(Sorry, this is a bit long and I don’t blame you if you skip it but it is my blog and my process so I write it my way. Live with it peeps!)

Little did I know that when I started this thread on Homeschool Scheduling, I would end up with a 5 part post on the topic. It has been very good for me to review all that God has done as I prepare to dive into our second year. There was no accidentally doing this, or just throwing things together. There has been an underlying process all along the way that has been shaping my thinking and my practice. So now you understand a bit more about our family and how we have come to this part in our journey and how I am able to do some of the things I am going to do this year.

Firstly, I have 3 children all roughly 18 months apart at 3 entirely different stages developmentally. They each need something different and because their abilities are so stretched out, one reading and writing, one staring to read and write, one just starting to hold a fat crayon, I realized a few weeks ago, that next year would need some sereious scheduling on my part in order to make sure that they all are getting what they need developmentally. I started to see, that I needed to be 3 places at once, and didn’t know how in the world to do it. I was falling asleep one night and had the thought, I wish I could hire someone a few hours a week to help me manage the three stages. So Mike and I had a talk about it and reviewed our budget and decided that that would be a perfect plan for this year.

I think as a child begins homeschooling, habit training is one of the most essential skills needed in order to move into successful life long learning. That takes time and focused attention, and to be honest, my youngest has not had enough of my undivided attention because our middle is starting to read, and write. Our oldest is reading and writing well, however, I am still doing most of his school reading because with AO you typically read several years above their skill level and don’t transition independent reading over to the student until about year 4. So I have 2 more years of having to meet three very different needs, and now because of the miracle of our budget, I am able to hire someone to come in a few hours a week, to implement very specific goals for my youngest, along side all the work that I am doing and overseeing with the others. We are also able to have our 2 oldest attend a PE program for homeschoolers in our area one day a week, while I have our youngest do a gymnastics class where he is working and interacting with his peers. So I will be running a 4 day week of schooling, with the 5th day being PE and doing art/music study and nature study in the afternoons after their quiet times.

Some of the practical things I will stick to, is morning schooling for our core work, done by lunch time leaving afternoons for “specials”. This ensures that we are all at our brightest and ready to move through our material. There are days we will have to do some things in the afternoon, as we did this year, but I am honest in saying it is not ideal for attitudes etc. so for our family, the morning is the best(getting copy work, math and reading out of the way first thing).

To make sure we all are having healthy boundaries (mommy included) as we all move along, we stick to a firm quiet time for all of us mid day. This allows us all to have some time to ourselves, to think and play without anyone else grabbing from us or directing us. We can sleep, or read, or pray and talk to God, or build or create, just as long as we are by ourselves for 1 hour each day. I am also making strong efforts to be up 1 hour before the kids so that I can exercise and be prepared for the day ahead. Getting each weeks materials ready before the week begins, so I don’t have to rely on the computer and the ringer turned off on the phone, helps us all stay on track. I am realistic that this is the ideal and that many days I will fall short of this, but I will just get back on my horse the following day, and get back at it again. There is no perfection in homeschooling, only trying to do better then the day before and you will stay the course.

We will start our school day at 8:30 with everyone doing a little poetry, memorization work and bible immersion (I hate the idea of bible stories. It seems so trite and contrived so instead we are immersing them in a thread of theological and biblical content. I’ll post on that later) . Before that, we will have breakfast, and do general chores before the day begins.

From there the older two will have a little copy work at the table. I am teaching them both cursive at once, and then back track and refine Chloe’s print skills the second half of the year. My youngest will do some patterning work/sandpaper letter or tracing work on the floor with our “helper” .

Jackson will “watch”/do his math lesson with “Mr. Steve” with Math U See (Golly I love this program - it takes all the stress out of it!) The littles will go to the kitchen and have a math lesson while preparing snack. Counting grapes, plates etc.

Jackson will do 20 minutes of out loud reading to our “helper” and I will do 20 minutes of reading with the littles using 5 in a row curriculum. Then a snack break and a quick bit of outside time. After that, I will move on to reading with Jackson some of his lessons that require narration and the Hudson will do some fine motor skill work with some of our Montessori materials and Chloe will watch her math lesson. I will then do a phonics rotation cycling them all through a 10-15 minute time of one on one time with me as the other two work on putting lunch together with our helper.

Before lunch we will all clean up our school work, say good bye to our helper and then have lunch and quiet time. In the afternoons I will teach them as follows: Monday piano lessons, Tuesday art study, Wednesday Nature Study Thursday Latin lessons and Friday library outing to get books for the next week.

There you have it. I’ve decided it is too blooming hot here in the summers, so we will probably do a yearly rotation of 3 months on one month off, because honestly, more then one month off gets boring for all of us. That way we have break months during the most beautiful weather all year. So, I will give this a good dry run starting in August and tweak and adjust as needed. I’ll keep all you good people posted!

(Hey don’t let any of this stress you out! If you are thinking of homeschooling or your kids are younger then mine relax. You grow into this for sure. Your first year is just trying things on and getting in to a good habit and routine. I always say, if you can read a recipe and bake a cake, you can homeschool. It just takes a little discipline and you grow right along with your kids. Deep breathes, excellent resources, patience with yourself and your kids and a strong support network will get you on the right track.)

Okay class, any questions? Anyone, anyone, Behuler?

(OK - who are we kidding here? I will get to the schedule when I get to it. If you haven’t yet, read the other 3.)

At the beginning of this year, we began preparing to go to Peru for 5 weeks. Through a combination of people giving spontaneously, and inventive money raising ideas(we rented our home out as a vacation rental for 5 weeks), me homeschooling and Mike telecommuting, we were able to go to South America for several weeks to be a part of a conference that friends of ours were preparing for national pastors there. We had no idea how this time would go. God sharpened our vision, renewed our hope in what He is doing here in South Florida, and spoke some new things.

