Week 22 Recap

To get us back re-focused on God as the Center of our home, school, family & everyday life - we went back and reviewed all of God's names we studied over the past few months!   I LOVE this book by Sally Michael and really enjoyed learning God's names from the Bible.  This has been the most fruitful devo or study I've done with the kids yet.   

Each week until we've gone through all the names,  each kiddo is going to pick their favorite name and put it on a "poster" and draw a picture that goes along with the name.  

Thank you God for answering the prayer to help me think of ways to get them engaged again and focused on you!  I LOVED this activity/idea and how the kids really connected it.  I barely helped them at all and they came up with their picture ideas entirely - it was too good!  

Evelyn chose Adonai - Lord/Master and she put crowns all over the poster. 

Annabelle chose El Roi - the God who sees me.   I really didn't think she was doing anything but drawing squares & crosses all over because that's just about all she can.  :)  But when we were all "presenting" our poster to each other... she said, "see - God's windows?  He sees us".  Oh my goodness, my heart. 

Thank you God.  All praise & glory to Him for how He is helping me connect the kiddos to Him! 

Raymond chose, "A Strong Tower" and when asked why he said, "because that is really how I picture God.  That's how He makes me feel.  Like He's a strong tower I can run to". 

Oh.my.heart.  I couldn't take much more. 

Here's all the names & meanings we have done this year.  Clearly --- I do not have teacher handwriting - booo.... BUT God uses imperfect, messy me!! :) 

The kids are also all learned the 10 commandments - proud of them :)

Click here to see the video:

Youtube Video - RR Commandments

It's been a difficult week for me personally with lots of symptoms I'm having :(  but we are pushing through. School, Soccer, Tae Kwon Do, dance.    Daddy is almost done with the hospital job and will start working from "home" March 2nd - we are so pumped!!!!!!!!!

Uncle Jim & Aunt Celeste are always a great resource for us always giving love or letting the kiddos explore & learn.  Here's Evelyn & Reese painting. 

Raymond learning some geometry or maybe it's physics :) Not sure which.  Mostly just having fun. 

and learning the all important skill of - burning stuff. 

I walked in to give the girls napkins and Reese was leading the girls in prayer before they ate.    Really, what a banner week for me :)  So many special Jesus moments. 

 It got warm and we got to have school outside!! Praise God! I really needed some sunshine! 

Annabelle is doing great on trying to learn the letters of her name!! 

Sweet little Evie Boo. 

and Rooskie - he's on a lime/lemon kick right now :)

The girls are learning numbers through Go Fish

And RR is learning some strategy with Mancala which some friends up the street gifted us! :)

I'm pretty much a mess as far as symptoms go.  I thank God for how He has loved on me through the kids this week.  Evelyn cleaned up the kitchen - wiped down, swept and everything all by herself one day and I was SO THANKFUL. 

God is center and it makes all the difference!!!  It's not perfect by any means but I have hope, motivation & peace -  because He is good! 

Weeks 19,20,21

The past 2 weeks have been some of my favorite of homeschooling!   Breakthrough, yay!!!  It's true that to get to the breakthrough, you gotta push through the hard.   Things get worse right before they get better-type of thing.  I've just come to accept that I'm a low/high person.  I'm either very high or very low :)  never in between... and that is why God gifted me steady Mr B.  

On my "up" days or weeks I just "get it" more than usual what a gift this is to homeschool.  And the down weeks?  wow.   I have NO motivation.   Why do I just seem to not even care sometimes?   This is true in homeschooling, parenting, everything.  :(    Well,  what I've read and what I've heard others say it SO TRUE!  ---  When I keep the Lord first, I am SO motivated & inspired.  And when I lose focus on doing this for Jesus and worshipping in all we do, I soo easily become unmotivated and just don't even enjoy doing anything, basically!     I find myself saying, "whats the point of all this?" .... "does any of it really matter?"..... "are we even doing anything good here Lord?" 

