Today James turns six years old! I remember thinking when I went to the hospital to be induced on my due date that it was too surreal, I was actually about to have a baby. The day was here, and this was reality!
Love is an amazing thing. I had never felt such love before. He was a beautiful boy...he had the exact eye shape of his daddy and would just gaze at you forever. I loved his eyes.
I remember being so impatient to get him back if the nurses would take him to do testing or bathe him, or whatever it is that they would do... when he finally was brought back, I would just hold him and gaze right back into those huge beautiful eyes, and he would stare back.
He was so teeny tiny. Both outfits that I brought for him to go home in were way too big, and they were the smallest we had. Its funny now to think of how tiny he started out, and then just two short months later at our checkup appointment the doctor was asking us if we had giants in our family! Ummm, NO! James has been off the charts ever since.
James was always a cuddly baby. He would let you rock him and sing to him. He loved to sit in your lap and listen to you read books. He wasn't a shy baby, he would go to most anyone.
As a toddler he really came alive with personality! Giggles and smiles, temper tantrums, then more giggles. We s.l.o.w.l.y learned that he didn't need so much (any) sugar!!! He is just like his daddy in most everyway. Silly and hyper and lovable! Loved to run, run, move, wiggle, and get into mischief.
I can't tell you how many times we "lost" him in the church building where we worked...so many rooms, hallways, and elevators to check.
As a preschooler, we quickly learned how smart he was! He was a sponge to soak everything up. He was very curious, and had a love for learning. He gained a sister, and we were amazed at his gently loving spirit. He is soo loving to her. He started to show a shy side to strangers.
Now he's six and I don't know where the time has gone! He loves any kind of sports or outdoor play, as well as computer games. He loves hanging out on the playground with his friends. He loves sugar (hehe), and he loves God.
I love him so much, and thank God for giving our family such a blessing as him.
Happy Birthday James!
Thursday, January 21
Thursday, January 14
You just have to laugh
Bella is in the stage where she wants a kiss for EVERY boo-boo. Like, if she bumps into the wall, she wants a kiss...these aren't major things...but she wants you to kiss the boo-boo, and WILL NOT GIVE UP asking for a kiss until you comply...
Kiss my boo-boo,
Kiss my boo-boo....
Halfway through changing her diaper, I realized I didn't have another one nearby...so I asked her to go bring me one. Apparently on her way to the diaper bag she ran into something and "hurt" her bottom...so of course she started the classic whiny cry and asking for a kiss for her boo-boo. But she wasn't saying
kiss my "boo-boo" this time.
She was crying "Kiss my Butt!" I giggled and said to not say that word...and no I wasn't going to kiss her naked butt! She got madder and louder insisting "Kiss my Butt!" It was hard not to laugh! Soon she was screaming it, demanding I KISS HER BUTT!
I finally scooped her up and changed her diaper and told her not to say the word butt, and I was sorry she had a boo-boo. She's a hoot!
Later on that day... James was telling me a story of a conversation he had with our next door neighbor. Our neighbor is a trickster and loves to fool around with his boys and James too. I can't remember exactly what he said that didn't seem right in his story, and I must of had a "look" on my face displaying my doubts of the reality of the story... so James says..."No, really Mom, He wasn't pulling my tail"
Oh I love my kids! They make me laugh everyday!
Kiss my boo-boo,
Kiss my boo-boo....
Halfway through changing her diaper, I realized I didn't have another one nearby...so I asked her to go bring me one. Apparently on her way to the diaper bag she ran into something and "hurt" her bottom...so of course she started the classic whiny cry and asking for a kiss for her boo-boo. But she wasn't saying
kiss my "boo-boo" this time.
She was crying "Kiss my Butt!" I giggled and said to not say that word...and no I wasn't going to kiss her naked butt! She got madder and louder insisting "Kiss my Butt!" It was hard not to laugh! Soon she was screaming it, demanding I KISS HER BUTT!
I finally scooped her up and changed her diaper and told her not to say the word butt, and I was sorry she had a boo-boo. She's a hoot!
Later on that day... James was telling me a story of a conversation he had with our next door neighbor. Our neighbor is a trickster and loves to fool around with his boys and James too. I can't remember exactly what he said that didn't seem right in his story, and I must of had a "look" on my face displaying my doubts of the reality of the story... so James says..."No, really Mom, He wasn't pulling my tail"
Oh I love my kids! They make me laugh everyday!
Please Stop What You're Doing & Do Something
I believe everyone, can do something. Great or small, your sacrifice will make a difference.
I am asking you to please send a generous gift today to help precious children and their families, and to encourage others to give to Compassion International through your blog, Facebook and Myspace pages, Twitter account and e-mail. Please utilize every on-line tool you have access to. The people of Haiti desperately need our help and hope.
Compassion International is working rapidly to assess the situation and determine the full extent of damage:
• Sadly, we anticipate there will be many deaths.
• We anticipate thousands of children and families will have lost everything.
• We anticipate many of our church-based child development centers will have been destroyed.
- You can give $10 to Compassion's Disaster Relief Fund (added to your next phone bill) by texting "disaster" to 90999
- Make a donation to Compassion's Disaster Relief Fund here
Compassion sponsors and donors serve more than 65,000 children in Haiti. At least a third of them live in the areas that were hardest hit.
I am asking you to please send a generous gift today to help precious children and their families, and to encourage others to give to Compassion International through your blog, Facebook and Myspace pages, Twitter account and e-mail. Please utilize every on-line tool you have access to. The people of Haiti desperately need our help and hope.
Compassion International is working rapidly to assess the situation and determine the full extent of damage:
• Sadly, we anticipate there will be many deaths.
• We anticipate thousands of children and families will have lost everything.
• We anticipate many of our church-based child development centers will have been destroyed.
You can provide immediate relief today.
• $35 helps provide a relief pack filled with enough food and water to sustain a family for one week.
• $70 gift helps care for their needs for two weeks.
• $105 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain two families for two weeks.
• $210 gift helps care for two families' needs.
