Ezekiel
I recently finished reading Ezekiel in my reading through the Bible in two years plan. Most of it involved depressing prophesies of how Israel (and then its enemies) were going to be destroyed and how much they all deserved God's wrath. Other parts though--the opening visions and some of the visions of Israel's restoration--reminded me of something that'd be written for a fantasy novels: creatures with wings and multiple heads and flying wheels, a shining, being made of flames, and a throne surrounded by a rainbow, bones that put themselves together and breathed and walked, God's voice like rushing water. I love reading accounts like that with such great visuals.

The Ghost Knight by Cornelia Funke
I love this kid's author, so I grabbed this--her newest book--from the shelf without even knowing a thing about it. Very good, but not quite as captivating as her Inkspell trilogy. This one is about an 11-year-old boy who gets sent to boarding school and becomes haunted and hunted by a quintet of ghosts of have done the same thing to all of his male ancestors who showed up in that town. He takes them on with the help of his new best friend, her grandmother, his mom's boyfriend, and of course, the ghost knight of the title. Fun read (and only creepy if you're actually a kid reading it).

Growing Kids God's Way (a book & video study by the Ezzos)
I realized I haven't written about this yet, but I've been participating in this parenting class at church since sometime in August. It's really good, and aligns very well to what Handsome and I have always talking about with parenting our girls. The big ideas so far: teach kids not just the rules but the reasons why and teach them to respect other people, property, and nature. Of course, the Ezzos go into great detail about all of these from a biblical perspective. There's only a few of us doing it--just three families and the facilitator--so that's allowed for lots of discussion. I've disagreed with the Ezzos on a few things (they don't believe in allowances for example, but will just sporadically hand their kids money--seems like a bad idea). The class continues into the spring and I'm looking forward to the next set of lessons about discipline. I'm hoping for some real practical tips.

The Stars, Like Dust by Isaac Asimov
I realized that, while I've read tons of Asimov's short stories, I've yet to read any of his novels, and I found this one at the library. It's all about interstellar intrigue and rebellion against the ruling empire revolving around a couple of star-crossed lovers from the ruling families of different planets. Definitely a fun read. I love reading the old sci-fi classics (this was written in 1950) in large part because it's fun to see what they wrote about that actually exists now (in this book things like tazers, auto pilot, and GPS-like tracking devices) and speculate about how long it will take humans to develop the other things (like successfully visiting another planet or even a different solar system).

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
The second book in this trilogy did not disappoint. Fun steampunk alternate history. This time the topic was the revolution in the Ottoman Empire, a topic I know very little about. The author made more of a change this time and had the first revolution fail, so that Prince Alek could be involved in a second one during WWI. Looking forward to book 3!

Our church hosted a free organ concert by Christopher Houlihan, a young internationally known concert organist. I left Handsome with the entourage and went by myself (he wasn't interested). Houlihan is indeed an excellent organist, and I don't even know that much. It was lovely though to sit in a dimly sanctuary enveloped in wonderful music and read about the pieces and composers or simply sit and let my mind wander with the music. I haven't done something like that--enjoy a fine art--for myself in such a long time. Handsome isn't into that sort of thing, so I just need to remember to make it happen. (Reminds me: I want to get the entourage and I out to the local art museum some time.) Added bonus for the evening is that it meant the girls were all asleep by the time I got home and the downstairs was cleaned--even the kitchen. Just lovely!

The Magic Thief by Sarah Pineas
A fun bit of YA fantasy in the vein of Harry Potter. A young and unexpected apprentice magician has to save his city by saving Magic. It's the first in a trilogy, so I'll have to keep my eye out for the next one. Fortunately, it leaves one in anticipation for the next book, but not hanging from a cliff.

Personal Retreat
I got away for a much-needed day of personal retreat yesterday. I took a picnic lunch, my Bible, journal, and a book I've been reading and headed for a state park about 40 minutes away. I spent a wonderfully peaceful day praying and pondering while tramping around 12 miles of backpacking trails. My legs are a little sore, but my soul is refreshed.

