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!

Reading

Monday night I really wanted to do some "pleasure" reading. A book, a magazine, whatever. Actually, I've been wanting some time to just read for quite awhile now. I got home fairly early from work (9:30 pm), but I was just so tired that I ended up going to bed after talking to Tim and some computer time.

Tuesday morning the boys came in and woke me up shortly after 6:00. I laid there for awhile and then I decided that I would look at a magazine while they were playing. As I glanced at Family Circle, Tyler came over and said "Mommy, you need to read your Bible". Ouch! He was right, and so that is what I did.


"Thank you God that my children have seen me read the Bible in the morning and that they expect that from me. I should expect that out of me too."

I have been trying to read through the Bible in a year. I am about 2 weeks behind on my Old Testament section (Kings and Chronicles aren't my thing, but some good books like Esther are coming up). I am up to date on my New Testament reading and am in the book of John.

I'm Learning

I have been learning so much from God lately. I have been making it a point to set my alarm for about an hour before the boys get up so that I can have some quiet time. I have even been enjoying reading the Old Testament (which is not always my favorite). There are some very dry parts, but there are also a lot of great truths and things to learn from history.

It always amazes me how God will drive home a certain point with me over and over through different sources. I will read it in the Bible, then hear something about it at work or church, then hear something on the radio- all within a day or two! I don't believe in coincidence.

Yesterday while driving in the car, I happened to catch the last part of a message by Joyce Meyer. She is a very powerful speaker, and honestly, much of the time I find her a little too "intense" for me. This time, though, I "got it". She was talking about how God can and will give us anything we desire as long as we keep Him first in our lives and keep our eyes on Him and not our desires. I believe that God gives us our desires- he causes them- puts them in our hearts. I also believe that the more we seek God, our desires will change to fit in with what He wants to do in our lives. What once seemed important to us no longer is. (Side note: I also heard Joyce speak on dieting once and that was a very powerful convicting message. I'd like to get that.)

When I was trying to get pregnant the first time, I had such a desire to be a mother. I couldn't understand why God would give me such a deep down desire and then have me go through infertility. My focus wasn't on Him first, it was on getting pregnant. I ended up drawing closer to God during that time than probably any other time in my life. I came to the point where I said "OK, God, I want your will to be done- even if I never get pregnant or have children". You all know how that story ended. God wanted me to focus on Him first and then he could give me the desires of my heart. In return, He gets the glory for giving me my boys.

I also listened to an radio program about "Preventing Homosexuality". Here is a link to the book. I pray that my sons never choose that lifestyle. I'm interested in learning about what Tim and I can do. A lot of it talks about how a boy has to break away from his mother and associate (that's not the right word, I'm not sure what is) himself with his father. It also talks about things to look for in normal development or things to be concerned about. (One of the positive things to look for was if your boys get excited when daddy gets home from work, are they glad to see him? I was so glad when the boys were jumping up and down, clapping, and running to the window yesterday when Tim got home!) I plan to see if I can find this book at the library. There is also a chapter on this subject in Dr. Dobson's "Bringing Up Boys". The statistics alone are worth reading.