Joy in the Journey

The Gift of Travel

2012-01-19T12:44:00.000-05:00

My mother-in-law has given me a gift in honor of her 50th birthday. She invited me and her daughter to sail away to the Caribbean with her for 7 whole days.

I am used to leaving my family for mission trips, home education conferences, and conferences for pastor's wives, but I have never been away from home for so long just for pure fun and enjoyment. I feel a little guilty (I think some call this "mom guilt.") I have the fridge and freezer packed full of options and also some homemade chocolate chip cookies. I haven't done these things because I believe my husband is incapable of cooking for our children, but I just want to bless my family while I'm away.

I have some daily lesson plans and copies made to make things easier on my husband while I'm away, but he's already informed me he has some lesson plans of his own and I just love that! I am so thankful I am not in this home education gig alone. He is a wonderful partner in all areas of my life.

I have three little surprises for the children to open on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday while I'm gone. They are not large gifts, but simple things just to let them know how much I love and miss them.

So, if you've stumbled upon this little blog post of mine would you please pray for good health, safe travels, and on time flights so we can be reunited again on Saturday, January 28th around 7:10p.m.? Thank you.

Persecution is Real for Many GFA Missionaries

2012-01-14T18:59:00.000-05:00

Life threatening persecution is real for many Gospel for Asia Missionaries and their families. Please watch the short video below to hear from K.P. Yohanan, the president of Gospel for Asia as well as from pastors and missionaries on the field.

What can you do to help your persecuted brothers and sisters? You can pray for them and also for the persecutors. You can also sponsor a native missionary so the gospel can be spread and hearts can be changed by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake"

2012-01-06T13:41:00.000-05:00

The children and I really enjoy Maestro Classics and I think The Story of Swan Lake is our favorite (so far). I had planned on studying Tchaikovsky around Christmas so we could watch The Nutcracker, so I was thrilled when given the opportunity to receive this CD to review for The Old Schoolhouse Crew.

This CD's total playing time is 54:02 and it begins of course with The Story of Swan Lake, and it tells a little about Tchaikovsky's life, and my son's favorite was Speed Metal Swan which is a heavy metal version of one of Tchaikovsky's pieces. Any of Maestro Classic's CDs would make a great addition to anyone's listening library and supplement a composer study nicely as well.

This is my third year reviewing a product for Maestro Classics and each year I have seen improvements in this company. Their website is better and I especially love these homeschool curriculum guides I found on their website this year. The quality this company offers is excellent and I believe these classics should never be forgotten and I am grateful for the work Maestro Classics has done and continues to do.

Pricing and Ordering Information:

You have two ordering options with Maestro Classics now. You can purchase a CD for $16.98 or you can download an MP3 file for $9.98.

To read more reviews from other TOS Crew members, please click over to the blog now.

Connect with Maestro Classics on Facebook and Twitter for coupons and giveaways!

*I received this product free for review purposes only. All opinions are my own.*

My Children's Favorite Christmas Gift

2012-01-02T07:57:00.000-05:00

On Christmas morning, our children woke up to find a Toydle Fort! I talked my husband into setting some of it up so the children could SEE what they were getting on Christmas morning instead of unwrapping a package and seeing a bag full of pieces. We set it up in our basement which is what we often call our family room. This is where we wrestle, play Wii, PS3, and exercise. The children immediately "got" what this cool thing was and wanted to try and start building their own creation, but we had to hurry and eat breakfast, get dressed, and make it to a 10:00 a.m. worship service. I heard my son tell his friend at church, "We got this cool thing called a Toydle fort and it is AWESOME! I can't wait for you to come to my house and see it!" That made me smile because if he's telling his friends about it - he really does think it's awesome.

When we got home from church we opened the other gifts under the tree and ate lunch. Immediately the children started taking down the fort my husband and I had built so they could build their own. I thought it was interesting that each of my children wanted to build their own creations.

My 9-year-old daughter, built a small fort for herself and attached a blanket to make it a cradle for her baby doll. I caught her a lot this week just hanging out in her fort reading or coloring.

My 6-year-old daughter also had fun building her own little space. She liked hanging out in her's as well. Sometimes she'd push it over close to the television to sit in while she watched.

My son used some of the Toydle fort pieces to make machine guns and his own army fort. So you see, the possibilities are endless here. Your children can each build their own things or you can have them work together to build one huge masterpiece (which is something I plan on having them do soon).

On Christmas night, my 6-year-old daughter came upstairs to have a talk with me. She said, "Mom, I know this may sound foolish and I know you will probably say no, but I was wondering if we could sleep downstairs in our forts tonight?" I said, "That sounds like fun!" I wish I had a picture of her face at that moment to share with you. She was so excited and couldn't wait to run back downstairs to tell her brother and sister they could sleep in their forts! It is so much fun saying "yes" to your children, especially when they think you're going to say no.

We have had a lot of fun with our Toydle Fort this week, and I look forward to all the new creations my children will make. When we are done playing or if we ever need more space downstairs, all the fort pieces store nicely in a bag which is included with your purchase.

I received our Toydle Fort free for review purposes and I cannot express to the Homeschool Crew and the folks at Toydle Fort what a blessing this has been. This has truly been my children's favorite and most played with Christmas gift this year. This is a quality product that comes with a lifetime guarantee and is worth every penny. These forts are a made in the U.S.A. product and come from a family-owned business, and I love that! A Toydle fort is the type of gift that can grow with your children for years to come and I'm already thinking about how cool it will be to pass along to grandchildren one day (that's how good this product is).

Pricing and Ordering Information:
There are two forts available to choose from.
The Toydle Fort is $149.00 and comes with over 50 pieces and provides over 45 cubic feet of space. There are also six wonderful clips included to use to clip on your own sheets and blankets to your fort.
The Big Toydle Fort (which is what our family received) is $229.00 and includes over 90 cubic feet of space and it includes 8 clips.

Please click over to the Crew's blog for more Toydle Fort reviews. I can't wait to click through them all myself. I am sure there will be a lot of great and creative fort designs shared!

2011 Blog Highlights

2012-01-01T22:19:00.004-05:00

Here are a few of the most "popular" posts from 2011. If you visit my blog regularly, you know I show signs of ADD and tend to blog about lots of different things like homemaking, home education, product reviews, ministry life, and just fun and random things I want to share. I look forward to having more stories to share with you in 2012. Happy reading and feel free to leave a comment.

Christian Life Posts

Mini Prayer Retreat

Messy Ministry

Home Education Posts

Our Study on Lewis and Clark

What Charlotte Mason Has Taught Me About Habits

A New Year Begins

From the Kitchen Posts

Fun Fall Trail Mix

Review Posts

Love and Respect - A Thomas Nelson Book Review

Educating the WholeHearted Child - TOS Crew Review

Family-Friendly Spanish Curriculum

2011-12-30T08:08:00.000-05:00

Homeschool Spanish is a R.E.A.L. curriculum for the entire family to enjoy. R.E.A.L is an acronym and it means:

Relax

Enjoy

Aspire

Learn

Doesn't that sound nice? A curriculum that encourages you to relax, enjoy, aspire, and learn TOGETHER as a family!

Our family has been using this curriculum for the past month and we are enjoying it. We are taking it very slowly. We are still working our way through unit one learning all the greetings in Spanish. I just got done serving my children lunch and without any prompting they are saying "Gracias" and I say "De Nada." We are learning to implement what we're learning into normal parts of our day, not just the few moments we spend doing our Spanish lessons.

I received this material to download and the process was simple. I received the book bundle with the daily curriculum guide. I highly recommend purchasing the daily curriculum guide. I'm the type of person who really NEEDS that sort of thing to keep me on track and organized! My children love the audio files, because even though I have a tiny bit of Spanish background (very tiny) they know I sometimes do NOT pronounce things correctly. The sound quality is very good on these files. You can view some sample pages by clicking here so you can get an idea how the curriculum is designed and some of the activity pages included.

Pricing and Ordering Information:
There are two ordering options for R.E.A.L Homeschool Spanish. You can choose to either download the material which is priced at $49.95 or purchase a hardcopy which costs $89.95. You can also order a daily curriculum planning guide for $9.95. This program is geared towards children in grades K-8, but a high school supplement is going to be released soon.

To read more Crew reviews on this product, please visit the Crew's Blog.

*I received this product free for review purposes only. All opinions are my own.*

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-20T08:13:00.003-05:00

Merry Christmas from our family! Things are going to be very quiet here on this little web space of mine for the rest of the year. I am going to be spending time and making memories with my family! May we all be still and see God in our midst and truly worship Him this Christmas season.

Joyfully,

Nikki

P.S. There's still time to order special gifts for special people in Asia through the Gospel for Asia's Christmas Catalog.

A Few of our Favorite Christmas Things

2011-12-15T12:49:00.004-05:00

Making cookies and music are a few of our favorite Christmas things.

The World's Greatest Stories

2011-12-15T11:35:00.004-05:00

George Sarris makes the Bible come alive with his amazing story-telling skills. Our family received the first volume of "The World's Greatest Stories" and these stories are word for word from the Bible and I LOVE that! In this volume we learned about The Blazing Furnace, The Handwriting on the Wall, Daniel in the Lion's Den, Elijah and the Prophets of Baal, and The Prophecy of Jonah.

There are six volumes to choose from and each volume is available in either the NIV or KJV translation.

Volume 1 - The Prophets

Volume 2 - The Life of Christ

Volume 3 - Beginnings

Volume 4 - Joshua and Esther

Volume 5 - Joseph and His Brothers

Volume 6 - Defeating Giants

Pricing and Ordering Information:

Each CD costs $7.95 plus shipping. However, shipping is FREE when you order six more more CDs.

These CDs make great gifts and are also a great item to add to your family's listening library. We love to listen to these types of CDs while drawing, getting ready for bed, or on long road trips.

My Children's Thoughts:

"This can help you learn about things from the Old Testament and it is awesome."

To Read more TOS Crew reviews click over to the blog.

*I received this CD free in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.*

Share Christ with the Lost this Christmas

2011-12-14T15:35:00.002-05:00

Gospel for Asia sends 100% of funds raised through their Christmas catalog to the mission field so others can hear about the TRUE meaning of Christmas. Give a gift with eternal value and purpose this Christmas. It is not too late to purchase gifts online from the Gospel for Asia's Christmas catalog. Your gift will be helping the poorest of the poor in our world - the Dalits. The Dalits are a forgotten people in South Asia and are called the "Untouchables." When you purchase chickens, cows, or rabbits from the stable you are helping them provide an income for their family and more importantly giving a Gospel for Asia missionary an opportunity to share the Gospel with them.

Fun Fraction Card Game

2011-12-09T09:00:00.001-05:00

Fractazmic is a card game that helps teach children how to convert and add fractions and also the relationship between fractions and measurements. There are a few different variations of play to help adapt to your child's level.

This card game is for 2-4 players and is recommended for 1st-8th graders because there are multiple variations of this game to adapt the difficulty level. You will see a video I posted below to show you one of the variations to play this game. This game has potential in our family and I am hanging on to it when we get to covering fractions more in-depth. Right now the cards have too many common denominators for us to get going with a quick game. We need to work on fractions a bit more before playing the game will go smoothly like it's intended. Can I just be honest? This game has been good practice for ME! It's true! When you don't use this math skill you are quick to forget and it has been a great review for me as a teacher.

The cards in the deck are:

Sixteenth suit: 1/16, 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, and 1/2

Twelfths suit: 1/12, 1/6, 1/4, 1/3, 5/12, and 1/2

Tenths suit: 1/10, 1/5, 3/10, 2/5, and 1/2

The object of the game is to create as many "hands" as possible before you run out of cards and "hands" are made by adding together the fraction cards within the same suit to equal one whole. The game ends when a player runs out of cards and the winner is the player with the most "hands."

Click this link to go and play an online version of this game.

Pricing and Ordering Information:

$6.95 + shipping for each 60 card deck.

To read more TOS Crew reviews, click over to the blog now.

*I received this game free of charge in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own. *

Crazy Hats

2011-12-06T16:45:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago our AWANA club had crazy hat night. Some kids buy crazy hats, but my girls wanted to create their own crazy hats. So, they found some hats in their dress-up drawer and we pulled out some items from our craft supplies and the hot glue gun and I let them have some fun!

Both of my girls really enjoy AWANA. Do your children participate in AWANA or another similar activity at church?

A Weekend Full of Fun!

2011-12-05T08:43:00.004-05:00

The girls and I baked cookies for a cookie exchange a friend of ours from church organized and it was a lot of fun! We made mint chocolate chip and molasses crinkles.

The boys did some work around the house. We had some gutters that needed repaired and cleaned out. T thought he was a pretty big dude getting on the roof with his Dad.

We went to the tree farm and picked out our tree.

And of course we came home and decorated our tree.

We had a fun and busy weekend and are hopeful to have a fun and productive week of learning.

Fabulous Family Fun!

2011-12-01T08:00:00.004-05:00

Do you see the excitement on this little girl's face? I am hoping I see that same expression on my children's faces on Christmas morning when they wake up to find this:

A Toydle Fort!

Keep reading because I have an awesome Toydle Fort giveaway to share with you!

A Toydle Fort will bring fabulous family fun into your home! With a little imagination, you and your children can create anything you want with a Toydle Fort. I can already see ours being a castle up on a hill, a watchtower for a soldier to keep his city safe, or maybe even a puppet stage. The possibilities are endless. There are no directions included when you order your Toydle fort because you are free to create any design you desire! However, there are pictures and videos on the website to help get your creative juices flowing.

Do your children like making their own forts by stringing up blankets over beds, chairs, and tables? If so, then a Toydle Fort would make a perfect gift! When it is time to put the fort away all the blankets and sheets used can be folded and put away, and the toydle fort pieces are tucked neatly in the included storage bag. You can also purchase a Toydle Fort for your children and there are two models to choose from.

Pricing and Ordering Information:

The 45 square foot fort costs $149.00

The BIG Toydle Fort (double the square footage) costs $229.00

Click here for ordering information.

These forts come with a wonderful storage bag and clips to secure your sheets and blankets to make your fort a super hideout! This means no more blankets and sheets falling off the forts you make!

Toydle Forts were created by a Dad tired of buying poor quality toys for his children. I love the fact that these forts are made in America! Click here to read more about this family-owned company based in the United States! You can also "like" Toydle on Facebook!

I have some really awesome and fun news to share. You can enter for a chance to WIN a Toydle Fort over at the TOS Crew's blog. The TOS Crew is not just giving away ONE fort, but THREE!!!!! The giveaway is also for the BIG Toydle Fort! How cool is that? Help spread the word about this awesome giveaway and support a family-owned business and a made in the U.S.A product! Click over to the Crew's blog NOW to enter for your chance to WIN!

