17 years ago today

So 17 years ago today, we were in the hospital awaiting the arrival of our first born son.  Dennis and I arrived at the hospital around 6:30 am for our scheduled induction.  He was born at around 5:40 that evening.  He was a dream baby in some ways.  He truly is a blessing directly from God to our family.  Oh and it would not be fair to talk about Jacob's birth without mentioning my birthing coach - Dennis' sister-in-law Lisa.  She was truly amazing at all the births (she coached me for all four).   I am not sure I could have gotten through the labor and delivery without her.  Stay tuned in October, when all three others were born to read about their lives.  

However, this grape ape would only fall asleep some nights by his dad holding Jacob with his head in Dad's had and the rest of him laying supported by Daddy's arm.  From one end of our single wide mobile home to the other end of the home Dennis would constantly walk bouncing Jacob the entire time.  The two had/have an incredible bond.

Two weeks to the day after he was born, he lived through his first hurricane.  A few months later, he lived through his second.   

This baby became a toddler who loved to be with his daddy.  One day, Daddy took him to the garden to dig potatoes.  However, I think all he really did was throw dirt over himself.  

Then our second son came along.  The two were inseparable, and quite good at being instigators.  At the tender ages of about four and two, these two were able to put our minivan in gear (Jacob steered) and Joseph was down on the floor board pushing the pedals.  Somehow the two managed to get the van in gear and drive it into our fence (a much better outcome than  what could have happened - them driving the van into our mobile home.  

The young boy grew and started school.  On his first day, I took him and picked him up (along with his siblings).  My young son looked at me that afternoon and told me, he did not want me to take him and pick him up; instead he wanted to ride the school bus.

He continued to grow.  When he entered fourth grade, he started Cub Scouts.  The following year we were forced into a situation that resulted in us homeschooling Jacob that year and then bringing all four children home the following year.    He really came into his own through homeschooling.

Then he crossed over into Boy Scouts and just sort of took things as they came.  In November 2008, we moved from North Carolina to Pennsylvania.  Right before we moved, his brother crossed to Boy Scouts.  Joseph had drive and determination, which helped motivate Jacob.  

Soon the two were picking up each new rank at the same time.  After all, as the song goes, "Anything you can do, I can do better."  This was their philosophy.  Although I believe Jacob was less competitive than Joseph by nature.  He just was not about to let Joseph outshine him. 

He also became a Young Marine and did a fairly good job at that.  

In July of 2012, both boys reached the rank of Eagle Scout.  They had their boards of review the same night.  So technically they achieved Eagle the same date.  We did a combined Eagle ceremony for them, which was a tremendous success.  We had an amazing turnout.  My inlaws drove to PA, with two of Dennis' aunts to celebrate with us.  My father-in-law even cooked a hog for everyone.   The aunts and my mother-in-law helped with cooking everything else.  It was a wonderful day, although slightly bittersweet - since we had just moved a couple of weeks earlier from western PA to central PA.  We came back just for the Eagle ceremony.

Today, we are finally getting around to taking Jacob to get his permit.  This means he will actually be driving.  He then has to get in 65 hours of driving experience including 10 hours of nighttime driving and five hours of driving in bad weather.  I plan on those being some of the last of the 65 hours of experience.

So I just wanted to share a little with you.  I have to say life is never boring with my JacobP.  He is a true joy that God has blessed me to call son.

Priority Shift

Well this is the final blog hop for the online Bible Study I have been participating in for Stressed-Less Living.  My post for today will be regarding Priority shifts.  I don't know about you, but when things are going "perfectly" in my life, it is easy to let God take a back seat.  Yet the moment even the smallest thing goes wrong, I go running back to God calling out for help.

This year I have been striving to keep God at the center of everything all the time.  So in other words, it is all God all the time.  I try to pray constantly during the day, whether it be in praise and thanksgiving or if it is a desperate plea for help.  I know nothing is impossible for God.  It is like the line in the movie "Facing the Giants" where he asks his team, "What is impossible for God?" and everyone replies nothing.  God is ready, willing and able to create miracles or to just be a reassuring presence for us.  All we have to do is cry out with our voice.

