A Full Weekend

The end of this week was very welcomed! 

After some much needed grocery shopping and stocking up at Costco on Friday evening... (Yes, they have one of those way down here... although... it is a bit different than in the States)...  We spent our Saturday on the beach!



I enjoyed  sitting in the shade of a large evergreen tree...reading a favorite book by Sally Clarkson, "Season's of a Mother's Heart" on my beach blanket... looking up every once in a while at my little ones swimming in the ocean and playing in the sand.  I savored the moment... 



Daddy took life guard duty as he instructed Sarah on the art of the Boogie Board.  She took to it well and was riding the waves in one after the other!

 Beach side flowers always catch my eye...

 

Whale Watching just south of Palm Beach

Sunday, we enjoyed a quiet morning... church at home... listening to our favorite Pastor at HBC.  We then prepared for a reunion with an old friend all the way from Ridley Park, PA and her Australian husband...


 

We had a great time catching up on 20 years of  life... she was only 12 years old when we first met her!  Her mom and dad were so good to us... we were the young married couple then.  They always made time to visit with us and had us over for dinner often.  It seemed only fitting to take advantage of the opportunity to return the favor... my only question is... where does the time go?

Making a Home with Homeschool at it's Heart

Over the past couple of weeks I have been working to unpack our surface shipment and bring some semblance of order and a sense of "home" to our new place.   All of our life possessions were packed up by the movers in the beginning of July.  While most are in storage, we finally did receive a limited shipment of household goods at the beginning of October!  I am still in shock how much we fit into our limited shipment... The kids and I have worked to unpack, put away, and decorate our little cottage to resemble our personalities a bit...   What a difference a little bit of "home" makes to a blank canvas of white walls and hardwood floors!

One of my first priorities, after the kitchen, was to tackle our "Homeschool Nook".  I knew that we would be needing to start our official school year within a couple of weeks after our shipment arrived... and, I worked to make this room one of the coziest and desirable places to be.

The children seem to enjoy this room the best...as well as their own...

Having a home... a place to rest our head... to be comfortable and at peace... is such a blessing.

Schooling at Home is also a blessing beyond measure...

Proverbs, Chapter 3, has been such an encouragement to me this new school year and I am making it my goal to keep it close at hand and on my heart... reminding myself to TRUST...

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths strait.  Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.  This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones..."  Proverbs 3:5-8

Many things happen in this world... it is constantly changing and life is not certain from one day to the next.  Yet, one thing is for certain... we can place our faith and hope in Christ.  He will direct our paths and lead us straight through.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to disciple my children at home in knowledge and life skills... but most importantly, training their hearts to understand the wisdom of the truth and reality of God's Word in their lives.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give to you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up..." Deuteronomy 6:5-7