Saturday, October 31, 2009

Good Decision

I am very glad that Paul's final word was "we will not go to IL this weekend." At first, I was disappointed... but, now, I am relieved. God's Providence is always best! (By the way, Lydia is great!)

1- I started having contractions y-day afternoon and they continued all night

2- Contractions again this morning and continuing through the afternoon, despite my best efforts to push fluids

3- We drove down to Jefferson City last night (less than one hour away) and I was terribly uncomfortable! How would I have ever managed 4 hours to IL in the van?

4- I just spent an hour planning school for next week. It is such a HARD, time-consuming task... but is it also greatly rewarding. I love seeing my planner all filled out! But, if I had been visiting with family today... this task would have been put off till the last minute. (And, I still have to make copies of the worksheets we are doing!)

5- We are getting ready to have Nelson's birthday dinner: steak, macaroni, and pumpkin pie... YUMMY

The BIG Little Man turns 6 tomorrow!

Friday, October 30, 2009

Weekend Trip Called Off

Lydia is much better. Her fever broke last night. And, she asked for a drink!

Still, we do not want to take her on a roadtrip, because we want her to keep recovering! Sleeping in another bed, and travelling in the car is all so tiresome, and we want her to keep improving.

Today she has been up moving around, as opposed to lying around like a sick baby. She has eaten at every meal today!

We know that this healing is from the Lord, ultimately, and we strongly feel that He ushered it in through Vitamin C! I am a believer in Vitamin C! (And D, and B, and so on)

ALSO, Here is a pregnancy update that I forgot to mention the other day!
I went to the OB on Tuesday. I am measuring big... my last baby was 9#5 oz. The Dr said we will do another ultrasound to see how big he is getting to be. She does not want me to labor with and deliver a baby bigger than 10 pounds.
Also, she was able to pull some strings to get my insurance to pay for Prevacid (for GERD), which it never has before. (Prevacid is $7/pill!) So, along with my dietary changes, I am sleeping much better at night! At my appointment, I had lost weight, and the Dr was concerned. But, now I am actually able to eat again! I am not eating like you would expect a pregnant woman to eat... but I do eat.

Sorry to all my friends and family that I will miss seeing this weekend. But, I will not be making any more plans to travel in the next 7 weeks, unless something tragic happens. We will plan to travel to IL a few months after Baby is born (and there is less snow, ice, cold air, etc...) I am thinking February, but we will wait on the Lord to make the way plain when the time comes!

Thank you all for your devoted prayers!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Classical Education

If you read my other blog (before I shut it down), then you know that I recently ordered The Well-Trained Mind from the library. (I LOVE my new library - in the "big" city - I can order books on the internet and they hold them for me!)

I did not read the whole book, because it would have been information overload! (And, because I am much too busy!) I read the portion of the book pertaining to the Grammar Stage of Education (through 4th grade). I was already persuaded to try classical education before I read the book. But, this book told me HOW to go about it! I found the book very helpful, with a LOT of great references.

The author of the Well-Trained Mind, Susan Wise Bauer, also wrote a history book called The Story of the World (SOTW). I checked this out from the library also, but I was disappointed. It would not be my first choice for a primary history text. But, a comment on the old blog referred me to The Mystery of History, by Linda Hobar. I have looked into this book, and read reviews, and I think it is what I will go with (as soon as I can afford a used copy)! I am excited to have a little more direction in my schooling. I was a little too eclectic before, and it was driving me mad pooling so many of my own resources from the internet. I was doing it because it was FREE!, but it was very taxing on my time!

This is not meant to be a controversial post. I am not trying to persuade my readers to switch to classical ed (or to switch to homeschooling). This is just an informative post for my dear friends and family who are encouraging me in my schooling journey.

Weekend Planning

In theory, we are going to IL this weekend to see family. I say, "in theory," because these plans are contingent upon our health and our van.

The van - Paul did replace the one misfiring sparkplug, and it worked really well... for one day. Then, on Tuesday, it starting misfiring again. He got under the hood and tightened the plug wire, and it is working again... for now. The plug wire does not want to stay in place.

