Boondocker Coffee Pot

First use of the drip coffee maker!

We love this thing! It isn't a percolator, it's drip coffee without electricity. Heat up the water, pour it in the top, drips through the grounds and viola! Grandma and Grandpa B brought it to us and little did they know how wonderful it would be for us. Good coffee while camping, just can't be beat!

Two Books Finished

Last night, I finished reading "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham to the boys. I read it for my Classics Mom class and thought I just had to read it to the boys. It's such a great story. They loved it! What I like about the book is that it describes and explains a lot of sailing terms, not so much that it's annoying and can't enjoy the story, but enough so you understand what's happening even if you don't know that much about boats. It also mentions historical dates and events in enough detail to think "Oh! That's when this story is!". I love that the boys have to run out to the dining room table and find all the places that Mr. Bowditch sailed to and figure out how long it took them to get there and back. Tom was fascinated that the guy could learn languages with a dictionary of the language and a Bible. I'm thinking we may need a few Foreign Language to English dictionaries around this house.

The book I finished yesterday was "How Children Learn" by John Holt. I've read a couple of his other books and just love them. I was excited to have this on my reading list for my Classic Mom class too. This is what I got out of this book.

Trust and Love are key elements in raising children. I don't say "educating children" even though his books are an attempt to change the education system we have. The last chapter in this one gives me the sense that he felt he failed that attempt and in some cases made it worse in that people took his ideas and applied them in ways that he never dreamed possible, without the trust and love.

We need to trust, have faith, that children are naturally curious about the world around them. They do see what the world is doing and attempt to do the same. They will correct mistakes when they see them and they will find those mistakes on their own, in their own time.

We need to love them for what they are and what they are trying to become, not what we believe they should or could be.

I would HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone, whether you are a parent or not, homeschooling or not. It's just a wonderfully inspiring book that will make you look at all children in a way that makes them much more fun.

Here's my favorite part at the end.

"All that energy and foolishness, all that curiosity, questions, talk, all those fierce passions, inconsolable sorrows, immoderate joys, seem to many a nuisance to be endured, if not a disease to be cured. To me they are a national asset, a treasure beyond price, more necessary to our health and our very survival than any oil or uranium or - name what you will." John Holt - "How Children Learn"

Picnic!

We drove to Whitewater Preserve for a picnic with Grandpa and Grandma B this afternoon. It was a perfect day for it too. We walked up the trails a bit and played in the river. It was hot enough to enjoy being wet but not too hot to hike. I love that place! We planted a new Letterbox there. Go check it out. It's at http://www.atlasquest.com/!

A Gorgeous Morning!

Had to share the greatness of such a beautiful morning! My chickens are ready for breakfast!

Birthday Party!

I'm not sure why, but this picture of my precious son made me tear up. Maybe because he looks so big or the smile he has on his face. It's typical Tom, though, and it was just magical that I captured it by accident. He's surrounded by his family and that means so much to him. The day after the party he was "sad" (a usual evening occurrence at our house) because he "didn't know our family". He likes hearing stories about other aunts and uncles and the crazy things that happened to us as kids. He said he loves parties because he gets to see his extended family but he doesn't get to spend time with them and really know them because we don't have them often enough. It must be hard living with all that brain! :)

Tom shared his birthday party with his cousins Carson and TJ this year. It was a blast, seriously! Between all the kids and crazy family, we had the quad and the go-kart going all over the property. It was a perfect day weather-wise, not to hot, not to cold. The whole family seemed to be enjoying each other. I got to spend some quiet time with my cousin and her family, which was very special. And I love being able to see many of my friends and family getting to know each other. There were several family members missing (you know who you are) and they were sorely missed and should make more effort to join us.

Tom is realizing that little kids get a lot more toys than big kids but that's ok because he got money. He's saving up for a dirt bike. His favorite uncle got him a replica Russian "Potato Masher"! That, and several new orange shirts made him very happy. Cousin Mike pinned them in Grandma's house after dark and there was much screaming and running back to the house under airsoft gunfire. Our chickens and their eggs were a big hit with the little ones. Grandma and Grandpa B brought Trick or Treats and glow sticks which were much needed that evening. And my Mom got to spend the night in our "guest house", otherwise known as the RV. We stayed up late at the campfire in the back yard watching the stars until the nearly full moon came out and chased them away.

It was a great day!

Who Do I Want to Become

I'm writing this for my Classic Moms class at Abigail Adams Academy and it's a tough one.


I made the mistake of reading other people's papers before writing mine. They are all so good. Insightful is the word I'm thinking of, and inspiring. Coincidentally, that is what I hope to become! I already know who I am and that that person will evolve and grow as I get older, hopefully in a positive way. But my hope, and what I'm working towards with this class and my other studies, is that I will become more insightful in my life and inspiring to others that know me.

But just now I thought, “Who am I right now?”

Michelle Ann Huelle and that name stands for a unique person that is a combination of “what's”.

To others I am a daughter, grand-daughter, cousin, aunt, mom, wife, and a multitude of other family names. I've been an employee and a boss.

I'm a woman, an American, and a Californian. I'm a person who tries to know more about the world around herself.

In the past, I've been a student, painter, stage-hand, lighting designer, set-designer, college student, laser technician, sales clerk, electronics technician, sound board operator, and scheduler. I've also been a girlfriend, and EX, and someones love interest. I've been someones little girl and the love of someones life.

My life is centered on being wife and mother right now, with the added excitement of autodidact at this time. I'm the house cleaner, cook, and therapist. I'm the one who kisses bruises and holds hands with sick kids. I'm a teacher and helper to my kids. I'm the friend and lover of my husband.

What do I want to become? A mentor, a mother-in-law, and some day a grandma. I want to become a scholar. I want to be joyful in everything I do and I want to be someone that people can see the love of God in.
 
And, by the way, the Cactus Wrens are very busy collecting nesting material outside my window. It's very distracting when I'm trying to be creative. :))

Started St. Augustine's Confessions

This is the next reading in "The Great Books" series and it's pretty hard reading for me, a lot of thee's and thou's. But I'm reading slowly and getting what I can.

The first part really spoke to my heart yesterday. "For who can call on Thee, not knowing Thee?" There was more that spoke to this but he says anyone can call of God because we are a part of Him and our soul reaches out for Him without ever hearing of Him from human mouths.

"Thou lovest, without passion; art jealous, without anxiety..." He goes on and on with this. God asks for our love but does not need it. God is everywhere and can tell the world about Himself, He does not need humans but wants us. Why do we, as a people, continue to make fake false gods and religions? Or try to put Him into a form He is not? No one thing can hold Him. He is so much more than one book, people, or church.

The part I read today was fun. He talks about when he was an infant, but he says really he is describing other infants that he has seen, since he can't remember his own infancy.