Felicity's Birthday Activities

For Felicity's 3rd birthday we made birthday crowns.  Felicity choose to make hers blue and she put princess and other stickers on it.  Kent, Katy, Kaomi, and Clark made yellow crowns with a variety of stickers on them.  After everyone was done decorating their crowns I covered them with packing tape to help keep the stickers in place and to add stability to the paper so they wouldn't rip easily.  Quinn and I had a follow-up appointment at the mid-wife and everyone wore their crowns there.

Felicity w/ her crown.

Then we met up with Jeff and went to lunch at Fuddruckers.  Felicity thought that was a great idea, because she wanted to know if we could go to a restaurant for lunch.  When we returned home it was time for quiet time.  Felicity didn't want to have quiet time, but I reminded her that she would want to be happy for when Daddy comes home from work and for her birthday party after supper.  After quiet time and snack the girls colored princess pictures and Kent colored a castle picture.  Jeff came home earlier than normal from work, so we could have a fun party time after supper.  Jeff picked out the cake from the store and I found some princess Legos to decorate it.

Happy Birthday, Felicity

Time for presents.

Princess cake.

Linked with:

Finished Fridays    The Modest Mom    

Felicity is 3!

Felicity has been looking forward to her birthday since October.  She is so excited about having a birthday and turning three.  Yesterday when we told her, "Your birthday is tomorrow."  She said, "It's coming soon."  This morning when she climbed into bed with me I told her happy birthday and she said, "My birthday is coming soon."  Then I told her, "No, today is your birthday."  She said, "Really?"  "Yes."  "Where are my presents?"  "We'll have them later, with Daddy."

Special place setting.

Felicity is 3!

Linked with:

Raising Homemakers    

What Do You Think About Quinn?

I gave each of the kids an assignment last week for school, per my Dad's request.  I thought I 'd share their assignments and responses with you. 

Kent's assignment was to write a paragraph about Quinn for English.  Here's what he wrote.

Quinn

     I like Quinn.  He is cute.  He is fun to have for a brother.  He also likes music and maybe mommy.  He is quiet and likes milk.  I love him.  He cries when he needs his daiper changed and for milk.  He sleeps a whole lot.  He cries to help himself wake up too.

Katy's assignment was to write several sentences about Quinn for English.  Here's what she wrote.

 Sentences about Quinn

1. Quinn is cute!
2. Quinn was born at 12:17.
3. Quinn was born on Saturday.
4. Quinn is 12 days old.
5. Is Quinn happy?
6. Quinn sleeps a lot.
7. Qinn is not crying.
8. Is Qinn asleep?
9. Is Qinn awake?
10. Quinn likes to be cuddled.
11. Quinn likes to be held.
12. Quinn sucks on nuks.
13. Quinn has a lot of hair.
14. Quinn likes music.

Kaomi's assignment was to draw a picture about Quinn and tell me about him.  She drew a small stick figure with hair and colored a blue blanket around him and titled her paper "Quinn."  The following was her narration about Quinn.

He's cute.  He's fun to have.  He has cute jammies and blankets.  Mrs. Wood gave him a green blankie.  Quinn has a balloon because Grammy gave it to him on his birthday.  He sleeps all the time.  Sometimes he wakes up.  I like Quinn.  Quinn is fun to have around because he's just born and he doesn't do the things that Clarky does.

I decided to ask Felicity what she thinks about Quinn, too.  This is what she said.

"I like Quinn."

"Can I hold Quinn."

"Quinn is my brother."
"I like him."
"He has a nuk."
"He has foot jammies and shirts."
"I like to hold him."
"He sleeps."
"I like to sing 'Jesus Loves Me' and 'The Lord is My Sheppherd' to him."

Here are a few things that Clark has been saying about Quinn, too.

"Ouch."  If you ask him to kiss Quinn or he gets closer than he feels comfortable around him. 

"Cry, baby."

"See, baby."

"Kin, cry."

"Bear."  We bought a new soft blanket for Quinn on Saturday and Clark likes the blanket and keeps calling it bear.  It is fuzzy, dark brown on one side and light brown with brow polka dots on the other side.

"Baby?"  When he wants to know where Quinn is if he hasn't seen him in a little while.

Linked up with:

Mama Moments Mondays    Raising Homemakers    

In School This Week...

I'm not sure how much we'll actually accomplish this week, but we decided to try and begin getting back into the swing of things.

Monday:  They had craft time with some friends and got a chance to play with some friends that they hadn't seen in a while.

Tuesday:  We started with geography.  We learned about the different continents and found the continents that are represented by several of the missionaries that we have cards to pray for.  Then I worked with Kaomi reviewing her reading while Katy worked on an English lesson and Kent watched Clark.  When Katy finished she took over watching Clark and Kent worked on his English lesson.  We also had storytime.

Wednesday: We started with Bible, beginning a new missionary story book called Seed Sowers by Gwen Toliver.  Kent helped watch Clark while I went over Katy's math lesson and Kaomi's reading.  Then Kaomi started on her printing practice and I went over Kent's math lesson.  I took over supervising Clark and worked with Kaomi on her math lesson. 

Thursday:  We started earlier today than we have all week and got a lot accomplished.  Kaomi completed reading and math.  Kent worked on a paragraph for English and math.  Katy completed cursive, worked on sentences for English and completed math.  We also read history, completed an art project and had storytime.

Friday:  Everyone worked on a page for history about the Pledge of Allegiance.  Kaomi completed reading, math, Adventures of Grandfather Frog and a drawing and narration about Quinn.  Katy completed her English sentences about Quinn, math, reading, cursive and piano practice.  Kent completed a paragraph about Quinn, extra reading for history, math, reading and piano practice.  We also had storytime with everyone.  Kent and Katy alternated watching Clark when they weren't working on school, so I could work with Kaomi and anyone else who needed my help.

It was nice to accomplish a whole week of school and see that we really can have a new baby, a very active toddler, a more independent toddler and a dependent kindergartener and still complete everything.  It's nice to have flexibility and be able to do more than one day lesson in a day as needed.

Linked up with:

Mama Moments Mondays     Simple Living Wednesdays    

A Misunderstanding

After lunch today Katy was being grumpy and rude about one of her siblings.  I called up to her that since she was being rude she should go ahead and start her math that I had assigned for her to complete this afternoon.  I know she heard me, but she didn't come down and get her math book.  I was trying to think of a fitting consequence and hadn't thought of one yet when it was time for storytime.  I called all the kids and she told me she was drying off.  I wanted to know what she was drying off from and she told me from her bath.  At which point I realized she hadn't disobeyed so much as misheard me.  I started laughing to myself and told her that I had said do your math, not take a bath.  So she came down to storytime all clean and still had to do her math this afternoon during quiet time.


Linked with:

Raising Homemakers     Mama Moments Mondays    

Quinn's Birth Story

    On Thursday, January 25th, I kept experiencing stronger contractions off and on through the day, but they didn't seem to be leading to anything very quickly.  Thursday evening they spaced out evenly around 3 min. apart, but they weren't as strong as actual labor should be.  We called the mid-wife and she said to walk around for a while and call her in an hour if they got worse.  They stayed the same, so I sent her a text to let her know that they didn't seem to be going anywhere for the moment.  After several hours I went to bed.  I wanted to be sure to be rested if they did turn into the real thing.
    Friday morning when I woke up the contractions were about 5-6 minutes apart, but still not very strong.  My mid-wife called me to see how things were going, as she had some other things she was needing to do that morning, but wanted to make sure she wasn't needed before she started them (it was her scheduled day off from the office).  She said to go into the birthing center to get checked and see if maybe we could get something started.  When I went in I was dilated to a 2 and it seemed like maybe something was going on, but it was still to early to tell.  The mid-wife on call stripped my membranes to see if it would encourage labor and sent me home to walk and pump and see if anything would happen.
     My mid-wife called to see if anything was happening around 10:30 am.  At that point it was still hard to tell, but the contractions were about 10 minutes apart and seemed to be getting stronger.  She said she would come over to our home in about an hour and see how things were going then.  When she came I had dilated to a 3 and she thought we would probably be calling her to come back around 3 in the afternoon and have a baby by evening.  We've had a history of having some quicker labors, so that is what everyone was expecting.
    I continued to pump, walk and rest to help keep things moving along.  By 2 pm the contractions were starting to be about 5-10 minutes apart and definitely working, but not super strong.  Jeff's mom came over to be here for the birth and help with kids if needed.  I didn't feel like it was time to call the mid-wife until around 4:30-5 pm.  When she got there I was dilated to a six, but I felt like I should have been dilated more.  Things seemed to be progressing more slowly than my past few labors.
     Jeff's mom took care of ordering dinner for everyone.  It smelled good and I kind of wanted to eat mine, but it seemed to me like the baby was going to come sooner rather than later, so I thought I would wait and eat after the baby was born.
     I continued laboring, while listening to the conversations around me and playing a mindless game on the computer.  I kept losing the game, so apparently it wasn't as mindless as I thought, but it helped distract my thoughts from the contractions and relax better.  By 8:30? pm, I was only dilated to 7.  We finally sent the kids to bed.  They were a little disappointed that they wouldn't be up when the baby was born.  I continued laboring and it seemed like things were getting close and I was ready to get in the tub and have the baby, but around 9:30 pm I was still a 7.  We decided to go ahead and break my water to help expedite labor.  Then I got in the tub expecting that it wouldn't be much longer.  By this time I was tired and just really ready to have the baby.  My thinking clarity was also decreasing.  After laboring in the tub while the contractions got worse, my midwife thought I should get out and try walking around a little to see if it would help the baby to come.  I wasn't real keen on the idea.  Even though I had been drinking water and pregnancy tea throughout the evening I was really tired and realized that I probably should've eaten dinner.  I was hungry, but wasn't sure that I wanted to eat something at that point.  I did think I should have something so I asked Jeff to get me some sprite, thinking maybe the sugar would help.  I did eventually get out of the tub.  I was dilated to an 8.  My midwife decided that due to me being tired and knowing that the baby was big we shouldn't have a water birth, because the risk for potential complications was increasing.
     The contractions became almost unbearable at this point.  I don't think I've had contractions like that since maybe Kent's birth.  I remember squeezing Jeff's hand, I think so tightly that it probably hurt him, but he just kept on encouraging me.  We tried a warm rice sock on my back, which felt nice for a short time and then I was yelling to get it off me, because it was too hot.  Shortly after that the pressure became intense and it was time to push.  I didn't even realize that it was time to push until it was time.  They had to get my shorts off for me.  Then they wanted me to push harder and I didn't feel like I could, but I think I just needed to breathe and then I could push again.  Jeff said he could see an ear, that was encouraging so I pushed harder and soon the baby was born with a giant gush of water behind it which seemed like water spraying from a fire hydrant.  It was Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 12:17 am and the midwife placed the baby on my tummy.  Someone, I think maybe Jeff said it was a boy.  I was so glad that he was out and there were no complications.  After a while they weighed him in at 9 lbs. 15 oz., but my mid-wife first misread the scale and said 10 # 15 oz. and both Jeff and I were like "what?!?".  Then she read it again, realizing that she had read 10 first because Quinn was so close to 10 pounds.  He was 22 inches long and his head circumference was 14 1/2 cm.  As soon as I was feeling a little better after the birth I was ready to eat my supper sometime after 1:00 am.  The chicken quesadilla was SO good!  We were able to finally get a little sleep starting around 3:15 am.  Around 7:15 am, Katy and Kaomi showed up to see if we had the baby and when they found out it was a boy which they quickly went and shared with Kent.  A little later the older kids went in to see Felicity and Clark and we heard Felicity loudly ask, "Is the baby born?"

Quinn several hours old, being held by Kent his oldest sibling.

Quinn Hezekiah has a lot to live up to; his name means wise one whom God strengthens.

Linked with:

A Mama's Story     My Pregnancy Journal   Raising Homemakers    Day2day Joys   
Weekend Whatever    

Enjoying the Slow Pace

This last week has flown by.  I have enjoyed snuggling with Quinn.  He's 1 week old today.

My husband is wonderful.  He was able to take the whole week off of work.  We slept in everyday (til 8 or later).  The older kids were quiet, even if they didn't sleep in and Felicity and Clark didn't usually start making much noise until around 8:30 am most days.  For the first three days after Quinn was born I was on "bed rest" this is normal, but usually I am eager to be up and involved even if I am just sitting on the couch.  This time, I was content to spend more time in bed "resting".  I had lots of little visitors who just wanted to see Quinn and hold him, too.  Jeff took care of making sure everyone was fed three meals a day for most of the week.  We had a couple people bring us wonderful meals, which was nice for Jeff to not have to cook.  Jeff changed lots of diapers this week and I know that's not his favorite thing to do - he didn't even ask me if I could do it once.  He also did several loads of laundry, so nobody had to wear dirty clothes.  Jeff would take Quinn in the middle of the night after he was fed, to snuggle and encourage to go back to sleep.  It's been a specialty of his to get the baby to sleep at night and he hasn't lost his touch.  Quinn has been a pretty sleepy baby and seems pretty easy so far.  We are hoping that he stays easy.  He hasn't been very interested in eating, because he has wanted to sleep, but that seems to be changing now and he is asking to eat more frequently, which helps because he actually stays awake long enough to eat pretty well.  Jeff even gave the kids an impromptu science lesson on oil from oranges and how it scents the air when the peel is all broken up and how the oil is flammable.  Because Jeff was home this week, I've been able to take it easy and enjoy being a spectator in my home, that's about to change as Jeff returns to work on Monday.  I'm sure we will have an interesting upcoming week as we adjust to having a new baby in the house and Clark won't have Daddy to tag after all day either.

