We've Moved!

We've moved our preschool posts over to our main blog.
You can find us over at www.friesenfunnyfarm.com!

Come see what we're up to now!

Our Christmas Card to You 2011

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The Joy of Giggles - Anne of Green Gables Chapter One

Anne of Green Gables started off a little rough. As Chapter One is not so easy to read outloud. But as the character of Mrs. Rachel Lynde emerged from the breathy sentences of pastoral description, something began to change. "Are you done yet?" quickly turned into "That's terrible, the way she talks." "Who does she think she is?" to quieter thoughts when Mrs. Rachel gives her terrible advice as to the reasons of NOT adopting. (This will make for interesting discussion today about how my amazing adopted daughter of 6 views adoption and how she thinks others perceive it as well.)  Then came complete shrieks of joy & giggles of delight as my 12 year old daughter realized the boy orphan at the train station, was not a boy at all!

So, on our kind-of-sort-of, first day of school, we found the reason we homeschool in the Joy of Giggles today!

We Choose Virtues GIVEAWAY!!!

Check out this awesome Giveaway and info on We Choose Virtues Giveaway! This Mama is going to have to invest in this easy to use cards and references/ bible verses on Virtues! They even have ones for older kids! Love it! Head over for your chance to win and shop at We Choose Virtues!

Prayer Needed!

I have been so moved at the miracles happening over at A Place Called Simplicity and how God moves it mighty ways. Truly amazing! You must read what God is doing over there!

And as I read her latest posts...I want to share one of Linny's quotes:
 "God's plans defy all odds.
God's plans supercede all logic.
God's miracles mystify all human reasoning.
God's plans trump every single human plan.
Every single time!"

God is good all the time!
So Here's my little prayer requests:
God has so provided for us in major miracle working ways re: our home and some of our finances! Praise God! We are able to move into a smaller home w/ the smallest mortgage we've ever had! And we now have a payed for van! Praise God! But with all of that we are still hit with needs that seem so big at the moment.
+We need My Father's World Curriculum: Exploring Countries and Cultures to borrow or get a great deal on!
+We need some items to sell so that we can finish strong now!
+We need God to open or close the doors to the 2 day a week school for Ashley. They said they won't know for a few more weeks. I need to be able to plan!
+We need God's peace and presence as our home goes on the market and that I stay sane while we keep it clean! Pray for my children! :)
So that's a little of what's going on here! How about you? Need prayer?

Finally!

Wow!

That about sums up this last year of wrestling with God re: Peep3's education!

I'm sure if you read thru this blog, you will clearly see God leading us to homeschool. But sometimes what he asks of us doesn't always make sense to anyone else but HIM!

But He is so faithful to not give up on me. To show me in more ways than neccessary His will.

The last two weeks have been quite something as I went thru all of our schooling options for this coming fall. Knowing in my heart we need to homeschool her. But not landing on anything about drove my husband crazy! And then as I was about to give up, I heard God whisper to me, "If I was in your home today, face to face with you, what would you tell me about homeschooling her?"

With that final surrender, to my sweet Lord, came the peace that I have been waiting for. A still small voice has been telling me that "I already know what to do and what to teach her" and to "trust Him".

And then today, I was blessed to find a homeschool option that will allow her to go two days a week to get the individualized reading, writing, and math help that she needs. And that was my biggest challenge. I want to get her all the help she needs, even though she is almost done with her IEP. We have done a partnership school before. But this one has been around for many years and their approach to working with us as parents/teachers and the student is quite impressive. And they teach all the way thru high school. (I was happy to see all of the high school options). Then I turned around to see two ladies, from my church, who are serving on their parent committee! And we are able to carpool with Peep3's best friend and another girl from her class last year. And it looks like we might be able to borrow some curriculum for what I will be teaching!

We are now on our way! Thank you, Lord!

Finding Joy NOW

Sometimes life gets out of control.
Sometimes life gives you almost more than you can handle in a few short weeks.
Like...
The loss of our last adopted baby (embryo). A job change for hubby. Financial pressure.
Decision to sell our home. Finding a new home. A teen seeing how far he can run. Three 2 year olds. And more...like potty training triplets!

