TODAY is the LAST day of hopefully our last fundraiser to raise the rest to be able to accept the referral of our baby (who could be born any time!!) If you happen to be on Facebook, we have an "events" page set up that you can visit and "invite" your contacts as well! We appreciate you getting the word out, we have some great things to give away!!! Please spread the word!  To see pictures of almost all of the items that we are giving away or to donate, go to our adoption blog and check them out! (I have 2 items that I don't have pictures of yet...I will work on that and hopefully get some up there soon!) We have THIRTEEN items to give away!!! Only 17 have donated so far! Pretty good odds!!! To donate, hit the PayPal "donate" button on the right. Here's how it's going to work! ~
Blessings! And thank you for your continued prayers!  |
|
I know, it's been FAR too long since I've posted! I apologize!! Now that Fall is officially here, and we're getting back into the swing of things, I do plan to share more here! The big thing I want to share right now has nothing to do with our school or family activities. It has to do with the adoption that we are currently neck deep in! I'm not sure if I've even posted on this blog about us adopting again, but we are! We are adopting a baby from Taiwan! If you'd like to read all about it, we have an adoption blog at http://helpbringbabyhome.blogspot.com/ . You can read how this adoption came about a bit differently than Ana's, and why Taiwan! But what I want to tell you about now, is a fundraiser we are having this next Monday-Wednesday (Sept. 28th-30th). We have posted it as an "event" on Facebook, but we also have announced it on our adoption blog. This is the push for the last bit of money that we need, and we'll need it soon! We have heard that our baby may be born in the next week or two!!! Once we accept the referral for our baby, we have to submit the last big chunk of money. (Plus we'll have travel and living expenses while there, but that won't happen for a few more months.) I have copied the information about our fundraiser and pasted it below. We have some great things to give away to those that donate! Please pass the word on! Word of mouth is the best advertising!! We know God will provide, He has so far! But the more people that know, the more people He can use to help give this sweet baby a forever family!! Thanks for reading!!! ~~ "OK, we are really close to having what we need to finish up this adoption!!! We only need about $4000 more! The rumor is, there are a couple of birth mom's due the first week of October! One of those two babies could be ours!! So I'm trying to raise the last bit that we will need to complete this journey!! To learn more, go to http://helpbringbabyhome.blogspot.com/ . Here's what we are going to do! On Monday, Sept. 28th through Wednesday, Sept. 30th, we are going to have a "Power Fundraiser!" And here's the great part, everyone that donates has a chance to receive an awesome gift!! Here's the great gifts we have to give away so far (I hope to be adding pictures of these gifts sometime this week!): * 4 of MercyMe's 10 CD/DVD ~ signed by the group! (Their latest release commemorating 10 years of great hits!) * 2 beautiful handmade quilts! * A beautiful gift basket filled with wonderful items from Montana by Western Country Gift Baskets! (retail $45.00) * A $50 American Express Gift Card donated by Send Out Cards! * A gorgeous, rustic wall shelf (retail $45.00) * 2 of my custom made bags from Denice's Creations! (1 medium ~ retail $49.00. 1 small ~ retail $39.00) * $25 gift card from Starbucks! I also have a couple of other items that people are working on possibly donating as well! Our goal is to have at least a dozen items (or more!!) to give away!! If you have ANY ideas of other items, or you could donate an item, please contact me at gusfamily7@q.com . Here's how it's going to work! ~ * Donate $10 ~ you get one chance to win one of these wonderful prizes! * Donate $50 ~ you get seven chances to win! * Donate $100 ~ you get 15 chances to win! Prizes will be drawn and announced Thursday morning, October 1st, here! (http://helpbringbabyhome.blogspot.com/) I will be having a reminder for this event a couple of days ahead of time. Please mark your calendars!!! PLEASE invite as many people as you can!! ;-) Blessings! And thank you for your continued prayers!" ~~ |
 We received the best phone call we have ever gotten! It was a phone call that was much anticipated, yet very unexpected. It was about a little girl named "Mariya", and she was who God destined to be in our family! She is such a joy, we absolutely can't imagine life without our sweet, funny, happy little Ana Lee Mariya!! Thank you Lord!