*This giveaway is for U.S. residents only. TOS Crew and Staff are unable to enter.*

The Gifts On Our Thankful Tree

2011-11-27T18:28:00.006-05:00

We have created some sort of thankful tree for several years now. The children write what they're thankful for on leaves and we hang them on the tree. This year Heath and I joined in. For this Multitude on Mondays post, I will share the list of gifts our family wrote down.

#446-484

Home ~ Holy Spirit ~ a backyard to play in ~ friends ~ mom ~ candy ~ food ~ milk ~ fun family time ~ fried chicken ~ stores ~ movies and popcorn ~ coats ~ forgiveness ~ house ~ God and ~ family~ hot husband ~ trails ~ Nikki's love ~ lunch ~ nature ~ toys ~ medicine and doctors~ cake

~ Christ ~ peanuts ~ The Bible ~ warm drinks ~ water ~ hot chocolate ~ drinks ~ laughter

~ Sissy ~ clothes ~ dinner ~ mom and dad ~ apple cider ~ breakfast ~ brothers and sister

I think we were thirsty one day when we wrote down things we are thankful for. Did you notice how many beverages were listed?

I won a copy of "One Thousand Gifts" last week over at "Uplifting Words."Please take a moment and visit "Uplifting Words" because you will be blessed and encouraged if you do. When I left a comment for a chance to win I began praying about who I would give the book to if I won. I can't wait to receive the book in the mail so I can mail the book to a friend of mine as a gift. Speaking of gifts..."One Thousand Gifts" would make a lovely Christmas gift. I would recommend it to anyone who desires to walk closely with the Lord and truly live out 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 - to be joyful always, pray continually, and to give thanks in all things.

Now that all our leaves have been removed from our thankful tree, we have transformed it into a Jesse Tree as we do our Advent devotional readings to keep our hearts turned to Christ as we prepare for Christmas. Ann Voskamp has a free download for all her subscribers.

Forgotten Christmas

2011-11-25T04:00:00.001-05:00

The day after Thanksgiving officially kicks off the craziness of shopping for Christmas gifts. This video will help give you a different perspective on how most of us Americans spend way too much on temporal trash and not enough on what is important - people and their eternity.

This year consider giving a gift to help the poor or a missionary in Asia. When you give to Gospel for Asia 100% goes directly to the mission field!

Frugal Anniversary Celebration

2011-11-23T01:48:00.001-05:00

For our anniversary last weekend, I made homemade Mostaccioli con Salscisia (a recipe from one of our favorite restaurants in Columbia, MO). If we would have gone to the Pasta Factory in downtown Columbia, it would have cost us $24.50 for two entrees and to make it at home it cost less than $10.00. We got to eat by candlelight, listen to some nice romantic Jazz, and we were never bothered by a waiter.

Do you ever enjoy date nights at home? This is an old post I wrote about sharing some ideas to have fun date nights at home and another post about how to do this successfully with young children. Now that our children are 10, 9, and 6, date nights at home have gotten a lot easier.

My husband and I have recently started something new with our date nights. One month we plan a special date night at home and the next month we get a babysitter and go out. This is really working for us and we enjoy having this special monthly time carved out for just the two of us. Do you and your spouse carve out special time for one another on a regular basis? How do you make date nights special in your home?

Preparing for Thanksgiving

2011-11-22T15:31:00.002-05:00

As we prepare for Thanksgiving, we are putting together our thankful tree,

doing a lot of cleaning,

and working ahead on worship planning so we can enjoy our Thanksgiving break together.

I was really blessed by reading Teri Lynne's 10 Tips for a Happy Thanksgiving. Why don't you take a moment to go check it out. I know it will bless you as well and help you put things in the right perspective. We sure can let all the preparations distract us and keep us from enjoying this precious time with our family and friends.

It is good to give thanks to the Lord...

Psalm 92:1

Birthday Brownie Ice Cream Dessert

2011-11-22T06:36:00.001-05:00

My daughter was very specific about what dessert she wanted for her birthday. She said she wanted an ice cream cake, but instead of using cake, she wanted me to use brownies. She also chose mint chocolate chip ice cream.

So, I baked the brownies in my round cake pans.

I then "built" the ice cream dessert in my spring form pan. I placed one of the brownies in the bottom, then put ice cream on top and layered again. I topped it with whipped topping and stuck it in the freezer, and once it was frozen I decorated it. I got the decorating idea from this site.

Do you make birthday cakes for your children or do you use a bakery? I've done both over the years.

The Reading Game

2011-11-21T07:40:00.002-05:00

The Reading Game is exactly what the product name suggests - a game you can play with your child that teaches reading. This game was created by Kenneth Hodkinson, the author of Wordly Wise.

How it Works:

Before your child reads a book, they get to play a memory matching card game. My 6-year-old loves this because she loves memory matching card games. The child is introduced to all the words she will find in the story as she progresses through the card games. Once she can read each word on the cards quickly (while playing the game), she is ready to read the story. The card game transforms boring rote learning into a fast paced card game which allows the child to transfer their learning to long-term memory in their brain. You can click here to watch a short video to see how the card game is played and another video showing a 4-year-old girl reading the first book in the game. This product is recommended for children 4 and up.

My daughter's thoughts:

"I like it because of the card games and the books." The game is awesome and the books are great!"

Here is my daughter practicing her words from the card game one last time before we move on to the next level.

My thoughts:

At first I really wasn't sure I would like this product because proper punctuation and capitalization are not used in these books. However, I quickly remembered another resource I used to teach reading that followed a similar format. Once I began to actually use this product with my beginner reader did my opinion change. She loved playing the game and it was fun and exciting to see her adding more and more sight words to her reading vocabulary. She enjoys reading the stories and she cannot wait to get to the unicorn book, which is book five. She is getting ready to begin book four this week.

Ordering and Pricing Information:

The Reading Game includes six decks of matching playing cards that coordinate with each of the books, and a teacher and parent's guide with clear and concise directions on how to play while teaching your child to read. This products sells for $24.95

To read more TOS Crew reviews on this product, please click over to the blog.

*I received this product free of charge in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own*

Celebrating 12 Years of Marriage

2011-11-20T14:00:00.000-05:00

Happy anniversary to the man who encourages, blesses, and sharpens me. I love how you make me smile and laugh, and how you pray for and with me. You are my best-friend and you encourage me to "be joyful always." I love journeying through life with you and what a journey the Lord has led us through these past 12 years. I love you like crazy and I thank you for how deeply you love me and how committed you are to me.

Buying Jewelry Can Change a Life

2011-11-18T08:11:00.000-05:00

Some friends and I are hosting a jewelry party tonight, but it is not your typical jewelry party. This jewelry was made by some amazing women who live in Africa and 100% of the profits go to help support those living in poverty. Have you heard of "Back to Africa"? If not, you should visit their site, find something to purchase for a loved one for Christmas and bless a widow, orphan, or family in Africa. You can read more about the mission of Back to Africa and also read some amazing stories about how this ministry has changed people's lives not just financially but eternally as well.

Frugal Birthday Celebration

2011-11-12T02:39:00.000-05:00

We have never had HUGE birthday parties for our children. I think it's mainly because we live so far away from family. However, we do let them have a few friends over every other year. This year is the year of family only birthday parties. The children get to choose which parent to go out with on a birthday "date." I was so excited K chose me this year, because the past two years she picked her Daddy. I took her to the salon, out to eat lunch, and she got to go shopping with her own birthday money. It was a really fun morning for us and I was thankful for ways to make our outing a little more frugal.

Haircut (wash, cut, dry, and style) and mini manicure = $30. But I had $12 left on a gift certificate, so I only paid $18 out of pocket.

Lunch out = $8.09. I used a BOGO coupon.

Homemade Cake = $8.17

How do you keep birthday celebrations frugal in your home?

Math Mammoth - Multiplication and Division

2011-11-10T13:04:00.005-05:00

We have shifted gears a little this year in math. With my son, we are focusing on one math concept at a time and getting a solid foundation under our feet before moving on to the next concept. Of course there is a lot of review thrown in the mix as well. I was thrilled to get the opportunity to review Multiplication 1 and Division 1 from Math Mammoth's Blue Series. The blue series are worktexts on specific topics, and a worktext is described as "a book that contains both explanations of the concepts and lots of variations of the problems. It is like a textbook and a workbook combined."

Multiplication 1:

Multiplication 1 focuses on multiplication concept, multiplication on a number line, order of operations, word problems, guide for effective oral drilling, and structured study of the multiplication tables.

Division 1:

Division 1 focuses on the meaning of division, multiplication and division connection, remainder, divisibility, and word problems.

The Blue Series are downloadable and are very affordable. The Multiplication 1 Worktext is priced at $5.00 and the division worktext is priced at $3.50. Printed copies are also available, and are slightly more expensive.

Math Mammoth offers complete math curricula by grade level up to grade 6, and several supplemental math books.

To read more TOS Crew reviews on various Math Mammoth products please click over to the Crew's Blog.

*I received these products free of charge for review purposes only. All opinions are my own. *

Pioneer Quilting

2011-11-10T09:16:00.001-05:00

The girls are still working on their quilt blocks and I will be posting more work in progress pictures soon. They have chosen to make pillows out of their quilt blocks instead of baby doll blankets. We have taken a little break from reading the "Little House" books to work on U.S. Geography. The children are learning where all the states are, the capitals, and they've even chosen one state to write a report on. I will hopefully be posting more on that soon. Next week we will begin reading "On the Banks of Plum Creek."

Composer Study ~ Chopin

2011-11-03T19:19:00.001-04:00

The past few weeks we have been studying Chopin and we've enjoyed listening to his often fast tempo piano pieces.

Books we used:

"Introducing Chopin" by Roland Vernon

"Frederic Chopin" written and illustrated by Mike Venezia (part of a series called "Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers). Venezia's books are always my children's favorites. Every other page has a funny cartoon that goes along with the reading and the children get a big kick out of the author's humor.

Resources we Used:

Grooveshark - I recently discovered Grooveshark. You can create a free online account and then design a playlist. For instance, I have a playlist for Chopin so we can only listen to his music. Pandora is a nice website, but if you search for Chopin you will only listen to music like Chopin, but it will not necessarily be one of his compositions every time you listen. I pull up our Chopin playlist on Grooveshark while we're at the table doing school work and a few times we even listened to it at dinner. Once I decide on our next composer, I will simply create a new playlist to make listening to the composer easier throughout our 6 week study.

Jimmie's Squidoo Lense - I found some helpful resources over at Jimmie's Squidoo lense all about Chopin. Have you visited Jimmie's blog called "Jimmie's Collage"?

What the children think about Chopin's music: Most of Chopin's pieces are very fast. My son jokingly calls him a show-off. However, my daughter points out that he really wasn't a show-off because we read about how he actually did not like to perform in front of large crowds.

What composers have you enjoyed studying? I'd love to have you share! Maybe you have never done a composer study before. I cannot communicate to you how easy this is. Well, the way I do it is easy. Ha! I go to the library check out a few books, I make a playlist on Grooveshark, and then we write a page or two for our composer notebook. See? That's easy!

I am linking up this week with Study the Composers over at A Teaching Heart.

Ooka Island

2011-11-02T13:05:00.005-04:00

Ooka Island is a downloadable online learning adventure designed for Pre-K to 2nd grade children to teach reading. As stated on their website, "The Ooka Method combines phonological development and language-rich text with comprehension activities so that children have the opportunity to achieve effortless reading." Click here to read more about the Ooka Method.

While children play games they are actually building literacy skills, and given opportunities to find special books to read at the bottom of the sea. After an appropriate amount of work takes place (it won't seem like work though) children get the opportunity to have 8 minutes of free time to play. Children can explore Ooka Island and get to hang out and have fun with these fun characters - Zobot the robot and the fun elves.
My 6-year-old daughter would like to share her thoughts about Ooka Island:

I love Ooka Island a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot! I like the games and you get to go to places, you get to read the books, you get to go to Pencil Playground, and my trophy room.

Mom's Thoughts: I like how this is something my youngest child can work (and play) on independently while I'm spending time with the older two children doing their more difficult subjects with them. She likes having something she can do independently as well because it makes her feel like a big girl.

Pricing Information for Ooka Island:
You can currently use the code LAUNCHSPECIAL30 to save 30% on a monthly subscription.

I encourage you to visit Ooka Island's website today, and click on the tab that says "explore the island." It will give you more of a visual idea of all the literacy activities they offer.

You can read more TOS Crew member reviews by clicking over to the blog.

*Disclaimer: I received a free subscription to this site for review purposes only. All opinions are my own (and my daughter's).*

Curly Hair and Working Out

2011-11-01T18:34:00.002-04:00

So, I'm trying to learn how to deal with my curly hair. I workout intensely 5-6 days each week and that means a lot of showers and hair washing and I don't want to take the time to dry my hair and straighten it. So, I found something over at Pinterest that intrigued me, which led me to checking out a book at my local library called "The Curly Girl Handbook." I have learned a lot reading this book and it has been helpful. I'm not saying I will never wear my hair straight again (see my profile picture), but at least I am learning how to manage my curls a little better.

This is what I looked like a couple weeks ago before going out on a date with my husband. I followed the instructions in "The Curly Girl Handbook" for wavy hair and used my diffuser to dry it a little.

Do you workout regularly? How do you manage your hair (straight or curly) in the midst of the busyness of life?

Have you read my weight loss story over at Peak 313 Fitness yet? If not, take the time to check out this helpful, encouraging, and Christ honoring blog!

Memoria Press - First Form Latin

2011-10-31T14:10:00.001-04:00

I received First Form Latin from Memoria Press to review for The Old Schoolhouse Crew. This is a Latin curriculum recommended for grades 5 and up and is designed to work for students and teachers who have no background in Latin. The completion of this curriculum is the equivalent of one year of high school Latin. First Form Latin is unique in how it teaches grammar systematically to aid in retention and understanding.

This curriculum with the DVD would work well for older independent learners. The students can watch the lessons (which are approximately 15 minutes in length) and then do the assigned workbook pages (which help with mastery and recognition of inflected forms).

My children have begun learning Latin, but my husband and I do not believe they are quite ready to make the jump to First Form Latin. However, I have safely stored all resources to use in the future because the quality is excellent.

Are you interested in checking out some samples of this curriculum? If so click through the links below.

Sample Textbook Pages

Student Workbook Pages

Teacher's Manual

Table of Contents

Sample First Form Recitation

5 minute demo of DVD lesson

Pricing Information

First Form Latin $55.00 (Includes teacher's manual, student text and workbook, quizzes, tests, and pronunciation CD)

First Form Latin + DVDs and Flashcards $115.00 (Includes all the above plus DVDs and flashcards).

Click here for more ordering information.

To read more reviews on this product as well as Memoria Press's Classical Phonics, click over to the Crew's blog now.

