A Little Glimpse....otherwise entitled, I Am Not An Overachiever

I have 3 baskets of clean laundry and a BIG pile upstairs as well.

The schoolroom looks like Staples and Toys R Us blew up in a small confined area.

I have no Christmas lights up outside. No cute porch display. The wreath I made 2 months ago, is on the ground near my front door, along with a very festive Christmas pumpkin.

What? You haven't heard about the Christmas pumpkin? That's a shame you are so out of the loop(or I still have a pumpkin leftover from almost 2 moths ago) Whatever.

There will be no Christmas cards. Haven't bought them. Haven't taken some super cute picture of my growing precious boys to commemorate this time in their lives. Nope...and I don't plan on getting it done either. 

So...... MERRY CHRISTMAS from Us!

My super cool "don't you wish you were crafty like me" Advent calendar is a big piece of brown butcher paper taped to the wall-with index cards with gift bows stuck on them. Eat your heart out Pinterest!

I have a large stack of papers on my kitchen floor that need to go out to the burn pile.

I am not done or even close to being done with my shopping. I don't like shopping. I don't enjoy the crowds, the chaos, the big displays, the less than festive attitudes. So I shop online as much as I can to avoid all that stuff.

My Elf on the Shelf is pretty lame. I actually lost him 2 nights ago and couldn't remember where he was. So that was fun!

My sink is still the holding place for last night's dishes.

My floors look like I live on top of a dusty hill with 17 acres and 4 boys. Wait...nevermind.

I took the wrong bag to church on Sunday. So I had nothing for the boys to do. And if you attend a Presbyterian church and know how long those services are...you totally get why that's a big deal. I was digging thru my less than clean truck to find anything that could help then sit quietly. They ended up with pipe cleaners, a notebook and a thing-a-ma-jigger.

Hopefully you now feel better about yourself and/or the state of your house.

I'm going to go finish my left over Chick-fil-a sweet tea from last night.

What a week...or 2

Wow. 

That was incredible! I hardly know where to begin to tell about our vacation.

We had so much fun.

 Saw so many incredible places and met lots of great people. 

We have laughed and laughed and made many memories.

I will be working on some blog posts for the next 2 weeks that will bring you up to speed. 

However, I have spent 14 nights in a tent and am ready to go crawl into my cozy bed.

More to come!

I Got Myself a Duck Dynasty Wanna Be

My Big Middle has a new calling in  life.

Have you see the show Duck Dynasty on A&E? 

(If you have no idea who or what I am talking about...PLEASE google these guys. I promise you, you will not be disappointed, or it will just prove how redneck I really am.)

The Roberston's are a family in the Monroe, Louisiana area. 

They hunt and fish and work together making duck calls. I have friends who know them and say they are some of the best people around.

Scar is sure that he was kidnapped from their family and brought to live at our house. 

(UM....no, I was there and I remember that whole birth story, thank you very much.)

He wants to know if we can vacation with them. 

He'd prefer to just move to Louisiana, but I draw the line there...I don't like purple  and gold. :O)

He has worn cammo for the last 3 days or so. He just asked if I would buy him a fake beard and mustache.  

Obsess much?

Scar has decided that he wants to be Jase's new best friend. He's also fond of Si. He would fit in beautifully with those 2.

So, Jase and Si, my 9 year old wants to be you when he grows up. 

Thank you for being who you are to him! I am hoping he does just that!

Please, Don't Help Me....

Wanna know a little secret?

I don't accept blessings well, and it causes me problems.

I'm sure it is a pride issue. I don't like to ask for or accept help. I feel like I chose to homeschool the boys. I chose to be a stay at home mom. I chose this path, so I should just put on my big girl panties and get on with it. Oh, I'm more than happy to help you and do whatever I can to help you out...but please, please, please don't turn the tables on me.

If I ask for help...I am in serious need. 

I saw a brief interaction between my boys this weekend that hit me in the gut and took my breath away. One child was sitting at the table. The other one brought him something and the receiving child freaked out, jumped all over him about how he can do it and didn't need or want his help. The child trying to help was crushed. It was apparent by the look on his little 8 year old face.

Immediately,  I recognized myself in that interaction.
That was me crushing the spirit of another who was trying to bless me.
That was me taking away the joy of another  in serving.
That was me whose pride was all ugly and obvious.

