Zech's poetry page

A while ago Zech asked if he could make a blog with a poem that he had written about Minecraft. Gary set one up for him that you can see here. Today we read about the Yamato dynasty in Japan and learned about Haikus. You can read Zech and Gabe's Haikus on Zech's blog. I don't often feel like I'm getting much right but it makes me happy to see their interest in sharing their thoughts with people and their desire to conquer the computer. Here's to small successes!

Life is interesting

God has a sense of humor. He obviously knows us, our strengths, our weaknesses, and everything in between. While we still have not found a renter for our house in Maryland, I have this feeling that I just need to have faith and wait and God will swoop in at the last minute and fix everything. He seems to do that to me a lot. He knows I have little patience and little faith and waits until I am about to lose all hope, THEN steps in and saves the day. I do not mean this to be rude at all! I just find it to be interesting. He doesn't make it easy...yet He does! It would be SOOO much easier if I would just trust Him! It's laughable actually. So what happened? Ok, Gary got on unemployment when he left the military. He thought he would lose it once he became a full time student. After speaking with Job and Family Services, they said he was eligible for a whole year due to him being military. AWESOME! I had saved money to help us survive our first semester of school without getting into debt until things starting going wrong with the house in Maryland. After a heat exchange break in July and a denial to fix it by our home warranty company (what good ARE they?!?) We shelled out $3,000 of our savings to fix it. Due to our renter's negligence, I shelled out $1,700 to fix landscaping on my yard. Due to her breaking her lease we have to date spent over $3,000 covering the mortgage until we can get a renter in. ALL this time, Gary was supposed to be receiving unemployment but kept getting denied. All this money was coming out of my savings account. As of the 1st of November, we would be completely out of money and have no way to get a loan so late in the semester. I was freaking out!!! All the sudden, someone with a brain and compassion at Job and Family Services fixed everything and we got a lump sum payment today for the last 6 weeks. This money plus my savings will float us until the end of the year. I am relieved. I am overjoyed. I am comically amused by my sweet Father in Heaven. He certainly knows how to bring me to my knees. He much like me and want to hear from me more because it seems like the only time I collapse to my knees in pleas and supplication is when I am about to lose it.

The Relief Society conference was AMAZING on Saturday. I know President Monson was talking straight to me when he said,

"There will be times when you will walk a path strewn with thorns and marked by struggle. There may be times when you feel detached—even isolated—from the Giver of every good gift. You worry that you walk alone. Fear replaces faith.

When you find yourself in such circumstances, I plead with you to remember prayer. I love the words of President Ezra Taft Benson concerning prayer. Said he:

“All through my life the counsel to depend on prayer has been prized above almost any other advice I have … received. It has become an integral part of me—an anchor, a constant source of strength, and the basis of my knowledge of things divine. …

“… Though reverses come, in prayer we can find reassurance, for God will speak peace to the soul. That peace, that spirit of serenity, is life’s greatest bless^ing."

   ^{My favorite of the whole night was when he said this,}

"We were not placed on this earth to walk alone. What an amazing source of power, of strength, and of comfort is available to each of us. He who knows us better than we know ourselves, He who sees the larger picture and who knows the end from the beginning, has assured us that He will be there for us to provide help if we but ask. We have the promise: “Pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good.”

What a wonderful man and message. He is truly a man who walks and talks with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am so happy to be able to be part of this restored gospel. I am blessed to be part of true happiness and joy. I look forward to this weekend to hear more from God's anointed servants as they speak with us at General Conference. Check it out here.

