The Wonderful Thing about Tiggers

This morning Trenton and I were having a meaningful conversation in the bathroom while getting ready for the day. He was telling me almost word for word about the recent Pooh and Tigger dvd he watched. Apparently Tigger and Pooh (and the gang) are going to the North Pole to find Santa. At some point Pooh spots Santa and proclaims, "There he is." To which Tigger replied, "I told you it was Santa. I told you so!"

I gently told Trenton that "I told you so" is not a kind thing to say. I went on, "God wants us to be kind to each other. And the way we use our words is important."

Trenton: "I don't think Tigger knows God."
Mom: "You may be right. What should we do?"
Trenton: "I could write a letter {and he starts holding an imaginary pencil and making writing motions with his little 4 year old left hand...yep, he's a lefty!}. The mail man could pick up the letter and go into the movies and give it to Tigger. What if Tigger doesn't believe what the letter says?"
Mom: "Well, our job is to tell people (and Disney characters) about Jesus."
Trenton: "Yeah, and when Tigger opens the letter it will say, 'This is true. God wants us to be kind.' "

What a sweet boy! He loves to solve problems and he is a great thinker. (And to be fair...and rhyming, he can also be a big stinker!) I pray that God will give me wisdom, discernment and strength as my Hunny and I seek to raise our kids for His glory.

The Helper of the Year Award...

goes to Marissa! Today she helped me declutter and clean the craft closet. A huge job, let me tell you. Hopefully tomorrow I will post pictures, except we forgot to take one of the closet before we took EVERYTHING out of it and put it in the girls' room. As Marissa said, "Mom, it's best we don't think about what it did look like!" And she's right.


We took out two bags of recycle trash and took two bags plus some extras to Goodwill. Now that's some major decluttering!

I've been needing to reorganize the school room again, but I've been seriously dragging my feet. Today I figured out why--much of the stuff that migrates to the school room belongs in the craft closet. And the closet's major state of disarray had me overwhelmed and bogged down. I knew I couldn't take anything out of the school room because it had no where to go. Now, thanks to the perseverance and help of my sweetie, we have a clean, organized closet. Thank you, thank you, {taking our bow}.

Marissa and I talked about how if something needs put away and the place where it goes is full, cluttered or hard to get to...the something will NOT be put away. It will be stacked, laid, tossed aside until the family can now longer enjoy their living space. (It doesn't take too much for me to reach the point of too much visual clutter, but somehow I keep letting it get built up.)

Tomorrow (I suppose it's really 'today'), I plan on digging into the school room. My goals are to

• make room in the filing cabinet--which will entail throwing some things away. It's just way too crowded in there.
• file the two piles of paper that are waiting for room in the file cabinet.
• clear away any loose items--throw away if possible, containerize if I must keep it.
• make sure every thing has a 'home' and make sure all homes are easily accessible to the ones responsible for putting things away.

Hope I can get Marissa to help me tomorrow!

Edited to add pictures of the before and after. I so wish we'd taken a "before" of the closet. Just imagine the closet brimming to the fullest with all this stuff! {dreadful}

all the stuff on the girls' floor

the finished closet--clean and organized

Thanks for stopping by! Come back soon to see what else I can get organized!

Let the learning commence!

Our home school year officially started yesterday. Over the years we've done different beginnings, however last year and this year we chose a 'slow start'. We begin with two subjects and every 3-5 school days we add another subject. This gives us all time to practice the schedule and routine as well as savor the summer days. I know that we are teaching and learning all the time and that's one of the things I love, love, love about homeschooling.

I need to take a "first day" picture, but it will now be called the "first week" picture! :) I'll post it as soon as I am able. Have a told you that we are now homeschooling 8th grade, 2nd grade and a 4 year old (doing preschool). My 4 year old loves to do 'school' work so I've come up with some activities just right for him. Tomorrow I'll share what I'm using with each girl...I am looking forward to a fun year!

The biggest thing to tackle is getting on schedule and keeping a routine! I want to be balanced somewhere between being too rigid and being too lax. That's hard!

Well, in keeping with the routine, I must go start supper. Both girls have soccer games tonight.

Perfect Peace

Yesterday's sermon was about Mark 15:1-8 and the women who went to the tomb to anoint Jesus' body with perfume and spices. In our class (after the sermon) we talked about the obstacles the women faced:: the heavy stone across the entrance, the soldiers who were guarding the tomb, possible grave robbers, and of course, their grief over Jesus' death. God graciously took care of each of these obstacles with the miraculous resurrection of our Savior.

The next question was "What obstacles do I face when coming to Jesus?" wow...this is a blog not a novel, I'm not sure I have room to list all my obstacles. I don't usually have all the obstacles at one time (God's grace, I'm sure). Some of my obstacles include:: the heaviness and guilt of my sin, the others in my life (past and present) whom I allow to emotionally weigh me down and steal my joy, and my independence--my lack of desperation for Him.

A good friend in the class mentioned the verse below (Isaiah 26:3) as a "grounding" verse of promise in her life. I've been meditating and thinking on this verse ever since she quoted it.

You will keep him in perfect peace,
whose mind is stayed on You:
because he trusts in You.

Isn't that a wonderful promise?!! A promise with a condition that as I trust in Him and keep my focus on Him, He will keep me in perfect peace.

I'm Back

Hopefully this time for good. I like writing--I just haven't had enough brain space and energy to do it. I've always enjoyed readers and I've probably lost all but one (thanks sweet Tara!). Hopefully, some will return with regular posts. How can one expect them to read....when there is nothing new to read.

Here's to regular posts, folks. And here is to relaxing on the "poor man's hammock" (as said by my hunny!)

What's with the Once a Week Blogging?

This once a week blogging will never do. I have things to say; things you may want to hear. Well, I can only move forward--hoping to blog more this coming week. For now, here's some of what I've been thinking and discovering...

• The Well-Planned Day--this planner looks practical and handy. I'm leaning heavily towards buying it before August 12th (when the sale ends).
  
• Tonight I'm enjoying a quiet evening at home, while my Hunny has the kids at soccer practice. I'm co-coaching Bethany's team, and we have practices Mondays and Wednesdays. I'm loving the solitude.
  
• My Hunny finished the homemade tree house (or stilt house as I called it today...Marissa laughed at me). Next he is going to sand it and possibly paint it. I am going to make a canvas 'roof' for it to help keep out the sun. The kids love it.
• I've been working on the girls' homeschool portofolios as I meet with the homeschool assessor on Wednesday.
  
• After Wednesday, I must work hard on the girls' notification for the upcoming school year. I hope to start August 24 with one or two subjects, then add more the next week and more the week after until we are in full swing.
• I am working on the kids' chore list and schedule. I'm open to ideas on the chore list. I'd like to find free printable chore cards with pictures to make it easier for the youngest two.

Well, I think that's it for now...especially if I want to get things done before the crew gets home.