A place for LadyJ

Snow Day

2012-01-21T08:17:00.000-08:00

The snow made a small visit to Oregon. It did not stay long and it did not bring many of it's friends.

It caused smiles and giggles

Icy cold fingers

Hot chocolate and a pile of wet clothes

A bit of sibling play time

anticipation and excitement.

It really does not take very much to cause sheer delight in a child. :)

Thrifty Lego ornaments :)

2011-11-28T11:48:00.000-08:00

The boys saw these in the Lego magazine we get for free in the mail. http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Holiday-Ornament-with-Green-Bricks-853346

I thought they would be cute on the tree they always have in there room but was no way going to spend 8$ for them. So I grabbed some plastic bulbs at Michaels for about 50 cents each on sale and we dug through the boys Legos to fill them. It's a win, win situation. We get some fun new ornaments for a bargain price and until Christmas the boys will have a few less Legos to clutter the floor with. hehehehe

Ballenger Family Nov 2011

2011-11-16T18:26:00.000-08:00

So here we are, November already. Life has been busy and full in a blessed way. I have not been able to post as much as I intended too.
Justin is still prayerfully seeking employment. I am working part time at Michaels craft store.
Justin is covering homeschooling on the mornings that I work, often all 5 days. This has been a bit of a crazy adjustment but we are settling into it pretty well.
Thanksgiving is next week and this year has been so full of an overabundance of things to be Thankful for. God is so good to us.

I am Thankful for my Husband and the Love for the Lord that I see growing in him more and more each day.
I am Thankful for my children who grow more beautiful and teach me new things each day.
I am Thankful for amazing family and friends.
I am Thankful for coffee on cold mornings and Sweaters.
I am Thankful that no matter what happens Gods provision is so much more than we need.
I am Thankful that I get to work at a craft store. (Love crafts)
I am Thankful for our small group and the encouragement we share each week.
I am Thankful for MOPS and the opportunities it has given me to come out of my shell and share my love of crafting with others.

Happy Thanksgiving

Sewing Together Pocket Pillowcase

2011-10-14T20:07:00.000-07:00

I had a group of mommas over again today and we sewed some Pocket Pillowcases together. I love that the kids get to run and play while we socialize and do a bit of sewing too. :) We have a mix of beginners and longtime sewers, we all help each other out.

Today I taught the girls how to make Pocket Pillowcases. The tutorial is from Vermillion Rules!

We added a felt letter to the pocket which I think gives them some extra charm. :)

Here are the cutting measurements for any of you girls who remember how to assemble and just want the measurements, Or go to the above link for the full instructions.

Cutting instructions:

Cut two pieces, each 26" x 21" from the main fabric. These will be your main pillowcase pieces.(These can be a tad smaller if your fabric is narrower.)
From the coordinating fabric, cut two pieces each 21" x 5 1/2" for the side border. ( Make these the same as the main piece- so if the main piece is smaller these need to match)
Also from the coordinating fabric, cut a 11" x 9" piece for the pocket and two pieces for the flap each 11" x 4".

Here are a few pics of the ones I made for my littles.

If any of you out there try and sew one we would love to see pics. :)

Weekly Wrap Up 10/13/2011

2011-10-13T18:16:00.000-07:00

God answered a prayer this week and I will be starting a Seasonal Position at Michaels Craft Store on Monday. During my shifts Justin will be covering the school hours until I get home. When God gives Justin a job we will have to see what happens schedule wise.

The past few weeks of school have gone well. Not perfectly but very well. We cut Evangeline down to half time because her days were simply taking too long. This seems to really be helping although we are still working through some perfectionism issues. She is doing so well with her scripture memorization and it seems to be one of her favorite things.

This week we had a meal on the ground like the Hebrew Shepherds. Whenever an activity involves food we all get involved. :)

Timothy is really improving in reading ability. He has now finished 5 of the emergent readers and I can see huge improvement. He even says he will read a book with a girl as the main character next. (Big step for him)
He is loving cursive and breezing through math. Everything else in Bigger seems to be a perfect challenge for him and his attitude is improving daily.

Caleb and Haven are still loving Little Hearts, we really are doing this at about half time. We prob do 3 - 4 days a week right now. They are remembering the letters they learn and even have read some small words I wrote using just the 4 letters they have learned so far.

Here is the wall of Art from the year so far. Soon we will have to make some more room. hehehe

An Early Autumn Day

2011-10-06T11:49:00.000-07:00

FOR TODAY
Outside my window... Rain and a peak of sunshine

I am thinking... That if I get the job at Michaels I will need to be extra motivated with the kids school prep each week.

I am thankful for... My beautiful daughter she is far too big and I am having a hard time remembering that she is 10. :)

From the learning rooms... We are now doing HOD half time since it was taking too long each day. I hope to work into full time in the next 2 months.

From the kitchen... 2 chickens in the slow cooker

I am wearing... Jeans that are actally pretty new, black tanktop with a blue tie dye look shirt over top, and my thrashed brown boots.

I am going... To town later today to get a few groceries and to buy Graph paper to help my girl with her math.

I am reading... I am supposed to be reading Anna Karenina for a book club I should get back to that soon.

I am hoping... That the Lord blesses Justin with a job soon and that I will continue to trust in the Lord to take care of us just as he always has..

I am hearing... The washing machine fill with water, and the boys watching a Leap Frog video quietly

I am Creating... Some Pillowcases for the kids room. I have some ladies coming next week to sew some with me so I need to get these examples done today. :)

Around the house... A bit of cleaning to do, I also want to do something fallish soon for decor.

One of my favorite things... Hot chocolate on an Autumn morning, and Party Planning. (I was doing both this morning)

A few plans for the rest of the week: Waiting on a call about a job, finish some sewing, do some more cleaning, school with the kids, finish grocery shopping, and maybe start reorganizing my room.

The boys new Lego Room

2011-09-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

We decided to decorate the boys room in a Lego theme late last year. I Love the browns the walls were already painted so we stuck with those and just added touches of Primary colors. The bedding was from Target early this year in the Back to College section. I Love it because it is thin and holds up to many washings. (It has been washed at least once a week since January.)

I got the boys the car carpet for Easter last year. I Love how the bright colors add to the room plus they can use it for play time. :)

We were blessed to find a projector last year at a yard sale for 5 dollars. We projected Lego men on the walls and traced them in pencil.

Then Justin painted them.

Here is our boombox man. (I also replaced the doors on the closet with a curtain which I love) The doors always broke off and they were hard for them to open and close.

Here you see the Spaceman and The Police officer.

Here is the Hopscotch boy in the back and to the left you see the framed board my Dad made for me. I glued base plates to it so they have a vertical building area. They are loving this so far. I made sure to place a Lego over each gap as they dried so that the spacing would be correct.

Here are some fun initials Auntie Amy made for the boys last Christmas. We finally found them the right home.

The boys love there new room and are having a blast showing it to all of our recent guests.

Sewing Together Half Apron

2011-09-16T20:27:00.000-07:00

So I have started a small sewing group with a few momma friends. We had our first get together today and the plan is to meet once a month for a simple sewing project.

Today went so well and we had such a great time. It was such a blessing to visit and let the kids visit while we all got to sew a little something to use or save for A future gift.

Here is a picture tutorial of what we made today. Maybe some of you will sew some up and save them for Christmas gifts.

1- You will need 2 coordinating fat quarters. Or 2 pieces of fabric that measure 18" by 22" for each apron.

This is how a fabric quarter may be packaged. (sometimes the are available in bundles or rolled up)

Now you will cut each fabric quarter in half shortways. The fabric you choose for the pocket and straps will need to have one of the halves cut in half as well. So in this picture the cherry fabric will be the apron body and the gingham will be the pocket and straps.

Fold each small piece in half wrong side out and sew along the side seam.

Then turn them right side out.

Iron the straps flat with the seam centered.

Tuck in and sew one end of each strap

Fold the fabric that matches the straps in half. (If you wish to add lace ribbons, ect now is the time to stitch it along the folded side.

Now we make a sandwich. Place one of the main body pieces down - right side facing up. Place the folded in half pocket piece at the bottom - folded side toward the top. Place one strap on each side about an inch down from top (Not even with the top like in this pic sorry- you need enough space above them to sew and turn the fabric) The straps will be seam up and I fold them in a bit and pin them on the ends and in the middle so they won't slide around and get caught as I sew.

Next place the other main body piece on top of the sandwich right side facing down. Pin all around. Make sure all the pins are far enough in that you can sew around the edges without hitting them.

Leaving a 4" opening in the middle of the top side sew all around the edges. Making sure to catch the straps and the pocket all around.

Remove the pins, I leave the opening big enough that I can reach inside and get the pins out. Then reach inside and reverse the entire apron through the opening you left.

Push out the corners and iron it flat making sure to tuck in the opening as you iron so you can close it in the next step.

Top stitch close to the edge all around.

Add a straight line down just the front pocket to make divisions. You can add as many lines as you want. 2 or 3 pockets seems just about right for this apron.

Trim your threads and tie the apron on someone. Then make them smile and take a picture. hehehehe

If this is confusing just let me know in the comments.

Weekly Wrap up - 9/4/2011

2011-09-04T08:52:00.000-07:00

Teaching the 2 little boys Little Hands to Heaven has been such a blessing. They are so excited each day and ready and willing to do there work. :) It makes my heart happy.

Here is an art project that they did making rainbows.

Timothy is doing very well this year and we are finally getting through the work each day. I had to change a few things for him. First I took an index card and cute a small window just large enough for one line of text in a book, this is really helping him at reading time to concentrate and keep his spot. I also ordered him a table top book holder for when he is doing copywork ect. at his desk. He was having a hard time tracking his sentences and keeping his spot with the books laying flat next to what he was writing. It is really helping him so far. He adores the Science, Hymn study, and Art especially and is even reminding me that he needs to do math. Wowser

This Saturday we headed to Bandon to meet Grandma and Grandpa. They were camping and let us join in for a day. :)

Playing with some fun bubble makers

Watching a critter collect nuts and stash them in a tree.

Found a fun balloon man at a yard sale.

Attempted to use an old overgrown path to the beach.

Decided is was far to steep and muddy after a bit. hehehe

Decided to use the stairs.

Ahhhh the Beach

Playing at the park with Cousin Kaylin

Kaylin and her Timmy

Grandma leading the way on the worlds least slippery slide.

Evangeline is also doing well on her curriculum. We are working through some perfectionism so she can get her work done in a timely manner. I will be sure to snap a pic or 2 of her this week.

At the river

2011-08-29T12:39:00.000-07:00

A little trip to the river.

Exploring and attempting to catch living creatures of any kind.

I do not need shoes daddy, you can carry me.

This boy is fearless

Happy to be dirty and wet.

Beautiful girl

Simply Me in August

2011-08-18T09:23:00.000-07:00

FOR TODAY
Outside my window... Sunshine and roses

I am thinking... That I need prayer and guidance as we start our new school year.

I am thankful... To have a quiet morning with just Timmy and I to do some school.

