Aug. 7, 2009 - A new photo of me & baby!
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Aug. 7, 2009 - How to make laundry soap
Powdered laundry detergent- Top load machine
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar (I found it at Safeway, I think)
1 Cup washing soda (found at Kroger)
1/2 cup Borax
Grate or break soap bar into pieces and process in a food processor until powdered. Mix all ingredients. For light load, use 1 tablespoon. For heavy or soiled load, use 2 tablespoons. Yields: 3 cups detergent (approx 40 loads)
-You can use other soaps instead of the Fels-Naptha, such as: Ivory, Sunlight, Kirk's Hardwater Castile or Zote bars. Don't use heavily perfumed soaps. You can buy Fels-Naptha by the case from your local grocer or online. Washing soda and Borax can be found in the laundry or cleaning aisle. Recipe approx cost: $2.
What a great way to save money! It is really very easy to mix up and just as good as my other detergent. There is another recipe that makes a liquid laundry detergent, but I haven't tried that yet. I did make up some detergent with Ivory soap, and I hope this will work to clean my baby's clothes. She has sensitive skin, so we shall see!
Source for recipe: Molly Green, Tightwad Tuesday
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Jul. 15, 2009 - How to make baby food
I have been thinking about posting for those that may not know how to make baby food, as I have been doing this recently. It is really very easy and economical!
Here are the steps:
1. Cut and cube the fruit or vegetables you want to cook. Carrots are an easy one to begin with, but they have to be peeled too.
2. Place in a pan of water, enough to cover the veggie. Cover and boil. Reduce heat and cook for 10-20 minutes, depending on how thick the veggie is. Thicker carrots and sweet potatoes take longer.
3. Take the pan off the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes, leaving the veggies in the water.
4. Place cooked food in a blender with some of the cooking water.
5. Puree the veggie, adding more water until it is thinner, like tomato soup.
6. Pour the pureed veggie into ice cube trays (old ones can be found at Goodwill or thrift stores, if you have an ice maker like me!)
7. Freeze the food into these portions. After freezing, put the veggie into ziploc bags and keep in your freezer. Label the bags with what food is in it, i.e., carrots) It is easy to give your baby one, two or three veggie cubes for their meal. Defrost in your microwave in a bowl for approx. 30 seconds.
Note: I do this most often for veggies: carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, peas, green beans (sometimes they are stringy) but also some fruits: peaches, pears, plums, apples. But applesauce is easy to buy in the unsweetened variety and you can feed that to your baby. Fruit does not need to be cooked, but it can be to make it softer. I've pureed bananas too, and added water to them. They are a little thinner and more palatable for the baby. Sometimes potatoes and sweet potatoes can be too starchy for the blender. You can try those in your food processor on pulse.You can add cereal to the fruit or veggie for variety, or if they don't seem to like it. Also good for thickening it! Hope that helps! It is SOO much cheaper, and better for your baby!
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May. 17, 2009 - Complicating my life!
This post is mostly about my 5 month old baby and the trouble I am having with her skin. She is complicating my life, but I would do it for her any day! :-D So my DD has terrible skin, excema and cradle cap. I looked on welltellme.com and they told me that her skin troubles are probably related to milk allergy. So I am trying to give up milk/ dairy while I am nursing her. It is not going to be easy! There is milk, butter, cream in SOO many things! Thankfully I have several friends on Facebook and elsewhere that are quite encouraging, and so that helps. I did go to the store this week and was happy to find soy yogurt and soy pudding. Both taste really good! She is a very happy baby, a great sleeper (she is the 4th child and the best I've ever had!) and overall a delight to our family. But her skin is SOO dry and scaly. Poor girl! So I am really hoping that giving it up will help her. I know it takes a month at least. Also, I am potty training my 2 1/2 year old DD. She is doing pretty well! I am trying not to put her in pull-ups too much, because I know that she can't feel when she is wet. She had a little bit of diarrhea on Friday, which was kinda crazy. But she felt better by the next day. Don't know if she ate something or what... Anyway, it is hard to believe that the school year is almost over! My DS6 will be done with kindergarten! WOW! And my DD10 will be finishing 4th grade! My DH took the kids to our local HS graduation yesterday and they all really enjoyed it. I think he wants to HS all the way through. We will see. Well, I just wanted to jot down some quick thoughts. Thanks! Have a great rest of your school year!