• $525 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain 10 families for two weeks.
• $1,050 gift helps care for 10 families' needs.
• $1,500 helps rebuild a home.
• $2,100 helps supply 20 families with the basics for three weeks.
Due to the high number of responses it may take longer than normal to process your transaction.
• $35 helps provide a relief pack filled with enough food and water to sustain a family for one week.
• $70 gift helps care for their needs for two weeks.
• $105 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain two families for two weeks.
• $210 gift helps care for two families' needs.
• $525 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain 10 families for two weeks.
• $1,050 gift helps care for 10 families' needs.
• $1,500 helps rebuild a home.
• $2,100 helps supply 20 families with the basics for three weeks.
Due to the high number of responses it may take longer than normal to process your transaction.
Tuesday, January 12
Homeschool Coop
We had our weekly homeschool coop today. James has two classes with a break/lunch in between. The first is cooking. (I am not able to get any pictures of this, because I teach a class of girls at the same time...I need to remember to give my camera to another mom next week to document it all!)
Last week they made omelets. He was soo excited about this! He wanted to go right out and buy the necessary ingredients, they used eggs, ham, and cheese. He even told me they shredded their own cheese, and cut up their own ham.
Today was chicken salad, and he must not have been too impressed, because he hasn't really dished out the info on the ingredients and a step by step how to make...like he did with the omelets last week.
Bella sticks with me as she doesn't do too well with the 3-4 year old class yet...and there isn't a nursery this year =( I teach the girls in 1st -5th grade and this year we are doing Keepers Club during the first hour and a half. So far we have focused on the StoryTelling and Hymns badge. We had 3 new girls today...which brings our club of girls to 11! I am thinking I just may create a blog for them...here are two examples of keepers blogs created by a club mom...here and here. I think it is so cute to be able to follow the progress, plus the moms could see what all was going on. We'll see...
Anyway, Bella and I went outside with James' PE class after the break and had fun on the swings and collected acorns. *new word!* It was finally nice enough outside to enjoy ourselves. The sun really warmed everything up nicely! Once my headache medicine kicked in, it turned out to be a very pleasant day!!!
Last week they made omelets. He was soo excited about this! He wanted to go right out and buy the necessary ingredients, they used eggs, ham, and cheese. He even told me they shredded their own cheese, and cut up their own ham.
I love the class, because of course when they are done with the cooking, we all get to eat their creations. It was good, two thumbs up!
After lunch break, James' age group (boys) heads outside for PE for his second class. Today they played tug of war and did jumping jacks and push ups (hilarious sight!). James LOVES doing PE with all the other boys.
Bella sticks with me as she doesn't do too well with the 3-4 year old class yet...and there isn't a nursery this year =( I teach the girls in 1st -5th grade and this year we are doing Keepers Club during the first hour and a half. So far we have focused on the StoryTelling and Hymns badge. We had 3 new girls today...which brings our club of girls to 11! I am thinking I just may create a blog for them...here are two examples of keepers blogs created by a club mom...here and here. I think it is so cute to be able to follow the progress, plus the moms could see what all was going on. We'll see...
Anyway, Bella and I went outside with James' PE class after the break and had fun on the swings and collected acorns. *new word!* It was finally nice enough outside to enjoy ourselves. The sun really warmed everything up nicely! Once my headache medicine kicked in, it turned out to be a very pleasant day!!!
Praying for my children
Woke up extra early (for me) today, and I have a major headache!!! Caffeine withdrawal is in full swing now, and I am contemplating taking some pain meds with caffeine in it...not sure if this defeats the purpose of caffeine detox, but my head is hurting pretty bad!
Anyway, to try and take my mind off of ... well my mind hurting...
I decided to journal and pray for my kids...
Check out these cool resources I found the other day...got to love blog surfing!
You have to see this amazing resource that helps you pray for your children. It is a prayer calendar that you could print out and put in your journal, or bible, or put up on your fridge. It is a really great idea and just one sheet of paper! It features 31 different biblical virtues you can pray for your children to display in their lives.
Here are some more things found from Mama Jenn's blog...
- That they will know Christ early in life (Psalm 63:1, II Timothy 3:15)
- That they will have a hatred for sin (Psalm 97:10)
- That they will be caught when guilty (Psalm 119:71, Ecclesiastes 8:11)
- That they will be protected from the evil one in each area of their lives: spiritual, emotional, physical (John 17:15)
- That they will have a responsible attitude in all their interpersonal relationships (Danie. 6:3)
- That they will respect those in authority over them (Romans 13:1)
- That they will desire the right kind of friends (Proverbs 1:10-11)
- That they will be kept from the wrong mate and saved for the right one (II Corinthians 6:14-17)
- That they, as well as those they marry, will be kept pure until marriage (I Corinthians 6:18-20)
- That they will learn to totally submit to God and resist Satan (James 4:7)
- That they will be single hearted, willing to be sold out to Jesus Christ (Romans 12:1-2)
- That they will be hedged in so they cannot find their way to wrong people or places (Hosea 2:6)
Okay, now I am headed to the medicine cabinet to find some headache medicine with caffeine...I don't think I can last much longer with this headache knowing it's not going away for a week...
1st day back at school
We had a wonderful day today. I didn't get pictures of EVERYTHING, but here's a few.
Click here to see our workbox plan for the day!
Boy, am I out of shape! James got a kick out of it (pun intended) and Bella was content to sit on the couch and watch us. I actually surprised myself and lasted the entire video, and I am not sore yet tonight, so while the weather remains sooo cold outside, I think that this will remain in the daily routine. I need it more than James!
Next we sat at the table and chugged down our water. Boy were we thirsty! The lesson was great, but James did have an issue when I brought up the leaf incident. He told me not to mention it again, or he would cry. Where does his sensitivity come from??? Anyway, we continued our lesson into water's properties...starting with the liquid state. We took a bottle of water and poured it into various containers...and observed each time how it took on the shape of the new container. Then we contrasted that to a coin being poured into the containers. No changing shape. It was neat to see James' eyes light up when he got it. Bella was also a big "help" by showing us what a liquid does when poured out onto the table =)
We started a chart for our Science Journal...Liquids/Solids/Gases...and listed different liquids.
