Jun. 2, 2008 - God works in mysterious ways!!!

It is interesting how God works sometimes.  I was in church last Sabbath writing my prayer requests on a card. I had just finished requesting prayer for the sale of our home when hubby's cell rang...he grabbed it and ran out of the sanctuary.  It was our realtor calling to let us know that a family had just made an offer on our house only $9,000 less then our asking price.  I was in tears.  We have only had our house on the market for  not quite 3 weeks!

Also we found a house to rent...right across the street from our current house.  God is good...it is a 2900sqft house (ours is 2192) and is going to cost us $2500 less then what our current mortgage is! God is good all the time!  It will only be for 1 year as our friends will be moving back then...but enough time to get back on our feet!

Now we are just waiting to see what kind of Job God has for dh!

We are having a Garage sale this weekend again...it is at the same time as our two neighborhoods are having their garage sales.  They are having theirs on Saturday and we are doing it Friday and Sunday but I hope we will have just as much business!  I've decided to can some strawberry jam and try to sell it also!

Micah is still reading away...he's doing so well at Dick and Jane!  Sage should be done with his schoolwork either this week or the first part of next week!  If so he will be done almost 3wks early!  I'm really proud of his hard work and determination!

So that's the update on us...we will be moving the first week in August so I have lots to do:)

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May. 14, 2008 - Running on Empty!

Oh I'm so bad about keeping up with my blog! So many things are going on! We have had a lot of stress lately financially. My hubby hasn't gotten a regular paycheck in 3mo and now we are having to shortsale our house and sell off practically everything just to stay affloat. Dh has applied to every job under the sun with no luck...he is a mortgage broker...and well everyone knows how the market is going.  Some days it's all I can do not to just curl up under the covers and cry.  I'm a fixer....and I just can't fix this.  I can't go get a job because I would just be bringing in money to pay for our child care. I refuse to have someone else raise my child.  It's hard to really let go and give this to God.

So with trying to sell our house, get ready for a garage sale and help dh find another job....I have put away formal schooling for the rest of the year for my younger two (5 & 3)...I don't feel too bad though cause they are young enough that they don't need a ton of formal stuff yet.  Sage is doing so well finishing up his schoolwork early for the year. I'm so proud of him.  He is down to 2 subjects for the rest of the school year and is doing so well.

We are planning on having a garage sale on Friday and Sunday so I'm hoping to work in some fun and learning on those days.  Micah and Kaylee are going to be running a lemonaid and cookie stand and hopefully I can get Sage to help be the cashier.  Anyways I'm hoping it will be fun and we will make some good money to help pay for bills!

I have my alarm set for 4am tomorrow morning but of course it's 11:57pm and I can't get to sleep.  It always seems to work out that way.  I have big plans for the next day and my brain won't shut off.  It is supposed to be nice for the next 3 days...in the 80's and 90's...which will be a nice switch from the rain and cold weather we've been having.  So I am planning to get up early and spend some time in my Bible, take the dog for a walk and do some weight training before the kids wake up.  Then while it's still cool in the morning I need to get the Garage cleaned out and all the stuff organized and priced for the sale.  The kids and I also have cookies to bake and I'm debating about making some homemade pies to sell too...I'm not sure yet.  I know that I'm gonna need a good strong dose of esspresso though to kick my booty into high gear tomorrow.

Sage has plans to finish his literature class tomorrow...he has 1 final to take and he's done...so all he'll have left is to catch up on spelling and write one more report for his composition class.  Micah has been reading Dick and Jane lately.  He was getting bored with the Mcguffey Readers and starting to say he didn't like reading.  So I decided to try Dick and Jane and he just took off.  He will read like 5 chapters at a time.  I think the repetiveness helps build his confidence.  Kaylee is the puzzle maniac...she will pull out 5 floor puzzels...dump them all out...mix all the pieces and then put them all together...all in a matter of 20min or so...it is amazing...she just loves it.  For as rambunctious and wiggly of a 3yr old...it is cool to see her sit down quietly and work on these puzzles.  It's so sweet cause she just sings to herself and of course they are her own adorable made up songs that don't really have any real words to them.  I once secretly recorded her on my phone while she was playing...it was so cute.  She also has started becoming a prayer warrior...and does these super long indepth..pray for everything including the trashcan prayers.  Very moving!

