Blood Pressure and Planets and Football - Oh My!

Day three of the school year...

Been having some tightness in my chest for a couple of weeks, so I finally broke down and went to the Dr. today. My blood pressure is up a little and my bottom number is high. As it stands right now, I am taking a diuretic to take off some fluid, I am waiting on results from my blood work and I am having an ultrasound on my thyroid next week. Good news is that I lost 6 pounds in the past couple of months! I am mildly concerned about my blood pressure. Just had a friend go in the hospital with congestive heart failure. I have a some of the same symptoms. Little freaky. At the same time, I am so thankful that the Lord gave me a concern for my symptoms and friends and family that encouraged me to investigate them. I am thankful that the news I got was not worse that it was. I am thankful to have another day teaching and playing with my children and another night to sleep next to my husband.

In school today, we read about the Mayflower and a boy and girl on their way to the New World. The boys are quite interested in the adventures that the boy and girl are experiencing. It is warming to my heart to see my children listen intently to a story about our country. I am thankful every day that I am their teacher and that I witness the moments in each day when they find interest in a subject such as history! They have something that I never had! We also studied the planets today, learning of the indescribable universe that God created! The boys each made a salt dough model of each planet and then painted them. They took their time, worked slowly and placed details on each planet. It was way cool! I have always been fascinated with the planets and stars and I love being able to share something that I love with my children and at the end of the day, call it "school". God is so good!

The day ended in a bang at football practice. Noah and Jonah are playing football for a new team in a new town and will, at some point, be rivaling their friends and old teammates from Tipton County on the field. They have both grown and matured so much since last season. It thrills this momma's heart to see them so dedicated to hard work and a team of kids they haven't had time to get to know yet. Jonah's coordination has improved and listens intently to his coaches' instructions, trying hard to do exactly as they say. Noah's speed has picked up even more and he runs with everything he has and carries his dream to run the ball and get a touchdown for his team. Their coaches are dedicated and stern, offering words of encouragement and tools for improvement. I was nervous and concerned for what this season in football would bring, and I still am a little. However, as far as I have seen, this will be a great season for my boys! They may win them all, or they may not, but they will grow and learn and play till their hearts are content. They will proudly wear black and gold while holding their heads up high and God will reveal to them His plan in being in this new town on an new team. That is what it is all about... The love of the game.. of life!

New School Year 09/10

So, today is day two of my ninth year of homeschooling! We have lots of changes this year. Christian is a Junior at Munford High. Gage is a Sophmore working his way through the Gateway Extension Program. Chase is a Freshman at Bolton High. Noah is a middle schooler in 6th grade. Jonah is in 5th and Caleb is in 4th. My days this year will be very different form years past. Different is good, though.

Gage is working independantly earning credits in Latin, English II, Algebra I, Biology, US History and Health/PE. I am proud of his independance and lookinng forward to wathing him move at his own personalized pace. He began last week and will take tests later this week in Alg and Biology.

I am combining several subjects for my younger three. I am teaching Bible, English, History,Science and Writing to the three of them as a group. This simplifies my day and allows them to participate as a group. They still do their reading, vocab, logic and math individualy.

Today in science, we made salt dough models of the nine planets. It was exciting to watch the boys stretch, roll and mold the dough to form each planet, taking care to work in each detail. They need my help much less than they have in earlier years. Tomorrow they will paint each planet to match the real planets. They were more than happy to get their work done for me today!

I am looking forward to a great school year with each of my 6 boys!

Change is Inevitable, but What About When the Change Changes?

Philip is a creature of habit. Yes, I know we all are but he HATES change! Me on the other hand, I like it. I get bored with the same ole same ole. Well today as I was looking forward to change, it all changed. Talk about throwing me for a loop! I sat for a good solid hour just trying to get a grip of how it all came about. , I was so certain that the Lord had saved a house for us in Munford, that house. I just knew it the day we walked in the door to look at it. I felt like the whole time I was walking and looking and dreaming of where we would put our things that God had His arm around me and was walking by my side saying, "See me child, I told you it was all ok. I told you that I loved you. I saved this house just for you." Well, I know that all those statements are true, but evidently not about that house. I felt shattered. Soaking it all in and grasping that I was wrong about that perfect house.

