Staying True: My Journey through Homeschooling

My blogging break has been wonderful. It has accomplished everything I hoped it would and I feel refreshed and energized and ready to jump back into the blogging world. Joyfully that break is over, but another one is on the horizon and school is just around the corner.
Most years I have already purchased all my curriculum by the end of the previous year so that I can have the summer to tweak it and prepare myself for the upcoming year. This year with our big NY/DC trip that didn't happen. I knew that I wanted top make some changes but the sepcifics I had not laid out yet. Then a friend offered me her curriculum from last year...Science, History and English Lit/Grammar. It was everything I would need for those subjects except for the grammar work text and I was thrilled. The amount of money she saved me was unreal and I was so thankful. She brought me all the books and I started going through them trying to figure the best way to use it and still be true to myself.
The truth is, I couldn't. I sat there and looked over this great gift and solid curriculum and I was lost. I couldn't find myself with those textbook pages, and I feared failure was on the horizon. I looked over each subject and then in defeat I prayed over them and asked for direction. And this is what I heard in the depths of my soul. "What you see as a financial gift and answer to prayer, is really your lack of faith that I will provide what I really want you to have. Be TRUE to yourself, and to your kids. I have called you to homeschool these precious children, and I will not leave you short handed"
In the span of just a moment, a mere breath within my self I suddenly felt at peace. And I reminded myself of the two things I counsel other homeshooling moms to do. First, know WHY you are homeschooling. Write it down. Remind yourself of it often. You have to know the WHY or you will get lost in the HOW. The first time someone asks you, "Why do you homeschool?" and you stutter and fumble over your answer, you will feel defeated. So know the WHY so you can succeed in the HOW. The second thing I urge other parents to do is this: Be true to yourself. Be the teacher God created YOU to be, not the teacher you see in others. You are uniquely gifted to teach your own children, your own way. This is the gift that homeschooling gives you. Instead of your child being in a group of 20-30 kids who all learn differently, but are required to learn the systems way, you have the freedom to individualize. Meet your child where they are, and bring them on the journey.
The beauty of homschooling is just that, the journey you take with your children to teach them to know God and to love knowledge. Remembering above all things, that diagramming sentences and periodic tables have nothing on the real gift you are giving your children. Hold fast to the knowledge that homeschoolings greatest gift is the beautiful relationship you are given with your children when you stay true to yourself.

In Love and Laughter, Seeking to KNOW Him

Hello world!!
I thought my blog break would only be a week or so but it quickly turned into a well needed month.
We have been super busy with summer camp, swimming, and gardening.
Oh, and welcoming a new little one. Presley Fern came 2 1/2 weeks early, but not a day too soon for her momma. She weighed a whopping 9lbs and ofcourse is beautiful.
I am hoping that I will be frequently updating now that I can do it via my iPhone. It seems that I am never on the actual computer.
Thank you too the many friends who have emailed me to check in on me...we are alive and well and just enjoying our summer and our new precious angel.

LaughingMomma

Test post from my iPhone.

Blogging Sabbatical???

It seems, without even officially planning it, that I have been on Sabbatical. And in some ways that has been VERY good(more on that later). I have missed it, but before our trip I was spending way too much time not only on my own blog...but also visiting each of your blogs. In the middle of all that, I realized I was missing out on my own life while I was enjoying yours.
That is one reason why Twitter(I'm LaughingMomma if you twitter too!!!) works well for me. I am able to capture some great family moments and times of reflection without having to immerse myself in the blog world. It of course didn't help that we had our big trip/adventure right in the middle of it all, and now summer is upon us and my baby niece Presley is about to make her grand entrance very soon, all of which have been occupying my time away from the blogosphere.
Here is a quick update on all things ALOL:
Big Daddy is going to be the BIG 40 in just a few weeks. I had a surprise party for his 35th, and I think this year we will just do a family dinner. He wants, of all things, an old fashioned ice cream maker. I am usually "anti" appliance when it comes to gift giving...after all I was the recipient of a new stove one year for Christmas....and that did go over so well. But that is a whole other post.
The Beez is READING!!!! WOO WHOO!!! All of you who homeschool can probably understand the frustration of striking out when it comes to reading. It usually starts off great with them getting short sounds and reading every three letter word around. Then when you throw them a curve ball with long sounds, multiple rules, and special sounds and they just give up. I am pleased to say that we have rounded the bases and she is now reading everything with great success.
Snake is back to his old self. Which is such a good thing. While we were on our trip
it seemed like every time we had to get on to one of the kids...it was Snake. But once we got back on Mississippi soil he was back to his flying under the radar self. On a positive "note" he has started tinkering on the piano, so we decided to start him taking lessons with my Grammy. I'll keep you posted on his progress
Crack is in the tail end of baseball. Its been a good year but admittedly, I am counting down to the final game on opening day. I love watching my kids play sports...I just hate the time it keeps us away from home. Crack also moves up to the Youth this summer, which is good in that He and Snake will be separate. But that also means that we will have twice as many activities on our calendar.
As for me, well I am just ready to grab a book and hit the pool and the lake. That is the best thing about all the kids swimming....I can actually relax instead of having to "play" the entire time. So leave me a comment with your summer reading suggestions...cause I am definitely in the market for a summer reading list.