But when you get to the breaking point.......to the point of surrender.....
There is Joy!

And Joy is there even in the midst of pain, conflict and the trial.
But it is up to us if we choose to see it or not.
Life changes. It can change our perspective on many things.
But true Joy remains constant and true and always dependable.

I found myself singing in the midst of it all, "The Joy of the Lord is my strength."
As that was all my soul could cling to.
It was my lifeline.

I didn't choose to have LIFE hit like this.
No one would.
I don't like how far my thought process led me away from Joy.
I seem so far from the girl I once was. Even the young joyful mother I once was.
I have always found Joy in my circumstances. And in motherhood.
But am I living Joy?
Am I embracing Joy?
Am I living in Joy?
As our Pastor today said, "Are we living IN Him? In Jesus?"
Am I celebrating all the wonderful gifts God has given me?

Well it's time!
I've considered deleting all the previous posts.
They are not all that happy and positive.
I will not.
As this will be a milestone of God's work in my heart.
And a declaration of "Finding Joy NOW!"

I'm finding Joy in His provision of a beautiful... smaller home...smaller payment!
I'm finding Joy in the moments when I know ALL my children are home and safe!
I'm finding Joy as I snuggle my darling daughter during church!
I'm finding Joy that I do have food in my panty even though I need to be creative!
I'm finding Joy in a faithful, loving husband!

Are you needing Joy? He is always there! Waiting for you! It's up to you to seek Him!

Living with ADD

This has been quite a journey to get to where we are today. We've had quite a stressful Spring.
Our main stress has come from the many ups and downs of Peep3's life over the last few months.

First off, let me say that I have just read my first book on Understanding ADHD. Why?...oh...Why have I waited so long? I guess I've been so focused on how Dyslexia has affected all three of my older Peeps, that ADD has been pushed aside. But no longer. It is great to read a book and have those "ahhaa" moments that you are not alone. That the battles we sometimes fight have to be reached in a different way because...guess what?...Kids with ADD are wired differently! Big news flash...I know.

Second, although the book I mentioned above tells us that society (doctors, teachers, etc.) have realized that the behaviors of said children are no longer blamed on bad parenting skills, I would have to disagree. Last month I sat in an IEP meeting and when discussing Peep3's lack of attention, both the remedial teacher and her main teacher sat back, arms crossed, and looked at me for a solution. They mentioned their concern about what is going on in our home to make this child so emotional. I uncrossed my arms, sitting forward with my arms on the table and stared back at them. I said that I'd like to know what WE are going to do about it and that I want to know what is going on at school all day that causes my child to have complete and total meltdowns when she comes home to me. Not to mention the tummy aches and not wanting to get out of bed  moments. (That happened for about 2 months) Then they wanted to know if she was still on her original medication. I told them yes and that we are not willing to put her on an additional medication for ADD. Which by the way is a blood pressure medication.

I will not go any further to discuss how our Spring has gone with this teacher. If you caught the post about Peep3's teacher intruding on our decisions to homeschool, before I deleted it, you know some of what we're going through. I know there has been some "she said. she said" going on between Peep3 and the teacher. So I'm calling a truce for now.

Third, the ADD child has quite a concoction of social issues. I believe that Peep3's issues have mainly come from her dyslexia. When a child has learning issues their peers  pick up on it. An easy target. When that child is taken out of the classroom for over 1/2 of her learning day for remedial classes and then is expected to reenter w/o disruption, this causes alot of stress and lowers self esteem. Kids feed off of this. So in her defense she does what she does best and that's being chatty and social or gets emotional, embarrassed and gets teary. Which is the last thing you want to have happen in a classroom. Then the sweet girl who gets picked on, now fights back and takes her frustrations (with words) out on younger children at school or in the neighborhood. She's done that so that she feels some control over her situation, which by the way, is not her nature. We've dealt with the loss of a best friend and then the making up of that best friend (which left both Moms in tears).Oh, the pettiness of 5th grade girls!!! But ADD plays into relationships in the form of impulsivity. She does pretty well but that doesn't help in these matters. Emotional tween+dyslexia+impulsiveness=Migraines for Parents!