From the learning rooms... Started using Heart of Dakota curriculum this year and it has been so wonderful thus far. A schedule to follow that is totally understandable yet flexible, and completely Christ centered.

In the kitchen... A few dishes to wash as always and yummy coffee my hubby brewed for us this morning.

I am wearing... A blue shirt with a white shirt underneath, blue Jeans, and brown sandles, and my wedding band.

I am creating... A small cross stitch a bit at a time. I was inspired recently by Karen over at Mother Culture.

I am going... To be home most of the day, unless I run to the store for milk and one more last school supply for Timmy. (seems I keep running into last school supplies I need to get LOL)

I am wondering... In what way the Lord will show Himself to us today.

I am reading... The Hobbit to the kids as a read aloud and just about to start reading Homestead: A Memoir myself.

I am hoping... That we can clearly see what God has planned for us when it comes to Justin's future Job plans.

I am looking forward to... Christmas- Yep I said it. I have this excitement to start handcrafting for family. Also MOPS this year where I get to teach crafts to moms. Love it!

I am hearing... My husband whistling a worship song. :)

Around the house... Just keeping busy, too many projects started at once. I need to complete something soon.

One of my favorite things... Having Justin home

A few plans for the rest of the week: I plan to seek God, Teach my children, Enjoy my family. :)

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Justin doing the Mento/ Diet Coke experiment with the kids. :)

Join in at http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Caleb starts Kindergarten

2011-08-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

Caleb and Haven started school this week. Next week the big kids start and we will be getting used to our new routine.

The boys are using the Heart of Dakota: Little Hands To Heaven program together. Caleb is doing everything and Haven is doing most of it with him.

We are loving the curriculum. It is holding there interest and each step is short and simple yet they are learning and retaining information.
Caleb is such a perfectionist I am having to spend a bit of time helping him to just do his best and not over stress about being perfect. (Just like his sissy)

Haven is just thrilled to do most anything and has no worries about being perfect. :) Also everything he does is usually green.

We were supposed to do just the uppercase A on this project but Caleb insisted on adding a lowercase A as well.

So that was our slow start to the school year. Starting out with just the youngers was very nice and relaxing for all of us and the big kids got a few days to hang out with Grandma Ardel and Aunty Amy. Next week we add in HOD's Bigger program for Timmy and CtoC program for Evangeline.

Join in or check out other wrap us here:
http://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/2011/08/weekly-wrap-up-getting-into-grove.html

Beach fun with the family

2011-08-09T12:22:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we were blessed to be able to join my entire family (Parents, siblings, and there children) over on the Oregon Coast. All of the cousins were together for 3 days straight, what a great chance for them to really get to know each other and just have a lot of fun. It was a beautiful weekend at the coast and the Love showered on us by my parents and the entire family was just one more reminder of just how much our God in heaven must love and care for us his children.

We are now home again and for all those who have helped us out financially or with prayer and friendship I can never express how it has blessed us. God is so great, so great that it is beyond human reasoning. Just getting to see the entire body of Christ working together the way it is meant to work is breathtaking.
Justin is still looking for work, yet we know that we are in Gods great hands and we ask for your prayers that we can see clearly his will for us.

The kids will start school next week. Prayers for smooth days and cheerful hearts would be fabulous. I will be teaching all 4 officially this year so a new adventure and growing experience awaits us all.

Happy Birthday Super Caleb

2011-07-09T20:37:00.000-07:00

My Super Man Caleb is 5 years old today. 5 years since I rushed out in the middle of the night in disbelief that my water had broken and convinced I could not really be in labor yet. :) In 21 minutes I was calling Shae to tell her I was sooo sorry but I had my baby boy and she still had to wait a bit for hers. He is still a huge ball of energy and the speed he came into the world with no longer surprises me. He takes the world by storm and Loves Life with a passion.

He requested a Super Hero party and This Momma decided we would do a super hero training party. Let me tell you it was a huge hit and I think all the kids had a blast.

The cake - Orange with a lightning bolt as was requested. :)

Awaiting the arrival of guests while watching some Super Friends.

Super Grand Bee

Some students awaiting training.

Fire rescue- They all maneuvered the fiery building to rescue the teddy.

Target practice

Speed and Agility

Get the villain with the water balloons. :) Also known as soak the Daddy

Super Strength Caleb

Super Strength Katherine

Super Strength Timothy

Super Strength Joshua

Super Strength Benjamin

Super Strength Evangeline

Super Strength Emily

Super Strength Ivy

Super Strength Chris

Super Strength Jadon

Super Cape designing

Loving his Pillow Pet

The new sandbox was a big hit!!!

Independence Day Shirts

2011-07-02T11:49:00.000-07:00

4th of July is coming soooo fast. I had picked up these red T-shirts at the Dollar Tree at least a month ago with plans to make shirts for the kidlets to wear.

I gathered all of the red white blueish fabrics I had pieces of and traced these stars from Family Fun on them. Star Pattern

Then I cut them all out

Using my trusty glue sticks again I lightly glued them on the shirts. Some layered.

Stitched them closeish to the edge with a straight stitch

Trimmed the threads and Tadah!!!! I will grab a pic of all the kids on Independence Day if I my brain reminds me that I should. :)

Summertime fun

2011-06-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

Butterflies ready for freedom

Perched on the cage before it takes flight

Watching the butterflies

Timmy let them go in the veggie garden hoping they will keep coming back

Bonfire smore time

Kaylin said she did not want to get in and then drenched herself anyway :)

Passing the time while Daddy is away

2011-06-20T18:42:00.000-07:00

We have been watching our caterpillars cocoon and we await there transformation any day now.

Grandpa Keith and the kids have done so much yard work. mowing, and mowing, raking, and raking, and bagging, and finally the yard is usable again. :)

We went to pick berries last week and they have found there way to the freezer. Well most of them did. :)

Papa and Uncle Bob on Fathers Day out back with the kidlets.

The garden is growing well with all this sunshine and so are the kidlets.

Naturally we have not finished as much as I had hoped, although we do have 6 long days left until Daddy returns so maybe we will get some of it done after all.

Where?

2011-06-20T15:55:00.000-07:00

Joining Second Star to the Right again this week for her blog hop. This week we are supposed to share the Where of our home school.

The first stop on the tour is the front bookcase. This is the case that holds the day to day curriculum. So we are using these shelves everyday.

Here is the living room area, Math U See is done while on the couch or the floor and once a week they will be watching a dvd before they do it. This is also where a lot of read aloud time takes place.

Kitchen table is the main station for sit down work at the moment. I hope to get a desk or table area in another spot for my oldest son before school next year as we will be starting the 2 youngest on more sit down work and the table may become there zone. :) Oh and the computer is here directly to the right so it is easy access for when we do any type of online games, drills, printing ect...

This is my daughters desk in her room. She goes here for reading time, writing time, and anything else independent she wants quiet for. :) Sometimes she sits on her bed which is to the right as well. None of the boys go to there rooms for work as they do not have the concentration yet to do anything when they are out of eyesight of momma.

That is basically it, we pretty much school all over the house and it is a bit chaotic most of the time.

Join us at

Just for Today

2011-06-13T12:30:00.000-07:00

FOR TODAY
Outside my window... A few red roses against a green back yard

I am thinking... Just 14 days to go until my Justin comes home

I am thankful for... Amazing Family and Friends who are there for me even when I didn't realize I needed them.

From the learning rooms...(if this applies) We are learning to Pray and Trust

From the kitchen... Dirty dishes since my dishwasher is acting up. Time to give it a good cleaning and see if that will help.

I am wearing... My boots that have seen better days, Jeans that I embroidered that have also seen better days, and a stripey yellow and grey shirt with a hood. (Oh and one of my headbands from Shae)

I am going... To town in a bit to give my sister a ride to WIC and to see if anything can be done about Travis phone not working in India.

I am reading... A Pocketful of Pinecones to myself and The Hobbit (same edition I linked too it's so pretty) as a read aloud to the kids

I am hoping... To start working on the boys paint touch up soon

I am hearing... The kids playing with some bugs

Around the house... Flowers on the kitchen table, a bit of cleaning to do, some fresh herbs I just picked on the counter

One of my favorite things... Hearing my Justin on the phone

A few plans for the rest of the week: Go to the park if it is nice out, maybe drive through the Safari, Have a WIC class sometime, Small group on Tue, Keeping busy as much as possible - maybe some sewing.

Sadly we only have one camera and it is with Justin so I do not have a pic to share :)

The Simple Womans Daybook

When?

2011-06-10T09:35:00.000-07:00

Joining my sister again! Second Star to the Right

Today we are supposed to discuss the when of our Yearly schedule.

Just the term Yearly schedule seems to imply a much more organized and tidy individual than I find myself to be. :)

Intending to or not, we seem to be year round schoolers. We take a break for Christmas which is always at least 2 weeks, a break for Easter of about a week, a break for Thanksgiving of about a week, and we go slower in summer usually just doing math, grammar, reading and extras. We also break for birthdays if they are midweek, vacations (if we have one), and when we are just cranky. hehehe Then again we school some Saturdays if daddy works. So it all works out in the end.

Join us over at

At the park

2011-06-08T09:15:00.000-07:00

Peaceful playtime at the park was just the way to spend our last night as a family until Daddy gets back from his trip.

Playing some catch

Sliding Oso down the slide. (Poor doggy)

My 2 men

Just look at how handsome they both are.

Bubble time

God blessed us with beautiful weather and glorious clouds to watch.

We dropped Justin off this morning and the team is headed to the airport as I type. For those who may not know he will be with an MBS team in India for nearly 3 weeks. Please keep the team in your prayers and I also ask prayer for the families. This will be by far the longest we have been apart since we got married and although I feel a peace about it I know that we all will miss him.

What!

2011-06-06T10:39:00.000-07:00

Joining my sister at Second Star to the Right again for her Who! What! When! Where! How! Why! Blog hop.

This week we get to blog chat about the what of our home school curriculum.

My oldest Evangeline will be using the Creation to Christ Curriculum from Heart of Dakota this year. She is in love with it even though we have not started. The idea of having a lot more independent work is really a big deal for her. We are still on the lookout for a few of the books but we ave a great start and should be ready to start by June or July

She is already started on the Drawn into the Heart of Reading curriculum you see here on the right. So far we are loving it and really finding it to be an enjoyable yet flexible reading program.

My oldest son Timothy will be using the Bigger Hearts for his Glory curriculum this year. I have everything he needs minus one last book. :) On the right you see his emergent readers we are still working our way through and I hope we can be finished with them by June/July so he can move into the same reading program as his sister at the lowest level.

The two youngest boys will be going through Little Hands to Heaven together.

We use Math U See for as our Main math with Math Mammoth as a printable supplement. We will have our 10 year old in Delta at the beginning of the year, 8 year old will be finishing up Alpha, and 5 year old will start Primer. My 4 year old will not be starting just yet.

We will be using Song School Greek for the 3 boys and Greek for Children with Evangeline.

