Saturday, September 24, 2016

KINDERGARTEN



 I will be honest, I expected some kick-back from this guy.
I expected a bit of a fight..
Boy! was I wrong!
He is doing an AMAZING job!!


He sometimes wants to do more than one lesson at a time, he is working hard
and in co-op there was not a single fuss or clingy-ness when he had to go to his classes, even the one where he is by himself!
He is also not in my Sunday School class anymore, but has a new teacher and no siblings with him.
I am so proud of my Boogie!!
He is not reading yet fluently, but it will be soon and it is all the more exciting because he WANTS to.

I have a full kindergarten curriculum but I'm really only emphasizing these two things right now, well plus reading literature.
We may work more in later on.
I like the Horizons program because they are fairly short lessons and full of color pictures.
Perfect for this boy.


This is pretty huge for us.

We're off to a great start to Kindergarten!


Friday, September 23, 2016

Thursday, September 22, 2016

BREAKFAST


Prior to the start of our co-op year, a friend and I were put in charge of the annual Ladies Breakfast.
It was at a church that one of the members attends.
We arrived around 7:30am and after a few minor snafus in the kitchen
..er, it was just re-done to be a commercial kitchen and we couldn't find anything or get the stove to work..our breakfast was underway at 9am.
I didn't get too many pictures once we started, but here are a few from before everyone arrived.




 The buffet table.  
Everyone pitched in and brought something and I must say, everything that I had was really good.
Those tables were filled.


Devotion given by the co-op's leader.


We had a fairly small group turn out for the breakfast, 
(especially given how the co-op has grown from last year!!)
but it was a really nice time.
We played some games, enjoyed some fellowship and food, talked shop briefly and were just refreshed before starting the co-op.

I'm already looking forward to this event next year.

Saturday, September 17, 2016

FRAGILE


Generally, it takes me about five to ten minutes to get up an average blog post. 
Generally, I don't get too personal.
However, circumstances lately call for something a bit more.

The bruises covering my arms will soon fade.
The bleeding will soon stop.
The days will pass and turn into weeks and I will have nothing to show.

A permanent hole in my heart that will not be visible.


We lost a little one this past week.
We were around 11 weeks pregnant when I had a spontaneous miscarriage.
I won't go into details, but it was physically very frightening.
I had to go to the hospital.  I passed out a couple times.
  I had to have tests and fluids and oxygen and ultimately, surgery.
There were brief talks of a blood transfusion, which thankfully did not happen.
I was spared.
Our baby was not.

Why?
I don't know why.
Why were we given a life to have it taken away?
Why did my body perfectly carry six healthy babies and not this one?

Honestly, physically I am okay.  I'm pretty much back to normal activities.
Emotionally, it is going to take awhile.
We were very much looking forward to this little one.
No one had been told that we were expecting.
We only told the kids the day before the miscarriage when we went to check for a heartbeat.

So, why am I putting this out there?
I'm not ready to literally talk about it.  
I think though if I had not shared with our immediate family and closest friends that it would definitely cause a barrier.  This was a life.  This is a major life event.  Our lives are never going to be exactly as they were.  

I'm not angry.  
How could I possibly be angry when God has already given me six healthy blessings.
I'm not even really questioning His will.
It is a hard blow, but I accept it.
God's plans are perfect and His mercies are new every morning.
There is a reason for this..whether it be for personal growth or to be able to help someone else in the future or some other reason I can't even fathom...
I am just really, really, overwhelmed with sadness.


This summer has been a huge test of faith for our family.
I thought at the beginning of August that things couldn't get too much worse.
My hardworking husband lost his job.
Completely out of the blue--we were shocked and at first devastated.
However, we both trusted that we would be provided for and our trust was not misplaced.
Our God has provided for us far beyond what we expected.
I could name names and thank individuals, but ultimately it is our Father in Heaven who laid it upon their hearts to help us out.
It has been humbling and hard.
Mike was able to find employment fairly quickly.
We aren't "out of the woods" so to speak in this regard yet, but we aren't worried.

I found out we were expecting a week prior to the job loss.
As you can imagine, it was an emotional time..

This week though far surpasses the trials of job loss and financial worries.

So, here you are,
I needed to document this, 
For me.
For our baby and for the living blessings.

For those of you who have gone through this, my heart goes out to you.
For those of you that feel helpless or don't know what to do, nothing is required.
If it ever does come up in conversation, just acknowledging the life is enough.
Prayers are always welcomed.

Whether I now press publish or not is the question.



Tuesday, September 13, 2016

FOR TODAY

 

'"God is always there, and He has His own ways of working things out."'

"Could there be a greater source of peace than that simple affirmation?  When life brings hardships beyond our understanding, it's not up to us to look for the silver lining.  We are the silver lining.  We become God's well-timed instruments of peace, His gifts to one another, each of us a miracle, according to His strange and wonderful plan."

~excerpt from Miracles from Heaven by Christy Wilson Beam


Image result for nature photos
image from google

Thursday, September 8, 2016

THE BIRDS AND THE BEES


You may have seen this book reviewed before, but I wanted to give you a personal recommendation.

This is an excellent, no-nonsense book, with passages and references from the Bible.


This is the chapter layout, so you have an idea of what it contains.


Luke Gilkerson's, The Talk.

Check it out.  I highly recommend it.

NEW BABY


Circumstances demanded we get another vehicle.
Obviously not a family vehicle, but a commuter.


We were pointed in the direction of this one, which was an amazing deal.
We have been provided for far beyond our expectations.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

THAT INTERRUPTION I WAS TALKING ABOUT...






My poor baby!  
He went face first over the swing..it actually looks good in this picture.
He looks terrible!
Fortunately, he is acting just fine though.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

BACK TO SCHOOL


Here they are!
Our first "official" day back to school pictures.
We unofficially started two weeks ago, with just a couple of subjects.
Today we started back full swing.
I'll try and share some curriculum choices over the next couple weeks, just because I'm always interested in what other people use.










Do you see my potential issues with this one?
So far, no problems..but we are going gently.



This guy is enrolled in classes at co-op this year, pre-k classes and we are unsure right now whether we are continuing speech with him.  While he has come a long way, speech right now is a big hinderance to any further formal education--we just are not sure if we will be able to make it work for our schedule to bring him to the weekly sessions.


Oh, this stinker!  Constantly into whatever the older kids are doing..he also does not nap.
He will surely keep us on our toes and make things interesting.



Happy Back to School!
Hoping it is a great year!

MECHANIC IN TRAINING


Yesterday, MJ did his first ever oil change.


Hopefully the first of many.. :)
This week he gets to practice on another vehicle.