Do you live overseas?

by Amy

Do you live overseas? If so, you gotta check this out.... The Book Depository. They ship anywhere in the world -- FOR FREE!! Yes, you read correctly.... free shipping! And, it really works! I've already received 2 orders and have 2 more on the way.

Their prices are pretty good. The books I'm looking at are usually at least 5-10% off the cover price. (But, if I were to find the book over here in an English book store in the capital city, they would be at least 20% above the cover price.) I've found most prices to be similar to Amazon's new book prices. They don't sell used books, so Amazon Marketplace often is a lot cheaper, but that discount is usually negated by having to get it mailed to me.

There's no limit on how few books you need to by to qualify for free shipping. They're all free. I did have a friend tell me that when she tried to order about $400 worth of books at one time for homeschooling, her order was cancelled b/c they weren't sure if she'd have issues with customs in our country. So, I've tried to limit my orders to 8-12 books at a time and haven't had any issues.

One tip.... if you like to read book reviews, you'll need to read the reviews on Amazon. It seems that no one has posted reviews on Book Depository. (I usually like to compare prices, so reading reviews on Amazon isn't too difficult.)

Happy shopping!

Everyday life....

by Amy

So, if you check my blog somewhat regularly, I'm sure you're as sick of my HUGE face showing up as my dad is! (He's my dad...he likes me more than you do, and he's still ready for a change!)

The problem is that ever since Mother's Day I've been waiting for my kids to do something spectacular, something wonderful, or at least something worthy of picture taking. But, not much has happened. We've done school everyday - unless my kids were sick/throwing up or I deemed it a "too pretty to do school" day. We're still meeting with our tutor three times a week. Brad's running the English school with precision and excellence -- as expected, of course! Life just keeps on keepin' on.

Tonight, I played connect four with my kids (all three at different times, obviously.) Savannah was so focused on getting her four in a row, that she never played defensively. I beat her three times, so she gave up and decided to read instead. Alex just liked to put the coins in the slots without much rhyme or reason. He won once with a little help from his brother and sister, but also lost three times. Peter, on the other hand, beat me four times! And, I wasn't helping him at all.... It was so funny to hear him laugh hysterically when he blocked me. That boy has a good eye for detail!

OK, I'm off to bed!

Happy Momma's Day

From Brad. Okay, I add to this blog once every couple of years, so enjoy (or skip :) ).

Amy is a wonderful hard-working Mother. I respect her in so many ways, but especially in the area of raising and training our kids. From day one she (we) set high expectations for their behavior and tried to consistently discipline them. Of course we have done this together, but the reality is (and this is true for most families), the Mother has quite a bit more 'face-time' or interaction with their kids. Thus their ability to impact their kids behavior/thinking is relatively higher. Plus, I admit my own temptation (maybe for many men) to somewhat 'check-out' or 'accomplish other things' when they are with the kids, rather than carefully notice the manner in which they are acting/talking/behaving around each other, and see it as an opportunity to teach/train/disciple. I'm thankful for a wife that LOVES this job and has done a GREAT job to this point. Our kids are certainly not perfect, but after almost 6 & 8 years of working with them, I see godly, submissive character being formed in them and they are the joy of their Father's heart. We see the need for disciplining them decreasing like Ted Tripp said should happen and thank our Father above for His Grace in their lives, especially as He has used their Mother.

I think the stereotype is that the Father is the strict, firm disciplinarian who cracks the whip and is feared by the kids, whereas the Mom is the softy who the kids know they can manipulate and get away with much more (than when around their Father). Amy is not soft and she is not easily manipulated. Her spankings have always been hard and effective. When the boys got a little older, and her spankings weren't as effective, she started giving two swats (or giving me the full-time job in this area). But although Amy has been a firm disciplinarian, she has never been a 'angry' or 'abusive' disciplinarian. For the most part, she has disciplined our kids with self-control and with instruction and reconciliation as the ultimate goal. She also saw the discipline process as a great opportunity to bring in the 'good news' from our Father above.

