The Jos Know

What I Am Learning

2012-01-23T08:53:00.001-05:00

One thing I have learned in my walk with Christ is that I am never done learning. This is discouraging at times because I wonder if I will ever truly be Christ-like. But it is also so very encouraging! No matter how badly I mess up, how far I wander, or how long I go on ignoring Christ's voice calling me back to him, he is still waiting to teach me some more. He doesn't give up on me!

So I know it isn't really "New Year" anymore, but it is Chinese New Year today; and since half my heart is in China anyway, this is still appropriate for today! I was reading in a devotional by Sarah Young called Jesus Calling and I was struck by this (to be read as Christ speaking directly to you),

"Come to Me with a teachable spirit, eager to be changed. A close walk with Me is a life of continual newness. Do not cling to old ways as you step into a new year. Instead, seek My Face with an open mind, knowing that your journey with Me involves being transformed by the renewing of your mind."

Wow. I cling to my old ways with fierceness! It is time to let go of some old ways and be willing to allow Christ to change me through the renewing of my mind.

The next page also talked about bringing my mind back to Him for refreshing and renewal. I cannot let the thoughts of the trials of the day bog me down, but rather focus on the Lord. He is my strength!

Psalm 105:4, "Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always."

Risk, Anyone?

2012-01-09T05:00:00.000-05:00

When we were at my parent's house for Thanksgiving, Aaron made an important and necessary step toward manhood - he learned how to play Risk! That's right, global domination ambitions were set ablaze in his little mind... bwahahaha....

My dad and brother had the all important task of teaching him how to play. Even Ian got in on the instruction!

The Ones I Actually Made!

2012-01-07T13:59:00.000-05:00

So I didn't actually kill, clean, and prepare my own turkey this Thanksgiving. In fact, the picture of the live turkey was taken the day after Thanksgiving. However, I did make quite a few turkeys on Thanksgiving day! This kind:

Isn't that cute? I got everyone in on the fun of making these cookies - whether they wanted to participate or not! :)

Ethan with his first completed turkey!

Aaron with a turkey.

Elise had more patience to keep working on these than any other child.

Ian was very proud of his turkey!

I even got my mom to make one...

"Do you think we escaped the Thanksgiving slaughter?"

Aaron quickly got goofy with his creations...

I had to force Stephanie to participate. I even had to resort to using her daughter to guilt her into it! But I think she made a mighty fine turkey, don't you?

Before and After

2012-01-06T05:00:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving was a while ago, but since I haven't really blogged since then, you get to relive the joy of Thanksgiving with me! Here is a before and after of our Thanksgiving turkey:

Before:

After:

I have always *loved* doing things from scratch in the kitchen! *

*The first picture may or may not actually be the same turkey as the second picture. I may or may not have actually prepared the turkey that was eaten by our family on Thanksgiving day.

Something's Not Right Here...

2012-01-05T13:42:00.000-05:00

I don't know how long you have been following the two of us Jo's, but if it has been since 2007, and if you followed our other shared blog before the birth of this one, you might remember when I got started creating a Tunisian Crochet blanket to match my *newly* decorated master bedroom. I was so excited. For the rest of you (all but Joanna...), you can check out my excitement here and here. (I had to laugh out loud when I looked at that first post and read Marie's comment about using red text!) Anyway, I got about 3 feet of this blanket crocheted, and then it was summer and I was too hot to crochet a blanket. Oh, and I got pregnant with my third baby and started a Chinese adoption. I put this lovely blanket on the shelf and nearly forgot about it. Fast forward 4 years from the time I started this blanket...I remembered how beautiful it was and how excited I was and thought, "It's never to late to finish a project!" So I got it out and lovingly started crocheting this blanket again.

I was working on it diligently, but even so I thought it was progressing so much quicker than I remembered! It was at that point that I realized a very important crafting truth: When it has been 4 years since using a skill, one should review the rules and pattern for said skill before trying to pick it up again.

I made so much progress - look!

It looks fantastic until you back up a bit. Notice a problem? ::sigh::

Forgetting one simple step causes this rapid reduction in the length of each row! No wonder I was moving through it so quickly! I was stitching less and less with each row I made!

So I had to weep and rip out row after row after row, until this is all that is left:

Yep, you guessed it - about 3 feet of blanket. Then I got so discouraged, I put it on a shelf and haven't touched it since. But I did start knitting a pair of socks! (With equally disastrous results...Of course, that is for another post!)

You Miss Me, Right?

2011-12-09T15:03:00.001-05:00

The cat's favorite place to sleep.

I have to hold Lily's head still in order to get a good pictures. Homegirl is squirrely.

This is about as much snow as we ever get here.

Ella is busy catching up in geometry. While her sisters are on a school break, she's doing lots of geometry and grammar.

I wish I could relax like a cat does.

Anna would like to show you her teeth.

And her dinner.

My favorite ornaments. My aunt made these for us our second Christmas together.

This is how Ella spends nearly every meal: reading and eating. I totally understand.

Rachel is my Master Shifu.

Isaac. He's so cute.

My Christmas tree is oddly adorned. This is what happens when you have toddlers and a dog and a cat.

My little Tiger Lily. Ahhh. She's a good snuggler.

RIP Rosalina

2011-11-06T11:40:00.001-05:00

Ella and Sarah's little robo dwarf hamster, Rosalina, died this morning. Poor Ella was hysterical. Now she's buried in my flower bed. We are going to plant a rose there.

What Adoption?

2011-11-02T12:54:00.000-04:00

It has been so long since I wrote anything about our adoption, some of you may have completely forgotten it was happening! Well, other than that adoption ticker that has been on my side blog for years... If you haven't read the posts from three years ago about the first parts of our adoption, you can read the highlights here, here, here, here, here, and here. If you are suffering from insomnia, you can do a search in our blog for "adoption" and get every last post. For a while, it was really all I wrote about...

Anyway, we are still in "the wait." A few things have happened that have caused us to start moving forward again. We are watching the current wait lengthen, and lengthen, and lengthen some more. The families who are getting their babies right now have been waiting for over five years at this point, and it is still getting longer. We have already been waiting three years, and from how things are going, the best prediction is that we would have to wait another three to five years! We do not really want two separate families with one group of older children and one of younger children, so this wait is quite unappealing. We also have slowly come to realize that we are indeed open to a child from the waiting list. When we first started this adoption, we applied under the most limited guidelines we could - to get a healthy baby girl, under the age of one. As we have learned to live with the allergy fiasco in our lives, we have realized that all children have special needs and feel convicted that excluding a child simply because she has some medical need is not okay for us. Almost a year ago, we began to pray about switching our application to accept a "waiting child" rather than accept only a "traditional" placement. It is only very recently that Jerry and I are on the exact same page with what we are comfortable with, but when that happened, we started the process of moving forward. Because all of our paperwork from 2008 is out of date, we have to redo most of what we have already done. The first thing we did was start taking the eleven "parent training" classes that are required for the adoption. They are not really about parenting generally, but more about parenting in adoption situations and learning about adoption, needs of adopted children, and China specifically. We have now done three of the eleven classes, and they have brought about great discussions for us! I also called our wonderful adoption agency and told them we were ready to renew our paperwork. They are contacting our social worker to get the ball rolling on a new home study, which is the first thing that must be done with that. We also need to submit a "Medical Checklist" to our agency, detailing what special needs we are willing to consider. This is very difficult for us. It feels completely wrong to check a box that says, "Yes, we will accept this." and "No, we will not accept this." It feels like we are playing God! We have talked with our pediatrician about getting together to go over the medical terms on this sheet to know what each condition means for our daughter's long term health, and really need to set a firm time to do this. Once they have this checklist at our agency, they start looking for potential matches for us. By switching to the "Waiting Child" program, our wait will now be 6-18 months rather than just as many years (or so it seems...).

Please pray for us as we enter this new phase of the adoption. Please pray that we will know when we see a specific child on the list if she is the right one for our family. Please also pray that if God would want us to adopt two children (as is our desire) that he will work out the details for that. It is possible for us to bring home two girls instead of one, but there are many things that would have to line up just so for that to happen. However, if there is one thing I have learned absoultely for certain through this whole process, it is that God is more than able to line up every detail to accomplish what he wills - even the details that in no way should come together! I am trusting that this is also in his very capable hands.

Because all posts are better with pictures, I'll include some! :) The first is from our original adoption application sent to China, then one more recent to show a comparison!

June 2008 - Andrew is in my tummy, and Ethan is the same age in this picture that Andrew is now!

Aaron and Ethan showing off the banana bread they helped me make last week.

The Frog Is Not Cuter Than the Children

2011-11-01T13:47:00.000-04:00

Ella likes to climb trees. I finally got a picture of her not looking goofy.

I caught a tree frog in my parents' home last night. Then I took this picture. Isn't he cute?

Look! Someone else was behind the camera lens.

Bits

2011-10-31T10:54:00.001-04:00

I hosted my former blogging friend and now real-life friend Terry and her 5 (fabulous) daughters for tea on Friday. Everyone needs to make these Killer Brownies.

Look at my turtles! Marie got them for me when she went to Hawaii. They sell them at Wal-Mart there. Wow!

Here's my poor cat. We took him in to get neutered and found out she needed to be spayed instead. So we changed her names from Hobbes to Mittens. That Cone of Shame did not work for her at all.

Pumpkin Seeds

2011-10-29T00:30:00.000-04:00

I know that when most people carve a pumpkin, they want to get rid of the messy, seed-filled pulp found inside as quickly as possible. They are really missing out on a tasty snack, though! I have always roasted my pumpkin seeds by tossing them in olive oil and salt, but I have found a much, much better recipe! This time I used butter and added cinnamon - and the result was the Best. Pumpkin. Seeds. Ever. You really must go out and buy a pumpkin, carve it up, and roast the seeds now. You won't be sorry.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
1 1/2 c. cleaned pumpkin seeds
2 TB butter, melted
pinch salt
dash cinnamon

Toss the seeds in the remaining ingredients and spread them on a baking sheet. Place in a 300 degree oven for 45-60 minutes, until golden brown. YUM. These are especially tasty right out of the oven!

Autumn

2011-10-27T00:30:00.000-04:00

In honor of the fact that the high temperature for today is 57, I thought I'd share the many things I love about Autumn:

Fall decorations popping up around the house...

Rosy cheeks and warm, comfy clothes...

All things pumpkin! These were turned into puree and roasted pumpkin seeds...

Evidence that the house feels chilly from open windows...

Roast turkey with gravy and the three gallons of turkey stock I made with the bones...

Really, what's not to like?

Women's Work

2011-10-26T12:05:00.000-04:00

I bet some of you just cringed when you saw the title of this post! Truth be told, I grew up in a home where the division of labor fit right in with "traditional roles." Because of this, I learned to cook, clean, and babysit, and my brother learned to fix things, mow the lawn, and set up a business. I don't ever remember my brother cooking something in the kitchen, and to this day I have never started a lawn mower. The cooking and cleaning were never referred to as "women's work" in my house - in fact, my father is just as good a cook as my mother! Regardless, the words weren't needed to express the general idea. I don't disagree with that idea completely, either. I have grown to love domestic duties, and am happy to leave the fixing and outdoor work to my husband. He equally loves the outdoor "man's work" and is happy to leave the cooking and cleaning to me. Even so, I really want my boys to be comfortable in a kitchen and taking care of domestic duties. It is my belief that early marriage is beneficial, and hope my children will seek God for a quality spouse sooner than later in their adult lives. But the reality is that people are waiting longer and longer in our culture to marry, and my children will no doubt be influenced by our culture. I want them to be able to take care of themselves if they should find themselves living on their own. Even if they do marry young, I would love for their wives to be surprised by a meal cooked by their husbands that isn't a chore to choke down. To that end, we have started cooking lessons. My boys love watching me in the kitchen and are quite excited to be learning a few skills.

Today we made banana bread! Aaron, my pickiest eater by far, wasn't super thrilled with the end result, but he was nearly giddy to be able to make it! I am still holding out hope that he will outgrow his picky eating...

The bread is made with whole wheat flour and sweetened with honey, so our baking lesson also included health lessons about fiber, whole grains, processed vs. unprocessed food, and God made vs. man made sweeteners. I am so proud of my boys for all they are learning!

Banana Bread
1. Place butter in large mixing bowl. With a wire whist blend in remaining liquid ingredients one at a time:

1/4 c soft butter
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
3 medium bananas, very ripe
3/4 c buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla

2. Place flour and nuts in medium mixing bowl. Thoroughly blend in remaining ingredients with a mixing spoon:

3 c whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 c chopped walnuts, optional (we used them)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 TB baking powder
1 tsp salt

3. Blend dry ingredients into liquid ingredients until just mixed.

4. Scrape batter into greased loaf pan and set pan in center of a 325 degree oven.

5. Bake for 70 minutes, and cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a clean surface to cool.

The Others

2011-10-26T10:36:00.000-04:00

Dog (AKA Ready)

Cat (AKA Hobbes)

Seriously Troublesome

Exuberantly Happy

Tiresomely Naughty

Daringly Cute

Ripe Lemons

2011-10-25T15:00:00.001-04:00

Aren't they pretty?!

What should I make? It has to be something good.

Why Why Why

2011-10-24T13:10:00.001-04:00

This is the way my day started out. Don't let the calm, neat, orderly and idyllic scene fool you.

This is where the day has gone. And that was after the cat stepped in his poop and tracked it all over the house and the massive clean-up that ensued from that.

My Definition of Clean

2011-10-24T11:18:00.003-04:00

...is clearly not the same as theirs.

