End of Summer 2015

I just realized I haven't posted the blog in a while, though I post them often on Instagram.  Here are a few from our summer to get you caught up.  ;)

ECCHO (Ellis County Christian Homeschool Organization) had an end-of-summer reading celebration at a little splash pad/park in Corsicana so we took a bit of a road trip to check it out.

We started Enrichment Classes with ECCHO here in Midlothian.  Preston is taking Scooby-Doo Mysteries, Singing, P.E and Board Games.  Callen is doing Storytime Activities, Scissor Skills, Creative Play and Little Builders.  And so far (after one day), they LOVE it.

I took the boys to the American Airlines/C.R. Smith Museum for the Lego Castle Adventure Exhibit.  We had the place to ourselves for the most part, and the boys had a blast!

The boys have had a great time just being creative and playing.

Our little town was in the spotlight for a little while, when a hate group demanded the local elementary schools take down their dedication plaques because they mentioned God and has the words "Soli Deo Gloria" on them.  There were several prayer rallies and peaceful protests, and, for now, the plaques are back on display.

Callenism on God and the Potty...

Callen was doing his business, when he asked a very serious question...

Callen: Mom, does God go poopy on the potty?
Me: Um... no.
Callen: What?! He doesn't? Where does he go poopy?
Me: He doesn't.
Callen: HUH?!?
Me: God doesn't have a body like we do.
Callen: He doesn't have a body? He only has a HEAD?!
Me: :::laughing::: No, he doesn't have a body, he doesn't need one. He doesn't go poopy.
Callen: Mom, God goes poopy on the potty.  He has to.
Daddy (from the other room): God is invisible!
Callen: We can't see him?  Can I see him in heaven?
Me: Yes, hon.  And then you can talk to him about all this, ok?
Callen: Ok.

Our Little House in the Prairie...

So, our house was officially listed last Friday.  The photographer did a fantastic job of capturing our "model home."  The staging is nice, and even though keeping it "nice" is difficult with two little hurricanes living here... it's worth it.  Check out some of the pix:

Curb Appeal

Entryway and kitchen view from living room.

Living area

Kitchen and breakfast nook.

Master bedroom.

Backyard with swing set and deck.

We've had about 10 showings so far, and the feedback we've received from just a few of the potential buyers that bother to leave feedback... is that it's too small.  Yep, it's a perfect little house for a couple just starting out or empty nesters.  We are moving because we need a bigger space if we plan to have another child... which we do.  But, this house has served us well with our two current children and has been our home for over 10 years now.

Michael and I are enjoying looking through listings for what we want in a new house.  Actually, Michael has already found us the perfect house... at least on paper.  I keep thinking there must be something horribly wrong with it if it's still on the market, but who knows.  We'll probably start going to actually look at places next week.  Don't want to get too excited about a place and then have to lose it because ours hasn't sold yet.  BUT if ours happens to sell quickly, we'll need a place to live, right?

We are in the throes of this next step in our life, and believe it or not, I am still super calm and excited about it.  For me, that's huge.  I do not deal well with change, and this type of change (MOVING!!!) is major.  So, I guess that's a pretty good sign that this is the right time and God's got it under control.  

P.S. The thing I struggle most with right now in keeping the house tidy for spur-of-the-moment showings... making my bed.  Ugh, I HATE making my bed.  Always have.  I am blessed with a husband who feels the same way, so we've just never done it.  Plus, the kids are always tromping on it and throwing the blankets off anyway, what's the point?!  So yeah, lol, if that's any indication of how NOT STRESSED I am about this whole experience... the fact that the most trouble is making my bed.  RIGHT?!

Homeschool Recap, December 14th (Week 19)...

In my life this week...

It's been a crazy couple of days.  Monday was my birthday, and it snowed just a tiny bit.  But that was a really nice birthday gift for me!  Callen and I have been sick... just a cold or something, coughing, lots of yucky drainage, etc.  Well, it seemed we were getting better.  Michael and I dropped the boys off to spend the night with Grandma on Thursday, so that we could have a date night.  We used Christmas money my Grandma Evelyn gave us to go see the Dead Sea Scrolls in Fort Worth.  That was a neat experience!  We also found a revived Bennigan's and had dinner... oh, how many times we ate at Bennigan's back when we were dating, haha!  Meanwhile, Callen threw up a bunch of times while at my parents' house... not sure what the real cause of that was, but... oops, sorry, Mom & Dad!  Eep.  Friday morning I turned Michael's TCCC grades in for him, dropped a present off for a friend who just had a baby (a month early!), stopped by Auto Zone to see why my check-engine light came on (no big deal, whew!) and then finally made it Chickfila in Southlake to set up for their last Women's Expo.

