A Different Kind of Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

I always enjoy this holiday because it reminds me how much I am loved by God, my darling husband, my wonderful children, my precious family and dear friends. I could feel really down because my husband is away from me this year for Valentine's Day. I was thinking back, we have spent Valentine's Day together for the past nineteen years. Wow! O.k., I could get very sad, but instead I am going to concentrate on what I do have this Valentine's Day. Three children to hug, two furry dogs to chase, a family that surrounds me with love and sweet memories and dear friends that fill me up with fun and happy times. This holiday has really been captured by commercialism. Forget all of the stuff our culture says this day should be. Cut past all of the unrealistic expectations to the LOVE part. The best place I know to go for pure love is God.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Now that's what I am talking about! What a Valentine's Day present. He can fill you up to overflowing and then some. I know that is a good place to be and I am camping out there!

Thank you Lord for this Valentine's Day. It is different, but I feel loved up to the very top!

Creek Days!

All of this wonderfully warm weather has made the kids dream about spring. School work is getting done quickly around here so there is time for outside play. The words "outside play" mean going in the woods and having a little creek time! The kids pull on the mucky boots and play clothes and disappear down through the woods for hours of imagination gone wild at the creek. There are boat races, survival games,camping and cooking and all kinds of adventures down at the creek. We have built wigwams in the woods and played pioneer. The best thing in a mom's eyes is the time spent with siblings not arguing, not in front of an electronic device but out in God's beautiful creation having fun, together! Even if they do not know it now, creek time is a gift because they are making memories they will cherish one day.

I just have to remember a good balance of play time outside and school work so we do not get...uh oh, BEHIND! You know that dreaded word this time of the year in homeschooling. We need to keep moving forward but not get too crazy. It is so tempting to spend all of our time outside, but school time is a great motivator for creek time. So, yeah for this advance look at spring time in Carolina!

I included the picture of Ginger, taken by my oldest son, because it makes me laugh out loud and that is a good thing! We should all try to laugh as often as possible.

The Snow That Didn't Show!

This week we were suppose to get more snow. I was hoping for some more pretty pictures like this one from a few weeks ago. The weather man had even thought we would get a pretty good amount again for NC. It did not happen for us in Wake Forest. We just got a light dusting, and it has been very cold the last couple of days. It was pretty interesting how it worked out because my oldest dear son was praying that we would not get a big snow because of some plans he had. I had a good time showing him the snow fall total all around us, as some in our state did get snow, just not our area! He was amazed. Thank you God for this illustration for him.

We have been getting back to our regular schedule of daily life since returning from my Grandmother's funeral. The trip went well, and the kids were able to see some of the things that I did when I spent time with my grandparents in the summer. The flexibility of homeschooling is wonderful. I was so thankful the kids could go on this trip and not be concerned about all the school work they were missing. The trip became school for a few days. We learned among other things about several states, coal mining, rail roads, weather, hot springs and my dear son and I had some excellent talks about major events in history. Homeschooling is great!

Our school schedule is getting back to normal as well. We are enjoying our adventures in TOG land week 23. I am learning so much about the founding of the colonies. I really do enjoy this curriculum. I will be ordering my Unit 4 books later on this evening, and I have already ordered Year 3 of Tapestry of Grace for next year.

Well, I am going to finish up now with a some more pictures of our snow days a couple of weeks ago. I never got to post them, so I thought now would be a good time!

Ginger, our new puppy loved the snow and so did the old hound dog Sandy. Enjoy the snow scenes!

A Life Well-Lived

November 29, 1919-January 22, 2009

"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints." Psalm 116:15

Today my blog is dedicated to Juanita Lee Hansrote, my dear Grandma, "Nana" who passed away early Thursday morning in her sleep. I was given her middle name and it has always meant so much to me. She was an exceptional, Godly woman that inspired me all of my life. She was 90 years old this past November. She lived an ordinary life in an extraordinary way. This is a verse that was in a card that a dear friend sent to me...

"A Life Well-Lived"

"A life well-lived is a precious gift
of hope and strength and grace
from someone who has made our world
a brighter, better place.
It's filled with moments sweet and sad,
with smiles and sometimes tears,
with friendships formed
and good times shared
and laughter through the years.
A life well-lived is a legacy
of joy and pride and pleasure,
a loving, lasting memory
our grateful hearts will treasure."

One of her favorite passages of Scripture was all of Psalm 139.
Psalm 139:17
"How precious also are Thy thoughts me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!"
One of her favorite hymns was "I Come to the Garden Alone"

I love you Nana and can't wait to walk the streets of Heaven with you.

God is Good!

God is so good! No really, I mean it God is so GOOD. I am physically somewhat better today and that is a blessing. Rest is the ticket I believe. When I sleep I feel much better. However, I am talking about more than just feeling better physically. I never cease to be in awe of God and how when you take your cares to Him, He meets you right where you are. My circumstances really have not changed, dear husband is still training, school is still happening, chores need to be done and I still do not feel 100%. The difference is I feel God's presence like a warm, fuzzy blanket wrapped around my shoulders. I feel supported and loved from family, beloved friends, church family and co-op family. Thank you for the encouragement, offers of help, calls and e-mails. I truly feel so blessed. Sometimes, it is not that God has gone anywhere, it is that we have wandered off on our own, trying to make it on our own. I really am so glad for God's patience with me. I had not really wandered off, I just was not looking around for His daily assurances. I felt so under everything that I could not look around or up and that is where the trouble begins. He lifted my head. Psalm 3:3 "But Thou, O LORD, art a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head." God is Good!

