Since all people and family situations are unique, all of our virtual school experiences are also somewhat different. This is how it goes down at our house. If I did not constantly check on, like borderline harass, my fourth and second graders, one would only get a fraction of his work done, one would not even watch his classes, and I would get phone calls from teachers. Oh wait. I tried my best to stay on top of them, and I still get emails and phone calls.

It can be quite hilarious. For funny stories from week one, click here.

10 Things We Learned in Virtual School this Week:

#1. Did you know you aren’t supposed to have swords or Nerf guns in virtual classes?

Obviously. I promise we told him that, but he did it anyway when we weren’t in the room. He could not understand why he could not hop around the living room with his weapons while the teacher was talking…. We had to move the entire “toy weapons bin” to the basement. I replaced said weapons with a box of super hero action figures, which he has played with all day long.

Friends, actually, be SUPER careful about this. An innocent kid in Colorado was basically arrested for doing this same thing John David did. That is one of those news stories that is so ridiculous it is maddening.

#2. My younger two could use a parent sitting by them all day long.

We need to help them make it to all the links they are sent to, keep them on track, and explain to them what they are supposed to be doing. The older two boys are mostly fine, though they occasionally need technical or algebra support.

I cannot actually be in three places at once, so we just have to let things fall where they may. Sometimes, a kid misses a deadline honestly. We fix that as it comes to our attention. All of the time, I have to walk around the house cringing over how bad it needs to be swept and dusted, but there’s no time. I mean sure, I can find time to sit down and look at my phone at night, but time to clean is just gone…

#3. If you think class is boring, you can just wrap up Creeper in a blanket, put your shorts on his head, and stick him in your seat, while you go chill on the sofa.

This way your teacher will think you are still listening! Brilliant!

#4. It turns out that even after going all the way through Calculus in high school and in college, I am useless as an algebra helper.

Scratch that. I do know how to reference a textbook or Google to help with classwork, but it will take me a solid few minutes to dig up what a function, range, and domain are exactly. I remember precious little.

#5. At least three of us now know how to take a webcam photo with the new non-Apple computers.

Eventually, we will also figure that out for the Chromebooks.

#6. What you actually need to survive second grade online is a ginormous stuffed Creeper.

You can buy them at Target stores. Some of you may not know Creeper. He is a type of being in Minecraft. Creepers can explode. This particular one poops explosives I am told.

Our Creeper can be a wrestling opponent, pillow, and your twin! He is so multi-functional!

#7. You have to scroll down to find and check the “Agree to terms” box in order for that big green sign-up button to work.

No, I surely did not spend 10 minutes trying every single different way to sign up before finally listening to the teacher answer a student’s questions before figuring this out. Her box was larger and did not seem to require scrolling. This all happened over the course of two days. Yeah. Two days we worked on this.

And there are some other things I still won’t sign in to because a person can only figure out so many usernames and passwords. Y’all, there is a limit!!

#8. Tennis has very specific postures that you use when you play, not just ways you hold your racket but also how you are supposed to stand.

File this under “things I learned while watching my son’s tennis lessons when my internet wasn’t working.”

#9. Storyboardthat.com is a really cool site for building illustrated stories!

I could spend a good amount of time on there! It looks fun. Daniel did the one above. It was the second board of his story on Pacific Northwest Native Americans.

#10. There is no ideal method for educating four children, all different ages.

….But dropping them off at school came pretty close to ideal for me!! Haaaa!!! Go away, Rona.

The post 10 New Things We Learned in Virtual School Week 2 appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

As much as we’d love to be a Disney family, high tailing it off to Orlando a few times a year, that’s not really practical for most of us, is it? No, and even if you do, there will be plenty of time between to fill up with memories at home.

Here are 3 things I’ve found lately to have a BLAST with my children without spending much money at all and without leaving our house.

4 Almost Free Ways to Spend Time Together as a Family

Board Games

This one can be even cheaper than you think. I buy almost all of our games at Goodwill or other local thrift stores. Part of Daniel’s birthday gift this year was an Angry Birds game I found for $3.95 at Goodwill. Maybe $3.95 doesn’t sound cheap, but when you figure the whole family could play it, it was in perfect condition, and retail it would have been more like $34, it starts to sound like a steal.

