Homeschool Happiness

Greetings friends and family, my love to each of you in Christ Jesus!
I love being a servant of the most High God and I am so thankful for what He is doing in my life and in my family. Craig and I had a wonderful discussion today on our goals for this year for our children. How awesome is that, we are in prayer and in the word and in agreement as husband and wife, listening to the Holy Spirits leading on what we need to be working on and when we discuss they line up with each other. Not only are they goals for our children, but they are areas in our lives individually that are taking us out of our comfort zones and challenging to us. The Lord is using our areas of strength to enhance our weakness's and benefit our babies at the same time.
There is so much I want them to learn and be trained in before they leave our home and Praise God that through educating them at home we have the time to sow into those areas of our children's lives.
Well, I'll have to continue this at another time, my precious little ones need me to give hugs and kisses good night. Blessings my loved ones and may your eyes, ears and heart be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit (even when He takes you to a place that is out of your comfort zone :), just remember He will be with you every step of the way). I love you!!

Home Sweet Homeschool

Well, so much for me not thinking about school. I get so excited thinking about it! I hadn't planned on homeschooling and the Lord had other plans for me. And now we are all so glad He did, we have all fallen in love with educating at home. We are going on our 5th year and I wouldn't trade a day for this blessed time we have had together, learning together, growing together. My initial reasons for homeschooling are so different then the reasons I do it now. After years of reading and researching I see the benefits and am living them out. I love watching the Lord work in my children's lives and seeing there sensitivity to the Holy Spirit increase along with their love to learn. Who loves my children more then Craig and I, who knows my children's strengths and weaknesses more then we do, who can spend as much one on one time with them as we can, who wants them to succeed and become all that God wants them to be more then we do-other then the Lord Himself no one else fits those qualifications for a fantastic teacher other then Craig and I!!
One of my many verses I stand on for raising my children is "All of my children shall be taught by the Lord and great shall be the peace of my children". I do my part and the Lord does His, how awesome is that. The growth in myself over the last 4 years has been amazing and the fruit that is coming from it in myself, my children, my marriage, my relationships is wonderful. How I have learned and continue to learn-I'm getting things I didn't ever get in school and I get to enjoy it right along with my children. What an absolute blessing from the Lord. I am so thankful He chooses to stretch me and take me out of my comfort zone. Putting them in school and working would have been way easier. The blessing though of homeschooling far surpasses any thought I ever had before on what it means to "train your children up in the way they should go and when they are older they will not turn from it".
All the things that didn't come naturally for me that I wasn't taught, like being a keeper of my home and being content at home the Lord is walking me through and has given me a love and passion for. Not to mention a desire to fulfill them, a revelation and understanding of the role I play in my husband's life and my children's lives to fulfill His plan for them. I am important in Christ, He does have a special plan for me and it is a good one and being a wife and mom, a keeper of my home is all part of it!
My goals for this upcoming year for all three of my children (and myself) are to learn and live out honor. I am reading this fantastic book called "Say goodbye to whining, complaining and bad attitudes in you and your children". I highly recommend purchasing it and then following through and reading it :)!
Individually for each child: Madison-writing, more independent working, reading comprehension and spelling. Mason-increased level of reading and loving to read, reading comprehension, writing. Talya-learn to read! I haven't sat down and written out my full list, but Craig and I have general thoughts on what we want to see improve. This doesn't include attitudes with chores and having them take over more responsibility in the home and their personal finances, but as their loving parents who want to see them achieve in life (and be brought before kings for God's glory!-this is another verse I am standing on, but need to find where it is in the word-I'm drawing a blank right now)that is all part of it!
Blessings to you in Christ Jesus-the love of my life!!!

