Life's Journey

The last few days have been very cold, windy and rainy. Before that we were having really nice weather. As the warm March breezes begin my thots cant help but shift to spring planning. We begin to slow our regular school work down to just mornings and allow our afternoons to be free to enjoy the seasonal changes. Last week I sat down and jotted down random thots and themes I hoped to begin sharing with my children. I love to add seasonal studys to our school work and this time of year it seems to focus alot on nature studys. So I thot Id post these thots here . . . . .

March brings breezes, Flowers budding . . . daffodils and dandelions Singing birds building new nests and those in flight heading back north New thot of Spring Cleaning, Nature Study, Wayward walks, gardening and new routines March wind, flying kites, windows wide open, pinweels and blowing bubbles on a windy day Thots of seeds, planting days, and a fruitful garden Nature walks, journals, pictures, field guides Springing ahead gives way to the vernol equinox Spring break comes as we wave goodbye to March April begins with thots of new life Refeshing showers, Puddle days, and Mud Pies Plans for Easter Spring Storms, cloud watching tornado alertness (nature's fury)

Crickets chirping and honeybees a buzzing Hanging bird houses New Pond life Baseball begins and here comes May Fresh bouquets appear on the table warm days, flip flops and bare feet as thots of summer begin to creep in ..................

The list could go on and on but these are just a few of my spring thots ........... what are yours ?

Vanishing Posts !

Lion Or Lamb

The last couple of weeks have been very nice here in Southern Arkansas. Yet, March 1 came in like a Lion. Very cold temps and lots of wind. Made for a very blustery day. Over the next few days temps will be rising and by Friday we will be up to a very warm 80 degrees.

Im still holding out hope for an early spring.

Good Attitudes !

I so love reading blogs. I have a whole list of my favs I read daily. For myself, I learn so much from other moms and how they handle their everyday live. We may live in different parts of the world, yet we all face the same joys and struggles as parents.

" As tempting as it may be to just wallow in self-pity and sadness, we have to choose daily to step forward and do what Yahweh, our Creator, has set in front of us. He may be asking small things of us. Or it might be something monumental that we can only do in His strength.
We choose what kind of attitude we will display. We choose whether we will give our best and make the most of each day, or whether we will squander precious hours, days, even weeks wishing and daydreaming."

Its so easy to fall into a pity party. We all have circumstances in our lives that cause us to feel justified in having the "woe is me attitude". Yet it is truly our choice in what kind of attitude we display for those around us. As Ive heard many times....... Its not always getting throught the storm your going through that necessarily makes the difference but what you do in the storm.

So..... Today no matter what comes, no matter how I wish things in my life were different........ I choose to look to this day as one my Lord has made and give my best to make the most of all opportunities He gives, whether good or bad.

Home School Mornings, Pancakes, and Loving my New Camera !

Oh how I love homeschool mornings ! I am not an early riser by nature. Im more of a night owl. So not having to get up early to have my kids at school is a great thing for me. One Im most thankful for.

We usually take it slow in the mornings ...... enjoying a homecooked breakfast and cleaning a bit. (our morning cleaning routine.) Lately my kiddos have been wanting to watch Animal Planet during this time. There is usually a show about raising wild baby animals rescued and how they are taken care of in captivity. Today is was two tiger cubs. My little ones really like it and so do my two older ones. My oldest daughter says she wants to be a vet so she takes alot of interest in the Animal Planet. We usually sit down with our breakfast and watch and discuss the show. There are usually lots of comments about what is going on. After breakfast and morning cleaning its off to start school around 9:30. Its so great to be able to have leizurely morning and enjoy my kiddos.

Yesterday, was National Pancake day. Last night we had pancakes and sausage links for dinner. Yum ! My seven year old asked me who thot of this holiday. He determined that whoever did was very smart and must love pancakes ! They loved pancakes for dinner.

I have lots of picts to post from my new camera but have not yet figured out how to post them. If anyone could lend their expertise on this Id be much grateful.

