Day 31--Last One!

Whew! I've made it through the blogging through the month of May challenge. By the skin of my teeth!

Today I am supposed to write about a vivid memory I have. This is tough. I have lots of vivid memories.

I suppose some very important vivid memories are my wedding day (over 18 years ago) and the days of my children's births (16, 11, and 8 years ago).

I remember them very vividly but this is not the time or place to share birth stories.

Some more vivid memories I have are of traveling. I have been lots of places! Mostly by car, some by plane.

I would say most of my vivid memories involve people rather than things, events, or places.

I don't know that I can just pick one but suffice it to say that I have lots and lots of memories and I love recalling them! I hope when I'm an old lady I can still remember great parts of my life.

Day 30

Woo-hoo! I'm on time again! The assignment today is to react to the saying "letting go". This is approprate for me this week I think.

I have 3 children: a son age 16, a son age 11, and a daughter age 8.

My 16 year old son will be getting his driver's license this week. Yikes! And also, on Tuesday, I enrolled him in college classes for this fall. He will be doing concurrent classes to earn both high school and college credits all at once. It's a great program, but wow! This would normally happen at age 18 as far as college classes go. So I feel like we've rushed somewhat, but then it's a nice feeling to remind myself that he's only 16. I still have him a few more years.

So, do I like letting go? In some ways it's exciting. In some ways it's sad. Bittersweet maybe? I think that's how I would sum it up. Bittersweet.

Day 29

Today's assignment is to post 5 songs or pieces of music that speak to me or bring back memories.

http://youtu.be/vsVvkrSkI18  This girl is 8 years old and sings wonderfully! Love it. Her mom died of cancer and she sings in memory of her. I can relate to that.

http://youtu.be/XqvR1AJSLhU "Through It All" by Selah. This song speaks to me. Each word is true.

http://youtu.be/HXON6CiabO0 "In Awe".  Of God and all He has done and does do for me.

http://youtu.be/cdZVic6vIvg Sheri Easter--"Praise His Name".  Love everything about it!

http://youtu.be/AeKB45w2G-k  I heard this on a Gaither Homescoming CD. I love it! The harmony is beautiful.

Day 28 (one day late) Pictures Only

Day 27

This assignment is a letter to my readers. There are many paths I could go down, but I think I'll do this one since mine is a fairly new blog.

Dear Readers (and Hopefully-Soon-to-Be Readers/Followers),

Don't expect a fancy blog here but expect real life. I'm first and foremost a Christian who actually lives it. I'm a wife who loves my husband more than anything or anyone else. I'm a mother who thinks my kids are the best ever. I'm a pastor's wife who takes this calling seriously. I'm a homeschooling mom who loves teaching my kids.

So don't expect to see pictures of a pristine home, but neither will you see a trashy, dirty "dump". I will not post gourmet meals with ingredient names I can't pronounce, but you will see recipes/photos for good healthy meals as I try to feed my family.

I didn't start this blog to garner followers (although I'd love that) but rather to keep somewhat of a journal, if you will. I enjoy writing and this is a good outlet to do so.

Transparently yours,
Jennifer

Day 26--late again...ughhhh

The assignment is to write about something we read on line and discuss it. I'm going to have to pass on this one. I'm drawing a blank. When I do read online, it's mostly blogs. I'm going to have to say "sorry".

Day 25 (On Time Finally!!!)

Today's assignment is to tell about something that someone once told me about myself that I'll never forget. Good or bad.

Well, I'm going to go with something "good" here.

I am a thinker. I analyze and process lots of information. (Most information actually).

Sometime in my early teen years, my mom told me this.

"Jennifer, you're a thinker. I always knew when you were ready to get saved it would be for real. Because I knew you would have thought about it and processed everything through to know it's what you wanted for my life."

This was after I had been saved awhile and it has always stuck with me. It helps me realize that what I have is real and still holds. I didn't go into being a "Christian" lightly. I wanted it and knew it would work. And it still does. And I still want it.

