Our Homeschool Week - Home Again!

Our Week:  Has been full of reminiscing we've talked about our special new (IRL) friends and about 

what fun we had on the road meeting them. Here I am on far left with Cindy of "Get-a-long-Home" 

and Rebecca of "Moms Mustard Seeds" - these ladies are such a blessing in my life on a regular basis

I hope you'll take the time (if you haven't all ready) - to get to know them better. They are smart and 

beautiful - on the inside and out! I am a better wife, mother, teacher, and friend because of their
 influence. 

After the incredible time at Teach Them Diligently - and before the Apologia Live Conference -  we 

enjoyed the privilege of spending time with Rebecca and her family. My kids are missing their new

 friends already.  It was wonderful to spend time with people who love the Lord and put Him first in

 their life. It shows in their home and in their children. It left an impression on mine and I'm thankful

 for it! 

We took the kiddos to the park and Rebecca showed them her "Robin's call" bird ap - which 

teaches the sounds of the birds. They sat on this log in the woods listening for Robins and other birds. 

They later did a unit study on Robins - which we are continuing and expounding on this week in our homeschool. 

We met up with Kathy from Kathy's Cluttered Mind - and took another nature walk and let the kids

play in the creek. They loved the stories from the Civil War from the Roswell Historical Mill and 

enjoyed Kathy's littles. They are such cuties and seem to enjoy adventure like we do! Kathy is a sweet

friend who let us crash her place and then drove myself and my crew from Atlanta to South Carolina 

for TTD. I love her adventurous spirit and the way she finds so many wonderful FREE activities for her family! She and Jen from Gricefully Homeschooling host a link up each week sharing homeschool

freebies you might want to check out - especially if you are homeschooling on a budget! 

I am so pleased that I got to spend more time with Amanda Pelser from The Pelsers. She is the

blogger who hosts our wonderful online book clubs - Right now we are doing "Shepherding a Child's

Heart". I got to know her better during the "How to Have a Heart for Your Kids" book club and then

met her IRL at the Teach Them Diligently Convention  (and her totally cute boys and tech genius hubs) 

It was during a quiet conversation at Apologia Live - where I really had the opportunity to "bond" with Amanda (for lack of a better description- that is what it was) I am honored to call her my friend and to 

have had the chance to know that she is a down to earth woman who cares about others. She has a 

new e-book out to help others who struggle with depression : Click here to view more details If you are fighting depression and need encouragement - I HIGHLY recommend this affordable book - you'll 

benefit from her insight, experience, and her heart's honest look at depression among women. 

And then there is this girl : 

I signed up for the HSBA swap a couple of years ago and was assigned Kelli from Lady of the Barn 

as my swap buddy. When you sign up - you're encouraged to exchange more info and email each other 

with prayer requests and to stay in touch. Kelli and I took the assignment very seriously and we hit it

off from the start. She shares her devotions on her blog and some tidbits about her adorable kids. She

is honest and open about her short comings and her desire to be a better mother, wife, friend - I really

dig that about her! You know, truth be told - we ALL need to be better on a regular basis and we are supposed to be striving for it on a daily basis - she doesn't pull any punches about it - I loved her

immediately! She drove to the Apologia Live conference to meet me (and to participate of course) and

I got to introduce her to the other fabulous homeschool mommy bloggers I've listed above. I'm so

thankful she did! 

Rebecca, Amanda, Kelli, Trisha, Me, Cindy, and Gretta - ApologiaLive 

Thankful Thursday: 

I am grateful that God has blessed me with encouraging friends. I'm grateful I have had the opportunity

to spend time with some of you - I gain so much from your insight and perspectives on a regular basis

 - these ladies are just a handful of the special people God has seen fit to place in my life in some

 capacity or another over the past year. There are more of you who I spend time praying for - who

 pray for my family - who I tweet with - read your blog -enjoy your comments - You are more of a 

blessing to this homeschool mom than you can know.

Thank you! 

Our Homeschool This week: We are getting such enjoyment out of our new Seeds of Worship cd 

I got from TTD - It is an upbeat musical cd that was originally designed to help kids remember their 

Bible verses from a summer Bible camp. It's a catchy little cd full of scripture for my children to commit

to memory. 

We are using our new science books from Apologia - "Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day" 

Of course, we had to head off to the beach to find a few swimming creatures of our own! 

Big brother is reading to the little guys about US History - "They Called Her Molly Pitcher" and we

are - of course - checking out the free video's from Moms Mustard Seed and Founders Academy.  

