Is home schooling for us?

If you had told me 6 months ago that I would someday be seriously considering home schooling I would have told you that you are crazy. The only teaching that I have done is with adults about their health. I have not had any training in how to prepare lesson plans or such, but God has for some reason given me this burden.
A little over a month ago Austin's school (Westside Christian) announced that they will be closing at the end of the year. Phil and I did tons of research to see what other Christian schools are in our area and what their costs were. We were not opposed to sending our kids to public school, but we absolutely LOVED the education that Austin got at Westside. He learned much academically, but his spiritual growth this year was what amazed us the most. Unfortunately none of the other Christian schools compared in price to Westside, and with us being on a one income budget we couldn't afford it. During that time I had been praying that God would reveal to us what He wanted for Austin's schooling. It was then that He gave be the burden of home schooling. I knew for a fact that it wasn't me who wanted to do this, so I prayed (and still do) daily that God would take the burden away if it was not from Him. I visited the public elementary school that Austin would go to, and sat in a first grade class. I really liked what I saw, but was disappointed about the schedule they set for their first graders (arrival at 8am with lunch at 10:20am). From what I know of my son this would not be a good schedule for him. I prayed even harder. I now ask you, my dear friends to pray with me. I am about 90% sure that I will be homeschooling Austin for 1st grade next year. This past week was Austin's Spring break. I used it as a home school "test" week. What I mean by that is, I did lessons with him. Please pray for us that Phil and I would be completely like minded about home schooling. God is good, and I know that He has a perfect plan for our life and Austin's schooling.

25 days of Lent left

There are days that are hard and there are days that are easy. I have been learning I am much more of an emotional eater than I thought I was. On stressful days I find myself walking over to the pantry and looking in to see what I can stuff in my face. I am so thankful for the commitment that I have made, and for God revealing to me what an unhealthy obsession I have with junk food. I am now 4 pounds lighter too!
My devotion time has led me to some really great verses, but my favorite one so far is Psalm 103: 1-5
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
Who pardons all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases;
Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with loving kindness and compassion;
Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

How great is our God!

What is Lent?

Every year I hear about what people are giving up for Lent. I have thought about doing it, but it wasn't until reading my friend Megan's blog http://jandmschmidt.blogspot.com/2011/03/fat-tuesday
just yesterday that I decided this is the year for me. I am going to give up all desserts until Easter. In addition to that I am going to read at least one Guidepost devotional everyday. I have always struggled with devotional time, and this will be a great way to dedicate myself to it for 40 days.
After a conversation with my sister today, as I was excitedly telling her what I was doing for Lent, she asked me a very important question. "What is Lent" My answer.."I don't really know. I think that it's a Catholic holiday". So I did so research, and it case you are wondering just as I was, here it is.

Lent in the Christian tradition, is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. Lent is a time of sacrifice for Jesus. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer — through prayer, repentance, alms giving and self-denial — for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events linked to the Passion of Christ and culminates in Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
According to the Canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus spent forty days fasting in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry, where he endured temptation by Satan.
This practice is common to much of Christendom, being celebrated by Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Anglicans.

So it isn't just a Catholic observance. Thanks Wikipedia :) I am so glad that my friend shared with me how she was not only giving up something, but also spending more time on God. I had always thought that it was just about self deprivation. I am excited to see how God will transform my life (both physically and spiritual) over the next 40 days.

Christmas Cards

After reading another friend's facebook status I realized that I needed to get a move on with Christmas cards or else we would end up like we did last year, doing nothing.
This year I decided to use Shutterfly again for our holiday cards (http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards). I LOVE shutterfly. If you have never tried them before I highly recommend it! I have also done a calendar (http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars). It was for my Grandma who was in a nursing home. She really enjoyed seeing the picutres of all her family. My mom and Jon received a mouse pad from us, for Christmas this year, with a picture of the kids on it.
I have never been disappointed with shutterfly's quality. All of the products that I order have some to me quickly as well. My favorite projects that I complete with shutterfly are their photobooks. I am not a very good scrapbooker, but I desire a way to preserve my photos so they are easier to share. The photobooks are a terrific way for me to do that. You can see all of them on my shutterfly share site at http://thebrownhouse.shutterfly.com/
Here are some more ideas that you could use shutterfly for:
Thank you cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/thank-you-cards Christmas cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards·
Birthday invitations to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/birthday-invitations
They offer so many ways to share your photos and are always giving discounts and freebies. For example they are right now offering 50 free holiday cards just by posting why you love shutterfly on your blog. Go here http://bit.ly/sfly2010 and sign up by Dec 1oth to blog about and get your own free cards.

Time to myself

I can't begin to express how precious time to myself is anymore. Three kids, a husband, work, and basically anything else that can take up my time does. I need my free time back- or do I? I often think about that. I have come to the realization that if I didn't have the kids, Phil, church, friends or church activities (all the things that take up my time) then I would be very sad and lonely :(
That being said though I do want to make more time for writing in this blog. I just got done reading through some of my old posts, and I couldn't believe the things that I had forgotten. So in my case, this blog will be the best journal that I keep. I have a hard time writing because I tend to hold the pen so tight that my hand cramps up 3 sentences in and makes it not enjoyable.

Our New House

You know the old saying 'Good things come to those who wait'? I'm not so sure if that is always true, but our waiting and trusting in God (which has been very stressful at times) paid off. Just a little over 2 months after listing our house it sold, and because we made an offer on our new house before April 30th we qualified for a huge tax credit that we will not have to pay back. God has answered my prayer and desire for a bigger house and yard. Our closing date on the new house is June 9th (Austin's 5th b-day) The kids will have their own rooms and we will have room to host people and not feel like sardines :) We give God all the credit for this and are so excited to move into our new home. I have already started packing and getting rid of things that we do not need. It has been so wonderful to give away kid's clothes and accessories that we no longer use. So many friend's have blessed us, and it feels great to be able to in turn bless other people.

Busy, busy, busy

I just looked at the last entry I posted and saw that it was in February. At first I was shocked, but I am no longer surprised after thinking about all of the things we have been doing lately.
On March 3rd we put our house up for sale. I am so tired of living in such a small house, and although we manage not to trip over each other too much, it's time to move on. The hard thing is, we really love our house :( Oh and we have found a huge house that we love and put an offer on it. All that's left to do is sell our house before the end of May!
In April Phil and I started coaching a 4-5 yr olds soccer team. They are so much fun, and have improved a great deal in a short amount of time. Our son, Austin, is on the team and it's so cute watching him play.
On May 5th Phil's dad was diagnosed with a brain tumor and had surgery two days later. The day of his surgery was amazing. I don't think that I have EVER prayed as hard as I did that day. God is faithful and has been answering our prayers as every day Tom gets stronger and stronger.
Today we had another showing on our house. I had a lot that needed to get done, but again God blessed me with the strength and time to get it all done. The waiting really stinks, but I know that God will answer our prayer for a bigger home in His time, not mine.
Now that the house is all clean it's time for a relaxing evening with the family. Isn't it wonderful when you have the house all clean and can just sit and relax?