Author Archives: Kim Halloran-Fry

Long ago and far away

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Wed It seems that way. Sometimes. Other times it seems like it was just yesterday. I still remember waiting for Allen to get back from basic training. I remember cutting out dozens of floral napkins with pinking shears for the reception. I remember him getting off the plane, tan and fit. I remember standing in the girls’ room of the Catholic school gym we rented for the wedding dance, ripping off layers of under slips to help counter the stifling heat of that July evening. I remember being insanely happy.

I remember him leaving for Germany to get settled and find an apartment. I remember leaving a plane and entering a world that was different from mine in every way imaginable. Then trying to learn to be a wife and a citizen of a new country all at once.

I remember morning sickness and breakfast in bed before he left for work. All too closely followed by spotting and cramping and mad dashes to the ER. I remember being relieved that everything was ok. For a while.

I remember my first birthday as a married woman, expecting a baby. I remember my first contractions after the party at our friends’ that very night. Way too soon. I remember Terbutaline, palpatations, and monitors for weeks and weeks. And finally it being time.

I remember my water breaking, the night after the muffler fell off. I remember a loooong ride to the hospital hoping not to get stopped for the aforementioned muffler. Please, please, not this night. I remember another stifling July evening – exactly one year after that first one – ripping off more layers of suffocating clothes, this time in exchange for a hospital gown.

C_2 I remember Allen checking me in and hassling with the receptionist while I tried not to push. I remember the nurse paging him from the admin office at 2am. I remember him sliding right off his feet on newly polished hallway floors, racing back to the delivery room to see the most beautiful baby in the world.

I remember time standing still.

It must have begun to tick again however. In retrospect it doesn’t seem like all that much time for a childhood to be completed. Today my baby is 21 and my marriage is 22. For real. Exactly one year to the day from our wedding Colin was born. We could not have had a better gift.

Anniv_flowers I love you both! Looking fwd to celebrating "our" big day. : )

We Rock!

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Rockin Sherry says so. ; )  Actually our summer days tend to feel like a slow waltz  but you get the idea.  Sherry was nominated for the Rockin’ Girl Blogger, as well she should be ’cause, girls, she DOES rock! 14 kids keeps you hoppin’. <g>  Sherry manages to keep her composure and posts grace-filled, inspiring thoughts over at Lady of Virtue blog.

I am supposed to list 5 other blogs of Rockin’ Girls I know so here goes:

Ironically one of the rockin-est bloggers I know is not a blogger at the moment (though you can still read the archives). It may seem incongruous to nominate a blogger who is no longer a blogger but the message here is crucial.  The most impressive thing we can do with our blogging is to keep it in its place. Home and vocation come first. If the blog enhances those things, fine. If not, then really the coolest thing a girl can do is give it the heave-ho. 

Next come the Jen’s – or Jen and Gen to be more specific.  Jennifer writes about their wild ride homeschooling and moving around with the US Air Force. I have watched Jen pull this off with style for 13 years now. She never ceases to amaze me. Plus it just seems fitting that this week when we celebrate our Independence we celebrate these families behind the scenes who are enabling our troops to do their job.

Genevieve’s dh is a civilian yet they are just as mobile. Gen and I started to be phone friends three years ago when my dh was deployed. Has it been three years now Genevieve??  I think it has! Her flexibility and detachment to the world and all its trappings is admirable to me. She has repeatedly helped her family transition to new places and new adventures.

The Longest Year blogger is a new favorite. She brought back my own struggle over the years to keep it going when Allen was on the other side of the planet – wherever that happened to be at the time. She coped like I coped – through art and with good friends and neighbors. Get a glimpse of the inside story here.

Theresa at Lapaz Farm is amazing. She is a master homeschool teacher and at the moment is touring Alaska with her clan. If that doesn’t rock, nuthin’ does! You will want to check out her notebooks and be sure to see the nature journal entries done by her as well as the ones her kids have done. Theresa is an accomplished artist who does not realize how gifted she truly is.

And because I have historically had trouble following directions I will add a 6th – Cathy Zielske, scrapbooker extraordinaire and a real life rocker chick. Her Declaration of Independence from Generalized Expectations is hysterical.  Let’s be real here. You owe nobody in cyberspace a thing. Blogging is fun, it is inspiring, it makes you laugh and sometimes cry. But we are not owed a blog entry from anyone. She says it all about accountability right here, "I have only three (people to whom she is accountable) and those are, in fact, the people I live with."   Like I said at the start, Family First.  Blogging?  Somewhere waaaay down the list.

A summer of Loveliness

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Livesoflovelinesslogo200612_2_2Elizabeth has posted the schedule for the Summer Loveliness Fairs.  The first is Monday! Please visit us here at the ranch on Aug. 20 for the Loveliness of Back to School Supplies and Lesson Planning.  To tell the truth I am already thinking about those things here and cannot wait to share all the exciting things we are working on!  Hope you all are having a similarly inspiring summer!

