great job on dinner when, after the first bite, you advise your husband to "just swallow and avoid chewing ."  I made chicken in the crock pot that day - plopped it in there after returning from an eye doctor appointment with dilated eyes.  I didn't want to stress over dinner when my eyes felt weird.  What would be better than a super-easy crock pot meal? I figured turning it all the way to the right would be "high."  So I set it and forgot it. Three hours later, when my vision returned to normal, I discovered that I had set it on "warm."  Rats. Hoping 3 hours would suffice for adequate cooking time, I clicked it over to high. In an attempt at additional culinary greatness, I added rice and some cream soup about an hour before we served it. We had rubbery chicken and crunchy rice for dinner that night. Ummmm! Yep, this dish is much better if swallowed instead of chewed.  That way you don't have to tas...

It's a family thing.  Kiddos must have one when boo boos occur.  Even the boo needs a boo boo sock.  A "boo" is when a boo boo is so small, and sometimes invisible, that it can only properly be called a "boo."  My father-in-law came up with that.   Last summer, my rambunctious 18 month-old boy spent his first summer playing outside.  I fretted over putting shorts on him to my friend, a mom of two early elementary boys, to which she replied, "He's going to skin his knees.  It's just going to happen.  Let it happen.  He's a boy."  So on went the shorts and off he went.  That week, he scraped the same knee 5 times.  It was a yucky mess.  One of those boo boos a parent can hardly bear to look at, let alone clean and bandage it.  The biggest problem was that he wouldn't let me put a band-aid on it, period.  So he kept scraping it open because it was unprotected.  Sorry for the graphic details here, but it'...