1. Hello everyone. Welcome to Edie’s First Fireside Chat. I’m a moderator for tonight’s session. (<----welcome to my friend Ami!----listen to her, she's smart and will protect us from ourselves). A few things before we start: 2. Sign in to the chat. You can use your Facebook account info or create an account with your email address. You can also sign in as a guest and the chatroll will assign you a guest username. 3. Once you sign in, introduce yourself to us, tell us where your from, the name of your blog–if you have one, and whatever else you want to tell us about yourself. 4. To contribute your opinions and ideas to this chat just enter your text into the text box at the bottom of the chat area and press "Enter" on your keyboard. You should see your comment appear instantly in chat. 5. If you would like to respond to an individuals' comment, start your text with "@ individual name" like "@edie". If the comment is for everyone, no @ tag is needed. 6. To send a private message, click the status icon next the user's name, and click "Send Private Message". We want to keep the chat interactive, so please only use private messages for technical assistance. You can send tech questions privately to "ami_d", but please send all questions to other chat users publicly. 7. Before starting the chat session I would just like to remind you all to be polite and to respect one another's opinions. Please refrain from using any profanity or from ad hominem attacks. In short, follow the golden rule and we're sure to have a jolly good time. (I said that, not Ami. She probably doesn't say 'jolly good time' and I can't rightly blame her.) 8. Users who do not respect the rules or who are disruptive to the chat will receive a warning and will then be banned if negative behavior continues. (I can only imagine this scenario if my cousin JamieKnoxville joins in. She'll be the one signed in as Loretta Lynn using a lot of asterisks. Perhaps this will be over before she gets wind of it:) ) 9. We are working on making a transcript of the chat available but are unsure at this time if this will be an option. 10. Most importantly, have fun! Don't be afraid to jump in and contribute, even if it's just an "amen" or " i totally agree" comment to get your feet wet. Chat is fueled by your contributions and the discussion will be enriched by a variety of opinions. Please forgive us for questions or comments that might go unnoticed or unanswered in the chat. We will make every effort to answer them in the post below this one within the next few days if we miss them or run out of time tonight. I was mistaken about the number of people that can 'chat' at one time. It's 100 instead of 50. Our heads may be spinning if that many actually sign in! The chat will go live a few minutes before 7 in this post. See you there! If we blow up the internet, it was nice knowing you...... [chatroll width='700' height='600' id='RZKC25v5tXK' name='fireside-chat-at-life-in-grace-3-6-11' apikey='lcyhvjdj7mghh1uv']
blogging
Blissdom::The Courage to be Vulnerable
i am overwhelmed and exhausted and inspired.
blissdom was amazing. again.
i’ve missed my friends so much.
they are the most generous, amazing, smart, caring, compassionate, creative people i know.
i am blessed to sit among them and share their stories. we laugh. we cry. we marvel at how tightly our hearts are knit together.
even across the miles. and even across the lines—– of race and age and religion and politics.
i’ve never felt more at home than in their company.
and we learned from some very wise and bright minds that it really comes down to relationship.
what is blogging about? relationship
why do i twitter? relationship
facebook? relationship
and guess what relationship requires?
that we are willing to make ourselves vulnerable.
period.
that we are willing to need someone else.
that we are willing to say so.
that we are willing to be hurt.
because the willingness to be vulnerable is where relationship lives.
the question is: are you willing?
i am thankful for a group of women who are willing.
to share their stories and their gifts with us everyday.
i won’t take it for granted.
i will read with more understanding.
i will give the benefit of the doubt.
i will ponder what a privilege it is to do this.
i will do it with fear and trembling because true joy lingers near the willingness to be afraid.
but to give of ourselves anyway.
thank you for risking it.
