Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Pictures 2008

Snow "showers"

This was described in the news today as snow "showers". It snowed all day. I told Shade I think they missed the mark again and should have been calling it a blizzard. We now have over a foot of snow. Very unusual for Oregon.

We did head out and bought items for the Christmas Family our church is sponsoring this year. The only way to get around on the roads was with chains--something very foreign for this Mid-west girl. Thankfully my sweet husband was doing all the driving.

Blackout!

We lost our power last night for 5 hours. I know the picture is dark, but that is how it was. Shade and the boys completed their Risk game they had started earlier. I read and Destini tried to survive. When Delani awoke she just crawled everywhere like there wasn't anything wrong. Thank the Lord we had a gas fireplace to some heat, else we would have been frozen!

Snow/Ice Storm

We went to bed with snow and woke up with it all covered in ice!

The Stockings were hung...

We actually have a mantle to hang the stocking from. These stocking were all made by me and thankfully I had an extra one since I haven't got Delani's made yet.

Ahh, finally finished!

The 2008 christmas cards are sent! (Almost 60 cards.) Destini was such a big help. She put stamps and address labels on. This morning they went out to the mail box. There is another load off my mind.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Happy 13th Birthday Caleb!

Oh Christmas Tree

Christmas Love

I heard this touching story on the radio the other day and thought I would share it:

Christmas Love
by Candy Chand

Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience. But
once again, despite my plans, chaos prevailed. I had cut back on nonessential
obligations– extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating, and yes, even the
all American pastime, overspending. Yet, still, I found myself exhausted, unable to
appreciate the precious family moments, and, of course, the true meaning of Christmas.

My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season for a
six year old filled with hopes, dreams and laughter. For weeks, he’d been memorizing
songs for his school’s “Winter Pageant.” I didn’t have the heart to tell him I’d be
working the night of the production.

Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me
there’d be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation. All parents unable to
attend that evening were welcome to come then. Fortunately, Nicholas seemed
happy with the compromise.

So, just as I promised, on the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in 10 minutes
early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room, I saw
several other parents quietly scampering to their seats. As I waited, the students
were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged
on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song.

Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as
“Christmas,” I didn’t expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment — songs
of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer. The melodies were fun, cute and
lighthearted, but nowhere to be found was even the hint of an innocent babe, a manger,
or Christ’s sacred gift of hope and joy. So, when my son’s class rose to sing, “Christmas
Love”, I was slightly taken aback by its bold title.

Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red
sweaters and bright snowcaps upon their heads. Those in the front row — center
stage — held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song. As the
class would sing “C is for Christmas,” a child would hold up the letter C. Then, “H
is for Happy,” and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented
the complete message, “Christmas Love.”

The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her — a small,
quiet girl in the front row who was holding the letter “M” upside down. She was
entirely unaware, that reversed, her letter “M” appeared as a “W.” Fidgeting from
side to side, she soon moved entirely away from her mark.

The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at the little one’s mistake.
But in her innocence, she had no idea they were laughing at her as she stood
tall, proudly holding her “W”.

One can only imagine the difficulty in calming an audience of young, giggling
students. Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter
continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together. A hush
came over the audience and eyes began to widen.

In that instant, we understood — the reason we were there, why we celebrated
the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos there was a purpose for our
festivities. For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear:

CHRIST WAS LOVE.

Thanksgiving 2008

Over the river and through the mountain passes--to Idaho we went to enjoy Thanksgiving.

Following the Thrifty Fifty

If only I was this inspired, but for now I'm following along here.

Shakespeare

Our curriculum at Amblesideonline.org recommends that you read through a Shakespeare play. Needless to say we have not even dipped out toes into one this year. We haven't even cracked open the easier books (Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare-Edith Nesbit and Tales from Shakespeare-Charles and Mary Lamb)I came across this great post from Mental Multivitamin. Hopefully we can add Shakespeare into next term.

Whoa--Look at this!

I was looking through some pictures from last month and came across this.

7 months!

In Honor

On November 8 We Celebrated....

Destini's 9th Birthday!

What's Been Happening! - Part 3

Delani is moving!

What's Been Happening! - Part 2

I learned a new skill! Homemade applesauce.

What's been Happening! - Part 1

Chantry shows off his new skill - no training wheels!

Mr. Obama

Please note: You will need to scroll down and turn off my player.

Delani - 6 Month Pictures

A fun website

The Little Princess!

Beautiful, Beautiful Brown Eyes!

I believe it is official -- Delani has brown eyes!

Freebie of the Day

Freebie of the Day

Here is a great website to check out! Everyday they have a free resource to download. I am quickly getting a lot of fun and helpful resources.

A thought on education.

"Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire."-William Butler Yeats

A definite goal I'm striving for!

Meeting Papa and turning 5 months old.

A Chemical Reaction!

Here Caleb is doing a science experiment for his General Science course.

We have finished our first week of school!

In celebration we went and enjoyed 50 cent ice cream cones from McDonalds.

2nd Day is Complete

Ahhhh, we have finished the second day. The sniffles and the crud have decided to visit our house, so after a night with mom getting a little sleep we have perservered and made it through our second day.

We started our day with Devotions. We did everything that was listed here, but also added our poetry which is Favorite Poems Old and New by Helen Ferris. The last couple of years I have gone with Ambleside Online Poetry Selections, but poetry is not my strong point and we weren't finding it enjoyable. (Except for Year 1).

Caleb did:
Math: Math U See Epsilon-Review & drills
Science: Experiment
Literature: King Arthur (read-aloud)
Biography: John Paul Jones
Literature: King Arthur
Free Read: The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford

Hopefully in the next day or two we will begin the Excellence in Writing SWI-A.

Destini did:
Math: Math U See Alpha-Review & drills
Science: Apologia Exploring Creation with Botany
Phonics: Phonics Pathway review
Copywork: 3 sentences from reading.
Literature: King Arthur

I am hoping to have a more rested night and off to an early start in the morning!

Back to School 2008-2009!

Whew! I have survived the first day of schoolfor 2008-2009! I still don't have everything laid out yet for the trimester and am still having to look for boxes with our school books in them. Here is what we did today.

Morning Devotions:
Bible: Two Year Reading Bible(NIV)-Old Testament Reading
Devotional Book: Prayer Journal for Kids by Freddi Trammell
Hymn: Just Over in the Gloryland

Caleb:
Math: Math U See Epsilon-Review and drills
Science: Apologia General Science
Biography: John Paul Jones: The Pirate Patriot
Geography: Child's Geography Volume 1 by Ann Voskamp

Destini:
Math: Math U See Alpha and drills.
Phonics: Phonics Pathways-Review
Copywork: Three sentences from today's phonics reading.
History: Can't You Make Them Behave King George? by Jean Fritz
Geography: Child's Geography Volume 1

For History I am combining Caleb & Destini and they will be doing a modified version of Pre Year 7. We are using This Country of Ours for American History and Abraham Lincoln's World for World History. For Literature (our read aloud) we will be reading Story of King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle.

We will be adding to this in the next week and also Chantry will be starting the 3 R's. As we add new items to our schedule I will also blog about it.

16th Anniversary!

Wow! Time flies fast when your having fun!

Delani's Discovery!

When I uploaded this batch of pictures to the computer I had to laugh, because this is Delani's new look.

Look at what Chantry lost!

National Night Out Block Pary

Tonight I attended my first Block Party. We were able to meet all the neighbors in our new neighborhood. There was also a visit from the Fire Department and Police Department. I took baked beans and Caramel Cream Brownie Trifle. I did make some changes in the recipe. I used the larger size of pudding mix and replaced the walnuts with Heath Bar bits. I also drizzled the extra caramel topping in the layers.

3 month photos

Delani's 3 month photos.

Family Reunion

Saturday was Family Reunion Day. The first part was with Shade's immediate family and the second part was with his extended family. Everyone had a good time.

I contributed to the feast with these "bars". They were very good! Here is the recipe.

Living Life!

I know that I have been missing for awhile. Our family has gone through many changes in the past few months. Right before the baby was born, we took a church in a neighboring city just to the south of where we were living. Delani arrived in April and we moved in June. Needless to say, I'm still living among boxes. I know it has been a month, but life keeps going on. We are truly enjoying Delani and our new church. God is so good and I thank him for all His blessings!

Mother's Day

Welcome to Our World!

Delani Joy entered the world April 9, 2008 at 6:26 a.m.
She weighed 7 lbs, 2 oz and was 20" long.

Reading for March

Woman Reading

Fiction

Jim the Boy - Tony Earley
Forevermore - Catherine Marie Hake
Books by Grace Livingston Hill
The Enchanted Barn
The Seventh Hour
The Best Man
The Tryst
Crimson Roses
Dawn of the Morning

Non-Fiction
Mommy Teach Me - Barbara Curtis
What's Darwin Got to Do With It - Tony Earley
The Lost Choice - Andy Smith
George Muller, Delighted in God - Roger Steer

Reading for February

Woman Reading

Fiction

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Lady of Milkweed Manor by Julie Klassen

Non-Fiction

What is a Family? by Edith Scaeffer
A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola
Grace-Based Parenting by Dr. Tim Kimmel
The Proper Care & Feeding of Marriage by Dr. Laura Schlessinger
A Biblical Home Education by Ruth Beechick
Woe is I, Jr by Patricia O'Connor

Excuse me!!!???????

Today while walking through the book section of my local Costco I came across this book.



I guess I'm kind of saddened that "Anne" has fallen prey to just another marketing scheme. After I did some online research I came across this website celebrating "100 Years of Anne". I think for now I will stay closed minded and skip the prequel and celebrate in my own way by rereading the whole series.

A Little Fun!

Take the Quiz here!

Valentine's Day Cards for 2008

Continuing a new tradition that we started last year. Handmade Valentine's Day cards made by mom.

Chantry's card

Destini's card

Caleb's card

Shade's card

My mom's card