We need to move, and other stuff

Well, it's been 11 months and we're still here. My wife has taken a new job which will require her to drive to work everyday (rather than the two days a week she currently drives). It's about an hour and 20 one way. We need to move closer in a bad way, because that's gonna get old fast. We continue to have showings but no one makes an offer. It's quite frustrating to spend half a day staging and cleaning your house so someone can take ten minutes to walk through and say, "Meh, no thanks."

Recently I've been praying for some healing in my life about some pretty deep kind of stuff. I'm usually not one to observe Lent, but this year I felt like God was asking me to do something. So I gave up chocolate. You may not know me well at all, but I'm a serious chocoholic. Wife and I have a bag of Dove Dark in the cabinet at all times and usually eat two a day. Any ice cream I buy, cakes, etc... it's chocolate. So this is a serious thing. I'm thinking that doing so will allow me to better experience the richness and sweetness (like chocolate) of God's healing when it comes. Pray for me.

Further, I've decided I'm sick of being overweight and unhealthy. I've been walking (serious walking, not just taking the dog for a stroll). And I think I'm going to make the goal of running a mile by the end of summer. Yes, one mile. But, I'm 39 years old and have NEVER been able to do that. Not even in junior high when we had to do it for that cursed President's physical fitness test, which I'm convinced was designed by Nazi's to weed out the weak ones. I've also been doing push ups. I must say, that never having been one to really try, I'm appreciating the improvements I'm noticing already. Here's to being hopeful.

Otherwise, life goes on. We're on track with school and the kids, so we should finish up right around the end of May. I applied for a certificate of completion program from my Alma Mater so that I can be licensed as a counselor (long story, maybe some other time). I should know about that in the next month or so and would start in the fall.

Hope you're well. Thanks for looking in on my little corner of the world.

Long Lost Blogger

Hi, it's been about two months since I posted anything and that's probably because there's not a lot to post. Well, maybe that's not true:

We've been running amok this summer. Went on a family trip to Sawyer, MI, where we picked blueberries, swam in Lake Michigan, climbed the Dunes at Warren State Park, and spent time with family. I took the kids to the county fair, we spent a day at the State Fair (planned intentionally so that I could be sure and see the dairy cattle), took the kids fishing (once), went swimming and hiking at Shakamak State Park, spent a week with the in-laws during the 4th of July celebration, which was also the sesquicentennial of Sheridan, IN. We've been running about. My Niece is getting married this weekend, and my youngest will be the ring bearer.

With all of that, I managed to do some reading and math with the kids once in awhile. We started our school year here yesterday. I'm doing two curricula at a time now, and I was pretty worried about how I'd juggle it, but maybe it's not going to be as bad as I'd imagined. I could be worse! Lol.

On the home front.... we had a contingency offer at one point, but he wanted immediate possession and we weren't willing to give that, so it didn't go through. If the other guy sells his house and ours is still for sale, he may well come back with another offer. We had a showing about the middle of June, then didn't have another until July 29th. We've had a few more since then. The housing market, like everywhere, is just the pits right now. But it's picking up around here. We had a showing and found out that ours is in the top two of this couple that looked at it. She likes our house, he likes another. BUT one of their parents live on the next street over from us, so that may be a selling point. Hope to hear something soon.

Melora's job as a flight nurse is going well, but it's taking her away from home a lot, as it's easier for her to go to her parent's house between shifts than coming two hours home, just to turn around and go back. This is kind of a bummer for us, but it's only temporary. If we sell our house, and can't find what we're looking for in Sheridan or nearby, my sister-in-law has offered us her place. She lives in an upstairs apartment above her art studio. She's remodelling a front room as a master bedroom and all five of us could sleep in it! Her husband is stationed in Vermont for three years with the military and she said she'd just go be with him while we were there. Her mortgage is half what ours is now. That way we would have a place to go and not be so pressured to buy someplace that wasn't exactly what we wanted. We'd just have to put all our stuff in storage for a while. Not the optimal situation, but it's an option.

There was a place we had our eye on that met our criteria very well. Newer house, close to her parents, barn/pasture, land to spread out..... It got an offer and out from under us it went. Bummer.

So that's what's going on. Otherwise, I've been reading the works of James Herriot (Yorkshire Vet) and watching the series, "All Creatures Great and Small." Great stuff.

Odds and ends

Hey ho.

Not much going on. We've had two showings on the house, but no takers. I'm not really surprised. My mother-in-law is on a serious quest now that we've decided to move back closer to my wife's hometown. My inlaws have called numerous times (and I mean NUMEROUS) with listings and homes they find when they're out driving. Problem is, they don't understand what we want. Yeah sure, the house is nice, but it's only on two acres! Oh sure, there's 39 acres for 400K.... can't afford it and don't need that much land. Sheesh. Added to this is the fact that they rarely give me enough information about the house to actually find it online and give it a look. But I continue to take down the information and be polite. I understand that they're excited and want to be helpful.

