Eclectic Momma

30 Days of Bread: Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

2012-02-01T11:49:00.000-08:00

I've been experimenting with lots of bread recipes lately and decided to have a 30 Days of Bread series. I even made that little button on the side and I know it's not that impressive...but for me it took a lot to come up with that.

Most of these recipes came from other recipe sites or pinterest, so I will link up to the original post or recipe when possible. Some have been great, some have been flops, and some I've made more times than I can count. I hope you enjoy this series and make some bread of your own! If you like grab that button on the side and do whatever! :)

This is an awesome pumpkin bread! I've made it several times and have gotten raves every time. It's not the healthiest, but it's really good.

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

2 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries chopped

Beat eggs and sugar. Add pumpkin and oil, mix together well. Add dry ingredients, stir until moist. Fold or stir in cranberries. Spoon into 2 greased 9 1/2 inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until done. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then finish cooling on wire racks.

Science Fair

2012-01-28T14:57:00.000-08:00

Today was the science fair hosted by our local homeschooling group at one of the local colleges. Tera has been working on a project called Freaky Fries- Which fries will decompose first? Daniel's project was called Electro Fruit-O: Which fruit/vegetable will generate the most electricity?

Daddy quizzing the kids the day before to prep them for the interview portion of the science fair.

Glow in the dark spiders from a student who did her internship in Hondurus. We saw lots of things under black light, but the coolest was seeing Tera's eyes and teeth glowing!
Poppers demonstration- tums and vinegar in photo canister. I overheard this as the favorite for lots of kids.

There was also a station on light and color, but since Michael and I were playing in the water fountain, going to the potty and washing our hands...I have no pictures of that one. The kids did come home with some really cool glow in the dark beads that change color when exposed to black light! Working with acids/bases and testing for ph. Also, shaving cream tie-dye...definitely trying this one again!

JP and Michael met a really nice professor at the college, who shared crayons with Michael when he really needed a diversion!

Flaming Gummy Bears!

Waiting to talk to the judge.

Showing their boards to friends and posing.

All the participants

This was a top notch science fair. Not only were there cool prizes for winning, but they made sure each participant left home with a door prize. Nice door prizes. Tera won 2 free Firehouse Subs and Daniel won 2 "2 One Time Free Admission" to Ripley's Aquarium. Daniel looked like one of those people who just got called up for The Price is Right! The gift bags for participants had all kinds of stuff in there: messenger bag, pencils, pens, food, toys, coupons for Froyoz and admission to AMSE, and all kinds of stuff. Although, our kids did not place, they walked away feeling like winners! We are so proud of all the hard work they put into their projects.We are all looking forward to next year...just not right now!

He knows my name...

2012-01-27T14:09:00.000-08:00

He Knows My Name
by Tommy Walker

I have a Maker.
He formed my heart
Before even time began,
My life was in His hands.

He knows my name;
He knows my every thought;
He sees each tear that falls
and He hears me when I call.

I have a Father.
He calls me His own;
He’ll never leave me,
No matter where I go.

I'm so glad!

Tuesday in Madagascar

2012-01-27T12:03:00.000-08:00

We met with our co-op on Tuesday for a focus on Madagascar. First the kids watched a short video on the country and then a clip of leaping lemurs. Then they tried their hands...or in this case feet, at leaping.

Michael is helping measure his leap. I would have had pictures of Tera and Daniel's leap but I had to turn and get Michael out of something each time.

A cute little somebody!
There were all kinds of coloring activities (maps, flags, etc.). Then the kids listened to a Maya Angelou poem written about Madagascar. They did their impressions of her descriptions with various pictures.
This was my favorite activity. Play dough landforms. Each of the kids received a card with a specific landform pictured. They were to replicate that on their plate with playdough. Then, they played a guessing game to remember each person's landform.

Nothing like friends helping friends!

For more pics and links for all the activities we did, check out The Forest Room!

It's Thursday, it's Thursday...

2012-01-26T14:38:00.000-08:00

WooHoo it's Friday...no wait, it's still Thursday. It feels like Friday because it's been a long day around here. Not a bad long day- just a rainy, overtime working, full of activity day. We have had a pretty good week. Academically, I pulled back a little for the kids since they worked overtime last week on science fair projects (which is this Saturday). Tera has her state of Tennessee mandated writing assessment next Wednesday, so we've contacted the testing coordinator and are all set to go. We took her suggestion of doing a mock run through yesterday. Then I showed her the sample papers online (also a recommendation from the coordinator- who was extremely nice and even gave me her cell with the permission to call anytime with questions). It was awesome to see Tera confident about how she will do next week.

We started Spelling Power this week- we all really like this program and I'm so glad I finally bought it. It's just what we needed. Sometimes I think my kids mess with me. A couple of weeks ago, it seemed like they weren't spelling anything-then we did the placement test and they test above where I thought they would/should be. We did prescriptive tests, too and we indeed have some holes in learning. So, once we learn the system, I'll assign specific lists they need to work on.

The Lord blesses me so much and so many ways. Like when He doesn't let both of my kids struggle with their math at the same time. Daniel is on an even keel and working pretty consistent right now. Now, Tera is having some problems. Part of it stems from the fact that she wasn't reading the lesson material in her Saxon book and doing the practice. I'm going back through some trouble lessons with her and making sure she understands each concept before we move forward anymore. I'm so glad I have the undivided time she needs.

Tuesday, we had co-op and learned all about Madagascar, but I'll post about that tomorrow.

Michael is begging to do HIS school. Thankfully, I had things given to me, found things at yard sales/thrift stores or just put together with things laying around here that will keep him occupied for a little while.

Today we played lots of games (when I say "we", I mean "me and them") and had tons of craziness.

Life in general

2012-01-21T04:57:00.000-08:00

I'm tired of using the titles: "This and That", "Random", "Stuff"...so today you get "Life in general". I promised my mom I would post, because she wants to see some pictures. I have been having a really rough time these last few weeks. I can truly say, I feel a lot better this week. I'm truly thankful for all those who commented and shared as well. It's nice to know you aren't the only one dealing with something.

We have been busy all week finishing our science fair projects. They are not due until next week, but I'm trying to get the kids in a habit of finishing projects early...so hopefully when they go to college, it will be a habit. I know, good luck with that, right?!

Here are some random pics of our last few weeks:

Here you go, Mom! I love you!

My little Robin Hood--Tera put together this costume for him.

Face paint by Tera

Ways to get exercise when it's rainy or too muddy outside.

Games with friends!

Michael getting in his "instrment prabis" (that's how it sounds when he says it)

Yes, he has been walking around in pajamas a lot lately. He doesn't complain, and neither do I.

Reading time with Michael

I've been getting the kids out for short walks this last week...paying the water bill, going to a Civil War marker and walking around the cemetery nearby. (I love walking around old cemeteries...I'm thinking about doing a math lesson there soon. Sounds fun)

Our week has revolved around this:

Some friends are watching our kids for a few hours today...while we get a much needed date day. I'm very excited and hope this thunder and lightning will stop soon so I can get a shower. Don't worry Mom, I remember all you taught me about how to avoid getting electrocuted. :)

Immersion

2012-01-16T03:23:00.000-08:00

As Tera and I were reading our devotion a couple of nights ago, we read about meditation- to meditate on God's word. The author defined meditation as "when studying the Bible and praying crash into each other." By this definition, I fall short indeed. Sometimes I fall asleep in the middle of my prayer time. My Bible reading is often interspersed with children needing something, the phone ringing, some timer going off, or the dog whining to go out.

Meditation...interrupted.

We read the focus verse for the day:

"Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. "

Joshua 1:8

And I started thinking....yeah, I've been doing that a lot lately.

What if we looked at meditation in a different way?

What about IMMERSION?

Immersing ourselves in God's word and His presence throughout the day. Being so surrounded by it that we can't help but participate.

