Saturday, May 30, 2009

Big changes at our house

There has been a review of the way we are doing things resulting in the boys now have separate nap times. This enables me to read to Erin and Billy together in the morning (our current read aloud is The Muddle Headed Wombat which is brilliant! We're adding Miss Potter this coming week too.) and getting all schoolwork done by lunch time when Christopher arises. This has meant that our days are running a lot more smoothly, but it has chewed up my regular computer time! Stay tuned and watch this space, I will get back here again regularly soon!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Art at our house

A while a go I did a post on how I plan to teach Art to my kids.

Looking back, it wasn't a very good post!

It was done in haste, a cut and past job from some other stuff I am working on and didn't really explain what our Art LOOKS like.

This post won't really do it justice either, but I will revisit this from time to time. This blog is a little like my brain in that way, fragmented!

Anyways, art.

Why do we do art?

Two reasons really.

1. To develop an understanding of art - artistic literacy if you will - and the ability to gain a basic comprehension of artistic works.

2. To gain experience with using varied media and and artistic conventions in original creations. In real people speak - make our own stuff!

Why do I think this is important?

Art is a method of communication and expression. Through artwork, people have expressed what is going on inside their hearts and minds and/or what they observe going on around them since creation. This makes sense seeing as we were made in the image of the Creator! Being able to communicate with people, to understand and be understood by them, is a key goal of our homeschool. Being able to experience and pursue personal interests and create something original are also goals of our homeschool. Art is a brilliant way of doing this. That being said, my main art education came from being a model for art classes to help pay my way through Uni and I can barely draw a straight line! I am not an artist, but I am not about to let that stop me!

How does our art look with 4 kids under 5, 2 cats, untold numbers of mice and a house under renovation?

Like this.

Today, we tried out watercolours while the babies were asleep. Billy probably lasted about 10 or 15 minutes before loosing interest, but during that time he had fun, learned about colours and worked on his fine motor skills by manipulating his brush. Erin went for about 4 hours on and off through the day - she is my little artist! I had a go for about 20 minutes. I have not used watercolours before ever. The result? Nothing I am about to frame! And that is fine with me. This was our mess around session. The main aim of this time was becoming familiar with the materials.

Next month begins our new look at an artist. Our (my) chosen artist? Beatrix Potter. An amazing artist, naturalist and author and we have easy access to all her works in books that we own and online. This is why we are having a go at watercolour now, to gain an understanding of them so that we can understand how fantastic her works are!

Likely, we won't reach her standard in three months, it took her years to get there. Each of us will take away different things and spend varying amounts of time on our projects, but that is fine. Not all of us are called to be artists! It is not the product with our art sessions, but the process. Learning about some of the challenges with the materials, subject matter etc.

Notice how I am saying "we" and "us"? That is because I am learning too. I don't teach the kids art, I learn along side them. I share my knowledge and experience, and so do they. It is amazing what you can learn from a four year old who has spent a few hours working a media you know nothing about! And if they see me messing up, starting again and getting excited about learning something new, that teaches them far more than just art.

MUST HAVE elements of an art program, in my opinion, are:

Mess around times.
Learning about the materials by messing around with them makes for much less frustration when you are actually trying to get them to work. Imagine if someone handed you a palate of oils, canvas and the Mona Lisa and said "do that". That is how most kids feel when presented with a project and unfamiliar materials.

Good models.
Something to aim for, to INSPIRE! To want to produce art, you need to appreciate it!

Someone to learn with. Someone to share frustration and elation with in learning is a big plus.

Get EXCITED! If you are, they will be.

DON'T DO elements of an art program, in my opinion, are:

Don't expect the Mona Lisa. While the greats copied the masters etc. they only went on to be great because they loved what they did and messed around with the materials. There were a million 'failures' for every success. Focus on the process, not the product.

Don't do fluffy bunnies. Gluing cotton balls on a picture of a rabbit is not art. Do it if you want to, but don't call it art.

Don't keep going after it is not fun. 10-15 minutes A WEEK will teach more than pushing hours on end - especially with really little ones. If it is not fun, stop and do something else, come back later.

To see how other Aussie homeschoolers "do" art, pop over to Aussie Homeschool

To find a whole heap of different tips about everything under the sun, pop over to Works For Me Wednesday at

Monday, May 25, 2009

Monday Mythbuster: Equality = the same treatment

I saw a photo that I took of Erin when she was Christopher's age. She was covered in paint and glitter during one of our regular craft sessions and looked completely adorable and like she was having SO much fun.

