I'm Thankful For...

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I decided to share a few things I am thankful for too. Instead of naming one thing I am thankful for each day I decided to make a list of 30 things I am thankful for since there are thirty days in November. God has blessed me so much, it will be hard for me just to list thirty things! (PS...These are not in order of importance. They are just in the order that flew out of my head.)

1. I am thankful for my salvation through Jesus Christ my Lord. It amazes me every day that He laid down his life for me.


2. I am thankful for my sweet husband. First and most importantly he is a man after God's own heart. His desire to serve and honor God is humbling to me. He is an amazing father and his children worship the ground he walks on. They eagerly await spending time with him. He is also an amazing husband. I thank God every day for him!

3. I am thankful for my first born son Jake. He is such a sweet compassionate child. He definitely is "all boy" but he is very compassionate as well. I am thankful that this year he asked Jesus to be the Lord of his life. I have no doubt that God will use his tender heart to minister to others around him.

4. I am also thankful for my baby boy (not really a baby anymore though) Jared. He is so much fun to be around. He is compassionate as well, but doesn't really want you to know it. :) Jared is one of those people that can capture the attention of a room. He is very intelligent and soaks up information like a sponge. I am certain that God will use him in a mighty way as well one day. It melts my heart when he crawls in the bed with me, plants a kiss on my cheek, and drifts back to sleep.

5. I feel thankful and VERY blessed that God has seen fit to bless us with another baby, a baby girl who will be born in March. We didn't "try" for a girl, we just trusted God to place the baby in our family he had created for us. We look forward to all the new experiences having a girl will bring. The boys are so excited about having a baby sister. It is what they have been praying for. In their minds, since they prayed for it, it was a "done" deal. :)

6. I am thankful for a Godly mother and father. Without their guidance and direction I would not be who I am today. I am thankful that they still serve God with all of their hearts and seek to do his will. I love spending time with them and am constantly looking for "excuses" for them to come visit. :)

7. I am also thankful for Godly in laws. They are such a blessing to us and our children. They have been an amazing encouragement and help to us in our lives and in our ministry.

8. I am thankful to be a part of an AMAZING church. God is really moving in our midst and I am so glad that we get to be a part of it.

9. I am so very thankful that I get to help lead in worship every Sunday with my sweet hubby. It is such a blessing to get to help lead worship every Sunday with my sweet hubby. How many wives get to serve along side their hubbies, doing something they love and feel called to do?

10. I am very thankful for my best friend, Diedra Chavers. We have been friends since we were toddlers. In fact she is more of a sister than a friend. I am thankful that through thick and thin we can depend on each other for love, support, and an honest Godly perspective.

11. I am thankful for all of my other friends as well. It is amazing to know that God sends the right people into you life at just the right time.

12. I am thankful that God has blessed me with opportunity to home-educate my children. What a privilege! It is not always easy but what a blessing to be given the chance to mold your children and watch the light bulb go off as they learn. We are not "anti" school, we just wanted to be obedient to what God called us to do. We have not regretted that choice for one minute.

13. I am also thankful for the environment God has provided for us through CHA (our Christian Homeschool Association) and CO-OP. What a great Godly group of friends! I'm so thankful to know these sweet families.

14. I'm thankful that God blessed me with the ability to play the piano. (Well God and my parents who took me to lessons every week!) My dad wanted me to take so that I could play in church. I thought he was crazy because I had NO intentions of getting up in front of people to play. However...I have played the piano in EVERY church in which we have served!

15. Along those same thoughts, I'm thankful for my piano students. I'm thankful for the chance to mold them and their gifts into something they can use for God's glory. I love teaching them to play Christmas songs and hymns!

16. I am thankful for our Young Ladies Share Group which meets once a month. This is a great time to hear from God, learn about him, and learn about yourself. I can't wait to see what he will teach us in our new Bible study about parenting.

17. I am thankful for modern technology like the Internet and the iPhone. I can communicate with my family who doesn't live here. I can send pictures and videos of the things my children are doing and feel like we are right next door.

