A Tribute to My Mom!

Weak and wounded sinner,
Lost and left to die
Oh, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!

Sometime in my moms life after having Tod and I and then after a divorce and raising two little ones on her own and remarrying and dealing with teenagers, my mom was convicted that she was a weak and wounded sinner and she was lost and afraid to die and she saw the Love that was passing by and she came to Jesus.

Now your burdens lifted
And carried far way and precious blood has washed away the stain, so
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live!

After my mom came to Jesus her burdens were lifted through prayer and singing. She would go to God in His Word and talk to Him and sing to Him and thank Him for all that He has done and she was singing to Jesus in joy.

And like a newborn baby
Don’t be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk sometimes you fall . . . so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live!

My mom fell many times into pride and sin of her own life but she always fell forward and the Lord God Almighty to forgive her. She would crawl into a bible study timid but come out strong for all that she learned because she fell on Jesus when she had to fall!

Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live!

My mom was lonely when Tod and I left the home, but then we came back. When her and Bumps were not getting along she was afraid. She was lonely and afraid at the end of her career whether it would be there or not, She was afraid of financial problems, Then she got sick and more sick and just never stopped. She said she didn’t feel that sick but she was and she knew it. The sky was dark and the rain poured hard on her and she cried to Jesus, I know she did because we all did during this time. And when she cried to Jesus she was living!

O, and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can’t contain your joy inside, then
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live!

You see my mom was full of life and she loved to dance. She loved to smile and most importantly she loved her kids and grandkids and her love would spill over with them. She couldn’t contain her joy and she would dance with all of us with Jesus. She wanted the best for Bumps and even with him she would Dance for Jesus as she lived to be a wife for him. She lived to be a mom for Tod and I and she lived to be a great grandma for her grandkids whom she loved with passion. She wanted everyone to know that she was dancing for Jesus, not for anyone else and she would tell all her patients and friends and family about Him as she danced for Him!

And with your final heartbeat

Kiss the world goodbye

Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side,

and Fly to Jesus

Fly to Jesus

Fly to Jesus and live!

You see my mom meant a lot to me, but as she came, crawled, fell, sang, danced, and cried her life came to the final heartbeat and she kissed us all goodbye and she flew to Jesus! And she Lives! She lives inside of each of our hearts who remember her most. She lives with the Jesus and her God and King whom she lived her life for here on earth.

Thank you mom for living in front of me so that I can be the mom I’m supposed to be here on earth! I love you and miss you! Happy Mother’s day!

Writing Class or playing with shapes?

Homeschooling is usually a measurable accomplishment or failure. If you childs complete his or her math in a reasonable amount of time and gets most of them correct or all of them for that matter you know they are moving along and understanding the materials. Math, English, spelling, vocabulary are subjects that are measured. Science and History are measurable too but so many of us put our own opinions in these two classes that sometimes we get a not so accurate picture of what is going on, but still they learn something. However Writing is a whole different subject. Writing is very subjective. Did you know that Writing class was never a subject in school back in the early days? Why did we put it in? Well maybe because they realized that all of us need to learn to write and to put our words on paper. However this is a very hard subject to teach. What you think is good writing and at what level is different from what I think is good writing and at what level. There in lies the rub and the problem most homeschooling moms have with writing. We struggle at this one subject more than any other unless we are true writing scholars ourselves.

So that being said, I have ventured upon a writing class that several of us homeschooling moms are taking provided by a local homeschool mom who loves grammar, writing, and even has a college degree in English and minor in journalism. I feel she has enough credit to move on. So we paid our fees and off we went and the kids and I were stunned that the first class had no writing in it involved at all. We played games. Its called the communication game. She explained to us that writing is simply communicating your ideas, thoughts, and imagination to your reader. However so many of us struggle with getting it down on paper, so we did it out loud during our game.

She had one person draw on a piece of paper anything rather simple using lines and shapes. That person (who we call the writer) would try to communicate to the listner (the reader) what they drew and the writer was responsible for communicating it just so that the reader could draw exactly what the writer did. So off we go. Sarah and I did it together and Zech and Isabella did theirs. The first time through you could ask questions. For example when they said draw a big line, well how big is big? Where do you draw the line? The second time through you could ask no questions and just had to depend upon the writers communication skills. You get the picture. This is very difficult to do because the writers choice of words is very important to get their idea accross of what they drew. Then we played a variation of this game with pattern blocks (or shapes). One person had to create something with their pattern blocks and then proceed in telling the person what they created and that person had to recreate it from their communication skills. Wow, it taught us tons about how we communicate and how we need to be more specific and exact with our words. Without writing anything down we learned so much about writing! Can you tell from the picture that Zech didn't communicate specifically something and the Isabella's shapes didn't come out just right?