Another way I have been making God a priority is through the use of YouVersion, a Bible reading software program.  I have it set up so every day it reminds me I need to spend time with God.  I typically have two plans going at once.  One is to read the Bible through completely. In fact I finished my plan last night for that.  Then the second one is a devotional plan.  I receive the reminders first thing in the morning for these.  In fact, I have the app on my ipad so I can read these anytime anywhere.  It really helps me focus on God.

Also, we homeschool our four children and with the exception of math - every program we use is centered around the Bible.  This means that I am submersed in God's word, wonders and miracles all day long.  As we do school my children also benefit from this intense Bible immersion.   I have seen them grow in wisdom and faith as they have grown up.

Tomorrow my oldest will turn 17 and I know his faith is strong.  I know he honestly took Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior.  By both of their parents spend time with God - in His presence through prayer, and in His Word - through reading the Bible, their faith has grown and matured and blossomed.

We have turned in our paperwork for this past year.  Now it is a waiting game until we can pick up our portfolios.  We went ahead and turned in our affidavits for the new school year.  Now all I have to do is send the coordinator our objectives for the new year.

So I am deep, deep, deep into planning for the new school year.  My goal is to have everything planned for the year by the time we pick up the children up from Music and Arts camp in July.  Some courses are pretty straight forward because they are laid up by the year for me.  So I can basically say Week so and so and then day so and so or so forth.  Others will be slightly more challenging because based on how they perform on the assignments, they will either stay put or move forward.  This is especially true for the Life of Fred Math books.  My younger two are really enjoying them.  

Rebecca has completed all of the Elementary Series books, and is about finished with the last of the three intermediate books.  Then she starts on Fractions.  Nathan is currently working on the Elementary Physics book.  I have a feeling he will be completed with both of the Pre-Algebra books before the year is over.  

Then we have some courses (like Introduction to Criminology and Introduction to Forensic Science) that Joseph is going to take.  Those courses are going to need to be created from scratch by me.  I have bought the books I want to use for the courses, but I have to create the lesson plan and make sure I know the answers to the questions.

I have found several things for this new school year that I have fallen in love with:

The first is A Simple Plan Homeschool planner by Mardel.  Here is a picture:

This planner is set up where I can even add weekly plans for the children.  This is a place for general plans for the year for each course.  I love this feature.  So I am starting to fill out the planner in order to be ready.  It begins with July 1st.  So that is when I will officially begin using it.  Mardel also offers an online version of the planner.  It does not have a lot of extra frills and unnecessary additions.  So I am really excited about this.  

One of my favorite publishers is Notgrass Company.  My older two have completed Exploring America and are working on finishing Exploring World History.  After Music camp is over, we will begin Exploring Government and I will add in a Civics course that still needs to be determined.  My youngest son has completed and my daughter is in the process of finishing the America the Beautiful curriculum.  I just discovered they have created a Civics course for Middle School, so our daughter might be doing that. 

Here is a picture of the course:

Our youngest son is doing Trisms Historymakers.  We have already started this and will finish it up this year.  Then my daughter may do Mystery of History as well.  

We will be doing Latin. Institute for Excellence in Writing courses for some along with WriteShop for others.  So I know we are going to have a full year.  I will come back and add more about the rest of the curriculum we will be using.

Needs

We are completing week 11 of the online Bible Study for "Stressed-Less Living".  So it is time for the weekly blog hop.  So today I am going to take a few minutes to write about the greatest need in my family's lives right now.  I have been talking about it off and on for the last few weeks.  Our finances and transportation needs are what we need to surrender to God and let Him manage them for us.  

We have a twelve passenger van that needs a new transmission.  We have a limited amount of funds to handle the said repairs with right now. The van is in the shop with the hopes of rebuilding the existing transmission.  Putting a new transmission in is out of our financial means right now.  So I am surrendering to God this situation.  He knows our every need before we do.  He has the ability to perform miracles.  So I have been spending much time in prayer.  We need this vehicle to transport our family, or we need to repair the brakes on my Chevrolet Venture.  So right now this is forefront in my mind.  I believe God can supply our every need - but it happens in His time and not ours.  God is a God of love and compassion.  He never gives us more than we can stand.

Working to finish up the school year and got a lot going on

So last week we had the excitement of Dad coming home from annual training.  Then the four children participated in a parade with the Young Marines.  Yesterday we celebrated Father's Day by going out to eat.  We went to church on Sunday.  Before we could go eat, we dropped off the 12 passenger van to hopefully we can get the transmission fixed.  We should hear something about that by this Tuesday. 

