Daylight Savings Time

WOW! It was dark here by 5:00 and pitch black by 6:00. I will like driving to work in some daylight, but, it will be difficult to get used to the darker evenings. 6:30 feels like 9:00 right now! It gets darker here earlier than in TN, so, I am going to have to figure out how to reset my internal clock so I don't feel like a total night owl!

I woke this morning at 6:30. UGH! Who wakes that early on purpose?! Only people who got to "fall back". When I woke, I heard three of the four children already downstairs playing games on the Wii. Abbi came and got in our bed. Of course, she had already awakened me in the middle of the night. At exactly 1:45 AM, I heard, from her room, across the hall, "I said to stop it! BENjaMIN!!" I guess Daylight Savings affects all of us :)

The sun was to set today at 5:02 PM. That is soooo early! I guess we can start eating dinner by candlelight, just to set the mood for the holidays. It is going to feel weird to be grading papers, making the kids do homework, or cooking and cleaning with it so dark out. However, once the snow hits, I know I am going to love looking out on a moonlit night and seeing all the sparkly little crystals reflecting the light!

I Like Halloween

I like Halloween. Oh my goodness! Did I really just say that?! I mean, my husband is a minister! I was raised in church! What am I thinking? Seriously. I LIKE Halloween.

I think it is fun. I don’t let my kids dress like ghouls or murder victims. I let them dress fun or silly. The boys liked to be superheroes for a while. Abbi loves being a princess or fairy. It is fun to let them dress up and do makeup.

I like candy! I don’t take the kids candy, by the way. They are usually pretty generous. Benjamin told me last night he was giving me some of his candy because he wanted to take care of me “really well”. J I have no problem with my kids going and asking people for candy because it is the only time they are ALLOWED to go and ask people for candy!

I understand why many churches have begun their own traditions, as long as they are for the right purpose. It bothers me when they say they are there to keep kids from worshipping the devil. I think ANY holiday can be what you make it. There are safety issues nowadays that people worry about. We didn’t have to worry so much about them when we were kids. This year was the first that my oldest two were allowed to go without us. However, they were with two friends and had three cell phones between them. The youngest two still had to go with Mama and Daddy.

I figured out something the other day. There is another really good reason why I like Halloween. It almost makes it feel as if fall is over and winter is beginning. For me, it also signals the Holiday Season. Once Halloween is over, we have Thanksgiving and Christmas to look forward to! Now the fun REALLY begins!

Raising Twins V

One of the most pleasurable things about having twins is getting twice the love. Nathan and Matt have always been loving boys. Nathan will tell you right now that he is a "Mama's Boy." He left for school the other morning, got about half a block down the road, turned around and came back because he had forgotten to hug me. That made my day.

The boys not only love me, the love their daddy, their siblings and their grandma. They fell in love with their sister when she was born. They were only two, but, SO protective. We were in a store once and Abbi was riding in the stroller. Some little boy came up trying to touch her. Well, her "big brothers" would have none of that! They both came over and started grunting at him and pushing him away! However, I did have one problem with them when she was little. They NEVER left socks on her feet! She would be in the swing, happy as can be and the boys would go by and take off her socks. I am not quite sure why they did this, but, they did it constantly.

Now, the love they have for their sister is different. They take care of her in different ways. I have seen her wake up in the morning, come downstairs and curl up in one of the big boys lap. I have seen her stop at the third stair up on her way down, hold her arms out and her big brother wrap his arms around her and carry her to the couch and sit down with her. Do they fight? You better believe it. They can annoy each other to death.

I am looking at them right now. Abbi is sitting on the couch with Matthew. They are watching TV together. She has her legs stretched out across his. She just laughed at something he said. They look after her when they play outside. I really worry about when this girl starts dating...any boy she chooses has a LOT to live up to :)

Why Read?

If you walk in my front door, the first thing you notice is the built-in bookshelves. I was very excited to find these in our house. In the last house, we had two floor to ceiling bookshelves and they were full. Technically, these shelves have two sets of four shelves each. However, I have too many books for that. We have books going all the way across the top of the shelves and lined on the floor using the floorspace as extra shelving. These shelves are FULL. Nothing broke my heart more than having to take FOUR bins of books to the used book store to divest myself of before our big move.

