Progress Is Being Made

Lately we have been quite slack over here in our homeschooling.  There is so much going on right now and I am almost feeling overwhelmed by it all.  It's not really BIG things, just little things that take a lot of my time or thoughts. 

I think for the rest of the year, I am going to concentrate on the math and english.  We do really well on the other subjects and those are easier to get done.  But we really need to do some work on the math, like memorizing the addition table for starters.  Then Bubba and I need to get going with his Hooked on Phonics and Stinky needs to scoot with her Rod and Staff English series. 

What I really need to do is get myself organized so that I can let them get their work done on their own while I'm dealing with some of the other messes going on around here.  Like I need to have their work all ready for them each morning.  Then they can do whatever they can on their own and I can help if they need help. 

I just really need to get on the ball!

We will definitely be working a little bit longer into June than I had planned.  But that's ok with me.  That's the beauty of homeschooling!

My Quiet Place

Do you have one of those special places where you can go and be alone to think, read, study or pray?  I do and I love it.  I have a special bench in my bedroom that I can go in and sit.  There’s a table that came from my great-grandma that I have set up to use for my cup of tea and such.  When I have a few spare moments without kids and hubby needing something, I like to escape into this tiny little get away and have a few seconds of quiet.  

One of my favorite things to do while relaxing in my haven is read.  Imagine my excitement when I received my first Eternal Encouragement magazine in the mail.  Formerly known as TEACH Magazine, Eternal Encouragement has changed the name but is still the delightful and uplifting Christian magazine for women out there!  I receive this magazine from participating with The Gabby Moms.

I took the magazine into my place of solitude and  took a little bit of time to study the cover before I started reading.  The cover was beautifully laid out and I loved the photo!  The theme for the month was also noted on the front.  This issue’s theme happened to be Time Flies.  

I found many of the articles in this magazine very helpful and wonderful advice for Christian moms, wives and homemakers.  A few of my favorites are:

• Yippee, It’s Free! by Hollie Snowden: This article had loads of free websites for kids and for time management.  
• Then Sings My Soul by Brianna van der Veen: I thought that this was a great reminder for moms who are so busy and can get caught up in getting their to do lists done.  It’s important to take the time to slow down and enjoy the “explaining” moments to your kids.  They are teaching moments that you can’t bring back!
• Four Principle of Not Wasting Time by Mrs. Lorrie Flem: Mrs. Lorrie Flem is always a good read!  I don’t know what it is about her, but she has the best Godly advice for Moms!  This article was perfect for learning how to use your time wisely.  

In each issue of Eternal Encouragement there are wonderful and inspiring articles on marriage like The Wonderful Life of a Wife; on homemaking like It Just “Donned” on Me!; and parenting articles like Tempter to Tranquility.  All of these articles are some of the most precious tips that are right at the fingertips of Godly women, written by Godly women.  

Another thing that I really enjoyed about this magazine while I was devouring it in my quiet place was the size and appearance.  It wasn’t full of junk ads inside.  And the size was just perfect!  It wasn’t a full size magazine so it fit nicely into my hands, or into my purse when I took it with me on my trip out of the house!

This is a magazine that I can’t wait to get my next issue!  If you'd like to see for yourself the wonderful articles that teach women how to live like Jesus, go to www.eternalencouragement.com and order a subscription for only $25.97 per year!  You get a free book download and if you sign up for 2 years you will also receive the popular Family Fun Night mini bundle!


I received this product for honest review from Eternal
Encouragement Magazine as a part of The Gabby Moms blogging program. All
opinions expressed are solely my own.

It's My Job to Make My Marriage Better

Have you ever had one of those days when you’re struggling with a problem, then you receive some sort of uplifting message that pertains to your problem?  Like it’s a direct message from God?  I had one of those the other day.


I was struggling with some issues about being a wife.  To put it easier and make this much shorter, I was being selfish.  While sitting in my own selfishness, and having a pity party on my own, I checked my emails.


As a Gabby Mom, I do reviews for them and part of my review for February was to read a weekly newsletter that I receive every Thursday from Encouraging Moments (formerly TEACH Magazine) I checked me email and wouldn’t you know it?  The subject was on being happy in your marriage.  This quote by Lorrie Flem caught me, and I had to admit my guilt to myself and God:

“Marriage isn’t supposed to make you happy.  It’s supposed to make you married.  It’s your job to make your marriage happy and satisfying.”

That opened my eyes right then and there.  Then I told myself, there must be a reason that God wants me to read these weekly newsletters.  

Lorrie has nice little sales that she includes at the end of her letter for shopping at the store at http://www.homemakingwithteach.com/ with great bargains.  Under Lorrie’s letter is also more information available on different subjects.  Drastic Discounts where there is an offer for something reduced from the store and On Facebook This Week includes a quote that Lorrie said this past week along with a follower of Lorrie responding!  You can also find out how to meet Lorrie in person, order the magazine Eternal Encouragement Magazine  and a Timely Tip.  