So how does ADD affect our home? It does not help with sibling rivalry, at all. We've all had to work on our communication skills. Mainly how to communicate with the child with ADD. For me it's how to realize I need a break from the constant need/noise and to find a place for her to go (mainly upstairs), or a project for her to do so I can breathe and focus. I need to be better at realizing my needs before I escalate the situation. We all need to pick our battles. And there are some that I let slide and some I won't. There has to be an evaluation of each situation, mood, and need. While in a battle, now matter what happens between point A and point B, keep the focus on the original offense and stay firm. There are times that she would be grounded for a month just getting her to go up the stairs to her room for a timeout. I need to stay focused during that time and not escalate the problem. But that doesn't mean I tolerate disrespect. It's very hard when I have three little ones in the home and they are there to watch the outbursts. I try desperately to move the conversation upstairs so we can talk away from the chickies.

All of this put together with her learning needs and social needs has made us search for the right path for her for next year. God has led us to homeschool her, you can read about that here. And we have to have a successful learning environment for her that addresses her learning, social and emotional needs. We want a healthy, happy future for her. We found out that it looks like Peep3 will be able to get into the same program as her brother at their middle school. It has been a great program for Peep2. She will be able to get a block of Language Arts/World History and Math with the same remedial teachers. And that will all take place in the first three periods. If that is how the schedule comes out, we feel giving her this academic opportunity is what we should do. Then she will come home and  we will do Science and her electives together in the afternoon. We are very excited as we believe this will give her the best of both schools. God is good and my fleece is out that if this is what He wants for next year, that the school schedule and classes will still look like this come fall.

Enough about me. If you have an ADD/ADHD child, what is your biggest challenge? And how do you cope? I'd love to here from YOU!

The Most Important Reason For Us To Homeschool

A lot has happened since I last blogged. Not in the bringing my child home to homeschool realm.
But God has been busy.
I told Him I needed a "Stike me with lightening" experience to lead me further.
That didn't happen.

We chose to not pull Peep3 out at this time, because as we prayed about how that would work now, it in reality doesn't right now.
Peep3 is getting extra help at her school right smack during the Chickies' (triplets') naptime.
And believe me I pursued getting the time changed, and talked to several of the neighborhoods' live-in grandparents to see if they could come over for two 5 minute intervals daily. How crazy is that?
When the last door didn't open, we felt like we needed to wait a little longer.

But, much has been going on....with me, of course!
I was happy I skated by the Jonah bible study last fall.
I knew why I didn't want to go there.
But as I'm crying out to God for direction, guess what He puts in my path.
So, I'm just doing my Beth Moore Study at Church on the Life of Paul -To Live Is Christ,
minding my own business, when out of the blue on page 164 Beth feels the need to compare
and contrast Paul's life with Jonah's! HA!

I'm writing this down so that I know that I know that I know what He's shown me....
Here's an expert from that study that spoke to me directly...
Beth Moore writes: "Sometimes we respond with obedience like Paul. Other times we run from God with aerobic velocity like Jonah.... God loves us whether or not we are obedient, but the quality of our Christian lives is dramatically affected by our response."
The result of obedience is in John 15:10-11. "If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love."
Then Beth writes: "An attitude of obedience makes a difference to the servant and to those close by. Servants of God can dramatically affect the lives of others positively or negatively. Under Jonah's umbrella in the storm many experienced calamity. Under Paul's umbrella many found safety. Is the sky rumbling? Are clouds darkening? Is a storm rising in the horizon? If you are a child of God, you will hold an umbrella in the storm. You will not be under the umbrella alone. Our children will be under there with us. The flocks God has entrusted to us will be there. Even the lost are often drawn to people of faith when hurricane winds begin to blow. Child of God, you and I are centered on the bow of the ship when storms come and the waves crash. May the rest of the crew find an umbrella of blessing in our midst."

