Thinking About Homeschooling?

I've been dragging my feet at writing this post. Not because I don't want to share my homeschooling experiences with you, because I do! But there's just so much that goes into homeschooling. It's hard to get it all out in one place. I hardly feel like I'm qualified to offer advice, as I'm still asking other "veteran" homeschooling moms questions all the time. So, I'm going to do my best to share what I can from my own experiences and try not to overwhelm you. Because if I'm being honest,  homeschooling is a lot.

Ok, so you’re thinking about homeschooling! You never ever thought you’d be that mom, did you?! [Neither did I!] It's funny how different things in life can bring you to places where you never thought you would be and thinking about things that you never thought you'd even consider.

Most people think homeschooling is weird. Homeschooling moms are really weird. And homeschooled kids are definitely weird. Am I right?! Honestly, this is the way that I used to think. I mean, I was a public school teacher! Why wouldn’t they want to send their kids to school? Well, as you are now seeing for yourself, there are a lot of different reasons. Right now there are more people considering homeschooling their kids than ever before, and you all have your own reasons.

I'm not going to get into what's going on in the world right now. There's no need for that here. We all are very well aware. What I am going to do is share some helpful things that I've learned over the three years of homeschooling that we have completed as a family.

And I will also say before getting too deep into all this, that this is not an easy job. I went into it thinking it would be all sunshine and rainbows and unicorns. It's not. It's hard. It's hard to be mom and teacher. And chef. And house cleaner. And baby caretaker. And all the other things. And one thing that I hadn't really thought through before starting homeschooling, was how much it would change my life. And by that I mean that I went from being a stay at home mom with a somewhat flexible schedule, to basically working full time as a teacher at home. No more play dates for the little ones. No more late morning grocery trips. No more coffee dates or playgroups with friends. That was hard. Giving up a lot of flexibility to make sure the schooling got done.



Ok, now we can talk about the logistics.

Our Homeschool "Why"
First of all, you're probably wondering why we chose to homeschool our kids years ago. All I can really say to that is that I felt called and convicted to do it. I prayed about it a lot. It wasn't my plan. I actually tried to pray out of it, but clearly that didn't work. Before having kids, I was a public high school teacher. I graduated with my Masters in Education weeks before finding out I was pregnant with my first baby. My plan was to be a teacher and a mom. I hadn't even planned on being a stay at home mom. And I never thought that God would lead me down the path that He did. I sent my oldest to our local public school for a year and the whole time she was there, there were many different things that happened, but there was a small & steady voice that just kept telling me to bring her back home and teach her at home. It got to the point that I couldn't deny it, so we embarked on our homeschool journey. And I fully anticipate that the same small voice will make it clear when it's time for us to end our homeschool journey.

Along with the calling & conviction there are some other big reasons we chose to homeschool. We wanted our children to be able to have their faith interwoven with their education and be taught with a Biblical worldview. We hope that we can give them a strong faith base to bring out into the world one day. These things may not be important to others, but to us, they are important. We also wanted more time with our children. More time together as a family. A more flexible schedule. More time to play outside and explore nature. And the ability to move through material at a pace that works for each child, whether that be quickly or slowly. These are just some of the big reasons that we chose to homeschool.

There are a few other more logistical reasons though. As many of you know, we lived in a two bedroom condo for almost 10 years. We had 4 kids in that condo! We talked about moving for many years. We never thought we'd be living there for as long as we were, but God had his own plans. We also didn't know where our forever home would be. We didn't want to limit ourselves to a home in a single town because we were invested in the school system. Homeschooling gave us the flexibility to find the right home at the right time in the right place and to move easily. We didn't need to limit ourselves to moving based on the school schedule, we could move anytime. And that we did! And that story will come later ;)

And I would be remiss if I didn't also mention the baby & toddler factors. They factored in to the decision too. Before the pandemic, I was generally on my own managing the kids and their schedules. My husband was gone from approximately 6 am - 6 pm every day. Managing the kids & getting them all ready & getting out the door & the schedules & the drop offs & pick ups & bus times & babies & naps all on my own was a lot. A real lot. The bus stop was out of sight from our house, so that just added to the stress of getting there and having sleeping babies, or having to wake babies. Homeschooling let us school on our schedule and that could be adapted to the baby.

Your "Why" is important. You need to figure this out before you really start digging into different curriculum, because it could affect the decision.

What to Teach?
As a homeschooling family, ultimately, you decide what you want your children to learn. You are the master of the curriculum. The state [at least in Massachusetts] does not tell you what you need to teach your children when you homeschool them. It is up to you. You submit your intent/request & curriculum plan to your town's superintendent's office for approval. They will either approve or deny your plan. [I've always had my plans approved easily.] This should be a written letter with a detailed outline of your curriculum plan [i.e. what you plan to cover in each subject that year.]

For more guidance on getting started and the homeschool laws in your state, check out the Homeschool Legal Defense site: https://hslda.org/

There is often a lot of confusion and overwhelm in getting started though. There is so much to learn! How do you pick & choose? Again, this is where your "Why" comes in to play. Why are you homeschooling? To keep pace with public school but be at home on your own schedule? Ok, then cater your curriculum to that so that it addresses & meets the same standards as the public school. Are you homeschooling to slow down and have your children enjoy learning more? Cater to that. Do you want nature to be a big part of their learning? Do you want to read a lot of books? Do you want them to be doing workbooks? Memorization? All things to consider in picking a curriculum.

