The New School Room

Back-to-back blogs... can you believe it? I hardly can stand it myself :) Well, I was finally motivated to take pictures of the school room and thought it'd be the perfect time to upload some of them and get them on the blog. Unfortunately, I don't have any "before" pictures of the basement so some of you won't be able to appreciate the "after." I do have odds and ends pics of the kids playing in the basement when it was a playroom but nothing that really gives a good picture of how it used to be.

This is a view of the staircase from the main floor, looking down at the entrance to school. We named our school Veritas Academy because veritas is Latin for truth. Our highest goal is that our kids would know the Truth that sets them free, and we endeavor to luminate Truth in the subjects that we'll be teaching.

(The baby gate keeps D from trying to escape up the stairs during Bible time!) As you round the corner, you enter the actual classroom. I'll lump the next three pictures together. The first one is taken from the bottom of the stairs, looking into the classroom. Notice the large window that my wonderful husband and dad put in for us. There used to be a TINY little window, but thanks to a concrete cutter and a skilled Ben and Dad, we now have lots of light and a proper egress in case of a fire or other emergency.

The second picture is taken from the opposite end of the room, looking back at the landing of the stairs. You can see the maps on the walls, my desk, J's desk, and a kid table that K and D use when they're doing "school." You can also see the finished black ceiling with track lighting and the great, cool color on the walls. The third picture shows off the wonderful white boards at two different levels for the little ones and for mama!

I feel incredibly blessed to have our own space for school. I can shut the door at the end of the day and not have to see books dispersed all over the house. School is going well this year. J really enjoys math while K is having a blast using the white boards and drawing shapes and her letters. D is intent on messing up whatever the other ones are working on, but he'll learn. Each day is another day older for him to learn self-control... something with which I still struggle!

Enjoy the pictures! Blessings!

Ballet shoes

"A time to mourn, and a time to dance;" Ecc. 3:4

Never would I have thought that this verse from the Bible would "fit" into my world at the same time... until this week. You see, I used to be a ballerina. I spent 13 years of my youth in pink tights and a black leotard, 3 of those years on the tippy tops of my toes, en pointe (for those French enthusiasts). Granted, I also spent many of those years on a volleyball court, basketball court, softball field, football field (as a drum major of our marching band), and band/choir auditorium. I was a good mix of girlie-girl and tomboy; in fact, I still am to this day. After a few years in "retirement," I also did a fair amount of liturgical dancing for various churches and enjoyed praising God with the gift of dance. Now that we are members of a Baptist church, I don't see myself dancing before the Lord any time soon, but I'm fine with it. I can still dance in my heart.

What has prompted all of these musings of my ballet years you might ask? Well, we signed up K to begin ballet lessons this week. At almost 4 years of age, my mom was anxious for her to get started with dance. Admittedly, I was ready for her to begin, too. With financial resources being tight, I hesitated to stretch our budget with an "extra" like dance class; however, a gift from the Lord appeared and off we went to sign her up. She is beyond thrilled. Just the mere mention of ballet class sends her off to find her dress-up tutu and white gloves (said picture above) and do twirls and spins, all the while practicing her point on her feet. It's adorable.

For me, the dancing isn't about the performance or the costumes. I'm into the simple, graceful demonstration of control that is exhibited by ballet dancers. Oh, I enjoy watching jazz and tap (not so much on the hip-hop) and am amazed at the rapidity of some of those steps, but for me, the pure beauty of a ballerina is amazing! There is such poise and assurance and strength in the midst of a seemingly effortless step. Behind those steps are years of practice, bruised feet, blistered toes, and sweating brows; in the end, though, we enjoy the fluidity of the dance.

It makes me think about my Christian walk... are people seeing my bruises, blisters, and sweat? Or are they seeing the beauty of Christ? That's not to say that I need to live a fake life and only show others the pretty side of being a believer... not at all. But do I tend to focus more on my hardships and less on the joy that the Lord brings out of those trials? "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5

So, why did I mention that mourning and dancing came full circle this week? In preparing K for ballet class, I was reminded of the reality that I'm no longer dancing in a ballet company. It's an obvious fact, but somehow in buying K the pink tights, black leotard, and pink ballet slippers, I resigned my position as the one learning how to dance. I am now the encourager; I'll never finish dancing as long as I can rise in the morning and give praise to God for the quiet strength with which He leads me.

Blessings!

Extraordinarily Expected

I recently finished a summer Bible study on the book of Ruth. It was done in conjunction with Beth Moore's "Living Proof Ministries" blog; she hosted the discussion, but it was not one of her studies. This particular look at Ruth was written by a young worship leader and author, Kelly Minter. Seeing that this study was being touted by Beth Moore, I was expecting more meat, but in essence, the 6-week journey into Ruth's story was more of a "diet" than anticipated. In the end, though, I learned a few things that I'd never really considered and, therefore, learned what God needed me to learn.

