Well, I have to say, it's been awhile since I've posted.  It's actually been to long.  I've been under the weather now for several months, back and forth to the doc. not sure what is wrong.  God is good though cause each test that is run comes back negative.  I have one more test to go and we'll see.

Besides being ill, we have had a fun summer.  The kids finally found stuff to do since the pool was buried.  The board games came out, and family time became more precious.  Of course, they stayed busy helping me out by keeping up with household chores, and meals. 

We actually started slowing moving into school this year.  Which was very NICE!!!  We started the first part of July, then they each had church camp for a couple of weeks then we picked up the last week of July and have been going since then.  I started with just math and reading, giving them lots to review.  We'd be done by lunch and all was well.  We continued with the creation club, and activities at church.

I think cause we moved into it slowly that it was not so tramatic on all of us.  Each week I just added another subject.  We have had lots of fun with our Olympic study.  We've watched it almost every day and night.  I enjoyed listening to the children say, oh, I can do that, or wow, I can do that, or maybe I should try that.  All the stories in between the events really helped the kids to see if they put their mind to it that they can really do it.  I do think however, that they don't understand 10 hrs. of training a day.  Just playing volleyball for 1/2 hr. yesterday was to much for them.

Anyways, I hope everyone is doing well, and I look forward to sharing our school year with you. 

Well, today was one of those dreadful days of cleaning.  It actually was not as bad as I thought it would be, since I love to clean.  It started in the boy's room this morning.  We are finishing up painting, yes, a work in process.  They helped me paint the base boards and the door frames. 

I then moved to the kitchen.  I'm not sure about you all, but our house gets so dusty.  I really hate dusting to, I'm so allergic to dust it isn't funny.  See I thought I broke the microwave yesterday, but I was informed that it simply needed more room to breath.  So I started rearranging the kitchen.  Then one thing lead to another, the cabinets needed washed, under the fridge, the stove, and of course the floor (for the second time this week). So now I'm totally exhausted and I still have my evening ahead of me.

With all this cleaning it made me think about my spiritual life.  Today's tough question in my devotional time was "Has God ever done something in your life that you didn't like?"  The question was prefaced by the story of David taking the ark on a oxen cart, it slipping, and Uzzah dieing cause he touched the ark.  David was mad at God.  All he wanted to do was move the art to a better place and build a temple for it.  He wanted to give God the glory He deserved. But he did not know that God had other plans for him.  (the whole story is in 2 sam. 6)

I think we can all answer yes to that question.  Like right now, I'm sitting at home typing this blog, when I was actually scheduled to be in Chicago at a Pampered Chef conference.  It's something I look forward to all year.  A weekend of just us girls, the remote to myself (if I have time), eating out, learning how to be successful in my business, etc.  But for some reason, unknowing to me, I'm home.  The doc. said I should not travel, and if it was just her advice I would have went.  I'm stubborn like that, BUT, my husband also thought it would not be good for me to travel.  Hench the thoughts of cleaning up my spiritual life.  So many times we want to be rebellious and do things we know are against what God teaches us, and we think we are getting away with it.  But are we?  No, not really.  I think God is really teaching me obedience during this whole experience.  He also promises blessings when we are obedient.  So being obedient to my husband even when I didn't want to is giving me a lesson that I'll never forget.

So ask yourself that question and start  your own cleaning project.  I'd love to hear how it  turns out.

Well, it's been awhile since I've had the time to sit and really think about what to blog about.  Since our pool is gone we've been filling our days with travel to OH, and a little bit of school work.  Mostly devotions, some math and reading.

While at church in OH, one of the lessons I learned was from Matthew.  The sermon series was on Transformation.  Each letter stood for something, while we were visiting they talked about the "A" standing for abandon, like "abandon ship".  But the minister was not trying to tell us to give up on Christ, in fact it was the opposite, we were suppose to abandon our lives to Christ.  He used Paul as an example and how Paul, changed his value, changed his focus, and he changed his actions.  He used the scripture in Philippians 3.  While I was listening to how I needed to do all the above, Matthew whispers to me that he understood what the minister was saying, "We have to give our lives to Jesus". Out of his mouth came the simplist answer I could have heard.  See as adults we worry so much about how to do all this changing and it's really very simply.  I guess Matthew learned a great lesson that day, but mommy learned that she does not have to make it so hard.

Also, over the last several weeks I've been stuggling with my responsibilities at home, not the easy stuff like chores, and managing the household, but the harder stuff of submission (read over Titus 2, and Eph. 5).  See I've let the love for my family (immediate) get in the way of my home life.  I'm letting satan use what I care about, my mom, brother, sisters and friends, to influence me in ways that I don't believe in.  While visiting in OH, I noticed how much I kept apoligizing for my faith; the faith that has pulled me out of abuse, out of depression, out of hardships and into Christ's arms.  I've done things to hurt my husband instead of uplift him, encourage him, and hold fast to what he's doing for our family.    Sitting down with some of my Godly friends here at home, has helped me see that I really want to do what my husband says, and that when I do I'm giving God the glory.  By being obedient to what the Bible says, instead of being influced by others, God will bless that obeidence.   If your husband asks you to do something and you really don't want to do it, just do it, you might pout about it, but if he's not asking you to sin then it's possible that he really does know what he's talking about.

I've also been doing a lot of studying in the Psalms.  Especially the Ps. of Acent, 120-134.  If you have not read them, you should.  I think my favorite is 127 and 128.  They are solely focused on family.  Building your life around what God wants you to do.  Whether it's building a home, establishing a career, or raising a family it's all in vain without God as the foundation.  God tells us he rewards us for our obeidence.  All the labor we do, is nothing without God.  I guess I should add Ps 129 as well, see it talks about our afflictions from youth and fortells of the agony that Christ will endure, (vs. 3 & 4). All the persecution we go through is worth it, to see the blessings God will give us is out of this world.

I'm so thankful for my Christian friends who help me see that obedience is always the answer.  Giving God the glory is utlimately why we were created.  Kenan reminded me last night that he really does take my advice, even though I didn't think he did.  He reminded me of life changing decision's that I had a part in, purchasing our home, our vehicles, and having children.  He reminded me of how he's seen me growing over the years as a Christian, he even told me that he would tell others of all that I do, but lately I've not been living up to what Christ asked of me.  He's reminded me of the values that we've built our family on, and I've let satan creep in and try and destroy them.  Life is so hard, standing for what we believe is even harder.  Don't believe for one minute that satan is out there just sitting around, he's out there attacking, and there are spiritual battles going on every second, But there is hope my friends, the hope and joy that Christ brings to our lives.  I'm sorry I've strayed, I'm sorry for being influced by the world, I pray for all of you to have the strengh that God says he'll give us.