Books are lined up all the way across our shelves, with books sitting sideways on top of the other books. I can't help it. I love books. I love book series. I love for my kids to read books and book series. I will admit, we do have a shelf and a half of DVDs on these bookshelves, but, I also have books all over the house. There are several books in my room. My mom has a bookshelf in her room with some of my books on it. My daughter has a bookshelf in her room with a lot of books on it. My sons all have books in their rooms.

I love to read. I read anything and everything. I run the gamut among authors. I read from many different genre. I have favorite Christian fiction books, and I have read the Twilight series. I like Dan Brown, Dean Koontz, and John Grisham. I have several favorite Christian authors from different genre, as well. I read and re-read books by Tracie Peterson, Janette Oke, Judith Pella, and Frank Peretti. I don't listen to other people's opinions about books. I want to find out for myself. I hear hype and controversy, and then I have to read. I want to know what has people up at arms. It never fails to amaze me that no matter what I read, I learn something.

I do not let my kids read just anything they feel like. I have read all of the Harry Potter books, the Percy Jackson books, and others in that genre. I read them because I wanted to read them first and decide if my kids should be allowed to read them. I like to read books for content to see if I approve of them for my kids. Have I said "no" to books? Yes. There are some that I don't think my kids are mature enough to read yet.

I am proud of the fact that I am multi-faceted in my reading. My kids are multi-faceted readers. I like to read before I go to sleep. It relaxes me. My two oldest boys have gotten into the habit of reading before they go to sleep. I see books beside their beds and it makes me proud. I don't just see books. I see novels. They have read classics like David Copperfield by Charles Dickens and new classics like the Harry Potter series. They read quickly and absorb all. Matthew learned enough on the history of Egypt by reading FICTION that he is now a unit ahead in Social Studies!

In my personal opinion, if it gets a kid to read, let them read it. I don't think that all kids should read anything they feel like. Of course there is plenty of trash out there. I KNOW that there are books I have read that I do NOT want my kids to read. This is one reason why I read before they do. I feel like as long as a piece of fiction is not challenging my personal beliefs or those I am trying to instill into my children, then, they should be reading. I discuss books with my kids. I talk to them about what they are reading. They WANT to share with me and ask me questions as they read. This is why from the time they first start school, teachers comment on their vocabularies. They are well-read and well-spoken because I have taught them to love reading. They know the value of it. They enjoy the experience. They learn while having fun. I am so proud that they read and like it!

Public Schools vs Homeschooling

I teach in a public school. I always have. I have always wanted to. My children go to public schools. I am a product of public schools. My husband is a product of public schools. It really bothers me to hear people bashing public schools and talking about how much better homeschooling is than public schools will ever be.

First of all, before anyone gets offended, let me say, if homeschooling is the choice you made, more power to you. If you have the finances, time, organization skills, and energy to homeschool your children, good for you! It is not something I would enjoy, nor prefer to do. I like teaching one subject, and teaching older children. I can tell you right now, my youngest would make me insane were I to try to corral him and teach him multiple subjects by myself.

I understand some people's reasoning for choosing homeschooling. The ones that bother me are the "religious" ones. "I don't want my child exposed to that", " I don't want my child being a product of the world", "I don't want my child to hear some of the things they will hear in public schools." I ask this, where did Jesus minister? Where would He minister? Public schools are my ministry and my children's ministry.

I get to be a living breathing example of Christ every day in a public place. I get to show my students God's love by being an example of His love. I get to show compassion and teach the Word without ever saying a word. My students know where I stand and how I believe without my ever having to preach to them. How? Because I LIVE it in front of them. They know I go to church, they know I don't use profanity, or give in to a lot of the temptations they have seen. I answer direct questions, but, I do not automatically tell my students how I believe. That is not what I am there for. I am there to be an example. I am there to live a Godly life in front of them. I am there to show them God's love in action.

My children are a light to their world. How do I know this? Because they tell me. My youngest is six. He was explaining to his Daddy this morning (I had already heard the story) about his friend at school who does not believe in God. Benjamin continues to tell him that God is real and God does exist. It is our job to teach them about God at home, which we have done and to put them where Jesus would have been the rest of the time.

