Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Our Staycation
This summer we aren't going on vacation, we're doing a staycation. You know, just stay home and enjoy life as though we're somewhere else. No driving for hours with screaming kids in tow. No packing the 789 things needed to leave the house. We're staying home and around our city (which is a great one). Maybe one day trip nearby. We're planning lots of fun things for the family to do and going to completely (that's such an extreme word!) unplug from the computer and phone. We already don't watch much TV these days, but we joined Netflix and have some family movies on the way. With little ones in tow, vacations haven't always been very relaxing to me. All the same stuff has to happen, it's just a change of venue. I'm going to try not to do much more than dishes and the occasional load of laundry, if necessary. Hope to report back next week with a relaxed frame of mind, great memories and lots of fun photos. It doesn't start until Wednesday midday, so feel free to share your ideas for a successful staycation. Do it quickly, as I unplug soon.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Why I Blog
It started out as a way to remember their childhoods. With six children in about 10 years, I just couldn't keep up with all the momentous occasions. The memories that seemed so fresh one day were gone the next year. My brain was a sieve at best. My attempts at scrapbooking, even the digital variety, all failed miserably. Blogging seemed like a great way to chronicle the memories that slip away all to quickly.
As I started to write about my days, I found myself processing and reflecting on my life in a new way. Even when I was away from the computer, I realized that I had fresh eyes for the little things in life. I began to notice more. I paused more frequently in my busyness. I stopped seeing the end as the goal and began to enjoy the journey more than ever before. And often, just like I might on a road trip, I'd say "Hey, I want to stop and take a picture of this!" I want to remember this later because I knew I wouldn't be passing by this way again.
Reflecting on my days was therapeutic. My natural tendency toward focusing on what was 'wrong' (I'm an editor by trade) and what needed work slowly began to turn to see all that was right. I began to see that even though we all still had our usual deficiencies, my little family was so precious. There is so much good happening in my midst if I only will see it.
The guilt I frequently heaped on myself began to balance with the visual reminders of the good things I did. I wanted to record that on my blog. I needed to remind myself of the good things I did. Not for pride's sake, but for an accurate depiction of my life. To remember the beauty in my days.To remember the good things my children did. The funny things that happened. The treasures of memories amidst the mud and the mess.
Years become blurry. I wanted to keep them in focus. Memories can be too selective. We often gravitate toward the good or the bad. I wanted to balance my tendency towards the negative. I'm hard on myself, but found that after I started blogging I gave myself more grace than before. I learned that life is good and bad and in between all mixed up together.
So if you've read this far, I need you to know that as a reader of my blog, you're going to get a slice of my life. Nobody but those closest really get the whole pie. More often than not, you're getting the better slice. I'm the first to be real and share my struggles. My life isn't a bowl of cherries (even though there is a photo of one on my blog!)
I think there's great value in being transparent. Even then, we can visit a blog and see the pictures and read about what sounds like an ideal homeschool, or see the pictures of a beautiful dinner or organized closet, and heap guilt and condemnation on ourselves for what we perceive as our own failings. Don't do it! The enemy of our souls loves when we compare our worst to someone else's best.
Instead, make it an opportunity to peer into another's life and praise God for the creative and diverse gifts He's bestowed on his children. I read a lot of blogs, but only frequent the ones that encourage me. Where I feel built up and more equipped to live the life God's blessed me with. If reading a blog (mine included) regularly makes you feel like you don't measure up, then stop reading it. Or maybe just shift your thinking and start recording--on a blog or just in a journal--all the things in your life. You might find that you're surprised at what a great life is being lived right before your very eyes.
As I started to write about my days, I found myself processing and reflecting on my life in a new way. Even when I was away from the computer, I realized that I had fresh eyes for the little things in life. I began to notice more. I paused more frequently in my busyness. I stopped seeing the end as the goal and began to enjoy the journey more than ever before. And often, just like I might on a road trip, I'd say "Hey, I want to stop and take a picture of this!" I want to remember this later because I knew I wouldn't be passing by this way again.
