I started yesterday by waking the boys to do a little school before heading to the gym. We went to the gym and then to a friend's house for the day. I took care of her kids as a favor. Today I also started by waking the kids, saying do a little school work and then we will head to the gym. So maybe, just maybe, forcing them out of bed will help get them into the day. The problem is that they still don't go to sleep any earlier...maybe after a week of GET UP!! that will change. Last night I read a bit out of a scholarly journal I have been receiving. It is an educational journal, but this article I read last night was about agrarianism. Here is an excerpt: "In 1941, the Prairie Farmer, America's oldest farm periodical, celebrated its one hundredth anniversary. The centennial cover features a drawing of the iconic twentieth-century "new" farmer: tall, young, and slender. Bulky overalls have given way to tailored city clothes; the straw hat to a fedora. In the artist's words, "he is a strong, virile, keen, friendly, forward-looking citizen standing in a field of gold." Importantly, there are no horses or mules in that golden field. Instead, a tractor tills the ground. "Modern machinery has straightened the farmer's back," the artist happily reports. More boldly, an ad on the inside cover features a slender farm wife in stylish garb beaming over four happy children, with her husband on a tractor in the background. It declares that "every new MM machine put into action on your farm brings you closer to FREEDOM, and closer to the young folks for whom you are farming." At that moment, American farmers and their families still numbered about 29 million souls. The average farm was 160 acres in size. "The Prairie Farmer's cover for September 2007 features a photo of the occupational descendent of this archetypal industrial farmer. The twenty-first-century farmer is fairly old, paunchy from lack of exercise, standing by his only son, and working 1,700 acres in corn... All the same, American farmers and their families now number fewer than 2.5 million souls, 91 percent below the 1941 figure, while the average farmer approaches 65 years of age. Industrial agriculture has achieved its real end: not freedom and an abundance of children, but efficiency through the substitution of machines for people." I am hoping to reread the article soon. It seemed very interesting, but at that late hour not a whole lot was sticking in my head. In-laws come tomorrow, co-op starts this week, two weekend trips are planned, and so the article will have to wait a while. Sigh.

I took #2 to the doctor on Saturday afternoon because the Benadryl wasn't helping any longer. They put him on Prednisone, and the swelling went down quickly. Yesterday at church people were saying how badly he looked, but I would say, "No he looks a lot better." The poor thing looked like his face was at least twice the size on Saturday and his eye was nearly swollen shut. But he kept insisting that he was fine...he didn't want a shot! He took another oatmeal bath last night and this morning he looks much improved. He says his face still itches some, but the rest is ok. I went for a walk yesterday again. Kelly had gone to visit the neighbors yet again. I had to go pick her up in the van on Saturday because there was a storm and she wouldn't come back. When I walked over yesterday, the Dad of the house was outside with the kids. He said, "Hey! Is that your dog?" I answered, "No, I thought she was yours!" He seems like a nice guy, and the kids are sweet, too. I think we will have to have them over for dinner soon to apologize for our little girl's intrusions.

I decided to be proactive the other night and see if I could find some cheaper health insurance. Our's renews in June and it always goes up some. So I got on some of Clark Howard's sites and asked for quotes. Yesterday I answered the phone about every hour to hear another quote. Two agents actually said what I have sounds pretty good and if I'm not unhappy with the service I might as well stay with them. That was good to hear from someone who is not my agent! One guy said instead of looking at it as paying $444 for insurance, look at it as paying $111 for each person. Then it isn't so bad. It does sound a bit better, but then I added the deductible and it came to $319 per person. Should have left it alone. #1 was "queasy" again last night and I think we made a connection. He seems to get that way when he has dark soda. We had popcorn and rootbeer last night while we watched The Brady Bunch. So we will stop dark sodas and see if that makes any difference. #2 has awakened two mornings in a row now looking like a balloon. His poor little face is all swollen and his eye nearly shut. He says it doesn't hurt and the itching isn't too bad, so we are letting it go. I called a nurse practitioner friend and she said if he isn't having trouble breathing and isn't miserable with itching, then let it go. So he has had oatmeal baths, Caladryl Clear, Aveeno, and cold compresses, as well as lots of Benadryl. I just want to hug him he looks so bad. On a sweet medical note...My cousin's wife had a daughter this morning. No name yet, but they are fine. 7 Pounds, 11.7 ounces.

