Waiting…waiting…this past week has been a challenging week of striving to stay focused while anxiously awaiting our third little one to arrive. I admit I have been very impatient. After my previous two little ones came 6 and 8 days early respectively, I was half expecting this one to arrive in a nice early fashion as well. God had some lessons in patience to teach me. I’ve noticed more grumpy tendencies creeping out of me. I’m large. It’s hot. My body hurts. My plumbing overflowed in the kitchen. I can’t do much even if I wanted to. 
The Lord is gracious despite my weakness. His grace is sufficient for me. I have much to be thankful for. This month I hung curtains in my living room making it more comfy and inviting, we hosted a fun ice cream social reaching out to friends and neighbors, I learned all about infant massage and the benefits to baby, I had a lovely personal retreat preparing my heart for our new addition, I started reading all about classical education and became so excited for the potential of educating our children, and so much more. It has been a blessed month filled with lots of family time investing in our two littles ones before we expand again – picnics, summer reading, and tea parties.
Tea time with Karis
3 in 30 Challenge: August
I have really been enjoying recording three goals for each month following the inspiration of the 3 in 30 Challenge.
My goals for August include becoming more faithful in daily prayer for my husband and children. I was really challenged to see these precious individuals as my primary ministry more so and what better way to serve them then through prayer. So I set up a little nook in my bedroom with my nursing chair, a small lamp, table, and my Bible and journals. I taped the 31 days of prayer chart for your children and the 31 days of prayer chart for your husband to the wall next to my chair. I plan to use this not only as my nursing nook, but it will certainly double as my prayer/Bible study corner during those hours of nursing that I will be entering soon.
Secondly, I want to develop a basic chore chart for my little ones. I have been inspired by the materials provided by Preschoolers and Peace and plan to develop a chart along these lines for my 2 and 4 year olds. As we welcome number 3, I can see it being even more essential to begin training them in being useful helpers to mommy!
Lastly, I want to make a simple plan of learning activities for my 2 year old as we begin early Kindergarten lessons with my daughter in September. He is pretty independent and enjoys his own play, but I really want to make sure I have some scheduled quality time with him each day. I want to make a list of fun ideas and such that will help keep him busy during our lesson times. I recently found a new simple curriculum called Flowering Baby that I will be reviewing and sampling. I’m really excited to try it out!
Any tips you might have to offer on these things would be greatly appreciated!
1000 Gifts – My Thankfulness List
What a blessing to continue on in the pursuit of recording 1000 gifts of everyday blessings in our lives. This has been such a rich and rewarding experience. My little moleskin notepad stores such treasures and graces from our day to day life.
#568- Cool weather for a summer pregnancy
#569- Selling furniture for a good price
#570 – Chai milkshakes
#571- Hot tub family time in the morning
#572 – Neighborhood parades with free goodies
#573 – Karis’ excitement over science experiments with daddy
#574 - Summer picnics at the park
#575 – My own little reading/nursing nook
#576- Kids digging in the dirt
#577- Play dates with cousins
#578- Delicious lunch salad
#579- Impromptu family dinner out to support a friend
#580- Kiddos making a slide out of daddy’s legs
#581- Craigslist deal for last minute baby needs
#582- Girls night hot tub and foot massages with dear friends
#583- Catching up with a long absent friend
#584- Homemade mint chocolate ice cream
#585- A new comforter for our bed
#586- Pregnant mommy toes soaking in cold water with fresh air and a good book in hand
Summer beauty from our backyard
Book Reviews
The Core: Teaching Your Child the Foundations of Classical Education by Leigh Bortins – I have been enthralled in this book over the last week. The classical method has been opening my eyes to the potential for training our children to be equipped to make such a difference in our nation. The pattern for studying chronological history, using real living books, and following the pattern of learning makes a lot of logical sense. I read the Well Trained Mind earlier this year and highly recommend these resources if you are beginning your homeschool journey like me.
King’s Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus by Tim Keller – This is one of my favorite books by Tim Keller presenting the power of the story of Christ through the book of Mark and how it relates to our day and age. My eyes have been open to the beauty of the gospel in a new way through the powerful insight presented in this book. I will have to read it again and again to glean it all!
August Sponsors
I will be taking a maternity break from blogging this month, but you’ll still find a wealth of fun articles from our contributors and guest posts to fill in during my absence. I am excited to take some time to be able to rest and enjoy our new little one (once it decides to show up!).
