Friday Fill-In

1. I'm filling out school enrollment forms because, I'm putting the boys in school for the last trimester and, I hope my homeschooling friends won't shun me.
2. Why do I have desire and not ambition.
3. How does this teenage parenting thing work, anyway?
4. Every morning, I put clothes on my body.
5. I consider myself lucky because I haven't killed anyone in my various states of hormonal insanity.
6. One day we’ll see if all this was worth it.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to being home after running myself ragged all week, tomorrow my plans include conducting a Worship Arts workshop at Lapeer Community Church and Sunday, I want to see my husband again!

True Story

So Rob is supposed to be in Ecudor by now.

I told him to call when he got to Miami and just let us know he's ok that far because we didn't know if he'd be able to call once he got in Quito.

There was a message from him when we got back from band saying he was at the incredibly insane Miami airport and would board for Quito in about 45 minutes.

By evening I still haven't heard from him that he is there.

I have the number for the hotel but it's been a while since I've called international, I know you need some type of intl code.

So I hit zero on the phone for the operator to ask the international code.

She inquires who my long distance provider is.

I told her Verizon.

"Ok, let me connect you with them and see if they can help you."

Click.

~annoying tones~

-:Recording:-

I'm sorry your call can not be completed as dialed

please hang up and call the operator for assistance.

HA!

I thought that's what I Was DOING!

For the Fun of it!

Ethan likes to make up his own "routines" on the trampoline, this one even has some stellar dance moves thrown in. Check it out & have a giggle.

Weekly Walk #3

This week we were in our own big backyard again. We woke up in the morning seeing the brownish green grass everywhere and by the time everyone was up and ready to roll we had a white covering on the ground again. It was blustery when we first started out as you can see in the top left picture but it soon calmed down. We found a few spots that had total ice underneath so we boot-skated. Rob brought his .22 with him and the boys all took turns shooting as did I. And look who graced us with her presence, the teenager! While we were walking I said to Alex, "as I've been thinking about our years of homeschooling I realized we raised a lot of animals you and I." "Yeah, we did," was her reply. She used to want to be a zoologist and loved working with animals. That was until we showed sheep for 4H -- pretty much killed her love affair with animals right then and there. Ben hearing this conversation chimed in that we never raised a pig before! He wants to auction a pig at Fair.

We'll see.......

**The picture in the middle is the neighbor's property. We thought it looked like some kind of alien crash site with all the snow covering the discarded farm equipment.

Rob will be walking in Ecuador next week,

please wish him traveling mercies

and that he receives divine favor

from the technology gods!

Ben is not yet 10

2-20-2000 Mr. Benjamin Atticus Parton made his entrance into the world. Friday he celebrated his 9th birthday with little pomp and circumstance. The Sunday before we brought cupcakes to the Wii Fellowship to share with the kids. On his actually birthday we had co-op which he found enjoyable then we went to GTC for practice. Fox and Ben got a chance to go in the pit and on the trampoline since it was a pretty mellow day, not all the teams were practicing and those that were had low numbers since the schools in the area were on winter break. He opened a small gift in the morning then when we got back home that night he opened a few more things with dad. Before bed he worked on his new Star Wars Lego kit and playing Wii Monopoly with Ethan and I.

Ben is a very helpful and industrious young man. He loves to assist me in the kitchen and is very good at picking seasonings, cutting, and measuring. Drumming, soccer, and video games are what keep him occupied, although he is starting to read more for information along with the scads of Calvin and Hobbes, Peanuts, and Far Side books. Benjamin is so different from the others kids in many ways, my mother's theory is that he's the winter baby, but he is so apt for schedule and structure it wouldn't surprise me if eventually he joins the military.

He actually does very well with the public school setting and likes knowing he is the head of his class. It is very important for him to get everything right and he gets ticked off if he isn't or especially if he doesn't understand why he isn't. Teaching him Math has been an adventure. Once he gets a concept all is well but I always have to pull up the boots straps and take an extra dose of patience whenever it is time to introduce a new concept. I thought long division was going to do us in! Phonics is not his thing, he has no time to sound things out, he just wants to look at the word and know it. Some of his guesses are hilarious at times. His brothers will testify he can be pretty bossy (hence the nickname 'Braticus') but they also know when the chips are down Ben will always be there for them. He is a good brother, a good friend, a loving son, a great athlete, and an awesome person! Happy Birthday, Ben!

