Learning to be free

Sometimes I am a slow learner.

Sometimes I am really stubborn.

Sometimes I need to hear it again and again before I really get it.

I need reminders.

Often.

One lesson that I know deep down inside me, but often need reminded of, is that it is okay just to be me.

It is way too easy for me to get caught up in caring what the world thinks of me or even caring what those close to me think of me. Instead, I should be caring what God thinks of me. 

If I am living for Him, then other's opinions really don't matter at all. The people close to me, that I really care about, they will love me more for caring only what God thinks because that will make me the best person I can be.

I will never please the world, there are too many people in it with too many different opinions- they will never all be pleased. No matter what I do. 

Besides that, I am not to be of this world. I am just a stranger here, a passerby on my way to my heavenly home. 

But sometimes I forget. 

Sometimes I start caring what others think of my house if it isn't clean.

Sometimes I care what others think of how I dress, is it modest enough in their eyes.

Sometimes I care what others think of how my children behave.

But then God will nudge me in some way and say, "Hey, I'm the only one that matters."

"My opinion is the only one that truly matters. And you need to remember that I love you just for being you."

I don't have to live up to some set of false expectations. I just have to be me, the way God made me. My priorities are not everyone else's priorities.

If I am pleasing my Lord then that is enough.

Yes, I need to be pleasing my husband as well, but if I am truly pleasing my Lord, then that will happen naturally.

My journey is not your journey and my life is not your life.

Just as yours is not mine.

God made us all unique, with different goals, different ideas and priorities - why would we try to live up to each other's standards when God gave us our own?

I pray you will find freedom in just being who God made you to be. In who God believes you are, a beloved child of the one true King.

Blessings,

Rashel

Lay down your burden and just love

It is far too easy to become burdened by rules and expectations; to become heavy hearted by thinking of all the tasks you must fulfill each day. As moms we are too easily snared in the trap of living up to an imaginary set of standards that we will never achieve.

 Life is not about rules and standards. 

Life is about love.

God's greatest commandments were only to love. To love HIM first and then to love others.

We must let go of trying to be the perfect mom with the perfect house.

Only GOD is perfect.

I love a clean home, but I am to love my children more.

I love checking things off my to do list, but I am to love my husband more.

My time is the most valuable gift I possess, I must consider what I am spending it on and why.

Yes, as moms and wives we have responsibilities but they must not choke out our love. They must not consume us, our thoughts and our time.

Today, I choose to love. 

Today, I choose to invest my gift (my time) in my family.

I will play, I will laugh, I will love. 

And I will not except the guilt Satan tries to lay upon me.

I do not believe at the end of life I would regret spending more time playing and laughing with my children- 

I do believe I would regret not.

Much love my sisters,

Rashel

Are you too busy making your life "better" that you're forgetting to live?

I was rereading some of my older posts and I was really convicted by this timely reminder. I decided to re-post it today and I pray that you are as encouraged as I was.

I realized some things this week while on a mini spur of the moment vacation. I love it when God takes ordinary opportunities and teaches me a lesson through them.

Comfort Foods on a Special Day

I feel it is very important that we make sure our children know how much we love them and that we enjoy them. I want my children to know they are special to me and birthdays are a perfect time to show them.

Haying time on the farm

It is hay season at our farm so I thought I would share a few pictures with you (my daughter took these for me). I hope you enjoy.

Some rows have been baled but this one is waiting its turn. My husband mowed it last night, then my oldest son raked it when he got home from work this evening.

Then hubby baled it when he got home. 

As you can see, none of our equipment is brand new, but it gets the job done and that is what's important.

All of our sons help out at hay time, sometimes they find more than just hay.

That is a little snake in his hand. Kind of looks like he is aiming to throw it at his brother doesn't it? He didn't, but my how they like to tease each other.

He did chuck that bale up there though. That is the littlest brother stacking and the middle brother is driving the truck. Daddy is still on the tractor baling.

The sun is setting on our farm.

Blessed to get the hay all stacked in the barn before dark.

