First Day Of School

We started the school year today. It was definitely an adjustment to get up earlier and have more of a schedule after our summer break! We got a bit of a late start, but I'm sure we'll get going sooner tomorrow.

I wrote out three chores for each child to do before we started our schoolwork. They loved that! It was fun to see them take on the responsibility of getting those chores done and checked off. Throughout the day they would make comments like, "I wonder what our chores will be tomorrow!" :-)

We hung out our flag and took our traditional first-day-of-school-in-front-of-the-flag-pictures. I gave them a new book and read it to them and we read a few chapters in our history book. That is one of my favorite things about homeschooling ~ the three of us snuggled on the couch reading together. :-) I worked individually with each of them and they each did some writing...and then the day was about over! All in all, it was a good first day of school.

This is the curriculum we are using this year~

Reading, Writing, Spelling: The Writing Road To Reading, Reading Works

Math: Math-U-See

History and Geography: The Story Of The World, Volume 2: The Middle Ages and library books

Science: Using ideas from The Well-Trained Mind as a guide for studying astronomy, the human body and earth science.

Art: I Can Do All Things by How Great Thou Art publications

Music: Co-op classes, Color The Classics (Hymns) and singing along with tapes and cd’s from the library.

P.E.: Co-op classes, community sports teams and swimming lessons.

Family Bike Ride

Since Katie got the training wheels taken off of her bike last spring, we thought she would be ready to ride with us on her bike, instead of in the bike trailer, the next time we went on a family bike ride. We found a nice paved trail at a state park and tried it out recently. Katie did great and we all had a fun time.

The bike trail wound through beautiful woods and ended at a beach and playground area. We found it was important to keep moving, though, so the mosquitos didn't have time to surround us! We think we might try it again in the fall, so we won't have to worry about that! :-)

Golf Ball ~ Sized Hail!

We recently had a thunderstorm that produced hail. The kids were excited to hear it tapping on the roof. Then the tapping sound changed and it actually sounded like someone was hurling golf balls at our house! Huge balls of hail were bouncing as they landed in the grass in our yard.

When it ended, the kids ran outside to collect the evidence before it melted! We put the pieces of hail on a cookie sheet and put it in the freezer. They have pulled the hail balls out a few times to impress their friends, who usually want to touch and then eat them! :-)

Pictures From Homeschool Camping Trip

Boys and their light sabers. :-)

Fun at the playground.

Every year the kids make a special t-shirt.

Homeschool Co-op Camping Trip

Every year several families in the co-op we are a part of go camping at a small privately-owned campground about an hour away. This tradition has been going on for the past seven years. Our family has joined the group three times now and it has become the highlight of the summer for my kids.

Since the campground is small, most of the people camping there are from our group. It is kind of like a little city of campers where the kids can safely run around. There is a playground, a baseball field, a private lake with a swimming area and some canoes and paddle boats you can take out on the lake. The area is surrounded with woods. The kids play ALL DAY long and at night they play, "night games," in which the older kids hide and the little kids try to find them and then they switch and the big kids hide. The younger kids have a harder time finding the big kids! :-) Everyone wears dark clothing and runs around with flashights and has a BLAST!

While the night games are going on, the adults gather at picnic tables in a shelter and play games. The last couple of years the game of choice was, "Settlers Of Catan," which I finally learned how to play this year. It is pretty fun.

The first couple of years that we went camping with the co-op, we camped in our tent. This year we borrowed some friends' tent-trailer camper and now we are spoiled forever! :-) It was so nice staying in the camper!

We just got home last night from the homeschool campout and now I am facing all the laundry that needs to be done! It is hard to believe that summer is coming to an end soon and school will be starting in a couple of weeks!

Body Worlds

Yesterday Dave and I and the kids went to see the Body Worlds exhibition that is in town. Wow. It is an exhibition of real human bodies preserved through a process called, "plastination." Some of the bodies show mostly muscles and others emphasize the nervous system or various organs. It is fascinating. There is a separate room that has babies in various stages of growth, starting at a few weeks and going all the way to birth. (A sign states that all of the babies died through accidents or natural causes.)