For me, I knew that I needed a plan. I needed a curriculum that laid it all out for me and gave me a day-by-day plan. I needed them to recommend what subjects I should be teaching and how many days a week. I also knew that the teacher in me wanted to be teaching my children. I wanted to be an active part of their learning. I didn't want to be just a guide on the side while they watched DVD's or sat in front of a computer screen. Not that there is anything wrong with those! It's just not the vision we had for our family in homeschooling. This is why I went with what's called a "boxed curriculum." There are a few different ones available.

We chose to go with My Father's World. I had friends recommend it and it checked a few of our "Why" boxes - teaches a Biblical worldview, has Bible study & scripture memorization woven in, the weeks are all planned out for the teacher, I get to be the teacher and learn alongside them, AND it kind of teaches in unit studies, meaning that the subjects overlap and connect with one another.

You can check out My Father's World here: https://www.mfwbooks.com/


What "School" of Homeschool?
If you've been doing any research on homeschooling methods and schools of thought, some of this might sound familiar. If not, that's ok. There are several "schools" for homeschooling methods. They overlap in some ways, but in some ways they are very distinctly separate. Deciding on a specific "school" also goes back to your "why." And also, you don't have to stick to one school of thought! You can mix it up and teach from multiple schools. It's your homeschool, so you can pick what works best for you and you can even vary by subject.

The schools of thought that I'm referring to are Traditionalist, Classical, Charlotte Mason, Unit Studies, Distance Learning, Unschooling, and more. To find which school you most align with , you can take this little quiz: https://homeschoolon.com/the-homeschool-style-quiz/

This was something that was confusing & overwhelming for me as I began our homeschool journey. I didn't know where I belonged and I thought that I had to know. I knew people who were following a couple different schools of thought and I just couldn't fully identify with their styles of learning. It was hard for me to find a good fit. I thought I had to belong to one. What I didn't realize was that it's ok to be a mix! As time has gone on and I've found what works for us, what we need, and what my kids' strengths are, I've been able to discover what my my school of thought really is. I'm mostly Traditionalist with some Classical and a tiny bit of Charlotte Mason. None of this is all that surprising, considering I was a public school teacher ;)

What Curriculum Do I Use?
I really only feel qualified to talk about what we've used and liked , and not other curriculum. As I mentioned earlier, we primarily use the My Father's World curriculum and that covers our Bible, History, Geography, Science, Music & Art [Music & Art aren't very rigorous.] For Math we have used Christian Light, but I am also looking into another option for this coming year. For Phonics/Reading, I have used Explode the Code & Beyond the Code. For Language Arts I have used Christian Light. For Handwriting I have used Handwriting Without Tears. Those are the main sources we have pulled resources from. Below, you'll find links to their sites to check out more.

My Father's World: https://www.mfwbooks.com/

Christian Light Education: https://www.clp.org/christian_light_education

Explode the Code: https://www.explodethecode.com/

Handwriting Without Tears: https://www.lwtears.com/


Other Curriculum Resources
Here are some other curriculum resources that are not listed above. These are sites that may be helpful. Some of them I've poked around on before and use some of the things offered. I've referred to these places for additional supplements & support.

Starfall: https://www.starfall.com/h/ - We use this for a lot of preschool and pre-k learning. Totally worth the $35 per year subscription! My preschooler can go and do some of their "school" on the ipad while I have some teaching time with the older kids.

Read Aloud Revival: https://readaloudrevival.com/ - We read books aloud all the time. Even before homeschooling, reading was a big part of our day. This site is a homeschooling mom who is passionate about books and reading. Lots of lists of books for different ages, seasons, etc.

Salsa Spanish: https://mass.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/salsa-spanish-for-children/ - I'm teaching my kids some basic Spanish. They took a weekly private Spanish class last year, but we've decided to try it at home this year. I'll be using these videos and resources as well as some grade level workbooks.

YouTube: There are soooo many videoes for so many subjects that you can find on YouTube! I have different folders with videos for different subjects and age levels. We use it to supplement whatever we are learning at the time.

Christianbook: https://www.christianbook.com/ - This is a great place for homeschool curriculum and resources! I've found many curriculum items to be less expensive here than other sites. Check here first!

Usborne Books: https://n6507.myubam.com - We use Usborne books A LOT! Our curriculum actually uses a lot of them as the main resources. We love them and learn so much from them. [This is my friend's personal site, she's a rep!]
Health Education from a Christian perspective: https://www.tyndale.com/authors/brenna-jones/2994

eBay: I get a lot of my curriculum resources secondhand in eBay. It helps to keep our budget in check.

What a Typical Day Looks Like
As I mentioned earlier, a large part of our schooling has been catered to the baby and toddler the past couple of years. We do as much school as we can when they are sleeping in late in the morning or napping. As well as doing it during other parts of the day. We also moved during this school year. Selling & buying a house during a global pandemic with 4 young kids and not much help is no easy task, so our schedule had to be flexible around that too. As we settled into the new house and got our rhythms, we did start to fall into a bit more of a schedule and routine, so that is my plan for this coming school year.

