• In my life this week…we have spent a lot of  time visiting with friends and watching NBA basketball finals (My son was loving the Thunder!  He was quite sad with the outcome).

• In our home school this week…we spent time daily reading our Bible, taking notes, and discussing our reading (though we forgot to discuss a couple of days and didn't read on Monday morning).  We read several books together that were very overdue to the library.  I wanted to read as many as I could before paying a ton of late fines.  The boys spent a lot of time on Mine Craft as well.  Since I haven't been on it myself, I am not exactly sure what they are learning there (a little about using primary resources to make things, I think).  I know I spent some time looking up words that the kids didn't know as well.  We also learned some character lessons about patience in finding lost things (my keys at the grocery store), worthwhile ways to spend our days (They each made a list.), why the I pod touch can be a problem.

• I am inspired by…my husband's diligence in weeding the garden and his patience with my weariness this week.

• Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…  Allen and Charlie's friend, Nicki, came over and helped pull weeds Monday morning.  Our good friends, the Morris family, came over Monday afternoon for a long overdue visit.  So glad we got together and refreshed our friendship!  Tuesday we were blessed to have a newlywed couple over for dinner and conversation.  We also spent time with the cub scouts at the drive in Friday night (We saw Brave.) Other highlights include: Tang Soo Do, Mom's Prayer Group, and playing at the park on Thursday morning with friends. Today Charlie's friend, Sammy, is here for the afternoon.  Ben has spent a lot of time online with his friend, Zane.  Later today we are meeting for swimming, worship, and discussion time with our small group.

• My favorite thing this week was…being with friends and walking at night with Jeff.

• What’s working/not working for us… Walking in the evening with Jeff is working great for me because he helps me keep at it and it is so nice for us to get out of the house and talk.  Not working so great for me is getting up and going to bed at irregular times.  I have been tired and frustrated a lot more this week.  Also not working is the amount of screen time used in the family this week.  I have been trying to let the kids monitor themselves but their 3 to 4 hours is too much for me.  I miss my kids.

• Things I’m working on… finding a balance between trusting the kids to make good choices for their daily activities and giving them boundaries that don't take away that trust.

• I’m reading…The book of Isaiah.  I just finished The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma which is a very interesting story of a girls reading journey with her father throughout her years of elementary, middle, and high school.  I would recommend it to any parent who wants to build a strong foundation in literacy while forming a special bond with their child.  Each chapter is a short portion of their relationship during what they call "The Streak" (The dad read to his daughter every night before midnight for at least 10 minutes until she graduated from college.)  Being well written and interesting as it spoke to many different stages of adult life as well as childhood, it was often difficult to put down.

• I’m cooking…basic foods as much as possible.  So, I am still cooking as little as possible.  It's just too hot to add more heat in the house.  This week I made fried chicken with no breading fried only in butter with a little salt and pepper on it, pan fried steak, chili.... wait, I guess I've been heating up the kitchen quite a bit.  I guess since we don't eat much bread the meat has to get cooked somehow.  We have had taco salad, tuna salad (tuna with mayo and mustard mixed in), scrambled eggs, egg casserole, muffin cake, porridge, and even frozen burritos. 

• I’m grateful for…patience from family and God, mercy, forgiveness, hugs, kisses, friends, air conditioning, and a home.

• I'm looking forward to... my children's performances at the end of music camp this week, White River Youth Camp starting next Sunday, visiting with more friends this week!

http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

• In my life this week…I have been blessed with the return of my precious children.  They were gone for 10 days from home. 

• In our homeschool this week…we read each morning from Matthew, Romans, and Isaiah.  We shared together out loud what we read about and what stood out to us after writing in our spirals.  We also started a daily math review and began listening to "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" on audiobook.

• I am inspired by…my children's determination to do what they set their minds to do.  Two of them are trying to save money to buy an Ipod Touch.  Pulling weeds at .10 per minute and finding things to sell have consumed a good amount of their time this week.

• Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…most of our family next week.  We will head to OKC to spend a bit of time with my brother and his family before he moves to Seattle.  Then the boys will head over to Foss Lake for a campout with the rest of the Rader men. 

• My favorite thing this week was…discussing God's word with my children each morning. 

• What’s working/not working for us…letting our hurt feelings hurt others (talking about my family of five here, especially myself).  When we get hurt we try to make others hurt as well until they apologize or change their ways.  We end up pointing out all the bad in them thinking we might change them.  It never makes things better to dwell on our hurt feelings or make the other person feel bad too.   Although it can help to apologize and talk things out.    It also feels better to know we are doing the right thing (loving others) even when we have been hurt.  I can't make someone else change but I can love them anyway or choose to stay mad/ hurt until they change (which may be never).

• Things I’m working on…knitted wash cloths.  Grandma has requested some new ones and I am happy to work on them.  It is very relaxing for me to knit.

• I’m reading…The book of Isaiah, The Knitting Sutra, and The Reading Promise

• I’m cooking…as little as possible since I have been sick with a cold for 9 days.  Thanks to my hubby for the cooking and cleaning he has done!

• I’m grateful for…the blessing of God's peace in following his ways.

• I’m praying for…reconciliation of family members: that hurt feelings will not allow them to show their love for each other and that forgiveness and mercy will flow much stronger than disappointment.

