Back to School Blast!

Homeschool Share is holding an awesome blastoff to the new school year and you can read about it here. If you haven't been to this site before I would heartily recommend it! I am planning on submitting a unit study for the competition, but more than anything I am really looking forward to seeing all the great new stuff that will be up on the site for the new year! Next year these units and lapbooks will be the main focus of our homeschool and the kids are so happy to hear that, it is the part of the day known as 'Fun School' around here!

Excuse me while I nest...

So I've not been around in a while as I am busy preparing for this new baby! I've got just a few weeks left to get all this stuff done and I am feeling a little overwhelmed with it all! I had Kunle working very hard the last few days -something I'm sure he wasn't really planning on doing and things are looking pretty good in the house now. All that is left to do is to get ready for the new school year and make some plans for school over the summer. The trouble with all this running around hauling heavy furniture and organizing is that my ankles are the size of oak trees! Yeuch! So after dinner tonight I MUST put my feet up or I am in danger of exploding!
See y'all soon!!!

Kunle's Graduation!

Yeah Baby you did it! A whole year of intensive training and studying! I am so proud of all your hard work and really excited about what is next!! I love you!

Strawberry Picking

We went on a field trip to pick some strawberries last week. Here are some pictures! As you can see we all had a great time and most especially loved those sweet strawberries - they are nothing like the ones you get at the store, we are out now so may have to go back soon!

Happy Mother's Day!

Here I am on Mother's Day awaiting breakfast in bed and a day of complete rest. I've already been showered with kisses, hugs flowers and homemade gifts galore and now I am here with some 'me' time before the bacon is cooked! I was up early this morning and I've been thinking about being a Mother and all that it entails. One of the greatest influences we have as mothers is our own mother and I want to take a moment out and honor her...
My mother and I have not always seen eye to eye and I know that I gave her such a hard time as a teenager, but through it all she has remained steadfast, a rock in my life that I knew I could turn to whatever I did. She gave grace to me when I needed it on so many occasions and she gave me the confidence to become who I am today.
I now know as an adult some things I did not appreciate as a young child. I know that things were tough financially for a while when I was young, but I never did feel it back then. Going through tough times now and trying to plan a future for our children has really shown me what a great job my parents did in protecting us from all that.
My Mother ensured that I was given a great childhood (well, Dad did too of course, but today is Mother's Day!) My memories are full of adventures in the park, walks along the beach in the height of winter (boy did I complain about that at the time!) reading good books, baking cakes and scones and lots of family time in the woods with the dog or at the DIY store buying something for the house (I love that place!) I may not have had the latest craze in shoes or toys, but I had a great childhood and the memories of that time are worth so much more than whatever material things could have been given to me!
My Mother has taught me many things, but I think the greatest thing she has taught me is how to be accepting of people no matter what. As I was growing up I never felt pressure from her to perform a certain way or to be a certain type of person. I was always given the opportunity to become whoever I wanted, with no pressure from her. If I had a different opinion about a world issue we debated it, as adults, with my opinion always being listened to. If I made a choice about my life's direction it was always respected, in fact those choices were encouraged. No matter what I have done, as a child or adult, I have felt that quiet support of my Mother and that has given me the strength to become so much more than I would have otherwise. I hope to be able to give that kind of support to my children.
My Mother made many sacrifices for us when we were growing up and I know that is all a part of being a Mother, but it gives me great joy now to see her become the woman she is right now and to be really enjoying the life she has now! You deserve it Mom, so take all life hands you now!! Thank you for being a such a wonderful Mother...I love you.

Changing Rhythm...

One of my favorite passages of scripture is from Matthew 11. My favorite version is the Message version -it speaks to me so clearly..."Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me, and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly". (Matt 11:28-30 Message)

Anyone here need to live "freely and lightly"? Or is it just me? There are some days that this kind of life seems so far away from my life it's a joke. When thinking about my days I have plenty of reasons why they are not "free" or "light" - I mean how could they be I am just so busy. Can't you see Jesus - I have three children, I homeschool, I am pregnant, I need to cook, clean, shop, plan ...blah, blah, blah! Okay...hold on! Am I really saying that Jesus was less busy than I am??? Oh...better stop right there! I guess Jesus can take the prize for busy! So how did He do it? When I read my bible I see that Jesus has promised to teach me how to live this life and to live it daily. So how? That's what I wanted to know - I'm all about the how (and that may be part of my problem, but that's for another time!) Well, if we look in this passage Jesus tells us to "watch how I do it". So I did. I took a few days out to really examine how He lived His life and what He actually did - I figured I could learn a few things...

First things first: Jesus did nothing apart from His Father (see John 5:19)...What does that mean? He took time in prayer every single morning and communed with God. I'm sure that He didn't get up and jump immediately into everything He had to do without relaxing and taking time to talk about the day with God. I'm also sure that He didn't pray some religious pat prayer and say, 'There! I'm done with my prayer for the day, I got that out of the way!'.
Jesus spent quality time with His father, time to chat and be Himself. I think that is all He wants us to do. Not to feel that this is just something a good Christian woman has to do everyday; that because the Proverbs 31 woman got up early and prayed it's something I have to do every morning or I am a failure. Jesus wants us to come to Him in the morning to take a few minutes and just be with Him. He wants us to want to spend time with Him to desire that special time each morning, not to have it as #1 on a long list of things to do each morning. Adding Jesus to your list each day won't make your day light or easy...
Jesus also did not limit time with His father to the early morning hours and leave it at that. Jesus went to God whenever He felt He needed to. I notice that He especially spent time in prayer after particularly busy times in His day (you know...feeding 5,00...healing crowds of people etc, etc!) There was a reason He did that...He needed to be refueled and take a moment for himself. I know there are many times in each day I could use a refueling. How about you?

