Valerie is doing a  give away on The Crafty Classroom  website for a pop-up nativity and a talking Jesus doll.  Two people will win one of each.  They are really cute!

  Go check it out!

We've got eggs!!!

Today we found our first 3 eggs laid by our vert own chickens!  We are so excited!  We have been looking forward to when the ladies would start laying and we knew it should be anytime now, so it caused quite the stir here among the kids and I.  It interupted our school day even!

Joshua was actually the one who found the eggs.  Evelyn and I were inside doing her school work when Joshua came  running in to tell us he found an egg in the coop!  

Our beautiful brown eggs!

We are starting to get back into our grove of our homeschooling schedule.  Taking the summer off from official schooling has definately made a difference in our day to day schedule.   We are still not completely back into our normal school year routine, we are getting closer.  I think that I am the worst culprit though!  I usually bake all our family's bread....I haven't baked in a few weeks!  My mountain of laundry is beginning to crumble.  Hey...........do you think that my mustard seed of faith will move THAT mountain if I tell it to move?  Now THAT would be impressive!   

Our school day starts around 9am with praise & worship.  I then put the baby down for her morning nap.  Evelyn goes into her bedroom and listens to a read-a-long while I start school with Joshua.  When she is done with that, she comes out and starts her copy work  since those are the only things that she currently can work on completely independantly.  When both Joshua's schooling is done and Evelyn's copywork is done, we take a 15-20 minute snack break, and then Joshua plays while I do school with Evelyn.  Lots of time he is playing nearby and will join in if he is able.    It is amazing how much he is picking up from just listening to us while he plays!

This week Joshua was working on the letter "B".  

I love the cute little rhyme/songs that  he is learning.  "2 big bears got on the boat...the rains came down....and the boat did float", here he is "floating"

Here he is driving (can you see a theme yet???) on his "b" road.

To go along with the letter "B", we read about Noah.  Joshua thought it would be fun to grab his Noah's Ark toy and some of Evelyn's animals and act out our bible reading.  I was asked to RE-read a few parts so he could continue to act those parts out.

Evelyn is working on her peotry.  She really likes it and is asking me to read it to her throughout the day as well.  She is glueing parts of her poem together into the correct order.

Having a little trouble doing push-ups....but then Mama has a hard time doing those as well...  But, she had fun doing them as a way to help memorize her scripture verse for the week.  "We shall not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not loose heart" ~Galations 6:9  I am  LOVING the discussions we are having about the scripture verses this year!

A picture of her copywork and her drawing of  the poem  (it isn't complete in this picture).  The poem is "Father, we thank Thee" by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

She loves to read to me and her brother!

I've also started a home-ec class with Evelyn.  We do the lesson (from Pearables) once a week and practice the rest of the week.  Last week she learned about the various food groups.  This week she learned how to peel carrots and potatoes!  She was SOOOO proud of herself!  She told me it made her feel like a mama.  She also said that it made her feel like Mary (from Little House on the Prairie) in the episode called "Wolves".  Ma and Pa go away and leave Mary in charge.  While Mary is making dinner and cleaning, she has a handkerchief in her hair. so she asked if I would put one in her hair as well.  She looked adorable!!!!  She has since been a peeling machine.  We haven't done apples yet, but maybe we will tomorrow and make apple pie....YUMMY!

Here she is peeling carrots and potatoes for our beef stew.  We took all the peels and put them into the food processor, choped them up and then put them out for the chickens.  They were very appreciative of their little treat!

Seeing her here in her "Mary" handkerchief reminds me.  I found what I think will be a fabulous Christmas gift for her.  Since she is slighty obsessed with all things "Little House", I think she wil love this.  I found a website, where a woman makes pioneer dresses, aprons, bonnets and matching outfits for the American Girl doll, and they are not all that expensive!  Rather affordable actually.  And she also makes the long white night gowns with sleeping caps which only a week ago or so, Evelyn was asking for.  Since I don't really know how to sew (although I REALLY want to learn how), I thought this would be great!  She also wants a crotched shall like Laura has.  I do know how to crotchet, but not really well.  I found a pattern for one, so I might try it.  I've  only done scarves and the shall seems a bit like that but with a graduale reducude count to make it v-shaped. 

