I'm Back

It has been a week or so since my last post. I missed writing but I have been recovering from an awful infection and cold. (I don't often get sick - but when I do, I make it count!) We have had much going on since Thanksgiving! Which was wonderful by the way. And low carb. The stuffing and ham were so wonderful that I was a bit sad when the leftovers were gone. My Christmas shopping was almost completed over Black Friday and Cyber Monday leaving me with a few odds and ends and stocking stuffers left to pick up. We started our Jesse Tree on Monday - that is one of my favorite Christmas traditions. We were able to cover *some* schoolwork which was wonderful since this junk-of-a-virus had me thinking I was on the brink of death. I hope to cover many of these things in more detail soon. Until then, it feels great just to be up and around this morning feeling almost human!

A Sugar-Free Holiday

Our eating habits have changed drastically over the year as we have cut back the amount of sugar and starch we consume. Although we don't remove carbohydrates completely from our diet, they mostly come in the form of nut butters, veggies, and the occasional whole wheat products. You can see how that would make Thanksgiving a bit of a challenge. Sugar doesn't keep her carb counts as low as I do (I max out at 20 a day) but I am worried that the drastic increase in junk will throw her on a glucose rollercoaster and leave behind tummy troubles. With her recently fighting a pretty nasty cold, I didn't want to take any chances.

The Bird. I have the huge twenty pound turkey defrosting as I type. My husband is planning on smoking it this year. I didn't argue since everything he grills/smokes is delicious. It didn't hurt that it was one less thing that had to go in my tiny oven.

Deviled Eggs. They are on the menu no matter the occasion. (Yay! and already low carb!) The recipe came from my mother-in-law and is the same one that she and her mother used to make. They include bacon - and are addictively awesome. I usually make several dozen and the plate is always clean.

Mac and cheese. This one is a bit more tricky given the macaroni required for the "mac" part. Luckily, I found a pretty amazing Cauli-"mac" and cheese recipe from the boards over at Low Carb Friends. We have eaten it several times over the past months and the kids love it. I plan to dress it up with a good sharp cheddar, gruyere, and fontina cheeses.

String Bean Stacks.  Green beans. Wrapped in bacon. Yum!

Brussels and walnuts.  Yummy 'sprouts roasted in (sf) maple syrup and walnuts. These are so easy and so good!

The Stuffing.  This is actually the first year that I have made stuffing. Usually it is my much beloved dressing and while there are low carb cornbread variations available that we've tried (and really liked!) I wasn't sure how the almond flour would soak up. Instead we are making a sausage based stuffing with low-carb bread that I found on Youtube.  Review to follow.

Pumpkin Pie. This will be the real deal on special request from the hubs and Tater. I will probably remove some of the sweetener and make it a tad lower in carbs in case Sugar decides she wants a piece.

Almond Crusted  Carmel Cheesecake. The coup de gras. This is my favorite. I had to make a practice one a couple of weeks ago just to make sure that I got it right :) . A large slice with a cup of coffee will end our feast.

Those are the bones of our meal! It is considerably smaller this year since it will mostly be immediate family and my mother-in-law. I may even change my mind about using real dishes and go for the paper plates... It would make getting to the hot chocolate and Christmas tree decorating a lot easier!

Missing You This Thanksgiving

Today is the last day of school for the Thanksgiving holiday. Everyone has been a bit on the sick side, especially Sugar. Since her diagnosis, she doesn't spring back quite as quickly as the boys. Their couple of days of a cough and runny nose has turned into a monster for her. I was planning on making a trip to the doctor today if she didn't show signs of improvement but she was a bit more perky when she awoke.

All of their kids are taking the morning to go through their grids and make sure everything is caught up for the term. My daughter is finishing her last bit of a four day exam session (eek!) and soon the fun will begin.

