Oh Darlin' Don't You Ever Grow Up

It seems like last week that we started this homeschool journey. I was convinced I was going to ruin my Emily. I remember so clearly the day Doug brought her home from Kindergarten, she was crying again.  He matter-of-factly told me, "I unenrolled her from school.  We are going to homeschool." Now, we had talked about homeschooling someday, when life was normal. (At that point I still expected life to get "normal")  Panicked, I stammered, but, but, but... I'm pregnant, we are living with your parents, I, I, I can't do this now. Doug looked at me, smiled and said, "Stacy, it's Kindergarten, shapes, numbers, letters, colors.  I'm pretty sure you know the material." And so began our homeschool journey.

Now here she is all grown up, mostly. 

I'm happy to say she knows all her shapes and colors, letters and numbers.  

She graduated.  SHE DID IT!

 

This whole homeschool Mom package comes with all sorts of crazy emotions on Graduation Day.  Not only am I incredibly proud of my daughter, I'm also incredibly proud of me. 

I DID IT!

 

I successfully homeschooled a child for her entire school career. She has written a novel and continues to love and pursue writing.  She has accumulated dozens of college credits while finishing high school. She reads everything and thinks deeply. 

And then there's the part of me that is far less confident.  Did I do enough? Did I teach her all she needs to know? What did I miss? And why couldn't I help her not struggle with math?

I am so thankful for GRACE! And for a God who fills in the gaps.  And the sweet fruit that has grown from the seeds of perseverance, peace, hope, and love.

Most importantly, she loves.  She loves Jesus.  She loves her parents. She loves her siblings.  She loves others.  Seeing her grow in her relationships is the most important and rewarding part of this journey.  When I see those relationships growing I am exceedingly thankful and proud. 

Emily has so many gifts and talents I cannot wait to see how God uses them.  She is a gift and a blessing to us. I love our chats, our coffee dates, our shopping sprees, and the time we have to spend together. 

Spread your wings and fly, Girlie.  Good things are in store!

Of Memories and Mukilteo Beach

Many of you know that although I claim Texas as home now, I didn't grow up there. I grew up in Everett, Washington where I went to Mukilteo Beach frequently.  The water was cold, the air was salty, and the rocky beach was my playground.  As I got older, sunbathing was preferable to swimming, but only a few days were warm and sunny enough for that.  When Doug and I were first married and lived in Washington, going to Mukilteo beach for a rare sunny afternoon picnic or an evening stroll during sunset was a cheap and most enjoyable date.  Sharing this special place with our kids is something I eagerly anticipated. 

Forewarning my children that this was not like other beaches we have experienced, we would not be swimming, and it was rocky rather than sandy, I encouraged them to consider this outing as a rocky hike beside the water. 

I was afraid they were going to be disappointed because to them, the point of going to the beach is to swim. However, they did a great job of adjusting their expectations and what a spectacular time we enjoyed. 

As I watched my kids marvel at clams spitting, salmon jumping, seals swimming, feathers falling, gulls flying, ferries sailing, and crabs scurrying I felt so full in my heart.  Not to mention I overflowed with gratefulness for the amazing Marine Biology exhibition we experienced!  This is what learning should be!  

My Hannah embraced the opportunity to show the beach to her baby brother carrying and bouncing him along the rocky shore.

Since we were there at low tide, the water was out exposing all kinds of marine life.  Travis loved the tide pools and the marine life we observed, showing his findings to his little sisters with delight. 

While Travis attempted to rescue a starfish, 

Caleb rescued a ROCK!

Some us thought the beach was cold...

And smelly!

But they did enjoy jumping from log to log just like me so many years ago. We would try to walk as far down the beach as we could on the logs and drift wood without stepping on the ground.

I so enjoyed showing the kids The Lighthouse which was built in 1905 and used an oil lamp until the 1930s when it was converted to electricity. The flashing pattern three seconds off, two seconds on is unique, like a fingerprint, for the Mukilteo lighthouse.  

A kind woman offered to take our group picture, you'll notice Doug and Emily are missing.  They were working yesterday. 

So we made a special trip down to the beach this morning just the three of us , after a stop at Big Foot Java for lattes. 

I just love the fact that I was able to share this place with my kids so many years later.  It will be one of the fondest memories of this Great Adventure, I'm sure.  

