Oct. 2, 2006 - I've been tagged...
This is the first time I've been tagged and it's thanks to Christy.
Here's what I'm supposed to do.
Book Tag
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
5. Dont you dare dig for that cool or intellectual book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.
6. Tag five people!
O.K., so the nearest book to me is a Baby Bop's Toys book and only has about 10 pages! 
So, I will look to my right and grab the 1st book I see from my dining room table...and it turns out to by my son's Chemistry book. Here is what I read...
"One common use of stoichemetry in the lab occurs when we must relate the masses of two raw materials that are needed to make a compound. Chlorophyll, the green pigment in leaves, has the formula C55H72MgN4O5. If 0.0011g of Mg is available to a plant cell for chlorophyll synthesis, how many grams of carbon will be required to completely use up the magnesium?" 
I am soooo glad that my husband has his Ph.D in Physiology and can teach our son this stuff! I am really not a science-minded person, so God really knew what He was doing when He put my hubby and me together! I also love the fact that God has blessed us with such a large spacing in the ages of our kids--It's wonderful having Barney books around the house alongside Chemistry textbooks!
Now, I will tag the following 3 people:
2. si344
3. zeph317
3 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
Oct. 1, 2006 - It's Fall and I'm Baking!
I love Fall when the weather turns crisp and the leaves start changing. We have begun seeing Fall weather around here this past week and it is so nice! When it starts getting cooler outside it really gets me in the baking and cooking mood. Yesterday I made a big batch of Black-Bean soup for our lunch today. I also made some Oatmeal-Cranberry bars and Rice-Krispie Treats. The other day I made some French bread and tried a new recipe for a Tomato-Onion bread and it was delicious! My husband told me last night that he really enjoys when I get into the baking mood. He asked me to make croissants again--I haven't made these in a few years and I am very rusty. We'll see if I can turn out a batch for him later this week. I'll have to find some other new recipes to keep him pleased!
Another great thing about Fall is that we can turn off our air conditioner. My family is so hot-natured that the air conditioner is constantly on, but with the cooler weather we've been able to leave the windows open and enjoy the breeze. It's also helping to air out the house a little after it's been closed up all summer long. Isn't God amazing with His infinite wisdom and the wonderful gifts He gives us all year long in the form of the seasons? After living in Florida and Arizona where the seasons are Hot and Not-So-Hot, I am so thankful to now live in a place where I get to experience all 4 seasons!
0 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
Sep. 26, 2006 - 3 Mile Walk
Well, I feel so much better now! We walked for 3 miles and it was such a nice morning. I came home and showered and now I have so much more energy. It's funny how that works--when you're tired but you exercise it makes you feel better! I need to do this more often, but life always seems to get in the way. I definitely will work on making this more of a priority in my day!
0 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
Sep. 26, 2006 - Tired Today.
I am tired this morning. My husband is out of town for business and I don't sleep very well when he's not here. I couldn't fall asleep until after midnight and then woke up periodically throughout the night. Then the baby was up at 5:30am! It's almost 8 now and I can feel myself being very sluggish. I hate feeling this way. I'm supposed to meet a couple of friends in an hour for a walk (the weather's been beautiful here the last few days!) I need to get going and get the kids ready and my older daughter still needs to eat breakfast. I may need to take a quick nap this afternoon to keep going. 
0 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
Sep. 22, 2006 - It's Friday!
Have you ever had one of those weeks that you were counting down to Friday? Earlier in my life when I worked outside the home I always did this. I would start the countdown first thing Monday morning and couldn't wait until Friday! When I quit work and started staying home I found that I LOVED Mondays. It was a fresh start to a new week. I could get back on my schedule and enjoy being home with my kids. But this week, I noticed that I had a little countdown clock ticking away in the back of my head all week long. I knew from the beginning that this was going to be a busy week and I really dreaded it. I found myself looking to just hurry up and get past certain days and move on to the next. I would say to my husband, "I just need to get through tomorrow night."
I really dislike living my life like that! It frustrates me beyond belief to constantly be trying to get past where I am and into the future. (Does that sentence make any sense?) In other words, I hate it when I get into situations where I have obviously over-committed myself and then end up regretting it. As I get older, I try to say yes less to things that I really don't want to do, but sometimes they still creep in.
So, long story short--IT'S FINALLY FRIDAY and yes I am very HAPPY!!
