I think that if a person really wants a tattoo, s/he should wait until they’re married. The reason is that once you are married, the husband’s body belongs to his wife and vice versa. If you have put a tattoo on your body before you even met your future spouse, you may have spoiled your body for them. I am glad that my husband doesn’t have a tattoo. I don’t like them. I don’t like how they look, and they spoil God’s creation for me. That’s my personal opinion, and I’m sure there are other people who feel the same way. They have become so popular now that I feel that people should really consider this before getting one. I don’t think it is fair or wise to get one before you are married. If you still want one after getting married (to the one that God has chosen for you) and your spouse doesn’t have a problem with it and even likes the idea, and you have checked with God, then go ahead.
That’s just what I think. I know God does different things with different people. But if you have a desire to get married in the future and you think that God is preparing you for that, then wait on the tattoo until after marriage.
I was recently asked how I let God give me His curriculum for my children.
I have learned to pray and ask the Lord what I need to teach the younger ones and how I need to teach each one. He speaks to me in my spirit and lets me know what I need to do. He has reminded me at times when one of them is ready for Phonics when I may not have been aware of it. He helps me to know the kind of book to get or what subject that they need to learn. He gives me ideas of how to teach certain concepts.
For example, early this morning I woke up before I was ready to get up. I was praying and thinking. I started thinking about teaching fractions. Yes, I really did start thinking about that. I realized that an easy way to help the twins understand fractions would be to use measuring cups and let them stack them and fill them with water and pour them into equivalent fraction cups, etc. That way, they will understand that 4/3 equals 1 and 1/3, and 2/4 = 1/2, things like that. I intend to do that soon. Probably the next time I bake cookies or something with them. I believe God was giving me a plan for the best way to teach the twins the basics about fractions.
The Spirit nudges me when one of the younger ones is ready to learn to recognize letters or numbers. Sometimes He lets me know when they already have a concept mastered, and I need to help them move on to the next step, like teaching them about how letters go together to make words. And then sentences. And then paragraphs. And then more difficult words. And so on.
I use materials we have on hand to start out:
-Paper and pencil or crayon
-Alphabet books
-Early reader books
-Letter magnets
-Letter flash cards
I teach them to write their name. They start to ask me how to spell certain words. I help them write what they want. I believe in doing what comes naturally in most things. When I try to force things on them that are artificial or contrived, they often rebel and don’t really learn what I wanted them to learn. I go to the library and get lots of books that have simple but interesting stories and beautiful pictures. I love picture books and read lots of them to my little ones.
In some ways, the kids help me direct their learning by asking questions or trying new things and asking for help. But behind it all, I can sense the leading of the Holy Spirit. Recently, I was led to buy manipulatives like Pattern Blocks and Teddy Bear counters. We’re still in the fun, play-with-them phase, but I plan to teach concepts with them soon. I have idea books for how to use them to teach different concepts.
We have done plays that the Lord helped me to write. We have done unit studies that I suddenly found in my files on my computer or from ideas that just came to me of things that we should study about.
I go to the library and peruse the titles on the shelves. Sometimes a particular title jumps out at me, and I check out that book and read it aloud to the kids. Many times those books lead to further study on related topics. The kids will research and find out more on their own.
We have studied the Old Testament very thoroughly. I understand the whole story of the Bible so much better now than I did before I started homeschooling my children. We are just starting to dive into the New Testament. I believe the Lord led me to lay a firm foundation in the Old Testament first so that my children can understand the culture of the Jews, which Jesus was part of, and the prophecies that He fulfilled and the background of all of the writers and stories and teachings of the Bible. We have used several different curriculum to cover our study of the Old Testament. We have used:
Historical fiction based on stories and books and people of the Bible
– The Heavens Before and the whole Genesis Trilogy by Kacy Barnett-Gramckow
This trilogy covers Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth and Nimrod and the Tower of Babel up to Abraham. It is fantastic!
When we landed in Kansas City after the traveling (homeless) part of our Journey of Fire, I asked Shawn what he wanted to study. He said he just wanted to study his Bible! I was floored. I was happy, but I also wanted him to do some Math and other subjects, too. So I asked him to do some Math and to write about what he was learning in the Bible. He agreed to that. He has studied many other subjects, too, but his main area of study really was the Bible. He was 15 years old.
I went through the library catalog and found historical fiction about Abraham, Jacob, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, etc. and read to the kids so that they would be able to relate to the people and situations in the Old Testament. I found some through book lists such as Sonlight catalog’s history and readers book lists for different history periods. In this catalog, you can also find books at all levels from before preschool and up that will teach some Bible and history to even very young children.
I have taught my children to pray and ask the Lord what He wants them to learn.
I believe that God will show you the books to use, the subjects your children need to learn, the skills they need to learn, and the best way for them to learn them if you will just ask Him.
As your children get older, they will start to learn because they want to know a certain thing. It is really hard to keep a child from learning! If you have encouraged them to explore and discover, they will continue to do this as they grow and mature. And the Lord will lead them into the thing that He created them to do.