“…we are losing our tolerance for vulnerability…..in our culture weakness is synonymous with vulnerability. Vulnerability is absolutely at the core of fear and anxiety and shame and very difficult emotions…but it is also the birthplace of joy, of love, of belonging , of creativity, and of faith. And so it becomes very problematic when as a culture we lose our ability to be vulnerable.”
author and speaker Brene Brown
ps. on a related note, i did pretty okay (only teared up a few times) until the last day. then i lost it. cried like a baby when i told patty and jessica and brooke and ruth and nester and emily and melissa and ruthanne goodbye. and might i say that true friends know what to do with vulnerable. they respect it. they nurture it. they embrace it. they understand it. because they live there too. and they blaze a trail for the rest of us to live from our broken, vulnerable selves in the safety of true friendship.
pss. i’m working on finding some fun stuff for my entryway (here at the rental house and to be moved to our house once it’s built) so if you have any inspiration photos for an entryway, please send them my way. i’m looking for a console table, a great lamp, a rug and some awesome accessories. thank you for helping me get my *stuff* back.
xo,
edie
*more to come on my excursions i hope. but today, we’ve got a full day of school and i’m starting karen’s photography class. wish me luck!
For Edie, with love
During the quiet hours of morning, there is a renegade group of blogging women who are breaking into this Life in Grace. We come, not to steal, but to shower with blessing. And we cross our fingers and toes that sweet Edie doesn’t balk too much at us sneaking in without permission.
It’s been two weeks since Edie’s family lost all their earthly belongings in the house fire. Even as their things are slowly being replaced, we know the greater tragedy is to lose your sense of normal, of safe, and of home. As Edie has so eloquently shared with us, “a heaviness sets in that I worry will be my permanent friend.” Her local friends and family have done so much to provide for their physical and emotional needs over the past two weeks. As her friends in blogland, we feel helpless to do anything that counts.
Since our arms can’t reach, we want to embrace Edie with our words. We figure if words were good enough for God when he spoke the Universe into existence with a let there be, and then there was, they must be good enough for us. Besides, they are all we’ve got, and we pray that the Lord will multiply them and dress them up with love and lightness, directing them straight into Edie’s heavy heart.
Over the years, Edie has written so beautifully about home, about faith, about family and love, grace and books, silliness and food. She has created a home here for us, a place to be inspired, to be encouraged, and to be ourselves. We know you feel the same way. And while Edie sits in a position right now where everyone wants to give to her, we want to take some time to thank Edie for the ways she has given to us. And so we invite you to join us in celebrating this Life in Grace she has so eloquently shared with us. Here’s how you can join in:
- Write a post on your own blog about how Edie has been an encouragement to you. Perhaps you have a specific post she wrote that stands out in your mind, or a story of when you met her in real life. Anything about Edie and this beautiful space she has created here.
- Come back and link up below so she will have all of our words in one place, little image gestures of love and support from all over the country, even the world. Be sure to use the permalink for your blog post.
- If you would like to take that one step further, print out your post and send it to the address below. Also, if you read Edie but don’t have a blog, you can still join in! Simply write a letter to Edie via the address below and Patty will compile them as a keepsake
Patty Christopher
1815 Pointe Drive
Talbott, TN 37877
We do this because we love Edie. We do this because we don’t know what else to do. We do this because, though fire may have taken the house, it cannot take the home. Because home is Edie’s specialty, her heart, her gift she has made her home in Christ, and we know along with the Apostle Paul that “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Oh, and one more thing? Today is Edie’s birthday!
I heart Ruthanne
I finally ordered Christmas cards. Since we’re down to four people that actually live here, picking a picture for the card was relatively easy. My awesome photographer friend Jessica took this one. I ordered from Tiny Prints and if you hurry, there’s a great coupon that expires today. Hurry. It saved me almost $40.
First a little housekeeping. As many of you know, I’ve changed commenting platforms. I didn’t like the way my prophoto template handled comments so I carefully researched for weeks minutes which commenting platform seemed most user friendly. I kind of abruptly switched to disqus one bright October morn. And I don’t think I ever even officially told you about it, unless you read my random facebook posts. I like disqus because it is more conversational and allows us to respond back and forth to each other. However, discus makes you sign in. Which is akin to making you show your ID to order wine for dinner at the restaurant you frequent every Tuesday when you’re obviously graying and wrinkling and have only the faintest memories of being 21.
But…..
once you sign in, that’s it. Or, you can sign in using your facebook or your twitter account. See, how easy? And BTW, you don’t look a day over 25. I swear.
Now, despite the fact that I’m telling you this, when Melissa switched to disqus, I was so scared/put off by the sign in (disqus? what’s disqus? I’m not creating one more set of sign in/password combinations if it kills me) that I gave it a good 6 months before I ever signed in. As I tell my children all the time, “Do as I say not as I do.”
