I love the way they love.
(A-3 1/2)
(J- 15 months)

Rachel

Running into target in borrowed heels and no tights, a southern girl's bare legs against the Minnesota winter. purchasing her panty hose, wearing the only nice dress she owned, she drove unsure of herself to meet him. He took her to one of her favorite restaurants they sat at a table in the very back, and she thought to herself  "things might be ok, this could work."
It was a leap, maybe more of a push, that we had both taken. Released from positions at a ministry because of misconduct, I followed him to Minnesota because I was to scared to go home, to scared to let him go, to scared to face life. Our first official date, no more sneaking no more secrets, was Valentines day 2008.

I don't even have a picture from that night ( my IPOD had no camera, any one remember that ancient device?) But it's framed in my mind. We were two broken people, clinging to all we felt like we had left, each other and God.
                                       Four months later, he moved to North Carolina to be with me.
                                                Two months later, we were engaged.
                                                         one 1/2 months later, we were married.
    Nine months later, She came.

Oh how we learned, how we grew. How the waves rolled and I wondered if we would make it and tears where shed and make- up kisses given and those evil words never whispered ("divorce," "leave")

No, when we cleaved, we clung.
And now here we are, five years later, in a sweet spot.
So I gush, I overflow, because my heart is. Because like everything else in life, marriage has seasons. Seasons of hardship and seasons of sweetness. Seasons of wonder and seasons of assurance.
                                                          a season of a sweet spot.
Five years later, different little back dress, my heels, same forgotten panty hose. same restaurant, same chicken scampi dinner...
Same man.
I had a elaborate plan for valentines day, since I love to lavish on people. Something for every hour, surprises and " I Love You's". But I burnt the pancakes and lost my list. And this year, I just laughed it off and made cupcakes with my girls instead. Growth.

Growth, though painful is beautiful.

So yesterday, I was celebrating growth. And just letting the mistakes roll and absorb them and release them into something better ( Like a two hour dinner wait into a leisurely relaxing dinner with my husband)
To the man who remembers I love getting gifts, who gets me cozy blankets and candles and thoughtful music, who goes above and beyond and loves on his girls too....

Now instead of one valentine, I have three.

from a full heart, 

                                      Rachel.

Raggedy Ann & Little Red Riding Hood

This was little J's first Halloween and A's fourth- but her first year of grasping the concept. It was hillarious to me to watch her discover the day when everyone dresses up "pretend" and for some reason everyone keeps giving you candy. She was excited, overwhelmed,stressed yet energized. One of the most fun parts of being a parent is discovering all the newness of the world with your children.

Both costumes where handmade and only cost me about five bucks in the end! A's Mamaw made her hood, and colored J's tights. My Friend Abby helped me make J's wig just by hot gluing red yarn to a hat. I sewed J's apron from some scrap fabric and wrote on it. Pretty easy yet pretty darn cute!

Oh yeah, and you can't forget mom.

Green Lantern. 

Good thing my husband is a fan and has a load of super hero shirts!

this costume was pretty last minute and just so I could get Chipotle for $2!

On a more serious note, some view Halloween as a evil holiday we (christians) should hide from. I say, It's a day of the year when your community comes together, all the kids and such and acts neighborly. Why would we, whose light is supposed to shine on a hill, be the only dark house? Get outside and (with discernment) be that light.

Agree or disagree?

Either way, cute kids, candy, being silly, 

I had a blast.

Rachet

My throat was dry; the sun high in the air, another cloudless desert day in southern Israel. I walked into the small kitchen filled with flies that our team was using and turned the tap, placing my water bottle underneath to catch the sweet liquid that would flow. As I watched the bottle fill to the brim, my mind was drawn to Yeshua's words-  " I am living water.. whosoever drinks will never thirst..." poured over my heart like the water I was pouring down my throat. the outcome was the same- refreshing, reviving, for my body, and my soul.


In Israel it seemed these moments happened everywhere. The Land we walked was the same place you read about in Judges and Psalms and Matthew. The Fruit was familiar to verses from Song of Songs and the Psalms. The metephors came alive-

The Harvest is Plentiful...

I am the Vine.

workers of the harvest

Example of Grafting

Narrow is the gate to the sheep pen.

First fruits.. a land flowing with milk and honey.