#2 has some kind of rash. I thought it might be another episode of hives, but it is bumpier. So my doctor friend looked and said it looks more like poison ivy. So now I need to go out to the woods where he has been hanging out and see what he got into. He has done a good job not scratching, but it certainly does look bad. ----------- My reading for class last night was about letting people belong to a group before they believe. My religious tradition has trouble with the concept. In the past especially, they wanted you to believe right before you could be part of the group. We are seeing more and more, though, that it is better to let people in and let them see Christ from the inside of a church. It struck me that Jesus did the same. He didn't require that people believe in him before he called them. He worked with what he had and helped them believe by being with him.

I have three friends here that are a lot of fun. We are in 4-H together, our kids love each other, and we enjoy being together without children. Our ages range about 15 years, we were raised in different ways, our religious backgrounds vary, we have different personality "types", but we really enjoy each other. I think what draws us together is a strong desire to serve God and man. Yesterday I told them I had a question and its answer would determine if I could still be their friend. I asked if they believe all of this "global warming stuff." They all said, "No." So that was it; we are no longer friends. I came home and asked my husband the same thing, and he wouldn't answer because he wants to be friends. Actually we are all still friends, and I found out something interesting. Some people see "global warming stuff" as being wrapped up in a bunch of "liberal hooey." As I continued to question my friends, I told them I didn't understand, because they sounded like they do believe in global warming. It was the actual cause of global warming that they question. See the cause isn't really all that important to me, I just want to do what I can to help my home (and my pocketbook). I look at what I do now affecting how my grandchildren will live. Hubby said there are "people" out there who think even with 5 kids I should be riding a bike everywhere I go. That is not something I hear when I listen to stories about global warming. What I hear are questions about how are we going to deal with rising ocean levels, flooding, pollution, increased fuel consumption, etc. I guess for me global warming is occuring, but I don't need all of the reasons why. I do think people have some responsibility. There are more people on earth than ever before and they are using more energy than ever before. That has to lead to more pollution and more "warming." But I am open to cyclical aspects to the earth as well. There was an Ice Age just about 150 years ago in Europe. I much prefer warming than Ice Ages. So we four are still friends, and hubby is still my Lover, but once again I see how people can hear the same thing differently.

Yesterday #1 was SOO hungry during church, and then when we got to the restaurant, he wouldn't eat. He wasn't feeling well again. Last night he also was complaining. So today we headed to the doctor. I waited with him for over 2 hours, then hubby came and waited so I could get home to receive #5 at noon. They got back around 12:30 only to tell me nothing is wrong. They took an Xray and he looks a little backed up, so I am making bread and kicking myself that I paid $150 to find out what I suspected...nothing. He comes from my mother's side of the family, it's just not right if something isn't wrong! The nurse basically told me I am a bad mother for letting this go for a month, but she doesn't know what I know. ---------- I went for a walk in the new neighborhood yesterday. I couldn't find Kelly and wanted a walk, so I went on a suspicion. Sure enough, here she came out of a driveway. I started talking to some kids and they told me she is over at their house all of the time. They thought she must live on the farm though, because they had seen her there before. They call her Callie and Cowgirl, and wondered why she always came to them when they called. No wonder...the name was so close! She has been trying to dig holes under their fence! Great! It's a good thing she is so lovable, or someone would have shot her by now.

