Doing Hard Things: Challenge A

I cannot ask my children to do hard things if I am not willing to do them myself. 

I drew this map of Canada freehand in 15 minutes, it's not perfect but I wanted to demonstrate how Cartography helps you memorize!

We are starting a new adventure on our homeschool journey. Up until now it's simply been Classical Conversations Foundations & Essentials plus reading & math. I always said that once my oldest reached the Challenge years I would send her off to another teacher and let them teach these hard things to her. When the time finally came, I could see that would not be wise. For this first year of Challenge,  I knew that I needed to be going through the program with her if I was to fully understand what is required of her. 

I decided to direct the Challenge A program. It has been a challenge in so many ways. It has stretched me and it has been HARD. I am so thankful I read the book Do Hard Things that I have mentioned in previous posts. It really spurred me on and kept me in check. I have seen what I can do and now that I am on the other side, I am pretty proud of myself!

I am most proud of my daughter. She saw me do the hard thing and still pressing on. She knows I do this because I love her. The first week of school proved to be a bit of a stretch for her as well but I have seen something come alive in my daughter and I am ecstatic. She is now doing hard things.

 

 

The Challenge A program includes 

Latin (Grammar)

Math (Logic)

Exposition (Literature & Persuasive Writing)

Science (Research)

Cartography (Debate)

Reasoning 

Emma is tracing & labeling for the first three days and will freehand the fourth day.

When delving into Latin and math, there were times when my daughter didn't understand something and would get frustrated. She would be hard on herself for not understanding. I would explain that she didn't learn how to swim on the first day. She will not learn Latin on the first day. I reminded her that she had to get in the water and she had floaties at first. Then we took the floaties off and began to show her basic moves, kick your legs, move your arms this way. Eventually she began to swim on her own. Now she is an expert and is teaching my youngest to swim. I told her that I believe if she will just show up, pray and do the work, God will give her understanding. It just takes diligence and determination. 

I was so impressed when she woke up early yesterday morning and said, mom, I'm showing up. I could cry just writing it now. She finished every strand. She worked hard, most of the time, independently. She is ready to do it again today!

I will expound upon our Challenge A experience later in the year. 

Thank you for stopping by and I hope this encourages you to do hard things today!

Grace and peace,

Adoring Family 

🎂 5 Friday Favorites 🎂

It's the weekend and I am thrilled. We all need some down time. It's been an amazing summer but school is starting and the events leading up to it are exhausting. Here are some fun Friday Favs to end your week!

 

1. 
Embroidered bag from Amazon.
I purchased this gorgeous bag for my brother's GF, Terra.

 

Her birthday was Wednesday and we spent our time doing our normal hike around our property, making friendship bracelets, and eating cake 🎂 . 

Terra and my brother are vegan so I always make a vegan cake for them on special occasions and let me tell you, it's so delicious. None of us can ever get enough and no one can tell it's vegan. I'll post the recipe in the next few weeks. 🎂 

 

I'm in love w this color and getting it for Hawaii!

2. This sweet lady.
I posted a few videos from this sweet, wise lady earlier this week. She exemplifies Proverbs 31:26.

"She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue." 

If you are facing uncertainty or discouragement, please take a few minutes and let this video speak Truth and encouragement into your life.

3. This dress is absolutely gorgeous! 

I bought it for my oldest but I may end up wearing as well if she lets me. ha! We are taking family photos on the beach and we have a blue/white color scheme going so this dress blends beautifully. 

4. My boy's birthday!

My sweet daddy came and took him to Academy to spend some time with his only grandson. It was a very special time. 

5. Morning study time.
I have been waking up at 4 AM to study the math lessons for the year and my little one has discovered this. She now wants her bed in here with me. I'm thankful for this sweet time. I love to look down at her sleeping peacefully while I am preparing the school year. 

Thank you all for reading. I hope you have a blessed weekend.

Grace & peace,

Adoring Family

linked here

 alittlebitofeverythingblog.com

www.bybmgblog.com

Just Go Quietly On

I think this woman must be an amazing example of a woman after God's own heart in order for her daughter to feel that she should share her wisdom with the world. I have watched most of the videos, many of them time and time again. They are encouraging and beautiful in every way. Truly this is an example of a gentle and quiet beauty.

These are a few of the verses she mentions:

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

Isaiah 26:3

but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

She is obviously a woman of the Word because Scripture just rolled off her tongue as if it had been hidden in her heart for years. Such an inspiration to memorize Scripture. 

I also LOVED this one about the power of prayer. I do hope you will take some time out of your day to sit quietly and glean wisdom from this precious lady.

Thank you for stopping by. 

Grace and peace,

Adoring Family

👋🏼5 on Friday👋🏼

Hello everyone and welcome back to another Five Friday Favorites!  

We've had a fun-filled week bursting with activity. I can't wait to show you pics of the house updates we've done since moving in! Look for that post later this week. For now, here's a little sneak peek...

