Tag: Thoughts (Page 11 of 16)

Growing Up

December 16, 2010 / Jennifer Coleman / 0 Comments

My second little duckling got his first job. Yay! He’ll be working full time in a technical department, helping people with their computers and programing. We are thankful for the opportunity and experience he’ll be gaining and for the friend from church who helped him get the job and who will be mentoring him.

Only thing is that now I have to go through the separation anxiety that most moms go through when their kids go to their first day of kindergarden. Homeschooling is great about postponing things like that. His first day of work I’ll be dropping him off at 7 am, I will probably cry, and I’ll praying that he’ll do well, be a light for Jesus, and be protected in the big bad world.

I think James is feeling it, too. He’s been giving me lots of hugs. I’d never tell any of my kids that I cried when I dropped them off.. or blogged about their new job at 3 am. They would probably laugh at me (and mostly I wouldn’t want them to worry).

I am so thankful for all the years of homeschooling that God has walked me through, for all the time I’ve had with my children, for the spiritual and personal growth homeschooling caused in me, and especially that I all four love the Lord (and me) despite all my faults and shortcomings.

Soon, I’ll be in new, uncharted territory (for me).. I won’t have any left in homeschool and they will all be living their own lives, but my job won’t be finished.. I will still be praying that they will continue to choose to live them for the Lord, that they will find Him their constant helper and guide, that they will choose and be blessed with full and happy lives, and that they will continue to grow and mature and be a well pleasing fragrance for the Lord.

And and for much more..

My Heart is Full Christmas Poem

December 15, 2010 / Jennifer Coleman / 0 Comments

I didn’t have much news for the Christmas card.. so I wrote a poem..

Organizing School and Chores

September 12, 2010 / Jennifer Coleman / 0 Comments

After 18 years of homeschooling, and 22 years of parenting,

you would think that I would have the chores and school thing down.

Parts of it I do.. but each house has different needs

and allows you to work in only certain ways,

and as the kids are nearing graduation from homeschooling

and starting college and work outside the home

I have to keep re-organizing schedules so they will work well.

When my kids were really young, before most people had

computers and internet, before Fly Lady existed,

I borrowed a book they wrote called

“Sidetracked Home Executives: From Pigpen to Paradise” from the library.

They suggested that you put together recipe box full of 3×5 cards

with a chore on each card. Each time you finished a chore

you went back to your box and moved to the next card.

It worked great.. for 3 months. I guess life happened after that.

I tried variations of the box idea several times; gave each of the kids a box

with chores and school work for them to do. I saw this one idea where you

have your kids wear their chore cards so they can’t loose them.

I think Fly Lady did something similar called “Hipster.” (fanny pack?)

That might have worked better for me than a box.

I hated having to go back to the box in the kitchen before doing my next chore.

Later we chose to use binders over boxes. None of it ever worked very well.

I think partly because the binders and/or boxes were not accessible enough for me

and I am sure I am lacking in skills in motivating, enforcing and policing

especially when moving and life keep happening.

A few years back I found this subject chart based on Charlotte Mason’s

program of study. Hanging it up on the kitchen wall worked well for us.

It was all I needed to keep us focused.

I always had all the kids up by 6:45-7 AM for family devotions,

then shortly after we started a list of subjects in a certain order

with chores in between and a lunch break in the middle.

All the books we needed for each subject were kept on a shelf

and/or a tote near where we did school and we just got the

next book down when we put away the one we’d finished.

We did/do as many subjects together as a family as we can;

such as art, science, history, Spanish, and music appreciation.

Then we do the rest individually.

If one of the kids needed help with a subject and

I was busy helping someone else, they were to work on their chore list.

I called chores breaks from school work. They resented it,

but physical work is a nice break from mental work.

That list evolved into this one.. It’s a little more detailed and gave us a little more structure.

Some subjects worked better in the morning and others after lunch.

We’ve always thrived on a routine vs. a strict do math from 8 AM – 8:30 AM

schedule, so having a “Flow List” was great.

The subjects in bold were the most important ones to get done,

so if we had a field trip that day or some other interruption we focused on those.

Everything always worked out by the end of the year.

This poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins on giving glory to God

inspired me to use a Kingfisher to adorn our list.

As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies dráw fláme;

As tumbled over rim in roundy wells

Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s

Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;

Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:

Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;

Selves–goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,

Crying Whát I do is me: for that I came.

Í say móre: the just man justices;

Kéeps gráce: thát keeps all his goings graces;

Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is–

Chríst–for Christ plays in ten thousand places,

Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his

To the Father through the features of men’s faces.

Since moving to our new house I’ve been having the hardest time keeping

up with who’s supposed to be doing what chore.. and keep finding jobs undone.

Some of them traded chores and I think living in the apartment spoiled them.

I don’t have as much wall space in this kitchen as I have before,

so I decided to try an idea I saw of using a picture frame as a chore/dry-erase

board and put all our chores and school work in one frame.

It’s centrally located and there will be no more arguments on who

was supposed to do what and I can highlight things that are needing special attention.

I hung up this plate to use as place to write inspirational quotes.

It works like a dry-erase board, too.

Love,

Jenny

Summer Sewing

August 2, 2010 / Jennifer Coleman / 2 Comments

I’ve been sewing.. and even Judi decided that she wanted to learn to sew!!

Just a day or two after I had resigned myself to the fact
that she’s not like me.. she has different interest and
I should just accept her for her beautiful self, she saw this
fabric and decided that she wanted to learn to sew.

We made this shirt together. Isn’t it cute?

I read about a couple of new games while reading some blogs

and decided that I had to make them to play with

all my nephews and my only niece (so far) at our family reunion.

The ones on the blog were made on poster board.. I decided to quilt them –

I made one game quilt for each family. Can’t wait to teach them the games.

This side of the quilt is for checkers –

I found the cute bug/nature fabric at Hancock’s – all the other fabric I had in my closet.

I love the little bag for the felt checkers. It snaps onto the quilt on the other side.

Did you know to make three sets you need 72 checkers??

I think if I had known before I started I might have thought twice –

but I am a sucker for games. I got a lot done while watching TV.

I embroidered a little crown on one side.

The cups are for a super Tic-tac-toe game on the other side.

You can look up “Gobblet Gobblers” on youtube if you’d like to learn how to play.

I also re-invented another game that I am calling

“Don’t Spoil Your Dinner” to play with M&M’s on this side.

With my corn allergies – I’ll probably be playing with raisins.

I made these cami/dickey things yesterday. I wish I’d known about them

years ago when shopping for modest clothing became so difficult.

They were so fast and easy to make and to top it all off

I had all the fabric and snaps sitting in my closet, so they were FREE!

I have a confession to make. I sew while standing up.

Notice that my sewing machine is sitting on my island?

Every house is different. I discovered while making the quilts that

if I sew while standing, it’s a lot easier to get to my cutting mat and ironing boards.

I don’t have to slide out a chair and stand up – I just walk over or around. So nice.

To make the cami/dickey things all I did was cut them out so the top corners

will rap around my bra straps, hem the top edge and sew on snaps.

I didn’t bother to hem the other edges – they won’t show or fray.

And look how modest I can be now! In just a snap. 🙂

One last project to share.

(If your name is Suzanne, you have to wait a week before reading below.

I am guessing that you’re way to busy preparing for your wedding

to be reading blogs right now. So stop reading and get back to work.)

I am not good at giving or receiving gifts. Since God is strong in our weaknesses

I’ve learned to pray and ask Him to help me think of and find

the perfect gift when the occasion arises.

A few weeks ago I needed a baby shower present for my friend who recently adopted

a precious baby girl, Emma. I had already made and given her a crocheted blanket –

turned out to perfectly match the colors of her room – I’d never seen but God knew.

She was so cute – offered to re-wrap it and bring it to the shower for me.

But I had already prayed and God had worked. He put it in my heart

to give her a parenting book I have called

“Raising your Child for Christ” by Andrew Murray. It’s an awesome book!

My favorite parenting book. I only had a couple of days and didn’t think I’d be able to

find her a copy, so my response to God was – “She can’t have my copy!”

Since then I discovered that it’s still in print and available on Amazon..

so I might be more willing to share my copy with someone else.

