Forever, For Always, No Matter What : Catholic Adoption & Home Education Blog

Guest Post :: Don't Let Burnout Steal Your J.O.Y.

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:47:00 +0000

Many thanks to Holly from Three Sided Wheel for her guest post today! Great topic for this time of year, don't you think? Enjoy.

It happens to the best of us. Sometimes it comes and goes. But more often than not it stays awhile, lurking in the darkness. Feelings of inadequacy, lack of motivation and creativity, becoming increasingly impatient and grumpy, along with complete mentally and physically exhaustion are just a few ways it makes it's presence known. In due time, somewhere along your homeschooling journey, you are bound to reach this famed season-- Homeschool Burnout.

Around the month of February, burnout becomes a four letter word in many homeschooling circles. But it doesn't have to be. In fact, with the remembrance of one three letter word, it can almost be eradicated completely. For you see, burnout often comes around when we have lost the J.O.Y. in our homeschooling journey-- we have forgotten to keep "Jesus First, Others Second and Yourself Last."

Jesus First With much to accomplish gathering it's way onto our to-do lists, it is very tempting to toss out those tasks that we feel aren't necessary to complete in the hopes of being able to discover more hours in our day. When the weight of all that is orchestrated by us as wife, mother, homemaker and teacher begins to tilt, often the first task to go and easiest to lay aside is our own personal prayer time. While this may seem wise at the outset... It won't end well.

In order to live out our vocation, we must first learn to lean on the One who granted it to us. It is only through knowing ourselves in the Lord and learning from His perfect example that we can truly know and understand what it is that is needed in our walk. It is important to remember when things get rocky and tension arises resulting in burnout that there is a reason things seem unwell.

It is often only through prayer that this reason becomes apparent and is replaced with sweet mercy and grace--For in our weakness, He is strong and when we begin to stumble, it is only He who can clear our path. We don't have to hold up the burden of burnout alone, for it was He who led us to the journey of homeschooling and He who will provide all that we need. So when the flames of homeshooling begin to burnout, take a look at your days and see if a certain something is missing. If it is, carve out a time in the day that is just for you and Jesus-- a time when nothing else is completed but communion with the Lord. Make it your first priority.

The laundry can wait.

Promise.

Others Second We try so hard as homeschooling mothers to ensure that we are giving our children the best education we can offer. When we begin to feel that our offerings just aren't enough, we often begin to look elsewhere, (namely to our fellow homeschooling peers), to see just how we could do it better. We start to pry just a little, ask a multitude of questions, compare notes and form a litany of improvements that if implemented would surely be the answer to our perceived problems. In essence, we lose our family's vision and forget to keep our eyes on our own work.

Now while camaraderie, fellowship, and support are all welcomed and much needed aspects of friendships with other homeschooling mothers, it is important to set certain boundaries to help avoid 'coveting thy neighbors goods'. For you see, what works wonders in my home will most likely fall short in yours-- the Lord has entrusted and granted you YOUR children, in YOUR home, with YOUR husband-- I am not you and you are not me. While we may both be walking along side each other on this path, we are each our own and only the Lord has the answers for your family.

Not Julie, or Sue, or Holly. So, when the embers of homeschooling are beginning to smolder, try not to compare yourself to others and write their works as your own.

It's nothing but destructive.

Trust me.

Yourself Last When working our way through the ever growing to-do list, scratching off completed tasks, there is often one that routinely gets placed last. In fact, it is not uncommon for this one task to not even be placed on the list at all. As homeschooling mothers, we pour our very being into the education and formation of our children and tend to forget to leave room for the continuation of our own person. As the seams of mother and teacher become indistinguishable, we often lose sight of the person we started out on the journey with-- we forget her passions, hobbies and interests.

It is important to note that often homeschooling burnout is not really about homeschooling at all, but instead about life and family and neglecting ourselves. After all, how can we expect to nurture and grow our families if we do not also nurture and grow ourselves at the same time? So, when you feel the walls of your homechool come crumbling down, take a minute and ask, "Self... Am I putting myself last?" And if you are, stop. Schedule some me time on the to-do list.

And write it down in pen.

You won't regret it.

Don't Let Burnout Steal Your J.O.Y. When you have indeed succumbed to burnout, even with all of the planning, master scheduling, changing of curriculum, and the finest organizational apps at you fingertips, (just as all of the books titled "How To Beat Homeschool Burnout For Dummies" will tell you), remember to pause and don't let burnout steal your J.O.Y. Instead, ask yourself, "Self....Are you remembering to keep Jesus First, Others Second and not place Yourself Last?" When you take the time to uncover the answers and discover just where it is that you went awry, you will find that you now have some new tools in your arsenal. You will see that you can indeed defeat burnout and once again find your J.O.Y. _____________________________________________________
Holly, after four years of schooling her children at home, found her self buried in the ashes of homeschol burnout. After rediscovering her J.O.Y. last year she lived to tell about it. She resides in the Deep South where you are sure to find at least one monkey jumping on the bed. You can find her at Three Sided Wheel, Facebook, and Twitter, where she blogs about home education and creating Catholic culture in the heart of her home.