18.  I am thankful for sweet neighbors. Our neighbors go above and beyond their "neighborly" duties. One week this summer our lawn mower was on the fritz. When we got home from being out of town our sweet neighbor had finished mowing the rest of our yard! I look forward to getting to know them better and developing a better friendship with them.

19. I am thankful for weekends and holidays that we get to spend with our family. I can hardly wait until we pack up the car to head to visit our family for Thanksgiving.

20. I am thankful for the opportunities we are given to serve with our children. We have the privilege of participating in ministries like Second Helpings (a food ministry), Signs of Life (a construction ministry), and Little Lambs (a prison ministry). I think it is SO very important to teach your children to serve at a young age and learn how to put others first.

21. I am thankful for AWANA. My children have learned so much scripture since our church has started this program. They love it and look forward to it every week. I love the fact that they are hiding God's word in their hearts at such a young age. Jake has already memorized the New Testament Books and very soon he will start working on memorizing the Old Testament books.

22. I am thankful for God's grace and mercy. I mess up daily and am so thankful that He does not hold my sin against me. I could do NOTHING apart from HIM!  "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

23. I am thankful for the quiet time I get to spend alone with God daily. I look forward to the time each day that I can sit and read His word. How amazing is it the creator of the world desires to spend time with me?

24. I am thankful that we have the gift of prayer. I honestly can say I don't know where I would be today if it weren't for prayer. I am thankful that God is always near and all I have to do is call on Him. I love that I can intercede on behalf of my friends and family.

25. I am thankful that God provides for my every need. I have truly never had a need that he did not meet.

26. I am thankful that my sweet hubby helps me do things around the house. Sometimes I just get tired and overwhelmed and he is always there to lend a hand.

27. I am thankful for dinner with friends. I love eating and visiting with friends who share the same love of God you do!

28. I am thankful for facebook. (I know it's silly.) Facebook enables me to interact with friends and family that I don't ordinarily see. I still feel like that are a vital part of my life and can share stories and pictures with them.

29.I am thankful that Raymond loves doing things with his boys. He actually seeks out things to do with them. He and Jake have started hunting together. It's more about guy bonding time than killing a deer. Love my guys. Can't wait to see Raymond with a baby girl. :)

30. Last (BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST) I am so very thankful for the Word of God. I would be lost with out it! It's my instruction manual.

Halloween

Regardless of how you feel about it Halloween is upon us. In our house we have never celebrated this holiday. (We don't do Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy,  or the Easter Bunny either...but don't worry my kids get plenty of presents and candy.) It is just our personal conviction that we don't want to draw attention away from Jesus. The world does plenty of that. We don't want to put Him (Jesus) into the same category as these other fictional characters either. We are not "anti" these things, but they are not our focus and are not included in our holidays. That being said, I don't want my children to be ignorant or uninformed either.

I was so excited when a good friend of ours gave us a book to read with our children. It explains Halloween truthfully from a Christian perspective. The name of it is Halloween Is It for Real. I have not read it with them yet but I am really looking forward to reading it with them and doing a few crafts. I will post a blog with pictures when we do read the book.

I also wanted to share with you a link to my friend's blog. She has a great post about some of her fall activities, but she also has a devotional you can do with your family while carving a pumpkin. What a great way to share Jesus with your little ones. Click here to see her blog.

We also have the book, The Pumpkin Patch Parable, this is a great way to share Jesus with your family as well. Hope you have a blessed week (all 3 of my readers) and let the light of Jesus shine through you!

My Sweet 7 year old!



I can't believe my sweet Jake will be seven tomorrow, October 7, 2011. It still seems like yesterday that he was born. Time has flown by so quickly and I want it to slow down! I am so very proud of the young boy/child of God that Jake is becoming. In May of 2011 he asked Jesus into his heart. He was baptized on mother's day. I couldn't have asked for a better present. He is one of the most tender-hearted children I have ever met. While at times this can be a little frustrating as a parent, God has really opened my eyes as to how HE can use this for HIS glory.



