So, it's that time of year again. It's the time when I inevitably re-assess our home school: what is working, needs improvement, or what may need to be thrown out altogether. I've been starting to get into a more comfortable groove now. I feel as though I am starting to get a handle on what is comfortable and works best for all of us. I have really enjoyed My Father's World this year. It is a great "package" curriculum. However, I think I'm starting to have my eyes opened to what so many more experienced mothers have lovingly shared with me in their experience with building their own personalized curriculum. They've explained how they piece together subjects from different curricula and publishers according to what works best for both them and their children. I love the freedom in that. Isn't that one of the greatest benefits to the blessing of being able to educate your own child? We know them better than anyone and can work closely with them to assure the best possible education for them. The book fair will be crucial to me this year, I believe. I plan to take Sierra with me to allow her to peruse the endless sea of resources. I'm going to observe closely what interests her and those will be the things I will offer to her for the coming year. We will still use the same math, spelling, and Language Arts because they've been working beautifully, but we will customize the rest. One of my biggest changes will be a more in-depth Bible Study every morning. Since this is the most important part of our family's curriculum, I desire to find something solid, scriptural, and challenging. I'm so thankful that Sierra comprehends so many spiritual concepts and Biblical truths and want to give her something that will grow her desire to know and glorify her creator.The thing I like most about piecing together my own curriculum is the schedule. Lately, especially, I'm seeing how nice it will be to create my very own schedule that fits our family. I'm excited for the year to come and all that God has in store for me as a mother, nurturer, and teacher to these beautiful gifts He's entrusted to me!
On my run this morning on our treadmill, my mind wandered back to less than one year ago when I completed those beastly 26.2 miles at the Big D Marathon in Dallas. It was April 11th, my 27th birthday, and I was just weaning my 12 1/2 month baby. I never realized until just this morning just how amazing it is that God brought me so far (literally, :)) so fast. As I labored through my "modest" 2 miles this morning at a pace of 5.4 mph (really nothing to scoff at), I thought how I ran that 26.2 miles at a rate of 6.0 mph. That could have discouraged me on this morning's run, but for the fact that I knew it took hard work and LOTS of painful, hard, taxing workouts to get there. It only encourages me to know that in only a short year after having a baby, my marathon goal was accomplished. It can be done!I'd like to share with you my musical findings, this morning, as well. I've found the perfect running soundtrack! Haha!- beginning: Needtobreathe; fun, great beat/acoustics/harmonies to motivate and get you started
- middle, bulk of the run: Lecrae; great beat to pace and solid words/lyrics to ponder. (gets that bass pumpin')
- end: Shane and Shane; relaxing, worshipful, great time to praise and thank God all the way home and great for controlling tired breathing and muscles ;)
That's it. Give it a try and let me know what you think. :)
Hot spot numero dos was revealed and I really just want to pretend I didn't see it, to be quite honest! How did she know that was one of my biggest problem areas? I suppose because it's most everyone's problem area. If I had my way, I'd just go through and trash ALL papers, but alas they are important (a lot of them, anyway). Unfortunately, I'll have to wait til the evenings to tackle most of this week's project because Steven handles the finances of our family and knows best how he'd like it organized. We may have a mutiny on our hands if I toss or re-arrange things without his knowledge! I think I'll just stick to home school/kids' papers, magazines, junk mail, coupons and the like for now. Anyone else feeling sick to their stomach over this one?
It was 12 years ago today. My dad lost his battle with brain cancer. I think of him so often. Raising my kids, I often find my thoughts drifting, thinking what it would be like for my dad to meet them. I wonder what things he would approve of, if we would've grown closer, or drifted farther apart. I know it's silly to think in "what if's", but I still do it. I think often of how I desired to be closer to my daddy growing up. It brings me such joy to see my kids with their daddy, and observe the close bond they are forming. Losing my dad at fifteen has taught me so much. The biggest lesson I've learned is to cherish every loved one every moment I have. I'll leave you now with some fond memories of my dad:- He was incredibly smart. We referred to him as the "human encyclopedia".
- He was strong, brave, a man's man.
- He served our country proudly for 21 years in the U.S. Navy (submariner)
- He was pretty funny...though I didn't like to admit it. He loved to tell puns and they were pretty good, I must admit. :)
- He LOVED to fish, and loved to include us in that.
- He could polish off a half gallon of Blue Bell Ice Cream in a single sitting! (that must be where I get it)
- One time he snapped at me pretty harshly and later told me how much he loved me, and that he felt like he was hard on me a lot because I reminded him of himself as a kid.
- He loved Christmas time and became almost giddy (a word I would RAREly use to describe my dad!)
- He had big ideas and always dreamed out loud about building cool things (such as a train going down to the river, through the woods in our back yard)
- He hated killing snakes but did it more than once for us girls when we asked him to!
- He loved animals.
- He was an experimental chef, which was often very scary, since we were his guinea pigs! He made excellent breakfast, though, and even to this day I hardly accept cereal as sufficient in the mornings.
- He was always early everywhere he went.
One of my last memories of him was when he was dropping me off at my mom's house before church one morning and he told me I looked beautiful. He even sang "you are so beautiful to me". I cherished it. I would've been embarrassed, however, he was very sick and I knew it. It's amazing how differently we look at things when we're faced with loss. You really do never fully know what you have until it's gone.I love you and miss you, Daddy.
So, I've basically been doing this all the past week. I'm going to keep the momentum going, though, and continue in the simplifying of our home! Come on friends, click the button and join in! It feels so nice to get rid of the clutter and take more stock and care in people than things. Stay tuned for my before and after pictures next Monday and Friday, and I'll be looking for yours ;)
