Don't tell anyone, but...

The reason I'm really writing is to make a confession to you, my friends and family who read my silly blog.  And here it is....I'm a selfish person.  Some of you are chuckling, shaking your head, and laughing, all the while saying, "Well, DUH!!!!  We could've told you that."  But I'm serious.  Have you read my most recent Facebook entry?  Here it is...

"So, yesterday, I was talking to my mom about the snow. I said, "I hope the electricity doesn't go out. I'm not in the mood for that." ...And then I heard myself...and I thought about Haiti...and I was ashamed."

Can you believe the arrogance of that "I'm not in the mood" part???  NOT IN THE MOOD???  Seriously, I'm thinking that one Tueday morning, back a few weeks ago now, some sweet mother in Haiti woke up, looked around at her digs, felt bored at the upcoming daily grind, and thought, "Gee, I'd like to shake things up a little.  Today would be a GREAT day for an earthquake!"  NOT!  No one in Haiti is in the mood to deal with the things they're coping with. 

The gall of ME to think that my moods should be of any matter to God or the universe in general???

Just in the interest of being totally transparent here, I'll share another great example.  Our church has something called the Levite ministry.  Basically it means you get to clean the church.  When I realized that it was our turn to clean the church, I threw a mini-pity-party.  Again, I just wasn't in the mood.  I had other, "more important" things to do. 

While I was taking a shower getting ready to go into town, God spoke to me.  (WHAT?  Doesn't God speak to YOU while you're in the shower???)  Basically He let me know that I was a hypocrite.  See, I want... no scratch that... I LONG for God to use me.  But I want Him to use me on MY terms.  I want Him to use me for something wonderful, something important (Right?  Don't we all?).  Cleaning the church?  That's evidently just a little too ordinary and mundane.   I won't lie.  My attitude didn't get better immediately.  It's taken some time for that revelation to seep into my heart.  You know, the whole "He who is faithful with little..." idea?  You can ask me after my next turn to clean the church whether this little revelation has really stuck or not.  We'll see...

Anyway, I hope you don't think too much less of me.  I'm sure you had NO CLUE I had these kinds of glaring faults, right????  Don't laugh!!

On a more serious note  (and to distract you from laughing at me), maybe you noticed the two "buttons" I added to my sidebar. One is for "Amazima", a ministry in Uganda that I recently found while I was doing some research about world orphans.  The other button is for the non-profit ministry "147 Million Orphans" which helps to raise money and awareness for orphans. I believe it's actually a sister organization for Amazima. Click on them and take a look. Good stuff there.

Haiti on your heart?

Haiti is so heavy on our hearts right now.  I figure that's probably the case for lots of folks, so I thought I'd post a few links to websites that are relevant.  Pursue them at your leisure.  Pray for the people that are being the hands and feet of Jesus to the people of Haiti.

http://hopeinthelight.org/index.html
This is the organization that MCF has been supporting.  A group from our church went to Haiti this past May for a mission trip.

http://www.joyinhope.org/earthquake/index.html
This is another organization working in Haiti.  They have established 2 children's homes and are currently working to distribute supplies that are sent to Haiti.

Here is a blog post by one of the ladies working with Joy in Hope.  If you don't cry when you read this, you might want to check your pulse...  http://www.mangine.org/2010/01/patricia-refugee.html

I love what the families working with Joy in Hope are doing.  There are two families.  They each are caring for about 20 children in a family home--much like a foster home.  The idea is that instead of adopting children from Haiti and bringing them to America, they are raising these children in a Christian home IN HAITI.  These children will grow up with a family, an education, and knowing Christ, and hopefully become part of the solution to Haiti's many troubles. 

