Challenge

I am going to do a 30 day challenge. I hope this will help me accomplish cleaning my house. I am not a house cleaner. I hate cleaning. I would rather play with my kids than to have a clean home. However it doesnt have to be this way I know. I can have it both ways. A lot of families have a clean home and still find the time to play with the kids. We are a very busy family. Both our kids have activities and we have family events constantly. So I have very little time to clean.

So here is my challenge why dont you join me and post a comment on how you have done so.

Challenge is:  Clean my kitchen and arrange it better.
                     Clean the living room and arrange it better.
                     Arrange the homeschool area to make it better.
                    Clean the Bathroom and reaarange the closets to make it better.
                     Clean my master bedroom, finish decorating it and arrange it better.
                     Clean Nathaniel's room and get rid of some toys.
                     Clean Destiny's room and get rid of some clothes and toys.
                     Declutter the entire house.
                     Throw away at least 30 things I havent used in the last six months. ( 1 a day)
                    Mop all rooms.
                     Do all the windows.
                     Wash the refigierator. ( Havent been done in a long time)
                      Blog about it everyday.
                     Have this all done in 30 days no matter what.

Starting on October 31st.
                     

Happy Homeschooling

I am so ready for tomorrow. I enjoy homeschooling my children. My children are so wonderful to me. I sometimes think I do not deserve them. I want to offer them the world. I want them to know our Savior Jesus Christ. I hope and pray to be the leader I need to be for Christ.

I have changed how I homeschool this year and it has been a wonderful experience. I am more relaxed and more convinced my children are learning. At the time of our schooling it is hard to see them actually learning sometimes. You have those days where you just want to pull your hair out and throw in the towel. You think you are not doing what God wants you to be doing. I know these days very well. I have them often, then God allows me to see my children playing and saying things they have learned that I didn't realize they had picked up as well as they did. I want to offer you encouragement today. I want to let you know that it will get better. You don't have to push everything into one day. Break it up for your family. Each family is different and yes there are some that I do find myself envious of. However I pray and allow myself to think of my family and to think of what God has blessed me with. I then say what can I do better for my family? I then try to do whatever I think of to make it a little better. I hope you too can do this or something to find peace for your family.

A wonderful time.

I enjoy taking my daughter to Miss Marion's School of Dance. I have been very pleased with the techniques that she has learned over the years. I am also thrilled that the instructors there choose to not make our children wear clothing that is innappropriate. The instructors also listen when the parents have concerns and they help and do something about it. They are there for the children when one needs someone to talk to. Over the years the instructors mentor these children into young ladies. I am very excited to be a part of this with my daughter.

Thanks,
Mrs. Lori
Mrs. Susan
Miss Shauna
Mrs. Marissa
And anyone I failed to thank.

Getting things in Order

I am going through all of my last year school items and putting them away. I am getting all the new items put in the right spots, so they can be easily accessed. I am trying to prepare for an easier year. Less stress, more fun, and more love. I also want to teach as much as possible this year because my children are eager to learn many new things. I am excited because I have decided not to return to work and my children are happy about the choice. I feel like it is going to be a hard one and I hope I stick to it. I want to do so much for my family and do many things that I couldn't do while working. Things will be tight but we will manage. I feel less stressed knowing I can relax during the school year. Before I was having to rush through school and get the kids to learn more in less time so while I was working the few months, things could be less organized. That didnt get us very far. We were not on the track I originally had for us. So I had to make a choice. Lets pray I stick to it.

Ready or Not?

Man where has summer gone? Ready or not it is time for school to begin once again. I am really sad that summer is over but I am really looking forward to the upcoming school year. I am in a very good part of my life right now were I am reevaluating my life. I am trying to get my priorities straight and the first thing is getting closer to God, then building a closer relationship with my husband and then my children. I have started some changes in my life already and things appear to be better. Not that things were bad but my mama has always told me my priorities were off. Now I see, she was talking in terms of money but it really got me thinking one day. Life is going to pass us by whether we are ready or not. Do we have our priorities in line with what God wants for us? Do we have life in the right order? Are we doing what we can to deliver Gods message? How many people have you lead to Christ today? This week? This month? This year? Well what are you doing to change that? God is coming whether we are Ready or Not. Are you prepared? Have you asked Jesus into your heart? Have you repented of your sins? Have you gotten on your hands and knees and told God all your troubles and asked for forgiveness?

