Adventures

Everything to me these days is about adventure and challenging the kids and myself and teaching them something....a couple of things I have been very appreciative for lately and noticing is this:  It is a SUCH A BLESSING for us that John works shift work.  He gets to spend so much more time with us!  He is home much more often than most daddies.   Most dad's (8-5 working dads) have two days off during the week...one day would most likely have to be to do things like mow the grass, fix the toilet, etc and the other day would most likely be a family day of going to church, resting, etc.  Because John has either 4 days off or 6 days off in a row, we are much more likely to take off...we like to go...we like to try new things...we like to drag the kids along with us for the most part...

John and I figure that we have these 3 kids and if we don't teach them to camp or hike or canoe or swim or bike or whatever it is that we like to do, then they won't learn and it will be a nuisance to try to teach them later....when they finally get old enough and then they won't want to learn or won't do it the way that we want them too at least :)  ...Now we have certainly had some busts like when we took John Daniel tent camping in March when he was only 5 months old...it was sooo cold and miserable (probably one of the worst nights of my life) but its fun to laugh about it now and John and I are so stubborn that even after the worst night of our life where we got up at 4:30 am and drove an hour to Gainesville to sit at a Denny's in our Pajamas (kids had no shoes on..we looked homeless) just to get warm...we still went back after getting warm and rented a canoe and paddled down the Sante Fe river for 3 hours instead of packing up and coming home...

Camping has certainly made us try new things.  People ask us how we camp with three young kids and I just say GO!  Yes, giving a baby a bath in a campground shower is a pain but we have tried it every way possible....and its cheap!  Its how we get to travel sometimes...because it doesn't cost very much.  Training the kids when they are young to act they way they should act on a trail or in a camper or in a canoe is important to us....as I've said before, don't dare complain about it in front of John.....the kids know not to complain about bugs or the heat or walking and for the most part they do just fine....We have some great memories!  Hey, my kids have hiked on the AT and I think that is so cool!  One of my favorite personality traits of my husband is that he isn't aftraid to try anything almost....(like my dad)...he got into a lot of trouble in his young years and has scars to prove it but I like his free spirit and that he will jump off a rope swing and hike down to a waterfall or pick up a snake and that he drags the rest of us with him...its awesome for the kids!!!  I truly think hat they are better for it!  And now, every adventure is like a glorified field trip where we can learn about the world around us and experience it hands on!

Planning, Planning, Planning....

One of the best parts of homeschooling (or pre-homeschooling in my case) so far is the planning.  I have spent hours, literally, reading websites, looking at book reviews, reading emails sent from other moms, reading books...and I LIKE IT ALL!!!  I want to take a piece from everything I read and put it together...I love homeschooling moms...they are awesome and my life has been changed forever and for the better since knowing and listening and hearing from some of these women.  I love how everyone has their own style and things they do best and things they lack in....

Last week, I kind of got it all figured out and decided on what I wanted to do.  I know that I have way too much stuff planned....I already know this and figure I will eventually decide what to cut out but there is just so much good stuff to do and teach the kids.  Here is what I have in mind:  It will probably sound very confusing and I will have to tweak it but so far this is what I want to do with Emily.

Personal Quiet Time
Family Bible Reading/study
Habit Training using the Young Peacemakers book (12 week study)
Math--Using ABEKA 3rd grade
Copy work to then advance into cursive second semester
English/LA/spelling/grammer....using ABEKA but also looking into From the roots up (15 minute a day greek/latin studies)
Science/History/Geography..unit study using My Father's World...American History and Nature study for 3rd grade...We will be using a timeline, world and U.S. maps and nature studies/books for science

At night:  Read Alouds..fun reading/classics

Most Homeschooling moms I know do school Mon-Thurs.  Depending on when I work (I only work 2 mornings in the whole month of August so far) then it may look a little different for us but I would like to do formal school at home Mon- Thurs and then take Friday as a "Fun Friday" and go to Maclay Gardens and read out of our book "What makes a Rembrandt a Rembrandt" or take our colored pencils and let her draw something she sees and then read some poetry or a story from "Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare" or make it a library day or do some cooking or sewing or a really cool Science Experiment Day or do some Mindware puzzles or have a field trip or some of the extra things that I have heard about that I might not be able to add in our regular school day.  I have finally figured out that if I did all of the wonderful things that I want to do with her or that are out there in "homeschool land", well we would have 11 hours of school everyday, so some of those wonderful things like reading shakespeare might not happen everyday! 

