I'm a joyful mama to 4 precious blessings. I love Jesus, my husband, my kids, homeschooling, and coffee. Life can get crazy, but at the end of the day I can reflect on the good times our family has shared. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/psalm113v9/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Sun, 10 May 2009 00:27:00 -0500 Sun, 10 May 2009 00:27:00 -0500 Happy Mother's Day to all of you lovely Mom's out there in blogger-ville.  Isn't it amazing how the tiniest little person, so fresh from God, can completely change your life? After 7 years of infertility, it still amazes me that God blessed our home with four precious kiddos.  I sure do love them!  They are each individual creations who make me laugh, cry, smile, and sigh ~ while keeping me on my toes and/or on my knees in prayer! I wouldn't trade this season in my life for anything.  May your day be blessed and may your heart sing today. In Christ, Karla http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/psalm113v9/687426/ Sun, 10 May 2009 00:27:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/psalm113v9/687426/ Man are we having fun around here today.  Actually, Thomas is doing all of the demolition to replace the drywall in Lauren's bedroom.  It's going to be so beautiful when we're done.  New drywall will go up this week, along with paint, then new carpet.  I can't wait!  Before we started demolition I thought it would be fun to do something I've never done before.  Well, I take that back.  I probably did this when I was little and totally upset my mom.  I drew on the wall with crayon!!! Here's photos of my handyman husband.  I love a man with power tools.  Thomas ready for demolition or chemical warfare.  LOL I'll update more as we go along.  It's going to get messier before it looks prettier, but that's what remodeling is all about, right?  Right?  I think I need a coffee break about now.  Starbucks here I come! Blessings, Karla http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/psalm113v9/632094/ Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:52:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/psalm113v9/632094/ I know, I know...it appears I fell off the blog wagon.  It has been months since I last updated.  I have so many things to write about, but am not going to be able to get it all done today.  We are in the middle of a remodel project in the kid's bedrooms and our master bathroom.  I can't wait for it to be finished.  I'm also going to be finishing decorating our house for Christmas.  I couldn't get it all done because of the remodeling, but as long as I get it finished today we can enjoy the lights for a few weeks before it's time to take it all down again. Please keep my blogger buddy Mandi in your prayers.  She's being induced tomorrow and we're anxiously awaiting the birth of Elijah!  It will be their first boy, and he'll be welcomed by three adoring big sisters. I'll post photos soon.  Blessings, Karla http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/psalm113v9/632022/ Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:34:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/psalm113v9/632022/ Happy Fall to my Blogger Buddies! I love this time of year.  It's time to begin cooling off from the hot summer.  Time to dig through closets to find favorite sweaters.  Time to decorate with pumpkins and colorful fall leaves.  I'm looking forward to the lovely changes in colors in my neighborhood.  Right now my fig tree and grape leaves are beginning to slowly change.  I saw a huge yellow mulberry leaf gently drift to the grown the other day while I was outside playing with my kids.  I hope you enjoy the new lovely background I'm using, too.  I have discovered that it's pretty fun to change out backgrounds with the seasons or my mood.   Blessings, Karla http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/psalm113v9/600231/ Sat, 4 Oct 2008 23:14:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/psalm113v9/600231/ Don't you just love it when God lets you get a peek inside your child's heart?  It's times like these that I treasure the most and keep tucked away. Yesterday I took my sweet 6 year old Matthew with me to run errands.  We were listening to KLOVE and  the first few bars of a song I'd never heard before started to play.  It was very beautiful.  Suddenly Matthew's little voice from the backseat piped up and said, "Mom, I heard God talking to me.  He told me that He loves me."  I had to pause and blink away the tears forming in my eyes before I replied, "Yes, Matthew, He does love you.  And when you take the time to listen you'll hear Him more and more."  I then sat in line at the bank drive-up window praising God for taking the time to make Himself real to Matthew, and for allowing me to be blessed by being right there when it happened. I believe this is another one of those memories that will pop into my head on Matthew's wedding day.  I'm telling you, it'll be by God's grace that I'm not a mess of a crying mom when that day comes.  Here is a video and the lyrics to the song we heard.  It's titled Divine Romance by Phil Wickham. Divine Romance         Lyrics: The fullness of Your grace is here with me The richness of Your beauty’s all I see The brightness of Your glory has arrived In Your presence God, I’m completely satisfied For You I sing I dance Rejoice in this divine romance Lift my heart and my hands To show my love, to show my love A deep deep flood, an Ocean flows from You Of deep deep love, yeah it’s filling up the room Your innocent blood, has washed my guilty life In Your presence God I’m completely satisfied All songs written by Phil Wickham © 2006 Seems Like Music (BMI) / Wickham Music (BMI) All rights administered by Simpleville Music, Inc. Blessings, Karla http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/psalm113v9/582678/ Sat, 30 Aug 2008 15:19:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/psalm113v9/582678/ Does it feel like Fall is just around the corner?  It sure seems that way to me.  As a matter of fact, I drank a nice hot cup of tea last night after I'd tucked my sweeties in bed.  Speaking of tea, a fellow blogger is giving away a very nice hot tea package to one lucky winner.  She is offering three different packages, and will allow you to choose the one you'd enjoy the most.  If you'll check out her blog here  you'll be able to enter your name in her Fall Back into HomeSchool drawing.  I hope you enjoy the change of seasons as they'll soon be occurring.  I love Fall and am so glad the weather is finally cooling off.  I'm anxious to start wearing my favorite sweaters again.  Blessings, Karla http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/psalm113v9/581680/ Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:24:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/psalm113v9/581680/ And the winner of the FREE Homeschool Planner courtesy of The Old Schoolhouse is... 10gal from Colombo, Sri Lanka!  Congratulations!  I had so much fun reading all of the comments on my blog.  