Every year I get the girls portraits taken, just before Christmas.  This was the best year, Grace is old enough to not pout, cry or hide her face.  We actually had fun.  The studio we go to is called "Portrait Innovations".  If you spend so much money on portraits they give the CD of all the pictures taken to you.  I got a lot of pictures, but I'd still like to print a few 5X7's of other poses.

 

WOW - WAY TO GO - SUPER - YOU'RE SPECIAL - OUTSTANDING - EXCELLENT - GREAT - GOOD - NEAT - WELL DONE - REMARKABLE - I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT - I'M PROUD OF YOU - FANTASTIC - SUPERSTAR - NICE WORK - LOOKING GOOD - YOU'RE ON TOP OF IT - BEAUTIFUL - NOW YOU'RE FLYING - YOU'RE CATCHING ON - NOW YOU'VE GOT IT - YOU'RE INCREDIBLE - BRAVO - YOU'RE FANTASTIC - HURRAY FOR YOU - YOU'RE ON TARGET - YOU'RE ON YOUR WAY - HOW NICE - HOW SMART - GOOD JOB - THAT'S INCREDIBLE - HOT DOG - DYNAMITE - YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL - YOU'RE UNIQUE - NOTHING CAN STOP YOU NOW - GOOD FOR YOU - I LIKE YOU - YOU'RE A WINNER - REMARKABLE JOB - BEAUTIFUL WORK - SPECTACULAR - YOU'RE SPECTACULAR - YOU'RE DARLING - YOU'RE PRECIOUS - GREAT DISCOVERY - YOU'VE DISCOVERED THE SECRET - YOU FIGURED a OUT - FANTASTIC JOB - HIP, HIP, HURRAY - BINGO - MAGNIFICENT - MARVELOUS - TERRIFIC - YOU'RE IMPORTANT - PHENOMENAL - YOU'RE SENSATIONAL - SUPER WORK - CREATIVE JOB - SUPER JOB - FANTASTIC JOB - EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE - YOU'RE A REAL TROOPER - YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE - YOU ARE EXCITING - YOU LEARNED IT RIGHT - WHAT AN IMAGINATION - WHAT A GOOD LISTENER - YOU ARE FUN - YOU'RE GROWING UP - YOU TRIED HARD - YOU CARE - BEAUTIFUL SHARING - OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE - YOU'RE A GOOD FRIEND - I TRUST YOU - YOU'RE IMPORTANT - YOU MEAN A LOT TO ME - YOU MAKE ME HAPPY - YOU BELONG - YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND - YOU MAKE ME LAUGH - YOU BRIGHTEN MY DAY - I RESPECT YOU - YOU MEAN THE WORLD TO ME - THAT'S CORRECT - YOU'RE A JOY - YOU'RE A TREASURE - YOU'RE WONDERFUL - YOU'RE PERFECT - AWESOME - A+ JOB - YOU'RE "A-OK", MY BUDDY - YOU MADE MY DAY - THAT'S THE BEST - A BIG HUG - A BIG KISS - SAY I LOVE YOU - P.S. REMEMBER, A SMILE IS WORTH 1,000 WORDS.


~~~~forever indebted to Him, who has called me to this wonderful place, looking forward to all that our future holds,  holding lightly to earth with my eyes fixed on heaven,

Linda

Someday, possibly before the Lord returns, I'll get this.

My children's biggest heroes are their parents.

Before I signed off I decided to go to my daughter's blog and check up on her.  Her entry was an almost exact replica of my Blog Neglect entry.  This stunned me.  Mainly because we had a character building day.  And the reason why I am now typing my third blog entry is because I put them all in bed an hour earlier than normal. They were beginning to disturb each other and I didn't feel like providing crowd control any longer.

There are so many things that I want to do during this holiday season with them.  Some good things, some better things and some very God glorifying things.  But none of those things will matter if I'm impatient, short-tempered, quick to judge, fussy and unkind to my children. 

This holiday season, I am going to partner with the Holy Spirit to walk in the Spirit.  Lavishing my family with the fruit of Him.  I want them to know His love deeply and richly.  Sometimes that love does mean being disciplined.  But it always done in love and grace, with restoration as it's product. So sweetness will be the main course served at each meal.

Thank you all for your sweet, kind comments.  They mean so much and encourage.  We are all busy, especially during this time of year.

But I hope I can share my morning coffee and lunch with you all more often than not.

~~~~~Praying with all of you that we may be a sugar and light to our homes and the world,

Linda

Blogging has taken a hit during our busy days of the past week.

I've started four entries, but never have time to finish them.  I wish I could be like some blog writers, spewing forth an entry in thirty minutes.  That isn't my style, to write the last entry took me two hours. I read and re-read the entry. I believe that words are powerful and I don't want to ever regret writing a post.  Even now as I type, Grace wants me to teach her how to draw a smiley face.  I thought that I'd entertain Liz and Grace with the TV.  They had been watching "The Aristrocats".  But Grace isn't really into watching TV, and I enjoy how entertaining she is for me.  I also need to write up Jen's school assignments for the week and print out some leaves for our Thanksgiving Tree.