How can we do that?

Purposely decide to pray and/or read our Bible before we even get out of bed.

Listen to Scripture songs or praise music throughout our day. This is one of my favorite series:

Incorporate Bible reading into your daily schoolwork- through assigned Bible reading, listening to passages on audio (like Bible Gateway), have your kids (and yourself, too) memorize passages of Scripture and hymns, use Bible verses for copywork.

Have short devotionals scattered throughout your house and pick one up when or if you have a free moment.

Do family devotions with your kids. In our house, this is just reading a short passage from a kid's picture Bible.

Have a special devotion time one-on-one time with a child. I really felt the need to do a devotional with Tera this year. She is turning 12 in October and it just seems like the years are flying by. I want to make sure we are staying connected and communicating through these awkward years. I found this awesome devotional:

I feel like I'm learning more than she is!

Now, I have to admit that some days I struggle more than others...but I will continue to strive to immerse myself in God's word.

¹⁸ Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ¹⁹ Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ²⁰ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, ²¹ so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.

Deuteronomy 11:18-21

Help

2012-01-15T07:25:00.000-08:00

I've been dealing with "the blues", "the blahs", "being down in the dumps", "depressed"... however you want to say it. This week hasn't been a stellar one. Coming off a cold last week...I was irritable with my children, with my husband and probably my dog and cat, too. I felt like I didn't really know what was going on with myself, except that I just didn't feel like being at home, but I certainly didn't feel like going anywhere either. Bouts of snappiness abounded.

I started thinking that although I feel like my days are just trudging along one right after another, some major things have been happening:

Seasonal: no sun for days, let down from Christmas, bare house after all the Christmas decorations are down, being in the house more, not as many play dates and social contact because of holidays and new semester starting.

Stress from upcoming events: science fair competition, Tera's 5th grade writing and TCAP assessment, parole hearing for the guy who killed my brother in March or April.

Hormones: My hormones are a little wacky right now. I don't deal well with caffeine and I'm not supposed to have chocolate but I've been indulging in hot chocolate and small bits of chocolate throughout the Christmas season. I've also been eating more non-chocolate treats and more sugar in general. In return, my weight is stuck at a place I'd rather not be.

Change: someone finally attending our church services, good friends moving soon, new morning routine for me (getting up earlier than the kids and making their breakfast-they did this independently before), new bedtime routine (going to bed around 9 PM), more hands-on work with the kids where they worked independently before, being diagnosed with IC and my exercise routine changing. Change is change- whether good or bad.

Irrational thinking: I've been letting negative self-talk invade my thinking lately (I have no friends, my children have no friends, we stay home all the time, how/why do other people do all these activities with their kids and still stay sane and buy groceries?, my kids are so behind, I'm a failure as a mom/homeschool teacher/wife...well, you get the drift) All of the above thoughts are obviously not true in real life. You start singing: "nobody likes me, everybody hates me, think I'll go eat worms."

I love it how God reaches out and grabs me when I can't really reach out to Him. I'm wallowing so deep in my little mud puddle that I can't see the beautiful pasture beyond. Tera and I have been doing this Mother Daughter devotional by Dannah Gresh every night of this new year. Guess what last night's topic was...ding ding..."the blues".

It said: "According to today's focus verse (Psalm 121), our help will never come from any other place [than Jesus]. When we're upset, it's not always easy to praise and thank Jesus, is it? It might be easier to eat a ton of food, watch TV, or climb into bed and pull the covers over our heads. But to get real help, we need to turn to Him." Zing! This has been true for me...I look at my circumstances, compare myself to others, put myself down, instead of going to the ONLY one who can HELP ME!

Psalm 121:

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD is your keeper;
The LORD is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.

The LORD shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.

Now, there is no magic involved here...the blues don't just disappear overnight sometimes, but there is ONE that will be with us and help us through to the other side. Turning our attention away from our pitiful state to the praiseworthiness of God...His faithfulness, His goodness, His love, is the best place to start. He's there for everyone!

I can't give you or myself any easy answers about what to do, I just know that all things I've been doing (eating, watching TV, putting myself down etc.) have only led me to where I am. The devotion gave some specific ideas on how to deal with the blues. Express yourself to God through your talents or the interests He's given you. Write, sing, play music, go on a walk, paint a picture, whatever draws you away from yourself and directs your attention to HIM.

Instead of wallowing this week...I'm going to be real with others about what I'm going through, take some walks and soak up some sunshine hopefully, play some praise music, read my Bible more and pray even more.

And....if you think God doesn't understand "the blues", try reading Psalm 88.

Literary Devices and Group Art

2012-01-13T09:14:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, I taught a lesson on a couple of literary devices--alliteration and onomatopoeia. These are such big words for such fun, basic concepts. Here are some activities we did:

Onomatopoeia-

Introduced the concept with a big sign with the word on it. I had the kids try to sound out the word and asked if any knew what it meant. When I said the word...the room erupted in giggles. I explained that basically onomatopoeia is just a word that is a sound- like bam, boom, moo, etc.

Read story/stories with examples of onomatopoeia- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Max Had Two Sticks, Mortimer, Mr. Brown Can Moo. Had kids finger clap everytime they heard an instance of onomatopoeia.

Pulled out comic books- Charlie Brown, Garfield, Calvin and Hobbes. Divide into groups and have each group find instances of onomatopoeia. It doesn't take long to find an example.

Onomatopoeia Bingo

Alliteration-

Introduced topic again with a big sign. This one was easier to sound out than onomatopoeia. Alliteration is a literary device that uses repeated sounds at the beginning of words. Lots of tongue twisters are alliterations.

Divided kids into groups- Gave each group a set of index cards. I wrote out some tongue twisters- Sally sells seashells by the seashore. They had to unscramble their tongue twister and take turns practicing it. Each group could share their tongue twister with everyone else.

While the kids were still in groups I gave each one a letter of the alphabet with the task to write an alliteration with that letter. Here were there results:

Monarch Max moves the moss momentarily minutes after Mark marks.

Poe pops pickled popcorn preciously in pig pens.

Sissy snapped her shorts with silly snotty snort snakes.

Some other ideas for alliteration I didn't use:

Alliteration menu- make up a 5 course meal using alliterations. For example: Slippery Slimey Slug Soup

Name Game- Make up a alliteration to go with your first name (Silly Sally) then try to remember everyones' new name as you go around the room.

We did this group picture at co-op last week. For a better pic and project instructions, check out It's A Boy's Life.

Create

2012-01-10T13:58:00.000-08:00

One of my "reminders" this year is to create. I choose this because I like creating things- weaving, paper crafts, simple crafts. As I was thinking about the word create- my mind went to ways I already create things that are not necessarily in the "craft" category. I don't want to give up trying to get around to weaving and other things, but I also want to recognize the other creating I do. Like when we redo the bathroom...

or a beach shadow box display made from the shells we collected on our trip last fall...

or learning to play my mandolin with the new books JP bought me for Christmas...(I'm really serious because I have to concentrate really hard when it comes to playing instruments--singing comes naturally, instruments not so much)
or when I bake bread and make soup...

Hopefully, I'll be reminded most of the work that God wants to do in my life this day and everyday. "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."Psalm 51:10

New beginnings...

2012-01-09T12:54:00.000-08:00

Last week was our first week back to school after the Christmas break. We all came down with this head cold and let's just say, it wasn't the best week in the world. I took some steps back and looked at how our school days were going and decided things needed to change.

To be honest, I've let my kids work too much independently lately, especially Tera. I had noticed she'd be in her room most of the day working, never showing me her finished work- just checking it off her list of to-do things. Quality was really suffering. So school had become a checklist without accountability from me. I cringe to think of my laziness in this area. But there it is in all it's ugliness- I had become lazy. We all had fallen into a rut.

