Wednesday, April 2, 2008 - Time Flies
Wow, I cannot believe it has been so long since I have written anything. I always seem to have intentions or plans to do so much and seem to accomplish so little. There are so many things going on right now, most of which are probably boring yet important.
My oldest son just turned 9. He is almost as tall as me now. :) It has been a good year homeschooling. I must admit to having more than a few moments where I doubted myself. But it seemed that each time that happened God would bring someone into my life to help me remember why we started homeschooling. I am certainly thankful that he knows what he is doing, as most of the time I seem clueless.
What brought me back here today was the thought of starting a prayer journal for myself and our children. I also want to help my son work on his blog, I think it would be good for him.
Do you ever find yourself wanting totally different things at the same time. Like sometimes I wish we lived in a remote area in which the pace of life was slower and maybe we could have a farm or live in the mountains. Then at the same time I am thinking about the benefits of living in a slightly congested suburban area. I was recently talking with a friend who is from Maine, she said it is beautiful there, and so peaceful and quiet and calm. But they do not have many homeschoolers, are a very Democrat area, and there are very few open Christians there. She cannot get over the opportunties we have here as homeschoolers (i.e. groups, parks, co-ops, field trips, park days,etc.)
I don't know, I am just rambling I guess. If you talked to me in person you would see that I am usually thinking of about five things at one time and tend to ramble sometimes.
I wish that I could offer advice or some witty sayings that might brighten your day, but I have nothing right now. So if you are reading this, I hope that you have a very blessed and happy day.
Goodnight...
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Tuesday, January 1, 2008 - It's a new year...
One of the great things about the arrival of a new year is; time for recollection. My husband and I were talking about this past year, if we had known what was in store for us when it started I would have asked for more time. Within the first three months of the year we had both of our cars totaled, our house was on the market, my husband lost his job, our new (used) car broke down and needed a transmission within the first two weeks, the first transmission we put in was bad so we had to get another.
We kept our house on the market knowing that if we were meant to move God would make it happen. But there is nothing like a constant set of failures and set-backs to make you really break down. I thought I had released it all to God until the last straw with the transmission being bad...I broke down and just cried out to God. Such freedom comes from that. My husband was hired back with the same company, our house sold and we moved.
We sat in our house this Christmas and that was when it really hit me...a year ago there was no way we could have even guessed we would be here. It makes me wonder what is in store for this year. If we did not have God in our lives then i would be terrified thinking about it. But I know that whatever happens, he is in control. That gives way to peace.
My husband was off work for 5 days straight and it was the best time we have had together in such a long time. I cannot remember the last time (my husband works 6 days a week 10-12hrs). We stayed home and just played and relaxed and had so much quality family time. It was wonderful. This is what I am praying for the new year. More quality time with our family and with God.
If anyone is reading this, I pray that you will have a blessed year.
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Sunday, December 2, 2007 - Christmas
Since I was a little girl, Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year. We do not celebrate "Santa" and our children have pretty much always known that he is not real. It was very important for me that they be told the truth about this and that they understand the true meaning of Christmas.
That being said; my youngest is a true child at heart and asked me if we could decorate with some Santa items and he kind of wished he was real. I guess deep inside, most of us probably feel the same. A magic way to get the things we want. 
I am trying to teach them the magic of the season though, and how special our gift was...Jesus.
I get myslef into states of confusion though. I try to organize and plan things out, and in doing so it seems to take some of the specialness out of it. But then when I don't make any plans it seems there are so many things undone. I am trying to find a good balance this year.
I made an advent calendar but am already thinking of maybe chucking it, except the kids seem to like the idea.
One thing that has already come home to me this season...remembering how important God and true friends are.
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Thursday, November 8, 2007 - Wow...It's been a while
Do you ever let things slide knowing that you will get to them one day, then to turn around and realize that one day has been a LONG time? That happens to me a lot. Going back and even reading my original blogs was refreshing, kind of like seeing an old friend.
Where has the time gone? It seems that everyday is so busy; I never accomplish everything that I want to. When I step forward in one area I fall behind two steps in another.
We have been able to focus on God and our family more recently. Sort of, we have not been to church on a regular basis for a while. This bothers me, but we still talk with God everyday and have some really great bible study at home. The boys are getting to an age in which they are able to put things into better perspective and can see the difference that knowing God can make.
We have also developed a new thing; every Sunday afternoon is family day. I put several activities into a bowl and each week we take turns picking one activity and do that together. It really helps for us to pick a time to focus on just us. Even though we are together so much, it is not always "together".
What's been going on here, let's see...
I met my father for the first time last fall and since then we talk at least once a month. I also try to go and see his mother once a month. She lives about 40 minutes from me. I find myself wishing we had connected earlier.
My youngest played baseball this fall...it was just him this time and he truly enjoyed it. Now they are in cub scouts and are having a blast. We went on a camping trip a few weeks ago and really had fun. It was DH first time, and despite his concerns even he had a good time. He met other parents and came home talking about getting some real camping gear.
We are part of two co-ops this year, though one is just for field trips and fellowship. The other meets every week and can be tiresome for me, but both of my boys enjoy it so much and have really started to make friends. It is also a really good extra for them...they take Geography, Logic, Slimy Science, Drama, P.E. and field trips of course.
Our school year is going very well, though we are not getting everything done that I had originally planned. That is okay though, I am flexible enough to make changes as we need to. Our biggest change this year was to separate their school time. We used to combine History and Science, now the only thing we combine is Art and maybe an occasional project. This again is more time consuming for me, but I can see the benefits for them. My youngest loves school, sometimes he feels shy about it. My oldest struggles in some areas and does not love school. By giving them their own time they are each able to go at their own pace without inhibitions.
