Home School meme.

Thanks so much Vicky, for tagging me for the home school meme.

One Homeschool Book You've Enjoyed.  


My favourite would have to be Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum.  This book would have to be the one that helped me the most when I first started home school. I would say this is the book that gave me the confidence that I could educate my children myself. 


One Resource You Wouldn't Be Without. 


I think the internet would have to be the one. I keep in touch with other home school families and have loads of bookmarks with resources. 


One Resource You Wish You'd Never Bought. 


Not really sure if I can think of one. I cannot think of anything we have bought and not used. There have been programs that I have bought and thought I won't get this again simply because the program hasn't been suited to my children's way of learning. 


One Resource You Liked Last Year. 


I loved the Tutor System. I will be using it again next year for Christopher I think. 


One Resource You'll Be Using Next Year. 


The Tutor System and The Phonetic Zoo. The Phonetic Zoo is a spelling program. Right from the start of home schooling, I have really struggled with how to teach the children how to spell. In May this year, I did a search for something new and came across The Phonetic Zoo. I bought it and we started it straight away. It is by far the best spelling program we have had. Tom and Amelia both said they hated this program but the results were fantastic. They really learnt words and remembered them. 


One Resource You'd Like To Buy. 


An I Pad or Android Tablet. 


One Resource You Wish Existed. 


I don't think there is any resource that I have wanted and haven't been able to find. I do wish though there were more home school families that lived close by. I really like the idea of doing activities with other home school families. 


One Homeschooling Catalogue You Enjoy Reading.  


I don't have any home school catalogues. 


One Homeschool Site You Visit Regularly. 


All the home school blogs that are in my reader. 


I am not going to tag any other bloggers since this meme has been going around a bit. If you want to do the meme and haven't been tagged, let me know in the comment box and I am happy to tag you for it. 

weekend Wrap up.

Yesterday was the first weekend of no Saturday morning netball. This has taken up a lot of our Saturday mornings for a long time.

Steve and I started with Mass and Adoration. We take one child with us each week. This week it was Christopher's turn to come. 

Since we didn't have netball, I did my menu plan for the week and then went food shopping. 

In the evening we got to church early so that we could go to confession before mass. 

On Friday, I received a text message from our video store saying we could hire any new release for $1.95. Steve and I decided to take up this offer and hired The Rite. 

We both enjoyed this movie and recommend it. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be and they did a good job portraying exorcism's accurately from what Steve and I have heard about them. 

Today was a sunny day. After lunch, Steve and I took Tom, Amelia, Christopher and Joseph over to Rotary Park. 

Joseph's physiotherapy is coming along nicely. One of the exercises we need to do with him is get him stepping up steps with his left leg first. Usually when we approach a step, I make him stop and put his left leg up. Today while we were at Rotary park, I noticed that he was stepping up with his left leg first on his own without any prompting from me.

Here he is on video going up the steps to slide down the slide. 

We just have two weeks of school left and then we will have two weeks holidays. I am looking forward to them. 

I hope you all have a great week. 

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

I had to video this. Joseph is only sleeping but the music was pretty loud.  I couldn't believe he could fall asleep with all the background music. I videoed it so you can hear how loud the music is.

Smart Martha Monday.

On my list last week:

Blogging Smart Martha Monday, a video or photo and finally a quick 7 or weekend wrap up post.

I did them all. I did the video a day early. I was going to schedule it but decided to just post it straight away. 

I probably only read about 40% of the blog posts in my reader. 

I did get to daily mass each day and took Christopher to play at a park after it. 

On my list this week:

Do the meme Vicky tagged me for. 

Continue with the blogging schedule. 

Pray every morning. 

Do Joseph's exercises every morning and afternoon. 

Quick 7.

Thanks so much to Jen from Conversion Diary for hosting 7 Quick Takes each week. Be sure to drop over and see what others are writing about.

-1-

My mother is all settled in assisted living now. It has been a long month for my brother sister and I getting it all organised but we are finally there.

-2-

This week Tom and Amelia's school had wheelies day. Everyone had to take something to the school on wheels. Tom took some roller skates and Amelia took a scooter. Christopher, Joseph and I went over for the last hour and there was a huge obstacle course for the children to ride laps around. Christopher had a go on Amelia's scooter. Tom didn't want to ride the roller skates but had a go on the scooter as well. I spoke with Amelia's teacher and he said she has settled in really well.

-3-

The school also had dress up today. Tom went dressed as a Mexican and Amelia went as a Chinese girl. Here is a photo of them both.

-4-

I have a new favourite meal. Chicken Fried Rice.  Go and try it. I highly recommend it and I am sure we will be eating it regularly.

-5-

Tomorrow Amelia plays in the grand final for netball. She is very excited. They will play Shamrocks. We hope they will win but runner up is pretty good too.

-6-

Does anyone know if there is a way to remove the amount of followers from my dashboard? I have a bit of love and hate to it. I find I get worried when someone stops following me and wonder if I have offended someone. I really hope though that if anyone were offended that they would let me know.

-7-

I have been enjoying playing Words With Friends from Facebook. I love scrabble and have learnt quite a few strategies for the game. Paramedic Girl from Salve Regina is a champ at this game. I am yet to beat her but at least she isn't doubling my score any more. 

Port Augusta

I just saw a promotional video from our city council of our town and thought I would share it with you.

Smart Martha Monday.

I missed Smart Martha last week and I cannot remember if I did all the things from the week before. 

I have decided I need to make a new schedule for blogging and reading my favourite blogs. Blogging is probably the one thing that gets neglected when life becomes busy. I want to capture our family moments though and have written things to look back on so I have decided I will put blogging on Monday, Wednesday and once over the weekend on a schedule. 