This morning we paid Spongebob Monopoly, and while 3 of 4 boys quit early on from boredom, Daniel hung in there and beat me SOUNDLY.

So did everyone have fun? Sort of. Everyone did for a little while. And one of them had the special honor of beating mom. Also, he learned so much about counting money and making change.

Playing Sports Outside…..and yeah, sometimes inside

What we play depends on what they are into at the time. Last year it was always baseball. Now it’s mostly basketball, but lately we’ve been all about badminton.

Here’s my best tips for introducing your kids to badminton or tennis:

1. Buy any racquets at thrift stores. Thrift stores almost always have tennis rackets, and when you are playing at home, you can totally play badminton with big giant tennis rackets. In fact, it makes it easier for the kids to hit the birdie.
2. If you don’t have a net, designate a line on the driveway as your “net”. By the way, the one above is a nice one. You can also buy super cheap ones, but I can’t vouch for how good they will be, but they might be better than just the line on the driveway. Ha!
3. Our family just used the crack in the driveway as our “net” until we had time to go buy a net.

Most sports can be simulated at home without actually owning the equipment. In most cases, you just need a ball.

ABSOLUTELY FREE: CHARADES!!!

Alan took some papers, cut them into squares and wrote names of people we know, movies we’ve watched, and places we’ve been to on them. Then he made a paper bag for each category, and put the papers in the bags for us to draw out.

The boys LOVED it. It was more personal this way. We used family members, and then they’d act out what they’ve noticed about those family members. The cutest was when they were being their cousin Wesley, and they got on their knees, to show they were short, and then went around hugging everyone! Ha!!!

For places, we used random ones like the driveway, the pumpkin patch, and places we used to live. Just talking about it makes me want to do this again. We all laughed so much.

Include the little ones too. Just whisper in their ear how to act it out. As long as there’s one person to guess, you’re good. When toddlers get involved, I promise it will be hilarious. They may even announce to everyone who they are being, like JD does, and that’s okay.

Turn something they LOVE into a family activity!

Light sabers? Family jousting tournament

Legos? Building contest! And name a different prize for each kid. Maybe even make little construction paper ribbons.

Dancing? Dance Party.

For example, the ever so obnoxious BOTTLE FLIPPING!!

Does any mom or teacher out there not hate this activity? Why? It’s loud. It’s annoying, and it always spills water.

Did you know they make games for Bottle Flipping? As in board-game like games? They do!

 
I decided to give this a shot. This is the very first time I had ever attempted to flip a bottle, and I’m here to tell you it is way HARDER than it looked! I have new respect.

Best of all, my older boys got a real kick out of me participating in bottle flipping with them. My oldest wasn’t even going to play with us at first, but once he saw us having fun, he joined in and then insisted that we play again.

In fact, I want you all to join in on this fun, so this week we are giving the Bottle Flippin’ Game away for FREE to one of you!

***This giveaway is sponsored by the Bottle Flip Game.***

I love giveaways!!!

To enter just Log in with Facebook or your email below, and click one of the options. If you have trouble, just send me your email address, and I’ll enter ya.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!!!

The post 4 Almost Free Ways to Spend Time Together as a Family + Giveaway appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

I tried to take his pic outside by the car, but my iPhone spazzed, and I had to re-start it. I tried again once we got to his class, with my now working phone, but JD said, “You already did,” and walked off to show his new teacher his Lightning McQueen backpack.

Maybe it’s because I haven’t had a solid night’s sleep in a week. Maybe it’s because he’s my fourth son, my last baby. I don’t know, but today I dropped JD off at his first day at preschool, and I cried all the way home.

He’s three and a half, and he’s ready. We knew he was ready. He knew he was ready. His brothers are even excited for him.

And he handled it like a champ. He proudly put on his brand new Minions tennis shoes, showed me where to write his name on his new Batman lunch box, and rushed me out the door. He didn’t even pause long enough for his “First day” picture, he was just so eager to go.

And what did I do? Well, I handled it like a grown-up. I cried all the way home. I was supposed to go straight to the grocery store, but I couldn’t. I had to run home to my refuge, crying.

I’m fighting the urge to sit down in the floor with a Coca-Cola and a fat stack of baby photo albums and boo hoo.

