A (Long) Random Post About Summer 2013

Well... it's officially Summer 2013.  So far not too hot, but the mosquitos are eating my alive and I remember why Fall is my favorite season and not this hot ole mess that we can barely breathe nor walk or function in! 

First thing I want to talk about on this random blog post is my kids doing this:

 I think it may be the most annoying thing in the world to here the words "whhhaattt?"  followed by that crazy face - although the minion above looks really cute while doing it, right?  The age old question of "what?" is sometimes even replaced with "why" or "how" and that is no better.

I can feel the gray hairs growing as I type. 

Onto my next rambling post photo... I wish that I could tell my sons this everyday and they knew, without a doubt, that I meant it:

Blaze has been showing some major signs of depression or low self esteem and I just wish I could show him who he is in the eyes of the people that love him.  Who he is in CHRIST.  But, as his mother I simply cannot.  That is something he will have to figure out on his own in his own time.  For now, all I can do is boost his self esteem, praise his work ethics and endurance, and teach him what my parents never taught me - that vision plus energy plus faith equals success. 

What will be the next random post photo on this post.. well here it is:



I would like to sell or trade the following books if anyone is interested.

I have books for Pre-K through second grade and I am looking for books up to fifth grade.

Contact me via ashleywilsonjackson@gmail.com if you are interested. 

Next random photo... we "skipped" our homeschooling lesson for the day when we heard that the Titans were in town.. just one of many pros to homeschooling I suppose!

And next on my random list are these books that I would like to giveaway to one lucky winner.  If you are interested in winning this prize pack, please email me, FB, or tweet me before July 5th.  I will choose a winner on July 6th.  Some of the items in the giveaway are Quick Math Quiz drills for third and fourth grade, a teachers notepad that sticks of your fridge, a large Science Is Fun book for ages 7-12, a Math Unit book for ages 6-8, a Reading Connection book for 3rd grade, the new children's book by Tiki Barber, and this ugly hotel bedspread! Okay, just kidding on the bedspread..

If you are still reading this long, crazy blog post then THANK YOU.  Now it's time to talk about something very near and dear to my heart (and a lot more serious than above.)  This little girl below is my precious angel of a God-Daughter named Karissa.  She has brought such joy to my life as well as my husband's.  I have been around her since she was born and I love watching her learn and grow - but as we watched her, we realized that she was not progressing like most little girls here age.

Her mother, my dear friend Tiffany, took her to a specialist who sent her for futher testing and diagnosed her with Lissencephaly AKA Smooth Brain.  It has a horrible prognosis and very large death rate with the average age of death being 3 years old and the longest anyone has ever lived with it being 22 years old.  Obviously, this is a devastating blow to all of those who love her.  We would really appreciate prayers and support as we walk this journey with her mom and the rest of her family.  I just know that if anyone can kick butt it's Karissa and I have faith that God's mighty healing hand will help this little girl have a happy and healthy life. 



So, as my random but wonderful blog post comes to an end, I want to leave all of you with this.  Please never change who you are and let people love you exactly where you are at in your life.  We can never be perfect, there is no such thing as perfect people... but good news! There is a perfect God, he loves you, and he sent his son to die so that you would have everlasting life.  My challenge for you this week is to stay positive, read your bible, pray, and just smile a whole lot.  I love each and every one of you and I would love to pray for you too! Leave a prayer request in the comments and I will lift you up in prayer this week. 



For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present or things yet to come. nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the Love of Christ! - Romans 8:38

Landon Ace Jackson Turns Seven!

I want to wish my youngest son a very happy 7th birthday!

His only wish... a tweet from Josh Freeman, QB of the Tampa Bay Bucs.

(He got his wish, yall.  Huge mommy moment for me!)

And somewhere in the middle of Mr. Landon Ace Jackson turning the big 7, he began to look

a lot more like his mama.  I kinda like finally having a kid that looks like me. :) 

Baby boy, I cannot begin to tell you how much joy you have brought into my life.  I couldn't even put the words onto the blog.  I will always love you, protect you, and care for you.  You will always be my baby boy, my youngest son, one of the three loves of my life.  I hope your birthday was the best one ever!  Now, stop growing please.  Love, mommy 

"May" We Have Joy In Our Hearts!

For May, we really wanted to focus on God's love and how it applies to everyday life.

Children have a hard time applying life principles just by hearing them over and over..

or sitting in a classroom and being "taught" about them. 

I decided it was time to teach my children that not all children have a loving home, a faith based church, love and support from family and friends.  Not all children have a home, have a roof over their heads, or have a car to get to and from the store or where they need to go.  We learned about kids all over the world whose only wish is to go to school. 

My kids were floored.

The thought that there were children in the world who wanted to go to school is something my kids just didn't want to believe.  But, we got on the Internet, started exploring, and my kids learned fast I wasn't just trying to get them to enjoy school more - they saw they were blessed.

Sure, it didn't stick and ten minutes later they were whining that homeschool was running over time and that their brains were freezing up from all the things of the day, but the lesson was learned and I know that it stuck with them so that is the best I can ask for. 

One thing that we learned about that most public school kids probably didn't was - the NFL draft.  My friends thought I was crazy that I would use this as a teaching tool, but we actually found it very beneficial.  The kids watched as adults cried over finally seeing their dreams come a reality.  They quickly said "I can't wait to be up there" and that was the start of our discussion.

You can't get anywhere in life without working hard.  And sometimes you will fail.

After all, did you know that Micheal Jordan couldn't even make the varsity basketball team at his high school? (You're welcome for that bit of info!)

I think instilling in the kids that they have to work for everything and chances are not going to just fall into their lap is just as important, if not more so, than doing all of our school work.  Sure, we need to know Math, but what will Math help if you do not even know how to act in society? Especially in today's world.  And that leads me to my next topic...

How have you tackled the manners situation? Although my children have been taught from birth to say please, thank you, maam, and sir, my kids are around children all the time whose parents do not have the same standards for their own children.  It has made playdates awkward and babysitting a real challenge, not to mention it gives me less and less hope for this generation.  I am not sure why people don't feel the need to teach their children to use kind words.  Why is that such old fashioned values? I couldn't tell you how many times this month alone I have been stopped by older people telling me that my child held the door for them, said a kind word, or did something nice without being asked.  They seem so surprised that a kid in today's world would even act like that - and that really hurts my heart.  To think that my children are growing up in such a cruel world with low standards and getting worse by the day makes it hard for moms and dads really trying to live by the standards of the bible and our moral beliefs as a family.  I will tackle this situation again heavily in a future post. 

As we are now halfway into May, we have been working on Money.  Of course, the boys love to wear their money PJ's so we wore them while learning how to count money and give the right amount of money back for change.  We plan to have a yard sale this summer where the kids will do all of the work and have to count their money and give back their own change.  I hope this further teaches them what we have spent about seven days learning this month.  Blaze has excelled and is counting money much faster than a third grade level and Ace is right on his level as far as the public school standards are concerned - not that we follow those anyway :) 

And, sometimes, you've just gotta pull out some board games and bribe your children to be good for the week to get what you need done.  A housewife's work is never done, then throw in stay at home mom and she has two full time jobs, but then as you finally throw in that final job of 100% homeschool teacher, and somedays we are just overworked and underpaid.  I just keep saying "I Am Blessed, I Am Blessed, I Am Blessed" 

And, because of the hard times my family seems to be going through right now, I leave this post with my favorite verse.  God has made a promise to his people so if you are one of his children then hold tight to that promise and if you are not, please know that the best thing that could ever happen to your life is Jesus and accepting him is so simple yet life changing.  He wants to carry your burdens, he wants to take away your pain, He will listen even when nobody else cares.  Nobody else in your life is going to that for nothing, but he will.  All he asks is that you give him your heart and that you live the right life.  So, do it now :)

Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you, Says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  

April and May Homeschooling Adventures

The boys asked me to blog about their amazing grades the last two semesters! They are so proud to now both be honor roll students! What a difference homeschool makes for our family!!

Blaze - A in Math, A in Reading, A in Bible, A in English, B in Social Studies, A in Science (Spring 2013) and in Winter 2013 Blaze made Straight A's!! Way to go buddy!!

Ace - B in Math, B in reading, A in English, A in Social Studies, A in Science (Winter 2013) and in Spring 2013, Ace made all A's except for a B in Math!

We are now starting our Summer semester which will end on August 16th.  If the boys continue to do this well for the rest of the year, they will both advance to the next grade.  We will continue with my own home made curriculum as that is what seems to work the best for our family.  If you are here reading and have questions, comments, or concerns about the grading process, I am here to chat.  I want to help others that are attempting homeschool and need help!  You can also e-mail me at ashleywilsonjackson@gmail.com for help! God Bless!!

A Special School Day At The Park!

Nice weather means park time! Who says school has to be inside??

As schoolwork becomes the everyday norm for us and we are quite a ways into our homeschool experience, we have decided that once a week, weather permitting, we will do school work at a local park.  The fresh air seems to do them good - and they made wonderful grades on what they did outside! 

When we take our school work outside, we normally just do our review workbooks instead of worksheets, lapbooks, or curriculum.  I have been working on an outside bag that is packed and ready to go with both things to do that are educational and the necessities we need such as bug spray and sunscreen so that we can just get up and go.  I am learning that the more organized you are, the better.  

A little tip from one homeschooler to another: Just because it is called homeschool doesn't mean it always have to be done in the house.  By picking different scenery and things outdoors, it takes away from the repetition of everyday school work.  As the boys seem to struggle or stress on certain days, I try to find other ways to make it unique, challenging, and fun.  My little classroom moves from place to place and we never do the same thing twice.  I have decided not to follow as strict of a schedule as I had once planned so hopefully that will also allow the boys to explore the world and learn from other things than just books.