Until Jesus Takes Me Home

Words spoken 22 years ago to my beloved in his parent’s backyard in front of family and close friends. A garden like scene, something the little girl in me always wanted. And a setting that plays out in Song of Solomon, one of my most favorite books in the Bible. A story of love that is unfettered and an allegory of God’s love for us.

To have and to hold.

For better, for worse.

For richer, for poorer.

In sickness and in health.

To love and to cherish.

Until Jesus takes me home.

I married my best friend, the only one I want to do life with. I am eternally grateful that God orchestrated our paths to cross. Even on that night we first actually met, full of sorrow and loss. God used that night to bring me His absolute best that He had been preparing for me. That night in June all those years ago is proof that everything the enemy desires for our destruction, God uses for His glory and for our good.

We have had seasons full of laughter and joy. Thanking God for all He has done and will do. And seasons scarred with tears and stress. While pressing into God, knowing He is our Comforter and gives us rest.

We have had seasons when we are able to live life without worrying about how we are going to buy milk. Thanking God that He is our Provider. And seasons of job loss and empty cupboards. Trusting God that He is still our provider, and He is always faithful.

We have had seasons of health and rest. Thanking God for His protection as we maneuver through our days. And we have had, and are going through, a long season of sickness. Trusting that God is our Healer and that He will restore that which the enemy has taken.

Song of Solomon 8:6-7
Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death; ardent love is as unrelenting as Sheol. Love’s flames are fiery flames - the fiercest of all. Mighty waters cannot extinguish love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all his wealth for love, it would be utterly scorned.

Through every season. The delightful and the miserable, we walk, there is a deeper love growing that is not conditional on circumstances, or emotions.

Through every season. The times we are spiritually filled and the times it feels like we are running on empty, we have learned how to cling to each other and run after Jesus together.

Through every season, The years of weakness and the years of strength, we have learned how to carry each other in prayer.

Our marriage story is full of hills, steep cliffs and dark valleys, raging oceans and glorious peaceful meadows. In every season God has been there, holding us, guiding us, and being our strong fortress in the time of trouble.

Psalm 18:2
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my mountain where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Jesus hasn’t taken either one of us home yet. I am so glad that our story is not over. And God is still working on us. While our marriage is far from perfect, and neither of us are always at our best. God is faithful and has continually shown us His best for us, especially while we are hanging onto the cliff over the darkest valley for dear life or trying to keep our heads above water in the raging waters of the darkest storm.

First Day of School and Great Expectations

First Day of School!

A clean slate.

A fresh start.

A new beginning.

I love the beginning of a school year. The new books, freshly sharpened pencils, notebooks with blank pages waiting to be filled. The expectation of something great.

Preschool  -  Junior High  -  Senior High

This year marks the beginning of our 16th year of homeschooling. Believe it or not, I still do not feel like a seasoned homeschool mom and I absolutely do not think of myself as an expert in homeschooling. I constantly battle doubts that I am making the right choices in educating my kids, and am always afraid I am forgetting to teach them some valuable piece of information.

We try to have an overarching theme or goal for each school year. It gives us purpose and direction for our homeschool year. We are homeschooling not only to give our children an education tailored to their learning styles and personalities but also, to point them to Jesus so that they may walk in His truth.

Last year, we asked the kids what God was calling them to that they did not feel equipped for. God will always work through us for His glory if we just say yes to what He calls us to. Ephesians tells us that God is able to do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine. This truth is what I wanted the kids to learn to walk in.

No matter what God calls us to do, He is more than able and faithful to bring it to completion. This became our question and mission for the whole family as a unit and individually. We are continually asking God what He is calling us to that we feel completely inadequate to do. Because that is where God does His best work in us and through us.

By the end of the school year, I knew that God was only just beginning to show His call on our kids and He is not finished yet. He will continually reveal His call on our lives.

This year, we have a mission statement, again for the whole family.  
I want this year to be full of opportunities for us to learn how to be a people who walk by faith with mercy in our hearts and glory on our faces.
We are called to be lights in the darkness because Christ lives in us and He is the light of the world. Our scripture focus for this will be

Philippians 2:2-18
So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose. Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world. Hold firmly to the message of life. Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn’t run or labor for nothing. But even if I am poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. In the same way you should also be glad and rejoice with me.