Once home, we finally did our taxes dreading the outcome. We thought we were going to owe thousands of dollars and were not sure of how in the world this would all work out. I was actually dreading it. However, much to our shock and amazement, we received a refund that paid off almost all of the remaining debt we held. A few weeks ago, we were also contacted by a lawyer advising us of some mortgage relief that we are eligible for that we had no idea was possible. Our van is one payment away from being paid off, and it looks like by the end of the year, the last bit of the debt will be gone, our current home will no longer be upside down, and our family is right were we always wanted to be. Me at home, with a peaceful, non- stressed environment( well as non-stressed as 3 littles underfoot all day can be) and living well within our means, so that we can afford to be generous. It looks like it will take 2 full years of faithfully taking one little step in front of the other, following Jesus, to get us back to square one on paper but light years ahead in the kingdom. Really and truly being obedient one day at a time, leads you into greener pastures and beside still waters.

In all of this, God has been calling me to be even more available and present to the kids. Things like setting up boundaries and schedules that will protect our schooling time are a must for us. Little things like no computer and no phone calls during day time school hours are simple little tricks I throw into the mix. The reality is, if I am not able to be present here, listening to what God is saying each moment here in my little homeschool, I will not be able to minister anywhere else with any authenticity. The kids and myself for that matter, do really well with morning scheduled time, so if it works why mess with it? I am also learning, how to have guidelines, to help myself get alone time, insist on each of our children having their own alone time, and rediscovering what I was made to be, outside of kids and homeschool. I wont be a homeschooling mom of 3 littles 15 years from now, so I keep working on me outside of them. (Shocking I know but Moms must have something other than their kids and home to occupy their time.)

So, now you see why the schedule I will give you tomorrow has been a long while in coming. This schedule was bought with a very high price tag and it is very dear to me. As always a work in progress, changing and morphing to fit our needs. It is very specifically a tool to keep us moving forward, allowing me to observe our children and listen to the Father while staying connected and present the entire year as we move along in our sweet little God given homeschool.

My first year homeschooling was all about observing. Trying on a few things, seeing what fit and what didn’t. Watching the children interact, and learning what they need emotionally, spiritually, physically and cognitively. No one else will do that with as much love and passion as Mike and I will. Now, as we move into our second year I feel like I know right where I am going and how I am going to take us there. I have found some lovely resources that line up perfectly with our families overall schooling plan, and I can’t wait to see where we go over the next few years. Follow along~ it is going to be a wicked good ride!

Really cross my heart a schedule will be on tomorrows post:-)

Peace to all this day~

(Read the other two people!)

So, it was almost the minute we picked up the clue phone, said we missed it, asked for help, took responsibility for how we had gone wrong and were willing to make drastic changes in order to be obedient, the cloud began to lift. Mike and I could almost feel it. It was if we were back in the flow of God’s good graces, and the wreckage around us wasn’t a big deal. We knew, somehow God had good plans for us, and that doesn’t necessarily mean a positive checking account. Nothing changed with our finances. But we stopped trying to make it all work. We just said, this doesn’t work and what ever it takes Amber is staying home and pouring into our children. Heck - homeschooling wasn’t nearly as scary as possible bankruptcy. I called our Montessori school and said, we wont be back. They were gracious enough to work a payment plan out with us. This was in Feb. I had three months to start working out what the heck I was going to do with homeschool that was authentic to us and our story. (a VERY important part for any homeschooling family). We put the Mercedes up on a lease trader site and waited to see if anyone else would take it off or our hands.

I was praying one day and I just got this impression that within the week the Mercedes would be gone. I told Mike at lunch and he said, “You know it is funny, but I got the same thing today.” Later that day we got a call and within a week it was gone. I had to pay them 4k to take it off of our hands, but trust me I was happy to do it! Mike and I tease and call it blood money. The clouds were lifting and all I could think was “IT IS SO GOOD TO OBEY!” No matter what obey people it always ends up right.

Our other town home was still rented, and leaking, the kids were out of school so we now longer had that payment we did not have the Mercedes any longer. Our budget was starting to come into alignment but we were still leaking and upside down everywhere. But I started to school our kids in May. It was then that we met our Realtor who gave us the tough news about the reality of this market and what stood ahead of us. She was the one who taught us about short saleing, why we needed to think about it and why holding it as a rental was a bad idea. We drastically reduced the price and within a few weeks had an offer that the bank accepted and we were able to get rid of that part of our budget.

We still had the debt but at this point Mike got a raise and we were happy to only have the 36k in debt and nothing else. We were starting to be able to breath and for the first time in almost a year we were living within our budget and not leaking onto a credit card. In the midst of all of this, whenever I got stressed about where we were at, I would think, “This isn’t my job.God said he was rescuing me. He will do it.”

For the previous 18 months, I was rarely present with our children. And previous to that, I was too infant/pregnant tired to be available to anyone. I was always somewhere else, talking to someone else, doing something else other then being with them. I was there in body, but never in mind, or heart. I was ether striving or trying to escape. They felt it too. I was too stressed to enjoy them. No matter what, I was going to be with them and no where else. When Mike and I went into “ministry” we made a conscious decision to never put our kids on the alter of “ministry” and after this whole episode I was now convinced that I would never put them on the alter of building a business ether. They are our kids and our most precious resource and I wont hand them over to any else to shape or mold them and I wont do anything that doens’t allow me to be present enough to observe what they need. No matter what.

So it was then that we decided, in order to balance our debt load that we accumulated over the previous 18 months, we liquidated our kids college funds in order pay off half of the balance. It was one of the hardest and most freeing things we have ever done. We skrimped and saved pennies to put into those funds, and it was now, that we realized, God will cover them every day of their lives. They will be okay and when we need money for college it will be there. Right now, we needed to get rid of this debt so that we may pay it off in 5 years instead of 10. That brought our debt down drastically, our budget was solid and in the black and I was learning every month how to weed out bad parenting habits that crept in over our time in the barrel, and how to build a little home school that nurtured what God was doing in our family.

So at the beginning of this year we were down to 16k in debt, only a few months left of paying off our van and living within our budget for several months. A strong pattern of financial discipline was forming. One of the things that happens when you are that far gone in debt with no way out, you tend to not care at all. The thinking being oh well what is another 100 bucks on top of mount everest. Now, we were seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We still live in a townhome that we bought at the hight and it has now dropped 150K from what we purchased it for, but we are a step closer to getting out of debt, and then God surprised us again.

Honestly, tomorrow I will put up a schedule. I am on a roll now!

(If you have not done so, please read my previous post. Or not, you can do what ever you want but this one will make a heck of a lot more sense if you do!)

