Sunday, August 31, 2008

Lets Celelbrate


we just got home form moms we had a wonderful afternoon celebrating Doug and Ted's birthdays, the kids swam and watched a movie, and everyone just Had a wonderful relaxing time. Doug had fun chasing Shawn and Adam around and curling up with the girls during the movie. It was a truly blessed day to be with family and friends.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

happy 41st to daddy






Happy Birthday to Doug he is 41 today

Friday, August 29, 2008

A new Baby



very dear friends of ours welcomed their fourth child Kyle Wells into the world this week- Thursday-. He has spina biffida- a hole in his spine- so he went under surgery yesterday and will be in recovery for two weeks. So prayers for him are asked:0) he is so sweet and chubby, what a little blessing he is, our praises to god .This little boy wasn't even suppose to live long enough to be born, they told Cherie and Steve- the parents- he had too much fluid in his brain at 20wk and they should abort him, after saying no way, they left it to god to decide who Kyle would be. Now it seems he will be a little boy who may be a bit slow and have a few quirks- and who among us doesn;t , and I know the little guy is a blessing to his family and will be to all who know him.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

a very interesting day

yesterday turned into quite a good day, it started off rough Doug's car wouldn't start so he took ours, and we canceled the pool party cause the water was very chilly from the storms the night before. So the kids were not in good moods int he morning,but I always tell them make the most of what we have. We have a ton of blessings all around us.So after lunch they went to get a snowball from Ms.Carol and found a bird with a hurt wing which of course Grace brought home , he is resting under a tree in the yard, and seems to be fine now.Of course he wondered a bit to close to Bandit- who is a retriever- and Bandit picked him up and brought him back to Grace, who screamed her head off,but its what a retriever does he didn;t hurt him just brought him back. After that excitement wore off Grace and Adam promptly climbed our huge pine tree and retrieved a huge nest out of the top of it, they where covered in pine sap which is a bear to get off. They smelled nice and fresh though.Madeline went to her friend- Alana's- house and rode skateboards. So after all the mopping in the morning the day turned out to be alright after all. Today after our school work is done we are taking a walk int he fields across the street.

Monday, August 25, 2008

rain rain rain go away come again another day

Well our trip to the petting farm didn't last too long, we where rained out by a very heavy downpour pretty quickly. We did get to visit with Paula and Bridgett for a few minutes anyways though. It is always a pleasure to see her . It has been down pouring all day off and on and it is so icky,humid out,uggggh. I guess on the bright side we did get a lot of school done, we did math,phonics, handwriting , and Adam and Grace where dancing to some music. We also got a lot of housework done,hey why not. When the kids complain they are bored I have plenty of ways to entertain them -mop, broom, vacuum, laundry, math, research paper etc...We are waiting on daddy to get home he took his motorcycle to work today and its not the best hing in the rain so he stopped at a local pub and is waiting it out. Honestly its not him on the bike that worries me its the idiots in cars that pay no attention around them that worry me most.

kids, back to school , other thoughts and ramblings

today is the first day of school for the public school students int he area, which means during the day the neighborhood will be nice and quiet-YAY!I tell you what I donot miss the running all over for clothes and supplies and stuff I see these other parents doing. We get supplies and some times new shoes,but,not in the hectic frenzy of other families, we see. We don;thave a certain crayon we have to buy, or only the 8 pack of markers we get what we like and whats on sale usually.Though I do like the sales on glue, pencils and notebooks each year we stock up on those things. WE have also been getting surprise blessings of supplies, my mom works at an area private school and gets there toss outs sometimes. Friday she brought us 6 cases of large chart paper tablets, which where just getting thrown out. I shared them with Melinda and I will see if some of the other homeschoolers would like some of them. It seems so wasteful to just throw that out. And she also brought a huge box of apples they where just going ot throw out, cause they where the left overs from snack, my kids will eat them and it seems so wasteful to throw out good food when so many in the world are hungry.We are off to Adam's preschool group this morning at Chapel Hill Nursery and Farms- theres a petting farm in back which is a favorite of our families. Then we will come home to do math and reading. A nice relaxing fun school day. Tomorrow I was thinking of taking them to the movies to see Kung Fu Panda. at the $2.50 movies, it should be pretty quiet with most kids back in school..I Love this time of year:-)