Tomorrow we will talk about solids.
We had a wonderful evening as a family, going over to our new friend's house for dinner. We enjoyed ourselves very much and look forward to a great friendship in the future!
And a bit of complete randomness, today was my first day of no caffeiene. sodas/ teas... I am going to try really hard to give it up and I know I am addicted! I just need to loose weight, and this is the one thing that will be easy to give up...as I plan on drinking tons of water in its place. I have a mild headache, but not too bad. We will see how I feel tomorrow. =)
Tomorrow is coop with our local homeschool group, so we won't have the regular workboxes for school. We still do our circle time with binder, and when we come home after lunch, we do phonics and books, and depending on how things go, we may try to fit in a lapbook component. Excited to see my class of girls. We are doing Keepers of the Faith Club and are currently working on our Storytelling and Hymns Badges. And James' class is working on Cooking...Really neat idea! Last week he learned how to make an omelet...wonder what he will learn tomorrow?
Click here to see our workbox plan for the day!
After morning chores, breakfast, and our circle time...we headed into the playroom for some kickboxing, Billy Banks style. I have an old VHS tape that I used to work out to...back in my skinny pre-kids days. The idea was to work up a thirst that would lead us into the next workbox... but
James got thirsty halfway through the tape...but I refused to let him get water until we were through...kinda felt guilty, but I knew the lesson that was coming up and didn't want to miss that great opportunity. Kinda makes me think of how God in His great sovereignty brings us through hardships so that we will learn more...
Boy, am I out of shape! James got a kick out of it (pun intended) and Bella was content to sit on the couch and watch us. I actually surprised myself and lasted the entire video, and I am not sore yet tonight, so while the weather remains sooo cold outside, I think that this will remain in the daily routine. I need it more than James!
Next we sat at the table and chugged down our water. Boy were we thirsty! The lesson was great, but James did have an issue when I brought up the leaf incident. He told me not to mention it again, or he would cry. Where does his sensitivity come from??? Anyway, we continued our lesson into water's properties...starting with the liquid state. We took a bottle of water and poured it into various containers...and observed each time how it took on the shape of the new container. Then we contrasted that to a coin being poured into the containers. No changing shape. It was neat to see James' eyes light up when he got it. Bella was also a big "help" by showing us what a liquid does when poured out onto the table =)
We started a chart for our Science Journal...Liquids/Solids/Gases...and listed different liquids.
Tomorrow we will talk about solids.
After reading our Bible verses about Jesus being the living water, James painted a picture of his interpretation of Jesus giving us living water. That's a man walking up stairs with Jesus at top...Jesus is sending hearts to the man, and calling him to Heaven.
One of our books from our book basket was Bartholomew and the Oobleck, by Dr. Seuss, then we made our own version of oobleck...cornstarch and water. Interesting! A solid and a liquid state...depending on how you interact with it. 
We had a wonderful evening as a family, going over to our new friend's house for dinner. We enjoyed ourselves very much and look forward to a great friendship in the future!
And a bit of complete randomness, today was my first day of no caffeiene. sodas/ teas... I am going to try really hard to give it up and I know I am addicted! I just need to loose weight, and this is the one thing that will be easy to give up...as I plan on drinking tons of water in its place. I have a mild headache, but not too bad. We will see how I feel tomorrow. =)
Tomorrow is coop with our local homeschool group, so we won't have the regular workboxes for school. We still do our circle time with binder, and when we come home after lunch, we do phonics and books, and depending on how things go, we may try to fit in a lapbook component. Excited to see my class of girls. We are doing Keepers of the Faith Club and are currently working on our Storytelling and Hymns Badges. And James' class is working on Cooking...Really neat idea! Last week he learned how to make an omelet...wonder what he will learn tomorrow?
Monday, January 11
Excited about new beginnings
You ever have those back to school jitters...the good kind? Or can't fall asleep the night before your big week at summer camp? I feel like that tonight. It's a mix between finally feeling 100% well after being sick all year, starting our school year for 2010, getting back into MFW units, a GREAT day worshiping with church family today...with new friendships budding, and my new love for frugal crafting....all rolled into one big jittery sleepless ball.
Tomorrow (*technically it's today) will be our first day back in school after the break, and I am excited. I have just finished pulling all the necessary materials, books , etc. for our workboxes. The MFW theme for the week is Water; Jesus gives my spirit living water to drink. How awesome is that going to be to teach my son that amazing truth!?! See below for just a tiny taste of the theme.
Here's a look into our workboxes for tomorrow:
But tomorrow night, we have been invited over to dinner by a family from our new church. I really like them (from what I know of them anyway!!!) and I am just so excited to get to know them better and my prayer is that this blossoms into a wonderful new friendship for both Mark and me...kids too! They have two children just a bit younger than ours. Tonight at dinner, James told me he didn't want to go (we were talking about how he could go too and play with their kids. I asked why not (thinking he was going to say because they were younger). He replied 'because he was shy"...so this will be a great opportunity to break out of that and get to know a new friend. For anyone that knows him, it is hard to believe that he would be shy, but he is! However, it only takes about 30 min. tops for him to warm up and become the crazy, bouncing off the wall, kiddo that everyone loves ;)
Look at my new FRUGAL fun craft I started yesterday...FELT FOOD...This is my new obsession! I had "sew" much fun making these, all I used were felt, stuffing, a needle, and some thread! All I had to purchase was some felt...I used an OLD pillow for some stuffing and had the rest already! I know that I will be making the kids a full set of snacks and goodies. So far I have made two donuts, eggs, and orange slices...sorry I only have pics of the donuts so far. These are a great way to keep them QUIETLY playing during church. Well, that's the idea anyway! Most every other toy makes noise! But not these...and aren't they too cute? Now I need to get out my sewing maching so I can make a bigger variety of things, and faster too!
