It's so crazy to me to think that October is nearly here. Where has the year slipped away to? We had an amazing summer of fun that passed in a blink. We continued to home school throughout the summer but took a nice two week break from it when we went to Nicaragua for a vacation. And what an incredible and eye opening trip it was! We seriously didn't want to even think about having to come back home again, we loved it that much and felt right at home there. Something about being in a humbling third world country where people aren't driven by materialism really drew us in. Not to mention in a country that just so happens to be breathtakingly beautiful. The surf was incredible, beaches were amazing and nearly deserted, cost of living was nearly as low as it gets and the people were completely beautiful, inside and out. What's not to love! Did I mention the garbage truck is a man on horseback pulling a rickety old wooden trailer? It was totally right up our alley!
Now here it is fall already (although you wouldn't know it here in sunny south Florida) but none the less, we are full swing into our new year of schooling and having a great time with it. We are so in love with the curriculum we use, My Father's World. I love that all the prep work has completely been done for me, it is richly Christian oriented, and is just plain fun. The kids are really enjoying it as well. Last year with My Father's World we studied countries and cultures and this year we are focusing on history from creation to the Greeks. I am learning just as much as the kids, if not more. One thing I love about homeschooling is I get to learn too. I'm sure I had to have been taught most of this stuff as a child, but I'm now at an age where I'm truly interested in absorbing it and excited about learning new things. And it's just so exciting to learn along with my children, sharing in their joys of discovering new things and figuring out how the world works together. I'm so blessed to have been called to this position. I'm starting to realize that God is using this experience called homeschooling to teach me more about his love and draw me closer to Him. It's an awesome thing for sure!
We recently celebrated two birthday's in our family and are preparing for two more soon to come. I'm sad to say that one of those soon to be birthdays is my baby girl's. How in the world have two years possibly gone by already? I'm having a personal pitty party over it but am just trying my hardest to turn those sad feelings into feelings of excitement for what's to come. I realize that the older she gets, the more we are able to do as a family and the easier life gets. We can all go out and work in the barn together and even the baby grabs a broom. It's so sweet seeing her having a heart to help. We can attend more school activities regardless of her nap time, knowing that she can be stretched through her nap if need be. And she truly is becoming the sweetest, most fun little girl, the older she gets. That makes us all smile. But why can't she just stay 1 forever! If I could bottle her up and keep her just like this, I absolutely would.
The first birthday of the season was my first born baby girl's. Not too long ago I was whining about her turning two. Now she's eight. For her birthday I organized a small surprise party for her at the last minute. I had four of her friends come over while her daddy had taken her out clothes shopping for her birthday. When she arrived back home, she was a little shocked but super excited to not only find four of her close friends here but to find out that they would be having a sleepover!
The girls were so incredibly sweet. I had the boys sleepover at my aunts so my time could be solely devoted to the girls. Thankfully Josh was home to keep up with and care for Maggie and he took duty of the kitchen so I could stay focused on our projects. I bought an assortment of girly fabrics for them to choose which fabric they would like to make a heart pillow out of. I had a template for them to use that they traced onto the fabrics of their choice and cut it out. Before sewing the two sides together I had them cut out a mini heart in a contrasting fabric and taught them how to applique the small hearts onto the larger ones. Then one by one I gave them each a quick sewing lesson as I assisted them in sewing their pillows. In the end, the girls were so proud as they snuggled up in bed with their new pillows that they made with their own two hands. It was pretty cool to see the beautiful smiles this experience gave them. We also filled in the time by making fabric covered button hair clips.
We took a break half way through our project to go outdoors and get some wiggles out. The girls were anxious to get their hands on some animals.
back inside we finished sewing and stuffing...
{some of our hair clips...}
2 comments:
I'm so glad you're homeschooling because you've been such a big help to me!:) The b'day party looks like it was a blast!
Time really does go by way too quickly. Jenna, you are such an awesome mama! Love the projects, you inspire me to just stop waiting for the perfect time to come along and jump right in and do crafts with the kids!
Post a Comment