In the world, but not of it....

This post articulates so well the exact reasons that Charlie & I homeschool. I absolutely love the inspiring and convicting way she has with the written word. Please read and be encouraged today!

Love, 

♥Julie♥

Count that day lost...

"If you sit down at set of sun
And count the acts that you have done,
And, counting find
One, self-serving deed,
one word'
That eased the heart of him
who heard
One glance most kind
That fell like sunshine

where it went_
Then you may count that day well spent.
But if, through all the livelong day,
You've cheered no heart, by yea or nay_
If, through it all
You've done nothing that you can trace
That brought sunshine to one's face_
No act most small
That helped some soul and nothing cost
Then count that day as worst than lost.

~George Elliot

~today is a beautiful day~

~ I am going to take my kids out for breakfast!! Yes, all three and we are going to eat at the park! It's going to be so much fun and we are so excited!!!

~Going shopping today for a surprise for someone! Can't say! =)

~Housework is under control...still working on the clutter part but 15 minutes a day is doing MIRACLES!~!!! I ♥ Flylady, so much!!!


~I igot "So Long Insecurity, you've been a bad friend to me" by Beth Moore in the mail yesterday(THANKS SISSY!!!) and have already read 12 chapters...YES, I HAVE. =)

~LOVING the fact that we are HOMESCHOOLING (why, yes, spellcheck, that is one word!!!)

~Realizing that I am the best possible provider for our children. I have let other people's  doubt and insecurities waver me on whether or not, I can do this or should be doing it! Well, I believe as their mother, that God says I can and should!! (If you are not homeschooling, that's fine. Completely the decision of you and your husband. I am not here to debate over it. Yes, I feel it is the best possible situation for all children. So, there, that is my belief. For those that have questioned me in the comment section.)

~Loving the fact that Dave Ramsey has so completely revolutionized the way we live!! Maybe congress should adapt a similar mentality??? LOL

~I am so completely at peace with the wonderful fact that we have 3 children under the age of 5 whom I am completely and totally responsible for and I AM LOVING IT!!!! It is hard, at times, but sooooo much of it is my attitude and my selfishness. I am facing that and dealing with it and today, I feel like God has led me through a dark valley!!! GOD IS SO GOOOD!! And, if you need me to pray for you, if you are in a dark place, a desperate place, I certainly WILL pray for you and with you!!! God never gives us more than we can handle and raising our children is such a privilege!! We are raising the children of our mighty God!! How awesome is that??

Well, I am off to spend the day with my beautiful gifts from God! Praying that all of you that read this little blog have an amazing God-filled day, as well!

Love to you all!

♥Julie♥

Fun ladybug math activity....

I subscribe to this fun little blog and this activity popped up this morning! I can't wait to get home from Homeschool PE group so we can try it!! It would be a great way to finish off math this week with both girls...I can make it easier for Lil-bear and a little harder for Care-bear. Great!! :)  So, if you want to give it a try, here's the link:

Ladybug Math Activity

~Cute Spring craft!~

We made these last year and are making them again tomorrow with Daddy! We are learning all about "nests" this week so this is a great fun little craft to fit in! Have fun!! :)

♥Julie♥

~painting in the sunshine~

We have had a great few days of sunshine so we have been taking school outside quite a bit! This is our "Art Appreciation or Picture Study" class! LOVE homeschooling!!!!!♥

♥Julie♥

~A more organized alternative to bookmarking!~

I recently stumbled upon a little thing called "Delicious" on someone's blog I was reading. It was a life changing revolution! No kidding! Instead of bookmarking a site of interest on my computer, I can bookmark something, tag it with the appropriate subjects (for example: a Charlotte Mason site would be tagged: homeschooling, CM, resources) and all of my bookmarks are kept on my Delicious page so I can access them with one easy click and they can be sorted according to subjects! Awesome for a busy homeschooling mama like myself! :)

I know it may sound confusing because I am not to good at explaining things so check it out for yourself and see how easy it is! Here's my Delicious page if you would like to see what I am currently perusing through! (Also, on my sidebar is the link to my Delicious page so you can click there at any time and read away to your heart's content!)

