A Mama's Story

Who are we?

2012-02-15T14:35:00.003-06:00

This is straight from the "About Us" page and while it may seem redundant to re-post it here, it works as a good intro for our family, especially as I re-launch the blog.

So, here's our story and mission:

Photo taken by Jennifer Wampler from jlw photography

He's from England, I'm from Alabama, and we make our home in the Ozarks.

My husband and I met in 1997, married in 1999, and have since been blessed with five children. We are both from cultures steeped in "tradition." Traditions aren't bad, but what we've found as we've grown as a family is that not all traditions are conducive to a unified family vision.

So, we've changed. A LOT!

In the beginning we endured several culture clashes, struggling to find a middle ground. But the more we struggled, the more we realized that these cultural traditions we once thought important, were not founded on Truth and mattered little to the Eternal.

While it can be said we've created a mixture of English/Southern traditions, we've grown much more than what can be seen on the surface. Yes, Andrew now enjoys participating each July 4th as he lights the fireworks that dazzle his children, and I've come to look forward to Guy Fawkes Night and seeing the weird joy emanate from my husband as he stokes the bonfire.

But there's a deeper change in our family compared to generations past--a Spiritual change. Choices we've made as a family: homeschooling, homemaking, embracing children as blessings instead of burdens or nuisances, etc., have come about as we broke from past ideals and forged new ones--creating a new culture.

Over the years I have been asked questions regarding homeschooling, working with special needs children (from developmental delays to the autism spectrum), natural parenting (Ecological/Responsive breastfeeding, pregnancy, birth, attachment parenting ), personal wellness (fitness, holistic nutrition, herbal helps), homemaking and general family life (bulk cooking, raising a large family on a budget and in a small home), and the blog became my go-to site.

I hope that I will provide a place where folks can come for information and inspiration. While I'm a busy wife and mama, I do read my e-mails and strive to answer them as quickly as possible. I'm by no means an expert but I hope I can pass along some wisdom, when able.

I Am, I Can, I Ought, I Will: Who was Charlotte Mason? (And why we like her)

2012-02-11T13:57:00.004-06:00

from wikipedia.org

When we started homeschooling, I immediately jumped into textbooks (not that they’re bad—they’re fantastic for some children), because that’s what I knew.

But after our first year, I felt more confident in branching out and knew I could find something to fit all of my children’s learning styles.

After researching several educational methods, Charlotte Mason stood out front and center.

Living Books

Using “living books” was our biggest reason for abandoning the traditional textbook approach. I also loved using Narration, Dictation, Copy Work, Fine Art study, and focusing on crafts with a purpose.

Ditching the “twaddle” became our family’s mission, and our school is virtually twaddle-free.

There have definitely been some adjustments, but some great advantages!

Living Books have replaced our texts for Science and History, with Living Books, Notebooking, and Nature Study. No formal grammar work is encouraged until at least age ten, which was a difficult thing to break from.

In the beginning, the children are exposed to as much good literature as possible. While Morgan is just now starting to dabble in parts of speech through Emma Serl’s Intermediate Language Lessons, she has already read books such as Moby Dick, Alice in Wonderland, and The Chronicles of Narnia series. So they’re learning Language Arts by exposure to good works before jumping into rules and drill.

And tests! Not using tests also took some time to get used to, but when using Narration, I get a good grasp on what they’re learning and what we need to revisit. Simply memorizing dates won’t get them through one of these history lessons.

Discipline, Habits, and Education as a Way of Life

Even Bible is taught using a combination of Narration, Dictation, and Copy Work.

Forming good habits was also important to Miss Mason and there are several notes written to the mother. Some of the things she writes make me say, “Ouch.” But they’re usually dead on.

We use My Father’s World (MFW) curriculum and this is our 3^rd year. We’re currently in the 1^st year of the 5 year cycle.

MFW takes the Charlotte Mason approach, Classical, and Unit Studies and wraps them into one package that is already laid out and can include multiple ages.

But there are several other resources on the web:

Simply Charlotte Mason

Ambleside Online

My Father's World

And if you really want to see some examples first hand, there’s the All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminar on DVD

My favorite books on the Charlotte Mason method:

A Charlotte Mason Companion

For the Children’s Sake

I haven't read this one yet, but would like to!

Charlotte Mason's Original Homeschooling Series

If you use her methods, have questions, input, etc., either leave a comment here or check out the discussion page on Facebook by clicking on the button above.

Welcome Back!

2012-02-09T22:56:00.007-06:00

Several years ago, I created this blog to share info for other families who were thinking of homeschooling or learned that their children had developmental delays and didn't know where to start. I began collecting resources and compiling them here, so they were conveniently in one place.

And then I got caught up on Facebook or something and abandoned the blog. :( But that didn't stop folks from e-mailing me to continue asking for advice.

So, I'm back! And the blog has a brand new look! Thank you so much to Heather from Adorabelle Design.

I will continue to post weekly updates for the family, but would like to take things further. My hope is to use the blog as a springboard for discussion. We all have something to share and I believe we can learn from each other.

As always, feel free to e-mail me with any questions. You can either use the e-mail button above or e-mail directly to amamas.story@yahoo.com

The posts should all be labeled soon to go under the nifty tabs.

In the meantime, try out some of the features, check out the "About Us" tab, and send me some feedback on what you'd like to see or read.

Time for an update!

2012-02-06T20:50:00.015-06:00

I am very excited to announce that the blog is getting a great new face lift. I look forward to writing more than the school updates. Not that they're not important, but I miss writing and am busy brushing up on my skills. It's going to take some practice.

I also look forward to keeping more memories safely recorded. :) What fun to find old videos of Morgan and Elena when they were only 4 and 1. I need to add more video.

In the meantime, here's a recap of what we've been doing.

In school, we've covered North America (US, Mexico, Canada), South America (Brazil), Europe (Germany, Norway, France), Africa (Kenya), and currently in Asia (Saudi Arabia, India, and now in China).

Morgan and Jared are doing very well, Elena is really picking up on her reading skills, Camden is enjoying his preschool program, and Matthias is content to ride in the sling or wrap, crawl around the floor, and giggles whenever Elena and I sing her A-a-apple song.

We are enjoying our year with My Father's World. It goes beyond giving our children a basic education and injects God's Word straight into their minds, as it's interwoven throughout the curriculum. The changes I see in them are phenomenal. Even Mama is changing. :)

If you're looking for a Geography program, which combines the best of Charlotte Mason, Classical, and Unit Studies, with a strong emphasis on missions, go check 'em out.

Meanwhile, here are some pictures of our latest adventures. :)

Jared using some play money to work out a math problem.

Practicing his guitar.

During our study of Africa, the children used some Ivory soap to make something out of "Ivory."

To finish off our study of Africa, we enjoyed some Pineapple/Tapioca dessert. It turned out more like a pineapple soup.

Morgan doing her project on Acid Rain, during our study on the Middle East. She covered pollution, acid rain, and endangered species. After 7 days, there was a definite difference between the plant sprayed with "acid rain" (vinegar water) compared to the one sprayed with fresh water.

Jared figuring out another math problem by his own initiative. So proud of him. :)

Coloring their "John 3:16" picture for Saudi Arabia. When we visit a country, the children color a picture of a child portraying that culture as well as John 3:16 written in that country's dominant language.
Jared working on some missed spelling words. After his spelling test, he takes 5 minutes to study the incorrect words and these little letter tiles help cement the correct spelling in his mind.
Camden working on a worksheet.
Here's a cute video of Elena. Just before the video, she had reviewed about 12 CVC words and had done so perfectly. So when she got her /u/ and /o/ sounds mixed up, I was OK with it. She's just too sweet in this moment.

And here's the final video for the week. Matthias started making these funny faces and Ms. Kourtney finally got them for the camera.

Another week down. :)

2011-09-23T20:18:00.007-05:00

Our internet has continued to be hit or miss the past couple of weeks. :(

We wrapped up our 2 week study of the United States this week and next week will move on to a 2 week study of Mexico and then 2 weeks of Canada.

We had a wonderful trip to Branson, although way too short a stay. :(

I didn't take my camera with me to Silver Dollar City, so don't have any pics to show, but the older children had fun riding with their Daddy on one of the "grown up" roller coasters!

Since I don't have pics to show of our trip or new pics from this week, here are some pics from Matthias's 1 month photo session. I hope that works. :)

Having technical difficulties with the pics. Will try again later.

Just in time!

2011-09-12T21:14:00.008-05:00

Finally! We had a terrible time with our internet this weekend!

We are getting ready to head out to Branson tomorrow, so I want to get all of these pics up. :)

We're doing a year of Geography and for the next couple of weeks, we're learning about the Continent of North America. This week we covered the US and over the next week or so we'll cover Mexico and Canada.

We also had our storm shelter installed this week. We got the economy shelter, so it's no frills, but it will help keep us safe during tornado seasons. We don't really have a safe place inside our house, and we've wanted to get one of these for awhile.

Their John 3:16 for the US. They'll color a picture showing John 3:16 in different languages as we visit other countries.

Jared labeling the countries of North America and the Ecosystems.

Not at all related, but aren't these the cutest Nikes?

Morgan working on her Nature Study in Science.

Elena adding a stick to her "100 Jar" Part of Kindergarten is counting the first 100 days of the school year. When we reach 10 sticks, we'll tie a rubber band around them and start again, until we reach 100 and have ten groups of ten. Before she realizes it, she'll have started learning how to count by tens. :)

Camden working on one of his preschool projects.

First two weeks and a six week old.

2011-09-02T21:48:00.016-05:00

Another post from the "vault" showing our first two weeks of school, complete with a 6 week old. :)

I'm sharing this post on the Raising Mighty Arrows blog (another favorite). Be sure to check her out. :) You will find her button at the bottom of this post.

We started our school year last week and so far, so good! We wanted to give it a try and ease in gradually. In the end, we successfully completed our first two weeks of school!

This year, we're using My Father's World's Exploring Countries and Cultures which is a year devoted to the study of Geography.

Pictures from our unit on Ecosytems and Biomes, using earth worms to learn more about niches. I love how the whole family can participate and learn together.

