K-LOVE - Jason Castro "You Are" LIVE

I love this song! Jason Castro was the 4th runner up on American Idol a few years ago... at the time I didn't know he was a Christian. I love Contemporary Christian and it's almost all I listen too... that and a bit of talk radio.

If you haven't heard this song before... please take a couple minutes to hear a little positive praise to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Night Night, Sleep Tight, Don't Let the Necklace Bite!

Last night I learned the hard way not to wear my favorite beaded necklace to bed.... and actually, after what happened I won't be able to.

I was exhausted yesterday and fairly early into the evening went upstairs and collapsed on my bed. I was fully dressed with my necklace around my neck. My favorite necklace, which was really quite simple.... two strands of tiny beads in black, white, tan, and brown on wire. The necklace has a chain in the back that allows me to vary the length. I love this necklace because it matches my work clothes and a lot of my wardrobe, so I can wear it all day, almost everyday! It's really quite cute, the perfect Wendy necklace, because it was nickle-free, and it looked really stylish.

Occasionally, the closure side of the necklace ends up in front, and the extra chain dangles down. Last night I was apparently somewhere between awake and asleep when I felt something "crawling" on my neck. I've seen enough spiders in our home to know that they could end up in bed with me. The crawling feeling felt like a beetle or something more threatening... sure enough I felt my neck and there it was, so naturally I grabbed it and pulled it off only to be showered in tiny little beads. They were even in my bra!

So... moral of the story for me at least is not to wear jewelry to bed. I'm going to miss that necklace! Seriously, but at the same time I'm thanking God for a sense of humor. I felt sad just for a couple seconds, but then couldn't help but laugh.

Setting a Date to Bring My Son Back Home Again

We started out homeschooling our now 9 year old son, but after a couple years we came to realize it just wasn't working. The Asperger's and high anxiety diagnosis were making him far from the ideal student and left me in a state of despair. I literally felt ill.

He's been in a wonderful brick and mortar school for almost 2 full years now... has made great friends and has come a long way both socially and academically. His current struggles are still very real and serious... he is currently dealing with rage, which is very scary. We have him in therapy and have been trying to work through his anxiety and anger, which by the way is very typical for children with Asperger's Syndrome. He doesn't see the world the same way we do and gets very frustrated with us. Additionally he has sensory issues... and is very overwhelmed by the world around him.  Fortunately he keeps it together during school, but he melts when we bring him home.

In the past couple weeks, I've ordered him a variety of products designed for kids on the Autism Spectrum. We have a compression vest to help him feel his place in space... which might sound odd, but it's supposed to help him relax. I also have a weighted blanket on order from a wonderful organization who makes them free of charge for kids on the spectrum and a bed sheet type of thing (which I have paid for) that slides over a mattress, is made of some sort of stretch material, allowing kids to feel hugged in bed. They can also kick and stretch the material from under the sheet, which is supposed to help them unwind. There's something about being weighted down that helps these kiddos relax.

So... what about homeschooling? I'm seriously thinking that bringing him home again at the start of 6th grade, when his classmates will begin middle school is the absolute right time to bring him back home. I feel it in my gut, my heart, and my tired mommy brain. I'd then leave his little sister in the brick and mortar school until she reaches middle school... at which time I'd bring her home too. That would give me a couple years working 1 on 1 with just my son. By that point I'm praying we'll have his rage under control. Currently he's in the 4th grade, so that gives me a year and a half to prepare.

We have an appointment with a child psychiatrist in a couple weeks so we can try anti-anxiety meds, something we were opposed to until very recently. When you see your 9 year old come after his little sister with a sharp pencil (or whatever else he can find) threatening to stab her, hear him threaten to hurt himself, and find yourself holding him down so he doesn't make good on those threats (oh, is he strong), you do what you have to do. :( Additionally, the quality of our family time is sad. We spend most of our time together dealing with our son, trying to help him, having him physically and verbally attack us, and trying to keep our cool. It's really challenging. It's honestly like having a colicky baby who can also jump, run, and talk. Very loud, very intense and it's unrelenting. Sigh. Prayers?

Taking My Mom's Advice for Once

Guest post written by Lindsay Brown

My mom is always complaining about how I never take any of her advice. But I have a reason not to, some of her advice has been downright terrible. Like the time when she set me up with one of her friends from church's sons. Well after we broke up after about a month, church was super awkward and I don't think I've ever had a normal exchange with him ever since. But she does have the occasional good advice though.