I kow this will change but I guess right now you can call me an ecletic homeschooler....or an ABEKAunitstudycharlottemason "ish" type of gal...

other things I have swirling in my mind are:  Science Fair, Geography Fair, Washington DC trip, Vocab notebooks, art classes, mission work, studying about missionaries, book reports, unit studies on parts of nature, and the list could go on! 

Adventures in the life of US!

As you can tell, I haven't gotten around to telling about our latest adventures and I go thru spurts of wanting to and then not wanting to but here are some of my favorite photos from recent adventures!

As you can see we have had a fun packed summer....making memories!

Thankful in the midst of trial!

We "Christians" always talk about being joyful when in the midst of a trial...well I was today!  I was actually VERY thankful and joyful!  Today was a busy day...I had a doctor's appt, then we had to get a bday present for a friend to then attend a Zoinks bday party...I had a lady coming to my house to pick up something, needed to get dinner ready and then pick up kids from bday party.  In between buying a gift at walmart and heading to Zoinks...Molly had a poopy diaper.  She has had some weird poopy lately that is making her have really bad daiper rash....I'm not for changing diapers in the car or in Walmart so I decided to drop Molly off at home (where John was mowing the lawn) to change her diaper and put her down for a nap (she was becoming ugly fast!)...then off to Zoinks with the big kids.  John was mowing the grass but would check on her periodically until I got back.  I dropped the kids off and my plan was to zoom home, meet the lady, start dinner, and go back and get the big kids.  Well, when I got to my van in the Zoinks parking lot...it wouldn't start!  My first thought was to freak...I called John but knew he wouldn't answer because he was mowing.  I tried to call the lady that was coming to my house to tell her not to come but couldn't get ahold of her.  So I called John 6 more times :O  No answer...then I decided to start taking action.  I called AAA and they said they would send a truck.  My radio, air, lights,automatic doors all worked....but the engine wouldn't turn over.  I knew I had until 5pm (when the party was over)...so I figured eventually John would wonder why I hadn't shown back up at the house and call me.  AAA was there in a matter of 15 or 20 minutes.  The man said the battery was good so it might be the starter...it had to be towed :(  So a tow truck was called and I told the man all by myself where to tow it to!  Tow truck was there in 15 minutes.  It was about 4:30 by this time...I called my mom to come get me and the big kids and our mountain of important stuff that I had taken out of the van (including Molly's car seat) ( I seriously looked like a bag lady at this point walking through the Zoinks parking lot with all my stuff)..I picked the kids up right on time and my mom was in the parking lot about 5 minutes after that.  When I got home, Molly had just woke from a 2 hour nap and John was making dinner (he did end up calling me in the midst of all that after the lady showed up at the house looking for me)....he told me I was a smart girl and had made all the right choices!!!! 

So in the midst of the chaos and unplanned circumstances, there was A LOT to be thankful for and believe me, as I sat outside in the parking lot, I was sure to thank my Lord!

1.  I was thankful that this happen within Fresh Market walking distance, where I ran in while waiting, to buy a water, diet coke, and some nuts.

2.  I was thankful that my big kids were inside of Zoinks...playing and in the AC not knowing a thing about what was going on.

3.  So thankful that Molly had that poopy diaper that made me take her home instead of with me!!!!  Oh it would have been a nightmare doing all that with a tired and hot Molly.

4.  Thankful for my smart phone that allowed me to look up numbers and addresses.

5.  Thankful for AAA.

6.  Thankful for the speed of the services...it was all done before I had to pick up the kids!

7.  Thankful for my mom being able to come get us because John didn't have a baby seat in the other car.

8.  Thankful that I had parked the van far away from the front of the stores so that there weren't too many cars around the vehicle to get in the way of the service trucks.

9.  Thankful that we know of a trustworthy, knowledgeable, friend to look at and fix the van.

10.  Thankful for a little peace and quiet all to myself even if it meant chillin' in the shoe station parking lot with the windows and doors open.  It was actually kind of relaxing.

