May. 10, 2008
Happy Mother's Day
Wishing all of you a wonderful Mother's Day!
Blessings,
Apr. 30, 2008
Above Rubies Email Devotional ~ Wear the Right Clothes!
Posted in Devotionals
WEAR THE RIGHT CLOTHES!
Ephesians 2:22-24, "Put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which was corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness."
When you were born again by the Spirit of God, you received a new wardrobe. It is a very expensive wardrobe, paid for by the precious blood of Christ. You have so many beautiful garments hanging in this wardrobe. You have lovely dresses of love, joy, peace, longsuffering gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23). You have delightful garments of tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, forbearance and forgiveness. (Colossians 3:12-17).
The strange thing is that although we have this expensive wardrobe, we don't always bother to wear the clothes. We are so used to our old shabby clothes of the flesh. We feel more comfortable in them. They feel familiar, so we stick with them instead of trying out our new wardrobe. To put on a beautiful dress of gentleness or patience can seem foreign because we are not used to wearing them.
But they belong to you! They are yours! Imagine if your husband purchased a very special and pricey dress for you. You couldn't believe how posh it was. But you never wore it. You thought it was too good for you. How would your husband feel when he paid so much for it and wanted to be proud of you wearing it?
I wonder how God feels when He gives us this glorious wardrobe, purchased at an enormous price, and we never wear the garments? He gives them to us but He doesn't put them on us. He tells us to PUT THEM ON. "Put on the new man ..." I love the J. B. Phillip's translation which says, "Fling off the dirty clothes of the old way of living ... And put on the clean fresh clothes of the new life ..."
Make sure you put on a new garment each morning. Have you had a lousy night with the baby waking all night? Are you going through a fiery ordeal? Put on the garment of praise. (Isaiah 61:1-3). Let me tell you a secret. You won't feel like putting it on. You'd much rather put on your dirty old dress of grumbling and complaining. But do it by faith. Don't worry about your feelings. Put on your praise garment. Start praising and thanking the Lord. As you do it by faith, you will actually wear it.
You can change garments as you need them throughout the day. Are the children getting on your nerves? You feel your anger rising. Quick! Change into your garment of long-suffering or patience. Put it on by faith. Thank the Lord for His patience which is in you because He lives in you.
Are you starting to shout and yell because everything is getting on top of you? Put on the garment of gentleness. Thank the Lord for His gentle spirit which lives in you. This is the new man. It is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He lives in you now.
All these beautiful garments belong to you. They are yours. All you have to do is put them on by faith!
Strip of your old shabby garments. Wear your new ones each day. Live in them. Let Christ live His beautiful life through you.
Love from NANCY CAMPBELL
PRAYER:
"Thank, you Lord, for all the beautiful garments that you have given to me. I am sick of my old rags. They look so ugly to everyone. Help me to put on your beautiful new garments which reveal your beautiful life in me. Amen."
AFFIRMATION:
I may have little in my literal wardrobe, but I have access to the most glorious garments in my spiritual wardrobe. Praise God.
PO Box 681687, Franklin, TN 37068-1687, U.S.A.
Apr. 26, 2008
Want to make a pop-up of Aslan (Narnia Lion)?
Posted in Science and other Hands On activities
I wanted to share this with you to go along with the online study that I posted for the Chronicles of Narnia just below this entry just in case you are working on a lapbook for it right now :) There is a wonderful tutorial for how to make a pop-up of Aslan complete with very detailed photo instructions for each step! The final result is fantastic and of course you could use it for any project you are working on as well *grin* While you are there take a moment to check out the main page for the pop-ups because there are more of them there to make! I know that we will be making a few. I love the birthday one. Wouldn't that make an awesome card?