So when I finally came to grips with the idea of homeschooling, I realized that I had been gently led to this point. I honestly don’t think I would of ever gone for it, if I hadn’t been forced to. You see, 2 of our 3 children went to a very prestigious Montessori school in the area, that I was able to work a “deal” on barter to get them in there. Basically, they owned me and I was their slave but that is another story, and I henceforth have determined to never enter into another situation like that again. I now know, I can give my children every bit as developed and appropriate education as any private or public school for that mater, but I could not see that then.

We live in a very affluent and expensive region in the country. Bottom line, we didn’t make enough to live on, since moving here 7 years ago. So I have always worked up until 18 months ago. There was no option, and some of that time, my business income was our only income, as ministry work in our field does not pay. So, I worked during all of our pregnancies, up until the day before delivery, had c-sections all three and went back to work 2 weeks later. Every time. When you own your own business, you don’t work and you don’t eat, so I just put on a happy face and was happy to have the work. At that time I taught music classes to moms and young children and had tons of families that I was servicing. Somehow along the way, I realized that everyone else’s children were getting the best of me, and our own dear children where getting the bottom of the barrel so to speak. So I was open to doing something else but what?

We also, were moving, and moving and moving. Playing the leap frog game, working our way towards moving our family into more than a 2 bedroom which doesn’t work well well with three kids and one that was hurricane safe. So in the past 7 years we have moved 5 times, heaven help us. We hope to be here for a good long time. The almost laughably ironic thing is, our children all still sleep in the same room because that is what they have done since birth. Even though we now have a 3 bedroom no one actually sleeps in it unless we have overnight guests.

In the midst of this, another business came along. Out of left field really, but after Mike and I prayed about it, we decided to give it a go. Now for all of you skeptics out there, we felt like God lead us into it. It was very important training in how the actual culture we live in here works. I have whole new perspective and compassion for the masses around here and a deeper way to pray but I am getting off topic again. Sorry. Anyway, It was actually a network marketing business with a company called Arbonne. As far as business goes, I am pretty good at building things. So, before I knew it, I had a huge business and made close to 50K a year and drove the company car which happened to be a white Mercedes. (OK - really I drove our mini-van and Mike drove the Mercedes) Honest to Pete people, I just looked around 12 months later after starting the business and said, “How the hell did I get here.” Yes is did say hell, actually I may of said something else but I digress! Just because you are good at leading and good a building doesn’t necessarily mean you should do something. We only wanted to make a few hundred a month with this thing, and then it was bringing in as much as my husband, and you know what - “IT OWNED MY LIFE”. My phone rang off the hook, the end of the month was a stressful day every month and I had the pressure to bring in X amount to meet all of our bills. I wanted to stop one business so my kids got my best, and now I was giving them even worse then before - not to mention I felt like a consumerists sell out and the high maintenance aspect of our lives made Mike and I SICK - SICK - SICK! You know what, I wouldn’t trade any of it. I learned so much about myself, about good business, about what I really want that I wouldn’t trade any of the past several years.

Remember I said 18 months ago I was in the midst of watching a business dying a miserable death. My entire Arbonne team were Christians. All of us almost simultaneously felt like God was calling us to lay down our Arbonne businesses. It was actually quit hysterical when we all started comparing notes. I am not sure many people knew how bad it really was. They saw we drove a white Mercedes, lived in a new town home, our kids went to private school and thought we had all the money in the world. 18 months ago was the peak. We hit the glorious wall so to speak and we were asking for forgiveness for being duped, and thankfulness that we unlike many others had Jesus to fall back on. So Where did we go from there?

I said “Wow -God we have made a real mess here. We moved before you said go on some things, and now we are stuck. I was trying to provide for us, instead of trusting that you ALWAYS give us exactly what we need.” From then on, I let go and said, “I will trust you.” I knew somehow that as Mike and I began to work through this horrifying mess, we would learn so much, and gain so much out of it. I knew we would be paying for our mistakes for many years to come, so we just prepared to take our medicine like good little children. I some how deeply knew that pain, although hard, isn’t bad. I knew this is also part of our training and formation into Christ likeness.

So just in case you are lost, 18 months ago, I was left with a business that instead of bringing in 4k a month was bringing in 10% of that, my children were in a high priced private school that was killing us with tuition, we had a townhouse that hadn’t sold and were floating 2 mortgages and, 36K in credit card debt and oh yeah, I was stuck with a Mercedes lease that I couldn’t get out of. Remember God said “He was rescuing me.”? He wasn’t kidding.

So, I know, I know, you are saying - enough already - when do we get to the blessed schedule already?

Tomorrow friends, tomorrow.

Wow I kind of feel like Mr Miyagi. Peace to all Daniel-son’s this day.

I have had a few requests recently on how my typical home school day goes. The first thing I would like to say is that, nothing is typical in homeschooling. That is what is so great about it and what makes it equally as hard. I thought I would spend some time writing a few posts on the very thing, so that I may more completely “own” the reasons why I feel we should do and not do the things we are doing in our sweet little homeschool here in sunny south Florida. If you have read my blog much at all you know that we use the Charlotte Mason method for homeschooling via Ambleside Online and I am heavily influenced by Maria Montessori. For those of you who know who those people are, you may understand me a bit better, and if you don’t know who those people are, no big deal. Google them and you can learn a bit but it isn’t important for this story necessarily. After having a full year under my belt, there are some things I have learned and many things I have unlearned. This little exercise will give you a bit of a glimpse of that from my view point.

As I began thinking about this, I was thinking about the road that brought me here and how it has shaped and continues to shape what we are doing as a family that schools non traditionally. The story starts many, many years ago, but I don’t need to start there for you all. I only mention that to say, there is always more to every story then these few inscribed lines. I distinctly remember 18 months ago, sitting here at this very computer, feeling the most depressed, stressed and overwhelmed I had ever felt. (I will tell you about that in a second.) I was crying out to God again for Him to lead me and guide me. I remember shifting slightly in my seat to grab something on the floor, and felt like God said, “I AM RESCUING YOU!”. It was not audible but it was as clear to me as my own breathing. Have you ever read the story of CS Lewis and how he came to faith in God through Jesus? He said he went out for a bike ride to the zoo. When he left his home, he did not even believe in Jesus Christ and when he got to the zoo He did. Just like that. I love how the Holy Spirit can give you almost instant understanding of something that up until the point of his supernatural working, it is fuzzy and unclear, and then in that moment it becomes as clear as crystal. In that moment, I realized some how I had gotten lost and off track. I was out in the thicket somewhere and the Good Shepherd was coming to find me. (Oh how I love the parable of the Good Shepherd. I am always that little lost sheep who is being found. Maybe you are too.)

