Finally, some pics!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Waiting to be Found

We went on a nature hike today at Seminole Canyon State Park. It is a convenient 9 mile drive from our house. The day was perfect-- overcast and slightly windy. We took the Windmill Trail-- 2/3 of a mile long. It took us over 2 1/2 hours to hike it. It was so enjoyable. Maya and Benjamin picked up every millipede that crossed our path-- probably about 8 in all. We saw millions of different cactus and red ants and lots of rocks! The children are infatuated with bugs and rocks! They love to look at the different designs and colors. Benjamin even observed that, "some flies have green eyes and some have orange!" We found a spring that was once used as the main source of water for the railroad that was built here in the early 1900s. The thing the children seemed to enjoy the absolute most was the rock climbing! There was a rock wall about 10 feet high-- just dangerous enough to peek their adventuresome spirits, but safe enough to be Mommy-approved-- they climbed up and down for over an hour. They went lizard-hunting and even saved a baby millipede from being carried off by some enemy ants! Maya finally caught a lizard for Benjamin and as soon as she had it in her hand, its tail detached from it's body. The tail continued to squirm in her hand as the lizard escaped under a rock. I was just beginning to wonder how she would react when I heard her exclaim to her brother, "Well Ben, now you have a pet tail!" I love how God allows me to enjoy His creation with the renewed eyes of a child.

God's wonders are all around,
Simply waiting to be found.

Sew Fun!

We have a new past time at our house! I taught Sarah to sew on a button several months ago. She was wanting to know how to sew and since that is about the extent of my knowledge, I taught her everything I know! I gave her an old cloth diaper, some buttons and a needle and thread and 40 buttons later, she is still going strong. Every once in awhile, she will pick up her "button project" and sew for awhile. She has since taught her sister and brother the fine art of button sewing also!

The other day we were in Wal-Mart and I got the bright idea to try to come up with a project that she could actually start and finish that included lots of button-sewing. We looked at material, and buttons, and ribbon, and finally, as we wandered into the scrapbooking section, I saw something that sparked my imagination-- there on the front of a scrapbooking magazine was the cutest scrapbook page that included flowers and ....buttons! So, we decided we would make the "page" into a pillow top and make a pillow for her bed--- perfect! So now, we are learning how to stitch and sew a pillow all by hand (I don't have a sewing machine of course). And oh how I wish I would have paid my mom more attention when she tried to teach me these seemingly boring skills so long ago! It thrills me to have our three children sitting around me at the dining room table....sewing....wierd! Maya patiently and diligently sews button after button on the "button project", Benjamin sews on a button, takes it off, sews it back on again, then takes it off again because his favorite part is cutting the thread, and Sarah and I are working on her pillow! Who knew sewing was "sew" much fun?!

P.S. To our close aunties and Grandmothers: if this trend keeps up, I'll bet I can guess what you will be receiving for Christmas!

Delighting in God's Plan

A dear friend of mine just shared with me an article on the state of California's adoption of a policy to incorporate immoral ideas of "family" and "relationship" into their schools. Reading the article caused me to pause a moment and reflect on how we came about our decision to home school-- the journey God has brought us on thus far to get us to where we are now. I must admit, I have wavered a lot this year in our decision to home school the children. Feelings of fear, anxiousness, even some laziness has prompted me to consider putting them in the "little, quiet, country school down the road." God showed me that much of my fear was due to the fact that I haven't been diligent in pursuing His heart on the matter. I was trying to do it all in my own strength and we all know how far we can get in our own strength-- not very. Also, somehow, I had become very unorganized. By asking God to help me learn to manage my household according to His desires has made a world of difference in my attitude. Deep down, I WANT to home school but I also long to enjoy it and have the children enjoy it. I am beginning to see that by daily depending on Him and Him alone, it is such a joy! In fact, I have known no greater joy! I was remembering that all I ever wanted to be growing up was a Mommy OR a teacher and was amazed at how God, who planted those seeds in me from the very beginning, is showing me how I am both. He has truly given me the desires of my heart and then given me the desires of my heart!! Here is the first entry in my home school journal dated May 2006:

How I long to KNOW my children well enough to KNOW the way God made each of them and understand or begin to understand how to train them in the way they should go. To know how to love them, train them, discipline them, each according to his or her own bent. It is my full responsibility (along with their father of course), as I take on this endeavor to educate them. If all I do is impart information to them, I may as well send them to public school. There is something greater God has called me to.