Elena is our "Bug Charmer." She comes in every morning with grasshoppers, crickets, dragonflies, etc. on her arms and fingers. She also attracts ticks and mosquitoes, too. :( On this day, a butterfly actually landed on her nose and it stayed there for a good five minutes or more, even after she ran into the house to show me. She must have something in her body chemistry that attracts these critters. For her birthday, someone got her a subscription to My Big Backyard magazine. Whoever you are, you must know her well!
The older children doing a Nature Study, by taking notes of the Habitat in their own back yard:

The older children enjoying some "Book Basket" time, in which they read books on our specific unit.

And the 6 week old sleeping soundly, while his big sister works on her Creation unit.

The older children finish up some Notebooking while the "middles"

enjoy some free play before clearing things away.
Pictures of the cubbies (when they're organized)

What's his name?

2011-07-27T21:45:00.016-05:00

Just to clear up some things. :)

The pronunciation of our Matthias is Muh-THIGH-us, NOT Muh-THIGH-uh, Muh-TEE-us, or MATH-ee-us. Yes in some parts of the world the last three pronunciations are used, but not in our household. :)

We will call him Matthias, not Matt, Matty, or any other possible abbreviation. :)

He is NOT named after the apostle Matthias, nor is he named after a General.

So, why Matthias?

My cousin Jamie named his son Matthias and I thought it was a great name and had never heard of it. One early morning, Andrew came into the bedroom and asked, "What about Matthias"? I thought super!!! I love it!!! We finally have a name we can agree on.

For awhile I thought that Matthias would be good since I figured it was a derivative of Matthew, which is Andrew's middle name. But as it turns out, Matthew is the English derivative of the Greek Matthias.

And as for Montgomery?

It's the name of the Capital City of the Great State of Alabama.

And the two just fit. :)

So, his name has a touch of both his Mama and Daddy.

Matthias's first pictures

2011-07-23T17:15:00.008-05:00

My friend, Carie, took these pictures when Matthias was only 48 hours old. He's such a sweetie and the children absolutely love their new little brother.

I cannot imagine life without all of my sweet children. Years ago, I decided we'd not have more than three children--it seemed a nice sensible size. I had all sorts of reasons (mostly worldly) and they sounded plausible. But fortunately, God worked in my heart, and I never had peace over officially "closing up shop."

We wouldn't have two of our boys, if we'd followed our own wisdom. How blessed we are to have been entrusted with five precious souls: two gorgeous girls and three boys who, Lord Willing, will be strong Spiritual leaders of their families. Parenting is such a huge responsibility and we don't take this charge lightly.

I spoke with my Dad earlier and he said next time we're in town, he wants to get a picture of his five daughters, four sons-in-law, and nine grandchildren. NINE grandchildren (and I'm sure many more to come). Talk about the start of a dynasty!

Motherhood is a Calling Not a Hobby

2011-07-18T13:06:00.009-05:00

A friend of mine posted this article on Facebook earlier today and I LOVED it!!!!!

We live in a world which ranks children below just about everything.

If you have a few minutes, please visit the following link and enjoy. :)

Here's an excerpt:

Everywhere you go, people want to talk about your children. Why you shouldn’t have had them, how you could have prevented them, and why they would never do what you have done. They want to make sure you know that you won’t be smiling anymore when they are teenagers. All this at the grocery store, in line, while your children listen.

Motherhood is a Calling and where your children rank

Morgan's Donation to Locks of Love

2011-06-10T07:55:00.005-05:00

When she was seven years old, Morgan decided she wanted to grow her hair so that she could donate it to Locks of Love.

It took her two years but she never changed her mind! She stood the course and last week was able to donate 12 inches of hair. She was very excited about it and I wondered how she'd react after having long hair for so long, but she had no problem as she kept her goal in mind.

Morgan's Birthday

2011-06-02T12:14:00.008-05:00

For Morgan's birthday, we surprised her with a trip to Branson and Silver Dollar City. We had a great time together.

Tada!

2011-04-26T20:44:00.010-05:00

Here are pictures of the updated house. Sorry this took so long to get posted. The girls love their new room and the rest of the house is very pretty. Enjoy the pictures. :)

Works in Progress

2011-03-21T20:07:00.009-05:00

We're slowly getting the houses back together. We were able to get the school room set up, but it needs to be cleaned up, so please ignore the clutter you see in the pics. :)

Because this post contains so many pictures, I will likely not update again this Friday, but will wait until at least Monday, after things have settled and will have more pictures to share.

The girl's room is now ready to be decorated and our decorator will be here Wednesday. The boy's room is nearly complete as well.

The front room (former office) will be turned into a sitting/quiet room. The living room will get a new rug and in general, the house will be spruced up.

We're still bulk cooking and had to take time even during the move to prepare some future meals. Here's Morgan helping me roll up some cookie dough for the freezer. We make up enough dough to make several dozen cookies and keep them in the freezer to take out and bake whenever we want fresh homemade cookies.

The girl's room--getting there. They're going to have new window treatments, as well as other cool things added.

The boy's room. The biggest new thing in here is the dresser. We moved out the crib and Camden has inherited the bottom bunk. They already have a western theme, so won't need but very little, if anything, added.

Camden helps to carry over one of the wall maps for the school room. He was so proud of himself for making it all the way over. :)

Starting out! All smiles. :)

Halfway there and still smiling!

And he makes it!!! :) What a strong boy!

Various views of the school room. It's ready-to-go, but not organized completely. The closet was the first to be organized and now we just need to get all the toys back into their places. The plan is to let the little ones play while I work at the table with the older children.

All that work wears out a little fella:

Moving into the rental house

2011-03-05T15:55:00.014-06:00

Because we need a two to three year track record for Andrew's business before we can get a larger mortgage, we decided to rent the house across the street, to give ourselves more space.

Andrew's office has been moved over, as well as the play room and we now have a school room! I even *finally* have the closet to store all of the school supplies and this is SO GREAT!

Andrew set himself up a little room over there as well, so we don't have to worry about disturbing while he sleeps during his odd hours.

The children worked very hard moving over books and toys. They definitely pulled their weight this week. We're blessed to have such hard workers.

The weird thing though is that we've moved out so much stuff that the house seems really empty now, so I'm calling in a friend of mine who is a very talented decorator to help make it homey again.

The children getting ready to take another load over to the house.

Camden enjoying the train table in the new play room.

Jared getting ready to unload some items.

About 16 bags of trash/clutter went into this dumpster in our driveway.

The "old" playroom. As soon as we get the bunks in, this will be the girl's room.

Camden enjoying his slushie. The children worked incredibly hard this week. Even Camden carried over many items. They earned a special treat.

The children making their way over to the house to play with some toys, while I organized the school supply closet. I'm looking forward to getting the desks in there.

My nice, big, roomy supply closet. What a joy! I'm so happy to have a place for all of our school items.

Camden standing in the bathroom, between the play/school room and school supply closet.

Here's a picture of the new "play room." We're using the house's master suite. This picture was taken before we organized everything. One half of the room will be for toys/play and the other half will hold school desks, as well as a bean bag for reading.

Andrew set up his office in the living room. He has a couple of fellas visiting this afternoon, so they can learn new software. They used to meet at the library, but now they don't have to worry about closing times.

Andrew's "home away from home." He set up a little place for himself in the front bedroom, so that he can still watch out for us from the window.

A week of science

2011-02-27T17:33:00.004-06:00

We had several experiments this week but several fizzled out. :( The children experimented with warm water, cold water, air, and made a bird feeder by the end of the week.

Enjoy the pictures. :)

Jared's big week

2011-02-18T15:59:00.009-06:00

We had two highlights this week: Jared's birthday and a week of sunny 60 and 70 degree temps. Bye bye snow!

We couldn't find the camera card this week, so I only have pictures from Jared's party, so this entry will be about him. :)

He had a great party and asked Morgan to bake him a cake with seven candles in the shape of a seven. It wasn't exactly symmetrical, but we got it to work.

Blizzard 2011, Part 2

2011-02-11T10:14:00.005-06:00

This wasn't even considered a blizzard, and we had more snow this week than we did last week!

Fortunately we're looking at temps in the 50s and 60s for the next week! And sunny skies! I am SO EXCITED!!!!

Just a few more weeks until spring and I'm ready!!!

The roads have been pretty bad, but the National Guard was called in a few days ago and I hear they did an excellent job helping to clear things out.

In the end, we had up to 25 inches in our back yard.

Blizzard 2011

2011-02-04T19:10:00.005-06:00

Sorry there are no pictures of the children playing in the snow. It has been extremely cold outside and Bojies don't venture out in temperatures that are below 50. We prefer a minimum of 60. Yes, we are very cold natured. I often tell folks that I'm so very blessed to have found a husband who is as cold-natured as myself. :) Hmmmm.... I wonder if he has a thyroid issue, too? Ha.

So, here are some pictures of the children this week. We had an extremely light project week. Jared has just started an intensive 9 week phonics program. The first program he did last summer got him going and this program will polish off those skills and should have him ready for 2nd grade in no time.

Morgan has been doing some gap work to fill in some weak areas. She's an absolute genious in math. In fact, I often have to ask her for measurement conversions and such while I'm cooking. But as for Language Arts, we have to do some review.

Elena and Camden had fun playing together this week. I love having my children close in age as they have many of the same interests.

Even though we have this snow and ice, somehow the pollen still made its way into my body and I'm dealing with my annual February allergies. It's as though my body says, "Oh! It's February! Time to get sick!" So, for our Friday night family night, Morgan made everyone pizza and now we're all settled around to watch Toy Story 3.

We have a big week coming up--Jared's big evals (I'm told they'll give him an official diagnosis then, that is if the snow lets up and actually begins to melt), a date night, several appts., and a fun meet-up with a friend and her darling daughters at the Tea Room.

Homemade chocolate chip cookies. :)

Morgan was so worried about experiencing a blizzard, that she bookmarked certain references in her Little House books, so she'd know what to do in case of an emergency. As part of the fun, she and Elena donned their pioneer bonnets while they did their chores.

These other pictures are of the snow as the blizzard first began. I haven't had a chance yet to get more pictures and we just had another 4 inches or so added today. The biggest problem we're having is that the temps are remaining very cold and the ground is still frozen, so the snow is causing some traffic issues. Thankfully our power never once went out. At least not yet and we're blessed for it.

Quick Catch Up

2011-01-29T14:27:00.013-06:00

We've had a lot of viruses in our house over the last month or so, and we're behind!

