Coffee Talk 10/16/09

Good Morning, my sweet friends. I hope this morning finds you doing well. As soon as I type this post, I will be running upstairs to grab a HOT shower before my kiddos wake up, so I am doing fabulously well!

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot to offer you this morning. Chocolate milk or a soda is about it...and how about a store bought chocolate chip cookie (oh, the shame)! Come back next week and I will try to do better!

It has been quite a week around the Tigerden. If you visited last week, you will know that our hot water heater went out...in a very wet way. After doing a lot of research, we decided to go with a tankless heater. A little bit more expensive (okay, a lot more expensive) but there is a tax credit AND, if it were to go out...no water damage. And I think that in the past six months, we have established that anything we can do around here to prevent water damage is a must do!

We bought the heater Monday, but we couldn't get it installed until Wednesday. That meant one entire week with no hot water....UGH! I will say that it was a humbling experience because as the week went on and I got more and more whiny, I began to realize that millions of people in the world today have NEVER taken a hot bath or washed their clothes in hot water...or had a dishwasher to wash their dishes for them. What, to me was a huge inconvenience is, to them, a lifestyle. I didn't stop whining...but I was humbled! :)

We also decided to switch gas sources this week. We have always had our own propane tank, so when it is empty, we have to pay to have it filled in bulk. It has been teetering on emptiness for a few months now, so we decided to go with a utility company and have them meter our gas. That way, the maintenance and liability is with them and we pay for only what we use. So, Wednesday, after days of rain, was the big day...new water heater, new gas tank, big backhoe rolling through a drenched yard...lovely! However, I will not complain, because Wednesday night I got the first hot shower in my own home in a week. I also did lots of laundry and ran the dishwasher...all at the SAME TIME...cause you can do that with a tankless! WOO HOO!

But, the highlight of the week was not a hot shower or clean clothes or dishes that washed themselves. The highlight came Wednesday night as I was kissing Dancer goodnight and she said, "Momma, before you pray, I want to pray first. Do you know why I want to pray? Because I want to ask Jesus into my heart." Oh, my...tearing up, even now! The most precious, beautiful words a parent can ever hear. So Wednesday night, after a horrible week that I haven't even scratched the surface of describing here, Tigerfan and I got to pray with our daughter and welcome her into the kingdom of Christ! It has been the BEST WEEK EVER!!!

And now, to make an already long post even longer, I am doing a really great Bible Study right now. It is called Ever Loving Truth by Voddie Bauchum. It is probably one of the most convicting, challenging, motivating Bible studies I have ever done. It has really challenged me to boldly stand up for my faith. So, in today's lesson, we talked about the supremacy of Christ and how He differs from other prophets and religious teachers. The last assignment was to answer this question, "How would you respond if an unsaved person asked you, 'How can you say that Jesus is superior to other prophets and teachers?'"

I answered like this (very, unprofound, by the way...no deep thinkers around here): "Jesus was in the beginning, he created all things. Unlike other prophets, He lived a perfect life, died sacrificially for us AND rose again. You can visit the graves of other prophets and teachers but not Jesus, because He is not there. Only He conquered death, only He has the power to cleanse us from sin."

Part two of the challenge was to discuss with others how they would answer the question. So, how would you answer? I would really love to know.

For more Coffee Talk, visit Home Sanctuary.

Just in Case I was Having a Good Self Esteem Day

Last night as things were winding down and we were getting ready to turn in for the night, Dancer came running in to me.

"Mama, you have GOT to come see this commercial! There is a lady vacuuming and she is kinda youngish and kind of old....like you!"

Pampering

Dancer Graced me with a manicure over the weekend! THREE coats of lovely pink polish. Anyone interested in an appointment?

Chocolate Milk Talk

Good Morning! Come on in and have a seat! Although I never have coffee made "cause I don't drink the nasty stuff, I can't even offer to brew you a pot. Tigercub decided to use the pot as a ball, threw it across the kitchen and shattered it into about a million pieces! How about a nice cold soda or some chocolate milk--definitely a favorite around these parts!

We have had a busy week around the Tigerden! We are finishing up school (only 8 days left), and Dancer graduated from kindergarten yesterday!

How did that happen...where does the time go?

All of our school projects are done, so we are just finishing up subjects and counting down till the first day of freedom...I mean summer!

