The Direction Is Forward

 The other day when we went to church, it was one of those days that I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, that's where we were supposed to be. When the preacher started speaking, I knew why. 

The title of the message was "The Direction Is Forward". The entire sermon was about don't look backwards and to cut the tether to your past. 

See some of us have things that we miss about our past and look back longingly wishing we could go back there. For example, people who have lost a loved one or simply faced life changes that were completely out of their control. 

Some of us look back longingly for the days when our knees didn't pop every time we walked or our joints didn't ache when the weather changed. Others look back longing for days when children could play outside safely till the street lights came on, or people were just a little bit nicer to each other. 

Others have painful tragic circumstances that they wish they could go back to before. Before the situation happened. Before the tragedy was confirmed. Before... However, going backwards is not what God wants for us. We need to feel the emotions, process the loss, and move forward. 

As the pastor was sharing, one point he made stood out to me. If we keep looking backward, we get stuck. We are stuck and because we are stuck in the past, we freeze. That affects those we are called to reach out to. We all have people in our life that we are called to minister to, to reach out to, to love like Jesus. When we are frozen, we miss those opportunities. 

Luke 17:32 reminds us to ,"Remember Lot's wife!". Looking back longingly at Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19:26  is what had Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt. She longed for the things in the past while God was moving them to a new stage forward. He had new life in front of them and she looked back to the old. 

Whether it's a "better time" in your mind or a life of sin that you're looking back to, it's time to look forward. It's time to move forward. To keep striving for the prize God has set in front of you. There are seasons in life and they change all the time. A new season can be scary but it can also be the best thing you've ever experienced. Is it easy? Absolutely not. There will be days that you look back and miss certain things. Feel the feelings and keep moving forward. 

If you're in the midst of a season of change, loss, or a traumatic experience, know that what God has ahead is even better than what is behind. Process your feelings with someone you can trust such as a licensed counselor, pastor, or mentor. Work through those feelings and move forward. The steps will be slow at times. It may even feel like you move can't move at times. Know that you're not alone and that Holy Spirit is walking with you every step of the way.

Remember today to allow yourself to grieve what you need to and to move forward with joy. God never wastes anything you walk through. 

Weekly Wrapup - A Reminder Of Why I Love Homeschooling!!

In our life this week... Whew! Is it Sunday yet? LOL This week Boo Bear had a week long theater camp. He will be in his first production this weekend of Pinocchio. It is his first play on stage and he's excited and nervous. I am very excited for him and proud of him. Because we homeschool, we do not go somewhere every single day. He has been gone all from 9-2 every.. single...day... this week. Which means lots of driving for Mama. The theater is across town and here that means a 30-45 minute drive. BUT... I wouldn't change it for anything because he is having a blast. The week's toil is starting to wear on him a little so today we will be coming home between practice and his first show for a nap. Hopefully...

In our homeschool this week... Needless to say we haven't done much official schooling. This week has been an art week ;). We did watch one of our review videos we received yesterday for a science lesson. He really enjoyed it. So did Molly ;)

I worked on getting our homeschool room organized. If you check out my post here, you will see some great homeschool room ideas. I can't wait to share with you the changes we are making!

I'm working on... Several reviews coming in the next couple of months for you. I am also working on our homeschool room and getting Molly used to us :). Of course this week was not the week for her to get used to our routine. Wow!

Questions/thoughts I have... Do you homeschool year round? What type of schedule do you try to follow? I'm working on our calendar and because we are still finishing up first grade I'm not sure what I want to do. I am thinking/hoping next week is our last week of first grade. Then we will take a break and get started again probably the first of August officially. Do you go all year, take a break, follow public school?

I'm reading... A great book on couponing that will be coming up in a future review!

I'm grateful for... The sweet relationship that Molly and Boo Bear are already making. She is truly helping to heal the hole left in his heart, and mine.

A photo of the week...

She looks like she is smiling doesn't she?

Don't forget to stop by over at So You Call Yourself A Homeschooler to see more weekly wrap-ups.