7:00 - 8:00 - Wake up & eat & play

8:00 - 8:30 - Shower, get dressed, brush teeth 

8:30 - 9:00 - Morning school time with mom at the table (Bible lesson, scripture memorization, calendar, daily questions, mini journal entry, art study, notebooks)  Macy uses iPad to do Starfall

9:00 - 10:30 - Abby & Bryce work independently on Math, Language Arts, Spanish, with mom’s help as needed. Macy plays and does a few pages of her workbooks. Joshua is entertained in any way that is possible. 

10:30 - 11:00 - Morning chores (Make beds & pick up rooms if needed, unload & load dishwasher, fold & put away laundry)

11:00 - 11:30 - Snack & Hymn study 

11:30 - 12:30 - Play outside (Physical Education)

12:30 - Lunch

1:00 - 2:00 - Abby & Bryce read, listen to audio books or watch a video that goes along with what we're learning while mom gets little two in for nap & rest time. Reading may be assigned or free based on the day. 

2:00 - 3:00 - Mom does Science, History & Geography with Abby & Bryce together while little two nap (MFW curriculum allows me to teach them together for these subjects)

3:00 - 4:00 - Free time for Abby & Bryce while little two still nap/rest - TV time & Messenger kids time - Free/Work time for mom

4:00 - 5:00 - Play outside

5:00 - 6:00 - Dinner Prep & Dinner

Not every day goes as planned. Not every day stays on schedule. With little ones, things are very unpredictable, so we just have to be flexible! And if you were looking for the solution to keeping toddlers entertained, sorry, you won't find that here. I'm still trying to figure it out and working on it all the time! I have found though, that they like to be involved with everyone else's learning. They often join us at the table and color while we do school work.

Abby will also need to find time during the week to complete her weekly assignments for her co-op classes.

What Does Preschool/Pre-K Look Like?
To be honest, this is the first time I'll be teaching Pre-K at home! We sent the older two kids to Little Lambs Preschool, but that's no longer open and also the world right now... So, at home it is! What I learned from the older two kids going to Little Lambs, was that there was a lot of play-based learning going on. Kids learn so much through play. So we'll be doing just that! She also loves to do arts & crafts, so I'll provide her with lots of supplies and let her create what she wants. I'll read a few books to her each day, we'll do puzzles and other learning games and we'll work through some workbooks that go over each letter and its sound for some early phonics and pre-reading.

Socialization
This is the biggest thing that is brought up when talking about homeschooling kids. How can/will they be socialized? I’ll admit, it’s not always the easiest thing, but we’ve found ways that work for us over the years. Are they with kids every day? No. But we have a lot of family time and there are four kids here, so they get all that sibling socializing! And my older two kids are so great with the younger two. It’s really sweet to watch them sometimes. 

We have tried out a couple of homeschool co-op groups at different area churches over the years. None were very local to us, they usually involved about a 30 minute drive, and that just made it harder to connect outside of the group. They also rely on the homeschool moms to help run the co-ops. Moms teach classes, watch babies in the nursery, etc. This was hard for me to balance. When I have a baby who only wants me and doesn’t want to go into the nursery or we’re at co-op during a nap time, I’m stuck dealing with cranky baby and trying to volunteer. It’s not easy! I realized we just couldn’t do those full family co-op groups with little ones. I had my hands full enough already to try to balance that.

Our solution has been drop-off homeschool co-op classes. It’s like private tutoring for large groups. It’s been so so great. I don’t have to volunteer (we pay tuition), the kids get experience in a classroom-like setting and they get to see & socialize with other kids one day a week. We have loved these classes and will do the 30 minute drive for all of the great things that have come out of them! 

We have also tried to make sure our kids are very involved in our church’s children’s programming (when it takes place). They see friends here & make friends here and learn a lot too. They’re also involved in Cub Scouts & Brownies as well as gymnastics. We’ve tried out some town sports and will likely try out more. We’ve also done different sessions of art classes. We try not to overload their schedules for the sanity & well-being of all of us, but we want them to have a balance. 

Where to Start?If you’ve read this far, you’re amazing! You’re really wanting to know more and do this! So here are some starting points:1. Determine your “why”2. Let your “why” help you to pick your curriculum (figuring out what school of thought you most align with may help with this!)3. Write a letter to the superintendent of your town telling them of your intent to homeschool and detail your curriculum outline for each child4. Breathe & pray for wisdom. You CAN do this!

Stay Tuned...If you’re local to me and you do decide to homeschool, let’s keep in touch! I’ve got some ideas up my sleeve that I’m ready to run with for this coming school year! 

A Story We Never Could Have Written - Part 1

It has been a really long time since I last wrote here on this blog. I've wanted to and thought to write so many times, but life has been quite busy the past couple of years. I'm literally laughing at the title of my last blog post, "Seeking to Simplify" because it was probably within days of that post that I found out I was pregnant with our fourth baby. And then we decided to pull our kids out of school the following year to home school. Hah! So much for simplifying. Our life is very full these days, but it's also really, really good. And we are so thankful for all that we have.

