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Thankful Thursday: Thoughts on Thanksgiving 2015

November 26, 2015 by Quin Leave a Comment

A Slightly Better Wife.  Peeling Potatoes

Today I am thankful for the ordinary, everyday things.  I’m thankful to have our oldest daughter in our care.  I’m thankful for the beautiful person she is, for her kindness and compassion.  I’m thankful for her desire to learn and for the joy of cooking (& adoration of kitchen gadgets) that we share.

I’m thankful for the sink full of dirty dishes, because it represents meals shared together.

I’m thankful for soap.  I know it sounds silly, but not only are we blessed to have it when so many don’t, but we even have options when picking out soap.

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I’m thankful for a little boy who is full of feelings.  From feelings of excitement to feelings of sadness he has them all and he’s in no way embarrassed to show them to us.  He prayers for people all the time.  Do your 8 year old boys do that?  I hope they do.  I just think it’s so special.  He’s adventurous and up for trying new things; like rinsing potatoes in the dishwasher.

Speaking of that: I’m thankful for Pinterest to find these crazy ideas.  I know they don’t always turn out, but that isn’t really the point.

The journey is fun.

I’m thankful for social media to share ideas, words, pictures, all of it.  I’m thankful for the sweet people I’ve met through the internet.

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I’m thankful for my youngest child who delights in the simple things.  She has never been overly entertained or impressed with fancy toys, but give this girl a couple bowls and a wooden spoon and she keeps busy for hours.  Truly, hours.  It amazes me.

I’m thankful for homeschooling and where it has brought our family.

I’m thankful for field trips, for curiosity they spark.  I’m also thankful for the good food we eat on field trips, and the friends we share it with.

I’m blessed with a few different groups of mama friends.  I’m thankful for the way we can encourage one another, and enjoy warm fellowship.  *Take note high school girls, the majority of your friendships now are nothing like what your adult friendships will be like.  You won’t understand this yet, but trust me when I say that you will be thankful for this some day.

I’m thankful for my very own husband.  I’m thankful for the work God has done in each of us to bring us to where we are.  I’m blessed by his carefree, fun personality.  I’m amazed at his strength, both physically and emotionally.  He’s been through so much pain and keeps pressing forward and blessing the socks off of everyone he can.

Broken and Beautiful.

I’m thankful for our extended family and our church family, which is all just an extension of our little family here at home.

I’m thankful for where I’ve been, and where I have yet to go.

I’m just all around so thankful.

I’m thankful for the boy who broke my heart after high school… because I found a lot of strength after that ugly mess.

I’m so glad I serve a God who can take our messes and turn them into something beautiful.

I am thankful for YOU!

Filed Under: All The Posts, Celebrate Absolutely Everything, Thanks Tagged With: Celebrate Absolutely Everything, Homeschool, Thanks

A Beautiful Moment

October 24, 2013 by Quin Leave a Comment

I’m so thankful for God’s grace.   Today was a complete opposite of yesterday.   I realized it this afternoon.  
I was in the kitchen, wearing an apron {like all good housewives do} with my hands covered in flour as I rolled out gingerbread cookies. In the other room I hear the baby playing happily in her playpen.  I know the little boy is laying on the floor coloring. He’s at the feet of his big sister, who is laying across the couch reading her Junie B. Jones book out loud for her younger siblings to hear.
Life is precious. Moments like these are the things I live for.  Praise you God for this moment of happiness.

Filed Under: All The Posts, Homemaking, Thanks Tagged With: Homemaking, Thanks

Thoughtful Thursdays

June 19, 2013 by Quin 1 Comment

Through our summer homeschooling journey we have started a new tradition called Thoughtful Thursdays.
Last Thursday we went to Chuck E Cheese.  We played and had a wonderful time. In the end we had almost 300 tickets between the four of us. We gave the tickets to someone else, rather than spending it on ourselves.  I wanted my children to enjoy the experience we had, not the stuff we would take home.
Our 10 year old girl threw a fit and walked out of there with her head down & tears in her eyes. Surprisingly the 5 year old boy was just fine with giving away the tickets.
Although it was embarrassing to see her upset and it would have been easier to just keep the tickets and let her pick something out, it was a teachable moment and I’m happy with how we handled it.Folks, consistency is key when you’re raising little people.
What I really want to share with you are two snapshots from my children’s thankful journals.  It blesses my heart so much to see the things that they are thankful for and I hope that it blesses you too.
Ps.  Our rule with the thankful journals is that spelling and punctuation do not count.  You just need to pour your heart out and thank God for what you have.  That being said… I’m sure number 80 is supposed to say tattoos.  As in temporary tattoos.  The kids love those things!

Filed Under: All The Posts, Homeschool, Parenting, Thanks Tagged With: Homeschool, Parenting, Thanks

Last Day of School!

