June 2005
June 30, 2005
Ephesians 5:21-33
I was invited to participate in this meme by Kate at Heart Speaks to Heart Thanks, Kate! Read the passage from Ephesians 5:21-33: 21Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife...2:29 PM in Marriage | Permalink | Comments (6)
June 29, 2005
Home sweet bird-filled Loudoun home
One of the dearest gifts my husband Tripp has given me is making sure we have lots of birds around – with feeders of all sorts always filled. I so love birds. Their cheerful music lifts my morning walk from simple endurance to sheer enchantment. The low-flying cardinals which sweep...12:25 PM in Culture | Permalink | Comments (1)
June 28, 2005
Homeschool furniture ideas
Early on in our homeschooling years, because of our number of kids, we turned our family room into a classroom. The best investment I ever made was this table: I bought the table and chairs from Beckley Cardy, a school supply company, but you can also find them here. It...9:18 PM in Homeschooling | Permalink | Comments (5)
Teaching children self-control
Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control. (Proverbs 25:28) One of the greatest gifts you can give your child is self-control. It’s not the kind of gift you can wrap a bow around, but a foundation you build day by day as you...10:26 AM in Toddlers | Permalink | Comments (4)
June 27, 2005
Win a book!
I am busy finishing a book today, but hope to blog later on. There's plenty to browse in the archives, though! Just want to announce that my 22,222 visitor will win his/her choice of my books. Just because....11:16 AM in Contest | Permalink | Comments (1)
June 25, 2005
Another great reason for children
They're fun and rewarding! Tonight I'm on my way to see Sophia Rose and Madeleine Marie in The Sound of Music. This is their second time in this play. The first was six years ago when they played Marta and Gretl - two of the von Trapp children, along with...6:33 PM in | Permalink | Comments (0)
Ten Great Reasons to Have Another Child
Reprinted with permission from Population Research Institute July 2, 2001 Volume 3/ Number 18 Dear Colleague: Scripture tells us that children are blessings from God. And so they are. But we live in an anti-natal age. The secular humanists have twisted the virtue of childbearing into the vice of overpopulation....6:18 PM in Pro-Life Issues | Permalink | Comments (4)
My emotional weather report
Clearing today, who knows tomorrow? I decided to spend most of today in the kitchen - frying chicken and making potato salad and deviled eggs for 25 tomorrow (our kids, sons-in-law, grandkids plus Samantha's MIL who's visiting from California - and then who knows what friends will wander over). This...9:54 AM in Practical Info | Permalink | Comments (6)
June 23, 2005
You know you're a parent when
you're thrilled about the big bathtub in the master bedroom because it will be so much fun for the kids....5:43 PM in Big families | Permalink | Comments (1)
Overheard at my house
With "Hotel California" wafting in the background -- don't ask me why, my sons have eclectic musical taste (from rock to opera to country to Broadway)and Zach turned it on on his computer (which is in the family room to keep him accountable): Ben: Yeah, Mom, what's that song about,...5:14 PM in Music | Permalink | Comments (5)
Zach Attack
That's what we call him. Hope the world is ready for our #6!!...5:10 PM in | Permalink | Comments (3)
June 22, 2005
A child's eye-view of reproductive freedom
“Mom, how’s this supposed make kids feel?” Sophia was waving a Newsweek with a cover on “The New Science of Sex Selection.” Showcased inside were families who had “too much” (two or more) or “enough” (one) of one gender to cast their fate to the whim of their own reproductive...9:32 AM in Pro-Life Issues | Permalink | Comments (15)
Cheap thrills
Last night Maddy and Sophia needed a ride to their dress rehearsal for Sound of Music. No one else was home except the Four Downzateers (for new readers, my four sons - one by birth, three by adoption - with Down syndrome 13, 10, 9, and 5). Which meant we...7:37 AM in Family | Permalink | Comments (3)
June 21, 2005
Where I write
