Saturday, July 30, 2011

School Starts Monday...

Thank you Confessions of a Daydream Believer for this fun cartoon!!

Every year toward the end of July I start getting really excited for the upcoming school year.  We usually start planning our next school year before the current one is done.  I absolutely love The Old Schoolhouse Planners.  The "hard" work is done for us, all we have to do is fill it in.  We have 2 of them, one is the main planner and we also have the special needs planner.  This one will help me develop and accomplish goals for our daughters.


This year Andrew will be going to a "Life as a Soldier" day camp at The Genesee Country Village and Museum.  He will learn all there is to learn about being a solider during the Civil War.  This will go right along with our history for this year, we are studying the Civil War in depth this year.

Along with all our "regular" courses we will also be reviewing various curriculum sent to us through the TOS Crew.  This is my second year as a reviewer with them.  Last year was our best year homeschooling.  Mainly because of the great products we reviewed.  We used many things that we would not of thought to use at all.  Also, usually by February we are all so burned out!  Reviewing different products really kept it new for us.

We will also be concentrating on writing this year in depth.  Writing has always come natural to me and unfortunately my children did not inherit this from me.  They despise it!  We are going to use a couple of things that we were sent last year, The Write Foundation and Writing Tales

Again for our geography we are picking 3 missionaries from different countries and learning about them and the country they are in.  It really bring geography home for our children.

Check back often for reviews and progress on our school year.  Prayers would be appreciated because homeschooling three teenage children is difficult...but would not trade it for the world!!

I am participating in So Followed Saturday.  This is a fun blog hop where you not only get to see great blogs but build up your followers as well.

So Followed Saturday

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Summer Happenings...

We have been at Odosagih almost every weekend this summer.  We just love it here.  Not only for the beauty but for the wonderful Biblical teaching we receive.  There is something for everyone here.  The kids wake up early then head out for fishing, swimming (they have a nice in ground pool), miniature golf, basketball and much more.

Every Saturday evening, there is a concert.  The picture above is The Needhams.  They grew up not far from us.  They are a very talented family.  You can listen to their latest CD right on their website.  They tour all over the US, look them up when they are in your area. 


Yesterday I turned 39!  My last year of the 30's.  I have a goal to reach by my 40th birthday next year.  I'm going to need a lot of prayer because this is one of the biggest hurdles of my life.  My weight really holds me back in many ways.  I've started and stopped, lost and gained so many times in my life.  I have some issues I will be working through that I think are at the root of my weight.  I'm really going to need your prayers. 

I am also a full time student at Liberty University.  I'm taking classes via online.  While yes convenient...this is extremely difficult.  Your professors are not always right there to answer questions.  I'm currently taking Biology this term.  I am not doing well in the class at all.  But I know the Lord has a plan for me and I'm plugging along nicely.  My degree will be a Bachelor of Science in Religion with a minor in Biblical Counseling. 

So as you can see our summer has been SO busy...but very blessed.  I can see God's hand in everything we have been doing.  Oh yes and there is our wonderful bountiful garden.  We have a ton of tomatoes coming on, cucumbers we have been eating just as fast as we pick them, hot peppers, sweet peppers, sweet potatoes and green beans.  I can not wait to start canning these wonderful goodies.  How has your summer been going?

Monday, July 25, 2011

Happy Homemaker Monday


The weather in my neck of the woods...
A bit cooler and it is finally raining.

Things that make me happy...
Seeing the Spiritual growth in our family.

Book I'm reading...
Ministry Is... (school book)
Living out the Mind of Christ (School book)
Biology textbook

What I'm enjoying on TV...
Nothing much

On the menu for dinner...
Hot dogs

On my To Do list...
Menus
college schoolwork
lesson plans for the upcoming year

New Recipe I tried or want to try soon...

In the craft basket...
Nothing

Looking forward to this week...
Heading back to camp this weekend.

Tips and Tricks...
When heading out for camping, cook all your meats at home and freeze.  They will keep in the cooler until you get to your destination.  Then all you have to do is heat.

My favorite blog post this week...
Nothing

New discovered blog...
Shut the Fridge...She is also a member of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine's Crew with me.

Favorite Photo...

The best part of where we camp is the many benches all over the grounds.  My favorite spot is right along the lake.  Heading down there in the morning for my quiet time is such an amazing experience. 

