heartofdakota.com

I had a VERY exciting weekend!! I was triple-blessed with...
1) A rainstorm on Thursday...which in the farming world led to a long car ride with just my husband and a couple days away!! I LOVE RAIN!!
2) That this get-away was to meet up with my sister & brother-in-law at the homeschool conference in MN. Oh, it was so fun to get to be together! (And we actually had plenty of time to talk to each other since the 6 kids were missing. Not that we don't love having the cousins together...but it sure was relaxing to only have adults!)
3) Getting big hugs from Carrie & Julie and a chance to chat with them in person! I am so thankful for their friendship and a chance to see them again! I know that it sure isn't every day that you cross paths with other ladies that are truly kindred spirits in the Lord, and I'm SOO thankful for God leading me here to HOD and the board where I could meet them. I feel like when I tell other people about HOD I should tell them that my close friend writes it.

Anyway, I am so excited that my sister came away with 2 huge (adorable) red HOD bags full of books to use with her boys this year! We're going to get to share this HOD journey together. (And that Julie was nice enough to give me one of those cute bags even though I'm waiting to order till June... ) It was also so encouraging to see the many, many moms that kept Carrie & Julie talking almost non-stop during the weekend. They have to be exhausted! But, my husband and I were talking on the drive home about how great it is to see so many families choosing curriculum that will keep Christ & the Bible right in front of them & their kids every day. I know that's why we love it!! HOD helps us invest our time in the truly important things of life...not just the ones that need to get done! I'm praying that this will be true for all those moms & dads that are just starting out with HOD, too.

Kathleen

I am glad you had a good time. I am still savoring the memories of the Cincinnati convention not long ago. The HOD booth was hopping there too. Isn't it fun to bring home all those books!

Kathleen That is wonderful! I know they were equally blessed to get to see you! You're a blessing to all of us on the board as well. But I know I am excited as well to meet Julie and Carrie in person!

HOD is so much more than a guide book and some good literature to throw at it. I really feel God has such a hand in it and uses it to bless us in our call in so much more than we bargained for. I am so glad you were blessed by the convention and what a huge blessing to share HOD with your sister! So glad your tine was blessed! And what an exciting year to be able to do HOD with cousins and your sister!

I was wondering if any other HODies from the forum would be there! I am excited to go through my new CTC I brought home. And I'm very appreciative that Carrie and Julie made the trip!

I forgot to grab more catalogs though. Aaaaack!

water2wine wrote:HOD is so much more than a guide book and some good literature to throw at it. I really feel God has such a hand in it and uses it to bless us in our call in so much more than we bargained for.

I totally agree, Brenda!! God uses His Word in our lives (ours & our kids')...and I'm quite sure that's the secret of HOD. It keeps us in His living Word!

It's a bummer that my sister moved from Atlanta to N Wisconsin, huh? Otherwise RAIN in 2 weeks might have allowed me to meet you, too! OK, maybe that drive would have been a bit of a stretch... You are on my list of famous people that I'd love to meet though, Brenda! You're most definitely a dear sister in Christ that has been a huge blessing to me with your wisdom & love for the Lord!

Kathleen

Kathleen wrote: It's a bummer that my sister moved from Atlanta to N Wisconsin, huh? Otherwise RAIN in 2 weeks might have allowed me to meet you, too! OK, maybe that drive would have been a bit of a stretch...

I'll take my blessings from the Lord however He gives them. But it would have been tons of fun to meet you in person. Glad though to share the many years ahead of HOD together. I know we are both here for the long term blessing.

I went to that convention too! It was so fun to meet Julie and Carrie. Every time I went by they were super busy. I'm more convinced than ever that HOD is the best!!!

If I could find a friend to join me I would leave Fl and fly or ride to one of the conventions to meet Carrie and Julie in person. Like my ds of 7 says: "If the Lord wills" I will get to meet them in person some time. I am so blessed by HOD, I am savoring the ladies enthusiasm of seeing the hopping HOD boots and am glad we get to share our wonderful experiences on the board! If anyone has pictures please share them!!!

Pictures. Now, that would of been a great idea.

My husband and I were there too. The biggest thing we got from the convention was confirmation that loving the Lord is the most important thing that we can instill in our children. YES, academics are important, but God and our moral character must be first. We are so happy we found HOD because we feel we get both!

I came home from the conference and started our first day of Iowa Basics ever! He is doing great!! Better than I thought. I KNOW we don't put all weight in standardized testing, but it does feel good when they do well.

Anyway, I loved seeing Carrie again and getting some reassurance that life with a 4 year old is better than life with a 3 year old. We'll be starting school up again next week and will be incorporating some of the ideas that Carrie gave us to survive until she is 4.

Laurie

Laurie,
It was great to see your blog. Your son has absolutely beautiful handwriting! I had a chuckle at the planting of the apple seed. I think they were older blogs, but I had fun reading them!

Kathleen,
So glad you had rain and a great time with your hubby that is much cherished time alone- I know! It's so great too that you now have your sister teaching HOD "along side" you as well. What a blessing!

3) Getting big hugs from Carrie & Julie and a chance to chat with them in person! I am so thankful for their friendship and a chance to see them again! I know that it sure isn't every day that you cross paths with other ladies that are truly kindred spirits in the Lord, and I'm SOO thankful for God leading me here to HOD and the board where I could meet them. I feel like when I tell other people about HOD I should tell them that my close friend writes it.

O.K. I so have to agree with you! I can't wait to goto convention here in TX! I am looking forward to seeing my "friends" too! I know we all feel that Carrie and Julie are dear friends because they invest in our families not only with this amazing Christ centered curriculum-- but their encouragement, help, and prayer support here on this board as well. I feel soo blessed to have found this HOD family!

(And... FYI you are one of my famous people that I think "I would love to bring my kids over to play on the farm sometime!" Kansas would be a bit of a field trip from DFW! Your oldest and mine are the same age -although you are a year ahead of me in curriculum- so, I watch for your wisdom here, too!- No pressure!!)

So glad you had a fab time!
Dawn

Oh- I'm so glad you had such a wonderful time at Convention- what wonderful affirmation from God that you are doing what HE wants you to be doing! What a blessing HOD is! Oh, how I wish I could have been there this year to meet Carrie & Julie & you other wonderful ladies...maybe next year!
Jessica

Now you guys are all making me wish I had decided to go to the convention here in NC just to meet everyone! I thought we'd wait another year because we are set with curriculum (woo hoo!) and none of the other things sounded very appealing for us this year

Lora Beth,

You still have time to change your mind. Earlybird registration for the NC convention is open until the 23rd of this month. I think I am going to get to go, and I would love to meet a fellow HODIE from NC. No pressure.

haha, yeah, but it's too late for DH to get off work, someone's already taken all those days