Wordle Fun!

I came across this really fun website, called Wordle! It scans your blog and puts together a cloud of words - the biggest words are the most frequently used, going down to the smallest, least frequently used. This is what it made for me when I entered in my blog address (you can click on it to see it bigger):

I had so much fun with it!

Wordless Wednesday

"Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, As the droplets on the fresh grass And as the showers on the herb."
Dueteronomy 32:2

Mondays at the Well - Raising Boys

I like to check in on a blogroll for women called "At the Well - In Pursuit of Titus 2". This week, the theme is actually the verses in Titus 2 directed toward men, and how to raise up Godly young men:

"...encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us."
Titus 2:6-8

Lori, from "I will take it Lord, all You have to give", the host for this week, asked some very specific questions:

As a woman at the well, you'll be meeting women who are trying to raise Godly men. These boys they are raising will grow up to marry your daughters or become leaders in your community.

What advice would you give to them?

If you are raising boys, what areas concern you most? If don't have or haven't raised boys, what is your concern for boys in today's culture?

If you are raising girls, what is your prayer for the "boys" in her life?

And as I've thought about these questions, the biggest realization that has come to me is how much having boys has taught me about the Lord - and how small my own wisdom is in regard to raising these future men. I really feel that I don't have any advice to offer, but lots to glean from more experienced, wiser women.

I have learned (and am learning daily) that being a mom really, truely does require giving my children back to the Lord. There are SO many areas of life that await a young man in this world which concern me. I could fret and worry and stress, all day and all night, about what the future holds for my precious blessings, and often I do.

What I need to do more of is pray - Release them to the Lord in prayer, trust Him for His perfect plan for each of their lives, and then obey Him as He leads me to mother them in the way He lays out for me. I also pray for my husband, as their main role model of a Godly man and husband. And then I love them, and allow the love of the Lord shine through my love and service to them. Those are the only things *I* can do to raise my boys to be men who love and serve the Lord - the rest is in His hands.

I can assure you, however, that a mother's influence in the lives of her sons is no small thing - I greatly understand the weight of my presence - which is one of the biggest reasons I stay at home and we homeschool. But there is no burden too heavy for the Lord, and I know that He is with me along this journey of raising little boys into full grown men. And without Him, it is impossible. "With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God." Mark 10:27

Keeping Home

Let's talk housekeeping. Housekeeping is NOT my favorite activity. It has taken years for me to really get a semi-decent grasp on managing everything, and even now, I have a way to go before I can honestly say that my home is run as efficiently as it could be. But I am thankful that the Lord continues to teach me and encourage me. In fact, recently, the Lord has laid alot on my heart regarding housekeeping. No, its not some weighty, spiritual matter, but its important, even to Him!

First, why is housekeeping important? It seems so menial, repetitive, and sometimes pointless! Plain and simple, its important because God says it is:

• All of Proverbs 31 demonstrates the ways in which a woman enriches, oversees, blesses, and takes care of her home and the ones living within it
• "The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down." Proverbs 14:1
• "...encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored." Titus 2:4-5
• "Therefore, I want younger widows to get married, bear children, keep house, and give the enemy no occasion for reproach…" 1 Timothy 5:14

Notice that three of those come with warnings about what happens when women are not taking up these tasks! We can tear down our house, the Word of God can be dishonored, and we can give the enemy occasion for reproach when we are not striving to fulfill God's purposes and responsibilities for us as women! Scary! That is some serious responsibility! But He does not leave us ill-equipped.

God created the home to be a place of ministry - to our families and to others through hospitality. Is my husband blessed by having clean laundry for work? Yes! Do my children see and learn love and sacrifice as we work together to clean up messes? Yes! Can I welcome others in for a well-cooked meal and fellowship if I don't have to be embarrassed by the disarray of my home? Yes! Does chaos interfere with peace? Yes! You see, housekeeping itself is a ministry, allowing the work and love of the Lord to increase and produce fruit.

I wanted to share some homekeeping tips I've learned (and am learning) along the way. First and foremost, the most important secret to housekeeping is... DO IT! Don't be lazy!! Just get up and do it, with an attitude that praises the Lord - "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord..." Colossians 3:23.

Put on some praise and worship music, or a good teaching CD, or whatever energizes you, and get to work! Really, nothing else matters if you don't get up and get it done! You can create cleaning schedules, make lists, be overwhelmed by the mess, rant and rave that your husband is a slob... but none of that matters if you're not actively taking part in doing your job! Lately I've gotten into the habit of stopping myself whenever I start thinking "I'm bored"or looking for ways to entertain myself... I think "what can I do to bless my family?". It takes me outside of my selfishness and puts me into the mindset of serving others, as the Lord would have it.

That being said... a few practical pointers are also good for those like me who feel completely inept and clueless when it comes to housekeeping.

Decluttering is good. If its broken beyond repair, doesn't fit anymore, hasn't been used in 6 months or more, or you've completely forgotten you even own it - toss it or give it away! The less things you have, the less there is to clean up!

The old saying "A place for everything and everything in its place" is very true. Get organized. Work on finding an efficient place for your essentials. We don't have a linen closet, so I am working on getting some under-the-bed totes for sheet sets in the boys room. Creating storage space is really helpful - but remember how important decluttering is, too! Don't just store away clutter to get it out of sight! ;-)

Get help! LEARN about what kind of things make housekeeping easier! There are tons of email lists, Flylady and Menus4Moms are two. There are books galore! One I am reading right now is"Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House" Find a Titus 2 mentor, an older woman who can give you some hints and pointers. Routines are good, lists are good... discover and learn what will work best for you, and put it into practice!