Body Worlds is like an amazing anatomy class. We were in awe of the intricacy and detail of all the systems of the body and how they work together. God is so creative! Seeing more of His creation up close causes wonder and awe to well up inside me. It causes me to worship God and give Him glory.

Check out Body Worlds and see if it is coming to your town!

Swimming Lessons

Grant and Kate had a great two weeks of swimming lessons at the local pool! They both had great instructors who made the lessons fun while helping them learn. Now we need to give them opportunities to practice the things they've learned with some trips to the swimming pool and maybe some days at a lake before summer ends. :-)

August

Is it really already August?! Wow, the summer is flying by! Tomorrow is the kids' last day of swimming lessons and then we do not have any more regular activities scheduled for the rest of the summer! Of course, summer is almost over. :-( But, don't tell my kids that. We are just finishing up school this week and they are excited that they will have four whole weeks off for summer vacation! :-)

VBS

Well, it's been over a week now, so I guess it's time for a new post! :-) Soccer ended on Saturday with a special day of soccer games and activities. It was extremely hot and humid, but we kept the kids cool by squirting them with water and making them drink a lot of water. A fire truck came and sprayed all the kids down, which they all enjoyed! Now that we don't have to rush out to the soccer field every night, we have our evenings free! Soccer was great for the kids, but it is kind of nice now to have a more relaxed schedule.

Grant and Katie are attending VBS this week at our church. They are both excited that friends from the homeschool co-op are in each of their classes. Yesterday they played for an hour with their friends while the moms talked! :-) So, we planned a picnic and playtime at a park for today after VBS. That way the kids can keep playing and we can keep talking! :-)

In Christ Alone

Whenever I hear this song, it touches something deep in my spirit and I get chills. It just really says it all. So, here it is:

In Christ Alone
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
'Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
'Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

A Visit From Grandma

My Mom came from Arizona for a visit and we just took her to the airport and said good-bye last night. It was fun having her here and we were all sad to see her go. The kids had so much fun with Grandma here! She listened to all their chatter, played games with them and took them to the toy department for a shopping spree! We all wish she didn't live so far away!!!

Dance Recital

Grant and Katie danced in their dance recital last night and again this afternoon. The rehearsal was Friday night, so they have performed their dances three times now. It was fun to watch all of the dance numbers and especially fun for Dave and I when Grant and Katie danced. God blessed us with the gift of dance classes this year through Katie winning a year of free dance classes in a drawing. (And, boys dance for free at this studio.) What a blessing! We think it was a geat experience for our kids.

California Wedding

Grant, the candlelighter.


Beautiful flower girls.


The wedding party.


Grant and Katie.


Katie and Daddy dancing at the reception.


This is the lovely bride, Misty, and I at her wedding reception. God has given her a wonderful, godly husband in Reid. It was such a joy to celebrate with them!

We're back!

We just got back from California last night. Our flight arrived at midnight, so we slept late today and we're all still pretty tired. But we had such a fun time!

We left last Thursday afternoon. The kids were so excited about the trip and had been anticipating it for what probably seemed like forever to them! :-) When we got to the place where we parked our car while we were gone,(about a 25 minute drive from home), Grant said in wide-eyed wonder, "Are we in San Diego now?" Dave and I laughed so hard!

It was fun to fly together as a family and the kids did very well on the flight. We arrived in San Diego around 6:00pm, checked into our hotel and went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant. (We all LOVE Mexican food! :-)) By the way, we got a GREAT deal on a nice hotel through priceline. I would highly recommend doing the "choose your own price" option. It worked out great for us.

The next two days were filled with wedding activities. Grant took his job as candlelighter very seriously and he did a great job. Katie and the other little flower girl became instant friends and had a blast together. They did a great job, also. After the wedding the two little girls were playing (and sitting and rolling) in the rose petals, so they both got red stains on their white dresses. That happened after the photos were taken, so it was okay! :-) It was a beautiful wedding and it was very meaningful for all of us to be involved in helping the couple celebrate their wedding day.