At the moment we're doing some major catch up with school, but hey, being flexible is one of the perks of homeschooling. :) Fortunately we usually start our school year in July, so we got a great head start.

Here are some recent pics, including some from Camden's 2nd birthday party and Christmas.

Home visit from Santa Claus, who arrived on a Centerton Fire Truck! The children heard the sirens from streets away.

Decorating their Gingerbread cookies.

Christmas Morning!

My camera battery died Christmas morning, but here are the stockings and the children sorting their presents into piles. The children were so blessed by their gifts this year.

We had to post these pics as part of an inside joke. We've often told people that we have a TV screen slightly bigger than the screen on Andrew's blackberry. Well, here it is--we weren't joking when we said we had a small TV. It did look strange in the big entertainment center. It was a 12 inch and while it worked well and we rarely watch TV, it was annoying not to be able to see the picture at times, because the background image was so dark.

So, our family's Christmas gift from PaPa and Grandma this year was this:

We were so excited, we immediately rented a movie from amazon.com and enjoyed watching it from a reasonable distance and without squinting! And it definitely seems to fit the entertainment console much better.

We'll still use our little 12 inch in the bedroom, as it's going strong and it's just the right size for the bedroom dresser.

A Southern Thanksgiving: Family, Turkey, and Dunns!

2010-12-19T18:09:00.008-06:00

Finally! Here are some pictures from our Thanksgiving trip to Alabama. We have been ill for the past couple of weeks, but we're getting better. :)

Here are some pics :)

New pics will go here

2010-11-27T20:13:00.002-06:00

Still a little under the weather. Will post pics soon though!!!

Fifty nifty United States from thirteen original colonies....

2010-11-21T21:08:00.005-06:00

Y'all remember that song? I've had it in my head all week. I learned it in the 5th grade and still remember every single word.

If you want to revisit childhood memories or have never heard of the song, I found it on youtube! Ha!

Sorry this is another two weeks into one entry. We had a nasty stomach virus a couple of weeks ago, followed by strep, so we did enough school to keep us on track and saved projects for this week.

This week we began our study on each state, as it entered the Union. So we learned about Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Georgia.

In honor of Pennsylvania, the children made a model of the Liberty Bell and for Georgia, peach cobbler. The cobbler was incredibly simple with an oat and spelt crust.

We're off school this upcoming week, for Thanksgiving. We're going to read a couple of books on the topic though and may even take a trip to Alabama, depending on how things pan out.

Rewind. Again.

2010-11-05T21:08:00.010-05:00

My battery died last week, so I was unable to take pictures until the end of the week, thus no blog before now. Sorry.

Over the past two weeks, we've learned about George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, the 13 colonies, Paul Revere, The Declaration of Independence, the history and creation of the US flag, Flag Day, Independence Day, and The Revolutionary War. We also had a great time at the Fall Festival at church and PE.

And top news! Elena read her first words today. She was very proud and even surprised at how well she did. :)

Jared and Elena (aka The Twins) are very close. Elena crawled up to Jared, wrapped her arms around him and said, "I love you, Jared," and he replied, "I love you, too, Elena." In a world where squabbling siblings is considered the norm, their exchange thrilled my heart.

Morgan, Jared, and Elena working on their US Flag Notebooking page.

Elena holding up her copy of the Declaration of Independence for her History notebook. While we were at Hobby Lobby earlier today, the children saw a beautifully framed copy of the Declaration and they were excited to see it and recognize John Hancock's signature.

The children working on their 13 colonies page.

The Bojie Quartet at the Fall Festival.

Pictures from PE! Camden so wants to join in with the other children, but for right now, he's content to sit in the doorway and toss balls back to the group.

Home of Food and Fire

2010-10-22T19:51:00.014-05:00

A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body. ~~ Ben Franklin

As we entered the 1700's, we were introduced to Benjamin Franklin this week. What an interesting fella! I especially appreciated the quote above.

The children visited a pumpkin patch, where they all picked their own pumpkin and had fun with Ms. Kourtney and Ms. Karin.

We also made bread and Morgan made french toast one morning, all on her own initiative. Because she couldn't sleep, she decided to get up early and do some cooking. She's quite industrious for an eight year old. She takes pride in her breakfasts though and enjoys making meals.

Last week our homeschool group visited the local fire station, which was very informative even for the grownups! The firemen were very nice and took time to speak with the children about safety and what to do in case there's a fire. The children especially enjoyed being able to climb inside the trucks.

The "livingroom" at the fire station. The firefighters have a giant space on the opposite wall for watching TV. The children loved the ultra large recliners.

The large diningroom table, where the firefighters have their meals.

Mama Bojie with her fellas. I especially loved Camden's expression in this photo--he looks as though he's in such deep thought.

Morgan helping her little brother with his task.

Be Kind, Rewind

2010-10-14T09:27:00.016-05:00

We finished our school quarter a couple of weeks ago (we got a head start over the summer) and took a few days away during our off week to celebrate cutting our first paycheck with the business.

Since it's already been a couple of weeks, I decided to "rewind" and condense it all into one.

We started our study of the Colonials and also did a science experiment to see how yeast grows when mixed with sugar vs. salt. I thought this experiment was cool because it gave me a visual for all those lessons on how yeast and sugar affects our bodies.

The balloon with sugar and yeast.

The balloon with salt and yeast. See the difference?

We also made butter! The children each took turns shaking the jar for a total of 15 minutes.

Jared finally lost his first tooth! And then a couple of days later, Elena came to me, saying her tooth was loose! I didn't believe her at first, but sure enough! The "twins" (I've been asked several times over the years if they are twins--they're only 18 months apart) each lost their first tooth the same week!

The girls and I celebrated the end of the quarter by visiting the Tea Room. Morgan had her usual green tea and Elena asked if she could have some sprite. They brought it to her in a tea pot. LOL And she drank sprite from a tea cup!

We found a cabin in the woods outside of Eureka Springs and had a great time together as a family.

Here are a few pics around town and we visited the statue at The Great Passion Play. Camden cracked me up when he saw the statue.

Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush

2010-09-28T13:05:00.007-05:00

What a journey!

Andrew and I are starting to get things organized on the biz front. He's working hard and I'm in charge of books and getting insurance and such sorted out. Whew!

Sorry this is late--we've been very busy.

We had a great week last week! We started off by taking a trip to see Grandma, PaPa, and Aunt Kristen and ate lunch at the Old Sawmill Cafe. It was a neat place. As for this week's unit, we transitioned into Pilgrims, wrapping up our book on Squanto and now moving on to The Courage of Sarah Noble.

The children and I are learning so much and I gotta tell ya--unless Squanto's biography was wrong, that guy put up with a bunch of garbage and deserved a couple of medals.

OK....onto pictures

The children working on an oiled window.

Children working on their Pilgrims Notebooking page.

Morgan with her Aunt Kristen

Grandma and the Quartet

Papa with two young'ns and four grand-young'ns.

We planted corn and as Squanto taught the "white men," you're supposed to bury some fish with the corn to help it grow.

See the "fish"?

Cam Man after stealing his big brother's Bama hat!

I guess they inherited their Daddy's infatuation for corrugated. Camden loving his seat and Elena pretending to be a robot (see the square head? LOL)

Oops!!!

Involve me, and I'll understand.

2010-09-17T15:39:00.017-05:00

Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.

I read this quote and thought, yeah! That's why!

Our family doesn't view homeschooling as an alternative to the school system. We see homeschooling as the ideal way of educating the Bojie Babies. If, for some reason, we cannot teach them, then we'll delegate that responsibility to someone else.

Education transcends textbooks and tests.

While we cover the 3 Rs, we weave and implement life skills throughout our day. Learning is organic, not compartmentalized, and they enjoy following the "rabbit trails" that pop up every now and then.

And it benefits me as well! Even I have a new perspective after teaching this week's unit.

And speaking of this week's unit

We covered Native Americans this week! We built a wigwam, tee pee, learned some Native American sign language, made some goodies, read more biographies of Pocahontas and Squanto, as well as books on different tribes and watched a video on Native American History. We completed our unit by visiting the local Museum of Native American History.

Andrew has moved his office into the home, so please excuse the mess as we reorganize our lives. :)

Our Bible verse this week is from John 8:12 and to illustrate the verse, we made a candle.

The children building their wigwams

Camden painting, coloring, sticking.

Pictures of the tee pee creations!

The children learned Native American sign language this week. Here, Morgan and Jared are having a conversation.

Pictures from the Museum of Native American History!

Better late than never

2010-09-13T21:50:00.009-05:00

As many of y'all know, Andrew is no longer with Stribling/Juiced/Englander and is now following the path to self-employment. Yes it's an adventure! So, I'm sorry I didn't get these loaded Friday. It's been crazy busy.

But here ya go! Pictures from our 3rd week of school.

Each morning we start off with the Pledge of Allegiance, ABC's, 1-10, calendar, and weather.

In history, we learned about Jamestown, Captain John Smith, and Pocahontas.
The children working on their notebook pages for the Jamestown unit. After listening to the lessons, they drew their own pictures as well as wrote up a little summary of what they learned.

Elena doing one of her daily "hands on" lessons. As I held up a tiny "person" shaped into different positions, her job was to mimic the image. I thought she did well! And of course Daisy seemed to enjoy watching. :)

Camden peering down from the clubhouse.

During recess, Morgan discovered a little garden snake. She quickly herded her siblings to the other side of the fence and was disappointed to learn that it was dead. But that didn't stop us from checking it out and doing some research! Ah! The joys of homeschooling!

Even the cat took an interest in the snake:

One of Morgan's jobs is cleaning the kitchen counter, including the stove. She does a fantastic job!

One of Jared's jobs is to clean off the kitchen table before we start school. Because of his attention to detail, I know there won't be a single crumb or sticky spot.

Camden working on one of his projects--gluing and coloring! These were supposed to be cards for Grandparent's Day, but they didn't last very long.

Elena doing one of her hands-on projects.

In Science, we did a couple of experiments demonstrating how air pushes. The children pushed an empty (or is it?) bottle into a bowl of water, tried to flip a piece of newspaper with a ruler, and later finished up a carton of juice until it collapsed to watch it expand again once the straw was removed.

Camden decided he wanted to tackle the job of loading the washer! He tries so hard to do everything his older siblings do.

Back to the land of the living!

