MY VIEW

A day from my view... or a partial view of parts of our day.


Making math fun when math is not so fun.


Preparing lunch for happy hearts.


Little fingers that grow into big hands too quickly.


Our candle countdown to Resurrection Sunday.


Finding excitement from a snapping turtle in the yard.


Daddy taking the snapping turtle away from our yard.


Watching Daddy check the mail and he giving all the "junk mail" to happy little girls!!



Taking turns on the makeshift ramp!


Relishing in the beautiful blue sky perfect weather kind of day!

HIGH FIVE SMILEY!

Today Smiley turns FIVE!!! Happy Birthday, Trevor. You fill our life with joy, laughter, smiles, surprises, and a lot of love!!!







We were planning a birthday party this afternoon, but due to HooDoo catching the chicken pox we have delayed it until we know everyone is okay!!! Grammy took him shopping and he got a tank, or Bradley to be exact! Grandma dropped off a new bike for him!! He is having so much fun with those gifts!!

CAKES OF LATELY

Pennie's husband Donald's birthday!




Mom and Dad's 40th Anniversary!



Nephew S's 3rd birthday!



Nephew G's 5th birthday!!!

A FIRST BIRTHDAY

I cannot believe this time last year we were doing this. Today we are celebrating Julie's first birthday!!! What a joy. What a blessing. What a smile!!!!

She is walking along everything, but has not taken her first actual step yet. She talks and talks and talks and talks, well baby chatter that is!!! Oh! She tried to put on Princess' flip flop the other day!!! She held it in one hand while lifting the other foot!!! I could not believe it! She is happy all the time, and a true joy to our family!!!!

We are grateful to God indeed!






Also she was born on my parent's anniversary!!! Today they would of been married 44 years!!! I got the most BEAUTIFUL picture of her and my Mom, but it is on my Mom's camera. I will post it next time I see her and get the camera!!!

What Guys Think About Modesty

MOONFINDER BOOK GIVEAWAY -- DON'T MISS IT

This seems fitting after my last post. My friend Lea Ann is having a book giveaway on her blog. I have wanted this book for some time. Here is your chance to win the book as well.

Whatever State I Am blog

Good luck... and thanks Lea Ann and Jay Ryan for giving this giveaway!!!

ASTRONOMY

I asked her to rename the last planet because I love it when she says "aaaannnndd Pluto!"



Who knew when we studied astronomy this past summer that our 3 and 4 year old would remember the planets! Actually, Princess was 2 when studied and has just recently turned 3. What a benefit to homeschooling!

I personally love this Exploring Creation series. I should receive the astronomy one in the mail any day now. We plan to do it this next summer.

I have always wanted the Somebody board game to go along with it.

Oh what a fun online game.... "oopps, I don't think so!"

Or this one would be really fun.


And wouldn't this kit be cool too? Who wants to prick their finger first to test blood type? :)

To Cousin I

"BE STILL AND KNOW I AM GOD"

Hello? Hello? Anyone there? Can you hear me? Have you forgotten about this little blog space? I am here. I am quiet. I am busy. I am learning.

Let me start with last August when I stopped blogging except for a quick contest here and there. My Mom was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer metastasis to the liver and lungs. We were told she was inoperable and had weeks, maybe months to live. I was so overtaken with stress that I lost my ability to start the van. Seriously, it brought me to tears EVERY TIME!!! It is by the grace of God that school has gone well. Nine rounds of chemo later the tumors have shrunk! She will continue taking chemo until her tumors have shrunk. We are looking at least a year. I regained my ability to start the van! God has carried us this far. Not only us, but others who are in the same boat. Who knew that my SIL and I would both face cancer in our dear Mothers. I love hearing Little Mama pray for our cancer family/friends!

I hold to the "be still and know that I am God" because my life and those closest to me has been challenged to the heart! God is in control. I know. God will take care. I know. God is so good. I know.

In light of all of I will try to be more faithful with the blog. Thanks to every one who has prayed for my Mom during this journey.

In honor of my Mom I had my hair cut and sent off to Pantene which makes wigs for the American Cancer Society.


[hmmm... I wonder if one loses weight when all that hair is cut off? My luck... NO! Bummer.]





Isn't my Mother beautiful? Truly beautiful inside and out! Her strength and testimony through this journey is amazing! You will not hear her complain or grumble... only bring glory to God! Oh I have so much to learn in this life.


I also want to mention how proud I am of my brother! He had his head shaved because of my Mom!!!! Maybe he can send me a photo for me to share? hint hint.... :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day Giveaway! Raising Homemakers is giving away 2 books "The Princess and the Kiss"

and "The Squire and the Scroll."

Both are beautiful and excellent!