Just stopping by to say hi.  We had Bible study this morning, again I was blessed.  Something that stuck with me this time had to do with sowing seeds and reaping them.  We've been studying the Psalms of Accent, PS. 120-134, did you know they were there? I was joyfully surprised to learn they had a specific name.  Anyways, at the end of the video she mentioned the fact that we do all these bible studies and we get all filled up on the seeds that are being planted but that we never go out and sow them and therefore can't reap the benefits. 

I think in all I've taken 8-10 of Beth Moore Bible studies (I love her hair stories) and each one has blessed me differently depending on where I am with my walk, and I truly believe I have been changed by them.  I believe that being in the word daily is saving my life.  Now, I'm not the most perfect Christian, or even claim to be in the word daily, but what she said really struck me.  I go to these studies, get filled up on all the seeds, but do I sow them? Do I go out and change something in my life to make a difference.  Sometimes we are so involved with what we do in life, raising our children, being a good wife, taking care of the house, and the list goes on.  But I do struggle with getting out there and making the changes I need to make to reap the benefits.

God said to pray for the desires of your heart, are we (I) praying for them?  He's not going to just drop them down from heaven.  I guess this has been a struggle in my marriage cause I want to go out and see what God has in store for me, I feel deeply that I'm currently living in His will.  But we have financial stains that my husband sometimes can't see past.  So those desires don't always happen. I long to be in God's hands, I love sharing what he's doing for me personally and for my family, I sure have a long way to go.

I guess I learned today that I need to make changes and start sowing, or maybe I am and I'm not recognizing it.  God is surely blessing me each day with lots of joy.  I'm so happy I did the study on Philippians, it has surely changed my attitude about life.  And I've studied that book before, God has a way of bringing things back to us when we don't get it the first time, isn't He awesome that way.

On a side note, we are still morning the death of our pool.  Kenan really wants to try and fix it, and I do as well, but I think we have come to the conclusion that we can put that money towards fixing his boat (another story for another day, we did not purchase it, it was traded, and we got it broke)  We think we'll get enjoyment out of fishing more then swimming.  And since Kenan has recently told me he wants to quite working and be a professional fisherman, I figured we better have a working boat and not have to buy one.

Unfortunately, Matthew is still adjusting to the death of the pool.  He walks around so sad and bummed.  So today I decided to get him smiling and while he was complaining of not having anything to do and whining, I lured him into the kitchen and threw a big glass of water at him, yes, in the house.  It's only water.  Well, he did not like that to much and went upstairs mad, not crying, just mad, so I chased him down, gave him a big huge and we decided that he could splash around in what's left and try to get all the water out of the bottom. 

I hope you can have lazy days, they are really fun!

Today we had our Creation club and did a study of flowers.  We spent about 20 min. finding stuff with tweezers.  (If only I had read the email before I left I would not have forgotten everything we should have brought.)  We then sat together and compared what we all found, and tried to name it.  After that we took apart flowers and named each part.   I think the kids really enjoyed it.  Take a look!

What a beautiful day we've had here.  I helped my daughter set up a blog, she's listed under my pals, "babies".  So we have got to spend lots of mother daughter time.  She is growing into such a beautiful women.

We also can't fix the pool.  I was determined to get some glue and patches, which they do sell, but the lady at the store told me it would be a waste of my money.  The hole was pretty big.  Matthew is still upset about it today.  He's so young and does not understand that God has a plan for everything in life.  I told him this will give us more time to read, play board games, take walks and bike ride.  That did not impress him very much.  He went upstairs upset and fell asleep.  I guess we'll have more time for naps also.  We got 4 1/2 good yrs. from it.

Playing with cousins from Cleveland and later 2nd cousins from Nebraska:

The hole!

So now that Eli has a blog she thought it would be funny to take a picture of Kenan Highlighting my hair.  It was funny, and of course it was bonding time for the two of us.  And he did a really good job, plus, the cost saved from going to a saloon was the best part.  You gotta save where you can, right?

Through all these tough times, me being sick, the pool, no money, God is really showing me lot's of joy through the Psalms.  I started with Psalm 120 and I'm on 126.  These last two have really brought home what I already know, God is with me no matter what, He is my strong hold, my keeper.  Today I was thrilled to think back on all the things He has gotten me through, and it brought laughter, joy, and even some tears.  I really pray my children can see God the way I do.  He continues to bless my business, just enough for me to see the blessings when I start doubting that I should continue.  Everyday blessings are also evident. 

Sparkles of joy: just today Matthew was putting away the dishes as part of his morning chore, he was singing and pounding on the mixing bowls, with the bamboo spoons, and was so filled with joy.  I just listened, months ago I would have yelled at him to get back to work, But my study in Philippians taught me that you can have joy even when putting away the dishes. I pray you have that kind of joy in your life.

Well, this is a sad day for our household, after four years of splashing and playing in our pool it finally broke.  It looks like a seam gave way, I think I'm actually going to cry.  We got it at a yard sale for a fantastic price and have loved it every since.  We'd spend all our warm summer days swimming.  Kenan said God has a time for everything and I do believe that, but I hate admitting it some times, and I hate to even question why the pool, it brought such joy for us.  It looks like we'll be playing board games, taking more walks, and maybe getting out some school projects to fill our summer days.  Any suggestions?????

Well here it is 1:23 a.m. and I'm not sleeping yet.  I guess that's what I get for drinking a Pepsi (which I have not had in over a week, trying to cut them out) before I go to bed.  I received a surprise visit today from my sister who is traveling home from a great vacation in GA.  So I was excited about that, excited to be feeling really good and now I've spent the last several hrs. updating my blog, like it?  I do, it's so colorful, and I love colors.

I finally finished all the books I was reading, well, except the Beth Moore study on the temple.  I guess God was not ready for me to understand that one, it was hard.  I'm now on a new study, which is God's timing all the way.  It's another Beth Moore study on the book of Psalms, actually "The Psalms of Ascent".  I am so excited what God is showing me through this study, and just how the spirit is working.  The joy I'm feeling to be in His presence again after such a long time away.  Even though I was studying and in the word I was letting satan "steal my Joy".  It was hidden from me.  It took a study from the book of Phillipians to get me out of my winter funk and joyful again.  Why can't I stay this way forever, just longing to be in the word daily is such a wonderful feeling.  I'll try to figure out how to add a column of the "Books I'm reading and a picture", but for now you just get the titles.  Chat more later.

