Thursday, January 7, 2010 - Decluttering 2010-What's in Your Purse?

I’ve been posting some of my de-cluttering goals on Facebook the past week. I thought maybe it would be interesting to share what I’ve been doing in this department here and encourage you all to share your de-cluttering projects with me.

My game plan is to choose one thing a day to give an overhaul. I am hoping to reduce what I consider to be clutter and space wasters but not tackle the whole house or even a whole room at a time. I’m just doing small projects during the week- stuff that only takes about 15 minutes to half an hour to do. I’m planning to tackle the big clutter projects on the weekends as I have time.

So this week this is what I’ve taken care of so far.

Monday the kids and I went through all our schoolbooks on the shelves and packed up those that were either too young or we just weren’t going to ever have time to use. We put them in the attic with the other boxes to be put into a tag sale when the weather gets warmer. Tuesday I cleaned under the kitchen sink. You probably wouldn’t be amazed at the stuff that accumulates under there.

Before:

After:

Wednesday I cleaned out the kitchen junk drawers.

Before:

After:

Today I tackled my purse. Oh my goodness! No wonder my shoulder hurts lugging that thing around. This is what was found in there:

13 misc. receipts, 1 bank receipt, 4 actual $1 bills & 11 cents (cash is a rare find in my purse, 2 pieces of gum, 1 piece of chewed gum wrapped in foil (can't just throw it out the window, you know), 1 peppermint, 6 cough drops, 2 1/2 rolls of Tums, 1 empty Listerine Pocket Pack, spare car key, small pkg. dental floss, 2 pens, 1 mechanical pencil, 2 packages, hand wipees from Sonny's BBQ, new CVS Extra Care card, folding hair brush, emergency pair of reading glasses, bottle of ibuprofen, key chain with a key to who knows where, digital photo keychain w/dead batteries, Gideon's pocket Bible given to my sister at FBCA 5/22/81, tube of Vaseline lip care, new package of Burt's Bees lip balm (w/pomegranate oil), nail file, hair tie, bottle of hand sanitizer, check book wallet, card holder, zipper pouch money holder, cell phone,  bundle of tissues and 1 used tissue(yuk) and 1 silica gel packet.

After cleaning it all out the only things I put back in were check book wallet, card holder, zipper pouch money holder, bundle of tissues (no dirty ones lol), a few cough drops, 1/2 roll of Tums, pens & pencil, lip care, spare key, cell phone & Bible.

I put into a little toiletry bag the ibuprofen, extra cough drops, Tums, dental floss, wipees, hair brush, emergency glasses, nail file, hair tie, sanitizer, and the key to who knows where (I think it goes to my folks' house) and put the whole bag into the glove compartment of my car. I figure if I REALLY need any of those things, they'll be there and I won't have to lug them around all the time.

Tomorrow I plan on straightening out the linen closet and maybe for the week end I’ll attack the pantry (again).

So tell me... Are you trying to de-clutter this month? What projects have you been working on? Leave me a link so I can visit.

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Monday, December 28, 2009 - January 2010 Writing Prompts Calendar

Posted in Home School Printables

I have decided to take a break from blogging. Between home, school, work, and health I feel that the self-made obligation that I placed on myself to try to keep up my blog is just unrealistic. So I have decided to just post when the mood strikes. Even though over the last few months readership may have gone up, the feedback has declined severely, probably due to lack of my own ability to participate. I feel the quality of my posts have lost my original intent for starting a blog.  I will try to keep adding freebies as I can, including the monthly journal writing prompt calendars. I am working to set up another place where you can access these as well as my e-books more readily instead of searching for what you need. I so appreciate those who have been with me for years. Your friendships have meant so much to me. I will continue to visit your blogs as time allows and promise to keep you in my prayers.

Here is January 2010 Writing Prompts Calendar.

