"I am glad I am homeschooled."

I had a lot of things flowing in my head unable to find the time to get the ideas from my head to this white surface. I have really been trying to be purposeful about what I share. Then, the horrible tragedy at Sandy Hook happened. When I woke up from my nap (I was asleep when it happened), the first words from my daughter's mouth were, "I am glad I am homeschooled. I don't ever want to go to a public school again."
I don't share that because homeschooling is the answer for everyone, believe me it is hard work. I don't share that because I feel we are somehow safe, I know tragedy can happen anywhere to anyone. I share her words only because they were her words in response to the saddening news (she was literally crying about it). I struggled with sharing her words, and keep coming back to them.
While I am glad she expressed those feelings, and feels bad for the families, I know there will come a point those feelings will fade. At some point, most of America will forget the tragedy, and only remember it when it is brought up later. This tragedy will change several families forever, but not all of us. At some point the same old family arguments will happen throughout the country, we will forget just how quickly things can change.
I struggled sharing anything on the tragedy because I struggle with the why. I don't understand why no matter what your issue is with your parents or your mental issues, why take that out on innocence. So many innocent lives have been taken, and blame is placed on so many things. Why did this happen?
This morning I heard Mike Huckabee say (I will quote as best I can), "How can we hope to have a moral society in a Godless vacuum?" How true. No matter how little sense we will ever make of this tragedy, I have to remember this Godless vacuum so many are pushing for is one of the reasons I always wanted to homeschool. How can anyone expect children to have a heart for others if they are in a electronic induced fantasy world filled with selfishness and slaughter? No, that is not a slam on video games in entirety. However, so many parents allow video games, television, computers, and public school to take the place of any sort of family time.
Why do we homeschool? Yes it is because we drive a truck, but so much more. We homeschool because I have long believed this education system is failing our children. I believe the cliches that I remember only in middle and high school have invaded the elementary schools and with it the sexual promiscuity that does not belong. We homeschool because we want to be together. We homeschool for these reasons and so many more. Every day we are reminded of why we do this, and become more thankful we do.
While my daughter can be hugged daily, so can most others. Hug your children. Teach them to be moral. Spend time with them. Pray with them. Pray for them. There are families who cannot do these things any longer. The most important thing we can ever give our children is our time, and they deserve more of our time and our prayers.

Presents

I have talked about labeling and wrapping presents. Now, I want to address how the presents themselves are one of my favorite things.
At one point I used to spend the better part of the year buying things for people in my life and storing them until Christmas. This was a suggestion from my favorite Grandmother. She bought things from the clearance rack and stored them until Christmas. My Grandmother is one of the wisest women I know.
If I saw something, like an owl for my mother, I bought it. Before Black Friday, I would take inventory of the gifts, and make a list of the holes I needed to fill. I remember once I had all of my Christmas shopping done in September, so I didn't have to get anything else.
Now, we live life in a "rolling closet," and things are so different. I still enjoy finding something at one of our stops that I believe will be enjoyed and buying it. Sadly we don't always have the cashflow to do that, so many times I just make a note of where something was I would like to get. Being able to give my mother-in-law something from the southwest for her southwest bedroom is nice.
One thing this life has taught me is the one most important gift anyone can give is themselves. Our time, and our energy is something no one else can give. We have missed out on time with our grandparents, our parents, our children and our grandchildren. We cannot do anything about these missed opportunities. However, we can make the most of any time we can carve.
When you are making your gift list, remember to include yourself as a gift to those close to you. You are a gift that will forever be treasured.

Wrapping and Other Efforts

As I mentioned previously, one of my favorite things about the holiday season is the gift wrapping. I love picking the wrapping paper, bags, tissue, boxes, ribbons and bows. I enjoy the challenge of wrapping difficult items. We even enjoy trying to fool people as to their true present. (My husband hid my engagement ring in the jewelry box I requested.) Wrapping is something I truly enjoy.
No matter how I enjoy the wrapping, the effort is short-lived. My weapon to ensure my efforts last a little longer,  TAPE! Oh how I love to use tape. My sister knows how I love to use tape and prepares by getting a knife out to use during opening. Even still, my time and efforts end up in a trash bag.
How many of our efforts in life end up in the same fashion? I know I am not the only one who feels like my efforts are all for naught. Ever cleaned a room only to come back two minutes later and find someone has made a mess. I HATE laundry laying around, and yet unless we were to go naked, there will always be more laundry.
While my efforts may be short-lived in so many ways, some efforts seem fruitless. I have been praying for the ability to meet my sister, Faith. However, every time I get close to her, something happens and we don't end up meeting. I have faith we will meet, and so I will continue praying and trying. I know my prayers are not ignored, simply it isn't the time yet for the prayers to be fulfilled.
While I could easily just put the presents in bags, taking much less time, it takes away some of my joy doing so. I look at so many other fruitless activities in the same light. Our efforts may seem fruitless, some seem burdensome, others joyful, but we must have faith each effort has implications beyond our current sight.
Before giving up on any effort, I challenge you to consider the rewards for continuing as you have. If there is something you can do differently to glean more joy, do so. Never stop wrapping presents just because your efforts seem wasted.