Here's a post written by the other lady who is a mom in one of the family homes.  http://pyesinhaiti.blogspot.com/2010/01/get-it-out.html

And finally, I'll leave you with this link to a YouTube message from Mark Driscoll based on the time he spent in Haiti.  It's about 1 1/2 hours long.  I would encourage you to watch it--tissues in hand--prepared to fall on your face begging God to help you re-prioritize your life so that what breaks his heart will break yours. It will bring the Haiti situation into crystal clear focus for you.

Homeschooling and That Big Yellow Bus...

Saturday is the day I try to prepare for the upcoming homeschooling week.  As I was creating assignment checklists for the children for next week, I realized that, according to my attendance records, we should be finished with our school year at the end of April.  It's always a relief when I get the "required" number of days done each year to satisfy the state's requirements, but I prefer schooling year-round, which allows for some "give" in our schedule, as well as a continuation of structure to our days.  So, even though we won't necessarily do a full curriculum load through the summer months, we will still school.

John Wesley will be a high schooler next year!  That fact has had me researching high school requirements and evaluating curriculum choices. Honestly that's the reason I haven't blogged in so long.  I have spent most all of my online time researching and ordering curricula for next year.  I am pleased with the array of available possibilities I found, and I have made most of the final decisions for his (and the other children's) books for next year.  I have ordered some of them already as well.   It may seem early to start buying for next year, but when you consider that homeschooling our children costs well over a thousand dollars (closer to two actually) per year in curricula and supplementary materials (lab equipment, manipulatives, educational games and software) starting early makes sense.

Most of the books I have chosen present the subject matter from a Christian standpoint.  I have to be careful, though, because although I DO want them to have an education presented from the standpoint of a Christian worldview, I don't want to leave out information that isn't necessarily "Christian" in nature--dismissing it purely because it doesn't further the cause.  There are things they NEED to know, if for no other reason, than to understand how to defend their faith and how to minister to others who have been taught to believe differently than they do.  I am a firm believer that as Christians, we shouldn't stick our heads in the sand regarding issues that challenge Christianity.  Those issues should be presented to our children.  They should also have the information about what we as Christians believe and more importantly, WHY we believe such and so.  I hope to give them the tools to help them understand and defend (if necessary) their beliefs.

I love homeschooling.  It is a privilege I really never expected to have--and it isn't something I take lightly by any means.  It is a huge responsibility--truly one that can seem nearly overwhelming sometimes.  I will admit that there have been days when I think how much easier it would be to send my crew up the hill to wait for the big yellow bus.  Just think of how many more hours that would add to my day! I could get a job to earn some extra money for the family and not have the heavy weight of the education of my children on my shoulders!  It would be someone else's responsibility!  But I usually get just about that far in my reverie before it comes to a screeching halt.  Before I explain, I need to make a disclaimer.  I have lots of friends that are good teachers; family members that are wonderful teachers; indeed, had I chosen to finish my last year and 1/2 of college, I would be a teacher (oops, I *AM* a teacher--and SO IS EVERY MOTHER and FATHER).  I will even be the first one to say that we have very good schools here in Johnson county.  But...the truth is that there isn't a single teacher in any of these county schools...or any other school, Christian, or otherwise, who will care about and feel personally invested in my children the way I do--just because they're MY children.

Schooling my children is about WAY more than academics.  It's about their hearts as much as their minds.  And I know that no amount of money from a job and no amount of "me" time would be worth abdicating the responsibility of meeting the needs of my children on a daily basis.  Yes, there are things we don't have.  We stretch things out, make do with things that aren't quite perfect, we live in a much smaller house than we might choose to otherwise.  There are lots of corners that are cut to make every dollar Harold earns go just a little further.  But honestly, when I think of the alternative of having things we think we want and living in a bigger house, what would be the point if my kids (and I) were gone for all but about 4 hours of our waking time each day?  I look at the big beautiful houses that we pass when we are out..and there is never anyone at home.  Dad AND MOM have to work to meet the payment, the kids are at school and then after-school programs and lessons so Mom and Dad can work till 5:00.  If they are lucky, they're all home by 6:00.  Dinner, homework, and bedtime for the children by 9:30 or 10:00 --would leave us no time to enjoy that bigger house, much less each other.  When I look at things from that perspective, contentment comes easily!

