God Bless our Home

Nov. 12, 2007

Learning Phonics

We have been pretty busy lately with various family/health issues but we still manage to find time for our schooling! I am so blessed that I don't have to spend any time in prep work or reading lesson plans or I am afraid we would be very behind! Even during my busiest days we can sit down together at the computer log into our Time4Learning page and knock out an hour of "school". The kids think it's so fun

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The past several days we have been focusing on phonics . My daughter "J" can actually already read (she is only 4) but I like the review for her and my son (also 4) is learning along with her. Today we were working on blending sounds....ex. "ch, sh, er, ir, ur". We are currently working in the 1st grade level for language arts.

Another favorite subject of my kids is science.
This month so far we have learning about the earth, moon, sun, weather, seasons, and magnets!

I like to then go to the library and check out books on the same science lessons and expore the concepts further. The kids really get into it and they remember what they have learned from our science lessons!

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Oct. 16, 2007

Our Homeschool !

It has been quite awhile since I have posted on this blog! We are doing well and I am excited to share how our homeschooling is going this year!

After going through several different curriculums I happened upon one that is a perfect fit for us! It is called Time4Learning. Jessie dd (4 1/2) is doing the 1st grade level
and Ryan ds(4) is doing Preschool level

It's basically on online homeschool curriculum that runs preschool thru 8th grade. Lessons are in language arts, math, science and social studies. It is only 19.95/mo and requires no prep work the night before on my part. Yay!

We have been using this as our primary curriculum now for several months and both of my kids are learning so much it just amazes me! They love it and often ask to do "computer games" on a daily basis even on the weekends. I usually sit with them and do the lessons and we talk about it as we go along, my kids aren't that proficient in using a mouse yet so I do that part for them as well. They love to sit on the desk and use their "pointers" , which are fancy unsharpened pencils! They point to the screen for the answer to click on etc. Anyway we love it and I encourage you to check it out, they have free demo lessons that are really fun!

I plan to be sharing our on-going homeschool experience on a more regular basis!
May God bless you! Thanks for stopping by!

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Dec. 26, 2006

A Blessed Christmas

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Nov. 29, 2006

SNOW!!!

Well you would think we were living in the North East or something....we have had VERY cold weather here and lots of snow and ice (Seattle, WA)!. It has not been above freezing for the past 2 days so everything is iced up and its really too cold to play outside, although the kids did sled a little bit. Our Thanksgiving was nice with my folks, we just put our Christmas tree and I am half-way done with the Christmas decorating around the house. I am also almost done Christmas shopping as I do most of it on-line. I am dis-satisified with the Sonlight curriculum we are using...I just dont like the layout, it seems very choppy and kinda boring for my kids. I think I am going to try WinterPromise Animal Worlds, as the kids are really into animals and I think they would truly love it, I ordered most of the books on e-bay and overstock.com (saved alot of money this way) but I wont have the guidebook, so I will have to "wing-it". I think it will be fine :) We are getting our first family portrait done on sat am, my parents are gong to join us as well. I cant wait, but I hope the kids do ok! HHHMMMMM...what else.....We are loving our new church, my parents left their church and are attending ours....I love having them there. I am still not on board with my schedule yet....ugh...procrastination is my middle name...I think I am "fearful" of starting it...I cant explain why but that is how I feel. If you use WinterPromise or are on a set schedule I would love to hear your ideas!!

