Life's Trials That Have Made Me Better

I've missed a few weeks of the 52 Lists Project with Chasing Slow. We've been super busy since we got to North Dakota, and I don't see any hope of it slowing down yet. We are enjoying it up here immensely.

This week I must list life's trials that have made me a better person. This list made me really think.
 
Post-Partum Depression

I experienced very minimal PPD with my first four children - the usual mood swings and crying for no apparent reason lasted a week at the most. After I gave birth to Titus, PPD hit me like a brick. I didn't recognize what it was at first, and I really struggled to "keep it together" in front of my family and friends. Titus was a very challenging baby. He cried non-stop for the first 8 months of his life. Nothing made him happy - N-O-T-H-I-N-G. He nursed every hour {or more} for nearly two years of his life - and I mean through the night, too! The fact that I was already fighting PPD just increased my frustration, panic, and destructive thoughts. I won't go into all of the dirty details of my battle with PPD, but I will say this - when I finally called it was it was and cried out to the Heavenly Father in repentance and desperation, He answered me. He lifted me my head back up. I felt like I had a new life. Post Partum Depression is not a joke - it is serious. I try to encourage new mothers that I know not to hide it and to seek help - from God, from their spouse, from their mother, from whoever they trust. I learned so much from my struggle and now that I'm on the other side of it, I hope I can help others. This is my very favorite portion of scripture that gives me hope and encouragement as I choose JOY and LIFE in my every day situations.

¹¹ “This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach. ¹² It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey?’ ¹³ It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey?’ ¹⁴ No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.

¹⁵ “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. ¹⁶ For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy.

¹⁷ “But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, ¹⁸ then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.

¹⁹ “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! ²⁰ You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This^[a] is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” 

 

 

 

Anxiety

 

{Whew, y'all are going to think I have serious problems if I keep spilling my heart...} Anxiety is something that my father's family struggles with, and I have inherited the battle. I have anxiety about almost everything, so I'll save you from having to read a long list. I will say that traveling with my anxiety has been a trial, as travel is one of my top anxiety triggers. God is refining me, though, and I feel that by blessing Rod with this job - one that required travel and lots of it - He is telling me to trust Him. It requires a lot of trust and faith for me to get behind the wheel and drive the many hundreds or thousands of miles to get to the next job location. I feel like my anxiety is a trial that is making me a better person by requiring me to put my FAITH into ACTION.



 

Homeschooling

 

Homeschooling isn't really a trial, but it isn't always a piece of cake either. Homeschooling has made me a better mom for sure! Spending time with my children every day and being able to help build their foundation on Christ is a blessing. I have learned so much about the Bible, history, science, and literature  by teaching my children! Homeschooling has forced me to become patient, organized, and motivated. I have had to learn which education is most important - learning God's word and character building, or learning Latin and playing the violin. Not that those aren't important, but I have had to have a major priority straightening out meeting with God!

 

 

Close Friend's Suicides

 

Rod and I have had 3 friends commit suicide since we have been married. They were all three Rod's friends from childhood who became my friends when we married. All of them were totally unexpected, leaving Rod and I to wonder if we could have done anything to prevent it. These tragedies {two of whom left behind children} have inspired me to make sure that everyone I love {and even people I don't know} are saved and going to Heaven. It has opened my eyes to the reality of depression, helplessness and suicide. It has caused me to want to help and encourage all of my friends and family, to be observant of any evidence of depression or sorrow, and to pray for my loved ones.

 

 

What are some of life's trials that have made you a better person?

 



Weekly Recap #6

Mikaela and Eli are here now! My parents arrived on Tuesday afternoon with them. They stopped at Mount Rushmore on the way up and took some really neat pictures.

We went swimming when they got here and then out to eat at a family restaurant called Webo's. The food was really good!

 

{Getting lots of lovin' from Titus this week}

The weather was overcast and chilly on Wednesday and Thursday, so we didn't do much. We played at the playground and walked on the bike/hiking trail, and then we played Aggravation a few times.

My sister and her kids came over on Wednesday and it was raining off and on all day. We sat under the covered picnic tables at the playground and visited.

{The kids on the 4th in their flag tees}

 

 We played whiffle ball on Thursday and then visited the library. Mikaela and Eli got library cards, and we all checked out books. I found some old Nancy Drew books, and I checked out three of them to read! I cooked Baked Ziti and Crockpot Chicken Tacos and made homemade ice cream Thursday afternoon.

Friday, I took all the kids swimming since it was so warm. We came back and cooked Sloppy Joe Meatball Subs for supper tonight - a new family favorite!