God really can seem like a mystery sometimes. Like when we don't hear and see and feel him in the ways that we want. We are sometimes unsure of him. But often, when we look back, we see that his providential care & provision are remarkable. A couple Sundays ago, we heard a sermon through our church's Livestream in which our pastor was talking about the story of Joseph. You know, the guy with the colorful coat. His main point through his sermon was that God always provided for Joseph, through everything. Yes, there were likely times when Joseph doubted if God was really there and if was actually hearing his cries, but God took care of him through it all. God provided. Pastor Trav said it like this, "Once you hear the silence of God, you begin to appreciate the mystery of God." And if that doesn't describe our life over the past couple of years, I’m not sure what does! 

The story I want to tell is one that's been in the works for longer than I ever could have imagined. It probably started back in 2005 or maybe even before that, when I first met my friend who is now my neighbor. I was at Gordon college and had a friend who had a best friend from childhood at a nearby college. She told me multiple times that I needed to meet this friend because we were so similar and we'd get along really well. I don't even remember when we were first introduced or exactly how, but we definitely got along well and became easy friends. And our mutual friend was right, we were very similar in so many ways.

As time went by, we graduated college, I started dating my husband and she started dating her husband around the same time.  We have wedding anniversaries that are within days of each other, different years. We drove the same car, different colors, for at least five overlapping years. We would get together and get pedicures together and often pick the same color. She moved to my local area, I invited her to my church. We go to church together. We have kids all around the same ages. So naturally, when she knew we were looking to buy a bigger home than our two bedroom condo, she recommended her neighborhood and told me how much she loved living in her little town.

When I first got pregnant with our fourth baby [which yes, was actually planned for all those in question!] we knew that it would be tight in the condo, but we knew we could make it work for at least the first year with a new baby. We had enough room in the master bedroom for a crib and the other three kids shared the other bedroom really well. As in, they all slept through the night, hah! 

You’re probably wondering why we were even still living in a two bedroom condo with four kids? Well, when I quit my full time job as a high school math teacher to stay home full time with our kids back in 2011, it obviously reduced our household income significantly. But we both agreed that being home was where God had called me to be. We also felt that God would make it known to us when it was the right time, both practically & financially, for us to move our family into our “forever home.”

While I was pregnant with this fourth baby, I kept my eye pretty close on our local real estate market. We had a list of wants & needs in a town, neighborhood & home. It was maybe a long list. But we knew that wherever we moved to, we’d be staying for a very long time.

The summer I was pregnant, we went on a 4 day camping trip with lots of friends and little electronics time [the best kinds of trips!] and coming off the camping trip, I saw a house that had come on the market while we were away. It seemed like it had all that we wanted, except for the town that it was located in. We were willing to compromise though. I went to the open house within hours of when I first saw it. It had its flaws, but had most of what we wanted. We saw it again. And again. We were ready to put an offer on it, but during that last visit, we saw some things that we just couldn't overlook. So we decided not to make an offer. 

After that, we decided that I was getting really pregnant and the timing of everything just wouldn't be ideal with a really pregnant mom or a very new little baby and three other kids and colder weather approaching... So we put our housing search on hold for some time.

About six months later, I was feeling more like I could handle things again, and the spring real estate market was ramping up, so we decided to start our house hunt again. But at this point, some things had changed and we were a bit unsure as to where we wanted to live. We had gone through another New England winter, and we were now wondering if this was an opportunity for us to head south as a family. The real estate market was much more appealing down there, there were hybrid home schooling models that we really liked, we had visited areas that we loved and had friends and some family already living down there, so it seemed like an easy decision. 

But there were a few other important things we needed to think about like all of our family here, a job for the primary income provider and our amazing church family. We were torn. We sought advice from some friends who are in the next stage of life from where we are. They were once in our place. They gave us some great advice. They said, "Pray for reasons why you should stay up here."

So for the next few months, we prayed. We prayed just what they had suggested. That God would reveal reasons as to why we should stay in this area. It was hard as I was constantly comparing the real estate market in the two areas. What we could buy here versus what we could buy THERE. If a house was all that mattered, buying there would have been a done deal. But there is so much more! Every time we got together with friends for a hang out or a party or a shower, all I kept thinking was, "This can't be the last time I do this!" Or I'd think, "Well if we're going to move, at least wait until after we do ____." It was like I was trying to bargain with God for what I wanted. But that's not His game. He remained silent on the house hunt.

During that time, we also had so many great things happening at our church and within our church family that we kept thinking, "This is so good! Why would we want to leave this?" We knew that the community we have built around us over these past 7 years is unique and special. And to build that same type of community and life somewhere else would not be easy and would take time. Maybe lots of time. Why would we want to take that chance? God was speaking to us through these times.

Throughout that whole summer, when the real estate market is hustling & bustling, here in New England, God made us wait. He was silent. Different things happened in our lives over those months that made it clear that it was not our time to be looking for houses anywhere. We needed to just stay where we were and be patient and wait. Patience is hard for me, but I waited. During this time, my friend now neighbor, would tell me about homes in her neighborhood coming on the market. But none seemed exactly right for us. There was always something that wasn't exactly what we wanted. It was like God was continuing to tell us to be patient, while continuing to be silent.