I am going to do Smart Martha Monday each Monday. On Wednesday, I will post a photo or video from our week and over the weekend I will either do a Quick 7 or a Weekend Wrap up. 

Setting it on a schedule should help me get to blogging more. 

I am also going to start reading blogs in my reader each evening. I had over 1000 unread blog posts the other day and I had to mark all read. Today I only have 28 new posts to read. If I do it each day, I am sure I will get to most of them. 

My other aim for this week is to get to daily mass with Christopher and Joseph. Now that Tom and Amelia are at school, our home school timetable is much shorter. I have promised Christopher everyday that we get to mass, we will call in at a park on the way home for a play. It makes it a bit more appealing for him to go along. 

I hope you all have a good week. 

Happy Fathers Day

To all the fathers that read my blog, I hope you all have a great fathers day. Steve had a great day. He got lots of chocolates and we baked some cakes to have for dessert. I also cooked some yummy chicken fried rice for tea.

I am still alive.

I have had so many things to blog about but haven't had any time to sit at the computer for the past week. I was pretty busy last week getting everything ready for Tom and Amelia to go to school and we had two trips to Adelaide.

On Thursday, Tom and Christopher had a check up in Adelaide so Steve and I drove down for the day.

On Saturday my sister was in Adelaide so I went to down to see her and help her and my brother clean out of mum's unit. Brigette came down with me.

Monday was Tom and Amelia's first day at school. They have really enjoyed going every day and we have established a pretty good morning routine at home.

Each day Christopher, Joseph and I have been able to get to Mass. I hope this will be something we will be able to do everyday.

Even though Tom and Amelia are at school, we are still having some RE lessons in the afternoon and are doing times tables and reading.

Last week I also had my blogiversary. On the 23rd it was 5 years since I started blogging. I am so thankful for all the friends I have made through blogging and for all the memories I have captured through it. There have been many times I have looked back through my archives and relived the memories. I am sure when the children are all older they will enjoy looking back and remembering everything that has happened. I think that is the thing that keeps me blogging.

Smart Martha Monday.

My list from last week is complete. I haven't bought everything for Tom and Amelia to start school, but I have a list worked out. I also have a daily schedule to follow once they are back at school.

This week I want to do a zumba workout twice.

Take Tom and Christopher to their check up.

Go to Adelaide to help my brother and sister finish cleaning out mum's place.

I hope you all have a good week.

Quick 7

Thanks so much Jennifer from Conversion Diary for hosting 7 Quick Takes each week.

-1-

Our week has been busy but fun. Amelia and Tom went to their new primary school and meet their teachers and principal.

We were shown around and I am sure they are both going to be very happy there.

They will be starting on the 29th of August. I should have everything organised by then for them.

-2-

Joseph will be starting physio on the 1st of September. We will go and have a play time with the physio and she will video tape him so that she can know what exercises will help him the most.

I have started working with him on his left side and trying to get him to use it more.

-3-

Daniel is having lots of fun in Spain. He went to the Holy Land first and is now in Madrid. We have spoken on the phone a couple of times and sent many texts.

Here a video from the Australian opening.

You can see this video and more at the XT3 WYD blog.

-4-

Fr Gordon McCrae writes a blog called These Stone walls. It is a blog I have been following for a couple of years.

Fr. Gordon is in prison. He was accused of abusing a minor. I believe the accusations to be false because I have read the case notes.

On Monday the 22nd of August, Esther from A Catholic Mom in Hawaii will be starting a novena for Fr. Gordon's intentions.

I will be joining in too. If you feel led to join in, please let Esther know.

-5-

My friend Ellie has loaned me some Zumba video's. I am going to start with the beginners video tomorrow morning. I think my goal next week for Smart Martha will be to do a couple of workouts.

-6-

I haven't really been reading blogs I follow each day in my google reader. I looked in there this morning and saw 500+ unread items. I think I will need to maar and move onto starting from scratch again.

-7-

I recently tried some Lipton Chai Tea Latte's and now have a new favourite drink.

Toy Library Slide

Today Christopher went to the toy library with my friend Ellie, while I took Tom and Amelia to their new school to meet the principal and have a look around.

We went back to the toy library after and Amelia wanted to bring home the slide for Joseph. All four have been on it so I suspect it isn't just for Joseph that Amelia wanted it.

Pay It Forward

Holly From A Life Size Catholic Blog is the hostess for Pay It Forward.

For this weeks pay it forward, I want to share my friend Kirsten's blog.

Everyone say hello to my friend Kirsten from Catholic of Thule. Kirsten and I have been online friends for years. We meet at Steve Ray's message board.

I wanted to share her blog with everyone this week because this week I have received in the mail, two new rosaries. One for me and one for Steve.

I actually ordered these for birthday presents for Steve and I to give each other

this year.

The two sets arrived on the Feast of the Assumption of our Lady. There were a few mix ups and I believe God wanted them to arrive on this special feast of our Lady.

My rosary has carnelian stones and Steve's is made of Black Onyx.

Here is the centre piece of Steve's. It is the Divine Mercy.

My centre piece is The Madonna.

This is my crucifix. I thought I took a picture of Steve's crucifix but must have forgotten.

Mine is a Molded filagree crucifix and Steve has a St. Benedict one.

These rosaries will be treasured by both of us for years to come and I hope we pray many decades of the rosary on them.

Please go and visit my friend Kirsten and tell her I sent you. Oh and while you are there, order a set of her wire wrapped gemstone rosaries.

Smart Martha Monday

My plan last week was to pray every night with Steve and get food shopping and menu planning done before I went to Adelaide.