Well, this start of a new semester is the perfect time to get us all back on track. I changed some things, lightened the load in some areas, gave them computer work again, and took out some things that just weren't working for us and added some other things. Today was our first day on this new schedule and I feel like it went very smoothly. I had lots of one on one with each of the kids. Michael seemed to be more content today, too. There was enough variety in the day that it passed by pretty quickly and I saw a whole lot more of Tera. That part I really liked. I've missed her.

I'm taking one week at a time...but I like our new beginning.

K-5 Learning

2012-01-05T13:46:00.000-08:00

A friend posted a review on this website, so I thought I would check it out as well.

K5 Learning has an online reading and math program for kindergarten to grade 5 students. I've been given a 6 week free trial to test and write a review of their program. If you are a blogger, you may want to check out their open invitation to write an online learning review of their program.

Carnival of Homeschooling

2012-01-03T04:37:00.000-08:00

The Carnival is up, go check it out! There are some great articles on goals and resolutions for the New Year. So many great article descriptions, I just can't wait to check them out later today. I wish I could right now...but I have this thing called homeschooling that just won't wait!

Soup

2012-01-02T14:27:00.000-08:00

Barley and Lentil Soup

8 cups beef broth
2 cloves garlic (I usually double or triple this- we love garlic)
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves, crushed
3 cups carrots
1 cup celery (or you could substitute onion)
1/2 cup dried lentils
1/2 cup uncooked barley

Stir everything into a large crockpot.

Cook on low 8 to 9 hours (high 4 to 5 hours) or until beans are tender.

Mixed Bean Stew with Sausage

3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage (casings removed) (I substituted mild Mexican chorizo)
10 cups chicken broth
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2/3 cups carrots
1 cup celery
3/4 cup each pinto, navy and kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
fresh parsley (optional)

Cook sausage and break into small pieces. Drain and put into a large crockpot. Add the other ingredients. Cook on low 7 to 8 hours (high 4 to 4 1/2 hours) or until the beans are tender.

Here are some other soup recipes, we really like:

Soup Recipes

Reminders

2011-12-31T12:44:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking a lot about resolutions. I'm the person who forces my family to sit down and make "goals" for the upcoming year...aka resolutions. We all list out a few things, we would like to accomplish in the upcoming year. Looking at our lists from the year before to see all the things we didn't accomplish is somewhat of a let down. I'm a total perfectionist and it always bothers me when I didn't tick off each "goal".

Now, I'm not totally against this New Year's tradition. In fact, I think it's an awesome thing to look forward with anticipation of great things in the upcoming months. It generates this excitement, but sadly that lasts until......maybe the end of January, if you're lucky or really pumped up.

Well, I've been thinking.

Life is like a hike. It's a journey with a destination. We live near the Great Smoky Mountains and really enjoy hiking there. When you come to the trailhead, most have these brown signs that tell you the name of the trail and how long it is, as well as any connecting trails. You basically stay on the path until you see another sign. Then, you decide which direction you want to travel next. It's still handy to have a map because even with signs you can sometimes get off track. Most of the time though, the signs serve as a reminder you are still on the path. A reassurance you are headed in the direction you want to go.

What if we gave ourselves reminders instead of making resolutions. Reassurances to keep us heading in the right direction.

I decided to brainstorm some words that would serve as reminders to myself in this upcoming year. Habits I want to encourage, instead of resolutions that discourage.

Pray

Sing

Bold

Connect

Slow Down

Engage

Invite

Touch

Laugh

Praise

Create

Play

Narrow the list down to the ones that are really important.

Type out a little sign with the word and key phrase or Scripture. Signalling whatever that word means to you. I did leave my descriptions somewhat vague, because I don't want to fall into the trap of marking things off my list again.

Post those in places around the house, where you can't miss them. For example, Connect will go on the bottom of my computer screen, because I'm the least connected with people when I'm surfing.

Here are my signs:

Connect:

Touch: I really want to make it a point this year to be more hands-on with my family. We are a pretty huggy family already, but sometimes I think the older ones don't really get their fair share of meaningful touch.

Slow Down: I put this sign going up the stairs. Bedtime rituals get pretty overwelming for me, so I really need to be reminded during this time to slow down.

Pray: Last year, I struggled finding my niche with my personal devotions. So I placed this sign on my alarm clock as a reminder to pray and read my Bible before my feet touch the floor.

Sing: I love to sing, but the craziness of life sometimes crowds out my desire to do this. But it's also a release valve for me and I feel so much better when I do it.

Laugh: I'm quite a serious person at times...too serious sometimes. I want to be reminded to stop and laugh at myself and all the corny little jokes my kids tell me.

Create: This can mean lots of things- crafting, baking, music making- whatever I feel like doing. It may not happen on a daily basis, but I want to remember it's importance.

Deuteronomy 11:19-20 talks about the commandments of God and instructs the Jewish people to:

"Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates...."

Instead of resolutions, I think I'll go with reminders-reminders of what's really important!

Christmas

2011-12-31T11:42:00.000-08:00

Presents

Santa gifts

Stockings

Trying out her new face painting set!

Pirate Tera!

Christmas- Kid's Presents

2011-12-30T07:52:00.000-08:00

Our kids make or pick out presents for everyone, so we always open those first. Usually small things like a paintset or something they have made. I love the joy on their face as the other person is opening their gift. Their sacrifice of love. It's so cool!

The first present we opened was to Michael from Daniel, because both of them couldn't wait any longer.

Tera used our Badge Factory and Lego Club magazines to make Star Wars badges for Daniel's back pack and she sewed a drawstring bag to keep them in. Daniel knitted Tera a hat but then forget to close the end. But it's the thought that counts!

If you've ever been in my kitchen, you might have noticed two wax paper, crayon filled, handprints hanging from fishing line. JP made these with Tera and Daniel's pictures in them, when they were probably 4 and 2. They are faded, wrinkled and almost bleached. I have been hinting--no flat out asking for a new set with all 3 kids' handprints since Michael was born. My beautiful, wonderful daughter fulfilled my wish and made them for me this year. They are so beautifully awesome. She used primary colors so they would be really bright and spent at least a week making crayon shavings. (I know you are not supposed to have a favorite present, so don't tell anyone I said this....but this is my most favorite thing I received this year. It's my three little babies...you can't get any better than that.)

Tera and Daniel both got JP coffee related items. I had a free credit for a photo mug, so Tera designed a mug with their picture on it. Daniel got a new pod holder for his coffee pods. I love my husband so much, but...he is so hard to photograph. He always makes a really goofy face right before I take the picture...I wonder where Daniel gets it.

Tera passed down a lap chalkboard/dry erase easel to Michael.

One of my favorites--a popcorn tin from Daniel and Michael

Traditions

2011-12-29T15:13:00.000-08:00

I've been enjoying living life this week without the pressures of blogging about life. I didn't upload any of my pictures from Christmas Eve to present until today. We had a very good Christmas---very relaxing. I did most of my running around really early this year, so I didn't have any last minute craziness.

The best thing I like about Christmas are all our traditions. Christmas Eve, we put out our reindeer food (oatmeal and glitter). This was Michael's first year to really get into this. It was funny to watch him pinch the oatmeal and shake his little hand like he was sowing seeds.

Usually we have cinnamon rolls on Christmas day, then have a brunch instead of lunch. This seemed like overkill, so we moved our cinnamon roll breakfast to Christmas Eve. It worked great! Definitely a new tradition. I found a clone of Cinnabon icing. Oh my, how delicious.
After the kids go to bed, Santa and his helper work hard to make everything just right. Candy canes magically appear on the tree, mailboxes are filled, stockings, presents and Santa gifts are all arranged in their special places.

The first peek...Christmas morning.

The first peek is all they get, because we have more important things to do. Tera places Baby Jesus in the manger.
Daniel lights our Advent candles and most importantly the Christ candle!
Michael hangs our Christ symbol ornament on the Jesse Tree
Then we read the Christmas story from Luke 2.
That's how our Christmas morning begins, I love our Advent traditions that all culiminate on Christmas morning.

