Life lessons......

Sometimes in life something comes at you at out nowhere....
out of the clear blue.

Sometimes life gets sooo comfortable that when tragedy does strike....we are NOWHERE near ready for it.

Life lessons come way tooo early sometimes.

But just like an AVALANCHE....pain can change the lightness of your life....to HEAVINESS.

A few nights ago, as we slept, our SWEET, SWEET, dog Maya got out of our yard and was hit and killed by a motorcycle. Our neighbor found her nad Jay found out at 7 am and had to bury her alone in the woods near our house.

I knew when I saw his face....there is a CERTAIN LOOK a man has when he is SERIOUS.

Jay had that look. I knew. There. was. something. wrong.

Our eyes met thru the old fence panels, "Maya was killed last night. DO NOT tell the kids right now.I just buried her.", he said in a shaky voice.

My heart silently broke for our sweet girl.
My heart broke for my kids....we have been thru the death of a dog before.
But the kids were WAY younger....so it was easier to "get over".

I stood silent for a moment and then turned to the house....which now felt like a puzzle with a small peice missing.

As a parent you want to SHIELD your children from pain. You want to KEEP them from heartache.

But ...in life....pain is inevitable.

and so is death.

It was a LONG day filled with "where's Maya?" questions paired with " When will she come home?" ...while I waited to talk to Daddy and decide what we were going to tell them.

I went back and forth between NOT telling them, which included LYING to the EVERYDAY, and telling them the harsh truth (Which I knew would devestate them).

In the end...we chose the TRUTH.

Because life is fragile and GOD is in control...and
WE
CAN'T
DENY
IT!!!!!

No matter how much we wanted to IGNORE the fact that Maya was gone...we couldn't.

THAT would not make it go away.

So we subjected their little hearts to the terrible news that one of their beloved BFF's was gone.

It was one of the most HEARTBREAKING things I have ever seen.

We wailed as a family for our fallen Maya.

We cried and hugged..all night.

We TRIED to understand and we learned new saying like "I can't wrap my mind around that"....

We answered questions from a 5 year old like, "So Maya is dead right? But we will see her again, right? But not till we are OLD right?"

And we watched as they told EVERY PERSON that they saw that Maya died.

And in turn...we had to tell the story TONS of times.

HARD questions.

HARD answers..

But...in the end...They always know that the TRUTH is everlasting, and you can't run from it or deny it....no matter how hard you try.

At the same time, life is beautiful and God reigns supreme.

He gives and he takes away...
and
ONLY HE knows when that will happen.

Thank goodness.

Psalm 27:4-5
One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.

The FLOOD....of TRUTH.

It all started like this:

We live in an old home...an old elevated home.

OK...its a trailer.

But we live in Florida ...so it counts as a home.
LOL.

Anyway...as in any old home sometimes things need to be fixed.

All kinds of things.

This time...it was the floor.

It was "spongy" ...as Jay called it.

It needed to be reinfoeced from the undernneath.

It was a problem that NEEDED to be fixed.

It is normal wear and tear...I mean our "raised house" is a 1975 model.

It was bound to hapen.

And GIVE THANKS that I dont have a "mamsy-pamsy" husband because this was not a "mamsy-pamsy" job.

THIS was a "put on your LONGJOHN CAMO jumpsuit, shoes, mask, and hat and crawl under the DARK house" kind of job.

NOT for the faint hearted.
AT ALL.

He actually went 30 feet under the house with a light and tools and FIXED it from underneath...CRAZY.

But THIS is not the funny part...this is the BACKstory.

Sooooooooo....

He spent 3 days under the house...making improvements.

An then he LEFT....for the evening.

and
THAT
IS
WHEN
IT
HAPPENED

Iasked Shasha to runa bath for me while I cooked dinner.

She DID.

And then..
I FORGOT....and there was a FLOOD.

Lets just say I FREAKED out when I walked into the hallway and stepped in a PUDDLE.

