Friday, November 30, 2012

Weekly Wrap-up: Vacation Projects

In our homeschool this week. . .
Woohoo! Loving vacation!!!! Ya'll should join me!

In my life this week. . .  I have become a Pinterest Princess! My mom continues to say how much I'm putting everyone else to shame by completing projects.  I've made several more aprons, chef's hats to go with them, as well as oven mitts. . . They are completely fabulous!!! I'm in love with them!
Someone asked, and yes, I sewed on a t.v. tray, my iron is on the other one. . . cutting was done on the coffee table from a kids school desk chair!  And, they still turned out soooo stinking cute!!!  See the mess??
We took these to her the day she found out her dad died.  It was good to see her smile! Hers is my favorite set.
This sweet girl looks like a Keebler Elf every time she puts that hat on.... it makes me smile!

I did put a link for the website to the apron tutorial in this post.  The oven mitt, and chef's hats were both in different tutorials.  I used the same material as the aprons, and had a matching set for each kiddo; apron, chef's hat, oven mitt, and for Crazy K, an adorable pot holder from the front pocket of her sweet jeans!

2 of my chefs did some holiday baking for me! It looks like they were  really concentrating here, hehe.

Here they were decorating Pringles cans with holiday paper so they'd have a pretty way to deliver them! Another  idea from Pinterest, but I don't think I pinned the link. . .oops!


NEXT, I decided to try to make a cute little bag.  Now, I think the total time spent on this project was 10-15 minutes.  However, it took about 1 hour to finish it due to one cranky, whiny, crying Baby T who interrupted several times, one broken sewing needle, and several other interruptions!  I forgot to finish the edges of the ruffles before sewing them on the bag, but it's still cute.  Don't you think so?  Instructions for that are here.  I had some small black bags I bought for $0.79 at Michaels after Halloween last year.  They were just sitting in a drawer, so I pulled them out to try my hand at ruffles. . . I don't think it's too bad for my first time.


Oh... In all honesty, and with full disclosure, I didn't spruce up my pictures, because I wanted you to see, that while I'm accomplishing wonderfully amazing projects on the sewing machine, my life is in disarray, especially my house!  I haven't done anything else.  I've washed several loads of laundry more than once, stayed up waaaaay too late, and have even, dare I say it, slept in! I've continued to be the "yes, mom". I've made crockpot meals and big dishes so I only cooked dinner 1.5 times this week...my 7 year old cooked the lasagna (oh and hubby helped).  My 7 year old made breakfast all week.  There's STUFF everywhere.

I'm praying for. . . 
My God-daughter Crazy K has had a tough life in her short 11 years!  This past week her biological father passed away.  I can't imagine being faced with the mortality of my parents at such a young age.  She didn't feel up to school the day after she found out, so we had her over.  That's how I got the pic of her all dolled up in the apron and such...that was hers from a pair of jeans she gave me.  She's so amazingly strong, and dealing with all the grown-up issues in her life in such a mature way.  She's so dear to me, and I love her.  I'm praying that God will show her that He's blessed her with so many fathers that have been good to her, loved her like their own, and are still here, and that He Himself has adopted her as His own princess entitled to be His heir!  He is good, even when life is bad!

My favorite thing this week was. . . being home, sleeping in, crafting, saying yes to the kids, wearing pjs at 1:07 while writing my blog post, and eating all the cookies we made!  It's been a fabulous week!!!

Things I'm working on. . . thanks to Pinterest, I will never forget all the things I want to accomplish.  It's like a to do list you can't lose.  There are several projects I have pinned that should be coming up soon.  Next week though, the girls would like to make aprons for their American Girl dolls. . . I'm not quite sure I have the patience to deal with them and the sewing machine (they did try sewing straight lines on scraps today).  If I'm not too exhausted from my crazy work schedule (2 days on, 1 off, 1 on, 1 off, 1 on, yuck, yuck, yuck) then we might give it a try. . . AND I guess at some point, I have to clean out the school room again (sigh) and start planning for our next semester (double sigh). . .

Well, I have to go to bed and start my weekend job. . . Ya'll have a blessed weekend!

