A Most Eventful Weekend...

On our way to ALR!

Two of my upline and I headed off on a road trip on Thursday (Jan 8th) to Ridgedale, MO (near Branson) for the Advanced Leadership Conference with our company, Usborne Books & More.  Our trip up was nice, trouble-free.  Stephanie and Holly had made the drive the year before in a dense fog and kept joking about how they almost died because they could not see... and there are a lot of high, mountain passes and twisty curves, so, yes... they had been in danger!  Our drive was fine, though.  We made it to the beautiful Big Cedar Lodge and had a wonderful first evening and full day of training the next.  The boys were staying with my parents Thursday evening, and Michael picked them up on Friday after he got off from work. 

Well, very late Friday night Michael started having what he thought were bad heartburn pains, and then coughing up blood.  He called me at 3am saying, "I think I have an emergency."  I tried to calm him down and figure out what was going on, but I'm not good at anything medical, so I didn't know.  When I hung up with Michael after that call, I didn't know what he was going to do... and since I didn't hear back from him, I figured it must have passed and he went back to sleep.  I didn't sleep much myself wondering and worrying, but got a text from him about 7am saying "I'm not dead yet, but at the ER.  Running tests!"  I didn't realize he had driven himself and the boys to the ER (and apparently Callen put up a big mean fuss about being woken up, yikes!)  Thankfully, Michael's parents are down for a two-month long visit and staying relatively near by, so Steve came and got the boys from the ER and brought them back to our house and they went back to bed.  I called my mom and asked her to go to the house and take over for Steve so he could go back up to the hospital to be with Michael.

After going back and forth through text with Michael and Steve, turns out the tests pointed to Michael's gallbladder and it needed to be removed ASAP.  SURGERY!  I was so upset that I wasn't there and was having a really hard time deciding between staying where I was and rushing back to Texas by myself.  Everyone told me to stay where I was, so I listened.  Michael was in good hands at the hospital, his dad was there, my kids were with my mom... there wasn't much I could do.  I tried to continue with a full-day of sitting through training, but I had a difficult time concentrating.  The word spread quickly and everyone was coming up asking questions and offering prayers and and nice words.  I even got a hug and a few words of encouragement from Randall White, our President/CEO.  I remember crying a lot, praying a lot and blowing up my phone with texts and calls all day long.  Michael's surgery kept getting pushed back, till finally about 5pm, he went in.  I could have been there had I left that morning.  The surgery went well, and this gallbladder was full of stones, according to the doctor.  He had 4 holes poked into him.  He stayed over night and was released on Sunday afternoon.

Sunday morning was the day we were supposed to leave Big Cedar Lodge and the girls riding with me agreed we could leave at 6am, so we jumped up and got in the car (in our PJs and all!), intending to miss a storm that was coming in from the Northeast.  Well, turns out we ran smack dab into the middle of one that was in Arkansas.  The main freeway was shut down and there was about a 2 hours standstill reported, so the GPS offered an alternate route, which LOOKED like it bypassed the mountains completely.  That seemed like a good idea at the time.  Well, we soon found out it steadily went right up a mountain and was far less traveled, which is NOT a good combination.  We passed many cars spun off on to the sides of the road and kept going.  Then we got to a part with a sign that read "Steep Slope Ahead."  Uh oh.  Indeed.  The entire highway was a giant sheet of ice, and there was absolutely nothing I could do anymore.... there was no way to accelerate so we just kind of came to a slow stop, and then the car started sliding sideways.  We slid, almost in slow motion, into a guard rail on the side of the road.  It was pretty much a straight drop down the other side of it, but luckily we just struck the guard rail a little.  We tried to get out, but the highway was, as I said, one giant sheet of ice, it was impossible to cross or walk around on.  We didn't see any other civilization, no real houses or businesses.  So, we sat there for a while, charging up our phones, calling 911 to let them know where we were exactly, letting our loved ones know we had a bit of delay, lol. 

Just slowly slid and stopped there.