My house, my headache

When Gary and I moved to Waldorf, MD 4 years ago, we bought an adorable house in a great neighborhood for a LOT of money. When we moved a year ago, we could not sell the house for what we owed on it. We, instead, rented it out. It's a long story. Needless to say, one month after renewing the lease for another year, the renter decided to move. To say I was worried is a bit tame. Gary is in law school and we have NO paycheck! We have to get a renter in. I went to the house and found that the renter had ripped out every single bit of landscaping in my front and back yards. WHY? Why you ask? I asked the same question. She said  "They died." I'm sorry but boxwoods and shrubs don't just die! Anyway, she left and last week I made another trip back to MD to "fix" the yard.
This is what it looked like when I rented it to her:

And THIS is what i found last week:

All she left was my Japanese maple! She didn't bother to weed or mulch. Because I couldn't afford to higher someone to do this for me, I went to a nursery to buy my plants and called the missionaries. I usually do not do that. I always felt like they should not be used as our personal laborers but after last conference, Russel M. Nelson coined the phrase, "Ask the missionaries, they can help you". So I asked and they did!!! Check it out! I felt SO blessed, humbled, and appreciative!

We worked steadily for a few hours and this is the result:
 Isn't it beautiful?!?

Now if only I didn't have to fix the back yard too. Yep, she took EVERYTHING out of there too! I've decided to hire it out since it is a huge job and needs much more than just weeding and putting in plants.

We still don't have a renter. I desperately need one by Oct 1st. I am praying God will send us someone. If you feel so inclined, I'd appreciate your prayers too.

A week in review

Monday:
 Gary didn't have school plus our fabulous Aunt Nancy was in town. She helped drive my furniture back from my house in MD (loooong story!). Originally we thought we would like to take her to see the lighthouse in Menor, OH and play on the beach so we all got dressed in swimsuits in set off. When you get off the exit Menor is to your left and Kirtland is to your right. We went right and I'm so glad we did. Kirtland is SUCH a beautiful, spiritual place full of our church's history. I am so grateful we could share it with Aunt Nancy. She has been a member of the church for 1 year now and has grown so much. It's amazing!

Tuesday: 
 Aunt Nancy left to drive back to MD and we got started on our first day of homeschool for the year. We start our days with scripture reading as a family and discussion on what we read. I LOVE that Gary is home to be part of this with us. It's truly a blessing! After morning devotional, the kids asked if we could do history. They love our history program, "Story of the World". After history, I introduced Zech and Gabe to their new math levels. I decided to try Gabriel on "Teaching Textbooks" this year since I bought it for Zech but he didn't like it. I also made this decision b/c Zech needs my help with Math and I'm bringing Ammon into full schooling. I needed one kid to not need as much of my help in math. Gabriel loves it! Gabriel's math doesn't take nearly as long as Zech's so I started him on Individual Reading. After everyone was done with math, we started Grammar. Zech graduated from "First Language Lessons' and is now on Shurley's Grammar level 6. So far, so good. Gabe is using FFL 3 this year. I decided to test Ammon to see if he remembers any of the reading program we did last year. I just picked up from where we left off and I he seriously blew my socks off! Ammon hated and resisted learning to read last year. He would tell me he couldn't remember the sounds of the letters and his focus would wonder terribly.  He is totally different now! He is rocking a rolling through his reading book, "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons". I used this with Zech and he is a great reader! Gabriel is good too but not as strong as Zech was at his age. (I'm going to fix that though!) This first day of school took me ALL day! I didn't finish until 2:30 or 3! This was mainly due to Emma's multiple breakdowns, fits, and distractions. She did NOT like having everyone busy and not playing with her! Elijah wanted to do school too so I would give him workbooks to work in, playdough to play with, and books and puzzles to look at. Too bad Emma wouldn't do those too! :(

Wednesday: HOMESCHOOL CO-OP DAY
Remember that post about homeschool discimination? Well...I really liked what this one group that meets at the Akron Fossil and Science Center was going to offer this year. I had contacted the liaison for the group who told me she didn't think the group would be a good fit for me. After a couple of weeks, I decided not to let one person decide for me and anyone else what was or wasn't a good fit. So, I told her that since her group did not have a Statement of Faith that had to be signed and was open to all homeschool families, I would be joining! Bright and early Wednesday morning (8AM!!!) We met for co-op. First was Science. It was great! The kids loved it! Next was music. The teacher was the typical school-marm. She was strict and demanded perfection from the kids. While the older boys said they did not like her, they learned a ton and were VERY well behaved! Ammon just got out of there as fast as he could :) We had about 1 1/2 hours before the next class, History started. Hisory was 2 hours long! Science was too!
The good: Because the science and history classes are so intense, I will not have to do these subjects at home-at all!
The bad: They are lengthy and intense! 2 hours?!? These are homeschool kids! I secretly love it though. It's all about expectations. ---that is the name of my next post.