Guest Post :: A Little Bit of Heaven Craft

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +0000

I'm excited to have a couple of guest posts this week. First up is Jennifer from Crafolic.com. She's a Catholic, homeschooling mom of many who, unlike me, actually does lots of cute crafts with her children. She created this one just for our family. You know how much I love cute and easy crafts. We will definitely be doing this one! Enjoy.

When I first saw Jen's blog and the pictures of her beautiful family I immediately thought of heaven! They are a family made up of people from all parts of the world who are living and praising God together. Just like the sweet children in Jen's family we are God's children. We are from every land across the world. But our different backgrounds don't matter to God! Just like the backgound of these kids doesn't matter to Jen and her husband.

God is our Father and we are His children! And after we have lived a good life of service for our Heavenly Father we will reach our perfect home in heaven were we will live as HIS children "Forever For Always, No Matter What!!"

I created this craft with Jen and her family in mind.

It can be an art project for one child to make on paper, or a group project for a bulletin board.

You will need:

For a Paper Project

printable people(smaller)

cotton or fiber-fill

blue paper

crayons/pencils

glue stick

stapler

scissors

Files for people patterns:

(smaller people)

With face

Without face

For a Bulletin Board

printable people (larger)

cotton or fiber-fill

blue background

crayons/pencils

stapler

sissors

and a group of kids!

Files for people patterns:

Color the printable people. If you are doing this in a group have each child draw him/her-self. Then cut them out. Staple the cotton to the paper or bulletin board. Staples work better than glue when working with cotton. Just be sure to fluff the cotton before and after you staple it. (Fiber-fill is easier to work with.)

Glue your people on to the paper so they look like they are walking on the clouds. OR Staple on the people if you are creating a bulletin board.

Now add/write the saying.

"All who do God's will are His children!"

My kids and I had a great time creating these and I hope you enjoy them, too!

God Bless,

~Jennifer @ www.crafolic.com

Happy St. Valentine's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:54:00 +0000

We have a short school week due to a vacation, so we decided to put away our formal studies and focus on St. Valentine for a couple of days. Contrary to popular belief, Valentine's Day is not a made up Hallmark holiday, although like many other holidays it certainly has been secularized! I have to say I think Valentine's Day is one of my very favorite feast days.

We started out our day reading our favorite St. Valentine book.

Then we had some fun with conversation hearts.

Stacking them isn't as easy as you might think!

We used a sheet found here to record some data about our particular candies.

Who knew the kids would have so much fun with the conversation hearts??

Next we pulled out the crafting supplies. I had some leftover doilies from our valentine craft last year, and the kids got to work making new creations.

I have more ideas on my pinterest board, and I will update the post tomorrow with a photo of our St. Valentine's Day breakfast.

Update: Our St. Valentine's Day breakfast. I was supposed to have made heart shaped cinnamon rolls, but I think I should have purchased the "grands", these were too small to unravel. I did make Strawberry Milk that the kids enjoyed. I put 3 cups of frozen strawberries in the Blendtec with 24 oz of Flax Milk {you can use any kind of milk} and a bit of stevia, hit the smoothie button and it was good to go.

Hope you were able to enjoy some sweet treats today.

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

WUTW :: Books & Vacation {1/10/2012}

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:02:00 +0000

I’m linking up with the Homeschool Mother’s Journal

In my life this week…a good week, but a little topsy-turvy.

In our homeschool this week…wasn’t our best week. The downside of doing much of our work together is that when one person is missing, it sort of messes up the others.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…go with the flow, one {or two!} topsy-turvy week doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

I am inspired by…the winter we are having this year in the midwest. We have had so much sunshine!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…heading out for our mini-vacation next week. I think my brain has been on vacation since last week!

My favorite thing this week was…having Jacob home again.

Things I’m working on…getting everyone ready to go to their designated spot next week.

I’m reading…Inspired by this fellow blogger, I’m reading True Devotion, click on over and see if you aren’t inspired too.

I just loaded my Kindle Fire with two books for vacation, The Forgotten Garden and Life of Pi

I’m enjoying being on GoodReads, a great way to see what others are saying about a particular book.

I’m cooking…I started up with Plan to Eat last week. So far I’m liking it. I appreciate the fact that I can add in our own recipes. We like to try new things, but some nights I need quick and easy dinners that don’t require me to pay too much attention to a recipe. We had a couple thumbs up recipes this week.

I’m grateful for…family members that are willing to hold down the fort while we are away.

I’m praying for…safe travels and peaceful, fun times for all.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

I've been wanting to link up with Mary @ HomegrownLearners for Collage Friday

We will be out and about next week, but I am excited to have a few guest posts lined up for the end of the week. Be sure to come back and visit. Have a great weekend!

Interest Led Learning :: Making Movies - Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:45:00 +0000

Turning movie making into further learning...

After the passing of Steve Jobs, Jacob heard that some people considered him the Thomas Edison of our time. Consequently, Jacob became interested in Thomas Edison. He read a short biography of Thomas Edison's growing up years, he was homeschooled too!, he thoroughly enjoyed the book. He really wants to read the Steve Jobs biography, but I need to preview it first. We are fortunate to have a living history museum right near us that has Edison's original Menlo Park Laboratory. We will definitely take a field trip there in the spring. We are also contemplating a family trip to Florida next winter and besides taking a day to see Lego Land, we would love to visit Edison's Winter Estate.