Real Life lessons from Bill Gates

Bill Gates gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Sometimes I feel badly that I can't give my kids everything that other parents can, cell phones, iPods, cars, whatever new gadget is all the rage, designer clothes, etc. But then I think you know what, they can earn it just like I have to. My parents always made sure I had the basics, like a roof over my head, food on the table, and clothes to wear and I even got some bonuses like being able to take dance lessons and got to go to music camp but they really didn't have to do that. I never had a job in high school because I knew once I graduated I would be working for the rest of my life. I moved out the summer after I graduated from high school, got a job and found a room to rent and was on my own. School of hard knocks, baby! Why do we feel compelled as parents to give our kids everything on a silver platter? I think those who really have to claw their way to the top have a better appreciation for their accomplishment and a more solid character.

Wii Fellowship was a Hit!

As Director of Children's Praise & Worship and Sunday School I have taken the position past normal church time and added elements of children's fellowship and outreach. The children and I have gone to Senior Apartments in the area to take them a special treat of songs, sweets and surprises which basically means we sing some uplifting songs, bring refreshments, and give them a child-made gift. And I started organizing times where the kids could fellowship away from regular church. Today's Kids Wii Fellowship started with a kid-friendly lunch of hotdogs, french fries, and peaches followed by some cupcakes in honor of Benjamin's birthday coming up this week and then a few hours of racing games. We had two Wii players set up with 4-player Mario Cart and another set with Hot Wheels on the Gamecube with 3 controllers. Everyone did a great job taking turns, playing fairly and making some crafts while they waited. I couldn't have pulled it off without the assistance of some awesome parents and youth that helped with serving, technical issues, settling the masses, and cleaning up, so a fabulous time was had by all.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

Lillies are white,

and snow is too!

Sorry, I live in Michigan and all I can see out the window right now is snow!

Have a happy day with the ones you love everyone.

Blessings,

~Byn

Friday Fill-In

1. Follow the yellow brick road.
2. Lots of deep sighs is something I always take with me on vacation.
3. To achieve your goals, you must make some tough choices sometimes.
4. My love of dark chocolate is something I'd like you to know about me.
5. I have a long life ahead of me.
6. Hope floats.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hanging with the moms and hopefully bringing her back home from the hospital, tomorrow my plans include a Valentine’s date with my husband and Sunday, I want to have an awesome Kids Wii Fellowship!

For Everything There is a Season

My oldest child, my daughter, was home-schooled from Kindergarten through 8th Grade. My approach was pretty laid back; she did a lot of learning by osmosis. Weekly trips to the library, hours of educational computer ‘games’ (she started using the computer at age 2), frequent visits to nature centers, and participation in many physical activities such as gymnastics and creative movement kept us plenty busy. I never followed a set curriculum but instead used mostly workbooks purchased from the local bookstore (when we did do book work). She mastered keyboarding skills using the Disney Typing Program and in her older years studied various computer design programs (Photoshop, Macromedia Director, Frontpage, etc.). In the tween years she jumped into the world of RPG (role-playing-games) online and started creating her own sites. She entered her writing in several contests, even winning a few, and she became involved in drama at the Flint Youth Theatre. At the age of 6 she was hand picked from a class to play the youngest role of, Ima Dean, in “Where the Lilies Bloom,” to which she received rave reviews. At one point she was a member of no less than five different 4H groups (at one time) and we raised many animals here at Kings Mill Meadows with Alexandra doing a lion’s share of the work. During the younger years teaching from home was great and I wouldn’t trade that time together for the world, but honestly as she got older she became bored and as a mother of a growing family I was not doing the best in keeping up with her need for social entertainment and intellectual stimulation. She wanted to be around kids her own age more, although we did join a home-school co-op she did not quite feel she fit in with the kids there. Her impression was they were sort of geeky. When she first came to me, actually it was during a phone call, and admitted she thought it was time for her to go into public school it was a real blow to my ego. When people would ask me how long we were going to home-school I always replied “to the end” and added that I planned to have her start taking community college classes at 15. But something inside me said ‘you need to respect her choice and have the courage to let her follow through on this decision because if you force the issue and make her stay home and continue to learn from here it will be a big bone of contention between you and you’ll make utterly no progress at all.’ Alex explained to me she did not feel comfortable jumping into formal education at the college level and wanted to have some experience in a formal setting before then. So, should I look at the situation as “giving up” by deciding to put her in public high school? Did I “give in” to the desire of a teenager, throwing aside parental desires? No. I respected my daughter’s opinion, discussed it with her and my husband at length, prayed, and ultimately choose to let her have responsibility in the decisions regarding her own education. There were issues concerning the “influence” of her peers at first, but thankfully she has a good head on her shoulders and has kept her morals and standards in tact. She has made good friends and is a good friend. Grade-wise she struggles in some classes but it is more a matter of taking on so many activities she gets spread too thin (hmm wonder where she gets that from). Would she have done better if she was in the school system from the start, probably not. I tested well above average on standard achievement tests during my academic career but my grades were all over the place depending on whether or not I enjoyed the subject matter or teacher and Alexandra has pretty much followed suit there. When I ask her now will she home-school her own kids she replies emphatically, “No.” Further prompting as to why she’ll explain it is just too much work and she doesn’t want to take that on, she wants to work a regular job. Oddly, what she is talking about being currently is a high school drama/literature teacher. Go figure.

