But, I have to do this and that and this and...

So, I have been reading a great book. Yes, you read correctly. Rachel Jones has been reading!! Most of you know that I am not a book lover. But, I am trying to become one so that I can pass along that love to my kids. Anyway, the book is called "A Mom Just Like You" by Vickie Farris and Jayme Farris Metzgar. It is a book about being a homeschooling mom by a homeschooling mom to 10 kids! I checked out the book because I have been trying to get all the info/ encouragement I can about homeschooling. Well, I did learn many homeschooling tips, but I came away with much more than that. I mostly learned about being the wife and mom that God calls all of us to be. She writes about many things all of us know we should do, but she gives practical examples to back up what we are to do. I know we are all busy (probably not as busy as she is), but our husbands and children need our attention and affection. We need them also, but most importantly we need our time with God. How often do we all put away that critical time with Him when we have so many other things to do? I know I am so guilty of that. Some mornings I will skip Bible time because I am so tired...but I end up much more grumpy because I missed it! That time is so needed so that we can become the wife and mom that will make God smile down on us! A relationship with Him is truly the ONLY way to live life to it's fullest. I don't know how He does what He does, but when we spend our time with Him, He allows us to accomplish the rest of our day so much more smoothly.

Anyway, another thought that really stuck out to me is for all of us as Christian parents. As long as we introduce our children to the living God and show them as they grow up how important He is in our lives and live our lives the same at home as we do in front of others, then we can more easily let them go little by little as they become adults. If we have done all we can to show them a relationship with the Jesus then all we can do is pray that they will follow what they learned at home and follow in the footsteps of Jesus. May all of our children's feet be covered with dust from walking in Jesus' steps!

Wrapped in His Love,
Rachel

a,e,i,o,u

"I know my vowels now, how about you?" We survived the 1st week of homeschooling!! Things were great and we even threw in a field trip. We took our friend Lin to the Naval Air Museum and saw most of the Blue Angel's practice. They are too cool! For more info on Lin, please visit our main blog at www.walkthecross.blogspot.com.

For those of you that have known us for a while, can you believe that Bradley turned 11 this week? He started 6th grade and Brandon started 4th. Seems like only a couple of years ago that I made Bradley his 1st birthday cake that he had with me. He was turning 4 and I made him a Spiderman cake....now look at him 7 years later! I love you, Bradley Jones.

For those that have not known us long, I will give you a little history lesson today. When Barry and I married 7 years ago, I had the wonderful privilege of not only becoming this awesome man's wife, but also becoming a step-mom to 2 awesome boys. At the time, Bradley and Brandon were 2 and 3. They were so adorable and full of life and energy. I was told that I would probably not be able to have children, so these 2 sweeties were it. And, honestly, I was fine with that. God had blessed me with 2 kids that I could not imagine loving anymore than what I did.

Fast forward 7 years and I have given birth 3 times. We added Braiden, Brodie and Brock to our family. We left our fertility issues in the hands of the Almighty One that creates and gives life anyway and He chose to bless us even more than we could have imagined! We don't remember our life before these five good boys who are now 11,9,5,2.5 and 16 months. And, my "first kids" still have the same place in my heart as they always had. Now they are joined by 3 others in my heart. My feelings for the 2 oldest have never changed. I love them just like the ones I gave birth to. I have 5 kids. The only difference is that 3 of them grew in my heart and tummy, while 2 of them grew only in my heart!

Thank You, Father for allowing me to be a mom. It is the most amazing, satisfying job I can think of!

Blessed by God,
Rachel

One down and 100's more to go (I hope)

Welcome to my blog. I will start today's blog with what happened today, but there will be occasion when I go back and talk about our eventful summer with having all 5 of the boys and starting this ministry. I don't know how often I will log on, but I will keep it open and honest as all of our blogs have been while also being entertaining. That is a great way to describe our life...entertaining. Some think that the things we do and the life we live is stressful and while at times it can get a little nerve racking, I know we are in the palm of the Father's hand and that makes everything more calming. What better place to live your life? Anyway, on with today's blog before I write a whole blog on this subject!



Homeschooling. I have always had mixed feelings about that word. While it has always been my heart's desire to homeschool, I have also had feelings of inadequacy. I am aware of the argument that homeschoolers miss a certain social aspect and that I did not major in teaching so I am not qualified to teach, etc. I still wrestle with those thoughts too. But, after today, I see the benefit even more than before. I am training my child in the way he should go. What I'm teaching him I have learned before. Even though I may not remember it all, I will learn again with him. What I saw today was me making an investment in my child, giving him one on one attention, seeing where he excelled and seeing where he needed a little extra time.



Our longest time together today was spent on the Bible lesson on Jonah. We discussed it in depth. What better than to spend a lengthy amount of time with your 5 year old than teaching them the importance obedience and teaching them to share the Gospel with even the worst of sinners? I was able to compare that with our ministry that Braiden has been living the past few months. This summer Braiden has seen his parents take some hard steps of faith because we desire to obey God. He has heard stories about his daddy carrying a cross that some people despise because of what it represents. So, I can think of no better way than to spend my days educating my child in english, math, the sciences and most importantly the way God wants us to live....following the footsteps of Jesus!



Oh, yeah, even Brodie was able to do some fun things while I was teaching Braiden. Brodie and Brock were very good until right at the end. Hopefully I will update again tomorrow! Count your blessings!

Blessed by God,
Rachel

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