teachable moment

i had a teachable moment yesterday, but i just realized it today.

and i'm talking about ME being the student here, friends.  again.

the opportunity came and went for me to show God's grace to my daughter as she struggled with a new writing curriculum.

i happen to love all of our new school stuff this year, by the way.

i feel like we are learning more than ever, and that it fits us just perfectly.

thank you, Lord!  some years we try things, don't like them, switch, and get all confused for a time, but hey, that's the beauty of homeschooling. 

what works for one may not work for another.

and i'm talking about kids here.  they each have their unique talents and strong suits, learning styles, strengths and weaknesses. 

kinda like us grown ups.

and one of my weaknesses is patience.  and giving grace.  the list goes on and on....

all her book was telling her to do was FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS.

that's it.

she just started this book, and they are teaching some very basic, obviously very needed principles.

i cannot tell you how many questions i have received from the kids regarding something as simple as reading the directions!

so as she struggled to figure it out, i vowed to NOT help her, because the answer was so simple, it lay right before her eyes, if only she would READ it and reread it again, and again until she understood.

i mean, I understood it, her sister did, too, but she just could not grasp the concept of following these directions.

it was so simple!  too easy, maybe?

this morning as i'm pondering my failure in patience and grace yesterday, the Lord whispered(of course kindly and patiently),

"you're just like her.  i tell you to read the directions all the time.  you have all of the answers right before you, but you cry and rail for answers and Truth constantly.  you say you don't know what to do about certain things, you just don't get it, but the answers, the directions, are all laid out for you in my Word.  you need to just read and re-read until you find your answer.  keep searching, don't give up."

isn't that the Truth?  i sorta love it when He does that.
sometimes i really just need to get back to the basics.

 xo, 

mary

My Class:::2012-2013

hello!  

it's been a while since i posted, huh?

#worstbloggerever

i thought i'd pop in while the kids are busily and sometimes distractedly(?) doing their school.

my besties daughter came over the other day and snapped some pictures of my class this year.

it was very impromptu, so the kids are wearing their everyday duds, and their hair isn't perfect, but i love them even more for that because they are au natural.

:)

8th grade

6th grade

3rd grade

1st grade

i am SO happy to have these!

also, here's a peek at out school room.  

aka...the dining room.  

i switched some of my curriculum this year to My Father's World and we are LOVING it.

to say that i haven't been overwhelmed at times would be a lie, but overall, we are adjusting nicely.

my oldest, elly, has a heavier work load this year which is a challenge, but totally doable.

we are finding our groove and the Lord is blessing us along the way. 

if you think of it, pray for patience for me!  i need all the prayers i can get.  :)

hope your having a great day!

missed you guys lots!

xo,

mary

this is what he does

raise your hand if you like surprises.

since you can't see me, let me just say that my hand is not raised.

i am allergic to surprises.

they make me sick to my stomach, and i get hives, i think.

my husband has plans for this friday because it is my birthday and his lipsaresealed.

the kids lips are sealed, too.  believe me, i've tried to get it out of them.

it's really killing me because i happen to be sort of a control freak, and i like to know what is going on. 

i need to plan where the kids will be, what i need to be ready for, or what i should bring.

i know two things.

1. i have to be ready by 10 a.m. friday morning.

2. the girls are spending the night at a friends on thursday night.

i may not make it if i don't find out soon...

*itching ensues*

what i do know today, is that my kindergarten 'helper' is feeling better.
yesterday when i took him to the dentist for a filling, he ended up needing the tooth pulled because there was an abscess.
talk about feeling like a bad mother.
he had a humongous puss pocket on his gum line and i didn't even know!
thank the Good Lord  he had an appointment so it was taken care of right away.
check out this monster of a tooth.  grody.

everything was fine and dandy until the numbness wore off.

soon, weeping and wailing could be heard for miles and it ended in a nap for him, and me. :)

thankfully today he is feeling better.

like waaaaay better.  

i saved the day my reputation by finding where the tooth fairy 'accidentally' left his money.

you moms out there know what i mean...ahem.

you can't remember them all, right?!  

it was under his brothers pillow, duh.

great job tooth fairy.

i thought i would show you a few of the things that this neglected kindergarten home schooled child has gotten into just this morning. 
if you home school, you may understand that the littlest ones are sometimes hard to keep pinned down.

 help me.

isn't he a cutie?

never a dull moment, right? 

and this is all before lunch.  befoooooore lunch!

i might be back later with my march photo collages, but we'll have to see what comes of the rest of this beautiful, energy filled day!

xo,

mary

our {happy day} Easter garden

last week, a sweet little birdie invited me{and you} 

to join her in a mission to bring a little bit of happy into our everyday lives. 

 she assured us that it would bring a spring to our step, and a smile to our face.

she was right.

on Tuesday, with the family{including my husband...YAY!} in tow, 

we strapped on our seat belts and took a ride to a local nursery to fulfill 

the challenge.

let's stroll through the greenhouses, shall we?

