Weekly Wrap-Up: Fabulously Crazy

Well friends... it has been another fabulous/crazy week!  Or should I say fabulously crazy?!  We have been busy as usual, but in a super fun way.

In My Life This Week. . . (and some of last week)
First off, I need to back up to last week just a tad (remember my weeks are weird cause I work Fri/Sat).... I had a Friday night off of work!  *Insert here whistles, applause, streamers, and balloons!  It was weird.  But, we made the best of it! ;) Hubby and I decided we'd get the kids some bikes for Christmas, and ourselves too.  And, as you know great deals on Craigslist don't last. So Friday night, and Saturday morning we ALL got bikes. Well, except for Baby T.  She's going to practice on Little Bit's old bike, but will be getting a bigger one for her before Christmas.  Back to Friday night... we cooked together (even Bean Boy who usually prefers to be alone, joined us without being asked!), we had a family movie, popcorn, and just an amazing time together.  Saturday we went to get the rest of the bikes, we went to a little outdoor sale and got a free lunch, and just had fun.  Of course, then it was back to work...but 1 night doesn't really bother me! I feel like superwoman when I only have to do one night! :) Sunday, they woke me up at 3:00 begging to go for a bike ride.  I couldn't say "no".  Especially since Hubby spent Saturday while I was napping, cleaning out the garage to fit the bikes in!  It was a beautiful day and we had a wonderful time...even ran into a great friend!So, now, everyday I hear, "Can we go for a bike ride?" Which is great!  It will keep me accountable to exercising, and give the kids something other than TV to look forward too!

I've also been getting ready for THE PARTY.... Friday is shopping day.  I'm hoping Hubby will make the chili the day before (he doesn't know that yet!). Thursday and Friday will be organizing day.  I've got lists for what goes on which table (all number nicely like an organizing fool) and will put each list in its own box for each table.  Sunday, I'll sleep after work, then run over to my mom's house and get it all ready.  Thank you Mom for letting us use your amazing yard for such a fun party! I hope we can pull it off after me working the two nights before!

My crazy kids decided to beg me for Christmas music!!! It's playing in the background while the kids work on school and cleaning and such!  I love Christmas music, but feel like it's a little early.  We found our Thanksgiving joke book to offset!  I'll have the girls practice reading by reading me a joke a day until Tday!!!

In Our Homeschool This Week. . .
Well, I'm not going to lie... I'm still struggling with sticking to the plan.  I'm totally rebelling and wanting to do other things.  I think part of the problem is that I have yet to figure out, in my 7 years of homeschooling, how to maintain our home the way I like, and do school.  One or the other suffers...until I feel the walls closing in, at which point they both suffer.  And that is where I am now.  I can't stand the mess, the dirt I know is there, the kid-cleaned bathroom desperately needs mom's touch, my room is worse than any other place!  Geesh!  Ok... this part is supposed to be about school.  We ARE getting everything done, I just don't want to! hehe! With the girls, I'm doing a lot of games, and different things to practice with reading.  Math has been much of the same.  Because of Bean Boy's writing class, every week the girls and I spend an hour in McDonald's   working on our school- they get the bonus of hot chocolate and they work really well there.  It's nice to change it up every once in a while!

I Am Inspired By. . .
Well, while we were in McDonald's this week, an older gentleman (who I believe sat behind us last week) came up to me and said, "I've been bragging about you to my wife.  She is a school teacher.  I told her what a great job you're doing and she wishes that more parents were like you. Your girls are smart and beautiful." Well...even though I don't wanna do school some days, I think that will get me through the next 7 days till vacation!  Thank you Lord, for the encouragement!!!

Places We're Going and People We're Seeing. . . 
We had an impromptu lunch with a friend this week.  My son's best friend and his family, to be exact.  I felt bad, because it had been a long time since we had seen them.  We were already out for writing class, and the chiropractor, so we invited them out.  It was a special treat!  And, I'm so looking forward to Little Bit's birthday party...cause it's just going to be so cool, and because it will be a reunion with friends we love dearly and don't get to see often enough!

