The Manor Manor: 2015

Thursday, December 31, 2015

December Blessings

December has flown by in so many ways. It has been good and busy but also challenging in different ways. God has continued to bless our family far more than we deserve and we are reminded of this everyday. Here is a glimpse of the blessings from this month.

Reuben and Gabriel sleeping until after 7 and pooping in the toilet!
Gabriel and Sam playing together
Sam praying
CG dinner
Kids playing well together
Writing blog posts
Moments with Jim throughout the day
Talking with Jamey about what it means to be a Christian
Learning to have a date night at home
Getting a duck!
Talking through more hard feelings
God's great grace
Kisses from Neo
Teaching Jamey natural consequences
God stirring my heart to pray more
Napping with Lillian
Reading with the middle boys
Learning together
Making granola by myself
Getting school work completed
Writing end of year letter
Dealing with hard circumstances with the kids while Jim was at work
Women's gift exchange
Lillian going with us
Catching up with friends
Bec going to the gift exchange
Productive afternoon
Family movie night with friends
Learning about the tabernacle
Talking about the sermon with the kids
Kids napping
Talking and resting with Jim
Celebrating Hanukkah
Latkes and donuts
Productive school day
Make-shifting a recipe from things we had in the pantry
Going to bed early
Jim being home
Getting 8 hours of sleep
Getting a good report form lead people and inspection bid getting done quickly
Good conversation at Starbucks
Adventure
Waking early
Getting through the day by myself
Good member meeting
Taking the kids caroling
Help from Becca and Ryan
God's grace to get through
Jamey understanding a joke
Getting some emails written
Connecting with people
Kids wanting to draw instead of watching TV
Cleaning out some email
Low-key evening
Coffee with Amy N
Finishing school week
Learning more about myself
packages
Making class plans with Jim
Good time at writing group
Remembering Kimberly
helping Margaret
Getting plans for the week figured out
Adult movie night
Good conversation with Jim
Norwex party
Connecting with other ladies
Graduation party
Seeing Jen
Meeting Kathy
Last night of Hanukkah
Fun family evening
Good wake up
Working through stressors together
Getting 2 days of school work completed
Getting some of the to-do list done
READING!
Finishing The Man Who Was Thursday and the Back to the Classics Challenge 2015
Getting some extra work completed with Jamey
Low-key yet productive day
Working through things
Time at CG
Sleep
Getting more restful sleep
Becca being home much of the day
Getting stuff done
Having a good day overall
God's grace
Sam being sweet to Neo
Obedience
Being calm
Making it through 3 days in a row
Time to reflect
Sam giving Neo kisses
Sharing with Jim
Mandy taking the kids for the day
Opening a new account!
Getting our room more organized
Relaxing evening at home
Good coffee date
Talking through hard things
Taking a nap
Jim having a productive afternoon
Talking through calendar with Bec
Am Vet Christmas party
Time with Jessica
Early bed time
Great concluding Exodus sermon
Becca and Ryan going to church with us
Time to rest and talk
Iron Chef
Early bedtime
Movie night in
Time to rest
Low-key day
Leftovers for dinner
Talking through emotions
Being together
Getting through the day
Working on emails
Updating address list
Jamey feeding Nehemiah
God's great to get through
Snuggling with Lillian
CSI
Baby number 7!
Sleeping in
Getting errands run in 3 hours
Medicine for Jim's arm- not neuro pain
Low-key evening
Snuggling with Lillian
Reading after dinner
Early bed time
Jim being off of work
Brunch date
Christmas eve service with 4 kids
Mac and Cheese dinner
Teaching Jamey and Lillian how to play "Sequence"
Home made hot cocoa
Talking with Becca and Ryan
Sleeping in
Pancakes
Wathing "The Nativity Story"
Celebrating Jesus's birthday
Relaxing family day
Duck, homemade rolls, twice baked potatoes and green bean casserole
Jim's cooking ability
Telling kids about the baby and their excitement
Parents getting here safely and early
Low-key morning
New PJs
Nice encouragement from Jim
Good sermon on loving God and loving others
Pieology!
Good conversation with Becca, Daddy and Ryan
Gifts with the whole family
Jim getting a lot of reading completed
Nehemiah turning 6 months!
Good, deep sleep
Low-key day
Repair guy coming by
Creation Museum
Live Nativity and Christmas lights
Prayer
Wrestling with God
Talking with Daddy
Honesty
Pie Kitchen from Becca
Relaxing evening at home
Finishing the Old Testament!
Sleeping in
Movie day
Getting blog posts written
Finishing Challenges
Talking through goals for 2016
Connecting with Jim
Being together
Left overs
Becca making soup for everyone
God's great grace in 2016