Half way through the event, I heard the news of the mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.  I couldn't stop shaking and my eyes kept filling will tears... 20 sweet children killed along with 6 adults at the school.  Plus the shooter's mother and himself.  Unbelievable.  I know that we can never understand such things... there is no "answer" for something like this.  It's completely unfathomable and utterly heart breaking.  Last night, as I watched classic Christmas tv shows and movies with my little ones, all I could think of was how there were so many families who weren't doing the same thing that evening.  It's hard to celebrate a holiday after losing a loved one... but to lose a child so near to Christmas.  Wow.  Their precious ones were taken from them in what is supposed to be a season of cheer and goodwill.  I can't do anything but pray for peace and comfort and that despite what they're going through right now... that the family and friends who have gone through this tragedy will turn TO God and not AWAY from Him with their grief.  And as people scream and argue about gun control, better school security, etc....A friend of mine, Layne Rogers, posted this as his status yesterday and I just love it, and I pray we all remember it forever: "We do not eliminate darkness by destroying everything that casts a shadow, we push back the darkness by increasing the light."

Anyway, a quick recap of what we did earlier this week...

In our Homeschool this week...
Tot School: We continued the 1plus1plus1equals1.net "Tot School" printables this week with letter "N" for Net (insects)!  We read a lot of fun bug-themed books:



Bible:   This week's name of Jesus was Lamb of God. Preston's memory verse is John 1:29 and we looked up verses in The Discoverer's Bible that talked Jesus being a lamb. We also made a lamb out of the boys' hand prints and cotton balls.  They did not... um.. come out as I had hoped... Preston has a bit of trouble writing that day (due to his bad attitude about it, mostly).

Not exactly what I had hoped for.

Reading/Writing: We continued Spelling by Sound & Structure.  Continued with lesson 40-42 in Primary Language Lessons. We finished our read-aloud, Farmer Boy, by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Preston wrote a short book review on it. We have been reading a ton of Christmas books as well to go along with our Advent/Christmas countdown. 

Writing the Farmer Boy review.

History: 
This week Preston learned about Johnny Appleseed, moving to Ohio and the state of Ohio.  We recreated a New England Primer, and Preston stumbled over the use of the letter "f" in place of an "s."


Math: Preston continued Part B of Math Mammoth, Second Grade.  Working on hundreds and skip counting by different numbers, using addition and subtraction.  He is zipping right through this stuff.

Science:  This week's theme was animals, so we read from the First Encyclopedia of Science on different kinds of animals.  We also played the Memory Match game included in MFW, helping to categorize different types of animals.  Oh, and we checked on and threw out our milk/bacteria experiment from last week... nasty!

Music/Art: Skipped music and art this week.

Spanish: Continued with the next episode of Salsa. We reviewed words having to do with "LaGente" in our First Thousand Words in Spanish. Unfortunately, I just realized that the box set of La Clase Divertida was incomplete and did not, in fact, include the second DVD with the last half of the lessons.  It had two audio CDs in it instead.  Oops!  So, we're on pause with that type of Spanish lessons for the moment till we figure out what to do about it.  We can order the Lesson 1 DVD set (of two discs) for $40, but dang... that's a lot of money right now.  So, considering my options and will hopefully have something figured out before we start up again after New Years.

We will take a break from MFW lessons, and do "Christmas School" next week, which will be fun things like crafts and simple lessons using the holiday theme.  And then we'll have a two week break off of school!

We are using Adventures in My Father's World. See our curriculum here.



[This post contains affiliate links for Usborne Books & More and Amazon.com.  By clicking on those links and purchasing items, you are helping me continue to be a SAHM so that I can focus on homeschooling my children!  Thank you!]

Unconditional Book & Movie Review...

As I stated before, I was very excited about this film, especially when I found out that the writer and director was Brent McCorkle.  Or, as I know him, Brenton Scott.  Brent(on) was a local name in Christian rock in the days when I first started listening to "Power Mix" and then Power FM.  I know exactly where his CD is in the "local/indie" section of my music library, lol.  I knew he had gone on to become a "movie guy," and that he was a really talented director. It was very exciting to his name up there on the big screen, and in all the promo that's been going on for the movie too.

I was sent Unconditional: A Novel based on the movie and Brent's screenplay, written by Eva Marie Everson by BuzzPlant.  I haven't had a lot of time to read lately, but I managed to read the novel in two sittings just a few days before the movie released! Ms. Everson did a fantastic job writing in all the little details that helped me get a clear image in my mind of what was playing out in the story.  I could easily envision Sam's read hair and Samurai Joe's "pajamas." And as I later watched the movie, I was amused at how well the images matched what I had seen in my head!

