Leaning on Him Through the Difficult Days Ahead

With broken hearts, we have to tell you all that our precious 7th baby was taken up to heaven to be with God.

I had some bleeding and pain in church on Sunday, and by 9:00pm, I had miscarried.  I cannot tell you how heartbreaking it was.  How painful, physically and emotionally, it is to birth your child that is no bigger than a prune.  We have chosen the name, Darcy Bubbles, as her name.  Our older children are convinced it was a girl, and deep down, I feel she was a girl as well.  I was surrounded by my wonderful Mother-in-law, Husband, and loving Parents throughout the process; and had a beautiful visit from my amazing friend, Janelle.

I ended up being kept in the hospital overnight due to a continued allergic reaction to the pain med they had me on.  I passed out once.  I was able to go home the next afternoon.  I am still in a lot of pain; taking pain meds every 4 hours.

The hardest part was having to tell my super-excited children that Bubbles was not coming home;  that she is in heaven with Jesus.  They were devastated.  They loved Darcy SO SO much, and were looking forward to meeting her and loving on her.

We were able to take her body home, and we will bury her with us.  My husband found a beautiful headstone for our little Darcy.

We know heaven is a better place for Darcy.  We know that the Lord had a reason, a purpose for taking Darcy so soon.  He loves Darcy just as much as we do.  This was not a punishment for something we did.  This was not a twisted joke He decided to play on us.  He made a covenant with Bram and I when we became a family, and He tells us that that covenant extends to our children.  We have hope and faith that when our time comes, we will see our little Darcy again.  What a day of rejoicing that will be!

When Your Plans Fall to Pieces

Well, I encountered a major set back in my grand homeschooling plans. 

I planned on starting our 2016 school year this coming Monday. 

God's plan is that I wait a week. 

We switched from Memoria Press to BJU Press for first grade this year.  I eagerly looked over the books as soon as I got them.  As September drew near, I again perused the books, and thought I had a good grasp as to what I would need.  Boy...was I EVER WRONG! 

I overlooked practically EVERYTHING.  I mean, my Mom and Mother-in-law came over this morning to help me cut out all of the manipulatives, and we discovered that I am nowhere NEAR ready for school to begin.  *sigh*  *major tears* 

I need Unifix cubes for Math.  I need word cards for Reading.  There are HUNDREDS of word cards that need to be cut and laminated.  There are lots of Math Manipulatives that need to be cut and laminated.  I am started a new curriculum...I need to figure out just HOW I am going to teach this new curriculum. 

I, of course, immediately felt overwhelmed and cried.  Mostly out of embarrassment, as my Mother and Mother-in-law are veteran homeschoolers and I had just been exposed as totally unprepared to teach their grandchildren.  I also felt like, once again, I had failed in the very thing I should be so good at. It's my job to teach my children...and how can I possibly do that if I am so ill-prepared?  I thought I had prepared, and I was woefully underestimating my prowess as a homeschooler.  And really--what was I thinking?  This is only my second year.  I am by no means a veteran. 

My pride was wounded, my excitement halted, and I was feeling so ill-equipped to teach my children.  I looked at my kitchen table strewn with books, paper, binders, and scissors and felt like I was going to drown. 

Thank God for my mothers.  My mother-in-law dried my tears, and told me everything was going to be OK.  My mother assured me that I do not fail at everything, and that this was just a small set back.  My husband then reminded me that this is homeschool...there is no deadline, no absolute day/time I needed to start our schooling. 

And that is what I want to share with you all. 

HOMESCHOOLING IS FLEXIBLE.

 It works around you, you don't have to work around it.  You need to start later, no problem.  Your whole family gets sick, take a few days off.  You have a new baby, take time to relax, recooperate, and enjoy your new joy for a few weeks to get back to your routine.  School will always be there, ready to be taught and learned. 

#WCW: Susanna Wesley (Women of Faith series, #1)

Susanna Wesley

Susanna Wesley was the mother John and Charles Wesley.  She and her husband, Samuel had 19 children, 9 of which lived to adulthood.   She was an amazing woman, who homeschooled her children and had great faith.  She had 16 House Rules that she ruled her house with. You can see them listed at Raising Godly Children.


We can use Susanna as a godly role model for motherhood.  She homeschooled her 9 living children.  She raised them in the fear and admonition of the Lord.  Her sons became great preachers.  She lived for Christ, and instilled her faith in every aspect of her life.  We must be diligent about doing the same in our lives.  Our children must see our faith being lived in us.  We must pray daily that our children grow in faith and never wander away from the faith.  We must trust in the Lord and place our children in His tender loving hands