On Sunday we spent some time at the beach, which was so fun and so relaxing. We also visited Coronado and Seaport Village, which is an old haunt for me. That evening we had dinner with some friends who are currently living by Mission Beach, which is another old haunt for me! :-) It was nice to be back in San Diego and really great to catch up with old friends. This friend, Michelle, was a high school student when I first met her many years ago when I worked in San Diego. Now she and her husband and two kids are foreign missionaries home on furlough. We had a wonderful evening with them.

The San Diego Zoo was our last stop on Monday before heading home that evening. We enjoyed the zoo, but we were all a bit "fried" from all our fun in the sun and late night fellowship with friends! As we watched San Diego get smaller and smaller out of the plane window, Grant cried and Katie turned to me and said, "Mommy, when I grow up I'm going to live in San Diego!" :-)

We're still here!

We are just chugging along with most of the same things I wrote about in the last post... Katie and Grant are enjoying soccer and they are just about ready for their big dance recital coming up soon! We finally got all of the wedding clothes pulled together and are looking forward to our dear friend's wedding celebration, also coming up soon! :-)

We recently got some new neighbors and it turned out to be a bonanza for the kids! The new family has four kids all close to my kids' ages, so Grant and Kate are having a blast getting to know them. Anytime we are home they want to go play with the new neighbors! :-) The new kids are adorable and very nice. I'm happy for my kids to have more friends in the neighborhood. :-)

Busy

Wow, I haven't posted in quite awhile! This has been such a busy time. We are just doing all the normal things, plus...

Soccer has started, which means I am out at the soccer field four nights a week.

The kids are preparing for their dance recital and still have dance classes twice a week, (one night each kid).

We decided to re-arrange our "office/schoolroom," which involved putting up more shelves and re-organizing all the books...a BIG job!

I have been getting the kids outfitted for the wedding they're in this summer. We found an adorable flower-girl dress for Katie. It is all white and has a tulle skirt. She looks like a princess in it. :-) I am still looking for Grant's candlelighter outfit.

So, that is what we've been up to... Not too exciting, but keeping us busy!

Art Class

A couple of weeks ago, Grant and Kate had the privilege of attending an art class taught by Barry Stebbing of How Great Thou Art Publications. I had heard Mr. Stebbing speak at our local homeschool conference and really appreciated his perspective of helping people see God as an Artist and to give them skills to glorify Him through art.

Mr. Stebbing and his wife, Saundra, have been travelling around the country to teach art to home schoolers. The classes have about 100 in attendance and are comprised of kids of all ages. They meet for two and a half hours, three days in a row. It was a fantastic experience for my kids! They both have been applying some of the things they learned from Mr. Stebbing and have more of an awareness of the beauty and colors all around them.

Tooth Out, Photos Taken, Carpets Clean

Well, the tooth FINALLY came out! Kate was brushing her teeth and grabbed for the spot of white that flew out of her mouth before it could be lost down the drain. She got a hefty haul from the tooth fairy next morn. ;-)

Today I had to take both Grant and Kate for their dance photos. Kate was first, with three changes of costume. Oh, it was quite a sight...little girls hopping and spinning around in various colors of tutus and sequins, as well as a few boys in more boyish looks. We finally got her in and out of all the costumes with the right shoes, bows, pants, tutus for each dance and she and I were both pretty pooped when it was finally all over! So, naturally, we took some "girl time" and went to Panera for lunch! We love Panera!:-)

When I went back to the dance studio later for Grant's photos, there were less people milling around and everything just seemed much calmer. He only had one costume to change into for his hip-hop dance and then we were out of there!