Health - Lydia is not feeling well. If you followed my old blog, then you know that Lydia is VERY frail and still underweight. She has filled out enough that we no longer fear for her life (like we did before), but we HATE to see her get sick. I have been giving her Vitamin C crystals in her drinks, but she still seems puny. She has not been eating (this is day two). And, this morning she is whining that her head hurts. So, it could be a common cold, the seasonal flu... anything.

We ask that you would pray for Lydia (we call her "Lucy"), that she would fight this sickness off. OR, that if God is not going to remove this trial that He will sustain her strength and health.

Our weekend plans are:
-Drive up to see my folks on Friday
-Saturday my Grandma, Uncle, and Aunt are coming down to my parents' house to visit us
-Sunday we are visiting the church in IL where Paul was pastor before we moved (in Aug 2008)

We look forward to seeing our friends and family in IL, but Lucy's health takes precedence over all plans. We put it in God's hands and will make our decision tomorrow morning. In the meanwhile, I will pack, and make cookies (for my brother), and get ready to go.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Friday, October 23, 2009

Van troubles - Part 3

We have a diagnosis for the van. Good news - Bob was kind enough to do the diagnostic test for free!
More good news - it looks like we just need to replace the spark plugs and wires. (At least, we will start there and see...) Bob also recommended that we regularly use fuel injector cleaner, which we stopped doing months ago when the cost became a "luxury."

Paul will have no trouble changing plugs and wires himself. (Only cylinder number 1 is misfiring, so he may just replace that one. Because we cannot afford all six plugs and wires) Looks like we may still be able to make our trip to IL next weekend to see family.

Van troubles - part 2

Paul is taking the van to "Bob" to be looked at, at 10:30 this morning. Bob used to work for Ford and has all kinds of cool equipment! He can "plug in" the van to a computer that tells him exactly what is wrong. So, we pay Bob $20/hour for a diagnosis, then we beg God for the money for Paul to fix it himself!

I love being married to a mechanic! What I love most about it, is the way he stops on the side of the road to help out people in trouble! What a great way to shine for the Lord!

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Van troubles

Dear Family and Friends,

Please pray for us. Our van has a severe miss and Paul is not able to drive it to work. He is borrowing his parents car tomorrow. We do not know how we will be able to get it repaired. Pray we do not lose heart in these difficult times. Thank  You.

Funny Story

Rebecca: "Daddy, I can spell 'aldo'. A-L-D-O"

Daddy: "Yes, that is good spelling. But, we have no word 'aldo'"

Rebecca: "Yes we do. Like we say 'aldo this' or 'aldo that'"

That's right, friends, our Missouri speech must be pretty bad. Daddy had the chance to improvise a lesson on the contraction "I'll" and how to properly say "I'll do..."

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Fall Pictures


Starting Over

Our family is starting a new joint blog, both Paul and I will write.

WHY?
We are starting this new blog, because we feel like in many ways we are starting over. We want to forget the past and press on toward the goal (see Phil 3:13-14). We do not know where we will find ourselves in the coming year. But, we want to have a family blog that we can refer new friends, old friends, and family to that does not carry all the baggage of our bad decisions. We still believe that God is Sovereign. He will use our mistakes to make us stronger, but that does not mean we need to make all former mistakes public. We are praying about taking down our personal blogs soon. If for some reason I decide to keep my blog, it would be severely pruned and limited to reveal only parts of our history.

WHAT does your title mean?
I took the title from a Scripture text and a hymn. The Scripture is Exodus 33:18-23. Moses askes God to show him His glory, and God agrees. However, to protect Moses from His whole Glory, He hides Moses in the cleft of a rock and covers Moses with His Hand.

The hymn is "He Hideth My Soul", by Fanny J Crosby ... one of our favorites!

So, we are entering a new era in our family. We are starting over. And, we are asking the Lord to show us His glory. And, we are trusting Him to always protect us with His Hand!

If you want to see my older blog click here.