Columbia Christian Homeschool Co-op

Our co-op has a new webpage!  I thought if any of you were curious as to what it is we participate in as homeschoolers or what a co-op schedule looks like, I'd share. 

Enjoy :-)

http://www.cchcwenatchee.org/home

March 1st

It's hard to believe I will have another birthday this month, as yesterday was so full of blessings it felt like my birthday!  First, I had a massage with my favorite lady at Hurst Chiropractic, and discovered that she, too, is expecting!  Then I had my 30 wk appt... and became SO thankful for the essential oils I've been using to help with the sometimes-excruciating pain that has been plaguing me this pregnancy!  Dr's only recommendation was a pregnancy belt, which I had read doesn't *really* help, it just assists a little, whereas the oils have given me pain-free days!  Lastly, God paved the way for me to not have to work so that I could attend a new local homeschool encouragement group which blessed me in a variety of ways! 

Happy Not-Quite Birthday to Me!  Thank you Lord, for Your abundant blessings!

A Healthy Reminder

This was in my recent Pioneers update:

" (talking about heading out to the mission field again...) But, we do it again and again because we really do believe there are things worth fighting for. And there are times when giving up or quitting isn’t the thing to do. But what makes this hard is that sometimes the exact same action that is right for one person can actually be wrong for another. Obviously, I’m not talking about moral or sin issues, but about life choices that can only be determined by walking in the light (Eph. 5:8-10) and listening to the still small voice (1 Kings 19:12)."

I found encouragement from this paragraph.  I often find myself comparing my life and experiences to others, and measuring myself against some imagined yard stick.  The wrong part is, I am measuring against a stick of my own creation, not the one God is measuring me by.  And just because God has called others to do certain things does not mean He has called me to.  I need to remember that I should make my goals what He has put before me, and not what He has put before others.  His best for their life is not His best for my life, and vice versa, even when it is all "good!"  I feel so tempted to get involved in all sorts of "good" things, but constantly must remember to measure things by what He has called my family to and if He is saying "yes" to that activity.  

Hope this encourages you today :-)

Another Homeschool Encourager

I love running into veteran homeschoolers!  People in general are pretty nice when they ask (and they always do!) "What grade are you in? Where do you go to school?"  Some are even sweet, saying "bless your heart momma!"  or "good for you, I could never do that!" (like it's not overwhelming for me! Ha!)
But homeschoolers who have been there and done that are SO encouraging!  I met one today while waiting for my bountiful basket.  She said something that brought me to the verge of tears right there in line..  "You will never regret homeschooling your kids.  No matter how much they learn, or how hard it is to teach each one individually, or how endless the days may seem..  You will never regret that YOU were the one to spend that time with them, and that you were there to see the light bulbs turn on.  No one can take that from you." 

Wow!  (Sob!)   It was like she had a message sent especially for me, here as we struggle to "find our groove."  Thank You Lord, for Your encouragement :-)

Sharing the Homeschool Love

I loved the gold nuggets found in this blog post at the Pioneer Woman the other day... Not in the article itself, but reading through the comments was SO encouraging and uplifting!

So I thought for myself and my homeschool friends, I will post things here that I find encouraging so I can reference them on days that somehow aren't going as planned... :-)

Answered Prayer!

I pray for wisdom in parenting a LOT. Probably a dozen times a day. Today, God really gave me a couple opportunities to exercise wisdom with Kiera, for which I am SO grateful. ******************************************************** **1. Kiera had asked for a Spree candy, to which I said no. She walked away without complaint, but as she passed the table, something fell out of her hand on the linoleum. I looked at her, asking what it was. She held up a Spree candy... So besides a little training, I also had her throw the whole box into the garbage. ********************************************************** 2. She had poured out a box of Jello into a bowl and was waiting for the teapot to heat up. A few minutes later, she ran over and volunteered to help Melia with whatever task I had just given her, but I noticed her lips were extremely orange! She'd been helping herself to the spoon! Not only did she not get to help Melia, she also was not allowed to help stir or pour the Jello. ********************************************************** Isn't that awesome? Both totally random ways that God allowed me to see her disobedience. Thank you Lord!!! :-)

Wow, time flies.

