Tim Hawkins~ The Government Can

Alone Time

This week for So We Don't Forget, Lynnette came up with a great idea to write about what is our favorite alone time activities. Wow! That really made me stop in my tracks. I don't have a lot of alone time and when I do, typically it is to accomplish a task at hand. However, I remembered that I do get that time during the school year when Matt takes the girls to Bible Study Fellowship on Monday nights. I also am blessed that my girls are good to give me that time when I really need it if I ask them and set the timer. :)

I adore having some quiet time each day but do not always get it at this time. I am very much a people person who needs quiet to refresh from the people! Does that make any sense?! haha! Truly I do love to be around a group of people and enjoy that time. When I leave, I need quiet. I really enjoy driving in the car with no music or music that reminds me to look around me as I drive at God's creation. Drive time for me is a great time to really think and pray though my family and friends situations.

Sunset at the lake house~ 2009

At home, I love to curl up in my bed for a nap for quiet time. Those naps do not always bring sleep but they always bring the quiet I desire. I pray during that time as well. I think about what needs to be done. I ponder things my kids ask me. I just lay there and let my mind run its course until either I sleep or the fact that I am not is evident and I get up.

I also love to read books when I have the free time to really dig in to one. I tend to read so many books with my girls for school that I don't find time to read for myself much right now. But when I get that kind of time, I love it.

I am a journaler. Is that a word. I love to write...kind of helpful for a blog, don't you think? I love to write in my prayer journals when I am alone. Turn on the music, or open the window so I can hear the birds chirping and just talk to God. Those journals have brought me through many of the tough situations in my life and through the even more joys. I cherish those and know that one day my girls will get to enjoy them as well. It will be a good reminder that we never stop growing in Christ and we are in constant need of His help throughout our lives.

Sunset at Panama City Beach~ 2009

Finally, when I get time alone my absolute favorite thing to do is to sit out on my back porch or take a walk in God's creation. I am a girl who definitely gets rejuvenated by God's creation. I need to hear the birds, I need to smell the flowers, I need to see the colors of splendor as I look around. The blues, greens, tans, yellows, oranges...etc.. all scream to me of a mighty creator who cares about details and wanted to make them pleasing to His children. That is so calming to me. I love it. If I can't sit outside or take a walk, sitting by the window in the winter is good enough. Just seeing the trees covered in snow is truly enough of a reminder of just who God is for me. If I could choose where to spend that quiet time, it would be by the ocean or sitting in the middle of a wooded forest, on top of a mountain, on the shore of a lake, any place I can look around and see God's handy work and be at peace. While those places are not really close to home, I find great comfort in just closing my eyes and getting lost in the sounds of nature. God is so good!

What could be more peaceful than seeing God's handiwork and knowing if He can make colors like that appear with His words, than why do I ever worry about what is going on in my life?! Great source of comfort.

Happy Birthday, Doodle!

Today is Doodle's 12th birthday! It is so hard to believe that 12 years ago today is when we first got the call that we would be parents to a precious baby girl! A lot has happened in twelve years and most of all, we have witnessed this tiny little baby girl grow into a lovely young lady who loves the Lord with all her heart, honors her parents and is so kind and compassionate to others. While there is nothing quite as precious as holding that new born baby in your arms, this moment of truly enjoying and LIKING not just loving who your child has become and is becoming is pretty sweet in its own right. So, as my friend Lainie has set the precedent for birthdays, we are going to write our top 12 things we cherish about Doodle in honor of her birthday today.

Doodle with breakfast in bed this morning! Yummy!

1. I am always amazed by this girls love of God and how well she can memorize scripture. She not only is in Bible Bowl and doing well, but she chooses to write scripture and post it on her wall to remind her what God's Word says about areas she struggles. I don't tell her to do that and I don't tell her what verse she should use. God's Word is alive to her and I love that.