She told me about this romance author, Nicholas Sparks, that apparently is really popular but I had honestly never heard anything about him before. But then again, I had never read a romance novel before that. When I was reading her email that she used to tell about him, I saw the website www.clearwirewimax4g.com and changed my intenret provider over to it for my place.

Since then I've read a couple of Nicholas Sparks books that have made me cry. Normally I hate to cry but these are good happy cries in the privacy of my own home where it doesn't matter if my mascara runs.

Dealing with November... in the Dark

I truly love Fall and most of what it brings... cooler temperatures, beautiful autumn leaves, and pumpkin pie! lol However... the days are too short, and I'm tired all the time!

Last night just felt wrong. I really have to wonder if we shouldn't do away with Daylight Savings... or flip it? Why not give us an extra hour of light rather than snatch it away? Can we start a petition? lol If so, I'll start it! Who out there is on board?

It's hard on the kids too. They're confused! Bedtime seems to come too late and their little brains don't exactly get it. What's more, my momma brain is too tired to try and explain it to them, and honestly I don't truly get it myself.

When you add cooler days to the darker evenings (soon to be late afternoons) it only compounds the problem. When I get cold I want to hibernate under a warm blanket... given there's little light, other than the artificial light in my home, which by the way just isn't the same... how on earth are we to get anything done in the evenings? I'm protesting! lol

This would make a great research project for a homeschooler. Why not have your child write about the history of Daylight Savings, and whether or not it makes sense to continue implementing it? I say no! What say you?

A Different Take on Shakespeare

Guest post written by Brian Morris

I did my part in high school and college English classes reading about as much Shakespeare stuff as one person could physically stand, including King Lear. I've also watched and read a whole lot of different takes on some of his stories, just because so many different things in pop culture are like that. It's not like I sought them out or anything. But when I found out that an author that I really like, Christopher Moore, wrote a different take on King Lear I knew that I would have to read it.

I actually found out about the book when I was reading one of my favorite book blogs a while back with my CLEAR internet bundle. I ordered it right away and couldn't wait to read it when I got it at home.

The Christopher Moore Fool book was even funnier than I had imagined it would be, which that doesn't surprise me though because all of his books that I've read are really funny. Plus, who doesn't love a retelling of something that's known so well anyway?

Thursday Homeschool Resource Day Link-up

Another awesome post by our homeschooling guest-blogger at Ordinary Time

Who doesn’t love to find that great new book that revolutionizes your homeschooling and is the cause for peace and happiness to descend upon your house?  What, you’ve never found such a thing?  Yeah, me neither.  But that doesn’t stop me from hounding curriculum fairs and other homeschoolers looking for it.  While I have yet to find the resource that turns my children into a combination of Mother Theresa and Albert Einstein, I have found some pretty cool stuff in the mean time and I bet you have too.

In order to share the results of all of our combined treasure hunting, I have created a new weekly link-up at my blog, Ordinary Time.  Every Thursday I will share one of the many resources on my shelves (we’re talking 13 years of curriculum fairs, here) and I will also host a link-up for you to share the goodies that are sitting on your shelves. 

Hope to see you there.

~"E."

www.ordinary-time.blogspot.com

Taking Your Desire to Teach to a New Level

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of 2tor. All opinions are 100% mine.

As a homeschooler you've shown yourself and your family  that you have what it takes to teach...  perhaps you're considering turning that talent into a career... that is,  once your children leave the nest? Maybe your kids are at the high school level and you're wondering what you'll do with your days when they're in college?

If you've ever found yourself daydreaming about teaching outside the home... consider the flexibility of earning a teaching degree from the convenience of your living room through USC Rossier School of Education. While your children work on their independent coursework, you can do the same... finishing your teaching degree as they finish secondary school. A bright new future, a brand new journey could be yours in just 12 months time!

Here are just a few of the many benefits to earning your Master's in teaching from the USC Rossier's School of Education:

~ You'll enjoy online classes, but also have the opportunity for field-based experience

~ The program can be completed in as few as 12 months. You'll want to visit USC's website to explore their accelerated program and see if you qualify. If not, you can still earn your degree from home... it may just take a little longer!

~ Tuition reimbursement and scholarships are available to those who qualify

~ You'll be setting an AWESOME example to your kids, who will learn  much about work ethic, living out your dreams, and goal setting from watching you complete your teaching degree!