Over the weekend, we gave the boys the task of cleaning their room. When they went to bed last night, it actually looked pretty good. I could see that there were still quite a few things on their dresser and desk that could be put away, but overall, it looked like they did a decent job. But something in me just knew I needed to take a closer look. This is what I found:

I decided to look under the bed, behind the door, and under the dresser and nightstand. I used my kitchen broom to sweep everything I found into the center of their room.

I think there's a bit more work for them to do! Or, as my husband would say, "There's still some chicken on the bone."

The boys haven't seen this pile yet, but you'll kow when they do. The wailing it is likely to cause will be loud enough to be heard around the world.

You know, this reminds me of something my mother used to do to me when I was a girl...oh, shoot. I'm becoming my mother. Bwahahahahaha!

Six Stitches

2011-10-22T11:24:00.002-04:00

After his unfortunate run-in with a bowling ball...

Ethan is now the proud owner of six stitches.

He's not too much worse for the wear!

Details to follow tomorrow - right now I've got to head to work and then my church small group!

The Two Rings

2011-10-21T10:47:00.000-04:00

Here is the ring that broke on Del's car that caused it to have to be towed home. We had to buy a new cable for it because they don't sell just the ring. Dad and Del fixed his car in about 3 hours. It broke on Sunday and they fixed it on Monday.

This is the same ring that broke in my van on Thursday...with me and all six of my kids in it...at the Pediatrician's office. Lovely. You can see the tiny ring fits inside my wedding ring; it's a size 5. Such a little thing and it brought down both our vehicles in four days. Del and Dad make a good team; they fixed my van at the pediatrician's office in about 40 minutes.

Here's my ring on my hand for some perspective.

Say What?

2011-10-20T05:53:00.000-04:00

Aaron and Ethan decided about 2 weeks ago that it was time to start writing their Christmas lists. The lists have gotten quite long already and are filled with so many Lego sets that Jerry and I would have to take out a second mortgage to get them all. For some reason, Ethan has changed his mind on it all. He came up to me tonight and said,

"Mom, I'm not going to do a Christmas list any more. It will be more fun that way. I mean, I liked the gifts you chose for me last year that weren't on my list...like my Bible. It's a good Bible, except when I get old I'm gonna need glasses to read it because the words are really small."

Man, I love that kid.

El Shaddai

2011-10-19T05:36:00.006-04:00

With my Ladies Bible Study group, I am studying the book, Lord, I Want to Know You, by Kay Arthur. It is a study of the names of God. Having grown up in church, I am quite familiar with all of God's names. I know what they mean and have probably heard a sermon or other teaching on them, but do I *know* them? Do I truly live as though the are all absolutely true?

So far we have looked at:

Elohim - The Creator God
El Elyon - The God Most High, Sovereign
El Roi - The God Who Sees
El Shaddai - The All-Sufficient One

Each lesson, though short, has impacted me in a new way. It is great to be reminded that God created everything for his glory, and that each creation was intentional! (Even my flaws were intentionally created by God - chew on that one for a minute!) I felt completely reverent and in awe realizing that my God, the one who took the time to create me just so, is also the Most High God, sovereign over everything. Isn't it amazing that with all the power He has, He still takes the time to know me? I was encouraged that God truly sees everything that is happening on earth. Not only does he see it all, he cares about what is happening, and is involved in caring for us. He actually has a plan for us all - even those who don't know him personally - and makes sure it is accomplished.

This last week, I was especially struck by El Shaddai, the All-Sufficient One. In today's English, we use the word sufficient to mean, "just barely enough." I got to thinking about that, though. If something is sufficient, it is enough. If I have sufficient food for today, no one goes hungry. If I have sufficient gas to get to my destination, I don't have to stop to refuel. If I have sufficient money to pay my bills, I do not run out before they are all covered. If I have sufficient grace to make it through any situation, I...well, what does that mean? It means God is my protector, the unconditional lover of my soul. When I run into the arms of my El Shaddai, I never come away wanting. This covers all my weaknesses! As I read about it, I got the image of my body as a glass shell. Most of it was filled in with the image of me, but there were big empty spots and gaps where my patience should have been, my compassion, my self-control...But when I turn to El Shaddai, I pictured him being poured out to fill in all the gaps that were in my glass body "container." He is enough for each of those weaknesses! This also covers all the unpleasant circumstances I face. All. Of. Them. When we suffer loss, He is sufficient. When we face illness, He is sufficient. When we face the rebellion of a child, He is sufficient. When our source of income is suddenly gone, He is sufficient. When our spouse does the unthinkable, He is sufficient. When we face death itself, He is sufficient.

II Corinthians 12:9, "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me."

Hebrews 1: 3: "The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven." (emphasis mine)

How would I be different if I lived with a full understanding of God as my El Shaddai?

Cream Cheese Muffins

2011-10-18T04:46:00.000-04:00

Several years ago, I started truly researching types of food and how our body reacts to different foods. I began to look at GMO foods and issues, read a lot about eating local, in season foods, studied traditional foods (along the lines of Nourishing Traditions), and watched Food, Inc., Supersize Me, and other documentaries about the SAD (Standard American Diet). I decided that our current way of eating was going to have to change. I started eliminating processed foods from our diet, adding coconut oil, and trying some grass-fed meat options.

Then, of course, the bomb dropped - food allergies. I had just begun a gradual overhaul of our entire way of eating when I learned that Jerry and my boys were allergic to all of God's green earth, and began a new research project - how to cook without any recognizable ingredients. It has taken two years, but I now have a decent repertoire of recipes that the whole family can enjoy, and my boys' are healing - they are truly totally different after two years of treatment!

Since all of that happened right after I had a baby, and I was only focused on learning how to cook non-allergenic foods for a long time, my weight got a bit out of control. So once I re-learned how to feed my family, I began to try to lose some weight and figure out how to incorporate the changes I had started to make three years ago into our new-normal allergy-friendly eating plan. It has taken some major creativity, plus some trial and error, but I finally have a plan that works! We now eat only foods our grandmothers would recognize (Which is really saying something since one of Jerry's grandmothers was born in 1899!), with a few exceptions, of course! I don't worry about fat in our diet, but use non-hydrogenated fats, such as coconut oil, butter, and olive oil. We have learned to eat quinoa, millet, and add whole grains of all sorts to our diet. We have eliminated about 80% of the chemicals we used to consume, and rarely consume corn syrup anymore. I have learned to be satisfied with a meal that consists only of meat, fruit, and vegetable much of the time, and no longer eat very many starches. The result? I have lost a ton of weight and finally like the way I look, my kids are healthier and don't feel like they're missing too much, and we all enjoy the occasional treat and have discovered which of our "coveted foods" from before really don't appeal anymore.

A recent picture to document the end of my weight loss journey.

I've ended up using many low-carb recipes in my efforts to avoid wheat (for my allergic family) and other starches (for me). I thought I'd occasionally share some of these recipes here, knowing full well that most of the world doesn't eat the way I do. But if something I put out here looks good to someone, I'm happy to share. I know my Green Smoothie wasn't a big hit, but these are much more normal looking, and really tasty! (I promise.) I enjoy a couple of these for breakfast or one for a quick snack. They are best fully refrigerated. It is like a mini-cheesecake, really!

Cream Cheese Muffins (Sernicki)
Muffins:

24 oz cream cheese, softened
sweetener: 1 cup splenda or sugar, or 1/2 c. honey (honey changes the consistency some)
2 tsp vanilla
5 eggs

Topping:

1 cup sour cream
1/2 c. splenda or sugar, or 1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
optional: 1 TB cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Blend together cream cheese and sweetener. Add vanilla extract. Add eggs, beating in one at a time. Pour into 24 paper cupcake liners (you MUST use liners with this recipe) in cupcake pan, filling liners about 2/3 full of batter. Bake for 40 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes.

While muffins are cooling, beat all topping ingredients together. Spoon a bit of the topping onto each muffin, where an indention has formed from the cooling. Return to oven for 5 minutes, then remove and cool.

Even with another layer of muffins on top of these, this container empties quickly at my house since all 5 of use enjoy these!

Don't you just love...

2011-10-17T04:43:00.000-04:00

...a man in uniform?

After much debating, Ethan decided to join Cub Scouts this year. Now that he has had a chance to do a few outings and activities, he is very glad he did! Isn't he such a cute Tiger Scout?

Movement

2011-10-16T11:48:00.003-04:00

It's very difficult to get a good, natural-light picture of Isaac.

"Hey, what is that thing?"

"Here, give it to me a sec."

"If you're not going to give it here, you can't take a picture of me."

See what I mean?

Rock Candy

2011-10-15T05:36:00.000-04:00

When we were at the National Scouting Museum a couple weeks ago, Ethan bought a kitchen science kit. One of the projects was making rock candy, and of course - that was the first one he wanted to do! So we boiled the water and sugar, added coloring and flavoring, and dropped the string with a paperclip attached to the end into the solution. And we have waited, and waited, and waited. It has been almost a week now, and although the solution is crystalizing, the sugar crystals are not just clinging to the string and clip, but rather forming a crust of crystals across the top of the solution and sticking to the sides of the glass. Is this normal?

This picture was taken after 3 days of letting the solution sit out to form sugar crystals...

If you have ever made rock candy this way before, I'd love to hear your insight. I'm going to have quite a time getting these glasses clean...

School Check-Up

2011-10-14T16:28:00.002-04:00

Today we finished 8 weeks of our planned school year! It has gone by very quickly, and I thought it might be a good time to review what we are doing to make sure we have the best year possible! I thought I'd just go down the list of my final curriculum choices that I posted a while back.

Homeschool Co-Op: We LOVE our co-op! The boys look forward to Thursdays because they cannot wait to go to their co-op classes. I think they have really enjoyed being with other home-schooled children and have also enjoyed getting some things that they just don't get at home! (It is hard to play dodge ball with just the 3 of us...) Andrew is in Mother's Day Out at our church on Thursdays, so not only do the big boys get some fun classes, we get to work on school for a few hours together with absolutely no interruptions, and I get to go grocery shopping by myself. Yesterday, Jerry and I even met for a lunch date out!

A & E show off their Folk Art paintings - the first project they did in their art class! Who knew they had such talent? It sure isn't from me!!

Sonlight Core B+C: This is turning out to be a good history and read aloud core for us. We started reading Gladys Aylward yesterday, and I must admit that I'm a bit bummed that we have to wait until Monday to hear more of her story! My boys are also loving learning so much about world history. The have gotten into coloring a flag for each country we talk about and taping it to the wall around our world map. I love that they took the initiative to do this themselves!

E chilling in the recliner I sit in to do read alouds. This chair has become a favorite "chill out" spot for the whole family.

Rod & Staff Miller Series: I am enjoying using these books to supplement our Bible readings, and my boys really like the character quality workbook we are going through this year. They look forward to starting a new page and I am enjoying the way they are searching through the Bible to find answers.

Ethan *loves* Rod & Staff workbooks!

Language Arts: I still love the Rod & Staff English curriculum. This is my first year to use their grade 1 curriculum (I didn't start Aaron in it until grade 2) and Ethan is enjoying it. He is getting a great foundation on how words are put together, and he loves the craft worksheets that go with each lesson. I also still love the way Bible lessons are woven into each grammar and reading lesson. I am glad we switched to Spelling Power, too. Aaron's book is teaching him much more than what we used last year.

Some cut-out people from one of Ethan's craft worksheets that go along with his reading.

Apologia Human Anatomy and Physiology: I cannot say enough about this curriculum!!! We are absolutely *loving* science this year, and we have loathed it until now. The workbooks that go with this are amazing and the reading keeps the kids' attention! I highly recommend this series!

After each system we study, we add a layer to our "person" in the workbook. We just finished muscles!

Mummifying an apple...

Making an edible cell. It's hard to go wrong with a science activity involving large quantities of candy!

Math: Aaron is really coming along with math now that he is using Abeka. He is also understanding the concepts in RightStart's level B that he did last year much better hearing it with Ethan again this year. I was concerned that he would resent having to do it with Ethan since he already did it once, but he is enjoying how quickly it makes sense now that he is seeing it for the second time. I will keep him in Abeka, though, because it is taught in a way that simply clicks for him. However, Ethan is doing perfectly in RightStart, so it looks like we will be a "two math curriculum" family. It's only money, right??

Andrew has been much easier to deal with this school year. He still wants to get in the middle of what we're doing, but hey! I just look at that as him getting some of his learning done early!

Finally, I was told by many that having a dedicated school room was a nice idea in theory, but that we would abandon it within a few weeks. I don't know why we are the major exception to this statement, but we are still using and enjoying our school room. Other than Aaron escaping to a quiet spot to do his math work while I do reading with Ethan, we do all of our school in there every day. My boys are able to understand that once we move to that room, we are there to learn. They go to their seats at the table many mornings without me asking and wait for me once they see I am headed that direction. They have personalized their end of the table with a few items they enjoy and are staying much more focused when I am reading to them than they used to when we were sitting where ever we happened to be. Jerry is also very grateful that the piles of books stay in there and not all over the living room! A nice plus has been that we have made a habit of deep cleaning the school room every Friday together, so the boys are taking some responsibility for keeping their learning environment neat and clean. I don't think we'll be abandoning the "school room" idea any time soon!

Aaron hiding on my bed with his math work. When I walked in the room, the cat was curled up at his side!

A Comparison

2011-10-13T11:52:00.001-04:00

I'm really sorry I hadn't put on make up yet. Try not to laugh.

