Finding Joy in Your Home

All Summer Jason and I went back and forth on an important decision: Do we start our oldest twins in Kindergarten this year? Or do we wait a year? 

We went back and forth - because honestly I'm really excited about homeschooling and also totally terrified. We started doing research and came across a curriculum that my friend uses and we got hooked! We got so excited about the curriculum that we decided to go ahead and take the plunge to start this year! 

We are only one week into the school year  - but I think this was a great decision for our family! So while my blog is NOT turning into a homeschool blog, I do get questions about it all the time. So I wanted to share in today's episode all about our homeschooling philosophy and what we are doing this year (and hopefully in future years). 

Disclaimer: I do not believe everyone has to homeschool. I don't think it's the right decision for every family. But it's the right decision for us, this year. So feel free to skip this episode if it doesn't pertain to you! :) 

Listen to the Podcast:

We also recorded this blog post as an audio podcast. If you want to listen in instead of reading, click play below or do a combination of both 

And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

What We Value in Homeschool Education: 

Math

Jason's bachelors degree is in mathematics. So it's extremely important to him that our kids have a solid foundation in math. So that IF they choose to continue on into higher education, then they are equipped to do so. 

We want a math curriculum that is fun and hands on, but that also doesn't back down from challenging them. 

Reading

Jason was homeschooling Kindergarten through twelfth grade and I think his mom did a fabulous job with their homeschooling. Most of what we are doing and how we structure our day is based off of what they did and what she has learned through homeschooling 7 children all the way through. 

A ton of Jason's homeschool depended on reading books. Books on all kinds of subjects, science, biographies, history, etc. We have always planned on having a huge emphasis on reading with our kids. As you know, Jason and I both LOVE reading and a large part of our life is oriented around reading. 

Bible

My bachelor's degree is in Biblical Studies so this is a subject that I have been very excited for! I can't wait to incorporate Bible, Church history, missionary biographies and more into our homeschool. This will be a huge emphasis within our daily reading as well. 

Growing a thirst for knowledge in them

A HUGE goal of ours in homeschooling is getting them to LOVE learning and to nurture common sense within them. We want to give them the tools to discover the things they don't know and the thirst to do so. In the young ages, this goes hand in hand with free play and encouraging them to discover and explore! 

All of this has led me to doing a lot of reading about the Charlotte Mason philosophy of education: 

"The Charlotte Mason method is based on Charlotte’s firm belief that the child is a person and we must educate that whole person, not just his mind. So a Charlotte Mason education is three-pronged: in her words, “Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life.”

An Atmosphere, A Discipline, A Life

By “Atmosphere,” Charlotte meant the surroundings in which the child grows up. A child absorbs a lot from his home environment. Charlotte believed that the ideas that rule your life as the parent make up one-third of your child’s education.

By “Discipline,” Charlotte meant the discipline of good habits—and specifically habits of character.

Welcome back to part 6 in my long running series: Practical Theology for Homemakers! It's been a while since we started this series. Feel free to jump into this lesson or head back to the other 5 first: 

Part 1 we covered: Why theology matters for homemakers - Hf #72, Part 2 is The Goal of Our Christian Life - Hf #74, part 3 is So What's the Big Deal about Studying God's Word? - Hf #76, part 4 is Studying the Attributes of God - Hf #78. And then episode #80 was the last part, How God is Different than Us and Why That's a Good Thing. 

I've been planning to cover this next part, but it has been such a big topic and I really wanted to make sure I was accurately covering it. Today we are going to be covering a VERY important topic when it comes to our theology: how to be discerning with what we read and listen to.

Listen to the Podcast:

We also recorded this blog post as an audio podcast. If you want to listen in instead of reading, click play below or do a combination of both 

And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

(Note: I always publish a podcast episode and a full blog post for you to read through. But this blog post today will serve more as a notes page. Listen to the podcast above for the FULL discussion! 

Being discerning starts with and is grounded in good theology. How can you know when you come across something wrong? By knowing it's wrong in the first place. That's why studying theology, especially systematic theology, is so important. 

Why is this important? 

Partly due to our ability to access eons of information at our fingertips, there is a ton of false doctrine out there. You can pick up any book or listen to any sermon and come across a ton of false ideas about God or the Christian life. And other teaching is just plain fluffy. Maybe it's encouraging or humorous at first glance, but doesn't hold much substance beyond that. 

