Homeschool Success

As a homeschool mom, I often hear, "I don't know how you do it." or "You are supermom". I assure you, I am not. There are a lot of things that get thrown to the side to accomplish the bare minimum. What I do accomplish, I can only do because of God's grace and the fact that He called me to this. As the mom's often talk about in my homeschool co-op, there are certainly many days where I have, what we call, "Yellow Bus Envy". It is hard. I am not going to tell you that it isn't.

But today is one of those days that I am reminded of a few of the reasons that I love this "job". Libby was able to read 4 sentences as part of her school work (she's in Kindergarten). I got to experience this with her. God used ME to teach her that.

When she finished reading, she looked at me with watery eyes and said, "It almost made me cry because I am so happy I can read." For a five year old to be able to say that and feel that is amazing to me.

They are all such different personalities, these kids of mine. While Keira fights me to do the bare minimum of schoolwork because she wants to do something else, Libby asks for more work every day. In this picture she is squeezing as many numbers onto a line as she can rather than writing each number 5 times like she needed to. (She asked if she could write them more). Too funny!

My heart is full. I have experienced this before with Keira and she is a fantastic reader (though she doens't like it) but I am so fulfilled today knowing that my kids are learning. They are giggling together all day long. They are in their jammies still at 2pm. They have learned so much today and spent time playing dolls and legos and pretend and a few rounds of musical chairs.

I write this not to boast but so that I can look back and remember that there are good days amidst the hard ones. Even at 8 months pregnant with a fifth child, high blood pressure, swollen feet and more medical bills than we anticipated, I find joy in my child's success.

Tomorrow, when I feel like I should be sticking one or all of them on the bus, I will try to remember today and that there will be more days like today in my future.

Despite the days when we bicker and fight all day about what needs to get done, I wouldn't trade this for anything.

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Feeling Settled

Today I woke up feeling settled.

This is strange considering we moved yesterday.

And even stranger considering what the house currently looks like....boxes everywhere...furniture in the wrong rooms...piles of random stuff....old curtains that are not ours hanging on the windows still. Seriously...here are some pictures:

But yet, I do feel settled in a way. Content.

This is the 8th home Tom and I have lived in together...and we celebrate our 8 year anniversary in just a few weeks.


But we bought this one.

Sidenote: How does anyone move with family and a church family around? Between the help we had moving heavy things...setting up beds, cleaning, watching our kids....and so much more...I am just not quite sure how anyone can possibly do these things alone! Thank you Jesus for the people in our lives!

We could live here forever. I am not crazy enough to say that we definitely will because you never know where God will lead us but still, just knowing that it is ours and we can stay makes it so different.

I can unpack one box at a time and PUT IT AWAY! I am not trying to think of how I can store things in a way that will be easy to move them next year. I can take my time trying to figure out where exactly I want things because there is no rush to make it feel like home....

....it is home and in many ways, I already feel settled....not organized...but settled.

There is NOTHING wrong with renting...especially in the area where we live in NY where the Taxes are ridiculously high. God had an amazing plan for us in renting for the last 8 years that allowed Tom to get his degree without us having to fix house problems or take care of a lawn and each step and job and place we have lived has led us to this point. We feel very clear on that and that this is the home that God has for us now.

So....I feel settled. Settled in God's grace. Settled in contentment. I pray that I can keep that feeling and knowing that God's plan is ALWAYS better than mine.

I heard this song on the radio this morning and the chorus describes how I feel....and the first verse really describes how I have been feeling without realizing how much I longed to feel settled. Today is Day One of the rest of my life....Day One of the BEST of my life.

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To go or not to go....

This week has been a whirlwind. Sunday night, we got a phone call that a good friend (who we were meeting for the first part of our vacation) is really sick and unable to go so we were going to need to change our plans. Although we were really sad about noit seeing their family, we knew that our plans were fairly flexible and we could rearrange our visit.

However Monday morning, we took our van in to have what we thought would be 1 part replaced and it ended up costing a LOT more than we had planned....because of more problems. I guess that is life with an old vehicle. Sigh.

Then...we get the dreaded phone call that the house we are in the process of buying did not assess for enough to get the mortgage we needed. We wouldn't know for a week or so what would be happening with that and we were originally scheduled to close before July 15th.

Ok Lord...what are you trying to do to us?!?!? haha

I just kept on praying and asking the Lord to make it clear whether He was trying to stop us from leaving or if these were just stumbing blocks that were being placed in our way to keep us from a MUCH needed time away as a family.

The devotional that I read that morning from Proverbs 31 ministries was literally titled "What to do When Life becomes turbulent?"

These are the reflect and respond questions from that devotional:

1. Am I shrinking back in fear and discouragement or am I drawing closer to God’s presence? 
2. Do I really believe God is in control of this situation? 
3. Am I going to worry or trust God — believing He will get me through this? 
4. How can I look for God’s goodness and glory in the midst of my challenge? 

