The Tree Climber

One never knows what the day will hold but we do know who holds the day! Sunday was one of those days I was truly glad to know The Day Holder as my six year old tree climber fell twenty feet from the top of his grandparent's tree. I was transporting Nicole to night church at Community Evangelical Free Church and upon returning was met with the grim news.

Jesse was obviously struggling to breathe, his neck and back hurt, and when touching his tummy it was obvious there was pain. My brother in law, a physical therapist, witnessed the fall. He was able to give him the medical treatment necessary and helped me to process the fact that an ambulance ride was in order!

The ambulance took us to Reading Hospital's trauma center and there we were met by a team of doctors. The medical community is amazing to me at at time of crisis. Lynn and I waited in a room. Lynn had been coming back from a Phillies game with our son, Geoffrey. They were celebrating Geoff's thirteenth birthday. This was a day of events that our family was having a hard time keeping up with and now this.

The trauma doctor told us that they were going to keep him for observation, hold off on a Cat Scan in lieu of the fact that his body is so little for such a high dose of radiation, and determine through blood work if there was internal bleeding. Jesse and I spent the night in the same bed.

Yesterday around three o'clock they told us that due to the fact that his vitals were good, the blood work was not revealing internal bleeding and that he was able to handle his meal, Jesse could go home.

We walked out of the hospital around four thirty sporting a hospital gown due to the fact his shirt had been ripped off him by the trauma team, dirty socks (but not like Saturday!), and hair that looked like it was on the verge of dreadlocks.

Thank you God for sparing Jesse from broken bones, paralyzation, head injury, and internal damage. God holds the day and He holds the little boy falling from a tree.

Jesse learned a lot. He was awed by what he described as "his dark red blood." Learning happens!

Children Are Amazing!

Yes, I home school. Yes, I believe in home schooling. Do I think it is the only way? No! This is why, we live in a world where diversity exists. Diversity in a forest is a protection against an entire forest being wiped out by a disease that only one type of tree is susceptible to. Diversity allows us to broaden and go deep. Why do we always want to be on the same page? Can you imagine a book of just one page, how boring.

Here is a great example of a public school system motivating their students to create poetry that makes you see. I have to share this, I have done so without permission. Let them yell! I do not care. This is one fantastic poem written by a twelve year old young man, Francis Nyssen. He is the son of dear friends of ours, Greg and Rachel Nyssen, living in Seattle, Washington. He wrote this poem for a writers program in his school. It is amazing. I see it, hear it, smell it, and feel it. Children are amazing.

This is what Rachel wrote on her blog:

"last night, we were at the seattle art museum for the book launch party of
-YOU WILL NOT COME BACK UNCHANGED-a book of poetry and prose from seattle area students K-12, thru the writers in the schools program. francis had one of his poems selected for this book, and he was to read it at the event. we were so proud i actually teared up when i first found out."
http://rachelnyssen.blogspot.com

Enjoy!


ODE TO BIRDS: (by francis nyssen)

Birds, birds
are the most
colorful animals
green
brown
yellow
red
blue
turquoise
purple
neon blue--
I could go on.
The king of nests
has a fancy for huge
very decorated nests.
It's turquoise
and neon blue. It
sends you in a trance.
A yellow canary goes
black against the sun
on a sunny
day.
A rattle of leaves and sounds tell
you
the toucan hops
from branch to
branch, chirping.
It's beak shining, making
us see a blur of color.
A crow searches
endlessly for its
old feathers
of white.
The mimicker of
sounds mimics
the sound of its falling
forest. The king
of voice shines
its colorful feathers.
Red, blue
yellow, green,
it has a stubby
beak. It makes
you see a sea of
colors. Making
you smell fruit.
Cloves send a scent to me
making me think of birds.
A fresh
drink of chai
reminds me of when
I'm sitting in
the bird dome at
the zoo.
At night I can imagine
a vulture looks despairingly
jealous of all the color.
Starlings are
considered
good luck when
they live in your house.
A bird's color is what
the vulture
wants so badly.
Cardinal's red
makes it
look like a
streaking flame
of light across
the sky,
making fire
burn in your
eyes.

by Francis Nyssen

Reflection: Ethiopia

On route to Rhode Island I called Lynn.