I don't know what the future holds for any of my children. But I DO know what God has asked ME to do! And through this study I believe one reason to homeschool Peep3  is to be the umbrella of safety. I don't know what storms will come. I don't need to know, but I want to lead her and love on her all the while!

Today I came across a fantastic 10 Days of Homeschooling Blog Hop! Boy, am I making a date with my computer for the next 10 days! That's 16 Fantastic Homeschool Bloggers for 10 days! 160 reads! Wow! On Confessions Of A Homeschooler's Blog today there's a list of the other reasons (scriptures) why my heart is passionate about homeschooling our children! Found here: Confessions' : Why I Homeschool. We will be making our own Homeschooling Vision Worksheet as well. Love it!

I just want to end with:
God is so faithful. When I am not. He loves me when I am unlovable. He guides me even when I've ran the opposite direction. He loves my family. He has an amazing plan for each of us. Each one of my children! Jeremiah 29:11"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Praise God! I don't need to know how. I just need to follow Him and know that this IS His calling. To lead these precious ones to Him! Thank you Heavenly Father!

Thankful

Bringing Her Home

Well, we thought God was preparing our hearts and home for homeschooling Peep3 next school year. It looks like it will be much sooner! My heart is ready. My mind is ready. I feel overwhelmed with the list of to-dos that need to get done in order to make this happen though.

Here's a break down of where we are today.

Reading: We tested her the end of last school year and she was at 4.6 reading level (fourth grade). She just started 5th grade and is now reading at a 5th grade level! WOW! Thank you, Lord! This is amazing for her. So this means she will graduate from her IEP in reading soon!

Math: She still needs help. So the IEP remains. And we will take her to these classes 4 days a week while homeschooling until she meets her goals there.

We will start out with Handwriting Without Tears and Writing Strands. We will be reading some great classics starting with Anne of Green Gables and including reading responses, a report, and spelling words with this. I'm excited to start a Unit study on Anne of Green Gables for other subjects! Independent reading of her choice. And Bible reading, discussion, and writing verses weekly. I want to introduce to Peep3 women of the Bible and how we can learn from them!

Although we're still searching for a complete math curriculum, we've signed her up with IXLfor lots of math practice. IXL is a great program for kids to practice all areas of math from K-8. It will give the parents reports of how well they did in each area and how long they practiced. You're able to see what areas need more instruction. This is a great resource for all school aged kids. And it's on the computer! Not a workbook. "L's" teacher is using this for her class homework. And she recommends it because there is detailed help for the questions they get wrong. Also, we will be purchasing Times Tales from Trigger Memory. This was highly recommended for to make math more fun and for those with dyslexia!

I will be implementing a workbox system . I read Sue Patrick's Workbox System and it was helpful, but I will be creating our own system from these ideas. Here's a link to Rockin' Granola's workbox post for more ideas. I think I will keep the same boxes out in order for a weeks time. And will change it up a bit here and there. This will help lessen my planning time. I'll have a couple of boxes set aside to add in during the week to keep it fresh. I also need to get a couple of timers to help her know how much time to spend on an activity. She can spend an hour on one assignment as it is. This could be really freeing to her. Also this should cut down on distractions as I will place all the needed items for that subject in that box. Nothing else but a timer will be left out of a box, including pencils, paper and erasers. This is a huge stumbling block for Peep3 right now at school.

We are considering hiring someone to come in one day a week as a Mother's Helper to give Peep3 and I more instuctional time during the week. I am hoping that my Mother-in-law can come one day a week as well. We are talking about this. I was all gun-ho to find someone and then this morning I realized that I want to try Nana coming in first and really see what our needs will be and time frame before hiring someone. So I will put that on hold for a bit, but will still ask around. Here's a great post from Steady Mom that talks about how when something looks perfect, "except when it isn't!" Thanks Jamie, I needed to read that today!