2010-09-03T12:52:00.020-05:00

Another big week! We wrapped up our 2nd week of school, fought off the last of this illness (YEEHAW!), and celebrated Buttercup's 5th birthday! BTW Elena was the only Bojie Baby not to catch this bug! Jared had a couple of days of a low grade fever and that was it.

On Monday, Elena discovered a caterpillar (more on this to come).

This week's history unit was on Christopher Columbus. Next week we'll start a unit on Jamestown!

Jared said he's working on his "distraction" (aka subtraction).

Morgan, Jared, and Elena working on their "Names of Jesus" poster. They'll work on this throughout the year as part of Bible.

Our caterpillar has gone into its cocoon.

All dressed up for our birthday lunch. :) I was absolutely thrilled to leave the house without needing to run to the store or to pick up more medicines. I'm so glad we finally got this knocked out!

Elena at the Crumpet Tea Room Express. She asked for a private lunch with Mama at the "tea house" for her birthday. When we got there, she said it wasn't what she was expecting though and wondered where all the tea was. I think we'll go to the bigger one in a couple of months.

We had a quick afternoon party before Andrew had to go off to work. And we skyped Granny June back in England, so she could sing Happy Birthday to Elena. It's great to have skype working again! I wasn't able to make a cake this time with everything going on.

For at least 9 months, Elena has asked to get her ears pierced. I was in two minds about this and told her she had to wait until her birthday, hoping she'd change her mind. I wanted mine pierced when I was her age, but never had the courage until I was 14! But I remember it being such a big day, so I've left it to my daughters to decide when they think they're interested and then Andrew and I talk about it. Morgan surprised us when she was six, saying she wanted hers done. It didn't go well and we didn't want to make the same mistake twice.

But Elena is uniquely different (of course). She loves to dress up, loves bling, and is fairly tough, which she has to be as she inherited my graceful proneness to accidents. So when there were two gals available, we took her in. At first, she started to change her mind, but I think it was because the loud music and blinding lights were intimidating. But after talking about it all day, I knew she'd be disappointed if we didn't have them done. So, we got her to hold her head still while the ladies "lined up the blue flowers" and as soon as she knew they were in, a big grin spread across her face. No flinching, screaming, or crying. Not even an "ouch." But the highlight came after she looked into the mirror. Her eyes lit up and her grin grew wider.

Afterwards she said, "That didn't hurt at all!" I asked if she'd do it again (Morgan said no way after she had hers done) and Elena exclaimed, "YES! Morgan, you should have yours re-pierced! All you do is sit in the chair, count to 5, and you have pierced ears!"

Dedication or Insanity?

2010-08-29T17:20:00.020-05:00

Well, this has been an interesting first week of school. Yep, we decided to go ahead and begin!

At first, I thought I was nuts for trying to start things after ending a week long stomach virus, which hit everyone in the house. But things really went downhill when everyone got sick again with something else!

So, am I a very dedicated homeschooling Mama? Or just insane?

I meant to post something on Friday, but spent most of the day locked away in my bedroom, trying to nurse myself back to health.

But now we're finally on the mend!

Our first week was great but also tough as we were dealing with a lot of weak tummies, a new schedule, a very sick little boy, and then a very sick Mama. But we made it!

Morgan took over on Friday and was able to get everyone going. She is a real blessing to our family and earned herself an extra peanut (see below).

My goal is to update the blog weekly, each Friday. So grandparents, feel free to hound me. :) And I am currently under the influence of a drug or two, so this is just up because I promised some certain special people that they could see their grandchildren in photos by the end of the weekend. Please excuse any crazy spelling and such. :) Thanks!

All the children start off the day with daily chores. Jared's first job of the day is to set the breakfast table. BTW Jared really is happy in this picture--he just kinda goes overboard on expressions when we tell him to smile. LOL

One of Morgan's chores is to load the washing machine.

One of Elena's chores is to match and sort socks! This is a BIG job for a family our size!

These are the elephants we have used for years! Each child has the opportunity to earn a peanut each day. And if they go above and beyond the call of duty, they may earn an extra peanut. On Friday, having earned five peanuts gets ya an extra special prize. As long as a child earns at least one peanut that week, he or she will get a little reward.

The children were introduced to their timeline, learned about Leif Ericson and the Vikings, and the meaning of names.

The children enjoy creating their notebooks. They are making a special US History and Geography notebook (which are red, white, or blue) and another notebook for all other subjects. They'll store their worksheets and notebooking pages for safe keeping.

Morgan's favorite subject is Word Building (spelling). English and Spelling are her first "independent" subjects.

Elena working on a page from her workbook. After she finishes a lesson in her workbook, she does a lesson on the computer for reinforcement.

Jared using his ruler to connect the dots.

Even Camden enjoyed hanging out with his siblings. He loves sitting with us during our opening activities and next week will have his very own curriculum.

Since we're kicking off a year of US History, we learned about our Pledge of Allegiance, and a little about our flag, including our colors. So, we had a special snack (strawberries, yogurt, and blueberries--red, white, and blue.)

Note: This was the day everyone was FEVER FREE and acting normal! Also, our first day for Library Lessons, which is a little group just for homeschoolers! And see? Homeschoolers also enjoy backpacks. :) These came in very handy for carrying supplies and books to and from the library! (Thanks Papa, Grandma, and Ma Dunn!)

I was impressed when Morgan immediately knew where to put her "x" (aka her hometown)on her US Map.

Jared did a great job on his US map. I was so proud of him for finding Arkansas so quickly.

Elena showing off her United States map. Elena wasn't at all worried about Arkansas. The only state she wanted to know about was Alabama. LOL

During some free time before recess (meaning Elena finished her work early), she and Camden decided to play dress-up with Mama's clothes. I think Camden managed better in my high heels than I usually do.

Jared and Elena built nests during recess:

Jared creating his name "tag":

Morgan showing off her name bracelet:

Elena showing off her name bracelet:

Camden making (or eating?) his own name bracelet:

Morgan's Notebook page for Leif Ericson:

Our science experiment on Thursday. What will happen when an egg is placed in salt water and plain water? The egg in the salt water did float somewhat (we ran out of salt).

Blessings

2010-08-11T09:45:00.024-05:00

As we wrap up our summer break, we're celebrating some real blessings!

Morgan met her goal for summer reading and ultimately read over 90 hours in 8 weeks. She read through the Little House series and is working through the Chronicles of Narnia series now.

Jared had a great time learning to read over the summer and has completed a full phonics program, Animal Science, and three chapters of 1st grade Math. On August 30th, he will move on to 1st grade Science, Social Studies, English, and continue his Math lessons.

Elena's creativity is coming through so much these days. She will begin Kindergarten this year, even though our state has changed the age/birthday cut-off, but we'll see how she does.

Camden is growing and becoming a little man. What a joy to have him in our family.
He had fun interacting with his Uncles!

This picture cracks me up. Uncle Morgan looks so loving and paternal but it didn't do much to console a sleepy boy who wanted his Mama.

Jared and Elena loved snuggling up to Aunt Lisa and we had a very adventurous and dramatic evening to follow.

We were able to visit with Nana and Ma Looper.

Jared so looks up to Cal. He's determined they will go golfing one day.

The children enjoyed spending time at the Early Works Museum

While in Alabama, we celebrated two birthdays (Elena's and mine) and Jared's Kindergarten Graduation/Testing out of therapy celebration. What a great moment to share with our family. We planned to skype Andrew, but he was facing a deadline and due to other technical issues, was unable to participate.

I remember when his evaluations first began in 2005 and how much we prayed, researched, and even traveled to ensure he received all the attention and care that he needed to thrive. And here he is, testing out!
Jared's BIG Celebration!

Jared with his Great Grandmother: Ma Dunn

Mama Bojie and her Big Man!

Jared with many family members! Great-Grandma, Papa, Grandma, several aunts, uncles, and cousins.

After waiting for a couple of years, canceling one order, and borrowing a copy from a friend, I finally have a copy of Nourishing Traditions! I was so excited to get it!

I also got a copy of Naturally Healthy Babies and Children by Aviva Romm

and Rosemary Gladstar's Herbal Remedies for Children's Health!

Two new yoga DVDs, a spa day, lots of sushi, and a new do all rounded out a wonderful 35th birthday. :)

I had a Lindsay Dream last night.

2010-05-10T08:58:00.013-05:00

About a year ago I wrote that I would explain the link between my sister, Lindsay, and some certain special dreams of mine.

And since then, I've talked to others about "Lindsay Dreams," which is special code in our family for a specific type of news.

While it's a trivial entry, I'm frequently reminded that I have not explained this code and I need to get it cleared up before I continue to use it down the road.

So, I have a sister named Lindsay. Isn't she pretty?

Back in the fall of 2004, I started having these dreams of Lindsay--one each night in a row for about a week. She was trying to tell me something but I obviously wasn't paying attention.

And again in early spring, 2008 I started having dreams of Lindsay, which I put down to the fact that she was getting married soon. But, just as before, she was trying to tell me something.

A couple of weeks before Lindsay's wedding, I had a dream that I couldn't completely fit into my bridesmaid dress and the wedding was about to start. Everything was fine in the waist, hips, etc., but just couldn't get it zipped up in the top. In the dream, Lindsay, an ultra-calm bride, said she knew what was up and suggested I head to the nearest Walgreens.

Talk about deja vu when I couldn't zip up the dress during my final fitting. I began to wonder but dismissed it because I'd set my mind on adoption and due to other recent events, believed pregnancy was unlikely. The sweet seamstress seemed a bit embarrassed, especially as she'd measured me herself a couple of weeks before. Bless her heart, we had to do some last minute alterations!

Back in 2004, I had several dreams of visiting with Lindsay in our house in Alabama. But in the last dream, she ran into the room, shouting, "Sara! You HAVE to look at this! I've been trying to tell you" and handed me the white stick with the two lines.

By now, it's all clear that yep, both times I was indeed pregnant with my "surprise" and "shock" babies.

Having a Lindsay Dream harmonize with her wedding was especially sweet. I was going to wait until after Lindsay's wedding to tell Andrew (he's usually the last to know since I try to get creative in telling him and I need accomplices) but at Lindsay's rehearsal dinner, she came over and said she wanted to be there when he was told and my sister Lisa took an awesome shot of his face.