I did the menu plan but Steve and I did not pray together every night and I didn't get food shopping done either.

This week I am hoping to:

Organise Tom and Amelia's school supplies. At this stage it is looking like they are going to start school on the 29th of August.

Work out our new day to day running routine including what chores each child will be responsible for.

Weekend Wrap up.

I spent the weekend in Adelaide, catching up with family and helping my brother clean out mum's unit. It was a busy weekend but we had time to visit Amelia's God parents and spend some time with my mum, sister and brother.

I will probably be going back in a fortnight to help again. My sister will be there from Singapore too.

Steve looked after everyone at home here while I was in Adelaide. It was a big weekend for both of us. I am glad to be home now. I really hope this week is not too stressful because of the busy weekend.

Quick 7.

Thanks so much to Jen from Conversion Diary for hosting 7 quick takes each week.

-1-

We are having a few changes in our house next term. Tom and Amelia are off to school. I did originally think that we would start them next year but decided to get things organised for 4th term. I have been feeling overwhelmed at all I have to do with home school and looking after the house. I keep on thinking that I am not doing anything 100% and that is what I want to do. I am pretty confident that Christopher, Joseph and I will establish a good routine pretty quickly that I won't feel so overwhelmed by.

-2-

Madeline has been talking about going somewhere as an exchange student in 2012/2013. She has talked about Hawaii and New York. I think it would be good for her to go somewhere that isn't as well off as we are in Australia. Steve and I are going to look into it a bit more. I will keep you all posted on what we find out and if she does it or not.

-3-

I have a new handbag. One of the things I dislike about living in a small country town is the limit we have in stores. I went to both Target Country and Big W and they all had a really small range of bags. They were all overpriced imo too. I bought this one online. It is great. It isn't too big or too small. I fit everything I need in nicely.

-4-

Diabetes SA put on a diabetes camp each year for children with diabetes between the age of 10 and 12. There are a lot of children that apply to go on this camp so not everyone that applies, gets to go. We sent in the application for Tom to go a couple of months ago and heard this week that he can go.

The camp is on the middle weekend of the October school holidays. I will take Tom to Adelaide and stay there while he is on the camp. It will be good for him to meet some other children with diabetes and be at a place that has diabetes educators and Registrars that know how to look after them all. Tom is very excited about going and the rest of the term cannot go fast enough for him.

-5-

Steve's singing lessons continue. We all know the different exercises by heart. He said to me tonight, he has a new appreciation for what Singers go through to become really good.

-6-

Daniel is in the Holy Land this week. He has been swimming in the dead sea, stayed by the sea of Galilee, gone to Jerusalem and Bethlehem. We have spoken a couple of times with him and he is having a great time. He says the traffic there is bedlam. I hope we will see for ourselves one day.

-7-

This week in Australia we had the Census. I did ours on line and it was a great way to do it. I knew all the questions by heart though by the time I got to doing Joseph. It took me about 1 hour to complete. Interestingly, many households didn't complete the online census. They entered all the data but failed to submit. I am pretty sure I submitted because I got a receipt number. I also saw our census guy tonight walking down our street. Since he didn't come to our place, he must have our receipt number.

Wordless Wednesday.

Here is Joseph and our cat CC. CC doesn't normally like Joseph and runs as soon as she hears him. She was happy to sit in the chair with him on Sunday though since Brigette was there too.

Tasty Tuesday: Menu planning.

Since I am going to Adelaide this weekend, I need to get a menu plan for the next 10 days. I already have up until Friday planned so just have to come up with 6 simple meals for next week.

Here is what we will do next week:

Minestrone. I cook this in our slow cooker. I just throw it all together and leave it for 4 hours on high.

Ratatouille. I have wanted to try this for a while. A friend reminded me when she said that she made it with her 9 year old daughter.

Chicken Fried Rice. All of us love fried rice. I thought the chicken would add a nice flavour for a change.

Spaghetti and meatballs. A meal everyone in our house loves.

Butter Chicken. Another favourite.

Pumpkin Soup. With bread rolls. I am going to take Deanne's suggestion and roast the pumpkin instead of boiling it.

Honey Soy chicken noodles. I love Hokkien noodles. I came across this recipe when looking for one to use with them. I am going to try putting them all together in the slow cooker for 5-6 hours on slow. Will let you know how it turns out.

Smart Martha Monday

Last week, my goal was to write a letter to the South Australian MP's against the current euthanasia bill that is before SA parliament.

Here is my letter that I have written:

Dear ,

I am writing to ask you to vote against the current euthanasia bill that is before SA parliament.

I am very concerned about this bill for a couple of reasons.

The first reason this bill concerns me is it is not only for terminally ill patients, but for those with chronic illnesses too.

Two of my children, have type 1 diabetes. This is a chronic illness. There is no getting it mildly or getting over it. It is something that my boys live with 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Every day I have to balance what insulin to give both my boys with their food intake. We also need to factor in any exercise they do. Often they will have unexplained high sugars or low sugars even though I have given them the insulin they need for their food intake. We have to keep a constant eye on what they blood sugar level is and often check them both through the night. My boys both have a lot to deal with in their everyday life.

If the euthanasia bill is passed, it may lead to both my boys having to justify to someone one day why their lives are worth living in spite of having type 1 diabetes. I really don’t think they should ever be put into this position. From what I have read in the bill, the bill is not for someone to choose to end their life, it is to protect the doctor that decides it is reasonable to end someone else’s life.

This leads me to my second concern about the current bill.

My second concern about this bill is the vague wording that it has.

Words like reasonable and good quality of life are just too vague.

