Intended Blessings

As I began my late evening journey back home with my three girls I turned on the radio to our favorite 

K-LOVE station.  I never gave it much thought, it is just a habit... besides I really like to sing while I drive as a way to pass the time.  This particular day had been a little trying due to some unforeseen obstacles and I was feeling a little guilty about my frustrations from earlier in the day.

We hadn't been driving long when I began to apologize to God for not handling the situations the way I know He would have preferred.  I prayed that this drive would provide me with some much needed alone time with Him.  I was ready to learn how to do a better job of setting more positive examples for my girls and try to figure out how to be all that my kids need me to be.  I had assumed that this would happen through the songs that were playing on the radio and countless minutes of quiet thoughts (since the girls usually fall asleep).

But much to my surprise early on in the drive I felt the need to turn off the radio.  I began asking the girls questions about the day, at first I only received very short answers but the more I nudged the more I was able to get them to talk.  It wasn't long until my sweet little child that has a tendency to tuck her head under my arm when anyone asks her a question, began to really open up.  It was as if I had chiseled a whole in a dam and the waters broke free.  

My child that rarely speaks, couldn't talk to me enough and continued to do so for the entire two hour trip.  I realized in that moment that this was the real answer to my prayer.  My child saw my desire to hear her thoughts and she was excited for the opportunity to have my undivided attention.  It had nothing to do with what we were talking about and everything to do with the chance to really be heard.

I understand my real lesson here...

 If my children don't have the opportunity to tell me the stories of their hearts then I have missed out on some of the greatest blessing that were intended for me. 
Although, my job keeps me busy with lots of duties and responsibilities, I have to be careful about the non-verbal message my children are getting from me.  I can tell them that they are them most important things in the world to me but if I am to busy to spend time listening to them on a regular basis, then what I have really taught them is that other thing are more important.


Can it really be that simple?
What my children really need and want the most is to just spend time with me sharing the desires of their hearts!  Sometimes it's the obvious things in life that stump us the most.

Passing Perspective

The other day while sitting in a restaurant with my family a lady silently appeared beside me gazing at my littlest.   At first I didn't even notice her next to me, even though our arms were just about touching.  She had knelt down beside the highchair and was lovingly gazing at my baby girl.  She started to gently talk to her and before I knew it the two of them were giggling at each other.

The lady turned to look at me and said, "She is so sweet, you have such a beautiful family."  As I thanked her I noticed the sincerity in her eyes and the kindness in her voice, she was offering me a genuine compliment. 

She turned back to Anareese and continued chatting with her and then without even looking at me she said, "Cherish every day with them."  After a moment of silence she continued again, "I leave tomorrow for Texas to bury my thirty-year-old son.  He was hit by an under aged drunk driver."  Her words were so gently spoken that I had to take a moment to process them in my mind.  

It was almost as if the words weren't even meant for me, just an extension of her inward thoughts that slipped out.  I was taken aback and felt speechless, what could I say that would even begin to sound sincere?  She took her hand and placed it on my arm and said, "I just keep seeing him like this, a sweet little baby."

I told her how sorry I was for her... but I wish I would have said so much more. I wish that I had asked his name and offered to pray for her, but I was still trying to put my thoughts together.  And before I realized it she had slipped away just as silently as she had appeared.  As I looked around the table at my children I felt so much heartache for her.  

Sitting there in my perfect organized chaos I was thankful for this passing perspective that I had just been offered.  I was no longer frustrated by the two glasses of water that had been spilled at the beginning of the meal or the children that kept changing their minds about what they would like to eat.  Suddenly all of these little annoyances were no longer sources of frustration for me, instead they had become reminders of my wonderful blessings.

God used a single moment and a complete stranger to remind me just how precious the gifts are that He has given to me. 

Dear Lord,

I don't know her name or her pain but you do.  I am asking you to comfort her today and everyday after as she continues to love her child with her empty arms. I pray she finds strength in You to carry on each day.

Amen

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" 

Mark 5:4 

Grace Day # 2

Well, the fist Grace Day turned out so well that we all couldn't wait for the next one.  So when Friday rolled around (our newly designated Grace Day), we were all very excited!  I was anxious to see what my little students would choose this time around....once again they surprised me!  My two oldest were already checking out their piggy banks that morning, it is birthday season in our house, which means they all have accumulated some birthday cash.  So naturally both of them said, "Money, we want to learn about money!".

I got to work and to find some great things to do with money for the day and I will have to say I think it was another winner! 

First we watched a video on YouTube about how money is made,  I found it quite interesting and the kids asked to watch it again....