I will have to say, it was nice to slow down today and sit!  Now I'm praying that the car repair bill is not enormous...but I'm not going to fret yet!  I was certainly taken care of today!

Our Normal

We don't have cable and this morning we happen to come across some cartoons on ABC and the kids are totally mesmerized so I have a few minutes.  Things are going along as normal around here lately.  John works, kids and I do our thing.  I was having a hard time several weeks ago because the kids were bickering a lot and I started second guessing my choice to homeschool or for that matter being a mom at all.  I cannot stand the bickering...it drives me absolutely crazy!  John will agree....just plain crazy :)  He found me crying on the porch one day when he woke up....I was contemplating the thought of spending the rest of the day with my chickens in the yard and leaving the rest of the family to fend for themselves...

John did like any man would do, he tried to fix it, gave me some ideas of things to do, said that he fought with his sisters all the time and it was a fact of life and then told me that we needed to quit letting them get the best of us and stop complaining and move on....You gotta love my husband...he really dislikes complainers....he doesn't see the purpose in complaining about circumstances, etc....that's why our kids eat so well....he won't allow any negative talk about food on the dinner table...its one of the things I love and dislike about him.  He isn't great at letting me vent...and he knows all this and reads this blog by the way.  So I went and talked to two girlfriends and I felt so much better.  Ann and Harriet said that they too were questioning their desire to be mothers as well (just kidding) because of their children's bickering....and one of them helped me see that I needed to relax a little.  I get so overstressed about this house.  If it is dirty (and I don't even keep an immaculate house) then I am in a bad mood.  I start bossing everyone around.  I can't stand the stacks of paper, toys all over, miscellaneous nonsense laying around.  John's sleeping bag that cost an arm and a leg is suppose to be hung up and not smooshed inside a bag...well it was about to put me over the edge if I saw that thing laying around one more time....so we found a place to hang the prize possession (on a hanger behind the closet door)...and it is out of my site!!!!  Yay!!!  Its little things like that I let spin this place out of control....

My dear friend told me to in a sense lower my expectations a little, smile more, and adjust.  So since that time, I've changed a couple of things...

We have a new and improved chore system..I have decided that no chore system is long lived...its always changing and that is good because then the kids get reenergized about it and it makes for happier chore time  I can't, nor can John do all the chores around here.  I am praying more (duh).  I am trying to smile more.  And I have again started reading before bedtime.  This may not seem like a big deal but it is for me.  I am a "get in bed at 8" and Mommy is done kind of girl.  I get emotionally and mentally drained during the day to where reading or saying goodnights and snuggling is work sometimes....just being honest here!!!  But I picked up a book that was recommended to me by one of my dear friends and we are now doing read alouds...we read for about 30 minutes.  We are reading In Grandma's Attic.  Its great, I enjoy it, the kids are enjoying it, and it ends the day on a good note.  We are almost done with the book and last night even got a big chuckle out of one of the chapters and that was fun!  Its going to be part of our school....believe me...everything I do now...I document so I can prove to myself and the world that I am teaching my children something:)  My good friend also told me that I would "get over that" eventually as well.  I told John a couple of weeks ago that I am a great mom if we are out and about doing something.  My kids are well behaved, I would take them almost anywhere, they don't complain, etc but get all 5 in this house for over 2 hours with no real plans and it falls apart and honestly this really bothers me....We, as a family, have to be able to live peacefully in this house without falling apart...and its not because we have a small house...its a character thing!  I want our home to be a safe haven, a peaceful retreat and a place we all want to be!  I'm working on it!  I read another one of those dag-gum Pearl books on our way to Orlando last weekend and with tears in my eyes I was like ....UUGGHHHH!!!!  It hit home to say the least!  The chapters I read just so happen to be about my hurts and trials lately.  So I've hit the redo button and on we go, with a refreshed mission and outlook....Our NORMAL is hopefully a new NORMAL!

