When eight people live together in a house, it often gets messy very quickly!  Our home is especially susceptible to this on the weekends.  It could be because we are busier and out of our routine or it could be because we don’t want to take the time to pick up after ourselves.  Regardless of why, we sometimes need to have a “Reclaim the House” session, where we all work together as quickly as possible to get the house back under control.

Tonight, while we were “reclaiming”, I was hand washing all of the dishes that wouldn’t fit into the dishwasher, while my 6 year old daughter helped to dry them.  She is normally my slow worker, the one who HATES anything that even resembles a chore.  She usually finds a reason to delay working by saying she’s hungry right as soon as I announce that we need to get busy.  This time was different though.  This time, she was excited, because she was encouraged to work right alongside of mommy.   I was excited because I had the privilege of encouraging her to be a harder worker by complementing her work.  She totally ate it up!  It was a way that I could fill her love tank and help her to enjoy being a hard worker all while bringing us closer.

That had me thinking about a recent quote that I read.  I wish I could find it now, but it went something like this:  ”The more quality time you spend with your children while they’re young, the more they’ll want to be around you when they grow up”.  It’s all about spending quality time.

Do you spend quality time with your children?  I know I’m guilty of spending too much time in front of the computer while they’re off doing something else.  I’m also guilty of sending them away to do a chore, while I’m off doing another chore.  How much more valuable that time would be if we spent it working together.  We could talk about anything important to them, laugh and make it into a fun game.  They will remember their mother as someone who they like to be around.  You will be someone who makes them feel special.  They will grow up wanting to be around you!  I understand that it’s not always possible to be right next to your children when you have them assigned to a job, but I do think that we can make a more conscious effort to do so.

In addition to cleaning together, here are some ideas of how we can spend more time with our children:

• Play a game .
• Read a book
• Do a puzzle
• Take them out for a meal one on one
• Go out for dessert
• Set aside so much time per day to talk (especially important with older children)
• Do a craft
• Cook dinner (rotate in a child to help you each day)
• Volunteer together outside of your home
• Let one child at a time go to the store with you

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On the long car ride home, I looked back to see my oldest daughter sleeping soundly while my youngest child pulled her hair, pinched her nose, and stuck his hand over her mouth.  When his antics finally roused her from her deep slumber, she looked him in the eye and said,

You little stinker!

Awww, sibling love!

Sometimes it looks like two boys tumbling over each other in a wrestling match.  Sometimes it looks like two girls whispering through bunk beds late at night.  Sometimes it looks like a little brother standing at the door waiting for his big brother to come home.  Sometimes it looks like a big sister scratching a little brother’s back.

The sibling relationships around here aren’t perfect, but they aren’t what most people consider the norm either.  My children actually like each other!

In an effort to foster the sibling relationships in our home, Ty and I have done a few things that we’d like to share with you in the hopes that you too can reap some long-lasting deeply-bonded sibling relationships between your children.

Don’t dwell on the negative.  Our society expects terrible sibling relationships.  In fact, I believe traditional school even encourages enmity between siblings by separating them and inadvertently teaching them that anyone not their same age is not worth spending time with.  It simply is not “cool” to hang out with your siblings.  If we buy into this and foster this negative outlook on siblings, we end up encouraging strife as a norm.

Don’t build walls.  We have one child who flies off the handle easier than the others.  At one point, I made the mistake of focusing in on that with the other siblings nearby.  It took me a long time to remedy that.  No, she shouldn’t fly off the handle, but my job as mom isn’t to call her out in front of her siblings, but rather to take her aside and guide her back to reconciliation with them.  If I am constantly pointing out the faults of one sibling in front of another, I will build walls I will eventually be unable to tear down.

Make “togetherness” the norm.  While we do allow our children their own space, we do not encourage them to spend massive amounts of time doing their “own thing.”  We do take our children out separately on occasion, but more often than not, another sibling comes along.  And more often than not, they WANT another sibling to come along.

Talk about their bond.  Since losing Emily, we talk to our girls a lot about how they are the only sisters they have and how important it is that they foster that relationship.  We don’t do it in a preachy way, just a matter-of-fact way.  We talk about how perhaps one day one of the brothers will work with another brother.  It might never happen, and we certainly don’t expect it, but there is no harm in building that bond with our words.

Encourage their similarities.  My children are all so different, but they also have similar likes and interests that I believe deserve to be encouraged as a way to build that bond between siblings.  All too often, we focus on differences and forget the lovely similarities that exist too.  However, that brings me to my final point…

Complementary rather than comparison.  Siblings are often far more different than the same, but rather than make that a comparison or a black and white contrast, find ways to show them how those difference work together within the dynamics of the family.  My oldest is a talkative planner while the next sibling in line is the quiet, creative type.  He plans trips while she takes the photos and journals her way through vacation.  Together, they offer a complimentary benefit to the family.  So, rather than making sibling differences insurmountable, we choose to point out ways each siblings strengths compliment the rest of the family’s strengths.

