Adventures in Competitive Gymnastics

This summer has been so much fun!  We have gone to the beach, gone to the Mountains, had fun with cousins, had more fun with cousins, and embarked on this new thing called competitive gymnastics!

Last April CB was asked to join the gymnastics team at the gym where she has been taking classes for the last two years.  Her exact words were, "I have waited my whole life for this."  She was 6.  Now, six years IS a long time to wait.  The big question was now, whether we were going to embark on this journey and let her do it.  

Being on team means...weekend meets, traveling, several hours of week day practices, money, a lot of money.  And she is young.  She just turned 7 last month.  Did we really want to start this now.  I would also be lying if I didn't say there is a HUGE negative stigma out there associated with travel sports and I wasn't sure if we wanted to go down that road just yet.  When you tell people your 7 year old is on the team, you do feel like you have to justify the decision.  Which now that I have typed that out, it makes me sad a little bit.  You do you my friends!!  You know what is best for your kid.  Don't let people make you feel like you should make different choices because they think you should!  When you have prayerfully made a choice that you feel is the way you should go, be confident in that choice! 

What I was sure of was that this was her "dream."  When she walks into the gym, she is a different person.  When she works hard to get a skill, she is over the moon excited.  She practices at home.  She asked for a weight set so she could get stronger.  She loves being there.  She asks if she can go to open gym every single day.  

I know that gymnastics is going to teach her things that I can't.  She is going to learn to concentrate.  She is going to learn to fail.  She is going to learn to take criticism.  She is going to learn to do hard things.  She is going to learn that she will fall down and get back up many, many times.  School is always going to be difficult for her, and I'm praying that the things she learns in the gym translate into the classroom.  These are the reasons we decided to go for it.

Do we think she is going to be an Olympian.  Nope.  Do we think she is going to be a college gymnast.  Nope.  Those things would not be bad, but they are not why we are doing this.

I love that her gym is full of affirmations.  They stress the importance of being a team in an individual world.  They teach them to cheer each other on and to build each other up.  She is learning that friendship is important and she has made some friends that I am sure will be her friends for a long time.  Raising girls in this me, me, me world is hard and I am happy she has a place where they recognize that even in a competitive sport we are still FOR each other!

After spending a summer practicing 8.5 hours a week, what I can tell you is that this little girl has found her "thing" for the time being ,and when it stops being her thing we will move on.  However, I know we will have no regrets with starting her this early.  She absolutely lights up when she is there.

First day of team practice! 

Sweet friends!  I love how they look out for each other!

They got to meet Olympian Samantha Pezek one day at camp!

She looks so old here!  

See this look?  This is the one that says she loves it here!  

I'm looking forward to watching our little Baby Bronze team compete this year! 

Can you find me?

Adventures in Summer Fun

I love lists.

I love checking things off my list.  It is super satisfying. And I'm not ashamed to say I make lists all the time!  Every morning I make a list of what each kid needs to do for that day and they cross it out as it get accomplished.  See...I'm feeding my list maker soul, by creating little list makers...

For the last two summers, I have made a Summer Bucket List.  It is full of all kinds of fun stuff from the easy like play outside or go to the park to the ones that require more effort and planning like go on a hike to a waterfall or go to the beach for the day!  A simple google search will bring up all kinds of summer bucket list ideas!

Bucket lists seem to be a different story for me.  For some reason, my list making skills are regaled to the daily list variety.  If I make a general list that could last a week, a month or  more, it will never get completed and that makes me a little nuts!  That list kind of just stares at me.  Mocking all the "fun" that I had planned.  We do great for about 4 days and then the list gets forgotten and we focus on the daily tasks that keep us alive and somewhere along the way we just never get to all the "fun" things we had planned to do and the summer is over!

So, this summer we are trying something different!  I'm sharing in case you have been looking for something different to do this summer.  I drew out big calendars. Now the kids know what is going on.  I'm telling you, life changes big time once you have readers!!  They each have a color (because, I'm still type A after-all) and if nothing is planned for that day then we plan it that morning and write it in!  So far, so good.

I would say our summer goal is to really be intentional with our days.  I don't think we need to have something big planned.  The other day the boys built a water wall in the back yard that took all day.  Yet, that is something that they had been asking to do and we just kept forgetting about it.  All it took was us heading to the Habitat Re-Store and finding cheap pipes that they could use.  And some days staying home and reading or playing with the neighbors is great too.  But one day we may wake up and say, let's hike to a waterfall!  The point is that these big calendars on the wall is making up come up with a plan for the day and EVERYONE gets to be involved!  I am also much more likely to say yes to painting or doing that big messy science experiment, if we talk about it ahead of time AND if they don't ask me at 5pm at night.  We are also keeping a record of what we do on the big calendar.  That way we not only remember what we have done, but we are able to cross it off that imaginary bucket list!

I'm going to go ahead and go on the record that I am loving these Elementary years.  I think now is when we really start to have fun.  While the youngest is still only 3, he seems to be a much more capable 3 year old then the others were.  It's amazing what having older siblings pushes you to do!  The kids will remember these days.  J will remember when he went paddle boarding on the lake with Mom, and CB will remember that we let her experiment in the kitchen.  They also will remember the beach trip with cousins and our family camp experience at Ridge Haven.  These are the days where memories are made and relationships are formed.

Check our the photo bomber in the back...his name is Moondoggie...I kid you not!

Love her creative spirit.  Her cupcakes, not so much!

So, here is to Summer 2017!  May it be filled with oodles and oodles of chaos...written down and planned out, of course ;)

Adventures in Year 3

We finished out our school year last week with a final week long field trip to the beach!  We love going to the beach and since the oldest just finished Appologia Zoology 2, it seemed a fitting end of the school year!

It's hard to believe that we have been homeschooling for 3 years.  As a brand new teacher 15 years ago, this is not a journey I ever thought we would be taking.  However, the longer we do it, the more I am able to see that this is most certainly the right choice for our family.  My first "homeschooling goal" has always been to get the oldest to 3rd grade and know that if we wanted, we could put him in public school and he would be on the same page as his peers.  I believe that we have accomplished that goal!

We may not be forever homeschoolers, and we plan to take it year by year, semester by semester, day by day, but for right now we embrace the chaos!


Here is a look back at our year!

First day of school!

Manipulatives for the win! 

We enjoyed ALOT of trips to the zoo aka his special place!

We watched the eagle hatching.

We got cats.  Or rather the cats found us...

We studied geography! 

Wild Kratts!!

Doesn't get much cuter!

First Science Fair! 

We participated in the Game School Challenge! 

Great Wolf Lodge!

Sometimes, I can make good on my promises to see cool things :)

Teach your children well,

Their father's hell did slowly go by,

And feed them on your dreams

The one they picks, the one you'll know by.

Don't you ever ask them why, if they told you, you will cry,

So just look at them and sigh

And know they love you.

-Graham Nash

Adventures in Weathering the Storms

Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28.

This is me.  As I reflect on the last days of school, I am reminded of how incredibly insane those days were.  Our last 3 months really.  And if I let myself think on it for long, I am reminded that since Christmas our days have never really slowed down at all, and I am weary.

The storms of life have hit us hard.  The clouds have been dark and came rolling in.  Fast.  The rain has been painful.  Stinging as it touches our skin.

We have dealt with death.  Lots of death.  

We have done a lot of traveling.

A LOT of school on the road.

In the end, we raced to finish our books because we were all just so, so done with doing ALL THE THINGS required of us. 

And yet, He has been carrying us all along.  

When you look in the sand there is only one set of footprints and they are not ours.

Now we rest.  In His arms. 

We will meet him in the morning.

Won't you join us?  We all need rest.  We all need to be carried through life's storms.  

Through life's trials.  

You are not alone.  Ever.  

There is great hope.

"Come to me all who are weary."

A Prayer in the Morning

Thank you God for making me alive.