Jake is a very determined child.  He likes for things to be done correctly and hates settling for anything less than perfection. I often have to remind him that he doesn't have to do things perfectly the first time he does them. This determination really spurs him to be excellent at what he does, whether it be sports or school work or memorizing scriptures for AWANA.  Raymond and I both felt God leading us to homeschool our children. We aren't sure for how long, but we urgently felt God leading us in this direction. I have loved every second that I have been given to spend with Jake and watch him learn, grow, and mature. I would not trade anything for the experience of teaching him how to read and watching his face light up he realized he could do it. I treasure this opportunity to be with him and mold him.

One of the things that melts my heart about Jake is his desire to worship God. Because Raymond and I lead on Sundays Jake is almost always by himself. I watch him during worship (often to make sure he's behaving.. :) ) and I am amazed at what I see. Almost always when I look he is earnestly worshipping the Lord. Often at home he will get his ipod (yes he has an old hand-me down) and put headphones in and just worship his little heart out. His favorite song is "Your Love Never Fails". I pray that he continues to worship God with such reckless abandon the rest of his life. I have even seen how this is starting to "rub off" on Jared. On the way home tonight they were both singing "Holy is the Lord." I know I'm far from the perfect parent, but praise God something is sticking with them. I'm so very thankful that God chose ME to be Jake's mom. Now let me go, I've got to go kiss my 6 year old one last time...

Courageous

My sweet hubby surprised me with a trip to see Courageous last night. What a powerful movie. I honestly feel that anyone with children (no matter what age) or that is considering having children should go see this movie. It is primarily aimed at challenging fathers to be all that God has called them to be, but I found myself doing an inventory of my life and the way I parent my children. God help me to be a better parent and to be the parent and wife you have called me to be.

My prayer based on Proverbs 31:10-31 and 1 Peter 3:4

Lord,

Help me to be capable. Help me to be trustworthy and to make sure that my husband doesn't lack for anything. Help me to reward him with good and not evil. Help me to work with willing hands and provide food for my household. Help me to be strong and when I feel weak to depend on Your strength. I want to reach out to the poor and extend my hand to those in need. May honor and strength be my clothing. Help me to speak wisdom and loving instruction from my tongue. I never want to be idle but to watch over my household. I pray that my sons will rise up and be the men you have called them to be. I pray that I will always fear you and put you first.  Help me to have the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit.

Amen

BUSY! BUSY! BUSY!

It has been a while since I posted, so I thought it was time to give an update of our busy lives! We have been busy working hard in school, going to co-op, and spending time together as a family!

Raymond and I attended the Experience Worship Conference in Orlando, FL. It was a great time of renewal and growth in the Lord but we missed our sweet boys like crazy!

The conference took place at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. The campus of the resort was really spread out. Our room was as far away from the conference room as it could be. It took us 10-15 minutest to walk to the conference area. It was worth it though.

 We got to hear from great worship leaders like Paul Baloche (pictured above), Kari Jobe, Ricardo Sanchez, New Life Worship, Gateway, and many more. We also got to enjoy Disney's Night of Joy...a few of the people we heard were Jeremy Camp, Newsboys, Francesca Battistelli, and Disciple. There were others we wanted to hear but we left before they came on stage.

We also got to attend workshops that encouraged us to grow in the Lord and in our God given gifts. This is from a workshop I went to by Ruth Graham (Billy Graham's daughter) that focused on allowing God to use your junk for His glory. She also has a great book out now entitled Fear Not Tomorrow, God is Already There.

When we got home from our trip Jake immediately began football practice. He loves it! His first game will be this Saturday. He is such a cutie in his football gear.

BEFORE PRACTICE

AFTER PRACTICE

When getting all of Jake's things together I realized his cleats were too small. His feet have grown a size and a half since baseball. He is now in a 3 1/2. WOWZERS.

The boys had a very exciting week last week. We had our first day of co-op and our first night of Awana. Yeah for getting back into our "normal" routine.

On our way to co-op

On our way to Awana!

The boys have been working hard at school. Jake is doing well with his cursive. I am so proud and amazed by him! Jared is learning to write many new letters.

Jake and I have also been working on sentence structure. This is a note he wrote me in church. Jared felt bad the previous day. I have to admit, this absolutely melted my heart! What a sweet brother.