Finally, fix your attitude! Instead of seeing it as drudgery, find joy in it! Take hold of the truth that your home is a blessing and a place of worship, ministry, and love. Bless your family! Serve the Lord in all things, including the things that seem small or trivial! "Do all things without grumbling or disputing" Philippians 2:14

Here are some quotes from today's Revive Our Hearts Radio progam that inspired me:

How do we help give woman a vision for the value, the purpose, and the importance of being homemakers—whether they’re working outside their home or not—making their home a place that brings glory to God? Why is homemaking such an important thing for women to learn and understand today?

Why does God care if a woman has homemaking skills? Because the home was the first institution that was created by God.

...for a woman to be a homemaker is really fulfilling a huge part of God’s purpose for her life.

...the way they keep their home—and the way they give it their attention and their best effort and their skill—is a reflection of, first, their obedience to God’s Word.

...it’s a way that I’m a steward of my gifts and abilities.

... it’s a way that I demonstrate my love for my family.

But when it comes down to it, to be the wife, the mom, the woman, the homemaker that God intended us to be—it takes the grace of God. The power of the Holy Spirit gives us the desire and the power not just to have a neat house—a non-believer can do that—but to have a house that really draws those that we love and others that come into our home to want to know and love God better. That’s the motive for homemaking.

Amen!

(I wanted to add - while we want a home that blesses the Lord through order and cleanliness, we don't want to go too far overboard and become a tyrant, not letting the children play with anything, losing our tempers over clutter on the counter and so on... our homes and our attitudes are to be a BLESSING toward those around us! So find the balance, maintain the right attitude, and please do see the importance that keeping our home plays in our service for the Lord!)

Elisabeth Elliot on Motherhood

Encouragement to Stay-at-Home Moms, from Elisabeth Elliot:

"'You mean that's all you do? That's all?' As a mother, Your life is given to taking care of people, small ones to begin with, whose wants never seem to cease. Sometimes when your days seem to be wholly taken up with wiping things, dishes and sinks, little runny noses and big, slow tears, you wonder about what fulfillment is supposed to mean for you. You wonder about being, besides the perfect wife and mother the hostess with the mostest, creative, intellectually productive, beautiful, and slowly your dreams seem to evaporate.

You've been listening to what they're telling us nowadays about how important it is to find yourself, express yourself and assert yourself. Maybe you're thinking that you're nothing more than somebody's wife and somebody else's mother, and what kind of a life is that?

There's a tribe in the southern Sudan called Nuers where a woman's name is changed not when she becomes a wife, but when she becomes a mother. She is manpuka, mother of puka. Among the Nuers, being someone's mother is what makes a woman's life meaningful.

2,000 years ago there was another young woman of the Jewish tribe of Judah who understood that truth. The world has never forgotten her, Mary the mother of Jesus, because she was willing to be known as simply someone's mother.

Motherhood is a calling. It's a womanly calling. And let's not be cowed by those who extinguish the light and joy of sexuality by trying to persuade us to forget words like manly and womanly. At the beginning of time when God made the first man and the first woman in His image, He put both under the divine command to be fruitful.

The woman's obedience to that command meant self-giving. First, she gave herself to her husband. He initiated. She responded. Then she gave herself for the life of her child. A woman knows in the deepest regions of her being that it's this very self-giving for which she was made, single or married.

Her level of maturity is measured by how much she gives to others. If she's married, she gives herself to her husband and she receives. If she's a mother, she loses her life in her child and mysteriously she finds it. A woman knows that no one can really say where the giving ends and the receiving starts.

It's no wonder we're confused when urged to look for some better or higher vocation in which to prove our personhood. No wonder we're distressed to be subjected to male standards or told that the notion of femininity and masculinity are obsolete. Old-fashioned notions they are indeed, but they weren't ours to begin with. They were God's. He planned the whole system, and it's God Himself who calls. He calls some to be single, some married people to be childless, but He calls most women to be mothers.

There are, the Bible tells us, differences of gifts and they're all given according to God's grace. If our calling is to be mothers, let's be mothers with all our hearts-gladly, simply, and humbly, like that little peasant girl Mary, who spoke for all women for all time when she said, 'Behold, the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to Thy word.'"

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

This song has been stuck in my head for a few days now, so I wanted to share it. There are so many versions of it out there, but I like this one alot because of the banjo. Bluegrass style music is a favorite of mine!

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.

Molly Swims

I love the fact that our Lab does exactly what a Lab is supposed to do - swim! And she loves it. I had a Lab mix growing up who was afraid of water (must have been more mix than Lab!), so its so much fun for me to watch Molly enjoy the water. The last time we went on our walk at Stone Mountain, I took some video of the old girl doing what she does best (other than eating, of course).

Fruitful Vines

The True Meaning of Beauty: A Pastoral Letter to Fruitful Vines

Dear Fruitful Vines,

One never knows in God’s mercy and kindness what a simple appeal to a Biblical passage can produce. As I was pondering my last encouragement to you all, I pondered Psalm 128. Verse 3 says, “Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house.” I thought, “You know, instead of saying, ‘Dear pregnant moms,’ maybe, ‘Fruitful Vines,’ instead.” Now “pregnant moms” is a lovely term to me. Nevertheless, from the encouraging replies I received regarding the term Fruitful Vines, it will now be the address of choice!

This also pointed out to me again the importance of words and, especially in our society, of image. You dear sisters have to stand in the checkout lines of Wal-Mart and other stores all the time. Glaring at you are rows of magazines that virtually shout at you, “The Hollywood Harlots are the standard of beauty. You have to look like this, and display that, or you are not beautiful.”

Don’t listen to this. Reject it. Replace this lie with God’s truth.