Afterwards, we did some window-shopping and I got my hair cut.  Today, all four children and I had eye exams.  Dad took us all since I was not sure if I would need to have my eyes dilated or not.  My eyes have gotten worse.  Jacob and Joseph still need glasses, but only to see things far away.  The younger two did great and have excellent vision.  From there we went and made appointments for all four children to have annual physicals done.  Plus Dad and I need follow-up appointments.

Tomorrow we are going with the Salvation Army to Knoebels (an amusement park) or at least we are if the children have enough schoolwork done.  Wednesday, Jacob and Nathan go in the morning for their physicals; then Dad and I go in the evening for our follow-up appointments.  This way maybe next week we can take Jacob to get his permit.  Thursday we help with the soup kitchen.  Friday the four children go to the encampment with Young Marines.  After we drop them off Friday morning, we will be taking the children's portfolios off so we will be done with this school year.

We are planning on taking Jacob to get his permit one day next week.  Then on the 28th we will be celebrating Jacob's 17th birthday.  On the 1st and 2nd, we take Joseph and Rebecca for their physicals respectively.  On the 12th they all go to music and arts camp, so hopefully while they are gone, I will get tons of planning for next year done.  

So life is definitely getting exciting around here.

How exciting it is when...

You know it is exciting to go away, when you are the one going away (or at least in some cases it is exciting).  In other cases or if you are the one being left behind it is not so fun.  On May 30th, Dennis left for annual training.  He is the rear detachment commander of an Army Reserve unit and he had to go.  Well that meant the children and I were left behind.  Sure we got to sleep in our beds and do all the other normal things, but there was a hole in our home and in our hearts.  

Even though he goes to work most days, at night and most weekends, he is at home with us.  He is an active participant in our family - not a spectator on the sidelines.  For the last year, he has really been trying to be more actively involved in our homeschool endeavors.  How that manifests itself varies from week to week and even day to day sometimes.  One thing we have recently started doing is weekly progress meetings with all four children.  We get together with each child individually and look at what they have done that week, what they are going to be the next week and discuss any questions, concerns or other topics the child wants to discuss.  It has really helped us stay connected with the children and allows Dennis to be connected with the homeschool.

So yesterday Dennis returned home from annual training.  Sure he has to go to work today and tomorrow, but at least he will be here at night.  There is a lot going on in our world the next few weeks, we are trying to get the transmission replaced/repaired on our 12 passenger van.  It goes in the shop on Monday.  Then Monday afternoon we all get to go to the eye doctors (well the children and me).  Thursday we go and help out with More Than Bread (Soup Kitchen) at the Salvation Army.  Then next weekend the children are going on an encampment with their Young Marine unit.   So life is picking up steam for the summer.

Breaking Point

My husband is active duty in the Army Reserves.  We have only made two moves during that time.  One move was from Southeastern North Carolina to southwestern Pennsylvania.  Then the last move was from southeastern Pennsylvania to north central Pennsylvania.  One would think moving across several state lines would have been much more stressful than moving about 3 hours. However, that is not the case.

This time last year, we were in the middle of preparing for a move.  Things did not go smoothly.  We had a horrible time finding a house to rent.  But God finally provided one (although it was not the house I pictured nor a price I pictured per month).  Then the military lost our paperwork for scheduling our move.  So this delayed our move by almost a month.  

Then moving time came and the stress level went through the roof.  We were not given the same weight limit.  We had about 2/3 of an 18 wheeler filled when we moved from Carolina.  But the truck driver here said our goods would not fit in his full 18 wheeler with no other goods.  So we had to keep fighting that.  We had numerous money issues associated with the move.  Things just kept piling up on us.  We had not been able to rent or sell our home where we were living.  So that compounded our financial stress.  Then my husband did one drill with his new unit, while I tried to get us settled and get a brand new family readiness group off the ground.  Well, God has a sense of humor as far as timing goes.  I know this because almost 17 years ago, we had our first son.  Two weeks to the day of his birth Hurricane Bertha paid a visit to eastern NC.  I worked as an office manager for an insurance agent.  He did not find a really suitable replacement.  So my boss called me to come in and help.  So trust me when I say I understand the devastation that hurricanes bring.  