Well I suppose that's all I will write for now. We will be at the beach next week! Yipee! Then at the end of October we will find out whether we are having a boy or a girl! So look for some exciting new blog posts to come soon!

Perrin Academy--Lots of Learning Going on! (Week 3)

We have been busy learning and working hard! I am surprised every day by how quickly my sweet boys learn and master new concepts. So far most of what I have done with Jake has been a review of  what he learned last year. Jake has been reviewing his blends and special sounds in phonics. In reading, he has been been reading short stories and answering comprehension questions. He reads and understands very well. He could read stories that are much more difficult than the ones we are reading, but I don't want to skip over anything. In math we are reviewing concepts from last year as well. Something new this year is that he takes a timed fact drill every day. I thought this would stress him out but he LOVES it! He sees it as a challenge. It usually takes him about 24 seconds to do 10 problems. The only source of stress for Jake this year so far has been cursive writing. He actually is fairly good at it. He is just such a perfectionist that he gets frustrated when he can't do it perfectly the first time. Nothing is sweeter though, than hearing him squeal when he finally gets a letter right! He is actually writing small sentences in cursive now. I'm a proud momma. I also purchased a typing program for the computer to teach Jake how to type correctly. He gets a little frustrated initially but then catches on and does quite well.

Jared has been doing very well learning his letters and the sounds they make. We have also been practicing with sight words. He does very well reading his sight word books. We are working on writing his name properly (not in all capitals). He can do it but he would much rather write his name in capitals because it's easier. His favorite thing to do at school is cut and glue so I try to include at least one activity during the week that allows him to practice these fun skills. I have relaxed and try not to be so structured with him. The structure will come when he starts Kindergarten. We do lots of play learning activities. Most of the math I cover with Jared is done with his Calendar Binder in the morning. He learns place value, how to write his numbers, days of the week, months of the year, and keeps a chart of the weather.

A yummy way to celebrate learning the letter P.

This is a short video of Jared reading his sight word booklet. AND yes...we do school without our shirt on sometimes. :)

One of my favorite things about homeschooling is the flexibility it provides. We are able to go home and visit family during times most families wouldn't be able to because of school. Here is a picture of the boys getting ready to go "crabbing" with Daddy and Uncle Derek.

Well I guess I've shared enough for now...Just one more picture before I go. Here is our newest addition...baby #3 on the way due in March.

Our First Day of School

Yay! Our first day of school finally arrived. We had such a blessed, fun time together. Jake and Jared were both very ready to get to work. This really surprised me! First, I will share a few pictures of our classroom.

These are our "rules"or our Signs of Growing Up. I love the fact they are stated positively! We started off the day by talking about each one and what it meant.

This is our work table. This is where we sit to do guided work. I love this table. The height adjusts to grow with the child and it folds away for easy storage. I got it at Wal-mart. I do need to get the boys some better chairs, but we work with what we have for now!

This is our independent work space. This is where the boys work individually and independently when Mommy is working one on one with the other child.

 We are blessed to have an extra couch that we can use to read together!

This is where we do our "board" work. It is also where we store our manipulatives and school books.

This is our map and schedule. Jake and Jared both love maps. They love locating places we have been or places we are talking about in school.

These are the boys work boxes. I saw this idea on another blog. (Thanks Lindsey!) Each child has a box for each subject and the materials we need to complete the subject are in the box. This is a great way to keep me organized and give the boys and idea of how much they have left to do!

My sweet Jared ready for his first day of Pre-K. He was so excited to start Pre-K. I was honestly surprised with how intently he worked. I thought it would be more of an adjustment for him. (learning to sit still, follow directions, etc.) My little man is growing up too quickly. I feel blessed to be able to share this experience with him.

My sweet Jake on his first day of FIRST GRADE. I can not believe he is already this old! He is so excited about first grade. He has said since the moment he finished Kindergarten that he is in first grade. I wouldn't trade my experience of teaching him last year for anything! I am so looking forward to teaching him again this year and watching him grow by leaps and bounds!

