Lily Update

We had a great time at Greenwood Hills last week. On Friday, our friends the Taters came up to camp to visit us. It was so wonderful to see them. T-Bob and Joe had a great time palling around all day. Lily was there and she was walking! In the pool she could manage well without any external devices. She was able to go to camp this summer.

She is getting around great with just a boot on. She doesn't use any crutches unless she has to go a long distance. She is a miracle. It was only about 10 months ago that we were praying that she would live, and then that she would be able to keep her leg and use it in a normal way and God has answered our prayers. Praise God. She doesn't seem to have any other residual problems from her internal injuries or fractured spine.

The only question, that is still of some concern, is whether her growth plate will allow the leg to keep growing.

Thank-you Lord for answered prayers!!

~Mom

The Many Faces of Homeschooling

I am in the process of organizing all the children's assignments for the fall. Putting book lists together and writing up assignments. Rethinking our philosophy for the year. It's a big job! It makes me miss my Mother-in Law greatly. She and Dad are too restricted to make the trip this year. She was always my biggest encourager. She would sit and talk with me about all my plans and look at the books I was assigning the children. We would spend a couple hours doing this. She would express her appreciation and insights and it would make me feel really good about the upcoming year and what we were doing. But what exactly is homeschooling?

It has many faces and from year to year my philosophy evolves as the number of students and their ages changes. I am really looking forward to this year. Especially, schooling Elizabeth.

It is something that every family does. How's that you say? Yes, every family is responsible for the education of their children. We just vary in the amount of the schooling that we assign to others. I bring in teachers to instruct the children in music and volley ball. Thomas will be in a debate club this year. We are seeking help with high school writing skills. Some families hand over all the academic training of their children. God leads each family as to His plan for their children.

But honestly, I am more interested in educating than schooling our children. I want them to retain their native curiosity and joy of living. I want them to learn wherever they are, no matter what the clock says. I am desiring to provide them opportunities to learn whether on a field trip,

Or a family vacation,

Or even at a Reformation party at a friend's house. (They got to try stilts and folk dancing.)

We spend a lot of time reading. Not just textbooks but rather living books. Books written by authors who know and love their subjects. 'Twaddle-Free' as Charlotte Mason used to call them. Books that build a thirst for more knowledge.

We try and provide opportunities for sports and recreation. Time to enjoy playing and building relations with other people.

We teach responsibility with chores and household jobs.

Letting children be children. They wrote a play and acted it out with their cousins, just for the joy of it. They designed the costumes and even videotaped parts of it. They had fun and learned painlessly.

The children learn to get along with others of all ages and many practical skills. This is all part of their education.

Do you have a 'bucket list' of things you want to teach your children, not before they or you die, but before they leave your home? You should. What's on your list? No matter where they go to school, remember that the parents are the first and best educators of their children. Get going!!

~Mom

Debate vs. Argument

( The Thinker)

I have often thought about the differences between debate and argument. I know someone can make an argument that is logical and precise, but my working definition of the words is that debate is a conversation (it can be passionate) that is about a question or idea that deals strictly with the conversation at hand. Arguments are generally less logical and deteriorate into personal attacks. People end up leaving an argument with their feelings hurt, while they leave a debate having a better understanding of the consequence of their ideas.

(Thomas is joining a debate club this year in order to prepare for his political career, if the thing with the 'beat box' doesn't work out.)

I enjoy debate. It really helps to sharpen my thinking. I went to chiropractic college which was about 80% men. There was a lot of debate. It was good to think about something and then talk about it and hear other's ideas about it, both in agreement and disagreement. It helped me to see the flaws and weaknesses of my thoughts as well as where I was right. It helped me grow in my thinking and ideas. I became more secure and certain in what I believed.

Men and women are different. ( I am generalizing here.) Most men see their ideas as something apart from whom they are. To discus an idea is not personal to them. Their theory is not who they are, it is a toy that is more fun if everyone plays with it and contributes to its make-up. One may even decide that it is no good and throw it away without any grief. Women are different. In general, our ideas are who we are. If you criticize most women's ideas, you are criticizing them personally and they will react emotionally and you will end up in an argument, not a debate. You will hurt their feelings if you try and engage them in debating their ideas. For some it is an insecurity thing, for others it is just the way they are wired. Look at many of our female politicians and the histrionics they engage in when they are disagreed with. You are much more likely to get an emotional response than a logical one from a woman re ideas.

Even if a person chooses a different course of action than a female friend, it can cause stress in the relationship. The thought process is... if you do something different than me then you must think that your way is right, and that means you think I am making a poor choice or doing something wrong. It is an unspoken criticism. Many women function out of the emotional rather than the logical part of their brains. This makes debate challenging and argument almost inescapable.

