Nov. 8, 2009 - ~The Theatre and FILM
The girls and I were able to attend the Cinderella show on Saturday. Some friends of ours were in the show, one playing the lead role of Christopher, and the group did quite an impressive job!
These were taken before we left.
And this photo was taken at intermission.
Other friends have recently been involved in a faith based film project as well. I wish I had photographs, but I do not. Jamice headed out for some hands on experience and soon found himself very much involved. They were scheduled to put him behind the camera on Saturday working as a Cinematographer and he's made some local connections as well. He has many upcoming adventures, and his knowledge of film - the in's and out's of everything, just floors me. It's passion I tell ya! Whatever ye do, do it to the glory of God!
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Nov. 5, 2009 - ~An interview......
Here's a gentleman that has been using kiddie pools to garden since the early 70's. He gradually left traditional gardening and worked his way up to 8 pools, providing food for his household.
*photo of Grandpa w/ kiddie pool gardens off to the side
I'd like to ask him all the in's and out's, the who's and what's - the why's and how's, yet little is known about Grandpas adventures with kiddie pool gardening.
What we do know is that as Grandpa (my husbands Grandfather) aged, he began the pool gardens and worked his way up to 8 of the pools. And we do know that it is most definitely addicting, just by our own experience!
We are on our third or fourth gardening season with the pools and I see the appeal of it all. It's easier on your back and legs, MUCH easier to weed, has fewer issues with bugs and absolutely no issues with gophers. We've learned the joys of pool gardening and we've learned there are some things you don't do. You don't plant potatoes, onions, or garlic. And as far as drainage goes - we need plenty!
To my shame I missed the pool buying season again! They NEVER go on sale in this part of the country. I've tried holding out for the sale for two years and I will not miss the opportunity to buy again! Eventhough I said that last year, I mean it this time
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Nov. 4, 2009 - ~My Boy
This morning finds me sipping coffee and checking email. I am hoping to grab a couple photos of the garden when I go out to water. It's surprising how much a garden grows when you're not watching 
Big Bub set out at 5:30 this morning to work on the set of a new film. He'll be there for two days and may be an extra in the film tomorrow. He's hoping for some technical time today - can't wait to see how it goes......
Here is his latest creation w/ a special guest appearance by a very special someone. I'm so proud of you boys! Keep pressing on!
FEAR semon illustration/ from Jivie on Vimeo.
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Nov. 3, 2009 - ~Time flies when you're having fun....
It's been a full week and I hope to write more when life slows down a little. I'm trying to remember that the blog is not the most important thing. So, here's a timely update and then I'm off for the most important things....
Saturday Gary's cousin tied the knot, as they say.
even got a photo of this cute little couple, hardy-har-har.
Proof that we're still here ;) The garden's still growing and we're actually harvesting many vegetables. We took the week off from school last week and we'll be schooling on and off this week in some new locations, but I'll write about that in a few days and hopefully be able to share some photos as well.
Blessings to everyone!
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Oct. 27, 2009 - ~Just for you Misti >wink<
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Oct. 25, 2009 - ~P is for pajamas and plants
It has been such a nice birthday weekend. Gary made a special dish he's been making for over 20 years - Spanish style steak. A thin cut steak wrapped around stuffing and served with black beans and rice - YUM! Part of the fun of birthdays is to see what the birthday person will request for the special day. We've got one that requests Burger King almost every single time and another that requests homemade spaghetti and meatballs.
Jo made my chocolate CHOCOLATE birthday cake and the cute little hat I'm wearing above. And this little fella was falling asleep in the middle of singing the happy birthday song. I've never had one doze off while singing! He was OUT by the time the cake was served...... ADORABLE.
And since it's been nearly a week since the last garden update, here goes.....
The pool (towards the back of the photo) is the pepper pool, which has several pepper plants, as well as 2 heads of cabbage, and some teeny-tiny developing beets. The front pool has 6 or 7 radishes, 5-8 heads of lettuce, 1 broccoli, and 7 heads of cabbage growing. I recently fudged and bought the cabbage from our local feed store. They were waving their cute little leaves and calling my name. Apparently they had heard of our pool gardens and vegetables are dying to get in!
Here's our lettuce pool, which is beginning to explode with greenage. Every couple of days I thin the pool a bit. We really should have purchased a few more pools just for the lettuce and spinach! They love the pools and we sure do love them......