So, that's it. From now on when you hear or read "I had a Lindsay Dream," you'll know what I'm talking about. :)

ETA: I didn't have a Lindsay Dream last night. :) That's just the title. :) But next time y'all hear me say "I had a Lindsay Dream last night," you'll know that I actually did. LOL :)

Big Doins

2010-05-04T20:00:00.009-05:00

We started off Friday with Camden's first haircut, then a lunch on Saturday at the local Tea Room in Rogers. Saturday evening was Morgan's birthday party and on Sunday we had Elena's and Camden's Dedication.

So, prepare for the onslaught of photographs!

Camden's first haircut. Camden showed off his strength with his protests against the chair.

Some of my favorites from the Tea Room:

They had a fun dress up area behind the dining area and I was taken aback by how quickly Morgan requested green tea from the waitress. That's my girl. :) Her serious look while stirring some honey into her tea cracked me up.

Morgan's highlights this year included making her own cake (from start to finish) and getting some cool gifts, including the complete set of The Chronicles of Narnia and Little House series.

On Sunday morning, Elena and Camden looked super sharp in their Sunday Best. :)

We had Morgan and Jared dedicated as babies and due to scheduling conflicts with a Pastor friend of ours, Elena's never happened. But now all Bojie Babies (thus far) have been publicly dedicated.

Another school year under our belts!

2010-04-08T16:48:00.012-05:00

My 300th post marks the end of our 2009-2010 school year! It's been fun! I tell folks that homeschooling becomes addictive. I cannot imagine any other way of life. :)

Over the years, folks have asked what I like to use for preschool curriculum. I've used Abeka, My Father's World, Christian Light Education, Sonlight, Critical Thinking Company, Heart of Dakota, Landmark, ACE, and I'm sure there are a couple others, but I can't remember!

But in my world of being a MOMYS (mother of many young siblings)I've learned to simplify, streamline, and cut out the clutter (or twaddle, as Ms. Mason would put it). I've learned that preschool curriculum is really to help a younger sibling not feel left out. Nope, a preschooler does not typically need a $400 curriculum (although they're out there). But there was a time in which I needed some extra guidance, so if you need help in the creativity dept with your preschooler, here is a list of my favorite preschool curriculum companies (depending on the need, family size, and budget): My Father's World, Christian Light Education, Heart of Dakota, and Christian Liberty Press.

Here are some recent pictures of the children. On the pretty spring days, Morgan asked to do schoolwork outside.

And as for the littlest Bojie, he occupies himself playing dress up and climbing into boxes!

Precious days with some favorite friends

2010-03-26T08:24:00.016-05:00

Everyone who knows us has heard of The Means Family. I sometimes forget how often we bring them up until someone asks, "Oh, you mean Carie?" or "Yeah, you're talking about that big tall guy, Sam?" I bet even my parents know the names of all the Means children.

We have a running joke in our family--all of our closest friends eventually become missionaries. I remember the first time I "got a clue" the Means Family were headed that way--while talking to Carie on the phone one evening, she mentioned something in passing, and I knew it wouldn't be long before an official announcement.

So we've prayed for a smooth deputation over the past year and even though we knew these days were coming, we were able to say they were still at least weeks and months away. But not anymore.

Our church will have their sending service this Sunday and then they're off to work with the folks in Mexico. While we are very excited for them, we're going to miss them dearly.

I wish I had more pictures but my camera's battery died earlier.

Over the past month, I asked Carie if she'd help me start a garden. I've created a few goals for 2010 and a garden is on the top of the list. :) Carie is an expert on living in small spaces and gardening, so I knew she was the girl to ask. Here are a few pictures from that day--I wish I'd gotten more, but the afternoon flew by. I don't think I've ever covered so much ground in such few hours.

Carie in the parking lot of the organic gardening center.

I've been trying to show "Auntie Carie" that Camden can walk, but he gets all shy and floppy when put on the spot.

Our last picture after visiting all the shops and picking up some young coconuts. I was so excited to learn where to purchase young coconuts. I can't imagine any other friend appreciating this excitement (or finding pineapple at great prices).

And here are a few pictures from last night.
Having story time with Andrew:

Having some popcorn while watching a movie.

The first order of the day was a tea party!

While the other children ate some frozen yogurt, I put a little bowl of it on the bench while I got a few more spoons. When I returned, I saw Camden reaching all the way over to the bench, picking up the entire ball of frozen yogurt and gobbling it up. I quickly put a spoon in the bowl, but as you can see, he prefers using his hands. :) I guess he likes frozen yogurt.

Adelina said they stayed up very late. The last thing I remember of the evening was a visit from Morgan and Adelina around 11ish because they were worried there was an intruder who got in before we set the alarm. They both heard footsteps and were convinced someone was in the house. After trying to convince them there wasn't a burglar, Adelina decided she had a better explanation of the footsteps and hurried off with Morgan.

Here are some extra pictures I found on my disk from making muffins that day. They were definitely healthy and had the taste to prove it. Those sweet girls ate them up though. :)

Muffins fresh out of the oven and ready for the children to dip into the butter and roll in the cinnamon and "sugar" (Xylitol).

Their Final Post

2010-03-01T10:50:00.003-06:00

Steve posted the final entry on Catie's blog.

We had a very bad tummy bug hit our home yesterday and I can't remember a time when I've been this sick. It's been terrible.

But then I visited Catie's blog and realized that I'm whining again, just as I did when I had morning sickness.

Steve posted her Eulogy and it was great to read. I loved reading about her "Choosing to be happy" and the things she did to relate to her children.

If you have a few minutes and have been following Catie's story over the past years, I hope you enjoy learning more about her.

A video tribute for Catie

2010-02-23T22:31:00.005-06:00

Catie's husband Steve wrote up a summary of her fight over the past few years and also created a collage of the last few years.

If you have a moment, please check out the video collage and read her story.

Thank you, Steve, for putting this together!!

We love you, Catie!

2010-02-22T13:16:00.004-06:00

Some have been getting onto me about my lack of blogging lately. It's just been busy around here. My apologies to our family members around the world. I'll do better.

A few months ago, I wrote about my cousin, Catie, and have also kept a link to her blog over in my "favorite sites" list.

I have many fond childhood memories of her and she was always so sweet and cheerful.

Her husband, Steve, posted today that Catie passed away this morning. My sister and I were just talking about how she kept those smiles going, even in the recent pictures.

And it makes the words on her blog "The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. ~ e.e. cummings" fitting.

If you've never visited her blog, you can click here and see pictures of Catie with her family.

Catie was one of Uncle Eston's grandchildren and I have many great memories of visiting with her out on our "Pa's" farms.

Please keep her family in your prayers.
------------------------------------------
Here's the text from my former post:

Many of you have heard me talk about my sweet cousin, Catie, who learned she had cancer while pregnant with her 3rd child. I can't imagine hearing that news at any point in my life, and certainly not while carrying a new life.

Whenever I read her posts while I was pregnant, I felt so ashamed for all my whining and complaining about morning sickness and other aches and pains. Her posts revealed her sweet demeanor and constant strength and she was handling much bigger trials with more grace than I ever could.

Catie is one of my Uncle Eston's grandchildren. Some of you have read about him in my short stories.I have many great memories of playing with her and the rest of my cousins out on our "Pa's" farms (again, as you read about them in my stories).

Recently, a few family members (I've often said the Dunns are a big family and here's proof--many family members represented in the above picture)ran the Wasatch Back Race, which is 188 miles long from Logan to Park City, Utah along the Wasatch Back.

They called themselves Team C.A.T.I.E., which stands for courageous, admirable, tough, inspirational, and exemplary.

You can visit Catie's blog by clicking here.

We love you Catie and are praying for you and your sweet family! You are such an inspiration!

Forever a part of the family

2009-11-24T22:19:00.002-06:00

Two years ago today, we accepted the referral of baby Bethany. We later lost her due to illness and were heartbroken. I often wonder how our lives would be if she was here with us. We pray she is doing well, wherever she is.

Our very first picture we received of her:

Little Man Showing Off

2009-11-20T22:20:00.003-06:00

We switched to cloth diapers when Jared had his diaper rash woes. I couldn't keep enough diaper rash cream in this house.

A friend of mine suggested I switch to cloth diapers and to stop using the cream. While I thought she was crazy, I gave it a shot. Within 48 hours, his skin was completely healed and he never again had another rash.

Elena also used cloth and now Camden uses it.

It's not as hard as some think. Cloth diapers have changed! I don't use pins or plastic covers (although I could), but they fasten with velcro or snaps and many even have a waterproof outer lining.

Here's Little Man showing off his cowboy diaper from earlier today. Some of these are just too cute!

Nearly a month?

2009-11-06T13:06:00.002-06:00

I haven't updated the blog in nearly a month?

We just wrapped up another week of the first semester and looking forward to our Thanksgiving-New Years Break! We just read about the first Thanksgiving last week and how they spent a week celebrating their harvest. So, we figured it was fitting that we would also have the whole week off.

We decided to have this long break last year, when I was pregnant with Camden, but it worked out so nicely that we're doing it again.

I have many photos to share, but haven't gotten around to uploading them. Sorry!

In the meantime, here's a picture of our "Guy." Andrew and the children made him for Guy Fawkes Night. While we don't celebrate GFN here in the States, some of our friends are going to have us over for a bonfire, food, and we'll take our "Guy" with us.

I'll post more pics soon of the children at the pumpkin patch and other things.

Pictures from our tea party

2009-10-07T23:45:00.004-05:00

Last weekend, Elena and I joined Ms. Carie, Ms. Rachel and their little girls for an afternoon tea party.

Morgan was away at a friend's birthday party and Jared played outside with the boys. Everyone had fun and here are some pics from the event.

Can I make it?

2009-09-30T09:11:00.002-05:00

I have 41 miles to go to make the 90. I figure if I can get in 2 in the morning (which is quite doable with the children) and 3 in the evenings when Andrew is home, I bet I can make it!

Even if I don't make it, 49 miles is an accomplishment in itself! Even if I make it to the 60s, I'll be proud.

So nine more days to get in 41 miles!!! Here we go!

False Economy?

2009-09-20T21:16:00.018-05:00

As some of you know, we've been cutting way back on the budget and I was incredibly proud that I kept within our extremely small food budget in the last couple of weeks. So I bought foods, while normal to some, are not our usual family fare. But I figured a couple of weeks wouldn't hurt us.