Doodle and Daddy headed to Bible Study Fellowship for the first time together~2005

2. Along with number 1, I adore watching Doodle dance for Jesus. Nothing moves me to tears quite as quickly as seeing her express her love for God through dance. Her teacher, Miss Pearl, has definitely passed on this passion for dance but more importantly a passion for honoring God in all we do. Doodle gets that she is not just learning steps to a dance but she is learning to honor God through dance. She is so reverent and has this glow about her when she is dancing for Him. That moment is precious to me to witness.

Doodle dancing at church~2006 (in the middle)

3. Doodle has the best sense of humor! She is a silly girl a lot of the time. She will dress up, use silly voices, make fun games or songs up to entertain. The girl likes to entertain and her favorite source of entertainment is through making people laugh. She loves to find a new joke to tell my dad or to hear one he has heard. That love of laughter is a shared bond with them as well as with others in the family.

Doodle dancing in the streets at DollyWood~ 2005

Doodle being silly after her shower~2007

4. Doodle has a passion for critters! She loves them and I love that about her. She does not see a toad, frog, bug, whatever that she does not want to pick up and check out. She has always loved observing this little guys and still does today! I prefer to step on spiders, she prefers to check them out and then let them go. We will have to continue to come to an agreement on that one. :) But I love her heart with it.

Doodle with a little friend on the stick...look at Bean's face! Doodle could not be more excited and Bean wants nothing to do with it! ~2004

5. Doodle has a fascination with science that is unheard of for most girls. She loves it. She also loves history. I love that she loves learning about whatever is peaking her interest at that time. Truly she has the skills to be a lifelong learner with little direction. She is able to take something that interests her and dig and dig and dig in to find out all she can until she is satisfied. That kind of diligence certainly has paid off for school and will continue to throughout her life.

Doodle's first taste of science fairs~ 2004

6. I adore this girls carefree attitude towards life. She truly doesn't' really care what others think about what she is doing, well at least so far. ;) If she likes Mickey Mouse and Belle, she really does not care if others do not. Likewise, if a friend really enjoys Hannah Montana, she doesn't and that is ok. She doesn't make them feel badly about it but the fact they like that is not going to sway her opinion. That is so cool! I never had that kind of gumption at her age.

Doodle loving Mickey Mouse~ 2003

Doodle with her favorite princess, Belle. 2008

7. Doodle loves to read and I share that passion with her. I love seeing her devour a book and get lost inside the story. We prefer to read books at the same time and enjoy that journey together but when that can't happen, I just enjoy seeing her on her many travels through the stories she reads.

8. Doodle is a wonderful mother's helper. She loves watching the little kids around her whether that is her smaller cousins, friends sisters and brothers or my friends young kids. No matter what the ages, she just plays with them and makes them feel special. She truly enjoys hanging out with them. They look up to her and that is such an honor to her. She will be such a good baby sitter one day and an even better mommy. :)

Doodle walking with our little buddies as well as her sister.

9. Doodle is an amazing kid in many ways, but one thing that I think is so cool is that she prefers to be with her cousins (and a few "chosen" cousins) rather than anyone else. She loves spending time with family. She has always enjoyed hanging out with both Matt and my grandma's. Most of all she likes hanging out with her God given and chosen family most of all.

10. One thing I could learn from Doodle, her determination to finish a task or reach a goal. She has such a gift to set goals and reach them. She loves making lists and checking the stuff off. I love to make the lists...just can't manage to cross it all off! She does! She knows what she wants to do and she puts her mind to it and does it. Amazes me.

11. Well, we can't have a list of Doodle facts and fun without pointing out one of her favorite moments as a big sister. Doodle led her little sister to the Lord a little over a year ago. They had come home from BSF with their daddy and had gone back to their room. It was very quiet. I was on the phone. Later, Bean came out and gave me a note that said:" when you are done talking, I would like to be a Christian". Needless to say, I got off that phone! I went back to find Doodle and Bean sitting on Doodle's bed. She had led Bean down the Roman road and prayed with her. I asked Bean if she understood what this meant? She relayed to me what she knew and I was convinced she understood so when Daddy got home that night, we all sat in a circle, holding hands and prayed with Bean. No one was more excited that night than Doodle! She cried tears of joy when Bean prayed that prayer. She was so excited she was jumping up and down. It was not an easy night to get them to bed, but what I love about this moment is that it doesn't stop there. She still is challenging Bean in her walk with the Lord. What a great calling to serve your little sister in this way. Now, I'm not saying they always get along, but I am saying this is an area that God has placed on Doodle to teach Bean and I am so thankful for that influence. :)

Just for fun...Doodle getting ready for a recital in 2005. Even though she is not smiling, I love this shot of my girls. Good reminder of how quickly time goes by. Look how little they are!