SARAH

ANNA

LILY

ELLA

RACHEL

Of them all, I think Ella's eyes most closely resemble mine, except she's got nicer eyelashes and lovely skin. Lily comes in a close second. What do you think?

Sneaky

2011-10-12T16:44:00.003-04:00

I don't want to hear any comments about my messy pantry, now.

Friends Are the Best

2011-10-10T14:38:00.001-04:00

Anna and Arianna

Mean Green

2011-10-07T09:27:00.000-04:00

Do you ever eat a green smoothie? I used to be scared of the thought, until I tried this recipe! If you are looking for a quick, filling meal replacement, you should give this one a try!

Ingredients

1/2 cup cottage cheese
3 oz baby spinach leaves
5 oz (about 7-10) frozen strawberries
1 heaping TB cocoa powder
20 drops stevia, or 2 pkts sweetener of choice
1 cup water

Blend the ingredients until smooth and enjoy! Because of the strong flavors of strawberries and cocoa powder, you cannot taste the spinach. However, if you use a different fruit or mature spinach leaves, you can.

Shells For Science

2011-10-06T15:13:00.002-04:00

We studied mollusks today. Here we are sanding shells to see what kind of shell it is.

It's a mud whelk, you see.

Banana

2011-10-04T19:27:00.004-04:00

Sleeping...

Just Because

2011-09-23T11:44:00.003-04:00

I'm not sure why I'm even posting here because nearly everyone I know is on FB. So it's FB's fault that I never post on this blog anymore. Go find Zuckerberg and kick his butt. Because I think in pictures, here are some to jog my memory.

Del's 12th anniversary gift to me was this necklace from The Vintage Pearl. I cried.

Ella and Sarah being goofy. I have a picture very similar to this from when I was a kid. I'll have to post it to compare.

Rachel holding a strawberry rhubarb pie we made and Lily being goofy in the background.

Here are Lily, Rachel and me. And the dog's behind. I should have cropped this one.

Here is Ella getting her braces.

The birthday cake I made for Rachel's 6th birthday.

Lily loves the cat.

Anna

Sarah

Isaac eating dirt. He's such a boy. He loves to wrestle.

Conversation with Drew

2011-08-27T07:16:00.000-04:00

Jerry was talking to Drew about why he was smashing rolly-poly's outside. Here's how it went:

Jerry: Should we be nice to rolly-poly's?

Drew: Yeah.

Jerry: Is it nice to smash them?

Drew: Yeah, it is.

Jerry: It is?

Drew: Yeah, if you do it slowly. (He slams his hand down on the ground to illustrate.)

We might have a bit of work to do with this one...

The new "cheese" pose...Not my favorite!

Marshmallows

2011-08-26T05:08:00.000-04:00

Have you ever looked at the ingredients on the back of your bag of marshmallows? With all of our food allergies, I sure have. This is the list:

Corn Syrup, Sugar, Dextrose, Modified Corn Starch, Water, Gelatin, Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate (Whipping Aid), Artificial Flavor, Artificial Color (Blue 1).

Because of our corn allergy, this is obviously a food we should not be eating. Plus, no one really needs to be eating chemical binders, modified food, and artificial flavors and colors. Anyway, it is not a food we ate a lot, but every now and then, a marshmallow or two would be nice in some hot chocolate or rice crispy treat, you know? So I set about to figuring out how to make them myself. Of course, my first stop in a recipe search was with Alton Brown! His recipe for marshmallows can be found here. I'm sure they turn out great, but they still have corn on top of corn with a side of corn. ::sigh:: Then across my blog reader came this post from The Nourishing Gourmet! I got excited about trying these right away. Not only is there no corn or artificial anything, I like using honey instead of refined sugar when I can. I had never made marshmallows before, but I decided to dive right in!

First I assembled my cast of characters:

And of course, I gather my helpers, too!

Then we put the gelatin in water to soften.

Then we put the honey, water, and salt in a pan to start to boil it together.

It takes a while to get up to 240 degrees, but me and my helpers kept a close eye on it knowing it would have to come off right at 240 on the dot.

After it gets to 240, start the mixer on the gelatin and slowly drizzle the hot liquid into the gelatin until it is incorporated.

Then turn the mixer up to high.

After about 10 minutes, it looks like marshmallow fluff! I'm wondering if at this point it could be used for a fudge recipe that calls for a jar of marshmallow fluff...

Pour it into a greased pan lined with greased wax paper, then let it sit for 3 -18 hours. It took all night for mine to get firm enough to slice.

Of course, you have to let the littlest helper lick the beater!

I cannot wait to try these in all kinds of things!

Cousins!!

2011-08-24T04:59:00.000-04:00

Last week we had the privelege of having my sister-in-law, Stephanie, and my niece and nephew, Elise and Ian, here for the day! We don't get to see them as often as I'd like to, and we didn't get to spend much time with them this summer, so we were extra happy to spend the day with them. They had a lot of fun playing Wii and Apples to Apples. I sure wish they lived next door instead of 4 hours away!

Andrew hasn't figured out how to do silly pictures yet!

Mini Post Monday

2011-08-22T09:12:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Mini Post Monday, "First Day of School" Edition!! I *LOVE* the first day of school! And yes, I know I am a geek. I've come to terms with that a long time ago! And this year I have been looking forward to it in a way I haven't in previous years since my children are old enough to really, truly get on each other's nerves! Summer's lack of structure really needed to end...

Aaron, ready to go!

Is it possible that Aaron starts the 3rd grade this year? I had my very first crush on a boy in the third grade. I sat next to him at our "table" made from four desks pushed together, and thought he was so cute. Boy am I thankful there are no little girls in Aaron's "class" at school for him to crush on...I am *so* not ready to deal with that!

Ethan, excited about 1st grade!

Ethan has joined the ranks of "real" school in 1st grade this year. He continues to amaze me with his zeal for life and love of learning. I cannot wait to see what he does this year!

Does this look like a future 3rd grader to you? Where did the time go?

Close brothers from the very beginning. How much joy it brings me that they can continue to develop their bond every single day doing school together at home! We are so very blessed.

I am wondering how Andrew will do this year with school. Last year he was really in the way, wanting to be involved with what we were doing and sit in my lap the whole day or look at our school books without us. I am hoping that the maturity he has gained since the end of last year will allow him to play independently at least a little bit during our school day.

I know it must be very hard to picture him causing any kind of trouble during the day...

I am going to attempt to be a bit more scheduled with my days this year. I started on this path last year, but Andrew made it hard to stick to it much. However, with more detailed subjects to teach, I think it will be important if we want to actually get everything done.

A first day of school family tradition.

The boys made it through one more allergy treatment last week. After this, they still have a treatment in early November, but after that one, they get to wait until March! Woo-Hoo! I cannot wait until we are down to only 2 treatments a year!
I have been thinking about traditions, and realizing that we don't have very many fall traditions prior to Thanksgiving. What are some of your family's fall traditions?

Chuckle

2011-08-20T05:34:00.001-04:00

I stole this from someone's Facebook status, because it made me laugh and we can all use a good laugh now and then, right?

The economy is so bad that I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail. CEO's are now playing miniature golf. Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen. Angelina Jolie adopted a child from America. Motel Six won't leave the light on anymore. A picture is now only worth 200 words. They renamed Wall Street " Wal-Mart Street". Finally, I called the Suicide Hotline and I got a call center in Pakistan and when I told them I was suicidal, they got all excited, and asked if I could drive a truck.

Tee-Hee-Hee!

Patient

2011-08-19T03:34:00.001-04:00

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." Ephesians 4:2 NIV

Gee, that's not a tall order or anything! When I think about how I react toward and how I treat my family, one thought that comes up often is how I am not very patient. I have to wonder, can I be truly loving toward my family without being patient? Unfortunately for me, I'm pretty sure the answer is, "No."

In their book The Love Dare, Stephen and Alex Kendrick propose that love is built on two pillars: patience and kindness. It is not their original idea - we are all familiar with the verse beginning, "Love is patient, love is kind." But knowing something and applying it to everyday life are two very different things. This has made me think about how to show more patience with my family. How would that look? How would I have to change? Again, the Kendrick's have much to say that resonates with me.

First, being patient means staying positive in a negative situation. Negative situations are part of life! Any time more than one person lives in a house, spending time together every day, negative situations abound! How will I react? Earlier today, Andrew was being his normal, very talkative self. I was trying to read something very important (Well, Facebook can be important, right?) and he just kept saying the same thing over and over and over to me. This isn't something that has to be a negative situation, but I quickly turned it into one with my lack of patience. I became frustrated that he was interrupting me and annoyed at his repetition. My lack of patience made it impossible for my son to see my love for him in that moment. This is also an important thing for me to remember right now while Jerry and my older boys are going through an allergy treatment. No one would dare argue about whether that is a negative situation! Probably because so much prayer has gone into these three-day treatment periods over the last two years, I am able to be very patient with the negative aspects of these treatments. When my children whine, vomit, and refuse to eat, I am saddened and I do get frustrated because I want them to do what they should to not suffer, but I also am patient knowing that it will end in a few days. That patience allows me to have an internal calm regardless of what is happening around me. Without it, I would have a hard time showing my family love in the way they need it on these days.

Second, patience makes us wise. If I am not quick to rush to judgment, but allow myself to truly listen to the one I love in a difficult conversation or situation, I am able to respond in love. Proverbs had much to say about this, such as, "He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who is quick-tempered exalts folly." The Kendrick's put it well, "Patience is where love meets wisdom."

Finally, patience gives our loved ones permission to be human. Everyone makes mistakes, falls short, and fails at times. I don't have to look very far to find numerous examples of this human nature - I can just look in the mirror! When I am consistently patient, my family knows they doesn't have to be afraid to make these inevitable human errors in front of me. They can be confident of my love!

Patience doesn't come naturally to me, but it is a quality worth striving for. This is something in which the Lord has been dealing with me. What has he been showing you lately?

It's Kind Of Like That

2011-08-17T05:26:00.000-04:00

Ever have one of those days that despite everything you do, you just cannot stay awake? I was tickled to find Aaron in our school room one afternoon, sound asleep! He had been to day camp that day and the poor kid was just plumb tuckered out!

It's okay, Aaron. I totally understand! ::yawn::

Mini Post Monday

2011-08-15T09:37:00.000-04:00

About a month ago, we celebrated 14 years of marriage! My parents kept the boys overnight and gave us a night at the Westin Hotel at the Galleria in Dallas! We had Mi Cocina for dinner, walked the mall, had Haagen Daz for dessert, and actaully had a quiet evening together for a change! Wonderful! For my anniversary, Jerry got me a new camera. I cannot tell you how excited I am about it, although I still haven't learned how to use all of its features. The pictures in this post are a few we took while trying to figure out the new camera.

Just goofing off with the new camera...this is Drew on our way to a July 4th cookout.

I cannot tell you how excited I am for school to be starting next week. I am soooo tired of hearing the kids bicker and get on each other's nerves! I am also tired of hearing the words, "I'm bored." At least with tons of school work to do, they won't have a valid reason to say they're bored. Not that they won't still try it...
The Jr. High Grammar class I was so excited about teaching at our local homeschool co-op didn't make. I was so disappointed I had a hard time gathering my things and getting out of there without crying in front of everyone. But I know that there were many people praying that just the right students would sign up, so the fact that I didn't get enough to keep the class tells me God has something else for me to be doing instead. I'm choosing to trust that his plan is better than mine, because, you know, it is.

One of the sillier features of the new camera - templates to put the pictures in - right on the camera screen! Crazy.

I am working through a Kay Arthur Bible study right now called, Lord, I Want to Know You. It is a study on the names of God, and it has been amazing!! I am so thankful that I had already done the lesson on El Elyon before the co-op registration. It is so amazing to me to try to understand fully what it means that God is Most High, fully in control of everything that happens. I am not sure my human brain can fully comprehend it all, but to know that even when Satan attacks, he has to ask God's permission first - well that's comforting to me! That means that God has a purpose and plan to use each of those hard times for my betterment. His plan will happen no matter what because he is sovereign over heaven and earth, angels and demons, the good and the bad. Wow.

Jerry took this one...I know it is a horrible picture as far as pictures go, but the effect of having the outside blurry and the focus only on Aaron's head is cool. I'm sure there's a technical name for this effect...

It's amazing just how cool 86 degrees feels after 40 days in a row of temperatures over 100 degrees. Saturday we actually had rain (!!!) and the temperature stayed so low - sitting in the house under the ceiling fan actually felt cold that day!

This picture doesn't show any special camera feature, but I love seeing Andrew really able to join in with what his brothers are doing now. And I love that his brothers humor him and let him join the fun!

Jerry and the boys have another allergy treatment this week. We all hate these treatments so much, but also cannot deny that they have made a world of difference for our overall health. With a treatment on Thursday, we are on much stricter eating now through September 9. It's no fun, but we also thought it was important to get another treatment in before the fall baseball season gets in full swing so that the kids aren't suffering after each practice and game. The summer clinics they did, although fun and very educational for them, were horrible for their allergies. With no rain, the dust has been unbearable. Mix that with the tree pollen and the ragweed, and they coughed and sniffed after each night at the ballpark. Actually, all of us except for Andrew did! Remind me on Friday when both my older boys are throwing up and miserable that it is worth it, okay?

