With a Grateful Heart

The holidays bring so much with them: red glitter that seems to have infiltrated my house, family, new recipes for old favorites, and Christmas lists. As I drove home today I saw lines of people already lining up outside of stores and the parking lot of Wal-Mart was full.

All this makes me think if how much I love Thanksgiving. I love taking time to be grateful, to focus on all the things the Lord has blessed us with and not focus on the ever growing list of things we think we want or need. I especially have so much to be thankful for. I just want to take a minute to focus on just some of the things that I am thankful for...

I am unspeakably thankful for my friends.

I am thankful for Rene. You are beautiful and amazing and bring SO much joy into my life.

I am thankful for Emily. You are a never ceasing example of what it looks like to trust the Lord and have the upmost faith in the Lord regardless of circumstance.

I am thankful for Laura. Thanks for being there for me for the last 19 years! And yes, it has been that long, can you believe it?

I am thankful for my extended family. I have learned so much by watching those wonderful people that God put in life.

I'm thankful for my parents. Thanks Mom for your walking out the gospel. Thank you Dad for teaching me to search out answers for myself.

Im thankful for my amazing aunts. Thank you Dana for teaching me to look for fun everywhere I go and to always look for the good in people. Thank you Brenda for teaching me to be a nurturer.

I'm thankful for my brother and sister. You guys are crazy and I LOVE spending time with you. Thank you Zachary for seeking to repeatedly teach me to be nice to the small guy, because they may one day be the big guy. Thank you Brittany for being my best friend.

I'm also extremely grateful for my sweet Grandmother. Thank you Granny for ALWAYS being my biggest supporter and the person who loved me unconditionally.

I don't have the words to express how thankful I am for my husband and children. I know that I don't deserve the love that God has poured into me through Brandon, Ezra, and Elisha.

My husband is the greatest tangible gift that the Lord has given me. He is most brilliant, wittiest, most creative man I have ever met. He is my best friend. I can't imagine ever getting enough of him. He is amazing. He is the love of my life. He is my penguin.

I thank the Lord daily for my amazing children. I have never loved anyone the way I love them. They are great they are more fun than I could have imagine. I am blessed among woman to have them. They teach me more at least as much as them. I'm hopelessly addicted to them.

I am thankful for Milestone Church. I am thankful for what the Lord has done in my life and my family though the faithful and loving people of Milestone. The kind of dedication to the Lord that I have seen in the year we have been there is a beautiful thing.

I am thankful most of all for my wonderful Lord. Because of the grace of the Father, the mercy of the savior and the never ceasing presence of the Holy Spirit I have been given a second chance at life. I love the Lord and I will never have anything to offer in exchange for what He has given me. All I am, and all I have,it because of my amazing Father!

DIY Advent Calendar

Tomorrow is November 1st and as the last two months of the year arrives so does my holiday spirit. (Actually I have been talking about Christmas since July.) This time last year I was knee deep in research papers and moving boxes. Why I thought that the week before Thanksgiving (which also happened to coincide with when all my paper were due) was a good time move escapes me at the moment. But not this year! I have time to do some of the thing that I have talked about in years past. One of those aspirations is an Advent Calendar.

While at first the notion of finding, purchasing, and using an advent calendar was exciting I quickly decided that I was going to make my own.

I am not super crafty. I just couldn't find one that I could afford or that I liked. Plus, it seemed like everyone I found was completely secular in nature. While chocolate and Legos are fun, that is not what Christmas is about. So I made this adorable little Advent Calendar. But then came my dilemma...

What do I put in it? I knew that I wanted to include slips of paper in it that had verses on them so that throughout the days leading up to Christmas we could focus our attention on Christ; but I wanted to put something else in there as well? I toyed with the idea of chocolate candies (but knowing my children they would be oh so tempted to partake early) or small trinkets and gifts (but I am already stuffing stockings and the idea of buy 25 small extra things for each child seemed daunting). Then after much Google-ing , I decided to fill it with activities.

So, now we have 25 selections of scripture that focus on the prophecies of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, the crucifixion of Jesus, and the second coming of Jesus, as well as 25 fun Christmas activities that hopefully will give my children a holiday to remember.

Since it took so much work and research to not only compile the verses (although I found verse days 1-12 at www.teachingmom.com) and come up with fun, CHEAP, holiday activities, I thought I would share with you my lists, and save you some time if you want to make one.

Hope you enjoy your Christmas season!

Day 1 (Verses that Speak on Waiting on the Lord)

Psalm 62:5-6 Isaiah 26:3 Hebrews 10:23

Make a Christmas Countdown Paper Chain

Day 2 (Verses on the Role of the Jewish Nation)

Isaiah 11:1-2 Jeremiah 23:5-6

Make Christmas Cards for Family Members

Day 3 (Prophecies of Jesus)

Isaiah 42:1, 5-6 Isaiah 60:1-3,19-22

Have a Family Pajama Party and Watch a Christmas Movie

Day 4 (Urging Repentance and Preparation)

Daniel 9:24-27

Cut out and Hang Paper Snowflakes

Day 5 (Verses on God’s Timing)

Galatians 4:4-5 Ephesians 1:9-12

Draw Names for Family Gift Exchange

Day 6 (More Prophecies)

Numbers 24:17, 19 Revelation 22:16 2 Peter 1:19

St. Nicolas Day (Fill their Shoes with Goodies)

Day 7 (The Coming of John the Baptist)

Malachi 3:1 Luke 1:67-79

Make S'mores in the Backyard

Day 8 (The Role of Bethlehem)

Micah 5:2-5

Decorate a Gingerbread House

Day 9 (Jesus as the Good Shepherd)

Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11

Bake and Decorate Christmas Cookies

Day 10 (The Family of Jesus and John)

Luke 1:11-25

Get Dressed Up for a Fancy Family Dinner at Home

Day 11 (The Angel Comes to Mary)

Luke 1:26-38

Make Gifts for Friends and Family

Day 12 (Jesus is the Light of the World)

John 1:1-9

Present Wrapping Party

Day 13 (Born of a Virgin)

Isaiah 7:14 Luke 1:46-55

Christmas Book Story Time

Day 14 (The Birth of Christ)

Luke 1-2

Make Hot Chocolate and Go See Christmas Lights

Day 15 (Jesus Begins His Ministry)

Luke 3:21-22 Luke 4:1-15

Make a Family Handprints Wreath

Day 16 (Jesus is Arrested)

Luke 22

Make a Birthday Card/Cake for Jesus

Day 17 (Jesus is Crucified)

Luke 23

Christmas Party!

Day 18 (He is Risen!)

Luke 24:1-12 Luke 24:50-53

Have a Santa Clause Movie Marathon

Day 19 (Jesus Foretells his Second Coming)

John 14:1-4 Matthew 24:3-31

Write Stocking Letters

Day 20 (Jesus on the White Horse)

Revelations 19:11-16

Christmas Trees for the Birds

Day 21 (Satan is Defeated)

Revelations 20

Watch a Christmas Carol

Day 22 (All Things are Made New)

Revelations 21

Exchange Homemade Gifts

Day 23 (The Time Is Near)

Revelations22:6-11, Revelations 22:20-21

2012 Prayer Jar

Day 24 (The Birth of Jesus, Again, it is Tradition)

Luke 1-2

Open one Christmas Present of Mom and Dad's Choosing

Day 25 (Focus on Thanking the Lord for ALL Gifts)

Psalms 100

Gift Scavenger Hunt

Other Notes on Hot Cocoa....

The boys and I did find ourselves on the back porch enjoying hot cocoa today and it was WONDERFUL! I absolutely love my hot chocolate. It has two ingredients....

Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

Hershey Milk Chocolate Bars

Well three ingredients if you count the boys' marshmallows.

While hot cocoa certainly is not an everyday treat what a better way to welcome the cold weather back to Texas. It's been a while!

Bring on the Cocoa!

Is it just me or did Fall arrive with a vengeance this morning. The boys we outside to play and left the door open and within 20 minutes my thermostat said 68 degrees? Two months ago I could not have gotten my house to 68 degrees if I had tried. Trust me I have the electric bills to prove it. While I thoroughly enjoyed the sunshine and water parks I love this time of year. I makes me want to curl up with a good book and cuddle with my family. It seems like every time a new season comes I am excited about the changes that are happening right outside my door.

I must admit however that by the end of fall I will be ready for Christmas tidings; and by the end of Winter I will be waiting anxiously for those first flowers to bloom. When the temperatures are hitting just barely too cold to swim I will long for more sun rays and warmer temperatures (just enough to jump in the pool and not freeze to death). By August, I am ready for that first cold front, mythical as it seems at the time. I love the changing of the seasons .

BUT...

In the last year or so the Lord has really be working on me to enjoy the season I am in. (Transition here from speaking of the physical to speaking of the spiritual in case you missed it.) In many ways I am always looking forward to the next thing instead of relishing and delighting in what the Lord has me in now. I have been striving towards achieving this goal or that my entire life. In May, all that ended. I finally got my Master's degree. I was ecstatic, but with that being said the three little letter PhD are not in my foreseeable future. Right now, in my life, it is just the right now. I have always assumed that I needed to be working towards something to feel fulfilled, to feel like I was accomplishing my purpose. I was wrong. I have never been happier and more fulfilled than I am right now.