Solid sheet of ice!

We sat on the side of the road there for about an hour and a half.  We got periodic calls from the 911 dispatch saying they couldn't come to us because all of their resources were stuck, too.  The firetruck had slid off into a ditch, the two sheriff trucks were off the roads, the wrecker was wrecked, etc.  REALLY!  We pretty much made it the farthest up the mountain out of anyone, and no one could come for us!  At one point we saw some hope!  A sand truck was making it's way up and around the corner, but then before our very eyes, it slid off the road, too.  Thankfully, the fireman who had the firetruck off into the ditch a little ways down came to check on that guy, and saw us!  He was able to make his way over to use and ask us if we wanted to come down to where he and a bunch of others were gathered in some warm work trucks.  My car wouldn't start at that point, I had ran the battery down charging the phones and such, oops!  So, we decided to take him up on that.  We gathered some stuff and blankets and headed along the guard rail with him down the mountain.  A little ways down I noticed a house across the street, and having to go to the bathroom pretty badly by then, wondered out loud if those people were home because it'd be nice to use there bathroom!!!  The sweet Fireman, grabbed his phone and goes, "Let me call them!"  We then realized we were in a town of 399 people, everyone knew everyone in Winslow, AR!  Thankfully, they were home and we could come use their bathroom, but we had to figure out how to cross the highway, which was solid ice.  Fireman Shane said he had witnessed a lady walk along on her blanket for traction, so we tried it and worked.  Was a very interesting experience shuffling along across a highway on a blanket (IN MY PJs, mind you!), but it worked. 

These sweet older couple let us into their home and we used their bathroom, they offered us coffee and cookies and said we could stay there as long as we needed.  Stephanie asked if they were football fans and they turned on the Cowboy game for us, lol.  They served us lunch and everything.  We had a wonderful time getting to know these people who saved our lives.  At this point I hadn't told Michael what had happened because I didn't want him worrying about me, so when I found out he was finally home with his mom, I called and told him the story.  We tried so hard to get up early and get home as fast as we could, we ended up with an extra 5-hour delay.  Finally, it rained a bit and warmed up a little, so the sand truck was able to drive backwards, sanding himself up the mountain.  We jump started the car and got it off the guard rail and everything looked fine.  The sweet couple escorted us all the way back down to the mountain and over to the main freeway again.  And we were on our way home at last.  I got home about 9pm on Sunday.

Whew.  What a weekend to remember!  Thankfully, Michael is doing much better now, he is healing very well and back to moving around and working and all that.  The dent in the car popped itself out pretty much, which is awesome.  And good grief, I learned my lesson about Arkansas back roads!

Christmas, New Years, Gone Already!

I can hardly believe we are sitting on this side of 2015 already.  I know once we hit Preston's birthday, time just rushes past... and yep, happened again.  We celebrated Preston's birthday, then mine, Christmas and New Years all in a whirlwind!

Michael was off for a week and a half so it was really nice having him home and all to ourselves for that long.  We put together two of the Thomas Kinkade Disney Puzzles, checked out the Whistle Stop Christmas display in Cleburne (and had some yummy BBQ there), watched our own little home town parade of lights, enjoyed time with my parents on Christmas Eve, had a lazy, quite Christmas Day, celebrated New Year's Eve by popping balloons every hour from 6-midnight, watched lots of movies, read books, slept a lot, and who knows what else.  It was wonderful!

My guys decorating the tree.

Ready to start our first puzzle!  Those faces!

Christmas Eve.  Can we open presents yet?

I am so proud of my boys.  This year, instead of asking for big gifts from Santa, they only wanted little things in their stockings and we spent time giving to others instead.  We took yummy treats to our neighbors, and Preston donated his brand new Razor Scotter to a local boy who wasn't getting much of a Christmas.  They were so kind and not at all upset about not getting a big Christmas morning surprise!  Love their little hearts!!!

Too Much Excitement in my Neighborhood...

