love to paint

So, once I had signed up for Facebook months ago, I didn't do anything with it. Then, the other day, I decided to look at it. I accepted my friends' invitations and started finding lots of old friends--friends I really wanted to know how they were. I'm funny that way, but I feel like once we're friends, we'll always be friends. We may not be as close or talk as often, but I will always care. It has been a joy to my heart to see the children of my friends and even find one that got married last week! I rejoice with her! Amidst the struggles of raising three little ones and all of the tears that flow each day (they are after all 4,2, and 3 months), it brings a smile to me to think of all the ways God has blessed each one of us! It's funny, but one memory has shaped much of my adult life. This is a little story... I love my mom. She talks to everyone. She talks to the people she stands in line next to in the grocery store (I learned that from her.) She t...

There's something in me that just loves to watch a wholesome romance. Penelope is one of those. It's a fairy tale of sorts, but I liked it so much better than Enchanted. If you want to watch something fun--just to enjoy it. This is a good pick! It's quite a contrast to Definitely, Maybe--which I wouldn't recommend to anyone. There's something that seems very wrong when the whole plot of a movie is that a father is telling his daughter (when he's on the brink of a divorce with her mother) that he really loved someone else when he married her mother and then the daughter encourages the dad to go find the other woman. Try to miss and avoid this one!

I love the refreshment that I get when I find the water after going through the desert! Since I had Eli, I have just felt like I'm wandering when I read God's word and haven't felt purposeful. I've also felt overwhelmed in my parenting just trying to do everything I did before, but now with three! But, a few weeks ago I came across a book and thought about ordering. I wanted to make sure it was in our budget for the month, so I waited another two weeks and then ordered it. It arrived yesterday. It is the Parent's Handbook for the book Shepherding a Child's Heart by Ted Tripp. It has been such a blessing to me! I'm always skeptical about having to buy a study book to go with a book that I've read, but this one is worth it! The study guide is really a separate book aimed at looking at what the Bible says about parenting. In the first chapter (I'm not even done yet!) God has impressed 2 things upon my heart. #1: Proverbs 4:23 "Guard yo...

I think the conclusion I'm coming to is that it's easier to exercise every day--and just do it--than to exercise 3 or 4 days a week. Every time I miss a day it's harder to exercise the next day. It's harder to find the time anyways with 3 kids! After I had Autumn, I worked out 2-3 times a day until I lost my pregnancy weight. After Sami, I worked out 1-2 times a day. And this time, I walk in place when I'm standing in line somewhere just to try and get some kind of workout in!

This week in our small group we discussed why it is important to continue going to church because we are free in Christ. We go to church because love God and desire to glorify Him in our lives and praise Him. One of the greatest blessings of fellowship is accountability and the concern we have for one another. One of my friends emailed me about the Yoga ABC video because she was concerned about Yoga. It was a blessing and a challenge to me and I need to mention it in my blog because I wouldn't want to recommend that video without a caveat. You see, I fast forward through the letters N and O. N is for Namaste and the teacher talks about Namaste and O is for Ohm (the sound of the universe supposedly). But, I've been a little lax lately and haven't always been downstairs to fast forward those two letters. That is remiss on my part and my friend's concern reminds me that if I am going to let them watch the video then I need to make sure that I will be nearby to fast...

This year taught me a lot about homeschooling and me! I'm glad I did PreK at home with Autumn. I thought I would have lots of time to plan and do fun art projects and put together my own curriculum and collate it from several books for one subject. But, it just hasn't turned out that way. I realized quickly that I actually have less time to prep for my lessons at home than I did when I was teaching in the public schools! So, this year, I am picking a book or curriculum for each subject with Autumn. I do have a few books that I am going to supplement with because I love them so much. So, here's the books I plan to use: Reading: Continue with How to Teach your child to read in 100 Easy Lessons. Then, use a book I found called "Teaching Phonics: A Balanced Approach" I may have to purchase something midyear if the second book doesn't work out the way I hope. Reading Comprehension: 2 Read Alouds Every Day Easy Reading: It's a book ...

Well, I realized yesterday it is going to be a lot harder come the end of August to talk to my friends. So, I hope that this will be a way to keep in touch. I am going to try and update it every few days. Please comment and let me know what you think about my ideas or things I share! At the end of August, I will be starting to homeschool Autumn for Kindergarten and Sami for PreK 3. I am excited but it has begun to dawn on me what a change this is going to mean for me in my life. I am starting to think through what my schedule with be for each day. Autumn will be doing Kindergarten at home and then going to PreK-4 at the program she went to last year. It was a great time for her to be social with other kids and it is affordable. Yay, God! (only $60/yr for 2 times a week!) It is a huge blessing to us. My plan is to do Sami's PreK-3 at home during the time that Autumn is at Preschool. Eli is doing well, but I think that 3 is much harder than 2! I am trying to figure out ...