Mini Vacation

My husband took the week off of work. It's always nice when hubby is home from work. It allows us to hang out and spend time as a family. --much needed rest and fun, especially for hubby.

We were blessed with a very generous gift card to Kalahari in Wisconsin Dells. So we boarded the dogs and spent a night at Kalahari.

Our stay including some free passes to other area attractions so we took advantage of some of those too, but spent most of our time at Kalahari.

It was the break and fun this family needed so much.

Welcome Home Mommy!

I came home to this welcome sign! It reads "Welcome Home Mommy!"

I had a very good little birthday weekend in the Detroit, MI area, shopping, late night talks and movies, a pig roast, and other good food. Time to just sit and relaxed, it was a very freshening weekend. I'm very thankful for my BFF for putting up with me over the weekend. :)

As much fun as I had it's good to be home! The winners for the giveaway will be announce tomorrow so stay tuned for that!

Do you? Do they?

Well we are wrapping up our first year of homeschooling! WOW that just blows my mind, I can't believe that it's been almost been a whole year. Just thinking about that just blows my mind!

The main questions I have been getting besides how do you handle being with them all the time: Is do they get spring break? Vacations? What about testing? (I did a post earlier about testing, so I won't address that again.)

So yes they do get vacations and breaks! Why anyone would think they don't is beyond me. The major difference between homeschooling, PS (public school), and private school is that when it comes to homeschooling and vacations I as the teacher, superintendent, and school board president can set the school days and vacations as I see fit!

Of course I have to be sure I follow my state laws, but truly I have the ability to set the days as I see fit. Daddy is home from work, then we are off of school. We feel overwhelmed with the schooling then we take a day or two off. No big deal!!

The schools here are on spring break, but we are still plugging away with school. Mainly because the kiddos want to be done by the end of April. They don't want to stop! Yes, we are going to be done by the end of April. One whole month then the schools here. However we started one whole month before the schools here!!!

Parting Words

Okay!!! I know it's not Easter yet...but I just finished up some virtual house-keeping! So I wanted to pop-in and say Hi to all of you before tomorrow (Ash Wednesday) comes!!

My blog got a face-lift thanks to the folks at the cutest blog on the block! I'm so HTML clueless!! And even though I liked my blog before with the 3 columns I wanted something with a little bit more of a spring-ish colors!! After all it will be April when I come back!! So now thanks to the cutest blog on the block, I can spice up my blog time to time and give it different back-grounds as the season or mood strikes me. I was able to ask them at cutest blog on the block to help me with the HTML coding (getting 3 columns). So Judy there is hope!!

Oh and I want to thank all of you for your kind words, thoughts, and prayers! Well this concludes my virtual house keeping! I will (virtually) see you all on Easter Monday!

God Bless,
SAHMinIL

Vacations: Lenten Retreats

I've given this a LOT of thought! It isn't easy seeing I will admit I have a little bit of an internet addiction. I've been praying and hoping that this blog (along with my others) would be an inspiration to other. I have for the last few months read articles on how to build readers, followers, how to get visitors to your site.

I have networked my site with others and after MONTHS of working, praying, and me just being me I'm finally starting to see traffic to my sites, I'm getting readers and followers. The traffic/followers may be small right now, but I'm thankful for each and everyone of you: Thank-you to all those that have chosen to be a reader and/or follower of my sites.

It is because of you, my followers/readers, that this decision has been even harder for me. I don't want to loose you, because I LOVE having you here, but yet I feel that this is something that I MUST do. I sincerely hope that you will understand all of this and will be willing to wait for my return.

Lent is a time for conversion. A time to turn closer to Christ! This conversion is suppose to be life changing! For most Catholic-Christians this desire for conversion is expressed by making a sacrifice; by given something up. I have chosen to make my PC time my Lenten sacrifice. This is not because it is a sin to be on the PC, but because as a homeschooling mother I think that this would be a better way for me to reconnect with God. I feel like if I'm not spending my time here on the PC then I could spend it more in prayer, doing more scripture and spiritual readings.

These are things that I should be doing anyways, but feel as if I don't have time for them. I feel as if I don't have time for prayer. I feel as if I don't have time to sit and cuddle up with a book, I feel as I just don't have enough time for those things. sigh--Time! Time! Time! I wish there was just MORE time during the day!

I'm sure most of you understand this need for MORE time. However there is no magic wand, we are not Samantha or Jennie. We can't twitch our noses or nod our heads to either to make more or freeze time. However, what I can do is spend my limited time differently. I've decided that spending my time differently is exactly what I will do. I've decided to take a vacation from my PC, from social networks, from blogs, from the world wide web. I've decided that this vacation from these things will ALLOW me to have the Time for those things that my spirit has been craving: time in prayer, time with scripture, time with spiritual readings, time with God, my creator, my Lord, my savior.

If this move causes me to loose my readers and followers then I'm sorry! I sincerely hope from the bottom of my heart that you remain here. I sincerely hope that you will have patience and wait for my return, while I take this vacation, this Lenten Retreat! Easter Sunday will be here before you know it, and I will be back Easter Monday (April 13, 2009) to share with you my renewed Spirit.

You all will be in my prayers!
Thanks for everything,

God Bless with all my love,
SAHMinIL