We will use Rod and Staff English for the 2 oldest and add daily grams to that for Evangeline.

I think that seems to be the core of our curriculum but I am sure we will do a few extras or additions here and there. I pretty much go with the flow around here. :) I am so excited to be trying out Heart of Dakota and really praying it is the perfect fit for me and the kids. I need the schedule as that is the one thing I really see lacking this last year and I love how the Bible is so integrated into the entire curriculum.

Join us or check out other What! Posters here -

Who?

2011-05-26T15:37:00.000-07:00

Evangeline is 10 and will be going into the 5th grade this coming school year. She is Caring, Protective, Thoughtful of others, Organized, Independent
Favorites -
School Subject: Reading
Color: Purple
Book: Little Woman
Sport: Skating
Activity: Wii games
Game: Chinese Checkers
T.V. Show: Amazing Race
Movie: Tangled

Timothy is 8 and will be going into the 3rd grade this coming school year. He is Quiet, Gentle, Artistic, Happy, Inventive
Favorites -
School Subject: Science
Color: Blue
Book: Sir Small and the Dragonfly
Sport: Softball
Activity: Drawing
Game: Uno
T.V. Show: Rescue Rangers
Movie: Curious George

Caleb will be 5 in July and will be going into Kindergarten this coming school year. He is Loud, Energetic, Outgoing, Friendly, Determined
Favorites -
School Subject: Watch Leap frog videos
Color: Orange
Book: There's a Monster Eating my house
Sport: Racing
Activity: Playing outside
Game: Donkey Kong
T.V. Show: Superman
Movie: Star Wars

Haven will be 4 in December and he will be going into Preschool this coming school year. He is Affectionate, Shy, Playful, Helpful, Inquisitive

Favorites -
School Subject: Woody
Color: Green
Book: Woody easy reader

Sport: Pencils
Activity: Lacing Beads

Game: Cootie bugs

T.V. Show: Diego
Movie: Toy Story

To check out other Home Schoolers Who? posts or to join in visit:

The Mixed Up Garden of Mrs Ballenger

2011-05-19T17:22:00.000-07:00

Today I am Thankful for the sunshine, my garden is loving it and soaking it up. My kids are also loving and soaking it up!

This is my left garden bed - Zucchini, Acorn Squash (a bit nibbled on pre fence), Lemon Cucumbers (A tad droopy), carrot seeds (not sprouted so we shall see), Cauliflower, Pumpkins (Also droopy) and some herbs and a few marigolds.

Right side bed - Basil, lemon balm, Tomato plants, and some other herbs. 2 pots in the middle with radish and green bean seeded but not sprouted.

Some herb can't remember what I planted here. :)

My Strawberries are doing well!

Each of the kids picked a pansy plant awhile back and they adore this weather. :) Love the variety reminds me of my amazing little ones and how different they each are every time I see it.

Remember the Easter morning Garden? It has gone wild. Whatever the white one on the right is I need to transplant it soon.

Pretty pop of blue against the Orange pot.

Haven loves the Garden and will help me every time I head out there.

Weekly Wrap Up (Yes we are still schooling)

2011-05-13T19:50:00.000-07:00

So I realized today it has been a very long while since I did a weekly wrap up. Yes we are still doing school, I just have not taken as many pics or gotten around to posting the last few months.

Evangeline started Heart of Dakota - Drawn into the Heart of Reading program awhile back and she is really enjoying it. It has been a really good way for me to offer her a chance to think about what she reads and offers her something mostly independent to do. This is something she really needed and so far is really enjoying.

Timothy is still working his way through Heart of Dakota's Emergent Reader books. Slow and Steady and I pray that he catches a fire for reading this summer.
He is also still working through a mixture of explode the code, beyond the code, and a little phonics pathways.

Math has been going slow for a few months but just in the last two weeks both kids have started to really speed through it again. Finally getting concepts that have been rattling around in there heads for awhile. :) We will be doing Math and Reading throughout the summer with both of them.

Evangeline completely finished her Reason for Handwriting cursive book this week. She will not be doing any more formal cursive but instead will just be using cursive for any copy work she may have to do. This program worked perfect for her and we did not even use the teachers guide. She simply did it anywhere from 2 to 4 days a week and we stretched it over 2 school years.

I have more than half of next years school books and will be keeping my eyes open for the rest used as I can find them. We are all really excited to be starting HOD and I pray it is the perfect fit.

The little guys have been doing a Toy Story preschool Pack only when they ask for school. So maybe 2 days a week. http://1plus1plus1equals1.blogspot.com/2011/05/toy-story-preschool-pack-free.html
Not surprisingly Haven has been more patient with it than Caleb. I am praying they will slowly grow into doing a bit more school work as I plan to start a gentle curriculum next year.

Playing with the Math U See Blocks

Some copy work of Timothy's

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Happy 2nd Birthday to Kaylin

2011-05-07T17:48:00.000-07:00

We had a fun birthday celebration for our sweet niece Kaylin to attend today. She is 2 years old already and chatting up a storm. :)

Happy Birthday Big Girl!

Eating a sheep cupcake

Another sheep eater

A chick cupcake here

Eating a piggy from her farm

On her new trike

Some Love from daddy

Just hanging out

Taking a drive

Ready for lunch

Sisters driving the car

In the barn

Just woke up and ready to party!

Happy Birthday Miss Kaylin may your years ahead be blessed and may you know how much we love you!

Safari Adventure

2011-04-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

Safari Picture Overload coming up!

We had such a great day yesterday with Sheila and a bunch of cousins. It really was a blast even in the lovely Oregon rain and I am so glad we got this opportunity while Shae and the kids were in town. It will long be talked of by my kids and I am sure the others as well. :)

Feeding the Giraffe

The kids were just amazed by the Giraffe, his neck, his tongue. Just cool!

My little man and I!

Driving out to feed the Giraffe

Another giraffe, that we did not feed.

They were pretty sure this guy is a robot because he didn't move. :)

Riding on the train, Haven insisted on a picture because his feet now touch the ground. hehehe

Our personal train ride. :)

These little guys stole our childrens' hearts.

Being gentle

The Elephant Car Wash, pretty amazing to hear the kids laughing in wonder and excitement.

This girl really knew how to put on a good show for the kids.

The best I could get when it comes to a group pic. They were way too excited.

Throwing apples to the 3 bears.

These guys are amazingly cute. Glad they were behind a fence though. :)

In the van ready to start the day

A Visitor

2011-04-28T14:03:00.000-07:00

We got a visit with our Lovely Taiah overnight. :) The girls as always made a list of things to do while she was here. (My sister jokingly called it a bucket list for kids hehehe)

Build a puzzle (check)

Playing outside with the neighbor girl Haley was not on the list but still fun. :)

Do Finger Nails (check)

Tea Party with Felicity and Molly (Check)

The girls also slept in a sheet tent and got to watch Ramona and Beezus together. Went to Wed night church and got some good play time in. :) I think my girly should be okay to wait until Taiahs next visit now. :) It was so nice to see her, we just love some girl time around here since we are usually out numbered. heheheh

Spring sewing swap

2011-04-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

I took part in a springtime sewing swap over at The Homeschool Lounge. I received this amazingly cute apron from my swap partner. I was so excited and wore it all day yesterday.

I just love doing these little swaps it is a nice reason to sew something and always a chance to get some lovely mail instead of just another bill or credit card offer. :)

I now have a pile of sewing I need to start on. Some mending and some custom orders. Plus a birthday present for my almost 2 year old niece who is growing up way to fast. :)
Feeling happy to see the sunshine and ready for the gardening, walking, and park playing season.

Easter Sunday 2011

2011-04-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday

Learning how to play Chinese Checkers with Mom and Dad!

Pinata time (It was the stone that was rolled away. :)

Egg hunt in the back yard - We had a bit of break from the rain but it was still very muddy for little feet.

Cousins enjoying lunch around the table

Waking up Easter morning to find the caterpillar transformed into a butterfly. "It is rised up just like Jesus" Caleb says.

Timothy, Evangeline, and I made these fun butterfly snacks for all the kids to take home.

The boys waking up to there new car carpet.

Just March and how we lived. :)

2011-03-31T17:41:00.000-07:00

Wow this month has sure blown past, or should I say dripped and poured past. We have had a lot of rain and a lot of sickness. Just a month of being extra tired for all of us.

This week Evangeline finally started cutting out pieces for a simple quilt block. Taiah and Evangeline will be making blocks at the same time as each other.

Here is a super cute bucket of Spring time books we are going to be reading for storytime. :) Well as soon as we get around to it. It's still a cute idea even if they have sat in this bucket for over a week without us reading one right?

Kids throwing paper airplanes off the porch on a semi unrainy day!

Calebs Jumping J robot he drew for me. I love Leap Frog videos. I have taken no effort to teach this little man letters whatsoever. (Next year the fun begins)

Haven had a nasty virus of some kind and was extra clingy, which is pretty clingy since he is naturally my cuddle bug already. :) I even pulled out the sling for the first time in months and this is how he stayed for half the day.

Timothy made these amazing St. Patrick Day treats all by himself.

Evangeline set the table, it's a minty green masterpiece

Take a picture of us mommy aren't we sooooooo cute!

So March pulls to a close and I welcome April with open arms and a smile. Ready for a bit of sunshine, some pretty flowers and some Easter Sunday celebrations.

The 1st Boy

2011-03-15T09:32:00.000-07:00

So this last week my Amazing Timothy turned 8. Yes the car seat was instantly abandoned on the front porch and had to be rescued from the rain by Daddy, who was reasonable enough to realize another boy would need it at some point in time.

Eight years ago I gave birth to this boy, to be honest I was terrified. Not of birth that I knew I could handle. I was terrified of a boy! I didn't know what to do with one and was kind of thinking God should have just given me girls. After all I am a girl so I understand them, right?

So here I am 8 years later with my beautiful girl and my now 3 boys. As always God was right, boys are amazing. Each of of my boys has taught me so much about myself and helped me understand the people around me better while they are at it.

Here he is Timothy at 8. Pencils/Paper, Building, Questioning, Quiet, Smart, Overalls, Dress shoes, Listening, Experimenting, growing into a little Man.

Boys are a blessing

2011-02-28T09:21:00.000-08:00

Justin had to work this Saturday and it just happened that my nephew and niece who are far to old if you ask me were in town at my moms for the weekend. So my momma and I did a little trade off and I kept my Nephew and she took Evangeline. So it was just me and the boys Fri night and Sat morning.

Elias went with us to the Build and Grow clinic to help the boys build there pull back race cars. These are a big hit and if you have not checked out Lowes free building clinics yet I again recommend them.

Here Elias is being very patient with Caleb.

Can you believe this a teenager playing Motor Boat with his little cousins. This just makes me smile I am so glad that even with the age difference they all just Love each other.

Duck Duck Goose time. :)

And my Haven concentrating, wish I could be that focused when I do a project.

