My Man...He's a Heck of a Dad!

I admit it...Barry definately hears more negativity from me than praise. And that's one thing (on my very long list) that I need to work on. I thank God for him everyday. Besides being my soulmate, bestfriend, supporter and partner, he's the best father I could ever ask for for my children. He's a fantastic dad and he loves his kids. He gives them his all ....his time, his energy (at least whatever he has left) and his love. I knew all this before...but the hours I spent digging through (thousands) of pictures just proved it.

We've been blessed. Happy Father's Day, Honey. We love you!!!

Happy Homeschooling!

I admit it. Homeschooling is hard. There are days I question my sanity. My house is a mess. I have no time to myself. My kids drag out doing their work, wasting my day as well as their own.

Is it worth it? Definately! One of the reasons for homeschooling was to build family unity. I wanted my girls' parents and siblings to be the center of their lives, not their friends. Over the past year, I have watched the close, "best friend" relationship Alana & Erin shared, begin to crumble. I can happily now say that it is back! They are solid best friends. Do they fight? Well, sure. But then they quickly come back together. Some may argue that they're only friends because they have no one else. That's fine with me. As their mother, it's my job to keep my family close and filled with love. It's my job to ensure that my kids are friends with people to share our religious and moral beliefs. And I believe I am.

Recently, I designated Tuesday and Thursday nights as "no TV nights". We watch too much TV. My kids don't read enough. So this past week, instead of playing, I put in my new Classical music cd and had my kids read. As I sat in my chair, listening to Classical, reading a biography of George Whitefield and the Great Awakening, and looked over at my girls, engrosed in their own books....I knew. THIS is what I wanted homeschooling to look like. A little piece of Heaven.

Mommy Play

I've struggled to keep up with my "me time" since I began homeschooling. I used to scrapbook every day at one point, but have been happy to find time once a month over the last few months. I believe God has given me a little push ...in the past month, my work has been selected for publication in two major scrapping magazines, Simple Scrapbooks and Scrapbook Trends. Very exciting for a scrapper! I take this as motivation to use my God-given talents and passions. Here's a sample of my creations over the last couple of weeks.....

Creative Pursuits

Working AND homeschooling can leave very little ME time. I know that I need to make more time for creativity...just to keep myself sane. Last weekend, we did a little home improvement (some projects involved "fixing" past creative expression!) We laid new vinyl tiles in the upstairs bathroom, and repainted both bathrooms and the entryway. We were exhausted, and although professional painters we are NOT, our home looks better before!

The bath linoleum was yellowed white, with light blue and pink accents. The paint was off-white with a diarrea brown sponged on top. We've had the new floor tiles for about 3 years, waiting to take the toilet off (a fun job we both love! Not!) The entryway sported another faux finish sponge technique...this one blue to match our blue kitchen countertops. Only after 10 years do I find out that my dear hubby HATED this blue! Well, heck...I would've repainted years ago if I would've known that! The doors were the original brown. The paint we used in all three rooms is a gray, mossy brown, and it looks different on each wall, of each room, at different times of day. So, at least there's variety! :) The doors look white, but are actually a lighter shade of the wall brown. Not a great paint job...but much brighter and modern than before.