Some of you mentioned waddling. Some of you mentioned that vines are thin. I was amused. Yet, I was also pierced to my very soul. Our society has made body-sculpting surgeons rich and constantly shoves its artificial, nip-and-tuck, silicone and Botox standard of beauty in your face. Let me tell you something: waddling, as your body bears the children God gave you, is holy. The changes, the aches, the pains, the swelling, the stretch marks, and all the rest-these are all beautiful in the eyes of the Lord and to any man who has his biblical wits about him. It is stunning beauty to see women submitting to the often painful changes that bearing the Lord’s children brings. Being fruitful and multiplying brings glory to the Lord Jesus Christ and is the holy act of bringing God’s elect into this world. Through virgin’s womb, our beloved Savior entered this world. Mary did the most holy waddling that has ever graced the planet. It was not the sultry, sensual sashay of seduction. It was the humble, load-bearing, groaning, aching waddle of the salvation of all God’s elect for all eternity.

Waddle on,groan on, swell up to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ: you are displaying a true and holy beauty to your God and to anyone who has eyes to see.

My beloved wife used to say in her last trimester, “I feel like a beached whale.” I wish I had told her a million times and more, “But you are beautiful to me and to the Lord.” She was then and she is now the delight of my eyes. Dear Vines, there is a beauty in your fulfilling the eternal purpose of God to which all the airbrushed, surgically enhanced bodies on this planet will never compare. Your self-effacing sacrifice displays the glory of your Lord.

Waddle, swell, and groan to glory of your Savior. He knows true beauty when he sees it…

The above article by Jeff Pollard posted at Vision Forum | Doug Phillips Blog

How Observant

The other night, the boys and Michael and I had a "family movie night". We don't have cable TV, so this is a special occasion that happens once or twice a month - we rent a family friendly movie, get some yummy snacks, grab blankets and pillows, sprawl out on the couch and enjoy an evening together. The boys are always excited about what their yummy snack might be, since candy is also rather in rare supply! The treat of the evening was dark-chocolate covered raisins. By the time Michael passed them out, the movie was already started, so he gave out small handfuls in the dark. They each got three small handfuls, spaced out through the movie... and while halfway through the very last handful, Joel says "Hey! I figured something out! These are chocolate raisins!"

Wordless Wednesday

Life is Precious

I know this has been passed around the email circuit for a few years or more, but every time I see it, I am moved to helpless tears. Two things move my heart when I watch it - One is the tragedy of abortion. With modern medical technology, it is easier to tell in advance when a child may be born with disabilities such as these. In many cases, women are urged to end the life of the baby before its birth - all under "humane" pretenses - "the child won't have good quality of life", "the child will never know what its like to be normal".

How utterly heartbreaking to think of these excuses in the light of the fact that God puts value in ALL life - it is precious to Him! He is the creator and holder of life, and life is His gift to us. He knows every person, even before birth, and every life IS valuable! "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb." (Psalm 139:13) Think of all the people who have been blessed by this life which was encouraged to be "put away".

The second thing that is so touching is the amazing love this father has for his son. And even more incredible is that it doesn't even shadow the love our heavenly Father has for us. Its a beautiful testimony, and leaves one wordless in awe.

Please pause the playlist to the right to be able to listen!

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.
Isaiah 40:28-31

Quarantined!

Can anyone guess what this is?



That's right... its Chickenpox! Nathan was acting fussy a few days ago, and over the weekend, these spots showed up on him. After watching them for the past few days, I am sure it is definitely the Chickenpox. They're on his face, back, torso, and diaper area. He's handling it pretty well - cheerful during the day, with only a little fussiness at night, which is when he runs a low-grade fever. So we are in quarantine for a few weeks until it passes through the house. Anyone want to come over for a Chickenpox party?

Some might be wondering why he's got the Chickenpox when there's a vaccination for it. Plain and simple, we didn't vaccinate him against it. Isaac and Ezra both were vaccinated against it, before I knew, that, as a mom, I was actually allowed to question authority and refuse treatment I thought would be unnecessary. By the time Joel came along, I really started questioning all the "new" vaccines that are coming out in droves. Some for diseases I've never even heard of, some for diseases that only people with certain dangerous lifestyles are exposed to, and some for basic childhood illness that everyone before now has gone through and the very large majority of whom survived. Sure enough, there are more and more complications being revealed that these new vaccines have caused, demonstrating that the pharmaceutical companies are using our children as "guinea pigs" and feeding off parental fear to generate revenue.

My biggest concern about the Chickenpox vaccine was that I heard immunity wears off after about 20 years - meaning there will be alot of young adults, women in childbearing age, with ineffective immunity! I'd much rather my children get natural, long-term immunity (especially considering the amount of toxins and chemicals included in vaccines). Also, I recently read an article saying that the vaccine was only proven to be about 44% effective in actually preventing the disease!

Considering those facts, I'm actually interested to see if Isaac and Ezra do get it. From what I've read, it can have an incubation period for up to 3 weeks, and then takes 10-14 days to be fully over... so we'll be home for a while! Feel free to drop by for some good old-fashioned immunity! :-)

How Great Thou Art

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

Words and music by Carl G. Boberg and R.J. Hughes

The Blessings of Budgeting

In my previous post, I explained how the Lord has lead us to be better stewards of the money He's entrusted us with. Now I want to give some examples of how we've been blessed by this method!

Last year, we noticed a really bad leak in our roof. Water would poor in down our fireplace! Michael, by then, was convicted of not using debt, and when we realized how much it would cost, we decided we would just wait until we had the cash to pay for it. We prayed about it, and the Lord kept our roof leak free for several months following that decision! In the spring, Michael earned some extra money from his real estate pursuits (he is an agent and also does some investing), and we decided right away that it was time for a new roof. That very night, the roof started leaking again - we took that as confirmation! By the next weekend, a new roof was on our house and we are again leak-free, and still debt-free. In the past, that extra money would have been owed to someone else already, and not our own to use as needed. Being debt free is *so* important.

Just recently, our Suburban's transmission died. To have it replaced is going to cost us around $2000. In the past, we would have had to borrow that sort of money - from family, or just use the credit card. But because we have been slowly and surely putting a monthly amount of money into our car repair account, plus a little bit of savings, we will also be able to pay for this expense with cash! And we will still have some savings left! Its amazing what a blessing this is, it is absolutely a first for us.

