Riding Little Joe

I am so excited to post these pictures of Ben and Jacob riding Little Joe our miniature donkey. I was practicing in the barn a few weeks ago. I had Little Joe tied up really tight. Then I would put Jacob on his back for about 5 mins at a time. But then along comes Larry! He just gets the donkey and plops a kid on top and leads him around. Little Joe did really well.
This morning (which is actually October 24th) we had a daycare come for a field trip to our pumpkin patch. Little Joe was at the fence and the kids were just petting him and poking him in the eye and putting their fingers in his mouth. He just stayed there, loving every minute of it. I hope one day we can offer rides on him. I'm sure he would love all the attention.

Homeschooling on a Budget

I have been amazed at how many homeschool resources are available for free on the Internet. There is a company, In The Hands of a Child, who always has a free lapbook/unit study on their website. That is where I got the lapbook on Winter. Right now they have a unit study on the book, "The Island of The Blue Dolphins" available. This is the link - www.handsofachild.com/freebie.
I have also come across a website that has all free e-books. These are books that are now in the public domain, which means they were published before 1923. More often than not these books have good moral values, while still being a good resource.
Another great resource for encouragement and ideas in homeschooling are homeschooling blogs. I must confess, I have been reading quite a few blogs lately and I am always encouraged. One of these blogs is Abundant Blessings. This is found at - www.homesteadblogger.com/handsnhearts. On this blog I found a link to a website that offers all free books in iTunes and MP3 format. Oh my goodness! They have some amazing books! Like, The Swiss Family Robinson, The Anne of Green Gables Books, The Bible in KJV, history books, Moby Dick. Just so many. I downloaded a book called, "Beautiful Girlhood". I listened to most of this book. It is beautifully read and is so glorifying to God in encouraging young girls to live a pure, Godly life. I will put it on Rebekah's MP3 player soon, as she is at the perfect age to hear the words of this book. Oh ya, the website is www.booksshouldbefree.com. Again, these are books that in the public domain.
As much as I love reading blogs, I still try to limit the time I spend doing so. It is easy to lose track of time while on the computer.

Acts 3:19

"Repent therefore and be converted, so that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord."

I needed to hear this from God this morning. I've been so busy, that I've not been the mom I want to be. So, I had to repent of my bad attitude and receive my times of refreshing from the Lord. Isn't this beautiful. That's all God wants us to do. Repent and then He's there just waiting to put His arms around us and give us the strength to carry on.

Why Boys Need Dads

I could not believe my eyes the other day. This is the sight I saw from my kitchen window. When I went out side to find out why my boys were rolling around in stagnant, stinky, slimy, froggy mud, they said, "Daddy said we could".
I am glad my hubby was home that day, because, of course, I would have said, "Get out of that mud!!!" What are you guys doing?!" But a man understands what it is to be a boy. It was so hard for me to know that they were in that gross water and even harder to help them clean off in the tub later. (because they stank so bad). My hubby knows what God was saying in Proverbs 15:13; "A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit." Oh, how I don't want to "crush" my boy's spirits by not letting them just be boys. Help me Lord to not sweat the small stuff, but to love and encourage my amazing, wonderful boys. That they may have happy hearts.