Homegrown Thoughts

• Watching older son play on the Wii. Should be doing school and getting ready to go get groceries.This is a lot less work. Lazy today. #
• Spent almost $200 and pantry is still looking bare. Got Gala apples from NZ and first one I tried is grainy. Ick. No good ones til fall? #
• @webboy I haven’t noticed mine go out. Odd. And I was wrong about mediacom - it’s Qwest we’ve been bugging with no success. #

So…holiday weekend.  Due to a pinched nerve in my shoulder I couldn’t go to the local parade, so my husband took the boys on his own.  He didn’t even want to go, so it was very nice of him to take them - they were really looking forward to it.  I think we’ve almost gotten through all the candy now, but not quite.  My older son took his camera and took some pictures, so hopefully he’ll get those up on his blog soon.  He’s way overdue for an update on it.  I see a blog writing assignment in his near future if he doesn’t do it on his own.

I believe this is our 4th, uh, 4th in this house.  We just discovered Friday night that we can see the town’s fireworks display almost perfectly from half a block up the street.  Over the years, we have tried to see them through trees, from across the street, driven around looking for a parking spot to get closer (unsuccessfully)… and the whole time we could have just walked half a block over.  At least we know now!  Maybe next year I’ll even remember to take my camera with me.  I was hurting too much to walk back to the house for it, so I just went without.

In other news, we are over-run with ants.  We usually get a small invasion each spring, then we set out some Terro and by the next day all is well again.  Not this year.  I suspect it has something to do with all the rain/flooding/humidity/what-have-you.  Whatever it is, they are coming in the front and the back and who knows where else.  I haven’t been able to find the point of entry.  It’s getting kind of frustrating, especially when I can’t spend a lot of time being upright now without a lot of pain ensuing.  (It’s getting better, but it’s going to take some time.  Trying really hard not to whine about it!)  I also have to be very careful about putting poison out with all the pets we have.  Soooo…yeah.  Ants.  Go away.

I’m happy to report that we sold our treadmill which we got a lot of use out of but that we just didn’t use anymore.  A family from our homeschool group bought it for what they considered a bargain price and we got it out of our garage and are sending the money to Selena’s family in Tanzania, where it will stretch even farther.  So that worked out well.  Oh, and I got a teacher’s guidebook I needed out of the deal, too. :-)

I had a couple more things I wanted to chat about but this is getting pretty long.  I guess I’ll save the Bible study stuff for the next post so I can focus on it a bit more.  I’m going through a Kay Arthur book now (”How to Study the Bible”, I think is the title) and need to decide what will be next after that.  Need help on that!  So that will be next time.

P.S. - Note that I have added a Twitter box to my sidebar.  I tried to resist the Twitter pull, I really did.  Alas, it was too strong for me and I have succumbed.  So if anybody wants to ‘follow’ me on Twitter, there ya go.  If not, I shall tweet into the void.

Okay, I have no idea how to do this myself, but *somebody* needs to do it.

Here’s the deal. I don’t like veggies. Never have, most likely never will. I have some exceptions - fresh green beans, sweet corn, potatoes, carrots in some forms…I think that covers them all. Other than that elite group, no thanks on the veggies, I’ll pass.

I do realize that veggies are good for me. I realize I should eat veggies. But I’m also a 5 year old child and I just can’t force myself to eat something I don’t like. The ol’ gag reflex kicks in and that’s really not pleasant for anyone.

So, this is my idea.  I think they should create hybrid vegetables. Cross the healthy (not so yummy) veggies with (very yummy) chocolate! I know, I know, it’s genius. Chocolate is one food that I will eat in nearly any form or preparation, and I do so on a very frequent basis. Milk chocolate, white chocolate…I don’t discriminate, I love it all.  LOVE it.

I’m sure it can be done. They make hybrid roses to make them bigger, brighter, more aromatic - even into trees!. They mix different fruits to make new ones - aren’t tangelo’s a mix of tangerines and oranges?

Just imagine. Chocolate flavored broccoli, zucchini, asparagus, lettuce (did you notice that lettuce was NOT on my list of veggies I’ll eat?), spinach, radishes, peas, various beans…all of them! Not only would I eat them, I’m sure most kids who balk at them now would gobble them up. No more arguments over eating your veggies. Well, that might be a little optimistic, but the arguments would at least be different. “No Johnny, you may not have any more spinach. You’ve eaten quite enough already!”

Since I’m unable to pull this off myself, I invite those who are able to work on this little project of mine. Just cross the veggies with cocoa bean…bushes? trees? vines? Whatever, just get to work on it. Whoever pulls this off will be a hero to many a mother and child. Including me. So snap, snap, get to work!  We’re counting on you!