2 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
Sep. 20, 2006 - Early Mornings, Sourdough Bread and Colossians..
I don't know what's with me this week, but this is the second time in 3 days that I've woken up and been wide awake very early. I'm talking 3:30am one morning and 4:00am the next! I have always enjoyed getting up before everyone else in my family. It's really the only time I have to myself throughout the day and I am able to meditate on scripture and just collect my thoughts. But by waking up this early I have also been starting some projects that I need to get done and boy it's feeling pretty good! I'm kind of enjoying it as a matter of fact.
This morning with the extra time I am going to start a batch of sourdough bread. This will be my first attempt at making "real" sourdough. My starter has been sitting on my counter for a few days "starting" and it looks good and I think it is ready to be used. I proofed it last night, so this morning I will attempt to make it into a loaf of bread. I'll report later how it worked!
--------------
I have still been studying Colossians this week and I never really got into it like I am right now. I am really enjoying meditating on it and God is revealing things to me left and right! The verse I want to share with you is from Colossians 1:28,29. It says "We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me." As a homeschooling mom it's my job to seek God's wisdom in my daily life and teach that wisdom to my children. My ultimate goal is that they become Christians who live a life for Christ and seek His will and follow the path He has put down for them.
Verse 29 is a scripture I have been clinging to for the past several days and when things feel too tough for me to handle I repeat the verse over and over to myself. I love that when I am laboring and struggling through my day that HIS ENERGY, which is POWERFULLY working in me helps me to go forward and work towards the goals I have set for myself and my family. It has really inspired me to press on and not give up because sometimes things seem too overwhelming to me. I have always called myself a "defeated perfectionist." This coming from the fact that I see how I would like things to be done or handled, but don't believe that I can do it in the perfect way I would like, so I just don't try. I defeat myself before I even try it! I know this isn't the way God wants me to be, but honestly I have never been able to get out of that mindset. This verse has given me the strength to look past my feelings of defeat and move forward knowing that it's not my energy or power that will help me, but it is all God's energy flowing through me and helping me to far exceed my expectations or goals. God is so good and He truly loves me and wants the best for me and He wants me to be my best!
1 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
Sep. 15, 2006 - Spiritual Wisdom
This week I've been meditating on Colossians 1. It's a section of scripture that's chock full of encouragement and strength I need. I've been focusing on verses
10-12 where it talks about living a life worthy of the Lord and pleasing Him in EVERY WAY. It goes on to say that we should bear fruit in EVERY good work, GROW in the knowledge of God, and be STRENGTHENED with His power so that we might have great ENDURANCE and PATIENCE and can JOYFULLY give thanks to the Father.
These verses are so powerful! So often I go through my day and admittingly I don't give thought to how I am pleasing the Lord in EVERY WAY. This week I have been really trying to dwell on this and bring my daily focus back to pleasing Him throughout my day. So often I focus on "trying" to be there for my husband and children and "trying" to meet their needs, but usually it gets turned around so quickly into my giving up and focusing back on myself and what I'm not getting out of it. I've found this week that when my focus is on God in EVERYTHING I do then I am so much more enabled by God to focus on my family and love them the way He wants me to. As I serve them and meet their needs, I am really serving God and He allows me to truly be JOYFUL about it.
I have by no means been perfect this week, but boy it seems that it has really made my life a little easier when this simple principle was realized! So often I find myself banging my head against the wall trying to do things "my way" when it is so much easier to just follow God and the path He has laid out for me. I am so stubborn sometimes!! 
1 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
Sep. 10, 2006 - Finally, another post.
O.K. So I'm not so good at posting every day. The best time for me to add a blog entry is early in the morning, while it's still quiet. Lately, as soon as I get up then the baby gets up and it's almost impossible to think, let alone write. This morning I set my alarm a little earlier and here I am with both girls already up. But the older one is playing with the baby so it's actually allowing me a few minutes to type!
We started school this past week and it went well, but we didn't get to it as often as I would have liked. It seemed like things kept popping up that kept us from finishing everything. Madison is in 1st grade this year and I wonder if I am too laid back about her schooling. It seems that so many I talk to are very regimented in their schooling and I'm not so much. I don't mean that we never do school at all. I am a planner, so I do have blocks scheduled throughout the week where we will sit and get things done. It's just that I don't worry too much if we don't finish it when I have us planned to. I guess because I know that we can double up on lessons if we have to. Also, I let Madison go at her own pace in the math book, which means that very often we are going through several lessons at one sitting because she gets it. I have been homeschooling on and off for 11 years now and I guess my being laid back is from having done this before with my son. Still, I think some times I need much more structure!!!