Over Columbus Day weekend, we went on our annual camping trip with friends up to the mountains of New Hampshire. It is beautiful at that time of year. The foliage and fellowship are some of the best and it's a weekend we all look forward to all year long. But again, limited electronics time, which is great! While driving home that Monday, we were stuck in traffic and I did my usual real estate search. A house had come on the market that day just hours earlier. It looked like it had all that we wanted, except for again, the town it was located in. We could overlook that again though. I set up a time to go see it the next morning with our realtor.

The house and yard both needed a lot of work. It was very outdated and hadn’t been occupied for many years. But that was ok, we were ok with some updating. It had all the other things. It even had neighbors that we knew from church! And they had daughters that were of babysitting ages! We saw the house a couple times. We decided to put in an offer. Our realtor tried to submit the offer online and it came back as “cash only offers.” What?! Why was that not in the listing? Who has that kind of cash? Turned out it was bank owned. We weren’t sure how we could get around it, but it was a house we really wanted.

Our realtor, who is also a great friend, wanted to help us out. He has a friend who is in the business of flipping houses. He got his friend on board with this house. His friend worked out a budget with us and was willing to buy the house, flip it, then sell it to us. Could it be any better? Could this be God at work?! So his friend did all he needed to do and went to submit an offer on the house. 

Turned out that the house was actually up for auction. Again, not disclosed in the listing! Our flipper friend could obviously only bid so high to stay within our agreed upon budget. Sadly, he wasn’t the highest bidder. We lost the house. We found out on October 30th, which was our littlest one’s first birthday. I was all sorts of emotional that day and had a hard time keeping it together most of the day. 

Why was God continuing to be silent on our house search? Why was he closing so many doors? I continued to trust him, knowing that he always provides, but I was also just so sad on so many levels. Life was not easy with 4 kids in a three level, two bedroom condo while trying to homeschool! It was stressful in a lot of ways. But I continued to be patient and wait on God.

Sometime in November, I met up with my friend who’s now my neighbor for coffee one evening. We hadn’t caught up in a while since we both still had nursing babies and life was a bit crazy. We chatted about all sorts of things and I filled her in on our big house let-down from weeks prior. She mentioned there might be a house in her neighborhood.

Weeks later we were walking out to our car after church on a Sunday. Our church is so awesome that we have parking attendants to help us find spots and get us in and out of the parking lot safely. The two attendants just happened to be the neighbor of the house that unfortunately didn’t work out, and the husband of my friend now neighbor. One attendant said, “We’re so sad the house didn’t work out for you guys! We were hoping to have you as neighbors!”

The other attendant said, “I heard you might have a flipper to work with? There’s a house across from us that looks like it might be going on the market, but I think it needs a lot of work.”

And the next part of our story is when things really started to happen...

Seeking to Simplify

Last fall I spent a day visiting Old Sturbridge Village with my kids and my parents. I grew up going to this little village, in fact I think we went there so much that I began to take its simplicity and simple beauty for granted.

As we entered the village, just as I had done many times before, I was drawn to the first home we encountered on our left. I'd probably gone into this house as a child, but it didn't stand out in my mind as a favorite. Upon entering though, its simplicity struck me. It was basically one big room, with a small bedroom off of the main room containing a double bed and some hanging herbs & fruits and then an attic room with a few more beds. That's it.

Sounds silly, but I felt like I was in love. I started imagining what life would be like in that home. What life might have been like there over a hundred years ago. Less to organize! Less to clean! More time to do other things! Like quality and intentional time with family and friends.

I told my parents that I want to live in a house like this now. They laughed. How or why would anyone today actually want to live in something like this? There is hardly any space at all. Why would people choose this simplicity?

I thought about it a bit and realized that I live in somewhat of a modern day equivalent to this house. Our main floor has an eat-in kitchen and a living room and the second floor has two bedrooms. And then the basement is our bonus space - playroom/home gym/office. That's it.

I used to really dislike the smallness and simplicity of my home. I really wanted more in a home. But ever since I started intentionally becoming content with my home, as you can read about here, I'm finding that I love it more and more. And I'm craving simplicity in so many other areas of life.

Fast forward a month after the Old Sturbridge Village trip and I received this book for Christmas. It's a book I've had my eye on for a long time. I wanted to read it, but wasn't sure if I really had the energy or motivation or desire for big changes in my life. As luck [or maybe not so much luck] would have it, the majority of our family was sick around Christmas, as you can also read here and the following week, and it was bitter cold, so I got my chance to read the book and make some changes. And it has been amazing. Never did I think that reading a book about simplicity and organization could have such a big impact on my life.

The first thing I did was to go through all of our clothes. I got rid of a lot and also changed the way many of them were folded and stored. This allowed us to get rid of several shelves that were previously housing clothes and to also combine many drawers, thus freeing up several drawers. All of this then enabled us to make a really big change, which was finally moving the Littlest Ginger out of our bedroom and into the room with the other two Gingers. After almost two years, it was time ;)

After the clothes I tackled books. This allowed us to get rid of more shelves, which simplified and opened up more space in our home. I also went through many cabinets and drawers and organized things like electronic cords and dishes and cookware. It also made me get organized in terms of how things are displayed on the walls of our home and using that space more wisely. It basically made us make at least one big major change in every room of the house.

