My New Addiction... LETTERBOXING!

Letterboxing! Yes, I am officially addicted to letterboxing... ask me what I want to do... and this would be it! On Labor Day, I dragged my family with another family to 3 letterboxes! "We" gave one of Sweet Pea's friend a letterboxing kit for her 8 year old birthday... and surprise... her whole family went with us letterboxing! (Did I have an ulterior motive with my gift? Well, maybe they will forgive me since we are friends...) I think I got another family addicted....

Do my kids like it? Well, sometimes... sort of... well, maybe when it is not 90+ degrees when we go letterboxing in the heat of summer. Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a bit...

Letterboxing is a game where you follow clues to a hidden box. Inside the box is a notepad and a stamp, and maybe a stamp pad. You find the box, and stamp their pad with your stamp... then you take their stamp and stamp your pad. It is fun to follow the directions or story to a location, and find a hand-carved stamp. My favorite find so far is a hermit crab stamp, and we saw hermit crabs while looking for the stamp!

You will need:
1) Your own notepad (or one for each family member)
2) Your stamp (you can hand carve one or buy one - we bought ours).
3) A stamp pad (or two)
4) bug spray (some are hidden in mosquito places or really wet, woody places)
5) non-scented baby wipes (to clean off your stamps with)
6) Directions to the letterbox

On our Anniversary Trip to Charleston, we started this new passion... We found officially 4 boxes... and one location (where the box must have been taken - sad!)... and another we did not find... but as Pumpkin said, "it's a clue" about every 5 steps... We even dragged my parents along... they did not stamp anything... but they had fun!

Does my husband like it? Well, you will have to ask him... but he is smart enough to figure out that once I start a hunt... I don't give up easily... and since he calls me "anti-directional" - he has figured out it is better to help me find it than spend all day "looking"....

What did the Prince and I do on our last date night? Well, we had a baby sitter and we went out to a new restaurant... THEN WE WENT LETTERBOXING! Yes, we did! We went to a local cemetery and found a box!!! So, fun... and we looked for another... and could not find it! Sad! Was it fun? I thought so... Did he have fun? You'll have to ask him....

So - what is LETTERBOXING? Well, check out the letterboxing 101 at
www.letterboxing.org - click on the Getting Started tab - to learn more.
www.atlasquest.com - my favorite place to search for letterboxes.

Let me know when you want to go with us!
p.s. These pictures were taken in Downtown Charleston where some boxes were hidden in some people's lawns in the historical district (with their permission)!

Why Homeschool?

The number one question I have received recently is - "Why homeschool?" More specifically, "why are YOU going to homeschool?" Well, at first, I had a hard time telling anyone... I had a hard time committing to the idea of homeschooling.... I still have a back door plan that if "I don't like it" then we will just go back to a local Christian school.

So - here's "why":
5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. Deuteronomy 6:5-7

For me, that is "why." I want to teach them about God's world and his love, and how to live in God's world. I am sure many good teachers could teach them. The difference I see is that I love them, AND GOD GAVE THEM TO ME AND MY HUSBAND. God chose me to be a mother to Sweet Pea, Pumpkin, and Squash. No one could care more about their education than my husband and myself.

It is interesting that verse 5 is known as the greatest commandment in the whole Bible. However, we just don't pay attention to the the FACT that God wants us to teach his words to our children all the time.

I went to a meeting by Classical Conversations. I knew right away that it was the right place and the right decision to homeschool. I had been feeling God press up on my heart to teach them. The meeting started with a lady reading these verses that have been heavy on my heart for a long time. I just felt it was the right choice for our family, and my Prince Charming thinks so to.

After all, aren't all parents "homeschool parents?" Who taught your child to talk, walk, etc.? Perhaps that was the responsibility of a day care worker, grandparent or you just weren't around, but it saddens me if you missed some of those early "firsts." No matter what choice you make whether it is public school, private school, day care, or homeschooling - only the parent can be responsible and accountable to God about how they raise their child. So, I want to do the best job I can raising my children, and this is the best way I know to see that they get a great education, and learn to love God with all their heart, soul and strength. I know I was not ready to jump off this "cliff" and away from mainstream just a short year ago. So, if you think I am crazy, perhaps you will be homeschooling in a year! Believe me, I never, never thought this would be God's desire for my family.

We had a lot of firsts - the first day of Pumpkin's preschool, and Sweet Pea's first day of homeschooling in second grade. How did it go? Pumpkin loved school. He had a great day. Sweet Pea had a great start to homeschooling, and was finished with her day's work in record time. It is quite an adjustment to go from private school to a different change of education style. I am more concerned in whether she understands the material I am teaching, and not as interested in whether she can complete a worksheet. I know it will take some time for us to create our normal working daily pattern, but it will be worth it. Keep us in your prayers.

p.s. Pumpkin did not take his "blankie" into school... he left it on his car seat for the ride home!

Freezing the Moments

Sometimes I love my children so much it hurts...

When Pumpkin said this week, "Look, I am growing fur" when he saw his arms were growing hair on them.

The squeals of delight when Squash giggles...

The pure heart of a little girl whose biggest sin of the week was saying the word "stupid" in her heart... and crying and begging forgiveness... oh, if her innocence could only last forever... if that were to be the worst word she would ever learn. In our house, "stupid" is a "bad word" - that the children are not allowed to say. Really, what use is there in the word "stupid" - who wants to hear that someone is stupid or that an object or thing is stupid... really, no use in it.... the pure heart of an innocent little girl...

I love to hear Pumpkin tell me he loves me "to the moon and back" - will he say that forever? I somehow think he might grow up and forget...

I love to listen to a 7 year old's logic of why we need to have shakes for dessert.... and why making peanut butter balls is such a good idea... and why can't we watch the Walton's tonight?

I love to hear my Pumpkin ask "what is for dinner?" when he is really asking for dessert... no matter how many times I have told him "what is for dessert?" - he chooses to use his own words...

I love to see Squash come alive... to grow from a baby that only cries, eats and sleeps... to a toddler that says: no, mommy, daddy, uh-oh... and a few other words when he wants to... To shake his head YES when we figure out what he is trying to tell us.

To see a little girl run outside to pick blueberries...

To watch a 4 year old boy learn to ride his first bike...

To see a baby learn to crawl on things... and turn the pages of a book.

Oh, to freeze these moments... to never forget them... I can't even remember 7 years ago when my baby girl was a baby... it seems so long ago... I want to remember her as a baby... but today feels and seems so real...