Apr. 15, 2008 - Please help us pray!
My niece and her hubby are expecting identical twin boys in August. She's gone on bedrest and the twins are having difficulties. She has started a blog to keep us updated. Please check out her blog and help us to pray for her, her hubby, her twins and her two other small children.
www.markandkristina.blogspot.com/
Also, if you'd leave a comment for her that would be great. Being on bedrest, especially that long, is no picnic and a nice thought from you may help perk up her day.
Thank you!
Jun. 8, 2007 - Clever pair of kids
We are using English from the Roots Up for vocabulary and this year we are focusing on Greek roots. So this week the root is "para". I usually ask the kids before we look at the book/card if they can guess the definition of the weekly word. This week was no different. So ds is pondering and finally he comes up with "two?". "Oh yeah," dd says, "like a paira socks!!" 
I had to laugh at that one. For the record, we have learned that "para" means "beside, along with". As in, "aren't you glad you packed your parachute to fall along with you!"
May. 31, 2007 - Thank Goodness for the Internet
I had a funny/strange thing happen today. The kids and I were doing a school lesson out on the deck while the little one was napping. All of a sudden, my son said, "Mom, what is that? Do you have hair on your tongue?" Well, I lose tons of hair everyday, so I could easily have a hair in my mouth, but usually I'm the first to know. So, I stuck out my tongue and said "No!" Well, both my kids reeled back in horror when I did that. They both said, "Mom your tongue is black!" "Huh?" I ran in to the bathroom to see for myself and sure enough, my whole tongue was black. As in no scraping it off black. As in darker black than if I'd eaten a black sucker. I quickly retraced what I had eaten today. Had I finally reached the limit on my Diet Pepsi consumption? Were my tastebuds dying? I'd had an inflamed tastebud this week. Darn those things hurt. Was it the beginning of a dying tongue? Did I have the "black" plague? Was I contagious? I'd eaten a piece of sliced apple that had turned a little brown, was that the culprit? The kids and I had done some "taste/tongue" experiments yesterday for science. Had we gone too far? Nothing was making sense. I finally pulled myself together enough to type into my search engine, "Why is my tongue black?" and much to my almost immediate relief, I had my answer. Last night before I went to bed I'd had a bit of a stomachache, so I took two Pepto Bismol tablets and went to bed. Apparently the same substance in Pepto Bismol that can turn your poo poo black can also turn your tongue black when reacting with some other substances. Oh my goodness. My toothbrush did a good number on most of my tongue, but the back of my tongue (where you gag if you brush there) is still black. I'm hopeful by morning it will be mostly gone. And I hope I don't have an upset stomach for a long time!!
Apr. 3, 2007 - Can you believe it? Snow!!
I knew it, I knew it! Last Monday (8 days ago) I saw a guy running his snowblower out of gas in his driveway. It was 80+ degrees out. I told my neighbor that now for SURE we were going to get more snow! I was right. Hate to say it, but I was! It has been snowing here the whole day. Didn't start accumulating until late this afternoon, but it is still out there! Gotta run. Just wanted to complain...
Apr. 1, 2007 - Seder Meal
Today we celebrated the Seder Meal at our church with all of the families of the 5th graders who are going to be taking their First Communion on Maundy Thursday. I was so thankful at the timing of this event because we are celebrating many of the Old Testament feasts in the MFW Creation to Greeks year, so it fit right in with what we are doing curriculum-wise and my kids have a very good understanding of why we were doing a Seder meal. We had a little over 200 people attend and this was one of the first big events in our new multipurpose room at church that was finished recently.
DH and R had to leave for baseball tryouts as soon as the Seder meal was over, while J and I helped clean up. This will be R's first year playing since he was in 1st grade, so I hope he likes it as much as he thinks he will. He loves football, but to my dismay, wrestling was not for him. J also wants to get signed up for softball (that's my girl!), so I'm just waiting for the flyer to come out. That is one of the hardest things about homeschooling. So many of the sports announcements are sent out through the schools, that I really have to be on the ball months in advance of when you usually start to think about a sporting season. Usually, I just ask Mom's from my 5th grade SS class if they have received any info on a sport and they help me out.
I was so busy with the Seder Meal that I forgot to plan anything for April Fool's!! Did you get your kids in a fun way?
