Time Stand Still

This year has been busy to say the least, but since Thanksgiving it has gotten even busier. In some ways I am glad that this weekend is over, and in some ways I wish time would just stand still for just a little while.

 On Sunday my youngest child turned five months. I mean where has the last five months gone. He is not a little, cute, snuggly newborn anymore. Well actually he is still pretty cute and loves to snuggle, he is just not so little anymore. He is so alert and loves interacting with his three older siblings, and they adore him as well. He is eating rice cereal now and trying to still up on his own. I find myself wishing that time would just stand still for even a little while so I can hold my sweet children a little longer.

 Yes I celebrate with them when they learn something new or accomplish a task that was hard for them. I am their cheerleader and their biggest fan. But my mom heart breaks to see them grow up so fast. After my first child was born I remember older parents telling me (a lot it felt like) that "When your children are young they will be under your feet, but when they are grown they will step on your heart.". I have never quite understood what they were meaning. My children are not only "under my feet" but in my hair, busting through the bathroom door while I am still in there, asking me what feels like a thousand questions all the time, needing one more hug or sip of drink after bedtime. Children are curious by nature and learn best by being "under my feet". How many 7 and 6 year olds do you know that will fight over who gets to help mommy wash the dishes? Even through all of this, I wish time would stand still a little while longer.

I want my children to look back on your childhood and have sweet memories. I want them to remember that mommy was there for them, loving them, and trying to point them to Jesus. I want them to remember us praying together, learning together, and wanting to be in each other's company. I want them to remember the time spent cuddled up  on the couch reading stacks and stacks of picture books. Or getting to build with blocks for hours while I read them a chapter book. I want them to remember park days and night time good-nights. I want to remember all these things as well and for time to stand still a little while longer so I can make more memories.

I would never have guessed just how hard motherhood could be at times, but it is so worth it!!! I would choose this life again if given the choice. There are times (many times) that I cry out to God asking Him to help me fulfill this high calling of motherhood. I am always asking Him to help me to be the person He created me to be, to love my husband, to love my children, to be a light for those in the dark. It is never about me, but about God getting all the glory for what He does through me. I am just a vessel willing and waiting to live out my grand adventure that He had planned for me before the foundations of this world.

There is a short poem that I read on blog or website awhile back. It is a reminder just how short of a time that we get with our children. It is the following:

Song For a Fifth Child, by Ruth Hamilton. 1958

 

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth
empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
hang out the washing and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.

 Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

 

Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
 Lullaby, rockabye, lullaby loo.

 Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
 Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo.

 The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
and out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
but I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
 Lullaby, rockabye, lullaby loo.

 

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

From Diapers to Big Kid Underpants

I have been a mommy for seven years and counting. I always wanted to have children. In my "perfect" view of my future, I wanted three to four children evenly spaced about three to four years apart in age. In reality I have four children who range in age of seven years down to almost five months old. Am I disappointed that my plans went awry? Am I upset that I have both boys and a girl and not just one gender or the other? I can answer both questions with a resounding, "NO!". The reason is because years ago I asked God to show me His plan and purpose for my life.

 

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  

 

If I had done things my way, I would only have two children by this time in my life. I would have missed out on the joy of having my other two children. I would have missed out on part of my adventure that God has ever so loving been leading me.

 

Raising children has pushed me even more to be completely dependent of God. It has tested my faith to trust that He can meet not only all of my needs but the needs of my children as well. Our family has been drawn closer together as we pray for God's guidance, forgiveness, protection, wisdom and perseverance to keep going when the naysayers come with their negativity.

 

Proverbs 18:10 (NIV)
The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

 

I have been changing diapers for the past seven years. Potty training less than that with two children still to train. Just like I have gone through stages spiritually myself I am still learning and growing everyday. I do not want to be the same person spiritually I was five years ago nor be the same five years into the future. I want to know and live by God's wisdom and not by my own wisdom. Only wisdom from God can help me to make the right choices. It is one  of my prayers to grow in wisdom and knowledge of the truth.