12. Most of all, I am thankful that Doodle is not only my daughter, but also my sister in Christ as she has accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. She is a baptized believer and we can be rest assured that we all get to spend eternity worshiping God together. Nothing is more precious than knowing that your children are walking in the truth. Even more special is that she truly shows she loves Jesus above all else. What a precious gift!

Happy birthday, sweetheart! I could not be more proud of who you have become and are continuing to become.

New Ears!

This is a big deal for Doodle. She has had friends all around her getting their ears pierced since she was 5. When her cousins started getting theirs done at 9 or so, that made her desire to have it done even worse. But we held true to the "13 or until you are mature enough to handle taking care of your ears as well as the ear rings" statement we had made early on. She stopped asking a couple years ago after watching someone get their ears pierced. She decided maybe she didn't want to do that after all and nothing more was said. Until this month...I had talked to Matt about the fact that she really could not be more responsible if she tried. Her bedroom is always spotless. She never has to be reminded of schoolwork or housework for the most part. She truly is a pretty responsible kid. So we decided that we were going to give her ear rings for her birthday and tell her when she was ready to get her ears pierced, she had our blessing.

Doodle's "old ears" before the mall trip.

Little did I know that she was thinking about the same thing! So, she asked a couple weeks ago if I thought she might be ready. I giggled and told her our plan. So, Saturday, the entire family went out to the mall and she had her big day. She picked out what she wanted and it was over before you could really get too nervous.

Doodle getting the marks put on her ears.

She did look a bit scared with the first one. But she did not flinch at all! What a brave girl!

One down and one to go. Sweet!

Since then, she has done everything she was suppose to do in caring for them. She is very excited to show off her new ears. I think the ears are just part of her excitement though. I think she is feeling pretty excited that her parents think she is mature enough to get her ears pierced younger than mommy did! :) Oh the fun of being 12!

New Ears! :)

Menu

First week of school down and done well. Yeah! This week will be a repeat of last week and looking forward to our trip to Michigan in two weeks. We will be going camping with a group from church to Mackinac City and then visiting the island. Should be fun! with that in mind, I am trying to use up what we have around here and not add more to the "need to get rid of before we leave" section. However, we do have a special day this week as Tuesday is Doodle's 12th birthday! Can you believe that! So she will be choosing her dinner that night. So here is what the Miller's will be eating:

Monday: chicken and noodles, green beans (the noodles are from an Amish farmer! awesome!)

Tuesday: (Doodle's birthday!!!) homemade chicken pot pie (her request!)

Wednesday: chicken on grill, veggies, bread

Thursday: taco salad, chips -n-salsa

Friday: homemade pizza, salad

Saturday: at the lake: hot dogs, fruit salad, baked beans, mac-n-cheese

Sunday: left overs

Flexible Schedules....Changing Goals

Have you ever sat down to plan for your family whether it be for school, chores, trips, whatever and realize very soon after that time that your plan is just not what fits best for the time in life, people or lifestyle you have right now? I know my desire is to get to bed earlier so we can get up and get going sooner in the morning. While this is a deep desire of mine, I have come to realize that my husband's schedule makes it very difficult to follow this early to bed, early to rise mentality. Being that neither of us are morning people, the change does not come easily, but we are willing to try. So what is the hang up?

