Heart of Wisdom Academy

What I've realized about homeschooling is that everything affects school time. If someone is sick, school is delayed or significantly reduced. I found myself discouraged this week by our "progress". We have had 6 weeks of sickness!!!! That's ridiculous. Everyone had the flu for a week, the baby had pneumonia for a combined 4 or 5 weeks not to mention the RSV and intermittent bouts of tachypnea and wheezing. My oldest had his tonsils removed and it took nearly 2 weeks for him to recover. I am "behind" on my self-made schedule, and I'm not entirely happy about it. If my oldest were in school, family sickness wouldn't affect him any; however, I am mom, teacher, and nurse which are competing roles at times. My husband and I have prayed about it a lot this week. We're not even half way through the school year, so all is not lost, and I have to remember to be thankful and grateful for all the lessons we are learning. I do stand amazed at how many things we have learned this year and how many good books we've read and experiments we've done. I think my best defense is to plan meticulously so that when our plans our interrupted Daddy or Nana can pick up where we left off, but to be at peace and surrender to God's timing because my thoughts are not His thoughts and I ultimately don't know the plans He has for our homeschooling. And when I say plan meticulously I really mean just to put down my plans in writing so that someone else can supervise their work. I very loosely write down my plans because they're all in my head and I know what I want to do each week, but if I'm not hear if I have written down that we're studying weather, look at this you tube video, read this book, make this experiment, etc; someone else can supervise while I'm gone.

Disney has been on my mind a lot. I want to write an article about some things that really concern me about the movies and TV shows that Disney puts out. I actually want to watch a weeks worth of Disney's most popular shows like Hannah Montana, and the Suite life of Zack and Cody; I found a list online. I don't know when I'll find time to watch those shows, because I don't want the kids to watch it. I do really want to put out this article, but I think I could do a better job if I watched some of the shows. I've seen 1 or 2 episodes which is all I needed to alert me to some dangers. But many Christian parents are allowing their kids to watch these shows and I don't think they understand some of the dynamics that are going on. I also am curious about Sesame Streets agenda. I was at my friends house and Sesame Street was on. Jamie Foxx and Alicia Keys were guest stars on the show. I just don't get why they have adult entertainers on a kids show. Are they trying to indoctrinate the kids with their worldy music and sinful TV shows. Can you really justify having Sarah Jessica Parker from Sex and the City; on a program intended for preschoolers? I have a whole lot ot say about all this...when I find the time.

I am making one new years resolution this year: pray with my husband every day no matter what! Usually I make a list of resolutions, this year I'm just going to focus on one thing; uniting my heart in prayer with my husband.

I love these happy memories.
Tired of taking pictures honey? Brother is happily playing away.
Now you're singing...Indescribable, no doubt!
We're making a joyful NOISE!
We have an 8 year old now!!! I read that 8-12 are the preteen years. We have been praying daily for God to teach us how to raise Godly seed for Him. These next few years are very very important. We firmly believe that raising godly teens and young adults starts right now. We've never had an 8 year old before, so we are leaning heavily on Jesus to guide us. We are specifically praying for him to hunger and thirst for righteousness; choose to walk with the wise; choose not to covet; love the things that God loves and hate the things that God hates; honor parents; purity; and not to follow the crowd to name a few.
Multi-tasking.
He is so kissable!
Who has ever seen a cuter little bear?

A car full of car seats. I got this one off of craigslist for $20.00. I love being thrifty.
I love his happy expression.
My little Ballerina. I'm so grateful for the homeschooled teen that teaches her ballet class. There is four other little girls in the class. We have wonderful fellowship over there, I never want to leave!

Well for an update, after we came home from the hospital. The baby continued to do worse. Finally around Midnight on Monday, I really started debating about taking him to the Children's Hospital. I really prayed hard. In my heart, I wanted to take him, but I was so tired and run down. It was already midnight and that meant trekking across the water by myself. After praying and talking to my husband we decided it was best for me to take him in. So at midnight we got dressed and trekked across the water. They admitted him to the hospital with pneumonia in both lungs with RSV on top of that. We stayed in the hospital until Thur. night. It is so good to be home! He is doing much better being at home. I love seeing my family all together. It is hard when we're apart. I kept thinking of the parable of the sheep, when I was in the hospital. I felt like the shepherd who left the 99 sheep he loved in order to find his one lost sheep. That's how it is, when I leave everyone at home that I love to tend to my one sick little lamb. The hospital wasn't depressing this time. I felt Gods loving care and comfort. I wasn't anxious or nervous. God gave me peace and understanding that this is a very light and momentary trial. Not all trials are light, but this hasn't gotten overwhelming for me yet. My amazing husband held down the fort at home, and we always have lots of help from my wonderful and church family. We go to the doctor tomorrow for a progress report. The baby will have a sweat-chloride test to test him for cystic fibrosis. The test is the exact same day as his heart surgery 12 months ago. We'll then meet again with the Pulmonologist who will do more tests on his immunity and a detailed study of his lungs. Prayerfully they can determine what is going on with his lungs. It is comforting that we can trust the Great Physician. Update:(i'm writing this over several days) Went to his primary care physician. Personally she doesn't think he has cystic fibrosis. She thinks he has an immune deficiency. Time will tell I guess. We can't have the tests done until he his well. His right lung is still wheezing, his left lung is much worse. He still has collapses in his left lung. We're praying for his healing. He is very happy. Almost nothing gets him down, you wouldn't even know he's sick.

I just completed my first semester of graduate school yesterday. The work load is much more intense than undergrad. Between the two classes; I wrote one or two papers a week in addition to exams, projects, and discussion posts. It was a busy semester, but I made it out with 2 A's. My goal isn't to achieve an A, but it's nice when I do. My goal is to glorify God, then serve my husband and children, whatever is left over after all of that I give to school. People ask me all the time how I do school. I guess at this point, I've passed the learning curve so I'm at an advantage. I started my undergraduate work in 2003 and have been going to school ever since so now I'm just used to this pace of life. I set aside a couple of hours a day to do my work. I do it early in the morning before the kids rise or at their nap or bedtime. I spend a lot of time on the weekend finishing up assignments. Prayerfully after graduate school I'll be able to get a job working from home teaching online, and if necessary nights and/or weekends. Sometimes people say that I'm a good example because I'm a stay-at-home mom and I go to school. I really don't hope to inspire anyone to go school. If the Lord calls a busy mom to go to school in addition to all of her other responsibilities than you have to obey God, but I find that a lot women want to go to school for self-fulfilment. In that case, I would never go to school. I am quite fulfilled and busy enough living out my God-appointed role. However, I'm in the situation where we need two or three incomes. My husband usually works two jobs and I usually have a daycare running simultaneously. It would be better for all of us if I could teach online. I'll be able to stay at home, and have a "real" job and help my husband.