"You have to send me Ethiopia coffee, ground, for the ride back!"

This coffee is better than any power drink, better than an IV caffeine hookup, better than, than, it is just the best. My golly, I get to Rhode Island, why stop there, I am ready to go all the way to the border of Canada.

When Lynn is the driver I hop in the car and immediately go to sleep. It is a bit disconcerting when I know that I am the sole driver. Ethiopia coffee, no worries for me, I am safe and awake.

The Flexibility

This morning, as soon as I can, I and the three younger children will be off to Rhode Island. My mother is having surgery, hernia repair. We will be there to help her.....!!!????

We will have fun, yet, it is sad. We like it when we are all together, and we leave four people behind. There is enough bickering in the car when we are all together that would make you think otherwise but it is all a part of being with a family. If there was no bickering there would be no familiarity, can not have one without the other.

If a car is available, the flexibility that home school offers is vundaba. To just go sit at the Atlantic Coast is an awesome thing..........hope to do that. To maybe take in some free historic offerings....want to do that too! To listen to tunes with the children, windows down, chatting about frivolous stuff or discussing issues is a treat I enjoy while driving.

I do not take a working vehicle for granted. I do not take the availability of gas for granted. I do not take "only a hernia repair" operation for granted. I do not take these three engaging children for granted. I will miss the rest of the Burkholder Clan! We are off.

Coffee, I Would Have Never Guessed.

On Wednesdays I am selling coffee by the cup, Twin Valley Coffee mugs, coffee beans by the bag, coffee hand bags, and giving out coffee samples. I am alone at my coffee stand, I am outside in the fresh air, I am yacking with people of all kinds as well as the regulars who grace the place and all is well with the world. I am a vendor at the Reading Hospital Farmer's Market.

Never would I have guessed this for me. I had always been a social coffee drinker and a minimal one at that, until, he ruined me. Every morning smelling freshly brewed coffee wafting through the hallways from the kitchen lured me into the habit. Not only was his coffee freshly brewed but it was freshly roasted. Therein lies the difference between the coffee you are buying at Dunkin Donuts and Twin Valley Coffee. The coffee from Dunkin Donuts is probably not fresh, the beans most likely were ground days ago and it was probably not roasted yesterday. Do not quote me on this, I could be wrong, but I think I am right .

To freshly roasted, freshly brewed coffee, I am now addicted. And I am also a dealer luring others into an addiction. In November I will be sharing how we started our coffee company with a group of women. In January I will be again sharing with another group. The funny thing about that, for so long this coffee stuff just irritated me! It was a rabbit trail. Look who is hopping now.

Word to the wise, let your husband dream and follow him.

Horse Out of the Gate? It Should Be That Way But....

Every morning I wake up with a fresh determination to get right at it and read my bible so I can educate these birds, of course after I walk. I walk at 6:00 a.m. and though I start out looking like a drunken sailor I come home invigorated. I always intend to crack open the Bible. But.......as soon as I walk into the kitchen there it is, the COMPUTER, the window to the world, the connection to everyone.

I slip into the chair and I check my email, I go to Drudge Report and catch up on the latest bad news, I start working on this blog, I recheck my email...
I am so easily distracted. I am writing this at 5:57 a.m., how much do you want to bet that today will be different? Different because now I will feel really guilty.

What amazes me is how easy it is for me to forget what I have learned in the past! The days when I start out, after my walk, meditating on the Bible and talking with the God of the universe are days with a sense of continuity, consistency, and order. These days help me to "get right to it." They are also days where I experience Joy.

What is my problem?

It is now 7:55 a.m. Guess what I did not do? I am going right now......really, I am.
Tommorrow will be different.

Monday Morning

Monday is here. This is the day that breaks or makes me. This is the day that sets my feet in the right direction. Monday morning is significant to all the other days. At least that is always the way I have viewed a Monday morning. However, in light of my faith, should it not be Sunday that determines my week? Have I misplaced the priority?

I have heard it said that Sunday should not be a day that prepares us for the others. But rather we should prepare ourselves for Sunday, the day of rest. Or whatever day you choose as the day of rest. If Sunday would be that kind of day do you think Monday would be different?

