We’ve taken periodic breaks from school this summer but are still officially homeschooling off and on throughout so we don’t completely forget stuff…

Nyomi has been doing lots of reading (mostly Beverly Cleary books and one classic “A Little Princess”).  We’ll start our study unit on butterflies as soon as we get the butterflies ordered, that is…and we’re mostly just spending lots of time outdoors at parks, visiting with friends, visiting museums and the library for special programs, puppet shows, and classes.   Nyomi also just had a birthday a few days ago and is now 6 years old!  We’re really excited about this upcoming year of adventure.

Zoe is now 6 1/2 months old and is crawling, flipping, and pulling herself up to standing positions.  She’s growing quickly, as they do and I’m having a blast watching every minute of it!  She gets into everything her eyes can see.  Already I can see that she’s a handful, but I wouldn’t have it any other way

My husband is wonderful as always.  We’ve been having interesting discussions lately about politics and this upcoming election.  I’m still undecided about who to vote for, but it is becoming clearer.

Christian Ladies Connect is getting back on track with new conferences, with our latest starting no later than June 23.

Prepare ‘08 is the theme for this summer’s Christian women’s convention, and is completely and virtually online.  If you’re interested in registering you can do that here:

http://christianladies.net/prepare08/signup.html

Okay, on to get some sleep…

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This weekend we attended CHEF (Christian Homeschoolers Education Fellowship) Convention in Birmingham.

It was really nice, though not nearly as crowded as last year…so there ended up being less vendors in the curriculum hall…but it made for a quieter and less crowded events and workshops. More for me.

I really enjoyed many of the workshops. I especially liked Kay Ness who did a few workshops on the neurodevelopmental aspects of learning math and reading. She has a very scientific background, which I think really helps to explain learning pathways to the non-scientific person like me. She had a few good pointers that helped me understand how to really teach math — what I should or shouldn’t expect my daughter to learn at this age and how to actually go about teaching her. It just made a lot of sense to me. I like my info bottom line, cut and dry, to the point…and she had that really meat-y information I was looking for.

Some of the other speakers were inspirational, fun, or entertaining…all of which made the whole conference a well rounded experience for me.

What I really liked about this year’s conference (besides getting a chance to meet so many cool homeschooling families across Alabama) was that Integrity Music was there, and their children’s worship instructor (Annette Oden) facilitated a children’s worship workshops and Nyomi got to participate. They got to practice a few choreographed worship songs and perform the following morning during the main assembly. IT was beautiful! The children were so free to worship, jump, praise, and dance. Those kids made me proud. It was the highlight of my daughter’s time there and she had a blast!

It was so good my husband bought the 52 week children’s worship curriculum (SPK 52), and I plan to use it in our homeschool this coming school year.

I got some good used science curriculum at the used book sale. Then in the curriculum hall, I ran upon some good grammar material (Shurley Grammar). I purchased it after another homeschool mom gave me raving reviews on it. I also got a few books on motherhood, biblical womanhood, and all those topics that mean so much to me in this phase of my life. Not just the typical self help books, but books that show me the good ol’ ancient ways of womanhood that WORKED. I want the real deal. I want real advice that worked in the past and will work today for every woman who loves God. I don’t ever want to go back to the “good ol’ days”, but I have great respect and reverence for the way women honored their families back then. There was none of the selfishness that modernization has brought upon today’s typical pop culture family. I could write a whole post on that…but I’ll save that for another time.

You know, I have pictures galore on my camera…but I’m having a hard time getting my camera to sync with this PC.

Once I get it working on my laptop I’ll have pictures of Nyomi dancing on stage during the worship session. That was fun

While we were away at CHEF this weekend, Nyomi received her new Strawberry Shortcake dolls (which her daddy ordered for her when she lost her other one in our luggage at Delta the week before last). She still misses the old one dearly, but is beginning to enjoy the new doll, although it does look a little different from the one she had before.

Update on Zoe: she’s a strong baby! She’s now 5 1/2 months old, scooting, flipping over, pulling my hair, squeezing my nose, shoving her fist in my mouth, and verbally fussing or happily squealing depending on her mood. She’s eating pureed pears, apples, carrots, squash, sweet peas, sweet potatoes, and of course her rice and oatmeal cereal. She’s still nursing. It’s sad to know that it won’t be long before the use of my beloved nursing cover and sling will be over as she’s getting older. I so enjoy the feeling of having my baby receive her nourishment from me. Breastfeeding is so intimately beautiful. I’ll really miss these days when they’re gone…which is why I want to purpose to live in the moment as often as I can and enjoy Zoe being a baby. I have no complaints — she’s a really good baby. Nevertheless, I know she must grow up. I’ve learned with Nyomi that they grow really fast, and when they do I must transition along beside them. I am learning to embrace Nyomi’s maturity and her growth, knowing that it is a process in life that is inevitable. Part of me just wants to reject it…almost as if I am afraid of her growing up. Each time I look at her it seems that she’s grown another inch and it almost scares me– but I have to constantly remind myself that yes, she will get taller and wiser and older, but it just means that I as mom will need to adjust to her next stage of life and parent her from a new perspective with each new phase of her growth.

