The other day my 9 year old son, Rayhan, was with my mom and this story was relayed to me....He looked at a can in the store and read the label out loud. My mother was a little shocked but, remaining calm, informed him that that was a "bad" word. He said, "What do you mean a bad word? Like, as in a curse word?" She said yes and told him since he didn't know that it was OK and not to say it again and went on with her shopping. About 5 minutes later, with tears in his eyes, he starting talking to her about how he really didn't know that was a mean word when he read it and you aren't to say those things and he was so sorry that he may have upset God. She quickly made it clear to him that God was not upset because he didn't know about that word and he should just talk to the Lord about it and let Him know how he was feeling and ask God to help him not to say it again. Rayhan did so and was fine the rest of the day.

The next day, he talked to me about what happened and was going on about how it was so sad that in this world you can't even read a can without reserve. Today he was really good all day but got in trouble right before bedtime. After the kids were tucked in, he came out to the living room and had been crying. He told me that he was upset because he wants to be what God wants Him to be and knows that he needs to be a good boy and always mind but that, sometimes, it is just so hard. We ended up talking for quite a while and all is well.

But, he has me to thinking.......What if all of us were so concerned with what God thought about us? Do we care what God is thinking about us at any given minute of the day. Are we careful with every word we say and quick to repent if we make a mistake? You know what my son said? He went to the Bible, to Psalms 14:2, "The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God." He said that he felt that at any given time, God would look down from heaven on us and, as he put it, take a big peek to see what we are doing down here. And he wants to be ready when God looks at him. I sit here in awe. Sometimes I think that God gave me this child just to minister to me. So, once again, out of the mouths of babes, we are challenged to dig a little deeper into the Word, to love a little more, to live a little closer, to look into the eyes of God, and ask ourselves......Are we ready if God should choose, at this moment, to take a big "peek" at our lives?

As I am reflecting on this year, I am truly in awe. It has been a year of sadness and pain.  It has been a year of gladness and joy. It has been a year of change. Our family has been through so much this year.So, I decided to make a list of the top 10 most memorable moments in our lives during 2008. My oldest son received the Holy Ghost early in the year and it was the greatest joy I have ever known. We had some finacial issues and some worry over my husband's job. My youngest son began his homeschooling journey this year and was so excited to join his big brother and do some "real" work. Later in the year, he broke his nose and my heart broke right along with it as I watched him go through more pain than he had been in before. Around that same time, my husband and I were both feeling a strong urge to change to a new church but we were afraid because we had no idea what God had in store for us. We even drug our feet about it and had to go through a chastising period before we finally stepped out in faith and made the change that would drastically effect our lives and the lives of our children. By this time, out finacial situation was a little better and we praised God when he continued to bless us by giving me a raise at work. Most recently, Jadon lost his first tooth and I am having a hard time facing the thought of my "baby" growing up even more. Basically, this year has been an emotional wreck for me. But, you know, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I feel like the Lord is whispering to me that this year He has been laying a foundation for some great things to come in 2009. I can't wait to see what He has in store for us!

Top 10 Most Memorable Events of 2008(in order of which they occured)

1. Rayhan recieves the Holy Ghost!

2. My husband and I celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.

3. Rayhan's baseball team makes it to the championship game. Rayhan then advances to play for the All-Star team.

4. We take an extended educational field trip. Since we are doing this wonderful homeschooling thing, our children are able to include their grandparents.

5. Jadon begins Kindergaten - His first homeschooling year:)

6. We take a wonderful fall field trip to Pumpkin Works with our homeschool group.

7. Jadon breaks his nose:(

8. We make a prayerful decision to attend a new church after being in the same home church for almost 11 years.

9. Even amongst economic turmoil, I receive a very substancial raise at work - Praise the Lord!

10. Jadon looses his first tooth(I'm a little sad)

I know the Lord will continue to bless all of us who are walking in the truth in 2009! Happy New Year to all!