I haven’t had days off like this since 2010. I’ve had part-time babysitters that came and took care of the boys while I went to doctor appointments, but this is different. I might finally write my book!

There is something extra special about time off when you are taking care of small children all the time. It is beyond necessary.  I hope if you are a mom of pre-schoolers that you will sanctify at least one day a week to have time off from taking care of children.

Schedule it! Make someone commit to watching those babies for you while you take 2 hours off, or whatever you can get!

Make them put it in writing.

“I promise to watch these sweet, precious children on this day at this time every single week so Mommy doesn’t lose her mind or end up with a heart problem.”

I miss that sweet little boy already. Oh, I love him so much. I can’t believe he is my last pre-schooler. I’ve had at least one preschooler, usually more, in this house for 11 years now, and suddenly I find myself almost finished with this phase. I only have 1 1/2 more years!

Oh, no. I’m going to start crying again if I talk about it. How I’ve loved it. I have loved every minute of taking care of these babies. Okay. That’s not true. I didn’t love every minute, but I loved THEM every minute.

JD sleeping on me just this past weekend, and Caleb showing of his latest Lego creation. I do love this job. I love it.

Sometimes I long for them at ages that they used to be that we will never get back. They are still here, but that age of them is gone forever. Sometimes I think back to, for example, baby Daniel, the round little ball of baby, my two-year-old boy who followed me around relentlessly wanting to help me do everything.

two-year-old Daniel

I think about rocking my babies at night, and while I don’t want to go through all that we went through again, I’d give anything just to hold one of those sweet babies and rock them and feed them.

holding one or two-year-old Caleb. He was a little sea-sick. (Destin, Florida)

I think about one-year-old Caleb and how he thought his big brother was the greatest person of all time. I think about them in their little Halloween costumes and how they’d take turns sitting in my lap to read books.

Okay, now I’m pouring tears, and I have clearly crossed over to the bad, bad, super sad place, so I’d better stop thinking about this.

Me with my very first toddler. I can still remember that feeling of new love you have when you first become a parent. It’s so much it feels like your heart could just explode with rainbows and joy.

I’m going to clean up my face, put my contacts in, and I’m going to go to Sam’s. I’m going to go be a grown-up, because that’s what you do and because we are almost out of milk and totally out of my coffee creamer. And I’m going to just be thankful for the time that I had with each of those adorable baby boys. I’ll keep enjoying them at the stages that they are now, and one day I’m going to be one awesome grandma.

Granted, I’m already under doctor’s orders to not lift any babies over 10 pounds because of my arthritis, but I can hold them in a chair, and I can take lots of Tylenol.

Then at 1:00 today, I get to pick JD back up and cuddle him for as long as he will let me, which if I put in a movie, might actually be a long time.

Don’t get me wrong, I have times when I’m so beaten down by kids that I’m not this sentimental, when I’m happy for a break. But today was JD’s first day of preschool, so today was not that day.

I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on mankind: 2 God gives some people wealth, possessions and honor, so that they lack nothing their hearts desire, but God does not grant them the ability to enjoy them, and strangers enjoy them instead.

 

 

This is meaningless, a grievous evil.

3 A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.                         Ecclesiastes 6:1-3

Enjoy those babies while you can. I guess that’s my point. Enjoy them, but take breaks because you really can’t pour water from an empty pitcher, and you know they will drain every drop from you. Take time to refill that pitcher and enjoy those little ones. That’s what I’m doing today. I’m re-charging….and I’m buying milk.

The post Thoughts on My Last Baby’s First Day of Preschool appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Fishin’ With DaddyO

These weekends were just as beautiful as the photos appear. Alan took our youngest two boys and went camping with DaddyO in Alabama. They fished, they cleaned the fish, they ate the fish, they learned about the importance of gun safety while shooting cans, and they got to sleep in a tent. It looks so good, it almost makes me wish I had gone too.

But then I remind myself that I don’t touch worms, I don’t clean fish, I don’t sleep on the ground, I don’t like being cold, and I don’t do well with bugs, and then I’m okay with my decision to pass on the camping.

A successful day of fishing! The boys are still talking about this.

Look at all those leaves!

After living on the California coast for two years, we have a fresh new appreciation for fall foliage. I can’t get enough of it!

happiest moment ever

Pick-up trucks are an essential part of a Southern campout.