Here is where I write: It's a blessing. Out my window is an ever-changing view based on the weather and the seasons. See the birdfeeder? It's one of about 20 Tripp has hung around our house because we love birds. There are a couple others on a tree to the...7:42 PM in Writing | Permalink | Comments (12)
Inspiration for Christian writers
Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment made, Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade, To write the love of God above, Would drain the ocean dry. Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Though stretched from...12:56 PM in Writing | Permalink | Comments (0)
June 20, 2005
Too beautiful for words
They say a picture's worth a thousand words. Here's one that's saved thousands of lives. No matter how many times I see this, I still cry. Isn't it beautiful? I know this isn't news. But I'm finishing up a book on how to communicate with leftists, and I watched it...10:16 AM in Babies, Big families, Family, Inspiration, Mothering, Pro-Life Issues | Permalink | Comments (3)
God has all the answers
For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves, God has a positive answer: You say: "It's impossible" God says: All things are possible (Luke 18:27) You say: "I'm too tired" God says: I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28 30) You say: "Nobody really loves me" God...9:40 AM in Inspiration | Permalink | Comments (0)
Toads in a hole
While we're on the subject of Zachary, his specialty recipe is Toads-in-a-Hole (I think these may also be known as Moon-over-Miami). He started making them when he was a little boy. This is something you can teach a 6 year old who is able to concentrate and be careful at...9:22 AM in Practical Info | Permalink | Comments (2)
June 18, 2005
What it's all about
Our sixth child graduated today. Six down and six to go. I am now entering that stage of motherhood where I am more the grandparents' age at these events. An uncomfortable place to be, since all the other mothers are looking much more glamorous than I. And, yes, I know...8:24 PM in Big families, Family, Mothering, Teens and Tweens | Permalink | Comments (7)
June 16, 2005
Sharing the load
Here's a strategy to bring out the best in every member of the family: Four questions - to be asked about anything that needs to be done: Can he do it himself? Is your child able to dress himself? To clean his room? To clean up his own place after...10:41 PM in Big families, Family, Homeschooling, Montessori, Mothering, Toddlers | Permalink | Comments (4)
Home sweet homeschool
Just want to share my joy: Next year Maddy and I will be homeschooling together!! Though we were homeschooling in California, when we moved to Virginia all our kids went to public school. (I believe we had a mission to fulfill.) Next year the Downzers will still attend public school...10:21 PM in Homeschooling | Permalink | Comments (4)
The Simpsons
Now I know I love World! But am wondering how many subscriptions they've lost. June 11th's cover is The Simpsons! (I got this issue three days after June 18th issue - maybe my mailwoman was reading it.) This is the second time in four months I scooped World. The first...4:52 PM in Culture | Permalink | Comments (5)
Laughter IS the best medicine!
Jasmine has something pretty funny tucked away at the end of this....12:49 PM in Fun Stuff | Permalink | Comments (1)
End of story for me
It's been a long day. I've learned a lot about a lot of different things. I've taken one daughter to have an ingrown toenail removed and to get her hair cut. I've taken Jesse, my 10-year-old with Down syndrome to a different doctor in a different direction to diagnose his...12:02 AM in Writing | Permalink | Comments (2)
June 15, 2005
Belz on democracy and mediocrity
I love World magazine. I was a charter subscriber, and even wrote for them for a while 'til Andree Seu came along. Hey, I'm no fool. I know a superior writer when I see one. She's worthy. But that wasn't enough to make me stop loving World. Here is what...9:32 PM in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (1)
Father figures
I grew up without a dad, which was the exception way back when. Today it's ever so much more the norm. Because of the basic kindness of our culture, we've eliminated the stigma of fatherlessness. I guess that's good in some ways. It's not the children's fault, after all. But...7:47 PM in Family | Permalink | Comments (2)