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Beauty from the Ashes

I'm in a Facebook group for moms with special needs children.  The other day, a sweet mom posted that she    just didn't know what to do when she had blown it. She called those times, "Bad Mommy Moments." And, it got me thinkin', as the saying goes... God knows I've had my own Bad Mommy Moments....too many to count. It's such a dilemma to me; I want to raise righteous God-lovers, and am constantly on them to do what is right, say what is right, and be godly. And then, I lose my temper, do the opposite of what I'm supposed to do, or worse, the opposite of what I've told them to do. (I'm smacking my forehead now).

What makes this worse, is that Bean Boy at the ripe old age of 11, has noticed the inconsistency.  I still remember that inconsistency I saw in my Dad, and how it challenged me...still does.  It caused a stumbling block for me in trusting him.  Knowing he said one thing, and did another caused me to doubt his sincerity, and lack trust for him in a host of ways.  Oh how I pray this doesn't cause the same problems for my son, or daughters.  The truth is, I'm a sinner.  My dad is a sinner.  My son is a sinner. No amount of preaching, reading the Word, prayer, or any other discipline is going to change the fact, that we are sinners.  And, that's a good thing!

If those things, our deeds and works, changed us into righteous people, well, we wouldn't need Christ.  The cross would just be a tree a man died on, rather than a beautiful symbol of sacrificial love.  If, we could be righteous on our own, there would be no need of a relationship with Jesus, and we'd miss out on something beautiful and wonderful.  If we stopped sinning when we became believers, there would be no reason to continue on our faith journeys.  Sin is ugly.  It is destructive.  It ruins trust, destroys hope, and leads to death.  Sin can be a relationship killer.  I think, from my own experience, this hypocrisy (even if unintentional) can be especially deadly.  However, it sin is a tool to show us our need for God.

My hope is that when couple with honesty, humility, and open communication, the life of our relationships can be saved.  My hope is that when sin enters in, our relationships can mirror our relationships with our Savior.  It starts with humility.  We must confess our brokenness to the other person, ask for forgiveness, and seek restoration.  It's especially hard to do this with our kids (the humility), I think.  But, I think it is important for them to see how this works, both when we forgive them, and when they forgive us.  God gave us such a beautiful model of restoration!  I think when we mess up, it gives our kids an opportunity to practice grace...and boy do we need to practice! (at least I do!) It gives them an opportunity to see God working in us, changing us, cleaning up our brokenness, and lavishing grace on us.  What comes out of the ashes of sin and brokenness is a beautiful miracle.  And, I believe it ultimately glorifies God.  I'm certainly not going to purposefully sin to create this situation, I do it enough without trying! ;) But, I will purpose to practice humility when I mess up with my kiddos, beg for their forgiveness, and show them how I too must go to my Savior and ask for mercy. . . again.

I hope my honesty and humility help them to understand that this is a journey we are on. . . we don't arrive as adults, parents, teachers, bosses, clients, etc.  It is a journey we continue throughout our lives here on earth, and part of the reason we long for Heaven.  I hope that my honesty and humility lead them to see that my faith is real, that I really am a God-lover and struggle with sin, that ultimately I want to please Him, all because I love him.

It is amazing to me that from the ashes left by the destruction of sin, God can make all things beautiful. . . even me!

To me, Isaiah chapter 61 is an excellent example of how God restores, and His ultimate plans for us...

Isaiah 61:3
. . . To grant to those who mourn in Zion-
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
taht they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord that He may be glorified.
  
   

Friday, November 23, 2012

Weekly Wrap-up: Thanksgiving Postponed

Well. . . this week is a little out of the ordinary. The holiday has been postponed at our house till Saturday, due to the fact that I had to work on Wednesday night and Thursday night. I hope the rest of you enjoyed your turkey, family, and fun.

In our homeschool this week. . . 
We are officially on winter break! Woohoo! That means that I let the kids sleep in. They had no official work, except for my son who had to do the assignments for his writing class.  We did have our park day friend come over on Monday (too cold for an early morning park/school day....yes we are wimpy Floridians).  This was a sweet time of doing some Thanksgiving crafts and reading some stories about Thanksgiving.  I had my God-daughter who is 3 weeks older than my son.  These older two helped to read one of the Thanksgiving books to the youngers.  We had a fabulous time... my friend contributed a lovely acorn shaped snack for her craft! YUM!!  I do love this time of year, and pray we can do the same thing for Christmas.   (Good news...found my camera!)

I'm pretty sure my friend got this idea from Pinterest, but I don't know where.  They were fun, easy, and delicious.  The kids could make them with no help at all!

This is our thankfulness pumpkin patch!  Each of us made one pumpkin with 9-10 things to be thankful for.  
Got the idea from that addictive little site... you know it, Pinterest! Here is the link to the website http://www.playfulcrafts.com/thankfulpumpkincraft.html Keep in mind, I vary EVERY project I do!
One little caveat here... I am truly thankful that we can homeschool.  I was so saddened that as we were reading the VERY ABBREVIATED  story of the first Thanksgiving, my God-daughter piped in that she has never been taught this!  I was floored.  We live in a very conservative, Christian area. . . how has she never heard of the Mayflower?  People, we need to pray for our nation and our children!

In my life this week. . . Well, I enjoyed being the "yes" mom this week!  It seems like because of our busy schedule, our disciplined life, our lack of extra time, I'm always telling the kids "no". "No, you can't play on the computer" (not that I would let them do this a lot anyway. "No, we can't ride bikes today."  "No, we can't do that, we can't do this, we have to do this and that and go here and there." Ugh.... well, I realized also that some of that "no-ing" is habitual.  So, the other day when Baby T asked to play the Nook...I said "Yes!" I ended up having all 4 children on a different electronic devices (Bean Boy was typing his paper...).  I was sewing and listening to Christmas music, and thought, "You know, it feels good to tell them yes."  Then Crazy K said, "I want to bake." I looked up from my sewing and said, I think there's a cake mix in the pantry....that was it, an hour later and we were eating warm lemon cake!  I like the yes mom (and the cake that goes with it!) So...here is how it has been going:

"Mom, can we color?"
"Yes."
"Mom, can we play outside?"
"Yes."
"Mom, can we turn the music up really loud?"
"Yes."
"Mom, can we watch a movie?"
"Yes."
"Mom, can I play a computer game?"
"Yes."
"Mom, can we make pumpkin seeds?"
"Yes."
Since we don't celebrate Halloween, the we didn't make jack-o-lanterns.... But, our master gardener friend brought us a HUGE pumpkin.  The girls wanted to make pumpkin seeds, so we cut it open...they turned out yummy!

"Mom, can I have a snack?"
"Yes."
"Mom, can I play on the Nook?"
"Yes."
"Mom, can we play silly string?"
"YES!!!"



She's viscious!

Watch out!

The only downer was that they had to clean up the yard when they were done...but Bean Boy  found a way to make that fun too!!!

So what if I got a little stringy!

They even got me to say "yes" to playing some too!

Back off!

The poor dog had no idea he was shot! LOL!
Things I'm working on. . .


I just absolutely LOVE these!!!
Well, I'm working on aprons again!  Made two more for my niece, and they turned out beautifully!  I posted the link for these in last week's wrap up.  Next week I'll try the adult size ones.... I'm a little nervous about that, because there will be a lot more cutting involved.  I spend about 20 minutes on the sewing machine for these, and about 1.5 (with interruption) hours on the rest of it!  I was able to use pre-cut quilting strips from a package.  All four aprons that I have made so far, have come from 1 package of strips ($10.87 at Wal-mart) and 2 pairs of jeans; I think there is enough to make 1-2 more, but I don't like the way the rest look together. I'm sure I'll mix and match some other stuff at another time.  So, I'm sure the adult ones are going to take longer, because I'll have to cut my own strips so they'll be long enough.  I also found patterns on Pinterest for oven mitts and chef's hats.  All the kids say they want the chef's hats too!  SO, that's what's to come after  the adult aprons are finished... I think! ;)  Wish me luck!

Have a great weekend!

Monday, November 19, 2012

Glow in the Dark Party!!!

First of all, I must give a HUGE apology to you, myself, and my daughter for not having ANY pictures of this AWESOME party!!! My mom has some that are incredibly blurry, and as I've mentioned before, my camera is missing!  BUT, I will try to paint a vivid picture in your mind, because it was a wildly cool party that is doable for any of you readers!