Maybe I should look to Sunday as a day to work towards, a day to rest, to settle my soul. A day to look to the Source, ground my spirit in the Book. If I treated Sunday as the hollowed day that it is would I come dragging to Monday with a meandering, not ready to face the work, spirit?

Who knows?

Reflection: Just Keep Talking

My husband and I over the years have learned an important lesson.
When it seems your child is uninterested,
keep talking.
When they look at you as if you really do have five heads,
keep talking.
When their body language loudly asks you to shut up,
keep talking.

Three of our children are now past high school. They will confirm this. They will tell you that though many times they were looking for us to stop talking,
they were glad we kept talking.
We have three younger ones and
we know we can not stop talking.

Our children's attitudes have never been our gauge to determine whether we should talk or not.
The gauge we use is their need.
This is a no brainer, this is why we
keep talking.
Children are so needy.

Dori in "Nemo," says it best. Just keep swimming. Just switch out talking for swimming.

The Limiting Factor

The problem with home schooling is me. I am the limiting factor. I assign work but sometimes fail to check on the assigned work. I make unrealistic requests or set unrealistic goals. I fall asleep reading to them only to find when I wake up they are not waiting for me to finish the sentence. I am distracted, easily persuaded to watch something like Steve Jobs talk about the latest......... Sometimes I do not feel like finishing what we started or I actually forget what I started.

The problem with home schooling is me. I firmly tell an offender to go to their room and only when they call out forty-five minutes later do I remember that I sent them to their room. I do not finish a curriculum that is working because I do not use it for a week and do not know where I last put it. Home schooling requires me to be "on my game." Frankly, I do not enjoy being "with it" twelve hours of the day.

My goal in life is to sit. I am not a dooer. I try to accomplish things and what gets in the way is my insatiable need to sit and read, contemplate or stare. I really like to do that. Home schooling requires a bit more from me than sitting. The sky is the limit with home schooling it really is. Unfortunately my energy level is the limiting factor as well.

Three in the Morning Too Early!

Why did I wake up at three o'clock in the morning when I really need my sleep to accomplish all that lies before me? Who knows. I just know to get up and not turn over! I stumble downstairs and find my bible and stare. My mind is cluttered with condemnation. "You should do this, you should do that, why aren't you doing this, what provoked you to do that, when do you think you will finish this, how are you going to pay for that, when will you write all the thank you notes, what are you going to do about that?"

Hounded!I ain't nothing but a hounded dog. I was talking with a dear woman yesterday about schooling choices. She has decided to send her three school age children to school. The first morning was not so good. When you have prayerfully considered what you are to do and you believe you are walking in obedience, it just stinks when it turns out that way. Standing firm in what we are doing seems to be harder than standing on a boulder near the Maine shore with twenty feet waves crashing onto it grabbing at anything to bring back to the ocean! Honestly!

It hit me while talking to her. Those of us who have home school hearts will always be plagued with intense insecurity and doubts, this is just what I/we have to accept. I remember being a Resident Assistant in college and struggling with the same doubts; am I doing enough for my hall, should I be doing more. My boss encouraged me that this was a sign of my dedication, my caring about the job.

Everyone of us who have children in school or educating them at home should have a "home school heart" which I believe simply put is; caring that their children are receiving what they need by way of knowledge and character development(and certainly not in that order).I will never believe that the choice of our option to educate determines our heart. Parents with children in public or private can have a home school heart like the home schooler. Public, private, or home school are all great choices. What is not so great is when we as parents do not cultivate a home school heart. My friend is hounded and her children are in school, I am hounded and my children are home. We agreed we are forced to prayer! Not a bad thing.

To further this point, the educational option we choose does not determine our heart. There are thousands of parents with a home school heart who send their children to school. Likewise there are many home school parents without a home school heart who should probably be educating their children with a different mode. We can not see the heart! We need to remember this.


So I concluded yesterday, that it is alright if I wake up many mornings at three o'clock filled with a myriad of complicated, insecure thoughts. It just shows that I care and need desperately to bring it all to Jesus! If this is what Jesus has to do to get me to talk to him, it's all good! It's all good! I ain't nothing but a hounded dog!