Labels

This time of year brings to mind several favorite things. No, I won’t break into song to list them (although I could do that with the mood I am in); I will take time to talk about one of them today. One of my favorite things is wrapping and labeling presents. Today, I just want to touch on the labeling portion.

After the presents are wrapped, I love to come up with creative labeling options and creative ways to label the presents. I have used ornaments to label the presents (the ornaments had the kids’ names on them), old Christmas card cutouts with the labeling on the back, store bought labels, and even pieces of wrapping paper. I usually try to think about the labeling while I am shopping, and will try to get labels to coordinate with the wrapping paper if I am going to use store bought labels. It is a big deal (in my mind) to label presents appropriately, considering the person and the gift. In the end, that label ends up being read quickly, some figure out the cryptic clues, and anxiously toss the label aside.

Today as I was driving, I started thinking about the various labels we have, and the labels we put on others. Our parents could have labeled us things like lazy, selfish, or slow; or they may have given us a great label like beautiful, gifted, or generous. Teachers label students on their report cards with words like talkative, bright, lacks attention, fidgety, or a joy. Sisters and brothers label us a pain, silly, dumb, or self-centered. Other family members come up with their own labels as well.

Society labels us in a few different ways. They label us by our job (truck driver, accountant, teacher, cop, etc.), and from that label us further based on stereotypes or history. They label us by our looks (pretty, tall, nerdy, ugly, etc.). They label us the same as the company we keep, whether they know them or not. They label us by our car, or lack thereof, neighborhood, hometown, or even our current state of residence (dumb redneck Alabamian).

Just like words spoken to someone, once a person is treated like their label, it can harm them. However, what if we choose to see the labels not as a “scarlet letter,” but as a badge of honor.

Yes, I am a truck driver. I am not a dirty, rude, unorganized idiot. Cleanliness is important to me, and anyone who has been in our truck knows it is organized (sometimes organized chaos, but organized the same). I do not believe I am an idiot.

I am a mother, a step-mother, a grandmother, a grand daughter, a sister, a niece, and a cousin. I am a homeschool teacher. I am our accountant and tax preparer. I am a writer (whether anyone else reads what I write or not). I am these things and so much more.  These are labels I choose to wear proudly.

What about the labels we are given by God? I am blessed. I am forgiven. I am a friend. I am beautiful. I am graceful (believe me I have to claim that one a lot). I am healthy. I am rich (another I claim a lot). I am strong.

We can look at any label in a positive or negative way. If someone has labeled you negatively, I challenge you to look at how you can turn that on its head. Even if you can’t change someone’s mind about a preconceived notion, have faith that you are worthy of seeing yourself in the best light. Remember, you are a special creation, labeled as only our Creator can label anyone.

This Week In Review

After spending a bit too much time at home, we finally returned to having to scratch lines (we are thankfully still on paper logs). We have went to Atlanta, San Antonio, Brunswick, back to Atlanta, and now are sitting down in Miami. (Above is the landing gear we took from San Antonio to Brunswick). We are literally sitting next to the runway. Only a few times have the airplanes honestly bothered us, so I really don't understand why people complain about airplane noise. Surely if we can get used to the noise sitting right next to the runway for the busiest cargo airport in the world, others who buy a home near an airport can do the same.

We are right now "sitting" for a couple who was able to rent an Indian while we are stuck here. There are actually two couples that rented motorcycles. The top two pictures are the motorcycles they rented. The bottom is the motorcycle with side car they came to pick them up in. While we would love to do the same, we know there will come a time we can do the same.
While we were at home, we bought a crockpot that can sit in the sink and has a locking lid and crockpot liners. I have been able to fix a few meals in the crockpot. Those crockpot liners are a lifesaver since I don't really like washing something that is the same size as the sink, it ends up being a mess. I have a plan for our meals for the rest of the week, which is great since we are going to be a little short on cash until the new year thanks to the way the pay runs.

While we were at home, my hubby got his Christmas present a little early. My Christmas present last year was a fuzzy puppy named Ginger (or Gingerbread Latte, now called GiGi). She now has a "sister." Skittles is a 3 pound Chihuahua we got from a breeder who decided she was too small to breed. She is great. Our new addition is a bundle of attitude, and gives my husband something small to love on that reminds him of his PooPoo that died over three years ago. The two get along pretty well, but when it comes to sleepy time the two don't want to have anything to do with each other.

We have enjoyed some georgous sunrises and sunsets. We have been able to accomplish a few things. My brain is still a bit overwhelmed with the changes that have happened. Some days It seems like too much, but then I remember to just pray for strength. I know I am not doing anything alone. I can do this with Christ's help.