We would like to thank our wonderful selection of sponsors for the month of August, including:
Beyond Organic - a newly launched company founded by Jordan Rubin desiring to provide you with organic and raw delicious food products delivered to your door! Set to begin deliveries in October 2011.
Fertility Flower - Fertility Flower helps you build your family or practice natural birth control using the sympto-thermal method.
Graham Gardens - Wonderful natural soaps, bug repellent, and more from this wonderful company!
Willow Store - So many wonderful options for using natural cloth alternative in your home instead of disposables!
Sweet Bottoms Baby Boutique - My all time favorite cloth diaper and natural baby/mom products company with free shipping, wonderful customer service, and a fantastic rewards program!
Have a blessed August! May you be encouraged and strengthened in your homemaking and mothering!
Do you have a place to print off a prayer chart for wives? My husband loves the one that I have for him and would like something like that to pray for me.
Many blessings
and
Congratulations on your newest little girl!!!!!
Here is one I found while doing a quick search online for a 31 day prayer guide for your wife.
I can completely relate with the grumpiness of unmet labor expectations. Our fourth is due in just two weeks, but since our last two were 2 and 3 1/2 weeks early I’ve been expecting this one to be early as well.
I’ve had many cases of disappointed grumpiness and have had to remind myself that this new little one will join us exactly when God sees fit.
I’m also struggling with the heat in this, my first full summer, pregnancy.
I’m praying that both you and I will rest in God’s timing and the knowledge that he is in complete control. I’ll also pray that your labor goes smoothly and I know that God will give you the strength you need to bring his blessing into your life.
lindsay-
I too am expecting my 3rd in a few weeks. I love the idea of a chore chart and have just taken pictures of chores for my 2 and 4 year olds to do. Do you have a picture of your completed chart? You may not have had a chance to work on it. The other blogs do not have pictures and I am wondering how the final project looks when stuck up on the refrigerator.
Good luck with your delivery!
Thanks for all of the hard work on this web site. I admit, I have not been on this website in a long time, however it was joy to find it again. It is such an important topic and ignored by so many, even professionals! I do enjoy writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are lost simply just trying to figure out how to begin.
Can hardly wait to read your birth story soon.We are looking forward to writing our own for baby #9 in a little over seven weeks???
HI, Lindsay! I’m so excited that in the coming month, we will get to hear a beautiful home-birth story. . . and they are all beautiful, as the Lord directs them in His providence. He will offer you HIs mercy and grace for every need. We just had our third baby in April right here in the peace of our own home, and it was uneventful, in the most wonderful way.
And guess what?! I just sent in my registration to Classical Conversations, Leigh Bortin’s classical homeschooling organization that we are a part of- beginning our third year, and LOVING IT!!! I just told my husband today, “Wow! I’m learning history like I never did growing up! And science, and language arts, oh, and math. . . . Hey, I’m going to school for a second time!” It just occurred to me that even I am learning so much, and I was a pretty good student growing up, or at least I thought. I have pretty horrible pregnancies, and last year, with CC, I was able to put homeschooling almost on auto pilot- it made it really easy, and my son still learned so incredibly much. Can’t wait to get started again. . . jumping at the bit! God bless you.
Have you heard of the Activity Bags website? It’s designed to be done with other moms to make the bags – each mom puts one activity together (making several bags of the same activity – one for each mom involved in the swap), then everyone swaps, and you’re left with many new activities. The website is: http://www.activitybags.com/. Maybe this will give you inspiration??
I just found your blog through facebook and decided to pop in for a visit. Nice! And I see some familiar faces here too.
Thank you for your very timely posts! I am expecting baby #2 in just over 6 weeks and I popped in on your blog just in time to read the post about anxiety as the new arrival gets nearer and nearer. Thank you for your insights!
So excited for you, Lindsay! This morning, I was watching the home video of my daughter meeting our son for the first time and was just overcome with the blessing of a new baby
Can’t wait to hear your news! May God give you a strong and timely labor with no complications. Love and prayers from your sister in Christ!
Prayers as you wait on #3! I recently found this lady’s website; she has 9 kids and homeschools, so she has some great articles on what to do with small kids while big ones are working. I love that she explains EVERYTHING she does. I am planning to do a lot of her ideas with my almost 3yo this fall.
http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2011/02/young-children-inclusion-in.html This one is the most about little kids, but all her homeschooling posts are very inspirational, if you have time to read over them.
I know this is not the right place to ask but I did not know how to contact you otherwise. I notice that you use a lot of organic foods/products. Where do you do the most of your food shopping? Do you go to organic stores like Whole Foods or Trader joes? I’m trying to get over the mentality of the couponing craze because so much of that food is really not good for you.