It's Good to be Back Friends

It would be impossible to to recap our last month in just one post, so I won't even try. But I will say that our long awaited vacation was no vacation, but really a 17 day long field trip. We saw just about every monument, memorial, and museum in DC and of course hit all the big spots in NY too. We had a lovely time visiting with my Dad and his fiance Ann while in NY and then with good friends Brian and Lauri while in DC.

The trip was more than I could have imagined if I had not put all the hard work into the thing in the first place. So instead, it was everything I imagined and more. the kids were, as a whole, super troopers. The Beez only complained once about all the walking...and truthfully it was the same time we were all complaining. Walking the Mall in DC-twice- before lunch on the hottest day of the year, with hungry kids was one of the few lapses in parental judgement we made...but in the end it was all good.

I was pleasantly surprised with how much I loved NY. I especially loved Tarrytown, where my Dad and Ann live. It was not only beautiful, but cozy as well, something I thought impossible in NY. I also loved riding the Metro. Goodness, I could get use to that. And the view along the Hudson was something to behold.

As for DC, is was breathtaking. Big Daddy and I are already planning a return trip without the kiddos. the history and beauty of our blessed country was a treat in and of itself. The Smithsonian Museums left me wanting for more and yet completely satisfied as well.

I have so much more to share, and I hope to do so soon. thank you for checking in with us and I hope to catch up on your blogs as well very soon.

P.S. Cracks surgery went perfect. he has the best looking broken nose I have ever seen...you wouldn't know it if I didn't point it out to you.

Best to you and yours!!!

Jedi's, tree limbs, and baseball

I have been working on a post all week long, but with family visiting and trying to get school completed before our vacation it has been difficult to find the time.

But...... then we had drama last night and into today and I couldn't NOT share it with you all.

Last night as small group came to an end, Snake comes rushing into the house yelling, "Hurry, he's hurt!!!"

As we make our way to the front yard, sure enough, Crack is laid out in the front yard face down. He is scream-crying...you know sobbing and screaming at the same time, making no sense at all. We finally got out of him that Snake had busted him in the face with a TREE BRANCH.

After getting him to his feet we see that he took it right across the bridge of the nose, but that the skin was not broken and he wasn't bleeding.

We made it into the house just as the bleeding started from inside his nose, and then I feared the worst...it was broken.

After a call in to our Ped she assured me that we could wait till morning to be seen, so we iced it, gave him some Tylenol and went to bed.

Now, honestly, when I saw it this morning I thought, 'boy am I glad I didn't take him to the ER last night' because it really didn't look that bad. I mean, for taking a tree limb to the face, it was only slightly swollen, and barely bruised. If you didn't know him you might not even notice anything at all. But, I still wanted to get it checked out so we headed to the Ped this afternoon.

The Xray confirmed the break, and our PED consulted with the other Drs on duty and determined that the break was not that worrisome, but that a possible deviated septum (sp?) was more alarming. After all FOUR doctors on site poked around it was decided that we see a specialist.