The book and movie are based on the true story of "Papa Joe" Bradford, an extraordinary man who faced all kinds of obstacles in his life, but still spent his time inspiring young people to do their best.  Sam and Joe were friends as kids, but grew apart, only to meet up later in life while both were in the midst of personal trials and tribulations.  Their reunion serves to help both of them in one way or another.  Sam lost her husband in a tragic situation, and cannot get past her grief, but finds life again as she begins to pour love into the "Papa Joe's" kids.  Joe is fighting a terminal illness, living in the projects and trying to do his best to show those kids that they can be better than their situation.  It is a deeply inspirational and touching story, but what I loved about it is how true-to-life it really was.  It didn't feel fluffy or overly simplified.  It's cliche to say it, but there are parts that will make you laugh and there are definitely parts of this story that will make you cry.

In the story, Sam is a children's book writer, who is in the beginning stages of writing a book called Firebird.  When her husband is murdered, she doesn't want to write the book anymore, but is inspired in the end to finish it.  I love that they have actually created a Firebird book you can get.  It is beautifully illustrated (ok, not by Sam, but by artists who formally worked for Disney), and written just as you will read or hear in the novel or movie.  My kids enjoyed hearing the story, and thought the little bird was just "so cute!."  It's true, it is quite adorable.  It is, again, an inspiring story of a little bird who wants to know why God allows the storms to take away the sunshine, and he has to learn that despite the rain... the sun is ALWAYS shining.  I LOVE this message.  This is a fantastic book that answers that difficult question, "Where is God when bad things happen?"  This children's book is written by Bren McCorkle and Amy Parker.

I really, highly suggest you go see this movie while it's out in the theaters.  Please support a fantastic faith-based film with a strong message of Jesus.  You will not be disappointed.

[I was sent the two books from BuzzPlant, to help promote and review, however I was not further compensated and the statements posted here are my own, personal opinion.  There are AmazonAssociate links in the post, which means if you click on them and purchase something, I get compensated a small percentage at no extra cost to you. You are not required to do that, obviously, but if you choose to, thank you for helping to support my family!]

A Chickfila Civil War...

I don't have anything brilliant or terribly insightful to add to the recent Chickfila controversy. But since this is my blog, and I enjoy looking back years later to see what was going on in the world... I thought I would post something for posterity.

It is heart breaking to see this "civil war" breaking out right now over this.  Both sides seem to be spinning their wheels, and are only further hurting their causes, it seems.  If you like Chickfila and/or agree with what Dan Cathy said about traditional (one man-one woman) marriage, you're intolerant and hateful.  If you are on the opposite end, you're offended and want to shut down/keep out all CFA restaurants because of one man's comments.  Really, y'all?  Really?  Don't we have bigger things to worry about than whether or not it's ok to eat at a restaurant?  CFA (or it's CEO) has just as much right to be in favor of traditional marriage as the other side has to be in favor of same-sex marriage.

I am a Conservative Christian and I do believe in traditional family values, which seem to be so passé these days. We have been (and will continue to be) avid customers of our local Chickfila. #1, because we like the food. #2, because we appreciate the company as a whole. No other fast food chain I know offers such fantastic, high-quality product, outstanding customer service, seems to truly appreciate and work hard to treat their employees well, and has such a mindful attitude about family values. They have books as the prize in their kids meals! They do a fine job of keeping their restaurants, food and employees above most fast food standards.  Psh, and they're fun, too!

My family just a few weeks ago.

These recent someecards.com graphics sum up my thoughts nicely...

I mean, really?  What did you expect him to say?

There isn't just one side being "intolerant" here.

I appreciate Chickfila for taking a stand for what they believe in.  For not being "PC" just to make sure they don't lose business. I don't think Cathy's comments, in the grand scheme of things, are all that earth shattering, nor are they a reason for this huge uproar on either side.  I think those that are eating Chickfila today should be doing it to show their appreciation of the company's stance regarding their traditional values... not just to rub it in the faces of those who disagree.  We are entitled to our own opinions... this is AMERICA, after all.  If you want to voice your opinion, you should probably be able to handle hearing someone else's opinion.  Ok?  But, let's try to make ALL of our voices loving (I'm not saying "tolerant" here, I'm saying loving... this CAN be done, y'all).  We are still neighbors, and I'm pretty sure our top two instructions in this life are to "Love God.  And love your neighbor."  It doesn't say agree with your neighbor, and it doesn't say tolerate your neighbor and his actions... it says LOVE them. Period.

Homeschool Recap, July 20th (Week 2)...

In my life this week...
Getting my recap post up a bit late.  Friday got away from me, as did most of Saturday.  Friday, after we finished school, we met with a friend from our home school group and the kids played at the indoor playground at McDonald's.  Yay for getting some energy out INDOORS when it's 100+ degrees outside!  Today was at least 105, I believe.  Yuck!  Today I had a booth at a Mom's Only Homeschool Boot Camp in Granbury, put on by Heather Mac.  It was a small event, but was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed getting to meet fellow homeschool moms... and of course, show off our awesome Usborne Books, haha.

