• Aug. 29, 2009
Trust Me

While I was waiting at the hospital on Thursday for dad to be finished with his heart stress test I happened across this daily devotion lying on a table. God is so good to place just what we need before us if we pay attention!

Trust Me in the midst of a messy day. Your inner calm--your Peace in my Presence--need not be shaken by what is going on around you. Though you live in this temporal world, your innermost being is rooted and grounded in eternity. When you start to feel stressed, detach yourself from the disturbances around you. Instead of desperately striving to maintain order and control in your little world, relax and remember that circumstances cannot touch My Peace.

Seek My face, and I will share My mind with you, opening your eyes to see things from My perspective. Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not be afraid. The Peace I give is sufficient for you.

John 16:33; Psalm 105:4; John 14:27



This picture is of a place within the Colorado National Monument where I would drive to when I was needing to get away from everything and have a good cry, need to think decisions through, etc. I miss this place very much and had such peace when we stopped there on our drive this past vacation. "My place" now has a guardrail and is much too visible to all travelers now, but I am thankful for the time God gave me to have this spot to meet with Him alone for several years. I think I need a new place and I don't know where that might be!

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• Jul. 29, 2009
Missionary to Africa?

Now, how did this thought come into my life?  Two days ago my daughter (7 1/2) told me that she dreamed God wanted her to be a missionary in Africa.  I just told her we would definitely have to be in prayer about that as a family.  When I told the hubby about it he shared that he has always had a dream of being in mission work of some sort and he wants to explore Africa.  How come I didn't know that in 26 years of marriage?!  Today dd told me God told her the reason she needs to go is because there are so many there that don't know Him.

I have never, and I repeat never, had the dream to be on the mission field.  Travel maybe...but mission field...no.  I did pray last night that God needs to reveal His desire in all of this to me.  I just don't know what to do other that that.

How does one even begin to research going into the mission field?  (big sigh)

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• Jul. 22, 2009
On the road to gluten- and dairy-free...

...we took a field trip to the Co-op in the neighboring town (a 30 minute trip one way) to see what we could find that wasn't carried in the regular grocery stores. The kids' goal was to find something they thought was really "Ugly Bugly" since that is what they nicknamed this particular store as they viewed many items. Here is what they chose.

 

Sweetie Boy had the winner--smoked Tofurkey hotdogs. They just looked nasty!

Punkin' chose the Tofu-Ella cheese. I think this seemed awful to her after she'd felt the tofu packages and learned what they were all about AND her daddy makes the best goat cheese so who would think this was good.

So we made a long trip enjoyable. Only came home with some chicken seasoning, rice crackers, Greek Hummous and some adorable bunny grahams (those are for the kids). This trip to gluten- and dairy-free living is something else!

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• Jul. 8, 2009
Photo Tag

I thought this sounded like fun when I stopped by Leslie's blog.

If you want to do it this is what you should do:

1. Go to Your Pictures on your computer
2. Go to the 8th folder
3. Go to the 8th picture
4. Post that picture on your blog and the story behind it

Have fun!!!

Pretty self explanatory isn't it?  My 8th folder was "Easter" and then I chose the first folder inside that of "2006" and then the 8th picture.  This makes the kids 4 and 1 1/2!    Punkin' was enjoying her first year of getting to dye eggs by herself while dad just hung onto Sweetie Boy to keep him from cracking all the eggs as he toddled by.   Fun memories.

If you choose to do this, please let me know!

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• Jun. 14, 2009
The Angels are Rejoicing!

More people have professed their love for Christ and have followed His command to be baptized.  My dear, sweet daughter was one of those.

The church we attend had a very nice picnic/baptism service out at the lake and the storm held off for the event.  Punkin' said, "God is making sure the rain doesn't come until later mommie."  I think she might have been right!  She wanted the Children's Pastor (Sara) to be the one to baptize her and one of her best friends (Grace) was also baptized at the service.

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• Jun. 8, 2009
Summer Learning

Have chosen to continue with some learning this summer instead of completely taking a break for school.  Punkin' is still finishing up her Spelling (should be done this week) and Sweetie Boy wants to "do Kindergarten" so I've been using my Usborne Learning Palette with him for pre-reading skills.  We are finishing up our Australia safari (they wanted to keep going until all the animals were done) and I've started them working through an Usborne art book that has 22 artists and then step-by-step instructions on how to recreate their styles.  So far we've made it through Van Gogh.  Anything with paint is always a hit!

Sweetie Boy's work above and Punkin's below.

We also had my brother and sis-in-law out for a couple days and that was very fun.  The kids were quite the characters at dinner one evening at our favorite Mexican restaurant.