What kinds of things do your children want for Christmas?  Any things that you can make?  I would love to hear ideas.  Especially for boys.  Joshua loves cars, trucks, trains etc.  I certainly can't crochet a car!

This week we started back in our homeschool.  Evelyn is now in 1st grade using HOD's Beyond Little Hearts For His Glory. Joshua is in preschool using HOD's Little Hands To Heaven.  Both are wonderful.   I really love these curriculums (curricula?) that Heart of Dakota (HOD) puts out.  The Lord is at the center of everything.  It's amazing how they tie the subjects together too.  It is a Charlotte Mason approach which I love, strong acedemically....AND IT'S FUN!

Evelyn and Joshua on their first day.

Let's not forget baby sister!

I'll start with Joshua's school since we do school together first in the morning.  Evelyn goes into her bedroom and listens to a read along book during this time.

I had started preschool with Joshua in January, but felt that it would benifit him to start back at the beginning this fall.  He still isn't 4 yet, so a lot of what we had been doing wasn't really sticking with him.  He had just turned 3 when we started earlier.  It is amazing how much better this week went in contrast to how our days would go when we previously started.   I truly think he is ready now.

Here he is glueing paper pieces onto the letter "A" and coloring the alligator. 

Driving his race cars along the "A" road.

Painting over white crayons on white paper...the paint resists over the wax of the crayons so you can see the picture.  This is to show how God made something out of nothing (creation), although I don't think it showed up to well in the picture.  The direcitions say to use black paint....we didn't have any so we used blue.....the daytime sky is blue right?

Practicing writing the letter "a" and "A" on his new erase book.

Now for Evelyn.  We read about Columbus and what it would have been like to cross the ocean coming to a new land.  Here she is traveling the route from Spain to North America in the Globe we made on the floor. (no, it isn't the prettiest globe....but it is just tape and computer paper....)

Our first year with spelling words.  She actually REALLY liked this.  I was surprised at how much.  She did very well with all her words.

Also our first year with poetry.  She has glued the poem that I cut apart back into the proper order. 

This was a LOT of fun!  The science experiment was to show how blubber is benificial to whales and dolphins.  She has (butter-flavored ) shortening on one hand and nothing on the other.  She had to put both hands into the bowl of ice water to see if there was a difference.

She couldn't keep the uncovered hand in the water for more than a few seconds because it was too cold.  She was able to keep the hand covered in shortening for a couple of minutes before saying it got too cold.

Result:  blubber helps to keep the whales and dolphins warm in the cold ocean waters!

This is a sheild of faith that she made after we read Psalm 18.  She drew a cross, some hearts, some rocks, a fortress and a horn on it.  The cross for what Jesus did for us. The hearts because God loves her so much, some rocks because God is strong like a rock. A fortress (or castle as she keeps calling it) because God is her protection, and the horn because He is the horn of salvation.  Both Evelyn and Joshua made one (though his shield has mostly scribbles on it! LOL!)

So in a (rather large) nutshell, that is our school week.  We still have some time kinks to work out and how to keep Joshua occupied and happy while Evelyn and I are doing school, but I still think our first week back was very successful!  Looking forward to next week!  And so are the kids....that is ALWAYS a plus!

This is Joshua's first year of soccer.  He is so cute!  And the smallest on the team (and youngest!).  So far he is liking it.  Of course he does, he loves to do anything his big sister does!   They are such good friends.  Not to say that they never bicker or argue, but overall, they get along quite well and truly enjoy each other's company.

Joshua, Evelyn and their friend Grace after the game.

Good luck Buckaroo!  You'll have  great year I'm sure!

Evelyn has started too, but the camera batteries died at her first game.

How did that happen?  Seriously, a year has gone by already?  I know everyone says that, but really....how?  It certainly doesn't feel like a year. 

(do you see her cute little earings?  They are new.  She got her ears pierced on the actual day of her birthday....just like her big sister did on her first birthday!)

Oh MY!  She is just as adorable as she can be though.  A tad on the dramatic side (not a clue where she gets that!).  She is generally the happiest baby, but when she does get upset, she gets UPSET!  There is no middle ground, no warning....it's just 0 to 60.  And you know what?  Even her cry is cute!  