Thursday:
Back to homeschool! We had a pretty good day except Elijah started running a fever and my stupid renter in MD makes me want to scream and hit something!

Friday:
 we had a playdate with my BFF, Beth Adams and her little girls in the AM so we started school after lunch. It was SO nice! Emma was asleep so I got a TON done! I may have to make this our new schedule! Gary was home and helped Zech with math. I could get used to that too!

Overall, I would say our week was good and successful. Here's hoping next week is even better! 

Faith in every Footstep

Most people who know me well, know of the adventure we are on. A year ago in June, I moved my house and family to the Griesmyer farm. It was a huge change at first. I lived in the middle of nowhere. The church was 45 miles away. There were no friends for me or the children close enough to visit and play with. I went through some trials of my faith but eventually settled into the wonder and luxury that the simple farm life affords. I had many interesting experiences along the way that I'll have to save for another post. In January of 2013, Gary quit active duty military life. We had another trial as we figured out how to manage the depression of separating him from his previous life as well as the depression of now being dependent on someone else. July 2013 brought us to Akron, OH where Gary has been accepted to attend law school. After more trials of faith, we found a small house to rent in our price range.  We love the area. We love the ward. We love our new friends. I LOVE that I now live about 1.5 miles from my college roomie and best friend, Beth Adams. She and I have a great history together and get along splendidly. She's awesome! I feel blessed. Yet trials of faith continue to come in and out of our lives. A major concern for us right now is of course, money. Or the lack thereof. I received notice that the renter that just signed another year lease with us in July, will be moving out in 30 days! This is a blessing in disguise even though my faith is being tested AGAIN! Will we get another renter in? Will we have to sell and lose a ton of money on the house? There are many questions that are unanswered right now. But here are a few things I have learned about faith over the last year or more:

• Faith is an Action-there has never been a time in my life that I have not been asked to DO something that tested my faith.
• You can have faith and still be worried or concerned-I used to think that if I had enough faith I would not worry about things, I would have total confidence that everything would work out. I have learned though that I can be acting on faith and still have concerns that I take to the Lord and my husband.
• Trials of Faith make us stronger and wiser- I was sitting in RS last week while we were having a lesson on faith and one woman made a comment that there was nothing in her life that has ever been 'hard' because she had faith. At first I thought that maybe she just hasn't had hard things happen to her in her life. But then I thought, trials of faith make us stronger so that things don't seem so 'hard'. Some people think my life as a military wife has been hard. I guess it has but in the moment, you just do it because your faith in God helps you through. 
• Faith is a journey- it is not something you become perfect at ...EVER! I think I will always freak a little bit when a new major trial come into my life. It doesn't matter that I've learned this lesson over and over again: God knows me and loves me and will take care of me. I know that! I really, really do! It doesn't mean that I am prefect in my faith though. It is a journey that I am still on.   

I too find my lack of faith disturbing but continue to work on it each and everyday. I think that's the whole point though, don't you?