My oldest turned eight today. He is a wonderful boy and I love him so much. When I was in the hospital I spent a lot of time praying for my relationship with him. He loves me so much and wants to spend time with me, and so often I am "so tired", but I know I'll want to spend time with him when he's a teenager, so I have to invest now. I've taken up playing video games with him. He thinks that's the coolest thing ever. He is so patient with me. He waits for me and instructs me in certain phases of the game. My husband thinks it's fun too. He had a blast creating my Avatar and my oldest son dressed me. My game of choice is A Kingdom for Keflings. I want to download the Pride and Prejudice soundtrack to put on the console, while I play my game. My husband is entirely paranoid that I'm going to take over his game :-) I assured him that I won't neglect my responsibilities. :-)

Well that's it for now...

I remember having to call 911 three times in my life. Once, when I was eleven because my brother was hyperventilating. Then a couple of years ago, when my Dad had a stroke. And then 12:30 this morning my baby couldn't breathe. I was by myself b/c my husband hadn't gotten home yet and I was terrified. I immediately gave him an albuterol treatment and the paramedics came and took him to the nearest ER. He got sick out of nowhere! He hasn't had a cold or a cough, not even as much as a sniffle or runny nose. I was completely caught off guard. X-ray's showed that he has pneumonia...again. Poor baby. They gave him a shot immediately and some meds to come home. We're thankful for God's mercy and loving kindness towards us and our family. I tell ya, mothering is not for the faint of heart!

I've been away from my blog for so long. We're busy with life. I have lots of pictures and videos I want to share as soon as I upload them.

My oldest son's surgery went very well. It took him two full weeks to really recover. He is now back to his happy-hyper self.

My youngest son had a birthday. He is now one years old!! He is walking and talking a little. He says "mama", "dada", "op"(stop), "hi", and "bye-bye". He is the first one year old I've ever nursed. My oldest I weaned two days before he turned 1, and the twins I weaned at 9 months. I actually haven't thought about weaning him. My only thought has been I'm sure he won't still be breastfeeding at two.

I've been listening to Parenting Young Children Seminar during laundry time. If you have children birth-10 you need to hear it as well as the Godly Home Series. These messages have changed my life.

I got this for my birthday! It is the whole bible on one poster. It is the coolest thing ever, I absolutely love it!! I like reading it for fun.

I painted my daughters room. It is so cute. I used a pink and green. Maybe I'll take a pic. I also bought a bunk bed off of Craigslist. Eventually she and the baby will go in there. I would like to buy her a pink and green quilt or comforter and some matching curtains.

KK or as he is affectionetly called by my dear friends, "Caspian"; wants an orange room. Not sure if that is going to happen.

The twins are slowly learning to read. We're using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons as a flexible guide. We also heavily use Starfall. I love Starfall.

In the learning rooms we're tackling multiple digit addition and subtraction, intro to multiplication, problem solving, time, money, measurement, typing, the writing process,Mars, the Vikings, singular nouns, plural nouns, and possessive nouns. All the kids are almost done memorizing Psalm 1. Maybe I'll make a video, they're so sweet. My oldest is currently reading Christmas at Camelot which ties in with our study of the Middle Ages. Last week he finished Viking Ships at Sunrise. I've been babysitting a little girl and the dad is a meterorologist. My son asked how the weather is predicted and I didn't know so I requested some books from the library about meterology; we'll read and do experiments for a couple of weeks and then have him and his wife over for dinner to pick his brain.

Well that's about it for now. We are blessed far more than we deserve...until next time.

I just recieved my free copy of Salt and plan on ordering more. The magazine encourages Christian, homeschooling, quiverfull, courtship minded families in the ways of the Lord.

I can use words like that cause I've been watching Jane Austen movies :-)

The tonsils come out. I'm happy, my son...not so happy.

Normal tonisls:


My son's tonsils:

Which Little House on the Prairie character are you? Your Result: Caroline Ingalls   You are sweet generous and kind but not afraid to take charge and be a diciplinarian when the need arises. You are strong and can fend for yourself, but you love the company or your family.
Mary Ingalls
Carrie Ingalls
Laura Ingalls
Charles Ingalls
Almanzo Wilder
Mr. Edwards
Which Little House on the Prairie character are you? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

I mentioned that as a church we read the book Crazy Love; a wonderful life changing book.

Quotes on my mind from Crazy Love:
"Perhaps you start a movement called Aspiring to the Median, where people commit to living at or below the median U.S. income ($46,000 in 2006)and giving the rest away. Is it intimidating to think about giving radically and liberally?"

"Maybe you have already made sacrifices...The temptation is to level off increases with each passing year. Pride tells you that you've sacrificed more than others. Fear tells you it's time to worry about the future. Friends say you've given enough, that it's someone else's turn now."

"The idea of holding back certainly didn't come from Scripture. The Bible teaches us to be consumed with Christ and to faithfully live out His words."

"If one person "wastes" away his day by spending hours connecting with God, and the other person believes he is too busy or has better things to do than worship the Creator and Sustainer, who is the crazy one? If one person invests her or his resources in the poor-which, according to Matthew 25, is giving to Jesus Himself-and the other extravagantly remodels a temporary dwelling that will not last beyond his few years left on this earth, who is the crazy one?"