My Usborne display at the conference!

I got to meet Connie from Smockity Frocks (whom I've blog and twitter stalked for a few years now) and ran into Tina from Shema Homeschooler, who lives around the corner from me... and yet, I had no idea was speaking at this event.  Lol! 


In our Homeschool this week...
Our second week went a bit smoother, as we didn't have nearly as much going on to distract us from school.  And we're getting into our new groove.  Emperor's New Groove fans say it with me, "beware of the groove!"... um, nevermind.

Peek into my prep work.

Because I'm not letting Preston write in a few of our curriculum books, I'm copying down some of the info/problems into a notebook for him to use.  This creates a bit more prep work for me than is really necessary.  However, it's going to save me in printing costs and from having to buy books again when it's Callen's turn.  We do a lot of writing on a sheet protector with a dry-erase marker too.  So, just a peek at what my table looks like on Sunday night after the kids go to bed.  Fun, huh?

Tot School: This week, with Callen, we did more Dry-Erase activities, but he also decided since he liked the Dry-Erase Crayons, he would use the regular crayons more too... so that was nice (and less messy).  I have to tell you, after praising the Dry-Erase Crayons... they still do make a giant mess on your kid and surrounding areas, BUT... it is SO much easier to clean up.  So, still worth it!  IMHO.  Anyway, I realized that he was holding his crayons PERFECTLY!  I didn't teach him, or specifically show him how to hold it, so I was really proud to see him coloring like this:

Perfect grip!

We also continued using the Mama Jenn Education Cubes Alphabet Movements. We read several books suggsted for Callen's age in Honey for a Child's Heart, like The Bremen Town Band, Christina Katerina and the Box and Brown Bear, Bear, What Do You See?

Bible: We started our first Name of Jesus this week, our little cut our says "Jesus - The Lord Saves" and we added it to our Advent Tree.  I decided instead of a poster board, we would use that.  Mostly because... we don't have any space on our kitchen wall for another poster board, ha! We talked about what that meant and looked up some Old Testiment verses in The Discoverer's Bible that spoke on the name "Jesus" and how he came to "save" us.  Preston loved being able to look up real verses in his new Bible! We read the beautifully illustrated book Jesus by Brian Wildsmith.

Reading/Writing: We continued Spelling by Sound & Structure.  Again, the words are super easy, BUT I didn't catch Preston not adding the extra "l" on a few words, like "bill" and "bell" so there was something we needed to work on!  Continued just practicing our letters, c-j this week.

History:  This week we dove into Columbus!  Added to our History Notebook and Timeline.  We read from Story of America and American Pioneers and Patriots that come with MFW.  We also read A Picture Book of Columbus by David Adler, I, Columbus: My Journal edited by Roop and Pedro's Journal: A Voyage with Christopher Columbus by Pam Conrad.  We used some of our bath boats to show how wind helps sail a boat.  The boys thought this was great fun... making waves and wind for the boats as they tried to get from one end of the bath tub to the other. 

The boats sail from Spain to The New World.

Math: Finished up the first chapter of our Math Mammoth workbook and did the review. He's doing really well with starting to memorize some of the math facts so that he doesn't have to figure them out each time.  Yay!  Preston will have his first quiz on the material on Monday!  I'm interested to see how he handles it!

Science:  Did a few pages of Science with Air this week, just talking about how air is everywhere.  We had a paper race.  We put a couple of sheets of paper on the floor, then used some cardboard to fan air at them to get them to move.  I won.  Ha!

Music/Art: We continued the My Very First Art Book, this time drawing animals out of basic shapes.  Preston drew a fine monkey.  We also did a page in the My Very First Art Coloring Book where it was a page full of random lines and marks and Preston created a scene from that.

Spanish: Preston and Callen both enjoyed the next two episodes of Salsa, which continues the story of Goldilocks & The Three Bears.  We reviewed words having to do with "La Cocina" in our First Thousand Words in Spanish.  Callen was sitting in his chair coloring while we were doing this and every once in a while would pronounce a Spanish word along with us, so fun!  I am so pumped, because at the conference I was at on Saturday there was a full Spanish curriculum, La Clase Divertida!, on the "free" table.  Someone recently told me about this particular curriculum and I meant to look it up, and then there it was FREEEEE!  Thank you, Jesus, for that blessing!  I brought it home and it fits in perfectly with what we already have planned... so we'll be doing a little more Spanish that I first anticipated, but I think it's going to be great!  Woo hoo!

We are using Adventures in My Father's World. See our curriculum here.

[This post contains affiliate links for Usborne Books & More and Amazon.com.  By clicking on those links and purchasing items, you are helping me continue to be a SAHM so that I can focus on homeschooling my children!  Thank you!]

Gorgeous Spring Weather!

Ok, yes, I'm a bit peeved that seemed to have completely skipped Winter this year.  BUT, considering how absolutely beautiful it was yesterday and is today... I find it difficult to complain.  The boys are enjoying playing out in the backyard most of the morning.  That certainly helps me get the little one down for a nap after lunch... he's exhausted from all the running around!  I spent some time out there this morning, sipping on my second cup of coffee and just enjoying the scenery - my boys running around like crazies and the nice breeze, blue sky and green grass.  So beautiful.  

I just feel so thankful to God for allowing His Creation to be so lovely to look at, to take in, to enjoy.  Sure, there is ugliness, hatred, pain in this world... but we can't always focus on that, we'll go insane.  Take the time today to breathe in the fresh air, smile at a yellow dandelion (yes, it's a weed, but enjoy it anyway) and twirl around until you fall down laughing!  God is good, all the time.  Even when you can't feel it.  He is there.  I promise. 

God Will Make a Way

I will be completely honest, not a big fan of Rick Warren... but that doesn't mean God isn't using him.  He certainly is.  The following devotional was posted on his blog yesterday and a friend of mine forwarded it to me.  Timely?  Of course!  God knows.  He always knows...

 

Don’t See How? God Will Make a Way

by Rick Warren

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV)

You may be facing a dead end right now — financial, emotional, or relational — but if you will trust God and keep on moving in faith, even when you don’t see a way, he will make a way. 

It will become more understandable as you head down the path he sets before you, but understanding is not a requirement for you to start down the path. Proverbs 4:18 says, “The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day” (NIV). One day you will stand in the full light of eternity and view the big picture. You’ll see God’s purpose behind the path he specifically chose for you.  

In the meantime, do what Proverbs 3 says: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” 

Be patient. God knows what he’s doing. God knows what is best for you. He can see the end result. You can’t. All those problems, heartaches, difficulties and delays — all the things that make you ask “why” — will one day be clear in the light of God’s love.

But for now, we’re learning to trust God. 

----

And we couldn't fathom what we were going to do with the whole car situation yesterday.  The guy was talking like he wasn't going to fix the stuff they messed up.  I prayed, and prayed, and cried and asked for prayer, and got down on my face in the floor and prayed some more.  As I literally picked myself up off the floor, the phone rang... it was Michael.  He was at the car shop, and was on the way home with the car.  The FIXED car.  The guy fixed everything that was wrong, even though he still claimed they weren't responsible for some of it.  Praise God! Praise God! Praise God!  And while that doesn't bring an end to all of the woes piled on us right now, that was certainly the most pressing, the most fateful.  So, with that out of the way, I can breathe again, and realize how silly I am for even worrying at all, because God always provides.  Why can't I get my head to know what my heart knows in the midst of my panic?  Sigh.  God will make a way, where there seems to be no way!

Fully Relying on God...

Y'know, I don't usually want to blog about things that are going to be depressing.  But maybe it would actually help me to get it all out.  These past few weeks have sucked.  Now, don't get me wrong... there has been so much joy and love and blessings flowing through my life... I really can't complain for the most part.  I know that God is good!  But there are all these things bearing down on us right now, and I don't know what to do with them.  I keep giving them to God, then snatching them right back up to worry about some more.  I can't help myself.  I'm a natural worrier.  I want to have a plan of action, and know how things are going to go.  I don't have anything like that right now.  

What's wrong?  Well...

- My husband's back is in such bad shape that he can barely move at times.  Nothing seems to help.  (Not to mention he still has his full-blown migraines constantly)

- Husband also starts his third job this week.  He has a full-time job, and now two part-time jobs (and that doesn't include a few things he does on the side and the volunteer work he does for church).  It makes me feel awful that he has to work this hard (while in such pain too!) for us to merely survive.  It's not like we're rolling in dough because he's working that many jobs, it's still only getting us by, barely.  We have property taxes due by the end of this month...

- My youngest child has decided that he MUST climb on everything, which, in turn, means he must fall off of everything.  It's seriously becoming a problem.  How many bonks can he get on his head before he becomes brain damaged?  And he doesn't listen.  But, ya know, he's not-quite-two, that's kinda standard and I understand that.

- My in-laws are moving this week.  Not just across town or anything, but 1,000 miles away.  It's really difficult to imagine how things are going to be without them nearby.  Especially right now in the throes of this mess we're in.