Today, I packed up the paint before I got Christopher up from his nap.

When it was just Erin and I, it was natural to fill our somewhat empty days with sticking things together, painting them and pouring glitter all over them! I look back on those times fondly. I don't know if it did anything for her fine motor skills or not, but we had a ball.

Now, our days are not so empty and guiding a 19 month old through the "mess risks" inherant in such activities is just beyond me. Does this mean Christopher is deprived? NO He has two older siblings to play with almost constantly, more toys because he has all Erin AND Billy's cast offs (and the ones they still use but aren't using at that moment), goes on more walks and has a more kid friendly back yard than Erin did at his age. He stood on a chair beside me "helping" wash the dishes for an hour today and just hopped down from sitting on my lap, interrupting my 'puter time with fifty kisses in a row (I didn't mind!). In fact his childhood is TOTALLY different to Erin's, but no less rich.

Different does not mean "More" or "Less", it just means different.

If one child goes out for a treat or gets a present, it does not mean that they all must get their turn right there and then. It is just not practical to do things that way. Some days one gets more (attention, treats, stories etc.) other days another will. It all evens out over time.

To try and make sure they all have the same would be like taking them out for ice cream and, because one likes rocky road, another chocolate, and the other butterscotch, making them all have vanilla.

Each child has a different childhood because each child is different.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

My Eulogy

I listened to the words of a dying mother. Then I sat down and wrote my own eulogy.




This is not plan A.

This is NOBODIES plan A.

I have things to do.

I HAVE things to DO.

I had things to do.

I didn’t expect to die.

Ever.

I have too much to do.

I have babies to rock and when they are grown I will still be rocking them in my heart – praying for them, loving them. Perhaps when they are grown I will travel, work in orphanages and such to rock other people’s babies. Perhaps I will have some other adventure in store for me. But at this moment, I do not expect to die. I have too much to do. If Jesus delays His coming until I am very old I shall be sitting in my chair, looking at the pictures of my babies. I shall be still rocking them in my heart, praying for them and loving them well past my first century of life. I shall be puttering with my plants, stroking my animals, I shall be reading and thinking and writing and blogging, well past my 150th birthday. That’s the plan anyway, my plan.

You see, death and illness is not natural.

It is not right in the way of things.

It is abhorrent and wrong and we should never pretend different.

NEVER.

We pretend sometimes. We say “oh well, he had a good innings” when we hear of the death of someone aged in their nineties. We say “it is not THAT bad” when we see the death rates of swine flu. We forget the faces and statistics of the latest far-off civil war before we flip off the TV.

But when it is close, we can no longer pretend.

Even when death is a relief of sorts, after a long and drawn out illness and it brings a close to agony and suffering it still feels wrong.

There is still a hole, a vacuum, a black hole in our hearts when we give that last kiss goodbye.

When we try to bring comfort to a bereft husband, daughter, grandson, feeling about as effective as a butterfly beating against a window, we know it is wrong.

You sitting here today, you who loved and knew me, you know this is wrong.

I know it is usual, for a eulogy, to speak about the type of person the “deceased” was. To share funny anecdotes and heart rending stories. But the fact that I wrote this should have clued you into the fact that this is not a usual eulogy.

I have important things to say, and I am using this as a time to say it.

This is me, refusing to go gentle into that good night.

My hands have been stilled, dear ones. I can’t do this anymore. For some, unplanned, WRONG, reason, I am paused. Paused, while you go on without me.

There is a list of things I need you to do for me.

First, Jon.

Take care of him, please. Pray for him every day. Speak kind and soft words to him often, even years and years from this day. There is now a hole inside him and I love him and the thought of him being without me hurts so badly to think about I can hardly type. He has a big job. Several big jobs. Give him whatever help you can, whatever love you can, whatever kindness you can. Even at moments he seems undeserving, or surly, or less than perfect, especially then, love him so fiercely that he can’t help but be the good man that I know he is. This was supposed to be my job and I can no longer do it. Please, do it for me.

My babies.