Motherhood…

Speaking of that…there is another transition that I feel happening within my spirit about the direction of my business/ministry. As I’ve been praying about direction for Faith Media the Lord has shown me a few things already…

It seems that I’ll either be completely phasing out tech help to work at home moms or adding on a new business venture that will be a family based business - a publishing company. Ebooks, audios, and curriculum will be in the works…

Meanwhile, anything that compromises my position as wife and mother will have to go out the door. My time is so valuable and precious, and tech coaching isn’t exactly my cup of tea these days. I love teaching it, but just don’t have time for all the one on one stuff. I have SOOO many more projects and dreams and visions that need to be brought forth and I can’t hold it within the box of my degree (tech degree = life calling/career). It’s really not true.

Women’s ministry is still definitely very important to me, and is part of my calling. Therefore, Christian Ladies Connect will continue on. MOre word about this year’s summer convention soon.

What about my programs on internet marketing, podcasting, etc.?

I don’t know. Times are changing and in order to truly sell reputable online courses I’d have to continue to revise and update my video courses which is something I actually dread doing for my Podcasting Basics 101 (bootcamp). I put so much time and energy into creating it only to watch new methods of podcasting unfold and new services and companies online which offer different platforms (that make even more sense to me than what I’ve offered in the course). I’ve also seen companies go obsolete and disappear online after I’ve created a course based on how to use their services. That’s really bad. Internet marketing…same thing. What works today may not work tomorrow. Today’s Google algorithm may get me that much-needed traffic…but next year the algorithm may change and I may be back to #4 or 5 instead of #1 under a key term in Google…and to be honest, I don’t have a team of experts working for me in Faith Media to help me keep on top of the internet marketing game, and I obviously don’t have time during this phase of my life to stay on top of Google or any other search engine marketing for new strategies, etc., nor do I have the desire to. So that phase of my business is over.

It hasn’t been reflected on my website yet, but is something I’m redeveloping with time.

Okay, time for bed…

I’ve got to get some rest and think about my goals for the upcoming 2nd half of this year 2008.

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Wow, what a week.

Life is definitely different now that Hubby is back home.  different but good.

Zoe is still growing up.  Here’s my little angel:

Then there’s my Nyomi who is growing by leaps and bounds and just hit another growth spurt not too long ago:

(I was playing around with my digital camera, attempting to take a good closeup in front of our house near a small tree):

I have lots going on in my personal life.

1.)  Our homeschool year is nearing completion.  Our community co-op meets only three more times before Summer Break…so we’re winding down a bit.  I’m going to begin the process of planning out our new school year for the upcoming year, which I’m contemplating it being year round with small 2-3 week breaks in between.  I just don’t like the idea of taking off a whole summer (3 months).

2.) I officially accepted the call into the ministry to teach the Word of God, as of April 2nd.  Ministry opportunities have been increasing for me immediately after I accepted this holy  charge.  I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to head up a bible study group at the Pink Collar Club.

I’ve always known God had called me to teach the Bible, but for some reason ran away from the stigma of “minister” because of the mode people place tend to pigeon-hole you in when you say that are called into the ministry.  So in the past I never wanted to portray myself as a minister…but that is exactly what each Christian is in a sense.  I no longer run away from this.  I embrace it because it is what God wants for me and for the world.  He has a purpose.  I was already doing the work, but just running away from the idea of the traditional sense of it.  But it is what it is.  God will use me in my own personality to deliver His message His way and I’m open to that. In fact, it’s such a strong calling that if I ran away from it ever again I’d be going against His will. I have to give an account for how I lived my life on this earth, and answering HIm when He calls is part of my accountability.

During this process of accepting the Call, I also discovered how to help others accept their call.  At ChristianLadies.net, I’ve invited several godly women to come on board with me and share their experiences as Christian women and special topics of expertise that God has gifted them to share with others.  So far the Lord has brought people from as far away as Nigeria to be a part of this and I am honored beyond measure.  Read more about our resident experts here:  http://christianladies.net/resident-experts/

3.)  I began a few more social networking groups as add-ons or sister sites to WAHM University and Christian Ladies Connect.  They are:

 http://wahmuniversity.ning.com

http://christianladies.ning.com

Piece by piece, it’s all coming together.  From the outside looking in it may seem confusing to some, but there really is a method to the madness.  There is a plan to all the projects that I’ve begun.  Sometimes it feels like it doesn’t make any sense to me, but I know the urgent call and the shift in seasons and the times to pick up a brick and begin building, or the seasons to put down the bricks and stop building.  I’ve had to submit to both.  Even though I don’t clearly see the whole picture, the vision is becoming clearer with time.  Meanwhile, I walk in faith and I don’t answer questions liek “WHY?”  or “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

I get the raised eyebrows, the questioning looks of wonder when people see the degree M.S. next to my name but notice that I’m home all the time.  I simply smile to myself.  It’s different indeed.  I homeschool a 1st grader, care for an infant, manage my home, run a home based business designing websites and podcasting, run an online women’s ministry, plus manage over 15 domain names/websites, and still have time for my husband at the end of the day…hmmm…

And what’s more is, I ENJOY it!