I have linked this post to Big Family Friday at Holy Spirit-led Homeschooling
I’m listening to Shawn tell Anna that he is doing some things that God has told him to do even though he really doesn’t want to do them – at all. He said he contended with God about it. He chose to do God’s will over his own even though it’s a death to himself every time he does it. He has peace now that he settled with God that he will do His will no matter what.
He sat down yesterday and the day before and learned how to figure out square roots of numbers without a calculator. He continues his self-education and his spiritual growth and helps guide the younger children to the Lord and His ways.
Anna took her books with us to the library and did as much as she could do in an hour. Yesterday she finished all of her subjects before we went and did errands. All without a word from me. Not unusual for her, just noting it here because she mentioned to her daddy that she finished all her schoolwork in the early part of the day. Then she went with me to get what we needed at Walmart. This is not unusual for her, either. She has been my “shopping buddy” for many years now.
Patrick walked around with his Math book most of the day yesterday. He was working on some conversion problems that would have been rather difficult for me. He kept working until he got it done. I was very proud of his persistence. He often organizes chores and clean-up.
Kelsey quietly goes through all of her work and accomplishes a lot without fanfare. She takes up the slack when she sees the younger ones doing things they shouldn’t and redirects them or cleans up the mess.
Morgan is getting better at grabbing his books and getting them done so that he can do other things that are more entertaining. He likes to serve the family when he knows what needs to be done.
Shawn and I have spent a great deal of time catching up on what happened to each of us over the weekend. He was in Kentucky at a Quinceanera. He also had the special honor and privilege of reuniting with his best friend after 7 years of absence. I had a lot to share with him, too. We prayed a lot together about this nation and about friends of Anna who have been battling fibromyalgia.
The older kids often make special time to just talk with a particular younger sibling. They set a good example for me, and then I think to do the same thing. This helps me to remember to treat each child as special and unique and not just part of the herd. This helps me to not experience guilt about not spending enough time or giving enough attention to each child. Sometimes I worry about that. But I take it to the Lord and ask for His help and guidance. And then I trust Him to make sure that each child gets what they need.
It used to be so difficult to get errands done when all of the children were young. Now that I have teenagers in the house, I have a whole different lifestyle. I can get out alone if I want to. I hardly ever want to do that, but I could if I wanted to. I can go with Gary after he gets home from work. We can go out for a date without worrying about getting a babysitter. I am so freed up now. I really noticed it when all of my teenagers were gone over the weekend, and I had sole care and responsibility for my 4-year-old and 5-year-old. Wow, they about wore me out! I had to take them everywhere I went, and they had to go whether they wanted to or not. They weren’t used to that, and neither was I. I didn’t go very many places, but it brought back memories of when I had to load up 5 or 6 young children every time I wanted to leave the house.
All this to say, TEENAGERS ARE A BLESSING. I am so grateful for my older children and all the help they give. They have blessed our family in so many ways. Sometimes I grumble about having to do the dishes more than my fair share and almost all of the cooking of dinner. But there are so many other things that just wouldn’t get done if my older kids didn’t do them.
So, if any of you, my children, read my blog, I want to say Thank You, and I’m sorry about the grumbling.
And for anybody else reading, maybe this would be a good time to reflect on what your older kids are actually doing instead of focusing on what they don’t do. Maybe others don’t have that problem. But if you do, take this opportunity to thank your teenagers!
And for those who are just starting out with only younger children and no helpful teenagers yet. This is to encourage you that they do grow up! They do mature and become helpers and may become your best friends. If you are considering letting God decide how many children you have, remember that it gets easier as the first ones grow up if you raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. And teach them to bless their family; that they have purpose and an important place in the family.
I’ve linked this post to Big Family Friday at Holy Spirit-led Homeschooling
Emma colored her scarecrow the colors of the rainbow in the order that the colors actually appear in a rainbow. I heard her explaining to Abby that the order is Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet! I always have to think of the abbreviation ROYGBIV. She just memorized the actual color names in order. What a smart little girl! I don’t even know where she learned them.
We did some of the pages from the “S is for Scarecrow” Tot Pack by 1+1+1=1.
The following books were the books on which Carisa based the Tot Pack.
We have read these books numerous times. The girls really like both of them. We have read two other books about The Falling Leaves. These books are by Steve Metzger. The first is called “The Falling Leaves”. The other is called “The Biggest Leaf Pile”, which involves a bear and the same Falling Leaves we met in the first book. The Falling Leaves always learn lessons about how to be kind to each other and how to help others.
In The Falling Leaves and the Scarecrow, the Falling Leaves help their friend the scarecrow to do his job well so that the farmer is happy with him and he is able to keep his job.
In The Little Scarecrow Boy, a little scarecrow learns from his father how to be a scarecrow. From the back of the book, “This tender and funny story celebrates the tradition of passing knowledge from one generation to the next, and the exuberance of reaching one’s potential.” This book is written by Margaret Wise Brown, author of Goodnight Moon.
Abby loves scarecrows. She loved this one’s leg off!