Reflecting on my days was therapeutic. My natural tendency toward focusing on what was 'wrong' (I'm an editor by trade) and what needed work slowly began to turn to see all that was right. I began to see that even though we all still had our usual deficiencies, my little family was so precious. There is so much good happening in my midst if I only will see it.
The guilt I frequently heaped on myself began to balance with the visual reminders of the good things I did. I wanted to record that on my blog. I needed to remind myself of the good things I did. Not for pride's sake, but for an accurate depiction of my life. To remember the beauty in my days.To remember the good things my children did. The funny things that happened. The treasures of memories amidst the mud and the mess.
Years become blurry. I wanted to keep them in focus. Memories can be too selective. We often gravitate toward the good or the bad. I wanted to balance my tendency towards the negative. I'm hard on myself, but found that after I started blogging I gave myself more grace than before. I learned that life is good and bad and in between all mixed up together.
So if you've read this far, I need you to know that as a reader of my blog, you're going to get a slice of my life. Nobody but those closest really get the whole pie. More often than not, you're getting the better slice. I'm the first to be real and share my struggles. My life isn't a bowl of cherries (even though there is a photo of one on my blog!)
I think there's great value in being transparent. Even then, we can visit a blog and see the pictures and read about what sounds like an ideal homeschool, or see the pictures of a beautiful dinner or organized closet, and heap guilt and condemnation on ourselves for what we perceive as our own failings. Don't do it! The enemy of our souls loves when we compare our worst to someone else's best.
Instead, make it an opportunity to peer into another's life and praise God for the creative and diverse gifts He's bestowed on his children. I read a lot of blogs, but only frequent the ones that encourage me. Where I feel built up and more equipped to live the life God's blessed me with. If reading a blog (mine included) regularly makes you feel like you don't measure up, then stop reading it. Or maybe just shift your thinking and start recording--on a blog or just in a journal--all the things in your life. You might find that you're surprised at what a great life is being lived right before your very eyes.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Our Homeschool Year in Review
I'm late in posting this, I'd hoped to do it a month ago. I've just started going through our homeschool room with thoughts towards next year. As I look back on last year, here are my thoughts on what worked and what needed work.
What Worked
Daily Drills--This was one of the first things we hit after our prayer and devotional. I decided to take all those little subjects I felt guilty for never getting to and lump a bunch of them together. Our Daily Drills included dictionary skills (alphabetizing for the younger set, looking up words for the older), poetry (reading and memorizing), geography (I let the oldest teach and drill all the kids, even the then 3-year-old, on a blank USA map) and art appreciation. We studied Remington, Mozart and Monet. We would look at paintings, listen to music and read biographies. It wasn't much, but better than nothing at all. I cut up calendars with reproductions of their famous works and hung them in the school room.
Teaching Textbooks--I have used this for a while with my oldest and plan to use it for my 4th grader next year. We don't have a math whiz in the bunch (yet), so we're fine with the easier than Saxon and Abeka pace. I'll have 2 using it this next year. They also LOVE doing math on the computer. They are supposed to be coming out with a 3rd grade edition before the year is up. I may put my 2nd grader in that if Math Mammoth doesn't fit her this next year.
Bible Verse Memory--I used the free Scripture Memory System from SimplyCharlotteMason.com. We choose the verses from Sing the Word A-Z and incorporated learning our verses to song. Lots of fun and makes memory and review a breeze!
Spelling Made Simple--I absolutely love this software! Even if your child is a whiz at spelling, it makes just one more way to learn and test their knowledge. It works with any curriculum and saves you time reading through all those spelling lists. You purchase the software just once, not like some of these annual subscriptions or monthly fee programs. I take some time in the summer and at breaks to input all their lists for the year. It keeps track of all their results right down to how they spelled the words and how long it took to take the test. No, I don't work for them, but did I mention how much I love this?!?!