Merry Christmas!!!!

2011-12-24T08:57:00.000-08:00

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us."Matthew 1:23 God be with each one of you this Christmas! Merry Christmas! Love, Jean-Pierre, Christy, Tera, Danieland Michael

Santa and His Reindeer

2011-12-23T11:05:00.000-08:00

That is what Christmas is all about...

2011-12-21T01:43:00.000-08:00

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

It's beginning...

2011-12-20T11:27:00.000-08:00

Things are slowing down...

Treats are in abundance....

The kids are getting crazy...

The nativity scene is growing....

The Jesse Tree is almost full...

The countdown chain is getting really really short...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Expectations

2011-12-16T11:22:00.000-08:00

I had such high expectations for our week. I had all these plans- awesome art projects and Christmas around the world eating and exploring. Our actual week didn't quite turn out as expected. We did lots of things and learned a lot especially about Hanukkah and Las Posadas. So I don't want to make a big deal about all those things that didn't quite reach actuality. Instead, I want to celebrate our survival during this week before Christmas and the fact we did tons of fun things. We had friends over a couple of times this week and had a great time.

Cards- Christmas and Hanukkah

Painting and playing driedel

Handprint Menorah and Sand dollar Poinsettia ornaments

Lots of wreath crafts (sorry Michael's sideways-photobucket is not being cooperative)    New game--Qwirkle

3-D Snowflakes   Woven stars

We've been doing our Jesse Tree readings and Advent activities everyday. We're also reading through these books.

Our new deck

(although someone else worked on this project)

After writing this post...I'm tired just looking at all these things. Expectations shouldn't measure whether or not you've been a success. I'll have to remember that.

Review: Wait No More

2011-12-14T14:49:00.000-08:00

When I was asked to review this book, I had a bit of hesitation. To this point in my life, I haven't felt called by God to adopt children. So I approached reading this book, expecting to feel guilty about that. Instead, the author brought me into her story and I felt reassured by her that this calling is not for everyone. Kelly says: "...although not everyone is called to adopt, everyone is called to do something on behalf of orphans." I agree wholeheartedly!

I was brought to tears several times during this book. The author never tries to paint a rose colored view of adoption through the foster care system. She is honest and truthful about her family's struggles during this process. It's not pretty at times, but the end product of obeying God has a beautiful result. Children rescued and brought into a loving family.

I love the way this book continually points out being open to God and to be willing to walk through whatever doors He puts in front of us. This has been something we've strived to do as a family. Kelly brings up forgiveness time and time again throughout the book. I had never really thought of this in relation to adoptive parents--forgiveness of the birth parent and all the issues created by their bad choices.

The beginning of Wait No More is written in a style I really enjoy. The authors flash back and forth as they weave together their past histories with beginning the process of adoption. I absolutely loved this way of story telling.

This book so exceeded my expectations. I found it hard to put down. Although I don't feel called to adopt at this season in my life, this book reminded me that we, as Christians are to support those who do. Whether it be through respite, monetary gifts, dinner or whatever. We have to open to anything God calls us to do and not hestitate....to wait no more!

Disclosure: I was sent this book for free by Focus on the Family for purpose of review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Buck Denver asks....Why Do We Call It Christmas?

2011-12-14T14:12:00.000-08:00

We were asked to review "Buck Denver asks...Why Do We Call It Christmas?" Since we were already lovers of Jelly Telly, my kids could not wait to receive the DVD in the mail. They were not disappointed. Within the first two minutes of this video, my kids were laughing...and learning. We've watched it several times already and it still educates and entertains.

"You've heard the Christmas story but have you ever heard the story of Christmas?"

-Phil Vischer

What is Hanukkah?

Why do they call it Christmas?

What year was Jesus born?

What does Santa Claus have to do with Jesus' birthday?

These are just some of the questions this great educational DVD presents in such a fun, exciting way. It addresses how confusing our present way of celebrating Christmas can be for those who are striving to keep the "Christ" in Christmas. I'll tell you what I really loved about this video. Every answer or concept was presented in at least two different ways. This was cool to my teacher heart. First, there is an explanation. Not an explanation that assumes kids can't remember anything of substance, but names, dates and church history. Then, the characters sing a song that repeats and reinforces the main idea. Sometimes they even use visual reference points like thought and speech bubbles and the famous flannelgraph.

This DVD explains why and how all these "traditions" point to Jesus as what Christmas is all about. When my husband was a pastor, he actually presented the meanings of all the symbols of Christmas every year. But through this video, I learned several new things I had never heard before.

I cannot say enough, how much we loved this DVD. It's not only just plain fun, but educational as well...what more can you ask! You won't be disappointed if you buy this video.

Disclosure: I was sent this video for free to review for Focus on the Family. All the opinions are my own.

Christmas Unit Week Day 1

2011-12-12T13:57:00.001-08:00

I found this idea to make a fabric Christmas tree ornament with buttons and a ribbon for decoration. We made ours out of felt and stuffed with fiber fill.

Highlight and Shadow Snowman Card

Michael wanted a picture taken of his snowman, too!

We did some things today on Hanukkah. Like making tuna latkes and potato latkes and.... doughnuts. I was looking for an easy recipe and found one using canned biscuits. I was surprised at how easy they were and how really good they tasted. We filled the doughnut holes with raspberry preserves and covered them all with powdered sugar. I never knew you could do this. Everyone thought they were awesome, but I'm feeling quite greasy at the end of this day. Tomorrow we'll focus on crafts and games instead of fried food. We listened to some stories about Hanukkah found at this great site. It has all kinds of cool resources. We're reading The Willows at Christmas and doing our Jesse Tree reading everyday.

Nothing left but the eating!

Lights

2011-12-12T13:57:00.000-08:00

Our town decorations

Remembering the real reason that we celebrate Christmas. My prayer is that HE will be ever present in everything we do this season.

Last week, we loaded up and went for a drive to see some neighborhood lights. There were a few houses we saw that really go over the top. We did our best to slow down and appreciate all their hard work.

Christmas Cookies

2011-12-08T01:24:00.000-08:00

I've been baking up a storm. Last week, I did 5 different batches of cookies. They were all good. I sent some to neighbors, to my husband's work and then my happy family consumed the rest.

Gingersnap Cookies with Chocolate Drizzle (I found this recipe in our Tennessee Home and Farm magazine)

Peppermint Snowball Cookies

I took these to Tera's piano recital on Sunday. They were all gone when we left. These are a very soft cookie but taste absolutely awesome!

I also made these:

Holiday Snickerdoodles
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Lemon Crinkles These are very delicious cookies, especially if you love lemon flavored things.

Christmas Crafts

2011-12-07T01:10:00.000-08:00

Last week we got together with our co-op to do Christmas crafts. Each mom brought the supplies for a craft, ornament or gift for the kids to make. We divided the kids into groups. Then, they worked through each station before rotating to the next station.

Station 1: M & M Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix in a Jar

Michael really enjoyed this craft. I don't think it had anything to do with the M & M's at all. ;)

Station 2: Cinnamon Gingerbread Ornaments

Station 3: Timecapsule Ornaments

I didn't read the instructions closely and got clear glass balls instead of plastic ones. So we just rolled the photos and used twizzers to move it around once inside the ornament. I wouldn't suggest to deviate from the instructions. It made it a whole lot harder for the kids.

Moms goofing off...

And the cutest little spectator!
We do this every year the last co-op before December. It really is one of the kids' favorite days of the year. I wish I got more pictures of the completed crafts, but it's quite a hectic day.

Countdown

2011-12-06T13:09:00.000-08:00

Our first advent activity was to make a paper chain to hang in their individual rooms. Each night they take off one chain- counting down to Christmas. As the chains get shorter they get more excited and hopefully I won't get too stressed.