A mission statement - to the rescue
I have eliminated my last two blogs. It's a matter of good editing. I always feel a little put upon when a director doesn't edit a movie and it obviously would have been a better movie if he hadn't been so self-indulgent and had cut a half hour or two...7:14 PM in Writing | Permalink | Comments (2)
June 14, 2005
Writers: Mentoring Clinic
Attention Writers: New Clinic Intensive Offered November 7-10, 2005 From the website: A new three-day event for Christian writers is being offered by Mount Hermon, in response to the success of mentoring tracks within its popular spring conference. In the three-night, four-day stay, students will get one-on-one and group critique...9:18 PM in Writing | Permalink | Comments (0)
June 13, 2005
Working the Virginia primary
Tuesday is the Virginia primary election. It's the first time in many, many years that the Democrats and Republicans have both chosen to hold primaries. Turnout is expected to be very, very light. That doesn't change things for me. For a few years, I've been working the elections. I started...8:36 PM in Practical Info | Permalink | Comments (7)
June 12, 2005
On generosity
No one has ever become poor by giving Anne Frank A few months ago my once-a-week housekeeper (once I started making money writing, I invested in someone to help me with my house so I could write more. Believe me, there's still plenty to do!) had a crisis: she lost...4:33 PM in Practical Info | Permalink | Comments (5)
June 11, 2005
Lookin' good at Special Olympics
Jonny, Jesse and Daniel have been preparing all spring for the Speical Olympics, Equestrian Competition (we live in horse country). Last Sunday was the big event. It was really exciting to see all the riders, including some who had to be lifted from wheelchairs onto huge horses. My camera battery...8:23 PM in Disabilities | Permalink | Comments (4)
Speaking of Helen Keller
The Miracle Worker is a must-see for every family. If you haven't seen it since you were a kid, you'll get so much out of now watching it with your own children. And if you have never seen it, you've missed two of the greatest female movie performances ever: Hayley...1:10 PM in Movies | Permalink | Comments (2)
Why do we say she was blind?
"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble." - Helen Keller...1:04 PM in Inspiration | Permalink | Comments (0)
I got an award!
This was the first year in many that I did not teach at or simply attend the Evangelical Press Association's annual conference. The EPA is the trade organization for Christian magazines and newspapers. It's an awesome place to be, among the gatekeepers. And wouldn't ya know, the year I wasn't...10:57 AM in Writing | Permalink | Comments (6)
June 9, 2005
More on Cinderella Man - and boys
I haven't seen it yet, but hope to this weekend. I just keep hearing so many good things about Cinderella Man. Check out this review at Reasoned Audacity. And for moms of boys, I just want to add that bringing up my four-in-a-row boys, I had to get over my...11:30 AM in Movies | Permalink | Comments (5)
Book alert
A book on punctuation that makes you laugh out loud?? Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss will tell you more than you would have ever thought there was to know about those funny little marks which writers depend on to govern the tempo, signal emotions, or clarify the meaning...10:16 AM in Books | Permalink | Comments (1)
June 7, 2005
Help me out here
While we're on the subject of movies, I'm having a little problem. I've been signed on with Netflix for three and a half years (I must be one of their original customers - hmmm, should I be getting a prize? I remember amazon sent me a coffee mug one year...8:24 PM in Movies | Permalink | Comments (6)
Lookin' good . . . .
Here is what happens when you try to increase your child's independence by telling him to go pick out some clothes and get dressed: Well, at least they're right side out and in the same color family (loosely speaking)! And how could you possibly burst his bubble when he's feeling...5:55 PM in Toddlers | Permalink | Comments (6)
Does Hollywood have an agenda?