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Jan. 23, 2009 - New baby, new year...
So we do have our new baby! Her name is Bethany and she was born in early December. She is very sweet, and we are enjoying her. She is almost 7 weeks old already! My DD 2 year old was having a hard time adjusting to the baby, and being "de-throned", at first. But she is doing much better. Not so many tantrums, and gives the baby lots of kisses and pats on the head. All 3 kids love to hold her, and my DD 9 is very good with her, and can even put her down for a nap for me. We began homeschool again a few weeks ago, and it was not as hard of an adjustment as I thought it would be. The baby sleeps most of the morning, so that helps a lot. Then I do nurse her once during school, usually about 11:00. So I get quite a bit of time in before that happens (usually!) My older kids have helped me some by being a little more independent in their work. We had a nice Christmas too. It was around then that I was beginning to feel more like myself, not so achy and tired. I had an energy burst, and that was so nice! I am still working on getting in to some of my jeans though, it may take a while... especially after all the yummy sweets we had around here for the holidays! We had lots of meals brought to us from our church family and MOPS moms. That was SO nice. My mom and dad were here for about 2 weeks. That was great too! So all in all, I didn't cook for almost a month!! I loved it! :-D Tonight I had a crazy diaper experience! I was just taking the baby's diaper off when I saw she was poopy, and that she was peeing. So I left the diaper on for a 1/2 minute more. I then took it off and was wiping her bottom, when she started pooping more! It just kept coming! I managed to get another diaper on her, and left it on for a minute. Then I started to wipe her again, and she started pooping again, and it squirted across the room!! Her crib is right there, so the poop got on the crib, the crib blankets, sheets, bumper pads, on my arm, etc.,! It was all over!! So after about 20 wipes, three diapers, a whole new outfit for her and me, I changed almost all of her crib linens, and ran a load of wash! Now this is my 4th baby, and I've never had an experience like that! :-D The older kids were laughing and laughing! Leave it to the baby to keep me on my toes! Hope my story didn't gross you out! LOL! We are enjoying our KONOS Kings and Queens unit now. Today we made crowns out of craft foam for all three kids, and then they played with them this afternoon. The kitchen chairs were thrones, they had capes and all kinds of dress up outfits on, and my DD9 was being quite the queen! She is also making her own "castle" out of cereal boxes, oatmeal containers, paper towel rolls, TP rolls and tape. It looks pretty fun so far, and she is not done yet! I will be taking photos when she is done. Gotta go, that new baby is crying and needs some lovin'! Happy New Year!
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Oct. 24, 2008 - What is new?
So I was challenged by Tia's idea on blogging more often...I really need to, but I just get busy with the normal HSing, cooking, cleaning, etc., that blogging is not as high on the list. I have been busy prepping for our Halloween/ Pumpkin week next week, and my most recent FUN find for my kindergartener is File Folder Games (FFG). I got a link to some free ones, and have made several for DS5. He has kinda liked the ones we've done so far. I have two I made for next week, with pumpkins on them. One is for numbers and one is for letters. I also have a "Halloween Rhyme" that I used when I taught kindergarten in public school. It is fun, I think DS5 will enjoy illustrating it.
We've all had colds lately, well at least three of us have, not the "boys". I got it first, I don't know where! Then my DD2 got it, and just in the past few days, my DD9 got it. I am kinda starting to get over it. It wasn't a TERRIBLE cold, it could have been worse. Since I am pregnant (due in 6 1/2 weeks!), I can't take everything that I normally would, I did take Sudafed until we ran out, and then I used a nasal spray called Afrin, which you can only use for 3-4 days. It helped a lot!