To beauty, to love, to life,

Thank you, too, for 

making me know

That quietness follows the strife.

Thank you for the constant assurance

That, even as the storm clouds rise,

The world is Yours and each 

sparrow's fall

Is seen by Your watchful eyes.

Teach me, God to

feel Your presence

In everything I see-

In nature, in people

in common events;

and even, at times, in me.

Teach me how to stay alive

'Midst the deadening concerns

 of the day.

Show me how to guard against

Becoming callous along the way

Create in me an eagerness, God.

To live, to love, to care.

Fill my heart so full of love

That I can't keep it there.

Send me forth every day,

Not for some great deed;

But help me see the

greatness that lies

In meeting on an ordinary need.

-Sidney E. Sandridge aka Papa 

Adventures in Year 2

Well, we did it.  We survived another year homeschooling.  I must say that this year I learned more about myself then I did last year.   I became more confident about our decision to homeschool and I became better at articulating why we made the choice.  For the first time I was challenged by others to defend our choices and I think in the end, those people were better able to understand and respect those choices.  Education is not one size fits all.  Goodness, clothing is not one size fits all so why do we expect other things to be that universal!  At the end of the day my goal is like every other mother's or father's...to make sure the children are alive. 

I think I have figured out, at least for now, the kind of planning that keeps me just far enough ahead of the lessons we are actually doing, but not so far that I have to redo it all because I was too ambitious.  I think I have learned what works for us scheduling wise and what is realistic to accomplish in a day.  Most of all,  I am beginning to move away from the thought process that our one room school house must imitate a classroom.  I am becoming more comfortable with recognizing that our real world learning is just that...learning....the extra things we do, trips to the zoo, parades, the grocery store, the farmers market, the museum, the lake, the bait shop, trips to visit friends and family, the places where my children flood the clerks with questions, those are places we are learning too.  It's all part of our homeschool education, and I am finally not worried about it looking like a nice neat little package wrapped in a bow with perfect curly ribbons and just taking it as it comes. 

Learning is messy.  Life is messy.  Both are chaotic.

I hope you enjoy our look back over our last year!

We started the school year with a State Fair Blue Ribbon!

This kid really thrives with hands on type lessons.  The rhyming word puzzles were a big hit!

This one LOVES playing with the light board while his brother and sister are doing other lessons!

A little bunk bed reading.

You know...because who doesn't just let the 5 year old and 2 year old lose with paints :)

Our Co-Op field day!

Our EPIC bike trail ride!

We adopted a dog. 

Do not be fooled by the cool pictures of lessons...this is what most days teaching looks like!

One day he is going to make lots of money as an artist....

School day at the lake!

Co-Op Art Show

Often times the 2 year old provides that extra bit of "help" the first grader needs....

Adventures in Noonday

Let's start at the very beginning.  A very good place to start....(points if you know the movie reference here!!)

Almost 20 years ago I went on a short term mission trip (and yes, I know there are lots of opinions on whether these are good or bad.  We can save that discussion for later!) to Honduras.  We spent a week thatching, pouring cement, repairing, feeding and teaching with the local people in a remote village.  Our last night we stayed in the capital city of Tegucigalpa and visited the local market where I purchased a beautiful handmade clutch from a local artisan.  Of course, now that I am writing a blog about it, the bag is no where to be seen, even though I used it last month for a formal event!!!!   I think that this is where I had my first taste of buying an item that was beautiful, handmade and where my purchase meant something to the creator.  Selling bags on the street is how she made her living, and my souvenir was helping her put food on her table.  For this small town South Georgia girl that trip, most certainly, changed my world view.

Let's fast forward several years.  I still love purchasing local, handmade items.  One of my nearest and dearest friends owns her own jewelry business which you should totally check out if you haven't already from my Facebook posts.  I have several friends, including my sister in law who have Etsy stores where they sell hand made, one of a kind items and I too dabbled in the world of sewing and selling clothing for children.  This is my personal style.  I like knowing the back story to my purchases!