I know. It almost makes me nervous too. But if you knew Alan, you’d know how good this actually is. I guarantee you those two little boys now no more about the danger of guns and gun safety and the purpose of guns than most adults do. Alan is such a thorough teacher. He is an amazing dad.

Pioneer Dad

Daniel shows off the target afterwards.

You see why Alan and Daniel called this “the man trip.”

You should’ve heard Daniel talking about this trip the day before. “We are going on a MAN trip. We’re going to do MAN stuff.  MAN stuff!” Can’t you just hear Tim the Toolman Taylor saying “far ra rar ruff!”

The big boys missed out on the camping trip. However, they all went with Alan to Providence Canyon State Park last weekend while I got a desperately needed day off! Here are a few photos from that!

They took turns being statues. I think Daniel was the Statue of Liberty.

“They said they would rather be outlaws a year in Sherwood Forest than President of the United States forever.” ― Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving. I want to tell you how thankful I am to be starting to feel settled in my new home. It’s been four months now, and the depression that came with moving has passed. I have a modicum of energy again, and I cannot tell you just how much I am enjoying these incredible fall colors.

I’m sitting here staring out the window. The trees in front of me are orange and red, mixed in with pine green.

It reminds me that if I am thankful for fall, then I must be thankful for change. No matter how we resist it, it is simply one of the seasons. We know it’s coming. Look for the beauty. If every change were as beautiful as autumn, that wouldn’t be so hard.

These recent changes in my life actually are a thing of wonder. The boys are growing. Our family is closer. I’m doing a little outside work for the first time in 11 years!! The places and faces I see everyday are new, but they will soon be familiar.

“It was November–the month of crimson sunsets, parting birds, deep, sad hymns of the sea, passionate wind-songs in the pines. Anne roamed through the pineland alleys in the park and, as she said, let that great sweeping wind blow the fogs out of her soul.”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

The post Fishin’ with DaddyO Photoblog appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

My successful Mom’s Night was made possible due to the Great Toy Overhaul.

What’s that, you ask? Prepare to be shocked:

Every single toy they OWNED.

This has been bothering me for about 8 years. Five different rooms with toys in them, all reachable by children, all mixed in. Cars in the blocks box, dinosaurs in with the Little People, and basically not a single fun set because what makes sets fun is having the whole set together.

But how???? I’ve re-sorted toys a billion times, and it never stays that way.

So I devised a plan, a brilliant idea in my brain. I did this five days before Mom’s Night, and the toys managed to stay fixed the whole five days!!

While Nonna and DaddyO were still here, I announced, “As you put kids to bed, I’m snatching all the toys out of their rooms and dumping them all in the living room. THEN we are going to give away HALF of them, sort the rest, and store all toys where the boys can’t reach them. From now on, I will set out two sets of toys to play with in the living room each day, and we can rotate them.”

Alan was giddy. “Can we give away all of them!? Let’s just scrap it ALL! Then they will have to do puzzles and read, and that’s it!”

Well, now, let’s not get carried away.

DaddyO put his face in his hands. Was he pretending to be sick to get out of this insane project??  No, but I did allow him to sneak upstairs rather than participate in all the sorting fun. After all, the man did clean my microwave, and he’d spent so much time with JD during this visit that we began to think that JD had stamped DaddyO with his dirt and hypnotized him into being his personal servant. We let JD’s servant go on up to bed.

Dirt boy misses DaddyO.

Nonna and I did the bulk of the toy sorting work.

I know many of you have never met Nonna, so I should explain. She’s like the grand slam hitter of any home improvement task. Want to make sure a job gets done? Who do you send in when the bases are loaded, with only 1 out to spare??? Nonna! She has more energy than Caleb, and that’s saying a lot.

I was rather proud of us.

We gave away the equivalent of 5 diaper boxes full of play things!

We’ve made it through a solid WEEK, and I’m here to tell you that it can be done. The toys are still SORTED! This brought me so much peace!!

Watch out drawers and closets!!! You are next!!!

……..So yes, Mom’s Night was largely a success because we did not need to clean up any children’s rooms. I was able to give them a full house tour. Plus, I taught all 11 of my friends how to play Four on the Couch. Never played? Oh, we must! Next time there are at least 8 of us together, we will be happy to teach you!

