Hats...Beautiful hats...

Well, last week I attempted to write a post about hats on my other blog, but after writing a bit, I've decided it would serve better to post it here. 

Every week I don the matronly Jemima cloth, spin around the family room, dancing with my Rainbow power nozzle, thankful for the new-to-us carpet, a gift from my son's new home he didn't want.  Then... 

I stroll over to the 'schoolroom' and clutch THE helmet--you know, the one with scrapes, dings and mud all over it! 

Reading and Math, two subjects done independently, are now over and it's time to jump onto the dirt path, pave the way and lead these two down uncharted territory. 

Whew...this is definitely keeping me on my toes so I don't trip and get a nosebleed... 

...We just get going when they're stomachs begin screaming, 'FEED ME!'

So I quickly change into my waitress outfit, complete with a chef's cap...

'What's for lunch, mom?' 

 'Let's see what mom can whip up in five minutes flat...'' 

 'Oh, no, I don't want that.  I want p/b and j. on a taco shell...'

 'NO', cries the other one, 'I hate peanut butter and jelly.  I'll make myself something else'.

...out flies the referee napkin to declare that unless they're buying lunch today, the menu is mine to decide~!

After we dine on leftovers or whatever is quick, they run outside to jump on the trampoline while I clean up and gather my scatterbrained thoughts about how the afternoon will shape up...how thankful this colorfully decorated hat wearer is for a trampoline that diffuses the amount of energy twin twelve yr. old boys expend after filling their bellies.

I try to remind myself that these little men need me to stay calm...speak softly, gently prodding them forward, reminding them to pick up after themselves, complete a job fully, check their spelling, punctuation, put away all their books when I finally sign each day's work, and then get to their 'chores' before they ask permission to do the 'fun' stuff...(I hate that I all too often think about that AFTER I've been too firm, harsh or irritated).

This hat sees the most trauma, for sure.  Needs constant cleaning.

Occasionally I doze off and drop my hat on the floor, as I did today, after reading them an article from ICR's magazine on camels.  I finished the article, but my original plan was to read a new book, Watership Down, which we'd just gotten from the library.  That didn't happen. 

I'm sure that as I snoozed, they got up from the couch and quietly mozied over to their desk to finish their other work.  Twenty minutes later, I awoke to the sound of my dad in the kitchen, scurrying around in search of something as always...grab my hat and back to work--oh, which one was I wearing?...oh, I have three on my head at once!

Then there are other days, other hats...

Occasionally I sport a cab driver's cap, escorting my dad somewhere because he doesn't want to drive the highways here.  Each time I take a spin in his car, I think of the inevitable day approaching when he no longer sits next to me.  He'll be gone and I'll own the car...his car...

I became the owner of it last Friday, technically speaking.

 A bittersweet gift. 

 I teased him that afternoon to do a good job washing my new car.  We laughed. 

I like being my father's taxi driver;  I just wish he wouldn't 'help me drive' by reminding me of every pothole, curve, curbs, any and everything that he thinks I might not see or remember~

Every mom, particularly those who educate their children, understands the 'hat' life. 

It's a noble career, vibrant and colorful.

Wear your hats proudly, ladies. 

You're investing in history. 

Each one tells a marvelous story, as individual as your life.

Don't let your hat drag in the mud, at least not for too long. 

If you have been dragging it around, pick it up and wash it.

 It was made just for you to wear.

Gingerbread house kit~

Since about November, when all the Christmas stuff began screaming at us from the shelves of Walmart, Isaac has asked me to buy the gingerbread house kit...and I waited and waited and then Christmas came and went...and so he stopped asking, I suppose, because he figured it wouldn't happen this year...

But today, I perused the JoAnn Fabric store and they had the kits half off!  So, for $5.40, I bought him his kit and since I'm giving them tomorrow off for MLK day, he's planning on making it! 
I called to say I bought him one, finally, and he was so excited! 

This may be the last year that it's a big deal or maybe he's my baker and every year this will be the 'treat' of MLK day!  But, either way, I enjoyed blessing him with a project that's sweet and delicious to his soul...and his tastebuds!

We're wrappin' it up for the year!

Yet, to say we've stopped learning, particularly about the true meaning of Christmas, would be foolish.  We are moving away from seatwork, to the living work of loving more deeply as we wrap gifts, make the traditional cookies with gramma and extended family, and prepare for the celebration of the Savior's birthday.

May your Christmas be one of great joy.

How Laughter melts the heart

This I know...when I laugh with these two, they eat it up and I get farther with their heart...and sometimes, I find they purposely try to get my attention by doing the zaniest things to see if I'm on their team, their head cheerleader!
Hurrah, go boys!
We're spending the day watching my son, Josh's friendgirl, Carissa's little ones and we've had a great day enjoying the simple pleasures...Legos, Toy Story 3, and a matching game...lots of snacks and thankfully, two bathrooms!  We just got back from the park in their apartment complex and now, while we wait for mom to come home, we're watching 'Ratatouille' and eating pretzels.  The simple pleasures...

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We're at a stage now when, all of a sudden, they've become sooooo aware of their looks.  Well, only one really cares, or at least he's the only one that actually voices his thoughts...I do notice the other one likes to wash his hair a lot so he doesn't get pimples! 

A by-product of this stage is wanting to grow their hair long! In the past, I would have flipped out or just kept cutting it, but this time around, I'm conversing about the why behind the desire...it has sparked some interesting talks.

Growing up...laugh, Daune...it'll melt your heart!

October is almost gone...

