Family

Family

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

I Can Do It by Myself!





Today Jackson decided to get dressed by himself....not that unusual except that he departed from his usual choice of a slip-on shirt for a button-up. He managed to get it done "all by myself" and this was the result. We didn't leave home today so I let him stay that way until bathtime.





Kaelan also decided to be independent today and bake a cake all by herself (with a little help from Jackson.) She is becoming quite handy in the kitchen.









Jackson takes a turn stirring. After Kaelan put the batter in the pans, Jackson licked the bowl clean! He declared it very delicious!!








Clean up time!! If you make a mess, you clean it up!









It looked great and tasted even better.....Now it's all gone!!!





Monday, November 24, 2008

ThanksgIving Funny

While our focus at Thanksgiving shouldn't be on the meal, but on our blessings, I thought this was funny enough to pass on to others. I have to admit that I am looking forward to a turkey sandwich!!

Twas the night of Thanksgiving
But I just couldn't sleep,
I tried counting backwards
I tried counting sheep ...
The leftovers beckoned
The dark meat and white,
But I fought the temptation
With all of my might ...
Tossing and turning with anticipation
The thought of a snack became infatuation
So, I raced to the kitchen, flung open the door
And gazed at the fridge, full of goodies galore
Gobbled up turkey and buttered potatoes
Pickles and carrots, beans and tomatoes
I felt myself swelling so plump and so round
'Til all of a sudden, I rose off the ground!
I crashed through the ceiling, Floating into the sky
With a mouthful of pudding, And a handful of pie
But I managed to yell as I soared past the trees
Happy eating to all! Pass the cranberries, Please!
May your stuffing be tasty, May your turkey be plump
May your potatoes 'n Gravy, Have nary a lump
May your yams be delicious, May your pies take the prize
May your thanksgiving dinner stay off of your thighs!
May your Thanksgiving Be Blessed!

Menu Monday

Monday--breakfast--blueberry muffins and cereal
lunch--red beans and rice with sausage, cornbread
dinner--spaghetti, salad and cheesy breadsticks
Tuesday--breakfast--quiche, bacon and muffins
lunch--leftovers or sandwiches
dinner--chicken chimichangas, soft tacos, refried beans, Mexican rice
Wednesday--breakfast--make-your-own waffles
lunch--leftovers
dinner--stirfry chicken and veggies, rice, egg drop soup
Thursday--breakfast--toast and cereal
Thanksgiving dinner at Grandmother's house
dinner--taco soup, chicken tortilla soup and salad
Friday--breakfast--make-your-own waffles, quiche, and fruit
lunch--sandwiches, chips and fruit
dinner--roasted pork loin with root veggies, green beans
Saturday--breakfast--biscuits, bacon, sausage, eggs and grits
lunch ----raw fruits and veggies, hummus and homemade flatbreads
dinner---turkey breast, dressing, squash casserole, sweet potatoes and broccoli
Sunday---breakfast--cinnamon rolls
lunch--leftovers
dinner--refrigerator cleanout

Sunday, November 23, 2008

A Surprise Visitor


Several of the children have been sick with a stomach virus the last few days, so we stayed home from church today. Aaron was walking to the road to get the paper when he noticed a small buck stuck in the fence on the side of our property. Yesterday we noticed something white out there, but I assumed it was a shopping bag that had blown against the fence.


Aaron quietly got Jeff and Jordan. He didn't want Jackson and Kaelan running out and frightening the deer any more than he was. They bundled up and tried to get the deer untangled from the fence. After several minutes, they were successful but the deer was hurt. Its leg had been cut down to the bone and appeared to be broken. Jordan carried the deer up to the house and everyone was able to get a close-up look.


The girls thought Jeff should try to bandage the leg or call the vet. Jackson thought, "Yeah!! I have a pet!" Jeff was thinking he would have to shoot it to put it out of its misery. Finally, they took it out to the barn to see how it would do. Later, the deer left, hobbling on 3 legs. Who knows how it will survive.


My children are getting alot of experience taking care of sick or injured animals lately. Our "old gray mare" has some sort of cyst that looks horrible and the pony has to have her ears doctored daily. The vet has been out here looking them both over and giving Jeff directions as to their care. I don't think we are meant to have animals. After the deer left, Kaelan told her daddy that the deer would probably have tasted good salted and smoked. She is all heart!!


How Caedmon Got His Name

How do parents choose a name for their new baby? Do you choose something trendy, Biblical, a family name or just a plain old-fashioned name? What is the meaning of the name? For us the naming of a child takes a lot of thought --especially when you have many children. I am very particular about names...Jeff may suggest a name and I rule it out because 1. I have a cousin with that name (I have many cousins) or 2. I knew someone with that name and didn't like them. Not good reasons, I know, but good enough for me. The meaning of the name is also very important to us.

Our other children's names are:

Lauren Hollingsworth--Lauren means victorious and Hollingsworth was my mamaw's maiden name

Devin Elise--Devin means poet and Elise is a form of Elizabeth which means consecrated by God...put them together and you have a poet consecrated by God (she did write some poetry in her elementary years!)