At the moment that I am typing this, I am completely expecting and totally planning to be bouncing my grandbabies on my knee. The fact that this is being read out means that I will not bounce, or even see, my grandbabies. Such a thing is unfathomable to me, but it is none the less possible. My job as a Mum can be boiled down and refined to two most important things. The first is to pray for them. Every. Single. Day. The second is to love them. Every day. When they are lovable, and especially when they are not. I am not here to do this anymore. I need you to close the gap. I know that my Good God would not have let this happen if He could not provide for my babies. Perhaps it is you that He will use to fill this gap. If you can do nothing else, please, pray for them. I can’t ask you for anything else for them. The thought of them being without me shuts me down completely.

My Mum.

I am standing on the cusp of the realization that one day she may actually need me to take care of her. One day, she may need me. One day she may no longer be the indestructible, stubborn woman that I think I sometimes know and always, always love. Gather around her. Love her. Honor her for me. Treat her with respect. Make sure her socks match. Make sure her food is colorful and well presented. Listen to her, completely and without reservation. And pray, please, every day, for her. These are my jobs, please see that they are done.


Help me rage against the dying of the light.

Help me to love them even now.



Lastly, meet me.

I am paused. My body has died and you can no longer see, hear, touch or smell me. Perhaps we never even got a chance to say good bye. I have been presumptuous enough to ask you to help me to rage against the dying of this night. Allow me one more presumption. Allow me to ask you to meet me in the morning.

The real reason I have hijacked my own eulogy, is that I have only once recognised the person I have heard described in a eulogy. There is a tendency to polish up a person. To present a shiny saint, free of serious flaw. I need a true story here. I need you to remember me and remember that I ain’t shiny. I need you to tell my children who I really was. I need you to realize who I really was.


I need you to see my flaws.

Not the she-messes-up-every-now-and-then-but-she’s-really-very-nice flaws.

The real ones.

Let’s be honest.

I almost – I did – destroy my marriage. It arose from the ashes like a phoenix purely by God’s grace.

It is not in my nature to love the unlovely – less so to love those who are supposed to love me when they are unlovely. It is my nature to tear them down. As I write this, God is changing me. I am finding love in me – sometimes – even for the unlovely. Only because I know that this is what He does for Me.

It is in my nature to judge, scorn, scoff, use sarcasm and words like lethal weapons.

It is in my nature to be a smarty pants, to be self involved.

It is in my nature to be lazy and neglect the practical every day things that need doing in favour of indulgences.

If you do not understand this, if you do not see me for who I really am – was – am, you will not be able to see through me.

If you can’t see through me then I can’t show you Him.

I can’t show you Jesus.

All that is good that you saw in me came from Jesus, I promise you this.

I write from my heart as this is my last platform to tell you, to cry out to you, please, meet me.

Meet me in the morning after this good-night that I so rage against even now.

Stand with me in the dawn and see what I was made to be. See me made perfect and complete. And you will realize that all that is good in me that you have seen is barely a shadow of what I was supposed to be.

Let me speak to each of you individually for a moment.

My friend, my love, I see through you. While there are things that I love about you, there are things about you that I see that aren’t right. There are things about you that hurt you. Many of you, there are things about you that have hurt me. I tell you this, only so you will realize your need. This is my last ditch effort to say, Jesus loves you even when you are unlovely. Please, go to Him and learn what He can do for you so I can see you in the morning – in the dawn after this night.

Because if I can love you this much now, when you are so unlovely, I can’t wait to meet you on the other side, when you are made perfect.

This death is not the end – it is To Be Continued…

Saturday, May 23, 2009

I thought this was sweet....

Yeah, I know.

My name is Jess, and I am a clip-a-holic.

Lazy blogging?

Perhaps.

but watch this.

please.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Just one more thing....

I just watched a news story about Stellan.

It is worth a look.

Prayers for Stellan

OK, Not for kids but funny

Just a warning, I wouldn't let my kids watch this quite yet as the language isn't SQUEEKY clean and it may give them ideas so you may want to put on the headphones or wait until your little ones are in bed.

It made me laugh 'till I cried and also made me a little scared - the one trying to take the photo is Billy and the one with the yellow tie is grown up Christopher I am sure.

I am a homeschool Mum

I am a homeschool Mum.

I believe in strong Character Education.

Today I taught my son about Chivilry.


"We DO NOT hit ANYONE. ESPECIALLY girls.
Put down the shovel and say sorry to your sister."


I am a homeschool Mum.

I believe in giving my children a solid grounding in the Sciences.


Today I taught my children about physics: cause and effect...

