It's Official!

As if it wasn't already, but Jamie hand delivered our "letter of intent" to homeschool for 2010-2011 this morning. I was typing it up last night and it just felt so real all of a sudden. I have only been at this for a few months and this will be my first full official year with all the children. I can't wait to dive into the curriculum that has been on the shelf taunting me for months now. I bought supplies this weekend and I have a feeling I bought way too much! I have big plans for our homeschool room when we move and I have so many idea swarming through my head, I doubt I'll even have time for them all. The homeschool group should kick off here in a few weeks and God willing, we'll make some connections and friendships within that group. Our official start date is Monday. I began the planning process this past weekend and the kids are geared up and excited too.

I had a good friend tell me when I first began that God will take the knowledge that I pour into them and multiply it in a way that nobody can explain. I'm kind of excited about relearning some of the history and science that I have long forgotten myself. Satan is already trying to whisper in my ear that I'm going to screw up my kids somehow. I also know that I'm in a huge minority around here that I didn't feel in Owensboro. Homeschooling is so misunderstood and has such preconceived opinions connected to it, which I admit I used to have myself to some extent. I know that those words and thoughts are not from God, because he called us to do this and I know that my children will benefit from this in more ways that academics. Why is Satan always trying to convince us things from GOD are not worth our time or we aren't good enough? He won't win this one! Not in my house!

God has special plans for our family on the horizon. Some days I have to tell myself that more than once though. It has been a trial, but I'm loving the "busyness" of the past couple of weeks. August is upon us, which means there is good news in the Hughes house on the horizon.

The Compliment of a Stranger

It is always so weird to me when strangers walk up to us in restaurants or a store and compliment my children's behavior. Maybe it is because I'm dealing with my own kids all the time, but rarely notice other children are acting unless they are exceptionally loud or something similarly obnoxious. And sometimes, I know that I may be the obnoxiously loud family too.

Today the girls and I went and got Happy Meals. I kept noticing this middle aged lady staring at me. It was an awkward kind of stare and at one point, I looked behind me thinking surely there was something interesting going on behind my back. I finally decided that she must just enjoy watching children and left it at that. I gave her a smile then tried to ignore her for the most part, which is hard when you are being stared at while eating.

When she finished her lunch, she finally came over to us and told me that she just had to come tell me how wonderfully behaved my children were. She said that she had seen several families throughout her morning and most of the kids weren't behaved and the parents didn't seem to really care either. I thanked her and she talked to the kids and me a minute. She even complimented me about homeschooling and told the kids how lucky they were that I could teach them at home.

She walked off and we will probably never see each other again, but it was just one of those moments where you realize how great your kids are once again. It is easy enough for me to think that (and of course I do!), but many times we tend to notice the loud kids instead of the ones that are being mannerly and polite.

Jamie is at class tonight. He was blessed once again, because they told him to stay in the Mayfield cohort instead of going to Paducah like was originally planned. This was great news since we will be moving that direction and Paducah was going to be a little inconvenient. So this saves gas and time.

We are gearing up for Willy Wonka and Homeschool next week too. Life is busy, but I like busy! It makes the time go by faster and with August around the corner we'll be homeowners before we know it!

Praising Him in the Storm

My emotions go up and down on a daily (or hourly) basis. It is hard to hold it together as a woman sometimes, because we are the "glue" in the family. God is certainly the center of our family, but any Mom knows what I mean. We run the house and have to be there to make sure everybody else has their needs met. We are often the last ones on our "to do" list and sometimes that last item gets skipped altogether for lack of time or energy.

Lately, I've had to put a "game face" on a lot. It is hard to be in the midst of a storm with 4 small children and a husband that is hurting also. Everybody's lives seem to go on as "normal" and here we are mourning one of the biggest losses of our lives. It is hard to still wrap my mind around all that has happened in a very short period of time. It is impossible to figure out the 'why' of the situation and 'how' people can be so unloving.

Sometimes when Jamie and I are lying in bed we talk to one another about the raw feelings that we are still going through. Sometimes I cry and have a strong sense of sadness over me. Sometimes I'm just so angry that I can't even express it. Some days are OK and we don't even mention the elephant that is in the room. We both know it is always there, but why dwell on it.

These events and people may be in our past, but doesn't make it hurt less. We are going without many things that people find "normal" in their own lives. I've learned over the course of the last couple of months never to assume how people should feel in a situation. Never assume that someone has to die to go through mourning process. And never assume because people are smiling that they aren't hurting.