So what do I do all day?  I've been pondering that question.  Ten years ago at work they did something called a Time Study.  During the study we had to keep track of what we did and how long it took us to do it.  Maybe I need to do a Time Study of my day?  Maybe not?

Here I'll give you a sneak peek of what I did today:

6:15 

wake up

6:30-7:30

attempt to do Women of the Bible study,

do weekly meal plan, to do list and grocery shopping list

drink coffee and talk with husband

7:30-8:00 

 get on computer, check blog, email and Ebay stuff

8:00-8:30

fix breakfast for little ones, clean up kitchen and scrub kitchen floor,

8:30-9:00

 get Grace and Liz dressed, hair fixed, sort clothes for laundry and start first load

explain English assignment to Jennifer

9:00-9:30 

 shower and get ready

9:30

load everyone in van and drive to Jen's clarinet lesson

10:00

while Jen is at lesson, run to grocery store

10:45 

 home from lesson, unload groceries and put away

help direct children to studies/quiet activities

11:00-11:45

prepare lunch and finish cleaning kitchen

switch laundry

12:00-12:30 

eat lunch, and read a few blogs

12:30

put Grace down for nap and

do lunch dishes

12:45

start afternoon of schooling

this afternoon Jennifer finished her math,

Liz worked on her math, writing and reading,

I also did a Bible lesson with them on the Good Samaritan.

1:15-3:00

spent this time teaching Jennifer how to conduct a science experiment using the scientific method of (question, hypothesis,methods, results and conclusion).  She put together a Lab Notebook, to keep records of all of her

science experiments. 

3:00-3:30

talked with husband, cleaned up school stuff

and switching laundry

3:30-4:00

got children engaged in next activity

put chicken legs and potatoes in oven to bake

4:00-5:00

went to exercise place and walked two and a half miles

5:00-6:00

reviewed mail

finished making dinner,

provided more instructions to children,

made sure husband wasn't injured after falling from roof of house

while putting up christmas lights. 

6:00-6:30

dinner

6:30-7:30

clean up from dinner

give girls bath, put last load of laundry in dryer

7:30

started writing this blog

9:00-9:30

bedtime routines and bedtime

They are busy days, but I wouldn't trade them for anything.  I enjoy writing my blog, and have no intentions of closing it down.  I just feel bad when time doesn't allow me to write an entry.  I'm very committed to walking fifteen-seventeen miles a week.  I believe it is the only way for me to get and stay healthy.  This takes some of my "free" time up. Another benefit for me walking is that I have time to read while on the treadmill.  I usually go to bed at the same time as my children.  If I get them to bed earlier than I enjoy talking to my husband and reading.  Last year I stayed up late blogging and reading blogs, but I was crabby the next day.  I don't want to get like that again.  EVER!   I need my sleep (8-10 hours) every night.

So, when do you find time to blog?  I was reading Preschoolers and Peace's blog.  She types all of her entries out on Sunday afternoon.  Which is a great idea.  She is a fountain of very useful information. 

