Monday, fun day...what will it hold?

This coming Monday August 5 we begin our homeschool year with our oldest, J, in 1st grade, our second, X, in pre-school, and our third, M, in a toddler program. We chose last year to use My Father's World and have really enjoyed it so much! It is designed to be a complete curriculum meaning there's nothing to add. I found it lacking a tiny bit for our standards and our child's capabilities. Last year we added some readers and Singapore math at the first grade level. He did swimmingly and we were surprised that we finished kindergarten so quickly because we had planned to spread it out over two years, if need be since we started J a year earlier than he would be allowed in an institutional school environment. The first grade curriculum is suppose to be complete as well but again, since we were advanced last year, we decide to add some supplements to it. We will be using Horizon Math 1st grade to really reinforce all he learned with Singapore last year. We will also be using Spectrum Spelling since its important to us that our children have good spelling skills which enhance reading skills. We are also adding leveled readers in and some printables that I have been collecting through the summer and will continue through www.freehomeschooldeals.com. I also made my two "school age" boys binders for their daily tracking of their work, reward charts for reading an completion of their work, calendars, book reports, nature walk check lists and journal, and other daily review items like colors, shapes, letters, and numbers. 

With X in preschool, we are using Rod and Staff A-B-C, D-E,F and then if we get to it, G-H-I. If we don't, we'll save it for summer bridge work. We used Rod and Staff with J for preschool and feel it really set him up well with solid foundations. It is their kindergarten curriculum but because we feel more inclined to challenge our children than hold them back from greatness, we use it with the ability to modify as necessary. We are also using Handwriting Without Tears Pre-k for helping X to enjoy writing since he currently wants nothing to do with it or coloring. He loves worksheets and such but when it comes to writing and coloring, his laziness takes over! He will also complete a nature journal but in the form of a scavenger hunt. The great thing is he has learned so much passively absorbing all J has been taught so he is more advanced than J was at this age in some areas. The big task is overcoming personality clashes! 

With M, we use Abbeka's toddler program. I started using it when J was 2 and X also used it. We've enjoyed the simplicity yet fun crafts. It is intense with coloring but M loves to color and show me his completed school work. Just like a big boy! 

Why are we starting so early, you may ask? Several reasons: 

1) we never intended to take a summer break. We never really did because we still read and did some summer bridge work. However, I needed the semblance of a break from planned days to reorganize our school room so that it would be functional and easily mobile. I also needed the time to plan this year, having three and being largely pregnant, if I am not well planned, I will be lazy!

2) As our guess date for baby boy #4 approaches, we wanted to be sure that we had a good start on the school year but were able to take off for the birth and bonding time for our new baby. We believe school is learned best by living it out and what better way to learn life skills than have a home birth and help care for a new baby? So we'll take off mid-November and resume in January. This also gives us wonderful baking and Christmas craft time without the obligation of a school day. This is the true beauty of homeschool. We are able to fit it to work in our lives!

We ordered our curriculum from My Father's World directly and this year got the toddler and preschool package as well for the younger boys to have hands on learning fun while J and I finish up with our daily work. They always have great deals at the end of the previous school year so we use a portion of our tax return and order school stuff. This also gives me plenty of time to spread out our spending and find the best deals on supplies and such. It also gives me plenty of time to plan! I love that just a tiny drive to Raleigh opens our homeschool world up to The Homeschool Gathering Place where they have tons and tons of consignment materials, books, new materials, and manipulatives. It's like a dream for me every time I step in there and every day the items change! You should visit if you have never been. 

I am a serious planner and need to have everything in order. We don't have to register our homeschool with the state until next year but this year I have everything in order as if we were registered. I have our attendance records, field trip records, grade book, assignment list, health records and vaccine exemptions. I keep all of these things in what I call, "the master home book." I also keep our budget, grocery list, coupons, contact lists, etc... in there. It's easy to tote along and keeps us all organized. As a mother, it is my desire to provide the absolute best for my children. In my efforts to do that, being organized gives me the peace of mind knowing that if something were to happen to me husband will have a central place to find all of our plans, how our days run, and keep a sense of normal for our children in case of upheaval. That sounds morbid but I feel it's my responsibility as a wife and mother to my family to make sure they are taken care of. This also give husband a place to prove their school progress and records in the event no one is able to homeschool them. 

 

Each year I am sure our homeschool philosophies will change and our approach will surely change with each child. Here at Raising Arrows Academy, we are working to educate our children to a high standard of academics while instilling real and true life lesson applications into them and giving them a complete sense of who God is. Helping them discover their ministry while cultivating their ability to think for themselves in discovering who they are is our main mission. 