I am so thankful that God has given me a husband who is willing to step up and do the things that I usually do, when needed.  Jeff has been a blessing to our whole family this week.

Linked with:

Raising Arrows       The Modest Mom blog     A Mama's Story    Raising Homemakers    

Quinn Pictures

Quinn's Birthday:

More pictures:

Quinn (1 day old)

Quinn (6 days old)

2 days old:

Lissie watching Quinn (5 days old)

We Have a New Baby

Quinn Hezekiah was born this morning at 12:17 am.  He was 22 inches long and 9# 15 oz.

Watch for a picture and more details in the coming days.

In School this Week...

Monday:  We went to the library, learned about how boats float and how butter is made in science, and learned about Martin Luther King Jr. standing up for the rights of the citizens of our country.  We also talked about being good citizens and some of the rights we have in the United States of America.

Tuesday:  We worked on science some more.  We were talking about sheep shearing and wool.  Kent and Katy also worked on English Lessons.  Then we had storytime where we began reading a new mystery.

Thursday:  We completed science talking more about how the wool from the pioneers sheep was used.  Kent and Katy completed English.

Missions Conference -2013

This past weekend we enjoyed attending Missions Conference at our church.  It was good to hear from many of our missionaries and the teams they serve on locally as well as in other countries.  It was good to catch up with friends who God has called to serve in other countries and encourage them as they make plans to return.  It was good to meet new missionaries and hear how God is using them to build relationships and teach others about him.

I like that many of the missionaries who go through our church are discipling those who God has allowed them to meet and share the gospel with.  I also like that that they have programs which they use to help teach and train pastors in the countries they work in, so they can lead and teach their own flocks better.

Have you ever been to a missions conference?  Do you personally know one or more missionaries that you pray for?  Are you a "missionary"?

One of the ways that our missionaries said we could encourage them them most is to respond to their e-mail newsletters.  Just them knowing that someone else read their letter and is praying for them or enjoyed hearing about something in particular they wrote about encourages them that they are not alone.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19
"All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their tresspasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation."

In School This Week...Back to School

We finally started back to school, though I don't know how long it will last.  I still have things to do to get ready for the baby, so we are just doing a little bit of school to help keep the kids minds active and to give them something to do.  We started English and Reading right after New Year's but last week I wasn't feeling well, so we didn't start back as planned.

Monday:  Got a late start, not that I was planning on starting early, but several of the kids decided it was a day to disobey.  Kent and Katy did English corrections from last Friday.  Then for English we worked on writing 1 last Christmas thank you letter.  We had a health lesson about how to try to spread less germs by coughing or sneezing into a tissue or your arm and we talked about the best way to stop sickness from spreading is by washing hands.  I felt that this was a good lesson to have, since there seems to be plenty of flu going around, which we would prefer not to get.  Then we worked on science.  We read about schools in pioneer times and then we talked about different methods of measuring such as using hands to measure horses, "a cloth yard",  the rule of three, and several other methods that may have been used in pioneer times (mid 1800's).  Lastly I worked on Reading with Kaomi.

Tuesday:  We worked on more science and practiced building fences that were "horse high", "hog tight", and "skunk proof".  We tried different building materials for our fences like a variety of different blocks, popsicle sticks, and Lincoln logs.  Kent and Katy each completed their next English lesson.

Thursday and Friday:  We learned about bees in science and the part they played in pioneer times.  We also learned a little bit about how honey bees see the nectar on the flowers, verses how we see a flower.  Kent and Katy completed one more English Lesson.

Over all we completed 2 1/2 weeks worth of science this week.

Random Hug

Today I stopped at Walmart to pick up a few things that were on my list.  While I was there a lady about 10-15 years my senior came around the corner.  When she saw us she smiled and our conversation went like this.

Lady:  I love kids.  Are they all yours?
Me: Yes (with a smile)
Lady:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.  You are so blessed.  You must be a great mom.
Me:  Thank you, it is definitely an effort in patience.
Lady:  You must be a very patient person.
Me: Actually, I'm not, that's why it's an effort, but I do love them all.
Lady:  (said something I didn't get) then walked away.  As she took a few steps, she suddenly turned and said I just have to give you a hug.  Is that okay?
 Me:  Yes...Thank you.

Bible Trivia Baseball

Tonight was our weekly Christian Service Brigade meeting at church and Kent is in the Stockade-Builders group, which is the group for 3rd and 4th graders.  Each week our Builders group meeting is led by a different one of the dads, and tonight the dad that was leading our group led the boys in a game of Bible Trivia Baseball.  The way the game works is by setting up a playing "field" and dividing the boys all up into into two teams.  In this case, the "bases" in the "field" were the four support columns in the building where we meet.  The boys were assigned teams and then lined up either in the field or "at bat."  The first "batter" is then given a choice of question difficulty in the form of a "single," "double," "triple," or "home-run."  If he gets the question right he get to go the number of bases that corresponds with the chosen difficulty.  If he gets it wrong, the other team gets an opportunity to "catch" the question, thereby causing an out.  If the fielding team is unable to answer the question, then it counts as a strike against the batter and he gets a second "swing" at a new question.  The game progresses in that fashion until the desired number of innings is complete (or until you run out of time--as was the case for us).

The whole point of me describing all of this is just to afford me an opportunity to brag on my boy, Kent.  In the Bible Trivia baseball game, most of the boys were selecting single or double questions, so I fully expected Kent to follow their lead.  When it was Kent's turn to bat, I was surprised (and perhaps a little proud..ok a lot proud) when he confidently stated that he wanted to go for a "home-run."  He was presented the following question (more or less):  What kind of fruit was on the tree from which Adam and Eve were not supposed to eat?  The given answer was that the Bible doesn't say what it was, but Kent's answer was instant and clear: "The fruit of the knowledge of good and evil."  The leader accepted that answer to be as good as the given answer, so Kent scored his first home run...with two runners on base!  I was instantly stricken with about the worst case of PDS (Proud Daddy Syndrome) that I think I have ever had.  As you can see, it was a bad enough case to get me to my keyboard.


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38 Weeks

Well this baby is safe to deliver anytime.  I'm mentally ready, but would still prefer to finish getting a few things around the house done.  Do you know how challenging that is when you have 5 children to care for and by the time they have quiet time, you need to sit down and take a break, too?  It'll get done eventually.  Katy took the picture of me.  I didn't realize it was blurry until I downloaded it.  She needs a few more lessons on photography still.


We started back to school this week, at least to get a little more done before baby day.  We usually start back up pretty quickly after the baby is born, but I like to have the option to not start back if needed.