Plus, I got a new journal Friday night...actually, its just a plain old "composition" notebook...you know, the kind that's black and white? Well, I modge-podged beautiful scrapbook paper on the front, and now its gorgeous and special and one of a kind...if I do say so myself! =) Now I have my first memory scripture for the year written in there, and after I finishI this post..I'll go add a brand new journal entry and prayer.
So, all of that rambling above is why I am excited and can't sleep. I am loving life and praising God for it!
Tomorrow (*technically it's today) will be our first day back in school after the break, and I am excited. I have just finished pulling all the necessary materials, books , etc. for our workboxes. The MFW theme for the week is Water; Jesus gives my spirit living water to drink. How awesome is that going to be to teach my son that amazing truth!?! See below for just a tiny taste of the theme.
Here's a look into our workboxes for tomorrow:
- Circle Time/Binder (Math)
- PE-Pop in an exercise video and do with kids...leading into the next box...
- MFW theme- Create a situation in which the child is thirsty. (see above!) Ask him, "Are you thirsty? I have some water for you. If you want water, you have to come to me and ask me for some water." (Give him water then discuss...) "You were very thirsty so you came to me and asked me, and I gave you water. It was good wasn't it?" Everything that is living needs water. Without water, it will die. Remember on "Leaf" week- I will live and grow in Jesus, that silly leaf that wanted to live apart from the plant? The leaf didn't get any water so it died....(Btw, James got sooo upset when I took a leaf off of our plant. He started crying and was really mad at me that I had hurt the leaf. He kept on asking why I would do that to it...so to bring this up tomorrow will be interesting to say the least!!!) The inside part of you, the "real" part of you, is called your spirit. Spirits get thirsty, too. If somebody doesn't know Jesus, their spirit is very thirsty. But it isn't thirsty for real water, it is thirsty for Jesus. Our spirits need Jesus. Jesus is like water for our spirit. (it goes on from here...but isn't MFW great?)
- Science- Introduce water as a liquid. Pouring coin and then water into different shaped containers. Compare and Contrast in science journal. Start our liquid/solid/gas chart for the week. List and draw pictures of different examples of liquids.
- Bible- Isaiah 55:1,3 John 4:14 John 7:37-39 Show flashcard and repeat/memorize theme words. Sing a fun song that goes with theme/memory verse.
- Art- Illustrate these verses or week's theme with water colors.
- LUNCH =)
- Unit Books from book basket (cuddle time in bed or couch! Afterwards, Bella takes a nap) **A Drop of Water by Gordon Morrison **Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss **Down comes the Rain by Franklyn M. Branley **Water Dance by Thomas Locker
- Just for Fun- Make Oobleck! Start by putting 1 1/2 cup water into a bowl and add 1 1/2 cup cornstarch...we will be adding a few drops of green too, just because the oobleck in our book is green! Stir mixture with your hands....scoop up handfuls and SQUEEZE! What happens? (this can be used over and over again...if it becomes too dry, just add more water!)
- MFW Reading Plan-Phonics Program and theme worksheets included in curriculum
- Lapbook Components (we always do a supplemental lapbook that ties in with each MFW unit. I found some great resources from homeschoolshare.com about weather...so we will extend this "water" unit to also focus on weather.)
- Spanish-Salsa Video/flashcard review
Look at my new FRUGAL fun craft I started yesterday...FELT FOOD...This is my new obsession! I had "sew" much fun making these, all I used were felt, stuffing, a needle, and some thread! All I had to purchase was some felt...I used an OLD pillow for some stuffing and had the rest already! I know that I will be making the kids a full set of snacks and goodies. So far I have made two donuts, eggs, and orange slices...sorry I only have pics of the donuts so far. These are a great way to keep them QUIETLY playing during church. Well, that's the idea anyway! Most every other toy makes noise! But not these...and aren't they too cute? Now I need to get out my sewing maching so I can make a bigger variety of things, and faster too!
So, all of that rambling above is why I am excited and can't sleep. I am loving life and praising God for it!
Sunday, January 10
Sunday Mornings
First one awake...
Enjoying silence,
Made crockpot mac n cheese for lunch at church,
Listening to KLOVE radio off of my Homeschool Toolbar,
Reading scriptures from an internet Bible,
Meditating on my scripture memory verse (Eph. 4:29),
Thursday, January 7
Wii are having a Birthday Party
James is going to be six in two weeks! Where did the time go? Well, for about two weeks now I have been seriously pondering what kind of party we should have for him.
I have finally decided on a....
Wii Party!
- Playing James' favorite Wii games with friends
- Having a Wii-mote cake and personalized Mii cupcakes of party guests
- giving out ribbons for silly achievements like
• best all-around Wii player
• best Wii Remote wielder
• best Wii style
• spazziest Wii moves
• best team (parent/child, siblings, couples, friends, etc.)
• most likely to continue playing after the party ends
*Plus guests can design their Mii characters...prize for the most perfect Mii likeness
- Give out Wii-mote treatbox for guests (made from paper using a pattern found here )
- still
using my noginthinking creativelystealing other stuff from blogsurfing for the rest of the fine details...
Wii are going to have sooo much fun!!!
Wednesday, January 6
Paying for next year's Christmas
I heard about Swagbucks about 2 months ago. I signed up, but then decided there wasn't that much to it, so I forgot all about it until...
I read on someone's blog about the week before Christmas, that two people paid for all of their gifts with the Swagbucks they had earned. (like hundreds of dollars in Amazon gift cards, purchased with saved Swagbucks!) So I decided to check it out again. This time I added the toolbar, so that EVERYTIME I search for something, I use swagbucks searchbar...
Now, I am hooked. In just five days of searching/surfing the web like I always do , I've earned 25 Swagbucks! I also made Swagbucks my home page, so I have to type in my usual URLs. I've earned several just for going to my own blog!
You can easily join (for free) and start earning your own Swagbucks today! How does it work: It's very simply a search engine that rewards you for searching. Instead of using your regular search engine, you use the Swagbucks engine or even more handy, download a great toolbar that's right at your fingertips.