God took me up on the challenge.

Mike and I were on an Anniversary trip in Chattanooga, TN at the time.

We had some time to waste after eating lunch and discovered that there was a

(you’ll never guess) a used book store next door. We decided to go in.

I found a copy of the book on a shelf lying there all by its self – the only book on

that particular shelf – it was like God said, “I win. I am able to provide.”

So months ago, before I actually knew Mark and Suzanne were requesting that

no one bring gifts – they are both widowers and have to merge a LOT of stuff into one house,

– I prayed and had this idea..

again I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to find anything like it – but God provided.

I found the plate and goblet at a local antique store.

I was so happy to find a matching set in the last booth of the store.

I discovered that you can actually buy “communion chalice” sets on line.

They don’t have a cool bread cover like the one I made,

but I am thinking about buying a set for myself like this one for my birthday.

I made the cover with my surger, some hand embroidery and a crochet edging.

Drawing the design was the hardest part. I hope it’s not too fussy.

I was very happy with how the crochet edge turned out.

It took a lot of experimenting to find an edge I liked.

Having communion at home with family and friends is one of my favorite things to do.

I hope these will help inspire her to try it.
Want one?

Love,
J

New Glasses

July 16, 2010 / Jennifer Coleman / 2 Comments

My new glasses came in last week.

I was so glad.. because I was starting to get irritated by the fact I couldn’t see.

When I first put them on I was so happy, because I could SEE!

Then I looked in the mirror.. not so happy.

Guess that’s what I get for buying glasses I couldn’t try on first.

They are about an inch wider than my old ones.. which I knew..

but my old ones were unusually small and I thought I might ought to

work up to getting really big ones for bifocals.

Going from not wearing glasses to wearing “big” ones was hard.

I miss my old glasses.

I can see leaves on the trees.

I can see words on a page.

I didn’t realize that my reading glasses would have a shiny metallic coating..

Although, in the back of my head I told myself

that what you see computer monitor might look a little different in real life.

I am not sure if I wish I had gotten a different frame or not.

I am still adjusting to seeing myself in the mirror.

I’ve also had a few headaches. I think mostly from the reading glasses.

I can see fine print really well with them, then when I look up at someone talking

to me I get dizzy.. I basically have to take them off to look at anything else.

Then they seem to spoil my eyes.. stuff I could see before I can’t see after using them..

and if I move my head to fast to look at the next page ..

Then I have to take my driving glasses off to read.. .

With my old glasses I could read better with them on – than off.

I am not sure if my prescription is wrong or if it’s just an adjustment period.

Sometimes I wish I could go to school for everything..

Become a mechanic and fix my own car, eye doctor, regular doctor..

and just fix everything myself.

🙂

Help! I can’t see!

June 22, 2010 / Jennifer Coleman / 1 Comment

Well, my glasses finally bit the dust. They’ve been the best pair I’ve ever owned.
My glasses are normally all scratched up by the end of their first year.

This pair lasted so long that I was feeling guilty about needing bifocals when they
were in such good condition. Wish I could remember what kind of coating
I had on them.. or where I got them.
I’ve had them three years and they don’t have a scratch on them.

I noticed last week that my glasses were getting week where the bridge

meets the frame. Today they snapped and I decided to try to superglue them.

I opened a brand new bottle of Krazy glue. I squeezed it carefully. Nothing came out.

I squeezed it a little harder and a big blob landed right on my lens.

Judi wanted me to tape them like a nerd. It’s too late now.

I need help choosing my next pair of glasses. I can’t decide if I should get

progressives or bifocals or two pair; one for reading and one for driving.

Reading and driving is about all I’d use them for. Most of the time I only

do one at a time… but then when I think about going to church I think I might

need the two in one. I’ve been thinking kinder thoughts lately toward the

older crowd that doesn’t bother to open their Bibles;

the screen is so much easier to see.

I’ve been looking around on line for advice. It’s hard to find.

Some people can’t adjust to progressives and prefer two pair.

Please, comment. 😉

Funny Thing About Blogging

June 7, 2010 / Jennifer Coleman / 1 Comment

A lot of the stuff I’ve been blogging about I would never take the time to bore Mike with (sorry). He’s just not that interested in what crafts I am working on or how I organize the house. Maybe you aren’t either, but I need to tell someone. Thanks for “listening.”