I think me EXACT WORDS were, "HELP ME!!!!!! HELP ME!!!!!!!! NOWWWWWWWWWWWW!"

And of course the kids ALL come running and THROW TOWELS at me.

I mean they throw EVERY towel at me.

AWESOME.

So for the rest of the evening we dried water and shifted fans.

and washed towels.

Again...AWESOME.

And after things had "calmed down" and my blood pressure went down...
I said to the kids, "Hey guys...we don't have to tell Dad RIGHT AWAY about this. He just worked REALLY HARD under the house and I think it might hurt his feelings. So...lets just let it be."

They all looked at me wide-eyed and surprised..."So you DONT WANT US TO TELL DAD??????"

"No...I didn't say THAT. I said that let's not run up to him FIRST THING in the morning and say, "Mommy flooded the bathroom!!!"....Lets give it a minute."

They seemed ok with that...I felt ok with that.

THEN IT HAPPENED....

I was getting ready for work the other day and Zeek had been at the recording studio with Jay.

When they got home I said, "Zeek..how was it?? Cool?"

He said, "Dad told me to say, "There were more girls in bikinis there than I had ever seen!!!" But I didnt want to say THAT!!"

Then Jay walked up and said, "Zeek...You weren't supposed to tell her that I TOLD YOU to say that...you were just supposed to SAY THAT."

It was a plan devised to get a RISE out of me...LOL.
Foiled by Zeeks affinity for the TRUTH.

My reply was , "Aww...sweet boy you always tell the TRUTH. You will always tell Mama the TRUTH right?"

I was so proud. Sweet boy. TRUTHFUL, sweet boy.

Then without a thought he said to ME....
"Yep, I am. And I am going to tell Dad about the FLOOD!!!"

Oh no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He ran off before I could say ANYTHING...
I couldn't stop laughing. and kneeled down in my bathroom tucked behind a wall because I KNEW.

I KNEW that Jay was comming.

And when I finally came out from my hiding place....
there stood Jay..with a HUGE smile on his face.

LOL

I guess the TRUTH is the TRUTH.
And sometimes it comes JUST LIKE A FLOOD.

Assumptions..... LOL

What a joke.

"Is RASTA right for you?"

Like those answers can be found in a book...

THOSE ANSWERS CANNOT be found in a BOOK.

Those answers can only come from searching your heart.

I am not saying that SOME answers can't be found in books.

FACTS come from books, and sometimes THOSE facts can lead you to THOSE ANSWERS.

But...as far as RASTAFARIANS-we are all different.

There are different types of Rastas..just like there are different types of Christians or Jews.

People find MANY different PATHS to faith.

I am not the JUDGE...
But-I find it funny that sometimes even people of FAITH judge their PEERS.

I used to. I used to do JUST that.

I am me. Rasta. Me.
The meaning of THAT has changed and shifted as my Faith has grown.
There was a time when I was the one who JUDGED.

I remember a time, early in my journey(10 years ago), that I was judgemental....I was the one.

There was one time when we were "hosting" a reggae artist form NYC and I had a SPECIFIC PRECONCEIVED notion about what a Rasta SHOULD BE.

To ME...A "REAL RASTA" would be certain things.
Ital was one of them.
"Ital" meaning: totally natural, vegatarian, NON-PROCESSED, NON-chemical.

lol

I spent days gathering incense, fruit,nuts, and natural soap, shampoo and ALL KINDS of NATURAL, ORGANIC fruits and snacks.

I made a basket for him.
I "knew" him...I mean - I had heard about him, heard his music, LOVED his music, and developed a whole OPINION...in my head.
I "knew" him.
I ASSUMED I knew WHO HE WAS.

Then he actually got here.
He was amazing..everything I thought he would be.
Smart.Wise.Funny.Rasta.
And he was appreciative of EVERYTHNG we did for him.
But-
One night when we went to the store he bought OREOS.