*Disclaimer: I received these products free of charge for review purposes only. All opinions are my own.*

Gifts for Jesus

2011-10-27T22:30:00.001-04:00

It's time to fill shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan's Purse. Last year we were surprised at how much it cost to fill a box with quality items and pay the shipping. We wanted to fill more, but simply couldn't due to our family's budget. So we started planning ahead and bought gifts throughout the entire year and not just the week before the shoe boxes were due. When shoe box time came around this year we had a stash of stuff to work with. In January, I placed a large gift bag in a closet and wrote "Gifts for Jesus" on it. Throughout the year we went shopping for gifts to put in our shoe boxes and stored them in our bag. Since we spread out our spending this year we are going to fill more boxes than ever before. I also want our children to think about giving to others throughout the entire year and not just at Christmas time.

So, this is your reminder - go and fill some shoe boxes for children all around the world so they can hear about Christ. In doing this, you are truly giving a gift for Jesus. National Collection Week is November 14-21. Click here for a list of drop off locations.

Sometimes Ministry is Messy

2011-10-24T14:49:00.007-04:00

I had the privilege of going away for the weekend to help out a church plant in the Pittsburgh, PA area. Two church planting families are investing their lives in the people of their community and God is giving them opportunities to share Him and His love with their neighbors. Their ministry is authentic and authentic can often mean dealing with complicated messiness. Authentic ministry can mean ministering to drug addicts, single parents, widows, foster families, and other people who are hurting and have various needs. But don't we all hurt and have needs? What many don't realize is their greatest need is a relationship with Jesus because He alone can soothe our hurts and satisfy our souls. Oftentimes, we shy away from ministering to people in messy situations because we think we don't know how to handle the situation, we don't have the time or resources, or we simply don't want to deal with needy people. Jesus didn't shy away from fornicators, adulterers, the sick, or even the demon-possessed and he doesn't desire His followers to either.

This weekend, our main ministry was helping this church do a room re-design for a 14-year-old girl who is living with a foster family and waiting on the adoption process to be finalized. She has never had a stable place to call home, let alone a nice room of her own. She is learning from her neighbors and her foster family that she is worthy of love and unconditional love does exist. She is beginning to experience the love of a family and also how the family of God loves as well. Part of Jeremiah 31:3 says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love" and this is exactly what we are praying this young girl will realize - that God draws her to Himself and loves her - forever.

I was humbled and blessed by this ministry opportunity. Watching these two ministry families in action challenged me to be more aware of the needs around me and to jump into authentic ministry even though it might be messy and I might get hurt because people are worth it and I am called to to be in relationship with Christ AND with others no matter what the cost.

This gives you a tiny glimpse of the work we did this weekend.

If you are reading this post, would you please take a minute to lift this young girl up in prayer and also this church plant? God knows who you're praying for.

Choosing JOY,

Nikki

A Glimpse into our Week

2011-10-21T07:02:00.001-04:00

I'm out of town on a mission trip, but scheduled this to post while I'm away. Will you please pray for our team as we are spending our weekend in Pittsburgh, PA helping out a church plant?

This is a glimpse into our week.

The children have completed all the notebook pages for "Little House in the Big Woods" and "Little House on the Prairie." My son is a reluctant writer and I love how he is developing as a writer with all the daily small writing assignments in this Binder Builder from A Journey Through Learning.
This is what L looks like when she does her math. If I had all that hair in my face, it would drive me crazy, but she doesn't seem to mind one bit.

This week the children worked on some projects on Monday. The girls are learning to quilt (I'll post about that soon) and T did some work out in the yard. I think he felt pretty manly out there working on his own.
My daughter, K has enjoyed playing chess for a while now, and now T has taken an interest in it. I am thankful because it gives the two older kids something to do quietly together while I'm working with L on her reading, writing, and math lessons.

K wanted to try making her own perfume like Ramona did in Beverly Cleary's book "Ramona and her Father." We don't have any roses, so she thought she'd try petunias. Unfortunately, petunias don't make good perfume.

What have you been up to this week?

Did you see my Shed and Share post over at Peak 313 Fitness on Wednesday? If not, please check it out!

Prayers Appreciated

2011-10-20T07:52:00.000-04:00

I'm leaving today for a short mission trip to the Pittsburgh area. I am going with six other people from my church to help out a church plant. We will be doing a room re-design for a young teenage girl who is currently in foster care and also helping with a community outreach event. I am thankful for this opportunity to go and share Christ and His love in this way. Would you please pray for our team this weekend?

Choosing JOY,

Nikki

My Journey to Better Health

2011-10-19T08:42:00.002-04:00

Have you met Clare over at Peak 313 Fitness? Her desire is to "encourage women from the inside out." She has started a new series called "Shed & Share Wednesdays" and I am sharing my story over there today. I would like to invite you to click over and read about my journey to better health.

Versatile Blogger Award

2011-10-18T13:55:00.005-04:00

Sharla from "The Chaos and the Clutter" awarded me with the Versatile Blogger Award because you can find everything from homeschooling to frugal tips to family fun on my blog. Her kind words blessed my heart and I'm thankful for this sweet award. Have you visited Sharla's blog? If not, please take a moment to do so. She writes about her family, adoption, homeschooling, frugal living, and God's Word. Thank you Sharla!

Here are the rules for this award:

Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them.

Tell your readers 7 things about yourself.

Give this award to 15 recently discovered bloggers.

Contact those bloggers and let them in on the news.

Okay, I will try not to break any of these rules. Let's get started. Here are seven things you may not know about me...

1) I am currently taking my last college course to complete my undergraduate degree. I began my studies at the University of Missouri - Columbia and I am able to complete my studies through this university even though I live in Pennsylvania now. I am completing my degree online (of course) through their online degree completion program. I am simply doing this to finish something I started. I have no plans to leave home and enter the work force because I am currently working my dream job and loving it.

2) I am a recent convert to running. This is my 4th week and I actually ENJOY it! I think it's because it gives me a few moments to be ALONE and OUT of my house. I was also ready for something new in my workout routine and running is working for me.

3) We are a one-vehicle family and have been since the summer of 2006. So, when I say I am a stay-at-home mom, I really mean it. Which is why I think I enjoy running like I do.

4) Because of my husband I like shows like Star Trek, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Firefly. Honestly, I would have never watched these shows unless we were married, but I actually like this stuff! Who knew? Geekiness is contagious, so you've been warned!

5) I want a tattoo. Maybe I will get one when I reach my goal weight. I am more than halfway there!

6) I want to be a farmer. I want chickens and a few cows and I want a HUGE vegetable garden and a small orchard would be nice too.

7) I want to learn to play the piano again. I took lessons for at least five years when I was younger and I should be able to play well. The saying "If you don't use it, you lose it" is true.

15 Bloggers I've Recently Discovered

1) Second star to the right and straight on till morning

2) homegrown learners

3) Our Side of the Mountain

4) The Bluestocking Belle

5) Little Homeschool on the Prairie

6) Kay's Corner

7) Peace.Love.Jesus

8) Susan's Homeschool Blog

9) Raising Leafs

10) Mozi Esme

11) Abundantly Blessed

12) Clothesline Musings

13) Morning Glories and Moonflowers

14) Training Children up for Christ

15) Rich Faith Rising

Educating the WholeHearted Child

2011-10-17T13:55:00.001-04:00

As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Crew, I received a 300+ page book from Apologia which helps parents provide their children with a wholehearted Christian education using real life and whole books. If the discipleship of your children is not your primary focus in your home, then this book is a must-read. Even if the training and teaching of your children is your focus, we all need encouragement and direction and that is exactly what you will find in Clay and Sally Clarkson's third edition of "Educating the WholeHearted Child." Some people may want to know why the Clarksons have updated this book again. In the book's preface they share, " We have never written books just to have something to sell. We write because we have something more to say." The Clarksons have fifteen more years of lessons about homeschooling and parenting to share since their last revision and that is why they chose to revise and expand this resource for today's home educating families.

This book is huge and it is packed full of Scripture to not only help you with the academic side of educating your child, but more importantly to help you nurture and disciple your children. There are four sections to this book and they include:

Section 1: Home

Chapter 1: The Christian Home - Learning to Be at Home with Christ

Chapter 2: The Christian Homeschool - Learning at Home to Be with Christ

Chapter 3: Home Nurture - Shepherding Your Child's Spirit to Long for God

Chapter 4: Home Discipleship - Shaping Your Child's Heart to Live for God

Chapter 5: Home Education - Strengthening Your Child's Mind to Learn for God

Section 2: Learning

Chapter 6: The WholeHearted Learning Model - Living and Learning Together at Home

Chapter 7: The WholeHearted Learning Home - Creating a Home You Can Learn Within

Chapter 8: The WholeHearted Learning Child - Understanding Your Child

Chapter 9: The WholeHearted Learning Youth - Beyond the WholeHearted Child

Section 3: Methods

Chapter 10: Discipleship Studies Methods - The Study of the Bible

Chapter 11: Disciplined Studies Methods - The Study of the Basics

Chapter 12: Discussion Studies Methods - The Study of Ideas

Chapter 13: Discover Studies Methods - The Study of Learning

Chapter 14: Discretionary Studies Methods - The Study of Living

Section 4: Living

Chapter 15: Family - Keeping the Vision Alive

Chapter 16: Structure - Keeping the Homeschooling Together

Chapter 17: Order - Keeping the Home Together

Chapter 18: Support - Keeping the Spirit Strong

There is also a challenge in the postscript at the end of the book and resources to help guide you to quality books and forms to use in your home as you strive to wholeheartedly educate your children.

This book is such a treasure I honestly do not even know how to begin to explain to you how wonderful I think it is. I wish I could purchase a copy for all my home educating friends. Clay and Sally Clarkson are parents who have truly walked the walk. They began educating their first child in 1988 and started Whole Heart ministries in 1994. The Clarksons have four homeschool graduates and they are all living for and serving the Lord. I am not saying this book is a fix-all because parents have to be willing to commit fully to Christ and invest in their children's lives. However, this book will help you learn what a powerful privilege it is to nurture your children's hearts, minds, and souls. . Choosing to educate your child at home will not automatically make your children turn their hearts towards Christ and His ways; there's a lot more involved and this book is your handbook for a Christ-centered education and it will help you focus on things of eternal value rather than temporal.

Pricing and Ordering Information:

This book is priced at $22.00 and can be ordered by clicking on this link. You can also find a link to read a sample chapter.

To read more TOS Crew reviews, click over to the blog now.

*I received this book free for review purposes only. All opinions stated in this review are my own*

Help for the Struggling Meal Planner

2011-10-14T07:51:00.001-04:00

Do you often struggle with the "what's for dinner?" question? If so, e-mealz is an affordable meal planning service that will not only help you plan delicious dinners for your family, but help you save money while doing it. Their menus are planned based upon local sale ads and seasonal items to help you stretch your grocery budget.

Who is e-mealz for?

Well, anyone who has to shop and cook. However, it is especially nice for someone to use if they need to get used to shopping on a budget because menu planning is the first step to take. E-mealz will help you learn how to plan meals, shop with a list, and stick to your list (which helps you stick to your budget). This is a service you pay for, but don't worry, it is very budget friendly.

What does it cost?

You will be billed $15.00 every 3 months for this service. This averages out to $1.25/week.

What is included in this service?

7 dinner menus each week that serves 4-6 people or 5 dinner menus each week to serve 2 people.

What did our family think?

I plan our family's menus every two weeks. I get online and look at the sale ads to see what meat is on sale and then I plan from there. We shop at Aldi and a local grocery store so I already shop with a frugal mind-set based upon my menu planning and where I shop. However, I was truly blessed by this service. I agonize over menu planning each time and often find myself in a rut. Since using this service we have tried new recipes, added variety to our menus, and it has been a great experience. The process is as simple as their 1,2,3 motto states:

Head over to the e-mealz website to learn more and see if this is a service that would bless your family. There are meal plans available for some special dietary needs as well (vegetarian, gluten free, low-fat, low-carb, and portion control).

The only thing I didn't like:

In a three month cycle, you are only allowed to change your menu plan once. When I first set-up my e-mealz account, I chose a low-carb option and saw immediately it would not work for my entire family. I would personally like it, but my family would not. So, I chose to the Aldi plan and I am stuck there. The Aldi plan has worked out okay because I already shop there, but there were a couple weeks I would have enjoyed having the opportunity to see if another store's menu plan would have been a better fit for our family. Our family does not eat things like white bread and white rice, so when items have to be substituted the cost is more, but this is a sacrifice I am willing to make for our health.

To read more reviews from other TOS Crew members, please head over to the Crew Blog now!

*Disclaimer: I received a three month membership to e-mealz free for review purposes only. All opinions are solely my own.*

Always Ice Cream

2011-10-12T19:42:00.002-04:00

Always Ice Cream is a website designed for 7-12 year old girls to interact with one another (if they choose), play games, earn scoops (which is like money) to pay for fun activities like purchasing pets in Pet World and furniture for their shop and home which are all things the girls can create in this fun little online space.

On this fun learning website, your daughter can learn where all the states are.

She can also practice her typing skills.

Pet World is another favorite. Your daughter will enjoy hatching eggs and raising pets in this fun little playful place.

My 8-year-old daughter's thoughts:

It's fun and sometimes it can be educational. I would recommend Always Ice Cream to my friends.

My Thoughts:

I will be honest, at first glance I didn't think this site would be a big hit, but I was totally wrong. I am actually considering purchasing a membership for my youngest daughter for her 7th birthday. I like how I receive weekly reports via e-mail telling me exactly what my daughter has been playing and how she's advancing through the various levels. When my daughter has free time and asks to go on this website I am glad because I know she is safe, enjoying herself, being creative as she designs and creates things for her shop, and also learning as she plays the various games.

What does Always Ice Cream Cost?

$4.99/month, $29.99/year or $99.99 for a lifetime membership

Click over to Always Ice Cream to learn more and try it for FREE for a while!

To read more TOS Crew reviews for Always Ice Cream head over to the blog now.

*Disclaimer: I received a free membership to Always Ice Cream for review purposes only. My opinions are my own.*

Visual Latin

2011-10-10T07:34:00.001-04:00

Do you want your children to learn Latin but you have no idea how to teach it? If so, then Visual Latin might just be the resource for you. Visual Latin allows you to bring a humorous Latin tutor right into your home, and he will help you and your children "laugh through Latin and master English."

As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Crew, I received Lessons 1-10 on DVD. This DVD includes four introductory lessons and 10 Latin lessons.

The four introductory lessons:

1) Why Study Latin?

2) Latin Then & Now

3) How to Learn a New Language

4) Stuff You Should Know About Latin

The 10 Latin Lessons:

1) Being Verbs Basics | To Be and Not to Be

2) Being Verbs Basics | Predicate Nominatives and Adjectives

3) Gender | Boy Words and Girl Words

4) Singular and Plural | E Pluribus Unum

5) Declensions | Meet the Cases

6) Adjectives Learn to Agree with Nouns

7) The Case Files | Nominative and Genitive

8) Counting to 10 in Latin

9) Active Verb Basics | Indicative Mood

10) The Case Files | Accusative

The four introductory lessons and first two Latin lessons are available for FREE on their website. This will give you an opportunity to see all Visual Latin has to offer.