- The car situation.  Where do I even begin?  The car (our ONLY car) had some sort of a leak.  It wasn't overheating, didn't blow up, just had a leak so we wanted to get it fixed before it got worse.  We took it to a shop that was recommended by a friend, was on the lower end of the price quotes we got and could get it in the soonest.  We weighed our options, and this place seemed like the best one.  Well, two weeks later we get our car back with MORE problems than when it went in.  It appears that the engine was put back together wrong.  It grinds and vibrates, has a leak still and doesn't start every time.  We've had several people who know engines look at it, and tell us that the place put it back wrong and they need to fix it.  So, we take it back to the place and the guy says he did a little work on it, but the rest of it isn't anything that they did, and he doesn't see anything wrong with it.  Um... what?  Michael will go this afternoon, after work, to check it out and see if the car is fixed.  If not... I really don't know what we do.  If he's refusing to fix what they messed up, I'm not even sure what our options are.  We don't have another car to fall back on.  We can't afford to buy another car or to pay for more repairs (the amount of money that we paid him for this "repair" wasn't chump change... it's a huge addition to our debt).  We don't have time for small claims court or anything like that.  It just feels so dirty and hopeless.  And completely unbelievable.  How do you do that to a family?  "Fix" their car by making it worse and then not owning up to it?  Wow.

- I am madly trying to hash out some sort of plan to get me back working so I can bring in some extra income.  Usborne is not bringing in enough money, no one will call me back or answer my emails, people are avoiding contact with me completely it seems.  I don't really have any other skills that I do at home to make money.  And I don't know what I could do outside of the home either.  But something has to give.  Then what do I do about child care?  About homeschool?  Me working would probably just have me spending my income on child care anyway, how does that help?  I feel like God called me to be here at home with my children, homeschooling.  We always knew it didn't make sense financially... but things always worked out.  Well, now that they're not working out anymore, does that mean it's time for a change.  I don't know.

Things just feel like they're spiraling out of control right now.  I know a lot of this stuff is menial, completely silly compared to most people's suffering and major things wrong with the world (oh, and speaking of... my laptop, still broken after many different people trying to help us fix it, sigh).  God has blessed me far more than things have gone wrong.  But you know, sometimes when you're in the midst of battle, it's hard to see anything but what's directly in front of you. and all you can think of is how to get past it, then we'll worry about the rest.  I will just keep trying my hardest to give it to God, and not spend my energy worrying.  His plans are better than ours.  His ways are always right and just.  I just need His guidance and direction as we have to quickly make some serious decisions about major things.  Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement, friends.

It is my hope that I will be able to look back at this blog years from now and think about this time in my life and laugh at how God brought us out of it, and it all worked out for His good.

* Update #1 - The car is fixed!  The guy fixed everything, including the stuff he said they weren't responsible for, and was completely civil about it when Michael and his brother were up there.  They test drove it, and everything is in fine, working order.  Drove it home with no problem... no grinding, vibrating or even any sensor lights on anymore!  Praise God!!!! This is a HUGE burden lifted from us, which means we can focus on other things... because at the moment this was the biggest roadblock.  :::happy, praise dance:::

Homeschool Recap, Jan 7th (Wk 15)

In my life this week...

Oh my word, where are we?  Let's see... my laptop is still not really fixed.  We replaced the back-light lamp and then couldn't get the computer parts all back together.  After a friend's help and then just trying anything possible, we got all back into order.  Only... the lamp only partly works.  I'm sure it's the way we put it back together, or the wiring was loose.  Something easily fixable... BUT, taking it apart and putting it back together again sounds like the WORST IDEA EVER at this point.  So, it's kinda just sitting in a box.  =/

The car is back!  THE CAR IS BACK!  We had our car (yeah, our ONLY car) in the shop from Dec 23rd and just until yesterday.  Geez.  Thankfully, my father-in-law let us borrow his car so Michael could work.  There was all kind of work that had to be done to the engine block.  Long story short, $1600 later - our car is back!  ANNNNDDDDD, it still has problems.  Different problems?  Oh my heavens.  'Scuse me while I hurl. 

And, my in-laws found out their house sold and have been frantically trying to pack and prepare for a move ACROSS THE COUNTRY.  Sorry for all of the CAPS in this post so far, but my gosh... it's been a trying couple of weeks.  We're excited for them to get to do what they want and get to move back to Michigan, but it's extremely sad to know that they won't be just down the road anymore.  They'll be more than 1,000 miles away!  Wow.  Just wow.  It's... crazy.

Questions/Thoughts I have...

God, what are You doing?  I know Your plans are always best, but why do they always have to be so mind boggling to us?  Let us in on a little of it, huh?  A hint?  Please?

I'm cooking...

I usually don't have anything exciting to share in the cooking department, aside from some desserts.  But, I found this recipe for Cowboy Stew on the DutchOvenDude's website (I receive a Dutch Oven for Christmas, LOVE IT!), and it was a huge hit in my house!  It seemed super easy, and I have never really gotten very good at making stew, so I figured... why not?  Well, it was super easy and DELICIOUS!  Preston doesn't usually like that kind of stuff, but he ate two bowl fulls the first night and then requested it as a snack the next day.  I'm serious... that's saying a lot!  Yum!