Simple Woman on a Sunny Feb Day

2011-02-21T11:41:00.000-08:00

FOR TODAY
Outside my window... Sunshine and grass that I needed to mow before today!
I am thinking... That this cold I have seems to be lasting forever and I am very ready to be over it.
I am thankful for... CELL group on Tuesdays, a chance to fellowship and an the perfect motivation to get my house pretty once a week.
From the learning rooms... I am rearranging bookcases. We are starting a new curriculum next year so also attempting to find all the books used at bargain prices. hehehe
From the kitchen... Trying not to look right now but I do think I can get it clean today if I have enough hot tea to motivate me.
I am wearing... Blue Jeans that almost fit right, a GI Joe t-shirt I got on clearance at Target, my worn out brown boots, and my awesome shell necklace my momma in law brought me from the Bahamas. Oh and of course my wedding band and a pony tail. (I need a hair cut soon)
I am creating... Nothing - I need to be making invites for my Timothy's birthday but that will wait until I feel well.
I am going... No where today - Home Sweet Home
I am reading... Just finished Pegasus by McKinley good but it was a first in a series she hasn't finished and I didn't know. Ughh Now I am reading some classic childrens fantasy books by E Nesbit (free on my kindle Yay!)
I am hoping... That I will actually do instead of sit
I am hearing... My children watching a movie.
Around the house... Laundry room still needs organized, getting a pile ready for a garage sale at some point in time.
One of my favorite things... Sunshine spots on the floor and little people curled up with there doggie in them to rest.
A few plans for the rest of the week... Get better quickly, Clean house, sewing a baby shower gift for a shower Sat.

No pictures today since I haven't felt well I don't think I have pulled out my camera for awhile. :(

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Simple Womans Daybook - On a chilly Feb morning

2011-02-02T09:14:00.000-08:00

FOR TODAY
Outside my window... Fog and Frosted grass
I am thinking... That we need to start our school day soon with our devotion reading time
I am thankful for... My husband - God really knew what he was doing when he brought us together
From the learning rooms... I am trying to make decisions on next years curriculum
From the kitchen... It is actually cleanish - might go make a hot pot of tea soon
I am wearing... Old blue Cord pants, old boots, plum long john style shirt and a brown zippered hoodie??? Ya I don't coordinate today
I am creating... Bean bags for my boys, hope to finish them today
I am going... No where today - Home Sweet Home
I am reading... Not much but I want to start soon
I am hoping... That I can get our taxes filed today
I am hearing... A leap pad being played with in relative quiet
Around the house... Kitchen chairs need recovered today, Laundry room needs reorganized, other than that it's pretty clean and calm. For now
One of my favorite things... waking up to a delicious hot Latte
A few plans for the rest of the week: Homeschool co-op tomorrow, grocery shopping
Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Waiting for his Cocoa - Kinda how I feel waiting for my coffee. :)

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MOPS Morning

2011-02-01T13:20:00.000-08:00

My morning was slow. Like I was half asleep and not ready for the day. Somehow I got myself ready and the kids motivated while reminding myself not to yell and push too hard. After all it isn't really there fault I am slow today right! We made it out the door and drove the barely a block to MOPS this morning. :) I am glad I did. It was such a blessing to just visit, listen to an encouraging speaker share a gentle reminder about Loving our husbands, and make a simple and fun craft!

Thank you Jesus for this wonderful day and for gently growing me step by step.

Here is the simple decoupage candle holder we made today! Already in use. hehehe and a small heart coaster I got from a valentine exchange I am taking part in on The Homeschool Lounge.

Weekly Wrap up 13 and 14

2011-01-29T09:27:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to do one Science experiment/activity with the kids each week recently. This is one subject Timmy would never get enough of and since he is trying to have a better attitude about his other schoolwork I wanted to encourage him even more.

Working on a T-Rex Dig

These were from a big Smithsonian kit we picked up at Costco last year, we still have a few more in this kit before we have to get something else.

Working on a Gem dig

I still love our Draw Right Now books. I love that the kids and I can do it together and it is a slight challenge while still being actually doable. I also like that we can draw pictures to go along with what we are studying.

Drawing Lincolns Cabin

Hiding her Cabin from me

This is what the big kids school area may look like on a typical day. There is a bit of order in the chaos. See I even have a planner.

Our School Desks. :) AKA the kitchen table

We have been studying Lewis and Clark so yesterday I sent the kids out with an empty shoe box paper and a pencil to Journey around the house and return with information about the environment - weather, animals, plant life ect... They had a blast and want to do it again.

Preparing for a Lewis and Clark expedition

Showing me what information he gathered

One of the expedition journal entries.

We also joined an Oregon Trail Co-op which we will be doing on Thursdays and I will do a post on that in a few weeks.

Valentines for hair

2011-01-26T18:40:00.000-08:00

I have seen all kinds of valentine felt hearts this week on blogs. Pins, Garlands, ect... Then Shae sent me an Etsy link to some cute hair clip flowers. So these are my interpretation of a combo of both. :) I think they turned out cute and can't wait to see my nieces and my Girly sporting them for Valentines Day. :)

First I cut out 3 pieces for each heart. One large piece of felt (Just the cheap stuff from WalMart) and 2 smaller hearts of cotton.

Then I glue sticked them together so they wouldn't move while I stitched them.

I stitched around each heart. Middle heart straight stitch inside and out with a zigzag. They are kind of small so go slow and make sure your needle is in the down position when you stop to maneuver corners.

After stitching I trimmed those crazy excess threads and dug through my buttons for some small enough and cute enough to coordinate with the hearts.

Then I sat and stitched all the buttons on.

Next I grabbed my glue gun. It is low temp but seems to be holding fine. If I had the choice I would use high temp so the hold would be stronger. Evangeline had these hair clips she never wears so we used them to put the hearts onto. You could use any small hair clips or even a safety pin and just wear them on your shirt.

My Beauty sporting her new Heart. :)

Tot and a Preschooler

2011-01-26T09:10:00.000-08:00

So I keep calling my boys tots but truthfully they are both nearly preschoolers and Caleb is nearly to kindy. :( How did they get so old?

Story time, reading about geography which they love. :)

We got these felt alphabet pillow letters at a yard sale this last summer. This day we put down construction paper in a circle to match the colors of the letters. Then they took turns drawing one and putting it on the matching color. They still have issues with most colors but they both love and know the color Orange!!

I always love that they recognize so many letters already just from watching Leap Frog Letter Factory. (In the back of this pic you can see the slightly mis-shaped pillows I sewed up for our Pre-school corner)

This is a German game we found at Salvation Army last year for .25 - I can't read the rules but IT has wooden candy pieces and 2 dice with colors on the sides. So they each roll a dice and pick a candy with that color on it. Then sometimes we get tricky and roll 2 dice and they have to find a candy with both colors on it. They love, love this game. and have named it the Pinata game! hehehe

Next week I plan to start some more advanced Pre-school type of work with the boys. We shall see how it goes.

Crayon Rolls

2011-01-19T09:45:00.000-08:00

So I made these crayon rolls for each one of my kidlets pencil boxes. I don't like crayon mess during school time, but the youngest 2 love to tear the small boxes to pieces. I had this crazy fake Tye Dye cotton forever and I think it's perfect since I know it will get crayon smudges and they should just add to the color. ;)
Each kid has there own button so they can keep track of them and yes they fit perfectly into a pencil box.

I found the tutorial at and the exact link is HERE

The only thing I changed is that I did not iron and it worked fine. :) I also don't have a fancy pen to mark lines with so I used a pencil.

Getting the Tots in order

2011-01-17T11:05:00.000-08:00

So our new re-implemented "Tot Time" has been a smashing success. Well actually it has probably saved many things from being smashed. I am reminded that the busier I keep there minds and fingers the less time they have to destroy. :)

Our current schedule is simple since I am just getting them into a routine, I hope to add to it as they adjust.

For now the schedule is

1. independent coloring time (Color Wonder, Coloring books, Or blank paper and pencil)

2. 30 minute dvd - either leap frog, veggie tale, or Davey and Goliath they get to choose which

3. Activity tub time with mom. (I have a tub for each school day with an activity in it and they pick each day which to do)

4. Story time - they pick one of the books I have in a tub. They take turns choosing the book.

5. Snack time - with the big kids

6. nap time and they listen to a cd, lullaby or bible songs

So here are some pics from this week.

I found the big kids old Leap Pads up in the laundry room. We had not opened the box since we moved. I got them down dusted them off and they have been so much fun. They all have been enjoying them. :)

This day the boys used crayons to color the bottom of egg cartons to match the dinosaurs they had. Then they placed them all in the matching spots. Dumped them out/ put them back/ and repeat. :) While counting and saying the color of course. hehehe The crayon was very light and next time we will use marker.

We started out making patterns and then they just counted and stacked these.

Here the boys are putting buttons through toilet paper rolls into mason jars. I would call out a color and they would find one that color to put in the jar.

Then we used plastic wrap and a hair band to make makeshift instruments. So we shook and danced for a bit.

We did the build and grow clinic again this week. They are getting pretty good at waiting for directions and hammering the nails in.

Before next week I hope to have a few things sewn for tot time and I will be rotating our activities so we will have a few new ones next week.

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Evangeline Ears and Party!

2011-01-15T17:57:00.000-08:00

My beautiful girl and her new pierced ears.

She held my hands but she was super brave! She has read all her aftercare instructions and everything. hehehe

At lunch with Rach and Steph before getting the girls ears pierced.

Sleepover party guests the morning after. :)

Reading with Papa - We had a reading themed party. The kids made bookmarks, played madlibs, we read a choose your own adventure too. :)

Some Loves

Evangelines new movie we got to watch when the kids were settled into sleeping bags with glow sticks.

A Pretty New Dress

Pretties from Katie and Fam :)

The flower cake arrangement Grandma Sherry made for Evangeline.

We ate angel food cupcakes with pudding and lasagna for dinner. :)

Missed our Taiah and Asa. :(

Weekly Wrap Up 12

2011-01-14T14:06:00.000-08:00

So we have been back to school for 2 weeks but I would say this has been the first official week back to school.

On the 11th my Beautiful first born turned 10. 1/11/11 Happy Birthday Beautiful Girl!
We had a sparkly brownie with a candle at our small group Tuesday night since it was her real Birthday. We will be having her sleepover party tonight and she will get her ears pierced with a friend tomorrow. Check back for those pics and posts next week. :)

The kids eating brownies on Tue!

I got Justin a new Childrens Ministry Bible for Christmas since his was falling apart. Here it is with a cover I sewed this week out of old dress shirts. My first book cover and I think it turned out pretty well.

Here is Timmy with some little paper houses we printed off of Made By Joel this week. He had so much fun cutting and folding extras to go along with them.

We made some Game Boxes at Lowes this last Saturday. They really enjoy the Build and Grow clinics.

