Color Wonder in our Home

For Christmas this year Megan and Laura received Color Wonder coloring books and markers. 

I have never bought them before.  I guess I thought they looked neat, but regular coloring books and crayons are cheaper.  My two year old loves to color, but lately she hasn't been overly concerned about what she colors on.  My daughter thought we'd try these.  She got one for Laura too.  Laura isn't messy, but they looked cool.

 

Megan wanted to color in hers right away.  I set her up at the table and gave her one page from her book.  If I would have given her the book, she'd have marked up every page immediately.  So, one at a time seemed best.

She loved them.  I showed her how to use them.  Once she figured out how the color would appear, she was excited to color and color.  The fact that sissy gave her a Dora coloring book ensured that Megan was interested for a long time.

Both girls decided to color the very next day.  Laura colored her Princess coloring book, and I handed Megan another page.  They played for quite awhile.

There was no writing anywhere but their pages.  Megan and Laura spent some time together having fun with an activity, a rare treat considering the seven year age difference.  I think it was a very useful and fun present for the girls.

To Grandmother's House We Go

We spent Christmas afternoon with my husband's mom and family.  Uncle Robbin read the Christmas story from the Bible, something Grandpa used to do every year before he passed away.  We had a Birthday Cake for Jesus.  We played games.  We exchanged some modest gifts.  We ate lots of good holiday food.

All the brothers got to be together this year.  My husband's mom gave each of the boys some ties that were their father's.  Each boy also received a special picture of dad.  We miss him this time of year.  It's only been a little over a year since his passing.  Walking up to the house when we first arrived, it felt like he was just inside waiting for us.  We definitely miss him.

A good time was had by all.  Memories were made.  We laughed over trying out the new game, Imaginiff, and getting to tease each other.  We loved being together. 

Christmas was blessed this year.  Gifts were not our focus, even if we did exchange a few.

The Magic of Christmas Morning

MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!

Merry Christmas to all of You.  May God Bless You!

Christmas Eve at Home with Family

My family came to my home for our Christmas.  My one sister lives a couple hours away, so it is a treat when we can get together.  We usually have a wonderful dinner and then open gifts.  We draw names for the adults because, as our families grow, it can become impossibly expensive to buy gifts for everyone. 

Laura had a special present for her sister Jasmine.  It was a Big sister/Little sister necklace.  Laura has been bugging every single day to give the necklace to her sister.  I finally let her today.

Here is my baby sis and her husband and son.  I love watching their lives.  From dating, to engagement, to marriage, and now their first child... they are growing and learning and loving. 

My mother requested this picture.  It is the grandchildren picture.  She wanted an updated one.  She has seven grandchildren now.  They are all growing up so fast.

Here are two of my girls hamming it up for the camera.

Megan was adorable in her little Christmas dress.  At two, she is starting to understand a little about Christmas.

Tasha requested a Snuggie.  She wants to homeschool in it.  I laughed cause she already does her school in jammies most of the time.

Megan got her first bike... a tricycle.  She loves it.

Here is my other sister and her husband and son.  Yes, both my sisters have sons and I have all girls.  They don't live as close as I would like, but we try to get together when we can.

Jasmine and Laura both were happy to receive CD's they have been wanting.  Laura received Vota and Jasmine received Britt Nicole.  Both are Christian artists, and my kids love their stuff.

My oldest only got to stay for a bit before she had to head to work.  We let her open her gifts before she left.

I snapped this shot of my husband and my nephew.  I thought it was very tender.

The day was wonderful.  Tomorrow, being Christmas, will hold the other side of the family.   The morning tomorrow is usually my favorite time of all of Christmas.  We will have Birthday cake for Jesus, read the story of Jesus' birth, and then get to the gifts.  I love just sitting back and relaxing Christmas morning with my family.  I love watching them open their gifts and listening to Daddy talk about the birth of our Savior.

Out For Lunch

I was trying to make a last run to the store before the Christmas celebrations kick in.  I took three of my daughters.  To reward them, we went to eat.  They were being goofy, but we had so much fun I snapped a couple pictures.