So why was I overwhelmed you ask? Well to make a long story short, we were in a state of utter financial disaster. Firstly, the town home we are now in, we unfortunately bought at the highest point in the market, without having our other home sold. We took some time praying about it before we moved to this current home, and felt like God said to move, so we did, and then we continued to wait for him to deliver us. We continued to try to sell as the prices fell and fell and fell, and then finally, because we had no way of covering 2 mortgage payments any longer, we rented it out and hoped the market would somehow rise again. Well, we all know were the market is now. A few tenants later, and a marvelous real estate agent who really educated us about the market and were it was going, and how we may move forward in our current situation, we “short-saled” that home and were free from the financial burden of it. I know you are thinking, “What does this have to do with homeschool schedules?” You will see!

At the time of sitting at the computer we where unable to sell the now seemingly “cursed” previous home, and I was sitting with a business that was in the throws of dieing a miserable death. (Maybe I will tell you about that business some time, and how that story shapes what I am now doing, but not today dear friends. Read on!) We were in so deep, I saw no way out. We now had 36K in credit card bills (thanks to trying to hold the house) and I had a business that was no longer “viable” and our budget was all based on my income coming in. When I no longer had an income coming in, we found ourselves leaking 2k a month in our monthly budget. Now you know why we had the 36K in credit card bills. No we were not buying boats or Prada shoes or anything. It was in the midst of this reality, that I heard God say he was rescuing me and that I needed to just let go and stay home with the kids. I knew down deep that we all would be better for it and that the next season we were entering into was one of discipline.

Wow this is getting good. I love how God makes “beauty out of ashes”.

See you all tomorrow~

Today Mike and I have been married 13 years. He has taken me away for a few days just the two of us. I highly recommend it for all you married couples out there with a few kids running around.

We have been reflecting on who we are , where we have been, where we are and where we are going. To be honest, if feels like we are just getting started. Can’t wait to see what the next 13 years hold.

I will be back home later this week, and hope to be back to regular blogging.

Peace to all those with wedding anniversaries this month! I know there are a ton of us.

Gardens are always in some state of growth, even when dormant, there are vital things happening to promote overall health to the garden. It is true that what you put into a garden, in the way of care, is directly proportional to what you get out of it. There is no “low maintenance” garden. They all need tender loving care. Here are a few fun facts that I found when I was studying about gardens and gardening. (I also read through Genesis 1-6 several times. That however took me another direction that I will post about another time. Read it for yourself and see what comes up for you.)

• To have a healthy garden you have to have healthy soil.
• You must always prepare and fight against weeds and pests.
• Water deeply, regularly and infrequently to promote a strong root system.
• Use companion planting to help all plants to thrive together.
• A healthy garden produces good things for those around it, clean air, healthy food, visually stimulating.

So the other night, as I was falling asleep, I started seeing all styles and types of gardens run past my minds eye. Each one had someone walking through and working on the garden. It was then that I thought “Gardens are not low maintenance. They take consistent work.” Even when they are dormant, they need some form of care. Lately, I’ve been relearning the idea of baby steps, consistent small things adding up over time make long lasting results. I’ve been thinking about how a garden is a great metaphor for life. Good gardens, beautiful gardens are ones that are well tended. Those are the gardens that people are drawn too, they want to sit down and stay awhile, enjoy the stages of growth contained within.

So what do I need to be tending in my garden? I think it is good practice to always be asking the Father what he is working on in you, so that you can be more aware, working with him instead of against him. For me I am going back to the spiritual disciplines. Disciplines are kind of like tilling the soil of the garden, they don’t really produce anything in the moment of doing them, it is more like they create the environment for good spiritual things to grow. They create space for fruit to naturally occur.

One of the things I will do this summer, is take a day away, by myself with my journal and a calender to map out a “soul care” plan with God. Then I will block things out in the calendar that I must do for my own spiritual development. One of the challenges of homeschooling, is the fact that you don’t really get a break to think about other things. I need to do that for myself. Things that are vital to my spiritual health. I heard Dallas Willard say once, he blocks his calender out for 5 years at a time, otherwise life just happens and you have never put your hand to the task of taking time to ponder. Pondering is good for my soul.

So what “disciplines” do you need to throw into your mix that will help your garden grow well?

Peace to all gardeners today~

Journaling is one of my favorite things.

I have journaled off and on since I was 18 years old. (It is interesting and kind of “trippy” to go back and read yourself as an 18 year old.) This blog is a simple form of my journaling. It doesn’t go as deep and raw as my hand written journal, but it does help to guide me along in my process. That is why I don’t have a certain theme I cover on certain days of the week. I need to keep this about right where I am at in the process. The trick is to stay present, caring only about what God has set out for me this day, with the confidence that He will take care of every tomorrow. We do have goals and plans of where we want to be in 5 years, 10 years etc. but I never want to live there today, I just want to take a tiny step today and trust God for all the rest.

I have always been an advocate for journaling when people tell me they can’t slow down, or their mind races a million miles a minute, or they need direction on something. Culture doesn’t allow for us to be still and silent. Even when we do carve out time for this, our mind has been conditioned to fly a million miles a minute. It takes discipline and consistent training to cause our minds to stop thinking about ourself and start thinking about someone much bigger than ourselves. That is why I so dearly love theologians like Foster and Willard who promote the disciplines of silence and solitude. I have so far to come in this regard. But I keep taking tiny steps forward.

Somehow the act of writing out your thoughts helps you to organize, process, throw out the unneeded thinking, hold onto the precious pieces, make since of the hard ones. It gives you a big picture view, a clean sweep every day that allows you to get rid of you and take in more of Him. Well you can’t hear what God is whispering to you when you are full of you. It also allows me to see the finger prints of God in my life, shaping, guiding, forming, correcting.

