Home School Book Fair 2009

Every year in Arlington the weekend of Mother's Day the Home School Book Fair is that Friday and Saturday. We set aside that weekend for family time. A time to focus on the past school year and what we accomplished or didn't. And a time to focus on the coming school year and what we want to accomplish during that time for each child. It is such a joy and a privilege to have this responsibility. I wouldn't trade it for anything! 

The kids were able to finish up their school work on Thursday. That is the first time we have done that and we really like it. So that will be our goal from now on, to be finished before the book fair! We may have to work a little harder in some areas at certain times of the year but we will still not start until after Labor Day and we will still take a winter holiday from Thanksgiving week through New Years. We do so much during that time anyway, just not workbooks. 

This year, while I did get the traditional math workbooks that we enjoy, my heart was drawn to things that will prepare my preteens for the things that will be coming in the near future. It may seem early for that when my children are only 10 and almost 8 but I know that if I let this window of time slip by and do not prepare them in the way that the Lord is leading me to do then I am not doing my job correctly as a mother. The world has such different standards than the Lord does. So if I want my children to have the Lords standards for handling things then I need to get to them before the world does. 

I found this neat series for preteens and young teens and their moms called Secret Keeper Girl. It is for moms and daughters. I purchased the younger version of the 8 Great Dates for you and your daughter. I also got the Bible study called: My Best Friend Jesus. I want my daughter to know that above all, Jesus needs to be her best friend. And that I am here for her in all things. My older daughter and I went through some hard times so I am trying to learn from the mistakes I made. We are very close now but went through a lot to get here. I am hoping I can help my other little princess have an easier road.

I also got the Beautifully Made set. It teaches her about the changes that are going on in her body and how to deal with them. There is one for younger girls like her and then when she does start. There is also one for moms. It has ideas for celebrations you can do with your daughter when that time comes. It helps them celebrate the changes that God created instead of dreading them. I am very excited to do this because I didn't learn them this way. I learned most of it from kids from school. Not really the best way. 

I also found some things for the guys in my family. Most of them are to teach them what God expects them to be as a godly man. I even found one for moms called Preparing Him for the Other Woman: A Mother's Guide to Raising Her Son to Love a Wife and Lead a Family. I thought that would be really good for me to read.

I am praying that this new school year will be full of wonderful memories for our family and building blocks to a godly life for my youngsters!

That is our progress report for today. Thanks for stopping by. 

Thanksgiving Thoughts

The blessings around me are many,

I'm not sure I can even count that high,

As I make my list in my mind,

It gives me wings and I feel like I can fly.

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First and always,

I am thankful to the Lord above,

Who came down to Earth,

To show us His Love.

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My husband works hard each night,

To put food on the table,

A roof over our heads,

And keep our home stable.

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He loves the Lord,

And serves Him gladly,

As we work to share Jesus,

With those who need Him so badly.

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We have been married for years,

25's the number we just hit,

We renewed our vows in April,

And then we split.

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A dream trip we took,

To a far away state,

On the other side of the country,

Where we had steak on our plate.

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Our first born is my Sunshine,

On a cloudy day,

She has grown up so quickly,

Her childhood days gone away.

~~~~

She is over 21, all grown up,

And making her way,

I love that she calls,

Or texts me most every day.

~~~~

We both like movies with songs and love stories,

Baking and shopping for clothes,

Although we have had our ups and downs,

We are so proud of her, I hope she knows.

~~~~

Our next is a son, 16 this year,

Who is quite gifted at many things,

He plays the piano, bass,

Electric guitar, drums and sings.

~~~~

He will be a star one day,

In front of a crowd,

Doing what he loves,

Singing and playing so loud.

~~~~

Another son born 9 years ago,

He is a high spirited child,

Who loves sports, music,

And loves to run wild.

~~~~

He has the ability,

To make me smile,

Even when I am sad,

Or have been mad for awhile.

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Our fourth child,

Is a sweet little girl,

Whom God sent seven years ago,

To complete our world.

~~~~

She loves all the things,

Other little girls do,

Dolls, barbies and stuffed animals,

Her bed is covered like a zoo.

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She is like my shadow,

A clone at times,

I have to try and be careful,

That only my best side shines.

~~~~

She is easy to correct,

And quick to listen,

Her smile brightens a room,

And her eyes just glisten.

~~~~

As the years go by,

I cherish the moments we share,

I try to capture things on film,

And tell them how much we care.