It's always extremely important for a Christian to be discerning with what they read and listen to, and our present age is no exception to that. 

So we need to be on guard. We need to constantly test what we read and what we hear against Scripture. 

If you want to learn more about this and how we can know that we can trust God's Word, then I have a resource recommendation for you. I highly recommend the book, Taking God at His Word by Kevin DeYoung. It's very clear, straight forward, and extremely practical! If you want to know more about how we can trust God's Word, when God's Word applies, and how to know God's authority more in your life, then I highly recommend this book. I listened to this book as an audiobook and loved it! 

How to Learn Systematic Theology

Another way to learn more about God's Word, is to study systematic theology. This is a systematic, topic by topic approach to learning theology and the doctrines within the Church. 

For example, a systematic approach to studying the topic of Angels would be to look at what God's Word says in it's entirety about angels. And from there, a theology on angels is produced. 

One of the best things I've EVER listened to was the full Systematic Theology series by Wayne Grudem. While I don't 100% agree with him on everything (listen to the podcast episode for a few examples), he did an excellent and thorough course on systematic theology. 

He cover topics such as angels, theories on end times, the sufficiency of Scripture, heaven, and more! You can actually listen through all 117 lessons for FREE on iTunes. 

Jason and I both went through all 117 lessons years ago (it took us a while!) and it was so worth it.

This summer has been one of travel for our family of 7. We've gone on three long trips this summer with our five kids, four and under. It's been mostly fun with a little crazy thrown in. 

Throughout our trips, we've received question after question about how we manage it, what it's like traveling with young kids, and if in fact, we are crazy for attempting to do yes. Yes, I think we are a bit crazy but that comes with the territory of having two sets of twins, five kids under five, AND running a business together from home. 

Listen to the Podcast:

We also recorded this blog post as an audio podcast. If you want to listen in instead of reading, click play below or do a combination of both 

And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

While we certainly don't have all the answers and we are still knew to this whole travel-with-little-kids-thing, there are a few things we picked up this summer in our travels. So today I wanted to share a few of those lessons and things we will do differently next time. 

Our first trip this summer was a spur of the moment (I'm talking 2 hours notice before we were packed and in the car) trip to LA for a conference for Jason and a trip to Legoland. This was our very first family road trip and with a 10+ hour drive each way and 8 days in a hotel, we learned a lot! 

Our second trip was with my brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and their 10 month old. This was a 6 day road trip to Universal Studios, the San Diego Zoo, and the beach. 

And our final trip is one that we do every year: two weeks in a cabin by the lake. By far the most laid back of all our travels! 

Overall, we had no idea how our summer of traveling would go (only ONE of these trips was on the schedule at the beginning of June). We had some rough patches, but overall it was a great summer of making memories. So read on (or listen above) for some trips we picked up along the way. 

Are you curious about how we work from home and can leave on an 8 day trip with 2 hours notice? Come on over to our other blog, Our Work at Home Life, and discover how we make a full time income from home - all while raising our five young kiddos! 

Tips & Lessons Learned on Traveling with Young Kids

Adjust your expectations

We had to learn this the hard way. Traveling with young kids is nothing like years ago when Jason and I would travel by ourselves. We had to quickly remember that we are traveling with young kids and most of the time, we would be traveling at their own pace. 

This meant we had to be fine with the four year old, who was so distracted coloring in the back that he "forgot" he had to go potty BAD (so much so he started crying), needing to pull over right away...even though we had just gotten back on the road after an extended lunch stop. 

Or the accident in his car seat from one of the other four year olds less than two hours later. We had to take it all in stride, because that's just life with five young kids. Overall, we just had to remember that life is just a little slower and a little more chaotic when traveling with young kids. 

Remember they are tired as well

This goes hand in hand for me with point #1. I needed to remember that all these little guys were just as tired (if not more) than myself and Jason and that we needed to give grace. 

This struct me hard one night. We had just left Legoland after an emotional hour (see point #4) and we decided to head out early and go to Denny's for dinner. Jason and I were both drained and the kids were mostly good, but a little wild. They were a bit louder and more rambunctious than I would normally allow at Denny's. 