So tonight, I made myself some tea, lit the candles, and wrote out all my cares, my thoughts, my failures, my dreams out on paper, again. Almost like an act of getting rid of me and sitting silently with the one who knows me better than I know myself. Sitting with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is a favorite thing.

Sometimes I draw, sometimes later I come back to find that they have drawn. I used to get angry and say this is Mommy’s journal. If you want to draw I will get you a piece of paper. Now, I just enjoy the little tiny fingerprints left here for me to remember years from now. Now, Chloe will ask me to sit and sketch with her, in her own journal. It is her favorite Mommy/Daughter time, that and doing dishes - go figure.

In the past I have seen a little bit of me, that needs a little fixing, a deeper healing. A piece that keeps running ahead of God, thinking the grass is greener, the sky is bluer, and that there is somewhere else I should be. Now, when I journal, I see a deeper understanding that the grass isn’t greener and that I am right where I am supposed to be, doing what I am supposed to be doing, and that He will provide for every day in this life and in the life to come. Funny thing is, I would of never seen it, if I hadn’t looked back at my journal and witnessed all that God is doing in me and all that He is leading me into. If I would of continued to look to being somewhere else I would of missed all that He is doing right here.

Peace to all that are working on being present to what the Father is doing in their lives, even if it is kind of painful, and you don’t get it all, but you refuse to run away and hide like it isn’t there etc. etc. etc.~

Yes - today is the day!

From steam to stern, I will call my little troops and myself into a cleaning battle.  With Daddy gone the past few days, the house has become less then tidy.

Plan of attack.

• Jackson strip beds and sort laundry.
• Chloe help with unloading and loading dishwasher.
• Hudson - take out the remaing trash.
• All - pick up and tidy bedrooms so Mom can vacuum etc.
• Mom - sweep, vacuum and clean the bathrooms, generally oversee little troops making sure they are cleaning and not recreating the mess.

So here we go.  We’re gonna’ rock out to The Decemberists, Shins, Deathcab for Cutie, KT Tunstill and Worship Circle. It’s going to be a wonderful day!

 is family day! That is what our kids call Sat. and Sun. The day where we all get to be together.

Today we spent some time outside down in Palm Beach. They have their gates and hedges trying to keep riffraff like us, out. We sneak in anyway.

This Banyan tree has to be hundreds of years old. It is right next to the water and its roots creep up out of the ground like some underground snake yards away from the trunk.

A sweet older woman on a bike, stopped and asked if she could take our picture. That was sweet of her. You get an idea of just how big this tree is. You could hide among its roots.

Mike played candy land with the kids under the tree. As you can see, Hudson was not interested. He wanted to explore some, so I followed along. One of the things I have come to observe this first year of homeschooling is how unique and different each child is. What sparks their interest and what does not. It is fun to tag along and think of ways to nurture those things that are blooming within them. I think that is good parenting, it is also good pastoring or leadership too, but that is another post.

I have had a hard last 3 days with Hudson. He hasn’t been very “able” to listen to Mommy. Whenever he gets like that, I have to look back at what has been happening the previous few days. Too much stimulation, not enough sleep and no outside time will make him and me nuts. So I got his little system back on track and today was much more pleasurable.

I highly recommend family days.  They are the highlight of our week.

my kids were that is, and then I proceeded to fall right off with them.

Have you ever had a moment where you just lost it? Does the phrase “screaming like a banshee” mean anything to you? Well, I just did it about 30 minutes ago and you would never know it based on these photos. It was normal children issues, but I found myself in a dangerous situation by a busy road and NO ONE was obeying the first time and on top of that they ALL were whining. Great Scott people. It was bad, bad I mean real bad.

They are all now having quiet time in their rooms, I am venting online to all of you dear people and PRAYING that God will always continue to cover my obvious gaps, and trust me people there are many of them. There are moments when there isn’t enough of me to go around, so I have learned to TRUST God at all times because otherwise I would go crazy. Honestly, our youngest easily counts for 2 children and at times 3. He runs FULL speed ahead, my oldest takes his SWEET time and the middle one is marching to her own drum, quit efficiently I might add. I can’t be 3 places at once.

On the up side, just prior to said breakdown, I got some great shots. And if you are really good, and ask nicely(I am serious you must ask or I wont do it:-)) I will post some rockin’ shots I did of friends over the last few days. It almost looks like I am a photographer:-)

Peace to all those who wish they could clone themselves today, so that their children each had a personal chaperon at all times~

It has been a full week.

Having the teenage kids of our dear friends this past 10 days has been a blast. Seriously, everyone acts a bit shocked, but they have been marvelous and we have loved every minute of having them. My kids have been in “hog heaven”.

We also had Chloe’s tea party and that was a fun moment for her.

We also are hosting our house mate Shawn’s girlfriend from Vancouver. Very cool lady.

Plus walking our neighbors dog who are in Albania for the last 2 weeks and we just picked up the family dog of our teenage friends until their parents get home Tomorrow night.

Good Times. I love a full house. We can still sleep 2 more in the house, so come on people, what are you waiting for.

Honestly, it gave Mike and I a little glimpse or taste of something we have dreamed of for awhile but never really sure how it may work.  Dear friends of ours live in intentional community in Ohio in various forms. We would love to see this type of togetherness develop here in this area.  Small buds are even now forming. It will be fun to watch God bring it about.

Peace to all Zoo Keepers today!

Today our sweet pea is 5. I can’t believe how quickly time moves along.

The other day I was laying her down for her nap and we had a little snuggle. She began to play with my cross necklace around my neck and we had the following conversation.

C - “Mom this is a cross but it isn’t the real cross that Jesus died on right?”

Me - “Your right it is just a symbol.”

C - “What is a symbol?”

Me- “It is a little sign that reminds me and other people that I made Jesus king of my life.”

C - “and king of my life too?”

Me - “No, just my life. He can be king of your life if you want him to but you have to ask him. I can’t ask him for you.”

Thoughtful silence.

C- “I am not ready yet. I will wait until a few days after I am 5. Because he is so big and I am still so little. When I am 5 I am bigger.”

Me - “OK- you tell me when you have decided because it is a very special thing. If you listen very carefully when you are still and quiet you will hear him calling you.”