Skipper and I had a brief conversation about letting the 8 year old bless him. Let him serve you. Let him model after Christ. Let him love you. Accept his blessing and his joy.


So, there it is. I am teaching my boys to hinder those who want to bless us. I am teaching my boys to do it all on their own. I am teaching my boys that their pride is more important than the blessing of others.

Ugly, huh? Not at all the message I want my boys to be left with. So as a family, we are working on that. We are working on purposefully finding ways to bless those that live in our house. We are working on a list of random acts of kindness that we can do to bless those we come into contact with wherever they may be.

We are a work in progress...and I think that is what Christ would want.

First Day Memories

We survived the first day. 

And the second day!

Not Back to School Day

Over the years, I have had people ask if the boys feel left out of the back to school hype that traditional school kids have.

I can say that they don't. They don't because we have our own traditions for going back to school.

We usually start before the local schools do. We have a fun first day back. We take pictures of each boy. We have a fun breakfast. Usually they want a pancake in the shape of what ever grade they are in. We have new pencils and crayons. New notebooks and markers. We have new posters on the walls and new stickers for reading charts.

We love our first day back....but the fun really comes a few weeks later when we have our annual Not Back to School Day.

Not Back to School Day is when the public schoolers go back to school. We take the day off and we have fun! We even make tie-dyed T-shirts in honor of the day.

We have taken trips to the Zoo and the Aquarium. One year I had a stack of envelopes with a card inside. Each card had a hint written on it and if they could figure out the hint...that is where we went next. We went bowling, ate ice cream, went to the local toy store, went to Granny's house, ate lunch at
Chick-fil-a and went to a park.

This year is no different. I have big plans for our day and the tie-dye kits are in the pantry waiting to be used.

No matter what your learning journey looks like, hopefully your family has some kind of fun
Back to School traditions that your children look forward to. I'd love to hear what you do to get them ready for that first day fun!

Should everyone's education look the same?

Have you read this article? I thought it was a very good take on the changing face of education.

Education is a changing being. It never looks the same...if you do it right.
No 2 kids learn the same. At least mine sure don't. It's difficult and boring to try to make them all fit into a box that none of them fit.

I still fight with the University trained teacher that I was taught to be.

I need all the problems finished.
I need the entire chapter read.
I need perfect handwriting.
I need better coloring in the lines.
I need better cutting skills.

Or do I?

Not really. What I'm asking is for them to conform to my standard. And while it is very important to have a high standard and expect their best. I think the way in which I expect it may be askew.

It is my opinion that being an Educator by profession does not make it easier to be a homeschool mom. In fact, I think it is a hindrance. Some of the best homeschool moms I know were nurses, bankers, artists...not teachers.

So here is to a new year of learning. I hope that whatever your learning journey looks like for your family, that it is full of wonder and fun and encouragement and many blessings!

2 Years

She has been gone 2 years.

Sometimes I forget and think I'll just get the boys gathered up and run by for a bit. Then I remember, she isn't here anymore.

I hope she'd be proud of me. I hope she'd be proud of my boys. I wish she was here to see how the house turned out and that in fact, we took her advice and raised the kitchen cabinets about 4 inches. I wish she was here to tell my boys the My Big Toe story. Cause I can tell it...but not like her.

I wish she could make me a big batch of creamed potatoes. I can't recreate those either. I wish she could have waited one more day and not gone home on my brother's birthday.
I wish she knew what a blessing she was to our boys. They still struggle with her being gone. Really, there are a million silly, goofy, annoying, wonderful things that I miss about her.

I wish she could tell me one more time, "You just don't know, Sis."

She was taken too soon. That's my selfishness shining thru. I confess it.
However, in the midst of her cancer diagnosis and the very short 6 weeks we had left with her, she taught me more that she will ever know. Granny never felt sorry for herself. She was ready. She knew that her eternity would be spend walking the streets of Heaven. She knew what was ahead of her. She was confident. She was full of grace and dignity. She never cried. She was strong to the finish. That's exactly what any of us would have expected of her.

We stopped by her gravesite on Easter and someone had scattered Texas Bluebonnets on her grave. It was the most beautiful thing.

Her last words to me were..."Sis, I pray for you everyday."

That is a blessing I will carry forever.

When the World Overwhelms

Today I am contributing to a Special Needs Parenting series over at A Mama Story.