While I was running the kids to and from their dance photo sessions, my husband took on the task of moving all the furniture, renting a carpet cleaner and cleaning all the carpets in the house! Wow! By the time Grant and I got home, he was moving most of the furniture back into place. It's like magic--when I left the carpets were dirty and when I came home they were clean! :-)

So, that was our Saturday. We got things done that needed to be done and we're glad it's over! But, we also had fun along the way.

Nanny McPhee

This isn't really about the movie, Nanny McPhee, it's about my daughter whose loose tooth makes her look like Nanny McPhee! This tooth is hanging by a thread, but she will not pull it out or let anyone else pull it out! So, we call her "Nanny McPhee" and she laughs and sticks out her one big loose tooth until I crack up. She loves to make us laugh! Maybe I could sneak into her room when she is sleeping and pull it out...naah. I'll let Nanny McPhee pull it out (or let it fall out!) in her own sweet time. And I'm sure I'll be laughing a lot until that tooth finally does come out! :-)

Happy Easter!

Easter Egg Hunt

We hosted a neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt the day before Easter. After everyone gathered in our driveway, Dave explained the rules, said, "go!" and they were off! When all the eggs were found, everyone moved to the garage. The kids sat on a piece of carpet and their parents sat in chairs behind them. I was able to share the Easter story and the gospel using the Resurrection Eggs. It was a great way to connect with neighbors and also share what we believe in a very non-threatening way since it was aimed at the kids. We had donuts, coffee and juice for snacks after the story. Everyone received a DVD of The Story Of Jesus For Children as a special Easter present. Hopefully, they will be watched and will help many kids and their families come to know Jesus personally.

April 7th ~ Grant's Birthday

Grant turned 8! Wow, it seems impossible that my little boy is getting so big! We had a family party to celebrate. We are so thankful that God "granted" our request for a child with this wonderful son of ours!!! Grant received a lot of Star Wars Lego sets, which he was thrilled about and knee, elbow and wrist pads so he can ride his skateboard. How can I have a kid old enough for skateboarding? Time sure flies! Happy Birthday, Grant!

Two Funerals In One Week

The kids and I flew out to join Dave for his father's funeral. It was a very quick trip ~ we got in on Sunday night, the funeral was on Monday and we flew back home on Tuesday. The service was a celebration of Bill's life. It was full of hope because of Bill's faith in Jesus.

Dave had to stay and take care of some details before flying home a couple of days after the kids and I. The day after he got home we all piled in the car and drove five hours to join my side of the family for my grandfather's funeral on Saturday.

My grandfather died three days after Dave's dad died. He would have been 90 years old later this month. So many happy childhood memories came flooding back to me as we reminisced about my grandpa's life. He was a "feisty" character who loved to tease his grandkids and he was a wonderful grandpa. I loved him and miss him.

We are back home now and back to our normal routine, but we are still processing the events of the last couple of weeks...reflecting on family relationships, life and death.

Hope and victory

Last Thursday, my father-in-law,Bill, fell and broke his neck. Over the last several days my husband and his siblings talked to doctors to determine the extent of the damage to his spinal cord. They discovered that he was paralyzed from the neck down, unable to move anything other than his face and neck muscles.

It was incredibly difficult for my husband and his siblings to see their dad in this condition. However, being able to see their dad and communicate their love to him was a gift the Lord gave them before taking their father home this morning. Dave's dad passed from this life to the next with his four children at his bedside.

Dave commented that the Lord has been so sweet to him and his family throughout this ordeal. How much hope we have at the end of our days when we know the Author of life, the One who has victory over death!