And here's our newest endeavor for the winter garden which will be harvested between December and January - Lord willing. Two rows of beets and two rows of collards. The row in the middle was the spinach that didn't take, so I planted some more this afternoon. We'll transplant all of these in a couple weeks and keep our garden growing through the New Year. At this time we're not sure if we're going to continue planting in the pools or if we're going to plant in hubby's vegetable garden area. He's had the area covered for several weeks now and all the weeds and bugs are just about gone. If we add the fertilizer from our chickens we'll be able to plant in that area when these are transplant ready and they'll have plenty of nutrients to keep growing.
Have a blessed week this week my friends. I'll talk w/most of you on the F&B!
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Oct. 22, 2009 - ~Recent activity....
The days have been full here lately and this week has flown by! In between our daily school schedule, new exercise routines, gardening, and taking care of situations like this:
We have managed to press on, getting ready for family this Thanksgiving.
The top of the cabinets in the diningroom are just about complete. They need an added touch of something.....haven't figured out what that something is exactly, but when I do that part will be marked off the list of to-do's 
And if you're wondering..... the stain came out of the quilt. Thanks to many, many, friends who chimed in to help me I will be able to dress the girls beds with their matching quilts this Thanksgiving. Matching quilts which were a gift from my mother who will be visiting that day. Thanking the Lord for stain sticks, but not so much for markers.......
Have a beautiful day!
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Oct. 19, 2009 - ~Fall Garden update
Here's the lettuce and spinach. We should be able to begin the harvesting in 2-3 weeks and have lots of Salad for Thanksgiving! This is the smallest pool we have, so I'll be planting more lettuce again soon.
Here's the radish section.
These are the amazing pepper trees. Yes I'm calling them trees because they are as tall as I am, not saying much, but for a pepper plant that says a lot I think! We gave growing peppers another try, after a previous failure,and they've been producing ever since, providing about 4 peppers a week. Notice the size..... recently they began to pick back up to their normal size as well.
So far the Fall garden has nearly been free. We had extra seeds from previous plantings (some are working....some are not), and our compost has been brewing for several months now. We decided to try a little pellet kit we found on sale and I went ahead and bought a few dollars worth of seeds as well, so I think we've just about approached the $10.00 point in recent days.....
My helper and I planted beets, collards, and spinach today. I hope the seeds are not too old and everything sprouts quickly. The pellets were a lot of fun for the little helper, a new experience. It was fun to see them blow up and expand when the water was added.......
It's a beautiful day today - perfect planting weather!
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Oct. 18, 2009 - ~Thanksgiving plans still underway....
The Thanksgiving table runner is complete!
*See below a few days for the matching napkins*
Here's a close-up of the edges:
Last week I dusted off the top of the dining room cabinets and this week they will be decorated. I can't wait! I've got all these ideas floating around in my brain space!!!
Had to share these photos as well..... even though they will not be used for Thanksgiving holiday. Opened up a package from a very special someone today and it was FULL of these pretty little table linens! Also enclosed was a gorgeous vintage apron. I have to remember to take a photo, but it's so pretty I want to take the photo with a live model, so I have to wait.
And look at this little guy! Notice the denim?????
I think he'll go perfectly with our other creations. And he was a dollar at Wally World!
Now I'm off to enjoy the remainder of this beautiful brisk day!!!
Ezra 3:11(a)
With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD :
"He is good;
his love to Israel endures forever."
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Oct. 16, 2009 - ~A childhood story of deep emotional scarring.....
When I was young my mother was a NUT! A health nut. That season of her life lasted for several years. She was a lean mean jogging machine running 5 miles a day. I stayed home wishing there was something interesting in the refrigerator. All I found were cute little baggies of neatly chopped carrots and celery. And I'll never forget the time I ate her precious watermelon! Wew - was that an ordeal! I guess it was the fact that I ate the entire thing all by myself. I was probably going through sugar withdrawals......
Once she told me she would buy me and a friend Burger King. I sat there thinking it was some kind of trick. She assured me she would buy us each a hamburger, fries, and a coke. I was blown away! Then she told me 'the catch'. All we had to do was to slip on our shoes and walk there with her. That seemed like such a small thing to me. I mean, we passed Burger King in the car nearly every single day. Well, about 2 miles in to that 5 mile walk I thought I was going to die! And to think I had to do it again on the way home! That woman is a genius.....
