We Caught our Second Wind!

Boy, I must say 2013 was a tough year. I know I've said this before, but I really over-pushed my limits. 

I'm glad to say goodbye...

I had a nice, well-needed rest from it all. The holidays were very lovely and joyful.

 Now I'm ready to roll into the New Year

...like a boss!

{K} had his first basketball game last weekend and he did so well!!

We were THOSE parents yelling so loudly and over-doing it with cheers for ever bucket his team sunk...

Back to schooling...

I'm really looking forward to the last half of the year with the kiddos. I realize that even on the days when we don't seem to get anything accomplished , the children are still progressing at a rapid pace! 

I love love love being able to organize their curriculum. I also love the freedom that homeschooling gives us. 

Lately, I've been having to skip through lessons because I keep getting the response, "I already know this"...

I make them prove it every time, sure enough, we skip even more lessons....

I feel like that is something we struggled with a bit in public school, especially with the oldest...

Even if he knew it, he was still required to do it again. Don't get me wrong, repetition is very important for some things, but there is a point where boredom gets the best of us and does more than cause a little trouble.

I was looking through the pics in my camera and I was laughing so hard at the silly face poses...

         ^that's {J}'s silly face...ha!

My children really take their silly faces seriously. They give 100% effort in making a silly face, it almost looks painful...

So yeah, we've caught our second wind and are feeling like we're cruising right along merrily. 

We haven't been very social, but when the weather gets a bit nicer we'll be out more.

We're also looking for good book recommendations for {M}. She's read so many books already, but here's what she has left on her reading list for the rest of the year:

• The Phantom Toll Booth
• The Great Gilly Hopkins
• Because Of Winn-Dixie
• The Whipping Boy
• Caddie Woodlawn
• Anne of Green Gables
• Tuck Everlasting
• Sounder
• The Last Invisible Boy
• James and The Giant Peach
• Pippi Longstocking

Do you have any other awesome books around the same reading level that you highly recommend?

God Bless all of you and yours!

~The Zeres

Clean and organize my life...

{This happens to be the title to one of my Pintrest boards}

I always look forward to the New Year because yes, I plan to make 'a new.
One of the biggest projects that I have lined up is PURGING PURGING PURGING!!!

My garage is an impossible mess and my house is busting at the seams.
This house eats library books and entire sections vomit their belongs while I'm distracted.
I'm so tired of picking up the same stuff over and over...

It's not working, it's too complicated for the children to comply with the organization of it all.
Most days I feel like I want to take all the baskets and combine them into a giant toy box because I'll find "accessories" mixed in the "figurines" bin or the "cars" will be in the "doll clothes"..nothing stays where it goes, so who cares about labels?
There is this kitchen drawer that jams up every time I open it to use the foil. Really, the foil is the only thing I use in that drawer but all the other stuff is on standby...just in case the need arises...

I'm at the end of my rope!

I know where I need to begin. I need to minimize EVERYTHING! There are too many accessories, figurines, cars, doll clothes, and things in the foil drawer.

...but it is such a big project it's hard to begin...

When I look around there are many things that I love...those will stay.
Everything else will need to prove it's usefulness, if not, GONE!

I have to remind myself that it's difficult for a family of six to keep tidy and organized {especially when Dad and Mom are both full-time students and both work outside the home}

I'm coming up with daily cleaning schedules for everyone in the house, I think this will help a lot.

I also have to remind myself that the youngest member in the house is a  two year old who tends to turn into a tornado if he's given too much freedom to roam....

His chores will include picking up and sorting {I'm sure more chores will come along when the ball starts rolling}

I'm going to test out a lot of those Pintrest ideas and see what works for us!

HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Do you have a really effective cleaning/organizing system?

Tell me, tell me, please share!!

Merry Christmas!!!

This is a pretty photo-heavy post, but hey, it's Christmas, it's to be expected right?

The kiddos said that this was their favorite Christmas!

 They feel that way every year...not because of the gifts{we never go crazy with gifting}, but because they feel the great love and joy from us and each other.

We made Kobe go on a scavenger hunt to receive his last gift...everyone thought it was pretty funny!

The children always get to experience the gifting part of Christmas twice, after we do it at home we go to Vince and Mema's house and do it all over again!!

 We wish you a Merry Christmas!

...and a Happy New Year!!

Haphazard progression...

Yay! The blog is back!!

Yeah, last blog post was in March (I think).

As we near the end of 2013, I realize, I'm not sure how I made this far.

It's like when you're in deep thought while driving, then you wonder how you managed the last three miles without looking at the road.

I am somehow making progress into the new year. This year has been a real challenge for me. I have pushed myself to my limits. We decided to do some looooong-term planning and I somehow thought that being a full-time student, having a part-time job, and homeschooling the kiddos was all going to work out.

Every conversation I get into about my schedule, I get asked the same question, "How do you do all that?"

It has been really hard. Really really hard.

On the flip-side...

The semester is over in two and half weeks, my job lays me off for the winter months, and teaching my children is truly joyful anyways. 

I have somehow made it through the thick of it...

