Nov. 19, 2009
Outdoor Hour Challenge & Free Notebook Pages
Yesterday I was looking at the Handbook of Nature blog and decided we would start up nature study again. Barb has so many great ideas and challenges. She also has some wonderful notebook pages to download and use. I can't help it though, I had to make some too. I love making stuff for our notebooks. I made some pages for the acorn and oak tree and the squirrel challenge. I uploaded them to HSLaunch if anyone wants to use them. Any more that I make I will upload too so keep checking my widget to see new stuff (right sidebar). Be sure to join the challenge though. Break time is over so gotta run. Blessings! ~ Nikki
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Nov. 18, 2009
Fall Bible study invites and Thanksgiving Devotion From 08
You can download these Fall Invites and the devotion in PDF format from the right sidebar. This devotion is from last year. Our Ladies did a special project this year collecting teddy bears for our local nursing homes so I have not written a devotion for this Thanksgiving. Blessings! ~ Nikki
Thanksgiving Devotion
As I wait for Thanksgiving Day to arrive I find myself thinking about one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, Psalm 100. We are admonished in this Psalm of praise to make a joyful noise unto the Lord, serve Him with gladness and come before His presence with singing, for we are His People and the Sheep of His pasture. I find myself a lot of times coming before God whining instead of singing. My joyful noise has become a song of defeat and sorrow and gladness is far from me. It’s easy to lose focus with the burdens of this world on our shoulders. Too many times I find my feet on my path and not His. I try to fix things on my own instead of letting God fight for me. I don't like feeling helpless and weak. My instinct is to do all I can to fight and prove myself strong. Then God reminds me, sometimes gently and sometimes not so gently, that Satan is an enemy I can't defeat on my own. Only when I get myself out of the way and "become weak" can God come in and win the battle. Oh how clear our Lord's Word is on that, 2Corinthians 12:9 and he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Satan likes it when we are sad and feeling defeated. He finds it easy to whisper his taunts and ideas in our ears when we feel unhappy. He finds that to be the best time to plant seeds of unrest. Aren't these some of the times when our service to the Lord feels like a burden instead of a blessing?
So how then with the Enemy raging against us, can we come unto the Lord joyful, happy and singing? Take to heart these verses, Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. Psalm 143:8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. When we remember to trust and depend on the Lord we are then able to push aside our will and focus on His. Then we are able to sing with a joyful noise before Him and serve Him with a glad heart. Of course then we are able to fulfill the rest of Psalm 100, Psalm 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. Turmoil may be all around us. Our life may seem like it is in shambles but when we go to God and begin to thank Him for our blessings (thanking Him for what we do have instead of whining for what we don't) and we begin to bless His name, then what joy fills our hearts. Peace flows over our soul and we find ourselves renewed and strengthened. Psalm 29:11 The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace. And let us not forget that even though we may stumble, whine and be slow in praising the Lord this last part of Psalm 100 will forever ring true. Psalm 100:5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
© 2008 Lisa “ Nikki” Simcox
Psalm 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
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Nov. 17, 2009
Reflecting on my boys birth day.
The boys birthdays are always extra special for me. Yep I said me, probably more so then for the birthday boy. It's a day I spend reflecting on the day of their birth, my pregnancy with them and how they are growing. Am I making each day count, am I taking every opportunity to show them how far and wide the love I have for them flows.
Do I take the small moments to create lasting memories. Birthdays are always joyful with a tinge of sadness; they are growing up too fast. My time with them feels like sand slipping through my hands, it runs out fast.
Today is Ashton's 5th Birthday, he is my tiniest boy weighing 5 lbs less than his younger Brother Noah (2). He is my feistiest and funniest of the 4. He is precious in every way if I do say so myself! :-)
We had an early Birthday party on Sunday so that Troy could celebrate with us. Today we had our Birthday breakfast with Ashton's favorite... cinnamon rolls and hot cocoa! :-)
Find more photos like this on The Homeschool Lounge
Do I take the small moments to create lasting memories. Birthdays are always joyful with a tinge of sadness; they are growing up too fast. My time with them feels like sand slipping through my hands, it runs out fast.
Today is Ashton's 5th Birthday, he is my tiniest boy weighing 5 lbs less than his younger Brother Noah (2). He is my feistiest and funniest of the 4. He is precious in every way if I do say so myself! :-)
We had an early Birthday party on Sunday so that Troy could celebrate with us. Today we had our Birthday breakfast with Ashton's favorite... cinnamon rolls and hot cocoa! :-)
Find more photos like this on The Homeschool Lounge
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Nov. 17, 2009
Counting down until Thanksgiving Break!
School has been going pretty good this year. Right now I'm behind on grading papers, but tonight or tomorrow night I'll get caught up with that. I'm almost done making assignments until Thanksgiving break. I'm going to have the kids do school on Monday and somewhat on Tuesday. It will be more of "holiday school". We'll be shopping for food items, reading Thanksgiving books and watching holiday movies, but it will also be a catch-up day for my high schoolers if they need it, and they probably will.
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Nov. 16, 2009
Thanksgiving Lapbook ~ FREE!
I finally got to upload the Thanksgiving lapbook to HSLaunch. You can find the link to it on my right sidebar in the HSLaunch widget. I hope you all enjoy it. Also be sure to check out the Thanskgiving notebook pages I have on HSLaunch too. What is everyone's plans this year for Thanksgiving? We will be having family over for lunch. I look forward to it but not to the pre holiday cleaning :) I will be posting some book reviews begining in December. I have recieved some great books to review and I will also be having a book giveaway so be sure to check back in December. We are going to be adding some Thanksgiving units to our school work and of course we will be doing our lapbook. This week through Thursday all the Ripleys attractions are free to Sevier County residents so that means we get to go to the auqarium and museums tomorrow if everyone gets over this new crud that came to visit. Is everyone voting on the Homeschool Blog Awards? I have seen some great blogs on there.I'm happy to see some of the ones on there that I nominated too. Just goes to show that you all have at least three readers LOL. I would appreciate your vote in the Homeschool Moms category if you don't have another favorite. Also I bet my DD BabyGirl would love your vote for Best Teen Girl blog. Anyway, it is time for me to get busy again. I just wanted to take a few and let you know about the lapbook but you know how I am to ramble ...soooooooooooo... gotta run. Blessings! ~ Nikki
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Nov. 11, 2009
Veteran's Day 2009
Today is Veteran's Day!
You know, most people hear that term (if they even acknowledge it at all) and think only of people who served in wars long ago! When our daughter, Kyra entered the U.S. Navy several years ago, one of the first medals she earned/received was a medal of service for entering the military during a time of war! People today tend to not think of us being at war on the same level as maybe WWI or WWII. Many people signed up for the military right after 9/11. Their courage and patriotism is a shining example to us today who take so many things for granted. We let political correctness seep into our lives along with relativism, and then we are shocked when things like the attack at Fort Hood take place on our own soil!! My oldest son, Zach is working hard to get into the Air Force. Some of his best friends are Marines. The military people we know of are filled with honor, courage, loyalty, determination, and love. Love for family and for their country. As a nation we used to be so proud to have our sons and daughters join and serve in the military. Today, too many families see that same commitment and courage as something to be looked down on. I personally have so much more respect for the kid who joins any branch of the military -especially those who join without the privilege of being an officer. These people KNOW they are in for some rough time-possibly even death, yet they sign up anyway! I have had people question our family acceptance of our childrens decisions to join the military. I would tell these people, not only do I accept it, I consider it one of THE most honorable jobs they could EVER have! I will support them, pray for them, encourage them and love them unconditionally!!
We joke with Zach sometimes about joining a branch without the stricter requirements-people they say, why would you send your kid to the front to be killed. I say if my child CHOOSES to go into the military and put him or herself in danger to protect your rights (esp. your right to complain!), then as a parent and as a patriotic American, I will support them in anyway I can.
I think today, people don't truly realize how close we are to losing so many of those freedoms. Our Veterans do not get the recognition and honor they truly deserve. We should never have homeless Vets!
God Bless America
God Bless American Vets....Past, Present and Future!
You know, most people hear that term (if they even acknowledge it at all) and think only of people who served in wars long ago! When our daughter, Kyra entered the U.S. Navy several years ago, one of the first medals she earned/received was a medal of service for entering the military during a time of war! People today tend to not think of us being at war on the same level as maybe WWI or WWII. Many people signed up for the military right after 9/11. Their courage and patriotism is a shining example to us today who take so many things for granted. We let political correctness seep into our lives along with relativism, and then we are shocked when things like the attack at Fort Hood take place on our own soil!! My oldest son, Zach is working hard to get into the Air Force. Some of his best friends are Marines. The military people we know of are filled with honor, courage, loyalty, determination, and love. Love for family and for their country. As a nation we used to be so proud to have our sons and daughters join and serve in the military. Today, too many families see that same commitment and courage as something to be looked down on. I personally have so much more respect for the kid who joins any branch of the military -especially those who join without the privilege of being an officer. These people KNOW they are in for some rough time-possibly even death, yet they sign up anyway! I have had people question our family acceptance of our childrens decisions to join the military. I would tell these people, not only do I accept it, I consider it one of THE most honorable jobs they could EVER have! I will support them, pray for them, encourage them and love them unconditionally!!
We joke with Zach sometimes about joining a branch without the stricter requirements-people they say, why would you send your kid to the front to be killed. I say if my child CHOOSES to go into the military and put him or herself in danger to protect your rights (esp. your right to complain!), then as a parent and as a patriotic American, I will support them in anyway I can.
I think today, people don't truly realize how close we are to losing so many of those freedoms. Our Veterans do not get the recognition and honor they truly deserve. We should never have homeless Vets!
God Bless America
God Bless American Vets....Past, Present and Future!
–noun
–adjective
| 1. | a person who has had long service or experience in an occupation, office, or the like: a veteran of the police force; a veteran of many sports competitions. |
| 2. | a person who has served in a military force, esp. one who has fought in a war: a Vietnam veteran. |
| 3. | (of soldiers) having had service or experience in warfare: veteran troops. |
| 4. | experienced through long service or practice; having served for a long period: a veteran member of Congress. |
| 5. | of, pertaining to, or characteristic of veterans. |
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Nov. 8, 2009
Being Thankful
Being Thankful
As we draw close to the end of the liturgical and secular year, I find myself looking back at all I have to be thankful for this year!
To begin with, during this time of recession, Xavier has been blessed with a steady job. This blessing has enabled me to continue to stay home and homeschool Cameron and Isaac, while also enabling us to continue Alex's education at a wonderful Catholic school. For my part, I have taken greater notice of my own responsibility to be a good steward of the income my husband has been able to bring home. We have had to make many small changes and several big changes in our lifestyle, but we have done it prayerful, with love and discernment. This has in turn helped us turn our eyes more to the Lord and away from other things. With this blessing, Xavier has had his traveling increased, but with that, God provided help at home for me with Zach back home for a while. Homeschooling itself continues to be a huge blessing for our family. We have all learned so much and have gotten to experience so many wonderful things! I am so grateful for the strengthened bonds of love that being at home with my boys has given myself and each other!
Next on the blessing list has to be the fact that our Kyra was finally stationed here in the United States. In May, she came home for several weeks-and they were some of the most wonderful weeks of our year! While here she was able to purchase her first car, then she and her dad made a roadtrip to California where she will be stationed for the next couple of years. They made the trip safely, praise God! She has had some adjusting to do, but she is venturing out to explore her new surroundings and take stake in her new home. Then we were doubly blessed with her being able to come back home for a long weekend for Labor Day! It was a wonderful weekend. We are SO blessed that our children have such strong, loving bonds with each other!!! That is definitely something to be grateful for!!!
Next is a sort of mixed blessing. Zach was not able to get the funding he needed for the next semester for college, due to lack of commitment on his part. He came home and told us he wants to be in the Air Force. He had already taken some of the preliminary steps but needed to lose a lot of weight to enter. Now the blessing part...losing weight was something he has needed to do for a long time and now he had the motivation to do it and do it right! He has steadily been losing weight in a healthy manner. He has been blessed with a job that leaves him free to help me here at home during the week, while keeping him busy and earning an income on the weekends. He has matured quite a bit in the last several months!
The next item on our blessing list might sound strange, but for us it was a huge thing. For several years, Xavier and I have prayed long and hard about where God wanted us to be as far as parishes. We had been with only one parish our entire time here but steadily over the years, we were aware of some needs, especially spiritual ones, that were not being met where we were at. We saw the impact the absence of those needs made on our older children and knew that our younger two needed something more. This last year, God made it very plain where we needed to be and He opened our childrens hearts to this change. Cameron has been wonderfully blessed by the childrens choir he has joined and both he and Isaac love being able to attend CCE on Sunday...truly the Lord's Day! Our hearts have been lightened with the joy of the Lord...something that was missing for a while! Who knows what the Lord has planned for us down the road, but for now, He is truly ministering to our family's heart, mind and soul! We still have ties to our other parish with many friends, and Alex has decided to spend his senior year there (although he has been attending youth nights at this new church and has been enjoying it immensely). Xavier still teaches an adult class there as well, something he is truly thankful for! Teaching gives him so many blessings!!!
Our latest blessing was the gift of Life! Alex was in a car wreck last weekend. That is a call no parent ever wants to get! Alex's guardian angel was definitely working overtime! He survived a wreck that totaled his car with no major injuries. Ok, well, maybe his pride was injured....it's really humbling to be a senior in high school, and being taxi'd around by your older brother or parents.... Seriously though, he had one tiny scratch on his wrist and some bruising of his chest. After working all evening on Halloween, he fell asleep at the wheel and ran into a parked truck! Through it all, he never lost his sense of humor (the same humor our family is notorious for...).
These were just some of the major blessings we have taken notice of this year. We know we have been blessed daily with many many other wonderful blessings both big and small.
On another note, during this month of November, our family pauses to pray for those loved ones that have passed from this life to the next. Opal Marburger and Barbara Lindberg, (my aunts) will be greatly missed until we meet again at the throne of God!
I hope this November finds others able to count the blessings in their lives! It is a great thing to look at our blessings received, as we then get ready to receive the gift of Christ during the season of Advent and finally Christmas time itself!
I want to end this entry with a small excerpt from our Letter from the Pastor in today's bulletin. I found that while it applies not only in the context of our parish life, but also in the lives of our families at home!:
"We are not here merely to maintain a bunch of buildings and programs to serve ourselves and
our needs. We can fall too easily into the trap of doing the same things in the same way
because that is how we have always done them. It is hard to maintain any kind
of vitality when we fall into maintenance only mode.
No, we are here on a mission, we exist and called to mission work!
Our mission is to love God and to grow in holiness and goodness. Our mission
is to love God and share that love with others in words, action, service and
worship. ." Fr. Troy Gately
To begin with, during this time of recession, Xavier has been blessed with a steady job. This blessing has enabled me to continue to stay home and homeschool Cameron and Isaac, while also enabling us to continue Alex's education at a wonderful Catholic school. For my part, I have taken greater notice of my own responsibility to be a good steward of the income my husband has been able to bring home. We have had to make many small changes and several big changes in our lifestyle, but we have done it prayerful, with love and discernment. This has in turn helped us turn our eyes more to the Lord and away from other things. With this blessing, Xavier has had his traveling increased, but with that, God provided help at home for me with Zach back home for a while. Homeschooling itself continues to be a huge blessing for our family. We have all learned so much and have gotten to experience so many wonderful things! I am so grateful for the strengthened bonds of love that being at home with my boys has given myself and each other!
Next on the blessing list has to be the fact that our Kyra was finally stationed here in the United States. In May, she came home for several weeks-and they were some of the most wonderful weeks of our year! While here she was able to purchase her first car, then she and her dad made a roadtrip to California where she will be stationed for the next couple of years. They made the trip safely, praise God! She has had some adjusting to do, but she is venturing out to explore her new surroundings and take stake in her new home. Then we were doubly blessed with her being able to come back home for a long weekend for Labor Day! It was a wonderful weekend. We are SO blessed that our children have such strong, loving bonds with each other!!! That is definitely something to be grateful for!!!
Next is a sort of mixed blessing. Zach was not able to get the funding he needed for the next semester for college, due to lack of commitment on his part. He came home and told us he wants to be in the Air Force. He had already taken some of the preliminary steps but needed to lose a lot of weight to enter. Now the blessing part...losing weight was something he has needed to do for a long time and now he had the motivation to do it and do it right! He has steadily been losing weight in a healthy manner. He has been blessed with a job that leaves him free to help me here at home during the week, while keeping him busy and earning an income on the weekends. He has matured quite a bit in the last several months!
The next item on our blessing list might sound strange, but for us it was a huge thing. For several years, Xavier and I have prayed long and hard about where God wanted us to be as far as parishes. We had been with only one parish our entire time here but steadily over the years, we were aware of some needs, especially spiritual ones, that were not being met where we were at. We saw the impact the absence of those needs made on our older children and knew that our younger two needed something more. This last year, God made it very plain where we needed to be and He opened our childrens hearts to this change. Cameron has been wonderfully blessed by the childrens choir he has joined and both he and Isaac love being able to attend CCE on Sunday...truly the Lord's Day! Our hearts have been lightened with the joy of the Lord...something that was missing for a while! Who knows what the Lord has planned for us down the road, but for now, He is truly ministering to our family's heart, mind and soul! We still have ties to our other parish with many friends, and Alex has decided to spend his senior year there (although he has been attending youth nights at this new church and has been enjoying it immensely). Xavier still teaches an adult class there as well, something he is truly thankful for! Teaching gives him so many blessings!!!
Our latest blessing was the gift of Life! Alex was in a car wreck last weekend. That is a call no parent ever wants to get! Alex's guardian angel was definitely working overtime! He survived a wreck that totaled his car with no major injuries. Ok, well, maybe his pride was injured....it's really humbling to be a senior in high school, and being taxi'd around by your older brother or parents.... Seriously though, he had one tiny scratch on his wrist and some bruising of his chest. After working all evening on Halloween, he fell asleep at the wheel and ran into a parked truck! Through it all, he never lost his sense of humor (the same humor our family is notorious for...).
These were just some of the major blessings we have taken notice of this year. We know we have been blessed daily with many many other wonderful blessings both big and small.
On another note, during this month of November, our family pauses to pray for those loved ones that have passed from this life to the next. Opal Marburger and Barbara Lindberg, (my aunts) will be greatly missed until we meet again at the throne of God!
I hope this November finds others able to count the blessings in their lives! It is a great thing to look at our blessings received, as we then get ready to receive the gift of Christ during the season of Advent and finally Christmas time itself!
I want to end this entry with a small excerpt from our Letter from the Pastor in today's bulletin. I found that while it applies not only in the context of our parish life, but also in the lives of our families at home!:
"We are not here merely to maintain a bunch of buildings and programs to serve ourselves and
our needs. We can fall too easily into the trap of doing the same things in the same way
because that is how we have always done them. It is hard to maintain any kind
of vitality when we fall into maintenance only mode.
No, we are here on a mission, we exist and called to mission work!
Our mission is to love God and to grow in holiness and goodness. Our mission
is to love God and share that love with others in words, action, service and
worship. ." Fr. Troy Gately
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Nov. 8, 2009
Remembrance Sunday UK
FOR YOUR TOMORROW WE GAVE OUR TODAY
"In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae, May 1915
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields."
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Nov. 7, 2009
JR Convention
Hi all! It is a great day in the Lord ! Roosie,Hoopy and I are in
Hey everyone! We are back! Our crew brought home 17 medals today. Hoopy and Roosie both got several first place medals. Hoopy has 5 medals total and Roosie has 7. They all did a tremendous job and I am so proud of them. Well it is late and I am tired so goodnight all! Blessings! ~ Nikki
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Oct. 30, 2009
Don't Forget...
Don't forget that the last day for nominations for the Homeschool Blog Awards is today!
Blessings! ~ Nikki