(On a side note: I am working to put all of 2010's prompt calendars into an e-book with vertical and horizontal versions and journaling pages. For those of you who don't want to wait for the freebie calendars to be posted, it will be for sale for $3.99 very soon on my other site, Proverbs 22:6 Academy. )

Update: Proverbs 22:6 Academy’s 2010 Journal Writing Prompts Calendars is now available for purchase as well as companion journaling notebook pages at my other site, Proverbs 22:6 Academy.

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Monday, December 21, 2009 - Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 4

Posted in Words of Wisdom Copywork

The final book of Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook includes the following Scripture passages of fulfillment, encouragement, and promise.
Luke 2:8
Luke 2:10
Luke 2:11
John 3:16
Galatians 4:4-5
Galatians 4:6-7
Luke 1:68-69

I pray that these free copybooks have helped you reinforce the true meaning of Christmas in your homeschool studies. May God bless you and your family as you celebrate the birth of His Son and bring you a prosperous and blessed new year.

You will find Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 4 HERE.

If you did not download books 1 through 3 you can find them here:

Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 1
Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 2
Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 3

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Wednesday, December 16, 2009 - Heaven Sent Me a Daughter

Posted in Poetry

(I wrote this one for my daughter.)

Heaven sent me a special treasure,
Wrapped up in sugar and spice,
Satin and lace,
And full of grace,
And everything oh so nice.

Heaven sent me a precious gift,
To fill my life with love,
Sweetness and light,
Everything right,
Sent to me from above.

Heaven sent me an answered prayer,
A beauty through and through,
Laughter and cheer,
Fills every year,
Heaven sent me you.

Heaven sent me a daughter,
So darling and so clever,
Cherished in my heart,
From the start,
And loved always and forever.

VMD

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Tuesday, December 15, 2009 - Remembering You

Posted in Poetry

(I wrote this for my middle son.)

I remember so well the day you were born,
My life was filled with joy,
How blessed I was that God sent to me,
A beautiful little boy.

I remember so well seeing your face,
Words cannot describe,
The happiness inside I felt,
And the overwhelming pride.

I remember so well the first step you took,
Across the kitchen floor,
With arms outstretched reaching for me,
You’ve taken so many steps more.

I remember so well how much you have grown,
The days they go by so fast,
But each moment is treasured in my mind,
As each milestone you pass.

I remember so well holding you in my arms,
No matter how old you will be,
Forever I will hold you in my heart,
And I will love you eternally.

VMD

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Monday, December 14, 2009 - Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 3

Posted in Words of Wisdom Copywork

The third booklet of my Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybooks is ready. This book uses passages from Luke 1 and Luke 2 and focuses on Gabriel’s visit to Mary and her giving birth to Jesus, fulfilling the prophesy of Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Next week passages are from Luke, John, and Galatians about the promise from God fulfilled.

Download Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 3 HERE.

If you missed Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 1 or Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 2, you can find them by clicking on the respective titles below.

Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 1

Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 2

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Monday, December 7, 2009 - Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 2

Posted in Words of Wisdom Copywork

Wow, almost 100 folks have already downloaded my Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 1. If you missed it this is the link to that post.

This week's Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 2 focuses on the Scriptures from Isaiah which prophesy about who Jesus is and what He will do.

You can download Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook -Week 2 HERE. 

I sure would love to hear how you are using these in your classrooms.

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Friday, December 4, 2009 - School, Christmas Activities, and News

Posted in Life

It’s that time a year again for the bustle and hustle of holiday preparations. We are incorporating some of these activities into our homeschool days. The kids always make contributions to the family newsletter and putting them into the Christmas cards, but this year I am enlisting their help in addressing the envelopes and writing little messages in the cards themselves. In the past I have taken several days to do this, but with their help we should make short work of it. This will be in lieu of some of their English assignments. We are also planning to do some festive cookie baking and will need recipes doubling and even tripling. This will provide some good math fraction practice and excellent home economics skills.

My son has chosen to read Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol for his literature this month. I am so tickled by his choice not only because Dickens is one of my favorite authors but also because he has finally shown an interest in reading to a certain extent. Last month he read The Time Machine and the month before The Call of the Wild and totally enjoyed them both. I consider this a huge accomplishment considering his disdain for reading. My daughter has discovered the original Nancy Drew books and has finally found a vein of books that she thoroughly enjoys. The kids finally enjoying reading something is just huge in my book.