First off, I must say I bought a ton of glow sticks, glow bracelets, glow necklaces, and other glow paraphernalia at the dollar store! Then my mom bought some too.  Looking back, I would have bought fewer bracelets, and more sticks.  The large glow sticks were each broken, then cut and poured into mason jars.  We had about 12 of these that lined the way to the yard where the party was hosted.  It looked amazing around my mom's garden with these beautifully bright liquids glowing from the ground. (If I were to do it again, I'd buy several of the same color for each jar). My favorites were the blue and pink colors.  It was cool.  Then we stuck some glow bracelets in the tiny jars my mom had hanging around her porch.  We had the glow lanterns that we put together and sat on the speakers for the movie. Each child had several glow in the dark bracelets/necklaces.  One set of siblings built a jump rope with theirs!  Lastly we had 10 2-liters that we filled with water, and stuck a few glow bracelets in (wish I had more sticks for this...) The yard was glowing with colorful excitement! ;) It was really awesome to look around the yard and see brightly colored glowing lights everywhere!

We also found some glow in the dark duct tape! Can you believe they make that stuff???  It was incredible!  We put some around the cords to the DVD projector and speakers, so people could see where these were, even after the sun went down.  It saved me from tripping, and I think I might use this for our next camping trip... anyway... we also taped some to our ball, and had a fun time with the glowing ball.

On the porch we had a black light, complete with glow in the dark jello and cool aide (don't use red...blue works better).  It was fantastic. People helped themselves to chili and hot dogs, and roasted s'mores over the fire pit.  Our wonderful adopted grandparents popped over 12 pans of popcorn and bagged almost 40 bags full to pass out during the movie! I had a ton of help setting up tables, getting food ready, etc.

I have to give extra credit to a few people here.... first my husband.  I wrote the poor guy a 3 page email with a list of 13 things to do and several paragraphs of instructions for each thing!!!!  That man spent the entire weekend preparing for this party.  He made the chili, the glow in the dark cool aide and jello, he packed everything, prepared everything, and never complained!  It was sad and hard for me to ask him for help, because I wanted to do it, but because of some other circumstances and when my work fell, I just couldn't do it.  Thank you, Hubby!   Second, I give thanks to my mom and her boyfriend for opening their yard up to over 40 people, for helping to set up, and for adding glowing paraphernalia!!  AND big thanks to mom's boyfriend for making the incredible 8x8 outdoor movie screen!!! It was incredible! (Hubby...you are welcome to make us one!!!)

Lastly- everyone on our guest list showed up!  I'm so blessed!  Thank you so much!!!

Now...lest you all think I'm incredibly amazing (snicker, ha-ha)... NONE of the ideas for this party were my own.  I'm going to post the links to each glow-in-the-dark idea I got in list form.  They all came from Pinterest (I told you this website was going to be the death of me...at least it's coming in the most fun way!!!)

Glow in the dark bowling
Glow in the dark jello
Glow in the dark ring toss (obviously missed the hopscotch idea further down! man!!!)
Glow in the dark drinks (we did this too!)

*I cannot find the link with the glow in the dark mason jars, but it is similar to one of the first things I ever pinned on Pinterst... You can see it here (we tried glitter and it didn't work...).

Beware of using Pinterest for party ideas!!! LOL! There are several things I now see I "forgot" to do-besides take pictures... SO, I guess I'll have to do it again!  If Mom lets me use her awesome yard...(minus the smores!) we can make up for our forgetfulness then!

I'm sooo sorry about not having pictures... I've got to find that camera...OR...maybe Hubby can replace it for Christmas! (hint, hint) ;)


Friday, November 16, 2012

Weekly Wrap-up: Winter Break is Here!!!!

In my life this week. . . Well... I'm doing a little dance!!!! I'm so excited, we have finally reached winter break!!!! Yippe! Yippee!  While Bean Boy still has his writing class, and might elect to do some math, we are officially on break!

I've started to work on some of my Pinterest projects.  My mom again has told me how I'm making everyone look bad by completing projects.  But it feels soooo good. And, I've had so much fun!  My favorite project this week was making aprons out of jeans for the girls!  They turned out so beautifully...and I'm not exactly a professional seamstress.  I think I borrow my mom's sewing machine about once every 5 years!  It's a love/hate/hate relationship.  But these turned out so darling,  actually want to make more!
 