During college I did this every spring after exams were done just to clear my head and refocus. I had a minor breakdown a couple of weeks ago, and realized that I hadn't taken a personal retreat since the kids were born. In the years between college and kids and didn't usually take a whole day, but disappearing into a park for an afternoon was something I did pretty often. I must make this at least an annual thing again. I had a chance to sort through some things that had been on my heart, and actually articulate in writing what my priorities are, why, and what I'm actually going to do to make reality reflect them.

Today was a successful Sabbath. The only thing on the to-do list was church. Dinner was lasagna with thanks to Stouffers and salad I mostly made yesterday. I got to take a little nap, do some follow up research to Sunday school discussion, spend an hour or so reading The Wizard of Oz with my girls snuggled up on the couch. Yes, I am ready to face Monday!

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
An alternate history steampunk novel. Very fun. The setting in WWI, but the Axis powers have walking war machines and the Allies have seriously genetically altered and weaponized animals (the book is named for a flying whale turned airship that's host to a whole ecological system). In this story the Austrian royalty whose assassinations started the whole war have a son who escapes with proof that he is indeed supposed to be the heir to the empire. I love speculative fiction--following all the rabbit trails of what-ifs and seeing just how far an author's imagination can take things. Fascinating. And an excellent read. It's the first of a trilogy, so I'm looking forward to tracking down the other books.

God answers prayer in funny ways sometimes. I've been thinking and praying about Sabbath lately. God intends for us to have a day of rest, and I have desperately wanted one. However, with a household to run, a frequently deployed husband, and three small children to feed and cloth, it just didn't seem to be in the cards. Things I read online about celebrating Sabbath by inviting people over for dinner and/or having a family worship time just seemed like it would create more work and stress for me.

Then in the middle of a Saturday night, God allowed Goose to catch a stomach bug. I braced myself to be drenched in vomit and erased my to-do list for the next day. Fortunately, the stomach bug was the mildest one I've ever encountered. We had three "incidents" to clean up and one very snuggly (if lethargic) toddler to deal with. Obviously we didn't attend church, and I decided that absolutely nothing would get done that day. We snuggled on the couch to watch movies and read books, and once Goose perked up in the afternoon we spend hours outside while the girls played and I read a novel until it got dark. I thawed chicken noodle soup and made toast for dinner. At the end of the day, I didn't feel exhausted; I felt refreshed--like I could actually breathe a prayer of praise after I tucked them in bed instead of another "Lord, help me" as I faced a small pile of the day's dirty dishes. Minus the germs that is what I think Sabbath is meant to feel like. So, next week, I need to take a deep breath on Sunday morning, leave the to-do list blank and give myself permission to rest. Never thought I'd say it, but thank you, Lord, for a stomach bug.

I Corinthians

Just as a body, though one has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. (12:12)

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. (13:13) 

But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way. (14:40, in context this applies to worship services, but I wish I had more success in applying it to the rest of life!)

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love. (16:13-14)

Parents and Children by Charlotte M. Mason
A number of times when I've stumbled across a neat homeschooling activity (like nature journals or a living books list) it turns out to be posted by someone who is a "Charlotte Mason homeschooler." I decided I ought to find out something about her, and I ran across several volumes from her Home Education Series in a used bookstore. They didn't have the first volume that's actually specifically about homeschooling, so I bought Parents and Children. I still don't know her practical method for home education, but the things she talks about in this book have really resonated with me (Interesting, a number of the things she says align exactly with the Growing Kids God's Way study I'm in at church. More about that in a different post.) Only 45 pages in and I've already underlined a number of things, which I'll quote here. More will come as I continue reading I'm sure.

[One] must regard education not as a shut-off compartment, but being as much a part of life as birth or growth, marriage or work; and it must leave the pupil attached to the world at many points of contact. (Preface)

By the saying, EDUCATION IS AN ATMOSPHERE, it is not meant that a child should be isolated in what may be called a 'child environment,' especially adapted and prepared; but that we should take into account the educational value of his natural home atmosphere, both as regards persons and things, and should let him live freely among his proper conditions. It stultifies a child to bring down his world to the 'child's' level. (Preface)

We should allow no separation to grow up between the intellectual and 'spiritual' life of children; but should teach them that the divine Spirit has constant access to their spirits, and is their continual helper in all the interests, duties and joys of life. (Preface)

The love of ease, the love of favor, the claims of other work, are only some of the causes which lead to a result disastrous to society--the abdication of parents. (13) 

Mason did not mean abdication of parents in the sense that she thought everyone should home school. On the contrary, taught for years and even opened her own school. However, she felt that parents were still the greatest influence on children and that they have the ultimate responsibility for their child's education. She saw parents sending their children to school as acting as if their work was done--that the child's upbringing and education from that point on was the teacher's responsibility. Can't help seeing that phenomenon in society today as well (Mason was writing in the late 1800 or early 1900s).