Wow - How time flies! I can't believe it's been about a month since I have checked in here. It has just been SO busy. Busy in a good way but, still busy. We had a really good Thanksgiving and are now eagerly anticipating Christmas. I absolutely love this time of year and I want to hold on to every minute of it. I'm sure the kids would disagree - In fact, they are so excited that it's a wonder we have accomplished anything at all the last few school days! Thanks to all who have become my friends through this blog and I promise I will try to write more especially after Christmas. It is so awesome to be blessed enough to know the true meaning of Christmas! I hope every one has a truly Merry Christmas!

I don't know if any one else has heard about this or not but, we just got the news and are very excited! There is going to be a national Bible Bee where children ages 7-18 can compete like a spelling bee except for it is all scripture memorization and Bible knowledge - How cool is that? My oldest son has always shown a great desire for Biblical knowledge and is in fact teaching a message(or whatever word you would use) this week at our church. He is only 9. He has been doing this since he was 3(Yes, I said 3 - We have it on tape-LOL). So, this will be a wonderful opportunity for him. There will be local contests in September 2009 with the top 100 finalist going on to the national competition next November. If you would like more information or to find a local bee in your area you can get it here www.biblebee.org . Aside from this being a contest, it really encourages kids to have a greater desire to dig into the word of God. Even my 5&½ year old is excited and wanting to learn more so that he could participate the following year:) Please pray for us as we decide whether to hold a local contest in our area. I am not big on being "The Planner" over things like this but, I really believe in this and, right now, the closest local competition is 80 miles from us.

P.S. For all interested, we finally got our furnace fixed Thursday evening via a repair man. Thank the Lord it wasn't too expensive!

Our furnace has not been working since Saturday morning. Needless to say, this has interrupted my plans a little. I am very glad that my husband has decided to give up trying to fix it himself and agreed to call a repairman tomorrow. We have had to be very creative in thinking of ways to stay warm - That is science, right? Anyway, other than that, not a bad week so far. And I am really very thankful for my husband - He is a wonderful man of God!

I have been trying to do better about cleaning lately and am actually making some headway. I have hit a small stumbling block, if you will,  but feel I'm almost over it. Since my extended family will be here for Thanksgiving dinner I am feeling a little stressed but, I'm trying not to get overwhelmed. That is my usual problem - I get so overwhelmed that I can't possibly get it done and then I loose all energy. My husband has been working shorter shifts lately and is trying to "help out". It is really sweet that he has finally painted the front door with the paint that I bought about a year and a half ago:) Anyway, I will just pace myself and get it done so that I can enjoy my family.

I guess I can't finish until I give my thoughts about the election. Even though I'm disappointed that McCain didn't win and a little scared that Obama did, I will just keep doing what I've been doing every day. I'm not saying that the results won't affect me. I just believe that, no matter who is president, God is still in control and will take care of us. Our president might be changing but our KING never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever and He will keep on taking care of us!

OK, I've been doing this blog thing for about a week and a half now and I like it alot. Thanks to all of my new friends:) Now I think I feel comfortable enought to ask for some help. I am organizationally challenged - BIG TIME. It seems as though as soon as I get my house clean, it is a mess again. Take Friday for instance. We had some company coming and the house was pretty well clean(except for the area where we do most of our school work). When I get it clean, I think, "I'm going to stay on top of this and not let it get such a mess again." By Saturday night, it wasn't looking too good and we were pretty busy. Then we had church Sunday morning, followed by lunch, followed by grocery shopping, followed by choir practice, followed by church Sunday night, followed by dinner, followed by falling into bed exhausted. Come Monday the house looks so bad again that I am overwhelmed and don't even know where to start. Let me add that I do have several health conditions that are not always "convenient". I say that not as an excuse but, so that you will know, in case any of you have advice or some "miracle plan", that I do not have the stamina/energy of a normal person my age and can't accomplish quite as much in a day and I have several days where we are pretty much homeschooling with me in bed. My husaband is quite supportive and hardly ever complains. I am much harder on myself than he is. But the fact remains that I feel like a failure in this area and I have tried several ideas and nothing seems to help. I really need help organizing. I feel like if I had a proper place for everything then it would be easier to maintain. This is partially because my house is very small, especially for a homeschooling family of four. But that can't be helped at this time. So, this is my plea for help. I would welcome any tips or advice at all. Thanks for listening.

