Homeschool convention!

I just spent an amazing weekend at the homeschool convention in downtown Phoenix. I always walk away from convention feeling so encouraged and so excited for the upcoming school year. There is something so sweet about being right where God wants you to be, and year after year I feel God confirming our decision to homeschool our children. What I love about homeschooling is every year looks a little different for our family. The first year was pretty regimented and ran much like what you would see in a typical classroom. The second year was that pull between breaking away from the formal classroom and finding freedom throughout our school day to do things our way and discover how the kids learn best. Last year was probably our best year yet and that's because I let the Lord direct our days and stayed open to what He wanted each day to look like, I learned to be flexible and found so much freedom in that. And this year, I'm just super excited to see how God leads as we explore new curriculum and ways of doing things. Here are a few things I took away from this years convention:

1. Character comes before curriculum. There will always be math lessons and spelling tests but there are times when these go on the back burner when dealing with a character issue.

2. Marriage comes before mothering. (always a great reminder)

3. Homeschooling is discipleship and discipleship is our goal for homeschooling, raising Godly kids is the ultimate goal.

4. God's mercies are new every morning, thank goodness! (what a great reminder for all of us.)

5. God wants to carry my homeschool burdens (Matthew 11:28-30) "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke us easy and my burden is light."

6. Philippians 1:6 is our theme verse for homeschooling. "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in  you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Can I get an Amen to that! I remind myself of this in regards to Camden as he struggles with dyslexia. I know Camdens hard work will pay off and this verse just gives me so much hope.

7. Don't be a dream killer, but instead fan the dreams of my husband and my kids keeping in mind that God is big enough to take care of the dumb ones. :)

8. We are going to explore a new way of learning, it's called notebooking and I'm super excited to share about that in another post after our school year is underway.

9. Science is probably my favorite subject to teach in homeschool. I love looking at Science curriculum. This year Camden and Anna will study about Zoology and Jadon will be doing Physical Science.

10. I love my sisterhood of homeschooling moms! They are awesome and without them, I probably wouldn't be homeschooling or would have quit a long time ago. Thank goodness for amazing friends! And I have a super awesome husband who likes to attend the convention with me and fully supports my efforts to educate our children.

Here's to another great year of Homeschooling! I'm super excited. :)

Salt River fun!

We escaped the heat last week and dipped our toes in the Salt River and watched the tubers float down the river. It was so refreshing and a fun change of scenery!

Magic Mike and my version of sexy

There is a lot of hype out about the movie Magic Mike. I've not seen it and have no plans to see it. It's been a big box office hit and very popular among women my age, married women I might add. I am not writing this post to judge those who have gone to see it or who are planning to. That's not my point, I simply want to share that my view of a sexy man doesn't come in the form of Matthew Mcconaughey acting as a male stripper. Yes he might be "cute" but put him in the role of stripper and sexy is no longer a word that comes to mind. So what is sexy? This is what is sexy- my magnificant Mike who I call Michael, the man I've been married to for 17 years this month!

Sexy is:

A man who serves and leads by example so his kids may grow up and want to give back to the community.

A man who allows his children to express themselves freely by the way they dress- while keeping in mind that modesty is a virtue. Who says you can't wear a diamondbacks hat with your pretty dress on a Sunday morning even when it's not baseball season?

 A man who is not ashamed of his faith and will do the Tebow at the zoo and not care what other people might think, and rope your kids into doint it with you as well.

 A man who gets his daughter an icee just because she has a smile that lights up a room.

 A man who takes time to stand and talk with his son who can ask a million questions in a few seconds while remaining patient and not just giving a short answer just so he can move on with his day.

A man who is always willing to give a helping hand to someone in need.

 Sexy is:
Well, just look at him (actually don't do look at him that way, that's my job). Bald is sexy in my book!

 A man allowing his kids to walk barefoot through a beach town cause who needs shoes anyways when your walking to the beach.

 a man who doesn't speak a negative word about the way you look even when you look fat, he tells you how beautiful you are and you know he means it when he says it.

 a man who remains patient during those pouty moments.

 A man who watches the sunset with you and steals a kiss, or two, or three.

 a man who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty and asks his son to help even when it might be easier to just do it himself.

 A man who doesn't mind his kids climbing on him constantly even when he falls off a swing and his pants fall off.

 A hard working man who tends to the needs of your house.

 sexy is, well??? a man who isn't afraid to look ridiculous around his own family?

 A man who prays blessings over his children every night for 40 nights during lent.

 A man who wants to spend quality time with his children.

 A man who gets down on his child's level to have a conversation with her.

 a man who puts his child in a headlock because they needed a little correction. :)

 A man who picks his child up after she has fallen.

 A man who keeps your children safe through the storms of this life.

 A man who knows how to have fun and expose his children to new adventures.

Sexy is my husband who makes me feel like I am the most beautiful, loved woman in this whole wide world!

And that folks is why I don't need Magic Mike to spice up my life. All I have to do is scroll through the pictures of the last few months or steal a glance over the dinner table, or just hear my husbands voice when he calls from work just to say hi. Sexy is: My husband!

We love bubbles!

I'm pretty sure the pictures speak for themselves.

Fire in the Sky!

We had a fabulous fourth of July! The weather was amazing, I'm sure we'll never have a fourth like this again so I soaked in every single breath of cooler air. It was heavenly! We all served at our church's celebration called Fire in the Sky! It's the best fireworks show in town! Jadon and Camden were on security detail. Jadon worked for Pure Concessions, our friend's business that made and sold all the food for the event. I took pictures for Pure Concessions and Anna bounced around from place to place and had so much fun with her friend. Here's some pictures from the day.

Perfect example of why I never use flash. I didn't realized I had it turned on. His badge says "security."

 Don't you feel safe?

 A few Pure Concession employees.

 Enjoying a sno-cone!

 Jadon at work.

4th of July

Celebrating the freedom of our country and also the freedom I have in Christ!
Psalm 119:32 "I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free."

Feed My Starving Children service project

Our family had an amazing experience serving at FMSC. We were able to pack meals that will be sent to other countries and provide food for those in dire need. We love being able to expose our kids to service projects like this and allow them to see how there are so many children in the world in need of things we take for granted. Here are some pictures from our day there.