It’s all about strengthening, encouraging, and loving the individuals who make up the community you call a family!

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As homeschool convention season approaches, you can almost feel the tension in the air.  Homeschooling families everywhere are reevaluating everything they have taught the previous year and trying to decide if it was effective, good enough, or a total failure.

And many feel just plain confused.

Today, I want to offer you a few resources to lessen your confusion!

Start Here:  Homeschooling with Purpose Series (this series gives you an eternal perspective!)

Before the Convention:
Curriculum Evaluation from an Eternal Perspective Worksheet

Create a Homeschool Convention Notebook

At the Convention:
Surviving the Vendor’s Hall

Surviving the Speaker Sessions

Other resources:
Peace Creek on the Prairie Convention Forms

Curriculum Fair Survival Tips from Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers

How to Make an Overall Plan for the Year from Curriculum Choice by Barb at Harmony Art Mom

Tips from My Very First Homeschool Convention from Angie at The Homeschool Classroom

Preparing for a Homeschool Convention from Betty at Peace Creek on the Prairie

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While we are not a true unit studies homeschooling family, we do like to supplement from time to time.  One way I like to supplement is with A Journey Through Learning products.  If you remember a few months ago, I told you how I was using their Little House on the Prairie lapbooking binder with my younger children.

Recently, I was introduced to a brand new product from AJTL (who will be at the Teach Diligently Convention, by the way!) called DigiFolios.  These were a brand new concept to me as they might be to you as well, so let me explain…

DigiFolios are a digital lapbook.  They require no special program as they can run on the Paint program that comes with your computer.  (We have used both the Paint program and our Photoshop software to work on these.)

In my opinion, they work best for older children, 4th grade and above, but there are a couple of DigiFolios geared toward younger children too.  If your child has no knowledge of computers, this is a fun way to introduce some computer skills as DigiFolios do require both typing and designing.

Need more info?  Click on the Instruction Sheet below to enlarge:

In the photo at the top of this post, you see my oldest daughter (age 11) with her World Book software open to a photo of Ronald Reagan so that she could read about him and then try to draw him behind the podium of the Presidents DigiFolio.  She did a fantastic job and the photo simply does not do it justice.

Above, is my 7 year old daughter who insisted on trying her hand at Abraham Lincoln.  She did a great job for what little computer skills she has; however, much of the work was simply too difficult for her to do on her own.  Perhaps next time we will try one of the younger ones.

By the way, DigiFolios can be printed out for a hard copy or left on your computer in a file.  I like that!  We can go completely paperless if we wish!

And here’s the best part! I have 5 Digi products to give away here at Raising Arrows! If you win, you will get your choice of a DigiFolio product, so start checking them out to see which one you might want!

If you are reading this post via email, click over to enter to win!

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Once again, I find myself in between homes.

If you remember last year when we moved, I wrote an entire series on Large Family Moving.  Rather than rehash that, I thought I would take a more spiritual approach.

Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Matthew 8:20

I know I talk here a lot about your home life and homemaking skills and finding peace in your home, but there is such a thing as being too wrapped up in the temporal here and now of our home life that we forget this is not truly our Home.

So, this week as I am packing up one house and preparing to unpack another, I am reminding myself that what matters most is not found inside the walls of a home, but inside the heart and mind.

Grab the code in the sidebar!

This is the last week to take advantage of this offer from Victorian Rose Soap – 15% off your order using the coupon code: Raisingarrows – Enjoy!

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Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2

Some of you may have detected a note of melancholy here at Raising Arrows lately.  Some may have chalked it up to the 4 year anniversary of Emily’s death coming soon, or the 5 year anniversary of my father’s death the week after, or the miscarriage back at Thanksgiving.  While all of these are certainly at the forefront of my mind, there is another burden.

At Christmas, I found out I was surprisingly pregnant again.  We were elated and I was excited to think I would have a new little one to hold and such a wonderful story to tell.  Last Tuesday, my wonderful story died.

Baby’s heart was no longer beating.

The morning sickness and exhaustion continue to plague me as the numbers have not fallen enough to stop that.

And next weekend, we move.

A few nights ago I found myself asking God how much one person could take before they broke in two.

I am broken.  But as I said in my Mom in the Headlights post, perhaps I am right where God wants me.

I don’t like being needy.  I don’t like knowing so much about death.  I don’t like all the waiting and all the pain and stress.  However, I’ve noticed as I’ve shared my burden with others, God has given me more and more peace, more and more strength to keep going.

I cry, but I am comforted.  I am tired, but I rest.  I am weak, but He is strong.