The last couple of weeks...

have been some of the most difficult of my life. We all suffered with Daddy for a long time. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's seven years ago. Three years ago, he went into a nursing home because he had to have round-the-clock care. Two years ago, he began to lose the ability to control a number of his bodily functions. A year ago, he quit speaking at all. He was given six years. He made it seven. That is a testament to Daddy's stubborn streak.

Alzheimer's is so difficult to deal with. It is hard to watch someone suffer and lose their faculties. It was especially hard to watch Daddy. He was always a hard-working man. He was also a young man. Daddy was diagnosed with Early-Onset Alzheimer's at 52 years of age.

He could talk a person's ears off. He loved to talk about his girls. He was so proud of his daughters and grandchildren. He was always pulling out pictures to show people. He would ask people, "Guess how many grandchildren I have now?!" And he liked to say, "I'm young to have so many grandchildren, huh?" He was constantly talking about our accomplishments to anyone who would listen and probably some who didn't want to :)

I learned a lot about my family the last couple of weeks. I learned that my mother is stronger than any of us thought she was. I also learned that she and Daddy faced the reality of his disease a long time ago when they pre-planned a number of things for his funeral. I re-learned that my sisters are amazing women who are strong, thoughtful, and caring. I learned that the men we married are strong and helpful. I learned that the grandchildren are all tender and sympathetic. They all respond to the emotions around them and are some of the most loving children you have ever seen.

I learned a lot about my friends this week. I learned that I have more forever friends than I ever thought I had. I had friends willing to spend hours at my side, take time off work, or drive long distances to support me. I had friends send cards, money, and flowers.

I learned that I work for an amazing school system. I received cards, money, and flowers from a system I have only worked for since August. I had people step in and take care of business for me in Iowa when I had to be in Georgia. When I returned, they were sympathetic and caring. Even my kids were sympathetic and thoughtful.

Even though I have struggled, been stressed, sad, and temperamental, this experience has made me stronger. I have learned that my capacity to love has helped me get through the pain. The love I have given has been returned hundred-fold. I am so thankful for the people God has placed in my life, those for a reason, those for a season and those forever.

I Am Blessed!

First off, let me apologize for not keeping up in the last week or two. Back to school has gotten to me. I caught a "back-to-school cold/virus/general crud thing". I have been coming home and crashing. I am even behind on grading papers for work! I jumped in with both feet and got the kids started doing work immediately, so, I have no one to blame but myself :)

Anyway, this crud I have had has reminded me how truly blessed I am. My husband, mother and, children took over running things for a few days so I could try to get well. Of course, if I had listened to my first instinct and taken a day to rest right off, I probably would have gotten over it sooner, but, I didn't listen.

Chris took care of dinner three nights in the last week. He fixed me something for breakfast nearly every day (He knows that when I am sick, if I have to do it, I probably won't). He took care of the kids and getting them to do their chores. He helped me organize and clean our bedroom today, even though I know he didn't want to :)

Mama took up some of the slack with the housework. She cooked dinner two nights in a row. She made breakfast this morning. She always does the laundry and kept up with that and helping the boys keep up the kitchen. She has also been handling the grocery shopping while I have rested. She is getting really good at matching up the coupons and sales. I have taught her well. Now, I have to convince her that occasionally, it is ok to NOT have a coupon!

The kids have been cleaning a lot today. Of course, most of the mess was a result of them, anyway. They tend to NOT clean up after themselves if they are not reminded constantly. So, today was make-up day. They also took good care of me all day on Saturday. Abbi brought me breakfast in bed, the boys brought me a cushioned half-chair to sit on my bed. They also brought my computer and charger upstairs so I could spend the day watching "hulu". I had orders to stay in bed. I tried, but, eventually made my way downstairs and into the living room to spend time with everyone and watch football. I can't miss football! Even though I didn't get to watch my Dawgs, I still enjoyed some awesome family time watching college ball!

So, I said all of this to say, that I know I am blessed. I have had a rough week fighting this thing off. I spent all day Friday resting/sleeping/watching TV. However, with my family there to make me laugh, and try to make things easy, I think I can get through anything.