Half Day.... What else to do.. Play in the rain!

Today was one of those days when your schedule is interrupted and you have to be that mom who allows life to just happen and not freak out about it.  The kids school day was only a half day today.  HOME BY 11am!!!

 Homework is done early and lunch is made and eaten by 12.  Then we have no TV during the week rule, so now what?  Okay, so walk the Dog around the block a few dozen times...  HAHA  Yes the dog is no more exhausted than the kids.  Coloring,  um no that is too quite and inside.  So lets play outside.  It begins to sprinkle.  Then it begins to pour. 

You look out the window into the back yard, and every beach umbrella you have is up and the patio furniture is no being used as a fort, and the water guns are out and full.  Lets play in the rain.  I waited and minute and thought, "maybe I should bring them in", Nope!!  They were laughing uncontrollably and having the best time.  Then only one hiding from the rain was the Dog, hahahaha!! 

Let kids be kids.  Let kids get dirty and play in the rain once in a while.  Moms, we all need a half day to watch the kids be creative and just love life. 

If I had a nickel?

For every time someone commented about .............  If I had a nickel I would be rich.  Hmmm  Lets put that into perspective.  If I had a nickel every time someone asked me my age...  Well that is about once a month, so that would be 12 times a year.  5 cent times 12...  60 cent a year,  times 36 years...  ummmm   not rich yet.  Ok ok ok, maybe there are some who get asked other questions more often.  What about How are you this morning?  That happens at least once a day, times 365 days a year, times 5 cent every time..  365 x 5 = 18.25 times 36 years ....$657.00  ummm, nope still not rich. 

If I had a positive response and act of appreciation every time someone asked me about my day, I would be rich!  That is Priceless!  Showing Love and common courtesy to those around you daily, even when we don't feel like it is something you can't put a price on.  There are so many ways to try to find money, gamble for money, work for money, make your own money, and become a successful human.  At what point do we reach success, really?  Even when we get to the top of the ladder we are climbing, and we have the perfect house, car, and kids; are we at the top of that success yet? 

I would argue that if we have success of any kind and have no faith, than we have nothing. 

If I had a deeper faith every time someone said good morning, I would be Rich beyond measure!

Success with out faith is nothing.  Faith is Success.

Dress Ups and Openers..... No Not Girls.....Sentences

The days of writing a proper sentence are gone, or are they.  I have the amazing privilege to homeschool one of my children.  Now, before the thoughts and comments role, I know that it is strange for me to only homeschool one child.  To be honest all three of my children have been taught at home during some point in their life.  This is something that will continue to occur.  We take it year by year on what we feel is the best educational environment for our children.  I have seen several different situations in which a child has the best teachers, the best school academics, and the best positive role models.  I have also seen situations where the teacher is in the wrong field, and because they made a poor choice it is reflected on how they approach and work with the children in their class.  This is one of those times when the child suffers the most, and even the most gifted and talented of children will founder under a teacher who cares more about the three month vacation than they so about the child learning the proper math equations.  I do not have a beef with any teacher, and these are just observations I have made over the years.  I have even been that child in the class with that kind of teacher.  I was fortunate thought, that my parents where praying for me to succeed through the good and the bad. 

As a homeschool 7th grader my daughter is taking a course (yes from another teacher), on writing and proper techniques.  Now before you keep reading, I will pre-warn you this might get boring if English is your enemy.  :) 
This is a small glimpse of what she is required to do with every sentence and paragraph and research paper she writes each week. 
-Dress-Ups.  (no not the girly kind, or the Barbie doll kind)
   She has to use dress-ups in her sentences to show that they are full of strong verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and clauses.  Here is an example:

                   who-which clause

 

1.  The dog, who felt alone after his playmate left, laid his head on his paws with tears in his eyes.

                    Quality adjectives
1. The store appeared to be dowdy, but full of charm and character.

                    Sentence Openers are another area she has to included.  Everything from a subject, prepositional, to a ly or ing word as the opening of the sentence.

I say all this to say one more thing.....  I am so so proud that my daughter can write a sentence that is inspiring and creative.  I love that she chooses to write sentences now even with out thinking that have quality adjectives, and attention grabbing openers.  For me as her mom this is the best kind of dress-up!

Rasing Boys with a Lawnmower and prayer!

May my son listen to the way of wisdom and be led in the paths of uprightness (Proverbs 
4:11).

As the only "boy" in our home, I think there is a bit of added pressure on Hunter to be a little man.  He has a kind heart, and is the greatest friend to everyone. He plays well with his little sister, and stands up and battles his big sister.  He is a natural born athlete and there is not a sport he doesn't like to play or watch.  He is a really good writer and very creative in his school work.  I think I worry a lot about the way we are raising him in a world that is so full of anti-masculine behavior.  I want him to know that it is not only okay to be a man and act like one, I want him to know what it truly looks like to be a man.  Integrity is a word and discussion we have very often with in our home.  Bringing a boy in a world that seems to be getting farther and farther away from men being leaders.  I want my son to lead in life, as well as in his future.  I want him to be a Godly leader on a college campus, in his career, and most in his family life.