Our days seem to fly by, often leaving at least a few (and often several) details from my to-do list undone.  I can't imagine how it would be if we weren't even at home for most of our days?  How and WHEN would I deal with those heart issues that so often need to be worked on in my children (and in myself)!  Every day when we are sitting around our table for "Morning Meeting", studying our Bibles and praying together, always on my lips and in my heart is a prayer of thanks for the privilege of spending my days with my children.  And when I hear the yellow bus pass us by, early in the morning while my beloved ones are still sleeping snug in their beds, I say a prayer of thanks that in a few short moments I will be the lucky one to witness those moments when they "get" that new math concept--not to mention that I get to BE the one who helps them "get" it!  (What a thrill and a privilege it was to hear children whom I had taught to read reading their first words!!!)  I will get to be there when a grain of truth from God's Word is planted in their hearts--or better yet, to see the fruit of previous plantings.   I wouldn't miss it for the world!

So, if you've read this far, I'm impressed.  I went a little long, there.  But, hey, it IS MY blog, after all!  Now, you know everything you never wanted to know about what motivates our homeschooling.  I realize there are folks who are adamantly opposed to homeschooling, and that doesn't bother me.  What works for me obviously won't work for everyone, just as what works for someone else won't work for me.  God made us all differently--what a boring world this would be if the only flavor was vanilla, right?  Thankfully, the Lord saw fit to add a few nuts (like us) to the mix!  :)

Got Milk?

Here's Flip, our sweet milker, who lost her twins back at Christmas time.  We've been milking her since then.  Isn't she pretty?  She's still a little skittish, but is starting to recognize the benefits of coming when it's milking time.  A yummy snack and sweet relief!  What girl could refuse that?  (John Wesley made the milk stand. Kudos to him!)

Here's her fresh milk just brought in the house.  We've been reading a lot about the nutritional benefits of drinking raw milk, but we're still so indoctrinated in the USDA standards, taught to us from our earliest years in school, that we have decided to pasteurize the milk for now until we get it settled in our minds that the UDSA isn't GOD.  I'm sure Noah and all his sons didn't pasteurize their milk. 

So, first, we strain it through a double thickness of floursack cloth (yes, we make sure it's very clean) to get out the nasties like goat hairs and any debris. (Get over it...it's just dirt, and I can guarantee you it's cleaner than the milk that ends up in the coolers at our local groceries--I have been reading some pretty disgusting stuff about where all our food comes from--alas, I'm still eating...)

Then you have to get the milk to a certain temperature and maintain that for a prescribed amount of time.  Notice, I'm not being specific, because we've found a bazillion different recommendations, so we're trying them all till we find the one we like best. :)  One pot inside another to create a double boiler.  You can buy special filters and pasteurizers, but I think this setup has worked just fine for now.  If we find over time that there are problems with it, we'll look into those, but our motto this year is SIMPLIFY!  What's more simple than using what you've already got?  Less clutter and FREE!  Two qualities I love in a product!

Brownies, anyone?

Then another quick-cool ice bath

Then into clean jars and into the fridge to be used and enjoyed.  Well, we're getting around to that "enjoy" part.  It does taste different than cow's milk and some of us are having a hard time transitioning--especially in items like gravy, where milk is the main ingredient.  But in other cooking, where milk is used in smaller quantities, it's completely undetectable.  Drinking it with ice helps a lot.  I think because it waters it down a little.  Goat's milk, particularly Nubian milk (I've read), has a very high fat content, and the cream doesn't automatically separate from the milk as in cow's milk.  So, it's a very rich milk.

This summer, maybe I'll learn to make goat's milk soap.  How fun!

Resourcefulness...

