Beautiful week.....

You know how there are certain moments in life that are so beautiful that they move you to tears?  This week was full of those.  It would take too long to list each amazing event but one of my favorites was tonight.  Two minutes after Lucas left for work Emily got a splinter in her hand that was DEEP and a half an inch long.  Emily started panicing and so we said a quick prayer together to calm us both down :)  Hannah was watching this whole episode so I asked her to look at the splinter; which Emily accepted much better than mommy looking at it.  As Hannah looked Emily completely calmed down and asked if she could pull the splinter out herself.  I was all for that idea!  Hannah then offered to read some scripture out loud while Emmie worked on the splinter.  So, my Hannah pulled out her Bible and started reading the Psalm that she read yesterday in Psalms time.  As Hannah read Psalms 27 Emily dug the entire splinter out without even whimpering. 

My girls are AWESOME!!!!

I realize that splinters are insignificant in the grand scheme of life but my girls are learning to come along side and comfort one another when one of them is in distress or pain.   Hannah knew the greatest comfort she could offer her sister came from the Great Comforter. 

My girls grew up tonight and it was beautiful to watch.

Goals for the week!

Last week was a little off due to the fact that we had our kitchen painted and moved out for two days!  This week I am hoping to jump back into our schedule.  Also, I just joined a group that's reading through the gospels in 90 days.  After reading through the entire bible in 60 days it seems easy to read through the gospels in 90 days.  However, I am looking forward to a more in depth study of the bible instead of a concentrated overview.

My goals for this week are:

1. Start reading through the gospels doing my SOAP devotional everyday.

2. Read a Psalm before bed every night and keep a prayer journal.

3. Read a Proverb every morning with my coffee :)

4. Keep Psalms time going with my kiddos.

5. Work on establishing my laundry day, kitchen day, errand day, etc...

6. Start an afternoon chore time with my kiddos.

Most of these things I do to some degree now but not with any consistency. Having my goals written down makes me more likely to actually follow through!!!

Sunday's don't agree with me......

For the past several years I have been striving to make Sunday a day of rest in my home.  It has actually been on my list of goals for the past couple of years.  I would love to say that progress is being made but... no, no it's not.  A typical Sunday involves me getting five children presentable at the same time.  All by itself, that is quite a feat.  Add in trying to get somewhere ON TIME with said children looking cute and dirt free and you have World War III.  To be fair, I have to admit that 95% of the problem is me.  For example, last Sunday we were pretty close to being on schedule when I decided that I had to dejunk the small table in my kitchen.  Now, the kitchen table had been piled with books and papers for at least a week.  But for some reason on Sunday morning as we were trying to accomplish a biblical size exodus I decided that I couldn't take the mess on the table

ONE. MORE. MINUTE. 

So, as Sarah undid her pigtails, Emily tortured Hannah and Matthew decided to get out every lego he owns I ran around like a crazy person filing papers, making notes on the calendar and putting books away. By the time the table was clean my children were in a complete state of disarray and I felt like I had run a marathon.  But, hey, at least my table was clean :)

After last week I decided that Sunday's have got to change around here.  In all seriousness, I don't want my children remembering Sunday's as being chaotic and exhausting.  I especially don't want them to remember me as a drill sergeant who prodded and scolded them out the door each week.

So, here is our treatment plan for this Sunday:

1.  80% of the children got a bath before they went to bed.  Only the baby gets a bath in the morning.

2.  I bought cereal for breakfast.  Don't judge me.  I'm desperate!

3.  The diaper bag is completely packed and in the van.

4.  Our bibles are already in the van.

5.  The van is full of gas and clean.  Wow!

6.  60% of the children have their clothes laid out.

7.  The house is reasonably clean and the laundry is DONE.

 Hopefully with all these changes in place tomorrow morning will be calm and relaxed. 

Except I just noticed that the table is messy again.  Rats!!!

Large Family Logistics....We've got 'em!!

For Christmas last year my parents bought me a book called Large Family Logistics by Kim Brenneman.
 http://largefamilylogistics.blogspot.com/
Christmas night after my kiddos were asleep and my hubby was at work I started reading through it.  This book is AMAZING!  It is chock full of ideas on how to homeschool more productively, keep a cleaner home, celebrate life to the fullest and take advantage of everyday opportunities to train children to value family.    

Gradually (read VERY SLOWLY!), I have started implementing her strategies.  This week we started having a bible time in the morning before we started regular school.  I was very doubtful that this would work and I was fairly nervous that we would lose our momentum in the morning.  However, it has improved our school day significantly.  After breakfast we all sit at the table and I read a Psalm out loud to everyone.  Then, the two oldest kiddos listen to me dictate a verse and they write it in their notebooks.  When they have written the verse down I check for spelling and grammatical errors.  Then they write the verse again with their neatest handwriting.  After the verse is written correctly and neatly it's time to write all the misspelled words five times.  The kiddos are also using the dictionary to look up any words they don't know from the chapter we read.  When we're done we've worked on handwriting, spelling, copywork, grammar and bible! Awesome!  Plus, I have noticed that our day flows more productively after spending this time dwelling in God's Word. The kids have loved this addition to our schedule!

The purpose of this blog!

You know how everyone makes grandiose New Years resolutions that last for about 11 seconds?  Well this year I have some pretty big goals.  That's nothing new.  I'm a first born and nothing excites and thrills me more than a list of things to accomplish.  But this year is different.  The goals aren't different but the reasons behind them are.  

I started 2011 off with reading the Bible in 60 days.  Reading the Bible all the way through (and for hours at a time) gave me a fresh perspective on my goals.  I want to be a more efficient homemaker so that I can spend more time teaching my children to love and serve God.   Not so that I can impress others with my clean house or organic, wholesome food.  But so that I can spend more time teaching these amazing little people that I am blessed to spend 24/7 with.   

I started this blog for three reasons: 

First, at the end of the day I enjoy journaling about our day and what worked and what didn't.  

Second, my sweet sister in law has pestered asked me forever to start writing about the craziness that goes on in my house on a daily basis.  

Third, accountability. If I think that someone might know if I fail at my goals for the day I will be motivated to keep going.  

...our house at night. One of my favorite pictures.

Even when I would just like to sleep :)