LOWES BUILD N GROW WORKSHOP

My little Stinky Face has so much personality!

Hammering in the nails. Check out G.Q. doing it all by himself!

They both made a train caboose! Great job boys!!!

Doesn't Stinky Face look like one of Santa's elves?

HOLIDAY FUN AT THE AG CENTER

It's such a sad gingerbread house.

And now we have a HAPPY home for the gingerbread man (cookie)!

 

Here is a homemade wreath that I made. You cut off several 6 inch pieces of tulle and then tie them on a wooden hoop that you can get at a craft store. Tie each piece as if you are tying your shoes, but stop after the first step. When the entire loop is covered, you can add a beautiful bow for a finishing touch!

And here are some pretzels and cookies that we decorated. It was mainly me and Stinky Face doing the decorating, while G.Q. and his dad were working on the gingerbread house. This day was so much fun! We'll definitely do it again next year!

I just had to share my little Stinky Face's first preschool picture. I cracked up when he pulled the pictures out of his backpack! He is my little spunky guy, full of personality!

A God-Given Dream

     For those who don't know me personally, I am an independent consultant for Scentsy Wickless Candles. Last week I drove an hour to do an event in Louisville, KY. My husband came along to help me set up and he also took care of the kids. Once everything was set up, he took the kids to the movies. He left behind our camera and our Flip video camera. He set them down right next to me, on top of the suit case. During the time he was gone, I only left my table once to use the restroom. I took my cash with me, but didn't think about anything else. I asked the lady next to me if she could watch my table.

     When the event was over, we were packing up and realized that our Flip video camera was nowhere to be found. I figured that it just got packed up with something and we'd find it later. My husband called the movie theater to make sure it didn't fall out of his pockets or something while he was there, even though he was about 99% sure he left it with me. They didn't have it. When we got home, we searched through everything and couldn't find it. I started getting thoughts of people that I saw throughout the day, wondering if they stole it. One guy in particular came to mind. 

     With Christmas right around the corner, I was really sad about not having a video camera to film my children with. And we don't have the extra $200 to go out and buy a new one. So, a couple nights after the event, I fell asleep and had a very vivid dream. I saw the black suitcase on the floor and saw the Flip slipping right inside and it blended in with the suitcase because they are both black. When I woke from the dream, I just knew in my spirit that God had given me that dream and I needed to check for it again.

     I went to the same suitcase that was in my dream, the biggest one, opened it up, took out a few of the candle warmers and THERE IT WAS! I was extremely excited! In fact, I was on the phone with my cousin and she was telling me something negative and I just started screaming and praising God, and laughing. I also apologized a lot to her and explained what had just happened. I also felt bad for judging others, who I thought might have stolen our Flip. I just love it when God gives me dreams, especially ones that I don't have to try to figure out the meaning.

Thumb Print (or whole-hand print) Art

Here is what happens when you let a 3 year old play with ink pads and markers! I had more pics to share with you, but some of my photos didn't download right. My husband recovered what he could. Thank God for him, or I wouldn't have any of the pictures that were on the camera.

The idea was for the children to just put the ink on their thumbs and make animals and other things out of their thumb prints. As you can see, the ink ended up all over my little Stinky Face! But, thankfully, it easily washed off. This is a nice activity that is quick and fun for all ages!

Here is some of G.Q.'s artwork. I don't particularly like what he drew!

We recently participated in a homeschool "State Fair". Each family picked a state of their choice, studied it and then made a display to show at the "fair". My son picked Pennsylvania just for the pure fact that he knew Hershey chocolate comes from there! We were supposed to bring a pot luck dish, but unfortunately I wasn't feeling well the day of the event, so I opted to just bring a bunch of cookies-n-cream Hershey bars. Needless to say that was a huge hit with all the kids! Since I wasn't feeling well, we ended up leaving early. I wish I had taken pictures of the other displays because there were some really great ones. Besides the displays, there were games, food, and face painting. I really hope they do this again next year. If so, I intend to put more effort into it and make sure that my son does more of the work. ha ha  I really felt like this was my project and not his.