So now that little whiner has grown up and is doing the same..... I am walking. Walking and loving it! I feel so good and even had two days I had to fight the urge to walk twice! Each week I kick the workout up a notch and I am feeling such difference in my muscles. Poor things were hardly being used. And the craziest of all thoughts..... I actually thought about purchasing cute little baggies for chopped carrots and celery!
Hubby and I walk and on alternating days I add 15 minutes with the hula hoop. My goal for this week was to do this 6 days and I am on track. Praise the Lord! I am so thankful for this!!! As far as diets go..... that's a big No-No for me. I am not fond of diets. Maybe there's some emotional scarring from my youth, lol. Though I have noticed I am making much better food choices that are more consistent than normal. Hmmm...... interesting.
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Oct. 13, 2009 - ~Easy breezy nutrition
Last week we had smoothies every morning (except one) for our breakfast. It's one of the easiest, and cheapest ways, I've found to get extra nutrients in to these little sweetums running around here. They *LOVE* smoothies! We made blueberry smoothies, chocolate smoothies, chocolate chip smoothies, and berry spinach smoothies.
Here's a partially eaten berry spinach smoothie
And some blurry evidence of it's goodness:
Most of our smoothies have yogurt, but this one does not. We just added a bunch of fresh spinach leaves in to the blender - just below the halfway mrk. Then added the mixed frozen fruit (peaches, pineapple, etc), some frozen strawberries, frozen blueberries, a banana and some indian gooseberry powder, a goodly amount of honey, a cup of o.j. and enough water so that it will mix (1-2 cups?).
This was yummy and exploded with berry flavor!
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Oct. 10, 2009 - ~FREEDOM
Our eldest baby (okay so he's not a baby anymore) just finished a project he's born working on. It may not be up here too much longer but I'm allowed to show it for a time.
~Smitten Momma
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Oct. 9, 2009 - ~KEEEYOOT!
Don't you just love it when an idea pans out?! One of the hardest things is to spend lots of time on a project and it be a total flop. So I had this idea.......
We really want to spend a little extra time on the little things this Thanksgiving, but I know that we'll have to begin our work now so that it does not turn in to 'an event' and we lose sight of what we enjoy most about Thanksgiving..... our family.
So we decided to make some cute little Napkins and either a table cloth or a runner for the table. We've got several other ideas we'll be implementing as well and are very excited about each of them. I hope to finish the projects WEEKS before the holiday so that there will be NO stress Aren't those napkins just KEEEYOOT?!
Here's a close-up:
Jo and I worked for a few hours on the napkins yesterday and I finished the fringe while helping the boys with their school work today. Once they were washed and dried I got extremely excited! We're going to have denim running through the entire house by Thanksgiving time 
On another note..... a certain someone (pictured above) lost his first tooth today! These are certainly exciting times we live in.......
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Oct. 9, 2009 - ~Kentucky Math Lesson
Our friends in Kentucky shared this on their facebook and I just know we can use all the help we can get so....... enjoy!
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Oct. 7, 2009 - ~What's growing....
The garden, quite frankly, was hard to get to the past few weeks. I just did not feel like it. Boy what an attitude change I have now! Now I want to plant everything everywhere and I don't want to stop! What happened? A little sprouting is what happened......
I cleaned out the pools a few weeks ago and just last week added our compost and some seeds. Well the seeds are sprouting and that's all that's needed to kick this gardener in to high gear.
There are three pools that have been planted so far. The smallest pool (above) is our spinach and lettuce pool.
Then we have another pool that we've planted radishes, broccoli, and more spinch and lettuce (we eat a lot of spinach and lettuce). I'm not sure how the broccoli is going to do in the pool....not sure if it's quite deep enough, and hoping hubby gets to the big garden to plant more soon.
The third pool has carrots and our yummy green peppers.
These pepper plants have absolutely amazed me! We planted these from seed in the spring and once they began producing they have not stopped! I had read that pepper plants produce 3 or 4 peppers and then they stop. I've got 4 or 5 plants in the pool and they have produced and produced and produced! The peppers are about half the size of regular peppers, but it's free food all the same!
The weather has been so lovely lately. Fall is here and some days the weather just screams praise! Yesterday was not 'cool', it was rather warm, but we were blessed w/ lots of rain. The garden loves rain and I'm excited to see what has sprouted today. We took a trip to the park w/some friends yesterday and the children played and played. For much of that time it rained and they were soaked! It's not often they have the pleasure of playing in the rain since most rains are accompanied by lightning but yesterday we had none.