We are still trying to sell our house. We had an open house last Sunday, (our 3rd one!) and no one came again!! Ugh-- so frustrating. I know the market is slow, but I wish ONE person or couple would have come to see it! It would have made the work a little more worth it! Oh well, sigh... I was really hoping to move before baby #4 comes, but it doesn't look like it will happen. What is God trying to teach me? I think I am already a pretty patient person, and I know He is in control of everything...
My DD2's birthday party was fun, with her Elmo theme. Next we are getting ready for my DS5's birthday party in a few weeks. I need to send out invites. He chose a KNIGHT theme, so we printed out invitations from Family Fun.com, and they are filled out, I just need to get them into envelopes and send them off! They had a whole "Medieval Feast" plan, with lots of ideas for crafts, cake etc., I don't think that we will make the dragon cake though, I think we will make a shield. That would be a little easier. I don't think we'll do gold or silver icing though!
Well, I better go, we need to eat lunch, the toddler needs a diaper change, and a haircut, and naps need to happen...Busy as usual! Thanks for reading!
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Sep. 21, 2008 - A new school year!
So, we began school in Mid-August, since "the teacher is going to have a baby" and we need all the extra time we can get. (the teacher is me!) I am due in early December, so we may just take that whole month off. It's a crazy month anyway, and I may try to get all of my shopping and gift-making done in November. We'll see!
The first two weeks of school were a chaotic adjustment period for all of us. It is the first year that I am totally homeschooling TWO kids (K and 4th grade), and my 22 month old DD is not napping in the mornings anymore, like last year. So it is a bit of a juggle for me. She is prone to screaming when she is not getting any attention, and we are working on that. She is getting better at "using her words" but she still has her moments. My 5 year old DS is starting kindergarten, and is doing pretty well. He has surprised me several times already. I am using a little bit of the KONOS curriculum with him, and with my 9 year old DD. We are liking KONOS so far, it is very interesting. It is amazing all the ways we are applying the character trait learning to other things! The first character trait is attentiveness, and sometimes the kids are not very attentive to the teacher and goof off. So I have to rein them back in, and discuss being attentive!
Also with my DS, I am using a ABC curriculum that I made up from several books I have, and I used with my older DD when she was in kindergarten. It was really fun! It is fun to use it again! We are discussing a letter a week, and we are up to G week this next week. So we talk about things that begin with the letter, write the letter and words that begin with it, eat things that begin with the letter, read books, play games, etc., all with using the letter. For instance, for G week, we will talk about gingerbread men, read GB man books, compare and chart stories, make GB men, and maybe playdoh, eat grapes, goldfish, griddle cakes, etc., do beginning geometry, geoboards, graphs, and so on. It seems to really help them understand the letter and how it is used in many words. My son likes brainstorming words that start with the letter of the week when he is eating lunch or in the car. It's neat because he is thinking about it more than just in school!
Oh- the book I have used for this "curriculum" is A is Amazing by Dayle M. Timmons. It works for preschoolers as well as kindergarteners! I also have used Mudpies to Magnets for science ideas.
I have been finding activities to keep my now 23-month-old DD busy. I have pulled out all kinds of cards and games, the pegboard, puzzles, let her play in the kitchen sink, etc., I have a few idea books for Things to do with toddlers and twos (that is actually the title! by Karen Miller) from when I was in college. So I have grabbed those and used some of those ideas. One of them was to get out an ice cube, and a cookie sheet, and give her a spoon. She loved chasing it around the cookie sheet trying to pick it up! We talked about it being COLD, and how it melts. She went through four ice cubes before she was done! We also got out shaving cream last week and all three kids loved smearing it around the table. It was messy, and I had to watch my toddler to be sure she wouldn't put it in her mouth, but they all loved it! I have a small co-op group that I am involved in, and we discussed trading bins/ bags of activities for toddlers to do. For example, one of the gals has more little plastic cars that she can trade with me for a bin of bubbles and supplies. I have a whole list of bins I can pull from (partly ideas from Preschool Pizzazz by Renee Ellison) and I grab those things for her to do too. She likes to color with markers and play with dolls of course. Maybe tomorrow I will pull out the doll for her to wash in the kitchen sink! So she has her own learning time too!
