Memory Verse:  Psalms 55:22 - Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee; He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

Assignment: This would be a good week to tell about your worst struggles with a lifestyle of homeschooling.  Tell about something you’ve struggled with and how God’s mercies gave us the strength to get past it.  Also, share any curriculum/homeschool methods that have been a relief to you, i.e., a particular Teacher’s Manual or Homeschooling method that’s been easier for your family.  Talk about how you felt when the burden was lifted and Oh, What a Relief it is!

I have to say that my worst struggles have been...oh, what a list...comparing myself and the kids to others, expecting too much from the kids when they were still too little, not having a good schedule and managing my time, and a huge lack of patience. 

Ok, let's take these one at a time...I feel like I am going to confession, if I believed in doing that....

Comparing myself and the kids to others:
There is a lovely, generous, organized woman in our church who homeschools her nine kids.  She always seems to have it all together.  Whenever we have a church function at their house, you can see the kids art projects all over the walls and the Bible memory chart all filled up with stars.  I felt like I was barely treading water, and gettting the simple basics down.  I felt like such a failure.  There were others who made me feel that way as well.  The people are still there that seem to have it all together, but I have  learned to take a step back and trust that God will use my efforts to His glory.  I touched on this briefly in my last assignment. They have learned so much in the last few years, when I have really let God lead us, and not think that I have to measure up to the world's opinion, but only to my heavenly Father's requirements.

Expecting too much from the kids when they were still too little:
I distinctly remember when my oldest boys were little, trying to make them do everthing that Abeka required, and getting so angry at  them when they couldn't do something or got something wrong, assuming that they were doing it to frustrate me or being stubborn.  I think I reflected a lot of who I was as a kid on them.  I remember being so stubborn when my mom tried to help me with math, and just pretending that I didn't understand it.  What a dork!  I continued my foolishness by assuming my kids were doing the same to me.  I am learning not to judge my kids by my past, but to take them at face value, and not assume the worst in them, even though I was a rotten kid!  Oh, and by the way, I have since repented to my mom, and asked for her forgiveness, even though she never even knew!

Not having a good schedule and managing my time:
I will fully admit it.  I am a time waster.  I can waste time like nobody's business!  Like right now, I should be figuring out what to make for dinner and checking to see that the kids are doing what they are supposed to be doing.  I have tried to make schedules, but it seems like they work for a month or so, and then something comes up to throw it all off, or I get so time oriented that I forget to take time to "smell the roses" so to speak.  For example, dh recently started working from home almost every day, so he has been leading family devotions after breakfast.  This is something that I have wanted to happen for years!  Now, it's all I can do to keep from saying, "Ok, it's 9am, time to get on to another subject!!" right when they are having a wonderful theological discussion!  What is more important?  Math or discussing theology and learning about God with Dad?  So anyway,  I am working on not wasting my time, but being flexible enough to allow room for God to lead us...hmm...I am seeing a theme here!

A huge lack of patience:
This is a constant struggle for me.  This is one of my main areas of failure. I cringe inwardly on Sundays when we recite in church about how merciful, gracious, loving, just and good our Lord is.  I think back on our week and remember how harsh I can be with my family and with others, how angry and frustrated I am.  I know that the Lord is changing my heart, as I am so much better than I was in my 20's, but I still have a long way to go.  I remember when the Lord first really convicted me about it.  I drove home from somewhere,  and realized that I didn't even enjoy kissing the kids goodnight, because I was so relieved that they were in bed.  I sat in the car alone, literally crying out to God that I didn't want my kids to remember me like that, the screaming banshee, and I had to MAKE myself love on the kids. Isn't that awful?!  But it worked!  I now LOVE to love on them!  I LOVE to rock them, read to them, cuddle them. Don't get me wrong, I still have my days that I can't wait for bedtime! If you are too stressed out, stop what you are doing, and just play with them for a while.  Let them help you cook dinner (start early!!), read stories, build with Legos, go for a walk, enjoy them.

Well, I need to go and let my son work on Russian on the computer.  I hope this has helped encourage someone.  I know I could have used a strong dose of encouragement back in the day.

Have a blessed week, and remember to LOVE ON THOSE KIDS!

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Hello everyone!  Yes, I am still in existence.  It didn't seems like  this summer was that busy, but I hardly got on the  computer execpt to keep up with some emails.  I am going to  try to keep up with the Blogger Friend School this year, so here is my first entry.

School....hmm...not sure I am ready to get back to it yet....

We are pretty excited about some aspects of it though.  We are going to be working on learning Russian together as a family, so that is pretty exciting.  Also, my hubbie is pretty excited about the Omnibus that the older two boys will be doing, so we are going to go through it with them!  Hopefully we will be consistent enough with it, as we will have to make time to do it in the late afternoons/evening time.  Dh is working from home almost exclusively now (PRAISE GOD!!) so we are trying to fit it in around 4-4:30, as long as he doesn't  have conference calls that interfere.  I have already learned so much!  It is rather fun to start kind of going back to school myself!

We started out our homeschool journey rather differently than most.  Hubbie and I were both homeschooled, so it wasn't really even talked about, just planned to do the same with ours.  I will be the first to admit that there are days that I wish I had a choice, but I don't let myself even think there is an option, because really, there isn't.  God has given me this responsibility.  Who am I to question that.  If you leave the door open a  crack, it is much easier to just give a little push and start heading down the slippery slope of neglecting your responsibility. No one else should be the main influence in my children's lives.

