Making a Home a Homeschool...and Vice Versa!

This afternoon, I was again--or maybe still--considering the best ways to organize our homeschool stuff to ensure that everything is orderly when we officially start school next week. Because our house is relatively small (at least by today's standards), I do not have a room or an area of the house that can be specifically designated for school. This has meant that I am attempting to create spaces for our supplies in places that are sensible and accessible but not totally visible. This is what brings me to the question I have: How do you make a home a homeschool and yet keep it a home? While I want to create an atmosphere that invites learning, I do not want to forfeit the "homey" feeling and appearance of a neat, uncluttered home.

So, in efforts to keep our home clutter-free and our homeschool sensible, accessible, and "invisible," I have purchased a couple gently used bookshelves, this one for some of Travis' and my books (to free up space on other bookshelves),

and this one for hidden storage. From the outside, it just looks like a nice piece of living room furniture,

but on the inside is a wealth of stuff including children's games, basic art supplies, children's books, homeschool books, diapers, and even a few toys!

If it weren't for the fact that I want to keep some things out of Isabel and Elliana's reach, I would be able to neatly fit more homeschool supplies in there. Instead, I have one drawer in the kitchen that contains scissors, pencils, glue sticks, lined paper, and a few other supplies

as well as a filing bin in the basement with some other learning aids such as alphabet coloring pages and flashcards.

Lastly, I have a world map and an alphabet poster that I would like to hang on a wall; but I haven't done so yet because I haven't come up with a spot that would be sensible, accessible, and yet not totally visible. :-)

So tell me, you experienced homeschoolers and/or organizers that may be reading this post, am I crazy for thinking I can maintain my home in spite of my homeschool? What ideas do you have for organizing a homeschool in a sensible, accessible, "invisible" fashion?

Giving of Myself

Last Friday morning, after 14 months and 9 days of successfully breastfeeding twins, I nursed Isabel and Elliana for the last time, bringing to an end (unless God wills otherwise) my breastfeeding "career."

For me, breastfeeding has been a most enjoyable part of being a mommy.  Despite the ugly undergarments and the occasional "Ouch!", I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to give of myself for the sake of my babies.   Reaping that enjoyment--as well as the benefits of health and bonding--has definitely come with a price.  In fact, because I have spent all but two of the sixty-two months of my marriage either pregnant or breastfeeding or both, there have been times that I have said to my husband, "I haven't felt good ever since we got married."    And, there have been times that I have felt a little tied down by the fact that my baby/babies had needs that only I could fulfill.  So, yes, breastfeeding my children has meant a sacrifice of self; but I wouldn't have had it any other way!

Weaning Isabel and Elliana has been bittersweet.  Due to the fact that we are heeding my doctor's advice that my uterus should not be tested with another pregnancy, there has been a certain feeling of finality to the weaning this time around.  Not only will I never nurse Isabel and Elliana again, but I may never nurse any baby again.  That is the bitter part.  The sweet part, though, is that I am going to feel good again!  In fact, I already do feel more like myself than I have in a really long time.  I have more energy, more motivation, more of myself to give in other ways because not all of me is being consumed by the demands of breastfeeding.

Since I feel it a bit presumptuous to say that I am "closing this chapter" of my life, I will rather say that I am simply turning the page.  In whatever ways the Lord may call me to give of myself in the coming pages, I pray that I will do so with joyful obedience.

Why Amariah Makes Me Smile

The older my sweet little Amariah gets, the more I see of who she is going to be. And the more I see of who she is going to be, the more I realize that she is not me. Unlike my first child who seems to be a lot like me in personality and preferences, Amariah is just uniquely herself. It is the things that make her Amariah that make me smile....

1. Her imagination is always at work. Give her most any toy, and she will enter into her own land of make-believe, carrying on lengthy two-way conversations with herself.
2. She is not attentive to detail. When asked to pick up toys, she will put them away; but it will likely be in a different way than I (or her brother) would do it.
3. She does things that often seem to me to have no rhyme or reason. She has (recently) gotten away with eating such messy foods as spaghetti and macaroni and cheese with her hands; yet, today she ate a grilled cheese sandwich with a fork.
4. She leaves traces of her make-believing self in places I don't even know she's been. I am constantly finding such things as her favorite stuffed elephant perched in a high chair "eating" fake food; two random dolls tucked under the covers of the spare bed; her purse filled with an assortment of things ranging from Barbie brushes and dollhouse figurines to shreds of kleenex and not-so-sticky stickers.

My Amariah is indeed unique. And, although I usually have no idea what is going on in that pretty little head of hers, I do know that I love her dearly for just who she is.

July 14th: A Day of Rejoicing

Today marks the two-year anniversary of my miscarriage of the baby we named Ande Lynn.  As anyone who has ever suffered the loss of a baby knows, the emotional and physical pain of miscarriage is very real and very deep.  God has, however, brought healing to our hearts through time and through His promises; and He has brought me to a point where I can now rejoice rather than mourn on this day of remembrance.  I rejoice because Ande is already with the Lord, and I rejoice because I have the hope of one day joining him/her there.

Because this day, July 14th, has become to us a day of rejoicing--and because it will always be a special day in our hearts--we have decided to use it in a way that reflects the hope that we have in Jesus.  Recently, Travis and I felt led to sponsor a child through Gospel For Asia's Bridge of Hope program, a program that gives poor boys and girls throughout South Asia an education, daily meals, and medical checkups in a Christian environment.  Through this, children (and their families) are not only introduced to Jesus, but they are also given a way out of the poverty and bondage that the Hindu caste system otherwise enslaves them to.  Since GFA's Bridge of Hope page has a "search by birthday" feature, we decided to use July 14th as our means of selecting a child to sponsor.