Blessings,
Apr. 20, 2008
For all of you C.S. Lewis Fans ~ FREE Unit Study
Posted in Educational websites
I loved The Lion,the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis and now the Narnia Academy is offering a free 40 lesson online unity study for the Chronicles of Narnia's: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian called Beyond the Wardrobe. I had a look at the sample lesson and it looks really well done. There are insights into the chapter, questions, bible verses and activities plus there is a teacher's guide that goes along with each lesson as well.
Blessings,
Apr. 20, 2008
Chicken Mummy Pt.4
Apr. 19, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ Whoville
Posted in Photo of the Day
I feel like Lightening McQueen (Cars movie) when he goes flying over the bank and down into the cactus patch :) I can just hear Doc yelling above me "was that floating like a cadillac.... or stinging like a beamer!?" Life has temporarily derailed my daily routines and I've fallen off the edge of the cliff *grin* Thank goodness my safety harness is firmly attached the Lord!
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Phillipians 4:13
Those are 2 of my favorite verses right now, knowing that I can go to Him and He will shelter me through this storm :)
Blessings,
Apr. 14, 2008
I'm still alive :)
Hello everyone :) Just wanted to drop in quickly and let you know that I haven't kicked the bucket *grin* I just had to take a little bloggy break. Dh ended up getting his tax return last week just after we used up all of our mad money on vehicle repairs so we were able to get away for a couple of days. We went to Salt Spring Island it was great! We spent 2 days there wandering around and checking out the lakes for when we go back in the summertime and then we spent a day in Victoria and went to the Maritime Museum of History. Very cool. I've got a ton of photos on my camera that I need to go through and sort and then I'll start sharing them with you :) I want to thank everyone to for the verses that you shared with me! I so appreciated it :) Bless you all.
In the meantime if you hop over to my other blog ~ Nature Notes From Above, I've shared a link to a free butterfly unit study, where to buy butterfly larvae in Canada and make sure you check out the giant Sperm Whale that washed up on the east coast of our Island!
Blessings,
Apr. 10, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ Mountain View & Overload
Posted in Photo of the Day
The weather has been very unpredictable around here the last couple of days going from warm sunshine to rain and hail. Saturday is supposed to be an awesome day of full sunshine so I'm hoping the weather man keeps his promise *grin*
I've been a little scarce around the bloggy world for the last 3 or 4 days and I'm hoping that maybe on the weekend I'll be able to catch up with some of you :) I'm finding it difficult to find an even balance between my family (especially with Dh home), blogs and community commitments that have found their way into my lap. During the day I spend most of my time with the kids either doing some sort of learning project or just doing stuff together and I pop on and off of the internet looking for things or checking my mail and then usually in the evening after the kids have gone to bed I'm free to read blogs for a couple of hours if I have time :) But with Dh home I want to spend my evening time with him so I find I'm rushing to get my photo on or answer a couple of emails before spending my evening with him and still trying to squeeze in the website work and membership updating I'm doing for the local business association and trying to find volunteers for the Canadian Cancer campaign for our area since last years volunteers have opted out and I'm scrambling for new ones, along with the work I've promised to do for my mom on her business site :( I'm burning the candle at both ends and it's going to burn me, I just know it!
Okay enough stuff about my chaotic life. I know there's a good verse or 2 or 3 that I should find to read but I'm at a complete loss as to where to find them. They're floating half jumbled in my bungled brain *grin* Maybe you can point me in the right direction? I would appreciate it :) Things will calm down at the end of the month and then I've got some serious prioritizing for the future to smooth things out :)
Blessings,
Apr. 9, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ Playpen Creativity
Posted in Photo of the Day
What do you do when you're outdoors and you need to contain the little one for a couple of minutes? Why you turn the box of your pick up truck into a playpen! LOL.