Normally, the house is filled during Thanksgiving. We have quite a large family. My great-grandparents were in attendance until just a couple of years ago when their health finally kept them home during the festivities. We have been alternating hosting for the last couple of years and who shows up largely depends on the location. There are a few who always seem to slip in for at least a piece of pie.  It will be a bit more quiet this year.

My brother, who is a sucker for any holiday revolving around food, has rocketed to China to become a stuntman. Seriously. He has been deeply missed this year. As you can see, he is quite the character and brings a lot of joy to the table and much needed "boat rocking". We are a family of unapologetic teasers and debaters - he being the most brutally honest and funny. He is off following his dream in another country: flipping from buildings and practicing photography to his heart's content.

(I'll eat a piece of pumpkin cheesecake for ya, bro!)



Then we have the baby of the family. (Even though she is technically not the youngest...

she is by far the biggest baby.)

My sister married recently and moved a couple of hundred miles away. She wont be able to make it this year either. Growing up, I have fond memories of the three of us in the kitchen getting ready for the holidays. As we got older and my mom would work part of the day, sometimes it would be just she and I in the kitchen getting the last bit of the meal together. We tend make a good team on most things. (I would never tell her that.)
She is the peace maker of the group and brings everyone together. She is planning on cooking a Thanksgiving meal for her husband for the first time this year.
I hope he has a strong stomach. Ahem.

And finally... dressing.

Yes. Corn bread dressing. Covered in cranberry sauce. Maybe not completely on par with the people who wont be there -- but pretty close. I have been low-carbing with Sugar since April and her Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis. Normally, I don't mind the diet at all and have stuck to it almost religiously to help her make better choices and not feel like she is the only one having to miss out. I plan on doing the same through Thanksgiving and skipping out on the cornbread dressing. Sigh. I have found some pretty good substitutes though and am planning on sharing our menu with you tomorrow.

The holidays can have a different feel to them when family is missing. No matter where your family is this Thanksgiving, bringing the rolls, across the country, or awaiting in heaven, I genuinely hope that you have a wonderful day. Full of memories and love.

Strong

If anything is certain as a homeschooling mom, it is uncertainty. I don't think that really ever goes away, but rather just comes as cycles. I will be honest, I am a worrier. I stress out about everything from what I need to do, what I should have done, what I possibly could do in the next few years. I have to watch it, or I get into a dark place and worrying becomes a way of life. Homeschooling gives us a lot of worries, if we let it. There are opinions everywhere you look on how this homeschool journey is supposed to look, and every clan has something different to say. The classical-clan says you should be doing more. The CM-clan thinks you should be doing less. The unit study-clan says bring it all together and point the way. The Unschoolers say let them lead. Then there are groups with bits and pieces and slices in-between. There are curriculum choices, extracurricular choices, pens, pencils, Will I need a laminator?, Creationism vs. Evolution, socialization, Am I messing this whole thing up?, mastery or spiral, upside down or at the table, the list goes on and on... So many ways, so many worries.

Some days it is overwhelming. It never seems like enough. Between the responsibilities of running and managing my home, keeping up with the Littles, am I really doing right by my children? Am I preparing them for the world?

And, oh, the world! There is enough worry there! What a mess! Here I am, doing the best I can to teach love, kindness, mercy, and grace, modesty, and a desperate flaming love for God... and I have to wonder... Am I raising sheep for the slaughter?

I told you, I am a worrier.

There is one thing that I know. One thing that keeps me going. One tiny thing that makes my world right itself when I get lost in this maze.

I am not alone.

 

 

The same God that created the heavens and the earth, the same God who walked on water, calmed the seas, raised the dead, healed the sick, parted the seas, formed and molded each and every one of us in miraculous detail... He is the one who called me to this life. When I am here saying I can not, He is saying, through Me, it might as well already be done. He has made the promises, and He keeps His word. I don't have to worry about the future, because He holds it in the palm of His hand, and what better place for it to be?