Every once in awhile, while searching, a Swagbuck or two or five will be awarded. These can be redeemed for prizes or Amazon gift cards.
Plus, if you invite friends and family and they sign up, it increases your Swagbucks. You don't have to have a blog, but if you do... you could post a button to help people sign up (like mine below) to encourage your readers to sign up and then they can encourage their readers and so on!
Happy Searching!!!
'Orange' You Glad I'm Your Momma?
I love this fun idea for putting notes in your kids lunchbox from Alpha + Mom:
You can download a copy of these here for free from skiptomylou.org
Or you could always just make your own!!!
One of my favorite school memories is getting special notes in my packed lunch from my mom. She would write a special note to me on my napkin...it meant the world to me. (I love you Mom!)
You can download a copy of these here for free from skiptomylou.orgOr you could always just make your own!!!
One of my favorite school memories is getting special notes in my packed lunch from my mom. She would write a special note to me on my napkin...it meant the world to me. (I love you Mom!)
Of course, if you're a homeschooler like us...you don't pack up your kid's lunches and send them off. But I thought this would be a great idea for days we go to coop every Tuesday. We eat lunch together there, so we pack up our lunches and bring it with us. Or, neat idea for when you have date night with hubbie, leave a note on the food for them to discover when you're gone.
Tuesday, January 5
Death is not dying
Have you heard Rachel Barkley's speech, Death is Not Dying?
www.deathisnotdying.com
After four and a half years of vigilantly fighting breast cancer, the 37 year old wife and mother of two was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
But for Rachel the essence of life is found in her relationship with God through Jesus. And that's why Rachel is convinced that death is not dying.
On March 4, 2009, what started out as a small talk to a women's group at her church grew into an event attended by 600 women from around Vancouver, giving Rachel an opportunity to share about her hope in the midst of terminal cancer.
Rachel’s honest and thought-provoking talk touched women of all ages and left a hunger for discovering more about Rachel’s journey and the faith that has so deeply affected her life.
But for Rachel the essence of life is found in her relationship with God through Jesus. And that's why Rachel is convinced that death is not dying.
On March 4, 2009, what started out as a small talk to a women's group at her church grew into an event attended by 600 women from around Vancouver, giving Rachel an opportunity to share about her hope in the midst of terminal cancer.
Rachel’s honest and thought-provoking talk touched women of all ages and left a hunger for discovering more about Rachel’s journey and the faith that has so deeply affected her life.
I have heard about her in the past and what an amazing story she had, but truthfully, it hasn't been on the top of my priority list to listen to...it's a long speech and have been unable to find the free time ...it's almost an hour long.
HOWEVER, now that I set aside the time and watched it, let me tell you, if there is one thing you should do today...it is listen to her message! It is TOTALLY worth the time investment!!!
Too busy right now, you say? Just enough time to blog surf???
Go ahead and click on the video now, and press pause...let it download...
do the dishes, get your kids those snacks and sippies, start dinner...whatever...but when you get free time tonight or maybe early tomorrow morning...
come back to the computer and LISTEN to her words.
SUCH POWERFUL TRUTH!!!
oh, and you are going to need the tissues!
What is the most important thing I want to teach my kids?
What is the one thing, the most important thing I want others to know when they meet me?
What am I living for?
All these questions are answered by listening to her speech.
I am telling you...it's THAT good! Seriously, go over and click now!!!
Sunday, January 3
Corrupting Talk
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29
This is a great focus for the kids too...
I love this picture above...it would make a great poster in the schoolroom.
I love this picture above...it would make a great poster in the schoolroom.
BTW, Check out this great post from Kristi Stephens in a series of using proverbs for parenting, focusing on you and your childrens' speech. It is packed with great scriptures!!!
Saturday, January 2
And now for something completely different...
Life gets so busy sometimes I just don't have time to blog! (I don't think that is a bad thing; I would rather be living life than blogging about it.) But sometimes the blog just doesn't reflect everything going on in our family, which I don't like. So I figured on this slow sick day...sniffle sniffle...that I would blog about random family things that haven't made it into posts this past year.
One thing is that Mark's mom is living with us now. She was living in the same town as us before which was a great blessing and help to us, but then she felt called to move to South Carolina to attend a school to study and train to become a worship leader. So she quit her full time job as a librarian and packed up or got rid of all she had, and moved into a dorm apartment up at the school. Unfortunately the cost was too great for her to stay up there, and unable to find a job, she had to leave school and move back down here...so we offered for her to stay with us until she found a job and got back on her feet. The economy is tough out there (as everyone knows) so she is having a hard time finding anyone who is hiring...even her old job has eliminated her position!
Anyhoo...we moved Bella into the room with James, and turned James' bunk bed into two single twins, and gave Bella's room to Susan for now. James and Bella have had trouble going to bed in the same room because they end up playing and giggling at bed time...so we have recently seperated them again and moved Bella into our bedroom. So far so good.
Okay, another huge change that I haven't blogged about is that our family has changed churches. That is a HUGE thing for us. (understatement of the year) I am a preacher's kid that grew up in a small denomination, everybody knows everybody!! Mark and I have been very active in our denomination as youth directors, camp directors, small group and Bible study teachers, choir directors, and on various boards. We have led VBS, and music retreats, you get the idea. Anyway, without getting into too many details (cause that would take forever!), we have felt led to leave the denomination and are now attending a Sovereign Grace Ministries church plant. That was a really difficult decision we prayed long and hard about. Everything is SOO different, which is a good thing. I struggle sometimes, ok...alot of times actually, with all the changes and differences in the way they worship...but then at the same time I know that this is a blessing, in that I am growing sooo much being out of my comfort zone. I have come to realize that being outside of my comfort zone is a good thing. I have read and studied so much more...about everything! We love the church people and are really excited about all the new changes. We are inspired to be better parents, spouses, servants to God. This is a very good thing! God has answered so many of our prayers time and time again, and it is amazing to see His hand at work as we follow Him through this new pathway in our lives.