Yes, it was old and needed some updating, but that is what I love to do! The teens wanted a Mountain Dew room. It would have been perfect on that neon green carpet upstairs. Caleb wanted a car room and we we planning how we would decorate it. I had actually convinced Philip to let me keep the pink walls in our room to go with our black/white/gray color theme.Goodness, I even had plans for a garden to grow veggies in.

I know I sound like I am torn up, but oddly, I am ok. It took an hour or two, but I know that there really is a perfect house for my family. It may not be perfect in my eyes, or my kids or my friends, but it will be be perfect in God's eyes because He knows exactly what we need and what house will be a home for us. He knows what home will meet our needs, but also grow us closer to him.

So now I am excited again! Waiting for His house for our family. Still looking each day. Still nervous because we only have 2 weeks to find one and move, but it is a different kind of nervous. It is peaceful. Not sure that I have ever been nervous and peaceful at the same time. God is so good! All the time! Pray with me as we travel to a new destination.

Finished a Chapter and Starting the Next One

You know, there are times and seasons in our lives that we just don't like, not even a little bit. Yes, there are blessings all around us at those times, but for some reason we are too wrapped up in the part we don't like to really enjoy the blessings. Well, in my world, each new year is a new chapter in my life book. The last few chapters have been hard and painful and challenging. Yes, I know that the Lord has worked and is working in each thing and has used and is using it for good in my life, but often, no most of the time, I am too wrapped up in pain, anger, bitterness and fear to care about the good that will come from it all. Well, the last chapter was not one of my favorite parts in my story. However....

I can see lots of god that God has worked in me and my family through the last year. We are closer. We are more humble. We are more at peace. Me personally, I know how to make $1 stretch even farther than I did the year before. I understand more about trusting the Lord to provide. (That is a whole other blog in itself!) I learned that there are people, good people, that go through tougher things than me. I felt the pain of really "needing" something and the relief/peace of God providing it. What a chapter in my life book this past year has been!

But today, I am confident that I began the next chapter! I am hopeful of my future. I am excited about the next steps I will be taking.(Even though they will be tough.) I am peaceful about my finances. I am calm, enough said!

Blogging IS a Good Thing

So last night I created blogs for three of my 6 boys. I have talked about it off and on with my 15 year old, but never for one minute considered it for the 8, 9 and 11 year olds. Yesterday, as I started school back after Christmas break, I was thinking about some changes that I want to make in the way that we school each day. I want my boys narrating back to me what they read. Well, if you know boys, you know that by nature they do not like to write and when they do write it is simple and basic. Narrating was a struggle in our homeschool. Then yesterday it hit me... let them blog their narrations!!! Of course, they can blog about anything else that they want to as well.

At that moment, the blogging journey began. I spent time with each one of them helping them choose colors and fonts and layouts and a title for their blog. They went to bed last night excited about doing their history and science today so they could blog about it. And on that note, they can't remember the word blog. They have called it bloogle, goggle, boogle and several others. That has been entertaining for me today. Can you hear this, "Mom, I finished my book. Can I bloogle now?" Yep, between the 3 of them, I have been laughing all day!

Well anyway, last night my friend Diana sends me a link to get blog layouts. That started a hunt to find a special one for each boy, and you know it had to complement their blog title. I didn't get to bed till 1:30! However, it was well worth it when I showed them their new layouts this morning. It was like Christmas for them.

Each of them has posted 2-3 times today, narrating their history and science selections. I never had to make them read or drag them to the laptop to blog. It was a good day in my homeschool today! My 9 year old even asked if he could blog about stuff that happens in his day too! What a blessing to finally find a key that opens the door for my boys to get information into their minds and from their minds onto paper, or a screen.

Tonight as I blog, I am smiling. :)

Thank You Lord for "New" Days

It is nice to reflect at the end of a day, not always, but today it is. I had a relaxed day. I was blessed in many ways and my mind was able to "rest" for a bit. It was much needed.

I started my day with a sweet good morning phone call from a special friend that gets up and gets going earlier than my brain does. And her children, though I adore them, seemed loud in my only awake for 10 minutes ears. But, it was a blessing, a blessing because I am thankful that this sweet friend and her family are in my life.