I originally planned that I would get up between 6:45-7:00 every morning, get my shower and dress. At 7:30 wake up Doodle to get her shower. 7:45 for Matt and then 8:00 for Bean to get up and dressed. We would all eat breakfast at 8:15 before Daddy leaves for work. Then at bed time Bean would go to bed at 8:45 with lights out at 9. Doodle bed at 9 with lights out at 9:30. Matt and I to bed before midnight. (we are extreme night owls!) So far this week, we have only hit these goals one day! Last night I started to get really frustrated when my sweet husband was still playing around with the girls after 9. Then it hit me....am I becoming too focused on the schedule that I lose sight of these moments? People are always more important than paper and planning! I know that is true. I just get so tired of falling short of plans we make. So after realizing I was being silly, I joined in the fun. Later, Matt and I talked about our home and our plans.

Matt's office is open late two nights a week. He does not get home before 7:30 or 8 two nights a week. That puts our family time back two hours from the nights he gets home at 5:30. With that being true, it is tough to pick a set bed time that meets the needs for every night. So we have decided, for now, that we are just going to have to be a bit flexible with the schedule. Our goal is still to have the girls in bed at a decent hour so they get enough sleep for school to be successful. We also want to have breakfast together before he leaves for work. We desire to be in bed before midnight to make this happen. We also want to have the girls go to bed at different times to allow for some one on one with each of them. With all that said, I think I have realized that what works for some families, just is not going to work with my honeys schedule. I tend to long for structure and God continues to show me that the family is more important than the plan. :) Now if I can just let go of the pretty paper I made when I planned it all out! haha! What works for your family?

Raising Godly Kids in an Ungodly Culture

Tonight was the first in a series of studies by our pastor on raising Godly kids in an ungodly culture. I was moved by some of the facts given! Here are some of the facts he quoted about kids in America today:

• Out of 35 million kids ages 5-12, 1/3 of them will become believers by the time they are 13. After the age of 13, only 4% will accept Christ. Why is that? After the age 13, parents are no longer the major source of influence.

• American students are behind a full year or two compared to students their same age in other countries! That is startling to me!

• 1 out of 8 kids in America is obese.

• 1 out of 10 kids in America have sex BEFORE they turn 13!!!! 13!!!

• Binge drinking and prescription drugs are being abused regularly by teens today.

• 1 million students each year do not attend school at least one day due to fear of being hurt at school.

• There is a large lack of medical attention due to no medical insurance.

• 1 out of 4 students live in poverty or below poverty conditions in America.

• Eating disorders, cutting and embedding are on the rise among teens.

What does all this mean? Our children are at risk!

What does God's Word tell us? Matthew 18:1-6 is the story when Jesus tells a man how to get to heaven. He sees a boy and has him come over and tells the crowd that we all should be more like this child in our faith and if we hinder this child in their belief than we would be better off at the bottom of the ocean. (majorly paraphrased...read it for full impact!) That does a few things...it gave the child:

• worth

• love/compassion

• protection

Our kids still need all of that! They need to know they have worth in our eyes, in God's eyes and in the eyes of their family/friends. How often do I speak that to my girls? How often do you speak to your child about their worth to you? I was so convicted of this.

Again, in Matthew 3:17 is when Jesus was baptized and the heavens opened up to hear a voice saying, "This is my son whom I love." Our pastor pointed out two things...first of all that our kids need to hear about our love for them. But also that look at the words..."This is My Son...." means God was bragging on His boy to those around. What a powerful example! How often I will share in the heartache of parenting with my friends...but do I also share in the joys? I hope so, but sometimes I think it gets so easy to share the yuck we forget just what joy there is even in those moments. WE don't mean to not say to the world..."This is my daughter, whom I love!" We just tend to send the message of ," This is my daughter, who just made this mess!" I think it is very easy for our human eyes to see the flaws and not point out the things we see that bless us as well as bless God.

Another startling fact he brought out was that 3 out of 4 professors at universities are not believers and some have been quoted as saying they make it their goal to change the views of fundamental evangelical Christian kids who come into their class by the end of the semester. What?! So the point is, we need to make sure we are teaching our kids to LOVE GOD and not just follow rules. The rules will leave them when they leave our home and if they don't love God with all their heart they will not stand up under the pressure of the world. They will become that statistic. He mentioned that we raise our kids to send them out into the world to remain faithful to God forever. Are we doing that? Nothing is more important than raising our kids to love and honor God. Nothing. No car we have to have. No house we want to have. No degree or title. No sport. Nothing! If that is true, what do I need to adjust in my home to make sure I am not overlooking the most important job I have during the most important window of opportunity?

