IN ALL THINGS...

A Day of Rest

Good Morning All,

It's Sunday...ahhhhh. This week has been LONG. I am ready to go to church, take in the message, then come home and meditate on it....in bed!

Our guests have all left. We had a great time. Soccer Star and her friend packed a lot of adventures into just a few days. We have the 300 photos to prove it, LOL.

Yesterday I hosted a Lesson Planning workshop for our new moms. It ran about 4 hours, LOL.. It was such a joy to be with them. I'm excited about their being in our homeschool group. We have seven new families this year and each one of them adds so much to our group already. God is good. 

I hope your week goes well ladies! 

Until next entry...

Shari  

One Almost Down and One More to Go!

Good morning friends,

We have been enjoying time with Grandma the past week. She is visiting from Chicago, my old home sweet home. The girls have enjoyed spending time with her and despite the rain, we've managed to do some fun things together. Her trip is nearing the end and then it's back up to the Nashville airport to send her back home.

The day after she leaves we have a family coming to visit that we don't know! lol

Their daughter also represented the USA in Austria and Soccer Star and her have kept in touch all this time via e-mail. They had both been wanting to visit each other so the family decided to make the trip. We are excited to be able to meet them. They're driving down all the way from Michigan! They've never been this far south, so that in itself will be rather interesting. LOL

Soccer Star has been planning away. I'm wondering when there will be time to clean after our first house guest leaves, LOL

Our garden is bursting with goodies! Just in time to send my mom home with some fresh, organically grown veggies. Our next round for fall planting has already begun. I'm hoping to expand the garden even more. The children have been recording the growth since we planted seed in our seed starter. It's been a lot more fun than we thought it would be. They are now awaiting for the Sugary cherry tomatoes to ripen. We currently have carrots, tomatoes, japanese green beans, cantaloupe, blueberries, two kinds of cucumbers, and strawberries. Our next adventure will include onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, lettuce, and oranges. Ever since our trip to Cali I've been wanting to plant an orange tree. Because of the heat down here it will need to remain in a planter but I plan to get one on wheels for easy moving! To wake up and walk outside to pick yourself an orange right off the tree...ahhh. Those are memories I'd like for my girls to have!

It's been a great summer thus far. God has put people around us that have been so encouraging...the true Body. It's nice to know you're not alone in this dark world! To have others to help you to continue the race with endurance is such a blessing. There are just too many snags along this road we call life to trip us up and slow us down.

Twin, I hope you're feeling better and for the rest of you, I hope you're enjoying your summer!

Complete in Him,

Shari

How Can I Serve You Today?

It's so nice to wake up early each day and have quiet time with the Lord. As the day progresses He is never far from me, but the morning "quiet time" is our time and it's so important to me.

As I sit in our sunroom and look outside, you can't help but delight in all the He has created. All there for our eyes to behold, day in and day out. Thank you Lord for the "little" things of this world that remind us of your love and care for us.

As you read this today ask, "What are my plans for today? Do they glorify You Lord?"  It's a busy world out there! There is much to do according to the world's standards. So much to do that this is the "big deceiver" at his best! He uses us and others to distract us from the things that the Lord would have us to do. He's pretty tricky and has been since that day in the Garden.

There are friends I'd like to spend time with, or places I'd like to go, but in the eternal what I want isn't necessarily what He wants. It's been a blessing to truly follow His lead in things, in relationships, in being a working part of the Body. It's a lost world out there and there's much to be done, but not those things which the world calls us to do.

Wipe your slate clean, pray about what He would have you to do. I promise your slate will be filled again but the things on it will be those that He would have for you not the deceiver. Sometimes saying no to one thing means you can say yes to His will. Try it, you'll be blessed. I have said no to quite a bit and somewhere down the line there always came a time when I was needed to do something or be there for someone....things that pointed only to Christ. Because I said no to the earlier wishes of the world I was able to serve Him at full capacity. I can't tell you how peaceful my life is, even in the midst of the tasks set before me.  

So when you wake up each day, ask, "how can I serve you today Lord?". You'll lead a humbling and oh so rewarding life.