I only wish I had brought my camera. I suppose I'll have to store those memories in my heart!
Now it's off to make some fruit smoothies with spinach for breakfast! I've already ground my wheat for banana bread as well. Today is for baking and school!
Blessings to all today!
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Oct. 5, 2009 - ~Fit pitchin' little monster.....
So we had some wonderful adventures this past Saturday. There were several community yard sales that were being held and we were able to catch one of them. We were blessed with some great deals and it was a fun family outing!
Some times I love going out in public. There are so many people to meet and talk with and in general I'm a people person. But every now and again I see or experience something that makes me cringe for the future. It was on our last loop through the subdivision when it happened...... There were cars parked in front of the houses and a sign that read: 'One Way' (which was the way we were going). We turned the corner, drove a bit, and were face to face with another car that was doing the same heading the opposite direction. We were absolutely and totally stuck!
Here we were just 20 feet from freedom and this car is in our way. We sat there for about 10 seconds with the impulse of putting our BIG van in reverse. That was settled quickly though due to the fact that there were about 8 cars waiting behind us......all going the correct way. So we were stuck and motioned to the guy and gal in front of us (the ones that were going the wrong way) to please move 'that-a-way'. To which he motioned w/his hands that he was stuck, with what appeared to be an attitude of 'oh well looks like you have to move because I'm not moving'.
Not wanting to think the worst of the guy I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and jumped out of the van to go talk to the nice fella (hubby had his hands full with a 2 ton vehicle). I sprinted up to their car and informed him, very nicely using the word sir, that there were 8 vehicles behind us (it is quite possible he didn't see them) and we couldn't move. I mean sometimes you just have to know that maybe the person you're talking to really isn't a jerk. Right?
To which he responded: 'What do you want me to do about it?' I looked at him and knew at that moment his mother and father did not give him enough spankings! I said: "Oh, O-kaaay"(in a surprised tone because once again it was our initial gut instinct which was right). That's when I sprinted back to the van (I'm sprinting because I know that this is a bit of a volatile situation. People get angry and there is at least 1 angry brat in front of us and not telling how many angry brats behind us) and grabbed my cel phone when I realized the house on the corner next to us had a police car. A few of us, including the police man started talking, and the lady at the house came out and asked the man to move. To which he did in a very interesting way and all the eight cars were free to go.
People are interesting, aren't they? They pick pieces of dirt to sink their feet in to. It's a pride thing and they do not want anyone telling them what to do. Some times it's obvious..... like the fit pitchin little monster we ran across this fine morning. And some times it's much more subtle, but either way we've got a bunch of people running around out there that are use to getting what they want and they do not care if they're right or wrong. I am sure he was cussing us all the way out the subdivision. In his toddler mind he is right. He's not thinking about the one way sign or the eight vehicles obeying it. He's thinking that all those people needed to move because HE wanted through. He dug his feet in deep and by the grace of God there were no more angry little brats behind us.
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Oct. 3, 2009 - ~FB having issues so I'll post this to the blog for now....
Bub is busy filming today. Trying out some new techniques while working on a project. I'll call this one: 'Using what you've got'! Made me chuckle...... had to share
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Oct. 2, 2009 - ~Just a peek now
Here's a little peek at yesterdays pumpkin bread
The recipe came from one of my favorite cookbooks (MOMYS) and I altered it a little by halving it, adding a little less sugar, fresh ground flour, walnuts, a handful of chocolate chips and sesame and poppy seeds. Truly it should be called Pumpkin cake because it was too yummylicious to be called bread
Overflowing were the fragrances traveling through the house yesterday. Fresh black bean soup coming from the crockpot filled the air and the afternoon Pumpkin bread sent my senses soaring! What is it about Fall?! Don't you just love soups and breads and the cool air?
One of the children said everything smells so clean. So fresh. That it truly does!
Here are the recipes from yesterday cooking:
Black Bean Soup (in crock pot)
2 lbs. dry black beans
1 lb kielbasa or meat
fresh greens, chopped small (I used kale)
2 small onions
1-2 green peppers chopped (we still have peppers coming from our Spring garden!)
minced garlic (lots)
italian seasonings
Last night we served this over rice. Tonight I may serve this with cheese, sour cream and some soft tortillas.