Weekly Wrap Up... Another Whirl Wind ;)

In our life this week... It was another wild and fun week here. I know that in a few weeks time when things slow down I will be having a kiddo that is bored and a Mama that is itching to do something. So for now we will be thankful we have lots of fun things going on. ;) (even if Mama is wore out ;-)) We went to a library event, superhero class, church, praise practice and cub scouts. Today we will get to spend some time with Nana for lunch. ;) Fun Friday is on!

In our homeschool this week... Although we were busy we still had some great days in a row of solid progress in school work. It's one of those things that once we get our routine in the mornings going it's hard to do anything in the morning. That is because I know it will break our progress and it's hard to get back on routine. So we had some great math days, some fun learning about rays and progressing to sharks, library fun and some great reading progress. I am personally loving the phonics system we are reviewing right now and can't wait to share it with you. We are also reviewing some bible programs which are fun and some other items I'll be bringing your way soon.

Places we're going and people we're seeing... We had a fun day at the library with our homeschool buddies making May baskets. We also had a wonderful time meeting new friends last Friday for a park day. Of course it was really hot and here's where he hides when it's hot:

We're Reading... We started the 39 Clues series this past week and we are on book 4 now. We have been listening to them in the car and this is a new hit with us. My kiddo's tastes are progressing as he is growing. It is both a good thing and a sad thing for Mama. He's growing up way to fast.

I'm grateful for... My son. He is such a blessing to me. I was so proud of him yesterday as he stood in front of his praise and dance team practice to say the prayer. He volunteered and is showing more maturity and growth in Christ. I love seeing his love for our Lord and sometimes wish I had his boldness.

I'm cooking... not a whole lot this week due to all the running. Next week I hope to get some new recipes in the kitchen.

I'm praying for...My kiddo. He will be having allergy testing done on the 9th of May and he can not take his allergy meds before then. He is already sneezing more and asked me for his nose spray yesterday. Hopefully the rain we have had will keep the allergens down as much as possible. Please be in prayer for him that it doesn't get too bad and that the testing won't be too hard for him. He's been through a lot this year with surgery and now this. There may be more to come with his tonsils so please remember him in prayer if you can.

A photo of the week... He was super excited he got to ride his four wheeler this weekend...

Week In Review: Normalcy Returns.. Sort Of ;)

In our life this week... We sort of returned to normalcy. We had a party this week and had another class added to our regularly scheduled programs. :) Boo Bear started taking a super hero class this week so he's learning about being a hero. That also caused him to want to create his own costume. AHH!! Help!! LOL Mommy is trying to figure out how we can do this but I think daddy has saved the day. He's bringing cardboard home to help this weekend. 

In our homeschool this week... We had a pretty great week. We were busy with our regular studies and adding in some great reviews we are working on. We have been moving along in our math and science. He had a great time this week because we finished up fish and started sharks in our Apologia this week. 

People we're seeing and places we'ere going...  We had a birthday party and also have a park day today with a few friends. We have also done our praise and dance team practice  I am so glad he is starting to bond with some of the kids at church :) 

I'm cooking... Some new gluten free goodies. I have made a couple this week that are awesome! I love the pumpkin pucks from the Paleo Parents and also we tried some gluten free waffles this morning that turned out good. The pucks were something my kiddo actually loved and asked to eat again!!

I'm reading... Several books at once. I am working on getting some new recipes out of my new cookbooks I recently got. I am also reading the Wheat Belly book. I can see myself in a lot of this book and that's exactly why wheat is no longer in my diet. 

A photo of the week...

We had a blast at our party this week. :) 

Christmas Week Wrap-up

In our life this week... Merry Christmas! (late) We had a blast spending time with family and enjoying the day. I wish other family had been with us too but I am thankful for the joy we had here. We have been relaxing for the rest of the week gearing up for a mild and relaxed New Years.

In our homeschool this week... Nothing really :) Well we did watch some educational videos sporadically that I guess could be counted as "school" work. I am getting things ready for our next semester and taking a look at where we are now. Things seem to be going well in our curriculum department so we will just stick right along with what we have going on now.

