Sometimes I struggle...

I often struggle with what I share on FB b/c I don't want someone thinking I'm sharing to get attention. I do want to share what I think might encourage others or what the Holy Spirit might use to encourage someone. Today Piper and I were driving home from the Conway area and we see a man sitting on the side of the road with a rolling carry-on type bag. It was just a few miles from our home so I knew I had time to pack a sandwich and snacks for him. He was so thankful. I asked him if I could pray with him and we stopped right there off of Hwy 65, bowed our heads and prayed. Totally the Holy Spirit. I would've thought that was a little coo-coo and been a little too embarrassed to ask "can I pray for you?"
Even though I worried about posting on FB b/c what people might think I knew I should, so I did. I told people where he was and where he was heading and encouraged them to be His hands and feet and to go find this guy and love on him, pray with him and share anything they felt led to share with him. My friends are AWESOME!!! I was so encouraged by how many of my lady friends searched for this guy and shared the love of Christ with him. When Cameron got home he found him and gave him a blanket and a cup of coffee. This guy was SHOCKED so many cared to share His love. One of my friends text me and said, "I'll split the hotel cost with you if your husband can find him and get him to a hotel." Then we started discussing about the possibilities of getting him a bus ticket to Illinois. One thing led to the next and before I knew it Cam had left his hot dinner to find him again, this time offering more than a hot cup of coffee.
He was overwhelmed with gratitude. He told Cameron he had felt God walking with him all along the way. They had some good conversation. He is now sleeping in a nice warm bed and boarding a bus tomorrow for Illinois. We are thankful for the opportunity to meet him. I don't know what kind of man he is. Is he responsible? Why is he in the situation he is in? I don't know. Cam and I prayed about it and really felt it was where the Holy Spirit was leading us.
Even though I was leery of posting about this man on FB, I am glad I did. I have been encouraged by so many who LOVE to see the Spirit working. That's what this story is... it's HIS!! If I fear to post about opportunities to love because I worry people will take it the wrong way then I'm not following the Holy Spirit. Several of my friends are taking money and sliding it under his hotel room door to bless him. How awesome is that?! Everyone has shared with him God loves him. I'm thinking maybe when he laid his head down on that hotel bed, he probably truly believed that tonight. Please be in prayer for this man. He will be looking for a job once in Illinois. Let's pray some loving people rally around him.

Almost 19 years....

I graduated high school almost 19 years ago! CRAZY! Oh goodness how I loved my high school class. We were TIGHT! There were only 18 of us so I guess we had to be. I remember leaving our baccalaureate and heading to Panama City for our senior trip. We had raised money for almost two years. Most of that money was raised after school hours cutting and selling firewood. SO funny to think about. Here are some pics. We lived a simple life in Guy, AR. We truly were a family! 

Those truly are some of my best memories. I had some really good friends and most of us are still really good friends. Anyway, back to heading to Panama City.... many of us were sad and crying b/c we knew it was our last week together. We had all been together since elementary school and couldn't imagine our days without seeing each other daily. We seriously were in almost EVERY class together. We had our 10 year reunion 9 years ago this summer and it brought back so many emotions. Change is tough! Change is tough even when things have changed and gotten better. It's really hard to lose touch with people you love. Can I just say thank God for Facebook?! I'm friends with almost all 17 of those hooligans I grew up with and LOVE watching their families grow and live life. Which really got me thinking about how time will sneak up on us and 19 years from now our children will be adults. Hard to imagine but I know it'll happen so quickly. They have made such amazing friends at our co-op school. Fridays are their favorite days b/c they love their classmates. I hope when they look back on their childhood it is filled with sweet, fun, unforgettable memories like I have. As their momma I so desire for them to follow after God. My continual prayer is that God will open their eyes to His goodness and they will taste and see that the Lord is good! I pray they live radical lives of faith. I pray that God continues to guide me as their mommy. May my duties start and end in love. When they make me proud.. love. When they make mistakes.... love. If they choose to follow Him... love. If they don't... love. Lord, prepare me for whatever lies ahead. May You alone receive all the glory from our stories. 

Math

This week is Spring Break around our area. Our kids have already had a week off while Cam and I were on our trip so we're still working this week. We do not have our co-op homework to do so it's a lighter load than usual. God is so good to me b/c He reminds me to constantly evaluate why I'm doing what I'm doing. I think going through the National Boards for Professional Teachers process definitely urged me to the more of a reflective teacher. WHY am I doing what I am doing? If it is not for student achievement/growth then maybe it's just busy work and has no place. I've started doing some unit studies with the kids. We are having so much fun learning about Australia (I'll post more on this later:). The boys are using Math U See for their math curriculum and I really like it. I also like to do small units with them in Math. This week we are exploring 2d and 3d shapes. They've been introduced to these before but we've never looked at the nets. They loved seeing the different nets and trying to guess which figure it would make. I then took the nets away and they had to draw some for different shapes. I printed a couple of sheets for Piper so she could be involved in our lesson and had Park grade her work. 

Andrew is in 3rd grade and has learned his multiplication facts. He's always been good at math. I want to be sure that we are not stopping on the lower level of Bloom's Taxonomy. (I would actually LOVE to get with some local mommas and talk Blooms!! Share different ideas and encourage one another to do a little extra leg work to make sure what we're preparing for our kids is for their best achievement.) I've been really trying to create new ways to look at a problem. I love Math U See b/c it really digs deep on concepts. This year he has learned multiplication facts, several digit by double digit multiplying and he is working on factoring now. He can easily spout off the factors of 20 but I want him to fully understand the concept. I made him a few dot pages of different numbers to factor. Since we were doing factors I thought I would go ahead and introduce him to prime and composite numbers. 