A Long Time

When Robyn was three months old we attended our first home school conference at Elizabethtown. Many of the speakers have probably put their teaching tools to rest and have moved on into their different phases of life. Our three oldest are done, this year would have been the year for us. But instead as God saw fit we have three more, one still needing to learn to read.

My tools are still in use. Today will be another new year for a group that was started when Robyn was in kindergarten. Helen Hertzler had at least seven students that she met with once a week and while reading the "Trumpet of the Swan" she led them in the most creative unit studies. To be an educator such as Helen would be an honor.

This group has grown into over fifty families that meets for twenty weeks out of the year. Not only do we have an elementary program but we offer high school classes as well. Ten years ago we started a drama program that is still in existence with some changes. The Learning Group, Community Home School Learning Group (for lack of a better title, we lack in creativity!), has provided activities that would be available if one were in school.

Community Home Schoolers has experienced years of God's grace and mercy! Our three youngest are excited for today, the start of another year at the learning group. Their bags are packed, snacks ready to go. A group like this offers a one day shot for homeschoolers to enjoy group learning. There are many things that a child can not experience minus the context of a group.

The discipline problems are solved with family members involved and apologies offered. For the years we have rolled it is amazing the lack of drama. This group is laid back. I am thankful for that.

However, these last couple of weeks have been spent conferring and organizing the details it takes for a group to run. We lost our favored Phys Ed teacher and had to go looking for a replacement. God was good to us again by providing us with another college qualified PE teacher. This new woman has been teaching up at the high school and has implemented programs there that are still in existence, now we are privileged to have her.

So begins another year. Geoffrey in the eighth, Nicole in the fourth, and Jesse in the first! this is amazing.

Relax?! Sure.........

The day is not over.
There's more to be done.
What's left is not minimal.
It seems like a ton.

To bed I can shoo them.
To bed they must go.
I can send them in a hurry,
Or change pace and go slow.

Tomorrow is coming.
Tomorrow waits not.
Adulthood follows quickly
then a big empty slot.

They love me to read.
To snuggle's a must.
The ton will wait patiently.
and now I must trust.

God's timing is infinite.
My timing is not.
He says "Just relax.
You are in the right spot."

By Lynne T. Burkholder
Today,out of control. Whose control? Mine.

Movie Scene: Wholesome Flicks!

Picture credit: An arranged marriage, NOT. This marriage will not be a statistic,it will last! Cyndi and Geoff Treichler married at BOMA, Columbus Ohio on August 27, 2010.

Last night we watched two films. "A Man Called Peter" which was excellent and "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi" a foreign film. We did not know that this was a foreign film initially, Geoffrey was not happy but it did not take long for this movie to reel us in, man, what fun! I recommend both films. You leave them with a sense of wholeness and actually being challenged by the themes presented.

"Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi" is a film of an arranged marriage and the challenges an arrangement provides along with the beauty as well. It is an Indian musical. I am often bored by musicals but these interludes of music and dancing are just plain fun and goofy. A movie that makes me laugh out loud is rare, this one did.

Judy (Wetmore) Logan has probably seen this movie, but if she has not, I know she will love it. Judy is a friend from college and if you are looking for an engaging book or a great movie this is the woman who has the lists. If Judy likes it, it is good. Funny thing about Judy, I never see her, I have no idea what her latest movies or books are that she would suggest. After all these years she still remains my standard. It has always been a pity that I like Judy more than she likes me.

"Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi" comes close to the solid truth yet diverges on the subject of Hinduism. The references to God are prolific but with a small "g" in all the subtitles. The wisdom from this flick is age old and much to glean from but the "god in you" theme is prevalent throughout the film. This is the biggest drawback. At age fortyish close to fiftyish I can overlook it while reaping the good.

To choose to fall in love, we do not see that kind of courage in our society. We have to feeeeeeeel first, then we choose. The Indian culture still continues in arranged marriages. Interestingly enough the divorce rate pales compared to our "fall in love" society. This movie will give you something to think about and will challenge your paradigms.