Would you be surprised to learn that G-rated films are the most profitable? And knowing that, would you be perplexed by the fact that Hollywood continues to pump out more R-rated products? It's all in a study released today by the Dove Foundation and reported here. "While the movie industry...3:36 PM in Movies | Permalink | Comments (1)
My blogroll has begun
TA DA! My blogroll is now offically up! (over on the left) My google is still - alas! - not working properly....2:57 PM in Blogging | Permalink | Comments (1)
Cinderella Man
Frederica Mathewes-Green has a review of Cinderella Man at National Review Online. Since she's someone whose opinion I trust (and whose writing I admire) I have put it on my must-see list. It sounds like the perfect antidote to Million Dollar Baby, which according to the reviews I read sounded...10:23 AM in | Permalink | Comments (3)
June 6, 2005
Life in a small town
I live in the country, on a dirt road, about six miles from the small town of Purcellville (population less than 4000). Purcellville's the kind of place you see in movies – with no movie theater of its own, only one franchise drive-thru, three stoplights (up from one two years...5:14 PM in Culture | Permalink | Comments (6)
Montessori at Home #7
For toddlers, the world is a classroom. The amount of data they absorb and classify during the first three years would take our breath away - if we had a minute to stop chasing after them and think about it. God has equipped toddlers with a zest for learning....7:30 AM in Montessori | Permalink | Comments (0)
June 4, 2005
I'm a lucky mama
This is my famous son Jonny -- well, he thinks he's famous! And so do I!...8:00 PM in Down syndrome | Permalink | Comments (8)
Leftover socks, leftover shoes
Amy's humble musing on leftover socks left an indelible impression on me, as it probably did on every mother privileged to view Amy's visual tribute to the little things our lives are made of. And in a way, isn't it a testament to that Elisabeth Elliott piece on motherhood that...4:26 PM in Blogging | Permalink | Comments (5)
June 3, 2005
Let's play Book Tag
I've been tagged - for the first time - by Rebecca! Rebecca, I hope this isn't one of those Sorry-I-Asked, More-than-Anyone-Ever-Wanted-to-Know-About-Barbara, kind of things :) Total books owned, ever: I've always loved to read. Tripp has always loved to read. Six of our eight reading children love live to read....7:11 PM in Books | Permalink | Comments (5)
What's in your closets?
I think anyone with closets will identify with this: What's In Your Closets? Okay, so she's my daughter - she still cracks me up. And by the way, I was the one who gave her the napkin-folding book. She was 17 or so, apprenticing to become a mommy. With 7...12:07 PM in Fun Stuff | Permalink | Comments (0)
Choosing books for kids
Well, I think C. S. Lewis said all there is to say: I never wrote down to anyone. . . it certainly is my opinion that a book worth reading only in childhood is not worth reading even then. To start with, the best children's literature - like all literature...11:02 AM in Books | Permalink | Comments (3)
June 2, 2005
Montessori at Home #6
A lot of the time our world isn't the most comfortable for toddlers. Think how hard they have to work to climb up on a kitchen chair. Imagine doing it yourself with a chair twice as tall as you! Making your home more child-friendly Table and Chairs Start with the...4:29 PM in Montessori | Permalink | Comments (0)
Cute idea for spontaneous picture display
See those little binder clips holding up the photos? I saw this on my AOL browser and thought it was a cute idea for desks or windowsills. And it would be a good Montessori project for toddlers for developing concentration and pincer grasp (those little muscles that help your...2:44 PM in Practical Info | Permalink | Comments (0)
Adoption news resource
If you'd like to keep up with the issue of adoption, The Adoption Institute is a great resource. Their mission statement: To improve the quality of information about adoption, to enhance the understanding and perception of adoption, and to advance adoption policy and practice. You can subscribe to their e-newsletter,...10:06 AM in Adoption | Permalink | Comments (0)
June 1, 2005
Great Father's Day gifts
Hey dads, no peeking! Here - I found this funny gift: Then there's this cap And if your special man has a thing about collecting change (and which one doesn't?), try this Rich Man's Change Bank and include the W.C. Fields quote: A rich man is nothing but a poor...10:53 PM in | Permalink | Comments (0)
Ten most dangerous books
Thanks to Spunky for pointing us to The Ten Most Dangerous Books of the 19th and 20th Centuries Most of it was like a walk down memory lane from my days as a radical left philosophy major - and pagan to boot. How different everything looks when God's light is...3:22 PM in Books | Permalink | Comments (1)
Blogging etiquette - Part 2 (for everyone)
Last Sunday we spent our weekly family day (24 in all) with everyone 12 and over taking the Briggs-Meyers personality test. It was so much fun! And explained why it's always so noisy around here -- almost everyone is an extrovert. We had two computers going and lots of running...9:37 AM in Blogging | Permalink | Comments (0)
Blogging etiquette - Part 1 (for believers)
Since I've received admonishment from two women for being "unChristian" I'll take that as an invitation to disuss a few things: It is not "unChristian" to discuss and debate. It's not unChristian to do so publicly. As to whether Matthew 18:15 applies to blogging, I would say absolutely not. If...8:39 AM in Blogging | Permalink | Comments (2)