Luke 14:12-14 Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

One day when my children are teenagers, I'll be in the fellowship and hear about a mom who is at home nursing her many sick little ones, and my heart will sympathize for her and I'll want to rush over to her house and relieve her; I'll want to let her sleep or bring her a meal, or do her laundry, because I'll remember all the many many days I've needed to stay home and nurse the children and I'll miss those days. I'm so grateful to my mom and all the Saints that glory in helping take care of all of our needs. There is no end to my gratitude. I want to remember these sick days fondly. Yes my house is messy, and the laundry pile is higher than usual; but my husbands needs are taken care of and the children's needs are taken care of. Everyone is happy and relatively healthy. One day when my children are all older I'll miss the warmth,cuddlinessness and unpredictability of sick days. I'll miss the late night feedings and cool rags. I'm sure to miss the Motrin, nebulizer treatments, and endless doctor appointments. I'll miss everyone piled up in bed with me reading books and listening to music. One day down the road, when that mom is missing from the fellowship because she is caring for her family, I'll say a prayer for her that she rejoices in ministering to her family in that way. I am tired and weary, but I am grateful to be home, taking care of my family. I am thankful beyond words that I get to care for their needs and not someone else. I remember when I worked outside of the home when my oldest was two. Working moms can't afford for their kids to be sick, literally. The boss has an attitude because you miss work, you have an attitude because you miss work. Most of the time the child can never completely heal before they have to go back to daycare because mom can't take off that long. I'm thankful that when I stay up all night, I don't have to be dressed and out of the house by 6am. I'm thankful that I don't have to rush their recovery and send them out of the house before they're ready. A company in my city actually pays a nurse to come to your home to care for your sick child so that you don't miss work. A day care across the street from the one I worked at, was a sick care center. Sick kids went there so that their parents didn't have to take off, and they stayed there until they were well enough for regular day care. I know these programs are lifesavers to the single mom who has no option, and I sympathize for them. All of these reminders fill my heart with gratefulness as I take care of Kason who has pneumonia and has I prepare to care of Kyle who will have a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy next month, and as I care for my husband who's come down with the flu.

I'm thankful for Praise Her in the Gates: The Calling of Christian Motherhood by Nancy Wilson. The fourth chapter is titled-When the Kids are Sick.

"When children are ill, it is a wonderful opportunity for teaching. You can model patience and cheerfulness to them when you get upin the night to comfort and minister to them."

"Mothers do have the capacity to make illness a happy memory."

"Sickness is a good time to teach them about compassion and mercy, as well as about he frailty of life. Use all these times for spiritual profit."

"When you feel crumy, you ought to be home. This is simply the golden rule when you apply it to your child. Sick children do interrupt our plans; that is what they are supposed to do. And we are to be interrupted cheerfully, even if it means missing church."

"It ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our final day." Crazy Love

Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him-Proverbs 22:15

We've been having devotionals on foolishness for more than a month. No Greater Joy's article Unbinding Foolishness came right on time. We're still working through issues of folly. I'll be glad when they're just a memory. Folly is hard to discipline, it's not mean or rebellious, it's folly-and it's annoying and usually always leads to something else.

Time Changer is an amazing Christian movie! My heart is so stirred after watching it. I realize how tolerant and desensitized to sin, I really am. I am convicted that the frivolous movies that I let the kids watch, in no way point to the Savior, and time is short. Time is so short the Savior is coming! I don't think enough about that, I don't think enough about the enemy and the war we're engaged in. I thank God for people who use their talents to edify the Saints. I pray that more and more young people will rise up and use their gifts and talents to glorify the King. This movie has truly convicted me and I can't wait to go to God about it.

We finally finished Hedge Fence. It was every bit as wonderful as I hoped it would be. We will read this book again and again over the coming years and I especially recommend this book for young boys. In this book a young boy Frank is writing letters to his cousin about his adventures with his hedge fence. After he got in a fight with his brother he huffed under his breath that he wished he had a hedge to keep him from doing wrong. An older friend overheard him and offered to send him a hedge fence once a month. The hedge was a scripture. Every month Frank couldn't see how that scripture could help him, but every month the scripture proved invaluable. Frank came to depend on those scriptures. He truly treasured them and contemplated often about them and he was ever so mindful not to "jump the fence". One thing I really appreciated about this book was it's applicability. Frank has problems real boys have. He gets made fun of, laughed at, and mocked for not following the crowd. The most memorable lesson for my son was "be sure your sin will find you out". Even today, he prayed that everybody will read this story and know that their sin will find them out. This book has been the spring board for so many good conversations. I can't wait to read it again and again. I just found it online FREE HERE I'll always love real books over ebooks, but I'm sure there are plenty of people who love ebooks. Enjoy. I hope to write a review about our newest read aloud Captive Treasure .

Last month we also read lots of Arabian tales. Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves, The Three Princes, The Enchanted Horse, Sinbad the Sailor and so many more. My oldest read The Sword in the Tree which was an excellent book. It way exceeding my expectations. Now we're enchanted by knights, and castles. So most of our books for Nov. are about King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, knights, castles, Camelot, etc.

I started my MBA this week. I'll blog less and less and less and less. I'll do everything less, I guess. Glad I got my reading in before school started. I read the hilarious yet very informative Don't Eat This Book: Fast Food and the Supersizing of America . Find out what happens when I guy lives off of McDonalds food for a month! You'd be amazed. As a church we read Crazy Love This book I will have to read again, it really was too good to soak it all up in one read. This guy is truly consumed with a passion for Christ. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I love books and I really enjoy picking my own books, so it's honestly hard for me when we read the same book as a church, for some reason I almost never care for the book. This book was very convicting! As was our book last year American Idols: The Worship of the American Dream.

In family news: My baby almost has one tooth!!!!! My darling daughter is a ballerina, my oldest son is having date night with Dad, and my middle boy is practicing medicine. That boys loves blood and medicine. I overheard him asking my husband if he could touch his blood. My husband got hurt at work last week and had to get stitches. Stitches are no match for my four-year old Doctor who would have sewed them in himself if we'd let him. Ha!

I wrote a paper for school earlier this year titled Women and the Work Life Balance. It was a very interesting study. Here are snipets of my paper...

Women have a unique job. In addition to childbearing, childrearing, domestic, and familial duties; seventy two million women also work full time. (US Department of Labor, 2008) The demands of maintaining so many roles are often dizzying. Consequentially, there is an urgent need for balance in the lives of these women. The Work-Life balance describes the balancing act between work and personal life.

Angela Thomas-Jones advises women to be realistic about trying to achieve the work life balance. She asks women to accept the fact that they are not home for eight or nine hours and when they get home they can’t possibly compensate for those hours lost, that would equate to working two fulltime jobs. “At some point one (job) will need more attention than the other. If you realise this then you can decide about your career and family trajectories.”

The 20th century gave way to the Superwoman or what may be better known as the Superwoman myth. Women gained the right to work full time, but their childrearing and home keeping duties did not disappear. Instead women found that working full-time was in addition to marriage, childbearing, childrearing, cooking, cleaning, laundering, gardening, etc. Instead of women having one full-time job as wife and mother; women now have two full time jobs; wife/mother and career woman. This is the crux of the work-life balance; women and their pursuit of juggling two full-time jobs.

