Dear Mom,

Let us begin our time together with prayers of thanksgiving and praise.

Lord Jesus, we love You and praise Your holy name. Lord, You are so good and caring to each of us. Lord, being held in Your tender embrace is comfort beyond the beyond. Lord, we thank You for allowing that our dear sister in Christ has come through a challenging pregnancy with health and benefit. We thank You for the gift of life and praise Your wondrous love manifest in the gift of two babies for our sister in Christ. Lord, small children present many challenges each day and in many many ways. Lord, we know that Your care extends into every single moment of our lives. Please empower our dear sister to find a path that will allow her the time and energy necessary to meet the challenges that she now faces. Lord, we entrust our lives, our cares, our anxieties and our challenges to Your care. Amen.

After reviewing your personal information it would seem to me that your older child could conceivably work independently on those subjects that are best done this way. That would be math and some of the language arts workbooks. In this way you could get this child started and then let him/her finish the assignment. I would concentrate on reading proficiency with the two older children as well. Your lovely babies are only 5 weeks old and as such you are going to need to focus on their care and most especially your recovery.

It is of no benefit to anyone to put pressure upon the whole household to achieve goals that are not doable considering the challenges that are ahead. I would suggest that you review your present work load with regard to homeschool commitments and peel down the list to ensure that the basics are covered and let the enrichment activities rest until after Christmas.

To my mind it is better to do a little well than to push yourself to do too much only to do it poorly. I sense that you have a heart for teaching, but more importantly your heart is tuned to the needs of your dear children. Listen to that part of your spirit that seeks to find balance. Reading is the most important skill we can teach. If a child reads well then they are able to make up for lost time in tutorial rather quickly. Remember that each day a child is learning. Bring your dear children before your family altar and allow that they see the peace found in discipline to worthy goals. After morning prayer tell your dear children what is expected of them for the day.

I have a small portion of a wall in the kitchen painted with blackboard paint. On this blackboard I will write the goals for the day. I try to keep the goals according to priorities. For example at the top of the list for today is: 1. Make brownies for Aunt Martha's visit; 2. Make vet appt. for Holly to get a flea dip; 3. Laura practice the piano; 4. Begin 4-H entomology project; 5. Prepare for Latin class; 6. Write Jenny a letter.

I guess my list of priorities says more about my philosophy than anything you could know about me. heehee

This practice has been one of our family traditions since the children were very small. Now when my grandchildren visit they will say "Nanaw, what are we doing today?" and look up at the blackboard to see if they are counted in the tasks and chores.

After my prayer time in the morning I review all that we have to do and make a list accordingly. Try this yourself. Your dear children will get in the spirit of the tasks ahead. I believe that I sense in you a mommy whose house is filled with the joy of the Lord. Go forward into your days and let the Lord empower you accordingly.

Please eat enough as you care for your family. Get plenty of rest and take a walk all by yourself even if it is in the backyard. You are in my daily prayers dear sister in Christ.

Sending out a prayer,

Rita Munn