My next blessing was that I didn't cook breakfast for my family. Today they ate cereal. My children see cereal as a blessing because we only eat it twice a month and never on a weekday. I was thankful that I didn't have to cook and clean up the kitchen afterwards.

I was then able to enjoy a hot bath without one child interrupting me. (If you are a mother, you know this is very rare!) I soaked until I was a prune - lol.

My next blessing was visiting a homeschool "mentor" friend to borrow a few books and ask a few questions. She is so sweet to share with me and will probably never know what a blessing she is to me.

From there I went to another friend's house and sat and enjoyed 3 hot cups of coffee and talked a lot about kids and husbands and bills and kids and food and decorating and furniture and school and church. We haven't done that in a few months so there was lots to catch up on. It is special when another busy homeschooling mom stops and gives her time to just sit and talk with you.

During the time that I was there, I had another friend text me several times to see if I had heard any news about the job Philip is waiting to hear back from. It comforted me to know that she was praying for my husband.

I finally made it back home around 2:00 and enjoyed a hot bowl of the chicken and dumplings that I cooked the night before - and there was plenty left to feed the entire family lunch. (That NEVER happens!)

At 2:30 Philip and I were blessed with some money to buy groceries! Yes, and the amount was exactly what I spend on a two week grocery shopping trip!

The next blessing was a house that we looked at. It is $325 less a month than what we are paying now and we think the space will fit us nicely. Now to wait on the application approval. (I can handle this one! - With God of course!)

And then a safe trip home in the freezing rain and rush hour traffic.

My blessings continued at home when I cooked a delicious dinner and there was enough leftovers to feed my family dinner tomorrow night too. (Oh, and there is still enough chicken and dumplings left to feed us lunch tomorrow as well!)

So, as I reflect on this day, I KNOW that I am blessed, blessed above and beyond what I deserve. I reflect and I am thankful. I am peaceful. And somehow all that fear about the days ahead, is gone for this moment.

One Month Later...

So here it is, 4 days into the new year. Do I have a plan? Have I started on the right foot? Am I going to make 2009 a great year? My answer is honestly, I Don't Know!

The first of the year for many means new beginnings, another chance, a new start. For me, this year, it means fear. Fear of this year being worse than last year. This year being harder than last year. This year bringing more changes than last year, or worse, no change at all.

So I stare into the next 361 days in fear. Yes, I know that fear is not of the Lord. Yes, I know to trust Him and that ALL things work together for good for those that love the Lord. However, knowing all of that doesn't change the lack of desire that I have in me to not face more pain, to not face more failure and to not face more struggles. I just feel as if I need a year that is quiet, still and peaceful. Not a year that is a mountain, not a year that is a valley, a year that is just a plain with little to no change in the everyday terrain. Sure enough, as those words roll off my fingertips, my heart says "NO!". My heart dos want change, my hearts does want the end result and to see God's miraculous work in my life, my heart does want to touch each blessing that comes before, during and after the painful moments that happen in my life. I just wish, no, pray, that those blessings weren't so challenging to get sometimes.

I am tired. I am weary. I am weak. I am weepy. I just need a rest, a sweet time of rest. Today, tomorrow, next week, next month, till I am stronger.

Yes, I know that life waits for no one, I know that the show must go on, I know that I must play my part each day, no matter how tough it is, no matter how overwhelming it is, no matter what the end of the day brings. And, yes, I MUST PERSEVERE from the end of each trying day to the beginning of each new day.

Two Months Later...

So, it has been two months almost to the day that I blogged. Either I have been really lazy or really busy for the past two months. Let me catch up on some "majors" and then I can roll out the rambles of a busy and tired homeschool mom.

Oct...
Noah and Jonah finished out their football season. Both boys played well this year and worked hard to improve their abilities. Jonah says he won't play next year and Noah is already talking about what position he wants to play next year and what he can do in the spring/summer to be ready for football in the fall of 2009.

We hosted our first ever Halloween Party for just our friends. The kids all spent the night out with friends/family and we enjoyed an evening of adults. It was great! I still love to entertain and I still know how to dance - Good thing, or I would have been embarrassed. I just wanna know why I danced alone so much. Where were my friends that told be that we should have music and dance? I look forward to making this a tradition. We had good food and drink and great fellowship!