Blessings all,

Rashel

Why I haven't been posting

I know it has been months since I have posted but honestly, I just haven't felt like it. We have had a very busy summer and that could be one reason, but it isn't the main reason. To be quite honest, I really just needed a break from blogging. I have trouble sometimes letting my blog become too important to me. I start worrying about how many people are reading it, how many pageviews I have and so forth. I don't want my blog to be about that. I just want to have a place to share what is going on in my world and hopefully encourage others at the same time. I believe this break from blogging has helped me to get my priorities straight and hopefully I will get back to blogging soon. However, I most likely won't blog every day but rather when I have time or when I have something worth sharing. I have posted before about living offline, actually living my life instead of being online all of the time and that is what I am doing. I encourage you to do the same. Make sure you aren't spending too much time reading about other people's lives instead of living your own. I struggled with that at times, not everyday or even every week, but at times. I have since unsubscribed from several email newsletters and RSS feeds. I don't have time to read them all and don't want to take the time to delete them every time they come, so I just unsubscribed. It was very freeing.

So, all that to say that yes, I am still around. :) I do plan to blog more frequently than I have these past few months, but don't look for it to be daily by any means. I have too much living to do for that. I have babies to love and a home to run, as do most of you I am sure. Blessings to each of you for stopping by, but please don't stay too long, you have a family waiting on you.

Blessings,
Rashel

Living Offline

I'm not talking about living off-grid, I am talking about living off of your computer. I am talking about real life living, talking to real life people and enjoying your real life family. I haven't been online much lately, because we have just been busy living our everyday life.

Thursday our daddy was off work and we decided to go to Silver Dollar City (we have season passes) before all the local schools got out for the summer and it got really busy. So we were gone all day that day and I didn't have time to get online, but I had an absolute wonderful day with my real life family!

Friday we spent picking up tables from my Dad's for a garage sale on Saturday, then we went to a nearby town to pick up our raw milk and the rest of the day was spent at my sister's getting ready for our garage sale. Friday evening we had fellowship, our weekly bible study group with several other families from our church. So once again, no time to get online, instead I spent time with real life people and lived my real life.

Saturday was, you guessed it, our garage sale day which took up the entire day. I was completely worn out by the time we got home, so my wonderful oldest son offered to take us all out to eat in honor of Mother's Day! We had a wonderful dinner, but alas, no time this day to get online either. However, I was not at all upset by this, I was again enjoying my real life family.

Sunday was Mother's Day, spent at church until just after noon. We had invited some families over for the evening to roast some hot dogs and make some homemade ice cream, but our home needed some attention after being so busy the last few days. We spent the afternoon just picking up and preparing for our friends and then had a wonderful evening of fellowship. Obviously, I didn't take time to get online this day either, but I usually don't get online on Sundays. I feel I should have a day of rest without the computer.

Monday we spent helping my father and stepmom. You see my stepmom contracted meningitis from a tick and was in the hospital since Thursday. Dad had been trying to take care of the farm and drive about 45 minutes (each way) to the hospital everyday to be with her. So we went to his place to mow, weedeat, weed their garden and clean their house for them. We also found out while there she would be coming home the next day, so it was perfect timing. After taking care of them, we came home to get a few chores of our own done. I did, however, find some time to get online and check my emails and such, but only after taking care of my real life family.

Do you want to know what really got me thinking about writing this post? When I checked my email Monday, I had an email from Saturday morning saying I had won a giveaway I had entered several days before. I was so excited and emailed the person with my info, only to receive an email back saying that because I had not responded sooner, she gave the prize to someone else. To be quite honest, I was extremely disappointed at first, but then I realized something. I had chosen the more important thing the last several days and I could not be upset about that. I had chosen to actually live and spend time in my real world instead of living online. I had chosen my real friends and family instead of my online friends, and that was more important. I don't tell you this for sympathy or for any reason other than to encourage you to choose the greater thing and not worry about what the online world thinks.