I should be doing some homeschooling right now, or making lunch, but I'm not (obviously). Spring comes and I lose all sense of drive to do school. The kids want to be outside playing and it gives me a reason to put off school for a few hours. I'll buckle down here soon and get it done.

I finished my mother-in-law's Wool Peddler's shawl. Gave it to her last weekend when we went for a visit. She loved it and wore it to church. Good thing, it was cold in there.

I sincerely hope we can sell our place soon and find our next home so I can manage to put out at least a small garden and get my chickens ordered and started.

Here are a couple of pictures of the Wool Peddler's Shawl:

IAHE Convention

Last weekend, my wife and I attended the 24th annual Indiana Association of Home Educators convention, in Indianapolis, Indiana. This was the third or fourth year we've attended (we couldn't exactly remember). I thought I'd post some pictures and thoughts about the convention specifically, and homeschooling in general.

Though the name of the association doesn't contain the word "Christian", it is wholly and unashamedly a Christian organization. Anyone attending that didn't know that before, was in for a surprise and could be nothing but convinced of this fact. The state of Indiana is divided into approximately 14 areas with representative to the association from each. The convention is on Friday and Saturday, from nine a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Throughout the day, there are seminars on a number of topics, including; teaching special needs kids, parenting issues, developing a strong Christian world-view, record keeping for high school students, different ways of teaching math, science, grammar, etc., to how to coach a sports team for homeschoolers, and much more. There are always two main speakers that present messages at the beginning of each day, and seminars throughout the convention. Additionally, there is a spelling bee and art exhibit/competition. Let me tell you, there are some seriously talented homeschoolers! This young lady won Grand Champion in her age class. WOW!

This year, we were honored to have Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis and director of The Creation Museum (in Kentucky, wonderful place... go see it!), and Doug Phillips, founder of Vision Forum, who has a degree in Constitutional Law and worked for the Home School Legal Defense Association for a number of years.

Mr. Ham is always a wonderful speaker. I've heard him before and he is always convincing, convicting, and inspiring. Basically, what I came away with this year from him is (in a very small nutshell), if you don't believe in the historical truth of the first 11 chapters of the book of Genesis, then you call the validity of the rest of the Bible into question. This is one of the biggest reasons that Christian children grow up and leave their faith later in life. I'll be working for awhile to retrain my mind, because I too was a product of public education and I always had questions about the Earth and how science and the Bible fit. However, I'm learning that science, when properly applied and honestly approached, actually supports the Bible more than evolution or the big bang.

Mr. Phillips took most of my attention for the weekend. His seminars weren't about legal issues, that's not what he does now. He works to help parents (fathers in particular) develop a vision for their families. He teaches about the necessity of passing on a Godly heritage, about discipling our kids for the Kingdom of God. Frankly, I've been struggling with my kids the past few months and I needed some encouragement. I can't say that I came away thinking, "WOW that was amazing, best thing I've ever heard!!!" But I think sometimes those kinds of talks are quickly forgotten after the excitement dies a bit. I'm thinking this'll stick with me a bit longer. Good stuff. Visit Vision Forum.

Well, we stayed in a Holiday Inn Express about two blocks from the convention center. Here's a picture looking out our hotel window (a la Keetha-style... a bloggy friend). You'll see in the center, what remains of the former RCA dome where the Colt's played football. The building was imploded not too long ago and is being carted away, piecemeal. Also in the picture, you'll see a lovely Catholic church that has stood beautifully downtown for ages. You might see the two green-patina spires toward the middle of the pic.

"But wait, where do the famed Indianapolis Colts play football now," you ask? Right across the street in this monstrosity:I kid you not! It looks like an enormous barn and it dwarfs the rest of the city from I-70, just a block or three to the south. In my opinion, it's ugly, it's an eyesore, and it detracts from the city. 'Nuff said.

There were about 4000 attendees at this year's convention. This isn't the best picture, but you can get an idea. And of course, that number is only a small sample of the homeschoolers in Indiana. We really are blessed here in Hoosierland to have such opportunity.

There is always an exhibition hall where vendors of all sorts set up. Speakers come with their books and wares, curriculum companies send reps and supplies, individual book sellers.... you can buy everything from grain mills to preserved frogs for dissection, microscopes to slingshots, foreign language programs to grammar books. And a number of universities and colleges send representatives as well. Thankfully, my wife and I spent less money this year than in years past. Now that we have three years homeschooling under our belts, we feel a little more like we know what we need and what will be helpful. Here's a shot inside the exhibition hall.

Well, my pictures may not be the greatest, but it gives you a taste. But the question always arises, "Why homeschool?" My answer: There are as many different reasons as there are people that do it. There's no one set reason. Though there are many people in our nation that homeschool who express no Christian faith or belief, homeschool began as a specifically Christian movement. Our decision to homeschool started out with my wife. I just kind of went along for the ride. But as time has gone on, I've gained a deeper appreciation, understanding, and vision for it. My wife has all kinds of ideas about curriculum, but she realizes that unless I like it, it'll be a waste of money to buy it, since I use it most.