C - “What does he say?”

Me - “Come, follow me I have amazing things to teach you.”

We went on to talk about ponies and flowers and exactly how big God really was and how is it possible that he can be everywhere. So pray that Jesus will reveal himself to Chloe in a way that she sees his accessibility and not that he is so big and she is so small, but that she is loved and protected in his “bigness”.

Peace to all 5 year olds and want to be 5 year olds today!

Many blessings to all Mother’s Today, including my very own special Mom and Mother-in-law.

I pray you find a quiet place to rest,

Maybe a place for you and a dear friend to sit and share some soul talk.

And enjoy something simply beautiful today.

(I took these photos in our courtyard experimenting with shadow and aperture settings. I am really unhappy with the graininess that all of my photos appear with this skin. Any helpful pointers would be much appreciated.)

Peace to all artful Mama’s today!

(Please read previous post)

I had Hudson recap the story to his Grandfather this evening and he revealed one tiny bit of info that he had not shared with me this morning. He exclaimed, as he jumped in mid air “To infinity and Beyoooonnnnnndddddd.” Wow -three year olds are literal, and maybe he has seen Toy Story one too many times, which trust me people isn’t that often.

Honestly, my parents are laughing their backsides off, because I am getting my paybacks. That is OK, it is only a matter of time, until I will be laughing my backside off watching our dear children parent their young ones through the maze of this life.

In addition to the now infamous jump, I found these.

I know, I now know better. I thought it would be cute and festive as well as a reminder to our children to eat healthy snacks by placing them in these super cute, orange bowls on our kitchen pass through. See them in the back of this pic? The only problem is, they can be easily reached by little hands without my knowledge. Let’s be honest, I know they are dong it. But hey it is fruit how bad can it be for them? If it keeps them busy while I am finishing up school, then all is well, or so I thought. As I cleaned up the mess of a room after the jumping incident, I found these 6 half eaten apples all over the place. Almost as if, little chipmunks had been eating them for sustenance during their rambunctious play. Then, being all hopped up on natural sugar they felt super human and able to overcome the affects of gravity. As they found out, THEY CAN’T!

So, no more chair, no more apples out in plane site (tomorrow we will make applesauce from the remnants) and a huge helping of laughter makes life interesting. Just as long as we enjoy each moment, laugh at ourselves, pray for grace to cover the inevitable gaps and keep falling forward, everything will turn out all right.

This morning, I was finishing up a narration with Jackson downstairs while the “littles” were upstairs “playing”. I hear Hudson, our adventuresome daredevil, say “la la (his nickname for Chloe) if I get in trouble with this, run downstairs and get help.” (At least he had the forethought to think of possibly needing help and that what he was about to do might tun out badly. I am still not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.) Before I even had time to find out what was going on, I hear a loud crash and Hudson crying hysterically, while they both run down stairs.

While I put ice on a slightly bloody, goose egg sized knot on his head, I found out that he put their desk chair on top of the dresser and then proceeded to climb on top of it and attempted to jump the three feet across the room onto the top bunk. It obviously failed miserably.

After he had calmed down he said, “Mom I have a good idea, we can go to the grocery store and show the cookie lady my bump and she will give me a cookie and then I will feel all better.” I decided I wouldn’t tell him about the time that Mommy climbed a tree and swung a garden hose over the limb in order to swing around like Tarzan. My youthful zeal had the energy and lack of fear to conquer said task, however my three year old mind didn’t have the logical thinking skills needed to know that I must grab both sides of the hose so that gravity wouldn’t have its way with me. I ended up in the ER with a sprained ankle. Good Times People. I am reliving my childhood.

One cookie later, we are all off for quiet time.

Peace to all furniture jumpers today.

Today we did a little exploring.

We took off our shoes and headed down to the rocky shore.

Three brave explorers were after shells, and this is the perfect spot to find just the right ones.

These holes in the rocks capture the most beautiful shells. Little pools of joy reflecting the light like jewels for the taking.

A rocky crag overlooking the gentle surf entice them forward, onward and upward as they faintly hear their mother cry “GET DOWN FROM THERE!!!!!!”

Moving forward, through the rocks,

we find the most beautiful arch carved in the stones by years of wind and rain and surf.

Well, we did find some beautiful shells, among many other things.

Teeny, tiny ones and great big ones.

It almost felt holy.

Peace to all~

We will “school” through the summer. Let me explain. Life is learning and we never stop that, and our kids like to do things with me and with each other all the time, so I will keep doing what we have always done and some people may call it school. I just call it lifestyle learning.

So - we will work on building beautiful art together this summer. Develop team skills by playing tons of “together” games, that sneakily use math and reading skills in order to play. Learn a bit more about map reading with an around town treasure hunt and develop real world math skills be creating a small store and selling items in the store. We will find little objects around our house, price them and use play money to buy them from each other. Oh boy we may even do it under the dinning room table and add the fort component in. (People it is HOT here in the summer and we need tons of indoor things to do!) In addition we will reread some of our year one favorites out loud again, like Pinocchio and King of the Golden River, and work on our writing skills by corresponding with our compassion children. All fun, all learning, all school.

It is getting very hot and sunny during the mid-part of the day, so we need to do indoor activities to stay our of the sun. Anyone have any other ideas?

We are off to have our quiet time and then make banana bread this afternoon. The kids have asked me for the last time, “What are we going to do with these black bananas in the freezer Mama?”.

Peace to all bakers today!

I have been saying for 7 years that I wanted to take an adult ballet class. So I finally did it. I signed up at our local rec center. The other night was my first class. Our babysitter is super into ballet, so I asked her what she thought it would be like. She said it would be like free movement, so I showed up in a pair of jogging pants. I realized immediately that I was NOT prepared.

There were about 15 women in the class of all ages, rehearsing for a RECITAL! WHAT! I did not anticipate this. They had the full get up on, and the best dancers in the class where those who had been dancing all their lives and continue to do it to stay limber and in shape. I was comforted by the other Moms who never danced when they were little and wanted to give it a try too. I am not alone in my feeble experimentation. That is comforting.