It’s Like That!

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Morning We had a surprise visit from Allen’s aunt and uncle last night.  Since they live in WI, and we don’t, it made for a real SURPRISE – a good one. I am getting better about impromptu visits but it is always unnerving looking at your house and barn through the eyes of a stranger.  I get to wondering if the goat smell comes off as ‘earthy’ or nauseating?  Or if anyone else notices my baseboards need attention? Wait, don’t tell me. I am sort of an ignorance is bliss kinda gal, at least when it comes to things over which I have little control.

This post had the tears about rolling down my cheeks this morning. It’s just so like that around here.

(*This pic was taken before milking one morning here lately as I walked out to the barn.)

mmmm you’ve gotta try this

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Watermelonpopsicles The Urban Homemaker newsletter had some nifty food fixin’ ideas this week.  For starters there was a July 4th planner download with a full seasonal menu. What really made me smile was the popsicle article from Living on a Dime however. She had directions for your basic fruit juice pop but then several great ideas I hadn’t thought of like the homemade go-gurts and freezing the leftover canned fruit juice. Check it out!

redwhiteblue1.jpgFor more 4th recipes try this red, white, and blue trifle.

Can’t go wrong with Jello and Kool Whip.  What holiday is complete without red dye after all? ; o

Or a Flag Cake?  This one I actually have made many many times. You can use real food for this one.

Ok I am seriously hungry now so better run. : )

For Such a Time as This

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Lady Lydia did it again. Excellent quote today:

"When you realize life is not supposed to run smoothly it is easy to adjust to these challenges.  If you are overwhelmed and do not know where to turn, just think, you may have been created for such a time as this. You may also be leaving a message for your family by the way you handle seemingly insurmountable tasks.  There is more to cleaning up a mess than making it look nice.  There is an attitude and a ministry in it."

She was discussing home management but I think it also applies both to homeschooling and parenting in general.  We send messages to those around us by how we handle our challenges.  It is hard to say why God put us each where we are, but we can be certain there IS a reason. It can be difficult to see purpose in apparently thankless tasks like washing dishes destined to return immediately to the sink or mopping floors which will be trod by muddy shoes in short order.  Difficult until we consider that what we are modeling is not simply how to clean but how to persevere, how to remain gentle spirited, how to maintain grace under pressure, how to serve the least of those around us.  Our tasks may well just be the venue chosen to relay those lessons and not simply an end in and of themselves.

A dear friend of mine recently opened her home to a young relative of hers who has had a very sketchy upbringing. They have had a rough transition requiring lots of redirection from her. One very difficult afternoon she felt her nerves fraying and she finally snapped and said,"We need to say our prayers NOW!"  I had to smile when she told me this story. How many of us would have had that reaction?  Admittedly prayer is not always the first thing that comes to mind when I am frazzled. Too often I am too grumpy to pray well right then.  She didnt worry about the "well" part however. In the process she provided a life lesson that tops any practical skill he will learn at their home- that we are kind to one another, that certain behavior is hurtful and therefore unacceptable, and that when we are not doing well we don’t blow up we stop and pray for each other.

I am trying to look at the challenges in our life less like unnecessary interuptions and more like opportunities. It is hard to see something fruitful coming from continued variance from well laid plans. And yet, it does seem like a better life skill to learn how to roll with the punches than how to be in complete control. In my experience life throws lots of punches and absolute control is elusive at best.

If you are a parent, you ARE the curriculum. Kids are much more prone to respond to what we do than what we say. It’s humbling. It’s challenging.  But as a friend of mine has been known to say it isn’t supposed to be easy, just simple.

"But let it be the hidden person of the heart,with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, that is precious in the sight of God."  1Pet 3:4

Conference follow up and handouts

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Thank you so much for the support you showed us at the conference this weekend. We were completely taken by surprise at the number of attendees this year. In case you wanted a handout and missed one I have uploaded the conference handouts here:

Download guide_for_book_of_centuries_and_resource_list.doc

Download resources_notebooking.doc

The Home Management Binder links on the right sidebar have all the other downloads we talked about. The school templates are under the Education pages in that same section. Holler if you have trouble finding them.  : )

I wish there had been more time to just visit with everybody. If there had been I would have told you:

Trust yourself.

Education is an art, not a science.

You are a better mother than you think you are.Nobody is doing it all, all the time, no matter what it looks like.

There is no one right way.

Love covers a multitude of less than optimal circumstances.

and finally…

No matter how full your hands are right at this moment it is sooo much nicer to revel in that crazy, exhausting, and yes, fleeting, everybody-under-ten time than to face the prospect of empty arms which will come all too soon. Babies grow up. Toddlers become teens. You turn around twice and its all over. I promise. Don’t miss a second of it worrying. Make no fear based decisions. Trust yourself.

You don’t want to miss these articles by Elizabeth:

Keep Your Eyes On Your Own Work

Blinking Back Tears

God bless you!