After reading about Thomas Edison, it was only natural that Jacob had an interest in Henry Ford and read a biography about him too. In keeping with the inventors theme, he is currently reading about Benjamin Franklin. Really, there is so much he could explore with a loose unit study of great inventors, electricity, etc. This natural sort of learning lends itself to all sorts of rabbit trails. When I think of it visually this type of learning reminds me of a spider web. Buying him a camera would be the center point, and then all sorts of spokes have blossomed from that initial step.

Photo Credit

Another way we have encouraged Jacob is to take a genuine interest in his passion. One of my personal goals for 2012 is to learn how to take better photos. I recently ordered a couple of books to aid in that goal. Jacob was just as excited as I was to receive the books, and he immediately started reading them. He realizes that taking better photos is way to improve his movie making. Working through these books is a task we can do together.

I love that his interest in making movies has encouraged his reading!

I want all my children to know that learning is so much more than a teacher standing up in a classroom handing out a worksheet. If they are interested in learning about something, they have the resources and the know-how to delve deeper into the subject on their own. Learning the skill of self-education, of life-long learning, is one of the greatest gifts we can pass along to our children. They will leave our homes with gaps in their knowledge, but also armed with the tools they need to continue to grow, change, and learn.

Interest Led Learning :: Making Movies

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:42:00 +0000

One of the myriad of things I love about homeschooling is the opportunity for my children to discover and pursue their passions. If you have been reading our blog for any length of time, it's no secret that Jonah is an outdoor enthusiast and an animal lover. Nature is Jonah's passion. Jacob, not so much. As much as Jacob loves to be outside, he is outside with a purpose, riding his bike, playing football, playing baseball etc. He would much rather follow Jonah around with a video camera than handle any creatures that Jonah might unearth.

Right now Jacob is passionately interested in movie making. He used to take short movies with his point and shoot camera, now he likes to make movies with the Flip video camera he received at Christmas. He will import his data into iMovie and then make all sorts of movies.

I got a great tip from Mary @ Homegrown Learners who mentioned her husband makes photo montages at the end of each year for family members. I mentioned this to Jacob, and he took the idea and ran with it. He made a customized movie for each of his grandparents for Christmas. He loved picking out photos, arranging them, and choosing music to go along with his movie.

His other interest is making stop motion Lego videos. This really takes some patience as you have to take many photos, moving the Legos every so slightly with each photo, to make it look like they are moving in the movie. We are constantly amazed at the stories he comes up with and his execution.

All of his movie making has been completely self-taught. Neither his Dad nor I know anything about using iMovie or making stop-motion movies. I'm not even sure I knew what a stop-motion movie was before he started making them. Of course we have provided the equipment, and most importantly the encouragement, but all of the rest he has done on his own. He still has much to learn, but is always looking for ways to improve his skills.

While I know he is gleaning so much from making all kinds of movies, the movie making is something that happens in the afternoons, evenings and weekends. Because we never have homework, he has time in the afternoons and evenings to pursue his passion. We strive for the balance of getting in the less exciting, but equally important, subjects in the morning like Math, History, and Religion.

These subjects are the blocks that he can build upon for the rest of his life, whatever his passion happens to be at the moment.

On Wednesday I will share how we have extended some of the movie making into other areas of learning.

WUTW :: Scrapbooks {2/3/2012}

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:05:00 +0000

I’m linking up with the Homeschool Mother’s Journal

In my life this week…

In our homeschool this week…we have added a few new things to the mix this week, so far so good!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…Jacob and my Dad are spending the weekend in North Carolina visiting my sister and her family. They will fly back early next week. We miss Jacob!

My favorite thing this week was…watching Jacob get ready to go. He was both nervous and excited to be flying. He left the house with his rosary around his neck ;)

Questions/thoughts I have…in the past I used E-Mealz, the vegetarian selection. While we liked a majority of the meals, I didn't like that many of the recipes called for soy, which we don't eat, and pre-package food items, many of which we try to avoid. E-Mealz has unveiled a new Whole Foods menu choice which sounds very interesting.

Things I’m working on…photos! I came home from my scrapbook weekend really inspired to work on our scrapbooks throughout the year. I don't want a repeat of last year where I put my stuff away upon returning home from my weekend and didn't touch it the entire year. Early in the week, I downloaded and ordered over a 1,000 prints from Shutterfly. This year I plan to get photos organized and in our books. I don't do elaborate scrapbook pages, but the photos will be there for our kids {and us!} to enjoy. Creative Memories has come out with some super interesting ways to make getting albums done easier than ever. I'm all about easy.

I’m reading…this week I finished and enjoyed, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years and Latin Centered Curriculum. I have started both Extreme Makeover and Positive Discipline.

I’m cooking…no new recipes this week, what was your favorite thing that you cooked this past week?