Nov...
We brought in the month with a surprise party for Gage's 15th birthday. It turned out great. Grandaddy Patrick, Uncle Patrick, Uncle Roger and Uncle Mike sent Gage some great cd's that they worked together to make for him. Joey, Jared, Hailey, Amanda, Heather and Amanda K. came out to celebrate and wish Gage a Happy Birthday. I hope that we made a happy memory
for him his year.

The Sunday before Thanksgiving, our family was blessed to join the Pike's for Thanksgiving Dinner. They are new friends to our family, but we already LOVE them dearly. We had a wonderful time of food, fellowship and dishes. LOL. It was amazing to spend the day with their 6 kids and our own in the same house and almost not know they were there. There was no fussing or fighting all day and I even think that a few of my boys like a few of her girls. It was a day that I KNEW what I was thankful for.

Two days before Thanksgiving, Philip, Noah, Jonah, Caleb and I headed to Montgomery, AL so Philip could do a side job at the Sports Authority there. It was Philip's 39th birthday. We drove back home the night before Thanksgiving arriving home on Thanksgiving Day at 5:30am. Everyone went to bed and I dressed the turkey and put it in the oven. Then sleep came for me too.

Thanksgiving Day! Noah's 11th birthday! He was so excited! You see, Noah was born on Thanksgiving Day. His birthday fell on Thanksgiving when he turned 6 and now again. He was excited to see all his family o his birthday. Grandma & Grandpa, Aunt Sherri & Uncle Greg, Aunt Sandra & Uncle Chris, Uncle Lofton, Uncle Brandon, Uncle Joe, Jordan, Josh, Hayden and Hayley. It was such a blessed day for him. To top it off he spent the nigh with Grandma and the next day, Uncle Lofton took him to get a new skateboard with his birthday money and then took him skating.

Dec...
Well, I am almost caught up. December has hit full throttle. I told myself and my family that we were going to slow down this year and focus on our family and on Jesus. Today is the 10th and I don't think we have slowed down yet. Today we participated in Craft Day with other homeschool friends. The boys made gifts that they will share with family and friends for Christmas. It was a blessing to see each one of them taking their time and using their creativity to "make" a gift for someone that they love. It is my desire that this year my children feel the presence of the Lord in Christmas like never before. I want them to KNOW that He is here among us and in us. So as I move forward into this day, I commit to changing my focus; to sharing that focus with my children; to showing Jesus' love to them and helping them show it to the world around us; our little world right here in Atoka, TN; our neighbors, our friends and the strangers that we encounter everyday. That is what Christmas is all about: Sharing God's LOVE with others, just as he shared His love with us by sending Christ to SAVE us ! For that I am thankful.

I HAVE TO SHARE THIS!!!

This weekend has been BIG for me!!!

I was BLESSED to sit in the presence of Jesus ALL weekend!

He has talked with me, walked with me, made me laugh, made me cry, broken me, cleansed me, FORGIVEN ME and BEST of all LOVED ME!!!



SO I have a message to share with you...



I was saved at the age of 9. I was at my VBS family night and the Lord, clear as day, spoke my name and called me to Him. I accepted and I repented and my name was written in the Lamb's book of life!!! As time went on, I longed for my relationship with Him to be close and personal, but I didn't know how to make it personal. I soon became a teen and began to take lots of very wrong turns. I would often lie in bed at night and confess, then get up the next day and in my weakness make the same mistakes. It wasn't until I was 21, that I my choices got a little better. I began to lean on Jesus, because I had NO ONE else! I got a small glimpse of what that close personal relationship was could be like, but still not knowing I continued to fail. Now, fast forward to October 2008. My life for the past 5 years has been challenging to say the least. I was bitter, hurt, angry and emotionally exhausted! This weekend through an AMAZING ministry called Discipleship Walk, I was given the tools that I needed to make my relationship close and personal. God wrapped His arms around me and LOVED me this weekend!!! And for the first time in years I am longing to spend time with Him!!! He laid a song on my heart yesterday. A song that I have always loved, one with a great message, but I never could sing it and mean it. I sang it with a "mask" on. Below, I have pasted the lyrics. Read it and know that I AM SINGING IT NOW! It is my life song! Any hey, if you want to know and experience God's arms around you and a LOVE that is so real that you break inside, then you need to go on the Spring Discipleship Walk. Go to http://www.raleighassembly.com/ then click on OUTREACH then click on Discipleship Walk, and of course you can always just call me for info.



