Karen Joy
I’m a homeschooling mom with five kids — three boys aged 11, 9, and 7 years, a 2yo girl, and a baby girl who was born on 10/22/08. My dear hubby is a home designer (like an architect w/o AIA certification) for a large home builder, and he’s also the worship pastor at our church .
We school with Sonlight, which IMO, is an excellent program: literature-based, Christian but not dogmatic, heavy on history and reading. I like everything about SL except for the Language Arts. We are in our 7th year of homeschooling. I initially started homeschooling simply to teach my oldest to read, so he’d have a leg up on things when he went to “real” school. But when he learned to read with ease, and his then-3yo brother right along with him, I decided to stick with it.
I like birding, camping, shorter hikes (the legs of my littles can’t go so far…), doing about anything out in nature. 
If you’re a glutton for wordiness, there’s more about me on this page .
Wesley & me, July 2006
Hey! I like your new template! Great colors.
Great blog!
-J. Kaiser
Howdy. Way off topic, but you may find this useful. I saw your attempt to post a jewishworldreview link to a Mallard Fillmore cartoon over at gottsegnet.blogspot.com.
Try this site: tinyurl.com. It turns long urls into short ones. No ads, no pop-ups, no gotchas.
The Friendly Grizzly, lending a helping paw…
Hi!
I am from Croatia.
Are you ever been in Europe ?
No, Dubravko, I’ve never been to Europe. I’ve been to the UK, but that’s as close as I’ve been. I’d like to visit Croatia some day.
Hey Karen!I got your comments!You’re blog is interesting.I like the style.I’ll see you at church!
Hello Karen!!
I don’t have a web-site yet, but I think your site is amusing
Say hi to your husband for me.
I love you.
Chloe
hello, i’m jan. i ran into your blog awhile ago. i keep reading it from that time on because i’m on the plan to homeschool my niece and nephew too. do you mind if i put this blog in my blockroll?
jan
A pleasure to read!
Thanks for your help and comments on my blog. The pic was in the beautiful Smoky Mountains.
I just filed the intent to home school and we are on our way. I am using the format the charter school used and will supplement for now. We have some attachment issues (and behavioral) that we are working on as well.
Thanks so much for coming by. I will be back to your site for sure!
Debbie aka The Real World Martha
Dear Karen,
I found your website by chance. I was looking for a gluten free recipe. I found your space very well presented and inspirational and I simply wanted to congratulate you.
Thank you
Hi!
Great to find your blog, and your sugar cookie recipe that I can’t wait to try. My youngest son was just diagnosed this week with Celiac. (Older sons bloodwork came back this week with negative results ~ yea) My little guy just had his biopsy on Monday… We were pretty sure about the results and started cleaning out the kitchen over the past several weeks.
My sweetheart was born with Down syndrome over 9 years ago in Tempe. Open Heart surgery at PCH, then diagnosis of hypothyroidism, now the Celiac challenge.
We have now become Californians, I miss all my friends in the Phoenix area.
Look forward to your tips and recipes. I am hoping to find a staple recipe for chicken nuggets….
Sincerely, Lori
Nice blog!
We have much in common! I homeschool my 5 kiddos ages 10-11 months, 3 boys, 2 girls. We used sonlight for two years and now do an ecletic mix using sonlight’s books as a core but doing my own maps/schedule ect. My son and I have celiac diseas. I am a runner-wanna be. I hope to run my first marathon next year. I’m a christian, too
thanks for the great blog!
julie in maine
Hi nice website I actually stumbled upon it looking for a banana muffin recipe. We also homeschool all 9 of are kids 19-2 1/2 months and have celiac disease.
Looking forward to more recipes.
-Lexi
Hi Karen,
Don’t know if you remember me, but I was there when you joined. It sounds like you have a very full plate to keep up with in your life now.
These comments are meant to uplift you in the place your are now. Let’s see:
1. Wife of a worship leader and particpant on the worship team.
2. The mother of four children and homeschooling
3. 13 years of leadership, growth and maturity under the scrutiny of all of those around you, kinda feel like your in a fishbowl.
God has entrusted you with so much because He knows your heart. He knows YOU. YOU are approved and loved by the God of heaven and earth.
He has entrusted to you the heart and soul of Martin. To love him, support him. What a precious gift he has given you. The Father took a look at a young girls heart all of those years ago and knew Karen could love, protect in prayer, survive all of the attacts that come against a worship leaders life. He knew you in your mothers womb and knew the wife you would be.
Then on top of that He he gave you the souls of four precious children to raise in this crazy world. How the Father must trust you.
Then He put you front and center in a smaller church to be the worship leaders wife and mom of four children where everyone is watching you. The Fathers confidence in you is great.
Sometimes when you feel your a wife, a mom, a leader, just remember HE KNOWS KAREN, down to the marrow of your bones. In the Father’s eyes you are KAREN and only KAREN and His love for you is deep.
When you picture yourself in one of the roles that God has granted you, please remember He see’s only you and knows your heart, know s the purity of your personal worship of Him.
He’s give you a lot to do in this time in your life, but He has done it because He knows who Karen is deep inside.
He has also given you wonderful mature women around you to mentor you and serve as an example of faithfulness and staying on course no matter how tough it gets.
Karen after reading this, my admiration for you grows. Don’t ever loose yourself in the roles you play, find the woman God has entrusted with those roles and know HE ONLY KNOWS KAREN and loves her. Then he trust her with those roles.
