New Year, New Approach

Okay, so I know that today is March 2 and this is my first posting of the year. Between sicknesses, Ben's work schedule, and trying to maintain some form of daily schedule and routine, blogging has been a low priority.

In this new year, there are two things that seem to be things the Lord would have me work on, at least right now: organization and flexibility. Yes, the two actually do go hand-in-hand. As a parent, you know that organization is important; it aids in establishing routine for your children, which is something that they desperately need. As a homeschooling parent, I am learning that organization is a weak area for me, not so much in the area of having a regular, set schedule for things like getting up and going to bed, but for things like actually setting a plan on paper for the week for our studies instead of trying to go off of a mental list. Things get forgotten that way! (Imagine that!)

I'm also trying to become more organized with meal planning. We already shop off of a menu that we decide upon, but it has become a goal to write down exactly what we are having for which meal and on which day and posting it on the refrigerator door. This eliminates the whole, "What do you want for dinner?" time waster and actually helps me to be much more efficient in the kitchen.

Have I been consistent with both of these things? Nope. But I am trying. I think that writing about it here will help me to be more accountable.

Another new approach this year is one for the kids. In the past, it has been a chore to get the kids to do their chores without grumbling and to do them the right way. Through an email that I receive every day, I learned about this great online chore chart program called My Job Chart. The kids earn points for completing their chores each morning and evening, and the points can be saved, shared, and spent, which also teaches them about handling finances (even though they don't realize it yet). This simple, online chore chart has really changed the way my kids think about the jobs they need to do. I hear a lot less, "I can't" and "I forgot" when the kids have been told to do something because they look forward to checking it off of their list each day. An added bonus for Hayden is that he is learning to recognize his letters in a practical way as he learns to enter in his own password!

A great bonus for me with My Job Chart? It's free! That works out great for this frugal mama's wallet!

One more thing that is new in this year, but not really new for me, is that I have started running again. How I missed running! It probably took a good 9 months to for me to be able to run without discomfort from the c-section, but now that I'm back in the swing of things I'm preparing for the Ukrop's Monument Ave 10K in Richmond. I ran it for the first time back in 2009 and am excited to go back again this year. New this year: Abby is going to run the kids' one mile race that same morning! We're going to run that mile together; it is so exciting to get to run with my daughter! I'm not the most fit person; hey, I'm still overweight. But my daughter is learning the importance of exercise at an early age and she is learning that it can be fun. It was her idea to run in the kids' race, not mine, and I am proud of her for wanting to do this.

It seems that this is a year for change; change can be a positive thing, especially when we let God do the changing in us--and when we actually submit to His will. As a parent, I can see things that my kids need to change so that they can be more successful at this or that. God, our Heavenly Father, is certainly no different. Just as I desire for my kids to listen to what Ben and I tell them, God also wants us to listen to Him. My kids will learn to listen to God by watching me listen to Him. And that is one example that I want to be sure to set for them.

Changes!

Wow! When I saw that the last time I wrote anything down here was in May, I could hardly believe it. The summer flew by faster than I thought it would. It's amazing how much faster things go the older your children become...

As the title of this posting says, we've had some changes in our family recently. All of them are good changes, though. Just a couple of days after running the Waynesboro Extravaganza 5K race in July, we learned that we are expecting our third child! That really explained a lot of things... why I was tiring more quickly than usual, why my morning coffee suddenly became very unappealing, and why my appetite had dwindled. We are very excited to welcome the newest addition to our family--baby's arrival is estimated to be March 16, 2010.

Before Ben and I had children, we said that we would homeschool. Then, once we had kids, we toyed with the idea of sending our kids to a private, Christian school. After checking out all of our options and giving it a lot of prayer, we have chosen to homeschool our children after all! We are members of our local Classical Conversations co-op, and Abby really looks forward to each Monday, which is our co-op day. Interestingly enough, it is held in the same church where she attended preschool. God really orchestrated that for us! When Abby was three, we weren't sure which preschool to send her to and learned that this particular preschool was one of the best--and one of the least expensive--in our area. It was through conversations with the preschool director that I met the local Classical Conversations director and found out more about this method of homeschooling. After attending an informational meeting in February, Ben and I prayed and agreed that this was the way we should homeschool our kids. So here it is, the end of August, and we have two weeks of homeschool under our belts and we really love it!

For several months, Ben and I have been looking at different houses that would meet the needs of our family. (This was before we realized that we would soon be adding another member!) There was one house, in particular, that we really fell in love with. It even had a fenced-in back yard, perfect for the kids to romp and play! But, after seeing it 4 or 5 times, we just didn't have any peace about that house. We really thought it was the one, too. Thankfully, God opened our eyes to the shortcomings in that house, the things that would not meet our needs and would end up being frustrations in the long run. So, we said goodbye to that house and continued the hunt.

Then, just about two weeks ago, we found another house that we both just loved. Ben saw it first, without the kids and me, because Abby was sick. He came home with nothing but good things to say about this house. So we scheduled a time for all of us to see the house together, and it was an almost instant knowing that this was our house. This house really would meet our needs--in the short term and in the long run. This is a house that we can stay in for a few years before having to buy something bigger.

After telling my mom about this house over this past weekend, we came home and decided that we would like to see it one more time before submitting an offer. We saw the house again on Tuesday and knew for certain that this was our house. So we called our agent again Tuesday evening to tell him how much we wanted to offer, then we went in Wednesday morning to sign the contract. Our agent submitted the contract to the other agent before noon, and by dinner time Wednesday, we learned that our offer had been accepted! Praise the Lord! We both had a genuine peace about the amount we should offer for the house, and we both knew that we would hear something by the end of the day.

Just when we were starting to become a little discouraged in our house hunt, God gave us peace about the one He had for us all along.

God is always faithful, and He always has a plan for us. It's just a matter of us actually stopping to listen to what He has to say and then taking the appropriate action.

I think back to our Bible reading this morning. We read Genesis 12-13, about the call of Abram. Abram stopped to listen to what God had to say. God said, "Go to the land I will show you," and he packed up and went. Talk about a change! He didn't even know where he was going! How willing would you or I be to go someplace if we didn't have a map to follow, if we had no GPS directions, or if we had absolutely no idea where we were going? Honestly, I'm not sure how willing I would be at first. It might take some poking and prodding. :) But Abram did it. He made a change--a dramatic change that affected the life of his family. This was bigger than moving to a new home or even taking a new job, and he did it. He was obedient to the call of God on his life.

Amid all of the changes that happen in your life, remain obedient to the call of God on your life. No matter how crazy it might look on the outside, if you choose to follow God, you will be blessed. He will not fail you. God is always faithful, and He never changes!