I’m grateful for…the opportunity for my children to do a bit of traveling

I’m praying for…an upcoming weekend away

Homeschool and Life: How we get it done

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

Nobody can do it all. Although sometimes blogs can make it look like it we get it all done. It can probably be a bit discouraging for those thinking about home education, with lots of little children underfoot, to read blog posts about perfectly prepared meals, perfectly planned lessons, and a crafty tutorial thrown in.

While I disagree with the statement, "I can't have a clean house because I homeschool", I don't think it's a real expectation that your home should be ready for a House Beautiful photo shoot every second of every day. The fact is that my home is lived in, pretty much 24/7 by eight people. A majority of those eight people are under the age of 10. Seven people do not walk out the door each morning to school/work for eight hours, while one person stays home to clean and run errands. So, our house is a home that reflects that. I'm no Martha Stewart, but we have clean clothes in our drawers and predictable meal times.

I enjoy reading home keeping/organization books and blogs. Taking care of my family is my job, one that I take very seriously. It only makes sense that I continue to educate myself on how to do that job, most efficiently and effectively, and I hope with a lot of love.

Here are some ways we get through our days:

We limit our activities, we are not out and about each day. Not that there is anything wrong with being busy, but just for my own sanity it doesn't work for us. The kids have a couple of well chosen activities, but we have a couple of days each week that we are home. It allows us time to complete our lessons as well as chores around the house, and gives us down time.

We have planned meals each week. It's nothing fancy or particularly impressive, but having planned meals is a true life-saver for me. I even have started planning our breakfasts and lunches, using the same plan each week. Makes my grocery shopping easier too.

Each day has a purpose. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are laundry days. More on that on my 7 Easy Laundry Tips post.

Use a schedule. We use a schedule that gradually becomes a routine. It's not a watch the clock in a frenzy schedule, but a framework to keep us moving through the day. I would be lost without our daily homeschool schedule!

I'm linking up this week for the final installment of the Virtual Curriculum Fair:

Weekly Homeschooling Schedule by Julie @ HighHill Homeschool
http://highhillhomeschool.blogspot.com/2012/01/weekly-homeschooling-schedule.html

Virtual Curriculum Fair: Week 5: The Nuts & Bolts: Pulling it all
Together by Leah @ The Courtney Six Homeschool
http://courtneysix.blogspot.com/2012/01/virtual-curriculum-fair-week-5-nuts.html

Our Schedule's Working! by Eunora @ All Things NoriLynn
http://allthingsnorilynn.blogspot.com/2012/01/its-working.html

Homeschooling: How do I do it all? by Debbie @ Debbie's Digest
http://debbiesdigest.blogspot.com/2012/01/homeschooling-how-do-i-do-it-all.html

Virtual Curriculum Fair--- Wrap-up Angie @ Petra School
http://pebblekeeper.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/virtual-curriculum-fairwrap-up/

Virtual Curriculum Fair: 5 Ways to Use an iPad in Your Homeschool by
Pam @ Everyday Snapshots
http://everydaysnapshots.blogspot.com/2012/01/virtual-cirriculum-fair-5-ways-to-use.html

A Peek Into Our School Day by Melissa @ Grace Christian Homeschool
http://www.gchomeschool.com/2011/11/peek-into-our-school-day.html

A Day in the Life... by Nicole @ Schooling in the Sun
http://schoolinginthesun.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-in-life.html

Homeschooling at My House by Jessica @ Modest Mama
http://www.modest-mama.org/2012/01/homeschooling-at-my-house.html

Getting a Grip on Things by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds
http://homeschoolheartandmind.blogspot.com/2012/01/getting-grip-on-things.html

Making Home School a part of LIFE by Cindy @ For One Another
http://for-one-another.blogspot.com/2012/01/making-home-school-part-of-life.html

Now Where's That Pencil Again? by Beth @ Ozark Ramblings
http://oramblings.blogspot.com/2012/01/now-wheres-that-pencil-again.html

Something About Homeschooling I Really Didn't See Coming by Letha @
justpitchingmytent
http://justpitchingmytent.blogspot.com/2012/01/something-about-homeschooling-i-really.html

Curriculum, Kids, and a Frazzled Homeschool Mama leads to Controlled
Chaos! by Laura O from AK @ Day by Day in Our World
http://daybydayinourworld.com/2012/01/curriculum-kids-and-a-frazzled-homeschool-mama-leads-to-controled-chaos/

The Virtual Curriculum Fair – Nuts and Bolts by Kristen @ Sunrise to Sunset
http://sunrisetosunsethomeschool.com/2012/01/30/the-virtual-curriculum-fair-nuts-and-bolts/

Staying on Top of Everything by Brenda Emmett @ Garden of Learning
http://myhomeschoolgarden.com/2012/01/30/staying-on-top-of-everything/

How Does This Homeschooling Thing Actually Work? Fitting it all
Together by Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory
http://homeschoolingforhisglory.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-does-this-homeschooling-thing.html

Nuts & Bolts: Pulling it all together by Christa Darr @ Fairfield Corner Academy
http://christadarr.blogspot.com/2012/01/nuts-bolts-pulling-it-all-together.html

WUTW :: Recipes & Food Scales {1/27/2012}

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:59:00 +0000

I’m linking up with the Homeschool Mother’s Journal

In my life this week…we bought a food scale last week and who knew it could be so much fun? Even the kids are having a good time seeing how much stuff weighs. It’s been an easy way to talk about ounces vs grams. I’ve been using this site to check the calorie count of recipes. Losing/maintaining weight really is all about the numbers.