Baby M actually enjoyed stomping around in it and big brother and sister thought it looked like good fun to so they all ended up in there together :) How convenient, all 3 in one place at the same time *grin* Gotta love that :)
Blessings,
Apr. 8, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ Monkey Wrenching
Apr. 7, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ Birds, Swimming and Parts
Posted in Photo of the Day
I've been transplanting my little rock birdies that I made around the house each day and today this one was visiting my wheat grass planter and I just love the vivid green color! So springy, just what I needed on a dreary rainy day :)
L had her final swimming lesson today and unfortunately she hasn't passed for the 3rd time. No biggie though, she has shown so much improvement this time around that she may has well have passed in my books! For the first time she has been voluntarily getting her head wet. Her pre-school group has little watering cans that they use for getting themselves wet when they first get in the pool. They fill them up and then water themselves like flowers. Well today she was repeatedly pouring tons of water over the top of her head and down her face.... she never does that! She used to be terrified if the water got in her eyes or even splashed her in the face so this is a giant step :) She still needs to be able to submerge her face for 3 seconds to pass but I think that one more round of lessons just might get her to finally do it :)
My car is still dismantled after spending the afternoon in town with Dh. He did get the right brakes though :) He's hoping the get it finished tomorrow so hopefully the rain co-operates and it will be dry enough for him to do it *grin* He's as sweet as sugar you know... he might melt in the rain. LOL.
Blessings,
Apr. 7, 2008
Unplugged Project ~ Secret Hollow Book
Posted in Science and other Hands On activities
This week's Unplugged Project over at Unplug Your Kids' blog is all about books so what would be more fun than making a hollow book for hiding your most treasured items!
You'll need one thick book, hardcover ones are the most suitable but we didn't have one on hand so we used an old phone book that was about 2 inches thick. You can find lots of hardcover books at thrift stores for under a dollar usually or rummage sales are another good place to look :) You will also need white glue, a film canister, a paintbrush, a popsicle stick, a ruler, saran wrap and an exacto knife.
To start with fill your film canister about 1/3 full with white glue and then pour in enough water to create a runny glue that can easily be spread with your paintbrush.
We then used our popsicle stick to stir the glue and water mixture together. You could use anything though to stir just make sure that if you are keeping it you rinse it off really well right away before the glue dries on it!
To make your book look more authentic if someone opens it up you will want a couple of loose pages under the cover to hide the hollow spot. We took the first 4 pages and then wrapped them with the saran wrap to keep them from accidentally getting glued down. Repeat this with the back couple of pages to.
Now you're ready to paint your glue on. Brush on an even amount of glue all around the 3 exposed sides to saturate the pages thoroughly and then close up the book and set something really heavy on top of it to keep it tightly closed while the glue dries and sets the pages firmly together. It took about an hour to dry well enough to move onto the next phase.
As soon as your book feels and looks dry and the center pages have fused together tightly you can start to get ready to cut out the center. Measure a 1/2 inch grid all around the outside of the top page. These are the lines you will use to guide where you cut.
Now comes the dangerous part! I let my son who is 9 do this while I supervised the whole time, but this is up to you as to how old your child should be to use an extremely sharp exacto knife. To start the first cuts into the book he used the ruler as a guide to keep the knife straight on the lines, and went over each of the 4 lines.
After the first cuts all around the perimeter he was ready to peel out the first pages and start again :)
This part of the project takes the longest and of course the more careful you are keeping all of your cuts the same the smoother the finished inside will be, but hey, we're not going for perfection, just fun! *grin*
Phew! All done and as you can see above we have a nice deep pocket :)
Time to get the glue out again and give it a good coat all around the inside walls now to create a really sturdy pocket.
After you've finished gluing it again, weigh it down with something super heavy to keep the pages firmly together while it dries and sets hard. K thought that the Lego bucket would add just the right amount of pressure *grin*
Once it's all dry you can load it up with whatever you want :) So far K's is home to his spy light and some change *grin* but you never know what else might make its way into it!
Blessings,
Apr. 6, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ Break Repair
Apr. 5, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ Dh Is Home!