It's been days since I posted, and yet every day something happens that makes me think "Blog that!" Too bad I can't remember all the funny things they do... Anyway- just a quickie: We're good :-) Got a little cold going around, hoping to keep it little. We got our Silverwood ticket reading done for March, but I was late in turning it in, so I'm hoping we still get the tickets... We'll see. We're also looking at planning that together with a vacation package we bought 6 years ago (!) in Montana.... Hoping that will work out this summer sometime! I also won a 7 day vacation from Cascade Autocenter, but it's a promo thing so we're hoping it won't cost a ton out of pocket to make it work. Online reviews went either way. ****************************************************************** God is good. In every circumstance. He blew me away today when an old song that I LOVE came on the radio, and I quickly found myself with tears streaming down my cheeks as He reminded me that HE IS SO MUCH BIGGER than I can ever realize. Even when this world appears to be tanking, HE IS IN CONTROL... and at the end of it all, we get to be with Him forever. What problem do I have that is even visible when I'm focused on HIM? None. But sometimes, because we are who we are, it's terribly easy to get distracted by our details. So I need to remember to keep Him as the center, then life's "stuff" will stay at the priority level it belongs. :-) He is good. And I am His.

Interesting Night

Melia came into our room last night a little before 1 am. She was on the verge of breaking down, but she said "Daddy, I needed to tell you that I just can't sleep because something is hurting me inside my ear.... sobbbbbb" She was obviously in a LOT of pain, writhing and sobbing. She didn't have a fever, but we gave her some Tylenol right off. I put some oil around her ear and tried to get her to settle down, but it just wasn't happening. We had one ear candle left, having used the second of the pair on my own ear just the night prior. I was glad we hadn't used both!

It helped immediately. By the time it was done, she was in zero pain! Thank you LORD! What a change, from crying and writhing in pain to able to go straight to sleep~ amazing. I took her in this morning, and sure enough, her ear drum is bulging. I'm calling Gabe to have him pick up more candles on his way home from work! (yes, she did get some antibiotics as well)

If you want to know what I'm talking about... check these. You stick them in your ear, light it on fire, and hopefully it'll suck out any nasties. For Melia and I, it not only pulled out the wax, but also relieved the pressure somehow. We love them.

For Husbands: From the Duggars

This is a great list, plus super cute... you'll see when you get to number one...

Jim Bob Duggar's Tips for a Healthy Marriage

Relief

I finally finished our Genesis 1 class! And on time! I got really behind (like 2 months) because of the tremendous amount of stuff I didn't understand very well.... like quantum physics (oi!)... and if I don't understand well enough to explain it to anyone, then I don't like answering the essay questions halfway... you can see the spiral! But I buckled down and got 11 weeks done in 3! And finished the final last night. Just in time for Christmas!

Whew! Now I might actually get our Christmas cards completed!

Fundraiser for our Homeschool Co-op: Deadline NOV 3

We do a gift card fundraiser to help cover our insurance and rent at our little co-op.

How it works:
1. You order your gift cards.
2. You send me a check along with the ending printout page of what you ordered.
3. The co-op purchases these cards at a discounted rate, allowing them to keep the difference.

I hope you will consider what purchases you will be making this holiday season and consider pre-purchasing gift cards to cover that expense. There is a huge variety of brands available- go to shopwithscrip.com to take a gander! Visa is also included; it's located under "specialty retailers."

To enroll/order:
Go to shopwithscrip.com and click on the green box on the left hand side that says "Family Sign Up!"
Enter your information.
On the next page, enter our enrollment code "C3936L9223618"
Go through the ordering process. Print out the ending page with your total and send it to me along with a check for the total amount.

November 3rd is our deadline, so as long as you order by the end of that day (Wednesday) and let me know that your check is in the mail, I'll include your order. I'd really appreciate all the help we can get! Thank you!!

***Another way you can support us is to enroll with your Safeway club card at escrip.com. Our organization name is Columbia Christian Homeschool Co-op. It's very easy, and all you have to do is use your club card when you shop! Thanks!