I'm sure most of you might not have your next year already ready, but this is the best part for me.  I'm such a planner and I love getting ready each year.  So I sat down and talked with the kids and said, OK, what are we going to do next year?  They had some great ideas and I incorported those ideas into what I had thought of doing.  And the best part is that I did not have to spend tons of money to get what I wanted.  I'm sticking to lapbooks and unit studies again, simply because that really worked for us.   Here's what we will try to cover:

1. Devotion's - Kay Arthur inductive studies - They are a 5-6 wk. study.  How to study the Bible; Bible Prophecy for Kids, You're a Brave man, Daniel; Lord, teach me to pray; Boy, Have I got problems, James.  I purchased these at www.christanbooks.com for a low price and they have about 5 more I'll get once I save the money.
2. Math - Matthew will spend more time in Saxon 5/4, Eli and Zach will move up a level.  I'm thinking of switching Matthew to Switched on Schoolhouse.
3. Literature - The Checklist that I purchased has a huge selection that I'm going to pull from, and I'll do reading out loud with them.
4. Grammar - We'll spend the year going through Rod & Staff 4th - 7th. I plan to do this orally with all of them and only spend 1/2 hr. or so.
5. U.S. History - Lewis & Clark lapbook
6. World History - The Story of the world, I'm still in book 1 after two years, we like to take our time in this area. I'm also doing a time-line project, which I'm really excited about.
7. Civics - Election process, with field trips to the capital, we'll hold our own family election, and re-visit some of the presidents.
8. Science - Astromony lapbook, solar system, and an introduction to Chemistry.  We have a wonderful lady in our group who is doing a Chemistry club, so I'll do simply stuff at home to reinforce what she's doing.
9. Art - Our group is also doing an Art club.  So I have an Art appreciation lapbook that we will do and study styles, and artists.
10. Music - Eli is going to do flute (It's nice that I still have mine and it still works good), Matthew will do guitar, and Zach will do Music Theory.
11. Keyboarding - This year I'm going to have them do their reports on the PC, they won't even realize they are doing two things at once.
12. Life Skills - daily chores
13. Other - Olympics

WOW, if I get all this done I'll be amazed.  I'm breaking this all down to weekly studies.  I won't be doing this everyday, all day, all  year.  I'll spend several weeks on one topic.  I'll cover stuff according to whats going on in life.  I think I'm getting the hang of this and so are the children.  I'm going to cover the fun stuff like science during the boring cold months.  So stay posted for a fun school year at Adamson Academy.

Today we had the joy of visiting wih Kenan's Aunt's and their family from Nebraska.  They trucked all the way this way for a great two day visit.  We enjoyed some sites of historical value in our county and then we went to Natural Bridge.  I was unable to hike but let Eli take some pictures,again she had fun using the camera.  The kids got a nature study again and had fun picking up bugs and looking at stuff.  While they hicked I enjoyed a picnic table all to myself and did some work.  I was able to accomplish a lot of paperwork stuff.  I can't wait to make it big and pay someone to do that for me.  We also got to go swimming, we put up the pool at the end of May.

I'm pleased to say we made it through another year of home schooling and we will return again next year.  Every year I wonder what we accomplishe cause I feel like we did nothing so I sat down and pulled out all we did, BOY was I surprised.  We did lot's this year, even with all my health problems.  Here's what we did for the 2007-2008 year.

• Started with some textbook work: Grammar, spelling, creative writing, learning to write book reports, Rod & staff reading, and Saxon Math
• We learned about lapbooks and unit studies so we did the following: King Arthur, Human Body, Modesty, Multiplication facts, Pirates, Leaves, Snow, U.S. Preidents, and Geography (mapping, researching, collecting information)
• Several Field Trips and extra activities: 4-H, Keepers for Eli, Arkon OH, Clairborne Farms, St. Louis Arch, Creation Club, Hasting NE, Ft. Boonesboro, and Service projects around the community.

My bookshelves were covered with lot's of resources and tons of books.  Just keeping track in a lesson plan book is not always as rewarding as sitting down, pulling out what we did and looking at it.  I was so happy to see all that we learned and I'm sure there is more that I did not remember.

Once a month we get together with our some of our friends for a creation club.  Last month we did a pond study.  I was actually feeling good on this day so I was able to come.  The children got to make a looking glass out of a milk jug and we made something called a "jilly jar" to put into the water to collect stuff.  The only rule we had was to stay out of the water.  Well, water just happens to find Matthew, he can't stay clean to save his life.  We also found lots of interesting pond life.  It was a wonderful day!               

Outside of our normal school activities we had rain today.  I was also a little under the weather since I started a new medicine.  So anyway, when I got up from my little nap it was still raining and I looked around for the children.  They have always been so good to me when I take naps, like mice.  I found Matthew in his hunting hat, a CHURCH shirt 1/2 way unbuttoned, a play gun on his side and playing outside in the rain.  I found out later that he was playing Indiana Jones.  I found Eli doing her new hobbie of scrapbooking, and Zachary was doing his favorite thing and was reading.  I was glad to see them being productive and not wasting their time.  Our homeschooling is really paying off and it's moments like these that make me proud.  Zachary was up bring and early the other morning and Kenan gave him the morning off from doing Math, which totally surpised me.  So he was engulfed in yet another book.

Some days I wonder how in the world can we get PE done, and then there are days like today.  PE can encompass so much, not just physical exercise.  I believe it's mental as well. Physical is defiantely the most import, however, both is good.  During winter we play games during the day for a recess time.  Just 1/2 hr. of board games stimulates the brain.  So today, since the weather was beautiful after school the kids played outside.  They have been learning how to play softball, boys against the girls, isn't that how all children play.  So I snapped a couple of shots of them playing. 

Not sure who is the most athletic one, oh, and if your wondering where the youngest is, he got grounded for his behavior in school today, and fighting with mommy.  And taking away his play time hurts him the most.  Maybe he'll get to play tomorrow.

All winter our oldest, (13) has been growing his hair.  So needless to say a hair cut was way overdue in mommy's eye's.  Being 13 is hard and you want to start developing your own personality and ideas.  So when he asked us to let it grow we said sure.  Well summer is making his head pretty hot, so he asked for a hair cut.  I'm blessed in the fact that daddy can use the clippers better then mommy.  So here's a before and after shot, we think that we cut off about 3 in. or more.

