First stop in Clio after we drop Amber off.......Goodwill!!  Since it is cold weather, we use the time to find a game or just spend time talking about all the odd items we see there.  Books is the first area we hit and it is interesting to see what books there are.  Yesterday we found a book that someone had put together on their genealogy.  It had a authenticity certificate, pictures, and souvenirs from different family members and yet, we found it at Goodwill.   For Shelby it was sad that another family member did not keep the book. It gave us something to talk about the rest of the afternoon.

Oops!

This was our gift to my mom the last time we visited her.  The boys were outside playing catch and then OOPS and the game continued!  This morning as I was sorting through curriculum, writing out lesson plans and realizing that last week was not the week I wanted, I was reminded that Lord gives us do-overs.  Sometime an OOPS happens, even though you did not mean for it to.  The word OOPS in the Webster dictionary means:  —used typically to express mild apology, surprise, or disma.  So this was a picture of a oops that happened in a game of catch, my oops happened last week as I allowed myself to get off course and now to get things fixed and back on track.  God is Good!!

99 Cents

What a blessing the store Goodwill is!  Shelby and I were sitting in the van, reading the "Golden Goblet" when I decided I could not read anymore.  It was cold, rainy and a cup of coffee sounded good.  So in the process of finding something hot to drink, we stopped in at Goodwill and spent 99 cents and bought this game "Guess Who".  Now with coffee in hand, a good game, we enjoyed waiting for Amber to finish up her class.  It was a good day!

Surprises.....

I love finding little treasures on my lap top and tonight I found a couple very special ones.  Being loved is a good thing :)

Feeling Left Out?

After 4 months off, I went back to work today, back to ministry and I will say it also included lots of  surprises that made the day so pleasurable.  Along with all the goodness of today, came sad conversations that were hard for me.  Conversations where others knew I was too busy to participate in the activity they were planning and therefore did not include me....and you know what?  I can not take it to heart.  My goal is to find a healthy balance between ministry and homeschooling and maybe for now, I am not doing 50 things at once.   I will acknowledge it does hurt....and in the same breathe, will acknowledge I do not want to miss the funny moments with my family either.  So the Lord is in control, the Lord loves me and the Lord will lead me to what I need to be doing.

2012 - New Routines and Schedules.....

Let me say, homeschooling, in my opinion, is not for everyone.  I have been grilled on why I homeschool, why I work, why I even think doing both of them together will work.  Let me answer by saying:  I have the support of my husband and together we have prayed and asked for guidance from our Heavenly Father.  We do not take it lightly, and we do not feel we have all the answers either.

On this journey of trying to make it all work, I ended up taking four months off of my job so that I could focus on the girls.  I became so absorbed into ministry that we were getting behind in school and YET relationships were being strained  (if not damaged).  My priority is my God, my husband and my family.  There was no hesitation in my heart when I asked for time off and now 4 months later, it was one of the best decisions I have made.

Tomorrow I start back to work, we start a new routine for school today and by starting our day in prayer, letting the Lord direct and responding to what works for us as a family, will make us successful!!

The difference this time:  I have friends praying for us, friends stepping in and helping out and a schedule that has start and ending times with chunks of days off.  God is good!!

It is moments like this, that are important!

...and for 2012 we will be a happier and healthier family!!  (and two girls have rekindled their relationship)

Blessing Others....

One of the neatest things for me as a mom is watching my kids "shine!"  What a blessing these girls are to other families and the relationships they are building are precious.  We were given the honor of babysitting for a good friend of ours.  I love being asked to babysit and yet, enjoy it so much more when the girls and I do it together.  When we arrived to the Hoskey household, the kids did not want me, they wanted my kids.  So Amber started doing Abby's hair and Owen wanted to show Shelby his IPAD and what games he had, so off they all went. As for me,  I hung out with Anthony and was able to remember what it was like talking to Michael when he was his age........

I knew the rules:

1.)  ask me questions when I am not engaged
2.) do not expect a deep conversation unless you want to grab a controller and play the game with me
3.) if any questions, please remember the first rule.

It gave me a chance to remember Michael at this age and how I could just watch him play.

I am so thankful for this wonderful family!!