You are the fisher of men.

Everywhere you turn the bible is coming alive. The most mundane tasks such as filling my cup with water brought the words of life to my head. I believe this was how Jesus intended it to be. That throughout our days we may constantly be reminded by the things around us of His life giving words. But how can we if we are not familiar with His words? Also, if we are not still enough to be listening? I found myself a lot more disconnected in Israel- less IPOD time, no computer, less facebook...
More quiet.
More listening.
More Knowing that He is God.
More chewing on that daily bread.
It changed my definition of daily bread. of hiding the word in your heart. Intimacy with God's word should be number one priority on your list- this was the change. Because these are things we need all day long, everyday. And it's not like God does'nt give us a world full of "cheats" - everyday things to change our everyday lives into pulsing vessels for the gospel.

The lessons are being cried out from the rocks and the water and the sand and the trees and the people working in the fields and the names of villages and towns with deep rooted history in Israel....

And so my prayer is that it will be that way here. That I will be quiet enough to hear my surroundings crying out reminders of His truth, that all day long I will be dwelling on His truth.


Rachel

 There were lessons being learned day in and day out, as fluidly as breathing. One of the overlying themes of our trip ( and as I am realizing it, my year) was that of Shabbat {Sabbath.} But as most journeys never start where you perceive, this one started months ago. The pace of my life was hectic, to say the least. Schedules like the every-two-hours newborn feedings, nap.play.eat of my toddler were crashing with the demands of my homework and class time, and then toppling onto the basic needs of a home ,a wife, and sleep {whats that?}. The Jenga tower of schedules had one to many resources pulled already. Though I knew the 10 commandments, the sabbath was to me the task of making sure you made it to church on Sundays, not a practice of rest.

     

Because, really, rest? In our culture what is that?

I can tell you. Rest is what the unsuccessful, the poor do. Rest is laziness, the excuse of the un-diligent wife Rest is for the losers, we need to sleep when we are 80 (or dead), Carpe Diem, live like you are dying ,24 hour convenience shops, always leaving the light on.

     A new friend of mine at the time attended a Messianic congregation, and had adopted into her family the Jewish custom of practice Shabbat. {What!?} your American conservative back pew thinking mind immediately jolted to -->  {Hey! only the pharisees did that and Jesus wasn't very happy with those dudes!}

This is the part were  we began to rewire the transmitters. The sabbath is not for Pharisee's, it is for you and for me.

"thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

² By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (Gen 2.1-3 NIV)"

So often in our culture the interaction with Shabbat is negative, because in the New Testament we point out passages of the Pharisees condemning Jesus and his disciples for picking grain and for healing on the day. But the Pharisees take the command and distort God's original purpose for it, missing the whole meaning. 

If you haven't noticed, life moves in rhythm like the waves. And Shabbat is a gift from God, a gift of time. Time to put things in order, rediscover hidden places of our heart, re-focus, re-fuel, re-connect. It's the rewind button and the play button "day" of our lives. Time to reflect on the past week, but prepare to press and play on the coming one. It's design is to ever keep our sights in focus on serving our Father in heaven.One day of complete meditation on His goodness, holiness, faithfulness. As a family, it is the gift of time and honor given to each other.

Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. ¹³ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁴ but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. ¹⁵ Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day." Deut. 5:12-15 

Bold is mine

Observe. Remember.

Back to my Journey. I felt the Lord convicting me to take time for Shabbat, but I did'nt listen or bring the idea up to my husband. It was'nt until we went to Israel together and stayed with Jewish believers in Yeshua that we discovered the joy of Shabbat. They shared a special meal friday night as the sun set, worshiped together saturday morning, and wouldnt let us work {which is what we came to do!} all day. Instead, we rested, swam, and enjoyed the company and fellowship of believers and the beauty of the desert. And as the sunset saturday night, this what I wrote in my journal in regards to the day: 

"The peacefulness of no work on a Saturday makes a long week bearable because the end is always peace"

And those words keep coming up-   

 peace          joy            unity. 

Isn't that your desire for your life? 

for your family?

It is mine.

And I dare say that if we repent of this breaking of the commandment that was a gift, those qualities listed above will start to flow into Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,  the whole week. 