Complete in Him,

Shari 

A Blast from the Past

I recently subscribed to Classmates.com. It was something that I'd never even thought about, but for the past month or so an old classmate kept coming to mind. I bit the bullet and signed up. To my surprise many of my grammar school classmates were already listed. One friend that I "hung out" with for awhile was one of the many listed. It's been fun to read up on their lives. Mind you, I graduated (we have elem. school graduations in the north. that's K-8) in 1981 so it's been quite a while! lol

Anyway, in doing a little research I discovered that the classmate that kept coming to mind had passed away this month two years ago. :-(  That was a bit shocking to say the least.

I wondered, was he married? did he have children? He was in a car accident. I read the newspaper article which led to the obituary and there is where my questions were answered. He was an uncle to 11. It's so sad.

So, if you'd like to see what your old friends have been up to, try Classmates.com. Once you get the e-mails, you can unsubscribe. My one friend has just signed up on Yahoo IM so we can chit chat about the good ol days....which, in looking back, were pretty good. :-)

Until next visit...

Shari  

Knoxville or Bust!

Here we are in Knoxville for the Section 1 soccer games! we'll be out the door by 6:30 a.m. and playing at 8:30 then 12:30. I figure I'll be burnt to a crisp come 2:00, lol. Go Blazers!  

Next weekend we'll be in B'Ham. We leave Thursday late morning and will pull the camper to Oak Mountain State Park. This trip will be packed with fun. Thursday afternoon we'll swim until we're prunes, Friday we're going to go to the McWane Science Center, then soccer games Saturday morning and afternoon, then swimming, then Sunday soccer and another dip in the pool before we head home!

I hope you all are having a great week...the weekend is almost here. I thought it would be fun to keep a list of who is growing what in your gardens.

So I ask... Mary, mary quite contrary, WHAT does your garden grow?

Kids Contest!

Wow, in all the catching up messages I've been doing lately I forgot to mention that WisdomKids is having a drawing contest for kids of all ages! The winner will get to see their work, their name, and have a brief biography placed in the next edition of WisdomKids- Time to Shine! The Book of Esther  AND they'll get to choose some prizes from a long list of goodies!!!!

Deadline is June 30 so click that mouse over to www.FirstfruitsPublishers.com and go to the WisdomKids Yahoo group for details and to upload your entries!

Well, that's it for tonight. I can sleep peacefully now

Complete in Him,

Shari

June 4 and Preparing for School!

Our school days usually end around early April but we extended our time this year and concluded this past month. Since then I have been happily planning for next year, LOL. For about 3 months I've been buying some items that I would like to use this fall. Most are readers that looked fun and relevant to our studies. I have a habit of getting things, thinking: "I'll use this next year" and then it gets lost in 'bookshelf world'. Yes, you know that place, Bookshelf World... The place that you dust weekly and pass by all of those things that you purchased way back when, promising yourself to finally use them this next year.   I KNOW I'm not the ONLY one that knows of this place.

So last night, in an effort to actually USE all of those "great buys" this year I pulled them all from Bookshelf World, blew off the dust that I missed, and I wrote down each title in my planner. Here's what I included in each column:

Name of Book (resource)

Topic of study (animals, weather, writing, poetry, etc)

Intended for (name of child. I also included if it was an independent work resource)

Subject (example: a science reader would be used for Science...right?)

I've listed this in my planner so I can refer to them easily. I've also put all of them in one area of Bookshelf World so I don't have to search for them.

You would not believe how great it feels! As the stacks sat on the table, my girls came in and looked through them asking if we could read them now. So, I stopped what I was doing and we read just a few. It was such a nice evening.

We officially begin school on July 1st!!!  I'll have a Kindergartner, 2nd grader and a 12th grader with one already graduated!!! Only 18 more years of homeschooling left, LOL

I pray you all will have a most blessed planning time too!

Complete in Him,

Shari

Blog Revival!!!

It's been so nice hearing from everyone. I had some time to spare yesterday and decided to use the "Random Blog" link at the top of my blog page! Have you ever done this? I was amazed to see how many bloggers have fallen by the wayside (myself included).

We need a Blog revival, LOL

So many blogs out there and many have some wonderful entries! Sadly, I came across one where the owner asked for ANYONE to leave a comment. As I scrolled down her entries I noticed that there was not one comment left for her.

I tried to leave a note to all that I visited in hopes of stirring up some interest in returning to blogland. Won't you do the same?  