Just what is reasonable when it come to deciding to end someone’s life or to keep it? Is it reasonable to decide that someone has poor control over their blood sugar levels and therefore their life is not worth living?

Is it reasonable for a doctor to decide needing insulin everyday leads to a bad quality of life?

What exactly is a good quality of life and what is a bad one? How does one work out in a court of law that a person has a good quality life and if they don’t? What criteria would one use to measure this?

With these points in mind, I ask you to vote against the current bill.

Yours sincerely,

If you have any advise for any changes or think I should add something in, let me know in the comment box or even by email.

My email is on my profile page.

My goals for this week:

1) pray with Steve every night.

2) I am off to Adelaide for the weekend. My mother is moving into assisted living and my brother and sister need help going through mum's gear at her unit. I will be travelling by myself and Steve will be looking after everyone here. I need to get our house organised so that things can run smoothly for Steve. This will mean doing food shopping and menu planning before the weekend. It is the weekend that I would normally do my monthly planning/cook ahead but I won't be able to get it done. Hopefully I can get everything organised for the week and do the planning/big cook the next weekend.

Therese.

Masterchef

Tonight is the finale here in Australia.

It has come down to Michael and Kate.

I am going for Michael because he is from South Australia.

Who are you going for?

Just in, Kate is the winner.

Saturday night movies.

Steve and I are watching Double Jeopardy tonight. Here is the trailer for you.

We have seen it before. I hope it is as good the second time as it was the first.

Quick 7.

-1-

We have had quite a week here. I won't go into everything that has been going on but I have felt rather stressed and over burdened. We are all over it all though and hopefully the weekend will be relaxing and rejuvenating.

-2-

Today Daniel left Australia for WYD. It is in Spain this year. Before they go to Spain, they are heading to the Holy Land. I am sure it is going to be an experience of a lifetime for him. There are 5 pilgrims going from our parish including our parish priest. I will update with news as they travel.

-3-

Steve has been taking singing lessons. He bought a program online and has been listening to them and doing all the exercises in time to the scales. He is doing them so much, I am hearing them in my sleep.

-4-

Do you know who Stanley Clark is? He is the person that invented blood glucose meters. He died recently. RIP Stan and thanks so much for making it easier to look after my two boys.

Go here to read Stan's obituary.

-5-

This weekend is the Warfest in Port Augusta. Our younger children are all very excited about it. There will be rides, games and lots of yummy food. Once the girls have finished netball, we will probably head straight over.

-6-

Today Tom got an invite to Diabetes camp SA. It will be on the weekend of the 22nd of October till the 24th October. He is very excited about going. This will be the first time he will have been away from family so I am also a bit nervous for him. I am sure he will be well looked after and have a great time. I hope he makes some really good friends too.

-7-

I have been thinking about doing some fundraising on here for Dr. Faustman's research for a cure. I have seen some blogs do some fundraising but don't really have many ideas about what to do. If anyone out there, has some idea's it would be great to hear them.

Dr. Faustman's link is over in the sidebar. To read about her research, click on the photo of her in the sidebar.

Remember to visit Jen from Conversion Diary for other people's quick 7.

Wordless Wednesday: Joseph feeds himself

Smart Martha Monday.

From last week:

Completed:

Made our bed everyday.

Read to the children every day.

Went and registered Joseph for his physio. I will get sent an appointment when the referral arrives from the Paediatrician.

I didn't make the butter.

I need a jar with a screw top so that when the children are shaking it, it is kept secure.

So on my list this week:

I want to write to South Australian MP's again. The euthanasia bill has passed the second reading. I am very concerned about this bill because it isn't just for terminally ill people, it is also for those with chronic illness. Having two children with a chronic illness, makes the bill all the more scary for me. I really hope it won't be passed so I am writing to all the MP's again and asking them to vote against it.

Oops.

Last night I was standing in the bathroom filling the bath for Joseph. I was also looking at my game of words with friends with Daniel. I got a bit distracted and filled the bath up really high. When I turned the taps off, he objected a bit. He quite liked the water running in and really enjoyed his deep deep bath.

Laundry.

I hate laundry. I think I have probably written that many times on my blog. It would have to be the job I hate the most. It is just never ending and huge with all my children.

I think it has been more of a pain for 18 months now because we have had my washing machine set up in an old bathroom.

We changed the old laundry into the children's bathroom and since then, we have had the washing machine up on an old door over our bath in our old bathroom.

It is the next job we are doing in our renovations and we finally have the money to do it.

So I am looking for ideas.

Here is a picture of the idea I have for our laundry.

Our laundry space is much smaller than this one but I like the set up of the washing machine, trough and cupboards. We could do it along the wall that the bath is in at the moment. I think I want some softer colours for the paint but love the wood colour for the cupboards. Steve was a plumber before he was a teacher so he knows how to do all the plumbing and put the hose from the washing machine to the trough.

I will show colours and progress as we do all the work.

Tasty Tuesday: Pumpkin soup.

Last Thursday, a few commenter's asked for my pumpkin soup recipe so I decided to post it.

My pumpkin soup is very similar to my broccoli soup recipe so you get a bonus recipe too. Two recipes, one post.

Pumpkin Soup:

Ingredients:

500 grms pumpkin diced.

500 grms potatoes diced.

1 litre vegetable stock.

300 mls sour cream.

chives.

salt and pepper to taste.

put pumpkin, potatoes and vegetable stock into a large saucepan.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

When potato and pumpkin are soft, put in food processor with vegetable stock. Once soup is mixed, place back in saucepan and add sour cream, salt, pepper and chives. Heat through and serve.

I usually double this recipe for our family and it will have enough left over for me to have for lunch the next day.