The Phonetic Zoo--While we're on the subject of spelling, I wasn't thrilled with SpellWell for either of my older 2. It's not bad, just didn't do anything for us. I switched my oldest who is an amazing auditory learner to The Phonetic Zoo. It's working well for him. I can see improvement and we'll continue with it this next year. If for some reason it stops working, I will check out AVKO's new DVD program for their curriculum. I plan to try Natural Speller for my 2 older girls.
BJU Handwriting--This was the program my kids learned writing with, so I just purchased the workbooks for all of them to stay in practice. I like their cursive and the workbooks are affordable for some daily practice.
What Needed Work
TruthQuest History--This was too open ended for me. I realized I really do need a schedule laid out to keep me on track. Even if I alter it or ignore it, I need the pressure of some sort of pace to keep. It's not a bad resource and it's affordable. Just learned a bit about what I need as a teacher.
Having little guidance for literature--We just read the selections that tied in with our history but we really needed more guidance to teach literary themes.
Kindergarten--I kept my kinder guy using a combination of BJU kinder (because I know that program) and Sing Spell Read & Write. I just need to work on the schedule a bit to be better at squeezing in the little kids.
Writing--I need to separate my oldest 2 and work with them independently. I really do like Teaching Writing Style & Structure from IEW, but I need to do more planning to make it progress. Again, I don't flourish with programs that you move along at your own pace. Without something to prod me along. I'll continue with this, but plan to set some monthly goals for the oldest 2 children. Also, I had purchased the Student Writing Intensive from IEW to go along with TWSS, but my kids didn't like it. The great news about anything from IEW, it's 100% guaranteed and sells in seconds close to retail on the resale market. No kidding!
Saxon Math--While I think this is a good and thorough program, I really didn't use it the way they intended. I realized that I needed something without a teacher's manual. With a house full of kids, I don't have the time to sit down and teach from a manual. I need grab and go! That's my mantra for this next year. For the new year, we'll be using Math Mammoth, a program that teaches the concepts right on the worksheets. I got a great deal from the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op for Math Mammoth. It's expired now, but if you're not a member of this FREE co-op, join! They can save you a bunch of money on a variety of things.
Some scheduling notes--I learned that we don't have to start the day with Bible. I can let my independent learners begin their math, reading and spelling while I squeeze in a 30 minute workout on my stationary bike. No guilt here!
So that's the main things that come to mind. We are about to embark on our biggest homeschool year yet. I will have 4 students and an interested 4 year old, as well as one baby who is moving to just one nap a day. I'll also have a 7th grader, which means he'll be doing science and some literature on his own separate from the gang. We are also going to start grading his work, which hopefully won't bog down this not-so-disciplined mom.
Each year I feel that we tweak some things and need to completely revamp some others. Still some just get pitched! I'd love to hear what things you learned from your homeschool year. Did you find a new resource you just love? Do share! And remember mama's--if it's not broken, then don't fix it! And if it is broken, no matter how many great reviews it gets, then fix it! Make your stuff work for your kids.
What Worked
Daily Drills--This was one of the first things we hit after our prayer and devotional. I decided to take all those little subjects I felt guilty for never getting to and lump a bunch of them together. Our Daily Drills included dictionary skills (alphabetizing for the younger set, looking up words for the older), poetry (reading and memorizing), geography (I let the oldest teach and drill all the kids, even the then 3-year-old, on a blank USA map) and art appreciation. We studied Remington, Mozart and Monet. We would look at paintings, listen to music and read biographies. It wasn't much, but better than nothing at all. I cut up calendars with reproductions of their famous works and hung them in the school room.
Teaching Textbooks--I have used this for a while with my oldest and plan to use it for my 4th grader next year. We don't have a math whiz in the bunch (yet), so we're fine with the easier than Saxon and Abeka pace. I'll have 2 using it this next year. They also LOVE doing math on the computer. They are supposed to be coming out with a 3rd grade edition before the year is up. I may put my 2nd grader in that if Math Mammoth doesn't fit her this next year.