But these changes were not by adding things. They were by removing things and simplifying. We're learning to live with less more and more each day and it is such a freeing feeling.

As I'm moving along in my journey to simple and simplicity, I started to think of simple things in my life that have made a really big difference that I wouldn't want to be without.

Here's the basic list that I've come up with:

1. Room divider from Ikea

Now, I'll be honest, this is kind of see-through and it's probably only 4-5 feet wide, but it works really well for a baby who thinks that if they can't see someone, they're not really there. This has made all of our room sharing possible. We used it in our own room to separate the Littlest Ginger from our bed, and now we use it in the room between the crib and bunk beds. Money well spent.

2. A Portable Sound Machine

We're white noise addicts here. We all sleep with it. It started when darling Daddy and I lived in our first apartment and it happened to be near train tracks with a train that would come through every morning around 3:30 blowing on its horn repeatedly. If we didn't have a fan going, it woke us up every single morning. Fast forward a few years and we had a rough first few weeks with Curly Girl after she was born. Like her crying half the night and me and Darling Daddy taking sleeping shifts. We then discovered the book, The Happiest Baby on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp. He talks about the 5 S's of calming a baby and white noise was one of them. Curly Girl loved it and settled with it. And slept 10+ hours straight by the time she was 12 weeks old. We thought we were rock stars and had found the magic trick. Turns out she just loved and needed her sleep [still does] and the white noise helped. It's stuck all these years. This machine was bought right before we went on our first family camping trip when the Littlest Ginger was only 4 months old. I was a little worried about sleeping on the ground in a tent with no electricity, but this battery operated sound machine made our nights pretty bearable.

3. The Infamous Bunny Clock

We've been using this clock for about 5 years. I talk about it and post about it a lot. It's amazing. When bunny is sleeping, our kids know that they need to be quiet/sleeping. It definitely takes time & effort & discipline to train on it (we're in the midst of training with the Littlest Ginger right now) but it pays off amazingly well. I can get up hours before my children in the morning and exercise, shower and have my morning quiet devotional time with a HOT cup of coffee before they get up. Huge win and money well spent in my opinion.

4. Beachbody On-Demand

I used to be a YMCA advocate and lover. I was there a lot both alone and with the kids. But let's face it, getting to the gym with a kid or two or three is a chore! It basically takes the entire morning. And you're not always guaranteed a full workout! If they're crying, they come get you! And all of the germs that toddlers can pick up in there... When I discovered this gem a little over a year ago, I was sold. I can choose when and where I want to workout and what kind of workout I want to do and for how long. I have access to every workout program they offer for a fee of $100 per year. That's way less than a gym! And I can do it every morning in my basement before my kids wake up and get a shower in too. [If you think I'm saying that I actually DO it every morning, don't be fooled! I'm not that good. But the option is there and I am good at least 3 times a week...]

5. Pour-Over Coffee Maker

I know I've posted about this before, but it's because it's so great! I honestly will never go back to drinking other types of coffee again. A friend recommended this last summer and I am so glad that I found it on sale on Amazon Prime day! Best coffee ever. So smooth and no bitterness. Now, it does take a bit longer than your normal cup of coffee. I have to boil my water first and then pour it over the grounds, but I'll take a little extra time and work for a good cup of coffee. And I can drink it with almond milk! No need to even buy creamer. It's so smooth and not bitter that the almond milk does the trick.

5. Peppermint essential oil

This little bottle of oily goodness has saved me in the digestive area. As my life has gone on, I've developed more and more digestive issues due to dairy and some other things. This oil has helped so very much. And I had no idea that it would when I got it! It was just part of my starter kit of oils! I put one drop into my coffee grounds of my pour-over coffee maker every morning, mix it up and it does its work. I get coffee with a slight minty flavor and no indigestion and uneasiness like I used to face most days. It also helps to curb my morning hangriness so that I don't overindulge at breakfast. And also, has come in quite handy for motion sickness, as well as some head tension and pressure. As I began to write this, I was feeling some sinus pressure, but started diffusing peppermint and put it on my temples and I'm feeling much better. This is one oil I never ever want to be without!

6. Activated Charcoal

While we're talking about digestion, this one ranks high on the list. Lots of digestive and heartburn issues here over the years. Used to have bottles of Tums and Pepto Bismol and Immodium all over the place. This has replaced all of them. Whenever I feel a little upset, dairy related or something else that I've eaten, I pop a couple of these capsules. Kids can take them too. I just cut open the capsule and add it to juice. I've also read and heard from friends that it can slow and/or stop a stomach bug outbreak in a family once the first person goes down if all other members take it. We've only had an experience like that here once, and it definitely helped and shortened the effects. I always have this on hand.

7. Books & Stories on CD

Yes, that's a discman you see in the picture. You're jealous that you didn't save yours because it's been awesome here. And a CD player, which are SO hard to find these days! These things have been so awesome here though, really. My kids LOVE listening to books & stories all day long. Like today. They've been playing most of the day in the basement. Which means my kids have been playing quietly and entertained in the basement. It's great. We get a lot from the library and we have quite a collection ourselves that we have accumulated. We just love these!

8. Lavender essential oil

The question is not what do I use lavender oil for, it's what do I NOT use lavender for? This is like the swiss army knife of oils and I really really love it. I used to think it was just for relaxing and sleep, but the biggest thing I use it for lately is skin issues. We suffer from dry skin, scrapes, acne, stings and scratches here. If you get these things too, you'd like this. I basically put it on any skin ailment that we get it. And it works. For all of them. I'm not even joking or exaggerating. It's really like a magical oil. I always have it on hand. No more creams, anti-itch things, bacitracin, etc. just this now. 

Another amazing use is in my mascara to make it last longer. I'll admit, I'm cheap when it comes to mascara. I wear it every day, but I don't like paying much more than $5 for it. So I always buy some type of Mabeline. But it starts to clump and dry out so quickly! I used to use contact solution (saline) to help it last longer, but I had to do a drop like every 2-3 days. Then about a month ago I heard that lavender oil could do the same thing! I put a drop in and it makes my mascara smooth for weeks! And I think it might even be making my lashes grow?! Making things so much more simple here. 

9. Chatbooks

This is basically the reason that I use Instagram. And why I post so much on Instagram. I have my account set up so that every 60 pictures that I post on Instagram, they automatically get put into a book and that book gets mailed to me. And it's like $6 total for the book and shipping. It makes photo-documenting our life SO much easier. I don't feel as bad when I kinda slack on our yearly Shutterfly albums, because I know that most of our daily life activities are on Instagram and being documented with Chatbooks. And I don't have to do a thing! And as you can see, we have quite a collection after 5 years of doing this... But the kids love sitting down and looking at the books! If you want to sign up for Chatbooks (which I HIGHLY recommend if you use Instagram and like photo books!) Use this link and we'll both benefit: http://invite.chatbooks.com/kellykilbourn11i 

10. My 3rd best guy, Frank

Ok, so I really didn't want to make this post all about oils, really. But I couldn't leave this one off my list of simple things that I can't do without!!! I first got Frankincense like 15 months ago in my oil starter kit. And everyone raved about him. And I just couldn't love him. I wasn't drawn to the smell and didn't know how to use him. But about 3 months ago, that allllll changed! I changed up my skincare routine to get rid of some bad things I'd been using on my face for many years because I simply could not part with them, and switched to more natural products. Frank has been gold in this transition and is now a staple in my skincare routine. Think of him as a natural form of like retin-A. Lots of skin renewal and helping with inflammation. Love him and don't go a day without him now. 

So there you have it. Some simple staples that I just can't live without here. 

They get me through the days and I just want to share my love of them with you!

Be still. Be patient.

This has been my mantra for almost three weeks now and it's surprisingly bringing me more peace than I ever thought possible.

Be still. Be patient. Wait for the Lord to act. Psalm 37:7

This was the Bible verse that came out of our 'Devotions for Preschoolers' daily devotion back on December 11th, which was exactly two weeks before Christmas. At the time I thought it was the perfect verse to look to and use as a daily reminder for my Christmas-hyped Curly Girl and Ginger Boy. We posted it on the wall and memorized it quickly. In fact it's still hanging on the wall almost three weeks later.

Little did I know, that it was placed there more for me to read that day than for my kids. I needed that reminder at the time and I'm still needing it now. 

You see, five days before we read that verse, Curly Girl had woken up with an unexplained rash on her entire face, which then developed into her entire face being puffy & swollen for about five days straight. She didn't want to be seen outside of the house and the two visits to the doctor's office gave us little hope or answers. They chalked it up to an allergic reaction to something. We have our suspicions, but nothing conclusive. 

That time was a tough time for not only her, but also for this worried mama. I had so much mom guilt and worry built up inside of me. Even though my faith is strong, sometimes it's just not strong enough.

The day that she woke up almost completely back to normal with no swelling and wanted to go back to school was the day that we read this verse in the morning. I felt like God placed it there for me to read. I'm often impatient, Darling Daddy can attest to that ;) 

I felt like God was reassuring me through His word that He WILL act. I just need to be patient. And still. 

Little did I know that it was only the beginning of a season of being still for our family.

The next day, the Littlest Ginger spiked a fever in the afternoon. No other symptoms, just a fever. It went on for three days. Normally I'd just assume teething, but it was a bit high for teething and she was in pretty good spirits and sleeping well at night. We just couldn't participate in any activities because she was actively fevering. Sigh. 

I had to be still and patient. 

During the three days of Littlest Ginger fevering, Ginger Boy woke up from a nap one afternoon screaming & crying about ear pain. He had no complaints prior to that day. A trip to the doctor's office [third trip in less than a week] revealed an ear infection. And then a trip to Walmart to wait for the antibiotics. With all three kids. At dinnertime. During Christmas shopping season.

Be still. Be patient. Wait for the Lord to act.