When the World Overwhelms is an article about Sensory Integration Disorder.

Stop by over there and read and enter to win a copy of The Out of Sync Child Has Fun.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: A Special Needs Parenting Series

Join us this week over at A Mama's Story for a series on Special Needs Parenting. Each day, a different mama will talk about their family and the blessings and struggles they face. 


The series is being hosted by an absolutely wonderful Mama and real life friend of mine. She is a mom of many, an advocate for natural home birthing, natural living, homeschooling...she's just a wealth of knowledge and has a beautiful spirit about her. And I can brag...her children are pretty awesome too!!


 We would be honored if you'd take the time check the series out. I am contributing to the series with a post on Sensory Issues.

There are link-ups and giveaways!

Our Journey to Free-Range Learning

I need to plan for school. As the curriculum specialist...that's kinda my job.

I haven't made any decisions yet.

School starts August 1.

That's like 2 weeks.

This is where panic sets in...

                                             ...and then I take a deep breath.

And I stop. I refuse to panic.

I pray and remember that God is not the author of confusion.

He has given me a plan and I know it. I see it in how the boys move through their day.

I see how they are bent.

I see that Scar prefers to do and observe and record and analyze and draw and create and be there with what he is learning. He LOVES animals and the outdoors. He wants to collect crawdads and measure them and make graphs and research how to tell the males from the females.

I see that Skipper likes book. He wants to read about everything. He want to have his hands on a book and loves the sound of the book spine cracking when it is first opened. He wants to read about Word War 2 and space exploration and early settlers and the Constitution.

I see that Scrappy is a goer and a mover. We likes the book work, but also like the balance of getting messy and creating and drawing. He want to read about Knights and draw knights and write letters to the Queen of England and make dragons and castles out of Legos.

I see that Skeeter is all about the joy. He is a 1st grader -based on the info that our state likes to have- but he is still so early in his learning journey. He still loves all of it. I am still watching for his bend. and I have not doubt it will me made plain to me.

I watch them. I listen to them. I make notes about what I see.

So, this year we will embark on a different learning journey. I will stress less and we will learn more. I will pray more and they will grow more. I will relax more and they will too. I will make learning part of our life. I will make it part of our daily living. I will seek every opportunity to learn myself.

This isn't the homeschool path we started 20 kabillion years ago-okay really 8years ago. We have been a by the textbook, please sit inside the box homeschool family. And there is nothing wrong with that. But I think that it isn't what works best for us. Someone  tried to stick a leg out and I am trying to stuff it back in. An arm pokes out over here and I'm stuffing it back in. A head pops up and I want that boy to just do what I said and sit. in. that. box!!!

WHY?

Cause honestly, I'm afraid of what you might think of me or my kids or homeschooling in general.
I'm worried more about what you think than doing what I think is right for my kids.

I'm afraid.

And how's that worked for me? Frankly, it hasn't.

We are not a stuffed in a box family. Never have been-regardless of my trying- and we never will be.

And I am realizing that we can be just fine as free-range learners.

And I can be ok if you don't like me.

Or the way we educate or kids.

I can be ok.

I will be ok and so will the boys.


                                           So here's to a year of free-range learning!

The boys helping their cousin and his research team collect and record data on the different fish that were found in a nearby creek.

Saying Yes

I said no.
More than I had planned on.
More than I wanted.
Saying yes in a work in progress for me. I didn't fail though. I did find some things to say yes to!

I said yes to wearing house-shoes to the store.
I said yes to letting Scrappy sleep under the school room table.
I said yes to a trip for Slurpees.

I said yes to this.....

The story here is that we scared this little guy, his momma and siblings up last week. The momma ran off with the others, and some how Bandit got left behind. The boys spent days coaxing him out of the wood pile, feeding him and talking sweet to him. He is sweet and very lovable and is a good match for our little Smudge who needs a buddy, cause the momma cat it gonna strangle him.





I said yes to letting Scar set up a little fire area. He was doing experiments to see which was the fastest way to boil water in his little pan. Then he cooked his own hot dogs for lunch.

He loves the outdoors and animals and camping and hunting and I find he's most at home when I get out of his way and let him be.

Actually, I find that they are all most at home when I get out of their way.

That is also another thing I am working on.



\
I'm not great at yes...but I'm getting there!!!

