Mini Trip

Thursday, June 17 we went to Fort Worth. Lindy ran in a track meet, and did well. The weather was just great! We went swimming at the hotel. Woke up Friday and headed down to Austin.

I called my mom when we got to Waco and surprise! She had forgotten that we were coming down. So Friday afternoon-evening we hung out and relaxed at mom's. Bella and mom really had fun with the chickens.

Saturday morning we took off for the zoo. I really like zoos. Bella and I had a great time!

Then we ate lunch at a restaurant that the girls and I went too a couple months ago, and wanted to share it with Lindy. The restaurant is called "Which Wich" It is a fun cool little place.

Saturday evening we went swimming. I'm not sure I like boys "makin' eyes" at the "sisters."

Sunday we went to church, then mom, I and the girls went to look at model homes. This is something we all like to do. Later that evening Papa Robert gave the girls some money and took us to Half Priced books, and ice cream. The girls bought a couple books apiece.

The girls love to spend time at mom's. They love to explore and hike in the woods. Bella loves the dogs and the chickens.

It was a really nice trip!

Lindy running the 400m

On Saturday, June 19 we went to the Austin Zoo.

As soon we walked in the zoo we saw this interesting insect pulling a small tarantula.

We also saw a dung beetle rolling some dung, but nobody took a picture.

One of five tigers at the zoo

Black Bear

Black Bear

Leopard

Monkey in a car. Now that's not something you see everyday!

Shy little monkey

Peacocks and chickens had the run of the whole zoo.

At one time Olivia wanted a lizard for a pet.

Feeding the deer

Coming home (mom's house) we saw these little fawns across the road from her house.

I didn't realize that we didn't take any pictures of our family! I guess that's what I get for putting the kids in charge of the camera! I'll try harder to get more pics of the family.

The girls and I are going back to Austin in July.

Super cute organizing tool

Mom's Home Journal

So what's included in the journal? . . . so far:

beautiful cover & spines for each season
emergency & contact info pages
year at-a-glance, week-at-a-glance, and other "at-a-glance" planning pages
divider pages (could also be used as cover pages for individual journals - like a recipe book) for each season
calendars for July 2010 - June 2011 (eight styles for each month)
lists: shopping, gift planning, goal setting for each season
a variety of to-do list pages for each season
household forms for menu planning, housecleaning, & financial work for each season
pages to build and plan your routines for each season
a variety of journaling pages (some with "notebooking flair") for each season

Mini Trip

Had a mini trip to Austin over the weekend. Good Times.
Hope to post pictures soon.

Menu

Chicken Nachos
Grilled pork chops/fried apples/corn
grilled chicken
pizza
roast

Ladies Tea May 2010

Bella Birthday with the Grammas, 2010

Raising Homemakers

As a mother of 3 daughters I'm excited about this new website Raising Homemakers

Raising Homemakers is dedicated to inspiring, teaching and blessing mothers who have an interest in raising their daughter in godliness and preparing them in the arts of homemaking to the glory of God.

House Cleaning

Been busy working around the house last week.
Cleaned ceiling fans
Lindy took down all the blinds, washed them and put them back up.
Washed windows
Got a new to us couch and table lamps from my mom, so we rearranged the living room and vacuumed under the furniture.
Washed the living room sheer curtains.
Straightened the laundry room


These are homemaking “rules” that I try to live by, but not always successfully.

1. Clean house before you leave for vacation so you don’t come home to mess-this is from my mom
2. Don’t go to bed without cleaning kitchen, no dirty dishes left overnight.-this is from my paternal grandma.
3. Plan your menus before you go shopping-from my mom. I also plan my menus to work around what is on sale for the week. This has kept my grocery bill under $100 for the week for a family of 5.
4. Write all family plans/activities on the same calendar. Plus keep a weekly planning sheet on the fridge.
5. No computer until chores/school are done. This is more for the girls. LOL

I know nothing earth shattering but it helps my home run more smoothly.