Posted in Photo of the Day
Yippy skippy! Dh is home :)
Not to much to share today. I spent the morning doing laundry, vacuuming and just general tidying so that the house looked all nice for hubby when he came home. We had a nice chicken dinner and now that the kids are in bed we're going to watch a movie. Catch you all tomorrow hopefully *grin*
Blessings,
Apr. 4, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ A Sea of Color
Posted in Photo of the Day
Primroses are one of my favorite flowers, especially the doubles :) I finally got my car into the service station today and it turns out that there was a mount for the exhaust broken that was replaced easily but I also have a broken spring in the back and they said I could really use new shocks :( I'll have to wait for Dh to come home so that we can discuss what we're going to fix (both sides or just the broken side), whether we can get cheaper after market parts of just VW parts which are always pretty pricey and so on. I don't think he will be doing it himself but I could be wrong. Right now we have all new rotors and calipers for the front wheels as they are sticking and in pretty rough shape from our salty winters here so I'm not sure he will have enough time to do all of the work before he heads out to sea again *grin* I think he'll definitely need more than one night at home to do it!
Blessings,
Apr. 3, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ And The Burning Continues
Posted in Photo of the Day
I'm about ready for it to stop anytime now.... it was a wee bit difficult to breath outside today if you happened to get caught in the smoke when the wind blew your way! All of our clothes smell like camping to. You know that smoky campfire smell from sitting to close to the fire when roasting your marshmallows *grin* I've been assured by the pyromaniac himself that it will only be one more day and then we will have clean air to breath again :) I can't wait. *gasp, cough, choke* LOL.
We have been waiting for the frogs to lay their eggs and today we hit the jackpot when we went down to the pond to have a look. K was able to reach far enough out into the water without falling in to collect some of the frog spawn for us so that we can hatch tadpoles again this year :) Head over to my nature blog if you want to see some photos of our outing and close ups of the frog spawn. Everyone had to touch it and hold the eggs of course.... good clean fun you know *grin*
Blessings,
Apr. 2, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ Burning Fields
Posted in Photo of the Day
Today we started to burn some of the fields to clean up the old dead grass and hay that was laying on them. This will let the fresh new growth spring up and in a couple of weeks you'll never know that it ever looked black and charred :) My sister gave the kids an outdoor game kit with badminton, lawn darts, nerf balls and some other things and we have been having lots of fun using them. K loves to play badminton so this afternoon we must have spent over an hour batting the bird back and forth while L amused herself with the lawn darts. They make those much safer now I might add to. Do you remember the old ones? They had steel tips and looked like an over sized arrow, well at least ours did and of course kids being kids goofing around someone threw one straight up in the air (no it wasn't me *grin*) and it landed straight down on my cousins head! I don't know how she made it without cracking her head open but she didn't die *grin* Anyways these ones have big rounded balls on the ends so that at least you aren't in danger of loosing an eye if it bonks you :) You never know what might happen with these ones when mama isn't looking. LOL.
Blessings,
Apr. 1, 2008
Reading Challenge Day 1
Posted in 30 Day Bible Reading Challenge
Today is the official start of the 30 Day Bible Reading Challenge and I have chosen to read the book of Ruth. The book of Ruth teaches about loyalty, kindness, and genuine love during times of sacrifice and how the Lord blesses those who seek to live obedient lives.
Ponderings From My Heart has written a wonderful entry on how God has given each and everyone of us 24 hours to get what He wants us to do done. It's a good reminder to re-evaluate how we spend our days, where our minutes can be better allocated to serve Him better. I know my schedule could use a little tweaking, how about you?
Blessings,
Apr. 1, 2008
Chicken Mummy Pt.3
Posted in Science and other Hands On activities
Queen Chick-o-patra has put on the breaks and is resisting her weight loss regiment we have been strictly adhering to *grin* This week she weighed in at 685 grams or 1 pound 8 ounces, giving her a total weight loss of 2 ounces this week. Eeek, this project may go on forever! LOL.
