with all those studies about babies and depth perception! Either he has NO depth perception or he has just no fear! He was crawling near the edge of the porch today and I was right there to catch him... I thought he'd hesitate and look to me for guidance or something, but no.. just went off the porch onto the concrete slab. ..oooh ouch! I felt sooo bad!! I really was going to catch him but I guess I wasn't prepared for him to NOT stop first!

So yep! He started this two days ago and he now knows where every electrical cord is ( I think he smells them!!!) You CANNOT turn your back on this kid for 2 seconds! He is everywhere! and he's fast!!! He had been working on it for some time and was getting into postion, but then splatting down on his tummy. Some days he does get moving but is actually using only one leg and just sort of dragging the other behind...looks funny but it still gets him to his his favorite places : the cords and the plants!

Quips From My Quiver
Faith wants to know

• Why do we need tongues?
• What do giraffes sound like?

Isaiah tattles on big sister and is whining alot!! Please help ! Anyone!

Homeschool Happens
  Oh,  hmmmm.... Just still organizing for this coming year and hoping that the baby will be sharing room with big brother by then...so I suppose part of the prep is going to involve some schedule changes to ensure same bedtime and oh ...( rolling my eyes in ridiculous despair) by the time I get that down, Isaiah could possibly be needing to use the potty in the middle of the night which will only wake the baby! Would love some help from folks who have kids this little sharing rooms.

I found out today why my blog was looking all wide and weird--pics were too big. I had to back and redo some of them and that means that some of my old blog entries are gone ( just maybe 2 or 3)..

okey dokey...working on pics... there has to be a faster way of doing this!..

Our mr. man-He's looking less like a baby (already!) and more like a little boy. I think it's all that hair!

how utterly charming our baby is!!! And to report that as adorable and fun as he can be, I was able to lay down the line and make him go night-night! Can you believe he went from smiley, happy, charming, sweet to completed monster in about 5 seconds??? ( and it lasted only about 3-5 minutes with a few good " let's give that mommy-heart-wrenching scream" again interspersed). Gotta tell ya something else about this kid that I've already learned---if I go in there to rescue him even though I know he's fed, I know he's dry, and I know that he got a good amount of silly playtime with snuggles, his tears quickly evaporate and he turns into mr. charm once more...until I put him down again.... hmmmm.....gotta love him and I look foreward to seeing him in the morning ( hopefully about 8 and not 4:30!!) I've got another pic of all 3 coming Thursday!! ============================================= OH! I HAVE TO ADD THIS FROM FAITH OR I MIGHT FORGET! "How does God make our mouth open without seeing all the blood?" I am assuming that she is concerned about all the blood flowing around down there in our innards and that if our mouth is a hole, why doesn't it just flow out the hole (???) She's 4. Is it EVER safe to just assume we understand how they think? I could be waaaay waaaay off on this!

Well, I can choose to work on DVD covers for K5, or to commit some old tapes to itunes so that they can be repacked up and sent to the floor of my closet! ahhh...sigh... maybe I'll just go get a soda from the pantry and get started on the tapes as they are cluttering up our office!

I am excitedly awaiting my dvd's that I ordered. Blank ones that I can burn my self made movies onto!! They are already sitting ready to burn!! I just have to sit and wait!!

So, here are my weekly categories in addition to a tag which I will do first and then tag someone with it! Looking forward to seeing the results!

I will do the tag first and then those of you who want to read on, can...
If you had to choose 5 foods on which to survive the remaining years of your life, what would they be? Answer as if because you can only choose 5, there would be no consequences of bad choices!!!  No weight gain and cost is not a factor--what if they were free?? Oh and there is no limit on drinks-- you can have whatever you want at the time to wash it down...so just mention the solid foods!
 Mine are:
1)Little Smokies appetizer sausages
2)Mrs. Field's Peanut butter dream bars
3)grilled zuchinni and yellow squash
4)sample platters of "chick food" tea sandwiches, etc...
5)popcorn chicken from KFC

Quips From My Quiver
  " I am pretending that I am Laura (Ingalls Wilder) when I was 7 and Isaiah is Almanzo when he was 2!"--Faith.
Also from Faith: "What would happen if we didn't have tongues?"
 Isaiah is also catching the "tending" bug--he constantly pretends that he is going to a friends house and comes up to me and says " hugs and kisses before I go!" OOOOhhhhh..... I hope he does that when he's 12!! He is my Mr. Snuggly! Elijah was actually snuggly tonight, but that's only because he's miserable with teething!

Homeschool Happens
    Been watching the orientation broadcasts for K5 and I am jumping at the bit! I am sooo excited to start. Pat wants them to have traditional summer breaks in the early grades, so I am holding back!! We haven't even purchased the Reading/Language arts/Heritage Studies stuff yet and I am not ready logistically either, but I am still excited!

Personal Bible Reading: 
  Last night, Pat was already asleep, so I didn't do my "next" psalm--I just read one that one completely out of sequence and this is what it was:
PSALM 143:8
    Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in You."
 I just love this one. I have it circled, but it wasn't last night that I circled it--just proof that God brings me back to this constantly!!


