Happy 15th Birthday Emily

Emily, hope you have a great birthday and a great year. I have enjoyed watching you this year grow in your faith. You have been such a "Bright Light" to many girls. Continue listening to the Lord and follow his way and you will be blessed. I love you Emily and I am so very proud of you.

"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and

praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16

Reaghan's Baptisim

Nov. 6th 2011 was a very special day for our family. The Pastor had announced at church a couple of weeks earlier that if anyone was interested in being baptised then they needed to come and talk to him. Reaghan was so excited she had been waiting for this time and now it was drawing near. We told her you have to talk to the Pastor and also share your testimony in front of the congregation. Let me tell you if you know Reaghan this was going to be a huge wall fro her to climb, but she did it and as a mother I have to say I was very proud of her. She conquered one of her fears. All because she wanted to be obedient to the Lords call to profess her Faith publicly. Here she is listening as the Pastor is asking her to share her testimony, I could feel her fear.

Here is a picture of Daddy praying for her before the "dunking" as dad has phrased it.

She is ready.

No turning back, No turning back.

Happy Birthday Maclae

I can't believe she is already 13. I remember the day she was born and how little she looked and now she looks like a woman. I don't know where the time has gone.

I love who she has become over these last few years. She has become a young lady who truly loves the Lord. She loves her family and her siblings even when they get on her nerves. Her heart is very gentle and I see her hurting when others are hurting. I love that about her. She is the nurturer in our family. When someone is sick she cuddles them and loves on them trying to make them feel better, never worrying about whether or not she will get sick. What a great mother she will make someday.

Happy Birthday Maclae.

Levi

Here is my little guy who lives in a house full of Girls. He thinks he needs to have his hair put in a towel just like they do.

Working out the Kinks

We are now on our second week of school and I am still trying to figure out how to get all of the children schooled without pulling out my hair. Each year I try to teach them to be more independent in their studies but it is still a lot of work. My oldest is completely on her own which is nice but I also miss seeing her all day. She does her own school work completely and then her dad checks her work when she gets home. The other 4 do a unit study with mom and then they do their other subjects on their own. The kindergartner wants to do more but I can only do so much with her because her attention span is just not very long. Which is fine with me because she is only 5. So again I am trying to work through all the kinks and figure it all out so we can not just get through school but also enjoy it as we go.
Again I surrender my family and my life to the Lord and ask Him to guide me through
this season which I know will soon be gone. I ask you Lord to help me to slow down and enjoy the children during these years ahead, I know they will be gone before the blink of an eye. Thank you again Lord for blessing me with all these little souls and trusting us to raise them up for Your kingdom.

Our First Day of School

Monday was our official first day of school this year. We started Emily last week so we could figure everything out. So Monday morning we started a little later than I had planned, but the Lord blessed us for being diligent and we accomplished all of our goals. Looking forward to another fun and busy school year. Teaching another little one to read is very exciting for me. This will be my 6Th child that I have taught to read and it is a blessing every time.

Highschool

I still can't believe my oldest is in High school. I will never forget the first day she started school. We were living in Phoenix and we had four children at the time. The baby was only two weeks old when I started homeschooling Emily. Every year we have said we would take it one year at a time.Wow look at us now she is starting High school and I can say I do not regret one day of our decision to home school. Marc and I went to a home school conference this year and one of the speakers we listened to specifically spoke to me personally. We have always said that we will take it one year at a time. He encouraged us homeschooling to look beyond one year at a time and commit to homeschooling until Jesus comes. That was profound to me, because I have always said we will just take it one year at a time to save us an argument with people who do not believe what we believe. But I have learned that the Lord has called us to this and I am proud to say that we will be homeschooling our children until Jesus comes.

Now back to my highschooler. Emily you make me so proud as I watch you grow in your faith with the Lord. I can see that you love Him more and more each day. You encourage me and challenge me to grow deeper in my relationship with Christ. I look forward to these next four years with you as you grow in your walk and knowledge. May the Lord bless you and keep you safe under His wings of protection. I love you Emily; and I am sorry you had to be sick for your first day of High school.

Here is Emily reading one of her books and not feeling very but being very diligent.

What a studious student we have.

Almost done with the day and feeling very accomplished.

I love you Emily and I am so proud of you.