Did someone say VACATION!!

Whoa! What a week. We have had what I would describe as an intense week full of ups and downs.

I will start with the downs so you can all appreciate the ups and pray that tomorrow ends us on an up! According to Lovely's language I would say that was a run-on sentence. I don't care though...I am the teacher!

Tuesday left me speechless. I will not share the intensity of my day in order to protect the guilty. I will share that as of Tuesday evening someone was about to be expelled from Owl School and sent back to SCA. After an intense bible study aimed at me and me only..not really, but that's how it felt. I spent an hour and a half talking to my friend about what had gone on that day and how I felt I no choice but to send the culprit back to school. My dear friend was so sweet and sensitive in spite of all that she is dealing with in her own life. Thanks sister! She said one thing that kind of hit me...more like punched me. She said,"Okay so you send her back because she is not following your direction and who does that help? You might feel better, but she is your daughter and you get one chance at this." I may have missed a thing or two, but I do know I was wrong! I really am not solving the problem...I am just trying to make myself more comfortable. WOW! I am willing to say as of Tuesday I did want her to go back school and me to not have to deal with the disrespect and disobedience. I know that would be mistake.

I expected coming off of vacation would be hard, but it was brutal! I need a vacation just from Monday and Tuesday.

My final thought is this...I am fully aware of my faults as a parent when I have a day like I did on Tuesday. To say that I am not part of the problem sometimes would be a lie. I can make better choices in how I react to her outright disobedience. It is in this that I am thankful that there is a grace and mercy that is extended to both my child and myself. It is the gift that comes from seeking forgiveness from Jesus Christ. He inevitably forgives me every time I ask. THANK YOU JESUS! We all get a fresh start!

Back from vacation

Hello my family and friends...I'm back!!

What a great vacation. I truly enjoyed being away. We all needed the rest and fun that came from spending 9 days in Disney. It truly is a magical place!

Reality check! Back to school! The girls were less than happy to start back up today, but we had to. I really had several points during the day where I too wanted to just bag it and call it a day. I tried to not set my level of expectation too high, but I think no matter what the first day back after a long break was going to a little rocky.

My day got off to a bad start after a I dropped the chicken pot pie I baked on the floor at 10!! UGH! I tried not to but I broke down in tears. That is not the only reason. I had a lot of commitments for the day : hair apt at 3:30 which meant I had to finish school by 3; meal for a family from church delivered in between my hair appointment and a viewing for my dear friends grandma at 6. Did I mention we got a late start on school and Baby Girl did not have school? Can you hear my screams? They were internal for a change. I was overwhelmed from the start!

I baked my second pot pie and schooled the girls as well as kept my cool for the most part..oh and Baby Girl only watched 1 movie.

Lovely is working on her second book report and whining from the start. I think tomorrow I will have her do that first thing. I think if it is the first thing she does maybe she won't be so unhappy about doing it. Smiley wasn't feeling too great. She has been complaining about headaches and last night brought a vomiting incident. YUCK! She did not like the independent learning she had to do today. Smiley likes to have me by her side as she does her work.

Oh, and the tears from the potpie. I used that as a moment of tender reflection. I called the girls into the kitchen, they knew what happened and that I was upset. I wanted to get angry and frustrated, but I had to just get more chicken, another crust and start all over. The girls were so sweet and loving. Once again..why I am doing this!

Gentle Reminder

My day was off to an early start due to Baby Girls illness. She is battling one nasty cold...it is so sad to see her so lethargic and coughing so violently. Boo hoo. She is going to get better before Sunday when we leave for Disney!! I can say that because I have entrusted her recovery to the greatest physician...Jesus.

I was reminded today a couple of times about having faith. So I am stepping out in it to say I believe my little one will feel better for our trip.

I also got a bit of a reminder from the Lord as to why I have undertaken the responsibility of home schooling. When I was originally trying to decide what it was that God wanted me to do with the girls and school I couldn't help but feel a little like Jonah. No, I did not think that if I made the wrong choice God would send a whale to take me captive until I relented and obeyed. I did however feel like I didn't want to home school, but God wanted me to. It really boils down to obedience to me. I can honestly say I have not been joyful all the time in this act of obedience. Frankly, I think I act a lot like my vocal Lovely in her questioning and quarrelsome moods. Please do not take this as a boasting of my behavior, but rather an admission to the work that the Lord is doing in me.

I hope all reading this are finding a reason to pursue God's plan for your life. He so desires for us to rely on him and seek his will for our lives. John 15:8 "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." I think we can all use a reminder as to why we do the things we do.

Nuggets

Friday was a good school day. The girls did their work in a quick and obedient manner..yeah! I however still had a small bit of stress in my day. We were having our interim pastor and his wife over for dinner and I wanted it to be nice.

The girls were so helpful. A sweet sister in Christ has offered to pray for me. I expressed to her that I don't feel like I am seeing fruit to my labor. I know it has only been a couple of months...but I need a little something. My friend, I will call her Joyful Kat! I hope she likes the name I have chosen for her! Anyway, she offered to pray that I would see some nuggets of growth in the girls. I got one last night. Lovely and Sporty helped set the table, make place cards, and helped clean up! My personal favorite. Sporty left right after dinner for a sleepover with her friend. So Lovely helped entertain Baby Girl.

Okay...to the nugget. Lovely was so welcoming to our guests! She offered them drinks and joyfully got them. She helped me in the kitchen with the food. She was just so mature in her conversation as well as her on the spot obedience to me. Did I mention she made a sign welcoming our guests. She could hardly wait for them to arrive. I hope you can all see why this is a nugget to me. I want my girls to love God, and be kind to people without my telling them to do so. I got that last night. My daughters truly enjoyed welcoming someone into our home and making them feel comfortable. That is a nugget to me. Thanks Joyful Kat for the prayers..love ya sister!

10:24 p.m. and I am done

I am just sitting down for the first time today and it is 10:24 in the evening. I did sit down other times today, but they were either in the dining room where we do school or in my car on our way to piano or soccer.

I am very overwhelmed with my commitments outside of school this week. There are days when I wish I was an antisocial person who stayed in all the time. Some days I just feel like the standards of the world are so ridiculously high and I come up short! Enough of my moaning.

Today's school day went well. We had a tight schedule because of piano, but we did our best. This is the first time I have actually left the school work on the table!! Can you believe it? I neatly pushed everything to the side until the morning.

The girls were cooperative and relatively pleasant today. Baby Girl was left alone with her Halloween candy...not good. So sneaky she was. She thought if she was quiet she would not be noticed..wrong! Lovely has been sleeping better...praise GOD! It is amazing what a good night sleep can do for us. Sporty was still a little reflective today. Not sure what is going on with her.

We are all looking forward to the weekend. No soccer and no commitments! Yeah! FRIDAY..here I come!