James has always been the “go to guy” when you need to know where something is in the house, but the last couple of moves he’s started loosing his touch. A few weeks ago, he asked me where I keep the plastic shopping bags and before I could answer MIKE told him.

I was stunned. I literally sat there with my mouth gaping trying to figure out what happened, because Mike, even after years of living in the same house, never knows where anything is. He said, “I read it on your blog.” Ha.

This morning I saw Mike in my closet (kinda strange now that we have separate closets) so I asked, “What are you doing in there??”

He was putting away toiletries from his trip to Orlando last week. He learned where they were from my blog. I guess before whenever he went on a trip, and I wasn’t packing for him, he would just take his full sized shampoo bottle.. but now he knows where I keep the little travel sized bottles. Funny, right?

I wonder what else I could blog about that he might find useful.

Our 24th anniversary is tomorrow. He’s wonderful. I am so blessed… beyond what I could ever have imagined.

My top marriage tips:

1 Stay committed. God will bring you through.

2 Don’t try to change your man.. Pray. God is the only one that can change anyone. It’s easier for God to do His job when you aren’t in the way.

3 Think on good things… about your man, your kids, your house… whatever your circumstances. If you are always focused on the negative, you’ll be miserable and you’ll make things worse. If you focus on the positive and trust God for the rest, you’ll be happier and God will work wonders.

4 Take time out to have fun together. Life is too short not to.

Love,

Praying for Happy Holiness

May 21, 2010 / Jennifer Coleman / 0 Comments

I learned something this week from this great book I am reading with the kids (“After God’s Own Heart” by Mike Bickle). In the chapter we are in he is talking about how

1) Jesus came anointed with joy to show us the happy heart of God…

2) Most people see God as sad or mad.. and how

3) That thinking keeps us distant from God.. and how

4) We need to see God receiving us with joy like in Jesus’ stories of the prodigal son and the
lost sheep.

He said that God wants us to have a happy holiness not a religious, cranky holiness like the
big brother of the prodigal son… and that, “Cranky holiness is usually the result of living
with a wounded and rejected spirit while seeking to live right in your own strength.”

This is a lesson I’ve been learning for a long time: Doing things in your own strength is bad… waiting on the Lord is good. Allowing Him to fill you and give you grace is good.. His yoke
is easy.. His burden is light. I’ve had a lot of practice at learning to wait on and rely on
God’s wisdom and strength in homeschooling (17 years) especially.

My struggle right now is all the weight I’ve been gaining since the last couple of moves and
the increased dependance on comfort food. It wasn’t a struggle when I gained it before
because I didn’t care.. all I cared about was school.

I lost all the weight before out of fear of being physically ill. Now, unfortunately, I’ve
found some things I can get away with eating and not be sick and I am a different kind
of “sick”.. a sick that makes me happy when I eat bad food (peanut M&M’s and fries
are my favorites) and sad and cranky when I eat good (holy, wholesome) food.

I’d been wishing I had some of that fear back.. but that wish plus the weight gain was
making me even sadder and crankier.

The week I had to go buy a whole new wardrobe for the extra 10 or so pounds I’ve
gained I started repenting for trying to loose weight in my own strength (it wasn’t
working.. obviously) and started praying that God would help me be good.. but it was
a sad, cranky “Make me holy.” prayer.

So, now I am praying that God will change my desires and help me want to eat..
to crave the right food and to fill me with His wholeness so that I can stop running
to comfort food.

Mike and I had a date at Chick-Fil-A last night. They have this really nice grilled chicken
and fruit salad there, but what I really wanted was their chicken strips and fries..
so I decided to order them and enjoy them.. while I continue to wait on God to change
my desires.

During our date it came up that this week for the first time since moving to AL we were
both starting to feel like this could be home. We’ve always wanted AL to be home..
and even more so after our last move.. if just to avoid moving again (moving is so not fun). After visiting our good friends in Florida just two weeks ago, I’d have to say that it’s a
God step in the right direction.. toward wholeness and happy holiness.

