Spring is here with birds singing, flowers blooming in all their glory, green springing forth everywhere...ahhh

With spring comes so many things, Life...it springs forth from the earth. Animals bring forth their young. Rain sprinkles...or pours as the case is here, down on the ground. Spring is such a time of renewel....and homeschool catalogs, conventions, and conferences. hmm.....

Many homeschoolers battle the winter blahhhssss....not all of us, but it is common for Mom to start thinking, " what'll I do different next year...."

I love curriculum, in fact I would love to make money devolping curriculum, helping others find their perfect fit, and so forth....maybe a future...anyways! While I have always been happy at the end of the year, this year I have noticed a need for our ' school' to shift gears a bit....

How you may ask...well, that is still out to the jury, me of course! OK and my darling hunk of a hubby!

We have always taught from a literature and cuddling, reading time sort of foundation....my own spin on Before 5 in a Row, and a bit of Konos mixed in....I LOVE BOOKS! I want to pass this on...

With our lively little 21 monrh old in the house I have discoevered the need for a bit less structured learning approach, that is if ours was ever very formal! :)

Bethany wants to do school too!

So..........this year I am exploring new options....I love Winter Promise, but our budget is MUCH tighter than in the past...sell those school unused books mama!!!!....So, in the consideration is all the interesting Read-Alouds and Readers...as per reading level and lapbooks and perhaps notebooking which we found so fun during Mystery of History...considerations are out on All-American History for a base to start with....Oh, we will be most positively dive into the history of our country, FINALLY!!!!

In other news,

The Lord has so blessed our best friends and neighbors the Hingle family! You can read more about the situation they have been going through lately over at homeschoolblogger.com/sweetsavages there is also a photo of their family. The Hingle's are such beautiful, God focused people...please keep them in prayer and consider helping their need. Thank you!

God Bless you and goodnight!

Ashley....busy as usual!

My favorite magazine, The Old Schoolhouse, is having a giveaway! Oh my!!!! If you have ever read the articles...yes, gotten past the beautiful cover and the adds that can make you drool, there are the most splendid articles. I nearly devour my magazine when it arrives! It is an inside joke around here that mom will disappear for atleast a few hours while she 'checks out' her latest issue. And the funny thing is that it is true! I head upstairs and turn thru the pages, searching for which article will be first for I NEVER read from front to back! Then I'll resurface for awhile...only to carry my trustey magazine on every shopping trip and library reading time available! Wow! I really am a homeschool mom and groupy!

Blessings, and if you haven't check out this publication, please take advantage of this new offer.

Spring is finally here!!!

The trees have buds, the birds are singing, I can wear sandles....I love this time of the year. Everything is so fresh and clean, it is like a new baby....I love them too!

Baseball season is cranking up over here...finally to the kiddos! The two oldest have started their practices and T-ball for Joshy-squashy will start up in the next few weeks. It is so fun to have the baseball bags laying around- big fake grin here! , and super-tired kiddos dropping to bed at night- real grin now!

I am also starting to figure out our school plans for next year. This is always excited for me and everyone else kinda just goes...it must be spring, mom's got here catalogs out again! We have always used Sonlight with Singapore math and A Reason for Handwriting with other add-ons like Mystery of History and some Leap pad fun. This year we are trying to decide on Winter Promise or Sonlight. We are going to do American History for the first time with our children. We are all pretty excited!

We have had some new devolpments on the home front. My husband has been traveling A LOT as of late...we all hate this...we are accepting it as the Lord's will but that doesn't seem to help us like it any more. We are very partial to our father around here. :) We hope this is very temporary...there has been a rumor of this lasting until September, we are praying for June/July instead. We are praying for the Lord's continued leading in our future.

Well, I am off to take up where we left off before spring break...we took a break for a wedding. My next post will be about the blessing of marrying in God's timing...until then, Blessings! Go enjoy those kiddos! I know I will!

