Becoming MomStrong, a book review...

Becoming MomStrong: How to Fight With All That's In You For Your Family & Your Faith was exactly the type of book I needed to read at the moment.  While Heidi St. John is a popular conference speaker, author and blogger at The Busy Mom, honestly, I had never heard of her... but you can bet I'll be following  her work from now on!  As soon as I started reading, I felt a great connection with her, as a homeschool mom myself, often feeling that I am failing in being the mom I should be.  Heidi seems to hit every doubt, question, concern or feeling squarely on the head, and, beautifully, points the way back to Jesus as the answer.  Sometimes we just need that reminder instead of a new idea or training protocol.  I appreciate her use of current events, Bible teaching and her own unique story of raising 7 kids in bringing home message after message, and showing that she truly does know what we're going through and we are not alone out there.  It is possible for us to become MomStrong!  I highly recommend this book to any mom that doubts herself, which... c'mon, is most of us, right?  While she does touch on the fact she is a homeschool mom often (and for me, that's a plus), this book is going to help encourage moms from all walks of life who strive to do what's best for their children, so definitely check it out!

Tyndale House Publishers provided me a complimentary copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Our 2017-2018 Homeschool Year Has Officially Begun...

I have not blogged about our homeschool adventures in a long, long time.  So, how about some catching up?

We started this year on July 10th, with Preston doing 7th grade and Callen doing 3rd.

What the boys do together:  We are still using My Father's World - this time going through 1850 to Modern Times as our core. That includes our Bible devotions, verse memorization, hymn study, history, science and read alouds. I recently discovered Easy Peasy All-In-One Homeschool, so we are using that for Art, Music and PE/Health.  We are continuing Etiquette Factory Intermediate and Spelling Power.

Math on computer

Preston only: This year we are trying out Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra. He is also continuing IEW U.S. History, Fix-It Grammar Robin Hood and Spanish for Children. Twice a year he will also do a Progeny Press Book Study (he already finished the first one during summer!).

Callen only: Callen is doing Mammoth Math Grade 3 and Easy Peasy Language Arts for Grade 3.

Josie is still not quite two years old, so the main goal with her is keeping her from being a distraction to the boys.  Good luck!

Josie is in pre-pre-pre school.

We are still a part of ECCHO, and enjoy doing field trips and Enrichment Classes will start back up in September.  Also, I am looking into getting Preston enrolled in 4H Arts (Callen isn't quite old enough for this group yet).

Waxahachie Courthouse 

Summer 2017 Recap with an Announcement...

Our official summer vacation was pretty short.  The boys finished school mid-May and started back up on July 10th.  In that little window we managed to squeeze in quite a few fun summer activities...

The boys participated in two different Vacation Bible Schools, they went to MRBC's Sports Camp again this year, and had Swim Lessons.  We took part in free Slurpee Day and Cow Appreciation Day.  They played tons of video games and watched way too much Netflix.

Who can say no to a free slurpee?

Entirely FREE meals for looking silly, we're in!

We also were able to sell our Saturn Vue, which lacked A/C, and buy a new-to-us Dodge Grand Caravan!  Which is good, because... turns out, we also need the extra room.  Read on...

Our first ride to church in our van!

It's so pretty!!!

Yep...we are expecting Baby Clark #4 due early December!  Back in April I had been feeling crummy from a cold, but on Easter I realized that I was feeling strange and all of my clothes fit a little funny.  I took a test, and WOW - can you say shocked?!  It took quite a while to get over that feeling (and honestly, we're still a little blown away by it!).  We told our parents that evening.  And announced to the "world" when I was about 9 weeks along - we kept letting it slip, so figured we might as well just tell everyone.  We're not good at secrets.  The exciting thing is several friends are due around the same time as us!  And most of those are complete surprises, too!  Haha.  I had morning (all-day) sickness up until about 16 weeks, and will find out if we're having a boy/girl in just a few days!  So exciting!

Silly Easter Bunny left us a surprise!

Facebook announcement photo.

Her shirt says Little Sis, haha!

Under the Cover of Light, a book review

Under the Cover of Light: The Extraordinary Story of USAF COL Thomas "Jerry" Curtis's 7 1/2-Year Captivity in North Vietnam by Carole Engle Avriett is a riveting true story of courage, determination and faith.  When his helicopter was shot down over North Vietnam, Curtis endured it all - torture, both physical and psychological, extreme temperatures, solitary confinement, and things the average person could not even imagine.  And yet, he wasn't broken thanks for his, and fellow soldiers', continuing faith and hope. The men found ingenious ways to communicate with one another despite being separated and they were able to encourage each other with memorized scriptures, stories and jokes.

While I don't normally read war stories, as it's just not my true interest... I was so intrigued by this man's story.  It is amazing what a human can endure when their hope lies beyond this earth. Curtis shares so many amazing stories of how these men clung to life and faith and overcame the wretched conditions and treatment.  I am truly amazed at their system of communicating through walls, and that they were able to continue teaching this approach to new inmates as they arrived. They encouraged each other, warned each other and were able to keep their wits simply knowing they were not truly alone.  Brave, strong, faithful men survived this horrible situation year after year ( 7 1/2 for Curtis!) and were able to come home eventually.  It is truly remarkable!

I was given a free copy of this book from the Tyndale Blog Network in exchange for my honest review.