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Nov. 19, 2006

My Baby girl Jess (3 3/4) is sick :( she has been throwing up off and on for the last 5 days or so, yesterday and today were the worst, could not even keep water down. She looked so pale and weak...it just broke my heart. I took her to the local urgent care at the pediatrician's office this morning as I was suspecting she was nearing dehydration and possibly needing IV fluids. The Dr. tells me she is close but not there yet, so we will wait another 24 hours and keep trying to push the fluids. She then mentions...well we could give her phenergan...".but it's kinda dangerous...could have some permanent side effects in little ones"...UM I think I will PASS on that one thank you. I have tried homeopathy with great success in the past and wanted to try something for Jess but the health food store was closed until 11am today. After the failed Dr. appt I went down there and purchased a 5 dollar homeopathic remedy for nausea and vomiting. I gave her 3 small tablets (which she takes no problem) and soon she is fast asleep in her car seat. The rest of the day NO nausea or vomiting and she is drinking fluids! WOO HOO! I am telling you this stuff works, I keep a bottle of Arnica around for minor aches and pains and we use it instead of Tylenol or Advil. I should have listened to my instincts and went to the health food store yesterday to get the homeopathy remedy and skipped the "dangerous drug" speech :/ Since I am a nurse practitioner I get the whole drug vs natural battle....it is very frustrating. If I were to call that office in the morning to report I gave her a homeopathic remedy and it actually worked they would politely dismiss it as "coincidence". I don't buy it...it works...I dont know how or why but it does. Thank the lord!

Oh yes and on another note....we suspended our direct TV today! As a "trial" basis to see if we can actually "live" without Tv or not. So far so good, I am typing on my blog , getting ready to scrapbook and DH is reading a book on the sofa with the great dane asleep at his feet (so cute). It is rather scary to think no TV...wow...something we have become so used to having and spend countless hours wasting time on meaningless shows. I cant wait to see what I can accomplish without this in our life...for now anyway.

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Nov. 18, 2006

Update on various things

I have thought about blogging many times over the past month but it seems some other little project or task has pulled me away and then I forget about it again. GASP! I realized today after logging on that it has been over a month....well I must do better than this. This week our family has the flu bug, the throw-up kind (ick). Thank the lord I am suffering the least so that I can take care of my family. I have finished my home-improvements for now. I painted our bedroom and bathroom after ripping off the ugly wallpaper that was there...wow what a difference. It is so serene and beautiful now, I love our room! I have managed to get a few more pages of my baby scrapbook done..which is at least a start. We have done school very informally for the past several weeks. My latest idea is to get rid of our direct tv. There is so much trash on TV and it seems the only thing we really enjoy is Jeopardy, so why pay so much to have it around? My husband is "thinking" about it....we will see, maybe we could do a month trial without it or something. We got rid of our TV when I was a kid and I remember playing games, reading and listening to radio with my parents, it was fun! Do you live without a TV? If so I would love to hear about it! Thanksgiving and Christmas are almost here! I am feeling much better now....SAD is pretty much gone until Jan/Feb. We will go to my parents for Thanksgiving day (they live only 15 min away). My husbands parents will fly out from VA for Christmas. I have decided to go back to flylady.....no other method seems to work. At least my house was clean and organized when I was following her ideas. I need to start slow as she says and just work on my "routines". That is everything new around here, I really want to strive to post more often....so check back! :)

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Oct. 16, 2006

OK, I dont like the Fall

I admit it, the fall is my least favorite season. I know that may sound strange to some, afterall it is beautiful with the leaves turning, the air turns cool and crisp...blah blah blah. What it really means to me is an end to another glorious summer of beautiful sunny weather, the beginning of the "rainy season" which in our neck of the woods equals three out of four. It also means ALOT less daylight, which in medical terms equates to alot less serotonin into my brain. That means I feel SAD. Ever heard of it SAD? Seasonal Affective Disorder, well I suffer from it, have for years and it hits me the hardest in October. So I am feeling kinda blah these days and in my head I know its that but I keep trying to figure out why I keep feeling so....so YUCKY!! Yes, I know it would help if I exercised more and ate better, all things I truly desire to do, but just cant seem to muster up the motivation to carry out. So as I struggle along feeling out of sorts, I am trying to lean on God, Lord show me how to structure my days to glorify you and carry out your will in my life. Help me to be the wife and mommy you would have me to be. I most certainly cannot do this on my own strength..that much I know for sure. So I wait, pray, read God's word and watch the leaves turn, fall, and then aaaahhhh winter is almost here....a breath of fresh air in my own little world. Another Fall behind me....at least I know my world is not coming to an end, my life really is GOOD and I am Loved....its all just a little bit SAD this time of year.

