Will & Kate

Happy Anniversary to the royal couple, Will & Kate!  This has been a long awaited day for one big fan in our house.   We have watched a few tv specials on the prince & princess this weekend, & I admit, it really was a beautiful, sweet wedding!  We did have a church picnic today in this beautiful weather, so that is how we celebrated.  That & a small gift for a big fan!

Isabella got a DVD of their wedding & highlights

Isabella at her William & Kate birthday party

Two fans in their British hats!

24 Hours of Driving

Last week, the girls & I drove to North Carolina to visit with my in-laws.  We had never made the 10 hour drive by ourselves, so we were thankful to arrive safely & not too tired.  

It sure is hard work driving through the mountains, but once  you get there, it is beautiful!

Here is Brook our first morning waking up at her grandparents house

We went to the Charlotte Motor Speedway to an auto show.  Here is my brother-in-law, Ryan, & nephew Freddie.  

  

Glad to be here!

 

We watched catfish races

Fed some animals

 

Met a lady walking on stilts

Brook, Isabella, & Faith

We also saw some other really strange sights at this car show.  But then there was this strange sight after our dinner out that night:

Thanks to Uncle Scott, all the kids got mustaches!

The next day was Gavin's 7th birthday & Superhero party.  We were glad to be celebrating with him!

Superhero Aunt Sara & Aunt Stacy

One of my superheros!

The girls with grandparents

After a fun party day, we went to the movies, & then I went to my first fashion show with my sister-in-laws. It was fun being with them. The next morning, we took another 10 hour drive to see my brother & his family in Mississippi. Thankfully, the girls are great travelers.  All went well for this trip too.  Driving through Alabama, we even heard "Sweet Home Alabama" on the radio.  It seemed like all the cars around me must have been listening too since everyone seemed to speed up a little on the interstate!

The girls with their cousins.  It was way too cold to have on swimsuits, but they didn't seem to mind!

My brother & I.  We always have so much fun together.

We made it home after driving through 6 states in those last 2 days.  A total of 24 hours of driving. There's no place like home!

Hymns

Our girls are a part of a wonderful choir program through our church.  The choir is so much more than what I experienced as a child. They are learning theory, music techniques, & memorizing hymns through singing as well. All the while having fun doing these things while honoring the Lord!  Last week, they shared a behind the scenes look into their rehearsal time & sang for the parents.  I am so glad the girls enjoy this & have chosen to be a part of this.  It always makes it more enjoyable when they want to do it on their own!

The girls with their plaques showing they memorized 10 hymns this year.

On another note, I went on a trip this past weekend with the girls, which I will blog about next time. But when I got back home, I was greeted with 4 packages!!  All things I ordered from the recent homeschool convention, so I was pretty excited.

Go Redbirds!

Our family went to the Memphis Redbirds game this week.  We are baseball fans and the Redbirds are Memphis' AAA baseball team.  It was a beautiful night to sit outside & the Redbirds won!  Before we went, I took the girls to the store earlier in the day to buy clearance Easter candy, along with peanuts, cotton, candy, & sunflower seeds.  With our snacks & drinks we brought in, it was a very inexpensive family night outside (the tickets were purchased through a groupon).  We also saw some of sweet friends there & were able to hang out with them some too.

Brook made this sign & made it on the Redbirds screen

My little Yankees fans!

This is the new scoreboard at AutoZonePark, the largest board of all the AAA stadiums.

Homeschool convention, part 3

Today was the third & last day of the convention.  Today was more about finally purchasing some items that I had looked at over the weekend.  Although, most of these items were things I had planned to purchase in advance.  We started our day with breakfast at The Arcade, Memphis' oldest restaurant.  It is located downtown Memphis on the trolley line.

Eating breakfast with our good friends, the Burlesons

I had good help walking the convention today.  I let them help pick out some of their books!

Aren't these 3 just the cutest little things?  What a busy adventure, full of cuteness, walking around with

these 3 friends!

