Moments of Reflection

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I've been thinking about something for a few months and 

after a few nights of serious pondering 

I finally have the words to post clearly about it. 

When I see my web presence it is almost all based on a negative. Atheist, I am an atheist. I do NOT believe in a god. I'm not saying that being an atheist is a negative; I'm saying that I seem to be basing my online identity on a thing that I do not believe. I think of myself as a positive person. I like to focus on what works and I like to give attention to the good things. Yet here I am being an anti-...

On the other hand, I want to be an atheist voice out there, a calm place for the non-believer, a person willing to put myself on the line for something that I strongly support. I believe in people and I need to focus on people. It is just who I am. Grass roots and essential, practical, specific.

As time goes on I feel it essential to be out and proud as an atheist and human solutions. Even if I am misunderstood, even if I accidentally wander into the cynicism, even if I forget my other focuses for awhile, even if I find it a difficult row to hoe, I feel that it is essential to do this.

I have considered changing the name of my blog and the memes and whatnot to focus on positivity, rather than on a negative a-theist, no god. But it makes me happy knowing that people find my blog because of the search for atheist. People have come here because of the unabashed use of atheist. 

My final decision at this particular point is to keep the atheist in the title, because it is accurate. I also continue to increase a use of alternate words such as freethinker, secular, humanist because those are accurate too.

WHY do I have to verbalize these internal struggles?

I am that annoying person who has to be out and honest and ethical and authentic and full of integrity. It's just a thing.

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If you enjoyed this post you might also read:  PC Enough?

Or you might enjoy:  Your Life Has No Meaning

Or this one:  Why Are There So Few Atheist Parenting Blogs?

We Took the Risk

One evening about two years ago my husband Jerry and I were sitting at the kitchen table talking our day through. We wanted to replace the dishwasher. The car needed an oil change. We discussed serving strongly-vegetarian meals. We talked about the new tile in the bathroom. We planned visits to the grandmas. Homeschool lessons were going well. His boss had asked if our family might be interested in moving to Australia for a year...

Hey, wait now what! Australia?!

We laughed, thinking that that was just a crazy idea.

The next day, after ten hours of internet surfing, I said to Jerry, Honey, what would you think of moving to Australia for a year?

Jer and I are both Midwesterners, born and bred. We are pretty average. We own a mini van. Our ice maker is broken on the fridge. We have crayon on our couches. We have a little cash in the bank. We usually go camping for the big vacations. We've collected fire flies in a jar. We call it soda. We give cookies to the mailman at Christmas. We have seeded the lawn each year. We had just had our carpets cleaned. We wear Crocs.

I wouldn't call us risk takers but we started entertaining that crazy idea.

Two years later, as we contemplate our return home to St. Louis, I am thrilled that we took the chance. Not everything has been perfect, not everything has been enjoyable. But our world view has expanded SO dramatically. Each of us in our family, as we talktalktalktalktalk about our time here, is aware of the hugely transforming experience that this had been. We all acknowledge how changing it has been.

Not everyone gets opportunities such as this, but think of those small, daily chances that you do not take. Talk to a stranger. Try a new food. Write letters to loved ones. Read a book outside of your genre'. Take a new route. Color your hair. Listen well. Say those important words. Give a little too much. Read things that challenge your mind. Participate in your community. Dance to loud music. Write poetry. Look a fool. Laugh out loud. Be fully present. Look at the stars. Tell the people you love them. Learn something new. Wear the purple.

Take the risk.

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If you enjoyed this post you might also read:
Aussie Bound
Tape on the Wall

New  Zealand: The Majesty

Our Aussie Treasures

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So, as you may know, we will be leaving beautiful Brisbane in just a few short weeks.  We are thinking often about our trip home. What will we take?  How will we pack?  What will we do when we get home?  What will we miss about Brisbane?  What are we looking forward to when we get back home? What has been our favorite part of being here? What do we need to do to close down the house? How will we move on after leaving everything here? What are we taking home with us and what are we leaving here?

Some of these questions have such long, full answers. Some have no answers...

The other day, the kids and I were thinking about those things that we will be taking home with us that our favorite things from our time here in Brisbane.  I asked the kids to give it some thought and to gather up their singularly favorite things from our time here. I think you will see that all of the things are all things that contain more meaning than monetary value.

Elizabeth received this great Doctor Who scarf for her birthday 

from some very special friends.

She wears it often and really loves it.

While down here in Brisbane, John has gotten into the card game Vangard.
I gave him a huge collection of cards and he plays with them often.

Aussie teen mags, all shared with friends at sleepovers.

Elizabeth has like thirty pounds of these things, all coming home with us!

These are all silly gifts from a party. 

John considers the party as the highlight of his time here.