Daddy had a moment with the children that I just had to share.  We try really, really hard to teach team work in our family.  Daddy cuts trees down on the side and we pay the kids to help with the clean up.  Each weekend (when the weather is nice) we do stuff outside.  Since daddy works all day the weekend is our family time, unless mommy has a show.  So when it came time to sell the dog kennel we had to first take it down.  So bright and early Saturday morning, Kenan had all the children out helping him tear it down.  Not all families work well together, and we sure have our moments, but I was happy to see everyone working well this particular day.

Today was such a fun day for us.  Since we've been studying US Geography since January (I know a long time, but there are 50 states) I thought it would be fun to make a map you can eat.  It was very easy:

2 cps smooth peanut butter

2 1/2 cps powdered milk

2 1/2 cps powdered sugar

2 cps white corn syrup

blue icing (for all the rivers, lakes, oceans)

chocolate chips (all the mountains)

m & m's (cities, captials, land marks)

You mix everything together except for the icig, chocolate chips and m & m's.  Zachary tried getting out he peanut butter and Matthew mixed it all up.  He's all boy!

We then picked the state we wante to shape and decorate, can you tell which one?

We then topped off the lesson with doing a foam US map.  So I'd say it was a pretty productive day.  By time they are done with this study (two more weeks) they will know all the states, captials, and be able to spell them all.  WOW, so will I!!

Well, I'm sure I'm jumping the gun right now but  I know several of you have High School students.  My oldest will soon be there and I'm trying to think ahead so I know what I'm doing.  So, I'm asking all you experienced moms for help.  Where do I go to find out what is required for him?  I've gotten on our state public school site and am still trying to figure it out.  I've also just purchased "The Checklist" that was recommened by a dear friend.  You can view it at http://oklahomahomeschool.com thanks to westward at www.homeschoolblogger.com/westward.   Anyways, any suggestions would be helpful, thanks

Well, I've tried to add this picture as my advatar and then again along my sidewall and I'm not sure how to adjust the size, so I'm adding it here.

Kenan and I meet at CCU about 18 yrs. ago.  He was your ordinary college kid; studying hard, playing games, & doing weekend movies.  We meet while playing volleyball, he was really good at it and I just looked good (according to him). After dating 4 months, he asked me to marry him, and I was smitten.  We planned a very low budget wedding, since we were both in college, and it was beautiful.  Since then our marriage has been wonderful, you know; babies, dogs, money problems, moving, dreaming of a big house, raising a family and God's love joining us together.  We celebrate our anniversary in a couple of months and I'm trying to think of something special.  He is normally the one with all the fun ideas; like when he rented  log cabin and we spent the weekend living on of our dreams,  but this time we are on a very tight budget.  Any suggestions?  I'd love to hear from you. Hope everyone that reads this sees the positive that their husband brings to the marriage.  I know that is something I have really been working hard on.

Today was a beautiful day for a field trip.  Since our trip to St. Louis we've been interested in the early pioneers, so we visited Ft. Boonesboro.  It's the fort that Daniel Boone stayed at for awhile.  We learned a great deal about the early settlers, way of life, sleeping arrangements, etc.  Zachary got to be an apprentice to the black smith.  We ended the afternoon with our favorite place to eat, Gold Star Chili.

Well, this month has gone by like a whirl wind.  We took our normal spring break the last week in March and visited Shaker Village.  It was a beautiful day!  We ad never been there before so it was the perfect day for a road trip.  So off we went.  I had Zach as my co-pilot with map in hand, the other two had books they were reading or music to listen to on their headphones.  We don't do well doing school in the car.  We learned about a culture that was very different then our own.  They enjoyed watching a movie about the history of the village and what the life style was like.  The made several comments on how hard it would have been.  We saw where they lived, what they cooked with, how they grew their food, etc.  They made everything by hand, I know that would be hard for me. 

Our second spring break was something not planned but VERY needed.  I went to see my mom for a couple of days.  While there the children and I visited the local library so that we could continue our Geography lessons.  Matthew seemed to be the only one that had trouble adjusting to this change.  He said that they did not have the same kind of books as our library so he could not work.  He says the funniest things to try to get out of work.  We also enjoyed a visit with a very good friend of mine from High School.  She has 4 children so we fit right in, as you can see from the pictures they had a blast.  The children we on their best behavior while in the car for 6 long hours.  The rain was not fun to drive in, but I was blessed with a safe trip there and back.

Our third spring break came unexpected.  My husband's grandmother died and we traveled 14 long hours to Nebraska.  This was a hard trip for me because I really felt that we did not have the money to make such a long trip.  I really wanted to be there for my husband but at the same time had to pay the bills.  After arriving safely and getting through all the emotion of the furneal I was happy that we came.  We (my husband and I) used this as an opportunity to get things about our life hashed out.  It was a great trip.  Again, the children were excellent.  I was so surprised at how good they were in the car, how they listened, and even played with their 2nd cousins.  Because of their good behavior and other blessings while there, on our way home we stopped in St. Louis and visited the Arch and museum.  Because of this visit I decided to study Lewis & Clark next year.  It will be so much fun.

While on this third spring break God really worked on me and the joy I've been lacking.  I started reading a book called "If mama Ain't happy, then nobody's happy".  It was given to me as a gift about 5 months ago and I've not had the time to read it (nothing like a 14 hr. car ride to catch up on some reading).  This book is excellent.  It has been refreshing to read about and study the joy that Christ gives.  I've learned how to find those sparkles in life that I was missing.  Like yesterday, we were traveling to see the fort that Daniel Boone stayed at and the boys were reading a book out loud and Eli leaned over to me and said "the boys are schooling with each other".  It was something that brought a smile to my face and now it's in my mind as something joyful.  I've also changed my attitude, (it helps when the person you love apoligizes for all his wrongs over the last several months). I've been getting up at 6:00 am with everyone and I've gone walking and been doing a study in Phillipians, the joy book.  I feel like I've been letting God down because I've been rebelling against what I already know.  As humans we tend to fall into these dark traps of life that deflat our joy, and for me it's more like valleys.  I'm so thankful that God is always there for me when I'm being foolish about life.  Thanks to everyone that has been praying for our family.  The sun is shining in the south and the SON is shining in my heart.  Enjoy your day!!