We did an Olympics lapbook so far, and have been working on our Orchestra lapbook in our spare time. I think I got them both from homeschoolshare.com. The next one I have ready is on Attentiveness. It will fit in well with our KONOS curriculum. If my 9 year old gets her work done, and we have a little extra time, we will work on our lapbook. Sometimes it is an incentive for her, becuase she enjoys being crafty! She is doing more of the writing this year in her lapbook. I have done three mini-lapbooks with my DS. They are called "Tot Books", that I got from another homeschooler. (lapbooks by carisa) She has several little themes, and she cuts one file folder in half for it. Then she has a few little activity books that go inside. She makes them for her 2 year old, but they have been great for my 5 year old as an introduction. He likes having his own lapbooks. I may look at Jamin's lapbooks to see what she has done with her younger son for some ideas too. We did VeggieTales, Thomas the Tank Engine and Cars lapbooks so far. He loves those characters, and it is a review of shapes, counting, colors for him. I need to do something more advanced!
Well, I am off to bed. If you have questions about anything, please leave me a comment and I will try to respond ASAP. Thanks! Enjoy your school year!
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Jul. 9, 2008 - Having a fun summer!
Sorry I haven't been on here too much... we have been busy enjoying summer, as I hope most of you are too! We have been to the pool a few times, had a fun 4th of July with family, had a few picnics, hiked some, but mostly we have been home. We are busy fixing up our house, getting it ready to sell.
Since we are expecting our 4th baby, we decided our little 1300 sq.ft house is not going to cut it any longer. So we are trying to sell ours by owner first, and then we will begin to look harder. We have seen a few houses that look good so far, but haven't toured any yet. Say a prayer for us that it will sell fast! I don't think we can handle waiting too long... all in God's timing, I guess. Some friends of ours sold their house here in 10 days. So I am hoping that ours will sell fast too!
We are still attending our group co-op homeschool on 2 Tuesdays each month. This is a group of moms that I've been friends with forever (nearly) and we all homeschool our kids. They are from ages 12 down to 14 months. It is nice because we split them into three groups (grades 1-6, preschool, toddler/ babies) so they get to be together with friends close in age. Some of us have been hit & miss this summer, but we've still gotten together, even if it is only 3 families (out of 5). The kids love the time to be together, and the moms get to socialize a little bit too!
They are all Christian families, and we have a time of praise singing (oldest boy plays guitar) and verse memorization in the beginning. Then we split into groups for an hour or so, and then we eat lunch together. I have been teaching the preschoolers for 6 sessions now, and it is so fun. We are discussing "Transportation", and since there are 4 boys, they love it. The older kids discussed maps/ geography and magnets, and now they are moving on to a big study on the 50 states! My DD9 is loving it! They are using info from "Hold That Thought", in a book that one of the moms bought. My DD9 is even willing to do her "homework" in the summer!
Anyway, that is what we have been up to... I am hoping that we will be more regular bloggers again after the house sells! And after the move...
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May. 8, 2008 - Update!
I am sorry that I have been so out of things here on this blog. We have been enjoying spring and its busyness! We also found out that I am pregnant again! It was unplanned, unexpected, and we've never had that happen to us before! All three of our other kiddos were well planned and tried for. So we are adjusting to this news and learning a lesson in God having control!
That said, I am 9 weeks and due in early December! Our friends think we're crazy! Our kids are super excited, and they'd like another boy, you know, to even things out! 
