I have much to report since I last posted...
1. I'm pregnant! That won't come as a shock if you keep in touch with me in person or on facebook, especially given that baby girl is due in two months ;-). We are thrilled and eagerly anticipate her summertime arrival!
2. We celebrated the kiddos birthdays at Christmastime. MC turned 6 and Elisha turned 2...seriously not sure where the time goes. They are awesome little people, and I am so blessed to spend my days with them.
3. Phil is nearing the end of his dissertation - PRAISE THE LORD. He hopes to finish in June or July! I am so proud of him and so thankful to our Lord and Savior for His care for our family as we've journeyed through this process together.
4. We have 4.5 more months of kindergarten under our belts. Because of necessary adjustments (ie. pregnancy and an active toddler), I've dropped some of what I had planned this year for homeschooling, but I think that has actually been a really good thing. It was a long winter, but it has been special to see my kids flourish in different ways physically, spiritually, mentally, and socially these past months.
5. Big changes ahead for our church, St. Michael's. We've been renting space for worship at a local seminary for the past few years, but come May 3, we are picking up our stakes at moving to a local elementary school. This will be a big change for our congregation, but we are very excited and grateful for the Lord's providential hand in this transition. Also, our Rector (that's our senior pastor) is retiring in September. Phil is being considered as an internal candidate to succeed him. We would ask you to join us and our church in prayer as we discern the Lord's will in this. The "unknown" is always unsettling to me, but we trust in God, knowing He already has a plan and purpose for our lives and for our dear church, St. Michael's, whom we love so dearly.
I wish I had some pictures to post, but the latest and greatest are stored elsewhere. I will post some soon!
Thursday, November 20, 2014
an up-date...
Well, in a nutshell, we are almost three months into kindergarten and 65 pages into the dissertation. All by God's great grace!
Kindergarten is going well. There are, of course, moments and/or days when I think, "what on earth are we getting ourselves into?" But, I have to say that the Lord has been teaching me much through this process of teaching and being with my kids at home, and most days I praise God that I get to do this and sense His presence strengthening me to do it...not for me or for my kids alone, but for His glory and kingdom purposes.
It is SO exciting and rewarding to see Mary Clare quickly progress in skills like reading, writing, and math. And to watch her creativity blossom before my eyes. But, it is even more rewarding and exciting to see her love for God and knowledge of scripture built up, and her character grow.
Our number one reason for wanting to homeschool is to train our kids in the way of Christian discipleship, something my dear husband had to remind me of earlier in the week when we were having a rough morning, and discipline (for naughty behavior) had to be strongly administered in place of our math lesson for the day. I kept thinking, "this is such a waste of time...I have things planned you know...". But Phil helped remind me that in fact, that discipline was perhaps some of the most valuable "education" that happened all day long. In my frustration, I initially doubted that. But later, when our sweet girl came to me with a true and beautiful repentance, and an attitude change that lasted the rest of the day, I knew he was right. And I realized, this is what it's all about. And our math lesson went much better because of it ;-).
It has also been special to see the relationship between my two kids flourish. Elisha is right in on the homeschooling action. He even has his own little notebook, mostly filled with pictures of "neigh neighs" (horses) and trains that MC and I have drawn for him. But what has been neat to me, and even surprising, is how good of friends the two of them are becoming. I didn't imagine that siblings, four years apart in age and different genders, would have so much fun together. But, they truly do, and what a blessing it is to see.
Sometime, I may write more about what we actually do for homeschooling, because I think it's pretty cool, but for now, that will be it on the subject ;-).
And yes, the dissertation is coming along...one page and one chapter at a time! I am so proud of Phil. Seriously. I could never do what he is doing. For any of you who have ever been bi-vocational (or have gotten your doctorate, God bless you), you know it has it's challenges. But, I can see the Lord at work, strengthening Phil to both minister the Gospel to our church as a pastor, while completing this PhD. And I PRAISE GOD for his daily faithfulness to our family right now. In different spheres of life these days, we sense that God is teaching us in deeper and more profound ways to trust in Him for our daily bread, and to WAIT upon Him. And while this isn't always easy, it is a good place to be.