I am starting a new Beth Moore Bible study on Esther-It's tough being a woman. I am so excited to be doing the study. Beth Moore is one of my favorite Bible teachers. I will post more as we continue over the next few weeks with it. I was blessed to see my sweet friend that just had to say good-bye to her beautiful baby girl such a short time ago sitting in the same row as me last night at Bible study. Her baby is resting in Jesus' arms. Her face radiated with God's love. That is a testimony. God is Good!

Going to a birthday party for my nephew and my brother who both celebrate birthdays this week was another example of God's goodness. My brother's wife died last February 1 after a battle with cancer. She was here this time last year. Sitting with my family, watching us all carrying on over my brother and nephew was a blessing. My sister's present to my nephew was special. My precious sister-in-law wanted my nephew to have a guitar for his birthday, but thought last year he was still too little for it. She asked my sweet sister to make sure he got one the next year if she was not here to get him one. My sister went out last year and got a guitar and took it to my sister-in-law's hospital room for her to see. Sunday my nephew received the guitar. That story was shared with me yesterday, it brought tears and the reminder once again. God is Good!

Co-op friends have returned from Africa with their long awaited precious gift from God, a new brother for their family. They are safe, he is here with them and they are blessed. They have been challenged and expanded by their trip and experiences in Africa. They will never be the same again. God is Good!

So, we will start this week anew, with Mom having a fresh breath from God and ready to go with whatever the week, the days, the hours,the minutes bring. Thank you dear Lord and thank you sweet family and friends for the reminders of God's goodness to me.

"Fruserated!"

I must say as one of my sons used to say, I am so "fruserated!" I have tried to get back in the school book groove again this week and everything just seems to be going wrong. I am still sick, but I did get to the doctor for some good old antibiotics. Hopefully those will start kicking in, but I just can't seem to get warm! It doesn't help that another Arctic blast is on its way to NC.

Then there is my trouble with getting my Unit 3 books for TOG. I still do not have them, so we are gleaning from TOG without the books this week. On top of that, some will not arrive when they do come because they are out of stock, so I am going to need to re-order those. I just found that out yesterday. I am trying to see what God would have me learn from everything this week. Flexibility maybe? Learning to make do with what I have? It is hard too with the extra accountability of our wonderful co-op, because the kids will not be as ready as they should be for it, and I can't cram everything in them in one day once I get some of the books. Lessons learned: order way before the time I need the books(I ordered the third week of December) and call every couple of days to make sure the order gets mailed out. Don't get bogged down so much by the curriculum that I panic when I do not have the resources. I also am examining whether these difficulties are road blocks to using this curriculum. I have loved TOG but this is my first year and it has been a bit of a struggle. I am praying through this, is the struggle worth the end results? What do I want the end results to be for my children? Well, now I have blogged my "fruserations" and as Elisabeth Elliot says I need to do the next thing.

Lord, help me in my frustration today and show me that as always You are in control, of everything, even not having textbooks when they are needed! Isaiah 26:3 "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts You."

Our Crazy Week and Our New Addition to the Family

Well, all I can say after this week is phew! What a week it has been! First we said good-bye to Dear Husband who left for 97 days for pre-deployment training, after which he will deploy. We attempted to get back into the school book groove and prepare for Tapestry of Grace Y2 week 18/19 co-op to begin this week. I also had thoughts of picking up Christmas decorations and getting them back into their home in the attic. Ha! Then life kicked in and this week turned into a lesson in having a servant's heart and how to comfort those who are grieving. Dear Church friends had their precious 6 week old taken in an untimely, unexplainable death and this week had to say good-bye to her and the life they had with her here on earth. Then a member of our co-op said good-bye to her sweet Daddy,who had lived in her home with her family, as he passed into the arms of Jesus. Food was needed, loving words and arms of comfort too, the wagons were circled as we say in our family and the AGAPE love flowed from fellow Christians taking care of one another. It is breath taking to watch and to be part of such love. I can only imagine what Heaven will be like when I watch the body of Christ in action. Non-stop, AGAPE love flowing all of the time, how mind blowing! Having been on the receiving end of this stream of love I know what a blessing it is, and I am always honored to be part of taking care of people in times of need. However, the other things that are part of the week take time too, and this week we had our school lessons altered a lot. I know that these life lessons ultimately are more important for the children to learn then anything I can teach them from a book and that is why I will just start again on Monday with the school book groove!

In addition to husband leaving and life happening around us, we also have a new member of our family to introduce. Our family proudly introduces:

Ginger, from Yanceyville, NC. She is our deployment puppy and she is so sweet! She has been a wonderful addition to our family and a great distraction for everyone. Sandy is even starting to get used to her. (Sandy is our 14 year old hound mix) Ginger is a lab and maybe a little of something else too, she is a rescue puppy! We are making great memories with her and the kids love her. These pictures are from when we traveled up to the shelter in Yanceyville to get her.