Monday Ramblings

We scared up a momma cat and her kittens last week. Evidently, she ran off and left one little one behind. The boys have spent the better part of 2 days feeding and coaxing it/he/she out of the wood pile. Yesterday after lunch, they showed up on the porch with the little one in hand. Bandit, as the boys have named it, still prefers the woodpile, but is warming up nicely. So, now we have 3 cats. You can imagine how thrilled Scout is.

I was cleaning yesterday and found this....seems like yesterday. 

Skipper was 6, Scar was 4, Scrappy was 2 and Skeeter was 3-5 months. 

Scout got the additional outlet run to the downstairs washer. Believe it or not, when we built this house, we didn't think about putting an outlet for the washer. The dryer got one, but not the washer.

So now I have a washer/dryer upstair and a washer/dryer downstairs. I think that is the best thing since sliced bread! I am so happy to no longer be carrying clothes up and down the stairs. And now, because that's the kind of momma I am, the boys are responsible for their own laundry. This is not news to them, they have known for a year that this day was coming.  But lest you thing there was great rejoicing(that was all me) on their part, there was not, it was more like weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The middles are a day camp this week. I get Skipper home after 2 weeks and then they take off. At least at night they are in their beds.

Next week they all go to my momma and daddy's.
ALL of them.
For the week.

That leaves me alone.

For the week.

By...myself.

Favorite Things Friday

It's Friday and today I am going to share a couple of my favorite things with you.

Please fasten you seat belts and keep you arms inside the vehicle at all times. And Please do not feed the dinosaurs. That being said...let's do it!

This is an excellent release. I think it may be my favorite CD of his yet. Worth the money in my opinion.

My very very favorite gluten-free cookie mix: 123 Gluten Free

It is a chipless mix so you can add what ever kind of chips you like. I have to fight the kids to stay out of the mix, and if you have ever used a store bought cookie mix...that is a big big deal. They have lots of other products that are yummy! You can order online or you can find them in stores!

And then there are these. OH MY! I am in deep like with these! 

I am always skeptical about things that claim to he hot & spicy. I am usually disappointed. Not so with these!! They are hot and they are spicy and I am out!!!

There you have it. A few of my favorite things.

Hope your weekend is a great one!

***I am in no way  affiliated with any of these people or companies and they have no clue who I am. I just like their stuff.***

The Light of Grace

I have started reading Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus, by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick & Jessica Thompson and I have to say, I am in love with this book.

I was raised in a church that, even though we say we are not a works based faith, it has become apparent to me that in reality, we are. I was raised to believe that we have to be nice enough for God. Good enough for God. Kind enough. Help others enough. Can't miss services for anything other than a serious illness. Ya know, those kinds of things.

Recently, we have made a change in our place of worship. It was one of the hardest decisions that I have wrestled with in my adulthood. We had many friends at that church. Both our families are mulit-generation Church of Christ. It is all we have ever known.

What would our families think? Would they be mad? Hurt? Confused? Feel like they have failed in some way? Would friends still be our friends?

After much much prayer and searching, we felt convicted that it was time for us to leave what we were familiar with. We felt called to be worshipping somewhere else. As we gave our decision a voice, I felt a burden lift.

And you know what....some people were disappointed. Some people have withdrawn their friendship.
But it's not about them. It's about God. And getting out of his way and letting him work in our lives and seeing just how deeply we have of a need for Christ to be the center on our lives. To see the depravity of my worldly self and how that should drive me no where but to the arms of Jesus.

I have begun to see the grace of God in a whole new light.

I have begun to see that it is okay that I'm not perfect. That I don't always make good choices. That I don't always demonstrate self-control. I should try, definitely, but I don't have to beat myself up that I didn't do it right or that I never will.

I have begun to see that it isn't about me...ever.

I have begun to see that it never was about me.

I have begun to see that it is all about God's grace and Jesus' sacrifice gives me a beauty I never knew that I possessed.

A Scout mom is...

...loyal, trustworthy, tender, tough, exhausted, proud, thrifty, weepy, spontaneous, prepared, and reverent.


My oldest is a First Class Boy Scout.
He's a month away from getting his Star.
Then it's Life and Eagle.

I cried like a baby this weekend when Scout and I were talking about it. He can have his Eagle by the time he is 13.

13?!?!?!?!?!!

Seriously? I'm sorry there is no way he's going to be an Eagle and 13.

