Lessons From The Classroom

I'm not going to lie and say we've always got it together in the homeschool department around here.

As a matter of fact, last week the Lord was doing such a number in the heart's of our family that I was basically in survival mode.  This wasn't due to any awful or heart-wrenching experience, it was a good thing.  A VERY good thing!  But it consumed my whole being.  Have you ever had one of those days?

I was determined to do school, though.

My focus for this year has been to teach Areyna to read.  So, that's what we did.  We read and read and read some more!  Areyna read books to me, I read books to her, she read books to Zeke and Zeke made up stories to the pictures in the books:)

And that was our week.  I don't feel a bit guilty for it either.

I've come to realize that I can't try to be a kind of teacher that I am not.  If we are going to succeed at homeschooling I am going to have to learn to find out what kind of teacher I am, what kind of learners my children are, and stop worrying about the friends around me who do it differently.  I am beginning to realize that there isn't a wrong or right way of doing this thing, just different ways to do them.

So, whether you are a workbook kind of mama, a curriculum following kind of mama, a fly by the seat of your pants kind of mama,  or a artsy, hands-on kind of mama, if we are seeking the Lord in this journey we can't go wrong.

Micaiah's To Do List

Micaiah must have a To-Do list in his back pocket tucked in his diaper, and he must be like his momma who likes to check things off, because every day he accomplishes his list before the time we tuck him into bed.  It's so funny because he does these SAME THINGS every day!

He pushes the button on the back of our fan.  It sits on the floor in our bedroom and the oscillator part of the fan is broken, so when we turn the fan on before we hop in bed every night it starts clicking, and we just smile, knowing that Cai had once again made his rounds:)

Every day he pushes all the books on the bookshelf back against the wall...and every day I push them back up.  They should be about 1" from the front and all even, right?  RIGHT?  Right.

No matter how many times I tell him (and sign to him), "No, No!" or "No, Sir!" or "No Buttons, Cai!"  he is determined to turn the dishwasher on, at least once a day, and it must be on long enough for him to hear the whirring sound or he will continue to pursue it until he does.

He's obsessed with unplugging Josh's computer.  You know, that magnetic thing that charges the battery on the Mac.  Yup, every day...

This is Micaiah's daily chore list.

Not Me Monday

I would never post a post, just to post a post.

Nope, not me!

I ALWAYS have something interesting to say and I'm always on top of my game.

Really...F-O-C-U-S is my middle name, here, over the past week or so.

And when I say "focus" I mean, on my normal, everyday tasks like fixing meals, changing poopy diapers, breaking up sibling fights over bubbies, bags and whatever else they tend to fight over.  Oh, and blogging too, of course!

And, by the way, who on earth would let themselves get so mentally distracted that they just catch themselves staring off into space with a bewildered look on their face.

Surely not me!

Especially when it's over an adoption journey that has only just begun.

So glad that's NOT ME, or my poor family would really be in for a long ride:)

I mean, I was warned that "baby brain" could take effect during the adoption process.  But that would never happen to this momma!

Nope, not me.


But, if for some CRAZY reason this were me, I'd be so grateful for the faithful family/friends/readers who I could count on for encouragement and prayers, and for continuing to read my blog, no matter how scattered and "un"focused it may be:)

Can I get an AMEN?!

And Then There Were 4!!!!

Let The Journey Begin!

You can read Josh's take on the process to get more details:)

Trash Or Treasure

We have this book called, The Big Book of Boy Stuff.  Josh and Zeke started looking through it and found an awesome activity.  At least Zeke thought so!

Here's what you'll need:
A trash can
A couch that hasn't been cleaned out in a while

This is what I walked into

The gist of the activity was to go on a treasure hunt

in the couch.

While picking up the random objects

from within the couch crevasses

ask yourself...

"Trash or Treasure?"

Zeke got a handful of "treasures"

and I...

well I got a clean couch out of it without even having to ask, ha!

Music To My Ears - Sara Scott

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So many times we listen to music because of the name that is attached to it and not because of the content, lyrical depth, melody or skill.

I decided that, as an independent artist (well, at least the wife of one, ha!) I wanted to do some shout outs to some of my friends and friends' friends who write awesome music independently that you may or may not have ever heard of before.

I'm going to highlight different artists here on the blog so there are two responsibilities you have here:

1 - go get some of this awesome music and help support some independent artists with wonderful talent

and

2 - let me know of some artists that you LOVE to fill your iPod with so that I can possibly highlight them here as well

So, without further ado...

