All in a day's work!

So today has been an adventure, and it's not even over. It started off just Hannah and I, snuggling on the couch, playing some video games this morning while the boys slept. We have a rule that, in general, unless we are going out or having guests over, the kids can pick out their own outfits. Hannah dressed for summertime.

Then, it was time for breakfast-cereal with chocolate milk. Then clean up time. Then I got a shower while the kids played reading games on the computer (www.starfall.com).  Then, it was time for lunch. Pasta for the girls and sandwiches for the boys.  We measured out the water and the pasta, and cut the sandwiches into various shapes they chose.  Then Christmas themed Math worksheets.

Today Hannah learned how to carry the 10's!!! She was so excited when she figured it out too. I love the feeling that comes with learning something for the first time and seeing that light bulb go off. Then we put a turkey in the oven for dinner, and later she will help me make the side dishes. Now it's time for Naps for the younger kids, and resting/reading time for Hannah and Mom.  After that, we'll probably play some chess or a board game, and then maybe work on our unit study on Christmas around the world before dinner.  Then the kids can set the table, and help get things ready for dinner. After we eat, we will maybe watch a movie, then baths, then bed. 

Then again, that's just today. Tomorrow we may do nothing but color and watch cartoons all day (although I doubt it).  Instead, we might buckle down and work on memorizing some math facts, or write a letter to the grandparents.  Or I may have Hannah read a book to the boys and then I'll make up a quiz on it for her to take. Then we could do a science experiment. Or maybe we'll do a counting and sorting activity-I still am trying to get caught up on laundry.  Or maybe, just maybe, we'll go on a field trip. We do that a lot-I would say once or twice a month, at least. Whenever the mood strikes us really. In fact, I try to do at least one a week although it doesn't always happen. We might go to the zoo, or the children's museum, or see a play. Sometimes we go to the grocery store and use that as an opportunity to talk about money and the cost of things. Sometimes we go to the post office and talk about how mail gets from one person to the next. We can even turn a check up at the doctor's office into a field trip! That's one of the reasons I love LOVE love Homeschooling so much is that each and every part of our day becomes a learning opportunity for them.  It's definitely not right for everyone, and takes patience and lots of love, but it works for us and I wouldn't have it any other way!!

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas

So, to my surprise, we actually did get some snow last night. First snow of the season! It wasn't much, but it did stick around this morning. The kids had been begging me to play outside in it, so I gave in and let them run around for a few minutes and burn off some energy. Now they are chillin (or warming up hopefully) on the couch watching Gnomeo and Juliet. The little guy is in the pack n play enjoying some chocolate milk and Trix cereal, and I am relaxing in the office. Truth be told, I am slightly off task-I should be doing research for our Christmas lapbooks we are going to start later this week.  For the next couple weeks of school, we are going to do a unit study on Christmas around the world.  I am also hoping to teach the kids a little more about the true meaning of Christmas,  rather than just thinking about what presents they want.  For the first time ever, I think we are going to make some type of advent calender, complete with daily activities to count down the days till Christmas. I also want to have the kids make handmade gifts for friends and family, rather than trying to spend spend spend. I hope that it will mean more than just something that they can go out and buy for themselves if we put our thought and time into something.  

That being said, I love this time of year. It's no secret to those who know me that Christmas around our house is a big deal. As soon as Fall comes around, we start to go a little Christmas Crazy here. We are watching movies and listening to Christmas music by September usually. By the first of November, our tree goes up.  By the time everyone else starts getting in the mood, we've been decked out for at least a month already! I love the smells and sights of the season. I can't wait to start baking - I'm sure there will be a cooking lesson for the kids in there somewhere- yummy holiday goodies. 

New Beginnings

So, I have to say, this isn't the first blog I have ever written. It's not to say that I have been the most active blogger at all. In fact, in the past the various blogs have been sporadic at best. This is going to be a more earnest attempt however, at sharing my thoughts on our life in general. I have been really thinking lately about the verse behind a Steven Curtis Chapman song titled "Do Everything".  The meaning behind it comes from 1 Corinthians 10:31 and it really is such a profound message wrapped in a simple line: "Do everything you do to the Glory of the one who made you."  Whether you are studying for school, doing your 9-5 job, or taking care of the kids all day, we have a mission. Everything we do should be our best, and our intent should be to please God in the process.

I am a big believer that nothing we ever do is an accident, and that even the little things have a reason for happening, even if we don't always see it.  No one is perfect, so in our "mistakes" we should try to learn from them. In the trying times, we should trust that God will be with us holding our hand and carrying us when we feel we cannot go on.  In the stressful times, he may be teaching us patience.  In the hard times, we can find peace in knowing that he will provide. I am going to be making a stronger effort to serving him in all I do. It really is so complex and so simple at the same time. Be joyful and slow to anger.  Be prayerful in all we do.  Dig into his word when we don't know the answer.  Speak kind words and love your neighbor even when it *seems* hard.  Show love and share Christ with those who don't know him and those who do alike, as well as to those who do and don't love you.  I am the furthest person I know from a perfect person-and that's not a cliche when I say that.  It's absolutely true. But I know God would have be striving not for perfection but to please him. So perfection isn't a goal anymore. Although God is perfect, I believe all he expects of us is sincerity and love.  He doesn't want "good" people. He wants us to follow him, love him, serve him, in everything we do. There is, believe it or not, a difference.  You can be a "good" person (in theory) and not love God, and then it will have all been for nothing.  I really believe that.  The Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 that love is the most important. You could do all the right things but if you aren't motivated by Love for Christ and your brother, then it is all pointless.

-Mel