He is still a 6 year old Tiger Cub. Right?!

So our next year or so will be filled with Merit Badges, Junior Leadership Training, 2013 National Jamboree, an Eagle project and an Eagle Board of Review.

Makes me wanna wrap him in his "BB" and just snuggle him forever.

However, God can't complete His works for Skipper if I snuggle him forever.

I will get out of the way and savor the trail to Eagle. And I'll shed a few more tears I am sure.

Saying Yes

I am working on saying "Yes" more often.

No is my default answer. The majority of the time, no is my go to answer.

Doesn't matter how big of little the request is. I just say no.

I don't want to be bothered.  I am in the middle of this or that. Or I just put them off with a "Hang on a minute." I want them to just do what I want. It's all about me. And really, when I stop to look at it like that, it makes me really sad.

The thing that has amazed me is how I say no to my boys and rarely say no to friends. I am always saying I need to learn to say no more often to others. I guess I have been saving all my no's for them?!?

UGH!!!

That's not the message I want to send to my boys. That's not the memories I want them to have of their childhood. I want them to know I am here...really here with them.

So I'm working on my heart. Or really, I'm asking God to work in and on my heart.

I am saying yes to wearing the Knight costume out and about.

I am saying yes to putting a tent up in the yard on a hot and humid Arkansas day.

I am saying yes to snuggling on the couch and reading a book when I am in the middle of laundry.

I am saying yes to the gaggle of boys standing in my kitchen that are needing water and snacks for an adventure they are about to embark on.

I'm trying. And with God's grace....my saying yes will be more common.

Route 66 is in my sights

It's still officially summer vacation around here. We are starting back to school August first. We will be taking a 2 week break in September for a family trip...which will be a learning experience for them as well. We will be heading out to Arizona and  New Mexico. We are really excited. This will be our first trip out West. My plan is to take as much of Route 66 as we can and stop at all those goofy Rt. 66 stops and take lots of pictures!!

I am a little nervous. Scout has decided that we will go on a 100 mile off-road trail/camping expedition thing. I am planning on getting an appointment with my doctor for some anxiety meds soon.
Clearly we have slightly different ideas about what is fun.

Confession time...I think I am ready to say this out loud.

I am.......an unschooler.

We are...Christian unschoolers!

There. I said it.

The world didn't end.

Whew! Glad that's out there. I have been a closet unschooler for a long time now and I'm done with it.

You don't have to like it.

Just like you don't have to like my tattoo.

I'm completely okay with that.

It's not about  you anyway.

A post in which I learn to underwater basket weave....

...Or not.

 Scrappy wants to be a Knight.
A real, honest to goodness Knight.
Like King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table-Knight.

(Honestly more like the "Bring Me a Shrubbery" knights-but I digress)

He wants to be a Knight so badly that he has written a letter to the Queen of England asking in his precious little 7 year old way if she would make him one. He doesn't seem to understand that if, on the off chance Liz grants his wish and makes him a full fledged Knight, he doesn't get to wear armor and fight the bad guys and save the land from fiery dragons.

No, he's not gonna understand the whole "in name only" thing.
And really, I haven't the heart to tell him, yet.
So, hopefully the Queen is too busy planning her "Yay me, I've been queen for a zillion years" celebration and will not have time to response while I try to come up with an plan!


Change subject....now

It's raining-still.
The forecast says rain for maybe 2 more days.
Are the weathermen aware that I have 4 boys ages 6-11?

We have been practicing our swift water rescue skills and ark building.

I need sunshine.

Let's recap today/the week so far:
1. I had my brother's boys. So that is 6 boys ages 2-11.
2. I realized at 9:30 that I didn't have stuff for lunch and we are down to one car right now.
3. Scrappy did something to his foot and hit or smacked his toe on something. I'm betting, based on what I saw tonight, we have a trip to the doc in our very near future.
4. Because of the one car deal...I didn't get a trip to Sonic today.
5. My kids don't know that it is Spring Break...and since it's raining and we have one car and can't really go do anything right now....they have done school this week.
6. If next week looks nice, we'll take it off and go play.
7. I think our lil farm kitten is preggers. I can assure you that my hubs is thrilled beyond belief at that thought and is marking the days on the calendar.

I think that sums it up. Or at least the things that don't make me appear a complete goof. But really, if you have read any of this blog or know me in real life...you already know that.