SP Conference, Part Five

During the last leg of the day, we had the priviledge of listening to Steven Meyer of the Discovery Institute. Dr. Meyer is one of the leading individuals presenting the case for intelligent design, and this is what he showed us tonight. He shared his testimony, why he has pursued forming a "rigorous scientific argument" in favor of intelligent design, and the situation when the person (I can't remember his name) responsible for the content of the Smithsonian's publication allowed Dr. Meyer's article into the magazine. He was literally put through the ringer for even allowing an article that didn't support evolution into the journal- nevermind that the article was well written, accurate, and worth considering, which was his opinion. This man was later vindicated by a government agency for this abuse. His entire story is in Ben Stein's movie "EXpelled."
Dr. Meyer also gave us several of the examples he's used to exemplify ID- the nanotechnology that exists inside each of our cells, the motors that govern our cellular functions. The nail in the evolutionary coffin is that no one can explain the origin of information. Life does NOT happen without the information, and information had to be in place prior to, not evolving later. Even in the smallest of single cell organisms, these tiny machines with 20+ moving parts could not have evolved. One thing that was funny to me was that when he would put pictures of these miniature motors on the screen, you could see the recognition in the faces of the crowd. Not mine! All I see is a picture with lots of different parts. Just an example of how non-mechanically I think :-)

For the final presentation of the night, Joseph Farah (founder of Worldnetdaily.com) inspired us to stand strong to our convictions. Biblical convictions in particular. He started out by saying that he had a great talk all written out, just to listen to Alan Keyes present it the night before! :-) He then went on to tell us about the Tea Party movement, and how the masses are jumping on board in waves, but also how some groups are trying to limit what it is standing for... ie. economic change instead of a sweeping return to constitutional rights and freedoms. Then he shared the beginning of what I thought was one of the most convicting portions of the whole conference. He began with sharing what had happended earlier this summer with WorldnetDaily and Ann Coulter... ending with a list of conservative leaders who are bending on the issue of same-sex marriage. The point is that if you claim Christianity, if you stand by God's law, if you want to reflect Biblical morality... you better not be compromising on the issue of homosexuality. God could not have been more clear on His position regarding this sin. It is punishable by death, it is called "wicked," "perversion," "unnatural," "penalty...." (Genesis, Leviticus, Romans, Jude, 1 Corinthians) There is no "gray area." Marriage is defined by Christ Himself as between a man and woman. We can justify whatever we want- we've become very good at it. But if we take on the name of Christ as Christians, and then try to explain away what God has made very clear... we'd better be prepared to reap the consequences of our hypocrital testimony, from both God and the world.

How's that for controversial? :-) And please note- I have people I know and love who are gay. But when the time comes for me to stand on the Word, I pray for courage and strength and love towards all who disagree. We are called to be NOT of this world...

SP Conference, Part Three

Saturday morning started off with worship (all the sessions did), after which came Dan Stolebarger who is the executive director of KI. He blessed us with the Aaronic blessing, delving into the deeper and much sweeter meaning behind each phrase. Did you know "Shalom" means more than just "peace?" It means "wishing you the peace experienced by Adam in the garden, walking with God, before the fall." Doesn't that just knock your socks off?

Then came John Loeffler- we ended up purchasing several of his CDs to listen to from his radio broadcast "Steel on Steel" because we so enjoyed his "no bull" speaking style! He really delved into some problems we face as Christians: clashing worldviews, and how our schools and colleges were so smoothly taken over by secular humanists earlier in the 20th century, and how we (Gen's X,Y, and Millenial) have been taught to think dialectically instead of didactically. This rang throughout my conscience like a bell, as I have been wondering for years why I was a 4.0 student in high school and college, yet in the real world I struggle with thinking clearly in an argument, trying to explain truth (because truth is RELATIVE, right?!!) or to think critically and solve a problem on my own. I do best in regurgitating what I've been told- and that drives me nuts. It's like my classic experience in Humanism 101- when I was asked "why do I believe that it's ok to defend my family when the Bible clearly teaches not to murder?" And I couldn't come up with a single thing to say. Ask me to fix anything around the house, and if I haven't done it before I get completely lost before I even begin.