If I've succeeded in wetting your appetite for more information, visit  Rossier and the MAT@USC for program information on  how you can get started with this elite and nationally renouned school of education which by the way has been ranked #22 in the USA and #9 by US News and World Reports for private universities! Way cool... don't you agree?

Packing Our Bags for California?

Perhaps... just perhaps. At this point we're not 100% certain, but there's talk within the family of taking a 4 day trip to California to visit Disneyland in January. Traditionally, we've made our vacation spot Florida and the duration has been an exhausting 2 weeks! I've made it well known how I feel about being gone for that amount of time with young kids, one of whom is on the autism spectrum and prone to meltdowns, so 4 days sounds like an AWESOME compromise.

So... here I am contemplating a new suitcase. Mine is simply a duffelbag of sorts. I usually travel with a duffel for carry-on, a backpack, and share a suitcase with the kids. It would be nice to have one of my own! Yes... I'm already thinking about luggage. Packing well is important after all... is it not? If we had one really good suitcase, my kids and I could probably avoid all the smaller bags we carry too... especially on a 4 day trip.

My husband forbids me (such a strong word for this conversation) from doing any laundry while we're away and after 2 weeks this has caused our fair share of squabbling. I don't really get why doing laundry at the hotel is so horrible, but he's adamant about me packing light, wearing things more than once and buying extra shirts (if we need them) while we're there. This strategy is hard enough on me, but with kids? At least a 4 day trip will mean we all look sharp the entire stretch of the way! We could even wear something different each day! lol

I'll let you all know if we go... probably will let you know after we get back though! That's just my way. ; ) I'm a nut, married to a nut... that's why it works!

Ok... back to our suitcase talk... what do you think about this one? I like the colors and LOVE the wheels... I have to have wheels! lol Might be smaller than what we need though. Still... it's cute!

I found this suitcase on wheels at CSN's website... which by the way has many many many bags of all sizes, shapes, and varieties to choose from. I think I'll jump back to their site and keep on browsing!

Women of Faith Conference... What a Weekend!

I was blessed to have been given the resources and the opportunity to attend the Women of Faith Conference in Kansas City for the 2nd consecutive year. Big kudos to my hubby for making this event my 39th birthday present!!! I came away from the weekend refreshed and excited to start yet another new journey... one that I've wanted to take for years.

As of Friday night I'm the proud new World Vision sponsor of a young man in Sri Lanka and a young girl in Mexico. Both children were in the last chance stack of children... meaning they were nearing the age when  they would no longer qualify for sponsorship. Apparently the cut off age is 14 and my children are 13 and 12. As with legal adoption, most opt for babies... or the really young, leaving the older children overlooked. This was brought to my attention and to my heart on Friday evening and I just knew God was telling me to act. I had planned on looking for children the ages of my own... maybe with similar birthdays, but that wasn't God's plan.

This is an act of faith on my part. I'm committing $70 a month ($35 for each) to sponsor both kiddos and I know GOD WILL PROVIDE. It might mean I cut back on some of my non-essential spending, but it's all good. You wouldn't believe what even a dollar a day can mean to an impoverished family. It's huge. Additionally, World Vision is a Christian organization supporting the spiritual development of these precious children and their families. It's all good and I'm beyond overjoyed to be a part of something so life-changing! I have a hunch it will be life changing for my family too... just a hunch! lol

Last year was my first Women of Faith experience and I'm still hearing the marvelous Mandeesa singing in my heart. I continue to experience the warmth and love of Steven Curtis Chapman as he shared his broken heart for his precious baby-girl, who left the earth at the tender age of 5. What an amazing weekend that was.

I've left Women of Faith with a new favorite speaker... Sheila Walsh, with whom I feel a real connection. The
awesome talent of Natalie Grant still rings in my ears! At 8 months pregnant, belly in full bloom, God gave Natalie the breath to belt out amazing song after song! Only as she laid the microphone down did the crowd appreciate just how much the performance had taken on her pregnant body...  as Natalie took her seat and tears flowed toward heaven! She had survived another performance and just weeks (or possibly days) before her baby girl will make her debut.

I'll keep you all posted on my new journey with my sponsorships through World Vision. Thank you Lord for giving me the opportunity to reach out to children in another part of the world, who might not otherwise have the basic essentials such as clean water and shoes on their feet, who might not otherwise know Your heart, and who might not otherwise know the love of a stranger!