Places we're going and people we're seeing...We are heading to the grocery store today and possibly a day at the park. It has gotten COLD here again. I just wish it would make up it's mind. I'm okay if it's cold a while and then warms up. Just don't like the cold, hot, cold, hot, hot, cold. ;)

My favorite thing this week... Had to be Christmas day ;) My kiddo was up bright and early and went all... day... long. He didn't stop till he went to bed that night. I was so tired myself but I would not have traded that wonder and excitement for anything!

I'm cooking... Chicken noodle soup and pork chops last night. We had remnants of Christmas dinner for several meals :)

I'm grateful for... Safe travels to and from here for my family, my sweet boy, my awesome hubby and having a wonderful Christmas time with no sickness attacking us.

I'm praying for.... All my friends and family who were attacked by sicknesses. Also the direction we will go this year.

A photo of the week... I know I shared this on Wordless Wednesday but it is one of my favorite shots from the week :) This child was so excited to see this under the tree!!

Weekly Wrap-up

 In our life this week.... Busy, busy oh and busy :) But honestly I wouldn't have it any other way right now ;-) Christmas movies, nature studies, Advent Calendar, hanging out with friends... It's been a very pleasant week ;) I accomplished something this week I have been wanting to do for a while. More on that later...

In our homeschool this week...It has been busy as

 well. We have been working right along on some of our normal studies. Some of it we are putting off till after Christmas. I know some people take this whole month off and we are doing an altered version of that. We are still doing school work but we are doing it in the form of  unit studies and activities. We are working on reviewing what we have learned so far this year in Math by working on the worksheets in the back of Boo Bear's work book. We are working on our spelling lessons from a new site I have been blessed to review. (review coming later on this weekend) We are working on an advent nature study we had last year and I am super excited about it. We are still doing the reading and work in our Apologia Science and are about to start reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. I can't wait!!

Things I'm working on... Here's where I can share what we did. I have been searching for quite sometime for a shelving unit to put in Boo Bear's room. The one I was wanting was over $60 at Target and right now that's just not something I can do. I wanted it really organized before the Christmas holiday since we will have guests in and out and he will be organized for whatever he might receive this year. So yesterday we took off to Lowe's as a final look out for something. PTL I found it!!! Not only would it work perfectly it was on sale!!! $13.57 later and this is what we found!

Yeah! His room looks great... Now if we can just keep it that way LOL...

I'm reading...The Host by Stephanie Meyer. Boy is that a big one... I hope I can make it through before it's due back .LOL We are also reading together a Jack Stalwart mystery and will soon start the Best Christmas Pageant.

I'm praying for... our Christmas musical at church, my sweet friend and her baby, and friends and family alike.

I'm grateful for... A much better week than we had last week. It was a whirl wind of a mess and this one was finally back to normal.

My favorite thing this week... Is it okay if I have a couple? One was sitting down with  my little guy and watching the Polar Express. :-) I love that movie!!! Oh and my first choir practice :) I have so missed singing in the choir and I am so thankful we have found a church to call home and get involved in :) I think my most favorite thing this past week was the experience we had in the mall parking lot. My kiddo gave his life to Christ! You can read about it here.

People we're seeing and places we're going... Tonight the church is having a kids night /parents night out. :) Boo Bear is so super excited! My hubby and I are going on an actual DATE while our little man is having a blast making ornaments, eating pizza and ice cream and watching Christmas movies with the church kiddos. :) I am praying he starts making friends there. I am sure he will as he is such an outgoing little guy.I just hope he can build some awesome relationships with some kiddos from there!

A photo of the week... I have been taking pictures and posting for the Instagram December photo a day.. Here's today's pic ;) Something bright and boy are these little guys bright on our tree ;)

MHJ: Superhero Camp Week

In our life this week... It has been extremely busy. My little guy has been going to superhero camp all week. While he has had fun he is also ready for it to be over with. We have both had a reminder of one of the reasons we love homeschooling. ;) We don't like having to be anywhere first thing in the morning every... single...day.

