All I Need

I don't really know how to start this other than to say...my priorities have been all wrong. I've had three experiences today that shook me up...brought me to me knees.

Have you read this? If not you should. Today is the birthday of Marsha's little boy that went to heaven last year. I remember hearing the news and was bowled over with this new journey the Lord would take their family on. Marsha, so full of love and grace has given God the glory in all of this. Could I do the same if I were given this situation? I just don't know.

Then I read Melissa's blog. Her dreams of Happily Ever After came to a screeching halt. Dreams, hopes and a life she wished for has drastically changed. Yet, she chooses to give God glory and honor and cling to him and bring her children to his throne while they adjust to a life she never imagined.

I've been thinking about this all day. I knew the Lord wanted me to read and focus on these women today. What lesson was I going to learn from their example?

I was just sharing with a friend all my selfish wants and desires for this and that (ok, a TV, furniture, area rug, paint on the walls etc.) all before Thanksgiving. Frankly, I have been too focused on this. So much that decorating magazines and blogs have monopolized all my free and not so free time. I'm not saying it is wrong to nest, and fix up your home, and want it to look nice. In fact, those are all good things, unless it becomes all consuming, you become grumpy, agitated and unhappy because things are exactly they way you think they should be. The word idol comes to mind. My house has become my idol. I've spent a year and a half waiting to get into this house. I've dreamed and imagined what it would look like, how I would fix it up and decorate it.

The Lord took care of us and showed himself in amazing ways through it all. And now I feel like I've let him down. Instead of being thankful I've been wishing upon a star, wanting more and more. Shame on me. Well, I'm done with that. I want to be an example to my children and my family and friends of someone who loves God, puts him first and gives him all the glory. In essence I want to be like Marsha and Melissa. Praise God for women like these to show me where I am steering off the narrow path.

Please go read their stories, and give them an encouraging word.

I leave you with this:

Kitchen Helper

My girl loves to help in the kitchen. Yesterday we made pumpkin muffins. Unfortunately the recipe I chose was not a great one. We ended up having to throw them away. We will try again tomorrow.

DIY Window Transformation

I just love this window that a friend gave to me. I've had it for about a year. It was stored in the garage waiting to find a home in our new house. Of course, I was waiting to find a home in our new house also. I had a pretty good idea as to its location, right on our entryway wall. I decided that it needed a little chalk board action.

I had hubby cut out a piece of board, the kind that is smooth on one side and really rough on the other. It's some kind of fiber board from the local HDepot. I can't remember the name of it. I primed it black with some black craft paint. Then I sprayed it with chalkboard paint. I put on two to three coats. Let it dry really well, then rub the whole thing with chalk, then wipe off. I used sticky velcro squares on the window panel and the back of the chalkboard. That way if I want to change the look of the window I can. I hung two mini grape vine wreaths with pretty velvety ribbon in this beautiful orange in the other two windows. Entry window complete.

Harvest 09

The girls had a great time tonight. We went to a small town outside of our city to trick or treat with some friends. Belle is the fairy, Phi is Kaya, and Bobo is the pirate. We also have Moses, a raccoon and Queen Esther.

Family photo

Running for more candy. It was such a beautiful night, and do you notice it's not dark out? Yeah, we went early and it was a good thing because as soon as it got dark it started to rain.

Here is Bobo's pumpkin. This is the first one she has carved on her own. Actually we missed a few years and so I don't remember if she's even had a carved pumpkin. She drew the face and cut it all out. Didn't she do a great job?

What did you do today?
Susan

School Talk

We are a few weeks into school and I thought it might be a nice idea to talk about what is working and what isn't.

Thankfully most stuff is working.

Life of Fred

Belle:
***Life of Fred Beginning Algebra---I can not say enough good about this math program. Self learning, very little help or direction from math impaired mom (that's me) and no tears, complaints, or gnashing of teeth. Phew. Besides that, it is a solid math program that is actually fun and entertaining. Is your child tired of drill after drill. Do they master the drills yet have no clue on how to apply math in daily life? If you are frustrated with your math program I highly

***Learning Language Arts Through Literature. So far so good. No complaints from either of us.

***Apples a Day Spelling---just to fill in spelling gaps for a child that struggles with this. Lists don't work for her, so hopefully this learning of rules will help. We'll see.

Phia:

***Math U See-Delta. This is working well. She is in review mode right now, but it seems to help solidify the math facts. No complaints. When she finishes this book she gets to go into the Life of Fred Fractions.

***Learning Language Arts Through Literature---same as above.

As a group we do History and Science using My Father's World. This is going well.

The two older girls and I do BSF--John.

My littlest girl is working hard on her vision therapy. This is mostly all we do. I try to add a little writing in and occasionally we read something small, but the therapy is quite taxing on the eyes, so the reading and writing is a bit difficult. I really need to do some math with her. I have Right Start math, a very mom intensive program and I'm having a hard time fitting it in with therapy and helping the other girls.

The most difficult part of our day is just figuring out how to schedule it all in. As it stands, the girls get ready for the day, do their rooms, and independent work. Then we have lunch. After lunch we do History and Science and Bible together. That seems to be what is working right now. I feel like we are doing school all day long and I usually can't wait to get it done so I can do something I need/want to do. But usually by then it's time to get ready for dinner.

Oh, the one major change we did is move school from M-Th, to Tue-Fri. I'm taking Mondays to get ready for the week, and clean up the house from the weekend. Right now it's working.

How's your school going?
Susan

Notice the firsts

I stepped outside today and noticed Fall. The leaves on our giant Sycamore are dropping fast and furiously. The air was cold and crisp. I smelled the wood burning in fireplaces. It was a moment of comfort. I realized that this is our first Fall in our home. I want to take notice of the firsts. Our first Fall, first Christmas, first Spring, and first full Summer. I've waited so long and then we moved at warp speed. Then I fretted and stressed at how long it was taking to unpack, put away and get settled. Am I there yet. No. But it is OK. I realized that I will always have stuff to do. Stuff will always need to be put away. It struck me that I will miss this time, if I don't stop and smell the seasons, and appreciate where God has taken us. I am so happy here. This really is home.

Susan

DIY Window Mistreatments

This is my bathroom window. It is narrow and tall and begged for some colorful fabric. I didn't want to commit to a fabric/curtain/valance yet because I plan on painting the walls. I want to make sure the fabric goes with the wall color. But it really needs something...don't you think?

Well, I just happened to have these place mats that I just love. They are in the right color family and for the time being, I think they add just enough color to the windows. I folded the corners and tacked them with needle and thread and attached them to the wall with some left over upholstery nails.

Whats the verdict? Are they a keeper?
Susan