And now, what would a blog post be without some pictures???
Kindergarten is going well. There are, of course, moments and/or days when I think, "what on earth are we getting ourselves into?" But, I have to say that the Lord has been teaching me much through this process of teaching and being with my kids at home, and most days I praise God that I get to do this and sense His presence strengthening me to do it...not for me or for my kids alone, but for His glory and kingdom purposes.
It is SO exciting and rewarding to see Mary Clare quickly progress in skills like reading, writing, and math. And to watch her creativity blossom before my eyes. But, it is even more rewarding and exciting to see her love for God and knowledge of scripture built up, and her character grow.
Our number one reason for wanting to homeschool is to train our kids in the way of Christian discipleship, something my dear husband had to remind me of earlier in the week when we were having a rough morning, and discipline (for naughty behavior) had to be strongly administered in place of our math lesson for the day. I kept thinking, "this is such a waste of time...I have things planned you know...". But Phil helped remind me that in fact, that discipline was perhaps some of the most valuable "education" that happened all day long. In my frustration, I initially doubted that. But later, when our sweet girl came to me with a true and beautiful repentance, and an attitude change that lasted the rest of the day, I knew he was right. And I realized, this is what it's all about. And our math lesson went much better because of it ;-).
It has also been special to see the relationship between my two kids flourish. Elisha is right in on the homeschooling action. He even has his own little notebook, mostly filled with pictures of "neigh neighs" (horses) and trains that MC and I have drawn for him. But what has been neat to me, and even surprising, is how good of friends the two of them are becoming. I didn't imagine that siblings, four years apart in age and different genders, would have so much fun together. But, they truly do, and what a blessing it is to see.
Sometime, I may write more about what we actually do for homeschooling, because I think it's pretty cool, but for now, that will be it on the subject ;-).
And yes, the dissertation is coming along...one page and one chapter at a time! I am so proud of Phil. Seriously. I could never do what he is doing. For any of you who have ever been bi-vocational (or have gotten your doctorate, God bless you), you know it has it's challenges. But, I can see the Lord at work, strengthening Phil to both minister the Gospel to our church as a pastor, while completing this PhD. And I PRAISE GOD for his daily faithfulness to our family right now. In different spheres of life these days, we sense that God is teaching us in deeper and more profound ways to trust in Him for our daily bread, and to WAIT upon Him. And while this isn't always easy, it is a good place to be.
And now, what would a blog post be without some pictures???
Monday, October 13, 2014
the soundtrack(s) of our life
It has been said by some that 'Switchfoot' is the soundtrack of our family's life. It's true. If you've followed this blog for any length of time, you know we are big fans and love their music. We've had many a dance party in our living room rocking out to Jon and the boys.
However, lest you think we only listen to Switchfoot, I'm here to introduce you to a new musician in our lives who has also made quite an impact and continues to bless our family. Her name is Ellie Holcomb. And in all seriousness, her voice is lovely and her lyrics speak boldly and beautifully of grace.
Phil made the comment this weekend that God has wonderfully provided different songwriters at different points in our lives who have ministered greatly to us in specific times of need. We happened upon Ellie's first solo album this summer, and we are thankful! Here is a link to her website: http://www.ellieholcomb.com/
And here is a link to my favorite song she sings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2Hr19Z2Sfo
Oh - and if you are interested in more music on repeat in our home these days...
we're loving Switchfoot's brand new 'The Edge of the Earth EP' - released only last month
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/edge-earth-unreleased-songs/id912336388
AND
JJ Heller's latest album 'I Dream of You' - a lullaby album that our whole family loves, loves, loves!
http://www.jjheller.com/
Happy listening!
