More Changes...

This past December, I was blogging ALL the time. We had the Merry Christmas Giveaway Event, which was awesome (thanks so much to all who participated and entered!), and I finished the History Cards, Geography Cards, and Geo. songs for the rest of Cycle 2 (you can find all of those on C3). I also finished my tutor lesson plans for the rest of the semester. I was a busy bee for sure!

Changes to the Blog

Just wanted to let you know that I'm done, I'm quitting blogging, I'm outie. See ya.

Thinking About Classical Conversations?

People ask me all the time what Classical Conversations is all about, so I'd like to tell you a little about the program and my experience in an officially licensed community. At the end, I'll give some answers to FAQs that have come my way this year. Please keep in mind that I am not a great writer - never claimed to be. These are just my thoughts; there are many fabulous bloggers who explain this better than I will, and I encourage you to check them out as well.

What Exactly Is CC?

CC is a program designed to classically educate your children with a Biblical worldview. Click here to read my thoughts on why I chose the classical, Christian style of home education.

From the Classical Conversations website:

Mission - to know God and make Him known.

Model - classical learning and a Biblical worldview.

Note: Obviously, Classical Conversations believes in the classical method. If you don't think your little one should be memorizing facts and creating mental pegs for future learning, then this program is not for you. This is not a child-centered approach to education. Susan Wise Bauer, author of The Well-Trained Mind and The Story of the World series says it pretty well:

Classical education is knowledge-focused, not child-focused. It attempts to teach knowledge in a way that awakens the child's interest, but the child's interest is not the sole determining factor in whether or not a subject should be followed. (The Well-Trained Mind, 2004, p. 617)

Method - parents equip parents.

Across the United States, Classical Conversations Communities exist to complement your home-centered education and connect you with like-minded families. Each community is facilitated by a trained parent-director, and classes are led by trained parent-tutors who model the classical tools of learning. Tutors have the privilege of encouraging students toward becoming lifelong learners while also encouraging parents in the classical teaching of their children. (quote taken from the CC website)

Classical Conversations is divided into three programs: Foundations (K-6th grade), Essentials (4th-6th), and Challenge (7th-12th). Please click here to read more about the programs.

Sounds good, right? Okay, so what does this actually look like?

I've only had experience in the Foundations program, but here's what I know:

If you are blessed with a local CC community, you join and meet once a week for 24 weeks in small classes grouped according to ages. A campus is only allowed to have eight Foundations classes with eight students in each class (64 students total in that level). So, CC campuses in our area have been filling up quickly! The parent-tutor, who is trained by CC and paid (I love the accountability here), introduces memory work for seven seminars (subjects):

History

Geography

English Grammar

Latin

Math

Science

Timeline

During class, the tutor spends approximately four minutes with each new piece of memory work. She will get the students to say/sing the material seven times during that four minutes. (Can you tell I've been to tutor training?)

After the introduction of new memory work, 30 minutes is allotted for a Science experiment, 30 more minutes for Art, 30 minutes for student presentations, and the final 30 minutes is for memory work review (lots of games!). 

Whew! I can tell you that the morning FLIES!

When the tutor dismisses class, all the families eat lunch together, followed by free playtime for the kids. This is one of my favorite parts, as I get to catch-up with my friends and compare notes while Mary plays with her friends.

Click here to see a typical CC day for us in pictures.

Mary's class made the ocean floor with Play-Doh. Pretty awesome!

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it a co-op?

First, CC is not a co-op; I get this question a lot. Usually, homeschool co-ops are taught by parent volunteers, and the material is something everything decides would be good for that year (Hey, let's have a Geography class! Who wants to teach it?). While CC does have parent-tutors, they are trained and paid to encourage the students and equip the parents with the tools needed to continue the program at home. As I mentioned earlier, I like the accountability of a paid tutor. Here's what Classical Conversations founder Leigh Bortins says about the CC tutors:

The most desperate educational need in today's culture is not more knowledgeable teachers; rather, it is the presence of inspiring mentors that model how to utilize the tools of learning! If we expect and require students to learn several subjects, how do we inspire them to "own" such an endeavor? What more powerful way than through flesh and blood examples! Our tutors model learning, and by their example they inspire their students and parents to do the same. Within CC Communities, year after year, students and parents alike learn more than they ever thought possible. (Classical Christian Education Made Approachable, p. 65)

As far as the material, CC's memory work is divided into three cycles that rotate each year; it's already set in stone, and we all know what the memory work for each cycle will be every year. This past year was Cycle 1, so we spent time in ancient civilizations. This year is Cycle 2, which will begin in the Middle Ages and continue to the present day. Cycle 3, which will be the following year, will focus more on American history. After Cycle 3, we'll go back to Cycle 1 and its memory work. This is a wonderful opportunity to dig deeper with my girls as they grow and revisit each cycle! 