Summer Update

It's the end of July already, I can hardly believe it!! I started spring cleaning ages ago and am still at it, sigh. But, boy am I getting alot done and more importantly our main level is almost done! That is a huge blessing. The paintings all done and now all we have to do is the finishing touches, removal of some tape, placement of furniture... Our home on the main level has no more white walls with glue on them-YAY!! Craig's office is a mess, it's the location I have been putting everything that we need to go through to sell, give or put back into our home somewhere and I am almost to that room. That will feel oh so wonderful to have done and then the attic above the garage the last step before we have a garage sale. Craig wants to get rid of everything, I'm not that desperate!! Maybe that's because I've used his office as the room to store everything to go through-I'd want to get rid of it all then as well, let's say if it were in my laundry room!

The kids and I have had a wonderful summer, it has been busy and therefore gone fast-but wonderful still. We have been spending time at the pool, at lakes, at home, friends and just enjoying ourselves. And I have been able to somewhat lay aside thinking about school. I haven't even been reading many books this summer. Other then my constant companion the word of God. I don't put that in the category of books though, books can come and go but putting the word in me is a habit I started long ago as a priority in my life and a must for my everyday survival!! Praise God for the wonderful mentors He has placed in my life along the way as godly examples. The word, prayer, obey, keep it simple-I have been so blessed and continue to be blessed with the examples and experiences in my life. I am truly rich in Christ!! And so thankful for what He has done and continuing to do in my life. I am a walking, breathing testimony of a sinner saved by God's grace-who went to Church all of my life but didn't actually know that I needed to be saved, until the Lord put laborers in my path along the way and I saw that I was lost and heard the gospel message and a peace came in my heart and I knew that I needed to ask Jesus to my Lord and Savior. Thank you Jesus that you gave me ears to hear, eyes to see and an open heart to receive your son as my Savior. Everyday since then I have been thankful and filled with a joy that you can only understand once you have asked Jesus to come live in your heart. And a peace that even though the storm is raging around me, because I like in the world I am going to be OK. Because, He Jesus is with me!! It makes me so excited just writing about it. And I know I will be spending eternity in His presence worshipping Him!

I'm feeling happy all over now! Which brings me to another area, that I know the Lord will provide in. Craig's contract is up on July 31st, so as of right now he has a day off on August 1st-how wonderful!! He doesn't have a contract lined up yet (in the natural), but he will, the Lord will provide and has it set already. He has always been faithful to us. When we made the decision for me to stay home, the winds came and there were plenty (I mean PLENTY!)of opportunities for us to go back on our decision. But, we refused to compromise and we rode out the storms and the Lord showed Himself strong and mighty through them all because we choose to trust Him. So now when these times come around because my husband is a consultant and an entrepreneur, I have the memories of past experiences to bring back to my attention and I have confidence that the Lord will provide and see us through-victoriously!! Psalm 34 is a verse that I lean on and and gives me supernatural peace concerning provision.

My little nephew Elliot turns 1 on Saturday, I can hardly believe it. I waited patiently for years for my sisters to get married and have babies and now those babies are getting big. Tara is pregnant with baby #2 and due the end of January-Praise God! And my sweet, energetic nephew Isaiah will turn 2 in October and I am believing he will have lots of brothers and sisters to run around with and for his auntie to love on. They are so precious and cute and make our family laugh-we find such joy in all of them!! Our blond Mitchell with the gorgeous (I know your not supposed to say that word concerning a boy, but there is no other way to describe them) eyelashes, is a hoot. He has had things come out of his mouth from years ago that can still bring me to tears of laughter when I think about them today. And Allison my precious and only niece so far is a little tumbling queen, she can do things in gymnastics I am unable to do in my dreams! Craig and I are so blessed and our children are so blessed with the worlds greatest cousins!!!

Well I'm off to a day of swim lessons, birthday party and a whole lot of Hoel time fun!! Tomorrow is swimming lessons and tennis lessons. Which if you read this Dad, no tennis teacher ever will come close to you. After your lessons with them, they could have been teaching the class. And I bring that up because they both told me after the first day of class that Grandpa Terry is a much better tennis coach! The only thing you haven't done with them is the baseball game and that's because there isn't enough kids to do it!
Blessings my friends and I love you all lots! But, Jesus the author and finisher of your faith loves you best! Hugs...