One of my biggest problems about being so busy and overwhelmed is that I became more sensitive than normal. I'm a VERY sensitive person to begin with, (I have cried rivers that threaten the Nile's record).

In normal situations, I would find ways to blame myself for things that didn't involve me, or I would read stories about major strugglers, suffering and repression...gahhh! I sure knew how to absolutely torture myself. 

Well, here we are, nearing the end of this crazy year. I am happy to say that I accomplished a lot of what I intended. Not everything went the way that I planned, but it is what it is and I'm not dwelling on it anymore. 

I have Thanksgiving off and we're planning to really enjoy the holiday season, together!

We are planning to fill the house with all the fruits of the spirit...

and the greatest of all these is...

Happy New Year!

Well, OK...we made it past 2012. Phewwww, just by the skin of our teeth.

There are some big projects that I have on my to do list this year.
I've already scratched off a bunch of big projects, so onward I go!

All the Christmas decorations are down {oh I can count that as another project completed}

Now this is what is on our wall:

"Create in me a pure heart, oh God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me"

~Psalm 51:10

This is perfect for us right now!

Thank you Lord for your words!

My children think the flowers on burlap look like Christmas presents...Doh! That's not what I was going for, but hey, whatever! I like them... 

What are some of the big projects on your list?

God Bless!

Merry CHRISTmas...

Wow! We're just 5 days away from Christmas!
I absolutely LOVE this time of the year...especially THIS year.
I love the music {I can't lie}; I love peppermint hot chocolates and gingerbread lattes {from Aromas of course}; I love cinnamon sticks with cloves and oranges { home-made potpourri recipe from my Mama}; but most importantly I love the excitement and joy that radiates from my family, especially the children. It's Jesus's Birthday!!

Another exciting thing about this time of year is that it's going to be a brand new year soon!
A time to start fresh with routines, habits, goals and ideas.

It's amazing how many times I've been tempted to just be stressed-out or down right sad. I don't do TV, MSN, FOX, or any of these corruption-fueled media sources, but even through co-workers and checking my email I've heard about the horrific tragedy in Newtown, CT. I refuse to find out more...I've been praying and praying for the families and all who were involved. God Bless them all!!

We are taking two weeks off from school, and the kids have been playing together everyday...all of them! The other day they were playing "hunter" they took turns being the hunter while the rest were animals. {J} was a caribou named Lil'stampede. {K} made a point to let me know that they were not killing the animals, but shooting them with stunning darts...ha!

Every year I try come up with a few New Year's resolutions...this year I'll:

~Make a new cleaning schedule for everyone
~Get more involved at church
~Wake up earlier to exercise
~Make all lesson plans at least one week in advance
~Eat healthier
~Pray more
~Get rid of stuff

Sound familiar?

Also, a good friend and I are are planning to organize photography sessions {starting in the New Year}. Let me know if you are interested!

For now we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

 

With Love,

 

THE ZERES

 

 

 

 

The New Year...

The New Year has brought us many blessings...

We've had lots of family time and sunshine...

One of our favorite places to go...

The book store.

We love books!

I don't think I could ever own an electronic reading device...sorry Nook and Kindle fans...I'm not on your bandwagon. Nope...you'll find me laying somewhere off the beaten path with my nose in a book full of coffee-stained pages...

Daddy and our children are the same way...

I am loving this weather!! I will say that I miss the snow {outside my window}, but I am so happy with the sunshine and this Va. winter. I am so happy to be able to bring the family into the woods {including the baby...this time of year...oh yeah!}

I've taken a little break from all my projects {including The Mom Spot Of Tea}. I am so grateful for all of my devoted followers...thank you thank you thank you! I'm only taking a little break, just need to slow down and focus...

I had so many "plans" for the New Year...

I started out with the idea that I would start a 21 day "Daniel Fast". It was a great attempt, but I abandoned it three days into the New Year.  I was feeling so much guilt about this...

I found myself searching through every forum...desperate to find some kind of "fasting exemption" for nursing mothers...anything to relieve this burden of guilt. Then after much praying...

I heard His little voice "I never asked this of you in the first place".

I have been very serious about this "back to the basics" kick that I'm on. We have been reading the Little House on the Prairie books and I've been questioning my ability to survive in THAT time period. I want to go back and learn all the basics. This past week I mastered bread-making. Something that I've struggled with for a bit. I've NEVER made a tasty loaf of bread before {sad but true}...until now...

My next "basic" is knitting, then in the spring it's full speed ahead into the garden...

I think this spring I'm also going to learn about foraging. It's something I've been so interested in. One of my best friends {who we live too far away from now....sniff sniff} mentioned that she was really getting into edible wild plants in our last phone conversation. It really motivated me to revisit my interest in foraging ...

I should also mention that I'm applying "back to the basics" to my parenting techniques as well. I've really been searching for and studying "parenting advice" from the bible. God has given us everything we need, we just have to be willing to seek!

This New Year is going to be a good one. I've already learned soooooo much ! I have so many goals to work toward and lists of lessons to be learned...Happy New to you all!