Pieces of His Masterpiece

Many people ask me "How do you do it?" "I don't know" is usually my first answer followed by "one day at a time". Honestly, when it comes to raising my children,  I do know that it was put on my heart to have each of them and I love each of them very much. But yes there are many days I raise the question myself and have wondered if I'm just plain crazy. Believe me,  I am not a supermom, nor do I ever pretend to be. I have so many downfalls and weaknesses. I don't get everything done everyday. My list of what I'd like to do is always longer than what actually gets done. NO, I do not have a lot of patience (as everyone seems to think I must), quite the contrary! I think it is one of the hardest things to learn and get self control and believe me, I daily feel like I'm failing at it. I need to remind myself of   2 Corinthians 12:9  "My grace is sufficient for you, but my power is made perfect in weakness".   Thank God for...

Another year of homeschooling has begun, but this year things are a bit different for us. I am not homeschooling my 13 year old for the first time this year, since I  started homeschooling him at 8 years old (3rd-7th grade), he is attending public school. I am homeschooling my 6 year old, first grader, who is now at the "legally need to report it age" and I have a pre school age boy and a toddler who are as well but not in that legal sense. This is a fun age to be homeschooling because so much of my type of schooling revolves around PLAY! I have always believed that it is a child's job to play, and that play is the best way for a child to learn and experience life. I guess many would consider us as "unschoolers" but I don't have a label for our style. With my oldest son, I used some formal curriculum depending on the subject and what it seemed like both he and I needed. There are assignments given but usually a longer time frame to get it done than say a ...

I am a new mommy again. My first daughter, in a house full of boys, is two weeks old. I am  so in love. She has totally captured my heart and I'm excited for all that I will be able to pour into her about her identity as a daughter of the King of Kings as she grows. I am looking forward to all those moments a woman thinks of doing with her daughter: painting nails, doing her hair, a friend to go shopping with... but also the moments that are much further down the road, like being a big part of her wedding day, being the one she'll call when she needs advice, and having a chance to be at her side when she is having a baby. Daughters are very different from sons. But for now, I am just enjoying these precious fleeting moments. I learned early on, in being a mother, to never wish away your child's life with " I can't wait fors" because each stage comes and goes so quickly. Enjoy the moment of here and now, no matter what stage. I personally am enjoying this fre...