For God so loved the world........ that is probably the most known Bible verse of all time. But something interesting to know is that so many people know it but don't believe it. So many just believe that we came from some big bang or from some kind of animal. Look around, things didn't just happen. Things are just so beautiful and so different to all come from two balls of fire colliding into each other.

Lets just get to the point here. God created us all. He gave us all a choice to make. He knows what choice we will make but none the less the choice is ours to make. So are you making the right one? Are you prepared for the end? Because it will be here, Ready or Not!!

Working

I am really tossed up right now. I want to stop working. I know it is best for my children and I am not liking the job as much anymore but I feel like I am letting everyone down if I quit. We need to fix up our home and have no savings, I have no replacement, we will have to cut back a lot, and I feel like I would go crazy with out the job.

My kids and family are number one in my life, well number two. God is number one. I feel like this is the right move and I do believe God is calling me to stop working. I think he wants me home full time. As a homeschooling family, my kids really need me. They struggle to keep up during this time. But it is so hard for me to stop working there. I have been with this company since I was 12 years old. Well sort of. I started filing, wasn't suppose to, I started answering the phone just to take a message, again wasn't suppose to, and I helped clean alot. I did alot of things there at that age that I wasn't suppose to but it has taught me so much. I started learning the answers to questions that were asked. As I grew older I started to learn the business. So when I was of legal age I began doing more and more. Now I am the territory manager. The job is flexible to me but it does still put a strain on me and the family.

I also have the concern about money. We are living very tight even with the income so how do we live without it? I know money isn't everything but I don't know how to save, how to live frugally, or how to do without. Since we have been adults we haven't had to do without.

Please pray over me as I make a decision.

Peace

I finally have some peace and quiet time. My parents were able to take my children to the mountains for the week. So now I can clean and have some me time. But as I sit here writing this I need to be 100% honest. I have not cleaned, I have not had peace, and I have not had me time. I have done absolutley nothing but miss my children. Cleaning isn't fun without them here. My house is too quiet and I dont know what to do with my free time. I have watched some silly videos of my children that I found on my computer. They found the web cam feature and began to record themselves. This was sometime this past winter. They were doing so during school hours mind you, but it was so funny to actually see them. So my question is this:  Why is it that when I have my children I am longing for that peace and quiet time? Why do I at times feel overwhelmed that I want my children and husband to leave me alone but the moment they do I want them back?

Luke 10:5
And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say Peace be to this house.

Have I no peace? Do I bring the rough waters with me? My children are great children for the most part so why do I get so wound up at times? Have I not brought peace into my home? How can I pray for peace on someone elses home if I don't pray for it in my own home? I told you in the beginning that I am not a fake person, I have struggles too. This is one of them. I want peace in my home.

Jeremiah 29:7
And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace therof shall ye have peace.

I have to pray for peace. I need to seek God our Saviour not matter what happens in my everyday life. Through our journey things get hard and things get tough but he will give me peace if I seek Him.

Romans 5:1
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Have faith that God will grant you peace. Have faith in our Lord, he is King of all kings. He is our master and he will not leave us if we have him in our lives.

Isaiah 48:22
There is no peace, saith the Lord unto the wicked.

We can't go about our days living like an unsaved person. We have to confess our sins and ask forgiveness for them and do not repeat them over and over again. Do not become a wicked person.

So here is my prayer, this is for myself but feel free to pray it as well. Just talk to God he will listen if you are saved.