It could be a coincidence, but hear me out.

Save a tummy bug here and there, up until last week, we haven't had any illness in this house in over a year--well over a year now.

But within the first week of eating typical, traditional (even name brand) SAD foods, we had three sick people. And over this past week, Camden, who has never once been sick in his life, has developed a rather nasty bug.

While we were able to get the majority of these knocked out (thank you Neti Pot, Goldenseal and Echinacea), we ended up spending about $50 on those things to help get the sick folks feeling better.

And I bet buying our usual foods would've been less than $50.

So, it's back to the good foods! Even when on a budget, I'm sure it'd be cheaper and healthier to feed the children fruit, veggies, and nut butters all day than a 50 cent box of Mac-n-cheese with chicken nuggets.

This Mama is looking forward to getting back to good health!

And all you Mamas with sick young'ns, learn from our mistake! :)

Home economics at its finest!

2009-09-07T12:36:00.011-05:00

What fun! I made my first herbal salve today. It included St. Johns Wort, Calendula, Plantain, and Comfrey. At first I wondered if I'd made too much, but Andrew tends to be a bit accident prone at work, so we'll go through this in no time. It's good to use on stings, scrapes, minor burns, cuts, etc. To make the salve I used the herbs, olive oil, and beeswax. I added some Lavender essential oil to the final product.

Pouring out the olive oil:

Olive oil in the double boiler:

The herbs are in: Calendula, St. Johns Wort, Plantain, and Comfrey:

After about an hour, the herbs are ready:

Straining the herb infused oil through some cheesecloth:

Squeezing out the last little bit:

Melting the beeswax.

Mixing the infused oil into the beeswax:

Getting ready to pour the mixture into my jars and canisters:

Poured the mixture in and getting ready to add some Lavender oil

The salve was cooling fast, so the drops were added quickly.

The finished product! Andrew burns himself weekly, so we'll not waste any of this.

A new writer in the family?

2009-08-26T00:24:00.004-05:00

As I was checking the children's school work tonight, I came across a couple of short stories in Morgan's spelling notebook.

Morgan is my math whiz and struggled for quite awhile with Language Arts and Reading. In fact, we finally devoted an entire semester to the two subjects to get her caught up.

I am so proud to see her branch out and try to write her own creative stuff! The stories are even complete (beginning, middle, end).

Morgan loves to hear about super heroes and her stories were about two characters called Super Morgan and Super Bad Guy. The storylines weren't too bad for a 7 year old!

Have I mentioned that I'm so proud of her?

If I tell them what's in it, will they still eat it?

2009-08-11T12:31:00.017-05:00

Here's one of our favorite breakfasts. Yep, my children really do love this!!! When they saw I was making blueberry smoothies, Morgan, Jared, and Elena got very excited.

This blueberry smoothie was made with almonds, tahini, fresh blueberries, pure maple syrup, bananas, and water.

The granola is raw. You can make it in a dehydrator or if you're busy, or just don't have the space or finances to own a dehydrator, you can visit your local health food shop. Ask for raw granola. :) Hint: It likely won't be in a box!

Even though the base ingredients have an initial expense, they last a bit and you can make several breakfasts and smoothies with 'em. So in the long run, they fit the budget. They pack a LOT of nutritional benefits as well.

Raw almonds, tahini, filtered water, pure maple syrup, fresh blueberries, and bananas.

The blueberry smoothie. Yum. Now to pour the granola into the bowls.

The granola ready for the smoothie. Jared stepped back quickly, but he's over in the corner (has been cropped), waiting very impatiently for his breakfast.

The finished product. I LOVE good granola and this was great! There were no leftovers!

I've been talking about the green smoothie I've become addicted to. It's celery, a ton of greens, and several bananas. It's better to put the bananas on the bottom, but sometimes I need to throw in some more and as I've mentioned before, I'm pushed for time around here and just start throwing things in.

No wonder my blender died.

Making Herbal Medicinal Honey

2009-07-28T17:07:00.001-05:00

This is a video from Mountain Rose Herbs and it shows just how easy and simple it is to make herbal medicinal honey.

Rich Carob Balls

2009-07-22T09:26:00.005-05:00

These are definitely full of carob! Carob is known as a substitute for chocolate, but really it is a very valuable food with its own abundance of good stuff. When folks begin to add more raw or living foods into their diets, it's typical to find recipes with names as "mock _________" (fill in the blank), but the great that about eating raw, living foods, is that every bit of it offers some benefit to the person eating it.

So I'll be sure to post some info on Carob soon.

If you dislike carob, you may want to avoid these, because they definitely have a rich carob taste.

Throw into a food processor (BTW, I'm in a race against time around here, so throwing these into the processor in a different order could be beneficial. LOL)

3/4 cup of raw carob
3/4 cup of raw tahini
1 tablespoon of raw honey (bottled locally)
1/2 cup of favorte chopped raw nuts
1/2 cup of raisins

With Extra-Virgin Olive Oil'd greased hands, roll the mixture into balls, put on a tray and freeze. After they were frozen, I transferred them to a covered storage container. Store in the freezer.

Another hit! Raw "chocolate mousse"

2009-07-20T19:05:00.005-05:00

At first bite, the banana comes through very well but afterwards, there's a rich fudge flavor. We like avocados, bananas, tahini, maple syrup, and of course carob, so this was destined to be a hit here.

Recipe:
2 Bananas
1 Avocado
4 Tablespoons of Raw Tahini
2 Tablespoons of Raw Carob
a dollop of Raw Maple Syrup

Throw all into a blender until it's a pudding consistency--the texture was great.

BTW, you don't HAVE to use tahini--you can use any kind of nut butter. Just make sure it's raw.

Raw "Chocolate"

2009-07-18T17:47:00.006-05:00

I'm always on the lookout for some good "raw" recipes.
This weekend I tried a new dessert recipe and it was good!

It's "chocolate" and you can add in some mint, as I did, to make mint-chocolate (Andrew's favorite) or grind your almonds to a coarse consistency for a crunchier chocolate. I ground mine to a medium texture.

You'll need:

1/2 cup of raw tahini
1/2 cup of raw carob
1/2 cup of raw honey (buy locally)
2 cups of raw almonds, ground to desired consistency (either fine or coarse).
a pinch of sea salt
add in some raw maple syrup, if desired--I added a little.

Throw all into a food processor and mix. Press mixture into a glass plate, greased with extra-virgin olive oil.

Freeze for several hours. Score and store it in the freezer. When I took it out, I sliced it into strips for bars.

Store in the freezer.

Drumroll please......................

2009-07-16T09:09:00.007-05:00

I PASSED! That was fast, thank goodness.

The school just e-mailed my scores to me--I got an overall A on my projects and exam, but I was kinda hoping for an A+. Considering that the score includes not only the final exam but also all of the projects, I'm happy.

I got perfect scores on a few of my projects, but it looks as though they wanted more out of others and I'll learn what that was when they return my graded materials.

Now.....to take the exam for Certification!

Yay!

After I'm certified, I want to become a Master Herbalist.

The New Year Begins!

2009-07-12T23:10:00.008-05:00

We're starting our new school year tomorrow!

Morgan will be in 2nd grade, Jared is going into Kindergarten, and while Elena is technically in K4, she's going to do some K5 work with Jared.

Continuing to follow a Literature Rich and Charlotte Mason approach, we're using Heart of Dakota this year.

It can take a few weeks to settle into a routine and since this is our first official year schooling more than Morgan, it'll take some more work on my part.

We tried using some ACE with Jared last year, but when a little boy has a three hour therapy session, sitting down for another couple of hours of reading and other things was just a bit too much. This curriculum should provide more of a good mix.

Morgan will use Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory with Singapore Math, the Emergent Readers selection and read the classics selection for reading.

Jared will use Little Hands to Heaven with Elena but will then break off to use the Handwriting, Phonics, and Singapore Math selection found in Little Hearts for His Glory.

The New Top 10

2009-07-08T23:36:00.004-05:00

After completing my classes and while waiting for the results and final grades, I decided to come up with my new Top 10. After the first module, I created a Top 10 and while some have stayed the same, there are a few things I've added or promoted to the Top 10.

1) Find an activity you enjoy and exercise daily.

2) Learn good Nutrition and lifestyle choices to improve the health of you and your family. Learn natural helps which aid your body in healing itself. Preventing illness is the key here, not waiting around to treat it.

3) Drink half your body weight in ounces of purified, filtered water every day (In case you're wondering, Crystal Light and Wyler's are not considered water.)

4) Be sure to consume "good fats" every day.

5) Eat as organically as possible, including meats, dairy, fruits, veggies, etc.

6) Eat raw foods or "living foods" at least 50% of the time, and focus on whole foods. If you can't eat "raw" 50% of the time, start adding them in as much as you can.

7) Cut back on using the microwave, or better yet, just don't use it.

8) Use a good detox program--you can e-mail me for some suggestions.

9) Cut out tobacco, caffeine, sugar, etc. (including fake sugar!)

10) Breastfeed those babies--don't underestimate the Wisdom of the Creator.

I'm DONE!

2009-07-08T11:51:00.004-05:00

I'm DONE!!!! Yeehaw!!!! I don't know who told me the answers would come to me at test time, but you were right!

I'm most concerned about my papers and projects now. I was still rewriting my papers this morning. LOL As for the handwritten essays and other projects, I can't go back and redo those. Now, off to Copy and Ship and the longest 3 weeks of my life waiting for the Examination Department to give me an answer.

Over the past year, I've learned so much about nutrition and I've seen the fruits in the family's health.

I'll have to create another Top 10 list here soon.

Soooooo glad it's done though....now I just wait.

Morgan's First Official Slumber Party

2009-07-04T10:25:00.043-05:00

Happy July 4th, everyone!

Last night Morgan had her very first official slumber party. She invited Hannah and Adelina and the children had a blast! Even though she's asked several times if she can have a sleep-over, I've been putting it off, wondering if she was mature enough. Since the Means Family are about to become mobile, I figured now was a good time. We're very much going to miss this family. Most folks who knows us would say we're a little weird, so when we find a like-minded family who is just as weird (or even a tad weirder), we're excited!

We're going to miss them dearly but we're happy for them too, as they move to Mexico. Having missionary friends isn't new to us, so we've learned the fine art of staying in touch. We even got to house missionary friends of ours when they had to return to the States for a few weeks.