The boys were helping Harold clean out our shed the other day, and they were getting ready to get rid of an ice cream maker that had gotten broken.  John Wesley decided he needed to repurpose it since it's motor still worked fine.  He'd been wanting to make a rock tumbler ever since our trip out west when he saw all the cool rock shops.  The problem was that he could never come up with just the right materials.

An old ice cream maker motor, some odd wheels, some scrap wood and a peanut butter jar--voila'--a rock tumbler!  I tell you that boy is resourceful!

Yipes!! Stripes Has Twins!!

I'm just going to start this entry off with a warning to all you who are faint-hearted or squeamish in any way.  You'll want to skip this post.  It's a bit on the gory side.  Go on, leave now before your keyboard is covered in...well...just go on.

Now...I think it's safe.  All of us who are a bit more of the iron-stomached variety can take a look at some of these pictures.  In this first picture, Stripe has just had her babies.  The first one is still soaking wet but is trying to get up on her legs and the second one is covered in goo. 

I found it comical how Stripe kept looking at the babies.  These were her first ones and she would sometimes look at them like, "What IS that?  That came out of ME and it's moving around!  And look at all that goo on it!  What is going on???  I thought I just had a bad case of indigestion."

The babies both stayed wet for quite a while and it was so cold and windy out that Harold decided that we should probably clean them up a bit before they got too cold.  So he and John Wesley got some towels and started cleaning off the goo.  We found out later that was the wrong thing to do.  The momma is supposed to do that in order to facilitate bonding.  Thankfully, it hasn't seemed to cause any problem for them.  Stripe's a great momma.  But, if she were the least bit hesitant toward them, this much of an intervention could have caused her to reject them.  Evidently it's okay to wipe off the kids' faces, but you should leave the goo on the body and direct the mother to wash her baby herself.

This picture doesn't really show this very well, but this little doe's back legs were splayed out behind her and paralyzed for the first 3 days.  We never really found a solid answer as to why.  We researched online trying to find out what to do.  The only website that I found that addressed back leg paralysis in baby goats suggested doing physical therapy with them 4 times a day or more.  I wasn't even going to go there.  I like my goats as much as the next gal, but I got enough PT to do with my human kids, the goat kids are gonna have to make it on their own.  Thankfully, she did.   You'd never really know she had such a problem now.

This cutie pie has been vigorously healthy from the very beginning.  I think she's one of the cutest little ones I've ever seen.  I love her coloring, and she's just spunky.

The kids were born so close to Christmas that the kids were giving them reindeer names, these two were Dancer and Prancer, but Harold wants to change them.  Any suggestions?

A Fun Start to the New Year!!!

Every year for the past several years, we have the traditional New Year's meal of black-eyed peas, greens, ribs and kraut, etc.  This year we invited Mom & Dad to come over and share our New Year's dinner.  The kids got a Wii for a late Christmas present, and they wanted to get Grandpa & Grandma in on the fun.  We made a Mii for each of them and they played bowling and baseball.  Bowling is my personal favorite so far.  It's just my speed.  S-L-O-W!!!

Shortly after Harold and the boys finished eating, they headed out to feed the animals and milk Flip, whose babies both died.  Cody came running back to the house announcing that Lily (our youngest doe) had had her baby.  But the baby wasn't looking so good.  He was down and cold, so Harold brought him in to me to feed and warm up.  [See, our little house has served even as a goat nursery!]

After a bottle of hs momma's colostrum (Harold milked Lily so the kid could have momma's milk) and just a couple of hours under the warming light, "Baby New Year" looked SO much better.  Harold has taken him back out to be with his momma.  Hopefully now that he's warmed up he'll do fine out in the warm shelter where the other kids and Stripe are staying.  So, the current count is 2 baby doe kids and now a buck kid.  We are also learning lots about milking Flip.  I'm looking forward to using that milk for all kinds of fun things!  Isn't this an adorable little guy?!  Looks like he's smiling, I think.  I know he made me smile! :)