December Evaluation

Due to circumstances this past year, I'm not really changing my goals. Some will go that are not top priority, but I'm keeping the ones that fit with the overarching goal of having a God-centered life and the things I see Him leading me to right now. So thus far this is how it goes:

Spiritual

Spend at least 10 minutes praying daily- Yes, I'm working more directed prayer into my day
Spend at least 10 minutes reading and reflecting on the Bible daily- Yes!
Memorize verses with the kids - We have memorized 13 verses together
Memorize Scripture- Doing this with the kids in school time

Marriage

Go out for a date once a week- Yes
~~Go on a night away once this year~~- Yes we went away for our anniversary!
Read 3 books together this year- Did not read any this month, this goal will not be met
Discuss plan weekly on ~~Sunday~~ Saturday afternoon- We are discussing plans but still need improvement on consistency and sticking to our plans as much as it depends on us

Kids

Spend 30 minutes of one on one time with each child every week- Getting better at this, still have a lot of growing, but at least we are progressing :)
Go to playgroup each Tuesday- Did not really happen this month and this one will likely be going away
~~Write in individual journals at least 3 times this year~~- I have met this goal!
Finish Jamey's 1st year Scrapbook- Need to go through pictures with Jim so this is on hold currently

Homemaking

Keep up with cleaning schedule- Not at all, did some cleaning, but there is still no consistency here
Keep up with my calendar- Status quo, still need improvement here
Being fully present when with my family- Getting better at this but always room for improvement

Ministry

Continue sending out Prayer List- Yes

Personal

Read a book a month for myself- Yes! This month I read "A Christmas Carol" and "The Man Who Was Thursday" to complete the Back to the Classics challenge I have been doing this year
Journal 5 days a week- Yes! God has really been giving me opportunity to do this in the morning
Write (books) 3 days a week- I have written down some ideas for my nonfiction book I'm working on, and looked at part of a section with my writing group
Edit novel to prepare for publishing and research publishing options- No additional work on this during the month
Finish Rosetta Stone Russian level 1 - Have not worked on this
Continue to meet once a month with writing group- YES! So thankful to have a new Sister in the group
Blog 3 days a week- Thanks to all the book reviews I did I met this goal!

Health

~~Go to water aerobics once a week~~- Started back to find out that our instructor was moving and they are going to begin charging for classes so only did this half the month and this will be no more
~~Maintain weight until birth~~- Did well with this, still gained some but far better than other pregnancies
Lose weight after giving birth- Just maintained this month

December and 2016 is at an end. It's so hard to believe that another month and year have come and gone. As I look at my goals for this year, I am reminded once again that God is ultimately in control of all things and that our goals are good for guidance, but God ordains our days. As our family grows and the stages of life change, different things have a greater priority and for a season life looks different than it did before. As Jim and I look forward to 2016 priorities are going to look a little different because the size of our family has grown, our kids are older, and we desire to do life together as much as possible, something that has not really happened since moving to Louisville. This means some goals that have been present will go and other things will be added. But we know God is working in all of this and by His grace we will grow in being a family that He wants us to be.

How was your December?