We actually saw the sun yesterday...in case anyone else is wondering, it does still exist and we have had a solid 24 hours with NO RAIN!!! It even looks hopeful for today...dare I hope that it might be dry enough tomorrow to plant our ever elusive garden???

And finally, Tigercub has a new passion. scrubbing the toilet! Oh, yes! Now, I know...as a mother, you would think I would be thrilled. Unfortunately he is not...discerning...in what he chooses to scrub the toilet with: hairbrushes, toothbrushes, bathtub toys and on the frequent occasions that he chooses to actually use the toilet brush, we have to follow up with a complete clothes change and bathroom mopping due to the massive amounts of water that somehow seem to escape the confines of the porcelain throne!

Don't get me wrong...maybe one day he will serve the Lord as a janitor...and if that is his calling, I guess I am good with that...but for now, bathroom doors must stay closed and if you come for a visit, I HIGHLY suggest you keep your toothbrush under lock and key!

To have more lovely coffee conversations go to Home Sanctuary.

Have a great Mother's Day Weekend!

Teaching a Child to Read....In 10,000 Easy Lessons

Okay, I am trying to get back into the whole blogging thing but am still not feeling a lot of motivation or inspiration. So, I am just going to share a little more in depth about some of the stuff going on. Today, Dancer, tomorrow....???

I was always a "natural" scholar. School came easy for me. I taught myself to read when I was four and read EVERYTHING I could find from then on. Through high school, I NEVER had to study. I heard something...I remembered it. I had a great G.P.A. without ever trying and if I had actually, you know, put forth a little effort probably could have done even better.

I never developed study skills (never had to) until college. Do you know that in college, the professors will actually assign reading, never discuss it and then TEST YOU ON IT! Oh, yes they will! I even had one who would test on the captions beneath the pictures...of course he also had about a 30 point curve on his tests...I actually got an A on a test once with a low 7o because of the huge curve (I'm not complaining!).

Anyway, one of my greatest struggles in home schooling has been learning to teach things in a way that my kids grasp. Sometimes, I just don't understand why they don't "get it", it is so simple! I totally understand struggles with math...that is the area that has always drug me down, but reading??? It is just a bunch of letters and sounds.

Football Boy was a little slow picking up reading, but not bad. And now, he is a GREAT reader! Baseball boy never missed a beat, he HATES to read, but he can do it! Dancer....oh Dancer. I think part of my problem has been expectations. I read easily. I am a girl. Dancer is a girl. Girls tend to do better at language arts. I just expected that she would be my "easy one". I was wrong!

She even did great last year. She knew all her letters and sounds and by the end of pre-k was blending small, one vowel words without problem. And then, we began kindergarten. It has been like she has forgotten everything. She regularly does the regular switching b and d, but she has also totally lost e and i. I know, the sounds are similar, but she knew them last year. Now, they may as well be Greek. I knew she was struggling a little and had talked to her tutorial teacher and was told not to worry, she would get it.

Then, came Thanksgiving. We went to Disneyworld without ever opening a backpack. Little did I know that her teacher had sent 10 (yes 10) lessons home to be done over the break. Apparently, her class is so smart that they were just skipping ahead to long vowels after the break...only I didn't get the memo! We worked hard to get caught up and were plugging away when Christmas came and I got her progress report. I literally cried. Every single thing had a mark or comment about how she was struggling...I have never seen so much red ink...and I was a teacher back in the day. Anyway, her teacher graciously volunteered to meet with her in the mornings before school after Christmas and I gratefully accepted! Over Christmas, we tried to read as much as possible but mostly I began to realize how many times we push her school aside or say we will read later and never get around to it. After all, it is just kindergarten and the big boys have all these hard lessons...and the guilt began. Of course, I should have been reading with her, making her school a priority, letting her read with the boys...but I didn't. So now, here we are.

To make matters worse, after a few sessions with her tutorial teacher, she came to talk to me one day. Now, let me say, I love Ms. S, she is precious and I appreciate her so much! However, the conversation went something like this:

"Dancer is so sweet, all the kids love her! They fight over who gets to sit next to her and everyone wants to be her friend. She is so helpful and sweet and respectful and has such good manners! She is doing better and I can tell you have been working with her. So, she will probably never be at the top of her class, but she has so much else going for her!"

