News... u missed! I have a Bible packing DG girl!

Well, it's not really news u missed! It is more like news I failed to post while going offline for 2 months! My dd was chosen to be featured in Discovery Girls Magazine! Just days before heading to Oklahoma to our new home away from home we went to New Orleans for her photo shoot! It went great! She was photographed with 11 other girls chosen from Louisiana.  So look for her in the issue featuring girls from Louisiana (going out on the newsstands in May). This will be the June/July Issue! & well... I just can't wait! She'll be the long haired sweetheart holding her Bible in her profile shot!
It was sooo funny b/c she said they tried taking pictures of her without her Bible, and she was worried they would use a shot of her without it instead of with it, so she kept looking away with every snap when she didn't have her Bible in her hand! They may have just needed extra pictures for other reasons, but she wasn't taking any chances! That's my baby-girl! Be a witness! Show off The Word of God and be proud you are a Christian! :)

Blessings,

Thank God!! It's Friday!

It's been a crazy week, but I thank God for all He's done in our lives! Our family has been so blessed! I could never begin to repay God for the all the good things in my life! That's not to say we haven't struggled at times, but you really have to struggle every now and again or you won't appreciate the blessings God sends your way!
Looking for some way to give back to Him, I began praying for God to use me! With a new pastor, new changes in our church, and new people, I was almost feeling like I was losing myself in it all!  We all want to feel like we belong somewhere, right?! I just wasn't sure where yet, even though this is the church I was married in over 16 years ago!
So, I found myself helping out cooking breakfast for the bus kids at my cousin Wendy's church (her hubby is a pastor), then I would leave there and go to our church just in time for Sunday School. I met lots of new people, enjoyed the fellowship with my beautiful, kind-hearted cousin, and really felt like I was doing something to please the Lord, but at the same time...I wanted to do something at our church!
My cousin's church elected some new youth leaders, and they moved in to the parsonage. For them this meant they had plenty of hands to help out for Sunday breakfasts, so I took this as a perfect opportunity to open myself up to do something at "home" so to speak.
My husband and I spoke to the Sunday School director and his wife and let them know that we would take a Sunday School class if one came available. We were willing and able provided the children were all potty trained. We taught for a year in the 2 year old class and well... we're so not ready to go back to diapers and pull ups!
Weeks went by! and then more weeks! I missed cooking at my cousin's church! I missed the kids! and of course... I miss my cousin!!! :)  I began praying a little harder every day "God use me for your service!" Of course, I was getting a bit discouraged! I think the devil was helping out with that, b/c I kept trying to search myself and see where I was messing up since God wasn't using me/us! I begin to pray that if things weren't right in my heart, then I needed God to help me change so that I may be worthy of doing service for His kingdom.

A few more weeks of praying and then...

One Sunday morning I'm pulled out of church by an usher! I was like...whaaaat is going on? He told me "You are needed in the Kindergarten class." I thought he was mistaken b/c my youngest is in first grade, but then it dawned on me that was my cousin's class. My cousin has two lil ones (10months and 2 yrs), so I figured it must have been one of her own she needed me for...nope...the next thing I know she is handing me a book 'n talking about my husband and I taking over the class! I was so excited!

As if I wasn't already excited enough...Monday, I was sent a text asking if I wanted to help out with Kid S.U.R.F. on Wednesday nights (children's church)! I was assured we'd be taking turns throughout the night, each having small parts of the lesson, so it wouldn't take a lot of prep or home time! And most all the helpers have a Sunday School class, so doing both is typically not a problem.

Now... call this a coincidence or not but come Friday, I receive a phone call...It was one of the elders in the church asking my husband and I to meet with him Saturday prior to outreach. We had a short conversation about what was in store, and Sunday morning... my husband and I were sitting in the pastor's office being prepped on our new role as outreach leaders!

I'm not sure how I feel right now... I am so excited but a tad bit overwhelmed! lol! I know God answers prayers, but...lol! He really did it this time! :)

Sunday was our 3rd week teaching our new kindergarten class! Wednesday was my 3rd night in Kid S.U.R.F.! Prior to church that night, my hubby and I attended our first director's meeting! And... this Saturday we will be doing our first church-wide outreach event! We're mostly looking toward the youth group showing up for this one this time, but we're going to push for more church involvement come next month! We love the youth for outreach! They are friendly, outgoing, and energetic! They "like to move it!, move it!" and face it... the older we get, the less get up and go we tend to have!

The downside to all of this...when you try to work for the Lord the devil tries to do everything he can to ruffle your feathers! Me and my crazy teen have knocked heads a few times this week...as have me and the hubby (over the teen)! So... I made an effort to pray a few extra times during the day...Not gonna let that devil get me down!! Just speaking His name-- JESUS!!! and... well... all the devil can do is flee! Love that wonderful name of Jesus!

Please say a quick prayer for us tomorrow as we will be kicking off at 10am tomorrow as we venture through the city putting door hangers on door knobs, leaving flyers on cars, and handing out tracts!

Blessings,

God Said No!!!

I asked God to take away my habit. 

God said, No.

It is not for me to take away, 
But for you to give it up. 