Dwane, the funny and witty Latin tutor!

When you purchase the DVDs or download the lessons on your computer, you are also given downloadable PDF worksheets. I love how there are not additional workbooks to purchase with this program. I appreciate how the lessons are broken up into three short mini lessons within one main lesson. Each Latin lesson includes a grammar video that is approximately 7 minutes long and then you simply pause the DVD to complete the PDF worksheet. The second part of the lesson includes working with sentences and this segment is about 8 minutes in length, and once again you pause the DVD to complete the PDF worksheet. The third part of the lesson covers translation and this gives students an opportunity to see how and why Latin works.

In our home, my husband is the Latin teacher. I wasn't sure how he'd feel about Dwane moving in on his turf, but he actually gave Dwane a pretty good review. He said he believes this is a superior product and he would give Visual Latin 9 points out of a 10 point scale. My husband still wants to be the Latin teacher in our home, but he believes Visual Latin will be a great additional resource and supplement to his lessons. We believe Latin is a valuable subject to teach because it helps us understand English better and as Dwane put it in one of the introductory lessons - "Latin opens the door to other languages." Maybe you've been considering adding Latin into your lessons for a while now, but have been afraid because you have no background in Latin. If that is the case, our family recommends Visual Latin.

Ordering and Pricing Information:

Each DVD contains 10 lessons and costs $30 or you can choose to download for $25 (this is the price for single/family use). For Latin 1, there are a total of 30 lessons available on three separate DVDs, which you can purchase for $80 (a savings of $10 if you order them all together). Click here for ordering information. They are also in the process of releasing DVDs for Latin Level 2.

New Coupon Code: OCT$10

Use this coupon code for $10 off your purchase!

Disclaimer: I received this DVD free for review purposes only.

Bringing Focus to our Homeschool

2011-10-03T12:47:00.002-04:00

This week we are kicking off another year of great Blog Cruise posts brought to you by the TOS Crew. We are discussing homeschool related goals. My husband and I have always had goals for our children as we educate them at home. Our first goal is to see them grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ and have a desire to live for Him and serve Him (2 Peter 3:18). This year, however, I took the time to write out more goals for our home and for each individual child. This has helped bring focus to our homeschool.

Here are some of our goals for this year:

1. Memorize one verse of Scripture each week as a family.

2. Do everything for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). This doesn't mean just getting our work done, but also doing it with happy hearts (attitudes pleasing to the Lord).

3. MORE JOY (choosing to give thanks, be joyful always, and pray without ceasing like 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 teaches.

4. Focus on one thing at a time and when that is accomplished move on to the next thing.

5. Progress at each child's individual pace

Goals for each individual child:

I used Diane Lopez's "Teaching Children: A Curriculum Guide to What Children Need to Know at Each Level Through Sixth Grade" as a guide to make goals by subject for each child. I printed them and placed them in my binder to give me a big picture of things I believe the children need to learn this year. I can go back to this list to assess how we are progressing throughout the year. I like to see things written down and then checked off and this helps me do that.

What are your homeschool goals for the year? If you haven't taken the time to sit down and write them out, I encourage you to do so because it has helped this homeschool Momma focus and I am thankful.

Money Saving Secrets of the Amish by Lorilee Craker

2011-09-30T17:01:00.004-04:00

Lorilee Craker's "Money Saving Secrets of the Amish" is a fun and enjoyable read. Craker writes in a very conversational style which I actually enjoy. In this book you will not only learn secrets from the Amish, but Craker also shares how her own family have put some money saving secrets in action and reaped the benefits. Our nation could learn a lot from the quiet and humble Amish society. The main lesson is to not spend money unless you have the money to spend. One of my favorite quotes from the book came from an Amish boat cover maker named Andy, " Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without." Honestly, everything in this book is common sense, but these secrets have been lost in our materialistic society. Thanks to Craker, the secrets are now out and we should be wise, listen up and get busy simplifying! Would you like to learn how to stretch your money, live more simply, save, and share with others? If so, I recommend this book. It is a quick read and is available in paperback or Kindle form. I actually read this book on my laptop using a free download called Kindle for the PC.

Disclaimer: I received this book free of charge From BookSneeze for review purposes only. All opinions are my own.

Wrapping Up Week #6

2011-09-29T19:01:00.006-04:00

This week the children worked on memorizing 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. We talked about what it means to be a temple of the Holy Spirit and how we should take care of our bodies so we can serve Christ better.

We are continuing to enjoy our "Little House on the Prairie" studies. This week the children finished up their covered wagon. I got the idea for this little craft on Pinterest. Here is a direct link to the lovely blog that shared some great directions! I used some scrapbooking paper I had on hand for the wagon, tissue paper that came out of a shoe box for the cover of the wagon, and a pizza box for the wheels. It was all fairly easy to do. K made the little people you see inside the wagon. She made Pa, Ma, Mary, Laura, and Baby Carrie.

We do a lot of writing once we are done reading our "Little House" book each day. T is getting more and more independent in his writing and is actually enjoying the opportunity to use the many field guides he owns to write about prairie animals. I'm sure many will shudder when they see how this child holds his pencil. I tried to teach him the "correct" way to hold a pencil, but he kept looking at me with tear-filled eyes and saying, "Mom, it feels weird that way. Why can't I hold the pencil the way I want?" I decided it wasn't worth fighting the battle. He is writing neatly and frankly most left-handed people I know all have their own unique pencil grasp.

We actually did an art project this week! The children color and draw a lot around here, but I have really slacked off when it comes to providing them opportunities to do some sort of structured art project. Again, Pinterest gave me the inspiration for this fun fall art project. Here is the link if you're interested in seeing how to do this project. You will need watercolor paper, watercolor paints, and some liquid glue. L was excited to get to use something besides a glue stick. She said, "Mom, I'm grown now, so I can use this kind of glue."

This is T's artwork. He wanted to add a lot of fall color to his piece and that is why you will see a lot of fallen leaves at the bottom.

This is K's artwork. Do you see the red bird up in the tree and the sun in the background?

This is L's piece. She used watercolor crayons and then painted it with water later. T and K simply used watercolor paints like the instructions in the blog explained. When she was using the red I asked her, "What is all that red?" She said, "It's a sunset."

This week T went in for a haircut and he asked for a mohawk again. He likes it and I do too.

A few other highlights of our week include piano lesson for K, making a homemade bird feeder, playing Wiffle ball, and the older two children working on their multiplication tables.

How was your week? To read more weekly wrap-up posts, head over to Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Scripture Memory

2011-09-26T06:58:00.000-04:00

Whenever we eat food, we take time to eat God's Words too. Each school morning we gather around the table to start our day off with God's Word. Each week we have a Scripture we memorize. We take time to work on the memory verse each time we sit down to eat a meal. I cannot explain to you how simple this is. At the beginning of the school year, I made a list of Scripture I wanted us to work on this school year. Each week I write down our verse for the week on an index card and place it in my napkin holder that came from Peru. From time to time we also pull out old cards for review. Our method is loosely based off a Scripture Memory System I read about over at the Simply Charlotte Mason site. Do you all have a system for Scripture memory you use in your home? I'd love to hear more about it.

Bringing Focus to our Homeschool

2011-09-24T12:12:00.009-04:00

Here are some of our goals for this year:

1. Memorize one verse of Scripture each week as a family.

2. Do everything for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). This doesn't mean just getting our work done, but also doing it with happy hearts (attitudes pleasing to the Lord).

3. MORE JOY (choosing to give thanks, be joyful always, and pray without ceasing like 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 teaches.

4. Focus on one thing at a time and when that is accomplished move on to the next thing.

5. Progress at each child's individual pace

Goals for each individual child:

I used Diane Lopez's "Teaching Children: A Curriculum Guide to What Children Need to Know at Each Level Through Sixth Grade"as a guide to make goals by subject for each child. I printed them and placed them in my binder to give me a big picture of things I believe the children need to learn this year. I can go back to this list to assess how we are progressing throughout the year. I like to see things written down and then checked off and this helps me do that.

To read more TOS Crew Blog Cruise posts, click over to the blog.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles and Pinterest

2011-09-24T08:33:00.001-04:00

My youngest daughter and I spent some time in the kitchen this week and tried out a new recipe. We made Pumpkin Snickerdoodles. I found the recipe over at Pinterest? Have you heard about Pinterest? It is a fun little place online to "pin" your favorite things and helps keep all those neat things you find online organized into categories of your own choosing.

This weekend, my other daughter and I are going to make some pumpkin cupcakes to take to share with her AWANA class Sunday night. Yes, it is another recipe I found thanks to Pinterest! We actually modified the original recipe a little bit. I used a pumpkin spice cake mix and I really cheated and am using canned cream cheese frosting.

Have you discovered the fun little world of Pinterest?

Wrapping Up Week #5

2011-09-23T15:02:00.007-04:00

This week's memory verse was Philippians 2:14-15 and it was very appropriate because I didn't really want to do much (just keeping it real). I am blaming it on the rain and lack of sunshine. It is still raining as I sit here and type this. But hey, I am trying really hard to "do everything without complaining." Even my youngest daughter said today, "Mommy, I'm tired. I think it's because the sun isn't out yet." Oh dear, I don't think the sun came out much at all this week. However, we did manage to accomplish a lot this week and have some fun too!

You can see L on the left doing math. We are using a lot less paper around here with our math lessons. We are using the whiteboard, online resources, and hands-on math games. I think this is making math a lot more fun and I enjoy making a lot less copies. On the right, L is reading some new readers we pulled out. The books are getting more difficult and she is progressing very well.

The older two are busy reading too. T finished up reading "A Case for a Creator for Kids" last week and has started "A Case for Christ for Kids" this week. K is still really into "Encyclopedia Brown" books and I catch her reading them a lot in her spare time. With all the reading that goes on around here, I have no doubt the kids will be cashing in their Book-It! coupons each month (which arrived in the mail this week). Do you participate in Pizza Hut's Book It! program?

On Wednesday morning we got a lot of schoolwork done and then Heath and I surprised the children by taking them to the library and out to eat lunch at Chili's. It was a nice little break in the middle of our week.

T is continuing with his drum lessons on Thursday evenings. This is how he was dressed before he left that evening.

We are now reading "Little House on the Prairie." The kids are working on some pretty cool projects right now to go along with our unit study. I will share pictures next week when the project is complete. Here's a sneak peek at what we're working on.

How was your week? To read more weekly wrap up posts, head over to Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Tri-Cross Game

2011-09-19T15:00:00.001-04:00

Tri-Cross is a game produced by a family-owned business called Games for Competitors. It sounds to me like this is a family who likes to compete when it comes to board games, and it is this competitiveness that led their son, Jeff, to take over the reigns of this company and re-launch this game on the market. He was sure this game would be a success if given more exposure to buyers. You can read more about Games for Competitors here.

When our package arrived in the mail, I was a little hesitant to play because it came with a CD to watch to teach us how to play the game. I thought, "Great! This is going to be so difficult to figure out that we're never going to actually get to play!" I was wrong. The video is helpful, but the instruction guide included in the game gives both visual and written instructions. I have played this game with my 8-year-old daughter who enjoys strategy games and also my 6-year-old daughter has done pretty well playing this game with us. The recommended age is for 10 and up, but if you're willing to allow younger children to play with you, it can be done.

We have enjoyed learning how to play this game. Sometimes the games are really quick (which the girls don't care for), but sometimes the games take a little longer. Like any strategy game, it depends on how the game plays out.

Our family received both the standard and the eco editions of this game. The standard edition is like any other board game you'd purchase - all packaged nicely in a box. The Travel/Eco edition is packaged in a bag (see the picture above) and it would be great to pack and take on picnics or road trips.

Pricing Information:

Standard Edition: $24.95

Travel/Eco-Edition: $19.95

Click here for more ordering information.

To read more reviews on this game, please click over to the TOS Crew's Blog!

*Disclaimer: I received these games free of charge for review purposes only. All opinions are my own.*

Weekly Wrap Up

2011-09-17T08:27:00.008-04:00

This week the children and I finished up "Little House in the Big Woods." Next week we'll get to start "Little House on the Prairie." We are using a binder builder (think lapbook, only bigger) from A Journey Through Learning. Each day we usually read one chapter and then work on our narration paper and 2-3 mini-books. All three children pitch in and help. My youngest daughter does a lot of the cutting and copywork, and the older two do the bulk of the writing. Of course, we let the younger one jump in on the oral narrations before we write down the things we've learned in our binder-builder. I truly allow the children to make these types of projects their own. I allow them to cut (even if it is a little messy) and I allow them to choose how to lay out their pages (even if is not the way I think would be best).

This was our 4th week of our new school year and can this Momma brag for just a minute? I am so proud of the improvements my son has made in math this year! We have been using Khan Academy's website to practice one math concept at a time and then once or twice a week I print out a worksheet using a worksheet generator I have access to through Math Mammoth to help assess his progress for our portfolio. Before our year began, I was doing some research on teaching math and came across some helpful information from Dianne Craft. One of her suggestions for a child struggling in math is to simply focus on one math concept at a time and that is exactly what we've done. So many math programs will introduce a new concept and then the page is filled with a few problems of the new concept and then filled with many other types of math programs. This can be confusing and distracting for a child struggling in math. For some children, this is okay, and for others, it is not. I am learning more and more how you cannot teach all your children the same way. However, this is one of the awesome blessings of home education because we can teach to our own child's learning style!

I had T and K work together on a little contraction game I found online. You can use this free printable too. They did great! It was sort of an assessment for me, because I wasn't sure they knew all of them, but they did!

K was excited to get back to her piano lessons this week. She also did a great job organizing a lot of her beads that she uses to make jewelry. I love having this sort of thing around for the girls to create in their spare time. I wonder if Charlotte Mason would count jewelry making as a handicraft? I think so.

The children enjoyed a lot of outdoor play this week. Last week we were dealing with heavy amounts of rain here in Pennsylvania and some of it was trying to come in our basement. That is why I did not write a weekly wrap-up post last week because Wednesday-Friday we were dealing with either water coming in my son's bedroom or getting things cleaned up. We are all fine and we didn't lose anything except for some carpet and padding. We are a lot better off than other people I know and especially people who live near the Susquehanna River.

How about exercise? Do your kids exercise? When the weather is nice we go on walks, play Wiffle Ball and basketball, and the kids just run around and play (which is exercise). Now that the weather is starting to cool off, I am thinking more and more about ways to get the kids moving. We have a Wii and that has been fun in the past and I'm sure we'll use it more when Winter comes. My youngest daughter found an old Pilates workout video of mine this week and she loves it because it makes her feel like she's doing ballet. I think she'll enjoy using this to get her body moving this Winter.