Friday School will start up in February and give Peep3  a chance to choose some classes and get to see old friends and make new ones at our church. I will quit MOPS at that time so that we can stay home 4 days a week and keep Fridays as our big day out. I'm hoping to replace MOPS with an evening bible study so that I can be fed and have some fellowship once a week. We'll see if Daddy Rooster is on board with that! The big peeps already go to church at that time, so it's perfect timing.

This list is long, but most of it is done! I'm very excited and writing it down really helps. That way I can look back and see what our goals were and what's working or not! This list is just about Academics which is only half of the reasons why we want to bring her home! I'll post more about that next!

Look for these upcoming posts: The "D" Word - Dyslexia - How learning disabilites have impacted our children and our family! and The Most Important Reasons to Bring Her Home!

Desperate Housewife Desperate for God and Someone to Clean Up Puke!

Well, I thought since chaotic September was O.V.E.R that October would be a breeze.You know, just being able to keep up on the everyday housework and simple errands bring me much joy after such a pileup. But that was very short lived. Boy, I live for the days where I can get dressed with makeup on and the kiddos and I can get out for an errand or park day and still have energy in the afternoon to do the things that keep this house a-roll'n! But then the flu hit and not once, or twice, but now three times!Peep1 down for 5 days with bad sinus infection. Peep6 is on his third day with the flu. Last Thursday after a much needed fun day at the Pumpkin Patch, Peep3's school called to say she threw up. And the week before that half of us were sick. Was'up?!! And now my house and I feel like we're a-rock'n! And not in a good way!

Needless to say it's been a little frustrating! And there have been moments where I've cried out to God after cleaing up puke with one toddler, calming another crying sick toddler, and being kicked by the third one! That was the  straw that broke the camel's back. After all I'd missed my MOPS group for the third meeting in a row! Couldn't God give me just a small 2 hour break with no sick peeps so that I could get some fellowship time in? Is that too much to ask? I've been in tears several times this week. Come on God you know how lonely and isolated I've been lately! But I know what God has been teaching me for the last month, before these little storms hit. I know He's been calling me HOME. Home? Seriously? How much more HOME can I get?!!

I knew the foundation of our HOME needed some work. Relationships. Nutrition-meals. And our marriage - time spent with my Hubby (Daddy Rooster)! But then we added the little storms and I saw that my heart needed to be in the right place as well. Yes, God is calling me HOME. The highest and the most beautiful calling is to my family. I picked up a book from the library called Passionate Housewives Desperate for God by Chancey and McDonald. It really helped put some things into perspective for me as a Homemaker. I appreciated the biblical view of our often misguided perception of such an important profession. Although there are areas in the book that I know is not me as well and have a hard time stomaching, I can keep an open heart and let God mold me into the Homemaker He designed ME to be! Read it if you dare!

God has been so gracious to me during this hard time. He has given me a scripture when all I had was literally a minute to read His Word! He has spoken to my heart re: relationships with my peeps. Shown me where I've been wrong. Or where I've been looking at situations through my own wrong colored glasses and not through His perfect ones! Shown me where I am strong. Given me such a blessing in my wonderful husband that is my best friend! And He's somehow kept me physically going! He is Good!

I'm off now to help a chickie climb into a chair, read a book to another chickie wanting my time, and holding a bowl for the third chickie to puke into! And in the midst of some tears, I'm happy to be the one to do all of this and more! I love being Mama Hen!

Sick Days - Very Little Tot School

We knew we were in trouble when we found this little chickie on the couch asleep.

She actually fell asleep  in her brother's arms...so sweet.

Peep5 has not done this since she was tiny, so we knew something was up!

Then we found this one too tired to sit up to play!

Then I turned around and found this one...!

Our Big Peeps came to the rescue later and built and amazing

mess fort for the little chickies!

I love this pic of my almost 6ft tall teen playing with his little brother!

Tot School click here to see more Tot Schooling Families!

I so appreciate everyones advice on buying pipe cleaners

for stringing beads. Even Peep4 got the hang of it this week!

