• 9.26.2008
My Goodness! How time flies when you're having fun!

Hi everyone... I cannot believe this spring and summer just flew by so fast!  One of the crazy things about life is that when you are not careful, it passes you by! 

We had a wonderful church camp season... my kids had a blast going down each week and helping with registration.  Then we were able to go as an entire family for a week!  Dad was our sons' coach and I was our daughter's coach!  It is wonderful that they are all able to go and that we can experience it as a family!

We finished with camp season the end of June and had to be moved by July 1st!!!  What an adventure!  The church bought a parsonage for us to live in!  We went from 980 square feet with a backyard that we could not use to 2400 square feet on a double lot, beautiful back yard with a pool and a great place for a trampoline!!!  We barely left the backyard the rest of the summer!!!  God is good and always has a blessing in store if we are patient and ready!

August brought a wonderful vacation to Six Flags (a first for our kids) and then off to New Mexico for a wonderful time of camping, hiking, and fishing!  We came home so relaxed and refreshed.  It always amazes me what mountain air will do to your body and spirit!

We are doing great with our homeschooling... trying to stay on track and the kids are really doing well with the schedule!  They seem to thrive with consistency!!  Who would have thought!!  LOL  They are all in volved in soccer... one stop practices, games, and not alot of craziness for our family as a whole!  We get to all be in one spot a couple of evenings a week and that makes mommy and daddy really happy!!! 

I will post pics later... just wanted to update everyone and let you all know that the Castro family is still here!!!   Hope to hear from everyone!! 

Patti

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• 3.20.2008
CONTEST!

Rosetta Stone has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while -- next week they are unleashing a brand new curriculum, and you can WIN the *all new* Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3… FOR FREE! 

This is a $219 program (and believe me it's worth every penny!) and the winner gets to pick from any of these 14 languages: Spanish (Spain or Latin America), English (American or British), Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Hebrew, or Russian.

This will also include a headset with microphone, and students will participate in lifelike conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program.  Rosetta Stone still incorporates listening, reading and writing as well, in addition to speaking.  Many homeschoolers requested grammar and vocabulary exercises, and with Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3, they're included!  For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program and allow parents to easily enroll students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, and view and print reports. 

To win this most excellent program -- in the language of your choice -- copy these (blue) paragraphs and post it in (or as) your next blog post -- then to enter the contest, go to the original contest page HERE: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/JenIG/501132/  and leave a comment with the link showing where you blogged about it.  And please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post it.  And good luck!  The winner will be picked randomly on March 26, and will be notified thru the link they left to their blog pg.   And if you have more than one blog, you can post them and enter those separately for more chances to win.   Yeah for free stuff!

Happy Winning!!!  Hope it's me!!!!

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• 3.13.2008
Quote to ponder

One of my favorite speakers and authors is Alicia Britt Chole... you can find her and her encouraging free weekly devotional at www.truthportraits.com.

Anyway, one of her quotes goes something like this... "You magnify what you meditate on."  Amazing how a simple truth that you already know, yet stated simply and profoundly, can cause a complete turn around in a life....  mine included! 

I have been using that quote and several Scriptures concerning our thoughts the last few days and it is AMAZING what kind of bad attitudes you can stave off just by refusing to meditate on the bad, the unchangeable circumstances, the overwhelming pressures, etc.  If I dwell on those, they seem to magnify themselves!!!  If I instead choose to dwell on God and His goodness, He is then magnified.... don't know about you, but that sounds so much more like the Christ we are to immulate!

So get to meditating girls.... on HIM alone!  Let Him be magnified in your life!

Love and prayers,

Patti  

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• 2.12.2008
I'm here.... I'm here!

So very sorry for the laps in blogging!!!  My how time flies when you are having fun!!!  LOL  Or maybe I should so "having LIFE!"  He!He!

We are great... everyone is healthy, happy, and blessed!  Just got a little crazy!  I had to seriously reprioritize, rethink, redo.... etc.  You get the point!  Unfortunately, blogging fell somewhere at the bottom of the list near vacuuming out the Suburban and washing all the windows(inside and out)... neither of which have been done yet, so here I am!!!!!

All in all, God is faithful!  In Him, I still find the peace that passes all understanding, the provision for all of our needs, the blessings that are so wonderful that all you can do is just cry, and the strength to get up in the morning and think good thoughts about the day to come! 

I think that I have gotten us into a new and good routine that will allow for mommy to have some downtime on the computer more often!  Notice I said "think" because that is all it is... my grand plan could be nudged to the side at any moment because God knows that I am willing to take that frantic phone call, or answer the door to someone that may need help, or take a batch of cookies to someone that needs encouragement and a warm chocolate chip cookie!!  So it is a GREAT grand plan and I will try to be more faithful to checking on all of you... but it's just a plan!  Don't take it personal... I'll still remember you in prayer every day and blog when I can! 

Now off to check on all my friends and what they have blogged in the last 2 months that I have missed! 

Love and prayers,

Patti

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• 12.13.2007
Life gets crazy sometimes!

Life can turn a corner sometimes that throws you for a loop and when you stop spinning, you aren't real sure which way you are facing!!!  LOL

That's been my life for a week and a half.... But I am hear to report that God is STILL good and that He is STILL on His throne (as my God-fearing momma always reminds me!) 

Nothing tragic has happened... just a bunch of STUFF all at once that has required me to spend extreme amounts of time and energy doing things that I normally don't have to do!  And then the Christmas season on top of all of that!!!  LOL  But through it all, I have had an extreme amount of peace over the whole situation, more patience with the kiddos who are just along for the ride and needing more assurance right now, more calm and gentleness in my tone with my hubby.... we truly are each other's best friend and that has been such a BLESSING during the extra stress and uncertainties! 

I pray that anyone reading that is facing added difficulties during this season will find HIS peace, HIS patience, and HIS calm and gentleness to carry you through.... We aren't made up of just the fun, content, satisfying stuff that comes along occassionally, but our true selves are what we are in the midst of the storm, the trial, the uncertainties of life.... May I (and you) be found faithful!!!

Praying for you all,

Patti

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