I have come home with a new challenge on my heart. I have 10 special kids in my life right off the bat...my girls and my nieces and nephews..there are 10 all together. That got me thinking...which one of those kids am I willing to sit back and say nothing to about God's ways and watch them become that stat at age 13 to be sexually active? Which one will be obese? Which ones will not come to know the Lord? Which ones will focus more on the pressures of this world than on God and choose to hurt their own bodies? That is so heavy on my heart. My girls are 9 and 12 (almost). That window of opportunity is closing in way too fast for me. I am so thrilled to know that both my girls accepted Jesus at an early age and have shown a heart to serve Him. However, I wonder, am I teaching them to follow the rules or to fall in love with Jesus? I don't know for sure, but one thing I know is next time I write about our Bible Study...I'll have made some changes and I can say with confidence that I am showing my girls how to love Jesus first and serve others before ourselves. One step at a time. I love challenges so this is just what this mom needed to hear. I am up for the battle and I know who my enemy is...even more amazing... I know who my redeemer, savior, creator, protector, God of Gods, Lord of Lords, Abba Father and the great I AM is as well. And He never loses!

Good bye Wednesday walks...Hello So We Don't Forget!

I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing some of my special moments and memories in my life with you through the Wednesday's Walk Down Memory Lane with my blog buddies at Dancing Barefoot on Weathered Ground. However, it is now taking a new turn and will become So We Don't Forget. Lynnette's reasoning behind changing the weekly meme is very wise:

"The goal with this weekly blogging activity has always been to document things you want to remember - things from years gone by to things you did yesterday! Details seem to quickly leave our minds, but if we write them down (or blog about them), we don't have to worry about remembering them!"

So with that change, I am starting a new weekly blogpost! This week's topic is school! We were encouraged to think about our school days, our child's school days, or homeschool days. Whatever we wanted to write about school. So since my last post on Wednesday's walk was on our decision to homeschool and was done late, I decided to repost that as my first post for So We Don't Forget! In case you are reading this, Lynnette, I like the change and look forward to reading what others write! :)

This past week my nieces and nephews are heading back to school. They are all excited but I get a bit sad when they go back as do my girls because that means we are back to not seeing them as much as we get to during the summer. This year, my youngest niece, "Fishy", starts full day kindergarten!! I can't believe it! Regardless, that got me to thinking back to when we started school with Doodle.

The decision to homeschool was a tough one for me. I came from a teaching background. I am a certified teacher as are my mom and sister. I have no qualms with knowing that there are very wonderful God-fearing teachers in every school. I do believe that because I lived it when I was teaching. I knew God can work in those schools. So if that is true, what lead me down the road to homeschool? That seems like a perfect question to answer in a Walk Down Memory Lane with my blogging buddy, Lynnette Kraft. ( or now a So We Don't Forget! post)

My girls and I at Park Mammoth Resort Doodle's first year of school.

When my nephew was in kindergarten, he still stayed with us for half a day. I loved watching him and finding out all about his day. What I did not enjoy seeing was the struggle he had once he started school. Now I will say right now that his learning style is not one that you go into a classroom, sit down, do your paperwork and be quiet. He is a kid who LOVES to ask questions, touch everything, and find out all he can know about that topic. Then he likes to tell you or anyone who will listen about what he learned. That style of learning does not make it as easy to succeed in a "typical" school setting. Now there are teachers out there that could and would make that work, but what I witnessed in his first two years of school was a bit shocking to me as an aunt but also as a mom of a little girl who learned very similarly.