Processed, chemical-laden, food-colored..OREAS.

Off the shelf.
Not the Organic, health store immitation Oreos...but- OREAS.
I was SHOCKED ...to say the least.

I had built him UP in my head to be someone SUPER-HUMAN.
Someone who was DIFFERENT form us.
Somehow...DIFFERENT.

As I sit here..that makes me laugh.

So Niave.
So, so, so, naive.

It was such an eye opener.
Such a lesson for me.

A lesson in LIFE.

We are who we are....WHATEVER that is.
My theory is...All you can do today is TRY and do better than you did yesterday. And LOVE one another.
No matter who YOU think someone else is.

I have also learned this thru THIS blog.

I have been contacted by 100's of people thru THIS BLOG or because of our "WIFE SWAP" adventure...and I am sure that each and everyone one of you has a PRECONCIEVED NOTION of who I am.

Well...I am here to say that I am ME.

I am a Rastafarian.
I love Christ also.
(surprised? See?)

I am not a vegetarian.
I eat fish and chicken.
SO what?

I have a drink ever now and again.
Like maybe today.

I have 4 kids.
They are sweet, cute, and I love them.
But ...sometime I yell.
And sometimes ...they get spanked.

I homeschool them...
and they have a schedule, a chore chart, and responsibilities.

So...as you can see there is ALWAYS more to the picture than what you see.
Always more to the story.

Trust Me.

And next time you THINK you know...ASK.

Im open ...and everchanging.

It's better than assuming something False.

I don't havee ALL the answers...but I may have SOME.

Rastafari!

Happy Bday Dr. Seuss!!!!!

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” - Dr. Seuss

I love Dr. Seuss...I mean really WHO DOSEN'T?

He has a way of taking you right back to being 7 all over again.

All you have to do is cozy up on the couch and say, "One fish, Two fish...." and watch the kids come running.

Try it...you'll see.

Well...March 2nd is Dr. Seuss's birthday.

So in the Vallone Academy...WE ALWAYS CELEBRATE!!!

We started the day off by watching the "cat in the hat" cartoon marathon on PBS...while we used tracing paper and traced ages from our favorite Dr. Seuss books.







Then we read Dr. Seuss books and watched a couple of videos..

So fun and so cute.

One of the reasons I love Dr. Seuss is because he has a way of effortlessly telling a story that is interesting to both YOUNG and OLD.

And..for the most part there is ALWAYS a lesson.

Like... " The Sneetches" :(If you want to watch this video- Scroll down an turn off the music player on your RIGHT)



Watching this video together we discussed:
* WHY the way you LOOK does not determine WHO you are.
* THAT all people are the same...no matter the way they LOOK.
AND
*how a story can be told in MANY different ways.

Such a blessing to sit with the kids and have these moments....
The timeless ones where time STOPS, and you SIT STILL for a MOMENT.

And what kind of Dr. Seuss Day would it be without visiting a CAT and some kittens???

I mean really???

What KIND of Mother would I be????

LOL









Then to top the whole day off...
Guess what we had for dinner????



Yep!!!!
Green Eggs....minus the ham.



Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!!!

Secret CEREAL School......LOL

Reuce.
Reuse.
Recycle.

It is something we take seriously..
We TRY to find different uses for ALL things.

Soooo......
When I saw THIS over at Almost Unschoolers ...
I was STOKED!!!

And since we have TONS of cereal boxes that we are sending to Haiti...I thought we could spare a few.
LOL

So...here was my spin on it...

More like a "make up your own silly sentences" game.

Fun, Recycled, and SECRET SCHOOL combined!!!
Perfect!!!

Comming Full Circle....

Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children, and no theories. ~John Wilmot


I love that quote....I love the wisdom in those words.

It is funny to me how we THINK we know everything....

When I was young....I THOUGHT I knew what was good for me.
I thought I was making GOOD decisions.
I thought that how I felt THEN was how I would always feel.