Ya'll I am not lying...that is what she told me! NO PARENT wants to hear that! Tell me she is improving, tell me how I can help, tell me to work harder, but DO NOT TELL ME IT IS HOPELESS! Now, I totally know she meant this well and did not mean to be offensive, but my nerves are raw and I am tired and I just don't want it to be a struggle all the time, so I probably overreacted! I was nice, I thanked her and smiled and didn't even cry. In front of her. But that is where we are.

I am still tired, still frustrated, and still struggling to not push off reading until later. This week we even had an assignment that involved poster board. Maybe it is just me, but poster board assignments should have at least a week due date. I don't happen to have a stash at my house. Unfortunately, the project was assigned Tues. and was due Thurs. The same day F.B. was supposed to turn in his Science Fair board. The day after I was to make snacks for Bible Study. So, Wed., I had to go to the grocery store, do school, help with Science Fair, make snacks, assist in a poster board project and be at church at 5:30 and to top it off, F.B. ended up sick. Guess what we didn't do? Read. I am so mad at myself. I should have read, I should have said no to the poster board, called the Bible Study leader, something, anything...but I didn't.

So, there is that struggle in a nut shell. I am sure she will get it eventually. I am sure the days will get better and the struggles will subside. I am just not sure how much counseling it will take to get over it!

Six Years Ago Today....

On a cold, icy morning...a morning when schools had been cancelled do to ice and cold, a VERY pregnant, but not yet ripe me got up at 4:00 a.m. to "use the facilities". I was 35 weeks along, totally unprepared. We had no carseat, no baby book, the baby bed had no bedding. And yet, on that cold morning...my water broke.



Stunned, I woke up Tigerfan and we made our way through the icy streets to the hospital. We called grandpartents, dropped off kids and laughed about how shocked and unprepared we were. We laughed as the hospital had to readmit me do to a mistake in the paper work. We laughed when the on call Dr. couldn't figure out how to use the ultra sound machine. But we stopped laughing when they told us the baby appeared to be about 4 pounds and the reality of just how early this was hit!



They decided to go ahead and deliver and began "the drip" Things progressed quickly and by early afternoon, we had a 5 lb 9 oz baby girl who was tiny but healthy as could be!



She was released from the hospital just two days later with instructions to make sure I woke her up every two hours to eat. I totally did. Except at night. Because she was sleeping almost 6 hours and you DON'T wake up a baby who is practically sleeping through the night. Unless she is 5 weeks early. Because, you see, she was sleeping because she had jaundice. Very bad, only I didn't know she was the color of my husband's winter coat until I took her in to the Dr. and got in trouble. For not waking her up every two hours. She then spent the next two or three days in this:

The billibed. After a week of daily pokes to her foot, she got a clean bill of health and has been going non-stop ever since!

I am so grateful for my little girl. Someone to shop with, to play hair and make-up with, to play with me while the boys go hunting. A sweet girl to hug my neck every morning and cuddle with me in bed every night. Someone to play dolls and kitchen with. Someone to bake coookies with. Someone who will help me dress well when I am old. A little angel that calms the storm of loud, rowdy boys. A little Dancer. A Princess.

Happy Birthday, Dancer!

I love you!

She's Growing Up!

Tonight, as the boys were leaving for ball practice, Dancer was helping me make cookies. On a side note, we were making what is lovingly called in our house "dog poop cookies". I so wish I were kidding right now, but...well, there is A LOT of testosterone in the Tigerden. You probably know these as Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies or No Bake Cookies, but every time we make them, they end up looking like, well, piles of dog poop, and when you have this many boys under one roof, and the name is gross, it is gonna stick!

Anyway, we were making cookies and it got to a point where Dancer was no longer interested in helping because there was heat involved. She wandered into the living room where the boys had left the T.V. on. About a whopping two minutes later she came running back to the kitchen where the following conversation took place:

Dancer-"Momma, I wish you could see this show it is HIL-A-RI-OUS!

Me-"What is it?"

Dancer-" I don't know, but I have watched like half of it and it is like SO COOL!"

She figured out all this in two minutes! Where has my baby girl gone?

5 Year Old's Guide to Style

This morning Dancer was in my room as I got ready for tutorial. When I finished dressing the following conversation took place:

Dancer: Mommy, where did you get that shirt?

Me: I am not sure, I've had it awhile. Why? Don't you like it?

Dancer: Well, really, it is kind of ugly.

Me: Should I change?

Dancer: YES!

I changed!