|
|
Just had to share that over at Molly's Econobusters blog , she is having a giveaway for a beautiful outdoor rug from CSNrugs! So if I were you, I'd head right over to Molly's blog and read how to win it! Also, sign up for the Econobusters newsletter, there are TONS of wonderful, fun ideas to live more frugally! It's one of my favorite sites! I know you'll love it! |
|
Currently, we are on vacation in Wisconsin. My husband is from Wisconsin and he and my sons try to come back to help make hay every year around this time. We are having a blast! Since I don't have a lot of time right now, I just had to share with you what our youngest, Ana, said last night. She was playing in the bathtub and kept opening and closing the shower door. She opened it and had a funny little smile on her face and said, "I like my life, Mommy! Do you like your life too?" I said, "I LOVE my life Ana!!" She replied, "I LOVE my life too, Mommy!!!" It just doesn't get better than that!! Hope you are having a wonderful summer! Blessings, |
 OK, shameless plug here! The Old Schoolhouse has put out another wonderful E-Book, and this one I wrote a chapter for!! I've read through the whole book, and there are some great examples of how other homeschool families do what they do!! I know I was inspired by some of the other contributors! Here's a description of it: What is your Lifestyle of Learning? Would you like to peek into the lives and homes of other homeschooling families and learn about their routines, curriculum, and faith? How I Homeschool: Twelve Families Share Their Lifestyle of Learning What makes other homeschooling families so successful?
Every homeschool is unique and How I Homeschool provides information from twelve families elaborating on how they live from day to day. Gain some encouragement from a mom starting her day on her knees in prayer, a family enjoying relaxed unit studies, some who love Charlotte Mason, others enjoying Classical Conversations, still others incredibly eclectic, and all finding what works best for their homeschool! Here are the chapters, written by real-life homeschooling moms, sharing their wisdom:
OK, that was my shameless plug! If you'd like to read more about it plus view a sample, please visit HERE. Have a wonderful day!!
|
|
Are you ready for the third installment of "Playing Catch-Up"?? Here we go!!! A few days after we all went camping at Cape Disappointment, we headed for a favorite beach of ours further up the WA coast. Beach #2. Yes, that's what it's called! It's north of Ocean Shores, and usually when we've been there, we hardly have to share the beach with anyone! It is so beautiful! Instead of the typical sandy beach, it is covered with the most awesome rocks! (Perfect skipping rocks!!)
Before you get actually down to the beach here, there is some amazing trees up above!!! We love to walk through the trails and marvel at these trees that have burrs growing in their trunks (I think that's how it would be described!). So cool!!
In WA state, we have temperate rainforests that are incredible and near the beach where we visited, so of course we had to hike through there for a while! Amazingly, it gets 140 inches (or more!) of rain per year, so we were incredibly lucky to catch it while it was dry (although, when we got to the cars, it did start to rain!!).
After that, it was almost time for our dear friends to leave!
The same day that our friends left to head back to CO, my husband and I had to also leave to fly to WI. My husband's aunt was not expected to live more than a couple of more weeks, so we knew we had to get back there to see her. To read a more detailed account of what happened, please visit HERE. Amazingly, she is still with us, praise God! We are packing up and driving back to WI this weekend which I am so excited about! She gets to see the kids!! I was so sad that we couldn't bring them when we flew back there to see her.
So, there you have it! You are almost caught up!! As I said, we are getting ready to head off on vacation, and I think I will be able to update from there! I pray you are enjoying your summer!!
|
We miss them!!! But we enjoyed them here so much, many wonderful memories were made! 
|
With the warm weather we've had lately, my garden has completely taken off! The one thing I always look forward to is the first "harvesting" of the year, and that was yesterday!! I picked a little more than 3 POUNDS of spinach!! Our spinach has done awesome this year, so last night we had an Asian spinach side dish. It was wonderful!
Ana by the spinach
Ana was SO excited to find tomatoes! She kept asking if she could eat this one!
 Tons of strawberries, should be ripening soon! It was hard keeping her from eating them too!