I can't begin to tell you what we've been up to these last several weeks.  So I decided to just give you a short summary.  We took the last week in March as our spring break.  It was a fun week, we sleep late, went to shaker village (see slide show), and played games.  It rained the end of the week, but that was OK. The following week, after much prayer and discussion with my husband, I went to visit my mom.  It was a very pleasant trip.  We did take school with us (the joy of home schooling), math and geography and worked at the local library.  Matthew had some problems adjusting, they had different books then our library, but we did get some work done.  We played a great game of Monopoly, and with Matthew being the youngest, he was happy to own Park place & Boardwalk, needless to say, he kicked butt.

Now we are back home, back to the every day stuff.  I'm trying to get re-focused and be understanding with the children.  Matthew again is having a hard time doing his work.  He just won't stay focused.  I know that our geography is a lot of reading and writing (our worst subjects), but we are plugging through.  We will be finished mid-May.

Zachary is doing his Test Prep work this week and I'm very pleased.  He is wizzing right through it and he is almost finished with his math work for the year.  Kenan commented the other day about how much he's grown up from las year.  Last year he was my one grounded most of the year, he missed all hunting season's.  We'll I'm proud to say that this year he's doing all of them.  What a difference one year can make.  There is hope for those of you that have difficult children.  I'm sure no one out there has them, right?  Hee, hee. 

One day I'm going to do a day and life of the Adamson family.  It should be coming soon. Until next time, keep smiling.

As you can tell I'm catching up on all the pictures I've taken over the month of April.  This month has been really rainy and we have had lots of flooding, I know that flooding can be very dangerous, but it is something that also amazes me.  It reminds me of God's promise to never flood the earth again.  To know that I won't have to go through what so many went through during Noah's time is refreshing.  I'll die in God's time but not in a flood, I can't swim very well anyway.  Enjoy the pictures.

We started a devotion several weeks ago.  It's been hard to keep it up during all our travels, however, we did make the effort.  We are doing study on the life of Jonah.  It has been fun for the kids because some of them are not making right choices.  So now they see what happens when we don't listen to God and when we do listen.  The pictures below are from a project we did to represent the chimes from under the sea.

Well, today is a day that I've stayed in my jammies (took a shower and put on clean, ya know those kind of days).  I decided to do a little work, practice my choir musis, and just hang out with the family.  It's been a really great week.  We enjoyed learning lots about the passover, and Jewish customs.  We have finished all that up.  I was suppose to go on vacation next week, but that is changing.  So, I think we'll get out our Geography.  We are almost finished with all 50 states.  After that we are done for the year!  Yeah!!!!  I got some test prep books for the kids to do the month of April.  I've heard/read so many commets about weather to test your children or not.  I normally have the opinion that it's not important.  However, this being our second year of home schooling, it's been hard for me to judge what to teach next.  I did the whole textbook by grade thing and that just did not work for the children.  I loved it cause it was so easy; read the lesson, do the work, a no brainer.  Our school turned into yelling and no one excited about school.  Since I've changed to lapbooking, notebooking, and unit studies, school has been fun again!  But at the same time, I'm not sure what to do next.  Soooooooo, long story short, I got these test prep books to do with each of them.  I can at least see where they are in math, english, reading and comprehension. 

Then it's summer time!!  That is something I long for each year.  I struggle so much with the winter blues, it's nice when things get green again.  I think we might continue doing Math, and some grammer review over summer.  Nothing to major.  Maybe some camping trips and a trip to cleveland to visit family and friends.  Lots of time on the deck reading and soaking up the sun. 

My bible study this week has dealt with anexity.  Ya know, that word that keeps us up all night.  Well, I did not really learn anything I did not already know about what scripture says, but I did learn some math while reading it.  Charles Swindoll summed it up this way:  "We worry when we add unneccessary pressureto an already full plate".  How many of us do that? I do that all the time.  I tell people I can do something when I already have lots to do.  "We worry when we subtract God's presence from or crisis".  I know  I do that.  Right now we are struggling financially, and I tell God to take it, well, then I start worrying again.  God is sovereign and knows where I'm at in life. He planned it that way, it's the choices I keep making that damage that.  "We worry wen we multiply our problems by inserting our solutions prematurely"  Oh, I do that one too.  One thing my husband does is wait when he's making decisions.  Even though it's something that drives me crazy, I wish I could do it.  I try to rush into things and sometimes it works, and, well, there are times it doesn't.  Lastly, "We worry when we divde life into the secular and the sacred".  It took me awhile to see if this is really something I do, and well, I guess I do this as well.  I try to rebell against what God has been teaching me (being the excellent wife). 

So needless to say, when I did all that math I realized that I sure have a long way to go in my walk with Christ.  If I can boldly ask, Pray for me!  I really struggle with what my flesh wants to do and what I know if right by what God has been teaching me.  Have a great weekend!  Praise God, Christ is RISEN!

Most all counties around the US have 4-H clubs.  If you don't then let me explain what it is in my terms.  It's a type of club that organizes activities teach children things like; hunting, fishing, growing flowers, camping, cooking, quilting, knitting, etc.  Most county fairs have contests were children can show off the animals they have raised, it's really something very educational.  With that being said, our county is no dfferent, however, it was always out of our budget to participate, until now.  We have a wonderful lady who listened to us home school moms and started one during the day and it's free.  Each month we meet and she teaches the children different things, we also do things for our community.  At Easter we decorated little hats for the residents at a nursing home and in April they learned about raising house plants and they planted their own.  We really have lots of fun and it teaches them so much more then what I could, I normally kill any plant I plant.  Enjoy the pictures!

Twice a month Eli is involved with a group of young ladies learning life skills.  We've only been going for a couple months becaue our schedule has been really crazy.  But I wanted to share with you what we did in mid-march, especially since I was teaching it.  Since we had just finished our lesson on passover (which just started this past weekend), I thought I'd share this with the girls.  We made a Jewish recipe and talked about what the passover is and what is involved.  I think they all had fun!

This week we've taken a little jog down a different path.  I actually planned ahead and had stuff tucked away just for this week.  We have been studying the Passover and Easter.  It has been a fun lesson and even I have been touched by what I'm teaching the children.  I pray you enjoy time with your famiy this week.

Last Easter our church participated in a Sedar Meal.  This was something totally new to me, and very unique.  I never really understood the Jewish customs, but now I understand just a little bit better.  While at the Sedar Meal, presented by "Jews for Jesus", www.jewsforjesus.com , we experienced what it was like for Jesus and his disciples in the upper room.  The food we partook in represented several things.  I purchased some materials to help us understand better this year.  We've enjoyed learning about the different Jewish Holidays and why they are celebrated.  I have been impressed with their beliefs and customs.

