Check out Amy's blog to see other Monday Motherings.

Last week my husband and the boys went fishing with their Papaw, I will show some pictures of them fishing for  WW.  However I had a VBS meeting and my daughter being 4 wasn't too interested in going fishing in the 100 degree weather so she went with me.  I decided since we don't get a lot of quality time together she and I would go to dinner together, just the two of us.  She was so excited!  We went and had Cincinnati chili=cheese coneys together.   I can't tell you how excited she was, we had dinner, and talked a bunch.  I have no idea where she gets talking so much, lol!  I have been really trying to fit those one on one times in when I can.  Taking a child to the dr (unless they are too sick) can be a great time to go somewhere afterwards, (park, out to eat, anything), grocery store, and even planning dates with our children-they love it and it doesn't have to be expensive!

I think its great when we can take some extra time for just one child.  It really helps focus on them and I have been trying to purposefully trying to find time to do this.  I know it can be quite a challenge especially for larger families.  I heard some great advice at the last convention I went to.  One family I listened to speak had a very large family so dad liked to make things that normally have to happen anyway special times for each child.  So when he got his haircut he always took a certain child, when he had his oil changed a different one, and on and on.  That way he always had times that he took out specific children.  I thought that was such a great idea!  We may not always have the time, money and other things that allow us to set up specific dates (although I think it is great when we do)  but we always have to get a hair cut, go to the grocery store, run errands and etc.  Why not take a child along and have some good quality talks and fun with.  Your child will be like mine, they will beam from ear to ear knowing that they are going to have one on one time with mom or dad. 

My daughter and I had a really great time that night, she couldn't stop talking about it.  It made me realize how precious these days are and OH how I will miss them someday!

 Well we are finally finishing up school this week.  Today in MFW (My Fathers World) we will write a letter to the President of the US!  I have heard from others who have done this in Adventures and they usually get a letter back so that will be fun to put in our history notebooks, I hope we get one!  It has been a wonderful school year, next week I hope to blog about our year and share some pictures of some things we have done!  We are really excited about doing exploring countries and cultures next year in our history cycle, everyone I know who uses My Fathers World have all said they LOVE this year, it should be a lot of fun!

Last week on Memorial Day weekend we went to Boonesborough KY where Daniel Boone's Fort is.  It was a beautiful day and we took a 2 hrs scenic drive there, going through beautiful Lexington and many other small towns.  They were having a festival where they had people dressed like colonial days and doing jobs like soap and candle making.  This was a wonderful trip because we studied this fort this year so to be able to visit it and really see hands on how they lived and fought there was a wonderful experience for my 3rd grader.  The sad part of the trip was I lost my camera!  Because I still have a broken ankle I had to stop and rest more, (I am walking on it in my boot), however I give out easier then if I didn't have it of course, I must have left it at one of the rest.  It had to be one of the last ones because I remember having it during most of the visit.  We called but someone had taken it.  I hate losing the camera, however I hate losing the photos more.  I would have loved to show you some of the great things we saw but they are lost forever!   My husband is allowing me to replace the camera, thank you so much sweetie for that!  He knows how much that camera meant to me and he loves having family photos too!  I love the camera so much that tomorrow I will be reviewing it so you will have to visit and check it out and join us, the more reviews the better!

Our last family night was also a beautiful night so we went and just old fashioned park played.  We went to two different parks and ate dinner at Pizza Hut with Uncle John and Aunt Lis.  Then me and my older son sat up in my room and watched Dog Whisperer late in the night and ate chocolate and the younger ones stayed out in the living room with dad and watched shows, ate snacks and laughed quite a bit (we could hear them) The kids sometimes camp together in homemade tents on Family nights but my oldest wanted some mom time, I think last time he had dad time.  So that’s always nice when your kids want to have quality time with you, we had a great time together.  I encourage you all to start family nights, even if its just once a month where you do something special as a family that the kids really love to do!  It doesn't have to cost money or can cost very little its just another great way to bond with your children!