The boys are working in their Calendar Binders in this picture. This is a concept I learned about from the website www.hubbardscupboard.com. This site is also where I will be getting most of the curriculum I use to teach Jared. In the Calendar Binder there are a series of pages they will work with each day. It is a great way to get in all of our morning activities and allow each child to participate in counting the days of school, working on place value, writing the date on the calendar, and singing the months of the year and days of the week. We also chart the weather, and review our letters/sounds. This link is directly to the calendar binder.  http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/character_activities.html#CalendarBinder

After we finish our calendar binder activity we spend time talking about our character quality of the week. We talk about what it means, learn a scripture that emphasizes that quality, and read a Bible story that demonstrates that quality. This week's character quality is "orderly". The story we read and talked about was the creation story. We also worked on learning 1 Corinthians 14:40. This verse states, "But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way."

This is a close up of Jared working in his Calendar Binder. He is creating a pattern by circling the day of the week with colors. I put the calendar in a sheet protector and he is using a dry erase crayon to create the pattern. This is easy to erase if he makes a mistake (which he didn't) and it's also something fun for him to use.

Jake is quietly working on his seat-work while I spend some individual time with Jared. When Jake finished his seat-work he was allowed to do something fun (playdough) until I was ready for him!

Jared worked very hard cutting out his pictures that started with the letter A. Then he glued them on a piece of paper and used the "Aa" stamp to stamp around the pictures. He really enjoyed using the scissors.

This year Jake will be learning to write in cursive. He was pumped up to be doing something that was "grown-up." He really disliked writing last year so I made an effort to really build up writing in cursive. Early on today, he struggled with it. Then I realized we (mainly me) had his paper slanted the wrong direction. Once we turned his paper the right way, he was good to go. He whipped out these cursive e's with little effort.

As one of Jared's independent activities I had him review the order of the days of creation. I wrote the numbers on the board and had him place the days of creation in order. I was stunned when I checked the board and saw that he had only gotten one wrong. WOW! I did NOT expect that!

Our last time of the day together is activity time. During this time we will do a variety of things. Some days we will learn about science and social studies. Some days we will sing and other days we will do art projects. I also plan to use this time to incorporate some computer activities as well. I bought Jake a typing software program. I plan to use this program during this time too. Today we read through Jake's Ranger Rick magazine. It's a great tool to use to teach science to little boys in a colorful and meaningful way. We read about Seahorses and then began to make our own seahorse. We will finish up our seahorses tomorrow.

I was a little worried about balancing teaching both boys. However today went very smoothly and we all had a great time. I can't wait to see what the rest of the year holds.

Signs of Growing Up

At a conference my husband and I worked last week I came across these "Signs of Growing Up" in the class Jared attended. (His teacher was awesome! ) I decided right then and there to incorporate them into our lives and our schooling. These were things I already asked of my children but when we referred to them as Signs of Growing Up it became very important and real to Jared. He was so proud each time he displayed one he would say, "That's a sign of growing up." I love the fact that they are worded positively! Here they are...

Obey Cheerfully

Say "Please" and "Thank You"

Be Kind

Always Do Your Best

Share

Listen carefully

Happy Fourth!!!!!

Wishing everyone a blessed and Happy Fourth of July. I'm so thankful for the freedom I have as an American, but I am most thankful for the freedom I have in Jesus Christ.

"Therefore, if the Son sets you free, you really will be free." (John 8:36 HCSB)




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Zoo Fun

We enjoyed a day at the zoo recently with some really sweet friends. Here are a few of our pictures from the zoo. We had so much fun and the boys really enjoyed it.

Jake and Jared were very excited about the flamingos. They were very pretty.

Jake and Tanner were studying the maps trying to determine our path. They did a good job.

Jared enjoyed our trip too. He didn't want to cooperate with the camera so Raymond and I had to be sneaky. :)

The boys enjoyed looking at the animals and learning new things about them. The armadillos were really cute while they were eating.

We really enjoyed the peacocks. When the male displayed his feathers the guys walked around trying to get  a good look but he kept intentionally turning his back on them.

We also enjoyed feeding the fish. We loved having our niece Brandy with us too. :)

We finished up with a little monkey business. What a great day with friends and family.