In our homeschool this week…looking forward to adding a couple of new things to our routine next week.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…last week my tip was meal planning, to go along with that I recently found a grocery store app and have started keeping my list in my phone. My husband and I shop on Sunday morning, after mass while the older kids are at religious ed. I can e-mail him the list and he can start at one of the store and I can start at the other. We meet in the middle with our full carts and checked-off lists!

I am inspired by… a positive attitude

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…I’m heading out to a scrapbooking weekend. Looking forward to a weekend full of laughter, food I don’t have to prepare, quiet (!), and maybe some scrapbooking.

My favorite thing this week was…celebrating our 15th Wedding Anniversary

Things I’m working on…still thinking about homeschool plans for next year

I’m reading…I finished Jane Eyre! I ended up really liking the book, now I get why it’s a classic. Now I have a few going at once:

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

Positive Discipline for Children with Special Needs

Latin Centered Curriculum

I’m cooking…tried some new recipes this week. First up, Korean Tacos - yum! This week in Paths of Exploration, we talked about how apples were a special and much loved treat with the settlers. We made a healthy version of Applesauce Bread. It’s delicious.

We also tried a recipe for Shrimp Etouffee, from the most recent issue of Family Fun.

I’m grateful for…parents who are helping out so I can have a weekend away. This tends to be the only weekend I go away each year, I’ve had this planned for several months, at the last minute my husband received word that he had to attend an out of town meeting. So, my parents have graciously agreed to watch the kids so I can keep my plans.

I’m praying for…Patty, her family, and their newest addition ~ that all continues to go well for them.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

"So live wholly according to the spirit,...live sweetly and in peace. Be quite confident that God will help you, and in all that happens rest in the arms of his mercy and fatherly goodness" Saint Francis de Sales

Prayers

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:02:00 +0000

Please keep Patty and her family in your prayers today, she is schedule to have Baby Joy via C-Section this morning. Her blog will be updated later in the day!

{UPDATE}: Baby Cecelia has arrived!

Blessings,

Financing an Adoption

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:23:00 +0000

Today I am guest posting at Hannah's Tears about Financing an Adoption. It seemed like a timely topic for January as most of us are preparing for tax time, as well as assessing finances in general. If adoption is something that has been weighing on your heart and mind, I pray you find it helpful.

How We Met

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:50:00 +0000

If two pieces of wood are carefully glued together, their union will be so close that it is easier to break them in some fresh place than where they were joined; and God so united man and wife, that it is easier to sever soul and body than those two.

- St. Francis de Sales, the Devout Life.

Our Wedding Day ~ 1997

When we bumped into each other at Mc.Donald's some twenty years ago, never did I dream the rest of my life would be so unconventional, yet wonderful. Bob and I went to school together, he is one year older than me, so there was never a time when we didn't really know one another. We were never friends {except for one date in high school!} until we were in college. To say we were different in high school is a huge understatement. Bob was very outgoing and friends with everyone, he still is. I'm much more reserved and a bit of an introvert, I still am!

We had mutual friends that we went out with on our first {in high school} date and our second {this is for real} date. It wasn't long after that second date that I thought he was the one. I remember telling my mom that first Christmas we were dating that I thought we would get married some day. We did, it just took about six years of dating to get there.

I think, since I've know Bob, I have laughed everyday that I have talked to him or been with him. Not that everything has always been perfect, it hasn't, but he can always make me laugh. Even now the kids will say they can tell when I get a text from Dad because I laugh!

St. Vincent & The Grenadines ~ 2009

I know it's a bit cheesy to say I'm married to my best friend, but I really am. I thank God everyday for letting me share my life with this man.

This crazy life of adoption, piles of kids, and home education. He takes it all in stride, he is our anchor. He never fails to put God first and us second. I'm proud and honored to be his wife, he makes me want to be a better person.

Summer ~ 2011

All the wealth in the world cannot be compared with the happiness of living together happily united. ~ Blessed Margaret d’Youville

Here's a fun fact: The first Catholic wedding I ever attended was my own.

To my most favorite husband: Happy 15th Wedding Anniversary!

Sanctity of Life

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:19:00 +0000

{In all the Dioceses of the United State of America, January 22 (or January 23, when January 22 falls on a Sunday) shall be observed as a particular day of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life and of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through the acts of abortion.}

Please watch this beautiful pro-life video (I'm having trouble embedding the video to my site)

Praying for all those at the March for Life in Washington D.C. today. Praying also for the mainstream media to give some attention to this awesome event.

If you are hurting from an abortion, please check out these two sites for healing: Rachel's Vineyard and Silent No More

If you are pregnant and need help, please go here.

Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ January 20, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:13:00 +0000

I’m linking up with the Homeschool Mother’s Journal

In my life this week…it was an uneventful, normal week. It's nice to have those once in a while.