Thursday our family went to a large pumpkin farm with our homeschool group - The kids loved it! There was a discovery barn where the kids could look at animals and there were also all sorts of old tools in there that you wouldn't see today. We then went through a 4 acre corn maze where we almost got lost(even though there was a guide). Then was an hour and a half hayride. It was pretty neat. We went all through these woods and through a large creek. The farmer would stop every so often and tell us which trees were native to the area and how to identify them. He also gave us other educational tidbits along the way. Then we stopped in the middle of a pumpkin patch and we all got to pick out our own pumpkin and have it cut off the vine to take home with us. The kids did some more mazes when we got back. I was glad that my husband was able to go with us. We had an all around great time! I just wish my camera were working so that I could have taken and posted some pictures! Well, maybe next time.

Lord, I want to love you more

Than I ever have before

You're so easy to adore

And I want to love you more

These are the words to a song I really love. The words are very simple and it's a slow song. But, there is just something about it that really touches my heart. Sometimes it is the simple things that the Lord uses to speak to us. I really do want to love Jesus more and more every day - And I have purposed in my heart to do just that. Anyway, I just had to write these words down since thay have been going through my head all day.

Well, today has been a little....different, confusing, exhausting, hectic. My husband decided to save some money and fix our floor that was falling through himself. We had a leaking window problem in the dining room and thus, the rotting floor. So, Friday afternoon he tore into it. It was to be fixed that night or the next morning at the latest. We moved the dining room table to the living room, two living room chairs and a curio cabinet to an area where we do a lot of our school work, and the remainder of the dining room "stuff" to the kitchen. So, the house is not very functional. You know, once you tear into something like that ,there are the inevitable hidden problems. So, without further ado, let me say that it is still not fixed today.

We are now attempting to get some school work done amidst the chaos. The kids can't concentrate because everything is unorganized and they are doing most of their work in different locations. Also, I can't even get to the dry erase board I use to illustrate some of their lessons. I am having to "push" them harder than usual. They are wanting to just play or even offered to take a nap instead of doing school work. They have both said to me today, "I hate school." So, I'm thinking after we get through with math, we are calling it quits. There is no since torturing myself or them any longer.

I hope others are having a very happy homeschooling day!

This is my first blog entry so, here it goes. We have been homeschooling for almost 2 years and I feel like I'm just now starting to get the hang of it. I have two boys(Rayhan,9 and Jadon,5½). This is the first year the youngest is joining us also. It is going well but I have already decided to mix things up a bit next year now that they are both aboard.

My oldest son went to public school for his first year and a half. I really wish I could have that time back to do all over. But, you live and learn and what's done is done. We are moving forward and I love that they are home with me now. I am so passionate about homeschooling now that most people would never even dream that I had one to start out in public school. I really feel like this is what God has called us to do.

My husband is very supportive and he does help out some with some extra art or science projects or things of that nature. Although he is supportive, I wish that he were a little more involved. When it comes to choosing curriculum, for example, he says, "You know what will be the best and you take care of the finances so you know how much money we have and just get what you think you need." Well, that is nice in a way, but not very helpful when I've narrowed it down but still need some advice.

About myself, I do work outside the home one day per week. I do this mostly because I worked my tail off to get my state and national certification as a pharmacy technician and I want to keep my foot in the door so that I can get my CE credits there and my certification won't lapse. Although, they keep telling me that, once the staffing problem is more under control, I can just work every other week. Keep in mind that it was not our intention to start this homeschool journey in the first place(smile). I do like my job and I am able to work it around our homeschooling so I can't complain too much. I love to go to church and worship the Lord. I love to read, read, read. I like to play games. And I love to spend time with my family.

Our entire family is very involved with the church. So, between homeschooling, church and church activities, activities with our homeschool group, getting together with friends, and just spending family time together, we stay pretty busy. The boys play baseball as well but I'm thanking God it's not baseball season right now -lol. Once I get the hang of this blog thing, maybe I'll write more.

~Andrea