WARNING:::PICTURE OVERLOAD!

but i think you'll enjoy it anyway. :)

this was my favorite!  i am so drawn to delicate leaves and draping vines.

but at $35.00, it stayed right there.  :)

 

 

 

you see, we were on another mission, too.
i read about a wonderful Easter tradition here that totally sparked my interest.
i knew that it would be super fun for the kids, and it ended up blessing me more than i could have imagined!
an Easter garden.
a visual parable of the event that forever changed our fate as lost and hopeless sinners.
a representation of the darkness that did not prevail, for the Light did come!
Jesus conquered death, paying our sin debt, that we might spend eternity with Him.
but we must choose to put our complete faith and trust in Him.

He loves us that much!

 

Easter is going to look a bit different at our house this year.
no bunnies, no candy, no eggs....
:::i mean, we always emphasized the True Meaning, but i think it was lacking because of these extras.:::
just Jesus, His brutal death, burial, and the
glorious empty tomb that followed, assuring us that indeed,
HE IS RISEN!
we want the true meaning of this day to permeate in our hearts
and help us to reflect on the Sacrifice that was given.
 the greatest gift of all...eternal life through Jesus.
no distractions.
just Jesus.

we are totally not against any of the above mentioned traditions.
we just did them last year!
 we just know that for us,  this is the right thing to do. :)


and so our journey began, to seek out the perfect rock for the tomb.
we headed over to the road that we used to live on because it has the best rocks, of course!
it is also a continual reminder to our family that God always has our best interests at heart.
on this road resides the farm that God blessed us with a couple of years ago,
but found necessary to take away.
52 glorious acres with a spring, an original 1800's log home, and the perfect valley setting.
our dream, but not His plan.

 

i prayed that God would reveal the best rock for this little project,
and in typical form, He answered.
we had lots to choose from.
but there was one perfect stone.

 

i think i'll let the pictures tell the rest of this story...

 

 

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o, death, where is thy sting?

o, grave, where is thy victory?

 

so there you have it.
our Easter garden.
this was hands down, the most fun and meaningful project we have ever done!
on Palm Sunday, we'll line the path to the tomb with candles,
for Jesus, our Light, is coming!
we will begin the journey and light a torch each day leading up to Good Friday, when all went dark.
on Friday, we will wrap a small clothespin{Jesus} in white cloth,
and prepare the 'body' with scented essential oil for burial.
the stone will be rolled over the tomb where His body resides.

 

and then we wait!


"He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."
Matthew 28:6 


thank you SO much to alicia and megan for their amazing inspiration in this project.
i love how this little 'ol blog adventure has brought so many wonderful and encouraging people into my life.
it is truly a blessing!

i hope you are having a blessed day!

 xo, 

mary

 

light hut

how are you all doing today?

i might need an extra cup of coffee this morning.

how about you?

waking up to darkness makes it really hard for me to get in gear.

so, i am totally behind on blogging this home school life of mine,

but at the beginning of the year, my girls started studying botany.

it has really captured their attention and they love doing all the projects.

{let me just say, that if all my children were still little people, all of these projects just wouldn't work out.

that would mean i would have to hunt down materials and be on damage control all while trying to actually create the project.}

that could result in tired, crabby, stressed mommy.

i know my limits, friends. :)

most days, anyway.

now that the girls are older and able to work together{and do a lot of the hunting and creating},
 it has been really fun watching them learn.
 seeing them studying, collecting things from outdoors,
and putting together these projects is awesome.

enter: building your own light hut

i had to laugh when i saw this, because i happen to have a brown thumb.

for real.

i cannot keep a plant alive to save my soul!

i have one small african violet that is actually thriving in my kitchen but i really don't know why or how?

it must be drought tolerant and need zero thoughts or care, because that is about all the time i can give it right now.

:)

build your own light hut...

it's easy!

you will need

*a box

*aluminum foil

*plastic lid of a sour cream container{or whatever}

*heavy duty tape

*scissors/knife

*light adaptor kit

*15 watt fluorescent lightbulb

*small clay pots

*seeds 

*potting soil and moss

first you will need to cut a hole through the top of the box and plastic lid the size of your light adapter kit. 

do you see the hole below?

i used a kitchen knife.

you may or may not want to use something sharper so you don't have to saw like i did.  ;)

then you will need to line your box with aluminum foil.

we  elly used tape to secure it to all sides.

the messy reality.

i was totally excited that i had an ikea hemma light kit that i found at a local flea market for $4.00 on hand.

you never know when you will need an extra light kit, right?

elly put the light kit through the holes in the plastic container and top of the box and lit her{the hut} up!

well, after planting the seeds that we had on hand.

 

then she covered the front of it with a simple aluminum foil 'curtain' and we waited...

within ONE week, we had sprouts and we were SO excited!

of course, my camera doesn't take close up pics, so here is where we are at today.

four weeks later.

there are actual peas on that vine, friends!!!

pretty cool, huh?  

it is an understatement to say that we are a tad proud of our light hut.

and to think that we did so little.

God's design never ceases to amaze me!

i missed {virtual} coffee yesterday, but i am still linking up with amy.

*disclaimer*

home schooling is a wonderful, wonderful thing for our family, 

but it does not come without it's trials and errors.

take this morning for example.

bickers that led to fighting, which led to pinching, and then tears.

lots of tears.

oh, and yelling.

thus the phone call to the principal{aka DAD}.

yikes!

thank the Lord for grace and forgiveness! 

i don't want you to think that all is beautiful and pefectly project'y' all the time.

just so ya know. :)

until next time!

xo,