So since I've praised my wife and kids, I'll share a little of our Mother's day with you which will evidence the continuing need for parenting that our kids have. As you can imagine, since Amy is so busy with homeschooling our kids, and doing things with them, it is a real treat for her to get some time away. For Mother's day, the kids and I cooked breakfast for her and gave her the morning off. We went shopping for a new blender and went to buy some flowers for her, while she relaxed in a quiet home with a book. The flowers we bought were about $4.50 so I mentioned in passing to Savannah on the way home that she'll need to cover $1.50 of it (in the hearing of the other two) which she was happy to do (she expected as much). Well as we entered the home, Peter was holding the flowers. We all walked in and yelled 'happy mother's day'. After she thanked us, I mentioned to Amy that the kids bought these flowers with their own money. Peter (holding the flowers) quickly corrected me and said, "Savannah paid $1.50, but Alex $3.00". A little surprised, I asked him, "What? Peter you have plenty of money, don't you want to spend $1.50 to bless your Mom with these flowers?" "Nope," he replied with a straight, serious face, "really don't want to waste my money. Rather let Alex and Savannah buy them." Shocked (and slightly laughing) Amy said, "Peter, $1.50 is not that much, you just spent $1.50 at the park the other day riding rides." He replied, "I know, so I really don't want to waste money on flowers!"

Well, still lots of training to do, parents work is never quite done is it? Our kids are new to dealing with money and I don't suspect Peter had the slightest clue he was being rude. So he has now been 'educated' in this area, and hopefully this will not happen again. But I must confess, our first reaction was to completely crack up. The brutal honestly of a 6 year old can really be funny (at times).

Hope you enjoyed the annual post. See you in 2012.

I've been thinking....

by Amy

Brad recently did a MAJOR system overhaul on my computer. It's about 5x's faster than it used to be, and I now have Windows 7 (a huge improvement over XP). Most of the things from my old hard drive have been put on this new hard drive, -- except 2010 pictures! So, this post will again be picture-less. I'm considering doing a flashback or two and posting some pics that never made it from 2009, but that will have to wait until another day. Today I'm feeling a bit reflective.... (scary, I know!)

A lot of our friends here are college kids. Our home is within walking distance from two campuses. College is a great time of growing and exploring. It's also a time of making decisions that will effect the rest of their lives! We have many friends that will be graduating in the next year to two. They are already looking for internships, jobs, or opportunities to continuing studying. Their future is uncertain. Uncertainty leads to anxiety and fear. What if they don't accept me? What if I can't get a job? What if my parents don't approve of what I want to do? What if...What if... What if....

I understand those fears and concerns. Being the planner that I am, uncertainty is difficult for me, too. BUT, peace can be experienced and embraced even in the mist of uncertainty. There's the cheesy saying, "We may not know what tomorrow holds, but we know Who holds tomorrow." It is so true! When take our focus off of what we don't know and place our focus on the One who knows all, then true peace can be found.

Brad taught a Jr. High retreat about 10 years ago. He used the example of a three-legged stool. If you remove one leg, it's not stable. But when all three legs are there together, the stool is completely trust worthy and able to hold all of our weight. The three legs are three aspects of our Father's character. 1. He is all-knowing, all-wise. When he looks at our lives, He knows what the best solution is. He knows what the very best plan is. And, since He's not bound by time, He knows how this will affect the future as well. 2. He is all-powerful. Knowing is one thing, doing is completely different. Thankfully, our Father not only knows what is best for us, but He is powerful enough to bring it about! 3. Finally, He is all-loving. Love is what motivates Him to exercise His power. He LOVES His children! He wants what is best for us because He loves us. He is the parent that I wish I could be! I love my kids; I want what is best for them, but I don't always know what that is or have the power to make it happen. Our Father does not have the limitations and frustrations that I do. He is all-wise, all-powerful, and all-loving! When we remember these three aspects of His character (the three legs of a stool), we are able to sit on the stool with complete confidence. We can rest and find peace. We don't know what will happen, but we know the One who does know, and He is worthy of our trust.

