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Why I Homeschool

Two blogs in one day. Yes I'm sick and in the bed. And I just CAN NOT watch Little House on the PrairIe. Talk about being sick to my stomach. SEE jen's post

Okay, so I just realized there's a contest and I might need to write something because I love free stuff and never get any of it so here goes. (Be kind)

THE TOP 10 REASONS WHY WE HOMESCHOOL

1. Because everyone in our family thinks we're nuts and ruining our kids.
2. Because my crazy neighbors across the street did it.
3. Because I will not buy the same tennis shoes little Johnny has on.
4. Because after choosing to have 4 kids and then not to immunize we figured this would drive our parents COMPLETELY nuts.
5. Because we get really dumb questions like “Aren't you scared homeBOUNDING will ruin them socially?”
6. We needed just ONE MORE thing to do with 4 kids under the age of five.
7. Well, you see, I'm so organized and proficient at EVERYTHING I figured I better do this too.
8. I have a college education and have to do something with it or my old professors would just DIE!
9. No one really knows how horrible my children can act on a really bad day….No Principle's office for this family!!
10. So I can drive myself nuts choosing a curriculum each year.

AND
(drum roll please)

The NUMBER ONE REASON WE HOMESCHOOL

(okay, this one couldn't be funny.)
#1 It's what God has written on our hearts for our children.
(although all the others are true except for #7 and #9)

We just needed some humor in all this contesting!!! NOW GO AND VOTE OR WHATEVER IT IS WE DO TO NOMINATE SOMEONE…..JUST CLICK HERE
OR READ HERE AND EMAIL TO THE BELOW ADDRESS
(submissions are due to: cate3@panix.com by 6:00 PM (PST) on January 16th. It will be greatly appreciated if the submissions come in earlier. Please send the following information:

Title of Post
URL of Post
Name of Blog
URL of Blog
Brief summary of the post

Love you all,
Julie

3 Comments

Posted: January 11, 2006 by Julie |Category: Homeschooling | Tags:

Loving the Unlovely

Today at church a friend told me that my neighbor had been to the earlier service.
“My neighbor? Which one?”
“Oh, that one across the street I don't particularly like. That neighbor? “
“Oh, you mean the one I'VE lived across the street from for 5 years and never invited to church?”

Yes, it was that neighbor.

So here's my conversation with God after church today as I'm cleaning up the van.
Julie: “Loving the unlovely…..hmm.
            God, why do you call us to love the unlovely? “
God: “Well, Julie, you were once unlovely.”
Julie: “I was?” (I kinda think a little highly of myself, don't             you think?)
God: “Yes, before I sent Jesus. And…I loved you anyway.                 That's why I sent him.”
Julie: “So, you call me to love the unlovely because it makes                 me more like Him?”
God: “Yes. And because you were once that way too.
Julie: “Oh….I get it. You're not asking me to do anything you                 haven't already done.”
God: “Yes.”

I know I sometimes think of myself as unloveable but unlovely? I also know I sometimes think too highly of myself. But now the playing field has been leveled. I too have been shown I was once unlovely. We all were.

“Thank you God.
Julie”

4 Comments

Posted: January 8, 2006 by Julie |Category: Happenings | Tags:

Dare to be Different

I'm so glad I'm a part of a community (www.homeschoolblogger.com) that dares to be different. It's wonderful to read other homeschool mom's blogs and hear their struggles with following God's call for their lives, their children and their marriages when the world shouts at us to be just like everyone else.

I was inspired by Janne's post and Amber's post
when I read them today, identifying with Janne's decisions and struggles and knowing I've been in Amber's place defending homeschooling.

So here is my version of I'm different!!!
(and proud of it, at least most times)

“Yes, I homeschool, thank you very much.
(and I'll only tell you guys…yes I struggle sometimes too)
No, I didn't immunize my kids, didn't you? Why are you worried about your kids, then?
Yes, I try vitamins and chiropractic before running to the pediatrician. And all those pills I'm swallowing are helping…they are not medication, they are vitamins.
Yes, I love naps (taking them as often as possible to build my adrenals back up) and am learning I don't have to be supermom even if you think I do.
Yes, my husband works from our home and we're changing our children's lives by the blessing of two parents at home.
Yes, I'd like to get rid of all the televisions in our house.
Yes, I love chocolate and don't feel bad about eating it.
And if I weigh a little more than I did 15 years ago, who cares! As long as I'm healthy and my husband wants to crawl in bed with me at night, I'M GOOD.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!”