So, they pulled out the bars and away I went, never having taken a ballet class in my life. I must say that more then once I thought, “What am I doing?”. I tried to stay in the back but they kept pushing me to the front. “You can see better up front” they said. “Yeah” I say better all right. I saw I had no idea what I was doing. The women, however, were so nice and encouraging. Around here, women tend to be a bit clicky. It is hard to break in, and when you do it is usually based on your neighborhood, your children, or your job. Within those circles the “keepin’ up with the Joneses” is rampant. This setting felt different. No one was trying to be the best or have the best kids or anything, they were just wanting to have fun.

So I did. I had fun. It is much harder than it looks. I think I will go back. So what do you think of that?

I was painting out my canvases. I like to use oils. I set my brushes to clean out on the front step overnight, making sure to remind myself to move it in the morning, so as to not have little hands interact with said brushes. I forgot! I know you are completely shocked.

You will be proud of me. I took a picture. He came in with a brush in hand saying, “Look Mommy, I paint just like you.” I knew what I was going to find before I even walked over. So I kilzed it and painted it out.

My evaluation went splendidly. I was happy about that. For some reason my son read better for her, on and on an on then he ever has for me? He is a turkey. I did something new for me too, but I will tell you more about that tomorrow.

Peace to all~

Well, We did get the garage cleaned out. Well, about 97%. The remaining 3% are the three boxes I need to sort through before I bring the stuff back in the house. They are sitting in the center of the garage so I can not park the car in the garage until I get it done. So maybe this week it will happen!

We did get our family pics rehung after Peru and added a few new ones. I found some frames for a great price at goodwill so I am adding all the fun family pics that you are supposed to have around the house. I also am painting out my re purposed recycled canvas frames.

For my birthday, my father in law painted me a Peru door picture that we have a photo of. I am happy to have a piece of his art in our home. This is it!

Today, we go for our home school evaluation. My portfolio is together and looking oh so organized. It actually looks like I know what I am doing. Pray for me.  I will keep you posted.

Peace to all today~

We started our week enjoying a lovely little lagoon by our home with close family friends. It feels a bit more like a lake except for the gentle current. It is actually a tidal creek, so lots of natural marine life can be found there. We even saw a Manatee swim through. A large sand bar in the center, mangroves surrounding the exterior, it is a little slice of paradise. Think “Gilligan’s Island” with bathrooms.

I work very hard to have school work completed by lunch time so that we can go and enjoy all the beautiful things we have around here. Outside time is so important for all of our sanity:-)

All three of our children are roughly 18 months apart. They do almost everything together and are becoming close friends. It is fun to see and at times, Mike and I refer to them as the “three amigos” or “the brat pack”. Make no mistake. There is a reason we call her “scrapper”!

Book ended by two boys, she has to be tough to survive! I shudder to think of the things these three will think up to do together. It doesn’t help that our daughter has no fear. We are training the boys now to protect her and take care of those who are smaller and weaker then they are, hoping and praying that it will run through their minds at different points in their lives.

It was a beautiful, sandy, wet and breezy time. Great memories! Wish you all could of been there!

Peace to all beach rats today!

I am becoming like my Dad!

There are 3 things we heard as kids growing up more than once from my dear Dad.

• I wish the house had a floor drain, so we can hose the house out after you kids eat.
• Just give me a yard of cement and paint it green. Yard work is the pits.
• Humans are not meant to live with animals. They need to stay outside.

I have on more than one occasion said each of these things to our children. Heck, we bought a townhouse so we didn’t have to keep up with a big yard. (That and we couldn’t afford a house here.) Weekends are for playing NOT doing housework or yard work. I do wish I had a floor drain or maybe lived on a house boat. Spills and crumbs would just be hosed right out and now, our daughter asks daily, several times a day for a dog and a cat. She even tries to pet our Beta fish, and all I keep thinking is “Humans are not meant to live with animals. They need to stay outside.” That and, I surely don’t want to add that into the work mix, at least not right now.

I will go take her over to our neighbors to walk their dog and see if that pacifies her a bit. Better yet, maybe I should send her over to Grandpas, because even though I never got it when I was a kid, Lord knows, he would run her down to the first pet shop around and buy her the first puppy she saw.

Anyone else out there, ending up to be just like their parents?

This week, I will be doing a media fast.   This week is spring break for us, I celebrate my 34th birthday and I hope to finish cleaning up the garage.  I say hope because I hope it will happen, but I don’t really want to do anything about it. hmmmm, we will see how that goes. This is a time to slow down, listen to what is bubbling in me, pray, create.

The point is, to not be pushing away what is going on with you with outside stimulation.  I’ve done media fasts before off and on over the years and they always prove to be fruitful.  So, no emails, no blogs, no reading just waiting and listening.

So, here I go, I am shutting the computer off and hope to see you next Sunday night with all the new things God has brought up in me.

Peace to you and all you love!

I have been thinking about this a bit as I roll into my 34th birthday and reminisce about all the people over the years who have made me who I am today. As you see on my tag line, building relationships is very important for Mike and I. There are a few ways we go about this delicate task of offering a bit of our lives to people and accepting the portion of their lives they offer to us. Never taking more than they give, always offering ourselves in return. Throwing parties, having people over for dinner, inviting people in. Even blogging is a way for us to let people into our story.

For Mike and I, this is how we connect with others. We ask them about their lives and they ask us about ours. From there, you can ether go really deep or stay surface and it really depends on those conversations where relationships go. Some go deep in a short amount of time, and others, take years and years, non the less, all of them are valuable.

Even those relationships that in the beginning seem draining to you….If you just wait long enough, and continue to be available and willing to walk with people, into their story to understand why they are the way they are, you end up with a magnificent gift. It is like a secret garden of flowers that all are beautiful in their own time. They all have different roles to play, you just have to wait around long enough for them to bloom.

We’ve learned over the years that less is more in regards to “calling people” out on “issues” in their lives. We believe the Holy Spirit is big enough and alive enough to guide and direct his people, and that at the right time, He will initiate a way to talk about whatever thing there is in a way that is helpful, meaningful and transformational. Let’s just say when I was younger, I did too much “calling out” in very well meaning ways but always ended in a relational train wreck and little helpfulness to show for it. I burnt my fingers on that stove one too many times.

