The Finished Product

This post is about furniture. Just so you know heading into it. :)

For years I've been dreaming of a particular style of table. Back in the day, I thought I had found said table. The problem? It was around $1900. (And the chairs we're like $100 ea....) So of course, we decided that we'd rather eat than have a table to sit at so I back-burnered that idea.

Well, during a perusal of a thread on the Sonlight forums regarding decorating (why *I* was there we'll never know...) I ran across THIS.

Oh my goodness - it was THE table!!! How handy, we didn't have a table other than the one at the parsonage....so guess what I asked for from my hubby for my birthday and Christmas? :) I have a very creative and handy hubby so he altered where he needed to and created where he wanted to. :)

Here is the finished product and I am tickled pink at the results.

MY table has no nails or screws in it though because Alan wanted to try dovetailing. It's awesome. REALLY, REALLY awesome. He'll be building a bench and a few chairs as we need them. In all his free time of course....:)

So, as you can see, we have plenty of space for visitors. Come on over - we'd love to have you.

Faith

A Home Schooling Poem....

I read this at a friends' site and found it hilarious and encouraging at the same time.

Enjoy!

Faith


'Twas 10 minutes to midnight and all through the house
not a creature was stirring except for me and my mouse.
The curriculum websites were all bookmarked and filed,
while I had visions of great books to my ceiling being piled.
And me with my finger poised to click on the "buy,"
a little voice in my head said "Show some restraint - oh, please try!"

"Go away," I said. "I don't want a fight.
I'll get all free shipping if I purchase tonight!"
"It's not fair" I cried out, "they all look so good."
but the voice in my head said, "What if you could?
Do you think your children would know what to do?
They don't need more books, they just need more of you!"

I pondered on this - what was that voice trying to say?
Did it not realize what a deal I could get on e-bay?
I thought and pondered and wondered some more,
then slowly my eyes drifted to the books on the floor.
Three writing, three phonics, four grammar and more,
all sitting there unused except to prop open the door.

I remember the hours spent scouring the sites
and the money I spent would give Bill Gates a fright.
"Come away from the computer." My children would request.
"I can't," I would say, "until I've found you the best."
"But we don't want something different or new,
we want you to teach us like you always used to."

I remember those days when we had just started out.
"I will teach them myself!" I'd announced with a shout.
And teach them I did with good books I'd picked
and they learned and we laughed and it all somehow clicked.
So there I sat in the dark about to purchase some more.
My children as usual would find it a boor.

"No more," I said suddenly clicking the x on the page.
"I'll no longer be a prisoner in this curriculum cage."
We already have plenty and we have quite enough,
we don't need all the new flashy hyped up school stuff.
We'll get back to basics and learning when ready.
We'll stop switching our methods and stay calm and steady.

I'll use what I have and I'll create or borrow the rest,
after all it's always been I who know my children the best.
I know what they like and I know what they need.
I'll not be tempted again by curriculum greed.
I'll teach them to honor the One from above.
I'll teach them to laugh and to live and to love.

Then I'll teach them the things that will make their minds grow
and the things out of books that all kids ought to know.
I'll teach them that learning goes on everyday
but not just in books but in how they live and they play.
If when they are grown they remember one thing I've said,
I want them to hear "Knowledge is power." from the voice in their heads.

~Aime (from The Well-Trained Mind forums)

Randomness...

....or just some tidbits so you realize that I am far from perfect.

I love my husband.

I love my kids.

I really love my husband.

Our kids pick and bicker more than I would like to admit. Yet, they continually surprise me by their flexibility and the fact that they don't have nearly as many hissy fits as I feel I have had.

I've had a year that I wish to never repeat.

I home school our kids. This means we pay for good books, a great science class for them to go to, let our son skin and dissect dead animals and chase snakes, we buy Teaching Textbooks math programs and I drive to the library at least once a week. We talk a lot too...some days.

I am getting used to being back in the United States.

I LOVE Winco grocery stores.

I spend too much time on the computer.

I am content in the knowledge that God is God and I am not. He is completely sovereign and I am trusting his care in spite of the fact that things haven't gone as I thought they would....in much of anything.

I am a huge coffee snob.

I don't really love chocolate.

I get my nails done occasionally. My toenails are ALWAYS painted. Always. I would love to get spa gift certificates for every birthday, anniversary, and/or holiday for the rest of my life. My husband knows this and has fulfilled that wish more than once.

My whole family ballroom dances. Or we're trying at least. :)

I feel guilty over having things so easy these days.

I love to clean and organize, I hate clutter and would rather have one really good *anything* that costs more than 6 trashy versions of the same thing.

I can't decide if I'd rather live in an urban apartment or have 5 acres in the boonies.

I'm grateful for the last 5 years of adventure that we've had in different zones, countries, languages...but am learning that seasons come and seasons go and I will choose to not resent that fact. Now we get to be part of it from a different angle.

Working at keeping calm and carrying on,

Faith

Now What?

It looks like we're going to be living here (Vancouver) thanks be to the LORD for the job Alan has. So now what?

Living arrangements.

At the moment we're still living in the parsonage at our church. This place has been a HUGE blessing. Not only is it rather convenient to the 50 times a week we're at church, but it came furnished and with the invite to stay as long as we needed. :)

This is especially helpful when we remember that we sold IT ALL when we left five years ago. We did keep a few things in a storage unit for one year but frankly, after a year of paying for storage and living without those things, you begin to re-evaluate how much you need that stuff. So we went through it back then and got rid of even more.

So we're left with those odd ends and bits of life that only make sense to you as a person or your life up to that point. Pictures, wedding books, baby clothes, family heirlooms and china. So, bless my parents' heart - they let us store some things under their house and saved us a bundle.

We've culled through even more of that 'stuff' as we've been here. Man - do things go to pot quickly in storage....just saying. Yet some of those bits and pieces have been fun to have back again. Although the china is staying under the house though until we wind up somewhere permanent.

Permanent...hmmmmm....I don't even know what that looks like or feels like anymore. It's an okay thing but I will admit to feeling somewhat gun shy about making decisions that seem like they would be permanent.

Yet, here we are. For our family's sake, at some point we will be moving to a more permanent place of residence.

Not for a while though. A couple of weeks ago we met with someone about finding out where we stand financially with our options. Well....it seems 5 years on the mission field doesn't exactly show up in the work history, so we need to wait a bit longer to be legit.

Oh well. If there's anything I've learned over the past years it's that God has His own timing. It never looks like my expected either. For me now, it's enough to know that He will provide. I can look back and see that one quite clearly.

Faith