In our homeschool this week... We are gearing up to start school on Monday! Yeah!!! Well... Start school and ease our way back into our school routine. We are both ready to go. We did a little work this week as he just couldn't stand it. We worked on learning a little bit about Alabama. We are going to be doing our Geography curriculum this year and I am hoping it works out. I talk about the states a little bit and he kind of glazes over. LOL SO... not sure how that is going to work but we have lots of fun stuff coming up. We made a couple of Erica from Confessions of a homeschooler summer boredom busters. These were awesome. We made the fun and easy homemade crayons and we also had a blast playing with the Moondough.  These are just two of the many ideas she shares and we had a blast. We will have to do some more of these next week!

Questions/thoughts I have... I am wondering on the Geography. I have to figure out how to make it more fun and how to get him interested. He is pretty good and knowing where most of his states are already. (Thanks to Stack the States on my iPhone) I am hoping that it works out with this curriculum because it is really great. How do you make a sometimes boring subject more exciting?

Places we're going and People we're seeing... We of course had superhero camp everyday this week. We went to the library a few times as well for fun pj parties and story time programs. We also had a blast this week visiting Chuck E Cheese with friends. The kiddos had a blast playing.

I'm cooking... I made a new recipe last night called Velveeta Cheesy Stroganoff and it was really yummy. My kiddo loved it and the hubby did too. I will share that one with you next week :)

I'm reading... A couple things. I started Bringing Up Boys last night by Dr. James Dobson. I told my hubby after reading the first chapter I was already reading about our kiddo. LOL I am looking forward to this one. I am also working on a mystery by Leslie Meier but I'm not making much progress. It's got to where I can't get into a lot of the books lately. So I will just keep on till I find something that grabs me ;)

A picture of the week...  Boo Bear stood up in front of the story time to draw the pictures for the other kids to guess. I was really proud of him because he doesn't typically do that when it comes to his drawing. ;) He had a blast!

Weekly Wrap Up With MHJ

This week.... We have had a fun week. We are visiting with Mimi and Papa who just arrived yesterday. We got to play with our friends this week at the park and learn some fun things. It has been kind of a busy/off week for us but it has been a blast.

In our homeschool... We are in the process of making crafts today. We are going to make some monsters and some ghost footprints. I have seen the ghosty craft all over and we just have to do it. :) We have studied pizza this week and learned alot about Italy and this yummy food. Tonight we will go to a wonderful pizza place here in town to celebrate what we have learned. Can't wait!!

What's working for us... Taking it slowly and improvising. I make plans for the week and if we get to it all great. If not it is no big deal. I am learning more and more myself on how to teach and how he learns. It is truly a learning phase for both of us.

My Favorite thing this week.... My parents are here! :) We always love to visit and this time they brought a science box for Boo Bear! That thing is getting some good use already. LOL He is having a blast. My parents were science teachers so they have lots of fun stuff. I soak it up and so does he. :) We also got to play with our friends this week. It was a blast. We are going to miss our friends when they move....

I am cooking.... Not sure yet. LOL I want to do some fall creations this weekend so hopefully we can find something fun to make.

What I am reading.... Still working on The Soul Reader. Also got a few books I am working on for a review and a giveaway so keep watch out for those!

A picture of our week... BFF's :)

Join other homeschool Mama's over with Sue at The Homeschool Chick. Share your week and gain encouragement from others as we all travel this journey together.

MHJ #9 Slow Week...

Join weekly with other Homeschool families and share the struggles and joys together!

 

In My Life This Week...  I am trying to find the balance between working at home, homeschooling, wife and mommy. The work at home was slightly balanced but I received a great new job this past week and this was my second official week doing it. I have been getting up at 5:30 or so to make sure I can get it done before Boo Bear gets up and we start our day. Some days I was successful. Others... well... he wasn't far behind my alarm clock.

We also started T-ball this week and I have volunteered to help the team. This should be interesting. ;-) We have also been fighting off severe allergies this week for the hubby and son. We have goldenrod surrounding our house and I think that might be the culprit. Hopefully it will be gone soon...

In our homeschool this week...  We missed our Art class Wednesday since Boo wasn't feeling well. This means we also took it easy and had a light week. We did some math and other things but basically wasn't pushing for major accomplishments. One thing I am super excited about is that he is starting to show an interest in arts and coloring. He has never been one to want to draw or color and he is doing more and more art on his own. We have done some great Fall art activities this week and had a blast doing them. I am looking forward to more next week.