Im very thankful to have a camera again. I missed my old one and there seemed to always be a photo opportunity that I would miss.

When Life Happens

Just when you think you have everything figured, bam...... life happens. Well, that was what happened last week. The first whamie came as a direct attack from the enemy. At first I didnt realize it as such, but after much prayer about the situation it was so clear. I wont go into much detail about this because Im really trying to give it to the Lord. (which is always easier said than done)

My hubbie woke last Sunday to some kind of allergic reaction. (whamie #2) Hes never had any kind of allergic reaction. He was all broken out in hives. I gave him a benadryl and we decided to stay home from church. He went back to sleep and woke around noon. He was really dizzy and felt sick to his stomach so I decided it might be best to go to the ER. They gave him allergy shots and a steriod shot and prescriptions and we went home. He stayed home from school Monday but decided to go into work. Tuesday, he called at work and said he was breaking out again so I called the doc and we went in. Of course we couldnt tell what it was (havent ate anything new or come in contact with anything different that we know of). He received another shot and went back again Wednesday for more allergy shots. I decided to change laundry detergent to make sure it wasnt that. I have made my own but some of the ingredients I havent been able to get so about 4 months ago i started buying the store bought detergent again. I thot perhaps it was that. He has gotten a bit better but still takes at least one benadryl a day due to breaking out every morning. If it doesnt go away in another week our doc is going to schedule him to see an allergist. UGGGGG !!!!

This Saturday i began feeling sick and came down with a 24 hour stomach bug. (whamie #3) Thankfully that was just 24 hours, but we missed church again. So today was recovery day. lol. My house was a wreck. We all know what happens when mommy is sick.

LOL. Also, we missed most of last weeks school.

Today I mostly caught up on house work and ended up getting a day and a half of school work done. Hooray ! ! ! ! Im hoping to get all the way caught up within a week or two so we can stay on schedule. I have plans to be done by the first of May.

On another note........... Im really thinking of adding more about our homeschooling and would love to hear if anyone would be interested in reading about this. Ive thot of starting a seperate blog for this but dont think I would keep up with both.

Also, I now have a camera. . . finally..... and would love to post picts but not sure how. If anyone could tell me how to do this Id be really grateful !

Seasons in Life

Wow ! I havent blogged in a really long time. I suppose I took a very long and unintentional blogging break. It started with the business of the holidays and then I decided at the first of the year to really look at my life and re-prioritize the things I was doing. I took sometimes to really focus on God's Word more than usual and prayed about what I needed to change in my life. Not that there was anything too wrong, but I was sensing God wanting to work things differently. I believe we all have different seasons in our life for different things and my season was changing sort of speak. I sat down and wrote out some goals to work towards and so far have stuck to them. One goal is to really go deeper in God's Word. With homeschooling and my kiddos home all the time this meant giving up some of my "my time" at night.

Another goal was to spend alot more time with my children. I come to realize that even tho they were home all the time, I wasnt getting alot of time with them other than school work. Now Ive been playing alot of games with them, doing art projects, and just simply sitting and talking with them. Ive noticed a big difference in them such as less wining and fighting with each other.

I believe now that the things God was showing me was the greater blessings he had for my life. The little things I wasnt taking time for. Now my focus isnt so much on did I catch up on laundry or get every bed made but did I include my kiddos in this. Did I shew them away to play so I could clean or did I take one with me to help put dinner together. (I found one at a time helping me in the kitchen works much better and we get one on one time).

This isnt all to say I was neglecting them and not spending anytime with them, but I was seeing that there was much more time I could spend with them. The strange thing Ive discovered from this is astonishing my house has been even cleaner. Go figure !

Now I feel that Ive established a pattern in my life or should I say the habit, Im beginning to add a few things back in the "my time", but in shorter time slots.

Speaking of time..... my timer just went off so my 15 minute blogging time is up. Oh how time flies. Now its off to fractions.... ugggg....