Another big change...we got rid of our TV in the living room. Mark and I have tossed this idea back and forth for as long as the kids have been born, but we never got around to it. We have just gotten into such a horrible unhealthy rut of watching TV all the time at night. Mark works so hard all day, and doesn't get home late...leaving just enough time to eat dinner (on good days) and then have about an hour before going to bed. With the TV...it's really tempting to just turn on the TV and want to relax...but there aren't too many kid friendly shows on at night, so the routine got to be, turn on the TV and send the kids to the playroom...well this wasn't good, the kids wanted to spend time with Mark and wanted to be with us...so...we are eliminating the TV for a 6 month trial run. We moved the TV out of the room...right now it's sitting in our bedroom. We could still plug it in and do a movie night all piled onto our bed if we want...but the main idea was to have our evenings TV free, and filled with quality family time. (the kids still have a TV with a DVD/VCR hook up in the playroom, so they will be able to watch movies from time to time) The family has been playing more board games and just plain playing together with their toys and such, plus Bella and James love to dance...we will turn on the music real loud and just dance. Bella calls music "La-la's" its too cute! It has been such a blessing to our family to turn the TV off!!! I wish we had done it sooner!!! I am not saying TV is a bad thing, but it was definitely being abused at our house, so we had to do something drastic to get out of our bad habits! Another thing I would like to start is reading a book together...maybe Narnia or something...
More totally random stuff...I am always inspired to read more around the holiday season. I guess it is because I have more free time and I realize how much I miss it! I used to be the biggest bookworm when I was younger and without kids. I am the type of person that will stay up ALL night to finish a book. So, anyhoo, I was surfing my favorite blogs the other night and stumbled across this new book club, http://thebloombookclub.blogspot.com I think I will try it out. Even if I don't find the time to participate in the book club, I am going to read the book! Here's my list of books to read next...
Crazy Love by Francis Chan
Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
In one of their videos, the Bloom book club gals suggest different ways of making sure God is in your daily life...and one of the ideas that stuck out to me was starting a journal (watch their first video for a visual and more ideas)...I already have a journal that I keep my favorite verses in, and write prayers and sermon notes in... but this idea kind of combines the idea of keeping everything together...your prayer requests, scriptures you pray through for your family and other loved ones, inspiration from the books you read, etc. Each section is devoted to a certain topic. I was thinking I could combine the book club idea of keeping a journal with a prayer journal and just have a section for the books I read and my notes, comments, etc...So, I think a trip to the store for a brand new journal is in order!
That should keep me busy for a while...another idea I ran across the other night was a system to memorize scripture this year. http://livingproofministries.blogspot.com/2009/05/scripture-memory-team-and-conference.html (this system was started last year, but the idea is great...and I already have a spiral index card book thingy! or who knows, maybe I should just incorporate it into my new journal...Now to choose a scripture to start out.)
Another random thing...I fell in LOVE with decoupage craftiness this Christmas season. I made the nativity blocks first, then asked Mark to cut some more blocks...which we spray painted a deep red, sanded it down and added a gold brushed look to them for an antique look... then I modge-podged different letters on each block to create words/last names...wish I had taken pictures!!! (again, I got too busy with the living...to do some blogging!)
I also turned plain wooden jewelry boxes into a work of art for all the nieces' Christmas gifts. I used various scrapbook papers to cover the wood, and then painted the insides with pinks and golds. I love Mod Podge!!!
I think my next project will be take James' old OLD dresser in his room and decorate the face of the drawers in a space theme... I will try to remember to take pictures if I ever get to this project. =)
Ok, well enough randomness for now...my kids are calling me....well, screaming for me...time to go!!!
One thing is that Mark's mom is living with us now. She was living in the same town as us before which was a great blessing and help to us, but then she felt called to move to South Carolina to attend a school to study and train to become a worship leader. So she quit her full time job as a librarian and packed up or got rid of all she had, and moved into a dorm apartment up at the school. Unfortunately the cost was too great for her to stay up there, and unable to find a job, she had to leave school and move back down here...so we offered for her to stay with us until she found a job and got back on her feet. The economy is tough out there (as everyone knows) so she is having a hard time finding anyone who is hiring...even her old job has eliminated her position!
Anyhoo...we moved Bella into the room with James, and turned James' bunk bed into two single twins, and gave Bella's room to Susan for now. James and Bella have had trouble going to bed in the same room because they end up playing and giggling at bed time...so we have recently seperated them again and moved Bella into our bedroom. So far so good.
Okay, another huge change that I haven't blogged about is that our family has changed churches. That is a HUGE thing for us. (understatement of the year) I am a preacher's kid that grew up in a small denomination, everybody knows everybody!! Mark and I have been very active in our denomination as youth directors, camp directors, small group and Bible study teachers, choir directors, and on various boards. We have led VBS, and music retreats, you get the idea. Anyway, without getting into too many details (cause that would take forever!), we have felt led to leave the denomination and are now attending a Sovereign Grace Ministries church plant. That was a really difficult decision we prayed long and hard about. Everything is SOO different, which is a good thing. I struggle sometimes, ok...alot of times actually, with all the changes and differences in the way they worship...but then at the same time I know that this is a blessing, in that I am growing sooo much being out of my comfort zone. I have come to realize that being outside of my comfort zone is a good thing. I have read and studied so much more...about everything! We love the church people and are really excited about all the new changes. We are inspired to be better parents, spouses, servants to God. This is a very good thing! God has answered so many of our prayers time and time again, and it is amazing to see His hand at work as we follow Him through this new pathway in our lives.
