Faith

-I am the Lord your God. I am holding your hand. And I tell you, "Don't be afraid. I will help you."-
Isaiah 41:13

This is our Bible verse for this week.
Every few weeks the kids and I pick a Bible verse to memorize and practice writing. Lady Bug writes it in her best handwriting and usually adds some form of art around the verse. Wild Thing works on simply copying the verse, and occasionally he will add some art work as well. Now even Little Man is copying the verses too, and doing quite well.

Each verse we pick usually is something that fits our need at that moment. Our last verse was:
-A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.- Proverbs 15:1

The reason for that verse was the continuous arguing and bickering between the kids, and us. We sat one morning and read the verse a few times and discussed what we all thought it meant, and we each gave some examples. The kids did a little roll playing by saying something harsh, and answering, then saying something kind and responding. It was a fun way to get the kids to see the different responses to kind or harsh words.

It was neat how much even Little Man understood and took to heart the Bible verse. One of the afternoons Little Man and Wild Thing were arguing over a toy and from the other room I hear Little Man say, "Don't you remember our Bible verse? A harsh word makes anger but a nice word turns away anger. You should do what the Bible verse says, and talk nice to me."
Of course, I am smiling and almost laughing because Little Man is yelling this all to his brother but at least he remembered and understood the verse.

Anyway, the verse we have right now, is proving to be difficult for me. Not being afraid when there are medical issues with your child is difficult. I think it's even harder at the moment because we had made some great progress and I had begun to feel a weight lift, thinking we were finally out of the woods. But unfortunately, it looks like we are back sliding a little. The progress that has taken so long for Lady Bug, is slowly receding. We are trying to keep things at an even level and just slowly work on forward progress but it is proving to be very difficult once again. Difficult and very frustrating.

With the risk of sounding heartless, my first reactions were ones of selfishness. I was just starting to feel like I could breath again and take some much needed time and focus on myself for awhile. But,
not so. I just pray that we can get ahead and soon be in a peaceful and progressive place once again. It  seems to get harder and harder each time when life hits you in the face with a slamming door. It makes it hard to enjoy the peaceful and happy times, because slowly, you begin to keep watch for the next door coming your way instead of allowing yourself to enjoy those wonderful moments you do have.

Such is life. So on we go, always hoping for the best and dealing with whatever comes our way.
Knowing that no matter how difficult life gets or what is thrown our way, God is on our side and will help us, is comforting. I am not always happy with or understand His timing or His plans, but I am trying to trust that He knows what's best and that He will get us through. 

Now that I have had my little pity party, I do want to say: 

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there! I hope you have a wonderful day! 

To my dad, 
Happy Father's Day, I love you! 

To my husband,
You are a wonderful daddy to our children. I could not have asked for better. Thank you for loving 
our kids as you do! I love you!

-please ignore any typos, I wrote this post on the iPad and it's horrible for writing a blog post-

To two-piece or not?

**Just a note, as requested by hubby, we have gone back to screen names for the kiddos.
Lady Bug-11 year old daughter, Wild Thing-8 year old son, Little Man-5 year old son**
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 With summer here and the heat wave in full swing we are all having to find ways to keep cool. We have not had a chance to get our window a/c in just yet, so we are keeping doors, windows, and curtains closed and our fans strategically placed through out the house to keep it as cool as we can.

This morning we decided that we'd had enough, so we took off to a small splash park near our home. We met with a few friends and let all the kiddos run and cool off in the water for a few hours.

It close to our house, lots of fun for the kids, and best of all, it's free!

While we were there today a friend and I were talking about what swim wear we will and will not allow our children to wear. She and I both have what seems to be "old fashioned" ideas when it comes to swim suits for kids, especially girls.  

The last time we went shopping for a new swimsuit for my daughter, these were they types of suits I found in

 her size.

                 

It took going to 3 different stores to find a "normal" swim suit that did not show nearly every inch of the body. I know these are common in adult size swim suits but I was really surprised to see them all the way down to sizes for girls as young as 8 or 9 year old. Lady Bug even pointed out some really questionable style suits for toddlers. Now, granted I do seem to have a very different idea of appropriate wear for young girls compared to what is normal and accepted now.

I have not allowed Lady Bug to wear bikinis, short shorts, very tight clothing, or anything with words across the tush. I will however allow her to wear what ever else she wants as long as she is modest. So when she walks out in knee high socks, shorts, long sleeve tye-dye, and a baseball cap, I smile and say, "ok". And when she wants to dye her hair blue, I will agree with that before I let her walk out the door in short shorts with the words "hot stuff" across her tush!