Broccoli soup:

Ingredients.

500 grms broccoli.

125 grms spinach.

500 grms potato.

1 litre vegetable stock.

300 mls cream.

Place broccoli and potatoes into vegetable stock and bring to the boil. (I cut my potato up pretty small for this so that it cooks just as quickly as the broccoli does).

Simmer for 5-10 minutes so that the potatoes and broccoli are all cooked.

Add spinach and watch till it wilts.

place in food processor and mix. Put back in saucepan and add cream. Serve when heated through.

This recipe is usually doubled too.

I hope you all enjoy these wonderful winter soups.

Smart Martha Monday

I only had take the children to see Cars 2 on my to do list last week and since this was something I wanted to do, I did it.

This week we are back to school. Since Brigette was home today, we didn't do any home school either. I also took Joseph to see our Paediatrician. He has a weakness on his left side that he will need some physiotherapy for. We have noticed him walking with a limp and he certainly favours his right hand when most children his age are still very ambidextrous. I have also noticed that when he claps, he brings his right hand over to his left hand rather than moving them both.

The paediatrician said that it is most likely this will have disappeared by the time he is 5 so I hope he is right on this.

So on my list this week:

Make Joseph's appointment for some physio.

Read with the children every day.

Make our bed every day.

Make some butter with the children.

Hope you all have a good week.

Therese.

Weekend wrap up

We have had a busy but fun weekend here this weekend.

- Brigette had a job interview today for a job at Hungry Jacks. Yesterday I took her to Target to get a new outfit for it. This will be one of the last outfits I will buy her since she was offered a job at the interview. She starts work this Thursday. Brigette is our 4th child to start her working life at Hungry Jacks. Daniel, Sam and Madeline all started work here so we are keeping a family tradition going still. One of the things I love about having our older children all close together is they have become a little more independent of us close together too. I still cannot believe we have 4 children that have a little bit of financial independence.

- Last night we got to Mass a bit earlier so that I could go to reconciliation before mass. Reconciliation is a chance for a new beginning and to turn my life around. A good way to start the new term. I have a renewed vigour for all that I need to do this term.

- The temps here have been wonderful for the last week. Every day we have had lots of sun. Yesterday since the sun was shining, Steve and I walked Joseph into town for our food shopping. We had a small list so most of it fitted in the basket under Joseph for the walk home. It made a big difference though to the weight of the pusher and I am sure I used some muscles that I didn't know I had.

- Today we went back to Gladstone Square park. This time, Tom was with us. He didn't want to come on Wednesday. The children all had lots of fun again. I am sure we are going to be taking the children to this park quite often especially once the weather warms up.

I hope you have all had a great weekend.

Therese.

In the book “Can Man Live Without God?” Ravi Zacharis writes:

If I am merely the product of matter and at the mercy of material determinism,why should I subject myself to anyone else’s moral convictions? If, on the otherhand, I am fashioned by God for his purpose, then I need to know him and know that purpose for which I have been made, for out of that purpose is born my sense of right and wrong. There are two worlds represented by these options.

The atheist lives in tension. He says one thing and knows in his heart of hearts that another is true. The atheist ethics professor teaches ethical relativism, mocks Christianity with its moral absolutes, and explains to his class that right and wrong, as objective moral standards, do not exist. But then he absolutely demands that you not cheat on his test on ethical relativism. If you do cheat, he immediately forgets that he’s an atheist and begins speaking like a Christian, insisting that cheating is wrong and that you should know that.

We cannot teach people that they are nothing but material things that have evolved out of the slime and then try to also teach them that there is moral law they need to abide by. They are too smart to not see the implications of the atheism they’re taught. So they reason this world is a struggle for existence, and if cheating on a few tests will help me to get ahead and get the good job and earn the good money, then why not?

There is no foundation for morality apart from God. If naturalists really begin to live in a manner consistent with their worldview, their moral lives would implode.

Taken from “The Godless Delusion” by Patrick Madrid and Kenneth Hensley.

7 quick takes: The holiday edition.

Thanks so much to Jen at conversion diary for hosting 7 quick takes each week.

-1-

The holidays are just about over. We have Saturday and Sunday left and on Monday it will be back to school for us all. Well, except Brigette. Her school doesn't start till Tuesday.

-2-

I have had a very relaxing week this week which was needed. I still need to finish of my planning for term three but feel pretty prepared. I should finish it of tomorrow.

-3-

I read the book I'll walk alone by Mary Higgins Clark this week. Mary HC is one of my favourite writers. I really like her style of writing. If you want to see what the book is like, the link has the first two chapters for you to hook you in.

-4-

Joseph will be seeing our Paediatrician on Monday. He had xrays on his hips and legs a while ago and there was no abnormality. He is definitely walking with a limp though so we will just go and see the paediatrician and see what they think could be causing it.

-5-

Annie the musical is coming to Australia next year. I have already told Steve I want to go to Melbourne and see it.

-6-

Tom and Christopher have been playing a lot of diddy kong racing these holidays. I love the game too and have helped Christopher win a few races.

-7-

I have decided I am following too many blogs. I really have to cut back the amount of time I spend on the internet. In the holidays, I do have the time to keep up with them but once school is back, I just cannot.

I am going to keep the same blogs in my reader but will cut the list that I am following. I really wish I could follow them all but my priority needs to be my family and home.

Small Successes and Thankful Thursday.

Thanks so much to Sherri from Chocolate for your brain for hosting Small Successes each week.

I have a few this week.

First, we went on Tuesday to see Cars two. It was a great movie.

Second, Steve and I have been to mass everyday.