I encourage you to spend time in your real world, with the real people that are around you and let your online friends just wait until you have some free time. Do you know what, I will still be here when you get back. Unless of course I am gone spending time with my real family too! If that is the case, we will just read each other's post and comments when we can and know that we will respond when we have time. That is okay, that is the way it should be. We should never be concerned with having to check our email each day or post on our blog each day, lest someone get upset that we are slacking. It isn't slacking, it's called LIVING.

So, I encourage each of you to live offline. I'll be here when you get back.

PS- If your computer is just too easy to access several times during the day to do a "quick check", then by all means turn the beast off. You will be less likely to just "jump on for a minute" if you have to turn it on every time.

Blessings,
Rashel

I am not ashamed of sheltering my children

Something I read recently stirred up some thoughts in my head, so I decided I would try to put them into some kind of order here on my blog.  I am not ashamed to say that we shelter our children. I think as a parent it is my duty to do so, even more so because I am a Christian.

The scripture that comes to my mind first is Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."  It's my job as a mom to train my children in the ways of God, not the ways of the world.  I am to teach them what the scriptures say and I am to be an example of the scriptures to them. My bible says "Abstain from every form of evil." 1 Thessalonians 5:22. It doesn't say to show them evil and then let them decide if they want to take part, it says to abstain from every form of it. My bible calls witchcraft evil, therefore, my children will not read Harry Potter or watch any of the movies. We will abstain from it. Halloween is a blatant pagan holiday and we abstained from it. Many video games and television shows are completely antibiblical, we abstain from them.

Do we just make up these rules and expect our children to blindly follow them? No, we pray, we read scripture and we follow God's leading. Then we discuss them with our children and explain why we make the choices we make. Do they always agree with us? No. Does that mean we back down and let them choose for themselves? Not on your life. We are responsible for them, God entrusted them to us to train up according to His ways. Proverbs 22:15 tells us that "foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child". Why then would I let them choose for themselves what is good or evil?  I won't.  Will I always be there to make the decisions for my children? No. Will they sometimes choose the wrong path and go behind my back to do something I do not approve of? Yes. Does that let me off the hook from being the best parent I can be and following God's word to train them up? Of course not. Do you always choose the way God has planned for you? Probably not. Does that mean He gives up trying to show you the right way? No. I am thankful God never gave up on me and has always shown me through His word the right way; even when I didn't do what I knew was right.  Shouldn't I be that example to my children?

I will take a stand. I will stand firm in my beliefs and I will not be afraid or ashamed to shelter my children from the evils of this world; until they are strong enough in their beliefs to stand on their own. While we can't shelter them from everything, we can choose not to participate in everything. Some of the things we choose not to participate in are halloween, Harry Potter, watching certain shows, playing certain video games, cell phones unless needed while working, bad influences (limits on who they can befriend) and dating.  I'm sure there are other things that I just can't think of now, but these are a few.

Do my children know I like them?

I've been pondering this for a few weeks now, do my children really know that I like them, not just love them? Do I take time to show them that I enjoy being with them? Do I show them that I care about their likes and their dreams? Or am I too busy with my everyday routine of life that I don't take time to actually be with them.

Recently we had some friends visit that we had not seen in quite awhile. We love this family and really enjoy spending time together, we just had not made that time in far too long. Anywhoo, the mother of this family is such an encouragement to me. We are very like minded in several areas, which is rare around these parts. Just watching her with her family, you can tell that she truly adores each and every one of them. Her face radiates love for them. Her gentleness shows them affection and compassion, even while disciplining them. Just by being near her I was challenged to wonder if I am that way toward my family. I don't believe I am. I was convicted in my heart and I have been purposing to make it a priority to show my family that I truly adore them, that I truly love being with them and that they are a joy to me. I must control my temper, I must soften my voice and I must smile at them frequently. It is important that I take the time to play what they want to play, that I look at them and listen when they are talking to me and that I remember they have feelings too.

I challenge you to look at your own heart and your responses to your children. Do they know that you like them? Do you adore them and show it?  I know that I was not, but it isn't too late.