Bible Verse Memory--I used the free Scripture Memory System from SimplyCharlotteMason.com. We choose the verses from Sing the Word A-Z and incorporated learning our verses to song. Lots of fun and makes memory and review a breeze!
Spelling Made Simple--I absolutely love this software! Even if your child is a whiz at spelling, it makes just one more way to learn and test their knowledge. It works with any curriculum and saves you time reading through all those spelling lists. You purchase the software just once, not like some of these annual subscriptions or monthly fee programs. I take some time in the summer and at breaks to input all their lists for the year. It keeps track of all their results right down to how they spelled the words and how long it took to take the test. No, I don't work for them, but did I mention how much I love this?!?!
The Phonetic Zoo--While we're on the subject of spelling, I wasn't thrilled with SpellWell for either of my older 2. It's not bad, just didn't do anything for us. I switched my oldest who is an amazing auditory learner to The Phonetic Zoo. It's working well for him. I can see improvement and we'll continue with it this next year. If for some reason it stops working, I will check out AVKO's new DVD program for their curriculum. I plan to try Natural Speller for my 2 older girls.
BJU Handwriting--This was the program my kids learned writing with, so I just purchased the workbooks for all of them to stay in practice. I like their cursive and the workbooks are affordable for some daily practice.
What Needed Work
TruthQuest History--This was too open ended for me. I realized I really do need a schedule laid out to keep me on track. Even if I alter it or ignore it, I need the pressure of some sort of pace to keep. It's not a bad resource and it's affordable. Just learned a bit about what I need as a teacher.
Having little guidance for literature--We just read the selections that tied in with our history but we really needed more guidance to teach literary themes.
Kindergarten--I kept my kinder guy using a combination of BJU kinder (because I know that program) and Sing Spell Read & Write. I just need to work on the schedule a bit to be better at squeezing in the little kids.
Writing--I need to separate my oldest 2 and work with them independently. I really do like Teaching Writing Style & Structure from IEW, but I need to do more planning to make it progress. Again, I don't flourish with programs that you move along at your own pace. Without something to prod me along. I'll continue with this, but plan to set some monthly goals for the oldest 2 children. Also, I had purchased the Student Writing Intensive from IEW to go along with TWSS, but my kids didn't like it. The great news about anything from IEW, it's 100% guaranteed and sells in seconds close to retail on the resale market. No kidding!
Saxon Math--While I think this is a good and thorough program, I really didn't use it the way they intended. I realized that I needed something without a teacher's manual. With a house full of kids, I don't have the time to sit down and teach from a manual. I need grab and go! That's my mantra for this next year. For the new year, we'll be using Math Mammoth, a program that teaches the concepts right on the worksheets. I got a great deal from the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op for Math Mammoth. It's expired now, but if you're not a member of this FREE co-op, join! They can save you a bunch of money on a variety of things.
Some scheduling notes--I learned that we don't have to start the day with Bible. I can let my independent learners begin their math, reading and spelling while I squeeze in a 30 minute workout on my stationary bike. No guilt here!
So that's the main things that come to mind. We are about to embark on our biggest homeschool year yet. I will have 4 students and an interested 4 year old, as well as one baby who is moving to just one nap a day. I'll also have a 7th grader, which means he'll be doing science and some literature on his own separate from the gang. We are also going to start grading his work, which hopefully won't bog down this not-so-disciplined mom.
Each year I feel that we tweak some things and need to completely revamp some others. Still some just get pitched! I'd love to hear what things you learned from your homeschool year. Did you find a new resource you just love? Do share! And remember mama's--if it's not broken, then don't fix it! And if it is broken, no matter how many great reviews it gets, then fix it! Make your stuff work for your kids.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Cherry Pie
Picking cherries from our neighbors tree. Eating as we go along.
Yum!
Sissies helping roll the dough
Two pies are easier to make than one, I discovered. We gave one to our elderly neighbor who so kindly shares his cherries with us every year.