Creation Museum, Petersburg, KY, Prepare to Believe

Oh wow, I am pretty much speechless, so I'm writing a blog post, lol!!!

We just left The Creation Museum I feel saturated with truth, and hope, and boldness!

My kids are asking questions about sin and salvation, origins and the future.  

If you have to choose between this and Disneyworld for a vacation, choose The Creation Museum.  It's not as big or as expensive, but the quality of the exhibits and the TRUTH your family will take away from this are invaluable.  

First of all I want to thank the two families who gave us passes so we could enjoy the museum FREE OF CHARGE! You read that right.  What would have cost us around $200.00, was provided for us for free.  All tickets are two day passes so we will be going back tomorrow to see more!  It definitely takes two days to take it all in. 

From the first display replicating the "Lucy" bones found in Africa to the last exhibit we experienced, the planetarium, God's word was the cornerstone of all the information presented. 

Questions were raised about all the information which is so often presented as fact.  How many times have you read or heard, "Millions and millions of years ago...". We just did recently when we visited Mammoth Cave, the Ranger who led our tour authoritatively informed us that the caves were ten million years old.  In contrast, when he talked about what happened in the caves a few hundred years ago, he was more vague and willing to admit he didn't know how work was done by native peoples or how certain artifacts that were found in the caves were used.  There was no question however, when he explained that the caves were formed over millions of years by underground rivers.  

At The Creation Museum, there was so much to see and absorb and we were encouraged to ask questions and seek answers in God's Word.

Emily's favorite was The replica Garden of Eden which was absolutely beautiful.  Considering the pre-fall condition of the world was a new experience.  Imagine a world without pain or death.  Stop. Really imagine that. It was perfect, and it's where we are headed in the future in the new heaven and the new earth.  Lions lay down with lambs, it happened once, it will happen again, and you will want to be there!

Or maybe the espresso stand was Emily's favorite!

Doug's favorite was Walking through the life size Noah's ark where we considered that Noah was given a huge project by God to do.  He was faithfully obedient to Gods instruction resulting in the salvation of himself and his family.  God judged the entire planet, but provided a way of escape for the righteous who obeyed Him.

Ben's favorite was the planetarium where we flew through the skies and felt like we were really In a spaceship seeing the planets and stars.  It prompted the kids to ask, "If there are so many galaxies, what makes Earth so special?" While we don't have a perfect answer, we can consider that because God sent His one and only Son here to die for mankind, He thinks the inhabitants He created for Earth are pretty special.

At the dragon exhibit we observed the connection of the phenomenon of dragon lore across the centuries and the continents, presented creatively with concepts of young earth and dinosaurs cohabiting with humans. This was both educational and entertaining.  

We got to hear Buddy Davis talk about the T-Rex and how interpretations of it have changed over the years.  Archeologists and paleo-artists are really part detective, part artist and much of what they create is interpretive. We made our own t-Rex sculptures from green clay, straws, and toothpicks. 

Finally at the end of the day, we met Ken Ham the founder and creator of The Creation Museum.  We were able to thank him for his work, tell him about the big billboard in North Houston we were excited to see go up, and take a few pictures with him.  Being in the presence of believers was a breath of fresh air, a sigh of relief, and a sense of renewal.  

Visit www.creationmuseum.org and start planning your trip today!

My Favorite Bible Curriculum and Parenting Go-To Manual

I love Doorposts.

Doorposts is the ONLY curriculum I have used continuously for ten years.

It is 100% BIBLE based, user-friendly, filled with grace and truth.  

If you want to know how to parent, build character in you and your kids, use Doorposts.  

I subscribe to the blog and Pam and her kids write the best stuff.  

I have sold their curriculum twice at our local homeschool conference, I believe in it that much!  

When the 10 day bible study for kids arrived in my inbox I knew it would be good.  I started it yesterday and will continue this week as we have time to do bible together.  I love the insights, questions, and format Pam uses.  

Everything with parenting comes back to Gods Word, Everything. I, more than anyone need to be reminded of this.  

So if you need some direction in your parenting, some ideas for fresh character training, or just encouragement in life head on over to Doorposts.com and be uplifted! 

http://www.doorposts.com/blog/2013/06/20/a-10-day-bible-study-for-kids-1-samuel-25/

Doorposts, good for the littles and the bigs!