Thankful Bunch

Shoes for Orphan Souls

2012-02-08T11:53:00.000-05:00

Counting our blessings and counting our change this month for Shoes for Orphan Souls, a ministry of Buckner International which provides new shoes and socks to orphans and vulnerable children in the United States and throughout the world.

We have a couple birthdays this month in our family, so we thought of the birthday club for Shoes for Orphan Souls. Several years ago Mara collected shoes instead of presents, and we sent them. But shipping can add up, and we aren't near a drop-off. So, we are collecting our change this time, and we'll mail in some socks and shoelaces. There is a youth curriculum that I am going to do with Lila this month as part of homeschool. We can learn some fun foot facts, proper foot care, shoe construction, shoe careers, etc. There are videos to watch online to learn more about SOS.

At the end of the month, we will count our change and have a Foot Party! We'll post about that later. This is part of our Scattered Gifts mission of our family. As we learn about different organizations, maybe God will lead us to give to some on a regular basis, go on a mission trip, or who knows what God will have us do!

Would you like to join us each month? Do you have organizations we can learn more about? I will be posting at the beginning of each month what our project will be. Some months we will be learning about more than one.

Past months:
January - Sweet Sleep

I'd love to hear about ways other families are giving and serving!

Linked with Family Time Tuesday, Works for Me Wednesday, Women Living Well, Raising Homemakers, Winsome Wednesday, and Better Mom.

Lila's Birthday!

2012-02-06T14:38:00.002-05:00

Waffles for breakfast! It's been our tradition to have birthday cake for breakfast since Kyle was three, but the kids have decided to change it up this year.

Every year the birthday kid picks a lunch eat out - Lila picked Friendly's.

They sang Happy Birthday to her when they brought out her sundae.

She came home from Gems Club to a surprise Disco Party with her family!

We did cupcakes this year instead of a cake.

Life with Lila is always a blessing! She knows how to enjoy herself and have fun!

She has a loving, sweet heart, and she is growing into a beautiful little lady.

Pajama Party with a Purpose

2012-02-05T16:27:00.000-05:00

We collected our change for Sweet Sleep in January (see previous post on what we are doing this year), and celebrated with a family Pajama Party! We collected over $50 of change that we are sending to Sweet Sleep to help provide beds for orphans!

For our party we unrolled our sleeping bags, put on our pajamas, and ate dinner on the floor in the family room while we watched the Sweet Sleep videos online. Then we watched the movie Bedtime Stories while enjoying freshly popped popcorn and Mara's Red Hot Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing decorated with marshmellows (tastes like cinnamon popcorn)! Yummy!

We also discovered another organization we thought we would like to learn more about since it is something we can do locally, Project Night Night -and it fits our Pajama theme. We put in a couple calls to our local homeless shelter and hope to hear back soon.

February Scattered Gifts - Shoes for Orphan Souls - see upcoming post.

Linked with: Hip Homeschool Hop, Works for Me Wednesday, Raising Homemakers, Family Time Tuesday, Miscellany Monday, and The Better Mom.

Homeschool Hoopla - Changes

2012-02-04T11:54:00.000-05:00

In our homeschool this week ...
Always trying to tweak the curriculum or schedule ... We decided My Access Writing was not a good fit for us. The feedback on the writing was too generic - actually, it was the same for each different assignment my son tried. Maybe we weren't using it correctly. Anyhow, it wasn't working for us. Brad and I will just put more into his writing and feedback the next couple of months. He is a good writer.

We are going to try Time 4 Learning online lessons with Lila starting this week. There are days that I just don't get to sit down with Lila enough. She loves the computer, and we tried the demo lessons. I am hoping on those crazy days she can do some of these lessons, and I can feel better about her having some school each day. I am hopeful this will be a nice addition for the rest of the year.

Our highlights:

Painting Puzzle pieces to make snowflakes

Cody is great at using his spoon!

And Lila's Birthday - see Lila's Birthday Post!

Also linked with Weekly Wrap-up and Hip Homeschool Hop.

Ten Favorite Apps on my itouch

2012-01-31T09:12:00.000-05:00

1. Dayspring - I love reading these (in)couraging posts by Godly women each day.

2. Pinterest - Easy way to find and "pin" fun ideas.

3. Kindle - I have a devotional book that I am reading and lots of other books - mostly free.

4. Plugged in - from Focus on the Family. Quick way to read reviews on movies for the family. I also like Thriving Family by Focus on the Family.

5. Family table - Weekly family devotions, meals ideas, activites all with a Bible theme.

6. Awesome Note - Place for all my notes for year round!

7. All Recipes - Love to be able to look for recipes anytime! I have loved the recipes I have used from this site.

8. GiftBox - I can add thoughts of gift ideas for my loved ones when I think of them or see them. Handy for when I need them.

9. Compassion - I love Compassion! Releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name.

10. Pray! - I use this to keep track of those I am praying for.

Linked with Top Ten Tuesday

Mara & Cody

2012-01-30T14:50:00.000-05:00

Cody likes to climb up on Mara's lap. And then down again.

He likes to climb all over her and all over the chair.

And sometimes he just wants the chair all too himself. He's a busy boy!

Winter Party Family Night

2012-01-29T15:47:00.000-05:00

Another Mara party - we are getting spoiled! She made snowflake rosettes (like fried dough or funnel cakes) and snowman shepherd's pie for food.

The room was covered in fluff for snow effect. We had a snowball fight with tissue paper snowballs.

And then we had a curling match on the wii. Very fun family time. I thank God for these times together!

Linked with Hip Homeschool Hop, Works for Me Wednesday, Raising Homemakers, Family Time Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday, Miscellany Monday, and The Better Mom.

Homeschool Memo Board and More!

2012-01-27T14:42:00.000-05:00

I made a memo board this week to help me see some some of my plans, especially for Lila, to do during the week. I do my menu planning on a dry erase board, and it works well. So, I am hoping that this helps me focus on some of the crazier days.

We had fun at our homeschool swim time!

This week I sat down with the older two to talk about lesson plans for February. Mara will be finishing up Mystery of History Vol 2 and her Chemistry book. We'll move into The Mystery of History Volume 3 (VOLUME 3), and she will start Exploring Creation with Physical Science. We were going to put that off until next year but have decided to go ahead and start it now. Kyle will be finishing his Economics and Spanish in February. His big focus will be on writing for these last couple of high school months!

Lila is having a hard time focusing on anything besides her birthday right now (which is next week). Oh, how she loves birthdays. February is our month of birthdays with extended family: 6, followed by 4 in early March.

Also linked with Weekly Wrap-up and Hip Homeschool Hop.

We Give Books

2012-01-24T07:37:00.003-05:00

This week in homeschool, we are reading books with We Give Books. There are many children's online books to read - about 160. These are picture books from Penguin and DK for ages 0-10 years. Our favorites so far are:

We loved this one!

For every book we read online, a book is donated to a literary campaign. How fun is that! Lila is loving the books, and she is excited that by reading we are helping other children have books.

We are also using Free Rice in homeschool. This site donates 10 grains of rice to help end hunger for each quiz question answered correctly. You can take a quiz in foreign languages, geography, math, humanities, chemistry, and English. The kids especially like the geography.

Linked with Hip Homeschool Hop, Works for Me Wednesday, and Raising Homemakers.

Liberia

2012-01-23T07:35:00.003-05:00

Our daughter Lila was born in Liberia. So, Liberia will always have a special place for us. Someday we hope to go there with her - when she is older. (We haven't been there since she was escorted.) We have tried to learn all about her country, and we know others who have been there. We give to several missions that support children and orphanages in Liberia. Through these organizations we are able to get a picture of life there.

There is one blog that I love reading - about Ashley serving in Liberia. Reminds me of Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption, a little. Maybe you would enjoy Ashley's story as well: Love in Liberia. She works with Orphan Relief and Rescue, and you read their blog as well.

Lila has about 4 other girls in the area that she is friends with from the same orphanage in Liberia. How cool is that - and we found each other in the midst of our adoptions. The girls have been forming wonderful friendships over the years!

Other organizations serving in Liberia that we follow: Vision Trust, God's Kids, and Lifesong for Orphans. I know Samaritan's Purse also has projects in Liberia.

I know it is important to Lila to know about where she came from and how God brought her to us. We are so excited to see what God does in her life.

Cody even has a connection to Liberia since his birth dad is from there.

Homeschooling January

2012-01-21T15:25:00.000-05:00

This week felt a little scatttered. Brad had Monday off, and Mara visited the local Christian school just to see what it was like. So the week started off a little different, and I never really got into the groove after that. We've done the essentials like math and reading, but I haven't been creative in any subject. I took Lila and Cody to the science museum - a good field trip midwinter.