(Please know that I have nothing against co-ops! CC just happens not to be one.)

Is CC your homeschool covering?

Nope. Classical Conversations is not a covering - it's a program to help parents classically educate their children at home with a Biblical worldview.

Why does my young child need to memorize the commutative law or the seven classifications of living things? She doesn't understand it, and she won't use the information until she's much older. Isn't this just a waste of time?

Oh, my, I've certainly run across this a few times. First, every young child (elementary age) is in the grammar stage of development. This means that memorizing comes easy to them and they usually enjoy it. How many times have you read your little one her favorite book and she finishes the sentences? I'm sure you've heard people say that kids are like sponges, and that's true. At this young age, they're soaking things up. If my girls are going to be memorizing something anyway (because that's this stage of development, whether you believe in classical education or not), I'd much rather them store something in their brains that they're going to use one day, instead of TV commercial jingles or the lyrics to pop songs. If that sounds boring to you, I promise that it hasn't been to us! In addition to fun review games in class that can be replicated at home, CC has done a wonderful job of putting most of the memory work to music, and their timeline song is exceptional! And, in general, memorization is not a waste of time, even if the child won't practically use the information for years to come. Memorization trains the brain.

. . . classical educators consider (memorization) advantageous for two main reasons:

1. It strengthens the student's brain by straining it a little more each day, and

2. the student takes in quality content that informs an educated person.

These differ greatly from the "edutainment" offered to encourage elementary students to "enjoy" school. Classical educators prefer to prepare children to work hard at learning until the skills become enjoyable. Consider this important difference: classical teachers prefer to teach children to like memorizing quality content (such as rhyme or sonnet) so that one day they can enjoy difficult assignments. We want their self-esteem to be based on actual accomplishments. (The Core by Leigh Bortins, p. 49)

This sounds great, but can I just do CC at home? Do I have to join a CC community?

Yes, you can do CC at home; you are not required to join a community. Many people don't have a CC community in their area yet, so going through the program at home is their only option. However, if you have the opportunity to join a CC community, I would highly recommend doing so. The support and accountability from like-minded families is invaluable! The positive peer-pressure is also a nice perk (I remember one instance in particular when a five-year-old boy recited his Latin declensions perfectly for the tutor, and then everyone else wanted to do it, too! Awesome!). I truly believe that God created us to be in relationships; we're relational beings, after all. I don't want to be stranded on the metaphorical island by myself trying to give my girls a classical, Christian education. Nope, I know I need some help and encouragement (and lots of prayer support!) if I'm going to see this out. That's where my fellow CC mamas come in! Throughout this year, they have come alongside me and helped me finish strong. If you have the opportunity, prayerfully consider joining a community so you don't feel alone in this journey (because you're not).

Just as iron sharpens iron, parents who seek to recover a classical, Christian education need the support and encouragement of other like-minded parents. Classical Conversations programs and communities provide a network of support, while protecting the parents' roles as the primary educators of their children. (Classical Christian Education Made Approachable, p. 12)

Well, that's all I've got, friends! My hope is that this post has helped answer any questions about CC that you may have. If you think of more questions, please leave a comment and ask away! You can also check out CC's FAQs page and browse their site. Again, I'm no expert; I'm just a mama who found something that clicks with her family and wanted to share it with you. (To see why my family has chosen this classical, Christian path, click here.)

And if you made it to the end of this post, you're my superstar for the day! God bless you!

CC MNO

I have CC MNO on on my calendar once a month, and I really look forward to it! Classical Conversations Moms' Night Out is a wonderful chance to relax, get to know the other mamas in our community, learn new ideas, and just have some fun! Our March MNO was so awesome that I just have to share some things we discussed. So, here we go!

Random Ideas For Next Year

Renaissance Fair - possibly after Week 6 or at the end of the first semester. This would be very similar to the Geography Fair shared by Walking By The Way, just with History Sentences.

