21 YEARS

Yesterday, we celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary. We had a nice day, at M&S for lunch, a spot of shopping, and a meal later. The two eldest girls cooked the dinner for everyone else. I think they appreciate more what I do, now!
I was thrilled to pick up an opera arrangement book for piano. It was done in the 1960's, so quite old, they did some great arrangements in those days. I always love to have new pieces to play, and like to just pick it up and start straight away. I found it ironic, that as part of the collection, it included the Bridal Suite. Ironic, as it was played on our wedding day. I attempted it, but threw a few wrong notes. Oops! That is what marriage is about. You will always have the wrong notes, the moments of discord. Whenever I get it wrong while playing, I just pick up again from where I left off. That is exactly what we should be doing in marriage. Picking up where we left off, and apologising if required. No one is going to play all the notes perfectly, as none of us are perfect. Important to remember. It is very easy to expect extremely high standards from our spouses, while falling terribly short ourselves.

As The Lord expects us to walk in obedience to him, before we can expect any blessings, He also expects us to work at our marriages. Not an easy thing at times. Especially if you are like me, and hot headed, stubborn, and proud at times. Sometimes I have felt sooo frustrated, as men are wired different to us. However, it is about learning to complement these differences. A prefect fit? Maybe not, but as a little denying ourselves things to fit into that new skirt, or top, we also need to make sacrifices to make our marriages the best they can be. Of course fully relying on God in prayer first, too. Happy Anniversary!

Daily Devotions

I had a lovely flower diary given to me, which has an illustration on every weekly page. I thought it was too good to write my normal stuff in it, and then I had an idea. I thought it would make a great notebook to put the devotional quotes from my every day reading in.
You know when you read a great quote, and you think, hmmm, I must take a note of that? It also means that, when it is full, it will be great for a daily reading devotional, as there will be a quote for every day.
I guess you could do lots of other things, too, and give as a gift to someone. It could be personalised, or more journal type quotes.
Another thing I am doing, is noting down blessings, trying to think of one for every month. Another something to be thankful for, but not the trivial stuff, the more major things.

Chocolate Scones

Ah, now wish I had taken a pic. However, didn't really think of it at the time.
Recipe coming up......

INGREDIENTS
150G BUTTER, OR MARG
HALF A CUP OF SUGAR
250G SELF RAISING WHITE FLOUR
250G SELF RAISING WHOLEGRAIN FLOUR
2 TEA SPOONS BAKING POWDER
50G COCOA POWDER
100G CHOC CHIPS
2 FREE RANGE EGGS
AROUND A CUP OF MILK, SOMETIMES LESS.

METHOD:

1) MIX THE BUTTER WITH THE SUGAR, IN A BOWL.
2) ADD THE FLOURS, COCOA POWDER,BAKING POWDER AND STIR IN WELL, TILL LIKE BREADCRUMBSISH.
3) ADD CHOC CHIPS.
4) ADD MILK, AND EGG (BEATEN FIRST)
5) IT SHOULD BE WORKABLE, IF NOT ADD A LITTLE FLOUR, OR MILK.
6) TURN ONTO PASTRY BOARD, AND ROLL OUT AT ABOUT AN INCH, OR 2 THICK.
7) USE SCONE CUTTER TO CUT INTO CIRCLES.
8)bake in oven on hot for 10- 15 mins.
Enjoy!!

Why so many Children?

We got married nearly twenty one years ago. I was still in college, and on the birth control pill. Had I known what I know now, about the possibility of conception, and then the pill aborting that, I would never have taken it. Also naive to think that my carreer was far more important than anything else!