The kids doing their impressions of Jacob Marley!

Monet

2011-12-03T08:45:00.000-08:00

Our artist this month is Monet. I found this project that resembles Monet's Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies.

First using masking tape, we laid out a bridge on our watercolor paper.

Then using our fingers...

and paintbrushes to produce...

our masterpieces!

Disclaimer: Michael did not do this all by himself...he really needed help to finish the entire page and to stay focused. :)

Advent Calendar and Contest

2011-11-30T01:36:00.000-08:00

If you haven't decided upon your Advent calendar activities this year, be sure to check out Focus on the Family's new resource: Advent Calendar

You can access this resource on the web, from your Ipad, facebook and there is even a printable version. Even if you have lots of traditions, this Advent calendar is easy to use and has some great ideas. We used Sunday's activity for our church service. We adapted the original idea just a little by finding the materials through a scavenger hunt around the house and outside. It was so much fun putting together our collage. My husband and I had as much, if not more fun than the kids. God, our Creator looked at all He made and declared that "It was good!" Here's our finished product:

Focus on the Family is also having an Advent Contest that you can enter everyday, as you work your way through the Advent activities. Click here for today's entry form!

This is an awesome resource and we can't wait to use this to help us refocus our attention to the reason for our celebration. The Greatest Gift ever given: JESUS!

Fall Art

2011-11-29T11:24:00.000-08:00

We had a unit week before Thanksgiving. These are usually intensive history units, but this time we did lots of art, Life of Fred, Hands On Equations, swim lessons, co-op, reading, computer time and various other things. Abstract Turkeys

Faux Leaf Batik

One afternoon, we had friends over to learn how to make rolls and join us for some art.
Leaf Drawing
Warm/Cool Color Leaf Art

Tissue Paper Watercolor Leaves

Oil Pastel Overlapping Leaves

Swim Lessons

2011-11-28T10:41:00.000-08:00

Tera and Daniel have been taking swim lessons at a local college for the past seven weeks. It's taught by college students under the supervision of the college professor. It's an opportunity to swim at a very inexpensive price. Daniel was not able to swim at all last year before lessons and has shown a great deal of improvement. Tera has done a whole lot better as well. I personally like swim lessons because of the social interaction I get in the bleachers. I knew quite a few of the moms this time and had a great time talking and learning new things. We also met a really nice family for the first time that we look forward to getting to know more.

Today was the last day and although, we enjoyed it...I'm glad it's over. This week is basically my last crazy week before the holidays. I have something everyday this week including Saturday and Sunday...but come Monday, I'll be alright, come Monday, I'll be...sorry, got a little distracted. Anyway, after this week, normal life will again reign in our household. Advent has begun, our trees are up, we've started Jesse Tree and I'm ready to slow down, a lot.

It is Good!

2011-11-27T17:48:00.000-08:00

New

2011-11-26T15:02:00.000-08:00

New friends in new places...

New play...

New pajamas...
New hobbies...

Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T10:56:00.000-08:00

We had some friends over for Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time. Lots of food and desserts and good company.

Our Thankful Tree was brimming over with praise and gratitude from ourselves and our friends.

Here's our list:

Wealth and honor come from God

Thank U for sending your Son to die on the cross

My family

God's faithfulness

My chicken, Be Black

God's love endures forever

My family

Cale

God formed the mountains and seas with His own hands

God's strength and power than strengthens us

Friends

God is above all gods

Kitten

Friends

Rylan

Home

My new cat, Bill Jr.

God's glory and splendor

My family

Thank U for Redwall

Larkin

Cohen

He is our maker

Books

He is good

Brother

books

Swim lessons

My family

Thankful for God

That He is our salvation

Pepper, our cat

Michael

Thankful for the Vilaires' friendship

God's righteousness

God's refuge

God and Jesus

Animals

Faithfulness that Continues through all generations

God has called us "HIS"

Mazey and Pepper

Miss Sarah

Homeschooling

Rohan

books

God made us

God's love

I'm thankful for all my new friends

Time alone

Pirates who don't do anything

Car

Lakin

Rolling down hills

family

food

God's goodness

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His love endures forever!

Thankful Tree

2011-11-20T19:44:00.001-08:00

Check out our version of The Thankful Tree at Friendsville House!

All about Bats

2011-11-18T17:58:00.000-08:00

We met with our co-op to talk about bats. We started with the life cycle and basic facts about bats. It was fascinating to think about how important something as gross as a bat is to various ecosystems. How God designed bats is truly amazing.

Sniff test: The kids had to match 2 cotton balls that smelled the same. In essence, they had to find their "baby" just like a mother bat finds her---by smell. It was harder than it sounds.

Beep-Buzz game: The "bat" wears a blindfold and says "beep" to which all the "insects" answer "buzz". The bat tries to find an insect, who then becomes the next bat.

Learning about echo-location

Measuring out the largest bat, smallest bat and all the bats found in Tennessee.

Playing the bat version of "Red Light, Green Light", which was "Nighttime, Daytime"

Making caves by wrapping clay around sugar cubes and soaking in water. The water dissolves the sugar leaving a hole, which demonstrates the way caves are formed. The best part: playing with all those bowls of water.

It was a very fun day with lots of great activities. For more check out The Forest Room.

Great is Thy Faithfulness!

2011-11-17T11:41:00.000-08:00

Impatient

Ever- changing

Fickle

Moody

Inconsistent

Down

Failing

Weak

When I am, all of the above and more, I need to remember that He never changes.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

"I, the Lord do not change." Malachi 3:6a

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22

...if we are faithless, He will remain faithful...excerpt from 2 Timothy 2:13

For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!

Psalm 117:2

Recycled Christmas Card Star Craft

2011-11-16T00:16:00.000-08:00

Here are the easy directions:

Find a star template and cut out two poster board stars.

Cut irregular pieces from Christmas cards.

Glue the pieces to the poster board stars. It's okay if they overlap each other and you also want them to overlap the edges of the star. Pick a prominent picture to go in the middle of the star that will be on top.

Trim the edges of the star.

Glue the two stars together so that the points are not lined up. You want to see all the points.

Edge with glitter.

Punch hole in top and string them up, or just lay them in between the branches of your tree. Use as an ornament or decoration.

Saturday at home...

2011-11-15T23:17:00.000-08:00

We don't often spend Saturday at home, but we did last weekend. It was so great just to do things around the house-inside and out.

The kids ran...

and rolled...

and chopped...

and rolled some more.

It was a great day!

School Picture

2011-11-15T01:45:00.000-08:00

I love being part of a larger homeschool support group. There are all kinds of wonderful opportunities- field trips, enrichment classes, dance, piano, karate, science fairs, spelling bees. You name it and they do it. One of the things, I really missed from not being a part of the public school system were the annual school pictures and yearbooks. Well, guess what? They do that, too! I think that is just too awesome!

A preview of this year's school picture...

Home Alone

2011-11-14T08:20:00.000-08:00

Home alone. (clutching my face and screaming AAAHHHH!)

I was home alone today for 2 glorious hours. I cannot remember when that happened last, well, unless I was sick and didn't realize I was home alone.

Here's what I didn't do:

I didn't do laundry- I purposely put away our laundry yesterday to avoid the temptation.
I didn't do dishes- I did that before they left this morning.
I didn't cook lunch for everyone- I did that before they left this morning.
I didn't clean or pick up anything.
I didn't grade anyone's math sitting on the dining room table.
I didn't entertain my dog. (I made JP put him outside on the way out the door)

Here's what I did do:

Listened to my playlist very loud without competing with anyone else's music/talking/playing/barking.
I put English Muffins in the bread machine.
Sat down to eat banana raisin bread with real butter and hot blueberry tea. ( and I didn't share with anyone)
I searched out some sandwich bread recipes.
I worked on a Christmas craft post I'll be submitting.
I put my kids' new school picture in a frame.
Read my Bible.

