But How, Mom?!

How did the stars get there?
But how did God put them there?
But how do you know, Mom?
But how?

Children are beautifully curious but sometimes it's so hard to find the answers to satisfy their minds!  Apologia Press has published a beautiful book to help with some of those questions.


How Do We Know God Is Really There? by Melissa Cain Travis can be found on the Apologia website for $16. Our homeschool had just wrapped up with the Apologia Astronomy curriculum. Lauren is just six and enjoyed listening to our lessons but definitely needed something more on her level. This book is perfect for her.  It was a little too long for our two year old but also interesting enough that my older girls (ages 12 &9) enjoyed reading it as well.

Written for children in grades kindergarten through third grade, this book tells a sweet story of a boy and his dad. Their end of the day chat turns serious when the boy asks his dad "how do we know God is there?" The dad turns to the stars to demonstrate to his young son that God is always, has always and will always be there. It also gives a great example of a father taking time out of his day to spend time with his son.  We enjoyed the information about various aspects of space - from the Hubble telescope to the rings around Saturn.

With sweet illustrations and clear scientific explanations, How Do We Know God Is Really There? is a great way for parents to explain some of the questions young children may have.  Learning the name of the planets is good but reaffirming that God is there for a young audience is the most important thing for our homeschool.  The book goes beyond even that, giving young listeners a boost of confidence in sharing their faith with their peers who may question His existence. I would recommend this book to families who are studying astronomy or have young ones that may be questioning how God created the world.  This is the first in a series of similar picture books and I'm looking forward to more. Beautiful job once again, Apologia!


The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Psalm 19:1 

Monday

My day began with this web search:

How to get a dog to stop rolling in poop.

I am totally serious. Monday is now rolling on with the unending wait for the appliance repair man. You know, my appliances that have been used for less than six months? Yeah. One already broke. I'm not super impressed but at least there's a warranty, right?

And the excavating company that said they would come with my dirt and driveway gravel still hasn't come. Promises made with a handshake and a nod in the driveway don't hold much weight when the contractor is cutting you a deal. No warranty there.

And the stray cat that we adopted, built a dry, clean house for outside and feed twice a day still has her cute babies hidden under the old fence at the back of the yard. She's an outdoor cat. No warranty that she will do what we want. I'm pretty sure all animals are this way, as our indoor (very spoiled) dog is still rolling in poop.

And my littlest child still refuses to potty train. She just doesn't want to. Even though all her older sisters we out of diapers by her age, they didn't hand out potty-training warranties at the hospital on the day she was born.

There are few warranties for real life. We can't buy a warranty for happiness or success like we can buy a warranty for an appliance. "If your heart breaks, then we will deliver chocolate, a hug and a comforting shoulder to cry on." Why doesn't anyone sell that warranty?! There are few guarantees for every day happenings. No one has ever said that they know exactly how to handle every storm life will throw in their path. When life disappoints or confuses me, I know how to properly handle each and every situation. Well, they may say that but I don't know that I'd trust in that promise. There is one promise, one guarantee that I trust in.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9)

When we do make a mess of life or handle a situation with less than a stellar amount of grace, God is faithful to forgive us. He will always hear us, He will always help us, He will always want us.

And that is my comfort on a Monday morning.

The Trap

It was a rough Sunday. My hubby had pulled a muscle in his back and was unable to come to church with us. The usual clothing arguments had been manageable but still produced a few more gray hairs, I'm sure. We got to church on time, that was good.

Then worship started.
This apparently signals some animal-like instinct in my two year old. She turned into a wild screeching monkey before we got to the second song.


I picked her up.
I let her stand.
My older girls tried.

Nothing worked. Little miss Addie Jane was determined to be wild.
It added to the weariness, you can be sure about that.

What kind of mother can't keep her child quiet for a few worship songs? What is wrong with me?! Look over there, her children are quiet. They're even raising their hands and worshipping right along side their mom. I'm such a failure.

Is this what God says about us, moms? Is it what He says, even about the moms with monkey-like children during church?

No.

The fastest way to pave a path for the Enemy is to compare yourself to others. The easiest way to discount the value that God puts on your tired, melted-crayons-on-the-car-floor life is to compare yourself to others.