Helpful advice to share... Let Go and Let God!! I am learning the more I let go and let Him take control the less I stress.... I am also sitting back and letting Boo Bear lead the learning more instead of stressing over what HAS to be done. It doesn't HAVE to be done right this second. Chill out Mama! ;)

I am inpsired by... All the other mommies out there who share their tips and journeys every day. I gain so much encouragement and inspiration from you all. While part of me does still freak out a little I am learning more and more everyday from you wonderful ladies that it will all come together.

Places we're going and people we're seeing... Because of the allergies we haven't done much this week but hopefully we can get some fun in. We have made one trip to the library and grocery store. Not quite as fun as we hoped but still fun nonetheless. Maybe next week we can sneak in a field trip somewhere exciting.

I'm Reading...  A book for review called Soul Reader. So far so good. I am falling deep into it and hope to have it done soon so I can share it with you all.

I'm cooking... I am so in the fall mood. I cooked a big pot of chili this week and it was yummy. Ended up making it a little too spicy for Boo Bear but it was still yummy. I am possibly making crabcakes either from scratch or I will cheat. (They are on sale at Publix this week) This is for our Geography study we are doing and we are visiting Delaware this week. Crab is also one of our favorites anyway so this works perfectly!

I'm praying for...  Friends and family who are in need this week. I am also praying that God continues to guide us in the way our homeschool should go.

A video...  Someone shared this on Facebook this week and I absolutely love it. Remember we are only as old as we feel. Enjoy!!

MHJ #8

Don't forget to join other homeschool Mama's over at Sue's link up today.

In my life this week... I have been richly blessed. We are blessed everyday but this week has been wonderful. I have been blessed to land a new writing job this week that is consistent work and will help out a whole lot. Plus I got extra work I didn't even realize was coming. We met some really nice people and we joined a homeschooling group around here. One very sad thing is my son and my BFF's are moving 1000's of miles away! :( I am excited for them but not for us. We will miss them severely.

In our homeschool this week...We continued our Space study this week and spent a few minutes when we got home from church star gazing. It was kind of cloudy, which it has been at night lately, so we couldn't really tell if we were finding any planets. This weekend is one of the first Star gazing events at a local park here. The kids can use telescopes and check out the night sky. I am hoping we make it. I also discovered these super cool kits at the library that are set up for elementary science lessons. I think we will try one of those this next week for our science lessons. Unless he still wants to do more planets.... hmmm...

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice...I am getting more helpful tips and advice than I am giving this week. We struggled yesterday and I reached out to our online network and got some great tips. I am learning that having fun right now is what it is about. For example, we played catch with a huge ball in the house yesterday afternoon and I started quizzing him on things we discussed this week. I also asked him some math questions and he was doing them in his head! I was so proud of him.

Places we're going and people we're seeing... We had our normal weekly class this week and should be going to a family reunion tomorrow. I hope anyway... It is at the beach ;) Boo Bear woke up this morning with his allergies kicking in big time so hopefully that is all it is and it will clear up in a little while.

My favorite thing this week was... Star gazing. That was really fun! Can't wait to do the telescopes where he can see it up close!

What's Working/Not Working for us... Having fun is working for us. What's not working is trying to do things he is not interested in... such as the boring facts about states. He loves going and finding out things about them but not all the details I was thinking we should discuss.. Sooo... We will keep doing that but tweaking it.

I'm cooking...Chocolate chip cookies, my sausage casserole and I need to come up with something for the picnic tomorrow.. hmmm...Any suggestions?


A photo, video, link, or quote to share... Making the cookies.

MHJ #7

In my life this week... I have felt very blessed. We are always blessed but extra specially blessed this week. If you know me you know I don't typically win anything. This past week I was blessed with not only winning one but winning 3 drawings and for great homeschool stuff!! EEKKKK!!! {Sorry I am a little excited!!} I also was richly blessed to be a featured blogger this week as well.Check that out here.