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Oct. 2, 2006

Frogs!!

We did it ...we started school today! The kids were sooooo excited..."yeah school, school, school!!!" We flew through all of our material in 45 minutes. We did the pledge of allegiance, sang songs, reviewed the calendar, counted our numbers poster (1-100), read about frogs, colored a frog picture, did a frog craft, and watched letter factory (leap frog). Oh yes and we found a live green frog out on the deck this afternoon, so that was great!! Then the kids went outside to ride bikes and play. I managed to wash 3 loads of laundry today and only 1 of it is put away (sigh, I tried). I did work on painting the kitchen some more but it is slow due to all of the trim work. We had pork tenderloin in the crockpot for dinner tonight. Tomorrow is errand day, I have to work my few hours in the AM as a Commercial Driver Medical Examiner. Kids go to gramma and papa's house, which they absolutely LOVE TO DO!! I have to pick up our milk (we drink raw goats milk) then come home to finish the day out. We most likely wont do school on Tuesdays or Thursdays (the kids have AWANA on thursdays from 9-11 am) so we will try a M-W -F approach for now. Its only preschool, so that should be fine. I think I am going to try to get another load of laundry put away tonight and get things ready for the morning....BLessings,

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Oct. 1, 2006

School starts tomorrow!!

Things are finally settling down. DH just returned from a trip to Bulgaria...he was there a week, and boy did we every miss him!! It really made me realize how much I need him and love him. I painted and decorated his office while he was away as a surprise and he was thrilled! I also finished the dining room, and am 1/2 way done painting the kitchen so we are moving right along. Tomorrow we start school. My DD still thinks we are going to get in the car and go "somewhere" for school....I hope she wont be too disappointed. We are doing the Sonlight theme schedule written by Amy....so this week the theme is frogs. I am also going to start a new schedule....for housekeeping, the flylady zone thing just isnt working for me right now, so I am going to try a daily "task". Monday is Laundry day, Tuesday is Errands day, Wed is Kitchen day, Thursday is office day, and Friday is Cleaning day. So, tomorrow being monday my goal is to get all of my laundry washed , folded and put away, and if I have extra time tidy up the laundry room area. I will post this week my progress.....goodnite for now .

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Sep. 20, 2006

more thoughts

I fell down our back porch steps last evening....needless to say I am a bit sore today. I feel sorta "out of whack" today. The top step is very slippery (apparently) so we will be installing some sort of rubber stuff for traction before the kids slip and hurt themselves. We started AWANA last week for the first time, we go again tonight, the kids are excited...last week I stayed in the room with them. This week Jess informs me they they want me to "drop them off!" Well, I wont go that far, but I will sit upstairs or something...I wont leave the building and I dont understand how the other parents of the 3-4 year old class can do that? It's just not safe in my opinion....church or no church. I am really wanting to be more "organized" in my home. I have visions of homemade bread baking, nice healthy meals, clean organized home, and our schooling going wonderfully. Well at least I have dreams of this anyway, I am lucky at this point to get dinner made. I know I could do better, I really want to start with my schedule again...we never really got to try it out before we moved. I am nervous about it actually...having my whole day all planned out. I am sure I will get tons done and I will probably actually feel better as I have built in time for exercise, meals, cleaning etc. Just looking at it however makes me feel tired. I need to at least give it a go thought...right? I will post how it goes when I start it. I have to pull it out of the file cabinet first. It feels like fall around here....rainy and cool and the leaves are turning. Time for a new season....a good time to start a new season in my life in our new home. Lord I need your strength and guidance, Please help me to start and continue my schedule.

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Sep. 18, 2006

We are Here!