Never believe the lies that the path God has given to someone else would be a better path for you. Their battles may not look like a monkey-child hanging from your hair during worship but don't doubt that there are battles in those seemingly perfect lives.

Pause, look around, thank God for the messes, the dirty children and the cereal for dinner because every single one is evidence of God's blessing in your life. Battle the weariness and exhaustion with finding just one thing to be thankful for. Battle the temptation to compare yourself to others by thanking God for one beautiful thing in your day.

Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. (Psalms 97:12)




{I'm writing again today with the moms over here. Join us for some beautiful encouragement in our calling as mothers.}

Summer school

I had plans for summer.
Reading plans outlined. Math review scheduled. Chore chart refreshed.
It was going to be a productive summer with continuous learning.

And then we had a three day heat wave. Temps reached into the 90's and humidity was sky high. We did basic chores and then swam at our neighbor's pool. The girls had friends over and we sat outside until the house cooled off at night. No school happened. None.

And you know what? By the end of those three days, I remembered what my summers were like as a child. We played outside all. day. long. We swam. We rode our bikes. We sat on the front stoop and drank Koolaid (orange was my favorite). We went to the beach and came home too exhausted to complain about early bedtimes. We got dirty. We didn't wear sunblock every day. We didn't have antibacterial wipes to clean our hands before lunch. We were just kids. And we loved it.

It was the break we needed and when it was over, we were ready to go back to school.

Why shouldn't by girls also get that break to just be kids?
Why shouldn't I get that break to just be mom? Not teacher. Not lesson plan creator.

Just mom. Keeper of the swim floaties and the iced tea. Time for me to recharge also. Time to read a book that I want to read. Time to have friends over and relax with my hubby.

So I'm throwing my well laid summer plans out the window. My girls will still have chores to do every day. There will be occasional trips to the library to keep books around them for the inevitable rainy day. There will be no math. No review. No summer school.

There will be fun. Dirt. Bike rides. Swimming. A few short trips. Maybe some sleepovers. Camping. S'mores.

Just summer.
I think we are going to love it.




{I'm participating in the Hip Homeschool Hop today. C'mon over and see what other homeschool moms are up to!}

Updates:

- For anyone who is interested, I am onto bottle number two of my homemade laundry detergent. I think there is still enough in my five gallon bucket for at least two more bottles. Overall, I love it. I find our clothes are bight, clean and smell great.

- My chickies have been moved out to their chicken coop. It's a very cute coop, built by my hubby in a lovely spot in our back woods. So far, they love it. We are hoping to get their yard built this weekend so they can go outside. From what I've read, Cornish Rocks aren't very active birds but ours love to run around their coop and scratch at their pine shavings. I hope they like their yard also.

- We are done with school for the summer. Some years you know school is done when you reach the end of the book. Some years, you know school is done when you're just done. I was done. Every book wasn't completely finished and every skill wasn't mastered. But I was happy with what we completed and I was thrilled with the girls' standardized test scores. Plans for the upcoming school year are constantly swirling around my head. I think I have most things decided. Maybe. Haha.

- Lael will be 12 in a couple of weeks. That means our last year as a "young" family. We will have a teenager and then life really takes off. She will be in seventh grade this fall. We are already talking over her ideas for after high school and gearing her curriculum to suite those ideas. It's a bit crazy to think about. The other girls are just loving summer break...time with friends, days spent outside, relaxed bedtimes. Ahhhh....summer.

- My parents spent Memorial Day weekend with us and we took a day trip to do some shopping. My mom spoiled me rotten, with new summer clothes and shoes. It's been a long time since I did a serious amount of shopping and it was so fun! I was a bit skeptical that shopping with four children and two husbands along could really work but it did. And my dad brought a four wheeler for the girls. This happens now. Every day.




- We have a few short trips planned for this summer. Nothing far, but nicely spaced out through the summer. Besides that, I hope to be spending time at our local beach or the neighbor's pool. Helping friends with their vegetable gardens. Finishing some sewing projects. Mainly just relaxing. I think we all need it.