Blessings,
Rashel



Revisited and linked up on February 19, 2014

Unconventional bedroom makeover

This labor day we decided to make some changes in our children's room. For those that might not remember, we are a family of six and live in a 900sq. ft. home. Our home was designed to be turned into a garage and therefore, was not planned for the best use of space. Our bedrooms are one big room that takes up half of the house but is not divided by any walls. Our bedroom is divided from the children's room by dressers and a clothes rack. All four children share a bedroom. So, needless to say, it is a little crowded and easily becomes cluttered. I have been thinking for awhile what we can do to improve things and to make better use of our space. For beds, we had two sets of bunkbeds; each had a twin on top, one had a full on bottom and the other had a futon on the bottom. They worked for sleeping space but were very bulky in size and took up alot of space. So, we decided they needed to go. We also have no closets built into the house, so for clothing, we had a clothes rack from a department store. It worked well, but also was very bulky. I will share some pictures of before, but please be warned, the room is really messy!

The clothes rack was at the end of the bunk beds, which were at the back of the room. I obviously used the top of the rack for storage.

Here is a look at the bunk beds, you can see how close they were and how much room they took up.

Yes, we allow the children a tv in their room. It is for playing some video games and watching movies, they can only get one tv channel on it. There was a dresser on each side and once again, it's very messy and cluttered!

We went to Lowe's and purchased some shelving with the hanging rod and made two clothes rack on the wall where the tv and two dressers were.

We replaced the bunk beds with individual cots purchased at w*mart. They are just the kind of cots you would use for camping (which we will be able to take to rodeo bible camp next year). You can now see the far wall, which was hidden by the bunk beds before. You can see how much the room was opened up by removing the clothes rack and the bunk beds. Each child now has their own cot with their own storage area underneath. The storage area contains totes of what toys they wanted to keep and a tote of their shoes. The dresser with the picture of John Wayne on the back is my daughter's and faces her cot. On the other side of her cot is ds2's dresser, facing his cot. Ds1 and Ds3's dressers are where I am standing to take the picture and face the bedroom. The walls are a mess and need fixed and painted where the wallpaper border came off, but we are planning to add on soon and I don't see the need to redo it now and then have to again when we add on. We also may got more shelves and put one shelf above each child's cot so they can have another place to put their "treasures".  I hope the pictures do it justice and you can see the difference it made. My children love how much it opened up their room and that they all have their "own space". I love that with this arrangment it will be much easier to keep it picked up. Everything that was on top of the clothes rack is now stacked on my porch waiting for a storage unit we are supposed to be getting.

Hope you enjoyed!
Rashel

Are you addicted?

I've been quiet for quite awhile around here but today felt led to post for some reason. I've been getting online and reading some blogs but for the main part, I've been staying away from all blogs. I had just gotten too wrapped up in some of them and it wasn't healthy for me. As I've written before, I've broken the addiction to blogging and I pray I never go back to it. I think I'm strong enough now to come back to read and learn from others and to share my own thoughts without it becoming a problem. If I find myself thinking about blogging more than normal or constantly wondering if anyone has commented, then it will be break time again. Have you become addicted to blogging or facebook? I have a few questions for you to ask yourself.

1. Do you feel as though you need to post everyday?
2. Are you interested in your visitor stats, always seeing how many have visited your site and which posts attracted the most people?
3. Do you find yourself wondering if others have commented on your post, when your mind should be on other things?
4. Do you have your blog or facebook set so you get updates on your phone?
5. Do you feel a NEED to post about something as soon as you do it? (blog or facebook)
6. Do you spend more time online than you do managing your home, loving your children or reading your Bible?
7. How would you feel if you were suddenly without internet for one week? Would you constantly be worried about what was going on with other blogs, your blog or facebook?
8. Do you log on more than once a day to check in?
9. Is your computer your idol?


I encourage you to answer these questions honestly and ask God to open your eyes if you are devoting too much of your life to being online. Your "real" life is far too important to be wasted on "virtual" life.




Blessings,
Rashel

Is your tongue full of poison?