The girls loved them! I can't find my camera right now, so please bear with the phone photos!
I must give credit where credit is due... if it hadn't been for Pinterest, and A Girl and A Glue Gun (even thought there was no glue gun in this project. . .) I never would have made this!  Here is the link to the apron tutorial.  And, here is where I learned how to make the cute flowers!

In our homeschool this week. . .  well, we've been winding down, so there is really not much to report here.  A little math, handwriting and reading and we've been done as soon as possible each day!  Our most productive day was probably when we did school at McDonald's while the Bean Boy was in writing class.  But now, we're done till January!!! It just makes me want to dance!

Things I'm working on.... expect to see more pinterest projects completed over our break!  Next week the kids and I are having our park/school day with our friend, and it will be filled with Thanksgiving fun... I can't wait to share! Pray my camera turns up!

This week's wrap-up is short because I ended up pulling an extra shift at work.  I hope you all have a great weekend!!!

Linking up with : 

Friday, November 9, 2012

Weekly Wrap-Up: Fabulously Crazy

Well friends... it has been another fabulous/crazy week!  Or should I say fabulously crazy?!  We have been busy as usual, but in a super fun way.

In My Life This Week. . . (and some of last week)
First off, I need to back up to last week just a tad (remember my weeks are weird cause I work Fri/Sat).... I had a Friday night off of work!  *Insert here whistles, applause, streamers, and balloons!  It was weird.  But, we made the best of it! ;) Hubby and I decided we'd get the kids some bikes for Christmas, and ourselves too.  And, as you know great deals on Craigslist don't last. So Friday night, and Saturday morning we ALL got bikes. Well, except for Baby T.  She's going to practice on Little Bit's old bike, but will be getting a bigger one for her before Christmas.  Back to Friday night... we cooked together (even Bean Boy who usually prefers to be alone, joined us without being asked!), we had a family movie, popcorn, and just an amazing time together.  Saturday we went to get the rest of the bikes, we went to a little outdoor sale and got a free lunch, and just had fun.  Of course, then it was back to work...but 1 night doesn't really bother me! I feel like superwoman when I only have to do one night! :) Sunday, they woke me up at 3:00 begging to go for a bike ride.  I couldn't say "no".  Especially since Hubby spent Saturday while I was napping, cleaning out the garage to fit the bikes in!  It was a beautiful day and we had a wonderful time...even ran into a great friend!So, now, everyday I hear, "Can we go for a bike ride?" Which is great!  It will keep me accountable to exercising, and give the kids something other than TV to look forward too!

I've also been getting ready for THE PARTY.... Friday is shopping day.  I'm hoping Hubby will make the chili the day before (he doesn't know that yet!). Thursday and Friday will be organizing day.  I've got lists for what goes on which table (all number nicely like an organizing fool) and will put each list in its own box for each table.  Sunday, I'll sleep after work, then run over to my mom's house and get it all ready.  Thank you Mom for letting us use your amazing yard for such a fun party! I hope we can pull it off after me working the two nights before!

My crazy kids decided to beg me for Christmas music!!! It's playing in the background while the kids work on school and cleaning and such!  I love Christmas music, but feel like it's a little early.  We found our Thanksgiving joke book to offset!  I'll have the girls practice reading by reading me a joke a day until Tday!!!

In Our Homeschool This Week. . .
Well, I'm not going to lie... I'm still struggling with sticking to the plan.  I'm totally rebelling and wanting to do other things.  I think part of the problem is that I have yet to figure out, in my 7 years of homeschooling, how to maintain our home the way I like, and do school.  One or the other suffers...until I feel the walls closing in, at which point they both suffer.  And that is where I am now.  I can't stand the mess, the dirt I know is there, the kid-cleaned bathroom desperately needs mom's touch, my room is worse than any other place!  Geesh!  Ok... this part is supposed to be about school.  We ARE getting everything done, I just don't want to! hehe! With the girls, I'm doing a lot of games, and different things to practice with reading.  Math has been much of the same.  Because of Bean Boy's writing class, every week the girls and I spend an hour in McDonald's   working on our school- they get the bonus of hot chocolate and they work really well there.  It's nice to change it up every once in a while!

I Am Inspired By. . .
Well, while we were in McDonald's this week, an older gentleman (who I believe sat behind us last week) came up to me and said, "I've been bragging about you to my wife.  She is a school teacher.  I told her what a great job you're doing and she wishes that more parents were like you. Your girls are smart and beautiful." Well...even though I don't wanna do school some days, I think that will get me through the next 7 days till vacation!  Thank you Lord, for the encouragement!!!

Places We're Going and People We're Seeing. . . 
We had an impromptu lunch with a friend this week.  My son's best friend and his family, to be exact.  I felt bad, because it had been a long time since we had seen them.  We were already out for writing class, and the chiropractor, so we invited them out.  It was a special treat!  And, I'm so looking forward to Little Bit's birthday party...cause it's just going to be so cool, and because it will be a reunion with friends we love dearly and don't get to see often enough!

My Favorite Thing This Week Was. . . 
I have such an amazing family, that it is hard to decide what my favorite thing this week was.  But, I think it would have to be our times together.  It is a blessing to not have to send my kids away every day!  I love being with them.  Our bike ride, our family movie, school/park day, school at McDonald's, cooking together as a family, late night talks with Bean Boy, late night talks with Hubby, how can a mom decide?

Ya'll have a great weekend!



Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Give Thanks

Somewhere along the way, I realized that "joy" was not a constant in my life.  I realized that, and confessed it to God. I spent a lot of time worrying about what that meant about me and my relationship with Him.  Did it mean I wasn't a good Christian? Did it mean I didn't really love Him?  And, somewhere in the midst of my despair, God whispered that I am ungrateful. That's when we began our gratefulness journals.  I'm still reading, praying, and working on being truly grateful.  I think, maybe it's just me, but I think it will take me a lifetime to understand, fully appreciate, and truly develop an honestly thankful heart.  It is deeper than just a "thank you". It encompasses so much more....it is doubtful I am yet to a point (or ever will be) where I can put it into words....

I would like to try to put into words what God revealed to me yesterday as I was reading.  Gratitude comes out of humility.  Have you ever thought about that?  Gratitude comes out of humility.  To me, that was such a profound thought.  Being grateful means you have to confess that someone else did something to "better" your situation.  Their kindness, gesture, gift, words, or whatever it is that the other person has done for you, brought you from a lower position to a higher one....you have to be humble in order to admit that without that person, you would still be in that lower state.  You couldn't have brought yourself to this "better" position.  

Think about all the little things that mean so much to you... in my journal yesterday, I was thankful that someone other than me filled the soap dispensers in the bathroom (without me asking, yeah!).  Seriously, those dispensers, like toilet paper rolls, never get refilled, unless I do it.  Every time I chose not to, because I'm either busy or rebelling against clean hands (wink, wink), I felt inadequate, like there's not enough of me to do it all.... but someone relieved me of that burden! They did it for me, not knowing how I felt about it... they lifted me up in many ways.  Even the flowers my hubby bought the other day... they put a smile on my face that had not been there before.  Whether the kindness big or small, I've been moved to a higher place.

Of course, it is easy to recognize how God's grace moves us to a higher position.  How when it is lavished upon us, we are brought up to a higher position...one of co-heir with Christ.   When before, I was filthy rags... Gratitude starts with admitting, "I am nothing without you God". I am nothing, have nothing, and will be nothing without His constantly giving me gifts to bring me to a higher position...the greatest of these gifts is grace and faith. 

It is funny how I have never considered this before.  Perhaps those of us (uh... I mean you) with pride issues, have a harder time with gratitude than others, because of the state of humility that is required. 

***Interject that I started this post over a month ago and let it sit for lack of words.... NOW, I am so grateful for so much more in my life.  Developing the habit of thankfulness by keeping our thankful journals has been an extraordinary blessing.  My husband says he notices a difference in me and the kids.  That's a wonderful byproduct.  Things he noticed: our prayers even just at dinner, are more expressive of thanks, day to day activities seem to contain more gratitude, and grumbling and "defeatist" attitudes are lessening in all of us.  He was even inspired to start his own journal.  He said that his heart is redirected towards good things as he is forced to look for the good in order to record it and it stops the "drama" surrounding the negative things.

I've noticed a lot of people recording daily something they are thankful for.  That's a wonderful start.  I say challenge yourself to continue that past November. Challenge yourself to never repeat, and to come up with five things daily.  Challenge your kids.  Some days are truly harder than others.  Some days, you won't feel thankful; do it anyway.  I have had several days like this, and by the end of my grumbling, writing it out, and sharing it with my kids, I'm usually fixed!

We have so much to be thankful for...so much that we simply take for granted.  So many little details that God lovingly pours over and generously gives to us are often overlooked by us.  I am truly humbled that the God of the universe, God Most High, loves me, works for me, serves me, lavishes grace upon me, and cares about the little details and the big ones in my life.  I am thankful that He is ever-present, constantly loving me,  that I can see that in my day to day life, and that I have chosen to record it, share it with others, and thank my loving Father for it all!

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever.  1 Chronicles 16:34

*In this Wrap-up I posted a sample of our journals....I'll be posting more in the future as I roll out a project we've been working on.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Weekly Wrap-up: November Already????

Here we are at the end of another week...and I'm floored that we've already made it to November! Can you believe it??? Incredible!!! I'm so excited, and I'm not counting down or anything, but we only have 10 days of school left till our long winter break! Being that we live in FL, it's just too hot to do anything in the summer, so we take off for the holidays. We'll start again some time in January. I truly can think of little else than all the things I want to do on our vacation!!! I doubt I'll get to it all, but I'm so super excited! I have pinned many, many things/ideas to my Pinterest boards...that pesky website has gotten the best of me, and well, now I have more to do than ever! I'll fill you in as we get closer! Planning has begun for Little Bit's 7th, yes folks, 7th birthday!!! How did we get this far along? Her birthday is the day after Veteran's Day, but we'll celebrate on V-day this year. We've invited several families for a "Glow in the Dark" party... you can check out that pesky little website (hehe) Pinterest for ideas. We will try things like glow in the dark bubbles, kickball, ring toss, and possible a glow in the dark treasure hunt. There will be a bonfire, hot dogs, chili, and an outdoor movie with our DVD projector...she wants to watch Pocahontas. I can't wait to report how it all goes...especially since I have to work the night before!
Bean Boy's creation!

It is supposed to be Little Bit's Butterfly....I might have it upside down????

Despite the frustration of the wind, Little Bit made two...this is her bird.

Mom's bird...

Baby T's cat and tree.

In our homeschool this week… Ok...so I've already told ya'll I have senioritis. We did have a very lovely park/school day with our friend...one where we made these really cool things (see pics). I gave copies of the printouts of the really cool leaf animals from a blog to my friend, so I don't know who to credit, but it wasn't my idea! I have backed down to "just the basics" with the girls. AND, Friday....well, Friday we skipped school! Bean Boy did his writing assignment for co-op, and that was it. No quizzes this week. I let him off the hook...shhhh don't tell Hubby!!! ;)
I am inspired by… I'm sure at some point the inspiration of Pinterest will turn into frustration, but for now, I'm inspired!

My favorite thing this week was… Having a Friday night off with my family! AND, a Saturday morning!!!

What’s working/not working for us…I'm not sure if it's me, the curriculum, the kids at all different levels, or WHAT, but I feel like Story of the World might not be working for me. We've been doing 2 chapters a week, which has seemed fast. But, I feel like we're flying through it and the lessons aren't sticking.  I'm not making connections, so how could they be? I've never exactly found what works with us for history, and it is a subject I have a love/hate relationship with. I love it, but am clueless about it, so I feel like I keep going in circles. I'd welcome suggestions about how to make SOTW work, or other curricula you guys are using...

I’m cooking… Chili!!!! Pulled out the crockpot and had our first chili of the year!!! I always find the first chili of the year exciting.

I’m grateful for… I'm grateful for this season of thankfulness. I love seeing everyone's posts on their blog and FB about all the things we are grateful for. It is proof that God is good, has been good all year, and will continue even after this season passes. It is proof that He cares about the little things, even me! Ya'll have a great and very blessed weekend!!!

I am praying for.... I am praying for all the people affected by Hurrican Sandy.  Specifically, I am thanking God for all the hospital staff in the hospitals that had to be evacuated.  Seriously, every year we have evacuation training.  We go into the stairwell and laugh about how they expect us to put patients on a glorified cardboard box, and get them down the stairs.  I saw pictures of people doing this in New York!  I know that the loss has been devastating for people in the path of Sandy.  I hope that people will see God's grace and all will feel His compassion and love.