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Back to the Classics Challenge Final Wrap-Up

I did it! I finished all 12 categories in the Back to the Classics Challenge 2015 that I participated in. I really enjoyed doing this challenge as I read books that I have been wanting to read for quite some time. These books challenged me and helped me in wrestling through everyday life as portrayed in literature. If you do not read classics, I recommend trying it. You can be part of the 2016 Back to the Classics challenge or just plan to read 1 this year and see how it broadens your appreciation of literature.

I read everything that I put in the beginning post except for changing my Shakespeare play to "The Comedy of Errors". Below are links to all 12 of the classics I read.

19th Century Classic: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
20th Century Classic: Lady Chatterly's Lover by D.H. Lawrence
Classic by a Woman Author: Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Very Long Classic: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Classic in Translation: The Odyssey by Homer
Classic Novella: The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
Classic with a Person's Name in the Title: Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Humorous or Satirical Classic: The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Forgotten Classic: The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton
Nonfiction Classic: The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
Classic Children's Book: Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Classic Play: "A Comedy of Errors" by Shakespeare

I hope you enjoy these reviews and that you will be encouraged to read more classics!

The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton

I have completed my 12th book for the Back to the Classics Challenge I have been participating in this year. This is in the category of Forgotten Classics.

The Man Who Was Thursday was a very interesting read. The beginning half in particular was very much like reading a suspense novel and had me wanting to read more and more. In fact the subtitle is "A Nightmare." The conversation is deep and intellectual. The descriptions capture your imagination and put you into the story. The suspense of what is happening drives the story.

Near the end of the book it got a little weird in that, "what is really going on" sense, and I lost a little momentum. But the conclusion was interesting and extremely ethereal. I do not want to spoil the ending, but it was very interesting to say the least. I would like to read this again and look for more clues throughout the book, now that I know how it ends.

I would recommend this book and would love to read more of Chesterton's works.

4.5 stars for this forgotten classic.

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Dolphin Adventure

This was one of our read-alouds with our Core A Sonlight curriculum.

This book was a quick and easy read that my kids enjoyed and so did I. Who doesn't like dolphins? Though simply written you can feel everything going on in the words expressed on the pages. And it really is an adventure.

I would highly recommend this book as a good family read.

4.5 Stars

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Here's A Penny

This is one of our read aloud books from our Core A Sonlight curriculum.

Our family really enjoyed this book! These are fun stories about a little boy called Penny because of his bright copper hair. What I love the most about this book is that Penny is adopted and so it allowed for many conversations with our kids about adoption and how God adopts us. The last few chapters had the tears flowing in a good way.

A couple of the chapters were a little long, but they were still enjoyable.

I would highly recommend this book.

4.5 stars

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Mary On Horseback

This book was part of our Core A curriculum with Sonlight.

It was interesting reading these stories as they take place in Appalatia, not far from where we live, and is about nursing care (my husband and I are both nurses). These stories are very serious stories, but still very interesting. I can't say my kids enjoyed reading them because of the solemnity of the stories, but it was a good look at rural life in our country and brought about good discussions.

If your kids are really sensitive, I might not read this book to them or at least preview it to see if they can handle the stories. Otherwise I would recommend this book.

4.5 stars

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

My Father's Dragon

This book is part of our Core A Sonlight curriculum. It is good story of a boy sailing to an island to rescue a dragon. The boy uses cleaver devices to trick the animals of the island as he explores and looks for the dragon. My kids really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend this book, especially for a family read.

4.5 stars

Thursday, December 17, 2015

The Boxcar Children

This classic children's book was the first read aloud in our Core A curriculum from Sonlight.

Even though I have read it several time, it does not fail to disappoint. It is a story of 4 orphans seeking to survive on their own and not be found by their grandfather, of whom they are very afraid. I love the ingenuity of the kids as they figure out how to make a refrigerator, a ladle, and a swimming pool, among other things. I really enjoyed pointing these things out to Lillian as we read this together. I also appreciate that the kids are hard workers, all of them, which is a great encouragement to me.

The ending is a little too "happily ever after" for my taste, but as a whole I like the book very much.

5 stars for this book.