So the next time you pick up a pen and paper or start to type anything pay attention to the words you choose and hope they connect with your reader on what idea you are trying to convey! Happy writing!

Does anybody ever read my blog anymore?

Or am I just doing this for my own benefit. I haven't had comments on my last five or six blogs! What is up? Okay, I'll still blog because I will continue to think and wish somebody is reading it, but would love to get comments every now and then! Thanks,

Local TV Station Tour

What fun we had! I had always thought about the proceedings and all that go on in a TV station but it was so cool to take a tour and see it in reality. We took a field trip of 25 local homeschooling families (we have 2 more field trips set up for this field trip) and went to our local TV station for a behind the scenes look at how broadcasting works. Our guide was very well versed in all she had to tell us about the workings of it all.

What was the highlight to all of us was going into the camera room itself and see how it is all set up and then sit in on the live broadcast. It was way cool to see how they all interact with one another during the whole shooting of the event. The weather man and his "green" screen was very fun for the kids to see how he points to a blank screen and how he gets it right.

We were able to meet the "crew" and take lots of pictures. It was definetly one of my top picks of field trips we have been to yet!

Homeschool End of the Year Picnic!

Showcase!

My kids once again had showcase yesterday. Showcase is a day in which they show off all they learned during a semester (usually 12 weeks) of enrichment. Enrichment days are every Monday in which they learn different subjects from other moms that enrich their everyday learning at home. It is very much like going to school.

Sarah took Science in which they did labs (like electricity, DNA, and discesting), cooking II, and Art II. She excelled in all and even made her first 100% on her science test this last week. Science has been a hard subject this year.

Zechariah had just two classes of Critical thinking through Science and Geography. He learned all over the earth and the different continents. His teacher said she thoroughly enjoyed having him. Science he learned subjects on rockets and volume and so much more.

Isabella had US History, Learning Games (logical thinking games), and Critical thinking through science. She learned so much about the History of America and also learned how to strategize with her opponents to WIN! They all showcased their abilities and techniques and how God has expanded their knowledge.

I am so proud of all my children and the other children for their amazing talents they displayed. The youth in our group (9th-12th) did a mock trial called The Beauty and the Beast. They did an excellent job and from that class they learned about our government from when it was in England all the way to the present.

Way to go Enrichment classes for spring 2008!

Happy Birthday dear Hubby!

My wonderful husbands birthday is today! He is holding at 39 (for real!) I want to tell you about this amazing man I get to spend my life with!

This man grew up in a Christian family and his mother did him well! She taught him how to clean, cook, sew, and iron. He does so many amazing things that other women seem not to get. You see each morning he turns off the alarm clock and rolls over and rubs my back and scratches it to get me awake. He kisses me each morning as he comes into the living room where I'm there (usually in my pj's, my hair all messy, and no makeup) and tells me I'm so beautiful. He then sits at the kitchen table and talks with God and reads the Word of God until around 7:00 and then goes and wakes up the kids for me. He prays with the kids before he leaves and kisses me once again before he leaves for work. He calls me two or three times during his very busy day and tries to come home at least 2 times for lunch during the week. He comes home in the evening ready and willing to talk with me, even when his day has been bad. He encourages me to be the mom, the pastor's wife, or even just his wife that I'm supposed to be. He picks me up and supports me in so many ways!

When the kids were infants and toddlers, he would come home and shew me out the door so that I can have some quiet time. He would happily change diapers, cook supper, and play with the kids. He is an awesome dad. Always cheering them on, teaching them lessons, playing with them, and hugging on them.

Then I Sunday mornings I get the priviledge of sitting and listening to the Word of God being preached by my dear husband. I'm so proud of him and I'm so proud to be his wife. Thank you Lord for creating him for me and for bringing us together. May we have many more years of the Lord's blessing upon Mike! I love you!