Today we had a pretty school day. Nothing super abnormal about it; as we sat to read the bible this morning things were actually very abnormal...at least for our family. My husband had just left for Warner Robbins, GA for four days. This had left us in a bit of a funk...it really showed up as we tried to push past our 'sorrows' and get busy. Joshua didn't care to do his 'school' which is normal until he gets going and then has a blast, Bethany was climbing into all of our chairs trying to do our schoolwork, Jeremiah was lamenting the seperation with his daddy, and Emily was just trying to shut all the distractions out! I began to notice my voice growing steadily louder trying to  read over the hubbub of our kitchen bar. This is very frustrating as well as unpleasent, particularlly while bearing in mind that you have only begun todays read alouds! At this point I knew that I had to gain control or I would set a grumpy mood for the entire day. To say that this was easy...well, who would I be kidding! Which got me to thinking....

In our home we have a SUPER busy 20-month old. Bethany is capable of so much more in such a short time than any of our other blessings combined! As usual, I am getting our school day going by reading our Bible passages for the day as the children color and complete handwriting. This could only take, oh, 10-15 minutes, but as we read we find ourselves stopping every so often to right a chair, correct someone, or just general homeschool chaos control! Even I forget what we were trying to read sometimes. We have been training in this area in particular...I'll let you know when I begin to reap the rewards for my labors! It is amazing to think that while teaching my children the ways of the Lord and have to work to not 'break' some of the fruits of the Spirit! I thank the Lord for his patience and continual guidence!

Homeschooling is such a wonderful blessing. I am totally thankful and grateful that He chose me to nurture and teach these little ones. This path of motherhood is SO worth our time, energy, and sacrifice. While not always easy, I would choose NOTHING to take its place!

Bless all of you and have a great night! I am going to go read to my jewels....Thank you Lord!

My good friend Misti tagged me and I have finally figured out how to tag! I am so computer illiterate! I am supposed to follow the tagging 'rules' so here is a list of the rules and all my lovely little tidbits...

Rule #1

Link to the person that tagged you...

Rule #2

Post the rules on your blog...

Rule #3

Share '6' non-important things, habits, or quirks about yourself...

Rule #4

Tag '6' random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs...

Rule #5

Let each of those '6' random people know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website/blog.

And so here she goes.....

My personal 6....

#1 I love to play sports but I am a terrible player, very enthusiastic, but not any good!

#2 I love to 'page' shop catalogs...mostly homeschool, but just about any fun catalog...llbean, Lands End, hanna anderrson, I don't actually order anything, I just feel like I have and thats fun for me!

#3 I love the beach! The sand, the sounds, the smells....

#4 I love coffee and chocolate!!!!

#5 I am a homeschool graduate, as is my husband.

#6 I love studying midwifery...

I am tagging four of my buddies...here they are...Dawn, Natalie,Carri,Pam. Sorry but I don't have six friends with websites or blogs yet. I am working on it!

Have a great day and I hope to share a post I lost with all of you in the next day or two! Blessings, Ash

OK, after a handful of my friends letting me know that my comment function wasn't working I think I finally have it fixed! We'll see!!!!

We are having lots of fun this weekend, Nana is here for a visit along with Aunt Bri. The kiddos are all SO excited! We had 'Christmas' in late-January! Lots of fun gifts and surprises...everyone loves there new flashlights, backpacks, and polarfleece goodies!

With that I am off for now, gotta go spend some quantity and quality time with my mama!

It has been far to long since I have posted anything, but now I am back!

Many of my friends write Christmas letters, and while I have only ever heard about them, and never actually read one, I am going to start a new tradition....New Year's Letters! OK, so maybe this isn't new, but it is for me!

I am going to start with January 07 and share the awesomeness of God in our family over the past 13 months.

Amelia Island, FL- Jan. O7

We spent the end of 06 and beginning of 07 on this quant little island in nothern Flordia. We had a third story condo one block off the Atalntic coast. We spent our morning reading aloud and learning. Our afternoons were spent on the beach. We hunted sharks teeth (found 83), beachcombed for shells, obseved jelly fish, starfish, and seaweed. It was a wonderful time of wonder and we had family working there with us. Bethany learned to walk, got some teeth, started some scripture memory work, and enjoyed the New Year with family lighting off fireworks! Praise the Lord!

