#1 Reason We Homeschool

Today I have been reminded of the most important reason why we chose to home school. What is that you ask? Well, I'll tell you~to develop and teach Godly character in our children. There it is. Nothing sparkley or fantastic, but extremely important never-the-less.  Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up." When are we to teach them about God? Always. I confess there are days when I don't want to be the teacher. And there are days when they don't want to be the students. Even still, we are to teach them when we're at home, when we're not, when we're sleeping and when we're awake.  Sometimes I get more concerned about finishing curriculum or mastering a particular subject but the heart of it all is character development.
Both the boys have enjoyed spending time with their friends and doing the things they love to do together. Yesterday, as usual, it went a little too far. And quickly, the fun became being deceitful and foolish. You may say boys being boys if you will but it's more than that. It's about a teachable opportunity to become boys of Godly character. A sweet friend who home schools as well reminded me to be thankful that as their teacher and mom, we can use those moments for good instead of evil! How right she is. Had I have not been there, the moment would have been gone and nothing learned, other than we can behave however we want to when no one is watching! So today I am grateful for the privilege to be a home school mom.

Toothless Wonder

The tooth fairy is about to go broke! Jacob has lost two teeth in one week while another one is still trying to fill in. I think if he looses anymore teeth, he won't have any to eat with! He's happy of course, to trade his teeth for money in his wallet.  

It's interesting to have at our house, one child loosing his teeth and one child getting his teeth. While Jacob looses them, I look at Austin and am reminded that once, Jacob was a baby getting those teeth and now he's shedding them. They grow way too fast. What's left after he looses all his baby teeth? This is the final chapter of leaving behind all the baby ways and becoming a young boy. I look forward to enjoying my relationship with him when he becomes a young man but I know these days of childhood are short.  I want to everyday enjoy reading together, playing together, praying together and all those fun things when you're a kid.  I'm sure they will be gone before I know it.

Spring Time means so many wonderful things. All things become new again. Everything turns fluorescent green. The sun shines so brightly and warms the air.  I love watching plants that looked like sticks in the ground come back to life.  It's a great opportunity to teach the boys about God's creation and the Gospel.   "For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." Romans 1:20

This year, we started spring off by picking some strawberries, all 10lbs of them! The boys couldn't help themselves. It was a competition (imagine that) to see who could fill their buckets the fastest. Even Austin got in on the action, the tasting part that is! So we've been having everything strawberry you can think of smoothies, jams, pie, fresh, etc. I think we've had our fill of vitamin C for the season!

So here it goes. There's no other way to start this page than by confessing that I am known for my black thumb! I can not keep plants living to save my own life. I've tried many times, in many different places, all to no avail. When we first moved into our house, I plotted an area in our backyard for a garden. Thinking one day, I would be bestowed with the gift of gardening. I planted a bunch of herbs, and then had to replant more when those died and was finally left with the herbs that were not killable.  Well, I have met some really good friends that have taught me about soil, composting, drainage and all those good skills. I also read a book that was very helpful, The Square Foot Garden.  
This year,  I am trying my hand at vegetable gardening. I added watermelon, cantaloupe, beets, spinach, lettuce, carrots, bell peppers and marigolds to my garden. I followed the instructions in the book to the tee and this is what I came up with...

 To my surprise, the seeds are sprouting! So far so good! Now if I can only keep them alive through the summer until their edible. Stay tuned for details.