In our homeschool this week….a good solid week of learning, I felt like we stayed on track with everything.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share….meal plan. My week goes so much smoother with a meal plan. I'm even back to planning our breakfast and lunch meals, so I don't have to hear "what are we eating?" a hundred times before 8:00am.

I am inspired by…people who aren't afraid to admit mistakes

My favorite thing this week was…my husband dropped his cholesterol level by over 50 points, without medication. His MD told him he would never be able to do it with just diet and exercise and he did!

What’s working/not working for us…right now all of our school choices are working, but I think it's time to ramp things up a bit. We are getting more top heavy vs bottom heavy, as in the littles are growing up a bit. Some of the kids are ready for more challenging work, "this is hard, but I know I can do it!", others need a little gentle nudging, but always rise to the occasion. These are my guiding thoughts as we ponder next year's work.

Things I’m working on…school plans. Adding a few new things soon and thinking about changing some things for next year.

I’m reading…still plugging along with Jane Eyre, I'm passed the half-way point and I'm finally starting to like the story. Thanks Lori for encouraging me to stick with it. Sarah is reading Daniel Boone and Jacob is reading Thomas Edison. Jacob is really interested in Steve Jobs and heard him "called the Thomas Edison of our time". I would like to read the Steve Jobs biography, but I need to preview it first.

I’m cooking…these oatmeal-cinnamon pancakes for breakfast this morning, it’s Jonah’s family day! In an effort to keep them more healthy, I’m using whole wheat flour and skipping the brown sugar.

Happy Family Day Jonah!

I’m grateful for…littles who stay occupied with constructive things. While they could be a bit more quiet and a bit less messy, I'll take it!

I’m praying for…a couple of "going away" weekends that we have coming up soon.

Flank Steak Fajitas

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:49:00 +0000

Flank Steak Fajitas

1 1/2 pound beef flank steak

1 cup chopped onion

1 sweet green onion

1 jalapeno pepper (optional - I didn't use it)

1 tbsp cilantro (optional - I didn't use it)

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp salt

1 can chopped tomatoes (I used diced tomatoes a 15oz can)

tortillas of choice

fixin's of choice

Cut flank steak into 6 portions and place in crock-pot. Then add remaining ingredients. Cook at low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. Remove from crock-pot, shred and serve. Adapted from My Crock Pot recipes.

Wednesday is my crock-pot day as we are out and about in the afternoon. Feeding eight different people all the time sometimes means someone isn't happy about the meal choice. Everyone gave this a thumbs up - that's a little rare around here for anything other than pizza and mac and cheese. This was an easy, delicious, and healthy meal. Enjoy!

Adoption Advice?

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:38:00 +0000

Patty is contemplating some adoption/birth related things, perhaps you can help?

Paths of Exploration

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 01:09:00 +0000

This semester we are embarking on volume two of the Trail Guide to Learning Series - Paths of Exploration. Currently my older children are in 5th, 3rd and 2nd grades. This is the first year in many years that we have used packaged curriculum, mostly because we have preferred a more relaxed approach to learning. I didn't want their younger years of learning bogged down by workbooks and busy work. However, I was feeling the need to add more structure to our day and desiring the ease of a pick up and go curriculum.

In my opinion, Paths of Exploration combines all of the things I was looking for. The ease of a pick up and go for a busy home, the joy of reading real books and the flexibility of adding plenty of hands on projects if we choose.

So far we have covered Christopher Columbus, Jamestown, and the Pilgrims. Upon returning to our lessons after the holidays we started with Daniel Boone, then follows Lewis & Clark, and Trails West.

When I was reading some reviews of the curriculum, discerning if this would work for our needs, a few people mentioned that the Language Arts portion wasn't meaty enough. I have not found this to be true. We rather enjoy the more subtle approach to language arts through copy work. In fact back in the day, most Catholic schools couldn't afford for each student to have their own book, so students learned much from copying from great works of literature.

Copywork has been a rich way for the children to work on so many different aspects such as handwriting, punctuation, sentence structure, and spelling. It has helped my reluctant reader improve his reading fluency and my reluctant writer is gently being encouraged to write.

I know the children are learning when they can relay information to their dad around the dinner table, or my son points out punctuation marks in the missal at Sunday mass. "Mom, there's a colon!, I just can't stop finding colons!"

I have found it very easy to organize our notebooking materials. Each week I pull the week's notebook pages out of their large binders and put them in a folder. As they work through the week the completed pages can go into the right side of the folder. Everything is kept together, fairly neat, until it's transferred back into the large binder.

The curriculum covers history, science, and language arts in a relevant and engaging way. We add in our own math program as well as religion, and we are having a great year.

I'm linking up at a virtual curriculum fair today at Homeschool Heart & Mind

Please check out these other great blogs!

WUTW :: January 13, 2012 {New Year Edition}

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:59:00 +0000

I thought I’d try something new for 2012, so I’m linking up with the Homeschool Mother’s Journal

In my life this week…we are back at our normal routine, this week was much more productive and a lot less chaotic than last week. It feels good to be back to our lessons and back to the homekeeping routines.

