Richard is working at Carmax several minutes from our home.  He loves working sales and is doing amazing at it.  He has held the position of number 2  our of 40 associates in the store for about 4 months now.  He works normal people hours and averages about 50 or so hours a week versus him working 80 in South Carolina.  We just bought a Harley for him to get to work so now I have a 2nd car and can actually go places and make friends.

I have taken up sewing since we’ve gotten here.  Slow and steady but I have made a few things so far.  I have just connected this week with several homeschool groups in the area and look forward to going to meetings and play groups.  We are attending a Presbyterian church about 30 minutes from us.  It stinks it’s so far but the preaching is so worth it.  We were so amazed to find such good teaching in “Sin City”.

Josiah will be 5 in October, and we’ll be starting him in kindergarten homeschool.  He is so excited and has already started to sound out words and counts everything he sees.  Yesterday, we took off his training wheels and he is doing so good.  It was a lot easier for him to ride with 2 wheels than to teach him to ride a bike with training wheels.  He also goes several times a month to Tapout a training facility for martial arts.  He takes a jiujitsu class there.  He says he’s the best in the class and no one can hurt him because he’s “crazy” LOL!

Katarina, will be 3 next month.  I will also start her doing the preschool workbooks in the same publishers that Josiah is doing.  She is also, learning her sounds and letters, and doing very good in counting.  She loves to dress like a princess and take care of her baby sister.  She loves to help me do chores and has recently learned to hang all the kids clothes on hangers.

Mercy, sweet Mercy just turned 1.  She’s walking….er… running everywhere!  Her presence in our family is such a joy and she is really taking her place in our family.  She just started last week nodding and shaking her head for yes and no.  It’s really funny when she does it because she’s so dramatic.  She likes to copy her brother and sister when they practice their sounds.  Mercy loves to dance to Mexican music and has got rhythm.

We are really enjoying our time here and getting to see my family every few months in California.  I am so happy God allowed us to come back to the west coast.  I can’t wait to see what else he has in store for us here.

Well, we are 3 days away from saying goodbye to the south.  We are moving and headed out to Las Vegas, Nevada.  Richard is going to  pursue a job in law enforcement.  He has a testing week for the police department in January and may pursue the jail again if that doesn’t work out.  We are so excited to move closer to family and friends.  I know God brought us out to South Carolina for many reasons.  We have grown so much as a couple and as a family.  I thank God for these past 4 1/2 years even if some days we were bitter for being out here.

Please pray for us

as Richard seeks employment (something temporary/permanent)

while we try to find a good church

that the children can get through this big transition seamlessly

for safety on our travels (rich, Josiah and Rich’s dad leave 23rd to drive and the girls and I leave the 24th by plane to California )

that we continue to remain faithful and trust God through all of this and beyond!

1. This was one of the first things a homeschooling mom told me when I told her I was going to homeschool and that I was scared.  She said, “if you stay home with your children, you have been homeschooling them since the day they were born.”

2.  Homeschool does not have to look like a typical public school classroom.  If you want to teach your children at a picnic table in the park while snacking on apples then go for it.  If you want to teach them while snuggling on the couch, then go for it.

3.  Especially, in the beginning, homeschool does not take more than a couple hours of your day.  So long and farewell to the 8 hour days in a classroom!

4.  You don’t have to spend a fortune to give your children a good education.  Research the curriculum and compare to the standards of your state.  If you want to spend a good amount of money or not.  What matters is that they stay on track.  There are many great resources out there that don’t cost a fortune.

5.  Make a list of the things you and your spouse want to accomplish with your children’s education.  How awesome is this?  We get to choose what we find to be the most important and to focus the most on.  Of course, we want them to be well rounded and really they need to be.  But, if your family loves the arts then have a curriculum that is more art centered, or science centered, or Bible centered.

6.  You, mom have fun!  This should be such a joyful time for us.  We get to be with our children all day.  Feeding their minds and preparing them for the future.   Recently, I received an email from a friend whose oldest is only 2 and is already getting her curriculum picked out.  Her closing line was, When I look at all of what’s available I can’t help but wonder why people would not want to teach their own kids?? It’s fun, and I’m sure rewarding!”Let’s have fun with this!  If we have fun then our children are sure to have fun and develope a love for learning as well

Did you know that you can find books on cd there?  Even basic stories like the Little Red Hen and Biscuit stories.  I am no expert in child development by any means but I am positive that Josiah following along as he listens to a person reading on a cd is doing something for his reading development.  He absolutely loves it too!

We also, get Toddler music cds.  These are really awesome because we listen to them during breakfast, lunch, while we play, and color.  A lot of people leave their tv on for “background noise.”  I think this is a great alternative.  They have really learned a lot of things from these cd’s and they aren’t just sitting in front of the screen.  Choose cds that have songs about the alphabet, vowels, days of the week, seasons, and rhyming words.   Getting cd’s from the library gives us variety while staying on a budget.  If we like something enough THEN we can choose to buy it instead of buying tons of annoying kids music and hating it.

I think we keep our library in business.  Someone once told me that a library gets more funding depending on how many books arechecked out.   So, grab a strong bag and pack up the crew and go find your local library!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udWCWpn6VMw&feature=player_embedded

It made me realize how so many women pray for an open womb just once and for the pregnancy to come to term so that they can deliver a live and healthy baby.   God has blessed me with that 3 times with no problem!  How ugly a heart I have!  How ungrateful I am!  All children are blessing whether it’s #1 or #21; planned or unplanned.  Please pray for us as we ask God what he wants from us and to give us the willingness to obey.

But, what if I am that older woman?  I may be only 23 but I am the “older woman” to girls younger than I am.  So many girls are graduating from high school without a clue how to love or look for a husband, love or take care of children, work at home, or be kind and submissive. I remember  how lost I was when God placed me into the situation of a wife and then motherhood so quickly after.   I had no idea how to do anything.  I definitely didn’t know anything about taking care of a home or children.  I am overjoyed God gave me two little girls to raise to be homemakers so they are not left in a home as a wife clueless on what she needs to do.  But, what about the other girls in my church or elsewhere?

God has my heart burning to make a change.  I know he has not put my heart on fire for nothing.  Please pray for me as I dig deeper in the Word and pray more about what God wants me to do with this passion.  Pray that maybe he brings girl(s) that I can lead and minister to and help to change this cycle of having no older women in the church ready to teach.

Reading recomendation:

http://www.amazon.com/Passionate-Housewives-Desperate-Jennie-Chancey/dp/1934554154/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277922643&sr=8-1

Blog recomendation:

http://raisinghomemakers.com/

Mercy Angelina Coronado was born on April 28th at 12:54 am.  She was 8lbs 19.5 inches long.  She was born into the water and caught with loving arms by Judy Osborne at the Charleston Birth Center.  We were able to come home less than 7 hours later.  I’m doing GREAT with recovering and we are so blessed to have this new sweet love!

Photos from birth center!   http://charlestonbirthplace.com/virtualnursery153.aspx