Book Review: Love and Respect For A Lifetime by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

This is a beautiful hardcover gift edition book.  It is full of photographs of couples and items which illustrate each point.  This book is about 5.75in. X 6.75in. making it a nice size to be kept on a night stand.  The deep red and white color theme of the cover is used throughout the book.  It is full of wisdom from the author's 30 years of counseling experience.  The emphasis is on Ephesians 5:33 and how women value love and men value respect in a relationship. 

I enjoyed this book so much that I will read it again with my husband.  The wisdom it contains is straight and to the point.  It has many scripture references to show where the author found his marriage advice.  I think that if you read a few pages each day, think about them, and try to apply them you should see a positive change in your marriage.  This book is for any couple, happily married or otherwise.

Different sections cover; wisdom and love of respect, as different as pink and blue, she needs love, he needs respect, communicating  love and respect, and a love and respect that lasts.  Until I read this book I hadn't realized that men value respect more than love.  Now I see how much trouble can be caused in a marriage when love and respect get mixed up.

I received a free copy of this book in order to write this review.  The opinions expressed are my own.

Never Stoop To Bribery?

Little gifts can make a long drive seem shorter

Well, you can call it a reward if that makes you feel better.  Actually, I think of it more as a bonus for a job well done.  When you receive a bonus from your boss it's not a bribe and our children are employed in seeking an education so they can be rewarded also.
 

A gift of a good time together

 I have used many different things over the years as rewards for a good school day; little gifts, money, candy, wii time and even a Friday off for a really good week.  I don't use rewards every day but I turn to them when we seem to be getting into a slump.  They help turn around bad attitudes, laziness, and motivate all of us to do a better job. 

A special treat can also be healthy- yogurt pops

This week the children can earn some time to play the wii if they have a good day. My Jr. High student has been given a 30 day challenge to do all of his work each day.  If he succeeds he will earn $5.00.  I also give then $1.00 if they get 100% on a math lesson. 

Going out to lunch is always a favorite reward to earn

I have no problem giving my children a bonus here and there to keep them motivated and all of us happy.  Do you use rewards?

Wordless Wednesday: Trying On Some Color

Introvert Plus 8 Children Equals Stress

I am an introvert and I have 8 children and I homeschool.  What was I thinking?  Most of the time I do o.k. but sometimes it really gets to me.  I crave time alone without anyone coming up every few minutes to ask me a question, show me something, or claim a hug. 

On a typical day I have at least one child with me all the time.  I know this is part of my job but once a week or so I can't take anymore and I need a break. 

I think instead of wearing myself out I will try to take 15-30 minutes a day to sit in my bedroom with a book and vegetate.  I might need soundproof walls!  Maybe if I take some time each day to be alone I won't stay up so late reading every night!

TOS Crew Cruise: Nature Studies Where We Live

How do we do nature studies here in Albuquerque, New Mexico?  I try to keep it simple or it won't happen!  I choose a topic from Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Comstock and pre-read the lesson.

When it is time for the lesson I make sure we have a specimen to study and as they look at it I tell them the interesting things about it that I learned from the handbook.  Then we all draw the item in our nature books and label and date the drawing.  We have lived in four different states since we began our nature studies so I like to write the location of the item we studied. 

Every other week I let each child choose their own subject and encourage him to look it up in a field guide or on the Internet.

In the winter we study bare trees, evergreens, our pets and houseplants.  Winter is also an excellent time to study geology.

Sometimes we drive somewhere and take a hike to find interesting things to draw in our journals.  Most of the time we study something in our yard or within walking distance of our home.

Handmade Christmas: Things to Sew

We are going to have a handmade Christmas this year.  That means we won't buy any gifts for the children and I will use what I have on hand to make gifts for them.  Well, that's our plan anyway.  We did agree to stick to it.  Here are some things I may sew for gifts.

*Pillowcases- I will use some of the fun fabrics to personalize these for each child.  I may use the embroidery module on my sewing machine.

*Comforters or large patch quilts

*Nightgowns with matching doll nighties- my girls love having matching clothes with their dolls.

*Doll clothes

*Jammies

*Decorative pillows- hearts for the girls trucks or animals for the boys.