Here’s a little of what else has been going on around these parts:

—Joshua is gradually learning how to write essays this year in school.

Therefore, I created a “Whining and Complaining” Chart. Every time a child obeys WITHOUT whining, complaining, or arguing, they get a check mark by their name. Once everyone gets 17 check marks, we are going to have a Friday Fun Day, and I’m going to take them to see a movie.

Every time they DO whine, argue, or complain, I erase a check mark.

Why 17? Because that’s where I reached the end of the poster board.

No, I didn’t put myself on the chart. Let’s not get overly ambitious. 😉 I’m kidding. Now that I think about it, perhaps I will put myself on the chart.

—Caleb made a perfect 100 on his math test this week. We’re talking problems like 86 x3 and 112+130+95. I have not been this excited since Alabama won the National Championship. Forget about Caleb; let’s focus on his brilliant math teacher!!!  🙂 🙂 :)hehehe Just kidding. This victory was Caleb’s. 😉

—Daniel MASTERED bicycle riding, which has created attention overload everywhere Daniel goes.

I think he looks like such a big boy!!

“Look at that. A baby riding a bicycle. Well, I never!” a woman muttered as she passed him.

“Hey, did you see that little bitty kid riding a two-wheeler!?” a bigger girl shouted to her friend as they whizzed by him on their bikes.

Back in our day, a kid would have bragged, “I learned how to ride a bike with no training wheels.”

Thanks to the new glider bike movement, children now say, “I learned to ride a bike with pedals!!”

I pass pre-schoolers on glider bikes everyday, but seeing a four-year-old, and a small one at that, riding a real bike with pedals, is apparently still impressive.  I’ve never heard so many comments.

I wish you could’ve seen him teach himself to ride it. He used the bicycle with no pedals for all of three days. By the fourth day, he was sailing by us, feet in the air, all without a wobble, so we bought him his own brand new bicycle. He would not let any of us help him. He stubbornly worked on it until it was mastered, all in a day. We were so proud.

I love having four totally different children. If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that I can’t truly take credit for any of their struggles, successes, or failures. Not one boy is the same as another.

JD is still happy to ride his tricycle.

—Last but not least, I have a surprise! Alan is going to take charge of the tribe this weekend while I head off to a women’s retreat! I can barely believe it myself! Have I mentioned how thankful I am for Alan?

Colossians 3:14-15

14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Wishing you all a wonderful week!!

The post The Great Toy Overhaul appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Daniel spent all morning pretending to fix all the sinks, just like the plumber. My cup runneth over because this was just the cutest thing. I will forever have a heart for little boys.

Errand Day

I am going to attempt to take 4 children on a MEGA grocery shopping trip.

If I do not return, you all now know why…..

The day is actually off to a good start.

1. A plumber installed a new faucet. It doesn’t leak into the cabinet, it doesn’t leak into the sink, it doesn’t spray water off to the side, it has no hole shooting out water from the handle. It’s all very EXCITING.
2.  We went on our daily morning walk.
3. They just had to answer questions before we could leave: a science question:What are the 5 kingdoms of living things?
4. A history question: What are Commandments 6-10?
5. And an English question: Name the first 5 prepositions in alphabetical order: About-against. I didn’t even remember them all, but Joshua did! Hurray!!
6. Can you answer those questions?  😉

Okay, here are the answers: Science (animal, plantae, fungi, protista, monera)

History: Thou shalt not kill, not commit adultery, not steal, not bear false witness against thy neighbor, not covet.

English: about, above, across, after, against—I might have left one out, I don’t have my cheat sheet handy…

Then I made the big boys do math. I caught Joshua doing nothing halfway through and moved him to where I could watch him.

I caught Caleb reading instead of doing math. I was highly torn because Caleb desperately needs extra reading practice. He never did finish his math, but we are going to the grocery store, and that boy will spend all day on that until he gets it done.

I thought and prayed about quitting home schooling pretty much all morning.

But I have to finish this year. Next year this experiment is over. I am too uptight and also not uptight enough to be good at this. I’m just all wrong. But stubborn. Definitely stubborn!

We’re off to the grocery store.

Let me know if you like Usborne books! I’m hosting a sale tomorrow, and I’d love to send you an invite or a link!

