I just found this site and like some of the printables it has to offer:

http://www.calvarywilliamsport.com/activity-pages.html

Veined Octopus Collects and Carries Coconut Shells to Build Shelter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DoWdHOtlrk

I know for many of us who have a child with either a physical or mental limitation, finding contentment can at times be difficult.  Some days it seems as if all is well and we are able to handle whatever challenges life throws our way, while the next all is in turmoil and we feel overwhelmed.  For those days when you are feeling overwhelmed, consider the following exercise:

When you begin to think to yourself that your family's lifestyle, finances, or choices are limited "because of my special needs child." Instead, say to yourself "...because it is God's will."  Because the truth is, we face no hardship that God has not foreseen and that He abandons us to face alone.  It is by His will that we live or die, have peace or hardship and through His support that we persevere. 

I have found in my own life that while God's way sometimes seems very hard, it has led me to a place of greater joy than I could ever have found on my own. 

Here are  a few Scriptures to contemplate as you consider making this change in your thoughts:

Genesis 15:19-20

Esther 4:13-14

Philippians 3:7-11

Romans 8:18-25

http://www.cynet.com/Jesus/PROPHECY/ntquoted.htm

I found these at Calvary Chapel's website!

Bible Coloring Pages

We have done some of the free online Jesse Tree readings and studied the symbols for the past two years, but this year I wanted to do something a little different. So I've made up my own schedule of readings for the season.  Given more time, I'd like to find a few more Psalms or other praise verses to add, but I wanted to get the list completed before December was upon us!

Here's our schedule for 2009:

Suggested Family Reading Schedule for Advent (23 days)

Day	Selected Scripture
1	Isaiah 11:1-10
2	Isaiah 9:2-7
3	Isaiah 65:17-25
4	John 1:1-18
5-11	Luke 1:1-80  (divide into daily readings as follows: 1:1-7, 8-17, 26-37, 38-45, 46-55, 56-65, 66-80)
12-15	Luke 2:1-40   (divide into daily readings as follows: 2:1-7, 8-20, 21-33, 34-40)
16	Matthew 1:18-25
17-18	Matthew 2:1-23   (divide into daily readings as follows: 2:1-12, 13-23)
19	1 John 5:11,  John 6:39-40
20	1 John 1:1-7
21	Titus 3:3-6,  John 17:2-4
22	Psalm 96

For those who want to use the King James Version, I actually copied the passages from BibleGateway.com and made a little booklet.  Here's the text version:

Selected Readings for Advent -2009

Isaiah 11

 ¹And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

 ²And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

 ³And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

 ⁴But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

 ⁵And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

 ⁶The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

 ⁷And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

 ⁸And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.

 ⁹They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

 ¹⁰And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

Isaiah 9:2-7

 ²The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

 ³Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

 ⁴For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.

 ⁵For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.

 ⁶For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

 ⁷Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Isaiah 65:17-25

¹⁷For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

 ¹⁸But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

 ¹⁹And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.

 ²⁰There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

 ²¹And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.

 ²²They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

 ²³They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.

 ²⁴And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

 ²⁵The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.

John 1

 ¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

 ²The same was in the beginning with God.

 ³All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

 ⁴In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

 ⁵And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

 ⁶There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

 ⁷The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

 ⁸He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

 ⁹That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

 ¹⁰He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

 ¹¹He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

 ¹²But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

 ¹³Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

 ¹⁴And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

 ¹⁵John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

 ¹⁶And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.

 ¹⁷For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

 ¹⁸No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

Luke 1

 ¹Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,

 ²Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;

 ³It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,

 ⁴That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

 ⁵THERE was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

 ⁶And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

 ⁷And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

 ⁸And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,

 ⁹According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

 ¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

 ¹¹And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

 ¹²And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

 ¹³But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

 ¹⁴And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

 ¹⁵For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

 ¹⁶And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

 ¹⁷And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

 ¹⁸And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.

 ¹⁹And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.

 ²⁰And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

 ²¹And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.

 ²²And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.

 ²³And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

 ²⁴And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,

 ²⁵Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

 ²⁶And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

 ²⁷To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

 ²⁸And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

 ²⁹And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

 ³⁰And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

 ³¹And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

 ³²He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

 ³³And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

 ³⁴Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

 ³⁵And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

 ³⁶And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

 ³⁷For with God nothing shall be impossible.

