This Baby......

She's going to be the end of my sanity.

Don't even ask where all I found poop tonight! Just think about this...a child who likes to take off her diaper and can be in all of these pictured positions in less than 15 seconds total.

Back to School!

 It's Back to School Time!  I have been planning and replanning like crazy over the past week, getting everything ready to start school.  We usually start in July, but we were NOT ready this summer! So, we are starting on Monday.  Here's what we are using this year.....

For our Bible time we will continue to use this book that was part of our curriculum last year.  We didn't finish the book so we will still work on it this year.  I have also found some character education activities and we will focus on a different trait each week.

Brand new this year: First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind.

We needed something different for Language and I've heard great things about this curriculum.  I like what I've seen so far.  Katie will be diagramming sentences *extensively* which I hope will give her a really solid understanding of parts of speech and every part of a sentence.

We are continuing with Math-U-See.  They will actually both be in Gamma for the first nine weeks, then Katie will move on to Delta and all things division.

We got the most supplies from Sonlight this year.  We are continuing with Introduction to World History with part 2 (Rome-present I believe).  I also chose Sonlight for their Reading curriculum.  They will be reading a lot of novels.  I also plan to have them do some bigger projects with their reading this year.

For writing, I printed off the Common Core Standards for 3rd and 4th grades.  I am creating my own lesson plans to go along with teaching the different writing styles and will just work with them on learning what is listed in the Common Core.  I am also using this website to get ideas for lessons and for rubrics to use in evaluating their writing.

Also, they will be taking Science classes at Education PlayStation as they have the past few years.  It is a wonderful place and I am very thankful that we have access to such a loving environment for them to learn and enjoy science with their friends.

New: above and below.  Spelling will be "Sequential Spelling" and vocabulary will be "Wordly Wise."  Both get great reviews and with my planning I've done so far I think Sequential Spelling will be a good change, just mix things up from our usual spelling we've done before.  My books from Wordly Wise are on order and I should get them soon.

Handwriting.  We are only going to do two days of actual handwriting per week this year, but they love cursive and I don't want to abandon it completely.  Copywork is good for the brain. It will be part of a first of the day routine where they will rotate out between brain teasers/logic puzzles, handwriting, and test practice.

I am excited for school to start! We need something predictable around here. :)

I am thankful and blessed to be homeschooling.  We are definitely in for an adventure with a toddler in the mix.  One thing I have left to do is to set up desk work areas in two of the bedrooms so that they have somewhere to go work privately when Ruby is awake.  I think that would be very helpful!

I will post pictures of their first day on Monday.

By Faith

Hebrews 11:17

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring^b will be reckoned.”^c 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

God is working on us! And in us! And all around us!

The job search for me has ended.  And it has not ended with a teaching position!

After seven, SEVEN interviews last week, I was not offered one single teaching position! Now, for someone who has never interviewed for a job I didn't get, this was quite a blow to my ego! Also, as someone who had felt very strongly that God was leading us to that path, it was frustrating, confusing, and honestly, quite anger inducing.

I cried over it.  I prayed over it.  And God sent me some comfort in those verses above.

Now I am very well aware that no one has asked me to sacrifice my child.  

But, in this world that I live in, I was being asked to give up just about everything that I loved.  Staying home, homeschooling my children, raising the baby through her toddlerhood, being the stay at home mom and wife, and just fulfilling that role to the fullest in the way that we, as a family, had come to appreciate and enjoy.

And it wasn't enough for us to just *say* that we would be willing to give all that up.  It wasn't enough for us to just say that we would be willing to leave our family and friends, to uproot the children, to switch the family roles, and to sacrifice all the lifestyle choices we love.

No.  We had to act upon it. 

We had to almost get there, almost to the point of DOING it.  We spent money on the venture, trusting God that He would provide if it was the right thing, we spent time and tiresome travel with a toddler, I spent hours on the computer, contacted old references, paid to apply for a Florida teaching certificate, etc.  We were on board 100% with this path because we wanted to be obedient and we felt God was calling us to this path at this point in our lives. We weren't just saying we would be willing, we were willing and able and active.

And so was God.

He actively, loudly, and purposefully shut seven doors.

And this isn't meant to sound like a pat on the back or an ego boost, but I did not blow seven interviews.  There is no reason why, out of seven possible jobs, one in particular at a school that was in high need of anyone to fill the classroom, that I wouldn't get one single job offer.  Except that God has a better plan. And He wanted to know that we *would have* sacrificed in order to be obedient.

If I was in any doubt that He was out there somewhere paying attention or even listening, I had no doubt of that after hearing this loud and affirmative "not that way" answer.

He is acting in this situation and has a great plan in store.  

I feel released from this plan.  It was a good one, and one we will never forget, how He turned the tables in our situation, who knows that we won't look back on this time as a Purim of sorts, God turning the tables in our situation, completely reversing our situation from one of confusion and uncertainty to one of joy and celebration!

God is working! Even in His "no."

Hebrews 11:8

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

I look forward to seeing the finished product in our lives. I am thankful that God has a plan.  I am trying to be content with not knowing what that plan is at this time.  But, I've decided in the meantime, I'm going to start school! :)