Thankfully we have the freedom to choose how our children are educated. There is no cut and dried, right and wrong answer. One size, does not fit all and it saddens me when home-schooling mothers, especially Christian home-schoolers, condemn the public/private school and public/private school students/teachers. They speak so negatively about it their children are scared to come and have an honest conversation with them about possibly wanting to try regular school. While I think it is wonderful to cast off convention, be a free spirit, an innovative thinker, and self-starter, there will come a time in every person’s life that they need to “get with the program” whether it is in college, trade school, or an employment situation. They will need to learn how to get along with others, deal with different personalities, take a stand when necessary or just shut their mouth and do what the boss asks. In either arena there are those that do exceptionally well raising the standards for all that follow and some who fall far short of expectations. I could tell you stories about home-schoolers that are totally unprepared for life in the real world, over sheltered, and never held accountable and other tales about some that have gone above and beyond what one would imagine any teenager could possibly accomplish. The same scenarios can be applied to “government schooled” kids. The bottom line is, as a parent we want the best for our babies and sometimes that means making tough choices and hoping for the best.

Learning from home has been an awesome experience overall, but I also lean on the expectation that public schooling will be a positive undertaking for my family and myself. Everything won’t be roses and gumdrops but I trust I’ve laid a solid foundation for my boys, as I did Alexandra, and I pray they will have inspiring teachers, be exceptional students, make good friends, be influential leaders in their class, and take full advantage of all opportunities that will allow them to accomplish all they dream to. No, I am most certainly not giving up, I’m going on. For everything there is a season.

Prayer Request

My mother Judi has been dealing with some health issues lately

and had surgery last Thursday. Although the surgery went well

she ended up back in the hospital via E.R. on Tuesday

due to an infection at the incision sites.

Please pray for her as the Lord directs,

I do not want to get into naming any type of disease

because I believe she is healed in the name of Jesus.

Thank you for your prayers.

Weekly Walk #2

This week we walked mid-week instead of during the weekend. Since my in-laws are in Florida (shout out to Genny and Wendell!), Rob has been meeting me at their house on Wednesday night and staying with Fox and Ben while Ethan and I are at the gym. Our theme this time was a walk down memory lane, as we went over to Leach Rd. where Rob and I lived when we were first married.



The boys came with us on this venture and as you can see it was a muddy one. Of course they didn't have a problem with it and delighted in slopping around and throwing rocks and sticks at things while Rob stopped to talk with Mrs. Gromer, an old neighbor who is still there amongst all the industrial businesses that have taken over the street.


We showed them gramma's old house where we lived. It has definately seen better days. When I was pregnant with Alex we walked this street many times and at the dead end there was railroad tracks and fields so we would walk the tracks and talk about the new baby. Well, the tracks are gone making way for the "rails to trails" project and it is now part of the Clinton River Trail. The dead end is gone and it opens up to the well traveled Adams Rd. complete with shopping mecca.





