Semper Fi Semper Deus - Homeschool Blogger

Our Suprise

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:52:00 -0500

It seems that our little Jelly Bean would like to remain a suprise. This is something that has been hard for us to deal with. We like to plan so much ahead and get things ready that it has been hard to take the fact that this Blessing doesn't want to share with us who he/she is.

Though we are prepared to an extent with having one of each already and having the clothes for each it is a little hard when trying to reorganize bedrooms and furniture. So we are praying that we will be able to tell at another u/s soon.

So far Jelly Bean and I are doing fine. My BP is a little high, but not to bad! I'm not gaining to much weight which is nice and a first! Of course that could have something to do with running after 2 kids after they've eaten all my food! LOL

So for now Jelly Bean is a suprise baby!

Skipping K4

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:51:00 -0500

Little Monkey has done so well this past year with his K3 work. He has blown us all away in his skills and we PRAISE the Lord for the brain and wanting to learn He has Blessed Little Monkey with!

We have officially ended our K3 year and we are doing some "unschooling" for the summer. Taking things as they come along and working on those things that need to be continally worked on. #1 for right now is behavior and first time obedience. It seems we work on this a lot lately. I pray one day it won't be such a hard concept to stick with for Little Monkey!

This year we attended our first Homeschool Conference. It was great. We bought some used books and then we ordered our new books for the coming school year. Since we are having our 3rd Blessing in September we really felt that it would benifit us all to use a curriculm that was already planned out. My Beloved and I both know ABeka pretty well and we really love it compaired to all the other Christian Curr that is out there! So we prayed for God's guidance and for the most part we are using all ABeka. Originally we had planned to do Reading, Writing and Phonics on a K4 level, everything else on a K5 level (sciene we are making up as Little Monkey has already finished the K5 science this past year). But after going to the conference and seeing the books up close and getting to read them and look at the insides we decided that K4 REading, Writing and Phonics was past Little Monkey and we are Officially doing ALL K5 work this coming year! We are so excited and so is Little Monkey. We pray that God continues to give him the Blessing of learning well!

We still have 1 more year before we are "officailly" in "school" but more than likely Little Monkey will be starting his first year of "real school at home" on a 1st grade level! Praise the Lord!

Princess JoJo Update

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:50:00 -0500

As of last I said that she was going in for a PT eval. She did and we did find that her muscle tone in her trunk is a little weaker than most. This stems from the fact that she doesn't crawl, which is more common than one might think. Like I posted before I nor her Daddy crawled and he didn't walk til he was 16mns old. So this is partly just genetics as well. God's time and His creation!

We have been doing PT 2 times a week for the past month. It does take up more of our time and it has been hard because the only open times on the days we could come are during nap/quiet time. So we have had to rearrange our schedule a bit and sadly to say I still haven't found the perfect combo for our Littles. But God is helping find the way to do it all and make their days prosperuse for HIM!

In about 3mns she will go back up for an eval and we will see if her time decreases or stays the same. She is making progress and if I thought she got into things before, she is REALLY getting in them now!

Sorry for the Blogging Silence

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:54:00 -0500

We have been experiencing computer problems left and right for the past year or more and it means that getting on the computer to Blog is almost impossible. We are working on getting a new computer, but until then blogging will be very spars and sparatic. Thanks for your patience! We can't wait to get back to blogging full time and catching up with all our BlogLand Friends!

Once we do get back online full time we will be updating our site more. So please excuse any "construction" you might see going on here and there!

Christian Love

The Semper Fi Family

Quick Update

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 21:15:00 -0500

Well as you can read from the previous thread we've been a little busy. Between taking care of and raising 2 Littles, taking care of me who's growing a new life in me, taking care of our house and working in the ministries God has called us too takes a bit of time! So I haven't been blogging or reading blogs to much in the past few months. I really hope to be able to get back to it as I miss it. But first things first and that's family!

The Littles are doing well. Both just had a check up about a wk ago. Little Monkey's surgery back in October really did him well. He doesn't get to many runny noses, coughing is gone, no ear infections or throat infections and no more snoring sinse his adenoids were removed! Praise the Lord!!! Princess JoJo is doing well too, but the Dr, well the Dr is another story all in it's self so for times sake...., thinks she needs to be seen by a Physical Therapist because she is not pulling up or walking and she's 11mns old. Personally I find nothing wrong with this and between her Daddy and I she had to get one of our genes for walking. He didn't walk til 16mns. She doesn't crawl either, which I never did, but she finds her way around to get into plenty of stuff! She's on God's time and He will have her walking when He is ready for it! So we have a PT evaluation on her 1yr birthday. So we will see what they think. When talking to them on the phone they didn't seem to have a problem with her age and not pulling up and/or walking. So all this really stims from one persons perspective on things!