Maybe soon I’ll start to think that all that salad in the fridge sounds like a yummy treat.

Love,

Angel our Bunny

April 12, 2010 / Jennifer Coleman / 0 Comments

I took our bunny to be put to sleep today. She’s had breast cancer for sometime now and the last couple of days she all but quit eating. With the trips we have planned, I didn’t want to leave her home and be worrying about her or keep dreading the upcoming duty.

Judi volunteered to come with me. We didn’t attempt to stay with her during the procedure… I sobbed when I had to take our cat, Whiskers, in several years ago.

Back in the car, the minute I was about to start crying, Judi brought up a cheerful subject. She is really good at guiding difficult conversations… if someone is about to get in an heated argument or something, she knows how to smooth things over and redirect the conversation.

The two of us had a mini wake by going to DQ and buying our favorite treat; Moolattes. I felt really peaceful about it all.. like we were dong the right thing and the right time.. and as Joel said.. God gave me grace.

The empty space where her cage belongs is a little sad, but I am glad for the 10 years we had with her.

I spent the rest of the day crafting .. such a mood lifter.. next blog entry..

Love,

More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About Me

March 14, 2010 / Jennifer Coleman / 2 Comments

I am not sure I get how to play the game.. but here are 10 things about me that you might not know.

1) Everyone knows just about everything about me.. because I so rarely get to talk to people that when I do I tell them everything. I think I am easy to read too. If someone asked me something and cared to know what I thought they’d be able to read it in my face.

2) The one thing I think only Mike knows about me is that I can’t sleep naked.. because when I do I have those dreams where you’re naked in public places.

3) My family enjoys watching me cry during sad moves.. they don’t even pay attention to the movie they just look at me to see if I am crying. Today we watched “My Sister’s Keeper.” I almost ran to my room to sob into my pillow.

4) I admire my sisters. Tell everyone I meet about them. Wish they lived closer and I could see them every day. I get jealous when my sisters and my parents get together without me which is a lot since they live in the same state and I live a couple of states over. I am happy for them too and I am starting to get over being jealous. I think they need to appreciate their time together a little more.

5) I cried for a week when I found out we were moving away from TX because I so enjoy being an aunt and I was grieving over not getting to be involved in my nephews’ and niece’s lives.

6) I’ve always wanted to send $5 to my nephews and niece for their birthdays but haven’t because I didn’t know how. Seems kinda silly to send a check for such a small amount and I know I wouldn’t want to go to the bank to cash it. I recently had an idea: I could get them a gift card to Walmart and their parents could buy it from them so they could spend the cash where ever they liked. What do you think?

7) I only dust once a year. I’d like to clean my bathrooms weekly, but more often it’s whenever guest are coming. I haven’t had guest in a long time. I won’t tell you how often I wash sheets. Mopping.. humm.

8) I homeschool for many reasons. Here are some selfish ones:
a) I love my kids and I want to spend as much time with them as I can before they start lives with out me.
b) I love the books we read together. If it wasn’t for the great books we’ve read, I may have quit. I love the discussions they inspire.
c) I love the art and music, too. I love learning new things with them. They make Spanish, Math, Science and every other subject fun.
d) I love shopping days with Judi.. if she was in school 8 hours a day we’d miss out on all that girl time together.

9) I have no idea what I am going to do after Judi graduates. If I think about it for too long, I become a nervous reck. There are so many things I think I might enjoy doing including going to college, getting a job, starting an Etsy shop, or volunteering. But I want to do the right thing; the thing God has for me. It’s hard being patient and waiting for God to tell me. I keep thinking it must be something that’s going to take a lot of faith or He would have already told me.

10) I love God more than I love anyone else. It hasn’t always been this way. But I learned to ask Him to help me love Him more.. to increase my hunger for Him whenever I feel like my desire for Him is fading. He LOVES to answer that prayer. Almost immediately when ever I pray it I am overcome with longing for Him. So much so that it almost makes me physically ill. I think it must be the way He feels about us. The more I see that He loves me unreservedly the more I love Him. He is passionate about us. Sometimes I feel so passionate about Him that I don’t know what to do with it.

Did I leave anything out??