For Today

Outside my window.....  bright sunshine after the rain and storms we've had over the last few weeks.

I am thinking.....of my responsibilities next week that are very pressing.

I am thankful for.....my family.

I am wearing...a blue jean skirt and bright orange blouse. I'm barefoot as usual.

I am reading....a 3-in-1 book I picked up at Mardel's for $1.00. It's called Georgia Brides.

I am hoping....my headache goes away before I go shopping this evening.

I am praying....for an extremely urgent situation regarding an old friend.

Around the house....I need to have a yard sale! I'm tired of the yard sale piles.

From the kitchen.....I'm trying to figure out what to have for supper tonight.

One of my favorite things.....is spending time with my hubby.

A few plans for the rest of the week.....pack and leave for Florida.

From the learning rooms.....we are desperately trying to finish school before we go.

I am hearing....my children eating lunch while playing the grossest game ever--Would You Rather?

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