I guess it could not have been better timed because my normally anxious self was very calm throughout the day and I just kept on feeling like we were supposed to go on this vacation.
We hadn't been away from home as a family for over 2 years and just really felt like our kids needed that time away from the chaos with us.

Well....it worked out. We realize whether we are home or not, we cannot control the situation with the house. We need to let God be in control of whether we should be in that home or not.  Our vacation was not going to be expensive in the first place because we are staying with different poeple at their houses for all but 2 nights and I had already gotten great deals on hotel rooms that had been paid for months ago.

So...tomorrow mid morning, we shall head out, Lord willing!

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Life Changers

I have been terrible about writing lately...I can't seem to find time to do it even though I blog in my head all of the time.

Oh Well.

Lately, we have had a lot of life changers going on so I will give you the quick run down.

First off, we are expecting our FIFTH child this November! That's right...we are going from a large, yet fairly normal, family to a "who on earth would have that many kids?" family. We love it and couldn't be happier. We are just praying that our baby to be is healthy and strong.

Because I am 35 (and unashamed of my age) I qualified for some free testing early on to find out the gender....the first test said boy...the second said girl....so I guess we will still have to wait and see with the ultrasound, though, my inkling is that it will be our 4th daughter. Poor Levi. haha.

Here IT is....

NEXT...

We are in the process of buying a house that we should close on in about a month. This is extrememely exciting to me because it has the space that I feel we really need and can live with for a long time to come....it will also put an end (hopefully) to our moving...at least for a while. This will be our 8th move in  8 years...but it will finally be ours!

But it's scary.

We thought we would wait another year before buying but it all seems to be working out now....so we are scraping our pennies and retuing cans and bottles to make it happen. haha.....ok...it's not quite that bad.

We are, however, praying that our van can make it though a few more months. It has a LOT of issues but we really cannot get a newer one until AFTER we settle into the house.

So, we will have faith that if this is truly what the Lord wants for us, it will happen without too many glitches!

So there it is!

We are going on a 10 day vacation next week and it is my goal to write almost every day about the memories we are making so .....here's hoping that happens :)

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My Allergy Miracle

I have so many things jumbled up in my head to write about but I only have a minute right now and just have to share something that has compltely changed my future with horrible allergies.

As most of you have read and seen, I started using doTERRA essential oils back in July and have found that they have really helped our family. They are awesome. It sounds fake. It's not. I can certainly tell you more specifics about them if you want but that is not the point of my post.

In January, I started using the Lifelong Vitality Supplements. People raved aboutt them and because I sell the products now, I felt that I should at least try them (there is a 30 day money back guarantee on this product so I didn't feel there was much risk involved). Within about 3 weeks of starting them, I felt completely different. More energy, more stable emotionally and it seemed that my allergies were better....but it was winter which is not the worst time for allergies, so I really wasn't sure if that was just a fluke.

Well....Easter Sunday was my test. Every Easter, I joke that our church tries to kill me. I am horribly allergic to all of the Easter Flowers, as beautiul as they are, and usually end up with a migraine by the time we leave church...in addition to not being able to breathe!

This year, I didn't take anything. Nothing. I didn't drug myself up with all kinds of allergy medicine. I didn't even bring it with me.

I was fine. No symptoms. I sang in the choir and was even able to sit in the front row (closest to the flowers) without being bothered even a little bit.

Now....I cannot say that the supplements have healed me. (The FDA would remove this post). But I will say, that is the only thing that has changed.

I feel like shouting this from the mountaintops because I am FREEEEEEEEE!!!! I feel like for the first time in many many years, I will be able to enjoy playing outside with my kids this spring/summer and not just be tormented with terrible sinus infections from my allergies.

I have to be careful of how I word things and what exactly I say on here but I would LOVE to share more info with anyone interested.

I mean...who doesn't want more energy, less pain and to feel just healthier overall?!?!

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She's three!!!

Happy Birthday to our 3 year old....Janessa Faith.

 Her life started with my most horrendous pregnancy yet, followed by a pretty terrible delivery. (labor was fine...delivery....not so much). 

She was born on my cousin David's 14th Birthday and he was so happy about that, he even came to see her in the hospital! We still do big family parties for the kids so here the "then and now" picture.

Shortly after she was born it was discovered that she had a cleft palate which was repaired right before she turned one...at which point she also had ear tubes put in because until that point, she could barely hear due to fluid.

He life started in kind of a whirlwind and although she was our easiest baby for the first year...she has since become a very....um....energetic?  young lady! We should have known by her hair as a baby!!