I asked God to make my handicapped child whole. 
God said, No. 

His spirit is whole, his body is only temporary. 


I asked God to grant me patience. 













God said, No. Patience is a byproduct of tribulations; 
It isn't granted, it is learned. 



I asked God to give me happiness.. 










God said, No. 
I give you blessings; 
Happiness is up to you. 

I asked God to spare me pain. 

God said, No. 
Suffering draws you apart from 
Worldly cares and brings you closer to me. 

I asked God to make my spirit grow. 

God said, No.  


You must grow on your own, 
But I will prune you to make you fruitful. 



I asked God for all things 
That I might enjoy life.. 

God said, No.  I will give you life, 
So that you may enjoy all things. 



I asked God to help me LOVE others, as much as He loves me.

God said... Ahhhh, 
Finally you have the idea. 



'May the Lord Bless you and keep you, 
May the Lord Make his face shine upon you, 
And give you Peace....... Forever!

~ Author Unknown










My cousin sent this to me via email. I hope you enjoy it!



Blessings,

Sunday School

Today was our first day with our new Sunday school class. I was so excited! My daughter's teacher and family were gone for the weekend, so she decided to come in and help us out with our class! We had a great time! My husband's not in any of the pics, b/c he was snapping the pictures! I think he did a great job!

This Weeks Bible Point

Bible Point Craft Activity

I <3 these cuties! 

I was very thankful that for our first day we only had 4, but I do hope more will come!

Prayer Time

--- [//Beautiful//] ---

prayer requests (in order, front to back)

"Ayden's cough, Nana's back, & Paw Paw's back"

"Ma Maw J---'s leg"

"With God all things are possible!"

"my ear"

Remember: God Answers Prayers!!! 

Praise & Worship

---- [my favorite picture] -----

Crafts

Tyler showing off Elijah's alter

Playtime



Putting Together A Puzzle

Vroom!

This Noah built an alter, not an ark! :o)
I like to think he's smiling b/c he loves me!!!! lol! Noah's my cousin's lil boy! nnnn a tad too young for this class, but he did sooo good! I hope he comes back every Sunday! I am so proud of him!

Blessings,

Perfect for Moms Like Us

I found a great devotion site for women. If you've yet to come across it yourself, please do check it out. You won't regret taking the extra time to read, reflect, and pray! 'n it only takes a few minutes! Go... Go now! Besides, all moms need a lil encouragement from time to time!







Blessings,

Baby Blues...not talking hues

Today was a fun day. I had double duty today... double diaper duty that is! lol! Really... I was talking about homeschooling and baby-sitting, but the diaper thing came to mind.  My cousin needed a sitter for her darling two, today. Though the day was quite uneventful, it was definitely therapeutic!

You see, ever so often, one gets those baby blues. The feeling that comes on when your "babies" seem to think they are all grown up and don't necessarily think they need you as much as you know they do.

It's when you see your youngest inching ever so close to becoming Mr./Miss Independent you tear up a little. It happened with the other children, and you know it's inevitable! ...but the difference this time is that there is no one crawling across the floor to you, your not rocking anyone in that rocking chair, there will be no more little boo boos to kiss, no lil hand tugging at your shirt-tail, or silly as it might be... no one to hear your own special version of Goldilocks & The Three Bears!  um... btw i'm talking 'bout those bears who live in the south 'n trek through the swamp waiting for their Gumbo to cool! lol!

So, yep... that's what I'm going though. My youngest is 6. So far he is still cuddly, lovable, and enjoys being rocked (though he is physically much too big for rocking).... but... (sniff, boo hoo) the other day he yanked off his Thomas tank engine Bible cover that I so carefully & lovingly crafted for him and told me he didn't need it anymore.

I was flabbergasted... Thomas!!!... tossed on the floor! 

I mean, of course, I am ever so thankful it wasn't his Bible tossed into the floor, but I knew right then and there... that was some semblance of a metaphor for the innocence and wonder of his childhood... tossed away. He's growing up!!!! and (whine & stomp) I'm just not ready!!! What am I going to do?

And so... I said yes to keeping my cousin's 10month old daughter and 2 year old son. Never in my life did I have to deal with two kids in diapers at the same time.  I barely had to deal with bottles and sippy cups at the same time b/c my kids have some distance between  them (4 years between the oldest and middle  and 4 years between the middle and last).  I thought surely I'd be insane by the end of the day, but I wasn't. A wee bit tired, of course, but not miserable or insane!

So that didn't exactly cure my baby blues like everyone said it would. "Keep someone else's, you'll remember why you stopped at three!"... na' don't think so. I think I'd still want to have another BABY if I could. Key word there... BABY b/c It's not the baby thing that scares me!

What scares me is knowing that without a shadow of doubt that baby has to grow up and become a ... ahhh... oooooh... eeek!.... TEENAGER.... bahahahaha!

Yes! Yes! I know it's only a phase...but, that's when the job get's really hard! 'n that's when you really wonder... am I going to go totally insane?!! lol!

Of course there is something positive about it... your prayer life will increase exponentially when your kid hits the teen years! Cry out to Jesus... the words seem to have a whole new meaning, I'll tell ya!