 Some of the peas are taller than Ana. Tons of flowers on them! I love this time of year, and it's so fun to watch the joy in my kids as they realize that "the seeds are growing, Mom!!" as Ana says every time we are in the garden! And so neat for them to realize that they get to eat what we've grown! Have fun in your garden!!
|
 I just have to tell you about something cool we get to do tomorrow! For those of you who know us, you may remember that usually during the winters my husband is in New Zealand flying in and out of Antarctica. A year and a half ago, my husband was part of a crew that air-dropped an engine part to a stranded fishing trawler, the Argos Georgia, in the Antarctic Ocean. (You might remember my past post about that.) Anyway, the owner of the boat is in the U.S. and wants to meet the crew (and their families). So we get to have dinner with him tomorrow night! Pretty interesting! |
|
We had an amazing week of weather here in the Pacific Northwest! All week it was in the upper 80's to mid 90's (and if you know anything about Western WA, that's unusual for here!). Most everyday this week we headed to the lake in the afternoon. This is what summer is all about! Thought I'd share our fun with you!
Happy "almost" summer! Enjoy!!
|
|
OK, with the last post, I semi-caught you up to mid-April. On April 21st, one of my dearest friends, who lives in CO, and her six kids came to visit for two weeks!!! This was a huge deal for us!! She has been talking about doing this for quite a few years, so the fact that it was actually happening, was AWESOME!! That Friday, she, her oldest daughter and I packed up and headed North to attend the Christian Heritage Homeschool conference. It was a two day conference that totally renewed my spirit! The speaker was Voddie Baucham . All I can say is, WOW! He is an amazing speaker!!! We spent the night up there since it was a couple of hours from our house, so my dear husband was home alone with 9 kids!! ;-) Granted, a few of those were teenagers, but there was a 2, 3, and 4 year old in that mix! God bless him! He did a GREAT job! (And we had a GREAT time!) Over the next week and a half, we pretty much got a years worth of socialization and educational field trips in!!! LOL!!! It was great! One day we went to my husband's base and he gave them a private tour of the Air Force's C-17 cargo plane (that he flies on.) A couple of days later, we decided that two moms and 10 kids should go to the Oregon/Washington coast, sight-see and camp!! We started out at Cannon Beach, OR. We walked to Haystack Rock, which is always an awesome site to see!!! Next, we went to Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. This is one of my all time favorite places in WA state! I love it here!!! There are two lighthouses (North Head Lighthouse and Cape Disappointment Lighthouse), the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, miles of beautiful beach to explore, and you can even stay in the lighthouse keepers residence!!! (We have actually done this as a family, it was probably one of our very favorite vacations!!! It was awesome! I would highly recommend this!!!) Then we started our "camping" adventure! We camped in yurts!!! It was so much fun (and probably better that we didn't have to set up and take down tents, etc.!). After our camping adventure, we did some fun activities right here at home. We live on an island in the South Puget Sound, so we were able to have some fun time at the beach right here. Well, seems like we did an awful lot while our friends were here! But I have much more to share!! So check back soon for Part 3!!! To be continued.....
|
 I have a favor to ask of you all, but first, let me back up and explain some things. If you remember in an old post, one of my best friend's son has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. We recently had the honor to view a movie with a purpose made by some wonderful young people with a huge heart for DMD. Here's a bit about it: Darius Goes West (DGW) has elicited bellowing laughs and jubilant tears in audiences of all ages worldwide. It has inspired a nationwide grassroots movement to raise money for, and awareness of, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and has motivated a new generation of children and young adults to promote diversity and equality, and "pay it forward" to help others. Darius and his crew are back on the road again. After first traveling the country with the goal of having Darius' wheelchair customized on MTV's Pimp My Ride, they have launched a new initiative to sell one million DVDs in one year. The year-end date is Darius's birthday, Sept. 27, 2009. Every DVD raises $17 for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research, as well as awareness wherever it is screened. To reach the million DVD mark they need your support. Watch a video. Read a blog post. Buy a video�or two or three! When you make a purchase (of $250 or more), we will send you an official thank-you letter that