What's New?

I seriously (in my mind) want to start blogging more. I have the ideas, I take the pictures, but somehow I just don't seem to make the time to do it. I love reading really good blogs and I admire the women who put the time and effort into writing really good posts every day!

I thought today I would do a general update on life since I haven't posted much of a personal nature lately. Sounds like I have something really juicy to share doesn't it?? Sorry, nothing that exciting!

Hm. What to start with. OK, probably the number one question I get asked on a weekly basis, "How is school going?". My answer usually ranges somewhere between "OK" and "it's getting better". School in itself is pretty simple most days. The boys want to learn, they want to do worksheets 95% of the time. They like school. The problems with school solely lie in me and my motivation. It's hard to ignore a dirty house, or the dishes, or the laundry. When those things are caught up on, it's easier for me to do school. I also struggle with making time to plan what we are doing. This is where I am sure using a curriculum would come in handy. I will probably look into that next year. I don't really fret too much about school, it's kindergarten, not brain surgery. I do try to make my major focus on reading as that is so fundamental to everything else. Tyler loves to learn to read and read his first "Bob book" last week. Ethan wants to read, but has a harder time focusing on his lessons. He is much more of a hands on type of kid and I really need to find something more focused on that for him to learn. We are currently using the book "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons". I highly recommend it. The lessons are fairly short, it tells you exactly what to say to your child and what to have them do. It also has them work on handwriting at the end of each lesson which I think is an added bonus. Yesterday we went to the planetarium and watched a presentation. Isaiah does school with us and pretty much wants to do the same worksheets as his brothers. In fact, the other day he was explaining to Ethan how to do his work! That same day he told me the worksheets I was giving him were too easy. Guess he's going to be one of those kids!

Second most asked question is "How do you like staying home?". I really like it. It's generally better than work, even today when Tyler got the bright idea of stirring his milk with the TV remote! It seems like I've been home forever, but it's only been 5 months. I thought I would have better control of the house, but that is still something I struggle with. I am getting better all the time though. I love being home with the boys. We had some really great fun days outside in the fall and I'm glad they were able to do that instead of being in a classroom. Could we have done those things on weekends? Probably. But there is a greater freedom in being able to do and teach and learn 7 days a week. I guess what I'm trying to say is that right now in this moment, I feel we've made the right decision for our family. And that feels good. I wish that all moms who wanted to were able to stay home with their kids and not have to work.

New Years resolutions...the same as always. Read the Bible more. I had the intention of joining others at church and reading through the New Testament in a year. Just found my paper the other day. Still haven't started...I may still try to catch up.

Lose weight. This probably needs a post of it's own. I will tell you, that I have been doing the "Daniel Fast" for the past 3 weeks. Yesterday was my last day. I lost a significant amount of weight, but even more important than that, my head is in the right place. Stay tuned for a post just on this topic. If you look up the list of foods, make sure you scroll down and look at the whole list. It's not nearly as limited as the first paragraph makes it sound.

I've also been trying some new recipes and plan to post those. They are regular recipes (as in not diet) that I've been trying out on my family.

There are lots of things on my mind and heart. I hope to share some of those thoughts in future posts, but for now I'll close.

Have a great cloudy day!