Homeschool Discrimination

Today I received an email from a woman that heads a homeschool group in our area. I was told to contact her from another source whom I spoke to at length about who I was, my faith, my desires as a homeschool Mom, etc. I was excited about the possibility of joining an established co-op that offered classes, playgroups, field trips, and support. I wrote her a week ago and finally received a reply today. To sum it up she said she did not think their group would be a good fit for me because they were Christian based and I was LDS. This is strike 3 in this area. I have been turned down by 2 other groups who require a statement of faith that while I understand, I cannot sign. This group, however, does NOT have a statement of faith yet still decided for me that I would not fit in. I'm not mad. I'm hurt. I'm not shocked. I'm appalled! So, you say you are an inclusive group just not to people who you think aren't Christian. Where does that leave me? Protestants do not believe I'm Christian so I can't join any of their groups so that leaves me to the REALLY inclusive groups like LGBT, Wiccans, and Satanists.  Like I belong there!?! I knew homeschool would be hard, I knew it would mean I were different. I knew I would be left out, excluded from some activities of other women my age. I guess I didn't know that I would be left out, excluded by other homeschoolers! It sucks. I feel like I have been on my own my whole life and now more than ever I feel like I am in this alone. Yes, I have friends and family members who homeschool but none live close enough to do anything with. Times like these make you question, ya know? It makes it that much more important for me to know my Why! I know I am doing this because it is BEST for my family. Period. The End!

Today's Gem:

My oldest asked me again today, "Mom, when are we going to start homeschool again?" 

Awesome! I love when they do this! It means it is time! 

Children crave structure and routine. They need to know what to expect each day. Giving them clear expectations and goals to achieve and work towards betters their attitudes, increases their confidence, and makes them more independent people. 

How to set up a homeschool daily routine:

-Be Realistic

Dictating what will be done every hour and minute of the day will only frustrate you when it doesn't happen. Life happens! Sometimes we sleep in. Sometimes we get a phone call that just can't wait. When setting up your schedule, make sure you give yourself room to breathe, juggle, and change if needed. 

-Don't forget the chores

Many people think it is impossible to do both. Sometimes it is! Chores, like laundry, often times get put on hold when first starting out on the homeschool adventure. Don't worry! There is always more laundry that needs to be done. I would often laugh at my Mom when she would come to visit. She would want to help with laundry. I'm pretty good at keeping up with it so it was never a huge need for me, it may be for you. I would laugh because once my mom finished the laundry, she was so happy! But in my mind I would think, there's more getting dirty as we speak! That's pretty rude of me huh?! I'd much rather someone cook me dinner! Lol! 

Kids need chores too!

If your kids aren't doing chores, you are not teaching them the most important thing in life, work. You MUST teach them how to work. Plus, there's no way you can do all this yourself! 

Here is my Schedule to help you get an idea of how I work:

Wake up

Eat breakfast

Get dressed

Start a load of laundry

Direct kid's morning chores (kitchen duty)

Morning devotional ( we all join together for a mini FHE)

History/guided reading (this is one of the only subjects we do together as a whole family. So, I do it first before the little ones get too rambunctious.)

Grammar 

Piano

Handwriting

( I have one child doing Grammar with me while another is working independently on HW while the other is practicing piano. Got that?) 

LUNCH

Afternoon chores- switch over laundry, clean kitchen

Individual reading time while I Put babies down for nap

Math

Computer time- this is educational computer time that includes typing, research, and reports

(I call one child to me to do math lessons while the little ones are playing quietly and the big kids are having computer time and rotate them through math like that) 

Free play

Clean up

DINNER

Evening chores- this consists of kitchen duties, tidying up the school room, putting away folded laundry, etc.

Bedtime routine

Lights out!

Mommy time-blog, FB, pay bills, eat cookies, and watch a movie ;)

Notice there are not hours associated with this schedule. Yeah...I made that mistake my first year. It was awful! I never could start school at 8am and have everything done before lunch at 11:30am. Most themes, I would be exhausted by lunch and not start school again until after 3! No more set times for me. I know what order things need to be done in and that is more attainable for me. 

What about shopping and Dr apts?

My kids used to  take piano on Tuesdays at 10am. After their lessons, I would do my shopping. I would TRY to schedule Dr apts on this day as well. It didn't always work but trying to plan is better than not planning at all. I love that saying, "failing to plan is planning to fail!" It is sooo true! You need a plan. Even if it doesn't always work. Have one! 

~Bekah