Many of you are so busy homeschooling and having fun with your kids.  I wish I had enough copies to give away to all of you.  For those of you who REALLY want one of these planners, and trust me, it's worth it, you can go here and purchase one.  Since it's interactive and you can type things into it, print them out, and reuse the pages over and over by simply retyping, you'll never wear it out.  It's a great value!  According to the creators of this wonderful planner, they'll be adding updates to it for future use.  I'm guessing it'll include a 2009-2010 calendar and more pages to enhance what's available in this version. Again, thank you all for your participation in this contest.  10gal, I hope you enjoy this gift!  You are far away in miles, but just a click away via internet...and just a prayer away from your new friend here in the USA. Blessings, Karla http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/psalm113v9/579453/ Sun, 24 Aug 2008 01:26:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/psalm113v9/579453/ Wow!  Have you all seen the new digital magazine published by The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine?  This is the most amazing thing I've ever seen!  I've been a subscriber to their periodical for three years and I LOVE flipping through the pages of the magazine, smelling the pages (yes I'm a page sniffer), and dog-earring the corners of pages that I want to view again.  I've spent lots of time flipping through pages and going back and forth from the magazine to my computer to check out their advertiser's interesting websites.  Now I've found an easier way! The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine's digital edition has many features that I enjoy.  For starters, I can download the quarterly magazine  as soon as it goes to print.  I don't have to wait for the mailman (or my neighbor who occasionally gets my mail) to deliver it.  I can click a link to check out a resource or reference that catches my attention, and I'm instantly seeing the information I'm interested in viewing.  I don't have to worry about my toddler spilling his juice on the pages of my coveted magazine, either.  I can save it to my hard drive and it's always available when I need it.  The price is also considerably less than the printed version.  No printing or mailing costs are needed for the digital version.  If you're wondering if you have to wait a few moments for a pdf file to load before you can view the pages, the answer is "No!"  With just a click of my mouse the pages turn, just like flipping through the real magazine.  I have to use my imagination to get that "print" smell, though.    Click here to see a sample of the digital version of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine.  I trust that you'll see firsthand the amazing value in this high-tech digi-mag.   If you decide to purchase a yearly subscription to this quarterly-published magazine, you'll also receive 19 FREE gifts from The Old Schoolhouse.  Some of these include educational materials from Art of Eloquence, In the Hands of a Child, Teach Magazine, and Write Shop.  There are other vendors included, but the ones I mentioned above are from companies I've personally purchased items from.  Enjoy! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/psalm113v9/574332/ Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:20:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/psalm113v9/574332/ I am excited to announce a super fun contest on my blog.  I am giving away a free copy of The Schoolhouse Planner to one fortunate winner.  This planner's retail value is $39.00 but it can be YOURS FREE if I draw your name!  With most of us starting our school year soon this planner is a must-have when it comes to preparing our lesson plans and schedules. I have greatly enjoyed my copy of The Schoolhouse Planner and want to share with you some of the wonderful things included in it.  If this is your first year to homeschool or you're a seasoned homeschool veteran this is the planner for you!  It contains useful information that will guide you in planning not only your weeks or months, but your entire year also.  The best feature of all is that it's interactive.  I can type in my schedule or lesson plans on the PDF form, hit print, and have a lovely page printed instantly.  No more writer's cramp!  And there are links galore that I can access with a click of my mouse.  It is user friendly and saves this busy mommy of four lots of time. I have tried many planners and have even attempted to create my own, but nothing compares with this easy to use version that The Old Schoolhouse® has thoughtfully published.  The creators of this amazing 247-page planner took suggestions from several homeschooling families and put it all into one time-saving e-book version.  There are many things included in the planner, but some of my favorites are the recipes, homeschool planning pages and household forms that can be filled out online and printed, and the quick links to resources at The Schoolhouse Store®.  Another added benefit is the option to purchase a new module each month to compliment your planner.  The free copy one of you will win runs from July 2008 through June 2009.  I just purchased the July and August modules and was thrilled with the activity sheets my kids can enjoy, the ideas for family activities, and of course the recipes!  You can download a preview copy of  The Schoolhouse Planner and see for yourself some of the pages included in it.  It's an incredible tool that will save you time while planning your school year, and bring enjoyment as you view all the useful information contained within it's pages.  To enter this contest simply leave a comment with your name, a way to contact you (email address or a link to your blog) and why you'd like to win this planner.  Only one entry per person please.  Please feel free to add a link to my blog from yours, and let's get the word out about this grand contest.  The contest ends August 23, 2008 at 12:00 A.M. MST.  Hurry!  Enter today and get ready to use the best planner imagineable for your upcoming school year. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/psalm113v9/573964/ Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:30:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/psalm113v9/573964/ Where has the time gone?  I can't believe it's August already!  We're starting school on the 18th and I really need to get my act together.  I still have a stack of textbooks to review, lesson plans to prepare, and a house to de-clutter. I wanted to let you all know that I'll be having a contest on my blog in the next few days.  It's exciting and the giveaway is something very useful for homeschooling families.  Check back soon and see what I'm excited about giving away to one lucky winner! Karla http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/psalm113v9/570573/ Tue, 5 Aug 2008 23:18:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/psalm113v9/570573/