Homeschooling has been going really well lately. We’ve all done our best to stick the schedule and the girls have been pretty good about staying on task. We still have tantrums here and there; Soul and Glow started it off yesterday, then True and Brave started bickering during math. Other than that normal kid disobedience and selfishness, I’ve been impressed with how well the girls have been working hard to get school work done. They know my motto, “Work first, then play!” Or sometimes watch (they get to watch on the iPad if all school work is done, they practiced piano, and all their areas are clean).

We’ve been studying fractions and True and Brave are doing so well with it. I think they have enjoyed feeling quite successful at math lately. We also started Life of Fred, so I think that’s really helped turn all of our attitudes about math around. They are starting to see how numbers and math relate to everyday life, and I’m enjoying the silly ways Fred teaches about math.

It’s been three weeks since the last time I’ve wanted to quit homeschooling; God continues to teach me patience and endurance through this. There is a lot of joy in being able to teach them, and not only the head knowledge stuff, but especially the heart stuff. We have lots of opportunities to talk about how we all mess up (kids and parents), and how much we need Jesus. When they bicker, I get the opportunity to help them see their selfishness and redirect them to repent, and ask forgiveness from the sibling they offended (and God). It’s not always easy, and I’m not always patient; my selfishness is really being revealed through this parenting business. The more I see my mess ups, the more I see how much I need grace and gospel. And it’s not about never messing up (because I will and they will), but it’s about knowing that Jesus already covered all of it, and letting that be what drives our hearts and transforms our minds.

This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…

Barbie now comes in more than one shape! I grew up with lots of Barbies, but we choose not to give our girls Barbies. With what Ben does, we are slightly more sensitive to these types of things, so we don’t let the girls have one. We do like that Mattel is finally acknowledging and celebrating diversity.

I want to sew a dress in a cut like this, and sew a top like this (or turn it into a dress).

Love this pretty indigo bag.

If your waist is 32″, these vintage bell bottoms are only $5.99!

Someone please get this vintage tapestry-like caftan. It would be so cute with some clogs or lace up sandals.

I miss Filipino food. Adobo and bistek, get in my tummy now!

Darling red dress is perfect for a little one on Valentine’s Day. Lots of cool vintage items for kids on Vinyl Kids Vintage, see these plaid pants as proof.

I want Beci Orpin’s newest book, Make and Do.

The girls would love to make these party headbands.

God’s really been showing me how I need to grow in marriage. Ben and I usually agree on everything, but there’s something we’ve been disagreeing about, so we’ve been learning how to listen and love each other well through it. I’ve been more emotional lately because of it, but I know this a trial for my good and God’s glory. I’ve been praying for God to change my hard heart.

With what I mentioned above, I listened to this sermon to help guide my heart towards where it ought to be.

I love the article, “When Scruffy Hospitality Creates Space for Friendship.” Hospitality is part of being the hands and feet of Jesus; it’s such a tangible way to love and serve others. You have to eat, so might as well do it with friends. My mom is the queen of hospitality, and really knows how to show love to others through serving them a meal. While I don’t have her natural giftedness, I’m willing to learn and grow in this area, and the only way to do it is to keep inviting people over.

I’m getting ready to speak at Hope Spoken. I’m so nervous! I wanted to say no because of fear, but that wasn’t a good enough reason to say no, so I said yes. Eek! Any of you going? I don’t know anyone, so please say hi, and let’s be friends! 🙂

Happy weekending!!!

We rang in the new year with our crazy dance party. It’s a tradition we started in 2008, but last year didn’t happen because we were stuck in Texas due to bad weather conditions. There was one year we kept things cozy, and there was another year where we weren’t in the mood to dance because we had a fight. I just asked him what we were fighting about that year, and neither of us remember. We love this tradition, and it would be fun to keep doing this as the girls get older, but we will see how their NYE plans change later.

For our meal, we make black-eyed peas and spicy shrimp (it’s the same NYE meal we’ve been making the past few years), and after we let our food settle in our tummies a bit, it was time to get the dance party started.

This was the first year Glow really got into the dancing. She was entranced by the strobe light and kept dancing in front of it. Oh yes, we really do have a strobe light and fog machine and we bust it out every New Year’s Eve! Everyone puts on their craziest outfit, and this year we bought lots of glow sticks to add to the outrageous outfits. We blast music by The Black Eyes Peas, the lights go out, the strobe light and fog machine comes on, and then we all dance! We all had so much fun being silly and boogying down, and at the strike of midnight (Texas Time), we welcomed in the new year.

