STILL knee-deep!

Homeschooling is going to be a MAJOR challenge for me this year. Prayers are flying Heavenward fast and furious, and I'm begging Him to show me how to manage my day and all the responsibilities will come with teaching my children this year. Yes, I'm still teaching 6 (with two "on the floor," as it were), but with Sean going into 8th grade this year, I need to make sure that he is where he needs to be so that he will be best prepared for high school -- which, at this moment, we are still planning on doing at home. There are some additional challenges with Marie (my 1st grader) which will need extra attention, and somewhere in there I need to make sure Thomas (3rd), Christopher (4th), Kathryn (6th), and Reilly (7th) also get the individual mom-time that they need.... AND somehow keep the house going, people fed, and spend time with my little ones so they remember who the heck I am! Joseph is on the brink of taking off at a dead run, so I am going to have to be extra vigilant with a very inquisitive little boy who is FAST!

All that is to say that I haven't had time for much blogging. I'm staring at a huge "to do" list that can't get done, a house that STILL isn't organized, and wondering why my brain can't just wrap itself around the stuff that needs to get done.

I praise God that this is the stuff He is choosing to use at this moment, and not something horribly tragic. I'd rather deal with frustration and feeling like I'm going under any day! Thankfully, with a full house, there's no end to the "little ways" of training me in holiness... if only I'd quit griping and start cooperating with the program!

In the meantime, I want to point out a blog that, if you haven't seen it, you need to: IHeart Organizing. Wow, this woman is talented! I love her style, her creativity, and the joy she gets out of making her home a place of peace and beauty. I need inspiration like this!

Another great source of inspiration is my yearly read, Mrs. Dunwoody's Excellent Instructions for Homekeeping. It never fails to lift my spirits and make me want to create a truly beautiful home for my family -- not with expensive things, but with calmness and a sense of order. I could have the nicest furniture in the world and still have a jumbled mess, or I can take what I already have and create the warmest, coziest home possible. When I have more time, I will have to tell you about our recent trip to my mother-in-law's cabin. She lives the life of Laura Ingalls... think Little House in the Big Woods, and you've seen her cabin. No electricity... no water... just water from the creek, a woodburning stove and a fireplace, and kerosene lamps for light.

Amazing, isn't it? She has managed to create a comfortable home out of simple things used well.

May God bless us all this week!