I learned how to can this last week...oh my gosh it is so amazing and not as difficult as I thought! My friend and I made canned strawberry jam and freezer jam....I never knew Jam could taste so good.  So I've started a food storage of basics and things we use a lot of.  Prices are going up on staples...like rice for example...it's gone up 100%.  All the stores run out as soon as they get it in...even Costco is rationing it!  So I have 30lbs of rice, 40lbs of beans, 50lbs of Flour and 50lbs of sugar.  I also have 5 gallons of drinking water, 3 gal of White Vinegar, 10lbs of baking soda, 5lbs of baking powder, 4gal of Vegitable oil and extra cans, jars and bottles of some of the things we use alot of.  I think that's a good start...it's also helping us save money on our groceries.

God is still doing a work in me...I am amazed at how many times I royally screw up and have such a hard time forgiving myself...and yet he's still there...he doesn't leave me...he doesn't stop loving me and calling to me and reminding me of what he's put me here for.  What an awesome savior He is when I don't even deserve it.

Now that I've rambled on long enough...hopefully my brain will let me sleep now.

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Mar. 25, 2008 - Easter Fun!

We had a very blessed Easter this year!  On Sabbath we had a communion service, which we don't normally stay for because...eeks...the service is usually too long (hangs head in shame)...but we went this time.  Partly because Justin and I both had some sort of participation in the church service.  Anyways we involved the kids in the foot washing part of the service and it was so special to see them wash each other's feet and be excited to do it.  Then Justin gathered us together and prayed...I had a hard time keeping the tears from falling!  We were very blessed indeed!

Then on Easter Sunday we had my parents and sister's famiy over for lunch and to celebrate my little sister's birthday!   We had so much fun and so did the kids!  I'm so glad for family and for the ways that God continues to bless us!

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Mar. 25, 2008 - Trying New Things...

I must have spring cleaning fever...not wih my house....but with our homeschool!  First I have fallen in love with my 60gig IPOD dh got me for christmas and have subscribed to a bunch of Homeschooling feeds...including Talk-A-Latte and Mom-to-Mom Radio show.  I had a ton of homeschooling audios that I had purchased or downloaded on my computer from 2 of my favorite speakers and homeschool mommies...Lorrie Flem and Cindy Rushton....and uploaded them on my IPOD.  Now I feel like such a smart mommy!  I have been multi-tasking...which means when I am at the gym, cleaning the house, at the grocery store...etc, I am connected to my beloved IPOD and learning so much!

So one of the new things I am learning about is the wonderful world of Notebooking....we started that today! I made a 1" 3-ring notebook for my 2 youngest and started filling them with there best creations and schoolwork from this past year.  During storytime today they are going to design their notebook covers.  You should have seen their faces light up when they were looking through there work.  Micah was saying things like "Mommy I have seen this in like forever!!!!"  "I remember doing this!".  I think they feel like I think there stuff is really important and they are excited to show others!

The other new thing is I've downloaded Homeschool Tracker!  Oh wow that is sooooo cool!  I feel so organized.  So What I had been doing before was writing down the stuff we were doing each day or planning out the whole week.  Then saving those papers and at the end of the year I was having to re-type it and put in in a folder...ugg.  But this software creates the reports for you!  So I put in our resources and I'm still writing down what we are doing but at the end of the day I just enter it in along with their attendance and I"m all set....so easy!

I also picked out a preschool curriculum for Kayee that is free!  Its through Letter of the week.  We did the first two lessons today and they had a lot of fun!  So I feel like I will even be more organized for next year.  Now if only I could keep the school supply monster under control....that is for another day:)

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Mar. 11, 2008 - Spring has sprung:)

Finally I think spring is arriving. We have had a couple of sunny 60 degree days and the trees are blooming pink flowers in our front yard! I am so ready for warmer weather!

The kids are doing well with school.  Sage is doing schoolwork with his mom on Monday's and Tuesdays which works perfect because he get's some extra time with her and those are the two days during the week that I have 3 extra kids at the house,  Micah is moving along in reading and math and enjoying it.  Kaylee is learning her letters and numbers and all 3 really like to play football right now:)

We started a new Science and History curriculum that I really like.  For Science we are doing Sam's Science Adventures and are doing the Space kit right now. That's pretty fun. For history we started "The Story of the World".  I really like the Classical aspect of it and it has lots of hands on Activity's.

Daddy is working out of the house now which is really nice cause he gets to see all that the kids are doing and has lunch with us. It's fun!

I am still working out and am down 9 lbs and 25 inches.  It sure is moving slow though and that drives me nuts. I just have to really work hard on the eating part!  I get tempted at night and then I will binge a little...not very good but I am building muscle and so that is helping:)

So that's all the updates for us. We are so busy around here. I need to remember to take some more pictures:)

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Feb. 4, 2008 - Oh it's been too long since my last blog....

We are plugging away on our schoolwork!  Sage is doing well with his internet academy...though we have dropped Science, History and Art through K12 and are doing it through Old Fashioned Education.  We like it much better:)  Right now he is reading "My Side of the Mountain" and we are enjoying it!  I think the more challenging literature is definately improving his reading skills!

Micah is moving right along in learning to read!  He is very excited about it and I'm pleased with his progress. We have Hooked on Phonics Kindergarten and found that it had a CD-rom in the kid with games that go along with the lessons! Oh wow how much he LOVE'S that!  It's very cool!  He is also learning to add and subtract his 5's in math and speeding right along!

Kaylee is learning her letter's right now.  We are putting together a letter book.  We take construction paper and put a letter of the alphabet at the top. Then we go through and find pictures that start with that letter, cut them out and paste them on.  When we finish the book we will laminate it and make a cute little cover and then she can have it to look over when ever she wants:)

Our newest exciting thing is our Crosley 4-in-1 Music System.  It has a record player, cd player, tape player, AM/FM Radio and ipod hook up! The kids are VERY into records right now!  I was very lucky to get the whole Bible in Living Sound record set for free! Also they have a couple books with the mini records in the back and my parents are giving me the kid's records that I had when I was little! It's just so neat to be able to share something from my past with them.  What is neat about the Crosley is that it has that vintage 1950's look! Very cool!

I have started thinking about our garden this year and hope to get and earlier start on it then I did last year...it just depends how long this cold weather lasts!  I am so ready for summer and everything that we can do in the warmer weather.

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Dec. 4, 2007 - Patience is a virtue!

Oh how many times do I hear myself saying this to the kids!  Patience is a Virtue!  What does that mean though...I mean I Know what it means but do I apply it to myself?  What a struggle I have some days being patient! It is definately something I haven't done lately.  This last week I've learned something about myself that needs a lot of work and a lot of help from God!  I'm not very patient sometimes and I scream when I'm angry!  Two not very good qualities or examples for mom to display!  Sigh!

Schoolwork has been exaughsting today!  I hate making up schoolwork. Sometimes we get it done quickly but today was not one of those days.  I am learning things about myself and about the kids.  I am seeing things that were not taught in school...skipped over, not learned....that we now have to back track on.  Sage is learning about nouns right now (common, Proper, Singular Possessive and Plural Possessive).  It looks like he never learned those and they are confusing to him.  I'm gonna make him some file folder games to practice with and also see if I can find some computer games online that help him get them down but make it fun!  I see we are going to cover Verbs next so it's good to be prepared.

On a good note...he is still breezing through math...In fact I think it's too easy for him.  I might talk to his teacher soon and see if maybe they can send him a higher level.  That's encouraging.  He is also doing well with spelling! I'm very proud of him!

Micah finished his Word Mastery book! I'm very proud of him! We will have to figure out a treat for him for finishing it.  I think his next thing is to continue reading HOP and Bob books.  We will also move to McGuffy readers...Yay I love the classics:)

Kaylee is just toodling along:) Learning her letters, colors, counting, playing:)  Fun stuff.

Well I have the rest of school to do, about 8 loads of laundry and hopefully have time to make Gingerbread cookies with the kids:) That's the fun stuff!

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Nov. 29, 2007 - Special Moments in Homeschooling

So the last couple of days have been considered, "One of those days"!  One thing that helps me when I'm feeling irritable, burned out, frustrated, etc. with homeschooling, I try to find a quiet spot (not very easy with 3 kids running around!) and think about some special, funny or just good moments that have happened recently.  So after some contemplation, which really didn't take very long, here are a few:

Sage(10):  "I just love homeschooling", "I'm so happy now!", "I'm doing so much better now...just look at my spelling words! They're so much harder!"

I'm on the computer in the office and Sage comes running into the room with a salad bowl on his head, a pillow as a shield, and a white plastic sword:

Sage: "I'm here to protect you!"

Mom: "Are you going to be my night in shining armour?"

Sage: "Yes, I'm going to protect you from the Samsonator!" (our dog's nickname)

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Micah(5): "Yay I did it! I read book number 5!", "2+2 is 4!", "I want to write a report like Sage! My report will be about Overlord and the minions!"

His dad and I are in a heated discussion (really I'm screaming and throwing a temper tantrum and dh is listening...I know baaaaad mommy).  Micah turns on our snowglobe that plays jingle bells:

Micah: "You know why I put on the music?"

Mom: "Why"

Micah:  "To calm you guys down! Christmas makes me happy so you guys aren't like...AAARRRRGGGG!"

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Kaylee(3): "Look at my letters mama!", "F is for flying!", "Here Micah, I got you some water!", "Mommy your a princess!"

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These moments make it all better:)

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Nov. 19, 2007 - Thanksgiving week!

Wow what a busy week we have ahead of us!  We are doubling up on school today so we have time for cooking and cleaning!  Our menu for thanksgiving this year is very ambitious!  The kids and I are pretty excited though...since it will be at our house this year.

School is still going well, we are getting the system down pretty well so that's good!  Well that's about it for today just real busy. I'll try to take some pics of our cooking and decorating to post later!

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Nov. 14, 2007 - School is going great!!!!

Whew it's been a while since I last posted!  We finally got all of Sage's schoolbooks and are getting the system down.  We are going through Washington Virtual Academy and are using the K12 curriculum! It's a lot of work but we are getting a system down and it's going well.  Sage is so happy to be home and we are actually staying on track.  I purchased a little table and 4 chairs in primary colors, the kids like to sit at it to do their school work.  Sage also thinks it's just wonderful to be able to do his work either curled up on the couch or laying on his tummy on the floor! 

It's nice cause we are finishing core work by 11:45am and have the afternoon for storytime, art, science, history, fun projects...etc. It's so nice having all the kids home!  I feel so lucky and blessed to be able to homeschool them!  Especially with all the things going on in public schools and even private schools.  I know my children are safe and are learning things of quality and character.  I'm so glad I have time to teach them things that are important to a good life later on and I know they are getting solid Bible knowledge!

In my last post I had talked about getting a part-time job as an insurance agent.  I've abandoned that realizing that my priorities lie here in the home! This is my calling and my absolute passion!  To raise my children, keep my home and cherish and support my husband.  I don't want anything else but this.  I am so passionate about all things domestic including learning all the vintage domestic arts and passing that knowledge down to my children!

So praise God for his blessings!  I couldn't be more content!!!!

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Oct. 12, 2007 - Praise God!!!

Wow it's been a long time since I have blogged! We have been so busy with so many things!  Micah is moving along with reading and adding in math.  Kaylee is starting to learn letter sounds and counting.  They both have memorized 3 bible verses and the pledge of allegience!

I have started school for my insurance licenses.  I got hired on at Farmers Insurance.  I'm pretty excited cause I can work out of the house so I can still homeschool the kids and stick with my homekeeping priorities. I wouldn't have even taken on a job if that weren't possible but Dh needs help financially and things are working out:)

My sister is due with her baby anyday now...could go by this weekend! I'm so excited!!!! I'm gonna be an aunt again!!!!

But the biggest news is that my stepson Sage is coming home!  We are pulling him from public school and are going to homeschool him!  I'm so happy! His mom and I have wanted to do this for awhile but dh has not been for it.  Well since a series of event (bad ones) have happened with him over the past 2 weeks and dh has seen it first hand....he changed his mind!  Praise God!!!

We will have challenges but it will be so much better of a situation! I'm so happy!

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Aug. 15, 2007 - Great first week to school!

We have had such a fabulous first week to school! The kids are really enjoying what we are doing!  We get started about 9am and finish by 10:30am.  That includes Bible, Handwriting, Math, Reading/phonics, Science and History...for 2 kids!  Of course they are still young...3 & 4 but just lovin it all.

Today we are going to play some games for their subjects.  Micah(4) is doing Less then and Greater than for math so to make sure he is really understanding it more than just on paper we are going to play a game of war!  I also got Leap frogs Letter factory dvd so we are going to watch that to reinforce letter sounds.  He read his 3rd HOP book yesterday but I was detecting some slight frustration and and need for phonics reinforcement.  It will be a nice change.

I think having a game day or just changing things up with some creative learning will help with any burnout we might have.  I want to make sure they are grasping concepts and enjoying learning...rather than just driving through schoolwork day in and out!

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Jul. 23, 2007 - Starting Back to Shool & Plans

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Jun. 25, 2007 - Exciting Reading News!!!!

I just had to share this very exciting news for my ds who is 4 (will be 5 in November).  He just read his first Hooked on Phonics book!!!!! I haven't done any sounding out of letters with him lately...he knows all his letter sounds...but I just wasn't sure where to go from there.  He didn't like 100EZ lessons so we stopped doing that a while ago.  Anyways I was playing letter bingo with him and his 2yr old sister and I thought I would pull out his Kindergarted HOP and see how he would do with the first book.  He read the whole thing (all 7 pages) I helped with some sounding out here and there but he did it!  He was so excited when he finished that he started hugging me and jumping up and down.  So I'm making a copy of the book and going to laminate the front cover...so he can write his name inside and color the pictures.  He was so happy he wanted to read it to himself over and over! I'm so proud of him!!!

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Jun. 6, 2007 - Some of our most recent homeschool projects.

Just wanted to share some pics of some of our most recent projects.  Included is making Whole Wheat Blackstrap Molasses Bread, Egg Carton Craft Collage, Nature Treasure Collages and an update on our Organic Squarefoot Garden...It's Sprouting!!!

Whew...I thought we hadn't been doing very much...but maybe I was wrong:) So much fun!!!!

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Jun. 6, 2007 - Our Reading Treasure Chest...For The Love Of Literacy!

Thanks to the wonderful ladies on the Woodshed Message Boards...I got a bug in my bonnet to create some sort of book display to encourage my littles to read more.  So we decided to create a Reading Treasure Chest.  We purchased a basket from Goodwill in the shape of a treasure chest...then let the kids get there creative juices flowing!!!  We decorated  it with foam paper, foam stickers and buttons that look like jewels.  Then I put felt letters on spelling "My Reading Treasure Chest".  We put in a stack of books at assorted reading levels that will be changed out each week.  I put it under our living room end table in hopes that it will entice the kids to read more.  I will probably still have to set a time frame when we pull out books from the treasure chest and look at them.  It sure was fun! Here's some pics:)

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May. 23, 2007 - Summer is Coming!!!!

Finally warmer weather is coming our way!  We've gotten a lot done the past couple of weeks. We dropped cursive...too confusing right now so I ordered a handwriting book and should get it soon.  We are moving right along in Math, literature and science.  We did a nature box the other day. The kids took baggies and we went for a walk and they collected special rocks, leaves, flowers, pinecones..etc.  Then when we got home I dumped glue in little plastic containers for each of them and they arranged them how they wanted...so fun. We also took a trip to the zoo! That was alot of fun! 

We've been so busy doing some home improvement projects lately...including putting together new beds for Micah(4) and Kaylee(2).  We are in the process of painting all the walls in the house.  We are woolying which is so fun and looks so cool!  We also finally got our garden planted.  We had started the seeds in the house but they grew too fast and I didn't get them in the ground in time...so they died.  So we started from seed outside and hopefully they will grow:) 

We planted Corn, Soybeans, Snap Peas, Spinach, Lettuce, Carrots, Cilantro, 4 kinds of Tomatoes, Wonderberries, Zucchinni, Sweet Peppers, & Strawberries....I think that's it:)

We are going to try to go camping this weekend! So I will have lots of pictures to post later:)

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May. 7, 2007 - "I Love My Schoolwork!" "Learning Is Fun"!

We started reading our science liturature this week, "The History of Insects", and "Burgess Book of Animals for Children".  I love these old classics! The language is so rich and content so wholesome!  I love it!!  We also did a new lesson in our CIMT Math and started our Cursive Handwriting.

Micah said to me today, "I love my shoolwork! Learning is fun!" Ahhhh music to my ears!  He is doing very well and his enthusiasm is contageous!  It's just so nice to have a layout and feel like we are moving right along!  Yay!

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May. 6, 2007 - Adopt A Soldier!

I am so excited about this! We watched an episode of Extreme Makeover Home Edition in which this organization, http://www.adoptasoldiernow.org, was featured.  The kids and I signed up to adopt a soldier. We get to send one care package per month for a year and our only cost is for what we include in the care package and postage.  I'm very excited to support our military and teach the kids about love and service to other's in need.

In the last week or so they have received tons of emails in support so it may take awhile to get a soldier's contact info but I think it is a great project for the kids to be involved in.  I think that there are so many ways we can help others, from projects like this to getting involved in sending blankets and food to storm victoms, those in poverty.  Even to something as simple as making cards or pictures and taking them to the elderly in nursing homes or to the sick in hospitals.

I think we should get involved in some sort of service to others to share God's love with those in need and to give our children first hand experience in service and love towards others.

What can you do?

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May. 3, 2007 - Vacation and Curriculum

We had a great time on our vacation to Disneyland. We have been back for a couple of weeks and I have been putting together Micah's Kindergarten Curriculum from Old Fashioned Education.  And it is finally done:) We both are very excited to get started.  Officially he will be in Kindergarten July 1st but he has already started on some of the curriculum.  He loves it and I love having a plan and a layout!  We are going to take June off from any formal school work, to have fun and get inspiration and then get started.

He is doing Word Mastery, McGuffy Readers, CIMT Math and Arithmatic and Handwriting.  For Bible we are going to switch back and forth between his Sabbath School Lesson and Adventurer Curriculum.  The rest will be stories and unit studies (science, history, home ec...etc)  We have started on Sam Cambells Living Forest stories for science and we have started our garden and are going to work on lableing our plant and bug pictures from last spring in our nature notebook.

I sure love homeschooling!  We have also been consistent for 3 weeks now on our chore chart system.  The two older boys (4, & 10) draw 5 chores each week.  They like it cause they get some changes every week and I like it cause I know and they know exactly what chores they have to do for the week..my house is staying much cleaner:)

Now if I could get them to get along.  I am amazed at how much arguing, teasing, fighting, screaming and whining can go on just between our oldest and the younger two.  It get's very frustrating!  I'm praying about it though.  Our situation is not perfect and requires extra patience, guidence, and reliance on God.  Hopefully we will get into a good routine this summer and things will go smoother.

I plan on working on math, reading and Pathfinder Curriculum with my oldest over the summer and hopefully that will get him caught up and more prepared for next year.

So that's what's up with us:)  Just busy, busy, busy!

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