While Tim is Away

I'm truly experiencing God's grace this week as Tim has been out of town since last Friday evening. We've been busy with school and getting ready for Celebration South. Josh has not used the drill this week which is a good thing! And, I'm happy to say that he has not super glued his fingers together this week either.

I have to say though, I truly miss Tim. Fortunately, we will see him at Celebration and then he will be back home next Saturday evening. So, when all said and done, he will be away for 11 days. God in His mercy has given me the grace to embrace the time that Tim is away. Since we've been married, Tim has always traveled. So, this is not necessarily new for me.

A quick funny story.. Years ago, when Tim would be out of town, I would begin a home project! Well, let's just say most of the time when he would return, the project would not be complete! Tim never knew what he was coming home to! I don't do that anymore!

I would love to hear your response to some questions I have.

* Does your husband travel or has traveled in the past? How often and for how long? What do you do to occupy your time while he is away? And, is it challenging for you? Do you regularly experience God's grace while he is away?

*If your not married, I would love to hear your thoughts too.

Josh' Hair

Josh' wild hair in the pool! What do you think of Josh' hair these days? A picture down the side of the blog shows Josh' hair on a typical day. I would love to hear opinions... Do you like longer hair on boys? How long is too long? What about short hair? Why do we choose different styles, lengths and colors over another? Is it just preference or do other factors come into play?

Mom, I know what you think already...but, isn't Josh so handsome?

School Begins!

Homeschooling began this Monday. It is hard to believe Erika is a freshman and Josh is in 3rd grade. I highly respect moms who are teaching more that two children! You have my utmost respect! Josh is holding two gliders which we made. All the variables are the same except one glider has long-narrow wings and the other glider has short-wide wings. Which one do you think will go further?

Homeschooling Begins!

Our official school date begins Monday, August 20th! It has been a great summer but I'm ready to have some sort of routine.

Every year before the school season begins, we pray and ask God for direction as it relates to each child. This year, Erika will be taking tutoring classes at Smith Prep (history, english, bible, debate, science). And, she will be taking two classes online from Florida Virtual School (spanish 1 & algebra 1). Josh will be home with me full time.

In addition, every year we come up with spiritual/character attributes and academic goals for Erika and Josh to work on throughout the year. We try to keep our academic goals to minimum therefore concentrating on the spiritual/character attributes. This has served us so well since we've been homeschooling. By setting small goals for our children we have been able to encourage them, lovingly train and disciple them, and rejoice with them on their accomplishments. It has also helped me to not get discouraged about feeling overwhelmed or exasperating the kids. I have seen firsthand God work in each child throughout the school year!

Also, with my husband's input, I come up with some goals for myself.
1. to have fun
2. enjoy my children
3. have a routine that allows for flexibility for the unexpected
4. keep up with daily devotions
5. do not overbook my schedule with many activities
6. be home more
7. to daily seek God for direction and wisdom and allow His grace to permeate throughout the home

Here is an example of what our goals looked like last year.

Erika's spiritual/character attribute
1. to embrace being at home (Titus 2)
2. to glorify God with her music

Erika's academic goal
1. to challenge herself in critical thinking matters
2. to get her papers done in a timely manner

Josh' spiritual/character attribute
1. to not give up (Philippians 14:13)
2. to work on conflict resolution with his sister
3. to desire to know God more

Josh' academic goal
1. to love the library and picking out books
2. to enjoy reading
3. to have fun

This is not to draw attention to my children or myself. Hopefully, this will serve whoever may read this as a source of encouragement as you begin the school year.

Worship Conference

Well, today ended the 3 day worship conference held at our church building. Erika was able to go the entire time and take part in various breakout sessions on how to glorify God with worship. I'm looking forward to hearing more about it from her and getting the CD's so I can benefit from all the teaching.
Please pray for God's direction as we seek to raise our kids in glorifying God with our worship. And that any talent or gift given is suppose to be used to further His kingdom and not our own.

Entre Rios Team Reunion!

The reunion took place this past Saturday at MLC in the chapel. It was a great time to reflect on what God accomplished in Bolivia and to reunite with our brothers & sisters in Christ. We were able to partake in some Bolivian food, worship and fellowship. God has been so good!

What do you say.. should we have another reunion in six months?

Homegroup Pool Party

The month of July we had a homegroup pool party. It was a great time of fellowship though we were rained out. We ended the night with a game of Catch Phrase. Now, that was fun... just ask those who participated!