Hello, I stumbled upon your blog as I was searching for gluten free cereal. I have celiac and I was homeschooled too so I found your blog really interesting! I’m in med school now but I still thank my mom for homeschooling me.
God bless you!
Hi Karen,
What fun! I stumbled across your blog site and read your 101 list. I thought I knew a lot about you and now I know even more interesting things. I should be doing my data entry but am bored and got off track
Love,
Cristi
Just stopped by to say hello.
Hey Karen
I stumbled across your site, looking for ways to motivate kids in worship. I;m helping out just up the road from you, at The Barn. Our kids are really apathetic, and worship is agonising! We do one song only, and it’s hard to get thru even that.
We’ve been using soem of those Hillsong DVD’s, but the moves are just too complex for the kids…evn for us leaders! I was just wondering if you had found anything else that worked, and was encouraged by the sucesses you’ve had.
Let me know.
Keep up the great work.
God bless
Brett
Brett ~ I HIGHLY suggest the Seeds series. They’re great songs, well-produced, very
worshipful, simple, catchy songs. http://www.seedsmusic.com
That, and tons of prayer beforehand… pray all you can, in the days and
weeks ahead of leading. Pray for the Holy Spirit to come and really grip
the hearts of kids.
Also, I often find that the first song is the MOST difficult, because kids
are slow to transition. I use the first song as a “call to worship” —
upbeat, not intimate, lots of action or movement… encourage them to dance
and move… It’s just too much for kids (and even adults, usually), to
expect them to enter into the Holy of Holies and deep, intimate, powerful
worship on the first song. After the first song, do at least one or two
songs more, going progresively “deeper.” I often have the kids just simply
sit down on the floor for the last song… sometimes, I don’t even have them
sing!! I just tell them to sit down, open their hands, close their eyes,
and listen. If you have folding chairs, or otherwise moveable chairs, move
them aside. It’s too easy for kids to slump down in their seats, and cross
their arms and not participate. But, if you remove the temptation to sit in
a chair, it makes it easier. Also, keep them as close to the stage/front as
you can. Even if they’re in pews, if there’s space in the front, have them
leave their seats and come as close to the stage as they can.
Also, I’ve found that a small level of rowdiness (not total chaos) is highly
preferable to robotic, well-mannered worship. I’d rather have “real” kids
who are worshiping, than super-well-behaved kids who are simply obeying
instead of actually worshiping.
I hope that helps!!!!
Many blessings to you and all you’re doing!!!!!!!
Nice blog!
We have much in common! I homeschool my 5 kiddos ages 10-11 months, 3 boys, 2 girls. We used sonlight for two years and now do an ecletic mix using sonlight’s books as a core but doing my own maps/schedule ect. My son and I have celiac diseas. I am a runner-wanna be. I hope to run my first marathon next year. I’m a christian, too
thanks for the great blog!
abhi
Karen, you are a JOY!
I found you by researching Amo Amas Amat.
Your “blog” or web site…well, leads me to this question. How does one create their own? I have wanted to for years! And yours has inspired me even further! I want to reach out to others, too!
Also, how do I include a photogragh with my responses to you?
I have not made a list of “101 Random Things About Me,” but… my motto is: Write to Grow.
I have 3rd stage Chronic Kidney Disease ~my “plan/choice” is Hospice.
I lived in India for two years; I consider it my second country. I have traveled the world. I am blessed to have a son! (He teaches high school English!) I trained a very “crazy” Arabian horse…beginning one year after losing my left kidney at age 15. I was homeschooled by my Mum while living in India. I just earned my A.A. degree in English and am currently working on my B.A. degree.
Write to Grow ~ helps me, BUT…my goal is to share experiences with everyone! When we share we realize we are not all alone in whatever struggle(s) we may be wrestling with in our lives.
God is with us!!! Mizpah, Holly Ellen
Holly Ellen ~ To start a WordPress blog, go here: http://wordpress.com/signup/ pick a name and a title, and go from there!
You can’t post a picture in comments, but once you register a blog on WordPress, you can upload a picture to use that will go along with your comments. It’s called an “avatar.” (Go to the admin page, then click on the far-right button that says “users” and click on “my profile” and follow instructions from there.)
I am also a Christian, home school mom (Rod & Staff, Memoria Press, Saxson Math, McCuffey Readers, New England Primer, The Holy Bible). 3 days ago we adopted two little boys, bringing our total children up to 5! Next year my brother-in-law will be moving in, multiple lifelong health problems. Only one of our kids do NOT have food allergies. I have become somewhat of a health nut, and have messed around with rice milk so much I am now selling it at our local Farmer’s Market. I have considered many “calcium enriching items” for the rice milk. However, it does seem easier to enrich other foods with calcium. For those of us without citrus allergies, try home-made, calcium enriched lemonade. For those who don’t know, soak farm fresh egg shells in lemon juice in the fridge over night. The acid draws out the calcium from the eggs. Strain the shells out, and make lemonade out of the juice. You can also use this technique for lemon bars and lemon cake!
Hi. Glad I came across your blog. We have a several things in common. I’m a Christian, and enjoy birding, camping, nature, hikes, and walking. I also homeschool. I use a variety of materials that I create myself, but one mainstay is MathUSee. This year we are studying New World Explorers, and we use Veritas Press, and a History Through the Ages. Our language is Harvey’s Elementary Grammar and Composition.
My son also allergies (nuts and you name it). Are things really random, or was coming across your blog meant to be.