From The Eye's Of A Convert

       As many of you know I am  in the process of going through 

RCIA classes at home through  Catholic Home Study Service.

                                          ( link will be posted below ) 

 I was so excited today in order to get a new package today. From the Catholic Home Study Service . The Privilege Of Being Catholic!  

I love that I can get the books mailed right to me and have the options of doing the testing online or by mailing it back into them.

So far these books are very well written and truly are teaching me things. That I might have known once but it has brought the love of the Catholic faith into my home. 

I enjoy reading all of he books so far and I can not wait to share with all of you the information I have learned. From this new book and from this program. I know that there are many people out there who feel as if they do not understand the Catholic faith. As it is for there own reasons who have thought about taking these class simply to learn. 

I am honored to be able to do this class work in my own home.

To be able to review it and tell everyone about it. 

I know there are so many looking to do these classes in their own home. I would love to hear more information about 

how everyone else who is taking this program is enjoying it. 

Is it everything you thought it would be?

Are you enjoying the books?

Do you have questions that are not being answered in these books so far?

Do you want more information?

Do you need a new group of ladies to fellowship with?

( Link To Catholic Home Study Service )

Start Your Catholic Journey

From The Eyes Of A Convert!

             Growing up the way I did in a gypsy style life there was never room for God or the love of God. There was only room to survive from day to day in what ever manner you had to. Being thankful for only those who at that moment were in your corner to help you. Knowing that they would soon move on to someone else's corner. There was no help I thought explaining why we would bounce from town to town which meant Church to Church. Leaving me lost as could be even though I knew what Church I belonged to. There was never a question about the Catholic Church however still I floated along trying to find my place. 

                                                      

             I have felt the pull to take RCIA classes as an adult to reconfirm my Faith.

                                 First off for those who do not know RCIA stands for.

                                                  Rite

                                                      of

                                                 Christian

                                                 Initiation

                                                     of

                                                 Adults

RCIA is the process that takes place along the Spiritual path to Chris. Normally entering into and " inquiry " process for a few weeks to a few months. A sponsor will be assigned to you if you of not have someone to be your sponsor.  When you, your sponsor and at least one member of the RCIA team and the Pastor feel you are ready to take the next step. You will go through a liturgical Rite called " Acceptance " for those not Baptized or " Welcome " for those who are. 

After spending any where from a few months to a year or more during which you will learn and study Christian faith and the Catholic practice of living it out. Things like the Mass, The Sacraments, The Scriptures, prayer and everything else is covered. 

If you are not Baptized during the Lenten season you will be participate in the " Rite of Election " and will begin an internal reflection process preparing for the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil. 

If you are already Baptized you will participate in the " Rite of Continuing Conversion "

and start to be received into full communion with the Church by receiving the sacrament of the Reconciliation ( Confession ) Either at Easter Vigil or on another Sunday will receive Confirmation and first Communion.

All who are received into the Church or who are Baptized at Easter then spend a year in Mystagogy.

Meeting in the Small Christian Communities in the homes or else where to reflect on your experiences and learn from one another. 

At 28 years old I decided to start this process all over and for me its as if I can feel the joy I once did as I learn about God, The Holy Mother and the love. Its been a long time sense I have truly felt as if I am part of the Church. Maybe it wasn't the Church maybe it was all me all along.  I know I could go through my own Church to do the classes however many people have been asking how they can do the classes in their own home. I worked very hard to find a place where everyone can do just that. 

The Catholic Home Study Services are the only ones that I know of that are helping people do these classes in their own homes, office, park or where ever you choose to take your journey at.

RCIA in your home   ( Click the link to get started learning about where to start on your journey )

Thanks for joining me on this journey.... here we go! 

The Begaining .... Where to start Homeschooling

First off  Do Your Home Work! On How To Start or Where To Start

•  The very first thing we did as a family was to of course register as a Non Accredited Private  School in the state we live in . ( Kansas )
• Then we wanted to look up the National Standards For Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools. ( Here is the link for the English down load of the National Standards please email me for the Spanish down load or anything else you might need. )  http://www.catholicschoolstandards.org/the-standards/2014-07-13-13-36-30/download-the-standards

• Every state is different and has a different set of rules. For some it is very structured and others are very open. To allowing you the freedom to teach your children with little interference from the state. 
• We had to figure out what our resources were as a Catholic Homeschooling / Private Schooling family. ( here are some of the links we found very helpful.  listed below )  

                                                          Links

• http://www.catholicmom.com/catholicmom_com_links_homeschool_resources.htm
• http://www.homeschoolingcatholic.com/links/curriculum/
• www.hslda.org    <~ THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LINK I COULD EVER SHARE. EVERYONE NEEDS TO HAVE LEGAL COVERAGE. 