 

James 1:5 (NIV)
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Thanksgiving Heart Story

So how was your Thanksgiving? I hope that you made wonderful memories, enjoyed spending time with family and friends, and ate some wonderful foods. But most of all I hope you took a minute or several to thank the One who has given you all the many reasons that you and I have to be thankful for this season.

 I had the joy of cooking for my little family of six this year. My husband smoked a turkey for us. The children and I were  "all hands on deck" in the kitchen. Together we made a few casseroles, dressing, gravy, peas and pies. It may have not been fancy, but it was a time to eat together as a family.

My husband said a prayer of thanks once we were all gathered around the table. He helped to fix each of the three older children's plates while I fed the youngest he first bowl of rice cereal. As they were enjoying taste-testing the food on their plates, I asked each one of the children what they were thankful for this year. My oldest, proclaiming loudly, said she was thankful for her family, friends, church, and God. My next to youngest said that he was thankful for his sunglasses and a pattern block game; then he just smiled at me with pride about his answer. My second oldest didn't want to tell us. He said he was too hungry to think of a reason. (Go figure.) I then told them I was so very thankful for each of them as well as their daddy. Then I also said that I was thankful for each year that I had been blessed with since the birth of my oldest child. (I will have to write about that in another post because it is a praise story in itself.) Finally it was my husband's turn. He began saying he was thankful for family, the food, a house, his job and a few other things. Then he stopped to clear his throat before saying that he was thankful for God and His forgiveness, mercy and love. One of the children noticed that daddy was getting "water" in his eyes.

 That was just one of the moments that I stopped and silently thanked God for a husband who is not afraid to live his faith in front of his wife and children.  I am thankful that I married a man who is a Christian. No, he is not perfect nor am I. Does he get it right all the time? No, but he is quick to ask for forgiveness. Whether he knows it or not, he is admired and loved by his wife and children.

Later in the evening the children and I piled up in my bed to finish reading our Thanksgiving chapter book. This year I read, "Thanksgiving on Thursday, Magic Tree House #27" by Mary Pope Osborne. It took two days for us to read this book from beginning to end. I enjoyed reading this book to the children, and for the most part I think they liked the book also. I liked that the chapters were short enough to get to a stopping point because on the first day of reading I was running between cooking and reading. I love reading books whether for my children's enjoyment, my enjoyment or for learning something new. Just one of the many reasons I love being am to homeschool my children. I get another chance to learn about this wonderful world that God created.

Even though we had a small, non-fancy Thanksgiving we are blessed. We have each other and love one another. My husband and I hope to instill in our children the blessed gift of family, and that they will cherish that gift for years to come.

My Thankful List

Thanksgiving for me is always a time to reflect upon another year and count my many blessings. I have had a good year for the most part of 2014. It has been better than 2013 in many ways. Every time this past year that I would get discouraged I would say out loud, "This year is going to be better than last year!".  Sometimes I would have to remind myself several times in a day. But for now I would like to make a list of the things that I am THANKFUL for.

• My God and Savior
• For God's forgiveness
• For my parents
• For my older brother and his family
• For my younger brother
• For my husband
• For my sweet children
• For my extended family
• For my friends
• For my church and church family
• For a place to call home
• For food to eat and clean water to drink
• For nice clothes to wear and shoes for my feet
• For a van to carry me and my family places
• For our cat and two dogs
• For my husband's job
• For money to pay the bills
• For the ability to learn
• For my five senses
• For my health
• For books to read
• For libraries
• For being able to homeschool my children
• For other homeschooling moms' blogs/websites

I hope that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. Remember to slow down and make memories because when the day is over you don't get a second chance.

 

Psalm 100:4 (KJV)

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name."

A Great Teacher is Always Learning

I believe that a great teacher is always learning. This teacher never feels like the quest for knowledge is finished. There is always something new to explore or ideas already learned to be explored again. While I was in college going through my childhood education program, we had to keep an online page with the different things that we were learning about. This was apart of our on-going professional development. For me it was more than just professional. Even from a young age I wanted to be a teacher. I have always enjoyed learning and reading. It is just what I do. Some of my hobbies include reading and reading and more reading.