In our homeschool this week…I’ve been struggling with what to do for next year, particularly with Jacob {the oldest}. I feel like I’ve had some clarity on the situation and a good reminder of what our goals are for him and for all of our children.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…The Claw! In searching around for some ways to help Leah develop a proper grip for handwriting, I found the claw and realized we had one floating around. She picked it up right away and I could immediately tell this is going to work for her. So thankful for all the little “gadgets” out there that can make things easier for kids who need some extra assistance.

I am inspired by…some of my children who have to work so much harder than others to accomplish the same goal.

My favorite thing this week was…getting back to our routine and one boy with great penmanship and another working hard to improve.

What’s working/not working for us…Paths of Exploration is definitely working for us. I’m writing more about the curriculum next week. It really does fit.

Questions/thoughts I have…Wondering about the math site IXL.com, I’m thinking it might be a good supplement to what we are doing with Math U See. This week both Sarah and Jacob were a little bit stuck with their respective concepts and it would be nice to have a back up/refresher place to get extra practice. Have you ever used it?

Things I’m working on…creating a daily check list of things I want to accomplish each day, with each child for school. If we get to other things then it's icing on the cake.

I’m reading…I’m reading Jane Eyre. I’m almost half way through. So far I don’t love it, but I don’t hate it either. I’m trying to get through at least a chapter per evening, sometimes more if I can keep my eyes open! I just finished up Genesis and starting Exodus in my 90 Day Historical Bible Reading.

I’m cooking…Lots of healthy meals and no desserts! Bob and I have been tracking our calories at My Fitness Pal, this app is awesome and really makes it easy to track what we are eating. It's also possible to connect with friends and encourage one another. I'm Jen4ever4always if you'd like to connect. We also signed up at JillianMichaels for recipe ideas and exercises. She doesn’t mess around, her exercises are tough.

I’m grateful for…a husband that takes his health and fitness seriously and appreciates the effort and thought that goes into preparing healthy foods to eat.

I’m praying for…whew! lots of things :)

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Starting Again

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:48:00 +0000

Happy Feast of The Baptism of our Lord!

Advent and Christmas were a much needed break in our regular routine. Last Tuesday we got back into the swing of lessons and normal household routines. Wow, it was a busy week returning to our daily schedule, but I think everyone was glad to get back into a routine. We were able to get some organizing projects completed before Christmas and our school room got a good sprucing up before the New Year. Now all of our Christmas decorations have been stored away and we are back in Ordinary Time, for a few weeks, at least until Lent starts.

Even though we kept up with the math lessons during our Advent break, last week was a bit rough. I'm hoping last week was a warm up and they will miraculously remember everything that they had "forgotten" from the two week Christmas break.

We have been enjoying some mild temperatures and sunshine, it made it to 50 degrees on Saturday! We are getting outside, it won't last long, and we are sure to get some colder temps and snow before the month is over.

Now that Christmas is officially over, I have started thinking about how to celebrate Candlemas, as well as St. Valentine's Day, how do you celebrate in your home?

Enjoy the week and Happy Monday!

Feast Day of St. John Neumann

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:06:00 +0000

Today is the Feast Day of St. John Neumann, who has been the patron saint of our blog this year.

John Neumann was born in Bohemia on March 20, 1811. Since he had a great desire to dedicate himself to the American missions, he came to the United States as a cleric and was ordained in New York in 1836 by Bishop Dubois. In 1840, he entered the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer {Redemptorists}. He labored in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. In 1852, he was consecrated bishop of Philadelphia. There he worked hard for the establishment of parish schools and for the erection of many parishes for numerous immigrants. Bishop Neumann died on January 5, 1860; he was beatified in 1963 and canonized in 1977. {Magnificat Jan 2012}

St. John Neumann was a Redemptorists, the Redemptorists happen to have a beautiful site dedicated to St. Gerard Majella who is said to be the saint to Mother's. Mother's in particular who have experienced infertility, pregnancy loss, as well as adoption.

St. John Neumann, pray for us!

Goal Setting for the Whole Family

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 11:45:00 +0000

"Then the Lord answered me and said: Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily. For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late." {Habakkuk 2: 2-3}

Today we are planning to spend some time writing down our goals for the year. This past week we have been encouraging the kids to start thinking about some goals they would like to set for themselves. We have also been reminding the kids to pray about the goals and ask God what what He might have in store for them for the year. At that usually one child says "I'm asking, but I can't hear anything!"

I thought I would share some of the resources that we have been using. We will write down each child's goal on a small piece of poster board and hang them on our bulletin board by the entrance we use most frequently. We tried to take a three-pronged approach to goal planning; spiritual, mental, and physical.

Making a New Year's Resolution that Lasts - I printed this one out to refer to throughout the year!

Setting Goals with your Kids

Why we should set Goals with our Kids

Learning to Reflect on Goals

A few of my personal goals for the New Year are:

1. Complete Reading the Bible Historically in 90 Days

2. Continue with exercise 4-5 times per week

3. Learn to take better photos

4. Decrease my consumption of white sugar with the help of the book that Laurie recommended on this What are you reading? post.

5. Along the same lines, I want to track the books I read in 2012 in Goodreads. I kept a list in 2010 and I liked being able to go back and see the different books I had read.