 ³⁸And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

 ³⁹And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;

 ⁴⁰And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

 ⁴¹And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

 ⁴²And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

 ⁴³And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

 ⁴⁴For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

 ⁴⁵And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

 ⁴⁶And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

 ⁴⁷And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

 ⁴⁸For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

 ⁴⁹For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

 ⁵⁰And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

 ⁵¹He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

 ⁵²He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

 ⁵³He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

 ⁵⁴He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;

 ⁵⁵As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

 ⁵⁶And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

 ⁵⁷Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.

 ⁵⁸And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.

 ⁵⁹And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.

 ⁶⁰And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.

 ⁶¹And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.

 ⁶²And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.

 ⁶³And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.

 ⁶⁴And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.

 ⁶⁵And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.

 ⁶⁶And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.

 ⁶⁷And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

 ⁶⁸Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

 ⁶⁹And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

 ⁷⁰As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

 ⁷¹That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

 ⁷²To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

 ⁷³The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

 ⁷⁴That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,

 ⁷⁵In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

 ⁷⁶And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

 ⁷⁷To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

 ⁷⁸Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

 ⁷⁹To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

 ⁸⁰And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

Luke 2

 ¹And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

 ²(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

 ³And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

 ⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

 ⁵To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

 ⁶And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

 ⁷And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

 ⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

 ⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

 ¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

 ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

 ¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

 ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

 ¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

 ¹⁵And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

 ¹⁶And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

 ¹⁷And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

 ¹⁸And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

 ¹⁹But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

 ²⁰And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

 ²¹And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

 ²²And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;

 ²³(As it is written in the law of the LORD, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)

 ²⁴And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

 ²⁵And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

 ²⁶And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

 ²⁷And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

 ²⁸Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

 ²⁹Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:

 ³⁰For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

 ³¹Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

 ³²A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

 ³³And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.

 ³⁴And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;

 ³⁵(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

 ³⁶And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;

 ³⁷And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

 ³⁸And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

 ³⁹And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.

 ⁴⁰And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

Matthew 1

¹⁸Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

 ¹⁹Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

 ²⁰But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

 ²¹And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

 ²²Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

 ²³Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

 ²⁴Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

 ²⁵And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

Matthew 2

 ¹Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

 ²Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

 ³When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

 ⁴And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

 ⁵And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

 ⁶And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

 ⁷Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

 ⁸And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

 ⁹When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

 ¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

 ¹¹And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

 ¹²And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

 ¹³And when they were de

I'll try to get this link added to my own website soon, but I changed computers quite awhile ago and my IT guy (i.e. my husband) hasn't loaded the website editing software yet. LOL! 

Anyway, I'm not sure who shared this website with me, but it has a lot of really exciting links to educational games.  These are very sophisticated, interactive games designed primarily for non-profit organizations such as museums and schools.

Check it out:  Eduweb

You can now get SS1 on DVD.  This month the DVD is on sale and you can view samples of the first few lessons online at the AVKO website:

Sequential Spelling DVD

You can read my thoughts about Sequential Spelling here.

The Apgar test and it's inventor:

How's Your Baby? Recalling the Apgar Score's Namesake

Our's societies' behavior hasn't changed as much as you think:

The Bolter- Book Review

(caution- some passages would get an "R")

The history of dress, note in the French Revolution and Empire periods, women's garments were often translucent- yeah, see through.  Note the low cut of the dresses at Napoleon's coronation. 

History of Dress

I wish I could find a better reference.  When I studied this subject in college, we learned that during various periods of time different body parts were considered more or less attractive and dress was designed to feature the desired part of the body.  There were periods when the bosom was completely revealed and other times when sheer fabrics were used.  So while today's fashions are immodest- no argument there, I don't think the desire of humans to act and dress immodestly is so far changed from the past.  It's just that there's not a lot of focus on modesty and moral practices in most history classes so we assume what we don't know about must not have existed. 

Through June 10th:

ESCAPE99

If you sign up for TMS's newletter you can get a free trial download of Times Tales plus a free Memory Trigger e-book. 

 Just follow the link below and scroll down to the "Subscribe to Newsletter" box.  The links to your freebies will be sent in your e-mail confirmation. 

Free Times Tales Sample Download