I enter the battle field everyday on my knees for my children.  For Hunter I approach it with a lot of prayer about his protection, his heart, and his motives.  I also try to find ways around our home that give him the opportunity to be a "man".

• Take out the trash
• Feed the Dog
• Play football with the Dog
• Put away his own clothes
• Read to his sister
• Set aside time to read his Bible
• Help Daddy with drilling, building, anything involving tools
• Give him time on his own to just be a boy without battling the girls.
• Mow the Lawn

Some would argue that my nine year son is too small and young to cut the grass with a push mower.  I would say it is the best part of the day when he gets to cut the grass.  He is strong enough, smart enough, and tough enough to cut the grass without any help.  Best part is when he starts the pushmower, by pulling the rope, without any help and turns to me and smiles.  Yes, he can do it and he is so proud of himself.  God has a purpose for him and when we help him see that he matters and he has purpose then he is successful!!

                                                         Cutting Grass in the Rain!

Five-Oh Yes Five

So, I decided to start blogging.  Not sure I will be that “Mom’s Night Out” ideal mommy blogger.  I normally don’t even remember to take vitamins everyday, much less enter thoughts or events on a blog.  I do however want to blog about my life, my kids, my friends, my work, my education, my husband, our dog, and any other life amusing, and heart breaking event that we experience.  So here Goes.  Book’em Dano!!

In Your Dreams Kid!!

Headed thru Chick fil a drive thru with my 12 year daughter.  I truly enjoy those times when she and I get to go to lunch.  Let me add that my 12 year is almost 6 foot and beautiful.  So she gets viewed as a teenager quite often.  However she is the sweetest, babydoll playing, adventurous girl I know.  Boys are a distant thought to her.  She is still in that stage of thinking that touching them is gross.  PRAISE THE LORD!!  We have focused our time and efforts studying Gods word, purity, and loving who she is in God.  We have also taught her to find her worth in God and not in boys or friends.  She is that great success story of a child who genuinely listens.  We have just recently gotten to a point where we talk about the fact that it is okay for her to think a boy is good looking.  She has been instructed by myself, and her Grandpa; the same wise words he told me..”Don’t ever smile at a boy.”  With her happy self she finds that hard to do, as she is being friendly.  OH OH OH  But today,  the boy was cute and she was trying so hard to look forward and not move!!!  We drove through the drive thru, at the busy time for chick fil a, and of course we have a person walk up and take our order and a young man standing outside to take our money.  As I was paying this “handsome” young man, he was looking right passed me.  “Can you watch the change you are counting their dude?” Is what I wanted to say!  But I was pleasant and quite.  For I knew something he didn’t,  there was NO WAY IN ….The World he would get closer to my daughter than through a drive thru window.  He was smitten with her.  It was actually kind of sweet.  I turn to my Daughter and she is still frozen looking forward.  She knew she was being starred at and was unsure what to do about it.  I began to laugh, and she says “Momma, he was actually really good looking”, is that okay?  I smiled and said, “I am sure he thinks it is okay that he is good looking”, and yes you agreeing is okay also.  The positive to the story, she felt good about herself that a boy thought she was pretty.  The other positive, she talked to be about it and we had a good laugh!  The negative, BOYS!!!!!!!!  Ahhhhhhh!!  Looking at my baby girl, Oh no you didn’t

Freedom Is So!!

Overrated!  No!  Freedom is free! No!!  Freedom is so special! No!  Freedom is an emotional heart felt connection inside us that drives us to obtain more than we deserve.  Living a life as someone who is not only shy, but an introvert in the truest form.  At times when simple questions are the scariest thing in the world, you fill tied up and alone.  You ask a customer service worker for help, and get sarcasm.  It most cases, most people would respond and put them in their place.  For an introvert, who would rather duck and cover than bring attention to themselves, confronting them is a big NO NO!  This is the case in public as well as in private life.  Every emotion is carefully thought out and reasoned before it is expressed. Wanting to be like, oh….  that is the one that will put you into hiding.  So much time,  effort, and energy is put into not being embarrassed or picked on in any way.  The level of anxiety that comes with making the grade, looking to best, being the best size and in fashion is at times mentally and emotionally crippling.  The world says that you have to speak up or speak out or you will looked over.  That is soooooo true.  You are viewed as immature, or weak or heaven for bid passive.  Others get your job, or your friends, or ignore asking you to go out.  This is all because you are who you were created to be, and the world says you need to be different or more. 

Now, is there a solution or should there be one?  Yes!!!  Freedom in who you are!  You have felt tied up and imprisoned for so long.  You have based life choices, how you act, and even how you parent on what others think and if you meet their standard.  The knowledge that you ARE ALLOWED to be FREE to be who YOU TRULY are is true freedom!  Release the tie around your neck and just be you.  Funny, exciting, loving, adventurous you.  Go out and rule the World!   Do a happy dance!!  Jump for Joy!!  Guess what introvertism is in, and judgement from the world is out!!