My sister-in-law is having a contest, of course leave it to me to be late-it ends at midnight tonight.  She is over at Purrs N Snorts, her pet blog.  Its the Indiana Jones Look a Like Contest.  How do you think my dog did, I think HE is Indiana Jones!

Well my children suprised me with some great things yesterday for Mother's Day.  When I wobbled out into the living room they had a huge banner across the wall in the living room, all of them, including dad helped color letters and made them their own creative work.

And then inside the vase my son made at his coop art show there were flowers that my little girl picked out, they were pink silk, very pretty.

And then my beautiful cards, this one on top was so funny, my dh cut a head for each family member and pasted them on-it was also one of those cards that the kids could tape a message in, they all announced how much they love me in it.  Very nice!

The bad news is I have two very sick children, they came down sick yesterday at 6am so we didn't get to go to church or out to eat with family or any of that, however thats part of being a mother-isn't it?  -they have really high fevers and muscle aches.  I'm still not getting around the best but a lot BETTER, however I don't feel I'm much help to my dh trying to take care of us all and with sick children it just makes it so much harder.  I have been given permission from the dr. to start walking in my boot so I have been, not too much pain at all-just hard to learn to walk this way.  I'm really hoping I get used to it soon so I can help out more.    Please keep us in your prayers!

This was a family night we had before I broke my ankle.  We have never had a sonic in this area, my husband and I had been to one years ago out of town but our kids had never seen a drive in burger place with roller skaters.  Well there was one recently built about 25 minutes away so we thought it would be fun to take the kids, I know what a life huh?  We find a burger joint exciting but the kids did have a great time watching the roller skating waitresses.  So we went to Sonic, ate in the car, and came home and watched the Bee Movie.  This is one cute movie, we all really enjoyed it! 

It was a fun family night!

These are some things I would love to be able to do with the kids while I'm down with my ankle.  There are so many things I wish I could make more time with the kids during my day and many days those just get pushed by the wayside because life is so busy.  So now that I'm stuck in one place I would love to spend some quality time with them, its harder then it seems though, a trip to the bathroom takes so long and pain meds have me sleeping too much but hopefully as time goes by I will need those less and less and things will get easier.  I thought I would list some things, if you could think of some things I would love to hear them.

Read Alouds-  I have always read lots of books to the kids but that is one thing that has been pushed aside this year.  My oldest was telling me how much he misses this so I would love to get some piles of books stacked up next to my bed for reading time for the kids. 

Webkinz-My youngest children love their webkinz but have a hard time understanding decorating their rooms and how to buy and sell things.  I would love to sit here with each child and help them with their webkinz accounts, I know they would love that.

board games- Another thing I'm always promising to get in but it never seems to happen.  I would love to play some board games with the kids, I know they would love it!

Circle Time- I have had to stop circle time but would love to start it back, its something a mom can do even with a broken ankle.  We sing the alphabet song, phonic games, books of the bible, character builders, memory verses, counting as anything else I can think of

lapbooks-I would love to do some of these with my younger ones, I just know they would love it.  I just don't know if I can get my kids and dh to hussle up the supplies.  They are doing everything they can to keep our family moving.

color pages-I really LOVE to color, that would be something fun to do with the kids.

watching some great movies for the family-I would like to write a list of movies I would like to see with the kids.

Playing cars and dolls-my son and daughter are always wanting me to do these things and I do fit them in sometimes but now I have no excuses, I need to do this more.

Even video games with my boys-I actually enjoy some of them, and they just LOVE for you to join them.

check out little lounge with my oldest

Can you think of anything else?   I want to take this time and say when its over, I didn't waste it-I spent quality time with my children!

Angela

My dh turns 40 today!  I just wanted to wish him a happy birthday here on my blog, and to thank him for all that he is to our family.  Without him, I would never be able to stay home and homeschool my children.  Thank you for going to work everyday and providing for us!  My husband is the greatest dad I have ever known.  He is also the sweetest man I know, of course I'm very biased but I know I am one blessed woman! I just wanted him to know how much I love him and hope he has a wondeful birthday!

Angela

Our oldest son received his orange belt in Taekwondo .  He is so proud!  He really enjoys this and we are so proud of him when we see him out there on the mat!  Here are some great pics of him sparring and going out for ORANGE! 

Here he is breaking his board, I was having trouble getting a good view!  He broke it on the first try!

Here he is with his new belt!  Can you tell he is happy?

I thought I would post some pics of our Easter Weekend.  We had a great time with family and enjoyed a spirit filled service at church.  One of the pics is our cast at our church that performed the different characters of the Easter Story. 

Wow, my kids are excited!  The first blizzard we have had since 2004.  13 INCHES of snow, now I know for some of you thats probably nothing but for us, its HUGE!  We were blessed that it happened this weekend so we can all stay home safe and just enjoy it to the fullest.  Here are some fun pics!  I am hoping this is it and spring is on its way though, even though we haven't had big snows we have had alot of winter weather, ice, and yuck lately so hopefully we will go out with a bang and this will be it! 

Hot Chocolate after fun in the snow!

Wow!  It seems like forever since I have blogged.  I have been out of town.  I have an uncle in Jacksonville, FL that has been having some health issues lately.  This is my favorite aunt and uncle and I really wanted to go see them, so my brother, his wife, me and my son Sam all went for a long weekend.  We drove all the way through so we could spend some quality time there.  We live about 12-13 hours away so it was quite a driving trip but we had a great time and some great fellowship with family.  For tomorrow's Show N Tell I'm going to post a slide show of our trip.  We were able to visit St.Augustine while we were there, which is such a great educational trip for a homeschooler.  I'm trying real hard not to be envious of my friend bloggers from Florida-the weather was SO BEAUTIFUL!   I just took every moment in, it was so great!  It was very hard to come back to cold, rainy, gloomy weather, let me tell you!  But I did miss my family at home-my dear hubby who took off work Monday and my sister in law who babysat my other two children on her day off work on Friday, I can't thank you guys enough.  And THEN......when I got home my hubby and children had did a special cleaning for me-my schoolroom had been overtaken at Christmas with clutter and they fixed it all up for me again and the whole house looked wonderful.  I was also very behind on laundry and my husband caught me all up!  How blessed I am to have such a wonderful man in my life!  Here are some of the wonderful signs throughout the house!

Our last family night was a movie night.  With the weather being so cold here and when its not cold, its raining, we don't have too many options so we rented a movie.  We had pancakes, (we don't always have pancakes but it is a big favorite here so we have them often during family nights)  My husband went crazy with the candy and popcorn, but hey its family night so why not?  My kids camped out in the livingroom again, thats real adventure.  My husband attempted to make them a tent, it was quite large but didn't have many closed areas, you know the ones you like when you hiding under a tent.  We rented The Game Plan, which is pretty good.  You can read plugged in and see what they have to say about the movie, for the ones who don't know-its a review of movies from a Christian viewpoint.  They tell you every detail of pro's and con's.  Then you can decide if its a good fit for your family or if there are some parts you want to fast forward through or if you just want to skip it all together. 

My mom joined us with her dog snooty so it was extra special having grandma involved!

This is my mom and my dh working on building a tent!  He went all out on it but I forgot to take the after pics with the blankets over the frame part!

I love these popcorn buckets I picked up in Target's dollar bin!  The kids love them too! 

Nothing like chocolate during the movie!

Angela

My husband and children bought me the love frog webkinz and a heart full of dove chocolate.  I LOVE Dove, I even have my oldest son reminding me how we have to savor the chocolate from dove, yes I'm training him well.  And YES they did buy me a webkinz, I enjoy playing with my kids, I get to have a virtual house with virtual money, and get to dream big in webkinz world!  I know pathetic but thats my life!  But I do have a lot of fun with my kids doing it.

 My husband asked for things that could relax him at Christmas time, a fountain, lava lamp, soothing music, anything that could help relieve stress.  Well he didn't get the fountain then so I bought him one for Valentines Day!  He really likes it, actually so does the three kids, they are all saying they want one for their rooms.  They will just have to enjoy dads for awhile!

 Happy 4th Birthday to my liitle girl, my baby and my only daughter.  We are so blessed to have her in our lives.   She loves to play dress up and she talks, talks, talks-a girl after her mama's heart!  She has a wonderful imagination and is so fun to listen to, she even makes up her own songs.  I can't believe that she is growing up so fast, its also hard to believe that I don't have any toddlers or babies in the house anymore!   I hope you have a wonderful birthday baby girl, we love you so so much!

Merry Christmas to all of my great blogger friends and to other friends and family that read my blog.  I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas celebrating the birth of our Dear Jesus!  My dh is off next week and I will be taking the week off blogging like I know many of you will but hope to be back after that sharing my family and my life with you all.  I can't tell you how much your comments and your entries do for my spririts each day.  Thank you so much for that!

Tiany is hosting the Holiday Open House to find out things we do for the Christmas Season, check out all the other posts about Christmas listed on her blog. 

Wow, I don't even know where to start, there is so much I want to say about our Christmas!  First of all let me say we LOVE Christmas around here, really LOVE it! 

First of all we get a real tree for our upstairs, I love the smell of it and the kids love picking it out.  They can be messy getting them into the house but well worth it to me.  We love putting our ornaments on that we have collected on trips or that our kids have made, My husband and I even have some from our childhood.   We listen to our favorite Christmas Music as we decorate. We usually do this on the 1st on my sons birthday because he loves it, this year however with his party it was too much so we are doing it tomorrow.  We put a fake tree downstairs and I decorate it in silver and blue, mostly blue.  I have always loved blue in Christmas!  This year we are doing the Jesse Tree from Ann Voskamp's devotional (its a small tree that will have the ornaments on it that celebrate all the meaniful meaning of Christ in Christmas!) Everyday we will do a devotional that goes with the ornament.

Another thing we do is dress in our PJS, get in the car and go look at Christmas lights in the middle of December.  My husband even videotapes some of the reactions of the kids, of course we listen to Christmas Music-its a great tradition-We love it!

We make some jar gifts and this year the kids are going to make all the family members cinnamon ornaments.    I like to make some mini scrapbooks too!

One of the big events for us is what we have named CartoonFest.  We invite some friends from church and we bake lots of good cookies and hot chocolate.  We sit around taking turns picking our favorite christmas cartoon, with all of us we have quite a collection.  Everyone spends the night at our house, it is so MUCH fun!  Everyone looks so forward to it!  I will post some pics of this years when we have it!

We also have a night, usually a family night where we watch our favorite Christmas movies, We love the Polar Express, The Muppets Christmas Carol, and Tom and Jerry Nutcracker.  My husband and I try to have a night after the kids go to bed to watch some of our favorites.  My all time favorite is Its a Wonderful Life!

We also love to read a different Christmas Book every night in December.  Some on the True Meaning of Christmas and some are on Santa or snowmen or other things.  

Christmas is a great time to do community things as well.  We do shoeboxes for OCC and make homemade cards for local nursing homes.  I haven't done this yet, hopefully this year but I love the idea of the kids leaving something for the garbage men and mailman on Christmas Week-I think a pan of brownies in a throwaway glad container would be great!  I also love the idea of putting gifts on doorsteps without them knowing who it is from (it doesn't have to be a big price item, it could be homemade)  Visting Nursing homes is a wonderful thing to do with children, we did this tonight.  I can't tell you how rewarding this was,  not only for me but for my boys.  My nine year old said afterwards, wow, it felt so good to give out our cards, they loved them so much.  Isn't that what Christmas is about? 

I love Lisa Whelchels book The Adventure of Christmas.

I also love Homespun Gifts from the Heart by Karen Ehman, Kelly Hovermale, and Trish Smith

I have so many ideas from Karen Ehman, she had a tape at a conference one time on taking the stress out of holiday time and making memorable memories with your kids at Christmas Time.   Here is her website  http://karenehman.com/home/  Here is a book on making memories with your kids at Christmas and other times.