Today's video at Freedom Friday is about the Federalist vs the Anti-Federalist and the House of Representatives - Parker was impressed with how our founding fathers came together and debated

then decided about the time limits in office so that there is a balance of power. We are studying :

The American Freedoms Primer by Adams  and The Bills of Rights Primer by Amar and Adams

                                                   

G is For Good Book! 

How was your homeschool week? Or, Spring Break week? Or just your week? 

3 in 30- Goals for April: This April, I'm keeping it simple. 

Goal # 1 - Spiritual Life - studying the Word daily - and doing the "Shepherding a Child's Heart" 

book club

Goal #2 - Health - My time for healing is NOW (can I get an Amen?) I'm using essential oils, special

mineral water (there is a story behind this - awesome) Drinking more water - and exercising 3 x each

week. Watching  what I eat with less sugar and more protein and veggies is also a part of this goal. 

Goal #3 -Schedule-  Family Life- my family life includes our homeschool so we'll be continuing our

studies - my main goal is to get some of our projects more organized in binders and get written work in

order. I want to yell less- well, not at all - It's hard in a family where little boys run here and there and

don't seem to "hear" mommy on a regular basis - God is hard at work - this is going along with the Shepherding a Child's Heart study too and that will be great support for this goal. I will to set 2 days

aside (I think Tues and Thurs) to do some deep cleaning and organizing this April. I am starting

with one main room and one bedroom each week. Blogging schedule- continuing on my schedule 

and adding in a review or two each week on Wednesdays and Thursdays 

 

   

   

31 Days to Pray - For Your Spouse - Starting the New Year Off Right!

Ringing in the New Year - Watching the (big) "ball drop" picture above - Best ball drop ever! 

We are committing to watching more sunsets together during 2012

"Prayer is one of the greatest privileges we have as believers. Having the ability to access the throne
 of grace with confidence whenever we have a need or a want to offer up praise - what an incredible
 blessing we have."

This statement is one of the first of many truths which speaks to my heart in Ashley Pichea's book
"31 Days to Build A Better Spouse"

The title is catchy. Whether you believe your spouse is in need of a makeover - a remodel - a complete
overhaul - or you simply want to be a loving wife praying blessings over the life of the one God has given
 you -  the place to start in order to effect change - is with yourself.

 By looking inward, and allowing God to work in your own heart you will see what it is you need to be praying for your spouse. It will serve to draw you in to a closer walk with the Lord - facilitate more love
and a better attitude in your heart toward your marriage, and help you be more like Christ- which is
the main goal we should pattern all others after in the first place.

I'm starting the New Year off right, with a 31 day commitment to pray for my husband each and every
day throughout January. I am thankful for the man God has given me. It's about time I put a serious
effort into praying God's blessings over him.

Won't you consider joining me on this journey through January? If you are already in my group for the
official "31 Day Challenge" please leave a comment, let me know you've been here, and feel free to share
or ask any questions.

If you want to purchase the ebook and read Ashley's thoughts as she shares her heart and godly
truths along with scripture and very specific prayers for you to pray daily over your spouse you
can find the link here-

I am grateful to have the privilege of praying for my husband. It is my hope that somewhere along 

the way during this process, I can become the wife he deserves, the wife God intended me to be. 

I love this man

 Counting Gratitude to 1000 and beyond- 

103. the man who takes time to teach his boys about the important things in life (like surfing)

104. and how to treat a woman with respect 

105. who plays with his family on a regular basis 

106. a man who puts God first by serving his family 

107. one who loves us

108. who cares what God wants and expects of him

109. who works hard every day 

110. yet still finds time to give his boys the attention they need

111. to become the men God wants them to be

112. and who adores their mother

I want to honor God with my marriage, I want to honor Him by 

being a better spouse for my husband. 

*For those of you joining up in the 

"Have a HEART for Your Kids" book club- it's time to be reading

the introduction and getting started. Monday, January 9th we'll be posting 

the introduction posts. It's not too late to get your book and join in! 

During the month of January I am focused on my family - praying and

reading about being a better wife and mother. Won't you join me?

If you purchase the book through the link below, it will also

 help support our homeschool adventures

Linking with: 

Meet Ashley Pichea - Author of "31 Days to Build a Better Spouse"

You may know I have several exciting projects coming up in January. Including the 31Days to BBS Challenge-

Before I set out to "build a better spouse" by praying for my husband along with the ebook and group with 

Ashley Pichea  (Pi- shay)  I'd like to introduce you to the woman who was convicted by God to pray for her 

husband - who has become a better wife because of it - and who is sharing her experience with us in her ebook.