(How about you?)

1 Comment

Posted: January 4, 2006 by Julie |Category: Happenings | Tags:

I love my kids but…

I do, I love my kids……
BUT….
Sometimes, agh!!!
I was at Stuffmart at 6pm on Christmas Eve shutting the place down because my oldest son was desperate for a pet. He'd decided on a fish (because his mom wouldn't allow anything else). The poor staff at Stuffmart are shuffling people out of the store as fast as they can to get home for Christmas Eve and I'm literally fishing in the pet section trying to find the perfect pet for my son. I figured I'd just write the price down and tell the person up front. I hated to bother anyone and I couldn't find a sole to help with the fish. The assistant manager walked by and was about as clueless as I was. But together we fish out “Goldie” to bring home and proudly display in a fish bowl.
So what do I find my son doing today? He's up on the counter scooping out the fish and putting it back into the bowl. So like any level headed mom I promptly lose my mind. “What are you doing?”
Kerplunk!!
Innocent eyes look up. “What?”
Come to find out he's been taking the fish for a “walk” several times a day. And I wonder why the things go belly up just a few days after we bring them home.
I thought I was the worse fish keeper in the world!
Seems I've had a little help!
AGH!!!

2 Comments

Posted: January 1, 2006 by Julie |Category: Happenings | Tags:

Christmas Presents

LUKE…I AM YOUR FATHER!!

(WHO IS THAT MASKED MAN??)

3 Comments

Posted: December 30, 2005 by Julie |Category: Chuckles | Tags:

Well,

Well, we've started the New Year off right and it isn't even here yet. My husband and I have a renewed desire to pray with each other at night. God has been so faithful to show us Satan's sneaky attacks on our family, our friends and our church. He is SO faithful to reveal the plots of the enemy. I praise Him for his faithfulness and love for His children.

My oldest son starts school again on Tuesday and we've begun to pray about whether or not to homeschool him this next year. I've loved some of what he's learned at Montessori school and know it's where God would have him this year. But I'm also not so crazy about some of the other things he's learned. So, again we seek God's will for him in the next school year. I do know that if we homeschool him I'm going to have to get better organized.

We are possibly looking at a move midyear. We're praying about God's will for us and where we should live. Do we choose to raise our family in one place and face the consequences of possibly losing a job OR do we feel following the employment is what is most important for our family now. I mean, we gotta eat!! Either way, we most desire God's will for our lives.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and a happy New Year. I'm planning a surprise for my husband tomorrow night since his birthday is New Years Day. I'll let you know how it goes!!!

Julie

Good News

An update on the Roberts Family who had quadruplets recently. You can also see an article on them on November 23rd, 2005 @ In love we weep for one another.

Their family’s website is www.expandingrobertses.com

Love,

Julie

Dear Friends & Family,

Merry Post-Christmas & Happy Pre-New Year! The latest updates on everyone…

Ashley had a great Christmas. Any notions of a small-scale Christmas were quickly dispelled, as friends, relatives, the First Christian Church Youth Group, and the Postal Service lavished lots and lots of gifts on Ashley. No possible way to describe how much fun she had, and how much fun we had. She’s still loving life with Grandma and Grandpa, and is becoming an increasingly sweet, increasingly smart, increasingly talkative “big girl”.

Benjamin is weighing in at 4 lb. 13 oz., and still doing better than anyone. He actually moved to an open crib, as he is able to regulate his temperature pretty well on his own now. His belly button started bleeding a few days ago, and he is finishing a round of antibiotics to make sure that any potential infection is knocked out. We would love to see Benjamin home with us in a couple of weeks from now!

Casey went back onto CPAP a few days ago, which consists of a rhinoceros-looking mask and hat. Not fun for picture-taking, but helpful for him for right now, and he is scheduled to be back on nasal prongs on New Year’s Eve. Casey has a reddish-purple mark on the underside of his upper lip—pray that this is simply a blood bruise, and not a hemangioma (a hemangioma is a sort of raised birthmark that can grow very large for a number of months before becoming small again—it wouldn’t be a good thing to be on his lip). Casey weighs 4 lb. 0 oz. and is still doing very well overall.

Danielle is this week’s superstar! We can finally see her nose, as she came off of CPAP just the other day and is now breathing through the nasal prongs. So far, so good. She now has a cute little nose to go with her big pretty eyes. She is lagging behind weightwise, at 3 lb. 9 oz. and is getting antibiotics for what is probably a slight urinary tract infection. Not out of the woods for a while, but she has made such amazing progress since her first weekend with us.