How was your week? I am linking up this post over at Weird Unsocialized Homeschooler's Weekly Wrap-Up. Head over to "meet" more home educating families and see what they've been up to.

AIMS Education Foundation

2011-09-16T09:04:00.004-04:00

One of the first things I read after opening the book you see below is this Chinese Proverb:

I Hear and I Forget,
I See and I Remember,
I Do and I Understand.

The message within this Chinese Proverb is the backbone of the AIMS Education Foundation. They believe in giving students hands-on activities in order to better learn both math and science concepts. It is often not enough for a child to simply hear a concept explained or see a teacher do the problem. They must be given opportunities to do the problems themselves in order to understand and apply their learning.

In this 240 page book, you will find 29 different activities to enhance your child's problem solving strategies. Your child will work on problem solving strategies, use manipulatives, write number sentences, draw out the problem, guess and check, organize information, look for patterns, use logical thinking skills, work backwards, and wish for an easier problem. There are also fun problem solving practice problems in the back of the book. Here's an example of one of those practice problems:

If you have to use 15 or fewer coins, how many different combinations of coins can be used to make $1.00?

I have started taking one of these practice problems each week and sticking it into my son's weekly work folder. He can choose what day to work on the problem, but he has to solve the problem and hand it in to me by the end of the week.

One of my favorite things about this book is how the publisher grants permission to each person or classroom to make up to 200 copies of any portion of this book. So, for the home educating family, this means you can use this book for all your children. There is a wonderful CD in the back of the book that you can pop into your computer and print things off with ease.

So far, my son and I have used this book and we have done activities with a snowman to figure out how many different ways you can dress him when you have a top hat, baseball cap, a scarf, and buttons. Another activity has you take a larger word and has your child try to find other words within the word and then figure out what fraction of letters you used. For instance if the word is MATE and you find the word AT, you used 2/4 of the original word.

The activities in this book are a nice supplement to your math curriculum and help teach more critical thinking skills than most math text books. The activities are easy to plan and implement into your day. I believe the time spent is well worth it and I believe most children will find them more enjoyable than sitting and practicing math facts on a worksheet.

Ordering Information:

Price: $24.95 (This price is for the book and CD)

Click here to order today!

To read more reviews about this product and other products from AIMS Education Foundation, click over to the TOS Crew's Blog. Crew members reviewed other grade levels of math and science resources from AIMS Educational Foundation.

I received this book free of charge for review purposes only.

Before Five In A Row

2011-09-14T06:51:00.004-04:00

Before Five in a Row is a resource recommended for children 2-4 years-old. This book provides activities for parents to do with their young children that are not only educational, but fun and guaranteed to help you make a lot of memories together. The book's introduction states how "the time between ages two and four should be a time of sharing, hugging, reading, singing, dancing, puzzles, blocks, outdoor excursions, swinging high, playing in the sand box and enjoying fascinating introductions to the wonderful world of life." I couldn't agree more! This is also the philosophy for early childhood education I hold as well. If you'd love to cuddle up with your child and a book, and use that book as a springboard for all sorts of fun activities, then you need to learn more about Before Five in A Row.

My youngest child is six, but I used her during the review process of this book. I read to her the titles she could choose from, and then we went to the library. We checked out "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" and "Blueberries for Sal." We spent one week on each book. We read each book a few times and each day we did some of the sample activities given in the book. The types of activities included for "Blueberries for Sal" include Bible, math, history, classification, two stories in one, science, art, and music. Look at how this mother enjoyed "Blueberries for Sal" with her two young children over at Delightful Learning. Go ahead and look. Doesn't it bring a smile to your face? Doesn't it make you want to spend more time having fun and learning with your young children? If so, then Before Five In A Row is for you and your family!

Click here for some sample lessons for Before Five In A Row. Simply click on the tabs and sample lessons will pull up for you to look at. Perhaps you have children older than 2-4 years old. There are Five in A Row resources for children 4-8, Beyond Five In A Row for children ages 8-12, and Above and Beyond Five In A Row for 12 and up.

Ordering Information:

Five in a Row products can be bought exclusively at Rainbow Resources.

Price: $35.00

To order your copy, click HERE.

There are two parts to Before Five In A Row. Part one is the activities to go along with the 24 children's books. The children's books can either be purchased separately or checked out from the library like our family did. Part two is the "Parent's Treasury of Creative Ideas for Learning Readiness." This section truly is a "treasure" as stated to help parents come up with age-appropriate activities such as reading readiness, coordination, large and small motor skills, art, and more.

To read more TOS Crew reviews, please click over to the blog.

*I received this book free of charge for review purposes only. All opinions are my own.*

Continuing to List the Gifts

2011-09-12T08:22:00.000-04:00

386) New shoes for all three children.

387) Son wanting to read a book to me because he thinks I'll like all the similes and metaphors in it.

388) A husband who holds me accountable.

389) A husband who tells me and shows me his love.

390) Shop vacs and sump pumps.

391) Rain slowing down.

392) The land of the free and brave.

393) Kids who make me laugh.

394) Running in the rain.

395) Apologies and forgiveness.

396) Remembering September 11th. This is painful, but necessary so I will not forget.

Fun Fall Trail Mix

2011-09-07T06:28:00.001-04:00

Yes, I know, this is not a healthy snack, but it sure is a special treat and I think those are okay in moderation. In this trail mix, I used Bugles (they are a cornucopia shape), cheese crackers, candy corn, peanuts, and Reeses Pieces. The kids approve and were excited to see me mixing all these goodies together. I got the idea for a fall trail mix when I saw a pin over at pinterest that took me to this link over at Tip Junkie.

Some of Our Favorite Read-Aloud Books

2011-09-06T14:59:00.004-04:00

Do you know about Three Thinking Mothers? They are a relatively new blog and they offer tremendous blessings and encouragement to all their readers. This week they are discussing read-alouds and have invited their readers to share how they choose read-alouds as well as share some of their favorites.

We have always read to our children, but things changed drastically in our home five years ago when an older friend of mine encouraged me to read books above my children's level. She guided me to a popular homeschool curriculum's website (Sonlight) to use as a guide in choosing what books to read to my children. I have also used Books Children Love as a resource when trying to find a good quality read-aloud to go along with a certain theme or subject. We went on to use Sonlight for grades 1 and 3 and plan to use it for 4th grade (Core E) once we finish up reading Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series. My older home educating friend truly blessed our family when she challenged me to do more thought provoking read-alouds with my children. Our entire philosophy of education changed as I began to learn more and more about the importance of using literature - good quality literature as the backbone of all our studies. I began learning more and more about Charlotte Mason and her philosophies from reading about her online, as well as reading For the Children's Sake and A Charlotte Mason Companion.

Here are a few of our favorites and I've tried to sort them out in categories. However, I would like to add that they could all be listed as "fun" reading.

Fun Reading:

The Boxcar Children

Understood Betsy (This was one of my favorites. It truly blessed me as a home educating mother).

Misty of Chincoteague Island

The Hundred Dresses

History Supplements:

The Sign of the Beaver

Justin Morgan Had a Horse

Johnny Tremain

Witch of Blackbird Pond

Bible/Character:

Missionary Stories with the Millers

Hive of Busy Bees

Hero Tales

Listened to the entire Chronicles of Narnia series on CD

Click over to Three Thinking Mothers. You are sure to discover more read-aloud treasures for you and your family.

Multitudes on Mondays ~ Continuing to Count the Gifts

2011-09-05T08:54:00.002-04:00

Thank You Father, for these gifts...

379) Slow Saturday Morning

380) Singing "In Christ Alone" with my daughter while cleaning the bathroom together.

381) Habakkuk

382) New meds and tests and waiting...

383) Foggy morning

384) Time to slow down, rest, enjoy family.

385) A husband who encourages.

Are you a gift list maker as well? Have you joined the little community over at A Holy Experience? If you're not a gift list maker, I would like to encourage you to start. This little act of jotting things down as a way of counting blessings has helped me shift my focus from myself to my Savior and it has made a huge difference in my heart and my home.

Wrapping Up Another Week

2011-09-02T13:43:00.009-04:00

This week the children and I enjoyed continuing to read "Little House in the Big Woods." We learned what Sunday was like for children during that time period, how to tap maple trees and then make syrup and sugar, how to make hasty pudding, and what Laura and Mary's first visit to a real town was like. The children all agreed that chocolate pudding is a lot better than hasty pudding.

Since we started homeschooling, we have always done a four-day-a week schedule. However, this year we are going to do some school work every other Friday. Today was the first time our children have ever done school on a Friday. Everyone did reading and math, and then we did a fun science lesson with Dad. We are using Apologia's Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day. We made gliders to learn more about air pressure, lift, and drag. It was a lot of fun. The children decided to have Dad do all the throwing because they thought he would do it fairly. I love all this hands-on learning and the children do too! Heath said he wishes he could quit his job and stay home and teach with me all the time. That would be a blast! We have also played Uno and chess, and the children are watching an episode of NOVA Science with their Dad right now.

Last week was our first week back into our school routine and I remembered quickly how important it is for me to either use my crock pot or to do more freezer cooking. This week has been a lot easier in the meal planning department because I planned ahead to use my crock pot a lot more and to just plan easier meals in general during the week.

What have you been up to this week? Click over to Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers to read more weekly wrap-up posts.

Multitudes on Mondays

2011-08-29T09:44:00.001-04:00

Thank you Father for these gifts:

364) Homemade Bread

365) Homemade Butter

366) Seeing love displayed in "sickness and in health" in a couple I love dearly.

367) New school year - new beginnings

368) Cool breeze flowing through open windows.

369) Kids who show their Momma grace.

370) Playing ball and laughing together.

371) Husband fixing my broken sunglasses.

372) Encouraged to see two teens living for Christ.

373) A friend wrestling with God.

374) Week #1 - DONE!

375) Little boy progressing in his math lessons.

376) Payday Friday = family time, grocery shopping, and eating lunch out!

377)Happy children because they get to stay up late on Friday night.

378) Peace that Christ gives.

As I take time throughout the week to make my thankful list, it brings such joy each week when I sit down to type them all out to share on my blog. It's like giving thanks a second time and this constant reminder that my God is good and loving gives me immeasurable peace and joy. It causes me to pause again and bend my knee and humbly offer this thanks to Him once again.

Apologia - Book Review

2011-08-29T07:48:00.004-04:00

This time of year finds many home educating families gearing up for a new school year. Supplies, curriculum, and organizational tools are being purchased. Schedules, routines, lesson plans and copies are being made. All these things are being done in order to ensure a good year is had by all. But what kind of preparations are being made to ensure your focus is on Christ and His will for your children? I recently received a copy of How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. For Your Kids by Rachael Carman, who is a veteran homeschool mom to seven children. This book has blessed, encouraged, and challenged me to keep my focus on Christ, His Word, and His plans for our family. This book will help you make the most important preparations for a new school year - it will help prepare your heart.

There are five chapters in this book. Each letter in the word "heart" is an acronym for lessons the author wants to share with her readers.

H - Have a Heart for the Things of God

In this chapter, the author shares how she learned "another co-op or a different curriculum wasn't the answer - He (Christ) was" (51). She asks the tough question: "Do you want to have a heart for your children? Then first have a heart for God. And don't be afraid to show it" (56).

E - Enrich Your Marriage

God wants to "show Himself to the world through our marriage relationship" (64). In this chapter, Carman will teach you the importance of investing in your marriage so your children and the world see the hope of Christ lived out in your relationship (71). I know how important this is. I grew up in a home where I never saw my parents show affection towards one another (and the divorced when I was in college). My children like to see my husband and I lovin' on one another. My oldest son likes to act like it grosses him out when we're caught kissing, but the girls both giggle and smile. Children need to see how much their parents love each other, and they also need to see the love of Christ modeled in their parent's marriage.

A - Accept Your Kids

This is my favorite chapter in the whole book. I could share quote after quote I have underlined in this chapter with you. I have a son that many people simply don't "get." I think he's pretty amazing, but sometimes even I struggle to truly understand him. He could talk about the animal kingdom, football, and Star Wars all day long, without much pause to take a breath. Sometimes I think if he could just be like other kids, his life would be easier. In reality, I am not loving him and accepting him fully as the young man God has created him to be. On page 105, the author writes, "When we attempt to rewire our children, we are actually rejecting them, even if we do not verbalize it. They can sense it. They feel it." Carmen also shares: "It is essential that we study our children and ask God to show us who these kids are for His glorious purpose. We need to learn their strengths and weaknesses so that we can equip them to be on guard, stand firm, and not grow weary in doing good" (105). I thought I was doing a pretty good job accepting my kids until I read this chapter. I'm thankful for how the Lord spoke to my heart.

R - Release Them to God

I think releasing our children (even to God) is a tough area for most parents. Carmen describes releasing our children to God is a lot like a "huge blank check on which you sign your name and wait for God to fill in the rest. It's total surrender...It's a holy 'whatever.' A 'whatever' of epic proportions with life-changing power" (128).

T - Teach Them the Truth

Teaching our children Truth is quite possibly the #1 reason Christians choose to home educate. This topic is vitally important due to our society saying there is no absolute truth. Carmen shares: "There are two important indications of the value we place on God's Word: the personal time we spend in it and the time we spend reading it with our children" (165). It's not enough to say you're a Christian homeschool family, and attend Sunday school and church. Carmen shares how it is vitally important we live out loud what we are reading out loud (168). We must be intentional and teach our children Truth. This quote from the book stepped on my toes: "We live truth as we teach our kids math by exhibiting patience, perseverance, gentleness, and hope" (171). This school year when one of my children is struggling with a lesson, this is not an opportunity for me to get frustrated at them and lose patience (or my temper), but rather, an opportunity to live out Scripture before them!

I was actually a little sad to see this book end. I felt like an encouraging friend had packed up and moved away. However, I can pick this book up from my bookshelf anytime I need to be encouraged and reminded of the lessons learned. I highly recommend this book. You will want to purchase a copy for yourself and one for a friend. If you are like me, your copy will have lots of underlining and notes written in it, which makes it hard to share my copy with others.

Ordering Information:

Price: 13.00

You can order by clicking HERE.

To read more TOS Crew member reviews, click over to the blog and see what other crew members have to say about this book.

*I received this book at no cost for review purposes only. All opinions are my own.*

Food for Body and Soul

2011-08-28T21:24:00.000-04:00

Here are my supper (or dinner if you prefer) plans for this week:

Monday: Sweet and Spicy Chili served with jalapeno cornbread. The cornbread recipe is a new one I'm trying from my newest Paula Deen magazine.

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday

Wednesday: Stroganoff and green beans

Thursday: Crock Pot Pineapple Pork served with brown rice.

Friday: Pulled Pork, Baked Beans, and Slaw

Saturday: Homemade Pizza

Sunday: Leftover pizza when we get home from church and then it's whatever you find for supper.

When we gather around our table to eat our meals, we will also take time to eat the Word of God. Jeremiah 15:16a says, "Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart."This week our family's memory verse is James 4:1 - "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?"

Do you read and/or memorize scripture together as a family? What will you be cooking for your family this week?

Weekly Wrap Up ~ A New Year Begins

2011-08-24T21:17:00.010-04:00

Well, this week we kicked off our new school year. This year we are doing a fun unit study using the "Little House on the Prairie" series and I think we are really going to enjoy it and make a lot of memories along the way. We are using this wonderful resource from A Journey Through Learning called the Prairie Primer Lapbook. It's actually called a Binder-Builder because it's much more than a lapbook.

Here are some of the activities we did this week while reading "Little House in the Big Woods." We made homemade butter, and this activity required A LOT of shaking so we all took turns.

When we were done shaking, we put it in a colander to drain off the buttermilk. Then we took it and stirred it around to smooth it out and get rid of more liquid. Finally, we put it in a serving dish.

Remember that buttermilk? I used it to make homemade waffles to celebrate National Waffle Day, which was August 24th! We also enjoyed our homemade butter with some homemade bread later in the day for an afternoon snack! Everyone loved it!

Here's a picture of all three of the children working on different elements of our lapbook. We are all pitching in together because there is a narration sheet and usually 2-3 mini books to put together each day. But this is a great way to pull out the lessons from each day's reading and make the learning more real and memorable.

Of course we did more than just have fun learning about Pa, Ma, Mary, Laura, and Baby Carrie. We also did other things like reading and math this week.

On Tuesday night, the children got to use a special prize they received from the library's summer reading program at chick-fil-a! They spent a lot of time reading this summer and I love our county's library system and summer reading program!

Don't forget about physical education! The children enjoyed lots of outdoor time this week because the weather has been gorgeous! One evening our entire family played a couple of games of basketball together. I really loved it when my children were babies and toddlers, but I am also loving this season of parenthood as well. It is so much fun to play ball together as a family.

Our first week of school has been fun. I know not every week is going to be full of fun activities, but I do hope to keep this momentum going throughout the year. I want to finish the school year with as much excitement, preparation, and organization as I have started with. I truly believe the Lord has convicted me of a character flaw in my life - I don't always finish strong in all areas of my life. God definitely uses our children to refine us, doesn't He? How is your year going so far?

This post is linked up over at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers to her Weekly Wrap-Up post! Click over and see what other home educating families have been up to this week!

Pickin' Watermelon

2011-08-24T19:27:00.004-04:00

On May 23rd, K and her Dad planted a tiny watermelon plant.

On Friday, August 19th, K picked one of her watermelons.

Her plant produced two watermelons. One was named Waddy and the other was named Mellie. She is holding Mellie.

K took the melon inside and washed it. Her Dad helped her cut it open.

Ta-da! A perfect, ripe, and juicy watermelon! I think she did GREAT her first time growing watermelon!

She took the first bite and was excited to report it was "sweet and awesome."

1st Day of our New School Year

2011-08-22T15:34:00.006-04:00

The teacher and her students

Before you look at the 1st day of school pictures of the children, I want to let you know that they were given permission to wear whatever they wanted. I think this is a cute way to let their little personalities shine.

The 4th grader

The 3rd grader

The 1st grader

We had the children sit at the table after their pancake breakfast and hide their eyes while we grabbed their 1st day of school goody bags. The bags were filled with school supplies, bookworms (gummy worms), bubbles, punch ball balloons, and tootsie pops.

They really enjoyed their goody bags.

We headed out for a nature walk this morning, which is something we plan to do every Monday morning and hopefully a few more walks will pop up throughout the week. We found some Queen Anne's Lace, one of our favorites!

We spent some time at the dining room table doing some work, but my favorite part of the day was reading chapter one of "Little House in the Big Woods." The children got a kick out of what Laura and Mary used as a ball (a pig's bladder)! We also started our Lapbook to go along with our "Little House" studies today. I can't wait to share more with you as our lessons progress!

This week's Scripture memory is 1 Corinthians 10:31 - So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." Lord, may our school year bring you glory!

Multitudes on Mondays

2011-08-22T07:46:00.000-04:00

Today we will be kicking off our 2011-12 school year. I will be teaching a 4th grader, a 3rd grader, and a 1st grader. I am praying and asking the Lord to order my steps this year, to help me live Scripture out loud in front of my children, and for our entire family to grow closer to Him. I want to relax, slow down, focus, give thanks, and experience JOY like never before.

I am continuing to list and count the gifts of grace God gives, and here is my list of thanks - my offering to Him.

355) Husband home

356) Books that encourage and challenge.

357) Lower humidity

358) Candle that smells like pancakes

359) Husband who goes to Sonic to get me a drink because I just mentioned at 7pm how much I wish it was happy hour.

360) Family together at lunch time.

361) Little girl - my workout buddy

362) Praying husband

363) Learning to shift gears when plans change

First Post Ever Link Up

2011-08-20T09:17:00.003-04:00

A TOS Crew Mate has a fun linky up this weekend. It is all about the first post on your blog. It was a lot of fun digging in the archives of my blog to find the first post I ever wrote here. My children were 1, 4, and 5-years-old. Take a minute and look around and please join the fun and link up your own first blog post.

TOS Crew Blog Hop

2011-08-19T17:01:00.008-04:00

We are getting ready to kick off a brand new year with the TOS Homeschool Crew. I would like to invite you to get to know other Crew members. You can do this by stopping by at our blog hop linky. You are sure to find some wonderful homeschool blogs and please say "hello" and leave comments! This is a wonderful way to find MORE encouraging homeschool blogs that you might not have come across before.

I would like to thank our Blog Hop Hosts: Our Homeschool Studio, a glimpse of our life, and Our Village is a Little Different! Please stop by their blogs and say "hello" as well!

I can't wait to share more TOS Crew reviews with you this year.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Gooey Butter Cake

2011-08-17T13:47:00.003-04:00

Here's a link to Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Cake. To make it a chocolate peanut butter gooey butter cake (man that's a long name) you use a chocolate cake mix (I used something that was called triple chocolate fudge) and then you add 1 cup of peanut butter to the filling mixture. It is seriously good, but not good for you.

Back in March, I had been on the South Beach Diet plan for about 6 weeks, but I was going to allow myself ONE piece of birthday cake. For the past 4 years, my husband has made my birthday cakes (he's so sweet). This year I knew I wanted something with both chocolate and peanut butter, and I chose this. My husband liked it so much, he wanted me to make it for his birthday in July. My son liked it so much, he wanted me to make it for him for his birthday in August. Yes, I like it and it is a good cake, but I'm really hoping when the next birthday comes (in November) that the birthday girl chooses something else.

What are some of your family's favorite birthday cakes?

P.S. I am still following the South Beach Diet and exercising. I have lost almost 30 pounds and still going strong! You can enjoy an occasional sweet and not fall off the wagon!

Mini Prayer Retreat

2011-08-16T19:59:00.002-04:00

This is a post from the archives. I was thinking about this post today because I am trying to figure out how to get away for a few hours either on Friday or Saturday for a mini prayer retreat because we are going to kick off our new school year on Monday, August 22nd. How about you? Do you ever like to get away for mini prayer retreats? For me, this might mean going to a park or the library like I did last year. It might also mean locking myself in my bedroom while my husband keeps the children away.

________________

2 weeks ago I spent one hour alone curled up on a comfy couch in a local library. My time there was quiet, peaceful, and encouraging. I spent time organizing a prayer calendar to use . For several years now I have used this prayer calendar for my children. Would you like to download one for yourself? You can, by clicking here. The calendar is divided up into 31 different character qualities to pray for your children, and the prayers are based on Scripture, and I absolutely love praying God's Word! Teri Lynne over at Scripture Dig calls this a Double Whammy. (please click over and read...it's a great article)!

I am using Stormie Omartian's "The Power of a Praying Wife" to help organize my prayer times for my husband. Once I go through the book once, I will simply refer to this calendar I created to remind me what specific thing to pray for my husband each day of the month.

On the bottom of this prayer calendar, I have specific requests for each day of the week.

Monday: My Extended Family

Tuesday: My Husband's Extended Family

Wednesday: Missionaries

Thursday: Sick or grieving

Friday: Church (the church we currently serve in and others)

Saturday: Neighbors

Sunday: Sabbath - prepare to worship

I pray daily for my husband, children, and myself. I personally like using the ACTS model. A stands for adoration, C for confession, T is for thanksgiving, and S is for supplication. Following the ACTS model and using the prayer calendars truly helps me stay focused during my prayer times and not my to-do list that is waiting for me each day. While I spent time in the library, I prayed and asked the Lord to help bring order and focus to my prayer times (I struggle with being easily distracted), but I also shared my desire with the Lord for my prayer times to be Spirit-led.

To read about how Teri Lynne over at Scripture Dig uses a prayer calendar, click here. She shares how she even prays for certain things certain months of the year.

Do you use a prayer calendar? If you struggle to focus during your prayer times, I would encourage you to have a mini prayer retreat and ask the Lord to help you develop a prayer calendar to use. It has been a HUGE blessing in my life the past two weeks. I used to write out all my prayers, and that did help me to focus, but it takes a lot of time. Now my journaling is for study notes, prayer requests and updates, and thoughts I want to write down.

Multitudes on Mondays

2011-08-15T06:56:00.000-04:00

I recently read through "One Thousand Gifts" for the second time. It was such a nice reminder of why I continue to write down the gifts. The author, Ann Voskamp shares how giving thanks slows down time, and that is what I am most thankful for right now. I feel like our days, weeks, and months are passing too quickly. Summer has been hurried. I want to slow down and enjoy the moments with my family. I don't want the increased pace of our soon to start school days to fly by like our summer has. I want to slow down with focus in order to have more JOY in our days and less stress. So I will continue to count and list the gifts, and actively pursue my God on this thanks hunt (as Ann calls it in her book).

Thank you Father for these gifts...

327) Playdate for children.

328) Organizing and planning for new school year beginning to come together.

329) Lack of discipline allows weakness to creep in. (A hard eucharisteo...lessons of grace learned).

330) Traveling mercies

331) Snuggling with children at bedtime.

332) Empty jars waiting to be filled. Reminding me how I should come empty of self to be filled by Him.

333) Little girls - telephones and giggles.

334) Green lollipops given at bank drive through.

335) Little boy stepping up to the be man of house while Daddy's gone.

336) Friends and food and books.

337) Son telling me, "Did you know there are six species of flamingos?" (love the JOY he brings to my life)

338) School supplies hiding in the closet.

339) UPS delivering packages two days in a row (school supplies).

340) Trying new recipe.

341) Lots of tomatoes for canning.

342) Temperatures cooling down.

343) Mercies that are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23)

344) Bible drill with my boy.

345) Little girls singing together.

346) Quart jars filled with homemade spaghetti sauce.

347) Grocery shopping with little helpers - forcing me to slow down (a good thing).

348) Missing my husband (driving me closer to God to experience more grace).

349) Character flaws revealed - conviction (needing more grace).

350) Storms passing through - bringing cooler temperatures.

351) Husband on his way home!

352) Open windows and cool breezes on a Sunday afternoon.

353) Kids dipping crackers in tomato soup and slurping silly.

354) Sharing recipes - a language many women speak.

A Weekend of Productivity

2011-08-14T18:27:00.005-04:00

On Friday the children and I went grocery shopping. We shop for two weeks at a time. I am used to doing this with my husband (yes I know I'm spoiled). Doing the shopping without him really made me appreciate all the heavy lifting he does for me.

Once I put all the groceries away, I began the process of making homemade spaghetti sauce.

I did one batch of sauce on Friday night and a second batch on Saturday, and ended up with a total of 20 quarts of spaghetti sauce.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

(This is a recipe two ladies from my church taught me last summer)

1/2 Bushel ripe tomatoes

3 pounds onions

3 green bell peppers

2 cups oil

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup salt

4 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 Tbsp. basil

1 1/2 tsp. oregano

4 bay leaves

4-12 ounce cans tomato paste.

*I use a 12 quart pan to cook this amount of sauce.

*I use the minced garlic that comes in a jar.

*I don't quite use 3 pounds of onions, but pretty close.

Place tomatoes a few at a time in a pot of boiling water and then transfer to ice cold water in sink or dish pan. This allows the tomatoes to peel easily. Peel and core tomatoes, remove any bad spots, and quarter them. Place them in a pot on low heat to begin cooking down for your sauce. Keep adding tomatoes as you peel and quarter them. At this point, I turn the heat up to at least medium. While the tomatoes are cooking down, chop your onions and peppers. When you have room in your pan, add the onions, peppers, garlic, oil, and sugar. Towards the end add the seasonings and then add in your paste. When a wooden spoon can sit upright in the sauce, it is then thick enough to put in hot, sterile jars and begin canning.

Sometimes you have to wait to add ingredients as the tomatoes cook down. It all depends on how many tomatoes you end up with after removing bad spots and what size your pot is. I do not run my tomatoes through a strainer b/c I don't care if it has seeds. Our family really likes this sauce. We use it to dip homemade breadsticks on pizza nights and of course in all our pasta dishes. Lots of stirring is involved during the cooking process to help break up the tomatoes. I even got out my handheld potato masher to help break up the tomatoes.

If you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them.

It was nice having a productive weekend. How did you spend your weekend?

Highlights from the Boy's Birthday

2011-08-10T08:53:00.003-04:00

Here's some highlights from T's 10th birthday celebrations. We set up his fish tank and he got to go to a local pet store and pick out some fish. He's pretty excited!

We love this little guy, can't you tell? That's a pretty good smile for him in a picture. He told an aunt while we were visiting that he's not a little kid anymore, so he doesn't have to smile all cheesy in pictures anymore! (Ha!)

We have made this cake three times this year. It is a chocolate and peanut butter gooey butter cake. I requested it for my birthday, then Heath did, and Tyler did as well.

Living nearly 1,000 miles away from family is sometimes no fun, but the kids do enjoy the extra packages arriving in the mail just for them.

Heath and I got T a Wii game he's been wanting for a while, so we all went down to the basement and watched him play. It was fun to watch him jump around while playing.

After our whirlwind of summer travels, it was wonderful to simply hang out in our home and celebrate T's birthday. T is a home body and prefers hanging out at home over running around any day.

Our Learning Spaces

2011-08-09T10:38:00.005-04:00

In March, this is what our school space looked like. Our water proofing system failed. We had to move all our bookshelves and pull back the carpet and padding. It was a mess and stayed a mess until everything was finally repaired at the end of July. It took our water proofing company that long to come and fix the faulty system, replace drywall, and carpet. But everything is back in order now and it is so nice to have this space back. Our family uses it as a storage space for all our school supplies and resources, to play games and watch movies.