Pumpkin bread (we halved this recipe and added nuts, seeds and choc chips)
4 1/2 c sugar
6 eggs
3/4 tsp bake pwdr
2 1/4 tsp salt
3 tsp bak sda
1 1/2 c wtr
1 1/2 c oil
1 lrg can pumpkin
5 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp each cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg
Combine sugar, oil, eggs, wtr and pumpkin. Sift flour and dry ingredients in seperate bowl. Gradually stir in to pumpkin mixture, blending well and pour in to well greased pan. Bake at 325 for 45 min.- 1hr.
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Sep. 30, 2009 - ~YUM
Our school day is about to begin. We have a three day school week ahead of us with some gardening thrown in for good measure. Lord willing we'll get some lettuce and spinach planted today or tomorrow.....
One of our favorite things around here are smoothies. We make all sorts of smoothies and usually make our own yogurt for the smoothies as well. This morning we made a new to us smoothie and Jo is perfecting the second batch as I type. YUM. YUM.
This is what's needed for one blender batch of smoothies:
*1 banana
*1 cup yogurt
*1 cup milk (or half milk half wtr)
*1 heaping teaspoon peanut butter
*2 heaping teaspoons cocoa powder
*1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
*LOTS of ice
*2+ TB honey
(Modify to your taste. Add more chocolate, less peanut butter.....whatever you like.)
The children said we should name this Reeses smoothie. MMMM....MMM....good!
Our favorite smoothies, those we make consistently - on a weekly basis, are blueberry yogurt smoothies and carnation instant breakfast smoothies w/yogurt. We also make fruit smoothies (no yogurt), usually on the week-ends when Dad's home, but not on a weekly basis. Smoothies are great for breakfast or lunch and they are SO healthy.
I have a friend that makes spinach and strawberry smoothies regularly and her children love them. The smoothies have a green color, but they only taste the strawberry's. I can only imagine the nutritional content these children are receiving from all the spinach and strawberry's! Smoothies are a yummy and FUN way to impart extra nutrition to our families.
Have a blessed day!
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Sep. 29, 2009 - ~Lovely weekend
Today is Tuesday. I thought it was Monday...... time is flying by so fast I've lost a day somewhere!
This past weekend hubby and I took our first overnight/weekend trip in 14 years (I think). Early Saturday morning we arrived at our destination. An old bed and breakfast which has been converted to an Inn with private suites. Everything was so nice, so clean, and so very well placed - In the middle of town within walking distance to everything!
We quickly hit the shops after unpacking and realized we had scheduled our little get-a-way during the annual sidewalk sale! We purchased a few boutique items for a dollar (YES 1.00!!!) and headed off to find a few other deals (which we did for $1.50!!!). All in all the little sidewalk sale cost us about 10.00 and our first hour or two were quite chipper because of our finds......
Our first meal was at the Goblin, which was quite deceiving from the outside. Looking like a little cafe/coffee house, but once we peeked in to take a looksy we realized how big the little place was. The food was YUMMY, the service was fantastic, and the enviroment was so very nice and cozy, decorated with libraries galore.
Then it was off to continue the window shopping and bargain hunting...... and before we knew it evening was upon us and we were becoming a little tired.
So we walked a few blocks to our quaint little Inn to settle in for the night. Next to us was the cutest little pizza shop where we purchased our late dinner. We split a large greek salad and sme enormous garlic bread knots and watched some old movies and home improvement shows (not a good idea because that makes you want to do home improvements!).
The next day we walked around some more and enjoyed breakfast at the Lakeside Inn where we were initially contemplating on staying. We were once again blessed when our waitress came out and told us the good news, to our absolute surprise, that our meal was FREE!
There was one more stop before we headed home and that was to check out the Antique mall we had read about. This is the Antique Mall......
Isn't it adorable?! The dealers had these little shops made up from sheds. Some were pretty ordinary, but many were simply adorable! Some had patios, walkways, porches..... . Some were made up of 3, 4, or 5 of these sheds placed together with pure cuteness!
This design/idea is very similiar to what my parents are planning next to the old cabin they've renovated. Grandpa is planning bunk houses for the kids and grandkids to stay while we're there. He's not using sheds, but it's the same basic concept. Our bunk house will be made first since we're the biggest and the furthest away. Can't wait!
I've never seen a cuter Antique Mall.....have you?!
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Sep. 23, 2009 - ~THIS WEEKEND!
Hello everyone! Just wanted to post this update and a video in regards to a girls/young ladies conference that is coming to Vero Beach this week-end. We were able to attend last year and I have to say that it's a lot of fun and the entry rate is unbelievable (you know how we love a good deal)!
If you're looking for something you and your daughter can do together, this would be it! And I hear that there are churches that will be busing young ladies to the event as well. Suffice to say...... you could round up a group and go together!
Here's a promotional video that shows pieces of the last conference (this is the third). And I hear they are having the same speakers as last year and I must say one young lady (about half way thru the video here) had us in stitches the entire time. No exaggeration...... she's a riot and these girls will BLESS you!
Passion for Jesus spring 09' conference from Jivie on Vimeo.
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Sep. 22, 2009 - ~Proof
Just thought I'd post a couple photos before school is completed and we head off to Bible Study.....
Today we did a Noah's ark craft
But this is the real reason I decided to post today......
This little fella is our comedian. And this is yet another photo of him blessing me with proof!
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Sep. 21, 2009 - ~Blessings and JOY
~Jo collecting beauty berries from our bush outside
We read through Psalm 23 and the children worked on memorizing, or in some cases re-memorizing, their verses. Then Gary handed out lollipops........
Once the suckers were given, we read through a few of St. Augustine's prayers and prayed ourselves -closing out the day. We didn't know when we sat down what we would be reading or doing and it was such a special time. Hubby mentioned this as we went on our morning walk this morning. It was such a non-formal thing. So enjoyable......
So I start this morning out with an encouragement! Have a good time in the Word of God. Allow Him to be as a breath of fresh air to your family. The conversation the Word of God stirs up! The thoughts that the prayers of men of God invoke! Before you know it you may realize the family has been sitting, reading, discussing, and an hour has went by! God is good......let us enjoy Him!
~Our productive little gals with their heads down. Go girlies go! An average 6 eggs a day from our 8 gals. (3 have been molting, BUT they're still laying!).
Now here is a story of an Israeli woman that just passed away. She left over 1400 descendants! One thing that struck me in the article was that she passed her love for children down to her children and grand children. This ministered to me! In a day when people are choosing to not have their home filled with blessings, this woman somehow passed on the great desire for the blessings! The love for children did not fizzle out. They must have truly been raised in a joyful home to want to continue in the same way! Neat article....
LOVIN' THEM BLESSINGS!
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Sep. 17, 2009 - ~Outside the four walls again
So we ventured outside of our four walls again. I told myself we'd stay home this week and focus mainly on the book work, but with a deal this good we just couldn't stay home.
Today was the annual home school day at the aquarium. The price is usually 15. per child and 25. per adult, but today all tickets were $5.00 each.
The children looked like this for the first hour or so......
But after a while we got them to loosen up a bit.
We took along pads and pens and the little ones drew and drew and came home with all sorts of neat drawings to show Daddy.
There was also a room designated for teachers and students. They handed out coloring sheets and age appropriate learning activities to take home. As soon as we returned home I uploaded a youtube video about Loggerhead turtles and gave them their coloring sheets to finish out the day.
Now that I'm thinking about it, that's one of the many side benefits of homeschooling. Just a couple years ago we planned our trip to Rock City around home school day. I believe we received the same kind of deal as we did this day at the Aquarium. There is so much you can do when you have the freedom to plan your life according to what fits your needs instead of the public or private school schedule.
Today we were able to put the books away for a day and study marine life. And we did this at an exceptional charge. And that makes Momma very happy. And as the saying goes.....'If Mommas Happy, everybody's happy!"
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Sep. 16, 2009 - ~SNAKES!!! but only half of them.....
He pokes it again and says it's some sort of caterpillar. Which did not convince me in the least because he did not say it with enough confidence. I just knew it was a rattlesnake, well.....until he put it on his ax and began to examine it, at that point I was starting to think it was something else. But that's when I went to the other tree and studied that blob of bird poo. Which was also a very strange caterpillar. We ended up finding 5 caterpillars on the two trees. We did a little research and some of these things are quite deceiving, which is what I was tonight.....deceived. And that's the story of my evening brush with death with the rattlesnakes in our backyard.
