I was talking to an acquaintance and she was telling me how much she is dreading the summer coming. Her kiddo will be home from school for almost 3 months. What???? I could hardly believe my ears. I don't remember my mom ever thinking that and there were 4 of us. Yes, we attended public school, but summer meant being able to go on family vacation and spending time together. Worst part of it was she was dead serious. Yes, I have met several moms over the past couple of years that consider their child(ren) to be an accessory when it suits them and an inconvenience pretty much the rest of the time. No wonder her kiddo likes visiting us. I have a feeling we'll have another "child" this summer. :) No complaints here, the more the merrier.
We homeschool here. My 10 year old daughter, while knowing that it is summer, continues to do school. Not every day. Maybe 2 or 3 times a week. She'll also be having some time off to go on vacation with her grandparents, and she'll be spending some long weekends with them. They love having the company, and she enjoys the opportunity of being spoiled. (Who wouldn't? lol)
Why do we homeschool year round? It enables us to take breaks while others are in school. We are able to take advantage of off-season specials when we go on trips. We are not bound by the traditional calender. We love it. It also makes it possible for us to take breaks when dh is off on a holiday weekend, etc. We love taking longer weekends when we can.
Another biggie is we live in Texas. We will quickly be approaching triple digits in the next month or so. It is just too hot to run around like a banshee outside. Kids aren't really out playing all day long. More so in the morning and in the evening. So if we aren't out and about, or playing with the neighbor kids, we pretty much stick to our usual schedule.
Our plans for this summer aren't very ambitious. We are going to keep up on reading and practicing our math. It really does make a huge difference and we don't have to spend the first month or so reviewing what we forget over the summer. Dh is also in school, so we can't venture too far from home. We'll spend time playing in the pool we plan on getting for the backyard. We'll do some crafts, and my daughter is just dying to start cooking and adding to her responsibilities around the home. This will be the perfect time to start that with her.
What are you looking forward to doing this summer? It will be here before you know it! :)
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Greetings!
Welcome to my blog. I'm very new to this blogging thing, so if you stumble on this, I ask you for your grace as I figure out exactly how to work this thing. I have such ideas, and am excited to have an outlet. I just hope and pray that I can help and encourage fellow wives and mothers in a way that others have been so willing to help me in the past and present. :)
First, I want to say that while I am directing this blog towards wives and/or stay at home moms, that I believe that we all can use some help in finding ways to make our homes more productive and homey. I would like to share information that I have found out in the past 12 years that looking back, if I had know even a quarter of it, I know not only would I have benefited from it, but so would my family.
I married my husband when I was just a few months over 18 years old. He was the only man that I dated while in high school, and despite my parents desires for me to go to college, become a doctor, and who knows what else, I just knew that I had to marry this man. :) Of course, looking back, I understand what my parents wanted for me, especially taking in the fact that my daughter is now 10 years old, and how quickly I could be facing the same prospect with her. I believed back then, much like every 18 year old just chomping at the bit to break away from home to become their own person, that I knew all I had to maintain a home with my husband. I grew up in a family of 4 children, and I was the oldest. Needless to say, I had a crash course in domestics from a very early age, and I was the resident unpaid babysitter. Little did I know, when I got married that I was fleeing that environment, only to be thrust into the very thing I was fleeing.
My husband was in the navy. We were married just over 6 months, when he was deployed for 6 months. More than half of the marriages in the navy end in divorce. I am pleased, that while we had several ups and downs, our marriage survived those 5 years with countless deployments. We have now been married 12 and a half years. We have endured the same problems that others have, but we have kept our focus on God, and He has seen us through. We now have 2 children. A 10 year old daughter, Kathryn, and a 3 year old son, Jacob. They give us such joy, and we thank God for entrusting us with them. We rejoice in knowing that they were created and given to us because we are the perfect parents for them. Not perfect in that we do no wrong, but perfect in that we are the parents that are who they need to grow and become what God has called them to be. How amazing is it to know that we are just a piece in a much bigger part of God's wonderful plan for us all.
My husband has always been supportive of me staying home and taking care of our house and children. He grew up in a very dysfunctional family that struggled for as long as he can remember. He remembers spending his childhood in daycare, his parents working multiple jobs, and much of his memories of his youth are not exactly happy. He had seen terrible things that most would agree that no child should have to see. So, it was really a struggle for him to have a desire to get married and have a family. Obviously, God had other plans for him. While it took us a few years, we both finally came to the same understanding of what God wants our family to look like. He wanted me to work in the beginning, which was fine when he was out to sea, but when he was in port, he wanted me to be home for him. Understandable, but it was a pain. I preferred to stay home all the time, but I didn't want to do the housework. I'm not sure if it was just me rebelling against it all since I had already spent half my life running a house. Finally, God took hold after many many arguments, and hasn't let go.
I now willingly care for my home. While I may not like every little job that I have to do (I still HATE laundry), I do so with a happy heart because I know that I am caring for my family. I love knowing that I am able to be home waiting for my husband to come home to a home cooked meal after a long day at work. He enjoys his role as provider and while isn't always happy with his job, is thankful that he has it, and is able to care for his wife and children. We are now content in our family. We have put God as the head of this family and He has made our paths straight.
Are there days where I just don't want to do the housework? Of course. Are there days that I don't do things? Of course. We all need breaks. My husband has off on the weekends, and I think it's okay for a wife to take a day off as well. Weekends are my time with my entire family. Not just me and the kiddos. I may not do laundry on the weekend. The dishes may not get done right away. It's okay.