I don't really want to get into logistics of how to celebrate or when or if It has to be Saturday or Sunday. I encourage you to research it yourself and can point you in the direction of many resources 

( listed below) but the point is, perhaps we keep praying and praying for something (peace, joy) and God already gave us the answer in his word, we have just ignored it. And I believe the practice of Sabbath is essential to understanding the Semantics of Shalom.

Shabbat Shalom.

Rachel

Resources if you are interested:

Verses: Gen 2:1-3, Exodus 20:8-11, Duet. 5:12. Mat. 12:12, Mark 2:27, Luke 23:56

Book: Celebrate the Feasts Martha Zimmerman 

 Back to Project 52! It seems with school and my beautiful two month old, this is the only thing I can make time to post for! ( yes, I remember that I missed last week...) but on to the challenge!

This was my first idea for week four's theme, "self portrait" but I hate the IPOD quality photo.

 

so here is my final project:

 

I love Silhouettes!  I find them very  poetic. Plus, it challenged me to really play with lighting and camera settings. I ended up using my automatic no flash setting, which was 1/50, 2.0 and ISO of only 400 to capture the sharpness still. I used a little bit of light room to "fan the flame" I suppose you would say, and I really wish the light had reached all the way around my head! (and my hair is a mess...) oh well! beggars can't be chooses as the saying goes.

Rachel 

P.S. Can I rock these?

 or are they a little much?
Honest opinions welcome!

Week Two's theme is "Made with Love"

I think the picture speaks for itself!

 

Rachel.

"how do you do it?!?"

the attention to self always makes me blush and fumble. the appreciation rarely comes from my own generation, but from those who have walked before me, stumbling as it may seem, on the trails that one travels as a parent. But they have also cruised on the pavement of college life, and thus the gasps of wonder when Christopher and I explain our situation to people. He works full time, both full time parents, full time students.

I sell short everytime.

I laugh it off  "We drink alot of coffee!"
                                                                        Or, I just smile.

I sell Him short every time. Why do I fail in to give the Glory to God for the simplest of things? 

In church I sing and sing it, but to speak of his Glory daily I fail to do it. And it dawned on me today, as I answered the question yet again, that I am failing to give testimony. Giving your testimony is'nt just a 3-5 minute prepared speech that starts with the phrase " well I was raised in a christian home"
Giving Testimony is giving Glory to God whenever the opportunity arises.


"How do we do it? By the Grace of God! we firmly believe God has called us to the mission field and so if He has we believe He will map out every step of the way. So if God led us to Crown, God can get us through the semesters he knows we need to get through. God knows us, he knows we have two daughters, he gave us that responsibility. Therefore, We get through by trusting that God knows me and my situation, and if He calls, He provides the means to fulfill that calling"


Much better than coffee and goofy smiles huh?

So today, on this first day of the new semester, I learned
Give credit where credit is due. Give glory to God.

Rachel.

"Babies come from a place were there is no time"

I just read this somewhere and man did it speak to my heart! I still feel exhausted, two months down the road after having Jocelyn. Granted, this time I also have Ariella to look after, and it was the holidays, but usually by this point in break  I am looking forward to next semester, but this time around not so much because I don't feel caught up. how beautiful would it be to live in that timeless place with Jocelyn, just content with the current moment? I think the only person pressuring me is myself. pressuring myself to fulfill ever expectation and whim that comes into my head. I am praying for the grace to be timeless, to just slow down. I think, in order to live more simply, in order to be timeless, I have got to stop juggling and multi-tasking so many areas and just dwell.when was the last time I focused my mind long enough on one thing and dwelt on it? on a scripture, in prayer, on a sunset, or the stars?

to attend to one task, that is a lost art.

Rachel.

Hello New Year!
                              This year, I am participating in taking a photo a week, to challenge my photography skills and start opening my eyes wider to the world around me. So, this week the challenge is Resolutions.

 

This year, in light of {School,new baby, trips, family, house cleaning}

my goal is to live a life of simplicity. 

Check out the challenge, maybe join me! here:

Rachel.

So much for 12 posts!

as soon as finals finished this past week sickness came upon my whole house, even little Jocelyn! so I have been recovering, helping the girls and the hubby feel better, and trying to catch up to christmas! sunday? seriously? this year I feel like the christmas season slipped through my fingers. So this post is just a song I heard on the radio, that has been ministering to my heart this past week. Enjoy!

Isaiah 7:14:

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

As of tomorrow I will be a free woman to truly enjoy the holiday season- school work free! this semester has really flown by! though I no longer have the crazy nesting instinct that inspired me to redo the girls nursery before Jocelyn was born, I do have a desire to do some crafts, and once school is out I'm hoping to make up some fun Christmas decorations. So we have some tunes ( see day 1) now lets decorate!
For instance....
These Cranberry Ball decorations are simple, beautiful, colorful, and in expensive!

 

or once the christmas decorations go on sale, I will be making this:

Or how about some Silhouette stockings? Make one for Jocelyn when she is the same age as Ariella, so two, and I think they will be cherished for years to come!

And a few touches for the tree.....

I thought this was a great way to remember everywhere you lived- even if it is not the original key!

Button Garland!

I tried to give credit were it was due, but I found all these pictures on Pinterest.com. If you want to see all the holiday ideas brewing in my head, go here to see my silver bells board!

In a few days I will be crafting, hope you join me in making some decorations of your own!

Rachel

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is to sing real loud for all to hear!

A friend of mine once told me that ( ;
So for the first post of Christmas, I thought it would be fun to share a top 10 christmas album list. Now, for all music snobs out there, this is not a ultimate list, but includes mainly alot of new albums I found and have spinning in my player this year. There is no way you can top a classic Bob Hope silver bells or Elvis Presley Blue Christmas, but these CD's sure spread some cheer you might not hear on the radio. Enjoy!

 10. A Charlie Brown Christmas- Vince Guaraldi Trio

Gotta have some Charlie Brown for Christmas! "What Child Is This" and "The Christmas Song."  are included on this Sixties piano jazz.

9. Sufjan Stevens Presents Songs for Christmas sing along- Surfjan Stevens

This album reminds me of winding through the snowy California mountains on our tour bus. in the mood for a chill, Indy christmas with your hipster friends? this is the CD to pop in.

8.   Home for Christmas- NSYNC

Haha How can I resist! If the holidays are about nosolgic feelings, this CD brings me back to fourth grade, decorating my room with paper snowflakes and christmas lights! have a little fun this holiday. And if you think they are to old school for your taste, maybe try Justin Biebers Christmas album. Look at those clean shaven faces! ah it makes me laugh.

 

7. Relient K- Deck the Halls, Bruise your Hands

Again, how about some fun Nostalgic music? Though I still enjoy this band, it is again a blast from the past for me. But serious tracks such as " I celebrate the day" round up the silly album with a very worshipful, Christ focused message. Want more? they also have a second christmas album out, "let it snow, let it reindeer"

6. Oh For Joy- David Crowder Band

 I was quite stoked when I heard David Crowder made a Christmas CD, and must admit I was slightly disappointed when I heard it. Short but sweet, the CD is enjoyable though perhaps because it' David Crowder.

5.  Phil Wickham- Songs for Christmas

Perhaps I am a bit late in the game, but this is the year I stumbled across Phil Wickham. His worship albums offer some originality to the genre, so I assumed his Christmas album would likewise be good, and I was not disappointed.

4.Comfort & Joy: Christmas 3- Folk Angel

Another beautiful Folk Christmas along the likes of number nine, only much more Christ focused. Plus, there are two volumes before this one, so check them out too. Quite possibly my favorite rendition of Joy to the world can be found covered by these guys.

3. Christmas- Michael Buble

 
 And all the girls swoon. I have not listened to anything Michael before, but I must say this is one solid Christmas album. The voice, the attitude, just makes you wanna decorate your tree, drink hot chocolate and curl up with your special someone.

2. A Very She & Him Christmas- She & Him

 

Who didn't fall in love with that cute blond elf's voice in the movie elf? Well here she is, back to the natural brunette but same beautiful voice. Though there is no cover of Santa Claus is coming to town, I love "The Christmas Waltz" and the seemingly backwards rendition of "Baby it's cold outside"

1. Behold the Lamb of God- Andrew Peterson and Friends

I went to this Christmas concert when I was 18 and fell in love with this CD. It maps out the whole story of Christmas, not just the birth. Beautifully done Album with a Folk  feel and even  a fun genealogy track.

