How do you handle motherhood?

Motherhood...

This mothering job is 24/7.

There are no Spring breaks, Christmas breaks, Summer breaks..not even a Snow Day!
We are full time hours with no overtime pay.

Head on over to Joy Comes in the Morning to see how you can handle this job that God has given us....

Hearts do Heal

Meeting my husband was by the hand of God.
I felt like he was my fairy tale landing smack dab in the middle of my regular life.

You see I had dated my high school sweetheart for seven years.
We were used to each other.
We were comfortable with each other.
We knew everything about each other.
Thing is....He knew a lot about other girls as well...

After I grew up and realized how dumb and in love I was ...or thought I was.... my whole life changed!

My friend introduced me to my husband. I had no intentions..and I told him many times..of dating anyone..
getting to know anyone..
being fake for anyone...
I had just gotten out of a seven year relationship and I felt like someone had ripped my heart out of chest and stomped on it.

My heart was broken..and it hurt.
It physically hurt.

But..my husband said he knew we were meant to be (yes he told me that ..very early in meeting each other...and why that didn't scare the you know what out of me and make me run for the hills I have no idea) and he said he was going to stick around until the brick wall around my heart fell.

He put up with so much from me. He deserved so much more.
I was broken.
He waited.

One morning I woke up and was excited to get up and get dressed to meet my husband for lunch ( yes I slept in back in those days)
Then I realized I was excited ....genuinely excited....and I had been excited to see him for the past few weeks.

Was this really happening? Was I getting over, maybe even healing from a long serious seven year relationship? Was that possible?

I questioned everything.
My feelings
My thoughts
Even Gregg...

I stopped talking to him...stopped calling him...

He kept calling.
He kept chipping away at those bricks until eventually....they fell....
every single one of them
until there was no wall anymore

So girls.. women...sisters...
There is healing
Hearts do heal.

It takes time
It takes someone that is willing to go the extra mile for you

Now I thank God everyday for that physically hurting heart..
I thank God for that wall..

Because it gave me Gregg.
It showed me who Gregg was..
It showed me that he knew what a commitment was
It showed me that I was loved..and my heart with him...would be taken care of.

Hearts do heal.

Spring time Bucket List

Spring is here...
Time to get outside and enjoy God's world!

I love taking Lyla for walks...and just roaming around to see what we can see.
I took her on a walk recently and took my iPad along with me just so I could record what all she asked about. I urge you to do that one day. Just focus on your child and the questions they ask...you would be amazed at all the little questions you might miss by not paying close attention. I plan on writing up a post on what all our walk entailed...so stay tuned for that.

Meanwhile..Here are a few ideas that are cost friendly that you can plan to do this spring to enjoy God's world:

1. Go on a nature walk
2. Plant flowers
3. Blow bubbles
4. Fly a kite
5. Paint sidewalk with water
6. Catch bugs
7. Play in the rain
8. Have a picnic
9. Feed ducks
10. Go for a bike ride
11. Go to the park
12. Sidewalk chalk art
13. Go on a hike
14. Plant a garden
15. Make a mud pie
16. Go geocaching
17. Go to a zoo
18. Make a bird feeder
19. Go puddle jumping
20. Make a wind chime
21. Visit a farmers market
22. Catch lightning bugs
23. Make your own rainbow
24. Take care of the earth and pick up litter
25. Bird watch

Have fun! Let me know how it goes!!

You aren't Southern until....

My whole life I considered myself a country girl..
Heck people have called me "Country Girl" as a nickname

I like jeans and tshirt or hoodies when it's cold
I am not much into high heels or bling

But little did I know that I was lying to myself

You aren't Southern until...............................
 you have fried bologna....says my husband.

Sunday during church all he could focus on was fried bologna. It was almost annoying. I have no idea what the sermon was about or what songs we even sang...but I do know that my husband was craving fried bologna.

So we had to make a special trip to the grocery store to get bologna...while I was there I picked myself and baby girl up an actual lunch..

came home to fry this bologna...this was a first for me so he had to stand by me to tell me how he liked it...

My first piece he tried and said, "This is good, Nikki"
Wow...it must have been good...or he must have been craving it for a long time because he never calls me by my name.

Gregg asked Lyla if she wanted to try it...He just called it "meat" because if he had called it fried bologna there is absolutely no way she would have ate it. I thought with ever fiber of my being that there was no way she was going to like it...and to my surprise she responded with, "That's delicious!"

What?!

I still didn't try it.
I ate my Ceasar salad..
and it was good enough!

So there it is...
I am now officially Southern.

I can FRY bologna!

Why would you homeschool?

Hello all..

My post yesterday was letting you all know that I have been thinking of homeschooling my daughter.

My most frequently asked question is "Are you "actually" am thinking of homeschooling?"

When I respond with a yes..I actually am...

The next question asked is,"Why would you do that?"

Well..let me tell ya!

This is ONE article of homeschool information and the most recent I have read...

It is written by Spencer Irvine at Accuracy in Academia.

According to researchers, disgust, dissatisfaction and disillusionment with the U.S. public school system is on the rise, so much so that the number of homeschoolers is on the rise.
“Since 1999, the number of children who are being homeschooled has increased by 75%,” Julia Lawrence reports in Education News. “Although currently only 4% of all school children nationwide are educated at home, the number of primary school kids whose parents choose to forgo traditional education is growing seven times faster than the number of kids enrolling in K-12 every year.”

It doesn't look like homeschooling is falling off the charts at all..it is actually growing and becoming more popular at a very fast rate! 

How about the real stuff...education...test scores???

“Data shows that those who are independently educated typically score between 65th and 89th percentile on such exams, while those attending traditional schools average on the 50th percentile,” Lawrence relates

Not to mention that most students who are homeschool have higher ACT scores than those in public schools..which we all know is a major factor of getting into a college of choice...and they have a higher GPA once they get into college.