Why Not to blog or FB

So I guess it has been about a month since I blogged and I have felt sad that I haven't kept up but  I needed a break....I also had an interesting talk recently with some friends about the different social networking sites and was confronted with some internal questions as to why I blog and Facebook.  It does certainly meet some kind of need.  A need to pry, be nosey, brag, get attention, etc.  I think the different social networking sites and blogging certainly for many fill this need and I must admit that me being a "words of affirmation" type girl...this might also be true.  My heart's desire is not to brag or be boastful (side note...I love my husband for this....he is never boastful and I truly admire him for this) but I suppose that it may seem that way at times so I took a little break from blogging because for one it was causing pressure....I didn't always want to blog about every little detail but felt the need for some reason to document our entire life on paper (most likely a way to scrapbook in some round a bout way...its easier than scrapbooking and people you want to see it can very easily) and I just got tired of it...now facebook is a different very addicting story...I like it...I must admit.  I like hearing about what other people are doing with their families, I like the pictures...I like getting excited about something and sharing it with people that I might not neccesarily call on the phone but why...am I trying to call attention to myself...well maybe, so God is working on me and I'm wondering if I might be called away from social networking for awhile or maybe just to lay off for awhile....not sure yet....My husband for all his great qualities is not a talker and in some ways the networking sites allow me to stay connected with people at a distance but when he is not here at night...give me a little entertainment and adut conversation...I don't know...this is what I am rolling around right now in my brain and in my heart.....we will see......I did go on Facebook and "defriend" people that I would never talk to on a one on one basis.  I have to admit that its kind of fun to brag on your kids and tell about what you are doing with your family but do we need to know what each other are doing....I don't know but I really like knowing that my friend made biscuits with her grandma and that my other friend from work just got a puppy....I guess it is silly and useless information but fun as well.  Its weird too because some girls at work now (after seeing my family pics and all) have sought me out to ask about how we run our family and what my marriage is like, etc.  I have known these girls for years and talk to them at work all the time but since we all became friends on FB, its like they see something different or appealing that makes them want to ask me questions.....who knows......its certainly something I am thinking about and it may be an end to my FB/blogging career because I do not want to be boastful....

John wants me to continue to blog...and I do want to write about our homeschool adventures...I'm thinking....and right now will write as I feel led :) 

The Loop!

When I decided to homeschool, my friend Ann gave me a couple of quick recommendations...the first thing she said was to get plugged into the Tallahassee Christian Homeschoolers Forum.   I had no idea what that was but she got me signed up and I LOVE IT!  It is a basic google forum group.  The people that are in the group can send out mass posts to everyone else and then you can reply, etc.  I get anywhere from 10-30 emails a day.......Some I erase right away, some I browse, and some I use....basic rules of the group are I believe .....you have to be a homeschooler or involved in home education in some way and you are not allowed to post any vulgarity or unkindness...and there is some heated debate over certain subjects but I've never noticed it getting ugly.  Topics range from co-op meetings to "what kind of snake is this in my backyard", to the sales at Publix, to curriculum choices, to how to make your own laundry detergent, to baking bread, to field trips, to extra-curricular activities, to free movie days, to politics, to religious freedoms, to vacation opportunities, and on and on.  I have never been a part of a more diverse, frugal, knowledgeable, entertaining, inquisitive group of women.......It is truly amazing.  I can't tell you how impressed I am by the homeschooling moms that I have met, talked to, emailed, listened to.  Homeschooling moms will find out the answer to a question if they don't know...believe me!  I love the curiosity and exchange of knowledge that takes place between this group of people.  So far I have sold two box springs, girls clothes, and old TV, and baby stuff through the loop, given advice on getting a Tilt Table Test done, joined a Vegetable Co-OP via the loop, bought organic sugar and honey granules to bake with through a lady on the loop, found a blueberry picking farm to take the kids to, have many fun and educational field trips in mind due to recomendations, have visited a chicken farm and recently bought 2 organic chickens from "loop" members, been to a used book sale, attended a curriculum symposium, have mentally planned a vacation to Virginia to study American History after getting an awesome email about vacation spots in Williamsburg, etc., have received numerous curriculum helps, and have signed Emily and I up for a sewing class .....all from info I received through the loop! And it is amazing to also hear of the wonderful service these ladies do to help others....One family has literally gotten two homeless sisters off the streets and now have helped them get jobs, a car, and a place to live.  I am truly blessed by being a part of the loop and am super glad that I am in the "loop" so that I get to hear about so many new and amazing opportunities.