Teach Them Diligently Conference Discount

The line-up of speakers at this year's Teach Them Diligently Conferences is excellent!  These homeschool conferences are being held in Spartanburg, Nashville, and Omaha.  If you plan to attend one of these events, you can get $5 off of registration with the code: CCRMNC.

There is even a classical education track sponsored by Classical Conversations!

Note: This is an affiliate coupon code, and I may receive a reward if enough people register with this code.  However, my opinion about the conference is fully my own, and I wouldn't promote it otherwise.

In which I tell you about my failure...

Some things are just plain hard. Self-discipline is hard, but I guess that's why it's called "discipline."

I ran a 5K in February, and I would have to say that, physically, that was definitely the hardest thing I've ever done.  I was nervous about it, but I wasn't nearly as frightened as I should have been by the "rolling hills" in the course description.  Do you remember my goals? Well, I attained my goals.  Y'all, there were times I seriously thought I might not make it.  The hills were KILLER, but I was determined to run the whole race.  Well, my run is probably a jog, but it's all relative, right?

I finished the race.  I ran the whole way.  I did not die or collapse.  I did not puke, although I thought I might.

I even set a personal record in spite of the crazy hills.

It HURT.  And I was sore for days.  I tried to pick it up on Monday, and my leg hurt, and my hip hurt, and I knew I needed to rest.  But I rested too long.

In the midst of musicals, training sessions, conferences, board meetings, information meetings, and church activities, we were home very little.

I quit.  And I gained a little weight.  So now I'm trying to get back on the wagon.

In the midst of this whole experience, doing things I've never even tried to do in the past, I keep thinking through the passage in 1 Corinthians 9 where Paul talks about the runner and the race.  I'm sure that doing physically hard things has helped me to better understand this striving to be disciplined, and I think the physical striving can help to strengthen the spiritual striving.  That's what I often think about as I'm running--doing hard things and growing in self-discipline.  Each hard thing is a choice, and spiritual discipline calls us to make a host of hard choices on a daily basis.  But I digress...

Our schedules have lightened a bit.  I'm backing way up in the Ease into 5K program to get back to where I was.  I am determined not to give it up totally, but I don't think I'll ever consider myself a real runner, either.  I'm just a person who needs to do hard things sometimes.

Best Ever Pencil Sharpener

Over the summer my kiddos managed to kill the electric pencil sharpener we were using, so I set out on the search for a long term answer to our pencil-sharpening needs. I like electric sharpeners, but they tend to be a magnet for little hands to stick things into. Those same little hands have no concept of when enough is enough, and we end up with lots of nubs. You also have to keep the ones that plug in near an electrical outlet, and there are so few of those to go around at our house.

I was determined to find a great sharpener at a fair price. I'm willing to put some extra dollars into items like this that will be well-used and last a long time.

In the midst of my search my friend, Melissa, reminded me that she has a pencil sharpener that she's loved for a while. She's a homeschooling mom of 6, so they go through a lot of pencils at her house! I decided to look into this sharpener that she loved so much, and the people at Classroom Friendly Supplies were kind enough to send me a green one to try out. These things come in the coolest colors!

I got this sharpener back in September, and we've been using it ever since. I fell in love with the way it holds the pencil for you as you sharpen it. It also gets really "loose" when the pencil is sharp to let you know when to stop. They have videos on the web site if you need a little extra help to figure out how it all works. It isn't hard, but it is different. The videos came in super handy when a lead tip broke off and was stuck inside. I was able to quickly learn how to get it out and get back to sharpening.

This pencil sharpener would be great for an office, classroom, and definitely a home with a lot of pencils to be sharpened. It's easy enough that my four-year-old can use it. It's durable. It's portable. It's affordable at $24.99 (with discounts if you buy more), and it does an awesome job of getting those pencil tips pointy.

I did receive a free pencil sharpener in exchange for this review, however, the opinions expressed in this review are completely mine.  I'd buy another one of these pencil sharpeners in a heartbeat!

Six

Happy birthday to a special boy who changed my life more than I could ever have imagined.  Can it really have been six years already?  These days my hands usually seem full but my arms often seem empty.  Many times I've wished that I could have held you longer and that you could have grown into a little boy so full of mischief like your brothers.  But I would never really wish you back to this world.  I rejoice in the fact that you didn't have to suffer long on this earth, and I long to be made whole just like you some day soon.  Happy birthday, David Elisha.  I'll never be the same because you lived.

2013 Planner Price Reduced

Since we're already well into February, I'm dropping the price on my 2013 Plan Your Life printable planner packs.  You can now get either version for just $5.97!

I'l soon begin working on new products and the 2014 version of the planner, so I'd love to hear any feedback you have about the designs or items you'd like to see available as add-ons.