I have been feeling nauseous some, but better since I figured out that my vitamins (from the health food store) were making me feel yucky! So I am taking them in the evening right before bed, and that seems to work. I have been mostly craving hamburgers!! I am glad grilling season is here! I am usually a sweets-lover, but lately I have not been terribly into sweets. Pregnancy and those hormones can do weird things to the body! Since this is the 4th pregnancy for me, I am feeling like I need my maternity clothes already! I have to get them back from my friend that I loaned them to...
I am making an easy biscuit recipe for dinner tonight, to go along with soup. I read in a book that I've enjoyed, called Home Comforts, that it is unpractical to buy Bisquick and those types of mixes, because you still need to do all the measuring that you would do for mixing it yourself! The only step you save is measuring baking powder!! So I found a recipe on allrecipes.com, under "Easy Biscuit Mixture". Hope you enjoy it as much as we have! Oh, and I always make it with "buttermilk", which is made with 2 Tbsp vinegar and enough milk to make 2/3 cup! It makes them taste like KFC (well, almost!)
Here's a few funnies for you:
I was talking to my mom about my nausea and things I could do to prevent it somehow, and she told me this story about my grandma. My grandma had twelve children and didn't have a lot of time to be sick, so she would set a glass of buttermilk by her bed at night and go to sleep. She would wake up in the morning, and drink the buttermilk (which was warm by then) and vomit. Then she felt much better! I can't imagine doing that... yuck!!
Also, I always have a tough time folding fitted sheets, as I was doing today. So in my Home Comforts book the author explains it is easier to fold them if you can put them on the floor to fold in the edges. So I was doing that today, and my toddler (19 months) kept walking on them! I thought that author never tried to fold sheets with a toddler around! 
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Mar. 20, 2008 - What a deal! and Happy Easter!
My 9 year old DD (she just had a birthday... but that's another story!) and I were shopping at Goodwill (which is my new favorite store!) on Monday, and we found several great deals on games, and books as usual. We also found an Easy Bake Oven there for TWO Dollars!!! It was priced at $4, with a red tag, which meant it was on sale that day-- half off!! So we were excited to get it and try it out! We got home and looked online and found a bunch of info about it, (since it came with no book or instructions) and with her b-day $$ we bought some mixes for it and little pans too.
So tonight we tried it for the first time, and made some fudge stripes, aka shortbread cookies with frosting on them. My DD was excited to get to finally use it! They turned out well, even though it took almost an hour to bake 6 little cookies! Next time I may not help her as much and see what she can do on her own. Sometimes I think she doesn't read the directions well because she knows that I read them and can just tell her all the important info. So she has two other mixes, and it will be interesting to see how they turn out!
My 5 year old DS just began T-ball this week. It is his first experience with any organized sports. He has been REALLY into baseball (and some other sports too, but baseball is his fav) since he was two years old! He has a really good swing and throw for a little guy. Today we had to tell him to quit throwing it over his coach's head! He may not learn how to play much baseball, because his dad has done a lot of that with him. But he will learn how to play in a team sport and listen to someone besides Mom and Dad about how to play. So it should be an interesting experience! Plus they are just SOOO cute-- we laugh a lot at them when they practice!
I am excited for tomorrow night because my DH has been working on a Good Friday service at our church. He has done them the past two years also, but this one will be a little different! He will have stations for people to visit, along with a guide, mostly of Scripture verses. Then he will have different things for anyone to come and touch, smell, see, etc., For instance, he has a real crown of thorns and a purple cloak/ robe. He also has a laver and plate like the one Pilate washed his hands in. He's got a whip that the soldiers beat him with, and the thirty pieces of silver that Judas paid. I am excited to see how it all will come together. Plus he's got some neat Sunday orchestra times planned in the Sunday Easter services. Hope you all have a Happy and blessed Easter!
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Feb. 26, 2008 - New photo!
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Feb. 22, 2008 - Sick again! AAUGH!