I'm praying for...

A lot of friends going through sticky situations right now.  2012 is off to a very interesting start for a lot of people!

In our Homeschool this week...

Tot School:  Callen is in his "big boy" bed (a toddler-sized bed) now.  He's saying more and more words every day.  I believe he's getting pretty close to really want to start potty-training.  Things are going well.  He is still as boogery as ever, of course.  Always in trouble!  But then, he's almost two, I have to expect that, right?

Bible: Proverbs 11:25, "A generous man prospers; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."  We also talked about the books of Ecclesiastes through Jeremiah.  Preston is starting to have trouble with the last half of the Bible books we've learned so far.  And we went through the stories of Abraham and Sarah finding out about Isaac and then Isaac and Rebekah.  We also read about Esau and Jacob, and ate Lentil Stew!

Abraham, Laughing Sarah with Baby Isaac

Giving some Lentil Soup a try!

Reading/Writing: Preston is reading so well lately, I'm very proud.  His writing is nice when he's interested.  When he's not... it's like pulling teeth to get him to do write something.  Something we still struggle with on a daily basis. 

Math: This week's theme was time.  This is something we covered in Kindergarten, but he certainly needed reminding.  We read several books we already owned like The Grouchy Ladybug and Telling the Time (an Usborne book!).  We used some clock face flash cards I have, and I asked him what time it was over and over, till he was tired of hearing it.  Haha!

Science:  Snow and Ice was the theme for science.  Unfortunately, we haven't had any ice or snow yet this Winter, not sure if we will!  Had to live vicariously through books about it.  We had a really fun time doing some activities like cutting snowflakes, watching a video on Wilson Bentley (the first guy to photograph snow crystals), and playing in snow.  What?  I had this little kid of Insta-Snow, and when you add water to the powder, it fluffs up and acts like snow.  Preston LOVED that, of course.

Unique Snowflakes!

What's gonna happen?!

Cool, snow!

Bury my hand!

Music/Art: This week's musical instrument was jingle/sleigh bells.  Easy enough.  We looked at a portrait painted by Eduard Manet called The Railway.  And we discussed positive and negative space from Drawing with Children.  And our hymn was the same as several weeks ago, "How Firm a Foundation."

Spanish: This week, we started working on the face, la cara!

We are using My Father's World First Grade. See our curriculum here.

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Countdown to Christmas - Names of Jesus Recap...

During the Advent Season, the days leading up to Christmas, Preston, Callen and I did something I found on Spell Out Loud.  It was a Names of Jesus Chain, which helped us not only countdown the days to Christmas, but also learn more about Jesus - the Reason for the Season!  

Our Names of Jesus Chain!

The boys enjoyed pulling a chain link off every day, and watching it go from long to short!  We also learned some new ways to refer to Jesus, like Rose of Sharon, Bright & Morning Star and Friend.  =)

Along with that, we colored an ornament for each name, which we found here.  Most of the time Preston did the coloring, but occasionally Callen or I did one.  The final product on our tree branch is quite lovely!

Very colorful, indeed!

And we also filled in the Usborne Advent Calendar to Color.  There was a door or window scene to open and color for each day December 1st through 24th.  This was Callen's favorite part... he LOVED coloring on this book.

Working together (Callen coloring my table!)

Final product!  Definitely one-of-a-kind!

I enjoyed doing something this season that helped us focus on the real meaning, Jesus!  

Christmas 2011 Recap...

My goodness, I have a serious Christmas hangover.  I'm not the only one, right?  Geez.

Christmas Eve...

My parents came over, we all went to church for the Christmas Eve Service at Grace Fellowship Church.  It was really good - loved the music!  When we got back home, we ate delicious food like taco chili, my mom's tuna sandwiches (YUM!), Nutella Tarts, brownies, tamales, cheddar bacon dip, and so much more.  Then we got to open presents.  We mostly watched the boys enjoy their gifts.  They got books, clothes including a winter coat for Preston and cute monkey pjs for Callen, a tent/tube thingee to climb around in, a puzzle, a Glow Station and more!  My parents really spoiled those kids!  Michael got a tool and I got a Dutch Oven (yay!). After the kids were in bed (finally!), Michael and I stayed up and watched It's A Wonderful Life.

Christmas Morning...

The boys got to check their stockings, and then peek inside the Santa bags to see what their big gifts were.  Preston got a kid-sized guitar and Callen got a toy box for his room!  Then we headed back up to GFC for the Christmas Morning Service.  It was the exact same program, but the boys and I were helping with the nursery and Michael was helping with the stage.

Christmas Day...