Orlando, FL- Feb. 07

We spent the next 6 months or so in Orlando. We finished up our school year and spent several hours at the pool and our weekends at the beach. We came back to Kentucky BROWN! No denying the Indian blood flowing thru our veins!!!

Kentucky....

In June we moved home to Kentucky and have been here ever since. We adopted two kittens and got a wonderful little dog. Our children have been spending the last 7 months exploring the woods, swimming at the lake, playing in our creek, mowing grass, taking care of animals, and helping to finish our home. We have grown as a family, and while the season here is coming to a close for awhile, we are all grateful for the time He has given us and are looking forward to our return back in the near future. We are not going to sell our home, but will be traveling agin until the Lord guides us in starting a business here in Kentucky.

In school Emily has enjoyed reading her readers to herself and advancing in Math. Her writing is amazing, maybe we have an authoress in the family! Jeremiah has started reading and settled in to a 'school-groove'. He is a Math Brain!  Joshua has flurished with phonics. A big help for us was the Leap Frog LetterFactory. He now knows all his letters, sounds, and can write. He has also started reading three letter words. Bethany has enjoyed doing 'school' too and loves to listen to us read. I am such a proud mama! You kiddos really ROCK! 

Now I am busy sorting thru stored items in our shed and finding place for everything. It is a fun sort of pain to deal with 'stuff' , but I am enjoying finding all the things I didn't even know we had!

Our house has really come a long ways in the last 7 months. We are living upstairs, finishing bathroom #3, trimming out the kitchen cabinets, hanging pictures, and enjoying having a place to call home. Jesse has been so busy with all of this, but is getting back to chip carving and reading his 'deep' books. I am getting back to sewing, knitting, and studying midwifery. It has been so fun!

I had better run, God Bless you all and enjoy your new year!

Hello everyone!

Last night was so much fun! You know the kind of fun we homeschool mom's , most of at least one handful of children and pets!, can have together...I attended a Mom's Tea with my friends at the local homeschool group. There were 8 of us in the circle last night. We spent 4 hours chatting, eating, and laughing. What a wonderful evening! Misti over at SweetSavages and Carri over at The Peterson Clan we in attendence...we have a lot of fun together! Anyhow, another mom taught us...those that could learn anyway...how to Paper Embroider. It is so pretty and easy! I think I am onto a new hobby for me and my 8-year old, Emily. You don't need any 'crafting talent' and the direcrions are easily found on the web. If you have been looking for a CHEAP card making idea, this would be it! 

Have a great weekend ladies and chat with you again soon!

Ashley....the wanna- be SuperMom!  :)

Hello ladies...

A few days ago I was reading a friends blog and she brought up some really great phonics helps...Leap Frog Letter Factory and Word Factory. A few years ago I borrowed these from my sister-in-law and my kiddos loved them. So, I bought myself a set and so far the kids have really enjoyed them. My reluctant 6-year old son has taken of reading his little 'Bob' style books! YIPPEE!!! It may have just happened at the same time, but either way I am one happy mama and he is one super happy little guy!

Have a great evening!

Ashley

Hello everyone!

It is so crisp and cool this morning...OK, COLD!!!! At least I can say that the frost is melting already due to sunshine that has been hard to come by this past week. Oh, how I love the Sun!

I am looking forward to a good school day today...taking our time and relaxing while learning...hopefully it will go something like that! Last night I was greatly encouraged by a friend when we found out we were slowly, but surely plugging away at our school and that we were both on week 10 in our IG! God is so good, always dropping in with a friend to lift us up and help us through.

Here is a little something to chew on! This is some hearty , spiritual meat! To be faithful...in the Lord means to be faith FULL! This is an area the Lord blessed me in and last night He shared that thru a brother as we were praying for a Brother that has been in heavy spritual battle...we can pray faithfully, but are we praying for him full of faith?  If were are just being faithful, it is in our own strength, like brushing our teeth and eating well or exercising, but to bring God glory, to be effective and move those mountains we need to be FULL of Faith.