This may freak a few of you homeschool mommas out;)

I'm just not a type A kinda girl;). Truly this bothers some people but it's just the way I am. I can absolutely relax even if my house is a wreck. I have no problem starting a crochet project even when another one isn't finished. Now don't get me wrong... I do our laundry, our dishes, the kids do their chores and by the end of the day our house is alright. It's NEVER perfectly clean.. NEVER!! I am totally okay without perfection. I'm the same way in homeschooling (I have a 3rd grader, 2nd grader, 4 yr old and 3 yr old). Take today for instance... the boys both got up and did their Math U See work. I went over a few problems out of a Kumon Geometry and Measurement book with Andrew. Actually I sat with him during most of his math, also. He is doing double digit times double digit and I try to help him remember to put his place holder where it goes and mark out what he carried so he doesn't confuse it when he starts the next step. I then started preparing tonight's dinner (around 11:00 this morning-that's out of the norm!!) and Park read a chapter of his Cam Jansen book to me. We did Language (but we don't always... they have about 100 lessons a year in Language and they're both near the 70th lesson so we're on track). We did some exercises with our prepositions (we do this daily b/c my 4 year old reminds us all the time... btw she knows them ALL but just b/c it's fun;). I also worked with Piper on her Easy Peasy Homeschool lesson.

I bought this book a couple weeks ago and thought they'd enjoy learning their Roman Numerals so we read it today. It's a great book teaching you the different symbols and then has several pages where you have to find the objects. The kids LOVED it! 

                              

After dinner last night, I randomly played for them a youtube about how many days are in each month so this morning we continued with that. Now they are exploring the field across the road from our house. That's how we school! Mondays we usually spend time working on our assignments from KCA (our FABULOUS co-op) and then we just do a lot of language arts and math throughout the week. We try to get all of our history read. Last week we really focused on geography and Andrew can label all 50 states on the map! CRAZY?! I definitely wouldn't say I'm lazy in home schooling but I'm also very laid back BUT I also think people who are scheduled to the minute are doing what works best for them. I think my kids are exactly where they should be academically (or a little above). Mostly though we are SOOO enjoying life together. It would be easier for me to have lots of worksheets printed for them and say, "get to it" every morning but I really do enjoy pulling up a chair right beside them to watch their brains in action. It is SO fun! I do feel like I have very little ME time but I will. One of these days they will all be grown up and I'll wish for these moments again. 

****They just got back from their adventure in the field and Andrew runs in and says, "MOM... which state does this rock look like?" Of course I said, "Oh that's South Carolina" He beamed in agreement;) ha! 

                           

He makes me giggle:)

Last year Cam gave me this top 10 for Valentine's day and this year he wrote a poem;)

A True Love Story...

It's a story for the ages
One of excitement and flare
A perfect match made in heaven
With which none else can compare

It's a tale of a girl
From a small quaint town
She was beloved by people everywhere
Her presence never producing a frown

Her beauty was unmatched
Her personality glowing
On a windy day one is mesmerized
By her long, blonde hair flowing

All the fellows around
Tried their hand at her heart
But she did not settle
She was much, much too smart

For she had on her mind
A young man from nearby
Who had charmed her and wooed her
And so caught her eye

He was handsome and dashing
His eyes blue as the sky
He was strong as a bull
His muscles stretched his shirt tight

His plan was quite clear
His feelings he could not hide
He had to capture her love
And make her his bride

So with his wisdom and wit
He pursued her to no end
They became best friends
And her heart he vowed to defend

As he dropped to one knee
All the towns folk agreed
These two loved each other
More than Snoop Dog loved weed

So the wedding bells rang out
The day she became his mate
Thus proving she was smarter
Than a big raisin or a lil grape

Oh I laughed and laughed. The last line is my FAVORITE movie line from Cats and Dogs 2. Cameron is by far my best friend and God fills our home and hearts with laughter. He is such an amazing man!

School time

We are sick today so we are missing out on our kCA day. We always miss our KCA fam when we can't make it. I saw this on my friends blog and decided to do it with the kids today. They loved being doctors and performing surgery on some contractions.
Andrew is learning a lot of multiplication around here. We did a matching game with his 4's and 6's.

Chocolate with Coconut Oil

Oh this is good stuff and good for ya!!! A sweet friend of mine gave me this recipe. She's a health food girl. There's only 1/4 cup honey in each batch and it doesn't bother my blood sugar much at all. It taste a lot like a hershey's bar with almonds. We've also done plain chocolate, chocolate with peanut butter chips and peppermint chocolate. It's all DELICIOUS! You must give it a try. Here's the recipe:

1 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla extract ( IF you want to make peppermint chocolate which taste just like junior mints you also need to add 2 tsp of peppermint extract)

Thinly sliced almonds (as many as you'd like)

I use a small food processor and mix all ingredients EXCEPT slivered almonds. After all ingredients are mixed, I add almonds and just mix with spoon. Pour on cookie sheet that is covered with wax paper and put in freezer for about 10 minutes. Break into pieces and store in freezer. OH it's SOO yummy!!!

(Coconut oil a solid unless it is stored above 77 degrees so it's not going to be right by the other oils, usually on same aisle but possibly not right beside it.)

This is a batch of peppermint chocolate