The pill made me very sick. I had migraine headaches, and vomitting. Eventually, I said enough was enough. God was telling me to give up my teacher training, and the pill. Within a couple of months I was pregnant with my first child. Not an easy pregnancy really. I had horrid morning sickness to start, and developed tachycardia later on, and severe anaemia. Had to see a heart specialist, as a rather pompous obstetrician diagnosed me with anaemic heart failure. (don't always believe what so called experts say) I was subsequently told my heart was excellent, and that obstetrician had wasted his time. I had planned a home birth, so when my waters started to leak, my midwife came out. I didn't actually feel contractions, I was in agony ALL the time. I had 16 hours of that, even running out of gas and air. I finally was transferred to the hospital 32 miles away by ambulance. Cherith was born 30 minutes later, just as my husband told the midwives, and me. They said to my husband, ''you must know something we don't'' Yep, prayer, and faith in God, our creator. I am afraid, we had said before we married that we would both be open to a large family. I however told my husband that there was no way I was having any more........Funny how the Lord can help you forget, and soften your heart.
Breast feeding was awful, as I had such soreness, I would actually bleed. A friend encouraged me to keep going, but half formula. I am glad she did, as I was all for giving the breast up!
Five months later, I was pregnant again. A lovely baby boy later, and an amazing birth. Just six hours. So much different to the first!
We had decided to have as many as the Lord gave us, and trusted that he would provide the finances, and indeed the strength, both emotionally, and physically to endure it. Now some say, you are tempting God to have lots of children, and expect the Lord to provide. I don't see anywhere in the Bible that supports this, in fact the opposite. ''children are an heritage from the Lord.''
There is nowhere in the Bible where it tells us we should limit our children due to finances. I heard one pastor say, when he was critiquing the idea of ''quiverful'' that we don't try to aqquire as much money as possible, so why should we do it with children. What a ludicrous suggestion!! As if children can be equated with money. ''the love of money is the root of all evil'' Children, are a blessing, and the fruit of the womb. They are the natural by product of marriage. If it was not so, the Lord would have said!

Our third child was a boy. He was born still in the amniotic sac. The midwife said he would be special, and was one in a million. (No wonder it was so hard to push him out!)
Our fourth child, another boy, and the first of our Scottish children.
Our fifth was another girl, and the most demanding. The midwife demanded that I put her in her cot on her own, and leave her cry...........30 minutes later, and the midwife conceded defeat. It seemed Charity only ever wanted to be close to mummy. Now, she is a very loving thirteen year old, but feisty, too!
Our sixth was a boy, and he was the first real late one. two weeks late, and we thought we wouldn't have a babysitter, as she was going to have to go home!. He was born on her last day, after much prayer! I wasn't induced, as I believe, unless there is a major medical concern, they will be born in the Lord's time. Not always our time, or in our comfort zone.
Our seventh was a month late. Now that WAS a testing time. We ended up with 2 babysitters, and a grumpy me, as it was a summer pregnancy, and I carried for over ten months. I also had a severe varicose vein problem in my leg, causing extreme pain at times. Again, I did not get induced, though at the end, due to contractions coming irregular, I had pitocin administered. We called her Hosanna Patience. Don't ask me why!
Our eighth child was born 20 months later. I had a severe post partum haemorrage. I recovered without a blood transfusion. I just didn't want to take the risk. I had been offered a transfusion before my first, and that year, a whole batch had been contaminated. I don't take these things lightly.
It was at this point that we decided to try to avoid certain times for my health, as I needed to get strength back, and iron levels up. There was a threee year gap almost, and then baby number nine was born. She was very difficult, and had severe reflux as a baby.
Three years later, our tenth was born, again nearly a month late. This time the hospital was rather annoyed that I was the first in its recent history to go over the 2 weeks without induction. One was not needed, as she was born in the Lord's time, and it was probably my best labour.

So, does the Bible say we must have as many children as God gives us? No, we are given freedom, as we are saved by grace, not works. However, works being evident, and a sign OF our faith. I believe that you cannot enter into a Christian marriage, and not expect to have children. This totally confuses one of the purposes of marriage. We also can't expect to turn on our fertility like a tap. I am forty now, and do not know if I will be blessed with any more. Mara is three and a half now. I do believe it is something that should be discussed before marriage, and also something that should be taken seriously, and prayerfully. God does bless obedience to him. He wants us to joyfully do His will. We need to seek out what his will is regarding our fertility, we cannot take it lightly. I have not heard anyone regret having the children they have had, as a norm, but plenty who have looked back, and wished they had more.
Maybe you are suffering ill health, or you feel you just can't handle any more children. Pray! Ask for the Lord's wisdom and strength. It has been a real blessing birthing 10 children. Hasn't always been easy, but the Lord has ALWAYs provided. Sometimes in amazing ways.

