http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...  I hear my kids running outside.

I am thinking...  About a friend that just suffered a terrible loss. I'm keeping her in my prayers.

I am thankful...  My baby is sleeping in his bed beside mine; and I feel so blessed to have a healthy newborn baby boy. Life is beautiful!

In the kitchen... A delightful smell fills the air. My daughter just made spaghetti sauce from scratch and my other daughter is cooking some pasta. Earlier, my son made some pizzas for everyone. I can't complain. 

I am wearing...  Some comfy sweats and a t-shirt. Anything that makes it easier to nurse my baby boy is my ideal wardrobe.

I am creating...  Nothing at the moment, just taking time to rest and bonding with my newborn.

I am going... To stay put. I visited my mom out of town yesterday and have been quite busy the past few days. I desperately need some rest.

I am wondering... What the menu for Shabbat  should be. We need to do our shopping by tomorrow.

I am reading... A couple of books. One that I started a while back is titled G-d in Search of Man by Joshua Heschel

I am hoping...  To get work done. I have much house work awaiting me. 

I am looking forward to... My brother-in-law and his family are visiting next week; can't wait to see them. 

I am learning... How important it is to continue studying Torah and specially  living by it.

Around the house...  It seems much quieter since three o my sons went out, and the little ones are in the family room.

I am pondering...  How to simplify my life and get rid of many things that just clutter.

A favorite quote for today...  One who does not increase [his knowledge] decreases it. -Pirkei Avot 1:13 

One of my favorite things... Is holding my baby in my arms. Then again, everyone around here wants to hold him, which means I mostly get to hold him at night.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Set up dentist appointments for my kids. Clean up my family room and library.

A peek into my day...  I haven't taken many pictures lately but this picture about sums it up.

The Final Countdown

The long anticipated day was coming; actually, I carefully counted down the days to my due date, but nothing happened. Every day I could feel the baby move; he was quite active. This is basically the reason for my decision to continue waiting. I know that it is important to receive prenatal care, but due to various circumstances I will not get into, I had not received any during this pregnancy. I have to admit there was times of worry and even anxiety over the baby's development. Mostly, my concern was making it full term. I had suffered terrible losses in the past, and could not bare the thought of going through it again.

From the first moment I realized I was expecting, I felt overjoyed much more than could be expressed. I was hesitant however to mention any thing about it, due to my husband's concern for my health. I came very close to death last year, and it had been something terribly tough for my husband to deal with. Thankfully due to his fast action and quick thinking, he was able get me quickly to the hospital, which in turn saved my life, B'H. Now pregnant once again, I didn't want to see him worry about me. The thought of a such a wonderful blessing was much too delightful to be clouded by those sad memories. So I went through the first three months keeping the news to myself.

The months went by, and my estimated due date was to be on June the 17th. I was growing quite big, and was thinking along with my daughter, the baby would be arriving earlier than expected. But, the day came, and left without the arrival. For several weeks, I had been experiencing contractions, which would only turn out to be false labor. June passed and July began, but the baby was not ready to be born just yet.

Finally on a Friday after a couple of hours of contractions we decided to go to the hospital. I knew that even if it turned out to be false labor, going there was a good decision. And so we went late that night, and as expected, the contractions began to lessen and come further apart. At the hospital however we all agreed that the best thing was for me to stay there and be induce if necessary. So it was that I stayed there with my husband and was induced. After a long tiring night in labor, the baby was finally born the following morning.

With great joy we welcomed our newborn. Ever thankful to Hashem, we rejoiced with admiration at the sight of our healthy, newborn, baby boy. My concerns about our baby's health were now put behind. I was finally able to embrace the blessing I had long awaited.  We now have twelve blessings in our home, and I am greatly thankful for each one of them. Last Erev Shabbat as we sat around our table, I laughed to see our toddler line up for a second time, while giggling,  to receive a blessing from her Daddy. And then, I couldn't hold back the tears, to see my husband bless our newborn child. I was filled with such joy and gratitude at HaShem's kindness in blessing us with such wonderful gifts. May he give us the wisdom and strength to raise up a G-dly generation.

