thankful #238. (cuz 238 comes after 237)

i'm thankful for my lil' people..

i have three.

they're funny.. creative.. and sweet.  & i like 'em.

this is a pic i took of them in the park.. i didn't even hafta ask them to hold hands..

Meowy.

it was not my intention to leave you hangin' yesterday if you came by for sum tidbit of sumthin..

Meowy hurt his foot or leg last night.. at around 9pm..

now you may be thinkin', "WHO in the world is Meowy?" 

Meowy is our cat.

when he hurts, apparently i hurt, too.. :(
who knew??

a quite delightful lil' guy who i'm almost completely convinced is human. at least in part.

we don't know what happened to the lil' guy, but all of a sudden he has a limp & he's yellin' a LOT.

i used to be an animal lover. i wanted to be a veterinarian as a lil' girl, but as i got older, that dream got old too..  & dull.. & uninteresting..

NOW that we gotta pay for his doc visit, i'm realizing that i should've stayed with the plan..  

o_O

but, nOoo. i had to go & get all fashion-self... 

lame. (especially since that desire got old, too once i saw what the fashion world was really like)

sO.. yea. a lil' bunny cat (he's a hopper) with a seemingly sprained foot/leg..

& i've become sad for him. my heart breaks to see him hurting.

WHY??  WHY you ask.. he's JUST an animal.

i'll tell you why.

cuz it turns out cats are people, too..  

thankful tuesday..

cuz sumtimes thursdays ain't enough.. lol

i dug out all of the kids' winter/fall clothing today..

honestly, this is NOT my house.. but i felt like the pile at my house
 was about the same size as this one..  o_O

TONS of jackets.. a ridiculous amount of stuff for just three lil' people..

but as i'm takin' care of such a tedious chore, i'm reminded that there are children without enough clothes..

children without enough FOOD.. children without enough LOVE..

& then i realize how grateful i should be that i can't see the floor.. i'm not even close to being done finding a home for all of their things & did i mention that out of the humongous piles of abundance, i think i could spot maybe THREE things that i purchased??

THREE things.  o_O

crazy, right??  

i'm sOoo grateful.

i had a rough day. lyrics from a Sara Groves song sum it up best, "woke up on the wrong side of the bed, the wrong side of the room, the WRONG side of the world.."

(just in case you wanna hear it yourself..)  

:)

what a funk..  & sOo.. instead of start writing to you about how much my life sucks, i realize i need to put down sum gratitude on my virtual paper. cuz life is full of lemons.. sour, but with sweetener, they make yummy lemonade.. & full of roses.. that have sum very painful thorns, yet they smell pretty sweet..  & full of stank feet.. that if you just wash 'em, they'll smell ok again..

nevermind. i'm delirious.. lol

God certainly does provide..  & i'm grateful.

photo credit here..

i just watched this..

http://180movie.com/



it's a lil' funky viewed on my blog, sOoo  if u find yourself riveted, i'd suggest you click on the link.. ;)

3 weeks to go..

i'm officially on week 33 of school..

can you say *exhausted*?

i'm tellin' u.. this is EXACTLY what i look like..

i honestly feel like i have nothing left to give my kids. & they're just as done as i am!

yet... everywhere i turn, every devotional, every scripture, every spiritual message points me back to the most interesting paradox of being a Christian  homeschooling mom..

i'm RIGHT where i'm supposed to be..

^.^

enjoy your profound revelations..  :)

oh, & by the way.. i JUST realized as i'm typing that this is one of those good 'ol thankful thursday posts..

*you might be asking*- sO, what are you thankful for, lil' momma? 

only three weeks to go... ;)

photo credit

thankful thursday.. a good day to be back!

it has been sOoo LONG since i've blogged.. that's been mainly because of busy-ness..

i homeschool my kids and the curriculum is VERY involved.. but i have to say that it (the curriculum) is definitely something that i'm thankful for..

this is my fifth year homeschooling.. and i've told people for the past FOUR of the five years of my battles with despairing over this treacherous movement that manages to squeeze the last bit of life out of any mother who would desire to be with their children..

sO, here i am.. five years later..

some say it's perseverance.. some call it crazy.. some think i'm sOo great. HA!

well.. for ONE thing, i have to give the perseverance credit to my honey, j-boy #1!

although i resented him greatly many days AND nights for encouraging me & ignoring my pleas for restoration of sanity (which usually were revealed in the form of tantrums) i'm grateful.

for him. and Sonlight.

before i started using Sonlight curriculum, i spent listless hours with *trying*.. i was burnt out before i could even start the fire!

i didn't know where to begin.. or how.. & i felt like the worst mother for tormenting my kids and myself into this lame excuse of an education.. & yet my kids were still learning.

sheesh. lol..