On Christmas Morning we read from Luke on our Saviors Birth before opening presents!  I'm sure I didn't cover it all but I will end now.  I do want to say, alot of this doesn't always go perfect.  There have been times we have had grumpy children while decorating the tree, cookies that burned and all kinds of other things.  We do the best we can to make memories but they don't all go perfect!

Happy Birthday to my Sam, Wow-I can't believe you are nine years old already.  Half of your childhood is almost gone, that really hits me hard.  I will never forget the day you were born, never!  I couldn't wait till you were born, you were my first child and I was so excited.  I remember coming home with my little man, I couldn't believe this little person was mine, I wanted to do everything right for you, of course I made lots of mistakes while learning but we made it through colic, and medical stuff in your toddler years that we could have never forseen but God saw us through it all.  I'm so proud of how sweet and kind you are, you truly are a sweet sweet child, I'm so proud that you are already a boy of prayer and believe in it firmly.  My prayer for you is that you will be a great man of God, a man who seeks to please HIM first and foremost.  A man who is so close to Jesus, you will feel led to go and do with your life what HE wants.  I'm so proud of you and I love you so very much!  I hope you had a great birthday!

Mom

Friday Show N Tell, I will post our Webkinz party-it was a huge hit!

We had so much fun filling our shoeboxes this weekend for the Operation Christmas Child.  What a wonderful ministry to help children across the globe with toys, soaps, toothbrushes, bibles and all kinds of goodies.  My children were really excited filling their boxes.  My Allie and Sam wanted to give some of their things, it was so sweet.  I told them that these kids needed to get new toys but I did let them put a little something of theirs in the box, what a wonderful lesson on giving.  I thought I would post a few pics of them filling their boxes.  On Sunday the church dedicated the boxes to the Lord in prayer, the kids were so proud their box was up front with all the others.  We filled out the papers on the OCC site and put their pictures on the papers.   They did all their own coloring. We don't expect it but it would be great if someone wrote back.   

I love music!  I love to have it on when I clean, it always seems to get me moving better.  I have always loved all kinds of music.  I like some country, bluegrass, southern gospel, contemporary, and the great hymns that so many people and churches don't seem to want anymore, a lot of young people don't even know them.  I think thats a little sad.  There is so much there written by people who have been through so much and many have the old old story that never  gets old.  The story of our salvation and HIS blood that made it happen. With that said I love it all!

 So many of you know so much about blogging and all the fun things you can put on your blogs but I thought I would share something I have found for some of you that aren't so experienced with the internal apsects of your blogs like me, however I am learning.  Its finetune.com.  You can download songs for free and have a playlist for your blog or just for your computer.  You can put all kinds of music on it and it will play them at random.  You have to have 45 songs on it before you can put it on your blog or computer but that shouldn't take you music lovers long.  I love it.  I have one for my blog that I will be adding, another for cleaning, and one Christmas one I have started.  I just can't believe its free!  I was able to put all kinds of music on it, so you will get to hear all kinds of different things on this blog from now on.  Anywhere from MercyMe to the hymns of Elvis, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  If you are ones that don't care for music on blogs just turn it down when you visit.  Do keep in mind if you do it for yourself you can only have 3 songs from 1 particular singer because of copyrighted laws, that way you don't get a whole album for free but you can have as many playlists as you want so you could have mercyme three times on each one of them.  Thats just an example.

Another thing, my eight year old son started his blog today-if you have time could you jump over there and leave a comment.  He would be so excited!  I'm letting him write in his own words, as you will soon tell.  I want him to love to write and not worry about it being perfect, us homeschool moms can sometimes stifle our little writers.  He even wrote his mom was a great blogger, I thought that was so sweet!  If he only saw some of yours but I'm his mom so mine would probably still be the best to him!  Isn't that wonderful how that works?  If any of you have a child and they have a blog, leave the address for him so he can check it out.  He will not be allowed to read comments or leave them until they are mom approved of course!  The blog is here.

Angela