Ordinary Marvels

"The response has been smaller than I'd h...

2011-05-07T10:37:20.034-04:00

"The response has been smaller than I'd hoped..."

This is one of the hard things about blogging is you never know what affect you have from a post.

I see two main reasons for blogging.

One is the affect it has on your. If you find blogging useful for organizing your thoughts or a release for getting into words ideas that are jumbled in your brain

You will be sorely missed, and in that, I mean ALL...

2011-04-16T14:44:03.088-04:00

You will be sorely missed, and in that, I mean ALL of you. We are here to help you in any possible way with packing for the move, and we will never forget you (hint, hint, don't lose touch!) Take every step in faith, because we are NEVER in the wrong place at the wrong time. We are always in the right place when we delight in HIS will and walk in HIS way to the glory of HIS name. GOD

Stephanie: I have read your tribute to Your Grand ...

2011-01-02T16:51:09.861-05:00

Stephanie:
I have read your tribute to Your Grand dad, and Grand Mother. My wife Eva and I have never had any greater Frinds, they came to see ne here at my hom, wgen Eva Died.
I had to put Eva in the nursing home. They had to insert a feeding tube in her stomach to feed her. She asso had demeta. But not toobad. I visiyed her every day. I miss her so much. Rev. Bill Taylor

Ellen, thank you for your encouragement. I can onl...

2010-11-24T11:35:05.134-05:00

Ellen, thank you for your encouragement. I can only imagine how hard it must have been to watch Val suffer. I'm glad God gives us an amazing eternal family so we can help and support each other along our journeys.

Stephanie as I read this for the first time in mon...

2010-11-24T10:53:40.361-05:00

Stephanie as I read this for the first time in months, I am able to cry. This is very touching and brings back so many memories of my parents. Then even more resent memories of Val, watching him die muscle by muscle until he could no longer breath. I feel for your family, but as so many before them God will take care of their needs and comfort in this trying time. The strength that your

I like Bonita Lillie. She has a good head on her ...

2010-06-06T10:17:01.621-04:00

I like Bonita Lillie. She has a good head on her shoulders. Glad you got to hear her speak.
tm

You will absolutely grow--and discover facets of y...

2010-06-06T10:14:51.126-04:00

You will absolutely grow--and discover facets of your personality that you will marvel at! I had no idea that I was SO impatient, and the time homeschooling taught me a great deal of patience, not to mention math and history that I never cared to absorb while growing up. Best wishes on your path!
tm

TM, Thanks so much for taking the time to answer m...

2010-06-05T12:46:46.815-04:00

TM, Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions and impart your wisdom, especially since we haven't met. The Manns are great people! I'll definitely take what you've said to heart. I can already see that this is going to be an amazing time of learning and growing for me as well as my children.

Anonymous, I also neglected to thank you for the r...

2010-06-05T12:42:23.314-04:00

Anonymous,
I also neglected to thank you for the resources. I haven't had a lot of time to look them over carefully, but I like what I've seen so far. Thank you!

Crystal, I just realized I published your comments...

2010-06-05T12:40:48.926-04:00

Crystal, I just realized I published your comments, but neglected to thank you for taking the time to answer all my questions. Thanks so much!

I would encourage you to grow yourself as you are ...

2010-06-05T10:45:11.884-04:00

I would encourage you to grow yourself as you are trying to raise your children. Spend time, while they are reading, absorbing good books and expanding your own knowledge while they are. It is SO tempting to use their study time to catch up around the house, but it is far better to learn (showing them by example that learning is a lifelong pursuit) and include them in every aspect of keeping the

You may wonder some things--where I came from (Fac...

2010-06-05T10:45:11.883-04:00

You may wonder some things--where I came from (Facebook-Rich Mann and my husband went to ORU together) and if I had success homeschooling.

Tulsa was the mecca for homeschoolers back in the day, although I don't know how prevalent it is today, and the local Christian support group had over 500 affiliate families. They required the signing of a statement of faith, and being a bit of

7. If you no longer homeschool, why did you stop? ...

2010-06-05T10:17:37.969-04:00

7. If you no longer homeschool, why did you stop? We homeschooled our daughter from second grade through her freshman year in high school. We have very different learning styles, and she felt she needed more structure. She went to a very large public high school, and if I had it to do over, I would have taken a year off, done some more research, reconnected with the vision and completed her

For past/current homeschool parents- 1. Why did yo...