Finally, the biggest way we've been blessed in how free we are to give now. Instead of being under the burden of debt, or barely able to make our own ends meet because of poor management and discipline, we are now in a position to give - freely and generously! On top of our regular tithe, we have been able to bless others with small gifts of encouragement, give to organizations like the local Pregnancy Resource Center, and to ministries across the country and around the world that are blessing others through their outreach. This, by far, is the most rewarding aspect of managing our finances well.

The money that we earn is, like all of our lives, to be used for the glory and in the will of the Lord. Without proper management, this is impossible! I hope that our testimony has encouraged you in your budgeting goals.

How we Budget

This is the first year that I feel we've been able to be good stewards of the money God entrusts us with. Yes! It took 9 years to finally get here, but, praise God! we are chugging along pretty well. I wanted to take some time to explain how we got here and how much of a blessing its been to us.

Our history is something like this - we'd get paid, tithe, get groceries, pay bills, spend the rest of the money on whatever we want, and then live on pennies until next payday. If an emergency came up, we'd struggle through, or resort to using credit. We had very little savings, if any, and were often in debt (although we has a few years here and there without debt, also). We have never been prepared for things like major car repairs, medical bills, etc. Now, it would be easy to say we were just "trusting in God" for His provision, but when that "trusting" ends up being the use of credit cards, or burdening others time and time again (I do think that family and church should be able to help in severe financial crisis! But not like a loan bank!), its not really trusting, and its not being able to bless others like the Lord would want us to, and its not good stewardship. Its just plain irresponsible.

So... last fall, we were lead to Dave Ramsey, and his Total Money Makeover plan. Michael and I both read his books, were convicted of our bad habits, and determined to do better. When the new year started out, we had almost $8000 in credit card debt. With our tax refund and Michael's annual bonus, we paid that off entirely, and were also able to put aside the beginnings of our emergency fund! We also set up a "0 budget" plan, and carried this out using multiple ING savings accounts. That's the cool part - I'll explain!

First, some might wonder what a "0 budget" plan is. That consists of creating a plan so that every single dollar that comes in during a pay period is accounted for. Some for tithing, savings, various annual expenses, bills, and just plain old spending.

What's an annual expense? Things like car expenses, home repair expenses, membership expenses, homeschooling expenses... anything we might need a bigger chunk of money for, if and when expenses arise. I hope that makes sense! What we did, is decide what our annual expenses are, and then break those down into monthly increments. For example, we buy parking passes to Stone Mountain park for both of our cars every year - this is $70/year. That comes to $5.83/month. We budget out $75/month for Molly's food and vet bills. We pay our own escrow on our mortgage, so we put some aside each month for that. Those types of things are annual expenses.

Once we determined what categories we'd need for budgeting, we opened multiple savings accounts in ING Direct. ING is an online bank that offers interest earning checking and savings accounts, with no account minimums. We have found it so easy to use, and really credit alot of our budgeting success to using this method. Each category has a savings account, and we established monthly automatic transfers into each account from our main checking account. So when we get paid, the money automatically gets put into each category... no worry or hassle on our part. Here is what our ING screen looks like when I open it up:


The beauty of this is that not every category gets spent every month. For example, the homeschool account - I don't need money from it every month, so it just builds up... when one school year has ended and we're about to start another, I have a nice accumulation of money that will cover whatever supplies we need, and its been accruing interest! No more scrambling to try to figure out where the money will come from, no more relying on a credit card!

And, because it comes out in small monthly amounts, we don't even notice it being gone! That is the amazing thing! In the past, it always felt like we never had any money - no spending money (because we were so far in debt most of it went towards that, and the rest we were careless with), and no money for important things like homeschool supplies! We felt like we were always broke! When really, it was just poor management, and poor spending habits.

We have been so blessed by being more organized and disciplined in our budgeting, and even more so by being debt-free! In my next post, I'll highlight some of the blessings.

I wanted to add - if you are interested in opening an ING Direct savings or checking account, they have a referral program! Email me (through my profile) your name and email address, and I can send you a referral. If you open an account with a referral, you get a $25 bonus! (And I get $10 - every little bit counts!).

Joel's Alphabet

Slowly but surely, Joel is mastering his alphabet. He can spell and write his own name, as well as pick out the majority of letters from his alphabet puzzle and tell me what they are. Today, Joel was going down a line of letters and said "This is "A", that is "S", this one is "L" and that one there is "snuh""

Snuh? I guess we have a bit more work to do...

I love 3 year olds!

Makeover!

Once again, I have completely changed my look. I finally found a really cute, professional looking, FREE template, that I love! I got it from Simply Fabulous Blogger Templates, and there were SO many to choose from, it was hard to decide! What do you think? :-)

Parched

I have not been feeling very eloquent lately. I've started posts about topics on my heart, but the words just haven't been there, so unfinished and unpublished they sit. I am parched. I feel like my spirit has been through a drought as of late, I thirst for my Lord. And yet, my flesh is like the harsh sun, leaving the soil of my soul dry and cracked...

I am tired of thirsting. I am the woman at the well. Christ sees my struggles, and says to me, "whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life"... but my flesh cries out like the cripple by the pool where the angel stirred the waters, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up..."

Ah... but no man can do this for me. I cannot do this for me. Only the Son of Man, my Lord and Savior, my rock from whom living water springs forth - only He can replenish my spirit and soul. I cling tightly to the hem of His garment as I go through this valley, knowing that still waters and springs of life await me. My God is truly an awesome God, and I will be quenched again with His love and forgiveness. For that, I am thankful.

