HippieMommy

posted by amanda on Feb 27

We’ve just started this book for my group, and I thought it’d be nice to share some of my thoughts.

I can definitely see how my actions fall into the “fallen” category (as in the way people act after the fall of Adam and Eve). I am prone to being the controlling type. Actually, I think everyone is, just some people are more passive-agressive about it, and others are more outwardly aggressive. I think I’m the latter.

I liked Mr. VanVonderen’s description of pre-fall relationships. Its only been in recent years that I’ve started to embrace the fact that the post-fall consequences are not what we need to be living in and accepting. Jesus showed us a new way to live. For some reason I was always taught that it was just how life is, and we had to accept that now, thanks to the fall, the sexes would be at war.

I like this quote. It made me laugh out loud

Pay close attention to Adam’s first response when he awoke and saw Eve: “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh” (v. 23). He did not say, “Great, now I have someone to go get me my stuff, do the chores I don’t feel like doing, and cater to my every need.” And the Word of God goes on: “For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh” (v. 24). This was God’s plan for marriage: entering into the process of becoming one flesh. It is not to “subdue” or to “rule over” each other. Rather, the plan for marriage is a dependence upon God; two becoming one flesh, co-ruling, a relationship in the image of God.

I am happy to say that I do not have a demanding or demeaning husband. He is happy to serve right along side of me, but I still thought the quote was pretty funny.

I hope to have some deep thoughts about future chapters For now, I’m just amused. I’m wondering if the men in our group will take offense to VanVonderen’s strong egalitarian message… We shall see!

posted by amanda on Feb 24

http://aolff.org/

I’ve been devouring my way through Crystal Lutton’s Biblical Parenting this week. I have known Crystal for quite a while, so I feel like I’m doing this backwards, but when my friend had her book sitting on the couch, I couldn’t help but steal it, lol.

Yesterday’s lesson for me was on descriptive praise. I have often heard that you shouldn’t use subjective words like “pretty” or “good”, instead you should use descriptive praise. I wasn’t really sure that this would work, and I honestly wasn’t sure that it is how God works. I kept thinking of

Luke 19:17″ ‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’”

Here it seemed to me that God was being both subjective and descriptive, but then I suppose that God knows what is well done or not, lol, so maybe its not subjective. Hmm, I’ll have to think about that.

Plus, non-descriptive praise is everywhere. Even Joe on Blue’s Clues tells kids they’re “really smart”. It didn’t seem like a huge deal to me. I’ve never told my kids that things that they do make them “good” or “bad”. I know that’s a big no-no.

Anyways, this quote in Crystal’s book helped to give me a nudge to change.

If your child brings you a picture tell them what you see. “You used lots of green. I see squiggly lines and some straight ones.” If your daughter asks what you think of her dress tell her what you see. “It’s blue and it has flowers.” You will be amazed at how her face lights up. My son calls me into his playroom to show me what he’s done with his cars and I tell him what I see. “You have lined them up and all the trucks are together.” He feels a sense of accomplishment and knows that I have noticed his hard work because I can tell him what he did.

So yesterday we made brownies. I’m using up the last of my Duncan Hines dairy-free mixes (which they’ve done away with, but that’s another blog entry). My 4-year-old son always pulls up a chair to stand next to me when I am mixing, and he always helps me to stir. He asked if he could do it all by himself, so I gave him the spatula. He stirred for a good minute, and did it to completion. Instead of my usual “Good job, you stirred the brownies.”, I said “You stirred the brownies completely. Now they’re ready to go in the pan.”. He looked like I had just told him that he had won a lifetime supply of toys, lol. He lit up, stood taller, and looked so proud. Its amazing what a difference of a few words can make!

Thank you, Crystal!

posted by amanda on Feb 18

I realize that this is far from being a reality… it is just a training program for bus drivers, but it makes me sick to my stomach. I am not a believer in homeschooling due to fear, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that these kinds of things make me more sure of my decision to homeschool.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,185274,00.html

Financed by the Homeland Security Department, school bus drivers are being trained to watch for potential terrorists, people who may be casing their routes or plotting to blow up their buses.

This quote is describing a possible scenario that they are training for

…terrorists monitor a punctual driver for weeks, then hijack a bus and load the friendly yellow vehicle with enough explosives to take down a building.

Schools are the kind of target that terrorists want, Beatty said: a place where an attack could have huge symbolic impact and lead to mass casualties and spectacular images.

It really makes me sick to my stomach. Why would anyone want “spectacular images”? It is so screwed up and so disgusting. How would that achieve any goals? Its revolting.

posted by amanda on Feb 18

This is a topic that I’ve been thinking about quite a bit recently. We’ve never had any kind of formal chore charts for our kids, but they are always happy to help when it comes time to pick up the house. They help enthusiastically and with a generous heart. I have thought about making charts, but I wonder if that will take some of the enjoyment and the gift of it away.

I found some lists online for what should be expected for each age, and my kids do pretty much everything on there. There are some things that don’t apply (like feeding pets - we don’t have any), but they are great about doing the items on there that apply to our family.

So I guess I’m just wondering what you do with your families. If you have a chart system, when did you start?

posted by amanda on Feb 16

Rawr.

Yesterday my friend, Candice, and I went to Barnes and Noble to try to decide which book we should use for our Bible study group. Our choices were Grace-Based Parenting by Kimmel, Heartfelt Discipline by Clarkson, and Families Where Grace is in Place by VanVonderen. I was hoping to flip through the books and see which one would be the best fit. Barnes and Noble obviously had different plans for us.

They offered none of these books. Not one. These are books that are getting national attention, even being mentioned in the Washington Post and in prominent Christian counseling publications, and yet they are not even available for people browsing at the bookstore.

