My Latest "Building" Project

This next Friday Sandra at Sawdust & Paper Scraps is hosting another Build{Hers} Club Party and I am hoping I have a project to submit.  This is not really a building project but it does require the use of some power tools so maybe that will be enough to qualify.  Whatever the case, it should give me the push I need to complete this project, provided everything goes smoothly, which I know from experience it probably won't!

Here is a sneak peek at what I am working on!

I promise that no matter how far I get, I will show you my progress this next weekend and explain a little about the new room project I have going!

Blogging At FabGab - Come On Over

Sometimes I have the privilege of blogging over at FabGab so come check out my latest post all about the Father being an active participant in my life, something I have been learning as I have been studying John 15.

What We Expect From Our Children Regarding Chores

A couple of weeks ago, I cancelled school for the day and insisted we clean up the disaster the house had become.  We had a designer coming over early that afternoon and I wanted some sense of order before then.  The kids were unbelievable, really, in their desire and dedication to help.  RJ kept asking what else she could wipe.  The boys would ask what else they could do to help.  It was amazing since I expected them to complain with each and every task.  Chores are no one's favorite thing to do. But something great happened that day.  The Lord taught me that they are capable of much more than I think.  They are capable of doing much more than I have asked of them in the area of chores.  I have only been expecting so little of them, that is what they were giving to me.  They would complain about each and every thing I wanted them to do in regards to cleaning.  Clean their room?  Grumble.  Tidy the entrance?  Complain.  Pick up the toys?  Claim extreme fatigue.  It was ridiculous.  But on that morning, their attitudes were cheerful and helpful and I knew they could do more than I had expected.   It had already been on my mind, the whole subject of what they could contribute to the maintenance of our house but that day, my eyes were opened to the possibilities.  I did a little online research and discovered some moms that give their kids LOTS of chores to do everyday.  Like a full hour of chores.  We are not at that point.  But I did up the chore chart a whole pile and came up with something that has worked well now for 1 full week.  Sure, it will get tweaked just a little as we go along but they now have chores every morning before school that could take a full half hour.  This morning my five year old tidied up the dining room and swept and mopped the kitchen floor while the 7 &8 year old boys were busy cleaning bathrooms and mopping those floors.  They can do it!  It just has to be understood that you expect no complaining (a cheerful attitude would be great but I will take no complaining), you expect it to be done to the best of their abilities and you expect it to be done in a timely manner.  THEY CAN DO IT!!  And I make sure to praise them for the great job they are doing.  Is it done just as well as I would do it?  Not always.  But are they trying their hardest?  You bet!  Now, depending on the day, I have the kids washing kitchen cupboards, wiping down bar stools and dining room chairs, wiping down my appliances, dusting, changing sheets on their beds, washing towels and bedding, washing windows, and other age-appropriate chores.  Since those chores all happen before school starts, there is also the understanding that after school is done, they must tidy their rooms before they are allowed to play with friends.  That keeps their rooms from turning into a disaster that takes days to sort out.  My house is looking tidier and cleaner and I am able to get other chores done because of the help they are contributing.  I am so glad the Lord is teaching me to expect great things from my kids and then to pray that they would have great attitudes and a good work ethic!  What a great lesson for me (and them) to learn.  How does the whole chore thing go over in your house?  What kinds of chores do you expect from your kids?  I would love to hear from you!

3 Days As An Early Bird And How Is It Going?

Great!  Really, really great!  That first night, the night before waking up at 6am, I ended up being awake for an entire hour at 3 in the morning!  Wide, wide awake!  I was truly excited about getting up at 6am.  Yeah, I never thought I would say those words.  Well, unless something really great was going to happen like leaving on a safari or a cruise or something.  But I was just getting up.  Yeah, I was just getting up to spend time with the KING OF THE UNIVERSE!!  You cannot get any greater than that!  I know He came to join me.  I could feel His presence with me in my living room and I was in awe!  The Creator of the world was sitting with me.  WOW!!  I read the Word.  I studied the Word.  I spent time in prayer.  I wrote in my thankfulness journal.  I even worked out!  And I went on with my day.  Admittedly, I was tired before 10 that night but it forced me to go to bed at a reasonable time so I could get up the next morning and do it all again!  And the words on the page jumped out at me.  My desires and the Spirit are enemies of each other.  Did you know that?  Enemies!!  No wonder doing the things of the Spirit can be so hard sometimes since we are enemies!  But it also says that the Spirit is life!  LIFE!  He wants so badly to give life to me.  On my own, I am dead!  I am selfish.  I am mean.  I am not a nice mom!  I am a rude wife.  Trust me, the list goes on!  But in the Spirit, with the Spirit at my side, I have life.  And I am gentle.  I am patient.  I am kind.  And that list goes on, too!  I have noticed these past few days that the Spirit really can change my behavior, he can change my heart.  When I would have gotten angry at my son breaking my very favorite steam mop, I was gentle instead.  I noticed.  My son sure noticed.  This is what life in the Spirit can do.  Was I a terrible mother before?  No.  But isn't it worth getting up at 6am and spending time with my Savior, my Redeemer, knowing that He gives life and sharing that life with those around me?  Sharing that loving kindness?  Totally, totally worth it!