“The conditions of conquest are always easy. We have but to toil awhile, endure awhile, believe always, and never turn back.”   –William Simms

The post Homeschool Year 2, Day 18 appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

slightly damaged old photo of Me, Aunt Linda, and my sister, Amanda: I was probably 2.

I’ve noticed that I often share my struggles with people rather than my joys. I think it’s more encouraging to hear that other people have a hard time, than to listen to bragging. However, today I don’t want to think about my problems, so I’m just going to share good news, and pretend like the bad things don’t exist.

Other people are always doing that, and it gets on my nerves, but I’m going to be THAT Mom today. 😉

The boys: A home-schooling family of six just moved in across the street, and I can safely say it’s the most exciting thing that’s happened to the boys, you know, since the last new kid moved in.

I have prayed for more home-school friends for us. The biggest reason I wanted them to have home school friends was to give them a sense of belonging. That is such an important, basic need. Don’t you think? Some of my hardest times were when I knew I didn’t fit in anywhere.

Yeah, yeah, I get it. Embrace being different, but I still feel that a sense of belonging is good, especially if you’re ‘belonging’ is in a good place, not so much a crack house.

The broken arm: Joshua now has a cast, and we were ecstatic to learn that he only has to wear it for THREE weeks! Wahoo!! This one is so much less complicated than the broken arm that Joshua had three years ago.

I forgot to mention HOW he broke his arm. He fell on a playground, hit his head, and then fell backwards on his arm.

Joshua’s orthopedist is kind of funny. He’s not a pediatric doctor, so he was the very FIRST person to ask him, “How the hell did you do that?” Ha!! That was a new one. We liked him though. He was very good about explaining things.

The blog: Home schooling 3rd grade, 4th grade, and Pre-K, while also taking care of a 2-year-old is so taxing that I have decided not to accept any more sponsored post opportunities. I just can’t do it.

But have no fear, writing is my favorite thing to do, so you can still keep up with us here.

I love what Crystal Paine said in her Make Over Your Morning course about keeping something for yourself. Being a mom does not mean that we neglect our other God-given talents.

It does seem like when you add something new, especially something as life-changing as motherhood, that you have to set aside other things for a season to focus on your new challenge.  Gradually, we get to add back in the things that we enjoy. Some women never get that privilege.  I’m thankful that I did.

Everyone’s season is different. It took me three years of focusing on just being a mom before I crept back into writing. I’m still creeping, it seems!

I think more and more about writing that book! One of my goals is to get back to that!

John David

I think it’s especially cute the way that he asks us to put him to bed when he is tired. He takes a nap everyday around 12pm. If things get busy, and no one has put him to bed on time, he will ask, “Bed? Bed?”

Daniel

Daniel loves writing letters, no not actual words, but simply “IiiiiDDDDddddIIIIFFFFC,” and he writes them everywhere he finds paper. He also loves baseball, and I wish you could see him throw! He winds up, kicks one leg in the air behind him, and even though he is only 3 feet tall, you can’t help but cringe for fear that the ball will hit you in the head! He throws that ball with EVERY ounce that’s in him.

Caleb

We were at the library the other day, and as I was checking out, I realized that Caleb and Joshua had both picked out the same Chemistry book. No, I did not tell them to choose a science book, and yet there were 2 copies of this book. They were both excited about it.

I would never!

I also enjoyed hearing Caleb ask me to check out the next book in the Little House on the Prairie series. We are now reading Plum Creek, and it is the most peaceful time of our day. What am I saying? I have FOUR BOYS. It is the only peaceful time in my day….

Joshua

I’m pretty sure John David thinks that “Josh” means “third parent.” JD adores his Josh!

Nana

I can’t believe I thought to ask Nana to come this week. I asked her over a month ago. What would we do if she weren’t here this week? I would not have made it. I would not! Also, Nana knows how to clean off hard water stains. My sink looks brand new.

Positive Thoughts–because I need these in the worst way!

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, “thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”    -Jeremiah 29:11

“I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”   –-Psalms 139:14

“We can’t conform ourselves to other people’s molds. But we try sometimes, don’t we?”       –Jill Duggar (Growing Up Duggar, p. 2)

I hope you all have a peaceful rest of the week, don’t break any arms, and don’t conform to anyone else’s mold.

The post A Sense of Belonging appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.