My Educational Vehicle
There are many different kinds of vehicles—cars, trucks, and vans; bicycles and motorcycles; and boats, planes, and trains. Each vehicle also has a different purpose. Some are just for transportation while others are more for enjoyment. Some vehicles are fast, others are slow. Some vehicles provide access to places you would otherwise not be able to get to. Similar to the various types, speeds and purposes of vehicles, my educational journey has had a variety of methods and destinations. My favorite type of vehicle is one I don’t have to drive. I’d rather go along for the ride than be the driver. My high school education was much the same.…
Does Mom Work?
6 years ago I threw a parent temper tantrum because of something one of my kids said. And even though we all learned from the experience, it wasn’t the last time I got hurt and angry because of what they said. But I’m pretty sure I never threw a tantrum like that again. Over the years, I’ve had to learn patience and give a little grace and choose not to be offended. I guess it’s part of being a mom. Actually, it’s really part of being a person. People say hurtful things. I like to believe that they just don’t know any better and are doing the best that they…
Go S.L.O.W. with your Children
Years ago I listened to a parenting audio and was recently reminded of it. Since I remember loving it, I decided to pull it out and listen to it again. The speaker shared at acronym that helped us remember how SLOW down and be a better parent. Below are some of the principles I loved from it. Serve Them As parents we serve our children from the minute they are born. We take care of their physical needs (feed, clothe, bathe, shelter), help them with chores and homework, give them rides to and from places, and do all kinds of other things for them. Another part of serving is teaching…
7 Things we did this Summer
This summer was short and busy and not at all like I pictured, but there were still a lot of great things that happened. My 4 oldest kids all had different camps that they attended throughout the summer. Braedi attended Legacy Camp with a bunch of other 16-18 year old girls from church, a piano camp, and another church camp with a friend. Corbin attended a similar camp with 16-18 year old boys up in the mountains and went to San Diego with some boys from church. He and Ephram also went with grandma up to Idaho to visit cousins. Dyllan attended a church camp and a week-long EFY camp…
God’s Smuggler
I love it when I come across a good book. Especially when it’s a book I’ve never heard of before. My kids are part of a kid book club. I decided to read aloud one of the books on their list this year–God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew. It was a gem of a book about faith and trust in God. God’s Smuggler is a true story about a rebellious young man-turned-missionary named Andrew. Andrew grew up in Holland before WWII where he dreamed of and sought out adventure. After the war, he joined the army and fought in the East Indies where he was eventually injured and returned home. Through…
5 Tips for a Stronger Marriage
Jonathan and I have been married for almost 18 years. We’ve had our ups and downs (as all marriages do) but we have grown more in love every year. It’s hard to even think that we could love each other more than when we first got married, but that was just a drop in the bucket compared to now. We’ve grown in so many ways and through the years have created a pretty good marriage. Having a strong, healthy relationship takes work and means doing a few things consistently. You can have a successful relationship by following just a few simple tips. Here are 5 relationship tips anyone can follow: …
Teaching Commitment
Our homeschool group did another activity where we focused on a hero attribute. The goal with these activities is to help the kids (and moms) become everyday heroes. Commitment was the attribute we focused on, but we started by reviewing a few others from our list of 12.Karma—you get back what you put out thereKindness—be kind to othersGratitude—being grateful for what you haveBelief—believing in yourself, the good of others, and a higher power I asked everyone to define commitment. I got answers like doing what you say you will do and being dedicated to finish a task. My favorite was doing what you said you would do even when you…
10 Easter Traditions to Do With Your Family
This Sunday is Easter, and I’m looking forward doing some of our favorite Easter activities this week. Do you have Easter traditions? Here some of the activities we have done over the years. EGG DECORATING Even as the kids have gotten older, this is an activity that we always seem to do. The old stand-by is dye in water and vinegar, but we’ve also decorated with markers and shaving cream. We might try something new this year or we might just do the vinegar dye. EXTENDED FAMILY EGG HUNT My mom and dad like to host an Easter party around this time of year. They hide a bunch of plastic…
The Power of Belief
It’s good to be back home. Even though we homeschool, my older kids follow the public school schedule because of some of the activities they do. Last week was spring break, so we took the opportunity to travel to Idaho to visit Jonathan’s sister and family. We had a great time. We saw some sights, visited a college, spent time with family, and created some memories. I love vacationing, but there’s no place like home. We are part of a homeschool family school that meets every Friday. The school’s mission is building heroes. We focus on several hero abilities throughout the year. This last month we talked about how a…
Questions to ask During Reflection Time
Well, it’s almost March, and I’m still doing journal prompts pretty regularly. A recent one prompted me to write about what was going right in my life. My first response: That one is tough. I feel like most of the things I am doing are only at ¾ strength. Is there anything really going right? I decided to focus on the good, and then pick one thing I can do better. My morning routine is going right. I don’t snooze. I get up, use the bathroom, and get dressed in my work-out clothes. I drink 20-30 ounces of warm lemon water while I do my version of the 5 second…
