I've been thinking: if I can post a status update on Facebook every day of November, then I can make time to post something on my blog everyday of December. :) My goal is to include a picture from that day and some thoughts about our happenings.
So, it's December 3rd and I've already missed yesterday...I know. Tiredness overtook me and I slept for a long time last night! I took a picture though. Here is a picture of one of the crafts we are taking for our local homeschool's annual Kid's Christmas Craft Sale. I got the idea from a friend and then I did some research online. I found this cute example:
Everyday Art--alphabet glass stone magnets
I know originally I looked at lots of other sites, but I can't seem to find them now. We used scrapbook paper, regular stick glue, glass stones (flat on one side, bubble on the other) and round magnets glued on with E-6000 glue. We glued the stone to the paper, cut it out, glued the magnet on and walaa! Cute!
The other pictures are of my younger two with their Truth in the Tinsel craft. We are enjoying this Advent devotional.
I really enjoy this time of year. The concentrated focus on Jesus does my heart such good. Oh, to keep that focus all year long. For several years, we've celebrated Advent as a family. Each year we seem to add a little something and this year, we've added two little somethings. :) You can see below what we do, and please, leave a comment and share how you celebrate Jesus' birth.
First, a good couple article by Noel Piper on Advent can be found here. She's written several more that pertain to Advent (use the "search" feature to find them.)
Ann Voskamp has written a lovely thoughtful devotional called Jesse Tree Advent Family Devotional. Last year, I printed out the ornaments, mounted them on card stock paper, hole punched and threaded a ribbon through each one. We usually read this devotional at lunch time and the younger kids take turns hanging the ornament on the tree.
This year I found "Truth in the Tinsel" This fun Advent devotional is geared more toward younger children and will work well with the little girl I babysit. She is four. My two younger kids (ages 6 and 9) are doing it too and enjoy making crafts. I found this great printable from Mama Jenn that has added a curiosity factor for them.
Lastly, we've decided on lots of fun "random acts of kindness" based on this idea from Lil Light O' Mine. We read through all the ideas and have a whole pile of ones we are praying that we are able to do. We are so excited! Today the younger two kids and I tied ribbon and a little message on to the candy canes. My little 6 year old has given two of them away already! One to mom of the little girl I babysit and the other to a HVAC service man. {I love my kids!}
12 Days before Christmas we will start Adornaments that we received years ago from a sweet friend. They were sold by Family Life Today, however I don't know if they still sell them. Each day you read about a different name of Jesus and there is an ornament that you hang on the tree. There is also a CD with a song that goes along with the name of Jesus. We've enjoyed this devotional for years.
Our church is celebrating Advent too, so it's wonderful reinforcement for the kids. The message on Sunday was on hope and was very powerful. We have hope in Christ!
Bethany and Trenton spent most of the afternoon planning a Good Friday Service. It was so sweet. They changed into dress clothes, made bulletins, set up the school room and practiced songs. I'll let the pictures and captions tell the story.
All dressed up
I love these sweet faces.
Can't leave out the elements for Communion
Taking offering (with money they gave us). Bethany is in the background getting the games set up for us. Yes! They had games with prizes. Really creative and cute!
Bethany teaching a lesson. She had places marked in her Bible and she asked Daddy to read them. The vacuum piece Trenton is holding is their microphone and Bethany is standing behind the podium. :)
Trenton playing the worship music.
A visual aid of The Last Supper. Trenton is holding it up as Bethany tells the story.
Trenton did a reenactment with his knights and people.
Much to our happiness and joy, we recently purchased a new camera. We got a really good deal on it and it takes marvelous pictures! Our old camera didn't have much zoom to speak of and it had stopped downloading to the computer. So, in celebration, I'm posting pictures of our recent happenings all captured on our new camera.
We had a wonderful Christmas. We celebrated Advent and the kids eagerly anticipated Jesus' birthday. After opening gifts Christmas morning and enjoying homemade cinnamon rolls, we watched a movie and relaxed. Dinner came later that afternoon with some great friends and yummy food. We played games around their table and laughed together. Really, a great day.