It's fascinating to see how God is working in everyone's lives!

I had a wonderful time reading, leaving messages, getting responses and making new friends. If you have a moment, hit that button. You never know where you'll end up!

Until next entry...  

Complete in Him,

Shari

Summer Has Arrived in Bama

Random thoughts once again...

AACK! It is HOT outside this week! We have storms rolling in but that will only make it more of a steambath. Gotta love the south.

Our homeschool group had the pleasure of visiting the Creation Museum last weekend in Kentucky. This is the one by Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis. If you ever have the opportunity to go, please do.  It is a beautiful museum jam-packed with knowledge, Scripture, and blessings. I hope to post some photos on  here soon.

Before I forget, there are some FREE online workshops at www.YourHomeschoolStore.com If you visit the site the workshop tab is at the top. Workshops in jammies and at home...doesn't get any better then that!

Our soccer star will have us travelling again. This time to Knoxville and then to B'ham. I'm hoping to do some other things while in Knoxville, any suggestions? I'm dreading B'ham because I know how hot it's going to be!!

WisdomKids is having a drawing contest for possible submission to the new title! Visit the WisdomKids Club yahoo group to enter. It's been a lot of fun creating this series and I so appreciate all of the wonderful e-mails and reviews! I have another book in the works for 6-8 year olds. It's a secret for now, but I think you're going to like it! 

So what's happening on our side of the world? I've once again dropped the ball on blogging BUT I am going to try my best to keep updated this summer.

Complete in Him,

Shari

It's Been Awhile...

It's been awhile but this 'ol place still feels comfy cozy. Where do I begin?

We left for sunny southern Cali in January and stayed for a little over a month. The weather was beautiful and visiting family was priceless.

I have announced my new dream to just about everyone so it's only fitting that I should share with you too. I want to be a beach bum! Ahh, to be on a beach (which by the way, we had ALL to ourselves) just marveling in God's creation, His gift, if you will, to us. The palm trees, the sand, the sound of waves coming in...ahhhh.

We flew out, just myself and 3 DD's, then DH flew out for our last two weeks. I didn't buy return tickets because I wasn't sure when we'd come home, lol. While out there we decided we'd go on an adventure and DRIVE home. Yep, roughly 3000 miles! We rented a mini-van and loaded it up with our luggage, purchases from the month, school books, scrapbook stuff (yes, I had 5 lage boxes shipped out there housing our school books and scrap stuff). Needless to say, every seat had something crammed under it, lol.

It was such a nice trip home. We stopped at the Grand Canyon, the Quarterhorse Museum, and several touristy spots along the way. God provided perfect weather and the kids were perfect passengers.

I hope to have some pics posted here soon. I know my template heading will be changed to a beach pic, lol.

So what have you all been up to?

Complete in Him,

Shari 

Where's Shari?

Okay, okay, the guilt of not posting has finally gotten to me. Here I am. I DO have good reasons for not posting in awhile...notice I said "reasons" and not "excuses". LOL

Not only have I felt like an octopus lately, but all 8 of my arms have been tugged and pulled in many directions! I referred to myself as Mrs. Incredible...or at least wished I was.

Where do I begin?

I am the director for our homeschool group and the end of the year is always a stressful time. This year however, I've been director and minister to several moms at once. Oh how I love to share God's word, please don't get me wrong, but I feel so taxed right now. One family whose husband has left his wife and four children, a mom who delivered their baby 4 days ago without her husband present...due to the fact that he has moved out and filed for divorce, an illness in a dear friend that has yet to be diagnosed, and another friend who is battling cancer. I'm not complaining. I love my fellow sisters and pray that this season would pass and His will be done. I am just at the tail end of my emotional wits.

I need a good day or two of quiet rest with God. This lends itself to great meaning of "Lord fill my cup". I am on empty. It is a blessing to be able to minister them. I pray my words of encouragement comfort each of them somehow. I thank God for allowing me the opportunity to show His love in this capacity. If any of the ladies I'd mentioned above come to mind, please pray for them.