My sister-in-law has written a Homeschool planner/ledger. It is beautiful and very well done. Her work has been labor of love and she wants to share it in the homes of as many as she can. The cost is $28 well spent dollars. If you are interested, contact me or email her at mominjesus1@aol.com

The sun is growing brighter and my kitchen noisier as kiddos come searching for morning fill me ups. God Bless and have a great day!

Ashley

Hello again!

It has been awhile since I have added anything here, but I am back! We have had a busy few weeks around here. We got caught up after the flu hit, just in time to move upstairs...the day before our out of town family came for Thanksgiving, the night that the oven caught on fire! Yes you read that right! Our oven element caught on fire and melted the Sunday before Thanksgiving! And I was hosting my family's get-together...but my wonderful hubby sent me to buy a new one on Tuesday! I got the last model that matched my other appliances, which have been discontinued. Thank you Jesus!

So, we got moved upstairs and got the new oven, and then we had a blast with my folks, grandparents, and my little brother and sister, who by the way arn't so little anymore! (17 and 20). We had a great Thanksgiving that included my in-laws, brother-in-law, his wife, and her sister, added to our already large numbers. So for my first Thanksgiving we had 19 happy eaters! We spent the rest of the day visiting, watching my kiddos antics, and rubbing our ROUND bellies! It was great!

Now, we are slowing down a bit and catching our breath. Company is great, but I am relishing lounging in my PJs in the morning again! hahaha

Bless you all and blog with you again soon!

I am finally back...to what you may ask....the world of the peaceful sleeping family members with calm tummies and NO buckets in sight. We just had a week of 'FLU', not one if our numbers managed to escape, well unless you include the animals! Yuck, what a horrible bug. I am very glad we missed our friends 'Fall Festival' when we thought that all was well.

We are back to school today. We had fun cuddling and reading inbetween trips to the bathroom, but alas, it is time to resume our daily ritual of the three R's and some Charlotte Mason fun.

This week proves to be both fun and challenging. We have company, my mom and sister, we'll be getting back in to our goove, and I have a task of retraining a few things in the ranks! I will be getting my new countertop today and hopefully the carpet man will call and tell me good news. If all goes as planned...we'll be upstairs by Thanksgiving! Yahoo!!!

I had best be going for. Have a great day and God Bless!

Homeschool catalogs are awesome! I love when I check the mail and find a new catalog...I look at all the pages....usually with a pen in hand, noting all the fun new things I want to add to our shelves!  My favorites are my yearly catalogs from Sonlight and Rainbow Resources. I spend my evenings noting and jotting all my ideas and needs. I always feel like I have bought whatever it is I have been looking at! It is fun...the next best homeschool thrill is going to a convention...that is fun! I always make sure to have a list of what I need to buy and my budget with the cash in hand. My other favorite catalog is Vision Forum, which came Saturday! Yippee!!! On the inside cover there was a page with pictures of all the past catalogs...my husband was like , ' Wow, we have had every catalog!" It was very funny. I guess we are book junkies!                  I can't wait to get my magazines now!

Today has been lovely...delightfully crisp air and yet warm and sunshiny! I love the Autumn, especially here in Kentucky. We have been outside all day and loving it.

The kiddos have been building a petting zoo over the last few weeks. Complete with a stone path and a polar bear! (this is my mom's Westie) They have been working everyday for hours; building, raking, laying rock, you name it! I join them or watch from my kitchen window. It is such a blessing to see them working so hard and in a terrific enviornment. Safe from the wiles of suburun and city life here in our little valley. Praise the Lord!

Work is coming along on our house...we'll be ready for carpet and paint in under 3 weeks! I never thought I would see this day...the Lord is good!

