It seems to me that we live in a culture that values entertainment, often fails to much esteem the value of a “hard day’s work,” and prioritizes results over learning. If a stereo or appliance isn’t working, buy a new one, or hire someone to fix it; rather than expend energy trying to do it yourself.

If a job can be done by paying someone else a reasonable amount of time, pay someone so you can have fun.

And by all means, if you can have someone else do a “tough” job for a little amount of money, then it’s far better to do that than sweat it yourself.

Yet… whenever I have the time, I like to sew something for the kids, mostly clothes. Whenever something breaks or malfunctions in the house, my husband likes to fix it. My husband has fixed many appliances in the house already. His latest handyman work was repairing my completely jammed espresso machine. I was so thrilled that he fixed it and once again I was able to have my daily cup of coffee. In the past he has fixed our dryer, dishwasher, stove, sewing machine, sprinklers, lawn mower, rain gutter, and other miscellaneous items in the house. Oh, and of course, computer-related stuff.  In many of those cases, it might’ve been simpler or even quicker to hire someone, or buy a new item. So why are we expending time (which we are told equals money) to fix things, or make things, when we can simply buy them or the services to repair them? As I’ve pondered this, I’ve come to a realization that one reason we are “different” from our surrounding culture is that we actually gain satisfaction from working with our hands. Even though I can purchase my children’s clothes at the store for cheap, the clothes I make are meaningful to both me and my children. In addition, I can usually customize the style my children want which makes each article of clothing special to them. As for home repair, when my husband fixes things around the house, we become very appreciative of his work. He also enjoys the task of figuring out what went wrong and how to fix a broken appliance.

Even though hiring someone or replacing/buying stuff may be cheaper or easier considering the amount of time we put in to make or fix something, the satisfaction and joy we get are priceless.

I’m sure there’s a real “deep” lesson to be learned in all this, but expressing it escapes me. What I do know is that there’s something gained when we apply ourselves to working with our hands, and there’s something lost when we merely delegate that to others.

During our family devotion this morning, my son asked why people persecute Jesus and those who follow Him. I explained that Jesus himself said in the Bible that people would hate and despise Him. In his mind, he just couldn’t understand why people would hate Jesus. I went on to explain that all people are sinful (including mommy, daddy, his sisters and brother) and that they don’t like the things of God. He responded, “Not [13 month old] Calissa, she can’t do anything wrong.” I chuckled inside and was very glad that he loves his baby sister enough to attribute sweet innocence to her. However, I explained that even Calissa is born with sin. He sure loves his sister, even if he’s theologically incorrect.

This summer I decided to have Matthew participate in Barnes & Noble’s summer reading program. Each child receives a free book for every eight books he reads (limit of two free books). I told Matthew about this program and had him start on it today.

This afternoon, while the younger three were napping, I told Matthew to start reading on his own so that I could nap a little on the couch. I quickly dozed off with him reading out loud in the background. By the time I woke up, he told me he had already finished eight books!!! He even wrote the title and the author of each book on the sheet. I was pleasantly surprised, to say the least. After my husband came home, I told him that we had to go to Barnes & Noble this evening to turn in his reading journal and redeem his free book. Thus, the Ding family trekked out this evening and proudly turned in Matthew’s reading journal to Barnes and Noble. For his free book, we picked Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House book #1).

Here are a few photos of Matthew joyfully turning in his reading record and holding up the fruit of his efforts:

with an intentionally silly face (and clerk unseen, bemused by our photographing the occasion):

I felt very inspired to make dresses for my girls after reading the article Feminine Little Girl Dresses for About $6 or Less. I don’t know why it never occurred to me to make the dresses two sizes bigger so to extend the life of the dress by two or three years. With tie-backs you can adjust the width of the bodice for a proper fit. I went on a sewing spree and made five dresses in two weeks. I used the same pattern for all the dresses. My one-year-old (wears 12 months size) and two-year-old (wears 18 months size) fit perfectly in these size 3T dresses because of the tie-backs. One of the tips from the article is to use zippers that are shorter than recommended, and I did just that. Since I only had two zippers at hand, I made the other three dresses with buttons which was a cheaper alternative. I also didn’t use interfacing as suggested in the pattern. Not using interfacing saves both money and time, and I haven’t noticed a difference without it. I used about 1.5 yards for each dress, and the estimated cost for each dress was $3.50. Now, that’s a bargain! These dresses turned out so beautiful and my girls looked so lovely in them. It’s so much fun sewing for little girls! Here are few photos of the dresses, including a few with my girls “modeling.”