She only naps a couple of times a week for me now (despite my NEED for her to nap every day!!) Recently...I put her down for a nap in Keira's bed (because she shares a room with Levi, I separate them at nap time)...I went to check on her a while later and she wasn't there. I searched the house top to bottom and couldn't find her anywhere. I finally found her on my bed behind a huge pillow and pile of laundry I inteded to fold later. Keep in mind we took the pacifier away months ago so I am now sure where she found one! 

When she woke up, she said "ha ha ha ha ha...I twicked you and moved to mommy's bed!" She keeps me on my toes even when she's sleeping.The thought did cross my mind that if I let her have the binky back, she might take more naps!!

For anyone out there that has seen the Despicable Me movies, we liken Janessa to being our little minion....and oh how she loves the minions!

Janessa is the first one to get up every morning...she seems to sense when I am about to get up "early" to have some alone mommy quiet time and manages to wake up 5 minutes prior to that every. single.day. haha. We have already had two family parties for her and so this morning when I said. "Happy Bithday sweetie!" she replied, "My Birfday Again?" haha. I love her.

Here is the cake from one of her family parties this weekend (a friend made it...she makes awesome cakes!! check out her facebook page here!)

It really depicts who Janessa is right now....her "minion" personality...always busy...always looking for something to do or get into...not always choosing the best way to do it....mixed with her girly princess side. She loves to act out the movie Frozen and does so on a daily basis. 

She so wants to be like her sisters but doesn't always know the right way to get their attention if you know what I mean! Same goes for her little brother. 

She is smart and funny and mischeivous and sweet. She is my most exhausting child but brings me so much laughter and joy at the same time. She wants to "help" me with EVERYTHING which in the future I think will be awesome....right now...well...I'm learning patience.

Her laugh is contagious.

Her immediate future could include more surgeries...more ear tubes, possilbe removal of adenoids....possible other cleft palate anomalies stuff....we shall see! 

I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for this little girl.

Have a happy year being 3 my baby girl!

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Setting Goals

A few weeks ago, I didn't complete my Community Bible Study lesson so I decided to catch up this morning and complete it. God's timing is always perfect and I know that He wanted me to read this lesson today. We are studying the book of Mark and it has been amazing to read the same things that I have read so many times throughout my life and see them in a new light.

Today, one verse in particular stuck out to me.

I am someone who is constantly setting goals for myself...sometimes unrealistic ones...but always things that I really want to be successful with.

When struggling, I often think of a verse that my dad had me memorize when he was my Sunday School teacher in elementary school.

It has always been a great reminder that God gives us that nothing is impossible with him. but this morning, I was reminded that it isn't just that we can do all things with Him....we really can't do anything without Him. The verse from Mark 11 reminds me that these "goals" or "plans" that I have for myself need to be committed to Him in prayer before I even start. They need to be the things that God wants me to be working on, not things that I think I should be working on.

How often do we turn to Jesus when we are in times of need, rather than trusting Him with the situation before we even start?

As I begin my year of Simplify, one thing I have changed already is trying to let God lead my goals. I already am sure of a couple of areas that he wants my heart to be changed and I already feel more successful knowing that they are from His leading, rather than my own.

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Simplify

Happy New Year! I guess I've taken a bit of a hiatus...for several reasons...but mostly just because life was busy. Well...here we are...in a new year and with that always brings thoughts of what kinds of things we want to change or do differently.

As I look back at 2014, It was a great year. A busy year. A complicated year. We moved.....twice. Tom Graduated and started a new job. There were so many unknowns. I feel very much like it was a year that ended 5 years of chaos! Good chaos...but chaos none the less.

So, I decided to join the bandwagon and coin a term that I hope will define my 2015. Simplify. It looks like we will stay in our current home for a while....or at least until sometime in 2016 (though....I guess you never know). With Tom done with homework and classes, we have a little more time to spend as a family and work on projects that we have been putting off.

I hope that this year allows us to rid ourselves of clutter, organize the basement, get rid of things we don't use or need, keep our schedules manageable, spend good quality time with our children and most importantly, put the Lord first in everything we are doing.

So, to put some numbers on my hopes, my goal for this year is to get rid of at least  10 items a week from my house. So...by this time next year, we will be down at least 520 things!

It is a simple goal....one that Tom can help with. One that is realistic and that I believe I can be successful at. One that my children will take part in and benefit from. One that will make my house simpler to keep up with.

If there are times that I feel anxious or stressed, it is my goal to really try to simplify the situation that is making it that way.

All in all, I feel like as a society we are encouraged to basically stress out our families, whether it be too many commitments, financial stressors or expectations. And really...what is the point of this life that God gave us, if we are not enjoying the many blessings that God has given us.

I am not going to commit to posting about this on a certain schedule (because that would not be simplifying) but I do hope to keep you updated on my progress.

So, I encourage you to jump on board and simplify with me....or find something that can define your year! Share in the comments what your "word" is this year...I would love to hear it!

Many blessings to you and your family in this New Year!

Photo Credit

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