Again, I'd love to hear your ideas.  I won't let blogging go, like I let cross-stitch go.  It is one of my creative outlets, plus I enjoy the fellowship with all of you sweet ladies.  I also want to get back into scrapbooking, too.  I just need to find the right fit in our life.  I remain in prayer about this. 

~~~~~Seeking His wisdom for what is best with all of you,

as we serve our families and our Lord with love and thankfulness,

Linda

"Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father." 

 Colossians 3:16-17

Yippee... it was my weekend off.  I never mind going to work, I am usually blessed by it.  But, boy do I enjoy my weekend off.

We couldn't go boating, because oops, the prop is broke.  So we planned to go camping.  We've been planning all month.  Then the weather forecast came out.  Rain, rain and more rain.  They didn't predict it to really start until Saturday afternoon.  We packed up and went out Friday afternoon.  I've become a very light packer of only the minimal essentials.  We like to camp at a small park, fifteen minutes from our home. The weather has cooled and the beautiful park provides great nature to explore.

Photobucket has updated their website.  I'm not sure whether this will be good or bad.  But I'm giving it a shot.

Three of my camping mates....

And the fourth, with Polly of course!

Polly has become the greatest, bestest thing to this two year old!

This week, we are going to craft Polly a castle, courtesy of creative inspiration by SunnyFlowers.

Saturday am, the weatherman was predicting a lot of rain by mid-afternoon.  So we packed up the camper and came home.  I did a load of laundry, we showered and ate lunch.  Then we were off to the Des Moines Renaissance Faire.  By January I hope to be in this time period during our world history studies.  I've always wanted to go, and the family seemed willing.  We did have a wonderful time.  Some of the things during that time period were R rated, and I am thankful that they attempted to do a lot of things family friendly. 

When we first arrived, we walked around the Faire.  The queen and her court were going to their stage for the jousting contest.   The queen's mother played like my husband was her lost husband. 

There were several fairy type ladies prancing around. 

This one put glitter on the girls, "fairy-dust". Jen and Liz know about fairies being purely imaginary

This one was REALLY odd! 

JOUSTING.....These actors were fabulous!

The girls participated in an English Country Dance.

Dave participated as Romeo, with a pair of actors called the "Muddy Misfits".

See the huge puddle of mud there, they end up jumping in it and splashing the audience.

My husband, thankfully did not get muddy at all instead.  He got dressed up!

My husband as Romeo.

Elizabeth also participated in a play.  A husband and wife were doing re-enactments of Aesops fables.

This was one about frogs....

As we began to leave the Faire...the rain drops began to fall.  Everyone agreed they enjoyed the day.

Sunday we spent going to church and relaxing.  A true day of rest. 

Wishing you a great week of lots of learning, tons of laughter and much of His grace,

Linda

Geesh....I keep starting new blog entries, then get interrupted and don't get back to finish them.  It is time for a new entry.  I apologize.

Three weeks and counting until we start school, August 21.  We've been crossing more things off of our summer wish list.  Last week we got through two things. 

1. Have friends over.  Jen had her friend over for the afternoon, they ended up going to the American Girl Doll club at the library.  I'm still counting it.  I love my children, I enjoy other children.  I don't like having to provide supervision to other people's children.  I'm always afraid I'll offend someone.  But I want my children to be able to play with their friends at our home, so I'm praying for wisdom each time.  Another thing that stresses me is that two of the girl's friends have food allergies or intolerances.  I want to be respectful and helpful for these girls, without making them feel odd.  So I remain prayerfully planning for more friends to come over.  Liz needs some gentle teaching on socialization with others, but I've not been excited to disrupt our order for this.  Selfish, I know.

I really have to work at providing good socialization for my children while homeschooling.  I'm such a loner, I love being all together in our home.  Playing, reading, swimming and laughing together.  I believe that my children are learning to get along well with others through interacting with their siblings.  This sounds great, until Liz gets with a group of her peers.  She then tends to go from one child to another, asking them to be her friend. Of course the other children look at her strange.  My husband dislikes this behavior, and wants her to have more interaction with children her age.  And I agree that I must work harder at having other children in our home for playdates, seeing it more as a loving act for my children than a burden. (Pardon the digression)

2. We went to a local amusement park called Adventureland.  We do this every other year.  It was so hot on Friday when we went.  It felt like 100 degrees.  But we persevered, and enjoyed the day.  They have a lot of great rides for children Liz and Grace's age.  We all went on a huge inner tube water ride called the Raging River. The second time through Liz got drenched.

Jen was a peach, enjoying a few rides with Grace to keep her safe.

Here she is with Liz on another ride.

We all rode in a gondola type ferris wheel.  Here's a shot of Grace, I love the wonder on her face.

One thing that Jen was working on this summer was to work on her sewing projects.

Grandma and her diligently worked on the pj's each time she was there.

Here is Grace modeling her's.

~~~~~I have more to share, but I must wait for another post, the real world beckon's me to it.  Wishing that all your days are filled with the grace and knowledge the Lord,

Linda

   Today was a busy day.  It seems like spring brings a flurry of activity.  Jennifer got started on her day easily.  She and I had a lot of fun doing her Saxon Math today.  She was working on negatives and positive in equations, using a system like a game.

Then she did her spelling and english on her own.

    I made some cupcakes for Liz to take for preschool snack.  This was her last day, yippee.  This will free us to do field trips after Jennifer gets done with her ITBS test. 

    After a quick lunch, we took Liz to preschool at noon.  Then Jen, Grace and I went to Costco and Super Target, mainly to pick up things that I like to get there or had forgotton the day before at WalMart.  Hopefully we are set in the shopping department for the next ten days.   I did forget to buy bottled water for Dave, but he can pick that up at WalMart sometime. 

    Then we pick Liz up.  The teachers and her friends were sad that she was leaving.  She doesn't seem to broken up about it. 

     Our weather then became stormy.  I got online for a bit and then I went for a walk...in the rain....well it started out just sprinkles.  By the time I got done I was drenched from the downpour.   But it felt so good to be outside walking, even in the rain.  I kept singing this song:

Michael W. Smith Healing Rain

Healing rain is coming down
It's coming nearer to this old town
Rich and poor, weak and strong
It's bringing mercy, it won't be long

Healing rain is coming down
It's coming closer to the lost and found
Tears of joy, and tears of shame
Are washed forever in Jesus' name

Healing rain, it comes with fire
So let it fall and take us higher
Healing rain, I'm not afraid
To be washed in Heaven's rain

Lift your heads, let us return
To the mercy seat where time began
And in your eyes, I see the pain
Come soak this dry heart with healing rain

And only You, the Son of man
Can take a leper and let him stand
So lift your hands, they can be held
By someone greater, the great I Am

Healing rain, it comes with fire
So let it fall and take us higher
Healing rain, I'm not afraid
To be washed in Heaven's rain

To be washed in Heaven's rain...

Healing rain is falling down
Healing rain is falling down
I'm not afraid
I'm not afraid...

When I was almost home, my sweet husband came looking for me in the van.  He was  worried about me, but I was really enjoying myself.

I have walked today: