The First Thanksgiving Virtual Tour

Did You Know How You Were Born (Credit:Shefeed Bin Abubakkar)

Identity lost and found

I'll never forget the time I went to The Way a Solid Rock. For those of you who don't know, The Way was Solid Rock's ministry for 18 - 28 year-olds. I didn't attend often because; 1) paying for a sitter every Friday night would get expensive and 2) I felt too old to go, I definitely didn't belong. I felt like I had a sign on my head that said "homeschooling mom!". So on this particular night when I did go I was telling a friend there about the "mom sign" on my head. As we were talking a friend of hers walked up and I was introduced as Chris' wife. She immediately replied, "Oh, you're Jett's mom!". Okay, was there seriously a sign on my head?!? No, I'm not just Chris' wife, and Jett's mom, I'm Nicole! I am my own person! Of course I didn't say that, I just smiled and said, yes, I am Jett's mom, and yes, he is very cute. However, the reaction I had inside surprised me. What happened to my identity? Before Chris and I got married I was introduced as Nicole. Now it seems like people are more interested in my husband and kids then me. I know this sounds incredibly selfish, but I'm sharing it anyway. I'm okay sharing it, because I don't feel that way anymore. There was a time when my sense of identity loss was a little more bitter than sweet. There has been a shift taking place in my heart on this subject of identity and my "what-about-me" attitude is starting to diminish. I think I can forget who I really am and what I am really here for. When my identity is not in Him, all hope is loss and all bets are off, and it really is bitter. However, when I'm not being so self-centered and when I am properly aligned with Christ, I find that my true identity is sweet indeed.


Here's a little story about an identity "ah-ha" moment I had a while ago. While standing in a check-out line I noticed something interesting on the cover of a magazine. Prince William was doing mission work in some country in Africa. He was working right alongside all the other volunteers building houses and digging wells. None of those people in Africa knew he was a Prince, and he wanted to keep it that way. But Prince William DID know who he was and I am sure that made all the difference in the way he carried himself. This was really inspiring to me. Here we are on earth, sons and daughters of The King. We are on a mission, getting our hands dirty doing the tasks at hand. We need to do our work and serve others with humility, but with the confidence that we are the the children of the King and that the God of the universe is supplying all we need. That is our identity! Wow! I need to live a life worthy of the calling I have received (Ephesians 4:1).

When I think of it like this, just being Nicole seems so small and insignificant. So, I'm not just Nicole. I'm not here just to be Nicole for the sake of being Nicole. I'm here to change the world, to represent the King. My Father has given me a job to do and I need to do it with humility, but with the confidence that the King is providing me with all I need and that I am safe and secure in His hands. My job right now is to be a godly wife and mother, this is where the King has placed me. What a tremendous undertaking and an amazing blessing! I now realize that Chris, Nell, Jett and Naomi are really some of the best parts of me. They are an extension of me. I put my heart, sweat, blood, and tears into those souls. They are God's sweet gift to me and I am honored to be identified with them! Maybe I should put a sign on my head, I'd wear it with pride! Well, maybe not, but at least some bumper stickers on the old Volvo.


Nicole


Who Am I in Christ?

I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.

Ephesians 1:3-8

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 4:14-16

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

I am a child of God; God is spiritually my Father.

Romans 8:14,15
because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."
Galatians 3:26
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus
John 1:12
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God
I am a new creation in Christ; old things have passed away and all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

I am in Christ.

Galatians 3:26,28
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

I am reconciled to God and am an ambassador of reconciliation for Him.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

I am God's workmanship, created in Christ for good works.

Ephesians 2:10
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

I am a citizen of heaven.

Ephesians 2:19
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household
Philippians 3:20
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ

I am chosen and ordained by Christ to bear fruit.

John 15:16
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

I am the light of the world.

Matthew 5:14
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden."

I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved.

Colossians 3:12
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience

I am a child of light.

1 Thessalonians 5:5
You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.

I am an alien and a stranger to this world.

1 Peter 2:11
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.

I am part of the Bride of Christ and am making myself ready of Him.

Revelations 19:7
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.

I had a so bad time playing all day. There was nothing to do very much. My favorite parts was eating cake, getting a snow-cone and I want to play dress-up. I like riding motorcycles and I think it's fun. I ride with Dada. My hands get really dirty and I get to wash them when I help dad fix motorcycles. I also like seeing my dad play video games. I'm not gonna say anything else.

Jett

(transcribed by mom)

Nell's Thoughts on Art

I love Naomi!


Me and Jett playing Peter Pan.


This is a picture I made of a wolf.


Hi! I'm Nell. I love art. I like art because its fun. I also like to play video games. Me & my brother, Jett, always have parties in my room. We love to play outside in the swimming pool. We make boats out of inner-tubes and life-jackets. I like to play with my dad. And me and dad always like to play Super Mario Galaxy 2 and I like to watch dad beat levels. Me and Naomi like to play together in my room. Me and Naomi like to dance. Me and my mom like to do art together. The last thing I want to say is that I had a great day. I went to a picnic and met lots of friends. I had a great time.