I always love the beginning of Summer. The open schedule, the opportunities, the promise of lots of time spent outside. Maybe a trip to the lake, lots of trips to the park for fun in the sun. 

But as we get farther into Summer, I find myself starting to crave the Fall. Mostly it's because Fall is my favorite time of the year. Cooler weather, sweaters, boots, and pumpkin everything. But it's also because as much as I love the thought of open schedules and care free summer days, my soul craves rhythm and routine. 

Listen to the Podcast:

We also recorded this blog post as an audio podcast. If you want to listen in instead of reading, click play below or do a combination of both 

And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

There needs to be those times and days when nothing is on the schedule, when you can kick off your shoes and relax. I've read more books in July than I have in a long time. And we've taken several family trips this Summer. I am thankful for this time, thankful for the memories, but my house is starting to be in chaos. 

My meal planning is non-existent. I've been getting to the end of the day, not sure what I can throw together into a meal. My house has been a wreck for a few weeks. And my Bible reading has been suffering. We will be staying in a cabin by the lake next week, but when we get home...

It's time for me to re-jump into routines and my heart is craving the rhythm and routine! So today we are going to talk about setting up new Fall routines and how my schedule will be changing this fall. 

Schedules Vs. Routines

I used to think that I loved schedules. I thought I was a schedule girl and a planner was my very best friend. Now, I still do maintain that a planner is my very best friend when it comes to running and managing my home, but I've found out that schedules are not the key.

I tried hard. I tried for a long time to make schedules work for me. Day after day I would write out a full schedule for my day, with times attached to it. Of course, I would always over schedule myself and I'd end up feeling overwhelmed because I would maybe only do one or two things on that list.

But I kept trying. I thought that if I could just schedule out my time in the perfect way, and account for every minute, then I could really be on my way to success. After all, the night before when I would dream up my schedule for the next day and get it written down, it seemed like the PERFECT schedule.

But we all know the reality of trying to stick to a strict schedule.

The baby wakes up three times during the night, causing you to sleep in later than you wanted, the strict thirty minute breakfast gets derailed when someone breaks a dish and the toddler needs a bath after he played in his food, you try to get dinner in the crockpot at 10am but it takes you an hour and a half to actually turn it on because you keep getting derailed...and the hours go on.

Finally, you fall into bed overwhelmed and burned out and you got approximately 2 things done on your list that day. What's the end result? You want to give up. You want to throw your hands up in the air and be done because clearly planning isn't the problem. You had the perfect plan - so what went wrong?

Life is messy sometimes!

Life doesn't often fit into those neat little boxes of time. Life is messy, and life is creative, and life is all over the place. So after trying way too long and far too hard trying to make my perfect schedule work, I ditched schedules all together.

And started working into routines. You might think they sound like the same thing, but routines give you flexibility.

What is a routine?

With five kids, four and under there is one question I get asked over and over again: How do you work around the house with little ones underfoot?

I am very familiar with this struggle! With so many littles, my house is in constant chaos. I love it most of the time, but it is a struggle sometimes to get things done like cooking, cleaning, and mopping!

Listen to the Podcast:

We also recorded this blog post as an audio podcast. If you want to listen in instead of reading, click play below or do a combination of both 

And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

Since my oldest are only 4, I have a few things I can share that we've done. But I wanted to reach out to some of my friends and get their advice on what they do. So I've got advice from several ladies for you today!

Before we get to the practical advice: 

Before I jump into my practical advice, I do want to share one thing to keep in mind: When thinking through our kids involvement in our home we need to remember our #1: to teach them about and share the Gospel with them.

My #1 goal within my home is to point them back to Christ. To mold them and shape them and at the end of the day, direct them back to CHRIST. And so that needs to shape how and what we do within our home, especially when it comes to how we interact with these little ones that God has given into our care. 

It's really really easy to view my kids as distractions. They are distracting me from getting things done around the house, distracting me from getting dinner on the table, etc. It's easy to get frustrated and overwhelmed with them when I'm trying to get MY to-do list done! 

And yet, these little people within my home are not distractions. They are in fact, my biggest mission field, the priority which God has given me for this season. They should be the largest focus of my time and energy.

