I can do it!

I am going to do I need to do my life is crazy right now and my family needs me so this is where I am going to start. I am going to be reading and following this plan.

I am hoping to write about doing this at least weekly more if I can and I pray it will help me.

Joey Bear

Today my little chunky monkey, my little buddy boy, My little Joey bear my smallest love is nine months old.  He is a great baby so sweet and quite he loves to give kisses and hugs, he loves everyone in his family. He sits up tall and happy watching his silly family playing, He laughs and giggles at us as we play. His smile is wonderful with his 4 little toofers.

He talks up and storm to us and sings us songs too. Dada and mama are his favorite words but he says Bubba, and TJ too. He can talk with his hand and tell us when he needs more, he is learning so fast, and growing up to explore! 

He rolls and rolls and scoots as he goes gets into to everything and is always learning as he plays my smallest  “student” my smallest love after all Homeschooling starts from birth,  Joey bear you have another part of my heart!

Joyfully Sewn Designs Giveaway

I been trying to do more sewing lately I love making things for my family it is so rewarding to know I made something that is being used by my family.

If you love making this for your little girl check this out and enter!

Joyfully Sewn Designs Giveaway 

Little Garden

Every year we plants tomatoes, bell peppers, Jalapeño and some things new last year the new things was onions it did well so we are doing them again this year.

This year our new thing is a blue berry bush, was Todd’s idea. I really hope it work I love blueberries!

We are planting seeds. Sunday Ian and TJ planted onion and Jalapeño seeds in a little seed starter set we got for them. Ian is going to be taking pics of them so we can watch them grow. Hopefully in a month or so we have nice plants to get our some of our food from.

We will be getting some seedlings too in case our seeds do not grow for us.

Ohio woes

I really want to go I am so lonely in Ohio I have no friends here the only friends I have are my online friends and at times I feel they do not really think of me as a friend. We moved to Ohio from my hometown and my friends 4 years ago to live closer to Todd’s parents. We live about 2 hours from them; we see them maybe five times a year. It is sad really but it is how it is, both of our faults really.

When we first got to Ohio, we started going to a church called Grace Baptist church it is a huge church. It seemed like it may work, but after awhile we felt like we were just another face in the crowd and not really a part of the church so we left it. We start going to New life Baptist and it was wonderful a small church with our beliefs, everything  was great about it but it was far a 45-60 minute drive to get to it and with Ohio winters it makes it hard to get to it with a large family. Therefore, Todd decided we would not go anymore.

We have been without a church for too long I long to hear Gods word being preached, and for the church family we had. We all need to be going to church so bad, without church there is an emptiness that can only be filled by God and hearing his word.

For a long time I felt we needed to go back “home” New Mexico. We had a church and friends there, we could go back and everything would be the same right? Wrong the saying says you can never go back home and it is true. Our friends out there have changed and even though I tried to stay in contact with them, I really have not and they have not with me. 

When we move, again we pray it will be our last time and that we can start looking for our house we will make roots in the house we will live in until our time here is done, and we go to Heaven our forever home.

We want to move to a homeschool friendly state, to be able to be close to a good Fundamental Independent King James Version Baptist Church (FIKJVBC), and have country living that I have always wanted, chickens goats, sheep you know a small farm… Not too much to ask for right? Well it is ion Gods hands, I wait, and I am ready!

What we use to teach.

As I said before we have used a few different curriculums.  It is a difficult thing to do finding the one that is right for you.

The curriculum we used first was Abeka. Abeka is a great Christian curriculum; it uses workbooks and is parent taught. It is an easy curriculum to follow; you read the lessons and tell your children what to do for the day, pretty straight forward right? Well it made it hard for us because my children had way more questions than they had answers for.  We picked this curriculum because our friend was using it with her children and loved it. However, it was not the one for us.

So I hoped online and started looking again, all of the children loved to read, maybe a reading base curriculum was what would work. As a bonus, we would be building our school library so it would be a win win situation.  Well we tried it we used Sonlight for 3 years. It was so exciting getting the big boxes of book even the children got excited about the books. We do not agree with many of the books (non-fiction and fiction both) theologically and/or based on our worldview, we would have them not answer some questions and skip something’s all together. Sonlight’s Christian educational philosophy is different from ours.  A big part was it was not KJV, it also taught other beliefs then ours. So we will not be using it this coming year.

We are going to be using Switched on Schoolhouse for Ian; Switched-On Schoolhouse is a comprehensive, Bible-based curriculum! It is computer-based learning for him; he loves working on the computer. With animation, video clips, and other fascinating multimedia, Switched-On Schoolhouse looks like it will be the perfect curriculum for him. I can customize it for him, if he is behind in one grade I can get the grade before that and if he is ahead I can get the grade after it. I am, so excited to start it with him next year!!

For TJ we are going to be using Timberdoodle Kindergarten with him , he knows his letter sounds already and lots of blends. He is a smart little cookie so I will have to work hard to keep his little mind busy so he does not get bored with school. Timmy is going to be working on the pre-k Timberdoodle he is very excited, knows most letter sounds.