Ok, here is the song lyrics and a link if you want to listen. Oh, and think on this...

Is HE everything to you?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFOQHT3mn5Q



Everything To Me by Avalon



I grew up in Sunday school

I memorized the Golden rule

And how Jesus came to set the sinner free

I know the story inside out

I can tell you all about

The path that led Him up to Calvary

But ask me why He loves me

And I don't know what to say

But I'll never be the same

Because he changed my life when He became...

Everything to me

He's more than a story

more than words on a page of history

He's the air that I breath

The water I thirst for

And the ground beneath my feet

He's everything, everything to me

We're living in uncertain times

And more and more I find

that I'm aware Of just how fragile life can be

I want to tell the world I found

A love that turned my life around

They need to know that they can taste and see

Now everyday I'm praying

Just to give my heart away

I want live for Jesus

So that someone else might see that he is...

Everything to me

He's more than a story

more than words on a page of history

He's the air that I breath

The water I thirst for

And the ground beneath my feet

He's everything

And looking back over my life at the end

I'll go to meet you saying you've been...

You're everything to me

You're more than a story

More than words on a page of history

You're everything to me

You're more than a story

More than words on a page of history

You're the air that I breath

The water I thirst

the ground beneath my feet

You're everything to me Lord,

you're everything to me

One more thing...

Not sure how I managed to leave this one off the list...

Monday afternoon, Noah was playing in the back yard, tripped on a bike and landed on some part of the bike that sliced his leg open just below the knee. We headed off to Deanna Speight's office and came home with 8 stitches and a frozen custard from Perks. (There is always excitement at the Erwin's!)

Too long to catch up!

It's been two weeks since I have blogged! I guess that means that I have been BUSY!

Here is a quick "catch up"...

-Noah scored a 2 touchdowns at his game on the 29th!
-Chase is VERY close to mastering his triple back handspring and has a great back tuck.
-Caleb does a fantastic cartwheel off of the balance beam and has great form!
-Christian and Gage have 9 weeks tests this week and have been studying A LOT!
-Jonah had a mishap on the mall escalator over the weekend. (Yes, he is ok!)
-Gage and I volunteered at the NHRA races to raise money for the gym.
-I was thrilled to watch Ashley Force race 3 times!
-We are so good at sharing in our family that we "shared" a stomach virus with each other last week.
-I was blessed with a scholarship to attend a Women's Discipleship Walk this coming weekend.
-Philip and I were blessed with 2 tickets to see "Fireproof" last weekend. (What an unbelievable message to couples!)
-I managed to get all my Halloween decorations out and even my awesome spider web on the front porch. Did I mention that I LOVE Ravens?
-As of tomorrow, we will officially be finished with the Middle Ages!!!!


I am sure that MUCH MUCH more has happened in the past 14 days, but that is all I can really remember. Lots of children leads to short and long term memory loss, and sometimes that is a GOOD thing.

Quote of the Day!

We are crowded around the dinner table. Each of us twirling our forks in a big plate of spaghetti. It was good spaghetti. Real good! Several of the kids are sluuuuuurrrrping their noodles. ( Oh come on, you've do it too!) Philip says, "Stop slurping please. It is bad table manners to slurp." Caleb smiles, drags his tongue from the bottom of his plate all the way to the top of his plate, looks at his daddy out of the corner of his eye and says, "What about licking?" The entire table including Daddy , fell into to uncontrollable laughter. Are you ready for Philip's answer. Of course it was delayed due to laughter. " Licking is bad manners too, but not nearly as bad as slurping!"

I'm still laughing! Not sure which quote wins...

One Proud Momma!!!

I have 2 boys that play competitive football.
Noah eats, sleeps, lives, dreams, loves FOOTBALL!!!
Tonight my Noah got his first ever TOUCHDOWN!!!
All day today he spoke it over and over again, "Tonight I'm getting my first touchdown!"
And HE DID!!! I am soooo proud!!! There is something way cool about your boy running that small brown ball many yards down a grassy field with 11 boys chasing him trying to pin him to the ground and seeing him cross into the end zone, and then hearing the announcer say "Touchdown Chiefs! That was # 23, Noah Erwin!!!" I am thrilled for my big boy!!!

