November 8, 2009 - Happy Happy Joy Joy, Here's The Boy!
Samuel and Me
I'm In Love
Isn't he the CUTEST?!
©AmandaDixon2009
Nov. 8, 2009 - Hospitality
Over the weekend I worked on some articles to do with Hospitality
My weekly, Live life with your Kids! newsletter. It is free to subscribe and then you can dig around in the archives. (This week's was titled "Show Hospitality")
Character Notes on Hospitality - these are just a collection of thoughts that I will be discussing with my kids over the next month.
Children need to be involved - an article listing some of the things that happen around our home.
November 7, 2009 - Tickled Blue!
I am so excited and very proud to say I am now officially the oldest of 9 children! :) Samuel Ira was born today! We are 20 years and 12 days apart. He is just precious and sweet! A true gift from God! I'm tickled there is another newborn in the house! :D Altho... there are so many people to share him with. LOL! Trying to snatch him anytime I can! ;) Will get some more up about him and pictures soon! :D I am just soo happy he's here!
I am so blessed by God to have another sibling to love, to watch grow up and to TRY to be an example of how to live as our Messiah did!
Thank you God for the blessing of this precious babe! Such an awesome Shabbat this has been!
©AmandaDixon2009
Nov. 6, 2009 - Grandpa and the Skunk
My grandpa, my Papafather's dad, was a country vet. He had a little office off the side of the house where he did small animal surgery, and exams. He made house calls all around the country, some trips taking him an hour or more to reach the animal in need of help, be it cow, horse, sheep, or pig. Very often he would have one of his children in tow. He had 10 of them so there was no shortage of helpers. It all sounds very James Harriot like, and in a way it was. James Harriot's stories are popular with that side of the family and each story reminds them of one like it that grandpa experienced.
Grandpa's office was, as I said, just off the house. Just off the kitchen to be exact. My grandma had a dutch door put in so that she could just open up the top half to talk to him and yet keep the little ones inside. Think about that. A vet's office, just off the kitchen. Do you recall how a vet's office smells? That smell still lingers in that office to this day and it's been over 10 years since my grandpa died.
Aside from the smell, I never gave grandpa's office much thought. We would traipse our way through it on the way to play outside, to gather in the clothes from off the line, to pick grapes, collect eggs, or to find grandpa. The office doubled as grandma's laundry room so I suppose that's why it didn't seem like a room that needed much attention. I never spent any time in it other than to get from point A to point B. Which is strange now that I think about it, all those fascinating instruments, chemicals, medicines, and the like just within reach. I never touched them or was ever tempted to do so.
One temptation I did give in to was a special barrel out back that held two skunks. Grandpa would warn us to leave those skunks alone. My numerous cousins and I would stand around the barrel peering in, and those skunks would peer back. The lot of us cousins would look for only a moment and then run away as fast as we could before we got sprayed. I didn't find out until I was much older that those skunks couldn't spray because my grandpa had "deskunked" them. I don't know if my cousins were aware of this at the time or not, they ran just as fast as I did. Grandpa's warning hadn't been for us, he had been worried that we would torment the skunks.
Skunks actually make a great pet and are positively darling, if you can legally keep them. My uncle kept one for awhile. She was just like a cat, had a litter box and everything. Her name was Rosie, and then some, but I won't repeat that part.
We have a family story, told every couple of years or so I guess, about grandpa and one particular skunk he was de-scenting. While in the process of removing the gland that contains the hideous skunk musk, it was ruptured. It squirted all of its contents right in my grandpa's face. He came into the kitchen to clean up and the only thing he said was, "It's such a beautiful color." Apparently skunk spray is an amber color, and my God fearing grandpa could still recognize the beauty of God's handiwork even in a skunk's musk.
Funny, while my aunts and uncles roar with laughter about this story every time they tell it, I don't remember anyone talking about the smell lingering in the kitchen or what on earth my grandma said or did. I'll have to ask them about that.
After the laughter dies down, someone will always mention how my grandpa was such a quiet, gentle, and patient man. Oh he had his moments when a cow would stomp him, but how many men do you know who would take it from a skunk and only comment on it's beauty?
Nov. 6, 2009 - $5 Friday at UnitStudy.com - it's crazy! :-)
Good morning!
I woke up to an overwhelming response to the new $5 Friday - what a wake-up call! I am thinking that having the Christmas Unit Study in the mix has been helpful?
Have a wonderful Friday!