Here’s how it works: Click ‘add a comment’ and you’ll get this menu.
You can sign in using any of these methods and if you don’t want to create an account with disqus, you sign in as a ‘guest’ —which is what I finally did on Melissa’s site when I had a burning desire to tell her something.
But….
if you’ll create an account with disqus, it will link to your blog when someone clicks on your name from the comment, which I find very helpful and useful. So just go the extra mile and create a disqus account and then other commenters can ‘find’ you.
then type in your clever words and voila. Tres easy. If you sign in via, twitter, your comment will be tweeted. If you sign in via facebook, your comment will not be shared on facebook. Overall, I’m happy with disqus. What are your thoughts?
I think we should practice it.
That’s where my lovely curly-haired friend Ruthanne comes in.
I adore her. I admire her. She almost makes me wish I lived in Arkansas. Almost.
I met her last year at Blissdom and we squealed when we saw each other. Well, I’m pretty sure I squealed.
These girls were so fun to hang out with. All homeschoolers. All moms. All mom with cameras. All homeschooling moms with cameras and blogs. All very fun homeschooling moms with cameras and blogs. I love them all. Meet Ruthanne, Melissa, Marsha and Karin.
Blissdom was worth the trip if for these girls alone. {I’m going to Blissdom again this year. Tell me if you’re going, I’d love to meet you and we can squeal together}
And that’s when I began to see the creativity oozing out of this girl. Everything she does, she does with passion.
She bakes.
and bakes and bakes………
and sews and sews and sews.……
and did I mention she has a great eye to photography and somehow manages to teach her kiddos a thing or two.
I love her. I do.
And today, to show her my love and to prove to you that using discus is a cakewalk, I’m giving away one of Ruthanne’s beautiful unique camera straps. This giveaway will end tonight so hurry. You must leave a comment on this post and tell me how you signed in, using facebook, twitter, discus or whathaveyou.
You also must go to her shop and tell me which strap you can’t possibly live without.
‘Sweet pea’ and ‘Crush’ are my two newest favorites. Oh wait, and green envy. that’s my first choice.
I’d like to have a shop just to be in charge of naming things.
okay, go forth in comment joy.
xo,
edie
How to Homeschool::Homeschool Schedule
It’s almost time to wake the little girls so we can head out on a field trip. We’re going to see the Kingsport Ballet Nutcracker! I’m traveling somewhere else today too.
Paige from the blog Simple Thoughts asked me to guest post on the details of ‘what i do in a day’. I sent the post to her and it’s filled with a host of (perhaps unimportant) details on the daily grind of a homeschooling mom. I can’t imagine that anyone would be interested to read it except that I read every ‘day in the life’ post I could read before I started homeschooling. I hope it helps someone, somewhere, somehow because for some reason, it took me for. ev. er. to write.
Paige is so kind. You’ll love her. She sent me an email this morning thanking me for the post and then she went on to be an encouragement me. To tell me that she saw ‘sacrifice’ in my day. I can’t explain to you why but I started sobbing. Big crocodile tears. Somehow, as God always does, he blesses the one who is suppose to be *blessing* others.
So when you go visit Paige today, know this. She reaches out with the love of Christ and uses her words to bless. To speak life. To bear burdens.
I want to be that kind of friend. And that kind of mom. Thank you Ms. Paige.
I’m posting this daily schedule of ‘how to homeschool’ here as well, for easy access to my readers.
It’s inevitable.
Someone asks you to guest post about your daily routine and you’ll have a string of badly ordered days.
You’ll stay in your yoga pants all day, yell at the dogs and your children, and then eat at McDonalds.
And then with every sentence you type, the little smarmy voice in your head will say,
“You’re a liar. That’s not how your day went AT ALL little missy.”
Back off smarmy girl, this is my post and this is my day. I’ll tell this story any way I please.
I’m an optimist. The glass is half full. Of champagne. With a big juicy cherry on top.
Okay so back to my daily routine.
Despite the fact that I’m an artsy free spirit type, I do need a schedule.
Here’s the one we use for most of our days. It’s not rigid but it gives us a place to start. I have the template saved in my computer and then I just change the details daily. I print these off each morning so that the girls and I know what we need to get done.
So without further adieu and hopefully with no interruptions from smarmy girl, here’s the daily grind.