Yes, the cooking and the cleaning NEED to get done. But if we can remember the all important task of raising our children in the Lord, the blessing that God has given us in raising this next generation, then it's far easier to stop viewing our children as distractions to our housework, but rather the purpose for our housework.

If you struggle with this like I do, I recommend you go back and listen to episode #69 of the podcast: Eliminating Distractions in Your Homemaking.  

What I currently do with my littles: 

As many of these ladies are going to share below, one great thing is to involve your kids in the housework. I love to try to involve my kids, have them help in the kitchen, and to help do simple things alongside me. Their favorite tasks involve trying to help sweep and unload the dishwasher. I also love giving them outdoor brooms and letting them sweep the sidewalk out front and our back deck. (This keeps the 2 year olds entertained for a while!)

So I'm going to leave the involving kids suggestions to the other ladies because they all have some GREAT advice. Because one thing I want to address: Sometimes I have to train my kids to just stay out of the way. I don't mean that to come across harsh. But with the concentration of littles I have, if I involved them in every single chore, I would never ever get anything done. 

So there are times when they know it's play time and mom is working in the kitchen or cleaning. Often before dinner, it's play time outside or in their room. They can come and talk to me and hang around the kitchen if they want or get involved if they ask, but it's not time to tear through the kitchen, run around in the living room, etc. And with four littles boys all so young, that's often all they want to do at that time of day ;) 

I talk and share a lot about creating a Gospel-centered home. My focus throughout my ministry is to encourage you (and myself) to focus on Christ more and more within our homes. 

This week I got a question from a reader about how we can create a Gospel-centered atmosphere in our home on a ZERO dollar budget. And it got me thinking. 

Yes, there are some things you can buy that can be helpful in your home. And I love sharing resources here on my blog. But more than that, creating a Gospel-centered home can easily be done without spending a dime. So today we are going to cover that topic. Ready? Let's jump in! 

Listen to the Podcast:

We also recorded this blog post as an audio podcast. If you want to listen in instead of reading, click play below or do a combination of both 

And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

The Gospel for our entire life

At the heart of it - the Gospel needs to be for our entire life, not just for that moment of salvation. Here's a related podcast you might want to listen to: Hf #12: What does it really mean to manage a Gospel-Centered home?

"We never 'get beyond the gospel' in our Christian life to something more 'advanced.' The gospel is not the first 'step' in a 'stairway' of truths, rather, it is more like the 'hub' in a 'wheel' of truth. The gospel is not just the A-B-C's but the A to Z of Christianity. The gospel is not just the minimum required doctrine necessary to enter the kingdom, but the way we make all progress in the kingdom." - Tim Keller, The Centrality of the Gospel

What is the Gospel? 

We talk about the Gospel so often, that sometimes I wonder if we all have a clear grasp on what it is? I know that for me, I had years of "knowing" what the Gospel was. But when push came to shove...I couldn't explain it all that well. And I certainly didn't understand how it applied to all of my life. 

Yes, the Gospel is for that moment of salvation when you repent of your sin and trust in God. But how do we define it? 

"In short, the Gospel is the life-altering news that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, lived a sinless life under the law, died for sinners, and rose again to reconcile them to himself, enterally victorious over every enemy that stood between God and man." - John Hendryx

And this Gospel should impact ALL areas of our life, on a daily basis, rather than just that moment of salvation. And that leads us to creating a Gospel-Centered home. 

A Gospel-Centered home simply implies that we are daily focusing on Christ and the Gospel within our homes. So what are some practical ways to do that? 

Family Worship

The idea of family worship can be elusive. It's hard to know what sort of things we should focus on within our homes. It can be tough to know what that should look like and how to go about it. I love this definition of family worship:

"Family worship isn't a full-on Church service every day; instead it's a brief time of devotion before the Lord. The elements are singing, Scripture reading, and prayer. That's it! You sing together, pray together, and read the Scriptures together. Giving fifteen to twenty minutes a day to these simple practices will transform your family." - Voddie Baucham, Family Shepherds

I think in the past I've made the idea of family worship something so big and structured that it was too much. I wanted to make it too complicated. Family worship simply implies creating a family culture of studying God's Word and worshipping Him. 

That can be as simple as reading a passage of Scripture, singing a song, and closing in prayer! It doesn't need to be huge or complicated.