A Moment

If you've ever attempted to teach a child to read, you know there comes a moment when something clicks and the child goes from saying every sound in every word, to reading each word smoothly. 

And with that smoothness comes an understanding of each passage. 

And with with understanding comes laughter because they read smoothly enough to get the humor intended in a story. 

The Spunky Girl and I have been working diligently on getting to this place for nearly two years. 

And Today, oh glorious today...

She was reading alone in the sun room and I heard her chuckling  to herself as she read the silly words of Dr. Seuss.

I just smiled big... 

Because I knew in that moment that we had crossed over. 

She's a reader now.

I love that for her! 

The Jump Rope Girl

She's been practicing with her jump rope for weeks.

It wasn't too long ago that her and I stood in the kitchen, me bent down, my eyes level with her tear-sparkled eyes.

It took her awhile to get the words out...

"Mom, I just think that... well, I think that maybe... maybe people won't like me as much because I can't jump rope as good as Halee."

"Oh sweet girl... the truest friends will always love your heart, waaaay more than your jump-roping skills. And you know what little one? You have one g_o_r_g_e_o_u_s heart!"

She kept practicing. 

She keeps practicing.

She smiles this glamorous smile when she jump ropes.

Today at lunch she made an announcement to the whole table...

"I'm getting good at jump roping, but even more beautiful is my heart."

The most innocent assurance out of the mouth of a beautiful little girl... that she knows who she is and she knows what matters in this world.

Growing up souls for eternal purposes...

No curriculum necessary... 

Just life, and a jump rope, and a few kind, life-giving words in the kitchen.

Sweet days at the one room school house.

The Innovator {Recess Today}

The treasures were having trouble deciding who could ride the golf cart at recess.  I told My Siah that I was sure he could probably come up with a way to fit everyone and include everyone. 

He stood there for a minute in deep thought. 

Then he said, "I think you're right Mom," and he ran off. 

A few minutes later he comes inside to get me and I follow him out to the stable and he shows me this... He had attached the bike trailer to the golf cart. He had turned the golf cart into a six-seater... "You can come too Mom!" He told me. 

LOVE!!!!!!!!!! The Lord has made this kid innovative. I_LOVE_IT!

The kids found a few red strawberries left in our little strawberry patch. They're small but irresistibly sweet!

Siah and Hal have been reading through the book of Mathew each morning after breakfast...

During morning lessons the littlest one camps out here, just waiting for someone to open the door and let him out!!!

Soul Man, trying to keep up with his brothers...

It's hard to believe that in a few short years my Siah will be driving. I can hardly stand the fact that he's already nine. The years are going by WAY to fast. I'm soaking this boy up. 

The Soul man found a nice shady spot...

And then... well... someone came and started licking his head.

The Soul Man has some learning to do...

Lesson One...

Don't hit the goats with your stick...

They will buck you with their horns.

It's been a gift to see my Siah take his little brother under his wings. He gladly takes 

The Soul Man wherever he goes and watches out for him. He's gonna be  truly amazing Papa someday; and then again, he has a truly amazing example walking beside him as he grows.

We are getting closer to have a full-fledged walker on our hands...

Joy In Art

Art has never really been my thing... But there are a few treasures in this farmhouse who LOVE art... and there is something about art that brings out the "who" in each of my kids... I love that. And  I love the internet and the way that it helps me see that I can truly do anything, even be an "art teacher" when I have little to no experience in art.

The Cowboy and I were just about to put the littlest one to bed (he still sleeps in the school room at night), when the day's artwork that was hanging on the wall caught the Cowboy's eye. I asked him if he could tell which kid drew which picture. Right away he knew the Spunky Girl had drawn the one on the top left. She's always willing to do any project but it is impossible for her to do it without her own special flare. She'll switch up the colors and draw the flowers differently than the rest of the kids. She's got her own ideas and she's proud of them. I love her confidence. I love her creativity. I love the joy that comes out of her when she's found her own special way of doing things.



My Dancing girl is the one on the top right. She sticks closely to the instructions, she wants her art to look just right. When we do art projects here at the one room school house, I spend a lot of time trying to encourage the two older ones to branch out a little bit, to be brave, to know that the best thing about art is that no two pieces ever need to look alike. That's the beauty of art. Art can so often reveal the blueprints of our children, of their passions, their gifts, their unique sides.

My Siah is the one on the bottom left. The truth is, he really doesn't care to do art. He'd rather build something with his hands. I love that about him. I still make him do art, not because I care about the skill of art itself, but because there are so many character lessons that come with pressing through things that are sometimes more difficult for us. Him and I, we talk often about life and the way that it often brings about tasks that aren't our favorite, but we always have a choice; we can do the tasks in bitterness which neither blesses us nor the people around us, or we can choose to do the task set before us in joy.

And I am the one on the bottom left. I have found that as we do projects, I absolutely adore doing them with my kids. We usually do art when the two littlest boys are napping so that I can get right in there with the oldest three.

My Siah is a self proclaimed non-lover of art.

This morning when I came into the kitchen I found him sitting on the floor by the front door.

"Hey bud, watcha up to?"

"Oh, I just thought I'd try to draw the farm as if I was looking down on it from an airplane."

"That's awesome bud. It looks great."

He beamed that killer smile of his at me and kept on drawing.



So much of raising up these kiddos is simply giving them opportunities to discover the things the Lord has already made them to really love. And when they find what they love, they can spend a lifetime using those gifts to live joy-filled. And when we lived joy-filled, we bring glory to God.

I love that too. :)