Enjoy!

♥Julie♥

a wonderful idea....

Just wanted to pop in and share this blog post with you! A wonderful idea and actually, I find many of her posts to be very inspiring and helpful! Check it out if you have the time...Smooth Stones Academy.


♥Julie♥

Education....

I found this through Sally Clarkson's blog. A lovely place. If you don't read her blog, you are really missing out on some wonderful encouragement! I think this explains so many of our reasons for homeschooling! It's actually what we are all trying to accomplish in educating our children, homeschool or public school or private...whatever option you choose.  This article gives some wonderful ideas. Please take a few minutes to read it.

~Julie~

Monday Meanderings...

~Bible Study: This week, reading this and letting it soak in.

~Memory Verse: 

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. James 1:2

~Zone: LAUNDRY and MOPPING (just trying to keep these two areas done) :)

~Must do's: 

*Organize school materials!!!! (It's out of control!)

*Switch pediatricians.Take care of insurance.

*Make appointment to get new glasses.

~Something Special for my husband: order the orbital sander he wants!

~Fun things!!!

*Claire turns 5, tomorrow!!!!!! (I am so not ready for her to be 5) So, tomorrow night, we open gifts here and have her favorite supper & cake.. :) This year, she will help me cook. I can't wait!

*This weekend, we are planning a night away!! I really, really hope it goes well and everything just works smoothly for us to be able to go! I am so excited!!!

~Something we are excited about!!

*We just bought a minivan and paid cash for it!!!!!! YAY!!!! It's a used 2001 Chrysler Town and Country, it's loaded with everything you can imagine and it is wonderful......no more trying to cram 3 car seats and all of our stuff into my Nissan Sentra!!! YAY!!! We are loving our new ride and so are the kids!! And, best of all, NO MORE CAR PAYMENTS!!! Can I get an AMEN??  =D

Menu Plan:

Monday- Claire's birthday supper: Spaghetti & Italian sausage, Garlic rolls, steamed broccoli, birthday cake

Tuesday-Roast chicken, broccoli & cauliflower, rolls

Wednesday-Mexican cornbread, beans & smoked sausage

Thursday- Shredded chicken tacos(we are going to follow her lead) w/pico de gallo & guacamole, rice and beans

Friday- Party sandwiches, veggie tray w/dip, fruit tray (Family movie night)

Saturday- our night "away"- ordering in from Roma's....YUM :)

Well, that's our week in a nutshell!! Hope you have a great one! :)

Join us at Sarah's for more Monday Meanderings & Laura's for Menu Plan Monday!

~Julie~

FREE Charlotte Mason E-book..Smooth-Easy Days...

Just wanted to share this with you, quickly!! Then, I am off for a really long day of shopping and paying bills. I am excited, though, because we are going to get some materials for some new things I am wanting to try with the kids!!! Anyway, I found this E-book and wanted to make sure ya'll knew about it!! Here you go:

Smooth-Easy Days

Homeschooling (a list of helpful resources & tips)....

* I have had a few questions about homeschooling: how we do it, why we do it, etc. So, I am going to be doing a few of these and adding them to my sidebar. This one is just a list of websites, blogs, books, etc. that we use to homeschool our children. It is my hope that you may find something that can help you and that you enjoy this little peek into our daily lives!

~To start at the very beginning, I use the Babywise series with our children. (Babywise, Toddlerwise,Preschoolwise, etc.) I find that a schedule works wonders!! I did not say a "rigid" schedule. I could never do that and if you know me, you would be laughing! lol To me it is more of a routine! I understand these books are controversial but we love them!

~ All Sally Clarkson books! Oh, they are amazingly well written and so wonderfully soothing to an exhausted  mother's heart! I can not recommend them highly enough!

~And, some blogs and websites: (There are so many of these! I will have to come back and add to this post again and again!)