Meet author Ashley Pichea- 

Intro:

Ashley Pichea lives online and offline. Online, she is the author of LIFE by Ashley Pichea and Teaching Jenny, the editor/manager of the3in30 Challenge, a virtual blogging assistant and consultant, and can be found at AshleyPichea.com. Offline, Ashley enjoys being a wife and mom, as well as being active in her local church’s Christian Education ministries. Ashley has a passion for helping others to dive into the spiritual discipline of prayer, and she has started publishing a series of eBooks at 31DaystoPray.com. Ashley invites you to connect with her onTwitter and/or Facebook.

Ashley, 

1. How long have you been writing? 
I have been writing “publicly” for a few years. Writing was always something I’ve enjoyed and was naturally “good” at, but only in the past few years have I felt the call of God to publish my writing.

2. Did you always know you wanted to be a writer or when/how did you figure that out? 
I’ve always enjoyed writing, but it was in January 2009 that God led me to writing as a means of ministry.

3. How has being a writer influence/changed your life? 
Knowing that my words have the power to build up or break down has definitely impacted me. A few months into my blogging adventure, my blog turned sour as I began to use it as an outlet to vent about my frustrations. God used my wonderful mother-in-law to bring this to light, and since I have adopted Ephesians 4:29 as my online/writing mantra: “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a wordas is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.”

4. What piece of advice would you give to someone who is considering writing their first book?

Don’t write for yourself. If you are writing a book for the sake of seeing your name/words in print, then you probably shouldn’t be writing. Let God be the purpose and driving force behind your writing.

5. How will you measure the success of your book?

This is a difficult question, but I think it comes back to perspective. For me, seeing just one marriage grow more Christ-centered makes the whole process worth it. It can’t be about numbers or money for me, even those are the things I’m often trapped into counting. It has to be about Christ – about seeing it used for His purpose and His glory.

6. Who has been your biggest supporter?

My online friends have been amazing in supporting me as I’ve published this first eBook. Since it is an electronic book, most of my “in real life” friends don’t “get” it.

7. How do you handle criticism of your writing?

Thankfully, I haven’t had to deal with any criticism to date. When it comes, though, I know that it doesn’t really matter as long as I’ve given my best for God’s glory.

8.What is the name of your (new) book?

31 Days to Build a Better Spouse – Accessing the Power of Prayer to Build Up Your Spouse

9. What was your inspiration for writing this book?

I have found that when I pray for my husband, our relationship is so much better – my eyes are focused on Christ and not on his “faults.” Praying the Word of God is one way that we can know absolutely that we are praying in accordance with God’s will. 31 Days to Build a Better Spouse came out of my desire to help others pray the Word of God for their spouses, strengthening and encouraging marriages.

10. Can you share with us a personal tid-bit about what drew you to this particular topic?

{see above}

11. How did you settle on the title?

I wanted something that would allow readers to pray over the course of a month {31 days}, so I started brainstorming ideas on Twitter, attempting to play off the popular #31DBBB hashtag.

12. Did the writing of this book change you? How?

I hope so! As I wrote, I prayed. I prayed for my husband, I prayed for myself, and I prayed for those who will read and pray through the book.

13.  What is your overall goal for your readers with regards to the book?

I want to see lives changed for God’s glory – I want others to not only be praying for their spouses but also to learn how to pray the Word of God.

14. Do you have anything else in the works? (what? when?)

During the month of October, I wrote “31 Days to Pray for Your Pastor” as a daily newsletter. I’m planning to publish it soon as an eBook. I also have a few other ideas brewing for future 31 Days to Pray series, as well as a few other books in rough draft form.

15.  If you could choose just one thing from the book for your readers to walk away with - what would that be and why?

I want my readers to walk away knowing the power of prayer, specifically the power of praying the Word of God.

If you are interested in joining us for the challenge in January 

-Sign up quickly to be assigned to 

a group! Challenge starts Sunday - accountability groups are assigned tomorrow!

It's going to be a wonderful time of introspection as we grow closer 

to our Creator, encourage each other, and . . . . 

Pray For  Our  Spouses! 

*If you cannot join the group challenge - I would encourage you to go ahead and get a copy 

of the ebook and pray through the scriptures yourself - God will bless your efforts as 

In the Bible He promises - 

Isaiah 55: 10

"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosperin the thing whereto I sent it."

There may not be a better thing you can do for your family besides praying God's Word over them!

God Bless!

linking with: