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A peak inside this crazy house as we homeschool and embrace the joys and trials of our 2 boys and 2 girls.
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January 9th, 2009
Caleb read The Sword in the Tree this week. Instead of doing a book report, I had him draw a poster of some part of the story. Here is his poster:
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Posted: 1:28 PM, Jan. 9, 2009 |
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January 3rd, 2009
| We were on our way home from our 4th Christmas of the season. Aaron and I overheard Rachel talking in the back of the car. She was saying, "Jesus sure has a lot of birthdays! We both couldn't help laughing! |
Posted: 1:26 PM, Jan. 3, 2009 |
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Happy New Year!
I hope you had a safe and wonderful holiday season...filled with Christ's love and focused on Him. Now as the new year begins it is a time for resolutions. I've never really made resolutions before...but this year I decided to give it a try.
My first resolution is to instill a new habit in my life every month. They say if you do something for 28 days straight, it becomes a habit. We'll see. January's habit is to be in God's Word every single day. I've set up reminders with my Google calendar, and also am journaling about the passage I read on a private online journal. I am hoping this will help get my habit in place. (I know...it is one I should already have in place. But since the kids it is an area I really struggle in). I'll try to update my new habit each month, and let you know if my current habit is sticking. Join me in forming your own habits this year.
My second resolution is to lose the rest of my weight. I lost about 15 pounds last year, but I still have 25-30 pounds to go. To help me with this resolution, I've joined a website called sparkpeople.com
They track your food, exercise, and other fitness goals for you, and also help set your weight loss goals. I've heard that it is similar to Weight Watchers, but I don't know anything about Weight watchers so I don't know if that is accurate or not. They have me losing 33 lbs by August. Hopefully it will work. Oh, the best thing about it is that it is FREE!
If you have any New Year's Resolutions I would love to hear about them! |
Posted: 8:36 AM, Jan. 2, 2008 |
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The newest member of our family...
Meet Lucy, the newest member of our family.
 Rachel put the veil that goes with her wedding dress on Lucy's head.
 Lucy relaxing on the couch.
She's a really great dog. We adopted her on Monday from the local animal shelter. We've only ran into a few problems with her so far...she loves to dig under our shed (I think there are rabbits and cats living under there) and actually got stuck on Friday morning. She also doesn't seem to like to eat her dog food. Besides that she is a sweet, calm girl. |
Posted: 8:19 PM, Oct. 13, 2007 |
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Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
We got home a week ago from our vacation to Myrtle Beach. We went with my in-laws and we had a wonderful time. Here are a few pictures (I didn't get very many...I guess I was too busy relaxing!).
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Posted: 8:14 PM, Oct. 13, 2007 |
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There's a new princess in town....
Rachel dubbed herself the princess as soon as she could talk. She loves all things beautiful, and all eyes on her. When Jada came along, Rachel made it pretty clear that she thought one princess was all this house needed. As time has gone by, though, she's taken her little sister under her wing...and began teaching the importance of being a princess.
Jada is soooo different than Rachel. She's quieter and sweet, and is always going for a laugh. I've never met a girl quite as silly as Jada...we call her our goof ball. But, I'm beginning to see the princess in her as well.  Here she is in her new pink fluffy chair. Let me tell you...she loves this chair. She'll come up missing, and I'll search the house for her. I'll find her in her pink fluffy chair. Just relaxing and grinning ear to ear.
I guess deep down inside, we all have a little bit of princess in us. Although I am not much of a girly girl, I still love pretty things...and I love being considered beautiful myself. So, I guess there is room for more than one princess at this house, after all. And...if I am the mother of two princesses, I guess that makes me the queen! |
Posted: 9:16 AM, Sep. 24, 2007 |
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Beginner Homeschooling Advice
When I first began looking into homeschooling (when my oldest was just a little guy) I kept seeing one piece of advice over and over again. Don't start too early. Just give them time to be kids. I, of course, thought that's great advice...for other people, but he's ready to start now. What I really meant was that I had invested so much time and energy into researching, I was ready to start.
Now, I have a barely seven year old 2nd grader who is struggling. He's smart...reading on grade level...understands his math concepts...but he just wasn't ready. He really struggles with writing. He still writes a large portion of his letters and numbers backwards. Doing his math turns into a 1 to 2 hour ordeal...every single day.
Thankfully, I've realized my mistake. We're taking some time off from his math curriculum and concentrating on math facts and drills that he never fully learned. Letting him go at his own pace, instead of feeling like he has to finish the second grade book by the end of the year...whether he's ready to or not.
Hopefully, the other kids will benefit from the lessons I'm learning with Caleb...my guinea pig. I already am pushing Josiah much less in his Kindergarten year. We are using Sonlight's LA with him...but I'm not making him write all the dictations and copywork. He's just not ready. He is working on learning to write his letters, and is doing a great job with it! There is no need to push his writing skills at this point!
So, if you are just beginning on your homeschooling journey, please heed the advice! There is no reason to push them to do things before they are ready. Only you will know when they are truly ready...but make sure you look at things honestly, not through your own excitement. The only thing you gain by starting too early is frustration for all involved! |
Posted: 4:25 PM, Sep. 23, 2007 |
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Show and Tell Friday
I made my first trip to the ocean as a 22 year old mother of one. I immediately fell in love. The ocean is a feast for all the senses; the feel of sand squishing between your toes, the smell of the sea, the sound of the waves crashing against the shore, the taste of the salty sea air, and of course the beautiful view that has no end. Since then, I've made three more trips to ocean, collecting seashells each time. When we redid our half bath, I decided it was a perfect place to display my shells...and be like having a little bit of the beach right here at home.
 Here is my collection of seashells displayed in a bowl (a leftover decoration from my wedding), with several more on the shelf. The starfish is my husbands from when he was a child.
 Some more shells (they are hard to sea) and a fish my sister brought me back from Jamaica.
 
My daily reminder of God's amazing handiwork. And I can't wait to visit the seaside again. (And, thankfully, I don't have to wait long....next week we're spending 5 days at Myrtle Beach with my IL's).
Visit Friday's Show and Tell for yourself! |
Posted: 8:55 AM, Sep. 21, 2007 |
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Birthday Season strikes again!
This is Birthday Season at our house! Aaron celebrated his 29th birthday on the last day of August. We spent his birthday at his sister's new house in Illinois.
 Jada's birthday was September 9th. She is now two!! I no longer have a baby...she is growing so fast. She is working hard on potty training right now (she has more misses than hits!) . She is our funny girl...she is always trying to make others laugh...and laughing herself. She is so silly! She's a very happy girl, and is definitely a delight to be around! She's also talking up a storm now. Happy Birthday baby girl!
My birthday is the following day on the 10th. This year I hit the big 3-0. My secret sister at church gave me a wonderful surprise for my birthday....a gift certificate to Debrand Chocolates. MMMM. I was able to buy 10 pieces of chocolate, and enjoyed each and every piece. Delicious. (I have one piece left....I'm saving it for a day when I really need some chocolate!).
We have a whole month off until Rachel's birthday....So 4 of the 6 birthdays at our house are within a little over a month! |
Posted: 9:47 AM, Sep. 19, 2007 |
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Caleb's first Writing Assignment
Caleb Peer
2nd Grade
8-30-2007
My little cuddly friend
My frog is very, very cuddly. He’s as green as grass and trees. His eyes are green and black. He has black polk-a-dots and he has green fur. He’s cuddly like sitting on the couch with my Mom. He likes lollipops. He’s as soft as a fuzzy caterpillar. I feel like he loves me, but he isn’t alive.
And here are some pictures of Caleb and his froggy friend:
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Posted: 10:23 AM, Aug. 30, 2007 |
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It's my Blogiversary!
| Wow! I've been blogging for one whole year. This year has really flew by. It has been a very tough year in so many ways...I'm hoping the next will be much better! Here's to another year!! |
Posted: 7:18 PM, Aug. 28, 2007 |
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Of double decker PB&J's...
We all have bad days. As mothers we sometimes have days where nothing goes right. The kids are grumpy, we're grumpy, then even our belongings get grumpy. Today is one of those days. I've been physically exhausted since bible school in July. We had bible school, refinished our hardwood floors (which involved moving all of our belongings out of the house, then back in.....and the actual refinishing of the hardwood), vacation, starting school.....all within a month. When I get tired, I have trouble with heart palpitations, which have been bothering me the last week.
Rachel pulled a huge dresser over last night....I saw it happening and was able to stop it before it squished her or Jada. So what does she do this morning....she climbs in the drawers again just like last night. Thankfully Aaron caught her this time before she tipped it over again. Then, Jada was eating breakfast and fell off the chair onto the floor. She was fine, but I could tell it was going to be a bad day. Then the lid fell off her sippy cup, and milk dumped all over the floor. As I was cleaning that up I heard a crash from the kitchen. Josiah had pulled a crockpot full of beans off the counter....and they were everywhere!
You're probably wondering what this has to do with double decker Peanut Butter and Jellies. Well, by lunch time my brain was fried! I was making peanut butter and jellies for lunch. I made one sandwich, then without paying attention started jellying the next. Then I realized I was jellying the top of the sandwich I had already made! So, what's a mom to do? I slapped another piece of bread with peanut butter on it on top....a double decker PB&J!!
The boys thought it was really cool, and that I was a great momma! I decided not to tell them the whole truth. Because someday they'll be parents and they'll totally understand! |
Posted: 2:33 PM, Aug. 27, 2007 |
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Church Picnic
Yesterday was our annual church picnic. We had a fun time of food and fellowship. The kids played lots of games, including a three-legged race with the adults! Here is a picture of Josiah racing with an older gentleman from our church. Jo is in green.
 Lot's of fun!!
Caleb was busy catching spiders. You heard me right....spiders . He caught one that had an egg sack still attached to it. He begged and begged to take it home so he could watch the eggs hatch. Now, a good homeschooling mom would have said, "sure, of course." I guess I'm not a good homeschooling mom! The thought of hundreds of baby spiders hatching out anywhere near my house makes me want to scream!!! I. Hate. Spiders. I promptly told him to dump it out and leave it in the church yard!! |
Posted: 1:58 PM, Aug. 27, 2007 |
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An interesting leaf...
Rachel found this leaf outside in the yard on Saturday. 
A perfect figure 8 enclosed in a circle. Pretty cool! |
Posted: 1:55 PM, Aug. 27, 2007 |
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Riding a bike!!
While we were on vacation, Josiah finally decided to remove his training wheels. His younger cousin had been teasing him all week about the training wheels, so that pushed him to act! Within minutes he was riding like he'd been doing it for years! Good Job, Josiah!
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Posted: 1:52 PM, Aug. 27, 2007 |
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Vacation Pictures
We've been back from vacation for a little over a week. I've been having trouble with my photo editing program...this is the third time I've tried to post pictures...hopefully the third time's the charm!
We spent a week camping with my family (my parents, grandma, brother and his family, sister and her family) in Michigan near Lake Michigan. It was a relaxing week...a lot of time spent hanging around the campground. It was blueberry days at the campground, there were blueberry bushes interspersed throughout the campsites.
 We snacked on delicious blueberries all week, and picked a bucket to take home with us. The kids made a little extra money picking....$2 for a bucket. Caleb picked one bucket!
We went to Deer Forest in Coloma, MI one day. The kids were able to feed deer and other farm animals from their hands. There were also many rides for them to ride.
 a close up of one of the deer
  The girls feeding the deer.
 My Grandma riding on the helicopter ride with Jada! Go Grandma!!
 The boys in jail (thats a cardboard cutout of John Wayne next to them ).
 The kids inside of Peter Pumpkin-eater's shell.
 Almost all the cousins on the slide (baby Titus was missing).
We also visit the beach and dunes on Lake Michigan.
 Jada and Cousin Titus.
 The kids pose on a rock. (Aaron is peaking behind...he's the spotter!).
And finally...a family picture on the beach.
We had fun, but it's nice to be home! Our tiny house feels so big after living in a pop-up camper for a week!
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Posted: 1:29 PM, Aug. 27, 2007 |
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Canning Tomatoes
Today we canned tomato juice and froze peaches. My Grandma, Mom, Sister and I got together at my sister's house to work. Canning is a messy affair....just ask Grandma!! Her nice white sweatshirt is now splattered with tomato juice (yes, it was thanks to me! Sorry Grandma!).
The kids each took a turn cranking.
 Caleb.
 Rachel.
 Josiah
 My niece Gabriela.
And here is my Mom slicing up peaches:
I didn't get any pictures of my sister (she's the photographer!).
We got 42 quarts of tomato juice and 18 quarts of peaches. It was a messy, hard day...but we had fun!
Next week we're hopefully doing corn, salsa and diced tomatoes. |
Posted: 2:22 PM, Aug. 21, 2007 |
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Happy Birthday Caleb!!
Caleb celebrated his 7th birthday in July. It seems hard to believe that my baby is 7 already! He has grown up so much in the last year. He's my big helper, kind hearted, and loves Jesus. He's still a bundle of energy, but he gets a little better every year. Happy Birthday Caleb!!
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Posted: 3:34 PM, Aug. 3, 2007 |
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Computer problems
| We've been without our computer for several weeks, so I'll be adding posts from the last several weeks over the next couple of days. It's great to have the computer up and running again!! |
Posted: 2:54 PM, Aug. 3, 2007 |
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