I am excited for what God will do during this school year. Our philosophy for homeschooling is to teach to the eternal and let the temporal fall into place. I love watching God write His story on my kids lives through our homeschooling adventure.

A renewed focus.

A refreshed purpose.

A continued journey.

Snuggle Parties

Today in my Facebook memories a picture popped up of me holding my sleeping little one, with me saying I had so much to do but was choosing to hold her. And now, knowing that just over a week later she almost lost me forever, I am so glad I chose to ignore the tasks at hand and just hold her. Those responsibilities were eventually completed and that precious moment proved way more valuable than anything that needed to be done.

"My list of things to accomplish is so very long.
But holding this little one while she gets some much needed sleep
after a very restless night is the most important thing to do right now.
And honestly the most fun."
- August 3, 2016 -

9 days later, I went into cardiac arrest; 9 days later, I was clinically dead for 21 minutes; 9 days later she woke up and I wasn’t there. Life has not been the same since I miraculously walked out of the hospital. But now, I don’t feel guilty for choosing to spend the extra time with any of my kids. They can go to bed late, if that means the extra conversation happens. Their chores can wait, if that means we get a few minutes more to spend on a project. Those extra moments are more important than anything else. You may not get them tomorrow.

Today she told one of her sisters that I am her mommy because I comfort her. At least once a day she comes up to me and asks for a snuggle party, and every time I stop what I am doing and hold her. Sometimes for a few moments, sometimes longer.

Every day is a perfect day for a Snuggle Party

Choosing moments to hold, comfort, read a story to, and just be with our little ones should never come with guilt or shame, or a feeling of laziness. It’s okay for chores to wait, they are only little for a moment. It’s okay if the sink stays full, even overnight, you may not be there to hold them in the morning. The truth is we are not promised any moment in our life. At any minute life can change forever.

Life Abundant

For both 2015 and 2016 the Lord gave me the word abundance.

Last year it was an abundance of His provision and of His love and this year was an abundance of LIFE. When people talk to me about this year the first thing they think is that it wasn’t a good year, because I died. No, really I did. More about that in a bit. When I think about this year all I think about is how Jesus came to give us life abundantly. Not in that He came to give us anything we want, or that God is our personal vending machine. But that we can live life to the fullest knowing that our identity isn’t in our circumstances but in Him alone. As I reflect on this year I can see everywhere that God did indeed reveal Himself in a truly abundant way.

I started off the year enjoying as much as I could the miracle of life growing inside me. After giving up all hope that our little family would grow I had life growing inside me. God is so faithful and His timing is so perfect. Life Abundant

My dearest and extremely talented friend took pregnancy photos of me.

The beginning of the year flew by so quickly. Until mid-March when every day seemed like a lifetime as we counted down the days before we would get to meet our little miracle.

In April we finally got to meet her! Our little baby Z has been such a breath of life in our family. Every single day her smiles make us smile even when we are having a hard day. Life Abundant

Baby Z

Water baptisms in the creek, this is Life Abundant

This summer was full of business as my oldest went to his second YWAM summer program with a mission trip to Mexico. 

My not so Little Man ready for a summer full of growth and challenges.

The rest of us spent time with family, chased chickens, enjoyed our garden and stayed busy. He came home in July and we started planning his last year of high school. Life Abundant

Then came August

August 12, I went in to the hospital for a very routine outpatient surgery. Seriously, one of the most routine surgeries you can have, gallbladder removal. I had to do it. I had been controlling gallstone pain for years with diet and this last pregnancy aggravated it so much that I could no longer keep the pain, nausea and reflux under control no matter how hard I tried. But, as I have learned over the years, you must hold your plans loosely. I had told my mother-in-law that morning when we left for the hospital, that I would be home by noon. There was enough pumped milk in the freezer for 3 days, and the baby would be fine. 