Her body is starting to feel rubbery and she was notably stinkier today to. I think we will need to rub some sweet smelling oils on her sooner than expected :) The natron that we had Queen Chick-o-patra in was only slightly clumpy today when we dumped it out so I we won't be changing it next week. I think we will leave if for 2 weeks this time and hopefully we will get a better weigh in to :)
See you in a couple of weeks! If you want to see photos and directions of how we got this project started click here to see part one.
Blessings,
Apr. 1, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ Here Kitty, Kitty...
Posted in Photo of the Day
I think I was more concerned for Baby M than the cat (see those ears flattened right back against his head!) even though it looks a little precarious for poor old kitty. *grin* This was actually the release. LOL. He had just finished pulling him in for a big smooch while the cat tried to wriggle free :) The cat had been stalking him all afternoon coming in close for love and then just out of reach when Baby M wanted to pet him, so I guess Baby M won in the end *grin*.
Blessings,
Mar. 31, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ Flight Crash Simulation Practice
Mar. 30, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ Rock Animals, Boats & Fun!
Posted in Photo of the Day
It was a gorgeous day here today! Everyone is over their colds to just in time to be set free in the crisp air and sunshine :) We have been collecting rocks for a fun rock sculpture project and today we glued and painted our creatures, well not all of them were creatures actually. Above is K's sailboat that he made. Check out his seascape and their other animals over at my nature blog ~ Nature Notes From Above :)
Have a wonderful week,
Mar. 29, 2008
30 Day Bible Reading Challenge
Posted in Devotionals
I hate to admit that some days I need motivation or that I have not committed to allotting a certain amount of my day to reading my bible, but truth be told I don't have that one on one time with the Lord everyday. So I am joining a wonderful group of ladies and taking on the 30 Day Bible Reading Challenge by making sure that I take a Mama time out of at least 15 minutes each day to read my bible :) If you want to join in and encourage each other along the way, then hop over and sign up before it begins April 1st. And if you need a little bit of incentive then check out some of the goodies waiting there for a couple of lucky gals.
Blessings,
Mar. 29, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ Absentminded
Posted in Photo of the Day
It was a rather gloomy day here for most of the afternoon and I couldn't find anything stunning to take a photo of *grin* I did find a cork line from one of the fishermen's boats laying on the dock though so that will have to be my photo for today :)
I spent the day looking for cement glue and Fimo, took my camera card in to the photo store to develop school and nature trip pictures (130 of them dating back to last fall) for K since we are waaaay behind on printing them and came out of there with a much lighter wallet and no photos! I left town and completely forgot all about my pictures :(
Next time I think I'll have to pin a note to my coat with a safety pin just like my mother did when I was little and had to give the bus driver a note letting him know that I wasn't getting off at my usual drop off spot. Mine will read 'Please remind me to pick up my pictures!' LOL. That way some nice citizen will read it and remind me. *grin* Do you think it will work?
Blessings,
Mar. 28, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ Garden Snails
Posted in Photo of the Day
I just love all of this funky garden stuff that is out right now :) Wouldn't you just love one of these snails hidden away in your flower bed somewhere? And even better, these ones won't eat anything *grin* The sun came out this afternoon and took care of all the snow that was on the ground this morning but we're due for more tonight and tomorrow morning. I'm prepared now though *grin* No double takes tomorrow morning. LOL.
I've picked up a couple more books on the used curriculum boards at great prices to which I'm very happy about. I'm waiting for Educating the Whole Hearted Child by Sally Clarkson, The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jesse Wise and Homeschooling With a Meek and Quiet Spirit by Teri Maxwell. I can't wait to get them!
Blessings,
Posted in Family
I had to rub my eyes twice when I got out of bed this morning. LOL. I just couldn't believe that we were covered in snow again! My poor clothesline stand is completely covered and just yesterday I was thinking how I was going to hang my clothes out on the next sunny day since they have been so warm :)
Blessings,
Mar. 27, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ Clunking Car
Mar. 27, 2008
Above Rubies Email Devotional ~ Face The Challenge
Posted in Devotionals
FACE THE CHALLENGE
NO.197
John 18:4, "Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?"
