A Week in the LIfe...

In my life this week...


This has been a really busy week.  We started baseball practices for two of our boys this week.  Riley and Ethan both started Little League last year, and are continuing for this year.  Riley is in the majors, and Ethan is in the minors this year.  Between the two of them this month, we have practices every evening during the week, and on Saturday mornings.  This will go on through June, and makes me wonder why we do this to ourselves.  I do feel that the boys gain some valuable things from this experience, and Riley in particular always uses his time in baseball to be a witness to other boys, so we plug on...


I have also made a decision to work on my own ungratefulness and negativity, and can hopefully in turn, change the tone of my entire household.  I started a journal of Blessings that I am journaling here, that is helping me remember my blessings and the good things in life.  I am praying that I will continue this and keep remembering all that God has done for me and how eternally grateful I am.  

In our homeschool this week...

Pretty typical week this week for homeschooling.  The kids are playing a little bit of catch up with their subjects.  I made a proclamation this week as we come towards the end of the school year this year, that they really focus on Math and English, and everything else will still get done, but not be a priority.  I want to see them be at a certain spot by the time the school year ends.  

Places we're going and people we're seeing...

See above....baseball all the time!! Lots of little boys in baseball clothes trying to catch, run, and hit a ball for hours on end!  We did have both of our Dad's over for dinners on last Friday and Saturday nights.  We were glad to be able to do that.  

My favorite thing this week was...

I can't remember what night it was, but one night this week, Annie slept through the night from 11:30 to 7:00!  She hasn't done it since...but it sure was nice for one night of sleep!

What's working/not working for us...

I'm having difficulty with my two little girls who are 2 and 3.  During the time I spend feeding the baby, they are running a tad wild.  Admittedly, I end up doing way more shouting at them than I would like.  It's definitely not working for me.  During another long pregnancy, my little girls became far too untrained, and we need to spend some time retraining them to behave even when mommy is busy with the baby.  I did discover this week that they really don't like being made to sit on their beds...so that's been working for me in the last week.  I used to do this often when my 3 oldest boys were littler, but have gotten away from it in recent years.  Funny thing is, they may not stop jumping on the furniture when they are told, but when I say go to your bed, they go right away (big crocodile tears and all!).  They are released from the torture whenever they are ready to ask mommy's forgiveness and obey.  

Homeschool questions/thoughts I have...

What do you DO with toddlers/preschoolers when you are homeschooling AND have a baby to feed every three hours.  You would think with 8 children, I would be the one with all the answers on this, but it seems everytime I try something new to keep my little ones out of trouble when I'm busy with something else...it lasts a couple days before it no longer works.  I also now have two destructos only a little more than a year apart, which is presenting a special challenge to me.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share...

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“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

~God”

—	The Bible Click here on the Homeschool Chick, to read more Journals and get to know some other homeschool moms a little better!

Thankfulness Revisited

                      Lately, I have been focused on going back to a place where I once was.  In days gone by, I feel as though I was a pretty grateful person.  As the past few years have been wrought with trials and loss for our family, I think I have slowly been turning into a discontent, always waiting for the next bad thing to happen. This attitude has left me focusing more on the negatives in my life, and not nearly enough on the many...MANY blessings that God has bestowed upon me and my family.

                     Not long ago I came across this blog, written by Ann Voskamp.  This is the kind of blog that you can't just read one article and be done.  You find yourself sitting for a half hour or more, just pouring over it.  Ann Voskamp is the author of a fairly new and very popular book called One Thousand Gifts.  This book is much like what it sounds, a call to remember and journal the many gifts that God has given you..1000 to start with.  Although I haven't read the book myself yet, I have been so convicted by the idea, and the many calls to gratefulness that you will find in her blog.

                   I've decided that I want to do this myself.  I want to begin to journal the many blessings that God has given me, and just generally focus on them in my life.  I want to remember Philippians 4:8 in my life.  To think on things that are lovely, true, good, noble, praiseworthy.  I decided to start a small seperate blog, and not limit myself to one thousand (or concern myself with whether I get to that number), but simply work on adding thoughts/pictures/quotes, anything that reminds me of what I have and what is good in life.  If you are interested in sharing this with me, you can find my journal at www.twentyshoes@tumblr.com.

                   I find the more I focus on the good things, the more the bad fades into the distance, and the more I am able to tolerate the negatives in my life.  I know that God will direct my paths if I acknowledge Him in everything, and remembering His gifts in my life, is one certain way to do that.  I hope that if you haven't thought about this recently, you will be inspired to do the same as I have, and start journaling the gifts and the things that are good in your life.  It can only make you more Christlike, and give you more joy!  I'd say those are two pretty good reasons to start today!