At the onset of the Women’s Liberation Movement women thought that “being successful required becoming a man…success was about the male definition of money and power…”(Belkin, 2003) Today, “when women talk about success they use words like satisfaction, balance, and sanity.” (Belkin, 2003) In fact, “seven out of ten working women tell pollsters they would stay home with their kids if they could…”(Bennett’s, 2007) Many women started asking, “What happened to all the self-fulfillment we were supposed to feel? …What’s wrong with me? I have everything! Why am I not happy? Why am I so tired?”(Carter, 1995) By the end of the eighties women began to understand, “we were being used. We were lawyers, doctors, judges…but we were still swabbing out the toilets at home!” (Carter, 1995) Women are the ones caring for sick children in the middle of the night and taking off from work the next day. Women still do almost all the housework and children’s homework. “None of this sounds much like real freedom…women seem more burdened and vulnerable than free.” (Bruno, 1998) “Women use phrases like “torn apart, ripped in two, to describe their lives…”. (Berg, 1986) What is there that makes combining a job and motherhood so terribly hard? (Berg, 1986) The answer according to Berg: “Guilt, the excoriating interface between our two roles…insistent guilt.”( Berg 1986) Working women feel guilty about working long hours, too tired for sex, too tired for housework, not spending enough time with children, missing important milestones in children, childcare arrangements, quality time vs. quantity time, etc. Working women are bombarded with guilt, and there is no end to all the things working women feel guilty about.

It was just fifty years ago that women coveted the role of working outside the home, yet today seventy percent of them would choose home. Not even a century later most women bemoan their positions and many women are opting out of the work-life balance for a semblance of balance. Now that women have it all, they are finding out that they don’t want it all and it isn’t worth it all.

Well most of this week has been consumed with nursing two sick boys. My oldest and my boy twin are sick with high fevers. We've canceled school for the rest of the week and we've moved into the den. We have lots of blankets and pillows and good movies and good books. There is lots juice, soup, and tea. I've been taking Airborne (which works very well). I actually had a cough at the beginning of the week that's all but gone now.

In other news by youngest still has no teeth at 10 months and we has almost no appetite for real food. Vanilla wafers is about the only thing he eats regularly. However, I am constantly taking carpet fluff out of his mouth, as well as every other non-food item he can get a hold of. I'm always wondering if he has some kind of vitamin deficiency or if it's just normal baby grazing. The other one's never had it this bad.

I signed by sweet girl up for ballet. A homeschooled teenage girl is teaching the classes very affordably! She'll start in a couple of weeks. We explained to each of the children that as an opportunity presents itself they'll all get to do a special activity, but most likely not all at the same time.

I'd like blog more regularly...perhaps when all is calm again.

Who would believe that we had our first Homeschool Fellowship Day at my house! When we first began homeschooling we were the only family in our church. I prayed and dreamed about the day when other families would choose to educate their own children for God. "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." Ephesians 3:20 It was a wonderful time. Including myself there were 5 women there, there are also three other homeschooling moms that were unable to make it. It was truly a blessing to encourage one another as we educate our children for the glory of God. And my friend loaned me Educating the Wholehearted Child, which I'll add to my Top 5 homeschool resource books! It is phenomenal!

After a long day at work, honey came home and played with the kiddies. This was little's bears first time on the slide.




My sweet girl nursing the sick little bear back to health.





The twins celebrated a birthday this month. I can't believe their four! They have such unique personalities, they are truly a treasure.

I don't have much time to post we have co-op today. I think we're starting to get into our homeschool routine. This is week 4. We're also going to the musuem today which will be fun. I'm looking forward to watching 18 Kids and Counting tonight, my Tuesday night routine. The twins are now four! They're so big, I can't wait to post pictures. The baby has been holding onto a cold since the first of Sept. I don't think it's serious it's just long. Welcome winter. He is now 10 months old! He is so close to walking. Every time I nurse him, I know that the time is coming soon, when he'll be done. I'll soon have an 8 year old, twin four year olds, and a 1 year old. No more baby, everybody is getting so big, so fast. I'm so grateful to be at home with them every single day. They're growing right underneath my nose and I feel so blessed to capture every moment of it. We having so much fun living and learning together. We'll gotta go now, I hope to post pictures soon.

Many of you have been praying for the painful rash that I've had on my legs and I am so grateful. I've been in terrible almost debilitating pain since Wed. I finally went to ER. They were so caring and compassionate. They concluded that I have lupus, but they didn't have the appropriate blood tests to give to confirm. None-the-less they treated me for lupus. I saw my primary care the next day who also confirmed that I have lupus and she did the blood work. As soon as I got home I started the medicine. I was so skeptical that anything could cure me. When I woke up today I had almost NO pain and almost NO swelling! I've been praising God all day!!! I've been in pain for 10months! I forgot what it felt like to be pain free, it is truly indescribable. A friend of mine asked me today how I feel about having lupus, well I don't know, because I honestly don't know much about the disease at all. I'll find out soon enough, but for now I am rejoicing in the fact that I am pain free! No more visions of amputation, wheelchairs, canes, handicapped stickers (my fears got the best of me) and I am clinging to one of my all time favorite scriptures.
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him. 2Samuel 22:31

How about some Homeschool Humor...


Not a homeschooler? Can't relate to homeschool humor? Surely everyone goes to Wal-Mart. Gotta appreciate Wal-Mart humor...

Today was the end of week 1. It was a very good week for everyone. The twins were soooo excited to do "school". They have a little notebook with their names on it and it's filled with "worksheets". The bulk of their "school" is learning how to read. We're using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I used this book with my oldest and I thought I would never use it again. There are things I like and things I dislike about the book. First of all it's not EASY. Learning how to read involves work and although it is a good work, it is work nonetheless and work is seldom ever easy. However; having taught one child to read, there are some things that I now know that I wish I would have known with my oldest. I chose this book originally because I needed confidence that I could teach my child to read. It has a parent script and a child script and I thought, "it just doesn't get easier than that". The book gave me tremendous confidence, I would say verbatim whatever the book wanted me to say and I went about it very systematically. Everyday we did a lesson. That was mistake number 1. When it says in 100 lessons I took that to mean that I should do a different lesson everyday. With the twins we'll do the same lesson for several days or even a week. I only do the book with them for about 5 minutes and that's it. Then I break out those sandpaper letters I worked so hard on and we play with those saying the sounds. I took an old cereal box and wrote their sounds on the box and cut the sounds into squares. I let them match the squares to the corresponding sandpaper letter or they get to do another activity with the cereal box square letters. Now I use the book only as a guide, but I incorporate the days lesson other ways throughout the day.

