Dare I say it...

We started school two weeks ago. 
This year we are using My Father's World (MFW) Curriculum....
So far...
I LOVE it!!!

Don't get me wrong..
we have our moments of whining -
"Do I really have to do 4 pages?" 
"Please don't make me do the long division." 

Speaking of long division...
At the homeschool convention I talked about here, nearly all speakers talked about the woes of teaching long division and I wondered what all the angst was about..
Well... I get it!! 
Oh. My.Word.
Thankfully, it started to sink in the next day to my brilliant daughter.
She still doesn't like doing work...
She is s bit lazy like her Mama. ;)

Aside from the fun of long division (truly, she was proud of herself for learning how - she even tried to teach a friend).... 

We had a Pinterest 4th of July (I am not a crafty person so I totally must copy other's ideas). :)

  I was pretty proud of my cookies....yes more pink than red...but you get the idea!

I love my beautiful girls!

Meisi's first sparkler

Fun firework display with our neighbors - courtesy of Brian :)

We were invited to a birthday party for one of Ian's friends at one of our subdivision splash areas.  Meisi has progressed so much with water!  She was terrified of this area for so long..still some areas she won't venture to in it.

We had a quick trip to Legoland - Meisi really was interested in the zoo keeper lego girl. :)  She has that set - so maybe why or maybe because she looks like Meisi...not sure..

I couldn't love these four more!!

We've been to countless fun FREE library events (puppet shows, drum circle, magic shows...)

We had a blast at our local homeschool group (HEAT) "Finding Nemo party".  All three really like getting their faces painted and tattoos. :)

From our MFW curriculum - The kids and Brian made cute paper dolls and colored like the children of the world (our curriculum is about countries and cultures this year).  Today we made a world cake - the older two had to tell me all 7 continents and 5 oceans before they could eat it (we ate Antarctica first)...Meisi had to tell me if the homemade icing was good or not. :)

Even with all this fun -
This week has been incredibly hectic.
I'm not feeling well.
Meisi isn't feeling well.
We were having a friend's kids over in the afternoons to help her as she serves at high school camp.
So, we haven't been getting school done in the mornings like I had hoped.
Which lead to read aloud time to be at night...
Why am I surprised this has turned out to be great??!!! 
Let go and Let God - right??

We start our day with a Bible lesson over breakfast then start school. 
Doing the read aloud at night has led us to amazing conversations about God and our place in His family.
This week our read aloud is Kingdom Tales.  It is part of our MFW curriculum.

Just so you know, I struggled over which curriculum to use this year.  So many good ones out there.  I knew I wasn't organized enough to make my own curriculum so I needed a "boxed set".  I kept coming back to MFW.  Let me say that for our family it has created an amazing beginning to our school year.  Dare I say it... I love homeschooling!!?  I am so thankful that I brought these questions to God and He answered my prayers and guided me to this curriculum...

Back to "Kingdom Tales" -

So, last night we were reading this amazing story of the peril of orphans in this fictional very dark place.  A place where odd or untreatable dieseases and disorders are sent away to die and called "outcasts." (I was thinking that this sounds very much like a place I know). As the story progresses there is a place where people serve a King.  Unlike the dark place, the people who serve the King are joyful even if handicapped or sick.  At the end of the story there are questions we discuss - oh my word - what great discussion!  This one really jumped out at me...

What did Mercie mean by the statement, "There are no orphans here.  Everyone belongs to someone else." ? The answer - You are not an orphan when you belong to the King.
"For those that are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ...the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry out "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children then we are heirs..." Romans 8:15-17 - also see Galatians 4:6-7


How does this statement in the story relate to following Jesus: "One must become an outcast in order to follow the King."?  This one led to a great discussion how as believers we can't often "follow the crowd."  The words we use, the way we speak, the choices we make...may not be what the world considers "cool" or "fun."
"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in them.  For everything in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - comes not from the Father but the world." 1 John 2:15-17

"Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you."  1 John 3:13

Wow - such amazing conversations to end the day with and what perfect timing in our life to have these discussions.  We have such a greater understanding of the love God has for us and our place in His family since adopting Meisi.  Unconditional love... it is amazing and has nothing to do with genes.

So thankful that God loved me so much that He laid down His life for me so that I could spend eternity with Him.

Do you belong to the King? 
Are you living as an outcast in this world in order to follow Jesus?