"O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"
ICorinthians 15:55

"How we thank God, who gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
ICorinthians 15:57

Just For Fun

You Are an Espresso

At your best, you are: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic At your worst, you are: anxious and high strung You drink coffee when: anytime you're not sleeping Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Co-op

Today our homeschool co-op met and in our Five In A Row class we read Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans. Even though most of the kids were familiar with the story, they seemed to really enjoy hearing it read and a few couldn't help finishing some of the lines with me. :-) After we read the story and discussed Paris, the Eiffel tower, what an appendix is, etc., we took a walk around the church in "two straight lines" and "smiled at the good, frowned at the bad," etc., just like the girls in the story. After learning some French words and painting a picture in a similar style to the pictures in the book, the kids had to head off to their next class. The time went by quickly and we had a lot of fun! :-)

March

Wow, I can't believe it is March already! We have just been clicking along with our normal routines and February just flew by! Grant and Katie have each recently gone to a friend's birthday party and Katie is going to another one on Sunday. It's just one party after another around here! :-)

Valentine's Day

The kids certainly got their fair share of sugar and fun on Valentine's Day! Our homeschool co-op hosted a potluck lunch and Valentine's Day party yesterday. The kids each had to sign over 60 valentines for the valentine exchange, which took up most of our writing time during school the day before! At the party they got to decorate a bag for their valentines and frost and decorate heart-shaped cookies. The moms got to visit while the kids played games and that was the highlight for me! :-)

We came home from the party all sugared up and then had to turn around a few hours later and head back to church for AWANA. I am Katie's Sparky group leader, so I couldn't very well stay home. It was a great night, though. I always think I want to stay home instead of going out to AWANA in the evening, but once I get there, I end up really enjoying the kids and am glad I went.

Dave and I usually celebrate Valentine's Day with a late, quiet dinner at home once the kids have gone to bed. Since we had AWANA last night, we will have our candlelit dinner tonight! :-)

More Birthday Party Fun

Dave made a castle for the princesses to play in out of refrigerator boxes. It takes up half of our basement! The girls had so much fun peeking out of the windows and lowering and raising the "drawbridge"! :-)

Royal Celebration

This is what greeted quests at our front door for Katie's birthday princess party on Saturday! Katie has been talking about having a princess party for over a year, so it was fun to finally have all the little princesses to our castle to celebrate her 6th birthday. :-)

Visit from Arthur

We've had a friend visiting since Friday. Arthur was my husband's roommate in college and he was the best man in our wedding thirteen years ago. The guys have gone ice fishing and played some basketball at the Y. Last night they looked at pictures from a bike trip they took after graduating from college. I'm glad they've stayed good friends all these years. It's good to have friends who know you well.

A year and a half ago, Arthur stopped by for a couple days with his kids while they were on a long road trip vacation. Our kids and Arthur's kids played continually the entire time. They hit it off amazingly well! Because of those great memories, I guess, Grant and Katie have been practically glued to Arthur the entire time he has been here! They are just ga-ga over him! :-) He has been very patient and kind to them as they have fought over sitting next to him, holding his hand, etc. He even babysat them for Dave and I for awhile one afternoon.

But, all good things must come to an end and Arthur heads back home this evening. Hopefully, we will be able to visit him and his family sometime even though he lives all the way up in Walla Walla, Washington! Maybe a long road trip is in our future...

End Of The Spear

When I was a new Christian, someone gave me a copy of the book, "Through Gates Of Splendor" by Elisabeth Elliot. I flipped through it and saw a picture of a man's body floating in a river with a spear sticking out of his hip and thought there was no way I wanted to read that book.

Well, it sat on a table for awhile and one day I picked it up and finally read a bit of it. I couldn't put it down and ended up reading the whole book. Wow! The lives of Jim Elliot and the other missionaries killed by the Auca Indians in Equador in 1956 really challenged me to live fully for Christ. After that I read everything I could find about the mission to the Aucas and all the books by Elisabeth Elliot I could get my hands on.

My life was changed by reading about those missionaries and their complete surrender to Christ's will for their lives. I know that I am not the only one. I have heard many stories of people going to the mission field because of these men who gave their lives for what they believed in.

Their sacrifice influenced the future direction of my life and Elisabeth Elliot's writings and speaking challenged me (and continue to challenge and encourage me)along the way. I even named my daughter after Elisabeth Elliot ~ her middle name is Elisabeth. With an "s." :-)

Now a movie has been made about this incredible story, told from the perspective of the pilot, Nate Saint's son. It's called: End Of The Spear. I hope that God will again use this story to challenge people to live for Him and take the gospel to those who do not know Him yet.