We've been taking walks every evening. This is such a beautiful area that we are in!

Mikaela and Eli will start school on Monday, and Silas, Mercie and Titus will resume school on Monday. I'm excited to start and see how everything is going to work out!

How was your week?

Patriotic Penmanship K {TOS Review}

Handwriting has been somewhat of a struggle for Silas, my 6 year old. He has great fine motor skills, until it comes to handwriting. We have tried several different penmanship workbooks and handwriting curricula, and I haven't found exactly what I was looking for - until now!

We have been reviewing Patriotic Penmanship for Kindergarten from Laurelwood Books. This penmanship workbook is everything I have wanted in a handwriting program for Silas. Here are the things I love about Patriotic Penmanship:

• It begins with the vowels and then moves to consonants. It was important to me that the handwriting book begin with proper letter formation. Silas can recognize most of his letters, but he has trouble writing them down. I wanted him to begin with the basics - the letters.
• It has an entire row of tracing practice with an entire row for independent writing. This was important to me because tracing the letters gives Silas the guidelines he needs to write them by himself. The row underneath the tracing practice is perfect for Silas to copy the row directly above it.
• It uses blends and short words for handwriting practice. An example of this is for the letter "C" - he will write the "C" and "c", then "ca", "ce", "ci", "co", and "cu", and finally he will write short words, such as "can", "call", and "cook". This was important to me because Silas will get frustrated trying to write longer words and sentences. He isn't ready for that yet. The short words are very manageable and provide a sense of accomplishment when he finishes writing them. Plus, he is able to sound and read some of the words!
• There isn't a daily lesson plan or number. The book is broken down into 24 lessons, but you can decide how much or how little to complete each day, or even if you want to use it everyday. Silas has days where he wants to practice more, and days where he will write one or two lines before he is "done". I didn't want to have long lessons that I knew we wouldn't complete each day. With Patriotic Penmanship, I feel confident that we are doing just what Silas needs.
• The pages are thick and white. I don't like thin or gray-colored paper for handwriting practice.
• The pages are uncluttered. The entire workbook is printed in black and white, which is perfect for my easily distracted child! There are no silly cartoons or drawings.
• There are a few Bible verses scattered throughout the book. I love little reminders of God's goodness!

Patriotic Penmanship has been a wonderful addition to Silas's first grade work. We use it 3-4 times a week, for as long as Silas wants to! That may be one line of tracing one day, and an entire page of tracing and writing the next day. I am very impressed with the Patriotic Penmanship workbooks - so much, that I am going to order the Patriotic Penmanship Transition to Cursive for grades 2-4 for Mercie.

Laurelwood Books has a large selection of homeschooling products, including Latin for children, book study guides, and of course penmanship books from Kindergarten all the way through high school.

See some of the other products that the Schoolhouse Review Crew reviewed by clicking the banner below:

     

Six Pix on Saturday

My sister and her kids came to visit us on Thursday. Her husband is working in North Dakota, too, and they are staying about thirty miles away from us. We went to the ice-cream shop Scoopz and ate lunch and ice-cream.

 

Some of the cupcakes I made for the boy's party. The suckers are supposed to be balloons.

 

One of the presents the boys got was a Ninja Turtle art kit. They had so much fun painting and using the stickers!

 

Mercie helped Titus with his Cuisenaire rods this week.

 

Mercie wrote her name in hieroglyphics this week. There was no "C" so she had to use an "S".

 

Silas is learning to read words ending in -at, so these letter tiles and cards have been a fun addition to his day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly Recap #5

The kids took another week of swimming lessons this week! Mercie took Level 2 lessons this time, and she is getting to be a pretty good little swimmer! She started learning how to dive, too. Silas and Titus took Level 1 lessons, and they are learning to float with support, blow bubbles, and things like that. Titus will go down the slide in his instructor's lap!

We had a birthday party for Silas and Titus on Sunday. Several friends and fellow pipeliners came, and we had hot dogs, chili, chips, cupcakes and homemade ice cream! It was a fun, but windy, day.

In history, we read about Upper and Lower Egypt and how they became one kingdom and about the first forms of writing - cuneiform and hieroglyphics. They did some map work and a coloring page of Osiris and Set {Egyptian gods}. Then we used modeling clay and clay tools to write some cuneiform letters. We also read the book "A to Z Hieroglyphics" and used the stencils in the book to write their names.