My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
    Taken from May 14th -The Habit of Enjoying the Disagreeable-
(2 Cor. 4:10)
Oh, yikes! This one hits it where it hurts, but ohhh sooo true and it was such a new way of looking at why He saves us.
"We have to form habits to express what God's grace has done in us. It is not a question of being saved from Hell, but of being saved in order to manifest the life of the Son of God in our mortal flesh, and it is the disagreeable things which make us exhibit whether or not we are manifesting His life." 
( um ugh... where is my rock that I may climb under it??)

Sorry, no pics tonight! Maybe next week!

I mainly made this entry for those on my Homesat email list, but all can  enjoy!
Here are the boxes! I had a huge one, but could not fit it all in,but it seems to work with two smaller boxes and they are easier to manage anyway + they will fit better on my new homeschool shelves that Pat built for me! One is labeled for Blockfeeds 1-17 (A blockfeed is a weeks's worth of classes that I record off the satellite dish and then
commit to DVD.)


Here is one of my manipulative envelopes for math. I actually have about 6-7 as they are labeled very specifically ( ie farm animals, rulers, etc...)

  Okay, here is the plan~Every week has 5 folders one for each day and every worksheet we use for every class that day is in the folder which is labeled by lesson #. I color code the classes ( RED=reading/phonics, BLUE=math, and YELLOW=Bible).   Instead of having to look for all the Reading pages, for  example, I just clip them all together with a paper clip that has a red sticker. The same for each worksheet for the other classes.
  I even do this for the worksheets that are singular, so that I do not need to pull out the page to see which class it's for. If I am preparing the night before and need a Bible page, I just grab the yellow paper clip and the worksheet it's attached to.  Actually, Pat will be grabbing the yellow ones, since he's going to be doing Bible. I take the paper clip OFF the worksheet and attach it to the folder and put the worksheet in the folder it belongs to  for the next day's lesson. (Each class has some special character folders we use each day where the child finds the work--the "Hopper "folder, etc..)
Each night the parent fills the child's folder. These folders are for parent organization!


I also put a corresponding color sticker on the DVD cases! As you can see, only one has a Good Label-that's because I haven't done the labels for math and Bible yet.


Now, next year and beyond, these colors will always represent the same classes and we will be adding Green for Heritage studies. Perhaps first grade +, I will not be tearing out individual worksheets, but just letting Faith work out of the workbook itself.

Faith had a horrible time staying in bed this evening. Her last hurrah was when she came into the hallway to report that her toes were not beautiful! Just thought I'd share!

...so that I can work on my blog, but there's a million other things I want to work on to--homeschool stuff, baking my biscotti, etc...so... I am at this very moment thinking what can I do in order that will take care of itself so taht I can work on this blog?

Biscotti: just get it onto pan and into oven-leaves me 20 min. to work
Laundry: Just bought some red fabric to make a dress or jumper for Faith-will take 30 min. to wash/30 min. to dry-I can fold whatever comes now out of the dryer later
homeschool prep: Got some DVD's to label, but the computer can do that with a push of a button (lightscribe)21 min. per DVD!

** little note to those who are on my mailing list: no pics of kids today, but I'll post some up soon. it's just getting late right now.**

So, now, I am ready! From now on, I'll include the following catagories and some little thoughts under each. But I'll sometimes start the whole thing with just stuff that's been happening in our lives around here.
Quips from My Quiver (quotes and stories from/about the kids)
Homeschool happens-updates in our education as our children homeschool us
Personal Bible Reading
My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers-the parts that I highlighted in my own copy of the book because they basically whammed me!

 Let's Go!
Quips From My Quiver
    Just want to say that I am sooo amazed at Isaiah's vocabulary explosion in the past few months! While he struggles with first time obedience without complaint most of the time, he sure does hate it when big sister doesn't obey either and bids her to "obey Mama, c'mon Faith!"

Homeschool Happens
  I can't believe she'll be starting KINDERGARTEN in the fall! I mean, this is big stuff! While all those moms are pulling out their kleenex boxes as their babies get on that big yellow school bus ( and some actually do this on the first day of K!!), and weeping about how they are "losing" their littles--I will be still snuggling mine!

Personal Bible Reading: 
     I am currently going through the psalms. What caused me to do this is the fact that so many songs are based on the Psalms, yet only a few are really known by many, so I decided, with prayer, to go ahead and read through them. I am not going to "read and report " on ever one as I go along. This Blog time is not my quiet time, but I will share what stood out to me in the proceeding week.
     This week, I read Psalm 81. Verse 1 reads,
        Sing for joy to God our strength;
       Shout aloud to the God of Jacob
Now I know that some will be horrified that I was so moved at the word "shout". After all, we are to be quiet, discreet, well behaved...that is just NOT reverent! But my eyes read, shout TO  the Lord, not AT the Lord. It's just different. I also am compelled to add that last night I was telling Faith that some people open up their hands to God instead of folding them. I told her this is a way of saying, "see here God? It's yours! Take it! Use it... I'm not going to hold onto it." (it meaning anything: finances, family, bitterness,....He has access to all of me because it all belongs to HIm to begin with). As I was showing her my hands being opened... the hymn, Take My Life and Let It Be" just poured into my soul and overwhelmed me! I miss this in my singing worship to God. I have become stiff and well behaved. What does God think of that?

