Apr. 23, 2009 - Trials and Blessings!

I think sometimes when we are in the midst of trials, it's very hard to stop and think about what God is doing or has been doing in our lives. We focus in on the hard times we're having and we forget that God is in control. It isn't until the storm clouds pass and the sun shines through that we remember Him and all He has done for us. Lately, that has been the case here in the Moore household! Sure we praise Him when things go right and our way, but not when things are rough and tough and we're exhausted from the emotional and physical aspect of it all. The past 6 1/2 months have been a struggle for us, almost constantly it seems. In October 2008 I found out we were expecting baby #6, not 2 weeks later and baby #6's heartbeat couldn't be found. Sadly we lost the baby right around the time we lost the twins and my mother. Not too long after that, Dan couldn't find work anywhere. Financially we were desperately struggling and although Christmas is a time for celebrating the birth of our Savior, it could have very well ended up being a no present Christmas this year. Jan. and Feb. seemed to be a bit better, probally because of income tax time, but emotionally we were all struggling. Joshua ended up being hospitalized due to asthma and not a month later, Gracie ended up being hospitalized due to pnemonia. It seemed like one thing on top of the other. All of the children ended up sick through that time as well and I was exhausted! But some how through the storm, God always provided for us. He comforted us when we lost the baby, the entire church was praying for us and sent us flowers to show how sorry they were for our loss. My Pastor's wife had lost her baby at the same time, so God comforted me by giving me someone to grieve with. During Christmas, God blessed us with unexpected Christmas money from 3 different people and in Feb. when Josh was hospitalized again our church prayed and sent him stuffed animals and balloons to cheer him up. In March when Grace was hospitalized, everyone from the church offered to go pick them up if needed, pray for them or go visit them. They sent her 2 stuffed bears to cheer her up! I could feel such an overwhelm of support and God's love. Financially we were still struggling, barely getting by and one by one our utilities were being shut off. We were trying the best we could, but with hardly any income left there wasn't much we could do. Until this week!!

God has again provided for us and has shown how awesome He really is! Dan has been in and out of the work force for months now and finally a full time position opened with a landscaping company here in the area. Dan took the job and absolutely loves it! That is such an awesome praise for us! There is overtime and although the money isn't fabulous, it's enough to provide for our needs right now and if we're careful, even some of our wants too! To top it off, we received a phone call today from a family member that would like to help us out financial, just to hold us over until Dan receives his first check next week! So, anything that needs to be taken care of can be without waiting and taking it from his check. So, we will be able to get caught up on some other things sooner than we initally thought! All of the trials and then the huge blessings in the end has reminded me of Romans 8:28, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,  for those who are called according to his purpose." How tight I will forever hold onto this verse alone! It is such a great promise of God's love and mercy for those who love Him!

Dear Lord, please help me to remember You during  times of trials, that You love me and are in control of all things. Help me to remember all You have blessed me with and to not focus on the storms that have been laid infront of me. I thank you Lord for all your blessings and the trials too. Without those, Your glory would not be shown and Your blessings could not be poured out on me and my family! In Jesus's name, Amen!

Apr. 20, 2009 - Things I Learned This Year

As our school year comes to a close, I realize that I learned a great deal this year as well. I thought it would be nice to share some of those things with all of you, especially my homeschool blogger friends that have helped me through this first year. So here it goes!

I've learned that, if I rise early and have some quiet time with the Lord, my day goes much smoother.

I've learned that not only do I need to have that quiet time, but I need to apply what God says in His word, to my own life!

I've learned that no matter how bad of a day I'm having, when one or more of my children smile that proud smile because they learned something new, that my bad day, just got wonderful!

I've learned that I don't need to be a slave to the laws in our state. As long as I'm abiding, I can relax and we don't need to feel any pressure!

I've learned that I can relax with my children, make memories, have fun and just enjoy each others company.

I've learned how to take baking brownies and turn it into a math lesson!

And last, but definiately not the least, I learned that I really LOVE being a home school Momma! I love watching my children learn, I love helping them through their struggles, I love cuddling up to read together, I love how eager my children are to start the day, I love having fun with my kids and I love knowing that I'm the one teaching my children. Not just academically, but socially and most important spiritually.

I know through our homeschooling years, there will be struggles and there will be times that we are discouraged and ready to throw in the towel. It's during those times we need to remember most why we are doing what we are doing. I know there were many times this year, I felt like giving up. But...when I'd lay awake at night trying to sort through it all, I would realize that if I give up homeschooling, then I'd be giving up on the service the Lord has called me to! I realized that I wouldn't be fullfilling my duties that God has given me. I wouldn't be accomplishing anything worth while and I would be allowing others to make impressions on my children that most likely, would be less than desireable.

Thank you fellow homeschool Mommas' for helping me through this year. For giving me the encouragement I needed in all parts of my life, from breastfeeding to homeschooling to time alone with our Savior. You have all been a wonderful blessing and I learned that we all need each other!

