The Christmas Letter (that didn't get sent )

Today I decided to go through my nightstand and get rid of some things to make room for some other things that had no place to go. In doing so I came across the rought draft of a "Christmas" letter that my Sarah wrote a couple of years ago. We never sent it out but thought I'd share it here because it is rather funny after all. At least, we think so.




The Best of wishes are being sent
To friends and family dear
And tho all good years come to an end,
There's blessing in the New Year!

We wish to every one of you,
A Christmas of joy and love
Blessing each other, God Blesses you,
Think of Jesus above!

ATTENTION ONE AND ALL:

Well, here is some news about the Greenwood family!

Dad has become the biggest Grump of all ages and is working to achieve more!

Mom is becoming stricter every day...we never have a day off of school!

Hannah went to Haiti, but it did not improve her! She is a snipe and gets angry with you if you ask her a question.

James is just as annoying as ever, doing irritating things like pushing you back down an icy hill when you finally get to the top!

Since Grace and James went to Bible school, Grace has spent alot of time on the phone..even more than Mom (and that's hard to beat!).

Sarah, I don't know. I guess I'd say I'm just trying to cope with everything and everyone else, and they are trying to cope with me! I know they do have to...sometimes.

Seth still thinks he's older than me and is a pro at everything. He is also quite a know-it-all!

Mary is having a hard time getting over her irritating giggling over every thing that isn't funny!

Ruth is a tattletale and sometimes if she gets mad, she can hurt you! She likes to scratch! We have given her several nick-names such as "Bingo", "Dobba", "Ru-head", and boy does she LOVE them!

Joe is getting attached to Grace which could turn out badly!

Pete is - - I don't know - - you might say he's a brat - -sometimes!

But sometimes, as a family, we do have fun and loving moments! And we hope you have a wonderful Holiday Season!

The Greenwoods

We always said Sarah was born with a bit of a mean streak so now you know it's true. But I do like the way she writes!

Get Ready...Get Set...Start!

View of our  playground from the classroom:)

It's time to get ready for the coming school year. I am determined NOT to stress about this in the least. My children learn every day. It's true that as the weather changes our learning modes do as well. We do less and less outside and read and use more books. That's normal isn't it? That's the way life would be even without my children and I"M always learning so I figure....

Of course I do stress. A gracious friend told me yesterday that Jeff and I should just keep on doing whatever we're doing because our kids are smart. That was encouraging. But, I still wrestle with the questions...
Am I teaching what I should? Am I using the very best methods? Am I leaving gaps? Are my kids up to par with the rest of...???

Garden harvest before "school" started :)

Now in answer to that last one:  Jesus warned us NOT to compare ourselves among ourselves. So, there goes that. Besides, I am determined NOT to pattern myself after a failed system, that being the public school system!

And of course I'm leaving gaps! There are gaps in my education and I've been learning for 47 years! Does anyone, know anyone who knows everything?  I'm quite sure however, that my children (at around age 10) certainly have a better grasp of geography, "social studies" and history than I did when I graduated from high school;  because we teach them the truth. We study history through God's Word. There are no end to the "social studies" opportunities. When someone goes on a foreign mission we "follow" them on the globe, google earth, maps etc... and talk about where the people of that country are at spiritually and economically and why. Hearing the news prompts alot of research, which we usually do together but sometimes individually depending on the age of the person needing information.

Picking Choke Cherries after school :)

 Now we'll have to figure out how to make Choke Cherry Jam

As for the method, I really try to keep to the mindset I have gleaned from Ruth Beechick, Charlotte Mason and that ilk... School from 9 til noon, use REAL books rather than textbooks (except for Math for that we use MathUSee), and do REAL things in the afternoons like; go outside, go places, bake, sew, artwork, read, clean, play games, pursue whatever hobbies we have (the list is long). Oh, and play! Even the First Lady has proclaimed the importance of play :). There's a helpful article on this blog:   http://ladyofvirtue.blogspot.com/ concerning the "herding principle" that I try to keep in mind too. It's especially important to know where and what my youngest are doing so I focus on them and that frees the older children to study on their own.  You'd be hard pressed to keep a child from learning while they do their afternoon chores, or help with dinner or listen to Mom (or an older sibling) read aloud before bed. Learning takes place around the clock at home.
As far as teaching what I should... I've decided that what REALLY needs to be taught are the three R's; reading, writing and 'rithmatic, just like they did back in the day. Who every heard of the some of the subjects they teach nowadays anyway? Jonathan Lindval once said that any subject that has to have the word "education" added to it isn't a subject in it's own right. Think of classes called "physical", "sex" or "multi-cultural"  That's why "social" has to have the word "studies" tacked on. This is not to say that I don't have history and science curriculum, I do and I try to cover that as well, but in reality the three R's, the three meals and all of the other reality that life brings,means that we don't always get to those. Besides, that's what the Real Books are for! The final authority and the one where I find rest, comes in submitting my many ideas to my husband. He knows me so well and can easily tell me when I'm biting off more than I can chew.

Pumpkin Patch "education" and that... on a Saturday!