A few weeks ago, Michael was working on the light switches near the front door and I was in the kitchen working on dinner with the back door slightly open... at the just the moment I noticed, he asked, "Do you smell smoke?"  We stepped out on the front porch and couldn't see anything but thick, dark smoke.  Something was definitely on fire.  Because of the wind and the amount of smoke, it was really difficult to tell which direction it was even coming from!  Michael didn't have his shoes on, so I stepped out towards the road and then just kept going when I finally realized where it was coming from.  Turns out a garage (separate from the house) was on fire just one block over.  I had met a woman who lived at this house a week or two before at the park, and recognized her teenage son coming out of the door of the house next to the garage.  Another couple had been driving by and saw the flames and called 911 already, and was trying to see if there was anyone in the house.  The firemen arrived just a minute or two later and got to work.  It took a long time and a lot of work to finally get it under control and put it out.  The family has spent the past few weeks trying to tear down the wreckage and haul it away because all of it was basically burnt down.  It was pretty crazy to see a fire like that so close.

A day or two later there was some sort of domestic disturbance (I assume) and there was a shooting just a few blocks over the other direction.  The boys and I weren't home at the time, but Daniel (who is living with us now, by the way) said he heard the Care Flight landing near the Fire Station to transport the victim to the hospital.

And just a few days ago, I heard a loud BOOM around 9am in the morning.  I looked out the window and saw the construction guys were still working across the street (laying new water lines or something).  So, I assumed it was them making the noise and went back to lay in the bed with Callen.  A few minutes later I heard a lot of sirens (which is pretty common, since we're so close to the station), but they got closer and closer and stopped.  I jumped up and opened the front door to see the construction guys standing near their site with their phones all up, pointing at something on the side of our house and the firetrucks were pulling up along the side street, too.  I quickly ran down the hall to the boys' side window and looked out.  There was the house across the street - ON FIRE!  WHAT?!  It was a crazy sight because the side of the house, part of the roof, the carport and the yard was fully aflame.  If the fire truck hadn't just pulled up where it did, I would have seen that their van was completely on fire, too!  I watched the action for a long time, and they got it under control.  But my gosh, that was so close!  Way too close! I am not sure what the cause of the fire was, or how much damage there was to their house yet.  It's a brick home and it seems like the majority of the fire was the van and the carport, but I'm not sure.  I don't know if the BOOM had anything to do with it, or was a coincidence, either.  If I had gotten up and out of bed just a little bit earlier, I would have had a perfect view of what happened right out my kitchen window.

Here I thought living out here in the "country" would mean there would be way less drama - boy, was I wrong!

Simple Goals for January 2014

So, yeah... it's 2014 already.  I cannot believe that Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's are gone.  It's quite unbelievable, and almost unfair.  I don't feel like I really got to enjoy the moments because they flew by at a thousand miles an hour.  And now here we are... a brand new year, and "the holidays" are history.

I'd like to start setting some goals for myself each month.  Nothing mind-blowing, like, taking over the 'tri-state area' (leaving that to Dr. Doofenshmirtz).  Simple tasks that need to be done, but that I routinely lack motivation to do.  Perhaps keeping track of them here will help me feel accountable to my list.  I do so enjoy marking things off of a list, after all.

So, here we go.  5 Simple Goals for January 2014...

• Pack Christmas paraphernalia away, return house to 'normal.'
• Unpack/organize DVDs/VHS/CDs (yes, we still use VHS, hush).
• File bills/paperwork and catch up on financial software program.
• Consider Usborne goals for the year, and report to upline.
• Catch up on blog (the move, school, birthdays, Christmas, etc).

Christmas 2013 Recap

We had a nice Christmas holiday.  Jill and Steve arrived from Michigan a few days before Christmas.  The kids adored having their grandparents in the same house for a while, and promptly wore them out.  Michael was off the whole week, too, so that was great.  The weather was pretty nice for the most part, boys got to go to the park several times with Gpa Steve or Gma Jill.  We ate lots of yummy food.  Regina and Kevin were in town from Tennessee, so we got to meet Teagan.  What a sweetie!