"If you drop that it will break. See."

and natural history: animal behaviour...

"If you pull that cat's tail it will scratch you. See."

and biology: Human anatomy...

"Honey, there IS still blood inside you. Stop crying and let's just wash that"

and Chemistry


"Dirt will come off better with soap and water. Go and wash your hands again."


I am a homeschool Mum.

I believe in teaching my children about the Scriptures and Worship.


Through Bible study...


"...and King Darius called down to Daniel...What? No, there aren't lions under your bed. King Darius called down...put that down, now. King Darius....YOU stand THERE, NOW. YOU sit THERE, NOW. Keep your hands on your lap while I am reading please. Now, King Nebuchadnezzer...What? Oh yes King Darius, clever kid. Oh, you learned that from VeggieTales. Take your finger out of your nose please."


and singing songs of praise..
.

"Jesus loves me (put that down now) this I know (NOW) for the Bible tells me so (that is disobedience, come here) little ones to HIM belong...."


I am a homeschool Mum.

I believe in teaching my children about the world around them...


"Did you know that pizza comes from a country named Italy kids? No, not THIS pizza. Yes, you're right, Daddy did buy this one from the shop."

and events of history.

"You know, before cars people rode in horse carts and buggies. No, cars were invented before I was born. Yes, that is a long time ago."


I am a homeschool Mum.

I believe in giving my children life skills.


"Go and make your bed. Now. No, don't argue, now. What? HOW did the sheets get wet? Oh. Just leave it honey, I will do it in a minute. Can you empty the dishwasher instead please?"


I am a homeschool Mum.

I believe in giving my kids the best education I can.

I believe HOME is the most important part of HOMESCHOOL.


It has been one of those weeks, but it's Friday now and I am still glad that I am blessed with these children, this home and this life.

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Sleep Deprivation

I feel like a bit of a fraud writing this. After all, most of my babies sleep through within the first three months and are "good" sleepers. BUT, bad dreams, illness, teething, "stages", pregnancy discomforts/insomnia..... Yes, sleep deprivation is something I am at least a little familiar with! Here are my tips for doing without sleep.

1. Don't count the hours. Knowing you only had two hours sleep last night does not make you any less tired, in fact it may make you more tired. Don't bother doing the math.

2. Just keep moving. Do something, do something else, then do something after that. Don't sit down until you can stay down.

3. Lower your expectations for the day. You will not solve all the issues that have cropped up over the last year in one day, especially if it is a tired day. If it is a tired day, you may get a little weepy and sooky over this. Get a grip, do what you can and keep a mental "TA-DA!!" list of what you DID manage to do!

4. Remember, this too will pass. Grab hold of the postives of this stage of life and drink them in, don't focus on sleep or lack thereof.

5. Take those night time moments and use them for good. Pray, sing worship songs, speak blessings and scripture from your heart over your baby.

6. Keep things quiet, calm and dim. Don't turn on all the lights, make yourself a coffee and switch on the TV to feed the baby, this will signal that it is UP TIME! If things are as quiet and dim as you can make it, you are signaling that now is still sleep time.

7. Don't needlessly change nappies over night. Yes, I know some out there will call the parenting police on me, but hear me out. You are expecting this kid to sleep through, if they do that they will go all night without a nappy change. A nappy change WILL wake a kid up. The only reason I change a bub at night is if the nappy malfunctions, it is icky smelling or if I need a newborn to wake up to feed properly so they don't wake up after 20 minutes wanting me again.

8. Keep hydrated. For some reason, if I am tired I need to drink more. I feel a million times better if I do. If you are regularly feeding a bub, put a drink bottle next to your feeding spot. Otherwise, put one on your nightstand.

9. Eat low GI, high protein food. It is SOOOOO easy to snack when you're tired. Getting fat makes you even tireder. This is one I struggle with, but if you manage it that's good!

10. Don't expect to sleep through. It's hard when perfect strangers ask if your bub is sleeping through. It seems to be a big thing for our culture! At the end of the day, I like the extra sleep of bub sleeping through, older children staying asleep and not having my bladder pummeled by an internal infant, but it is a small price to pay for what I get.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Quickest update ever

Erin: making enormous progress with reading yet again after getting over a little slump. Will blog properly about that.....one day

Billy: can whistle. I know, he's so grown up!

Christopher: is joined at the hip with his stuffed monkey who looks hilariously like him.