 

 

I love when we get to hang out together and just have fun.  My nephew was also with me for a few minutes while his mom and dad ran into the BMV.  But all he did was sleep.

A Dollar General Preschool Curriculum

I was finishing up some Christmas shopping this afternoon when I happened upon the book aisle at Dollar General.  I've been looking at various preschool items here and there.  I've seen a few things that looked okay.  I wanted something affordable and something that I could look at easily.  There is a lot available online, but I can't see them and thumb through the book.

In the book aisle are the coloring books and all those little skills books.  Many were for older kids, like Kindergarten on up.  However, I found some wonderful treasures.  I found ten little books for a buck a piece called Bible Rhyme Story Time books.  They are published by Concordia Publishing House. From The Story of Creation to The Parable of the Prodigal Son, these little books are wonderful.  The back of the book says it is a grade 3 reading level.  I'm going to use them as read alouds for my toddler.

I plan to use the library extensively.  For those books I plan to read from daily, I am buying them.  We'll more than get our money's worth.  These story books are paperback and perfect for sitting down and reading.  Megan already loves to be read to.  We read now, and she loves to pick out books from the library.  In April, she will be three and will be old enough to to to storytime at the library.  This excites me cause I know she'll just love it.

I also picked up some workbooks and learning coloring books.  The first one is a simple Bible coloring book.  We love coloring books in this house.  Even my teens will sit and color if given the chance.  It's actually quite funny.  Bible coloring books are the best cause they get to color the Bible stories in their minds.  It just reinforces the stories and lessons from the Bible.  Dollar Stores are great because they often have these coloring books for a dollar or two.

The next book is an alphabet coloring book.  With three to four pages per letter and other skills covered, I think the dollar spent on the book was pretty cheap.

My First Math Book.  Just the title grabbed my attention.  There are a few pages of skills that are advanced for a preschooler, but most are just three or four pages of coloring numbers, tracing numbers, and counting the objects on a page.  Again, for a dollar, it looks to be a good deal.

Megan knows her colors and shapes, but this Winnie the Pooh workbook was adorable. It has primary and secondary colors, basic shapes, and lots of little activities.  this book isn't as thick, but I'm sure we'll make good use of it.

I am developing lots of ideas for setting up a homeschool preschool.  I still might send Megan to the local Christian preschool, but that will only be a couple days per week.  That won't be till next fall.  I plan to create a series of five small boxes.  Lots of homeschoolers are talking about workboxes.  This is a little different.  Each box will stand for a different day with different learning activities, christian kids videos or learning videos, puzzles, etc.  I will mix things up and keep things interesting.  Maybe throw in a different library book each day but still read our Bible stories and favorite classics.

There are so many options available to me.  I know I can't do everything, and I want to make things fun for two or three year old.  I have to keep her busy.  She's been easily distracting this year.  It seems that if I'm reading to Laura, Megan is right there.  She usually doesn't want to be read to at that point.  Laura's books are not interesting to her.  She just wants to distract and make teaching difficult.  I'm hoping with her own special "School" time broken up throughout the day and some special read aloud time she will not feel the need to attempt to get attention.

I also want to use the book Leading Little Ones to God over the next year or two.  I used it a bit with Laura last year, but she was kind of old for it.  I may wait until Megan is older.  I just haven't made any final decisions yet.


I was going to wait until Megan was three to actually begin preschool.  Then, as I thought about it, I realized that we are teaching her anyway.  I might as well come up with some activities to keep her busy little mind and hands doing something constructive.  I think she wants to be like her big sisters too.  She sees them reading and working and wants to do the same.  Unfortunately, she tends to get into trouble by trying (and sometimes succeeding) in writing in her sisters books.  I decided that, after Christmas break, we'll start Megan on her own stuff.  She may be kind of young, at two, for some things.  I don't intend to push her, so I'm alright with keeping her busy.

I would love to invest in an actual preschool program like Horizon's preschool.  I might too when our finances stabilize and when Megan is a little older.  Right now I just think she's too young for that kind of money to go out.  I honestly think she'll be four before I spend that much money.