Our Sunday School Class gave us a diaper shower on Sunday.  We have a good stock of diapers now.  Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us and who brought diapers and wipes for the new baby.






Linked with:

Raising Arrows            

Is That Clark?

This morning Jeff was getting Felicity and Clark ready fro church and I was getting breakfast ready for the kids as they came into the kitchen.

Felicity was dressed for Church and came in to get her breakfast.  She was sitting in her chair eating raisins and cheerios when Clark came into the Kitchen.

She looked at Clark, who was dressed in a button up shirt and khaki pants, and loudly asked, "Is THAT Clark?"

I looked over at Clark and said, "yes."

Then Felicity loudly said, "He looks like a man."


Here he is from December wearing the same shirt.  I didn't take any pictures of him today.

Linked with:

Raising Arrows       

2013 Verse to Reflect on for the Year

For the last several years I've been choosing a verse from my Bible reading to remember throughout the year.  I'm not sure why this verse stands out to me this year, but it's the one that God keeps drawing my mind back to.


Exodus 6:7       
 
"I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the Egyptians."

  Exodus 6:7          

How to Clean Your Microwave

I usually try to keep my microwave clean.  We don't use it a whole lot, so I try to make sure that if I notice it is dirty I clean it.  I also always keep a paper towel on the turn table, which help keep that part clean and easy to wipe up if something spills.

On Saturday, I was fixing a quick lunch for the kids and I handed Jeff a hard boiled egg for him to use as part of his lunch.  He wanted it warmed up, so he put it in the microwave and fooled around with it setting the time to 10 minutes (he knew it wouldn't take that long).  After several seconds the egg exploded with a loud pop all over the microwave.  I hadn't thought to tell him that eggs are real sensitive in the microwave or that he probably should have cut it first.  Needless to say, we had a good laugh and he had to clean the microwave.

The moral of the story is give someone something that will explode in the microwave and then they get to clean up the mess along with anything else that was needing to be cleaned up in there.



    

Doodle-oo

Clark likes to say "Doodle-oo" lately.  Every time he sees a "tunnel",  wrapping paper tube, toiilet paper tube, paper towel tube, or even round pasta.  He calls it a "Doodle-oo" or he puts it up to his mouth and says "Doodle-oo".

2012's Top Visited Posts

I thought I'd share which posts had the most visitors last year.

1.  Being a Mom is Tiring   -Yes, being a mom is still tiring, but it is also very rewarding.

2.  Staying on Top of Food Costs -New Series

3.  Low Cost Recipe Ideas

4.  Intentionally Enjoying My Family - Projects

5.  The Hidden Art of Homemaking - Gardens and Gardening

6.  Sewing Just a Little

7.  Menu Planning

8.  If You Were to Visit on a School Day... -Written in 2011

9.  July Decluttering -Written in 2011

10.  Preparing Food After My Shopping Trip


Thank you to everyone who reads my blog and has commented and encouraged me over the last year.

Meals that I've Been Putting in my Freezer

I've been working on putting up some gluten free meals to be used later this month as well as after the baby arrives.

Today, I made the following meals for our freezer.

2 Meatloaves.
Beef Enchilada Casserole.
Taco Meat and a package of Tortillas for 1 meal.
Plain Chicken Breasts to be used as desired for baking or grilling.
Chicken Cassoulet for Crockpot, usually is good for 2-3 meals.
Chicken Nuggets for 1 meal.

I also have 2 cups of homemade red enchilada sauce in the freezer.

I've never spent a whole day making meals for our freezer before.  Thanks to my wonderful husband helping watch the kids.  Even though the day was long it was rewarding to get everything I had planned on accomplished.

I have plans to make tomorrow:

2 batches of taco soup for the crockpot (1 to be used this for dinner this week.) -done
Pasta meal (I've never frozen a gluten free pasta meal, so this will be a test to see if we like the way it works.) -done
Beef and Black Bean Taco meat -done

I also plan to make:

Sausage with veggies to be served with rice -done
2 Pizzas with Cheese and Pepperoni

       

Things to Do

I have several things that I need/want to work on to get ready for the baby, so I thought I'd make a list to share with you.  Over the next week or two I would like to:

-Make several meals to put in the freezer.  I think I have all the ingredients and just need to assemble them.  Need to do this in the next two days, as we bought meat for me to work on this already and it is easier to work with before freezing it.  Jan. 3 - I still have a few I would like to make, but most of them are in the freezer.
-Make chili powder. made on 1/21/13
-Un-decorate Christmas tree.
-Put away all Christmas decorations, books, nativity pieces, etc.  Jan. 13 - Everything seems to be down, just need to finish getting it put away
-Clean master closet.
-Clean master room where baby bed will go.  1/21 - This has kind of been done, we left a table there for the mid-wife to use and will take it down after the birth, then there will be room for the bed.
-Clean off my dresser and get it set up with the baby changing station.
-Decide what lessons we are going to start back to school with.  -I think for now Kent and Katy are going to work on English, Kaomi on reading and everyone on science.  It will be nice to not have to skip science fun after the baby arrives and I won't feel like making it fit into our schedule.
-Start back to school with a light schedule to add a little routine to the kids days, but still give me the time I feel I need to finish getting ready for the new baby.
-Look through baby clothes and pick out first couple of outfits in girl and boy colors and have them ready to go.
-Make sure we have everything needed for a planned home birth together in an easily accessible place.
-Make sure we have a package or two of newborn and size 1 diapers on hand.
-Clean out my dresser drawers.
-Work on Lissie and Clark's "school boxes" to give them some "new" things to help them while we are doing school or when the baby is just born and they need something to do.
-Make a special box of fun for Clark to use just when I am nursing and unable to run after him or check up on him.
-Clean my desk.
-Decide what I want to get Lissie for her birthday, as it should be a couple weeks after the new baby is born and I probably won't be doing much shopping after he/she is born.

I'm sure I probably won't get all of these things done in the next week or two, but having a plan to look at will help me remember the things that I have thought I should be working on.  I'll try to come back and update this list as I finish tasks or think of more to add.