Even before my first child was born I knew that I wanted to homeschool any children that my husband and I had. So I started my research then to learn all that I could about the task of homeschooling and the young child. And to this day I am still reading a variety of books about the topic of homeschooling, learning styles, child development, parenting from a Christian perspective, and so on. Over the last year and half I have found some great blogs and/or websites by other homeschooling moms. I appreciate the time these moms have put into sharing with the rest of the world about their homeschooling journey. I have gleamed so much from them. They are apart of the reason why I am giving blogging a chance.

I have read some great books to help me with this important task of educating my children. Here is just a short list of some of the books that I have read or I am currently reading:

• "The Way They Learn" by Cynthia Ulrich Tobias
• "Homeschooling Gifted and Advanced Learners" by Cindy West
• "Homepreschool and Beyond" by Susan Lemons
• "Educating the WholeHearted  Child" by Sally Clarkson
• "A Charlotte Mason Education: A Home Schooling How-To Manual" by Catherine Levison
• "More Charlotte Mason Education: A Home Schooling How-To Manual" by Catherine Levison

Proverb Wisdom Cookies

Have you ever eaten at a Chinese restaurant? I would imagine most people have, but if you have not here is a little detail. After you have finished eating they will give you fortune cookies. Inside these crunchy cookies is a little slip of paper. On the paper will be a saying of fortune for you to read. There will also be your "lucky numbers or days" on the back. The sayings are sometimes clever, sometimes serious or even sometimes about your romantic future. My husband and I have always just laughed when reading some of them that we have gotten. Just as a side note, I am not the Chinese cuisine lover in the family. The thought hit me this morning as I was reading my Proverb for the day. Why not Proverb wisdom cookies? I love reading the book of Proverbs. I am still trying to absorb all the wisdom that I can from this book. There are just so many ideas of wisdom that are written in this book. So here are just a few that stood out to me that would make good bits of wisdom.

Proverbs 18:10, 12, 13, 19, 22, &24 (NKJV)

10 "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe."

12 "Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, and before honor is humility."

13 "He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him."

19 "A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle."

[One of my favorite ones.  :) ]
22 "He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the LORD."

24 "A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."

Now to find a fortune cookie recipe.

Fall Leaves and Learning Styles

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. I love watching the color of the leaves change during the season. There is such beauty in the colors of the leaves. The colors range from deep reds to bright oranges and vivid yellows. If I were a painter, I would paint pictures of the trees in the fall. I love being surrounded by beautiful things. I am a very visual person. I learn best through seeing how things are done or the steps to complete a task. In studying the different learning styles I have learned that I am somewhat of an auditory learner as well. My children's learning styles are a combination of all the styles. One may be strong in one area while not at all in another area. It has been interesting to teach to their unique learning styles. My oldest is great at reading and language arts while my second oldest is better in math. This is one of the reasons I am glad that I am homeschooling them so that I can teach to their learning styles. I want them to love learning and to know that all through their lives they will be learning something new. I enjoy having them at home with me. I enjoy reading to them, singing songs with them or trying out a new science experiment. I find joy in teaching my children just like I find joy in watching the leaves change color in the fall. What do you find joy in?

Learning Something New

Welcome to This Grace Place

I am excited to announce the start of my blog. I am still in the learning process about everything that goes into creating a blog. (so please be patient) I have always wanted to be a writer, but I tend to be more of a private person. Therefore, writing or blogging is very personal for me. I do not like talking in front of large groups of people, but one-on-one conversations I enjoy.

 Writing has always freed me to express my emotions and things that I have had to sort out. I hope to use this blog as a means of an electronic diary of sorts. I have been somewhat blogging about my family's homeschooling journey on Facebook, but I would like to write more and grow my writing abilities. 

I love "talking" about all things homeschooling, books, learning new crafting techniques, and Biblical motherhood. It is my desire to be one who encourages through my writing efforts.