•                                          My Favorite Blogs

• http://www.catholicallyear.com/
• http://totustuusfamily.blogspot.com/
• http://raisinglittlesaints.blogspot.com/
• http://hsjoy.blogspot.com/

                         Most Importantly Read the Bible! and Home School                       Blogs. They will help you figure out whats best for you

                Family. Try different ways of teaching what ever works 

                for your family! 

Easter Fun 2015

            Our kids had such a great Easter!  They got to spend.                 time with their Nonna and  Martin.
           
               Their Easter Baskets from their grandparents were awesome. They were so shocked to have gotten such large gifts at dinner.

Baskets from Momma & Daddy

                    Dying Easter Egg's With Daddy & Momma! 

     

   

Family Easter Fun

All too often it seemsthat people have forgotten the real reason for Easter. Its not about some large bunny leaving candy 

Filled plastic eggs. Its not about a race to see who could get the 

Most eggs in their baskets. Its about Jesus , about how he died on the cross for our sins. sins. About how 3 days later he had risen.

From the grave! 

I can only hope my kids know the reason behind this great day! 

Remember The True Reason For This Day!

   John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have.           everlasting life.

     

Why we decided to year round homeschool

     

     Catching Our Kids Up! 

   Deciding to Year Round Homeschool is not for the faint of heart! .... There are MANY reasons we knew it was right for us.

What it means to our family might not be what it means to other. Homeschooling this is for us is about catching our kids up. They had a very rockie past with being "homeschooled" by a former step mother. Do to their experience with her they are very behind there with school. We have tested both kids with Sylvan Learning Center and the results well they were not good. Jay is on a 1.5 grade level when in a public school he would be going into 3rd grade. Hayley is on a 2nd grade almost the beginning of 3rd grade level. When she should be going into  4th grade. It breaks my heart to see how far behind they are due to someone elses failure. That is one of the largest reasons why we not only decided to year round homeschool. It is also the reason we have to year round homeschool. If we didn't then they would never catch up. They need alot of extra attention. One on one help to build the skills they should know by now. It's  alot of work day in and day out but it. Will be worth it to know my kids are on the grade levels that they should be.

   The kids Enjoy Picking Their Days Off

        It means long days and for us , it means that we can't take breaks the way alot of people do. We have to home school 6 days a week on most weeks. We have to do everything at each kids own speed. There are some days that we get done at 3pm and some days we go right up until 5pm. But at the end of each day we are all happy and the kids are proud of how far they have come. They are proud of the things they have learned. They get to pick days off. They get to have fun learning. It's hard work but there is nothing in this world that would change our minds about year round home schooling.

   We Prayed About It, let their faith grow

        We prayed about year round homeschooling for about 6 months before deciding to go ahead with it. We as a family believe that God should be the foundation for education. Our Catholic faith is a huge part of our life. We want our kids to learn every day the joys of our faith and to grow there love for God snd the Holy Mother. We sat down and talked as a family to our kids and asked what they want. How they want to homeschool and what subjects they want to learn. They get the freedom to pick fun classes, to pick what class work they do each day. ( luckly we have kids,who know the basic subjects must be done every day then they get to do the ones they want to do. )

   Give The kids Freedom To Pick What They Learn!

They get to help design activities and lessons every day so to them even on the subjects they struggle in are made fun.We believe in structure and that just because we are on school and we must do class work. That doesn't mean we can't have fun, do field trips, explore the world around us. Discover history as its meant to be learned. Learn the fun of science and grow there imaginations.


                 

Freedom To Let The Kids Learn Their Own Way!

         We wanted the freedom for our kids to be able to learn the way they want in the time frame that is best for them. Every child is different and learns at their own speed and own way. We believe our kids need to be able to learn the way they learn the best not the way the school teach. We are against common core and don't think it's right to attempt to make children learn one way of doing everything. There are many ways to learn. Just because one child gets the right answer one way doesn't mean a nother will get the right answer that way.

Our Believes About What Shouldn't Be!

     As a family we wanted to be able to spend time together. With traditional public school it seemed my kids were not being given the one on one attention. They need and they were moving to slow in some subjects and to fast in others. The kids bringing guns to school. The schools going on " lock down " every other week due to strangers attempts to enter the school. It was just all too much. Too much worry too much stress and too many fears. Not to count the teachers being caught for sexual relations and the fact that we don't feel our children need to learn " sex education." Until they are personally ready for it and I'm sorry but my children will not be ready for a long time. We wanted the freedom to not have to pull our children out of school due to a PCS. Our kids get to know other kids , build relationships and bonds. They get to play sports , they get to just be kids and not robots!

We don't believe in long school breaks for the kids. They get to pick a few days every month they want to have with no school. They get a say in their school year and they absolutely love it. Children deserve say in their schooling. We believe they want to learn when they get more say in their education.

Though our reasons might seem strange to some they mean alot to our family!