SLEEP ISSUES

WHY is it SO hard to get to bed at a decent hour? Even tonight, I sit here, totally exhausted and not even feeling the greatest, but I choose to stay awake. There's just something about this time of night. It's quiet! My little Stinky Face has crawled up next to me and fell asleep. It's one of those nights where I don't want him to go to his bed. I just love sitting here looking at him. *yawn* 

If you check out my Organized Life section, you will notice that one of the goals for this week is to get more sleep. This has been a personal goal for me for quite some time, but I just can't seem to make it happen. My kids get up too early and don't nap much, so this is the only time I get some "me" time. Does anyone else have this problem? It's like a love/hate kind of thing. I absolutely LOVE this quiet time, but I HATE not getting enough sleep. What to do? What to do?

Happy Thanksgiving to you! I'm so happy to see how many people are being positive today. I just wish every day could be like Thanksgiving. Families spending time together, eating yummy food, sharing everything they are thankful for...Could you just imagine? It's so sad, but I know that tomorrow will be so different. We'll soon be hearing the news about people getting shoved over and injured because they were in the way of other greedy shoppers. I've only participated in Black Friday one time and I don't think I'll ever do it again! There will still be nice deals to find. And the older I get, the less the focus is about gifts. I try to help my family to remember to focus on the biggest gift of all, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

So today, as I reflect on my life and give thanks, I just want to say that I owe ALL thanks to Him, for everything He's done for me, all that He's given me and everything that He continues to do in my life. I am blessed beyond measure. Even when I'm having a terrible day, I know deep in my heart that my cup runs over. My greatest desire is that you will be there to catch the blessings that flow from my cup. Have a blessed day!!!

I KNEW I shouldn't have joined, but sometimes it's just too hard to resist the latest and greatest things that everyone else is buzzing about! Pinterest  I joined about 2 hours ago and haven't stopping "pinning" things ever since. I already struggle with being on Facebook too often, and now I have caved, joined Pinterest and have a new obsession that will probably take up even more of my time than Facebook.

I will say though, in only 2 hours, I've found some AMAZING homeschool ideas and Pinterest is a way that I can keep all of these ideas in one spot. This is so cool for a homeschooling mother like myself who considers herself to not have a crafty bone in her body. I'm in desperate need of these ideas. When I actually put them to use, I will share them with you. But for now, if you dare, follow me at  http://pinterest.com/biblemomma/.  If you are not a member, you need to be invited, so just leave me a message with your e-mail and I will invite you!

If you are still confused about what exactly Pinterest is and what you can do with it, then just click on this link:  http://pinterest.com/about/.

How Many Homeschool Excuses Can I Come Up With

 

Homeschooling has been a real struggle with me almost from the beginning. At first it was making the adjustment from being a full-time working mom who went to school part-time, to becoming a full-time stay-at-home mom. Then I got pregnant with our second child and during this time my husband spent every week away from us because he was working in a different state, while I stayed home and tried to sell our house. Then the problem was having a newborn. I had forgotten how much work a newborn can be. Then as the newborn turned into a toddler, homeschooling just got even more difficult for me. My toddler was very strong willed and more demanding than most kids I know. I thought that sending him to preschool would really be my ticket to a better homeschool year with my oldest son: WRONG! Once I got that extra 4 hours a day, I found many other ways I would like to spend it! When I try to buckle down and stick to a schedule, I just find myself bored. I realized today that my son is also very bored with our curriculum, so we are going to try something new. I stumbled upon an AWESOME website called www.timberdoodle.com. Hello! Why hasn't anyone told me about this before? It's a website that takes the top rated curriculum in each subject and puts them together according to the grade level. The curriculum choices they have seem WAY more fun than what we've been doing, so I bought the entire set! The website also has things you can buy a la cart, so I bought a science lab kit that I plan on using with both of my children. I'm SO excited and can't wait for this to arrive. Hopefully this will put an end to all of my excuses!!!   :0)