From the time my kids were little we have talked about what our family's idea of modest and appropriate clothing is. Luckily, my kids have very rarely given me any trouble with what they are and are not allowed to wear, other than the occasional fit when I mention real shoes instead of flip flops...when it's snowing! Of course the boys could care less about what they wear, but even Lady Bug has only a few times wanted to wear something I don't allow, and usually it has been a old favorite piece of clothing that is now two sizes too small.

For my daughter, we've talked about the difference of an adult choosing to wear something revealing and a young girl wearing something revealing and the different types of attention it will draw for both a woman and a young girl. We have also talked about women and girls wanting to look sexy, what that means and why we need to be modest. I am happy that for now, she too feels that many of the swim wear for young girls and teens is too adult like and not something she wants to wear! I know that may change in the near future as she is nearly 12 and I'm sure eventually her taste and desire to look a certain way will change.

You can call me a prude but I am one who feels that so much of the clothing and swim wear for young girls today, sexualizes them way too early, and that is already a problem in our society. I don't care to have my young teen look "sexy". Even when the young girls are not trying to draw attention with their clothing or swim wear, unfortunately it can draw attention from those you wish to keep away from your child.

Now that I have finished my little rant, I hope you all are having a great start to your summer.

 

Monday's Mumbling...

*There are so many pictures posted on facebook but this one has always caught my eye, and my heart.

*This morning I enjoyed having 90 minutes all to myself before the kids woke up. It's not something I get to enjoy often, and never for quite so long. I was completely surprised when I woke up to find all three kids still asleep. Normally, the boys are the first ones up and often they are up with the sun! 

*We started back to school today. We've taken the last two weeks off and enjoyed the start of our summer. We will be doing school through the summer, but not a full schedule. We will be working on reading, writing, and math. After this last year I feel we need a little time to catch up with our school.

*I finally had a chance to get my garden cleaned up and some seeds planted. As of right now I have squash, onions, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, watermelon, and pumpkins. Now, if everything will survive and produce anything, is any one's guess. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

*Wild Thing has a birthday this month and has decided he wants an underwater spy themed party. Meaning he wants the pool, slip and slide, and the sprinklers out at his party. So I am trying to come up with some "spy" ideas. I have a few thoughts on some little trinkets to make for the kids, but I'm up for suggestions if you have any!!! He is turning 9 and is all boy, so anything that involves dirt, noise, toy guns, bugs, snakes and anything icky and creepy is what he loves!

*My sweet little Little Man was working on his words today, and I am impressed at how well he is doing. He flew through his words quickly and with ease. I love that he is reading!
He has been working on reading the first of the little Bob books.  They are cute little books that are written so that the beginning reader can read a whole book!

*There aren't too many families involved yet, but I have finally put together a "fun club" for homeschoolers. We meet twice a month in the summer and once a month through the winter. So far we have been on a nature hike, had a picnic, and we have met at  the park to let the kids play.  This week we are going to meet at a local attraction and enjoy a morning hike and maybe another picnic afterwards. Then, later this month we are going to meet at the local art museum and enjoy the art the kids will work on some art of their own. Depending on time we may also take a trip over to a local favorite of mine, the pioneers museum.

*Hubby is enjoying his new job. He has been there nearly 6 months now. It's a big adjustment to where he was for the last 17 years. The hours and schedule are different and that is going to take some time to get used to. But the company is, thankfully not family owned, which in this case is a big bonus.

With summer here and so much to do I have not been able to blog as much as I'd like. It's such a nice outlet for me, so I will be here as often as I am able.

I hope you all are having a great summer so far.

Remember, if you have any "spy party" ideas please share!!

Wordless Wednesday...



Mom's night...in

   A friend and I were talking the other day about getting together with friends more. We both have had a very long year and have missed having time to spend with friends. So we have decided to start making time to spend with friends. Since we can't always get out without kids or have the extra money to spend on a night on the town we came up with a few ideas to try.

I know how hard it is for moms to get out and spend time with their friends as much as we'd like so I thought I'd share some of our ideas. Yes, some are just silly ideas but it would be time spent with friends.

• Recipe Swap- Each person makes a favorite dish, side, or desert to share. Copy the recipe down onto a 3x5 note card for each of the friends. Everyone gets to enjoy something new and take home the recipe.
• Dollar Store Goodie Bag- Each person has a limit of $10 (spent at the dollar store) to put together 1 or 2 fun little goodie bags. Get together for drinks or games and everyone gets a goodie bag to take home.
• Book Swap- Everyone brings a few books they are done with to swap with the others. This could also be done with kids books or other household items.
• Game Night- Simple pot luck dinner and games. Kids love this too, just have some kids games available as well.
• Mom's Sappy Movie and Ice Cream Night- Obviously a sappy movie and ice cream for the mom's. Pj's are a must!
• Take a Hike Mom- Everyone meet up somewhere to take a day hike. No kids! Just mom's, sunshine, and lots of water. Oh and of course a camera!
• Mom's Spa Night-  Many have done this but make it what you want. Either get together and just spend the evening pampering yourself with friends, or each person puts together a spa goodie bag (set a dollar limit) and every swaps the goodie bags to take home and enjoy.
• Homemade Christmas-  I know many of my friends enjoy making Christmas gifts for their kids and families each year. Everyone can get together and work on their own project, or everyone can decide on one project and work together.
• Clothing Swap-  I know most women have tons of clothes that are just sitting in the closet gathering dust. So why not get all those clothes you have no need for and let your friends rummage through them all. If you sew, you can get quite creative as a group and put together some great Halloween Costumes or dress up clothes for the kids.

