These are a few of my favorite things!

• A morning walk with my blessings.
• A bouquet of dandelions.
• Hanging clothes to dry by His gentle breeze.
• A no-frills lunch with a beautiful friend in my favorite hometown.
• A shopping trip strictly for the purpose of planting a surprise blessing on someone else.
• Words with friends.
• Dinner, although rushed and over too quick, was spent outdoors with the whole family. 
• Nourished bellies.
• Nourished souls.
• The chance to teach little ones of His sweet words.
• Church nursery.
• A pastor with a passion for awakening our spirits and filling us full of truth.
• An evening jog with my love.
• A warm shower with water clearer than some people will ever see.
• Laying down for bed, and holding hands with my guy as we drift off to sleep.

These are a few of my favorite things.

#journal #100happydays

Go-To Summer Supper Ideas?

I know it's technically still spring.  My goodness, it sure feels like summer though, doesn't it?

Right now we have meetings and practices each night, so we usually snack around 4pm. 

 It's something simple like fruit smoothies, or string cheese & a handful of nuts. 

 Then we eat WAY later, since we're having too much fun playing outdoors to stop and deal with supper.

See all that beauty?  This is seriously where I live.  I'm so lucky to see such glorious colors each day!

 I like crock-pot cooking because our meals are ready whenever we are. The down side?  

Hot day + Hot Meals= Hot Momma... Not the good kinda hot either.. The sticky, sweaty kind. ewww!

Question: What do your {low maintenance} summer suppers look like?

Once our garden is in full bloom we will just eat dinner out of there and add an occasional grilled burger or something.  But for now, during this in-between time, I need your ideas!

 

Her First Communion

As a parent my biggest struggle and greatest joy is guiding my children in their relationship with Christ. 
I want their faith to be their own, not something I force on them and they later reject because I was too overbearing.  I also don't want to do too little now that someday when they are 23 years old (with two children of their own) they're left embarrassed and clueless as they are sitting around a table with a bunch of Christian friends listening to references of children's bible stories they've never before heard and feeling ripped off... terribly ripped off.

Or getting their oldest children baptized because it was "PAST time" according to the mom-in-law.  But this momma really didn't have a clue what it all meant.  And was again, too embarrassed to ask.

I was lost, with nowhere to start.  I don't really blame my parents {much}, they were facing their own struggles in this world.  And really, how do you know when you're doing too much, or doing too little?  They probably did just what they were supposed to do, but it took me a little longer than most to "make it my own".  Each child is so different and their needs aren't identical, especially when it comes to their faith. 

I want to give my children a firm foundation to build on.  And I'm learning more and more that I can't do that just with bed time prayers, a little bible reading and some intentional character building.  And I surely can't make it a classroom style ordeal. I've gotta take time with each child and seek their individual heart right where they are and go from there. 

Anyway, all of that just to say:

You know you're not totally screwing up this whole parenting gig when something like this lands on your office desk (AKA, the kitchen table).

A note from my sweet girl.

 She took this faith thing and made it her own, just as I've always hoped that she'd do.  My heart is stretched so big right now. So big.
I'm grateful for the village that helped my little girl reach this milestone. What ever good things you're working on right now, keep at it! 

And if you're sitting there wishing you could have your heart stretched by a child who is making their faith their own, worry not.  This sort of thing does NOT happen over night, but over many nights.  Or like in my journey, many, many, many MANY nights. Be blessed friends.  Oh, and please, if you're the one reading this going, HEY that sounds like me!  I'm so clueless.  JUST ASK the questions you have.  Don't put up a front or try to act like you know. Open your lips and let honesty pour out.  More than likely you will be filled with love, grace, and new knowledge beyond anything you could imagine. 

Sorry it's a little blurry.  She taught herself how to add some color to the font. 
I don't even know how to do that!

 

Philippians 1:6

"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

In The Kitchen: Big Girl Salad

Here's a hearty lunch for those days when you just feel like eating.  Anyone else ever feel like that?  If so, grab a serving bowl and follow this quick and easy recipe.
In retrospect, you'd probably want to put the raisins on the side.  Salsa and raisins are flavor foes, not friends.  I needed the sweetness today, so it worked for me.

Brief Update!

Just a quick update.  We are almost to the end of our first official homeschool year!  Woohoo! 


This has been the best experience for our family.  Seriously.  I cannot even convey in words how much God has brought our family closer together through this. 
Both of the big kids have made big educational gains, and have become more independent throughout the year.  The baby has really gotten to bond with her big siblings, and that is something that just wouldn't have happened (at least not in the same way) if they were away at school. 

Thank you to all of you who have supported us through this journey.  And actually, thank you to those of you who haven't.  By challenging my abilities to home educate you also challenged my faith and have brought me closer to God, and closer to being the person I strive to be.  Patient, calm, and persistent. 

With only a couple weeks of school left, my current dilemma is this: The pages of our workbooks are running out!

That's good news, for sure. 

But I'm now really contemplating what's been working, and what hasn't.  Some subjects I'll just order the next level up, other subjects I may be looking for a different approach. 


For instance, math has gone well for both kids. But to get a better foundation for the little guy I think we will look into Math-U-See.  My oldest is doing excellent with Teaching Textbooks, so we will just move up to level 6 there. We finally found something that really works for her learning style.  Yes!    So I'll be doing that for each subject and trying to incorporate in more for our second year.
 
I've always had a passion for education, and I'm super excited about some upcoming conferences to help better equip me as a homeschool teacher.  If you're local (IOWA), check these out:


THIS THURSDAY, April 10th, Susan Barton, Dyslexia expert is giving a talk in West Des Moines.  I cannot wait to meet her!  If you are unable to make the conference, Check out this web-site for some valuable information.  This is good for anyone, not just homeschoolers.


May 15th-17th is the 2014 Homeschool Iowa Conference.  I've wanted to go for years, but it's just never worked out.    If it's God's will, I'll be there this year!