Our first day of school went GREAT! It was awesome. My girls did a great job, worked hard and put 110% into it. We are really looking forward to this coming year.

In two weeks, they are also starting piano lessons! I can hardly believe it. After two years of them begging, their dream is finally coming true. The Lord has wonderfully worked it out. So thankful for His goodness!

First Day of School:

Rain.

Oh and I forgot to mention on my last post about what we are doing this year. We are continuing to do our daily weather report. We have pocket board that we keep track of the week's weather.

I am so excited for school to start tomorrow, I LOVE homeschooling with a passion! I am so glad that I have this oppurtunity to be the one to teach my children. The Lord has blessed me so!

This year Jordyn is joining McKenzie in the First Grade and I have never seen a girl so excited to get going. She loves learning and I can't wait to see what happens this year. We are starting a couple new things this year that look like they will be a great learning experience. Here they are:

1. I found this awesome book called A Page-A-Day. It has over 300 pages of weird facts, important dates, famous dates, birthdays and not-so-trivial events for every day of the school year! We will be using this book twice a week.

2. We have a science class this quarter that is going to be about tools, the history of tools and how to use tools. Looks like alot of hands on work and fun!

3. Learning about more about tithing, saving, giving to charity etc...

So those are the main things that we will be doing new this year and this Fall. We can't hardly wait and I will give a update on our first day of school tomorrow night hopefully!

Don't tell anyone...but I am leaving for the weekend! YAH!!!!

A friend of mine asked if I could join her, her daughter and her daughter's friend for a camping trip to the coast. Yippee!

I think the kids suspect....they are being....well....ornery! LOL Not really, they are just making me work for it! LOL

The summer is moving quite along nicely so far. We got back from our vacation last week. This past week has had ALOT of things going on. There is one that I am not going to mention till next week as we are waiting on details there. However, I have been keeping busy this week working for a couple friends to get some spending money. Me, a friend and her daughter and friend are going to go to the coast this weekend! I can hardly wait, we will be gone for THREE WHOLE DAYS! My hubby is so sweet to let me go get some time for fun. They are going to be going to the Grower's Market and doing fun stuff like that.

Me? I am going to relax, enjoy some quiet time and rejuvinate.

What are you up to so far this summer?

I can't believe that I am about to say this.....

Summer break bores me. There. I said it.

Okay, so I have to admit that I am not planning much in the next 6 weeks. For three main reasons: 1) I only have about two weeks to get things in order around here until my parents get here. 2) We will be spending two weeks with my parents. NO need for entertainment there, nana and papa are enough! Although I did find out that there will be this cool free family activity that we could do as a family. 3) We will be going on vacation to our church camp for two weeks. So the next few weeks are pretty much going to go by.

However, after that, we will need to find some entertaining and learning experiences for the rest of the summer! We are not sure what to do with ourselves with all this free time!

 (Walking downtown!)

I had to show pics of my silly girls and the things that capture their attention:

J showing her sisters what she found...

So through the summer, I decided that we would school one day a week. For numerous reasons; to keep them on target with what they have learned, to help my third daughter get ready for preschool and just to have some regularity to our week.

I thought that I might have to drag it out of them, but they are actually having fun with it and wanting to do it. In fact, they will wake up and remind me that it is the day to have schoolwork!

I love homeschooling with my kids! They are such a wonder and I sure enjoy them.

I was talking with my grandma today about mothers and their children. We were talking about how sad it was that we both had heard several mothers saying how they can't wait to get away from their kids! I have heard more than one mother tell me that they can't wait till their children go to school, camp, whatever so that they don't have to deal with them. Don't they realize that they have their children for such a short period of time? Before they know it, their kdis will be grown and gone. If they don't spend time with them now, why are their kids going to want to spend time with them later? There will be no bond there.

Don't get me wrong. I am not on a homeschooling kick. I am on a parents-spend-time-with-your-kids kick! I would love to see moms enjoy their kids. To want to spend time with them and look forward to an afternoon alone with them instead of dreading the fact that school got out early or that the babysitter called and can't make it. I don't know how to help moms change their attitude towards their children. One thought I had was to pray for your children. Ask the Lord to give you a love for them and a desire to spend time with them.

Anyway....stepping off my soapbox now! LOL

Have a great week!

Today is the last day of school for my older two. Looking back, I feel that it has been a successful year. McKenzie is doing so much better with reading, has learned alot of neat things in science and health and her math is excelling.

Jordyn is reading now, quite well, I might add! She is learning how to add and subtract. She excels in both of these! Her papers hardly need to be corrected and I am wondering how I will keep her busy mind going this Fall! She wants to do more and more schoolwork all the time!

Sierra is excited to start Preschool this Fall. It seems to be all that she can talk about!