I am SICK again! YUCK! I am SOO tired of being sick, and of winter. Has everyone else had as long of a winter as we have? I was sick with strep a few weeks ago, and now I have it again! My DD8 has had it too, but I was discouraged when I went to the Dr this a.m. and found out I have it again! It's hard to have much going on and doing things when I can't swallow! Just a nice detail to have happen! :-) We are almost done with Sarah, Plain and Tall. I was hoping to finish it today, but I went to the Dr instead. Also, reading to the kids is hard when my throat hurts. I hope I feel better by Monday! It makes me appreciate my health when I have it! We did do a Valentine's Day activity pages/ lapbook last week. It was mostly fun pages like word searches, crossword puzzles, cryptograms, etc., that I got online for free. So when we were done with them, we just stapled them into the red file folder. Not really a lapbook, but sort of! We are still working on our chocolate lapbook too! Happy Homeschooling! Hope you are healthy at your house!
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Feb. 7, 2008 - TAG! You're it!
Here are the rules:
(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.
My list of six non-important things/habits/quirks:
1. I have naturally curly hair and I am trying to grow it long.
2. I don't like the color yellow. I don't wear yellow clothes (I don't look good in it) and hardly have anything yellow in my house. My DH car is yellow, we call it "Sunny"!
3. I am happiest in my home when my bed is made and the kitchen counters are clean. The rest of the house can be a mess, but those things are most important to me!
4. I don't like to eat pineapple, unless it is on pizza. My DH thinks I am weird.
5. I have bins in my home for lots of crafts-- paper-making, cross-stitching, beading, felt, fabric, etc.,
6. I love to send cards to people I know for birthdays and anniversaries. My sister says I have a knack for getting it there ON the day!
My six random tags go to:
Enjoy gals, hope you have time to do this! I'll have to check your blogs soon to read your posts!
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Feb. 7, 2008 - Sick of being sick!
We have been sick around our house for about a week. Last Friday, we went to lunch at a friend's house, and that night, I came down with a fever, and my glands were swollen in my neck. I felt achy, like I was getting the flu!! I didn't sleep well that night, but I did rest a lot the next day. DH and DD8 helped with the house and DD16 mo. Then Sat. night, I got a sore throat, and it got worse that night and Sunday. I slept and rested a lot Sunday, and Monday (no school...) felt only slightly better. I had called my Dr on Sun. and he prescribed an antibiotic, because strep has been going around town. It did feel like strep to me, but I haven't had strep for a while. (I used to get it a lot when I was younger, in mid and high school, but my little bro got his tonsils out, and that helped me a lot too!) Then Mon. night, my older kids (DD8 and DS5) started coming up with fevers and cold-like symptoms.
We have been laying low all week, not going out much, to kids' clubs or church or anything. I was really hoping to go to MOPS today, but my DD16 mo. had a fever early this a.m.!! I am really beginning to feel stir crazy!! I told my DH that I feel like I am never going to leave this house again! I am looking forward to spring, when I can air out my house, get rid of these germs and be ALL healthy!
In light of this, my DD16 mo. finally began walking! She took a few steps last week, and yesterday, she took 15 steps! YEAH!! She is getting more and more brave, it is fun to see! It makes me kinda sad when the kids are sick, especially the youngest ones, because they just don't understand it all! She didn't understand when I was sick either, she wanted me to hold her, and it was hard not to!
Yesterday, we did do a light day of school... some Mad-libs, math page (Math-U-See is the best!!) and handwriting. My DD8 has been working on writing her own "book". She is calling it "Tush", kinda based on the book "Mrs. Katz and Tush" by Patricia Polocco (I think-- or is it MacLachlan? I get them mixed up!). We had read that book last year in our FIAR curriculum. We started "Sarah, Plain and Tall" last week with our Beyond FIAR, and we're liking it so far. I look forward to reading it more, maybe next week we'll all be better!
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Jan. 12, 2008 - The Mid-winter busy-ness
We don't have mid-winter blues around here, we're too busy! I have been writing more on my personal blog, and not getting back to this one! We had a great Christmas break, and we've had this week to get back into the swing of things!