Doodle's drama debut as a cow during a creative drama class. (fall 2005)

You see, over the years of watching him, I had encouraged he and Doodle to ask questions. I knew that the best way to become a lifelong learner is to ask questions and seek answers. That is great, but not for a typical classroom. I watched this little guys fun loving, carefree spirit for learning turn into something I can't put word to. Besides that, there was the issue of "fitting in" with the kids. He didn't fit in. He still doesn't for the most part and truly I know his parents don't want him to. Fitting in means being focused on self, material possessions and not caring for others who are less or have less than you. He has a heart for God and sees in others what other kids miss. For that he gets called names at times and that is very hurtful but it does not stop him. He also is able to share Jesus in school when he has the opportunity through various papers or speeches. Very cool!2005/2006 school year brought Bean into the mix more. In history we were learning about ziggurats and made them in the above picture. We also took time for service projects. We decorated pillow cases and filled them with school supplies, clothes, shoes and such for kids in Nepal.

Regardless, when I saw what had happened to him, I felt a strong conviction because I had felt that I had somehow encouraged this love of questions. (since then I know that is not true...he just is that way!:) My husband had always wanted me to homeschool. He is my biggest cheerleader and felt that my girls deserved the "best teacher" and that would be me. (his words not mine!) As flattering as that was to hear, I truly felt that choosing to do this would be saying I hated my profession which made me feel like a traitor! I felt such an inner turmoil.

February 2006, we went to Romania on our first family mission trip. Here we are in Budapest, Hungary before we returned home. Nothing like walking through history!!

We started praying about this choice when Doodle was only 4. I had no desire to take this journey. Why would anyone WANT to do this? Only those freaky people do this! Oh, the judgmental things I had going through my head at that point. God knew I needed to see the other side! :) After many prayers, we decided to take the plunge and see if we could make this happen. We attended the homeschool convention that spring before Doodle started kindergarten. I recall walking in that building with such an arrogance! I just thought since I had a teaching background I "knew" what to do. I just knew I had a heads up on these little homeschoolers! Haha!! I knew NOTHING!! God also has a way of humbling you in the areas we think most of ourselves, doesn't He! :) I am grateful for that.Perk of homeschool: school on the road. Matt had meetings in Nashville, so we took school and went along. Our motto for the week: "school then pool"! Great memories! Fall 2007

That first year was fairly easy for Doodle as she was already reading. We did school while Bean was napping in the afternoon, which allowed the girls to have their "normal" play time all day long. She was just excited to learn about all kinds of new things. I remember telling a friend of mine at the time that I didn't know how long we would do this. We would take one year at a time and see how it goes. That was almost 7 years ago now! That little girl is now going into 6th grade and her little sister is in 3rd. I can't imagine not being a part of their schooling now. Making a lemon battery. Spring 2009

God does have a sense of humor as well. I thought after finding stuff for Doodle that it would make it easier for her little sister...but that is not the case. We are still learning what is best for our kids learning styles. What works for Doodle normally will not work for Bean. I have experimented with LOTS of curriculum choices. I struggled to want to like what my friends used but I just didn't. Finally, I have found what works for us and we have been in a groove for the past couple years. I think it took us at least three years to fully get into some kind of plan that would set our kids on a path for success. We did not know what to expect. We were having fun with the freedom as well as just hanging out with our girls.

We love to do projects that coordinate with what we are learning. Guess what we are learning in the above picture? Spring 2009

One thing that has become a huge blessing in all of this has been the fact that I have learned that I love hanging out with my girls. I love their sense of humor and their hearts for learning. We get to work on heart issues as they arise no matter what else we are doing. We have the freedom to set math aside and deal with a heart of anger or selfishness when needed. That has been a great gift. I also am still learning as we go along! I love finding out things I may have studied but since forgotten. I thrive to teach them to be lifelong learners and to seek out answers for their questions. I am so thankful that I listened to my husband and did what he really wanted me to do even though at the time I could not picture me fitting in to this world of homeschoolers. God's plans are not always ones that make sense but they always make peace. :)

My girls and I at the beach this past Spring Break. What a joy to have so many fun memories. Obedience is such a blessing! Thank you, God, for giving us the joy you have through our journey.