I know there is so much more going on, but I doubt anyone is reading this anyway and I am tired now. This is probably more journal for me than anything. I will try not to ignore it for so long again.
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Tuesday, September 26, 2006 - I love homeschooling...
I was talking with some parents this weekend and they were talking about how hard it is to go on vacation during the school season. They went last week, but they had a lot of hassle from the teachers and the administrative office. I could not believe it...
Our school days goes something like this:
I work late in the evenings so our mornings are very relaxed. We typically get up around 9:00 and eat breakfast shortly thereafter. Then my youngest (1st grade) start school while my older one (2nd grade) watchs some educational tv or plays with games (puzzles, toys, etc...). My youngest works on his math and language arts then we all school together for science, history, and art. Then we switch and my oldest works on his math and language arts.
We usually try to go to the park at least one day a week, and we are currently part of two homeschool co-ops so that takes up part of the week.
But other than appts that we might have, we have pretty relaxed days. Today we left the dentist and had some time before co-op so we went to eat lunch. I thought lets go to a restaurant and enjoy ourselves. My oldest commented "I'm the biggest kid in here" to which I said that's because the other kids are in school. He just started smiling...
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Sunday, September 24, 2006 - Rainy day update
God heard my cries...the rain went away and the sun came out. Just proves again that man is not the final judge on weather or anything in life for that matter.
We did go on a small hike together and even went letterboxing again. I think my husband enjoyed seeing the boys find it.
My rainy day blues washed away...thank you God!!!
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Sunday, September 24, 2006 - Rainy day...
It's Sunday and the forecast is 100% chance of rain...bummer. We had planned to go hiking today as a family. It seems that we so seldom get to do things like that together...but I am praying that we will be able to do it later.
I guess we might try to have an indoor family game day instead. DH is not really fond of games so we will see how long he will be able to last with us. He grew up in another country and does not really understand some of the things that we want to do. He tries, but most things just do not interest him. This makes it hard sometimes...and me a little sad sometimes. But I try to remember that I can not change him and it is impossible to live up to every expectation that I might have. I feel blessed that he is dependable, does not drink and is home all the time (except when traveling for work). And I know there are things he wishes were different about me...
He does support our homeschooling, which is a blessing...I have heard of many that are struggling about the issue. We just read an article about hsing families in
Our family pretty much agrees with our decision, at least they do not fault us...except maybe my m-inlaw, but she is trying. Most people in our family however are not Christians, which can be difficult at times while at other times it can be realistic of the world. My mother for instance is having relationship problems and my son asked the other day "why does nana keep getting hurt" and I replied "because she does not know God in her heart". He has decided to keep praying for her, I think it really helped him to see it in that perspective.
Sometimes it is so hard in this world...when my boys are out there with others (i.e. baseball, parks, etc..) my oldest especially has such love for people that he can not understand why someone would not like him. He runs right up to other children and starts playing, but because most children have an older (worldly mature) personality that they sometimes think he is...different. In any case, we have had a few instances of hurt feelings...but I guess that is part of life too, learning that not everyone is nice. :-)
I am praying for our family to become stronger with the Lord, it seems that too many times I feel as though I am leading everything in that direction. And I know that I am not strong enough to carry that burden successfully. But I know the Lord does not give up on us, and I will not either.
Well, I guess there was not much in here about hsing this time...but it is Sunday...
Have a blessed day!
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Friday, September 22, 2006 - Letterboxing
My oldest son has complained recently that we do not do enough "fun" stuff together. I guess from his perspective he may be right, I feel that I am always doing things with them...baseball, hsing, cooking, fiedl trips, etc...
But like I mentioned in my recent post, there has been a heaviness in my heart recently and I knew that it was transparent to them. So, we decided to spend the day together and go on an adventure. Hence, the letterboxing; this was our first time and we really enjoyed it.
We found clues online and then went on about a 2 mile hike to find the box. I think they were beginning to doubt it existed, but they were so excited when we actually found it. The look on thier faces made me forget about the hike back to the car. Then we had a nice picnic lunch and for once I was not timing everything saying "let's hurry up guys". It was a very nice day.
God also answered my prayer last night. My husband and I have been having several "discussions" recently about communication and the fact that I need him to pay attention to my words. Well, when I got home from work last night we sat up for a while and just talked. I was able to tell him some of my concerns and he ACTUALLY listened. It was very nice, he did not give me the answers to everything but then I did not want him to. I just needed to know that he heard me and that he cares.
So it seems that between the talk last night and the very enjoyable day; I am feeling better than I have in quite a while.
Thank you God!
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Thursday, September 21, 2006 - My first day to blog...
A friend of mine directed me to this site, and I must agree that it is somewhat therapeutic...being able to express my thoughts with other moms.
I am mom to two ds (5&7), both whom I love dearly and am very thankful for. As I mentioned in my title, one of the great things about children is that they teach us as well. Their pure and innocent take on life teaches me what it really means to enjoy many of God's blessings. Life can get so hectic (frequently) that they remind me to slow down.
Right now there are many things going on in my life and I am experiencing heaviness in my heart. I know that this passes on to the children and I am praying for clarity on exactly what is causing this and how I can better handle it.
I do not know how interesting this might be, but it does seem to help to "put it to paper".
Thanks for reading and have a blessed day!