As for school Evangeline is really doing well in math and sometimes doing 2 lessons per day because she actually gets it. I am still so happy we switched from Horizon to Math U See.
We are still working our way through Studying the Presidents and States and early American History.
Timothy is mostly doing reading, we have cut out most extras until he can really grow in his comprehension skill.s Just in one week of Reading focus I see improvement so we will keep it up until he is fluent and confident which is the main issue. We are mainly using Phonics Pathways, Explode the Code, and Early Readers along with writing on a white board (His favorite).

As for the little boys I have really started to focus on giving them a dedicated schoolish time every day and it is going super duper well. I will post about that Monday if you want to check back.

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Whatever is Lovely

2011-01-13T12:15:00.000-08:00

Finally Brothers,
Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Phil 4:8

I am so Thankful this week that I was able to remember to focus on the beauty in my children this week. I can not say there active, crazy, sometimes sweet, sometimes crazy, sometimes violent behavior has changed. I can say my heart towards it is changing. Whatever is lovely Lord that is what I want to see and think about.

I am Thankful for a little bit more order in my schedule

I am Thankful for a now 10 year old who is growing more independent yet still needs me.

I am Thankful for new insights into the mind of my 7 year old (whom I may never completely understand) :)

Thankful for the new to us cabinet my Dad and Mom gave us. :) Haven thinks it is the perfect place for a nap. The beauty of childhood and joy in the simplicity.

It's about time for the Tots :)

2011-01-10T09:12:00.000-08:00

So My sis and I occasionally think alike! Seems we both started Tot time up again this January. A dedicated somewhat organized time just for the littles. I do find it necessary to make this time happen, it is so much easier to just pop them in front of the T.V. or let them rip there room apart and argue with each other. :) (Well it actually isn't but it somehow seems that way when I am distracted by the big kids school)

So here are a few things we did last week during tot time and I hope to continue this until next school year when I will start the boys on a Dedicated Pre-K/ Kindy Curriculum together (To be assembled still hehehe).

This little space is there's for Tot Time and I hope to sew a few floor pillows today so we have something to lounge on while I read them a story. (Here they are using lacing beads and cards)

Here they are putting tooth pics through straws. (They loved this and did it for longer than I thought that they would)

A Wedgit train. We added to our Wedgit set as Haven got some of the mini Wedgits for his Birthday and they work wonderfully with the normal Wedgits. I will say my boys do not put things into there mouths unless it is food. :) The mini Wedgits would be too tiny if your little ones like to eat toys.

I have been specifically making the boys clean up after themselves. I had found myself in a bad habit of asking and when they did not do it putting them in bed or time out and doing it for them. Problem is they didn't mind and were getting much worse about cleaning up after themselves. So now we make sure to put away what we get out after tot time. Small step but so far it is helping.

Plus look how cute they are helping each other. :)

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Thankful Thursday

2011-01-06T11:04:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to pick up on a few more weekly posts. 2011 is as good a time as any to start I would think.

I have been reminded this week of just how fast children grow. My youngest turned 3 and suddenly has turned into a little man. My oldest will be 10 this week. Yes I said it! 10! Double digits and far to mature while still being innocent somehow. What a burden I am feeling, Oh Lord guide my words and my heart and let me lead these children toward you in every way.

I am Thankful for these precious children God has given me.
I am Thankful that no matter how many times I repeat the same mistake I am always able to seek God and begin again.
I am Thankful to be blessed to have a husband who Loves and adores us, who I enjoy spending time with.
I am Thankful for Coffee
I am Thankful for the ability to teach my children at home, and learn a million new things about myself in the process.
I am Thankful for stepping out of my comfort zone, well I usually am once I do it. :)

Happy Birthday to my Haven

2011-01-02T08:41:00.000-08:00

Playing drums! (Thanks Papa Keith for the batteries) These are fun all the kids had to get a turn.

Even J had to get a tattoo. :)

Haven-Woody with his new Woody from Grandma Ardel

The new movie we watched last night, yes he still loves Toy Story even after all the party fun. :)

Can you tell this card plays music?

The phone Caleb had to get his brother. He likes it if you can't tell.

Haven is so blessed with an amazing group of cousins.

Pinata action

I love to see Layla smile

Blow out the burning candles

Posing with his cake, Well Buzz seems to be at least.

3d glasses action

Some of Our Decor. :)

Christmas Joy 18-25

2010-12-27T16:41:00.000-08:00

So Christmas has come and gone and here I am ready to finally post a few more pics. Next year I will have to remember to charge the camera battery the day before Christmas, thus we don't have so many morning with Dad and Mom pics.

Caleb did so good at the Christmas program at Church Sunday. After turning into a goof ball during practice I was happy to see him go up and do it for real.

Timmy Loves to sing but he gets pretty shy when he is up front

Evangeline got to sing with the big girls this year. :(

It was great to have Layla here this year for Christmas. Here she is giving sissy a ride. :)

Haven and his new Buzz Lightyear!

Evangeline trying out her Drawn 2 Life game

The coffee my hubby made me Christmas morning. Yes I needed it. :)

Merry Christmas Oso, one year that we have owned him now.

My nephew and me!

Caleb was attempting to attack Anna here I think

Justin and the kids went Christmas Caroling with the Church

Christmas Joy Day 7 - 17

2010-12-17T09:07:00.000-08:00

Okay so I was on a good roll and then poof life got in the way. So much for my pic a day.

Here is a few pics from the last 10 days.

My Haven and I

A Playdough Christmas

Ryan and Shae came for a too short visit. :)

The kids put on a "play" in the loosest sense of the term. I am pretty sure it involved a baby Jesus.

Grandma Sherry came to the build and grow clinic with us last Saturday

Thank you Shae for the twirly ribbons and Evangelines pretty new hat. :)

I sewed up a bunch of Java Jackets for my sister to give away to her coworkers and then a few for Christmas presents.

Christmas Joy - Day 6

2010-12-06T18:27:00.000-08:00

I really need to put this ladder away but it makes such a nice dinosaur mountain.

Christmas Joy - Day 5

2010-12-05T21:19:00.000-08:00

Okay okay so much for picture a day. Lets just call it "at least a picture a day" :)

Working back through the day I will start you off with the finished product. Our lovely Christmas tree. The very most beautifulest we have ever had according to Timmy. :)

A little help decorating from my girl

A little help putting on lights from my littlest boy

Timmy putting together the tree stand which he figured out all on his own. :)

At the tree farm where the gentleman used this awesome machine on our tree. (But he did not break it as Haven was a bit concerned he might)

A daddy can never have a big enough audience. Now if only he could get some help. hehehe

The first tree Caleb saw of course it is the one he wanted. So we took it home in picture form instead and he was happy with that.

Oh and the nice lady gave us candy, what could be better?

December Joy - Picture 4

2010-12-04T22:26:00.000-08:00

Choo Choo trains the kidlets built at the Lowes Build and Grow clinic today!

December Joy - Picture 3

2010-12-03T20:32:00.000-08:00

Somehow my picture a day is always 2 pics. :) Weird huh!

Awesome boxed Christmas Sufjan cd set still in the plastic when I found it at Salvation Army today. yay

After a long long long day of grocery shopping my boys needed a Christmas Veggie Tale break.

December Joy - Picture day 2

2010-12-02T15:47:00.000-08:00

Concentrating on painting some secret presents. :)

Take a picture mommy. :)

December Joy - picture a day

2010-12-01T13:05:00.000-08:00

I want to post a pic a day through December as a way to share a bit of our holiday Joy and also as a way to look back and remember. :)

I love how these 2 pictures capture how every time I walk past the kids nativity set I find it looking different. Makes me smile to over hear them acting out the story and having discussions about baby Jesus. (the top scene was very likely left by the little boys and the bottom scene by Timmy, Evangeline likes to leave everyone in matching rows. hehehe)

Thankful Today

2010-11-29T09:42:00.000-08:00

For wonderful Great Grandmothers

For Family

For my Children

For delicious Food and fun times making it with my kidlets

For our home that we are able to host gatherings in.

I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving and I look forward to sharing the Christmas season with all of you.

Weekly Wrap up 11

2010-11-19T19:54:00.000-08:00

Started our week by Taking all 4 of the kids to Lowes build and grow clinic. The 2 littlest had so much fun. This was there first time there and wow they concentrated so hard on those hammers and nails.

Put together Shoe Boxes for Operation Christmas Child with our small group. We will be sending them off this Sunday.

The kids did a lot of Mayflower/ Pilgrim study this week, we listened to a live interview from Plimoth on Scholastic and then they worked on some printable for a board we put together.

Here is the completed board they all love to go look at it and talk about it, although Caleb still insists he colored a Pirate ship. :)

A little Thanksgiving banner Evangeline and I put together.

I made some Turkey shirts for the kids this week. I got the idea and tutorial here http://thecottagehome.blogspot.com/2010/11/gobble-gobble-turkey-shirt-tutorial.html

I did not have any interfacing so I just used a glue stick to hold the fabric down as I stitched it. :)

Here is one with the feathers and turkey sewn down. (These were the girl design and above is what the boys got)

Sorry my computer is being wacky again and won't let me flip this. :( But this is one of the completed Turkey's with handstitched feet and face. :)

I will get a pic of the kids in there shirts on Thanksgiving. :)

We have a super busy weekend ahead but that is for another blog post and then we head into Thanksgiving week. Hoping to get more sewing done next week and looking forward to the family meal on Thursday as well as beginning the plans for Christmas.

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Thanksgiving week - The plan

2010-11-18T07:55:00.000-08:00

So my sister has posted there plans for next week, I told her I would post mine as well so here they are. I wouldn't call mine so much a plan as a bunch of ideas we will pick and choose from as time allows. :)

We will be getting together with my sis and the kids one day to make popcorn strings for hanging outside for the animals.

We will be doing some lapbook/ copybook work, I have several options for this that I have downloaded from http://www.homeschoolfreebie.wholesomechildhood.com/ over the last year so we will pick and choose what works best for us. I have one folder for each child and whatever we complete will go in there so they can keep there book to look through and remember after Thanksgiving.

We also have been checking out the scholastic Thanksgiving section and will most likely continue that next week as well. We still need to explore the Mayflower after all. :)

Evangeline will practice her cursive by making name tags for everyone that will be here for Thanksgiving dinner. She loves helping make a holiday special with little homemade touches.
Here is what we are attempting if I can get the walnuts to crack cleanly.
We will have one sail and she will write the name on it.

We have a few books we will be reading and we will be doing some draw right now book 3.
Here is a sideways pic because my comp is being wacky. Also in the pic are the folders with some copywork and poems ready to go. They will use the little foamy kits we got from Grandma Ardel to decorate the front of the binders.

Other than that Thanksgiving evening we will give the kids there new Christmas movie like we usually do. This year it is the newest Veggie Tales Christmas.

We will not be doing school Black Friday! We spend a fun morning with Grandma Ardel people watching with a little but of shopping thrown in. :) Very likely this will end with a trip to a coffee shop to warm up and relax. Me personally I am hoping Legos are on a super sale. hehehe

Weekly Wrap up 10

2010-11-12T17:02:00.000-08:00

We started the week with a thrifting trip. :) We went to some Goodwill's and some Saint Vinny's. We walked away with a bunch of books as usual, a few sheets, and a few other random items. Mostly we just got a nice break as a family.