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Grace's spring recital pictures

the kids

Brothers swinging together     and swimming at Rocks State Park

Friday, August 22, 2008

Doug and the kids

a great pic form the day we went peach picking

Adam's Pirate Party-ARRGH MATEY

we hosted a pirate themed swim day today, and Adam was the host he had a blast. We began with a treasure hunt that ended with a cooler full of goodies the kids dived up. Then we had lunch hotdogs, chips, veggies and cupcakes. Then of course we had a few sword fights, and some swashbuckling:-) Then it was fun in the pool. It was a fun,hot , tiring day everyone left about an hour ago and we had hot dogs for dinner . The kids are getting baths/showers so they can watch the new Cheetah Girl movie tonight.Shawn is in bed sound a sleep.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

a froggy night

Grace certainly had her share of frog fun this evening, we found a nice size tad under our wading pool and he is in a little carrier under the slide, with leaves and stuff- just for the night he must be set free tomorrow, so he can eat.She also found a baby bullfrog- a big baby- at Ms.Carols when we went down for a snowball, he was a big boy. grace tried to hide him in her shirt to bring him home but he was let go- I hope- to return to his place under the drainpipe. We, really do like watching them and they are great mosquito catchers. This one however had some bite marks on his back -like a snake bite- so for tonight anyway he is not someones dinner:-) We have spent the larger part of the summer raising tadpoles from he little pond/ditch across the street int he farmers field, right now there are roughly 10 ready to be let go in the frog tank we have to move them into when they are not tadpoles anymore,it has been a very enjoyable learning experience for us to watch so many change before our eyes into frogs, and to have a hand and helping them at least survive to the frog stage:-)The lord always gives them something fun to learn about over the summer months- and we seem to end up with frogs alot-. And we did find freshwater pearls this year in some clams in the river that was very cool.

a breakfast picnic in the park

we had theater this morning at the park to practice for the upcoming play. And I decided the kids and I would leave early hit the MCD"S drive through ad get breakfast and have a picnic in the early morning at the pavilion before everyone arrived. It was a nice treat- though Adam was upset he could not chicken nuggets at 8am- . But once he had a hash brown and orange juice he seemed to be OK.we set and ate and watche the helicopters taking off from the airport across the river from us. It was pretty nice and a refreshing way to begin the day. Practice went well the kids a re really doing good with the lines and are now acting:-) Madeline is working on her narration part by adding feeling and expression into her speaking she did good today. I think the play will be very cute and fun.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

begining our science lessons

we began our lessons today in science and we are doing Chemistry-Atoms and Molecules- we did the vinegar/baking soda experiment- the erupting base and acid test. It was fun. we will be doing some interesting stuff this year it is deep enough for Madeline and I will have do lab sheets- and easy enough for Adam to understand and participate. We will be doing the red cabbage base in a few weeks that should be fun.I am also planning to do plants/Botany with them as well. I have a few plants and things ordered from Rainbow Resources. To get started, we are going to try a Venus fly-trap that should be fun we can feed it ground beef-how cool is that-. I am also planning to do some things with magnets and static electric and maybe solar science. Stuff everyone can thrive and learn with.We will be reading a bio on Louis Pasture, and microbes, and some things on Alexander Graham Bell also.

morning peace

AHH! It is a quiet morning so far:-)It is the time to reflect on the day and pray to the lord for strength for another day and thank him I am here to see another one, theres no guaranties in life. So each day is a new gift.I just pray for guidance in the coming school year the eyes to see each childs gifts and talents and help them discover who they are and who God wants them to be.  and provisions for us this winter we really need it. Adam and Shaw are up in their room playing with trucks and giggling-I can hear them-.The girls are still sleeping. It is a nice crisp m orning the cool late summer air is blowing in the house and feels so fall like. We've had a very mild August ,which is a blessing on our electric bill. Cause Lord knows that's high enough. And we still don;t know how we are going to heat the house this year. Things are very tight, too tight, sometimes.Doug works round the clock and I have cut back as much as I can. It just seems things get tighter by the week. Something has to give. Of course if people who owe us money would pay us back we'd be good. and one of those is Doug's own brother who borrowed a lot of money promised to pay and we've not seen him since. Funny,huh?Pretty sad he can't even send us a little bit and make some sort of effort. We have 7 mouths to feed here- Bandit likes to eat too- and he has himself. I just Thank God everyday for my mom and stepdad and my dad and stepmom, who are helping as much as they can, they feed us and give the kids birthdays and fall clothes or whatever they need. WE could not do it without them. We will be doing our math and phonics today and reading lessons. I think we may get out some paints today-Adam loves to paint- and maybe do that. I was thinking of going for a brief hike int he fields and gathering interesting leaves and such and doing some rubbings today,-And Grace can find all the bugs she wants-.

Monday, August 18, 2008

YAYYY HE DID IT

Congratulations to Michael Phelps on an awesome Olympics and making America Proud

weekend with daddy

Doug was home for the weekend and the kids where happy. He went back to work this morning and will be home again next Saturday. I know for me anyways it is so much quieter and calmer when he is gone. Saturday we had a cook-out bonfire with Mary and the kids next door they really had a nice time, roasting marsh mellows, swimming, and running all over the place. It was a good night. I know Madeline and Kristen are trying to enjoy each other all they can since Kristen goes back home next week,boy the time sure flies.But there Will be things to look forward to here . Apple-picking, and hayrides, and Halloween.Yesterday Doug came to church and saw the kids sing there VBS songs. Then we had turkey legs on the grill for diner and lite our fireplace outside and roasted marsh mellows and swam in the pool- which has finally cleared up. So it was a good weekend now its time to get back to schooling.I just now they will be so happy to hear that:-)

Friday, August 15, 2008

and lets not forget

GO MICHAEL PHELPS!!!!!! MAKE IT 8 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the best laid plans

what do they say about them:-) We are doing a unit on the Olympics-cause its relevant now- and Madeline has expressed an intrest in the ancient Greeks, which wasn;t in my school plan for this year,but...Seeing how it is the birthplace of the Olympics it is a good tie in,. We will take the rest of the summer into September to do the Greeks. Then in October we can begin Elections/Government/Presidents, until the holidays. Needles to say this is a bit of an unplanned expense,but the things we need are on Rainbow Resources website and I added them to my wish list. Actually this could work really well, we are going to be doing some things with word roots-Classical Word Roots- for our vocabulary and most of our words are from Latin and Greek beginnings so it will be a good tie in to that as well. It is fun sometimes to let the children direct where our learning will go. We did get much from the Greeks there culture was much more advanced then people realize. So this can be fun and if we do a study of Galileo and Socrates we have science as well.

animal rescue and new friends

in the past week or two several new families have joined our home school group and they are all into doing animal rescue which is right up Madeline;s alley:-)One does American Bulldogs, one does Cocker Spaniels, another does guinea pigs- which made me smile- . We are very excited to meet some of these folks, we are animal people too- tough Doug isn't so much-and it will be interesting to talk to others involved in saving gods most innocents the ones who cannot talk for themselves. I just printed off the form for Madeline to volunteer at the Harford County Animal Shelter. I will go with her it is only 2 hours a month for 6 months,but I have a feeling we will be there more often then that. They have two guinea pigs that need homes something tells me they will be living with us very soon;-)