What do you think?
Any of those ideas something you and your friends would try?
What ideas would you put on your list?

Summer Fun Bucket List

                       
The kids and I have decided to put together a Summer Bucket List. We often have great ideas of things we want to do or places we want to go see, but we seem to forget all those wonderful ideas when we actually have the time and ability to go do something. So we decided to get a head start this summer.

This is our summer bucket list. Many on our list are typical summer activities, others are some fun creative ideas the kids came up with.

Have you made your Summer Fun Bucket List yet?


                          

• pool time
• playtime at the park
• bike rides
• lots of walks
• nature hikes
• camping
• play in sprinklers
• picnics -at parks or in the mountains
• art day at the art museum
• craft day with friends
• trip to local splash park
• costume party (kids love having Halloween parties throughout the year)
• day at the county fair
• spy party (the boys came up with this one)
• dinosaur party
• build bird houses
• pajama dance party
• movie and pizza night
• trip to the zoo
• field day with friends (just like last day of school)
• art walk (walk through downtown, taking in the sights and drawing what interests the kids)
• cooking day
• museum of nature and science
• dinosaur museum
• fossil beds (local attraction)
• dinosaur dig day (boys want to go dig for dino bones)
• family game/movie nights
• go to the movies
• trip to the ice cream shop
• roller skating
• ice skating
• and pool time (kids said this one many, many times)

I think that was most of them.

So far the kids are excited about the list. We are trying to go ahead and put some activities that we can on the calendar. I do much better if something is actually scheduled on the calendar. I'm not sure if we will get to everything or not this summer, but we are really going to try.

What ideas would you put on your summer fun bucket list?

Reading in their own time...

   
 As a homeschooling mom one of the most memorable moments is when your child reads their first words. With three children I have now experienced that three times, and it is awesome each time and with each child. I have to say it runs a close second to their first words or first steps. Yet, it's almost more, well for me anyway. As one who loves to read and one who has spent way too much time hiding in a corner, staying up all night, or locked in a room to read, that when my children learn to read I feel like the world has just opened its doors to the them. I have always felt that once a child learns to read, there is no limit to what they can learn, and I have made sure to tell them that as well.

     Yesterday, Little Man, my youngest read his first words! We have been working on letters and letter sounds for awhile now, but not very often and not near as much as I did with my other two. With Lady Bug and Wild Thing I had a set plan and schedule and we followed the phonics and reading curriculum to the letter. But with Little Man, I have taken more of an unschooling approach to his learning so far. I never planned to unschool, but this last year has been so far from what we planned and expected that much of the year was spent just trying to get by day by day and keeping up what school work we could, when we could.

     I will say I was a bit surprised yesterday when Little Man read not only his first words but 15 words in total. He was working on writing a few letters and practicing their sounds and we ended up putting a few of those letters together on our board and that was all it took. He just took off.

    Watching him read each new word and beam with pride and joy was wonderful. He was so happy and excited that by the last word he was smiling a huge smile and bouncing up and down. We celebrated with lots of hugs, kisses, and high fives! He told me he was so happy he was reading.

    Today was even better. Little Man wanted to read his words again so we wrote them each on a 3x5 card and he practiced reading each word. After he read most of the words he turned to me and he said, "Mama, I'm reading! I'm really reading! I'm so happy I want to cry. People cry when they are really happy. Do you know that?" He then jumped up in my lap and gave me the biggest hug and I was surprised to see he really did have tears in his eyes. I knew he was excited but I never imagined learning to read was so special to him at this age. (he just turned 5)

     I am beyond thrilled for him and happy that he too is excited about reading. I think that much of the excitement for him is because he has never been pushed to read. I have not made him sit down and do school work. I have asked and only when he wanted did we do typical school work. Otherwise we have read lots of books, played games, and answered any questions he had.  He will ask me many times a day what sound different letters make, what letter starts a specific word, or how something is spelled. And he is often rattling off words that rhyme or start with the same letter. Between all this learning that was not forced but of his own interest and my not pushing him, he has been able to learn naturally.


   So once again, I have been reminded how blessed I am to homeschool my kids and spend each day with them.