you can use for tax filing purposes. I have the movie and would recommend everyone purchasing one to help them raise their one million goal. But that's not the favor I am asking you!!The favor I am asking you is very simple and free! Darius has been nominated to win $100,000 to put towards Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research! All you have to do is vote for Darius Goes West at http://dosomething.org/youtube. For complete instructions on exactly how to vote, please go HERE. You can only vote until June 4th...which is only four days from now! So hurry and go vote for Darius and help further the research of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy!!! (By the way, you can vote once a day...so we can still get a good number of votes in over the next few days!) Please do this for my friend's son Addison, and for all the boys in the world with DMD. Their lives depend upon it!! Blessings and thanks for your help, |
|
Wow, it's been forever, hasn't it? I am SO sorry! I know some have emailed and asked what is up! I will try to post a few different posts over the next week or so to explain all that has been going on in the last couple/few months!! First of all, I don't think I've mentioned it on this blog, but a week before Christmas we received a phone call from our adoption agency asking us to be a "test" family for a pilot program they are in the process of opening in Taiwan. We took a couple of weeks to pray about it and came to the decision that we have a child in Taiwan! So we were neck-deep in homestudy paperwork for the next couple months! The agency is opening up a home for birth moms, and the babies will then be adopted through our agency. We are praying for God's provisions for this adoption. He provided for our first adoption, so we know He will for this one as well. It's just a little scary at times knowing that we will have to turn in a rather large chunk of money soon, and not knowing truly where it will come from!! Yikes! Which brings me to my next topic... I have been incredibly busy making custom bags/purses! Right now all proceeds are going towards our adoption fund. If you would like to check them out, please go to Denice's Creations . I am sewing like crazy right now to get a bunch of bags "in stock" to open up an Etsy store. I will let you know as soon as I get my act together!! On April 9th, we celebrated our Meggie's 11th birthday!!! Oh my gosh, where did those years go?! She was absolutely the most adorable baby and is becoming a beautiful, mature young woman. We are so proud of her! ~ Then....
Now!...
Well, that catches you up (with the short version) until mid April. I will finish updating you in the next few days!! I pray that you have a wonderful weekend!!! |
I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I really didn't know what a Schleich Action Figure was before we received a whole box of them to review! Since then, I've had lots of friends tell me, "Oh, those are my children's favorites!! We've been collecting them for years!!" Where on earth have we been? I can't believe that when my boys were younger we didn't have any of these! If you too have been totally living with your head under a rock (only in regards to Schleich Action Figures, of course!), then let me tell you a bit about them!
First of all, they are not your typical figurine! These are by far the best quality I've seen. They are incredibly detailed and realistic too (as only my teenage boys could point out! They are all anatomically correct!). All are handpainted and are modeled true-to-nature. They are truly awesome!
Schleich Action Figures come in quite a variety of figures, including: farm life, wild life, forest animals, trees and plants, human figurines, domestic pets, dinosaurs, sea animals, as well as complete imaginitive sets for The World of Knights, World of the American Frontier (my favorite!!) and The World of Elves. Definitely something for everyone!! Check out this scene made with the wild life animals, it's incredible! I can certainly see how these figures are not only fun, but very educational. Ana learned a few new animals from what we received. It would be very fun to study different animals and at the end of the study, reward them with the Schleich figure that they learned about!
Evidentally, since we have been introduced to the world of "Schleich", we will most likely be getting some in the future! Ana has carried their little catalog (that came with the animals) around with her ever since we received it! She's even taken it to church to look through during the sermon! She definitely lets us know that the Barn is her favorite, and that she REALLY wants it! Hmmm.... Christmas is quite a ways off! Schleich is sold at retailers everywhere (again, where have I been!!??!!!), including Target, Farm Supply, Amazon and small specialty toy shops. Prices start around a dollar and go on up, depending on the item. I think we will definitely be keeping our eye out for them from here on out!