Geography Fair - end of the year? Here's what one looks like.

Review Parties - these are just really awesome, and what a great way to bond as a community! Sola Gratia Mom shares what this looks like.

Summer Planning Session - because planning for CC is so easy, right? Ha! Why not get our mamas together, get to know each other better, and share ideas for Cycle 2!

CC seems to be exploding in our area right now, with new campuses sprouting up all over the place. Most of these new ideas for next year could be regional things, getting all of the CCers in North Alabama involved! Now, am I the Regional Director? Nope. Everything I'm mentioning here are just ideas that we mamas came up with over dinner one night.

Okay, back to the good stuff. . .

Curriculum

One mama mentioned how she enjoyed a very popular virtues program, but that she wished it was a little 'meatier.' That got me thinking about a curriculum my friend showed me a while back called Character Sketches from IBLP (Marion, I called this Character First at dinner, sorry for the mix-up). She enjoyed it, but I'm looking for something a little more budget-friendly right now. So, I did some digging, and I found the perfect character 'program' for next year:

Joyful Heart Character from Hubbard's Cupboard

This has 27 character traits, Bible memory verses and stories to go along with each, and it's free! We're going to do one a week and see how it goes. I'll keep you updated!

Then, during our MNO, we started talking about reading curriculum. One mama brought up Reading Eggs, something I've never heard of before.

They have a 14-day free trial, so Mary started it the next day, and it is AWESOME! This is her first computer-related activity, and I'm glad that she's learning some new skills, such as how to work the mouse. The games in each lesson are fun, and Mary likes to earn the little critters at the end of each lesson. For us, this doesn't take the place of reading instruction, but it's definitely great enrichment! And, for my non-homeschooling friends, this is something you and your kiddos can do, too! ;)

Other Fun Stuff

Remember the Child Training Bible from my last post? Well, all of the mamas at the dinner wanted to do it! So, one of them graciously offered to organize a Make Your CTB get-together this Summer! So excited! 

Friends, I'm sitting here racking my brain; there were so many great things discussed at the last MNO, and now I can't remember them all. Bummer! If you can't tell, I've been blogging less since the marriage retreat a few weekends ago. I love sharing on here, but it does take time, sometimes lots of time. And right now, God is putting my desire elsewhere. I'm not going anywhere, though, and I'm sure when things start rollin' for Cycle 2 I'll be posting like crazy. But right now I'm enjoying spending my extra time at night (the time when I can do some serious blogging) with the hubs. He's my man, and I want to show him that by spending more time with him and less time looking at a screen.

So, that's all I've got for now, and nap time is over (my new preferred time to blog)! 

Have a great weekend, and I'll be seeing you again really soon.

Fort Rock Marriage Retreat

What a weekend, y'all!

The hubs and I just returned from a marriage retreat at Fort Rock Family Camp in the Ozark Mountains. We were blessed so much to be able to go with four of our couple-friends, too! We all had a blast, and I'd like to share with you some pictures and take-aways from the sessions:

Fort Rock is a Christian family camp set up like the 1800's Wild West. Yes, it was that cool!

The main meeting/eating area was inside the diner.

Fort Rock has the longest zip line in Arkansas! My pictures are not very good, but if you look in the one above, there appears to be a man in the trees to the right, and that's just someone going down the very long zip line! And yes, we braved it, too!

On Saturday, each couple competed against the others in rifle shooting, archery, and tomahawk throwing. Too awesome! Above, you can see the rifle shooting area. We didn't come in first, but we didn't come in last, either. ;)

The hubs and I also got a chance to ride horses in the afternoon.

Oh, it was just so peaceful - and cold. Yes, peaceful and cold is a very appropriate description (it snowed the last day!).

Dr. S.M. Davis led most of the sessions, and he was amazing! I've listened to many of his sermons online before, so it was really neat to hear him in person. And he uses PowerPoint in his messages, so it keeps all the visual learners engaged. His first session was the one that really spoke to me, and here's the big take-away. . .

Expectations ruin relationships.

Oh, how true!

 

This is the main room inside the diner. The eating area is on one side, and the pews and stage are on the opposite side. There were 40 couples at the retreat, so it was pretty packed. Actually, I heard one of the owners say it booked up in 48 hours! And below, you may guess why. . .

Yes, it's because of the great orchestral music! No, they were great (even heard a Les Mis song!), but do you recognize the man in green behind them? Not yet? I'll give you one more hint; scroll down. . .