I just couldn't get them all looking at once. They were to bouncy. :)

Haven dancing outside of the Hawaiian Time Restaurant.

Working on a US Puzzle we found at GoodWill

Ummm I think someone stole the camera

It had the World on the reverse way cute and vintage.

Cooking French Toast with Daddy on Wednesday

As for school both kids finished up there Current Math book and will start on the next level up next week. We also finished Stories of The Pilgrims just in time for Thanksgiving.

Some Tents I plan to sew for the boys for Christmas and why I purchased the sheets. :)
http://obsessivelystitching.blogspot.com/2010/02/tent-week-day-four-twin-sheet-teepee.html

A few Thanksgiving treats we plan to make
http://www.ricekrispies.com/recipes/the-original-treats.aspx#/recipes/pretzel-tailed-turkey-treats

http://familyfun.go.com/thanksgiving/thanksgiving-kids-table-fun/thanksgiving-kids-table-recipes/marshmallow-pilgrim-hats-682463/
Some T-shirts I plan to make for the kids for Thanksgiving

http://thecottagehome.blogspot.com/2010/11/gobble-gobble-turkey-shirt-tutorial.html

Next 2 months are crazy busy and I am concentrating on keeping them as joyful as possible and remembering to keep things as simple as possible.

For more weekly wrap ups go to www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com

Weekly Wrap Up 8 and 9

2010-11-05T17:15:00.000-07:00

SO life has been busy so I simply didn't get to a wrap up last week.

School is still moving along at a slow and steady pace. Things just seem to slow down a bit this time of year which is possibly not a bad thing. We have gotten through studying about the first 10 Presidents and first 13 States. Timothy (7) has now read 2 full books, this is a huge step for him and I can see the reading possibilities blossoming in his mind. Caleb (4) has begun asking to learn to read and I have held off thus far but I do believe we may start some simple letter learning in January.

Taking November to get through a few workbooks such as Grammar and Math so we can have a fresh start after Christmas in a new book. We love new workbooks, clean crisp pages are just so inspiring. Also taking November to give thanks for our abundant blessings so mixing some extra Thanksgiving reading and activities in when we can, Or even on occasion just doing that instead of the regular schedule. (Crazy I know)

Slowly working on some handmade Christmas gifts and I hope to really get serious about that in the next few weeks before the clock ticks down.

Joyful our small home group is starting back up I love the fellowship and encouragement. Thanks Ash for the conversation this week) Also enjoying my new MOPS group, although I do miss my girls from the last few years.

A couple paper Christmas Trees Timmy created this week. All his own design. And these trees are tiny. (Yes it is only Nov)

Haven with his Airplane creation

He was not sleepy here! Neither was Oso

Some beautimous leaves we collected from Grandmas yard ready to be flattened with books

Gluing them onto some fish bowls

With candles in them! Hoping they last until Thanksgiving

This very morning after my hubby woke me up with a delicious Mocha in hand. :) Ignore the unbrushed hair. :)

Have a great and Thankful November everyone. :)
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What I learned while my husband was away

2010-10-25T08:53:00.000-07:00

I was reminded once again just how blessed I am to have my Justin. I learned that 3 little boys need there Daddy more than they think they do. I learned how much my little girl has a tendency to worry about any and everything. I learned that I really don't always trust in God like I should, I really don't Pray like I should, and I don't guard my thoughts like I should. I really realized again how disorganized I tend to be and just how much God has grown me in that area although I have far to go. I got a little more reminder that I am who God made me to be and I need to stop trying to be someone else.

Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

139:1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.

13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. [1]
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.

19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
20 They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain! [2]
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts! [3]
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting! [4]

My husband has returned refreshed and renewed. With a fire for God I have not seen since, well a long while. Lord help me to keep the flame burning. Let me not be a discouragement or a stumbling block. Give me words of encouragement and wisdom Lord. Lead us together down your path for us.

Loving my family today and excited to start school with the kids for the week with an encouraged heart.

Weekly Wrap up 7

2010-10-22T18:50:00.000-07:00

Started the week preparing to send Daddy to Mexico for 5 days. So Monday was spent running to a few stores for last minute stuff and trying to get Skype hooked up on the computers. we got it working but sadly only the laptop had a mike and camera so while he was able to chat I had to type. :)

Tuesday we dropped Daddy off at the church to take a bus ride to the airport. My little Haven was confused and Caleb was a bit bothered that Daddy gets to see his Asa and fly on an airplane. We took it light on studies, watched a couple movies and just hung out.

Wednesday we went to my moms for hair cuts for the boys. much needed haircuts. Then we actually camped out in the living room with a couple of the kids mattresses and a couple old movies. Grandma was super cool and sent over some yummy soup for dinner. (She knows me and my lack of eating when I am stressed too well, I guess that's why she's my momma) I was able to chat with Justin for a few minutes and the kids said hello even though he couldn't hear them. Haven says he can come home from work now. :)

Haven with his new haircut!

Thursday we try to do a bit more school. We did okay but the kids were so tired I finally put them all to bed for a rest. The oldest 2 had some work to do in bed and even they fell asleep doing it. It was a much needed nap and they all woke up happier. After much impatience and the amazingly wonderful Shae helping me out I was able to chat with Justin before bed at 11:30pm. I sure do love that guy and am very unused to not talking to him several times a day.

Friday we went into town for a coffee, umm because I am out of milk! Then we swung by my sisters house to see her pretty blue paint on her house. Of course the kids decided it would be best if they played for a bit while I did my errand. :) So just Haven and I ran to big lots and picked up a camera/mike combo for my comp. When he Skypes tonight I will be ready. Then we met the local homeschool group and my Sis, Bro-in-law and the kids at the pumpkin patch for a hayride, and corn maze. Fun stuff. Home at last just relaxing and waiting for Grandma Ardel to pick up Evangeline and Haven for an overnight visit.

Daddy is home late tomorrow and we are ready. :)

335 lbs of cousin!

Searching for the perfect pumpkin

Me and the kids. See I fit right in!

The corn maze

Check out more weekly wrap ups at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Weekly Wrap up Week 6

2010-10-15T19:01:00.000-07:00

Fall is in full force, we have had falling leaves, cats under the house, and fallish weather. Which for Oregon means cool mornings that warm up and get humid. :)

Evangeline is through her Alpha Math U See and moving at a quick pace through Beta. I am really glad we switched curriculum and am happy to hear her say she gets it and it's easy. She should be through Beta relatively quickly and onto the next book.

Timothy is just about done with the Math U See Primer and will start the Beta as soon as he is finished.

I signed the kids up for the Book It program months ago and since it starts this month I printed out there charts and gave them each a reading goal. Timothy has just started to get excited about reading and this was the jumpstart that he needed. He actually finished his first book all the way through yesterday and asked to read more. :)

We had Kaylin over for a day this last week and she was happy to do some school with Evangeline. :)

Haven insisted I can hold 2. :)

She was very not tired but we convinced her to nap after much lullaby singing.

The kids have been building this United States Puzzle all week and we watched Wackos United States song several times. Fun stuff!

So we had a pretty good week. We almost caught up with our schedule and what more can we ask? :)

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Christmas countdown week one.

2010-10-13T21:50:00.000-07:00

I started working on some Christmas gifts for my kids this week.

These are for there Stockings - I got the idea here http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2009/12/cozy-car-caddy-tutorial.html and changed very little from her tutorial except I omitted piping since I don't have any and decided not to do the stenciling. Oh and I used denim for the road instead of felt. I am trying not to purchase anything or as little as possible.

I made one for my girly after I tried one of her polly pockets in one of the boys. They fit perfectly. So hers is a Polly Pocket Caddy. :)

Here is hers folded. I also used snaps instead of velcro.

Here are the boys I used the same fabric for there car on the front that I lined the inside with.

I am happy with what I accomplished and I will be back with another project soon.

An hour a day!

2010-10-09T09:25:00.000-07:00

So I have so many plans for the upcoming holiday season. Homemade gifts for almost everyone. Sadly so far these plans have just been trapped inside of my head. So I have committed myself to sew or craft an hour a day until I get caught up. I shut myself up in my bedroom last night and was already able to get 3 things sewn for the boys. I already feel so much better and like it will all be okay. That feeling of small accomplishment instead of laziness is so nice. I will be posting what I get done for my own record and also in case it may give anyone else an idea for inexpensive gifts in this economy. I know we are tight financially right now and I feel blessed that I am able to handcraft some things for my family. So as soon as I grab some pics I will post my first project. :)

Weekly Wrap Up Week 5

2010-10-08T17:31:00.000-07:00

So we made it 5 weeks. 5 weeks of almost staying on schedule, almost remembering to hold my temper in check, almost being the mother I wish to be. Some days were better than others of course and some weeks were better than others. :)

Anxiety has been attempting to get the better of me this week. We fell a bit behind from some unexpected scheduling and bad planning on my part. So instead of smiling and doing my best to calmly get us back on track I kind of had a melt down. You know yelling, stressing, internet surfing, writing lists I will never accomplish.

My poor children, whom I adore and love have been the brunt of this followed closely by my husband as usual.

Thinking about the wrap up I was imaging our lack of activity this week in desperation and of course once again when I checked the camera for pictures I was surprised by what we did accomplish. God is so good.

We made this Fall Mobile. We borrowed the idea from http://www.vanessachristenson.com/2010/09/how-to-wax-paper-and-crayon-fall-leaves.html and http://1plus1plus1equals1.blogspot.com/search/label/Something%20Special combined. :)

Here the kids are grating the crayons. :) with the help of the Stanley and his Sister we are currently hosting.

Took The Brother and Sister to the duck pond for a visit.

We got to see a retired Nascar last Sat at Daddy's work. :) Just like Lightning

The big kids finished there Jamestown dioramas with a little help from Mommy. :) We got these from http://homeschoolinthewoods.com/HTTA/promo/Jamestown-Replica.htm

Then we took Stanley to Grandmas to visit an Oregon Garden. The kids went out and took pics and I must say they did I fine job.

So next week I will focus on the little moments and remember the great Gift I have been given by God, my beautiful family.

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Weekly Wrap Up Week 4

2010-10-01T13:13:00.000-07:00

We are studying Marsupials in our Science right now, we took some time to Draw the Kangaroo from the Draw Right Now books. I love drawing with the kids it is a nice break we need to do it more often

Justin was home Wednesday we didn't get as much school done as we should have of course. Actually we haven't done super well all week so today we are playing some catch up

Justin when I caught him "Organizing" the Lego men as he calls it. :) I call it playing but whatever

We will be doing a Flat Stanley exchange this year. Here the kids are posing with our Flat Stanley we will mail him out to the first person next week, after that we will be looking for some new homes for him to visit. Let us know if any of you are interested in hosting him at all

The Flat Stanley Project Page

We went on a family hike to Susan Creek Falls last Sunday, It was wonderful Sunny but not too hot

Here is Haven with his "X" he was positive it was not a 2

Searching for Pirate Treasure

At the Lowes Build and Grow clinic last Saturday with Timmy and Evangeline

Timmy building his puppet stage. He does not need my help thank you very much

Evangeline building

It happened to be Fire Safety day so here is Evangeline in the Ambulance with her neck brace on

Now she is strapped in for a ride. Timmy would sit on the side but that was all

Check out weird unsocialized homeschoolers for more wrap ups or to join in!