|
|
Our Ana absolutely LOVES to do "my school!!", as she always excitedly puts it! So when we received a book from The Critical Thinking Co. for preschoolers, we were pretty happy! Specifically, we received Mathematical Reasoning Beginning 1, for ages 3-4. I have to say, at first glance, I was extremely impressed! This is a HUGE book, 235 thick pages! It retails for $29.99, which honestly at first, I thought was a bit expensive. BUT, after really looking over this book, and having Ana actually sit down and use it, I began to think that maybe the worth was there! Then I had a complete revelation! In the small print in the front, it does say that whoever purchases this book has the right to reproduce the student pages for use within their classroom or home. Now I know this is definitely worth it! I can use it for our next preschooler as well! This book covers skill that I didn't even think a preschooler would be able to cover! But they do it such a way that it builds upon what has previously been taught. A very natural way to learn. The skills include: Counting, Identifying, Matching, Ordering, Position, Comparing & Estimating, Addition, Subtraction, Locating, Writing, Grouping, Patterns, Geometric Shapes, Measurement, Data/Probability and Fractions. If you are at all familiar with The Critical Thinking Co., you know that their products are great for getting the student to use their minds! This book is no different. The skills that Ana has been working on have really made her use her little brain! And I love that! It is done in a way that is fun. As soon as she wants to quit, we do, but she is always excited the next day to work in her "my school!!" book once again!
|
|
 A few months back, I did a review for a couple of items that the wonderful, Christian based company Alphabet Alley had sent me. It was for a Noah's Ark Go Fish game and a Two By Two Matching game. Both items have continued to be used quite frequently in our household! Well, Alphabet Alley continues to impress me! We recently received yet another wonderful preschool toy to review! And it is an item that my preschooler has thoroughly enjoyed, but unfortunately, since we've received it, they have pulled the item from their line to be sure it meets the new U.S. government standards for toys. I completely appreciate that they are dedicated to giving their customers the best quality toys available. To remind you of what Alphabet Alley is all about, I will let you read this: "Alphabet Alley is a faith-based company that produces high quality toys for the early childhood market. We use all original graphics to illustrate solid values in a fun and entertaining way. Children choose Alphabet Alley products because they are fun! Parents, teachers and schools choose Alphabet Alley products for their educational, motivational and spiritual values." You really should check out the wonderful, Christian toys they have to offer! I know we will be purchasing some more, and with another baby on the way via adoption, I'm excited to have an excuse to buy even more of their items (hmmm...don't tell my husband!). |
|
Remember back in December I posted about about a neat program that a friend of mine is doing called Send Out Cards? Well, my friend Mary wanted me to tell you about a great thing that is going on right now! For everyone who logs in and sends out a couple of cards (for FREE!) through Mary's site, will receive a $5 Starbucks Gift Card!!! So really, what do you have to loose? NOTHING!! You get FREE coffee and FREE cards for someone you care about! You seriously can't go wrong!!! If you are concerned about entering your name and address, please know that it is kept private and is only for Mary's contact list (so she knows who to send the FREE Starbucks card to!). There is absolutely NO obligation for anything! I can vouch that this is NOT too good to be true!! And, if anyone thinks this is a great program (which it is!!!) and signs up through either of my websites, Mary is graciously donating the proceeds, that she would normally make, to me to go towards our adoption! She is so awesome!!! Thank you Mary!! So please take a moment, and check out Mary's Send Out Cards site. Remember, there is absolutely NO obligation. All you have to do is click the big banner at the top that reads "Take the Tour: CLICK HERE." I've done it and it really is easy and fun! Have a great day!!! |
|
Over the years, we have tried a few different foreign language programs. I feel they've all been pretty good, but they were all just skimming the surface of truly learning a foreign language. When we were getting ready to go to Kazakhstan to adopt our youngest daughter, we were given some CD's to learn Russian. We learned a few much needed words, but just enough to get by (we just prayed a lot that we'd find someone that spoke English or that our translator would be with us!! LOL!!) Our older daughter has taken over those Russian CD's and has learned more from them than I ever did. She would love nothing more than to speak multiple languages! So when we received Auralog's Tell Me More Homeschool Spanish version to review, my daughter and I were pretty excited!
