My hubby came back home last night after a 2 week departure with the navy…

I’m so glad to have him back.  Especially Nyomi.  She missed him a great deal while he was away.

One thing’s for certain: you really appreciate what you have all the more when it’s gone.

Tonight I’m just happy and blessed that we’re together as a unit again.  Amazing…only 2 weeks and I’ve felt like it was an eternity.

The one thing I am finding that really helps to keep things in order while my husband is away is developing routines for my children.  It really helps to take some of the edge off of the difference in atmosphere.  When we have routines to look forward to everyday is not as challenging to look forward to each day with anticipation of what’s new.

Well…

We’re at a sigh of relief right now, with our missing piece of the puzzle back in place.

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Okay…I decided to jump in and take a leap toward DOING something about losing weight.

No more pity parties.

I was listening to Creflo Dollar this afternoon and he’s been talking about procrastination.  Enough of it for me.

Leslie Sansone’s videos have seen me through weight loss in the past and I just connect with her, so I’ve got to invest in myself and I plan to use her DVD’s and gear…maybe even join the online club and community for support.  I’m sure it will be worth it.

I just downloaded the free ebook  of the 10 day weight loss challenge, and I’m going for it.

I’ll keep you updated.  I want this to be something I incorporate into my life for the long term.
I suppose I should post a before and after picture too right?

Will do that soon.

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Today…organizing, teaching, cleaning, exercising, business…Here are my updates

• organizing my desk drawers
• laundry: cloth diapers, folding and putting away last night’s laundry, still a pile on my daughter’s bed
• exercising: worked out to Leslie Sansone’s Walk Away The Pounds - did a 1 mile walk
• teaching: bible: Noah’s ark, science: butterflies, math: place value,  grammar:capitalization, handwriting, sentence structure
• family: visiting my parents, taking the kids out to see grandma and grandpa
• organizing: sorting old mail
• cleaning: dishes again and again, kitchen table, bathroom sinks, bathtub.  Giving baby a bath, washing her hair, giving oldest bubble bath, untwisting my hair for a shampoo
• business and ministry: networking with newest resident expert at Christian Ladies Connect, checking on WAHM University’s stats progress

Busy day indeed.

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hey readers! 

Whoever is reading…I hope you’ve had an awesome Easter Sunday/resurrection week…

when you get a chance, how about tuning in to the latest episode of Christian Ladies Talk Radio where i talk about the meaning of living in the victory of the resurrected power of Christ.

More updates soon… (and by the way, we’re looking forward to my Hubby’s return in just a few more days…yippee!)

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Tonight I realized just how blessed I am to have such beautiful, intelligent, and loving girls! I am honored to be a mother and I will always and forever cherish these moments God has given me to love them.

I nearly swallowed back tears as I tucked my oldest into bed tonight. She is growing up so quickly, but I am honored to see how that her love for the Lord is profound. My prayer is that she’ll continue to follow in the paths of the Lord all the days of her life.

Here’s a little sign she made for the door of her “prayer closet” the other day

The writing’s a bit small. It says “Nyomi’s pray spot”. Pretty neat for beginning phonics.

And my little one?

Now 4 months old, she’s beginning to sit up better and getting quite hungry for some “real” food these days.

And what have I been doing most of the week besides keeping busy until Hubby is back home?

Taking sheets of cardstock…

…and piecing them together with tape to form a gigantic timeline to be used until…well, maybe until she graduates!

At any rate, I pieced together at least 10 of these sheets and it should be big enough to house every single major event in world history covered in our texts.

And today, what I did I do?

I went shopping. I finally came to the conclusion that I would just love my body for what it is right now. I still plan to start my work out regime but meanwhile, this is Body after baby…and I just have to love it and work with it, lovingly…not hating it, but appreciating the “new” aspects of me. Also, I just have to be patient knowing that I JUST had a baby. So I need to take a chill pill. I’ll be okay. I’ll get back into my size 7 jeans again one day. Go up a few sizes was perfectly okay and well worth it to have Baby Zoe.

So I headed out to TJ Max and bought a few bigger pants and blouses that would cover baby belly until I’ve done a few tummy crunches. The clothes are quite chic and I feel beautiful in them, so I’m okay with me and the new bod for a little while…but believe me, I am still determined that it’s not permanent!

So that’s all for now.

long week…great day…and tomorrow’s Easter!

It’s a blessing to be finally celebrating again the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I look forward to fellowshipping with other believers tomorrow on this glorious day.

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Well I haven’t begun reading any of my classics yet (as I’d proposed on my personal goals list about a month ago), yet I still have The Great Gatsby sitting on my desk. Perhaps I’ll get around to it soon before the year is out.

Meanwhile, there’s the project of a lifetime– or so I call it for now– Christian Ladies Connect. My desire is to reach women all over the world with the good news of what Jesus Christ can and will do for each of us. To live a life of victory and not defeat is optimal, and that’s what i want to share with the ladies there.

So far the group has really grown and it’s good news and exciting to be part of a growing community, but it’s also quite a responsibility. The level of commitment is high — especially when it comes down to caring for, praying for, and tending to God’s special ladies. I’m trusting the Lord for His strength to be able to carry out this vision, and for the people who will be sent to help me carry it out. Currently I’m seeking other like-minded women of faith to lead in various areas at the site such as contributing to the blog as a resident expert in areas like health and fitness, parenting, home and garden, recipes, devotionals, etc. So we’ll see…

This week has been different– with my husband gone this week my days just run right into the next. We really miss him and can’t wait for him to return home. Business trips where I can’t accompany him are no fun…but we do our best around here to keep life happening. I put on a smile and stay strong for my little ones. Then I just keep reminding myself that he’ll be here soon- before I realize it in fact.

I’ve GOT to get back on schedule. Pulling these late-nighters is not working for me at the moment. My body is calling me, pleading with me and BEGGING me for more sleep, and yet I just feel totally buzzed by around 10 p.m. and the idea of sleep completely leaves me. i don’t know what happens but I just start to get really active once my girls are in bed and I don’t really want to sleep although I should be in bed.

Okay…I was just staring at this “Body After Baby” book by Jackie Keller and realize…I need to be implementing this into my life. No more sugar for a while. I need to fast.

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I spent the entire day putting together Nyomi’s history spine.

Where exactly did the day go?  I stepped out for one minute to run an errand and the hours just flew!

Well… I finally decided to adapt some of the methods used by HOW (Heart of Wisdom) into my own homeschool.  I won’t be purchasing the $100-something kit nor $65 ebook at the moment…maybe later in the future.  But the research I did on their methods was worth the time.  I got a few ideas by searching the site and realized what I could do differently to help Nyomi learn history systematically this year.  We’re going to have a blast learning together.   Our first unit will be on ancient Egypt (that is, after this week’s theme on the Resurrection).

Zoe’s fast asleep now…so I guess I should be in bed too huh?

Ok…to bed I go.

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Baby’s sleeping less these days…

I think she’s going through a growth spurt, b/c all she does is eat, eat, eat. I have to feed her practically everywhere (still no bottle– breast only). Which reminds me - a lady at my daughter’s homeschool co-op today asked me where I got my nursing cover from. It’s actually called a “hooter hider” What a hoot! Anyways, I ordered it online from a chic company: Bebe Au Lait. Love it.

Anyway, so after Zoe eats a ton, then she spits up extra b/c she ate too much and stays awake longer b/c of her full tummy. When I put her down to sleep she wakes up right away due to indigestion and gastric reflux. That’s meant less sleep for me this week.Last night I got to sleep around in 1 a.m. and woke up for good at 5 a.m. I had to take my 5 y.0. to her weekly co-op by 8:30 a.m.

Well…I guess now’s a great time to be heading to bed. SHe’s finally asleep.

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Yesterday and today were fun!

I really put business on the backburner this time and haven’t connected with my subscriber list yet…but it was worth it to get those extra hours of schooling in and not to feel the pressure of a client meeting or any thing while we had school today. It was great!

Surprisingly, our school day took an unforeseen turn. We ended up spending at least 3 hours on just bible study 2 days in a row…by no fault of my own. I initiated the morning worship and memory verse with a bible story on creation (yesterday) and Adam and Eve and the fall of man (today). Little did I know that it would turn into a huge marker board event:

I just started doodling around with drawing as Nyomi read through the 7 days of creation. Before long we were really getting into it! Bible study for Nyomi is now officially fun.

So that was yesterday: The Creation.

Today we discussed the fall of man. It was interesting to see how God’s initial plan for mankind failed due to their decision to listen to the wrong voice…

WE talked about all of this and Nyomi really seems to understand what’s happening in scripture. It’s really coming alive to her now!

I think what God is showing me is the way to connect with my daughter: visually. Her learning style is definitely a good combination of auditory/visual/kinesthetic…but I think a great deal of it is hearing but it surely helps to solidify it with visual aids.

Here’s the markerboard presentation I doodled around with today (about the fall of man):

Here you’ll see I attempted to draw Adam and Eve (okay this was a really funky drawing!)

Do not laugh.

Anyway…

It’s pretty funny. But we were serious during the lesson, I promise.

Those little stick things off on the right side — those are trees God made.

I promise they are supposed to be trees.

The one in the middle is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The arrows at the bottom —>

Those are the rains that came up from the earth like a mist and watered the ground.

Okay, and the yellow figure on the far right that says “GoD”…well, that’s supposed to be God blowing breath into Adam…but it’s really weird looking…

You get the point though. As she reads, I draw, and it makes for the visual aid and an exciting session.

Despite the fact that I can’t draw.

We had fun

If I can get my Olympus voice recorder to download my mp3’s by USB to my PC… (okay, that was a mouthful of acronyms)…I’ll be sure to post an audio up this week of our homeschool recordings. I have a few sessions of this bible study recorded, plus a video of Nyomi reading, and i was hoping to share.

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Just posted to the Well Trained Mind forums about how to figure out my daughter’s reading placement…

She picks up a King James bible and reads fluently - and with  a good deal of comprehension as well.

The 3rd-5th step readers at the library just don’t cut it for her.  She wants to just read and read– practically anything.

She’s 5.

Once I find out which grade level she reads on, I think it may help me in determining the texts and types of content I want her to check out from the library in the future.

Today was a good homeschool day…

We didn’t go anywhere, but we had a blast anyway.

We did science (studied baby animals and found a cool interactive online animal game).    We also did some math review (addition and subtraction).  Nyomi found an interesting dot to dot worksheet that she wanted to skip to in the book so I let her do that.  We had a devotional this morning and worshiped to Australia Hillsong Kid, and had a bible lesson on attentiveness (with memory verse), and learned about John the Baptist.  We’ve been studying John the Baptist for a few weeks now.  We also did some French vocabulary review, practiced handwriting and copywork for her Illustory which she’s sending in soon, and a piano lesson (notes review and introduction of new song).

So today’s schedule was quite full, but we enjoyed it…and she wanted more!  I tried not to show it, but I was sizzled for the day, and really just needed a break.

Can you believe it?  A kid who BEGS to have school ALL day long?  Nyomi has an insatiable desire to learn and is eager and hungry to snatch up any bit of knowledge she can get her hands on right now.  I’m doing all i can just to keep up with her.

Meanwhile, I’m looking up information on how to homeschool classically in a more doctrinally  Christian  sense.  I love the classical method in theory, but I’m not sold on engraining my child’s mind with Greek myths and legends when I am out to carve her mind with scripture

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