Lesson learned the past few days...
Have you ever tried to connect with someone over and over again just to realize they, for whatever reason just do not want to connect with you?  Oh they might give you that "fake" smile like they are happy to see you.  Or they might even say a few words to you.   It almost makes me feel like being in high school again.  They even go out of their way to say a big "hello" to someone standing right next to you.  It breaks my heart when people who are Christians do this.    I realize that everyone struggles with things from time to time.  But when the same type of thing is going on again and again a person should step back and really evaluate their heart and walk with Christ.  I certainly have had to do that on a number of occasions.  I don't think I'm a difficult person to get a long with.  I feel my strength is compassion for others.  Maybe that could be a problem as well?  I don't think I've offended this person, because they have not come to me and said so.  I guess this section should be titled "lesson learning..."

On my mind...
Read above....this has really been "bugging" me lately.  I'd rather someone not talk to me at all then to have "empty words".  I'm going to give this to God to work out.  That is the greatest thing about a relationship with Him...I can give it all to Him.

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses...
Titus 1:16

"They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work."
This verse has been going through my mind a lot lately.  Actions speak louder than words.

To see other Happy Homemaker posts visit Diary of a SAHM.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Happy Homemaker Monday


Weather in my neck of the woods...
After 4 weeks of no rain....Praise the Lord it's raining.  Our poor gardens were so dry.  We were having trouble keeping up with the watering. 

Things that make me happy...
Knowing that no matter what I am going through God is right there with me.

Book I'm reading...
A few for review
College textbooks

What I'm enjoying on TV...
Not much TV watching this summer.  It's great!!

On the menu for dinner...
Pork Chops and stuffing
Green beans

On my To Do List...
Schoolwork
Get ready for camping this weekend
Homeschool lesson plans
Homeschool co op stuff
Laundry
Get ready for Hubby's Bday tomorrow!

New Recipe I tried or want to try soon...
Sadly not much cooking going on here.

In the craft basket...
Nothing

Looking forward to this week...
Camping!!  We have friends coming down this weekend!

Tips and Tricks...
I've said it before....Do not sweat the small stuff!  God has it under control.

My favorite blog post this week...

New Discovered Blog...
I love Old Fashioned everything!!  I've been reading this blog for a bit now. 
It's called Old Fashioned Tips.

Favorite Picture...


Lesson learned the past few days...
Kids are able to handle things many times better than us adults can.  When I had to tell my son about the death of our dog a couple of weeks ago he took it like a man.  He was in shock at first, but stood there with me and my Dad and said nothing much at all.  He ran into the house after I told him...I thought it was because he didn't want me to see him crying.  When I asked him he said...No I had to go to the bathroom.  :-)  The kids have been taking this so well.  I think I took it harder than they did.  I'm still struggling with it.  I often think how silly I am to be grieving this way over a dog....but she was just as much a part of the family as anyone.

On my mind...
I'm struggling with my biology class.  I mean REALLY having a hard time.  Please say a prayer for me.  It's not so much the content of the class that is hard.  It's the way the professor is presenting it.

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses...
1 Peter 4:7
"But the end of all things is at hand;
therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers."

Christ could come back at anytime!  Everyone should be ready to give a reason for the way they have lived.  We need have to get rid of ALL sinful passions to get rid of Christ's return.

To see other Happy Homemaker posts visit Diary of a SAHM.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Our garden...

Our garden is coming along very nicely!  The above picture is from last year.  I love looking back and seeing how the garden is compared to last year.  The rest of the pictures are from this year.
Every year God blesses us with a "mystery" plant.  These come up all on their own...meaning we did not plant them.  This year we have a pumpkin.  There are 3 separate plants growing in the front of our house.  YEA!

Our tomato plants are starting to produce fruit.  I get so excited walking out in the garden, looking down and seeing this!  OH I can just smell the wonderful sauce these will make, or the salsa, chili sauce....OH the possibilities are endless!!

We went to the garden center the other day.  They had grape and cherry tomato plants on clearance!  We picked up 6 plants for ONE dollar.  The plants are not that big yet but already producing tomatoes.  YUM!  I told my kids feel free to pick the ones that are ready now...they looked at me and ran out the door.  Usually I tell them H.A.N.D.S O.F.F! LOL!

I love seeing the yellow peaking out from under the sea of green!  This is one of our cucumber plants.  We planted 4 hills of cucumbers.

One of our 40 hot pepper plants.  OH I can not wait to make Cowboy Candy, pickled hot peppers, hot pepper jelly and hot salsa!

Here are our green, red and yellow bell peppers.  Well not all on one plant! :-)  When we went to the garden store and bought the tomatoes they had purple bell peppers that we planted as well.  I had never seen one.  We can't wait to start harvesting these.  It has been SO dry here.  We are going on 3 weeks of no rain.  We have been watering with the sprinkler over night.  We are praying for a couple of days worth of rain! 