Late Again!!! Day 24

Today's assignment (yesterday's, rather) was to tell my top 3 worst traits. Yeah. A little hard here.

The first one I can think of is that I get easily overwhelmed. Just a simple task (such as my brother-in-law asking unexpectedly if he can come down today for Memorial Day weekend) is not just simple to me. I see the whole picture (and 10 times more) of what all I have to change, rearrange and do differently than I had planned. I guess in short, I don't do well with my plans being changed. I plan things out mentally and then have a hard time rearranging them.

The second negative trait about myself is more of a physical thing I think. I can't seem to operate without 8-9 hours of sleep per night. I get really tired, have a headache and I'm so sluggish. Like today. I got in bed at 12:30 and back up at 5:30 to pick up my Bountiful Basket. (I'll blog more with photos about that later). I came back to bed for a short while but I'm just "blah". I need a nap!

The third negative trait about myself is that I can't say no. I take on so much more than I need to because I can't say that simple little word. N-O.  Maybe this ties in with the first trait?

Day 23 Blogging Through May

Things I've Learned That School Doesn't Teach You:

1. To love God with my whole heart!

2. To love my husband passionately, fervently, and faithfully.

3. To love my children with a heart-squeezing love.

4. To keep my house clean (mostly).

5. To cherish the moments with loved ones.

6. To plant flowers--they make me happy.

7. To keep a good supply of groceries on hand. I can't stand running to the store constantly!

8. That wealth is not "it".

9. That comfort food is another "food group".

10. And that 2 plus 3 equals a family.

Day 22 of Blogging Through the Month of May

Today is my birthday! Yay!! But that's not what I'm blogging about today. The assignment for today is to rant about something. Get up on my soapbox and rant!

I'm really not a "ranter" but I guess I can have my buttons pushed enough to rant occasionally.

I guess since it's my birthday and I'm trying to catch up on blogging and feel more like having fun than ranting, I'll pick something easy.

How about.....gas prices!! Our gas prices in our area have sky-rocketed to $3.99 per gallon! From $3.27 less than a week ago. We heard it's because one of the refineries in our area was closed down for maintenance so they are having to bring the gas in from farther away. What???? So they gouge us because the refinery didn't pass muster? Please, people, be a little easier on our budgets!!

There. Do I feel better? Only because I'm finally caught up with this blogging assignment. LOL!

Day 21

The assignment for today (one day late as usual) is to list links to some of my favorite posts in my archives. I have a really new blog so I don't have much to link to.

I'll link to some of them though:

More Organized Pinterest Boards  I love Pinterest and I have featured some of my boards from time to time. This is one such post.

In this post, I wrote about Homeschool Co-ops. And are they worth it?

Please freel free to check them out!

Day 20 (Late again)

The assignment for May 20th is to write about what I am struggling with now and how I am handling it.

Well....I think it may be obvious that my struggle right now is to keep up with this challenge of blogging daily through the month of May. I can't seem to keep up with it!

But I haven't missed posting yet, even if it is late. So maybe that's how I'm coping? By catching up!

Day 19

Today's assignment is to tell 5 blogs I read regularly and what I love about them.

My very favorite blog is Everyday Reading.  Janssen writes book reviews, posts yummy recipes, writes about her 2 adorable little girls, craft ideas and travel. I love her style of writing. I love that there are lots of photos and I think her posts are interesting.

Another blog I like a lot is Good Cheap Eats.  Jessica is a mother of several children and she posts great recipes and meal plans for eating on a budget.

Another one is City on a Hill. This family is fun to read about. She hasn't posted lately because of some family physical issues, but when she does I really like it.

A blog I discovered recently is The Prudent Homemaker.  I don't agree with her religious beliefs (Mormon) but I do love her photography and her recipes. She has a great food storage system that blows my mind!