We played some couple-games, which were fun (we won an Olive Garden gift certificate!). The hubs and I are on the far left side. The man in green is on the opposite end. Do he and his wife look a little familiar?

Yes, it's the Duggars!

We were blessed to have them do the Saturday night session, and they were so great. They didn't have one specific subject to their talk, but they just shared some good advice they had received over the years, such as:

2 Keys to a Successful Marriage:

1. I'm sorry.

2. Will you forgive me?

They were also very gracious to stay after and talk to everyone. Actually, they've been to Fort Rock before (click here to see that episode), and they're friends with the owners. Pretty neat!

The lovely ladies of our group! We've been friends for years, and I pray we'll stay friends for a lifetime.

Me and the hubs - my perfect partner, the love of my life sent from Jesus. I hope that I can bless him at least half as much as he blesses me. Love you, sweetie!

Fort Rock is an amazing place, friends. They offer family camps throughout the year, and if you have the opportunity, I highly recommend making the trip. People go there from all over the country, and families are changed forever. After the final session, one couple stood up and shared through tears how they were already planning on divorcing, but now they were going to stay together. Another man stood up and shared how he had already planned to end his life and make it look like an accident. But now, he wanted to live and have a godly family. I'm telling you, God is working here, friends! If you want to reconnect with your family and grow closer to God together, come to Fort Rock.

Tomorrow we get back to real life as we have our CC day and begin Week 21 (today is a movie day as I catch up on stuff around the house, and it's also Spring Break for Anna). I hope to finish strong with the weekly plans, and I have some other little things I'd like to share. The hard part is always finding the time.

I hope you have a wonderful week, and if you can, tell your hubby you love him today.

Best. Day. Ever.

I know it's good to share those 'gritty' days when everything goes wrong, and I try to do that when I can. Things go wrong a lot. But, today, things just went right. So right. God was so good to us all day, that I just really want to share all that happened.

Mary and I started off the day with a character breakfast at Huntsville High School for their upcoming production of The Wizard of Oz. It was awesome! 

She was the sweetest thing! I'm loving this age; Mary is just really blossoming and becoming a beautiful little girl, inside and out. 

Anna and Daddy had some special time together while I took Mary to breakfast. After our visit to Oz, I dropped Mary off at her ballet class and picked up Anna. Immediately after ballet, Mary's studio had their semi-annual Cupcakes and Characters event! So fun! Anna and Mary both LOVE this and always look forward to it. There's dress-up, coloring, and cupcakes. Then some of the dancers come down for pictures with the kids.

The Lilac Fairy and the Prince.

Ms. Meg, Mary's ballet teacher, talks to the little ballerinas about the production they're about to see upstairs. Each Spring, Alabama Youth Ballet puts on a fairy tale ballet, and this year it's Sleeping Beauty. After the cupcakes and dress-up, the little girls go upstairs and watch a mini-show.

Check out all the dress-up!

Then it was lunch and nap time, followed by a trip to Sweet Frog Yogurt (Anna's idea). And whom did we happen to find there?! The Sweet Frog Girl! Eeeekk! Both girls were star-struck!

Then we finished the day with mani-pedis at home.

Seriously, this has been one of my absolutely favorite days - ever!

And I needed it.

Oh, and I should have known it was going to be a fantastic day, because a very thoughtful friend left chocolate and a sweet note on my doorstep in the middle of the night. Thanks, girl!

And thank you, Lord, for this great day. I will remember this one for a very long time.

Now, let's end this day right, with some popcorn and PBS's Broadway or Bust!  ;)

Little Boy - A Novel

What if. . .

your daughter loved to write!

And she wrote all the time, just for fun!

(Please, Lord, let this be one of mine one day!)

What if. . .

at age 17, she decided to write her first novel.

This is not a made-up scenario, folks, this is a Godly young lady walking in faith and starting her adventure!

Meet Maja Thoenes.

Maja is a senior in our church's homeschool group, and her mom was one of the speakers at our amazing retreat last weekend. On her blog, she says that she's in love with cities she's never been to and people she's never met (that's so cool!). God has given her a heart for Japan, and she has just finished the manuscript for her novel, Little Boy.