We stopped at the pharmacy and got some antacids for #1 to see if that will help. It seems to be helping a little, but why he is having stomach problems is still undecided. He does seem to be having some worry issues about the scheduling we are doing in school. Last night I was working on the plans for the next two weeks and I broke his into daily lessons instead of weekly. He asked why I was doing that and I said I thought it would help him to be less worried about it if he could see what he has to do each day. He came over and kissed me and said thank you. Maybe that will help the stomach after all. ------- I had a dying chicken yesterday. She has been getting slower for the last couple of weeks, so I wasn't shocked that it was her. I put her in a rabbit cage so the other chickens wouldn't peck her and make her miserable. I haven't been out yet, but I imagine she is dead by now. I think it is time to order some more chickens. Mine are just getting too old. ------- #2 wants to make a tree house. I took him out to a wooded area near our house, and showed him where he could have a couple options. Now he wants all of his friends to come over and help build something and play out there. Last Child in the Woods doesn't have anything on this family!

It would seem that spring is on the way to the Carolinas. The chickens are nearly back to laying eggs. Green is becoming a brighter color. The air has a warmer feel. And yesterday, the rain came! We had more rain at one time than we have had in a year. I was wondering what the goats must be thinking...3 of them are not a year old yet, and this would have been "Apocalyptic" to them. --------- Guilt, frustration, and confusion. That is how I have been feeling lately. This parenting thing should be getting easier, shouldn't it? We took #1 out of school because he was going into depression. Now I have been pushing him to do better in his work, and he seems to be going back to some of the old ways. He is having stomach aches, trouble sleeping, and sadness. At some point, though, he has to start using correct capitalization and punctuation. --------- Self-esteem was enhanced Monday night though. Our 4-H club won Club of the Year, Service Club of the Year, and my two got Reporter and Photographer of the Year. Those awards are for the whole county! There were many other awards for our club as well. We certainly swept the place up.

This blog is a response to the Jesus Creed blog today. I left this comment on the blog. The question is whether churches should provide an exit strategy for Christians from the public schools. I apologize for the length of this response, but the topic is one that requires a lot of insight and thoughtful consideration. I respond as a person from a family with extensive public school experience, and myself as a former public and private school teacher. My husband is a minister, with many seminary degrees, and our decision to home school is often mistaken to be a conservative, Christian, religious decision that separates our children from the world. In fact, the decision was made after our first child became depressed in a public school Kindergarten. There was very little time devoted to “socialization” within his classroom. Recess was 15 minutes after a lunch that was demanded to be silent. The characteristic free time “center time” of Kindergarten was only allowed if you had finished your seat work, which my child hadn’t because he had been socializing during seat work. He began to have health problems, behavior problems, and personality changes—at 5 years old! After about 6 months of this, my husband announced that it was enough and we brought our son home. This decision has had happy results that were unintentional at the outset. My children are healthy and happy. They are very innocent compared to their public schooled friends. They have been able to have experiences that the public school setting does not allow. To those who would say we are sheltering our children and they need to be salt and light to the world, I would say, “Why do they have to be salt and light in the public school arena?” They are in 3 and 5 grades. They are salt and light in the art class they take at the university. They are salt and light to the 4-Hers of our county. They are salt and light to the elderly people they swim with every day. They are salt and light to friends and neighbors. They are salt and light to the county soccer league. And their salt and light resources are developed and nurtured by long daily doses in the home. They have even been salt and light to other church members. This past summer our older son was at his grandparents’ church. The Sunday School teacher was showing a clip from The Matrix to teach some point. Our son, knowing that he isn’t allowed to watch that movie because of its rating, took a stand and told the teacher he needed to leave and why. His insistence that his parents would not approve made a huge impact on the teacher and the students. A large portion of the class time, according to the teacher, was then spent on why he would make such an unpopular stand. His integrity was honored. I do not for one second think he would have had the guts to stand by his convictions if he had been raised in the schools and spent his “free time” with his parents. The stereotype of homeschoolers as conservative, blue-denim jumper wearing, large family, living off the land weirdos certainly has some merit. You don’t get a stereotype without a reason. However, within my home school support system there are Christians and Atheists, Democrats and Republicans, Conservatives and Liberals, and stereotypical and non-stereotypical homeschoolers. To judge all homeschoolers based on a stereotype is like saying you should be afraid of all black men; it’s just plain wrong and inaccurate. As far as the church being responsible for helping parents to have an exit strategy, I would say it is very difficult to make a blanket statement like that. Some churches, ours for instance, are too small to sponsor a school. I have taught in a Christian private school before, and I do not think therein lies the answer either. My students knew just as much about the world and what goes on in it as any public school student. They didn’t have the advantage of being in the midst of their family and having the constant, first-hand knowledge of what their parents expected. On top of that, a young child idolizes his teachers and thinks that ANYTHING they say is scientific fact, regardless of what their parents say. So the only possible church solution I can envision is one that makes it financially feasible for one parent to stay home with the children and school them. I do not, however, support such a decision. Perhaps the strongest way for the church to provide an exit strategy from the public schools is to help educate their members about financial responsibility and stewardship, as well as lessening the amount of extra-curricular activities that children participate in. The church should encourage families to spend time together; the LDS church certainly has a lot to teach us there. There is ever so much more I could say about this topic, but I think I have touched on the major issues. Thank you for the blog.