We also were given a website that had some great ideas to do with your children this whole week.  Yesterday was fun making homemade pretzels, they did not taste the best, but we enjoyed making them.  Today we talked about the sweet fragrance that Mary poured on Jesus' feet.  This lesson really hit home for me.  You can get these lessons and more at http://www.christianitytoday.com/holidays/easter/features/activities.html 

These are some of the books we've read and studied. 

Can you tell what we talked about here?

The boys were measuring out the ingredients (math time, they almost looked confused!)

Rolling out the dough

Getting them ready to bake, they look yummy!

Time for tasting! Looks good but does it taste good?

The boys did it (with my help)!  We had so much fun learning about pirates and what not to do by tying in scripture.  We did 12 lessons in 2 weeks.  Zachary (13) actually did the last two lessons, I was so proud of him.  You can get the study from www.homeschoolshare.com/pirate_diary.php  Thanks so much to Jimmie in China for creating this study, we had a blast.  Visit Jimmie at www.homeschoolblogger.com/jimmie

Our library had a great craft book, and Matthew is awesome making stuff

Thanks Grammy for all the clothes, I do not sew, and she loves it!!

Front covers

Inside

The boys learned so much and we covered every subject, it was so easy and we were done in a couple of hours.  It sure made for an easy day.

I'm so proud of what Eli finished up this week.  She had so much fun doing this study.  She is very much like me, crafty.  So I only had to help her with this a little.  We studied the scriptures together, and took it a little further.  We took her spelling words and looked them up in the bible to find scriptures to match.  I really believe God has  blessed me with a wonderful daughter.  I have been praying for her since conception.  God is growing her spirit and it is evident.  I'm thankful for what God has given me.  I received this study free from www.homeschoolestore.com I hope you enjoy the pictures (can you tell I like my new camera?)  Didn't she do an Awesome Job!!  I'll be posting the boys pirate lapbook later this week.

This entry is a little late, but better late then not at all.  While I worked with the boys doing their pirate lapbook, Eli (12) was incharge of making lunch each day.  This was a great home economic class for her, she had to find a recipe and follow it to a "T".  She did a fantastic job!  The great thing is that we actually had all he ingredients.  She chose to make "homemade pizzas", this is our families favorite.  Here's all you need:

Homemade Pizza dough: (she found it in the "Better Homes and Garden" recipe book)

2 3/4 to 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour - not self rising (we used that the second time, big difference)

1 package active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

2 tblspns cooking oil

1. In a large mixing bow combine 1 1/4 cups of the flour, all the yeast, and 1/4 teaspoon salt;  add warm water and oil.  Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl.  (this should be really runny) Beat on high speed 3 min.  Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

2.  Turn dough out onto a lightly loured surface.  Knead (thanks grammy for teaching her this, I had no clue), in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic.  Divide dough in half.  Cover; let rest for 10 min.  Make your pizza.

We rolled ours out on our favorite cooking stone (from pampered chef) and used tomato sauce with some Italian seasoning, then added our toppings.  It was so much fun!!!

Isn't that so easy!!!

WOW, we had our first really big snow!!  In our area we never get enough snow to even shovel.  Since I'm from Cleveland, OH, originally, I was so excited to wake up to such a pretty sight.  Kenan had the pleasure of taking them sledding while I enjoyed some peace and quite.  What did I do while they were gone?  Well, I read other blogs. Go figure, maybe not the best use of my time, but it was encouraging.  Even dads can take the kids on a field trip without me.  Enjoy the slide show. 

Wow, I had so much fun at a local Christian ROCK Concet last night.  Our church went to Winter Jam, Christian artists included: Mandisa, New Song, Skillet, Mercy Me, Barlow Girl, and Tony Nolan was the speaker.  If you have not heard of any of those bands, some of there songs are playing on my playlist below.  We got home around 11:30 p.m. and I told the kids that I'd have to talk to daddy about that 6:00 A.M. math lesson.  So we got to sleep in today and it sure was nice.  We started school around 11:00 or so, and finished up around 4:00.  Check out the pictures below.

Waiting before the concert!

Getting excited about the next artist!

This is one of Skillet's songs, they had fire shooting off the stage, it was so cool!

We just got done seeing skillet!

Barlow Girl

I felt like a teenager again!!!

One tired Rocker!

Our other little Rocker was trying to Sleep,  I don't know how, this music was so loud.

I took so many more pictures, but they did not turn out very well, but the memories were priceless.  While Mercy Me was singing their signature song "I can only Imagine" I witnessed a group of people worshipping in sign language, it was so awesome!  I was so blessed.  My friends after the show were laughing at the way I was headbanging with the kids (my neck still hurts).  They were amazed that I knew the words to the songs, some thought it to be just noise.  Christians can have fun!!!!

Well, we finished Eli's room just in time for her birthday.  As now that I have my camera I can show you how it turned out.  Is this fun or what!!  I'll post more when I get the boys room done.

Well, it's been a fun easy week so far.  We started doing something different, a break from Geography.  Which by the way, all 3 are doing much better.  This week we started doing a pirate study, thanks to jimmie at www.homeschoolblogger.com/jimmie and her wonderful lapbook. Check it out at www.homeschoolshare.com/pirate_diary.php we actually found the book she uses at our library and we can do two lessons in one day.  They boys are loving it and the way Jimmie ties in scripture is perfect.  The first thing Kenan said is that "you want to study stealing, lieing, drinking, etc." and I said, "well, ummm, I already printed it, and by the way she ties in scripture".  So after he took a look at it, he said we could do it. 

Eli is doing a wonderful job on a modesty lapbook that we got from www.homeschoolestore.com it was a free download several months back.  It's been such a nice break for me, I help her for about 1/2 hr. while the boys read some pirate books.  Then I sit with them for about 2 hrs. and do their study.  Oh, we also went back to doing a bible study in the morning before we start school.  I had not done that this year and it has made a difference.  Last year we started in Genesis and just kept going.  I'd love to have comments on the different studies you do.  Having such an age gap is hard to teach.  Any suggestions would be great!

I also went out today and used my $100 gift card to office max that I won in Jan. at a Pampered Chef conference.  So, guess what, I got a new camera.  I'm so excited about it, it's charging as we speak and I'll soon have pictures to share with everyone.  You'll now get to see a peak of what goes on with us on a regular basis.