January

The new year is well under way and we've been trying to get back into a more regular routine with our days. The kids are finally getting back in the habit of doing school work every morning and I'm finally getting back in the habit of not eating candy or drinking eggnog every day~ha-ha! :-)

Last week our homeschool co-op met. In the class I teach, Five In A Row, we enjoyed reading A Pair Of Red Clogs by Masako Matsuno. It was fun to show the class some of the things I had brought home from a mission trip to Japan 15 years ago. I had some Japanese coins which we let the kids look at and do crayon rubbings with and I brought a little cookie-like snack to share with them. (I found them in the Asian foods section of the grocery store.) When I gave them each one, they had to say please and thank you in Japanese, which they really enjoyed doing.

Katie's birthday is coming up and she will be having a princess party to celebrate with her friends. She is VERY excited and is always suggesting ideas of things we can do at the party. :-) Dave and I are going to attempt to put together some type of castle out of refrigerator boxes for the little princesses to play in. We'll see how that actually turns out...

So that is how our January days are going! :-)

Winter Days

It snowed a little bit last night ~ just a light dusting. Now the sun is shining and it looks like someone sprinkled sugar all over our yard! :-) This picture is from another day, which was overcast, but this is what the kids will be doing this afternoon! :-)

Christmas Recap

Every year I want to slow down and really enjoy the Christmas season and I want our celebration to be about the fact that God sent His Son to the world. And every year the busyness comes rushing in and we get caught up in the frenzy of going to and hosting parties, buying gifts, sending out cards and eating an inordinate amount of sweets. This year was a little better. We did slow down a bit.

And I realized that part of the problem is my idealized vision of what Christmas is supposed to look like. To make it meaningful and give my kids wonderful memories of family Christmases. I think that is already happening. So, I can let go of the phantom "perfect Christmas" and just enjoy the real Christmas we have. :-)

Dance Class

Last fall Katie won a free year of dance classes at a local dance studio! She is learning ballet, tap and jazz in her class. Since boys dance free at this studio, Grant decided he would like to be in a hip hop class. It has been a good experience and great exercise so far! Just before Christmas the classes put on a little presentation for the parents. Dave and I enjoyed watching the fruits of their labors! We thought they both did great and more importantly, they had a blast! :-)

Thirteen Years!

Today is Dave's and my thirteenth wedding anniversary. This is the first year we haven't actually celebrated on our anniversary, but our babysitter wasn't available and I didn't get around to trying to find someone else to watch the kids. So, we will go out for a special date to celebrate in a couple of days.

I couldn't imagine sharing life with anyone other than the wonderful husband that God gave me. I am so blessed!

Family Christmas Picture

I guess we got caught up in Christmas preparations...and then Christmas...and then the Christmas conference we put on for high school students...so I got behind in posting! Anyway, this is the picture we sent out with our Christmas cards this year. We decided to do the cards, had a friend take the picture, went to Dave's office to create the card and email it to the printer all in a couple of hours! We picked them up from the printer and mailed them the next day. It was kind of a relief to just have it done!

More on Christmas later~

A Toothy Tale

The Tooth Fairy is going to have to fork over a bunch of dough tonight! Little Grant had to have his two eye teeth pulled at the dentist today. He was such a trooper as they numbed up his gums with "sleepy juice." The dentist did an excellent job of making Grant feel comfortable. He is really good with kids.

Grant did not feel much other than a little pinch when they gave him the shot of novacaine. He left the dental office with two big wads of gauze in his mouth and a puffy, numb lip. I let him watch videos and eat mashed potatoes and chocolate pudding for dinner. He is feeling much better now. :-)

Narnia Personality Quiz

As Susan, you are mature and respectable, yet with your 'motherly' role you can be quite bossy. Still, you can always be trusted to be loyal and faithful.

Ha~ha! Well, I guess there is a quiz for everything! :-)

Narnia

Oh, we LOVED the Narnia movie!