Thanks!

We started letter "A" this week!

I really like these free printables from

Coloring Castle

I was excited I found colored sticks at the dollar store, but

quickly found that the babies like to suck on them!

Thus, the colored lips! gross!

That is it! I'm exhausted!

 The"something" got Mama Hen too!

I haven't been this sick for days  since before the chickies were born!

Trying to survive with books, High Chair time, a movie here and there, and some serious

naps!

Homeschooling Multiples Resources

OK. So, I'm just getting started and am having a hard time finding good, no, great homeschooling resources for multiples. And then I remembered one of my favorite sites! Mama Jenn has two sets of twins plus one! And she is successfully homeschooling and living to blog about it and so much more! I will be spending a lot of time over at her blog this week checking out all of her resources that she already has in place for all of us! Check out her Homeschool Resource List Blog! This is so great! Looking for holiday ideas? Curriculum ideas? A-Z activities? And soooo much more! Go check her out!

If anyone has any homeschooling multiple blogs they follow or resources to share I'd love to share, please LMK! I'm hoping to make a list!

1st Grade Starts With Fair Day

September 2002
Peep1- First Grade
Peep2 - 4 years old
Peep3 - 3 years old

We started out our year with the fantastic Western Washington State Fair. This is the 7th largest in the country! It is big and we got to go free on the first Friday of the fair each year. Since this was such a "big" deal in our area, we decided to host our own "Fair Day". Several homeschool families came to our house to "show" their animals (stuffed), show off their baking skills ( I got to judge all the entries...yummy), and their latest creations (lego, forts, etc.). We set up a ticket booth at the front door, where my kiddos got to learn about money (fake of course). We awarded each participant with Blue Ribbons for a variety of things! It was a total blast! The kids all loved it too! It was such a great way for them to try public speaking when showing their animals. And boosting self-confidence by showing off their hard work and so much more!

We loved My Father's World Kindergarten so much that we decided to follow with their First Grade curriculum. I loved it because the student got his own Bible to color and learn to read. I'm a huge believer in studying creation and the Bible as much as possible while they are young. It is the foundation to everything else they will learn later on! L&A got to do preschool along with MFW and went to co-op classes with their brother.

We plodded along pretty well. However, writing became a huge frustration quickly. If I had know then, what I know now, I would have put every writing assignment away (except for practicing the ABCs) quickly! This skill was so difficult (not that MFW asked for much) that Peep1 would sit at the table, white knuckled, the whole time. Tears for him. Total frustration for me as well. This continued into 2nd grade. So I took the lessons away and we spent more time on the couch reading great books. I gave him a writing journal and as we read he was to write words if he wanted to or draw pictures that related to the story. It was just for him to get used to a pencil in his hand w/o any pressure. It helped our relationship greatly! I love those precious times snuggled on the couch! I had forgotten until I read Salt Box: Tactile Penmanship Practice that we worked on tactile learning with salt and sand as well.

Reading three letter words was going pretty well. But by second grade his progress went very slowly. Looking back I remember all the worry and frustration I had over his progress. And now I see so early on the signs of what we would later learn was dyslexia!

My Little Chickies Are 2!!!

My Little Chickies started out life 6.5 wks early.

After almost delivering at 26 weeks and several more times,

they are truly miracles that stayed cook'n until 33.3wks!

Chickie5- 4.0lbs

Chickie4 - 4.11lbs

Chickie6- 4.11lbs

Here they are today over 30lbs each!

Singing "Happy Birthday, ABC's , and Twinkle Twinkle"

I can't believe how big they are!

First Day of School - 23months

While the big peeps are away....

Chickies will play!

We found rocks to write our names with.

We get excited when geese fly over us!

Attempting Tot School

Still have to get organized enough to plan some lessons for at least

a week or two in advance. For right now we are "winging" it!

Threading Beads

Peep5 is really into it and would ask for help with every bead.

Peep6 could pretty much thread the beads by himself. Needed some assistance.