2010-06-05T10:07:06.954-04:00

For past/current homeschool parents-
1. Why did you choose to homeschool?
my sisters both did it (so I had input, support, encouragement) and I disagreed with the things that were being taught in the schools.
2. How did/do you manage it all without going crazy? I have no idea! I think it was God's grace (His power and ability) and a strong feeling of no other choice.
3.

what a blessing, Stephanie!!! God will honor your...

2010-06-04T10:55:15.869-04:00

what a blessing, Stephanie!!! God will honor your obedience. He is so kind to us, to give us these children, then to give us the opportunity to be their teachers as well! LOVE IT!

I would suggest titus2.com and raisingolives.com ...

2010-05-24T21:58:15.017-04:00

I would suggest titus2.com and raisingolives.com They are my favorite. They answer most all your questions.
Good luck
God bless
Renee

9.Any advice on setting up your school space? At o...

2010-05-15T17:53:41.364-04:00

9.Any advice on setting up your school space?
At our old house we had a school room of sorts in our dining room. In our new place we don't. I've found that it isn't really necessary unless you are wanting to do school at home. We school at the table, on the couch, on the back deck, in the yard, at the park, in their room, at the computer in the office... We did pick up a

For past/current homeschool parents- 1.Why did you...

2010-05-15T17:53:41.363-04:00

For past/current homeschool parents-
1.Why did you choose to homeschool? Lots of reasons: My number one reason is that I feel this is what God told me to do. I also desire to build a strong family bond between the four of us, to encourage my boys to love learning and not to just pass some test, to design personal education and not force my kids into a box as I felt public education did

Henry, thanks for reading my blog & thanks for...

2010-05-15T15:46:14.034-04:00

Henry, thanks for reading my blog & thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. This is some great information and you bring up some points I hadn't thought of before.

7. If you no longer homeschool, why did you stop? ...

2010-05-15T15:12:50.968-04:00

7. If you no longer homeschool, why did you stop?
We don't plan to ever stop.

8. If you took your kids out of brick and mortar school in order to homeschool, how did you get your kids on board (especially if they liked school)?
Our children have never been in a public school. We decided to try homeschooling with our oldest when she was five. We figured if we messed up,

I'll respond in two parts: For past/current h...

2010-05-15T15:12:50.967-04:00

I'll respond in two parts:

For past/current homeschool parents-
1. Why did you choose to homeschool?
One of my initial reasons was I wanted my children to graduate from high school and be excited about education. "Oh cool, now I get to go to college and learn more stuff!" At five most children have a million questions. At 18 most of them have been forced to

I'm so glad you have a diagnosis now and that ...

2010-02-23T08:19:20.064-05:00

I'm so glad you have a diagnosis now and that it isn't anything more serious!
I love your perspective on the whole experience! :)

So glad it was benign! I've been wanting to m...

2010-02-11T09:16:09.194-05:00

So glad it was benign! I've been wanting to make some healthy changes, too... we generally eat pretty well as far as sit down meals, but you're right about the tendency to hand healthy snacks to the other people and not be as careful with what we're eating ourselves. I also want to get into exercising more, but my favorite form, walking, isn't very fun right now because of bad

I'm glad your childcare needs were taken care ...

2010-02-08T11:18:16.686-05:00

I'm glad your childcare needs were taken care of, and despite the craziness beforehand everything ended up going well. Hope your recovery is smooth!

Thanks, Natalie. God is so faithful, & the pe...

2010-02-04T16:50:09.892-05:00

Thanks, Natalie. God is so faithful, & the peace has been amazing! I was scared when I first found the lump, but He has given me comfort. I trust Him to take care of us.

I was asked about cat scratch fever, but, even though we have 2 cats, I can't remember the last time I was scratched. I had also thought they might just drain it, but the vascular surgeon says it needs to