The result of Jesus spending time throughout the day talking to His father was that He was able to know what was important and He was able to let go of all that was unnecessary in His day. he didn't pressure Himself to do what others expected Him to do. If I really took all that I feel I need to do in my day to God, how many of those things would make it onto God's list of things He feels are important for me to do. All those expectations I place upon myself - are they from God? I'm not so sure...I'm not sure God is really upset with me if my house is not quite perfectly clean. I'm not sure God wants me to forgo fun with the kids because we must do all the workbooks we had planned for the day. And I'm not sure God really wants me to worry so much about how much damage I must be doing to my kids as their teacher!
Jesus had plenty of outside pressure telling Him what they thought He should be doing, but He was able to stay focused on what was truly important because He was in rhythm with what God wanted. I don't think I 'm quite as rhythmical!

Jesus was not all about work you know! He was busy I give you that,but He also knew how to enjoy life! Oh! that sounded sacreligious didn't it! But look into it! Jesus enjoyed His closest friends, He spent time eating meals with people and just relaxing too. I think that was how He was able to minister to such a large variety of people from professionals to s - he was REAL! He was fun and relaxed and didn't make people feel that they weren't worth His time. Jesus really got up the Pharisee's noses with this! Am I able to really relax and have fun? Do I turn my husband and children away from me when I am all about the work, work, work? I think Jesus was onto something here!

What did Jesus do when His plans for the day went astray? He just flowed with it. He seemed to have a sense of what was truly important for His day and if that was something that was not in His plan then so be it. Take the woman with the issue of for example (Matt 9:20). Jesus could have easily told her to come back later as He was on a schedule and couldn't be late, but He didn't. He stopped what He was doing and went with it. This is what I think Jesus meant when he spoke of unforced rhythms. How many of life's interruptions are put there by God Himself who wants us to take time out of what we have planned and go with what He has planned?

So what will my life look like if I take Jesus up on His offer to help me in my day. What do the unforced rhythms of grace look like?

Here's what I think...I think my prayer life will not be on my list of things to do. I will seek time with Jesus whenever I need it and nurture a relationship not a religion. I will seek to enjoy the life I have now! I will enjoy my children, my husband, my friends and family today. I will not focus on my checklist! I will learn to go with the flow when God interrupts my day and not fight against it because my plan is so important. I will respond now when I hear that still, small voice in my head and not put it off for a better time. If God tells me to do something I will! I will stop worrying about all the things I should be doing and am not. I will lay down my plans and keep company with Jesus!

Our trip to the X-ray machine!

Yep...that's right folks! Niyi did it already - only 22 months old and we have already had an x-ray done! Well before Grandma gets worried I should say that there are no broken bones and he is fine, but we did wonder there for a while!
On Sunday night Niyi decided while holding onto Daddy's hand to suddenly twirl around and stop bearing weight on his legs...next thing we knew he was screaming in pain! Well, we took him home, iced his wrist and waited to see. We left it on Monday thinking it must just be a bad sprain, but when we woke up this morning and still he was in pain and totally not using his hand we decided a trip to the doctors was in order! Anyway, as I said he is fine, just a bad bruise/sprain requiring more ice and elevation, but I just wanted to point out - girls are not this way!!! Why was I not warned! Arghhh! :-)

More Book Reviews!

I recently read two great books that I feel I must recommend!
The first was Uncharted, by Angela Hunt. I have read a few of this author's book before and just not got on with them, but this was recommended by someone so I gave it a go. Like Angela's other books, it took a few chapters to really grab me (this is usually where I get impatient with books and put them down...) but I persevered and I am really glad that I did... This story creeps up on you and before you know it you are picking it up at any and every spare moment. I was actually up at midnight reading this one (and being almost nine moths pregnant you know that it takes a good book to keep me up that late!) The characters in the book are certainly a mixed bunch, but when you finally find out just exactly the predicament they have got themselves in you really begin to feel for them. As for the theological debate you could get into about this book, I am not really inclined to go there - all I know is that Angela has written a great book that can really get you thinking... Go ahead - read it!
The second book is Club Sandwich by one of my favorite authors Lisa Samson. This is another great offering from Lisa, but in this case it took me a while to really warm up to the main character. She is at first a really annoying character and I did not like her, but then life started to become even more difficult and it was great to see how she went from being a complainer to someone who knew how to rely on God. Thinking back on reading this book I am wondering why I felt so strongly against the woman at the start of the book - am I just a little too much like her???Hmm... So this story, about a woman stuck between caring for an aging mother and a growing family (complete with absent selfish husband) was really a good read and dealt with an issue that many women are facing right now. As with every Lisa Samson book I couldn't put it down and really was rooting for the lead character and her family by the end!
Now I really must head back to the library as there is nothing left to read!

Menu Plan Monday!

Well last week was I think the busiest, most stressful week ever! (well at least we were so busy it felt like it!) and we did not eat even one of the meals I had planned...
So here we go again, back on track with (hopefully!) a better, more routine-like week ahead of us!
Here's what I have in the works for dinner this week!

Monday:
Spaghetti with basic meat sauce, bread sticks and salad.
Tuesday:
Jalloff rice, various meat, fried plantain.
Wednesday:
Leftover Love!
Thursday:
Kunle's graduation banquet at church!
Friday:
Kids - Mac N cheese and chicken nuggets,
Grown Folk - This yummy looking recipe! With salad and garlic bread...
Saturday:
Quiche, salad and homemade bread (late lunch before church) - we get pizza after class!
Sunday:
Mother's Day - I am not cooking!

So that is it folks! If you need a little more inspiration than I can provide (and trust me I understand!) then go here!