Update from Marsha

Hi all~

This is Leanne. Marsha is my very dear, dear friend, and she asked me this morning if I would update y'all on how they're doing....I can only pray that God would give me the words to do this update justice.

I talked to her this morning on the phone. First of all, she wants everyone to know how much they have felt all of your prayers! They are very, very grateful for you all. Please keep praying, don't let up, as today is Christian's funeral and as many of you know, that is going to be hard....

She talked to me about all of those whom they had spoken with in this that do not know the Lord, and how her heart is grieving for them. She has told me that what they want out of this valley is that many would come to know the Savior through this. Please pray for those of their family and friends who do not know our good God. Pray for salvation for many. Marsha said that she hopes they're ready to hear the Gospel, cause that's what they're going to hear today!!

At the sound of Marsha's voice, I knew, deep in my heart, that they are going to weather this. God is and has been very present for their family thus far. She talked to me about how she had seemingly "babied" Christian a whole lot more than the other two boys. Now, she says that she has absolutely no regrets. We looked back and saw how God had been preparing them for this day for years, and especially the past month.

I choose for myself, especially after talking to Marsha, to believe that God is so infinitely good, so much more and above what our tiny brains can fathom. He does all things, all things, well....

Many of you may remember that they lost Christian's favorite blankie about a month or so ago. That blankie was nowhere to be found. Wednesday Marsha told me that she just knew, she just knew, that God was going to let that blankie show up when they needed it most.....and lo and behold, it has been found!! Coco found it! Our good God knew who needed to find that blankie and exactly when! Marsha said that Coco felt as though she had won the lottery!

We talked about what it was like yesterday, at the funeral home for the viewing. She spoke of how it was driven home to them that that was just really not Christian laying there. It was just his earthly shell, and it was such a huge measure of peace to David and her to know in their hearts that it wasn't him, just his husk. Christian's beautiful and joyful spirit is in Heaven, where he dances and sings for his Savior!

After they were done, apparently someone shouted, "look! A rainbow!!!" Marsha grabbed a little girlfriend by the hand and ran out to look, and sure enough, there was a perfect, beautiful rainbow arching its glorious colors directly over the funeral home!!! God's promise!!!

Thank the Lord that David and Marsha have the eyes to see God's goodness in the midst of this valley!

Please, prayer warriors, do not let up in praying for David and Marsha! This is just the beginning of this journey! Please be specific and very intentional in your prayers. Come against the enemy with all your power, as he would like nothing better than to destroy the beautiful witness of the Drews family.

Update from Marsha

Hi everyone, this is Marsha's friend Amy. She asked me to update her readers and friends. Marsha and David offer their heartfelt appreciation for all the prayers and thoughtful emails from her cyber-friends. Her family continues to be blown away by the support she has received from friends she has never even met face-to-face.

Marsha says God has been very good to them and they are doing well. Although they understand the days will get harder as time goes on and they re-settle back into daily life, they feel very blessed that the Lord has held them in the palm of His hand through this tragedy. She says that it is so amazing to see God's handprint when she looks back on the events of the past few weeks. She feels that God had been preparing her family. She is excited to share those details with you in the future.

Just last week they were able to take a vacation together and she is so grateful for the precious time and memories that they shared as a family. David's company has blessed him with an entire month off. The boys have been understanding, and have been trying to keep themselves busy.

Christian's viewing and funeral are this weekend. Please continue to pray for Marsha, David, and their sons. If you are interested in honoring Christian's memory, Marsha asks that in lieu of flowers you consider a donation to her church's missions program. If you would like more information, please email me at amy@heartofthemattermagazine.com. If you have written a special post in honor of Christian, please add your link to the tribute to sweet Christian at Heart of the Matter.


Blessings to all,
Amy

Our current curriculum

Today's Heart of the Matter Meme is about what we are currently using in our homeschool. Yes, I know it's shocking-- a post about homeschooling on this blog!