We continued on in our Betsy Ross book, and Beyond FIAR studies. We also did a lapbook on "What is Snow?", which was free from Hands of a Child (I think). I've also done a lot of my winter/ January cleaning. I have cleaned (most around New Year's): my shower (actually DH did this one for me--yeah!!), fridge, pantry, and bathroom floors. These are things that I usually only get to once or twice a year, so it feels really good to do them now. And cleaning is such a great thing to do when we're cooped up inside! Gets rid of germs, gives me something to do when the kids are playing with their new Christmas toys and games, and makes the house look so *sparkly* and *shiny*! (asterisks added for emphasis! LOL)
Next week I am trying to figure out a lapbook to do. My DD loves them and it is kind of a reward for her to do when she finishes her other work. I am looking at doing a chocolate one, with some info from homeschoolshare.com. They have a chocolate unit that might be fun to do!
I have also been trying to catch up on my scrapbooking! In December, (and part of Nov.)I never spend much time scrapbooking, but making Christmas cards and other crafts as gifts. So my scrapbook has been neglected for a few months. I am trying to finish my baby's scrapbook. I will probably do the first year + a few months. We'll see!
Have a great mid-winter day!!
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Nov. 19, 2007 - More Giving Thanks!
Today I am thankful for...
My COMPUTER! I love how it links me to my friends and family near and far! I love that I can use it to be creative, to "chat" with my brother or sister, I can listen to music, see cool videos, etc.,! Sometimes I feel like when my kids are sick, and I don't get out for DAYS in a row, that the computer is my only link to the "outside" world! One of my friends' moms sends me comics each day, and usually I get at least one chuckle out of it. I am thankful for her too!
We have had a good week, being busy getting photos taken of my DS (5 years!), and working on our Thanksgiving Lapbook. It is going to be a HUGE one! We have enjoyed learning about the pilgrims and a lot of the history of the Mayflower, etc., I love homeschooling! It is so nice to be flexible! I am SOO glad that I have my kids home with me! (most days anyway!)
Yesterday at church, we had our Thanksgiving service. It is a neat service because members of the congregation can stand and say what they are thankful for. I stood and talked about the prayers that were lifted for me this fall, and how they helped me so much, I have had the best fall this year than I've had a a long time! I've struggled with depression since 2001, and I have felt good this year, finally! Thank you Lord!
If you've read my blog and can identify with anything, please let me know! I always feel like no one reads this! Thanks!
Happy Thanksgiving!
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Nov. 13, 2007 - Giving Thanks Day #2...
I have been meaning to get back onto this blog and write more about what I have been thankful about, and it just hasn't happened! I am not so good at daily blogging! I will keep trying!
I am thankful for...
MUSIC! My DH is the Worship pastor at our church, and we are fairly involved in the world of Christian music. I listen to music a lot during my day, since I have a small radio on top of my fridge. We listen mostly to K-LOVE, the Christian music station. Sometimes my DD will put a CD on, with some of her favorite music (usually Jump 5 or ZoeGirl). We always have music on in the van while we ride. (Occasionally we listen to a book on tape). But I am so thankful to God for music, and expecially Christian music.
Amy Grant once said, "There's not much good singing unless there is something good to sing about!" I think that is so true-- we as Christians have SO much to sing about!
Some of my favorite current Christian songs?
"Only the World" by Mandisa
"This Moment" by Steven Curtis Chapman
"Amazing Grace/ My Chains are Gone" by Chris Tomlin
"How You Live" by Point of Grace.
What are you thankful for today? And every day?
Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Thanks-LIVING!
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Nov. 8, 2007 - Thankful every day!
I was challenged by Karen to write about being thankful each day and blogging about it each day this month. I am not too good about blogging each day, but I will try for this month! So it is Thankful Thursday...
Enter His gates with Thanksgiving and His courts with praise; Give thanks to Him and praise His name." Psalm 100:4 (NIV)
I am thankful for health, or lack of it...
