LeighAnne with an E

It was only a few years ago that I realized how important (and enjoyable) reading a loud to my kids was. But in these last few years we have read some amazing books and been to some amazing places. We've traveled all over the world and through time with Jack and Annie in their Magic Tree House. We've spent some time deep down in the ocean with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. We've walked through a Secret Garden and spent some time where its always winter but never Christmas!  We have walked in the shoes of a young boy who had to think quick, be the man of the house, and protect his family with an old Matchlock Gun! We've cried when the characters we love lost their dogs, or their tigers! We couldn't understand why some moms in the stories left their families or the dads hopped on a train and never returned.We learned that we need to be super specific when making wishes in Half  Magic. We've rejoiced when the mean old grandpa turned out to be a loving care taker an...

Over the past 2 years we've been settling into a relaxed homeschool routine, my little family and I. Its been a beautiful and sweet journey.  Not at all perfect, but full of blessings! When we left the school setting I knew I didn't want our learning experience to be like a school at all. I didn't want desks and name tags and stress. I didn't want rigor and regiment. I didn't want tests and grades and 'you're out of time' for that lesson. I've worked hard to have just the opposite in our home. After all, I firmly believe the most important part of homeschooling is the *home*. Home is where we feel loved and safe and confident enough to talk about the hard stuff. And boy, there has been some hard stuff as the kids have grown up a bit! I want the majority of our learning to come from life lessons, from Holy Spirit whispers and from good books read aloud. Of course we have curriculum that helps us learn to read and write and do math. We have books...

This morning I said some words I should have only thought. I have a habit of letting things slip from my lips that I should keep locked tight. A secret you've asked me to keep? Well, that's safely locked away. No worries there. But when I get frustrated with my kids, phew. Who knows what's coming out. I hate it. And I'm working on it for sure. I'm glad to say that there are quite a few times a day where I think something but my wicked tongue stays still. Progress, I guess. But this morning I said something I immediately regretted. The day was still fresh and new. Kids in pjs where piled high on my bed. Baby blankets and stuffed animals they still hold dear were tucked all around us; remnants of their little years that I know will be all but gone soon enough. And then it happened. One child asked another for a back scratch and the other child refused. Not a big deal? Oh yes it is. It's not about the back scratch, it's about the heart issue inside the chil...

It's been a very wet year here. Lots of rain and snow. It makes for a muddy, yucky horse field. Last night I went out to feed the horses and count my chickens before I close the coop up for the night. In the dark, I made a poor decision to try to walk through the deep muck instead of on the 2 by 4 that I placed a while back. The one that would keep me out of trouble! I thought, 'if I walk fast it will be fine!' No amount of walking fast would save me. My boots got stuck and I couldn't move. My feet slipped out of my boots, I lost my balance and I became one with the muck! I dropped my flash light and my phone. I pulled and pulled but my boots wouldn't become free! I wasn't until I stopped pulling, humbled myself by kneeling in the mud and gently wiggled my boot free that i was able to get to that 2 by 4 that would be the only thing solid enough to walk on. Sometimes we think, 'I'll just take my own path and walk fast. God won't notice or mind....

These are the days. The days I'll look back on and love to remember.  These are the days that I never even realized I wanted. These are the days of a big family in a small house. Its nothing fancy, with its uneven floors and crooked doors. It's hard to keep warm, this old house. The bitter wind seeps through the old window pains on these short winter days. But its what God has given us for this season. So, these days I do my best to balance homemaking and life making; too much of one means not nearly enough of the other. These are the days of ever growing children. These days they out grow pants and shoes and jackets. They out grow toys and board games, and the cartoons they once loved. Just like the flowers in spring, the growing cannot be stopped or even slowed a little. But, I'm learning to love the growth and embrace the out -growing that these days bring. These are the days of relaxed homeschooling lessons. Long days spent playing outside in the warm sun. These ...

Service.  Its defined as the act of helping or doing work for someone. We thank our military, our police officers, firemen and health care workers for their service . We are grateful that they are there when we need them to keep us safe, to help us heal and protect us. And yes, to even lay down their lives so we can live as we please. It is considered a beautiful sacrifice to work a job that serves others. Unless ofcourse you are *just* a wife and a mom serving her husband and children. Then the service is seen as a wast of time, a wast of education, a wast of possibilities, a wast of her life. But this view of motherhood isn't biblical. The Lord sees a wife as more precious than a rare stone. He sees motherhood as a beautiful piece of his perfect plan in creation. As Christian's we are to take up our cross and follow Jesus. He has a plan for our life. A life plan filled with an abundance of service to others and ultimately to him. But what if our cross, our life of service...

Competition. With 5 kids in a small house, it is  everywhere . Who can get to the phone first when it rings ...Who can grab the seat first at the dinner table ... Who gets to the chicken coop first to collect the eggs...Who gets to be first to ride the horse ... I can jump higher on the trampoline. I can climb higher on the rock wall. Race you down the hill. Race you up to the top of the tree. Competition. It's not always a bad thing. But, I have noticed in my parenting it is not a good thing. Lately, I have tried to be intentional about teaching from a story point of view instead of a "see what this kid did, don't do that" point of view.  I want to encourage and equip my kids as I train them up, not tear them down. Using one kids mistake as a benchmark for the others neither encourages or equips any of them, it only divides. A few weeks ago my twins brought home each a baggie with 3 beans in it from school.  There was a wet paper towel in each and we...