1 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
Aug. 20, 2006 - My mind is racing...
I have so many things constantly running through my head! I haven't slept well the last week or so because I keep dreaming all night long about things going on in my life. It's really driving me crazy. I wish my mind would just calm down at night and let me sleep.
I have been looking for ways to organize myself this coming school year. I am a big planner and I do so well if I have a "list" to follow. I went to TheHomeschoolMom.com and printed out a calendar and some chore charts and weekly schedule forms. At donnayoung.org I found some forms to help me keep track of my high-schoolers grades. I now just need to get these all put in a binder and make up my weekly schedule. It seems that I will be quite busy this coming year with MOPS, sunday school teaching, my business and of course homeschooling. I am such a homebody so this really stretches me and makes me get out of my comfort zone. I know I will feel better about things when I get my schedule made--now it's just a matter of finding the time to make it!! 
1 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
Aug. 17, 2006 - I'm Back!!!
O.K. So I have taken a very long time away from blogging!!! This summer has been so busy and I just couldn't seem to get the time to sit down and type out my thoughts. I am so looking forward to school getting started so that we'll be on some type of schedule. I am a planner and like to know how my days will be spent. This summer we've just been flying by the seat of our pants and it has drained me.
A lot has been changing since I last posted. I started back as a consultant with Close To My Heart, which is a stamping/scrapbooking home-based company. I love being a consultant with them and my business is doing very well. Sometimes I think too well as it seems that some weeks I'm not home very much at night. But I really enjoy teaching others the art of stamping and scrapbooking, so I will continue. We are still homeschooling Ryan and Madison and I will begin the classical approach with Madison for 1st grade this year. I am so excited and really looking forward to beginning!!
We will not officially begin schooling around here for a couple of more weeks, which is good since I just placed my order for my books this morning. As I said earlier, I am really looking forward to having a great school year.
2 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
Mar. 16, 2006 - Reading throught the Bible in a year
I decided that this would be the year I would read through the entire Bible. I have tried maybe once before but never made it far at all. I must admit that there are several books of the Bible I have not read from very often. I usually go to my favorites--Proverbs, James, Romans, Philippians--when I read my Bible for my quiet time. So, this is the year I am going to do it. I started back towards the beginning of January and I have finally gotten in the habit of reading every morning. I read from a sight on the internet that I learned about from cbinco here at homeschoolblogger. Thank you , Christy!!
Here's the site: http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/biblereading-1yr.html
I really enjoy reading the way it's set up. You don't just start in Genesis and read straight through. Each day is set up to read from a different book of the Bible. I find it easier to read through this way and I am really enjoying reading some of the Old Testament books that I haven't really paid much attention to in the past--like Judges.
4 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
Mar. 14, 2006 - National Potato Chip Day!!!
YAY!!! Wow, a whole day to celebrate potato chips! I must confess I am a chip lover. 
I would love to celebrate the day with a big ole' bag of chips, however I am currently trying to eat healthier and have not been buying any lately. (Out of sight, out of mind!)
I did buy some cheetos for my kids--do those count?
0 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
Mar. 14, 2006 - Up at 5am.
My baby decided to wake early this morning. Actually, she was wide awake at 4am, but I brought her into bed with me to try to get her back to sleep. Didn't work! She babbled and tried to move around so much that I finally gave up and went downstairs with her. I really didn't mind her getting up so early because she actually slept in her own bed from 8pm-4am! This is a huge milestone. I have been trying to get her to sleep for longer than 3 hours at a stretch and it's finally happening. She did wake up around 11pm, but I just went in, laid her back down, started her music and left. She went back to sleep. I've been battling her sleep problems until just last week I read that babies her age (7mth) are in a deep sleep for the first 2 hours they're asleep and then they enter the light sleep phase. This is when they begin to rouse and have to learn to put themselves back to sleep. I'm sure her sleep problems have been my fault because I have been going in and bringing her into my bed as soon as she fusses. (This was easier because I was so tired and she would go back to sleep in my bed.) However, now that I give her some time, she is going back to sleep. I knew this was what I needed to do, and you would think that with her being my 3rd baby I would have started it sooner. Oh, well--that's one problem with having kids spaced so far apart. You forget the little things that can make life easier!!!