We ended the week with the girls chorus concert. Always a highlight, except I missed it because Cody had a fever. I'll have to watch the video.

Moment to Remember: Mara planned a family game night on Wednesday. Our dinner was slamwiches inspired by the game Slamwich, accompanied by dice sugar cookies. We guessed marbles in a jar. We played Cranium Family Fun and Uno Stacko. I am thankful for Mara for planning these intentional family nights.

Also linked with Weekly Wrap-up.

Cody Favorites

2012-01-20T07:49:00.028-05:00

Cody loves to knock on doors, open and close doors, and play peek-a-boo behind doors.

"Clockas"

Cody is fond of clocks. He can spot a clock anywhere - in books,

at the grocery store, at church, anywhere!

"Heaby" is Cody's word for "heavy."

A favorite pasttime is to find big things around the house, pick them up, and say, "Heaby!"

This will become part of our family fun words.

Every day he gets more adorable! I hope to take it all in! Even today he makes eating pizza fun simply by saying "pee-ba" over and over - his word for pizza, of course. Joys of a one year old.

Linked with Family Time Tuesday, Friday Favorite Things, Friday Blog Hop

Mixbooking it!

2012-01-19T13:43:00.001-05:00

This month I am Mixbooking it with Mixbook.com at home and at Panera - creating memory story books. It's one of my goals to actually get started on this year. Mara is creating a recipe book too.

I have boxes of photos, photo albums, keepsakes and scrapbook boxes. I want to make books from all of these. There's so many I want to make: for each of the kids school and growing up years, my childhood, my Granny's resume (as she calls her life memories), vacations, adoptions, etc. Where do I start? I am kind of a perfectionist when it comes to this kind of thing. I am trying to get over this because it has been holding me back. I am going to work on some of Kyle's memory books since he will be graduating this year.

That's all past memory keeping. Then there's this year, here and now. Can I start figuring out how I want to move forward in keeping memories so that I don't always have to play catch up?

I have been reading about Project Life, but that doesn't feel like me. I am not a traditional scrapbooker either. I do like storybooks and journals. I might try making some bound digital books with extra blank pages at the end to hand write some notes. I think the most important thing I can do is get started!

I will be writing another post on what I hope to do with all the keepsakes and projects that don't fit into memory books.

How do you keep memories?

Linked with Tackle it Tuesday.

Gentleness and Kindness

2012-01-15T13:17:00.005-05:00

My word for the year is JOY sprinkled with GENTLENESS, and I decided to tie that to KINDNESS. We are practicing in our family so that it will be evident to all. Mostly, I am hoping to grow in speech and spirit and to help my kids do the same - maybe just by practicing our polite manners all the time - to start. Here are some verses as my encouragement:

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Philippians 4:5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

Colossians 3: 12-14 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
1Peter3:3-4 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment ... Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.

Ephesians 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

And now for KINDNESS ... Came across this from Mom's Tool Box and thought it sounded like a good idea. New assignments/challenges every Sunday.

Operation Intentional #Kindness Week 1 Assignments:

(Choose at least 3 of the following to do this week. I’ll post a new assignment list each Sunday.)

1. Put quarters in and then tape more coins on a vending machine with a note. (Thanks, Robyn, for this kind idea)
2. Race ahead and hold the door for someone… or linger and hold it for someone who is waaaay behind you.
3. Compliment 2 people you don’t know who look a bit down. (Don’t mention that they look down, just share some love.)
4. De-cluttering? Donate gently-used books to your local hospital, school, or library fund-raiser.
5. Take some treats or a fruit and veggie tray into the office, or send it to your spouse’s office, kid’s school or doctor’s office. (There must be someone you can surprise!)

Homeschool 2012 update

2012-01-14T10:46:00.000-05:00

We are back in session after the holiday break.
Lila is loving reading! I am so excited to see her progress. She is listening to longer chapter books too which opens lots of new read alouds! Hopefully Cody will be cooperative.

We are trying out the My Access Writing Home Edition program today. Kyle typed in one of his papers that he wrote on Chuck Colson after reading Born Again. It gives automatic feedback and a rewrite plan. So far it looks good. Mara will be trying it out too. We have 30 days to see if we like it or not.

Last night we read Mama, Do You Love Me? I have now read that book for 17 years in a row. It was one of Kyle's Christmas presents when he was only 4 months old. I plan on reading it for many more years.

We are moving through the Middle Ages - finishing up learning about the Vikings this week. I get a little bored with some of it, but I love geography. So, we will add in European geography as we move through the rest of this period. We'll start with Scandanavia since that would be Viking land. And Great Britain. (I love travel videos of different places.)

Our best moment this week was reading Magic Treehouse, Viking Ships at Sunrise. Even the big kids listened and remembered when we read it years ago.

Snow Fun

2012-01-13T14:38:00.001-05:00

(It was starting to get dark outside.)

This was Cody's first time to really get out and explore snow. We all had fun!

Sweet Sleep Scattered Gifts

2012-01-11T15:47:00.003-05:00

My husband empties his change every day into our Bear jar. So, every day it grows! We usually end up using this change as part of our Easter offering, filling baby bottles for the pregnancy center or dropping into Salvation Army pots.

But this year I thought I would use the opportunity each month to learn about different organizations making a difference for Christ to help orphans and children. (I'm sure we'll still have change for the standbys.)

This month we are learning more about Sweet Sleep. "Sweet Sleep is a faith-based nonprofit organization which provides beds to the world’s orphaned and abandoned children, demonstrating God’s love for them and improving their quality of life. Sweet Sleep's vision is for every orphaned child in the world to lie down in their own bed reminding them they are loved, protected and cared for with hope for the future through Jesus Christ." On their website they have videos to watch and family mission moments that you can do at home. I am very excited.

At the end of the month we are going to have a Pajama Party as a family. My daughter loves to plan parties with themes (I do too!). I'll post more about our plans for our party later. We will collect our change to mail off to Sweet Sleep. Maybe we'll have enough for a couple mosquito nets, Bibles, a bed and bedding, etc. There is curriculum we will us as we learn as part of their Nickels for Nets project.

As we learn about different organizations, maybe God will lead us to give to some on a regular basis, go on a mission trip, or who knows what God will have us do!

Would you like to join us each month? Do you have organizations/missions we can learn more about? I will be posting at the beginning of each month what our organization/misson/theme will be. Some months we will be learning about more than one. This is part of our Scattered Gifts mission of our family.

Linked with Family Time Tuesday, Works for Me Wednesday, Women Living Well, Raising Homemakers, Winsome Wednesday, and Better Mom.

Pin It

Ten Kitchen Table Service Projects

2012-01-09T10:27:00.004-05:00

1. Decorate placemats, oven mitts, or lunch bags for Meals on Wheels.

2. Color A Smile collects crayon drawings from school children. Every month we distribute these drawings to Nursing Homes, Meals on Wheels Programs, and Individuals all across the country. Their goal is to make people smile!

3. Decorate cards or cookies for a local nursing home.

4. Collect change for Rice Bowls or Show Hope or another other organization your family chooses.

5. Make cards and send to Hugs and Hope: "Happy Mail" Wanted! Children fighting for their lives have very little to smile about. You can change that by sending them some "Happy Mail." Cheery cards give these kids a few more smiles, a little more hope, and a reason to get out of bed each day.

6. Write a letter to a soldier through A Million Thanks.

7. Collect items from your pantry to donate to a local homeless shelter.

8. Write a letter to missionaries that you or your church sponsors.

9. Drink Gobena coffee, Just Love coffee, Saints coffee, MissionGrounds coffee - and help support orphans and adoption.

10. Make a meal for a family with a new baby or adopted child or for a family with someone sick. Check with your church.

Linked with Family Time Tuesday, Top Ten Tuesday, Works for Me Wednesday, Women Living Well, Raising Homemakers, and Hip Homeschool Hop.

Compassion Homeschool Curriculum

2012-01-04T13:58:00.001-05:00

One of our resolutions is to do a better job writing to our sponsored kids. Right now we just sponsor two children with Compassion: Kevin in Kenya and Bernice in Ghana. We wrote letters about every other month this last year, but we would really like to try to write every month this year. We have made notebooks to keep all the letters in as we get to know Kevin and Bernice.

I am also hoping to try out the online letter writing - maybe this will be easier.

I wanted to share a couple blogs that I read somewhat regularly to help keep me motivated for writing letters:
Compassion Family

Blogging from the Boonies

Compassion

The testimonies of so many sponsored kids on how much they treasure the letters is definitely motivation too!

I am also excited that Compassion has homeschool materials available online. We will be checking these out this next session of homeschool. We also love the Explorer Compassion magazine for kids that we get in the mail. And I just read that Wes Stafford has a new book out that I will have to add to my reading list, Just a Minute!

Linked with Works for Me Wednesday, Women Living Well, Raising Homemakers, and Hip Homeschool Hop.

Love Winter Hats!

2012-01-04T10:38:00.001-05:00

A couple pictures from the holidays

2012-01-03T17:24:00.000-05:00

The sweets were yummy!

Cody loved helping with the presents.

Cody got a new car. Kyle was wishing he got a new car too.

He loves the vacuum!

Day at the Boston Museum of Science on New Year's.

Books I hope to read 2012

2012-01-03T08:26:00.005-05:00

I have quite a list of books that I am hoping to read this year. Here are ten that are currently sitting on my shelf waiting to be read or finished right now:

1. A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller

2. Kisses from Katie: A story of Relentless Love and Redemption by Katie Davis

3. Doing Good Together by Jenny Friedman & Jolene Roehlkepartain

4. Meet Mrs. Smith: My Adventures with six kids, one rockstar husband and a heart to fight poverty by Anna Smith

5. Role of a Lifetime: your part in God's Story by Lucinda Secrest Mcdowell

6. Making Life Work: Putting God's Wisdom into Action by Bill Hybels

7. Raising a Daughter After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George

8. A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L'Engle

9. Hope Lives: A Journey of Restoration by Amber Van Schooneveld

10. Organize for a Fresh Start by Susan Fay West

Linked with Top Ten Tuesday

Theme word for 2012: JOY!

2012-01-02T16:35:00.000-05:00

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

I have been praying about what to focus on this year. Since I was hopeful last year, I thought I would follow that up this year with JOY! Joyful in hope because I am still hopeful. It's funny how God adds to what he teaches us each year.

So, I then decided to look up some other verses on joy as I prayed about a word. It seems that joy and hope are often found together. And I decided to look up REJOICE because isn't that what you do when you are full of joy?

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance character; and character hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:2b-5.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perserverance. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:2-3, 12.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

And one of my favorite verses:

Philippians 4:4-8 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

**GENTLENESS. Let your gentlenss be evident to all. I know I am not as gentle as I would like to be. Maybe that should be my word too. I feel convicted by God as I write this to make this a focus this next year. I'll have to follow up with another post as I pray about gentleness!

One last scripture I wrote down was Psalm 37. I wrote it down because I was looking up the word DELIGHT! A friend of mine said she was going to try to delight in her children more this year. I like the word delight. Doesn't delight mean to take great pleasure or JOY? When I looked up delight in my Bible I found that it referenced delighting in God's law, delighting yourself in the law of the Lord. It made me think of the song Trust and Obey. I've always loved this song. Here are the lyrics:

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,

What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be HAPPY in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

So, I will be JOYful and hopeful, REJOICE always, DELIGHT in the Lord, be HAPPY in Jesus, and hopefully grow in GENTLENESS too! I think this year I will regularly post a JOY UPDATE - and maybe a GENTLENESS UPDATE! That will help me see how God uses joy and gentleness in my life to show me more of Him this year.

Christmas Letter Top Ten

2011-12-30T12:52:00.001-05:00

I almost thought I wouldn't get around to the annual Christmas letter. I did write it, and I mailed it to most friends and family - then I ran out of stamps - and the momentum stopped. In case you didn't get a copy, I'm posting here. I plan to still get some of those yet-to-be-mailed letters out, maybe in a New Year's card instead. Love to all family and friends!

Top Ten Christmas 2011

1. Virginia Beach in March – A health and sanity-saver vacation on the beach with just our family. Cody did not like the car ride back then, but it was still so worth it!

2. Kyle got his driver’s license! Now he wants a car, of course. That will probably be in next year’s top ten.

3. Lila dancing! She has natural moves, and she so enjoys her dance class. Especially jazz dance.

4. Mara and the Food Network – In the evenings Mara & I have settled down to enjoy some food shows together to relax from busy days with Cody and Lila. Who knew that this would turn Mara into a cook! It has been a joy and a blessing for our family.

5. A new church – We have started attending a new church. It was a hard and prayerful decision to make, but has been wonderful for our family. We all are growing and learning through God’s word at this church. We hope to find the ways God will have us serve Him there as well.

6. White Water rafting – Mara and Brad had a great time rafting on our vacation with Brad’s family in PA. Unfortunately, Kyle couldn’t go because he got 10 stitches in his hand the day we left for vacation.

7. Birthdays – Well, we’re all a year older: 1, 6, 13, 17, 40-something, and 40-something.

8. Seeing my Granny! We all made a trip to Texas to visit her and the rest of Sara’s family. Granny is 94 years old now, and she just moved up to Kansas.

9. Walking – A top on Cody’s list. He is a fast walker now too. And he climbs and dances and all those cute toddler antics.

10. God’s faithfulness – We are always amazed at God’s loving-kindness. His blessings abound even in hard times.

We pray that all our friends and family will have a blessed new year! Stay in touch, and we hope to see many of you too!

Reflecting on HOPEFUL!

2011-12-29T15:29:00.000-05:00

The last couple of years I've been picking a theme word to focus on for the new year. Last year was HOPEFUL! The year before that was PATIENCE! As I reread my post, I am amazed at how faithful God is. How he pursues me, grows me, disciplines me, loves me. I am still hopeful this year for all the things last year, but I know there's more that God has to show me.

I thought I would repost as I am praying about my theme word for 2012. Do you have a theme word?

2011: HOPEFUL

I am so HOPEFUL for the next year. So excited to see what God has planned. Last year was incredible! We began the year wondering how our adoption would go - our first birthmother had changed her mind in the fall. Brad's job was not stable, and there was great concern and stress, especially for Brad. In all of that God was leading us to get involved with Compassion and several other organizations. We followed His leading. Brad kept his job, and soon we were matched with Cody's birthmom! An amazing year. I loved living every moment looking to God.

So this year I am looking to God with expectation. I am hopeful for adventure. I am hopeful to move past some of my lingering sin. Particularly, I want to be slow to speak and speaking compassionately all the time! Even when I'm tired and worn down or my house is a mess or my children sin. My heart wants kind words to be spoken, but out of my heart other words come out. Am I building up others when I speak ALL THE TIME? Am I speaking the truth in love ALL THE TIME? I want to, but I don't. I know I may never do that all the time, but I want it to be most of the time. I want to have to apologize less for things I say. Maybe I've been trying to conquer this sin too much on my own. So, I'll pray to the Lord more! I know I need to be filling my heart more with God's word so that "out of the overflow of my heart, my mouth will speak."

I am hopeful for God to be working in my husband's life and in each of my children. I hope to be the wife and mother that points them to the Lord. Sometimes I get busy outside of my family, but I know God has given me my family as my first place of ministry. I need to keep myself reminded of this, probably daily.

I am hopeful to enjoy watching God tell His Story in our family, every detail. God is so amazing in the details! I want to enjoy my family in the ages and stages that we are. So what if I am not getting much done because I am carrying Cody around right now. It is so short. Even if my house is a mess. This is when I can get a little grouchy. But, I love Cody's smiles, his soft feet. I love Lila's sense of humor and her craving for the spotlight in our house. I love listening to Mara talk about her friends and to see her interests developing. I want to listen to Kyle sort through life as he is getting to be grown up. I already have things I would have done differently in my parenting so far. I give those to God, hopeful that He can bring good from my mistakes. I will try to press on to the future. I'm just starting out with Cody and Lila's only 5 years.. Have I learned what's important yet?

I also hope to be still with God. To be quick to learn. To be quick to obey. To follow God fully. And to pray continually

Does this look good?

2011-12-16T18:55:00.000-05:00

Check out my daughter's blog for her recipe for this White Chocolate Candy Cane cupcake: Nutmeg's Notes.

Who is that Santa?

2011-12-14T13:23:00.000-05:00

Lila wanted to know what we all wanted for Christmas this year ...

Works for Me Wednesday, Women Living Well, Raising Homemakers, and Hip Homeschool Hop.

Sleep - Not Overrated!

2011-12-12T06:59:00.003-05:00

I have not slept more than 2 hours in a row in over 14 months (since Cody). I can't even imagine a solid night of sleep. Fortunately, for the most part, I do okay. But I do have my exhausted days. I don't keep my house as clean. I'm shorter on patience (although I think I've grown in this area.). I have a hard time making the best use of my time on my extra tired days. I have two teenagers and a hubby who like to have quality time with me in the evening, and I want to too. But sometimes I just fall asleep on them. So we've cut back on our schedule and responsibilities. That has helped.

Cody just isn't a good sleeper. I have been surprised lately to learn how many other moms have similar kids. My oldest was not a good sleeper either. He never could cry himself to sleep - the attempts just traumatized him and made sleep more difficult. So I can't do that again. We resorted to whatever worked for us all to get needed sleep which seemed to be a family sleeping room. We didn't plan it that way.

Anyway, Kyle sleeps fine now, but he is a light sleeper. I know Cody will get better at some point too. So, for all the tired mamas, get your sleep however you can!

Ornaments

2011-12-09T09:03:00.000-05:00

Hanging our ornaments on the tree is a favorite time of the Christmas holiday. We usually decorate our tree right after Thanksgiving. We all have our own collection of ornaments. The kids have a couple aunts and uncles that give them new ornaments every year. And then there are the homemade ornaments. Hubby and I have ornaments from growing up, as well as ones together. And some are our favorites!

These are from Brad's family

From Brad's family

The angel that used to be on the star for my tree when I was little.

A Tomie dePaola ornament - one of my favorite author/illustrators.

From my great grandma!

Linked with Show and Tell Fridays

Good and Easy Eats

2011-12-08T14:20:00.001-05:00

This is a new cookbook I would like to share written by a friend of mine, Kim Wilson, Good and Easy Eats! Click here to visit Simply Natural Health. She describes her book this way, "You've arrived at a collection of simple, family-pleasing recipes that will fit within your budget and not require you to be chained to your kitchen counter for days on end!
Wholesome recipes for a lifetime of good eating!
Enjoy 70 family-pleasing recipes exclusively with whole, plant-based natural foods which also all happen to be gluten-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free and yeast-free! Her ebook will be released this Saturday, Dec. 10th!

We have eaten many of Kim's recipes. I especially like her soups and smoothies! Our family does not have any allergies, but we know several families that love Kim's books for this reason. Her cookbooks provide recipes that we can feel good about using when inviting over friends who do have allergies.

She has many cookbooks which you can find at her website, Simply Natural Health.

More Gifts that Give to orphans!

2011-12-06T14:29:00.001-05:00

Wild Olive Tees - scripture tees - I just bought one of these today. Use coupon code: james127 for free shipping. Also offers fundraising for adoptions.

Samaritan's Purse

World Vision

Compassion

147 Million Orphans - apparel, merchandise, jewelry - also offers fundraising for adoptions

Amazima - ugandan jewelry - Have you read Kisses from Katie?

Toms Shoes - with every pair you purchase Toms gives a pair to a child in need.

Vision Trust International - helping orphans in Liberia and other countries.

Hope International

You can also shop through sites like igive/isearch, good shop/good search, giftsthatgive, & giftback and designate money for your charity of choice.

There are probably many ways of giving that I am not aware of yet. I would love to know! Please share in the comments!

Happy shopping and giving!

Linked with Family Time Tuesday, Top Ten Tuesday, Works for Me Wednesday, Women Living Well, Raising Homemakers, and Hip Homeschool Hop.

Gingerbread Fun

2011-12-05T14:55:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend we attended a Gingerbread Fest. It was a fundraiser for a local organization, The Family Place. After looking at all the houses, we got to vote on our favorites. It also inspired us to create our own gingerbread house. I'll post our pictures later this week. I'm sure they won't compare to these.

A Medieval Feast

2011-12-01T14:26:00.000-05:00

We have been studying the Middle Ages in homeschool this fall. As part of her Home Economics (meal planning) and our Medieval unit, Mara planned a Medieval Feast for us. It was fit for both Ladies and Lords. She asked me to take the 2 littles (Lila and Cody) out of the house while she decorated and prepared the feast. It was going to be a surprise for Lila. I had a wonderful time at our small mall buying snow boots and mittens for Cody. Lila had fun giving me many Christmas hints. Lila was thrilled when we arrived home to have our feast and told that she had to put on a princess dress. Mara gave us lots of information she learned as she researched her feast. This is how Mara learns best, and it makes a lot of fun for the rest of us.

Jesse Tree Shrinky Dinks

2011-11-30T09:36:00.001-05:00

Our family has done a variety of advent devotionals over the years. We rotated through them depending on the ages of the kids. We have done Adornaments (from Family Life - I don't think they sell them anymore), Jesse Tree, What God Wants for Christmas, Symbols of Christmas, Family Countdown to Christmas & Before and After Christmas (both by Debbie Trafton O'Neal), Stories of Christmas Carols, Twelve Days of Christmas, etc.. The hardest part is what to do each year. I tend to want to do some of all of these instead of picking one focus for the season which may be the better plan. I told this to Kyle and he said, "But I like it all!"

The older kids have done all of these pretty thoroughly. But Lila, my six year old, probably only remembers What God Wants for Christmas. So I think I will do JESSE TREE this year with her and everyone else. We already have ornaments. Mara made them several years ago with shrinky dinks by tracing the pattern for the ornaments and coloring them. They shrink down to the perfect size for a small advent tree. Maybe I'll have Lila make another set to add to the fun this year. We loved doing the shrinky dinks, so I thought I would share the idea.

You can buy books to go with the Jesse Tree ornaments. Ou local library even has a book. A Holy Experience blog has a devotional and ornaments as a free gift to download. You can find more devotionals and patterns online as well. Years ago we used the patterns here.

Here's a picture of how some of the ornaments turned out!

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday and Women Living Well.

Scattered Gifts/Serving as a Family

2011-11-28T21:25:00.003-05:00

One of our renewed focuses and missions as a family is seeking out ways to serve daily all year long. Our kids range in age from 1 year to 17 years old, so sometimes it's hard to find the right thing.

We just filled a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child, which we have done many years. We say we are filling gifts for our "shoebox friends." This year we are excited to be able to track our shoebox and see where in the world it may go.

This week we will be buying socks to donate to Turkey after their devastating earthquake. A local church is responding to a request for socks from some missionaries. We all love socks, so this will be fun for us to shop and then drop them in the Box for Socks. Are there any collections near you?

Focus on the Family has a nice series to read on serving as a family here.
Linked with Family Time Tuesday.

Gifts that Give!

2011-11-23T10:03:00.000-05:00

Shopping for Christmas? Check out these sites for shopping for a cause/gifts with a purpose!

Mercy House - this is a ministry we support. It has been so exciting to see how God has grown this maternity house in Kenya! Click to read more about Mercy house and shop the Mercy House shop. I love the necklace that I have!

Beads for Life - The jewelry and soap are made by women in Uganda. I hosted a Bead for Life Party this summer! Everyone loved it. I wanted to do it again before Christmas, but I am going to have to wait until spring. I love the jewelry and soap!

Show Hope - You can purchase items that support families adopting and orphans in China. There is also a Christmas catalog.

I will try to post more as I find them.
This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday and Women Living Well.

Memory Keeping/Giving

2011-11-18T02:50:00.002-05:00

I love memory keeping! I have so many projects on my "hope to do soon" list. Last month I enjoyed following a 31 days series on memory keeping that I wanted to share. Maybe it will inspire you too! My oldest is getting ready to graduate this year - the time has gone so fast! I plan to make a school memories book for him. I also plan to start making family yearbooks and going back through the past years to put together books as well.

I am hoping/planning to make this a priority, especially after the first of the year. I'll share my progress along the way, and any good ideas I find - or come up with myself. Please share any helpful tips that you have too! I wish I was ready to take advantage of all the specials on photobooks and calendars right now. I will try to post some specials I find in upcoming posts.

Here's the link to the series I mentioned:

Barefoot Books

2011-11-17T13:47:00.001-05:00

Just thought I'd share that I am an ambassador with Barefoot Books. And they make great gifts, if you are looking for some ideas this upcoming season. There are books with stories from around the world! We particularly like the ones from Africa since our adopted daughter is from Liberia. One of our favorites is: We All Went On Safari.

There's a lot of fun activities on the website as well. You can also purchase books to send to children in Africa. Check it out, and tell me what you think!

Grade Book for homeschooling

2011-11-16T13:16:00.001-05:00

I'm working on Kyle's records as he finishes his senior year of homeschooling, and I've decided to switch recording keeping programs. I had been using Homeschool Tracker, but it just wasn't working for me after all these years. So, I'm going to use Gradebook+ that I found online by a homeschool blogger - and it's free!

I am easily transferring information from Homeschool Tracker to Gradebook+, and I will use this with Mara this year as well.

(I did like Homeschool Tracker overall. It is very thorough - too thorough for my simple ways.)
This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday and Women Living Well.

Giving Thanks - Pumpkins/Family!

2011-11-09T10:50:00.002-05:00

I love the pumpkin patch. I wish I had a big one in my backyard so I could enjoy it all fall, complete with sunflowers and cornstalks. But then we wouldn't have the annual fun of going to the pumpkin patch and enjoying a hayride and apple cider!

This year we took my dad with us since he was visiting. We had the pleasure of my parents taking turns visiting us (while the other stayed with my Granny) spanning over a month. God provides these visits at the best of times! I needed some time away from the everyday. God is always good!