Men have their own emotional attachments that they personalize without regard to logic. They are called sports or politics. Men get emotionally involved and become 'one' with the team. When OSU wins the National Championship this year, most men in this state will think that they themselves had something to do with it. They are the champions. If the team loses they are depressed, because they lost even though they had nothing to do with any aspect of the game. If you want to debate, don't mention athletic teams, because it will very quickly deteriorate into an argument. Yes, even if you wear a rival jersey it can induce stress in a relationship. Women are befuddled by the lack of male logic here. Why does one care so passionately about something that can in no real way impact your life (unless you are a coach or player for the team)?!!!

I have changed over the years. I think I am more tolerant as I get older. This is probably true of most people. I have changed my mind on a few major ideas in my life. My brain and life is not static. As I learn more, I modify and change my ideas. I am not the person I was (Praise God!) and definitely not the person I hope to be. To continue learning is to continue growing. Run these different ideas through the screen of scripture. Learn from your own experiences and the experiences of others. If someone says something you disagree with, figure out why. Most things are not personal, don't make them so. A person does not have to be a clone to be a good friend! Tolerate and enjoy the differences. You can always learn something from somebody else.

~Mom

I welcome your comments, even if you disagree!

Dallas the Guard Dog

We have now had Dallas for about 14 months. He is real close to full grown. He weighs about 45# and is tall and lean. He is a friendly pup and only gives rodents a hard time (and coons). We were all wondering what Dallas would do if a prowler came in the yard. Would he lick him to death or protect his property?
The children decided to run an experiment and asked a friend that the puppy had never met to come in the back yard through the front gate. Dallas noticed and started barking ferociously and came at him with his teeth. (Our friend said he felt the teeth on his arm, but there were no marks.) The children immediately called the dog off and he got quiet. They introduced Dallas to Will and everything was friendly. Will said that he would never have come in the back yard with that kind of greeting from a dog.
We were pleased to find out that Dallas will guard his turf. So if you are coming to visit, make sure that you get introduced to the dog before trying to come in the back yard, or breaking in the house. You might get more than you bargained for.
~Mom

The Blessing of Family

I am truly blessed to have a strong Christian heritage and to come from a loving family. We had a wonderful time at our family reunion this year. There were about 65 people. In the early days ( the early 1950's), there would be about 150 people come.

We have held it on the same Sunday at the same place for over 60 years! They had pictures there from the early 1950's. I saw my mom as a 15 year old. That was special as I don't have a lot of pictures of my mom growing up. I was surprised at how much Michelle looks like her. The only difference is that she is blond and Mom had dark hair. They have the same willowy build.

This is the 'old man's row'. The men sitting here have changed through the years. I remember when it was my Grandpa, Uncle Bricel, Uncle Merle, and Uncle Paul sitting there. Actually, I remember when the generation before them, my Great Grandpa Lambert and some of his siblings would sit there and watch the 'youngsters' play softball. Now they are all gone. It is a good example of how time marches on. Our existence here is so fleeting. We need to make sure that we have planned for eternity. I am thankful that so many in my family have known and loved the Lord Jesus.

One part of our tradition is that we always have games for the children with prizes. I remember doing sack races with my cousin's when I was little, and now my children are enjoying the same thing. This year they tried using plastic garbage bags for the sacks. This was not a good plan. The bags tore before the children had hopped more than three or four times. Then it became a running race.

Everybody brings food and we enjoy a nice dinner together. This year we were extremely heavy on fried chicken and desserts. It is so nice to see family. A reunion keeps one connected. This year we were blessed to have some of my mom's cousins come in from Florida, and several other distant states as well as my mom's brother from Saskatchewan, Canada. Some of these people we hadn't seen for 15 years. Yet, although they looked a little older*, we could pick up where we left off. ( We did have to introduce them to a few of the children that had been born since we last were here.)
*I, of course, look the same.

It was neat to see the old pictures and remember and honor those we love who are no longer with us. It is fun to find out what everyone is doing with their life. Some things are sad and others we rejoice at.

I am so glad that God created families for us to live in and be connected with. I know that not everyone has such blessing, but I thank God for all my aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, parents, siblings, and close family friends that come.

Growing up, I always knew I was loved. As I grew older, I discovered the warts and imperfections in the family, but because of God's love, we are able to love one another. To know that one is loved by God and family is one of the greatest gifts any child can receive.

I am blessed that my children and nieces and nephews can grow up in this environment. It is special.

The young and the old (sorry uncle, but you qualify) and the yet unborn, enjoying family and fellowship.

~Mom

Dallas Seeks Treats in the Wood Pile

Dallas the dog was very fascinated by the whole wood splitting process. He had his nose in everywhere. But what he really loved was our reject pile of rotten wood.

He sniffed and scratched at the pile and then would grab a piece and run off as though he had stolen a prize and take it to the middle of the yard.