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Animals Animals

This was the poetry book in our P4/5 curriculum through Sonlight. Though poetry is not my thing, this book is not too bad. I like that it has a variety of poetry types and poetry from different cultures. The pictures are done by Eric Carle, which make them interesting to fit with the poems.

4 Stars

Saturday, December 12, 2015

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

I finished my 11th book in the Back to the Classics Challenge I am doing! This was my book for 19th century classic and even though I am very familiar with the story I really enjoyed reading it.

If you have been around for any length of time you have probably seen or heard some rendition of this story, but it is worth the read. It is clearly written, which is a great comfort as some classics can get lost in the words. I also appreciated that this book was short and a quick read, but still deep. There are certainly many thought provoking statements. It also is sobering to think of yourself and how you treat people. It would be great if it were truly Christian, but for not being a Christian work it was very good.

I am really glad I read it and recommend it for others.

4.5 stars for this classic!

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Stories from Around the World

This book was part of the read alouds in our P4/5 Curriculum from Sonlight. As with any story book, you will not necessarily like them all, but I did enjoy the majority of the stories in this book. It is fun to see different folk tales from around the world and compare them to each other. Lillian enjoyed reading these stories and learning a little more about the cultures we were talking about.

4 stars

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Leading Little Ones To God

This book was given to us as our devotional book for Core B in our Sonlight Curriculum. It is a good basic book for introducing and explaining truths to children. The wording makes it evident that it was written awhile again and can feel awkward to read, but it was not bad. There were also times I did not agree with how they said something, so I wish I had read it ahead of time to know it was coming. These were very few and easy to correct.

As a whole I would recommend this as a devotional book for kids.

4 Stars

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Lady Chatterly's Lover by D.H. Lawrence

My 10th book for my Back to the Classics Challenge, was Lady Chatterly's Lover for the category of 20th Century Classic.

I bought this book years ago, I think in high school, so I was a little leery of reading it for likely obvious reasons. But I was quite surprised by this book. It wasn't excellent, but I was intrigued by many of the passages in this book. The words and pictures painted, though very vivid and risque, were similar to the pictures painted in the Song of Songs. It was a complete admiration for one another and the way, I believe, God wants us to look at our spouses. It is frustrating that this is such a secular view of this, but much can be learned in it.

I do not condone the actions in the book at all. I will say it is also a good picture of how easy it is to become disenchanted and abandon what you know to be true and right, no matter who you are.

At times it was difficult to read as parts were written in a cockney-esc dialect. The beginning was also slow and a bit unnecessary.

I also appreciate that there is an open-ended ending with no idea as to when, if ever, they will be together.

Does that mean I recommend this book? Yes and No. If you know yourself and have good control of your mind, you may be able to read this book and enjoy it as I did. If you are single, DO NOT READ IT! And if you have problems handling romance, I would not recommend this either.

I give this book 3 stars.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

The Comedy of Errors by Shakespeare

The Comedy of Errors is my 9th classic in my Back to the Classics Challenge and is the book for the "classic play" category.

Like most Shakespeare comedies, I quite enjoyed this play. It was a quick and easy read, which I greatly appreciated.

It was certainly funny, but sadly overly predictable. Act 1 Scene 1 allowed me to guess the play without having read it and without ever hearing a synopsis of the play. The ins and outs were not as predictable, which kept the humor for me.

Because I enjoy Shakespeare and this play kept well to the fashion I enjoy, I give it 4 stars, deducting 1 for the giveaway at the beginning of the play.

Monday, November 30, 2015

November Blessings

In this month of counting our blessings, I have so much to be thankful for. God has really grown our family this month and provided for us in the midst of chaos. He has given our family so much this month, mostly closer relationships with each other, but it is far more than I had expected. God truly is the giver of all good things, especially of those things that money cannot buy.

What are you thankful for this month?