A sweet blog is Purposely Frugal.  I use "sweet" here not like everyone currently uses it, but I actually mean it's a sweet blog. The young lady is sweet, and she and her husband are going to school to become missionaries. They really do survive on hardly anything (in preparation for doing that later) and she has some clever, frugal posts.

Day 18

And I'm on time for once! Yay! It's not late!!

Today's assignment was to write about a story from my childhood. Several come to mind, but I will write about an incident that I have told over and over to my children. One of those memories that is so vivid and real for me.

When I was 3 or 4 years old (I'm not sure how old for sure but I know because of where we lived that I was 3 or 4), I was supposed to be taking a nap. My bedroom window looked across to the neighbor's house. I remember it was a brick home. Instead of napping, I got out of bed and I was looking out my window. I saw flames! I remember running to my mom and telling her "someone is burning leaves". And I meant the leaves on the trees. Our huge tree between our house and the neighbor's was on fire.

I really don't remember what she did right then, but I do know my dad went outside and started spraying water from the water hose on the tree to put that fire out. But the neighbor's home was burning down.

I clearly remember the neighbor lady (probably in her 50's) came home from work and stood in the street watching her house burn down. She stood there with tears running down her face. (I'm assuming someone notified her at work because this was the middle of the day.)

Later, when she went through the house to see what she could salvage, she found her porcelain doll collection. They were all burned except one. She gave me that one doll that made it through the fire! I kept it for a long time and then got rid of it. I'm not a "hoarder", but I sure do wish I had that doll.

I think of that incident often.

Day 17 (A Day Late and a Photo Short)

This was supposed to be posted yesterday, as I blog through the month of May. My computer recently crashed and all my photos got put on some type of external hard drive. My husband is out of town so I'm at a loss as to how to put my photos back on my computer so I can post!

I'm posting anyway and I'll edit later with a photo if possible.

Belated Day 16

What is difficult about your lot in life and how do you handle it?

Well....I don't know I have anything difficult in my life. Yes, both of my parents passed away way before their time. Yes, I homeschool 3 kids 180 days out of the year. All different learning levels and grades. Yes, I try hard to fix 3 balanced meals per day and keep my house clean and the laundry done.

But, I really consider my blessings rather than my "lot in life". I guess I see the glass as half full instead of half empty. Maybe that is how I handle it? Hopefully!

Belated Day 15

A Typical Day in My Life:

I don't have photos for this. Obviously, if I've been so busy I can't blog then I haven't had time to take pictures either.

But a typical day goes pretty much like this.

I get up at 8:30. Before my children. Yes, we are late sleepers. I get my glass of ice water and have my devotions. I then spend time playing some games on my iPhone. It's my morning "thing".

I get the children up and we have breakfast. After that, they have some morning chores to do. Then we start school. School can look all kinds of ways. My oldest stays in his bedroom for the majority of his schooling. My school day looks like this. This was from Day 2 of the Blogging Through May challenge.

During school, I am helping children with lessons and keeping up with laundry, meals, and dishes. After school, I do more housework and cook supper. Then I clean up. My evenings are for blogging, paperwork, reading, and relaxing. I go to bed at about 11:00.

Not very exciting but it is us.

Belated Day 14

10 Things That Make Me Happy:

1. My hubby, the love of my life.

2. My children.

3. The smell of fresh baked bread.

4. Beautiful music.

5. Reading good books.

6. Storms. As long as they don't turn into tornadoes.

7. Crunching ice. Yeah, I know. Shame, shame.

8. Cereal for supper or a midnight snack.

9. My garden.

10. Sleeping with my bedroom windows open.

Belated Day 13

My public apology:

Here goes....

Dear Readers,

I publicly and humbly apologize for not keeping up with the daily blogging in May. I really intended to. I thought sure I would. But life got in the way and I dropped the ball.

Does catching up now count?