Here's the thing with us. It's not just about educating our children. Yes, we want them to read and write well. We want them to understand math and science. That's all important. But it's more than that. Before I go on, let me first say that I realize that homeschooling is not for everyone! Neither do I judge or condemn anyone that doesn't homeschool! But I believe, more and more, that I have a mandate from God to train up my children in the way they should go so that when they are old they won't turn away from it. Further, I believe that homeschooling is about discipling my children to be more like Christ and applying His principles to life and study. I find the most beneficial way to do this is through homeschooling. We could send our kids to public school, but then we'd spend hours each night trying to undo and deal with the relativism, humanism, and evolutionism they picked up all day. I truly am beginning to feel that this is a calling that God has placed on my wife and I. I think God wants my family to choose a path less traveled.

On a practical level, homeschooling doesn't make sense. It's expensive, time consuming, requires a lot of sacrifice on the part of the parent (did I say a lot, try enormous), tiring... BUT, on the other hand, I know that my daughter would be behind were she in public school. She and math aren't friends and a teacher can only wait for one student so long. There would have been many more tears in public school. My sons? Sheesh. The older one would be in trouble all the time because he can't sit still, likes to touch others (not hitting, but hugging, patting, etc.), and is very loud and noisy. Yes, homeschooling is best for them. And despite what the UN might think, I, their parent, DO know what's best for them, thank you very much.

All of that, not to mention the spiritual aspect of homeschooling. We can pray whenever we want (or need) to. Bible reading is a part of our curriculum. And nice spring days aren't relegated to the indoors. Warm and sunny? Out we go with lawn chairs and our books. In our homeschool the principal and the teacher are in love with each other and even kiss in front of the students! And our kids never have to experience the torture of riding the school bus, or 'jail bus' as we call it. Seriously, my wife and I both have very unpleasant memories of riding the bus to school.

Well, I've gone on long enough. If you have questions about homeschooling regarding why or how we do it, I'll be happy to answer them. Hope this entry has been interesting and enlightening for you. Thanks for reading!

It's Maple Sugarin' Time!

This past Saturday, our "Keepers of the Faith" homeschool group visited the home of one of our members. They live in a rural area surrounded by woods, with quite a few sugar maples. Just perfect for making some homemade maple syrup.

So Brad, the owner, and another homeschool dad who helps him, took us through the woods. Here you see my two sons, or the back of them anyway, as Eric drills a hole for the spile, as it's called. Like his camo hat? I made that.

After that, a spile is driven into the hole, and the bucket is hung on it. In this picture, you can't really see it, but the sap is really dripping into the bucket from the spile. Warm days and cold nights really make the sap run. A lid is put on top of the bucket to keep rain/snow/bugs/debris out.

Each day the buckets are checked to gather sap. Sometimes you get lucky and there's ice on the top of the sap. That's pure water and you can throw that out without wasting any of the sugar. That also cuts down on your boiling time because you're getting rid of excess water. After the sap has been collected, it's all dumped into something like this to await the boiling process...

If you look, you can see the line where the sap is. That's about a 200 gallon container. There's about 100 gallons of sap in there. It takes approximately 40 to 50 gallons of water-clear sap to make one gallon of dark brown syrup.

From there, the sap is taken to a homemade boiler that Brad made. The largest part of the boiler is the firebox. There are baffles attached to the ceiling of the firebox which really gets the sap boiling. Above the box is the boiling pan. It's about 8 inches deep and covers the entire top of the firebox. Above that is the sap 'bucket' (for lack of a better word). Sap is poured into the sap bucket after being drawn off the holding tank. A copper pipe with a valve attached controls a constant, small flow of sap into the boiler pan. This is done to eliminate a quick cooling in the boiling pan by adding a large amount of cold sap all at once. A little at a time and it all stays hot and bubbly. Then the sap boils, and boils, and boils. It takes a lot of wood to do this.

After a long while, Brad draws the sap off the boiler pan, through a filter and into a turkey fryer. Yes a turkey fryer. You could use a stock pot or something, I'm sure, but he uses a turkey fryer. The fryer goes onto a propane burner where the sap is finished off and that last bit of moisture is steamed away. What's left is nothing but pure maple syrup. He offered four bottles for a fund raiser here recently. They brought $100.

Each family was sent home with a half-pint of the dark amber stuff. I had some on waffles this morning. If you've never had true maple syrup, you're in for a surprise when you try it. It's a little runnier than store bought syrup because there's no corn syrup added. It also tastes a little, ummm, woody maybe. But it's sweet. And there are no harmful additives or anything else. You should check the label on the bottle anytime you go to buy maple syrup. Unless it says 100% Maple Syrup, you may be getting something that's mostly corn syrup with a little maple thrown in for flavor. Also, real maple syrup can be pricey. Hey, it's only harvestable for a few weeks a year, and it takes a lot of time to produce. But wow is it worth it.