We reached the end of the street just about the time most businesses were letting out of work and who did we run into? Cousin Jeff! Even though it rained most of the morning it had stopped for a few hours and just as we got back to the house it started to rain again. Now that's what I call perfect timing!



See you on the next walk,
who knows what the weather

in Michigan will be by then!

More Just for Fun

Sometimes the boys get bored with the same old thing at practice and get a little whiny, during stretches especially, but Coach Brandon is really good about changing things up a bit to make it fun. Usually the boys have to do 3 bridges at the end of stretches and we get a lot of floppy bodies, heads on the floor, feet sliding, and just plain weak efforts. So one day he had them make a bridge tunnel to crawl through, talk about sneaky, now instead of the normal three bridges they ended up doing nine, one for each team member and one for coach!

Mud Never Seemed So Lovely

Aaaahhh. Just having the temperature rise feels like a weight has been lifted off me. Attitudes lighten, smiles abound and life just seems easier when the weather is warmer. Suddenly all my tasks are tolerable, and energy is recharged. Ok, so my driveway is a big sloppy mess of mud but even that isn't bothering me today. "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Middle School Tour

Today we had an appointment with Ms. Sue Shoemaker who is the counselor at the North Branch Middle School. She took us for a tour of the building and explained some of the general expections for students. Here Fox is checking out the Media Center and talking with Ms. Shoemaker in the Art Room. He was glad to find out that he will be able to participate in Band and Art classes. In the past students had to choose one or the other, but because of the new trimester system they can fit more classes in. They have an amazing computer lab and the new addition is awesome. Below, Fox and Ms. Shoemaker go over the daily schedule for 7th graders.

Fox's take: I found the tour interesting and I really can't wait to be able to take advantage of the computer lab and art classes. I'm also excited about getting a locker. Part of me would like to jump right in and get started today but I think it might be awkward to come after the year has already started. I think it will be easy to transition from homeschool to regular school, the schedule won't be much different from the schedule at co-op except it will be much more informative. Now, I am really looking forward to September but also I'll enjoy my last few months of freedom.

Weekly Walk #1

Since Rob and I do not have very much time together during the week, he had an idea that we should make a pact to go on a weekly walk, somewhere, even it it's just around our own backyard. So this weekend we hiked the backyard trails looking for signs of spring.

Saw lots of deer tracks and of course Jake was pleased as punch to have somebody roam the trails with him. We have a lot of clean up to do since many old trees have fallen due to the crazy winter winds we get.

25 Things My Mother Taught Me

It's a thankless job but somebody's got to do it. Here's a shout out to mothers everywhere who have brought this collection of tried and true wisdom through the wringer and back again!

My mother taught me:

1. TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.

"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

2. RELIGION.

"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

3. ABOUT TIME TRAVEL .

"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

4. LOGIC.

"Because I said so, that's why."

5. AND MORE LOGIC .

"If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

6. FORESIGHT.

"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

7. IRONY

"Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

8. OSMOSIS.

"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

9. CONTORTIONISM .

"Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck?"

10. STAMINA.

"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

11. ABOUT WEATHER.

"This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

12. ABOUT HYPOCRISY.

"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

13. THE CIRCLE OF LIFE .

"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

14. BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.

"Stop acting like your father!"

15. ENVY.

"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

16. ANTICIPATION.

"Just wait until we get home."

17. RECEIVING .

"You are going to get it when you get home!"

18. MEDICAL SCIENCE.

"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."

19. ESP.

"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"

20. HUMOR.

"When that lawn mower cuts off your foot, don't come running to me."

21. HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT .

"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

22. GENETICS.
"You're just like your father."

23. ABOUT MY ROOTS.

"Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

24. WISDOM.

"When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

25. and most importantly JUSTICE

"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you."

** taken from email forward, original author unknown.

Sunshiny Saturday!