Third, we took Madeline and Brigette to YCS camp on Monday. We also kept up with all the house work while they were gone.

fourth, we walked to mass on Tuesday with our younger 4 children. Joseph went in the pusher and all the others said they wished they were small still and could have a ride in it.

As well as these successes, I am thankful this week for:

The school holidays and spending time together as a family.

Going to see Cars two with the children.

A big pot of pumpkin soup sitting on our stove top.

A freezer that will take the excess for another meal, another night.

Wordless Wednesday: Gladstone Square

Christopher and Joseph.

Amelia, Joseph and Christopher

Amelia.

This is the new playground the council has built at Gladstone square.

Pay It forward.

Holly from A Life Size Catholic Blog is the hostess for Pay it Forward.
It is a chance to highlight another blogger, blog post or blog.
I found out about it two weeks ago when Laura O shared my blog.
I decided right then, there were lots of blogs that I want to share with people in the blogsphere.
Today I am sharing a blog that is new.
Meet Sue from Not enough Butter.
Sue is another Australian Blogger with 7 children. Her youngest baby, Braith is just 1 year younger than Joseph.
Sue is going to start home schooling soon too.
One of her posts that I has been inspiring for me was her post this week on Organising Clothes storage.
She posts cute photos regularly and I am always uplifted whenever I go and visit her blog. I always know that I will find a post that will make me smile.
Go over and say hello to Sue. Tell her that I sent you.
Don't forget to pay a visit to Holly too from A life Size Catholic Blog.

Smart Martha Monday

I only had one thing to do last week and I didn't do it at all. My thing to do was make our bed as soon as I get out of it each morning.

I didn't even do it once. (blush blush blush)

I think the trip to Adelaide may have stopped this to a degree. But also I am on holidays and I really don't want to think about what I should do.

My aim for this week is going to be to take Tom, Amelia and Christopher to the cinema. I think we will go and see cars two.

Some atheists argue that we don’t need to believe in God in order to have morality. We can determine what is right and wrong by using reason alone.

Atheist Kai Nielsen argues that it doesn’t take God’s existence for us to figure out what is just and fair in a given situation. Do we really need God in order to know that we ought to keep our promises, or tell the truth, or pay our debts, or allow an elderly woman to take our seat on the bus? If we want to be treated with respect and dignity, isn’t it only reasonable that we should treat others with respect and dignity? It doesn’t take the existence of God for us to figure out how we ought to conduct ourselves morally.

Both Kai Nielsen and Immanuel Kant are right when they suggest that we can come to know what is right and what is wrong by the use of reason alone. After all, the moral law exists and is reasonable and God has written his moral law on our hearts and given us reason so that we might understand the world he has created. But if there is no God, no moral law, and if nothing exists but material substances as atheists like Nielsen suggest, why should a notion like ‘reason’ bond us to any particular type of conduct? If there is no moral truth to be discovered and if I have to simply choose the moral point of view because that type of life is what I find worthwhile for myself, then the decision is arbitrary, rationally speaking. The moral difference between Mother Teresa and Hitler is roughly the same as the difference between whether I want to be a trumpet player of a baseball player.

Because the naturalist worldview cannot support the real existence of right and wrong, any standard of morality the atheist comes up with is going to be arbitrary. It will simply be his idea of a good way to have some resemblance of morality in an immoral, impersonal, meaningless universe. Often it will also be inconsistent and even contradictory to the naturalist worldview. To see this, all one has to do is ask the question: How exactly does this ethical standard arise naturally from an infinite sea of ever changing material substances?

Taken from "The Godless Delusion" by Patrick Madrid and Kenneth Hensley.

Lesson learnt.

Most of the time, I am pretty picky about what I let my children see. If a new movie is out and our children want to see it, I generally look at Decent Films to read the review. Sometimes I have disagreed with the review but still, I think it is better to be cautious with movies that I haven't seen myself. Generally speaking, if there is any movie that doesn't get a big thumbs up from Decent Films, I will watch it before I let my children watch it.

Last night, Brigette, Amelia and I had a girls night. I let Brigette choose the movie and she chose Life as we know it.

If I had seen it before, I would have said, no that is not suitable for Amelia. As it was, if it was a movie that if Brigette really wanted to watch it, I would say okay but we will watch it together and look at it critically.

I think the thing that I disliked about the movie was the story line. The story line is about a couple that are married with a new baby. The couple dies and leave two friends as guardians of their baby. They do this in spite of the two friends disliking each other. They also do it without asking their friends if they are willing to do it.

I see several problems with this. Firstly, the job of choosing a guardian should never be taken lightly. Steve and I spent several days discussing it when Daniel was a baby and have since discussed if the person we have asked is still the right person for the job should Steve and I die. It is something we put a lot of thought and prayer into.

I also would never put someone down to take care of our children without their permission. How do I even know they are willing to take on such a huge responsibility without speaking to them about it?

There were several lines in the script that were just tacky and many of the interactions between the cast were just totally unrealistic. There were a lot of stereo types as well. I am going to have to talk with both Brigette and Amelia about the movie and many of the things that were implied and presented as truth.

After this experience, I have decided I am not going to watch a movie with the girls that I haven't seen myself before or that doesn't get a thumbs up from Decent Films.

Friday movie night.

This afternoon, Steve, Tom and Christopher have gone fishing. Daniel was going with a mate and invited them along.
Brigette, Amelia and I are having a girls night and watching Life as we know it and eating barnacle bills for tea.

Small Successes and Thankful Thursday.

Thanks so much to Sherry from Chocolate for your brain for hosting Small Success each week.

We have had a great week here with the start of the school holidays. Here are a few of the small successes I have had.