My Favorite Thing This Week Was. . . 
I have such an amazing family, that it is hard to decide what my favorite thing this week was.  But, I think it would have to be our times together.  It is a blessing to not have to send my kids away every day!  I love being with them.  Our bike ride, our family movie, school/park day, school at McDonald's, cooking together as a family, late night talks with Bean Boy, late night talks with Hubby, how can a mom decide?

Ya'll have a great weekend!

Give Thanks

Somewhere along the way, I realized that "joy" was not a constant in my life.  I realized that, and confessed it to God. I spent a lot of time worrying about what that meant about me and my relationship with Him.  Did it mean I wasn't a good Christian? Did it mean I didn't really love Him?  And, somewhere in the midst of my despair, God whispered that I am ungrateful. That's when we began our gratefulness journals.  I'm still reading, praying, and working on being truly grateful.  I think, maybe it's just me, but I think it will take me a lifetime to understand, fully appreciate, and truly develop an honestly thankful heart.  It is deeper than just a "thank you". It encompasses so much more....it is doubtful I am yet to a point (or ever will be) where I can put it into words....

I would like to try to put into words what God revealed to me yesterday as I was reading.  Gratitude comes out of humility.  Have you ever thought about that?  Gratitude comes out of humility.  To me, that was such a profound thought.  Being grateful means you have to confess that someone else did something to "better" your situation.  Their kindness, gesture, gift, words, or whatever it is that the other person has done for you, brought you from a lower position to a higher one....you have to be humble in order to admit that without that person, you would still be in that lower state.  You couldn't have brought yourself to this "better" position.  

Think about all the little things that mean so much to you... in my journal yesterday, I was thankful that someone other than me filled the soap dispensers in the bathroom (without me asking, yeah!).  Seriously, those dispensers, like toilet paper rolls, never get refilled, unless I do it.  Every time I chose not to, because I'm either busy or rebelling against clean hands (wink, wink), I felt inadequate, like there's not enough of me to do it all.... but someone relieved me of that burden! They did it for me, not knowing how I felt about it... they lifted me up in many ways.  Even the flowers my hubby bought the other day... they put a smile on my face that had not been there before.  Whether the kindness big or small, I've been moved to a higher place.

Of course, it is easy to recognize how God's grace moves us to a higher position.  How when it is lavished upon us, we are brought up to a higher position...one of co-heir with Christ.   When before, I was filthy rags... Gratitude starts with admitting, "I am nothing without you God". I am nothing, have nothing, and will be nothing without His constantly giving me gifts to bring me to a higher position...the greatest of these gifts is grace and faith. 

It is funny how I have never considered this before.  Perhaps those of us (uh... I mean you) with pride issues, have a harder time with gratitude than others, because of the state of humility that is required. 

***Interject that I started this post over a month ago and let it sit for lack of words.... NOW, I am so grateful for so much more in my life.  Developing the habit of thankfulness by keeping our thankful journals has been an extraordinary blessing.  My husband says he notices a difference in me and the kids.  That's a wonderful byproduct.  Things he noticed: our prayers even just at dinner, are more expressive of thanks, day to day activities seem to contain more gratitude, and grumbling and "defeatist" attitudes are lessening in all of us.  He was even inspired to start his own journal.  He said that his heart is redirected towards good things as he is forced to look for the good in order to record it and it stops the "drama" surrounding the negative things.

I've noticed a lot of people recording daily something they are thankful for.  That's a wonderful start.  I say challenge yourself to continue that past November. Challenge yourself to never repeat, and to come up with five things daily.  Challenge your kids.  Some days are truly harder than others.  Some days, you won't feel thankful; do it anyway.  I have had several days like this, and by the end of my grumbling, writing it out, and sharing it with my kids, I'm usually fixed!