Thanks to all those that commented on the new recipes I added.  I do hope you enjoy them.  I also hope to get back to my study time, it's been a little crazy around here and I've let it take back seat.  I guess it goes to show I'm only human, and God loves me anyways.  Have a great week!

I wanted to share with my fellow bloggers some fun recipes that our family have come to love.  The concept of power cooking is simple, get it all done in less time.  Make several meals at once and have more time for your family.  I hope you enjoy these as much as we did!  (just a side thought, if anyone knows how to line up these pictures could you let me know, I can't figure it out)

Power Cooking!!! - New recipe ideas
Preparing multiple meals at once saves time, money and energy. "Power Cooking" combines the tasks of planning meals, buying groceries, and slicing & dicing with FUN tools while assembling healthy meals for your freezer. Bring your family back to the dinner table with ease.

After Power Cooking, you will save money by reaching into your freezer for your family's meal rather than reaching for the telephone for take-out. Eating out is expensive. It costs a family of four at a full-service restaurant at least $50 for one meal, cocktails excluded! Imagine the savings and quality, family time at YOUR dinner table!

The Pampered Chef mission is bringing families back to the dinner table at home to reconnect and share ideas, with one of the best family traditions of all: a healthy, home-cooked meal. My objective is to help you get in and out of the kitchen as quickly as possible on busy weeknights so that you may rejoin your family. Eliminate the time-consuming, daily chore of cooking and cleaning the kitchen. The "Chef" of the family deserves fun, high-quality cooking tools to make meal preparation enjoyable and timely.

Cooking can be FUN with the right tools!


~ "Power Cooking" Recipes ~

---Make-Ahead Ground Beef---

3 medium onions
3 lb 90% lean ground beef or 93% lean ground turkey
3 garlic cloves, pressed

1. Chop onions using Food Chopper.

2. Place onions, beef and garlic pressed with Garlic Press into (12-in.) Skillet. Cook over medium-high heat 15-18 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking into crumbles using Mix 'N Chop.

3. Divide beef mixture into three portions.

---Easy Beef Stroganoff---

1. Prepare and freeze

To one portion of Make-Ahead Ground Beef, add:

8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 can (10¾ oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
¼ cup water
1 tsp ground paprika
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp coarsely ground black pepper

Combine in large resealable plastic bag. Freeze for up to three months.

2. Defrost: Microwave packet on DEFROST (30% power) 8-10 minutes or until softened. Pour into (10-in.) Skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat. (If cooking immediately, combine ingredients in
(10-in.) Skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat.)

3. Finish and serve! 
Stir 8 oz sour cream into beef mixture. Cook 1 lb egg noodles; drain. Toss with ¼ cup
snipped fresh parsley and 2 tbsp melted butter. Spoon stroganoff over noodles and sprinkle with
additional paprika and parsley, if desired.

---Saucy Beef Chili---

1. Prepare and freeze

To one portion of Make-Ahead Ground Beef, add:

1 can (16 oz) chili beans in sauce, undrained
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1½ cups water
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 pkt (1.48 oz) chili seasoning mix

Combine in large resealable plastic bag. Freeze for up to three months.

2. Defrost - Microwave packet on DEFROST (30% power) 8-10 minutes or until softened. Pour into (10-in.) Skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat. (If cooking immediately, combine ingredients in
(10-in.) Skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat.)

3. Finish and serve! 
Spoon chili into bowls. Top with shredded cheddar cheese, sliced green onions or sour cream, if desired.


---Zesty Beef Tacos---

1. Prepare and freeze

To one portion of Make-Ahead Ground Beef, add:

1 cup chunky salsa
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
¾ cup water
1 pkt (1 oz) taco seasoning mix

Combine in large resealable plastic bag. Freeze for up to three months.

2. Defrost - Microwave packet on DEFROST (30% power) 8-10 minutes or until softened. Pour into (10-in.) Skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat. (If cooking immediately, combine ingredients in
(10-in.) Skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat.)

3. Finish and serve!
Arrange 12 taco shells on serving platter. Fill with beef mixture, ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1 cup shredded lettuce and 2 seeded and diced plum tomatoes. Garnish with snipped fresh cilantro and serve
with lime wedges, if desired.


Variation: Zesty Beef Taco Salad: Omit taco shells and increase lettuce to 12 cups. Prepare beef mixture as directed in Steps 1-2. Arrange lettuce on serving platter. Top with beef mixture, cheese, tomatoes and cilantro, if desired.

---Italian Beef Hoagies---

1. Prepare and freeze

To one portion of Make-Ahead Ground Beef, add:

1 each green and red bell pepper, sliced
¼ cup water
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 pkt (1 oz) onion soup mix
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning Mix

Combine in large resealable plastic bag. Freeze for upto three months.

2. Defrost
Microwave packet on DEFROST (30% power) 8-10 minutes or until softened. Pour into (10-in.) Skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat. (If cooking immediately, combine ingredients in (10-in. Skillet) and bring to a simmer over medium heat.)

3. Finish and serve!
Sprinkle 1 cup (4 oz) shredded Provolone
cheese over beef mixture. Cover with lid and simmer 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Spoon into 6 warm hoagie rolls.

---Barbecue Beef Sloppy Joes---

1. Prepare and freeze

To one portion of Make-Ahead Ground Beef, add:

1 cup ketchup
2 tbsp Smoky Barbecue Rub
2 tsp cider vinegar

Combine in large resealable plastic bag. Freeze for up to three months.

2. Defrost
Microwave packet on DEFROST (30% power) 8-10 minutes or until softened. Pour into (10-in.) Skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat. (If cooking immediately, combine ingredients in (10-in.) Skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat.)

3. Finish and serve!
Divide beef mixture among 6 hamburger buns. Top with coleslaw, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce or sliced green onions, if desired.

I'm still enjoying my Bible study.  It's funny how God works!  For a year I had not been involved with any real deep study time, I'm ashamed to say that, but it's part of life.  I felt that was the reason my 2007 was not as productive as normal.  So this year, one of my goals was to get started again.  Now, I'm doing three different ones:  "The Excellent wife" (a very humbling study), a Beth Moore study, and I'm in a life group and we are reading "Getting through the tough times" by Chuck Swindoll.  I"ve been learning so much, yet overwhelmed with what God is teaching me. Thanks to westward for helping me learn how to put in these pictures.  I can't figure out how to change the color backround, but a picture is better then nothing.  Now you have something to see.  Enjoy.