4:30a I wake up sans alarm because I have in fact turned into my father. I can’t sleep late. EVER. One of my goals for my 4oth year was to ‘sleep til 7’ and it’s never gonna happen. I’m writing this post to you on Saturday morning and I woke up at 4am raring to go. What time will I be waking when I’m 50? 60? I’m guessing 2:30 or 3. So I don’t fight it. I make the most of my early morning time . I’m currently reading the Bible through so I try to always start the day with reading and quiet time. Then I read/answer emails, write blog posts, edit pictures, read a few blogs, listen to Issues Etc while I do kitchen chores and laundry, eat raisin bran and drink latte(s), and make lists of things that need to get done, etc etc etc.
7:30a Usually the littles are beginning to stir. On our best days, I make homeade waffles while Emme makes bacon. Smarmy girl would like to insert that frozen waffles are more common. The girls always ask/beg/plead with me to read to them while they eat. It’s like their own dinner theater. Except with breakfast. And no actors. And me in yoga pants with bed head.
8:15 ish Prayer/Bible/ Memory
We begin our school day. I call roll, we say the pledge of allegiance and then Elea puts an apple on my desk. No wait, that’s all wrong. But we do start our day pretty consistently with a prayer from the Lutheran Prayer Book and then the girls read a psalm aloud. And for some added help with multiplication, this month we’re reading every 3rd psalm. We just finished a study of the Old Testament, which took a year and a half and now we’re back to the New Testament and the life of Jesus. Promptly after Bible, we have memory period. I’ve written about the value of memorization before, but basically we memorize poems, scripture, lists of science or history facts one line at a time and then say them over and over until we know them. We’ve memorized about 20 pieces so far this year including a couple of very long projects like Psalm 104 and the Lord’s Prayer portion of Luther’s Small Catechism. These girls are memorizing fools. Smarmy girl would like you to know that I don’t memorize things nearly as fast or as thoroughly as the littles do.
Occasionally, we all agree that the only way to make it through the day is to start with art. On those days, smiles abound.
More often than not, we start like every other school in the world, with spelling and reading and math and weeping and gnashing of teeth.
9:15 ish (give or take an hour) Independent-ish Work
The girls work for about an hour independently doing spelling, handwriting, writing and piano practice. I run around like a banshee trying to make beds, clear cobwebs, start dinner, make phone calls, and whathaveyou. If Stevie’s lucky like he was this week, I start the best beef stew ever. We won’t discuss what happens if he’s not lucky.
If there’s time, this is when I attend to personal hygeine. We all hope and pray there’s time.
10:15 ish Literature/Read Aloud/History
The girls each read to me (aloud) a page or two from their literature books and then continue reading (usually a chapter a day depending on the book) while I read with the other one. Then I read aloud to them from Shakespeare or whatever other book we’re reading at the time. Right now we’re reading the Indian in the Cupboard series, which we all love. I love this time of day. We sit on the sofa, sometimes they knit or craft or play legos while I read. Sometimes they dance and turn cartwheels. Reading good books is one of life’s true joys and I’m thankful to have this opportunity with them everyday.
11:00 Math
We are doing much better with math this year, for those who’ve followed our progress. We use the dive CD’s that are available with Saxon and the girls enjoy having someone else teach them for a change. I prep for lunch while they work.
12:00 Lunch with Dad
Everyday for lunch, we are lucky to have Stevie come home and join us. We greet him as if it’s been days since we’ve seen him. And on the very rare occasion that he doesn’t make it, the girls pout and make frowny faces. They kinda like their daddy. I’m kinda struck on him too.
12:30-1:30 Latin with Ms. Susan
Cue the Hallelujah chorus. Do you have any idea how wonderful it is to have someone, whom you love and adore, come to your house every other day to teach your children latin? It’s some kind of wonderful. And to add strawberry buttercream icing to the cake, that means I have an hour ‘off’. On the good days, I whip up a craft or two, continue with the good-dinner making, or read. On the bad days, I lock myself in my room and rock back and forth and google psychiatric conditions. Smarmy girl likes to diagnose me. What does she know? She hasn’t practiced medicine in years.
1:30-2 ish or 2:30 ish depending on whether or not we have dance. Quiet Time
This is the sacred hour at our house where no one is allowed to talk to me.
