Thursday, February 13, 2014

Valentines Day 2014


This evening I look over to see E cutting out hearts.  "What'cha doin'?" I ask.  "Cutting out hearts to decorate the house for tomorrow." is her reply.  Now, I am not big on decorating for holidays.  It is just not my thing.  But here I have this little girl who is excited about tomorrow and wants to make the house look pretty - even if it is just for us.  Idea pops into my head (thank you, Lord!) and I come back with string and tape.  While I am putting the hearts on the strings, E decides to make the LOVE ... she only makes L and O before it is time for bed.  And so after putting them to bed I finish it up and hang them in the front entryway for all to enjoy tomorrow!  I am so glad that I was blessed with a beautifully creative little girl who feels free enough to act on her ideas as they come to her!

Friday, January 24, 2014

Mesopotamian loom

We have been studying ancient civilizations this year.  Today we made a mesopotamian loom. We worked on it at a park with a few other schoolmates.  We then brought them home and the littles have been working on them ever since we arrived home at 3:30 - except for the time that they spent eating dinner!  Now they want to make a bigger loom and make more "scarves"!






Phonics Lesson

Yesterday's phonics lesson was a riot!  I am using, ALL ABOUT SPELLING with J and he sometimes throws a little bit of a fit when it is time to do it.  We are currently reviewing all the 3 letter short vowel lessons we had done before Christmas.  I have magnetic tile letters set up on the fridge and after teaching him the consonat teams th, sh & ch (he loves that one), I decided I needed to make it fun.  So after my energetic boy would spell a word he would run over to me put his head between my legs and give me a super big "leg-hug", laugh with delight and run back over to "build" the next word.  He built 10, short i words perfectly that way!  I have got to be creative when it comes to schooling that one and what worked one day may not work the next!!

After phonics we went over to the school table to do his handwriting.  I am using HANDWRITING WITHOUT TEARS which he is doing quite well in.  Again, we reviewed all the letters that he learned prior to Christmas break.  First on the chalkboard with a wet sponge (he makes the letter with the wet sponge - just a fun and different way to practice), then I had him write all his letters on a white board.  He did so well ... until he got to the F.  For some reason he got stuck there and kept saying that it didn"t look right.  I told him to write it a few more times and then pick out his best one.  He told me that they all looked the same.  I circled the best one for him and decided it was time to move on!


Thursday, January 23, 2014

sweet boy

Yesterday I ran! First time in 5 months plus!  I've hiked the hill, ridden bikes with the 'littles', even rollerbladed once or twice, but getting up the motivation to run?  It just wasn't happening!  That said, I was EXHAUSTED at 7:45 when we sat down to read, Uncle Arthur's Bedtime Stories.  I had finished two stories (about 2 pages long each) and was just about to start a new one, when daddy called to tell the littles good-night and pray with them.  They went into the other room to get better reception ... they came back to find mommy almost passed out on the couch.  I couldn't even keep my eyelids open another minute!  I sent them both to bed with love and hugs and finally made it to my own room 45 minutes later.  Slept SOUND, until someone woke me up to tuck her back in bed because she wiggles around too much at night and looses all her blankets!  Finally got up just before 6 this morning came out to the kitchen and the cookies that we had made the night before, and that I had forgotten to put away were all covered!


My first thought was that my husband had covered them all up when he got home from work - which is a good assumption, he has doen things like that before ... altho I knew he wouldn't take the time to wrap them individually.  In the morning I asked both children about it and Mr. J told me it was him.  He had gone in to the kitchen before bed, seen the cookies on the counter and thought, "Mom would want these put away so I will help her out".  What a compassionate little boy I have.  I vaguely remember him also patting me and trying to wrap the blanket around me better before he went to his bed.  He loves to take care of others and is very quick to look for ways to help others when he senses a need.

Tonight I am alone in the house.  My friend picks up my children every Thursday to take them to AWANA.  I have the next two hours alone.  I am going to tackle my 2-hour house cleaning checklist from Money Saving Mom.  And maybe I will sit down for a cookie and tea at some point along the way!

Saturday, January 18, 2014

New day

It is another new day.  A day to seek The Lord with all of our hearts.

He is more than worth of our praise, admiration and of our lives.

Have we given Him everything?  Have we given Him ALL that we are?  The good, the bad, and the ugly?

Our hopes and dreams ... are they His?  Let us only pursue that which He is leading us in.

Listen to His voice, hear Him speak, "this is the way" - and walk in it.