Home schooling

It is the end of one year and yet when you home school there are no real breaks. Once you finish the current year it is time to evaluate and look for materials that you will need for the following year.

I thought once I had graduated a few kids, homeschooling would become easier. What I have found is that the older I get the more tired I am and the harder it is to stay focused and motivated. I hope (with the help of fellow home schooling moms) to blog a few postings on how to stay motivated and focused on a God size task and give readers a small glimpse into this journey.

For all of you homeschooler's out there- how about posting what keeps you motivated in the comments area of my blog. Lets share the ups and downs with one another.

In keeping this real, it is no secret to most of my homeschool buddies that HS'ing has never been easy for me. From the first day that I started this path I have had moments of doubt. I have had good years and years that I felt were nothing but an up hill battle. I have used almost every curriculum out there and finally settled on mostly a text book method-something I thought I would never do but surprisingly works well with my children and our life style.

My motivation tip of the day is- SUPPORT- without it I would sink. My husband is my biggest fan. He keeps me going on those days when I want to give up and throw in the towel. He helps me to create balance and see the real picture when I can't even see my hand in front of my face. He prays for me and then helps me to trust the Lord with all of our struggles and decisions.

What keeps you motivated????

so much to do so little time

I just love this picture of this little girl. She is looking how I feel. FRAZZLED- There are so many things that I want to do and just not enough time in the day to do it all. When you home school your children it is a full time job therefore, you look forward to the summer when you can get some things done. Unfortunately, summer is a busy month of social events and church work so fitting in domestic duties is HARD. Add to that hobbies and making memories with the kids and there are days that I don't know if I can get out of bed!

A while ago I posted a list of things that I wanted to get done and when I checked the list yesterday I did everything on the list!!!! so, maybe that is the ticket for me.

Today is cleaning day. I decided to make Wednesday's our cleaning day since I am forced to stay home due to no car. Today I am working on my bedroom and bathroom. I am cleaning out drawers, closets, shelves etc.... I am getting the room ready to be painted. (sigh) it really needs it and I am ready for a change.

Future projects:

1. Deep clean the office
2. Tackle the garage AGAIN (why does that area get so messy so fast)
3. Deep clean the kitchen (real reason- I want a new look in there- don't worry I am not painting the walls!)
4. Work on making more items for a craft fair that is coming up.
5. Plan a big party! (more on that later)

well, I think I will shoot for these things and if I finish them quick I will add more!

Expanding the family

This was taken at Victoria's graduation party. Mark was praying for the day and the meal. Her parents put on an amazing spread of food that was out of this world yummy!

Anger

Anger is such a problem in our world and in our homes. I am not sure when I realized that I can't seem to control my outburst and have them on a daily basis. Maybe, it happened when I turned 40???? (LOL)

So, here is the game plan- and the only way I know I can over come negative behavior. Allow God to work it out in me and use his word as a sward. Memorizing verses is not something that comes easily to me BUT I have to keep at it.

The best way I know to do this is to plaster the scripture all over the house. I put sticky notes of the verse in all the places that I frequent. (bathroom, kitchen, car)

Numbers 14:18

The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion

Proverbs 15:1

A gentle answer turns away wrath but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Proverbs 29:11

A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.

I think it is important to evaluate why the anger is happening. I don't think anyone becomes an angry person over night. Some of us may have personalities that are bent towards anger but that is not an excuse to keep on sinning.

I am starting to go back and look at my past outbursts and then evaluate how they could have been avoided.

Here are some of what I find to be true in my life:

PROBLEM: Being tired-never taking time to rest. Therefore, anger is easier to fall into. SOLUTION: I need to direct my days so that I am not filling them to the point that I am so tired I loose my cool with the family.

PROBLEM: stress- am I allowing inside and outside stresses to direct my emotions and cause me to have a short fuse. Stress is inevetable but how I choose to deal with it is key. Am I taking on stresses that are not mine to take on. Can I look at a situation that is stresfull and see it instead as a blessing from the Lord. I have been without a car for most days lately. I can see that as a stress because I cant get to the places that I want to get to or I can look at it as a blessing- being home more has it's advantages. I spend less money and I can clean out those closets that need cleaning.

PROBLEM: the need to have things clean and orderly all the time. This is a big one for me. When I see messes that are left behind I can feel my blood preasure rising. SOLUTION: I need to learn how to lower my expectations on my home. Do I need to avoid having a once a week card game at my house if it makes me crazy all week to keep the house clean.

PROBLEM: expectations. sometimes my expectations cause me to get angry because I expect more than I should. SOLUTION:Would lowering my expectations create more peace and harmony in my home and outside of my home.

PROBLEM: Idols- have I created idols in my life that have caused me to love them more than the relationships of friend and famiy. SOLUTION: recognize what are the idols in my life and get rid of them. some of my idols: computer, stuff, time etc.......

This is not at all the end of my lists only the beginning. I think as life happens there will be more things that pop up and present themselves as issues.

Creating a Journal

I am not big on journaling but am feeling more and more like I need to write. I used to be BIG into scrap booking but time just does not allow me to do it any more and I fear that I may never be able to get back into it. Soooooooooooooo here is my solution. Create notebooks with pictures and writings. There is no rhyme or reason to my entries. I write when I feel like it and whatever is motivating me at the time. I just took an ordinary white 3 ring notebook and then created some pages to go in it out of scrap book paper that I have.

Picture quality is not good but here are two created pages that I will write on. I put them in page protectors.

The is the outside of the notebook. Of course, I had to make it all pretty!

close up of the outside. I named this journal- BLESSINGS JOURNAL- because I want to remind myself of the many blessings that the Lord has given me each day.