Weekends in the Word is a ministry of Raising Arrows meant to offer a time of worship and encouragement specifically for those mommies who find themselves, due to circumstances beyond their control, unable to attend worship services with other believers. However, all are welcome here each weekend to feast on His Word.

Click here for the FEBRUARY SUBSCRIBER SPECIAL ~ Homemaking from the Heart Bundle!

Last year, I decided to create a Homeschool Convention Notebook at the prodding of Betty from Peace Creek on the Prairie.  I’m so glad I did!

I found in my stash of notebooks (because every good homeschool mom has a stash of notebooks) a white notebook that had a clear cover where a cover page could be inserted.  Since most homeschool conventions hand out session schedules, that’s where I put my session schedule for each day, so I had it at a glance.  No need to open anything and search.

I also marked every session I was interested in.  I starred it if I was interested, circled it if that was my definite choice, and wrote “Tape” next to any I intended to purchase the recording for (even though technically no one uses tapes anymore!)

Since I was speaking at our local convention, I put my speaking notes at the front of the notebook, followed by notebook paper to take notes on and a folder for loose papers from vendors and speakers sessions.

In the back cover, I put my list of items I was looking for.  Again, it was quick to glance at in the always-crowded vendor hall.  Last year, I didn’t have a lot of curriculum needs since we decided to create our own history/literature program.

The Teach Them Diligently Convention in March will be our first homeschool convention of the year (yes, sometimes we go to more than 1!)  However, I anticipate this notebook being helpful for the 2:1 Blogging Conference in April too!

So, grab a notebook and make this convention season a little more organized!

Click here for the FEBRUARY SUBSCRIBER SPECIAL ~ Homemaking from the Heart Bundle!

Dear Moms,

Do you feel like you have been spending a fair share of your time staring into oncoming traffic?  Do you feel a little blindsided?  A little befuddled?

Do you wish you could get off the road, but you can’t find the exit?

I wish I could tell you the way to get off this road you are on, but sometimes it’s not your turn to exit.  Sometimes you have to stare down the headlights, face the oncoming traffic, and yes, even get run over.

Not because God doesn’t love you, but because often crisis draws you closer to the only One Who can pick you back up, dust you off, and send you on your way.

So, stop looking for exits and start looking up.  Stop focusing on the headlights and start focusing on His light.  You may get run over, but He will not leave you there to suffer endlessly.

Trust.  Believe.  Stand.

Love,
a mom who knows this road

Click here for the FEBRUARY SUBSCRIBER SPECIAL ~ Homemaking from the Heart Bundle!

After my Welcome Home post on Monday about Home Cookin’, this might seem like a strange follow up, but it has to be said.

Knowing how to cook doesn’t make you a good homekeeper.

It’s a skill that can be done with or without the heart.  If you only learn the skills for yourself and teach the skills to your daughters, yet never reach the heart of homemaking, you and your daughters will fail miserably.

So, please teach your girls how to cook and clean and all the homemaking skills that belong to this wonderful job, but don’t neglect the heart!

From now through the month of February, the SUBSCRIBER FREEBIE from Raising Arrows is a bundle of resources aimed at:

In this bundle, you’ll receive:

• Homemaking from the Heart Prayer
• Cherish Your Children Checklist
• Daily Marriage Checklist
• Hospitality Checklist
• Chapter 7 of 10 Days to a Peaceful Home – The Home as a Haven

All you have to do to receive the link to this bundle is to sign up below.

By doing so, you’ll receive Raising Arrows to your inbox every time I post and you’ll find a link to this subscriber special at the bottom of each post through February 2012!

Click here for the FEBRUARY SUBSCRIBER SPECIAL ~ Homemaking from the Heart Bundle!

The moment the hats arrived at our doorstep, they were loved.  Worn everywhere.  Even inside stores where people would come up to us and ask where we had gotten such cute hats.

These hats are just one of the many amazing creations my friend Nichole, owner of Double Stuff Crochet, makes for her own 3 children and countless others across the nation!

Nichole, also a photography buff, started crocheting as a way to save money on photography props.  It soon turned into an obsession and a business!

And today, she shares her talents with us!

Double Stuff Crochet, named in honor of Nichole’s dog Oreo who died during the time she was learning to crochet, is giving away a “Puppy Love” hat to 1 winner!  “Puppy Love” can be done in boy or girl colors for your sweet little one.

And if you would like to see Nichole’s other creations, you can visit her Etsy Shop and her Facebook page AND enjoy 10% off using coupon code:

RaisingArrows

Here’s the entry form and good luck! (If you cannot see the entry form, please click here)

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Click here for the FEBRUARY SUBSCRIBER SPECIAL ~ Homemaking from the Heart Bundle!