new!

so, it looks a little different here now!  I wanted to have a little bit of a focus and a theme here!  Our ginormous oak tree is loaded down with acorns this year, and Macie and I have become mildly obsessed!  We go acorn collecting whenever we go outside.  I've never really thought about them before, but it is truly a miracle that something so small can grow to be such an enormous tree.  Which got me thinking even further about trees and God and us.   God starts us as a tiny seed and grows us into people....it's amazing.  Of course, nothing can grow without nourishment, so that is now my main goal, to nurture and nourish Macie in to the "tree" that she will someday become.  The verse that is now posted at the top of my page says it all about why we should be so focused on God.  Imagine these huge trees that are rooted so deep where they stand that they never thirst for anything, and never worry about the storms or droughts that will come.  

God has been really working in me lately to prioritize His way, and to be the woman that He has called me to be......to live biblically......I am to fear God, be a helpmate to Bobby, and to nurture my children.  The more I try to learn about how I should be living, the more excited I get about how it will affect our lives, and glorify God.

school school school

so, i've been on the hunt to find the best fit for us and learning.  I think that Macie's ready to start having a little structured "school" time each day, and I've tried hard to think of what i want to incorporate.  Thank goodness for blogs, though........so far it seems to be the best way to find "real life" information and experiences.  I've read several sites on several different methods (montessori, waldorf, charlotte mason, etc.) while I like some of the ideas that montessori and waldorf have, I'm not so crazy about the forced independence that comes with it.  I happen to like that Macie wants me to be involved with her........and I want to have a Christian/God base to what we do, so I think that Charlotte Mason may be our way!  It's got the nature focus that I love about montessori and waldorf, but It's founded in Christianity, which is crucial in my opinion.  

I've also done some good toy purging lately.  I've donated a lot of "junk" toys, put away our loud toys for rainy/bad days, and really set everything up to focus on our classic, quality toys.  I want Macie to learn how to imagine and play, not for her toys to play for her.  It's hard now, when your only options in toy stores are plastic, battery operated headaches in boxed that require absolutely no imagination on the child's part.  She's just now starting to show more of an interest in books, so I'm really trying to encourage this........it may be a little selfish, but I want her to love reading as much as I always have!

We went to the zoo last week, and Macie had a great time.  I didn't take any pictures of her, though.....i'm so terrible.  I got a few pictures of some of the animals, and bobby took some pretty good video, so as soon as he gets that all loaded I'll get the video posted up here.  She loved the monkeys and the birds......there was an area that you could walk through and feed Lorry's (sp?), she thought it was great.  The birds land on you and eat out of your hand.  She's been talking about the birds and mommy since we went!