Lucky for us, we were able to see the same Doctor that had put tubes in Snakes ears years ago. This man is a hoot!!!! Loud, rowdy, country, and spot on when it comes to ENT cases.

We were sent right over and when he came in he immediately was more concerned with the break than with the deviated septum. He said it looked a "little smushed" so he ordered a CT of Cracks head....and it came back that the poor boy's nose is broken in 5 places!!!!

For fear of messy healing we are headed to surgery next week, just before we leave on vacation. My careful planning of the days leading up to our departure have just been kicked in the teeth and I am now scrambling to make adjustments.

The two best parts of the story I saved for last. Big Daddy is not happy with Snake for breaking his brothers nose and last night(even before we confirmed the break) he decided to give Snake an ear full. I kid you not it started like this:

Big Daddy: "Snake, you are NOT a Jedi. You do NOT have special powers. You can NOT stop objects with a force field......"

I completely lost it. I had tears in my eyes...mainly because Big Daddy was being spot on serious. He was not kidding. He really felt like Snake needed to be made aware of his human limitations. It was HILARIOUS!!!!

Then at the doctors office, after we scheduled the surgery, I asked the doctor about baseball. He said, "oh, ya by the time you guys are back from your trip he will be as good as new."

I replied "oh, OK, that is great, but I was kind of referring to our 6pm game TONIGHT."

He laughed and said, "of course he can play ball. What's he gonna do? break his nose again? Anything he does between now and surgery, I can fix....so let him play ball."

And so we did. Crack caught all 6 innings and had three hits to boot.

Reflections of 36

In celebration of my recent birthday I thought I would share 36 things I know for sure. Although they are in no order of importance, I can assure you that these are merely truth from my vantage point....36 years in the making.

1. Every year has been better than the one before...without exception.



2. Nothing beats In-N-Out Burger....nothing.



3. I love the quiet of the early morning, but I will forever be a night owl.



4. Thankfully the Lord doesn't care that I can NOT carry a tune...He accepts my worship no different than Chris Tomlin or Michael W Smith.



5. I heart feeding people, actually cooking for them, it brings me joy.



6. T.V. is highly over rated.



7. When your Beloved loves your body, it is easier for you to love it.



8. Homeschooling is worth every hair I've pulled out.



9. Having a great and satisfying relationship with 5 of my sisters, doesn't make up for the awful relationship(really lack of any relationship ) with my the other one.



10. Big Daddy's easiest ticket to lovin....it's a tie between emptying the dishwasher and rubbing my back.



11. Three isn't such a bad number.



12. I'd rather have $60 bucks to live on for a week and have every bill paid, than to have money in the bank and have creditors calling.



13. I enjoy being a Jack of all trades, and a master at none, although in my youth it aggravted me to no end.



14. I am blessed to stay home and never take it for granted. I jokingly tell BD when he calls that I am busy 'living the life of luxury' that his hard work affords me. But really, I am only half joking.



15. While I appreciate modern media I do not and will not EVER regret NOT allowing our kids to have a cell phone or a Facebook acount.



16. RE: #13...if I am a master of anything it is cake...I can make a cake that will make you wish you never had the first bite...and cupcakes too. I can make people who HATE cake not only love it but fight over it. Yes, it is that good.



17. I am "that Mom" at the ball field who cheers so loud you don't want to sit by me. But, in my defense, I am also cheering on behalf of "that other Mom" who sits in the stands talking on her cell phone or reading a book. I cheer for every kid....loudly.



18. A beautifully remodeled kitchen gets just as messy as the old, outdated one....but I still wouldn't want my old one back.



19. There is great freedom in throwing things out.



20. Gardening speaks to me. And I speak back.



21. One of my proudest "Mom" moments is when I witness my chidren being a good friend to someone else.



22. Big Daddy completes me...and he did even before Jerry Maguire.



23. Nothing beats having family in my backyard.



24. I love that Bid Daddy brings me coffee on Sunday mornings when I am getting ready....even though I usually don't drink it till I get in the car.



25. When no one is home and I am folding laundry or cleaning up, iCarly keeps me company.



26. Never underestimate the power of a good hair day. It can change your perspective



27. I could live life as a Hermit and be happy. I love being home that much.