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Showing posts from 2018

Endings and Beginnings!

Wow!  I think our sickness in November and then our Christmas busyness kept me from posting.  But I am back lol! I have been having a wonderful time off of the usual doings at what we call "Camp GrandmaPoppa!" My parents have had us up for our family Christmas.  We have had a wonderful time.  I have three days left until reality hits.  But that is ok.  One can only handle so much down time. To update you on where life is for me at the end of 2018, I am still meeting two goals I set at the beginning of the year - not perfectly but better than other years.  I am still getting to homeschool with a 10th, 8th, 6th and 1st grader, and  Sully is in his 4th year at Keowee Elementary.  Benson has had a great year with his flooring installation business, and we give the Lord all the glory for it!  I have decided to try to take on working for a company called VIPKid that teaches Chinese children English.  I am new, so I haven't started teaching a lot but am hopeful 😊 We still l

Chapter 14: Irresponsible Behavior

  Fall is here!  It is my most favorite of all the seasons!  I love Christmas as my favorite holiday, but I just love all the fall-ish things about this season.  But I have to say that I think the pumpkin spice usage has exploded big time!  Lol!  I am looking forward to some times of outside fires and hayrides - leaves changing color and cooler temperatures.  Yes!  I love fall!   And if you have been reading along with me, you know that I am in a Bible study called Triggers  by Amber Lia and Wendy Speake.  I have just been majorly blessed by their book.  Well, the chapter I am in resonates with me because I have to deal with a family of 7 that lives on a farm.  That being said, that means extra dirt and extra messes.  I am fine with it, though.  I LOVE living on a farm.  And our farm isn't huge, so I don't have huge messes.  And my loving husband has helped our kids learn to rinse off their shoes before coming inside.  That being said - it still gets messy incredibly fast.  I

ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, OCD, APD, ODD

  We are well into starting up school as I'm sure you are too.  I can't believe the second week is over.  I feel as though the years are starting to fly by me.  If you have been following me over the past few months, you will remember that I am sharing parts of an amazing book called Triggers  by Amber Lia and Wendy Speake.  I have their permission to share.  I am excited to share about this next chapter.  It is quite heart touching.  I have really been blessed by this book.  Particularly because it has worked on my heart which in turn has worked on others in the family.   This chapter really moved me.  Wendy Speake is the one who wrote this chapter.  She starts off with saying, "Having a child with special needs, behavioral disorders, and learning difficulties can be one of the most difficult weights to bear.  And under pressure, mom's can explode, marriages implode, and love erode." I get this.  I have 5 children, one with major health issues.  I also have one

Ch. 10 Manipulation from the book Triggers Exchanging Parents' Angry Reactions For Gentle Biblical Responses by Amber Lia and Wendy Speake

  So July is one of those months that when it starts you think, "Man, this month is going to go by slowly.  I am going to get so much stuff done!"  Well, it didn't for me - LOL!  It has flown by.  We did have a fun time, especially Fourth of July.  We shot off fireworks at our home and had a great time.  My three older kids went to my parents' house for Camp GrandmaPoppa.  Even though I didn't get all stuff done that I wanted, I got some things off my checklist.   Anyway, I have been going through this book month by month, chapter by chapter, and it has been a huge help to me.  I encourage you to buy it from Amazon .  The workbook along with it has been such a wonderful tool in my journey as a parent.  So, let us dive in this chapter entitled "Manipulation."  The ladies in the book write that manipulation can take all kinds of forms such as questioning our authority, withholding affection, criticisms, crying, backtalk, procrastination, and false accusat

Chapter 9: Lying and Deceit

  It is the last day of June which means summer is on its way to halfway over!  I cannot believe it!  We are taking a break from traditional schooling and having more down time.  I personally like having some time of not doing "school."  We traditionally follow the public school schedule since our Sully (disabled son) is in public school.  We also have some family that follows that schedule, so it helps us.   Anyway, last month I wrote about the chapter on Ignoring Instructions.  This month is about lying and deceit.  All of us have lied and dealt with our children lying.  I really appreciate the angle they approach with dealing with lying and deceit in this chapter.     They open up this chapter where she asks her son if he threw trash out the bathroom window.  He says no.  She says she takes him to his room for what they call a "Mercy Seat Talk."  Background on this child is he is inquisitive and wants to be a scientist when he grows up.  She knows this has to d