The recipe I used came from Smitten Kitchen, a beautiful blog with great looking recipes. I didn't use her crust recipe, as I have a fave standard crust that I've used for years. I'll definitely be back there for more ideas.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Greener Than I Thought
"Mom, we just brushed our teeth with grass!" --From my 4 middle children upon returning from outside play, all with a mysterious grin on their faces
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Recycling Meets Fun
Wonder what to do with all the grocery sacks you accumulate? Forget the usual ideas for using them in little trash cans or wrapping toxic diapers in them. My kids invented these stuffed animal parachutes all on their own. The oldest perfected the best way to tie the animals onto the grocery sack to get the most lift in the parachute. A string tied to each animal arm and then each string tied to a bag handle and a hearty toss into the sky. It's fun for everyone, even the baby liked chasing them when they landed, although passers-by my house might question me letting the kids play with suffocating hazards. Word to the wise--teach your children to keep them away from their heads and watch your baby. The only downside is the necessary search and rescue trip to the roof at the end of the day. Free summer fun! And it's so green!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
For A Good Laugh
The next few days will be busy around my house. We need to finish getting plants in the garden. I've also been so busy spring cleaning that my husband accused me of 'nesting.' (I'm not!) We also have some friends coming to town over the weekend. Even though I'm usually never too busy to blog, I thought I'd give you something to read in case I'm out of touch for a few days (like you have no other options if I leave you hanging!) So I'm sharing an old story I wrote on the blog last year. It may be new to most of you and I guarantee it will give you a good laugh.
A day without laughter is a day wasted.
Charlie Chaplin
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Plan B
Our summer concert at the college was cancelled due to rain. The skies were blue, but a long day of rain had made the fields soggy. So we headed to an elementary school playground and ate our picnic dinner. Then the kids tired themselves out on all the great play equipment.
And the Winner is....
Psalm34! She's a mom from the MOMYS message boards (which stands for Moms Of Many Young Siblings). Her idea was simple. What I especially liked, however, its not cooking related. I struggle to keep my focus on making dinner or whatever in the kitchen. So it can stress me out to have to include them in with my prep. (I know, bad mama, but we have to eat). But I can spout off ideas to them for keeping busy with something else nearby. I also loved the link she offered for more great ideas.
What about looking in the pantry/cupboards to find a certain letter. (Or maybe 5 "A"s then 5 "B"s etc.) This can also help with getting used to the vast number of fonts that are out there. --Psalm34 Mom
< http://www.preksmarties.com/math/kitchen.htm
Thank you to everyone for all the great ideas! I wish I was more intuitive in the kitchen like MaKettle. And I will definitely be using MommaBlogger's idea with measuring cups.
Gotta run for now. We're off to a free concert in the park (provided the rains stay away) and I need to pack our picnic dinner.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The Simplicity of Summer
Today the four year old and six year old cleaned the car. They each had rags to wipe down all the inside surfaces. They loved climbing around all the seats looking for trash and treasure. With wet rags in tow, we hopped over to the nearby car wash to rinse off our enormous SUV and vacuum the pretzel and Cheerio crumbs from the floor.The car wash was an adventure for them. Giggles poured from the car as they hid behind car windows and were 'sprayed' with the pressure washer. Seeing the pigeons peck the parking lot thrilled them. The train passed by the rails just yards in front of us. What excitement for these young eyes! And they were so proud to let Daddy inspect their hard work.
It reminded me of the sweetness of their ages. The contrast to the almost-teen years makes me appreciate it all the more. Simple pleasures are fresh. Expectations are easy. I love slowing down our lives to jump into time and space with my littler set.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Kitchen Kindergarten
The last few days I've realized that my little kindergartner needs some help over the summer if he's to progress into first grade next year. I realize he's young and I'm of the mindset 'better late than early', but I would like to capitalize on his eagerness to learn new things. And truth be told, help assuage some of my guilt.