We started off the evening with dinner and story time. Andrew took Adelina, Morgan, and Elena to the local fireworks shop and made some great choices considering our small budget. Morgan saved up her money from her birthday and did many extra jobs around the house to earn some more.

Hannah, Jared, and Camden came with me to the video shop and Hannah picked out a movie.

After some fun fireworks, the girls had a tea party, which was so precious. Elena went on to bed and Jared stayed up some with the girls to watch the movie.

Then all the gals climbed into the tent outside and promptly fell asleep.

This morning, they had brown rice pancakes and a fruit bowl. I hope they had fun. These are some great children.

Now for pictures!!!

Having storytime and apple crisp:

Adelina said she wasn't too sure about the apple crisp.

Fireworks!

After the children were ready to get some fireworks going, Andrew realized he didn't get any stick lighters, so we waved goodbye as he headed back for supplies.

Because other families on our street were also participating in their own yards, our street became very, very smoky. Here are a couple of pictures when it was only a light covering. It became thicker as the evening progressed.

Tea Time:

The girls were so sweet! Andrew told us how to have a traditional English Tea. We got fairly close, except we used Green Tea, instead of black, Xylitol instead of sugar, rice milk instead of cow's milk, and I baked homemake cookies (biscuits).

After watching a movie, the girls climbed into their tent and "camped out."

And to round off the events, breakfast is served:

Brown Rice flour pancakes have a different texture and look to them, but they're still very, very yummy. :) We served these with 100% real maple syrup. If you've never had real maple syrup, you've missed out.

Six week challenge is OVER!!!

2009-06-29T12:35:00.005-05:00

I am proud of myself for sticking to it and completing 36 hours in 6 weeks! I required daily exercise, for one hour but I did it. Some days I was able to get it in first thing in the morning and other days I had to wait until naptime.

I do have my before and after pictures and Andrew said he could tell a more subtle change between weeks three and six, but there's still a good change there.

Now I'm having my rest week (Yay) and simply walking a couple of miles each day. Walking a few miles seems easy now--the increase in activity has definitely built my stamina!

After this week, the group will start a new challenge. I've been focused on the fitness side, since my weight has a mind of its own, but we'll see. At the moment, my new goal is to drop 10 more pounds by Labor Day. So by Elena's 4th birthday party, I should be there. Our next start date is July 6th.

I created a new ticker at the bottom of the page to keep track of progress.

As for the last challenge, I dropped about 9 pounds and lost a couple of sizes, too. Yay! And baby boy is good and healthy!

Team C.A.T.I.E.

2009-06-25T16:01:00.007-05:00

As soon as I read about this, I knew it'd become a post!

Many of you have heard me talk about my sweet cousin, Catie, who learned she had cancer while pregnant with her 3rd child. I can't imagine hearing that news at any point in my life, and certainly not while carrying a new life.

Whenever I read her posts while I was pregnant, I felt so ashamed for all my whining and complaining about morning sickness and other aches and pains. Her posts revealed her sweet demeanor and constant strength and she was handling much bigger trials with more grace than I ever could.

Catie is one of my Uncle Eston's grandchildren. Some of you have read about him in my short stories.I have many great memories of playing with her and the rest of my cousins out on our "Pa's" farms (again, as you read about them in my stories).

Recently, a few family members (I've often said the Dunns are a big family and here's proof--many family members represented in the above picture)ran the Wasatch Back Race, which is 188 miles long from Logan to Park City, Utah along the Wasatch Back.

They called themselves Team C.A.T.I.E., which stands for courageous, admirable, tough, inspirational, and exemplary.

You can visit Catie's blog by clicking here.

We love you Catie and are praying for you and your sweet family! You are such an inspiration!

Camden's 6 month pics

2009-06-18T18:53:00.012-05:00

I have several pro photography friends and they've asked me to make sure I make it clear that I'm not scanning in pics to have them printed elsewhere. I'm scanning these in solely to get advice on which one will look best on my wall.

I have a picture of me with the children at 6 months on the wall.

Here are a few of my favorites.

Which one do you like best? Would look best on the wall with the others? We can also crop into them, too. Leave a comment or e-mail me. :)

These last two are the same pose, just one is in color and the other in black and white. The pose probably should've gone to the delete pile, since it's simply a pose taken when I blinked, but I'm surprised at just how many people like it (including myself). Camden is absolutely perfect.

In black and white, it looks like a piece of art!

Battle of Embroidery

2009-06-17T18:02:00.004-05:00

Camden's diaper bag was falling apart and I knew it was time for a new one. I wanted to get one with his name embroidered on it and when I finally found a local shop, and asked a bunch of friends for advice on thread colors, ventured on down.

I didn't realize I would spend half an hour trying to decide on font size, accent, accent location, etc.

At first I wanted stars, then I wanted a teddy bear, perhaps a fire engine, but none of those fit Camden's personality.

Finally I settled on the rocking horse.

But then I had to decide if the rocking horse would go in the upper corner, lower corner, top, bottom, and how big I wanted the rocking horse. Knowing nothing about embroidery, I was going crazy with all these choices. What if I made the wrong decision? Camden is gonna have this diaper bag until it breaks. I didn't want it to look bad.

Finally I said, "lower right corner. No, wait--in the middle, below the name. Oh I don't know." I then went on to obsess over this for the rest of the day until I got distracted by one of my little ones.

I just picked it up from the shop and here's the final result. It's absolutely perfect:

My little prince is six months old & the wonders of Mama's Milk

2009-06-16T08:52:00.005-05:00

Camden Gabriel is six months old today. :) After completing one of my classes, I decided not to give Camden solids until he was at least 9 months old, but didn't know what kind of impact that would have on his health.

I don't have big babies. Morgan made it to 17 pounds at 12 months, Jared was 18 pounds at 12 months, and Elena was 15 pounds at 12 months.

I started giving the other children cereal and other foods at 4 months, as directed by their doctors as the typical schedule. Due to developmental reasons, Jared struggled with solids so didn't actually get them until he was older, but because of milk production problems, he received supplemental formula when I wasn't around. With Elena, I was so concerned about development, that I was happy to start the typical solids schedule.

To remedy their lower weights, doctors encouraged more solids.

But after reading so many things on delaying solids, thought I'd give this a shot.

Camden isn't going to have a weight problem, at least not while on Mama's milk. According to our baby scale, Camden weighs 18 pounds! I weighed him a second time just to make sure.

We've made it to six months on 100% Mama's Milk. I'm also pleased because we were having some production problems in the beginning, but thanks to the advice of a Master Herbalist, my Naturopath, a Lactation Consultant, all my Doula friends, and Endocrinoligist, we got things back on track.

My goal now is to breastfeed 100% until a year and continue breastfeeding until at least two years, or until the prince decides he's done.

It could be "one of those things," but there's such a dramatic difference between Camden's growth compared to his older siblings and makes me wonder, who decided the way we were created wasn't adequate?

Change

2009-06-12T23:44:00.004-05:00

Anyone else immediately think of the Presidential campaign when they read the title?

Since joining Facebook, I've been in contact with several friends who I haven't seen in many years--some for as long as a decade!

I've had a few comment on how I've changed since they saw me last. A couple have even pointed out how they think I've changed significantly.

Even though I don't feel as though I'm *that* different, after speaking to them some more, have realized that I really am. It's surprising to me that I haven't even noticed.

And kinda cool, too.

As I told my friend, Gina, I can deal with change, just as long as the change they're noticing doesn't equate to my looking old.

I've gone off the deep end now!

2009-06-11T12:47:00.006-05:00

On Monday, my Dad asked if I was part of Facebook, since all my sisters are on Facebook and he recently joined,too. I've fought the membership quite a lot and had no interest in it until he asked me about it.

So I went ahead and registered and discovered that just about everyone I know is on Facebook. Some folks post once a week while others post every minute of their day, it seems.

Wow! How do these people keep up with other stuff? I'm amazed! It's distracting though, so while it's fun to catch up with old friends, not sure how long I'll be there. In the meantime though, I've enjoyed chatting with many people I haven't seen in a long, long time.

I took one of the quizzes (which are very popular there), on how "crunchy" I am. Not sure if I agree with the answer, but I was honest in the quiz and even clicked "no" on a few things I'd consider of the "crunchy" mentality.

Here's my result:

WOW!~Crunchier than Grape Nuts!

Uber crunchy hippie-at-heart mama who is not afraid to go against mainstream thought. You are confident in your lifestyle and not afraid to be the odd woman out.

Hmmmm.....wasn't expecting that answer, but some of you are probably sitting there nodding your heads at the screen.

Isn't it a pain to Homeschool?

2009-06-11T08:15:00.007-05:00

I love Ginger's post from this morning and she really hit so many points which I agree with.

The truth is, I really do love homeschooling my children.

I totally agree! I genuinely love teaching my children.

I love that I get to choose what they learn and how they learn it...I am initimately aware of how they, as individuals, learn and I am able to tailor their education to benefit them most.

Not only is this important for all the children, but especially for Jared, who will be able to use materials which work best for him and also our extremely flexible schedule allows him to get all the one-on-one private therapy he needs!

I love seeing the close relationship my kids have as a result of spending so much time together.

Yes! While our children still have moments when they argue about stuff, they really are best friends.

I love reading the Bible to them every day and hearing the question they ask. I love that I don't miss any of these things while they're away at school.

This one is especially wonderful! I've mentioned before that hearing my three year old pray is the sweetest thing.

I love that I get to learn so much history, geography, science, and read such great literature while teaching my kids. I love the education I'm getting.

Yes! Yes! Yes! I also love reviewing all my favorite topics with the children.

Pictures from Andrew's Party

2009-06-09T10:01:00.012-05:00

The children planned the party and we had such fun! I made a ham and pineapple pizza since this is his favorite and I did the other half in cheese for the children. I think we definitely had our fair share of cheese last night.

Andrew is teaching Morgan how to play guitar and he's showing her a couple of chords before the pizza was ready:

A close up of the very, very cheese covered pizza:

Jared checking out the presents:

Andrew showing off one of his cards. He's a super cutie, isn't he? Well, I think so. :)

Andrew opening his gift from his Mama:

Andrew modeling the ties, his Mama sent:

We had some cupcakes for dessert. I had this nice, healthy yogurt "frosting" recipe, but halfway through figured it's his birthday, let's go for chocolate!