*This is a post I originally posted in November 2007, but it is still so relevant today that I wanted to share it again. I needed this reminder as I still struggle in this area. I hope you enjoy it and are encouraged by it.
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My dear sisters in Christ, I have such trouble in this area. I am ashamed to say that I have been known to yell at my children, more than once I might add. I am getting better and my children are helping me by reminding me that I said I wouldn’t yell anymore. There are so many areas that can be affected by our tongues; our marriages, our children and our friendships to name a few.

James 3:8-10, “But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessings and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.”

Proverbs 16:24, “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.”

Proverbs 15:1, “A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.”

Proverbs 15:4, “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit.”

Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”

Colossians 4:6, “Let your speech always be seasoned with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”

So what can we learn from these verses dear sisters? Do you remember the nursery rhyme sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me? Well, that is so untrue. Words can hurt and the hurt can last for a very long time. I have a tape of Lisa Welchel and she tells a story of a little boy that would say hurtful things and his parents decided for every one he said, he would have to drive a nail into a board. After awhile his words and attitude changed and he was able to start pulling the nails for each day he could go without saying something hurtful. When he was all finished, his dad took him to the fence and showed him the holes that were left by the nails and explained to him that our words are like those nails. While the nail might be gone, the damage is still there. I thought that was a great illustration of how our words can affect others. Now, I may have gotten a few details of the story wrong since it has been awhile, but you get the idea.
If you look back up at the James 3 reference, you will see it says our tongues are full of deadly poison. Deadly poison, those are strong words aren’t they? Poison is something destructive or harmful and to think my words can be compared to that saddens me. However, there is hope! With Jesus, my words can be like honeycomb and sweetness to the soul. My speech can actually be health to the bones. It can be a tree of life and turn away wrath. Isn’t that a glorious picture?
So my dear sisters, my question to you now is how can we learn to tame our tongues, always? I will try to list a few ways and then I would love for you to share how you manage this little evil in our mouths.

1. Prayer is the most important thing I have done to control my tongue. I pray God would help me to speak softly and lovingly.

2. Listen before speaking. If I take the time to listen to what the problem is, I can usually answer with a softer voice than if I just jump in without consideration of the issue at hand.

3. Think before speaking, duh right? Sometime this isn’t easy for me but I try to stop, take a deep breath and think about how I should answer each one.

4. Whisper when you feel the urge to yell. This one is hard for me to remember but I have heard this many times.

Okay, 4 is all you get today because I want to hear your ideas!!

Picture of our new schedule

I was looking at the Titus2 website this morning and thought I would probably really benefit from the Managers of Their Homes book, but because of some other school and home resources I have purchased recently, I can't order it right now. I'm hoping someone at our local homeschool convention will have the Maxwell's products there so I can look and maybe purchase then, it's in early May. Anyway, it got me to thinking about the schedule we have now and how we aren't following it (at all)! So while in town this morning I ran by the dollar store and picked up a poster board and got busy making our new schedule. I got it all plotted out with names and times and little squares (I am wierd, I like doing that kind of thing) and then explained my plan to my children. I gave them a list of the things they had to accomplish during the day and how long to expect each task to take, either 1/2 an hour or a full hour. I also explained certain things needed to be done as a family and I wrote those in on the schedule. Also which ones needed done in the morning and which could be afternoon, etc. However, they were allowed to put each task at whatever time they wanted on the schedule. For instance, child A might put math at 8:00am while child B has it at 1:00pm. This was the part that was really different for us, always before I had made the schedule and just told them when they would get up and when they would do this and that. It's funny though because if I told them they had to get up at 7:00am they would squawk at me but they all chose that on this schedule!! They all really enjoyed mapping out their day and were excited to start it tomorrow. Several made comments that they thought this would work really well (can you see my smiling mama face:). They have never been excited about a schedule and were moaning when I told them we were going to be making a new one today, but then after realizing they had some control over their own day, they loved it. I cannot wait to see how it works and if it lasts for awhile, most of my new ideas flop rather quickly. I have high hopes for this one though. Here is a picture of it; it's hanging on the side of our fridge which is very open and visible to all.