Any suggestions?
I do the majority of our shopping at Trader Joe’s and then do bulk purchases of meat, fruit, and such from local farmers throughout the year. You can see a sampling of our grocery list and budget here.
God’s strength to you and your family for the upcoming birth. We’ll be thinking about you!
Hi Lindsay,
Writing from London, England to say thank you so much for these special updates on what your family gets up to each month. I’m always pleased to see them in my inbox, along with your thankful list – I must update mine. Thanks also for always being realistic as well as really encouraging about the challenging journey of Christian motherhood, wifehood etc.
I am expecting my second daughter in October and am feeling the heat now too. I really wish you well for the birth of your third and have a wonderful month off from blogging, bonding as a family with the new little one when he or she arrives, in God’s perfect timing!
Louisa
Take heart Lindsay…it’s going to be a record day here in Oklahoma with temps above 110 degrees! And that’s with some humidity thrown in! There’s something for your 1000 gifts, that you don’t live in Oklahoma!
I always love reading these “at your home” posts. I can’t wait until I see the “It’s a _____” in my inbox. Congrats! And thanks for all the reviews. I’ve been reading some from the mothering list and its awesome for keeping my mind focused and priorities in order.
Thankyou for your Blogs, I have learned so much and have been inspired especially now being a first time mum living away from my own family.My little Girl was born blessed with a very rare heart complication which resulted in 2 major heart operations within the 1st 2 weeks of life a month in hospital and more surgery to come down the track as early as this time next year. Your 1000 gifts list has reminded me how much I truly have to be thankful for . I now will endeavor to restart my own list.
Di
Maybe another Birthday on the 4th?
That’s what I’m shooting for now!
You are such a beautiful, sweet mama. Enjoy these last moments of pregnancy. I was also itchy with my third as I had previously delivered at 39 weeks and she was on her own unexpectedly slower schedule!
It is precious to nurture your baby now and it will be precious when the moment of meeting him or her comes! 
I don’t know if you have ever looked at the blog http://www.homeschoolcreations.blogspot.com. She is a godly mama and I have loved her blog both for homeschool printables and wisdom! She has preschool chore charts that use pictures and velcro (so you can change them daily). They work great for my girls who are still learning to read. (ages 3 and 5) Perhaps that would help with Karis and Titus, too!
Hi there, just wanted to recommend this website for learning activity ideas, my daughter enjoys a lot of the activities they mention (though we don’t use any of the electronic activities, just as a personal preference). She has lots of printables that are really great
http://1plus1plus1equals1.blogspot.com/
Hi Lindsay,
Our daughter attends a local classical, Christian school and we are passionate about that style of teaching. She is getting the education we always wished we had– we’re just trying to keep up with her, which has been wonderful for us as well!
) I wanted to share with you a wonderful local resource for books and curriculum that our school utilizes. It’s a Christian bookstore called Exodus Books and it’s located in Milwaukie, OR. http://www.exodusbooks.com. It is owned by a Christian couple who adore books and are very knowledgeable about a wide array of materials and literature. Their website offers many reviews of their products and is very user-friendly. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, or have more questions, a simple call to the store and they will take the time to chat with you and help you find what you need. He also sells good condition used materials and buys used books as well. A fabulous source of quality, reformed literature and materials. Definitely worthwhile to check them out, or better yet, go visit them and combine it with a trip to Bob’s Red Mill. 
) Blessings, Sharon
I just had to chime in that I love Exodus Books! I live in Ohio so I order from them online, but they really have a great selection and budget shipping. I just happened to find them while Google searching a book I was interested in, and they are a favorite site for me to visit when ordering books for the school year. I like not having to sift through a lot of fluff!
Yes, I know it well! I have been there on several occasions myself and definitely recommend this company!
I love that place!! When we were on furlough I was there shopping and bought some Doorposts items and when I was checking out the owner told me that Pam Forester (owner of Doorposts) was in the store!! So, I got to go meet her, which was a big thrill for me.
Hang in there with your pregnancy, Lindsay. I hope it all goes well and safe!! Can’t wait to hear!
I have a few ideas that work for me with my 2 year old, who is only a few weeks older than yours, I remember that from back when he was born and I was reading your blog. I have a 5 1/2 year old that I homeschool and I started this past year (she needed me to start then and so I did). Both are girls, so maybe that is a bit different than having a girl/boy but I will share what has helped us keep my 2 year old busy as I homeschool the older one.