Shelby is happy to be tagging along after her sisters. She can sing the ABC song and count to about 13. She learned that herself! Nice having three older sisters!

Well, that is about it. Looking forward to having fun this summer. My parents are coming in about a month. Then we will all be heading to Campmeeting for a couple weeks! Can't wait!

Hope that you are having a winderful week!

Heidi

I just realized the other day that there is only a week of school left! One week! This is crazy! I am sure it even sounds crazier to say that I am looking forward to summer! I know most parents dread summer because they have to "entertain" their kids or whatever. 

 I am looking forward to having some fun day trips and walking excursions. We are hoping to make a bunch of day trips to the coast with some friends of ours this summer.  Plus, my parents will be here in a little over a month and the time between now and then will be jam-packed with things to do. Both with preparing for their coming and just things happenening. This weekend there is a carwash, the big girls birthday party and our family reunion! Whew. Then the next week I am hoping to paint a couple rooms and Jordyn's graduation from Kindergarten! Then it is Memorial Day Weekend and all the fun of that. Then I am babysitting for a week for a friend of mine, both animals and kiddos, so that will keep us busy!

Anyway, I am looking forward to some fun around these parts!

Last night we moved everything out of the living room and Peter steam-cleaned the loving room, schoolroom and hallway between. It looks SO much niver. We really should have done it sooner, but somehow it just never happened.

Oh, one last school thing. I wonder how many out there school year round and is it worth it? I decided that this summer we are going to school one day a week. My oldest has such a hard time getting back into school after she has had any type of break. Even if it is just a week or so. So I decided that we will work on some things this summer so that we are not rusty and hopefully avoid that drag that happens in the Fall.

Well, I talked/cried to hubby last night. After writing that blog and praying, I realized that I just need to take time for myself, time for me and hubby to spend time together.

Homeschooling really has nothing to do with my problem other than my kids being home all the time. I am not frustrated with homeschooling, that is going great. I am frustrated with going 24/7 with no break and no time to call my own.

Homeschooling is what the Lord has called our family to do. So we need to learn to work with it and figure out how it will work healthily for our family and for my sanity! LOL

Anyway, I am feeling much better today. I have a headache from crying so much last night! LOL

I have to say that I am so thankful for my family and I would not want my life to be any other way than how it is. I am praying for the Lord to help us work this out and start taking more time for ourselves as a couple. As well as allowing me time to myself to rejuvenate.

I don't know that anyone will ever read these blogs, but it sure helps to get it out!

Okay...to all out there. First of all, don't get the wrong impression. I LOVE homeschooling, it is the best decision that we have ever made. Unless God asked us to give it up, we plan on doing it till all our kiddos have graduated.

However......sigh..

How do you moms out there cope without getting a break? Or do you get breaks? Do you get time out to yourself or to go hang out with a friend? I don't mean staying up late to do the laundry or going grocery shopping childless, cause that is STILL work!

Am I the only one out there who wouldn't mind getting a break every now and then?

I have heard so many times "Moms should always take time out for themselves so they don't burn out." Not even talking about homschooling moms who literally have their kiddos 24/7, that is just your everyday ordinary mom.

When does "she" do it? When do you do it? What do you do? Do you get away once a week, a month, a year?

Recently a question went out to one of my Yahoo! groups asking what we did with the last hour that we had to ourselves. I seriously can't remember having a hour to myself in the last 6 months to a year.

The past few days have worn on me. Don't get me wrong. I have great kids! I have a great husband. However, he works all day and then comes home to do college. The kids are great, respectful, loving and sweet. However, even the greatest kids can wear on your nerves when you haven't had a moment to yourself.

Am I making sense or am I just sounding like a whining mother that needs to grow up? Not sure that I want anyone to answer that!

We live right next door to the church so this afternoon I went over there with the excuse of getting something done. (Which I did, BTW!) However, as soon as I walked in the sanctuary of that quiet building, I bust out crying. I am SO tired and my nerves are shot. Thankfully after a few minutes of sobbing, I felt much better. circumstances have certainly not changed, but there was a peace there that wasn't before.

So I just want to know if I am the only one that feels clastraphobic sometimes? Am I the only one that wonders when she will get a hour to herself again.

Seriously....the only thing I would LOVE to have for Mother's Day is a few hours to myself. I don't need chocolate, flowers or anything else. Just time. Time to regrow my nerves. Time to rejuvenate my spirit and time to just call my OWN.

If you got this far in my whining blog, you are awesome!

I worked for my grandpa today...took Jordyn to and from school in between working. Rushed home to babysit for a friend and my SIL....I am still babysitting...and I get to get up early and race to work for my grandpa again in the morning.

I am tired.

Oh and we were homeschooling too.

