Praying for Caleb

Can you please pause and pray for Caleb, and his family?  You can read his story here.

Thank you!

Making Easter Meaningful

**Please not the lack of photos...I shall post photos of ALL of our art created from each lesson later on.  Thank you!

This year I wanted something different for reflecting upon what Christ did for us on the Cross.  It's easy to read the Story (of The Last Supper, Crucifixion, and Resurrection) and just go on with our daily life. 


It's easy to forget just how much of a gift He gave on the mount of Golgotha.  At least, that has been my experience.  I've really never taken Easter quite to heart as much as I should.  When I was a kid, I remember mostly Easter being about dressing up in a new dress, going to church, and having a large gathering with family, followed by an Easter egg hunt.


When Josh and I started having children, we tried really hard NOT to make Easter about the Easter bunny, etc.  But there was a gap...


This year, I decided to open my Bible and read the real story of Easter to Evan aloud each morning this past week.  It made for deep, meaningful discussions in which we've never had before.  


I think at times we underestimate the intelligence and comprehension of what children can grasp.  And because of this, we keep our Bible readings to ourselves.  May I encourage you to just go ahead and read with your child, no matter their age.  They "get" more than we think!  


Another thing we stumbled upon on sale was The Crossmaker DVD set.  Let me just tell you that this Bible story integrated art lesson is absolutely amazing!  (P.S.:  the sale is over on the set)  We watched the Crossmaker story, and I absolutely never felt more touched by Jesus' sacrifice than when we watched that story together.  It's that good!  We will be watching the story again this week!


Next, we did lesson #1, which was a lettering lesson.  It was engaging, and Evan and I finished up with beautiful creations that glow under a black light!  The step by step instructions were very easy to follow, and the supplies needed mostly came with the set, and the other couple of items we already had (like a #2 pencil, white artist eraser, paper, and ruler).  


Crossmaker will definitely be a tradition that we will continue year after year as a family!  And of course, reading the real story of Easter in the most important book ever written...the Bible!


Thank you Jesus for the gift You didn't have to give!

It's A New Year???

All in sarcasm...yes, I'm aware it's 2013!  However, my lack of updates on our family doesn't seem as though I got the memo. 

December:

• Made a necessary trip to south Louisiana to lay Josh's grandmother to rest.

{Somehow my Nikon did not make it into my van.  I wish I could have grabbed some pics of family and of Evan seeing the bayou}

• Took a little afternoon/evening trip down to the Riverwalk, and enjoyed dinner on the river at Salt Grass Steak House.  Poor Josh was the photographer, hence the reason he's not pictured.

• Christmas Eve was spent at our home with family.

Gathered around the table reading about the Advent wreath, reflecting upon Christ.

January:

• Went by way too fast!  

And brought the bloom of this gorgeous and interesting plant:  an amaryllis.  We watched this little guy go from a small, uneventful plant, into a beautiful flowering bulb!  Evan received this from his Mimi (my mother) for Christmas.  

Every night as we tucked Evan into bed, we would stare over at the plant, in awe of how fast it grew!  It decided to bloom majestically and wonderfully in mid January!  I thank the Lord that He would create such a wonderful plant!  I recommend one for every single family.  You won't be disappointed!

January also brought Evan creating his own storm chase vehicle (inspired by the show Stormchasers), equipped with it's very own mesonet.  

And we had some freakishly hot days where we just had to go outside, literally, and drag the learning experience out of the 'ol house!  {That is the very table and chairs we use in our homeschool room.}  It was too deliciously tempting NOT to go outside!  And we have stickers all over our yard, so sitting down on the bare ground didn't sound fun.  So we opted to just drag everything out into the great outdoors!

February:

• A visit from a dear friend who is PCSing here (sorry, no pics), cousin fun/butterfly observing and catching, a unit study on cinnamon,  & quilting for a baby shower!

Cousins hanging out by the Carolina Jasmine, watching and catching Black Swallowtail butterflies.

Evan getting ready to put our cinnamon heart biscuits into the oven while sucking on a cinnamon stick!  All in fun for our unit study!  Yes, that's a pumpkin on the counter!  Evan took it outside to save the seed.  Oh yes, it lasted all the way back from Thanksgiving.

Our Cinnamon unit study!  So much fun!  Who knew you could learn so much about cinnamon?

The biscuits were yummy!!!

The baby quilt I made for a dear friend from high school.  She and hubby are adopting a baby girl, who is due to make her entrance any day!

I can tell you we also did a lot of Friday park days with our homeschool group, which is Evan's highlight of the week!  We also put in part of our garden, and have been taking lots of family walks up and down our county road.  Indian paintbrush and phlox have emerged somewhat.  The bluebonnets are hanging on, but haven't bloomed.  If we get rain this weekend, we shall see some bluebonnets.  

Have a blessed rest of the month!  Have a blessed Easter season.  Jesus is the reason--always!

Oh Happy Day

Today, Evan and I had a really good day of learning.  We were both patient.  Evan tried really hard and did all of his work without complaining.  He read so well!


When we were done, he said something that I will never forget.  After he was done reading in his McGuffey reader, I told him how proud I was of him, and how hard he worked without complaining.

"Mommy, I'm so happy I have tears in my eyes."

Evan and I at the Riverwalk in San Antonio.

Those words made my heart smile.  It was a gift from God that reassured me that we are doing the right thing.  This homeschool journey IS what God willed for us, and we are so blessed!

