Habit 1

My mom had a friend who had the sweetest spirit. Even when she was days away from meeting our Lord, if you asked her, "How are you doing?" she always responded, "I am blessed."

That is the type of woman I want to be.

Therefore, my first new habit of 2011 is to count my blessings every day.

It is hard to be discontent when you count your blessings. 

* A personal relationship with my Savior

* Friends

* Food to eat

* Clothes to wear

* A nice, warm house to live in when it's freezing outside

* Brownies made with lots of help from little hands

* Clean water

* Toothbrushes and toothpaste

* Books to read

* Soft pillows and a soft, warm bed

* Snuggles

I could go on and on, but I'll stop with this...

* The love of my family

I feel more content already. :)
Truly I am blessed.

Discontentment

God has really been laying on my heart lately how easily I fall into the trap of being discontent. So I am going to concentrate 2011 on the art of being content.


Phillipians 4:11-12 says, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."



I believe the key word in these verses is "learned." In our society (and apparently in societies many years ago) there is always the pull to want something different than what we have.
 
I found these quotes by Kent Crockett on contentment:
 
* The grass is always greenest in the center of God’s will.
 
*A nicer golf course won't make you a better golfer. A nicer environment won't make you a better person.
 
*Has it ever occurred to you that the things you now have were once things you were trying to get?




* Contentment in life is not found in a perfect set of circumstances but by choosing to be happy in every situation.

The last quote is my favorite - being content is a choice. And it is my choice to make 2011 a year of purposefully learning contentment.
 
A website that I have recently fallen in love with is http://www.aholyexperience.com/. Ann Voskamp is such a beautiful writer, and I have told more than one person that her site has changed my life. ;) One thing I am doing to intentionally learn to be content this year is by following the 100 Day Calendar found here. More and more I want to have a grateful heart, for truly God has blessed me with so much. I am choosing to develop 3 new habits over the next 100 days.
 
It's hard to be discontent when you count your blessings.

Discontentment

God has really been laying on my heart lately how easily I fall into the trap of being discontent. So I am going to concentrate 2011 on the art of being content.


Phillipians 4:11-12 says, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."



I believe the key word in these verses is "learned." In our society (and apparently in societies many years ago) there is always the pull to want something different than what we have.
 
I found these quotes by Kent Crockett on contentment:
 
* The grass is always greenest in the center of God’s will.
 
*A nicer golf course won't make you a better golfer. A nicer environment won't make you a better person.
 
*Has it ever occurred to you that the things you now have were once things you were trying to get?




* Contentment in life is not found in a perfect set of circumstances but by choosing to be happy in every situation.

The last quote is my favorite - being content is a choice. And it is my choice to make 2011 a year of purposefully learning contentment.
 
A website that I have recently fallen in love with is http://www.aholyexperience.com/. Ann Voskamp is such a beautiful writer, and I have told more than one person that her site has changed my life. ;) One thing I am doing to intentionally learn to be content this year is by following the 100 Day Calendar found here. More and more I want to have a grateful heart, for truly God has blessed me with so much. I am choosing to develop 3 new habits over the next 100 days.
 
It's hard to be discontent when you count your blessings.

Discontentment

God has really been laying on my heart lately how easily I fall into the trap of being discontent. So I am going to concentrate 2011 on the art of being content.


Phillipians 4:11-12 says, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."



I believe the key word in these verses is "learned." In our society (and apparently in societies many years ago) there is always the pull to want something different than what we have.
 
I found these quotes by Kent Crockett on contentment:
 
* The grass is always greenest in the center of God’s will.
 
*A nicer golf course won't make you a better golfer. A nicer environment won't make you a better person.
 
*Has it ever occurred to you that the things you now have were once things you were trying to get?




* Contentment in life is not found in a perfect set of circumstances but by choosing to be happy in every situation.

The last quote is my favorite - being content is a choice. And it is my choice to make 2011 a year of purposefully learning contentment.
 
A website that I have recently fallen in love with is http://www.aholyexperience.com/. Ann Voskamp is such a beautiful writer, and I have told more than one person that her site has changed my life. ;) One thing I am doing to intentionally learn to be content this year is by following the 100 Day Calendar found here. More and more I want to have a grateful heart, for truly God has blessed me with so much. I am choosing to develop 3 new habits over the next 100 days.
 
