I'm Back!

I am back to blogging!

It has been about 3 weeks since I have regularly blogged. I have thought about it almost every day, but had so much to do. So....what have I been doing?

• I started the Summer Bridge book (for K going into 1) with my son. He surprisingly completed it in 2 weeks. It seemed fairly easy for him. We still need to work on time and money. This week we will start the Summer Bridge book for the next grade level up to see how far ahead he is. This will give me an indication of how easy these subjects will be when we have school in the fall.
• I spent a week with my in-laws. I packed up my son (and his summer bridge books) and we took a trip south to help my mother in law with her 90 year old mom. We were busy packing her things to be moved into my mother in laws house. I was amazed at how much she has saved over the years. She had items dating back to the 1930' & 1940's! And if you ask her about a certain piece she can tell you a whole story about it. That's a pretty good memory for someone in her 90's! It was nice to see a part of history for a change. I also had the chance to see my nieces and nephews. They grow up so fast. My young teenage nieces are almost as tall as me! I feel shorter every time I see them! It was a great trip, and my son had fun with his cousins.
• My house was some what of a mess when I got back from my trip. My husband had cleaned out most of my sons toys and put them in storage ( to be sold at the next kids sale ). In the process he left a lot of baby and toddler clothing around the house for me to go through. Keep in mind we live in a small 980sf 2bed 2 bath house. It can look quite cluttered if things are left out!
• And, I have been sewing. I made my son a pair of shorts and a pair of sleep pants. His legs are so long, it is hard to find clothes long enough in the legs that will also fit his tiny waist. And since children's clothing is so expensive, it makes more sense to me to make him what I can. I usually purchase clothing for him when school clothes go on clearance. Then I can purchase shorts and tops for $2 -$5 a piece, instead of $10 to $15 a piece!

I have lots of pictures to share in my next post! Have a great Sunday!

Custom Blog Template & Graphics Contest

Those who have been here before have seen Susan Godfrey's name in my list of favorite blogs. Well, I just read about her contest for a free Blog template and graphics. She has created some cute graphics that anyone would like! So, pop on over before the 13th and enter the contest!! Here is the link...http://susangodfrey.blogspot.com/search/label/contest

Good Luck!

Great Fonts!!

My husband found a great site with free fonts this morning. He is not usually this excited about fonts, but it had all the fonts used in the science fiction movies and TV series he has seen over the years. I looked it up and found some great ones to use for scrapbooking and my very slow business. Just follow this link!! http://acidfonts.com

Enjoy!

Birthday Boy!!

Today is my son birthday! My husband and I sang the 'Happy Birthday' song to him this morning as his wake up call. His first words were 'where's my cake?'!!!!! We couldn't help but laugh!

I have had our day planned for a week. I was so excited!

• Morning Movie - Veggie Tales Jonah and the Whale (free at local theatre)
• Swimming at the Pool - Until the clouds rolled in
• Afternoon Cartoons - Tom & Jerry (his favorite!!)
• Open 1 Present - His official party is on Saturday!!
• Pizza for Dinner - His new favorite food
• Cake - He was so excited to blow the candles out!
• Lots of Hugs & Kisses from Mommy!!

We are spending the rest of the evening coloring and playing.

It is hard to believe that I gave birth to him 6 years ago! All the hard work trying to conceive, and all the prayers for God to give us a child worked!! He is the best gift I have ever been given!! And I am so proud of the way he has turned out. He is a such a loving and helpful child. As I have watched him grow, I am reminded every day that he is a gift from God not to be taken for granted. So, today has been as much fun for me as it was for him!!

Kindergarten Graduation

Friday was a bit emotional for me, as it was my sons last day of school. He officially graduated his first year (and last) of public school. I was emotional thinking of all we had been through since the school year began, and how brave he was to go to school despite his daddy's hospitalizations. I always gave him a choice, and he always wanted to go to school.

I was also emotional because it is now my turn to take the rains and educate my son. For those who have not read my previous posts, I am homeschooling my son in the fall. My husbands low immune system causes us to be very cautious when it comes to infections. My son brought home 4 colds, 1 flu, 2 ear infections, 1 sinus infection, and a fungal infection in the 10 months he was in school. That was more than he had his first 5 years on earth! If my husband gets another heart infection ( he has already had 3 in 4 years!) he will have to have a 3rd open heart surgery. And I am not willing to risk that! So, my husbands health comes first.

On Friday I bought a cake, balloons, some ribbons, and a small trophy! We celebrated with my parents (who were his surrogate parents while I was at the hospital). The best part for him was the $3 plastic trophy that said 'Kindergarten Grad 2007'!! How cool is that!