Morning Prayer

Dear Lord, I am excited about this day. I can hardly wait to see what You are going to do. I believe You are going to keep me, help me, bless me, and give me favor. I love You , Father. i am waiting on You, Lord, and I am listening to You.

Show me Your way for me today, O Lord, teach me the path for me to walk. Guide me in Your truth and faithfulness. I ask for You to fill me with Your love, Your peace, and Your joy as I care for my family this day. Give me wisdom, knowledge and understanding to guide them and for any decisions I must make. I give You all praise You deserve my Lord. I am thinkful for who You are and all You do.

Today is a very nice day out. We have a warm 73 right now.

Our weather has been from cold one day to warm the next. Tomorrow is suppose to be a high of 46

We are officially on Christmas break. Friday was our last day of school work. I usually evaluate our school year at this time and then at the end of the year. So far, we have had a really good year. We have had a few delays because of two of mine had alot of doctor appointments but we should still finish as planned for the year. I plan when we start back to add more writing assignments and an art program I recently purchased. Its great and I can do this with all my children at once. I also plan to start the Rosetta Stone I have for my 10 and 13 year old. I always get so exctited when we start new things.

This year I chose different curriculum and I am so pleased with it. I will def. order again next yearl.... If anyone is seeking a curriculum change I would highly recommend going with Sonlight. I also changed our math to Math-U- See, and Im just as please with this. My daughter is a 1/4 of the way through the Algebra and she is actually enjoying it. I always let them work at their pace, and this has certainly been how we have done the Algebra this year. Some areas we have moved slowly and others we have sped through. We prob. wont finish the whole book this year but Im not worried. I would rather stay on it and for her to really understand than to move on for the sake of moving on.

Tomorrow, we are having Christmas for my Grandmother. Most of my Aunts and family will be there. (My grandparents had 4 girls) We will miss church for this because one Aunt can only come on Sunday because of work. Sunday night is our church Christmas dinner so we plan to get back in time for this.

Last night we were together with some friends from our church. It was so great to get together. We ate (of course) and played games. All the children had a sitter. So, it was wonderful Adult time.

Im hoping sometime at the beginning of the year to be able to purchase a new camera. Mine is broken.

Ive really missed not being able to take those "in the moment" picts of my kiddos this year. I also want to post pict on my blog. Ive noticed my fav blogs are those with lots of picts. I seem to enjoy those the most. Some of them I feel I should know from seeing so much of their daily lives. I love blogland ! ! ! ! So, hopefully, after I am able to have another camera I can make mine more personal.

Well, now its time to go out and enjoy our beautiful weather. It will be gone by tomorrow.

I really dont like the cold.

Monday's Happenings

Brrrr...... the cold artic air has reached Arkansas. Yesterday was a very nice 70 but today.... well today is 38 and dropping. Looks like we will definetly have a winter this year. You never know living in Arkansas if you will have cool autumn weather or a cold winter.

This week we are wrapping up school for the holidays. I have scheduled to have school all week, but we are coming to the end of alot of things, so when they are done we will be done too. It wouldnt be good to start anything new and then be out a week or two. I havent decided how long our holiday break will be. It depends on how restless the natives get. lol. Sometimes its better to stay in routine or we have total chaos.

Right now everyone is free drawing and then on to lunch.

Also today, my 4, 5, 6 year old is experiencing a bit of discipline. Last night we had a business meeting in church, so the older children always take the younger ones in the nursery areas to watch and play with them so the adults can "talk business" in peace. Well, my 4, 5, 6, year old boys acted up, were terribly loud, and other things which they totally know better. So, when we came home (hubby stayed home studying for finals) he disciplined them for not listening to their mom, and today they are grounded from any out door activity (which because of the cold they wouldn't have went out anyway) and no tv, video games or computer time. Hopefully this will get their attention. Friday, we are having a dinner with some friends and they will have a sitter. Hopefully this will go much better. Im learning that indeed discpline is just as hard on the parents that have to endure it as it is on the children.