I went in; everything was fine until they started the meds they give before they actually give the anesthesia. My blood pressure dropped and they couldn’t get it back up, then my heart stopped. I had gone into cardiac arrest. After 20 minutes they barely got me back but I was on full life support. As my cardiologist puts it, I was mostly dead. For 4 days my husband faced the reality that he could lose me. I was unconscious and only alive because a machine was breathing for me and another machine was helping my heart beat. There were a lot of unanswered questions about what happened and why. Was it a reaction? Did I have a heart condition and not know it? We still aren’t sure and will probably never know. There was talk of sending me to a bigger hospital and a heart transplant because I wasn’t responding to treatment. But there was even more prayer. See, God is the giver of life and the only one who knows what happened and how to fix it. God was in control every single moment and it is His breath that caused me to breathe again. I found out this week that when I started breathing on my own and they extubated me, I actually started to struggle again right after and they almost had to reintubate me, but the nurse in the room knew God could make me breath again. She prayed and I started breathing on my own. 

I spent over two weeks in the hospital learning how to walk again and how to compensate my balance after losing an estimated 40% of my muscle mass. What I know is that every nurse who witnessed my story witnessed a miracle. They saw God work and give life. I was not expected to wake up, or have brain function like I do, or even now, have a heart that is working half as well as it is. God has given me LIFE, ABUNDANT LIFE

Celebrating the little things that really aren't so little.

I have gotten to celebrate baby milestones, and firsts. I celebrated Hubby’s b-day and our 19th anniversary in the hospital. They were the best celebrations even though all we did was enjoy a meal just the two of us in my hospital room. Celebrating my birthday this year was special. And Christmas this year, with my kids smiling and laughing. That is life abundant. 

Baby Z's first Christmas!

Life is hard; it isn’t supposed to be easy. Life is full of obstacles; it isn’t supposed to be a smooth path. Life is full of adventure; it would be boring if it wasn’t. Life is messy and full of learning opportunities; or we wouldn’t grow. And life is full of the unknown; or we would have no reason to put all of our trust in the one who created us. That is what Life Abundant means. When you face the hard, know that is how you find God’s abundance. You could say that 2016 was a horrible year for me, but I see a year full of abundant life.

Last Year This Year

Last year…

Last year I decided to be more purposeful in my Bible reading and time with God. This year, I can say that I really miss my time in the Bible if I skip a morning. Even 15 minutes really makes a difference in how well I respond to what my day throws at me.

Last year I realized just how much my Little G loves to be in the kitchen with me. This year, I am going to make sure I remember to involve her even more in the cooking.

Last year God reminded me how much He loves us through the beauty of spring. This year, I can’t wait to see what He is going to reveal to me.

Last year God reminded me to be still. This year I am going to try harder to remember that I need to rest in Him more.

Last year my oldest turned 13 and I officially became a mom of a teenager. This year, my second oldest is turning 13 and then I will be the mom of two teens. Wow, it seems like yesterday they were just little ones.

Last year while watching God paint the sunset, I realized that not only is He the greatest artist of all time, He also sings. I can't wait to hear His voice, how about you? This year I look forward to what He will show me while I watch Him paint the skies and trees and the fields.

Last year I took the 31 Day challenge and wrote about my homeschooling adventures but didn't quite finish the series. This year, I have no idea if I will take the challenge again but if I do, I plan on finishing by starting earlier.

Last year I turned another year older and I remember how blessed I am to have my family. This year, I want to make sure I remember every single day how blessed I am to have my family. Even on the hard days.

New Year's Frost

This year...

This year is a great and marvelous adventure waiting to happen. I have plans and ideas of what I want to do but I know that God's plans are so much better than mine. I am not afraid of what the year may bring. There will always be good times and bad times. But no matter what, God is sovereign in it all. God has a story for my life but not just mine, for everyone. My life story impacts those around me in ways I may never know. Joseph had to endure being sold as a slave and then being thrown in prison before he was put into a position where he was able to not only save his family from starvation but a whole country and region. I am not afraid of what life holds. I know that God has it all figured out already.

Linking up with P52 Sweet Shot Tuesday.

