I want to live every day intentionally, but I am noticing that with only 12 days left before our trip to Africa I am putting this into practice now even more than usual. I think part of it is because my heart is already missing my sweet children at the thought of leaving them for 10 days. TEN days!! We have never, ever left them for this long, and the reality of that is now coming to surface. Part of it is also the very real fact that none of us knows what tomorrow holds, especially when the "tomorrow" involves getting on a plane headed to Africa. I am trying not to think morbidly, but that has tugged at the back of my thoughts recently. So, I am trusting my Savior, and living very intentionally. It's been nice as I really, truly focus on each moment given to me. School has been such a joy this week with Cadi! Honestly, most of the time it is, but there is no hurry in me right now, where at times there can be.
For these next two weeks before travel we are studying Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening for our FIAR lessons. We are using an absolutely gorgeous picture book version, and Cadi is in love. I love how the illustrator took some liberties and showed the old gentleman stopping in the woods to enjoy (and feed) the birds and other creatures. He even paused long enough to make a snow angel! The illustrations are so beautiful - drawn in soft, somber gray tones, except for the cheerful colors in the old gentleman's clothes and blanket. I think this is such a lovely way to introduce children to poetry.
Cadi will work on memorizing this Robert Frost poem as well.
Today she tried her hand at writing a poem. This is what she wrote:
I like chicken.
It is great!
But I don't like it
when it's late!
For math today, Cadi and I were able to go "grocery shopping". She had so much fun pricing items, and then figuring out what she could buy with her ten cents. Our Math curriculum is a bit below where she could be academically. However, I enjoy that approach to math, as I struggled very much with it in school. She loves learning - especially reading and math. She is decoding everything - signs on the road, mail, magazines - everything! That is so much fun for me. And even though I taught second grade prior to having children, I am still amazed to be able to witness a child learn to read from the very beginning. I am in awe watching and teaching the process. It is truly a gift and a blessing.
(She could not get any cuter.)
As much as I am dreading leaving Cadi and Scotty behind, I am also thankful for this reminder from God to be intentional and enjoy this special time he has given me with my children right now. I am so excited for what lies ahead. I cannot wait to bring Jamesy into our home and experience moments with him - moments with all three of my children under the same roof! I can't believe it is going to happen, but before it does.......
I have been planning and planning and planning for Cadi's Kindergarten year of school, and we are so excited! I have stated over and over again that I am not an organizer, but I am a planner. And maybe there is not much distinction, but in my world there is. I do not like organizing, because it is never perfect. As soon as I organize one thing I think of a better way or a better system, and I have to start again. A waste of precious time in my book, and so I would just rather not be an organizer and spend that time elsewhere. {grin} So I just go about my life as if I haven't a clue about organization! But I do plan. Sometimes my husband laughs. I plan to the enth degree. Like the time we went to Sesame Place, and I did a month of research and planning. I planned out how many hours we would be at the park, and exactly the order of the attractions we would go to at what times - including lunch. And we followed the plan, and it was PERFECT!! I plan my days rigorously. It makes me feel safe and secure, and I think the same is true for my children. I have learned to relax (at times!), but I still think a plan works best for my family. Sometimes it would be nice to fly-by-the-seat of my pants, but sometimes just thinking about that makes me shiver with nervousness! But now I digress....
So here is a sneak peek. I hope to write a lengthy post on some of my plans for this year, our schedule, and my goals for the year ahead. (If you have any specifics that you want me to address email me at amomentcherished(at)gmail(dot)com, and I will try to respond in the upcoming post.)
I've been busy here at home trying to figure out what day of the week it is! Ha! It has been so long since we have gotten away during the week that I am a bit confused. I tried catching up on laundry yesterday, and our washer broke. {bummer} Praying about that one.
I have a lot of thoughts tumbling around in my head, but I am having trouble deciphering which ones to share. Jim and I had some great conversation while traveling this week. We of course talked of adoption and also James 1:27 and advocating for orphans. I think we both are feeling tugged by the Holy Spirit to advocate for fatherless children. You can read my hubby's thoughts on that here.
I guess I am just not sure how to go about it. I know that I need to be gracious and humble, but at the same time I need to speak truth. I guess the key is to speak the truth in love. I need to work on that. This journey that we have been on has just exploded in ways that I could have never imagined, and it is my heart's desire to share this with others. I don't want anyone to miss out.
In October God tugged at us to leave camp ministry.
Sometime in the fall we started reading Francis Chan's Crazy Love.
In January Jim resigned from camp.
In January we started Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover.
In January we were first confronted with adoption thoughts.
In March Jim got voted in as the associate pastor of our church.