Well, my two hours went by fast, but it was very nice! I turned down my music and put lunch in the oven and hear the key in the door!

Michael

2011-11-12T03:28:00.000-08:00

What's Michael been up to lately?

Playing dress up

Sculpting with those wet noodles

Making birthday cakes out of everything (tinkertoys, playdoh, etc.)

It seems like he never stops throughout the day. Lately, he's been loving playing with the dry erase board and marker. We do puzzles, play in forts, watch Blues Clues and Bear in the Big Blue House, color, paint, whine, cry, sing, dance, play drums and everything in between. It makes for a very tired boy come bedtime.

Fall Trees and Scale Play

2011-11-10T15:26:00.000-08:00

I hosted co-op on Tuesday at our house. We had a fall tree art project done by Sarah. I forgot to take the finished result pictures but they all turned out very nice. Ours are hanging in the dining room making it seem more like fall, when it feels like winter is approaching fast.

I did some science stations all about the law of conservation of mass called Scale Play.

Station 1: Measure two balls of play doh to be the exact same mass. Then make one a pancake and the other a doughnut. Weigh again and see if the mass changes. The kids used a digital scale for this station.

Station 2: Freeze 2 cups of water ahead of time. Then, have students measure out 2 cups of liquid water. Predict ahead of time which will weigh more or if they will weigh the same. I messed this one up because they should have weighed the same, but they did not. So, we used this as a chance to talk about precision in the scientific process and the importance of doing an experiment more than once.

We used a platform or kitchen scale for this experiment.

Station 3: The kids used a spring scale to compare mass of two items. They estimated which would weigh more/less then measured to check their estimates. There were 3 sets of item to measure. This station emphasized the point that although things are different shaped they can have similar mass.

Station 4: This station really cracked the moms up. Students had to weigh themselves in kg. and then drink 2 cups of water before weighing themselves again to see if their weight changed. Let's just say our bathroom got lots of visits after this experiment. Especially when the boys decided maybe they would weigh less after they went to the bathroom. There was lots of experimenting going on.

My happy place

2011-11-03T02:28:00.000-07:00

Ft. Loudoun is my happy place. JP was off unexpectedly on Saturday, so we headed out for a hike and a picnic. I love it out there. Such a peaceful place to me!

JP had my camera and found some interesting things to photograph. The kids also found several geodes laying/lying (?) around.

Our picnic view

Halloween

2011-11-02T02:30:00.000-07:00

My little hippie

My something trooper

The cutest little zebra in town

A fall festival with friends...
Pony rides...

Tons of food...

Lots of fun and games...

Every Halloween for the past couple of years, we've gotten together with our friends and went trunk or treating. Well, this year JP had to work...so, we had them over for a little Halloween party.

Here's my hippie again

The kids help me make some decorations.

All our crowd- we had a farmer, spiderman, cute kitty, dinosaur, super cow, zebra, hippie and storm trooper. Quite the assortment!

We had good food....

Fun games....

Cool crafts...

And even some trick or treaters...oh wait, those are our own kids!

For more pics...check out It's a Boy's Life

Punkins

2011-11-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

A jack o' lantern, a kitty cat and a ghost!

A little bit of this...and a little bit of that

2011-10-21T15:01:00.000-07:00

I changed our unit week plan just a bit this week. We did a hodge podge of activities. Everyday the kids read, did Life of Fred or Hands on Equations, experimented with a Mind Blowing Science kit, played games, started the Write your own novel project, watched educational videos, and did tons of art projects. They had a great week and it was just the kind of week we needed, since almost everyone was sick.

I found a great new blog with several art projects I wanted to try- A Faithful Attempt

We did these Oil Pastel Resists- the top two, in order show what happens with too little chalk and too much chalk. The bottom one Tera did again and it turned out with a somewhat better contrast. Daniel's is the really dark one- he said he liked it because he felt it was a night time picture. :)

Black Cat Collage I absolutely love the way these turned out.

Daniel and Tera's ad for their favorite book-one of the first exercises in the National Novel Writing Month project. These were in sketchbooks I found at Ollie's. A friend and I were complaining about not being able to find notebooks with college rule at the bottom and a blank space at the top. I found these for 99 cents. I will definitely go back and stock up.

They worked all week on a Chemistry Science kit called Mind Blowing Science, their grandma got them last year for Christmas. They learned about acids/bases, made jiggly crystals and all kinds of fun stuff. The best part....they did it all by themselves.

We learned how to wrap presents...to enter in the fair next year. Tera made a greeting card as well, but Daniel is still working out his idea.

We finished this project on Friday...my favorite of the week. This is an 8th grade project, so I was a little nervous about how they would turn out. They were fabulous!

Autumn Birch Trees

This is what happens when Mommy is sick and siblings are entertaining the little one.

Although, I was sick this week, we got a lot accomplished. Most of it, I just facilitated. A perk of having older students. Life and school can still carry on, if Mommy is sick. I'm starting to feel better, although I did end up taking a nap most of this week.

Random

2011-10-21T15:00:00.000-07:00

Last week, I wrote about getting the better of this week. Well, I did try! Michael started running a fever on Sunday, which finally broke totally sometime late Monday night. Tera and Daniel went to their first swim lesson and stopped with Daddy for ice cream on the way home. By the time they got home, my head was killing me. Then, Tera followed later that afternoon. So we have been a bunch of sick people this week. We missed a field trip and piano this week. I napped most afternoons and so did Michael. He had all but given up naps until he got sick and started asking to go to bed. JP is now sounding croaky and as of yet, Daniel has stayed well. He's usually the first one to go. We were supposed to have a unit week on Feudal Japan, but it just wasn't coming together like I had hoped. So, I had planned on doing a hodge podge of stuff for school. We did all kinds of things- I'll write about later. But it was a pretty successful week, I think. We ended up taking today off, just because it's been a long week. So I guess we did get the better of it after all.

This is what I've been having a lot for dinners...roasted veggies. Mostly potato, sweet potato, carrots and garlic.
We are studying ecosystems and here are some play-doh coral reefs the kids made last week.

They also experimented making their own sand out of oyster shells from the beach.

JP's habernero harvest this year has been out of this world. This is the last of it (we think). Apparently, he has a lot of people at work who love them. A wife of a co-worker is from Mexico and had her husband ask JP for more because she loved them so much.

The better of me...

2011-10-14T15:16:00.000-07:00

Some weeks, I get the better of it...then some weeks, it gets the better of me. This would be one of those weeks.

My week started early. I had an 8:15 appt. for my annual OB-GYN physical. I was diagnosed through an out patient surgery last month with Interstitial Cystitis. (don't really click there if you don't like descriptions of medical conditions). At the conclusion of my appt., my doctor said she suspected that I may have endometriosis as well. Whoopee! I came home to do research and found that these two conditions are called "the Evil Twins". I would agree with that title. I came home quite depressed. Medications and radical change of diet seem to be in my near future. I decided to take a natural supplement on my own with my doctor's approval called Quercetin, which is supposed to help patients with IC. I've already started to change my diet. This week I've been eating very simply. I'm avoiding dairy, meat, processed foods, tomatoes, onions and citrus in addition to already having given up caffeine, carbonated drinks and chocolate. I will be eating mostly an almost vegan diet except for an occasional egg and butter. I'm definitely not a big meat eater, but this is definitely a big step for me. Especially since I'll be eating my own thing and cooking something quite different for my family. I'm sure I'll be very inconsistent while I'm trying to figure out all the ins and outs of these diet plans.

Tuesday, we had co-op with art and games.

I came home to find these people on their way:

My brother and family stopped in to see us on the way to the mountains. What a wonderful surprise!