Apr. 19, 2009 - Almost the end, but.....

Definiatetly a new beginning! And for many things as well. Every where you look, signs of life are every where. The trees are budding, the flowers are blooming, the sun is shining more, the grass almost needs to be cut. And along with the signs that Spring has definiately sprung in Pennsylvania, also comes signs that school is about to close! All I can say is, Yippeee!!! Andrew will be completing his first year of home school next Friday! We had a fabulous year for our first year! Andrew has learned so much about the different Presidents of the US, the Pilgrims and Indians. He's learned about their trials and triumphs and what made them such important people! He's also learned a great deal with math. Moving forward from basic addition and subtraction to flying through multiplication and although I didn't want to teach him division this year, he's managed to pick it up on his own. Andrew's reading out loud and to himself has also improved a great deal. He's learned so many new words this year and his vocabulary has grown as well. Although, I'm very excited to be closing up our first year, I'm a little saddened as well. To me, this signifies another year closing and another year gone, never will Andrew be in 2nd grade again. It's a stark reminder, to have fun, make lots of memories together that you can cherish when the children are older.

Elizabeth will be taking a school break as well. Although we just started her in 1st grade in March, we think it would do everyone some good to take a month off just to refresh and enjoy each other. She's doing very well with her school work and she's very eager to start each day. Lizzie has a love for learning that I had when I was younger. I just pray that she continues to love it as she gets older  I am very surprised at how fast she has picked up Phonics this year. Last year when we started new sounds, she struggled for a few weeks. This year, she has picked things up much quicker and has retained more of the information than she did last year. The only area of struggle I see right now is in double consonants and adding suffixes. But, I believe, as with everything else, with practice, patience and time she'll begin to understand.

In June we will start back up again and then in July we will add Danny to our schooling as well. I'm so eager and excited and nervous all at the same time. I want him to enjoy being home with us and I want him to have a better experience here than he's had in public school. He seems very eager to start as well and can't wait for school to finish so he can be home full time!

I hope you all have a great summer and enjoy your time off from school!

Mar. 15, 2009 - Lazy Sunday, uhhh, No!

When I went to bed lastnight, I had all intent and purpose of getting up early, getting around for church and then spending a relaxing afternoon doing my study on The Excellent Wife and enjoying the smells of homemade chicken soup. Well, as wonderful as all of that sounds, my vision didn't turn out exactly the way I had planned. I was up early, as was the rest of the family, but my dear son Andrew woke with wonderful pink eye, which in turn put a little curve into going to church. I offered a word of Praise to the Lord for it only being pink eye and continued with my plan to work on my study. Still, the Lord had different plans for me today. The more I tried to relax this morning, the more I saw hubby doing things, cleaning, picking up, sorting socks  At first I was a bit confused about it, but then I realized, he had applied for a new position this week and he was concerned about getting things in order for me before he isn't here as much! So, I got to work right with him, working on the boys' room most of the day. I'm very happy to say, the entire room, from top to bottom is done, all the drawers straighten, dirty clothes down in the laundry, under beds, dressers and cribs cleaned out and the closet even got organized! I'm considering next working on the girls' room and getting that organized as well. The only problem I have is, it's already 3pm and my plan for dinner has been shot, so........I need to think of something to feed the crew! I can say though, the Lord taught me a lesson today! I did a bit of my study lastnight and repeatedly today I have been saying in my mind "Love is patient, Love is Kind!" Those 2 phrases have gotten me through many frustrations today and I have now adopted them. Every time I get just a bit upset, or start feeling the frustration build I will repeat those words to myself. God is so good and He promises us that His word will never return void. How true that is! We are told in 1 Corinthians 13 exactly what love is. I plan on applying that scripture to my own life.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! If Dan does return to work, things here I imagine will get much busier than what they've been and there will probally be so much more to report on :)

Mar. 9, 2009 - School Update!

We have been working hard at getting our work done every day. My issues with the hot water set us back a few days, but we are getting caught up.

Lizzie is finally done with Kindergarten. We are going to have a surprise party for her this weekend and give her, her Kindergarten graduation diploma! I'm so very proud of all her hard work this past year! She's so excited to start 1st grade and I'm excited to work with her!

Andrew is doing very well! He only has about 2 months left before he is also done with 2nd grade and then we'll be celebrating his graduation as well! We have put the extra subjects aside for right now and are focusing more on the phonics and math. He has a bit of a difficulty using the phonics system this year, so I'm trying to give him a chance to understand what's needed to finish up. He's an excellent reader, but the Abeka Phonics program has him confused about sounds. When I help him, he does fine, but when he's left to work independanty, he gets confused. I'm really looking forward to the Lifepacs with him next year. I think he will do much better with them. I'm also on the hunt to expand our home library, so if you have any suggestions for Biblical and Character books let me know! I'm searching for grades Pre-k on up.  

I hope everyone is having a great week! I'm off to enjoy my quiet afternoon :)