"They will not hunger or thirst, Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down; For He who has compassion on them will lead them And will guide them to springs of water." Isaiah 49:10

Nathan Turns Out the Light

I've finally figured out how to upload our own videos on to YouTube, hooray! Here's one we took a few nights ago of Nathan. For the background story, at bedtime, I always turn off Nathan's light but leave the ceiling fan on. The night before this video, I had lifted him up to pull the cord himself, and he LOVED it. The next night, before bed, he went around to every ceiling fan in the house (we have several) doing this:

Wordless Wednesday

"Do you give the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck with a mane? Do you make him leap like the locust?" Job 39:19-20a

Tackle it Tuesday continued

Early this morning before the kids woke up, I posted my first accomplishment for Tackle it Tuesday - cleaning off the puzzle table. I said that my goal was to finish the rest of the hot spots in the house, and I'm excited to say that it is almost 2:30 pm and I am done! (Not only did I get all my hot spots clean, I went for a walk with the boys, finished all of our homeschooling, made several meals and snacks, so on and so forth - praise God for productive days!)

Here are the before and after pictures:

Piano before:
Piano after:

Computer Desk before:
Computer Desk after:

Entryway before:
Entryway after:
(a note about my entryway - yes, that is a TV center that we are using as a... something that I don't know the name of. Catchall? Entryway thingy? Brown thing? Anyway, its actually very useful, as it can hold sports equipment, shoes, hats and gloves in the winter, our nature walk clipboards, etc, so while it may look out of place, we like it for its functionality!)

Hope everyone else had a productive Tuesday!

A Few Fun Blogs

Over on a blog I visit, In the Dailies, Tanya is doing a "blog meme". What on earth is a meme? I really don't know, but apparently its something like a game of "tag" where a blogger makes a list of... something... and then other bloggers make lists of their own somethings in the same theme. And then you sort of "pass it on", making sure to link back to the original post. I guess. I'm not sure I'm doing it "right", but, here's my first attempt.

Anyway, a blog meme is a list of favorite blogs. Honestly, I love reading other blogs. You can tell by the two different blog lists I have on my sidebars. What you DON'T know is that I have a whole separate list in Google reader, as well! And, if you see the category "other blogs" to the left, you'll see that I tend to refer to other blogs frequently. Sooo... I am going to compile a list of blogs from my Google reader that I enjoy alot (In the Dailies is one of them!), but they are blogs that I have never linked to before at all, even in other posts. So, enjoy!

1. Adventures in Teething
2. The High Calling
3. The Jones Family
4. Less of Me, More of Him
5. Unfolding Grace

I also visit a few blogs by men, so I'll make another list for those!

1. Another Day... Another Opportunity
2. Are You Serious?
3. Role Calling
4. Stuff Christians Like

Do you have a list of blogs that you enjoy but haven't shared with others? Blog about them, then leave a comment for me here!

Tackle it Tuesday

OK, its not an official "theme", its just what I'm calling today. (Update! I discovered that there *is* an actual blogroll called Tackle it Tuesday! I guess I'm not so original, lol! So I've addded my name to the list - thanks, Christine, for posting about it on your blog!)

I am so tired of all my "hot spots" (aka those places that attract clutter)! So I am tackling them today. This morning, I started on the puzzle table. Remember, the one at the end of my Keeping it Real post? I was so embarrassed to post that picture! But just for a refresher, here's what it looked like:


But, after a good 20 minutes of putting things away, sorting, etc. Here's the result! I just need to get the chairs that go with it out of the garage, and we will have a fully functioning puzzle table again! Yay!!


Its amazing what some focused attention will accomplish! I have found that while putting things away, I get distracted - I put the unused ceiling fan in the garage, and then start to tidy up that area... NO! Perfectionism at its worst! I will tackle the garage another day. I feel that's one of the things that gets in my way the most - distraction! How many times have I started to clear off a surface, gone to put something away in a drawer, only to find the drawer too cluttered, and while decluttering the drawer, come upon a toy that belongs in the boys' room, only to then see that the boys' dresser is a mess, etc etc etc. A little bit here and there doesn't get one single job accomplished! So today I am focusing on one area at a time, and only that area, until its done. Then I will move on to the next one.

Some other hot spots I plan to get to are the computer desk, piano, and entry way surfaces. I've already taken "before" pictures of these areas, I'll try to post both those and the "afters" when I'm done!

How do your hot spots look? Why not take 15 minutes and clear one off? Its inspiring, I promise!

Be Quiet

The Lord has told me this in gentle ways, and not-so-gentle ways lately (I am, admittedly, a bit stubborn, so sometimes the not-so-gentle ways are best for me). Too much talk can lead to thinking of one's words too highly. Instead, be quiet. Let Him speak, the holder of all wisdom. Listen.

"Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few. For the dream comes through much effort and the voice of a fool through many words.... For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God." Ecclesiastes 5:1-3, 7

Thank you, Lord. I am quiet, and listening.

And the Winner Is...

Tonight we pulled numbers for the Jam Jar give-away! It was a very scientific process - I had each boy guess a number between 1-13, and write it on a piece of paper (Joel told me his number and I wrote it for him). Then we folded each paper identically, put them in a bowl, and Michael picked the winner. And the winner is #4 - Brianna!

Brianna is a friend of mine with two sweet little boys, and two blogs, as well (Little Bits and Heart(h) Management)! Congratulations, Brianna! Thank you to everyone who participated! It was fun! :-)

For Elizabeth, Heather, and Kathy, who asked for the recipe - well... I just do exactly what the insert of the Pectin package tells me to do ;-) I'm not terribly creative! But I will definitely encourage everyone to try it, its really fun and easy, and the result can be appreciated by many! I don't use any special utensils - the jars and lids, pectin, a big soup pot as a canner, plus tongs and a funnel. Easy, peasy!

Life With Boys

I get comments everytime I go out with the boys. Lots of very kind, positive ones, a few on the rude side, but almost all of them include the eyebrow-raised "Oh, ALL boys?!" Ah, yes, life with all boys. I joke that we got Molly so I could have some female companionship! But I remind all of the commenters that as long as I'm the only girl, I reign supreme as Queen of the House!