One of our family's favorite Christmas gifts last year was a volume of all The Chronicles Of Narnia. We began reading it together on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and soon the kids were begging for "Narnia time"! We finished The Last Battle about a week ago and could hardly wait to see the movie, The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe!

Last night our whole staff team, kids included, went to see the movie together. Afterward, we all went to one family's home for our Christmas party. It was fun seeing the movie with a big group, but it was really special to see it with our kids after reading the books and anticipating it for so long!

I thought the movie represented the story really well. The times that the children went into and out of Narnia through the wardrobe were just exactly like I imagined it when reading the book. When Aslan first appeared on the scene, I thought that he could have been a little more fierce, but other than that I loved everything about the movie. I'm so glad that the money and time were put into telling this story well and I hope that the other stories in The Chronicles of Narnia will be made into movies, also!

The first thing Katie said when the movie ended was, "I want to watch it again!" :-) I couldn't agree more! I don't think we can wait too long before we go back to see the movie and step into Narnia again!

Tigger is back

My little Tigger is bouncing and chatting again. :-) It is good to see him acting like himself once more. Tonight at dinner he confided that he thinks he should be a secret agent when he grows up because, "I just like being secret and sneaking around." Okay...well, I think everyone would know what he's up to because he also likes to talk and talk about every little thought he has! :-)

This is the weekend of parties! We have our homeschool co-op classes tomorrow and a little party afterward. On Saturday the kids are going to a birthday party and then we are all going to our staff team's family Christmas party. It's a good thing Tigger is back in action for all these parties, because socializing is what he lives for! :-)

Tigger

My little Tigger-like son is down with a headache and fever. He is always so full of energy and non-stop chatter, that it is strange to see him lying around and being so quiet. :-( I'm praying he will be his old bouncy self again soon.

Frosty kids

Grant and Katie just came inside after playing in the snow with the neighbor kids for the past couple of hours. They are red-cheeked and happy. The igloo they started sits in the front yard...only two lonely little snow blocks. It's a start, though, and that project will keep them busy all week! :-)

It's hard to believe that Christmas is only three weeks away! We've already gotten some Christmas cards in the mail ~ boy, I wish I was that organized! We haven't even taken a picture or thought about what kind of greeting we'll send this year. Last year we never even got one out, so hopefully this year we can pull it together! ;-)

Thanksgiving Preparations

We celebrate Thanksgiving every year with some friends whose extended families are out west, like ours. We are all transplanted westerners. :-) We alternate which family is hosting each year and this year our friends are hosting. We are bringing three pies, (apple, pumpkin, pecan), a lettuce salad, rolls, pop and sparkling cider.

My little girl is feeling much better and really wants to help me in the kitchen. She is only five, but is actually very helpful! :-)

Both Katie and Grant want to help roll out dough for pies and I'm sure Katie will stay in the kitchen long after that to help me with everything else that needs to be done. She just ran down to her play kitchen to grab her apron, so she is ready to go! :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunny smile is back!

Katie is sick. :-( She got the sniffles and it blossomed into wheezing and asthma troubles. Sometimes she gets a cold and gets over it in a few days and other times it gets worse and brings on the asthma symptoms.

We started nebbing her last night ~ hoping to get a good start on it ~ but she kept needing nebs every hour all night. I thought it would start to get better today, but finally called the doctor and was able to get her started on prednisone this afternoon. We'll see the doctor in the morning.

Now she is breathing easier and tonight she smiled and even laughed. Her eyes twinkled again. It was SUCH A RELIEF. I think she's on the mend. :-)

First day of school

Wow, I have actually posted 3 pictures in the last few minutes after not being able to post pictures for days! I hope I will be able to continue to post pictures whenever I want to. These pictures of the kids were taken on our first day of school in September. You can see they were ready to get started learning! :-)

Finally...it worked!

Pictures not working again!