The room is organized, flash cards made, items laminated, student notebooks created, student id's generated, work boxes done, backpacks and pencil bags packed and ready...IT'S ALMOST THE START OF SCHOOL at Raising Arrows Academy! Can you tell we are excited???

Planning Vacation on Budget

Since yesterday's post was so heavy, I thought I would post a lighter entry tonight about something that I get super excited about!

VACATION!!!!

When planning a vacation for, what will be, six people, it takes a great deal of thought, finding the best deals, and figuring how to follow a strict budget. That seems so impossible in today's time. I don't want to be cooking the entire time while on vacation or toting large coolers of drinks and snacks but we also cannot spend $60 per meal for a week. Whew!

After much debate about credit cards in our family, husband and I have settled on a happy compromise. ONLY BECAUSE WE ARE FINANCIALLY ACCOUNTABLE! I do not endorse the use of credit cards for those who have spending problems and/or cannot and/or will not pay them off BEFORE they accrue interest!!! We had a BP credit card that we got years ago when the return on it was awesome. Gas prices spiked and having an SUV, it seemed wise. Since then, BP has changed some things leaving us to not have as great of rewards. So we abandoned the cards and were using our bank card where we were earning QuickPoints. Not very quickly, I should mention. In a frugal, single income family, it's hard to earn much!

When discussing family vacation next year, we decided we wanted to do a Disney World trip and have the whole experience. This means hotel, passes, dining package, souveniers, etc... When I priced it out, for the "off season" it came to over $4,000! YIKES! How is a family suppose to afford that? Here is our solution:

We signed up for the Disney Visa through Chase. We've always been happy with Chase so we traded our BP card in for a cute Cars themed Disney Card. Awesome! Next, I have spend countless hours figuring out how we can earn the most reward points possible to put toward our trip. I have mapped out paying our bills online through each company individually. Before I was paying through our bank. The card gives us 2% back on and food, gas, grocery, or Disney purchases. We then get 1% back on every other purchase. This is HUGE for us! Any purchases we make for things we need we are putting money back in our pocket for this trip! AWESOME! Already, after only having the card for a week and only putting $300 on it after paying bills and some other things, we have earned about $7.50. Our plan is to use this card for every single purchase but log it in our records as if it were coming out of our bank account. I am extremely OCD about budgets and financial spending so this works for us! Again I say, if you are not financially conservative, this is likely a good way for you to get into BIG TROUBLE! My estimate is that by the time we plan to go on our trip next year, we will have about $1,000 in rewards. Other perks of this card are the member incentives like free dining plans. Hello!!!!! FREE DINING PLANS!?!?!? This means for our family, a $553.90 dining plan would be FREE!!! Yes, please and thank you, Disney! This does require me to have one meal for our fmaily per day which easily is breakfast since we are not much for breakfast and fruit and bagels suffice. Oh and staying at a Disney resort gives you free parking at the parks ($15/day) and free shuttle service if you so choose.

Here's the breakdown: Room is about $1600 for 5n/6d. The tickets run fairly cheap when you purchase more than one day so they are going to be about $1156 for four of us and the dining package ($554)--$FREE! With our credit card rewards that we estimate to be near $1000 by next fall, we plan to spend about $2000 for a $4000 vacation.

Needless to say, this mama is EXCITED! There is something about Disney with your children that makes you feel all magical inside! We are the kind of family that starts the park at open and we do not leave until close! If we are spending the time and money we are making the most of our trip. This is why the dining plan is so essential on a Disney trip!

Now, the other portion of our plan is to see if we can leave Disney and head to a rented beach house for a week and have a relaxing time there doing whatever there is to do. This requires a bit more work on my part because this is where the deals and coupons come into play to get the most of our vacation for the least money. Ideally, we would plan to make this trip with another family and divide up the cost but that is highly unlikely in our circle of friends because not everyone can coordinate the same dates and such. If you are one of those that can, we would love to go in on vacation with you!!! Beach stays tend to be my least favorite of vacations because it's not vacation when I have to cook, clean, do laundry, and clean sandy boys 24/7! But hey, it's a break from the day to day and after husband's special project vacation prohibition, by next fall, we will be needing a vacation!

God's Standards or the World's? Do you know the difference?