Elizabeth got this little blue speaker from her mom for Christmas.
If you have a child who lives music, you understand.

While in Melbourne, John and I went on a tour down to see the Little Penguins

It was a highlight of our LIVES!
He bought himself this little penguin from the gift shop at the end of the evening,

keeping the tour bus waiting.  LOL

He felt awful for keeping the bus waiting, but everyone on board was like, 

"Nice penguin, Mate!"

John got this little Build-a-Bear bear from his sister when he was feeling down.

This is a small collection of some of Elizabeth's favorite costume jewelry.

Mostly gifts from beloved friends.

Just a close up of two of her favorite necklaces

Liz and her turtle from her sister, Jessica.

Elizabeth's guiter, River.  

Signed by Harrison Craig!

Elizabeth's favorite shoes!  lol
She wanted these darn things for over a year.
She wears them with long skirts and manages to look SO cute and cool!

John got this underwater camera for Christmas.
It is SUPER cool!

Excellent for use while surfing.

John got himself this cool cheap Asian scroll from my favorite shop down here.

You never know what will be a treasure. Some of our favorite things are seed pods we've found, gorgeous shells, rocks, silly tshirts, etc. (Most of which I can't even bring home!) What makes a thing a real treasure is the feeling and the thought behind them.

We have lots of treasure that we are taking home with us...mostly memories.

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If you enjoyed this post you might also read:  You Don't Take a Picture...

Or you might enjoy:  Harrison Craig:  Australia's The Voice Winner 2013

Or this one:  Homeschooling at Tangalooma Island Resort

One day I'll post some of MY treasures!!!

Atheist Parenting Questions

You may know that I am writing for an atheist parenting site. 
(I'll post more on that later.)
For now, I need some questions that a person seeking to raise freethinking children might ask.
Please post some ideas for me below!

If I use your question, I will let you know.

   THANK YOU!   

The 10 Most-Read Posts on my Blog this Year

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Just to remind myself what really brings readers to my blog, and to bring myself back to center, here is a list of the top blog posts that readers visited here this year.

#10 ~ Homeschoolers are Weird:  this  post was written by my daughter and addressed that all too common and insistent epithet Homeschoolers are WEIRD!

#9 ~ My Thirteen Tips for Parenting your Strong-Willed Teen:  as promised, this post is my long, long, long list of what has worked for me with my daughter. My daughter loves this post!

#8 ~ Top Ten Reasons Why Atheists Suck Redux:  I'm not surprised that this one is well-read.  It is in response to a ridiculous piece of anti-atheist rhetoric going around the web, along with my responses to the claims of the piece.  Later someone told me that the original post was a fake.

#7 ~ How to Explain Religion to My Child is a post that is a letter from a reader with my response.  In a way, it was a part of why I decided that I could do some other work on atheist sites by writing parenting posts...

#6 ~ The Case Against Homeschooling is a post that is from July 2011, and yet it still brings the naysayers out of the woodwork.  So, for those people who so often ask me Why do you keep saying that people are against homeschooling?, I offer this one!

#5 ~ Ten Facts About How We Homeschool is a slightly tongue-in-cheek post about what you would see if you were in our house for 24 hours.

#4 ~ Nine Disadvantages of Homeschooling is another PROOF POSITIVE that people are still out there looking for the argument as to why they are SO RIGHT about being anti-homeschooling.  This post is the first post that at least 1500 people read on my blog this year.

#3 ~ Evolution Myths Busted is a bit of a tirade post where I simply can't believe how many adults still buy the creation thing. Nice to know that over 1800 people found their way here because they were looking for something like this.

#2 ~ Lighting a Fire is just a quotation that hit me...and attracted almost 2000 people to this blog.  Maybe I should have talked about the quote a bit?  LOL  And...

#1 ~ Homeschooling Strategies, waaaay out in the lead with thousands of hits, this post is probably what many readers are looking for.  I can write more like this, I guess, if I can think of some good...you know...strategies. This post was also written in response to a question from a reader.

Hey, do you have any questions?!

For the most part, I think of my blog like a microcosm of friends and like-minded people just out here in the blogosphere hanging out...thinking...  It's not about wanting to increase my readership or anything to do with marketing my blog or anything like that.  
It's just about thinking about stuff...

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Just a quick reminder to visitors and readers, you can also find my writing on:

Atheist Republic

Carnival of Atheist Parenting

Pinterest

http://www.pinterest.com/karenloeth/boards/

and now

http://celestialteapotmagazine.com/

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If you enjoyed this post you might also read:  Search Keywords

Or you might enjoy:  Do You Know Why I Started Blogging?