I would love for you to read a little bit of it, and then, if you feel led, consider becoming a backer by purchasing an advance copy. I read what she had on her blog, and I am amazed at her talent! I've come to the realization that I'm simply horrible at giving reviews, so please just take a minute to check it out yourself. I know you won't be disappointed!

I'm so happy to help a Christian homeschooler follow her dreams; I hope you'll join me in sharing her adventure!

Retreat Recap

Last weekend was spent with a small group of other homeschool mamas from our church's covering at our annual Moms' Retreat. I look forward to this event every year!

 

Y'all, it was like a two-day/night sleepover with some of my best friends, complete with an endless supply of chocolate (thanks to the post-Valentine's day clearance sales) and late nights up talking in our jammies on our beds. It was wonderful! But, the best part of this sleepover/retreat were the times I spent face-to-face with God. Not literally, of course, but those times when you close your eyes and He's all you see. The times when you feel like He really is right there. I want to live like that everyday, but I don't. Life happens and I forget to look up:

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,

from whence cometh my help.

My help cometh from the LORD,

which made heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1-2

But this past weekend was amazing; I might even say it was life-changing. I'd love to share with you some things from our sessions that really spoke to me, things that remind me to look up. So, here we go:

This book was the underlying theme of our retreat. We all received a copy when we arrived, but I haven't had time to start reading it until yesterday. It is soooo good!

Okay, I'm going to just start writing things that really jump out to me while I look back in my notes. It may seem random, but that's how we're rollin' tonight. ;)

• If I'm having trouble with a sin in my life, I need to invite Jesus into it. He will help! God is quiet, gentle, and kind. God doesn't do shame! (that was big for me)
• Justification - my Jesus costume. I'm not judged on my righteousness; God sees His beloved Son when He looks at me.
• How much Jesus do I have in my life? As much as I want. (ouch!)
• Brokenness and its benefits (I had to just take a picture of my notes for this one):

(Click to enlarge)

Pretty sure that each time I've prayed for brokenness I did so with my fingers crossed, hoping God really wouldn't do it. 

• As a wife and mama, I want to laugh more!
• Am I fun to live with? (this one really got me)
• Take that joy; don't be so uptight. Laugh and breathe. God's 'got this.'
• God's Word is a lamp unto my feet - just enough light for the next step. TRUST.
• Life is fluid; people come and go. Enjoy the blessings!
• Worship is the main goal of each day. I need to acknowledge the Lord in all I do.
• Worship - blowing kisses to Jesus (isn't that an awesome picture!)
• When grief presses me to the ground, worship there.
• Fear is a choice. Instead, choose to trust God.
• Rest in the fact that I am truly accepted by God. I'm my Daddy's girl (love that!).
• Life is hard, God is good. Don't confuse them.
• Sacrifice is not convenient.
• I'm not perfect. If I were, I wouldn't need Jesus.
• Be deliberate about having a relationship with my kids. Have fun with them! If I'm not having fun, what am I doing? Is it always instruction. Always discipline? I want to have the kind of relationship with my girls that when they mess up, they feel comfortable coming and talking with me about it. I don't want them to be scared that I'm going to bring the hammer down on them. If they're scared, communication will stop and things will happen in secret, under the radar. Nope, I certainly don't want that.
• We are not guaranteed tomorrow.
• Wisdom - a permanent character change as a result of an encounter with God (love that definition!)

I could share so much more (click here to see my post on our awesome worship music), but I'll stop with those points. My absolute biggest takeaway was the point about my relationship with my girls. Am I fun to live with? Will they come to me when they're in trouble, or will they hide because they're scared of my punishment. Am I fun to live with; I just keep coming back to that question, and it applies to my relationship with the hubs, too.

It's certainly a good question. . .

Good night, friends.

Redeemed!

Seems like all I could see was the struggle
Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past
Bound up in shackles of all my failures
Wondering how long is this gonna last
Then You look at this prisoner and say to me "son
Stop fighting a fight it's already been won"

I am redeemed, You set me free
So I'll shake off these heavy chains
Wipe away every stain, now I'm not who I used to be
I am redeemed, I'm redeemed

All my life I have been called unworthy
Named by the voice of my shame and regret
But when I hear You whisper, "Child lift up your head"
I remember, oh God, You're not done with me yet

I am redeemed, You set me free
So I'll shake off these heavy chains
Wipe away every stain, now I'm not who I used to be

Because I don't have to be the old man inside of me
'Cause his day is long dead and gone
Because I've got a new name, a new life, I'm not the same
And a hope that will carry me home