Reviewing: God's Word in My Heart

I love when I stumble upon a Christian momma blogger whose heart is on fire to love the Lord!  One such lady is Jenn Thorson who blogs at The Purposeful Mom.


When Jenn offered to let me review her new ebook, Hiding God's Word in My Heart, I was so excited!

Let me start by what this book is NOT:

• unrealistic
• long and never-ending
• preachy
• confusing

What this book was to me:

• easy to read and understand
• useful and realistic
• insightful
• gentle 

Now here's my honest review.  I love the ideas that Jenn has incorporated throughout her book.  One such idea, which we have personally done for several years with success, is scripture music on CD.  She gives you ideas of what CD's to purchase (and some free websites too) and correlates them with her scripture ABC list (see more explanation below).

When she contacted me to review her book, she asked what version of the Bible I wanted to review.  Being that we read predominantly only the King James Version, that's the version I reviewed.  I love that she gives the reader the option of the KJV (and a couple of other versions too)!  

The one thing that I really loved was at the end of the book, she has a list of ABC Bible verses that have boxes underneath in which to stamp/check mark/place a sticker as a visual for a children to see as they hide God's Word in their hearts.  There is also a chart of Bible verses dealing with sin issues.

Overall, I would recommend this book to any mother who would love to hide God's Word in her heart along with her children's.  I especially recommend this book to any mother who is either a new Christian, or who doesn't know where to start in regards to incorporating the Bible into her daily routine with her blessings.

Today only, get this ebook for only $1.99!  Here is the link:  Click here to visit The Purposeful Mom.

After today, the ebook goes back up to the original price of $3.99, so hurry!

*I received an electronic copy of Hiding God's Word in My Heart in return for my honest review.  I was not paid any monetary amount to review this product.  I am also an affiliate for The Purposeful Mom, meaning that if you clink on my links above to buy her book, I will make a small portion.  This small commission made helps support our homeschool.  Thank you!

Yes, I CAN have Joy!

This morning while reading my Bible, I came across a verse that JUMPED out to me, and filled me with peace and a smile.

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 

 ~Psalm 126:4~

I believe this is a hyacinth.  I snapped this picture while in Monterrey, CA in November, visiting a dear friend.

Yes, I believe that is true!!!  For two plus years I have cried and cried.  I've been in a rut.  Actually, our family has been in a rut.  

Here's the difference I see now:  JOY, PEACE, HOPE

I can see a return of joy into my life.  To be honest, I didn't think I would ever feel that again--never.  It seems nearly impossible when you've buried your child.  It seems nearly impossible when you have a hole in your heart, and an ache in your soul beyond comprehension.  

But I want to to you there is JOY.  Where there is God, there is HOPE.  Where there is HOPE, we can continue on this long, dusty, sometimes dark and painful road of grief.

Don't give up.  As someone at a GriefShare meeting said in our video:  LEAN into Jesus.  But how?

Let me be really, really honest.  Before Ethan passed, I was at a very happy and fulfilling point in my life both spiritually with the Lord, and in my marriage and family life.  

After Ethan passed, my spiritual walk fell apart.  NOT my faith.  But my consistency in Bible reading of any sort went completely away.  I was broke.  I HAD to lean into Jesus;  to sit in His lap and just...be.  

We ALL, believers or non-believers in the One and True Creator, WILL walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Be it through loss of a loved one, illness, disease, etc.  

It's choosing to follow the Lord and trust Him that will make you or break you.  If my faith had not been intact, I would have fallen apart at the seams.  

Because the Lord is not a liar, and He keeps ALL of His promises, I can sit here and write this today:  I have joy!  

It's not to say that my grief will not deepen again.  Because it will.  This I know too well. The grief will come and go, and sometimes surprise me and give me a real swift kick I didn't see coming.  It's clinging, literally, to God's word that will make ALL of the difference in the whole entire world!

May I pray for you?  Feel free to comment or send me an email privately.

May you be blessed and JOYful!

Jesus in Disguise

Yesterday, after soccer in the morning and a few errands, it was time for lunch.  We headed to a sandwich shop called Which Wich to grab a to-go order for Evan, my mother-in-law, and myself.  We were going to take my MIL lunch and join here at her place of employment.  

While there, we were blessed.  It's not the big things in life, like winning a sum of money or such, but rather, the kind gesture that reminds you that, YES, there is one God--our Lord and Saviour--and He is good always!

While in sort of a line (it was rather people staring at the menu and blank paper bags, figuring our HOW to order their sandwiches!), two middle-aged men entered the store.  Evan and I were still figuring out what we wanted to eat, and we started to chat with the two gentleman...not uncommon for us.  We just like to chit chat and make the time go by when we are waiting, and well, Evan and I are both extroverts at times.  Anyway, one of the two gentleman asked Evan if he was homeschooled, and Evan said,"Yes."  He went on to say that his sister homeschooled her 8 children, 1 of which is special needs.  We chatted a while longer, and he told me,"Whatever you and your son want, it's on me."  I told him,"Oh no, you don't have to do that."  And he said,"You guys have good personalities, and I like that in people.  I'll buy your lunch."  

First of all, I was blown away!  This man, who had no idea who Evan and I are, decided to bless us!  That small act of kindness BLESSED my heart beyond belief!!!  To Evan and I, he was Jesus in "disguise" in a sense, because he was kind to a stranger.  He spared his money to buy for someone he didn't know, and quite frankly, he could have spent that money on himself...but he chose to bless others.

Dear sir, I do not know you, but if you somehow stumble across this post, THANK YOU for blessing our hearts!!!