On a completely different note I wanted to share some exciting news. The day I went into the hospital my oldest and his fiancé announced a date for their wedding. They will be getting married March 20th. I am so excited for them and can’t wait to have a daughter-in-law. There is so much to do and so little time but I am sure it will be the perfect wedding for them.

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Thursday, December 3, 2009 - Focus on the Family Freebie

Posted in Websites and Other Resources

I ran across a magazine that I guess came in the mail while I was ill adn just had a chance to read through it. I'm not sure how it ended up in my mail, but I must be on some mailing list. Anyways, It's from Focus on the Family and is called Thriving Family. Not a huge publication but it was filled with interesting tibits. One such tidbit was about how to get 2 free Passages episodes downloads. You'll have to hurry because those downloads are only available unitl the end of December. You can also find a summary and discussion questions to use for exploring the lessons further. You can also listen to various other episodes on line.

For the Free Episodes go HERE.

To listen to other episodes go HERE.

If you have time you may want to explore The Adventures in Odyssey site a little more. Looks like there is a lot of good stuff there.

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Wednesday, December 2, 2009 - Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 1

Posted in Words of Wisdom Copywork

I thought I’d veer away from the Proverbs passages for the Words of Wisdom Copywork  for a few more weeks. I have put together in a special collection of verses to help us all in Keeping Christ in Christmas. I plan to make 4 separate books to use over the next few weeks filled with the promises and the story of the birth of our Savior. The first book contains 7 passages from the Old Testament, one for each day of the first week of December. Each book will have all font versions: manuscript, transitional manuscript, and cursive. Next week all the passages will be from Isaiah. I will be posting that December 7th or 8th so you will have them for the week. The third week will have passages from Luke 1 and 2 regarding the birth of Christ. Week 4 will have various New Testament passages. I hope that these little books will help bring the wonder and splendor of the true reason we celebrate Christmas to your homeschool.

You can download this week’s Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 1 here.

I’d love to hear the ways you are Keeping Christ in Christmas in your home.

(If you want e-mail alerts when the new book is posted, please subscribe using the Feedburner subscriber box on the sidebar under the menu. )

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Tuesday, December 1, 2009 - Christmas Decorating and Book Sale

Posted in Life

The first day of December is already here. The year has simply flown by. While my children spent some time over the past few days decorating the yard with lights and our manger scene, I added some festive touches to my blog. At the top you will see a music player with some of our favorite Christmas tunes. If you look over on my sidebar you’ll see a few scroll boxes I made a couple of years ago when I was teaching myself some HTML. Each day the boxes contain new content. There is a box with a different Scripture passage daily that we have used to make a countdown paper chain. We wrote the passages on strips of red and green construction paper and as we counted down the days until Christmas we tore one chain off and read the passage out loud.

Then I have a Christmas story box with 25 different short stories about the symbols of Christmas. Under that I have 2 more scroll boxes that have new links to Christmas Crafting sites. There is one for moms and dads and another with links to kid crafting sites.

I know my blogging habits have been sporadic at best, but if you are looking for new ideas over the next month I encourage you to stop by if only to check out the Christmas boxes for the new content.

And on another note, if you have been enjoying my copywork pages that I have been posting, at the Schoolhouse Store they are having a BOGO sale that Proverbs 22:6 Academy is participating in. If you purchase one of my copybooks, you will get A Copybook of 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 FREE. It is a $5.99 value. (You don't need to add it to your cart, it is already in the BOGO items) You can see samples of all the books in the item descriptions. While I have put love and care in all my copybooks I have to say that my absolute favorite is the State Study Motto Copybook and Notebook Pages. My daughter is just about finished going through the entire book and she absolutely loved doing it. It is way more than just a copybook. I wrote a bit about it HERE and there are sample pages there too for the US and South Carolina for you to check out.