So I might be a little on the odd side.  But I love my life!

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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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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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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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Today I sauntered around Barnes and Noble as a pasttime…right after we homeschooled from the hotel room.

While in a store like Barnes and Noble, surrounded by books, and feeling much cocooned in an ambience of java and knowledge, I tend to mellow out and begin to think on really deep, philosphical terms…

But hey, that didn’t happen today.

It was more like this:

I maneuvered a Graco stroller with one arm while using that hand to distract my infant with a little rattle toy while my other hand tried to turn the pages of a book while holding it simultaneously, all while watching my 5 year old walk 3 feet in back of me (engrossed in a kiddie book of her own)…and we all move progressively forward through the store in this strange, makeshift fashion.

It’s the way I do it nowadays…and you want mellow? That’s my mellow.

So…as I saunter through the store all distracted and what have you, I run upon a display of classic novels.  You know, all the good ones:

Pride and Prejudice

Sense and Sensibility

The Great Awakening

The Great Gatsby

Charles Dickens

…stuff like that.  Good stuff.

So I made a promise to myself and set yet another goal:  to take it upon myself to read through a few of the classic novels  (at least 1) before the end of the year ‘08.

I’ll of course blog about that when I do…

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I was contacted by Whitaker House publishing to review books for them…and boy was I excited!

I got my first batch of books last week and will be reviewing them and conducting book clubs over at my site Christian Ladies Connect. Many of the books have to do with marriage, parenting, and the Christian faith (topics like healing, etc.)

Oh yeah…yesterday I found out that the entire 2007 Joyce Meyer conference was played on Sky Angel, so I got to record it (thanks to having Sky Angel free for life!!) I watched the first half of it last night — stayed up pretty late too, but it was worth it.

Let’s see…Zoe is doing great. She’s pretty much sleeping through the night with the exception of maybe 2 night feedings. We’re still co-sleeping with the bassinet in our room, so hopefully her sleep patterns won’t be too disturbed when we move her out officially into her sister’s room where her crib is.

She’s now 8 weeks old and has her second check up next week. She’s gained a lot of weight which tells me she’s been eating well. She had a bit of infant acne but it’s starting to clear up. The way she watches me while I’m eating makes me wonder if she’ll be ready to chow down the exact day she turns 4 months old!

I’m trying to decide if I”ll be introducing the sippy cup early on or if I may try to reintroduce the bottle again. For now, I’ve put away all the bottles and pacifiers since they’re obviously not needed, as decided by Zoe herself. From the day we got home from the hospital, pacifiers were rejected, and bottles began to do a “pop back out of the mouth” thingy every time I tried to offer one.

More updates?

I went by TJ Max yesterday and bought a sweater and a pair of jeans. I’m down to a size 9 so I only have a little ways to go before I can squeeze back into my size 7’s (YIPPEEEEE!!!) I’m working on the baby belly and thunder thighs…but you know what? I’m ok with it for now, knowing it was all for my baby. I’ll lose the weight in time.

I also found a new hobby over at Twitter. Fun, fun!

Last night I updated a few of my websites (another reason I stayed up so late) . First off, there’s the new site for my local community of homeschoolers. There’s a new episode on Christian Ladies Talk Radio from a marriage teleclass the ladies and I did a few months ago. I also updated Christian Ladies Business Radio and added an FTP video tutorial to WAHM University. Hopefully this week I’ll have time to add the social networking group for Christian business women.

More updates soon…

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So, I’ve been doing some research on babywearing and the different kinds of slings out there.

Baby Zoe loves to be held, and I don’t mind holding her except … how do you get things done around the house?

Some people say “train them to hang out alone…don’t hold them all the time”.

I used to say that too…except that I realize the day will come when she won’t want to be in my lap at all…so what’s a little cuddling and holding while she’s so young?

Meanwhile, I have to draw a happy medium between holding her and doing laundry, which is literally impossible together. (Forget bouncers and swings at this point — we’ve tried those and it lasts for about 2 minutes before she’s screaming to get out of those contraptions and into our arms again).

I’m so happy slings were invented long ago! It’s an ancient practice– nothing new under the sun. My husband tells me of how the women in Africa wrap their babies across their backs or torso with a rectangular piece of fabric called a — hmm…I’ve forgotten what it’s called exactly. I’ll have to find out again…

Anyways, I first bought a ring sling — don’t like it.

Then I bought a pouch. I’m wearing it right now, and I like it okay except that baby’s weight is only pressuring on one shoulder (not cool). Otherwise, it’s a cute sling and baby is snug and comfy in it. ZOe goes to sleep usually right away when I tuck her in.

I also bought the Bundleboo (even better!!) which distributes Zoe’s weight equally across both shoulders and has 10 different ways to carry her.

SO far, we’re working on the newborn carry…

Enjoy the video below by the company (which, by the way, is run by a stay at home mom whose baby was born with a cleft palate and needed the comfort of being close in the sling while at the hospital for surgery — so she began sewing slings and before long she had this patent and awesome company!! check them out!! -bundleboo.com)

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