All the little are doing Hooked on Phonics at different levels Mikayla is doing it too she know her letter sounds pretty well for a 2 year old!

You Homeschool?

When we first started homeschooling 6 years ago, we had prayed about it a lot, talked to friends and decided to pull the older children from school. They were in Kindergarten, 3^rd 5^th and 7^th grade.

After talk to my friend Diana who homeschooled her children too it seemed like Abeka was what would be good for us. 

Boy was I wrong! Pulling the children from public school showed me what the public schools where lacking in! The only one that was able to the Abeka work was Maya in 1^st grade Abeka and Ian in Kindergarten Abeka. The rest was to why to hard for them so our 1rist year homeschooling was very hard on all of us.

We spent the summer praying over a curriculum, and tons of time online looking for what would work for us. In the end, we picked Sonlight because it says it could be used over a wide range of ages and we had that.

Sonlight came and everyone love it so many books to read all of the children love to read! They would read their books and love them. But that was it the other stuff that came with it did not really work with them. So here I was again with a curriculum that was not working for us, at this point I was feeling maybe it was not Gods will to homeschool. Maybe I was making a big mistake!

I would cry out to God being frustrated with what I was doing, the older 4 children had moved out or were with their other parent. I still have 5 children to educated, what was I to do.

 The only thing you should do pray more.

SO I prayed and prayed. God started showing me things Ian the only child I have 100% homeschooled. Loves the Lord and knows him as his savior! He can read and read well he loves to read. God let me teach him to read! He knows his math facts, he loves science, new things are exciting to him he loves to learn! The only learning he has had was from me, this IS Gods will and I will keep doing it I am not running my children I am bring them to follow the Lord and teaching them what they should know along the way.

I can do this because I have been with God helping the whole time; God will never leave me he has been with me as I have been schooling our children the whole time!

Next year Ian will be using Switched on Schoolhouse, this will be a 1^st but it is bible based and all on the computer. I am going to be looking into a good book series for a 11 year old boy and getting that form him too. Going to be doing Kindergarten with TJ next year too, we are going to use the Timberdoodle Kindergarten for him. TJ is SO excited to start he has been working on Hook on Phonics for reading already, and is doing great. Timmy will be doing some pre-k stuff from Timberdoodle too. Mikayla will be doing what I call sideline learning that is where she learns thing because she sees me teaching the others.

"I can do all things through Christ Which Strengtheneth me" Philippians 4:13

Anew beginning

Our School name:
Heritage House Academy
          Our homeschool was founded in 2004, the original name was Miller Blessings. But we wanted something more official sounding so Spring of 2010 we changed the name to Heritage House Academy. The name fits us and it comes from a bible verse that means a lot to us.

Our School Motto:
Psalms 127:3-5
          Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

Our School mascot:
Eagles
          Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Our School colors:
        Navy blue, red, silver

Pledge to the Christian Flag:

I pledge allegiance to the Christian Flag, and to the Savior, for whose kingdom it stands. One Savior, crucified, risen and coming again, with life and liberty for all who believe.

Pledge to the Flag of the United States of America:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Pledge to the Bible:

I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God's Holy Word, I will make it a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path and will hide its words in my heart that I might not sin against God.

School uniforms:  Planning to get school uniforms for them using our school colors. We will still have jammie days!

Ephesians 6:10-17 

 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Sixth Giveaway: For Instruction in Righteousness

Another give away!!

Sixth Giveaway: For Instruction in Righteousness

Kaylas Hair cut!!

SO I cut Kaylas hair today gave her her a nice spring hair cut I think it came out pretty good!

Here is the before

 

 Here are the afters

A real pain in the butt!!

Well this is getting old so tired of hurting!!! Bah  oh well God is good always even when you don't get what he is doing. My pray is for this tailbone pain to go away soon, by it just going away... but if not that pain management or something. I would love to start losing some weight and working out more!

Here is a link to pretty much what I am going through.

Spring cleaning

Every wonder why when cleaning you have to make a HUGE mess first? That is what we are doing right now cleaning, “spring cleaning” I guess you could call it. We are donating stuff we just do not use anymore and making more room for stuff we do use.

So far, we have gone through our entire book collection and let me tell you have many, three bookshelves full, five shelf bookshelves at that!  I organized all them with the help of Ian; we sadly had to get rid of a few that were very torn.

We are putting our school reading books on them and getting ready for next school year already, we are going to be using a Switched - on Schoolhouse next year for Ian and Timber Doodle Kindergarten for TJ, I will be doing pre-school with Timmy, Kayla will be doing Toddler stuff. Hoping to get Joey the baby kit but we have not yet.

Anyways back to the cleaning, going to be steam cleaning the bathrooms and the kitchen next week. Sewing daily toy bags for the little’s to have a bag of “new” toys each day. 

I am praying over our new schedule so we can get things on track around here again not that things are not but I like have things very organized.