Menu

This is our first week of co-op and our school starting. Things will be back to normal a little bit at a time I am sure. I am also trying to get to adjust our schedule to accomplish all that we desire to do this year. Eating healthy is on that list of things we want to do this year, however, eating cheap is too. Since the supplies and books we have purchased lately have caused the checkbook to swell, I have decided to have meals that do not break the bank to help stop the bleeding of the bank account! So here is what the Miller's will be eating:

Monday: (first day co-op and my mom's birthday) Sandwiches on way to party

Tuesday: Mexican Skillet Dinner (sausage, rice, beans, salsa) and chips

Wednesday: chicken and noodles, veggies from friends garden

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner: pancakes and sausage patties

Friday: spaghetti and meatballs, salad

Saturday: Boiled Supper: potato, green beans and polish sausage

Sunday: left overs! :)

Co-op Begins!

Today was the start of our homeschool co-op, which means our school officially started today. What a crazy day we had! It was so fun to see our friends and to get back to the routine of our school days.

One of the things I have always done with my girls, regardless of homeschooling, is take a picture for their first day of school. I know many homeschool families do not do that because they school year round, which I love. However, I love looking back at the pictures my mom took of me at the start of each new school year. It is fun to see how the girls change and how the outfits change over time too! Too fun! Anyway, here are the girls first day of school pictures for 2009.

The Miller Girls looking way to big
for their momma's liking. :)

Lake House Fun!

This weekend we took my sister and her kids with us to the lake house. I thoroughly enjoyed watching her kids experience new things while there. I also love that our kids gel together so easily. God is good in that gift. I most enjoyed getting to hang out with my sister for more than 2 hours. That is something that just does not happen regularly. I thought it would be fun to post some pictures from our fun weekend!

Mater looking too cute on the boat for his 1st boat ride!

D-man enjoying his tubing debut with Uncle Matt at the helm!

Doodle and Mater for his first tubing experience. Do you think he liked it? Look at that face! Total joy!

Bean and C.J. on the tube waiting for the big ride!

My sister, D-man and Bean on the ride of their life!

D-man, Doodle and Mater tubing but look at that sunset!!

Doodle and Mater fishing off the dock.
This was his first time to fish too.

C.J. fishing and looking cute.

D-man fishing off the dock.
He enjoyed fishing the entire time.

All the big guys fishing.
My favorite shot of the trip...well, almost...

Daddy and Doodle...
my favorite shot of the weekend for sure!

Doodle and D-man took the paddle boat out for a ride. They ended up going around to the large portion of the lake! I had to hunt them down on the sea-doo. They had so much fun but it surely made the parents nervous when we could not see them any longer.

The Journey Begins

I know, it's not Wednesday, but I think it is still safe to post today. This week my nieces and nephews are heading back to school. They are all excited but I get a bit sad when they go back as do my girls because that means we are back to not seeing them as much as we get to during the summer. This year, my youngest niece, "Fishy", starts full day kindergarten!! I can't believe it! Regardless, that got me to thinking back to when we started school with Doodle.

The decision to homeschool was a tough one for me. I came from a teaching background. I am a certified teacher as are my mom and sister. I have no qualms with knowing that there are very wonderful God-fearing teachers in every school. I do believe that because I lived it when I was teaching. I knew God can work in those schools. So if that is true, what lead me down the road to homeschool? That seems like a perfect question to answer in a Walk Down Memory Lane with my blogging buddy, Lynnette Kraft.

My girls and I at Park Mammoth Resort Doodle's first year of school.

When my nephew was in kindergarten, he still stayed with us for half a day. I loved watching him and finding out all about his day. What I did not enjoy seeing was the struggle he had once he started school. Now I will say right now that his learning style is not one that you go into a classroom, sit down, do your paperwork and be quiet. He is a kid who LOVES to ask questions, touch everything, and find out all he can know about that topic. Then he likes to tell you or anyone who will listen about what he learned. That style of learning does not make it as easy to succeed in a "typical" school setting. Now there are teachers out there that could and would make that work, but what I witnessed in his first two years of school was a bit shocking to me as an aunt but also as a mom of a little girl who learned very similarly.