Andrew Jordan--Andrew was Jeff's Big Daddy's name; it means manly and Jordan means descendent. (I liked the name Jordan---the meaning didn't matter as much)

Aaron Jeffrey--Aaron means bringer of light and Jeffrey (God's peace) for his daddy

Kaelan Elizabeth--Kaelan is a combination of the other girls'--Kaelan means victorious and Elizabeth means consecrated by God

Thomas Jonathan Jackson--We had been doing a long study on the War Between the States and Devin had done a lot of study on Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson....He was a great military leader, husband and Christian man worthy of emulating. So, we named our 6th child for this great American hero. Jackson was also Jeff's grandfather's middle name.

Now we come to Caedmon's name! If you notice, there is a pattern to my children's names: 2 syllables all ending in "n". Do you know you can search online for names to fit that pattern? That is what I did. I came across the name Caedmon doing an online search, but it stuck with me because we had come across a Caedmon in our history reading of the middle ages. I liked it, but what about Jeff and what about those people who thought we were saying "caveman"? We liked the meaning of the name and the Caedmon we read about in our studies was really interesting.....so after several weeks we finally commited to the name Caedmon Alexander for our seventh child. Alexander was one of my great-grandfather's names. The two names together mean "wise warrior defending men".

If that were not enough for a young man to live up to, how about reading the short version of the historical Caedmon (I know, this is already a long post, but these are my children!!)

I found this book about Caedmon on Greenleaf Press's website before Caedmon was born. The first time I read the book--Caedmon's Song by Ruth Ashby-- I cried. This is the story of Caedmon from the 7th century taken from the book's flyleaf.

"Long ago, when hardly anyone knew how to read or write, people recited stories by heart. They sat around the hearth at night, telling of heroes and monsters, great battles fought, and fortunes made and lost. On feast days, they passed the harp around the room so that everyone could sing a poem. But when the harp reached Caedmon, his thoughts dried up. The words died on his tongue. He opened his mouth, and nothing at all came out. It was embarrassing. No wonder he hated poetry.

A quiet man who loved tending his cows, Caedmon couldn't recite poetry because he thought he had no stories to tell. Then after one especially upsetting experience, Caedmon stormed home, fell asleep in the barn, and began to dream. That night, everything changed for Caedmon...

Caedmon dreamed and in his dream a young man came to him and told him to sing him a song. Caedmon replied that he had nothing to sing about. The man told him to sing about what he knew. So Caedmon thought about what he knew...the warm breath of the cows on a frosty morning, cool green dawns and fiery red sunsets, meadows sparkling the dew and hawks circling the sky....he thought about the stars. And he opened his mouth and sang:

Praise we now the Keeper of heaven's kingdom,
The mind of the mighty Maker,
The Glorious Father who made
The world and all its wonders;
How first he created the roof of heaven
For us, the children of men;
Then the holy Creator, the eternal Lord,
Gave the earth to people,
This middle earth to be our home."

Caedmon was now a poet. He told stories and sang of the creation of the world, of Noah and the flood, of Moses and the Promised Land.. He sang about David and he sang of Jesus. Caedmon was soon known throughout the land. Children memorized his hymn of praise and when the people gathered on feast days they no longer sang of bloody battles and monsters. They sang Caedmon's songs and poems instead.

That Caedmon changed his world in the seventh century! My prayer is that my precious baby Caedmon will one day change his world in the twenty-first century!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

What's in a Name?

Last night we were trying to think of a clever title for this new blog. I was leaning toward alliteration like many of you have.... so, Chamblee Shenanigans was my choice until I looked up shenanigan in the dictionary and realized that it had more meanings than I realized...I was thinking it was another word for activity, but it means treacherous or deceitful activity....not what we have going on here! Jeff was leaning toward a more religious theme...Chamblee Shoots, as in olive shoots around our table (of which we have many....and our shoots are having shoots!), but it wasn't that obvious and there are only so many words with the "sh" sound, so that idea died a natural death.

Trying to think of what goes on here on a daily basis, I came up with Busy Hands, Busy Minds. We are all busy using our hands all day and hopefully our minds as well. The title also reminds me of a Michael Card song from his CD of lullabies called Come to the Cradle. We have had Card's lullaby CD's for over 16 years--the other title is Sleep Sound in Jesus. Precious music. Here are the words to Busy Hands, Busy Feet.

Busy hands
Busy feet
Busy mind
Go to sleep
Now let go
Of your fight
Say hello
To the night

Close your eyes
Go to bed
Give it up
Sleepy head
Teary eyes
Shaky chin
It's a fight
You can't win

Busy hands
Busy feet
Busy mind
Go to sleep
Now let go
Of your fight
Say hello
To the night

Don't you worry
Don't you fret
In your sleep
You'll forget
That the work
Of the day
Is the business
Of play

Jumping In

Peer pressure has pushed me to try blogging. I have been intrigued and addicted to several friends' blogs for the last few months and have even been following blogs of people I don't even know! I am hoping to post about our life as a busy homeschooling family--keeping friends and family up-to-date on our studies, projects and life in general. This will definitely be a learning adventure....I am not one to sit down at the computer and delve into the vast oceans of resources available.. I like to stick with what I know which is basically email and word perfect. Sad, I know, but I think my brain can only handle so much info and then it shuts down. Hopefully, Devin and Jordan can walk me through some of the intricacies of this world. I feel like I am jumping into the vast unknown.
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