Happy Birthday Andrew!

2009-06-09T00:17:00.001-05:00

Andrew's birthday was June 8th, which was just 18 minutes ago. :)

We had a great party, which the children planned from start to finish. We had a truly fantastic time.

I have lots of pictures to share and will post them soon.

How's school going?

2009-06-04T20:24:00.005-05:00

Awwww, thanks for asking about school, y'all! Well since we had the rush to get our Dossier updated back in April, I got thrown off a bit. But I've spoken with the school and I'm still good. I'm just a couple of weeks from being ready to take the exam. It's just a matter of sitting down and getting this last project completed. And then I'm going to take a break from all the books and get into some fiction. :) I've read so much about water over the past couple of months and all I can say is:

Just drink it! And no, Crystal Light, Wyler's, Propel, or any other thing that adds to clean, filtered water is not the same thing! Trust me on this. Seriously! There's no subsitute! So many folks have come to the conclusion that if all we did was start drinking the water we need, we'd cut down on all sorts of problems. At first I was skeptical until I realized just how many people don't drink the amount of water they need. In fact, I only know two people who probably get in enough water and that's just because they're weirdos like me. Ha! And I've read so much about the importance of water that I have even caught myself breaking into song about it (OK, so that's exaggerating, but it's close).

Nearly halfway!

2009-06-04T16:41:00.002-05:00

We've been very busy lately with many things going on.

On the fitness front, I'll reach three weeks on Saturday! I've only missed one day and that was from throwing out my back/hip.

I'm proud of myself this time because the guidelines are much more structured this time around, requiring an hour of physical activity every day.

Today I learned that I've lost another size! The program I chose for this new challenge contains a lot of sculpting and strength training, as well as aerobics, whereas before I did 90% aerobics.

I'll be sure to post an update on the actual halfway point.

In other news, we're enjoying our days off from school and the warmer spring days.

Blessed Again!

2009-05-31T14:45:00.020-05:00

Another entry on being blessed! Ain't it great?

There's a joke among those who know us that the majority of my close friends become missionaries or I become close friends with a missionary while they're on furlough.

It's inevitable.

Ever since Lattisha and her family went back to Africa, every now and then I've had dreams of a surprise visit at church. There was a suprise phone call once, when her husband called the house and then handed the phone to Lattisha. Lattisha didn't even know who was on the phone so we were BOTH surprised.

We had our church's 3 year anniversary celebration today and while getting ready, I thought wouldn't it be great if Lattisha and her family were here this morning? They could see how much the church has grown.

Andrew called from the church and said, "You won't believe who just walked in the door. I can't tell you, but you'll see." I immediately thought could it be her? No, that's not possible, families don't come back on furlough so soon.

When we got to church, I scanned the sanctuary. Then I saw a swish of long, blonde hair turn the corner and as soon as I saw her profile, ran down the hall (y'all know you're not supposed to run in church, right?) and screamed, "HEEEEEEEY!" I started crying and laughing while she kept trying to get me to remind her of the baby's name.

I told Carie this is how I'm gonna react when they come back to visit from Mexico, although I bet she'll give me ample warning.

To have such great women in my life is a real blessing! I consider these ladies role models and look up to both of them. Lattisha sent an e-mail to me a couple of months ago stating I was an inspiration to her and I thought, me? No way....YOU'RE the inspiration!

And of course Carie is such a wonderful Mama (in fact, Morgan just told me that she's the best mama she knows, because "she has five children and that's amazing.") and has such strong convictions about what she believes. And she deserves a medal for putting up with all my obsessiveness, especially while I was pregnant with Camden.

I think if I do ever have a home birth, I'm either going to Mexico or flying her here, because I don't know if I could envision a different person as a Midwife.

So, the opportunity to get a picture of both of these ladies together presented itself today and we took advantage of it.

Isn't it neat how certain folks are brought into our lives? I don't believe we meet people by accident or coincidence.

Here are the pics:

Lattisha with Elena and Camden and I in line to eat. Lattisha said that women in Africa wear these wraps as well. She said, "It's one long piece of cloth they wrap around their bodies." I said, "Yep! That's it. But here, it's called a Moby and you pay $40-$60 for one." Hmmmm......

Another pic of us--Andrew got a little camera happy. BTW, that's Carie's house in the background. If y'all remember, I often say if you want to know how to get a family of 7 into a 2 bedroom fifth wheel, check out her blog. :)

Carie (Jerez, Mexico), Me, and Lattisha (Zambia, Africa). Wow! One can see on our faces just how humid it is outside:

Carie, Me, Lattisha, and Lattisha's daughter, Lauren. Lauren is going to college here in the States, so they came over to get her things settled at the dorm:

Can't.Stand.Up

2009-05-28T11:31:00.010-05:00

Yesterday I hurt my back again. Well, actually it's my hips. Over the years, I've had the same trouble with my left hip getting knocked into a bad position. I don't know why this is. Perhaps it's from all those years of ballet and having to keep my hips turned out?

I've done great on the new 6 week challenge and while I was in the middle of doing some squats/leg raises, I felt that familiar pinch and shooting pain down my leg. I knew exactly what had happened and from that moment on, looked as though I needed a cane.

I had my first bout with this back in college, when after a few days broke down and saw our family doctor. After an exam and x-rays, my doctor put me on some anti-inflammatories (which I ended up taking every single day for about four months) and continued to walk slowly, carefully, and hunched over. Thankfully this was during the summer months, so I didn't have a huge group of fellow students staring at me. By the time the fall semester started, I was able to walk upright and come off the meds.

When Morgan was 9 months old, I yanked that hip out again while playing with her. Dreading those months upon months of drugs and pain, I called up a friend who is a massage therapist, hoping to go ahead and get some therapy started. She said, "Sweetie, massage is great, but I think you should call a chiropractor."

Not only had I never been to a chiropractor but I'd heard they were psychos, eager to mess with my beloved and extremely important spine. I wasn't going to follow all those ignorant folks who loved their chiropractors so much that they couldn't help but visit at least once a month.

But I was hurting so badly that I put down the $30 to see if it'd help.

I remember screaming when he adjusted my hip. When I left, I was in *more* pain than I'd been earlier. I wasn't happy with my friend, who denied my massage and advised my torture.

I let her know that, too.

A few hours later, I felt better but stiff and still sore, so I took a nap. That evening I felt fine. No more pain, able to walk completely upright, and without a single dose of anti-inflammatories.

So, after weighing months of pain and hundreds of dollars in drugs against $30, a 5 minute visit to the chiropractor, no pain meds, and one day of resting, I knew what my future treatments would be.

My chiropractor saw me this morning and said it was so bad, he wished he had a witness. Now my back is just stiff and sore, so I'm going to lay down this afternoon and hope to be walking upright by the evening.

Above Rubies Family Camp

2009-05-26T09:59:00.002-05:00

Here's a video montage from the Above Rubies Family Camp in Louisiana this past March. What a great weekend!

See if you can find any members of the Bojie Family, as there are a couple of us in there. :)

We hope to go back next year and I hope to attend a Ladies Retreat either this August or November, if the Above Rubies ministry comes to Arkansas again this year. They are fantastic weekends, so if anyone is interested in more info, let me know. :)

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T11:25:00.004-05:00

Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed a lot to the general public's nonchalant observance of Memorial Day

Morgan and I were talking earlier about Memorial Day. On TV and in newspaper ads, she has heard and read about sales, BBQ's, and folks who have the day off. For Morgan, Memorial Day was another day off to have some fun.

So I asked Morgan if she'd like to do some digging online to learn about Memorial Day and she was eager to get going.

Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia:

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 25 in 2009). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the civil war), it was expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any war or military action.

I have several friends whose husbands have fought in a war and I'm impressed with the strength and grace of those women. I don't know how they got through those times and Praise God those men came home safely!

While Memorial Day can be set aside as giving people that "three day weekend," those individuals who lost their lives in battle were someone's husband, wife, son, daughter, father, or mother. I can't imagine the emotions and loss those families feel.

Here's a video Morgan and I found and while the end seems addressed to Veteran's Day, it's certainly appropriate for Memorial Day.

First Week Down!

2009-05-23T11:24:00.006-05:00

I just completed my first week!! This new challenge is quite different from the last as it includes food choices and a weekly minimum. When I had to walk/run/jog 90 miles, I could do 2 miles one day and 5 on another day or whatever I wanted to do, as long as I got in 90 miles in 6 weeks. This new challenge requires exercise a minimum 6 hours a week.

Five more weeks to go! Let me know how you're doing, if you're also participating.

The last challenge was good to make exercise a habit, but this round I'm adding in lots of strength training and I think it will help get that tummy back where it should be. :)

More Branson Pictures

2009-05-21T19:39:00.016-05:00

Here are the rest of the pics from Branson:

Andrew with Morgan, Jared, and Elena just about to board a cart:

Camden and Mama having fun as Spectators:

Jared getting ready to go:

Morgan waiting on the green light:

The final round was all a bit much for Camden, who decided to settle down for a nap while the others played games in the arcade:

Camden watching his older siblings dig in the Fossil Dig at the Dinosaur Museum:

Morgan, Jared, and Elena digging in the dirt:

Jared playing a game at the Dinosaur Museum. Isn't this a great picture? He's come such a long, long way over the past couple of years:

The children getting ready for some miniature golf:

Just before we left, we were able to meet up with Bethany and Brenda, who have been working with us on adoption since 2007! Yes, the Bethany in the picture is the Bethany our little Bethany Michal Bhakti is named after. As soon as Brenda got the news of the baby's condition, she called the house and both ladies stayed in contact with me through the night, e-mailing our coordinator in India for more information. I was so impressed with how sympathetic and supportive they both were during that difficult time. And now they're there for support with our Ethiopia adoption:

What's a Neti Pot?

2009-05-21T12:07:00.010-05:00

Using a Neti Pot is useful when suffering from allergies and sinus problems. I was trying to look up something for a friend of mine and stumbled across this video on youtube.

So, if you've ever been curious about Neti pots, here's a short video. :)

Here's the video of the teen again. She's absolutely adorable. She sped up her speech but I've laughed so hard at her funny expressions that I can't hear what she's saying anyway.