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

2011-08-13T09:04:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite foods *in the world* is a big loaded baked potato! Mmmmm, I am drooling a little bit just thinking about it. My family has trouble making a meal out of a loaded baked potato, so I get around that by making this soup that I posted a while ago on Mothers of Invention - also super yummy! Now, I found another loaded baked potato recipe that has another great benefit - it can be made ahead of time and reheated, or even frozen. I enjoyed this dish just as much defrosted and reheated after a month in the freezer as I did the first time I made it, which is good, because the recipe makes A. LOT.

Doesn't that look amazing? I will warn you - I do not do low fat anything, and this recipe proves that quite well. You could probably substitute low fat varieties of these ingredients and lighten this recipe up if you desired, but I cannot say if it would change the final product!

To see the original recipe from Taste of Home, click here. The nutrition information is also listed at the bottom, but I might recommend ignoring that part... :)

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
3 lbs. potatoes (about 9 sm - med), peeled and cubed

1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup butter, cubed

1/4 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. pepper

6 bacon strips, chopped

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

3 green onions, chopped

Boil potatoes until they are tender, then drain and mash them with cream cheese, sour cream and butter. Add milk and seasonings.

Cook bacon (my favorite method is in the oven) and once it is cooled, chop the bacon into small pieces.

Transfer potato mixture to a 13X9 inch baking dish and sprinkle with cheese, onions, and bacon. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use, or bake imediately. If you have refrigerated this, you'll want to remove it from the fridge 30 minutes before baking to allow it to come to room temperature.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 fro 40-50 minutes, or until heated through.

Johanna's Final Curriculum Choices

2011-08-12T05:54:00.001-04:00

I cannot believe that school will be starting in just over a week! I am ready, but my children would rather continue their days of lazy play...I guess that is to be expected! I already posted a lot about what I planned to do this year, but I finally got everything mapped out for the year, so I thought I'd share my finished plan!

We did decide to join a local Home School Co-Op. I am signing my boys up for art and PE together, then Ethan will take a Music Makers class while Aaron takes chess. These classes meet just once a week for 30 weeks.
I purchased Sonlight's Core B+C which covers Bible, World History, Read-Aloud books that correspond with the history, and I purchased the Grade 4-5 readers for Aaron. I am using the Grade 2 readers I already had for Ethan this year, also Sonlight.
In addition to the Bible readings that are included in the instructor's guide with the Sonlight package (I did not purchase the full Bible curriculum), I got some Rod & Staff books to supplement the Bible lessons.
For Language Arts, I bought the Rod & Staff Grade 3 English for Aaron and the Grade 1 for Ethan. I also am continuing them in A Reason for Handwriting and adding Spelling Power by Curriculum Associates and Writing Strands 3 for Aaron.
For Science we went with Apologia Anatomy and Physiology, and I am very excited about this program!
For math, I am using Right Start Math level C with Ethan (but Aaron will listen in for review), and moving Aaron to Abeka's Grade 3 Math for a year to help build Aaron's math confidence and let him review the same concepts he did in level C last year but with a book that still says "Grade 3" on it!
For electives, we are going to be doing some cooking projects together, studying some composers, and hopefully doing some piano lessons.

Whew! I'm tired just looking at it, but I'm excited about all of my choices none the less!

I decided to include a picture of Ethan with some of his Lego creations so that this isn't an "all words" post!

Frozen Banana Treats

2011-08-10T05:25:00.001-04:00

Over the last year I got in a kitchen funk. The two years of figuring out how to cook for my food allergic family took its toll on my creativity and I started to detest menu planning and recipe searches, something I used to *love* to do. I also got in horrible habits once we started to be able to add back some of our allergens and we haven't been eating well. I finally got fed up with feeding my family too many allergens (and reaping the consequences), eating the same food all the time, and not having options for my kids when they asked for a snack. Also, Andrew has started to show some signs of food allergies (boo!!) and that was the final straw that caused me to become fed up with my lack of planning and creativity!

Enter Frozen Banana Treats - a great snack or dessert during these hot summer days! Here's what I used to make these tasty bites:

2 bananas
1/4 c. chocolate chips
2 squares unsweetened bakers chocolate
1/2 c. almond butter
2 TB coconut oil
unsweetened shredded coconut

You could easily alter these ingredients to suit your needs, using peanut butter, all chocolate chips and no squares or oil - it is very forgiving! I altered my ingredients from the original recipe, which I found on this blog The Spunky Coconut, by the way! It isn't one of her recipes, but it was in a link up there, and I cannot remember which blog it was originally from...

Anyway, melt all the ingredients together except for the shredded coconut, until it is just smooth, then allow it to cool.

While this mixture is getting cool enough to touch, slice the bananas into bite size pieces.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Dip each banana piece into the chocolate and set it on the baking sheet. Once all the pieces are dipped, use remaining chocolate mixture to spoon over the top of each piece to make a thicker coating. If desired, sprinkle coconut shreds on top. Put the entire pan in the freezer for an hour or so until they are solid, then transfer to an airtight container.

These were a hit with my family! Next time I make them, I will leave out the chocolate chips (allergens) and use all baking chocolate sweetened with honey or coconut sugar. With that change these will be quite healthy, and tasty to boot!

A New School Room

2011-08-08T10:24:00.000-04:00

When we first bought the house we live in, we weren't planning on home schooling our children yet. That was almost 7 years ago! This house had a formal dining room in the very front of the house that we decided to turn into a playroom. At that time, we only had Aaron, and Ethan was 3 months from being born. The playroom was a favorite hangout spot until 4 years ago. At that time, we put Aaron and Ethan in a room together and most of their favorite toys went in their room. The playroom still got plenty of action because we were LifeGroup leaders at our church and when the LifeGroup came over, the kids in the group went like magnets to that room! When Andrew was born, I found that we didn't hang out and play in the playroom with him like I had with the older two because I was doing school instead and Andrew had to be where we were or in the playroom by himself - which he didn't like! A little over a year ago, we stopped being LifeGroup leaders and the playroom stopped being used. It became the catch-all room instead, which for a room at the very front of the house is a very bad thing!

Anyway, we decided to turn the playroom into a school room, and it was a great decision! We got rid of a lot of our toys that weren't getting played with, moved the ones Andrew liked into his new big boy room, and left a few in there for Drew to play with while we did school. We moved the giant bookshelf with all of our curriculum out of a hallway it had been in to the new room, along with a recliner that had been shoved in my office (and not used), and a table that had been my cutting table in my office and before that our kitchen table. The result is a great school room! We can now all be working at the table, or one can work at the table while the other reads in the chair, all while Drew plays with his toys in one corner!

The view from just inside the front door of the house. Actually a respectable room now!

The work table. When I want to cut out a sewing project, which isn't very often these days, I'll have to do it in here - hence the large cutting mat between the table and the wall!

The reading nook, which is where I'll spend my days reading the boys' read-aloud books to them! It has also become a favorite place for Jerry to sit and decompress. Wow! We actually made this a functional room! :)

I love my sign over the white board! I still haven't been able to collect on this, but I am holding out hope that it is my get rich quick plan...

The curtains I bought for this room weren't long enough, and didn't come in a longer size. But I got creative and altered them!

Doesn't that look like they were meant to be this way? And yes, I did do the cutting and pinning right here on the table! This is also Drew's toy corner.

Overall, I am so happy with the way this room has turned out! I am hoping that it also helps keep the school clutter out of the other rooms in the house! Maybe we can actually relax in our living room now! Is that too optimistic?

My Master Curriculum Plan

2011-07-06T06:23:00.002-04:00

I thought I’d share a bit about what I’m doing for school this year. I’m entering new territory, since Ella is going into 5^th grade. She is leaving the grammar stage and entering the logic stage. Everything is more involved. Although I hope that when we actually start school (on July 18^th) Ella will be a more independent learner and also help to teach her younger sisters what she knows, planning for her school has been more involved than any planning I’ve had to do for school so far. My reliable source of grammar at Peace Hill Press is exhausted. The 5^th grade grammar curriculum Mrs. Bauer is writing is not due out until January. I’ve had to include logic for her this year and I’m serious about getting serious about Latin. I’m getting nervous about letting her miss out on some crucial learning time because I’m so distracted with the little ones and pregnancy. This year I have three in “real” school (1^st, 3^rd, 5^th grades) and one in pre-k. Lily is an eager scholar; we will try to start her formally reading. So anyway, here’s the low-down.

I've had to get uber organized: red for Ella, pink for Rachel, blue for Sarah, yellow for all the kids

Here are their personal school shelves. The top-most one in the picture contains books everyone uses: dictionaries, Latin, etc. The shelves under are Ella, Sarah, Rachel and Lily. The shelves contain everything they need to do school during the day. As far as I know, anyone could come in off the street and conduct school with the kids, that's how clearly everything is labeled and planned.

History – We will continue working with The Story of theWorld series of four books. This year Sarah is in book 3 and Ella and Rachel are in book 1. I plan to have Ella read the chapter to Rachel and help her to answer questions about the chapter and summarize it. From there Rachel will color a picture, or do a project. Ella will research other topics pertaining to that particular chapter, write a short paper about her topic and then take a quiz on the chapter. Hopefully, while all this is going on I can do history with Sarah. I will have her read the chapter; she’ll write answers to questions, make a summary and copy some sentences into a copy book.

These are the history and geography shelves. Any book I think we could use for further reading/research in history is here including children's books from Japan, Korea, India, Africa, etc.

Grammar – Rachel will be doing part 1 of First LanguageLessons (which I love), Sarah will be doing part 3 of First Language Lessons and Ella will be doing Rod & Staff’s 5^th grade grammar. I have also included some supplemental worksheets for Ella and Sarah that I had inherited from an aunt that homeschooled a bit and from my mom. Ella will also be doing lessons on diagramming sentences with The First Whole Book of Diagrams, which I could read for fun. What a cool book!!

Science – This year I am on my own with science. My mom had to get a job (poor Mom) and in order to get me to own teaching science I’ve decided to make my own lesson plans. I’m going to stick with biology. We’re going to spend 10 weeks on the human body and then 26 weeks on cells, classification, ecology, birds, insects, reptiles, etc. I have purchased at least half a dozen books to help me with this. Some of them are The Usborne ScienceEncyclopedia, Creepy Crawlies and the Scientific Method, How Nature Works, How the Body Works, Biology for Every Kid, Slime, Molds and Fungi. I am going to use Christian Kids Explore Biology, How Nature Works and How the Body Works as my main books for teaching lessons and go from there.

This is the science shelf of books I plan to reference this year. A few books are not on it here because I'm using them to write lesson plans. As you can see in the picture below, my mom has blessed us with a gold mine of science books and reference material and experiments. Everything you see in the picture is science related.

Logic – Ella will be doing lessons from Red Herrings andMind Benders books A3 and A4.

Latin – We are going to start over from scratch with Prima Latina, which I had tried to do with Ella when she was in 3^rd grade. I plan to include all three kids with the Latin lessons, but not pushing Rachel too hard.

Art & music – I am going to break up art and music up into two semesters. In the fall we are going to look at music. UnderstandingMusic and The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra are the two main books I am referencing for these lessons. I also have a coloring book of classical composers that I am going to copy for them to color and put in their notebook. For art in the spring, I plan to use Drawing with Children which is an actual how-to book on drawing. For a study of artists and art styles I am going to use The Children’s Book of Art, which is an Usborne Internet-linked book. My biggest beef with this book is that for the classical artists they used the Sistine Chapel’s creation depiction and The Birth of Venus. Both of those pieces of art, while intricate and nice, have naked people in them and I have decided to omit those and replace them with a discussion of other pieces of fine renaissance art. There are plenty of works that don’t include penises and breasts. I’ll try to not get on my soapbox, but it’s really hard. I’ve had to erase many times. No soap box. No soap box.

The art shelf. You can see the Drawing with Children book there and the two music books are just to the left of it.

Writing – For writing, we are taking Granny’s suggestion of Classical Writing. I’m not sure how prepared Ella is for writing, so I’m going to do Ella and Sarah together on Aesop, book A. If Ella thinks it’s too easy, then I’ll move on to book B for her. If that’s too easy then I’ll move her on to Homer, book A. I’m nervous about how time intensive this will be, but I really want to give the girls a good foundation in writing, something I was sorely lacking in my own education, and I think Classical Writing is the just the thing.

Geography – We all really enjoyed Galloping the Globe and if time permits, we’ll continue with that. We managed to complete Asia and some of Europe last year so we’ll just pick up where we left off.

Handwriting – I have decided to let Ella off the hook for a formal handwriting program this year and get her typing. She has spent the last two years learning cursive, but I think it’s time for her to get with the times and start typing. There are a couple of online typing tutorials I plan to try out before I commit to purchasing lessons. Or maybe I will conjure up my own lessons from 9^th grade and make my own lessons. Sarah, Rachel and Lily will all be doing the Handwriting without Tears books. Sarah’s is cursive, which she taught herself last year because she liked it so much.

Spelling – Ella, Sarah and Rachel will all be doing Spelling Workout F, C and A, respectively. I think this series of books is really cool!

My school room is messed up as you can see, but I have a plan in place for cleaning it the weekend before we start school and hopefully we can keep it that way.

I hope this helps someone in some way. If you'd like to see how I made lesson plans for anything above, just email me and I'll send you a copy of my plans.

A Lazy Meme...Just For You Johanna

2011-07-05T10:08:00.004-04:00

Why don't I blog anymore? Because it takes way too long to do it. This post has taken me an hour to do. With interruptions and my own commentary and meticulous checking and re-checking. The sad part is, I'm sure there are still mistakes in there that I didn't catch.