He guarded it from all takers.

He gnawed on it like it was the tastiest bone. We were a little intrigued by his sudden appetite for wood. If he kept this up he would be cheap to feed!

Then one of the children started investigating the rotten wood and this is what they found.....

Lots of slimy dog treats! Yuk!!!!

He loved them though.

~Mom

Wood Week

Some people have been wondering what is going on because the blog posts have been few and far between. Well the reason is, that it is 'wood week' in the Mango household. What is 'wood week'?
Let me show you...

Job #1 is to restack the wood from last year so that it gets used first. This was a bigger job than it should have been, as the initial QC (quality control) was poor. The first stack fell down when it was about 65% complete. The pile was not straight, it looked like a drunk trying to walk a straight line. No wonder it toppled. We tried again with a bit more success.


Then on to the new wood. We had the logs from three big trees stacked in our driveway and side yard. We started on Monday with the splitting. We were glad to have Mr. Boots home. The girls had to work all week, how convenient for them, and so it was mom and the boys who attacked the pile.

Some of the pieces of oak were very large. Over 36" in diameter. It is also very green. The whole tree fell over in a storm, so it wasn't rotten at all. We did that last so that it would be stacked in the last used part of the wood pile. Dallas loved having people outside all day to hang out with.

Mr. Boots and T-Bob did a lot of the stacking the first couple days until the pile was well defined. Then the jobs got shifted around.

Thomas was the wheelbarrow transporter and part-time stacker.

In the evening, when Michelle came home, she spent some time helping to split.

We had a guest helper this week. My SIL Mary dropped in for a few days unexpectedly and was a great help with the project. She worked primarily loading the wheel barrow. By the third day my right arm was giving out and so I really appreciated her help.

T-Bob was under the tutelage of Mr. Boots. His QC did improve through out the week. He likes the feeling of building his muscles while he works. That oak is heavy!!

Wood week is a great opportunity for family bonding. We all work together.

'The family that sweats together stays together'. Cause nobody else could stand being near us. ;-)

We aer not quite done splitting the oak. The pile currently stands at ~8' high, 12' deep and about 14' wide. It will easily get us through the winter burning 2 wood stoves pretty much 24/7. We were real blessed to have these trees given to us. We shouldn't have to use our boiler at all. We may get to save the oak and other green wood for next year. We may have one more tree to split still.
Now on to finishing up all the homeschooling plans for the fall.

~Mom
Someone told me the following joke....

A woman had a tramp come to the door asking for a meal. She directed him to a large wood pile out back that needed to be split. She told him that if he split the wood, she would be happy to feed him. Every time she looked out the window he was just sitting there talking to himself. An hour later he came in and told her that it was all done. She went with him to inspect the job. All but one piece was done. The rest was lying in a haphazard manner on the ground. She asked him how he had managed to split the wood while just sitting there. He explained that he had just told the wood jokes until it 'cracked up'. They did wonder why the one piece hadn't split, and discovered that it was English Walnut.

Ha Ha, Do you get it?

I do wish that I could just tell jokes and have the wood 'crack up'.

Garden Update

Our garden is doing splendid this year. Everything seems to be loving the hot weather. We have had timely rains and have only had to water a couple times.

The broccoli is all ready and we have been eating a lot of it lately. We have had it steamed and we will have broccoli soup tonight. Yummy!

We made a big mistake with our beans this year. We got the pole beans and the bush beans mixed up. So our bush beans are growing by the fence and the pole beans are taking over the one bed. Not a good plan. They are both giving lots of beans though, so that's good.

Our slicing tomatoes have done the best this year than they have ever done. We get 3-4 nice big slicers every day. That is about the amount we can keep up with just eating them and giving a few away. They have been delish! A few plants had blossom rot, which is from a lack of calcium in the soil. I had the children put 4-5 calcium supplements at the base of each plant and that seems to have corrected the problem. Putting smashed egg shells in the soil works long term, but it takes awhile and I needed a more immediate fix.

I love the little golden cherry tomatoes. They are very prolific and they taste as sweet as candy, literally! They are so good.

The zucchini are still producing. We have three plants. One got somewhat broken in a wind storm, but we are getting enough for our family's use.

The red cabbage are looking splendid. We grow the red cabbage because the green cabbage is too cheap to bother. We like the red cabbage cut up and cooked with apples and onions in a sweet and sour sauce. German style. It is very good with a roast as a side dish.

We are also getting Swiss chard, lettuce and all our herbs. The basil is doing wonderful. I am really loving my pesto. Sooo good!

Don't give up on your garden. They are worth the work!

~Mom

"A garden is like those pernicious machineries which catch a man's coat-skirt or his hand and draw in his arm, his leg, and his whole body to irresistible destruction."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Conduct of Life (1860)