-having her own notebook that looks like her sister’s. I let her scribble in it and she loves it. She also has her own pencil, eraser, crayons etc. and when my oldest gets out her stuff for “school” my 2 year old runs to get hers and sits down wanting to get going. This lasts a little while for her, maybe 15 minutes, and then I get out other things.
-playdough
-pull out toys that she hasn’t seen in a while and set them up nearby (you could do a toy rotation specifically for the time you are homeschooling…I just get out things from the top shelf of our closet that she doesn’t see that often). I find that for her, the toy cars and car mat and the puzzles work the best for her (the wooden type puzzles that are designed for toddlers)
-giving her a snack (and telling the older child she can have a snack too as soon as ____ is done).
-letting her play with anything that she can sort like putting balls into a container with a lid and then taking them out. Or playing with the flash cards, or playing with dominoes etc. Little things that we already have at home that she can sort, pile, put into containers, etc. I find if I give her a few empty clean yogurt containers and an egg carton she loves sorting into those things.
-I also do try to include her sometimes and do a little bit for her like I read a story that she picks during our reading time as well as one her sister picks, we do some singing that she likes to join in with, and this year if she wants to and shows she is ready I am going to start teaching her the alphabet and numbers. Her sister was all over that at this age but she’s not so far…and that is totally fine by me.
Anyways I hope this helps you some.
I am a long time reader and really enjoy your blog. Just want to say good luck and God bless as you wait for your new addition! Can’t wait to hear….
Hi! I’m a new reader, but have recently become obsessed with your blog! Deep in the heart of every woman is the desire to do what you’re doing–be a passionate homemaker and share the peace of Christ through it. I love some of your ideas of how to do so. Thanks for writing!
Also, I am an avid tea drinker and love that you have tea time with your daughter. That’s a special thing that I hope to do one day when I have children.
Hi Lindsay. What an exciting month. I am so thankful for this post as I had no idea there are curriculums for such young ages. My son is only 18 months old and I stay at home with him and often wonder if I should be doing more with him. I’ve glanced at the flowering baby shop and the prices seem great. Do you recommend any specific resources for child-rearing in the toddler years? Thanks
Another book you may be interested in is Teaching the Trivium: Christian Homeschooling in a Classical Style by Harvey and Laurie Bluedorn. I have found it so helpful in planning a classical education that is completely Christ-centered. They also have a website: http://www.triviumpursuit.com. It’s been a great help to me, so I thought I would pass it along. Blessings on your new addition coming!
Ideas for keeping your toddler productively busy during one-on-one time with Karis – I have a 2 year old and school for the 6 & 7 year olds started today! I stacked quite a few toys and activities for my toddler in a short book case and covered it with a quilt. I wrote each activity on an index card and put them together on a ring. He is not allowed to get into the shelf of toys, but he starts the day doing the first activity on the card. When he’s done he gives it back to me and I trade it out for the activity on the next card.
We just started this today but he liked it. I loved how he cleaned up each time because he was excited about the next toy! He has several Melissa & Doug sets that work nicely for this, but I also put anything I could think of, like chalk for the chalkboard, in the rotation.
Hope this helps! My other advice is to only teach Karis things at this age that fit both of your personalities. She is with you, and kids who are with adults learn so much more, so much faster than kids who are surrounded by their age-mates. My favorite learning activity with the kids is reading, so we read a lot. I wish I hadn’t fooled with much else when I was excited to officially start homeschooling, because what they learned most was life skills and great vocabulary from simply being with me.
Lindsey,
I know the impatience you’re feeling – my 1st 2 babies were both overdue and it’s so hard to wait for them to arrive, especially when you are DONE being pregnant. Hopefully, I will do better at it with #3 in October.
RE: Classical Education
I began homeschooling my (then) 3rd grader last year after spending 1+ years considering curriculums, methods, etc I, too, fell in love with many of the ideas and benefits to a Classical education, but I was also enthralled by Charlotte Mason and fond of the idea of unit studies. You may want to check out the Christian curriculum offered by My Father’s World (http://www.mfwbooks.com/), which incorporates the 3 philosophies into a really wonderful mix. One of the things I love about it is that it works for multiple children – (starting in 3rd grade) they cycle into a 5 year program so you don’t have to teach different kids totally different things each day. They have it laid out so that activities can be used for younger and older students, as well as adding a level of difficulty for older students to keep them engaged/challenged. (Math, language arts, etc. are parent-selected and specific to the student’s grade level, though they do offer suggestions. I really like their language arts program but we went with a different math program because it didn’t work well for my daughter.) There’s a heavy emphasis on reading, too, with a weekly “book basket” filled with wonderful selections from the local library.