The paper wasn't long enough for our entire day, so morning is on the left side of thick black line and afternoon is on the right side. The times are listed in the far left column. I have a column along with each child, it all fit perfectly. The colored tabs are just mini stick it notes so that we can rearrange if we see something isn't working. The squares that look blank actually have pencilled in things such as meals and clean up, Bible time and ball practice. Hopefully all of this made sense and you understand what I was trying to explain :)

I know that there are alot of tips and good advice I would get out of the Managers of Their Homes book, so I would still like to have a copy, but this might work until then.

Blessings,
Rashel

Inconsistency and laziness be gone!

I must admit that the last few weeks I have had real issues with laziness and being inconsistent in everything pertaining to our home. I'm fed up with that and I'm done. I am taking my life back and I started yesterday! My home had gotten in such chaos Friday and Saturday that I spent yesterday picking up and getting it back in order. I fought it, I didn't want to do it on a Sunday but I prayed about it and knew that I had to. I felt so much better when it was done. There was a huge burden lifted. We came home after church and dinner at a friend's last night to an orderly home and it was wonderful. I got up this morning and didn't have to look at clutter strung about my living room and kitchen, ahh. It's really been on my heart that I have to find a balance between homeschool, housework, my children and our outside activities. It is hard! I'm praying about it and God will show me the best way for us. I don't want an immaculate home that would pass a white glove test, but I do want to feel at ease when company drops by unexpectedly. I don't want to neglect my children because I'm cleaning but I can't spend all day playing with them either. I know we will find a balance through God's wisdom.

My plan today is for the children to do math and their normal chores but we will not be doing our other schoolwork today. We are going to focus on our home today and get the bedrooms in order. One reason is because in a few days I will probably be babysitting a 3 year old (until the end of May) and the children's room has got to be in order before that. We will spend today with the focus of getting our home in order and then tomorrow pick up our regular routine. Our home will not become completely organized and decluttered in one day, but taking this day to focus on it will help immensely. Our city wide garage sale is in two weeks and I will be setting up with a friend for just one of the days. So, one of my goals is to declutter my home before then and sell it all. I'm not going to overwhelm myself with everything I want to accomplish, I have set goals and will take it a step at a time. My ultimate goal is that my home would be organized, decluttered and stay picked up and halfway clean; that we would be consistent with our homeschool and I would be consistent in training up my children.
You can read steps to a better me to see some of the areas I'm working in and what some of my goals are.

Blessings to you all,
Rashel

Kids in the Kitchen

Nature loves to cook and is always creating a new dish. Yesterday he made some oatmeal granola squares with the help of John Wayne. They were really yummy and didn't last long at all. Several days before that he made his favorite potato fries. The harder things he follows the recipe but easy things like quesadillas, he like to make his own concoctions. I encourage my children to cook and I try to give them opportunities to cook on their own because they love the feeling of making something by themselves. Hunter has been making the icing for my cinnamon rolls the last few batches and the other day he made some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. John Wayne likes to help others but hasn't quite ventured out on his own yet and Butterfly hasn't gotten any farther than frying eggs.

Do you encourage your children in the kitchen or do you usher them out of the way because it is easier and faster to do it on your own? I know that at first it takes patience and time to train them in the kitchen, but once you have, the benefits are worth it.  They can learn so much from cooking. There are so many math problems to learn and so many science experiments to be had. Not to mention that they will be adults one day and will probably need to learn to cook for themselves. Also, it is a great help to me when they help in the kitchen. They all also have regular kitchen duties such as washing dishes, putting away dishes, setting the table, getting food out and putting it away and helping me cook dinner. I encourage all of you to take the time to train your children in your kitchen; not just your daughters either, your sons will benefit from it as well.

Here is recipe for the granola bars he made.

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar (or sucanat)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 cups oats, uncooked

Melt  butter and sugar over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients. Spread into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool and then cut into squares.