*I have a pattern to make a farm set so the little boys might get one of those to share.

*Stuffed animals- Here are some free patterns I found Bean bag animals,  Cute chicken with an egg/baby in her pocket,  Love bird with a heart and note in her pocket,  Kitty, and a Patchwork cat. 

*Guinea pig outfits and harness and leash sets for Nathan's pets.  

I need to come up with some more boy friendly ideas, especially for the older(teens) ones.  Please leave a comment if you think of something! 

I'll keep you posted as I finish projects.  I am still  working on the baby girl quilt and as soon as I'm finished with that I have to make slipcovers for two chairs and then I can begin on gifts.

Fall Challenge Make Your Home a Haven

http://www.womenlivingwell-courtney.blogspot.com/

Care to join us in making our homes a haven?  Go to the website to see each simple but effective weekly topic for the month of October.  I have been focused on making our home more peaceful and this should help me stay motivated and on course. 

Butterfly Whisperer

No butterflies were harmed in the making of these pictures.

 

 David was watching the butterflies feed on the zinnias.  I told him to catch one for my amusement. 

He tried and tried.

Finally he caught one.

See!

I told him to let it go and he did.  Then he tried to catch another one.

He ended up catching two.

He seemed surprised when they wouldn't just stay on his hand and flew away instead.

His activity kept me busy for a little while.

Blog Biteback

Do you ever worry that what you write on your blog might ruin the lives of your children in the future?  I mean what if one of them runs for president.?  Can you imagine some of the things the press would bring up?  And you know anything you put on the Internet will always be there to be found later, right? 

Don't let your words wreck the future

I try to choose my words and topics carefully but I'm sure I make blunders in many posts which could be misconstrued.  What to do?  Quit blogging altogether?  Edit my life in every way?  Nah.

Leaders in training

I remember reading in a biography on Teddy Roosevelt that he and his future wife seemed to write carefully in light of posterity.  Even as a young man attending college he was mindful of what he wrote in his journal.  That knowledge has made me more cautious of what I say and write.  Well, most of the time.

What about you?  Has this kept you from writing about certain things on your blog?

September Garden

It's time for another walk through the garden.  Some of the winter crops are finally starting to grow now that the weather is cooler.

Someday I'll be able to harvest those red cabbages.  They've been growing since April.

I need to find some kale recipes.  We've only eaten it once.

It's almost time to clean up the winter squash beds.  My squashes turned out really small this year.

The herb garden is almost completely filled in.  It shouldn't take so long next year since I won't be moving things around again.

The yellow wax bean tower was taken over by morning glories.  The beans didn't do much so I was happy to let the flowers do their thing.

A winter bed.  The snails have been attacking the cabbage plants. 

And here is the hay bed where the corn used to be. 

Tiny red leaf lettuce growing in the hay bed.

And here is the arbor.  I'm going to have to chop it because it is shading the hay bed too much.  The morning glories never did much here.  I was hoping they would grow up into the grape vine from the ground. 

I've been taking lots of pictures of flowers since the cold bleak months will be here soon.  I'm not looking forward to that!  I am looking forward to the cold weather killing all of the flies though.  There have been a lot this year and I'm sick of them!

From Our Homeschool This Week: Our Day in Pictures

Well, most of it is in pictures.  I didn't get pictures of our morning walk. 

9 a.m. Everyone to the schoolroom except for Nathan and David.

David comes in for a visit.

They take turns doing some work on the computer.

Elijah takes a turn at babysitting.  Excuse the mess in the background.  I am organizing our clothes storage.

Nathan gets to work.

Time to make lunch.  They have been on a fried potato kick lately.

Lunch break.

Outside time from 12:30-1:30.

My sixteen year old made a play sniper rifle for his little brothers.  Wasn't that nice(sarcasm)?  We have never bought our sons toy guns(besides squirt guns) so they make them. 

Hannah on a swing she made from a tie down strap.

Sarah on what used to be a swing.  They pad the rope and swing on it. 

Then it's back inside to finish school.  We spend another hour or two working and then we are finished for the day.

After school they play again before working on chores and helping me make dinner.  And that's pretty much it.