(Because blog posts are boring without pictures, here is a picture of Isaac and the dog, Ready)

1. Started your own blog (which I dutifully ignore as much as I can)

2. Slept under the stars (love camping!!!)

3. Played in a band (played the clarinet, I wasn’t very good)

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower (just recently we took the girls out to the middle of nowhere to watch one)

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland/world

8. Climbed a mountain (in Colorado, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Ecuador and in South Korea)

9. Held a praying mantis (they totally freak me out now!)

10. Sang a solo (that was quite unfortunate; I hope no one was traumatized, but I’m sure they were)

11. Bungee jumped (you must be insane to do this)

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (quilting)

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (If I never go to New York, it will be too soon)

18. Grown your own vegetables (it’s always a fluke though. Although, my onions seem to be doing well)

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train (that would be so fun!!)

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked (who wants to be kidnapped and killed by some freak on the highway???)

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (I’m a good girl.)

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb (I think during the Nativity we used to do at the Mission)

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon (I would die)

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33 Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (would like to. Mostly France and Germany, although I’m not sure where in Germany my Grandpa hails from. My grandma is from Bordeaux.)

35. Seen an Amish community (In Pennsylvania. Lovely!)

36. Taught yourself a new language (Latin! Not that I’m even remotely fluent or anything like that.)

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing (it was in a climbing gym, I’ve been bouldering outside. That’s fun)

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David (in pictures…they didn’t specify where)

41 Sung karaoke (you don’t want to hear me sing)

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt (I’ve watched it live online, does that count?)

43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45 Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance (once from the pool where my head was bleeding profusely and once for the “Crazy Eye Incident”)

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater (we recently took the kids to see Kung Fu Panda 2 at the drive-in. Good times!)

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business (disaster!)

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60 Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (Joanna and the horrible, terrible, no-good, very bad Girl-Scout-cookie-selling experience)

62. Gone whale watching

63. Gotten flowers for no reason

64 Donated blood, platelets, or plasma (I’ve never weighed enough to do this, or if I have, I’ve been pregnant)

65. Gone sky diving (not worth the remote chance the kids would be left mother-less)

66 Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (but dearly want to)

67 Bounced a check (I should never be put in charge of the finances)

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt (it is so much fun! Can’t wait until I can do it more often)

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades (You’d think I would, since I live in Florida)

75. Been fired from a job (But I’ve left a note “I quit” and walked out the door while the owners fist-fought in their office)

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London (I WANNA GO!!)

77. Broken a bone (I have bones of steel. My jaw was not even broken when a horse kicked me in the face)

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (FUN! But it wasn't exactly speeding fast-like, just going above the speed limit)

79 Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car (the Frogmobile. I miss that car and its 50 miles per gallon)

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper (when I graduated from Basic Training and for some reason the Cedar Hill paper thought it was necessary to tell the entire town that I was doing benevolent things in Ecuador)

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House (only to the outside, though...)

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (I could probably behead a chicken, but I’m not sure I could handle anything else)

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life (performed the Heimlich on my cousin who was choking on a piece of candy.)

90. Sat on a jury (got called up for jury duty in Dallas, only I was stationed in California at the time, so I couldn’t go)

91. Met someone famous (once, the captain of the Dallas Stars pulled up in an expensive car right next to where I was giving samples of Starbucks coffee. I offered him a sample and he sneered at me and went into the Calvin Klein store for a private fitting. Have also met lots of famous Christian music artists, since Dad was the GM of the radio station in Farmington. Nice people)

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one (Grandpa Frederick, and my first baby)

94. Had a baby (six babies, six lovely, noisy babies)

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a lawsuit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee (but I’ve been stung by a wasp, right on my pregnant belly, next to my belly button)

What this says to me is: I have much commentary, and not very much substance. HA!

A Lazy Meme

2011-07-04T12:42:00.003-04:00

I ~~stole~~ got this from Jess at Making Home and it looked like my kind of Meme - easy! Plus I love seeing what life experiences others have had, so feel free to copy and post on your blog! And let me know if you do, okay? All you have to do is boldface the items on the list you have done. Easy-peasy! (Jo - I worked the "easy-peasy" in just for you since I know how much you love that word!)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain (not a full-on mountain, but I've hiked up parts of several)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (I'm working on it...)
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29 Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33 Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41 Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45 Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China (working on this one too! :) )
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60 Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64 Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66 Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67 Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (just a toe...)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79 Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House (only to the outside and visitors center, though...)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Wow! This list almost makes me look accomplished! Ha! :)

Freedom

2011-07-04T00:35:00.002-04:00

is not free.

One of the flags surrounding the Washington Monument.

Arlington National Cemetary - headstones as far as the eye can see, and farther.

I did not realize how many soldiers buried here had family members buried with them. Mostly wives, but a large number of young children, too.

Vietnam War Memorial - the number of names etched in stone is absolutely overwhelming.

A momento left at the base of the monument honoring one of the fallen soldiers.

I am so thankful to all those who put their lives on the line so that I could have the freedoms I enjoy - almost without thought. Your sacrifice does not go unnoticed!

The Big Boy

2011-07-02T12:29:00.000-04:00

I have been gradually getting Andrew ready to move out of the nursery and into a big boy room. He moved into the room that was originally Ethan's nursery and then was my office/catch-all room for the past three years. Once we built a new office on to the back of our house, I started moving everything out of this room so that we could move Drew in. We found furniture for him that was delivered the day before we left on vacation. Yesterday I finally finished moving his toys and clothes out of the nursery and into this room. Although he was excited about his "big boy" room, I could tell the change was also making him a bit nervous. I didn't think he'd want to sleep in his new room because he was clearly a bit uncomfortable with all the change, but after his bath, he told Jerry he wanted to sleep in his new room, so I moved his night light, CD player, and white noise box over (all things necessary for sleeping), and last night, my little boy slept in his big boy room all by himself! ::sniff, sniff:: He did great, too! He cried a bit at first, but after we figured out that he wanted his door closed all the way, he slept all night and even slept in until 8:30 this morning!

From the front door entering the room.

His chest of drawers, bookshelf, and toy space.

The "Big Boy" Bed!

His closet. Aren't all the tiny shoes lined up in a row so cute??

It is so very weird to see the nursery empty, and a bit sad. We haven't had an empty nursery in over eight years. But I am praying that it won't be empty for too long!

The Downside

2011-06-30T10:42:00.000-04:00

Even though our vacation was wonderful in so many different ways, there is a downside to travelling: illness. It seems that after a trip, I have a tendency to get sick. This trip has proven to be no different. A couple days ago, I noticed that my muscles were really sore. I thought it might just be stiffness from airplane travel, or my body protesting having slept in odd beds for over a week. I was hoping it was just my body's way of protesting the two solid days of ironing I did when we got home - but, no. I got a bit nauseated, and my joints started to cry out along with my muscles. Then yesterday it truly hit - a headache that defies words, pain in every muscle, joint, and even bone in my body, and fatigue that knocked me off my feet. Thank goodness my husband knows how to order pizza with the best of them, or my family would not have had any dinner last night!

I think that next time I travel, I will be fanatical about hand washing and applying hand sanitizer. At least I have many great pictures to look at while I lay in my bed and moan, so I can remember that I had a great time before I got home and got sick.

The last day in DC, Drew decided his legs no longer worked and he needed to be carried All. The. Time.

On a double decker narrated tour bus that took us through the city.

Me at the base of the Washington Monument.

My four men at Hershey's Chocolate World, getting a tour.

Andrew, wanting to smile at the camera, but having trouble looking up into the sun!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-29T10:17:00.000-04:00

Mini Post Monday

2011-06-27T09:47:00.000-04:00

Go on and admit it...You figured that after a few posts "back blogging," that I had already given up, didn't you?? Ha! Actually, I just went on vacation. I know lots of bloggers schedule posts to publish while they are gone so there is no interruption to the blog, but quite frankly, I'm just not that organized! I barely got my family packed before we had to leave for the airport, much less wrote blog posts.
I got to go to Washington, DC for the very first time!! I mean, I drove through it at night, on a bus, with my fellow Teen Missions friends on our way from Southern FL to JFK airport, but that doesn't count, okay? It was amazing! Hopefully, I'll post lots of pictures soon.

Me and my boys with statues of the George Washington family at Mt. Vernon.

On the steps of the Jefferson Memorial with the Washington Monument in the background.

Did you know you can listen to audio books on a Kindle? I may be the very last person with a Kindle to discover this! Upon Granny's suggestion, I got A Patriot's History of the United States for free with a trial membership to Audible.com and had it sent wirelessly to my Kindle. I started listening to it last night. It will be good to finally get a proper perspective of US history. I never took a US history class in college, and let's face it - in high school, I was only concerned with finishing, not in actually learning anything!
We got a new computer! I am typing this post on it, actually. It is a desktop, which is going to take some getting used to for me, since I have used a laptop for the past 6 years. But, my old laptop is dying, and it was time for a change. The really cool thing about this new computer is that the keyboard actually has the "L" key! My "L" key fell off my laptop about a year ago and I managed to figure out exactly how to touch the empty space that should have been an "L" key just right to get an "L" to appear, but it is so very nice to just type away without thinking about that.
What are your summer plans? Since I went from school year, to swim lessons every day with preparing for our trip, to travelling, I feel like my summer begins today! I plan to go through ever square inch of my house this summer and purge, purge, purge as well as clean everything! I think every homeschooling mom can understand how things get put off in the cleaning and organizing area of life when school has to get done first.
I'm sure I'll think of 17 other things to add as soon as I publish this, but those will just have to wait for another day! Have a great week!

Play Ball!

2011-06-09T05:54:00.001-04:00

We love baseball at this house! All of the kids took in their first major league game as infants, we watch baseball on TV, and last year the boys started playing ball as well. They were both in T-ball last year, but this year, Aaron moved up to coach-pitch. Both boys look forward to practice and games and just love being on their teams. Aaron was on the same team this year as last year - most of the kids wanted to stay together.

At bat for the first time with no Tee!

Ethan was on a new team this year because his team from last year didn't have interest in staying together and the coach didn't return. I'm guessing he'll be on yet another team next year...

Waiting for his turn at bat.

Knock it out of the park, Ethan!

2011-06-08T03:45:00.001-04:00

An amazing thing happened the other day. Some kind of a time warp opened up and Abraham Lincoln came right into our kitchen! He is shorter than I thought based on the things I had read and he has a real baby face. The funniest thing about talking to him was that he doesn't have a good memory AT. ALL. I mean, he didn't remember anything about the Civil War, or about being shot in the theater. Although he told me he was Abraham Lincoln, I had to wonder if he was puling my leg when he couldn't answer any question I gave him. Either way, he sure is cute, isn't he?

A Year In Review - Work Edition

2011-06-07T04:17:00.001-04:00

One year ago today, I started with Premier Designs Jewelry, having my first show - my training show. It has been a wild ride of a year, and I have learned A LOT. There have been times I have had to humble mysef and admit mistakes, and there have been wonderful highs when I felt 100% on top of my game! I started with this business in order to have something fun to do - something that got me out of the house, doing my own thing, and gave me a way to minister to other women. It has been all of that, and more. I knew I loved jewelry, but over the past year I have actually learned about fashion. I knew I loved ministering to women, but over the past year I have learned that you don't need a church program to minister - I have been able to get to know and minister to women through the various aspects of putting together a home show for the hostesses and their friends. I have been reminded that my tendency to procrastinate is what kills me so much of the time, and I wish I could say I have conquered that, but I haven't. More than anything, the highlight of the year has been the home shows! I love, love, LOVE the home shows. I enjoy showing the women new ideas in fashion, getting to know the guests - giving them tips and advice, and the best part, watching women try something they never thought they could pull off and finding out they love it! I still have a lot to learn, and I have many ways to continue to improve, but I am so thankful for this job and how much it has added to my life.

2011-06-06T05:42:00.000-04:00

I am not always very good at doing hands on projects for science with my kids. We do a lot of science "book learning," but that hands-on stuff is just so messy and time consuming. Oh, and you have to plan ahead to have all the materials on hand. BUT...I did actually do a volcano building project with the kids this year! They happened to have one of their best buddies over that day (also homeschooled...and also here as I type this post... :) - We love Nate!), so it was even more fun for them.

Mixing the salt dough and deciding where to put the plastic bottle volcano core.

Packing dough around the bottle.

Great buddies!

The lava kinda oozed pink out of the volcano, rather than blew out all red and destructive. Oh, well. Notice all the "burned out trees" on the volcano! Can you tell we visited Mt. St. Helen's last summer? :)

Whether the volcano fizzled or blew its top, this project was a success!

A Budding Artist

2011-06-05T05:38:00.002-04:00

Andrew loves to color, paint, and draw. Here he is painting a masterpiece:

I think I won't post the pictures I have of him making masterpieces on the tile, the walls, our school books, and the bathtub.

Yeah, Andrew...it's a good think you're so stinkin' cute!

The Big 0-6

2011-06-04T05:24:00.002-04:00

Ethan made it so easy on me - he just wanted a rectangle cake with green icing. Look at him eye that candle! He is so excited to be 6 years old!

Make a wish!!

Pile of presents...

Surrounded by the things he chose at Wal-Mart with his birthday money from Grandma & Grandpa Thatcher.

Before...Kind of...

2011-06-03T05:04:00.001-04:00

I forgot to take a true before shot of our back patio, but you can see some of it behind the wrestling football players here:

And this is the first part of "during":

Boys Will Be Boys...

2011-06-02T05:00:00.001-04:00

It's moments like these that make me extra proud to be a mom to three boys...

2011-06-01T16:42:00.000-04:00

Me & my super handsome guys on Mother's Day!