Enjoying your day? I am! Even though we have been busy all morning with grocery shopping, cleaning, dealing with grumpy kiddos and in all just enjoying time with my family. Saturdays are such a great time with my hubby and kiddos.

In a hour or so I am going to my grandma's hosue to help her clean it for company that she has coming next week. She has not been feeling too good and is worried about having her house clean.

McKenzie is working on her end of the school year project. It is to collect postcards or other things from as many different places in the world that she can. So if you want to help us out, then send me a note and I will ge your our address. Plus, we have something to send back to anyone who sends us something!

Well, I need to scoot. Hoping and praying that everyone is having a wonderful day!

I can't believe that it is May already! Where have the last 4 months gone to? Looking at my calendar, it is jam packed this month. There is the last month of school to keep on track with, a family reunion, a Tea Party at church, youth activities, car wash....oh goodness, who knows what all else that I have forgotten to put on my calendar!

Tonight me and my oldest daughter had a little end of the year field trip. Joining us was my friend and her oldest daughter which is McKenzie's best friend. We walked downtown and visited all the stores. On the fist Friday of every month. THey have what is called First Friday Art Night. All the stores stay open till 9 or 10 and there is free stuff, art, singers, bands, all kinds of different things. We had so much fun window shopping and checking out all the fun things. Plus, McKenzie helped me pick out a couple birthday presents for her and her sister this month. I know, a little unusual! But she thought it was so cool that she was helping pick out for her sister and I let her pick out for herself too. She picked out those Playmobile people sets. They are like a cross between Legos and Dollhouse people. Really neat. They are a new thing for our family and I think that they will stick!

Well, I am going to scoot and read what everyone else has been up to!

I cannot believe this! Nothing but good news in the mail! How often does that happen??? No bills, just good news!!!

One envelope was a letter from my hubby's school letting him know that his loan approval and scholarships went through!!! Praise the Lord, no money to come up with on short notice!

Then there was a second envelope with a card in it from my mom's group that I have not been able to be a very active part of this year and it had a gift certificate for the grocery store with $50 on it!

Can you believe how great God is?

Ever want to know what it is like to crack your head on a bunkbed? Let me tell you, it hurts! BAD!  I was trying to lay down one of my kiddos quietly and not wake her up, she had fallen asleep in the van. Well, when I leaned way over, I cracked my head on the bottom of the top bunkbed....MAN that hurt! I have a big ole' owie and a sore head now. Ah well. At least my little one stayed asleep!

You know what I love about homeschooling? Flexibility, that's what! The past two days I have been working for my grandpa and my oldest has been doing her schoolwork right on Grandma's kitchen table just as good as can be. I am very proud of her!

I felt bad for her yesturday. Her younger sister that is in Kindergarten is going bowling tomorrow for a field trip. Originally, her K teacher said that McKenzie could go on the field trip also. But I went to take Jordyn to school and there was this big sign that said, NO SIBLINGS ALLOWED underneath the sign for the field trip. So I had to break it to a disappointed older daughter. However we came up with a cool field trip to do with just the two of us! So we are looking forward to doing that next week.

I would love to hear what other families do for field trips. If you have any ideas or great things that you have done, please drop me a note and tell me about them! Thanks!

So much has happened in the past week, that I am not sure that I can remember them all, but I am certainly going to try!

So, we have been feeling a little pressed financially. They have cut back Peter's hours to the bare minumum and I haven't had any work from my grandpa to help ease the burden. So we have been really feeling it and spending ALOT of time trusting the Lord! Which is a good thing, a growing thing.

The Lord is good and merciful. Wednesday, my grandpa let me know that there is work in the horizon, Praise The Lord!

Then, like I wrote before, someone came and delivered a meal to our house Thursday night! Still have no clue who!

Friday dawned bright and early, with too many bills and not enough paycheck. But God saw fit to give Peter a bonus that helped pay for the bills that needed to be paid! I was also able to babysit for a friend and earn some money to pay the last bill that needed to be paid this week!!!

Isn't God good???

Now praises for His safekeeping:

On the way home from Special Meetings in Eureka, CA. One of the church vans got in a wreck. It was a horrible wreck and by all means, someone should not have made it. In fact, the police said that there are rarely any wrecks there, but when there are, there are deaths. In fact, last year on that same corner they lost four young people. So God was merciful!

Oh and I forgot, one of the girls that was in the van when it wrecked said that she prayed when the wreck happened and gave her heart to the Lord!!!! The best blessing of all!

One more praise for God's protection:

One of the moms stood up in church today and told us that her son that is in Iraq was hit with a grenade in the leg! Made my mothers heart clench! The good news is that he appears to be doing well and is in the hospital for now. She was supposed to find out more this afternoon.

Is that everything? I think it is! Maybe not, but I can always add it later!

Just so thankful that the Lord knows and cares!