Changes.....

Tonight my teen daughter will take her first class at a local community college as a dual enrolled homeschooled student. I'm proud that she scored high enough in the entrance tests to qualify. At the same time, I'm nervous because this is a big step for her - and us! Please pray for protection for her as she travels the campus for the first time! Thank you. Today while cleaning out some cabinets, I found some baby food jars that had been turned into "place" jars. You know: ones, tens, hundreds,etc. The children would drop beads in each jar to show that they understood place value. We haven't used them for a long time because all of the children are now past that stage. I took the jars to the recycling bin after debating whether or not to get rid of them. In the end, the desire to declutter and accept the reality that no one in this house needs the baby food jars won out! Have a blessed weekend! Patrice

A Busy Summer!

My intentions were good when I started this blog but little did I realize how busy we'd be this summer. Trips to summer camp, many drives to dance class and Vacation Bible School, preparing for this year's homeschool studies, ferrying children to sleep over and the beach, and working part time engulfed most of my summer. Still, we had a fun summer. I'm ready to settle in and begin the "New Year." The children are not so thrilled with this, but there you have it. Lately I've become convicted about getting rid of the many loose ends I have in my life. I opened my devotional that morning and that was the topic. Certainly that was not an accident but divine appointment! God is always on time and always knows what I need at exactly the time I need it!! Have a blessed day! Patrice

My "other Scout"

Since I wasn't able to put a picture of Jack into the previous post, I'm adding him here! I have to be fair to each of them, don't I?! This is a picture of Jack and his troop participating in an annual Memorial Day ceremony at a local cemetery to honor veterans.

Scout Rank Achievements

Two of my sons advanced in Boy Scout ranks on Tuesday. Jack(13) received Second Class and is already looking forward to obtaining First Class. George(14) advanced to Life Scout. Eagle Project, here we come! I'm so proud of both of them. When each one of our 3 boys started in Scouting, I (and my husband) had no idea what was entailed in "doing" Scouts. Here we are almost 3 years later! What I've learned from it all is that sewing on patches can be time consuming (and painful!) but I don't mind since each badge or patch represents something my boys have accomplished! This is George at camp, where he is working as a CIT this summer. Have a blessed weekend!

Vacation Bible School and a Science Experiment

My youngest son Thomas went to Vacation Bbile School last week. He showed me a bracelet he made. "Black beads, because I am a sinner," he said. "Red stands for Jesus' blood and white beads because He is pure." I often worry about my children's spiritual health, but this exhange soothed me somewhat. In my head, I shouted, "He gets it." This is not a guarantee that he will never fall into temptation. But I am thankful for the people who spend time at VBS teaching children about the Lord. It does make a difference in those young lives! Proverbs 3:5 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it." We also did a science "experiment." A few years ago, my sister had given my children a crystal growing kit. Not exactly deep science but following directions is important in any task! The crystals have grown but not like what we hoped for! Now we've had to go back and think about what we did wrong that caused the crystals not to grow. There's several more projects in this kit. I hope at least one will be more successful than this one! Still, we had fun and I took several pictures of Thomas while he was mixing and pouring the "compounds." Now that Thomas is ten, I've become more acutely aware of how quickly time has flown. Even though we homeschool and spend much time together, the time sometimes just gets away from us. I try to be thankful for the stages of life that my children are presently in, as well as the ones they've passed through. With a houseful of teens and a tween, we're rushing towards their adulthoods at what seems to be break- neck speed! I try to savor the last moments of Thomas' childhood as I missed some of those moments with the older children due to busy-ness. Have a blessed day!

Family Profile Picture

Looking at the picture of the six of us taken at Disney nearly two years ago produces bittersweet feelings in me. On the one hand, I feel joy because we had a fantastic time at Disney. Three out of the four children had never been, so it was like opening up a whole new world to them. Because we are a homeschool family, we are able to travel at less crowded times. At Animal Kingdom, we rode the attractions over and over again without even getting in line. We got a great deal for Florida residents, so the price was right!! The sad part is that it will be a while before we can take a "real" vacation again. Also, the children have gotten older (as have I!!!), so this picture really is a moment in time not to happen again. Still, I would do it again if we could! The Lord has given us these children and I am tracking these milestones in my mind or pictures, to be treasured, just as Mary, the mother of Jesus, treasure her son's growth into a young man of "wisdom and stature."