Christianity Is Not A Smorgasbord !

After reading the article this week from NewsWeek (sorry I have no link) it really shows how some will go to great links to twist the word of God to justify the acceptance of sin. (sound familiar, Satan has been using this tactic since the days in the garden. Probably because it works !

). Well, I found this poem this morning that really sums up how God's laws arent for our picking and choosing. It really spoke to my spirit this morning and even convicting of my own picking and choosing sometimes when my fleshy ways wants its own way.

Christianity is not a Smorgasbord
by Jan Lutz

When God gave the Ten Commandments,
He did not mean pick and choose
Which of these you will obey
And which you will refuse.

It was in stone that He wrote:
"Thou shalt" and "Thou shalt not."
He didn't write: "It's your choice-
You may or you may not."

These laws He gave are for our good
In breaking them we are broken.
"I came not to destroy, but to fulfill the law"
Are words by Jesus spoken.

Though we can't keep His law perfectly
He calls us to holy living.
Obedience to God isn't optional,
But a command that we've been given.

Genuine love for God involves
Honoring Him above all else,
Using His name respectfully,
Regular worship in His house.

Love to humanity is shown
By honoring father and mother,
By purity in speech, though, and act,
And causing no harm to others.

Bearing one another's burdens
Fulfills the law of the Lord,
Who offers us a banquet-
But not a smorgasbord.

Wednesday's Happenings

Goodbye warm weather.

Yesterday, was a very nice warm day inspite of the random thunderstorms. But today is a different story. It is a very cold 36 right now, very dreary looking outside.

This morning after breadfast we will get as much done in school as possible. This week has not been a very productive week as far as school work is concerned. With everyone having to stay indoors anyway, we will do as much as possible.

Today is hubby's short day.

He will be home by 2:30. How nice. He only has one more week of this semester off. Next week will be finals. Thats always a time of tension. He always does well, but its still a nervous time. When this semester is over we will be half way there. Only 2 1/2 years left. Yeah ! ! ! !

I plan to go into town today and grocery shop. I was suppose to do that Sunday afternoon, but didnt make it. Today Ill have to make a new menu. I made one Saturday night but since I didnt make it to the store Ive used what we have had here.

Tonight we will probably have chili. Hubby usually asks for this when we have cold days. I usually make enough for two meals, sometimes three. I use the leftovers for chili cheese burritos and chili dogs.

In the home, I plan to do a few extra things in the kitchen. I am going to move everything off the kitchen counters and clean those extra good. Its amazing what you find under and behind your microwave !

Im also going to take an old toothbrush to my faucets. This always gets the crevises extra good. I was going to wash our trash can but its too cold outside to do that. So that will go for another day. This will probably be all I have time for in the extras.

Well, thats all that is going on around our place. Hope everyone has a very blessed day.

Tuesdays Happenings !

Today was another dentist appointment for Nick, my 6 year old. It seems we've been there alot with him.

Ugg. Most from his fall on the concrete knocking loose one of his permanent teeth. Thankfully it was saved and has completely tightened up. Today he had two of his baby teeth pulled. He did really well during the procedure. About an hour later however he was in pain and cried for about 30 min. But he seems fine now.

This past weekend I had a great time with my mom and sis. I really didn't think I would be able to do any shopping because of how tight things were, but a few minutes (literally) before we loaded up to leave for my mil to drop the kiddos off, a friend called and asked me she could stop by a few min. So, she came by and gave us a gift. She said she had been praying and felt God wanted her to give it to us. It was money for Christmas. I was in tears by the time she left. It covered almost all of my kiddos Christmas presents I had wanted to get them.

We also had another blessing. I had to ask my landlord to only take half rent on the first and take the rest the next week. This Sunday, someone in our church handed us a envelope and said the Lord wanted them to give this to us. It was the exact amount I needed for the rest of the rent without having to wait for the next week.