This coming weekend is our homeschool convention at long last!  Sweetie Boy will stay with grandma and pop-pop for 2 nights as he isn't old enough to attend the children's conference.  Punkin' is attending the conference for her third time and she always looks forward to attending.

Other than all that we have added a calf to the barnyard.  Rosetta was born June 1 early in the morning.

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• May. 12, 2009
May Madness!

Taking advantage of the kids playing out in the barnyard with the goats and new baby chicks and poults!  Yes...that's the new word of the day...poult.  Punkin' wanted to know the real name for baby turkeys!

So why was I gone for too long again....

Homeschool Group.... We just finished up with our Friday School group last week so I was busy helping get things put together for the talent show.  It was fun and am sad to see our gatherings end for the summer.

Books.... I've been getting going with my Usborne Book stuff and am now ready to dig in and get started within the libraries and schools.  I'm also going to contact local homeschool groups about a summer reading program.  I've had several great home shows and am excited that I am finally ordering some of the school books that I started this for in the beginning!  Can't wait for that 3 volume reference set and microscope kit to arrive!  I also ordered a great set of art books.

School.... Punkin' is finished with her penmanship, will finish Math this week and that leaves Reading & Spelling to get done by next month.  Sweetie Boy has enough left to get through this month also.  We've had fun with the Continental Hop series that is being developed through CurrClick and are now undertaking Australia.

Planning for next year.... We will be attending our homeschool convention the second weekend in June and I need to figure out what to do for the kids when Horizons ends with everything except Math.  Hoping AO will be there so I can see the LifePac stuff but will also hunt through all the booths for other suggestions that some have made.   (Thank you Belinda!)  I plan to buy a second volume of KONOS this year along with their Horizons materials for 2nd grade and the replacement workbooks for Kindergarten.  Need to spend more time getting KONOS lessons in the computer for next year!

Turkey parties with friends... We have our second one on Saturday.  This one requires less work as it is a smaller group.

Gardening.... Punkin' and I finally finished planting yesterday.  It was a great Mother's Day gift as dh borrowed the rototiller on Saturday so we could all work on the raking and weed shield on Sunday afternoon.   I then took Punkin' with me to buy plants and we had fun getting everything planted.

Pygmy Goat.... Cocoa finally had her baby and that was a rough delivery.  dh had to pull the baby out and there isn't a lot of room to work with on a pygmy!  Vanilla is so cute and lively.  She doesn't realize how small she is as she takes on the cows as playmates.  Here's Punkin' with Vanilla and her mama.

Sweetie Boy has really begun to have an interest in learning to read and that is exciting!  He is also doing wonderful with his writing....mostly capitals so far but very legible.  He is amazingly talented with his drawing and wants to put names on each as he makes them for someone else and you can read it when he's done.  He is soooo excited that he will be learning to read next year in school.  He is also doing very well with his addition and subtraction.  He still gets them mixed up (the + and -) only because of a lack of focus, but he has it figured out!  He will turn 5 the end of August.

Have the kids signed up for summer swimming in August as well.  They are so anxious to just have the wading pool out to play in but it still isn't warm enough for that yet!

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• Mar. 20, 2009
Life's Just Been a Little Crazy

Can't believe it has been a month since I even visited here!  We've lost 2 out of 3 dogs, survived the 7th birthday party, had a 5 day visit from MIL and SIL, birthed 13 kids in the pasture (lost 3 of them), helped my dad through carotid artery surgery, made it through the kids' spring musical rehearsals and performances, and I've been getting my Usborne Book business up and running.  How's that for one month?  Oh...did I mention 3 of the goats had to be assisted with their births (breech, stuck....) and we nursed one for two days during the surgery stuff and then a bummer lamb to replace the kid that died?  The bummer lamb was sick too (didn't know it when we brought her home) so that took a lot of time too.  Finally I can say at the end of this week that I've had more "normal" days around here!  And none too soon.   I was worn out!  So let me share a few "kid" photos from the barnyard just because they make me smile!

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• Feb. 21, 2009
The Birthday Party

This event was so nice and Punkin' loved every minute of her special time.  Thought I'd just drop a few photos to mark the occasion.

Out for pizza dinner on her actual birthday.

Ready for the party!

Blowing out the candles on her Care Bear cake.  (I made it!)

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• Feb. 16, 2009
Happy 7th Birthday!

My "baby girl" is turning 7 on Friday.  Part of me is so sad to see her growing up so quickly and another is proud of what a wonderful individual she is becoming.  The "birthday week" started with a trip to the dentist....no cavities!  Then she met with a pastor to talk about baptism.  Her daddy took her and evidently she blew the pastor away with her knowledge of the scriptures and what it meant to accept Jesus into your heart.  So one day we will have a baptism...not sure when she'll be ready for that.

We will be having her party on Saturday and she has requested roast beef with homemade mac & cheese for the dinner.  Her adopted grandparents will be coming and her grandma and auntie from CO will be driving up for the event as well.  A Care Bear cake has been asked for...the pink one with the hearts...and that will be an easier decorating project for me!

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• Jan. 13, 2009
A Day at the Zoo

Yesterday Sweetie Boy asked if we could visit the zoo.  I made it happen only because he rarely asks for anything and it was the nicest day we were going to have all week.  We had all been wanting to go see the new African Village that had been constructed too so it was a fun time.  Here are some pictures from our outing.

In the African Village hut.  Another structure was of a house.  This was especially impacting as we sponsor a little guy in Zambia.  She was surprised at the size and the type of things they use for sleeping, etc.  A good life lesson!

On safari!

Here are the new giraffes.  They are about 2 years of age.

The King of the Jungle!  He was VERY noisy during our visit.  Punkin' was a little nervous at one point when he came right up to the window we were looking through and let loose with a roar.

And of course we took time to play on the Jungle slide near the tropical rainforest.

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• Dec. 31, 2008
Goodbye 2008

Seems like this year just began and here we are getting ready to say goodbye.  I find myself wondering what I've accomplished when it seems as though everything is just the same.  How we short-change ourselves with that type of thinking!  For one thing I muddled through many school lessons and whining sessions when they just didn't want to "do school."  I've managed to draw Christ into our school and dd accepted Jesus into her heart in the Fall.  I've managed to weed out some friendships (?) that were bleeding me dry.  I could go on, but these are just a few of the thoughts I've had today.

 

So let us all begin 2009 knowing we will have great adventures and wonderful accomplishments when it draws to a close in 365 days.

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• Dec. 15, 2008
What Does Christmas Day Look Like at Your House?

The Homeschool Lounge is celebrating Christmas.  Each week we have a different question (theme) to answer to be entered into a drawing.  This week we were also asked to bring the theme to our blog site so I am doing that.  Please leave comments that answer the question!  It is fun to see what other families do to celebrate on Christmas Day.

As for us, we get up and fix a big breakfast (eggs, bacon, toast) and then dive into the gifts. This year we are also going to attend a prayer service at 9 a.m. with some friends from church before we open presents. A neat idea to put Jesus right in the center of it all. So after the gifts are open there is paper everywhere...toys to be unwired...and fun memories. For "dinner" we make homemade pizza so that nobody has to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

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• Dec. 6, 2008
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Since returning home from our Thanksgiving journey to Colorado we have been decorating.  Inside and out!  Always fun to have the pretty lights and the reminders of Jesus' birth.  Of course we've got Santa and Snowmen thrown in for good measure.  We have several packages already under the tree since we brought them home with us.  The kids are just beside them with joy over the season.  The first thing Punkin' does each morning is race downstairs to move the mitten in the December calendar and report back how many more days until Christmas.  Naturally Sweetie Boy just asks, "Is it Christmas today?"

So we have both trees up (the tall fake one and the 7' real one).  Our tradition surrounding the fake one is to put "White Christmas" on to watch/listen too while getting the branches in place.  Always a fun night.

The month is filled with different activities and should slow down on the 23rd.  Oh, wait!  That means 2 days until Christmas Eve!  What am I thinking?!  That means there is a cake to bake and decorate for Jesus' birthday party and a candlelight service to attend and presents to put under the tree and stockings to fill.....  I"m ready for January.  LOL

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• Nov. 20, 2008
A Day of the Fiesty Fours

All I can say is we made it through the morning smoothly.  After that the little guy (he's 4 1/2) chose to make misbehaving the theme of the day.  ugh!  He pulled a few little things around the house and then really stepped it up when we were running two short errands.  Usually you hear of kids throwing major fits getting IN the car.  Oh no.  Much more fun when you're supposed to get OUT of the car!  Naturally I had to be very careful about any discipline as we were in a place with lots of people and the last thing one needs is having the cops called.  I finally got him out of the van and he persisted in keeping the fit going.  We just stood outside the door of the bank until he could get himself under control.  He finally stopped when he realized nothing was changing.  Fast forward a few hours and he came after with his words.  That didn't work very well for him either!  So I'm just ready for bed time on this Thursday.

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• Oct. 15, 2008
The Angels are Singing!

Just had to share quickly that dd (she is going to be 7 in February) told me yesterday she had asked Jesus to send His Holy Spirit into her heart.  We've known this moment was coming for awhile now and I guess she was finally ready.  As parents we were going to see that this type of decision came later in life, but God has shown us it is in His hands, not ours.

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• Oct. 14, 2008
Girlfriend Weekend!

Just spent my annual "girlfriend weekend" in Portland, Oregon at Women of Faith.  We had the best seats we've ever had....front row on the end.  The theme this year was "Infinite Grace."  It always sounds like such an easy concept so why don't we accept it as easily from Him?

My favorite thing this year was actually the music.  I always enjoy that but this year it really was inspiring to me.  Not just the lyrics, but the artists.  First there was Mandisa.  I never watch American Idol but evidently she had been on that show and taken hard hits from Simon's mouth about her weight.  She advanced pretty far but did not win.  After her time there she was approached by many people and had to decide what genre she would label.  She chose Christian.  She sings with such passion and has endured a lot since the show in the name of Christ.  I did bring home her CD and the kids can't stop playing it either!

The second artist was Nicole C. Mullens.  I've heard her a lot on the radio but she was so dynamic as a performer!  She has a group of kids called Team NCM that travels with her and they do interpretive dance and drama with her music.  She also mentors other girls in the "Baby Girls Club" where they learn sewing and other things together.  She has adopted two children and had two naturally. 

I guess the thing I took away from their testimonies was the reminder that God can use anyone no matter where we've come from or what pit we are digging out of.

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• Sep. 23, 2008
30-Day Husband Encouragement Challenge

This is a great challenge for us as wives to honor our husbands. If you are interested visit www.reviveourhearts.com   I found this right after dh had told me the guys in his class at church are going to hold each other accountable weekly for things they should be doing to encourage their wives.  I thought it only right to do the same for him.  I'm on day two.

Day 2
Today, find some way that your husband is serving you or your family. Does he help around the house? Take care of the car? Fix things that are broken? If your budget allows, give him a new, small tool with a big bow attached. But make sure he doesn't think it's part of a "Honey Do" list!

Maybe your husband is not a handyman, but does he run errands for you? Take care of you when you are sick? Help you make decisions? Praise him for his willingness to serve others. Let him know that you see his unique service as a great strength.

* * * * * * *

This was an easy one for me today! My hubby was already busy trying to fix the screen door this morning!

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• Sep. 2, 2008
Canning Peaches

Yesterday our family managed to preserve 56 quarts of peaches!  Let me just say that I cannot believe my 4 year old son worked with us the entire 4 1/2 hours, but he did and he worked hard.  Here were our assigned jobs:  Sweetie Boy was to peel the peaches.  dh was to pit and slice them.  Punkin' was to put the slices in the fruit fresh water and then into the jars.  I did everything else...boil the peaches for peeling, put the sugar water in the jars and seal them up for processing and make sure everyone had the supplies they needed.  It was a great day and we're going to enjoy those peaches this winter!  We also chose to call this a good Home Ec class for the kids.

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• Aug. 30, 2008
Crazy Busy Week Ahead

Tomorrow Punkin' begins her schoolwork for the year.  She managed to make it through 3 weeks of break time!  Didn't know if she would so I had it all ready for last week.  So tomorrow we will begin breaking her into the schedule and switching up Sweetie Boy's turn with his preschool.  He has done fine doing it all at once, but now I will break his up into two different times and then he'll join Punkin' for "together school."  (KONOS)  Honestly I am not ready for "together school" so may delay that a day or two.  I've got a few books, but I don't have the things I need for the hands-on stuff yet.  And today I couldn't get the laptop to acknowledge the network printer so no lesson plans in my hands either!

We use Horizons right now for Math, Reading, Writing and Spelling for Punkin' and she simply loves it.  I went ahead and bought their preschool materials for Sweetie Boy and it truly is built for use in a preschool.  So much stuff and very fun!  I enjoy that the Bible is taught with it along with character building.

So to make sure our week is crazier.... Punkin's ballet begins again on Tuesday evening.  She will be going at 4:30-5:15 so it is later this year.  I will continue to do my exercise at the gym while she's in class.  That helps!  She is hoping some of the friends she made last year will be in class again.  I hope so too as 90% of the class was homeschool kids.

To complicate the first night of ballet, I have my monthly Mom's Night (with our Friday School group) so need to be out of the house no later than 6:30.  That just means I have to be very prepared with dinner so I'm thinking a pot of vegetable soup on the stove all day sounds like a winner!

Wednesday all of our activities at church start up again with the exception of the music classes both kids will be participating in.  Those start up two weeks later.  I'm happy about that as we will be needing to leave home by 5:45 at the latest now on those days.  I am looking forward to my ladies Bible study starting up again though.

Oh...and did I mention that I need to can 4 bushels of peaches and 1 bushel of pears in and around all of this?  Hmmmm

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