What a fabulous sunny Saturday, although it is a bit windy out there. The temperature has risen from the barely above zero figures we had been getting, reaching around the 40 degree mark. Whenever the weather makes drastic ebbs and flows I can't help but to ponder the ebbs and flows in our own lives. The hots and colds, highs and lows, beginnings and ends, right turns, and left behinds. I've always admired "stay the course" people, those who remain at a job for 30+ years, married for decades, or live in a house until they pay off the mortgage. My kindred spirit seems to take issue with stay the course, not to say that I have no longevity whatsoever. I just need to do something different and break out of the old rut when I feel like I'm getting in one. Sometimes the only thing I can do is rearrange the funiture in my house, but just that change will make me feel better. I've gone through many phases and changes thus far in my life as I begin to creep up onto middle age. I plan to live until my 112th birthday so I'm not even at midway yet! But I am excited for change, in the seasons, economy, country, for my children, my marriage, my community, for those who need hope, and those that are ready to take advantage of opportunity. Hearing about all the loss of jobs, houses, etc. people have this attitude of an end, but we need to look at this transition as a time of new beginnings. A chance to look for new options, shift to a different gear, and function with fresh knowledge and competence.

Friday Fill-In

1. My favorite food seasoning is dry mustard & thyme.

2. The snow plow is music to my ears.

3. Lucky is as lucky does.

4. Comedy is something I take very seriously.

5. Many people are short like me.

6. Fix-a-Flat was the last thing I bought at the store.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to visiting my mother who is healed in the name of Jesus, tomorrow my plans include something as yet undetermined and Sunday, I want to relax!

Just for fun

One of the exercises for preparing the boys to work on the pomel horse is to do "bucket circles". Here Ethan shows his stuff. More team photos to come.

Time on My Side

There are times in our lives when we are extremely productive, driven, unstoppable even and there are others when we must slow down, recollect, take some time to smell the roses. Which is more difficult, to take time or to give time? Depends on your personality I suppose. Over the last few years my time has been steadily monopolized by commitments to varying degrees, which is in contrast to my many years living in a care-free time zone not having to be anywhere for days on end therefore affording me the luxury of taking the days at a much more relaxed pace as I went about the tasks of teaching kids, working in the garden, caring for animals, doing my editorial work and just all the regular domestic chores. But now I never have enough hours in the day! I want more hours back.

One of my concerns putting the boys in school was having to pull Ethan out early several days a week so we can make it down to the gym by 4pm. Right now I work Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the gym coaching, starting at 4pm. Our elementary schools don't even get out of school until 4:05pm. But as I stepped back and asked Him for grace with the principal it suddenly hit me. The reason I need to be at GTC by 4pm is to coach, Ethan doesn't actually practice until 5:45pm. Well, if I didn't coach that early team then he could finish the school day, I'll pick him up and we'll head down to practice. I just need to trust that whatever finances needed to cover tuition will be provided by His riches and glory! I can still coach my Super Mites and earn money toward Ethan's tuition though. Cool, time restraint solved.

PEACE, Be Still!

Today we sailed away on the Sea of Galilee but luckily we had Jesus sleeping in the back of the boat to wake and calm the stormy sea! During our Seeds of Jesus Children's Church time the lesson was about Mark 4:35-41 and how the disciples were learning to trust in Jesus. For 13-weeks we are working our way through the Journey with Jesus program from Gospel Light (http://www.gospellight.com/) visiting a town that Jesus ministered in each week. We kick off each Sunday with a drama. This week instead of having the workers present the drama, the kids were the drama, as discliples that loaded on the boat to "cross to the other side" as Jesus directed. The room was dark the lights flashed and the sounds of a sea storm filled the room. The kids of course screamed in terror and delight as the storm raged on. Run to the back of the boat and wake Jesus up I yelled to one of the children, or surely we shall perish! Jesus rose calmed the sea and scolded us for having such little faith. "Again, again!" the children chanted. So we did the drama again, then Jesus prayed for our time together and we continued with our lessons.

Reflection of this drama compared with the transitions in my own life made me realize that I am at a time to let Him calm my stormy sea. There is no peace in all my busyness. Overseeing so many different things has made me a boat on unstable waters. In addition to having the children enter school I have the compulsion to NOT BE IN CHARGE of, or coordinate anything for 1-year. I am not to lead anything only to follow and seek HIS directing. Simplicity is the key.

35 On the same day, when evening had come,

He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.”

36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was.

And other little boats were also with Him.

37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.

38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow.

And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea,

“Peace, be still!”

And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”

41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another,

“Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

Mark 4:35-41 (NKJV)