New Year's Eve was spent with some more great friends and their 3 kids. We made it to midnight, talking, laughing and munching on goodies.
Marissa enjoying her new blanket watching a movie on New Year's Eve
The family
I'm thankful for the blessing of family and friends. We are praying for a year of growth, challenge and following hard after what God has called us to.
I've been wanting to share what we are doing for the Advent Season. I really like Advent because it takes you through the Bible and shows you how God wove His Story! Amazing!
We are using Adorenaments from Family Life Today. We love this set and I'm sad that it is out of print. Each ornament highlights a name of Jesus and the CD has a song particularly about that attribute.
We are also doing Ann Voskamp's A Jesus Advent Celebration. At the end of November, I printed all the ornaments, backed them with card stock paper and threaded a ribbon through the top. Each day, at lunchtime, I read to the kids and they take turns putting the ornament on the tree. It has been very good. (And it was free when I signed up!)
Here are pictures from some extra activities we did. T is working on matching upper case and lower case letters along with matching the picture with what letter it starts with. He is doing very well. I made activity from the free printable from Confessions of a Homeschooler printables. It is called the A-Z Beginning Sounds Game.
Some activities we did for the letter H: Trace hand prints, cut out and make turkeys for Thanksgiving Hopping around the living room (for a long time to make them tired!)
I had them hop on left foot, then right foot, then both feet all while saying "H" and the sound /h/ makes.
I'd intended to let them paint their hand prints, but the week got away from us.
We are so thankful for a good week! Head over to Homeschool Creations for more great preschool/kindergarten ideas!
Back in August some friends of ours gave us passes to a local amusement park. We'd never taken the kids before and especially the younger ones were excited to go. Here are some pictures from our day. T loved the bumper cars! Just as I thought, T loved it and Bethany enjoyed most of it...one of the bigger roller coasters I talked her into going on was a disaster. She was so afraid and I felt terrible! Overall, though we had a fun day!
I have so many blogging ideas running through my head and so little time to actually write them down! I suppose I'll have to be content with a catch-up list for now...
thanks to the generosity of a friend, we were able purchase an upgraded computer. Our friend built it and sold it to us for a VERY reasonable price. It runs faster and better...except
the first week we had it, a new virus attacked it. ;( Thankfully, after our friend returned from vacation, he fixed it!
While preparing for my first ever overseas short term ministry trip, I have been busy getting shots, folding and stuffing prayer letters, and making lists of the necessary items. Added to that, I'm gathering the items for my part of the trip and praying for those I will be working with and for myself.
Both of my sweet girls need some extent of vision therapy to correct problems with their eyes. This will entail 1 hr. 15 min. drives to a nearby city every two weeks for progress checks. We are thankful for God's direction in helping improve their ability to see and do their school work with more accuracy, and less frustration and fatigue.
Our annual Kids Craft Sale with our homeschool group is fast approaching (second Thursday in December.) My main little crafter, Bethany, and I need to get a move on! In a future post, I'll reveal what we are doing this year. :)
My goal (and hopefully not too lofty) is to write several posts, with pictures included, of the batches of preschool/kindergarten fun we have been having here! Our camera was not downloading to the computer for a LONG time. We've managed to fix that and now I have lots of pictures to post. :)
The above family picture was lovingly taken by our friend, Erin at Lasting Snapshots. She is talented, funny and efficient!
I have been challenged and encouraged by reading Corrie ten Boom's books. So many quotes and nuggets to take away from her life. I'll end this post with such a quote:
"If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God you'll be at rest."
I really want to be consistent about updating my blog. Going back and reading past entries is something I enjoy and I can't read past entries if I'm not writing any. However, in my attempt to balance my {life} computer time, homeschooling time, house work time, hunny time, family time, etc., blogging gets dropped off the bottom of the list.
With so many things to share, I thought I'd update in bullet points:
A sweet homeschooling sister in Christ is now in Heaven after a two year battle with cancer. Visiting her and her endearing husband in the hospital was a privilege from God Himself. We picked up her parents, as they were here from another state and didn't know the area very well. They have been in the states for over 20 years, but don't speak English very well. God blessed our time with them. Singing hymns around my friend's bed, her mother singing in her native language, her father humming a harmony line, her husband singing yet another harmony line and me singing the melody--was nothing short of holy. I don't say that lightly, it was truly a time of worship I will never forget. Three hours later, she was face to face with her Savior. V, you are loved and you are missed; see you soon.