 

 

So in a way, I am right. I am not able. By my own strength, I am lacking before I have even begun. Thank God for a Savior that meets us where we are at. Thank God for a Savior that knows our limitations and sees us through. Thank God that where we are weak, His strength shines. Thank God. Because He is so good.

 

 

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2 Corinthians 12:9

 

Education is a Life

This has been an interesting term as we have gotten used to days without a "teacher's manual". It has taken a bit of time to find a schedule that suits our family but we are getting there.

I remember when we first started homeschooling my older two children and I thought everything had to be just so. I converted our small bedroom into a little one room schoolhouse complete with train alphabet around the ceiling and desks. (I think I even had a pointer!) My, how the days have changed. We tend to be a bit more relaxed around here. Now the kids do their readings sprawled about on the floor, as they are cooking lunch, or wherever they may be. The atmosphere has changed from the pressure of me having to drill them with information to them being interested and finding out those things on their own. It took me awhile to learn and we have had many curriculum switches and tweaks over the years but I am very grateful for those lessons that I learned in the beginning.

I can feel the shift in the morning. It is almost like putting on a work uniform. I get into "teacher mode" and my tone becomes a bit more professional. "No honey, no we can't play right now, LATIN ROOTS!" as I hurry my children down their checklist for the day. The name of the game is Getting It Done. Fun things are set aside and the work begins.

Homeschooling can be all encompassing. Some days I am working on their schooling from the time I wake until they are put into bed. Since the switch to a Charlotte Mason method there are narrations. Some times endless narrations! In those days, it was worksheets. Oftentimes I wouldn't be able to find the exact form that I was needing and that left me designing my own into the evening hours. Long after the kids would be done for the day I would be on the computer looking up interesting graphics and making tables, trying to build the ultimate tool to drive the lesson home.

We want the best for our kids and homeschooling can be a lot of pressure. If they are not prepared for this world (socially, emotionally, or academically) there is no one to look at but us. Sometimes the weight of it all can take its toll on our attitudes. I get cranky when I am overwhelmed. When I get cranky, everything falls apart. Children are great at being little mirrors. When my attitude sours I see it in my kids first. Play turns into fighting. Tattling (oh the tattling!), snarky comments and quick tempers abound.

The problem with homeschooling is that it can be all encompassing. If we allow it, it can take cuddle time reading a favorite story and turn it into vocabulary drill and what kind of life is that? Homeschool moms don't get to clock out at the end of the day. We are in the throws of building a life. I am with my children almost every moment of every day and when they are grown, I want them to remember me as a mom that was also their teacher -- not a teacher primarily. I don't want to be so drawn into the "next thing" that I miss all of the life in the moment. Our children are growing and memories are being made despite that checklist.

 I give myself permission to choose to be a mom first. I give us permission to enjoy the journey. Practice saying yes to some of the fun things (even if they don't seem like much fun at the time).
Make cookies.
Play the board game.
Give them 15 more minutes.
Read the book. Again.
Color. Build. Play.
Learn something new together.

Let us build a life that includes learning as a benefit to an already full existence.

Morning Time

One of the things that has been lacking in our homeschool day is our morning time. We started out very well when my children were younger but, over the last year, morning time (or morning meeting) has fallen by the wayside. It is such an important tool that we can implement that can change the tone of our day within just a few minutes.

This is the time that I go over my older children's schedules for the day with them and plan when I will have individual time with each. They both have their own clipboard with term assignments to be checked off daily. By year 4, they are responsible for making sure that their work is completed and narrations are given before any free time is allowed. It is important for our daily schedules (and my sanity!) to know when I will hear narrations to keep from interrupting me as I am working or reading to the younger children. Once interrupted, it is hard to get them settled back down again and back on track.

 Morning meeting is also when we typically tackle our group subjects. I spread these subjects throughout the week on my daily checklist. This makes is simple for me and keeps me from letting some of our feast from falling through the cracks. I am excited to get started again and add a bit more structure to our mornings.

You can get my Morning Meeting checklist here. Enjoy!