On Christmas Eve, we attended Grace Fellowship and came home to Midlo with my parents for snacks and gifts.  The next morning, Santa had come and brought the boys goodies for their new, cool Superhero themed room.  Later, we exchanged gifts and had lunch with Jill, Steve and Daniel.  Mema was going to come, but she wasn't feeling up to it. 

Here is a smorgasbord of pictures from the holidays...

Yay, Gma and Gpa are here!

Our Jesus Story Book Advent Branch

Preston reading the last chapter of the Advent.

Some inside decor.  Love this built in shelf!

Michael not amused at V-Day stuff out on Dec 23rd.

Christmas Eve, ready for presents!

Oh, there you are, Perry.

Loved having Daddy home for a week!

Visiting with Teagan, Regina & Kevin!!

Christmas shopping was tiresome.

Ice Day(s) 2013...

On Preston's birthday, December 4th, it looked like this...

Remote control cars & chalking w/Uncle Daniel

Fast forward a few days, to December 6th, and it looked like this...

WHAT IN THE WORLD?!?!

And that, my friends, is NOT snow, believe it or not.  It is pure ice.  Yep, tiny ice pellets that fell.  All day.  And then, that ice stayed... for days.  It was insane for this part of Texas.  Schools were called off for nearly a week, people didn't go in to work if they didn't have to, grocery stores were literally bare of essentials.  Ice-aggedon 2013.

The boys were excited to go play in it.  Of course, they thought it would be fun... like snow.  Oh well.  They enjoyed it anyway.  For a little while.

He really wanted to make a snow angel.

Look at Callen's face, so happy!

He did really like being out there in the freezing cold!

Ice Day 2013

Found ways to stay warm inside!

When it all finally started to melt, our metal roof gave us quite the show.  The heavy sheets of ice would inch over the edge of the roof, then suddenly slide forward, break off and crash down.  The first time I heard a huge crash, I opened the back yard to look around.  I saw the ice sheet danging above my head and quickly closed the door, which caused it come crashing down.  Our back porch was soon completely covered in thick, hard ice... couldn't open the door any more for a few days!  Callen and I went around the side and then out the back and stood out there a while watching all the ice sheets come crashing down one by one, until the end when a bunch of it gave at once and there was a huge ice-sheet-water-fountain type display.  It was unbelievable!  Callen loved it!

Climbing the ice 'mountains.'

Several days later that those ice sheets were still built up along the edge of the house despite everything else having melted away.  The boys played in it and tried to see who could lift the heaviest chunk.

An unfortunate side effect of the freak ice storm on a metal roof is that some of the water froze in certain places and expanded, bending some of the metal, and making a place for water to leak in.  One morning a week or so after the storm, it rained... and there was a puddle in our living room.  It also bent and nearly broke off an exhaust stack from the water heater.  Geez!

Preston Turns EIGHT!

Preston's birthday completely snuck up on me this year.  We managed to pull off a party on the evening before his actual birthday and he had some sweet friends come.  He wanted a Nintendo-themed party, but it ended up being more Mario than anything, and barely at that.

I'm this many now!

My attempt at 1-Up Mushroom Cupcakes

Gma was opening a remote control car.

Kids playing in the boys' room.

Eight hasn't hit me nearly as hard as 7 did last year.  I think I haven't really had much time to think about it because of the move and all.  I dunno, I'm ok with it for now.  Lol. 

Homeschool Recap, March 8th (Week 27)...

In our Homeschool this week...
Tot School: We continued the 1plus1plus1equals1.net "Tot School" printables this week with letter "V" for Volcano!  We read a few books having to do with volcanoes: Hill of Fire, Big Friends, The Giant from the Little Island, Adventures of Polo and Dear Katie, The Volcano is a Girl.