Last week #1 was to draw a picture of contentment. He drew the sock monkey that he has had since he was about 1 year old. This past week "EeEe" the monkey showed up several times around the house. #1 is in a mixed up stage of wanting to grow up and wanting to still be a child. I am excited about this changing time. I wonder what he will be, how he will look, what his voice will sound like. I look forward to seeing him become a successful young man, and some day a husband and father. But I also miss his babyhood. I remember him splashing through puddles when we would take a "wet walk," meeting Santa and asking him things, words that were said wrong like Doug for God, eating a sand and seaweed salad at the shore, but mostly just happiness and laughing. I love my boy. ------- The words to a song resonated with me in church. They were asking God to take my work as a sacrifice. I tried to think about what my "work" is, and I decided it is to guide children. I always expected to have a large family, but I married a man who didn't have the same expectation or desire. So I was thinking that I was mistaken about what my work is; then I thought about my nieces and nephew, the children I care for 3 days a week, the 4-H kids, the kids I teach at co-ops, and most especially, my own two precious children. I even was blessed with children in my profession before I had children of my own. God has certainly given me a lot of children to guide, and I hope my sacrifice is pleasing to Him. ------- This is an edit. I thought I would just quickly flip through the next couple of blogs listed after mine. Wow. The next one was in Spanish, the next German, the next Japanese, and the last English. The English one was by an 18 year old boy who is traveling Asia for 6 months; he is from the UK. Now the song resonating with me is "It's a Small World After All."

Yesterday I received a gift I have never had before...a nephew! Baby Isaac was born about 6:00 p.m., and weighed 8 pounds 8 1/2 ounces, and was 21 1/2 inches long. Mom and baby are doing great. I told my boys they will have to teach him to be a "MAN" and tell him things like, "Man up, boy!" They said, "Yeah, he'll be a wuss with those sisters." ------- I hate restless nights. I woke up about 2 a.m. and could not get back to sleep. Around 4:30 I thought I would try to make some hot cocoa and see if that would get me back to sleep. I was trying not to wake hubby because he has to work today. Instead, he woke up and came out to visit. He told me he had been awake thinking through some things and then shared them with me. So when I went back to bed, instead of my mind rolling through all of the things I had been thinking of before, I went through all of that PLUS what he had been thinking through. What a generous man. Of course, I was able to stay in bed a little longer than he was today, so he was repaid for his kindness. ------- #2 was grounded from dessert and candy this week. All day yesterday he told me, "As soon as I get up tomorrow I'm having a piece of candy and a Little Debbie cake." However, the computer seemed to draw his attention more. ------- This week was the first one to "schedule" school for the boys. I handed them a list at the beginning of the week of everything they had to do, and it was up to them to do it. They were both doing school last night. I think they will play a little less this week; it seemed to be a lesson learned. We'll find out. ------- One last blurb, (you see why I was up last night) we started watching the series A Family Affair. The kids really liked it. They dubbed it "a different kind of Brady Bunch."

