Zoo

We went to the zoo today and boy was it hot!!! It was 97° today!!! We had to stop for shaved ice and ice cream half way through. We can usually make it on just water, but it was a scorcher today.

My husband and I both took our cameras. He usually takes pictures of the big animals, and I like the small ones. I think we got pictures of every animal in the zoo today!

The best part was the Red Wolf. We have been going to this zoo for 7 years and the wolf was always hiding in the brush. Today I told my husband to just keep walking when we got to the exhibit. Then my husband pointed and said 'there it is'. I couldn't believe my eyes. This had to be the most beautiful wolf I had ever seen. It made my day!

After my husband and I share our pictures I will share with you!!

I am off to take a much needed nap!

Melinda

Fall Chore List

I am still working on the fall chore list. It is a lot more detailed than I would have made mine. But it is a good way to ensure all the chores get completed. It sorts all the chores into daily, weekly, and monthly lists. There's a reason I never get around to washing my car!! I forget. But, now it's on the list.

I have been reading and using the 'Managers of Their Chores' book to create a chore list for my son. I'm amazed at all the chores a 6 year old can do, but didn't think of until I read this book! It even comes with the little chore holders that clip onto their shirt or pants. You place all their chores in the holder and they are reminded to do them when they see that holder on their clothes! This has really helped my son remember to feed the cats every day!

You can find it on the Titus2 website here.

Friday Pictures..3 weeks worth!!

My son's first tooth came out yesterday while eating fruit in the car! We have been waiting for this tooth to fall out for about a month now. We were not sure if it would be a dramatic event or not. We were glad it came out all by itself with no pain or blood!!


The tooth fairy came to our house while everyone was sleeping and left this under his pillow!!


These are the shorts and sleep pants I made for my son last week.




God has blessed us with abundant fruits & vegetables!
He gave us 1 green pepper last month, and has 3 more growing this month!!

Tomato's! This is what I picked in one day!

I believe the final count was 42!!!

Cucumbers. He has blessed us with 2 already, and more to come!!

This is what my son got for us for his birthday.

Batman sent this to him from Gotham City (AKA Ebay!!)

He also got a big boy bike!

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!

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!!!!!!!

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.

Behind on Everything!

For the last 2 weeks I have been researching and purchasing my sons textbooks for next school year. While I have been doing this, my chores and extra projects I had hoped to do this year have been pushed to the side. My main priority has been family time. I would rather put off washing the dishes or folding the laundry to spend quality time with my family. So, I am behind on chores, and the things I wanted to accomplish this year. I knew going into homeschooling that it would be an adjustment, so I have expected the amount of time it is taking. In a few more weeks I should have all of his curriculum purchased and return to normal life!

Happy Easter!

I would like to wish everyone a happy and safe Easter holiday.

What a great time it is to give thanks to the Lord for sending his son to die for our sin.

My husband and I have been explaining to our 5 year this week that Easter is not about the bunny, or candy filled eggs. But, that it is about the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Retailers have taken advantage of a day we should be celebrating Jesus's resurrection, and instead they are making money on the celebration of baskets, bunnies, and plastic eggs.

For Easter I purchased a small treasure chest like box. I placed a bag of M&M's, a Veggie Tales movie (keeping with the theme of God), and a book on the story of Jesus / Easter. When I handed it to my son, he thought he was just getting the chest. He was so happy. When he opened it he was happy with everything he received. We then read the book to him and watched the movie.

It is our job as parents to teach our children about God and Jesus. And Easter is a great time to teach!

God Bless

Spring Break Ending

As my sons spring break comes to an end, I am kind of sad. I genuinely enjoy spending time with him. We laugh, wrestle, and make fun of each other. He has always been a happy well balanced child. Don't get me wrong, he has those 'brain fart' moments, but 95% of the time he is great kid!

I am actually looking forward to home schooling him in the fall. We have purchased workbooks together for the summer. I am so glad he enjoys learning!

A child is a GIFT from God!!

Happy Valentines Day!!!!

graphic by: Country Patch Collections

I hope everyone is having a Happy Valentines Day!!

I finished my sons room around 1 this afternoon. He had a special surprise at school today. I called Grandma and had her pick him up. He just loves it when she does that! His Valentine surprise is his favorite snack(Goldfish), a paper fire truck filled with his favorite candy(m&m's), and a bouquet of lollipops! I also cut out about 60 hearts and taped them all over his room! My husband says I'm weird. I say I love showing my son how much I love him!!

I'm Back!!!

I know I have been MIA the last few days, but there has been so much going on.

I finally finished putting the kids clothes together for the area kids sale. I packed the car and took it all to the sale site today. I had over 100 pieces! I am hoping to make over $100 this time.



I also had to make something for my sons class for Valentines day. Money has been tight the last 2 weeks, so I had to come up with something I already had. I checked out the Martha Stewart website and found a great idea for lollipop flowers. I had all the materials needed so I decided to do it! I traced and cut out 80 hearts to make 20 flowers. I even added green straws for the stems!

The only problem I came across was trying to do these and get the kids clothes ready all at the same time. There were never enough hours in the day to get it all done!!

Now I am ready to make my sons Valentines present. It is a big surprise that will be waiting for him when he gets home from school. I will post pictures tomorrow!!

Down Memory Lane

There are 2 women in my area that hold a semi-annual kids sale every year. I participated 2 years ago and made about $70 selling my sons baby clothes. This year I have decided to participate again.

As I was going though my sons clothing yesterday I was actually remembering when and where he wore each outfit! I can't believe that 5 years has gone by. They grow up so fast! There are certain things that I can't force myself to sell. Like the first outfit he wore in the hospital, and the first pair of shoes we bought when he was learning to walk. My husband thinks I'm crazy! But these items are very special to me. I have decided to place them in a container so that when/if my son has a son he will have them. What a joy it is to have so many happy memories!

About My Family

I have been married for 6 years and have a 5 year old son. Right after our third wedding anniversary my husband got sick. He contracted a virus that traveled to his heart and attacked one of his valves. He had his first open heart surgery in May of 2003 (age:31) to replace his aortic valve with a donor valve. That was one hard day. 7 hours waiting for the word that all was OK. We were unaware at the time that he had a weakened immune system. He went the next 3 years tired and catching colds and sinus infections.

In January 2006 he had a lung infection. In April 2006 he had his third heart infection. And in August 2006 (age:34) he had his second open heart surgery to replace his aortic and mitral valves with mechanical valves. The second time around was a little bit easier to handle. The day of the surgery was also school orientation for my son. Since it was going to be about 9 hours before the surgery was done I took him to orientation! People were shocked! But I had my brother in law at the hospital ready to call me if anything happened. After surgery the surgeon said he cannot get another heart infection or we risk having to do another heart surgery. My mothering skills kicked in at that point! Cleaning house and making sure my son did not get sick were top priority. But, my son had two ear infections and a sinus infection within the first 3 months of school. Public school has lots of germs! Then last but not least in November 2006 my husband had a pacemaker put in because his heart muscle was only pumping at 15%. Now…with all the mechanical stuff in his heart he definitely CANNOT get sick again! They will have to go in and take the pacemaker out and start all over.

So..my life consists of lots of cleaning, taking care of my husband and son, oh…and our 2 dogs and 3 cats. I also have a small web business that I started before all the madness began 4 years ago. I’m pretty busy!