But the best part to me was Chick Flicks for Mom that takes you to videos that Lorrie has made and posted on different subjects.  Here you can watch videos with helpful information and priceless advice and ideas from Lorrie on the subjects Children, Godly Moms, Godly Wives and Godly Women.  Definitely looks like the perfect site to gain support and ideas for homemaking, being a good mom and good parenting.  But first,  I chose the Godly Wives to see what treasure of advice Lorrie had for me to use now with my marriage.



I found this video, Undergirding Your Husband and thanked God for being led to this.  This is information that I know, but I often forget ignore.  I try so hard to be a good and Godly wife.  But I am a human and I fail.  I get selfish and often respond with, “I don’t deserve this”.  That is not Godly!  That iw the wrong attitude to take.  If you ever find yourself feeling that way, you should watch this video!

Maybe there is a message out there that God is trying to give to you.  If you’d like to receive these emails every Thursday from Lorrie, click here and sign up to receive the email newsletter.  

I am reviewing Encouraging Moments as an official member of The Gabby Moms blogging program for Eternal Encouragement magazine.  I did not receive compensation for this post and all opinions are solely my own.

Correction on Previous Post

I just wanted to let everyone know that I had made left out crucial information on my blog post about the review for TEACHMagazine.  First, I would like to state that they are no longer TEACHMagazine, it is now Eternal Encouragement.Magazine. 

The second thing that I did change in my blog post was that I was mistaken about how to order the book, and now I have given the correct information.  And there is even a coupon code added to order the book $4 cheaper than those who don't read a GabbyMom review blog.

The blog post is here.  Thanks for your patience and understanding!

Homeschool Blogging Catch Up

The last week that we did in homeschool covered the water cycle in Science.  We read a couple of books on that along with some Bible verses that said a little about it also.  They totally understood this and even knew most of it before I started to teach them. 
I think the best things that happened while I wasn't able to blog about them was the week that the kids got to choose what they would study that week.  I gave each of them a list of 3 things that they could choose from to learn and do some sort of project on.  Bubba chose trapping and snaring and Stinky chose sewing. 
Stinky and I went to Michael's craft store and picked out a simple little unicorn picture that she could learn to sew with. 
Bubba got to do his with his dad.  They had built a fort in Greg's living room to hide under while they had rigged up a tub to show him how to trap animals.  They both had quite a bit of fun doing this project.  Bubba took what he learned and played with his dolls after that trying to trap them. 
Here are the books that we read for this school week:

Homeschool Week I Have No Idea

Since I lost my computer for about a month or so, I didn't get a chance to keep up with my homeschooling weeks.  But we really haven't done that much reading in that amount of time because we haven't been doing as much reading.  This is a list that I was able to make but I wasn't able to transfer the list to my blog.  I just love these Amazon widgets:



For this particular week in school, we were learning about air for science.  We read a few books that explained it quite well.  The kids understood what I expected of them.
We were studying the Phoenicians during this time in our history. 

The Gabby Mom Mission #1 *EDITED*

My first mission as a Gabby Mom was to read and review the book called True Treasures: Ten Years of TEACH Magazine presented by Mrs. Lorrie Flem.  Lorrie felt led by the Lord to put this collaboration together of articles written in TEACH Magazine by some of their best authors.  Lorrie’s own mother was a large part of the TEACH team for many years.

The book was split into 6 different chapters that touched on each area of importance in a Christian woman’s life.  

In the first chapter called Jewels That Make the Heart Sparkle I read a great piece by Mrs. Lorrie Flem called His Wheel = His Will.  This brought to me a wonderful reminder that we are the clay and we can not form ourselves.  Therefore, we need God’s loving, masterful hands to fix the problems that we face in ourselves.  We can not change ourselves, but He can.

There are chapters that cover marriage, parenting, homemaking,k homeschooling and godly living.  I kept notes while I was reading each article and came out with 2 pages of notes that have combined information from all of the chapters!  One of my favorites that I wrote down to keep note of for myself is Bible Verses to Pray for Your Children by Author Unknown.

I also found some useful and inspiring quotes in True Treasures.  Two of my favorite are both said by Lorrie Flem.  “Satan is thrilled when we think of our jobs as a never-completed to-do list.  He wants us to feel trapped in our roles, defeated; and unable to see beyond today.  But, as always, God has a different opinion.  In I Kings 17:17, God calls us ‘the mistress of the house’ and the Hebrew word for mistress means to be master or to have dominion over.  You are in charge of your home.  This is an awesome responsibility, because your job is to make your home a little picture of God’s big picture.”  Doesn’t that just put it into perspective?

If you are interested in reading this Godly collection of writings from inspiring women, please check out www.HomemakingWithTEACH.com and order True Treasures today for only $19.95!  And as a reader of A Peek Inside, you can use this coupon code GabbyMom and you can get $4 off! That coupon code is good until the end of May.  There is something for all of us included!  Be ready to do some heart searching and praying about the ways that you can bring God into your family life even more than you do now!

I received this product for honest review from TEACH Magazine as a part of The Gabby Moms blogging program.  All opinions expressed are solely my own.