It’s Been How Long?

Has it really been 18 months since I blogged?  Sounds right according to my calculations.  So, the tough question is ~ do I really want to start blogging again and what stopped me from blogging in the first place?  If your curious, please feel free to read on.

I’m going to lay it all out there and be completely truthful.  Our family has been through many ups and downs the past 4 years.  We dealt with the death of my dad, the death of my husband’s mom, a job loss, and marriage problems.  I didn’t even realize that certain things were bothering me or causing strains in our home.  Ok, I knew there were problems, but I chose to ignore them.  I know that sometimes as a homeschooler I put undo pressure on myself and I feel like I am the only homeschool mom struggling with marriage problems, etc.  Well, I am a homeschool mom and I struggled with marriage problems and I realize that I am not alone and most importantly God doesn’t want me or anyone else to struggle by ourselves.

Things are getting better and the past year has been full of growth and healing for our entire family. God's grace and guidance have brought changes in our hearts and our household, specifically in our marriage.  God showed me he can repair a marriage.  Marriage is WORK people, hard work and I lost sight of the things that were priorities in my life for a while.  Yes, I promise I will open up about this at another time. 

Another reason for my absence was feeling inadequate and that everyone’s ideas were better than mine.  Please feel free to laugh here.  Anyone who blogs can tell you that you are just seeing snippets into a bloggers daily life and the pictures and words written usually catch the best and most memorable moments.  I know this but, I was still feeling like a less than stellar homeschool mom. 

Lastly, I chose to let blogging take a lot of my time (once again priorities, people) and didn’t plan a specified time for blogging. 

So, has anything changed?  Yep, ME.  I’m happier being just little ole’ me.  I’m more confident in my homeschooling abilities and that God will provide ALL that I need to homeschool my kids.

We have also made some changes, for the better, to how we homeschool.  There has been less crafting and more actual school work going on in our household.  *GASP!*  We still craft, because I am a craft loving momma and it makes me happy, happy, happy,   However, I don’t plan a craft for every book we read or to go along with every subject we are studying.  The biggest and most beneficial change is that both kids are using more of a “boxed” curriculum with lesson plans, which has saved my sanity (more on this when I post about our curriculum for the year).  This frees me up to add some fun things.

So the answer is yes, I am going to blog again.  I really do miss blogging and God has laid it on my heart to open up about some of my struggles.   I started blogging so I could record what we did during the homeschool year (this includes what works and what doesn’t).  Most importantly,  I love to look back at pictures of my kiddos and see how much we have accomplished.  : ) 

~Cindy

Bird Watching

Bird watching is hard work!

(Please excuse the very dirty door!)

~Cindy

Some Willow Cuteness!

I was looking through my pictures trying to delete some and organize the remainder when I noticed how many pictures I have of Willow. 

This picture of her holding a little teddy blanket just makes me smile! 

Can you see the big grin on her face?

 

Willow is very loved and very spoiled!   She is usually being held by someone in the family and if she isn’t being held you will find her following the kids around the house.

    

She was suppose to be strictly an inside cat but I have allowed Emily to take her outside on a lease.   We live on a hill and cars fly up and down it ~ just not safe for cats or dogs!   If the kids are outside play {without her} she stands at the door and cries until they come inside. 

She was a barn cat so I didn’t think she would like the lease but she really enjoys investigating and stalking bugs.

Just had to share some Willow cuteness!  I hope everyone has a great weekend!

~Cindy

Being Still

We returned home safely from vacation Sunday evening.  I was feeling recharged and ready to go so I started making a VERY LONG list of things to do over the next few weeks.  This week I was going to to plan menus and work on some new printables ~ it didn’t happen.  Monday night my Husband found out that his Mom passed away.  Tuesday morning his bags were packed and he was heading to Georgia.  After much prayer and discussion we decided that it would be best if I stayed home with the kids ~ a very tough decision.  We knew that this week was going to be emotional for the entire family because one year ago today my Dad passed away after having a massive stroke during surgery. 

My way of not dealing with my emotions is to stay busy.  I jump from one thing to the next ~ not really getting anything accomplished.  I end up becoming agitated and short with the kids.  Sad to say I have not been much of a comfort to my family.   I’m sure God is sighing and shaking his head as I write this!   This is something God and I have talked about and I continue to struggle with.  After reading a WONDERFUL post from (in)courage about refueling your spirit, I decided I need to STOP and BE STILL.  So today the only thing on the “To Do List” is spending time reading my Bible and hopefully getting a few minutes of silence. 

I’ll be back to normal posting next week.

~Cindy

My Children ~ The Teachers

Our week of vacation will soon be coming to an end and although it started out a little rough, the remainder of the week has been wonderful.  We have relaxed, played and just enjoyed being together as a family.  During the week we have been lucky to see so many amazing things:

• Pelicans ~ diving for a fish dinner.
• A river otter
• Two snakes
• At least three pods of dolphins playing in the water
• Beautiful seashells
• Crabs peaking out of their holes at us
• A rainbow that looked close enough that if we ran to it we would find a pot of gold at the end

My husband and I were talking about everything we have seen this week and he pointed out that the last time we came to the beach,  we just didn’t stop to look at the things around.  We were childless and wrapped up in ourselves and each other.  You know what ~ he was right! 

I bought this sign the other day because it grabbed at my heart.

This week my kids have taught me many lessons about what life is all about.

• They have taught me to stop and look at every shell, rock, crab, and wave with a sense of wonder.   Never before have I noticed all the different colors of shells!
• They have taught me that giggles are contagious ~ if I take the time to stop, listen, and look at the joy on their faces. 
• They have taught me that being serious isn’t always appropriate ~ sometimes I just need to be silly and drop my guard. 
• They have taught me that it is more fun to have a swimsuit full of sand then it is to sit on the sidelines worrying that I might get sand in my pants!
• They have taught me that schedules can be good and sometimes those schedules just need to be pitched!
• They have taught me that some of the behaviors I don’t like in my kids are learned from me! 

I teach my kids about life.  I educate them and hopefully I’m teaching them to be God loving children,  yet I have learned so much from my kids!  

~Cindy

Our Newest Addition and Sad Goodbyes

Introducing the newest addition to our family…..Buttercup the hermit crab.   Don’t you just love her pink shell?

 

I really had no intention of buying or bringing home any critters from the beach but after receiving some very upsetting news on our first day of vacation I caved and let Emily get a hermit crab.   We found out Monday morning that our cat, Jasper, who I have had for over 13 years passed away.   Our first day of vacation was filled with lots of crying.

 

I’m thankful and upset that he passed away while we were gone.  Thankful that the kids did not find him curled up on the bathroom rug ~ upset that I didn’t get to say goodbye!

~Cindy