We started school 2 weeks ago ! For a homeschool mom this phrase takes on a very different
meaning ! Besides school supplies , we get to buy all the text books and plan all the lessons. This year I have a sixth grader , third grader , first grader and my two little ones. It can appear to be impossible to be organized and have a clean house and school everyone. Here is how I do it! Not perfectly, but with Gods grace I am trying .
When I first started homeschooling I went to a homeschool fair and the Lord (really, it was Him) took me to a random book I found at a book booth. The book by Steve and Teri Maxwell is called" Managers of their homes ". Let me say this, if you have more than 2 kids and you are home all day, you need to buy this book. If you homeschool your kids and do not have this book, you must buy this book ! Can you tell I love this book!
Here is the idea in the book, the family who wrote the book have many children and they were very organized. They asked 20 of their friends would you like to use our schedule and plans for running a home and see if they work for you ? The book is their plan and their friends thoughts about the plan and how they tailored the plan to their family. There is copies of schedules in the back of the book. As a foster mom and a homeschool mom, my family is always changing , but one thing remains, I still must get my job done !
The Maxwell's are a humble and amazing family who really desire to bring glory to the Lord. Their website is titus2. I just bought" Managers of Their chores" and I am so excited to have a great plan in that area of our home. I would recommend any of their resources .
Anyway, Especially if you are just starting to homeschool this is a great resource to help you get a plan in place, and that seems to be half the battle sometimes.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Our Adoption Journey
Our story began fall 2006 when my husband and I were taking biblical counseling classes. We heard a sermon that changed our lives. Voddie Baucham ( Voddiebaucham.org) a fantastic preacher out of Spring ,Texas, preached on Centrality of the Home. We were brought to our knees in absolute conviction. We knew we would need to change some things in our home. We began making preparations for those changes. I was working as a preschool minister at a large Southern Baptist church. I quit my job, we pulled our kids out of public school and began homeschooling them and we started the process of becoming foster parents in hopes of adopting.
Our timeline:
Fall 2007-January 2008 licensed as foster parents
February- 1st placement baby boy, still at the hospital due to the drugs in his body. We visited him everyday for 2 weeks and found out the day before we brought him home that an uncle would be coming to get him instead. We were new at this and we were crushed.
March 15th-2nd placement- a baby boy and his 2 year old sister. Precious children! We were in love with these kids we made our requests know to the Lord that we wanted to keep them. This was not the plan! They left 2 months later.
Mid July - We get a phone call about a group of kids who were removed in a drug raid and they cannot find a place for them. They all come here for almost 2 months and leave to go with grandparents.
We tell our agency we would like only adoptive placements.
March 2009- Baby boy (D) 3 days old born on drugs , probably adoptable. Arrives on Monday.
Friday of that week we get a call about another adoptable baby boy M. He arrives the next Monday.
Mid May baby boy D leaves.
Late May we get matched to an adoptable 2 yr. old boy. He arrives to be a part of our family.
As of September of this year Matthew will be an official part of our family.
In November our Q will be adopted!
Now it may seem like a simple process , however we have been submitted on probably 50 kids within the last year. We have been very close to getting other adoptive placements. It is a journey of faith and trust. Thankfully we trust a soverign God and we know He has a plan. It has been exciting to watch our family grow and blossom .
We are so thankful to get to adopt these boys ! We have learned so much about ourselves and our family through this process!
Our timeline:
Fall 2007-January 2008 licensed as foster parents
February- 1st placement baby boy, still at the hospital due to the drugs in his body. We visited him everyday for 2 weeks and found out the day before we brought him home that an uncle would be coming to get him instead. We were new at this and we were crushed.
March 15th-2nd placement- a baby boy and his 2 year old sister. Precious children! We were in love with these kids we made our requests know to the Lord that we wanted to keep them. This was not the plan! They left 2 months later.
Mid July - We get a phone call about a group of kids who were removed in a drug raid and they cannot find a place for them. They all come here for almost 2 months and leave to go with grandparents.
We tell our agency we would like only adoptive placements.
March 2009- Baby boy (D) 3 days old born on drugs , probably adoptable. Arrives on Monday.
Friday of that week we get a call about another adoptable baby boy M. He arrives the next Monday.
Mid May baby boy D leaves.
Late May we get matched to an adoptable 2 yr. old boy. He arrives to be a part of our family.
As of September of this year Matthew will be an official part of our family.
In November our Q will be adopted!
Now it may seem like a simple process , however we have been submitted on probably 50 kids within the last year. We have been very close to getting other adoptive placements. It is a journey of faith and trust. Thankfully we trust a soverign God and we know He has a plan. It has been exciting to watch our family grow and blossom .
We are so thankful to get to adopt these boys ! We have learned so much about ourselves and our family through this process!
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