Five Minute Friday {LONELY}

 In an attempt to begin writing again and get those creative juices flowing,  I decided to join up with 5 minute Friday this week.
 
You are given a one word prompt... then put 5 minutes on the clock and just write.  Don't edit, don't over think, just WRITE!

Today's word is  LONELY.  Hmmm  ok 3...2..1... GO!

Lonely

pain. grief. burdened
feeling ALONE

but am I?
no,
Not alone. 

sympathy. empathy. blessings 

a hug
an email
a call
flowers
dinner
groceries
a card
a hand written note

all reminders that He will never leave you alone.

sometimes feeling LONELY but not ALONE.

These are all ways I have been touched over the last 6 weeks.  I have so much to be thankful for.  My prayer is that my eyes and heart will be open to the needs of those around me... those who are hurting, broken and lonely... that they also will know they are not truly alone.


My first 5 minute Friday! Want to join in?  take a look here for more info.

 

In Search of a New Normal

Taking a look back at my blog I realized it is nearly a year since my last entry...

 And what a year it has been...

Ecclesiastes 3: 1- 8 says:

There is a time for everything...
   
        and a season for every activity under the heavens:

              a time to be born and a time to die,
                      a time to plant and a time to uproot,   

                                   a time to kill and a time to heal,
                                           a time to tear down and a time to build,     

                                                           a time to weep and a time to laugh,
            a time to mourn and a time to dance,  

                             a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
                                     a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,     

                                                                         a time to search and a time to give up,
                                              a time to keep and a time to throw away, 

                              a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,   

 a time to love and a time to hate,
                            a time for war and a time for peace.

I think there has been a time for all of that in my life this year. 

I started this blog to have a place to record memories. A place I could go back to in years to come to remember...

For this past year I couldn't blog. The time was not there.  The desire was not there.  The words would not flow....

         I don't need a blog to remember this year... the events of this year are forever etched
                                                   in my heart and mind...


Our family trip of a lifetime.

Turning 40.

Becoming a pastor's wife (no I didn't find a new husband, my husband became a pastor :)

Cheering on with admiration as my husband completed his first half-marathon.

Ending another year of homeschooling.

Watching my mother fight valiantly against breast cancer.
Watching her take her last breath.
Experiencing heartache like never before and beyond anything I could have ever imagined.

Saying goodbye to 2 friends who left the island.

Saying goodbye a month later as another dear friend and mentor moved away. (thankful for Facebook)

Preparing my heart and our home for our fifth child (due in about 10 weeks.)
Being blessed beyond measure as we prepare for this unexpected gift from God.

Being spiritually stretched and broken.
Experiencing mountains, valleys and everything in between.

This year, I have felt defeated,
                           I have doubted,
                                    I have been stubborn,
                                                         I have failed...

but over and over , and over and over...

I've been reminded of God's sovereignty.
                                    His faithfulness.
                                    His goodness.
                                    His mercy
                             and His grace.


So a new page, a new chapter, a new beginning...

I now need this blog to help me move on. 

To help me to stop and appreciate the little things

 I have overlooked in the whirlwind of last year.

To help me pause and reflect on the work 

God is doing in my life and in my family. 

To give me evidence of the bright days 

on those days that the sun is hidden behind the clouds. 

This will be a bittersweet year. 

The first with our new little one...

The first without my mom... 

....by Gods grace I will get through it and prayerfully, 

                                                             this time next year, 

                                                                              as I look back, 

                                                                                           there will be evidences of 

                                                                                                                             our

                                                                                                                             new

                                                                                                                             normal.

 

Week in Review: Week 2 {in pictures}

 

I am feeling a bit tired or lazy, or a bit of both, so our weekly wrap up will be a visual one. (don't worry, I'll throw in some captions)  Click on the button above if you want to check out how other homeschoolers spent their week.... but first check out ours...

 

 A trip to Tom Moore's jungle with friends...

 

 

Continuing a study on animals of the  Galapagos Islands...

the kids looked up the lengths of each animal and lined them up according to size

everyone enjoying this month's sensory tub

Hard at work...

Eden working on her postcard about planet Earth (from our geography curriculum)

learning all about atoms in Chemistry

Fun school 

{Celebrating Johnny Appleseed's Birthday}...

tasting different varieties of apples

apple printing

Tot school...

Extracurricular...

the makings of a tennis star!

the boys received awards for last season's participation in cricket.  Micaiah was chosen by his coaches as "Most Talented" player!

So that was a quick look at our week!  Good bye until next time!!

Week In Review: Good Bye Summer

 

We said goodbye to summer this week and hello to another homeschool year... our 4th year of homeschool!  Hard to believe :)  The kids were eager to start after a nice long summer break and I was even more eager to get into a routine!

This year we have a 4th grader, 2nd grader, kindergartener and a little tornado tot schooler.  It should be an interesting year.  Here are some things we will be doing:

Mystery of History 1

Real Science 4 Kids (Chemistry pre level 1, Physics pre- level 1 and possibly Biology pre- level 1)

A Child's Geography

HomeSchool Spanish

Various unit studies I will scatter throughout to keep things fresh.

Micaiah (primary 5, 4th grade)

Math:  finishing Teaching Textbooks 4, possibly starting 5; ALEKS

Language: A Beka Language A

Spelling: finishing All About Spelling 3 moving on to level 4

Handwriting: A Reason For Handwriting C 

Art: A Beka Art A

Eli, (Primary 3; 2nd Grade)

Math:  Teaching Textbooks 3(very slowly) , Math Mammoth- Early Geometry

Language: A Beka Language 2

Spelling: finshing All About Spelling 1 moving on to level 2

Handwriting: A Reason For Handwriting B

Art: A Beka Art 2

Eden (Primary 1, Kindergarten)

Math:  Horizons Math K

Reading & Phonics: Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading, A Beka Letters and Sounds

Handwriting: A Reason For Handwriting K

Art: A Beka Art K

 Marcus, Tot school (which really means getting into everything everyone else is doing !!) 

I will hopefully spend the first part of each day with Marcus on a focused developmental activity while the older kids are doing their independent work. Here is what we did this week:

scooping and pouring beans

playdough- Marcus loved this and asked to play with it every day

sorting and dumping bears

Here are some other highlights of our first week:

Finishing our work early on Tuesday and meeting friends at the beach (sorry no picture)

Taking a walk to visit some animals nearby

We started a unit study on The Galapagos Islands and the Blue-footed Booby.  We will continue next week and here is a sneak peek at our sensory tub to go along with it:

That was our week... I will try to be faithful in doing a weekly wrap up this year so stay tuned for the many adventures of Best of All Academy!!

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Weekly Wrap up & Moments to Remember

Moments to Remember: rain, a lake and a bird named Bernard

After today's heavy rain we took the kids out for a drive and stopped to check out the "lake" at Bernard's Park.  The kids were amazed at how flooded the area was and quickly took advantage of the opportunity to splash around.

 We rescued a Lesser Yellow Legs that was sick or injured.  We named him Bernard and Joe took him to BAMZ where they can hopefully nurse him back to good health.

It was a fun way to end our week!  Hope you have a good weekend :)

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