In March we decided to sponsor a 4 year old Philippine girl, whose daddy died last year.
In April we could no longer pretend that sponsoring a child was enough and continue to ignore the ministry call of adoption in our life. So we plunged ahead applying to AWAA.
And I remember thinking, wow, this is it. This adoption is why God has been working so hard in our lives the past few months. But now here I sit in July and am realizing more and more that adoption is not the answer or the solution. It is a part of it, but this is bigger. This call on our lives is bigger. I have no idea what the future holds, what this all entails, but for now we continue to work towards getting our sweet Ethiopian baby home and raising awareness for all of the fatherless children everywhere - not just in Ethiopia. Maybe God will call us to adopt many, many children, or maybe this will be it. Maybe we will eventually foster children. Maybe not. Maybe God will call us to begin a James 1:27 ministry, or maybe He really will move our family to Africa. I would have trembled with fear at that sentence only a year ago. Not anymore. God works in such mysterious, exciting ways!
I don't know what lies ahead for our family, but I know that my life is completely different. I am completely different. I am bothered by global things now, where as before I turned a blind eye. I am bothered by our lackadaisical approach to the commands given in the Bible for every believer. I am passionate about lives that only months ago were not even on my radar.
With all these thoughts swirling it is a wonder that anything gets done around here! Just look at my night stand. One of my goals for this summer was to read and read and read.
When you give your life away, particularly in a global setting, you see God in the right size. You realize God is not trapped in a cul-de-sac. God is not limited. You discover a right idea of God, an idea of Him that is unbelievably large. You will find the God of Scripture: King of Kings, Mighty One, Alpha and Omega, Creator, All-sufficient One, All-powerful One, One and Only! A right idea of God is spectacular. Give your life away. Go and let God fill you with wonder. He is so much bigger than you've ever imagined. p.74
I have also been planning out Cadi's kindergarten year! I have planned out our first semester calendar.
And have started some block plans.
The weather has been gorgeous here this week! High 90s and low 100s. This is what I expect from summer, but I am trying to keep my littles cool. I am thankful for the pool at my parents' home!
Cadi and I have been devouring the American Girl series this summer. We read one book a week and are on our fourth now.
And I am waiting for the phone call from my sister saying that this little guy in her belly is ready to make his debut!
And for the day when my sweet baby can wear this. (LOVE outlet shopping where it is perfectly normal to find clothes as low as $2.99!!)
If you have not done so yet, please enter the Parlee Pocket give-away. If you do not have a little girl this would make a great baby shower gift for one!! I will announce the winner after 3:00 PM today! See you then! Subscribe in a reader
Do you have moments like me where you realize just how full your heart is? That you have wondered how it can be that it has not burst?
That's me, right now.
These children and my husband are such a blessing. And to think that God is going to bless us with another member of our family! Wow.
Things have been a little more tense around here, but God has been so gracious to continue to allow me to see the blessings in front of me.
We will not be mailing a check today or our mandatory documents to start our home study. I forgot that we have to do our finger printing first - that is scheduled for Monday. This will give us a bit more time to scrape some money together out of thin air! {wink}
I have given myself today as a deadline for my autobiography. It is eleven pages long so far, and I am only half way done with the questions. oy.
I am having trouble concentrating on the autobiography being that these came in the mail!
These are {some} of the books that will go with Cadi's curriculum this fall. Nine of them are on back order. I really struggled with buying her curriculum because money is tight right now. Finally I bit the bullet, though, as it is a necessity, and I really need to start planning.
As I mentioned this winter, we are using FIAR this fall. It is a literature based unit study in the style of Charlotte Mason. I was so excited when my best friend brought this curriculum to my attention late this past fall. It is exactly how I envisioned a curriculum for our family. I am pretty excited that we are both using this for our family!
We will concentrate on a story book for at least two weeks. Every morning I will read it aloud, and Scotty will get to be involved in that as well! Then out of the story will flow our subjects - including cooking and Bible. I love how natural this will be. I love that it is a gentle approach to learning and the fact that it incorporates art and the many mediums to art at a young age. Something that seems to be missing a lot today. I will be including Saxon for Math and A Beka for Phonics as I have mentioned before. (My best friend found me our Phonics curriculum for next year at a yard sale for I think $0.50!!)
The only thing that I still need is the Saxon manipulatives. I am praying to find a good deal on ebay!
I am excited about continuing home education and all that God has in store for our family.
This blog is my story - well God's story - of how He is taking a scared, shy girl on the adventure of a life time. He is writing a story over me that I didn't ask for, but it is more breath taking that I could have imagined. This is where I pen my story - all for God's glory. You are welcome here. The ending of this story will be a surprise for us both.
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