Anna: has a temper. Watch her explode with frustration when she drops something or someone puts her down when she wants to be UP!! Funny and scary all at the same time.

(Lord, one day, can I have a weak willed one, just to see what it's like? No? OK, just thought I'd ask)

House: needs me, hence the speed post. Not too bad, but needs getting to before it does get too bad.

Garden: Jon has a ride on mower, yard looking like a yard rather than a junk heap for the first time since we moved in. All those wheel barrows of rubbish taken out, chopping back, chopping down, weeding etc. are starting to come together.

Jess




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Saturday, May 16, 2009

A challenge for each home schooling Mum

Choose a day when you are not schooling and watch one of your children closely.

Don't change what they are doing, or talk to them about what you are doing, just watch them.

Make a list (mentally or on paper) of all the 'educational' things they do and what they potentially learn from it.

For example:

Made bed (life skills, character values: responsibility, diligence)

played with lego with brother (maths, spatial reasoning, 3d sculpture, social skills)

bounced on trampoline playing pirates with sister (PE, kinesthetic activity, interpersonal relations, drama)

and on and on....


At the end of the day, look at the list.

Then relax and realise that your children are learning every day, even if you don't get all the 'educational stuff' done!

Friday, May 15, 2009

Who I am...part 2

Who I am is closely linked with what I believe.

I have been slow to write a statement of beliefs on here as such posts seem to attract googlesperts and divisive people on other blogs, but I doubt many such people frequent this blog.

So, what do I believe?

I believe that I need Jesus and all He so graciously offers.

I believe that I am so in need of His Grace, every day I understand just how deep this need is a little more.

I believe the Bible is the true and infallible Word of God, meant for teaching, rebuking, and correcting me and training me in the ways of righteousness

I believe nothing that I do or say can add to the gift of grace.

I believe that little by little every day, little by little in every way, Jesus is changing me.


Now for the doctrine stuff.


What "brand" am I?

I affiliate myself with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, but do not believe this affiliation means that I should check in my brain at the door, but that I should continue to maintain a direct line with God and His Word, testing all spirits.

Do you hold a Quiverfull Conviction (a belief that all women should receive children eagerly as blessings from God, eschewing all forms of birth control, including natural family planning and sterilization.)? Do you keep having kids because you think birth control is a sin?

No I do not hold a quiverfull conviction. My thoughts on this subject are very close to a particularly articulate blog post written by Amy over at Amy's Humble Musings. I've also touched on this before. The short version of my beliefs is: I receive each of my children as a gift from God. I am thrilled to receive each, blessed with wonderful pregnancies and births I see no reason to down or stop that outweigh the reasons I have for keeping on going! But one arrow, shot straight, won the Battle of Hastings. I believe that the most important thing I need to do as a parent, is raise my babies to God's Glory.


Do you think homeschooling is required to raise Godly children?

I love homeschooling and I am passionate about it. But no, in almost 20 years of close contact with homeschooling (observer, student and teacher) I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly of homeschooling. I believe homeschooling is what my family has been called to do, I don't really have time to think about what other people should do to tell the truth. I am quite self involved that way!

So here is a little more of who I am, what I believe.
Thank-you again for stopping by!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

And here's an extra tickle...



The article it is based on can be found HERE

I must say, I am actually getting surprisingly few of these comments lately and I just feel sorry for those who make them now!

A tickle on a thursday....

It's Thursday.
Long enough for the new week resolutions to have come undone,
but too far from the weekend to really get excited about that yet.
Time for a funny cat pic!

lolcats funny cat pictures

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

The simplest nature walk ever.

Give each child an empty egg carton.

Ask them to fill each cup with something God made that they found in the back yard.

Erin's interpretation:
lavender, autumn leaves, seeds, bulbs, grass, pebbles, clover, lawn dasies etc.

Billy's interpretation:
Dirt. In every single cup.

The Lord God Made It All!!!!

(I'm claiming this one as a little victory as I actually got organised enough to do this!)

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Update

Erin:
just showed me a picture of a butterfly that she coloured in. It was done symmetrically and all in the lines, my little girl is growing up *sob*. She was devastated yesterday when she accidentally dropped her piggy bank and smashed it to smithereens. She does drama well and for the rest of day would randomly start sobbing and wail "It was my FAVOURITE piggy bank, and I loved it and I BROKE it! Oh no, I will have to buy ANOTHER one! I will have to save up my money WAAAAAIIIILLLLL!" I probably would have had a little more sympathy if she hadn't been surreptitiously trying to get it off the top of the freezer without asking first, but as it was I just had to bite back giggles at the drama queen impressions as I told her "well honey, lesson learned. Suck it up kiddo." I am so harsh.