Dear Heavenly Father, my master, my creator:
Please forgive me for having not asked for peace. Forgive me of the sins I have not confessed, you know what they are Lord. I am asking you to give me Peace so that my home can have peace. Lord I can't do this without you. Please Lord hold my hand and guide me. Give me the knoweledge to teach my children to come to you when they feel down like I have today Lord. Give me guidance, understanding and the know how oh Lord. In your Holy name Lord I pray to you.
Amen

Homeschooling

I am going through our school books from last year and seeing how we didn't get as much done as I would have liked. We used the Abeka DVD program and have used it for the last 3 years. I started using it because I have a part time job. I work from January to April managing a tax office. So I wanted something that would be easier for us to use during that time. However my daughter didn't like sitting at a computer all day. She didn't like not being able to ask questions and getting an answer right away. She spent hours in front of the TV or computer screen. I didn't like that fact. It was very easy to get behind and very hard to play catch up. I love Abeka, we used it before the DVD program. I will be using just the curriculum this year. We will see how that goes. We are also going to join a co-op. I will let you know how that goes.

As a homeschool mom, I try my best not to coddle my children to much but it really hurts me when they get upset because they can't learn something in the time frame of when they want to learn it. So most of my time is spent going over something a lot before we have to test on it. That way they can make a good grade and they feel happy because they have actually learned the material. I never test and give them the answers. That is just not going to help them. I want them to learn so much. Life can be so busy.

Learning new things.

I am trying to figure out this whole blog thing. I want to be able to share many things that we do in our homeschooling day but I don't want a long list of post after post. How do you attract followers? How do you add links? How do I have separate click able entries? Are there any kind of sites I can learn from?

I want to be able to get this figured out so I can get my daughter into blogging. She loves to write and can come up with some very interesting things. However as we take our Journey that is one of the things that we need to work on. Her spelling and her grammar isn't that great either. She takes after me, really good at math and science but horrible at grammar. I wonder if it is because she can feel my haste when I am teaching it? I wonder if the reason she is so bad at it is because I have a hard time teaching it because I don't understand somethings? Wow I just had a revelation, if that is the right word. (LOL)

About Me - A little more....

One thing you should know about me is that I am a horrible speller, my grammar isn't that great, I am very country, and I don't know much about the political standings of our country, I leave that to my husband. I know, some woman are cringing at the thought of that but here me out. I have to cook, clean, teach, taxi, study the Bible, and so many other things, that I just simply trust my husband to tell me who he believes should be in office. I then vote for said person. I also rely a lot on my husband for many task, such as leading this house, learning the Bible and helping me to study it, helping to discipline the children and to of course work a full time job. He is my everything. Now in return I try to be the best wife and mother I can. I try to do what he expects of me. Now I am by no means an old fashioned woman. I do speak for myself, maybe a little to much. But there are things that just work better. Him remembering all the political issues is one of them. Him leading our house, well that is Biblical, and as hard as it is, that is what we want I want.

I want to learn to sew and to teach it to my daughter. I want to become the best wife and mother I can be. I want to be a good house keeper. You see how I said good not great, well I have to start somewhere. I will settle for good. I need alot of help there. So I can share my struggles with you. I want to study the Bible more and make God more the center of our lives. He is the center but at times I neglect Him.

Encouragment

I am sitting here doing a search and trying to find something encouraging. I wanted to get my spirits up because frankly they are down a bit. My laundry is backed up, my bed is unmade, my living room is a disaster and I just don't feel like cleaning it. I have read a few blogs and a few sites but nothing really touched me. So I prayed for a moment and then it hit me. Why not start a blog yourself? Why not you? You can lift someones spirit and by doing so maybe find a way to lift yours. So here I am. I want to give an honest blog about an ordinary mother who has made many mistakes along this journey of life. I don't want to just put a plug in or a shout out about this product or that product. I am not here to make money or to tell you what to use or how to use it. I am here to maybe give you a smile and a giggle to know that someone else is out there having the same struggles you may be having. So I may cover finances, which a lot of people are ashamed to talk about, relationship problems, homeschooling issues, and house keeping. I just want to be able to bring joy into your life.