On Wednesday, some friends came over for more art. Thursday, I left early to take Tera to piano, so we could stop and get groceries to feed the above people lunch. Piano, then a couple more errands, then home. John and Christy stopped back by on their way home. Thursday night, I helped a friend package these: (strike that, Wednesday night we packaged--see, this week did get the better of me)

I had a fun time packaging and talking...it was the closest we've ever had to a girl's night out.

Now it's Friday....we've had school, the chimney cleaned, house picked up, babysitting activities planned out for tomorrow, everyone has eaten and are now watching a movie. I'm hoping Michael doesn't have another disobedient outburst that I've been dealing with the entire week from overstimulation and no naps.

I'm sitting here half comatose thinking about another busy week coming up...and hoping I get the better of it next time.

Art, art and more art!

2011-10-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

We've been on an art kick lately...and I really like that. Our new artist for the month is Rembrandt. So we started by reading some information about him. We learned he drew/painted over 100 portraits of himself.

The assignment:

Look in a mirror and draw your face with a blank expression.

Results: Daniel was sad because I told him to stop erasing, can you tell by the sad eyes?

Angry faces

3-D Hand art Trace hand with pencil then start making straight lines across your paper. When you come to part of your hand, make an arc. Then, continue your straight line where you left off on the other side of the hand. Voila...3-D hands!

More line art with friends

and Compass Art Drawings

Another this and that

2011-10-13T12:03:00.000-07:00

Tera's cupcakes with friends

What Daddy and Michael have been up to lately...

Gardening

and a massive building project.

Pepper and Michael reading Peter Rabbit.

Granny and her kids

2011-10-09T01:42:00.000-07:00

My mom came in last weekend for Tera's birthday. It was great to see her and the kids (and me) had a wonderful time.

Recent Art Projects

2011-10-08T00:49:00.000-07:00

Line Art Drawings:

You start with a curved line across your paper.

Draw 8 dots on the line. Make sure they are not evenly spaced.

Then draw columns off one dot to the dot closest to it. Continue drawing lines until you get to the top of the paper, then go back and draw lines in the opposite direction.

Color in columns for some nice line art!

End Results:

Our artist this month is Raphael. So we did a mixed media project, after doing a picture study on St. George and the Dragon. Here are our dragons:

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-07T01:39:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to the pumpkin patch last weekend.

Waiting for the hayride to start

Cows along the way

Finally, the pumpkin patch

All our pumpkins with our little "punkin"

Birthday Tradition

2011-10-06T00:05:00.000-07:00

Last year, we started a new birthday tradition with the kids. They had to come up with a "goal list" (for lack of a better term) for the year. The number of goals matched how old they were/are. On Tera's birthday, we looked at last year's lists to see how they did. Some of the goals they met and some they decided to continue to this year.

Here are this year's lists:

Daniel:

Enter Lego creation in fair
Earn bow and arrow
Read all Redwall series books
Go to waterpark
Make a 300-500 piece 3-D origami
Learn how to use tools
Teach Michael to count to 20
Cook dinner for family
Go to the beach

Tera:

Write a letter in French
Go to a concert
Read all Redwall series books
Try 5 new foods
Go to the ocean
Sew and crochet a project
Do an advanced cooking recipe
Teach Michael his letters
Do a research report
Go to the waterpark
Take cookies to our Fire Department

Tera's Birthday

2011-10-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

Tera's birthday celebration

Blowing out the candles
Presents

The last gift- Her own CD player
Making sure Mommy and Daddy get in some of the pictures.

Their joint gift- a PVC indoor play fort. It needs some modifications to make it usable but it will be really neat when totally finished.

Some days

2011-10-05T11:46:00.000-07:00

This is a processing post...so please excuse it's lack of coherency and please realize this may be exaggerated out of my heightened sense of frustration.

We are having issues. My son is very bright but some days he acts like he can't remember how to add. Some days he is pumping out work, doing great, getting done. And some days, it's 2:15 and he's been working almost all day just on his book work. Our joint work -not even gotten to yet. I give him so many chances, yell a little, help him a lot. It's frustrating and frankly depressing. He writes everything sloppy, because he's just trying to get done quickly. Today, he did the wrong set of math problems. He misses problems he knows how to do, just because he's not paying attention. I've tried changing math programs to accomodate but that didn't work either. So I just put him back into Saxon. I really don't think it's a math problem, because he can do challenging work if I'm there with him. He did his spelling wrong because he didn't read the instructions...and it goes on and on.

We need drastic change. I'm frustrated, losing my temper because I know he can do this. He has been having some sleep issues as well--waking up at like 4 AM or getting up before 6:30 AM. I know some of these bad days can be attributed to not enough sleep. He's grumpy, extra hungry, and crying easily. When he gets into serious trouble, like losing tons of stuff, he can snap to and get to work. Like right now, he's working and doing great---after 6 hours.

Tera is done way before him, and I try to get our together subjects done, but some days like today that doesn't happen. I feel so disorganized when I've been dealing with him like this for several days, I just can't think straight. I need to start doing things with Michael too, but I feel very overwelmed today. I'm tired and feel like it's cheating the other two as well. Yelling and threatening doesn't work. I give him too many chances, so I think he's taking advantage of my inconsistency. Starting tomorrow, we go to a new system.

JP and I sat down today and figured out a system for his work. Basically earning points for each subject done neatly (Math is earned on accuracy) and other points for getting done in a reasonable amount of time. We spelled out all the details and printed it out. For each point he loses, he receives a punishment in the form of early bedtime, no sweets, no videos- (which all in my opinion probably contribute to this problem anyway). He must earn a certain amount of points in order to keep upcoming privileges- (picking his own haircut on Friday, picking his Halloween costume, keeping all his Halloween candy). We tried to pick tangible things that reflected good choice/bad choice. If you make good choices, you get to make your own choices about some things. If you make bad choices, you lose those freedoms.

I hope this will get him back on track. I hope this will help me become more consistent. For a while, JP and I are going to discuss whether or not he meets the criteria. I need some accountability as well. I hate for him to lose things that are important to him, but this is not helping him in the long run.

Right now, he's still working, but his attitude is better than it's been all day. His work is better than it's been all day. Hopefully, we are already on the right track and this too shall pass.

Changes

2011-10-05T00:30:00.000-07:00

This little boy is growing up so fast. He is no longer content just doing his own thing. He wants to be in on all the action. Alongside his brother and sister or at least doing something similar. It looks like I need to get the pre-school wheels turning really soon.

We set aside money for furniture and a bunkbed for Daniel's room. The problem was- it wasn't very much money for the quality of furniture we wanted. We decided to just wait.

I had decided long ago I wanted a wooden bunk bed and was holding out to find one used because they were too expensive new. Then, recently my husband and I decided our second hand (in this case, not so nice to sit on) futon really needed replaced. We just didn't have a nice place for people to sit, talk and feel comfortable, especially older people. I wanted to add some color so I started looking a color palettes that would go with our curtains and other things we'd be keeping. So I decided on robin egg blue, brown as a neutral and sage green. I found a new rug on sell a couple of weeks ago at Lowe's for $35.

I love it how the Lord works things out. A fellow homeschooler was moving because her family will be working in a ministry in Alaska. So they had to sell most of their things.

Guess what they were selling? A wooden bunk bed, a beige sofa and blue love seat! Exactly what we were hoping and praying for -at a price we could afford- from people we were familiar with and a quality we didn't think we'd ever have. It's so nice to sit on comfortable furniture, but I love it that our friends feel so comfortable, too!

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:17

Hink Pinks- Forte and Piano

2011-10-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

Recently, I hosted co-op and did a lesson on Hink Pinks. I've always loved these one syllable silly rhyming pairs. There are two-syllable pairs- Hinky Pinky and three-syllable ones- Hinkety Pinkety

Example:

What is an unhappy father? Sad Dad

I found some great resources online:

Hink Pink worksheets

Hink Pink lesson ideas

Great squidoo on hink pinks

We did lots of riddles then broke up into groups. Each group had to come up with a rhyming word pair. Then a riddle question to go with the pair. You should encourage figuring out the rhyming word pairs first. It's much easier that way.