We then had Christmas concerts for both older kids at their respective schools on back-to-back days. Darling Daddy couldn't get the time off work to attend either concert, but fortunately three of the four grandparents were able to come. And one grandma graciously stayed home with the fevering Littlest Ginger so that I could attend a concert. But I was tired. And not myself.

Be still. Be patient. Wait for the Lord to act.

Then, hooray! We had a run of a few days where everyone seemed healthy! No more fever or other symptoms, no more facial swelling, and antibiotics seemed to have kicked the ear infection. We were looking good with a little over a week to go before Christmas. I still had so much to do and we had many events yet to attend, but it was a time of excitement. Christmas was drawing near.

With a little less than a week to go, Littlest Ginger developed a rash on most of her face, which also spread onto her body. However, this rash was not the same as Curly Girl's rash. It was much different. She still seemed to be in good spirits, but the rash seemed to linger for a few days. Again, this mama was a little worried. Rashes are always a bit unsettling.

Be still. Be patient. Wait for the Lord to act.

Five days before Christmas, Curly Girl came home from school in good spirits and excited about her class Christmas party in two days. We worked together to make treats for her to bring to all of her teachers and principal at school. The next day she was so excited to bring them all to school and deliver them to teachers all around the school. Gift giving is how she shows her love. Christmas is such an exciting time for this girl.

She came home from school that day full of excitement and Christmas cheer. Her class would be celebrating all day at school the next day. She couldn't wait to take part in all of the fun. She had already brought in gifts for all of her classmates, which were waiting in her classroom in a big sack, and was planning to dress completely in red, including a Santa hat, to pass them out to everyone the next day. We had some time that afternoon, so we decided to make more Christmas treats that we could pass out to family, neighbors and friends.

And then that evening, she started fevering. And it was a high fever. [And then I remembered the letter that had come home from school earlier that week stating that Strep throat had been present in her classroom...]  The poor girl was so chilled and shaking as I put her to bed that night. She was wearing four layers and had four blankets on her. A trip to the doctor's office early the next morning revealed what we had hoped we could avoid - a positive Strep test. And a confirmation of Fifths Disease for the Littlest Ginger. So this meant we now had two kids on antibiotics for two different things and another kid with a rash.

Be still. Be patient. Wait for the Lord to act.

We had a Christmas party to attend that evening, but because of bad weather that day and our fevering Curly Girl, we had no babysitter we felt comfortable with, so had to stay home. 

Be still. Be patient. Wait for the Lord to act.

The next day was December 23rd, with a family Christmas gathering to attend. The weather was terrible and Curly girl hadn't been fever free for over 24 hours, so we all stayed home. That day Darling Daddy and I also started to feel terrible. Like we were maybe getting Strep throat too. A family trip to the CVS Minute Clinic [during nap time, because that was when the roads were finally clear and safe] revealed two negative Strep tests. That was good news, but we still felt horrible.

Be still. Be patient. Wait for the Lord to act.

The next day was Christmas eve. We had another family gathering to attend. This one would include seeing my 94 year old grandmother and nephew who is under a year old, among others. We still weren't feeling 100% and didn't want to bring the germs to the young and old, so we again stayed home. It was sad, but we knew it was the right decision.

Be still. Be patient. Wait for the Lord to act. 

Christmas Eve church service was that evening. We were all feeling well enough to attend, Curly girl had been on antibiotics for over 48 hours so we knew she wasn't contagious, so we went! And it was so good. It was so great being with our church family that evening to celebrate what this season is really all about. The birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Sent to us to save us. A gift that we truly do not deserve, but was given to us freely. 

When we are still and patient, we are able to truly focus on what this season is about. It's not about the hustle and bustle and running around shopping and attending parties. It's about Christ, and the gift that God gave us when he was born on this earth. 

I've always known this to be true and we've tried to make this the focus of our Christmas celebrations with our children. This year though, I feel as though God really put it on us to make this the focus of the season. Due to all of our sickness, it was all we really could focus on because we were unable to participate in other things.

We celebrated Christmas day in a bit of a still way. It was quiet. Some grandparents came to visit. We had a birthday cake for Jesus. But there was nothing extravagant. It was restful and peaceful.

This past week since Christmas has also been very still. It's usually a week where we travel and spend multiple days away from home. We see lots of family and friends and don't get all that much rest in our home. But this week has been different. We've had bitter cold temperatures, preventing us from going out too much. And we're all resting and recovering from sickness and still dealing with sickness in different ways.

Be still. Be patient. Wait for the Lord to act.

I am so thankful that this verse has been a present part of our lives these past few weeks. I'm usually one who needs to be going or doing, but having this reminder has been so helpful in reminding me that it's okay to just stay home and rest and really have no agenda for the day. This restful time together at home as a family has been wonderful. Most days we don't know what day it even is and can't remember what we did the previous day. We're taking time to do things we often don't have time to do and it's been a good week overall.

God has ways of bringing His truth into our lives. Sometimes we just need to go through hard times to really see and understand this truth. He is present and active though. And He does act in His own time. We just need to be still and patient to see and understand how. 

Be still. Be patient. Wait for the Lord to act. Psalm 37:7