Summer squash.  It always amazes me...we wait and wait for these but then are very tired of them after about 2 weeks of them non stop.  I'm planning on making pickles with the ones we don't eat.

Last but not least is our zucchini!  Just like the summer squash we wait for it then are tired of it.  I'm going to do the zucchini relish again this year.  Also, I will shred it for the freezer. 

Gardening Tip:
My grandfather taught me a great way to keep critters out of your garden.  Take hair clippings and scatter them around the outside of your garden.  The human scent will keep them away.  We live in the country and can tell you this has worked like a charm!  It's great since I cut the guys' hair here.

Another tip I learned from our former pastor's wife...take grass clippings and use them around your plants.  Not only does it keep the weeds down, it acts like a mulch.  I have only had to weed a small portion of the gardens.  Thank you Joyce!!

So with the above tip....this has become our favorite tool this year....

This is a lawn sweeper.  You push it through the lawn and it picks up the clippings for you.  Love love love this!  We got it from Lehmans.  If you have never looked at one of their catalogs...You are really missing out!!  This year we are on a quest to use less electric, gas ect.  Their prices are wonderful and this sweeper works like a charm!!  We bought it for about $170.  The bag comes off for easy dumping of the grass.  Since we have a very large lawn this was perfect.  I get a good workout and we are using less gas. 

Now if only we would get some rain so our grass would grow, we will be doing good.

Friday, July 8, 2011

The Spirit in Baseball and The Spirit in Football

These books are such a great resource for teaching children about sportsmenship!  One of the biggest struggles we have had both in our home and in our homeschool co op gym class is the children getting upset because they didn't win or they didn't like the call of the teacher.  This is such a problem all over the place.  Little Leagues and youth football leagues have the same problem.  These books are also great for parents to learn right along side of their kids.

These books are written by Kathryn Nixon wife of Trot Nixon who played for the Boston Red Sox.  The Illustrations are done by Ana Boudreau.   


The Spirit in Baseball:

List Price: $10.00
Hardcover
Publisher: Cross Training Publishing (2008)
ISBN-10: 1450776256
ISBN-13: 978-1450776257
The Spirit in Baseball takes and applies the Fruits of the Spirit in playing baseball.  I LOVE my teammates, I am PATIENT to wait my turn, I do my best to be GOOD to others.  Each of the fruits are introduced by a Scripture verse followed by how the child can apply this to their life.  There is also a tiny fruit hidden on each of the pages.

The Spirit in Football:

List Price: $10.00
Hardcover
Publisher: The Spirit in Sports (2010)
ISBN-10: 0615386695
ISBN-13: 978-0615386690
The second book I recieved was The Spirit in Football.  Also written by Kathryn Nixon and Illustrated by Ana Boudreau.

This book has the same format as the Baseball one but takes on a little different angle.  The fans cheered with JOY and excitement.  Which his a good one for youngsters to understand, that your team is not always going to win.  If we are upset about a penalty we need to react with GENTLENESS according to how God wants us to act.   We need to show SELF-CONTROL when something makes us angry.

The Spirit in Football includes a forward by Matt Hasselbeck, NFL quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, encouraging children that “drive and competitiveness should never come before obeying the rules and being a good sport.”

***Special thanks to Audra Jennings, Senior Media Specialist, The B&B Media Group for sending me a review copies.***

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Goodbye to a dear and faithful friend...

What started out to be a wonderful holiday weekend turned into grief when we returned home from our weekend at camp.  Our beloved Gloria did not jump up and down and bark when we rounded the corner for home.  She laid there motionless by her house.  Our daughter Hannah ran to her thinking she was sleeping.  We were horrified at what we found.  Our precious Gloria would be forever asleep.  We will never feel the annoying kisses she gave us.  We would never tell her to keep her paws off the table.  We would never feel the jolt in the morning when she jumps into bed with us, because well we have just been sleeping too long.  How much we miss her.  She didn't just bark for strangers she barked for familiar faces as well.

Winter will never be the same again.  She loved to play in the snow.  Our precious son's companion.  He does not know that Gloria has passed away.  He is camping with my parents and will be home late tomorrow.  I dread having to look into those sweet eyes and tell him his best friend has passed away.  That grieves my heart more than anything I could possibly endure.

She made us laugh with her silly quirks.  She tried to carry on a conversation with us all.  She would speak for treats.  She would copy our son as you see in the picture above.  We think she was attacked by bees.  Ultimately we will never know what took our precious Gloria away from us.  Our lives will forever be changed because of the 6 wonderful years we had with her.

Rest in peace sweet friend.  We love and miss you terribly!
Gloria
2002-2011