The Word

I am just absolutely blown away by the word of God. My bible study led me on a journey through just a few of the prophecies Christ fulfilled. It is amazing to behold. Never has there been a book with so much to learn from. It is a never ending source. I can't even comprehend the brilliance behind the writing. From book to book there are no inconsistencies. On the contrary, you will find the same truths in many places, in many books--sometimes the truths are exact to the details. It is amazing. I am in awe of the intelligence and faithfulness (believability) of my God.

First Day

Today was our first day of homeschooling. I think it went fantastic. It was actually a lot of fun for me. The only problem we had today was the length of time it took. I think this is because it is new to us and we haven't perfected our schedule. And the fact that Dan--who is going to be gone until Friday--kept popping in and out of the house today, getting ready for his trip. Hopefully tomorrow will go a little smoother and quicker. The math we are doing right now is really easy for the kids. The curriculum is set up differently than public school. So, I am hoping to fly through the early lessons (stuff they already know) and get to the tougher ones more quickly. My plan is to get them both through two levels this year. What a goal!!! Hey, math is FUN!!! I love it anyway. We are learning about Astronomy in Science. And our reading program is amazing. For history we are studying all of the events that occurred during the life of Augustus Caesar, in a book called Augustus Caesar's World. Hopefully we will be able to use the book Our Young Folks Josephus, as well, but it has to actually get here first. And we'll have to see how it goes. We have a lot planned but I keep reminding the kids--especially Bradley--that this is for the entire year. We aren't climbing the mountain in one day, or even one month. I hope that the kids will be able to enjoy their education this year. After all they have the best teacher in the world...me. :)

Homeschool.

We've been very busy lately. I've sat down many times to update my blog. My problem? I would check my email first. There would invariably be something that would require me to write back. We haven't yet received our first foster care placement but we are anxiously awaiting that. What has kept us busy these last weeks is homeschooling. Should we? Shouldn't we? I have always told people that my kids are excellent candidates for homeschooling but I am not sure that I am. I am still not sure that I am. But we are trudging forward with it none-the-less. I am really excited about some of the things we will be learning about together this year. It was nothing less than a miracle that we were able to put together a curriculum for this year so quickly. And so the new adventure begins...

This Weekend

This weekend we were able to do three geocaches. Putting us over fifty. We are currently trying to decide what to do to celebrate this achievement. The kids want to go see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...again. Bethany got glasses this weekend. Turns out she is not even legal to drive. What a bummer. But her glasses are so cute on her. They just add to her studious personality. When we finally get around to taking a pic I'll post it.

Geocaching

Another fun geocache for our family. This one started at the Knotty Shop. You are looking at Alasquito, a giant Alaska mosquito. That one is just a little bit bigger than the real ones. The Knotty Shop is a fun place to go to buy or browse Alaska gifts and souvenirs. It's also fun to check out their burlwood animals on the front lawn. In addition to Alasquito they have, among others, a moose, a caribou, and a bear.

It Is Done

Today I have finished Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I would like to make comments and discuss all of the new and interesting things I've learned. As well as break apart all of the new mysteries. But I know that most of the few people who visit my site have not finished. Some may not even have begun. I can't wait to get a new notebook and begin re-reading it and taking notes. As you complete the book please comment.

The Fullness of God

Living beyond yourself. How is that possible? Sometimes it is so hard to see past my eyes. I'm blind to what is below the surface. I see the limits of my body, my personality, my talents, my circumstances, my gifts. I see my failure. The failures of the past and all the failures to come. In those moments I feel paralyzed by who I am.
But...

I pray that the eyes of my heart may be enlightened in order that I may know the hope to which God has called me, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for me, who believes. Ephesians 1:18-19 (paraphrased)

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen me with power through his Spirit in my inner being, so that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith. And I pray that I, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that I may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:16-19 (paraphrased)

That I may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Amen

Truthfully when I first wrote the beginning of this blog I did not immediately follow with these verses. Days passed that were filled with the fullness of despair. But I resolved to make spending time with God a priority--a greater priority. And I discovered a new way to do it. A la Beth Moore. Pouring Out to make room for Pouring In. My daily specific confession followed by an acceptance of His forgiveness and an acknowledgement of the righteous He had given me has been amazing!!! Beating the day to the punch and unburdening my sin has filled me with a greater peace. Pouring out my concerns...I'm afraid of...I'm anxious about...I need... All of this provided much needed space for God to pour into me. I tell Him. I tell Him everything. All of my failures and weaknesses. All of the ways I know that I can never measure up. All of my hurts and fears and struggles. I tell Him that I can't do it.