~~~~

Our families are spread out,

All over the place,

But the memories we've made,

Withstand time and space.

~~~~

The same holds true for our dear sweet friends,

Those here with us now or gone from our days,

In one way or another they have touched our hearts,

Made us smile and showed us love in so many ways.

~~~~

The mission and church family,

We serve along side,

Has been there for us in so many things,

Good and bad, even the bumpiest ride.

~~~~

The home we live in,

Was a gift from above,

It meets our needs,

We try to fill it with love.

~~~~

Our land in Westcliffe,

Is another such treasure,

We so long to live there,

The amount you can't measure.

~~~~

The day care we have,

Is filled to the brim,

With wonderful families,

That feel just like kin.

~~~~

My blogger friends,

Are a new joy to me,

They share a window into their world,

A glimpse of God in their lives for us to see.

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If I sat here all night,

While I think and I ponder,

About the blessings God has given me,

The list could grow longer.

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But that will have to wait,

For another new day,

For I have to get some sleep,

There just is no other way.

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Thanksgiving has dawned,

Though the sun is still down,

Soon everyone will be awake,

And running around.

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Turkey and stuffing to cook,

Pies and cookies to bake,

Smiles, laughter and hugs,

They leave in their wake.

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Have a Blessed Thanksgiving,

To YOU who stopped here,

May your day be filled with love,

And warm holiday cheer!

School Pictures 2008

I finally got their "school" pictures done for this year! Last year they went to the private school and the photographer was terrible. So I didn't buy them. I did them myself this year. Not too bad!

2nd Grade/Age 7

4th Grade/Age 9 1/2

11th Grade/Age 16

That is our progress report for today. Thanks for stopping by. 

Fall Fun Festival 2008

One of the things we love to do is make out costumes out of something or take part of a costume and create the rest of it. Sometimes we are really good at that and other times, not so much.

Nick costume this year was the Joker (the one from the original Batman, played by Jack Nicholson). We got the top of the costume (a mask came with it but we tossed it in the trash, it was terrible!), got some green hair spray, some face paint and he had black pants and white gloves at the house. It turned out pretty cool! All the kids at church loved the Joker and wanted to go to his booth and play the games.

Jenni was Sleeping Beauty. We were lucky enough to find the costume and shoes at the Disney Store way early this year. It is a size too big but it was what they had so we got it. I spent tons of time trying to curl her hair, knowing that it would only stay curled for the first pictures and then it would fall out. But she looked beautiful for the pictures!

JC was Anikin Skywalker this year. We found the costume on sale and he had the light saber already, we just put fresh batteries in it. His is a size too big, as well. But he can wear it longer! There were so many Star Wars Characters at the FFF this year you would have thought they landed on Earth! He spent most of the night in saber wars with the other jr Star Wars characters running around. There were two families that were Star Wars (the Blevins-all 5 of them and Steve and Ella Smith and sons). Jake Blevins was Yoda and he kept doing some kind of move from the animated movie that was so cute!

This pose was her idea. She loves her brother very much! They have so many pictures together in front of these bushes! One day I will have to gather them up and put them on a page together...if I ever get time to scrapbook again. I barely have time to write on here!

Sami and Tim came, with their two dogs! One of her dogs was dressed up like a lady bug! Too cute, Harley! All the kids at the FFF wanted to come see the dogs! They said next year they ought to set up a booth and call it pet the dogs and give out candy! They might should!

My two girls together! Jenni is holding on to the lady bug Harley's leash. These two have such a sweet relationship! Funny how 14 years age difference in sisters will do that.

This is one of my favorites because of the look on her face! It was as if she was thinking, "I am standing next to the Joker?! O....K......" She loved his costume!

I hope you enjoyed a small peek of what we did on October 31. We don't really do Halloween but enjoy dressing up in fun costumes and going to church for fun, food, and fellowship with our church family.

Until next time...blessings to you. 

Field Trip to the Park

Last week we had a day where we knew we wouldn't have any daycare kids until late afternoon. So I told the kids if they got up and got school done early we would spend the morning at the park. It was going to be a lovely day so we were very excited!

Our homeschool is relaxed in one way. The kids have their books in in a crate in the cabinet. Each morning they get them out and put them on the table. When they have completed a subject they put those books back into the crate. In the picture above they are working on their book study together. They had to look up some vocabulary words in the dictionary.