Now, I've been rambling, but I really wanted to share a bit of testimony of what the Lord has done with us. I pray the same for my readers. God is good, and He can do amazing things in your families too. One of the ways I have found to really enjoy my "job" is to find things that interest me. Too often, housewives are considered to be boring and worthless. It is quite the opposite. We wear many hats. We are maids, cooks, plumbers, repairmen, secretaries, business managers, babysitter/daycare workers, teachers, nurses/doctors, and the list goes on and on. As a housewife, we have more variety in our jobs than we could ever get working outside the home. I love to find ways to do things cheaply at home. While I'm not always successful, I have found several ways that work for me. I plan to use this blog to share those ideas as well. I hope my readers will also comment and share their ideas as well.
I want to eventually have a homeschooling section, cooking section, household ideas, etc. Like I said in the beginning, please bear with me for a bit. There's a learning curve on this and I'm doing this to challenge myself. I haven't figured everything out yet. So, in the meantime, I'm excited to be starting this new endeavor. I hope you enjoy your visit. I hope you will save me to your favorites and come back. I'm really looking forward to this. Thanks for reading. :)
First, I want to say that while I am directing this blog towards wives and/or stay at home moms, that I believe that we all can use some help in finding ways to make our homes more productive and homey. I would like to share information that I have found out in the past 12 years that looking back, if I had know even a quarter of it, I know not only would I have benefited from it, but so would my family.
I married my husband when I was just a few months over 18 years old. He was the only man that I dated while in high school, and despite my parents desires for me to go to college, become a doctor, and who knows what else, I just knew that I had to marry this man. :) Of course, looking back, I understand what my parents wanted for me, especially taking in the fact that my daughter is now 10 years old, and how quickly I could be facing the same prospect with her. I believed back then, much like every 18 year old just chomping at the bit to break away from home to become their own person, that I knew all I had to maintain a home with my husband. I grew up in a family of 4 children, and I was the oldest. Needless to say, I had a crash course in domestics from a very early age, and I was the resident unpaid babysitter. Little did I know, when I got married that I was fleeing that environment, only to be thrust into the very thing I was fleeing.
My husband was in the navy. We were married just over 6 months, when he was deployed for 6 months. More than half of the marriages in the navy end in divorce. I am pleased, that while we had several ups and downs, our marriage survived those 5 years with countless deployments. We have now been married 12 and a half years. We have endured the same problems that others have, but we have kept our focus on God, and He has seen us through. We now have 2 children. A 10 year old daughter, Kathryn, and a 3 year old son, Jacob. They give us such joy, and we thank God for entrusting us with them. We rejoice in knowing that they were created and given to us because we are the perfect parents for them. Not perfect in that we do no wrong, but perfect in that we are the parents that are who they need to grow and become what God has called them to be. How amazing is it to know that we are just a piece in a much bigger part of God's wonderful plan for us all.
My husband has always been supportive of me staying home and taking care of our house and children. He grew up in a very dysfunctional family that struggled for as long as he can remember. He remembers spending his childhood in daycare, his parents working multiple jobs, and much of his memories of his youth are not exactly happy. He had seen terrible things that most would agree that no child should have to see. So, it was really a struggle for him to have a desire to get married and have a family. Obviously, God had other plans for him. While it took us a few years, we both finally came to the same understanding of what God wants our family to look like. He wanted me to work in the beginning, which was fine when he was out to sea, but when he was in port, he wanted me to be home for him. Understandable, but it was a pain. I preferred to stay home all the time, but I didn't want to do the housework. I'm not sure if it was just me rebelling against it all since I had already spent half my life running a house. Finally, God took hold after many many arguments, and hasn't let go.
I now willingly care for my home. While I may not like every little job that I have to do (I still HATE laundry), I do so with a happy heart because I know that I am caring for my family. I love knowing that I am able to be home waiting for my husband to come home to a home cooked meal after a long day at work. He enjoys his role as provider and while isn't always happy with his job, is thankful that he has it, and is able to care for his wife and children. We are now content in our family. We have put God as the head of this family and He has made our paths straight.
Are there days where I just don't want to do the housework? Of course. Are there days that I don't do things? Of course. We all need breaks. My husband has off on the weekends, and I think it's okay for a wife to take a day off as well. Weekends are my time with my entire family. Not just me and the kiddos. I may not do laundry on the weekend. The dishes may not get done right away. It's okay.
Now, I've been rambling, but I really wanted to share a bit of testimony of what the Lord has done with us. I pray the same for my readers. God is good, and He can do amazing things in your families too. One of the ways I have found to really enjoy my "job" is to find things that interest me. Too often, housewives are considered to be boring and worthless. It is quite the opposite. We wear many hats. We are maids, cooks, plumbers, repairmen, secretaries, business managers, babysitter/daycare workers, teachers, nurses/doctors, and the list goes on and on. As a housewife, we have more variety in our jobs than we could ever get working outside the home. I love to find ways to do things cheaply at home. While I'm not always successful, I have found several ways that work for me. I plan to use this blog to share those ideas as well. I hope my readers will also comment and share their ideas as well.
I want to eventually have a homeschooling section, cooking section, household ideas, etc. Like I said in the beginning, please bear with me for a bit. There's a learning curve on this and I'm doing this to challenge myself. I haven't figured everything out yet. So, in the meantime, I'm excited to be starting this new endeavor. I hope you enjoy your visit. I hope you will save me to your favorites and come back. I'm really looking forward to this. Thanks for reading. :)
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