In our homeschool this week... It has honestly been a struggle for us. While last week was our first week off of virtual school and it went wonderfully, this week... well... Let's just say mommy has to rethink some things. ;-) I have been pushing I think a little longer than what he is capable of sitting so this week is going to be a reflection and reboot for me. I am starting to see somethings that work for him and some that do not work at all. That is the blessing of homeschool. He is not shoved in a classroom having to "make do" with a ton of other kids when what is going on does not work for him. I am going to start trying some new ideas and looking for others from the great blessings of homeschool mommies out there. I know it won't be long and we will find our groove. It is just trial and error till we get there!

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice... I am learning the old motto clearly, "If at first you don't succeed, try try again. ".

Places we're going and people we're seeing... We had our homeschool classes again this week. It is so nice to get out and share with other mommas who have been doing this much longer than me. We also got to have a wonderful picnic with our friends at the park. I love that it is starting to cool down just a little so that it is bearable to be outside again. We are also planning on going to see Dolphin Tale today for homeschool day. I want to take Boo Bear to meet Winter if possible since I found out she is not far from here.

My favorite thing this week was...I had two favorite things ;-)  Starting our Space study. I am loving this as much as he is I think. I am so enjoying learning all these great facts about the planets. I can't wait until we take them one by one and study them in more depth. My second favorite thing was when we had restaurant night for daddy. Mommy dressed up in clothes that Boo Bear picked out and we had a menu all set up for daddy when he got home. Boo Bear welcomed him to our classy restaurant and seated him at his table. He also served him his food AND put on a magic show.

What's Working/Not Working for us... Well what's not working is working without a timer. I was timing us before to see how long we were spending on each subject and to also remind myself of breaks. I haven't been doing that and we work for longer than we should sometimes and he gets fidgety and I get frustrated. LOL Because I haven't realized that this 5 year old has sat and worked for an hour and a half. ;-) So I am going to go back to a timer. I am also going to reevaluate what we are doing and tweak it just a little.

I'm reading... I need some suggestions! What are some great books now? Help! :-)

I'm cooking... We tried a wonderful recipe shared by another blogger. It is called a Pizza Bubble and you must try it. Check out my post to see how it turned out!


A photo, video, link, or quote to share...
 We were waiting on Daddy to get home.

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MHJ #6

 
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In My Life This Week...I am worn out! :) We had lots of things to do this week. I am also trying to plan out a new grocery budget idea and meal plan so that is something I am working on. It was just a wild week but we enjoyed it!

In Our Homeschool This Week...This was our first official week of doing it without the virtual school.After much prayer and discussion I felt as if this was the best route for us.He is in Kindergarten so for now I feel this is best. We worked on a Dinosaur Unit Study this week and had a great time making our own fossils. If you want to see how to make them stop by here. That was so much fun! He loved the project and I did to. Next week we will be offically starting our Expedition Earth curriculum we got from Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler. I am also working on a Space themed unit study for next week. ;-) I will be busy this weekend.

I am inspired by...The great homeschool bloggers I meet each week. This week I met some more great Mama's over on Twitter. I am just overjoyed and blessed each time I meet new mother's that are doing this journey as well. Thanks to all of you for your support and encouragement!

My Favorite Thing This Week... Making the salt dough fossils. Also hanging out for a while at the park with some of the other children from Boo Bear's art and PE class. He is making new friends and enjoying it so much.

What's Working/Not Working for Us...Unit Studies seems to be working for us. This week was so much less stressed than the previous weeks. Going with the flow and relaxing has worked out so much better and we are both enjoying it more. Glad that it is working out better!


Things I'm Working on...The Space unit study and then I will also be cleaning out the house this weekend. Trying to prepare for a yard sale sometime soon. :)


A video, picture, link , or quote to share... Making our fossils...

MHJ #5

 


In My Life This Week... We have had a pretty good week. I have been struggling with this virtual school. I just think I have made up my mind to come out of it and go it on my own. I just hate that he is getting frustrated with it and doesn't enjoy school. I am frustrated because I am displeased with how it is going and doing double work because I have to come up with extra things to do because he is bored. So I am struggling with whether to give it the rest of the month or come on out of it.