Lessons from the Classics

We thoroughly enjoy reading the classics such as Austen, Dickens, the Bronte sisters, Trollope. Just lately we have been watching a few of the dramatisations. Jane Eyre, Our Mutual Friend, and Pride and Predjudice. These are ones you can watch again, and again in my opinion. I will never forget the first time I read Jane Eyre, it was in my sick bed and I was very sick with chickenpox, and also 5 months pregnant with our first child. I was captivated, and have since read loads more. I think all the super analysing in school had put me off. For A level English we had to read Emma, by Jane Austen, and it is tedious to say the least when you are trying to analyse, and read things into the book that probably are not there intentionally, and most certainly do NOT have a hidden meaning.
Anyway, what I like about them is the characters that are developed in the story. Dickens, and Austen especially have a remarkable knack for pulling out various traits, and with Dickens the result can be at sometimes somewhat dark, but oh so true to life.
Take Our Mutual Friend; the schoolmaster is shown to have an obsessive jealousy. In the bible we read that jealousy is as cruel as the grave. In this case it leads to almost murder. The heroes are always the ones with the good character traits, and in John Harmon, and Mr and Mrs Boffin we see how they do not set their hearts upon money, and are shown to have humility. It really is a tale of how jealousy can corrupt, and in different ways.
Pride and Predjudice, is exactly as it says; a story of how our prejudices can get in the way of what we think about people, and how indeed things really are. How silly choices, and following youthful lusts can lead to ill consequences.
They make an excellent talking point to discuss with our children. Discussions about marrying the right person, making the right choices, and how the character's actions tie in with the Bible, and what the Bible outlines as moral, and good. I wonder if people do not wear their hearts on their sleeves these days so much, but maybe hide behind social media, for example. Again, we need to teach our children not to always assume people are who, or what they say they are.

Preparing for a Local Authority Visit

Most Local Authorities like to visit Home educators once a year. If you have never had a visit, it can be a bit daunting, not knowing what to expect. I am writing this post in the hope that it will help, especially having had experience over the last fifteen years of home educating.
Really it is not something you can just do on the spur of the moment. You need to prepare the year's work in a manner that is accessible. The first thing they will want to see is what you have been doing for the last year. They can get overwhelmed if you bring out all of the work your children have been doing, so it is a good idea to get some samples of their work during the year. You can file it in a folder, and then it forms a rather nice keepsake later on.
So what sort of work do you need to file? I would say anything that you have been doing and consider as part of your home educating.
Maths work, stories, science work, paintings, worksheets. It may be a good idea to keep a variety, and file for different subjects if you have a lot of work involved.
What if a lot of your work isn't written though?
This is where photographs can come in. You can take pictures of art creations they have done. Maybe it is just a den in the woods they have built. Maybe they have baked a cake. It can be photographed and logged.
Sometimes I have offered them a written report of my children's work over the year. The workbooks they have completed, and the topics we have covered. They always find these helpful. I don't always havetime for them, but they are useful to me, too, as I can see that yes, we have actually got somewhere in the last year of home education! Sometimes it is so easy to think that we have accomplished little, when we have accomplished far more than we thought, and yes, you can see the children's progress. If they were in school, the teacher would have to log regular reports, and to record their learning targets, etc.

So, make sure you have all this to hand when they call, and relax! They just usually speak to each child in turn, and ask them what they have been doing, interests, and how they like home education. It is so much easier if you have their work set out in neat piles. They like to see order, progression, and age suitable work, and materials. Don't forget to include the stuff you do at home ed groups, and field trips, too.

Change 4 Life?

I was going to write this post, and then forgot, then was promted again by a post on facebook.
Heard of the change 4 life programme? Supposed to be healthy. Basically, you swap high fats for low fats, sugars for sweetners, and sugary cereal for plain cereal.
Sound good? Hmm, on the face of it, it sounds logical......however.......
Sweetners in my opinion are NOT healthy. I have done a lot of research into this, and cannot tolerate any sweetners myself. I tried truvia, and even that affected me. However, you may want to research the natural stevia extract, as there is some promising research on this, though personally I don't want to try that. I would rather cut down on sugar which I have. In fact I was only reading yesterday that orange juice is unhealthy. I knew that yonks ago, and now just rather the fruit instead, pure and unadulterated.
For years I switched to low fats, from butter to marg, semi skimmed, and yep, even lo fat cheese. (aagh, that stuff is tasteless)
Now, what is the point in NOT enjoying food? Nope, I would rather enjoy it. So, I have been embracing butter, and full fat milk, but being sensible, and yes, it really does satisfy.
Now, only one I can agree on, and that is the swapping sugar laden cereals to plain. That IS sensible, and I think you get more energy too. I feel sluggish if I have devoured a sickly sweet breakfast, but give me porridge, with half milk, and water, and half a teaspoon on sugar, and I am raring to go. It has the yum factor too, but thenI am odd anyway, and like wierd things.
Oh, and I forgot to mention for the first time ever, that the weight I lost has stayed off. Funny isn't it? I must admit though, I have been making sure I do serious exercise three times a week. ;-)