Sonlight does EVERYthing for you.. except for actually teach. there's a day-to-day, subject-to-subject calendar, so i don't even have to think. LOL... there are fun activities interwoven in your learning that make it come to life..

the other day we played pictionary with our science vocabulary words.. the kids had a blast!

the books that Sonlight has hand-picked for each grade are some of the greatest classics mixed with some good historical fiction & stories with wonderful Christian types and expression.

i LOVE it.

i realized more than anything that school could be enjoyable.

i actually still like my kids. LOL..

i really thought that by the end of the journey i would despise all living creatures that swim in piles of Lego® with high-pitched giggles..

but i don't. i ENJOY them.

finally.

it has been a LONG journey. one of which i am happy to say that i desire to endure to the end.. (whenever that is..)

& not begrudgingly either. we look forward to "school" each day. the history, the science, the reading.. & it's FUN.

*gasp* (did i just say that out loud???)

i did.

sO, yea.. i'm thankful. ;)

thank-FULL #4

provision..

something that we all take way too lightly at times.

i'm guilty. =_=

but, i'm realizing more and more that i AM grateful (& that i should express it WAY more often) for God providing for me & my family.

• i get to stay at home with my kids *full-time* (and i gripe about it at times... O_o)

ewwww!! i should know better!!

• i homeschool my kids. (and i have griped about that at times... O_o)

i like homeschooling now! LOL

• i'm in a happy, healthy marriage.. ^-^

which, i've heard that that ALONE is a miracle of provision!!

• i have 3 smart, healthy kids..

Yes! God's been an awesome provider.. and HE continues to be!!

i'm amaZed!

writing is sO helpful. LOL.. i'm sure i'll have to read this post for the rest of my life! ha!

sO, why are we such brats at times?? thinkin' that we deserve STUFF!?

God's faithfulness is awesome by itself. everything else is sorta bonus, ya know? :)

*sO, i'm grateful*

photo credit

if u give a mom a muffin..

there's a GREAT book called If You Give a Moose a Muffin...

this poem is a spin-off of that great book.

it's cute.

makes me wanna write my own.. :)

If You Give A Mom A Muffin....

She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
She'll pour herself some.
Her three-year-old will spill the coffee.
She'll wipe it up.
Wiping the floor, she'll find dirty socks.
She'll remember she has to do laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She'll trip over boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan for supper.
She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She'll look for her cookbook ("101 Things To Do With a Pound of Hamburger").
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook.
The check book is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two-year-old.
She'll smell something funny.
She'll change the two year old's diaper.
While she is changing the diaper, the phone will ring.
Her five-year-old will answer and hang up.
She'll remember she wants to phone a friend for coffee.
Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
And chances are...
If she has a cup of coffee,
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

i hope u get to eat your muffin today. O_o

(poetic creds)

RED sails to Capri..

a wonderfully told story of life on the island of Capri in Italy..

& what a delight to finish it today with my kids only to discover that at least in part it is a true place.. with some true stuff happenin' in there!

^_^

my heart is tickled.. lol

here's a pic of the *special* place in the book that got me googling..

the BLUE grotto!! :)

i'm blown away.. great story.. i recommend it. it's by Ann Weil.

pic credit to Wikipedia.org. ;-)

crafting with kids!

i LOVE to craft with my kids! it's fun to see how excited they get about their own creations!

sO.. that being said, i think it ONLY necessary to try these paper cup turkeys.. i think that they're just adorable!

you and i can get "instructions" HERE..

kimmie is smart.

i found this cute lil' story book making program... it's called storybird..

you simply look through artists' illustrations & choose which ones you want to use for your "one-of-a-kind" storybook..

i think it would be a great tool to inspire budding artists/writers.

i attempted to make one..

check it out.. HERE.

enjoy.

=)