Just a touch of history, Noah LOVES football, but he is not naturally gifted at football. He has worked, and worked and worked for these 6 years to get to where he is now. That is why I am so proud. He finally wanted it bad enough and had worked hard enough to earn it!!!

As for Jonah, it was big night for him in the football world too. He is a HARD hitter! And he is focused, and he took out the opponents quarterback with a HARD HIT! It was such a good hit that I got to hear the announcer say, "What an awesome hit made by #19, Jonah Erwin!"
Jonah is the one with the natural football talent, but he was ON tonight like I have never seen him in a game!

Tonight, I will sleep with a smile! (And so will they!)
If you see my boys, please take a moment to congratulate them and let them know their Momma was proud and bragging on them.

Tennessee vs Gators

What a day!
I spent the day, naive I'm sure, thinking that TN actually had a chance of winning today. Whoa, was I wrong! Well, I really believe we had a chance, knowing what little I know about football. I just don't think we are willing to do what it takes because we don't want it bad enough. I am sad after watching the Gators take us down. But hey, it's just a game and in the grand scheme of life it is soooo tiny.

Parallel that game to my spiritual life... God has me equipped to do anything and everything that He calls me to do. Equipped, doesn't mean that I trust Him and it sure doesn't mean that I am willing. Each day, because my creator gave me a will to choose, I have to want it bad enough to make the choice to live for Him and not myself. OUCH! There are too many days that I just don't want it bad enough. Too many days that I let the opponent (Satan) win. So as I reflect on this troubling loss against the Gators, I will remember that I have a choice to want it bad enough to make the right choices. No coach or anyone else can make me choose right over wrong. Only I hold the key to that door.

"He trusted in the Lord God of Israel ... For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments ... The Lord was with him; he prospered wherever he went." (2 Kings 18:5-7)

Biographies, Football, Homework and a Praying Mantis

So today starts out like most others; get Gage off to school, laundry, cook breakfast, clean the kitchen, then head to the front porch with a cup of coffee, my Bible and my 4 young boys. We open the Word to Proverbs 8. We discuss who will read what verses and who will go first, second, third, etc. Sounds like a peaceful beginning to my day, doesn't it? Then it starts... Caleb running back and forth across the porch while squealing, Jonah whining that he can't read without his glasses (The ones that we don't have yet.) and Chase and Noah are waiting for us to actually begin. I often wonder if I should just let them read independently instead. We muster through the chaos and focus in on one verse; Proverbs 18:7 "A fool's mouth is his undoing, and his lips are a snare to his soul." We discuss our mouths and what we say and how it affects us and everyone around us. We think about how what comes out of our mouths is a reflection of what is in our hearts. We recite the verse three times and vow to work on our mouths for the day. Just one day at a time.

I spend the next little bit getting them to the table. We are saturating ourselves in history for the month of September. We are studying the Middle Ages. It has been such a history lesson for me! The beginning of the Muslim faith and how it "took over" so many countries and cities and kingdoms. I have to stop and think about how this cycle in history hasn't stopped since it started over 1000 years ago. Sharing with my children and using it as a path to help them understand 9/11 and why we are at war and why we must continue to fight for our freedom to worship the ONE TRUE GOD, our savior Jesus Christ! Yesterday we learned about Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, and Marco Polo's travels on the Silk Road. Today I gave each child a project to do. Chase - Write a report on Genghis Khan. I gave him a specific format to write it in. This will be a test grade for him. Noah and Jonah - Make a "wanted poster" for Marco Polo. They will do that together. Then each one will make a travel brochure to visit one of the many places Marco Polo explored. Now for Caleb - Write simple sentences about Knights. Answers to questions like, Who were they? How did you become a knight? What did they wear? Sounds like an easy assignment for a third grader, right? This was a gruelling assignment according to Caleb. He worked on it with my help for 1 hour at the football field tonight.

