Mommy Brain

Kevin is 40 today, and I wanted to wish him Happy Birthday. We’re going out to dinner tonight without the kids. Woo-hoo! (Thank you, Mom and Dad.)

Just in case Hurricane Katrina hasn’t claimed enough victims:

Women’s Reproductive Health Care in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

“NAF extends our deepest sympathies to all who have been affected by Katrina and the devastation wrought on the Gulf Coast region. While there are seemingly endless hurdles and obstacles Katrina’s victims will have to deal with in the coming weeks and months, we at NAF would like to make certain that those who need access to reproductive health care services are able to obtain the care they need.

Hurricane Katrina victims can call the NAF toll-free hotline to speak with professional hotline operators who can help with options counseling and with referrals to providers of quality reproductive health care services. On a limited basis, hotline staff also may be able to help raise the funds necessary to help cover the cost of quality abortion care.” (emphasis mine)

Oops, almost forgot — hat tip to Mr. O’Donnell for the link.

Billi-Jean tagged me for the 5 Years and 5 Things Ago meme.

First the rules:

Remove the blog at #1 from the following list and bump every one up one place; add your blog’s name in the #5 spot; link to each of the other blogs for the desired cross pollination effect.

1. Writing from the Hip: http://writingfromthehip.blogspot.com
2. Blue Stocking: http://bluestocking.typepad.com
3. Simply Coll: http://colleenscorner.com/blog
4. My Bountiful Life: http://billi-jean.com/thebounty.html
5. Mommy Brain: http://nnjmom.blogspot.com/

Next: select four new friends to add to the pollen count. I can’t remember who’s already done this, so ignore it if you did. And, as always, if you’re too busy or you just don’t want to, feel free to abstain.

Laney at Press On
Randi at I Have To Say
Andrea at Atypical Life
Amy at Mudpies and Paint

What were you doing 10 years ago?
1995. I was 22. Kevin and I had only been married 5 months. We were living in our first apartment in Vancouver, Washington, both working, and acting like newlyweds are supposed to. We had just purchased our first car together (a 1990 Nissan Sentra) after Kevin’s Jeep Cherokee kept breaking down and costing us money.

What were you doing 5 years ago?
2000. I was 27. Natalie was 3 1/2, Noah was 2, and Jonathan was about to turn 1. We had been living in our current town in northeastern Washington state for three years, and sharing a house with my Mom and Dad. They had just left to work with the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem and we had bought our very first house by ourselves. I was worship coordinator at our church, which was going through a split at the time. It was a hard time. Our marriage wasn’t the happiest, and I had relied on my parents in many area where I should’ve been leaning on my husband. I was devastated that they moved away. Little did I know God was about to do a major healing in our marriage during the next six months. We also thought we were done having little ones, but God changed that, too.

What were you doing one year ago?
2004. I was 31. Natalie was 7 1/2, Noah was 6, Jonathan about to turn 5, and Josiah was 2 1/2. We had just started our third year of homeschooling. My Mom and Dad were back in our area, and we were settled in a routine of seeing them a couple times a week, but also happy to have our own home and happy marriage.

What were you doing yesterday?
Yesterday we did school in the morning, some housework, blogging, and then went to Family Night at church.

This next part I’ve done before, so I’m cutting and pasting my answers.
5 snacks you enjoy

1. Santitas and homemade guacamole with Pepsi
2. Peanut M’n'M’s with Pepsi
3. Nacho cheese Doritos and bean dip with Pepsi
(hmmm, I see a trend here…)
4. Santitas and jalapeno cheese dip…with Pepsi
5. Any kind of ice cream

5 songs I know all the words to

1. I Love You For Sentimental Reasons
2. L-O-V-E
3. A Bushel and a Peck
4. Amazing Grace
5. Great is Thy Faithfulness
(all songs I used to sing to my children when they were babies and I rocked them to sleep)

5 things you would do if you had a million dollars

1. build my parents and my sisters each a new home
2. build us a new home — my dream home (I already have it designed, just need the $$)
3. get completely out of debt
4. hire a housekeeper and cook so I could spend more time writing without neglecting homeschool time
5. fully fund and continually support my friend Lee’s orphanage in Mozambique

5 things you like doing

1. reading to my kids
2. crocheting
3. reading for myself
4. blogging
5. talking to my sisters on the phone

5 bad habits

1. Eating too much
2. Procrastinating
3. Neglecting the housework (see #2)
4. Blogging when I should be doing housework (see #3)
5. Being sarcastic

5 things I would never wear again
When I did this before, it was five things I would never wear, so no, I haven’t worn any of these things before. And I wouldn’t in the future.