After quite a long bloggy break, I must admit that I miss blogging. Not because I am such an excellent blogger and have so much wisdom to share, but I miss having documented the mundane, day-to-day stuff that is my life. I like flipping through blogs that are more like an account of what's happening in a life plus pictures than any other kind of blog. I like flipping through mine to remember the fun things I've done with my chidren, husband, and friends! I do think the break I took was necessary because there was just too much going on to take time for blogging, but now that we are done with school for the summer, I think I'll go back and fill in the gaps and add things as they are happening! I am not sure I am going to be able to reconstruct the books I've read, though...there must be about 20 I've read without updating the side blog, so that might be a hopeless cause!

So, even if my Aunt Robin is the only reader I have left, let the blogging begin!

Planning 2011-2012 Already??

2011-03-05T10:38:00.000-05:00

Am I the only homeschooling mom who is *always* planning for next year? This time of year I seem to get the itch to start planning next year. Some things I'm thinking about:

We have really enjoyed doing Galloping the Globe this year! My kids have learned so much, which I have to say I wasn't expecting from an "overview" type curriculum! It is very rewarding to hear the kids telling their dad about various things we've learned in school.
As much as I've enjoyed this year's lessons, I am really looking forward to doing a full Sonlight core next year. We are going to do a World History Overview next year. The reason we did Galloping the Globe this year was to give Ethan a year to get ready to do a full core with Aaron, and he is ready! It will be very nice to finally have them combined in so many subjects. My plan right now is that they will be combined for history, read alouds, Bible, science, math, and electives.
Yes, we will be combining our 1st and 3rd grader for math! Aaron is right on target with math, but Ethan has the most amazing mathematical brain I've ever seen. It has been a challenge this year to give him math that challenges him while giving his motor skills and writing a chance to catch up with him. I am so thankful that Joanna introduced me to RightStart Math. It is perfect for our family! We will be doing Level D next year. This will require that we continue with Level C with Ethan throughout the summer, but he likes math so much, he doesn't mind; and it is worth it for me to have them doing the same math next year. Math is SO time consuming, and it is one of my least favorite subjects to teach. It will be nice to only have to teach it once a day...at least until Drew starts school!
I am pretty sure I am going to join a co-op next year. I have put it off so far because I didn't feel like my kids needed it, and I didn't want somewhere we *had* to be each week. However, I have found that I have two subjects I HATE to teach: art and science. I am fine with book science, but the hands on experiment things that kids love? I cannot stand making the mess and all the time it takes to be prepared. I think it might be worth it to me to use a co-op setting to teach these two subjects.
Reading continues to be my challenge with Aaron. The reader's that come with the core we are doing include 6 (out of 22) books that Aaron already read this year. My fear is that he will be bored with the readers because they won't be much of a challenge. I guess I will have to keep on top of what he gets from the library!
I need some good ideas for music. You would think that as a former piano teacher I would have that covered, but we really don't do much with it.

So what are you thinking about for your next school year?

Zoo Day

2011-03-04T04:38:00.000-05:00

Due to how sick I've been this school year, we haven't done as many fun activities as I like to do with our school days. Fortunately, the surgery I had in January has helped me regain my health and slowly but surely, I am getting stronger and stronger each day. So when we recently had a beautiful day, we took advantage of it and went to the zoo! The most exciting part of it for me was that I wore the kids out before I wore myself out! Woo-Hoo!

These birds are new to our zoo. They were so fun to watch, but would not cooperate for the camera to get a good picture!

No matter how many times we go to the zoo, the boys both have to get a map and follow along on their maps each place we go. Too cute!

The birds weren't the only creatures not cooperating with the camera...

Can we do *anything* without involving sports?? Here the boys sit on a statue of a horned frog making the TCU "Go Horned Frog" sign!

How cool is it to see an albino alligator?

Thinking A Lot About

2011-03-02T20:19:00.000-05:00

The Fruit of the Spirit

Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self-control

Praying that God will patiently instill these in me.

Miniature Golf

2011-03-02T04:15:00.001-05:00

Jerry and I have never been big on celebrating Valentine's Day. It seems like nothing more than a Hallmark holiday, thought up for nothing other than selling flowers, greeting cards, and candy. Personally, I'd rather get flowers three or four times throughout the year, when they were really bought from the heart, than once on Valentine's day because "it is the right thing to do" - for the same price, too! I mean, we should show each other love all year long, not just on one day. So we really don't do much on February 14, but our children get so excited about it and want to do something special. For them, we planned a fun family night out. Jerry came home from work a bit early and we headed out to play some miniature golf and then went to Taco Bell for dinner. Not the typical Valentine's Day celebration, but for us it was perfect!

Aaron lines up his first putt, only to realize he really needs a shorter putter!

Ethan has a bit more casual stance when playing miniature golf!

Andrew was the shock of the evening! Not only did he *love* playing, he was incredibly determined! We didn't know just how persistant he was before this night. He WOULD NOT quit trying until he got his ball in the hole. In fact, if he hit the ball too close to the hold the first time, he would pick the ball up and move it farther away from the hole so it wasn't "too easy" a shot!

Isn't he just incredibly cute???

We did have one casualty - Ethan fell, ripped his jean hole so large the jeans are no longer wearable, and skinned his whole knee. Fortunately, the establishment had neosporin and bandaids. Whew! Crisis averted!

Due to Andrew's persistence, we were at the park until after 7:00! At least we got to see a beautiful sunset.

On Humility

2011-03-01T05:33:00.000-05:00

From Beth Moore's Esther study on Esther ch. 6:

"All will fall before God's throne. Blessed is he - and blessed is she - who doesn't have far to go."

I sure hope I never become so much like Haman that even my friends and family realize there is no more hope for me!

"My salvation and my honor depend upon God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge." Ps. 62:7

Frugal!

2011-02-28T14:20:00.000-05:00

Did you see this post on how to get five meals from five chicken breasts?? They aren't skimpy meals or increadibly unhealthy meals, either! Some of the ingredients are not exactly allergy friendly for us, but I am going to try to make substitutions so that I can try this out. I found this post through Money Saving Mom. If you don't already subscribe to this site, you should. I get so many free samples and find great deals all over the place from following this site, and it has really helped me with my grocery budget! Enjoy!

Stupid Cancer

2011-02-27T22:10:00.000-05:00

Have you been touched personally by cancer yet? It seems like I have had more contact with cancer in the past 10 years than I care to. My dad had cancer. My aunt had cancer. Another aunt had cancer. People I knew at church had cancer. People I know in the blogosphere had cancer. It seems to be everywhere! With each person I've known with cancer, the more strongly I grow to hate cancer. I have been fortunate that my family members who have had cancer are all doing well now, and I don't take that lightly.

Earlier this month I learned that a friend of mine from high school found out she has breast cancer. Although we haven't seen each other too often since we graduated, this hits close to home for me because she is only 33 (like me), married with young kids (like me), and has family members who also have had cancer (like me). She has been on my mind almost constantly since I learned of her cancer and tomorrow she is having a bilateral mastectomy to remove all the cancer, and because her type is agressive, all the remaining tissue it could have spread to. I think it is wrong for a young wife and mom to have cancer. It makes me mad to know that there are many young wives and moms dealing with this every day!

But that brings me to the point of this post. A person has a much better chance for recovery if they find their cancer early. Early detection is vital, and in the case of breast cancer - it is easy! We've all been told during our dreaded annual check-up to do breast self exams monthly, but how many of us actually do them? I don't. My friend didn't either, until two months ago. However, she thought that since she had family members with breast cancer, she really couldn't afford to forget to do it each month. The first month, her self exam felt fine. The second month she found her cancer. Who knows how long that cancer would have grown and spread if she hadn't taken the time to make this a priority? I think this is super important, and I would post a good exam right here on the blog, but the pictures are a bit explicit for the young eyes at my house an many of your houses, so I will just post a link: Breast Self Exam. But promise me something, okay? If you are a woman and you are reading this post, click on that link and learn how to do this. Then do it! It could save your life.

Lady in Waiting

2011-02-24T20:54:00.001-05:00

It has taken me a while to get to my next book review, but here it is! Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner is two tales woven together as one. The reader is first introduced to a modern-day Jane - a recent empty-nester and antique shop owner, who is shocked to find that her husband wants a break from their marriage after 22 years together. In the midst of her struggle to work through life's unexpected events, she finds an old ring that immediately intrigues her when she sees that it has a Latin inscription including her name, Jane, on the inside of the band. After several chapters, the reader leaves modern-day Manhattan to travel to 16th century England, and is introduced to a young Jane, who is grieving the death of her benefactor, Queen Dowager Katherine, and struggling to find her new place in a life over which she has little control.

I must admit that I am generally not a fan of novels written in this format. It is frustrating for me to flip back and forth between two stories, never getting quite enough information in one story line before being forced to switch to a new one! At first, this book was frustrating for me in that way as well. It also isn't clear how the two stories parallel until later in the novel, other than the obvious assumption that the ring found by the modern-day Jane once belonged to the 16th century Jane. However, this novel won me over. By the time I cycled back to modern-day Jane, I was interested to see what would happen to her next, but what really held my interest in this story is the historical half of the tale. As a big fan of English history, I enjoyed seeing Meissner's speculations about what Lady Jane Grey's life might have been like. So little is actually written about her, and I personally liked Meissners suppositions! Also, toward the end of the novel I was able to see many parallels between the two lives - an aspect of the story that gave me reason to think.

Overall, I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys historical fiction. The author's imagination clearly shines in the historical sections of the story, even if I was not captivated by the modern sections. For this reason, I give this novel 4 out of 5 stars.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Mini Post Monday

2011-02-14T01:35:00.000-05:00

I think this has been the January/February with the most snow and ice days in the DFW area that I can remember! It has been crazy just how often everything has been shut down for a bit of ice.

Andrew enjoying playing in the snow!

Along the snow day theme - the post office doesn't really have that motto, "Neither rain, nor snow, nor..." We have had almost no mail delivery in the past couple of weeks!

A full 4 inches one of our snow days!

Good news on the allergy front! Jerry and the boys went in for another treatment this last week, and were told that after the 3 week "critical period" is over, they can add in ALL their allergic foods on a rotational basis! Woo-Hoo! That means I get back yeast and tomato!! I have really missed yeast and tomato.

All of my men enjoying some winter fun.

I placed an order with this company, 240 Sweet, recently. I was amazed at the level of customer service I received from them! I messed up my order (completely my fault) and e-mailed to see if they could change it before it shipped. I had a response in less than an hour from them, they fixed the problem, and even went above and beyond what I asked them to do! You don't get service like that very often anymore. If you are looking for a fun treat or an unique gift, check this company out!

A bit of snow and a very big stick. What more does a boy need?

You may not even notice my adoption ticker on the side blog anymore. After something's been up for 2 years, 3 months, and 3 days, it starts to blend in with the background. When we first started this whole process, we were told the timeline was about 28 months from our dossier being accepted in China to travelling to pick up our daughter. We are now just days away from that 28 month point, and it doesn't look like we are any closer to going to China than we thought we were then. This can be discouraging at times, but occasionally some promising news comes out of China, as it did this past week. Please continue to pray for this whole process - and not just for me, but for the thousands of families waiting to receive a referral from China, and the tens of thousands of children in orphanages throughout that country waiting for their forever families. Change doesn't usually happen quickly in this whole process, but I know that God is in control of every step of the process. He alone can cause things to speed up!

Aaron - all bundled up and ready to play, but humoring his mom with a smile!

I am finally getting my energy back after surgery Jan. 4, which was preceeded by about 4 months of being anemic. I can almost feel my red blood count growing each day - and one friend told me I even sound like I have more energy! You never realize how much you appreciate your red blood cells until you are low on them.

When I mentioned being down, my bestest friend had these delivered to me. What an amazing spirit-lifter that was!

Yeah, I know it's February...

2011-02-03T15:34:00.000-05:00

...but I'm posting Christmas pictures anyway! That's just the kind of rebel I am!

This past Christmas was particularly enjoyable for me. I think that was because my older boys are old enough to be truly thoughtful in their gift giving as well as in their wish lists, my younger boy is old enough to understand the gift unwrapping concept and really be joyful about the gift contents, I got my Christmas shopping done very early this year, I wrapped the presents gradually and not all in one night, and I knew we were leaving the next day for my family reunion - I time we all enjoy thoroughly and look forward to in the two years between each one. As I downloaded my pictures from Christmas morning today (yes, just today...) I was sad to discover that many of them are blurry or grainy. One of these days I am going to have to learn to take better pictures.

Here are some of my favorites from this Christmas morning:

I got a kindle from my parents on Christmas Eve, and was very excited to get this cover (with a light!) from Jerry on Christmas morning.

Jerry and his new shop-vac. Andrew spent quite a bit of time in the box this came in...

Ethan got me some new kitchen tongs. As it turns out, he should have gotten them for Andrew! He spent 20 minutes using these tongs to put fake strawberries in a play bowl.

Ethan showing off his favorite present - a real Bible! I am one happy mama that this was his *favorite* present of the morning.

Drew is fascinated with the presents.

But I want to open another one!

I think the older boys were just as excited about Andrew's presents as he was!

After getting an official Texas Rangers World Series T-shirt and jersey, he could not wait to finish opening presents before putting them on.

I guess we are slackers...