Making Christmas Memories

On Sunday we spent the afternoon searching for the perfect tree. We have had such bad luck with our trees over the years that there has been some serious contemplation about just getting a fake tree, but then the beauty and the smell wins out and we get a real one. One year the tree actually lost almost all its needles and was totally crunchy a week after we bought it. That year we bought a second tree. Then the next year the tree fell, twice. We actually tied a piece of rope around it and anchored it to wall. And pretty much every year after that, the tree has fallen. Even last year the tree leaned so much every night I was sure it was going to fall until one day it did.

This year we bought a new stand (probably should have done that in the first place) and made sure that the tree was not side heavy. We actually went to 3 different locations looking for one that fit in our budget and passed the Little G standard. She “scrutinized” every tree we looked at.

















I let the kids pretty much do all the decorating this year while we watched Elf (one of the funniest Christmas movies of all time) and I attempted to take some great pictures. (You know like the ones you see on Christmas cards and ads.)However the kids were moving so fast most of the pictures turned out not great at all. But we all had a lot of fun putting on our favorite ornaments. When it was all done, I let Little G take one of me while putting on the angel.

Isn’t she so adorable? I totally love her.

 
Every year, we have these lofty ideas that the fun Christmas activities planned are going to look like a Norman Rockwell painting. Full of love, joy, peace and good cheer. No bad attitudes or melt downs. But the reality is that life is messy and full of unexpected melt downs and attitudes. But in the end the memories that are made are not those from a Dickens novel but instead those of the real story of life.

How we respond to the tree falling and the unexpected melt down of a little one is key to making those magical memories.

If we respond to the non-magical moments with love, joy, peace and grace; the memories will still be magical. If we respond with frustration or even anger then the memories won’t be worth the effort. And really today I can laugh that for the past 8 years, our tree has fallen over at some point. (Except the 3 years we had a 3 foot fake one because of moving and life.)

I am hoping that this year, all of Little G's scrutinizing (and a new stand) means that the tree will not topple over.

1st Grade Homeschooling

I realized I hadn’t showcased Little G for the 31 Days series that is sadly extending for way beyond October. But such is how life happens when one is a mom of four busy kiddos. 

Meet my 1st grader.  Little G is full of crazy energy and is constantly on the go. A basic lesson of any type does not include her sitting still at the table or a desk or even on the couch. She is in constant motion and doesn’t slow down. Her attention span is short, and she is very distractable. In order to get anything done, we do really short lessons that include a lot of moving or breaks. The other day we did her lessons while she was sitting on a giant bouncy ball. She remembers everything we talked about even though I was sure that she wasn’t retaining a word I said for more than a second.

Many days our learning revolves around the questions she has. She loves to ask questions about how things work. So many days we spend time exploring her questions and discovering the answers. She challenges me to be intentional in what I do each day so that I am teaching her in the way that she learns best. Nature is her language. What I mean is she comes alive while studying God’s creation. I have never seen anyone so alive while on a nature walk. She loves animals and loves learning about them. She seems so free while we are out and about. 

Learning how my children learn and relate to things has made me not only a better teacher but more importantly a better mom. Even if you don't homeschool, figure out how your children learn and what interests them. You will be able to make more heart connections with them when you explore life through their eyes.

I participated in 31 Days along with over 1,000 other bloggers hosted by the Nesting Place.
What happens when life gets in the way of blogging?
Posts that were supposed to go up in October being posted in November.

Packing Shoeboxes

Do you know about Operation Christmas child? They give shoeboxes to children around the world who basically have nothing. In those shoeboxes are simple items that we take for granted like toothbrushes and soap. They also have school supplies and toys or other fun things. Whatever someone feels led to put into the shoebox. These are items that we take for granted but to these children they are needed treasures. I love that meeting this simple need opens the door for such a greater impact in a child's life. They get an eternal treasure also, the love of Jesus. And that is the greatest gift anyone can receive.

The junior high group packed shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child a few weeks ago and I dropped them off at our collection site yesterday.  I am so amazed at how many boxes our tiny group was able to fill. I challenged them to bring in items all throughout the month of October for the boxes and then we put everything together to fill as many boxes as we could. I was really thinking we would be able to fill somewhere around five boxes and I was so amazed and blessed that we had enough items to fill 18 boxes!