Well, I have been trying and trying to post the picture I mentioned in the post below and it just will not work. It is very frustrating and makes me wonder if blogger is really going to work out for me. We'll see, I guess.

A look back at summer

Someday I will get some more pictures posted! I don't have a digital camera, so I have to wait until I get film developed and then scan the pictures and finally post them...and by then so much time has passed that the pictures are of things that have happened long ago! Case in point ~ this pic of the kids at our homeschool co-op camping trip in August. Hopefully, it won't be too long before I can get a digital camera! :-)

Starting Over

This is the first post on the new blog! It has been awhile, but I am up and running again! Hopefully this will be an encouraging place to catch up with us and get to know new friends! :-)

Trials

Did you see the picture?! It finally worked! I am still not sure why, though. :-)

I mentioned a while back that we were experiencing some difficult times. God has been carrying us through, and although it seems like it will never end, I know that this too will pass...eventually. I wish I could say that I have been sailing through this trial with peace and joy, but I have struggled. I have experienced a lot of anxiety. And I have felt guilty for being anxious rather than calmly trusting. It is so much easier to think or talk about how I would respond in certain difficult circumstances than it is to actually go through them! :-)

The following excerpt from today's Elisabeth Elliot devotional has been a good reminder of what I can do in the midst of this trial and where peace is found:

Only a few things are really important, and for those we have the promise of divine help: sitting in silence with the Master in order to hear His word and obey it in the ordinary line of duty--for example, in being a good husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, or spiritual father or mother to those nearby who need protection and care--humble work which is never on the world's list because it leads to nothing impressive on one's resume.

Peace lies in the trusting acceptance of His design, His gifts, His appointment of place, position, capacity. It was thus that the Son of Man came to earth--embracing all that the Father willed Him to be, usurping nothing--no work, not even a word--that the Father had not given Him.


Lord, we give You thanks for all that You in Your mercy have given us to be and to do and to have. Deliver us, Lord, from all greed to be and to do and to have anything not in accord with Your holy purposes. Teach us to rest quietly in Your promise to supply, recognizing that if we don't have it we don't need it. Teach us to desire Your will--nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else. For Jesus' sake. Amen.

Grant

Where's the picture?

I have been trying to post Grant's football picture for the last few days and I DO NOT understand why it is not working!! The other pictures I've posted took forever to work, also, and I'm not even sure why they finally "took." I keep doing the same thing and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Grrrr! It's so frustrating!

We're home today with two little sickies. Grant just has a mild cold and cough, but Katie is running like a faucet and her asthma has kicked in. :-( We have been nebbing her around the clock and hope that will help her turn the corner today. I hope she'll be doing much better by tomorrow. In the meantime, we are snuggling, drinking lots of water and washing our hands like crazy! :-)

Football season is over

At least Grant's flag football season is over anyway. He had a fun time and a great coach. The schedule for the season is so laid back: one practice in the middle of the week and a game on Saturday morning for about six weeks. It's nice. The games were in a local park surrounded by trees in all their fall glory. When we started the trees were all green! :-) So, fall has arrived and football is now over.

Fall days

Well, another week has flown by! We have been busy with every day life ~ school at home, our homeschool co-op, dance classes, AWANA and Grant's last week of flag football. The days have been gloriously sunny and golden, with beautiful fall colors all around and crunchy leaves underfoot. This is my favorite time of year in our neck of the woods! :-)

Grant & Kate

These are my kids. Aren't they cute? :-)

Fresh with no mistakes...yet

I love a new month! (Or a new year, week, day.) It presents a fresh clean slate. For that reason I also like when the seasons change. It keeps things fresh and new. :-)

It is just starting to look and feel like fall, so it is a "new" season. :-) And today is a Monday ~ another new start.

The kids have finished up their school work and are using their art boxes now. I put some paper, glue, markers, stickers, etc. in a little case for each of them. They can make whatever they want with the things in their art boxes when their work is done. They love this and they have produced some lovely creations. :-)

Enjoy this good new day!

"Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it."
~Anne Of Green Gables