So yesterday, I told the kids we were going to have a reading time everyday during our summer break. In my mind, this just meant get a book to look at if you can't read well on your own yet, but this little guy wanted to work on his reading. So I grabbed the Leapfrog Word Whammer, which is a fridge phonics gadget, and we worked on different word families while I made lunch. "Can you spell 'mat'? Now take off the M and add an S. What does that say?" It was so easy to do. No teacher's manual, no worksheets, no sitting still at the table. A great way to learn without feeling at all schoolish!
Tonight he wanted to be my dinner helper, which is rare for him. So he helped me arrange the kid's chicken nuggets on the tray and then when the timer got down to two minutes, he wanted to count down. When I explained there are sixty seconds in a minute and we'd have to count to 120, he said he couldn't count that high. So we counted together. I realized that he probably didn't even know what forty or fifty looked like (my fault!), so I punched the numbers onto the microwave. Once he had that down, I told him some numbers to punch in to the microwave. "So what does 45 look like?" He had so much fun using the microwave keypad. And it all happened while I was plating up dinner.
Once the kids plates were ready to go, I told him that I'd arranged them on the counter from oldest to youngest (showing him which end was which). "Where is your plate?" "Where is your brother's plate?" And on we went down the line of siblings. Deductive reasoning and ordinal numbers.
This is the exact type of thing done on his kindergarten worksheets. We just made it happen in a fun way in the midst of meal prep. I can't wait to think of some more ways to incorporate learning into our summer without ever sitting down to a desk. I love when we can solve a problem without reworking our entire lives. I'm hoping a summer of 'kitchen kindergarten' will help fill the gaps of the year. Surely some smart homeschool publisher will come out with a full-fledged program for this soon, right? Or maybe moms will just do what we do best. Necessity really is the mother of invention.
Now I just need to think of some more clever ideas for teaching reading and math in the kitchen. I'd love it if you'd give me your ideas (leave them in the COMMENTS). New or used are fine. I'll have a prize for the best one--the original edition of Sharing Nature with Children by Joseph Cornell. I'll choose the best idea next Wednesday, June 10th. C'mon mothers....my necessity needs your invention.
So yesterday, I told the kids we were going to have a reading time everyday during our summer break. In my mind, this just meant get a book to look at if you can't read well on your own yet, but this little guy wanted to work on his reading. So I grabbed the Leapfrog Word Whammer, which is a fridge phonics gadget, and we worked on different word families while I made lunch. "Can you spell 'mat'? Now take off the M and add an S. What does that say?" It was so easy to do. No teacher's manual, no worksheets, no sitting still at the table. A great way to learn without feeling at all schoolish!
Tonight he wanted to be my dinner helper, which is rare for him. So he helped me arrange the kid's chicken nuggets on the tray and then when the timer got down to two minutes, he wanted to count down. When I explained there are sixty seconds in a minute and we'd have to count to 120, he said he couldn't count that high. So we counted together. I realized that he probably didn't even know what forty or fifty looked like (my fault!), so I punched the numbers onto the microwave. Once he had that down, I told him some numbers to punch in to the microwave. "So what does 45 look like?" He had so much fun using the microwave keypad. And it all happened while I was plating up dinner.
Once the kids plates were ready to go, I told him that I'd arranged them on the counter from oldest to youngest (showing him which end was which). "Where is your plate?" "Where is your brother's plate?" And on we went down the line of siblings. Deductive reasoning and ordinal numbers.
This is the exact type of thing done on his kindergarten worksheets. We just made it happen in a fun way in the midst of meal prep. I can't wait to think of some more ways to incorporate learning into our summer without ever sitting down to a desk. I love when we can solve a problem without reworking our entire lives. I'm hoping a summer of 'kitchen kindergarten' will help fill the gaps of the year. Surely some smart homeschool publisher will come out with a full-fledged program for this soon, right? Or maybe moms will just do what we do best. Necessity really is the mother of invention.