He made them again this afternoon to take to our Fellowship Bible Study tonight :)

Blessings,
Rashel

A lesson in brotherly love

My son, Nature, taught us a lesson this morning in brotherly love and I wanted to share it with you. However, I have to first start by going back in time.....only a few days though :)  My son Hunter has been going with friends quite a bit these last few days as the local school has been out on spring break and our church had a one night spring break retreat. Hunter attended the retreat Sunday evening, then spent the night at a friend's house Monday evening. Another friend from church invited him over Thursday and he ended up staying the night there that night. Normally we don't allow them to be gone so much at once but circumstances being what they were, we allowed it. Both of these boys are a couple years older than Hunter but are very good examples for him and they enjoy his company as well. Well because Hunter was going so much Nature was feeling left out and felt it unfair that Hunter got to do so much. We explained how things just work out like that and instead of feeling poor me, he should be happy for his brother.  Anyhoo, (yes anyhoo) Hunter came home yesterday and his attitude was okay but I noticed he was teasing his brother Nature and I spoke to them both about it and we went on. Not too much later he was teasing John Wayne as well (see my side bar if you're wondering about these names). Now don't get me wrong, our children do tease each other and I don't really think being gone for a few days made it any worse. It's something they do and we correct them and work on it. Now, back to yesterday. Hunter had been warned twice, so when he did it a third time (to Nature), he got grounded for two weeks. No more going with friends anywhere for two weeks. He got upset, went into the woods and cooled down and came back to the house with a better attitude. He didn't go off in a fit, I wouldn't have allowed that, but I do allow them time to cool down when they need it. Well, today one of his friends asked him to go somewhere with him and Hunter had to decline. I had already made plans yesterday before this happened to swap babysitting with a friend. Her children were over at our house yesterday and my children were going over there today. However, I told Hunter this morning he would be coming back home with me since he was grounded. He again got upset, not in a fit sort of way, just upset and tearful because he wouldn't be going. He didn't say anything to me but I knew and told him to quit crying and maybe he would remember he was to treat his siblings better in the future. Well, Nature came in and asked if Hunter could go with them. I asked him why and he said, with tears welling in his eyes, "I just feel bad for him". Ok remember Nature is the one Hunter was picking on most yesterday and here he is interceding for his brother. I told him I would think about it. I called them both into the living room, explained to Hunter what Nature had done and that I would allow him to go, only because Nature interceded and shown him love. I also discussed with Hunter what he should learn from this and praised Nature for his loving heart. I hope I didn't jumble it up too much but I just had to share because it really touched my heart to see the love of a brother like that.
Blessings,
Rashel

Oh why didn't I start this sooner!!!!

I'm mourning all the time I lost not reading aloud to my children from great books. :( I used to read aloud quite often, I don't really remember when I stopped or why. Maybe it was when I decided they needed to learn to be self led learners? I honestly don't remember. It is important they be self led in some areas, but I can still read aloud right along side of encouraging self motivation. We had a wonderful time today reading from "The Sign of the Beaver" by Elizabeth George Speare. Every time I would pause to take a drink of my coffee, I would hear "Don't stop there!" And sometimes that was from my oldest ds (13) who normally doesn't care for me to read aloud or gets tired of sitting there. On the contrary today, he was making notes to himself while I read! After reading he pondered how to make a snare like the one Attean made to catch rabbits. He reread it when I told him there weren't pictures and drew one himself from the descriptions given. His plan is make his own snare this afternoon. The only reason they let me stop was because we had read right through lunchtime and they were hungry. Yesterday while at the library, I thought I had chosen too many books, but now I'm not sure I have enough to last until the next trip ;)

If you aren't reading aloud to your children, no matter their ages, I highly suggest you start.