Ch. 8 Ignoring Instruction

  Well, I don't know about you, but May is always such a busy month.  It seems that between kindergarten and high school graduations, along with Mother's Day - which by the way Happy Late Mother's Day - my calendar is very full.  Oh, yes, how can I forget the ending of school.  Which if you haven't read about me, I am a homeschooling momma.  In any case I don't mention any of this in complaint at all!  I actually enjoy the busyness of these activities.  It is just that sometimes in all of the coming and going, I get less sleep and in turn am shorter than normal.   Just because we are tired doesn't mean we throw in the towel on our training as parents.  Quite the contrary!  We can call on the Lord to strengthen us through Him.  That last statement leads me into the next chapter of this wonderful book I have been reading for a little over a year -- Triggers:  Exchanging Parent's Angry Reactions For Gentle Biblical Responses .  Don't forget that you can ge

Chapter 7 of Triggers: Exchanging Parents' Angry Reactions for Gentle Biblical Responses -- "Sibling Rivalry"

  We have just come off of celebrating the resurrection of Jesus this past weekend.  Praise the Lord for His sacrifice that we have a way to be with Him forever.  Not only that, but we also can have a wonderful, loving relationship with our Heavenly Father.  I am so thankful for the gift of grace --as my dad puts it, God's Riches At Christ's Expense.  I pray that you celebrated along with us, too.   I am continuing on in my reading of this amazing book.  It has really helped me along my journey in parenting.  This next chapter was a huge help to me as I have 5 kiddos-- only 4 of them interact where the rivalry happens.  Our Sully is intellectually and physically disabled, so he gets along with everyone!  :0)  I hope that you all get as much out of this as I did.  Don't forget you can get the book and workbook on Amazon.  I encourage you to - and I am getting no monies from this.  I just think Amber Lia and Wendy Speake are spot on with their thoughts and words.   The fi

Chapter 6 - Whining and Complaining!

  Wow has February flown by or what???  I think January was just slower because of our coming down off of two months of Hallmark Christmas movies -- which I own some of so now I can watch whenever I want!!!!  LOL!  :0)  But as a homeschooling teacher, I am like all other educators and really wanting Spring Break asap!  We are still trucking along, but I can see my kiddos are getting weary.  I am giving us a long weekend in March, though, because I am going to the Great Homeschool Convention! I love getting to go - it refuels my tank to keep on doing what I am doing as a mom and a wife.   If you have been following me, I have been sharing (with permission) some parts of a tremendous book that I think all people should read by Amber Lia and Wendy Speake.  It is the book  Triggers:  Exchanging Parents' Angry Reactions For Gentle Biblical Responses .  This chapter I am in is the title of this post -- Whining and Complaining. Now I know all of our kids do this, so it is very applicabl

A New Year -- starting reluctantly!

  It is a New Year!  I am actually struggling with getting going with our routine again.  I place all blame on Christmas cookies and Hallmark Christmas movies!  I am going through a little withdrawal.  I am, however, trying to get back into the swing of things.  And while I don't want to do school -- we homeschool -- and I don't want to do my chores, I must carry on the call that the Lord placed upon my life.      That said, I am still working on the Triggers  Bible study written by Amber Lia and Wendy Speake.  It has truly taken the Word and started a transformation in my life.        The next chapter focuses on Angry Kids.  If you have been following this study, I am sure by now you have realized that this isn't a quick fix book on fixing our children, but rather it is a way for moms, and dads, too, to examine our own lives in the magnifying glass of scripture and see where we need to work on our own lives.  This book has shown me that I need to work on myself before