Without repeating all of the questions and answers from Kelly Minter, I had to share with you an "aha" moment that has been stirring in my soul for the past few days. If you're unfamiliar with the story of Ruth, please go and read it. It's a short book, 4 chapters, but it is a beautiful depiction of redemption in every sense of the word. Chapter 3 focuses on Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer and the other relative who had the opportunity to be grafted into Christ's lineage but chose a safer, more expected perch. And herein lies the theme of my blog... how often do I do the extraordinary versus the expected? The close relative did the expected; nobody thought he'd buy Naomi's land and inherit the foreigner, Ruth, and any possible children that would come from such a union. Boaz not only bought the property, he eagerly named and called Ruth to be his wife, thus securing Naomi's husband's lineage. Boaz did the extraordinary.

In a small group discussion with three close friends, we discussed this idea of extraordinary and expected. None of us could really define our lives as extraordinary. We're moms; three of us homeschool; one juggles three busy kids and a part-time job. We do what we do... what's expected. However, when I look at each of these women, I see the extraordinary in their lives. So, it made me stop to ponder....

I rise early in the morning to have my time with the Lord before preparing meals for the day, waking children for morning chores, schooling the cherubs, and doing the myriad of tasks associated with being a homemaker. Everything that I do is an expectation that I've placed on myself or that someone else has put on me, most of the time willingly! :) Yet, I can see how, perhaps, I'm doing the extraordinary as I live my life in service to the King. I'm not doing all that I do for anyone else's approval (well, on a good day, at least!); I'm doing it because I know that my life has purpose, even in the mundane, and that it is God's gift of grace to me to be able to do all that I do. It's not extraordinary; I'm not a missionary in a jungle or a preacher in an urban setting; I don't go and search out the homeless; I don't build homes for the underprivileged or provide medical training to missionaries going in the field. Those are all wonderful things, and I hope to be on a missions' trip at some point in the future, but for now, my life is here in Kansas with my husband and children. We look for ways to serve others, but we also live in the expectation that we do all that we can to give glory to God.

The extraordinary isn't marked by doing great things; it's doing the everyday, the expected, in an extraordinarily different way. "Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2

Blessings!

Life, summed up!

To all of my blog followers, my deepest apologies for being so absent this summer. My good intention of writing daily quickly faded to writing twice a week to barely getting something down even once a week or two! With school having started, I actually have a more structured routine to which I can dedicate a small sliver of time for blogging, something I enjoy!

Life in our house has been busy the past several weeks. After having the boys bunked for about a month, we have de-bunked them. Too many late nights and early mornings have made for a very crabby 20 month old and a very bossy 5 year old. Sleep wins out in terms of separating the boys for another 6 months to a year. J was disappointed, but he understands his responsibility as a big brother to be trustworthy in how he treats D and so forth. We do want the boys together so it is our goal to try it again in the near future.

With the separation of the boys, we have lost our "playroom." While sad to no longer have a specific space for toys, the kids have adjusted to housing their fun things in their rooms. I, on the other hand, seem to feel rather claustrophobic upon entering the rooms. They're neat and tidy; they're just a little full! Oh well... there is a time for everything...

School has started. We have an "official" kindergartner. It's exciting, and we're so excited to be starting the new year. I imagine that he will be in 1st grade material by the middle of the year, but I'm also trying not to rush him along. K is enjoying set-aside time every day for her school. She feels so grown-up. D is my wild card... he plays well with K and J when I'm doing school with "the other," but he also enjoys being in the classroom and finding any and all things from which he can experiment; HA! J will be attending a one-day a week school for homeschoolers, beginning Sept. 7. He already knows 2 or 3 kids from church in his class!

Ben and my Dad faithfully worked on the basement to transform it into a wonderful school room. I will post pictures in another post. It is beautiful. The room looks like a room with a large window and flooring, etc. I appreciate their hard work to make it all happen. It's about 95% finished, enough for us to use it. I feel blessed to have a room dedicated to schooling, showing the kids how important it is to us to have the opportunity to educate them at home.

The kids and I just returned from a 6 day "vacation" (I use that term loosely) with my parents. We went to St. Joseph, MI to visit my uncle and his family. The 10 hour car ride went very well; the beach at Lake Michigan was stunning. Ben had to work, but hopefully, he'll make the trip with us at some point in the future.

Through all of the busyness, God has been reminding me to be still. I seem to be less stressed in terms of getting my to-do list done. Yes, there are always things to do and sometimes it is rather overwhelming, but I know that one-by-one, I can cross off items as I have time. Rushing through life doesn't help in leaving a lasting legacy.

My goal is to blog more often and base those posts on themes much like I tried to do when I started. We'll see how it all goes! I hope you've enjoyed reading about life, summed up!

Blessings!