Our pastor is teaching on the armor of God (Ephesians 6) and I've been so challenged and encouraged. I've also been aware of how the enemy tries to trip me up and how God wants me to cling to Him wearing my armor.
In an attempt to help our oldest daughter with some health issues she's been having for the past 2 years, her and I are eating gluten free. Really, this is a whole other post, but for now let me tell you that even though all the symptoms are not gone, we both are feeling somewhat better.
My little guy declared that he is done with school; it's just not for him. Hmm, he's got a long way to go before he's really done. I've had many 'hair pulling out, head banging against the wall' days lately. I continue to persevere and pray with him and for him that he will submit to our authority (which really seems to be the underlying issue.)
I am preparing to go on a two week trip to Indonesia in January. {Insert a minute of "freak-out!"} I can't believe it's now only 3 months away and I have a LOT to do before then...not to mention my longest airline flight to date is 1 hour and 15 minutes. I'm nervously excited to see what God is going to do in and through my life because of this trip. And really it is a family adventure. We have all been studying the country of Indonesia--the people, the culture, etc. and we have been praying for the people, the conference I will helping with and for all the details.
Two weeks ago, I spoke with a dear friend (chat through Facebook.) It's been a long time since we've chatted other than just a comment here or there. What refreshment, what encouragement!
God continues to impress on my heart some heavy issues--a friend's marriage that is breaking apart, another friend separated from his wife, a friend who is struggling to grasp God's unconditional love and forgiveness for sins and of course, my children, our homeschooling days, etc.
I'm thankful for our God who hears and sees and Who is caring and loving. In our "morning work" this week, we sang "Deep and Wide" and I talked to the kids about God's love--His love is "deep and wide." Amazing.
So, V--I'm looking forward to the day when I can say "Hello" to you, L--thank you for the Facebook chat, and God--thank YOU for being sovereign over all of the bullet points of my life!
Goodness me...wait till you hear what I did! Just so you aren't speed reading to the end...nothing is broken and the story has a happy ending.
Bethany and I were walking across the long soccer fields from her practice back to her older sister's game. I was carrying two camp/sports chairs in their bags, an insulated bag with our water bottles and my purse (complete with book stashed for reading between quarters.) With the sun setting and blazing in my eyes, I squinted to try to catch a glimpse of my girl on the field. That's when it happened...along the bike path, a rather large hollowing out of dirt had occurred. My foot went in that hollow, ankle twisted, skin scraped off leg, hands tried to cushion my fall and yep, I'm sure it was a sight!
I've never been graceful. It's a fact and I've tried hard to accept it. Sure I try not to fall and make a spectacle of myself, but sometimes it's unavoidable!
Thankfully Bethany [aka "Nurse Nancy"] was there with me. She surveyed the damage to my leg and hands, told me to leave all the goods with her and hobble off to the bathroom. I washed myself up the best I could and emerged from the bathroom pining for the moment we could go home!
The next couple days my sweet hunny and kids have been compassionate and sensitive. Trenton asks about my leg and pulls up my pants leg to check out the "blooding!" He even brought me a pillow to prop my leg up on. Bethany apologized for not carrying more of the stuff and for not warning me about the hole. She insisted on carrying EVERYTHING for the rest of that evening. And the two of them had a conversation about being the "scout" looking for holes and not letting momma fall in them. :) Isn't that sweet??
My hunny cleaned my "wounds", applied antibacterial cream and gave me an ice pack to help with the inflammation. Marissa helped with more than her share of chores. All of this sweet, tender attention made falling worth it...well, almost. Astounding, really, at how sore I've been and I didn't even break anything or fall completely flat on my face (thank God!)
I'm so thankful for my family and I love how we take care of each other. A true gift from the Lord.
So that's my story...watch out for holes...and have a great weekend!