How naive.
How sad is THAT?
So prideful that I couldn't see past MYSELF.
So silly to think that I was "grown".

Making big girl decisions...with a little girl's mind.

Thinking that I KNEW who I would be....in the future.

LOL

I remember being pregnant with Zeek and thinking things like, "I will never spank my kids!".

or

"I am going to be a CALM parent...never yell, or get upset."

or

"MY kid will never play with swords or fight!"

When I look back I can't help but laugh at my NAIVE self.

What a kook...thinking I knew ANYTHING about ANYTHING really.

Not because I was young....lots of people go thru their lives and make GREAT DECISIONS at a young age. That is GREAT...but not MY STORY.

I was prideful and was USED to thinking I KNEW something.

I was USED to THINKING I was right..THINKING that I understood things.

I remember when Zeek was VERY YOUNG(under 1 year)...we met a family who had a couple of boys.

They were nice, sweet kids (about 6 and 9 or so)
but
they were playing some card "game".
Something with dragons and spell cards and points.

And I remember thinking to myself, "I would NEVER let my kids play with something that was about DRAGONS and SPELLS!!!! NEVER ...no way! Those are things of the devil! Uh-Uh...No Way!!!"


You see...there it was again...my PRIDEFUL SELF who CONTINUED to think that she knows ALL THINGS!"

LOL

I was so judgemental...without even knowing I was being judgemental.

I had JUST been saved about 2 years before and was still "SORE" from my former life.

I WAS going to be DIFFERENT.
I WAS going to please H.I.M.
Come fire or rain....I WOULD be different.
I WOULD make up for it.

I guess somewhere along the way I decided that in order to "make-up" for all things "former"....I would need to "set fire" to all things "not holy".

I thought that in order to "repent"...I needed to "purify" my life.

So...for MY KIDS- there would be NO DRAGONS, NO SWORDS, and NO SPELL CARDS.

see what I mean...Naive.

I know.

Stop laughing.

Well....Life is a journey and it comes full circle.

As I grew in my faith...I realized that Dragons, spell cards, and swords....have NO POWER over me or my kids.

As long as I teach them that the devil comes in all sizes and shapes...and that he can only come in when there is a door left open.

They have to know about caution in life....no matter what they have in front of them.No matter the situation.

As long as they are living for THE KINGDOM....then they are PROTECTED BY GOD!

No spell cards, swords, or dragons will harm them.

EVER.

Oh and BTW:
Today---My boys LOVE their YuGiOh cards....and all the swords,sell cards and dragons that come with them.

See.....FULL CIRCLE.

Amazing.

Creative "play".....

Homeschooling can LOOK like many different things.

Some start at the crack of dawn....
Others in the afternoon.

Some stick to a schedule....
Others have NO SCHEDULE.

Some don't stray too far from the public school cirriculum...
Others make a POINT to STAY FAR from it.

The kiy is to really TUNE IN to your kids and figure out what works.

They are all different...
all special, with their own quirks and learning styles.

So...
you have to pay CLOSE ATTENTION.

I have learned that for ME....LIFE SCHOOL works.

I try to look for the learning opportunities in EVERYTHING.

I try and always HELP them to be creative and USE their minds....
no matter the situation.

One thing that I have learned about my kids is that they LOVE puzzles,games,etc.

Puzzles are one thing that will keep them OCCUPIED.

So...
I thought I would pass it along.

These puzzles are AWESOME!!!! (Sorry for the BAD pics!)

Camel feet and GOD!

This year I started using a new cirriculum called My Fathers World.

It is an amazing program that lets you homeschool MULTI-AGE children...easily.

Which means you teach Science, history, bible study, and geography ALL together.

A little like "Little House on the Prarie"....for each of those subjects-taking it to different levels for different ages.

The core subjects are done individually.

An AMAZING program ...especially for a family with "stair-step kids".

The first year you spend on Geography instead of history.