So, for my fast approaching 34th year, I am committing to radically accepting people where they are at, loving them in the midst of sometimes painful process, not giving them answers to questions that should only be given by God and not one persons idea of what is right, and being open to “opening my mouth” only when prompted to by the Holy Spirit and quietly praying the rest of the time. I do this with no strings attached. I offer my friendship and loyalty with the full assumption that people will hurt me, (it is unfortunate that we do that to each other) and that in the process Jesus will teach me more about myself and who I was made to be.

So people, you have full permission to hold me to it this year!

Have you ever had a day where you wanted to trash the plan?

Maybe kick your shoes off and play in the sand?

Study your shadow…

Build sand castles…

Think quietly about the meaning of life…

or splash and play like there is no tomorrow?

I know….Me too! Life is short and I only have these moments once. I was rescued from striving to have it all.

I was spinning my wheels,

but then I saw the light. In the process realized I have everything I need.

and I never looked back!

and I am here to tell you, “Life couldn’t be any sweeter!”.

All photographs are original and taken during my travels throughout the course of our day. Thanks to Jordan for letting me share them and Lora and the Sisters for encouraging me on!

Other participants in Jordan’s GWP are:

• in gratefulness by Lora LeBreck
• April Group Writing Project: Savoring The Season by Ivy
• In-between seasons by Michelle (The Beartwinsmom)
• Savoring the Season by phyllis
• A Letter To My Childless Friends by Mama Zen
• Savoring Spring by Daisy
• Savouring the season(s) by Jen
• April 2 by tiffany (threeringcircus)
• Savoring the Season: MamaBlogga March/April Group Writing Project by Julie Arduini
• ‘Tis The Season to Enjoy Some Mommy Time by Jenny
• to everything there is a season by boogiemum
• Makes-Me-Smile Monday: The best of times, the worst of times” by Jane of What About Mom?
• Purpose by Christy
• What a Difference a Week Makes by warillever
• Savoring Spring by Deb - Mom of 3 Girls
• Signs of Spring in Ottawa by Barbara (MomOnTheGo)
• The Sweet and the Savored by Ursula
• Savoring the season… by melissa lightfoot
• Spring Has Sprung by Jill
• Better Safe, Than Sorry by Jackie
• Savor the seasons of motherhood by Jordan (MamaBlogga)

Check them out!

I am so excited.  They are in the mail:-)  I’ve been wanting to create a “calling card” for our family.  I meet so many Moms in the neighborhood, that I thought it would be good to have a quick card to give them then the typical rummage through your bag or whatever and print it on a napkin routine. Not to mention, I like to throw neighborhood parties and it is easy to use this as a way to get the word out! 

I combined my recent photo exploration with moo mini cards and have the perfectly unique and artsy calling card.  I get to leave a little bit of me with whoever I meet.  Any Diva needs to have some of these in her bag of tricks. I am off to drop them off!  Make some of your own.

Chloe upon waking~

 ”Mommy, Daddy prayed for me last night and it really worked!  I am going to have a much better day!”

 Ah - music to my weary ears!

Jupiter has its own organic brew made locally.  I think the earth just shifted off of its axis!

I wonder if it is any good and if it is sold around the country or just locally?  Who says Jupiter isn’t an urban hip, happening, place to live. Hey… we do have the beach.

Last Jan. about 15 months ago, God was gently leading me to lay down my striving and trust Him in a deeper way. The last 15 months have been an amazing, beautiful and hard process of dying to what I think is important and waking up to what He says is important for me and my discipleship to Him.

Yes, I love being home with our children and homeschooling them but it does not define who I am. I want to make sure I continue to work on me outside of our kids, because there will be a day that they are building their own life and if I haven’t spent time on me, then it will be tough sledding.

I can say I would not trade any of it. One of the unique things about me learning to rest and be still, has been deep, deep bubbling in me. Isn’t that a product of learning to rest, the real you can come out and play? One of those things is my artistic development. If I had to do it all over again, I would of gone in a completely different route in regards to where I put my energies, with high-school and college. So, I am working through the book The Artists Way.

I feel like for the first time in my life, outside of my call to ministry, I am discovering who I was made to be, what I love and what feeds me. It is funny, that it is almost as far away from what I had been working towards as imaginable. So I am putting together my Etsy page, thinking through what I want to paint and photograph and will spend the next 15-18 months digging into that. I am deeply excited. Kind of like a kid in a candy shop.

More to come.

Sunrise somewhere over St. Augustine Florida!

I know, I know I am behind the times with face book.  Hey it wouldn’t be the first time.  I know several homeschool high schoolers who read my blog and I thought of them when I found this on face book.

It cracked me up and thought they might find it funny too!

The time change has been KILLING me!  For me, getting up before the kids, has helped us all have a great attitude to start our day.  However, we havn’t  gotten back to our early morning rhythm. 

Before Christmas, I was up, showered, exercised, spent time with God and gotten my head about me before our day began.  It was lovely.  Hard to do, but worth it 100 times over in the way I approached my day.  Our homeschool week this week has been less than smooth and I have had to really be on top of my attitude with the kids.  Practice speaking gently, consistently instead of short and snippy.

I love that it is staying light later, but can we just keep it one way all the time, so that Mom’s and Dad’s with kids do not have to take 2 months of reworking things to get back to “normal”?  It is different now that our kids are older.  Instead of just putting them to bed at 7 we hear “WHAT! That is impossible it is still the middle of the day!”

I am starting a petition! Who is with me?

God is so good to lead me.  Often times, it takes pain to see what He is up to, but ultimately, if you are sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, you will be lead in His ways.

Before we left for Peru, there had been a few things Mike and I had been praying about.  One of them was me working again a bit in order to bring in some funds to pay off a debt that has been hanging over our head for 3 years.  This year, I had the courage to pray and ask God to give us the resources to get this thing done with by the end of the year.

I was approached about starting a small music class again at the local community center.  We thought, maybe it may be a way that God would provide for this particular need.  So I started the class and yesterday was the second class. Yesterday, Leading up to the class was so stressful, our school rhythm was completely trashed, my attitude was horrible, and I was scrambling to find child care at the last minute.  Exactly what I went through every week, all the years I worked when the kids were small.

That is what I laid down and left, when God called us to homeschool. Our life has be