Bible:   This week's name of Jesus was Servant. Preston's memory verse is Matthew 20:28 and we looked up verses in The Discoverer's Bible that talked about Jesus being a servant or that our job is to serve others.  We also put servant-hood into practice by joining a new group at our church called K.I.C.K.S. (Kids in Christ's Kingdom Serving) and we went to Mission Arlington on Saturday to help where we were needed.  The kids (and adults) sorted donated canned goods for several hours.

Reading/Writing: We continued Spelling by Sound & Structure. Continued with lesson 64-66 in Primary Language Lessons. We finished our read-aloud, On the Banks of Plum Creek, by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Preston wrote a short (two-sentence, lol) book report.

History: This week Preston learned about the Minnesota, Oregon and Abraham Lincoln.  We read Marven of the Great North Woods, The Buffalo Storm, Abraham Lincoln and A Picture Book of Abraham Lincoln.

Math: Preston continued Part B of Math Mammoth, Second Grade.  Finished Chapter 8, did chapter review, mixed review and took his chapter test.  This is the first math test he failed.  He can do regrouping subtraction, he just... didn't on the test.  I emphasized again and again, that he has to LOOK at the problem, read what it's asking to do, look at the signs make sure he knew how to proceed... but, when he was finished (and sure he did it all correct), he was pretty upset to see all of the problems he had missed because he just didn't do the subtraction problems correctly.  We'll definitely be working on that more.  We also started the next chapter, counting money/change.

Science:  This week's lesson was about material changes, using First Encyclopedia of Science  We also talked about "freezing and melting" using Science in the Kitchen.

Music/Art: Our patriotic song this week was "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean."  We also continued our World's Greatest Artists, Vol 1 unit study, with our fifth artist: Henri Matisse. This week, Preston recreated Icarus and did his own version of panting with scissors using The Snail as an example.  Callen joined in too, and they both made nice pieces of art.

Prestons & Callen's paintings with scissors.

We listened to another track from Tchaikovsky Sleeping Beauty.

Spanish: Finished with the very last episode of Salsa. We reviewed words having to do with "Los numeros" in our First Thousand Words in Spanish and went through some review using the Spanish Words & Phrases Flashcards.

Last episode of Salsa!

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!]

Homeschool Recap, March 1st (Week 26)...

In my life this week...

This week was a bit wacky, because I had Usborne events on 4 out of the 7 days.  The boys got to spend time with friends and Grandma and Grandpa this week, so they enjoyed that a lot.  We squeezed school in as best we could.

In our Homeschool this week...
Tot School: We continued the 1plus1plus1equals1.net "Tot School" printables this week with letter "U" for Umbrella/Weather!  We read a few books having to do with weather, like Bear In the Sunshine, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Unbrella.

Bible:   This week's name of Jesus was Servant. Preston's memory verse is Matthew 20:28 and we looked up verses in The Discoverer's Bible that talked about Jesus being a servant or that our job is to serve others.

Reading/Writing: We continued Spelling by Sound & Structure. Continued with lesson 61-63 in Primary Language Lessons. We continued our read-aloud, On the Banks of Plum Creek, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. 

History: This week Preston learned about the Santa Fe, California and Oregon trails, as well as the state of California joining the U.S.  We read Roughing it on the Oregon Trail and The Josefina Story Quilt.

Math: Preston continued Part B of Math Mammoth, Second Grade.  Continued Chapter 8, and worked on subtracting three-digit numbers and regrouping. 

Science:  This week's lesson was about solids, liquids and gases in Science with Air, and we talked about different states of matter.  We also talked about "fizz" using Science in the Kitchen, and did this fun little soda and raisin experiment.



Music/Art: Our patriotic song this week was "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean."  We also continued our World's Greatest Artists, Vol 1 unit study, with our fifth artist: Henri Matisse. This week, we read from Usborne Children's Book of Art and Famous Artists.  Preston colored a picture like the Sadness of the King in My Very First Art Coloring Book with Stickers.

Recreation of a Matisse masterpiece.