My day ended with dinner with homeschooling moms, just a chance to unwind & talk about our weekend.  Sharing our stories from speakers & curriculum has always been a highlight of the conventions.  I am so thankful for the opportunity & freedom to homeschool our girls.  Before I close, I would like to pass along one more website to you.  I wasn't able to hear Kathy Koch's session, but did speak with her. She made an impression on some of my friends as well, & I plan on buying her book, How Am I Smart?.  She speaks of all the different ways kids are smart & learn, going beyond the typical learning styles you may have heard about previously.  As a family member or friend of mine, let me say thank you for supporting our family in our calling to homeschool.  It means a lot to have that along the way.  

celebratekids.com

Word Smart - thinking with words

Logic Smart - thinking with questions

Picture Smart - thinking with visuals

Music Smart - thinking with rhythms and melodies

Body Smart - thinking with movement and touch

Nature Smart - thinking with patterns

People Smart - thinking with other people

Self Smart - thinking with reflection

Homeschool Convention, part 2

Back for day 2!

Today was a full day of lots of information, going about 12 hours long!  

I was able to hear David Hazell speak again today, and also the well known parenting author, Ted Tripp speak.  The other highlight was for the girls hearing the Mally family speak.  Isabella specifically wanted to hear them speak, as they are young women speaking on Godliness & purity.  You can see more on this from the pictures below.  First, some of the highlighted points from these sessions:

• Our life tells our children what we believe.  
• Our academic priorities reflect our worldview.
• Our attitude to ministry & service will show children what we value.
• The way we spend our money speaks of our priorities.
• Determine family values & teach them.
• Model what you want learned.
• What our kids say & do flows from the heart.  Behavior can never be understood in isolation from the heart.
• We often as parents appeal to a child's greed or other negative aspects to have them do something good.
• We need to stand in solidarity with our kids, not in hypocrisy.
• Protect children from influences that destroy.  
• Treat family as a ministry team.

And something I heard more than once was the phrase "take every thought captive." (2 Cor. 10:5)

I often nod my head in agreement with so many good things, like the ones listed above.  I do try to pay attention more when I hear something repeated more than once.  Take every thought captive.

The girls & friends holding the book, "Before You Meet

Prince Charming", by Sarah Mally

(only the older girls actually bought the book!)

Sarah Mally autographing Isabella's book

Photo op with Sarah & friends after they heard Sarah

speak on Raising Pure Daughters in a Generation of Darkness

Homeschool Convention 2012

This will be a 3 part post about the 2012 Homeschool Convention I attended this past weekend.  This is the event of the year that we homeschool moms get excited about here.  It is a chance to hear some amazing speakers, learn about new curriculum & see in person what you had heard about, & the chance to be encouraged & laugh with friends!  In the past, some of us moms have even taken road trips to other cities for this event.  Now that we have one here in Memphis, we don't take a road trip, but we do try to find a little time with friends. It is a different feel to it being local & this year, I had the girls with me for their first convention too.

Here are some highlights from day 1:

Excited to be getting away for the afternoon

to the convention with my sweet friend Laura!

Some friends & I set out Thursday afternoon for the homeschool convention & I had my stylish rolling cart, thanks to this Christmas gift from my mother-in-law.  First up on the agenda, was a session called Grace Drenched Homeschooling.  That was a great topic to start out my weekend.  Here are a few thoughts from that session:

•   I am thankful for His grace, receiving what I don't deserve.  I am thankful that the Lord delights over me, despite my failures.  I want to teach this to my girls too.
• Find time for my relationship with God, savor Him, & put aside my to-do list!
• Be transparent with my family. Demonstrate the gospel.  God showcases His power through our weaknesses.
• Be patient with mercy in my teaching.  God's grace is more powerful than my impatient anger

The second session was combining different learning styles (Classical Education, Charlotte Mason, & Unit Studies) with a Christian perspective.  This was more of an educational talk, which was also so great to hear.  The speaker, David Hazell, is one of two people the Lord used 4 years ago to confirm to me that homeschooling was what we were to do with our children.  After I heard these two men speak, I actually felt a calling to homeschooling.  Keep in mind I had been doing it for 2 1/2 years already at this point!  Up until then, I had just been going through the motions with no calling.  I was able to speak with David later in the evening & share this with him.  The session he spoke on 4 years ago was excellent.  If I haven't told you about it, remind me to do so sometime!  For next year, I will be purchasing his curriculum for the first time to use with the girls.  I am looking forward to it.

www.mfwbooks.com

The second person the Lord used was Todd Wilson.  He has a ministry that focuses on homeschool families, particularly dads, but all the moms love him because he is so funny.  He has a book & a session called Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe.  If you homeschool, or just want some encouragement as a mom, I recommend this book.  It will free you from lies.  I didn't hear him speak this year, but I have several years in the past.  I did get a chance to talk with him though.

www.familymanweb.com

Tomorrow, part 2 of the convention!