Mercie: 3rd grade

• reviewed writing numbers in the hundreds
• reviewed counting dollars, dimes and pennies and writing money
• read "The White Stallion" and completed the Literature Study in Learning Language Arts Through Literature
• read for 10-15 minutes each day
• practiced typing on Typing Instructor each day with at least a 94% accuracy
• started using Read Eggspress {a branch from Reading Eggs} to practice her reading comprehension skills

Silas: 1st grade

• reviewed the numbers 1-10
• reviewed writing the numbers 1-10
• practiced his handwriting 3 times this week
• worked 3 pages in "Finding the Answers" workbook
• completed Map 1 and the Reading Quiz on Reading Eggs
• started on Map 2 on Reading Eggs
• can read words ending in -at {bat, mat, cat, sat, fat}
• recognizes the sight words "I", "a" and "am"

Titus: Preschool

• learned the letter "B" this week
• used pattern blocks and Cuisenaire rods to form the "B"
• painted a B with a balloon dipped in paint
• glued buttons and drew strings for balloons
• made a "B" collage with stickers
• made a coffee filter balloon
• used letter tiles to play "Where's the A" and "Where's the B"
• played with balloons

We had a fun second week of school. We will be taking next week off, because my parents are bringing Mikaela and Eli up here to us. I am so ready to see them!

How was your week?

Notebooking Pages {TOS Review}

We use Notebooking in almost every aspect of our homeschool! Most of the time, my kids design their own Notebooking pages because I couldn't find just what I was looking for. You can imagine my delight when I was chosen to review NotebookingPages.com!

I received a Notebooking Pages Lifetime Membership - what a blessing for our family! The Lifetime Membership includes thousands of Notebooking pages and designs. There is a wide variety of topics available. Here are the categories and just a few of the sub-categories:

• A to Z - including A to Z copywork, A to Z transportation and A to Z sports
• Bible and Character -  including New and Old Testament categories, Bible journaling, and character studies
• Famous People - including famous artists, composers, missionaries, presidents and many more
• Fine Arts - including art and picture study
• Geography - including continental and world maps, USA and country study
• History - including Ancient to Modern times, timelines and book of centuries
• Holidays - including holidays for nearly every month
• Language Arts - including copywork and Latin and Greek word study
• Science and Nature - including astronomy, anatomy, nature study and experiment pages

As you can see, there is a huge variety of notebook pages to choose from! And I didn't even scratch the surface of the topics available.

The Lifetime Membership comes with:

1. All current Notebooking pages
2. All future Notebooking pages
3. Search bar and Table of Contents
4. Tutorials, Tips and Videos
5. Unlimited Lifetime access

HOW WE USED NOTEBOOKINGPAGES.COM:

We used NotebookingPages.com in several ways in our homeschool. Mikaela and Eli will be studying American history this year, so I printed out the United States Study Notebooking Pages for each of them. They had to learn the country's flag, bird, symbol, and seal, among more! They had copywork for the national anthem and pledge, coloring pages, and states and capitals to label. There were over 30 pages in this pack!

I printed out some nature study pages for my little ones to use, since we are in a new state and area. They will be learning the trees and birds that are native to North Dakota using the simple, yet beautiful nature study pages. We will also be using some Bible journal quiet time pages.

I also printed out some plain Notebooking pages that they will be able to use anytime for any subject! It's handy to have a folder of these available. Mercie used one this morning to record what she's learned about nomads the past week.

WHAT WE THINK OF NOTEBOOKINGPAGES.COM:

I am very impressed with the level of organization and diversity that NotebookingPages.com provides. It's very quick and easy to find the topics and designs I'm looking for. You can either save the files to your computer, or just open in Adobe and print {which is what I do}. The pages are beautiful and simple. I love how open-ended they are! Your child can really make the Notebooking pages his own.

The Lifetime Membership is available for only $97, or 4 monthly payments. This is a really great deal, because you receive so many Notebooking pages, all in one place! If you have never tried Notebooking in your homeschool, I urge you to give it a try! You can read tutorials and more on their website and get plenty of  ideas for using Notebooking.

Check out NotebookingPages.com on Facebook!

 

Six Pix on Saturday

 

Silas turned 6 on Tuesday, and we went to a little place called Scoopz for ice cream and lunch after swimming lessons.

 

 

Titus and his new friend, Saylor, playing with play-dough outside our camper. They are up here working, too. It's nice to have new friends!

 

 

Silas is learning to use a noodle and kick his legs in swimming lessons.

 

 

On Sunday, there were horse and wagon rides here at the park! Rod took Silas, Titus and Mercie.

 

 

The kids slept on the futon one night and watched "Treasure Buddies".

 

 

Before swimming lessons, we snapped a group selfie!