I know these all came from God, because I had not discussed this with anyone we knew. I always know God will provide, yet sometimes I fall short in the faith part. Waiting on his timing is so hard. Yet when I finally decide not to fret and just continue living joyfully this is when I see him move.

I saw a great movie today I wanted to recommend. It is called The Last Sin Eater. It was such a moving movie. Great representation of God's saving grace. Its basically for the whole family. It might not hold the interest of little ones. It did have slight violence but was still appropriate. It even had historical value in Irish/Scottish traditions. My 10 and 13 year old especially liked it. One word of warning tho... if you are prone to tears during a movie then you would probably want a box of tissue in hand.

We have been having wacky weather here in Arkansas this week. The temps have been in the 40's to low 50's and then yesterday and today it was in the high 60's. Tomorrow it is expected to be high 40's again. So needless to say today we have had rain and storms all day. With it still being great temps out, my boys have been out playing in between thundershowers. They are now very messy, but they've had lots of fun. Nothing like playing out in mud puddles all day.

Tomorrow we will have lots of school work. Today had alot of distractions, so very little got done. I will also need to buy groceries. I've been putting it off this week.

Well, this is all the happenings around here for now. Hope everyone has a blessed day.

Christmas Shopping

My mom, sis , and I alwasy have a day when we shop for Christmas together. Today is that day. My MIL will keep my kiddos over night and I will shop till my hearts content. LOL. Well, at least in theory. In reality it will be window shopping. This has been a hard few months financially. I suppose all the rising costs have caught up with us. When you have no debt, but you are behind on basic utilities you know times are tough. One thing that hurts us is since my hubby has started school, we havent really been able to have a savings worth anything, so when extras pop up it comes out of something else. During this tough financial time Ive been leaning on certain passages of God's Word. Here is one of them.

" Trust in the Lord with all you heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine." Proverbs 3:5-10

I tend to be one that wants to fix everything and instead I need to trust Him to provide and wait in patients for this to happen.

The holidays for some is stressful because of the lack of money for gifts. This year I am determined to not let that steal my joy of the celebration on my Savior's birth. Yes, its ok to celebrate Christmas. Its ok to give gifts. We just have to keep in all balanced.

So, this weekend I am going to enjoy the time shared with my sis and mom. Also, I love being able to shop without worrying about the kiddos too. This in itself is a real treat.

Good Info for all Ladies

I knew about the red light on cars, but not the *77
It was about 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon, and Lauren was driving to visit a friend. An UNMARKED police car pulled up behind her and put his lights on. Lauren's parents have always told her never to pull over for an unmarked car on the side of the road, but rather to wait until they get to a gas station, etc.

Lauren had actually listened to her parents advice, and promptly called*77 on her cell phone to tell the police dispatcher that she would not pull over right away. She proceeded to tell the dispatcher that there was an unmarked police car with a flashing red light on his rooftop behind her. The dispatcher checked to see if there were police cars where she was and there weren 't, and he told her to keep driving, remain calm and that he had back up already on the way.

Ten minutes later 4 cop cars surrounded her and the unmarked car behind her. One policeman went to her side and the others surrounded the car behind. They pulled the guy from the car and tackled him to the ground. The man was a convicted rapist and wanted for other crimes.

I never knew about the *77 Cell Phone Feature, but especially for a woman alone in a car, you should not pull over for an unmarked car. Apparently police have to respect your right to keep going to a safe place.

*Speaking to a service representative at ** Bell ** Mobility confirmedthat *77 was a direct link to State trooper info. So, now it's your turn to let your friends know about *77.

This applies to ALL 50 states. Great Information that may save your life one day.

Two Choices

Today's Happenings

Today promises to be a very full day. I take one of my boys to the dentist this morning and then off to the store for a few basic necessities. When I return home we will begin some school work. I dont like morning appointments but it seems the only time to get in at our dentist. He saves the afternoon for extensive work. It is nice however that I can now leave my other boys with my daughter. Its always such a hassle to take everyone with me to doctor appointments.