Walking away from John Loeffler's session, Gabe and I felt challenged to do several things. First, we need to learn more about and teach worldviews- it's paramount to individuals being able to stand up for our Christian morals and truths in a world where nearly everything is subjective. Second, we want to find something to help us in making sure that we teach our kids in the right way (since that's why we knew we wanted to homeschool in the first place! we just didn't know exactly why), and I believe this is difficult because if that's all I've ever known, how will I know how to do it differently?

Here's a quote from the Steel on Steel website doing a better explanation of what I am trying to say. "This (dialectically vs didactically) means they are taught there are no absolute facts or morals and a thought process based on feeling and collective thinking has been substituted for individuality and logical, rational thought. History has been revised to match politically-correct guidelines and the basis for belief in one's culture destroyed."

Now, please note this is regarding how our public education system has been compromised, and is not regarding the teachers who give their all to be the best educators they can be. There are fabulous teachers- I know! I had some! But as great as those great teachers were, they could neither individually nor corporately change the outcome of my education. That outcome is where we saw the dramatic difference between ourselves (Gabe and I) compared to our friends who were homeschooled (and could argue the socks off of us!) :-), and where we want to make the difference in our kids' education.

Oh yeah, and something else he said that just had us rolling with laughter. He was commenting on how folks are flocking to the Republican party like crazy, but unfortunately the picture is them running from the blood dripping fangs of Lucifer into the extended ruby red smile of Beelzebub. Hilarious!-loved it!

Home Again- Notes from Strategic Perspectives Confernece

I so wanted to post last night and the night before about what we were attending, but I know I have to be safe about posting that we aren't home! But now we are, and I can share.

I love this weekend. Every year it is such a rejuvenating experience! First off, the getting away with Gabe is so great :-) Second, the teaching is beyond fabulous, and I really really love when the Lord validates what He has been saying to my heart!

Friday night started with Ben Courson, a 23 year old author/teaching pastor who speaks regularly in front of a crowd of 1000-1500 young adults. He spoke on how our generations (x,y, and Millenials) have, for a variety of reasons, been taught and/or raised without the fear of God, even though we seem to have a great grasp on how much He loves us. I loved this because I felt exactly that way as God was maturing me- how I knew all about Him, but I had NO IDEA what it even meant to FEAR Him! John 14:15 If you love me, keep my commandments.

Second on Friday night was Alan Keyes. I had heard his name before, and was somewhat familiar with his resume, but had never heard him speak. When he started, I actually had the naughty thought "This man was a candidate for the 2000 Republican Presidential nomination?" His voice was quiet, introspective, and thoughtful. Not minutes later, I was blown away by his presence as he quickly got rolling into one of the most edifying and accurate! political speeches I've heard! One of my biggest pet peeves about politics is that I can't believe a single word that I hear. But from this man came truth and perspective that is uncommon among any realm of politics. I felt encouraged to vote with GOD's principles, and not those of our world. To have faith in what HE can do when we OBEY and follow His Word! One of my most favorite notes I took was this: (not exact, as I was desperately trying to keep up!) "It is better to live under the rule of sinners who acknowledge the Truth that condemns their sin than to live under those who would condemn that Truth." Wow! What's the point? For Christians to stand up and 1- VOTE! We have no right to complain one iota if we did not participate in the political process. 2- If you don't see it, BE IT! We are all disgusted by the "choose the lesser of two evils" options, so if God lays it on your heart- Be the better option! 3- READ the Word and understand what God has to say about government, military, social programs, and education! Understand why our founding fathers made this country into what they did, based upon Christian morals and beliefs, and vote to return it to a place of freedom, not socialistic opression.

More later... Saturday was overflowing with more amazing teaching and enlightenment!

Experiment (Odd Typing/misspellings on purpose)

So, Gabe and I have been talking. He came up with the idea of leaving an unloaded G u n in the middle of the room, and seeing what happened. (Our goal is to teach a fear/respect of fire arms)

Earlier this week, we were in the kitchen and he sent Kiera on a menial task to her room. I wondered what was going on, especially when he chuckled. Then he sent Melia to put something away. She trots through the living room, almost to her bedroom, then jumps around and screams, "AAhhh! G U N! Daddy- G U N!" I could not control my laughter, as she had passed it by 10 feet before the red light in her head went off :-) So funny, as this is just how she is. On top of whatever, but may be running a little late!