We are focusing on colors, shapes and fine motor skills.

Anyone have good ideas of something longer and harder to thread

beads with for this age?

Peep4 was all about "Dressing Up"!

Didn't want to do any of the work, just show it off! haha

Snack time.

Teaching them to keep their snacks at the table is a lesson

I'm trying to teach them, since we'll be in some settings this Fall

where this is important.

I said,"Thank you, Mama." Thinking they'd repeat it and

Peep4 said "Thank you, Jesus!"...Even Better!

Peep1 - High School

Peep2 - Middle School

Peep3 - Elementary

I made these Banana Peanut Butter muffins for the first day of school.

But here's the catch. 

I knew I wouldn't have time in the early morning before Peep1 left to get them done, so I bought Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls for the AM and had these muffins ready for them when they walked in the front door after school.

 Boy, they sure smelled good!

A Great First Week!

The Wise Woman Builds Her House

Ever have one of those...I need a quick word from you, Father...as you open your Bible?

Here is today's Word for me:
The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down. Proverbs 14:1
 Ok, God, what are you telling me?

First, I know where my heart is being led this Fall. (BTW, this was not how I was going to start this post)
I need to get back to basics.
I say that alot, but I mean the very basics.
The foundation.
It's been a long time since I've looked at the very bottom of things and brushed away the clutter and spent time inspecting my foundation.
I'll break it down.
Prayer.
Marriage.
Speaking gently.
Dinner.
Doesn't sound that exciting does it. But that's my focus this Fall!

First, if my foundation isn't on the Rock, Jesus Christ, how can I expect to build up my home. And it starts with prayer. We had a big eye-opener re: my oldest son, who went thru a really dark period of time last Spring. He is too young to have gone thru this, but it was definetly a spiritual warfare that we walked thru. Praise God that he was delivered from something at a church conference and God has walked with him closely. I can't tell you how wonderful it's been having my son back! This summer was such a joy to be with him and to have great conversations. Truly a different kid! Thank You, Lord. We're not sure how this all came to be, but I'm tired of feeling like I'm peddling to try to keep up with all the teen stuff. So, I want to be pro-active and be on my knees and keeping my children lifted before God, BEFORE things happen! They need such incredible protection and guidance and wisdom, that can only come from above! My older three are in public school so that complicates the matter. But they are there, because that is where we've been led for them for this year. It's a very hard decision. But I know that by being on my knees I can impact their lives in a mighty way!
And if I'm not being fed (spiritually), how can I feed my precious children with words of life?

Second, other than Christ, our marriage is THE foundation of this home. And I've walked with dear friends lately who's "Christian" marriages have ended in divorce. Where did that come from? How did that happen? I don't know and I'm sure they are wondering the same thing. I can't continue to let things slide in my marriage. To let complacency be the norm. We have to be on our guard and continually putting our marriages before God and asking Him to help us make it better and protect this vital foundation! I look at our 6 children and thank God that they have a model of parents that love each other to watch.

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1
Third, if only I could have approached my conversation with my daughter differently yesterday. How I approach this tween is key to my relationship with her. But so often I am in a hurry, can't hear because of babies or get caught up in her hormonal state that it usually ends up with me getting her wrath or she mine!  Lord, please help me to be gentle! And help her not to be so defensive! Thank, You!

Fourth, Dinner. Duhhh!!! You'd think that this mom of many would have this one down by now. Trying. I have a love hate relationship with my kitchen. I love to eat. Hate to cook. Ok, hate is a strong word. Don't enjoy it.  But it is key to the existance of my family's health and to our communication. I can let a lot of things slide now that my older ones can fend for themselves in the kitchen. But I have to make this a priority! Everyone is happier with a yummy dinner that's homemade. So that is my goal. I'll keep you posted. Now tonight is Mac&Cheese, because hubby and I get to go out with my sister and her hubby! Yay! But I am making a breakfast casserole for in the morning! And I made Chicken Divan and Meatloaf with mashed potatoes in the last couple of days. Trying!

