The coming year

I'm not usually one for resolutions, but I am one for visions. Not like Medium Alison Dubois visions, but "Things I'd like to see for me and my family" visions.

I want to be more organized with my bills again. I hate how scattered I have become since the fire. No, I do not blame the fire, but since that time frame, I have allowed myself to not focus as well as I should on the necesity of a bill center.

I want to be more diligent with the garden and the putting up of food. I got the garden started way too late this past summer. I'd really like to have a hoop house in place and cold weather veggies growing by the end of March, with hot weather veggies growing in the house and ready to go in the ground by the end of May-not the end of JULY.

More peace...I just don't know what I am going to do should the Teenager come home without seeing more changes. There's a lot there to deal with. I can't fathom peace in the house the way she is right now.

I want more time to just be Mom. Less discipline issues. Tink needs an attitude adjustment. Cactus Jack and Pickle need some sensory processing sensory diets. Duck needs an attitude adjustment also, but in a "I'm a 2 year old and need tantrum control" kind of way.

I want more leading from my Darling and more time alone with him. Oh how I need that time alone with him! I REALLY need more time alone with him. For 5 minutes, with bno interruptions.

I am going to be reading the Large Family Logistics book to see what I can implement, and I plan on finishing my Vintage Remedies course.

Visions for the coming year....good things.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The holidays are in full swing. Teenager was home briefly for Christmas. It went well, but not as well as the last visit. There are things that need to be dealt with there still.

We had a mellow Christmas. The biggest gifts were a smoker from a friend, my spinning wheel(a very early gift from my Darling), a dress up trunk, and a Duplo castle for the boys. Darling gave me an IOU for a pair of Birkenstocks!

My in laws were here and gave me Large Family Logistics. I can't wait to get into it!

New Year's eve we will spend with friends from church, playing games and feasting on good foods. :)

A family survey

Scenario one:
Single man, workaholic, alcoholic, physically/emotionally/spiritually abusive. Tells inappropriate jokes, watches pornographic movies, reads pornographic magazines and leaves them throughout his home. Has one older child, not living at home. Believes in public school education, and the philosophy that it "takes a village to raise a child". Drinks and drives, speeds, ignores community laws for safety

Scenario two:
Two parent home. Father works, mother stays home. Alcohol is imbibed occasionally, maybe 6 drinks a year. No pornography of any kind. Mother comes from an abusive background, but strives for a reasonable balance of loving discipline, considering corporal punishment necessary in specific moments, but both prefer loving guidance. Have 7 children, homeschool and are actively involved in several community activities, exposing the children to various age groups and input. Both parents believe that the parent is the most important influence in a child's life, until they are capable of making their own choice for a sphere of influence.

Which scene is best for a teenaged child, with abuse in her background, has been diagnosed with oppositional defiance disorder, sleep disorder, kleptomania and authority figure issues?

Starting Christmas

We've started our Christmas reading. Of course, we cannot miss

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

A Christmas Carol

But this yer, we're going to look at the symbols of Christmas and how they started, as well as Christmas around the world.

Holly, Reindeer and Colored Lights: The Story of Christmas Symbols


The Gingerbread Doll by Susan Tews

Tyranoclaus by Janet Lawler(for the fun of it and because Don Juan is recently into dinosaurs)

A Christmas Wish  By Julia Hubrey

Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner

Merry Christmas, Splat by Rob Scotten

Gingerbread Land by Katie Grim

The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry


Reindeer Crunch and Other Christmas Recipes by Kristi Johnson


What Cats Want for Christmas by Kandy Radzinski


Twelve Days of Christmas in the North Woods by Frances Tyrrell

American Girl Library Christmas Crafts

Apple Tree Christmas by Trinka Hakes Noble


The Night After Christmas by James Stevenson

The Boy of the Bells by Carly Simon


Christmas Ornaments Kids Can Make by Kathy Ross

Hillbilly Night Afore Christmas by Thomas Noel Turner

The Little Donkey by Gerda Marie Scheidl

Christmas Crafts:Fun Holiday Crafts Kids Can Do by Fay Robinson

Christmas Fun: Great Things to Make and Do by Deri Robins

The Moose Who Lost Christmas by Beverly Bruemmer

A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas by Ralph Covert and G. Riley Mills


Hark! A Christmas Sample by Tomie dePaola and Jane Yolen

My Christmas Stocking: Stories, Songs, Poems, Recipes, Crafts and Fun for Kids by Dan Elish

The Quiltmaker's Gift by Jeff Brumbeau


Christmas in the Holy Land-World Book

We'll also be researching foods for Christmas around the world, using the Internet for a resource.