Be My Valentine ~ Let Me Count the Ways

Have you started your own Valentines's Day Challenge?

I am having so much fun with mine!

I send my husband a text every morning to tell him I love him or miss him or I am thinking about him. I have been known to leave notes in his lunchbox. It's nice to know that someone misses you when you are gone.

I have also been looking on Pinterest for creative ideas to express my affection. Check out what I found. I will be adding many more as time allows.

I stuck a few love notes in Justin's Bible that I'm sure will bring a smile to his face when he finds them.

I'm going away for a Homeschool Mom's Retreat this weekend, so I need to come up with something to surprise him with while I'm gone as well.

Tell your husband you love him! Have fun while you are doing it!

Would You Do It All Again

How many times have you said the words, "Can I get a redo"?

How many times have you looked back on some thing crazy that you did or said only to wish that you hadn't?

How many times have you wished you could go back & change history?

I don't know about you, but I've said those words or thought that thought many times.

We watched the movie Touchback this weekend. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it! Football plus family plus community plus second chances makes for an awesome movie!

I was able to use this as a springboard for how one decision can alter your whole life. Don't you just love those unexpected teachable moments?!

Anyway, there are plenty of things that I would love to change about my past. Maybe, I would have said "No" instead of "Yes". Maybe, I would have went right instead of left. Maybe I would have woke up early instead of staying out late. Maybe, maybe, maybe. Who knows?

The only problem with those ideas is that the outcome would be different.

Yes, there are still plenty of things I would rather do different. But would it be worth the cost? Would it be worth the different outcome? Would it make me a different person?

So, even though I made mistakes & even though I can't get a do over, I'm not 100 percent positive that I would do it different if I could.....

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~Emergency, Hot, & Cold

This week has been F R I G I D. Not only has the temperature been cold, but the wind has been brutal, & the end of the week brought snow, sleet, & freezing rain.

When its so cold, why not talk about something hot? 

Did you know that Venus is over 800 degrees all the time? Well, now you do.

Venus is covered in volcanoes, rock, and swirling sulfuric acid clouds. We experimented with how lava runs and hardens. We also took a look at how radar works.

In history, World War I has erupted and ended. We discovered when permanent waves and hair dye was made available to the general public. We started a book of modern inventions.
*side note* I really need a good time line (not on the wall). Does anyone have any suggestions?

Austin has consistently scored over an 80 & even a 100 on math {happy dance}. Makenzie is learning ones, tens, time, & adding double digits.

Music class was an impromptu round of hilarity.

PE ranged from soccer, slalom skiing, obstacle courses, & hula hooping - all courtesy of the Wii.

We finally resumed some of our extra curricular activities. Our Keepers & Contenders learned the basics of CPR. My hubby was kind enough to teach our explorers club about first aid.

We are reading The Railway Children & Ruthie's Gift. Makenzie is already feeling the pain that Ruthie felt ;)

Be My Valentine ~ I Will Praise You in this Storm

Are you joining us for the Be My Valentine Challenge?

I must admit that I am not a mushy person by nature. I don't get upset when my husband doesn't buy me a birthday present. I don't expect roses on our anniversary. I don't even like Hallmark cards.

To me, Valentine's Day is just another day. I don't need a man made holiday to remind people to tell someone you love them. I believe you should tell them all the time. I believe that you should go out of your way to make everyday special.

But, I do believe that marriage is important. I do believe that a husband & a wife should do everything they can do to make their spouse feel special & loved. I do believe that we should go out of our way to not neglect those we love.

As I was thinking about this marriage challenge & how I could praise my husband, I couldn't get Praise You in this Storm out of my head. I love this song by Casting Crowns. I love the images it invokes of God reaching down when we need him the most.

It seems that when I am at my lowest, my husband is there to pick me up. He encourages me, reminds me why I started this journey in the first place, & prays for me.

Justin is my best friend, my cheer leader, my confidante. He is my reality when things get crazy, my comic relief when things get serious, & my rock when I start slipping. He's my shoulder to cry on, my ear to talk off, & my heart to have faith in.

Justin works hard to make our dreams come to life. He's there, not only for my family, but for our friends, our church, and anyone else who might ask him to be.

I love him more & more everyday!

I couldn't ask for more!



Be My Valentine Marriage Challenge

How many of you remember the Revive Your Marriage series that we did back in September?

Well, Courtney from Women Living Well has issued another challenge.

I just came across it, so don't worry, you're not the only one late to the game.

Come join me for the next 4 weeks leading up to Valentines Day as we love on our husbands a little more.

Week 1- January 21 - Praise your hubby verbally.

Week 2 - January 28 - Praise him through more creative means.

Week 3 - February 4 - Pursue intimacy.

Week 4 - February 11 - Find out what he craves.

Let me know how you are doing!

Dogs Are NOT Clean Animals

I don't know about you, but I find inspiration from all kinds of places - things I read, things I hear, things I see, things I experience, & things God lays on my heart. I read a post over at Doorposts last week that really stuck with me.