Our immediate future is not too "uncertain." But, some things around us are beginning to change -- things that I wouldn't change if I were in control. Some friends are heading back to the States for 9 months. Some other friends are moving to another city. And, as those things happen, we will have new opportunities and responsibilities, and we don't know exactly what that will look like. Thankfully, by His grace, I can honestly say I feel peaceful. He has been faithful in the past, and I know He will be faithful in the future too!

History

by Amy

Last, but certainly not least.... History. I LOVE history! I think it's so interesting. So, this year, we are using History Odyssey to study the ancients -- Ancient Mesopotamia, China, Rome, Egypt, Greece, etc. So far, it's been really fun! History Odyssey is just a study guide that tells you how to use other books. So, I needed to buy The Story of the World, Vol 1, History Pockets: Ancient Civilizations, A Child's History of the World, and an Internet-linked Encyclopedia, as well as several other activity books. The History Odyssey curriculum tells me when to read what in each book. Each lesson has way more activities than we could possibly do, so each week, I pick what seems the most fun and appropriate for my kids.

So far, we've marked on several maps, made stick puppets of Mesopotamian people, learned about how archeologist dig, made a hanging loom and woven some yarn together, as well as colored lots of pictures, and looked up new words in a dictionary. I think this curriculum offers the a great balance between reading/listening and doing. I've been encouraged at how much information my kids are retaining.

I wasn't too sure about studying the ancients. I don't remember every studying ancient history when I was a kid, but it's been really cool! We learned about Ur, where Abraham was born. We learned how big the wall around Jericho was, and we've learned other fun facts that complement and enhance our understanding of the Bible. This week we started studying Egypt. I think we'll spend a whole week on the plagues!

So, if you're looking for a fun history curriculum, I'd recommend looking into this one. (Thanks, Carrie, for telling me about it!) It provides 36 lessons that are designed to each take a week. It could easily be stretched out over two school years, though if you wanted to do a lot of the "extras." Some of the books she has selected present history from a Biblical perspective, and some do not. (I have not been offended by their presentation, though.)

Well, that's it for my curriculum reviews! (I'm sure my dad's happy about that!) :) Rachel just gave me a CD full of pics, so I'll be sure to post some in the next few days. There are some cute ones!

Bible

by Amy


This year, I am not doing my own Bible class with the kids. Brad wanted to use our "school Bible" (the one I bought for school this year) for family devos instead. We have been reading The Children's Story Bible by Catherine F. Vos. We're about 30 chapters into it and have really enjoyed it. There are not many pictures in it, but my kids are fine with that. I like that it seems to basically tell all the stories, not just Noah, David and Goliath, and the other "famous" ones. It's also unique in the sense that the author does quite a bit of extra explaining and providing background info. So far, we have appreciated her explanations. It's clear to our kids that she is retelling these stories. (They know it's not God's words, but that the content is from Him.)

When Savannah does her own devos, she's been using the ESV Illustrated Family Bible. We like this because it gives her actual ESV verses without adding/changing anything. (We want to carefully monitor what's added - so we wouldn't give the Vos Bible to read on her own until we had read it all ourselves.) The only difference between her ESV and mine is that hers doesn't have all the verses, and it has some pictures. Each "chapter" is a good length for Savannah to read on her own in the morning. We've all been really pleased with it.

3 and Counting!

By Amy

No, I'm not counting children.... I'm counting years! As of today, we've lived in this place for THREE years! That seems hard to believe. I think back to unfamiliar and strange this place was to me, just three years ago. My, a lot of things have changed!

I'll name a few:

-- I know where to go if I need to buy something.

-- I understand most things people say to me.

-- The sights and smells are familiar and even comforting (OK, so not all the smells are comforting, but a lot are!)

-- I have friends here.

-- I know how to cook here.

-- I'm comfortable going places all by myself (actually, I LOVE going anywhere all alone!)

-- I feel at home here (most days, at least.)

-- My kids are at home here.

What a blessing it is to think back.... The Lord has been so gracious to us! Three years ago, I never imagined I'd be able to honestly make any of those statements.

Now, look at this picture of my kids! We were sitting in a relator's office trying to find a place to lease when I snapped this shot! MY how they have changed! My boys look like toddlers there! (I guess they were toddlers....) Where has the time gone?!?