You'll have to forgive me

I know I have been annoyingly religious lately during the few and far between times I have even been here, but I'm still going through some stuff and the lord is helping me through. Therefore, you'll just have to forgive me :). When life starts to make more sense I will be more balanced.
Some of the keepers of my sanity:

The Casting Crowns

Tenth Avenue North

The Gospel of Matthew

Carolyn Arends- They'll Know We Are Christians 

We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
And together we'll spread the news that God is in our land
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

Lisa Harper's book Stumbling Into Grace

Side note: I picked up this book after reading a bad review...

I have got to do that more often!

Honestly though, I am again indebted to my friends that push me in the right directions... no matter if I want to be pushed or not :) and my amazing kid who keeps me moving and living and praying for better things. If not for me, then at least for her.

Having a job I love helps too. The best thing about having babies around is free hugs and happiness whenever I need it! 

I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season!

Happy Birthday

When I look at the Nativity, I wonder. How many of those people really had any idea what was happening? How could a teenage girl fully grasp what she had been given? What kind of faith would the lowly shepherds have needed to have that would enable them to know what was happening right in front of them? And poor Joseph...

Holiday Crafts part 2

I posted about our Halloween Crafts back in October. Well, here are some of the things we've been doing since then! Alot of them are either prepackaged or bags of supplies from Oriental trading.

Little Angels

Gods Greatest Gift Wreath

Snowman Stockings

Button Ornaments (Good for hand-eye coordination)

Buttons and Bells Ornaments

Suffering

“Does God want us to suffer? What if the answer to that question is ‘yes’? You see, I don’t think that God particularly wants us to be happy. I think He wants us to love and be loved. He wants us to grow up. You see, we are like children who think that our toys bring us all the happiness there is, and that our nursery ...is the whole wide world. But something has to drive us out into the world of others, and that thing is suffering. Put simply, pain is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world. We are like blocks of stone from which the Sculptor carves a form. The blows of His chisel which hurt us so much are what make us perfect.” - CS Lewis

Quality time

OK, I know. I spend ALL my time with Gwen, but is it 'quality' time? Is it good memory making, giggle and laugh, getting to know you, happy to play with you, tell me anything time? Or when the boys go home at night am I so spent and exhausted that I'm barely here at all? Is 'watching TV together' just a way for me to get out of being a parent for an hour or two?

I have really been trying hard to make our time together more meaningful lately. Which means taking a break from stalking reading everyone's Blogs and Facebook posts (and I have come to realize that while I like you and care about what is happening in your life, I will survive not reading about it until the next day or *gasp* 2 days later).

We've been eating breakfast out, listening to loud music and discussing the meanings of the lyrics, tree shopping, wrapping presents, playing card games, eating chocolate together and having an outrageously fun time. If the day comes when we don't have all this time to be together, at least we will have good memories and an understanding of each other that comes from 'quality' time.

Spiritual Sunday- Trust

Listen

I just picked this up at The Way Station

#1 Courageous... It really, Just wow. I'm not a big music person, but I think I've been spending too much time with my friend Dana who has a song for every occasion... Very similar to the way I have a book for almost any occasion :)

They're coming to my area in March and I might have to go see them. That's how much that song said to me.

lazy post

I haven't the energy to say anything. The kids sucked my sickly self dry of all energy today... but I'll share this with you:

Yum!

How much is too much?

Gwen recieved Just Dance Kids for the Wii for her 8th birthday and I was not looking forward to it... but it is actually really good! There are songs like The ants go marching, Pop goes the weasel, Funkytown, Who let the dogs out, and ABC 123. Not only do I like the songs, I like the dancing too. It's not crazy pop music sexy dancing, it's just fun kid dancing. Gwen and the boys danced for hours yesterday! Definetly 5 stars :)

Anyway, to make room for four or five kids to dance in my livingroom I had to pull the furninture to the edges of the room and I noticed... WOW! There is a lot of baby equipment in this house! A swing, playpen, floor gym, bumbo, rocking chair, stationary entertainer, johnny jumper, high chair, two slings and a baby bjorn front carrier.

      

My baby is EIGHT YEARS OLD!! The baby I watch IS here 3 days a week, 11 hours a day, but it still seems a little excessive.  

Stress

Oh, Stress. We all have it in our lives. It comes from work, home, family, friends, holidays and even religion. Sometimes we are dealing with a lot and sometimes we are blessed with only a little. Some of us are happy-go-lucky and (almost) everything just rolls right off of us and some of us take it all in and analyze it and worry about it.

We all deal with it in different ways too: Yoga, music, exercise, sports, shopping, reading a lot, sleeping a lot, eating or not eating, talking or not talking. We never know how much stress a person has in their life unless we are with them at all times and can feel what they feel.

I hope you are all dealing with small, easily managed portions of stress right now. I seem to be overloaded at this time, so I apologize for my lack of consistent blogging... Past, present and future. Until I get my life under control I may be a little unpredictable.

She IS The Class

Some of you may remember my sick day post where Gwen was watching movies in my bed and pretty much spreading all her stuff all over my room. Well, It was strep (ouch, no wonder she was miserable), so there went a whole week of school. I planned on getting back on track on Monday, but she still had a fever and a cough that wouldn't let either of us sleep. After some back and forth with the Doctors office we came home with meds for pneumonia :( not only was it scary, but there went another week of school.

Over the long Holiday weekend I worried and tried to plan for how we were going to 'catch up'. How much math, science, geography, history, and language I can squeeze into each day. How quickly I can expect her to memorize spelling words. If I can get her to practice an hour of music a day.

I looked at timetables and schedules for days and then I realized that we don't have to 'catch up'. We homeschool. She doesn't have to try to cram as much in her brain as she can to keep up with the other kids in class who weren't sick for 2 weeks... she IS the class. This class moves at HER pace. If she learns something quickly, we will move on. If she needs more hands-on, or books about, or lessons pertaining to a subject we will continue with it until we are confident in her knowledge. (A little extra leg work is something that is a parent's responsibility whether they homeschool or not. Teachers are amazing, but they can't be one-on-one-ing with each child all day... They are only one person)

And remember all those in service days and ridiculous holidays that the kids in public school don't have to go in for? We don't have those. You know what we do on Martin Luther King Jr day? We learn about Martin Luther King Jr. The books we read and activities we do on that day might not be our regularly scheduled stuff, but there's no reason to do nothing, after all... we're in the building anyway (LOL). I am not a state employee who is guaranteed certain days off. I am a mom. I don't get days off!

We have plenty of time to make up for those weeks. It may take us awhile, but that's why my lesson plans are labeled Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, etc. and not with specific dates.

We'll make up the time... eventually

Just Another Day In Paradise- With An Artist

Lets Start The Season Out Right

After Thanksgiving we start to worry about lights and trees and gifts... but are we thinking about the 'reason for the season'? We should be. Even from the very beginning.

Please understand, I am in no way saying that Christmas trees, presents and lights are bad. I'm simply saying that we all (including me) need reminders of what it's all about. A religious advent calender is good.

So here are my other recommendations for reminders to read with your kids:

My All-Time favorite for preschoolers and kindergartners. A Board Book about ALL the great things about Christmas!

A Classic Golden Book

Once upon a time, there lived a little princess who enjoyed all the privileges of being wealthy, especially at Christmastime when visitors from far and wide would bring her piles and piles of presents. But when the little princess becomes ungrateful for all she has been given, her parents decide to make a change to their Christmas celebration.

Fun activity book

With gentle rhyme and number fun from one to ten, this Christmas board book is full of shepherds, kings, & angels

I Spy Christmas, an engaging photographic puzzle book with rhyming riddles that invite children to find hidden objects among a treasure trove of Christmas items

The most popular children's Bible story series in the world Generations of Christian children have learned the Bible through the lively poems and colorful illustrations of Arch Books

A full-color, beautifully illustrated, wonderfully written holiday story about hopes and aspirations, and appreciating the possibilities of life.

Traditional as well as less familiar tunes, specially arranged to suit children's voices

Join the Patterson family in celebrating all the craziness, joy, love, and true meaning the Christmas season brings.

An endearing and amusing variation of the Nativity story that will appeal to children and adults alike

Here Is the one that I am wanting to get read this year:



This Christmas, cut through the hype that leaves you exhausted and broke at the end of the year. Instead, experience the peace of knowing that God is truly with us, the joy of giving sacrificially, and the love of a Savior who gave everything he had for us.

This one has been recommended to me:



Journey with Adam Hamilton as he travels from Nazareth to Bethlehem in this fascinating look at the birth of Jesus Christ

Of course, I always encourage you to buy local. Help your neighbors keep their jobs and businesses. Most of the books are linked to one of my favorite local stores, so if any of them look good and you can't support your local businesses... feel free to support the ones near me! :)

Spiritual Sunday- Moms

1 Corinthians 15:58:

Therefore, my dear [sisters], stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Reasons NOT to go out on Black Friday



1. There are WAY too many obnoxious people out that day.

2. Two words: limited stock.

3. How do the staff feel about going to work at 3:30AM? Don’t worry, they’ll let you know!

 

4.  There are HUGE crowds of obnoxious people out that day.

5. Have you been watching the price of that product? A lot of the prices aren’t really that great.  

6. There are great deals online too.

7.  If I lay down on the floor on any weekday, several preschoolers will gladly trample me, I don’t need to go to Toys R Us for that.

8. I don't believe in fighting for a parking spot. If there aren't enough for everyone, then there are WAY too many obnoxious people in that store already.

9. The people of America already have too much stuff. Our houses are overflowing with stuff. Here's a novel idea: Lets spend more then one day being thankful for what we have before beating each other up for more.

10. There's not enough coffee or happy pills in the WORLD to make me able to deal with that many obnoxious people

 

Cliques, Hicks, and Ugly Sticks by K.D. McCrite

11 year old April Grace Reilly lives in a small town in the 1980's with her teenage sister & her parents and just across the field from her Grandmother whose love life is interesting to say the least. She has all the struggles of a girl entering middle school including a friend who is no longer friendly and a boy that won't leave her alone, but that is nothing compared to the drama at home. The St. James's have moved into her house until they can fix up their own. If Isabel St. James isn't enough to deal with now April's mother is hiding something from her.

I stalked Booksneeze.com for a free copy of this book because I love young adult books and anything with Ugly Sticks in the title is right up my alley. The reflections of this preteen had me chuckling over and over. All kids this age are overly sensitive and dramatic, but April Grace approached everything with a strong sense of self and an amazing heart for others. I would highly recommend this book, though since all of my experience is with kids 9 yrs old and younger I am unsure whether 11 is old enough for some of the content. I advise parents to preview it and decide for themselves.