An extra hour of sleep
Hearing what God says about adultery
Restful afternoon
Reuben and Gabriel playing nicely together
Jamey playing a board game with Jim and me
Planning to plan
God revealing more of our hearts to us
Learning to function steadily in a chaotic day
Finding consistency
Growing in grace
Seeing the Wilburn Family before they left for India
Smoothie!
Walking
Good CG time at our house
Leandro hanging out with the kids
Working through things
God giving me grace to help a boy having a seizure
Making it through the day with 4 hours of sleep
Jim and I really working through emotions
Realizing so much of God's grace before I met Jim
Jamey making me a card
Time to relax for a few minutes
God working in everything
Going to bed early
Going to see Jim at work
Smoothie
Getting most of the weeks school work completed
Time to read
God's continued grace
Time with Jim
Sleeping in a little
Productive day
Being together as a family
Working through things
Kids playing well together
Having fun
Learning about stealing
God's conviction
Growing with Jim
Yummy sandwich at Flanagan's
Good conversation
Kids' napping
Playing together
Jamey helping the middle boys with recitation
Getting up early
Getting a lot of pictures uploaded
Many Gospel conversations
"Cupcake Wars"
A freezer full of breast milk
Kids ahead in individual work
Jamey reading to Nehemiah
Productive school day
Productive house day
Learning a new game
Running errands alone
Last day of co-op for the semester
Secret Sisters
Getting to co-op early with Jim at work
McDonald's Breakfast
Getting to see Jim at work for a few minutes
Kids letting me sleep in a little
Productive school and home day
Talking through the resurrection
Kids beginning to play well together
Getting uploads finished
Finishing up the school week early
Dinner and Display with our co-op
Good time with family
Kids growing
Evening with Jim at home
Writing group
Margaret joining us
Family day at home
Learning to work on things together
Sam Growing in communication
Learning about taking risks for God and living fully
Commissioning service and reception for international workers
Prayer
God continuing to expose my heart to me
Time with Gabe
Car not being expensive to fix for now
Kids playing well together
Week off of school
God working on me and helping me to grow
Getting over a chapter read in my book
Working on cleaning together
Talking with God
Hot shower
Jamey teaching the younger kids
Showing kids glow in the dark stuff
Jim talking to the kids
Lunch date at home with Jamey
Productive afternoon
Teaching kids to clean
Feeling more normal mentally
Very productive day
Jim getting called off
Putting kids clothes away
Cleaning and organizing
Getting most pictures uploaded
Finishing Lady Chatterly's Lover
Productive morning
Nice day out
Talking through family and personal mission statements and goals
Really communicating
Neo doing well
Catching up with Lindsay
Good day out
Yummy Panera
Life planning with Jim
Growing together in the knowledge of God and what He has for our family in this season
Learning about coveting and how God wants us to view life
Lunch with my sisters
Hanging out as a family
Kids welcoming Jacob
Putting avocado on my eggs
Productive day at home
Growing with Jim
Learning as a family
Great encouraging time at book club
Neo eating and pumping 4 oz
Jamey reading from the Bible and taking notes
Kids learning the Bible
Good dialogue at CG
Working through emotions more calmly
Sam and Neo giving each other kisses
Kids memorizing Scripture
Coffee date with Jim
Growing in working through things together
Seeing my own sin
Sleeping until 7:40!
Spending the day with the McMillin family
Daddy's surgery going well
Lot's of good food
Time and a half
Kids being fully welcomed
Celebrating Gabriel's birthday
IHOP
Hanging out with Becca and Ryan
Pizza
Ice Cream Cake
Jamey loving Fireproof
Growing as a family
Finishing several projects
Gabriel turning 3!
Kids playing well together
Talking with Becca
God continuing to grow my heart
Working with God and Jim to live life
TV staying off until after dinner
Learning about God's mission for His people
Jamey asking how God redeems us
Lots of leftovers
Ryan and Becca getting us really yummy tacos
Taking a nap

November Evaluation

Spend at least 10 minutes praying daily- Yes, I'm working more directed prayer into my day
Spend at least 10 minutes reading and reflecting on the Bible daily- Yes!
Memorize verses with the kids - We have memorized 10 verses together
Memorize Scripture- Doing this with the kids in school time