Even more upsetting was that Babywise sat there, facing out, and in prominent display. While most books had their binding facing out, Babywise had the privelege of having the cover facing out, making it much more likely to be picked up.

Its so infuriating. Why in the world would they give prime real estate to a book that the AAP has come out against and that was written by a man excommunicated from the church and yet they do not offer these (better) books? They easily could’ve made space just by turning Babywise the other way. I think I need to write a letter.

posted by amanda on Feb 16

I’d love to hear what some of you think about this quote. It is from Charlotte Mason and is included in Volume 1 “Home Education”

As for this superior morality of some non-believers, supposing we grant it, what does it amount to? Just to this, that the universe of mind, as the universe of matter, is governed by unwritten laws of God; that the child cannot blow soap bubbles or think his flitting thoughts otherwise than in obedience to divine laws; that all safety, progress, and success in life come out of obedience to law, to the laws of mental, moral or physical science, or of that spiritual science which the Bible unfolds; that it is possible to ascertain laws and keep laws without recognising the Lawgiver, and that those who do ascertain and keep any divine law inherit the blessing due to obedience, whatever be their attitude towards the Lawgiver; just as the man who goes out into blazing sunshine is warmed, though he may shut his eyes and decline to see the sun. Conversely, that they who take no pains to study the principles which govern human action and human thought miss the blessings of obedience to certain laws, though they may inherit the better blessings which come of acknowledged relationship with the Lawgiver.

This paragraph has made me think. I have several that I wanted to discuss, but this seemed like a good place to start.

It is true that the man who goes into the sun receives the sun’s benefits, even if he doesn’t believe. Also, one can believe without knowing the law-giver. I guess I’ve just never thought about the idea of unbelievers being blessed for their law-abiding actions. So many in the world choose to reject God because He sends unbelievers to hell. I’m guessing that Ms. Mason is referring only to earthly blessings, but I wish she could’ve expounded more. I find this a very interesting pattern of thought. I need to find some scripture to back up or refute these things…

posted by amanda on Feb 9

I think my mom was naturally very Charlotte-Mason-minded I’ve started working my way through Home Education, and I am really loving it. I am realizing how much my mom focused on the same things that Charlotte encourages. We spent a lot of time outside, had limited tv time, did lots of reading, and my mom worked hard to instill the proper habits in us.

I know that I am just at the tip of the iceburg, so I am trying to implement one little thing at a time Right now I am focusing on making sure that my kids get a good amount of time outside to play, learn, and just be kids Both of them are naturally drawn to being outside, so this has certainly been an easy thing to do. It is really amazing to watch them play and learn out there.

Our regular outside time was probably for an hour or so every other day. It varies depending on the time of the year, and this time of year is probably a low-point for us, since it is pretty chilly out. I’ve been working on letting them have more time outside, even if they are doing more observing than playing (like by walking to the store instead of driving), and it is so fun to see what they notice in the world around them.

I’ve also been working on Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. My son has been having a blast with it. He just turned 4 last week, and I think that his young age is helping a bit. He calls it the “reading game”, and I’ve worked hard to make sure that it is fun and that there is no pressure. If I see it start to become any kind of a burden, then I’ll back off, but for now he thinks it is great. He has always loved books, and now he’s having fun sounding out the words and running his finger under them Its really cute.

Well, I need to go make a grocery list. I didn’t get to do my regular Grocery Game shopping this week, so now I bet it’ll be way more expensive. Oh well, Sunday was our Superbowl party and then I had class Monday and Tuesday, so it was just too hectic. I guess I’ll get some good practice in making my own list…

posted by amanda on Feb 2

Nice combination, eh?

Tonight the kids and I made up a batch of cupcakes. I was inspired by the ones that Oprah had on her show. I had to dive through the grocery store shelves to find the last of the old Duncan Hines mixes, because they were milk-free. For whatever reason, Duncan Hines decided that they just absolutely must add milk to all of their mixes, and I’m devastated. They were the only brand that I could buy if I needed a quick mix cake. Boohoo. Luckily I was able to grab a bunch today, but now I’m going to have to do something similar to Elaine on the “sponge-worthy” Seinfeld episode.

I’m not truly having anxiety, although I am uneasy as our life is moving in unexpected directions. My dh is looking for a new job. He and his current employer had initially decided that he would work for them from home until it was no longer working for them. Well, its no longer working. He’s looking for a new job and they’re looking for a replacement. Everyone has been open and up-front, which is good, but it is still stressful. He has applied for a few positions that look really good. Please pray for us if you have some spare time. We’d really appreciate it. He’s worked for this company since the day that he graduated college, so this is our first time in this position. No horror stories, please!

In other sad news, dh and I went skiing/snowboarding (that was the good part) and while he was skating (meaning he only had one foot strapped in), he somehow managed to twist his knee pretty badly. He injured his MCL and probably his ACL as well. He has an MRI tomorrow to see if he need surgery. Poor guy. Snowboarding is his release. That’s how he relaxes. Now it looks like he’s sidelined for the rest of the year. We had no idea it was this bad. He even came down the mountain after he injured it and was going up in the tree sections and doing jumps. I think we were both pretty shocked when it started swelling and then when the sports doctor said how bad it was.

I hope to update more often. The combination of starting school, looking for a new job with dh, and his possible upcoming surgery have been keeping us pretty wrapped up.

Oh, and one last thing… my kids won the lottery to get in to our local Charlotte Mason / classical school. I’m not sure how I feel about it. I really think I want to homeschool, and I thought they’d never get in, and that would be confirmation. Now I’m really unsure. I guess I better wait until we find out whether or not we’re moving for a new job before I make any real plans, but still…