Prayer changes things. I can definitely see a difference when I pray and when I don't... no doubt! A lot of it has more to do with me than it does my teenager, because most of the time I have to pray for God to keep my attitude in check when it comes to dealing with that boy! lol!

While other's are shelling out hundreds of dollars on professional therapy, I have vowed that I will get my therapy from the one we call Counselor...
I am so grateful--
I don't have to make an appointment!
I don't have to drive an hour away!
I don't have to wait in a stuffy room to take my turn!
God's always ready and wiling to listen!
...on my knees seeking HIS guidance, praying for strength HE can only give, and peace that passeth all understanding!

Now that's what I call Therapy!

Counting Down!

Yep! We can start counting down! School starts in less than 2 weeks for us! What about for your family?

I've finalized the schedule and I am actually luv'n it! We have to get in 180 days by law (though I've already checked the public school calendar and their days add up to 177)!!  Since we have planned some travels I wanted to make sure to schedule in those dates as well!

We normally take our "school in a bag" when we travel, but this year I decided to just leave it at home and truly vacation! It will be most enjoyable for the kids, but tis a secret... This plan is mostly for me! Hee! Hee! :) As you can see from this snapshot that my lil guy had no problem keeping up with his school work while we were visiting family in virginia! Of course we had a quaint lil one bedroom house all to ourselves so we were free from distractions during school time! It was great! 

HoMeSkOol'n Away From Home

By not taking our "school in a bag" on the road with us, I had to plan rather carefully...gotta get the 180!  I felt it best to not waste a moment while we're at home! So I've decided to keep school "in session" for all the national holidays such as Labor Day, Veteran's Day, MLK, and President's Day. Instead we will have school on those days and dedicate our learning to learning about important people/places/events that have to do with these special days!

We also, opted to skip the two days off for Mardi Gras that the public school kids will be taking. Living in Louisiana, there is definitely a history lesson to be learned, but as a Christian home-schooling family...we will not "celebrate" this holiday. We've opted to skip "fair day" too. I am sure we will make an evening of viewing all the 4H displays, the animals, and maybe take in the rodeo, but that's about it.

So with all that said...
Looks like we've got our 180 Days!!!! ...and we are only starting a day ahead of the public schools! We'll end the same day they end! We would have ended sooner, but we got plenty of breaks planned as you can see....


Aug 9                   First Day of School
Aug 21st-29th      Fall Fun Break  (Snorkeling in Calica)
Nov 20th-28th     Thanksgiving Break
Dec 8th-14th       Winter Fun Break (Shopping for Christmas Presents in Cozumel)
Dec 25th-Jan 2    Christmas Break
Mar 12th-20th      Spring Break (Fun in the Sun in Belize & Isla Roatan)
April 16th-24th    Easter Break
May 27th             Last Day of School

iLuv Cruising!
CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES

BOMBarded by School Work!

We received our homeschool materials Tuesday evening right at the end of dinner. My mom is out of town, so I had invited my dad to come have a good home-cooked meal with us. The boys and the men were still raking in the food, but definitely slowing down! They probably would have been done at this point had they stopped talking about everything under the sun! The UPS man came rolling up the drive just as I was excusing myself from the table. I grinned from ear to ear & looked at my kiddos letting out a loud “wahoo”! I then joked that since the materials were here, we could just go ahead and start school! ha ha!
My little guy didn’t like that idea very much, I suppose! umm…go figure! lol! As my daughter and I trotted excitedly outside to get the materials from the UPS man, the wheels were just a turning in that little mind! He got a grumbly look on his face, rolled his eyes, let out a long, exaggerated groan, and then that grumbly face switched to a mischievous grin! In a fit of giggles, he told his daddy and paw paw that he wished he had a stick of dynamite! Everyone was laughing pretty good when I came back in the door! My hubby informed me our ds wanted a stick of dynamite! Sadly, I didn’t quite get it! I couldn’t imagine why a 6 year old would need a stick of dynamite and why in the world that would be so funny! My husband went on… “Well, I’m thinking it is to blow up those boxes ya got there!” rofl! Way 2 much Looney Tunes episodes with “TNT”, ya think?

About This Blog

iLive! iLuv! iTeach! blog are the ramblings of me…a homeschooling mom! I am proud to say that I am a Christian woman who believes in rearing her children up the Biblical way, Proverbs 22:6! I have an awesome husband who supports our homeschooling endeavor though times aren’t always easy on one income! We’ve been married for over 16 years and we’ve had our ups and downs, but God always lights a way! Our most precious treasures are our children: our eldest son – age 14, our daughter – age 10, & our youngest son – age 6!

My husband and I don’t have many close friends, as the majority of our time is devoted to our family! We love spending time with the children and each other! Children grow up so fast, and we don’t want to miss a minute of their lives! God blessed us greatly when he brought the two of us together and then entrusted us with three beautiful children! My hopes will be that they will grow up to glorify HIM in all aspects of their life even if we haven’t been the greatest example to them! We believe in admitting our mistakes, learning from them, and pointing them out to our children so they may learn from them also! After all… we’re not perfect, but Praise GOD we’re forgiven!