I will be adding my list of goals to the bulletin board too. One of the articles I read suggested writing "check goal progress" on the calendar each quarter as a reminder to check in on how everybody is doing. It's so easy to make a big list in January and never look at it again for the rest of the year.

Goal Sheets

What about you, do you set goals within your family?

I've linked up at The Homeschool Post, stop by and see how others are planning for the new year.

Please be sure to check out The Carnival of Homeschooling this week!

Horse Crazy Birthday!

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:31:00 +0000

Ever since Leah started Riding Therapy, she has been completely in love with horses. Even her therapist says she has an uncanny interest and love of horses, more than most children she sees. So it was only natural that this would become the theme for her Christmas and her sixth birthday which she celebrates today!

Leah, taken by Jacob

She woke up to a big bouquet of balloons on the kitchen table. She hasn't let go of a balloon since!

Birthday Balloons

Sharing with a sister

Several months ago when we were discussing Christmas, Patty mentioned that her daughter {also a bit horse crazy!} had these cute horse lights. I knew Leah would love them, they are so cute hanging above her bed and she will be thrilled tonight when she goes to sleep.

Horse Lights

My parents went with the horse theme for Christmas for the girls and Levi. My dad made this stable to hold all the little horses.

Barn

There are doors to get in both sides, and windows large enough to see what the horses are up to.

Front of Barn

The top has some plexiglass so that girls can see inside the stable as well. Didn't he do an awesome job? I have even seen the big boys playing with the barn, horses, and truck and trailer ;)

And, what horse crazy girl would be complete without her very own pair of red cowboy boots!!

Red Cowboy Boots

We have seen tremendous growth in Leah this past year, her speech has improved so much, we are so proud of her hard work. We are so thankful for her, she always keeps life interesting that's for sure.

Happy 6th Birthday Leah!

What are you reading?

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 11:06:00 +0000

Or what did you read in 2011 that you loved?

This is the time of year that I like to start looking at book lists and putting books in my "to be read" pile. I wasn't good this year about keeping up with my reading list, I did read, I just didn't make it a priority to keep track. For 2012, I will try and keep a running list in my journal.

So, what did you read this year that you couldn't put down? What's on your TBR pile?

I read a wide variety of books. Books about adoption, spirituality, home education, nutrition, homekeeping, knitting and more.

From my stack above, the only book I haven't gotten to yet is Jane Eyre. I think my favorite book fiction book from 2011 was The Help. Although looking back over my list, there were quite a few I thoroughly enjoyed.

Leave your book recommendations in the comments and I will update this post with the list, {with a link back to your blog if you have one}. I will continue to do this as new suggestions/recommendations come in, so feel free to leave yours.

Per Barbara's suggestion I updated my Goodreads info, you can feel free to find me at Jennifer Jen4ever4always

Here are some book suggestions:

Tiffany @ Family at the Foot of the Cross liked:

A Book of Saints for Catholic Mom's

A Little Way of Homeschooling

Kimberlie @ Dumpling House read:

Weightless

Story of a Soul

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

Sober Intoxication of the Spirit

Persuasion {there is also a free Kindle edition!}

Laurie @ Keeping it Simple recommended:

Teach Like Your Hair is on Fire

Made to Crave

Consoling the Heart of Jesus

Barbara @ Praying for Grace liked:

Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Caroline @ Flowing Streams enjoyed:

Mink River

Humility of Heart

Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence

Provenance

The Rape of Europa

Mary @ Homegrown Learners read:

The Help

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Fall of Giants

Mission of Motherhood

A Pocketful of Pinecones

My "TBR" should be full for a few months :)

Happy Reading!

12 Days of Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:43:00 +0000

Advent is over, Christmas Day has now passed us by. I think, aside from the bug that is going from child to child, we had a good Christmas Eve/Day. The kids were happy with their presents. We've indulged in too much good food and drink, now we are enjoying a semi quiet week.

We didn't get to everything we had planned for Advent, but that's always the way it goes. This week I will spend a few minutes ordering my Advent/Christmas Notebook. I will be adding in this Ginger Snap recipe, it was fantastic, we ended up making the cookies two different times. I'm also going to type up and print out our meal plan for December. I'm placing it in my Advent/Christmas binder so next year I don't have to spend time meal planning, I will use the same one as this year, with some slight modifications of course. No point rethinking the entire month of December each year.

Recently I have read about a few families giving a small present on the Feast of the Epiphany. I have a new project I would like to introduce to our homeschool week on Fridays and it just so happens that Epiphany is on January 6th, the first Friday we are back to our school work. The little gift will hopefully help to create some excitement for our project.

At the last minute we had new flooring put in our entryway and family room. Glad it's done and looks good, but I wasn't eager to have it installed the day after Christmas. Our plans for the rest of the week include spending time with cousins, seeing friends, a goal planning session, a good de-clutter of the school room, and fresh school plans for 2012. We'll also be celebrating a birthday while we ring in the New Year.

Hope you are enjoying a very Merry Christmas!

Waiting...

noreply@blogger.com (Jen @ Forever, For Always...) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 03:03:00 +0000

with joyful hope

Merry CHRISTmas to you and to yours!