If somebody were to ask me, "what makes you feel alive?" or "when do you feel most alive?" --- my answer would be when I'm sharing about Jesus.  When I'm talking about Him, teaching about Him, enjoying Him with others.   So how do I get distracted from that!?  I don't know.   

God uses all things for good!  And these ups & downs are teaching me and making it real how important it is to keep Him CENTER!   When I am slumping, the first thing I need to check is my relationship with Jesus and how I'm LEADING my kids relationships with Him!!!   I gotta get on my knees and get back to the basics.  2 weeks ago, this looked like literally tossing all our books in a corner and just spending time with Jesus again.  Getting out my ipod and just singing and praying and talking about Jesus.   Wow, it's so easy to get distracted.  I've heard that so many times - but I experienced it this time! 

The most important thing I am giving my kids - is a strong relationship with Jesus.  That is the absolute truth.  When that isn't the foundation, it all just is blugh and feels not even worth doing! 

Lesson learned, again!!! :)  

Here are some highlights of the last 3 weeks: 

Annabelle was SO proud of this picture: 

We already have spring fever!!!

SO MANY PUZZLES, all the time! I LOVE IT! 

This was right before the breakthrough.   Look at that face!  And that crinkled paper.  MAN, he was mad mad mad at me.  :)  But my mommy discernment told me he needed to push through this time and DO THE HARD and don't run away.  So he sat there a LONG time and then when he had decided he was ready, he did it and it was no problem :)   The attitude was the ONLY issue here.  Thank you God for Mommy discernment.  Since this day he has sat right down when it's time and done all his desk work without complaint :) 

and the girls learned how to work hard in the yard with MomMom!

and MomMom wow she amazes me...... she really stretched their imagnations again and they had a BALL with calico critters village!!! :) 

And we took a fun field trip to the library and the kids got to see an old card catalog.  What a blessing technology is in this aspect!    

The 3 boys loved typing subjects or books into the search and then going to the shelves finding the number where it is located.  

We are learning about the first settlements still and have been talking about interactions with the Native Americans a bit so we were happy for MomMom to send us a pic of PopPop's arrowheads.  Homeschooling is definitely making me appreciate LEARNING and HISTORY so much more!!! 

I LOVE all I'm learning and how amazing all this information seems to me :) 

and the girls are learning lots of home economics since I have started the Whole30 diet and am determined to start making healthier changes in our food!!!   I love how willing they are to help.  I rarely say no - even though it would be SO MUCH EASIER if they would just let me do it.  I'm thankful for this perspective that knows I always want to ENCOURAGE helping!!! 

BY THE WAY ---  I must admit I have trouble finding any value in folding laundry or making beds.   It's a constant struggle - what's the point of making beds & folding laundry cuz they're just gonna get un-done in hours!!??!!   And then God shows me through Evelyn.  I asked her to help me with laundry.  I meant to bring it to her room.  And I come back and she has folded perfectly and separated her clothes.  Oh my heart.  And it was precious & beautiful and the care she put into it helped it click for me.  I do these things because it's me CARING for my children and family.  It's me TAKING CARE.  It's me teaching the beauty of the small.  The small things build up to the big picture - that shows this home has a mom who cares.  A Mommy who pays attention to the small.  A Mommy who wants this to be a clean place where we learn to take care of our things.   I want to prove with my service to them that ALL things can be done with love.  In this home I am learning the discipline of giving my best in the smallest of things.    For full disclosure --  I'm not saying I always fold the laundry neatly or make the beds every day :) but I AM saying that I am back to giving my BEST in WHATEVER I have the privilege of doing that day.   It IS a privilege.  The list doesn't always get finished but there's always long-term progress :)

Look at Evelyn's pile of pants.  At 4, she is officially better than me - so she can take over her own folding. :)   And I won't give up trying!   

She was so proud :) 

Thank you God for homeschooling.  I needed to be schooled more than anybody.