Oct. 10, 2009 - Reach Out this Christmas and Share the Love of Christ Jesus
May. 28, 2008 - Homeschool Fun Ideas
We are homeschooling through the summer months. Our mornings are full of phonics, English, Math, Maps, and Greek/Latin while the afternoon is Truthquest reading and lapbooking, which was fun to do in the sunshine today ( we haven't seen the sun in many days). But, we are turning up the fun schooling this next week with some additional pizzaz, extra excitement. Here are the ideas the children and I came up with to add some fun:
Thursday-crazy hair day in which we all do something crazy to our hair while we study together
Friday-pajama day while we study
Monday-crazy hat day
Tuesday-inside out day (wear something inside out)
Wednesday-school at the park
Thursday-dress up with costumes/character while study
Friday-school on the front porch
Here is a fun idea for anyone that wants to adapt it for the summer. We might do this again. Click here for the old link about the I Love You Jar. Does anyone else do different things for the summer months of schooling?
May. 14, 2008 - The sun is Finally out! We are off to the Park!
A favorite play place is at the park. Yeah, the sun is out and the rain is gone!!
She is so excited to give this bouquet of flowers to me. I can't help but laugh at how she squishes up her face in excitement.
P.S. Check out this encouraging miraculous MS healing (my husband's friend at work personally knows this young lady that was healed). http://youtube.com/watch?v=GzLqSSbytkc
Mar. 23, 2008 - What I Love about Homeschooling & Large Families:
Here is a picture of our family's trip to the zoo as we search for butterflies in the Butterfly Garden. We had fun dressing up as princesses and frogs to get in for free (a special weekend the zoo was highlighting). What fun we had together! The butterflies landed all around us as we tried to figure out what the name was of the blue one over there, or that yellow one that landed on the yellow and green striped leaf. I love sharing these experiences together. The children can't wait to go back and visit again. We even brought a butterfly puzzle home to put together (we glue all our puzzles that are done together, framing and putting them up on our walls). We had soo much fun together.
While we were at the zoo enjoying ourselves we did get a lot of funny looks because of our family size with people asking if all of those children were ours, or what school we were. You would have thought we were a view at the zoo (he,he). Some people don't understand homeschoolers and large families (why would anyone do such a thing). I hope to explain why we love homeschooling and having a large family (although six children really doesn't seem like that many to my husband and I). Why would a family like ours have so many children and homeschool? Below are just some of the reasons. 
What I Love about Homeschooling and Large families:
1. No one ever gets lonely because there is always someone to play Legos, Lincoln Logs, Dolls, Kitchen/pretend, cooking, and many other fun things when there are so many of us.
2. These brothers and sisters love each other and treat one another with respect , encouraging one another and supporting one another. There is no bully bullying them in school, nor is there a peer tormenting them (the wonders of "socialization" in public school-I speak as an ex public school teacher).
3. There is always someone to help with learning, schooling, housework, and whatever is going on.
4. Younger siblings see their older siblings as their heroes and best friend while the older children see the younger siblings as so cute and sweet blessings. They help each other. There are no public school "cool" mentalities of looking down on or belittling younger siblings (another wonderment of the public school "socialization).
5. There is always so much fun going on, never a dull moment, as we enjoy one another talking together, playing together, and working together.
6. I love going out on special times together, sweeping the children out for midnight ice cream, a movie, a special treat, or an especially early breakfast together with just mom (dad loves to do it, too).
7. I always have a sweet hug, surprise neck rub, or a special picture given to me as a gift from these blessings. I am first in their hearts, not their teachers (my daughter just smothered me with wet kisses as I am typing this).
8. I am so glad that in having so many children and homeschooling them has changed from an uptight, perfectionistic person into a more easy going, fun loving, and relaxed person-they have helped make me a better person (a more selfless, self sacrificing-I guess you could say that God gave them to me to do this).
9. Having so many children has blessed others around me as I love to see how they brighten other people's faces with their kind words, smile, helpful hands, or hugs (we get so many compliments from strangers about the children).
10. Having so many children and homeschooling them has been a way of life every day as we get to explore and learn together, enjoying one another and treasuring our time together. As we learn together, I get the privilege of enjoying all day teaching them reading, writing, math, etc., and watching that light bulb go on when they understand, such excitement.
Children are a blessing from the Lord, and I am thankful to Him for the blessing of getting to teach them. Giving so much to little ones might wear the body out a bit, but it never wears the heart out because they always give so much back!
P.S. I found this cute page on fruitfulfamily, a fun blog to visit. I might have copied it to small so be sure to stop by her blog to see it.