Today I find myself saddened and discouraged by the state and mentality of our society. It makes me so sad that women are facing anti-feminism in the feminist movement and there aren't Godly elders pouring into young women to combat this deception. It saddens me that despite having almost 4 children, I bear no real credibility for my ministry. True feminism is chasing after God's heart cry for women! That is, He created the first woman and named her through Adam, Eve! That very name means "mother of all living." There is a distinct reason for her name! She set the standard for all women to come: to be wives and mothers; to mother her own and mother the motherless. Her standard was to serve selflessly as a living sacrifice to those around her giving up a life of luxury for a life of true love only found at the cross. Titus 2 reiterates this when it states the standards for women in church: loving and speaking of their husbands with high regard and being chaste keepers of their home. Never was it said to travel the world, seek the highest paying job possible, or to give up the things of the Kingdom in pursuit of the world. Why then are we allowing the deceiver, who comes to steal, kill, and destroy, to rob us of great blessing and cast unBiblical judgement upon those who follow their God path in life? Why are we always seeking to prove ourselves as wives and mothers? Why do we allow the people who seek to discredit us stay at home mamas to control us and convince us we are not good enough? I have no idea! I do know I am tired of being told my children will never respect me because I don't seek the world, that I gave up the best in life by having children, that if something were to happen to my husband I would be worthless. Thank God I have wonderful women around me who prove daily in their lives and through their children that these are lies spewed out of flaming tongues. I see children who adore their mothers and are living beautiful lives of ministry and servant hood because of their mother's dedication to her family, not to the degrees, jobs, and money the world has to offer. My children are THE MOST amazing thing I could ever accomplish. Nothing even comes close. The world will be there when my children are grown, despite the fact I have no real desire to travel the world. Honestly, thank you for the concern of what I would do if my husband were killed but that seems like a very personal matter! I pray my husband lives a long healthy life and speak those prayers and blessings over him daily. As a man who honors his mother and father, I am proud to speak the blessing of a long life over him! Life insurance is a great thing, just in case. Before speaking about being a wife and mother, there are several things you should do: first, actually be one! It's astounding to me that people speak against something they have no experience with! Second, seek the Divine and perfectly cohesive Word of God, which nothing shall be added to or taken from. Know your Father's heart before you speak for Him. Last, remind yourself that we should never be discouraging someone from the call on their lives and path they follow SO AS LONG AS it is directed by The Lord in His intrinsic Word. When your life lines up with God's will, no matter what others may say or do, you shall not be moved!

My heart is also burdened for the weakened state of women and men in today's world. Women, you were created by a magnificent Creator, made in His image, fearfully and wonderfully molded into a person to bear the image of God through your womb and to bring forth that fruit from your womb. Why then have we become so weak that we allow others to vandalize our wombs? You were created to birth! Unless you have a disease that 1% of the population has OR you have a severely mal-positioned baby (transverse), there is no reason for anyone to rob you or your baby of a healthy birth, with zero intervention, allowing only your body to make the adjustments needed to bring forth your baby. You are not weak so stop being weak! Stop forcing babies into the world, crying for drugs, and allowing people to fear you into traumatic birth situations. Fight for what's yours and fight for your Godly feminism! Own your conception, own your pregnancy, own your birth, own your post birth healing!

Men, you married your wife and took complete responsibility for her, to be her priest and the one who brings her to greatness. Why then are you rolling on your back in surrender to the first person who seeks to harm her in the name of "saving" her? Stand up and be a man! Question every authority you can. Never settle for what doesn't sit well in your being because that feeling of uncertainty, deep in the pit of your belly, the one that asks you to wonder if you just handed your wife to a butcher, is your discernment! It's crying out for you to say, "Stop! We are doing this and you aren't stopping us!" I remember, clear as day, when my midwife calmly said, "well, he's definitely a boy and he's definitely breech. What do you want to do?" Husband looked in my face, as seriously as he's ever looked at me, with authority and complete priesthood over me and said, "we are staying here and you are going to push this baby out, now!" In ten minutes, my breech baby came into the world without one tear and very little pain. And he was perfection! Was I a loud and crazy Amazonian woman? Absolutely! But I did it! Of all three, so far, he was my easiest and least painful birth. Let's face the facts: I am no stronger, braver, better, or more amazing than you! I am you! Because I was created by the same Creator and mothered from the same first mother! You deserve to hold the medal of the mother who stands on the Word of God as strength and faith that allows you to do amazing and unexplainable things! My husband exercised his call to have authority over me and commanded me to do what he knows our God has called me to do because he seeks to challenge me to greatness!