The Lord has inspired me to begin gathering any material I can on what real education of my children is. This includes writing down thoughts I have, observing my blessed charges, and of course studying what God's word has to say on KNOWLEDGE, LEARNING, TEACHING, WISDOM, etc. I want this notebook, in time, to reflect my own desire to learn about the things that I am passionate about: my God, truth found only in His word, the children He has given me, and my desire to lift my children to the heights of wisdom as only God can show me how.

The Lord knows my desire to not only educate my children but to impart to them an enthusiastic passion for HIM! He has created a huge world for us to discover and I pray we would delight in discovering it together! I long to grasp hold of the everyday opportunities the Lord will provide for learning. I pray He would teach me to be taught by His Holy Spirit so that I may teach them to always allow Him to be their teacher. I pray He would teach me to teach the children to run home to Him. My heart's desire is for my time with our children to have eternal value. I want it to go beyond ABCs and 123s and focus instead on the things only He can teach them in an environment conducive to this kind of teaching that He will teach me how to provide for them. May I never compare myself or my own little lambs to others. God has called our family to be something special and unique for His glory. I long to be pleasing in His sight alone. How I need the peace of having a mind filled with the things above.

I desire for each of our children to go looking for their heart's desire by first asking the Lord to place in them the desire He has for them. That they would delight in Him, in knowing their Lord fully and discovering things about Him daily. I desire for our children to look different from the world but know they will need an added amount of strength to look different. Each day, each moment with the children God has given us is a blessing. I rejoice in the fact that He has shown me His desires for me and taught me to embrace the calling He has on my life and on our family. May I learn to see things as God would have me see them, to sit still and embrace Him, to listen with all my listening, and understand with all my understanding. God's ways are greater than the heights of the sky and deeper than the depths of the ocean.

I praise Him that I have a part in His awesome plan!
"For the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." Proverbs 1:7

Peace for the Journey

For all my homeschooling buddies out there, I thought I would write a quick up-date of what we are doing in that arena of life right now--
While most families are winding down school right now and getting ready for a break, we have just started our Sonlight Core program for the new year! (why not-- it's my school, I can schedule how I want to!) After several MAJOR distractions during the 1997-1998 school year (including but not limited to: 3 moves, 2 surgeries for Annette each requiring extensive recovery time, and adjusting to Ryan's new schedule) I came to the conclusion that school could just as well be done during the summer months as the winter (why not, we LOVE it anyway!) and am hoping to be "caught up" by Christmas. Here is what we will be doing this summer/fall:
We will all complete the Sonlight Core together and an art program I bought "just for fun"-- we will learn about shading, lines, colors, etc.-- we also have a daily bible study and scripture memory but this goes on whether we are "having school" or not
Maya is also working through " Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons"
Benjamin is doing a "Developing the Early Learner" program also purchased through Sonlight
Sarah is reading everything she can get her hands on (makes my Mommy heart and my teacher heart so proud!)
In the fall, I am going to start a math program I bought for each of them (Math U See) as well as a handwriting and language arts.

The scheduling and routine of things is still a pretty hard adjustment for me. Ryan works 6 week shifts, with rotating days off-- this means his shift changes every six weeks and we never know when his days off will be until about 2 weeks before. If anyone has ever dealt with this and learned to adjust please HELP! I have been praying about this for several months and I know God is slowly teaching me to LISTEN TO HIM! I want to just get a routine set in stone and then, by golly, do it everyday! But, this is not possible and I am having to be flexible but also more diligent with my time. Which means, I have to go to the Lord and then LISTEN much more often then when I was just "living life". Isn't God good to give us struggles so that we will turn to Him? Oh boy, does he love us! I love the days when Ryan is off-- not only because we get to spend our days together as a family but because he has picked up his guitar again and we have some awesome time of worship together! Some days we will have a late breakfast, then bible study and worship and by the time we are done it is almost lunch time! I would NEVER trade this precious time with him in order to keep to a schedule. (This is also an example of one of the really great reasons we home school!) But, sometimes not having a routine can be frustrating too! I want to manage our household well. I know this is a God-given desire so I know He will guide the way! (And bring me peace during the journey!)

A Rare Treasure

Our children are so blessed to have 2 sets of grandparents and 4 sets of great-grandparents who are still living! We lost Ryan's grandmother in 1997 (or 98?) but all of the other grandparents on both our sides are still living. What a blessing to be able to know and serve our grandparents in their older years! I love looking down at my children and then up at my grandparents and thinking of what a gift it is that they get to know each other. I am so thankful we live close enough to each of them to be able to spend quality time with them frequently. My grandparents were all born in 1928. What a different world they lived in! I love that God has given us the opportunity to hug and kiss and pick-on and look for ways to honor the older generation. Their memories and stories are better than any novel because they are so close to home. They are a precious part of who we are!