Hello! It has been almost 2 months since my last post, boy have we been busy! We have moved into our new home and we love it here! The move went smoothly but of course it was loads of work. We are unpacked, but I cannot say we are organized as of yet, that will take some time. Our 2 kids (ages 3) absolutely love it here, there has been no asking of our old home at all. They have loved our yard, the playset and the driveway to ride bikes. We also have a new addition to our family. Daisy Mae is now home to live with us. She came about 2 weeks after we moved in. Yes, a bit hectic....but she is a loveable dog, alhtough still a pup and in need of training. We start doggy classes on sat. I have been trying to get our school supplies organized to start school Oct 2nd. I think we will do Sonlight (Janets schedule) and supplement with art and Rocket phonics. My other project is stripping wall paper. Ugh, what a time consuming mess! Most of the house is covered in wallpaper, with the vast majority of it being just plain ugly. So far I have the kitchen done but it still needs paint, and I am working on the Foyer. The living and dining rooms just need new borders. Ok a short post , its bath time for the kids....I am off :)

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Jul. 31, 2006

Daisy Mae- our new pup

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Jul. 31, 2006

Movin' along

Good Evening! We have been busy packing and preparing for our move in 2 weeks. We are really excited! The kids are starting to understand that we are moving and they seem ok with it as long as I keep reassuring them that "yes, your toys are coming too!"

We have a new addition to our family, Daisy Mae our new 4 mo old great dane pup! I have posted a picture of her. We went out to look at her yesterday and meet her and her parents. She is just the most wonderful dog, so sweet and loving! I did all sorts of research on dog breeds and once I read all about great danes....well I fell in love with them. She comes to live with us once we get moved into our new house. She is great with kids and cats and our kids just loved her.

The packing is going well, we are starting to load boxes up in the garage, the house is looking rather bare and boring. My parents are helping out alot, and today my dad came over to fix my flat tire we woke up to, on my Jeep.
Thanks Dad, you are GREAT!!!!

I found an AWANA program really close to our new home so I want to try the kids out in that in Sept to see how they like it.
I really want to get started on my schedule again....once we get moved I will implement it. There will be much to do with my 2 kids, homeschool, Bailey Cat, and Daisy Mae the pup.

I just keep praying the Lord has a miracle in store for my husband so he does not have to commute for hours every day. We would not be making this move if not for Gods hand in it so our trust is in him completely.

Goodnite for now...God bless.

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Jul. 16, 2006

Packing up

Good sunday morning! We have not been going to our church since our pastor went on sabbatical. We went a few times and the "new" leadership seems to have changed things and it is not what we were looking for in a church. But all is well, I am confident God will lead us to a new church closer to our new home.

We are still set to move around Aug 17th or so. We have been busy selling tons of furniture and "stuff" we no longer need. I have sold most of it on Craigslist. I love that site...its like a free on-line classifieds for your specific area. I got offers on stuff sometimes just minutes after I had posted the items. We bought the kids a giant Rainbow wood play set last weekend on craigslist. We pick it up the week we move and I am sure Grandpa and Daddy will be putting that together shortly after we move in! Oh what fun for the kids!

So my once pristine house (especially while we were trying to sell) is now a certified disaster zone. Boxes, toys, tools, you name it.

I have been reading the book "Created to be His Helpmeet" by Debbi Pearl. Wow..it is so good. It really goes against everything society tries to teach us (females) about life, being a wife, mother, and especially a "good" christian woman. I have just tried to implement a few things so far and it has made a huge improvement in my marriage and in my attitude in general. I would encourage any woman to read it. Warning: If you are a liberal feminist type....you may have to take extra blood pressure pills while reading!

Ry turns three in a few weeks! I am thinking of having his party at the park since our house is such a mess. He got a new bed yesterday (craigslist again) it is an IKEA mid-sized loft bed with a slide...he got a real kick out of that. He was so proud of his "tall big boy bed". He slept in it all night no problem. We figure that would give him some extra space to play underneath of it as his new room has high ceilings but is actually slightly smaller than his current room.