Honestly, I can’t tell you how much we love this curriculum. From the well-organized teacher’s guide (with excellent, detailed weekly lesson plans already laid out) to the subject matter to the activities, my daughter and I really enjoy our school time each day. In fact, while we school year-round, we took a month off this summer and she was itching to get back to it after a week!
I’m also very pleased that we don’t have to re-purchase very many materials as my younger kids start the program – just the student pack of activity sheets, the math workbooks for Saxon math, and art/science supplies (as needed).
Just a note: They do offer curriculums starting from Pre-K but I haven’t tried them yet, as my next child is only 17 months and my oldest went to school for Pre-K through 2nd. I have heard mixed reviews on the curriculum for the earlier years, so I would check out the reviews online before investing in their materials. Most of the reviews for the older grades, though, are stellar! We have another family in town doing the same program and they love it, too.
A few other quick thoughts:
The curriculum for the 3-8th graders is designed to be completed (for the most part) in 4-5 hours of very focused learning time 4 days a week with a somewhat less intense 5th day that allows time for either catch up or other pursuites. We spend ~2 hours on actual lessons and then my daughter self-manages her to-do list to complete her individual work, which can take anywhere from 1 to 3 hours, depending on the amount of work, difficulty of the assignments, and her ability to concentrate. This allows her time to sew, read (even more – she’s a big reader), dance, practice the piano, do chores, etc.
Praying for you and your family,
Joanna
I am using the My Fathers World, 1st grade with my oldest (who is 4, but would not let me put him off any longer.) So far my only complaint is the suggested reading materials list – as I am finding it very difficult to find any of the books they recommend. It is well laid out but still easy to take some things faster (or slower) as needed.
we have this chore chart that is sold on etsy and it is so fun with our little boys. well, it is more of a rewards game board, but we use it the same way moving a space for accomplishing whatever we are focusing on at the time.
grace to you as you wait for the arrival of your little one. i know it felt like forever with my most recent baby… but now he is 1! times does really have a way of slowing down and speeding up.
my recent post: only enough time to be thankful
You and my sister-in-law are both in the waiting mode! She is Due the 4th of Aug! I know how the waiting is with our first she was 3 weeks early and my second was about a day past his due date! The waiting is so hard when you want to hold the precious little one in your arms! Praying that the baby comes soon for you! Can’t wait to meet him/her!:)
P.s. You don’t look big at all! You look GREAT!:)
Our one month old was three days late and I too thought he would be early like my daughter and son!! Here’s the “story” if you want to check it out over on my blog:
http://www.mywalkwitheden.com/2011/07/post-dated.html
Praying for you, that your heart and mind will be still and patient in the coming days/weeks. I remember all too clearly being in your boat just a month ago!!
I’m just 17 weeks along with our third, but have been loving your posts about preparing for each new child. Glad for your recommendation of The Core – I’ve just finished WTM and am also so excited and encouraged by the idea of following a classical education model with my girls. We’ve just joined a classical conversations group and are looking forward to the adventure.
Lindsay, I can totally identify with your feelings of impatience. Our 3rd little one was “due” to arrive July 28, and here it is Aug 1, and we still have no baby! Like you, I have appreciated the extra time to get things done and be prepared for this little one to arrive. I must say, I wish we were having some of the NW weather here in the midwest. We’re on our way to breaking the record of days over 90 degrees!
Also, I have so appreciated all the resources you have for birth and postpartum. I printed off your list of verses that you meditate on during labor. I’m planning on a natural VBA2C with this one, so I’m sure those verses will be of great comfort to me. Blessings to you as you welcome the new addition to your family. Hope it happens soon!
I am always so encouraged and inspired by your blog. Praying your little one arrives soon and that all goes well!
I hope you have a wonderful month enjoying your newest little one!
Lovely photos Lindsay! Hope baby arrives soon! Very excited for you! Can’t wait to see photos! Love your blog as always!
I really appreciate your blog and posts… especially as I look forward to the birth of our first baby in a few months.
I made chopstick last week – awesome, smell, moisture and texture are just perfect!
I was thrilled to find your baby bum balm recipe as well, since we have those ingredients. We are buying as little stuff as possible.
I look forward to reading your third birth story and believe with you for another amazing and God filled childbirth.
Thank you for your excellence in blogging. You inspire me and represent the kingdom beautifully.
~Amber