Which leads me to football...Three nights a week my husband and I sit at a 2 hour football practice. Watching, cheering, learning. Noah had a fantastic practice tonight. He plays the position of 3 back. This is his 5th year playing football. He lives for football. I've never seen another child to love it and live it like my Noah: 24/7/365. This year as a 3 back, his dream of running the ball comes true. This is what he has always wanted, a big dream come true. We watched as he held onto that ball as tight as he could and barrelled through boys twice his size. GO NOAH! This is Jonah's 4th year playing football. He is strong and focused. Tonight Jonah was on the other side of the field. We couldn't see him from where we were sitting. Missed most of his action, but when we were talking with the coach after practice, he bragged on Jonah and how hard he was hitting. He told Jonah that he is only a few hits away from being the team's # 1 hitter! GO JONAH!

So, we get home, pile in the house and head to the table. The kids eat like they have been starved for days! (So does Philip.) We clean the kitchen and Daddy is off to say bedtime prayers. I am just beginning to feel like my long day is finally going to be peaceful, when my oldest says, "Mom, I need to stay up real late tonight so I can finish all my homework for tomorrow so that I can go to the Homecoming Game tomorrow night!" SO much for peace and quiet, but Praise the Lord he wants to do homework!

So now, I settle down to my chair, ready to be a happy blogger. I am typing and focused and enjoying myself and out of nowhere flies an insect of some sort. It is large and buzzing around my head. Finally it lands on my screen. It's a praying mantis! What an interesting creature. Well, what kind of homescooling mom would I be if I didn't "catch" it to show my pupils in the morning. This one didn't want to be caught. It flew in my hair, back and forth across the room and tried to hide in my kitchen curtain. After at least 5 attempts, I GOT HIM! I put him in a small mason jar on the table next to me and got right back to my typing. Just as I am about to be done, my Caleb tiptoes downstairs and sneaks up behind me to say he has a "snuffy" nose. It takes only a millisecond for him to spot the unusual creature in the jar. He picks it up and stares at it with amazement. (Guess he's never seen one.) As he enjoys the praying mantis, I attempt to finish my blog. Then I hear the door shut. What was that? It opens and in comes Caleb with an empty jar. So much for science tomorrow. He is proud of the good deed he has done and so am I!

Old and New ( friendships and being renewed)

As I reflect on the Mom's Dinner last night, I feel encouraged. After wading through a very rough 2 years and not participating in many Mom's Dinners during the process, I am thankful to have been a part of the last 2. Last night's topic hit home with me, as I am sure it did for many others.

Taking the Books Off the Table

Due to challenging circumstances, I reached a point last year when I didn't "like" homeschooling. I didn't want to do it and quite frankly, neither did my kids. There were way too many days of handing my kids a "to do list" of assignments and walking away hoping that they wouldn't need my help. You have probably been there too. We just do what we have to do. As a sweet mom put it last night, "You just do the next thing next." Now that is a WORD!

So, now it is a NEW DAY and a NEW SCHOOL YEAR! Thank You Lord!

We started school 3 weeks ago. So far, it has been a joy! The excitement is back. I am renewed and ready! We have spent those weeks digging into the Middle Ages and learning about the struggles of being a christian during that time. (It's never been easy to be a believer, why do we think it should be now?) We have spent time in deep conversation about the muslim faith and how they have challenged christians for so many years. (Great insight for the 9-11 Anniversary last week.) I am so thankful that the Lord chose me, not sure why he did, but He chose me to teach and train these precious children! (Not sure if I have ever used precious to describe my boys since they were infants.) What a calling! What a blessing! I am thankful!

And in the spirit of THANKFULNESS, I come back to my reflection of last nights Mom's Dinner. At each dinner, God always sends me friends, sometimes old and sometimes new. He always has a WORD for me to hear and chew on. He always has a plan for weaving something from the dinner into my needs and my life. HE DOES IT JUST FOR ME! I am THANKFUL!

Up and running...

I am ready to commit to keeping up with a blog!
After months of "wanting to" and reading everyone elses, I think I am really ready. It's just journaling online, right? I don't even journal on paper. My idea of journaling is calling a friend. LOL

I see the purpose. I see the benefits. I see the advantages. Now, I must see the commitment!

Well, I look forward to seeing my life unfold on a blog page. Our experiences, excitement, endeavors, encouragement, explosions, embarrassments, our everything, every day!

E is for Erwin.