Our Marine is doing fine, he is in the process of making a reenlistment package. So we are awaiting those details. Praise the Lord it's for staying here for another 4yrs and for him to go back to DI school!

We are getting ready to finish our K3 work and move on to some K4 but mostly K5 work. But that's another post too! So it's a busy time of year!

God Bless everyone!

"Package #3" from God

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:42:00 -0500

It's official, we finally told our family and friends and now we are sharing with the world! We are expecting OUR NEW BLESSING in September! September 15th, is the Due Date, which is a bit funny around here! See my birthday is July 15, Little Monkey's is March 15th, and Princess JoJo's is May 15th. Only Daddy is not a 15th, he is June 27th. So we find it very funny, almost a little "note" from God with all the 15th's of our children's birthdays!

Right now I am 19wks. On the 30th we will be finding out if we are having another boy or another girl. Right now Little Monkey calls the baby "Jelly Bean" as all our kids names start with "J" and since "Jelly Bean" starts with a "J" he thought this was a good name for the baby. So we will probably refer to the baby as "Jelly Bean", for now at least not sure how long that will last! =)

So far everything is GREAT! The baby is growing well and BIG, as our babies do! Jelly Bean has the legs of his/her Daddy, very LONG! My BP is a little high, which is "normal" for me during pregnancy, so we will see how it goes! We are just praying for God to help me with it as we are very against BP meds, or any meds, while pregnant! I feel great most of the time. It's spring so it's allergy season and that causes me to get sinus infections every once in awhile, just went through one this weekend and PRAISE THE LORD He healed it without meds! Other than that the common things, resting more often and not lifting things that are heavy. That doesn't really seem to include our kids though! ;) This is a bit different for me as I've never been pregnant during the warm months, well warm is putting it modestly, the HOT months. So I'm having to buy a new wardrobe and praying that the electric bill doesn't sky rocket because I feel like I'm swelltering!

As soon as I can get pictures of the baby I will. And as soon as we know BOY or GIRL we will be telling the world as well!

April Kids Corner

Tue, 1 Apr 2008 20:38:00 -0500

National Kite Month

Here are a few fun ideas:

* Pretend to be Mary Poppins and sing "Let's Go Fly a Kite" with your kids.

* Make kites out of tissue paper and popsicle sticks. Hang near windows

* Take an afternoon and go fly kites in an open park. Talk to your child about wind and the weather and how God made it and controls all of it!

February Kids Korner

Fri, 1 Feb 2008 20:35:00 -0600

Have a Tea Party

(for girls or boys)

* Cut out invitations and decorate them for family, siblings, and friends

* Dress up

* Make sugar cookies as either hearts or dinosaurs

* Fill tea cups, or mugs, with milk, herbal tea, or juice

(you can warm the milk for about 30sec too, add strawberry or chocolate flavoring as well)

March Kids Korner

Sat, 1 Mar 2008 20:30:00 -0600

Playing in the Rain

Next time it rains at your house, if there is no thunder or lightning, grab your rain boots, umberllas, and rain jackets - go outside and take a walk, jump in puddles, look for worms - allow your child to dig in the mud when the rain stops. Enjoy how the rain brings to life everything green - happy spring!

"The Bridge"

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:04:00 -0500

The Bridge

Sharri Kerkhoff, Area Coordinator

There is a new interstate overpass and exit near our home. We pass by it frequently, but have only used it once. This frustrates my six-year-old daughter significantly.

"Mommy, let's take the new bridge!" Julia exclaims. I explain each time why driving over that new patch of roadway is not necessary, but with no success. She is disappointed every time.

The last time we passed it, she asked a different question, "Mommy, why don't you like the new bridge?"

"I don't dislike it, Julia. In fact, I wonder why you like it so much," I replied.

"Because it feels safe, Mommy," she said quickly. "It's new and wide and clean. There are no holes and it's prettier than our old roads."

Her all-girl response made me smile at her in the rearview mirror. I could not disagree with that, but a lesson was afoot for both of us.

"It doesn’t take us anywhere we need to be today," I said. "When we’re trying to get somewhere, we don't take a road just because it's new and wide and clean. We take the roads that help us get where we're going, even if they are old, narrow and dirty. Otherwise, we'd just be driving around and never getting anywhere."

My reply satisfied Julia, but convicted me.

As a mom, I sometimes feel as if I'm randomly taking exits and on-ramps in my mothering journey. I'm always trying new things, but am I really getting anywhere? In fact, do I even know where I want to go?

It's time to stop evaluating the road I'm on by its condition, start figuring out where it is I need to be and if the road I'm on can get me there.

Prayer From a Mother's Heart

Dear God, direct my child to seek good, knowing that you will be with her wherever she goes. Amos 5:14

"Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live:

and so the LORD, the God of hosts,

shall be with you, as ye have spoken."

Amos 5:14

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