Linked with:

Raising Arrows

Merry Christmas - 2012

This year we had a nice day just calmly staying home and enjoying each other.  We had thunderstorms during the night, which continued through a little bit of the morning.  We opened stockings which Clark helped Jeff hand out to everyone and ate breakfast.  This year I made a sausage and egg bake and served it with pineapple.  After breakfast and everyone was ready we started opening gifts beginning with gifts from family who were not with us.  After we opened gifts from Uncles, Aunts, and Parents/Grandparents we took a short break.  Then the kids exchanged most of their gifts with each other.  We had a quick lunch of little sausages, cheese and crackers or buttered bread and the kids played with their gifts and waited to open the rest.  Clark went down for his nap, as he was very tired.  The kids finished exchanging gifts and we moved on to the gifts from Jeff and I to the kids and each other.  This year, we again gave each of the kids 3 gifts represented by the gifts the Wisemen brought Jesus.  We gave them Frankincense (a need), Myrrh (something to nurture their soul, creative side or help them "grow") and Gold (something they wanted or we knew they would really enjoy).  About the time we started opening these gifts if started to snow.  We finished opening gifts around 2:30 pm.  When we exchange gifts only one person at a time is usually opening a gift.  We enjoy watching and listening to each person who is the recipient.  When we had finished opening the gifts everyone enjoyed their gifts and enjoyed watching the snow.  We went outside at the end of the afternoon and played in the inch and half to 2 inches of snow before dessert.  Their were several areas where the snow had drifted deeper, too.  After a dessert of pumpkin bread and orange cranberry bread with whipped cream we watched Clark open his last two gifts and then we ate dinner around 7:00 pm.  We had taco casserole and carrots.  Everyone was very tired so we wrapped up the evening with The Christmas Story from Luke 2 and all the kids went to bed.

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas as well.  MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas Lights Walk -2012

We took our annual Christmas Lights Walk around our neighborhood tonight.  There didn't seem to be as many lights this year.  The weather was nice for walking and we were able to walk around several blocks before returning home.  Clark's favorite light was the moon.  He kept laying back against Lissie in the wagon and watching the moon as we walked.

Decorating as the Month Continues

This Christmas I haven't found the time to decorate as much.  I have some beautiful houses that I really enjoy putting up and enjoy looking at them through the season and I still haven't put them up.  I think it's because we did had school 2 days each of the first 2 weeks this month and then on the other days we were busy with errands, baking and other projects.  So I have decided that I won't put up our houses this year, but as I come accross a decoration that I want out I will still put it up.  We have our Christmas tree, Little People Nativity Set, basket of Christmas books, and some Christmas candles out.  We also have 2 singing and dancing stuffed animals that the kids enjoy playing with out.  We also have several various pictures that the kids have made that go with the Christmas Story hanging on our walls.  On Saturday I was looking for something in my Christmas box and found another small nativity piece that belongs to Katy so I got that our and set it on the counter with my plant.

I also have some squashes and Indian corn still out that were decorations around Thanksgiving.  I'm hoping to cook the rest of the squashes today and have the kids take the corn off the cobs, so we can use it to pop one evening.  I have some more white taper candles I want to put out and was trying to remember where some candle holders are.  I remembered and hope to get them set up today as well.  I think most of my candle holders are still actually packed in a box from when we moved, but I'm not exactly sure which box, so I don't want to start unpacking something else and making another project that I don't need to take on right now.

Carry On

When you wake up and your hormones must be going crazy and you want to cry, but you have responsiblities what do you do?

Of course, you just pretend nothing is wrong.  You get the kids going in their regular routine.  You drink a cup of coffee with chocolate in it, drink a cup of hot chocolate, make your breakfast and add chocolate, burn your toast and make more.  Then you make your bed, ask 1 kid to pick up and vacuum a room that seems to have a dirtier floor than normal, send other kids to do something else,  tackle something that has been bothering you around the house and then do your normal chores.  Then you feel better because you feel like something has actually been done.  During those things you decide that since it is so cold outside and rounding kids up to go to a friends home for a previously scheduled activity would just be too much, you ask them if they could come over instead.  Of course they can and everyone enjoys coloring Christmas pictures, watching a movie and eating cookies before lunch.  Then you have to think about making lunch.  You have bread, but no leftovers to use or peanut butter to put on the bread, because you forgot to buy it the last time you went to the store.  So you make bread pudding (a.k.a. baked french toast), and the kids are excited to have breakfast for lunch, even though lunch won't be ready until after 1:00 pm.  You decide to have storytime while lunch is in the oven and the timing ends up perfect.  After lunch is finished quiet time has arrived and you find that you've made it through most of the day.  You wanted to work on a project during quiet time, but your brain is too "fried" to work on it so you save it to work on either in the evening or another day.  You sit down and try to think about what you should make for dinner and come up with some kind of plan using the leftover rice, potato, spicy sausage, sweet potato, spaghetti sauce and fresh veggies in your fridge and hope that when you actually make it there will be enough for everyone and that everyone will like it.

33 Weeks

Last week I saw a friend who is expecting her first child anyday now.  She was so tiny, that now I understand why several people look at me oddly when they ask when our baby is due and they find out not until the end of January.  I do think it's kind of funny when I am out and someone tells me that I'm not allowed to have the baby "here".

I'm beginning to feel rather uncomfortable as baby is growing and pressing into one of my kidneys.  This has happened in every pregnancy and they always choose the same kidney.  Felicity and Clark are finding it hard to sit in my lap and snuggle as well.

Redeemed

This is the time of year when we focus more on our Savior's birth.  He has redeemed me from the grasp of Satan and eternal death.  He came as a perfect, sinless baby to live here on earth among sinners so that he could die for us at the time God appointed.  Through shedding his perfect blood he paid the punishment for my sin, so that when I die a physical death, I may live forever in heaven as a child of God.

What better time of year is there to share the story of my Redeemer with my children.  Each year we tell them the story of Jesus' birth from the Bible and talk about how this was just the beginning of what his life was going to bring to our world.  We place our nativity near or under our Christmas tree and the story of Jesus gets told over and over as my children play.

This month I had an opportunity through (in)courage to receive a tree skirt and table top advent devotional from Dayspring's Redeemed Christmas Line of products.

I love that the tree skirt says "No Greater Love than Jesus".  In our home, it brings the focus around our Christmas tree back to Jesus a little more.  It gives the opportunity to potentially have even more discussions about my Redeemer with my children and guests in my home.

                                                   

The table top advent devotional adds another dimension of thinking about Jesus throughout the day.  I have it sitting in the middle of my kitchen table and have found myself reading the days devotional and meditating on my Redeemer more each day.  One day last week, I could tell that it was going to be a more trying day for me, as I hadn't slept well and the kids weren't being perfect either.  I found the devotional for the day to be very encouraging all day long and I know it helped me show the love of Jesus to my children much more than I would have without the all day reminder in front of me that "Jesus carries our burdens".  I kept praying through the day, "help me not to be grumpy with my children." 

I am REDEEMED and my Savior, Jesus is working in my life everyday to keep me in a closer relationship to him.  I'm glad he helps me and isn't just waiting for me to join him in heaven.  I wouldn't be able to live a Christ-like life without his help.

Do you want to add decor to your home that helps bring the focus back to Christ during this Christmas season?  If you have something that adds Christ to Christmas through the decor in your home I'd enjoy reading your comment about it.

Several of the items in Dayspring's Redeemed Christmas Collection are on sale this month here.