She still isn't walking yet, but it should be very soon.  She "cruises" , she just won't let go.  I guess when she's ready.  She is the latest walker of the 3 children though.  She talks up  a storm though....not a surprise with her very talkative siblings (her parents are not exactly quiet though either ).  When she says "daaaaaddyyyyy", it just melts Daddy's heart. He is a lost cause.  He is absolutely wrapped around his two daughters little fingers.  And they are totally Daddy's little girls!

Well, here is her first birthday cake.  I made it as chocolate amerretto with almond buttercream frosting. I made the top removable so that she could have her own "smash" cake.

Here she is eating!  So cute.  Very lady-like.

It has been a VERY loooooooooooong time since I've posted.  I did actually make a really nice (and quite lengthy) post filled with LOTs of adorable pictures of my children. 

But as I went to post it.......I lost it.  

So I let even more months go by without any more posts. 

I'm going to try to change that though.  I'm plan to TRY to keep up with my blogging just to keep a "scrapbook" of sorts of my children and their school year especially.   So even though I am most likely just talking to myself, here I go!

Things we've done, that I'm not going to blog about:

• went to a sugar shack with friends,
•  got 6 chickens,
• planted a garden,
•  had some birthdays (although, I will post about Lillians....it is her FIRST after all!!!),
•  berry picking,
• peach picking,
•  jam making,
• camping,
• swimming,
• trip to the USS Mass. (or as the kids and Daddy call it..."the Big Mammy",
• trip to the Thorton Burgess Mueseum

and probably many more things.  It's been a good summer!

You Know You're A Homeschooler When...

You'd rather shop at Books-R-Us than a clothing store.   You play dress-up and call it "history."    You ask for more bookshelves for your birthday (and you get them!)  Your kids hear you talking to yourself and you call it a "Parent-Teacher Conference."   You go to the store at 1 p.m. and as the cashier wrinkles his forehead and asks "Why..." your kids respond "We're home-schooled."     You get to kiss the principal when he walks in the room. Your school isn't too politically correct to teach "Home Economics" ("Jordan, go change the baby's diaper and Jamie, go fix PB&J for lunch"). (I got this from Teach Magazine which is fabulous!!!!!)

"I believe it would be much better for everyone if children were given their start in education at home. No one understands a child as well as his mother, and children are so different that they need individual training and study. A teacher with a room full of pupils cannot do this. At home, too, they are in their mother's care. She can keep them from learning immoral things from other children." ~Laura Ingalls Wilder ~

Today Evelyn and I hosted a little tea party for her "bosum friend" Gracie, her mom (and one of my dearest friends) Carla, and Nana.  We had such a lovely time.  We took out our hodge-podge of tea cups, saucers and plates.  Set out pretty table cloths and napkins, some candles and stings of fake pears for the centerpiece. Earlier in the month Evelyn and Joshua made paper hearts and glued on scraps of paper, rhinestones and glitter, which I added ribbon and hung over our dinning room table for a veryfestive Valentine's touch. 

Our menu consisted of chicken salad sandwhiches and strawberry & cream cheese sandwhiches, both cut into hearts.  Strawberry rice crispy treats with cranberries also in heart shapes.  Strawberry and blueberry muffins with honey-almond butter.   Mixed berry salad (which Evelyn calls a "berry special salad").  Raspberry cordial and of course.....tea!  We also had some chocolate heart candies on a little platter (junior mints, recees, special dark and milk).

The girls were so sweet in their little tea-party outfits (previously Christmas dresses) and jewels/hats.  I brought up Evelyns little table/chair set from downstairs to use as a table that the girls could color some pictures I had printed up with some Valentine's stuff on them, but Evelyn decided that she would rather have her and Gracie sit at their own little table.  They looked like sweet little angels having tea together and their little cloth napkins on their laps!   We followed up by reading  Raggedy Anne : How she got her candy heart.  Such a sweet story!    And who doesn't love Raggedy Ann???

This is the first tea party that we have hosted, but after the fun we had today, it will definately NOT be the last!

Carla and my mom.  Can you see all the yummy food on the breakfast bar?

Big girl table

Little girl table.  What's really special about this, is tht these pink glass dishes are the dishes I played with when I had tea parties as a little girl, my mom and aunt played with when they were children AND my nana played with when she was little!!!  Now my daughters will get to use them too!

Sweet and sweeter!

Lillian woke up and decided to join our party.  Instead of tea, she thought that eating the paper heart placemats would be yummy....

or maybe not....

Tea is over, time to go play.