Marriage

Go out for a date once a week- Yes
~~Go on a night away once this year~~- Yes we went away for our anniversary!
Read 3 books together this year- Did not read any this month, this goal will not be met
Discuss plan weekly on ~~Sunday~~ Saturday afternoon- We are discussing plans but still need improvement on consistency and sticking to our plans as much as it depends on us

Kids

Spend 30 minutes of one on one time with each child every week- Getting better at this, still have a lot of growing, but at least we are progressing :)
Go to playgroup each Tuesday- Did not really happen this month and this one will likely be going away
Write in individual journals at least 3 times this year- A little behind in this but will be done soon
Finish Jamey's 1st year Scrapbook- Need to go through pictures with Jim so this is on hold currently

Homemaking

Keep up with cleaning schedule- Did some cleaning later in the month, but still not consistent hoping to grow in this next year
Keep up with my calendar- Status quo, still need improvement here
Being fully present when with my family- Getting better at this but always room for improvement

Ministry

Continue sending out Prayer List- Yes

Personal

Read a book a month for myself- This month I read "Lady Chatterly's Lover" (review to come, I'm behind on my other review as well. Hopefully I'll get some blog posts written soon)
Journal 5 days a week- Yes! God has really been giving me opportunity to do this in the morning
Write (books) 3 days a week- I have written down some ideas for my nonfiction book I'm working on, and worked on the introduction with my writing group
Edit novel to prepare for publishing and research publishing options- No additional work on this during the month
Finish Rosetta Stone Russian level 1 - Have not worked on this
Continue to meet once a month with writing group- YES! So thankful to have a new Sister in the group
Blog 3 days a week- Not at all

Health

~~Go to water aerobics once a week~~- Started back to find out that our instructor was moving and they are going to begin charging for classes so only did this half the month and this will be no more
~~Maintain weight until birth~~- Did well with this, still gained some but far better than other pregnancies
Lose weight after giving birth- Just maintained this month, need a plan for this, but other things are taking priority

It's hard to believe November is at an end. This month involved a lot of ups and downs. We took a week off of school to teach cleaning and do major planning. Thanksgiving week was completely thrown off. But through it all, God has been faithful and is growing Jim and me together, giving us vision for our family and what we believe He wants it to look like. We are still struggling with execution, but hopefully during December we will get plans settled and 2016 will be a year of great growth for our family.

What was November like for you?

Saturday, November 28, 2015

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GABRIEL!

Today my fourth child is 3 years old! How quickly the time has gone. Gabriel surprised us by coming a week before he was due, and he has continued to be a go-getter ever since then.

Gabriel is such a fun spirit. His name, we later found out, means mighty man of God, and is he ever strong willed. Though not extreme, he still seeks to please, but Gabriel is a determined little boy. He is rough and tumble and full of energy. His smile and laugh are contagious. He loves to learn and thinks he can do everything the older ones can.

I love to hear Gabriel talk. He is so excited about life and want to tell you about everything. He talks to his siblings and loves on them. Gabriel loves to dance and sing. He is just about anything you would expect a 3 year old boy to be.

As rough and tumble as he is, Gabriel is still sensitive and easily gets his feelings hurt. He loves hugs and kisses, but only when he wants them.

Giraffes are Gabriel's favorite animals. He also loves cars and puzzles. I am so thankful to see a love for reading in him already.

We started him with a preschool program this year and he gets so excited about learning. He loves to write and gets out his writing board for fun to practice writing.

I am so thankful God has given this precious boy to us. He is such a blessing to our family. God has used his life so much already.

Father, thank You for our precious Gabriel! Please make him into a mighty man of You and a man after Your own heart.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GABRIEL!!!

Photo shoot by Becca Camp

Saturday, October 31, 2015

October Blessings

What can I say about October? It was so full and God has been constantly teaching us. We have had so many blessings. So thankful to be able to share some with you!