*Chasing Cheerios

*No Time For Flashcards

*Donna Young

*Handedness Research (teaching left-handers to write. Claire is left handed)

*Best Homeschooling

*Learning 4 Fun!

*Enchanted Learning

*Free Printables

*ABC Teach(more free stuff)

*Ambleside(CM)

*Charlotte Mason

*DLTK-free crafts, bible lesson plans, etc.

*Growing Minds of Wisdom

*Jan Brett

*Jeannie Fulbright

*Letter of the Week


*Mustard Seeds

*Worksheet Works

*The Learning Page (free stuff)

*Starfall

*Simply Charlotte Mason

Okay, there are TONS more that we use! I will put the links up as I get a chance to do so. Right now,I have laundry to fold and put away, schoolwork to go over for tomorrow and life to live with my precious children!! See you soon!

~Julie~

If we build it...it will come!!

We are praying for snow here!! If it is going to be this stinkin' cold (around 5 degrees tonight) WE WANT SNOW!!!! Sorry, ya'll that are used to below zero temps..I have seen 5 degrees maybe twice in my entire life so I am a wimp!!! 30 is FREEZING to me...and we hardly ever get snow.

So, I found this cute craft! Try it for yourself and show it off! I will try to take pictures and post them sometime later.

Fruit of the Spirit...a Character study for children....

*Sorry I posted this twice! I used the wrong link! 

I read about this awhile ago but just kept putting it off and not getting around to it and I really wasn't sure if I wanted to use it or not but I ran out of money to buy anything for a character study curriculum and I have prayed about this and I feel like it is going to work for us so we are giving it a try, starting this week!! I just wanted to share it with you, in case you haven't seen it and are looking for something along those lines.

So, this week we are going to add this to our school days!! SO EXCITED!!!

Let me know if you are doing a Character study of any kind and what it is! I am always interested in new things to add to what I am doing and I am a HUGE fan of mixing things up!! I'll let you know how this goes and if we make any changes or add anything....stay tuned!

Love,

Julie

cute Thanksgiving crafts...

 I am going to attempt these with my kids next week! I will try to post pictures...they look super easy and I am going to surf around this wonderful site and see what else I can find!! I LOVE it when I find new fun craft sites for the kids!!!!! YAY!!!!!

It's a good day!!

Love,

Julie

Starfall...

Sorry about the half naked child in the corner!! That's just Lily. I had her dressed in a cute little dress with her hair fixed so nice and about 10 minutes later, while I was mopping floors, this is what she looked like!! Anyway, we had a different day of school today. Mama had A LOT of catching up to do with cleaning (Daddy's been home and it's been pouring down rain) so we have been in the house for 3 solid days.....lots of cleaning to do!!

The kids did Starfall and playdough while I cleaned and then we did Math and Handwriting before lunch. Here's a pic of Claire doing Starfall on her computer! Love this pic!!

I just wanted to share Starfall with those of you who may not have heard of it and have small children who need something "extra"....hope you enjoy it as much as we do!!

~Julie~

First day of school....

Claire running to Mama to work with her playdough to make letters...
one of our bookshelves & art shelves. Ignore the mess, I stayed up past 1 a.m. trying to finish everything....it's still a little sloppy :(
This is the most excitement I have ever seen over play dough!
I don't know; what about her excitement? Do you think she's happy?! ;)
The Ten Commandments are DEFINITELY posted in our school!!
The sisters, holding hands, are so excited to be doing school together! And, I praise God that they are so close....what an amazing family I have been blessed with!!

GOD is SO GOOD!!! I hope you all have a wonderful week!!

~Blessings~
Julie

Happy Birthday, Drew!!!!