The Nutcracker on Ice

I dug through some old movies today trying to find something for the kids to watch that they haven't seen a million times.  I found this 1994 version of the Nutcracker on Ice with Okasana Baiul and Victor Petrenko.  I put it on, and Laura watched it for a bit.  About half way through she asked if she could go play with a friend.  Maybe this just isn't her thing.

This took me back to my days where  I enjoyed watching ice skating.  A long time ago I enjoyed it.  Now, I just don't have the time.  The closest we come to watching ice skating around here is Disney's Ice Princess.

Thanking God

Right now we are very thankful to God.  My husband has been working steady for the last couple weeks at his job, but he has been looking for a new job.  We don't think his current job will provide for us.  He's already been on unemployment off and on for months.

Today my husband received a call from his old boss.  He's been rehired back to his old position as a diesel mechanic.  He'll start after the first of the year.  We are thankful.  Unfortunately, it means working nights again. It also limits my husband's time in church.  I hate to see him miss . However, a job is a job.  If God gave him a position, we are blessed to have it. I am hoping that the Sunday thing will work out.  My husband loves his time in church, and we both are sad that it will be so tough for him to attend.

Our pay will still decrease from what we have become used to over the last few years.  It is, however, more than unemployment.  We will do our best.  Our cost-cutting measures will stay in place.

It's A Wonderful Life

Yes, I'm one of those people... An "It's a Wonderful Life" lover.  Every year, it is a tradition for me and my family to sit and watch the movie together.  We own it, so we don't have to wait for it to air on TV or watch commercials.

Tonight we watched the movie for this year.  It was my husband, my oldest, and me... with the 9 year old sneaking bits and pieces in between playing with her friend that is spending the night.  My oldest, Kim, loves the movie so much that she was posting quotes on her Facebook.

I am by no means an old movie buff.  This movie is a classic, however.  It touched my heart years ago and I've been stuck on it ever since.  I think every one has gone through times that are rough or have dreams that haven't come to fruition due to life just happening.  Most can relate to George Bailey in some way.  I think a lot of people have even wondered what it would be like if they had never been born.

The movie takes us back to a time in our country where, despite the chaos of world events, there were people that were honest.  It paints a clear image of good and evil in the George Bailey versus Mr. Potter battle.  The heartwarming story is full of hope.

This is a clean movie.  I think the worse thing in the movie is cigarette smoking.  Granted, there wasn't the research then that there is now about smoking.  George Bailey contemplates suicide, but that is shown in the movie to not be good. Other than that, this is a wholesome movie that touches hearts and teaches that there is good in the world.  "Every man's life touches so many others."  is quoted in the movie as the lesson learned.  Basically, make your life a good life, doing good for others, and you will touch the lives of others for the good.

As a Christian, I know that my works won't get me into heaven.  However, as a Christian I also believe that God tells us plainly in His Word to do good to others, love your neighbor, etc.  I think if more people genuinely lived that every day than the world would change and be a better place.  Christians aren't the only ones that do good in the world, but sadly they should be the ones that are the most known for their good deeds.

If you haven't watched "It's A Wonderful Life" in awhile, I encourage you to watch it this holiday season.  Yes, it is kind of sappy.  Good.  I get tired of movies that have no feeling, no depth, but lots of stuff I don't want to put into my mind and heart.

Weekly Wrap-Up 12-20-09

We kind of had an easy homeschooling week building up to Christmas Break.  Tasha spent two days at our Pastor's home babysitting his children.  It was there that she finished her work for the semester.  She has completed a whole year of high school English in one semester.  This will make up for the English 10 credit that she had done so poorly on in public school with the teacher that failed half her students.

Tasha is already ahead for next semester in Science.  She finished up her other classes a few weeks ago.  Basically, she hasn't had a stressful time the last few weeks in school.  She just plows through her work and gets it done.

Laura's classes this week were not difficult either.  We did four days worth of work.