*I received the tree skirt and table top devotional free from Dayspring in exchange for a story about being redeemed.  All opinions are mine.

**I hope to share my own pictures, but for now the pictures above came from (in)courage.

Also linked up with:

Simple Living Mama    

Countdown to Christmas - A Book a Day

Last year we read a book everyday before Christmas.  The kids enjoyed it so much that we are doing it again this year.  After we read the book for the day we will be adding it to a basket beside the Christmas Tree so that they can be read again as often as someone wants too.  Here is the list of books that we will be reading in our countdown.

Day 1:  Precious Moments:  The Gifts of Christmas (A Little Golden Book)
Day 2:  One Wintry Night by Ruth Graham Bell (This is a longer story that we will be reading over the next several days.)
Day 3:  Humphrey's First Christmas by Carol Heyer (Felicity's Favorite last year.)
Day 4:  The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden
Day 5:  The King's Christmas List by Eldon Johnson
Day 6:  If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff
Day 7:  Room for a Little One by Martn Waddell (Board Book)
Day 8:  This is the Stable by Cynthia Cotten
Day 9:  God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergen
Day 10:  The Story of Christmas by Patricia A. Pingry (Board Book)
Day 11:  Usborne Bible Tales:  The Story of Christmas retold by Heather Amery
Day 12:  Merry Christmas, Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
Day 13:  Apple Tree Christmas by Trinka Hakes Noble
Day 14:  The Christmas Story by Jane Werner (A Little Golden Book)
Day 15:  The Pokey Little Puppy's First Christmas (A Little Golden Book)
Day 16:  Silent Night illustrated by Susan Jeffers
Day 17:  The Biggest, Most Beautiful Christmas Tree (A Little Golden Book)
Day 18:  Chickadee Winter by Dawn L. Watkins
Day 19:  The Christmas Pageant by Jaqueline Rogers
Day 20:  The Night Before Christmas illustrated by Douglas Gorsline
Day 21:  The Twelve Days of Christmas (A Little Golden Book)
Day 22:  Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck
Day 23:  The Night Before the Night Before Christmas by Richard Scarry
Day 24:  The Christmas Story (from Luke, KJV) pictures by James Bernardin

We have a couple other Christmas books that will just be added to the basket they are:

Farmyard Tales Christmas Heather Amery & Stephen Cartwright (A Flap Book)
Favorite Holiday Traditions complied by Ellyn Sanna
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (A Little Golden Book)

Last Year When we did this I didn't have 24 Christmas books on hand so we checked several out of the library that I read and I returned when they were due.  While we try to help our children focus on the true meaning of Christmas which is God giving us His Son Jesus we do enjoy reading several other fun stories around Christmastime that go along with other traditions.

I thought about wrapping each of the books this year and letting the kids take turns opening them, but instead I'm just keeping them separate in a box in my room.

Do you have any favorite Christmas books?

    

In School this Week...

This is our last full week of school, before we start enjoying low key school for December in anticipation of celebrating Jesus' birth.

Monday:  We completed all of our history and notebooking for the week.  We learned about the advancement of the steam engine and Robert Fulton.  We went to the library for storytime where we heard some stories about owls and made an owl craft.  Kent and Katy began new units in English.  Kent completed his next math lesson and Katy worked on 3 trouble problems from Math that she had before Thanksgiving.  Now she is ready to start her new math workbook.

Tuesday:  We worked on science and did a page about plants and funguses.  Kent and Katy worked on their next English lessons.  Kaomi practiced reading and doing her math.  She is learning about tens and ones.  Kent worked on his next math lesson about measuring using meters and centimeters.  He also read a chapter in The Buffalo Knife for his extended history reading.  Katy worked on cursive and learned the letter z.  Aunt Jenny came over to visit after lunch.  Katy began her new math workbook.

Wednesday:  We volunteered at church, but didn't work on any other school.

Thursday:  Kaomi learned about reading words that end with ank, ink, onk, and unk.  Kent and Katy worked on math and English.  We did science all together and talked about the wingspans of different kinds of owls.  We measured them on the floor and compared them to the ideas about how long the wingspan of an owl that the kids had written down beforehand.  Everyones' guess was close to one of the owl wingspans we measured.  Then we talked about how an insect sees differently than us because of the many lenses on their eyes.  We got to look through a dragonfly scope to get an idea how insects see.

Friday:  Kent and Katy studied dictation and worked on English.  Katy actually didn't get her math worked on yesterday, so she was working on it today.  Kent, Katy, and Kaomi also had reading.

Starting next week we plan on only working on school lessons Tuesday and Thursday.  Then we can also focus on other activities like baking, crafts, sewing etc.

In School this Week...

This week we took a break from our regular studies to focus more on Thanksgiving.

Monday:  We went to the Library for storytime and made a cornucopia craft.  Kent and Katy worked on their reading journals that I have asked them to fill out to receive their BOOK-IT rewards.  The piano was practiced and we read about the Pilgrims and about current thanksgiving celebrations.

Tuesday:  Katy practiced the piano.  We finished science from last week.  I checked over Katy's reading journal and it was complete.  Kent worked more on his reading journal.  They worked on making a Thanksgiving scene with stickers.  We went outside and drew sidewalk chalk thanksgiving pictures for anyone walking by to see.  Kent and Katy both helped me in the kitchen as well.

Wednesday:  I'm not counting the day for school, but each of the kids helped get ready for Thanksgiving.  Clark took two naps.  Felicity helped make GF cornbread.  Katy helped make GF cornbread dressing.  Kaomi helped make GF pumpkin pie.  Kent helped make GF apple cake.

The rest of the week we aren't focusing on school.

Black Friday at Home

Today we stayed home and worked/played around the house.  We started trying to assemble our little bit of fall decor to put away.  We are missing an Indian from our little people set so we spent  a lot of time looking for it.  We haven't found it yet.  I was able to go through two overflowing laundry baskets of hand me down clothing and find what we can use currently and might use in the future.  Then I bagged up the extra into two full 13 gallon trash bags to pass on to others.  I also finished filling up a box from the master bedroom with stuff to giveaway.  All our giveaway stuff is sitting by the front door ready to put in the van.

Jeff and Kent set up the Christmas tree and put the lights on it and we even decorated it this evening.  The kids all had fun listening to Christmas music and playing with our bell ornaments from the tree.  I'm sure we'll have our tree adventures with Clark to come, but for now he was a little curious, and didn't have too much of an opportunity to spend at the tree.  Then we had dessert followed by dinner while we watched a Christmas movie.

Tomorrow I hope to tackle Lissy's closet and all the clothes that are being saved and sort them into their boxes until needed.  I'm also planning on finishing gathering up our fall decor and beginning to set up our Christmas/Winter decor.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Psalm 69:30
"I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving."
                                             Psalm 69:30

Today We Were Blessed

This morning Clark took a nap.  He's not been napping in the mornings lately and with what was to come I found myself thanking God that he did sleep in the morning.