We have been dealing with colds/ sinus infections for several weeks in me, my DS, and baby. Yesterday, on my DS's 5th BIRTHDAY- he woke me up by vomiting on my bed. Not a nice way to wake up! Poor guy! So we've been laying low, and he seems to feel better today. So I am thankful for my health. A little cold isn't a big deal... one of my good friends is dealing with MS. But she has a great heart and isn't letting it get her down. She is the one who inspired me to homeschool! I know sometimes I take my health for granted, so today, I am thanking God for my health!
We finished our Thomas Edison book and lapbook today (Beyond FIAR), and it is great! Not my favorite lapbook but still fun! Then tomorrow we will begin on the Thanksgiving lapbook from Live and Learn Press. We had a great time doing a Pumpkins lapbook last week!
I think I am going to enjoy this thread!
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Oct. 24, 2007 - LAPbooks!
We have been so busy doing lapbooks lately! We made a Columbus Day lapbook with images and worksheets from the internet. Then we made a money lapbook, with ideas from Jamin, as well as some of our own ideas. Then last week we made a horses lapbook. What girl doesn't love horses! It was a fun one, we learned a lot. We even put lyrics from one of our kids' cds, called "In Harmony". The song is called "I want a horse". We listened to it several times last week, and my DD loved it.
Then this week we are working on a Thomas Edison lapbook to go with our book we are reading for Beyond FIAR. It is coming together slowly, and my DD is not too excited about it. But we will probably work some on it again later, as we get further into the book. The next one I have ready is Halloween/ pumpkins. There was a TON online for that-- lots of great photos and posts from other bloggers. One place I found is called Little Laplinks. They sponsored a meme, and there were 10 gals that contributed to that. There was loads of great info there! I found a great poem that I liked, called "Christian Pumpkin Carvings". It was basically about carving the pumpkin with Christian symbols, such as a fish for the mouth, a cross for the nose, and stars for the eyes. I don't know if we will do this on our pumpkin this year, since we will probably only do one. But I think it could be a good way to witness to our neighbors!
My daughter likes lapbooks a lot, because she is crafty and enjoys scrapbooking already! She has been making her own scrapbook for the past few months. But it is something new and different in our homeschool. I use it as a reward in a way, so when she finishes her other work, we can work on the lapbook. But I also like that it gets her writing and researching. It is usually easier writing than a report, or a story. I think she has learned a lot so far, about all the different subjects. Maybe someday I'll figure out how to post photos of them all!
Our baby turned ONE year old a few weeks ago-- she loved all the balloons, wrappings and cake/ ice cream at her party. We had a lamb- themed party, it was pretty cute! The year went by so quickly! She is already turning in to a toddler. We enjoy her a lot! She has been sick lately with fevers and a runny nose. I think she is finally feeling better, but now she is getting a tooth. My DH is recovering from an illness too. We have been enjoying watching the ROCKIES in their run for the World Series. We are so excited! We have been fans of theirs for a few years, and even been to a few games. When they show Todd Helton coming into home plate and jumping into the dog pile for his winning home run-- that's the game we attended! So we are hoping they do well in the Series and win!! GO ROCKIES!! My 4 y.o. DS loves baseball, so he is pretty in to it all too! My favorite player is Matt Holliday-- he is married, has two kids, is a Christian, kinda cute :-) and a good player-- a good outfielder and hitter! "C'mon Matt!", we often say! So we'll see how they do... tonight they seemed kinda rusty!
Enjoy your fall, all! Today we raked leaves-- and of course the kids jumped in them! What fun!
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Sep. 25, 2007 - Free shoes!
Sprittibee has a contest over at her blog where you can get a pair of brand new, FREE Easy Spirit Wedge Clogs! Check it out here:
http://sbees.blogspot.com/2007/09/taking-great-steps-contest.html
The contest is called Taking Great Steps! All you have to do is post a comment and tell others about it! I like Adonis shoes the best, I have been wanting a pair of those for a while!
Hope your school week is going well!
Have a great Tuesday!
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