Now I just need to think of some more clever ideas for teaching reading and math in the kitchen. I'd love it if you'd give me your ideas (leave them in the COMMENTS). New or used are fine. I'll have a prize for the best one--the original edition of Sharing Nature with Children by Joseph Cornell. I'll choose the best idea next Wednesday, June 10th. C'mon mothers....my necessity needs your invention.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Later this week....
Summer break officially began for us today. I love the change of pace and the lower expectations. Although I hold memories of those lazy days of summer from years gone by, I have surplus energy with the break from homeschooling. My summers are anything but lazy. It's a time of deep cleaning and organizing projects for me. Trying to attack projects and tasks that were neglected during the homeschool year. Often I enlist the help of my older children, but I have a list as long as my arm of things I want to get done for the summer. I also try to make more time for each individual child. Time to sit and read. Play a game. Lay in the grass in the front yard and watch them play tag. We do one or two VBS', several get-togethers with friends, family nights in the yard, gardening and yard work, and hot days in the sprinkler. No trips are planned for us this summer which you'd understand if you drove with us for more than 15 minutes.
But before I can begin in earnest to move forward with my summer plans, I really should step back and evaluate how our homeschool year went. This last homeschool years was a pretty good one overall. I wasn't pregnant and didn't have a baby, so nothing major interrupted our year. Although I did have a pretty major foot surgery which slowed me down tremendously. A new baby is definetly sweeter than a walking boot cast and a three inch scar on my heel.
So I just wanted to pop in to say that I'll post in the next few days about what worked for us this year, what didn't, what was a mess and what flowed beautifully (besides the bathroom sink when operated by our three year old daughter). Here's a link to the post I wrote at the beginning of the year loaded with all the the optimism I possessed. And here's another with detailed info on the resources we chose for the year. But please pop back by for a visit later this week, lest you think for a minute that life went according to plan.
But before I can begin in earnest to move forward with my summer plans, I really should step back and evaluate how our homeschool year went. This last homeschool years was a pretty good one overall. I wasn't pregnant and didn't have a baby, so nothing major interrupted our year. Although I did have a pretty major foot surgery which slowed me down tremendously. A new baby is definetly sweeter than a walking boot cast and a three inch scar on my heel.
So I just wanted to pop in to say that I'll post in the next few days about what worked for us this year, what didn't, what was a mess and what flowed beautifully (besides the bathroom sink when operated by our three year old daughter). Here's a link to the post I wrote at the beginning of the year loaded with all the the optimism I possessed. And here's another with detailed info on the resources we chose for the year. But please pop back by for a visit later this week, lest you think for a minute that life went according to plan.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Clean clothes
As I hung all my white linen shirts out to dry on the clothesline, I thought of the Lord's promise to believers in Christ.
He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. Revelation 3:5
Sin free. Finally. And yet even today, with forgiveness He offers through the Cross, He sees me as clean.
Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. Isaiah 1:18
Lord, let me not forget or take lightly what it cost You to make ME white as snow. Your blood shed for me washed away my crimson stain. I'm now clean; clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Our Wonderful Getaway
We've been married 15 1/2 years. I have never been more in love with this wonderful husband of mine than I am now. Michael and I had a fabulous getaway, just the two of us, to the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. It's an absolutely romantic and historic hotel that invites you to relax at every turn. We had 2 nights and 3 days away (thanks to my mom who stayed with 4 children and my dear friend Janice and her hubby hosting the other 2). It was a time we will always remember. Our love tank runneth over!
The Broadmoor was built in 1918. It is simply exquisite! The landscaping was just beautiful and colorful.
There's a lake in the middle of the hotel property. We woke each morning to see the swans and ducks right outside our balcony, which we learned is too far from the lake to successfully throw crackers to the swans.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
It All Adds Up
Child #5.
Daughter #3.
1 pound bigger than her big brother.
4 years old since March.
Riding her 2 wheeler with grit and grace.
Doing her 100 piece puzzle with a little help, with the exception of the 4 pieces she lost.
She keeps mom on all 10 toes.
I can't count all the ways I love this girl of mine.
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