Blessings,
Amanda B.
www.UnitStudy.com
Nov. 6, 2009 - Book Review: The Jesus Book
Author: Stephen Elkins Illustrator: Claudine Gevry
Format: Hardcover with 30-song CD Page Count: 96
ISBN: 978-1-4003-1463-8 Retail Price: $16.99
My Review: I read this book to my sons at bedtime. They know the Bible pretty well; therefore, the content in this book all sounded familiar to them. However, they still enjoyed listening to me read and it seemed to hold their attention. What sets this book apart from other children's books about Jesus is its well-categorized/color-coordinated topics. It covers who Jesus is (what the prophets, angel, wise men, Peter, John the Baptist, the Samaritans, John the disciple, God the Father, and Jesus Himself said about Jesus), what Jesus did (His many miracles, His death on the cross, His resurrection, His preparing a home for us), what Jesus taught (parables, baptism, repentance, prayer, the golden rule, the Greatest Commandment, etc.), when it happened (including timeline), where it happened (including a map of Israel and a map of Jerusalem), why it happened, and how it happened (including How do we receive eternal life?). The illustration is well done and makes the book colorful and interesting. Personally, I do not like to see drawings of Jesus because I do not want children to think (or have images stuck in their mind) that's what Jesus looked like. My favorite part is the CD. The songs are familiar Sunday School songs such as Jesus Loves Me, What A Friend We Have in Jesus, Jesus Loves the Little Children, and I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.
~This book was provided for a review by Thomas Nelson.
Nov. 5, 2009 - $5 Friday is back and rocking!
This Friday's sale has FOUR unit study titles - hope this helps. Remember, shipping is only $1 for orders until midnight on Friday. Here's the link:
http://bit.ly/2opSxW
Blessings,
Amanda B.
www.UnitStudy.com
Nov. 5, 2009 - Y.oung M.inds C.acophony A.lbum
When I was a young and silly girl I really wanted a certain record. Yup, I said record. They still existed even though cassette tapes were beginning to make their appearance. The problem was, I didn't own a tape player, I owned a record player.
I can't even remember now how this record made it to the top of my wish list. I'm guessing that what really happened was that I had seen it while digging through the records at the store and it called to my fickle heart. I trotted off to the nearest money source, which just happened to be my Aunt Sissie. I was spending a couple of weeks with her during the summer. Her children were all grown and possibly gone, that part of my memory is a little fuzzy. Anyway, I guess Aunt Sissie saw nothing wrong with indulging me and she bought it. Oh, I was a happy music lover! I listened to that album for years. Perhaps all of two-years.
I have no idea what my mother thought of this present. I don't recall her ever expressing it to me. I may have to ask her about that. I do remember that my aunt loved me and wanted to give me something simple, like a two week invasion of her home and privacy wasn't enough. She was just like that, quietly giving.
So what record sang to me and held my attention for so long? Irwin the Disco Duck In the Navy.
- In the Navy
- Macho Man
- Y.M.C.A.
- Music Box Dancer
- Last Dance
- Knock on Wood
- Le Freak
- Instant Replay
- I Love the Night Life
- Goodnight Tonight
I'm sure it was that dashing figure of a duck in his sailor uniform that caught my eye in the first place. I wanted to join the Navy after all! As one of those grown cousins that no longer lived in the house was in the Navy, it was probably what tipped the scale in my aunt buying it for me. I wouldn't buy anything like this for my own children, let alone my nieces.
It is however a somewhat fond memory, mainly because of my Aunt Sissie. I can't ever hear Y.M.C.A. without thinking of this record, and I can't think of this record without remembering her.
Nov. 5, 2009 - Mid Term
Well, it's been awhile since I've updated. Now that I have FB, it seems like I"m never here. Or maybe it's that I'm teaching a class. Or it could be that I'm taking a class.
We've reached the midterm point and I'm on the down hill side of this one.
I talked to a lady this morning who was so encouraging. She said she felt I was an inspiration to her, because she had a hard time homeschooling as a married mom, and couldn't imagine how hard it must be for me. She recognized that it must truly be the Lord's calling, because no one would do this for the fun of it. This was so refreshing.
We're approaching the holidays and the busyness of all of that. How are things with all of you?
Blessings, MaggieRaye
Nov. 5, 2009 - Wooly Worm Weather
Using wooly worms (Pyrrharctia isabella) to predict winter is old American folklore that traces its history back to early Americana. Supposedly, Native Americans taught the pioneers to read wooly worms to predict winter weather. Wooly worm is the common name for the larval stage of the Isabella Tiger Moth. They are also called wooly bears.
Step 1
Look for wooly worms under rocks and inside hollow logs.
Step 2
Examine the wooly worm, paying attention to its bands of colors. The wooly worm will curl into a ball when touched or threatened. When they crawl, they can crawl very quickly!
Step 3
Wooly worm forecasters say that the size of the brown band of color will tell you what kind of winter is coming. Legend says that the thinner the brownish red bands, the harsher the winter will be. If the wooly worm is mostly brownish red in the middle, winter will be mild.
Step 4
Wooly worm enthusiasts claim an 85 percent success rate over the last few decades. Scientists tend to disagree and say wooly worm weather prediction is as unscientific as using groundhogs to predict winter weather. The groundhogs likely side with the wooly worms.
Step 5
Whether or not you believe in the power of wooly worms, they can be a fun project for children and adults.
{from www.ehow.com}
Last Page | Next Page