For several years I have longed to be able to spend quality time with each one of them and write down their life stories. I want to know who they were as a child, a mother, a wife. What they have learned from the Lord and from life. What their dreams and prayers were through the years. Struggles they had and how God has shown Himself faithful without fail. They have so much to give...I have so much to learn! I guess I feel like my time on this earth with them is running short and I don't want to waste a second of it! They are a rare and beautiful treasure.

Planting Seeds

I hope some of you are still enjoying spring! We took the children to an air show at the Air Force Base in Del Rio yesterday and it was HOT! When we got in the car, our gauge read 108 degrees! That is what I heard on the news that it really was! I guess summer is here to stay! We enjoyed the planes so much and the children got really excited about all the guys who work so hard to protect us. They got to sit inside the cockpit of a helicopter and go inside the cargo hold of a huge cargo plane (sorry I don't know official names). We can talk about our military and pray for them but something like that really gives them a visual as to what it is all about. I was asking Ryan why it is that an airplane flying by while a patriotic song plays evokes such overwhelming feelings (usually resulting in tears for me) inside? I don't know the answer but I am excited to be able have these kinds of opportunities with our children. The seeds of a vision for a country that will turn back to God are being planted even now.

Oh, Brother!

Last week, the children came to Ryan and I and announced that they wanted us to go to an orphanage and adopt them an older brother. They had discussed it fully and knew exactly what kind of a boy he should be. Then yesterday, we received a Bealls ad in the mail and the girls sat down and picked out the exact boy they wanted! Now, its not that I am against adopting a child. Or even a brother for that matter. In fact, Ryan and I have discussed it extensively. But, I do find it strange that they have all agreed to an older brother of a certain description. Is God preparing our family for something through the hearts and dreams of these three children? When we talk about more children in our family, they always insist it must be an older brother. Maybe each of the girls wants a dancing partner?

Funny Boy II

I was hoping to write about another child before saying anything else about Benjamin but, he is at that perfect age where he just keeps the funny and original coming! Here are a couple of conversations I have had with him just today already:

"Mommy, when I die, do you think it would be okay to ask God if I could go with Jesus into someone's heart?"
"Well sure Ben, you could ask Him that."

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"Hey Little Boy, I sure do love you."
"Hey Little Mommy, I sure do love you too."

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We were looking at a picture in his scrapbook of he and his dad working in our yard in San Angelo. There was a pool in the background and a dog in the wheelbarrow with him.
He said, "I sure do miss that dog."
I said, "I sure do miss that pool."
Then he replied, while pointing to his dad who was sitting in the chair across the room from us, "But Mommy, he's right there!" (pool, Pool!)

Soup and Sandwiches

Did you know there are two different types of sandwiches you can have at our house? Along with a nice cup of tomato and basil soup you can have either a "girl" cheese sandwich or a "boy" cheese sandwich. Sarah started calling them this when she was all of two years old. Now, much wiser and word-savvy, the children have been asking why we don't prepare these sandwiches on the grill if they are called "grilled" cheese sandwiches!

I know it is getting to be summer and not really soup time anymore, but I found this great recipe and thought I would share it. I served it hot but by the time I actually got to mine, I found out it tastes great cold too-- so maybe it would work as a summer soup after all!

Roast Tomato-Basil Soup
2 cans (28 ounces each) peeled whole tomatoes, drained (reserve liquid)
2 1/2 TBSP packed brown sugar (or honey)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cups tomato liquid reserved from canned tomatoes
3 cups chicken broth
3 TBSP tomato paste
1/4 tsp allspice
1 can (5 ounces) evaporated milk
about 10 large fresh basil leaves, shredded
salt and pepper to taste

1. Roast tomatoes. preheat oven to 450. Line a cookie sheet with foil; spray with cooking spray. Arrange tomatoes on foil in single layer. Sprinkle with brown sugar and onions. Bake about 25 to 30 minutes or until tomatoes look dry and light brown. Let tomatoes cool slightly; finely chop.
2. Place tomato mixture, 3 cups reserved liquid, chicken broth, tomato paste, and allspice into slow cooker. Mix well.
3. Cover and cook on LOW 8 hours or on HIGH 4 hours.
4. Add evaporated milk and basil; season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook 30 minutes or until hot.

Of course you could also simmer it on the stove if you don't have a slow cooker but this is a nice way to cook without heating up the kitchen!

I have several friends who ask me for healthy recipe ideas so I will share recipes randomly as I come across great ones. I love to plan and cook food I can feel really good about my family eating! Enjoy!