Interesting Online Learning Games

Here are two games for learning about good citizenship.

http://www.icivics.org/games

http://www.abc.net.au/ola/citizen/games/simcon.htm

1000 Gifts
I am challenging myself to make a list of 1000 blessings. Won't you join me in counting your blessing too?

1. surprise shopping trip with friends for my birthday
2. friend giving me a night off during a rough week
3. same friend reminding me that I'm not crazy
4. husband coming home from work and helping me figure some things out
5. husband taking responsibility for improving discipline and helping me stick to it
6. improved behavior from my kids
7. so many happy birthday wishes
8. homeschool friends
9. pictures to help us retain memories
10. love of my children
11. constant outpouring love of my husband
12. being able to encourage someone at church this morning
13. lasagna made by husband
14. sitting at the park tonight as the sun sparkled off the water
15. oldest son sitting with me even though his head hurt
16. my 3 boys and husband watching Oklahoma! with me
17. playing Skip Bo Jr. Saturday morning
18. patience of my husband when I am in a depression
19. helping to teach ballet at GRACE
20. a voice to sing with

Dumps?

Feeling a little down today. Not sure why. The day seems to be dragging by slowly. It is only about 2pm. I guess I didn't have many plans for today and I am little tired or am I relaxed? I don't know.

Ben finished up all his work for his 5th grade year. Allen is mostly finished except for math (we will have "math camp" this summer to get him caught up). Charlie finished kindergarten several months ago really. Not sure if he will do any 1st grade work next year or if he will basically be doing all 2nd grade. The third child, mine anyway, seems to learn so fast. Faster than I want him to sometimes. So now I am wondering what do I do with all this time that lay in front of me? Well, the next two months anyway.

The boys are so independent now that I am feeling a bit lonely and unsure of what to do with my time. I know I will find many things to do. I want to make sure I spend special time with each of them before I get busy doing other things. But right now I find myself just wanting to have some fun and stop planning. Yet I know plans still have to be made. There are lots of fun things to be done but I just prefer to do them with my husband too. I am missing him alot today even though he was here this morning and I'll see him in a couple of hours.

I've got to get myself thinking positive. Down in the dumps is not a fun place to be. So, what do I have to be thankful for today? Healthy children, hard working husband, generous family members, faithful friends, forgiveness, mercy, grace, love. Cool breezes through my windows, shelter, chickens, birds chirping all day long. Tooth healing, clothes to wash, food to cook. That's better! Work to do, body to work, things to learn, patience in growing.

I read Proverbs 14:1 today about a wise woman building up her house. I want to be that wise woman. I want to build up. I want to serve and minister to my family and work with my hands to build them up for Godly purposes. I don't want lack of good sense to tear down my house. My children and husband are a blessing from the Lord. They are given to me to build up and love. I need to use good sense to do what I ought right now. I ought to get up and do something instead of staying in the dumps. And I guess I already have for I feel much better having refocused my mind to gratefulness for my blessings and to a mission to build up my house.

No more dumps here.

Today

Hello! Today is a day of joy and thanksgiving! Did you know that? Every day is when you are a child of the King!

I had my #30 molar removed yesterday. I am amazed and pleased to say I have had very little pain. Praise God for this! I have been tired most of the day but I can handle that much better. My sweet children have loved me by staying quiet all afternoon so I could nap, fixing lunch and snacks for themselves, playing together this morning. Thank you Lord for my children. I have spent quite a bit of time online trying to figure out what this white stuff is that is forming in my socket. Actually, I called the dentist this morning because I thought I had scrambled egg stuck in there. They said leave it alone. So I have. But I do keep looking at it anyway and some white stuff is on the other side of the socket now. From what I can surmise after looking around online, the white stuff is part of the healing process (maybe part of the clot) and should not cause a problem. If I have any swelling or pain, I will call the dentist. If I see him at Bible study tonight, I will probably ask about it. Otherwise, I will do my best to sit tight and release my worries to my Father.

I don't enjoy sitting around/ sleeping all day when I am tired. I feel kind of lonely and a little depressed. I like to be up and doing things or at least planning or thinking. But when I don't even want to think I know it is time to let my body have a rest. So I feel a little like I've lost a day.

The question I need to ask myself is: Did I glorify God today? I think so. I did what my body needed. I was loving and kind to my children. I spent some of my time trying to be a good steward by getting better deals on curriculum. I prayed for others. I let Tasha borrow my bike. I started my day in God's word. I hope I was pleasing to my Lord. I know there are things I did that were not pleasing, like too much time searching/ worrying about the white stuff in my tooth socket. Thank you Lord for your forgiveness and please increase my faith and trust more tomorrow!

For Me

Not really sure I want to post my thoughts to the general public so I guess I won't advertise that I am writing again. If you are reading this, please don't bother leaving a comment. I don't think I'll be checking for them. And I don't really think anyone will be reading. I am such a perfectionist that it makes me not want to write at all. But here I go anyway because it is what I need to do and because it is something I want to teach my children to do.

I have started a bible study/ book club group based on good morning girls website about the Ministry of Motherhood. I am enjoying it so far though not doing a good job of spending daily time in the word. I think three out of five is what I did this week. It is not that I don't talk with my Father but I don't seem to consistently set aside time with Him each day. I cherish those times which is why I often wonder why I don't do it more. That is because there are people in my life and work to do. Three precious boys and one man, all who want and need my attention as well. Then there is the tired factor that creeps in when I have spent all my attention on caring for others and forgot to care for myself as I needed to. I often get frustrated that on weeks like this when I am serving others I seem to crash and then have a lull in serving because I am so tired. I would love to keep up the pace. I will ask Father for endurance and for a memory to care for myself as I need. Tiredness is something that I think can be changed and work on. This is what leads me to my new study.

I have really got to be abiding in God. He is the source of all power. If I want to live to please him I must be a part of Him, never separating from Him. I need constant reminders. I want God to abide in me so I must abide in Him. Then I will have a steady reminder. Seeking the kingdom of God first must be my goal, my life. I want this. I want to make the changes in my life necessary to help me do better with this.