J has a birthday party this afternoon at a local indoor ice skating rink. Now I'm really glad we had them take ice skating lessons this winter!
My poor kitty has to find a new home. As much as my hubby says he tried, he is just not a cat person. A rescue group is supposed to be calling us this weekend to take him. I feel just awful at the thought of anyone having to "rescue" our cat from us. Sounds just horrible! Dh has threatened so often about the cat, that the kids don't really believe that he's going anywhere, but I know he's serious this time. He is well taken care of by us and he is fairly well behaved, but if you're not a cat person, you are not a cat person. Period. I'll be sad when he goes, though.
God Bless!
Mar. 30, 2007 - Just start!!
I know it's been a long time. I started a post yesterday, got distracted with trying to add a photo, couldn't figure it out and then got called away from the computer, only to remember this morning what I was doing and to find that the computer had been restarted and sadly, my post was deleted. Oh well, I'm in a better mood today anyway, so my post would probably have been droll!!!lol
I'm feeling so much better after completing this week of school! The last two weeks worth of lessons have dragged on for about 6 weeks. We've been keeping up with math, English and spelling but the rest has been coming along slowly. I've been too distracted and too busy with field trips and extras. Next week we'll start a new fresh week of lessons and that will feel good. This week we studied about Ruth and Samuel, the Minoans and Myceneans and birds and fish that God created on Day 5. The best science experiment that we did (I thought) was were we submerged an egg in vinegar and let it sit overnight. The next day, I was able to scrape off the shell and we could see the yolk (nucleus) floating around in the white (cytoplasm). I was so excited to tell and show dh and he said "Oh yeah, we did that as kids." Well, were have I been? I'd never seen this before. To kick start us and to get finished with Week 19, we ended up doing all the Bible readings and lessons for the week on one day, did all the science the next day and today we wrapped up with history.
Anyway, tomorrow R and I have our special Saturday time together. I hope he can keep his behavior straight so we can do our breakfast out together. Then we have to get him outfitted for his First Communion and Easter and do a couple of other errands. I also have to make sure I have everything in line for the Seder Meal we will celebrate with all the other families of the kids taking their first communion. On Thursday, I have nine people from my family coming for the First Communion and 6 are staying through Easter. That's exciting!
That's all for now, I better press send before I get distracted again!
Dec. 5, 2006 - Time to Count my Blessings!
Sometimes it's easier to focus on the things that aren't going well or are scary in life, so today I've decided I want to count my blessings.
1) My husband has a job that he is good at and for which he is fairly compensated.
2) My immediate family is generally healthy with no major health concerns.
3) I love the child that I do daycare for, so my work is easier than it might be. I am fairly compensated at my part time job.
4) I have a church home that I adore.
5) God sent his only Son, Jesus to be born in a lowly stable and to die on the cross to pay the ultimate price for my sins.
6) I am able to homeschool my children in a country where it is legal and in a state that is home school friendly. We are making daily progress toward our educational goals.
7) We are able to take advantage of many extra-curricular activities offered in our area.
8) My children have hearts for Jesus.
9) My home is warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
10) I have good friends who love me in spite of myself.
My dd is reading these over my shoulder and keeps naming more and more reasons we are blessed. I agree with her that there are more than ten, but we won't name them all. I just needed to be reminded...
Nov. 21, 2006 - Eek! It's been ages!
Today we are going to a play at a charming log theater here in the metro area. The play is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. We have gone to the holiday performances at this theater for the past 5 years and have loved everyone. This year, with the 18 month old daycare baby, might be a challenge to be able to watch the whole thing. That little sweetie does love to move.
We are finishing up Week 9 of our MFW curriculum this week. Studying Jacob and Rachel/Leah and the twelve sons. R is working on measuring angles in math. This is a completely new concept to him. Poor guy worked and worked after we did the first couple together and didn't ask for help and then come to find out, he had every one wrong. Once we reworked them together, I think he had a better understanding.
Later today, I'll need to make another key lime pie for the pie social after Thanksgiving eve service at church tomorrow night. J is the best little lime roller so I can squeeze out the juice. I so enjoy cooking/baking with her.
I pray that God gives you what you need today.
Sep. 19, 2006 - Ahh! Now I get it!