Tagged by starwars

The rules are:
(1) Link to the person that tagged you.
(2) Post the rules on your blog.
(3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
(4) Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
(5) Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

1. I wear glasses

2. Rottweilers are cool dogs

3. In High school i played the flute

4. I love teaching my children (even on the bad days)

5. Pizza is the best food in the world

6. I'm wearing my p.j.'s with Grumpy on them, they say "get outta my face".

I've tagged...............kentuckymommy,  livingandloving, nancysnook, flysister, westward, pottershand

Have fun with is!

Well, I've not blogged in several days for the simple fact that my daughter turned 12 this past weekend.  I spent all of last week painting her room.  She helped get the rolling done and I did all the poka dots.  We did a light pink base with hot pink poka dots  She loves it, and so do I! 

We also did another week of Geography lessons.  I'm happy to say two outta three are getting the hang of this.  I spent a day with them doing one state together.  I realized that I was expecting them to have top quality papers and I thought (it really get's me in trouble) that I had explained it all.  So now, they all have an understanding of what I expect.  I'm trying to teach them to read something and get it summarized before they forget what they just read.  It has it's moments, however, I know once they get to college they will appreciate what I taught them. 

This will be our last week of Geography, we'll take a break next week and do some fun stuff.  I've been working on a list of what I want to teach over the summer as well as next year.  I would really like a break this summer but I'm scared to start up the year with problems.  I know of several that do little things, life related teaching all summer.  We always plan a camping trip and that is full of life lessons.

Since I've started blogging, I've been getting lots of help from fellow bloggers.  It's been a whole new learning experience for me.  I'm working my brain while trying to read the HTML codes in my templete and trying to figure out how to put all the cool stuff on there.  I thought it'd be helpful to new bloggers like me to list some sites that I've used.  I'm still learning how to do this, and many of you probably don't need the help, but someone asked me how I did it.  I've listed some of the sites I've found, and I found them by randomlly visiting other blogs.  It's given me ideas and things to add to my blog.  Once I found what I wanted, I had to figure out where in the templete to put it, (that's the hard part).  I'm still not sure how to do a ton of stuff, but, it's a work in process.  Thanks to westward and nancysnook2 for all the help.

www.free-blinkies.com

http://www.web-source.net/html_codes_chart.htm

http://links.christiansunite.com/blessing.shtml

http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2007/12/12/patterns-more-ways-to-play-with-color/

http://www.colorschemer.com/blog/

http://www.imagechef.com/

http://www.steelegrafix.com/

http://www.amazingcounters.com/sign-up3.php

I'm not sure how to add a thank you to my sponser image, but I do believe I've been able to put some of it on there.  Since this is all new I don't want to break any blogging rules, or have someone upset cause I did not give do credit.  Have fun!

Today was such a fun day for us.  I so wish I could put pictures on here to show you our days.  Kenan was up and going and I was surprised this morning when I woke up to see all the children doing thier Geography lessons.  He told them mommy had a field trip planned and that they had to get as much done as possible before lunch.  So their little hands and minds were very busy when I got up.

I found out last night that my favorite characters were showing at our local $1 movie theather.  Since the day I saw their first video, "Dave and the Giant pickle" I've been their biggest fan.  Can you guess who I'm talking about???  The Veggie Tales and me go way back, at least 12 years.  I have every single video or DVD, just lacking the last two, Giedon, and the Wizard of Haz (it's not been in the budget).  So off we went today to see the "Pirates who don't do anything" on the big screen.  Whenever I'm down I put in one of their movies.  Check out their site www.bigidea.com it's safe for adults as well as children.

Because the children were into their studies, I decided to take the time and get into some of my studies.  This week I've been studying the journey the Israelites took after God recused them from Egypt.  Check out these scriptures that talk about Clouds (mom you'll love these): Ps 104:3, Isaiah 19:1, Nahum 1:3 (old testament minor prophet, it took me awhile to find it also), Luke 21:27, Acts 1:9, 1 Thessalonians 4:17.  All are descriptions of God's presence, it's awesome!!  I'll never look at a cloud the same anymore, just marvel at what God does for us each day.  Looking at the clouds is my mom's favorite past time, I'm sure that's why she still misses her turn while she's driving, she's looking at those clouds.

I also never realized that while the Israelites were in the wilderness, it wasn't just the same wilderness, it was actually four different ones, Shur, Marah, Elim, and the wilderness of sin.  Go back and read Ex. 15:22 - 16.  God puts up with so much from us, our (my) whining, complaining, bickering, and not trusting him.  Today I realized that God is good all the time, I hear that all the time but I've become accustomed to his presence and I don't see it all the time.  I was ashamed to read my study today and I am an Israelite, how many of us are in our wilderness for the 1st, 2nd, 100th time?  Today is the day to let go and let God have it.  Give him those dark time, let him be strong for you. 

I have a friend who is considering to not homeschool next year.  Please pray for her, I've been encouraged by her for these last couple of years.  At times we all feel like giving up, I know I have.  I've spent more time sitting in the bathroom just to get away from life then I need to be.  Pray for each other as we all have days when we want to just stop doing what God's called us to.  This has been the hardest thing I've ever done in life, but it will be the most rewarding.  I pray that you all can get out of your wilderness and into the light with God on your side.

Today has been a snow day for all the public schools, but not the Adamson Academy. Kenan had a headache overnight, so I was up at 6:00 A.M. (yes, girls, I did not sleep in today) and we started math.  I actually saw the sun rise through all the snow.  It was so pretty!!!

So while the children did their work today, and since I did not have a headache, I had fun playing on my blog.  I'm almost pleased with what I've done.  It's starting to suit my personalilty (wild and crazy).  I figured out how to add pictures.  I forgot I took this pictures with a friends digital camera and saved them to my laptop.  So, you get to see Kenan and myself in San Fransisco this past April.  I earned a FREE trip with the company that I am self-employed with (check out the link under COOKING IS FUN). 

The children are anxious to get outside and play in the snow, and mommy is anxious to stay warm with some hot chocolate.  I'm also ready to get into the Word again, I missed it yesterday cause I was feeling rather crabby. 

Hello fellow bloggers!!

It seems these last few days have been nothing but a blurr.  I'm really battling my headaches, and the blues.  It's as if I was post partum, thankfully, I'm not and summer is on the way.

I