Silver Dollar City

A week or so ago, we took a fun, family trip to Missouri. We started in Branson, where we met King Kong. Then we headed on over to Silver Dollar City. For most of my younger kids, it was their first time on small roller coasters. They were so brave....

The highlight of the day for us, um, I mean, them, was this really cool ball room. The room was FILLED with THOUSANDS of tiny squishy soft balls. All throughout the room were these long flexible tubes about 4" in diameter that had SUCKING ACTION going on...like giant vacuums!! You move the tubes and suck up balls to your hearts content, or bring the balls to the hose monster and stick them in it's mouth. It was so fun. (for them of course). You would work really hard to "clean up" your little ball area, only to have hundreds dump from the ceiling or be shot at you by older kids in the towers up above. We stayed there for a LONG time.
I was thinking how cool it would be to have a room like this at home...but them I thought more and realized it wouldn't just suck up balls, but school papers, hair ties, food, legos...so maybe we'll just visit SDC now and then. I'm tellin' ya...if I lived closer, this fun place makes it almost worth the price of a season ticket right there....for the kids of course....it is VACUUMING at it's finest!!

SAM TAKES A STROLL

SAM
SAM IS A CHICKEN.
SAM THINKS SHE IS A DOG.
SAM LIKES TO COME INTO OUR FRONT DOOR EVERY DAY AT 2:15 TO CLEAN UP THE CRUMBS ON THE FLOOR.
MOM LOVES SAM.
KIDS LOVE SAM.
SAM POOPS ON SCHOOL ROOM CARPET.
DAD DOES NOT LOVE SAM.
SAM HAS TO STAY OUTSIDE NOW.
THE END.

Prove what?

I just got finished mowing the goose pasture.  (How many of you can say you did THAT today?) grin.
I love mowing because I can look outside for a few days and actually see that I did something that LASTS more than one meal or one diaper.   So many things in motherhood feel like they don't matter.  A reading lesson here, a spelling test there, a clean diaper, another dinner on the table.  It can seem so trivial can't it?   If we focus on the minute by minute things, sometimes it can seem like we are accomplishing nothing or even going backwards.  But I usually get some deep insight while mowing...
Why...probably because I had 30 WHOLE MINUTES with no brain interruptions! 

For those of you with all littles....it IS tough to see results.  Short of taking the first steps, pooping on the potty and learning the letter sounds, so much seems so repetitive and like there are no measurable results.
But now that my older kids are getting older, I am SO enjoying seeing those minutes and seemingly "unimportant" things add up to see that YES, they WERE important and worthwhile!

For homeschooling moms, I think this is even magnified.  It can be a tough job, especially when I spend a good part of my day teaching one child to read, correcting another's math, giving another spelling test and grading a geometry exam...often simultaneously while changing a diaper. (Insert Superman theme song here.lol)   The days truly can be long, but as I'm seeing with 2 middle school boys in my home, the years truly are short.

I remember the day well.  The day the school bus came and picked up the neighbor kids in Florida  and then kept driving away. It was the first day that Aslan SHOULD have gone to school.  I remember the panic I felt watching that bus drive away, thinking, "Yikes, I'm really homeschooling now."  Not only did I have my own apprehensions, but, as all homeschooling parents deal with, we constantly deal/dealt with questions and accusations by those unfamiliar with the concept.  "What about socialization?" "I can't imagine being with my kids all day." "What about the prom?" "Is it LEGAL?"  "But you're not a certified teacher?" "I can't imagine teaching my kids to READ!" "What about high school/college?"   "What curriculum do you use?"  etc etc etc.

As the years roll by, I've seen the results of homeschooling. I no longer have to prove anything to myself. I no longer have to prove anything to others.  I am confident that it has been the absolute best decision we could have made for our family.   I'm not talking about the educational aspects, though study after study has proven that homeschoolers score higher on standardized tests and colleges are bending over backwards trying to get homeschool graduates.  I mainly mean the relationship that I have with my older children that is priceless.  Seeing their walk with the Lord as they seek Him for answers, feel conviction, and sometimes see the Holy Spirit being harder on them than I might be. 

Sometimes, though, it's easy to get our vision clouded by what is not important.  Sometimes, I actually freak out at the thought of figuring out curriculum for 6 grades next year. Freak out that "we" are starting high school this year.   I lose sleep about, "Should I use this history curriculum or that one?"    I prayed a few days ago for wisdom because I KNEW I was making a bigger deal of things than I should.  God so obviosuly and clearly showed me 3 things:

1. I need to focus #1 on teaching the Bible and focusing on their walk with God and character.
2. Some of those subjects just don't need a big deal made about them. (History)  Just do what needs to be done, but don't let it overshadow what really matters.
3. High school is just a continuation of what I've already been doing...which IS ENOUGH. 