I tried to donate blood last night at a local Red Cross donation center while the kids were at Choir. My hematocrit came in too low to donate! Now I know why I have been feeling so tired! Low iron. So the first order of business this week is to start eating properly again. However, spinach will NOT be on the menu.
R came home from Chicago yesterday. It was so good to have him back and it was so nice to know that he missed us. Most times I feel like we just really annoy him, so this was a nice change. My parents got their car back from the repair shop, the rental returned, had lunch with us and were on their way. I loved having them here for lunch and it made me sad again that we live so far away.
J and I did her math yesterday before my folks got here. Today we are going on a field trip to a local orchard for a scarecrow festival, hayride, pick a pumpkin, etc. and then lunch at their restaurant. We won't have much of an academic school day here, but it will certainly be fun to meet up with some of our home schooling friends and be outside in some nice fall weather. Ohhhh brrr, it's only 44 right now and 51 will be the high. OK, so the lesson today will be how to dress in layers.
Sep. 17, 2006 - Day of Rest?
I've been needing rest.
Yesterday, I was so tired I finally had to admit that I had overdone it. "It" being life in general. I was overscheduled and overcommitted. I had to hurry up and finish one committment so I could be on (and not late) to the next.
We even had a busy morning at worship. Thankfully this afternoon, I was able to come home and take a short nap. R is in Chicago with my parents for my nephew's Baptism and J is at a friends for the afternoon, so I could take the time that I desperately needed to rest. Thank you Lord, for rest.
J was asked to help with worship this morning. While our music director sang the song You Gave, J did the hand motions she learned at VBS. I was so extremely nervous for her, I thought I could see my heart beating throught my shirt! But she has so much confidence for only being 7, she handled it like a pro. My prayer is that she always keeps that confidence to share her gifts with others and that many draw closer to God because of her willingness to share.
Sep. 7, 2006 - I've been tagged!
callmekate tagged me. So, here goes:
Five things in my freezer:
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A couple whole chickens, home grown by my aunt, including one that will be used for a mummifying project.
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16 meals in a bag-I LOVE these (see prior blog.)
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One pizza
- Two roasts I just bought on a BOGO free sale
- Couple loaves of bread for DH's work lunches
Five things in my closet:
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Winter clothes
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Dh's clothes
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One rarely used exercise mat
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Purses, bags, and more bags ( I love bags)
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AA batteries so my ds can't find them (who am I kidding?)
Five things in my van:
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Large umbrella in case it rains at a sporting event, 2 smaller umbrellas in very sorry shape
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Lawn chair in a bag
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Emergency bag with first aid kit, sunscreen, ponchos, bug spray, etc.
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My coupon caddies, one for the grocery store and one for other stores like the gas station and restaurants.
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Cell phone charger
Five things in my purse:
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Small pack of Kleenex
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Wallet and checkbook, both kids' wallets
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Calendar
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Cell phone
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Lip color kit (liner, lipstick, gloss)
Five things in my wallet (which is so full the zipper is breaking):
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Frequent buyer cards, discount cards and membership cards
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Two credit cards, two debit cards (why do I carry all that)
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My old business cards, just to use to give out my address/phone if needed.
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Receipts from recent purchases
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$2 and too much change
Gosh, I feel so boring. Kate said I could tag five others so if you feel like answering the tag, here you are:
humpty, WhisperingPinesSchool, ccpeterson, kindredspirit
Be blessed today!
Aug. 31, 2006 - God is Good
Aug. 29, 2006 - Birthday bash
J had her "friend" party this weekend to celebrate her upcoming 7th birthday. We went rollerskating at a local roller rink and had a blast. Pizza, pop and ice cream were included in the package and I brought the cake that J and I had baked and decorated. Funfetti, no less! She had 6 friends and a big brother along for the fun. The funniest thing I heard that day was one little 6 yo friend lamenting that after today (her first time on skates) she was DEFINITELY going to need a massage. Hey, I'm almost 40 and I was just fine. Course, I didn't hit the floor as many times as she did, but she has youth on her side.