The park we went to was our favorite park from when my older two kids were little! It is called Creative Playground and it is on Fielder and Green Oaks. It is the best! We had many a birthday party there.

They loved running around all over the place and doing the rock climbing wall. They played for an hour and then JC rode his skateboard for a little while.

We took our drawing pads to the park so that after an hour of play they could get some art in. Nick drew the tire swing but wouldn't let me keep it or take a picture of it. He did a good job.

JC decided to draw a tree. He was very serious about his drawing. He really has a gift when it comes to drawing because it is something he loves to do. He wants to get all sorts of drawing materials so he can try lots of new styles.

I think he did a great job! He put all the little limbs on it and he loves to sign and date it. I wish he would learn to do it smaller so it takes up less attention from his drawing but I suppose that will come with time.

Jenni went around finding different leaves that she liked and she traced them and then taped them to the other page. That is a style in her nature book she learned from her last school.

This is her finished product. She didn't put them in the book exactly like she drew them. I had thought she would color the other ones or draw the lines on them but I think she was too tired from our day out. We had such a wonderful day. 

That is our progress report for today. Thanks for stopping by. 

Field Trip to the Circus

Two weeks ago we were given tickets to the circus in Fort Worth. It was such a treat because none of the kids got to go. We thought Sami was going to get to go with us but it didn't work out. We were very sad because she had never gone either. I know that sounds terrible that we never took them to the circus before, but there are a lot of things we have yet to do with our children. We are working on fixing that.

JC was the only one brave enough to ride the elephant! He loved it. It only went around in the ring twice. For $8 it should have gone around a few more times. But I suppose since we were gifted with the tickets it didn't hurt to spend that money on an elephant ride. He is the third from the front with a white cap on backwards.

The boys really enjoyed the motorcycles in a cage. There was a 10 year old riding one of them. It was something! It made me feel very nervous for them. They also liked the trapezes and high wire acts.

Jenni loved the rope climbers that spun around and did fancy moves in the air as they hung from silky material "ropes". She loved the poodles that did their act. There were also ladies that did fancy things with hula hoops.

JC took a picture of us and he did pretty good. All in all, we had a wonderful time at the circus. We love doing things with our family! What a blessing our friends are, too! Thanks so much for the tickets. It was a blast!

That is our progress report for today. Thanks for stopping by. 

***Since then we have discovered how badly they treat the elephants and other animals so we don't have any plans to return to the circus unless that changes. We are glad they got the experience of going and are thankful for the free tickets. 

September Birthdays

Jenni is 7!!!

She had a High School Musical party, of course! She was so excited! We her a shirt to wear and a fun cake. We got Disney Channel Scene It and they kids played it. Then we had cake and opened presents!

I had to get a picture with the birthday girl!! I can't believe she is already 7 years old. Where did the time go? She is getting so tall and still a beautiful little girl. We love to hang out together and she still likes to snuggle with her mom (for now!).

She is a total daddy's girl! Every chance she gets she snuggles up with her dad or gets hugs! I know that he is wondering how she can be so big so quickly, as well. Time does fly....

She got some wonderful gifts, four of them Barbie dolls! So it was a good thing we had this wonderful Barbie Doll house made for her! She loves it! It is totaly awesome! It takes up a lot of room but that is ok. It is 5'x5'. We had Steve Hughes make it for her. I got the plans off of ebay and asked him if he could do it. It turned out fantastic! She is in the second grade and is doing wonderful!! She almost always has a great attitude when it comes to doing her school work and finishes by 11 in the morning so she has the rest of the day to do other things.

Nick is 16!!!!!!

He had a Family Force Five disco type party. We had a disco ball and party lights. We had a Wii and Playstation 2 there.

We were able to use the fellowship hall at our church so John and his band set and played a short set. It was fun but loud. 

His friend brought Guitar Hero to play. Thanks bunches!!! They really had a lot of fun playing that game.

I thought I would get in the picture since I am usually taking them! (yes, that is an earring! ugh! Not my choice or his dads. We are hoping he out grows it soon!) It is hard to believe that he is 16. That is such a weird age. They are so close to what the world calls adult and yet so far from really understanding what it means to be grown up. He is in 11th grade so we have 2 years of high school left to get him through. Then, only God knows what is in store next.

So that is what we did for our two September kids birthday's. They both had a great time and we are so blessed to have them in our lives! 

Until next time...blessings to you.