This is an incredibly thorough program, designed specifically for homeschoolers. It has the equivalent to four years of language learning; Complete Beginner, Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. Not only do you learn the language by being totally immersed into it, the program also teaches the reading, writing, listening, speaking, grammar, vocabulary and culture exercises as well!!! Incredible! There is 950 hours of language instruction divided up into 5,000 lessons! Oh my!!! There are also different modes in which you can use it. The Free To Roam mode lets you choose the activities of your choice. The Guided Mode takes you through learning paths that are based upon your learning objectives and availability. And finally, the Dynamic Mode evaluates your progress as you work through the lessons, giving personalized instruction based on the results of the previous lessons. One thing that we thought was amazing was advanced speech recognition technology that evaluates pronunciation. Headset with attached microphone is included. Since this is made specifically for the homeschooler (although, I think anyone could use this and benefit!) they have made it possible to track your students progression through the program. Also, multiple accounts can be set up so everyone in the family can be learning! Meg found this program a little overwhelming, but I think it is because she is on the young side of it. It's for ages 11 and up. I feel that it is probably more suitable for high school level. I know it is more advanced than anything I did in high school French class! Although, I don't think that I will be able to keep her completely from this until high school, she'll probably just play around with it and glean what she can for now. If Spanish isn't the language you desire to learn, Auralog also offers French, English, German, Italian, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic. I feel this is one of those true gems worth finding! If you have been looking for a foreign language program for your students high school credits, or a wonderful immersion program to prepare your student for future jobs or mission fields, then this is definitely worth looking into! Tenga un gran día! (Have a great day!)
|
|
 I absolutely LOVE the company Homeschool In The Woods! We have, and are very impressed with, their Historical Timeline Figures. So when we received the "New Testament Activity-Pak", I was ecstatic! This is an incredible hands-on lapbook study that follows "the life of Jesus from His birth to death to life again!" What a great time to do this lapbook with Easter fast approaching!  This is one of the more sophisticated looking lapbook projects I've seen, with wonderful, high quality graphics. There are 15 lapbook projects that easily incorporate Bible study, history, writing, research and art all into one! The topics included are: ~ The Lineage from David to Jesus ~ The Birth of Jesus Christ ~ The Miracles of Jesus ~ The Beatitudes ~ Fruit of the Spirit ~ The Parables of Jesus ~ The Last Supper ~ The Crucifixion ~ The Resurrection ~ The Ascension ~ Pentecost ~ Prophesies Fulfilled ~ The Twelve Disciples ~ Paul's Missionary Journeys ~ Postcards From Paul. Along with the actual lapbook projects, there is also a couple of "extras" included. One being the "New Testament News," where the student becomes a reporter during the time that Jesus lived!! There are twenty one articles to write, and also includes eleven advertisements to create and illustrate! This is an excellent creative writing project!  The other extra is "The Armor Of God" poster! What a great exercise to reinforce to our children the importance of putting on the God's Spiritual Armor everyday! This was a fun project and so important!  This Activity-Pak is available for instant download for only $18.95, or purchase the CD version for $19.95. Other Activity-Paks include "The Old Testament" and "Artists." These look equally wonderful, and I have a feeling that we will be purchasing them sometime in the future! So if you have never checked out Homeschool In The Woods, I would go on over to their website and see what they have to offer. You can also sign up for their free "Hands-On Teaching Tips", followed by their monthly newsletter. I have been very impressed by all the products I've used! Below are some pictures of a finished New Testament lapbook. Doesn't it look fun?!!! Hope you think so too!
 
|
|
 We received yet another great product from One 2 Believe! (If you remember in a previous post, we had gotten their Nativity Set, and loved it!). This time we opened the box to find a HUGE Noah's Ark set!! The ark and animals are sturdy and chunky, great for smaller hands! There's nothing flimsy about this set! The top of the ark comes off for convenient and easy storage (huge bonus!!) of Noah and 14 animals which include two of the following: elephants, donkeys, ostriches, camels, monkeys, lions and sheep. The only thing I wish it also included was Noah's wife! Poor Noah! (And maybe his sons and their wives??
 Ana has had SO much fun with this set! (She is actually playing with it as I write this!) We all love the fun, cartoony-looks on the animal's faces! It's a great way to learn the story of Noah and Genesis 6-9. The only thing we haven't liked about it is Noah's staff comes out of his hand, and Ana is quite bothered at the moment because she can't find it! One 2 Believe has quite a number of wonderful faith-based toys, including Messenger Of Faith dolls, Proverbs 31 dolls, Spirit Warrior Action Figures, Jesus Loves Me Bear, and other Tales Of Glory Figurine Sets. The Noah's Ark set retails for $29.99 and is for ages 3+.
|