It's been a good week for my oldest. We're both learning to pray for the fruits of the spirit as we need them. Several times when I was teaching something that I didn't know how to quite get across, I stopped and prayed silently for wisdom and patience. This made my week much better. My oldest needed to do the same when he got discouraged that his letters weren't perfect or that we couldn't get his word problem.

This first week we read Chp1 in Story of the World Vol2 which is about the Fall of Rome. We learned about Gladiators and the Colosseum and what it was used for. We went to the library and got a few books on Gladiators. I picked out a chapter book that took the Time Warp Trio back in time where they were fighting a Gladiator. I thought this would be a good book and good practice with reading chapter books. But the kids use phrases like "what the heck" and "I swear". The book is also quite heavy into magic and spells. My spirit was troubled, so after the first chapter I told him we'd find a different book, much to his delight. He isn't thrilled to read chapter books anyway so he was pleased!


We learned about Roman entertainment at the Colosseum. Boys like to hear about men fighting lions and gladiator fights etc. I read a small portion of Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up while he was coloring history pages.(This is a life changing book, not meant for kids, I only read a paragraph. I can't wait until he's old enough to read it on his own) We learned how the early Christians in Rome viewed Roman entertainment. They refused to go to the theater, Tertullian wrote "How can it be right to look at the things that are wrong to do?" This was the best lesson of the week. We live in a culture that sacrifices morals, integrity, and purity for the sake of entertainment. Entertainment is a huge part of our society. We talked about how it is wrong to pretend to sin! God hates sin. Why would you pretend to do something God hates? That's why we don't play cops and robbers. We don't pretend to kill. Killing is a sin. We don't pretend to sin. That's all there is to it. We often let our culture determine our standards for entertainment. "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil".(Is 5:20) I am so weary of hearing "It's not that bad". Can't our sights be a little higher that? "They not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them"(Romans 1:32). Many people will cry in protest "Then what am I supposed to watch?! or even better, What do you watch?" Entertainment has it's place I'm sure, but it isn't a spiritual discipline. And as for what I watch? Usually people don't ask because they're interested but because they're looking to find fault in something I watch in an attempt to validate what they watch. I'm not the example, Christ is. Christ continually prunes me. I read about a pastor who counseled people to get rid of their TV. He said no one ever came back to him and said, "I just can't have good quiet times without the TV, I just can't spend as much time with my family, in the Word, or in prayer, without the TV. I served Christ and the body so much more when I had the TV"(paraphrase) Be warned that we are in the last days. God said that in the last days people will be "...lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God." (2Tim 3:4)Is it not true?

I don't know if this is a cultural thing, but I've always heard you're not supposed to cut your babies hair until after their a year. I think he is just the cutest little thing, but the hair was a bit unmanageable! My husband tried to make it work. So I took out my scissors and set to work. And voila!! A new do for little pookie bear. He is my little cuddle bear!

In other news: We had a party earlier this month. K is all spiffy with his little friend. I love K he's such a neat little kid. He is very contented and appreciative. I love how we can occupy himself with string and action figures for hours. I love that he still loves his blankie and I'm too soft to get rid of it. I love that he sucks his little finger, even though it's slightly deformed from his sucking. I love that he loves to vacuum. K's favorite song is Matthew West's More.

Yesterday I turned in my last EVER assignment for school!! It hasn't quite sunk in yet, I guess when I see my transcript this week with all 120 credits complete it'll finally sink in. During naptime I was almost at a loss for what to do. Of course I could do the obvious (laundry, cook, clean) or I could do the exciting (go on the porch and read) I chose the latter. Reading in solitude is exciting to me.

We started school today. It was a good day aside from daughters DRAMA. That's the only word I can think of to describe her antics. Is there a better word? She's not quite disobedient, she's just dramatic. It's like the difference between acting on stage and acting on screen. When you act on stage you have to be larger than life so that everybody sees you. Your movements are more exaggerated, your makeup is overdone, your voice is much louder. That's her, she exaggerates everything and some days more than others it wears me down. Today it wore me down. However she does enjoy being busy. I can never accuse her of being idle, I have a child or two that could be accused of such a thing, but not this one. She loves to keep her little hands busy. She enjoys learning and she is a cuddle baby. She loves to cuddle wtih me and I love to cuddle with her. Her favorite thing to do is lay in bed as I read her Alice in Bibleland. Her favorite song is Chris Tomlin's Indescribable.

I typed up a post about our current family read aloud Hedge Fence, but then I lost the book so I deleted the post, now the book is back. I'll type up a wonderful review of this book one day soon and how it has helped our family lately especially my son. One thing I particularly appreciate is that the main character is a boy who is learning how to apply the scriptures to his daily life and his relations with others. I can see how this boy's example has encouraged my oldest son. Last week, we had friends over. The two girls were playing and their mom corrected their imaginative play. I didn't hear my son playing, and the girls didn't say that he was playing with them. After the girl was lovingly rebuked by her mom, my son whispered in my ear that he was playing the same game. I told him to tell his daddy, and I silently thanked God that he chose to tell on himself. I rejoice in small victories. That was a situation where he really could have gotten off, because he wasn't heard and the other girls didn't tattle on him, I really appreciated his desire to clear himself, and his daddy took care of him. He has a few favorite songs right now: Going Through the Motions, The Lost get Found, Give me Your Eyes,and anything Toby Mac. I'm too cheap to buy CD's, I think I own 2. I YouTube all of our favorite songs we can listen to them for hours. I wanted to post their favorite songs for a record. My favorite song at 7 was Atlantic Starr's Always.

I am particularly thankful for my mom. My mom loves her grandkids soooo much. She has taken each of them on a special date the last two weeks. They've gone to outdoor world, the petting zoo, McDonalds, and the ice cream parlor. She cherishes those children so much. I love how she loves them and our family. I wish I had words to express my deep gratitude for how she loves our family. She's taken off of work for weeks when the baby was ill and during my pregnancy to serve my family, watch my kids, grocery shop, school shop, any and everything we need. Whenever we are in dire need she is always there for us. She doesn't grow tired. I praise God for her and I respect and love her so much.