That is 18 young people whose lives will be touched by receiving a little box filled with simple items like pencils, pens, toothbrushes and a pair of socks plus fun things like stuffed animals, yo-yos, puzzles, and so much more. (It is crazy how much is able to fit in a shoebox.) We actually put an umbrella and a rain poncho in each of ours also. We used the little plastic shoebox sized containers because those can be really useful to whomever receives them. I registered the boxes online so that we could track where they would end up and we know that they will bless a child in another part of the world. It is such an easy way to be able to touch the life of someone you would never be able to have any impact on otherwise.

There is still time if you want to impact a child’s life through a shoebox. Just go to the Operation Christmas Child  to find all the details. Collections for this year go through the 19th of November. But then there will always be next year if you miss the deadline.

We will be praying for the children that are going to receive those boxes and for their families. I cannot wait to see where our boxes will end up. I know that God will use each box in a mighty way.

Elections, Ancient Rome and Foosball

As I sit here, up late, on this chilly Friday night sipping my cup of vanilla caramel tea I am wondering what we got done this week. I have been trying extra hard to get as much school work done before Thanksgiving so that we can spend the month of December having fun doing crafts and activities and bake goodies to our hearts content without any worry if we don't hit the books everyday. But this week seems like a train wreck that never left the station. What did we do?

Monday, the kids weren't feeling too hot so we didn't do anything. 

Ready to Vote

 Tuesday, we spent the day voting, and watching the results. We talked about the process and the electoral college and discussed how they call a state with only 1% of the votes in. (Seriously, I think it would be so funny to see them actually get a state wrong when they call it so early on.) Tuesday was a great day as I love the whole election process. I love letting the kids make their own choices when it comes to politics. We don't tell the kids how to think, I want them to think for themselves even at a young age. My son has his own very strong opinions when it comes to politics. He loves that we have the right to elect those who govern and that we can vote on the laws we would like in place. Every year, it makes for some really intense discussions about policies and the pros and cons of each measure and proposition. And every year, he gets upset that kids are not allowed to vote. (He reminds me of the character Alex Keaton on Family Ties.)

Human Foosball

Wednesday, I didn't feel that great and stayed on the couch all day so I could have enough energy for youth group. The students played an epic game of Human Foosball - so fun! Imagine a Foosball table but life size and the ball is a huge exercise ball. The game was really quick which was great because worship and our talk went long. I love Wednesday nights. Here is a picture to give you an idea. It's hard though as I don't want to post anyone else besides my kiddos. Hope this gives you a good idea.

Thursday rolled around and I felt pulled in so many directions at once, we got math done and that was it. Honestly I cannot remember everything that happened, it's very much a blur. Do you have days like that? I do - often, way too often.

And today (Friday), we did some of our Ancient Rome study and called it a day.  We talked about how the Roman government worked. Elected officials, three branches of government, people voting on laws. It tied into Tuesday perfectly. (Totally unplanned but very perfect timing.) And we didn't even do that lesson until late in the afternoon. I love the flexibility of homeschool, no need to do school first thing in the morning.

So where did my week go? What happened that made it so difficult to get anything done? I had the best plans for this week. Science projects, art lessons, music lessons, books to read... I guess we'll get it done next week. 

I have to remember that it's okay to have weeks like this. There was some real life learning in the midst of not feeling great and being so busy.

I'm participating in 31 Days along with over 1,000 other bloggers hosted by the Nesting Place.
What happens when life gets in the way of blogging?
Posts that were supposed to go up in October being posted in November.

31 Days 5th Grade Homeschooling

 One day each week this month I am featuring one of my kids for 31 Days of Homeschooling Adventures and talking a little bit about how I do school with them. Each one of them has their own strengths and skill sets and not one of them learn the same way as another. It makes for an interesting and fun homeschool experience and also a very challenging one. I love that each one is created uniquely and none of them are like the other. Each of my children was created with a purpose and have amazing gifts. As a homeschool mom, my job is to help them discover their individual potential and help them learn how to walk in their giftings. Watching them walk in their gifts is one of the most exciting things. And you know, they don't have to wait until they are adults to do big things.As a wise little asparagus once said, "Little guys can do big things too."