But, I sat here today and thought to myself. We have been under attack by Satan. We have not turned against God and we have praised him for our blessings that we have had. We are buying a house, we are healthy, Jamie loves his job, we do have a temporary roof over our heads, etc. If Satan is attacking, then maybe we were doing something right at least. Doesn't Satan attack where God is at work? Doesn't Satan hate it when we are doing God's will? Satan knew exactly where to punch. He knew exactly who to use and what would finally get us out of the way.

So, if things are going great in your life....praise God for that! If you are in a storm...praise God for that, because you may have just been doing something "right" all along.

Micah got the LEAD!!!

I'm so proud of my budding actor! When we moved in May, he left behind a pretty decent sized part in Owensboro in "How to Eat Like a Child" which he was already practicing for. He was disappointed and so were we. As soon as I knew we were moving, I started researching the community theater here. We found out that the play was going to be "Willy Wonka kids" this summer and that is one of his favorite movies. So, that helped ease the pain of leaving the other behind.

He had auditions last week and had his heart set on being "Charlie" which is the main character of the story. I've given him the pep talk all week about not being disappointed if he didn't get the part he wanted. There were a lot of kids there, and they don't know us here, so I didn't know how it would turn out .

Today started the day camp and I went to pick him up . I was scanning the crowd looking for him and he runs up to me and said, "Mommy, I'm Charlie!" I gave him a hug and a small kiss on the cheek and whispered close to his ear, "I'm so proud of you!" He was grinning ear to ear and I was too! I was ecstatic for him to get what he wanted. He really deserves it this time! Especially with the move and everything that they've sacrificed this summer. It was the perfect beginning to the week!

On another note, I'm teenage sitting this week. My sister and her husband are taking a much deserved vacation and I'm hanging out with some pretty good teenagers this week. The kids are all excited to spend time with them. In 2 weeks, we have the production and then we start school on August 2nd:-)

I'm one proud Mommy right now! This is something he'll have fond memories of forever!

Are you really loving others?

1 Corinthians 13

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸Love never fails.


Have you ever really looked at these verses? I know you have heard them at almost every wedding you have attended and you may have memorized them at some point in Sunday School, but do you really practice them? Have you really thought about the words?

In all honesty, I don't think many of us do. If we did, then the world would be different. Homes and churches would be different. People would gravitate towards church doors that really truly showed love towards people no matter their past, no matter their clothes, no matter their attitude, no matter their current beliefs, and no matter their flaws. How often do Christians judge others? How often do we just write someone off or turn our backs on another person, because of something petty and small? If we were living by the verses above, then that would never happen.

One of my homeschool goals is for my children to learn to love through Christ. I want them to not only show love for the people in our house, but to others out in the world. If they can accomplish this in their lives, then they will be able to minister to people more effectively. They will build stronger relationships and they will grow closer to the Lord.

I'm also keeping all this in mind as we go church looking soon. I know that God will show us which church to be a part of. He knows what we've been through and he knows what we need to heal and move forward more than anybody. I trust that he'll provide the perfect fellowship for us to be a part of and minister with.

Better Late Than Never

Here are a few pictures from our recent vacation. With all the house stuff going on, I never got around to posting pictures.

We went to the pool 3 times during the week. The kids loved it and it was relaxing. Well, except for Chloe trying to drown herself on the last day. Such a little daredevil. She tried swimming without her water wings or life jacket and needless to say, it didn't work out very well.


They were really asleep in this picture. Vacation is just much to tiring!


We went to the Ripley's Aquarium and it was very good. The kids enjoyed it, but we did too. Here is a picture of Abbi in front of the crabbie tank. Those things were huge!

We went down to the Little Pigeon river one day. The kids liked throwing rocks in and touching the water.



On the home front, we are at the mercy (and speed) of the system at this point. The house got a good inspection with no major red flags. We have begun our paperwork, got insurance quotes, and the rest is just a waiting game. Our tentative closing is August 15th. Our realtor is trying to speed that date up since the owner still has 14 days after closing to move out. So, maybe we'll actually be IN the house by mid-late August. There is some sprucing up we want to do before we officially move. Between homeschooling (aug 2nd), house fixing, and master's classes for Jamie, life will be in a whirlwind very soon. A very good whirlwind though!