The candles pictured are ones that we lit on Christmas Eve and Christmas, the beginning of a tradition. We wanted to remember Emily at this Christmas, but also wanted to give thanks for the little ones that we have been blessed with, but also wanted first and foremost to honor and celebrate the Baby whom “Christmas is all about” (Ashley would love to tell you His name). Wal-Mart had a nice seven-candle set-up that accommodated us rather nicely: The white candle in the center represents the pure light of the baby Christ; the small white candle is in memory of Emily, who is with Him today; the two blue candles and the two purple candles are in celebration of Benjamin and Casey, Ashley and Danielle, respectively; and the green candle represents new life—the new life that Jesus came to bring all of us, the new life that Emily is enjoying, the new lives of our four little ones that we’re enjoying, and the new life that many infertile couples are asking God to give them, as we were just a few years ago.

Various odds and ends: *Lisa had another good cardiologist check-up. *It would be quite rude to give away someone’s age in a mass e-mail, but I will say that my Dad’s birthday on Friday started with an early morning party of sorts, as we downloaded and played the song “When I’m 64” for him. *If you are suffering from snow and bitter cold in your corner of the world right now, we feel bad for you, but we can’t relate at all. Sunny and high 70’s most days in Phoenix this week. *The old nerve-damaged laptop I’m borrowing from Savannah Christian Church died the other day, but the hard drive was resuscitated at Circuit City so that we can back up all of the files that were on it; we just sprang for a new personal laptop, so that we won’t have such a scare again. *I wrote the babies a NICU version of The Night Before Christmas, in an attempt to translate a little American folklore into their preemie world—if you want to see it, go to www.expandingrobertses.com and click the underlined link in the text to “Emily Anne Roberts” and find it on that page. *The deadline passed for the Smartest Nurse Contest that I referred to a couple of e-mails ago; it yielded nineteen entries. They were asked to guess what date the last of our babies would be released (i.e. when might we head home?). The 19 guesses ranged from January 28 to February 28. We will see who the winner is, but of course we would love to see The Amazing Jane run away with it with her January 28 wager.

Thank you to all of you who remembered us, prayed for us, and blessed us in so many ways this Christmas. It was a different one, and in some ways a difficult one, yet definitely lived up to the cliché “the best Christmas ever”. We pray God’s blessings upon you in 2006.

In Christ,

Phil, Lisa, Ashley, Benjamin, Casey, Danielle

& Emily (November 4-23, 2005)

Christmas is over

Christmas is over and we anxiously await the new year. My husband’s birthday is New Year’s Day. My second born’s is in February so the birthdays are just cranking up. As I reflect on this past year God has been so good to us. He’s protected us and sheltered us from Satan’s attacks. For this I am so thankful. I remember a pastor once saying that all that matters is Jesus. Jesus + Nothing = Salvation. Just Jesus…..I like that equation.

Just recently my husband and I got to experience the Lord’s protection over our lives. Satan was sneaking in to deceive when the Lord, in his infinite love, revealed to us the Truth. The Truth. Jesus. Think on that. My soul seems to rest inside as I think upon the Truth, the person of Jesus.

Why do we try to add to that? He is so simple in his love for us. So devoted. Thank you Lord for seeking me even when I don’t seek you. Forgive me when I put the things of this world before you. Draw me near. Keep me close. Protect our little family in this big old world.

I look forward to another year in Christ.
Julie

Merry Christmas

We had one service today at church. It was awesome . We had to bring in more chairs and open both doors to the sanctuary to get everyone in. The pastor said something profound that really stuck with me.

“Jesus left the safety and security of his heavenly home because he was needed elsewhere.”

How often do I crave the safety and security I've gotten accustomed to instead of going where I'm needed?

Merry Christmas to all
Julie

1 Comment

Posted: December 25, 2005 by Julie |Category: Happenings | Tags:

Another effect of the ice storm

Well last night we threw away the Christmas tree. Three days before Christmas and I'm undecorating the tree and shoving it out the front door. You see when the power went out because of the ice storm and we left for Alabama no one watered the tree for about 5 days. Then the heat came back on and there was a vent right beside the tree so I'm sure all that forced air didn't help keep the ole tree hydrated.

I was willing to leave it up until Christmas and then take it down but my husband had visions of my boys with a lighter setting the thing ablaze. He was worried that it would take down the whole house. So we went from this…..