A Season of Giving

In just a few days the smell of turkey and pumpkin pie will be wafting through our homes and those that we love will gather around our table. Talking and laughing (and more than one awkward family moment) will make our homes vibrate with festivity.

The holidays are among us. We are ushering in the season of giving.
 

Already as you browse your favorite stores, carols are in the air. Bell ringers have taken their positions at the entrance ways. Garland and poinsettias grace the storefronts and display cases.  Christmas has a way of railroading you at this time of year. I get it. I have four children and our Christmas shopping starts close to January 1^st! I love Christmas - it is by far my favorite holiday. There is nothing like secretly stowing away treasures for my lovely children in anticipation of Christmas Day when they will tear into those delicately wrapped packages, their faces alight with joy. My excitement is often greater than theirs as they uncover that special “something”.

However, I made a promise to myself last year. Somewhere between the cranberry sauce and the stocking stuffers, I had found something. It wasn’t satisfaction. It was stress. My kids are getting older and the gifts that they are asking for are getting more expensive. In addition to that, our family is growing. We added a brother-in-law, a long lost sister, her husband, and a newly found niece into the mix of an already large family.  I found my focus skewed. Instead of concentrating on making memories, I was worrying about my bottom line and making everyone happy with the wrong things. I got everything done (with a huff and a checkmark) but my joy was gone. Somehow I had traded my joy for mere activity. Come Christmas morning and I felt tired – more than tired – physically and emotionally exhausted and I made a vow.

In my season of giving, I would give more wisely.

I would give more wisely of myself. The weeks following thanksgiving can be nothing short of chaos. Everywhere you look, there is a new sale. A new “must have” thing. Another “must attend” party. Before you know it, you are the frazzled person rocking in the corner of another White Elephant gift exchange with a wrapped tchotchke swiped from your shelves because you couldn’t face another trip to the store and endless wait – praying earnestly that no one will notice that you forgot to dust it before cramming it into a wrinkled bag from under your bed (not that I have been there). This is the season of graciously saying no when I am overextended. I can’t show joy when I am overscheduled and overstimulated. My neighbor’s cousin’s grandmother will just have to understand that I won’t be able to make it to the cookie exchange though I am grateful for the invitation.

I would give more wisely to those in need. There is nothing like the reality check that comes with taking a good look around you. I have a wise family member who says, “Honey, no matter how bad you think your situation is, there is always someone that has it worse than you.” In our small town, poverty abounds. Every day I get on social media and see the pleas for help. Someone that can’t afford a tree this year. Pleas for help before electricity is disconnected. Requests for their children, anything, so that they will have a bit under the tree. That is just locally. Our world is in need. There are children going hungry this Christmas. Countries at war and refugees displaced. We aren’t rich and we can’t save the world but we can help one family. Personally.

I would truly give thanks. Thanksgiving can feel like the warm up prior to the real game. Black Friday ads come out with the pecan pie and coffee. Not this year. This year, I want to take a few minutes to savor. So much has happened in 2015. My nine year old was diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic and almost slipped into a coma. We have suffered through one of the roughest financial crises. Most of my family has moved (some out of country). My marriage almost took a fatal blow.

Our foundations have been shaken and tried but they have not faltered.

 I am thankful.

 We have made changes to our lives that will take time to get accustomed but I still have four smiling healthy faces looking up at me.

 I am thankful.

Eleven years of marriage and we have faced one of our biggest trials, hand in hand, and came back stronger.

I am thankful.

Though my family may be far apart, the love is stronger than ever.

 I am so thankful.

 If you have family and friends – if you have people around you that love and care about you - hold them close and be truly thankful for abundance. When you are truly grateful for the many blessings that you have, it becomes much harder to give your joy away in the midst of chaos. Let that gratitude for the things that really matter, and joy that can’t be shaken, anchor you through the holidays – and through life.

Wishing you a blessed and joyful Holiday season.