Then we reviewed the value of each coin and worked out problems from some worksheets that I had on hand.

After that we learned a fun poem to help us remember the value of each coin.

http://www.teachingheart.net/moneyp.htm

We used money words to practice our cursive handwriting, thanks to a  great worksheet generator.

  For copy work we used a scripture verse about money which I printed off of the worksheet generator also.

http://www.worksheetworks.com/english/writing/handwriting.html

We also listened to a story online from the Screen 

Actors Guild Foundation (we couldn't find a book about money but it was still fun).

http://www.storylineonline.net/

For reading time I wrote a silly story about a little man that wanted to buy a purple van,  my oldest informed me that my story really wasn't that funny....Oh well we can't all be Dr. Seuss!

  

Then we moved on to the highlight of the day...our own personal grocery store, where we were able to apply everything that we had learned during the day.  

Even AG got in on the action... although she kind of missed the point she still had a lot of fun shopping!

Another day filled with fun and laughter, I can't wait to see what our third Grace Day will have in store for us!

Grace Day #1

We have recently started trying something new with our homeschooling.  This great idea came from a wonderful little book that I am reading with some amazing women.  The idea is to have one day, "Grace Day"  where the kids get to choose what they would like to learn about for that day.  The only requirement is that it has to be something educational in nature.  I wasn't sure how this was going to play out and to be honest I really thought that they would make request like...build Legos. However, since beginning this strategy I have realized that I can take even those types of requests and make them educational.  This has been so much fun for not only the kids but for me as well.  There is so much excitement  when I gather them up and say, "OK it's Grace Day, what do you want to learn about."  

I thought I would share our first Grace Day with you so you could see just how much fun we had.
So...what did they pick for Grace Day #1?  Well, I have to say my little ones surprised me somewhat. With great enthusiasm one shouted out, "I want to learn about nature", another, "animals", and someone wanted to write a story.  After the selections were made I sent them off to complete there morning chores and I began to print off some lessons in their chosen areas.

And here's where the fun began......

First we studied about plants and photosynthesis....

http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/science/plant-parts.pdf

http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/reading-comp/4th-photosynthesis.pdf

And then we learnded about an unique animal called an Okapi.

We had a great time walking  like an Okapi!

And then we measured our tongues and compared them to the Okapi's tongue

The Okapi's tongue can be up to 18 inches, our's were around 1-2 1/2 inches.

http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/reading-comp/3rd-okapi.pdf


We even took a break to have a race outside!

We then regrouped inside for some story writing and then used our Out of This World Math Game for some review time.

http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/writing-storypics.html

I  have to say that I really like "Grace Day" as much as my little ones.  No one complains about any of their work and we all laugh....a lot.  I am pretty sure that "Grace Day" is here to stay!

The Pumpkin Patch Monster

The Pumpkin Patch!!

I don't mind to admit that this is one of my favorite fall events that we do as a family, however med school hasn't allowed for it for the past two years.  So you can imagine how excited we....OK.... I ....was to finally be able to go back this year.  I wanted it to be perfect!  The sun was shining the temperature was amazing, I couldn't have asked for a more perfect setting.

And then obsessive compulsive mommy joined the party....

I was so busy trying to dress everyone in the perfect fall outfits and get them excited for the event....that I drove everyone crazy.   It would be safe to say that I started to suck the fun right out of the day before it even took place.  

My husband understanding my need to recreate this perfect image that had been building for the past two years, just silently stood by and allowed my tirade.  I am blessed with an amazing man that calmly reminded me of all of 
the reasons that I had had for going on this outing in the first place, none of which had anything to do with clothing or shoes.  

 Despite my initial attitude we managed to have a wonderful family day filled with great memories.  I guess even Mamas are entitled to temper tantrums every now and then...right!

My lesson.... 
To relax and just let things happen.  Today I learned what perfection really looks like, and to my surprise it has nothing to do with outward appearances. 



 My children managed to have an amazing time even though they weren't wearing the outfits that I had envisioned for them....  And I managed to have a wonderful day with my family, even though my girls weren't wearing perfectly matched hair bows!  

Thankfully I transformed from the Pumpkin Patch Monster back into the mommy that my kids love,  in plenty of time for us all to really enjoy the true beauty of the day!

Weekend At Camp

We had a great time last weekend at camp with our family.

There was fishing, fishing, and more fishing....as well as a train ride.
We saw some amazing fall colors and made wonderful memories.  We are so blessed to have such an amazing family and we love getting to spend time with them.