Blech!

The title pretty much sums up my day. I am not feeling too well and of course that signaled the 3 year old to being in a rotten mood. I was NOT up for mom of the year award today! Of course to top it off the hubby is out of town.

It was a rough day yesterday, too. We went before the school board to appeal our oldest daughter's open enrollment request to the district where my husband teaches. There were other people there appealing their denials, too. We are one of 5 districts in the state that has a Diversity Plan which prohibits most people from leaving if they are not free/reduced lunch or not low test scores. There was another father there that my heart broke for. His daughter (same age as our oldest, going to 6th grade) had been bullied all year and was actually beaten up in class by 2 other girls. He did everything the district asked yet nothing had been done all year about it. The girls were apparently never removed or punished. He had no trouble with his 5 children in the district until this year so now he wanted his daughter out for her safety. Sadly, the board made a unanimous vote against the group as a whole to be denied without any quetions or further looking into any one case. Instead they had someone explain the Diversity Plan and why we were rejected. I am contemplating writing a letter to send each board member. I need to think carefully how I want to word it as I am angry at the moment.

I hope I feel better soon. I am suppose to go to Chicago to stay with a friend this week. There's a big homeschool sale Saturday morning and I want to sell quite a bit of stuff since I am returning to work in August. For now I will go relax and enjoy my comfy bed.

A Change is Coming...

Today was a big day! Unfortunately my sweet EMM was sick all day. She was in bed or on the couch most of the day. She's also my most dramatic child, so that didn't allow me to leave her side much. She wanted me with her every time she was in the bathroom feeling nauseated so at one point I was even doing my toes. My 11 year old, HEM, wanted to know what I was doing and I told her I was multitasking since I couldn't leave the bathroom. Fortunately she seems to be on the mend this evening. She's been taking dance for 4 years and this is the first time she has ever missed a class.

But that wasn't the big moment of my day! Last week I took the 2 older girls to the Christian school where I use to teach for standardized testing. I've done it for 3 years now just for my own records. EMM absolutely loved being there and stayed for recess every day. (She almost cried at the thought of leaving before recess!) GEM, who is only 3, wanted to know where her room was and why she couldn't play with the "little people". The principal, whom I love dearly, was asking if I wanted to come back. In the past I have always said no, but this time I wasn't sure. This last year has been really hard for our family financially. God has been good and gotten us through every time though. I spent a lot of time praying and asking God for guidance. I spoke with my husband at great length about it. Every day I went back to the school the door just seemed to be open more and more with clear signs in front of me. This weekend we made a final decision. Today I called the principal and accepted the offer! I feel really great about it! I love the school and I will still be with EMM and GEM throughout the day. We've been in the process of enrolling HEM into public school where her daddy works for the last few months so hopefully we'll get approval for that soon. It will be a change of pace from homeschooling, but not a new change since I worked there for 4 years until I had GEM.

I've had positive reactions from people so far. I really feel this is where God wants me for now. I'm excited for the future and the kids are excited, too.

The Road Map in Life

I am constantly amazed at how in one moment you know what direction you're headed in life and then the next moment comes and seems to take you in an entirely different direction. This has been a week that has made me really think about what I want to do and what I need to do in my next moments of life. I am asking God to make it very clear what He desires for me, and so far the door is swinging WIDE open! Sorry to be rather vague, but until definite decisions are made I cannot elaborate. Don't worry though...it won't be long before I know for sure!

Can you think of times where you've seen direct leading in making decisions? Share your stories!

Blog Party

I'm joining the blog party I just found out about. Looks like fun and I've already visited several awesome blog sites I discovered from the list of blogs on the blog party site!

I'm Stacy, originally from Georgia and now transplanted to Iowa. I love it here with my husband of 12 years and my 3 girls! I use to be paid to teach other people's children and now I stay home and teach my own. I am the VBS director at my church and enjoy playing piano for our church praise team. I am also involved with a local MOPS group. My husband is a public school teacher and is also in the Army National Guard. God has been so good to our family and I can't imagine my life without Him!



HEM is my oldest daughter, she is 11. She loves Jesus with all her heart! She is in 5th grade and loves tap, jazz, and gymnastics. She also LOVES reading and history. She is a second mom in the house. She loves helping people.




EMM is second. She is 8 years old and in 2nd grade. She accepted Jesus as her Savior earlier this year! She also loves dance and gymnastics. Her favorite things are math, Polly Pockets, and board games. She is my little snuggler!




GEM is our last. She recently turned 3 years old. She absolutely loves singing! Her life is a living musical! She is a prankster and loves playing with friends. She really likes to laugh and she is ALMOST potty trained! WOOHOO!!




I hope you enjoy following my blog. I blog about all kinds of topics from homeschooling, personal devotions, family, life experiences, humor, etc. I also enjoy reading other blogs, too! Enjoy the party!


I almost forgot!! Prizes! I would go for 7, 8, 22, 32, 33, 36, 46, 48, 49, 68, 69, 96, and 113. No particular order. I like them all!

Happy Easter!

This is the most important event to recognize as a Christian. This is the event that separates us from other religions. We serve a risen savior . We serve a Savior that predicted His own death and resurrection and whose death and resurrection was foretold by prophets. We serve the only Savior that conquered death and that did it out of His love for us.

"and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures." 1 Corinthians 15:4

Our family enjoyed a beautiful day in church celebrating Jesus' resurrection. HEM got to recite Isaiah 53:5-6 in church. The children sang beautifully as did the women's choir, and the congregation. I love playing the piano when I can hear such a wonderful sound! It was a treat to hear from the Chinese choir, too. The musicians were excellent and great people organized everything today, all because they serve a risen Savior, too! Rejoice Christians! He is risen, He is risen indeed!

Good Friday

HEM asked me today why it's "Good" Friday? It wasn't "good" for Jesus. I replied to her that it was good for us though. Maybe it's not the deed to think of as good on this day, but the person that made it good, Jesus. I looked up "good" in the dictionary and I would certainly attribute many of these meanings to Jesus. Here are a few:
morally excellent
virtuous
righteous
of high quality
honorable
worthy
genuine
not spoiled or tainted

This is what made Jesus the perfect sacrifice for us. He was the One that could take on our sin because He had no sin. Maybe if I visualized His journey to the cross more frequently, I would examine my daily behaviors more closely. Thank you, Jesus, for dying for me.