I am redeemed, You set me free
So I'll shake off these heavy chains
Wipe away every stain, 'cause I'm not who I used to be

I am redeemed, You set me free
So I'll shake off these heavy chains
Wipe away every stain, yeah, I'm not who I used to be
Oh, God, I'm not who I used to be
Jesus, I'm not who I used to be
'Cause I am redeemed
Thank God, redeemed

These are the lyrics to Big Daddy Weave's song Redeemed on their new album. I shared in a previous post that I was going to a homeschool moms' retreat over this past weekend. I'm planning a more detailed 'retreat recap' post soon (here it is!), but I quickly wanted to share this song with you. We worshiped God with this song, and He really spoke to me through it (I bolded the parts that I really love). 

Click here to get the song from Amazon.

Here are some links to our other worship music, if you're looking for some new ones:

10,000 Reason (Bless the Lord) by Matt Redman

Awake My Soul by Chris Tomlin

Overwhelmed by Big Daddy Weave

Be Still and Know from the Hidden in My Heart CD

And this next song is a great one to listen to when you need some help remembering that you love your husband:

The Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson

Ha! Did you preview it? It's so sweet! I don't need (too much!) reminding to love the hubs right now, but we've only been married for five years, and they've all been pretty awesome (Praise God!). Regardless, I love this song, and I'm so thankful to one of the leaders for sharing it. And honestly, don't we all need a little reminding sometimes?

I hope you had a wonderful weekend, friends, and I can't wait to share more things that God said to me over the weekend!

CC Day - Week 17

Today was our CC Day! And since it was Mary's turn to be the Superstar Line Leader (woot!), I thought I'd share her special day with some pictures:

Above, she's helping her fabulous tutor with this week's Latin. All the memory work for this week is on the board, although we rarely spend time in front of it. Mary's tutor has them up and moving quite a bit while they're learning, which is a good thing for this young class (ages 4-7).

After the kids' weekly presentations, we head out to the gym. Two classes are combined here for a little bit of Science. The tutors explain the parts of a volcano and then the kids watch it erupt (thanks to a baking soda mixture).

One of the tutors just said, "Who wants to make their own volcano?!"

Ha!

Mary's lava was yellow. These little mini volcanoes were very cool (and super easy!).

After Science comes Art. This week, we're studying Michelangelo, so the kids painted a Biblical scene while lying on their backs. 

Mary got pretty messy, but I'm sure Michelangelo did, too. ;)

They were asked to paint a picture of the Garden of Eden. She said her painting was of "the darkness." Um. . . yeah. . . maybe like the darkness before Creation? Not sure on that one.

Class picture! We're missing some special friends, but we hope their families get well soon.

My artist!

After washing up, it was time for some review. To go over the parts of a volcano again, the tutor handed out various hard candy to represent different parts. The Life Saver was the crater, the Laffy Taffy was the billowing cloud of gasses, etc. To end the fun day, the kids played Toy Story Bingo and answered review questions together. Mary was the first one to Bingo and win a trip to the treasure chest (the tutor's treasure stash is much better than ours at home!). She picked out a bracelet and was beaming the rest of the day (she is such a girly-girl, and I am so not). :)

I really just can't express enough how much our family is loving CC and the community - just everything about this awesome program works for us. I love the academic structure of the memory work combined with the weekly camaraderie of meeting in a small group with other families who are learning the same material. I truly feel as though God has led us here, and I'm so thankful to Him for this opportunity to learn alongside my children. Good times!

On another note, do you have leftover Valentine's Day candy? I've got an easy review idea you may like:

I taped the names of our subjects to the candy. If Mary wants a piece, she has to correctly answer the review questions (one on each side). Now I don't feel so guilty about letting her have a piece of candy every once in a while. :)

And on one final note, I'm leaving.

No, not forever, ha! I've been blessed with the opportunity to go on a moms' retreat this weekend (for a whole TWO days and nights!). Needless to say, I am excited beyond words to get away with some of my closest friends and get into God's Word together. I can just sense that God has a lot to say to me, which isn't always easy, but I'm ready for it. My mom is coming over from Mississippi to help the hubs with the girls, but if you think about it, please keep them in your prayers this weekend. I know they'll appreciate it.

Have a happy rest of the week, friends. And as my grandpa says, you've got to make it great!