My husband is Army Reserves full time and his area of training is water purification.  So when Hurricane Sandy came calling in New York and left devastation behind, my husband's unit was activated to assist with the mission.  The unit was the first Army Reserve unit activated for an in-country natural disaster.  So my stress level went through the roof.  I had four children, my mother, no family readiness group, no church and no real friends for support to speak of.  Plus I have chronic hypertension that was diagnosed almost 20 years ago (I was 24).  As a result of everything coming at once, my blood pressure went through the roof.  I had chest pains and all sorts of fun things.

On top of my issues, my oldest son has had digestive issues for over 7 years.  However, we never were able to get a diagnosis. This same son has a terrible time with his dad being gone.  So needless to say his stomach went crazy.  

All of this brought me to my breaking point.  Now I have to say I have a Yankee-German temper that can get the best of me.  I genuinely love my husband and love being with him.  I also genuinely consider him to be my best friend, the one great love of my life and so forth.  Well, for him to be unable to stay in touch really tore me up inside.  I felt like God had abandoned me.  I truly felt alone in the world.  Everything came crashing down.  I reached the end of my rope.

When things are at the darkest and I felt like there was no one to lean on or help me, God reached out through my husband and touched me.  I learned to rely on Him and trust there was a purpose for all that we had went through.  He lifted me and drew me in, although I needed to step out in faith towards Him.  It reminds me now of when Jesus told Peter to walk toward Him on the water.  But Peter failed when he lost his faith.  So I had to have my faith in God restored.  

About this time, my husband returned and we started to attempt to begin our new life in our new location.  One of those steps of course was finding a church.  I had seen a church online that I wanted to try, so we did that.  We found it to be a fairly good fit for our family.  Then another thing happened - my husband prior to going full-time in the Army Reserves was a reservist.  Prior to us even knowing each other, he also did 4 years in the Air Force.  So all this time added together to allow him to receive his 20 year letter during December.  He could retire as a reservist, but we would not draw retirement until he reached the legal age for retirement.  So we would have to find another source of income.

Well God stepped in and provided my husband with an individual who had a possible new career for us to explore.  So we stepped out in faith and began exploring this new career path.  We are not sure where God is leading us in this adventure (meaning we are not sure what doors God is going to open or close for us).  But He definitely has restored my faith, my closeness to Himself and my husband and caused me to reach inside and find a depth of faith I did not know I had.  That is not to say that everything is perfect now.  But at least I know I reached my breaking point and God was there to put the pieces back together again.  My husband supported and loved me through it all as well.  I am truly blessed to have the family God gave me.  

#BLESSED continued

Well we are completing week 9 of the online Bible Study of Stressed-Less Living.  Our family has been under some pretty stressful situations lately.  We have two vans that need repairs (one needs a new transmission and radiator, the other brake work).  Since the end of January we have been waiting on our income tax refund.  This is the money we use to buy our homeschool materials for the next year, take vacations and make additional necessary purchases.  In this case we need to buy a lawnmower.  We were members of Boy Scouts of America since our second son was in first grade.  Both of the older two made Eagle Scout while the youngest was working towards Eagle.  We were watching carefully and praying hard that the Boy Scouts would keep the membership standards that have served the organization and all previous scouts well.  Unfortunately, the answer to that prayer was not to be a yes.  So now we are blessed to have more free evenings even though we are not with the Boy Scouts anymore.  Also, Dennis is at annual training with his unit through the 14th.  So I have been having to deal with these things alone. 

We have been praying hard to God and up until today we had no answers.  Today we found out by next Friday we should have our refund.  So that is the first blessing. The second blessing is that so far Dennis' unit is having a successful mission.  Also, I was able to get our vans scheduled for the needed repairs.  

This year so far we have not been able to attend any homeschool conventions.  But it looks like my husband and I may get to attend a Teaching Them Diligently Marketplace this month in Pittsburgh.  Even though I will not get to see all the vendors I usually get to see, a few of the most important ones will be attending.

My four children have completed the required days for the years for Pennsylvania.  Now it is just a matter of them completing the work that I want them to get done.  At least it allows us some flexibility in the amount of work we do each day.

We are blessed that all of our children have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.  We have food for the table, a roof over our head, a good church, good friends, and a loving family.  We are truly blessed.