The authority of parents . . . is itself a provisional function, and is only successful as it encourages the autonomy, if we may call it so, of the child. (17)

As for the employment of authority, the highest art lies in ruling without seeming to do so. . . . Happy is the household that has few rules. (17-18)

Parents are very jealous over the individuality of their children; they mistrust the tendency to develop all on the same plan; and this instinctive jealousy is right; for, supposing that education really did consist in systematised efforts to draw out every power that is in us, why, we should all develop on the same lines, be as like as 'two peas,' and (should we not?) die of weariness of one another! (31) 

No Child Left Behind, anyone?

'Bringing-up'?--Our homely Saxon 'bringing-up' is nearer the truth, perhaps because of its very vagueness; any way 'up' implies an aim, and 'bringing' and effort. (32)

The happy phrase of Mr Matthew Arnold--'Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life'--is perhaps the most complete and adequate definition of education we possess. (32)

Now that life, which we call education, receives only one kind of sustenance; it grows upon ideas. You may go through years of so-called 'education' without getting a single vital idea; and that is why many a well-fed body carries about a feeble, starved intelligence. . . . It is possible to pass even the Universities Local Examinations with credit, without ever having experienced that vital stir which marks the inception of an idea; and, if we have succeeded in escaping this disturbing influence, why, we have 'finished our education' when we leave school; we shut up our books and our minds, and remain pigmies in the dark forest of our own dim world of thought and feeling. (33, 34) 

I'm struck by just how much she could be talking about our own public school systems. It seems our culture hasn't solved any real problems in education in a hundred years.

The duty of parents is to sustain a child's inner life with ideas as they sustain his body with food. (39) 

'I don't know' must take the place of the vague wise-sounding answer, the random shot which children's pertinacious questionings too often provoke. And 'I don't know' should be followed by the effort to know, the research necessary to find out. Even then, the possibility of error in a 'printed book' must occasionally be faced. The results of this kind of training in the way of mental balance and repose are invaluable. (43-44) 

She actually wrote this in reference to, not just academic education, but as a way to show your children that authorities are not infallible and that it is perfectly healthy to question them. I think the comment about errors in the "printed book" is even more apt today in that the "printed book" would now also include dubious postings on the Internet. I think teaching kids how to verify information is one of the most helpful skills today. 

Bible Reading
A couple of months ago I started a schedule to read through the Bible in two years. It involves reading a passage from either the Old or New Testament and a passage from Psalms every day. So far I'm still on track! I decided to go by the dates listed instead of starting at the beginning, so I just finished reading Leviticus (more interesting than anticipated actually) and am now in the middle of I Corinthians (That church had some issues! It's kind of reassuring.). I read with a pen in hand and my prayer and study journal close by, so my thoughts and prayers on those passages will end up in there for the most part; although I plan to note here what books I'm currently going through.

Today is gone. Today was fun.
Tomorrow is another one.
Every day,
from here to there,
funny things are everywhere.
Dr. Seuss, One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish (Yep, that describes my life pretty well.)

"Don't panic. . . . Don't forget to bring your towel!"
Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (and very good advice for young mothers actually)

Exercise
Taking a deep breath and rejuvenating my exercise routine--definitely an important part of maintaining a healthy, balanced life! Shortly after we moved here I established a routine at the Y in which I was there four days (pilates while the girls had a Daddy Date Night, two spin classes for cardio, and a yoga class with Handsome). The Handsome started deploying frequently, and it all fell apart. Since I started exercising so much to keep PPD at bay (avoiding meds due to breastfeeding), this was not a great thing for my mental health (no, I'm not depressed, but I could tell I was getting more irritable, anxious, and tired). The issues were frequent travel that kept me away from classes and the fact that the entourage can only stand three visits to the Y per week tops.