Friday Fun

2010-09-24T20:16:00.000-07:00

We had a few extra kidlets over today. We chilled for awhile at home before taking a trek over to the Safari.

The 2 big kids building some card houses

At the Safari

Snackin on the bunnies

Making some new friends

Watching a couple of show offs. :)

Biggest goldfish ever. Just ask Caleb

Weekly Wrap up 9/24/10 Week 3

2010-09-24T10:48:00.000-07:00

Evangeline with her Oso. doing some bookwork.

Caleb had some tot-school time this week other than just coloring. He colored these bugs and then we decided to tie them on a stick and make a mobile. The kids found a plastic fly and wanted it below the spider as if he was going after it for a snack. :)

Here he is coloring pasta to match the colors I put in the bottom of each egg cup. He did 3 of each color.

Then he strung a necklace on 2 pipe cleaners. Here is his camera pose. hehehe

We decided to have Bob, Abbie, and there crew over to watch the Harvest moon and check out Jupiter with us. My kids got very excited and created this little space station. :) books, telescope, binoculars, and a fun mobile Timmy created out of cardboard - tape - string

Around the bonfire

Kids checking out the moon

My camera was not liking the night time action. :) It seems to think there were 3 moons that night.

Taught the kids a few games from my childhood. Mother May I and Simon Says. P.E. if we keep active enough.

Oh and for all of you to know :) We totally are behind in my school schedule and slowly working toward catching up. We really do not only do fun stuff - most of the day is full of sit back down, no you don't need another drink, please get dressed so we can start, how is it 11 and we have only done one thing, I guess we will just skip that and call it good, Pick up your pencil, stop sharpening your pencil, stop doodling on your worksheets, Please don't whine, It isn't lunch time and we already had snack, and so on. hehehe I have just been purposefully trying to capture some of our more peaceful moments in picture so I have some encouragement to look back on. It is so true that when I think back to years past with my little ones I remember the fun times and the less fun are a vague fuzzy sometimes humorous memory. So here we go day by day week by week making our new memories.

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for more weekly wrap ups or to join in.

Weekly Wrap Up Week 2

2010-09-17T11:34:00.000-07:00

Making some boats to see what it is like when stormy weather or wind gets crazy on the ocean. We are studying first settlers of the United States.

Haven with his Vitamin Water boat.

Holding the skewers in place as the hot glue dries in Evangeline's orange juice carton boat.

The ocean bathtub surrounded by Giants

Timmy attempting to salvage a sail. The Vitamin water bottles are a bit tipsy.

We also had our first roast and fire in the new backyard firepit. Ummm we didn't have any camp roasters and these kabob skewers were a tad too short. I guess I better watch out for some at end of summer sales.

Other than that it was a slow week. Evangeline is advancing in her math memorization facts at a good pace. Not fast enough for her but fast enough for me. :)
Timothy is improving greatly in his reading. Phonics Pathways mixed with ETC and Mcguffey Readers seems to be working very well. He likes a change of pace often so we rotate what we are reading everyday.

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Back to School Day 1

2010-09-07T08:37:00.000-07:00

First day of school. Sunshine, New shirts, New schedule, and some P.E. fun.

Here is the Timid girl taking a jump.

The not so Timid Boy

and another! Although you can't see his head I love the form. :)

The Pre-schooler takes a leap

The little boy who has informed me his is now my Big Boy Baby!
He was so into this we had a hard time getting back inside afterwards so we read our next story in the backyard. :)

And who is this? Evangeline likes to take headless pics which is fine with me :)

We also did some learning but this is the only shot I took to prove it. hehehe

August comes to a close.

2010-08-31T17:24:00.000-07:00

We cleared about half of the wood/ metal rubbish that was left behind on our property when we moved in. We still have plenty to clean out though.

Haven my little baby boy, quickly becoming an independent little man.

We ripped out the living room carpet. I found it creepy imagining the mystery germs left behind. On top of that it had plenty of visible stains. :)

I revamped one of Justin's older Dress shirts just because I liked it and was in an odd mood. :)
Here is a beautiful pic my girly took of me in it. hehehe

I was in a pin cushion swap with the girls over at The Homeschool Lounge.

This is the one I mailed out

This is what I received in return.

It is awesome and I have already started filling it up and using it. :)

A new look!

2010-08-26T19:55:00.000-07:00

With many thanks to Weregoose from KOL for helping this HTML inept Lady!

For Taiah

2010-08-25T10:14:00.000-07:00

Happy 8th Birthday Taiah! We Miss you and Love you. Eat something sweet, dance to some good music, and give your family lots of hugs from us. :)

Some Summertime Simplicity

2010-08-24T11:20:00.000-07:00

Finding Nature in the everyday! Caleb was amazed at this "beautiful butterfly" he found in the Costco Parking lot. :) Followed by a brown moth he found which sadly flew away before I snapped a pic.

Beautiful Girl on a very sunny day at the park, they were protecting the fort from something or other?

Playing in the Baby Whale. Gotta love Kaylin and her dancin skills. hehehe

Hmmmmm what's this?

Oops we need some Oxy Clean STAT

Hanging with the Cousins, and this is what I get when I tell 6 kids to smile. :)

Summer Free time is winding down as I prep for school starting on the 6'th. Of course I am trying to focus on the day to day beauty and remember not to worry to much about tomorrow. Prayer for the upcoming school year would be a blessing as this momma is imperfect and I need God's perfection on a day to day basis to carry me through.

Matthem 6:27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

Happy Birthday Kamdenn!

2010-08-24T10:58:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st Birthday K!

Delicious

Happy Birthday To You!

Splashing Is that Candy?

Still looking for candy. :)

The Cozy Coupe

Friends always Share

Fun with paint and some sewing too :)

2010-08-12T19:44:00.000-07:00

Found a fun project over at Filth Wizardry and so we decided to give it a try. :)

Here Evangeline is practicing some ironing skills. :)

Painting her fabric

Hanging it to dry in the sun

The finished skirt

Timmy trying to decide what to draw

Timmy in his shorts

We had a lot of fun and so far the clothes seem to be holding up well. We shall see how they do after a couple washings. hehehe

Curtains and more :)

2010-08-11T15:44:00.000-07:00

Just to have a nice record for my sewing challenge this month I will be attempting to post a pic of each of my projects from the month.

A set of curtains that are for a friend. Already gave them away and sadly the only pic I took is very dark :(

I made 2 sets of John Dear Curtains for a babies room. A friends not mine :)
Also serged a cute extra piece of farm fleece I had for the baby.

Serged a huge batch of Bandanas for a big family B-day party we had this last weekend. We had a blast on a scaventure hunt and each team had it's own bandana color to wear.

Made some tiny little newborn headbands for a friend. Hoping her little one will fit them and they aren't too small or too big.

Sewed 2 valances for Grandma Ardels playroom. Was gonna use veggie tale fabric but the kids voted for the monsters.

Did not have to buy one thing for any of these projects which is awesome. Love curtains easy and fun!!!!

Simple sewing

2010-08-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

The girls over at the Homeschool Lounge have started up a group for us who like to sew. :) They are kicking off August with a little bit of a friendly sewing challenge. We get points for any and everything we sew this month. Of course we lose points if we have to buy any fabric. hehehe Perfect challenge for me as I already have an overabundance of fabric that I need motivation to transform into something less sheet like.

So here is a little Simple Skirt How To. :) Or More like a simple How I made a skirt.

Step 1. 5 Quarter fats that I purchased ages ago folded in half. (Ummm yes I rarely use an iron)

Step 2. I cut them all on the open side at a slight angle from bottom to top. These are still folded over.

Step 3. Sew them end to end. I actually serged them together but regular sewing would work too.

Step 4. Turn inside out and sew ends together. (Now its a huge circle of fabric)

Step 5, 6, and 7. Serge top and bottom or roll hem. Then fold down top and sew to create a tube for stringing the elastic through. I cut the elastic to just fit my girls waist this way there is a ton of stretch so she can wear this skirt for a long time.

I used FOE simply because I have tons of it and the contest is about using up our stashes. Regular elastic would work fine as well. I also sewed a bit of lace on the bottom hem simply because I had it in the stash. :) You could easily use ribbon, lace, or nothing at all on the bottom hem.

As I sat and looked at my bible today I noticed my cover was rather bland. So here it is with my new embellishment. :) Simple yet fun. Just the kind of embroidery project I can actually finish.

Check back for more of my August sewing. I am always a fan of encouragement and friendly challenge. :)

Creation Camp 2010

2010-07-27T08:48:00.000-07:00

The Lions may be weak and hungry but those who fear the Lord lack no good thing. Psalm 34:10

This was a great Camp for myself and I hope for all the kids who attended as well. Reminded me how much I enjoy ministering to a childs heart. Also that even when I lack and feel I may have failed, God is in charge and he always triumphs.

I had great, great girls this year. They are growing in God and walking that rough rode of life decisions and future plans. Had a great conversation with one of the girls Sat night that so reminded me of myself at that same age. God was showing me that although sometimes I doubt I have much to offer others even the little I have is enough. It's all he asks and it is all I can give.

Weekly Wrap Up 7/2/2010

2010-07-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

Ok so we didn't do much school this week. Summertime fun mixed with Party planning is about all that we achieved.

I wasn't able to get a veggie bed in the ground this year but had a friend mention trying this. A sort of homemade Topsy Turvy. I planted Cherry Tomatoes upside down in some cheap plastic hanging planters that I had cut a hole out of the bottom of. So far so good, we even have tiny tomatoes starting. :)

Joining in on this Summer Devotion Challenge over at the Homeschool Lounge. Just started yesterday!

Timothy surprised us all this week by just taking off on his bike. Which he has never ridden before. :) He was biking circles all over the driveway without any coaching whatsoever. Well other than Momma telling him to get a helmet on. His bike has gone in for a tune up and he is anxiously awaiting it's return.

We are busy planning Caleb's 4th Birthday. Can you guess the theme? Next week I will post some pics of decorations, crafts, ect.... The party is the 10th and he is more than ready for it.

Had a few gloriously Beautiful Summer Days this week. The kids jumped at the chance to use the pool. Even Oso got in on the fun.

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Weekly Wrap Up 6/25/10

2010-06-25T16:43:00.000-07:00

So my last wrap up was several weeks ago thus this one will have a bit from the last 2 weeks in it.

Practice CAT before the big day. She got out a lot of anxiety and when the big day arrived did great. (We should have results in a couple weeks) Oh and when I told her took pick out a book to read during breaks at the testing she picked her Bible. :)

Last Spring trip to the Safari in which the big kids were very sweet to there youngers. :) Also beautiful weather.