Which I think is a GREAT idea...I can't tell you how much I have learned this year!!! (I think we all know VERY LITTLE geography...be honest.)

The last few weeks we have been on the continent of ASIA...in the country of Saudi Arabia.( See you had NO IDEA what continent Saudi Arabia was on. LOL)



Which means we study ALL THINGS desert, camel,drought,sand,and heat.

Today, after coloring our map sheets and talking about the traditional dress of the Saudi Arabians.....we talked about camels.

We talked about the body of a camel and why GOD made him this magnificent way.

Perfect skin for the DESERT SUN.

3 rows of eyelashes...perfectly placed to keep out the sand.

Perfect pads on their "knees" ......already callused - from birth.

Humps on their backs ...perfectly situated to carry water and LOADS.

and

Wide, padded feet ...perfectly made to balance and NOT SINK in the desert sand.

So...to prove this point and add a visual...we did an experiment.





We got out 2 bowls and filled both with salt- to mimic the sand of the desert.



Then, talked about a camels feet and why they DON'T sink..



We talked about how because God made their feet WIDE they take up more surface area ..then if they were NOT SO WIDE.



Then we observed what would happen when you placed a smaller "foot" in the "sand".



As opposed to a WIDE, THICK "foot".



It was a fun, easy experiment which gave us the opportunity to discuss not only surface area, but also GOD'S INFINITE WISDOM.



Awesome....

Wordless Weekend.........

Sometimes....

I get SOOOOOOOO busy on the weekends(I work Friday and saturdays NIGHTS at a bar from 8PM-3AM) that I can't seem to get to blogging.

or

I am TOOO tired to write at all.

THAT happened this weekend.

So ..It isa Monday and I decided to post our weekend in PICTURES.
































Fun, Fun, Fun!!!!

Teach Haiti .... Please.

Don't you love it when you have people in your life that TRULY affect you????

Don't you love it when you have a friend that is doing GREAT THINGS?

Don't you love it when YOU can copy THEM????

I do!!!!

I have a friend like that.

Her name is Heather
.

She is amazing and is doing great things with her life.

She is a mother of 4 BOYS who moved to Haiti last year.

Her family is doing AMAZING things for the Kingdom.

I mean, SERIOUSLY....

Being a mother of 4 ANYTHINGS is hard enough....then throw in HAITI.

AMAZING.

I am always inspired by her RESOURCEFULNESS.

Yesteray she posted THIS about a read-a-thon her kids were doing in school.

Kinda like a "jump-rope-for-heart"...where you PLEDGE to donate a certain amount per 1/2 hour or hour....remember those????

FUN!

Well the read-a thon is just like THAT ...but with reading instead of jumping rope.

And the cause is AMAZING!!!

100 % of the donations go to a grassroots organization called Teach Haiti.

The Hendrick's boys said THIS about Teach Haiti:

"Teach Haiti is a organization founded by Miss Miquette Denie. She helps kids who are poor in Haiti go to school so the kids can learn new stuff. It costs 350 dollars U.S. for a kid to go to school for a whole year. We don't know what it would be like if we couldn't go to school. So even if we read a million minutes it will be worth it for other kids to get to go to school. The way you can help is by donating money to sponcer us. The ways you can do it is you can donate a certin amount of money for every 15 min. or just flat out. We hope this year we will make the most money for the readathon."

Sweet, sweet generous souls.

I mean really...how could we NOT get involved????

Sooooooooooooooooo..........

We have decided to have a READ-A-THON in the Vallone academy.

Monday, Feb.21- Monday, Feb. 28

The kids will READ, READ, READ as much as possible.

For the kids of Haiti....who CAN'T!!!

THIS is where YOU come in:

You can donate a flat rate or you can donate per 15 minutes.

WHATEVER you want....ANYTHING HELPS.

We will donate 100 % of the proceeds to Teach Haiti.

So please...WON'T YOU HELP a child get an education?????

PLEASE.

Leave me a message and I will getback to you...

THANKS.