In Our Homeschool This Week... We did a few fun things. We started our homeschool P.E and Art class this week and he had a blast. We are also starting a Dinosaur Unit Study and he is so in love with them right now. ;-) He knows more about them I think than I do. LOL We did a diorama yesterday of a few of them and had a great time. We also have a trip planned tomorrow to Dinosaur World so he is sooooo excited about that. Dropping the virtual school part of this will I think benefit us both tremendously. I will be less stressed and he will be able to learn about things he wants to. Before we started he really enjoyed it and now that we have added that it is a struggle.


I am inspired by... The homeschool Mama's I got to meet this week. They have been doing this a lot longer and it shows me we are not alone. ;-) I know we are not alone but meeting them in person is such an amazing thing than just reading about all these people far away. It was so great to make connections with others in our home town. Don't get me wrong... I love all these Mama's I follow and each one of you inspire me!

My Favorite Thing This Week... Our homeschool classes and meeting other homeschool families. I also enjoyed making our diorama too!Oh, we also got to have a wonderful playdate with our friends this week. That was so nice to get together with some of our friends and just hang out. :-)

What's Working/Not Working for Us... What's working for us is doing it on our own. The things that we come up with and ideas I try out work perfectly and he seems to learn so much. What's not working is the virtual type atmosphere.

Questions/Thoughts I have... I want to do the right thing for him and me. {mostly him} I don't want to pull out of the virtual school too soon before giving it a chance but we have been in it three weeks. He is tired of the repetitive nature of the work he does and is far ahead of the math he is doing. Everyone I have talked with thinks it is best to get out and not wait. This is the only struggle I have with it...

Things I'm Working on... A fun dinosaur unit study for Boo Bear. He is so in love with them right now and I am trying to expand on that love. I have found some great online tips and ideas and have put them into place. We will be fully starting our dino lapbook and other projects next week.



I'm Grateful For... The support of other homeschool mama's. I met two great ones this week and had a wonderful time chatting and got so encouraged.

I'm Praying For... Guidance on how to proceed. I think I already know what to do but being sure of it sure helps sometimes. ;-)


A video, picture, link , or quote to share...  "My dog Oscar. "

MHJ Week # 4

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In my life this week… We have had a blast this week. We visited my family and did a few field trips. This is the first week we have been able to add in field trips and we went on two! We enjoyed our down time and also are glad to be back home. Today is my wonderful hubby's birthday so we will be making a cake for daddy and getting presents together. ;-)

In our homeschool this week… We continued on through our 2nd week of virtual classes. I am finding that our virtual work does not take that long but am finding it hard to motivate him through it. He keeps telling me this is baby stuff. We may have to try to tweak this some or even stop doing the virtual classes and just go our own way like originally planned. We will just have to see. I am going to at least try to give it a month or two to see how they go for now. I don't want him to lose his zest for wanting to learn and I feel like he is.... at least the traditional book way. That is just not how he learns. 

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing… We went on two field trips this week. First we went to a working dairy farm. We got to pet the calves and see two that had just been born that day. We also got to try out fresh from the farm milk and ice cream . Boo Bear also was able to see how they milk the cows and we all really enjoyed it. Problem is he LOVED the fresh milk so I may have to find a dairy to buy it from now. LOL

Then we stopped by a Civil War memorial site. They used to smelt the iron in my home town to make the weapons for the war. I had no idea that place even existed. It was a great trip to see all the artifacts and I think I might have a history buff on my hands. He was really into the old weapons and how they used to make their items like bowls and hammers to use. It was a blast. 

My favorite thing this week was… I loved visiting the dairy and the Civil War museum. 

Questions/thoughts I have…  I am trying to figure out what to do about the curriculum. I am going to have to expand it and I am thinking of a Unit Study on top of his virtual work. This way we are for sure getting our four hours in every day that the state requires but we are also enjoying ourselves and learning something he wants to learn. We will just have to see how it goes. 

I’m reading…  A book I am reviewing called The Crucible. I am also starting one of Nora Roberts books that I see has a long list of series behind it. That should keep me busy for awhile.