Sincerely,
Jennifer

Belated Day 12

What do you miss? Well, on a light-hearted note, I missed blogging for the past few days. Call is busy-ness.  The children had testing for school, and things are just now slowing down today.

But, what do I miss? For real? I thought it was appropriate for this question to fall on Mother's Day. I miss my mom.

My mom was the best mom ever! She was sweet and gentle; kind and thoughtful. Pretty and soft-spoken. Shy. Super smart. Clever. Organized. Devoted to others and a great mom and wife.

My mom passed away of cancer in February of 2000. She was 48 years old. 13 years without my mom has been a long time. I think the thing I miss the most is having her be grandma to my children. My oldest son was 2 when she died. She never saw my other two children. So many times I think to myself, "Mom would have liked this or that about my children." I really miss that she missed seeing them born and growing up. She would have loved that I homeschool. She would have loved that I'm a pastor's wife. She would have loved my kids.

I really don't think she misses those things though. She's in a much better place. In a "city that hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."

Day 11: Myself in 10 Words or Less

Shy.

Smart.

Organized.

Reader.

Conservative.

Wife.

Mommy.

Christian.

Prompt.

Reliable.

Day 10: My Most Embarassing Moment

Okay. Does anyone think I'll share my ACTUAL most embarassing moment? No way, Jose!! But I will share an embarassing moment in my life. 

We were at church. I had an older slip on that the elastic was quite stretched out in. But I didn't realize it at the time. I went to the back to the restroom and on my way back into the sanctuary my slip fell down. To my ankles. Yeah, that far! That wouldn't be too embarassing but then when I looked over (I was still at the back of the church) my friend was looking from my face to the slip and back to my face again. My face that was bright red by then. I managed to get back to the bathroom and fold the stop of my slip over a few times to make it "tighter".

I was so thankful this had happened at the back of the church instead of the front where I sit!!!

Day 9: A Moment in My Day

Day 8: A Piece of Advice

The assignment today (as I blog through the month of May along with Jenni from Story of My Life) is to give someone a piece of advice.

My advice is "Don't sweat the small stuff." Sure, your child may spill their bowl of cereal of your spouse may forget to pay a bill on time. But don't let it ruin relationships! You can yell, use harsh or degrading words, give dirty looks and your child or spouse will withdraw from you.

I choose to keep relationships higher on my priority list than perfection. Don't sweat the small stuff!!

Day 7: What I Am Most Afraid Of

Snakes. Frogs. Lizards. Yikes! I hate even reading the words.

Drowning. That's a horrible fear I have. So yes, it does make me afraid of water and afraid for my kids to be in water. They can swim and swim in our home pool but other water scares me for them.

Cancer. It has touched too many people really really close to me. So I do have a real fear of it. I've seen what it can do.

Flying in an airplane. I have to fly from time to time but I don't like it. I used to until we had a strange happening once and started nosediving toward the ground shortly after take off. Every since then I have been afraid.

By the way, join me as I blog through the month of May with Jenni at Story of My Life.  This is day 7 and it's not too late to jump in! See my button on my blog page for more info.

What Do I Do?

Wow! This is a loaded question! I don't work a job outside the home and I don't work any job at home that pays me cash.

I do plenty at home that probably doesn't get noticed much but there are plenty of rewards that go along with it.

Here's what I do:

1. I care for and take care of my husband.  I am married and loving my sweetie more than I ever thought I could love someone.

2. I mother my 3 children. And I love being a mom.

3. I teach. I homeschool those same 3 wonderful children 180 days per year. And I love it!

4. I cook. I cook 3 meals per day most days. And I love it. (I just wish I had more time for it.)

5. I do laundry. And guess what? My favorite household chore is laundry. Yeah, I'm crazy like that.

6.I clean. I'll be honest here. I don't really love that part. But I do love the part of keeping my house nice and neat for my family.