1. a bikini
2. a tattoo
3. a piercing of any kind
4. cowboy boots
5. a grass skirt

5 favorite toys
1. This computer
2. My PDA
3. DVD player
4. Our public library
5. Cranium game

There’s been a lot of whining going on at our house this week. And the sad thing is, it’s not all from the kids! I admit it, I’ve been having a little pity party over here in my corner of the world. I mean, have any of you noticed that gas prices are getting a little high? (That’s sarcasm, in case you didn’t notice.) I know that I shouldn’t be feeling sorry for myself when there are so many people truly suffering from Katrina, but for the last couple of days I’ve had a had time keeping things in perspective.

My husband is our sole provider. (Remember that song? I was a closet Michael Bolton fan in high school. Sssh — don’t tell anyone.) And his place of work is not located in the same town as our home. He drives about 45 minutes each way to work. In a mini-van that doesn’t get the worst mileage, but it doesn’t get the best either. So this latest gas price hike has hit us hard. There wasn’t a lot of “give” in our budget to begin with, so the only place to find the extra gas money is groceries or our “slush” fund. We used to call this “entertainment”, but it doesn’t usually provide much in the way of recreation, so we re-named it. It goes for such entertaining things as clothing, prescriptions, doctor appointment copays, car repairs, license renewals and the very occasional outing.

As most of you parents know, the changing of the seasons usually brings the need for new clothes for the kiddies. Unless your children don’t grow from year to year, that is. But mine do. I’ve been blessed with hand-me-downs from my sisters at different times, and I return the favor. But as I went through the fall and winter clothes for my middle two on Sunday afternoon, I realized they needed some clothes. A lot, actually. Jonathan and Noah are only 15 months apart, and they wear the same shirt size, 6 or 7. In pants, Jonathan wears regular and Noah, the one with no hips to speak of, need slim. Josiah is set, but Natalie needs a few things. And our “slush” fund is pretty empty.

I’d like to say I handled this with grace and peace. A humble and quiet spirit. But that’s not exactly what happened. I panicked. I was angry. Not at anyone in particular, just at everyone. Like our governor for not putting a price cap on gas prices. Like Kevin’s boss for not paying him more money. Like anyone that crossed my mind at the time.

Then yesterday happened. The brake light in my van went on. A switch on my stove went out. One tiny switch, but a replacement costs $45 just for the part. And I freaked. I pouted. I was mad again, this time at God. Not a good place to be, but an honest one.

During my allotted computer time in the afternoon, my sister instant-messaged me with the news that their truck had blown up and was beyond repair. Not just the brakes, the entire truck. And my husband IM-ed me that the five-year-old daughter of a former co-worker was just diagnosed with Perthes Disease. Not her stove. Her child. In my experience, conviction doesn’t often come creeping in. It hits me like a semi and leaves me broken. Which I think is His point.

Today at Bible study I confessed my inability to trust to my prayer partner. We prayed for God to provide, and in the meantime, for me to get over myself. Right after Bible study, a friend gave me a huge lawn-and-garden trash bag full of clothes. Clothes that she told me I could use for my kids or take to the local consignment store to receive credit, whichever I needed. Not only were there many consignment-worthy items, there were 8 long-sleeve shirts in like-new condition in sizes 6 and 7. An hour later my sister IM-ed me with the news that she had been given some hand-me-downs for her son that are too big for him right now, but could I use some size six jeans and pants? At this point I am crying, amazed at God’s faithfulness to me when I am so unwilling to trust Him.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God, my Father!
There is no shadow of turning with Thee.
Thou changest not; Thy compassions, they fail not.
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

Great is Thy faithfulness;
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided.
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest;
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above;
Join with all heaven in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.

Great is Thy faithfulness;
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided.
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow –
Blessings all mine, and ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness;
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided.
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.

(The Bible or the Axe was provided to me free of charge by Mind and Media, who received it from the publisher for the purpose of being reviewed.)