Homeschooling with a BUSY baby is interesting to say the least! Bethany is such a joy to our family...we so enjoy her and love following her around as she discovers new things and tries our new feats! She is definetly our most adventurious child yet! She is always joining us in our homeschool, which is really fun, unless you are explaining a math problem yet one more time!

We are really settling down into a routine...that is awesome!

I am looking forward to a new week and seeing what God has in store for us...enjoy those little bundles and big helpers this week as you direct them unto God.

Blessings, Ashley

 Hello there friends!

I was just over at my friend Carri's blog and learned about an awesome giveaway...$150 of Vision Forum goodies that, get this, you get to pick yourself! Check out this link, http://inashoe.com/, and enter your blog to get your wish list too! There are going to be 5 winner drawn, so after me and Carri, some of you can win too!

Here is my wishlist....

So Much More $20

Passionate Housewives:Desperate for God $16

Verses of Virtue $20

Teach them to Your Children$17

Ten P's in a Pod` $20

Twenty four Hours Is All You Get $10

Raising Maidens of Virtue $20

Home is Where the Heart Is $10

I'll have to write more about our catalog day later!

Have a great day and check out this giveaway!

If you don't already get the Vision Forum catalog, go to 

www.visionforum.com , and sign up for it. Have fun checking out all the great products they offer for families.

Ashley

Praise the Lord! We had such an awesome week! I put into practice the various things the Lord had shown me and as always...He was SO right! I was relaxed and joyful, which is my normal state of being but had been somehow lost in the shuffle of daily life in our little kingdom. Joy has been restored and praise the Lord relaxation once again dwells in our home! I noticed such a blessed peace with the children...sure we still had daily training and such going on, but I was well equipped to handle each situation. It was so good. I pray that this week we continue to have this peace with no end. Amen!

Much is also happening around our home. Friday school was shut down so we could receive delivery of our kitchen cabients! We also had a wonderful visit with my friend Carri Peterson and her sweet gaggle of children! She has 8 precious little ones! They are very blessed and it was such a great time for us to get to know one another some more. In our large circle of friends, all of us with 4 or more children, it can be hard to build a close relationship, so every afternoon spent together is precious. Although, our group gatherings are also terrific!

Anyhow, this weekend was spent installing the majority of our cabients with the help of my father. Time spent with my folks is so much fun for our family. The children love being with Nana and Papa! My father was a carpenter by trade and so his help is priceless,not to mention the time spent together as a famiy!

Well, I had better tuck my little ones in. Have a gret week and may God bless you and your family.

Ashley

               Smile + Pray + Play = Happy Homeschoolmom

Pretty nice equation...the Lord gave it to me this past weekend as I was praying for our homeschool...which just 'started' back up this past week. Actually, the Lord used the word Supermom!

Pretty cool huh!?!

This past week was unusually hard...trying to add a new student to our time, still trying to settle in, a superbaby to literally chase around, and trying to implement a SCHEDULE!

So, Saturday evening I spent several moments alone in prayer. I cried out to God for wisdom. For strength and endurance...it was such a sweet time of reflection and vision. Praise the Lord!

He showed me some things I had seen, but thought I could work out...turns out I just needed to give them to Him.

Do you have some 'Supermom' tendencies? Thinking that you can or need to do it all? Most of us do...especially us, the mothers of homeschooling families. There is so much to do and so 'little' time. Take a few moments today to talk to the father and seek to root up those little tendencies that may keep you from living in the moment with these little ones.

What about the schedule you may ask? Well, He said not to throw it out...quit trying to make my day fit the schedule and make my schedule fit my day! Will I go back to THE schedule?...maybe. I made a 'Routine' the way that I always have and am implementing that now. I also made a Chore Games Chart...fun ways to cover all out cleaning zones and chores...by playing with each other and racing! Thanks Beka Anast!

Well mothers...I pray that you are able to find the key to 'Supermom-ness' too!

God Bless you all ladies and enjoy those children!

On the road again....

Ok, so we arn't back to traveling, at least so to speak! We are in Louisville for a 'vacation'. Actually, my husband, Jesse is her for business. There is a Police Fleet Convention...so we got to come hang out at a pool! Hey, that's not to bad! Which brings me back to my topic...traveling with the kiddos.