This is not his birthday post; I will be back with it later today! We are on our way out the door for our PE class with our homeschooling group!!!! Drew will get spoiled with cupcakes there(brought by Carie; thanks, girl!!) and then we will come back home and nap while Mama gets everything ready for supper here tonight with just our little family and we will have some cake for Drew. Tomorrow night, we will head over to Granny & Papaw Fogg's for supper and more cake!!! Sunday after services is still even more cake!! Whew! what a weekend but we will love it!! :)

I can't believe that my baby boy is 1 already......I am actually pretty sad about it. Happy to celebrate, of course, but sad that it passed by so quickly. But, as Charlie reminds me, he's still a baby!! I still have some of his babyhood left!!

More Andrew later today......

Love,
~Julie~

random...

~We didn't make it to church today because Claire, Lily & Drew are all running a fever and have runny noses. So, I am a paranoid mama, but we just don't go when everyone feels cruddy. We stayed home and made biscuits and gravy for breakfast and had a bible story and songs and communion(for Mom & Dad) here at the house. I LOVE lazy Sundays like that. We love going to church services but sometimes, when everyone is feeling blah..., this is just the thing!

~Drew turns 1 this Friday!! I am so emotional about this!! I can't believe the year has flown by so fast....

~It is so hard for me to balance everything! Don't get me wrong, I don't want anything to change except myself! I am a horrible juggler! I never said I was coordinated! ha!

~LOTS to pray about lately. It always seems like that but I know that's a good thing because it means that God is working in our lives! A lot of things are painful but necessary!! Praise God for His LOVE that is anew every morning!

~School starts after Labor Day; can't wait!! Claire asks me every day if she can" start school with Mama, yet"? I always have to show her the days on the calendar and explain that it's just a bit longer although we have cheated (a little) and are working on a few things a little bit here and there! I am so excited to be able to spend this time with my children!! A lot of people have asked me why I want to homeschool my children and my #1 reason has to be that I just adore them! I adore them and I LOVE being with them and teaching them and watching their eyes light up when they learn something new!! It's the BEST feeling, ever and I have the BEST kids ever!! (well, I am sure yours are better to you but this is my blog so.... :) )

~Also, I have some links to share in the next week that I am hoping you will really enjoy! Stay tuned for those!

~Reading Romans 4 & Romans 12 right now.....oh, talk about challenging!! I am trying to make notes as I go and hopefully I can find the time to share a little bit with you (with school starting, we will see!)

~From what I hear, our niece Beth is a really awesome softball player!! GO BETH!! She's a great kid, that much I DO know, for sure! :)

~My husband and I have been doing this bible study together and some with the kids (we do the family projects together)....it's a very good study and simple enough that you will not get bored and it doesn't take very long at all (usually about 5 minutes) So, give it a try!!

~If you get a chance, read Mark Levin's , "Liberty and Tyranny", such a great read. There are no words for how much sense this man makes. Must read!!

~Here's what we are using this year:

*Bible Study/Devotional: included in L.H.T.H. (below) and a wonderful little devo book that my sister gave me!! (Thanks, Amy & Sis!!)
*Little Hands to Heaven- Claire & Lily
*Handwriting without tears & Handwriting for a reason (we will see which one will work better but we are excited about both!)
*Math-U-See (not sure about this yet but definitely looking at it)
*Little House on the Prairie & nature journal
*Toddler & Preschool Art (along with some books that Charlie found at Mardel's!!!)
*Charlotte Mason reading List (Ambleside Online)
*Music & Poetry- classics & CM list (AO)
*P.E. & play day with our homeschool group once a week

*And that about wraps it up!! Hope you are having a great weekend! I'll be back tomorrow with my "Monday Meanderings"....be prepared, it will be long!

~Love,
Julie

Blogging break....

This week I will be on a blogging break. I have sooooo many things I need to work on around the house and we are starting school after Labor Day!!!!!!! Yay!! So, I really need to take this time off of the computer and focus on getting everything ready and in order for us to start our school year off right!!

I hope to be back next week and let you know how everything is going. I truly appreciate everyone's prayers over our new school year. And, a huge thank you to all of my bloggy friends!! We appreciate your constant loving encouragement so very much!!

Have a great week!

~Love,
Julie