Blessings in a storm

Our new neighbors are now moved in next door! What a blessing to have four kids move in and not four big dogs! We are beyond the storm of the previous neighbor, and we have been allowed to see a blessing that has come from it based on a conversation between dad and second son. Dad was reading Ecclesiastes one recent morning and discussion ensued with the inclusion of the the song lyric "I don't want to gain the whole world, but lose my soul" (Toby Mac).

Like a good dad, they had a discussion about what the song lyric meant to gain the whole world. Dad asked son if he thought that it would be cool to have everything he wanted. The surprising answer was, "No." Follow-up question was about dad getting a great job where he could buy him anything he wanted and would he like that. Again the answer was, "No." Dads response was, "Why not?" Little guy says because of "Mike".

Mike is the guy who lived next door that had all of the toys and dogs...but he ended up losing his toys and his home and pretty much everything. We were so thankful that we able to make it through the situation without our children hurt, but had no idea that such a huge lesson would be learned by such a little guy. That lesson was not something that could be taught nearly as easily by words or a brief glimpse into someone else's life!

Thanks God for showing us this blessing as a result of a storm!

Fall Homeschooling Fun

How many earthworms can a robin eat in one day? We learned, approximately 14 feet worth. How tall are all of the boys put together? 14 feet 1 inch.













What to do with those jack-o-lanterns once November hits? Smashing Pumpkins!














Isn't he cute learning Spanish?






Finally, Tricorn Hats!

When did I not become the "typical" American?

My weekend realization was that we not a typical middle class American family. Until now, I kind of considered our family a pretty typical middle class family like most people consider themselves an above average driver. I now understand that we are atypical.

What makes us NOT typical Americans:

- We go to church almost every Sunday.
- We home school.
- We have no debt.
- We only own one motorized vehicle.
- Most meals are eaten at home and prepared here.
- We compost.
- We are ready to get rid of cable because we don't watch it!

I think there are lots of typical things about our family that still put us in middle class American and not an aberration of society. Like most people, I don't know that we are doing anything that would be considered outside of the "normal" or acceptable range of American life -- just a combination of all of these things does not make us typical anymore. The items on the list are a progression over the years and about half of these have sprouted or changed within the last two years. The list may continue to get longer as I look at the grain mill and whole wheat berries that are a new addition to our household as of yesterday!

So, what does this realization mean? I'm having a hard time putting those words together. But I do believe there is some significance. Mostly I think it means that I have probably projected my thoughts and perceptions on other people's situations too much in the past. Therefore, I need to listen more to other people and understand them for who they are and what motivates them!

You may be wondering what provoked this thought or then again, you may have become bored and not made it this far! Two different influences this weekend helped to provide perspective. One was a TLC show (for that 20 minutes that the TV was on this weekend) about a family with 17 kids and the other was watching Ben Stein's movie, "Expelled". The TLC show wasn't anything fantastic but I realized that I could relate to that family much better than to the shows that I have seen advertised on the major networks. (I have to say that I haven't watched any of the major network shows either, but the advertising of them didn't compel me to turn it on.) "Expelled" was extremely thought provoking. I really feel like my head has been buried in the sand about how American science has shaped our society. Now what I do about that now that I understand, I don't know yet.