We listened to a track from Tchaikovsky Sleeping Beauty and watched the Disney version (even though MFW suggests we don't since it's not really a good representation of the composer's work.  Oh well).  We also listened to Best Loved Stories in Song & Dance, read by Jim Weiss.

Spanish: Continued with the next episode of Salsa. We reviewed words having to do with "Colores y Formas" in our First Thousand Words in Spanish and went through some review using the Spanish Words & Phrases Flashcards.

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!]

Homeschool Recap, February 8th (Week 24)...

In my life this week...

Um... stuff.  The weather was nice this week... I remember that.  Lol.  It zoomed by so quickly, I can barely remember what took place, to be completely honest.  Next week, we are off of school again.  Got some Valentine's fun stuff to do, homeschool group activities, and Preston will be spending the night with Grandma Jill & Grandpa Steve.  Hooray for a break!

Dinner outside on Superbowl Sunday.

Movie Night!  They were so excited about Tinkerbell!

Last Saturday, Michael and I got out for a bit to go see some friends and some good music.  Our friend Adrian was hosting a house show at his loft in Dallas... and Eimi and Drue were there, with Evie!  Squeeee!  It was great to see them, it's been so long!  The other band playing with Matt & Toby, and they were so fun.  The played their songs and Emery songs and made the audience (about 50 people) ask them questions and such.  Made for a really fun evening, for sure!

Eimi and Kayla

Matt & Toby

A Picture to share...

Heehee, caught ya! New curtain & potty training.

In our Homeschool this week...
Tot School: We continued the 1plus1plus1equals1.net "Tot School" printables this week with letter "S" for Stars!  We read a few books having to do with stars, like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Full Moon & Star, Shining Star, Star Light Star Bright.  Callen has also started to enjoy playing dominoes.  Or, at the very least, making a big mess with them around the house!

Under the table while Preston & I do work up top.

Bible:   This week's name of Jesus was Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Preston's memory verse is Rev. 17:14 and we looked up verses in The Discoverer's Bible that talked about God is the ultimate authority above all other authorities. We made a crown that is only for Jesus and put it on display

Reading/Writing: We continued Spelling by Sound & Structure. Continued with lesson 55-57 in Primary Language Lessons. We continued our read-aloud, On the Banks of Plum Creek, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. 

History: This week Preston learned Samuel Morse and the telegraph, along with Florida and Texas.  We read: Radio Rescue, The Great Pig Search, Welcome to the River of Grass, Armadillo from Amarillo and The Inside Outside Book of Texas.  Preston did a great scratch representation in his Scratch & Sketch book.

Math: Preston continued Part B of Math Mammoth, Second Grade.  Continued Chapter 8, and worked on subtracting three-digit numbers and regrouping.  Busted out the addition and subtraction flashcards to help him get up to speed on the facts.  And we worked on some word problems, which he absolutely loves. He tells me, "Mom, if there's ever a math problem I can't figure out, just put it into a word problem and I can do it!"  =)

Science:  This week's lesson was about breathing air in Science with Air, but we had already covered most of what was in the lesson so we just kinda read over it again.  We were supposed to do "Sour Things" in Science in the Kitchen, but I didn't have the supplies needed for some of the fun experiments so we'll do that one another time down the road.

Music/Art: Our patriotic songs this week are "You're a Grand 'Ole Flag" and "Stars & Stripes Forever."  We also continued our World's Greatest Artists, Vol 1 unit study, with our fourth artist: Van Gogh. This week, we read from Usborne Children's Book of Art and Famous Artists.  We toured my bathroom.  Lol!  I have 7 prints of Van Gogh paintings hung up in there... so it was like our own little trip to the museum, without leaving the house. Preston colored a picture much like Starry Night in My Very First Art Coloring Book with Stickers. We finished up listening to tracks from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.

Spanish: Continued with the next episode of Salsa. We reviewed words having to do with "Los Animales Domesticos" in our First Thousand Words in Spanish and went through some review using the Spanish Words & Phrases Flashcards.