For Father’s Day this year the kids and I made a T-shirt for their Daddy. I used fabric paint to write the words “Daddy Rocks!” in the front and stamped the kids’ footprints on the back with their respective nicknames. My oldest child was so excited about this shirt that he couldn’t keep it a secret. I told him this gift was a surprise and he was not to say anything when Daddy came home. He agreed to it. However, as soon as Daddy came home, he said, “Daddy, we made a surprise ‘Daddy Rocks!’ t-shirt for you!” There was no longer the surprise element and my son insisted that Daddy wore it right away,a week before Father’s Day. Minus the surprise element, we have one happy Daddy, which was what mattered to us.

It was interesting to me that we had a mini grammar lesson while making this shirt. Matthew asked me why I put the exclamation mark after “Daddy Rocks,” and I explained that without it, we simply say the words in a normal tone. With the exclamation mark, we are to say the words with excitement thus emphasizing the words we want to convey. Now whenever someone sees the t-shirt, Matthew instructs them to say the words with much enthusiasm. I would hear him say, “You can’t just say ‘Daddy Rocks,’ you have to say ‘DADDY ROCKS!” How precious!

After researching various math curricula for my son, I decided to use Singapore Math because the curriculum encourages the students to think. After browsing through the books, I really liked the way the problems were presented as they are quite different from other math programs. My son had a great start with the first grade Singapore Math, however we came to a halt after ten lessons. I was finding myself needing to explain the problem in a way that my son could understand. Each lesson tends to progress too quickly without much practice or reinforcement of lessons learned. I simply didn’t want my son to complete each lesson without truly grasping the concept. I realized that Singapore Math forces the students to think too quickly and early.

As one who believes in the classical model of education, I believe that learning by repetition/rote is critical in the early years. My son was simply not developmentally ready for Singapore Math. He began to dislike doing math which immediately prompted me to look for a different curriculum. In hindsight, I realized the reason I liked Singapore Math was because I already knew how to do math. I wasn’t looking at the curriculum from my child’s perspective as one who didn’t know any math at all.

After reviewing a friend’s Saxon Math 1, I liked how each concept is laid out and presented. Upon receipt of our new curriculum, my son finished 11 lessons in two days. After which, he said to me, “Mommy, I like this math.” I knew then that I had purchased a math curriculum that was developmentally appropriate for him. What I like about Saxon Math is that it is repetitive, which is ideal for my son’s developmental stage. As you progress to the next lesson, the previous lesson is reviewed. Each lesson slowly builds on the next, thus making it friendly for the child. The teacher’s manual is scripted which makes lesson preparation very easy. Most of the time I only have to spend five minutes to prepare for the lesson.

Will I ever use Singapore Math again? Yes, most definitely. When it is developmentally appropriate, I will switch my son to Singapore Math. When it comes to math curriculum, I don’t believe we have to choose only one curriculum. It is useful to have two different curricula so that you can compare how each program is laid out. When the students only use one curriculum, they are only geared towards the way the program wants them to think. To test whether the student truly comprehends a concept, using a different curriculum is a good idea.

When the news broke out on Thursday that Ruth Bell Graham died, I read many articles about her life and work. One of the articles that stood out to me was one describing how her five children remembered her. She was a high profile figure because of her husband Billy Graham, but she stood out of the spotlight in order to faithfully raise her children. When I read how her children remembered her, she reminded me of the Proverbs 31 woman where “her children rise up and called her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.” One and foremost was her love for the Lord. She was often seen with a Bible in hand, reading and studying. Because of her husband’s frequent travels as an evangelist, she was often alone with her children, yet she did not experience loneliness because she had a very intimate relationship with God. When I read that, I was very touched and encouraged. What an amazing example to us.

When her boys were wild in their teens, she remained sweet, faithful, and loving. She didn’t “lose it” when her boys returned home at an obscene hour. She simply smiled and said, “Thank God you’re all right.” The guilt eventually set in and compelled her boys to mend their ways. When I put myself in her situation, I believe I would’ve “flipped out” or “lost it.” How immensely difficult it is to raise five children all on her own most of the time and handle all the heartaches and growing pains. How did she do it? Her namesake daughter Ruth Graham said the following:

“It was far from easy. But she had a tender and yielded heart. Her happiness and fulfillment did not depend on her circumstances. She was a lovely, beautiful and wise woman because early in life, she made Christ her home, her purpose, her center, her confidant and her vision.”

The answer lied in her God-entranced life. Ephesians 4:13 describes her well: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” She entrusted her all to God and believed that He will take care of her and her children. Her faithful example is evident in her children as all are faithfully following the Lord.

What a well-lived life. She has finished the race well and she is now with her Lord and Savior.