Hard to imagine that this month has almost ended and I've not written much.  That is NOT to say things haven't been going on around here; quite the contrary.
One truly fascinating thing that's happened is their eagerness to sit down and read this book we're using for our Bible study this semester called, "GENESIS, Finding Our Roots" by Ruth Beechick.  They are absolutely loving this book, as am I. 
It has truly worked well for Bible history as well as secular history, too.  Yesterday, for example, we talked about Sumer, the Sumerians, their language, their gods, which took us to talk about the Fertile Crescent, or the Cradle of civilization, which then led to a discussion in geography and ziggurats. 
I've coupled that book with another I bought from someone late in August FOR ONLY $5!:  "The Mystery of History",  Volume l,  Creation to the Resurrection by Linda Lacour Hobar.   It, too, is a wonderful resource.
Their next favorite subject seems to be Logic!  Go figure.  We're using the "The Fallacy Detective"  by Nathaniel Bluedorn and Hans Bluedorn that I purchased new from Amazon.  It was a little less expensive than the Fallacy Detective website, but I do love their site for the funny videos.

We're also taking them along with us to The Truth Project every Sunday evening.  They don't really want to be there, but once the video begins, they're all ears! 
I believe, as a result of hearing the truth in these videos, eventually things will click with them and they'll have a deeper understanding about the worldview they hold and the why behind it.  At least that's my prayer...they never cease to amaze me, so who knows, except Jesus, what effect this class is having on their hearts.

As I prayed for wisdom and direction for this school year, it is evident that He has orchestrated the intertwining of these classes.  They all are in agreement, build on the other and are developing a strong foundation of truth in the their hearts.  WHY oh why do I fret so much?

The bottom line is trust, then a step, trust, then another step, always keeping my eyes on Him who is invisible.  But isn't that what walking by faith is anyways? 
Just keep stepping, Daune.

Metaphors are powerful!

Being a Monday usually means working on mindsets as well as working on math problems. 

As I sat at my desk reading my Bible and enjoying the moments of aloneness with Daddy God, someone knocked on my door.  (I appreciate the respect of knocking, so if it's at all possible, I always bid the seeker to come in.)  It was a frustrated, upset boy wanting answers.  I took a deep breath because I knew this exchange was not a surface issue I would be dealing with.

He began his tirade blaming his math book for not telling him what to do and then blaming me for 'not lifting a finger' to help him figure out any of THIS math book! 

How I appreciate the power of the Spirit of God speaking through me.  I'm always amazed at His wisdom because it always speaks directly to this child's likes-Legos-and then relates it to spiritual truths.
 
I discussed with him, in length, about how the Saxon math book does not have it 'out' for HIM, but that it's just a math book, just like every other book anyone wraps himself around.  It's made to serve a purpose-it's that simple.  When I switched the subject to Legos, then he really began to understand.

He received a Lego truck for his birthday and I remembered his comment that it was very difficult to understand the directions (but he didn't ask for any help from anyone to figure them out).  So I asked him if he thought the directions were made that way to frustrate him or if they were just made to explain how to put the truck together.  (The lights were beginning to go on in his brain.)  I asked him if he gave up making the truck because of how hard the directions were or if he struggled through until he understood them.  He responded that he kept trying.  And then we discussed that the struggle wasn't as much with the directions as it was with his thoughts about the directions, and his will or determination to complete the Lego truck so he could play with it. 
(This was a great springboard to talk about his world view and him not being the center of the world, but rather how he revolves around this world and has to learn how to relate to the things in his world with God's view on a matter!)   We shared about how his thoughts on a matter determine what he does with the problem at hand.

This was, indeed, a fantastic class in ethics and philosophy.

I discussed that when he was little, I spoon-fed him until he took the spoon out of my hand and did it for himself, but how I also realized that I like to feed him and have been, up to now, 'feeding him' regarding Math, his chores, leaving on time and other areas when I should have let him take the 'spoon' and care for those things himself.  I then asked him to forgive me for enabling him to stay little when he's growing up and is capable of doing math and other things without my help.  That's not to say he likes this or wants to be responsible, but it's like medicine:  one takes it whether or not they like it in order to get better!

Later on, when I joined them both in the family room, twin # 2 was doing his math and struggling as well.  He was actually in tears and rather than just tell him to keep trying, which would have only caused him more discouragement, I stepped over to his desk, kneeled down and we talked about how he'd been working on the practice for over an hour and he just had hit a wall and did not understand the work.  I grabbed a chair because I knew he needed guidance and as he read the concepts out loud to me, he began to see how it was done.

 
Sometimes, just sitting next to them and allowing them to wrestle verbally with the work has helped tremendously!  That boy only got one wrong, and when he finished the practice problems, it only took him thirty minutes to do the rest of the problems.

These things matter because God is in the details:

 

Hebrews 8:5 (NLT) 
    They serve in a place of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: "Be sure that you make everything according to the design I have shown you here on the mountain."

It was a great day.

Swimming 'class'

My sister treated me Wednesday, along with the boys, to an outing in San Marcos.  We stopped on the way at IHOP for lunch:

and after spending way too much money, we headed to the river for a dip...not the two of us, but the boys and Emily.  I called it, 'gym/swim class'.

If nothing else, they used up a lot of energy and slept well that nite.

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Sidenote:  Isaac's gotten a day off once for his five 100's and Caleb is working on his fourth 100!  From now on, though, they have to save their day off until they both have one!  It was tortureous for both to not be together...live and learn, right?

It was a good week of education, especially the lessons learned about character with honesty, discipline being a 'way' of life, and mom learning to stay consistent in training, prayer and following through with correcting their mistakes and encouraging them to press through the hard work, boring words in the stories they're reading, etc.

  Isaac is reading 'Swiss Family Robinson'; 

Caleb is reading 'Boy Knight:  A tale of the Crusades' by G. A. Henty.