If you have children that you spend a hefty amount of time with, I would highly recommend this sacred hour. You will like them better after this hour. I tend to choose activities that nourish my spirit. I sew or cook or listen to podcasts or music or read your wonderful blogs or spray paint things. Chocolate and coffee may or may not be involved.
2:30-3:30 Grammar and Science
We do grammar everyday and science 3-4 days a week. We did a wonderful bird unit this year in science that has made us all nearly obsessed with the birds that visit our feeders. Stevie is a bird man and teaches us about new birds all the time. Recently we’ve seen a pileated woodpecker, an osprey, a nuthatch and lots of songbirds.
4:00-6 ish Dance
I have aspirations of doing lots of exercise and errands while the girls are at dance–which sometimes happens. Often, I end up sitting in the dance studio, knitting or reading or chatting with friends. Sometimes I run errands or go desperately searching for coffee. And then it’s back home for dinner and and vegging out on the sofa with the family.
After dinner, the girls wrestle with their dad and beg him to watch Pawn Stars. If he says no, they ask for American Pickers. If he says no to that, they ask for Swamp People. We watch quality tv around here.
I read to them after prayers for as long as my little eyes will remain open. I got up at 4am. Have mercy.
After I leave, I hear Emme reading aloud to her sister as they desperately try to finish the chapter that I was too sleeping for.
The sound of that is quite possibly my favorite part of the day.
9:30-10 I retire to my chambers and collapse into a coma.
Next day, rinse and repeat.
P.S. Most days, I don’t get done all I want. I wish I had read more, crafted more, smiled more, loved more. Maybe it looks more productive than it is but if there’s one key that I’ve found to getting lots done in a day, it’s staying home. Try staying home five whole days in a row and you’ll be amazed what you’ll find to do!
P.S.S.
This is our schedule M-Th. But on Fridays—oh for the love of Fridays—-we do reading, writing, ‘rithmetic and then spend the rest of the day on arts and crafts.
Which means we adore Fridays.
I leave you with a little video journal. Thanks for having me Paige!
The End.
“A Paul for Silas”
Social media is peculiar. It’s changing the way we live our lives. At least it’s changing the way I live mine.
It can be hard to keep in check. Hard to find balance.
But one way I know for sure it’s a benefit is when people reach out to help each other.
I don’t use my platform here to promote things unless I really believe in them.
So I hope you’ll welcome Debra and her son Silas.
Silas has Down’s Syndrome—-and just looking at his cute little smiling face reminds me of my younger {half} brother who also has Down’s.
And my sister and I are always lamenting that we don’t make more time to go visit our brother.
He’s one special guy. He might have greatly benefited from an organization like Best Buddies.
Every Paul needs a Silas! Welcome Debra!
“…a Paul for Silas” fundraising campaign benefitting Best Buddies Tennessee
Hi everyone! I’m so thankful to Edie for posting information about my fundraising campaign, a Paul for Silas!
I’m Debra. I’m mommy to Anna and twins, Stewart and Silas. I’m raising money for Best Buddies Tennessee in honor of Silas who has Down syndrome.
My husband and I heard of Best Buddies soon after Silas and Stewart were born and found ourselves drawn to the organization because their focus is primarily on relationships. Anthony Kennedy Shriver founded Best Buddies to foster one-to-one friendships between people with and without intellectual disabilities at all stages of life. Best Buddies is based on a chapter or club system in schools and communities and facilitates this based on simple things like shared interests. Carson Newman College has made quite a name for Best Buddies through their friendships with the individuals of Douglas Cooperative.
The Tennessee office was opened in January 2010 and has opened six new chapters this year including two high school chapters. We want to see TN continue to grow and we need your help!
THIS WEEKEND, Saturday, OCTOBER 16TH
we will be collecting donations and offering give-aways at the the Corvette Show at Walters State Expo Center in White Pine, TN. The Corvettes arrive on Saturday at 10 a.m. The event is open to the public. If you are in the area, please stop by the show and see us and learn more about Best Buddies TN.
If you can’t make it to the show this weekend, you can donate online to our campaign. Just click here to see our campaign page. Thank you for making a difference in the life of Tennesseans living with disabilities!
Thanks, Edie, for helping us spread the word!
so blessed,
Debra Myrick