Although we are currently on a mini-vacay to Niagara Falls, we are planning on starting our lessons on Monday, August 25th. And here is what we will be studying:

History:
WinterPromise's The American Story 2

This literature-rich program is scheduled like Sonlight but more hands-on, and has helpful suggestions on DVD's, crafts, games, websites, etc. We have really enjoyed the adventure readings (read aloud's) as a family. This past year, we studied the first half of American history and actually did a timeline for the first time ever! Both Dash (9yo) and Tank (7yo) do this program together. WP also has middler packs where you can add an older student to this program.

Language Arts:
WinterPromise Language Arts Grade 2 and Grade 4..

The Readers used in this LA tie-in to the time period/theme we are studying in history. They also use a great variety of workbooks that we have been very pleased with in the past like SpellWell, Wordly Wise 3000, Explode the Code, Grammar Puzzles and Games Kids Can't Resist, etc. This past year was the first year that I was completely happy with the thoroughness of a Language Arts program. Oh and did I mention that they schedule the days on this as well? Man, I totally *heart* a written out schedule-- even if we usually do 2 days worth of work in a day... thereby only having to do LA twice a week. But maybe that should be another post altogether...

Math:
Math-U-See Beta and Gamma (and Delta if they move quick enough!)

This is honestly the only curriculum that I have been 100% thrilled with! I have yet to use the teachers manual or actually go over a lesson with them. I completely love the DVD lessons and the boys have never ever given me grief about doing math! If they don't quite get a concept, they just play the lesson again on the DVD player. I am available for questions and reminders but the teaching credit all goes to MUS!

Handwriting:
Getty & Dubay Italic Writing

Tank does have some cursive writing in his Language Arts using A Reason for Handwriting. I'll give y'all a progress report later this year.

Science:
NOEO Chemistry 1

It sounds daunting, doesn't it? But it really looks like fun and very do-able with my elementary aged kidlets!

Latin:
Song School Latin by Classical Academic Press

All I can say is WOW!!! I received this to review (to be posted soon) and cannot speak more highly of it. It has catchy songs, covers quite a lot of vocabulary, and is for Grades K-3... Yes, K-3! I am planning to use this with all of my boys-- 3yo (minus any writing of course), 2nd grader and 4th grader. I think it will be a fun introduction to Latin for all of us. The next program we'll use (unless they come out with a second volume of this!) is Prima Latina... but I never used it this past year because it intimidated me. Song School Latin-- I am confident that we can actually do this twice a week without fail!

Art:
Artistic Pursuits Book 1

I bought this to use last year but never quite fit it in. This year, I have it scheduled at least once a week.

Preschool for 3.5yo Dozer:
I'm Ready to Learn Program by WinterPromise

Scheduled daily just like the other WinterPromise programs (can you tell that I need someone to plan for me if I really want to get it done?). I've got lots of picture books to add to the bunch and he has his desk and pencil box ready to go! :-) He has been SO excited about "doing lessons" for the past two weeks so I started him with a few books from Kumon like their book on Tracing and one on Cutting.

Birthday Cha-cha-cha

(I was not the one filming this sideways... my dear husband realized the error of his ways at the end. Also, please note that while my boys cannot sing harmony, they have no problems tweaking classic songs to suit their tastes and style-- hence the smelling, zoo, and cha cha cha references.)

Hello? Is anyone here?

Wow, was that a long blogosphere absence or what? That's what happens when I get too busy... I go off-grid. Wait, I take that back. That's what happens when I get too busy AND cranky at the same time!

The highlights and lowlights of the past two weeks:

+We went to the lake for a few days with friends.

here were about 4 momma's, 1 David for part of the time, and 30 kids (give or take a few). It was fun and relaxing and I was too lazy to take any pictures.

+Oh blankie, where art thou?