Meet miss H. She is my 5th grader this year. She loves doing school - on most days. She learns best when she is reading the info herself. When she was younger and learning how to read, I would read her history and science lessons to her and she wouldn't remember any of the information from the books. Once she became a strong reader she began retaining the information much better because she was reading the books herself.

She loves doing independent work, reading the material herself and doing workbooks and writing assignments. Of course workbooks and worksheets aren't nearly as memorable or fun as hands on learning and using great books from the library, thankfully she enjoys doing those activities also.

Miss H loves math and writing, if I give her a chance to choose what she wants to work on, she will choose math and writing before she will choose anything else. She is the only one of my kids who has gotten excited about learning cursive. She also loves to read and at any point in time she has at least 3 books she is in the middle of reading. She takes after her momma that way.

I love that she is so unique in who she is and how she learns. 

I'm participating in 31 Days along with over 1,000 other bloggers hosted by the Nesting Place.

31 Days Field Trips

Field trips are such a fun part of homeschooling. We try to take at least one field trip a month. You don't have to leave town to go on a field trip either. If you live near the local TV station, see if you can take a tour. We took a tour while they were doing the noon news. It was such a blast and we got to take a picture with the news anchor and the weather guy. The fire station is another great field trip to go on, all kids seem to love that trip from young to old.

Your local museum is a great place to visit often as they change the exhibits. Every town has a rich history. We have several great historical landmarks near by that we have seen and there are many more on our list that we still want to take the kids to see and experience. When you are studying your state's history, going to the capitol is a great field trip. I think everyone should visit their state's capitol at least once just for the experience.

5 Field Trips - Train Museum, Natural History Museum, a Fort, State Capital, & a Mission

We have actually done field trip days where we go to several places in one day in cities that we have to drive a bit to get to. You have to carefully plan out your day so that you can get them all in but it is tons of fun. When we had to drive four hours for a wedding weekend, we looked up all the nearby museums and historical attractions so that we could go to as many of them in the short time we had,  we were able to fit in 4 different destinations into a couple of days. That weekend was so incredibly busy but we had a total blast and learned so much. We have even turned camping trips into field trips.

My point is, go on as many field trips as you can. They don't have to cost a lot of money or even be out of town. There is a rich learning environment in your own town and state just waiting to be discovered.

I think my next post will be a field trip survival guide.

I'm participating in 31 Days along with over 1,000 other bloggers hosted by the Nesting Place.

31 Days Homeschool When Life Gets in the Way

We homeschool year round most years and I schedule several extra days into the year so that we have wiggle room when life happens. Because it always does and there are always days that we planned to get school done and don't get anything done at all.

This really helps me to not stress about getting all the school days in for the year when we decide to take a couple extra days off for family visits or when someone gets sick.  We just take a break and pick up where we left off when we are ready. In the end it will all work out. Sometimes I need a teacher prep day so the kids enjoy the break while I get some prep done.

Other times the kids just need a play day, many times during those days, I find them discovering new things without me. Like the girls discovering how to make clay from dirt, water and some bark and grass.

They created several bowls, cups, and dishes from their own homemade clay. They figured out the best ratio of water to dirt to add-ins to make the best clay that hardened perfectly and can stand up to being used in play. They learned about things they wouldn't have learned from me. So play days can actually be school days, they just don't know it.









There are busy seasons where it seems no matter how hard we try, school just seems to get in the way of everything else that is going on. I don't get really how that happens except that we have a lot going on and sometimes it becomes more than planned. And there are times when the best planned day just goes to the wayside because let's face it, we really aren't in control.

I'm participating in 31 Days along with over 1,000 other bloggers hosted by the Nesting Place.

31 Days 7th Grade Homeschooling

One day each week this month I am featuring one of my kids for 31 Days of Homeschooling Adventures and talking a little bit about how I do school with them. Each one of them has their own strengths and skill sets and not one of them learn the same way as another. It makes for an interesting and fun homeschool experience and also a very challenging one. I love that each one is created uniquely and none of them are like the other. Each of my children was created with a purpose and have amazing gifts. As a homeschool mom, my job is to help them discover their individual potential and help them learn how to walk in their giftings. Watching them walk in their gifts is one of the most exciting things. And you know, they don't have to wait until they are adults to do big things.As a wise little asparagus once said, "Little guys can do big things too."