It's hard to be discontent when you count your blessings.

Day 3

Today marks Day 3 of homeschooling in the Castleberry household. Things are going very well. Aside from cursive handwriting, ahem. Ella Beth just soaks up everything that we go over, and I am finding that the Kindergarten curriculum is just a review for Ella Beth despite the fact that she is just 4 years old. We are doing 3-5 lessons a day in about 45 minutes. But that is just fine for now. I am using this "review" as a time for Ella Beth and me to adjust to homeschooling. It's a pretty big adjustment.

Ella Beth has been in Montessori school for the last two years, and has truly thrived in the Montessori enviornment. Or, let me be clear - she has thrived educationally in the Montessori classroom. Socially, that's a different story all together. Which answers the question I have been asked so frequently lately:

Why are you choosing to homeschool?

There is not one simple answer to this question. Rather, a myriad of issuse led to my decision. The Montessori approach to teaching is truly phenomenal, and if you have not done any research into Montessori education, I highly recommend it! I am going to be supplementing the curriculum that we are using as much as possible with Montessori activities and manipulatives.

However, as good as the Montessori approach is (and I truly believe it is), there are also many things that counter the values that we, well, value in our home. More times than I can count, Ella Beth has come home with stories that just shock me. Ella Beth is just 4, but when she was 3 the stories started: "__________ called me stupid and said my shirt was ugly." "________ says that I'm not her friend any more and she's not going to invite me to her birthday party." "_________" says that there are vampires in her back yard who come to drink blood at night."

Wow. At four years old, Ella Beth has heard words that we have never spoken in our house, and has repeated those words; she has been exposed to vampires; she has been bullied; she has been treated unkind and has learned how to treat others unkindly. Her school is great, and her teachers were just wonderful. But when it came down to Ella Beth's heart, it was not being developed the way that our family desires.

So, I have chosen to shelter my children. Bring on all criticism because I can defend my decision. :) I am choosing eternal importance above temperal.

What Is A Girl?

"What Is A Girl?" by Alan Beck

Little girls are the nicest things that can happen to people. They are born with a little bit of angelshine about them, and though it wears thin sometimes, there is always enough left to lasso your heart...

A little girl can be sweeter (and badder) oftener than anyone else in the world. She can jitter around, and stomp, and make funny noises that frazzle your nerves, yet just when you open your mouth, she stands there demure with that special look in her eyes...

God borrows from many creatures to make a little girl. He uses he song of a bird, the squeal of a pig, the stubbornness of a mule, the antics of a monkey, the spryness of a grasshopper, the curiosity of a cat, the speed of a gazelle, the slyness of a fox, the softness of a kitten, and to top it all off He adds the mysterious mind of a woman...

A little girl likes new shoes, party dresses, small animals, first grade, noisemakers, the girl next door, dolls, make-believe, dancing lessons, ice cream, kitchens, coloring books, makeup, cans of water, going visiting, tea parties, and one boy. She doesn't care so much for visitors, boys in general, large dogs, hand-me-downs, straight chairs, vegetables, snowsuits, or staying in the front yard. She is loudest when you are thinking, the prettiest when she has provoked you, the busiest at bedtime, the quietest when you want to show her off, and the most flirtatious when she absolutely must not get the best of you again.

--
Thank you, God, for my little girl.

White Christmas

Our Christmas was just wonderful. The kiddos were SO. STINKIN. EXCITED. that it just bathed everyone with excitement and anticipation!

Sleepy-eyed excitement on Christmas morn!

Ella Beth l-o-v-e-d everything she got. Over and over throughout the day we heard her say, "Oh! My wish came true!" as she opened her gifts. :)

Some of Landon's gifts (a bulldozer and a dump truck) were as big as he is!

Landon's "new" smile. :)

Another one of Ella Beth's wishes coming true...

A fully furnished doll house!

Landon thinks he's a BIG boy now on his new bicycle!

Opening more presents Christmas evening at Aunt Karla's house.

If your little one received a pillow pet for Christmas I am sure these were the same faces you saw when he or she opened it!!!

Ella Beth screamed, "This is the BEST. DAY. EVER. Oh, my favorite wish came true!" (She's not the least bit dramatic. ;))

And, to top it all off...it was a White Christmas. What a special day indeed!