Thursday, August 14, 2008

a stormy night /VBS

VBs was quite an adventure tonight. we had several huge storms blow through while we where there. Lightning hit the cross on the church steeple, what a BOOM that made.Everyone jumped event he grown-ups. And the drain clogged by the basement door so the supper room began to flood, luckily we where there to clear it out.There was hail- a lot of it too- and even RT.40 flooded, what a mess. But we had a great turn-out tonight, the kids had fun and it was a good night. WE where in a good place to weather out a storm.After all where better to be in the storms of life then with Jesus, who will hold us up through them and swim along beside us.

tea party-not so pleasent


the kids had a tea party with some of their friends today-Kristen,TJ and Victoria- it went well, we had PBJ"S ,cantaloupe, and tea cookies, and iced green tea. My kids do tea often with me on Sunday afternoons after church, so it is something special for us, even Adam has his own teacup and he knows his tea manners:-)It was a bit hard with friends who don;t have the manners to sit through tea, and who climb on the tables and make comments about the food. -Kristen was wonderful and a good sport,btw-. I know one of the kids has special needs,but, I often wonder why is it ok for him to behave badly and no one tells him how we should behave, after all as a grown man he won;t be able to crawl across a table at dinner and folks be ok with it. And is it fair if his sister always has to give up whatever she has - a teacup a doll or whatever- she then behaves in a most unpleasant way for attention and the cycle continues. I like the parents -Doug and I grew up with the mum- but it is just irking me to no end. Madeline has some special needs as well but we have always expected her to behave well, no matter what, screaming fits, and throwing food are never ok, it is ok to be upset but there are appropriate ways to handle it.

Its funny the mom often makes side comments on our hsing the kids, and how we are missing out on stuff. Not sure what, my kids have manners, can speak and hold a conversation. Will eat whatever is put in front of them or politely push it to the side of their plates and say thank you. They do not run all over the house during a meal or climb on the tables, they don;t take other folks cups,plates, food etc.. and if they do they are corrected. They sit quietly for prayers and pay reverence to the lord who provides for us. So not sure what we have missed by being here. Certainly not manners.
I apologize for sounding harsh this is just at every thing we do together and I do smile and try to be supportive, and then I come home and vent. We have had issues with the dad getting in Adam's face and yelling at him, which is driving me crazy. We have told the mom that is not something we will tolerate. so we shall see what happens from here.

Off to VBS with our hula hoops:-)

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

daddy out of town


well daddy is working out of town this week so we won;t see him until Saturday sometime. The kids are missing him,but honestly with VBS each night by the time we get home they just fall into bed so it is keeping them busy and their minds occupied. Which is a good thing.

We are having a tea party this afternoon with the girls best pals- Kristen and Victoria-it should be cute.

Then tomorrow is theater in the morning practice,practice,practice, whew. They are doing great but practice makes perfect.

So we are busy this week and so they should not notice daddy being gone a whole lot which is a great thing.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Vacation bible School


we begin bible school tonight at our church, we are excited and have invited many neighborhood and home school friends to join us, not sure who will though. But the children who Jesus wants there will come join us. Our job is to make them welcome and show them the love of Jesus through us his faithful servants, So my prayer this week is for us to minister to those lambs the lord leads to us.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

sleepovers and marshmellows



we had a great evening last night, Doug and I roasted marshmallows with the younger kids-Adam,Grace and Shawn-, it was fun hanging by the fire and laughing with them, It was cool enough for the fire to feel really good, it was like a fall evening, nice and crisp. There was a half moon in the night sky smiling on us.Very nice and relaxing.

Madeline spent the night next door with Kristen, her bff, they baked cookies for a tea party we are having on Wednesday. It was a nice time for them to spend together just laughing and being young girls. What a great age, old enough for that kind of fun, but still young enough to giggle and make yourself scared about silly ghost stories.