Night-Owl to Early-Bird

If you know anything about me, you know that I am a night owl.  I love to stay up late.  Midnight is my friend.  I also love to sleep!  Sleep and I go hand in hand.  A nap is a wonderful treat and I relish every Sunday afternoon because it is a GUARANTEED time for me to nap.  A long uninterrupted guilt-free nap.  Now, if you take time to think about it, being a night-owl and loving sleep can only mean one thing - sleeping in in the morning.  It is very easy for me to sleep uninterrupted until 8am.  I can often be found in bed when my kids awake.  Rarely, seldom, if ever, am I awake before them.  After all, I need my 8 hours minimum to be happy.  All of that is about to change.  A month ago - well, maybe two months ago - I stumbled upon a blog called Inspired to Action.  I haven't taken the time to explore all that the blog has to offer but I do subscribe by email.  It has been filled with many great posts that really get me thinking: about my Lord, my family, my kids, my contribution to their lives, and myself.  I noticed that she wrote something called "Maximize Your Mornings" where she talks about getting up FOR your kids instead of getting up TO your kids.  When the first thing you see in the morning as you open your eyes is some cute little ladies standing beside your bed, you are certainly getting up TO your kids, not FOR them (and when I say for them, I don't mean because they peed their bed, or are sick or are scared or are cold or are thirsty or any of those other million things that our kids may need and you need to get up for.).  She explained that getting up for your kids is about getting into the habit of rising earlier than them so that you could spend time in the Bible, in prayer, maybe exercising - just getting prepared for your day before their day begins.  It never sounded so appealing to me.  So, starting tomorrow, I will be getting up at 6am as part of the Maximize Your Mornings Challenge.  Yeah.  I even chose that time.  What was I thinking?!  I have been practicing for the past couple of weeks by going to bed between 10:30-11pm and rising around 6:30.  It has not been easy.  One day off, one day on kind of thing.  But tomorrow I jump in with both feet.  To keep me accountable, I have a group of 12 women from all over the US that will be expecting an email from me at 6am to say that I am up.  And they will be there to encourage me every step of the way.  There is even a Bible study for us to follow (it is a free Bible study that anyone can download - it is on the Fruits of the Spirit - check it out here)!  How great is that?!

I am expectant.  I am expecting the Lord to meet with me.  I am expecting to grow in my faith as I read His Word each and every day (no weekends for sleeping in!).  I am expecting to enjoy time in prayer (she has 2 really great prayer calendars - one for your kids and one for your husband).  I am expecting answered prayers.  I am expecting that I will exercise at least some of those mornings.  And I am hoping that I will be able to spend a little time crafting as well.  My expectation is that I rise at 6, spend time with the Lord until 6:30, work out until 7, craft until 7:30 then greet my kids when they awake having been up myself for 1 1/2 hours.  Yikes.  If you know me, you know this might kill me.  If it doesn't kill me, it might make me stronger.  And that is what I am counting on.  So, for my last night of freedom, I am going to make some killer hot fudge sauce, slather it over some icecream, watch TV and fold laundry.  At 10pm I will wash my face, brush my teeth and hop in bed.  I will probably read a chapter or two in my novel and then lights out before 10:30.  After all, 6 am is only 7 1/2 hours after that.  We will see how tomorrow goes.  If I survive . . . There is always nap time, right?  :)

Our School Schedule and What to Do with the Youngest Kids!

I have had a few questions regarding our school schedule and what I do with the non-schooling kids while I teach the rest.  So, hopefully this answers some of those questions.

IDEALLY if everything goes as planned, which it seldom does, this is what our schedule looks like:
7:30 kids wake, make beds, get dressed, eat breakfast
8:00 chore time
8:30 read aloud time when I read to the kids
9:00 Pepe & AJ start on their Phonics, Math, Spelling books while I teach RJ (if the boys are working hard, they will be finished long before 11)
11:00 Pepe and I do composition
12:00 lunch (um, ya, like I said, if it is an ideal day!)
1:00 Mondays and Wednesdays the boys and I do Science, Tuesdays and Fridays we do Geography.  We should be done by 2 or 2:30

I school from September 1 to May 30 and we finish all our curriculum during that time.

Thursday we don't do school since we are at a homeschool co-op every Thursday morning.

Some things I would like to work on:
1.  Get the kids up at 7 so we can get more chores accomplished and start school a bit earlier.
2.  Organize the chores just a bit better for the kids so they are more involved with that.  Right now, Mondays the boys clean the bathrooms, Tuesdays the kids strip the beds of sheets and the boys put the clean sheets back on, Wednesdays the garbages are collected and after that I keep forgetting.  There is much more that can be scheduled in.
3.  Work scripture memory back into our day which will work if we implement #1.

What do the littlest girls do while I teach the others?  Well, Ali has her own preschool book that she works in whenever she wants on whatever page she wants.  It is not structured for her but if she is at the table and wants some help, I will take the time to explain what to do.  She just likes to be a part of the group.  I have also printed off pages of printing practice sheets so she can work on her printing.  She usually stays for just a little while and then is off playing with Ari.  We do school downstairs and that is where all the toys are so they are usually in my sight the whole time.  They are not allowed to go upstairs while I am teaching since that usually means they are doing something they shouldn't - or making a mess.

Sometimes, life presents other opportunities for learning so we will take the time for that.  Character is far more important to me than book learning.  Sometimes the house is a disaster and no one can walk for 3 feet without tripping on stuff so we take the time to clean.  Like today.  Since a designer is actually coming over later on to help us think through our blueprints to ensure we haven't missed anything, I figure the upstairs should at least be presentable.

Any more questions, just let me know!

Tie-One-On Bib (Perfect for that Little Man!)

I found this fantastic green plaid fabric at the local MCC and there is yards of it!  I knew immediatly it would make perfect bibs for the moms at the Crisis Pregnancy Center!  I just had to think of a way to make the bib say "boy" so I did a little internet searching and came up with this!  The bib is completely reversible with the other side being all green plaid to match the tie.

Perfect? No!  But perfectly adorable!