Here is just a little fun fact:
Homeschoolers that are schooled by their parents cost around $500-$600 per year.(and that is up to you on how much you spend on a certain curriculum) In public schools, the cost per student averages $10,000 per year.

Wow.. really?
Now that is what you call a major difference!

And let's just mention for good measure the recent shootings scare the life out of me!
Hoax or not
put on by the government or not
It scares me

Along with the daily lockdowns of local schools because of bomb threats...talk of someone on campus with a gun..etc.
Local schools..Little community schools..
It is getting crazy..so crazy that I don't feel safe with my child going.

I've been told they are just pranks..kids trying to get out of school..which is fine..Thank God they are just pranks..but while they are playing pranks..kids are being locked up in a safe room for hours...
How is that for socialization? Being elbow to elbow for hours on end worrying if there is actually a bomb somewhere. What happens if your child's lunch hour twenty minutes is at that particular prank time? They just have to wait? Do they serve lunch in a safe room? What if your child has to go to the bathroom? What if your child has a nervous stomach and has to go to the bathroom again? Do you think they will be "allowed"?

Oh..it makes me cringe just thinking about it.

So...Why would I homeschool?

God entrusted this Baby Girl in my care...he placed her in my womb and gave me the job to care and protect her. I want her to be happy, comfortable, fed, independent, secure, and safe!

I know our decision hasn't been made and there is still a chance that Baby Girl might go to public school..but right now..my thoughts are leaning to Strongly Disagree!

May Goals

I was browsing around a new blog I found called Cornerstone Confessions and I came across a post of goals!

Yay! Who doesn't love and need a good goal list?

A goal without a deadline is just a dream so she does her goal lists monthly!

So ..yep..you know it's coming...

Here's Mine!

May Goals

FAMILY

as a wife-
plan a date night
write a note to my husband

as a mom-
read the second book of Oz: "The Marvelous Land of Oz"
decide on homeschool curriculum
start morning devotional time
continue nightly prayer time

as a daughter/sister-
schedule family pictures

PERSONAL

Health-
start menu planning
1 more bottle of water a day
join gym

Mom Time-
Read Praying Proverbs 31
Read Living a Virtuous Life
Read 100 pound loser
Read days to clean

Home-
declutter and organize Lyla's room
declutter and organize master bedroom
replace air filters
replace light bulbs

Extra:
Invite a family over for dinner


I am sure I will add or take away as time passes...but I do plan on revisiting my goal plan to see what all I have accomplished!

Do you make goals..
Put your blog link in the comments so I can check them out!

Are you actually thinking of homeschooling?

Source: www.exploringhomeschooling.com
 

If you are a friend of mine on facebook or have "liked" my blog facebook page you have probably seen homeschool posts like crazy.
They are random and probably repetitive.

My friends and family are asking if I am "actually" thinking of homeschooling my daughter.

"Actually" I am

I haven't made a final decision as for our long term plan but we are blessed that Lyla was born four days after the public school official cut off date for Kindergarten so we kind of get a free year to try out homeschooling to see how it goes and if we like it.

My husband isn't as on board as I am with homeschooling. He thinks she is going to miss out on a lot that public school offers such as sports, extracurricular activities, prom, graduation, etc. He thinks she won't have those real close friends from high school.

So as we have our "free" year I am excited to see what he thinks after that year is over...then we will make our decision whether or not to continue or not.

I have been actively researching homeschool curriculums and Oh My Goodness! could that be any more overwhelming??

The homeschool community you find when you start researching is so nice and kind. They are quick to help and answer any questions you may have ...no matter how many times you ask the same question.

Because they have all been there before.

Let me be clear what is overwhelming about choosing a curriculum.
They are all great!
It is hard to choose just one.

You have so many options when you are choosing a homeschooling curriculum.

• Completely laid out for you with lesson plans
• Do it yourself
• Free
• Expensive
• four days a week
• five days a week
• parent taught
•  or satellite taught by a licensed teacher

You really have free reign to go whichever direction you choose with your child.

I have been in research mode like crazy.. so I could talk to you about statistics, curriculums, answers to the famous "socialization" question...I'm soaking in all the homeschool information I can. I have already met some really great women and I haven't even started yet!

I am also researching the new Common Core Standard Curriuculum that all the public schools are switching to now... I have not really found a solid piece of information on that saying exactly what it is. I know it has kind of like "benchmarks" for each learning area..but I am not understanding what the difference is from what teachers and schools are doing now.

So to answer your question again..
Yes..I am actually thinking of homeschooler baby girl!

Expect more homeschool posts...homeschool status updates, questions, and random conversations about the latest news I have learned about homeschool.

Friends and family ...BEWARE ... I might just break out into a homeschool conversation... please forgive me and just let me talk it out...


What do you think of homeschooling?
Would you "actually" think of homeschooling your children?

My Joy Story!

EXTRA
EXTRA

There is a new blog in town!
and I am writing a monthly post for it!
WooHoo!

I am so excited to be joining Angela and writing for her new encouraging blog called Joy Comes in the Morning
Could there be a better name? How great is that? Come what may...but Joy will always be there in the morning!

This new blog is dedicated to finding the places of joy in your life..there is a great team of writers writing about all types of topics. Right now we are sharing Joy Stories and linking up for Rubie Tuesdays. Come check it out!

Joy Comes in the Morning

Today is my turn to share my Joy Story...

 My Joy Story

That should be easy!
Should I write about my husband, my daughter, my dogs! Maybe our church or my wonderful job that allows me to stay home. My new car. My new iPad. I have so many joys; how do I pick just one?

Head on over to Joy Comes in the Morning to see what my personal joy is in my life.