We have so much to be thankful for...so much that we simply take for granted.  So many little details that God lovingly pours over and generously gives to us are often overlooked by us.  I am truly humbled that the God of the universe, God Most High, loves me, works for me, serves me, lavishes grace upon me, and cares about the little details and the big ones in my life.  I am thankful that He is ever-present, constantly loving me,  that I can see that in my day to day life, and that I have chosen to record it, share it with others, and thank my loving Father for it all!

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever.  1 Chronicles 16:34

*In this Wrap-up I posted a sample of our journals....I'll be posting more in the future as I roll out a project we've been working on.

Weekly Wrap-up: November Already????

Here we are at the end of another week...and I'm floored that we've already made it to November! Can you believe it??? Incredible!!! I'm so excited, and I'm not counting down or anything, but we only have 10 days of school left till our long winter break! Being that we live in FL, it's just too hot to do anything in the summer, so we take off for the holidays. We'll start again some time in January. I truly can think of little else than all the things I want to do on our vacation!!! I doubt I'll get to it all, but I'm so super excited! I have pinned many, many things/ideas to my Pinterest boards...that pesky website has gotten the best of me, and well, now I have more to do than ever! I'll fill you in as we get closer! Planning has begun for Little Bit's 7th, yes folks, 7th birthday!!! How did we get this far along? Her birthday is the day after Veteran's Day, but we'll celebrate on V-day this year. We've invited several families for a "Glow in the Dark" party... you can check out that pesky little website (hehe) Pinterest for ideas. We will try things like glow in the dark bubbles, kickball, ring toss, and possible a glow in the dark treasure hunt. There will be a bonfire, hot dogs, chili, and an outdoor movie with our DVD projector...she wants to watch Pocahontas. I can't wait to report how it all goes...especially since I have to work the night before!

Bean Boy's creation!

It is supposed to be Little Bit's Butterfly....I might have it upside down????

Despite the frustration of the wind, Little Bit made two...this is her bird.

Mom's bird...

Baby T's cat and tree.

In our homeschool this week… Ok...so I've already told ya'll I have senioritis. We did have a very lovely park/school day with our friend...one where we made these really cool things (see pics). I gave copies of the printouts of the really cool leaf animals from a blog to my friend, so I don't know who to credit, but it wasn't my idea! I have backed down to "just the basics" with the girls. AND, Friday....well, Friday we skipped school! Bean Boy did his writing assignment for co-op, and that was it. No quizzes this week. I let him off the hook...shhhh don't tell Hubby!!! ;)
I am inspired by… I'm sure at some point the inspiration of Pinterest will turn into frustration, but for now, I'm inspired!

My favorite thing this week was… Having a Friday night off with my family! AND, a Saturday morning!!!

What’s working/not working for us…I'm not sure if it's me, the curriculum, the kids at all different levels, or WHAT, but I feel like Story of the World might not be working for me. We've been doing 2 chapters a week, which has seemed fast. But, I feel like we're flying through it and the lessons aren't sticking.  I'm not making connections, so how could they be? I've never exactly found what works with us for history, and it is a subject I have a love/hate relationship with. I love it, but am clueless about it, so I feel like I keep going in circles. I'd welcome suggestions about how to make SOTW work, or other curricula you guys are using...

I’m cooking… Chili!!!! Pulled out the crockpot and had our first chili of the year!!! I always find the first chili of the year exciting.

I’m grateful for… I'm grateful for this season of thankfulness. I love seeing everyone's posts on their blog and FB about all the things we are grateful for. It is proof that God is good, has been good all year, and will continue even after this season passes. It is proof that He cares about the little things, even me! Ya'll have a great and very blessed weekend!!!

I am praying for.... I am praying for all the people affected by Hurrican Sandy.  Specifically, I am thanking God for all the hospital staff in the hospitals that had to be evacuated.  Seriously, every year we have evacuation training.  We go into the stairwell and laugh about how they expect us to put patients on a glorified cardboard box, and get them down the stairs.  I saw pictures of people doing this in New York!  I know that the loss has been devastating for people in the path of Sandy.  I hope that people will see God's grace and all will feel His compassion and love.