So the lesson today, thanks God, is that it is easy to tear down my house thru complacency, harsh words, and no food! But I can build upon this firm foundation that I've been given and watch it grow!

Posts For The Homeschool Junkie

Today I was thrilled! OK, I'm a homeschool junkie! I get my thrills from reading homeschooling blogs and books! What's up with that?!!

I couldn't read fast enough during the "twippets'" naps!

And now I get to pass them on to you!

Se7en - Things I would Do If I Had To Start Homeschooling Over

Rockin' Granola - Practically Imperfect In Every Way

The Homeschool Village - Guest Post Carisa from 1+1+1=1

Simple Homeschool - Encouragement-Reflections From A Homeschool Graduate

Have fun reading!

Watch out for more Posts For The Homeschool Junkie and a linky to add yours as well!

Our Adventures and Misadventures of Kindergarten

We started homeschooling our oldest when he started Kindergarten. Our main reasons were to give him more one-on-one time, let him explore what interested him, and to spend more time reading together and talking about God and His creation. We loved that "homeschooling" is "family oriented". We had a couple friends homeschooling. How hard could it be?

The Adventure:
I'm so glad we started in Kindergarten. Wish we would've always had that mindset. The funny thing is is that we started out like many homeschooling families. We tried to "imitate" a "school" at home. We had our flag up, our alphabet border and posters, our schedule. We quickly abandoned the schedule and found our rythym to our day. We delved into our Kindergarten Unit Study from My Father's World and loved it! We spent our days discovering God's Creation while learning the alphabet, days of the week, art, science, and math! MFW curriculum was great for our preschoolers to do along with us as well! And we did join a small homeschool co-op at our church.


Looking back that very first morning taught me more about "how" and "what" homeschool should look like in our home than anything else. Just before we started off, we got a phone call to turn on the TV. The first of the twin towers had just been hit. We watched in terror as the scene we all know played out. I can't remember if I sent the kids upstairs to play or what, but when our morning "school" time started, it was with tears in our eyes as we said the "Pledge of Allegience". Our morning got off on a different schedule that day, but nothing was more important than stopping and praying for our country and the lives that were lost. Taking the time for "real" life, unscripted, and God-led should've always been my focus, but sadly I let alot of other things creep in.

The Misadventure:
Sadly, I started to compare myself, my family, my children  to other homeschooling families. I had a lot of growing up to do during this time. But it was very hard not to compare myself to others when I was feverishly trying to see what everyone else was doing. Making sure I was "doing" this right. That I had the right curriculum. And so on! It was exhausting. And I paid for this constant compraring dearly! I lost some of the JOY! I couldn't let myself believe that I already had everything that God needed to do this job. To trust Him and enjoy the process! It's alot of pressure! It's alot of letting "go" and relying on Him! To take the time to find out by just "playing" with each child, their learning style. And then I found out that I had a distinct teaching style as well.

I learned the hard way that OUR family will not now or ever  look like anyone else's. Try as I might, we are not a Norman Rockwell family (not that I even want that). My children bicker and fight (heaven forbid). There are belches at the dinner table (gasp! followed by "excuse me"). There is "not" so appropriate dinner conversations going on around our table. My older three have never "taken" to music (There goes the idea of a traveling music tour!) Doing daily devotions is not something that comes easily for me, therefore, my children (cringe!). Does that make us any less Godly? NO. Does God judge my family because this is who we are? NO. Believe me HE created this Crazy Funny Farm in the first place! In some homeschooling groups I know there is quite a high expectation for others. Or do I put it on myself and again assume that "they" have it all together?

Although internally I was struggling, we had a blast. We built forts. Jumped in puddles. Grew a small garden in our neighborhood garden. Read books snuggled on the couch. Watched Bible Stories on video. Listened to Adventures In Odyssey tapes. (Tapes and videos? What are those?) Made models of the earth and moon and participated in the science fair. And so much more.

That about sums up our first year in Kindergarten. Next will be our Adventures and Misadventures of First Grade.