I was able to finish putting things away in the girls' room and we were able to finish up last week's science lesson.  Then the four oldest went upstairs to play and I took an unintended nap.

We were finishing up lunch when the doorbell rang.  It was a father and his two sons who go to Christian Service Brigade with Jeff and Kent.  Their family wanted to bless our family and they came to weed-eat and mow our weed infested yard, that we hadn't had a chance to take care of yet this fall.

It was an extra blessing for Kent because we were home and he got to play with his friends when their Dad didn't need them to help him.  Kent doesn't often get to interact with other boys in our home as most of the people we get together with have girls.

Quiet time was late in the afternoon for a short while.  I was checking my e-mail and found that I'd been blessed again by winning a giveaway by Gwen for a book call A is for Adam.  I also was blessed with a sweet e-mail from my husband telling me he loves me.

At the end of the afternoon our neighbor came over when we were out drawing thanksgiving pictures on our side walk.  She enjoyed getting out of the house, playing with the girls, and drawing pictures with us.

After we came back inside I started fixing the vegetables for dinner and Katy blessed me by asking if she could help me with the potatoes.  Since I was almost ready to put them in the oven, she counted carrots for our dinner(after finding them in the fridge) and cut them after I peeled them.  Then Kent came through and blessed me by seeing that Katy was having fun and he wanted to help cut carrots, too.  I asked him if he could help me with the beans instead.  He cheerfully helped me take the heads and tails off the green beans.  When we were done he helped pick up the carrot pieces and peels that had landed on the floor and he put the trash can closer to Katy so she could put the carrot scrap pieces in the trash easier.  Before Kent came to help he put Clark in his pack and play and put on a Praise Baby DVD for him to watch so he wouldn't get into trouble.

Tonight we will be able to enjoy our roast with the THREE vegetables I had planned rather than ending up with just one as often happens when I have too many distractions during the dinner hour.

Then Jeff came home with a new outfit for me to wear on Thanksgiving.



     Raising Arrows

In School this Week...

Monday:  We had a little lighter lesson day.  We went to the library and learned about spiders and made a spider web craft.  Kent and Katy worked on corrections from Friday and I helped them make sure they understood any concepts they seemed to be having trouble with.  Everyone helped take turns entertaining Clark.  Kent had a piano lesson.  Kent and Katy completed English and studied dictation.  Everyone enjoyed reading and looking at the books we checked out of the library.  For storytime we began reading A Pioneer Thanksgiving.

Tuesday:  We read science and history altogether and then started on other work.  Kent and Katy worked on English, Math and studied dictation.  Kaomi worked on reading a story from Mimi about Miff at the Vet and math.  Katy had her piano lesson.  We read more from A Pioneer Thanksgiving and all worked together to make the cranberry sauce recipe from the book after Felicity and Clark were down for their naps.

Wednesday:  We worked in the classrooms at church and went shopping for a few things for our shoeboxes.  Kent and Katy completed English.  We packed shoeboxes for  Operation Christmas Child.

Thursday:  We worked on history, English and math.  Kaomi worked on reading as well.  We worked on weaving a "nutting" basket with yarn and pipe cleaners.  Like you might have used if you were a pioneer child hunting for nuts in the fall.

Friday:  We worked on finishing up school, before Thanksgiving week activities.  We finished reading A Pioneer Thanksgiving.  I realized at the end of the day that we didn't complete science, but maybe we will do that on Monday.

Shoeboxes

I stocked up on school supplies when they were on sale.  I picked up odds and ends of neat things throughout the year and kept doubles of Kid's Meal toys/books.  This week we bought soap, washcloths, toothpaste, cups, candy, coloring pages, and stuffed animals or dolls, as well as other boy/girl activities.  Kent, Katy, and Kaomi went with me to help pick these things out.

Then we got ready to pack shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.  The kids helped open packages and set everything out of like kinds together around the table.  Jeff wrapped the cardboard shoeboxes with wrapping paper. We wrapped the soap in the washcloths and put them in ziplock bags.  We put together a couple small ziplock bags of girls hair stuff.  Kaomi helped assemble bags of candy and Kent sealed them up.  I set the box of extra fillers to the side and we were ready to start.

Ready to start packing shoeboxes.

Kent, Katy, Kaomi, and Felicity each chose the box they wanted to fill and set to work around the table putting items in their boxes.  I helped Felicity.  The last stop was to see Daddy who had the boy and girl activities and he gave them one activity for their box.  When everyone had all their stuff they sat down to rearrange their boxes to fit everything in the best way.  Daddy helped them as needed.  While they were working on that I filled a box "from" Clark.  When their boxes were all arranged they brought them to me to see what kind of fillers they needed to help finish off their boxes.  Then Kent, Katy, and Kaomi each filled another box.

We've been doing this for several years and it is something our children have really enjoyed doing.  They look forward to choosing items and filling a shoebox full of things for a child who may not get any other gift for Christmas.

Have you ever packed a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child?
If you've wanted to pack a shoebox and don't have time or a drop-off point nearby, you can build a box online this year.

The Last Bouquets

My garden has been growing all season and I have enjoyed looking out my window at the pink zinnias and orange cosmos.

In anticipation of a hard frost this week I picked all the pink zinnias that were still blooming.  I'll miss seeing the flowers that we planted in the spring, but can anticipate the spring when we can plant some more.

Here are the last bouquets.

One bouquet looks a little strange because one of the windstorms we had this summer blew the plant over.  I never tried to straighten it back up so the flowers all turned and grew up toward the sun.  Then when picked they point down toward the table, unless of course you cut the stems above the curve, which I didn't do this time.

In School this Week...

Monday:  We started school and then I realized that it is the first Monday of the month and we were supposed to have the day off.  Oh well, if I need it next Monday we'll take it then, but there's holidays coming up so maybe we'll just wait.  Kaomi decided to have a mental block about reading the words she was was going to be writing today.  Then all of a sudden she remembered how to read.  Katy goofed off instead of working on her first lesson and got herself into trouble with the teacher.  Kent finished all his work before lunch.  Felicity played with her preschool box and Kaomi got to join her for a little while, before she needed to do math.  We learned about being polite in health, as well.

Tuesday:  We talked about the importance of voting and that a person who is going to vote needs to vote for the candidate that they think will do the best job leading our country. The voters need to be informed about what the candidate says they want to do and aligning what they say up with what God says.  Then I went to vote for a new president.  We talked more about trees and then about the life cycle of a monarch for science.  Kent and Katy have been doing a good job practicing the piano this week.  I need to make time to give each of them a new lesson.  Kaomi worked on math, reading and we read more about The Adventures of Grandfather Frog.  Katy didn't finish her work again.  She does this when she thinks it doesn't matter and she'd just rather not do it right now.  She will have to finish it tomorrow.