"Every day I will bless YOU and praise YOUR NAME forever and ever."[Psalms (Tehillym) 145. 2 

Greatly and wonderfully,
Blessed@Home

Home-school Revamp

Written a few months back, I am sharing a post that hadn't been published but was saved as a draft. Since I wrote it, we have been working mostly on reading and some neat science projects the kids have enjoyed. 

I feel like I'm running out of time. My pregnancy appears to have progressed rapidly and I realize what this means. It seems that very soon the time spent with our schooling will be affected greatly. I know from past experience, that immediately after giving birth and for some time later, our schooling time diminishes considerably. As it is, my days are spent driving my college-aged girls to and from school, making our schooling schedule choppy and shortened.

 I could have really used a schedule, but never did get around to it. Instead we have mostly done lessons from workbooks for the youngest. Occasionally I prepare a more elaborate lesson with a project which I know my kids enjoy much better. The oldest ones have more freedom choosing what and when to study. Usually they spend most of their time reading something they are interested in, this could be anything from history, biographies, science, or literature. Later, they might work on some math and writing. I haven't been as consistent as I would like, but I try to keep them accountable. To do this, I periodically ask, what they are working on at the moment, and I encourage them to make sure to dedicate time to different subjects.

It's important to check through the work they do, in order to get a better idea of the progress made. This helps me see where there is need for improvement. As it is, I see a need to spend more time reading with my younger ones. My older kids could also benefit from putting more emphasis studying grammar. 

I think this coming week is a good one to make some major changes. We need more structure and better accountability. Maybe the best way to accomplish this is keeping a written record of our daily school work. My older home-schooled kids have planners, but haven't used them much. This however seems like a good time to start using them again. If I purpose to check their planners daily, and record the lessons worked on by my younger ones; I believe we can make some noticeable improvement.  

Accountability is important for me as well. That is why I'm grateful for the times my husband asks if and how, our kids schooling is progressing. I also feel gratitude for my college students. They see and understand the importance of education, and will regularly question their siblings schooling improvement (or lack of improvement). This helps keep me on my toes and helps me focus better on our educational goals. 

I'm excited for the coming weeks. Maybe, I'll even take some time to post some of the things we work on. I do love being a home-school mom, even though I admit to being guilty of slacking off a bit.
My goal for the next few weeks is to revamp our home-school! Any ideas or comments are appreciated. 

~Blessed@home

Making some progress

  It finally feels like we are making some progress. Presently, I have three kids in college and one preparing for his GED exam. We're hoping he is enrolled in college for his first semester this coming fall, by the way. Amazing how time flies. It seemed only yesterday when our firstborn enthusiastically begged to be home-schooled. Now he is attending a university and doing rather well in meeting his educational goals. We have two children that are studying to be physicians and one from the picture above planning on becoming a nurse. 

  Life can be difficult at times and there can be periods that seem progress is no where in the horizon; but if we hang in there, we will see the the results of our labor. We are far from done, as we have seven more kids home-schooling and are due for our twelfth child in about a week. Looking back however, it is such joy to see our kids dedicated to their education and working on their goals. 

  It is by no means an easy thing raising children and deciding a home education is the only way to go. We made this decision years ago and have stuck it out, and now are beginning to see the fruit of our labor. Education is definitely a priority to our family, even though I am the most likely unqualified fit for the job. At least it's how I've felt all along. My thought has pretty much been, a hope not to ruin their education to the point they hate it or give up. But I have learned some valuable lessons along our educational journey. Maybe one the best lessons I've learned, is that teaching the basics and a love of learning, is enough to get them well on their way; and they then take off on their own. Give them the tools, and then give them room. That's basically what it takes. 

Feeling accomplished and,

Blessed@home!

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...Beautiful day enjoyed greatly by my children playing in their tree house.

I am thinking...Soon my kids finals will be over, and I will not need to drive them to school; but will stay home instead. I'm so proud of my kids hard work and good grades. I'm especially proud of my third born daughter's first semester at college. She is realizing she can really do this, despite her being hesitant at first.   