Other happenings include getting Kate ready for Austria, graduation planning for our dd age 6, getting business in order to open our combined homeschooling and scrapbooking storefront  in May, finishing our school year, STARTING our homeschool's yearbook (I usually begin this in Feb!), finishing up our Voice of the Martyrs coloring book project, and planning our trip to CA. on June 1. whew. I can't wait to get some of these things off of my list! I had done so well at keeping our days clear and then I found myself having to get my daytimer out again! grrrrr Did I mention it's soccer season too???? And also that my 4 year old has decided she never wants to go out of the house???? oh my goodness...

My current writing projects have now moved from the back burner to the deep freeze! Are you beginning to see why I haven't posted? AAACK!

So how are all of you? I'm sure you've all been good little bloggers and kept up with your postings? eh?

I'm going blog hopping now to see....

Have a great day my friends!

Complete in Him,

Shari 

Spring Has Come!

We've been having some beautiful weather! It's been in the 80's here with plenty of sunshine for our garden. This year we are planning our gardening with another family and plan to swap veggies! She will grow zuchini, tomatos, and cucumbers. We are growing lettuce, cherry tomatos, grapes, blueberries, potatoes, strawberries, and green beans! She has a newborn so the upkeep of a big garden isn't feasible. I am just delighted that she is growing zuchini and cucs for us!

When I think about growing our own food I'm still so amazed at the provisions God has blessed us with. One tiny little seed can produce an abundance of delicious veggies. It makes us really think about all of the processed stuff on grocery store shelving these days. It's no wonder we have so many illnesses. God's plan is always perfect and never needs any "help" from us.

I do hope my friends up north are warming up a bit! We so enjoy the new blooms that warmer weather brings.

My twin from MN. recently downloaded Yahoo IM so I'm looking forward to chatting with her! Perhaps if your weather is as nice as ours, you may not be indoors long enough to chat eh????

We have been busy....again. I am cutting things out left and right once again. The end of the year is always busy for our family. We're filling orders from our site, enjoying soccer games, planning summer outings, taking care of cover school records, designing our school yearbook, graduation, wrapping up our co-op year, and so much more. By the time June comes we all lay out and take a deep breath!

This June we'll be heading to California to visit my great-Aunt. We will apend a wonderful two weeks visiting with her, Sea World, Disney, San Diego Zoo, and Knott's Berry Farm. I don't know that it will be as relaxing as I'd hoped!

I haven't been to Disneyland since I was 10 years old! I know it's no match for our trips to Disneyworld but I'm so looking forward to going back. I just love It's A Small World!

I hope my secret sister is doing well and enjoying some warm weather. :-)

Time to get laundry in the works! Have a great day my friends and may the Lord continue to bless you in all that you do.

Complete in Him,

Shari

Let the Auction Begin!

Thanks to many generous offers our auction is now ready for tomorrow!

Stop by and see the goodies available.

Thanks to all of my sweet friends who donated some wonderful items!  God has surrounded me with His love, through each of you. What a joy you all are to my heart.

www.firstfruitspublishers.com

Happy bidding!

Complete in Him,

Shari

Yes, I'm here

I thought I'd better write up a little note to let you know that I "have" been posting. The reason that you can only see my Feb. entry is because I've been setting all of my entries to "Only Registered Users" to view my entries.

Sorry for the confusion! You have to log in to view my entries. I had to resort to this tactic because I'd been getting some comments that were not from members on homeschoolblogger. A friend of mine was experiencing this too, so we took some security measures. This is also why I don't post pictures here.

Sooo, I'm still here. If you want to read what's been going on after Valentine's day, you'll need to log into your account!

On another note, our auction begins tomorrow!!!! We have some fun things for everyone. (a few things only pertain to locals) Come by our webhome, take a peek, and help us to Send Kate to Austria!  

Complete in Him,

Shari

Happy Valentine's to You!

Happy Valentine's Everyone! We woke up to light flurries this morning! I can hear my friend PlainJane laughing at me as I type this. LOL

It's so pretty when you don't have to go out into it. Coming from Chicago, I so appreciate the roads closing when it snows down here. There isn't enough to close anything down today, but just maybe if it sticks...LOL

I would like all of my friends to know that each of you have blessed me in some way. I put off blogging for awhile until another friend, MiikoGibson asked, "don't you have a blog?" I took that as my que to get with the program! I've so enjoyed "meeting" all of you and reading about your daily walk, trials, praises, musings, etc. Thanks for sharing a part of your life, you are most assuredly an encouragment to many! 

I pray you all have a day filled with love!

