The year the kids ruled Christmas

We let the kids decorate the tree themselves this year... hope you enjoy the masterpiece they created!

Rainforests, Bama Fans and Smoke in the Mountains

So we headed out from Dallas at 6 on Saturday morning with the intent to drive to Chattanooga Tennessee at a nice enjoyable pace. Along the way we saw tall pine trees, rain, the Mighty Mississippi, rain, Bienville National Forest (Serah's Rainforest) and yet more rain. Things were going great till we crossed into Alabama and hit Tuscaloosa, silly us planned a trip on a Bama ball game Saturday, I now have Matt's full support in rooting against Alabama in any sports event. What should have taken us 30 minutes took 1 1/2 hours. After fighting through the crazy traffic we continued on the Chattanooga, arriving at our hotel at 9pm EST and realized our kids still hadn't eaten. We checked in and I got the kids in the showers while Matt ran next door and picked us up Wendy's, was so not the sit down dinner we had planned.

The next day dawned, bright and clear... oh no, wait that was just in my head... it was nice and drizzly, but still we had a hope for a better day. We headed over to have breakfast with Matt's cousin and his family. What a delicious start to the day. After that we loaded back up in the car and headed towards the mountains. We decided to try our luck again with a more relaxed trip and took the scenic route instead of the interstate. Even though we started the day with rain all around us we trusted God to clear the skies enough for us to see His beauty around us.

The glory of God is amazing, we took a route that took us through the Smoky Mountains and up part of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Matt was such an awesome husband and stopped often for me to take so many pictures. I can't wait to get them developed.

We arrived to joy and excitement at the Guy's house at around 8:30 EST and have had a wonderful time since then. Since I don't want to waste too much time of my vacation on the computer I'll save all the fun stories till later.

First day of school in cold weather

It was in the mid to upper 40's this morning and we had left the windows open so the house was quite cold when we got up, needless to say we are doing school in warm cozy's today. Enjoy the view and praying you are blessed with His presence today.

The blessing of a Godly Daddy

We have been through a lot these past couple of months, ups and downs, highs and lows. I don't think we could have made it through without the example of Matt. He has guided us through it all with love, compassion and strenght.

This Sunday was one of those special days for us. We have been spending some time as a family just learning what God has planned for us. We decided it was going to be one of our home days and so Matt sat down with the concordance and an idea of what God wanted him to share with us. He found a scripture and had Ethan read it, then we had a wonderful discussion with the kids about kindness and forgivness. The peacefulness of that day was much needed and I thank God for this chance we've been given.

We are so blessed to have the example he gives us of love, strength and compassion, just like our Heavenly Daddy.

just a normal school day

Even Princesses have to do their schoolwork!

Prince Charming has been known to

make an appearance or two.

A lesson for us all

Your thoughts

Become Your words

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Your words

Become your actions

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Your actions

Become your habits

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Your habits

Become your character

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Your character

Reveals who you really are!!

*

*

*

I think this will be framed in my kids rooms very soon!

September is almost over, where did it go?

Got a couple of pictures for you on this second to last day of September... sitting here doing school work with the kids with the house open to the cool air (we got a "cold front" last night). This is truly one of my favorite times of the year.

Yes they are still in their pajamas but that is one of the beauties of homeschooling... less laundry some days :-) Our Christmas present to each other will be reworking the office but for now we are making do.

my fall "garden" is doing great, we've got two kinds of tomatoes and two kinds of peppers... I'm planning to work on the real beds this fall and winter so we will be set for spring and fall gardening for the rest of the time we are in this house.... growing your own food is so rewarding.

Praying that your day is a blessing to you and you are a blessing to others.

batteries not included

it's kinda hard to take pictures every day when you lose your camera or forget to recharge the batteries or... well you get the picture, actually you don't do you...

so let's just plan on me hopping on here when I have the time and letting you know how life is going

4 weeks into school and we've had our ups and downs. For the most part the kids are doing great. Ethan is learning the value of taking notes and will have to work for a bit to get some of his grades up, I'm just glad we are learning that lesson now and not in Jr. High or High school. Serah is flying through 1st grade and I really think we will be into 2nd by the end of December. Next semester might take us a little while but even if we work in the summer some it won't take up too much time. We are slowly getting our schedule worked out, one car and mom adding the gym to our day can make things interesting but I really need the physical outlet.

Matt and I have taken some time to recharge ourselves as Christ followers, as a couple and as parents. God has been so good to us, meeting us where he needs us to be and really opening our eyes to new and exciting things for us. Our discussions have been so much deeper and challenging lately and I'm just eating it up.

I am enjoying the glimpses of where He is taking us and hope I can keep up with allowing you to come along for the ride.

French Toast in the morning

Day 2: wonderful time reading John 1 this morning, great reminder to be willing to believe God when he sends a promise our way and the testimony of Mary and Elizabeth. Check out my personal blog to learn more about why this is special to me.

I came back in to feed the kids and was greeted with a request for something better than cereal... here is how I granted their wishes....

all the fixin's for french toast... I even splurged with 1/2 a piece myself.

It's gonna be a good day... now off to wrangle my scholars.

September and a change in the air...

my precious sis-in-love Bethany has challenged me to pick up my bible and found a wonderful plan that is a great slow start. September 1st found me on day 1. You can't tell but the bible is open to Psalm 1 and 2. Once upon a time I had Psalm 1 memorized and now I'm going to try it again... ask me sometime if I've got it down... I shouldn't be surprised by God's provision but I still am at times... my first day of reading coincided with a drop in temps around here. That might not sound like a big deal to you but we came within 4 days of breaking a record for Austin... 70 days of 100+ heat. The morning was so refreshing temps in the low 70's. It was just what I needed to begin my day with Him on the back porch. What a blessing.

365 days a year... in pictures or words

So a friend inspired me to do pictures of every day... I think this might be the only way I'll get something poste each week... so we are starting with September 1st... here we go

We're baack

okay, so it's been almost a year and we are back at home for school... last year was quite a learning experience for us all. The kids had mixed reactions to school away from home, Serah gained the confidence in her reading skills but I think the number of kids was overwhelming for her and she only had 16 kids in her class. Ethan of course shined, he's such a social butterfly and so smart that being in a challenging situation was fun for him... but he also learned much about having someone different teach him and how not everyone is comfortable with the way he wears his emotions on his sleeve. I learned that working outside the home would require much sacrifice on my part... my home seemed to go downhill and I didn't enjoy keeping it neat and orderly because by the time we got home I was tired and not up to much, then the weekends seemed to be just as busy... but God had a purpous for us to be there as he always does and He has now opened up the chance for us to be back home with a curriculum we think will really fit our family and we are all excited about it.

My goals for this year:

Ethan: to challenge him with his education, keep it fun but also stretch him some, to learn piano, to learn better organization skills

Serah: to complete 1st and 2nd grade in order to catch up to her peers, to find an activity she enjoys and get her signed up, teach her good homekeeping skills

Me: To reclaim my home and create a peaceful place for us all, to allow God to refresh my spirit, to become healthy and fit and enjoy doing it, and to keep my blogs up to date.

Matt: he's on his own, but I will support any goals he wants to set because he's the love of my life and I want the best for him.


I think that's good for now, will post more later