So it was a great weekend for all of us:-)

Saturday, August 9, 2008

peach picking


we are off this morning to pick peaches with some good friends , two of the homeschool families we are close with. We also all have several kids so between the three families there will be 15 kids:-)

This will be the kids first peach picking experience, we have done apples before and they like that. I just love being out in nature and enjoying the fruits of mans labor- no pun intended- , you can't beat food fresh from the tree/field whereever.

That and its alwaysnice to share fun with good friends and get a chance to discuss common intrest. Or sometimes uncommon ones as well, thats how we grow and learn by being open to our differences.

Friday, August 8, 2008

tweens river swim day


what a fun day today was:-) We had the teens and Tween homeschooling group over today for a pool party, which turned into a river swimming day. The kids had a blast, they got into a mud throwing battle and came out looking like swamp monsters:-) But they laughed and played and had a hoot. It was nice to see them be well teens. And they where so good with Adam and Grace, they just fit right in. Our dog enjoyed having several extra kids to play with him he ,too, was a gray mud monster when he came out, he is in the front room drying off after a quick wash down.I will say no one had a hard time getting to sleep tonight.

And it was nice for me to get to chat with parents of other homeschooling tweenagers, who are all going through this stage of life with their kids and fully get-it, after all we are the ones with them all day, through the moodiness, and hormones and all that fun stuff:-) But again I wouldn;t have it any other way, I am so glad to be the one they come to with emotions raging, and questions coming, and concerns , and crushes, etc...And its nice also as a homeschooler they do get to be with their peers,but we parents have a bit more control over who those peers are, and how they spend their time together. We can guide them into constructive activities, and help them develop healthy relationships, that build their self esteem and images. And give them positive feedback from each other.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

a fellow homeschooler in need


we just learned a dear friend and her family lost there home to fire last night. They have three children a 12 year old, a 3 year old and a newborn. They have nothing left of their home, no clothes nothing. I guess though the fact they are all unhurt is a blessing.Fire is so scary.we had a small furnace fire right after Grace was born and that was just awful, so I can imagine how bad this is.

Anyhow this dear sweet family needs much prayer and comfort, so please lift them up tonight and many more to come they are The Gaffeny Family ,of Baltimore.

thoughts and ramblings



maybe its the time of year end of summer/before fall, the season is changing, the nights are getting cooler theres the faint whiff of jasmine in the air-could be the fact I am getting older will be 41 soon-. But it always makes me a bit melancholy.I have been just in a bit of a mood latley.Not a bad one really sorta musing over the kids growing up-Madeline is going to be 13 soon, and that went very fast, in 13 more years she will be 26 and she could be a mom by then:-0 I can still remember bringing her home from the hospital like it was yesterday.She is beginning to leave behind girlhood things-like dolls, and toys-, and she is becoming a young lady.She isn;t a diva type teen -thankfully-, more a nature/animal girl. It is a bittersweet pleasure to watch her grow-up:-)and find her own path in the world. And it is not easy to sit back and let her go .

And Grace will be 8 in November and she is quite the tomboy. she is amusing to watch with her bugs,frogs and whatever other critter ventures her way. She always makes me laugh. It was only a blink in time when she was just learning to walk.

Adam isn;t a baby anymore he is a little boy now-4 this summer-. He has his own unique personality and likes. He is my buddy, a cool dude, he likes to be tough but he is very sensitive- watch out ladies;-)-. He likes to help out around the house , and he likes to help his daddy with chores in the yard.

Shawn he is just a bouncy, cheery , cuddly toddler who is into everything. His thing now is to get out my can goods and roll them all over the place- I have found soup , under my bushes outside:-)-. He is saying Adam's name- the first word he has really clearly said.He also says my name and Bandits.

So they are all growing up and doing good, becoming their unique self's. It is a fun ride to be on with them.