I really enjoy each season. When I was a kid, summer was my favorite because my birthday is in July. This year, it feels as though spring was skipped and we've been in the heat of summer for weeks and maybe months already. So although I really do enjoy each season, summer doesn't hold the same excitement for me, mainly due to the heat. The kids have enjoyed the 'medium sized' blow-up pool in the back yard as well as fruitie popsicles and the occasional sprinkler.
Me?? I'm enjoying the air conditioner! hee, hee.
I spend most of the day working in the house on lesson plans, chores, etc. And then in the evening, my hunny and I have been walking for exercise.
So welcome summer...and let me know what you do for summer fun!
I like this blog that I recently found:: Confessions of a Homeschooler. She has some great printables. I'm a big fan of this Creative Correction chart. (Scroll down and look under "Forms for Mom.") It is similar to the chart we've used for years and years from Doorposts. I colored it and laminated it, then filled in the consequences with a permanent marker. The permanent marker can be 'erased' using fingernail polish remover. These charts help take the guess work out of what consequences will be given for certain behaviors. When I use the chart consistently it works and the children respond well. :) It also takes away the emotional element of disciplining.
My little boy is still up...yes, it is 10:30 p.m. I suppose this is because he fell asleep on the couch this afternoon for about an hour. Now he claims, he can't get his eyes to close.
He has colored a picture, sat in my lap, listened to music and protected me against a spider. He is so brave! He was laying down coloring, when he spotted a spider (small, yet I'm sure to him, BIG). He ran over, got a paper napkin and boldly declared to "Get this big guy!" And he did. I thanked him for protecting me and he said, "Your welcome, Mom" in his deep 'manly' voice he gets when he does something big.
We spent a quiet Memorial Day here at home. My hunny worked, but came home a little early and the kids played outside in the small pool. I worked on decluttering the school room--my goodness what a mess! I've been stacking stacks all over the place lately and it shows (obviously.) But now I'm in the "everything must go" mood. I've got so many books that I'm going to try to sell at our local homeschool used curriculum sale. I'm selling them cheap--and praying that they sell. :)
The days pass quickly and I am really trying to limit my time on the computer. Combine those two things together and the blog is neglected. I have much to share today, therefore the title "Friday Feast."
First, as I type this I'm listening to a play list of one of the bloggers that I follow. Make sure you visit Heather at A Place of Quiet Rest. Her music choices are wonderful.
May was a busy month for us as the kids finished up AWANA for this year. My little guy will move up to Sparks (I won't have any more Cubbies, sniff, sniff.) And my 8 year old will move up to T&T next year.
Bethany participated in the History/Science/Art Fair that our local homeschool group hosted. Her project was owls and she did a great job!
Here in the second picture you can see her "Kaya" bag. She made this from a kit supplied by my friend who has taught her daughter and Bethany in "American Girl Club." They read the entire series of Felicity and Kaya books throughout the year, discussed them and did activities pertaining to the books/and time periods. She enjoyed it greatly.
My little guy participated in a soccer camp of sorts, an hour each Saturday in April and May. He had a fun time! The last day was this past Saturday and they asked the parents to play for the final 15 minutes. T was so excited!! He looked over at me and said, "Mom, when the other team kicks the ball, you've got to run like the wind!" =) So cute!! (My oldest daughter edited this photo.)
This evening we will honor a good friend of ours who is now in the presence of Jesus. He had a love of all things garden and I'm thankful to have learned at his side. He loved talking about his plants, canned jars all neatly lined up on the shelves, and techniques that he had perfected over the years. I'm praying for his dear wife of 59 years and his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and all who knew and loved him. He will be missed. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus.
Lastly I want to share with you a feast of different sort. In three different ways, God has reminded me this morning of His sovereignty and faithfulness. I pray you will be encouraged and refreshed as you look at these links.
A short, 2 minute video entitled Why is there suffering if God is good? Today's Our Daily Bread devotion called, Our Times--His Hands.My last God reminder is JJ Heller's song "Your Hands."
How is that for a feast? Thank you God!
I'm linking this post to Home Sanctuary's Company Coffee Girls. You probably know by now that I don't drink coffee, however I love tea. So grab a cup of your favorite tea and visit other friends. Thanks for visiting me and have a lovely day! (note: the picture of the rose at the top of the post was taken and edited by my oldest daughter.)