I love having all boys. Boys have so much energy, so much creativity, and are so open and down to earth. (Disclaimer - I am not saying girls *don't* have these attributes, as I wouldn't know! Just listing some of the things I've noticed about boys in particular!) We don't have meltdowns over which tu-tu to wear for dress-up, we don't worry about hairstyles, or even haircuts for that matter, as clippers solve everything! We don't have to worry about making sure we have enough closet space for dresses, or enough bedroom space to have separate rooms for different genders. Granted, when and if the Lord does bless us with a sweet baby girl, we will be over the moon!! But for now, I am very content and blessed with my four boys.

My point is, boys are distinctly different from girls. Society might try to tell us that boys and girls (and men and women) are the same, but the fact is, they just aren't. Equal in value, yes! But very, very different. Here's a situation that made this obvious for me.

Isaac was in the kitchen, and he dropped something rather heavy on his foot. He howled and grabbed his foot and hopped around saying "Oh, OUCH! That hurt SO much! Ow ow ow!" Ezra came rushing over to see what happened. Isaac showed him what had fallen on his foot and said "It hurt SO bad!"...and then the kicker... "Wanna try?"

Me, being female, naturally desiring to avoid unnecessary pain, having no desire to inflict unnecessary pain on others, and having no form of machismo, was dumbfounded that he asked. However, I was rendered completely speechless when Ezra replied "Yeah! Just drop it on there!" while holding his foot out.

And then I had the foreboding sense of understanding that this... is life with boys. And it will only get worse!

PS. An excellent book I read about the gender differences is "Why Gender Matters" by Leonard Sax. It really pointed out what the differences are, why the differences are what they are, and how boys and girls need different teaching and discipline styles. It really helped me understand not only my boys, but my husband, too!

Clothes Organization

The words in the title of this post have been my bane for quite a few years. Clothes organization is the most overwhelming process of keeping my home (a close second is the constant tumbleweeds of Molly hair that accumulate within just hours after sweeping). I have never found a way to do it that isn't hard to start, maintain, and use on a regular basis.

My basic method for the past few years has been to sort by size and season. (Thankfully, with all boys, there's no need to sort for gender!) So I had tubs (or bags, when we overflow the tubs), labeled "3T summer", "9-12 months winter" etc. That worked just fine for one boy, and pretty well for two boys, since they're so close in age and size anyway. Throw in a third little one and the fact that I started using cloth diapers, and it all went out the window. With cloth diapers, baby bottoms tend to need a bit more room, so I had to size up alot. I was having to get out 12 month clothes for my 6 month old, but only the pants or rompers... and then trying to resort his outgrown clothes just became a nightmare!

Boy number 4 made it all the worse, as he got chunkier and chunkier, but not much taller. Now, at 17 months, he still fits into 9-12 month size pants, but 2T shirts. Which box do I get out?! How do I keep it all straight?! Ack!!!

You can see the stress it has caused me, just the burden of thinking about it. Poor Nathan's closet has had 4 totes in it, with the contents strewn about liberally, with no side up regarding what fits and what doesn't. For the bigger boys, everything has just been thrown into several large totes of "Winter Clothes" and "Summer Clothes" and everyone tries on everything as we try to sort things out at the season changes. Not very efficient, to say the least!

Then, I stumbled across "My Blessed Home", made by another Christian mama, of 6 children. It has SO many awesome organization tips! And, no, I don't know her, and she's not paying me, lol! I have just been so blessed by her suggestions that I want to share.

Anyway, I went immediately to her page on "Clothes Storage", and was really drawn to her idea. Sorting by "grow into" boxes, rather than a particular size! It makes so much sense, since sizes can vary so much between brands and children. It took me a few months of mulling it over in my head, trying to get an idea for how it would work. And now I've jumped right in! So far, I have sorted the mess of clothes in Nathan's closet. He now has two bins of stuff that are too small (labeled "Baby, winter" and "Baby, summer") and one bin of things to grow into - not sorted by season because there's room enough in one bin for both seasons.

Next, I will move on to the big boys' room. I'll start with Isaac, having him try on all of his clothes. The ones that fit and are in season, will stay in his drawers. The ones that fit but are for cooler weather will go into "Isaac's Grow Into" bin. The ones that are too small will automatically go into "Ezra's Grow Into" bin. And so on down the line, for each child. As I go, I will be labeling the tags, as well, for each child, to make it easier for when they are sorting and putting away laundry. Isaac's tags will get 1 dot, since he is child #1, Ezra's will get two dots, since he is child #2, etc. As the clothes are passed down, I just add a dot to the tag! When the seasons change, we'll get out each child's box and pack away the summer clothes into the appropriate boxes, and get out the winter clothes! I am so excited about the simplicity of it all!

As we go, I am also purging! What a good feeling that is! We are blessed to have many clothes for each child, and I have the privilege of passing on the ones that are not picked to be worn very often, and it feels good to both be able to bless other mothers, and also to downsize.

I feel confident that with this method, clothes organization will no longer be the burden it once was! Hooray for the small victories!

Growing Things

Remember my little bean in the jar I posted about a month ago? In case you don't, here's the post ;-) Anyway, in a short month, one dried kidney bean, taken from a regular old bag of dried beans from the grocery store, put into an old yogurt container with potting soil, has grown into a vine and has sprouted bean pods!! I can't describe how excited I am about this, as I have a definite non-green thumb! Here are some pictures:

Also, a while back, as another homeschool project, we planted a popcorn kernel. Its been slow going, and I thought it was done - it hadn't grown any taller in over a month, and, never having grown corn before, I didn't know what to look for signs of ears growing (unlike the bean vine, which had flowers). While checking the bean today, Isaac inspected the corn, and pointed out to me that there were places that had silk coming from them! Sure enough, there are 3 little tiny ears growing on our corn stalks!