0 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
Mar. 13, 2006 - I love Mondays!
I am one of those crazy people who love Mondays! Our weekends around here are always so hectic--attending b-day parties, taking my son to work and picking him up, church, etc. It's nice when Monday finally arrives and I can enjoy my day. Yes, there is always a ton of laundry to do, yes my house does need a good cleaning from everyone being home on the weekend, but I do enjoy just staying home with my kids and getting it all done. I look to Mondays to often try out a new recipe for my family and maybe do a little baking. I try to keep clear of phone calls unless absolutely necessary. I give myself a little extra time in the morning to peruse the internet and check out some of my favorite forums. It's a nice, relaxing day.
I love Mondays!
0 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
Mar. 7, 2006 - Missing in Action!!
That's how I feel I've been lately. When I started blogging, I honestly intended to keep up with it every day. But here it is, almost a month since my last post. I don't know if anyone other than myself reads my blog, but if you do, I sincerely apologize for not "having been around lately."
This past month has seen some big changes in our household. As I've said previously, we are now homeschooling our ds-16. Things are going really well. It feels like he's more a part of the family. He's around more and I really like it. It took a little getting used to, but we are getting things settled now. Homeschooling has allowed him to be able to start working some day shifts at Chick-fil-A and we have agreed to let him do this as long as he keeps up with his studies. Rugby season has also started around here, so he is a very busy teenager right now and I am a very busy mom driving him around everywhere. He is going for his driving permit tomorrow so we can officially start driving lessons. In our state, you have to wait 6 months to get your actual license after getting your permit, so hopefully he'll have it sometime in September. This should help with all the driving around I'm doing now. A couple of years ago, I wasn't sure I would be ready to let him drive, but now that I see how busy he is, it will be a blessing for him to be able to drive himself places!
0 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
Feb. 10, 2006 - It's Nice Having a Daughter!
I am so happy that Madison is getting to the age that she is starting to like some of the things I liked as a little girl. Since Christmas she has fallen in love with the movie The Sound Of Music, which I have always dearly loved. Also we have just started reading the Ramona series by Beverly Cleary. We started with Beezus and Ramona the other day and Madison just can't get enough. We both laugh at the antics of Ramona and as an older sister myself I can appreciate the frustration that Beezus feels in dealing with her.
Don't get me wrong, I love my son with all my heart, but he's just never really been into the musical movies and what he feels like are "girl books." We have our own things in common. However, it's just nice having a daughter take pleasure in the things that I remember enjoying!
2 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
Feb. 8, 2006 - Happy Wednesday!
I haven't been able to sit down and write as often as I had thought I would when I started my blog. Since we've started homeschooling both Ryan and Madison, things have been very hectic around here. Add to the homeschooling my being part of the steering team for our MOPS program at church, my son's part-time job and his rugby practices starting back up and there is not much time left in my day.
Yesterday we spent a good part of the day switching out bedrooms. My son was in the bedroom in our basement but has decided that he wanted to join us upstairs instead of being down there all by himself. I'm happy because now I won't feel like he's always away from us so much. So--we had to move all of his furniture upstairs into the room that the baby was sleeping in, then move the baby's bed and items into Madison's room. Now we will use the dowstairs room as a playroom for the kids. We had also purchased a new larger bed for Madison, so we took this time to set it up as well. The room is a large one, so it fits both girls fine. Madison was very excited about sharing her room with the baby. There is a 5 year age difference between the two of them, but my sister and I shared a room for many years and we are also 5 years apart. So, I think it will be o.k. for now. I also just ordered a new quilt set for Madison's new bed. It is so pretty--I love the frilly girl stuff and so does she.
Today we have library story-time. Madison loves it and it's a nice free activity that we can get out and do. It also gets us to the library once a week, which we love. I need to find a couple of read-alouds for our schooling over the next week or two. We just finished
The Hundred Dresses and it was a really good book. Madison enjoyed it and even Ryan was interested in how it would end. We love books in this house!!!
1 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
Feb. 1, 2006 - Middle of the week already!
I can't believe how fast time goes by! I know that it's always said that as you get older time seems to fly by, but it really is true. The weeks just keep slipping away.