After that, we came back home and gathered things up and went over to Michael's parents' house for lunch and more gifts.  We had the traditional ham and cheese sandwiches and potato chips, along with lots of sweets, of course.  And then, yes... more presents!  We again, mostly watched the boys tear into their haul (again, they were totally spoiled!).  They got more books (lol!), more clothes, a dinosaur, a car, a giant stuffed Scooby Doo, a neat art set and more!  I got some kitchen gadgets (yay, a garlic press!) and Michael received some gift cards to Abuelo's and Lowe's!  And we got a cotton candy maker!  We brought over Michael and Preston's guitars, and along with the piano and the various toy musical instruments they have, the family did some Christmas carols.  Lol.  It was kinda ridiculous.    

We hung out some more, Michael took a nap, the kids played.  Then, as soon as we got in the car to head back home, the boys crashed... we took more naps at home.

When I awoke from my nap, I opened the front door to turn on the Christmas lights and there was a box on the front porch that said "To The Clarks."  Inside were some toy trucks, a duck hunting game, some clothes for Michael and me... and an envelope of cash.  Michael and I just started crying, it was such a blessing.  We don't know where it came from, but thank you, Jesus!  The money is definitely going to help with paying for our car repairs (our car is in the shop right now to get the head gasket and water pump replaced).  We are still just in shock about the whole thing.  God is such an amazing provider!  I know He is.  It's still just such a neat thing to experience it like this!  

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Homeschool Recap, Dec 23rd (Christmas Break)...

In my life this week...

Christmas is merely days away.  DAYS!  Like... two!  Whooooaaaa!  Ok.  So, I made a last minute decision this past weekend that we would go ahead and take this week off of school too (was already planning to take next week off because Michael will be off of work all week then).  I'm glad I did.  It's been a nice break, for sure.  On Thursday, we found out that our car needs a major engine repair.  Our ONE car.  Yikes.  So, today I'll be calling and maybe visiting some mechanics/shops trying to find a place that can a) get us in and out quickly and b) not cost us an arm and a leg.  Not sure either of those is even feasible, but we'll see.  Sigh. The car will be paid off in May.  Figures, huh?

On top of that, Callen fell flat on his face last Saturday night, and I'm not sure, but he might have broken his nose.  It was crazy.  I felt so bad, but I didn't think there was much we could do.  His nose was swollen and he got some bruises around the top.  The next day I was able to poke it a bit and he didn't flinch or fuss, so I figured it must not be hurting him.  He kept pointing to his nose and saying "Boom!" like he was retelling the story of how it happened.  Poor kid.

A few days after the fall.

What's not working for me...

Broken car.  Broken laptop.  Yep, the lap top is still in disrepair.  We got the inverter part delivered (finally!) that we thought would fix it.  Nope.  Still dark.  So, we've ordered a back-light bulb and we'll see if that will fix it.  We're trying these low-cost options first, next will be to replace the whole screen... and after that?  Nothing.  We can't afford anything else at this point.  Christmas, broken big ticket items, end of the year bills due... it's been a bit trying around here the past week.  I know God will provide, though.  He always does.  So, it's not hopeless.

I'm praying for...
A blessed Christmas for everyone!  We've had a rough week, and could use some joy and peace.  I know nearly everything I wrote about this week was negative and depressing.  But Jesus is the reason for the season and with Him, there is only joy and love and hope and peace and prosperity!  I know that He is the greatest gift of all and He lives in our hearts!

In our homeschool this week...

Well, ever since I announced to Preston that we'd be taking two weeks off for Christmas break, he has been saying, "I wish it was January 2nd so we could do school again."  What?  This is the same boy that complains nearly every morning that he doesn't wanna do school.  Silly kid.  We have been doing Fall, Winter and Christmas activities, though... so we are kind of doing "school."  I had some Fall activities printed and ready to go for a while, we just never had the time (or energy) to work them in.  So, I figured, hey... earlier this week was still Fall, so we did 'em.  Preston liked it.  He traced and colored leaves that I had flattened from our various trees around here.  He also completed a little booklet about signs of Fall.

Our workboxes this week!

Then, on Thursday, we read books about the First Day of Winter!  And we have been reading Christmas books all week, of course, too!  See our book basket post from this week here.  We did lots of baking earlier this week as well... Nutella Fudge and Pumpkin Spice Cookies, which we gave to the neighbors and our delivery people (UPS and USPS mail carrier).  It was some delicious stuff!

Advent/Seasonal activity: Our first full week of doing the Names of Jesus Countdown Chain from Spell Out Loud.  Each day we take off a chain link, learn about that particular name for Jesus, color an ornament from here and put it up on our tree branch.  Preston is also doing the Advent Calendar to Color from Usborne each day as well.  Callen wanted in on the action this time around, and has lovingly scribbled his additions to the Calendar.  But that makes it all the more special.  =)

We are using My Father's World First Grade. See our curriculum here.
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