Doodle's drama debut as a cow during a creative drama class. (fall 2005)

You see, over the years of watching him, I had encouraged he and Doodle to ask questions. I knew that the best way to become a lifelong learner is to ask questions and seek answers. That is great, but not for a typical classroom. I watched this little guys fun loving, carefree spirit for learning turn into something I can't put word to. Besides that, there was the issue of "fitting in" with the kids. He didn't fit in. He still doesn't for the most part and truly I know his parents don't want him to. Fitting in means being focused on self, material possessions and not caring for others who are less or have less than you. He has a heart for God and sees in others what other kids miss. For that he gets called names at times and that is very hurtful but it does not stop him. He also is able to share Jesus in school when he has the opportunity through various papers or speeches. Very cool!2005/2006 school year brought Bean into the mix more. In history we were learning about ziggurats and made them in the above picture. We also took time for service projects. We decorated pillow cases and filled them with school supplies, clothes, shoes and such for kids in Nepal.

Regardless, when I saw what had happened to him, I felt a strong conviction because I had felt that I had somehow encouraged this love of questions. (since then I know that is not true...he just is that way!:) My husband had always wanted me to homeschool. He is my biggest cheerleader and felt that my girls deserved the "best teacher" and that would be me. (his words not mine!) As flattering as that was to hear, I truly felt that choosing to do this would be saying I hated my profession which made me feel like a traitor! I felt such an inner turmoil.

February 2006, we went to Romania on our first family mission trip. Here we are in Budapest, Hungary before we returned home. Nothing like walking through history!!

We started praying about this choice when Doodle was only 4. I had no desire to take this journey. Why would anyone WANT to do this? Only those freaky people do this! Oh, the judgmental things I had going through my head at that point. God knew I needed to see the other side! :) After many prayers, we decided to take the plunge and see if we could make this happen. We attended the homeschool convention that spring before Doodle started kindergarten. I recall walking in that building with such an arrogance! I just thought since I had a teaching background I "knew" what to do. I just knew I had a heads up on these little homeschoolers! Haha!! I knew NOTHING!! God also has a way of humbling you in the areas we think most of ourselves, doesn't He! :) I am grateful for that.Perk of homeschool: school on the road. Matt had meetings in Nashville, so we took school and went along. Our motto for the week: "school then pool"! Great memories! Fall 2007

That first year was fairly easy for Doodle as she was already reading. We did school while Bean was napping in the afternoon, which allowed the girls to have their "normal" play time all day long. She was just excited to learn about all kinds of new things. I remember telling a friend of mine at the time that I didn't know how long we would do this. We would take one year at a time and see how it goes. That was almost 7 years ago now! That little girl is now going into 6th grade and her little sister is in 3rd. I can't imagine not being a part of their schooling now. Making a lemon battery. Spring 2009

God does have a sense of humor as well. I thought after finding stuff for Doodle that it would make it easier for her little sister...but that is not the case. We are still learning what is best for our kids learning styles. What works for Doodle normally will not work for Bean. I have experimented with LOTS of curriculum choices. I struggled to want to like what my friends used but I just didn't. Finally, I have found what works for us and we have been in a groove for the past couple years. I think it took us at least three years to fully get into some kind of plan that would set our kids on a path for success. We did not know what to expect. We were having fun with the freedom as well as just hanging out with our girls.

We love to do projects that coordinate with what we are learning. Guess what we are learning in the above picture? Spring 2009

One thing that has become a huge blessing in all of this has been the fact that I have learned that I love hanging out with my girls. I love their sense of humor and their hearts for learning. We get to work on heart issues as they arise no matter what else we are doing. We have the freedom to set math aside and deal with a heart of anger or selfishness when needed. That has been a great gift. I also am still learning as we go along! I love finding out things I may have studied but since forgotten. I thrive to teach them to be lifelong learners and to seek out answers for their questions. I am so thankful that I listened to my husband and did what he really wanted me to do even though at the time I could not picture me fitting in to this world of homeschoolers. God's plans are not always ones that make sense but they always make peace. :)

My girls and I at the beach this past Spring Break. What a joy to have so many fun memories. Obedience is such a blessing! Thank you, God, for giving us the joy you have through our journey.