-1-

We went to Adelaide for a few days. We only saw family this time because we were only there for a couple of days. My mother is having a month in respite care at Southern Cross Homes in Klemzig. We spent a fair bit of time helping her pack up some things in her house. She will probably have to move soon into assisted living soon because she has so much trouble moving around.

-2-

Today we got back to Port Augusta by 1.00 so after unpacking the car and having some lunch, Steve and I walked to the bakery in town to get bread for the rest of the week. I think it was probably about 7 km round trip.

-3-

Changes have happened with the bedrooms at our house this afternoon too.

Up to today, the little boys room has been for Tom and Christopher. Now it is for Tom, Christopher and Joseph. I have moved the baby out of our room. He sleeps pretty well all night. I think being in the boys room will mean we will take longer to wake us if he wakes so maybe he will start sleeping right through till 7.00 when the other boys do. Well I can dream about this happening.

This week I am thankful for:

Our family holiday and the chance to catch up with family.

Joseph growing up.

Steve's sister having us stay while we were in Adelaide.

Going out for tea with Steve's sister.

Wordless Wednesday: Out with family.

We had a lovely night out for tea with Steve's sister and her family.

Tasty Tuesday: Self saucing Chocolate pudding.

Today I want to share with you all, a recipe that Vicky from Creating with Wisdom posted on her blog. I haven't tried this pudding yet, but will sometime this week.

Go here to get the recipe.

As I said to Vicky, Chocolate pudding is one of the good things about winter.

Smart Martha Monday

My list from last week is just about complete. I haven't quite finished the children's literacy curriculum for term three but I have a lot written down and 90% of the ideas complete.

This week, since it is holidays, I am going to make an effort to make our bed every morning when we get up. Steve is just about always up before me so this should be simple. I remember hearing that it takes 22 days to make something a habit so I might try making our bed first thing when we get up for the next three weeks and hopefully after that, I will just do it without even thinking about it.

weekend wrap up.

Saturday was our usual busy day. We had mass and adoration followed by netball and food shopping.

We took the children to video esy since it is holidays.

Saturday night we went to mass.

This morning we got up and did all the house work. We then drove to Whyalla for a family day. We meet Daniel and Michael at bowling and then went to Hungry Jacks for lunch. After lunch we went back to Daniel's place. The video above was shot there. It was a fun day and a great way to start of our holidays.

Atheists will argue that there does not need to be a God given moral law, but that we can choose to do anything so long as we are not hurting someone.

For example, as long as sexual activity is between consenting adults, you should be free to do whatever you like, with whomever you like, in whatever combinations you like, and in whatever circumstances you like in or out of marriage as long as no one is hurt by it. ‘Hurt’ is usually narrowly defined in terms of sexually transmitted diseases or pregnancy.

If human beings are nothing but highly evolved animals, as atheists claim, then it could be argued that no harm is done when people behave like animals. A hedonistic lifestyle may adequately provide for what you want out of life. Do whatever your desires and appetites and addictions and fetishes compel you to do.

If God exists, and he designed human sexuality to be expressed and find its meaning and fulfillment in the loving commitment of marriage, then unbridled sexual activity would be a destructive activity that attacks human dignity and eventually inflicts profound and lasting emotional, spiritual and physical wounds.

Everyone is hurt by the ‘do no harm’ ethic. Those involved in sexual promiscuity, or in other immoral activities that might be considered entirely private, are hurt because God made them for something so much higher and better. They degrade themselves when they fail to pursue their higher calling. Those who follow their example are hurt, especially the children who assume that this must be a good way to live. Parents who would never have wanted this for their sons or daughters are hurt. Even society itself is hurt as its moral tenor is diminished by such behavior even though its proponents claim they’re not hurting anyone else.

A problem for the naturalist who subscribes to the ‘do no harm’ ethical standard is that it is actually inconsistent with the naturalist worldview. Do naturalists see the ‘do no harm’ standard existing in nature? Is this something the natural world teaches us? Didn’t Darwin claim that, in nature, the strong prey upon the weak and only the fittest survive? Isn’t his how things should be in this strictly material world?

If human beings are merely highly evolved animals, why is it universally understood to be wrong for one human being to steal from, injure, or murder another human being? What is the rational basis to insert the notion of ‘right and wrong’ into an atheist worldview?

The consistent atheist is forced to admit that the ‘do no harm’ standard contradicts the naturalist worldview that embraces Darwin’s evolutionary principle of ‘survival of the fittest’. Natural selection is guaranteed not be being nice to competitors but by overpowering weaker competitors.

From “The Godless Delusion” by Patrick Madrid and Kenneth Hensley.

7 quick takes: The holiday edition.

7 things to do during the holidays.

-1-

Sew my Jacket.

-2-

A family day in Whyalla. We are going to go bowling and out for lunch.

-3-

Visit family and friends.

-4-

Sew some jeans for Tom and Christopher.

-5-

Sew Joseph some overalls.

-6-

Finish planning term 3's curriculum.

-7-

sleep in often.

As always, visit Jen at Conversion diary for other people's quick 7.

Small Successes

-1-

Took the children out for a walk today and went and visited the staff and children at Christopher's old kindy. This was huge for Christopher. He has been asking to go for a visit for a while now.

-2-

Got up early on Monday morning and went walking with friends.

-3-

Started planning term 3 literacy and maths program.

-4-

Have been to mass everyday this week except Wednesday. We couldn't go on Wednesday because Joseph had croup. Today he seems much better. He still has a nasty cough but is back to his happy cheerful self mostly.

-5-

Wrote up a list of things that I want to get done in the holidays.

Pop over to Sherry's Chocolate for your brain to read other people's small successes.