Well now that I have extra time, I might blog more. It's almost diaper production time, I'll get on that soon. I want to decorate the children's room. We're all memorizing Psalms 1, and I'm memorizing Ephesians 4 for the month of Sept. My goal is to memorize the book of Ephesians, I finished memorizing Ephesians 5. I want to blog about scripture memory, music, entertainment, modesty, and put up a lot of notes I've written down from Charity Ministries. There's lots of sermons I want to listen to and books I want to read and reread. But for now It's nearly midnight and we have school tomorrow and a baby who'll wake me in an hour or two.

Until next time...

At our Friday night BibleTalk we played a get to know you game. Everyone was given 13pennies. We all had to share something that we've never done but that we think everyone else has done. If you have never done something that other people have done then they have to give you a penny, the person with the most pennies wins. For fun I thought I would post some things I've never done:
I've Never:
owned a credit card
smoked a cigarette
been drunk
bought a cellphone
stolen anything
bought a car
seen the TV show “Friends”
been overseas
eaten a candy apple
been to Disneyworld
gotten a myspace or facebook account
played the lottery
done drugs
been to the club
had braces
gotten a tatoo

I feel summer coming to an end. I like enjoying all of God's seasons, but Fall is my favorite season! It seems like everywhere I go lately the YMCA follows. I guess you have to do something with all those kids. Most of our new books for the year have arrived. The Webster 1828 dictionary came in today. I sat down and read it, not the whole thing of course! I also got Already Gone and The Duggars 20 and Counting. I started reading both today they are very good.

Everyone is well, the baby has a cold, but is otherwise fine. All the other children are healthy and happy. We go to cardiology tomorrow. I've been trying to think of tricks to get him to stay quiet and still during the ECHO. Usually I have to put him to sleep, but I don't want to be there that long.

I also got the 2nd book in God's Design for Sex series. This book is "the talk". My husband and I have prayerfully been considering when to have the talk. This year we want to start preparing his heart for that talk. We want to create an awareness that God made all things to reproduce. All living things come from living things. (also establishing deeper convictions for creation) We'll study plants this year and see how they reproduce we'll talk about how animals reproduce and finally go into how humans reproduce. Not that this gift is for repoduction only, we'll get into that some too! Dh and I were talking about this yesterday how we also need to help the kids realize how the world perverts and pollutes God's gifts. Although he'll have the sanitized talk, he'll never hear it that way from the world and we need to be sure that he understands that the world has a counterfeit for every spiritual thing and that he must be prepared for the battle that is just outside his door. Just by looking around the world you can see all the ways wicked man has perverted God's gifts. Just take for instance music. Why did God create music? Well as I read the Bible I see how he taught the Israelites songs so that they would remember his commands and not forget his righteous judgments. I see how much God loves songs, in fact he rejoices over us with singing! I see how we are to speak to one another with songs, hymns, and spiritual songs! There is so much information in the Bible about the gift of music. But the world has taken it and make it ugly. They have worshiped it, perverted it, and made it a stumbling block to many Christians. This is just one example of too many. It is important to understand that all or most of God's gifts have been soiled in the same way. Our children have to be prepared for the fact that they will encounter pornography, they will be tempted by the immoral woman or be tempted to be the immoral woman, they will be tempted to compromise, they will encounter sexual advances, their own bodies will try to decieve and betray them. I believe these things to be absolutes! Even though I homeschool, these children are by no means unsusceptible to these evils. The kids could go into a public bathroom and find a porn magazine or play a game of hide and seek at Bible talk and try to sneak a kiss or whatever. If there is any wisdom that comes from being 26 it is that I am not far removed from my adolescence. I remember how easily and quickly evil comes knocking on the door and the Devil shows no partiality. The Devil doesn't care that my kids are "churched" or come from a happy home or whatever. The Devil will attack my kids and they must be prepared for battle, we pray for wisdom and grace as to the way and timing we reveal the plot of the Great Deciever, but the clock is ticking away. Every hour these children are getting closer to engaging in all out war with the Enemy,our goal is to prepare them for battle, we can't fight for them but we intent to fight with them. Our oldest will be eight soon, which may seem young, but if we don't get about this business soon someone else will most definetly do it, and it will not be in accordance with Phil 4:8(whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. It is important to us that our children have a right view about this gift that the Lord has given to married couples and that we teach them to protect their purity at all costs.

Another book we got this week was The Princess Kiss and The Squire and the Scroll. I am grateful for people who use thier talents and abilities to build up the kingdom of God and encourage the ministry of the saints. My little girl is drawn to princesses. She has never seen Snow White, Sleeping, Beauty or Beauty and the Beast but she can spot a princess a thousand miles away. Her heart is drawn to their flawless beauty and lavish garments. I was so grateful to finally read her a princess book that potrayed a wise, chaste, prudent princess. Books and TV are teachers and there is no neutrality! I don't want my daughter to have silly notions of a handsome prince sweeping her off her feet, catering to her every whim. “There is a real danger in raising picky, un-pleasable daughters who are unable to follow an imperfect man. We have no business raising wimpy ‘prima donna’ daughters.”Scott Brown I do want my daughter to a princess of the Most High King. I want her to be a wise, faithful, princess who is a servant a handmaiden of the Lord, not a diva. For those of you who know my daughter, you know we have a good work to do, let's unite and pray for our daughters and sons. I have just as much desire for my sons to marry Godly princesses. I pray that they have an appeptie for and are attracted to feminine holiness. My daily prayer for myself and family is that we all learn to "love the things that the Lord loves, and hate the things that the Lord hates".

I just wanted to praise God for my husband. He has battled with diabetes for several years now, and it's been hard for him to get a handle on it. Today he had his Hemoglobin A1C. He gets this test every 3 months and it tells you what your blood sugar runs on average. The last 7 years the results have been terrible. A few months ago a nurse/dietician came to our house to give him "the talk". This is the do or die talk, which we've sat through too many times to count. Now I look at his blood sugar every day and he has been doing remarkably well, in fact, shame on me, I thought that maybe the monitor was broken. Could he really be doing that well. His last Hemoglobin A1c was a 12, which means that is blood sugar ran on average 345 every day. Today is Hemoglobin A1c was an 8!!!!!!!!!!!! His doctors and nursers were so happy and so amazed, it has never ever been this low. He only has one more point to go to be at 7 which is where they want him. Thank you God, another prayer answered.