Menu Plan

We had a lunch cookout with my gramma and went to a Memorial Day Service this afternoon. So tonight will be a lighter supper of
Baked Potatoes and Salad
beef and chicken fajitas
brats (the sausage kind not my kids LOL)
pork chops
pizza
grilled buffalo chicken legs

Bella and Clover Club

May 27 Clover Club spent the day together at a members home and learned about horses, got to ride a horse and painted horse shoes. It was a fun day for us all.

Love this!

I love this swimming suit!Stylish, modern, good sun protection for my fair skinned beauties! I love the sportiness of the cut, I feel it would encourage more activity and less worry about what is falling out or riding up.

Almost done!

The girls are almost done with school. Emilie and Olivia have finished Literature, and Grammar. They will finish History June 2,
Science will continue until July 2. After June 2 Math will be 3-5 times a week, Grammar Girl podcast 3-5 times a week, free reading daily, pursuing interests other than computer.

Bella will finish next week. This week she will finish Wizard of Oz, next week she will have 5 James Herriot stories.

I made this President Notebooking page for the girls to use with A New World of Adventure.

Menu Plan

Chicken Fajitas
Pork Chops
Spaghetti
Pizza
Beef Noodle
Grilled Chicken

A History of Christianity DVD Review

I was able to watch Episode 1 of History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years
and wish I had the whole series. Diarmaid MacCulloch is very honest at the beginning that this is not a series about Christian theology, it is about the movement of the church through history and countries and how this shaped both along with the church itself. The series does lump all Christ worshipping religions together- Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant.

I loved the tours of the countries and the buildings both great and small where believers gathered for thousands of years. This first episode works wonderfully with the homeschool curriculum Mystery of History Vol 2. I'm sure it could be used with others but MOH is what I have used.

I found this dvd very interesting, informative and inspiring. I was moved by the total dedication of the early church, they changed the world- can we do any less?

Thank you TBB Media for this review copy.

Glaen- Book Review

Glaen: A Novel Message on Romance, Love and Relating, This story follows Annie as she discovers what makes true love last- between friends and spouses. The author Fred R. Lybrand suggests reading the book book twice and I have to agree. Once for the story line and once for the concepts.

I enjoyed the story line but found the writing somewhat disjointed and this made the plot difficult to follow. But overall an easy book to read. I had hoped that my 15 year old would read it. Nothing in the book is inappropriate as far as my personal taste, but the “jumpiness” of the writing made it hard for her to follow the plot. She will try again in a couple months.

We are a “non traditional dating” family- we subscribe to a more “courtship” style model. My one objection to Glaen is the very narrow definition of courtship. When in reality each family is free to design their own style of courtship. One families “courtship” is another’s “group dating only” style.

There is a website, www.glaen.com, for a study guide which would make this a great book study for older teens/college or premarital classes.

Thank you TBB Media for this review copy.

NotebookingPages.com 4th Birthday Sale-a-Bration!

NotebookingPages.com 4th Birthday Sale-a-Bration!

Tired of Busywork? Seize the Most from Your Day . . . with Notebooking!

 

Notebooking is a powerful tool that captures what your children have learned, turning it into a concise, artful piece of work. Visit NotebookingPages.com for free and affordable templates to help you get started today! Simply print out a selection of free notebooking templates or choose pages from one of their themed sets.

Now is a great time to try some of NotebookingPages.com's products during their 4th Birthday Sale-a-Bration!  The sale starts May 5th and ends May 31st.  Get there early for the BEST deals!

 

Visit during the first three days (May 5-7th) and every product and specially priced combo set is 50% off! You can get ALL of their products for just $57.50 ( a value of over $170!!!).  PLUS, spend $40 through May 14th and you will receive a bonus e-gift homeschooling package worth over $60 with your order - FREE!

 

This 50% off portion of their sale is only in effect May 5, 6, & 7th.   (After May 7th, sale prices will be 35-40% off.)

Check it out here:

NotebookingPages.com Birthday Celebration Sale

Ultimate Homeschool Expo 2010

Ultimate Homeschool Expo 2010 starts today! I'm so excited.