Math - Laura did a few pages a day in Math.  She studied about the history of Christian Education in Social Studies.

History and Bible - In History and Bible, we read about the birth of Jesus.

Reading - In Reading, Laura read four stories in her Salute to Courage Book.  We also finished up The School Story.  Laura is also reading A Journey to the New World, the Diary of Remember Patience Whipple.  She picked this book from the library on her own.  It is a book set up like a diary of a girl on the Mayflower.  She loves it and has spent many nights reading past her bedtime.

Science - Laura really hasn't done much this week.  We didn't want to start anything new right before a long break.  We will start fresh after the new year.

Language Arts - This week wasn't a big week for Language Arts.  Laura continued her handwriting practice.  She also worked on commas in her Abeka book.

We are now officially on Christmas Break.  Except for reading, I don't plan to make Laura do much work.  It's time to enjoy our family and friends and celebrate the birth of Jesus. I have planning to do for next semester.  I don't think I'll get to planning until after Christmas.  Right now my efforts are focused on the Holiday.  I am waiting for some stuff to arrive before I fully plan things out anyway.

Tasha's planning will be coordinated with the lady we are going through for High School planning.  Tasha's English 11 will go through her.  I can't afford a large amount for curriculum, so we are going to use some alternative things.  Tasha has more papers to write this semester, which didn't get her excited, but she knew it was coming.  We also have another elective to choose to replace Speech.  This will all happen over the next couple weeks.  I'll keep posting about our plans.

Church Christmas Pageant

We had our Children's Church Christmas Pageant this morning.  Laura played Mary.  Despite the fact that some of the kids had butterflies, the show went off successfully.

Before we had our pageant, we had worship.  I had dressed the kids for the pageant in their costumes.  It was quite a sight to see a bunch of angels in the front row worshiping Jesus.

Jasmine played a role as a narrator, reading to the crowd the story of the birth of baby Jesus.

The play held the classic scene at the manger.  Laura did a beautiful job as Mary.  She has been wanting to play Mary for a couple years.  She finally got her wish.

After the play the teenagers did a human video to  the song "I AM".  They did an amazing job.

Most of the teens had a part they performed solo.  Kim was the first to perform.

Tasha (on the left) and her Aunt Kendal did an amazing job with their parts.

This picture is kind of hazy.  I turned it to black and white to show the contrast.  Yet, the emotion on Kim's face is so touching.  Kim is my oldest daughter.  She recently got accepted at the Christian college where she had applied.  She puts such heart and passion into her work for Christ.  I truly feel God has some amazing plans for my daughter.  She has fought a lot of battles in her young life, both with her health and with circumstances.  God will use those things in her life.

Tasha was always my shy child.  I was kind of nervous that being homeschooled would draw her into a shell.  I couldn't be more wrong.  If anything, she is more of an individual and quite the character.  She is who God made her to be, without the pressure to be like the other girls pressuring her.  Her love and devotion to God has far surpassed anything she had even thought of from when she attended public school.  I am so proud of her.  Her performance on the human video team has gotten VERY out-going and passionate.

This was a very busy Sunday, but I was so blessed by all that the kids did for their Lord and Savior Jesus.

Christmas at the Food Pantry

Once a month our church sponsors a food pantry.  With Christmas upon us in an area that has been hit hard during this recession, many people are in need.  Our pantry does the best it can to serve the local area. 

Last month, for Thanksgiving, we served over 450 families. It is a good feeling to feel like you are helping those in need.  Sadly, there seems to be so many in need.  Some of the stories you hear are heartbreaking.  Homes lost, jobs lost, no jobs opening up, unemployment running out, no money to buy any Christmas gifts for their children... these are the most common tales.

I've worked at the church's food pantry for five years and I've never seen the number of new faces as I do now.  There are just so many that have been hurt by the economy now that weren't in the past.  Personally, I believe that if you want to know the state of the economy, talk to these folks.  They aren't seeing jobs in this area coming available.