My goal in life is not to raise children to desire high paying, upper level jobs. Although I work hard to school them and challenge them in their studies, I don't even desire them to higher education if they don't desire that. My desire through the perfect will of God, is to raise warriors for the Kingdom, who seek to serve and love The Lord with all of their hearts, be true Godly spouses and parent children with the same values of a Godly standard. If I raise poor missionaries, I care not because I have raised warriors for Christ who fall on their face daily before the throne of a King, knowing they fall short and only He can lift them up and set them on the path to righteousness. I am a far cry from anything resembling perfect and I am more than grateful because I have the profound privilege of falling on my face in humility before my King, seeking greatness in my life as a wife and mother! Is there anything more precious or worthy of seeking than that? Lord, I pray not!

**it is my deepest burden to convey that I stand not in judgement of anyone and their choices if they truly feel they are lead by God in them. It IS my desire to challenge you to think beyond what you have been "brainwashed" to believe by the world around you. Sometimes it takes going against the grain to discover your greatness. It is never too late to seek The Lord in repentance and stand firm in His Word. Daily I face condemnation for my choices and I so pray that in sharing my heart, others will be spared from the hurtful lies I have faced and spent countless amounts of time focusing on them. As I have matured in my life through seeking truth from the Book of Life, I have found peace in where God has placed me! One day, oh how I pray to be a midwife! But until my children are grown and embarking in their own lives I shall remain a steward to them because that is what God has asked of me!**

Birth Excitement

This morning I woke with an excitement for birth! As this baby woke up and rolled around, possibly stretching slowly and then kicking me really hard, I became excited to see his beautiful face. I got real excited to hold him for the first time and bask in his presence. I love birth! As hard as it is and as painful as it can be, I love every moment of it because its mine and I own it! I am solely responsible for each and every moment of my birth and the experience I have. I choose my labor environment, those included in my special space, my labor positions, my prayers and my breaths. I choose my birthing place, what is most comfortable to push in, I feel my baby coming into the world inch by inch with my hands, and I catch my baby on my own (or with the help of my birth warrior husband). No one steals my experience from me with drugs or options of intervention. No one uses scare tactics to their ease and comfort. Everyone trusts that I was created for this and that my body will do exactly what it is designed to do in the time it is meant to happen. It's a celebration of bringing forth life! I adore this season of life and will be sad when it is over for me. I am also eagerly awaiting my rest! I am excited to have my husband home to care for our older children for three weeks so I can rest, heal, and bond with our precious new blessing. I will be sticking with our rule of three weeks in bed and three weeks around the house! This being our fourth baby, I want to make sure I don't have any complications later in life! I like my bladder continence! The dust bunnies will wait on me and be there when i am ready to pay them a visit! (of course i will gladly accept a cleaning person or someone coming to visit and cleaning while here!) So despite waking several times with hands and feet that cramped and fell asleep last night, I am joyfully enjoying these weeks of talking to our baby and feeling his movements and awaiting his perfect birthday! No one wants him here more than I but I am willing to wait until the day The Lord has made for his entrance into this world--my world!

24 weeks...

We are 24 weeks along in this pregnancy journey. Number 4 is interesting. Everything is always different with each pregnancy and the experiences are always new and exciting! I was much more sick this time around than ever before. I have had more trouble with back pain due to hormones. I have been more tired this time. But I also have three very active boys who keep me moving and bending and on the go each day! No rest for the weary! I feel my belly is bigger now than ever before, too. But then I have this precious person moving and kicking within my sacred womb and I don't care how big my belly is or what aches or trials I face because feeling these movements, knowing God chose me to be the mother of this baby and chose this baby to be my dear sweet child is totally worth it! Tomorrow might bring something new. And next week and next month. I just know that I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength and I offer this life as a living sacrifice. That whatever God sees fit for me to face and endure is meant to bring glory and honor to His name and I will do it joyfully with a spirit of servant hood! 16 weeks (or 20 if we are going by trend) left of this pregnancy and I am feeling pressured by my incessant nesting to have everything clean, organized, washed, folded, prepared, cooked, and baked right now! Making lists is how I keep myself on track so this week's task is planning one meal to freeze per week. That is, making double the recipe one night per week to freeze which is hard in a dairy-free home that prefers no meat also. Because you just never know what you will desire to eat in November/December! So off I go to do my Bible study, massage my stiff neck, rub magnesium oil on my legs and arms to keep them from falling asleep while I sleep, and lay my head to rest. Good-night!