Wednesday, March 25, 2015

And so it begins....



The  homeschool burnout began mid February.  Even though we pretty much had December off, it began.  I got tired of having to do 3 separate times of school with the kids. I felt like I was just doing it because I had to.  I wasn't enjoying it anymore.  I wanted to spend time with all my children every day.  I started praying and seeking God about what curriculum we would use next year.  I asked my friend about a particular one she uses.  I did some research on math curriculums.  We did some changeups.  I still need to do some research on Language Arts curriculum for my 6th and 4th grader but I have that under control and I'm actively searching.  The Lord started working in my heart about the company that I went with for Sarah's Kindergarten and Noah's second grade year.  I really enjoyed the material and the kids did as well.  My friend whom I was asking questions really was very helpful.  I joined the Facebook group of the curriculum I was looking into.  I also joined a group that allows listing used My Father's World material.  I found a set listed for a good price so I went ahead and bought that.  I had perfect peace about it at that point.  We will be doing My Father's World Exploring Countries and Cultures starting April 6th.  We will combine History/Geograpy, Science, and Bible with all three kids.  We will continue with the Language Arts and Math curriculum for the current grade level of the kids.

Today we received a few odds and ends in the mail.  Here are the kids learning a bit of cartography today.  They were really excited to get a globe and world map in the mail today.  They also got glue, modeling clay, colored pencils, and a few other things that are for the ECC curriculum.  

We can't wait to start!!  We are all excited!


Monday, March 16, 2015

Hannah is 6 months old!

Wow!  I cannot believe that my baby is 6 months old!  She turned 6 months on February 24 so I am a little late in posting this.  We've been busy around here.  She is a sweetheart.  Last week she said "mama" for the first time.  So proud of that girl!  She loves her daddy though and I'm just waiting for the "dada".  At 6 months she was 15lbs 8oz and 27 inches long.  She was exclusively breastfed up until then.  We have tried a few solids and she loved them to begin with.  Now she just gags or spits them back at me so we've put them on the back burner for now.  She was sitting up right around the 6 month mark but now she has definitely mastered sitting up and gets on her hands and knees and lunges to get things that she wants on the floor.  She gets around really good.  Ok that's just a little update on her.  She is crying so here's a picture of her.  Enjoy!


Focus word update: LOVE

I'm still learning to love like Jesus.  I still remember that focus word I started out with at the beginning of this year. I started out the year not really loving like Jesus.  I loved but I loved with condition.  Quite honestly I still love with condition at some points in my life and in some situations.  However, I am moving forward with it.  I am asking God daily to help me.  I am learning how much God loves me and learning to reflect His love and share it with others when I can.  I think my children and my husband have seen the most change as I am more focused on them and making memories with them.  In the past, I have really focused on a rigid schedule.  God has convicted me.  I was a Martha and need to be a Mary.  I'm still learning and I hope that eventually everyone that comes in contact with me will know without a doubt that I love Jesus and I love them with no conditions.  It's very important for my family to know this and then everyone else.  I love how it feels to know Jesus loves me unconditionally and I want my children to feel that from me as well. I know I can't love my children as much as God loves them but I sure can try to beat the mark.  That's my goal this year.  

I think that truly loving someone unconditionally is accepting them for who they are.  We appreciate the good points and accept the weak points.  We encourage away the weak points in a loving way.  It never turns out well to be harsh or to dislike someone because they aren't the same as us.  I have a bad habit of seeing the differences in someone from me and instead of appreciating those differences I label them with those differences.  That's wrong.....so wrong and I am a work in progress.

Praying that by 2016, I can truly love like Jesus.