I came across this prayer card that I received at a homeschool meeting awhile back. I thought I’d share it here for others that might find it beneficial. The idea is to pray for each virtue according to the day of the month.

I found the original article online here, if you’d like to read the full text. Below is the prayer list. I believe the Bible translation used is “The Message”, except where noted.

1. Salvation. “Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory” (Is. 45:8, 2 Tim. 2:10).
2. Growth in grace. “I pray that my children may grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18).
3. Love. “Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to live a life of love, through the Spirit who dwells in them” (Gal. 5:25, Eph. 5:2).
4. Honesty and integrity. “May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection” (Ps. 25:21).
5. Self-control. “Father, help my children not to be like many others around them, but let them be alert and self-controlled in all they do” (1 Thess. 5:6).
6. Love for God’s Word. “May my children grow to find Your Word more precious than much pure gold and sweeter than honey from the comb” (Ps. 19:10).
7. Justice. “God, help my children to love justice as You do and act justly in all they do” (Ps. 11:7, Mic. 6:8).
8. Mercy. “May my children always be merciful, just as their Father is merciful” (Lk. 6:36).
9. Respect (for self, others, authority). “Father, grant that my children may show proper respect to everyone, as your Word commands” (1 Pet. 2:17).
10. Biblical self-esteem. “Help my children develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that they are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:10).
11. Faithfulness. “Let love and faithfulness never leave my children, but bind these twin virtues around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts” (Prov. 3:3).
12. Courage. “May my children always be strong and courageous in their character and in their actions” (Dt. 31:6).
13. Purity. “Create in them a pure heart, O God, and let that purity of heart be shown in their actions” (Ps. 51:10).
14. Kindness. “Lord, may my children always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else” (1 Thess. 5:15).
15. Generosity. “Grant that my children may be generous and willing to share, and so lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age” (1 Tim. 6:18–19).
16. Peace-loving. “Father, let my children make every effort to do what leads to peace” (Rom. 14:19).
17. Joy. “May my children be filled with the joy given by the Holy Spirit” (1 Thess. 1:6).
18. Perseverance. “Lord, teach my children perseverance in all they do, and help them especially to run with perseverance the race marked out for them” (Heb. 12:1).
19. Humility. “God, please cultivate in my children the ability to show true humility toward all” (Titus 3:2).
20. Compassion. “Lord, please clothe my children with the virtue of compassion” (Col. 3:12).
21. Responsibility. “Grant that my children may learn responsibility, for each one should carry his own load” (Gal. 6:5).
22. Contentment. “Father, teach my children the secret of being content in any and every situation, through Him who gives them strength” (Phil. 4:12–13).
23. Faith. “I pray that faith will find root and grow in my children’s hearts, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them” (Lk. 17:5–6, Heb. 11:1–40).
24. A servant’s heart. “God, please help my children develop servants’ hearts, that they may serve wholeheartedly, as if they were serving the Lord, not men” (Eph. 6:7).
25. Hope. “May the God of hope grant that my children may overflow with hope and hopefulness by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Ro. 15:13).
26. Willingness and ability to work. “Teach my children, Lord, to value work and to work at it with all their heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” (Col. 3:23).
27. Passion for God. “Lord, please instill in my children a soul that ‘followeth hard after thee’ (Ps. 63:8, KJV), one that clings passionately to you.”
28. Self-discipline. “Father, I pray that my children may acquire a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair” (Prov. 1:3).
29. Prayerfulness. “Grant, Lord, that my children’s lives may be marked by prayerfulness, that they may learn to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Eph. 6:18).
30. Gratitude. “Help my children to live lives that are always overflowing with thankfulness and always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:20, Col. 2:7).
31. A heart for missions. “Lord, please help my children to develop a desire to see your glory declared among the nations, your marvelous deeds among all peoples” (Ps. 96:3).

I hope you find this list helpful as you pray your kids through life!

So many movies today, even the ones marketed for kids, are full of material that is objectionable to parents. It’s nearly impossible to know just by movie descriptions and trailers how much profanity and ‘adult situations’ will be included.

I thought I’d share some resources to help you find out the ‘family-friendly’ level of movies before you head to the theater or rent a video.

• Common Sense Media - Besides movies and DVD’s, this site also reviews books, games, tv, and music.
• Plugged In Online - Online version of the magazine. Also includes reviews of games and music.
• Kids-in-mind - Unique rating system that immediately shows the level of objectionable material in 3 categories.
• Dove - Make sure you read each title’s review here. Some movies are ‘Dove approved’ but only for those above a certain age. The Dove approval does NOT indicate that it is appropriate for the entire family.

There are other family movie review sites but I find these pretty much cover anything you’d need to know before making a decision.