So go ahead, deck the halls while the music is jammin! Did I miss any of your favorites, or must haves? I am always looking for something new to add to my collection! 

Rachel

I had an encouraging meeting with a couple of my professors today. The point of the meeting was to see if  I would be accepted into my department or not, but when you write papers for the same people and see them three days out of the week, they know you without knowing you. It was nice to be able to share some of our story and where we are headed and where we have been.
         Hm, I don't know how to write this without seeming prideful, or indulgent in the approval of man. But my professors seemed impressed with How we are handling things and our goals and direction.  And honestly, it was encouraging. Often in my head all I hear is the conflicting voice;

your being a bad mom because your going to school;
                                                                                    you should quit and focus more on the girls;
you don't belong;
                               your trying to do too much;              you'll never make it the mission field;
you guys are headed in the wrong direction;
                                                                           Basically, a constant wind of doubt.
But In reality, I'm making A's and B's. The girls are emotionally and physically healthy. Chris and I are learning the beauty of teamwork in a marriage. We truly believe God has called us here, and we truly believe God is the giver of life and gave us these beautiful girls.  There are students who have been so supportive and helpful by babysitting for free.. God is providing, paving a way, He is our provider... not just financially, but in every situation. And perhaps this is our testimony, and we don't tell our story enough. perhaps it is not bragging, but witnessing.
And this witnessing is what combats the doubts.

I was feeling rather confident this morning.  I'm not sure if it was lack of sleep, excitement for finally being home, or the narcotics I have been popping every four hours, but I felt confident. So around eight am I place the happy, just fed Jocelyn in her bassinet and go to the girls room to get Ariella up. There is my proud first born, sitting in her chair butt naked. We start talking and working on getting dressed like any other morning, when I hear Jocelyn crying. So I go get her so she does'nt wake Chris, bring her back into the girls room and start changing her diaper. Ariella is running around chattering like usual and I'm half paying attention and I hear the word potty but usually she waits for me and then I hear

Splash!
"Mommy! I fell! I fell in Mommy I fell!
I dash (as much as any just sliced open woman can dash)  into the bathroom and Ariella is pulling her self out of the toilet, so I scoop her dripping wet bottom half off the toliet,  hear Jocelyn cry and realize I left her alone on the changing table.

dash again. back to the changing table with potty butt trailing behind telling me all about how she is wet and she fell in and she does'nt want to wear real pants today!

phew. this is going to be harder than I thought.

Rachel

 

11/11/11

Jocelyn Michelle Flores.

And in this household tonight as we are all together

I feel fullness of Joy. 

This is the end little one.
Tomorrow I will finally meet you, tomorrow I will end the speculations and look into your brown...or blue.. or green.. eyes.
Tomorrow it will no longer be playful bumps and kicks, but ten toes and ten fingers to count.
Tonight is the last time I will feel you moving inside of me, yet I know our closeness will transcend the physical realm, for you are my daughter. I was picked by Jehovah to labor for you and get to know you and love you and share my very body with you for nine months, to prepare you to meet your first rush of true air and to feel your first flecks of sunlight. You are already alive, but we are getting ready to whisk you out and introduce you to  life. to your purpose, to your destiny, to the creation which was also made by the one who made you.

Tonight I can hold you in my womb, safe, enclosed, protected. From evils that might rape your eyes and violence that might strike your ears and putrid smells that might invade your nostrils. This is the effect of the opposite of what you represent right now in our world, this is the effect of sin. And as my hands support the outside of the womb you are in, my lip murmur prayers for the messiah to be known to your gentle heart very, very soon.

He makes beautiful things, he makes beautiful things out of the dust...... (Gungor)



You have been handmade, hand picked, hand placed. The hand of God is on your life already. Jocelyn Michelle Flores, 
Welcome.

 

I can see from my window my neighbor walking back and forth, into the laundry room, from the trash can to his house, nothing abnormal about his gait or demeanor, except what I know what he is doing.