Or this one:  That's What Makes You Beautiful

My First Recap of 2013

Stephanie at Life, Unexpected shared this with me 

and SHE got it from Icansaymama blog:

I think this is a lovely way to wrap up the year, to remember the year by reminiscing about the good stuff and to shake off the not so good things in order to start 2014 with a full heart.  These questions are copied/paste from another site.


1) Gained or lost weight?
A little of both, mostly gained. Jer and I are planning on starting a weight loss program when we get home.

2) Predominant feeling in 2013?
BLOODY HAPPY!

3) Predominant feeling for 2014?
BLOODY HAPPY!

4)  Something you did for the first time in 2013?
Oh gosh, so many things!!!!!!  Saw whales, traveled to amazing locales, snorkeled, beach time, saw kangas and other amazing Aussie things, coral reefs!, New Zealand, little penguins, wonderful friends, and just a zillion other things!

5) Something you did again in 2013 after a long pause?
I started sketching and drawing again.

6) Something you unfortunately did not do in 2013?
I can't think of a thing!!!!!

7) Word of the year?
Family

8) City of the year?
Brisbane

9) Hair longer or shorter?
It's pretty darn long.

10) More or less money spent?
Hmmmmm...about the same, but in completely different ways:  TRAVEL!

11) Highest mobile phone bill?
We are on weird phone plans, so no more than $30 Aussie bucks, which are not the same as Monopoly bucks...

12) Hospital stays?
None.

13) (Fallen) In love?
MANY TIMES!!!!!!!!!!

14) Most called person?
My husband and my daughter and my mom

15) Whom did you spend the most beautiful time with?
Besides my family, it would be Maryvonne, Kerrie, and Ali!

16) What did you spend most of your time with?
Doing the laundry, chores, cleaning, blogging, reading, traveling, and being with friends!

17) Song of the year?
Home by Harrison Craig.

18) Book of the year?
Oh gosh, so many good ones!  I've read some great ones, but reading DaVinci Code and Ender's Game with John has been a blast.

19) TV show/movie of the year?
Tough call, but I'm going with The House of Eliot because Elizabeth and I loved it SO MUCH together!

20) Insight of the year?
I think it was Darlene that reminded me:  The kids will be OK!

21) Three things you totally could have done without?
Many Australian bugs
High costs in Brisbane
Twisted ankle

22) Most beautiful event?
A sunrise at Waipu Beach in New Zealand

23) More short-sighted or more far-sighted than 2013? 
We have been doing alot of living for TODAY as well as planning for our future.  So BOTH.

24) The most dangerous thing you did?
Nothing really dangerous..... 

25) The most expensive thing you bought?
 Opals!

26) The most delicious meal or food you ate?
My favorite restaurant has this delicious veggie risotto...

27) The best party?
TOUGH CALL!  But I have to go with a party that I didn't even get to stay at!  Kerrie had a party that was the absolute BEST for John!

28) The most important thing you wanted to convince somebody of?
Yeah, that whole Be Nice thing...

29) The most beautiful present you gave to somebody?
When we went home for a visit I enjoyed giving everyone beautiful things from Australia

30) The most beautiful present that somebody gave you?
A friend just gave me a gorgeous wooden box from Sri Lanka...  But I have been given such beautiful friendships and love.

31) The most beautiful sentence someone said to you?
I could not select just one thing.....  But the other day Elizabeth said to me, I could be very depressed, Mom, but I choose to not be.  I'm thinking that was about the best!

32) The most beautiful sentence you said to someone? 
I don't know!

33) How will you celebrate New Year's Eve?
We will stay at home.  Unfortunately I twisted my ankle and injured my foot a few hours ago and I'm stuck in bed with ice and an elevated foot.

34) What will you have for dinner?
Jer made a delicious sausage meal.

35) What drinks will be in your glasses to clink?
Water. 

36) Will you ignite any fireworks? 
Unfortunately no.  We had plans to go down to South Bank to see the fireworks on the Brisbane River, but now this ankle is keeping us home.  DARN!

37) What are you going to wear? Comfy or glamorous?
GLAM, all of the way.
And by glam I mean my comfy jammies and an ankle ice bag.

38) Did you have any resolutions for 2013? And how about 2014?
My 2013 resolution was to do more freelance writing.  I've finally done some work with the in the last few months.
2014:  We have decided we may go vegetarian.

39) What are your wishes for the new year?
That we stay healthy.  That we spend more time with Tim and Jess.  That we find ourselves truly HOME when we go back home.

40) In one word: 2013 was...THE MOST MEMORABLE AND HAPPY YEAR OF MY LIFE!
Ahem... SUPERFREAKINGFANTASTICALBRILLIANTLYSUBLIME!

Thank You to Stephanie for this 2013 Wrap Up idea!