After playing with hink pinks for a while, we moved onto a music lesson. I did a lesson on forte-piano. We made forte-piano signs on an index card. As we listened to William Tell's overture by Rossini, we turned our cards to match if the music was forte or piano.

I taught (or refreshed their memory for some) John Jacob Jingle Heimerschimdt to illustrate this. Then, we made our own body percussion rainstorm. (variation of the lesson) Finally, we played a hot/cold musical game called Button, You Must Wander. (someone hides the button, the kids sing forte/piano to help the seeker find the button)

Our wild rainstorm

I will be free...

2011-10-03T01:36:00.000-07:00

The mountains are steep
And the valleys low
Already I'm weary
But I have so far to go
Oh, and sorrow holds my hand
And suffering sings me songs
But when I close my eyes
I know to whom I belong
Who makes me strong

I will be free
I will be free to run the mountains
I will be free
Free to drink from the living fountain
Oh, I'll never turn back
'Cause He waits for me
Oh, I will be free

A wise man, a rich man
In pauper's clothes
A shepherd to lead us
Through the land of woes
Though many battles I have lost
So many rivers yet to cross
But when my eyes behold the Son
Who bore my loss, who paid the cost

I will be free
I will be free to run the mountains
I will be free
Free to drink from the living fountain
Oh, I'll never turn back
'Cause He waits for me
Oh, I will be free

Oh, and I'll dance on silver moonlight
And I'll walk through velvet fields
Oh, and I'll run into the arms
The arms that set me free

I will be free
I will be free to run the mountains
I will be free
Free to drink from the living fountain
Oh, I'll never turn back
'Cause He waits....
I'll never turn back
Don't you ever turn back
Because someday, someday we're gonna see
We will be free

Cindy Morgan

Happy Birthday, Tera!

2011-10-02T01:18:00.000-07:00

My firstborn child, the one who taught me first how to be a mother...

the little girl that makes me smile...

always Daddy's little girl...

the best friend you could ever have...

A beauty inside and out...

When I think of the young lady you are becoming, I am so proud of you! You are such a special gift from God. We love you so much!

Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

13 years and an eternity

2011-09-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

I written a lot in the past few years about my losses- Some Personal Thoughts, 12 Years..., When the Tears Fall Like Rain. This is one of those years where I feel like I can't even express my thoughts or feelings. The grief is still there, but tears and words just won't come. Not yet, anyway.

Instead, I leave you with some words of comfort that are not my own...yet in some way over the years have become a part of me and this journey.

Psalm 34 (selected verses)

¹ I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly speak his praises.
² I will boast only in the Lord;
let all who are helpless take heart.
³ Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
let us exalt his name together.
⁴ I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
He freed me from all my fears.
⁶ In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
he saved me from all my troubles.
¹⁷ The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
He rescues them from all their troubles.
¹⁸ The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

Psalm 46:1-5

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.^[c]
⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

³ All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. ⁴ He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. ⁵ For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. ⁶ Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. ⁷ We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.

This world is not our home. One day we will see Him face to face and all our present troubles and sufferings will seem like a dim memory. One day....

Fun Day

2011-09-22T19:55:00.000-07:00

The whole community comes out to support our local fire department.

Tons of firetrucks....

Tons of bounce houses and slides....

Sno- cones

Tons of fun, treats and prizes...

And tons of tractors, of course!

It's a tradition...Community Fun DayFun Day

Hodge Podge

2011-09-21T19:52:00.000-07:00

Shell necklaces made by Tera from her beach treasure hunting.

Fashion show by Michael(another child makes an appearance but you have to look really hard)

Our co-op met last week. We had a lesson on the fish of the Great Lakes. Then the kids did these awesome oil pastel fish drawings.

I had read a review of Hands On Equations and really wanted to get this program, but it was a bit pricey for a supplemental material. But....when I saw it in a plain manila envelope marked $1 at our library book sale, I snatched it up. We started doing one lesson a week. I think it will reinforce some concepts for Tera and introduce the same concepts for Daniel. Great find and great curriculum!

Some samples of the kids' language work.

Final glimpses

2011-09-20T02:07:00.000-07:00

Downtime

Our last sunset

The only downside of Edisto is the lack of reasonable restaurants/ice cream places. So we decided to stop at the Piggly Wiggly our last night for ice cream. I don't think the kids minded at all.

Michael fell asleep within an hour of being in the car.

All sunburned, tired and happy

Michael after a battle with a dry erase marker.

We had so much fun at the beach. So relaxing for the adults, too. Can't wait until the next time! Then, I can come back and write 10 more posts all about the beach. :)

The Fair

2011-09-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

Tera with her 4 Credible Ribbons from the Tennessee Valley Fair.
Daniel with his 2 Blue Ribbons (and $10) for his origami turtle and T-shirt.
An extra treat!

We are so proud of their effort with their entries this year. They came home planning for next year. JP and I just might enter some categories ourselves. What great fun!

Abundant Wildlife

2011-09-19T01:07:00.000-07:00

We saw so much wildlife on our trip to the beach! Racoon

Dolphins
Hermit Crabs and Sand dollars

Jellyfish

Alligator

All kinds of sea birds

And a cute little doggie that visited us at our cottage!

Writing in the Sand...

2011-09-18T00:16:00.000-07:00

Sunsets

2011-09-17T00:45:00.000-07:00

Sweet Breads

2011-09-16T05:41:00.000-07:00

I've been in the mood for baking since it's cooled off a bit. My bread machine is getting a workout. I printed out a list of bread recipes 4 years ago of various kinds, but made a couple of the plain ones that didn't really work for me. This week I tried the Maple Oatmeal and Banana Raisin recipes, they will definitely be added into our rotation.

Maple Oatmeal Bread

This is a heartier bread, but got raves from all the kids.

3/4 cup plus 2 T water (I had to add more water since the mix looked pretty dry)

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 T vegetable oil

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup quick cooking oatmeal

2 1/2 cups bread flour (I used half bread flour and half all-purpose flour)

2 1/4 tsps active dry yeast

Banana Raisin Bread

This recipe is extremely awesome and moist. I sliced it for the kids the night before and found nice, moist pieces in the morning. It didn't even need toasting.

1/2 cup plus 2 T water

3 T honey

4 1/2 tsps veg oil

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

1 medium ripe banana mashed

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp cinnamon (I increased this to 1 tsp.-we like cinnamon)

3 cups flour

1 1/2 tsps active dry yeast

1/2 cup raisins

1/3 cup chopped walnuts ( I left out nuts, since our sons is allergic)

Place the 1st nine ingredients in pan in order suggested by manufacturer. Select basic bread settings. Bake according to bread manufacturer. Just before the final kneading, add raisins and walnuts.

Edisto Beach State Park Environmental Interpretive Center

2011-09-16T01:46:00.000-07:00

This place had all kinds of great displays of local shells and animals

There were interactive things for kids to touch, listen and see. Michael was really scared of this plastic crabs in one of the drawers.

All kinds of animal displays- alligator, loggerhead turtle eggs, flounder, horseshoe crabs...

I love this picture of a terrapin!

Can you find the flounder?
A big boat...

Very interesting conversation going on...

The resident racoon

This was a very cool interpretive center. It was free and had tons of hands-on activities for kids of all ages. We spent somewhere between an hour to an hour and a half here. The staff was very friendly and answered my kids questions very thoroughly. It was well worth the time to visit!

Crabbing at Steamboat Landing

2011-09-15T00:57:00.000-07:00

JP remembers crabbing with his brother as a kid. So when we found out we would be staying 10 minutes from a crabbing spot...he ordered a net. I was praying they would catch something and as you can see the catch was pretty good. The trash the next day...not so good.

The Catch...16 blue crabs!