Meet Miss K my 7th grader. She is my artsy/crafty learner. I learned a long time ago that teaching her by using pictures and color work better than simple words on a page. She thinks best by drawing and doodling while listening to her lessons. I love how she is always making me think outside the box while teaching, though it can be a real challenge sometimes. She loves history, preferably US history and can spend hours learning about our heritage. I learned very quickly that what works for one child will not always work for the next and using the right curriculum might mean not using any curriculum at all.

With my junior highers, my goal is to prepare them for high-school. I want them to learn how to do the tasks that will help them excel later on. I want to give them the tools to gain knowledge on their own and form their own ideas. This is the age where they are realizing how everything connects from one subject to the next. Junior-highers are formulating their own conclusions about what they have learned and how to apply it to their life.

I'm participating in 31 Days along with over 1,000 other bloggers hosted by the Nesting Place.

31 Days Grocery Store Math

If you have never thought about doing school while you are running errands, you really should. Even if you don't homeschool, teaching your kids necessary life skills while running errands is important and really easy to do. If you avoid running errands with your kids, I encourage you to at least occasionally take them with you. That is how they will learn what it means to do the things that need to get done, like grocery shopping.


The grocery store is one of the easiest places you can go where school is pretty much a given. When they are little, doing simple lessons of colors and counting are easy and then of course there is the obvious nutrition lesson that can always be done. (What, you’ve never taught nutrition in the middle of the grocery store? Why not?) But as they get older and weighing the bag of apples isn't as exciting as it once was you have to get a bit more creative.

The Honeycrisp apples are $1.49 a pound - how much will we pay for 3 pounds?
The Granny Smiths are on sale for $0.99 - how much cheaper will 3 pounds of Granny Smiths be?
How many pounds of Granny Smiths can I buy for the same price as 3 pounds of Honeycrisp?

These are questions I ask my older kids. They don't have a calculator, I expect them to do it in their head or round up to make it easier. Mental math is so important and consumer math is an essential life skill that everyone needs. Everyone should know how much the food they eat costs. And how to make the budget they have work. I want them to know this skill before they move out on their own.


When you make homeschool a lifestyle and not just something you do, you find that learning happens all the time and you can get school done even when you don’t have the books. In fact when my kids were younger there were so many days where they had no idea that they were doing school. Now that they are older, they are on to me and know that no matter where we are or what we are doing I can turn it into “school”.

I'm participating in 31 Days along with over 1,000 other bloggers hosted by the Nesting Place.

31 Days Seize the Learning Opportunity

One of the aspects of homeschooling I love the most is that we can take something that happens around us and use it as an opportunity to learn.

This spring we had a gopher who insisted on wrecking some serious havoc in our backyard and lot. There were little holes popping up all over in the grass and in the gravel area. Every day the kids would find a new series of holes and it was totally driving me bonkers.


One day while I was starting dinner the little menace popped his head up in a little gravel section that is in our patio area. The girls were out playing when they saw a hole form and then a little head popped out. They ran in to tell me then we all went out to watch him.

 He continued tunneling about a foot over and made a new hole, popped his head out and then the crazy thing decided he miscalculated and decided to make yet another hole just about 6 inches over. We started talking about how they make a look out hole first to make sure everything is safe before making another hole to actually venture out of.

He then started running out very quickly snatching a part of a weed that was growing there and dragging it back into the hole eating it then popping up to quickly snatch another piece. This was a new thing to me as I had only seen them eat plants from the root up as the plant vanishes before my eyes.

We watched him do his thing for a little over an hour. (Dinner ended up being very late that night.) The beauty of it all was that the kids were able to learn about gophers and how they tunnel, what they look like in real life, how big they are, what they eat (when they aren’t eating my tomato plants) and their mannerisms, not from a book but from observation.

We continued our discussion over the next few days making sure that our learning opportunity did not go to waste. Little G loves that stinkin' gopher and looks for new holes all the time.

Pay attention to what is happening around you so that you can seize every real life learning opportunity.

I'm participating in 31 Days along with over 1,000 other bloggers hosted by the Nesting Place.