I’m praying for… Guidance, strength and wisdom to know what to do. Also a family in our town lost their precious little one this week. Praying for peace and comfort for them. 

A picture from this week...  

Visiting the memorial at the Civil War museum.

MHJ Week 3

 

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In my life this week… We had a good first week except.. Mommy came down with a cold. :-( We started our virtual classes this week and that went pretty smoothly all things considered.

In our homeschool this week… We started working on our virtual classes. We also started our Men of the Bible bible study and making a book about it.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing… We checked out a new library and we are visiting Mimi and Papa. Perks of homeschool. :)

My favorite thing this week was… Again hanging with my kiddo. ;-)

Questions/thoughts I have…   I am definitely going to have to increase the types of things we do to keep Boo Bear's attention. He told me momma why am I doing baby work? The first beginnings of these classes is repetition and things he knows. LOL

I’m reading…  My bible and a couple books I got from the library this week. Boo Bear is listening to several audio books and we are trying some new ones out.

I’m praying for… Strength, courage and the peace to relax and let it go.I am also praying to feel better. This is for the birds. *sigh*

MHJ Week #2

 

Week#2

In my life this week… I have been busy. Getting ready for the official start of his virtual classes. Working alot this week too and planning a trip. Been fun though. 

In our homeschool this week… We learned about Daniel and the Lion's den. I took Live Lesson sessions with our virtual school on how to do it and we hung out at home.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing… This week was quite slow on the going and seeing. ;) We are planning a trip to Mimi and Papa's house soon though so that is exciting.

My favorite thing this week was… Playing with my kiddo. We had a blast. We also put together a 100 piece puzzle !! :o) He is moving up from the kiddie puzzles. 

What’s working/not working for us… Routine, Routine, Routine...We all do so much better with our routine in place.

Questions/thoughts I have…  I am a little nervous this week because next week will be totally different. Not too much different but things start to take a little different form.

Things I’m working on… Working on losing my OCD'ness when it comes to schedules and routines. I am a planner and this is to my fault. I tend to need things all planned down to the detail and for it to go just that way. I am learning to deal with that and try to lose that issue. ;o)

I’m reading…  My bible and a couple books I got from the library this week. Boo Bear and I are reading The Magic Treehouse book Lions at Lunchtime.

I’m praying for… Strength, courage and the peace to relax and let it go.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

Boo Bear is teaching me how to make ants on a log. ;o)

Mother's Homeschool Journal #1- First Week

Well this was our first week of homeschool "officially". We are rejoining the Homeschool Mother's Journal back over with Sue at The Homeschool Chick.




In My Life This Week... I started reading the Bible in 90 days plan. I keep seeing this hopping around the blogosphere and just felt the draw to it. It is amazing how God speaks through the Word...

In Our Homeschool This Week... Our curriculum arrived!!! We started doing a few things here and there this week and trying to get on a regular schedule. We worked on many different items and I am so proud to see him developing. Our curriculum is so exciting. More so to me than him I think. We are using the Connections Academy through our public school. Since it is our first year I really felt that this would help me to know which direction to go and help me to figure out how to balance all this together. It is also a great curriculum that we received and I can't wait to dig in!


I am inspired by... All the homeschooling Mama's out there. This week through my Twitter connections I have gotten encouragement and tips that I never even imagined. I thank you all for the support that you give! You guys Rock!!


Places We're Going and People We're Seeing... This week we had to go to Boo Bear's eye doctors appointment. He has Duane's syndrome so we had to do a follow up. We also are going to hang out at the mall. ;)


My favorite thing this week... Has to be getting our curriculum in! :) 


I'm Reading... A couple different books. One for review that I will share later and I am also finishing up a book called Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich. Boo Bear and I are reading a few of The Magic Treehouse Series together too.


I'm Praying for... Our Homeschool Journey. I am excited and nervous all at the same time. I feel this is the best place for him and I but I have also had panic this past weekend. Now that we have started it is easing up. God really spoke to me through my bible reading this week. When Sarah laughed because she was told she would bear a son God asked her Is anything impossible with Me? Wow... Talk about Him smacking me in the face. :) LOL I love it when He does that. :o)


A photo of this week...