Another big change...we got rid of our TV in the living room. Mark and I have tossed this idea back and forth for as long as the kids have been born, but we never got around to it. We have just gotten into such a horrible unhealthy rut of watching TV all the time at night. Mark works so hard all day, and doesn't get home late...leaving just enough time to eat dinner (on good days) and then have about an hour before going to bed. With the TV...it's really tempting to just turn on the TV and want to relax...but there aren't too many kid friendly shows on at night, so the routine got to be, turn on the TV and send the kids to the playroom...well this wasn't good, the kids wanted to spend time with Mark and wanted to be with us...so...we are eliminating the TV for a 6 month trial run. We moved the TV out of the room...right now it's sitting in our bedroom. We could still plug it in and do a movie night all piled onto our bed if we want...but the main idea was to have our evenings TV free, and filled with quality family time. (the kids still have a TV with a DVD/VCR hook up in the playroom, so they will be able to watch movies from time to time) The family has been playing more board games and just plain playing together with their toys and such, plus Bella and James love to dance...we will turn on the music real loud and just dance. Bella calls music "La-la's" its too cute! It has been such a blessing to our family to turn the TV off!!! I wish we had done it sooner!!! I am not saying TV is a bad thing, but it was definitely being abused at our house, so we had to do something drastic to get out of our bad habits! Another thing I would like to start is reading a book together...maybe Narnia or something...
More totally random stuff...I am always inspired to read more around the holiday season. I guess it is because I have more free time and I realize how much I miss it! I used to be the biggest bookworm when I was younger and without kids. I am the type of person that will stay up ALL night to finish a book. So, anyhoo, I was surfing my favorite blogs the other night and stumbled across this new book club, http://thebloombookclub.blogspot.com I think I will try it out. Even if I don't find the time to participate in the book club, I am going to read the book! Here's my list of books to read next...
Crazy Love by Francis Chan
Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
In one of their videos, the Bloom book club gals suggest different ways of making sure God is in your daily life...and one of the ideas that stuck out to me was starting a journal (watch their first video for a visual and more ideas)...I already have a journal that I keep my favorite verses in, and write prayers and sermon notes in... but this idea kind of combines the idea of keeping everything together...your prayer requests, scriptures you pray through for your family and other loved ones, inspiration from the books you read, etc. Each section is devoted to a certain topic. I was thinking I could combine the book club idea of keeping a journal with a prayer journal and just have a section for the books I read and my notes, comments, etc...So, I think a trip to the store for a brand new journal is in order!
That should keep me busy for a while...another idea I ran across the other night was a system to memorize scripture this year. http://livingproofministries.blogspot.com/2009/05/scripture-memory-team-and-conference.html (this system was started last year, but the idea is great...and I already have a spiral index card book thingy! or who knows, maybe I should just incorporate it into my new journal...Now to choose a scripture to start out.)
Another random thing...I fell in LOVE with decoupage craftiness this Christmas season. I made the nativity blocks first, then asked Mark to cut some more blocks...which we spray painted a deep red, sanded it down and added a gold brushed look to them for an antique look... then I modge-podged different letters on each block to create words/last names...wish I had taken pictures!!! (again, I got too busy with the living...to do some blogging!)
I also turned plain wooden jewelry boxes into a work of art for all the nieces' Christmas gifts. I used various scrapbook papers to cover the wood, and then painted the insides with pinks and golds. I love Mod Podge!!!
I think my next project will be take James' old OLD dresser in his room and decorate the face of the drawers in a space theme... I will try to remember to take pictures if I ever get to this project. =)
Ok, well enough randomness for now...my kids are calling me....well, screaming for me...time to go!!!
Friday, January 1
Homemade Nativity Blocks
Well, I am a little late with my Christmas posts, but I at least wanted to show everyone the nativity blocks Mark and I made for the kids. Mark was able to get scrap lumber from his work at no cost. He cut them to size and sprayed them the taupe color, as I printed out and cut out the nativity characters that I found from www.makingfriends.com (nativity)
The next day when they were dry, I modge podged the cutouts onto the wood, and... voila!...Our unbreakable nativity scene. Mark even surprised me by making the stable and a tall stand for the star (cut off in this picture).
Well...actually, Bella was more concerned than excited. She put her hands on her hips and declared, "Who made this mess!?"
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Jesus is Immanuel
*this post was written Dec. 3rd...but then because I didn't have my camera attachment, I saved this post to come back and edit in the photos...but since it's January, I guess I should go ahead and post it now, huh? Still waiting on adding pics!!! Just ignore where it says picture...
The Bible talks about names meanings-and since this is Christmas, we have been focusing on a few of Jesus' names. God, Messiah and Immanuel...God with us. Our main focus verse was Isaiah 7:14. We used a Bible lesson from here. Then we watched the animation story from the Jesus Bible Storybook, "He's Here" (scroll down and watch the movie from my post yesterday). It was awesome as James truly grasped the concept of how Jesus is fully God, and how wonderful it is that He would come down to us as a lowly baby! I love seeing things through the eyes of a child, and especially my own!
PICTURE OF IMMANUEL GOD WITH US CRAFT
We have really enjoyed our Christmas Chain. Day One we read Isaiah 7:14 and Isaiah 9:6-7 and talked about how the people were waiting for a Savior, and that Savior was Jesus. We set up a nativity scene in the schoolroom, and crafted a nativity craftstick puppet show. PICTURE
Yall have to check out this neat interactive nativity scene. Your child can create, and then recreate their own nativity online by clicking and dragging the characters into the stable. James loved it, and hit the refresh button several times before he wanted to move on to the next workbox activity. He was so proud of each scene. You can also press print and treasure their creation forever.
I have been kinda bummed about not having a tree yet to decorate...and I got a huge surprise when we got home~Mark had bought a Christmas tree! Yeah!!!! So for family night tomorrow night we will decorate the tree. I can't wait! Starting to rearrange furniture tonight. I am the type of person that moves things about 10 times before I get it just right...and then 4 months later I am moving it again.
Before the kids went to bed we started our Jesse Tree Devotions. Mark does a family devotion each night, and for December we started using the devotions from our Jesse Tree book. Each night has a felt piece to stick onto the felt tree banner. I am not sure exactly where the one we have came from...
PICTUREBut I do have the link for the ones I used last year... you can find how to make a Jesse tree and ornaments here , and here are the devotions to go along. Last year, James would color the picture as Mark would read the Bible passage and devotional. There are many possibilities to do this cool concept.