Okay, I wrote all of that back in August. It is now Oct 17th. and... true to my pattern, after that writing, I had a panic attack;  went to my husband totally stressed and told him that I don't know what to do, how to do it, where to start, what to use, what is best...etc. After sweetly hearing me out he wisely (as always) replied with this question...
"If you HAD to start school tomorrow, would you be able to just pick up where you left off, and continue with whatever you were doing before summer hit?" Duh! Why couldn't I have thought of that? After all, I'd thought of so many "other" things! That answer being the no- brainer that it was, brought peace to my mind. And that's just what I did...and it's working! :)

My 18 year old daughter made a thoughtful comment to me a few weeks ago...she said, "Mom, I don't understand why all these young Moms get so stressed about "starting" to home school their children? Don't they realize that's what they've been doing all along?"

My Not so Typical Week

Last week was definitely NOT typical!! God poured out his blessings on this family so intensely! Not that He doesn't do that on a continual basis;  our every breath depends on His grace and His mercy! So much evidence of answered prayer and His Hand and Spirit working in one week was simply amazing!


The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad. Psalm 126:3


It went something like this:


Monday:  must have been rather mundane as I don't recall any special details worth mentioning. Probably got lots of laundry done as well as three meals, gardening, general pick up of house and property after the weekend...stuff like that.


Tuesday:  Hannah returned home from a long visit with our cousin Robert in South Carolina. Grace and Sarah picked her up at the airport and they returned with lots of goodies and groceries. It was good to have her back!

Jeff and Laurie, sister and brother in this life and in the Lord!

Wednesday:   We got a message that Jeff's sister Laurie and niece Maddy were coming for a visit. That got us to thinking that we might be able to pull together a family gathering to honor Jeff for his 51st birthday. In the end we had a wonderful surprise birthday party evening with Laurie & Maddy, his brother Brad and family, Daniel & Teagan, his co-worker Brett and of course, all of us! Brad BBQ'd hamburgers and everything turned out great. It was fun getting the house and food ready on such short notice. Of course, I never could have done it without my girls. I love spontaneous, impromptu happenings like that...everything always goes so well.

Here's Hannah (on the lower left)graduating
from her CNA training course

Thursday:  Hannah had an interview with the hospital in Portola for a CNA position and was hired on the spot! I am so happy that she found a job that will put all of her hard work and study to use right away! I know God will use her to minister to the old folks in the long term care unit as well as the people she'll be working with.

Grace's boyfriend Clayton and his sister Lorene arrived around 4:30 for a three day visit. After a short introduction Grace, Clayton and James rushed off to Reno to look at a truck James had found on Craigslist.

Sarah, Lorene and Grace

Clayton getting to know Grace and Seth:).

Tom , Katie and her famous Banana Cream Pie

Tom and Katie announced their engagement and set Oct. 7th for the happy occasion. We got the wonderful news that Katie had decided to be water baptized the coming Sunday. We rejoice to see God blessing  their lives.

Hooking up the trailer

Cattle round up

Friday:  Jeff went to work, as did James. The older young people went and moved our cows from one pasture to another.  Jeff's sister came over for awhile. The kids enjoyed some volleyball and croquet.  That evening Katie and the Kellingtons came to meet the Helmuths and we all played Volleyball. Finally, James came home with his new truck.


Our dear old friends and neighbors Nils and Helen Norden came for visit.  I was glad when Jeff challenged them on whether they are ready to meet the Lord.


Saturday:  Plans were to get up early and attempt to hike to the top of the Sierra Buttes. We didn't get up early but most of us (not including me) did make it to the top.  Clayton, Lorene and Grace traded off carrying baby Abigail in a back pack. At one point due to supposed near starvation the group was "forced" to devour little Abby's banana flavored "graduate" puffs. Thank God for His provision!!:) I probably would have made it had I not forgotten my hiking boots :(. Most of the trail was covered in snow. My silly but brave, daughters (excluding Hannah who brought shoes) and Lorene tried to hike it in flip-flops which proved impossible so they made it in bare feet! They report that the numb feet really helped them when it came time to transverse over areas of manzanita. :) 
Back home we enjoyed coffee that never tasted so good and rejoiced that we had had the fore-site to stock some pizza's! :)

Kiss from Mom

Seth's Baptism in the Feather River

Sunday:  Up and at it early, since either Sarah had mis-set her alarm clock, or someone had played a dirty trick, we prepared for church at home followed by Seth's baptism at the river and a potluck fellowship meal. We had a wonderful time in the Lord rejoicing in Seth's new relationship with Him and our friendships with one another. I think there were around 50 people here for that. What a blessing! Some of the young folks went for a photo shoot at the Beckwourth Cabin. More great times playing volleyball and croquet followed. Clayton took Grace for a 5 mile walk later that evening which about wiped her out. After that, at around midnight, he and his sister left to drive back to South Dakota. 

Clayton and Grace at the photo shoot

I say that was our  "not so typical week" but, God is always blessing His children isn't He? One thing He's showing me is to pray, pray and keep praying for He indeed answers our cries! For far too long I've been a skeptic, obediently praying, often because there is no other hope, not in Faith believing.  It's kind of like what's happening with me in the garden. For many years I'd plant seeds, because I thought I should at least try to have a garden, not really thinking they would sprout but always surprised and overjoyed to see the fruit.  I'm learning to plant in Faith, knowing that God will give sunshine and water and that there will be growth. I wonder if God gets as much pleasure from pulling out the weeds of doubt and sin in my life as I do pulling the weeds in my garden?

                      
                 The LORD will indeed give what is good,
                 and our land will yield its harvest.
                                           Psalm 85:12