I'm busy getting ready for the upcoming school year. I love shopping for the new school year. I love books; I love how they look and smell and feel in my hands. I love learning how to learn and how to teach. I love learning how to apply God's truths and laws in our lives. So how am I preparing for the new year? During the summer and the breaks that we take throughout the year, I pray a lot for wisdom, I read a lot, and I listen to sermons and other messages. This year I listened quite a lot to the homeschool messages at Charity Ministries These messages are free and they give me a wonderful vision and much needed encouragement to begin again. During the summer and other breaks I listen to these messages over and over again. Several years ago I came across the website A Woman Who Fears the Lord and I printed out many articles. A couple of these articles I read every summer. Is Christ Truly Your Homeschool Foundation? and Choosing Books that Nourish your Childs Soul.

My Shopping List

Language Arts
Reading, Writing, Grammar, Spelling
Rod and Staff Grade 2 Readers
Rod and Staff Grade 3 Readers
Rod and Staff Grade 3 English Set
Spelling Workout B and C
Continue Italic Handwriting
Writing Strands 2 (my son likes to write, I only intend to use this book as a guide to the different styles of writing, I'll be creating my own writing assignments. For example one lesson is writing as a reporter. Instead of reporting about something frivolous I'll choose something of meaning for him to report such as an event in the Bible, etc)

History
Story of the World Volume II and Activity Pack: We really enjoyed SOW volume I. It is interesting, thorough, and it's not textbook like at all. I don't want to use text books for such exciting subjects as history and science. In fact the only thing I intend to use text books for would be language arts and math. We just read the book as a story and we learn some interesting history in chronological order. Order is important to me. Learning history in school was pointless, b/c it was all out of order and I couldn't put anything together. Last year we studied the ancients, this year we're studying Medieval and Early Renaissance some titles of books we'll read:
These books will come from the library, thank God for inter library loan.
You Wouldn't Want to be Sick in the 16th Century
Science and Technology in the Middle Ages
You Wouldn't Want to be in a Medieval Dungeon
You Wouldn't Want to be a Medieval Knight
You Wouldn't Want to Sail with Christopher Columbus
You Wouldn't Want to Explore with Sir Francis Drake
Who was Marco Polo?
King Arthur
Genghis Khan
Attila the Hun
Joan of Arc
John Calvin
Martin Luther
Shakespeare Can be Fun Series
Medieval Medicine and the Plague
What were Castle's For?
Growing up in Viking Times?
Christopher Columbus
Good Queen Bess

Science
Apologia Astronomy and Botany: This is another book that reads like a story, it is very thorough! This is not a text book, it is a lively, colorful, very interesting book. I will probably buy the science kits, b/c my son really likes to do experiments. We bought Sonlight last year, the only thing I liked about it was the DVD. We ended up going through a science book that I bought from the thrift store. We also live right next to VA Air and Space Museum so we're getting a membership.

Math
Continue with Math U SEE Beta

Reading
All from Keepers of the Faith I am sooooo excited about these books. I am particularly praying to persevere in reading aloud. I have the Read Aloud Handbook and I've read it. I'm convinced of the benefits of reading aloud, but it falls by the way side. Not this year! So were getting...

Don't these sound so exciting! I can't wait.
Hedge Fence: "A Hedge Fence is an outstanding book for children. Frank, the boy in the story, has been wishing he had a hedge to keep him from doing wrong. An older friend begins sending Scripture verses to Frank each month as a "hedge fence" against temptations of sin. Frank, at first, cannot see how the verses could help him, but he quickly learns that Scripture is a very ready help in time of need. Frank also has a wonderful relationship with his father and mother, which would bring joy to the heart of any parent. Although this book is written for children, teens and adults will be blessed by reading about these wonderful hedges. They just might prove helpful to many of us too! Old reprint."
Side by Side: "This book has to be one of the best Mrs. Alden wrote! It is the story of two young girls—one a very wealthy girl, and the other, a very poor girl. One has grown up in Sunday school and church, and one has just begun to come to church. These girls sit side by side in Sunday school. This is a story of contrasts: rich and poor, educated and uneducated, and, more importantly, a professing girl, and one who has truly come to know the Savior. This gem of a story paints a black and white picture for children and adults of the difference between saying you are a Christian and actually being a Christian. Excellent! Every child should read this one! KOF Old Reprint."
Robert Dawson: "This book is not about that Robert Dawson who was a missionary. However, it is an excellent story for boys! Actually it could even serve as a manual for parents who wish to rear boys to be real, responsible men. The story line is simply chock full of what is real determination, diligence, obedience and many other character traits—all seamlessly integrated. Do you want your young man to understand and to have a real work ethic? This is a must read! KOF Old Reprint."
The Giant Killer:"Meet Giant Sloth, Giant Selfishness, Giant Untruth, Giant Hate, and Giant Pride. They are as wily and sneaky as they are huge and strong—these giants within. Meet Fides, an honorable knight, whose job it is to slay these giants and others. He wishes to do so to please his King, with Whom he wishes to go soon to live. Fides is often easily tricked by these giants, as he often underestimates them and their power. He comes uncomfortably close to being destroyed by several. Only with the sword and shield given him by his King, and with the aid of his friend Conscience, does he narrowly gain the victory. The Giant-Killer is considered one of A.L.O.E.’s finest works, and she intended it to be a teaching device designed to be read in a family setting in which parents can explain and supplement discussion of its truths. It is allegorical in nature, and is a story within a story in which a mother uses to teach young people about the subtle, yet odious, sins of the heart."
Batting With the World:"The sequel to The Giant-Killer continues the story of the Robys. It is now several years later; the Probyns have returned home, and yet the lives of the Robys and Probyns continue to be somewhat entwined. Tragedy and sorrow have struck deeply at the Roby family, and yet they continue to bravely fight the battle of faith, strive for contentment, and do right in the midst of very trying circumstances. See how they rise, determined to conquer, and love each other, and trust in God in the journey of life. You won’t want to miss this one!"
The Mine:"The Mine is quite a thriller, both in the light of this world and in the light of the next. Arthur and Phemie (brother and sister), and Asahel have all lost their parents. As such, they have given more thought than most young people as to what brings happiness in life. Arthur and Phemie have had Christian upbringing—Asahel has not—but do any belong to the Lord? That is an important question because they explore an abandoned mine shaft together and become trapped. No one knows of the opening, so speculation and searching occurs at the seashore where they are thought to have drowned. Thus, they face the one question of life alone and in total darkness. Don’t miss this one."
Captive Treasure:"This is a refreshing book for children set in the days of the pioneers. It is the story of a little girl separated from her parents during an Indian attack on their wagon train. All she has is her Bible as she is carried captive to sojourn with the Indians. Prayer and the Word of God sustain her as she becomes a witness to this Indian tribe. Captivating story."
Prudence and the Millers: This is the only Millers storybook that we don't have. We all love reading these stories, it has helped us all with our personal devotions and applying the scriptures to our lives.