However, lest you think we only listen to Switchfoot, I'm here to introduce you to a new musician in our lives who has also made quite an impact and continues to bless our family. Her name is Ellie Holcomb. And in all seriousness, her voice is lovely and her lyrics speak boldly and beautifully of grace.
Phil made the comment this weekend that God has wonderfully provided different songwriters at different points in our lives who have ministered greatly to us in specific times of need. We happened upon Ellie's first solo album this summer, and we are thankful! Here is a link to her website: http://www.ellieholcomb.com/
And here is a link to my favorite song she sings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2Hr19Z2Sfo
Oh - and if you are interested in more music on repeat in our home these days...
we're loving Switchfoot's brand new 'The Edge of the Earth EP' - released only last month
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/edge-earth-unreleased-songs/id912336388
AND
JJ Heller's latest album 'I Dream of You' - a lullaby album that our whole family loves, loves, loves!
http://www.jjheller.com/
Happy listening!
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
"homeschooling the doctorate"
Well, kindergarten has officially commenced in the Anderas home. And I'm happy to report that Mary Clare, myself, and Elisha all made it through our first day with great success. It started with surprise donuts from Daddy (as seen above), and any day that starts with donuts (in my opinion) has to be a good one ;-).
Last night was very surreal for me. Phil and I have been talking about homeschooling since before Mary Clare was even born. And I've been researching curriculum, philosophies, and methods for years now (I'm a planner, what can I say?). I've spent the summer carefully crafting our year together, and I'm excited to get going! I'm also keenly aware of my own weaknesses and dependency on the Lord to help me with this blessed work we are stepping into more formally now. During our devotions this morning, MC and I talked about the word "attentiveness" - how that can relate to learning from me, the mom, but also from God. Proverbs 4:20-25 says, "My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart....let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you...". That is my prayer for the moment. That our eyes would be fixed on Jesus, our Lord and Savior. And that He would be the True Teacher in our home this year.
In other Anderas family news, I'm happy to report that Phil has also begun writing his dissertation! Big year for our family...kindergarten and finishing the PhD, both Lord willing. When we were at Duke, I remember some grad students who had a blog about "homeschooling the doctorate". That saying stuck with me. They said something like, you can't homeschool a PhD, but you can homeschool while doing one. Let's hope so ;-). The Anderas adventures continue....and without further ado, may I present our sweet kindergartener on her first day:
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
A review in pictures
I've been asked for photo up-dates, so here's a review of some recent Anderas highlights in photos...
Dance partners...surprisingly Elisha keeps up!
Easter flowers
Throwing stones at Lac LaBelle
Hiking with Papa in the big woods
A very sick Elisha at 3:00am...he looks pretty chill, no? That's what a 104 degree fever does to ya...
Elisha much better...and back at his new shananigans, namely, playing with the toilet brush
First haircut!
A failed backyard camping experience...they were in by 9:00pm because MC "missed mommy"
Picasso!
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
"Incredibilities"
So, I was at the park this morning with the kiddos and there was a red-headed little boy (8 yrs. old to be exact) climbing on EVERYTHING he possibly could (including non-play structure items). When he was way up high (on something he probably shouldn't have been climbing), I called up to him, "Wow! You are a good climber, but be careful up there." He replied, "Can I tell you something?" I nodded. He climbed down, came over to me, and with a sly little smile said, "You know what? My red hair empowers my incredibilities." Is that not awesome?
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Spring is coming! Right???
Though spring doesn't seem to truly begin in Wisconsin until May, a few warm days early in the month propelled us into starting a "spring/planting" unit here at our Maple St. schoolhouse. Alas, they were only teaser days...it's 40 degrees and drizzly here today...and this is supposed to last all...week...long. Here's a list of some fun books we've been reading. They are so colorful and cheerful, and in spite of our varied weather, we've been inspired to begin work on our own garden beds (weather permitting) and dream about what to plant in May...butterfly garden here we come! And here's hoping that our spring doesn't end like it did in "Mud Flat Spring"! You'll have to read it to find out what I mean ;-).
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