My first time as the official driver going through the Safari drive through. Timmy had to snap a pic.

Kids decided this lazy guy reminded them of our Dog OSO. :) Luckily the Bears, Lions, Cheetahs and Tigers were much more active.

I cut the lawn with a riding lawnmower for the first time in my life and actually found it relaxing other than the sore legs the day after. hehehe I will be mowing most of the time from now on as my husband practically dies from allergies.

Nature walk at the duck pond. My whole Beautiful family minus me. :)

Still walking

Conspirators

The 3 oldest spend this last week at a local VBS and had such a blast. Haven and I chilled at my sisters house most of the mornings they were there and you can check her blog to see a bit of what we were working on.

http://bobandabbies.blogspot.com/2010/06/weekly-wrap-up_24.html

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Weekly Wrap Up 6/11/10

2010-06-11T19:30:00.000-07:00

Tiny bits of sunshine escaped from the clouds this week off and on and although I would have appreciated a bit more I was very greatful for what we received.

We celebrated my sweet nieces 4th Birthday last Saturday and the kids had a blast at a local fun center.
(My kids are all in a row with the hats on, being surprisingly mild mannered)

Timothy came home from his weekly cooking class at Grandmas with this delicious homemade cake. It was so good and he was so excited that we could all have 2 pieces. One for now and one for later. :)

Evangeline shared her day with Grandma this week with her best friend, they have known each other forever and since she will be moving to Mexico with her family soon as missionaries they took the day just to have some fun and Grandma took some pics too. Here is the families blog www.allfourhisglory.blogspot.com

We put together a summer adventure box this week too. My kids decided they wanted it to be about backyard animals.

So far they have mostly been studying insects. My boys do this all of the time anyway so it comes very naturally to them. :) Here they are working on a little bug house kit we put together.

I got the idea for this kit from my sister at http://bobandabbies.blogspot.com/

who got the idea from http://www.hsclassroom.net/2010/05/summer-adventure-boxes/

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Breathing Anew

2010-06-08T11:05:00.000-07:00

Some days I wake up weary and then what do I do? I consider how weary I am, I dwell on it, I swim in it. Far to common of an occurance as of late. Slowly it dawned on me that the more I linger in a place of worry and weariness the less I feel like doing anything about it. After all I am a sinner and a failure.

Why I wonder is my house not as tidy as I would like it to be? Why aren't my children as polite and content as I would like them to be? Why am I not as submissive and caring as I should be? Then the light comes on inside of my heart. Knock knock, my God reminding me to dwell on him and not on myself.

The beautiful Glorious sunshine yesterday reminded me of how my spirit lifts when I go into the sunny world and soak in it. How much more will my spirit lift if I Go into the Son and soak him in?

Calling on my Lord today and knowing he does hear me and will help me take to baby steps on my journey of becoming the person he created me to be.

Jeremiah 33:3

Weekly Wrap Up 6/4/2010

2010-06-04T17:38:00.000-07:00

Evangeline has been going to Grandmas once a week for a little while now. She is getting some one on one time to learn some handiwork she has been wanting to do but I have never been able to get around to.

First she is learning to embroider and she is so excited about it. She has shown so much patience it is really amazing. She plans to finish this sampler and frame it for her bedroom.

They are also pressing flowers. I believe Grandma and Evangeline plan on some kind of craft with these when they are finished. Possibly Christmas presents.

Next on the list is learning how to bike. Just as soon as the sun chooses to peak out a bit more than it has been. :)

Timothy has also been having a once a week Grandma day. He has chosen to do cooking lessons with Grandma and is enjoying it very much.

This is him with some yummy Beef Pie. He took so much time decorating the top of this. It was beautiful.

As for at our house we finally pulled out the legos that have been in a tub since we had our first baby. They are an amazing success and all 4 of the kids are in Love. :)

Here is Timmy with his first creation a 2 story house on wheels. With solar panel!

We won't be stopping school for summer, we may be on a summer slowdown but not a summer break. We just switched to Math U See curriculum instead of Horizons and so far it has been amazing. Timmy is in love with the block manipulatives and the dvd we get to watch before each lesson. Easy to understand and hands on have made this a big hit. We shall see how it keeps progressing.
Timothy officially finished his first book this week and I can see a little glimmer of hope for his love for reading to blossom. I know it won't be long before he really jumps in with both feet. He just needs to warm up to the idea first.

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A Time Out

2010-06-04T17:22:00.001-07:00

It's been a crazy few months at our home. After over a month of having no job God led Justin straight to a job we weren't even really considering. The weekend before he went back to work Justin and I took a weekend camping trip thanks to his wonderful momma who offered to watch the kidlets and let us use there van. It was glorious at the coast and we had an amazing get away. It can be so nice to just sit back and talk with no fear of interruption. :)

Justin is now at Verizon Phones Plus and it has been an amazing blessing. We do miss having him home all day though and even when the time off was a tad stressful with a limited budget it was truly a great time for us just to be a family. :)

Happy Birthday Kaylin

2010-05-10T17:33:00.000-07:00

One year old already, we celebrated Saturday as Kaylin passed from the baby stage to the toddler stage. (She has been toddling for awhile but now it's official) My, my, my does time fly!

Blow out the candle

A not so great pic of the quilt I made for Kaylin

Birthday Lunch

Nature day with daddy

2010-05-07T08:01:00.000-07:00

Umm not in a picture posing mood I guess. :)

His new best friend rescued from the side of the freeway

Awww I love these kids

Why did we bring the wagon again?

The great exploration

A bit tuckered out

Soaking in some sunshine

2010-05-07T07:58:00.001-07:00

My big man is officially 7

2010-03-15T09:06:00.001-07:00

Day after Breakfast!
He loves this :) keeps checking the weather for me.
Blow out the candles
The table decor including the cake and his painted lighthouse.
The present table. He cut out and colored these fishies himself.
The CD fish mobile
Making some decor
Swirly batter for the ocean cake

Just for Fun

2010-03-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

Haven received this stuffed Buzz Lightyear for his birthday from Bob and Abbie and the kids. He came with his hands velcroed around a blankie. One day Evangeline put him around Havens neck and now we see this almost everyday. :)
His cute dirty fishy face

We saw some cute flower headbands at Ross the other day but they were too spendy for this mommy. So I went on over to Michaels and grabbed a couple daisy's which happened to be on sale. Brought them home and hotglued them to some headbands. Yay for Springtime headwear. Also this was part of a bit of girly time I have been attempting to carve out for my girl and I so look forward to some more to come.

Weekly Wrap Up - Feb 19

2010-02-19T15:17:00.000-08:00

Just had to show you my tuckered out little boy napping with his puppy

Valentines Day Treats

Ready For the Dance

The kids with the chocolates they made

Wrapping up another week and happy to say Spring is here. :) At least for a little bit! My little ones have been overjoyed to have a little outside time after the Long Winter Months. hehehe aren't they blessed to live here instead of someplace that actually gets Winter?

As for this week it has been odd and strange and wonderful. Daddy has been home all week. He is currently in between jobs, well his new job starts Monday so his mini vacation between jobs is almost over.
I received Timmy's Math Books that we have been waiting for and we are flying through them. For those who don't know he had been doing math that was much to advanced for him and we were not having many good days. Finally I came to my senses and ordered him the lower leveled math and it was the best choice I could have made. He is once again liking math and at this rate we should be caught up to his level in no time and he will feel much better about himself.
We were also able to test a few studies from The Old Schoolhouse this week including a study on Firefighters and one on Australia. The kids really enjoyed them and you can check out my last 2 posts if you want more info.
Evangeline is still doing her Prairie Primer studies and we are just finishing up Farmer Boy. She is also still doing her Cursive from handwriting for a reason and is enjoying it so much.
I was able to reorganize our school supplies finally. I hadn't done it since we moved in and I am so excited now to be able to get to and use alot more of the resources I already own. I also found some curriculum to start Caleb on as he is asking everyday for schoolwork to do with the big kids.
Next week we will be back into a more normal routine with daddy back at work and will hopefully make it back to the library again since it's been several weeks. :)

We also had a tiny valentine party last Friday with my sis and her little ones and my daughter was able to go to the Father /Daughter dance with her Grandpa.

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Product in Review - Expedition Australia

2010-02-19T14:18:00.000-08:00

Evangeline showing off a little of there work.

This week we were able to use Download and Go - Expedition Australia from The Old School House. This study is designed to be a week long study for k-4th grade. It is available for $7.95 and has over 100 pages.

I found that this study had everything I needed in a very organized manner. Each day you will learn a little more about Australia, including it's geography, animals, language, and culture. Very little to no extra prep work is required. You just sit down with the kids at the computer and go through each page, every internet link and printable you will need is right there as well as a large list of books and extra materials you could pick up from the library if desired. I was unable to make it to the library and we had no lack of information in front of us to keep us learning.

Lapbook printables you can make to go along with each days activities are also included and provided the "hands on make me feel a part of it" my kids can always use to stay interested in a subject.

Some of my favorite features of this study

- Bright and colorful with plenty of activities, coloring, lapbooking, question/answers ect...
- Large selection of internet links for everything Australian already found and ready for you
- Super organized and easy to follow
- Easily adapted for a multi age group. My 3, 7, and 9 year old all found something to interest them and I was happy to have them build the lapbook together to help them with working together to accomplish a common goal.

Product in review - Wanna Be Series Firefighter

2010-02-19T13:23:00.000-08:00

The oldest 3 showing off some of there copywork and coloring

Our family was able to have the opportunity this last week to try out a few products for review.

We started with a study available from The Old SchoolHouse Magazine.
The Firefighter study from the WannaBe Series. This study is downloadable for $8.95.

It is over 80 pages chalked full of information on firemen, fire safety, fire dogs (My little ones personal favorite), and much more. My children thoroughly enjoyed this study and I was surprised at how much they were able to take away from it. It has a lot of reading with some activities and extras mixed in. I was able to keep it balanced and you can easily pick and choose sections to read if you happen to have a student with a shorter attention span. We were able to finish this up in one week but it could be stretched into several weeks with smaller sessions per day. This would be a great study to schedule a trip to the fire station during and now that we have gone through it I am sure just such a trip is in our near future.

Some of my favorite features of this study

-Great copywork in both manuscript and cursive including one word copywork and longer fireman quotes. Something for all writing levels
-Very informative yet entertaining - so much information in one study ranging from fire mans gear to building codes.
-Great set of extras at the end to help extend the study if desired including party and game ideas.
-Very easy study to add supplementals to if your child becomes extra interested.

While my children gleaned a lot from this study it is probably ideal for at least 2nd grade and up. My little ones who are 2 and 3 did find some of the chapters a bit long while my oldest who are 7 and 9 were much better able to absorb the knowledge. That being said my 3 year old has been calling our dog a fire dog since we finished and loves practicing our fire escape plan. :)