These are the working class.  They want to work.  They will work hard.  They want to provide for their children.  They don't want to live off food stamps, welfare, unemployment, or food pantries.  They get enraged when they hear some know-it-all on TV say they were living way beyond their means and it is their fault.  Most don't live beyond their means... they just have a lot less means than others.  And for most their means have changed.  Their jobs moved to Mexico or just simply shut down or cut back.  Permanent Layoff Status is the name that sounds a lot nicer than it actually is to live.

I was told that the county we live in is one poorest in the state and even the nation.  The evidence can be seen by walking around the block.  Homes sit empty on every block.  These are not fancy, new, over-done homes that people bought to "keep up with the Joneses".  These are older homes in a quiet town that people bought so they would have a place to raise their families and grow old in.  These homes were not out of their price ranges.  Most of the people didn't, as the know-it-alls on TV seem to sarcastically say, buy more home than they could afford.

Their jobs closed.

I love volunteering at the food pantry.  I feel that our church is able to reach the community and serve Jesus in this way with more than just words.  However, I also get a little angry.  When a person is behind on their vehicle payments, out of work, and just in desperate need of a break;  there is no help.  Over and over I hear that the banks are telling people that they can't do anything.  Vehicles, often the only one that some families have, are being repossessed.  What happens next is that these vehicles are sold for next to nothing at auction and the balance of the loan is still owed.  So, when these people do find work they get to have their paychecks garnished.  Banks that received government bail-out money refuse to help those that are out of work.  Isn't there a parable about this?

There are a lot of people with suggestions.  Get more education.  Train in a different career.  However, that isn't always feasible.  To put it simply, all the education in the world won't bring a job to a dead area.  The answer needs to come from business.  Businesses have to move back into the area. 

I don't think many Americans are fully awake yet to the realities of what is happening out there.  Some are still in stable positions, and if they feel the pinch they might have to forgo their Starbucks or not buy quite the elaborate Christmas they want.  Suddenly 'frugal' is cool.

For the families I saw at the food pantry, they aren't trying to be frugal.  They are trying to survive.

The School Story - Review

We finished The School Story by Andrew Clements yesterday.  It took us a couple weeks to read it, but that was because Laura wanted it to last.  She liked this book.  We read it as a read aloud, but it could easily have been a reader for Laura.

The story centers around two friends, Natalie and Zoe.  At twelve years old, Natalie has written a book.  Her friend Zoe believes the book is good enough to be published.  The girls begin an adventure to have the book published.  With Natalie's mom an editor for a children's publisher, the adventure gets interesting.  Yes, Natalie is able to learn a lot about the publishing business, but trying to keep the identity of the author a secret leads to some interesting situations.

This book talks about a few different careers.  There is a very good example of a teacher going out on a limb to help her students because she believes in them.  There is a pretty good introduction to the publishing world.  The story also touches on law, writing, and advertising. 

This book deals also with some issues that were neat to discuss with Laura.  Natalie and Zoe both had different opinions on what constitutes lying and not lying.  The book dealt with recognition for work, and should some get more recognition than others.  Touched on in this book is the fact that Natalie is dealing with the death of her father and growing up with a single, working mother.  Zoe's life looks much different than Natalie's outside of school. 

Not long ago Laura and I read the book Frindle by the same author.  This book was recommended.  I tend to try to mix up styles in our reading and read alouds.  I wanted a book that was a little lighter and funny after reading the inspirational George Muller.  This book delivered.  I recommend this book for either a read aloud or a reader.  I actually got this book off a book lot auction on ebay, but it is available at most libraries.

Wind Power

Not too far away a Windmill farm has sprung up over the last couple years.  As we were driving to the mall today, we drove right through the windmills.  They are an impressive sight.  Laura just studied a little about them in science when we were studying wind and weather patterns.  I took some pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These windmills are amazing to look at.   Up close they are really neat.   As a group, when they are turned on, they are distracting.  At night, they blink red lights.  From a distance the sight is interesting with what looks like hundreds of red lights blinking on and off at the same time for miles.