Today we finished up Week 2 of our MFW curriculum. I have this weird mixed up feeling like today is Friday because we finished the grid today. It's not a bad day to "end" because tomorrow, since I work in the morning, the kids will only do independent work, probably just math, handwriting, book basket and reading for fun. Then on Thursday we can begin the Week 3 grid. This is a new development this year that I don't feel behind because we aren't starting and finishing the grid in an actual 5 day school week. "Perfection Mommy" is giving way to "Living in the Real World Mommy." The thing that matters is that we are progressing through the lessons, the kids are learning AND we are having a good time doing it. My stress level is WAY lower this year and I think it has to do with us just using one level. J is almost always ready to do school and R is being dragged along (even though he is the older) because we do so much of it together. We are supposed to do Rosh Hashana celebration during Week 3, but since the actual holiday is a few weeks away, I think we'll do the Sabbath celebration this week and save the other for when the actual holiday hits. All plans subject to change!
Aug. 25, 2006 - Oh my aching feet!
For a couple years now, I have been a huge fan of Leanne Ely's Saving Dinner cookbook. This cookbook gives recipes for a variety of 6 dinner meals per week along with a complete shopping list so dinner planning is a snap. In the past, I have also done freezer cooking, both 30 days at a crack and a couple different 2 week plans. In theory, I love the idea of having a freezer full of food ready to go in just a short time, but the time that it involves to pull together the planning, shopping, chopping, cooking and assembling is enough to send me over the edge. 
Now I know there are tons of places where I can go where they have done the shopping and chopping for me, but I have just got this idea in my head that they are too expensive. 
So a couple of weeks ago my bgf Mel (hey, Girl!), tells me that Leanne has a new Mega menu mailer available. 22 recipes and shopping lists for less than $9 and with complete instructions of how to assemble all these meals. The best part is that different from freezer cooking that I have done in the past, there is no cooking involved before you put the food in the freezer.
So this week I finally pulled enough pennies together to order the menus (yes, there is another one out now) and to do the grocery shopping for the first plan. One $228 grocery trip later and I am a happy woman ready to start my mega menu assembly. That amount did include a few odds and ends that won't end up part of the mega menu, so I'm feeling like less than $10 per 4 serving meal is pretty good. Actually, I did throw extra meat in every entree for dh, so my cost is higher than it would normally be. I put together 16 of the meals after my shopping trip and have 5 to go. I just completely petered out by the end of the night. I started my shopping trip at 5 pm and was done assembling by a little after 10, so 5 hours time investment so far. I think I'll be able to complete the next 5 (I omitted one recipe) in an hour or hour and a half tomorrow morning! I'm thankful that is over, J and I had fun working together for awhile. She always has to do her "Cooking with your Daughter" pretend tv show when we cook together and tonight was no exception. I'm grateful to have a freezer full of meals ready to cook for when school, choir, football, soccer, dance and Scouts start again in earnest. But, oh my feet!
Aug. 20, 2006 - God's Words
We completed our Week 1 of MFW Creation to Greeks. We did all the activities outlines except for the Sabbath preparations. I just adore they way they have connected the Bible study, history, science and art lessons!
At one point, during our art lesson, R said, "I think God is speaking to me with that verse." It was,
"To learn, you must want to be taught." Proverbs 12:1
We also ran across a verse that we know as a song through children's choir.
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33.
I have a hard time saying it, without singing it! Praise God!
Thank you Lord for speaking to each of us so personally, through your Word. Thank you for the insight I am gaining, as I grow through the children's schooling. Amen
J is on her way back from Chicago and should be here in a couple hours. Mom will spend the night and then head for her home in the morning.
Saturday we had a very fun family day with our neighbors who have a log cabin trailer (I'd never heard of or seen such a thing, but it was awesome) on a nearby lake. We went out on the pontoon boat and jet skis and I felt like a kid again. The weather, water, company, food was all just delightful. I had a stomachache from laughing so much by the time we got off the water. Today I'm a little sun-burned and tired, but it was so worth it. The only thing that would have been better is if J had been with us.
I'm eager to start another week of school. I think the kiddos will be too.
Aug. 17, 2006 - So far, so good!
Yesterday J left for Chicago with my mom to help take care of Isabel and new baby Will. It's so quiet around here! They called a couple of times en route and sounded like they were having a great time, though it took them a LONG time to get there with all the stops they made.
I miss her lots. It helped that I worked for Ruthi yesterday. R was in my office while I was reading some e-mail this morning and he was just standing there and bouncing (and driving me crazy). He admitted he is bored without her! I love that my kids count on each other for companionship, even though they often act as if they'd rather eat a worm than be in the same room. Sadly, usually they do that for the benefit of whatever friends may be around. I do work on that with them.