I was going to write a blog post...you know, just to keep up the momentum. However my oldest girl wants to play a game with me. I've been praying that God would help me be more 'present' with my kids. I don't want to always be distracted and doing other things. So this is an answer to prayer. As well, I'm honored that she enjoys my company and now I must go beat her at Scrabble. hee, hee, hee.
While I'm playing, you may want to peruse another game we played this morning. It is called The Really Amazing Animal Game. Very fun and all of us played...Trenton (age 4) 'wowed' us with all of his right answers!
Playing games with my kids works for me on this snowy afternoon! Be sure to head over the "We are That Family" for more ideas.
I've been reading Gary Chapman's The Five Love Languages of Teenagers. Tonight I'm convicted about the chapter on Quality Time. I so want to do better in this area with my kids. I've typed the long quote below directly from the chapter.
Here are eight guidelines for better listening and true dialogue.
Maintain eye contact when your teenager is talking. This keeps your mind from wandering and communicates that the teen has your full attention.
Don't listen to your teenager and do something else at the same time. Undivided attention.
Listen for feelings. Ask yourself, "What emotions are my teenager experiencing?"
Observe body language. Ask for clarification to make sure you know what she is really thinking and feeling.
Refuse to interrupt. Interruptions often stop the conversation before it gets started.
Ask reflective questions. "What I hear you saying is.... Is that correct?" "Are you saying...?"
Express understanding. The teen needs to know that she has been heard and understood.
Ask permission to share your perspective. "Would you like to hear my perspective on the idea?"
Some parents find the idea of asking permission to share their perspective offensive. "Why should I have to ask my teen permission to speak?" The question is not whether the parents have the right to speak to the teenager, they do. The question is "Do you want your teenager to listen to what you are saying?" Asking permission recognizes that she is an individual and has the choice of hearing what is in your heart and mind or not hearing it.
Lots for me to think on....overall I don't think I'm doing terrible in these areas. However I know there is room for improvement! The computer is a biggie for me. I'll be working on something and my girl will come in and start to talk to me. I need to take time to listen to her--either by saying, "I want to hear what you are saying, give me 10 minutes to finish this up and I'm all yours." Or by turning right then and listening to her. We have good communication and I'm so thankful for that. I want to continue to foster that and let her know that I treasure our relationship.
Christmas morning the atmosphere was relaxed and joyful as we opened gifts. My favorite gifts were the ones my children made for me....a coupon book from my oldest daughter, a homemade card from my middle daughter and lots of hugs from my little guy. The picture below shows a gift I made for our Bethany girl. We realized that the other two kids had something with their names on it hanging on their walls. She did not. I took care of that. I love the way it turned out. It was fun to make and she was thrilled with it.
Our little guy has had hours of fun already with this Fisher Price castle complete with knights (and a dragon). A fellow homeschool mom passed this goodie along to us as her son was finished with it. I'm so thankful because it has been T's favorite toy.
The last couple days I've been working on a rag rug. A friend and I were talking about making them and she said she thought there was a way to make them without sewing or crocheting them. So, after some searching we found this set of youtube videos. It uses a tool that my friend's husband made out of a coat hanger. I'm using some shirts and some material I had in my stash just for this purpose. I'll take a picture of it soon. It is turning out so pretty!
My other big job this week is doing lesson plans for January through March. I'm almost half way through Bethany's and hope to finish up tomorrow; then on to Marissa's.
So, it's December 3rd and I've already missed yesterday...I know. Tiredness overtook me and I slept for a long time last night! I took a picture though. Here is a picture of one of the crafts we are taking for our local homeschool's annual Kid's Christmas Craft Sale. I got the idea from a friend and then I did some research online. I found this cute example:
I know originally I looked at lots of other sites, but I can't seem to find them now. We used scrapbook paper, regular stick glue, glass stones (flat on one side, bubble on the other) and round magnets glued on with E-6000 glue. We glued the stone to the paper, cut it out, glued the magnet on and walaa! Cute!
