Ballet Begins Again

Rachel took ballet for a couple of years when she was very young. Today, we started ballet lessons for Abigail and Susannah with one of our favorite friends. Mary Margaret has been close friends with Mary for so many years and has agreed to teach Abigail and Susannah at our home. My face hurts from smiling so much while watching these two little beauties dance with her. They looked at her like she was a queen and she treated them like little princesses.

We haven't been able to figure out a good schedule for each child to do a sport and a music or art class. With so many daughters, it's really impossible for everyone to get to do all they want. We feel like sports, music and art are all important, but it's  impossible to do everything. It takes a lot of creativity and organization to get homeschooling done as well as extra curricular activities.

We have grappled with this topic for many years as the older girls grew. I'm sure there are gaps in a lot of their learnings, but so far they seem to be doing okay. There are no easy answers to growing healthy, well-rounded, contributors to society that love and honor God. Today, we got to enjoy a little bit of the process.

Josiah watched in amazement the whole time.

Colossians Three

This Summer our church was charged to memorize the entire chapter of Colossians three. I had wanted to do something like that with the girls but the whole church setting about to do it added a little fire to the effort.

If I had just told my family, "We're going to memorize a large chunk of Scripture in the month of July." They would have attempted half-heartedly and stopped after I got tired of pushing. So with some very cute picture prompts from another mom we got busy.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Our friend worked really hard to create cute images like this for the entire chapter of Colossians three. For those of us who are visual, it was a great help! And for the children who don't yet read, it became their very own book. There were also some fun nights of games and review to keep everyone going, but because of my ridiculous schedule this summer, we didn't get to any of them.

Memorizing Scripture with others is a great incentive to keep it up. I told the ladies at our Bible study that I'm sure that I have more pride than love for God. Knowing that I would be reciting it with the entire church was one reason why I was able to memorize it so quickly.

To continue the Colossians theme, the ladies of our church are studying the Bible study book Colossians and Philemon: Continue to Live in Him by Kathleen Buswell Nielson and our family is memorizing Colossians four during this year of school.

Summer Stash!

Going to Mama's in the summer means "putting' up vegetables. We didn't get to Dublin until late this summer so we were only able to get peaches and field peas (my favorite) but what we got is delicious and will hold us for a while. It's important for children to have a hand in food preparation. These girls know that a lot of hard work goes into fresh food and they really appreciate it.

My mother knows how to "put up" anything. Somewhere, I have a picture of my grandmother that looks almost like this.

Abigail's favorite job was tasting every peach!

She did get in on the bagging. She picked up the peas one at a time and put them in, she refused the help of a spoon.

We Aren't Going On a Vacation This Year

For many reasons we aren't going to the beach this year.  I came up with a list of fun, free or cheap things to do close by to us. As it turns out, I've not gotten a lot of those things done yet, but we have had some fun days. The next four weeks is shaping up to have some exciting things built in though.

After a wedding in Chattanooga, we went to the Children's Discovery Museum and you can tell that children of all ages love it! It is definitely worth the small amount it costs to get in.

"A piece a cake, piece a pie"
She couldn't decide so we all shared.

Valentine's Day

Does it make a person sound more spiritual if they say, "Oh, I don't celebrate Valentine's Day - I tell my wife I love her every day," especially if they say it in a condescending tone of voice?

There are plenty of examples of celebrations in Scripture. There were many festivals - festival of booths, Harvest celebrations, David dancing before the Lord when the ark was returned to Israel, etc. It seems that it's okay to celebrate life in special ways. Today, why not say I love you in a more flowery tone with sweet aromas? (Think Song of Solomon.)

The only two examples of birthday parties in the Bible ended very badly, but that doesn't mean we aren't without excuse to celebrate life and big events. It doesn't mean you have to, only that it's okay.

This Mother's Day, try making sure your mom knows that you are grateful that she chose life. On Father's Day, be glad that your father raised you the way He did. I know there could be a lot of baggage there, but God has you where you are for a reason. Learn from it. Be grateful. Be grateful at New Year's that the calendar is still turning for you. Prepare for Resurrection Sunday ahead of time so that your family understands its implications. Glory in the colors of Spring, Summer and Fall. Be thankful for the quietness of Winter mornings.

This morning there is a bird chirping outside my window. He may not be telling the love of his life Happy Valentine's Day, but he is certainly bringing praise to His Creator. And no one can deny he is celebrating life today. So put on your pink and tell someone that you love them in an especially sweet way.

Lydia made our flag cake this year and Abigail thought it looked yummy! Abigail is wearing a little two piece suit I decorated for Hannah for her first Fourth of July. Ray is planning for us to read through the Declaration of Independence today but the girls are looking forward to the fireworks at North GA College tonight. With all of the events going on in our nation, I am driven to prayer more and more.

Summer Fun

Remember when riding in the back of a pick up truck was an everyday affair in the summer time? There is still fun to be had riding on country roads.