Somehow 3yo Dozer has learned to cope without his buddy and has even confiscated other pieces of fleece around the house to compensate. But what about ME?! What about Mommy?!!! I am SO saddened at the disappearance of his little buddy... his shadow... his companion when he sucks his thumb at night. I even offered a reward to anyone who finds it-- scissor rips, green paint stains, fuzzballs and all-- nothing beats the original! But to no avail. I am in mourning over this.

That blankie has been there for many things... bedtime, camping, double black eye, hide and seek... *sniff* *sniff*

+Dash celebrated his 9th birthday this past weekend!

NINE YEARS OLD! That is halfway to an adult!!!

I have been a bit anxious about this day for much of the year. Not that I boohoo the loss of the early childhood or anything. But the responsibility of raising a child into a young man has weighed heavily on my mind. A reminder that while he is a good kid and we have a great relationship, I question whether we as parents have done enough? Have taken advantage of opportunities to talk about God? To live out a good Christ-like example? Aggghhh! I'm running out of time!

Okay, back to the birthday. With all the rain and it being the Tax Free weekend here in Texas, we opted to stay HOME rather than go out! Friday, we did venture out to Chuck E Cheese first thing in the morning (coupons in hand, of course! LOL), to have our family day. We usually reserve the actual birthday day for just family-- no friends and no party. We'll do something together as a family and have a cake and presents. In the early years, I found myself being so busy taking care of everyone else, *I* never had the time to reflect and really enjoy the day with my children. Now, celebrations of the party magnitude are held on a different day.

Anyhow, it rained but we were cozy inside with our little men.

+Our dog got bit on the face by a copperhead snake.

She's doing okay now but her face did swell up pretty big. We took her to the animal ER almost right away (as soon as we could find an open vet on a Saturday evening!).

One thing to say about that-- better the dog than a kid.

She is pretty much all the way recovered. I don't think any of my kids would've been so fortunate. Ditto when David was stung by a swarm of bees on his face and head last week. He was mowing the neighbors lawn and in the far corner of their property was a tree FULL of bees. I guess they didn't like the vibration of the mower! I have never been stung by a bee or wasp-- although my kids have. So the mere thought of it makes me shudder!

+3 year olds are so fun!

They speak their own language,
they laugh hysterically when you kiss their bellybutton,
they say funny things like Mommy, I bumped my forehead
and just when I am surprised that he used the word forehead,
he ruins it by saying and then I bumped my other head.
What?! You have two heads?
And as he touches one side of his forehead and then the other,
he replies Yes, I have dis forehead and then dis head over here.

Ummm... okay then.

And that, as best as I can remember, wraps up my life up to this point.

+What have y'all been doing?

Love,
Marshie

PS Have you seen it? Have you? Boo hoo...

Kid haha for the day

I have to write this down so I don't forget. At 7 years old, I wonder how many more funny things a kid can say. Because y'know, sometimes when they're much older, weird or wrong things they say just aren't quite funny as much as they are reason to question how well you lernz em in homeschool! LOL

David and I went on a date yesterday-- and we didn't go to Sam's Club! What were we thinking? That's okay because the roster of places we went included the likes of Academy, Ross, Starbucks for me, Exxon for him (for an Icee!), Best Buy, IKEA and Korea Gardens restaurant (YUMMY).

When we got back we were talking to the babysitter. She was laughing when she told us that Tank was excited about going to the lake on Monday (we're going with several other families from church next week).

Tank was hopping up and down and said:

I just can't wait to go FISHING!!! Oh it's going to be so much fun! And you know what else? If we catch enough we can cook them up for supper and have fried chicken! I LOVE FRIED CHICKEN!!!

Okay, now you just tell me that wasn't hilarious talking up there. Go ahead. It was funnay, no?

August 08 edition of HOTM Magazine is out!