7. I help minister. I'm a pastor's wife. I love helping my husband in his ministry.

8. I travel. We travel A LOT! I love the travel part but I love being back at home.

9. I sing. Not professionally. But around the house, in the shower and at church. I love best to sing harmony in a group but I do sing solo all around the house.

10. I play the piano. And I love that too.

Maybe the bottom line here is that I love what I do! I love what God has allowed me to do and created me to do.

Blogging Through May Day 5

Today we are supposed to tell what we love about a blogging friend. I don't have any blogging friends...yet. I recently started my blog. I read several blogs faithfully but I wouldn't call any of them my friends....yet.

So I will tell about my best friend....my husband. I am married to the greatest guy out there--and believe me I'm not looking out there to see if that's true or not. I just believe it and I'm great with it. He for sure is the best one for me. We just click. We mesh. We work together better than a lot of couples I know.

We started out young but not too young. He is two years older than me. We started dating when I was 18 and he was 20. We married when I was 20 and he was 22. He was still a college student when we got married. We lived in a tiny garage apartment (upstairs) and had nothing to call our own except the wedding gifts we received and his car. It was great though! We forged a foundation that has held steady for over 18 years.

He is my best friend, my confidante, and my lover.

He is always smiling. And I do mean always. A friend of ours the other day referred to my hubby as "abnormally jolly". He has such a great outlook on life. He doesn't see the glass as half-full. He sees it as full!!

He is also a hard worker. The hardest worker I know. And he does the work right. No cutting corners or just getting by. I tell people he is my Dan-Of-All Trades. He can do anything! If he doesn't know how, he figures it out and does it anyway. It saves a lot of money around our household.

He is also the father of my three children. And he's an excellent father. He is the head of our household as taught in the Bible and it works when everyone is in their place.

He's smart too. Yes, he's educated. He has a bachelor degree from a prestigious university. But it's more than that. He's smart in life. He can discern the right from the wrong and chooses right. I'm so thankful!

He's godly. He lives what he preaches. And yes, he really does preach. In a real church at a real pulpit. But he lives it.

I have told him before that he's better than my dreams. I thought I knew what I wanted in a husband and he has far exceeded those thoughts and ideas. I love him! We fell in love and we still love each other. Even more really.

I could never ask for more. He satisfies my heart.

Blogging Through May Day 4

My Favorite Quote:

My very favorite quote is from a poem by Robert Frost. The poem is called The Road Not Taken. The quote I love from it is this:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.    

 

I love the quote because it's beautiful and poetic. But I love it for more than that. It goes deeper. I feel I have taken a road less traveled by. I don't follow the norm or the crowd. I am not afraid to be who I am and that is because I'm following the road of Christ. Not just saying I am a Christian but actually being one. Living it daily. That is not common in this day and age.

 

I also homeschool my children which is not the norm, although it is growing by leaps and bounds.

 

I'm also a stay-at-home-mom which is not the norm. I'm thankful my husband can provide for our family and I can stay home to raise them and keep the household things "running".

 

I even have a Pinterest board called The Road Less Traveled that goes along with my thoughts about the poem. I don't have many pictures on this board but they are pictures of roads that seemingly lead where you can't see the end of them.

 

If you've never read the poem, go read the whole thing. It's short but profound.



Blogging Through May Day 3



Things That Make Me Uncomfortable

 

 

I can think of a few..........

 

1.The first thing that comes to mind is CONFLICT. I never have liked it and I never will. Growing up, I never ever saw my parents fight. My dad was a pastor and one day a man from our church came into our living room and started pulling books off the shelves and throwing them. He was accusing my dad of having ungodly books. (They were Louis L'amour books for crying out loud.) I was maybe 10 years old and I didn't like it.

 

 

 

2. Another thing that makes me uncomfortable is REPTILES, especially snakes. Yuck! It makes my skin crawl just thinking about them. I won't even put a picture because they give me the heebie-jeebies.