Time to go and get ready for the grocery store!

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Jun. 27, 2006

I'm Back!!

Hello! So much has happened since my last post. First and foremost my excuse....our kitty Bailey was neutered a few weeks ago and he came home and promptly chewed through my laptop computer cords so I had to order new one's (not cheap!) thus the delay in posting.

Since my last post...we signed all the paperwork to take our house off the market. I was dissappointed but at peace with God's plan. We were waiting for the guy to come take our for sale signs down when I got a phone call from the lady we were trying to buy our country victorian house from. She said they had prayed about it and they really wanted us to have the house and they needed to sell it asap so they decided to drop their price by 30k....and would we be interested??? Um...yeah!

So over the next few days and much paperwork , we dropped our price on our house and sold it in 2 days...we are moving in about 6 weeks!!! WOOHOO!!!!! I cant wait for country life!!
The kids are going to have a ball in their new huge yard our first purchase is going to be one of those wood swing set/slide/fort things.

God has his plans for us and we dont usually know the why's, when's or how's, but I have learned through this experience that we need to absolutely TRUST in him. He knows what he is doing and it is a huge waste of time and energy to fret and worry about what is not in our control!

So it's the beginning of a new chapter in our lives.

Thank you Lord Jesus for this wonderful gift!!

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Jun. 9, 2006

This is it!

By monday morning we will know one way or the other what will be happening with our home. I am so relieved to have this situation end. We are having an open house on sunday and if we recieve no offers we are closing down the deal. The people we are trying to buy from are in full agreement with that plan so that is a blessing. They want to move on and so do we one way or the other.

After all this time it will take a miracle from God to sell in 2 days, but I have the gut feeling that we are meant to stay here. It is really ok if we do, we can work through the yard/play situation for the kids and put off our dream of the country living until the time is right.

The kids are happy and Dh and I are content here so all is well. I did go horse riding last weekend for the 1st time in 2 months and boy, I could barely walk for 3 days!! It was great fun and a wonderful stress reliever so I want to do that at least once a week if not more.

Kids are doing great, lots of pretend play and learning to play with eachother more and more.

Bailey cat is home from the vet today after being "fixed". I think he is allergic to grain in his food....he is doing much better on his new grain-free diet.

Thanks be to God for this learning experience, and I pray his will to be done this weekend!

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Jun. 3, 2006

Catching up

Good evening! I thought I would catch up on a few things. Our house is still for sale, for the next 20 days or so. We asked for a 30-day extension and it was granted but once that is up if we have not sold we will let the whole deal drop.

We are giving the entire situation to the Lord and I can finally say that I am truly trusting 100% that whatever happens will be the best thing for our family. We still really want to move to the "country" house but it would be such a long commute for hubby. I believe God knows our future and what would be the best situation for our family. I dont have to be anxious or worry about it one more minute...God is in complete control and guess what....HE LOVES ME!!!!

I finally returned to my horse riding today! It was fabulous! That is the absolute best stress reliever and best exercise I have found. I was nervous since I have not ridden in over 2 months but I surprised myself in how much I remembered. The only problem is that I will be SORE tomorrow

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Kids are doing great...Jess is talking in full complete sentences now..some of the things she says just make me laugh! Unfortunately, I cannot think of anything to share at the moment. Ry is my little artist...his drawings are getting better and better...he is so far advanced for his age with his drawing that I know he is blessed with a gift. He is also very good at rythym (hhhmmm where is spell check when you need it??). I think we are going to get him a little drum-set for his 3rd birthday which is in August.

I REALLY want to get back to my scrapbooking..I am so far behind and it's something I enjoy doing in the evenings. I plan to start that next week.

That about sums it up for now, goodnight!

May God bless you and fill you with JOY and PEACE.

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May. 19, 2006

Patience is not my virtue!

Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I am not a woman of patience! Could it be that this is the very lesson that God is trying to teach me?

We still have had not one single offer on our house. We lowered our price by 30,000 and still nothing. My heart knows that God has a plan for us and I need to trust him in everything. My head wants this house sold NOW. ugh!! This is it...I give up...

.I cannot continue to worry about this situation or try to come up with ways to sell our house faster. If God wants our house sold then he will sell it in his own time. I am determined to wait on God to see what he has in store for us. I know I cannot do this on my own however, Lord I need your help! Please help me to wait patiently and joyfully for you to do your work. Take my worries and frustration away and fill me with peace.

Thank you to those of you that have held us in your prayers....

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May. 4, 2006

Still here

Well we are still here, no offers on the house yet.

I have not had much time to write, but I will try to do better with that.
This coming weekend we are going to have an open house on sat and sun so friday will be spent cleaning. We are going to spend the night in a local hotel on sat so that we dont have to "re-clean" on sunday! Those of you with toddlers know an entire house can be destroyed in less than 15 minutes

Last weekend we went to a birthday party and the kids each had a few bites of cake and a piece of candy. WOW...the aftermath was amazing! They ran around like crazy people for what seemed like ages, and getting them to bed that night was a feat! Now I know why I dont feed my children sugar (at least on a regular basis). I think alot of behavioural problems with children are a direct result of what parents allow them to put into their little bodies.

I found a new vet for Bailey cat, she is a combo holistic/traditional vet and she was very thorough and good. Bailey was very comfortable in her office and even fell asleep on my lap during the visit! He is still having his issues with a heart murmer and chronic diarrhea. We will continue the search for answers with him but I feel encouraged with what she had to say and her plan of action.

Both kids see the dentist on monday...oh dread! Ry is due for his re-check after his "accident" 3 of the 4 teeth have come back down. One is still inside his gums and I suspect it is dead and has to come out but we will see. It is such a wonderful answer to prayer that some of his teeth came back down and he is doing well! I love his little smile!

The other day I was walking quickly down the hall and Jess was behind me uttering a word I did not know....finally I stopped and said " Honey, mommy does not know what you are saying, I cant understand you." She very matter-of factly stated " Mama, ------ is "wait" in spanish"!

(I cant think of the word in spanish right now)

I checked it out in our handy-dandy english/spanish dictionary and she was right!! She was telling me to "wait" for her in spanish! Can you imagine from a 3 year old? No one in our house is fluent she is picking this second language up from some educational dvd's that we bought her.

Ry is still drawing daily, he is doing so well and has so much more detail in his cars, trucks etc. The other day he drew a very good tree and the letter A, B, and C! Great for a 2 1/2 yr old I think!

Please keep us in your prayers this weekend, we are really praying our house sells THIS WEEKEND!! We are weary and need closure to this situation.

Have a wonderful weekend.

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Apr. 27, 2006

Getting close?

I think we may be getting close to selling! A couple came today that really liked our house and they are "thinking" about it over night, so we will see! Say a prayer for us!

We have been having lovely spring weather here, sunny and warm in the 60's. We have been spending alot of time outside. The kids love the sandbox and we played at the neighbors house today as they have a nice swing set.

Life is so not "normal" right now as the house has to be kept close to spotless most of the time so we dont pull out large projects that are "messy" and cant be cleaned up quickly. It is kinda a bummer for the kids, plus we had to put alot of their bigger toys up in the attick to "de-clutter". So we read alot of books and coloring and drawing is big right now.

The kids new favorite show is Blue's Clues. It is pretty good! Very educational so I allow it.

Just a quick note today....happy spring!!

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Today's Verse

About Me

I am a wife to a great guy, a mommy to two awesome children ages 4! We are doing homeschool at the Kindergarten/1st grade level. My goal is to document our adventures in learning and my own personal growth and struggles as I learn to become the woman God wants me to be.