Jesus knew what He had to face. He had just come from the Garden of Gethsemane where he sweat drops of blood in agony of facing the cruel cross and taking upon himself the sins of the world. He prayed that his Father would take "this cup" away from him. But knowing all he would face, he went forth. He went forth to face the agony. He didn't hold back.
This is a challenge to me. We will never have to face what Jesus faced. But what do we do about the problems we have to face each day? Do we cringe from them? Do we turn a blind eye so we don't even have to face them? Or do we go into depression and self-pity?
Perhaps you find it hard to get up out of bed and even face going out to the kitchen each morning. Do you have a hard time facing dishes, the big pile of laundry, or that room that is in such a mess? Can I encourage you to get up and "go forth", even as Jesus did. Tackle your task little by little. Don't think you have to do the whole overwhelming task all at once. Make a start, and keep going until you finish.
Perhaps you are facing a huge challenge in your life--a mountain that looks impossible in front of you. Mountains look impossible to us, but they are nothing to God. Go forth in His name and His power. I think of a chorus that we used to sing as young people.
Got any rivers you think are uncrossable?
Got any mountains you can't tunnel through?
God specializes in things thought impossible;
And He can do what no other can do.
It wasn't until recently that I found out that the source of this chorus came from the Panama Canal builders who faced a nearly impossible task and where well over 25,000 people died in the building of it.
You may be facing a raging battle in your life. It seems too much for you. It is bigger than what you can handle. Don't look at the bigness. God is with you. He will handle it for you. Read the instructions God give to the Israelites when they faced battles and armies who were far bigger than them. In Deuteronomy 20:1-9 He tells them not to be afraid because He will be with them. "There must be no faint hearts among you, no flinching, no yielding, no trembling ..." Of course you can't win this battle on your own, but God will fight for you. Trust Him. Go into the battle, not in your own strength, but trusting totally in God.
The name of God is a noun, but God is also a verb. Jesus said in John 5:17, "My Father worketh, and I work." God, who lives in you by His Holy Spirit, wants to work in you to do His will. Philippians 2:13 says, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Will you allow Him to work in you? Will you allow Him to "go forth" in you? He will face your problems with you. He will go with you. He will help you.
Perhaps you are facing a cross. Can I encourage you to embrace your cross and go forth! Go forth by faith! Go forth, knowing that Jesus lives in you. He has faced more than you will ever face and He lives in you. He wants to live His in life in you. He is in you to help you. You can go forth in His name.
PRAYER:
"Father, I thank you that you are with me. I pray that you will work in me and help me to go forth to do the tasks that you have given me to do. Help me to trust in you as I face my problems. Amen.
AFFIRMATION:
We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender!
We go not forth alone against the foe;
Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,
We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.
We go in faith, our own great weakness feeling,
And needing more each day Thy grace to know:
Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing,
We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.
P.S. The above words are an excerpt from the hymn which the five missionaries sang before entering the Ecuadorian jungle to bring the Gospel to the Auca Indians over 50 years ago. Their names were Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Jim Elliott, Roger Yoderian, and Peter Fleming. After reaching the Aucas, the Indians murdered them on the Curaray River. (January 1956) The hymn comes from the Scripture in 2 Chronicles 14:11 where Asa faced an Ethiopian army of one miillion men. He cried out to God, "Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power; help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let no man prevail against thee."
Many women like to save these devotions. They print them out and keep them in a folder to read over and over again. Some print them out and pin them on the fridge with a magnet to read through the week.
If you know others who would be blessed by these devotions, you are welcome to forward them or let them know they can subscribe by sending a blank Email to subscribers-on@aboverubies.org
To unsubscribe from the Above Rubies Devotional, use the link at the bottom of the email to either update your email address information or to unsubscribe from this email list. You may also send a blank email to subscribers-off@aboverubies.org
PO Box 681687, Franklin, TN 37068-1687, U.S.A.