Nell

Adoption Tax Credit Extended and Improved | Creating a Family

Adoption Tax Credit Extended and Improved | Creating a Family

Our language arts curriculum

The search for the perfect Language Arts program has been difficult for me. I don't want to be a "switcher", someone who tries something different every year. I want to find something I love and stick with it. I've tried Learning Language Arts Through Literature, but that didn't last long. I loved the concept, but if felt a little like busy work to me. There wasn't enough spelling to make it a spelling course, and the grammar was light. It wasn't a good fit for us. I tried Primary Language Lessons, again too light on grammar. The memorization was great and there were a lot of elements I liked, but I felt I had to supplement and I don't have time for that. I looked in to Shurley English, and that seemed too complicated and time consuming to me. Two years later, I think I've finally two programs that will work very well for us and that will be easy to use together; Rod and Staff English and The Institute for Excellence in Writing. I am so glad/blessed/relieved to have found Rod and Staff curriculum! I have read all the amazing reviews looked at the website so many times, but it never convinced me. It just didn't "look" impressive. It is very simple and old-fashioned. I thought maybe it would be boring. Obviously, looks can be deceiving. I discovered that on the web-site, www.rodandstaffbooks.com you can order samples of the curriculum and their scope and sequence for all the subjects. I ordered 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade samples and the scope and sequence chart. I liked what I saw, but still I wasn't convinced. I started off ordering Jett the Kindergarten workbooks. It is the A-F series. It is so cute and age appropriate. We both love it. He just needed some "lessons" to do while sister is busy with her work. Because I loved these little books so much, I decided to order the 2nd grade English for Nell. Rod and Staff is so incredibly inexpensive I felt it was worth the risk. We absolutely LOVE R&S English, it is the perfect fit for us. I don't make Nell do all the written work because she does a lot of other writing activities, so we do some orally. Rod and Staff English is so balanced and gentle, yet is a very strong grammar program. I really think it's just perfect. Nell loves the simplicity of it. The pictures really are precious. She's not distracted by anything flashy, which means lessons get done faster. I then decided I would try the spelling as well. I like it, but it's not exceptional. I'm planning on switching to The Phonetic Zoo, by Institute in Excellence in Writing, next year (3rd grade). The Institute For Excellence in Writing is really amazing, but it is too much for me to try to cover here. I provided a link to their website below. So here's what the year holds for us as far as language arts curriculum goes:

Language Arts:

Rod and Staff English
http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/list/Rod_and_Staff_Curriculum/

Institute for Excellence in Writing
http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/twss

All Things Fun and Fascinating Writing Guide
http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/aff

Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization
http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/pmc

Excellence in Spelling - Phonetic Zoo
http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/catalog/spelling-1

Wordly Wise 3000


Veritas Press or Progeny Press Literature Guides

http://www.progenypress.com/index.html
http://www.veritaspress.com/

I would love input or feedback from any of you who have used any of these products. Also, feel free to share what you are using. I'm always on the lookout for great ways to teach the kiddos! I'll let you know how this goes!

Is Five Too Young to Start School?

Here's bits of an interesting BBC article I found about the concerns of starting school too early. There has been a lot of research done on this subject. It ends up that the best way for kids up to seven to learn is through play. Just using their imagination develops brain power. They will draw pictures and write stories for fun. Memorizing poems and songs is fun for kids, which builds those dendrites in the brain and teaches good language skills! When we give too much structure and require too much at too young an age, it is detrimental. They are finding a link to this kind of preschool/kindergarten structure and ADD/ADHD. They have also found self-esteem down and aggression up with these kids who start formal schooling at 4/5. Kids are meant to play!

Is five too soon to start school?

By Sean Coughlan
BBC News education reporter

The origin of such an early start, introduced in 1870, had little to do with education, says the Primary Review report.
Entering full-time education at such a tender age meant reducing the malign influence of Victorian feckless parents - it was about child protection and social conditioning rather than learning.
And it was an attempt to appease suspicious employers, who were worried that starting any later would remove their supply of juvenile workers. An early start meant an early school leaving age.

Last year's teachers' conferences heard concerns that children were spending so little time with their own families that they were showing signs of aggression and de-socialisation, taking their behaviour from their peer group rather than absent adult role models.

Finland, a global superstar in education terms, is consistently among the top performers. But it is also at the very bottom of the league in terms of the hours spent in the classroom.
Finnish pupils start formal education at seven and then enjoy 11-week summer holidays - and they end up with the highest educational standards in Europe.
Poland, a rapid-climber in international education league tables and overtaking England at reading skills, is also another country where pupils do not start until the age of seven.

Adoption update........

Apparently, whenever you have to go outside yourself, or beyond yourself, it is an opportunity for God to reveal more of Himself to you. You will be changed. Adoption definitely falls under this category. I am already being pulled outside of my comfort zone; I am being stretched. I am facing prejudices I didn't know I had, and weaknesses and inclinations I would rather ignore. I am also being taken beyond myself. I absolutely cannot do this on my own. I need help, support, encouragement, prayer and maybe a miracle or two. But in the midst of all this learning, God really is leading. I prayed that God would lead me through Chris. I want to follow Chris as he follows the Lord. Hey, guess what!?! That is exactly what is happening. Not only is Chris being directed, but doors are opening down one avenue and closing on the other. So, after praying, listening and being still, it looks like domestic adoption will be the route we go. There are several factors involved with this decision, but mainly, that's where we feel directed. Our prayer is that we get OUR baby number four; the one for us. So be it!

We have already started building wonderful relationships with many adoptive families; most of whom are transracial families which will be extremely important. It is exciting to see all these families who have "been-there and done-that". They are so willing to share their stories and knowledge. Another thing I am excited about is that many of these families also homeschool. How wonderful! I love how this is taking shape.

Well, I will keep updating as more unfolds. Thanks for the love and support!

Hey, look at me, I started a blog!

This is a little blog I'll me using to post my thoughts and musings from subjects like homeschooling, adoption, marriage, life, etc. I promise it won't be brilliant, but hopefully it will be helpful.

"There are things that are bigger and more worthwhile than the things we see about us, the things we live and strive for. Let us stand on tiptoe, forgetting the nearer things, and grasp what we may." - Bernard Maybeck