I had to glue it back on. She loves to play with everything. She gives inanimate objects personalities and has fun wherever she goes. She plays with her hands! They have fights with each other. And they have many conversations with each other. The girl will never lack for entertainment.
We had two really big shows this weekend! Read that with an Ed Sullivan accent, if anybody remembers him.
Anna performed in some dances at a birthday party for a beautiful lady who turned 75 and went to high school during the ’50s. So the party was a 50’s theme party. The girls wore poodle skirts and some of the guys looked like greasers. Anna and her friend Cece put together some choreography to Rockin’ Robin and Jailhouse Rock and some other cool music and performed it for the party. They didn’t have much time to put it all together, but they did great! Melissa, the worship leader at church and her granddaughter Lacey danced in it, too. Another member of the worship team, Melody, held up the Tweet, Tweet signs during Rockin’ Robin
Here is the video of their dance:
No poodle skirts, but they did wear poodle shirts!
While Anna and the little girls and I attended this party here in Texas, the rest of our family traveled to Kentucky for a Quince Anos for the cousin of our “Mexican family”, the Sierras, whom we met through XBox Live!
I will upload pictures from that as soon as I get them. They are still driving home! It’s almost midnight Sunday night, and they’re not home yet.
Pictures from the Quinceanera in Kentucky!
Da Boyz!
Fiona, Kelsey, Jose, Morgan, Garrett
Patrick – the epitome of cool
The girl whose birthday it was. Quince anos = 15 years. She is the cousin of Jose and Alex Sierra who are friends of Patrick, Anna and Shawn through XBox Live. And through that, we gained a Mexican familia!
A Quinceanera is as fancy as a wedding! They had a court which performed a dance and everybody was dressed up like in a fairy tale!
One of the most special parts of this weekend excursion for Shawn (and really all of us) was that Jordan came to visit Shawn. Jordan and Shawn have been friends since they were 2 years old. Jordan went into the Army, and we kind of fell out of touch with him for a while. He got married, too! But he has renewed our fellowship, and we are very excited and so happy to have him in our lives again. We all love Jordan!
Patrick and Linda Sierra
They really weren’t trying to match outfits but even ended up wearing similar hats!
Gary and Jordan – catching up on 7 years of life!
The Quinceanera court
Kelsey and Linda
Morgan and Kelsey
Alex Sierra and Cherish
Patrick started playing XBox Live with Alex while we lived in Illinois. That was in 2009. They became good friends. We stopped by their house in Indianapolis on our way to move to York, PA in 2010. That was the first time we met them face to face, and it was a very brief encounter. They have continued to play together and talk on the phone and build their friendship. Anna and Shawn and Gary play with them, too, and Alex’s brother, Jose, has become good friends with all of them. So when they had to come to Houston last month for a funeral, they asked Patrick to come and see them. Gary, being the loving dad that he is, drove Patrick and Anna and Shawn and several of the other kids to see them.
While there, they met the rest of the family and fell in love with them. The Sierras invited our family to their cousin’s Quinceanera in Kentucky in October. They actually talked about going. I couldn’t believe it! But they wanted to really badly, so Gary, being the loving dad that he is, consented to take them there. It was quite an occasion, as you can see. We had to get new clothes, because the kids didn’t own anything dressy since we never go anywhere fancy.
We found out that the Quinceanera was going to be on the exact same date that Anna would be dancing at the 50’s birthday party at church for the pastor’s mother. So we had to make a difficult decision, and I stayed here in TX with Anna and the little girls, while Gary took all the rest of them to KY.
It turned out great in every way, but someday we are all going to go see the Sierras again. I have yet to meet Mama and Papa Sierra! And I’m the only one in our family who knows any Spanish at all.
So this weekend was very exciting and full of blessings!
This was a very unusual week. It was fun, but I will be very glad to have everyone together again, and restore our Full House once again.
The other night I told Abby I heard my bed calling my name. Attempting to get her to think about going to bed too, I asked her if she heard my bed calling her name. She said, “Yeah, I hear it.” A few minutes later she said, “I still hear it. What the heck does it want?”
I guess she finally understood what it was saying!
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Mother and Child
"Oh that God would give every mother a vision of the glory and splendor of the work that is given to her when a babe is placed in her bosom to be nursed and trained! Could she have but one glimpse in to the future of that life as it reaches on into eternity; could she look into its soul to see its possibilities; could she be made to understand her own personal responsibility for the training of this child, for the development of its life, and for its destiny,--she would see that in all God's world there is no other work so noble and so worthy of her best powers, and she would commit to no other's hands the sacred and holy trust given to her." -JR Miller
"Oh that God would give every mother a vision of the glory and splendor of the work that is given to her when a babe is placed in her bosom to be nursed and trained! Could she have but one glimpse in to the future of that life as it reaches on into eternity; could she look into its soul to see its possibilities; could she be made to understand her own personal responsibility for the training of this child, for the development of its life, and for its destiny,--she would see that in all God's world there is no other work so noble and so worthy of her best powers, and she would commit to no other's hands the sacred and holy trust given to her." -JR Miller