We are all so proud of him!

Now...on to SUMMER BREAK!!!!!!!

The Importance of Scheduling

I received my books from Titus2.com and I am so excited to share one of them with you. It is called Managers of Their Homes. I highly recommend it to anyone who has trouble getting tasks finished throughout the day. It comes with a 11" x 17" schedule to hang on the wall so everyone knows what their schedule is for the day. It is a great tool to use for those children who are always asking for something to do. You can put their activities on the schedule and encourage them to read it every day! Now that I am homeschooling my son, I can schedule our day and know I will not miss anything that needs to be done.

Home School Planning

I anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new home school books I ordered from Titus2.com. I have read so many great things about them on Christian blogs and websites. I will be using these books as my monthly reading over the summer.

I am also working on my sons fall school schedule. I have decided to home school through most of the days public school would be taking off during the year. We will be taking Thanksgiving day off, as well as the week of Christmas. This allows us the time to spread out the curriculum to allow for shorter days. So far I have scheduled 3 hours per day( 9am - 12pm). Public School is 6.5 hours(8:30 am - 3:00pm).

This is our tentative Schedule:

9:00-9:30 Handwriting (M-Sat) Saturdays are until his handwriting becomes legible
9:30-10:00 Reading (M-Sat) Saturdays are until he can read more fluently
10:00-10:30 Phonics (M-F)
10:30-11:00Math (M-F)
11:30-12:00 Various Subjects by day
History(M), Science(T), Social Studies(W), Art(TH), Health(F)


Church Activities:
Wed: RA's & Children's Choir (Choir qualifies as Music class)
Thurs: Basketball (This qualifies as Gym class)
Sat: Tai Kwon Do (They have to memorize a new Bible verse every week)
Sun: Sunday School

And if gas prices go down in the fall, we will drive 30 minutes to the zoo every Saturday with our yearly pass.

We also plan to travel to my in laws more now that we can just pack his books in a bag and have school at their house. I love the concept of being able to teach wherever we are!

Happy Mothers Day!!

Proverbs 31:10-31

image by: digi scrap kits

The Holy Spirit & Christina

About 3 weeks ago I was heading into the church sanctuary when I saw one of our members setting up a table. I saw the banner and knew it was for sponsoring children in other countries. I asked him for a brochure and continued into church. As I was reading the brochure I felt the Lord moving my heart to sponsor a child. The more I tried to fight the feeling the stronger it became. And out of nowhere I said to myself 'I have to do this'. This is so unlike me! I know it was the holy spirit guiding my heart to help a young child. So I got up and went back to the table. I was amazed at all the pictures of children that needed help. As I combed through the pictures I saw a little girl from Peru that just hit my heart. I knew she was the one I needed to help. I filled out the paperwork and went back into Church. As we were singing the fellowship songs at the beginning of the service I couldn't help but cry. I felt the holy spirit touch my heart telling me I did the right thing. When my husband came to sit next to me, he looked at the information and was proud of me for doing it! I did not expect that kind of reaction! But he said when he went to Peru many years ago he saw the conditions children were living in, and how poor parts of the country are.

So, for $1 a day we are sponsoring a 3 year old girl from Peru who lives with her mother and grandfather. With the money we send every month she will be able to go to Bible centered activities, learn about God, and hopefully in the years to come become a Christian. Something most children in her country don't have the opportunity to do.

Lesson Learned: Don't fight the holy spirit! Go with it, and learn from it!

I'm Back!!

Hello all!


I am back from my blogging hiatus. It has been a while since I have posted and I have lots of exciting things to tell you!


1. Our tomato's are red!!! Well, we have 3 red ones and about 60 green ones! We are patiently waiting! If you have never had a fresh off the vine tomato, you are missing out on the most wonderful taste. They are sweeter then the 3-10 day old ones you get at the market or grocery store.

2. We have added to our garden! We have tomato's, blueberries, green peppers, cucumbers, strawberries, green onions, and chives. We have all been working hard to get these planted and growing.

3. I am almost finished with the textbook hunt for next school year. This was no easy task! Researching different curriculum's and books takes up a lot of time. I have social studies and history to find and then we will start collecting supplies. I am thinking of purchasing the majority of supplies after the public school rush. That way everything will be on sale or clearance and I can stock up and save more money!!

4. I broke the $200 mark in coupon savings for April!!!!!!!!!!! What a joy it is to know I am saving my family money!


5. We are now sponsoring a little girl in Peru. I will write more in a future post.