We are "up to our ears" in home school right now, but looking forward to more time with family at Thanksgiving.

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday and Women Living Well.

Halloween Fun

2011-11-07T13:38:00.000-05:00

Finally posting pictures. It was only one week ago, so I'm not too late. Cody was a bear, and Lila was a princess. Mara planned a terrific party for us at home with decorations, snacks, games, and prizes. We also went trick or treating with friends.

We had mummy pizzas.

Graveyard dirt cake.

Notice snow on deck in background.

A Day at Home

2011-10-19T09:42:00.000-04:00

We had no place we had to go today! I love these seemingly rare type of days. I sleep better the night before - no worries of rushing the kids in the car (we are always late no matter how much time we have). No pressure to get homeschool done in between activities. But, oh, there's still so much to do! Catch up from all our running around days - laundry, cleaning, school, reorganizing, email, phone calls, meal planning, etc. A trip to the grocery store might have been a good idea, but I decided to just stay home!

So, how did the day go? Here's the highlights:

Lila was in a great mood for school!

We made applesauce finally! I think it was over a week ago we picked the apples. Mara made a pie right after we picked. And we've been eating apples (especially Lila), but we also have a lot of applesauce to make and freeze yet.

Mara made Country Vegetable Pie for dinner - it was very yummy and healthy.

I got all the laundry done and mostly put away.

The kitchen is clean.

Cody took 4 steps all by himself for the first time.

There was time to talk together - conversations that don't happen without down time.

What a nice day! (Tomorrow we are back to some running around.)

Cody loves Kyle's guitar

Cody closes his eyes when you say,
"Say cheese!"

This was a month ago when Cody stood by himself for the first time.

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday and Women Living Well.

Today

2011-10-16T22:55:00.000-04:00

Renewed! New every morning! I am so thankful to start again each day. I don't always start every day off that way, but I have a fresh chance to do that each day! My dad always tells the kids, "Happy faces in the morning!" before they go to bed at night when he is visiting. I think it helps. I usually like to get up and going each morning with a cup of tea. My baby wakes up with the most precious smile. My six year old depends on a smile from me to start her day off right. My 13 year old daughter and 17 year old son don't wake up quite as easily. It takes all they have to return baby Cody's smile first thing. They are slow to welcome the day. Sometimes that is hard for me to wait for their smile. But, I understand we all wake up differently. A cup of tea or coffee is a must for many! I remember reading Having Our Say, the story of the Delaney sisters who lived for over a hundred years. One sister in her old age woke up each morning thanking God for the day. They other thought to herself, "Oh no, not another day!"

I know my day always starts better when I thank God for the day!

I have decided I would like to write more often about my days. Just write. I love the days God has given me. Not all of them are easy, but they are good. And so I hope to write them down more as a way of thanking God for the day. Today at church we celebrated C. Everett Koop's 95th birthday. Lila,my six year old, turns to me and says, "He sure is blessed!" To her living a long life is a blessing. I don't know how my Granny feels each day. She is almost 94 years old and her days are hard. Life can be hard, but it is a blessing from God.

I love to see the adventure story God has for my life - each chapter! I know all God's stories are worth sharing!

I love my Granny!

2011-09-15T22:35:00.000-04:00

We just got back from visiting my Granny in Texas. She finally got to meet Cody. It has been three years since we last visited. Oh, how I wish we lived closer so that I could just stop by. But that's not where God has me right now. My Granny has always made me feel like a princess and dearly loved. I know she prays for me daily, which means so much to me. Pray for her as she is growing older and life is getting more difficult for her.

Bead for Life Party!

2011-09-01T20:36:00.003-04:00

Mara and I hosted a Bead for Life party this summer. I came across this organization on the World Vision website and had been thinking about a party for a while. We invited friend over to see the jewelry made by Ugandan women. We thought it was beautiful. Bead for Life provided a video to show to tell about their program and how the beads are made. Mara has been rolling her own beads all month, just for fun. I don't think she is planning to make any necklaces.

Bead for Life also sent recipes and music. We had a great response, and I think we will probably do another party again!

Change of Plans/Curriculum

2011-08-29T22:56:00.001-04:00

So, I made the decision to do Classical Conversations, but it just wasn't sitting right with all of us. I felt like I was compromising what I really wanted to be doing for school with Mara next year, and it would be too much to do both. Which means that we will not be enrolled in CC after all. Maybe next year.

Our curriculum for this year (not inclusive)

Lila 1st Grade

Five in a Row. I made up my own similar curriculum with the older two, but I had more time then. I am looking forward to trying this out this year. I will always love picture books!

Mara 8th Grade

Saxon Algebra 1 and Saxon Teacher

Mystery of History Volume 2: Middle Ages

Earth Sciences (I will be putting together my own plans for this subject. We decided to save Apologia Physical Science for next year if we decide to do Challenge 1 with Classical Conversations.)

Wordly Wise & Word Roots 2

Abeka Grammar

Classical Conversations Short Stories

Visual Link Spanish

Alpha Omega Home Economics

Wordsmithery

Kyle 12th Grade

Notgrass Economics

AP Computer Science (online)

Entrepreneurship (online)

Ligntning Literature Guide American Christian Authors

Saxon Advanced Math year 2

We'll be praying through the year. It feels like there have been several changes in our family this last year with our usual activities, so we are trying to find the new groove and where God wants us to focus as a family.

Learning to eat

2011-08-27T19:44:00.002-04:00

Cody has been a challenge. He still isn't sleeping through the night. In fact, he is waking up still about every 2 hours. Probably because he's hungry. At 6 months we tried solids, but he was totally not interested. He would just spit it back out. So we waited and tried again a few weeks later. Same thing. Then he began to eat a couple spoonfuls, but also started to have some reactions and still not much interest. So we waited again.

He's now almost 11 months old. He's eating a little, but it's very slow going. So far he is eating rice and applesauce and cheerios. He's had reactions to sweet potatoes and bananas. We are waiting and watching for reactions before adding anything new. He isn't eating much quantity yet, but at least seems interested now. And he's slept a couple of 3-4 hour stretches. So, I am hopeful that soon we'll turn a corner.

His slow eating hasn't slowed his growth. He weighs 23-24 pounds and is taller than our table. Basically he has been growing like a weed. I am wondering if he will be ready for his birthday cake in a month. Still yet to be determined.

Where did summer go?

2011-08-26T22:24:00.001-04:00

August is almost over. This weekend we'll celebrate Kyle's 17th birthday! Kyle always has mixed feelings about his birthday at this time of year because it means summer is over and school will soon start. He's hoping to go to a Red Sox game if it doesn't get rained out by Hurricane Irene. Anyway, I didn't write like I thought I would. I've been using all my spare time to plan homeschool, to keep up with chores, and to enjoy the moments with the family.

Some of our favorite moments:

Cousin time

Swimming lessons - I love Lila's pink swim cap!

Lots of popsicles!

Mara's yummy bake sale

More cousin time!

Alpine Slides!

Funny faces!

Online Science Labs for Summer

2011-07-05T23:20:00.002-04:00

We are planning to do some virtual online science experiments/labs this summer. Here are some of the websites we will explore:

Virtual Frog dissection

Earthworm dissection

Owl Pellets

SEED science labs

Magic School Bus science

Dole Fruits

Other science sites:

Science Online

Science Hangman

Great site for writing lab reports: http://www.ncsu.edu/labwrite/index.html

Family Mission trips

2011-07-01T10:44:00.002-04:00

We are looking into how we can do some family mission trips over the next couple of years. Here's what we have found so far. These organizations offer family/intergenerational mission trips to take as a family or mother/daughter, etc.
Buckner International/Shoes for Orphan Souls, http://www.buckner.org/ Mother/Daughter trips

World Vision, http://www.worldvision.org/

Vision Trust, http://www.visiontrust.org/

World Servants, http://www.worldservants.org/

Adventures is Missions, http://www.adventures.org/

Youthworks, http://www.youthworks.com/

Classical Conversations

2011-06-29T21:50:00.000-04:00

We have decided to try out Classical Conversations with Mara this fall. She will be in 8th grade, and we thought it would be a good experience for her to be in a class setting and see what that is like. The class meets once a week with a tutor, and she'll have a chance for group discussion and feedback. It will be a new piece to our homeschool life. I think the group dynamics are something that could have added to Kyle's education. Kyle will be taking a couple of online classes this fall which does provide some of the same aspects. I hope to be able to focus on working more with Lila. I'll post more of my curriculum this summer.