My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
    Taken from May 26th -Think as Jesus taught-pray continually
(1 Thess 5:17)
"If we think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood from our hearts, we think rightly...prayer is not an exercise, it is the life."

No, today is not Thursday. I am thinking of blogging just on Thursdays, so be ready for it! Here's the question I have for you technical geniuses-- How do I change the Title of my blog (A Baker's Blog) to Thursday's Thoughts???

I am thinking that I may have to do weekly blogging instead of daily. Looks like Thursday will be my day, with some exceptions like some Friday evenings (once a month) or Sunday evenings here and there. Anyway, I wanted to also let everyone know that we have our van! Yeah!!! If I didn't detest soccer so much, I could be a future soccer mommy now! I'll still buy the kids a soccer ball to kick around the yard, but don't include me in the game--I'll be in charge of Koolaid, thank you! I do still have some plans for this blog, but right now I can't work it out! Time for Bed. God is Good ALL THE TIME!

Keep in touch! Bring on those comments! I love to hear from you!!

Here is a montage of the month of May--so far! The music is by a father/son duo named Aaron Jeffrey         (I've had this CD forever--more than 10 years!! Don't even know if they are still singing together!)

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

OKAY! Whooo hooooo! I've got photo studio back on the system! Thank you so much dear hubby! So, here is Elijah and he loves his bath!!! He's 7 mos old now and will be almost a year when we start up our new year of homeschooling in the fall. Should be interesting---I am wondering if he and Isaiah will hit it off enough to play and not distract Faith too much or if Isaiah will still consider him "the baby" and want to be big like Faith. Isaiah loves the mascot for K5 (BJU) and sings the little opening song all the time!

I am already considering Faith's schedule for the fall. It might look something like this:
morning:

• 8:00am Wake/eat breakfast / clean up / play time

• 9:00 Get dressed-watch math ( while mom showers)-Faith is already at mid-Kindergarten level now, so she doesn't need much supervision with this video class. She and Isaiah can watch while Elijah naps.
  
• 9:30 Do second side of assigned worktext page

• 10:00 Do optional activity for math ( each lesson they have a fun hands on activity-- some are messier than others.

• 11:00 Outside play time-mama catches up on internet radio programs missed from morning while doing morning housework ( Focus on the Family, Enduring Truth, and Family Life Today)

• 12:00 Lunch-early Fall is still picnic time and kids eat out on the porch!! We'll do "Beginnings" sometime after lunch. This is the hour long program that includes the bulk: Reading, Phonics, Composition, Heritage Studies, Science and I am undecided on whether to wait until Isaiah is napping too or not... hmmmm,,.. may do it immediately after lunch or Faith will be too tired also! So whenever we do it ,we'll do it and then Faith will rest for an hour.
  

by me.. I am going to wait until we get photostudio.

We've got a new filter for our internet and we have reason to believe that it is messing up our efforts to publish changes to our family website. ughhh... If we get this figured out, I will update that site, until then, just hang out here to see what's new. This was him at 6 mo. He's 7 mo. now.

I am trying to build/maintain our family website. Please come visit it! I'm not sure if the URL below will be a link as I'm writing this, but at least you know where to go! http://web.mac.com/patjen1us/Site/Welcome.html Our newest news is this: 1) Pat finished our backyard playground and then everyone got sick (that is everyone who is light enough to play on the playground!) 2) Our computer rebelled against us and he is about ready to trash the whole operation! 3) I Have to have my gall bladder removed sometime within the next month Sorry! You only get a bullet-point update! I have some unexpected errands to see to today ( ugh... so I need to prepare for those! Please, please, please.. email me your mailing addresses as we lost them all several months ago in the big upgrade! Much love, me

If you are on our mailing list, please, please, Please!!! email me NOW with your street address so that I can put it back into our address book! We lost them when we updated and there are several that we kept on the computer, but not a hard copy! Thank you sooo much!

I love cruising THIS blog site.I really do! However, I have found it very difficult to maintain, not to mention time consuming if one is not html code savvy. Sooooo...dh bought some new software for our mac as well as a .mac account. It includes iweb--a website building application: WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get). I will be writing more over there, but if you are a homeschool blogger, please email us (our contact info is on the first page) and give me your URL. I'd be happy to pop back in to visit your blog here! If you got here because you got an email about this new entry...Please Come Visit! I will be looking for you! Here is the link...if it doesn't work, then just cut and paste it into your browser. http://web.mac.com/patjen1us See ya there!