we made it through the first day!

                                    



     praise God! that's all i have to say about that! ok, maybe i have a little more to say than that, but that's the most important part! He is good and we had a blessed first day of school! and tomorrow is their first day at our church school's elective program which is ran by my sister-in-law. they are so excited! they will be doing art lessons, pottery and ceramics, creative writing, arts and crafts, physical education, hot lunches provided by the mamas, chior, bible study and much more!  i am so thankful for all who participate to make this day possible for my guys.
     i'll share some of our day without trying to bore you!  we had a nice breakfast together, the boys choice.

then i took their cute little "first day of school" pictures!

                                                       
                                    then we cracked them books...

                                   

                             
     

we played a little...

did some reading aloud (our personal favorite part of the day)...

did a little experimenting. everyone had to do it! 

idea from here.

it was a good first day.  and knowing that it's because of God's amazing grace makes it even better!

school starts tomorrow and i think i may actually be starting this blog!

 

      so, i've been trying to start this here little blog for quite a while, but it just wasn't happening! as we are beginning our new and exciting (hopefully) school year I really desire to document and journal our journey. i think it will help to hold me accountable for stuffs i should be doing with the kiddos and that it will be super fun for the kids and i to look back through the posts and see all we have done. so i am going to really make this attempt for reals yo!
    i've been busting my buns all day to get ready for tomorrow!  i'm excited and nervous at the same time. I admit that their attitudes can be quite the downer at times. i have been praying tons and asking God to soften and prepare their hearts for this upcoming year of learning and exploration. also, that i would not let parenting intimidate me, but that i would parent confidently in the Spirit and trust in God's guidance. that i would choose Him.

this is an example of what you might see when i am not parenting in the spirit
pretty scary huh. i know you're feeling sorry for my kids right now...

i am praising God that all things are possible! that He can change me!  that He can make me into the mama He wants me to be! so i'll leave this post nice and short.  there will be lots more to come.  i am looking forward to sharing about our curriculum and some things that work for us around here.

p.s. my oldest little dude, noah, had a mishap on his motorcycle and ended up with a pretty injured foot. he's bummed but he'll be fine.  i'm still trying to get used to all the injuries boys get. Lord help me!

   

A Bit About Our Curriculum This Year

     I thought I would share what we have been up to this school year, even though it is soon coming to a close!  Can  you believe it?  I sure do have a lot of improvements to make for next year.  Mostly to be more intentional in my teaching and lesson plans.  To make things even more meaningful and fun.  Take it up a notch basically.  I will give an overview of how I feel our year went in June, but for now we gotta get to it and finnish up our books and try to enjoy ourselves while were at it!
   We chose to begin My Fathers World Exploring Countries and Cultures this year with our 7 and just turned 10 year old.  We have really learned a lot and enjoyed the gentle approach and the overall natural feel that this curriculum has to offer.  Here's a look at some of our books above.  I understand that it looks like a lot, but you are not in all of them at once!  You move methodically through them throughout the whole year and it makes SO much sense the way the lesson plans have it laid out!
The first pic is of our Geography books.  They are all excellent!  Great for different ages because they are easy to adapt the activities to the age level you are working with.  The teachers manual also helps by giving tips on what to do for different ages groups.  That little blue book as actually a little passport that you fill out every time you begin to study a new country.  The kids always enjoy that!  They are fascinated by the Window on the World book because of all the pictures and information on all the people groups around the world.  The Geography From A to Z is also a favorite of ours.  Every week we make note cards with the Geography terms for that week and draw pictures of them and write the definition on the back.  Then we review them periodically.  I have to say we really enjoy all these books and have gained a lot from them!

   These are our science books! My second grader does The Complete Book of Animals and my fourth grader works in the Properties of Ecosystems.  Then we read the Living World Encyclopedia together and the dK book is actually just a supplement that I already have that goes along perfectly with the unit, so I figured I may as well use it!  I love studying nature and my little country raised boys are right along with me!  The really cool thing is that the curriculum is set up so that you are actually studying the natural habitats, animals, forests, rivers, and climate of the countries and continents you are studying for Geography!  Very cool.

     These books are the read-alouds.  I have to tell you though that for some reason my 2nd grader who loves to read and has listened to MANY chapter books read aloud to him, was not into any of these books.  They were just  over his head I guess.  So I just read them to my oldest and that worked out fine.  He listened and enjoyed them with no problem. He's been chapter-bookin' it since kindergarten though.  The Kingdom Tales was awesome and sparked a lot of great conversation about God and who He is.
     I apologize that this is such a brief overview!  I will try to share some of our activities that we do in the next couple of months.  Next year, as we venture into the My Father's World Creation to the Greeks, I will be sharing along the way so there will be a clearer picture of the curriculum.  I love My Father's World and I feel very privileged to be using it!  I feel like it was put together by the Holy Spirit's guidance to bless families like ours.  I thank the Lord for this gift to help me to teach my little boys!
There will be more to come as I will share the rest of what we are doing in our school!  Have a blessed day as you embrace all He has done for you!  

About Me (and Us)

     Here we are. Just a little family here in the hills trying to keep it together by His grace! As you read or see anything on this blog, please make no mistake about who we are. Real people. Real struggling people. Struggling with sin and everything that goes along with the ugliness of it. I am so thankful for God and all His endless mercy that He pores out on us as we go along this journey in life. 
     I'll share a tad about us. I've been married to my sweets for 10 years and absolutely adore that man! We are homeschooling our 3 boys, ages 10,8,and 6. They are a bunch of fun and also very hard to deal with at times :). I am so thankful for motherhood and all the constant learning lessons that occur everyday.I have to reach to Him all through my day to gather strength for the tasks at hand! I can't wait to share more about our schooling and curriculum in future posts!
     A little about me...
I love the Lord and simply couldn't do this life without Him 
I love my sweet husband (he is so fun and awesome!)
Schooling our boys brings me great satisfaction and joy
I love to cook as healthy as possible
I am a vegetarian (family is too!)
I enjoy daily exercise and running
Morning worship=beautiful, sweet time that invigorates my soul
I'm a girly girl
I'm not on Facebook or Twitter
I broke down and got on Pinterest to help me with school ideas(so glad I did! what a tool)
I would like to be way more crafty 
I can be impatient :(
I drink lots and lots of Tea
I enjoy organizing and decorating, but don't do enough of either!
A clean home makes me happy
I dig Candles lit everywhere
I never went to college
I got married at 18
The Sabbath is such a blessing to me 
Taking pictures is so much fun for me
White flour and sugar makes me gain weight immediately (kinda funny but NO joking here)


Sorta random stuff! :) It's hard to sum up or explain why I am starting this little blog. It seems like such a fun way to journal  and share ideas and inspiration. I've been blessed by blogs for sure, and part of me kinda thought it would be cool and humbling if I could possibly bless someone else with our story and life as we strive to glorify God and raise these dudes to know Him. I move forward with the understanding that everything good is Him and I want to praise Him for the blessings in our life.