Mar. 26, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ Ceramic Owl
Posted in Photo of the Day
I don't know about you but this little guy is absolutely adorable! Those big wide eyes are just begging to be taken home *grin* I resisted though, taking a photo instead :) Well our visit with Dh was very short lived. He got called last night and headed off at the crack of dawn :( One day just wasn't enough for any of us but I guess we need to be thankful that he is working though in such uncertain times. The next town over is closing the doors to its sawmill in a month putting close to 300 employees out of work and the pulp and paper mill is scaling back quite a few jobs as well. This will create hard times for a lot of families. We have been trying to decide on where to take a family vacation this year. Dh has never asked for holidays and this year he is going to try and make it a priority to spend a week somewhere close to the beach. Sounds so fun but finding a suitable place isn't quite that easy! He would love a cottage on a lake somewhere but can't find just the right one *grin* We have been looking at Salt Spring but have never actually been there and the internet photos are a little vague so I'm thinking we might take a little side trip soon and hop over there for the day to check out some of the places first hand to help with the decision making :) We better hurry though or if we procrastinate long enough everything will be booked! LOL.
Blessings,
Mar. 25, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ Playmobil Fairies
Posted in Photo of the Day
Not much happening here today. Daddy's home so it's been family time most of the day and this afternoon we went to have our taxes done. All done up and good for another year *grin* I thought I would share some pictures of L's new fairy Playmobil she got for Easter. It is adorable.
They're gardening fairies so they have flowers and gardening tools and she pretends they're working in the garden with her. It's sort of a trial run to see how she does with all of the little pieces that need taking care of. So far we have lost 2 pieces but hopefully that will be it! If not then we will wait a while before she gets anymore :) Do your kids play with Playmobil? We had friends that gave us some for birthdays and it has caught on like wild fire around here. Lego and Playmobil.... gotta be some of the greatest toys going *grin*
Blessings,
Mar. 24, 2008
Chicken Mummy Experiment Pt.2
Mar. 24, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ Spring Bouquet
Posted in Photo of the Day
We had a lovely day here today :) Mostly sunshine with a few showers intermingled. The kids spent some time outside running around and riding bikes while I caught up on some housework that needed attention *grin* I don't know how the laundry pile got so big but it took a small army to fold it today. LOL. Dh came home this evening and hopefully he will be able to spend a couple of days with us before he has to return to work again! I know the kids would love to take him prisoner *grin*
Blessings,
Mar. 23, 2008
Deviled Easter Eggs ~ Final Results
Posted in Kitchen and Recipes
The other day I started making a fun batch of deviled easter eggs for today's brunch but it was an overnight process so I'm finally getting a chance to update how they turned out! Above is what the eggs looked like as they came out of the beet juice. Aren't they just a lovely purple color? I love it :)
And the insides are even better *grin* The beet juice has permeated the eggs coloring them a wonderful pinky/purple inside as well :) To make the deviled egg centers I popped out the yolks, mixed them with 1 and a half tablespoons of mayo, 1 teaspoon of mustard, one green onion chopped finely and salt.
And to finish them off I put all of the yolk into my piping bag with a star tip and piped the yolk back into the whites just like icing for a pretty finish :) They taste just as good as they look!
Have fun making them,
Mar. 23, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ Easter Egg Hunt
Posted in Photo of the Day
This afternoon after we had our Easter brunch the kids had an easter egg hunt up the mountain :) It's a yearly tradition. We send my dad out into the gardens that go up the hillside to the top of the bluff and he hides little goodies along the way with a gift at the top. The weather cooperated long enough for us to have it and above is K and L getting started :)
BINGO! The first goodies have been found. They had lots of fun and it's always a good laugh watching them run up and down passing by the treats a dozen or so times. LOL.
Happy Easter!