Some prayers.

Tom has recently memorised the act of contrition prayer. Up until this term, I haven't really spent much time teaching the children to memorise prayers. I can see that doing simple memory work with them has helped them in all areas of learning.

This is the act of contrition he has learnt.

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you, and I detest all my sins, because of Your just punishments, but most of all because they offend You, my God, who are all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin.

Some other prayers I want them to learn are:

A morning offering:

O Jesus,
through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I offer You my prayers, works,
joys and sufferings
of this day for all the intentions
of Your Sacred Heart,
in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
throughout the world,
in reparation for my sins,
for the intentions of all my relatives and friends,
and in particular
for the intentions of the Holy Father.

Amen.

Guardian Angel Prayer:

Angel of God, my guardian dear,

to whom God's love commits thee here,

forever this day be at my side,

to light and guard, to rule and guide.

Amen.

Tasty Tuesday: Chicken Vegetable soup

Since it is the middle of winter here, we are enjoying lots of soups. I made up a chicken vegetable soup last Sunday that was delicious.

Here is the recipe I used but I changed a few things around with the vegetables we already had. I also used a whole chicken rather than chicken legs and made my own stock with the chicken.

Ingredients.

1 tbspn oil.

2 leeks.

1 medium onion.

1 garlic clove.

3 carrots.

3 zucchini.

3 celery sticks

8 cups chicken stock.

1 whole chicken.

1.5 cups split peas or soup mix.

1 turnip diced.

Start making chicken stock by putting the chicken in water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 3-4 hours, skimming often.

heat oil in frying pan and add onion, leeks and garlic. Cook until leeks and onions are transparent.

When stock is cooked, remove chicken from stock and take meat off bones.

place chicken, vegetables, split peas and stock into saucepan together. Bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with bread rolls.

Smart Martha Monday

Because of all the illness last week, I didn't do my morning routine or check all the children's jobs each day. I am really hoping that this week we can just have no illness or anything that throws my day into total chaos.

So my aim this week:

- do morning routine each day.

- check children's jobs each day and dish out consequences for not doing them.

- Plan our new literacy program for term two.

Joseph in the cupboard.

Joseph keeps climbing in our draws. I decided to take a photo to share.

Here is a video of him getting out.

Weekend wrap up

On Friday night, Sam had his year 12 formal. I took him down the street on Friday afternoon and bought him a suit. The shop keeper told me he will get married in this suit. Maybe one day. We will see. I may be a bit bias but I think he looks pretty good in this suit.

Amelia had no netball this weekend so Steve, Joseph and I went off to mass and adoration on Saturday morning. We stayed talking after mass with two Seminarians from Sydney that are visiting our parish. Steve and Michael are the Seminarians that are visiting. In the afternoon, Steve came over for lunch and he and Steve went through music for the new translation of the mass. Steve has been listening ever since to all the different sung parts of the mass.

On Saturday night, we jumped into our Volkswagon to go to Mass only to find that the battery was low. We decided to go to mass in the Carolla which meant we needed two trips to get everyone there.

Today Steve charged up the battery and the Volkswagon is running perfectly again.

This morning I took Tom, Amelia and Christopher to the Kids club service at the Uniting Church. Every Friday night they go to kids club and once a term they have a service which the children all take part in.

In the afternoon, we went to my friends Ellie's house for a Tupperware party. It was a fun afternoon and I cannot wait to get my tupperware.

This week is the last week of term so we are all looking forward to finishing off and having a holiday. I cannot believe we are half way through the year.

Some atheists will argue that there does not have to be an objective moral law rooted in and reflecting the character of God

They claim that we can figure out for ourselves how to make wise, good and ethical decisions. One suggestion would be to ask ourselves the simple question: what will bring the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people? What choice will result in the greatest total amount of happiness?

The major problem with this alternative ethical standard is that there is no way of measuring the greatest total amount of happiness. An atheist will define ‘happiness’ in terms of his naturalist worldview and the values that flow from it. A Christian will define happiness in terms of his theistic worldview and the values that flow from it. For example, an atheist might argue for smaller families on the grounds that each child will have better clothing and toys therefore more happiness. A Catholic might argue for a large family on the grounds that each child will have more love, more sharing and more memories, and therefore more happiness since happiness does not come from having lots of material possessions.

Our worldview determines our values and our ideas of where happiness is to be found. Happiness is not some measurable commodity that can be weighed objectively as a basis for making ethical decisions.

Another serious problem with the ‘happiness’ method of doing ethics is that once the happiness of the individual is subordinate to the happiness of the group, nearly anything can be justified. If what is important in moral reasoning is the ‘total amount of happiness’ then the happiness of the individual becomes secondary. The individual is no longer an end in himself but has become a means to the happiness of the group. Virtually any behavior can be justified on the grounds that it will result in the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people.

Another problem for the naturalist who subscribes to the ‘happiness’ method of doing ethics is that it is actually inconsistent with the naturalist worldview. If there is no God as the naturalist asserts, no moral law and if humans are mere products of natural processes, accidents of chance and time; then why should we care about what results in the greatest total amount of happiness? Why should we choose to allow this arbitrary standard to bind us in our freedom? Why shouldn’t we do what we want? Why shouldn’t we pick our own arbitrary standard, such as “right will be whatever makes me happy”?

From “The Godless Delusion” by Patrick Madrid and Kenneth Hensley.

The front fell off.

A blast from the past. Yesterday, I was reading my blogs that I follow in google reader and Lola had a video explaining the Worlds financial collapse. It reminded me of this one that I have in my archives. The front fell off is one of my favourite videos. I hope you enjoy it too.