Do you have any New Year’s Eve traditions?

See years past… 2008-2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 (due to bad weather on the road we weren’t able to have our party).

We really got to savor the Christmas season more this year. There was a lot of time spent talking about the reason for Christmas, plenty of family cuddle/movie sessions, and preparing for celebrations together. This was the first year we were able to have our own Christmas Eve, and it was nice to not be rushed that day. We took the girls to see Star Wars in the morning, and then the girls spent the rest of the day finishing their handmade gifts for each other. Our evening consisted of a family picnic in the family room with one of our favorite dishes, langostino sopes, and then we let the girls open the presents we had for them (Ben and I exchanged gifts too; vintage shirt for him and ice cream for me.).

Christmas morning the girls were eager to see what Santa left for them. Santa always brings them a community gift to share, and this year it was play dough. The next couple hours were spent opening the presents the girls made. They make so many presents for everyone! I love seeing the creative things they come up with, but what I really take delight in is seeing their enthusiasm as they give their gift, then the excitement of the recipient, and then the “thank you” hug that happens after each gift. It’s really so sweet. I’d like to think I’m raising grateful kids.

The rest of the day was spent hopping from my family to Ben’s, and back to my family (my mom and dad’s side of the family all get together for Christmas!). It was definitely merry and bright!

We were blessed to celebrate the second day of Christmas with my immediate family (my siblings and parents) at our house. We set up the table similar to our Thanksgiving decor, and this celebration is what all our tamales were for. We were all serenaded with a couple Christmas songs by my grandma (she’s been doing a lot of singing for us lately), Brave read a passage in the Bible to us, and then we all indulged in all the delicious food. We had chicken, pork, and shrimp tamales. I also made pozole, my sister brought lots of fresh fruit, and another sister made a delicious Mexican chocolate cake. Oh boy … we were stuffed!

After dinner, we all moved near the Christmas tree for present time! Just before we started, Papi Claus made an appearance and handed out all the presents. Papi Claus is quite a character; he had us laughing all night long.

After three days of celebrating, we were exhausted, but in a good way. Hearts full, tummies stuffed, and lots of memories treasured.

I’ve been working on some new projects with this cotton rope, and I’m pretty excited about how they’re turning out. I finished one (took me three days!), and I’m ready to start on some others. It feels good to see something that was swirling about in my head come to life. I haven’t taken proper pictures of it yet, but I will show you soon.

This week started off so bad. I was ready to quit mothering (again!) and I just felt discouraged. Monday was not a good day in the Bratcher household. On Tuesday, things turned around quite a bit. Ben was so helpful in encouraging my weary heart and steering the girls towards obedience. Then, we had two more good days on Wednesday and Thursday. I definitely was more intentional with them and we stuck to the routine and things got done. We even had time to go to the park to play! Those good days remind me why I homeschool and what I love about it.

Now, I know those bad days will come again, but I need to remember that every moment has a purpose. The good and the bad. I want to rejoice through all of it because my joy should not be based on my current circumstance, but what Jesus did for me on that cross.

Fridays are my days for cleaning (see how nice and neat it looks here), and then Saturdays are for playing, so all that Friday work goes down the drain. HA! Thankfully, they put everything back in its place after (my Friday organizing does come in handy after all), and everything looked spic and span again.

I know one day I will really miss these messes, and I’ll be crying about how I would gladly take the chaos to have everyone back under our roof. When you’re in the thick of it though, it’s all so blurry, and purpose of why we do what we do, gets lost. When I was having one of those moments earlier, Ben texted me this blog post. I read it, agreed with it, but I found it difficult to give it an “Amen!” when things just felt overwhelming … one didn’t want to do any reading, one didn’t want to redo something she did incorrectly, and another girl didn’t want to bring out the dictionary to look up a word. Everyone was throwing a tantrum, and I joined in too. I just wanted to throw in the towel and call it a day. I kind of did for a little bit, then when everyone was ready, we gave it another shot, and got most of school done. Whew!

Anyway, if you need a little encouragement, I recommend reading that post. I like what she says, “Faithfulness in drudgery is what faithfulness is all about.” Another gold nugget to treasure … “Every trudging step has meaning. There will be an end, and there always is a point.”

“Wherever you are, be all there.  Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.” – Jim Elliot

There are too many good things for the heart there, so go read it for yourself, and be encouraged! Tomorrow is a new day, another chance to rejoice, and more opportunities for abounding mercy and grace.