"A man Called Peter" diverges not from a Judeo-Christian theme. Peter Marshall was a minister back in the mid fifties that understood the need to be relevant without watering down the gospel. The movie contained long segments of Peter giving sermons. Surprisingly enough they held all of our attention. This is a must see as well.

Reflection: One Never Knows

Picture Credit: Robyn and RJ Saunders married August 15, 2009.

Robyn our oldest and now married to her man, when in high school, attended a journalism camp at Penn State's main campus. Journalism/photography was something she thought she might enjoy. When we picked her up at the end of the time her response was typical Robyn, "It was o.k..." You are waiting for more, driven to madness waiting for more, and that is probably all you are going to get, get over it.

She has never been our drama queen. She is the straight shooter and whether you want the truth or not, you are going to get the truth. If she is unhappy about something there is nothing in her that has a need to sugar coat it, or hide it. You never have to guess. I have appreciated this aspect of her over the years and have equally been challenged by it as well.

She did learn at the camp, that was "ok" four hundred dollars later "ok", that if she was to pursue photography it would be separate from journalism. She felt the photography you learn to support the journalism endeavor would be just that, supportive photography lessons. She wanted more. I thought this was insightful.

This spring she graduated from West Chester with a High School English teaching certificate. She actually completed everything in August but they let her walk in May. The job market is abysmal. This is unfortunate for some students out there because they might never have Robyn as their teacher.

Robyn's student teaching experience was great. She taught at Darby Middle School, bad section, and was able to maintain good classroom control. You always want to do what Robyn says, she just has an authority about her. I noted this at an early age...
However, with twelve resumes swirling around and no one biting she has realized it is just not meant to be, at least for this year.

This past week Robyn was hired by a newspaper to sell advertising. She might possibly be writing for the food section as well. The four hundred dollar investment for the journalism at Penn State..........you never know!

Phone Calls; Answer or Not?

Picture Credit: Vera Martin's bouquets on reception tables at Robyn and RJ's outdoor wedding reception in our backyard.

We no longer have an answering machine, I hate them, so when the phone rings it is a one shot deal. I really do feel bad if I do not answer. However, when I am in the middle of prime teaching I often just let it ring. My children do not. Today I was blessed they answered.

On the other line was a woman, earlier in the summer, I had been encouraged to call to offer encouragement. Her son, when tested, did not meet the standards that a first grader is expected to meet. He had been at our home school learning group last year and she was putting him in school this year. The woman in charge of the elementary section of our group thought I should give her a ring. "No, I do not do that, she is free to do what she wants." Period.

One morning it was as if I HAD to call her and reassure her that her son was on track for "his" track. We had a great talk. Regardless of their schooling choice I just wanted her to know that she need not worry about test scores! Period. She knows her child better than anyone, even the teacher. Mother's intuition is to be trusted, just relax I told her.

She called this morning. She said she knew I would "get it." Her father died un-expectantly of a heart attack in July, shortly after her and I had talked. After his death there were many things that became apparent. One of them was an understanding of why she home schooled her son last year. Had she not he would not have had the opportunity to spend time with his granddad. She had been so sick and regretted the time wasted on her son's education but now in retrospect saw the beauty of her son's time with his grandparents because of her sickness. It was all making sense even though the loss is profound. She wanted me to know this.

Her son has transitioned well into brick and mortar school. His teacher is a christian who is watching that his little broken heart is cared for. What a relief to his mom. God is good.

We talked of the plans that we have and she said, "But God trumps them all!" Why are we home schooling? We might discover it has nothing to do with what we thought. It just might be for a little boy to spend more time with his grandfather. Will that be revealed on test scores? Not on certain test scores, but the test that matters, you bet ya.

I need to make sure I do not implement hard and fast rules such as not answering the phone during teaching times. I need to be led. Talking with this woman felt as if I had called 1-800-testimony!

The More They Have The More They Want...

Picture Credit: A Highlight for a number of families who have made this a yearly tradition is camping at Poe Paddy. Tubing down the river regardless of the water level is a must. The vacation that we as families spend at Poe Paddy proves less is more and more is less. There are little to no conveniences at Poe Paddy but much more of everything else!