Blessings,

Rashel

Training our children

My sweet dd is 8y.o. now and everyday I can look at her and see how much she is growing and changing. This morning she fixed herself an omelet, oh my how she is growing! I am so thankful that God is reminding me to enjoy these moments and to take time to really ponder how my children are growing. I have always known in my heart that I want to train my dd to be a keeper at home and to know the ways of taking care of a household and family, but it's nice to see that I actually have trained her in at least some areas. It is important to me that all of my children have at least a basic knowledge of how to take care of a home and keep it running, even my boys. So, all of my children have daily chores and my two oldest boys have been cooking basic dishes for some time now. Today is the first day my dd actually fixed herself eggs from start to finish without any help. Her brother caught on quick and as I type, she is fixing him an omelet! Ds2 loves to experiment with dishes and has his "own sandwich" that he loves to make. Sometimes it is so much faster and easier just to cook by ourselves and not include our children, but the benefits of taking the time to teach them and share the experience with them is priceless.

She is such a little helper girl, after fixing ds1 his omelet, she offered to fix one for her other brothers as well. I pray she keeps her helper/servant attitude. It is a wonderful quality to have.

Blessings,
Rashel

They aren't interruptions.......

they are my children! God has been convicting me of this lately. I have a tendency to get wrapped up in my housework and all the things I think I need to be getting done and then when the children ask me for help on a school assignment, I almost feel as if they are interrupting me. That is just wrong thinking!!! God has given these children to me to raise up for Him, they are the most important job I have. My housework will be there later and the laundry will eventually get done, but these children are growing up each day and I can't stop that. No matter how much I may want to.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not ignoring my children and I do help them with their school work. However, in my heart I have noticed that alot of times, I can feel myself almost irritated that they are interrupting what I'm doing - my housework, my chores, my plans. HELLO!!!!!!! They are what I am supposed to be focusing on. They are more important than the dust on the shelf or the dirt on the floor. My oldest son is turning 14 this year, that means only a few more short years until he is no longer living in my home. I have to treasure this time. I have to cherish it like it is the most valuable thing on earth, because IT IS!

So, I have (or God has) adjusted my way of thinking and I have adjusted the way I will approach my day. I know I still have housework to do or my home will fall apart around us (and I will go insane), but that is to be second on my list of priorities each day. The first part of my day will be devoted entirely to my children; loving them, training them and teaching them. I won't allow myself to even start on my chores until we have had Bible time, math is completed and I have read aloud to them from some great living books. Same goes for me getting on the internet, I can't do it until those things are done with my children. They are to be first on my to do list. Ok, second if you are counting my time spent with God, which I have every morning first thing with my coffee.

You caught me though, today isn't happening that way. However, there is a reason: I let my children sleep in and we are getting a really slow start to the day. Some are dressed and doing animal chores, some are in pj's eating breakfast and so our day hasn't really gotten going yet as far as our to do list. It will though and that is when my new attitude will show itself. :)

Here is my daily plan:

My devotion time
AM routine
Kids up and their chores started
Breakfast and clean up
Bible time with children
Math
Phonics
Read aloud and any further studies that come out of that
Children free time, I will get ready for lunch
Lunch and clean up
Writing, penmanship and any other school that needs done
Here is when I can work on chores, blog, etc
All of us finish chores - house and animal
dinner time and clean up
family time


No, it isn't some fancy timed schedule but I never follow those kind anyway. The main thing that will change is the way I look at things. My heart attitude needs to be toward my children, not just my home. I need to really love them, really cherish them, and really spend time with them. Not just in the same room as them but with them. I need to play with them and show them love in a way that they can see it. I need to remember that God has given me these children for a little while, they really are His and He is entrusting me to raise them up. Would He be pleased with the job I am doing?

Blessings,
Rashel

Homeschool help....please

I have a few questions for you, if you don't mind. :)

First, what living books do you recommend for history? I really want to find some Christian based, accurate books about history that would be good for reading aloud to my children. I am hoping some of you will be able to give me some suggestions.

Second, do you have any suggestions for teaching music? I need something that is easy to use and easy to understand. I am not musically inclined and have forgotten all I learned in high school. So, I need a program that I can use without having to know anything ahead of time. Some of my children are expressing an interest in playing instruments but I'm not ready to start lessons until I know how interested they really are. So, I would like to teach the basics at home first. Any suggestions are much appreciated.

Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.

Blessings,
Rashel