Books I am reading this summer

2011-06-18T08:15:00.000-04:00

Don't Make Me Come Up There by Kristen Welch

A Praying Life by Paul Miller

The Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson

I'm trying something new. I'm reading all of these on my Kindle app on my itouch. I know it's small, but it's so convenient. I have already read several this way. Maybe sometime I will get a Kindle, but right now I'm happy. I love to read and now I always have BOOKS with me!

Compassion in the Philippines

2011-05-29T23:23:00.001-04:00

Updates to Cody's birthmom

2011-05-28T13:32:00.001-04:00

I have been contemplating the fact that I will be writing and sending a letter and 5 pictures to Cody's birth mom for his whole childhood. Every month for the first three years and then quarterly until he's 18 years old. I am happy to send these and enjoy writing the letters, but it is different to write about Cody in this way when I don't do this with my other kids (Lila we send a once a year letter/pictures to orphanage). It is as if Cody's birthmom is a part of our family. And I know in many ways she is - as we share Cody's adoption story with him as he grows up. And some day we will probably take Cody to meet her. It's all just a new experience, and I wonder how it will be over the years. I also feel a little sad that I don't have this for Lila. We'll see how this is over the years as well. I know my children are entrusted to me at this time, and I pray to be a faithful servant as their mother.

My Boys!

2011-05-28T12:36:00.000-04:00

Just a couple pictures of my two boys sharing a nap and an icecream cone.

Spring Performances

2011-05-27T23:01:00.000-04:00

We've had two special performances so far.

Mara's Honor Chorus

Lila's dance show

Wrapping up

2011-05-19T01:30:00.000-04:00

The end is in sight! I am making the last assignments for this school year, and I can't wait to be done with "have to" school. I want to just do "fun" everyday learning - nice and relaxed with time for arts and crafts and spontaneity.

We are finishing up our unit on the human body. This week we are keeping food journals. I think the journals are more telling of how healthy I cook than anything about the kids.

This summer Mara is looking forward to doing a lot of cooking and baking - that works for me! She is even making the grocery lists and all. Lila will be her sous chef, of course. Kyle even likes to cook. Maybe Brad will teach him to BBQ.

We are also looking forward field trips, swim lessons, biking, hiking, camping, but mostly lazy unscheduled days that hopefully can be serendipity days, as I like to call them. I know we'll be seeing the world through the eyes of Cody which always makes things new.

Gems Girls Club

2011-05-18T01:49:00.002-04:00

I've been leading a Gems Girls Club for Mara for the last 4-5 years. It's been wonderful! This next year I am planning to lead a group with Lila. I love getting to know their friends and encourage them in growing in their faith. I don't know if I do a good job or not, but I try. Mara's friends have grown up so much. They are all becoming young ladies and growing in beauty inside and out.

So, I will start making plans for Lila's group of girls. I absolutely love to brainstorm ideas. I will share some of what the Gems girls are up to this next year. For Mara's group, or maybe just a Mara & Mom time, I am looking at another curriculum called Becoming a True Woman, http://www.mytrueteen.com/.

The Ministry of Motherhood

2011-05-17T02:26:00.002-04:00

Another link up that I hope to participate in is The Ministry of Motherhood Bible study/Book study. Maybe you would be interested also. There are study materials to go along with the book.

Here's the link:

31 Days to Clean

2011-05-16T07:59:00.000-04:00

Here's one things I've been up to this month! Just in time for my usual spring cleaning as we wrap up our homeschool and get ready to head into summer. I'm trying to reorganize and babyproof the house and make it work better for our family of six. And I love to be focus my heart on where God wants it to be in my home as well.

Smiles

2011-04-20T19:09:00.000-04:00

In the thick of it!

2011-04-19T22:46:00.000-04:00

What have we been up to? It would seem like nothing if you were checking my blog, but we have been up to our ears in school. Kyle has finished Government and has just a couple more British Literature books and movies. Mara is plugging away in pre-algebra. Lila begs for reading lessons and science experiments almost daily. We haven't had much of a spring yet (which is a little depressing), but I guess that it makes it easier to stay inside for school. With time off for our adoption, we have been playing catch up. Yet, we are all yearning for summer so we can sit back a little without the pressure of school. We want to enjoy and have fun together, especially with Cody. I just love how each child adds so much that is uniquely special.

I know that time with my family is so important, and I need to focus my time, energy, creativity, and love for each one. That's obvious, but sometimes I'm easily distracted. But God keeps refocusing me if I am still enough to listen.

I am hoping to reorganize around the house and baby proof. Mara wants a more grown-up/teen room since she will soon be a teenager. Lila needs craft supplies organized to make it easier to clean up or something. She is a roaming mess maker in our house. Kyle says his room needs to be re-arranged. I haven't asked yet what he means. It feels as if the whole house could use a little thought to make it work better for us.

Mara is into making crafts and cooking. She wants to do some craft fairs and open an Etsy shop. I so want to encourage her and have mother/daughter cooking and craft times. Kyle wants to talk and talk and talk about colleges and majors, or other life decisions all the time. Lila needs one on one time. She is such a joy in that setting. And I so want to plan crafts and experiments. When she gets bored she is probably making a mess in an attempt to get attention or entertain herself, or she migrates to the tv. Cody is about to crawl and just loves squealing at everyone.

I want to not be too busy so that we have time for all these things. Through all these moments with the kids I want to share God's word and my faith with them. I want to listen, encourage, teach, and guide them in their faith. I don't want to be distracted or too busy ... for such a time as this.

Pictures will be posted tomorrow (hopefully) with some of the latest.

Voices of the Faithful Book Review

2011-03-17T08:56:00.005-04:00

This is a wonderful 365 day devotional book! It has essays written by missionaries from across the world compiled by Beth Moore. Each month the essays are organized by topics such as: God's character, God's word, prayer. Each month Beth Moore writes an introduction for the topic. Since it is written by a variety of missionaries, it offers many insights and points of view. I found it to help me be aware of how God is working in and through missionaries around the world. And it helps keep me mission-minded. With that said, I kind of wanted more - to be more into the lives of these missionaries.

Each day includes the essay, scripture and prayer.

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their booksneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Waterpark Get-Away

2011-03-16T08:02:00.000-04:00

How do you spell relief (from winter blues)? S-W-I-M-M-I-N-G!

My Iron Chef girls

2011-03-14T17:54:00.000-04:00

So, we've been watching a fair amount of the food network lately. It's helped pass the time when Cody has been sleeping in my arms. The girls have been having a lot of fun with it. Last weekend they had their own Iron Chef competition. Brad and I were the judges. This weekend the girl did "Sliced" - their version of "Chopped.". The chefs were given required ingredients and a time limit. Our favorite "concoctions" as Lila calls it were: salad with Tang dressing (Lila) and cinnamon chips made from tortillas with apple dipping sauce (Mara). Mara also made a peach crisp that was yummy.

Snowed In

2011-02-27T09:46:00.000-05:00

There is way too much snow this year! I look and can see the beauty in the view out my window, but I would rather hear lots of melting and see lots of dripping right now. Anyhow, I praise God for the day and pray for spring! I am longing for spring!

This morning I stayed home from church because I am still trying to get over whatever I have, and Cody has seemed to come down with another cold. He's down for a nap, and Iam taking in a bit of quiet. There isn't very much quiet time in our house these days. I like quiet and still here and there. All can slow down for a moment.

This was taken before the last two snow storms - imagine twice as deep and that's what I see out my window today.

February Fun Lila's 6!

2011-02-26T10:46:00.000-05:00

Lila had her sixth birthday at the beginning of the month. It was a much anticipated birthday. Unfortunately she got a fever the day of her party. But we just had her party last weekend-she had a wonderful time! She brings us so much joy and laughter!

Lila's new smile

2011-02-26T10:32:00.000-05:00

Lila lost her second front tooth this morning.

Snowy Home

2011-02-05T11:25:00.003-05:00

And more snow to come. Oh, when will spring come? Thinking of our warmer get-aways coming soon. I think we will have to go to some flower shows as well. It's color that I'm starting to miss. We need a fiesta!

Mobile blogging

2011-02-05T07:50:00.001-05:00

So, I am trying out using my touch to post. Maybe I'll actually post more often.
Picture by Lila

Where is January going?

2011-01-20T15:34:00.001-05:00

We have been busy trying to get back into the swing of homeschool with a 3 month old. Cody is settling into a little more predictable schedule with a nice morning nap. But then now he has a cold, so the schedule is a little off. Lila has started basketball and dance class. We've had a lot of snow - almost too much to sled and snowshoe. The kids are working on a whole village of forts outside. I just got a Moby wrap to carry Cody with - he loves it and so do I. I'll have to post a picture after someone takes one.