He is going through their-now just his-possessions.
His wife just passed.
And here it is, the slow days after were the leaves still blow and the sun still rises and falls and he still takes out the trash as before but now it is trash for one or things of her's he will no longer need. And he washes the sheets that hold her smell, and soon it will fade because she will not lay there again.
You would never know, but I know.
And I think about death, how it has skirted my life and never seemingly touched the inner circle of those closest to me.  I have never lost someone that I have known deeply. I knew my neighbor, but the comfort in the fact that she is rejoicing with the Lord right now settles the matter in my mind and I can move on.
But his bedside is empty and his routine of visiting her in the hospital has ceased and he will walk home at five o clock every night without holding her hand anymore.
Yet the leaves still blow and the sun still rises and falls and we all still wake,eat, live and move.

Rachel Flores

Sometimes my soul is just tired.
not my body, I got enough sleep, but my soul is weary.

Sometimes I just want to lay on my stomach again.

Sometimes 35 pounds and 35 weeks gets to me.

Sometimes this apartment confines me instead of comforts me.

Sometimes I know what I'm supposed to think but I know what I am thinking.

Sometimes I want to grow up and move on yet grown down and stay a kid. at the same time.

Sometimes I want to be alone but I want to pour my heart out.

Sometimes I just want something I can call my own.

Sometimes this is my conflict.

Sometimes is this day.

I like to make my posts with fancy titles that both start with the same letter.. it's fun! but moving on...

Toddler Tuesday!
I found this website recently that talked about tot school. Pretty much it is starting to take specific time with your toddler and working on skills/projects/knowledge they will need for school. We are planning on homeschooling our little one, so I figured this would just be a good way to slowly move into that practice. The website is here, but if you type tot school into google you will seriously get a wealth of information.
Disclaimer.
this website is overwhelming. seriously.  like, "I'm a failure as a mom might as well let a pack of wolves raise my child" type of feeling. It is definitly something to be taken slow, and something to just glean a few good projects and kinda do your own thing with. At least that's how I am making myself feel better about it.

Basically we do a few things:

*Art Project/hands on activity
*Memory Verse
*Letter
*song
*read books





So for these two weeks we are focusing on A, and apples, since it is apple season here in Minnesota. Our verse, our crafts, our letter, all have to do with apples. For projects we have painted with apples, made this torn paper apple you see above (learning how to glue), and have a few baking projects ahead of us with the apples we got at the orchard (field trip!)

Basically I am flying by the seat of my pants here, because I just started without taking to much time to plan things out.  So we usually start with the project, and then go over our verse a few times, sing our verse song ( see the link at the bottom) and either learn counting or about the letter.  Then we read books based on our subject, the list of which I got from the tot school website and checked them all out from the library. Sensory bins are something I have not done yet, I have just been using craft materials we already have around the house for our projects. 

She really likes learning to use the glue stick and paste, use the safe scissors,  the book reading, and the songs. But the field trip was for sure her favorite so far.



It is also super cool to hear her recite her verse back to me. She has'nt got it word for word yet, but everyday I ask her about it. I try to make up little hand motions to go with it as well, but It is so amazing to find my two year old already hiding God's word in her heart. This CD is pretty cool, called songs for saplings but I will be honest I have not bought it yet, I just play the sample on amazon over and over ( :

  The picture above is something I came up with myself that she enjoys. I write out sentences, and have her find the letters a, both big and small, and when she finds them I shade them for her. this helps her identify the letter amongst other letters and identify the different types of the letter.



We are doing a fall theme, spending two weeks on each subject every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday up till thanksgiving.  The tot school website kind of set out a special section for fall, so that was easiest this year. I picked those three days of the week because that's when I have a nice little gap in between my own school of about two hours.

So my advice so far:
1. use your library! mine has it where I can search and reserve books online and just come pick them all up at once. super handy!
2. Songs for memorizing! she loves loves loves the music, and the memory verse is the most important part to me.
3. Remember their age I have to tell myself she is only two, so it's ok if things are not perfect. it's how one learns.
4.  start figuring out how your child learns. Ariella seems to be very visual.
5. Don't get overwhelmed- the main thing I can tell is that she enjoys the one on one, doing something out of the ordinary time. 
*Next to the verses, I would say this time is most important thing for her
and it helps me! I noticed on these days she is more likely to play alone if I focus just a hour on being with her and doing things she enjoys.
6. review. we don't just talk about school during school. I ask her about her verse and letters and such all the time, so it's really incorporated into her life.

Apple orchard fun!!!