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Monday, November 30, 2009 - Lost November

Posted in Life

Where ever did November go? With my unexpected emergency appendectomy, the month has just gotten away from me.

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Monday, November 23, 2009 - A Copybook of Thanksgiving

Posted in Home School Printables

I have been absent from most of the internet world because I have been recuperating from an appendectomy.  Before I went into the hospital I had told some of my Facebook/work buddies that I would make some copywork pages about thanks. I know these are probably late, but I am posting them anyways. There are actually copybooks with 31 pages of Scriptures and a blank page to have your child write their own prayer of thanksgiving. Even though Thanksgiving is only a few days away, giving thanks is timeless. 
You may choose which style you need for your family:

A Copybook of Thanksgiving-Manuscript

A Copybook of Thanksgiving-Transitional Manuscript

A Copybook of Thanksgiving-Cursive

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Wednesday, November 4, 2009 - Words of Wisdom Copywork- Proverbs 3:12

Posted in Words of Wisdom Copywork

This week's Words of Wisdom Copywork pages are:

Proverbs 3:12

For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

I feel this passage works hand-in-hand with Proverbs 3:11 from last week (you can find those copywork pages HERE). It explains why the Lord chooses to correct us. No more than we discipline our children out of spite or vindictiveness does the Lord do so. We correct our children because we love them and wish only the best for them. Our love for our children cannot even come close to the love that our Father has for us, so why would we doubt that He would admonish us when we need it.

You can download Proverbs 3:12 Copywork HERE.

(Please leave a comment if you are finding these copywork pages useful so I know if I should continue posting them. Thank you.)

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Tuesday, November 3, 2009 - To You, Oh Lord

Posted in Poetry

I lift up this day to You, Oh Lord,
Let it be pleasing in Your sight,
Guide me through each and every step,
Help me to do what is right.

I lift up this hour to You, Oh Lord,
Let it bring glory to You,
Show me Your clear direction
In everything I do.

I lift up this minute to You, Oh Lord,
Let Your Name be always praised,
Lead me to those who need You most,
Take hold of all my days.

I lift up my life to You, Oh Lord,
Let me live only for You,
Make me who You want me to be,
Until my days are through.

VMD

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Sunday, November 1, 2009 - Busy October

Posted in Life

October was such a busy month. In addition to my trip to Tennessee and the kids' trip to the beach with my dad, we were on vacation last week and my husband and I celebrated our 25th anniversary. The past few days I've been dealing with some sort of pain in my abdomen and a bit of a fever. I'm sure it's nothing. That's the reason I'm a bit late posting this month's writing calendar. Hope you enjoy it just the same. Thanks to those of you who let me know your thoughts and how you are incorporating them in you families. I really enjoy getting your input.

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Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - Words of Wisdom Copywork- Proverbs 3:11

Posted in Words of Wisdom Copywork

This week's Words of Wisdom Copywork pages are:

Proverbs 3:11

My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:

I think that God sends us trials for us to face not only to help us correct our attitudes and behaviors but also to prepare us for future tasks He has for us. We must try our best not to complian and gripe when difficult times come our way, but should rejoice that our Father is molding us into what he needs us to be.

You can download Proverbs 3:11 Copywork HERE.

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Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - Our 25th Anniversary

Posted in Life

Today is a very special day. 25 years ago, in a modest ceremony attended by a few friends and family, my husband and I began our married life together. As I think back over the years, the ups and downs, the good times and the rough times, and everything in between, I am assured, without a doubt, that we are meant to walk this world together. God has blessed our marriage with many wonderful gifts that have helped us through. In addition to remaining in love with each other, we have an even deeper friendship and companionship that has stood the trials along the way. We have learned to agree to disagree, to compromise when needed, to talk everything through and to respect the other’s feelings and opinions. When the molehills seemed to become mountains, we have tackled them together. Laughter has filled many hours of our life together because we have learned not to take ourselves too seriously. We trust our Father in heaven for the direction that He wishes us to take and lean on Him to keep our relationship strong. I consider myself to be one of the most blessed women on earth because I found and married my soul mate.

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