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.
Blog Hoppin' with:

Pumpkins, Chocolate & Moo Cows, Oh My!

Ok, so it all started when a friend of mine, Regina, mentioned something about sending me a package in the mail for my birthday (which is still a month away...). Then, on Saturday, I received this pix message:

And sure enough, Monday afternoon, the mail carrier lady stops at our box, and when I go out to check this mail:

And actually, there are two boxes in there. One is from BzzAgent, and it contains Chocolate Chip Cookies. Um... yay!  But, I quickly find out that those cookies have NOTHING on what's to come in the box from Regina:

What in the world is in this box? Let me tell you!

We've got Chocolate stuff:

Swiss Miss Mocha Cappuccino Hot Cocoa mix, Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Trader Joe's Milk Chocolate bars (3-pack), and a Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Bar Caramel with Black Sea Salt. :::drool:::

We've got Pumpkin stuff:

Dunkin Donuts Pumpkin Spice coffee, Paula Deen Pumpkin candle (in a little skillet!), Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows (squee!), Pumpkin Harvest Fabreze room spray, Pumpkin Spice Chai Twinings of London (tea), Pumpkin Spice Jell-o Pudding, Betty Crocker Pumpkin Spice Cookie Mix, Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter (ZOMG!), Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pancake & Waffle Mix, and Trader Joe's Pumpkin Bread & Muffin Mix.

We've got Cow stuff:

Adorable Thanksgiving greeting card with a Turkey saying "Moo moo." And, a hilarious little packet of "Cow Seeds." The pack says "Herd Starter Kit. Directions: 1.) Start your own herd. 2.) Plant seeds in warm spot right side up. Cow will grow upside down if planted wrong. 3.) Be patient, it takes a long time to start your own herd. 4.) For best results, moo softly while watering." BAHAHAHAHAH!

I don't know what I ever did to deserve such a lovely birthday present (a month early!) and such a wonderful friend, who apparently knows me very, very, very well.  Lol!  But...wow.  Thank you, Regina!!!!!!  And thank you to her husband, Kevin, for allowing her to bless me with such a gift!   You guys are the best, and we miss you sooooooooooooo much!!!

Moo, Rarr, Rarr!!!

Homeschoop Swap: October-November 2011

I enjoyed another round of The Homeschool Post's Homeschool Swap this Fall.  My partner this time was Dana from Noggins & Nonsense. I had a fun time collecting some goodies to send to her.  She said she was a list-maker so I figured she would enjoy this super neat Goal Setting/List Making book from Seth Godin and Zig Ziglar.  Reading some of Godin's stuff has really inspired me lately (thanks BzzAgent Domino Project campaign, lol!).  I was very glad to hear that she liked it!  Yay!

I received my package from her just a few days ago, and was very excited to open it!  Ok, surely you KNOW how much I enjoy getting mail by now.  =)  Anyway, it was definitely a fun surprise:

There were several readers for Preston, who instantly collected them all, sat on the couch and began reading (love that kid!).  A fun snow experiment - I've already got it worked into our curriculum for the week before Christmas when we talk about ice and snow!  There was candy!  An adorable Fall bookmark that Dana made... yay Fall!  And a beautiful framed artwork that says "They call me mom, for that I am truly blessed."  Love it!

Previous swaps I've taken part in:
April-May 2011
July-August 2011

Homeschool Mother's Journal, August 26th

The Homeschool Mother's Journal: Summer Edition, a link-up with The Homeschool Chick.

In my life this week...
- Last weekend I had THREE Usborne events, so I've spent a lot of this week follow up with the people I met there.  Lots of phone calls and emails.  Have been receiving some good feedback and I get really excited when other people get excited about these books!
- A sweet woman I met on a homeschool message board sent me a box full of cloth diapers.  I know Callen is already nearly 18-months and he's actually already showing signs of wanting to start the first stages of potty training, but this will be good training for next time (whenever that is.  No, I'm not pregnant, thanks!). I am really looking forward to figuring out the tricks and folds and benefits!!!

In our homeschool this week...
- Preston finished both of his summer workbooks, A Reason for Handwriting "A" and Super Deluxe First Grade Scholar. He gets about two weeks of break and then we'll officially kick off First Grade with My Father's World.  I'm stoked!

My favorite thing this week...
- Wednesday afternoon Michael came home and was all "Let's get outta here!"  We ended up at the mall, but it was such a great break from the house.  We walked the entire mall, trying to find Michael a decent pair of shoes (in our price range, ugh!) and came home empty-handed.  But it was still fun just being out with my family and spending time together doing something other than sitting around.  Lol.


I'm grateful for...
- The opportunity to go to Women of Faith this weekend!  And to get to go with my awesome friend, Candi makes it even better! I'll be tweeting throughout the event, so follow me: @heyjade. And I'll blog about it once I've recuperated from the weekend!  Thanks, again, BookSneeze for sending me!!!

People we're seeing...
- My mom came over twice this week to watch the boys for me.  Thanks, again, Mom!  So they got to spend some good time with Grandma.  My neighbor brought her daughter over for a little playdate on Thursday.

A video to share...
Israel Houghton strikes again. That guy can write a song, I tell you what! Lol. They do this one at my church, and then it's stuck in my head for a week! I posted this on my FB earlier this week, and YES it IS still stuck in my head. Now let it get stuck in yours!

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P.S. While you're here, do you mind "liking" my Usborne FB Page?  Thank you!!!

Homeschool Swap: July-August '11

The Homeschool Post does a Homeschool Swap every couple of months.  It's a pretty simple idea, send a fellow homeschool mom some goodies, she sends some to you and in the mean time you get to know each a little better, send each other encouraging emails or whatever.  You get paired up based on a survey you fill out, and the peeps over at The Post try to match you up as best they can.  They did a swell job this time around, as my partner Becky and I had a lot in common!  I was excited as I read over her answers and compared them to my own.  Now, there were many differences, as in ... she lives in Canada, I'm in Texas; she has 7 kids, I have 2.  But, the commonalities were great: we're both going to be using MFW curriculum this year with our kids, we both love cows, we both are mainly t-shirt and jeans girls, and we both love Jesus!

I had a blast picking out things for Becky and her crew.  I really hope she likes them!  Here's a picture of what I sent her:

It included: an adorable owl pencil pouch, mini dry-earse makers, notepads, Texas Turtle Coffee, lip balm and some little goodies for her kiddos.

I received my package from Canada and got all giddy just opening it.  Haha.  Ok, well, you know how much I love receiving stuff in the mail already!  Here's what she sent me!

Love all the stamps on there!

Oooh, what's in here?!?

It included: candles, lip balm, candy, gum, hair clips, mini dry-erase markers, Canada napkins and a keychain, notecards and tiny nailfiles.  So fun!!!

Thank you, Becky, for the wonderful goodies!!!  Everything was just perfect.  It's been a pleasure getting to know you, and I can't wait to compare notes on our MFW experiences!!!

Looking forward to the next Homeschool Swap, coming up in September!