A,B,C's Life's Lessons on Counting your Blessings

A ~ B ~ C ............Life's Lessons on Counting your Blessings

May your day be filled with A ~ Z....................Pay it forward!

You Are More Blessed Than...

If you have ever suffered loss, you will be thankful for the small things, you will love deeper and longer for each day is precious. "..

We take so many things for granted anymore, take some time today to say thanks for the blessings you have been bestowed. Teach your children to be grateful with the little things in life... teach kindness by practicing kindness & gratitude.

 

 

 

Gotta Glow Yourself, To Give Light To Others

Another new year is rolling on by, more resolutions made have been broken by the second week of January if you are like me.

Or rather were like me before I began to accept a new attitude about New Years resolutions.....This year I have resolved to accept me for me and build on those building blocks I already have.

I have to adopt the mentality "Gotta Glow Myself from Within" in order to help others out.

Even teaching my own children at home is sparking a love and light for learning in them, but requires a certain glow from me to help nurture that light.

Learn how to glow from the inside out if you want to give and pass your light on to others..... Think about it.

 

 

Have A Blessed Thanksgiving!

From our house to yours we wish you a safe and blessed Thanksgiving Day. Count your blessings, no matter how small, and praise our Father above for all the goodness he bestows upon us daily.

Happy Thanksgiving

Just Do It! Homeschool Them! #atozchallenge

So you feel the tug on your heart to homeschool you kids? Maybe for several years now you have thought about it, prayed about it, almost started to do it and something held you back.

I am telling you now Just Do It!

You will be blessed and your family bond will grow stronger. It is not an easy road, and you will face days that are frustrating, tearful and gut wrenching. But, joy, laughter and raising lifelong learners will overshadow all the bad days.

I started out trying to resist the direction that God was leading our family's life. For at least 3 years I felt that God was leading me down the homeschool path, but I refused to listen to his call. We tried private Christian schools (2 different ones) and I started to realize, as our 3rd child came along, that paying for an education when I could do the exact same thing at home was just not making much sense.

We embarked on a homeschool journey, taking a leap of faith and trusting God to lead and guide our education. We have been so blessed because we followed God's will for our family.

So if you are feeling that pull, like something is missing from you children's education, maybe some prayerful time with The Lord will lead you down the path you are seeking.

 

 

 

Life as a Homeschool Mom

Worth a re-share, homeschool moms would mostly agree with her.I know I do, happy healthy homeschool kids are all that matters at our house! It is not an easy task, never fault yourself for your choice, just keep going one day at a time and you will be amazed at the results!

Life as a Homeschool Mom

Author: Heather from UnionCountyMommies "The Mommies Network"

Original Post April 15, 2011 

If I were to meet you on the street today, I would introduce myself as Heather, stay-at-home/homeschooling mom of my daughters who are six and three. You would ask me my thoughts on the public school system and about my choice to keep them home, then about my method of teaching, and the curriculum I use. I would smile and say all the right things. I would tell you just how much I love it, how passionate I am about being their teacher, and how confident I am that this is the right choice for my family.

But that wouldn't really be the truth.

You see, more often than not I have no idea what I am doing. I second guess every decision. Homeschooling was never something I imagined myself doing, so I wonder how I got to this point, and what I was thinking. And some days I allow myself to dream about that big yellow bus pulling up in front of my house and taking my children away for the next six hours.

I love my girls dearly, of course. But the days are long, and the weeks are hectic. And I rarely get a few minutes to think, let alone have a conversation with another adult. We have days that we wake up early, get dressed and into our school room right away. And then we have others where I realize we are still in our pajamas at noon and I haven't even opened a workbook, or answered a single question.

Guilt and fear are par for the course in motherhood, but in my life they are exacerbated by being primarily responsible for my children's education. I believe that right now they learn so much through play, and have a natural curiosity to explore the world around them. But secretly, I worry that I am not smart enough to teach them all they need to know. I question whether my methods really are the best. And I'm afraid that I am doing them a huge disservice by not exposing them to a more structured learning environment.

As I start asking myself questions, I become riddled with the fear that while homeschooling is what I want for my girls, I might not be cut out for it. But then...something miraculous happens.

My youngest daughter will count to twenty, correctly read the letters off a sign as we pass by, and ask for her mountain of books at bedtime. My oldest daughter will flawlessly name the planets, sound out letters, and proudly find Italy on the world map. They will ask for more rhyming games, and sight words. They will demand just one more sheet of school work. They will run to their dad when he walks through the door, eager to tell them what they learned about that day. And they will beg to have school on Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays.

And in those moments, I realize that something is working!

So a more accurate representation of the truth is that I am a stay-at-home/homeschooling mom of two. It is harder than I expected it to be. I don't know if I am making the right choices all the time. But my children are learning! And they are loving it!! And that hunger for knowledge is exactly what I wanted to instill in them all along.

Amen sister!

7 Secrets To Success......plus the best secret!

What do you consider success in life?

Just look around you and be amazed at what you might see.

And Pray, Trust God for your success in life always

The Best secret!

Why do you stay home?

As a homeschooling mom I am asked by many well meaning individuals "why do you keep your kids at home?" "don't they need the contact of other children in regular school"? Honestly I want to look at those people and tell them to mind their own business, but that would be rather rude. So I just tell them that it works well for our family and if something is working just fine there is no reason to change it.