A third growing thing has also been added to our back deck - I call it our "Friendship Tree" - it was given to us from Paul and Duk-Sun Spillers, members of the new church we've been attending! Its a baby Yoshino Cherry tree, only a year old or so. We're waiting until its a bit bigger to replant it, and until then we're trying to find just the right spot. Its a very special tree for me, it really represents the way the Lord has been growing us, leading us to special friends and fellowships in our new church body, helping us to branch out, both spiritually and socially. Here is the beauty we have to look forward to!

Keeping it Real - Homeschool Organization continued

I'm participating in Keeping it Real, motivated by Brenda at The Family Revised. Today's challenge was to demonstrate our homeschool organization (or lack thereof!), so in addition to my newest organizational tools I posted about a few weeks ago, I'll go ahead and share the rest. This is a bit scary, as we had an overnight guest yesterday, so hardly any chores were done, and we are "Keeping it Real", so I'm not doing any "tidying" first - eeek! Thankfully, we'll be doing the "Quick Cleanup" that was mentioned earlier this week on Biblical Womahood before we start any schoolwork!

Let me first say that we do our homeschooling in the kitchen. Our kitchen is has a large eating nook attached, and the entire room is very open to our casual play/living room, so when I'm having to do some one-on-one schooling with one of the children, the other children can play within eye and ear shot, which is really nice! When we bought the house, it needed a total remodel, and this was Michael's idea - I LOVE it!!

From kitchen to living room:

From living room to kitchen:


I keep my Desk Apprentice on top of my pantry. Yes, my pantry consists of one double cabinet. We are changing that VERY soon, as it becomes hard to keep organized, and in a 6 person family its good to have a wee bit more space to store food. But I digress. Here is the cabinet that my organizer sits on:


Also in the kitchen is the arts and crafts drawer storage thing (I'm sure there's a better word for it!) I mentioned in my earlier post, as well as the shelves where the children's dishes are stored, and a dresser that was our former arts and crafts center, but now just holds the fishtank, and some random papers inside. I'm still working out what to do with it! Its ugly and not very useful! However, I do like having the children's dishes in a place where it easy for them to put away and get out, so that little bookshelf works well for us.

The children's dishes:

The ugly and not very useful former arts and crafts dresser:

Inside these file boxes are where the boys keep their notebooks and books, and that works really well for us.



Next to the kitchen is what should be a formal dining room, but we use it as an office. In here, I have a bookshelf next to the computer desk, it holds stuff we'll need for the year, but not this week, as well as the boys' annual binders (where I transfer their stuff once we've finished a year for more compact storage), homeschooling catalogs, and the top shelf is supposed to have library books for the next few weeks, but I've gotten slack on reserving weeks ahead of time, so it is empty at the moment!


Next to that bookshelf is the computer desk, and above it is a hutch where I store things I'll need for future homeschooling, or random things that I might only need once in a blue moon, craft books, etc. I don't know why there is a pregnancy book in it! You can see that the children have decorated the hutch with their beautiful artwork (they have done the same with all of the bedroom doors in the house, too!)




Across the room is our puzzle/game bookshelf - we really like puzzles (that's not all of them on the shelves)! And it holds other games like math manipulatives, pattern blocks, playdough, etc. I'd like to somehow make this more efficient, but for now I'm out of ideas, so it stays as is.


The wooden peg puzzles are all in big ziplock baggies inside this container for easy access and clean-up. I used to stack them on the shelves but that lead to daily puzzle rampages where every piece of every puzzle would get scattered. This works SO much better!!


There's also a table that's in the office, but it is only acting as the main hotspot catchall right now, instead of a nice puzzle table like I had hoped. FlyLady would be ashamed!!


That's all there is! Despite the few areas that need a bit more tweaking (or removing completely!) it works pretty well for us. Thanks for Keeping it Real with me!

Jam! Want a Jar?

I finally went ahead and made blueberry jam from some of our fresh-picked blueberries! I was procrastinating because it seems like such a daunting task (I've done it only once before) but we were almost out of berries! Yes, over 17 pounds of berries almost GONE in 5 days (granted, we gave about 6 pounds away)! Once we got started, it wasn't daunting at all - rather easy, actually. The boys helped by hand-smushing the berries... I meant to get pictures of that fun, but in the moment I completely forgot! And all the jars sealed perfectly, yay! Here's a picture of the jars and what's left of the remaining berries!


Does anyone know where to get cute little gingham squares for the lids? I suppose I could just buy fabric and cut them myself, but something already made just the right size would be nice!

After I figured out what we'll use and what we'll be giving as gifts, that leaves 1 jar left! So I thought I'd offer a little give away. Just leave me a kind comment under this post, and on Sunday evening I'll number everyone, have one of the boys guess a number, and that person will be the winner! I don't mind if you live out of state, I'll be happy to package a jar up nice and safely and send it your way! We opened our jar this morning and had it on toast, and it got taste-test approval across the board :-)

Wordless Wednesday - Molly

(There aren't any scriptures I could find relating to a dog with an obsession for licking the yogurt container clean... any suggestions?!)

Perfect Gravy... or, Thank you, Jason!

Before I begin, let me say that I am a relative newby to making gravy. My dad is a health-concious YMCA director, and my mom is a former aerobics instructor, so we never had gravy growing up! I did not even taste gravy until after I was married and my mother-in-law made it. But it was love at first taste! However, it was still a few years after that when I tried actually making gravy. And it never turned out quite right. Thick and lumpy, usually. The flavor is always fine, but texture plays a big role in gravy!

My old method for making gravy was this - drain juices from chicken pan into skillet/frying pan. Heat to a simmer, then add flour, whisking the whole time. Add some water to even out the thickness, and lots of salt. The flour sometimes evened out nicely, or sometimes it turned into dumplings! So it was always a guess as to whether the gravy would be smooth or lumpy, and the majority of the time it was lumpy, or too thick, anyway.

