Dream Quotes from Tryn

Lady Elaine and Mr. Rogers wanted me and Anni to stick to flowers and not eat anything. It was bad. Then me and Anni got off the flowers after you and dad killed Lady Elaine.
My Bible class was at the Neighborhood of Make believe and she wanted to change the park there into a big building. and then we were having fun just playing in the backyard. That's it.

extremists

I am one of them. Those crazy thinking, not conforming, refusing to send my children to preschool sorts. (I know, gasp, doesn't that qualify for child abuse these days?) I am 5 months pregnant and truly showing. Today was an interesting day of walking in downtown Seattle holding hands with the wee ones (4, 3, 1.5) and wooo, people really stare. Some of it is just that children are an unusual sight, but coupled with an obviously pregnant mother, the reactions are intensified. I now have an inkling of how mom felt when people asked her if she ran a daycare.
Did I mention the kids don't go to 18 different classes? No swimming, dancing, ballet, gymnastics. It is a wonder that they can play with other children at all! The class we take everyday is Love thy Neighbor as Thyself.
My sarcasm belies the frustration I feel at group think. In a USA, where the most important opinion is that of your peer group (we are all well socialized, dontcha know) it would seem that Christian culture would stand apart. Be radically and obviously different than those around them in word, thought, deed. Nope, we all are Israelites checking out the idols and Ashteroths. Some of this seems more clear to me when it comes to a center of family as core fellowship of God's people. And I don't doubt that I have lots of blind spots. But I can't help but think being a second generation homeschooler has helped bust through some of the need for me to base everything I do based on looking around me, rather than God's word. (Thank you Lord, for your providence in making me a weirdo all those/these years!) I can only imagine how my mom felt 20 years ago, when homeschooling wasn't even remotely understood.

Out of the Box

One of the verses often repeated in our house is
"Love your neighbor as yourself" In the past I have thought of my neighbor as the guy down the street or the friend at church. The use of this verse in childrearing has made me apply it to my closest neighbors: the folks I'm are most easily tempted to forget to love, my family.

The Heidelberg catechism I learned as a kid comes to mind as I remember the answer, "we are prone to hate both God and our neighbor"

In many ways, neighbor expresses proximity. Who do we live in closer proximity with than our husbands and children? I am most prone to blatantly hate my family! It is much easier to put my best, most generous and loving behavior on for anyone but my family. But to them I get down and dirty and all the masks come off.

So, not only do I instruct my children in this daily, that instruction reminds me to love them. Most of my complaining and grumbling during the day is the result not of my childrens' behavior, but of my reaction to it. I want to love myself, feel sorry for myself, and forget the command to love them as myself.

Life doesn't have to be so complicated or so messy when we bring it down to what Christ says in Matthew 22:
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’^[d] 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’^[e] 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

So that is my first application of this passage. The other is simply an answer to all these "socialization" arguments that I hear from friends about homeschooling. I don't care how well my kids get along with other kids! First and foremost, I want them to live in love and service to God and our family. I find it a much more useful and realistic scenario for the rest of their lives. Where better to learn this than at home? If I can teach my children how to serve and love within the family I am not concerned about that translating to others around them. (It helps, of course, that we are not limiting our family to current social norms. Their will be at least four of them to get along together come July)
Parents socialize children, not other children. I don't care how many "friends" my kids have at age 40, as long as my daughters are close to each other. I don't care how many activities they participate in, as long as they are content and thankful in what God gives to them.
Just as an aside, is the youth worship culture of today something you want your children "socialized" to?
Isn't it bizarre to view friendship as one age category?
Anyway, I find the socialization argument a genuinely laughable one, being that I was home schooled for eight years myself. My mom taught me by example to be genuinely interested in and caring of other people, regardless of their age, gender, or color. She also put our family relationships first and for that, and the five brothers and sisters I have, I am truly blessed.

Haney Happenings

Lots of sunshine this week in Seattle and although cold in the morning, the temperature is 50 in the sunny spots. The kids have been spending time outside, happily, for the first time in a long time. Finally, it seems, we have reached a compatible age for the girls to play together for a long stretch. Tristan....well he could stay outside all afternoon just tromping around, finding jumpropes, chasing his sisters,and walking headlong into the paths of a whizzing swings. The girls travel the world (Australia is a particular favorite), have tea parties, call each other Shannon and Megan. Tryn is always narrating their explorations and Annika is echoing her sentiments.
I am growing more poochy and looking more chubby than pregnant still. The extra weight and work of my body leaves me tired going up or down stairs. I am starting to feel the consequences of bending over: contractions. Already. Ah, the fourth pregnancy. Each time they come sooner as the uterus wants to get a faster start on exercising itself in preparation for the birthday. Why can't I be as smart as my uterus? I bought a pregnancy workout DVD this week. Then my neck went out and was too inflamed to add any extra stress to. Bother!
In other news, I have jumped the hump and started doing the reading curriculum with Trynstar. Guess what! It is not the drudgery I expected. I actually look forward to it. Then I read some thoughts of other young mothers and was utterly discouraged. But I have to remind myself that they send their kids away and have other people do all this work for them.
Tryn is a smart cookie and loves to learn. This makes things easier. While she is not quite 5 yet, she wants to learn to read and mom has been holding off. I read at 5 with only Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street for instruction. She can do it. The question is: can mom be consistent????
Annika is a totally different bird. She has NO attention span. Granted, she is only three, but the kid JUST started wanting to read books together and sitting through an entire story. Tristan is climbing up on me with books in hand, just like Tryn. I just bought a mini trampoline for Anni, mostly, so that she can jump out some of her energy before she sits down for tabletime.
Well, our day is in slo-mo and I need to ramp it up.
GO BEARS, whip on those lame hoosiers.