I am thankful...that I am magnificently blessed with a wonderful husband and amazing family

In the kitchen...Some cleaning, then I'm hoping one of my boys will make some of their yummy oatmeal cookies.

I am wearing...Still in my PJs they are so comfy!

I am creating...A to-do-list for my home schooling and house work.

I am going...To drive my kids to and from school 2 more days.

I am wondering...Which book to read next, once I'm done with the one I'm currently reading. So many choices, most likely means I'll wind up reading two.

I am reading...Cheaper by the Dozen, it's turning out to be one of my favorite books. 

I am hoping...All goes well with the arrival of our baby. I'm about 5 weeks away from my due date. 

I am looking forward to...Organizing my bedroom and possibly a new paint job.

I am learning...To read more fluently in Hebrew. 

Around the house...I'm enjoying our family room that my husband has worked so hard to finish. Fresh paint and new furnishings make our family room and library a better, more pleasant place for homeschooling. 

I am pondering...How to go about getting more exercise into my day, and taking better care of my health. 

A favorite quote for today..."Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential."  -Winston Churchill

One of my favorite things...Praying early in the morning with my children. 

A few plans for the rest of the week: Drive my girls to school and take two of my boys to the library. Get more accomplished during our homeschooling.

A peek into my day...

The Simple Woman's Daybook

A New Beginning

Here is an old post which somehow never was published.

As this year began I had no idea where it would lead. One thing is certain, my heart's desire has been and still is to serve and know our G-D better and to draw closer to His will. I've always dreaded the thought of being lukewarm; of just getting by each day. Every day that passes, is a blessed opportunity to strive for a higher goal, to learn, to share, to love our Creator and those He has made. My days have changed so much since this year began. Looking back I can say, that it's been a difficult year; and that is just putting it mildly. The hardships nevertheless are by far insignificant when compared to the amazing blessings that have poured into our lives. How can I not be thankful and have a heart filled with joy. An immeasurable peace and love, that can only come from our G-D; that which He has been given to us.

Blessings!

Of Raising Children

When it comes  to children I consider myself far from being an expert. So when my daughter asked me to right a book on raising children, I chuckled at the idea. I know, I have a family which many may consider big and this definitely results in many opportunities for learning; yet while I think, that the time I have invested in my family has taught me many things, there's so much I've yet to learn. My thoughts at this moment, are toward the younger moms out there.Those struggling through those first years and even through the later years. If I could take this opportunity I'd like to just share some of the things I've learned. 

The years spent raising a family seem to have passed rather quickly. Never did I imagined that I'd have a family of eleven children. The fact that I have been able to be a stay-at-home raising a family has been such an amazing blessing in my life. Many lessons have been learned; sometimes through mistakes and others through success brought about by the godly and wise examples in my life. 

More than anything I want to advise young mothers, to make the best of these years. Don't do things without first considering the consequences. What I mean to say, is that when it comes to children, you can never afford to take things lightly. What can seem unimportant  at the present time, can affect your child in unimaginable ways. We as mothers can influence by building up and encouraging; or if not careful our treatment of our children can quickly become a source of discouragement. 

Taking time to try and see life through a child's eyes can be key in successful upbringing. It's the little things that make a difference with time when there is consistency. It's always best to put other things aside when possible. Your child needs to know how important they are to you. This is not to mean that you give in and spoil in any way. Instead, what this means, is that we need to listen. Investing time not only to teach our children but to play with them as well and taking time to work on their diverse interests, is necessary.

One important goal we should have is our relationship with them. Not only would it matter to have them know we love them, but that we actually want to foster a relationship of mutual love, respect, and something along the lines of a discipleship. We need to consider this an immense investment. This is very much a matter of sowing and reaping.

I will stop writing for now, but will continue with the topic as I find more time. As I write this post, I am about a month and a half from giving birth to our twelfth blessing. This is a joyful and exciting time for me, and I hope to make more time to share more posts.

Happily,
Blessed@home