Amazingly, I was able to use that exact lesson with my kids. Apparently, we have repeat offenders. My kids have fallen into a rut & it seems like nothing phases them.

Proverbs 26:11 "As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly."

Everywhere I turned over the past few days, this illustration has just jumped out at me.

Whether our folly is on the lesser side or it is something more serious. We are all guilty - some of us just have a harder time walking away from our sins.

Lying, cheating, whining, fighting, stealing, arguing, idolatry, drugs, fornication, alcohol, gossip, murder, adultery.

No sin carries more weight than another. No person is safe from these sins. Some of these sins are easy to overcome for some people. But sometimes, these sins grab hold of a good person & refuse to let go. No one truly seeks out sin with the ideas that it will take over.

Rock bottom is a hard place to be, but when you reach rock bottom, you have two things going in your favor. 1. You are already on THE ROCK. 2. You have to look up.

If you are returning to the same sins over & over again, consider that dog. Do you really want a second look at your own vomit? 

I would if I could

I know a lot of people who would do just about anything for anyone.

How many times have we wanted to make someone see things our way?

How many times have we wanted to save someone from learning things the hard way?

I feel certain that many Christians would give anything if they could pray someone else's hurt away. They would give anything if they fix other people's problems. They would give anything if they could pray someone into Heaven.

Paul went as far in Romans 9:3 to say "For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsman according to the flesh".

Simply put, here was a man who considered himself the chief of all sinners and he knew how fortunate he was to experience God's grace, but he was willing to give it all up if only his family and his friends would accept Jesus.

I have always thought that Paul was a little extreme when I heard this verse. I mean, could I give up my salvation just so someone else, who wasn't a believer by choice could go to Heaven? I don't think I could.

Then we were having a conversation with our oldest about his behavior. He has been having so many attitude and behavior issues lately, we don't know which one to focus on first.

Austin claimed salvation when he was 5 years old. I know that is very young, but I also know that God is able. We have held onto the promise that if he wasn't saved, that God would show him in time & save him.

Only Austin & God know the truth & I am not, for a minute, going to place doubt in that youngin's heart, but it's time for some soul searching. It's time for him to reconnect and allow God to work in his life. It's time for him to stop trying to embrace the world so much.

As we were having this conversation, it dawned on me that if I could trade my salvation in order to make sure that my children were saved and went to Heaven, I would.

The thought of my babies dying and going to Hell, rocked me to my core. I can't imagine having to stand by and watch as loved ones and friends are bound hand & foot & cast into the lake of fire. I can't imagine the pain, the tears, the agony, the despair, the accusations, the pleading, the horror that will take place at the White Throne Judgement.

Only God can save our loved ones. Only our loved ones can choose to accept God's grace.

We say we would do anything for them to get saved before its too late. We say we would give anything if only they would turn from their wicked ways.

We can do something to help them. We can PRAY! We can live our lives as an example for others. We can beg God for His mercy. We can never give up!

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, SNOW

I was reminded yet again why I never should admit when things are going good....this week was HORRIBLE! I was so busy dealing with attitudes that we hardly got ANYTHING accomplished. UGH. I know better.

But, I am blaming the insanity of the weather. 4 straight days of almost nonstop POURING rain followed by a very heavy, wet, but brief snow has probably accounted for a lot this week. The barometric pressure has cause intense squeezing on the brain & therefore has constricted blood flow & oxygen. Yeah, sounds good to me.

Anyway, we finally finished The Trumpet of the Swan and we were all relieved to learn that Louis had a very long very happy life after overcoming his birth defect!

We have covered the unification of Germany, Italy, & Ireland and are staring down the barrel of WWI.

Makenzie has taken a few sight word assessments.

We have focused on Home Ec & Farm Life as usual ;) and addressed character issues.

Hopefully, next week will be productive!

GPS

How many of us rely on modern technology to get us where we need to go?

I'm guilty. I'm pretty good with directions, but sometimes I need a little extra help. I'll be the first to say though that sometimes those roads, and directions, and maps can be confusing.

It's similar to a puzzle. When you are in the middle of a puzzle, working with all of those pieces that are funny shaped and have the same color pattern, it can often be difficult to remember what the big picture looks like.

Just like that puzzle, maps often resemble a jumbled up mess. That is, until you step back. Once you are no longer concentrating on a small part, you can clearly see what is really out there.

I was listening to the radio this morning and they were talking about this very topic & I haven't been able to get it off my mind.

God has his own GPS - God's Perspective Seen

It would do us all good to remember that while we are traveling along that small portion of life's map, God is able to see the whole map. He is watching our doubts, our worries, our joy, and our happiness. He sees when we make a wrong turn, frowns when we drive recklessly, worries when we slow down at stop signs instead of actually stopping, and He smiles lovingly as we realize that a u-turn is the only way to get back on course.