I look forward to reading these books; learning spiritual insights, having our faith encouraged, pulling science, history, and geography from these books. I like to use these books to diagram sentences and as springboards for creating our own stories. Today we started listening to Ten P's in a Pod on mp3.

Ten P's in a Pod:"They journeyed across North America as a family---Arnold and Mrs. Pent and their eight children. Their goal was to share the Gospel and share their passion for God’s Word to all those who would hear them. Piling in their old Packard and Pierce Arrow "horseless carriages" along with guitar and banjo, they rambled through town and city singing the songs of the faith and reciting large passages from Old and New Testaments to groups both large and small. Theirs was a family mission. They served Christ together. With great fervor and conviction, they shared their lives and hearts with the world.
Ten Peas in A Pod is the million-mile journal of the Arnold Pent family. Penned by Arnold Pent III, the third-oldest of the eight children in the Pent clan, and first published in 1965---the same year the Sound of Music was released---this book is more than a cross-country family chronicle, it is a fruitful testimony of a family whose ministry of word and song impacted a generation as thousands professed the name of Christ and embraced the glory of the Word of God.

Filled with folksy anecdotes that take the reader back to another time in America, Ten Peas in A Pod crackles with life and captures, with both humor and sobriety, the almost irrepressible spirit of the Pent Family. To the Pents, the story of faith was real and practical, and nearly every page of Ten Peas contains the Words of Life---a verse or passage from Scripture that the Pent Family recited and applied, literally, to where the rubber met the road."

Today we all gathered in bed after nap time and listened for about 20 minutes. It's neat that the guy reading it is one of the eight children. I want my hero's and my childrens heros to be people of great faith. When I was a little kid and I went to Christian school, me and all the other children all wanted to be missionaries when we grew up. That's who are heros were. Those were the people who were emulated in our churchs and school. Today, I am appalled when I ask kids what they want to be when they grow up. Last summer I was teaching Childrens Ministry first and second graders they all wanted to be fashion designers, models, American Idols etc. Someone said that imitation is the highest form of worship. I want to imitate Christ. I want to imitate, lift up, and honor those who honor Christ. I pray that God helps me and that I don't get side tracked by the worlds standards of success. My heart tells me that true success is walking close to my Savior and that "there is no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." 3 John 1:4

The twins will do lots of hands pre-reading, writing, and math activities.

I am looking forward to this year.

I haven't blogged in 3 weeks. It's not that I haven't thought about it everyday. I want to be a good journaler (if that's a word). I would say that I'm low on time, but isn't everybody? So anyway, we're still hanging around. Since I have my niece with us this summer we're trying to stay busy. I am excitedly getting things ready for this school year. I have my niece and my oldest son film making. They have been assigned the task of creating an Alphabet video. It keeps them busy and it is sooo fun to watch. I'll have to post one.

I'm in my last semester of school. Both classes are electives. Religion and Healthcare. I praise God that I am able to attend classes online. I don't feel like it encroaches on my family time too much. I am able to put them before school, as it should be.

I'm re-reading a few books right now. To Train Up a Child, Child Training Tips, and Praise Her in the Gates. I'm needing to do some re-training with a few of my children and re-capture the reason for why I do what I do.

All is quiet on the home front and I'm glad. I finally have a doctor's appointment next month for the painful rash I've had on my lower legs for at least 8 months. I'm pretty sure it's erythema nodosum, it won't kill me, but I've had it so long, and it is extremely painful.

Well I'm off to bed, I hope to update again soon.

This is the conversation I overheard between Kyle and Peyton.

Peyton was asking me to play with Kyle's math blocks and I told her "no" and she proceeded to keep asking me. This is what Kyle said:

Kyle: Mommy is not a Please Mommy, she's not like Daddy. If you ask daddy for something he'll say no, but if you keep begging please he'll say yes. But if you ask mommy and she says no, it doesn't matter how many times you say please, begging won't work. She's not a Please Mommy.

I thought that was soooo funny!

So I've been working hard making sandpaper letters and other manipulatives for the kids. I finished the sandpaper letters and showed my husband. I explained that they were sensorial and that kids say the letter and touch the letter, it helps them to better remember it. He replied: "Oh, okay, is this for like if they go blind or something?"



HA!!I just laughed, I thought that was so funny. Who goes around making materials in case their kids go blind?

When I was first married, I knew that I knew nothing about homemaking so I went to my local Barnes and Noble and bought More Hours in My Day by Emelie Barnes. I learned how to clean and organize. But the single greatest help to me was Candy at Keeping the Home.com When I first found her website I printed out her whole blog. I followed her schedule Mon-Fri. It was a great encouragement to me. It was like having a wise Titus 2 woman in my home teaching me how to love my husband, children, and how to be a keeper at home.

I needed that schedule in the beginning, but now I have learned how to make schedules of my own and follow routines. There were times in my life where I followed a rigid schedule, hour by hour, and I needed that. But now, I just follow a routine.

Morning:
Wake up
Listen to a sermon while I do all this other stuff.
Work on my school
Computer Time
Put laundry in the wash
Nurse baby and bathe
Brush teeth
Get dressed
Breakfast and cleaning
Quiet Time
Homeschool

Afternoon:
Lunch and cleaning
History/Science
Free reading
Kids have free play
I work on projects(kids school stuff, deep cleaning, etc.)


Nightime:
Usually church or fellowship
Read
Put on the Bible on Tape(my oldest has memorized large passages of scripture just by listening every night. I love the Little Kids Adventure Bible on CD its 6 Cd's for the New Testament. We're getting the Old Testament this year.
Date nights with G
Finish up projects
Finish my homework
Sleep

This is mostly how my days go, but not always. Sometimes we have guests or go out, but when we're home this is generally how it goes for now. I no longer make myself get up at a certain time. I nurse a baby all night and I need my sleep. I generally wake up at 6:30, but if I can sleep until 8am I count it as a blessing and I don't feel any condemnation about it. I don't ususally nap, but when I have the opportunity I do. It has been a blessing to me over the years for people to posts their schedules and routines, in fact I have a binder specifically with schedules that I have printed out, so that when I lose my way, I can find it again.
This is my laundry room in the Kitchen.

I found this at the Thrift Store it was $25.00 but went down to $6.00. It is a print of an Amish farm. I love this picture. It is so serene. I love the Amish way of life.