We have had a really good week of school so far. This is our first official week homeschooling my teenage son. We have homeschooled him in the past, so it's not totally foreign to him. We are just going to finish up using his textbooks from school since he was half-way through them already. So--this means a little more work for me since I am having to sit down and make up my own lesson plans and pre-read the information so we can have discussions. I keep reading where others' teenagers are self-directed and do everything on there own. Is this because they have bought curriculum with lesson plans or they are signed up for an online school? Just curious, because I am trying to figure out what we'll be doing next year for him.
My 5 yo dd had gymnastics yesterday and I think it will be her last class. We originally joined with a friend so that the two girls could see each other. But we just found out last week that the little girl has moved up to a faster-paced class, so now we don't see them anymore. It has kind of taken the wind out of my daughter's sails. She is a very talented, bright little girl who has many gifts. However, gymnastics really isn't one of them. She was mainly going to just have fun and see her friend, but the last two sessions we've attended she has left crying about how it's not much fun anymore and it's too much work. We've never quit anything like this before (we like to finish what we start), but I too feel like it's really not worth the money I'm paying each week just so she can come home each day and cry. T-ball will be starting up in March and she has been looking forward to that since last summer, so we will probably put our energies toward that. She's a pretty good little ball player. Also, this will free up our time to do a few more activities with the local homeschool group, such as playgroup and ice skating. We just haven't had the time to participate in these activities while doing gymnastics. I really am feeling the need to make more homeschool friends.
1 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
Jan. 29, 2006 - A View from the Bathroom Floor!
This week has been a slow week that I am glad is finally ended. A nasty little stomach bug took over our house this week and my son, daughter and I all succumbed to it. 
Thankfully the baby and my husband made it through without getting sick. It hit me last Sunday night (why do these things always make their appearance in the middle of the night?) It took until this weekend for my body to finally get back to normal. As I was lying on the bathroom floor Sunday, (it was easier to just stay there than to go back to bed) I realized how much my baseboards needed cleaning. That led me to look around more and soon I discovered a little dust bunny in one corner. I then began to realize that it was definitely time for a good cleaning of the master bath. As I was lying there I thought it was funny how that no matter how awful I am feeling, I still somehow find the mental energy to critique myself! Oh, well. I am a continual work in progress. Oh, and my bathroom did end up getting a really good cleaning.
Actually ALL of the bathrooms got a good cleaning!!!
Since we were sick this past week, we really didn't get much school accomplished. I am still trying to figure out our schedule now that my high school son will be homeschooled. My husband went to the school this week and officially withdrew him. We kept our son's school textbooks and will probably let him finish the year with those since he already has a semester completed with the books. I just need some quiet planning time--does that ever happen? With 3 kids ages 16-6months it seems as if someone is always up. If I get up early then the baby is usually up with me and if I stay up late then my teenager is up. My goal this week is to find some "quiet time" and get some serious planning done.
1 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
Jan. 21, 2006 - God is definitely working here!
This week has been one roller coaster of a ride and thankfully God is in control of all the hills we're climbing and how fast we are going!
We have been homeschooling our 5 year old for K this year and her older brother has been going to high school and is in his sophomore year. Some things have been happening around here and our eyes have slowly been opened as to how we were losing the heart of our son. We have known for some time that his friends were not really the type we wanted him to choose, but we continued on hoping and praying that he would make the changes he knew should be made. Well, after some serious pow-wows this week, we all (including my son) decided that it would be best if he came home and were homeschooled for the rest of high school. Praise God!!!! I was praying that He would soften my son's heart to the idea and He did! I must admit that I really didn't think my son would make this decision, but I am so thankful that he did. 
Of course, since we have made this decision I am feeling slightly overwhelmed. 
We had to get our notice of intent to homeschool sent to the board of education and we will go to the high school Monday and officially withdraw him and get his locker cleaned out. I am scared but excited all at once. I really feel God is getting ready to make some big changes in my son and I can't wait to see him grow stronger in his walk with Christ. I had just decided that I would continue to homeschool my daughter next year and now it looks like we'll all be home together--we will officially be a "homeschooling family." This won't be totally new to me since I homeschooled Ryan from K-3rd and 6th&7th, but it will be different because it's high school. I know that the Lord is with us and will give me the strength to do it.
1 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
<- Last Page Next Page ->