About 6 months ago the Lord birthed in me a passion for serving my husband and raising my children with everything that I have, not merely everything that is left. I have been told by the world that I need to be (fill in the blank) to be a fulfilled woman. I have believed that I had to know where I was going and make only the best possible twists and turns. For the first time in my life I have no idea what the Lord has in store for me or my family. I don't have anywhere I am heading. I don't have any goals (in the traditional Natalie sense). I am simply enjoying my season. I am loving where the Lord has me. I am loving Him. For the first time in my life, I don't have a five year plan, and it feels great!

Adventures in Homeschoool

This is my second year homeschooling. Unquestionably I love it more than anything I have ever done. This is what I was created for. It encompasses all of my passion in one rewarding struggle. (I say struggle because let's face it, we all, including my normally wonderful children, have off days!) On a daily basis I am a missionary, a teacher, a motivational speaker, a manager, basically a mom. It is my job to train my children in the ways of the Lord, prepare them for the ways of the world, instill in them a love of learning, and rear them up to be the best men of God possible.

However I have two complaints. First I am finding that in this endeavor I have yet to find a partner in a quality curriculum. Everything that I have looked at doesn't seem to meet the needs of my boys. I mean basically a math book is a math book, and since somehow (miraculously) neither of my boys struggle in math, we don't need much in that area. But as for science, art, history (both Biblical and modern), social studies, geography, and last but certainly not least literature I haven't found anything great. I don't think that learning should be mere repetition or regurgitation but rather exploration. We have five senses, a brain, a sprit, emotions, curiosities, and unique personality traits. I think a good education should utilize and stimulate all of that. I want something challenging and rewarding, something that covers both boys and can be customized to their level. I want a curriculum that really teaches them about God's world. Since I haven't found anything I really like I have written my curriculum for the past two years.

My second complaint are the standardized lists of what should be covered in every grade (and I have looked at the recommendations for Texas, as well as Connecticut and Massachusetts, which are supposed to have the best public schools, the curriculum provided by privates schools, homeschool websites that list the typical courses of study, I have looked at the homeschool curriculum choices out there, I recently read through What Your First Grader Needs to Know and What Your Third Grader Needs to Know.)

Recently, being the severely type A person that I am, I started researching what exactly Ezra and Elisha will need for next year. Since Elisha will be in 1st grade, which I have done before with Ezra, but Ezra will be in 3rd grade which is all new territory for me. I was excited to get in there and find out what he would need to learn for next year. I was incredibly disappointed to find that the 3rd grade list (with adjustments to math and grammar) was basically the same as 2nd grade, which was basically the same as 1st grade. While I understand the concept of building on certain topics, doing the same thing every year will not be fun for long.

We already do unit studies and focus on one topic or theme for a week but I think that I have decided to extend that concept next year. Plus it seems like once they really get interested in something it is time to move on to the next thing. Since we have covered most of the things that they need to learn about in the early grades we are going to spend next year learning about the things they (we) wanted to learn about.

We are going to take one subject and learn about it for a month. We will not be covering human anatomy or American symbols or Texas history for a third year in a row. Instead, next year, we are tackling:

September - The Revolutionary War (Elisha is obsessed with George Washington and pistols)

October -Amphibians (Ezra wants to raise frogs)

November - World Missions (I picked this topic because the boys love learning about other cultures but I would like them to know why it is important to know everything we can about other cultures and I think it is important to foster a Mark 16:15 spirit in all Christians, even children.),

December - Christmas Traditions of the World (Because all children love Christmas and since the know that Santa Claus is not real but merely a tradition that some people participate in they want to know what other people’s traditions are.)

January - China (We are tired of learning one or facts about a country and moving on to the next. So, when I asked the boys what country they wanted to know all about, China was both of their answer. This one was easier to decide than I expected.)

February - Knights and Castles (They are all boy, enough said.)

March - Wilderness Survival (Ezra wanted to know how to make a fire and Elisha and Brandon want to know how to fish with a spear. Should be an interesting month.)

April - Engineering and Constructions (They will be designing, drafting, and building something.)

May - Cinematography (Inspired by Brandon, the boys want to make a movie. There is so much more to this than I could have expected when I started researching. I did decide to save this one for last otherwise I think they might just work on this alone for the year.)

We are really excited about this! When I first started homeschooling I made a vow that my children would receive at least as good of an education as they would have if they were in a traditional school setting. So far they have exceeded my expectations and while the struggle in some areas they excel in other and never ceased to amaze me! I however am finished with the traditional approach to school. Why not do something different, something that motivates and excites us? I think for the first time I am thoroughly embracing the fact that my children’s education does NOT have to resemble what every other child is doing.