Wedding preparations abound this week in our large family homeschool life!
Read all of the Large Family Homeschool Life!
MONDAY
I made a peach blackberry crisp last night to have for breakfast this morning. The peaches are from seconds a friend bought last fall, and the blackberries we picked as a family at a friend’s house last summer. They have been in the freezer, so I thought it would be a nice treat!
Most of the kids ate the crisp, but Mercy doesn’t eat much fruit because of her mouth surgery, so I made her oatmeal and made her try one bite of the crisp. We are still working to get her used to certain textures.
I refilled the birdfeeders and drank some coffee while I watched the birds eat their breakfast.
During Morning Time, we learned about the assassinations of MLK and Bobby Kennedy, and we read in The Phantom Tollbooth.
I helped the little girls with their independent school work, and Keian finished American Sign Language today. We use Sign It! for teaching sign language. If you are interested in other options for ASL, check out my post:
American Sign Language for Homeschoolers
In the afternoon, a friend of mine came over to teach our 8 year old guitar. They worked on a C chord, and the 12 year old sat in on the lesson as well.
The kids played outside the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, and Ty and I chatted with the neighbors. Ty also helped Garin (12) smoke cheese and bacon in the smoker he got for his birthday. It was quite tasty!
For dinner, the kids had chicken tacos and black beans while we took Keian out for his last Special Night as a single man. We went to a local Mexican restaurant that recently reopened after a remodel – it looked awesome and was packed with people!
While we hung out watching movies with Keian in our bedroom, the little kids played with their felt board. We have several sets from Felt Fantasies and we LOVE them! And they are so reasonably priced!
TUESDAY
For Morning Time, we read in Hurlbut’s Story of the Bible, and learned about Nixon in All the People. We recently bought the updated version of this book to go along with our Tapestry of Grace studies.
If you are interested in learning more about how we use Tapestry of Grace, I have an entire page here on the blog that explains it:
We also studied conceptual art (not impressed), and the planet Mercury in the Apologia Astronomy book. And we are really enjoying our current read-aloud – The Phantom Tollbooth!
Then, the kids went to their independent schoolwork. Creed is super excited about his Graphic Design class! He’s enjoyed showing me all the things he’s learning! If you’d like to know more about this class, check out the review post below:
For lunch, I had the leftover air-fried chicken from last night, and some of the kids made egg sandwiches and used some of the bacon our 12 year old smoked yesterday.
Some friends from a city we used to live in were able to come by for an afternoon visit, so we enjoyed a long talk while the kids played.
This evening, we had a game night for our Titus 2 Group, so I brought along homemade bread and an English cucumber to cut up. All of us women just take whatever we can find from our refrigerators and create a meal from it all. It’s always delicious!
WEDNESDAY
This morning, I put the electric skillet roast on for dinner, and then made myself some peanut butter and banana toast and coffee.
We are not having Morning Time today because the 17 year old is getting breakfast with friends. He has been a bit cut off from his friends since finding out his girlfriend was pregnant last fall.
Many of his friends attend a church we used to go to. A month or so before finding out our son’s girlfriend was pregnant, we had left that church due to doctrinal differences and concerns we had over things being said from the pulpit. However, our son and his girlfriend were still attending Youth Group there until that day in September when we found out she was pregnant.
After that, it became very clear our son was not welcome in that church, and would have to jump through a multitude of hoops to prove to them that he was repentant (something we addressed as a family immediately). He would not have been allowed to sit with his girlfriend and her family or even converse with her because the church believed it would give the appearance of evil. There are many other things we totally disagreed with church leadership on that I may someday be willing to talk about, but suffice it to say, we decided then and there our son would not step foot near that church as long as he was under our roof.
It was a horrible experience and handled rather contrary to Scripture, but we are incredibly thankful to be in a Christ-centered church now. It is the pastor of our current church that will be marrying the kids this weekend. Thankful for how he stepped in and counseled them, and is now performing the ceremony for them.
So anyway…
I spent much of the morning on the phone with both my mom and my oldest son. I also finally got my website email back up and running – that was stressful because you never know who might have emailed you while the email was down, and I hate missing things!
The older kids headed to the bee farm for work, and I took the little girls with me to the vet for our little kitty’s booster shot. They really enjoyed going with me to see where Alice goes to the doctor.
When I got home, the kids tidied up and watched their shows for the day. We had roast and salad for dinner, and then Ty went to Men’s Group for our church.
The young adult group for our church ended up meeting at our house because one of the kids at the house where they usually meet threw up on the way home from school. It was fun to have the young adults here. I joined in the study and the games as well!
THURSDAY
For Morning Time, we studied Ford’s presidency, minimalist music (we liked Glass’ Metamorphosis the best!), and read in The Phantom Tollbooth.
Aspen finished her phonics book about a cat in Holland today. I can tell how much improved she is!
This afternoon, I had a hair appointment. I had a tinted gloss put on, which makes my hair smooth and shiny. I also had my eyebrows tinted. They seem a little dark to me, but they will fade.
Note to self: Don’t get my hair (or eyebrows) done a couple of days before a wedding!
Tonight, we went to the movie Jesus Revolution. We attend a Calvary Chapel church plant, so it was very interesting to see how it all started! I also appreciated that the movie didn’t sugar-coat the story. These were real and often messy people, but God likes to use messy people so there’s no doubt it is His work and not theirs.
FRIDAY
I got some great sleep last night after several nights of not great sleep. I’m sure it’s the upcoming wedding and my subconscious mulling over everything. I have also been a bit nauseous the past few days. I remember not sleeping well and being nauseous before Blake’s wedding too. Whenever there is a big event, I’m always a little nervous someone will get sick, and so I think that’s what causes me to not feel well and not sleep well either.
This morning, we tidied the house and moved certain items for the wedding tomorrow. Then, we did our usual Home Blessing Chores.
I decided to mop the hardwoods in the living room (where the wedding will take place) with my new eCloth mop. It worked amazingly well! But, I can definitely tell my mopping muscles are out of shape!
My 18 year old and I traveled into the city to get a new battery for her phone. It took a lot longer than I anticipated, so we went to Michael’s and Hobby Lobby and chit-chatted a bunch as well.
While we were taking care of that, Ty went and picked up our 22 year old from college. I usually do it, but I was concerned it would be too stressful for me to travel that far with all we have to do to get the house in order for the wedding tomorrow.
However, we did meet Ty and Meg and our oldest son and his wife in the city for dinner that evening. Blake is turning 25 next week, so we celebrated his birthday and then headed home to help decorate and settle in for the night since we have a BIG DAY tomorrow!
NOTE: Here are a few photos I took at the wedding. (We will have the professional ones once they are ready.)
Jessica says
So sweet! We had our first baby when we were 17. It’s definitely not an easy road (is parenthood ever?!) but family support goes a long way. It’s so wonderful to see you live out the gospel and embrace the mess of life with love ??
Susan says
beautiful x
Danielle says
My husband’s dad and mom got pregnant with him when they were 15 and 17, respectively. They didn’t stay together, but I thank God constantly that they were surrounded with loving support to raise their son, and He protected the precious baby who grew up to be the man I love today. His story is a huge part of how we ended up waiting until marriage ourselves.
Julie Bahr says
Thank goodness Keian and his bride did not turn away from the Lord at the previous church’s response to their sin. There is no hurt like church-hurt! So happy your family has found a new place to settle in and fellowship. Their wedding looks beautiful and your daughter in law is a talented baker. We will be praying for the Lord’s blessing on the new marriage and for a healthy pregnancy and delivery.
Amy says
Thank you!
Megan says
Absolutely beautiful pictures. This is a new season and you have started this off wonderfully.
Amy says
Thank you, Megan!
Andrea says
That is so true “there is no church like church hurt.” SO true. Healing is a looong process for children and adults alike.
Tarynkay says
It seems like your family handled this situation beautifully. They are so blessed to have so much family support. I pray that this will be the beginning of a long and wonderful marriage for both of them. Your hair and eyebrows look really good too.
Amy says
Thank you! I pray that for them too! (and thanks for the hair and eyebrows encouragement! lol)
Vanessa says
From what I read of the situation, y’all have shown so much grace and love. Unexpected is an understatement, and your old church’s response does not sound grounded in Bible truth, sounds very righteous and judgemental. It’s always hurtful to have a church/people hurt people, it definitely took discernment to walk away and shield your son.
Praying for the young couple, and the baby coming very soon. As someone that has read your posts for many years, the young couple have some pretty awesome role models.
I am sure you have had a roller coaster of emotions to navigate. Prayers for discernment and much love.
Amy says
Thank you so much for your kind words, Vanessa! We’re not perfect, but we sure do strive to love these kids with the love of Christ!
Rachael Newman says
Congratulations to the happy couple and all the aunts, uncles, and grandparents-to-be! A baby is a blessing-and all of your lives show that! You are all in our prayers.
Amy says
Thank you, Rachael!