This fall I am feeling the need to draw them very close and just hug them close. Bake cookies, and have teas with them. Take long walks in the woods, read good books together int he evenings, and snuggle by the fire and roast marshmallows. Really just be close and together and enjoy them.Time is fleeting and before we know it the kids will be all grown and gone, now is the time to be with them and enjoy them. Theres no waiting till tomorrow,cause tomorrow they will e driving and dating and having families of there own. I will then be a side player in their lives someone they visit from time to time . Not a main player who is guiding them and living each day with them.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

skateboarding



Madeline got a new skateboard today- it was left in her bed this morning by daddy:-)- He ran over her other one two weeks ago when it was left in the driveway.
She spent the afternoon zipping up and down the street, and she was really doing well. it really helps her balance and coordination- which are not the best- and she just beamed with confidence and independence.
Her pals on the street all have skateboards and they all help and encourage each other, one of the dads showed her how ' to walk' the skateboard, and she got that pretty easily.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

catching up with an old friend


I met up with an old friend-Kellie- today at Mariner Point park in Joppa to do her homeschool review. She is the cousin of the girls I grew up with-Theresa-. It was nice to talk and watch the kids play in a "secret" fort under some trees:-) After we did the review, we walked the path around the park, and as always stopped to watch the trains go over the bridge. And we feed peanuts to the sguirrels.

I am feeling a tad under the weather- a female thing- and it was sorta nice to chat about being kids again. And talk about all the pluses of having the kids home with us everyday. Sometimes only another homeschool momma can actually'get' what we do day in and day out. When people ask'how can you stand to be with your kids all day?"I ask" how can you not ..." I know how fast they grow up and then they are gone. and I am privelelged to be here with them , and to be able to actually know them, as the individuals they are. Really I don;t think there are any negatives to homeschooling, the kids get to develope into interesting people, with intrest, and they gain knowledge of the real world.
They interact with all kinds of people , all ages, cultures, backrounds, etcc and they just see people. They ca have conversations about issues without being censored, we can discuss god,politics, things like that and be open and honest with each other.
We spend time together and truly know each other, we pray together, we eat together, sleep together ,play together. and learn to get along . After all how can we get along int he world if we can;t get along at home.

I am very proud of the children and they always amaze me with the things they do.Shawn is a cuddle bug,Adam is my buddy,Grace is my free-spirit,And Madeline is my kind and gentle girl.

Monday, August 4, 2008

going crabby



well what a nice treat we had today, Uncle Amp knocked on our door and dumped a bushel of crabs on our table this afternoon. He is off and Tom and him have been out in the new boat crabbing and have caught a lot of nice sized crabs. And they where very yummy, of all the crabs I have had over the years his are the best.But there was way too may for us so we sent a huge bag over to Ms.Mary and the kids. She came over tonight and told us how good they where and how much they all enjoyed them Nice to know through our blessing we could bless someone else.

PRAISE GOD

a new school year has begun



we are beginning our new year this week:-) Grace is 2ND, Madeline 6Th, Adam prek and Shawn just his cute little self:-)

I like the routine of the school day and enjoy teaching,reading, and learning with the kids, I have learned as much as they have on some days. That I think is one of the biggest joys of being a homeschooler, seeing those light bulb moments when they just get it. And getting those moments together.

I thank Jesus everyday for being able to teach them at home the way the Lord meant for us to do. He did not give us children to hand over to some government run institution to raise, with heavens knows what values they are taught- gay marriages are OK, abortions are just family planning,feeling good about yourself is most important-,not doing the right thing . - putting them in bullying situations , where it is impossible to learn. Making kids feel inferior, and lost.

No my children will be raised in a place of godly love and learning. Where the values of a pleasing life to god are taught, making good moral decisions are important,treating others with respect and dignity are a must. Standing up for what you believe is a great thing, even if no one else believes it.After all Jesus never said the walk would be easy, he just promised to walk it with us and hold us up over the trials we will face. for this will build our character and strength and make us the salt and light to the world.

God Bless Us this day , as we seek to please you in all we do. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow praise him all creatures here below.