May 31, 2013 by Quin Leave a Comment

It’s our last official day of homeschool for this school year!  That is as long as everything that is supposed to get finished, gets finished today. 😉

We will have about a week off.  During that time we will do Vacation Bible School, and just PLAY.  Then we start SUMMER HOMESCHOOL!  Fun, right?  Well, actually I kind of think it is!  I’m sort of a nerd like that though.

This summer we are learning about baseball, as the boy starts T-Ball for the first year.  I’m looking forward to the experience he will have.  It’s so  much more than just a game.  He will learn: Accountability, Adaptability, Character, Courage, Sportsmanship, Teamwork, and more.

I’m not looking forward to sitting in the hot sun and dodging balls, but I’ll just have to adjust.

I will have my oldest home form public school for the summer (she’s get out Monday), and I’m just so looking forward to having all of us together each day.
Home is where the heart is, ya know?
So with the two big kids we will be studying/practicing:
Math– using simple sheets from SoftSchools (addition/subtraction for the boy, multiplication & maybe division for the girl).
Reading– using the summer reading program at the library as our guide and encouragement.

I also downloaded some unit studies and speedy lapbooks to use this summer, from CurrClick .  We’ll be going over Moon Phases, Tornadoes, The Sun, and Flag Day during the month of June.
I am trying to keep everything simple, so we aren’t overwhelmed with school work.  After all, it IS summer break!

This is my absolute favorite time of year for so many reasons, but these are my top 5:

  1. The garden will soon be planted.
  2. Evening walks with my love.
  3. All 3 kids home each day.
  4. More time for family, friends, and neighbors.
  5. No time constraints (bed time, and morning alarm).

Filed Under: All The Posts, Homeschool, Thanks

Did She Say Gluten Free?

April 13, 2013 by Quin Leave a Comment

Feb. 6th 2013
At communion the Princess listens to the pastor carefully.  She then leans over and whispers in daddy’s ear: “They have gluten free wafers”.
However, Mr. Awesome heard her say:
“They’re giving away free wafers”.
He leans over and tells me, we giggle.  I write down this funny moment.  Two months later, I see the note & share the story with you. {Smile}

Filed Under: All The Posts, Parenting, Thanks Tagged With: Parenting, Thanks

Perspective: From the eyes of a 9 year old

May 21, 2012 by Quin Leave a Comment

MOTHER’S DAY WEEKEND:
I had the best, easiest, relaxing weekend in as long as I can remember.  My husband drove us 2 hours away to satisfy a pregnancy craving for Fazzoli’s, bless his heart.
The day before that I had brought home a broken, old wooden rocker that I picked up off of city wide garbage pickup.  My husband just smiled, knowing it was another one of my “projects”.  With the help of the nice neighbor man, it was fixed & rocking again!  Woo hoo!Just before we went out to eat we made a stop at the Spam museum in Austin, MN for a little family field trip.  The kids had a fun time exploring & playing there.

After we had eaten we drove around for about a half hour looking for a Goodwill that I had visited once before and so loved.  GPS led us all over town & had us both frustrated, but my guy did not give up.  Once we found it, the greatest thing happened, he spent an hour and a half in there with the kids & I.  We ended the evening with pizza and visiting with my father in law.

Sunday was filled with flowers being planted, spending time as a family & ending the evening with putting together our new firepit and enjoying hamburgers and smores.  Delightful.

Even with all the goodness, later that night I felt bad.

I was just getting ready to wash the smell of the smoke from the fire off in the shower when I caught a glimpse of my growing belly in the mirror.
My first pregnancy I was thrilled with my expanding midsection.  This time around it’s tougher to be excited about stretching out, because I know it’s never the same afterwards.

My 9 year old princess comes in the bathroom to say goodnight & smiled “aww you’re getting stretch marks!  That’s exciting, it means the baby is healthy and growing”.

Exciting?!?! I took a deep breath, looked at the joy in her eyes, I smiled and said, “yes it is”.
I chose not to be a joy sucker.  I chose not to whine about how those were left over from nearly 5 years ago when her brother was growing in my womb.  I didn’t tell her that those would always be there & that I’d probably even get more in the coming months.  She said good night & went on her way.

After she left the room, I got in the shower & decided to take on her perspective & leave mine behind (because mine stunk & hers was beautiful).  Thank you little girl, for reminding me I’m who God made me to be, & he made me perfectly.

I’m stretched out from carrying my babies & that’s okay.  I love my babies, no matter how old they get, they will always be my babies.  These marks really don’t cause me any harm & I’m thankful to be alive and well enough to enjoy my family each day.  That is what I will focus on, the good, because there is just so much of it!

Filed Under: All The Posts, Encouragement, Parenting, Thanks Tagged With: Encouragement, Parenting, Thanks

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