No excuses

I won't even attempt to give a reason. :)

My parents have been gone for almost a week. Their visit was nice. :) We stayed out on the island with them. The boys got nice little tan lines and my daddy got FRIED. :) I offered him some sunscreen (as I was doing the daily slathering of the kiddos) but he didn't want any. The boys were spoiled of course and loved having Gran and Poppy at their disposal. Elijah was stuck to my daddy like glue.

Its HOT here. Now folks I'm from GA. I've lived in the South my whole life. (GA, AL, MISS) Well I did live in KS for 2 years, but heck it got hot there too. Being from GA ,of course, I get to through out that ''but the humidity'' with ever reference to heat. LOL But I'm thinking that I've moved just about 3 blocks north of he*l. It was 100 here today AT LEAST...by noon. Who knows what it was by 3pm. :) And humidity, there are no apt discriptions for walking out of your house and being blasted with such intense HEAT and then that feeling of a hot wet towel being placed over your head to boot. I suppose this is the price I pay for having 70* temps and going to the beach in December :)I'm just really thankful for A/C. We're going to have to start heading out to the park in the early a.m. now though. We went out yesterday when Donald got in from work around 4:30. We literally stayed about 10 mins before the boys were completely red faced (and they had only swung on the tire swing and used the slide a few times by then...and I was pushing the tire swing lol) We tried going out later in the evening but the temp isn't much cooler and the misquitos are horrid. And yep, everything is bigger in Texas. Those things are HUGE, my friends.

I just finished making a CD schedule for the boys room. They listen to a CD each night as they go to sleep. Nathan *loves* Selah and Daniel loves Baby Mine from the "Oh Mickey Where Art Thou" CD. For the longest time they listened to various classical cds. Over Christmas I slipped in some Christmas music, and since we've expanded what they listen to at night. Well for the last week or so it has been a big deal each night. Nathan wanting Selah, Daniel wanting Baby Mine. Even after coming to somewhat of a compromise (back and forth each night) there was still a mite of an argument when the 'other' brother got his CD for the night. So I came down tonight and typed up the schedule. Hopefully them being able to see what CD is for each night will eliminate that nonsense. :)

Selah has a new CD out. I want to get it for Nathan. I also want to get two new Mr. Henry CD's (salvation & prayer).

Tonight after showers/pj's/brushing teeth/reading books, we again starting having prayer and praise time. This is something that *should* happen EVERY NIGHT. And while I do pray over my children nightly and tuck them in with promises of God's angels being all around them, I have been guilty of not praying *with* them consistantly. Tonight we sang "From the rising of the Sun/My Only Hope is You/There's just something about that Name and Jesus Loves Me" for our praise time. We do 'sign language' with From the Rising of the Sun.'' Sitting there in the floor with Daniel on my lap and Nathan right next to me I was ushered into HIS presence. The sweet sounds of my boys singing, their little hands lifted high, no shame, no reservation ...whew it was precious. God just confirmed again to my heart how important the basics are in their lives. YES I want my children to be intelligent and well rounded. I want them to read the classics.I want them to be at ease in situations where there are 6 forks set before them. I want them to excel in life. But oh, how I will have failed, if I focus on those things to a fault. If I teach them that reading Homer is more important than reading about the heros of the faith in Hebrews. If I teach buttering your roll by the bite and not all at once, is somehow indicitive of class and decorum, but they lack the simple ability to show kindness and compassion *to all men*, then I've not done my job well. If they can quote Shakespear and rattle off O Henry and can diferentiate between Monet and Manet but don't have a grasp of the Gospel and the HOPE it holds. I will have raised the most educated children with knowledge but no wisdom. I love how Proverbs compares WISDOM and KNOWLEDGE. Some would exchange the two without much thought. But in Proverbs they are compared. Oh how I want to raise children full of wisdom.

Along that vain. Nathan starts 100 Easy Lessons on Monday (Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons) I also ordered the book from the Core Knowledge series regarding what your K needs to know. I am using FIAR (Five in a Row, a Lit based ciriculum) and supplementing some other stuff. I plan to use the ''what your K needs to know'' to kind of keep me on target for covering all the essentials. We've actually rounded a corner in our homeschooling. Nathan now no longer dislikes worksheets. PTL He and Daniel have also started cutting paper with a vengence.

I've been writing out scripture for the boys each day. I've also just started a in depth study on JOY. I'm really having to overhaul and redo a lot of the rooms of my heart. Its hard to come face to face with something about yourself that you find unattractive. But the wonderful thing is that God can help me to be all that he would have me to become...I just have to go *through* the process of refining.

I know I've been scattered and wordy tonight. I'm sure the errors are there. I was really appalled when I went back and read through my entries. They are horrid. I think writing at night isn't probably the best thing for me, or my grammar. :) Or I could blame it on my public school education that my private college didn't fix. ROTFLOL Or I suppose I could just slow down and proofread and ask that you be forgiving when my writing/errors make you wince.

Anyway, night all. I hope you are having a great week.

OH and just let me get this little nit picky thing out there. MEMORIAL DAY is a day set aside to remember those that have DIED in service to our country.

VETERANS DAY is a day set aside to honor all those who have served in the armed forces.

So hugging a vet on Momorial Day is nice, but not really the sentiment that is necessary. ;) Back to you regularly scheduled programming. :)