I love the thought of God looking down on us, knowing the whole time that if we would just follow His directions as He gives them, our journey would be so much more enjoyable.

Maybe its time to turn our GPS back on and actually listen to it!

If I Don't Like It.....

Oh how I HATE HATE HATE those little words!

One of my children has probably just asked what we are having for supper. It never ever fails, especially if it is something new or different, someone always says "what if I don't like it?".

You eat it ANYWAY!

I have made some sort of effort to make sure there is food in this house. I have made an effort to provide a hot meal. And I have made a huge effort to find something new, fun, healthy, & pleasing to everyone.

Do you have any clue how hard that is?

Obviously my children don't!

I am SOOOOO reminding them of this when they have kids!

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ And We Resume

It feels like forever since we have actually done "structured school". And I do mean F O R E V E R! We always take off most of the month of December, but we had so many interruptions & insanity going on before Thanksgiving that it was difficult to get in a few good days of school, let alone a full week.

Let me just say that I wasn't exactly thrilled about starting back.

I know my kids! Austin, especially, likes to push my buttons & will buck until its all I can do to hold onto my control. I was fully expecting this first week back to be miserable.

This is one of the few times that I have been happy to be wrong!

Yes, Monday was a little sketchy, but hey, its been awhile. The rest of the week, while it hasn't been perfect, it has been pleasant. And - get this - we actually accomplished EVERYTHING we were supposed to!

WHOOP WHOOP

In a nutshell, this week we have learned about craters & made a model of Mercury, we have set sail on the unsinkable ship, studied cause & effect, made groups of 10, reviewed Latin, read about Louis' struggles with being dumb & his adventures at camp, created melted pieces of art, had several dance offs, & plenty of other stuff.

WOW - we you write it all down, it looks like we really did have a good week.

That Moment When ....

..... You wonder just how you're kids have survived this long & if they will ever make it to adulthood.

Thankfully I have never been a panicky parent. When my kids fall down, I usually respond with "you're okay." When they take off in the woods, I just tell them to be careful. When the oldest hits his younger sister, she's usually told to hit him back.

So far we haven't had too many trips to the ER because of crazy accidents. But they are getting a little more frequent.

I have joked before that Logan would be lucky to make it out of our house alive. His older brother & especially his sister are a little rough on him

I had one of those moments yesterday.

I actually *gasped* & went running!

I was cooking supper & heard Logan digging around in the spoon drawer like he usually does. I heard a strange "clanking" sound, but didn't worry about it. A few minutes later, I walked to the fridge to get something & that is when I noticed what Logan was doing.

He hadn't got anything out of the middle drawer. He had stood on tippy toes to reach into the top drawer. He had a knife - not just any knife. He had the BIG BUTCHER KNIFE & was tapping the floor with it.

OH MY WORD!!!

This child is the cause of ALL of my grey hair!

It Was on a Wednesday....

...Somebody Touched Me!

You've heard the song "Glory Glory Glory, Somebody Touched Me". Its a fun song that the kids love to sing. It goes through the days of the week one by one and people stand up as the day they were saved is mentioned. Hopefully by the end of the song, everyone is standing & singing!

I am thankful to say that God is still saving souls & touching lives!

My precious daughter asked Jesus to save her on Wednesday January 2, 2013.

Makenzie is only 7 years old, but she has a heart of gold. She has been asking questions & wondering when she could be saved. We have always answered that she would know when Jesus decided it was her turn. Salvation is such a sensitive, personal decision that we didn't want to do anything to influence her.

I am still praising God over His goodness & mercy!

Top 10 of 2012

I thought I would post a few of my favorites from this year for fun & to help me remember them as well. These lists are not necessarily new to 2012, but they are significant to me this year.

Top 10 books of 2012
1. KJV Bible (always)
now in no particular order...
2. Raising Real Men
3. Twilight series (yes, I'm a Twi-Hard)
4. Night Huntress series
5. Made to Crave
6. The Hunger Games series
7. The MacLomain series
8. The Elf on the Shelf
9. Plants Grown Up
10. The Marriage Project



Top 10 movies of 2012
1.Fast Five
2. Breaking Dawn - part 2
3. Rock of Ages
4. The Hunger Games
5. Courageous
6. The Vow
7. The Lorax
8. Brave
9. Happy Feet 2
10. Jeremy Fink & the Meaning of Life

A Different New Year's Party

Last night, I had the privilege to ring in another new year with the ones I love.

We didn't travel all the way to New York (although I really want to do that one year). We didn't spend most of the night forgetting & most of the morning regretting due to large alcohol contents. We didn't sit on the couch trying our best to stay awake long enough to see the shiny ball drop.

This year, like the past few years, my family has been in church! We spent the night filled with preaching, praying, praising, singing, fellowship, & food.

We started our service with more than 75 people worshipping the Lord around 8pm & finished out in the altar with 40 dedicated souls after 1:30am.

I am still a little tired, but I am so blessed!

psst.....guess what? Fellman was one of our preachers!!