This is what the space looks like today. We don't do a lot of school down here in the basement, but it is wonderful to have this space to store everything.

Here's a few pictures of how we use all the space in our home for learning. You can find the children learning in bedrooms and bathrooms.

Learning also takes place outside in our yard, in our kitchen, dining room, and living room. Learning occurs in pretty much every room in our house.

I'm linking this post up over at the Heart of the Matter's Not Back to School Blog Hop. This is school room week. Check it out! It's fun to see all the different ways families organize and use the spaces the Lord has provided for them to learn in together!

Multitudes on Mondays

2011-08-08T09:28:00.004-04:00

317) Birthday celebrations (for Heath)

318) VBS Lessons

319) New faces at VBS

320) Little boy wearing Daddy's shoes as he goes out to get the mail.

321) Safe travels to Canada.

322)Safety on work crews while in Canada.

323)Provision - good crew and good encourager

324) Family time in MO

325) Everyone under one roof again

326) Celebrating T's 10th birthday!

Summer has been one whirlwind of a season for us. We are thankful for all the Lord allowed us to do, His provision and watch care of our family. We are also thankful to all be back home together. However, Heath leaves Wednesday for another mission trip. The children and I are staying behind and we'll be praying for Him and the team as they go and help a church up in Maine reach out in their community. Our family is beginning to get back into our rhythm and home routine and it feels nice.

Double Digits

2011-08-07T05:00:00.000-04:00

Happy 10th birthday to my firstborn and one and only son! It has been an amazing blessing watching you grow and mature in both wisdom and stature (Lk. 2:52). May you continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus (2 Pt. 3:18) and strive do do all things for His glory (1 Cor. 10:31).

Adding More Charlotte Mason to our Day

2011-08-06T16:26:00.005-04:00

This year I am going to try and do more of those Charlotte Mason things I always want to do, but never get around to doing on a consistent basis. I'm sure some strict "followers" of the Charlotte Mason methods would shake their head in shame at me, but I am making progress in implementing more and more of her methods in our home.

I have decided to put a category on our weekly planner called "Fine Arts." In this category we are going to do units on composers, artists, poets, and a Shakespeare study. We will take breaks for our extra readings and activities for Advent and Lent. The schedule looks like this:

August 22 to September 29 - Artist Study - I am going to choose artists during the mid to late 1800s since we are studying that time period in History this year as we read through "The Little House on the Prairie" series. I'm thinking about Emanuel Leutze (1816-1868) or perhaps take a look at some Native American artists like Seth Eastman. Picture study is something NEW we are going to implement. I think we have done it a little bit without even realizing it (if that makes sense), but this year I want to be more intentional about it.

October 3 to November 10 - Composer Study (So far we have studied Mozart, Beethovan, Bach, and Handel).

November 27 to December 25 - Advent

January 2 to February 9 - Poetry

February 13 to March 8 - Shakespeare

March 9 to April 23 - Lent

This is my plan and there is room to be flexible and I feel a great amount of peace and excitement having this part of our schedule mapped out!

Summer Travels

2011-08-04T14:00:00.007-04:00

On Friday, July 15th, the children loaded up in Grandma and Grandpa's semi truck and headed to Missouri. The children stayed with their grandparents while Heath and I spent about one week in Ontario on a World Changers Mission trip.They enjoyed playing with all sorts of pets and farm animals, cousins, in the creek, and out in the yard.

On Tuesday, July 26th, I arrived at Grandma's house and it was wonderful seeing my children after 10 days apart. I got to spend some time with Heath's side of the family before heading out on Wednesday to visit my side of the family for a few days. The children wanted to take me to the creek - one of their favorite activities while at Grandma's house.

On Wednesday, July 27th the children and I loaded up and drove a couple hours to my side of the family in Southwest MO for a visit. They got to play with more cousins, celebrate their Papa's 68th birthday and play with his cute and sweet dogs! The children and I returned home on Tuesday, August 2nd. Heath and the children had been apart for 18 days, and everyone was super excited to be all together again!

From July 15th to August 2nd, I have traveled a total of 3,211.7 miles just from destination to destination. This doesn't include all the driving around I did while at each location. I am tired of traveling for now and ready to slide back into a normal routine. My goal is to kick off our new school year on August 22nd, but I have a lot to do between now and then!

Just Checking In

2011-07-25T21:08:00.002-04:00

Things have been a little crazy with our family lately. We finished up a week of Vacation Bible School, sent our children to MO to visit grandparents while Heath and I traveled to Canada for a mission trip, and now I'm on my way out to MO to pick up the children and visit family for a few days.

Things will be pretty quiet here on the blog until I return home on August 2nd, get settled, and back into a routine again. I will have to hurry because T's 10th birthday is August 7th! How is that even possible?

I will have lots of updates when we do return back home!

Birthday Time

2011-07-12T15:04:00.002-04:00

Today we are celebrating Heath's birthday. I emailed his boss (our senior pastor) one day last week and asked if he could stay home and spend the entire day with us. Our pastor said "yes" and our family is enjoying an entire day together. We really needed this time together after three busy weeks of Tennis for Kids, normal ministry commitments, and we are now in the midst of Vacation Bible School. Here are a few pictures from our day...

The kids cracked him up by signing a very silly and short happy birthday song. Not the traditional happy birthday song he was used to hearing.

I was nice and only put three candles (instead of 33). He requested a peanut butter/chocolate gooey butter cake. L calls it the goo butter cake.

He is pretty excited about his gift - his very own special edition copy of "The Princess Bride." Happy Birthday, Heath! We love you!

VBS Time

2011-07-12T14:53:00.003-04:00

We are done with Tennis for Kids and now it is time for Vacation Bible School! This year's theme verse is Romans 10:17 - "Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ."

L enjoying the worship rally!

T hanging out with his friends before the worship rally.

I took a picture of K, but it didn't turn out well. I am sure I will get a good one before the week is over!

Once VBS is over, the kids will go to MO to spend an entire week with grandparents, while Heath and I travel to Canada for a World Changers mission trip. Prayers are appreciated!

2011-07-11T09:28:00.003-04:00

Thank You Father for these gifts...

297) Pantry to store food (I have been using boxes since January 2010).

298) Baby watermelons beginning to grow.

299) Slow morning

300) Extra family time as we celebrate the 4th of July.

301) Little boy teaching me about fish.

302) Snuggling on the couch at the end of a "funky" day.

303) Little girl and piano lessons.

304) Rest

305) Husband helping with supper on piano lesson afternoons.

306) Soft, gentle rain

307) Friend's colorful flower garden

308) Arriving at piano lessons on time - no construction detours

309) Friends - conversations, food, and laughter.

310) Tennis for Kids - DONE!

311) Praying husband

312) Pastor who was transparent as he preached.

313) A church with many on their knees

314) Friends to help me (a decorating challenged woman) put together my VBS classroom.

315) A husband who helps with laundry

316) Expectancy and Excitement!

2011-07-05T09:26:00.002-04:00

Not giving thanks speeds things up, increases stress, and quite frankly, makes me one yucky person to be around. I feel like my world is spinning so fast and I just want to hit the pause button so we can slow down. I didn't post my list of thanks last week because I only had a few written down and before I knew it the week slipped away from me. Nine days passed without me writing down one single gift in my journal. No wonder I am overwhelmed, wound tight, and feel like I'm going to explode with busyness and the stress it brings.

"Wherever you are, be all there" is only possible in the posture of eucharisteo. I want to slow down and taste life, give thanks, and see God. ~ From Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts

Father, thank you for these gifts. Thank you for showing me how great my need is for You and how much better I see you when I slow down, taste life, and give thanks.

290) Kids and tennis

291) 1 Corinthians 1:4 - Comforting others with comfort we received from Him.

292) Fresh cut daisies

293) Plans to travel home.

294) Fresh raspberries

295) Encouragement from others

296) In my difficult thanks I am shouting, "My God is still good!"

Learning to Play Tennis

2011-06-22T19:18:00.002-04:00

This is what Heath, the site director, does during Tennis for Kids.

This is what T does...

This is what K does...

This is what L does...
L is only six and you have to be eight to participate in Tennis for Kids. So L plays on the playground and watches her brother and sister. She wants to learn to play and I'm sure she'll pick some stuff up this summer as our family plays this sport together.

T and K are enjoying meeting new friends and learning to play tennis.

Blessing Daddy

2011-06-22T19:13:00.002-04:00

The girls decorated the dining room table early Sunday morning to surprise their Daddy.

After church, they surprised their Daddy with confetti!

The children shared some of the reasons they love their Daddy on their homemade cards. Reasons like - you play basketball with me, you taught me how to play football, and you play cards with me. I love how so many of the reasons the children love their Daddy is because of the TIME he spends with them.

A List of Gifts...

2011-06-20T04:12:00.000-04:00

Thank You Father for these gifts...

278) Only having to clean up sticks after the storm. Our trees are all standing.

279) Little boy who can complete LEGO sets on his own.

280) Cool breeze coming through open windows.

281) Porch talks with husband.

282) Catching lightning bugs with little girls.

283) $1 movie tickets.

284) Listening to your children to talk to their Pa Pa on the phone.

285) Need new transmission in our one and only vehicle - opportunity to trust God for His provision.

286) Gentle rain.

287) Playing cards, watching movie, and going on a walk with my little girl.

288) Sick husband - time to rest

289) Watching children bless their Daddy.

Menu Planning Around Summer Craziness

2011-06-19T03:13:00.001-04:00

On Monday our family will be participating in a three week Tennis for Kids Program. That means leaving our house around 8:15 a.m. to set up activities and ending the "camp" around 11am. We will eat breakfast before we go, pack water bottles for the tennis camp and lunches for afterwards. The children and I will hang out the rest of the day until my husband's work day is complete so we don't have to drive back and forth so much to save on gas money. Suppers are going to be meals I have prepared ahead of time from either the freezer or crock pot cooking. I am very thankful for menu planning during busy times like this.

Monday: Mexican Chicken Casserole with either salad or veggies and dip

I have cooked an entire chicken in my crock pot, de-boned it, and using a portion of the meat to make this casserole. When we get home, I just need to pop it in the oven to warm it up.

Tuesday: Stroganoff

I have the stroganoff mixture in the freezer. I will stick it in the fridge before we leave in the morning. When we get home I will have to heat it up, add the sour cream, and cook the whole wheat egg noodles and dinner will be ready.

Wednesday: Chicken Quesadillas

Using chicken from the whole chicken I cooked earlier.

Thursday: French Toast and sausage

Friday: Taco Soup prepared in the crock pot

Saturday: Homemade Pizza Night

Sunday: Leftover pizza after church and then we're grilling for supper.

How about you? How do you prepare for busy weeks? My goal is to not have to resort to fast food because of a lack of poor planning on my part.

Things we will pack for lunches:

Leftovers, sandwiches, wraps, or pizza bread, with fresh fruit and veggies

Garden Progress

2011-06-18T15:56:00.004-04:00

The bell pepper plant has several nice blossoms. I had to stake this plant last week because it took a lot of wind in a storm. It seems to be doing okay now.

The watermelon vine is growing and starting to get blossoms.

We should have a mess of zucchini soon!

The carrots are growing! T can't wait to eat them!

The Roma tomato is starting to ripen, and there are even more beginning to grow now.

This tomato plant is starting to produce a lot of tomatoes as well.

So far the container garden is progressing nicely.

Giving Thanks...

2011-06-13T06:31:00.000-04:00

Thank You Father for these gifts...

263) Slowing down for two weeks before the summer madness begins.

264) Laughing with friends.

265) Little girl cracking an egg all over the floor - laughing as we clean up/

266) School year completed - testing and evaluation all done!

267) Enjoying a slower pace for a couple weeks.

268) Little Girls playing with baby dolls.

269) Summer reading

270) An encouraging note from my husband that made me smile.

271) Daisies starting to bloom.

272) He is my hope - my anchor (Hebrews 6:19).

273) Growing watermelon vine and baby zucchinis appearing.

274) Hearing the breeze move through the trees and birds singing.

275) Freshly mowed grass.

276) Church family picnic - fun, laughter, and making memories.

277) Protection in the storm.

Our Family Meal Table

2011-06-12T18:53:00.004-04:00

Monday: Heath will be home this evening, so he will grill ribs and chicken. I will make pasta salad, fruit salad, and baked beans as side dishes.

Tuesday: Kids in the Kitchen - Breakfast Casserole and fruit salad.

Wednesday: - We're going out to see a $1 movie at the theater (a special summer promotion at Regal Theaters) and going out to eat lunch afterwards. We will have sandwiches for supper.

Thursday: Pork Roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, and corn

Friday: Grocery shopping day - Lunch out, and Snack Supper once we return home

Saturday: Homemade Pizza Night

Sunday: Leftover pizza for lunch after church, and a special Father's Day dessert. Heath has requested one of Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Cakes, and he wants the chocolate peanut butter version. Oh.My.Word!!!!

What are you all enjoying this week around your family meal table?

The Lord's Supper and Children

2011-06-08T13:35:00.002-04:00

This past Sunday, our entire family took the Lord’s Supper together. This was the first time my youngest daughter participated in this sacred time of worship. Years ago I read a book called “Parenting in the Pew” and it has helped me learn how to get my children engaged in the worship services. For instance, during the Lord’s Supper, I simply whisper quietly in their ears what is going on and why we do it and also ask them questions to make sure they understand. When they take their piece of bread, I ask them if they know what the bread symbolizes, and then ask them to pray and thank Jesus for sacrificing His body for us on the cross. As I was holding the bread in my hand and thanking God for his sacrifice on the cross, I was overcome with emotion, not only because of who He is and all He’s done but because of the way He’s worked in the hearts of all three of my children. It hit me that this was the first time my entire family has taken the Lord’s Supper together. Since my children were in my womb, I have lifted up this request: “Lord, I pray my children will come to know you at an early age and walk closely with you all the days of their lives.” As I sat in our row at church – I gave thanks to God for the work He has done and is continuing to do in the hearts of my children. I am in awe of His goodness and mercy! Within a few seconds of this revelation of thanksgiving in my life, my little girl gently tapped my arm and whispered, “Mommy, I broke my bread.” She sat there with two little pieces of bread in her small hand. I was zapped right back to reality in a hurry. I giggled and assured her it was okay, and bless her little heart, she was so relieved. Two of our children were six when they wanted to pray and ask Jesus to save them, and one child was five. Many people have asked my husband and I how we can be certain our children truly understand what it means to follow Christ. I usually try to explain to them that I trust the Lord is doing the work, and remind them that I would never hinder a child from coming to the Lord, and encourage them to remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 19:14: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” My husband and I have the privilege of training and teaching our children, and helping them continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of their Lord and Savior (2 Pt. 3:18). Oh, how I pray they rise up to be mighty warriors for Him!

A Growing List of Thanks

2011-06-06T08:44:00.002-04:00

Thank You Father for these gifts...

249) Seeing a friend smile after seeing her cry five days before.

250) Air conditioning

251) Seeing things grow in our container garden.

252) Husband home after a long day.

253) Chatting with a neighbor.

254) Transplanting

255) Baby woodpeckers in our tree.

256) Helpful little girl.

257) Children who love me in spite of all my imperfections.

258) The peace that comes when my mind is fixed on Him - no matter how many times I need to refocus (Is. 26:3).

259) Following through on a commitment made - JOY!

260) The entire house sleeping until 8:30 am on a Saturday morning.

261) All five of us partaking in the Lord's Supper - realization of prayers answered for the salvation of all my children. Thank you, Lord!

262) Sunday afternoon play date for the children.

Love & Respect ~ Book Review

2011-06-04T19:41:00.003-04:00

I first heard about Dr. Eggerichs when I heard him on Focus on the Family's radio broadcast several years ago (at least 8 years ago). My husband and I rarely purchase the listening CDs from these broadcasts, but we did purchase this one. We have loaned it to countless couples over the years, and when I had the opportunity to read Love and Respect, I jumped at the chance.

Dr. Eggerichs describes how women desire to be loved above all else, and men desire to be respected above all else. The entire book is based upon Ephesians 5:33, which says, "However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." The concepts in this book have helped my husband and I in our own marriage, and it has given us tools to use as we counsel other married couples.

The book is broken up into three parts.

Part 1: The Crazy Cycle - Without love she reacts without respect and without respect he reacts without love.

Part 2: The Energizing Cycle - How to spell love to your wife and of course how to spell love to your husband.

Part 3: The Rewarded Cycle

There are 5 appendixes in the back that will give you practical tools to help you put all the information you've learned into action. For example, you will learn what to say, do, or think to practice love and respect in your marriage and how to meet your spouse's needs.

If you have a strong marriage - I recommend this book. If you have a struggling marriage - I recommend this book. If you know anyone who has a strong or struggling marriage - I recommend you get this book for them as well.

*I received this book free for review purposes only by Book Sneeze and I have shared my honest opinion.*

Our Family Meal Table

2011-06-04T10:33:00.004-04:00

Breakfast around here is simple - cereal, oatmeal, muffins, and occasionally I will make up a large batch of pancakes or waffles ahead of time.

Lunches are usually sandwiches or leftovers.

We are fortunate and usually get to enjoy at least one meal together each day. This is what we will be enjoying around our family meal table this week.

Sunday: Leftover homemade pizza for lunch after church, and then we're grilling for supper. We will be grilling pork burgers and hot dogs and serving baked beans and pasta salad as sides.

Monday: We will eat leftovers for lunch, and then I will be serving light refreshments for a small Mary Kay party I am hosting.

This week I am going to cook a whole chicken in my crock pot, debone it and use the meat for Tuesday and Wednesday's meals.

Tuesday: Hot Wing Dip served with celery, tortilla chips, and fruit salad.

Wednesday: Chicken and Rice Quesadillas, Spanish rice, and salad.

Thursday: Biscuits and Gravy (son's request again).

Friday: Homemade Pizza

Saturday: Church Picnic

Sunday: Leftover Pizza for lunch, and Tacos for supper.

Adding More Gifts to the List

2011-05-31T19:23:00.002-04:00

Thank You Father, for these gifts...

241) A friend who will pray for me over the phone.

242) Victory over lies.

243) Working in the yard together.

244) A new bird bath for the garden.

245) A slow paced weekend.

246) Ice cream cones and the park.

247) Little girl asking, "Mommy, how was your day?"

248) Little girl going forward in church to tell everyone she asked Jesus to come into her life!

Around the Family Meal Table

2011-05-29T05:34:00.001-04:00

Sunday - leftover pizza after church and roast hot dogs and marshmallows around the fire pit for supper.

Monday - Pork Roast, mashed potatoes, and corn

Tuesday - Cashew Chicken, rice, and stir-fried vegetables

Wednesday - Spaghetti, Broccoli, and Cheesy Texas Toast

Thursday - Pancakes and Sausage (daughter's request)

Friday - Payday (which means we eat lunch out, go grocery shopping, and a new rotation of menu plans begin).

Giving Container Gardening a try

2011-05-24T06:43:00.000-04:00

T's started carrots from seeds on May 11th, and you can see the progress they've made in 11 days. We're growing a smaller variety called "Sweet Mini", so I'm hoping this three gallon bucket will give them sufficient space to grow. I read about growing carrots in containers here.

K is growing a watermelon this year. We are thinking about doing cantaloupe as well.

L is in charge of the Roma tomato plant (her daddy's favorite tomato) and I noticed this tiny, baby tomato already!

I transplanted one of my shasta daisy plants to make room for a zucchini at the corner of this flower bed. I know it will eventually take over, but I think it will be okay. By that time I will move that pot of petunias, and the iris' can be cut back. You might be able to see a couple containers on our deck. One has a tomato plant in it and the other has a bell pepper plant. My husband took some buckets we had and drilled holes in the bottom for drainage. We have a heavily shaded yard, and I've been moving the containers around in the early afternoon so they get a good amount of sunshine.

All in all, we have two tomato plants, two bell pepper plants, one zucchini, one watermelon, and some carrots. It's not much, but we are learning and having lots of fun!

Giving Thanks in All Things

2011-05-23T00:08:00.000-04:00

Last week was a rough week. It was a major battle within the confines of my mind. I do not feel comfortable sharing all the details, but with that said, I have been clinging to 1 Thessalonians 5:18 that says, "give thanks IN all things..." (emphasis mine). I am reminded that I do not have to give thanks FOR the trials, but I can give thanks IN them. I give thanks because I know who the Lord is and I know His faithfulness. Dwelling on His character, giving thanks and praising Him is what keeps me humbled at His feet and focused on Him. I have a choice to make every single day, and I am striving to make the right choices - to be joyful, pray without ceasing, and give thanks no matter what the circumstances may be (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Thank You Father, for these gifts...

229) Libraries, parks, and ice cream coupons

230) Hummingbirds

231) Planting vegetables and flowers

232) My encouraging husband

233) Trustworthy and faithful God

234) Daily bread

235) Knowing God is enough. He loves enough and gives enough. He is sufficient in all things.

236) Even in the midst of hurt, You still give hope.

237) Sunshine after many days of rain.

238) Butterflies, hummingbirds, robins, cardinals, and finches - just a few things I enjoyed seeing while enjoying a cup of tea outside this morning.

239) A slower pace

240) Little girl's fever - gone!

A Peek at Our Family Meal Table This Week

2011-05-22T04:43:00.004-04:00

I used to post menus regularly, and then I stopped. I plan menus every two weeks and so it is not a problem to share them here on my blog, and also share the recipe links I come across. My husband also likes to check the blog while he's at work so he knows what to expect for supper when he comes home. This is what our family will be enjoying around our family table this week.

Sunday - leftover pizza for lunch after church and a cook-out after the AWANA awards ceremony.

Monday - Sausage Stroganoff, green beans, and homemade whole wheat hot rolls. The stroganoff recipe is a new one. I'm hoping we like it because we butchered a hog back in January, and I need to find more creative ways to use up the meat.

Tuesday - Biscuits and Gravy (my son's request)

Wednesday - Sloppy Joe Pizza (Kids in the Kitchen night)

Thursday - Ribs, Potato Packets, and pasta salad (Heath is grilling night)

Friday - Tacos (another request from my son). Something I do to cut costs is add one can of refried beans to the ground beef after it is cooked, add a little extra taco seasoning and it makes the taco meat go a lot further.

Saturday - Homemade Pizza Night

This week, I will also let my little muffin maker choose if she'd like to make donut muffins or pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.

I also plan on making a pumpkin pie for my husband because it is his favorite! I have been doing the South Beach diet since the end of January (I've lost a little more than 20 pounds so far). I have not been baking as much as I normally do, and I think he's ready for a little treat.

I am linking up this week to Menu Plan Monday over at "I'm an Organizing Junkie." Click over to read more than 300 other menu plans for some inspiration!

My Muffin Maker

2011-05-20T06:36:00.000-04:00

L is still enjoying her muffin making duty. She made oatmeal raisin muffins this week, and everyone enjoyed them. This week I taught her how to use a butter knife to level off her measuring cup of flour. In the next couple of weeks we are going to use a couple of new to us muffin recipes, and we're looking forward to trying them out.

We used this recipe for "Easy Oatmeal Muffins" as a guideline, but made some modifications.

1 cup of milk

1 cup of oats

1 egg

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup white sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix the milk and oats together and let them sit for 15 minutes. I don't know why, but that's what the recipe said that I was using as a guideline, so we did it. Add remaining ingredients, fill muffin cups 1/2 full, and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Grab and Go Thursday

2011-05-19T12:25:00.004-04:00

Grab & Go Thursday is all about Mommas sharing resources that make their lives more simple and flow a little easier. I don't know about you, but I could sure use some simple in my day! Today in my home is menu planning and grocery list making day, so I would like to share with you a simple menu planner I found online. You can download it onto your computer and grab it and get to work planning healthy meals for your family! Below is a screen shot of the planner I use. You can get your free download from Organized Home by clicking here. Click over to Half Dozen Mama and see what others have to share!

Healthy Alternative to Granola Bars

2011-05-17T06:01:00.003-04:00

Our family has enjoyed these Oat and Energy Balls for a while now. My husband and I got to looking at all the ingredients on a granola bar package and realized we could not pronounce many of them, and I began investigating healthier alternatives. I am thrilled to share that K, my 8-year-old is in charge of making this healthy snack all by herself. Her help is a huge blessing to me! The food blog, "Yum in My Tum" is written by two girls I actually know in real life. I used to be their Sunday school teacher when they were in high school, and my husband used to be their youth pastor. Now they are both college graduates and married. Man, do I feel old! Please click over and check out the recipe for Oat and Energy Balls. They really are a healthier and tastier alternative to store-bought granola bars.

WonderMaps

2011-05-16T07:02:00.002-04:00

Bright Ideas Press is a well-known publisher in the homeschool community. They sell great and affordable history, geography, science, literature, and fine art resources for homeschool families. Today I am sharing with you about their newest geography resource called WonderMaps!

WonderMaps includes 60+ maps of the world, 60+ maps of the United States, 125 historical maps (including Biblical maps), and the complete map sets from Mystery of History and All American History (both history programs from Bright Ideas Press). You can see from the graphic below how the maps are organized.

Navigating through the maps and finding what you want is very simple. We recently did a study on Lewis and Clark. I clicked on Historical Maps, then clicked on the right time period, and found a map called "The Lewis and Clark Expedition." It was a great visual tool to put in the children's notebooks and to use while teaching about the expedition. I really wish I had this resource when we were learning about the Revolutionary War because there is an awesome map that labels all the battles.

WonderMaps is such a visual product. I would encourage you to view this six minute video so you can see first hand all the features this resource has to offer.

Pricing Information: $49.95

This is a resource that will be used over and over again. It can of course be used in your history and geography studies, but it is also great to have maps available for Bible lessons and when learning about composers, artists, and missionaries (to show where they lived and worked).

*I received this product free for review purposes only. All opinions are my own.*

What Charlotte Mason Has Taught Me About Habits

2011-05-15T16:06:00.005-04:00

Charlotte Mason has taught me that teaching my children habits isn't about getting them to do what I want them to do, but rather teaching them to have strong character. For instance, when I teach them the habit of brushing their teeth daily, the bigger issue is teaching them the habit of cleanliness and managing one's own body. When I began reading about Charlotte Mason's writings about habit training I was discouraged because I am weak in so many areas. I am not neat and orderly, and I often struggle with focus, concentration, and attention. I have found it to be a beautiful thing when my children and I walk down this path together encouraging one another to develop good habits so we can all have admirable character traits in our lives. In the area of forming habits, a mother must give herself and her children grace because it is a slow progression of learning one habit and moving on to a new one. "The mother devotes herself to the formation of one habit at a time..." (Vol. 1, p. 136). This statement was a tremendous relief to me. I do not have to have it all figured out. I can simply take one step at a time.

Charlotte Mason has taught me to not nag my children and yell, "Do this and do that!" Instead she has encouraged me to focus more on the character traits of obedience, cleanliness, orderliness, and neatness rather than the to-do list. I often try to say things like, "Please get your room neat and orderly" rather than saying (or shouting) "Clean your room!"

Here is my list of what I call "Household Habits" that we've been working on for at least a couple years now. I still have to sometimes remind the children to do their morning work and say, "You have eaten your breakfast, what do you need to do now?" Some days they do it automatically, but some days they do need to be gently reminded.

Morning Work

Eat Breakfast

Brush Teeth and Hair

Get Dressed

Make Bed

Weekly Chores

Monday - Bedrooms

Tuesday - Bathrooms

Wednesday - Living Room

Thursday - Kitchen and Dining Room

Friday - Grocery Shopping or Basement Cleaning

Recently I printed out a list of Charlotte Mason Habits from Sonya Shafer's free e-book, "Smooth and Easy Days." I read them to the children and let them think about what habit they believe they need to work on. The household habits above are pretty well established. Both of my older children believed they needed work in the areas of mental habits. My son wants to work on attention and concentration, and my daughter wants to work on memorizing. I let them evaluate their own hearts and decide what habits they want to work on, and I have promised to encourage and help them in any way I can.

As my children and I work together on forming habits, we are developing godly character traits, and I try to find applicable Scripture to go along with the habit we are working on. For instance, my youngest daughter struggles with complaining. So, in order to work on the habit of self-control and thanksgiving, we have memorized Philippians 2:14, which says, "Do everything without complaining..." So much complaining comes from an ungrateful heart. My son used to struggle with anger, and to form the habit of self-control in his life we memorized James 1:19: "...everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." My middle daughter went through a period when she struggled with lying. We began working on forming the habit of truthfulness and we used Proverbs 12:22: "The LORD detests lying lips, but He delights in men who are truthful." If I want the formation of habits to have a lasting impact on my children, I must help them hide God's Word in their hearts so His truth will take root in their hearts and transform their lives (Psalm 119:11).

A Hive of Busy Bees and Another Hive of Bees are two books I have read to my children, and I believe they helped teach them about how habits can help transform their character. One story we refer to a lot is about the topic of orderliness (this habit is an ongoing process in our home). The story closes with this prayer, " I thank Thee, Lord, for showing me that neatness really honors Thee. So help me, Lord, to learn to be the kind of child who's orderly." (The link to A Hive of Busy Bees takes you to a FREE Kindle download)!

I will close with this final quote from Volume 2, p. 124 - "As has been well said, 'sow an act, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character reap a destiny.' "

The benefits of teaching my children to form good habits far exceeds the blessings of a clean home or neat and complete schoolwork, but rather they are reaping godly character traits and destinies!