William Levi has an amazing story to tell. Mr. Levi was born a Messianic Christian in the Sudan, exiled to Uganda, returned to the Sudan as persecution and bloodshed began again, and was miraculously brought out of the Sudan by God in order to help his country rebuild.

I know I am sheltered. I am a white, Christian American, and I have not experienced suffering like Christians in other parts of the world. I forget, sometimes, that our freedom to worship is something other believers do not enjoy.

I did not realize that there is a Christian presence in Africa that dates back to the early church. My ideas of Africa have been shaped by our Western culture and media. Africa is somewhere we send missionaries to, not somewhere I expect to see Christianity as old as the church. And yet Africans have been worshiping God the Father as Jews for thousands of years. The same African Jews were brought the good news of Jesus Christ and believed. And they have suffered for their belief.

This book has a message that needs to be read and shared. It is too easy for us to turn a blind eye to the suffering endured by our sisters and brothers in Christ. Stories like Mr. Levi’s make it personal.

God brought William Levi out of the Sudan to receive an education and to help his nation in ways he never could have if he had remained. And he is helping and giving back, not only through this book, but through his ministry, Operation Nehemiah.

The Bible and the Axe does more than tell Mr. Levi’s story. It explains the history of the religious war in the Sudan in a way that I had never understood before. Anyone whose heart break’s over what’s happened in the Sudan, and is still happening in the Darfur region, needs to read this book. It will renew your desire to pray for our brothers and sisters around the world, and prompt you to help in any way you can.

Your Personality Profile

You are dignified, spiritual, and wise. Always unsatisfied, you constantly try to better yourself. You are also a seeker of knowledge and often buried in books. You tend to be philosophical, looking for the big picture in life. You dream of inner peace for yourself, your friends, and the world. A good friend, you always give of yourself first.

The buried in books part fits — but the rest? Wise? I don’t know. Dignified — bwahaha! Take it and let me know if it pegged you more accurately.

Our little rural library district was chosen “Library of the Month” by WebJunction — a national library web site. The article is here. We love our library — and they know us all by name. Natalie and Noah both have their own cards, and Natalie is being featured in this month’s library newsletter as a girl who loves her library card. The staff always jokes that when we come in they get to empty their hold shelf.

I remember the library in the town I grew up in. I loved it there, too. One of the librarians was a dear family friend and frequent babysitter of me and my sisters, so we got special access to behind the counter. She helped me find all the really good books and was the first person to introduce me to “Anne-with-an-e”. I’m grateful my children also have a place to go with kind people who encourage their love of books and thirst for learning.

The Library
Barbara E. Huff

It looks like any building
When you pass it on the street,
Made of stone and glass and marble,
Made of iron and concrete.

But once inside you can ride
A camel or a train,
Visit Rome, Siam, or Nome,
Feel a hurricane,
Meet a king, learn to sing,
How to bake a pie,
Go to sea, plant a tree,
Find how airplanes fly,
Train a horse, and of course
Have all the dogs you’d like,
See the moon, a sandy dune,
Or catch a whopping pike.
Everything that books can bring
You’ll find inside those walls.
A world is there for you to share
When adventure calls.

You cannot tell its magic
By the way the building looks,
But there’s wonderment within it,
The wonderment of books.

Mommy: Josiah, come here and let me help you put your shoes on.

Josiah: Oh, my tie shoes! My tie shoes make me happy!

Josiah: Mommy, can I have a cookie?

Mommy: No, Josiah, you haven’t even had breakfast yet.

Josiah: But, Mommy, it’s good to share!

Jonathan: Mom, are we twins?

Mommy: No, Jonathan, twins are kids who were both in their Mommy’s tummy at the same time and born on the same day. Noah was in my tummy and born 15 months before you were.

Jonathan: Oh. Are we chiclets? (I’m assuming he meant “triplets”.)

Josiah (3yo) is in the “why” phase. Questions asked so far today: “Why does the food go in our mouths?” “Why do cars have wheels?” “Why don’t bouncy balls have wheels?” Which was followed by, “I wish bouncy balls had wheels.”

Our school year officially started yesterday. We are easing into our full schedule, in part so we don’t all go through huge summer withdrawals, and in part because some of our curriculum hasn’t arrived yet.