Last night while hubby was studying, I watched To Kill A Mocking Bird. I suppose I had never seen this movie before. But what a moving movie it was. I really love the classic movies, and this one had such life lessons that withstand time. This will definitely be one I try to find to buy to have at home. Im really enjoying having netflix. Its great to be able to watch a movie at relatively low price without feeling you've wasted your money if you get a dud.

For dinner tonight I plan to have Grilled Pork Chops, Au Gratin potatoes, and salad. This should be relatively simple. I still have a ton of laundry to do to catch up from the holidays. Hopefully I can get a lot of this done today.

Getting Back In The Groove

Its always hard getting back at it after a holiday. Today is no exception. Everything this morning is going very slow. I have finished the little ones school and my older two are watching a documentary about Samuari Swords. They are currently studying Japan so I thot this would fit in nicely. We have Netflix and Im always finding things to fit in with what we are studying. So, today is a day of getting things back in shape. I have a mountain range of laundry to do.

Dinner will be simple tonight: Speghetti, garlic toast and salad.

We had a very lovely thanksgiving. It was very nice having my hubby home for two days. He enjoyed the much needed break from his job and school.

I havent been blogging much lately so I hope to get back into it more. Lots of busy days but not much time to write about it.

Weekly Happenings !

This week has been a busy one around here. Next week will probably be the same. Its that time of year when we are all really tired of school work, so i decided to take the whole week off next week. We would have only have had school Monday and Tuesday anyway. Ive wanted to set down and re think our scheduling and add a few things, so this will give me the opportunity to do just that.

Monday, our homeschool group met for a fall party. This year we really focused on Thanksgiving and had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. All the kids told something they were thankful for and then they put on a short skit of the first thanksgiving. I thot they all did very well considering it was all put together in 10 min. LOL We have a large group of homeschoolers in our area. Its always great to get together with them.

Wednesday, was my hubby's birthday. He only had school that day and no work so he was able to come home by 2:30. We went out to eat and then he went to his favorite store (Game Stop, imagine that lol) where I had gotten a gift certificate. I had made him his fav. cake earlier (German chocolate) and we ate that later in the evening. Earlier that morning I had to take one of my boys to the dentist. While I was out my other children made cards for their daddy. It was a great day.

This week I tried a pumkin bread recipe I found at the Family Homestead. It was really good. For me it made 2 loaves and we ate it for breakfast most of the week. It was nice to have an easy morning of no cooking. I think I may try to bake some things to have for breakfast some after noon every week.

For a few weeks now, I had become quiet complacent in my housekeeping. Ive really focused this week on getting things back together. So, now I have a really clean house again. Today, I have to pick up and then finish up laundry. If it warms up enough, I plan on doing some raking in the yard. Right now its 34 degrees, so we will see.

With the cold weather, Im having to get use to the boys being back in the house for long periods of time. Last winter they were still taking naps, but they no longer do this

. Coming up with constructive things for them to do is a real challenge. So far here is what we do. (the ones to occupy are 4, 5, 6,) ......... Playdough, legos and building blocks, coloring and crafts, board games........... if anyone has any other ideas pleasssssse enlighten me. LOL !

Our lovely fall is slipping away !

The weather has seemed to have turned a bit cool overnight. Very windy today. With the cooler temps in August we have had a great fall and it seems to be coming to an end. But we live in Arkansas and it could be in the 70 tomorrow so who knows.

This week has been a bit unorganized. I just couldnt seem to get it together all week. Dont ya just hate times like that ! Well, hopefully my mind will be in better shape this coming week.

Today, I plan to clean a bit around the house. I hope to get the laundry fully caught up too. We will see. Later I am going to the church to help clean up. It is still going through a remodeling process so it needs a bit extra TLC on Saturday's to have it looking nice for Sunday.