Here's the first artist I want to highlight:

Sara Scott

She is one of my favorite people.  She is young, beautiful, full of raw talent and has a heart for the Lord (yes men, she's single, but don't tell her I told you that;)

Not only do I enjoy her music, but I appreciate her heart.  She loves on my kids and goes out of her way to love on them and show them that she cares about them.  If that doesn't speak volumes to a mama, I don't know what does!

We've done several projects with her.  In fact, I had the privilege of playing on her first album.  She is a great songwriter and her voice is exquisite.  I know she is in the process of working on a new EP and I cannot wait to hear it.

You can listen to some of her music HERE.

If you like what you hear, which I'm SURE you will, go download some of her original tunes HERE and make sure you keep checking back with her to find out when she will release her new EP.

Lessons From The Classroom - Pumpkins

Last week we focused on Pumpkins.

We started out with an incredibly fun outing to the pumpkin patch;)  This was just the beginning!  The rest of the week was full of Pumpkin Fun.

We learned about the word "Hypothesis" and then we each made an educated guess about the circumference of each of the pumpkins we had.  We later graphed the results.

Pumpkin carving was a must-do activity.  Areyna chose a kitty-cat and Zeke chose Spiderman.  We saved the seeds for some other activities I had planned.  Rainy and I lovingly referred to Zeke as the "Pumpkin Wuss" because he refused to touch the stringy insides and get the seeds out.  Don't worry he's not been scarred for life.  As a matter of fact, he was making up songs about it!

We did three main activities with the pumpkin seeds:

1 - Math - We made math problems and counted them out with pumpkin seeds.

2 - Art - Pumpkin Seed Mosaic

3 - Cooking - We roasted them in the oven.  Make sure you do this activity in an oven.  I made the mistake of "roasting" pumpkin seeds in my microwave in college the day of open dorms (I think my whole dorm was mad at me) and the whole bowl caught on fire, the room filled with green smoke, which later spread throughout the whole hallway, which lead to the accusation of me smoking pot in my dorm room.  My roommate and I walked around campus smelling like chain smokers for two weeks...it was AWFUL!  So, the key word here is O-V-E-N...

HERE was a fun site that I got a couple of ideas from.

BONUS ACTIVITY:  You can't have a week of pumpkin fun without a Fall Festival and Trick-or-Treating, right? RIGHT?!:)

A GREAT activity to do with the kids is to put all their Halloween candy together in one bowl, basket or bucket and count it before they go to bed.  Then, when they wake up in the morning you can count it again and see how many pieces mommy and daddy ate after they went to bed:)

Did you have any pumpkin fun with your kids?

When You Say "Yes" To God

When you feel a stirring in your heart that undoubtedly comes from the Lord you have a choice to make.

By doing nothing you are essentially saying "no" to the creator of the universe.

You will forfeit the peace that comes with obedience.

When you say "yes" you may not get all the details of what that "yes" will entail right away.

You may only get one step at a time.

You will be forced to step out in faith.

To step out in the world of the unknown.

Like Abraham, when the Lord told him to pack up his family and "go" to a place that was unknown to them.

And don't think that saying "yes" means that the process will be easy.

Some times Many times the "yes" journey is difficult.

You may be tempted to question what the Lord told you to do.

But don't give up.

Just because the road is difficult doesn't mean that you need to quit.

The Lord will provide exactly what you need, when you need it.

You will probably feel uncomfortable, as the Lord calls you to do things out of your comfort zone.

You may feel like the financing will never go through, or the details will never line up.

That's okay.

He's not called us to understand what's going on.

He's just waiting for us to say "yes".

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart 

and lean not on your own understanding.  

In all your ways acknowledge him 

and he will direct your paths."

Proverbs 3:4-6

Not Me Monday

I am all about cloth diapers.

I love everything about them!

The way I haven't had to budget in disposable diapers...the way they make Cai's little butt look so doggon' cute...the absence of diaper rash...the ease of cleaning them...

So, when I realized that Micaiah had become very predictable in the poop department I would NEVER try to time it just right and put a disposable diaper from my stash on him right before he poops, just so I don't have to mess with the "mess".

Nope, not me!

Because, like I said, I love everything about them!

Smeared poop, stinky pee smells and all!