Jonathan, my kindergartener, loves to do his Italic Handwriting book. Who knew? This is my guy who never sits still. The weird thing is, he can spend a good twenty minutes painstakingly tracing over a letter and then writing his own — and still not know the name of the letter, even though as I’m working with him on proper form I’m continually saying the letter name to him. On a good note, he is making progress and surprised me by knowing more letters than I thought he did. He’s just so different from my first two, who both completely knew their letters before I even started them in kindergarten. And believe me, I haven’t done anything different with this one! We’ve read the same alphabet books, watched the same Busy Town ABC’s and Elmo videos, played the same Toddler and Preschool computer games. He’s just different. But I think he’s having fun so far.

I wanted to find a way to help him learn his letters, but to also keep him moving so he doesn’t go crazy. He has to use so much energy when I tell him to sit still that I fear he won’t have any left over to learn! So I printed letters on large index cards and scattered a dozen or so around the room. Then I’d call out a letter: “capital A” or “small i” and Jonathan would jump on it. He liked it, but then Josiah, my 3-year-old, got in on the game and they decided it was too tame. This is what they came up with: Josiah sits on the couch with his toy gun. I call out the letter. If Jonathan gets it right on the first try, Josiah shoots Mommy. If Jonathan gets it wrong, Josiah shoots Jonathan. Violent, I know. But Jonathan knew several more letters at the end of the game than he did when we started. Whatever works! I haven’t done much math with him so far. His workbook hasn’t come yet, and he already knows all of his numbers through 12 and can count to 20 and knows how to add small numbers using his fingers or manipulatives, so I know we’ll fly through (or skip) the first half of the book.

Noah, my first grader, is already halfway done with his 1st grade math book — he started it last year after flying through kindergarten. He’s working on counting coins: dimes, nickels, and pennies so far. He’s reading well. I’m not sure what level, but he’s making his way through the 3rd reader in the 1st grade series with no problem at all.

Natalie is in third grade. We’ve reviewed alphabetical order, did some dictation to get back in the swing of things, worked on some common homonyms, and, since she could already spell all the words on her first list, we skipped spelling. She wrote a story on her blog, worked on her typing software, and played math games at MathBrain.com. (Great site, by the way.)

We “did” science today — an experiment involving melting ice, boiling water, and condensation. I learned that if you’re going to do anything involving water, all school books should be removed from the table first. Oh, well — they dry, right?

I also learned that our dining room table is way too small for all of us to work together at the same time. I had these visions of Natalie and Noah quietly working independently while I taught Jonathan to read. Not likely. First of all, Josiah wants to “do” school, too, which involves some workbooks I bought at the dollar store. He loves it — which is great, but whips through each page in a minute flat and wants me or Natalie to give him directions on the next one. This makes it impossible for Jonathan to concentrate and drives Noah and Natalie bonkers. I’m revising the schedule a little and having one-on-one time with each kid at the table — with everyone else somewhere else. I’ll start with Josiah and hopefully if he has some Mommy-time right off the bat then he’ll be content to play Blues Clues on the computer or color quietly while I work with the others. We’ll see.

We have our first class with the H.O.M.E. Program tomorrow. I’m excited to meet the other parents, and hoping for a few girls Nan’s age. The boys are excited to meet Mr. Ramos, the instructor. He phoned last week to “meet” the kids and they all talked to him for a few minutes. Noah jabbered away about how much he likes science and what kind of experiments can we do? When I got back on the phone, Mr. Ramos said, “Nice kids. They are certainly talkative.” ~grin~ He doesn’t know the half of it. I used to take them to story time at the library and all these kids would be huddled on their Mommy’s laps, quiet and shy. My kids, however, would keep crowding closer and closer to the story lady, asking questions and pointing to the pictures, until I thought she was going to have to climb backwards onto her stool to get out of the fray!

On a totally different topic, I’ve found a new blog that I’m enjoying called The Common Room. She is doing an excellent job of keeping me posted about Hurricane Katrina, and what’s being said in the media, and more importantly, what’s not being said. Go check it out.

I am teaching fall quarter of our women’s Bible study, using the book Heaven by Randy Alcorn. In case any of you are interested, I will be posting the weekly lessons on my other blog. You don’t need the book to do the lesson, just your Bible. You can find the first lesson here.