So, today is not only the anniversary of a loss.  It is also a sweet Indian girl's 11th birthday!  Happy birthday to Ramya!  We have not yet had any correspondence with her, but we pray for her regularly; and we hope that she will (or does) know the love of Jesus which clothes us, feeds us, and sets us free!

To God be the glory both now and forevermore!

Living WELL

I woke up this morning extremely tired. With my husband being out of town for the day, I knew this tired mommy was going to need an extra dose of grace to make it through the day well (i.e. with patience, with sufficient energy, with graceful speech, with a good attitude). And so, I simply and succinctly asked God to give me grace today.

A little while later, my friend Stacey text messaged me offering to take Abel and Amariah to Adventureland for the afternoon so that I could have a little break. Knowing how much fun the kids would have, I couldn't say no! As soon as they left, I began considering how I should spend the time, wanting to do the thing that would be most refreshing to me. I put Isabel and Elliana down for their naps, grabbed my Bible, and sat down on the couch for some "R and R" (in this case, Reading and Refreshment)!

I spent most of nap time reading through the book of 2 Corinthians, underlining the verses that stood out to me as I went along. (There were a lot of them--much to meditate on!) When I finished reading the letter in its entirety, I went back through and reread the underlined verses. As I did so, I recognized that God was speaking to me through these verses in what seemed to me a common theme: living well. Living in such a way as to not just "get through the day," but to do it well.

Dear God,

Please help me to live well. Help me to "comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which [I myself am] comforted by [You]" (1:4). Help me to speak because I believe (4:13). Help me to look at not the things which are seen--the temporal--but at the things which are not seen--the eternal (4:18). Help me to have as my ambition to be pleasing to You (5:9). Help me to live not for myself but "for Him who died and rose again on [my] behalf" (5:15). Help me to "be separate" (6:17). Help me to be "sorrowful to the point of repentance" (7:9). Help me to "sow bountifully" (9:6). Help me to be she "whom the Lord commends" (10:18).

Thank You, God, for this time of refreshing by the water of Your Word. Thank You for dying that I might have life; and thank You for asking me--and equipping me--to live it well!

Amen!

An Answered Prayer

Recently, I wrote out this prayer.

Dear God,

Please take my life and use it for Your pleasure.  Often, when I stop and consider myself, I can't help but wonder what the purpose of my life is.  I feel like I'm not "doing" anything for You, and I don't like that.  And yet, I feel powerless and inadequate to change that.  God, please call me and equip me to do Your will.  I want to live this life to the fullest.  When I stand before You one day, I want to have no regrets.  I want to hear You say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."  I feel like I am far from being a good and faithful servant.  God, please change me.  Implant in me a deep desire to work for You--a desire so deep that no amount of fear can hold me back.  Replace my fear with zeal, excitement, boldness, and every other quality that the Lord's bondslave must possess.  God, I have this weakness in that I tend to tune out what's going on around me.  I get so wrapped up in my thoughts or my tasks that I become completely oblivious to my surroundings.  God, please change that about me lest I continue in this pattern and tune You out, becoming oblivious to what You are doing around me.  How terrible would that be!  God, let me be tuned in to You at all times and under all circumstances so that I don't miss Your call or even just the opportunity to commune with You.  Draw me close, God, for I desire to draw near to You.  I want to know You more.  Oh, how I look forward to the day when I will "know fully" (1 Cor 13:12)!  But until that day comes, dear God, help me to live for You.  Call me.  Equip me.  Use me.  I am Yours!

I never intended to share this prayer here, but now it seems that I must.  You see, the day after I prayed this, God began answering.  A situation arose, and I knew without a doubt that God was calling me to respond in a certain way.  In fact, I knew that my disobedience would undoubtedly lead to my regret (see Romans 14:12).  He was asking me to do something that my flesh was unwilling to do; but praise be to God, for He equipped me with the faith to obey!  It is on the heels of this that I pray...

Dear God,

I am in awe of You.... Thank You for so quickly answering my prayer and for giving me the faith to obey You.  Although it was hard, it feels good to obey Your call and to be used by You. I am so grateful to be Your bondslave, dear God.  Please continue to call me, equip me, and use me as You see fit; and give me the grace and the faith to obey!  Amen!

Kids Say, vol. 7

Abel:  "Amariah, guess what?  Our mommy works at home, and that's her office."

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At some point, Abel decided that he doesn't like tomatoes.  Instead of forcing them on him, I have instead asked him to eat just one bite of whatever we're having with tomatoes, and then I let him eat the rest without tomatoes.  Suddenly, as I was beginning to prepare our tuna sandwich supper, Abel announces, "Mommy, I want lettuce and tomato on my sandwich!  Tomatoes are so good, right?!"

5 minutes later, holding his partially eaten sandwich:  "Mommy, the tomato is sticking out.  I don't want to see the tomato."

another 5 minutes later, chewing the final bite of his sandwich:  "Mommy!  This tomato is making me sad!..."

2 seconds later:  *gag*

Okay, so maybe he doesn't think tomatoes look and taste all that great just yet; but he made up his mind to eat tomato on his sandwich, and eat tomato on his sandwich he did!  That's my boy! :-)