Wednesday:  We volunteered restocking the classroom supplies at church and then Kent, Katy, and Kaomi were able to redeem their first BOOK-IT coupons of the season for a personal pan pizza at pizza hut.  We brought our pizza home and after lunch Kent worked on English and math and KAty worked on English and made sure she had completed everything from Tuesday.

Thursday:  We read about William Carey for Bible and how he was a determined boy and how he grew up to be a determined man spending 41 years as a missionary in India.  Everyone worked well on their school work.  Kaomi did a great job practicing writing letter J and j.  She even got a star on her paper, which gave her a big smile.  I forgot that we were supposed to do art, but I'm not sure how well that would have gone considering Clark was into everything anytime he wasn't in bed.

Friday:  In science we learned about how animals in the woods are camoflaged and how maple trees spread their seeds.  Kaomi worked on handwriting a sentence that she could read and for math we worked on making groups of 10 with beads.  While we were working on that Felicity was attempting to string some beads, but after getting a couple on she would inevitably turn her string upside down and dump them off on the table and floor.  She got frustrated with that and decided it wasn't as fun as she thought it would be.  Kent and Katy both worked on reading their fantasy books with me today.  Clark got to spend some time in the pack and play in the living room with a couple toys from his toddler box.  He wasn't very happy about it at first, but decided playing was more fun than crying.  I also read him a board book about Jesus, so he got to have that book to look at as well.  Katy decided that she should finish her school today, so she was working on it after 4 pm.  This was before I checked with her about whether she had completed everything or not.

Cleaning Kent's Room

This week Kent and I have been focusing on cleaning his room.  We completely went through everything and threw away everything that was trash or broken.  If it didn't belong in his room we put it away.  We evaluated whether he plays with certain toys and put them in the giveaway box if it wasn't something he had used in a long time.  He has a really hard time getting rid of anything, so hopefully by me working with him it has given him an idea how to evaluate whether or not he should keep it.

Now we just need to dust and vacuum and then we can put his room back together.  I'm hoping to finish the last few things this evening.  Then he will get to pick 2 of his toys/collections to keep out besides his Legos and the rest will be put up on the top shelf in his closet for now.  If he wants to get something else from the shelf he will have to put something he already has out completely away and up on the shelf first.  He can't reach the shelf easily, but is pretty compliant so I'm not expecting any complaints from him.  He is also under strict orders that if he wants to play with his cars and car sets that every Lego must be put away before he gets them out.  The same applies to the train set.

We are all hoping that with more visible room on his shelf he will be able to see what he should do better when it is time to straighten up his room and if there is more room on the shelf then maybe there will be fewer toys spread all over his room that he can't find the parts to.

He's been a good sport even when he hasn't liked me throwing away things that he thinks are useful.  I've reminded him that there will be more acorns, papers from Sunday School, etc.

He has a giant angry bird poster that we tried to hang on his wall this summer, but the tape wouldn't stick to the paint on his walls.  Today I hung it up in his large closet for him so he can see it.  It should stick to those walls.  He was excited about it being hung up so he could actually see it.

Update:  The tape didn't stick in the closet either, so I put it back up with push pins.

    

A Two Year Old's Perspective on Voting

I told Felicity that I needed to go vote this morning.  She wanted to know if she could go with me.  Of course she can.

Then she asked if we were going to see Grammy at the "boat".

Me:  "No, we won't see Grammy.  I am going to vote for a new president for our country."

Felicity, running off into the other room: "Hey kids we're going to float."

Next, I hear her in the living room telling Katy, "Mommy's going to vote for a new princess."

Bountiful Basket #9

This past weekend I got to get up extra early, while the stars were still out to go and get our Bountiful Basket.  This week we ordered an Italian Theme pack which contained: red and yellow onions, garlic, eggplant, green peppers, zucchini and yellow squash, parsley and basil.  We also ordered 9 grain bread and the organic basket.  Our organic basket contained: Romaine hearts, cauliflower, green chard, zucchini, carrots, cilantro, spaghetti squash, garlic, grapes, apples and pears.  Since I volunteered I chose 1 package of blackberries as my thank you.  I was able to get a second package of blackberries because there were a couple moldy ones in it and someone didn't want it (we were able to provide them with a good package because several baskets had extra blackberries).

I came home and fixed breakfast for my family.  We had biscuits with butter and blackberries.

In School this Week...

Monday:  We were able to go to the Library this week.  They had one of our local policemen there talking about bullying.  He did a good job.  Kaomi did a great job reading new words with the ck consonant blend.  Kent and Katy worked well on their school, as well.

Tuesday:  Jeff got the kids started on school while I was at my mid-wife appointment.  He had Kent fold ALL the laundry, which I saw when I returned home and I realized I hadn't told him how much should be folded (I washed 3 loads on Monday and they were all in the basket.)  They usually only have to fold 1 load.  We worked on all our together work after lunch.  Kent and Katy began working on new books for reading.  The genre they are reading is fantasy.  Kent is reading the first section of The Pilgrim's Progress and Katy is reading The Littles.  This is the last reading genre we plan to work on before Christmas.  After supper we worked on making corrections, so we wouldn't have to work on that tomorrow.

Wednesday:  We didn't do any bookwork today.  We were making sure to have everything ready for our Halloween Ministry event.  I did give some long overdue piano lessons to Kent and Katy.

Thursday:  After cleaning up trash outside from our Halloween Ministry event we began our morning with history.  We read about Marion and the tower he built to defeat a British fort and George Rodgers Clark and the march he and his men took to take over a British fort and stop Indian attacks in the middle of winter.  Then each of the kids got to build their own tower with Legos.  After building towers we moved on to individual work.

Friday:  We explored leaves for science today.  We looked at artificial and real leaves with magnifying glasses.  Kent and Katy had to look for differences in them.  We also got to look at a piece of leaf through our microscope.  Uncle Sean and Aunt Rebekah gave us a microscope a couple years ago and this was our first time to use it.  Kent was excited to be able to see the stomates in the leaf section under the microscope.  We also talked about tree trunks and the different layers in the trunk.  Then we looked at an old log that we had in our backyard and tried to count the rings.  There were about 30 rings.  I may have missed a few when counting as the cut end wasn't cut quite even and it was sometimes hard to tell if there was a ring or just a bump from being cut.  Then everyone had a diagram of a log to label the parts.  They each got to choose their diagram from three that I had found online.  Katy and Felicity choose one to color.  Kent choose an actual picture of a cross-section of a tree and Kaomi choose a digital rendering of a cross-section.  We also completed our regularly scheduled lessons as well.  Kaomi worked on reading a story from Pa and Mimi about Miff and the Chip Munk.  Katy chose not to get her school finished so she will be doing homework on Saturday.