Finally, a few years ago, my brother-in-law, Jason, newly graduated from Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Atlanta, taught me how to make perfect gravy. And now my gravy is perfect, every time. (Gasp!) If this is some big gravy secret that everyone knows, then just laugh at me and say "Duh, Erin!" but just in case there are those of you out there who struggle with gravy, I thought I'd share the "secret".

My brother-in-law explained to me that I was missing the most important step - making the roux (or rue). Before pouring the juices into the frying pan, first melt alot of butter on med-high, and stir in the flour. Whisk, whisk, whisk until the roux is the right color - for chicken, a light golden color is good, for beef, a darker roux. THEN add the drippings and juices from the pan, whisk a bunch more... and there it is! Perfect gravy! Obviously, add salt, pepper and any other seasonings you like while whisking, as well.

He explained that the way to tell when gravy texture was "right" was if you could lift up the whisk and have the gravy drip off, leaving a light coating or residue on the whisk. The first time I tried it, it came out perfectly, just like he promised. I even took pictures to show him, lol! It was a very exciting moment for me.

Anyway, as I was making gravy tonight (and yes, it came out just right!), it occurred to me that maybe I wasn't the only one missing out on this "secret" (or not-so-secret, perhaps), so I decided to post it. May it bring you and your family many lump-free gravies! :-)

How Marvelous

I LOVE this song - it runs through my head most of the day. The video isn't so interesting, but the words are beautiful, and express my heart for my savior.

(as always, don't forget to pause the playlist on the right!)

Relaxed Homeschooling?

I admit, the term "relaxed homeschooling" brings up feelings of both terror and intrigue inside of me ;-) Anyone who knows me knows I thrive on structure, but sometimes to my detriment. In my short 7.5 years of mothering, the Lord has really been helping me with this, softening my edges a bit. I mentioned in my post below about homeschooling that my perfectionism can interfere with the freedom and excitement homeschooling should be about, so it is an area that I definitely need growth in.

That being said, I have been given the chance to review the ebook "Relaxed Homeschooling: There is Another Way!" by Kelly at Generation Cedar. It really helped me to see how homeschooling can be relaxed without being chaotic. Its meaty, but easy and pleasant to read. She touches on what education really is and should be about, and then gives a nice glimpse into what relaxed homeschooling looks like for her family. Just hearing about how someone else accomplishes it takes alot of apprehension away from the idea! At the end of each chapter is a "Hint Corner", giving practical ideas for things such as keeping little ones engaged and learning and ways to incorporate learning into conversation and everyday activities. She answers some of the basic questions someone like me has about relaxed homeschooling, and gives an example of her family's basic schedule (yes! relaxed learning and schedules CAN be complimentary! lol!) It is an ebook I'll be reading many more times as I try to incorporate more of a "lifestyle of learning" into our homeschooling journey!

I'd encourage anyone who is curious but nervous about the idea of relaxed homeschooling to check this ebook out! Kelly is even offering it at a discounted price ($10 off!) until Monday, July 14, so now's a good time :-)

What a Savior

“Man of Sorrows!” what a name
For the Son of God, who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Guilty, vile, and helpless we;
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
“Full atonement!” can it be?
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die;
“It is finished!” was His cry;
Now in Heav’n exalted high.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew His song we’ll sing:
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

-Philip P. Bliss, pub.1875

Blueberries!

This morning we all got up bright and early (5:30 am!) and headed out to pick blueberries! The blueberry farm is an hour away, and we wanted to beat the heat. We got there at 7:15 and picked until 10 am, and came home with over 17 pounds of blueberries!! And the price is great - only $1.35/pound, for fresh picked, locally grown berries. Yum!

It was good we got there early, because by the time we left the sun and the crowd had come out in full force. We had such a wonderful time enjoying the cool stillness of the early morning with each other, delighting in gathering God's delicious blessings. Here's a slideshow of the morning!

Homeschool Ramblings

I thought I'd go ahead and update how our new year is going along! Ezra is using My Father's World 1st Grade, and we are really loving it. Isaac is weeks away from finishing Adventures, and then, for him, we're not going to jump straight into the next program (which would be Exploring Countries and Cultures (ECC), a year long focus on World Geography and Missions). Instead, I'm going to go back to a more eclectic style, until Ezra is done with 1st. Once Ezra is done with 1st (probably around January, or so) we are excited to start ECC!

For Isaac, some things we'll be using are 3rd grade Rod & Staff Reading (I really love how Bible centered Rod and Staff curriculum is!), Apologia Elementary Science (finishing the Astronomy we started last year), continue math with Math-U-See Beta and Spanish with Rosetta Stone, and also introduce some logic and typing skills! We'll also be getting some United States geography games to help hone everyone's skills in remembering states and capitals. While I'm looking forward to moving into ECC, I'm also excited to have a little time to do our "own" thing outside of the curriculum "box".

This was something I wrestled with for a while. I really enjoy My Father's World curriculum - I like how its entirely focused on learning about and serving the Lord, helping children and families become mission-minded. The lessons are wonderfully age-appropriate, short for young attention spans, the activities are fun but not overwhelming to prepare for, and overall, very enriching.

However, being the perfectionist I am, I really struggled with "marking off the boxes" - feeling pressured to get it "all" done, and if I somehow got thrown off schedule, trying to fit everything back in - while the daily schedule is a wonderful guide, my perfectionism has struggled with it and feeling like I have to do it all "just so". I also struggled with juggling two programs (first, Kindergarten and Adventures, now 1st and Adventures) for the same reasons - I didn't want to leave ANY of the wonderful learning opportunities out, which leads to a very full (and sometimes overwhelming) day!

I definitely feel this is an aspect of my personality that I need to tone down some in order to be a better homeschooling mom! So I freely admit its *me* and not the curriculum itself. That being said, I am both excited for some time "out of the box" and also looking forward to returning to that structure when both children can be in the same program together!