LEGO MOVIE

Peacock and HooDoo partially put together a Lego movie. Peacock did all the sets, music, and editing. He wanted to email it to his cousin but it was too large.

May all the boys enjoy "The Battle of the Forrest."

CORRECTION

HERE for the contest!!! Sorry for my mistake!!!

"Be Still and Know" from Scripture Lullabies

A CONTEST

Hidden In My Heart scripture cd.

Go here for the contest!!


Thanks Alissa for sharing the contest with me!!!! I love the music.

Sorry this is so ahort. I have been up with Baby Doll coughing. I hate hearing it!! I have not forgotten about the blog and hope my friends have not as well. :)

TEACHER PARENT CONFERENCE

I am going to have a teacher parent conference today! Here is how it would go.

I would walk into the classroom and sit down. The kind teacher would go on to describe my child during school.

"We have several problems with your child. Your child does not sit still. The child's constant request is to go out and ride the bike. The child is constantly talking out loud. In a one hour time period I heard the "F" word ten times. The horse farted, the pig farted, Ma'am even the rocket farted! The child moans at every request. I ask the child to write three sentences and I just handed the child a death sentence! I request the child to do a page of math and in one hour maybe one problem will be accomplished, MAYBE! Your child's favorite subject is art and will talk excessively about the exciting art lesson! All smiles and all learning. That gives me a glimpse of hope. Or that makes me sad, maybe I am not as good as a teacher as the art teacher is? I try not to get discouraged on that one. Another thing, your child has a really stuffy nose and it is draining. I have had to wipe it and of course, that was injury to the child! Or so the child acted like it was being injured.

Oh I am so sorry to have to ask this one. It is quite embarrassing, but do you actually feed your child? The child seems to always be hungry! I just wondered.... sorry to ask.

My final conclusion is this, can you teach your child at home? The child is too hard for me to handle. Thank you."


In reality this is describing six children.... you can guess which child is which. What fun!

AVIATION

In celebration of Aviation Day the museum nearby had a free admission week. Just in time for our cousins visit! We spent the afternoon there.




Uncle David the tour guide and instructor!





Cousin J flying high!


Peacock and Cousin I duo flying.


Gramps in front of his past the Vietnam War.









A (Sarah's friend) is flying Mach 2 ... I call the play room the Mach Room because the kids were so fast every picture is blurred!





They also had flight simulators and a theater that we found quiet in! Overall, it was a fun place. Though no comparison to the museum in D.C. It is still fun and educational!

OUR SCHOOL YEAR.... PLAN

Here is our new year in the works.

Peacock (P) 4th grade
HooDoo (H) 3rd grade
Little Mama (LM) 1st grade
Smiley (S) Preschool



Christ and His Word (all)
Rod and Staff Building Wisely English
All About Spelling (P & H)
Handwriting Without Tears (all)
Phonics Pathway (LM) currently half way through
Math-U-See (all)
Exploring Creation series... currently Astronomy (all)
Mystery of History when we finish Astronomy in Oct. (all)
Building Thinking Skills Level 2 (P & H)
Can You Find Me? Thinking Skills (LM & S)
Get Ready for the Code Books B and C (S)
Latin Primera (P & H)







Math -- previously we used Singapore. Though a good program, I found it did not have enough review work, daily drills and such. We switched to Rod and Staff at the middle of last year for Peacock. Cheap and okay. But... when I first started looking into math curriculum at the start, I was highly impressed with Math-U-See. It made me see! So, I went ahead, paid the price and got it. My kids love watching his video! We are back to loving math now!





Science -- I cannot say enough how much I LOVE the Exploring Creation series!!!! Personally, it is a fun easy read. Great projects. I cannot wait to start Human Anatomy next. The kids REALLY REALLY love it!


Spelling: We used Spelling Power because I got it cheap and well everyone excels with it! I like that! High reviews mean my children will be smarter than smart, right? uh no! It confused Peacock more than anything! Absolute pain! So somehow I found or was introduced to All About Spelling. Works for us!











As for latin.... I need help! What have you used? What did you like? I like Word Roots which is latin and greek. I don't want to just learn vocabulary. I want to be able to identify root words in english words and know the meaning based on the latin root word. I love The Latin Road but $200??? OUCH

I love watching the older children help the younger one.



Do you see a recurring theme in the pictures? We school every where. The bed, the porch, the floor, the table, anywhere we are at the time!


Here is a good funny story. The other day HooDoo and I were sitting on the porch rocking chair doing his English. Little Mama finished her work and caught a frog. She brought it to show us. HooDoo asked to hold it and it peed on his school work! Thankfully he was actually at the end of his lesson assignment. We had a great laugh!


Our verse for the year.
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. II Timothy 2:15