Once the kids went to bed, Mark and I were pleasantly surprised by an terrible awful movie that came on TV. Yes, you read it right. Let me explain! Our very first date was almost exactly 14 years ago. We went to the movies and watched Home for the Holidays. It was so bad!!! We laugh about it all the time, and what a better way to spend our 9 year and one day anniversary than to re-watch the disaster. We pondered over whether or not it really was as bad as we remembered...I mean, how bad could it really have been...and we have been talking it up for quite some time, so maybe the story of how bad it was got exaggerated along the years. But no folks...it really was as bad as we remembered! It just doesn't make sense, and the family is completely disfunctional, and there really is no good thing you take away from it. But for some reason it was fun to redo the disaster again. Happy Anniversary and one day, Mark. I love you more than ever!
The Bible talks about names meanings-and since this is Christmas, we have been focusing on a few of Jesus' names. God, Messiah and Immanuel...God with us. Our main focus verse was Isaiah 7:14. We used a Bible lesson from here. Then we watched the animation story from the Jesus Bible Storybook, "He's Here" (scroll down and watch the movie from my post yesterday). It was awesome as James truly grasped the concept of how Jesus is fully God, and how wonderful it is that He would come down to us as a lowly baby! I love seeing things through the eyes of a child, and especially my own!
PICTURE OF IMMANUEL GOD WITH US CRAFT
Yall have to check out this neat interactive nativity scene. Your child can create, and then recreate their own nativity online by clicking and dragging the characters into the stable. James loved it, and hit the refresh button several times before he wanted to move on to the next workbox activity. He was so proud of each scene. You can also press print and treasure their creation forever.
We also completed another lapbook component for our Christmas symbols lapbook. We read some history of how the celebration of nativities started...and then he told me in his own words what he remembered and I wrote it down for him. PICTURE
Part of Bella's activities were to string noodles onto pipe cleaner. But James saw the activity, and wanted to join in on the fun. They were working well together and sharing the noodles. Loved it!!! Then I started thinking....we need something to hang our ornaments and crafts on, so we connected the pipe cleaners together...and wah-lah! Our handmade craft hanging garland thingy!
PICTURE
We went to the library and checked out some fun books about...yep~Christmas. How'd you guess? Everytime we go to the library, I allow James to sign onto the computer and play the games they have there. He loves the computer, so he is pretty much taken care of and stays put for the whole outing! Bella on the other hand is a handful! She's always on the move and with a trail of books behind her! They had a cute set up for Christmas this week. They have a mailbox for mailing letters to you know who, and Bella was kept busy for a while coloring while James wrote his THIRD letter to Santa for the year. You would think that I would have one to keep by now, but they always end up staying in those useless mailboxes. Hmm...maybe I will make it into a workbox activity soon, and try to remember to KEEP IT!!! I love looking back at all his old letters from previous years.
Then we stopped by the park...we call it the sand park, cause the ground is sand...duh! Anyway, it was freezing~so we didn't stay long...but it was fun. Then we came home, and it started raining, ceiling started leaking, and leaking, and leaking, plaster coming down, books/papers/desks moved out of the way...and long story short... it's official, we are getting a whole new roof! We are all so very thankful nothing was damaged (besides the roof I mean!!!) And thankful for our great landlord for being so timely about these types of things. They really are amazing. The mom was 4 months pregnant with twins, and lost the babies and had to have a Csection and within weeks the dad broke his ankle...yall pray for them. They really are a sweet family.
The focus of day two of our Christmas unit/Chain was on angels. We read the story of Luke 1:1-25. (Angel tells Zechariah of John's upcoming birth) Then we made some cute angels. I got this pattern from a unit study I downloaded last year from Currclick called December! by Karen Sevaly. I printed out two patterns, so that Bella could do one with James, but she was napping when we got to this workbox. James took her's and colored it for her in the colors and glitter that she would like. Hmm...is that sweet, or did he just want to do two crafts? Who knows? But they are both cute. PICTURE Tomorrow the focus will continue to be on angels and we will read Luke 1:26-38 (Angel tells Mary of upcoming birth) We will be doing another angel craft tomorrow, painting a foot for the body of the angel and both hands for the wings. And of course...GLITTER!
This was actually suppose to be done today, but we went to my parents house and also to my sister in laws to visit... we got our basic school stuff done in the car, but didn't have a chance to do fun Christmas stuff. That's one great thing I love about homeschooling...it doesn't have to be done at home! We just took his binder and math books with us. The drive is about an hour one way...so it's perfect for school time.I have been kinda bummed about not having a tree yet to decorate...and I got a huge surprise when we got home~Mark had bought a Christmas tree! Yeah!!!! So for family night tomorrow night we will decorate the tree. I can't wait! Starting to rearrange furniture tonight. I am the type of person that moves things about 10 times before I get it just right...and then 4 months later I am moving it again.
Before the kids went to bed we started our Jesse Tree Devotions. Mark does a family devotion each night, and for December we started using the devotions from our Jesse Tree book. Each night has a felt piece to stick onto the felt tree banner. I am not sure exactly where the one we have came from...
PICTUREBut I do have the link for the ones I used last year... you can find how to make a Jesse tree and ornaments here , and here are the devotions to go along. Last year, James would color the picture as Mark would read the Bible passage and devotional. There are many possibilities to do this cool concept.
Once the kids went to bed, Mark and I were pleasantly surprised by an terrible awful movie that came on TV. Yes, you read it right. Let me explain! Our very first date was almost exactly 14 years ago. We went to the movies and watched Home for the Holidays. It was so bad!!! We laugh about it all the time, and what a better way to spend our 9 year and one day anniversary than to re-watch the disaster. We pondered over whether or not it really was as bad as we remembered...I mean, how bad could it really have been...and we have been talking it up for quite some time, so maybe the story of how bad it was got exaggerated along the years. But no folks...it really was as bad as we remembered! It just doesn't make sense, and the family is completely disfunctional, and there really is no good thing you take away from it. But for some reason it was fun to redo the disaster again. Happy Anniversary and one day, Mark. I love you more than ever!
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