My children will wake up this morning and there will be me to look forward to, seems a bit boring. We will manage to eat breakfast and not necessarily all together. We will then proceed to do our work and that too might look unorganized, but we will do it.
Lunch will quickly approach, sooner in their thoughts than in mine, and we will figure something out to eat. Then we will wind down and the afternoon will be here. What amazes me is that many times they are not bolting at that point. They are content to be with me still.

Over the years I have discovered this piece of information that is only discovered when it happens; the more my children have of me or my husband the more they want of me or my husband. Last year when I clicked off to work at eleven fifteen in the morning they likewise clicked me out of their picture. After working for a couple of months my return home was insignificant, they would not meet me at the door I would have to find them. Of course they would hug or kiss me then but they were following suit.

When I discontinued work they likewise discontinued their nonchalance attitude of my presence, they again wanted to be with me more. This insight into their behavior is so fascinating to me. Yesterday I thought about it again as all three of us were off to purchase cake decorating supplies (minimal decorating supplies, not the real stuff). They are watching "Cake Boss" and convinced this is their destiny. Today we are making fondant. I am sure I have the spelling wrong and my pronunciation of it is continually being corrected. As we are in the store at five o'clock this is what I am thinking, "Why are they so excited about this? Why are they so happy to still be with me?"

Children do not bore of their parents, though society would have you think that. Children love to be with us. The more they have of us the more they want and their ability to adjust to our presence or desire our presence is telling.

Behind the Power Curve

It is nine o'clock on my computer and they are still sleeping. They persuaded me to watch a documentary last night. I chose it. It was on Egyptians'sailing ability rarely highlighted in history books. As I do with most movies/documentaries I slept. When I woke up I suggested we finish it in the morning. They informed me it had just finished. Alright then, how was it? They loved it.

So today they are still sleeping and I just pray no one comes to the door. At least the unfriendly homeschooling sorts. Yesterday I was selling coffee at a local Farmer's Market and Nicole came with me. She told me this was in place of her school. She wondered why I had brought work for her? It just looks good.

Geoffrey stayed home with Jesse and a list of assignments. When I looked over his assignments, uncompleted, he began his reasoning. Yadayadayada! But mom I thought you told me to just read. No Geoff I told you to complete the questions going back into the text for the answer. This is the angst, and if this is the angst, I think I can live with it. I love being with Geoffrey, he is one pleasure, his smile!

So, I have to wake them up and then decide what to do next. Should have thought of that last night, but I was freezing corn. Really wish I could feed them breakfast pills so we could move on with the day. I need good breakfast suggestions!

Constant Activitiy

Picture Credit: Robyn (Burkholder) Saunders posing for her sister Kathryn at Geoff and Cyndi Treichler's wedding in Columbus, Ohio. Robyn is excellent at posing in an interpretive sort of way....

Do my children have too much down time? I am living on a busy street with cars zooming past my kitchen window. The school buses go by every morning and every afternoon. Am I aiding or detracting from my children's childhood by keeping them home? Some would answer it one way and others another.

The culture I am surrounded by is one in which everyone is busy. We are not.
The uneasiness of not being busy enough, of possibly missing something crucial, would it be calmed by jumping into the rushing current the culture is flowing in? Do I need to get my children more involved and if so, in what? I am hounded, hounded I tell you.

The older I become, the longer I have home-schooled the steadier my feet are in the rushing current, however, it is still a current to contend with, still a current that hounds me. Oh, to be unaffected completely that would be marvelous but that is probably something that will not happen while I am still breathing.

The thinkers of the past, what the heck did they do with their time? Descartes spent most of the morning and afternoon in bed initially on account of a weak constitution but then it became his way of studying. He developed the coordinate system as a way of locating a fly on a wall as he was prone in bed. Newton contemplated gravity, contemplated, he took the time to think.

My family is in a society of doers and this is fostered pretty early in life. We are doers in a different way. We do not fill our time with sports and an assortment of outside activities but rather creative outlets. How all of this will be used only God knows. Lynn and I know one thing, we can not live any other way even if we are hounded and tempted to jump into the current rushing in the opposite direction past us!