Complete in Him,

Shari

Our Daughter will represent the USA!

We are so excited! Our daughter has been invited to travel to Austria to represent the USA soccer team this summer!

We humbly ask for prayer as many details need to fall into place, including financial details.

As an effort to help get her there, our family ministry is offering a great opportunity for you to stock up on some great curriculum for next year! www.firstfruitspublishers.com

Also, if you have any great fund raising ideas, I'd love to hear them. We only have 3 months to be paid in full, yikes!

I will catch up with all of you over the next couple of days. I have a touch of the stomach virus and little bit has a fever, sigh.

I know my dear friend PlainJane has "tagged" me and I have yet to play, LOL. I'll get there!

Hugs to all.

Complete in Him,

Shari

Secret Sister Mail!

I was sure surprised when lokoing through today's mail! I received a SWEET card from my Secret Sister! It was a very nice and welcomed surprise. :-)

I wasn't expecting to receive something this early, but I have to say that it came at the best time. So, whoever you are, THANK YOU!

Thank you also for putting me on your prayer list. That is THE BEST gift anyone could ever give. To know that I'm lifted up in prayer is such an encouragement.

I'm excited and I can't wait to "meet" you when all is said and done.

Complete in Him,

Shari

Hymns Through the Year

We use two resources for our hymns; the Baptist Hymnal (copyright 1975) and the Hymns for A Kid's Heart series by Bobbie Wolgemuth, and Joni Eareckson Tada. We love using the Kids Heart books because each hymn comes with a story. It's also nice to use these because they come with CD's!  

So, here is our calendar of singing joyful noises!

August: Great is Thy Faithfulness 

September: What Can Wash Away My Sin?

October: To God Be the Glory

November: The First Noel, Away in A Manger

December: Angels We Have Heard on High

January: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

February: Crown Him with Many Crowns

March: Wonderful Words of Life

April: As the Deer

May: Let Others See Jesus in You

June: The Old Rugged Cross

July: God, Give Us Christian Homes!

There you have it!

Complete in Him,

Shari

Where Did 68 Go?

Well, the nights in our sunroom with the sliding door open is OVER. Today's high is 40 degrees! I know most of you that read my blog are saying, "I'd give anything for 40 degrees". LOL and all I have to say to you is, "my door is open to you!".

If you'd like to vacation down here to the beautiful south, come on down!

More later....must-do-school. LOL

Have a blessed day my friends!

Complete in Him,

Shari (originally from chicago, so I sympathize with you snow bunnies)

All in a Day...or I should Say Night!

Well, the good news is that my sweet little angel lost her tooth! Actually, she lost it on Thursday evening while brushing her teeth. sigh.

The next morning her copywork sentence read, "Hannah has lost her tooth". After copying the sentence, she draws a picture to match. LOL Both Hannah and her drawing were too cute.

On to the not so good news...Hannah and Aly have fevers. Of course, you'd never know it the way they have been behaving. Imagine, two little girls wearing night time eye covers as the tops of Ariel's costume! It's a site alright, LOL

My hubby, who I lovingly refer to as "The Engineer", and I, have decided that our family enjoys late evenings the most. It seems that all of our children play together very well after 7 pm.!

Truth be told, Mama enjoys the late evenings too. It seems it is much more peaceful...the phone isn't ringing, the doorbell isn't buzzing, all of the day's chores have been done, the meals have been cooked AND put away! Except for the silly children running around the house giggling it's pretty peaceful, LOL

It was a beautiful day here today. High 68, mid January....just wrong, but nice. This evening as I share, I'm sitting in my favorite chair in our sunroom with the sliding doors open. It's so nice and relaxing. Sipping my grandpa's favorite tea, admiring the beautuful roses The Engineer bought for me today, and chatting with friends, what a welcome blessing.I may never go to sleep!

I did want to mention that in our studies, we have been focusing on a different hymn each month. The girls love to sing and it always sounds so sweet to hear them praising God. I will post our hymn "schedule" tomorrow. Maybe you'll be inspired! Maybe you already do this and would like to share with me!   Before Hannah could read, she felt sad that she couldn't sing with us in church. Having learned several hymns this way, she happily sings with us!

Enough rambling for now.

Have a peaceful evening my friends.

Complete in Him,

Shari