Ballet

Well, I am over my quota for posting this week, but there is good stuff to be shared & this is definitely one of those things!  Brook is taking ballet for the first time this year & it has been a wonderful experience.  Her teacher is beautiful inside & out, as you will see in this piece below.  So thankful for these people in my children's lives & for our church!

Please click on the link below for the rest of the story.

http://on.wreg.com/QoqopfY

By name

Thanks for taking the time to share a little bit of our lives with us through this blog, to scroll through pictures, & hopefully to be encouraged from time to time!  Normally I don't post more than twice a week, but I wanted to share this & will have some more things coming this weekend!  This is not a place to show how great everything is in life, because we are a family of sinners, saved by grace, who do have real struggles in this life, but also have a real hope because of our risen Savior.  Hold firm to that hope you have today.  If your hope is grounded in this world - your job, your relationship, your home, your car, your electronics, etc., I pray you will find the only hope that lasts & does not disappoint. You are deeply loved by your Creator.  He knows you by name.  By name.  By your name.  

Isaiah 43:1-8

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel:

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;  I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you,

I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.

Fear not, for I am with you.

I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. 

I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; 

bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth,

everyone who is called by my name,

whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."

Psalm 139

O Lord, you have searched me and known me!

You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.

You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

Where shall I go from your Spirit?

Or where shall I flee from your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,"

even the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  

Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

If I would count them, they are more than the sand.

I awake, and I am still with you.

O that you would slay the wicked, O God!

O men of blood, depart from me!

They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain.

Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?

And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?

I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.

Search me, O God, and know my heart!

Try me and know my thoughts!

And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

  

    

Chick Days

Spring has sprung and chick days are here! On our weekend trip, we came home with some new baby chicks + 2 baby ducks.  We have had chickens before, but it is still a new & exciting time to see how the new venture goes around here.  We are hoping for no conflict of personalities between the dog & the chicks!  Right now, we do have them separated, but will acquaint them soon.  The girls named them, with the help of friends, at the camping trip.  I'm sure there will be more to come on the subject of chickens in some future posts!

He is Risen

He is Risen.

Thank you Jesus for dying on a cross for my sin.  Thank you for giving me hope & eternal life, which I don't deserve.  Thank you for being faithful when I am not.  Thank you for coming out of the tomb & being alive today.  

Easter is really a silly holiday without this truth.  This truth is the reason for our celebration.  Not bunnies, eggs, or candy. I hope you were able to focus on this truth, but not just on Easter Sunday, but each day of our lives.

It was truly a wonderful few days with friends leading up to the holiday.  We went on our annual camping trip with 4 other families, & had some new families join us this year.  It is always such a fun time for the kids & adults.  

So thankful for all of these sweet friends in these pictures!!

We also attended a free concert at Levitt Shell in Memphis, where I think most everyone we know in town was there, which made it even more fun!  This is such a great outdoor venue.

Sunday morning, we walked to church with the Greens & spent a fun day with them. Again, another wonderful day for us & our kids.  

                                     

Wednesday wanderings

Happy Wednesday!  It is the mid-week point of a short week for most people with the Good Friday holiday. I have been reading a short book of short stories to the girls preparing us for Easter.  

It is Finished.  Jesus paid it all.  One time. For all mankind.

Thank you Jesus for this free gift of salvation you provided by your blood shed on the cross for me.

I made a spring wreath this week to hang on our front door.  I am not a wreath maker at all, but I liked enough to hang it & might try my hand again at this.  Thankfully, I like the simple things!

My husband & I had a funny conversation this week.  I think we need a husband/wife dictionary. One thing I have learned in our marriage is that words & phrases have different meanings to men & women.  I am wondering if others have experienced the same thing??  I am thankful to find the humor in some of these things, as opposed to the alternative which is stress & anger.  I love this man whom God made different from me.