Cody's baptism gown worn by his Grandpa Tom.
He was baptized Dec. 26, 2010

Theme word for 2011: HOPEFUL

2011-01-05T14:47:00.001-05:00

I am so HOPEFUL for the next year. So excited to see what God has planned. Last year was incredible! We began the year wondering how our adoption would go - our first birthmother had changed her mind in the fall. Brad's job was not stable, and there was great concern and stress, especially for Brad. In all of that God was leading us to get involved with Compassion and several other organizations. We followed His leading. Brad kept his job, and soon we were matched with Cody's birthmom! An amazing year. I loved living every moment looking to God.

So this year I am looking to God with expectation. I am hopeful for adventure. I am hopeful to move past some of my lingering sin. Particularly, I want to be slow to speak and speaking compassionately all the time! Even when I'm tired and worn down or my house is a mess or my children sin. My heart wants kind words to be spoken, but out of my heart other words come out. Am I building up others when I speak ALL THE TIME? Am I speaking the truth in love ALL THE TIME? I want to, but I don't. I know I may never do that all the time, but I want it to be most of the time. I want to have to apologize less for things I say. Maybe I've been trying to conquer this sin too much on my own. So, I'll pray to the Lord more! I know I need to be filling my heart more with God's word so that "out of the overflow of my heart, my mouth will speak."

I am hopeful for God to be working in my husband's life and in each of my children. I hope to be the wife and mother that points them to the Lord. Sometimes I get busy outside of my family, but I know God has given me my family as my first place of ministry. I need to keep myself reminded of this, probably daily.

I am hopeful to enjoy watching God tell His Story in our family, every detail. God is so amazing in the details! I want to enjoy my family in the ages and stages that we are. So what if I am not getting much done because I am carrying Cody around right now. It is so short. Even if my house is a mess. This is when I can get a little grouchy. But, I love Cody's smiles, his soft feet. I love Lila's sense of humor and her craving for the spotlight in our house. I love listening to Mara talk about her friends and to see her interests developing. I want to listen to Kyle sort through life as he is getting to be grown up. I already have things I would have done differently in my parenting so far. I give those to God, hopeful that He can bring good from my mistakes. I will try to press on to the future. I'm just starting out with Cody and Lila's only 5 years.. Have I learned what's important yet?

I also hope to be still with God. To be quick to learn. To be quick to obey. To follow God fully. And to pray continually.

HOPEFUL

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T15:02:00.000-05:00

We have had a wonderful Christmas season. My brother Micah has been here for a couple of weeks to help keep it festive. So that means there has been a lot of game playing and snack foods. Favorites so far are Aggravation, Catch Phrase, Guesstures, sledding, hiking/snowshoeing, bowling, wii, and Bonding (James Bond game on the PS2 for Kyle and Micah). Kyle asks Micah as frequenly as possible if he would like to go "Bond."

There has also been movies and football - Scrooged, Elf, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, It's a Meaningful Life Veggie Tales.

I'm sure there will be more since Micah is staying a whole week into the New Year!

Dreaming of his first car to buy!

The princess and her stocking.

A new sweater for Mara, but not as beautiful as her smile!

Cody's 1st Christmas!

Cody Pictures

2010-12-21T21:31:00.000-05:00

A quiet moment

2010-12-16T14:14:00.001-05:00

Cody is sleeping. Lila is at a playdate. Kyle and Micah are playing playstation. Mara is making a gift for daddy. Brad's at work. Snow is fluttering outside. The computer fan even turned off just now. Everyone is happy. I think I am peaceful. My Christmas cards are almost all in the mail. I know what to make for dinner. Everyone is basically healthy today. So, I think I will pray and give thanks for this moment while I am still.

Caroling at the Nursery Home

2010-12-15T13:33:00.000-05:00

On Monday we went caroling to a nursing home with Lila's GEMS Girls club. Each of the girls made cards to take to those there, and we sang eights carols. It was lovely. When we got home Lila then asks, "How come we didn't sing for the babies?" She was thinking "nursery" home - of course that would be babies.

City on our Knees

2010-12-15T11:58:00.001-05:00

My son and daughter really like TobyMac, so I thought this would be a great book to read and pass on to them. It is filled with inspiring stories that create a desire for each of us to make a difference in the world. There's quite a variety in the stories, both old and new. I liked the quotes from other Christians and scriptures that were sprinkled throughout each chapter, as well as the "blog entries" by TobyMac - each adding depth to the topics. Prayers are included too. The sections correspond to lines from the popular song CITY ON OUR KNEES by TobyMac . We can all be used by God to make a difference and this book is a good reminder. Be inspired! This would be great as a devotional for teens as well.

I received this book from Bethany House Publishers free for review. The opinions are my own.

My two little ones!

2010-12-14T22:45:00.000-05:00

Compassion Christmas

2010-12-10T10:28:00.001-05:00

Today is letter writing day (2nd Friday of the month) - a day for sponsors to remember to write to their child. These letters are are so important. It's a tangible way to share a reminder of God's love with your child. A way for God to use you to speak into that child's life and for God to speak to you as you open yourself to Him. As we've been writing to our sponsored children they have been becoming part of our family.

You can also help Scatter His Gifts Abroad this Christmas by shopping from the Gifts of Compassion gift catalog.

Stockings

2010-12-10T09:48:00.000-05:00

We are anticipating celebrating our Savior's birth! I have a list every day of what needs to be done, but with a two month old I never know what the day will look like. It's so nice to have our advent devotions in the morning reminding me that the day is in God's hands. With God's help I will get done what is important for the day.

Scrapbook Storytelling

2010-11-30T21:42:00.002-05:00

Right now I am taking a class on journaling to renew my teaching certificate. It's on how to use journaling as a teacher and with your students. One of the books that was recommended was Scrapbook Storytelling. I have really enjoyed it. I got it from the library and it is pretty inspiring for my education class. Journaling as a teacher helps you to reflect on your students and where they are with their learning and what is working and not working. When students journal it helps them to reflect on their own learning and preserve it some format.

The same is true as we parent our children and preserve our memories and values and what matters most. We also can choose which stories we want to capture and share - a wonderful gift for our children and ourselves. I guess I've always wanted to be able to hold on to some of the little bits of heaven that God gives us here on earth and most importantly try to be able to see God in every moment.

More and more I am living my life in complete amazement of God's goodness! It's especially in all the little things each day. I've been thinking about trying to start writing more of them down. Today I praise God for summer! It's hot, and we so wanted to have summer! I also thank him for helping my daughter Lila during her big sister's campout. She has a hard time with so many big girls in the house, but she was pleasant - so we are off to buy her a wig. Yes a wig. She likes wigs of colored hair to wear for fun.

Thanksgivings 2

2010-11-30T16:32:00.000-05:00

Thankful for sunny November days, visits with family, big kids putting up the Christmas tree, big sisters kissing their little brother, warm house, compassion, forgiveness, hot tea, netflix, sleeping baby, glow of Christmas lights, God's promises, children's books, adoption, email, Jesus, church, memories, Him whom all blessings flow ...

Thanksgivings

2010-11-23T14:11:00.000-05:00

Giving thanks for health, family, friends, rainy November days, little hands and feet, grandparents, baby slings, good books, photo albums, cuddles, warm blankets and socks, electricity, free long distance, computers, Christmas carols ... to be continued.

The King's Christmas List

2010-11-10T22:15:00.000-05:00

This is a sweet story of a little girl, Emma and her dog Shu-Shu. Her daddy builds her a playhouse that becomes a door to a new world, The Kingdom. Then the adventure begins as she receives an invitation from the King for his birthday party. Of course she must bring a gift. She bakes a special Christmas cake and hurries on her way. As she travels to meet the King she encounters a grandma and grandson who are cold and she gives away her coat. She encounters several others on her journey and has opportunity to show compassion. She learns about how giving to others in need from the heart is how we give gifts to God. The book also provides ways for families to give to others this Christmas season.

My girls very much enjoyed the story, especially my 5 year old daughter. She enjoyed the illustrations which really brought the the story to life.

The King's Christmas List

By Eldon Johnson / Tommy Nelson

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their booksneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Cody 1 month old/Halloween photos

2010-11-07T09:55:00.000-05:00

We are starting to adjust to life with a little baby at our house. Our old routine is gone, but a new one is beginning. The older kids are great - each ready and willing to take a turn with Cody or help get dinner or make a bottle. I'm so thankful for them! I especially like watching Lila with her naturally nurturing way with Cody. She absolutely loves him! Cody is lucky to have her for a big sister.

I'm also enjoying having another boy in the house. So far all that means is boy clothes. We were surprised with a baby shower this last weekend so I now have all these adorable boy clothes! It's still as much fin to dress him each day as it was with the other kids.

Hopefully soon we will feel like we have fallen into our new normal with Cody in the mix.

Our new baby Cody!

2010-10-09T14:27:00.000-04:00

We are so thrilled to have little Cody now a part of our family! It has been an amazing adoption journey as we have waited and trusted God.