2011-02-03T10:41:00.000-05:00

I was looking through the pictures still on my camera yesterday, and noticed I still had some from Christmas morning that I haven't even downloaded yet! Really??? I am officially a slacker. I'd love to get caught up, though. I miss this whole bloggy thing. And I'd love to start off by including an awesome Christmas morning picture here, but, um...they're still on the camera.

Conviction

2011-01-25T10:01:00.000-05:00

When I was reading through one of the lessons in the Beth Moore Esther Bible study this morning, I came across a paragraph that really struck me. You know, one of those times that something hits you between the eyes and sucks the breath right out of you for just a second?
"If we distance ourselves long enough from real needs, we repace them with those that aren't. Pretense becomes the new real and suddenly a delay in the delivery of our new couch becomes a terrible upset. We are wise to force ourselves to keep differentiating between simple inconveniences and authentic tribulations. The more detached and self-absorbed we become, the more we mistake annoyances for agonies."
What do you think of that? Any thoughts?

Slackers

2011-01-24T08:29:00.000-05:00

This blog is officially manned by a couple of blog slackers. To make up for the current slack, I would like to post this picture of Isaac, because he's cute. He's almost got a tooth, he's figuring out how to crawl, he's still waking me several times at night, he's eating one meal of solids a day and he's the happiest, cutest little baby boy EVER. So there.

Book Review: Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski

2011-01-10T12:46:00.002-05:00

Have you ever wondered if you would be the same person, with the same strength of character, if you lived under different circumstances? I certainly have. Mike Yankoski not only wondered, he tested himself by becoming homeless for five months! Would he be able to endure the daily hardships of life on the streets with the integrity and faith he lived his life as an upper-middle class college student?

This book chronicles the daily thoughts and experiences of Mike and his friend as they spent time on the streets in five different US cities. He allows his readers to see what people on the streets go through, think, and feel as he relates to them as I never could - one of them. He details unexpected acts of kindness, along with unspeakable acts of violence, disheartening acts of thoughtlessness, and troubling acts of desperation by people just trying to make it to the next day alive. The frank and genuine writing allows the reader to feel like he is along for this journey, too. The reader will hurt along with the people he reads about, smile with joy when Mike finds half-eaten food for his dinner, and tense up with frustration as one Christian after another treats Mike and the other homeless people he meets as if they don't even exist - or worse, as if they don't even matter.

It would be difficult to read this book and come away unchanged. This is the second book I have read about homelessness, and just as the first one did, this book challenged the way I view the homeless people I encounter. It has given me a greater compassion for them and a greater understanding of their lives. It drives home the point that these are real people, the majority of whom did not necessarily choose to live this way, but are doing the best they can to survive the circumstances they now face. This book has made me want to have a plan in mind for how to help people when I have the opportunity! Thankfully, the book has some ideas, and the publisher, Waterbrook Multnomah, has also made available an action plan for those who are challenged by reading this book. The Action Plan can be found here. You can also read the first chapter of this book online here. I hope you decide to read this book, and allow yourself to be challenged and changed by what you find in the pages! I don't think you will be dissapointed if you do.

*As compensation for providing this review, I received a free copy of this book from Waterbrook Multnomah.

I would love for you to rank my review on the Blogging for Books website! Please take a minute to click over there and give your opinion of my review. Thanks!

Mini Post Monday

2011-01-10T11:01:00.001-05:00

The boys made chocolate and crushed candycane covered marshmallows, which were a big hit!

Andrew - I love how he has finally learned to smile for the camera!

Well, a few Monday's have come and gone without one of these posts, but I do have to say that I have valid reasons for my absence. We left the day after Christmas to go to Colorado for a week. Of course I took my camera, but took absolutely no pictures of our time there... Just picutre a sprawling 4 split-level resort with gorgeous sitting rooms, cozy sleeping rooms, and views from every window; nestled in a wooded, hilly plot of land with a perfect view of Pike's Peak through the trees. Fill that sprawling house with all of my wonderful extended family who are there to visit, play, and pray together for a week. It was lovely beyond words.

Our 2010 Christmas family picture. I wish Andrew wasn't blurry, but overall I really like this shot!

When I returned, I scrambled to get laundry done, Christmas decorations down, and a weeks worth of meals cooked and put up in the freezer because I had major surgery January 4. The days since then have been a blur of drug induced stupor, but I am finally emerging from it, weak but ready to move on with my life.

Aaron asked if he could read a Christmas book to us before we opened gifts.

Do you make New Year's resolutions? I don't, because I am so rebellious, that I will rebel even from my own desires if I set them in writing! However, I have a few things that are very important to me that have been in the forefront of my mind for a while that I want to establish as habits. I want to come up with a consistent time to spend reading my Bible each day. I do okay with reading and doing Bible study when I remember, but often the day gets away from me and it is over before I remember. I want to make the time of day I spend with God consistent so that it won't slip from my mind. I also have been focusing on wasting less time. I get quite easily caught up in time wasters such as mindless games and worthless TV shows. Of course, while recovering from this surgery these have been somewhat useful, but for the most part, these have no real place in my day. It's time to remove much of this from my day!

Ethan with his Ohio State jersey!

Andrew REALLY got into opening presents this year.

Aaron was so excited to get a model airplane, just like he wanted!

Aaron lost another tooth. He is scared to death to have his loose teeth pulled, though! His tooth was so ready to come out that he could push it completely perpendicular to his gums with his tongue, but he would not let me pull it. So I did what any good mom would do - I bribed him! One night we had a Texas sheet cake for dessert, and Aaron asked me if he could have more. I'm not sure why he asked, because my answer is always no to more of dessert! But this time I said, "Sure! If you let me pull your tooth." Bwahahaha, I'm evil! However, even with this incentive, it took him almost an hour to be willing to let me pull it. But when I did, he got seconds on dessert!

My mom and dad came over on Christmas Eve to have our traditional pizza dinner, candlelight church service, and opening of extended family gifts.

Finally, Joanna and I always have at least a few games of Lexulous going on Facebook (this is not one of those time wasting games...) and I had such an awesome, this-will-never-happen-again-as-long-as-I-live plays that I had to take a picture of it with my cell phone!! So pardon the quality of the shot, but take note of the word "detoxify" that was played in the lower right hand corner! Woo-Hoo! That's right - it covers two triple word score squares and the "X" is on a double letter score square to boot! I am not sure I will ever have another 337 point word, but at least now this one is captured in the blogosphere for all time! You know, Joanna is such a good friend that she was happy for me when I played this word. She didn't bemoan her impending horrible loss at all... :)

This is one for the history books...

AB's Ginger Almonds

2011-01-04T19:46:00.000-05:00

You should make these, they're good.

Ginger Almonds

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2009

Ingredients

1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 dried arbol chile, stemmed and broken into small pieces (or 1 teaspoon or less of chili pepper flakes)
1 pound whole natural almonds
1 tablespoon less-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Heat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Combine the ginger and salt in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Heat the olive oil and sesame oil in a 12-inch saute pan over medium-low heat. Add the arbol chile and cook, stirring frequently, until the chile begins to give off an aroma, 30 to 45 seconds. Add the almonds and cook, stirring frequently until lightly toasted, approximately 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and cook until reduced slightly and the pan looks dry, approximately 1 minute. Immediately remove the nuts to the large bowl and toss with the ginger mixture.

Spread the coated nuts into a single layer on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the pan to a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes or until completely cool. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Mini Post Monday

2010-12-20T12:28:00.000-05:00

Quote from Ethan, "What if mommy was pregnant with 35 babies? She'd be as fat as the whole house." Um....yeah. Heaven forbid.
Quote from Aaron, "Know what my three favorite things are? 1. dessert 2. football 3. legos." Yep, Aaron and every other male in the world.

Isn't my Drew-Drew adorable?

Remember when we all went through our "Fly Lady" kick? I got so frustrated with it because it listed all kinds of senseless chores, while leaving necessary ones forgotten. I found another resource that I actually like much, much better! It is called Motivated Moms. This mom has listed out daily chores that are actually useful (and she doesn't have a fixation with her kitchen sink as far as we know)! You don't get 4,682 e-mails from her each day either. You simply buy the style you like for $8 and print out a years worth of chore lists. I love it! I bought the half-page planner with daily Bible readings included for 2011. This way I only print out 28 pages and have an entire year of chore lists at my finger tips! (And no excuse to not know what to be reading in my Bible each day to go through it in a year...) I plan to make a notebook with weekly menu planner pages and shopping lists pages tucked between the weekly chore lists. A one-stop-shop for organization!
I have found a new addiction (as if I needed a new one!) - the game Angry Birds on my phone! Even my boys love playing it.

Be sure to check out my homemade hand cream recipe that I posted on the other blog!

My computer is falling apart. I had to replace the battery because it quit charging. Now my new battery isn't charging either...I told you all how I stepped on the screen and had to replace that. Now my "L" key fell off. Sigh. I guess I do use the computer A LOT so it will have a lot of wear and tear.

Andrew is really into hiding right now! He hides toys in my hair, hides himself under pillows or blankets, or really hides anything! It's so cute because when he says, "Andrew's hiding," it actaully sounds like, "Doo-Doo (for Drew-Drew) hiney!" The other day when I was sweeping the kitchen, I noticed this:

I guess the cars are hiding behind the refrigerator, too!

The Most Comfy PJ's

2010-12-10T09:51:00.000-05:00

I declared today a pj day at my house. The main reason I felt this was necessary is that I found THE MOST COMFORTABLE thing ever in the pj category! I never used to wear pajamas. I used to just wear a t-shirt and some kind of knit shorts or men's lounging pants. But then I found the joy of pajamas and there has been no turning back. Recently, I have felt the need for either a thicker top or some sort of robe/cover-up since I have three boys who aren't getting any younger or less aware! I'm not a huge fan of robes, though. To me, they seem kinda grandma-ish, and they are usually so bulky and hot, or flimsy and worthless. But then I found this beauty: (cue angelic voices singing "Aaahhhh" and bright backlight...)

This, my friends is a knit sweater wrap. It's not a robe with the belt thing, but it is warm and covers the parts that need to be covered without being fussy! And Oh.My.Goodness. It is so comfortable! Of course, a new wrap like this deserves new pajamas to go with it (right??), so I also got some super adorable (and comfortable) grey pj's to match! I cannot find the exact pants I got on the Target website, but they are similar to these ones, only the snowflake design on mine is more intricate and a bit more abstract/decorative (and no cutesy bow...that's not my style).

And I got a grey thermal top to go with it:

I may never get dressed again!

Because I Clearly Don't Read Enough...

2010-12-09T08:07:00.000-05:00

I signed up to do book reviews on my blog with Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group! I am so excited, because they are going to send me free books, I get to choose which free books I want them to send me, then all I have to do is post a review here and on their site after I read the book! I cannot wait to receive my first book. I chose Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski.

I should receive it in 10-14 days, then I can read it and begin my review! Once I review each book, I can request another one. How cool is that? Now I will have to put that legal disclaimer I am seeing all over the web at the end of some of my posts, too, stating that in exchange for a review I received a copy of the book for free and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah... Oh, and at the end of each of my reviews, I'll post a button like this one:

If you guys love me lots and lots, you can click on it to go to my review on the publishers site (it will be the same as the one here, so you won't need to re-read anything) and rank it. If I get good rankings, I get "feel good" status in my head! :) Oh, and the publisher has awards, too.

If you want to review books for WaterBrook Multnomah, too, just click on the icon in the side bar to see if you qualify!

Mini Post Monday

2010-12-06T09:54:00.001-05:00

I cannot believe that there's only 19 days until Christmas. Time flies.

This week, my parents celebrate their birthday. Both born on December 8! How cool is that? I won't tell you how old they are, though...after all, occasionally my mom reads this blog!

Dad, playing a game with Aaron and Jerry.

Mom, helping me with the dishes after our big November birthday celebration!

I restarted the 100 push-up and 200 sit-up programs I tried to start a while back. Um...I'm weak. And sore. Enough said.
Jerry started tiling the shower in our bathroom remodel! It looks amazing. I married an amazing man.

I love the offset design with the glass tiles!

Detail shot.

I've been getting a lot of headaches lately. I woke up with a headache yesterday, and it was all I could do to get up to serve my turn in nursery duty. Needless to say, we came home as soon as our duty was over, and I spent the rest of the day in bed. The headache went away around 9:00 pm, but this morning it is back. ::sigh::
School the next two weeks is all about Christmas! We are making Christmas crafts, reading books about how people celebrate Christmas around the world, and making Christmas treats in the kitchen. Man, I love homeschool!

Ethan has already outgrown all the pants I bought him for this winter. Good thing he has a little brother, because I would hate getting rid of pants that have only been worn a few times. He now weighs 5 pounds more than his big brother, who is almost 2 years older than him. I told the boys that pretty soon Ethan would be passing his clothes down to Aaron...I think Aaron is not liking that idea very much!

Two closer brothers are hard to find. I am truly blessed!

Silly shot. This is actually a lot more normal for our house than the last one...

I'm enjoying the fact that it is soup and stew weather again! I've missed soup. I don't know how people who live in climates that never really get cold ever enjoy soup.
I did the majority of my Christmas shopping online this year, taking advantage of Cyber Monday deals. It is so wonderful to get a package of stuff delivered to my door each day! It is also nice that I don't have to find a time to go out without the boys so I can keep their gifts a secret. Plus, it is driving the boys NUTS to know gifts are in those big brown boxes at the door and then not be able to open them up right away! :) Amazon.com, I think I love you.

I want one of these for Christmas: Eureka Enviro Steam Mop. I think that officially makes me a dorky grown up.

Thursday's Thoughts. AH HA! That's IT!!!