And, for the record, Kiera saw it and gave it a wide berth, but didn't follow through on the "Tell Daddy or Mommy right away if you see a g u n" rule. Good exercise though. I appreciate Gabe taking the time to follow through on those rules, especially when I just want them all locked up and out of sight- he does a better job of training in this regard than I do!

Blessing of Prayer

I have a neat experience to share. This Sunday, Gabe and I were in Sunday school, probably at about 10:15 am. Gabe received a text from our friend asking if he was at home, and if he had a tow strap. He was on his way to church, but was being called to rescue someone whose car had died. We'd been praying for this friend alot lately (in addition to the last 15+ years) and he's really been responding in amazing ways to the Lord. It struck us immediately as warfare.

Gabe texted him back, saying "no, we're at church, but we'll sit in the back so you can come in late." After Sunday school (15 minutes later) we were in the nursery, checking on Isaac. I told Gabe- I really think we should pray. So we did, identifying the warfare and praying that God would enable our friend to make it to church so he'd get to experience worship and teaching.

Not 5 minutes later, he walked in the door, in plenty of time! I can't explain it- his story and the distance he traveled would never fit into 20 minutes. But I do know that we needed to pray for God's protection and victory over this situation, and with my own eyes saw what I would believe was a miracle. Awesome He is, and how wonderfully He pursues us! AMEN!!!

Random and Cute Pictures

Kiera's foot decor
Don't leave your helmet laying around....

That's a pack for ya...

Play Ball!

Isaac's Second Haircut/Buzzcut

It's a good thing it grows quickly.

Doesn't he look both older and younger? Older because of the big boy haircut, younger because he almost looks bald. :-)
I think, while it's difficult when I don't like the way it turns out, I will like being able to do different cuts on him. Someday I might actually know what I'm doing!

Blessings

God is so good... so faithful.

I've been... what word to use... anxious? lackluster? intimidated?... about homeschooling. I don't know if everyone else feels it, but I definitely feel this pressure to do everything that everyone else is doing. And this anxiety that I don't have the "experience" to teach my kids, whether it be having been homeschooled personally or having a teacher's training. It's totally not that I don't want to do it. It's just a host of emotions that I've been experiencing the last month or so while other people's kids are SO excited to go back to public school, and other homeschool families are enrolling at Valley Academy (public school supplement to homeschooling). We are still doing Co-op, but everything else is just at home.

Anyway, Thursday I took the girls to the bank to sign some papers for co-op ('cause I'm the treasurer this year! Yikes!) and the lady was asking Melia about school. I was so blessed by Kiera's enthusiasm when she pipes up "We do homeschool!" Then the lady talked a little bit about how her son begged her at a young age to homeschool him, but she didn't. And later that same day at work another gal was telling me about how her son had begged her to homeschool him, but that she didn't because she didn't feel equipped.

Today I finally got the overall understanding that God is providing me with encouragement. Both these ladies seemed like they regretted not homeschooling their kids, and here I have the opportunity to do this, from the beginning, with plenty of time to find the process that works while still enjoying the time with my children. Plus, the whole point is not to raise the smartest kids in the world, but to raise up our family to LOVE and FEAR and OBEY the Lord! Amen!!!!

HE is Good and Faithful, and we are Blessed!

Funnies from Our House

Kiera made me laugh when she said "I couldn't find the other of this one, so I put this one on too."

We made some family trees, one for each girl. They enjoyed this activity- it really helps them to see who's who instead of just so many grandmas and papas. Melia looked at her page and said "It's a good thing we have all this room over here to fit in all the more kids we're gonna have!"

When I ask them to clean their room, Kiera basically hits the floor in frustration. She brings every little thing out to me to ask me where it goes, so I thought I would help them out by making a "Cleaning" poster identifying which things have special places that they go. Melia thought of one more and headed out to the table to make her own little poster... upon which she wrote "cleaning" from memory!!! (Oh, and for the record, she wanted their "pets" included on the to-do pick-up list!)

This is Ziva, our big, scary... giant baby who tries to curl her whole body onto her special pillow...