What is it you ask? It is an online homeschooling conference with online seminars featuring 35+ Speakers.
The seminars/workshops are Mp3 download audios that are available forever. I download the ones I'm interested in and save on my ipod and listen while walking, or doing housework, or traveling. Lots of good ideas, and encouragement. And it's not just academics either, marriage, family, parenting, spiritual issues are covered as well.
Virtual Vendor Hall-special offers from your favorite Online Vendors!
Free Gifts ALL WEEK--ebooks, audios, downloads!


I got the UHSE 2009 last year and I so enjoyed it. I'm still listening to several seminars and now I have a whole new batch to get me pumped up, fired up, and ready to tackle another year of homeschooling High School!

You don't want to miss this years Expo, lots of great messages available on *your* time schedule. That's the best part for me, I can download and listen to what I want when I want it. Go check it out!

Daily Steps for God Chicks

Daily Steps for God Chicks by Holly Wagner is a 90 day devotional. I like Holly's personal writing style, it's like a visit with a girl friend. This book is more than a devotional which tend to be passive. This book gives you a daily assignment that build on one another. Some are reflective-perfect for journaling and some are more active steps.

This is one devotional that I'll keep in rotation. I'm looking forward to reading more by Holly Wagner.

Thank you Regal Books for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Warrior Chick

Sound your battle cry! Stop being a whimpy Christian, be the warrior God made and called you to be! Warrior Chicks by Holly Wagner is like visiting with my girlfriends. Holly's writing is easy and fun while getting across strong spiritual truths. Holly shows us the "how and why" of putting on the armor of God daily.

Each of us have battles, be it a serious health issue, such as cancer, a family issue like rebellious teens or a marriage that is falling apart. We even have minor issues daily that we need to rely on God to get us through with victory. People are watching our testimony while we deal with these issues. Holly shows us how to move from being a victim to an overcoming warrior.

This book would be a terrific book for group Bible study, Sunday School or personal Bible study- a study guide is included in the back. Although written for women by a woman, men could also glean much of the warrior spirit from this book.

I'll be visiting Holy in this book again and again.

Thank you to Regal books for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Menu

grilled chicken sandwiches
ham and cheese roll ups- ham and cheese rolled up in crescent rolls then baked
spaghetti
pizza
chicken fajitas

Lesson Plans

Well, I finally got some uninterrupted time on the computer to catch up Bella's lesson plans. You can view weeks 18-27 here.

Again these are our actual lesson plans that we are really doing. As you can see some weeks are full and others are not due to travel or sickness.
This is my own "tweeked" schedule of Sonlight books that I had already. I've added many other books as well. The list of books isn't complete, after we are done I'll update the list with all the books we used.

Menu

Tacos
Coconut Chicken Strips
Pork Loin
Roasted Chicken
Pizza

Free Summer Fun!

I signed the girls up for the Kids Bowl Free bowling all summer long!

"Select bowling centers and schools around the country are participating in the first ever “Kids Bowl Free” program. This program is designed by bowling centers to give back to the community and provide a safe, secure, and fun way for kids to spend time this summer.

Children whose age does not exceed a limit by a participating bowling center are eligible to register for 2 free games a day, all summer long, courtesy of the particpating bowling centers along with the schools and organizations."

Fun with my girls!

Well I didn't get my 2nd grade lesson plans typed up, blah. I'll have to work on that soon.

We had a very nice relaxing time during our Easter break. We saw the movie "How to Train Your Dragon" it was very good. We all enjoyed it. We went for a hike along the Red River, but the camera batteries died so didn't get any pictures.

Emilie's 15 birthday was on Friday, can't believe she is 15! Her friend Hannha spent the night.

Today the girls and I are going to a mother/daughter conference with our church. All the moms and daughters that are going made tie-dye shirts to wear on Saturday. That was fun, my girls want to do more tie-dye.

Today for school we are doing History, Science and Math.