He is teaching me that He can. He has the power. He has the Love. He has the strength. And all I need is Him.

Something Retarded

I just learned of something I think is retarded. It seems that the abbreviations for the Gregorian calendar, B.C. & A.D. are no longer politically correct. B.C.=Before Christ. A.D.=Anno Domini--or the year of our Lord. So, now we are supposed to use B.C.E. (Before Common Era) and C.E. (Common Era). This way if you don't personally believe in Christ, you won't be offended by the calendar. Now, I do believe in Christ so I may not be as sensitive but was anyone really suffering over the use of A.D.? How many people even knew what it stood for?

I apologize if I am being too insensitive. It just seems like we (our culture) are taking political correctness a bit too far. I mean our kids can't compete in sports because then one team would be the loser and we can't have any losers. They might get their feelings hurt. In schools there can't be a boys line and a girls line, only two gender neutral lines. Because we wouldn't want one sex to feel that they are less than the other because their line isn't as straight...as long...I don't know, whatever. At what point do we stop the insanity?

Don't get me wrong, I believe in compassion, and love, and understanding. I'm just struggling with why we need to erase all of the historical references to Christ in order to achieve it.

BnB

This is one of my favorite pics of my kids. It was taken in temporary lodging here at Eielson.

Harry Potter

In nine days Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince makes it's debut. Just to give you an idea of my level of excitement/geekiness, I have had a countdown on my desktop for about 100 days. I originally ordered my book from Amazon. I later cancelled this order when I discovered they would not be able to get it to me on July 16. Stupid Alaska. It's still a state, what is the deal with everyone's crazy shipping issues? I then had to find an actual bookstore in Fairbanks that could guarantee the book would be here. Enter Waldenbooks. Nine more days and my wait for the book ends...and my wait for the Goblet of Fire movie begins (November). I LOVE Harry Potter. I read the first Potter book to "check it out" for my daughter. To see if it was appropriate for her, or evil. There was so much controversy swirling around the book that I didn't feel comfortable just handing it over to her. Well maybe I read it more for my son. It is easier to find books that my daughter enjoys and wants to read. And many on the pro-Harry side talked of what a great series this would be for boys. Either way I read it. Then I read the second one. And so it went until I had read them all. Of course the craziness begins here. I loved the books so much I bought them...all of them...in hardback. I then re-read everyone...and took literary notes...seriously.

Favorite Harry book: Goblet of Fire--it was so much fun to read
Hardest book to get through the second time: Order of the Phoenix--big book, lots of info
Book or Movie?: The books are always better! For my children the books are less scary than the movies as well. When they are reading, they are limited to their own imagination. Their imagination seems to be less frightening than that of a movie producer.
Another series of books I'd recommend: The Circle Books by Ted Dekker--Black, Red, White

A Long Time Coming

Wow! It's been awhile since I last updated my blog. What have I been up to? Well to be honest I have been writing and deleting posts a lot lately. It is hard to publish my thoughts. I am my own worst critic. I do want to try and achieve some sense of truth and "realness". Revealing your "inner self" can be overwhelming and frightening. In addition to struggling over my blog and what it is I truly want to say, I've been pretty busy. I have finally completed the Beth Moore online study Believing God. For those of you who have walked through this with me, you know what an amazing accomplishment this was. Now I must go about the business of applying it to my life. Quite a challenge.
The five principles in the study are:
1. God is who He says He is--(I got this one)
2. God can do what He says He can do--(this one is easy when it involves everyone else...it's much tougher when it applies to me)
3. I am who God says I am--(what a challenge for me!!!)
4. I can do all things through Christ--(another tough one)
5. God's word is alive and active in me--(I really need to spend more time making this one more obvious and visible in my life)
The idea is that many people believe in God but don't really believe God. Do you? I find this very challenging. It was an amazing journey for me.

Goodbye Hello!