Today We Ran Away

I went to bed last night planning to have a full day of school.  I woke up this morning and decided to run away.  With only Laura and Megan at home, I decided it was the perfect opportunity for some time away from home.  So I quickly showered and got the girls up and ready to go.  Laura thought Mommy was a little nuts cause I am usually a stickler about getting our school work done.

We had a bit of a field trip, as I will share in my next post.  Then, it was off the the Christian bookstore and the mall to Christmas shop.  The mall opened a Christian bookstore inside there too where every book is five dollars or less.  I was in heaven, and I got some great gifts for awesome prices.

Other than that, I didn't find many bargains like I had hoped.  I think everyone is nuts to charge what they are charging for things.  For us, this Christmas will be a bit scaled down, and I think it is excessive to charge some of the prices I have seen.

Laura and Megan had a blast at the kiddie play area in the mall.  Luckily, since most people are still working or in school, the place wasn't slammed like it is in the evening or the weekends.

Megan didn't want to leave the play area, but hunger won out.   She was happy to go so we could eat lunch. 

We went to Taco Bell for lunch.   While I would have loved someplace different, this was quick.  It isn't very often that we get to go out to eat, so it is a treat no matter where we go.

 

Sadly, I didn't get my shopping finished.  It is not so easy to shop for children that are with you.  It's not like they are old enough to just send to another part of the store.  So, I hopefully will finish tomorrow when the girls can stay with their older sis.

For Me or For My Children

I was struck by something the other day.  I had first picked up the first redone versions of the Elsie Dinsmore books at the library so that I could see how they would do as readers or read alouds for Laura.  I loved them, so I raced to the library to check out the next two.  Oh, I'll definitely use them with Laura.  But as I was rushing to get to the library to get the next two, my fifteen year old asked me, " Mom, are you getting them for Laura or for you. Aren't they kids books?"

Ok, I guess they could be kids books.  They are in the kids section of the library.  I got to thinking about my daughter's comment.  I have loved some of Laura's books immensely.  Some of them I have loved a lot more than her.  I started to think about why.  I know we are different people with a bit different tastes.  I don't think that's it entirely.

The truth is that I get a lot out of them.  I didn't grow up with a consistent Christian upbringing.  When I read these little Christian books about children, I feel like I'm getting something I didn't get as a child.  Maybe that something is a view of child-like faith.  Coming to Jesus as an adult tends to mean things aren't viewed as simple. 

Maybe I just get out of it a wonderful story about Jesus.  So many novels, even Christian ones, for adults have heavy themes.  The books for kids are gentler.  I could use gentler now and then. 

Either way, I love the books.   I usually love to read the books with Laura and share them with her.  We have had a good time reading together.  Even some of her readers I have enjoyed as I read them before her.  Song of the Brook by Matilda Nortdvetd is wonderful.  Laura doesn't read that one until after Christmas.

My hope is that, for Laura, she finds friends in the characters in these books.  Living for Christ isn't always easy.  These characters are wonderful examples for her.  I hope they help to touch her heart and mind for Jesus.

As for me, I will continue to read these wonderful books.  Having these examples in my life helps me too.  Some of these characters are becoming my friends too. 

Mpact Girls Christmas Party

We had our Mpact Girls Christmas Party this evening.  The girls enjoyed crafts, including an homemade coloring book, and fun snacks.  In one craft the girls used beads, craft sticks, and green pipe cleaners to create beautiful christmas tree cards for their families.

Laura loved the coloring book.  Kids never out-grow coloring.  The teens from the youth group wanted to color with the little kids.  They were disappointed that there wasn't enough coloring books.

The pictures were taken with my cell phone.  I put my digital on the charger and forgot it there.  The quality of the pictures with my cell isn't as good, and I didn't take very many.  Another leader was taking pictures of all the girls.  I decided to just snap a couple of Laura.

The party was a success.  There was extra girls tonight.  I learned to make sure I had plenty of supplies and not to advertise my parties on Facebook.  Many girls showed up when their parents saw the post.  I can't complain.  We might not have had a lesson, but I still think even a party can touch lives for Jesus.