Billy:
wore a back pack with some changes of clothes and a quilt in it all day at Agfest on Friday. He insisted on carrying it and didn't complain once. I had to laugh when an elderly lady tapped him on the shoulder and whispered "you know, your bag is almost as big as you are!" He is so wiry and strong, I poked his belly this afternoon and it was like poking a brick wall! The boy is pure muscle.

Christopher:
is becoming reacquainted with blanket time. He is getting too heavy to tote in my sling now and I needed a way to contain him other than the portacot. I kinda keep putting things in the portacot when I am "cleaning up" so I can't fit Christopher in and it just gets in the way. Given that my youngest son has been specially created to do some amazing feat involving a strong will, character and single-minded focus (read: is stubborn beyond all belief) it is going quite well! Quick confession: of all my children Christopher is most able to make me completely melt or break out in giggles at the moment, but he is also the one who makes me say to Beloved: "I am SOOO glad I am not a single mother, I could not handle that child on my own!"

Anna:
needs to stop growing up so fast! When we were out last Friday I saw pregnant bellies and newborns and got a little wistful. Some babies seem content to just stay babies, others seem to plunge forward and grow up extra fast. Anna is the latter. If I put her in her rocker, she often cranes forward lifting her head, neck and shoulders off the rocker to try and sit up. She has never been content laying in a sling unless she's asleep, preferring to be forward facing upright so she can see everything. She is such a happy girl though and I love waking up to her cooing and talking in the morning.

The house:
is 60% reorganised now with the kitchen finally finished being thoroughly cleaned, the lounge room totally rearranged yet again and a new set of drawers in our room meaning a complete reworking in progress again. If the cat pees on my PJ pants or in a basket of clean washing again, it is in MORTAL danger and if it doesn't start catching mice soon I want to exchange it for a dog. The kids do adore it though and it is very tollerant so I guess I will put up with it.

The garden:
is a busy place at the moment with crisp autumn days providing the perfect foil for planting, pruning and cutting out trees and shrubs that are weeds, ugly or in the wrong spot.

Jess





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Monday, May 11, 2009

Not Me Monday

In the interest of transparency, that is, you looking through me and seeing HIM, I am participating in Not Me Monday this week. So...



* It wasn't me who threatened to take the cat back to the RSPCA shelter and exchange him for a dog after the rotten animal PEED ALL OVER MY PJ PANTS!!!!! And everything else in the house.

* It wasn't me who started blogging after doing the banking even though my house is in total chaos and my children running wild. Nope, not me.

* And I certainly wouldn't have my children sitting down in front of the TV while I did it, even if it is educational and it's raining outside. No way would I try and justify sitting kids in front of TV as a babysitter by calling it educational, no!

* It wasn't me who ate milo and brown sugar last night with a spoon after the kids went to bed. I wouldn't do that, never.

* It wasn't ME who told Christopher to go and find the cat, knowing full well Christopher would chase said cat, just because it may buy me a few minutes peace to get tea.

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Chore Bingo - tip

I find it hard to find a whole hour where I don't get interrupted these days, especially one where everyone is awake! So my cleaning hour kinda doesn't work anymore. So instead I have made a chart with each chore that needs to be done on a weekly or fortnightly basis. I try and do one or more a day and when I do one I colour it in. When they are all coloured in, BINGO! I get a new chore sheet - lucky me. No, really, I get a cleaner house than I had before and a family who is that little more comfortable!

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

He adores me, he adornes me

Like I wear the $99 "dress ring" that we bought so many years ago.
Both of us students, broke, the shop assistant sniffing at us "that's a DRESS ring, not an ENGAGEMENT ring!", us seeing forever in the tiny diamond chips and the sapphire.

That is how I wear the flowers and leaves his firstborn son brings me in my hair.
Autumn colours, lawn daisies, dandelions, clutched in a grubby hand with offerings of "some leaves and flowers for your hair Mum".

Marveling at the beauty, but marveling more of the giver.

So should I marvel at this robe of righteousness, this Armour of the Lord.

Given to me, by one who adores me.