There is no way to describe the excitement that I am feeling right now. I no longer need the Hello! software to upload pics to my blog. You can't imagine the pain that I suffered everytime I saw my husband's blog and all the pics he so easily loaded into each of his posts. I no longer have to suffer the cruel bitter pains of envy. And so in honor of this truly magnificent moment, I post my puppy. Hannah, with her tongue hanging out, is saying, "You go girl...you go..." It's beautiful.

You Can't Handle The Truth

There is something beautiful about the truth. Raw, gritty, real truth. It has always captured me. I find the truth in unexpected places. Not just in perfection. (Jesus is the ultimate truth.) But I find truth in many fallen places. Places of pain. Places of loneliness. Places of passion and love. Places that many people I know would find scandalous. Because the truth isn't always clean. It is often dirty, and messy. But beautiful all the same.

All That And A Bag Of Chips

Well I think I've finally settled--for now--on my blog template. I am pleased with this result and pleased that I will no longer be coding any pages. Actually I've grown a little addicted to it. I'll probably still be messing around with it somehow. Now I get to go back to focusing on how to invest my money for retirement. As if my brain isn't already fried enough. I'm a stay at home mom, so I'm always looking for challenging--but fun--projects to work on. My husband bought me a sewing machine and I taught myself how to quilt. I've read all of the Harry Potter books... twice. I even took notes and analyzed the use of colors and searched for clues. I'm pretty much insane. Reading is actually huge for me. I need something to keep my brain moving at all times. Plus, I've found that day to day living can be very slow and tedious. Books bring a little bit of excitement to my day. Some of the best books I've ever read are: Harry Potter series, Lord of the Rings, The Circle Books (Black, Red, White) by Ted Dekker (He's amazing!), and Pride and Prejudice. At least these are the few I can think of when I am only half awake.
We have been working towards becoming foster parents and last Saturday we got a little closer. Our license came in the mail. Now it's just a matter of waiting. A thing I have not yet perfected. There is so much uncertainty in foster care. It can be a little unnerving at times. When you get pregnant you have a certain time period (approx.) to wait. You know about when to expect a new addition and you can make plans. With foster care I could get a call tomorrow and have a baby by five o'clock. Or three months from now I could still be waiting. Also when you give birth to a baby you can expect that it will be a newborn and therefore require infant things. With foster care I could have a six month old, eighteen month old, or three year old. What an adventure! It's all amazing.
Well that's "All that". So, what about the bag of chips? Black Pepper Jack Doritos. I am so loving these chips. If you haven't already, check 'em out.

Blog Awareness

Since starting this blog, it seems, I've spent most of my time trying to find and fix a template that I actually like. I thought this would be somewhat easy. I was wrong. Many free templates on the web are geared toward a younger generation. And, while I LOVE Harry Potter, I don't love the books enough to create my blog around them. :) What generally happens is, I tinker. I load up a template and then try to manipulate the code to change colors, etc... I usually do this for about an hour, get frustrated with trying to color coordinate (it looks almond on this page and peach when I post it on mine), and give up entirely. Not only that but if I choose a new template I usually have to reload my links. This is not too difficult, just a matter of copy and paste, but it is an inconvenience none the less. But I am learning. And I thrive on learning. So, as frustrating as this can be, it is also exciting. To create. To grow. To try something new and put ideas out there. Please bear with me, in the beginning.

Me and my family geocaching 

In The Beginning

In the beginning there was a title. A much worked over and often changed title, that led to Wherever you go... It comes from a great and wonderful saying: Wherever you go, there you are. I have found this small yet profound statement to be true repeatedly in my life, especially lately. No matter where you go or how your circumstances change you are still you. I am currently living in Alaska. A crazy and somewhat daunting place to be. The temperatures in the winter fall down to negative fifty. And in the summer it can get up into the nineties. Quite an extreme. But, alas, even in Alaska I am still Jaime. I still carry my talents, dreams, faults, and hardships. But I am growing, learning, and trying new things. Thus, this blog. I read somewhere that you should have an idea of what you want to accomplish with your blog, before you start one. Well in this, I'm afraid, I am already at a disadvantage. I'm not sure exactly what I want to say or where I want to go with this. I am just going to see where all of this takes me.