Mar. 22, 2008
Easter Egg Nests ~ Recipes
Mar. 22, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ Ocean Views
Posted in Photo of the Day
We went for a late night ride just before dark to the wharf. I love how everything was a beautiful blue hue :) We had the strangest weather today. It was sunny one minute and then hailing, snowing and raining the next! Our space tomatoes are growing great. They're in need of transplanting so we are going to have to do that in the next day or two. I bought some potting soil but I just need to find my pots in the garage :) I think we are pretty much over our colds now to. Yay! No more runny noses *grin* Tomorrow we are having our Easter meal and hopefully an outdoor hunt if the weather cooperates :)
Blessings,
Mar. 22, 2008
Deviled Easter Eggs ~ Recipe
Posted in Kitchen and Recipes
Here's a fun and super easy little trick for making beautiful pink/purple deviled eggs perfect for Easter :)
Hard boil as many eggs as you like. I did only 6 since that will make 12 servings but if you have deviled egg lovers go ahead and make more! Once they are cool enough to handle peel their shells off of them and place them in a bowl.
Now cover them with beet juice :) You can buy beet juice or you can make it yourself very easily, just boil up some beets for dinner and save the juice you cooked them in. Let it cool before using it. How long you leave your eggs in the juice will determine the color your eggs will turn. Just a few minutes in the juice will turn the outside of them a pretty purple/pink color, or you can leave them overnight in the juice and let it permeate the egg more for a deeper purple color right through to the yolk! We're leaving ours in overnight. I'll post a picture tomorrow to show you the final results :)
Blessings,
Mar. 21, 2008
365 Days of Photos ~ Nature Buffs
Posted in Photo of the Day
Have binoculars, will travel??
Yes to both *grin* We have a pair of binoculars tucked in the pocket of the door at all times right next to my camera (never leave home without one, LOL) ready for any nature spotting events we might come across :) I'm not sure how much nature spotting was actually going on in the back seat though. I think they were inspecting each other's nose hairs!
Did you know that this is the earliest Easter we have had in nearly a century. The last time it fell on March 23rd was in 1913. It won't be this early again until 2160! This is the first year that we don't have daffodils in bloom even. It's sort of weird. I guess we'll have to cut some of those beautiful crocuses I've been photographing *grin*
Blessings,
Mar. 21, 2008
WIN the *all new* Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3
Posted in Fun Stuff
Rosetta Stone has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while -- next week they are unleashing a brand new curriculum, and you can WIN the *all new* Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3… FOR FREE!
This is a $219 program (and believe me it's worth every penny!) and the winner gets to pick from any of these 14 languages: Spanish (Spain or Latin America), English (American or British), Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Hebrew, or Russian.
This will also include a headset with microphone, and students will participate in lifelike conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone still incorporates listening, reading and writing as well, in addition to speaking. Many homeschoolers requested grammar and vocabulary exercises, and with Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3, they're included! For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program and allow parents to easily enroll students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, and view and print reports.
To win this most excellent program -- in the language of your choice -- copy these (blue) paragraphs and post it in (or as) your next blog post -- then to enter the contest, go to the original contest page HERE: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/JenIG/501132/ and leave a comment with the link showing where you blogged about it. And please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post it. And good luck! The winner will be picked randomly on March 26, and will be notified thru the link they left to their blog pg. And if you have more than one blog, you can post them and enter those separately for more chances to win. Yay for free stuff!
Mar. 21, 2008
HUGE Curriculum Sale on Now
Posted in Homeschooling
I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that TLC Educational Supplies is having a huge going out of business sale right now. Everything is reduced 10% - 50% off. You can find Apologia, Alpha Omega, ETC, Saxon, Donna Ward, Dear Canada Series... just to name a few. Lots of great deals!
Blessings,
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Vancouver Island Time
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Oh well it could have been worse. It could have been broken bones and hospital visits or something. LOL. At least we're healthy and all together :)