How God really solidified #3 for me is through Aslan's ACT score.  He is my clone, as many who knew me in my teen  years can easily see.   I asked him if he'd like to take the ACT test "just for fun" to see how he's doing.  (what I really meant was to see how IIIIIIII was doing)  Most of  you can't understand how an ACT test could be "just for fun" but some of us are weird that way. I loved those standardized tests so I figured Aslan might enjoy the challenge as well.) Smiley with wild, mad scientist hair.

Right in the midst of my panic attack about high school, we got the report back that he had scored REALLY well on the test.   Most of you couldn't care less, but for you number types, he got a 30.
That helped me so much to see that we just need to continue right on with what we are doing.  (Focusing on their spiritual walk.....putting more focus on their passions, and covering the rest as stress-lessly as possibly.)
Isn't God good to show me so much in one weeks time?

If you are stressing about things or not sure what to do....PRAY.  HE will clearly and definitely do the same for you!!  He will re-align your goals, your methods, your curriculum choices or whatever else you need realigning.

I truly don't have to prove that homeschooling is a good choice academically.  Am I happy that he scored well...of course, but truly, if my children grow up to be highly intellectual, rich and successful and that is what they are known for, I HAVE FAILED.

The Bible says that what should bring us joy for our children should be, "I have no greater joy that to see that my children walk in TRUTH." 3 John 1:4

So being smart is good....being musically talented is good...being good-looking is good...but what should bring us the absolute MOST JOY?   For our children to walk in Truth.....

So, fellow moms (and dads).....when thinking about parenting...try to focus on 100 years from now.

In 100 years, will it matter what your kid got on his ACT, or what his GPA was, or how handsome/beautiful he/she was? Will it matter that they were the CEO of this company or made a 6-digit income?  No...what will matter is that you raised your kids to WALK IN TRUTH.   Jesus says, "I am the Way the TRUTH and the LIFE...."

So as we start planning out the next year of curriculum, or how our family will spend their free time over the next school year, let's focus on what truly matters....we have nothing to prove to anyone but God.
Now, while I didn't THINK I had to prove anything to myself, as a human, it is nice to see that something I've invested my life in really does work. God allowed me to see, maybe for Aslan's high school, or maybe for my 3 that are 5 and under, that just doing my best with the Lord's help is all God expects from us. Moms...those little "moments"  DO matter....they all add up to create a piece of art.   It may take 14 years or more  to see the full impact of the results...but you WILL see results of what you've invested in your kids. 
Don't look back and wish you gave more, or sacrificed more or hugged more, or trained more or exampled more.....with God's help, give 100% knowing that even if you feel unappreciated, God sees and you are doing it as to Him....stop trying to prove something or please men....100 years from now, you will realize how silly that was!

Competition is good for the SOUL....literally...

We got a Wii back in December. It's a lot of fun, and even the big savages like it. (us)
There are very few games, however, that fit our family standards of what we are willing to use our free time on and what we are willing to buy that doesn't have negative elements in it, or time-wasting games.
We borrowed Wii Sports Resort from a friend and liked it.   However, since we don't parent by giving our children anything they desire (they have to work to earn money for all their "wants" ), I was brainstorming a different twist on "earning." 

I had been wanting to memorize more Scripture.  I have recently been addicted to the book of Philippians...especially chapter 2 that talks about doing everything without complaining....remember...the passage that God worked and worked on me about all of 2009?   Despite having been a Bible Quizzer in high school and memorizing a chapter every month, lets face it....trying to memorize ANYTHING with 7 children about is daunting.  

So God gave me this idea to challenge my 4 oldest children to a competition.  I told them that if the average of how many verses they memorized was more than how many verses I memorized, then I would buy them Wii Sports Resort.    I threw in an extra perk.  If anyone memorized the WHOLE BOOK of Philippians, I would buy them their very own extra Wii Motion Sensor. ($20 value)    Sports Resort comes with 1 already, but you really need at least 2 to play against each other.

The competition started 2 1/2 months ago.  We had chapters of Philippians taped all over the place.
My bathroom mirror (that helped the most), their bathroom wall, and on many tables.
The deadline was May 1st.

Aslan memorized the entire book, messing up on only about 10 words total out of 104 verses.
Noah and Hosanna got around 30-35 or so...Josiah...5 and Me...drumroll......31 verses.

Now, despite the fact that I lost....their average was 41 verses to my 31.....rats, I could have squeezed in 11 more somehow.....I am really proud of how many I DID memorize.    It's harder with age ya know...and add lots of little kids who never stop talking, well, it's downright amazing that I even did one.  They say that with each pregnancy and with nursing your brain shrinks slightly....I've been doing one or both of those continually since 1995...so I think it may just be the size of a peach pit...but I digress.
Overall, it was a great experience.....except I'm out about $60.

Oh...you're wondering what I would have gotten if I had won...well, I would have saved $60 and they would have had to buy me a pint of Ben & Jerry's Phish Food ice cream.   sigh.   I'll just imagine how good it would have been...that's my fav. 

So....the take home message....bribe your kids....it's good for their souls and yours!!
(but it sure would have been nice to dig my spoon into one of these...)