Today R and I got a full day of school in. I now have all our books that we'll need for the year. Except today I figured out that I may have shorted myself on my order. You see, I ordered yet another art curriculum that just arrived. Last year both kids' art lessons stayed on the shelf because I am so intimidated by my lack of art ability. As I was planning out our God and the History of Art lessons, I was reading ahead, noting what copies I needed to make and discovered that I should try to do the lessons too! So I made three copies of each exercise, we started today and I LOVED it. I think I am going to have to order my own set of paint and marker cards. We also started with Igniting your Writing (I think that's the title.) I still need to get a paper copy printed since my printer is dead, but I didn't let that stop us. R didn't even protest too much about doing writing, so I think this curriculum may be a winner too! The only thing we haven't started this week is the Sabbath preparations. With J being gone this week and us going to our neighbor's cabin this weekend, it wasn't a good week to do it. But I am glad I started the rest of our lessons.
Tonight I am going to a field test group. I think we are trying out crackers? I could be completely wrong. If I get there 15 minutes early, my name could be drawn to double the pay for tonight. Do I feel lucky?
Not particularly, but life is good!
Aug. 14, 2006 - reflections on the first day...
Aug. 14, 2006 - First Day of School...
Today is the big day! I'm all geared up to begin. My book order still hasn't arrived, but I'll call them later this morning to see if it's been shipped. My order from MFW has been here for a couple days now, so next year I may go ahead and order everything through them even though it costs a little more. Or maybe I'll not wait until 11 days before I want to start school.
We had a great weekend. I spent a couple hours at Ruthi's Saturday morning and then we all jumped in the van, completed a few errands and started looking for garage sales. We did really well considering we had no plan and just followed signs that we came upon. Let's see...hubby got a Thermos brand travel coffee cup to take back and forth to work, I got a book, a couple candles, a Pampered Chef style food chopper and a whole bunch of Duplo sized blocks in a handy fire truck rolling storage crate for daycare baby, R got a gameboy game and J got three t-shirts (destined to be favorites) and a pair of rollerblades which she put on immediately and wore to the rest of the sales. I think that's it. All that for less than $20. We dropped hubby off at home and the kids and I went to lunch at a chinese buffet. I went to Saturday night church to help out at the service by reading a responsive prayer.
Sunday, the kids sang their VBS songs in worship, I read again and helped serve communion. As the last worship service began we could hear that the skies had opened up and it was just pouring outside. So at the end of worship, we did the groundbreaking ceremony in the Sanctuary and then the six of us with shovels (and hard hats!) went outside and turned some earth. We went out for lunch and had a great time. We really enjoyed a quiet Sabbath at home.
Aug. 10, 2006 - On the home stretch....to new beginnings
We have finished our 4th day of VBS and I am definitely feeling like we are coasting towards home as we prepare to finish out the week.
However, before I go to VBS tomorrow for the final day, I need to lend my signature on some construction loan documents that will allow our congregation to build an addition that will essentially double the size of our church building. So that seems like a new beginning. However, this process toward building began many years ago by people who had the vision to know that we would be painfully short on space to continue building ministries in our congregation. The past two years especially have been filled with activity by our long range planning team to build a dream. Each and every person in our church had an opportunity to talk about their dream for our mission and ministry. I pray that all who had an opinion, voiced it.
This week the construction trailer for the contractor was moved in. The stakes are up so that the preschool playground can be moved to the "front" lawn.
One new beginning is our school year which will begin in earnest on Monday. J has started some of her lessons, I have most of the books she needs for her l/a and math. I am (not so) patiently waiting for Brown to get here with my package of books from Rainbow Resource. Hurry up! We are still waiting for some readers, history, art, science and math books for R to come. I'm worse than a kid at Christmas at this time of year.
Aug. 9, 2006 - I'm too tired to think of a title....
Today is Day 3 of Fiesta VBS. The first two days went very well, but today I am very tired! The kids stayed over at Amy's last night and the night before all four kids were here. We need to get going early this morning because I need to pick up a couple teenagers who are helping out with VBS but don't have a ride today. After that I head to Ruthi's for the afternoon. Did I mention I'm tired?
Doesn't help I haven't had my shower or coffee. I'll be back later....
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