"Can we stop yet?"

 " I gotta pee!"

"I'm hungry!"

Does this sound familiar? Well, after 9 years of traveling...pregnant, with a nursing baby, a potty training toddler, and energetic 6- year old boys....I figure that I have some experience in this area, hahahaha! I am always asked, " How do you do it? How do you keep them happy?" Well, to be honest, it hasn't been easy every time, nor has it always been hard. Our family really loves to travel. For several years we owned an RV and that was really fun and much easier all the way around. We have been so packed that I had to squeeze the toddler a bottle through a 3" gap in 'stuff'! Now we have a 12-passenger van which is pretty nice. It got a little old after 15 days of driving in the time frame of 3 months! When we learned we'd be driving from Winter Harbor, Maine to Bremerton, Washington for nine days we broke down and bought a DVD player...I know, I know....no razing for that!

DVD Players aside...we have always made liberal use of drawing pads, coloring books, lacing shapes, books on tape, singing, and landscape discussions. The kiddos always have a few toys, but battery powered, noise toys are NOT a good idea! Trust me, Leap Frog Radio is very agrivating after about 25minutes!

Anyhow, the subject of food, drinks, and potty breaks..

Well, we are potty break kinda people! Hahaha! Actually, My husband and I are coffee drinkers, so 200 miles or so and we stop, but manage 500 to 600 miles atleast each day. This is pretty manageable with a crew under 8...as far as food....we don't really snack so it is a decent hot breakfast at home or the hotel and a late BIG lunch and then snacks in the hotel room. It works well for us. Also, we do limit the kiddos to a water bottle inbetween stops.

I am really glad that this is just a "fun' trip for a change. It is quite pleasent! I am relaxing at the pool and enjoying my kiddos, if you travel anytime soon, I encourage to not stress! Sit back and enjoy the ride...these days are short and there is no time to fret. So embrace these moments with all your might!

Hello and welcome to my blog!

I am the mother to four wonderful children so far. Emily age 8, Jeremiah age 6, Joshua nearly 4, and Bethany 14 months.We homeschool our children, following the example of our family and friends. My husband homeschooled starting in the seventh grade and I homeschooled my Junior and Senior years of highschool. Our mothers have both homeschooled for 10+ years. It is just the normal course of things for us. This school year proves to be both busy and exciting! Let me set the stage...

We have been married for nine years this September and have had a traveling lifestyle due to my husbands job. We have lived in Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, Maine, Ohio, Flordia, California, Oklahoma, Washington, Georgia, Texas,and South Carolina. About 5 years ago we bought 30 or so acres from a brother in the Lord. We always looked forward to actually getting to live on the property...we started building our home and devolping the property, but the Lord had other plans. We prayed and prayed that His Will would prevail and waited. Then in June a job oppurtunity arose and it could only have been the Lord. My husband took the position! On June 23rd we moved home and are getting settled! Praise the Lord!

So, here we are...for the first time in our homeschool experience...books all on the shelves...at the SAME time. There are charts on the wall. I created our schedule...WOW! That is amazing in and of itself. We are all so excited to start 'school' this year!

We will be using a mix of materials....Sonlight Core 2, MOH 2, Singapore Math, math drills and flashcards, journaling, and some notebooking. We will listen to some of the Children's Classics Collection and study some art masterpieces. And learn to care for our new kitty, Tigger. That is another first for us, a cat.

I will blog here on the happenings, calamities, and funny notions that go on around here; as well as new revelations and testimonies from my day-to-day walk with the Lord. So, please, make a cup of 'warm beverage', pull up a chair, and spend a few minutes with me as we walk down this most blessed of seasons in our  lives. Our job is of greatest importance to our Father in Heaven. Their is no other ministry we can partake in that will please Him more, than the hours, days, and weeks we spend molding our little ones into His image.

God Bless your day!

Ashley, mother and missionary to four precious little souls...