 

 

3.I am also uncomfortable staying in motel rooms. I mean the bed may be comfy but the thought that other people slept in that bed. Shudder! I am very picky about motels. A motel has to be super super clean for it to pass my inspection and even then I have to block out the thought of germs and unseen things being in the beds.

Blogging Through May Day Two

This is the topic for today: Educate us on something you know alot about or are good at. Take any approach you'd like (serious and educational or funny and sarcastic).

Hmmmm....I feel like a know a little bit about a lot of things. But something I know alot about or are good at.....well, for me that would be homeschooling. I feel I know both a lot about it and are good at it. On most days.

I could approach this post as if I'm preaching to the choir, but the topic did say "educate us". So I'm approaching it for someone reading this who has misconceptions about homeschooling or doesn't know much about it at all.

Homeschooling is not necessarily "school-at-home". Some homeschoolers model their school after the public school, but most homeschoolers are avoiding public school for a variety of reasons. So they definitely don't want to look like public school at home. I am one of those. I do not start at 8:30 and take breaks every 50 minutes. We don't have a chalkboard hanging on our wall (although I use a white board that tucks away when we're finished), we don't have hall passes, we don't have cafeteria food (yay!) and we definitely don't have a classroom full of kids all the same age doing all the same lessons all on the same day.

No, my homeschool is not school-at-home. We start school later than public school. This allows my children to get the much needed rest recommended for children. My oldest son, age 16, does his school via internet streaming on a computer in his bedroom. My youngest two children, ages 11 and 8, work across from each other at the same table. I also sit at this table to teach and moderate. This means the youngest two learn from each other. It's not a distraction to them. It's fun for them to see what each other is learning. They even help each other when they've already done the topic or subject before.

My oldest is a sophomore in high school and he is taking the following classes this year: Plane Geometry, English, Biology, World History, Typing, Driver's Ed, Computer Programming, and World Literature.

My next is in 5th grade and he has these subjects: Math, English, Spelling, History, Science and Reading.

My youngest is 3rd grade and she does these: Math, English, Spelling, History, Health/Safety, Penmanship, Bible and Art.

They choose to do them in whatever order they want. They like to start with math and get it out of the way. That's fine. We do lots of reading aloud. They mostly work at their desk, but it's not uncomon to see them in the living room on the couch where it's quieter. We break for lunch when we're hungry and it's homemade food--not cafeteria food! We can go on field trips on days when most "other" kids are in school. That gives us more time and space to explore.

I know what we do is working! I see results weekly if not daily. My oldest son just took his ACT test and scored very well. He will be taking college classes this next year and earning dual credits.

That's the tip of the iceberg concerning homeschooling. Ask me questions! I will respond.

Blogging through the Month of Day....Everyday? Day One

Well, we'll try it! If you notice the button in my sidebar then great! I'm relatively new to blogging and had to find a tutorial for adding the button. But it looked like it worked.

This is technically Day 2 (May 2nd) and I didn't discover this blogging project until yesterday evening. I'm going to post for Day One because that was only yesterday and the OCD in me says we CANNOT start with Day Two. LOL!

I'm supposed to write the story of my life in 250 words or less so here goes:

I was born overseas on a military base. Came to the states at age 2 1/2. I am a Christian who believes in living what Jesus tells us in His Word. I grew up in a fabulous Christian home. I have two brothers. I've been in public school, Christian school, and homeschooled. I went to college for a couple years. My parents passed away within three years of each other when I was in my twenties. I've been happily married to my best friend for over 18 years. I have three kiddos. Two boys; one girl. The oldest is 16, the next is 11 and my little girl is 8. We have homeschooled for eleven years. We live in a little rural town. I love to read! Mostly historical fiction. I like to organize things when I have extra time.  I like to travel and see beautiful places in our great country of America. We are a musical family. Hubby plays violin; I play piano, clarinet, and alto saxophone. Oldest plays percussion. Younger son plays guitar and daughter plays violin. She's starting piano next week. That's us in a nutshell.