1.Girl's Room Accessories!

Does anyone else have a daughter crazy for all things beach? She has been wanting to do a beach themed bedroom for a while. Since we are going to Hawaii soon she is even more beach crazy. We have a little trip to our fav Texas beach coming up soon as well. It will be fun to gather shells and beach décor from the little gift shops there. We picked up these two items from Amazon and she is in love!

 

2.Spending some much needed quality time with my husband

We have been overwhelmed with all of the work we have been doing over the past four years. We are finally at a place of rest and it is a joyful, peacful time. I am so thankful to be this man's wife. 

 

3. Summer fun.

 

Also, the Lego movie. This meme sums up boy mom life perfectly. 

 #MomLife

Allll the books and summer reading. My heart is overjoyed at the fact that my children are reading Tolkien and Lewis!

4. My little friend, Charlotte. I have no idea why these spiders fascinate me. I also love the spiny backed orb. I'm excited to have the Black-and-yellow- Garden Spider righ ton the outside of our living room window. I do believe this is a female as I read that females are larger than the males and this one is quite substantial in size. Don't worry, they will be nice to you if you are nice to them!

5. 

Pink Beds.

My little daughter has had the hardest time sleeping in her own bed. We found this cute little blow up mattress and she LOVES it. It has one of those nightlights that shines stars on the ceiling. It has worked like a charm to have her right next to us but not in our bed when she gets scared. Makes for a much better night's sleep for this mama.

To reward her for good behavior she chose this cute little Owlette costume.

 

I'll post pics of her when it comes in today on my Instagram.

 I better hop to it. I have to work out, feed all these girls and make a meal for a friend. Then it's FAMILY NIGHT!!! Woohoo! We missed it Tuesday because of CC orientation but we are making up for it tonight with Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bars and Pictionary!

Thank you for reading. I hope you are enjoying this last bit of summer!

Grace & peace,

Adoring Family

linked here

 alittlebitofeverythingblog.com

www.bybmgblog.com

3 Instructions For Right Living

Hello everyone. We are busy with back to school orientations and all of the exciting things that come with a new school year. I have these thoughts on my heart and wanted to share them. This post will be short and to the point but I hope to remember these things and that some day my children and grandchildren will read this.

1.Love the Lord your God with all you heart with all your soul with all you mind and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.

2.Be humble. Lead with a quiet, confident strength. Avoid pride and always have a teachable heart.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, rather, in humility consider  others better than yourself.

2.Do your duty.

Be diligent, work hard and do what you are supposed to do regarding everything around you. Those around you will see that and they will respect you. Be diligent, work quietly with your hands, and sing to the Lord as if you were working for him.

Thank you for reading. 

Grace & peace,

Adoring Family

5 Friday Favorites

Hello everyone, thank you for taking the time to check out my Five Friday Favorites this week. 

1.

Family Night

Every week we have dedicated Tuesday Night as our family night. I try to fix something fun and different for dinner and we have a special dessert. During the time we are eating our dessert we have a family meeting. My husband will share a verse and we try to memorize that verse as a family. We write it down and discuss what we talked about throughout the week. It's a way that Daddy can be present in our home even when he is at work. We also try to plan a fun family activity such as a family walk, a game, or a special movie. I am so grateful for my husband and his idea to have this special Family Meeting every week and the very special memories we are creating. 

This week's verse is 

Philippians 2:3 

³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,

2.

I have become a crazy loyal fan of lace bralettes in the summer and pretty much anytime. The are supportive, padded and look beautiful in open back or  wide neck/ V-neck clothing. 

I wear my lace bralettes under pretty much everything but they look so perfect with this dress that I linked a while back, I ordered  a medium for both the bra and the dresses.

 I have the gray and loved it so much that I ordered the black dress as well. 

This dress is almost knee length on me.

Perfect Summer Combo

3.

Please take a moment to watch this video. This study has been a tremendous encouragement in my life. We are on the third week and have  delved deep  into topics that are not usually approached yet are extremely relevant and helpful. I have been immensely blessed and challenged. My thinking has changed and my relationship with the Lord has deepened. I highly recommend this study.

4.

This Under Armor Backpack is perfect for an overnight bag and back to school.

Such a great price! I purchased this size and color for my son and he couldn't be more happy with it. Currently an excellent price for this brand.

5.

This Diffuser is amazing! It has a 2 hour setting, 4 hour and 8 hour setting. It's water reservoir is enormous and I usually only have to fill it up every other day. I love that it lasts all day and has an elegant and natural design. The stream is powerful and effective as well. I have other diffusers that seem to put off a weak stream which disappoints me but this one is extremely powerful and I love it. I'm still using my bergamot oil, such a delightful and refreshing fragrance.

 

In case you missed it, here is my my favorite song for the week and a delicious but quick and simple chicken salad recipe in this post.

Thank you for reading. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Grace & peace,

Adoring Family

linked here

 alittlebitofeverythingblog.com

www.bybmgblog.com