As far as comparing my childhood education to my children's education, even though I was homeschooled, it was very textbook oriented, and I don't remember much of it, particularly history.  I remember doing it, and what the cover of my book looked like, but there are only a few things that really stick out to me.  One in particular was the research paper I did.  THAT I remember.  I think it was because I chose the topic and enjoyed learning it!  I am trying to keep that in mind, and really help my children enjoy learning what they are doing, as well as letting them help me select what they are learning.  For example, my 12yo really wanted to learn about composers.  He is very musically inclined, and is very interested in history from that perspective.  He is still doing Omnibus with us, but he LOVES to do his "music" and will do it with no prompting from me.

Well, I could go on and on, but I need to get  some things done around here.  The older boys just got a job with the neighbor so they are off learning the ropes, and we have friends staying with us this week while they are transitioning between jobs and towns, so the middle three are outside  playing with their friends.  Now is a perfect time to actually accomplish something around here without too many interruptions!

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I have signed up to do the Blogger Friend School again this year.  I did some of it last year, and am hoping to keep up this year.  It is a lot of fun and helps me make sure to post on my blog, as well as meet new "friends".  This year, they have an added incentive to get started by giving away some homeschooling items!  Come sign up and enjoy the fun!  It's never too late to start, and you can always go back and catch up if you wish to do so!

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Right in line with my last couple of posts, here is a web cam link to see two baby eagles!  It just showed up in my inbox this morning. How cool is that!  We have lots of Eagles here in Alaska, but getting to see the babies up-close is a nice treat.

Click here to see the baby eagles!

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Here is a Chickadee that fed at the feeder this morning that Ivan made at Cub Scouts.

This is called a Dark-eyed Junco, and they appear to be nesting at the edge of the woods, right behind this picture. They nest on the ground, and we think we have spotted their nest.  We are going to  keep our eyes on it in hopes of seeing some babies!

Last summer, we had some woodpeckers nest in a tree right at the end of the driveway.  We haven't seen them yet this year, but are hoping they return.  One thing about woodpeckers, they aren't too hard to find when they are in the area.  Just listen for the rapping!

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The kids and I have been enjoying the spring here in Alaska.  We have identified two different birds today, and can recognize them by their songs.  Above is the White-crowned Sparrow.  I was able to get a great  picture of her sitting way up in a tree at the end of our driveway, singing away.

The other one we identified today is called a Yellow-rumped Warbler.  This picture I just found on the internet.

We will try to post more pictures  of the birds we identify.

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Here we all are!

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Let's celebrate
It's alright....

Yeah, I know, I'm weird!  What do you expect?  I grew up with four brothers, and now have FIVE boys of my own!  Yes, FIVE!!  And they are all wonderful, God-fearing, handsome young men.  (I almost wrote young me!  That would be a scary thought!)  I also have one beautiful young lady.  She is six.  She is my little shadow and my little helper.

Welcome!  We are a Reformed Christian Alaskan homeschooling family.  We live on six acres of the 23,000 square miles available in the beautiful Matanuska Valley.  My dh and I grew up looking at Mt. McKinley, the highest mountain in North America, in our "backyard' in the little village of Talkeetna.  We also raised our family there for six years.  We are now living farther south, but still in the Valley.

We enjoy snowmachining (what you all call snowmobiling), Boy Scouts, gymnastics, playing instruments, and watching educational movies.  Recently we have watched Planet Earth, James Cameron's Expedition: Bismarck, 2002 and To the Moon: Nova.  We HIGHLY recommend Planet Earth!  It is a BBC film, and you have to overlook some of the environmentalist information that they say, but it is very little, and the cinematography is BEAUTIFUL!!  Definitely worth the watch!  I would like to purchase the set at some point!!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little glimpse into our lives.  Sit back and relax with a bowl of homemade tomato soup and grab some yummy Tortellini, Tomato and Salmon Salad too!

I hope you enjoy your time here!  Please let me know you stopped by, and feel free to ask anything you would like about Alaska!  Oh, and if you would like to exchange postcards with my kids, just email me your address!  We are trying to collect postcards from all over the world!

Party on, dude!!!

Grace

P.S. There are SO many prizes!  The ones I would LOVE to win are:

#48 — Story Package
Provided by: Cherish Bound
Prize details: Cherish Bound is offering a story package that will include: 1 Family Yearbook Story Starter, 1 Deck of Family Chat Cards, a coupon for a $68 hardbound 8.5 x 11 Family Yearbook and personal services and assistance to walk you through the process. A retail value of $90.

#91 — Burt’s Bees Naturally Ageless skin care line
Provided by: Geggie
Prize details: Geggie from So, What Else? What Else? What Else? is donating Burt’s Bees Naturally Ageless skin care line includes full size product of Line Diminishing Day Lotion, Skin Firming Night Crème, Line Smoothing Eye Crème and Intensive Repairing Serum valued at $100.

#100 — 3 books
Provided by: Jill Norwood
Prize details: Jill Norwood from Who Could Ask for Anything More is giving away three cooking and entertaining books bundled together in a fun striped tote bag, perfect for taking on an overnight stay or to the pool or beach. I’ll also be filling the bag with some goodies geared especially toward the winner’s taste (coffee lover, tennis player, scrapbooker, etc.) Jill’s Book Bag is a regular feature on my blog, so, if you don’t win this time, I hope you visit me regularly to enter another time.

#113 — Arbonne Pampering Basket
Provided by: The Truest Thing
Prize Details: Get ready to enjoy a Mommy-version Easter basket filled with lots of pampering goodies from Arbonne International!

#103 — 7 Pink Brick Box Play Sets (for my one daughter out of six children!)
Provided by: LEGO
Prize details: LEGO will give away 7 Pink Brick Box play sets, in honor of the 7 day long Ultimate Blog Party!

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