In this month's issue:

12 Essential Back To School Ideas For Mom
Headsprout Reading Online AND Giveaway!
Only "Actual Teachers" Should Read This!
How the Other Side Thinks
Hypocrite Proofing the Home
Battle of the Sexes
Homeschool Built On Christ
Nature Study - Relaxed and Fun
Teaching Emotions Through Conversation
How To Tell Why Your Child Is Struggling part 4
A Tour of Cheapville
Idols and Effigies
All The Validation I Need
Snippets of Time
Let the Games Begin
Public school administrator calls for homeschool exposé
Getting Out of the Way
Give Me the Simple Life
Think before you jump!

David and I are timeless! :snort:

David and I... we've been married for over 12 years now. We are an institution! There is no just Marsha or just David... It is David and Marsha. Marsha and David.

***cue cheesy music***

No matter the decade, baby... we are SOULMATES!!!

(Love triangle? Hmmm... which one will I choose?! *snort*)

This was from Yearbook Yourself. During the HOTM Conference, I saw Dawn post something similar and it just CRACKED ME UP! I'm going to regret (maybe) staying up until 2:30am doing this... but it was my sister Coco's fault (definitely). It wouldn't have been nearly as funny if we weren't IM'ing and doing this together!

So what do y'all think? Let me know if you do this too!

The Olympics are coming!

Are y'all excited about the upcoming 2008 Olympics?! The opening ceremonies will be at 8pm on 8-08-08. And if I was really feeling on-the-ball, I'd tell you what time that was over here in USA and some other schnazzy links.

I think the boys and I will track different events on the map and maybe do a medal count. Who knows? Maybe they'll find a new sport they like!

So are y'all going to be keeping up with the Olympics at your house? If you don't have TV, you can always keep up online right HERE. Nifty, eh?

(David and I at the Great Wall in Beijing, China in 2006)

I'm a wonky weirdo

I don't have a lot to complain about. It's weird though because I feel like I'm cranky, whiney, complainy and in a bad mood... at least on the inside. But I'm not really. I know, it makes ZERO sense, doesn't it?

I knew I was feeling out of sorts when I had a sore throat all day long. But that in and of itself isn't too odd. It only became wonky when I couldn't figure out if I had a sore throat because I was getting sick or if it was because I yelled at the kids. Y'know the kind of yelling I'm talking about? The lose your temper, scream at the kids and then just know you're going to have to apologize later because it was THAT bad kind of a yelling.

Only, I didn't think I got mad at the kids for anything today. Did I??? I spent much of the day trying to remember if I lost my temper or yelled at any of the kids for any reason at all this morning. But apparently I didn't. (Hooray for me! Hooray for them!)

I am getting sick though. I'm one of those low-temp kind of people. If I ever get a "normal" temp of 98.7, I'm probably coming down with something. My throat is sore, I'm exhausted (did I mention that David has been working since this past Sunday and has been gone?), and I have a fever. WAAAAHHH!

The good news is that after tomorrow, he'll be home until Wednesday! As in WE GET TO SPEND SUNDAY TOGETHER! I can't even tell you the last time that has happened. And last Sunday, well, I just kind of lost it and cried because it is just so hard to do the whole Sunday school, church, lunch, dinner, church, bedtime thing by yourself... again... like last time... oh and the twenty million times before that... Oh I exaggerate about that last part... but only by a little!

The End. Not of this post. Just of my pity party.

Hey, I finally attended my very first homeschool Conference this week... in my pj's... with coffee in hand. It just couldn't get any better than that! Wait, it did when I got to chat for a while with mi amiga Amy from Trujillo, Peru!!! I had to throw in the Peru thing so she could be distinguished from the many other fabuloso Amy's that I am tremendously blessed to know. :-)

Speaking of Amy from Peru, here's a picture of us together when we had coffee together during her visit to Texas a (too long of a...) while back.

It was really hot that day. But never too hot for a latte! Am I right or am I right?

Anyhow, I don't know where I was going with the post. It had been a while since I had last posted so I wanted to say howdy and let you know what was going on with the Drews clan, er... ME (especially since I didn't really mention anyone else, huh?).

Love,
Marshie