Dependent or Independent?

During our bible study this morning we were reading in 2 Peter where Peter exhorts them to remember the things Christ has already done for them in order to be able to live godly and righteous lives. We were having the kids each go around the table and think of an example of something they struggle with regularly that they could ask God help for the next time they struggle-- patience with siblings, kind words instead of harsh, helpful attitudes instead of grumbling, etc. We reminded them that although God has the power to just help us, He loves us to ask Him-- to recognize our need for Him and cry out to Him for help. I was thinking about God's word to us as a whole and how that is His very heart's cry from Genesis to Revelation. He so desires a relationship with us, He allows us to be in need so we will realize our dependency on Him alone. We learned a song this week that has become our "victory march"!

"In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, we have the victory!
In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, Satan will have to flee!
Who knows what my God can do?
Who know of His love for you?
In the name of Jesus, Jesus, we have the victory!"

In my struggle, I can call on the name of Jesus and have victory! This usually means many, many times a day!

Not the Beginning

I hadn't really planned on just jumping in and starting this blog. I had planned on some sort of an introduction..... so, although it isn't coming at the beginning of things.... here it is:

We are the Pool family. There are five of us not including varmints, critters, and various pets we have acquired recently... I will get to those in a minute. Ryan and I have been married for almost 11 years. We have lived in San Angelo, TX until last August when we moved to Del Rio for a job relocation. The move has been a big deal for us because it was our first time away from home. We have three beautiful children; Sarah who is 7 1/2, Maya who is 6 and Benjamin who is 4 1/2. I will give regular updates on each of them because they are the most interesting things in our life! We are a homeschooling family with a heart to train our children to live with a passion for Christ.

I will begin with our critters, varmints, and pets and then introduce each of the children to you in the days to come. We were a one dog family until a month ago. Our first pet is a white lab named Oso (means "Bear" in Spanish) whom we adopted from an animal shelter a year and a half ago. He is a wonderful friend and companion for the children and I when Ryan is out of town (and even when he is not!) Then, in December, we had a cat literally dropped in our laps as someone from the apartment complex we were living in brought an abandoned kitten to us and asked if we could please take him. We fell in love immediately and named him Whisper. Then, in March, a very dear friend of ours gave us a Miniature Daschound (sp?). We named her Hope (more on her later). Ryan found a baby goat kid abandoned and we began bottle feeding him in April. Maya thought we should name the goat "Toots" and since he is a boy we had to add "Billy" so now we have a "Billy Toots". A few weeks later, the school here called us and told us they had found another abandoned goat kid (goats do NOT make very good mothers) so now we have a "Billy Snow" we are bottle feeding as well! Then, last but not least, another neighbor gave us three chicks from one of his hens that he just thought the kids HAD to have. They are named, "Reepicheep", "Chicky", and "Edmund" respectively (yes, we are big Narnia fans!). My sister-in-law has asked me if she needs to begin packing-- are we building an ark? :) We have a lot of fun with all our animals and it is teaching the children to be responsible! It is also a huge testimony to how God can change hearts since I have never really been an animal lover. The children actually love taking care of them and each take turns feeding, making sure they have fresh water, and walking them. They have decided we are the "Animal Rescuers". (cape flapping and applause appropriate here!)

Funny Boy

I have got to have the funniest son ever! This morning as the girls were starting on their journal writing, I thought I had gotten Benjamin all set up for the task of washing his face and brushing his teeth. I had squirted the toothpaste on the toothbrush with the appropriate amount of paste for his 4 year old mouth (when he does it, it looks like a giant toothpaste-eating monster has been in the bathroom), and gotten out a clean washrag, put water on it, and wrung it out (he seems to always miss this important last step!) "OK," I thought, "the girls are busy, Benjamin should be occupied for a full five minutes, I am going to go finish getting ready real quick." Well, no sooner had I step foot in my bedroom than I heard a loud pop and a very tiny scream. I ran into the bathroom and what should appear before my questioning eyes than Benjamin, up ON TOP of the sink with broken glass all around him. As soon as he saw me he began sobbing. When I was finally able to get out of him what happened, he stated very matter of factly that he was trying to "warm up his washrag." He had climbed on the cabinet to reach the heat of the light bulbs above the mirror and hit it too hard and it shattered! Guess Mommy forgot an important step-- use warmer water! I really wish I could have gotten a picture of him right before he broke out in a sob, on top of the cabinet, with glass all around him but...... I just didn't feel like asking him to stand still so I could run and get my camera would be sending him the right message!