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Sep. 15, 2009 - ~Chess
I managed to grab a couple of pix of our sweet boys learning to set up their chess board yesterday. You can see the older one looking to the left, looking at the computer screen which was playing a dvd on how to set up the board. The younger one couldn't keep up as well, so the older one would hit the rewind button on the computer and help his brother set up the other side.
They were there doing the various beginning exercises for over an hour. The older brother was quite indignant when his younger siblings woke up from nap and wanted to have some imaginary fun with his chess pieces. He was taking it very seriously and could have sat there for another hour I'm sure.
The Bible says to train according to 'their bent' and we are always studying the children to see exactly what 'their bent' is. I think we nailed this one! At least I hope so
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Sep. 13, 2009 - ~Starting the week.....
This past week was ended with the boys and I heading off for the Sept.11, 2009 prayer event at our local Courthouse.
And the following day heading off to do a little spelunking......
The TLP curriculum that Jo is working with has many neat learning ideas to go along with the book. Spelunking was one of them 
This week we will stay home and focus on more of the book work, but I'm sure real life living will find it's way in the mix. Once again I give a little plug for Total Language Plus. It's a complete language arts program and the learners sure do git a lot from it
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Sep. 11, 2009 - ~Happenings........
One week down. Many more to go. This first week has been so encouraging and I'm very thankful the Lord has blessed us with a grand beginning to the school year.
100% of the weeks 'work' has been completed, so today I will work on housework, odds and ends, and scan over the TLP book for field trip/ enrichment activities for the coming weeks of school.
Hubby and I also began exercising together and I am starting to actually feel the difference - already! He is very diligent and consistent in everything he does, so he really makes the perfect exercise partner for me
It's quite different not having our eldest in school any longer and he has been in a state of limbo not knowing what the future has in store for him. He thought he might head out of town for a couple weeks, but the timing on that fell through, and then yesterday he received word that he will be working w/a company producing short films that share the gospel. Was this 'Why' he did not head out of town? It seems that way. And it was an act of faith to know that the Lord was always at work, although He seemed so silent.
What the future holds....we do not know. None of us do - do we? I think recent events prove that truth. But God is never caught off guard. He knows everything at all times. It's our job to follow him and do His will. He takes care of all the details. And it is He who takes care of all our needs.
I would like to send encouragement to everyone that will be reading the blog the next few days. Sometimes life is very difficult. There are so many seasons and they constantly change. But God is the one thing that never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And though He does not offer us the perfect life here on earth, He does offer us an eternity that will be nothing like it is here. There will be no hatred. No bitterness. No sickness, death, or suffering. Jesus has paid the price and the gift is ours for the taking.
May we all be encouraged in the coming weeks. May us homeschool moms remember WHY we are homeschooling. Where in the world are our children going to hear truth day in and day out, if not in the home? Where are they going to learn to fall on their knees in worship? Let us remember the real reasons we homeschool; or shall I say the MAIN reasons we homeschool.
And here's a short film Bub created a few weeks ago. May the blessings of the Lord abound to us all today!
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Sep. 8, 2009 - ~All things learing AND a deal to share
Today is the official start of our school. We will start fresh with new pages from new books and delve in to mathematics, literature, and beginning phonics. We have been busy 'trying' to get all our ducks in a row before we begin our 'official' school year, although we have never ceased in our learning. The most recent learning came from a very old book and the story of Cubby.
We gathered around reading this story from the 1950's and thoroughly enjoying every minute. We learned that there are bears in Arizona and there really is no difference between a black bear and a brown bear. Then for the grand finale we made our little bear cakes. Ahhh school...... gotta love it!
And on another note I have to share a REALLY good deal. If you are a fan of C.S. Lewis you might want to head on over to The Great Courses at www.teach12.com. They are having a sale that is running until October 1st. Type 'The Life and Writings of C.S. Lewis' in to their search engine and you'll find a doozy of a deal. The regular price is 54.95 and the c.d. set is now only 19.95. I had an additional $10 coupon that made the deal even sweeter (coupon code CACP) making it $10.00 for the set!! They also have tapes and downloads at an even better rate and you'd save on the shipping w/the downloads.
Signing off for now. Have a blessed school year and beautiful day!
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Sep. 6, 2009 - ~A quick hello
Popping in for a quick hello! We've been hard at work with kitchen projects, getting ready for school, a quick trip to St. Augustine, and family visits. Back to normal very soon....I hope.
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