Debra Montgomery says
Thank you so much for the courage to share your vulnerability during this transitional time in your family. Your honesty about how you felt is sooo refreshing and needed. I can’t imagine what you are going through as my oldest is 11 but….. I know reading your hearts message will continually resonate with me when our children make mistakes as I know they will and to “see” that we as parents can extend grace and not just throw shame and guilt…. Is just… I can’t think of the words… thank you so much
Amy says
Thank you so much, Debra! We are doing our best to keep Christ at the forefront and love these kids with His love.
Kathryn says
Hi Amy,
I am so thankful that you share bits of your life here. Your heart and you and your family are beautiful! I am continually inspired by your faith and love for God and your family. Life can indeed be messy… Yet God can be glorified through that and I can see His glory in your story!
thank you for sharing all that you do, even down to the little details before big events or what you fix for meals. I love that you referenced you held off on morning time when your son was not able to be there… Is that a common practice? My teen son has begun working now, and I am trying to navigate how to do our group lessons with him not home all the time.
I am so sorry about the hurt from your previous church. I am so glad that your faith all remained strong through that trial, and I imagine it was strengthened through the trial. Your son and his bride are beautiful, congratulations on your coming grandbaby! 🙂
Amy says
Thank you for your kindness, Kathryn! As far as holding off on Morning Time, the reason we don’t do it when the 2 older kids aren’t here is because we are finishing up the last of a four year history cycle that will finish out their high school history. If they didn’t need those classes, I would keep going when they aren’t there.
Kathryn says
I meant to say hearing that you get poor sleep or nausea before events comforted me to know that I’m not the only one – yet I am so sorry you dealt with that!
Praying for you and your family today! 🙂 you are wonderful!
Rebecca says
Thank you for sharing what you do share. My brother became a father as a 17 year old so I’ve lived as a sibling in this very situation. He married the baby’s mother and they had another son a few years later. This was about 30 years ago, as the “baby” is now a grown man with 3 children of his own. At the time, it seems so monumental and shameful and exciting and so many emotions. And you can imagine, 30 years ago it was a different vibe than it is now. Our family supported and embraced them and the baby but she wasn’t a believer and it didn’t work out. I’m convinced that’s the biggest (probably the main or only) reason it didn’t because with the Lord at the front and center of your marriage, it will hold, though marriage so young is super hard. (Marriage at all ages is hard sometimes too, isn’t it). Here’s a thought tho….y’all are so young as are Keian and his wife, your energy and enthusiasm will benefit the baby and yourselves! My mom was 44 I think when my nephew arrived and enjoyed being a young grandmother very much. Perspective is everything.
Your hair looked great in the picture and your eyebrows absolutely matched, did not look dark. I love the cake, I love simple and elegant looks.
Amy says
Thank you for your insight as a sibling, Rebecca! In some ways, I think the siblings have had a bigger adjustment than we have. But, we all just keep walking it out. There have already been many blessings from this refining fire! (and thank you for your kind words about my hair and eyebrows – I think I’m just not used to having eyebrows you can see! lol)
Betsy Wright says
A beautiful growing family! That support for each other through the curveballs is a blessing! That baby is going to be oh so loved and will know it!
Amy says
Thank you, Betsy!
Veronica says
Thank you Amy for sharing your family’s journey and handling your son and his new bride with love and grace. I was a teen mom and I can not tell you what a difference love and grace would have made during that time of my life. I am so thankful that God watched over me and my child leading me to my now husband who has taught me about God’s love and his word. My life could have taken a completely different path due to the fact that my pregnancy was addressed with very little love and grace. So as a onetime teen mom thank you for loving and caring for the teen parents in your life.
Amy says
Thank you for your kind and encouraging words, Veronica!
Diana says
Hi, Amy! Thank you for sharing your journey with us. I am sure you have had countless challenges during this past half-year! I really appreciate your openness. This past year we have dealt with a lot of challenging teen issues, as well as a teen who needs/wants to graduate early, so I am identifying with a lot of what you have to say, though details are different. It’s good to be able to read about how others are handling the challenges of having teens!
I know that this baby is so loved, and has a wonderful grandmother! 🙂
Diana
Amy says
Thank you, Diana!
Jacqueline says
Thank you for your honesty in all you have written about through the years. As a mother with small children, I greatly appreciate you.
Amy says
Thank you, Jacqueline!
Donna Boese says
Amy,
Just want you to know we love you and your family! We are praying for you and know that God will bless you for your faithfulness to Him. Thank you for sharing.
Donna
Amy says
Thank you, Donna! I appreciate your prayers!