Here are my top reasons for homeschooling my children:

• When God tells you to do something you Do It!
• Prayerfully sought out answer
• We tried traditional school and did not like it at all (for our kids that is)
• Due to family illness, we were able to spend more time with my father as he was dying with cancer.
• We get to go visit grandma when we want to and not just on school breaks
• I know what they are learning!
• Can teach biblical principles and apply to our lives
• We have prayer in school
• We sleep late, mom works as a nurse and does odd shifts
• Field trips can be as simple as a drive to the grocery store to learn
• We learn 24/7 365 days a year no matter the weather
• We school all year round so we can take more breaks
• We can take a day off for fun if we want to.....anytime!
• Healthy options for meals and cook at home
• Kids are less affected by external distractions
• No meds needed anymore for ADD
• I have learned all of their learning styles and work around them.
• Done with work in way less time
• Can school anywhere in the house, even snuggled up on the couch or bed.
• Bring your pets to school everyday :)
• Show and tell everyday
• Cooking dinner can become a math lesson very easily
• Our home repairs and renovations become lessons easily
• Tv can be tailored into science and history learning
• I have an addiction for school supplies
• I love books
• Teaching my kids is an honor
• My husband gets to help and teach too.
• We all learn new things daily
• We get to learn and eat our work ie counting M & M's
• No bullies!
• No dress codes or expensive uniforms
• No wasting time, lining up, waiting on other kids that don't behave, lunch lines,etc
• They are living in the real world, dealing with real life problems that happen in our household everyday. Critical thinking skills and problem solving daily.
• My teen and I have had some really deep discussions about life,love and the world,that we may not have had if he was at school all day long.
• Many many more,I could go on and on!

So if homeschooling works for your family, Just Do It! If not that's ok. As long as your children are happy,healthy and learning that is all that matters, right?

 

Saturday blessings

Hello weekend,glad you are here! Praising God for all blessings whether they be great or small.

 

An Attitude of Gratitude

 

A Dose of Positive Attitude

Shared from Godvine website ~

Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Michael and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Michael replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood... or you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim... or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining... or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.

"Yes, it is," Michael said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life."

I reflected on what Michael said. Soon thereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that Michael was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Michael was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw Michael about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied. "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

"The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon to be born daughter," Michael replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live... or I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.

Michael continued... "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read "He's a dead man. I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Michael. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. "Yes, I replied." The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, "Gravity." Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."

"Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything. Matthew 6:34 states: Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

After all, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

Enjoy each day, each breath and mostly... each and every friend.

And remember to start each day with an "attitude of gratitude!"

 

 

Daisy's are for picking or clicking?

Find Great Deals at Home or on the Road


Download the app to your computer and access
it from your mobile device. Never miss a deal again

.http://blockhousecreates.shoppingdaisy.com

What is ShoppingDaisy?

ShoppingDaisy is a free app for instantly finding the lowest price for any item you wish to purchase. ShoppingDaisy works between your search and price comparison services spanning hundreds of millions of products and extending into travel, lodging, tickets, deep discounts, daily deals and more to bring you savings every time.

How does ShoppingDaisy work?
Simple. Just Click, Compare and Save. Get it now. It's Free. Click Here

 

Check out a new endeavor that my family has started, join for free if you wish, not spam you will make money, Promise! I don't do things like this unless they actually work, as a mother,nurse and friend, someone else was nice enough to tell me about this site and I was skeptical at first. But now I totally love it!

Join the Penny Auction craze for half the cost with Zeekler - buy $20 worth of bids for only $10. Get BOGO bids on Zeekler to win laptops, electronics, cash, and much more at up to 95% off. Register to receive $20 worth of bids/mo for only $10/mo - Start Nowhttps://www.zeekler.com/securesignup.asp?username=blockhousecreates

 

Imagine the World if Everyone Sent out Love!

From the words of a very special lady Heather Fortune, Founder of the non-profit organization The Mommies Network

What does it mean to support someone?

It means that you assume benign intent. It means that you take them for face value and don't judge them. It means you put yourself in their shoes and see the world from their perspective, just long enough to empathize with them and understand their situation.

And then you love them. A lot. Maybe they are a stranger. Maybe you will never meet them in person. Maybe they will end up being your best friend. It doesn't matter. Because they are a fellow human being. And they are walking this same walk through life as you are, even though their path may branch in different ways. And doesn't that alone connect us all?

Imagine the world if everyone sent out love, instead of hate. If we all tried to see the good in each other instead of instantly looking for the bad? And if we could look past the differences and see what we share in common.

I'm proud that I am able to support amazing wonderful mommies every single day. I can't think of a better way to spend my life than this........

                                                          ~~~~~~~~Heather 

Can you image a world without so much hate and more beauty, slow down this week and notice the beautiful people in your world!

Leslie

Why are my ornaments on the floor?

Caught!!

The reason is called "LUCY"

Our Christmas tree has gone up in stages this last week, and it is also coming down in stages. Miss Lucy, the newest baby at our house has delighted in all things bright and shiny. Nothing glass or breakable has gone on the tree unless it is well secured. 

I do believe that she thinks this grand bush is hers and is celebrating nightly the joys of having her own decorated tree in the dining room. I had to move the chairs so that she could not stand on the backs and easily swing at her toys.

Hopefully I will get the lately trek to get our tree 2011 pictures 

downloaded and share soon.

Leslie

Wordless Wednesday~ leaves of blessings

Wordless Wednesday~ many leaves of blessings pouring out upon the ground 

Have a terrific day! think positive and throw some leaves!