2010-12-02T00:00:00.001-05:00

Let’s see. What can I say that is worth wasting your time over.

We had Thanksgiving at my house last Wednesday evening. I brined (is that a real word?) the turkey, made dressing instead of stuffing, and completed the feast with cranberry jalapeno sauce, pecan pie, cherry pie and lemon meringue pie. Mom made mashed potatoes and Grandma made a pumpkin pie. I know it was a success because I just at some leftovers last night for dinner and the turkey is still juicy. Also, my dad said that is possibly the best Thanksgiving meal he’s ever had. Now that there is quite a compliment.

Thanksgiving dinner...with half of us not there yet.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I am reminded every year about this time how incredibly blessed I am…we are. Our fridge and pantry are brimming with food, we have enough money to pay our mortgage and buy electricity and clothe the kids and still there is some left over to waste frivolously. I am trying to become more frugal and mindful of the gifts that God has given me.

We took a family photo. From top to bottom, left to right that's me, Del, Isaac, Mom, Dad, my mom's dad (Gramps), Anna, my dad's mom (GG), Lily, Rachel, Sarah and Ella.

I’m sewing like a banshee. I am making purses and wallets and shopping bags and balls and crayon rolls and stockings and…am I ever grateful that we’ve taken a break from school for six weeks. During this time of holiday excitement, I am happy to have the freedom to work in the sewing room as I need and not have to worry that I’m getting behind in school.

The state of my sewing room; it must look like a guest room again by Saturday .

This is a picture of the messenger bags I'm making for the girls for Christmas. I'm making one for the neighbor's daughter, too. I made them from men's cargo pants. This particular one is for Sarah, since blue is her favorite color.

I am considering changing my writing curriculum to Classical Writing. Granny has been recommending it for many months and I can see the kids getting really bored with the writing we are doing. I wish there was a way I could try it out on the kids to see how they like it. It seems to combine grammar and writing and includes a lot of creative stuff which the girls really would enjoy. They spend most of their free time reading, playing outside or drawing and this curriculum includes a lot of that…as far as I can tell.

I wish you could see the laughs and smiles and giggles I get from Isaac. Are all boys this sweet-tempered? My mom says my brother was the type of baby to make a mother never want any more kids. I think he had a colic problem. But Isaac, even with a bit of a sour stomach sometimes is the sweetest baby I ever did see. Always happy and never cries without a purpose. What a blessing he is to me after such a hard and miserable pregnancy. He is definitely worth every second of moaning and groaning I did about what a sorry state I was in.

I have a better picture of his sunny disposition but Blogger keeps distorting the picture so I'll have to post it later. Look at his lovely chubby cheeks!!!

Alright, stop distracting me. I have to go sew.

Isn't Lily cute? She's got that mischievous look in her eye.

Mini Post Monday

2010-11-29T10:22:00.000-05:00

One of the things I really like about homeschooling is that I can tailor our curriculum to our needs - even if I need to change courses mid-year. Last year I used Peace Hill Press for our language arts. Although I LOVE their reading curriculum, their beginning grammar was just not for us. Aaron hated doing it, I wasn't thrilled with what he was learning, and we began avoiding it. So a couple months ago, I ordered the Rod and Staff 2nd grade English program and it is great! Aaron likes doing it, I like that it gets him writing more, and I like the way the information is organized and presented. I also love the way biblical material is woven into every lesson. It's great to not have to suffer through a year with a mismatched program just because it is what the school uses!
Did you make any amazing Thanksgiving recipes? I made the Bobby Flay Pumpkin Bread Pudding from his Throwdown with Pioneer Woman, and Oh. My. Goodness. That is one good (though super involved) recipe. I think I gained 3 pounds just from making it though...
I saw the most humorous sight in the parking garage at our library the other day. It was so funny to me that I had to whip out my cell phone and take some pictures. I appologize for the quality of these, but phone pictures taken in a dark parking garage are not the best. Anyway...I understand the value of good stewardship and taking care of what you have, which is why a lot of people get a steering wheel lock for their car.

However, I usually see these types of locks on nice, expensive cars that someone

might want to steal. Can you imagine anyone wanting to steal this car?

I personally think the owner of this truck could leave it unlocked with the windows down and still return to find it undisturbed!

I have requested a Kindle for Christmas. I have struggled with whether or not I wanted one because I love the actual, physical page, but I gave in. What's on your list?
The Christmas decorations are up and the house feels quite festive! We got some new ornaments this year too, because I was tired of having the rag-tag decorations collected since the beginning of time. I love my new ornaments!

The first ornament to go on the tree this year!

The kids were actually a help with decorating this year. They remembered where a lot of the decorations were last year and got them out of boxes and put them in the right places. It was really nice. They also decorated their room with two 1 foot trees and a lighted garland.

Aaron putting ornaments (ones I banned from our main tree this year) on the garland we put in their room!

Thanksgiving Thursday

2010-11-25T12:37:00.000-05:00

I am thankful for so many thing, but today I think I will just say that I am thankful for a son and the Son.

Mini Post

2010-11-24T17:56:00.000-05:00

Didn't I used to do these regularly? :)

Jerry has been working like a maniac on the second bathroom we are remodeling. I love this bathroom. It is so peaceful and beautiful that I just want to go in there with a good book, shut the door and hang out for a while.

Jerry hard at work. We bought this table at Pier 1 and he drilled a hole into it and added the plumbing himself!

The beautiful sink and vanity combo!

Jerry raised the pipes in the wall to put the faucet right into the wall. And check out that seashell frame - it is so lovely!

We added blue, brown, and yellow accents.

Last week, Jerry's parents came for a visit. We don't get to see them too often, so it was great to have them come. While they were here, we had a huge birthday celebration for the four people who had birthdays in November!

Jerry's dad turned 75!

Jerry's mom turned 73.

Jerry hit the big 3-6!

And baby Andrew turned 2. How is that even possible??

In totally unrelated news, check out this potato! It is truly a Texas potato. Doesn't it look like a pair of cowboy boots?

Andrew is suddenly VERY attached to his blankets. He sleeps with them, carries them around the house, takes them with him when he plays, says goodbye to them when he leaves to go somewhere... As you can tell by this picture, he isn't happy with just one blanket, he wants every blanket he owns at once!

This year, we actually got some amazing fall color! We don't normally get fall color. The leaves here tend to go from green to brown, but we got a lot of rain this fall, and this is the result! Now, if it wasn't 82 degrees out as I type this, it might actually feel like fall out there!

Hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Another Photo Thursday

2010-11-11T16:53:00.000-05:00

Don't have that much to say. We've all been sick except for Isaac. I love nursing!

Cowboys

2010-11-05T17:51:00.000-04:00

I am always amazed that when people come to the Dallas area, they expect to see real, live Cowboys. Let me fill you in on a secret: just because Dallas is in Texas does not mean we have handsome men in chaps, spurs, and a cowboy hat walking down every street. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find a person like that in Dallas proper. Now, go outside the city limits, past the suburbs just a bit, and yeah. You'll find lots of those real, live cowboys.

Aaron, circa 2006, proud of his Texas heritage!

However, those are not the cowboys this post is about. This post is about the only true "Cowboy" in Dallas, er, Arlington now, but what's the dif? ;)

Okay, so there's a big difference, but that's not what this post is about either. The Dallas Cowboys have gotten so bad, that now when people gather around the water cooler to talk about "America's Favorite Team" it is to share jokes like these:

The Texas State Police are cracking down on speeders heading into Dallas. For the first offense, they give you 2 Dallas Cowboy tickets. If you get stopped a second time, they make you use them.

What do you call 47 millionaires around a TV watching the Super Bowl? The Dallas Cowboys

How do you keep a Dallas Cowboy out of your yard? Put up a goal post.

What do you call a Dallas Cowboy with a Super Bowl ring? Old

What's the difference between the Dallas Cowboys and a dollar bill? You can still get four quarters out of a dollar bill.

What do the Cowboys and a possum have in common? Both play dead at home and get killed on the road!

Thursday

2010-11-04T07:30:00.000-04:00

1. Everyone should read this article about the Bush tax cuts. Very interesting.

2. What is it about feed sacks that make racing so much fun for kids? And grandpas.

3. Is it Christmas break yet? I am so in the sewing mood. I want to sew and try to make lip gloss/chapstick and paint the ugly green bathroom.

Mini Post Monday

2010-11-01T10:35:00.000-04:00

I never grew up celebrating Halloween, nor do I promote it with my own children. However, each year at this time of year, my church puts together a huge event for families in the community to provide a safe, fun place fore kids to come all dressed up. This year, they really outdid themselves. There were hayrides, bounce houses, horse rides, a petting zoo, dozens of game booths for the kids to visit, live music, puppet shows, smores, hot dogs, funnel cakes...oh, and tons of candy. Since my kids cannot eat the candy due to their allergies, they even had a bag with little toy prizes at each game for my kids! Wasn't that an incredible thing for them to do? Needless to say, the kids had a blast.

Andrew as a frog. He loves frogs and makes the cutest little "ribbit" noises!

I really wanted to capture a picture of Ethan, but he was in camo, so I'm not sure you'll be able to spot him... :)

I didn't get a picture of Aaron in his costume (bad mommy), but he decided out of the 5 costumes he has, he would wear the exact same one he wore last year. So if you're dying to see him, do a search for last year at this time, and mentally age progress the pirate you find by one year.

While his brothers ran around totally thrilled, Andrew was a bit overwhelmed by the thousands of people and tons of noise.

Both Aaron and Ethan were able to throw the football right into the opening twice in a row!

Believe it or not, that went in! We really have to work with this kid on stepping with the proper foot when throwing a ball...

This is my all time favorite game! The kids have to stick their hands up a giant nose to grab a piece of candy. The lucky kids also get some snot (aka water squirts or green silly string)! How awesome is that? (Yeah, it's obvious why God gave me 3 boys...)

Jerry has been working overtime in the bathroom. He is trying to get it to at least have a functional toilet and sink when his parents come to visit in 1 1/2 weeks! This weekend, he got the rest of the wainscot and moulding up, tiled and grouted the floor, and hung the mirror. I cannot wait to show you how this looks with the vanity and sink in also! It is going to be amazing. Now I have to choose a paint color for the wall between the wainscot and ceiling. I think first I need to find some sort of accent tile for the shower, then pick a wall color from that. I've learned it is much easier to pick paint that matches an item, then to look for an item to match paint!

Amazing tiled floor. The shower tile is this same travertine only in 8" tiles rather than 12".

The mirror I found last week. I took one for the team and went shopping to do my share of work here in the bathroom! :)

Did any of you happen to notice when my adoption ticker turned the two year mark last week? Originally we thought we'd be going to China to get our little girl around the 28 month mark. Now it is at least 48. Sigh. So we still pray for her birth mom, that she'd be found by the officials soon after her abandonment, and that she'd stay healthy and be loved in the orphanage. And I still have a Hannah sized hole in my heart as I wait for her.

Now I'm going to make a shameless plug for my business! I am currently running a contest! If you would like a chance to earn some free jewelry by simply showing a Premier Designs catalog to your friends, family, co-workers...and making sales, let me know! You earn 20% of all your sales in free jewelry and have chances to win 1/2 price jewelry, a Petite Swaravski Tennis Bracelet, and an aditional free item (up to $40 value) of free jewelry! Plus, the person participating who gets the highest retail in sales gets a bonus $50 in free jewelry! I have 3 participants so far, so the contest is on!! To join in the fun, just leave a comment with your e-mail address, or contact me via the info in the pic below to get started!

Okay. That's the end of my shameless business promotion. You may now go back to your general bloggy fun.

Thursday's...No Computer Day

2010-10-28T09:05:00.000-04:00

Okay, I have a computer, but not my computer. It's throwing off my entire routine and I'm in a funk. I have nothing to share and not really any pictures either. So I will just share this painting that Ella did recently. I'm going to frame it and hang it up.

The Jos Know

What I Am Learning

Risk, Anyone?

The Ones I Actually Made!

Before and After

Something's Not Right Here...

You Miss Me, Right?

RIP Rosalina

What Adoption?

The Frog Is Not Cuter Than the Children

Bits

Pumpkin Seeds

Autumn

Women's Work

The Others

Ripe Lemons

Why Why Why

My Definition of Clean

Six Stitches

The Two Rings

Say What?

El Shaddai

Cream Cheese Muffins

Don't you just love...

Movement

Rock Candy

School Check-Up

A Comparison

Sneaky

Friends Are the Best

Mean Green

Shells For Science

Banana

Just Because

Conversation with Drew

Marshmallows

Cousins!!

Mini Post Monday

Chuckle

Patient

It's Kind Of Like That

Mini Post Monday

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

Johanna's Final Curriculum Choices

Frozen Banana Treats

A New School Room

My Master Curriculum Plan

A Lazy Meme...Just For You Johanna

A Lazy Meme

Freedom

The Big Boy

The Downside

Wordless Wednesday

Mini Post Monday

Play Ball!

A Year In Review - Work Edition

A Budding Artist

The Big 0-6

Before...Kind of...

Boys Will Be Boys...

Planning 2011-2012 Already??

Zoo Day

Thinking A Lot About

Miniature Golf

On Humility

Frugal!

Stupid Cancer

Lady in Waiting

Mini Post Monday

Yeah, I *know* it's February...

I guess we are slackers...

Conviction

Slackers

Book Review: Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski

Mini Post Monday

AB's Ginger Almonds

Ginger Almonds

Ingredients

Directions

Mini Post Monday

Yeah, I know it's February...