We flew out early to be here when Cody was born, but arrived almost a whole week before his arrival. It was a good week. We spent the week preparing and enjoying Albuquerque, NM with my parents. We took walks with the birth mom. And then finally on the morning of Friday, October 1, 2010, Cody Joel was born! There was rejoicing!

We brought him home several days later. We stayed with Cody and the birthmom for a couple of days. Then just with Cody while he basked in phototherapy for jaundice. Finally we brought him home. Again, rejoicing! We so happy to have him as part of our family! And we look forward to being his parents as he grows up.

Fall into Reading

2010-09-22T08:41:00.000-04:00

This fall I will be reading:

*Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman

Choosing to SEE: A Journey of Struggle and Hope

By Mary Beth Chapman with Ellen Vaughn

*Tears in the Rain by Ruth Ann Stelfox - a story of a family who become missionaries in Liberia for two years.

*Crazy Love by Francis Chan

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God

By Francis Chan with Danae Yankoski

*Mara, Daughter of the Nile
I am reading this with my daughter, Mara

Does Summer have to end?

2010-09-21T08:02:00.000-04:00

So, I guess today is the first day of fall. (I was still going to post some pictures of summer.) We have been busy trying to get as much school done as possible since it is almost time for baby to be born. But I may need to just enjoy for a couple of days - I love fall! I want to be outside as much as I can before winter! So that's my prayer for the next couple of days - to enjoy God's creation and my family without worrying about school and cleaning the house. I'm sure the kids will be happy to hear that as well.

Some pics of Lila having fun at the Bass Pro Shop in Kansas this summer ...

Longaberger basket fun

2010-09-16T07:41:00.001-04:00

I believe this is the largest apple basket in the world.

On our vacation this summer we visited the headquarters for Longaberger Baskets in Ohio. I have always loved their baskets, and I knew that they had a basket shaped building for their headquarters, plus a homestead to visit. We have driven near it on many visits, but have never had the time to stop. But we did this summer.

The Mercy House

2010-09-15T11:17:00.000-04:00

A maternity house ministry in Kenya. Save lives of women and children.

18 Days or Less

2010-09-14T21:39:00.000-04:00

It's 18 days or less until we leave for NM for our adoption. The birthmom is due early October and would like us to be there for the birth. We are set to go before her due date to try our best to be there. We are ready to go now if needed. There is so much to think about that it is a little overwhelming - so we'll just pray that God helps us with the details. It's hard to be prepared for this experience. I have no idea what to expect. I do know that it will all happen in the next month, and I am happy about that. I can't wait to hold baby in my arms and welcome him to our family. We all can't wait to meet him. It's been a long time since I've had a newborn - twelve years in fact. And back then I didn't have all these big kids and their activities. So I am wondering how life will be with a newborn, but we have been making adjustments to be ready.

Tomorrow I know Lila will ask how many days - and tomorrow I will say 17 or less till we go to NM.

Compassion in Guatemala

2010-09-08T20:47:00.002-04:00

Last March I read a blog from a Compassion trip to Kenya. It was very moving and helped me hear God calling me to respond to the needs of His children. Compassion is again on a trip with several bloggers posting while in Guatemala. It is a great opportunity to learn all that Compassion does and the difference it can make in so many lives, including our own.

Lila was welcomed to sit on Jesus' lap while we were visiting Compassion's headquarters in CO.

The Boy Who Changed the World

2010-09-05T15:59:00.004-04:00

I was excited to receive this book to review. I love children's books, especially ones that tell the story of real people. This book tells about three boys who grow up and influence each other to make the world a better place. Norman Borlaug develops super seeds that grew into super plants to help feed the world. Henry Wallace was the one who hired Norman because he wanted to help people grow more food. And Henry was influenced by George Washington Carver who taught him all about plants. It is referred to as the "butterfly effect." We all affect our world. Everything we do matters. God made our lives important.

My three children (ages 5, 12, and 16) and husband enjoyed this book. Although it was a little hard to keep who influenced who straight as we were reading, especially for my youngest. The pictures were wonderful, and it did make it's point clearly.

The Boy Who Changed the World

By Andy Andrews

Summer Recap (July) Nephews and Trip to meet birthmother!

2010-09-04T21:49:00.000-04:00

Our summer has been a busy and blessed summer - too busy to sit at the computer. Early July my nephews visited for almost two weeks. Pretty much the hottest two weeks we've ever had. So all my ideas for outdoor New England fun didn't work out except for swimming. We did get to visit the Polar Caves, eat lots of popsicles, and do the slip and slide. We also had fun watching America's Got Talent too. I am so glad they came, and I loved having them here!!

We took the cousins home on our way across the country to meet the birthmother and birthfather that we are matched with. It was an adventure that we will always remember. We really like her a lot and are now expectantly waiting to hear from her when she is about to have the baby. I will write more on this in another post. We did find out that she is expecting a boy! So we are thinking of boy names.

On our trip we had some family time with my parents and brother in Colorado Springs, CO. We love Pike's Peak and Garden of the Gods. We only were in CO for a couple of days, but very relaxing. We also toured the Compassion International headquarters Visitor's Center. We sponsor a boy from Kenya. The tour gave the kids an idea of what life might be like in Kenya and what Compassion does with the children. We were inspired. After Colorado we headed to Kansas to visit my brother and family and aunts and uncles.

We had lots of swimming fun in the sun everywhere we went! I will write more in the next post.

Speaking of swimming, Lila learned to swim this summer! So we have been swimming at every opportunity!

Mara's Curriculum for next year

2010-06-29T22:40:00.000-04:00

Mara 7th Grade

Abeka Pre-Algebra

Abeka Grammar & Composition I

Apologia General Science

Exploring Creation with General Science, 2 Volumes: Second Edition

By Apologia Educational Ministries

Artistic Pursuits

ARTistic Pursuits, Grades 4-6 Book One, The Elements of Art and Composition

By Artistic Pursuits Inc

Wordly Wise 7

Wordly Wise 3000, Grade 7, 2nd Edition

By Educators Publishing Service

Alpha Omega History Grade 7

Ancient History - Sara designed curriculum

Visual Link Spanish

I use several resources for each subject still in 7th grade. So these are just some of what I use. I try to do as much unit studies still at this grade as I can. We use several libraries and keep notebooks and projects with each unit. Writing and literature units are included in history.

Summer!

2010-06-28T15:24:00.000-04:00

Be Devoted to Prayer

2010-06-28T07:39:00.000-04:00

So much to be praying for - the lives all around me. This weekend pretty much every encounter I had calls for much prayer! We so much need God to help save us, restore us, renew us, lead us, grow us, heal us. I pray that I can be devoted to prayer and that Jesus leads me in my prayers. Pray for our families, children, health, strength - and pray with others for all these things. Pray that we can see God's answers to all our prayers and give him praise.

Next year's curriculum for Kyle

2010-06-26T21:42:00.002-04:00

I just ordered some of my curriculum for next year from Christian Book Distributors. I thought I would post what our plans are as of now.

Kyle - 11th Grade

Apologia's Physics

Exploring Creation with Physics (2nd Edition), 2 Volumes

By Apologia Educational Ministries

Saxon Advanced Math

Saxon Advanced Math Home Study Kit

By Saxon Publishing

Notgrass Government and Economics

Exploring Government Curriculum Package

By Notgrass Company

Either Movies as Literature

Movies as Literature

By Design A Study

or British Literature/Abeka Composition We might do My Access! writing program & Wordly Wise 11/12

Visual Link Spanish

Alpha Omega Health

Crown Ministries Biblical Finance

And electives such as computer programming, sound engineering, etc. Haven't decided all those details yet.

Strawberry Heart

2010-06-25T15:44:00.000-04:00

A Hole in Our Gospel Book Review

2010-06-12T08:27:00.003-04:00

A Hole is Our Gospel by Richard Stearns: I very much enjoyed this book and learning about Richard Stearns story of his early life and how he came to World Vision. I read part of this book to my family, and they were eager to hear more! Stearns challenges us to look at God's calling for Christians to respond to world poverty and injustice. He asks,"What does God expect of us?" Stearns proposes that we have a "hole" in our gospel when we live our lives seemingly forgetting or not seeing that pain and suffering around us and around the world. We need to be seeing our lives in the big picture of the world. He gives many personal stories and struggles along his journey. The end of the book includes a section by his wife giving her side of the story. It also has a section on ways we can respond and help other right now as we answer the question of "what God expects of us" for ourselves.

I most enjoyed reading about Stearns life and experiences with World Vision. I did think he generalized a little too much on the church today. The personal accounts were much more moving. It was well-written, and I would recommend this book to others.

The Hole in Our Gospel

By Richard Stearns