Jun. 11, 2007 - My Soon to Be New (Van Gogh) Mug and Tea
Okay, you are going to laugh at me. I am sooo excited, yeah!!! I finally found a replacement for my 20 ounce mug. I almost cried this week when a very wonderful souvenir of my romantic weekend, the only one we had since our wedding fifteen years ago, broke. I poured hot water into it, and it busted with the water running out of the crack. It was a heart warming reminder of the weekend trip that my husband and I had together two years ago. It brought back memories of the fun trip, and the friends who all scrapped enough money together to give us the trip as a gift, even the babysitting. When it broke, I was so sad. Then today, as a blessing from God (I think), I stumbled onto a website that sells 20 ounce mugs with the beautiful paintings of Vincent VanGogh on the mug. How exciting!! Even though I am a bit sad about losing the old mug, I get to create some new memories with one of my favorite painter's works while I teach the children outside in the sunshine this summer. Here is the link for those of you big tea drinkers, like myself. Oh, by the way, do you wonder what I like as a tea? BIG MUG LINK
For those of you who love the effects of coffee but not the headaches, here is the tea for you. It is the Mate Factor by Yerba Mate Captain's Dark Roast organic. It will give you a wonderful pick and not make you feel guilty for enjoying it. It is so healthy that I heard that it is used for cancer patients. It has chlorophyll, vitamins A, B,C, E, iron, magnesium, potassium, etc. It speeds up the metabolism and curbs the appetite (which is great for my past sugar addictions). Anyway, try some of it when you come to visit with me next time. I know you will enjoy it. You can find it in the health food stores or a local international food store. It is from South America. Let me know if you get to enjoy it with me.
Feb. 24, 2007 - Finding Peace in the Midst of the Storms
Homeschooling this week was more difficult than ever. There were so many different family emergencies, unexpected things that came up, unexpected things to take care of...My body is a wreck from coffee in the morning and fast preparation food. My husband took me to the mall today, and he bought a bunch of Bath and Body works scented oils, lotions, plug ins, etc. for me. Oh, he knows me well! That stuff has such a soothing effect on my nerves. Hubby told me that the Arab men consider it a man's job to perfume the houses, linens, and such. They mix their own oils and spices. He said that they fragrance things so strongly that you can smell the fragrances from afar. I laughed and told him that I would really like him doing that for me. Isn't that interesting about the Arabs? Anyway, I so appreciated him helping me to get through the stresses in our family. I love it when he also sits and talks to me in the evening. He has done a lot of that this week. (He never used to do this in the younger years of our marriage, but the sweetness of the years of marriage seem to rippen a marriage in ways I never knew would). Anyway, he really helped me this week.
The Lord has also helped me through this week's stresses. I felt like the Lord impressed on me to just focus on the moment and try and see the blessings in it. For instance, when Hannah cut her head open by hitting a new light pole in the park on our first family sled ride (blood spewed all over the place and I almost hit two cars on the way to the ER) God showed me that He answered our prayers and quickly clotted the cut just as we prayed as we drove. The nurses were really surprised that the large cut had clotted like it did. God also reminded me that Hannah could have died, but He spared her life (not to mention preventing almost two car accidents on the way to the hospital). God was there in the midst of the storm. There was a blessing there. God also reminded me that He was there for us this week when I was verbally attacked at the court house (I just went to get some records changed only to find very hostile people that felt threatened by my many children. But, God was there. The secretary reminded me that it was a matter of a cold heart that I was attacked. She really encouraged me to ignore all the rude remarks. She said that it was all a matter of people's cold hearts. Wasn't that beautiful? My husband told me God had her there at that moment for me. There was a blessing in the midst of the storm. Another stress were the neighbor girls. This week the neighbor girls that came to my house to play with my girls. My daughter came into the house in a very sad demeanor. She said the neighbor girls said that we are not mostly made of water but of food and their mom, me, lies to them and doesn't teach them right (guess they missed that science lesson in ps). So, I had a discussion with the girls about the scripture in which God says not to argue with a fool. However, it was hard for me to deal with my anger towards those girls. I am still trying to forgive. There was a blessing in the midst where I didn't see it. My girls are learning how to exemplify Christ to the unlovely, and they are learning how they can really rely on each other as better friends that what the world has to give them (all that peer pressure stuff). I could continue of telling many more distractions this week, distractions from homeschooling....Oh, but the Lord was there. He was there through my husband, he was there through other people, and He was there to speak quietly to my heart late at night. . I am so glad we serve a God that quiets the storm. The storm still may rage on, but He says, "Peace be still." He quiets our hearts, mind, and gives us rest in the midst of the storm. What an awesome God we serve.
So, I pray that you will have peace right now if you are also going through a storm this week or next week. Know God is there to carry you through.