Three years ago I was introduced to Noonday Collection.  I was hooked.  I became enamored with the mission and the stories.  I loved that a company had organically created a marketplace that connected artisans like the one I had met in Honduras to those in the United States who desired to use their purchasing power for good.  And not to mention the accessories are just so cute! 

As a Mama to little ones, I often talk about how we can make a difference in our world. Whether it is by picking up trash on a neighborhood walk or sponsoring a child in a distant country, I want them to know and understand that big or small we can all do something.  This year I decided that I was going to partner with Noonday and become an ambassador.   I want to share with friends and family the stories of the Noonday Artisans, so that they too can learn about and be part of something big. When we combine forces together, we are helping to create and maintain dignified jobs around the world in a powerful way to alleviate poverty. Noonday is a fair trade company that uses design to create economic opportunity around the world.

I'm super excited about this.  I'm not a sales person, but I am a natural story teller. I come from a long line of story tellers.  I admit we don't always use our story telling ability to tell true stories, hey some stories just need a little bit of exaggeration to make them more interesting or at least that is what my Papa has told me.  I do promise that the Noonday stories I tell are 100% truth ;) I want to introduce you to these Artisans and tell you the how and they why, they created the necklace that I love.  I want you to wear a piece and be able to answer questions about it when you are out and about!  I want you to love your new bag, not only because it is super cute, but because it was made with love and hand woven by women in Peru.  Everything in the collections that you see have been handmade by extremely talented artisans around the world, often using natural materials, and preserving techniques and traditions that are native to their area.

I am also not a fashionesta by any stretch of the imagination.  I would say my style could be categorize by the words "Southern Comfort," although as the baby gets older and I am shuttling kids from place to place I have found that my jeans and t-shirt can instantly be dressed up with a cute necklace and bracelet combo or a fantastic pair of sparkly earrings!  When I add just a little flair, all of a sudden I feel a little more put together :)

My most favorite pieces come from Uganda where they hand craft paper beads.  These items come from the Studio of Jalia and Daniel. 

This is one of my most favorite pieces from Uganda, the Latifa Necklace. Those are turquoise  beads and the whole necklace is super light, so it doesn't really feel like you are wearing a statement piece! 

The Sunny Day Necklace is another favorite!  I LOVE the size and shape of the beads.  Every single time I wear this piece some random person stops me and comments on how beautiful it is.  I even had an older lady at a checkout in Aldi tell me she had gone to a truck show and seen this in the catalogue, but didn't realize how beautiful it would be in person!






Another favorite of mine are wrap bracelets! They fit multiple size wrists...no kidding, it is really a one size fits all that works!  The Sofyia Wrap and the Silver Steps Wrap Bracelet are both made {with love} in India!

I am having a Mystery Hostess trunk show to launch into my journey as a Noonday Ambassador.  You can order online or in person.  I encourage you to join my Facebook event. (side note...the event is a Friends only FB event, so if you want to join let me know and I will be happy to add you and you can add friends if they want to be added.  It creeps me out to have public FB events where people can search my address!!) I will be posting Artisan stories and videos, along with giving away some product credit and half off items.  Anyone can host a trunk show: It's simple and fun.  Hosting a show means opening up your home and gathering your friends for style and storytelling.  Hostesses earn free jewelry and accessories and can even help adoptive families bring home their adopted children.  If you have any questions about becoming a Noonday Ambassador or hosting a trunk show please don't hesitate to ask!  I'm willing to travel to give you a chance to see the items in person or to put you in touch with an Ambassador near you!  Unfortunately, at this time we cannot host online trunk shows, but you are always welcome to order at any time from my website. 

I know, I know......you are thinking to yourself what is the girl doing adding another thing to her life!  She is a little bit crazy!  And I am, I fully acknowledge that assessment! But seriously, I love Noonday and I love that I am DOING something for myself, my family and helping to support those in other countries.  Besides, my life would be nothing if it was chaotic.   I seem to thrive in this craziness.