My solution to the first problem was to take up running instead of spinning--any trail or street will do, no class required. The catch--I vomit when I overheat. It isn't pretty. The good news is that it's getting better, and the cooling fall weather certainly makes for more pleasant runs! My current goal is to run 2 miles straight. Sounds pitiful compared to Handsome's 10 mile excursions, but that's a big goal for me considering that in the wrong weather I start feeling queasy at about a 1/2 mile.

Handsome provided the solution to the second problem by purchasing a bench and weights and encouraging me to join him in the routine he worked out for himself (using appropriate reps and weights for my abilities, of course. This is a man who routinely maxes out the standards on the military's physical fitness assessment after all). New problem: finding time to do hour-long workouts 3 or 4 times a week. It turns out it was just too daunting to attempt. New solution: I asked Handsome to come up with a new workout plan that involved a small stack of note cards describing various workouts that could be done 15 minutes at a time. Rotating through all the cards will workout every muscle group, and the 15 minute time frame is much more workable with the entourage underfoot and should be enough to give me the mental health boost I need. Now I just need to actually do them.

The Joyful Homeschooler by Mary Hood
I just put down this book. I didn't technically finish it since I skipped the chapters on older kids, but I own it, so I can always pick it up again. Great book. Mary is the founder of the relaxed homeschooling idea (basically unschooling from a Christian perspective with none of the radical elements), and reading her things always helps me take a deep breath and chill out about how the kids are doing. She has some great ideas. Favorite quote: "Children are not cattle. They aren't meant to be raised in herds."

Crazy quilt by Granny Irwin, Museum of Appalachia
(not the one in my hometown)

In the history museum in my hometown hangs a crazy quilt--a haphazardly beautiful collection of colors, shapes, sizes, and textures pieced together with a little extra embellishment to create something wonderful. I don't remember being fascinated by it as a kid, but it obviously stuck in my memory since that image is what rose to mind when contemplating the life God has called me to.

Setting out as an adult, I wanted my life to be a comfortable repeating pattern of familiar people and places. I wanted a "forever house" with neighbors and friends that I'd know for decades. I wanted overlapping social circles where I saw the same people around town and my life continued to revolve peacefully around church and school or work. And God laughed. And handed me something haphazardly beautiful instead. Even before Handsome joined the military we moved every 1 to 3 years. My life has been and will be full of many different places and probably hundreds of friends and acquaintances. My preschool daughters and I already talk about what our "next new house" might be like. And with all the groups of friends and acquaintances I'm involved with (church, homeschool group, library, the Y, neighborhood, other milspouses) those social circles only occasionally overlap. However, my attitude until recently had been one of resignation and "dealing with it" instead of embracing this lifestyle and focusing on the joy in the people and places I have now. I'm not naturally a huge fan of change and particularly uncertainty, and I know I'll be sad to leave our current home and friends (repeated for every move), but the image of the crazy quilt has given me a refreshed perspective.

So that's the name of the blog, but the blog itself is going to be more of a commonplace book--a record of and thoughts on books I'm reading, hobbies I'm pursuing, possibly movies and TV shows, quotes I like, etc. I've chosen to start recording all this for two reasons. First, I've felt recently as if I didn't have anything that was mine anymore; everyone else's needs and interest are always a first priority. (I mean, really, I don't even get to pee by myself anymore!) But when I stopped to think about I actually had a number of things that I manage to squeeze in just for me. I'm hoping that taking a moment to record some of it will bring those things more into focus and help me have a better attitude about the balance of life. I also read two things lately that made me think keeping a commonplace blog might be a good idea. The first was an article about quality of life for working versus stay-at-home moms, and one of the stats it mentioned was an incredibly low percentage of SAH moms who said they learned something new almost everyday. A commenter wondered if that stat would ring true for homeschooling moms as well. (I think not.) A homeschooling book I read recently (The Joyful Homeschooler by Mary Hood) actually talked the importance of homeschooling parents letting their kids seeing them pursuing their own studies and interests. I'm hoping this blog will remind me to do just that. So here it goes.