Yesterday was errand day. I am getting a good bit better at it, and now that I am doing it once a week my errands aren't building up like they used to. Yesterday I had to go to Sam's to return a Turbotax set. I had bought the wrong one. I took #5 in with me to make the return and he asked what we were doing. I said, "I have to get a thing for the taxes." "Oh I like taxes. They're really fun." "No, not a taxi, taxes. And they aren't fun." --------- Darkie is in heat agin. I am planning to borrow Clyde again today and I sure hope he can do the job. I am afraid he is too short. Anyway, I just can't wait until all of these expensive houses go in next door and the goat goes in heat. Boy are they in for a rude awakening!

I went to bed Monday night crying that I just don't understand how I can work from 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and go to bed with more work than I started with. A woman's work is never done, I suppose. I did take a break last evening and go to dinner with a friend. Then we grabbed a hot cocoa at B&N and sat outside to enjoy the lovely evening and talk. It was good just to talk with a "big person" and have a few good laughs. She was commenting that her son got in the car after 4-H and said, "Isn't it nice to go to 4-H and not be held down, tackled, or teased?" She didn't know that he had been a part of the problems, so it was disturbing to her to hear that. It sure is nice though to not have those problems anymore.

Well the little game is over. I was there but didn't watch a bit of it. The conversation was more stimulating, and the commercials. Favorites are Richard Simmons in the head lights and the fire breathing bud light. #2 won first place in his category in the Unnatural Resources Fair yesterday. He made drawers out of orange juice cartons. He was very excited. #1 entered the chili cook-off at church, as did I, and neither one of us won. However, I came home with a bunch of chili, so I guess we are winners. I will be canning the rest of the day. This week starts a new chapter in home schooling. I will be handing #1 a schedule for the week and he has to get the work done by the end of the week. It is up to him when he works, and to make sure that he learns it. We'll see how it goes.

Forcing myself to stay with the resolution today. Tryon Palace is free today, and would be a great field trip to add to our history studies, but I really think I will be less stressed if I stay home. The house needs cleaning, the garden needs help, and the kids need attention. #1 is participating in the church chili cookoff and we need to get that started. You know chili tastes better when it has cooked a long time. ----- I think the cat that was raodkill on Wednesday was our cat, Leo. He hasn't been around since then. The two cats that have adopted us are sweet. Leo was a very moody cat, a great mouser so we kept him, but he would scratch and bite sometimes for what seemed to be no reason. As long as these cats are great mousers I will be happy to keep them. They are soft, like to be held and petted, and meow sweetly. ----- Interesting. People who work the graveyard shift have more hypertension, heart attacks, depression, and breast cancer. Electricity hasn't been the greatest thing ever, evidently.

I was thinking about Horton Hears a Who recently. You know the Dr. Seuss story; the elephant hears someone on a speck of dust but no one else does. So the elephant tries to save the people, but everyone else thinks he is crazy. They try to get rid of the speck of dust, to get rid of Horton, they ridicule and malign the elephant for doing what is right. I was thinking about this in a Christian perspective. Jesus tried to save the world and everyone thought he was nuts. He was ridiculed and maligned, and eventually gotten rid of. Now it is the Christians' turn to convince the world that they need saved, a little backward from Horton but still some parallels. Sometimes, though, when I look at all of the ways the world needs saving I feel like Horton looking at that field of pink flowers---where in the world do you start? People need the Lord.