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!]

Homeschool Recap, February 1st (Week 23)...

In my life this week...

This week went by pretty smoothly... and I'm thankful for that.  The boys and I got some good outside time when the weather cooperated.  I've started back to using My Fitness Pal (on my phone, and it has a barcode scanner, oh how much easier it is now!) and so I've been trying to be intentionally more active as well as watch my calories and portion sizes.  We ran around the park and today we danced to some old Audio Adrenaline albums... so much fun (and without the cost of a gym membership, lol).  

Overall, the boys' behavior was better than usual this week... so I certainly can't complain about that.  In fact, there were several sweet moments between them... being helpful to each other and getting along really well.  This isn't always the case, for sure, they know how to push buttons with each other, but it was nice to see some tender moments in there.

Preston reading Callen a bedtime story.

Thursday, Jill and Steve came over to watch the boys so I could go do a book party in Lancaster.  It was really fun, a great group of women to hang out with!  And with that, I have a head start on my February sales goal (since I had already met January's, yay!).  I am working towards earning my trip to Convention for free, with a sales challenge each month January through April.

A Picture to share... Last Saturday, Preston took part in our Pack's Pinewood Derby.  His Shark car won 2nd place every race it was in, so overall for his Den, he won 2nd place and got a fun trophy.

Second Place for the Wolves.

The Shark!

The track!

In our Homeschool this week...
Tot School: We continued the 1plus1plus1equals1.net "Tot School" printables this week with letter "R" for Rainforest!  We read a few books having to do with rainforests, like Up a Rainforest Tree and The Rain Forest Counts.  Callen also helped Preston with his Spelling work one more.  Preston's questions were things like, "Which word has the 'er' sound spelled 'e-a-r' and when he read that to Callen, Callen quickly pointed out the words that had e-a-r.  That boy definitely knows his letters!

Callen helped Preston with his Spelling work.

Bible:   This week's name of Jesus was Head of the Body. Preston's memory verse is Col 1:18 and we looked up verses in The Discoverer's Bible that talked the church being the body and God as the head. One of the suggestions in the lesson was to make a gingerbread man and decorate it, talking about how God is the head and we are the body.  Well, at Aldi earlier this week, I saw that they had the Gingerbread Man kits on clearance so I nabbed a couple.  Today we decorated them, and the boys can't wait to eat them, of course!

Callen had some help, but told me where to put things.

Preston did his by himself.  Nice Chef's hat!

Reading/Writing: We continued Spelling by Sound & Structure. Continued with lesson 52-54 in Primary Language Lessons. We continued our read-aloud, On the Banks of Plum Creek, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. 

History: This week Preston learned about four states... Maryland (read Island Boy), Missouri (read Pony Express), Arkansas (read Good Morning, Granny Rose) and Michigan (read The Real McCoy and The Michigan Counting Book).

Math: Preston continued Part B of Math Mammoth, Second Grade.  Started Chapter 8, which is adding three-digit numbers and regrouping.  We do need to work on addition facts, as he still often uses his fingers for facts he should just know off the top of his head.  Need to do some drilling!

Three digit math and a puzzle to solve.

Science:  This week's theme continued with the human body, and we covered subjects like the brain and senses in the First Encyclopedia of Science and made pages in his Science Notebook.  Also did some sense experiments from Science in the Kitchen.

Music/Art: Continued practicing "The Star-Spangled Banner."  We also continued our World's Greatest Artists, Vol 1 unit study, with our third artist: Monet. This week, we read from Monet & The Impressionists for Kids, Monet's Impressions and the Usborne Children's Book of Art. Preston colored in a black and white version of "Woman with a Parasol" and created his own version of a "Japanese Footbridge." We are also listening to and learning more about Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, and read Swan Lake.

Spanish: Continued with the next episode of Salsa. We reviewed words having to do with "El Tiempo" in our First Thousand Words in Spanish and went through some review using the Spanish Words & Phrases Flashcards. 


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



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