The 100th day of school!

Last week, we celebrated our 100th day of school! We don't actually have to record our homeschool days this year since Wubs is not seven years old yet, but I thought it would be good practice for next year. The girls have colored one square on their hundred charts since we started the school year, back in August. (Honestly, I think we may have technically passed our '100th day of school' a week or so back because we didn't color the hundred charts on the days we had a field trips, went to the library, etc, but the girls didn't seem to mind. wink.) In celebration of our big day, we had a treasure hunt! Bella was the first child to wake up on the 100th day of school, but she quickly climbed up the ladder of the bunk bed to wake her sister. Here are a few pictures from the big day! Glasses on! Time to read the treasure map. It was supposed to take the girls one hundred steps to reach their treasure, but in all the excitement, I don't think anyone was really counting! wink!First stop was out the front door and onto the front porch! However, it had rained really hard the night before so I had to go to Plan B when designing the treasure map. I had wanted the hunt to be held outside but it was just too wet. Maybe next year!Scrambling in and out of rooms...This picture of Bella is too funny! She was really on the look out!Finally the girls looked in daddy and mommy's bedroom! I hid the treasure behind our bedroom door, where our hamper usually sits. I had removed the hamper and filled the spot with 100 pieces of TREASURE! Hooray!Treasure, treasure, treasure! Cotton candy, grow capsules filled with animal shapes, candy, glow sticks, chocolate coins, dinosaurs, and fun eraser toys! (The erasers have been an item the girls have been begging to get every time we go to Target. I have no idea why, but they think they are so cool! ha ha! So you can only imagine their delight...)The girls sat and sat in this corner of our bedroom, just enjoying all the loot! The girls enjoyed playing all morning long with their new toys. Then we had a special lunch! I told Wubs and Bella that I was making them 100 nuggets, and they gasped. They thought that would be waaaay too many; we all laughed when they saw their plates! It was a happy, happy day!
"Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you."- Psalm 9:10

Are you afraid?

What makes you feel afraid? When are you fearful? What little lies creep into your thoughts? These are the questions I've been asking myself this week. I have been meditating on a scripture in 2 Timothy and I wanted to journal (well, blog... wink) about what the Lord has shown me in His Word.
"Therefore, I remind you to keep ablaze the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgement."- 2 Timothy 1:6-7
I have read this scripture many times over the last few days and over and over again, I keep coming back to the Truth that 'God does not give us a spirit of fearfulness'. Yet, there are many times in my Christian walk when I have felt afraid. Afraid of the uncertainties of life, afraid of my own shortfalls, even afraid of change. But if a spirit of fear doesn't come from God, where does it come from? Then I remembered... that's one of the very oldest tricks in The Book. In the beginning, Satan used his craftiness to tempt Eve into sinning against God by lying to her about the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Eve ate the fruit and invited Adam to join her in this sin. Adam and Eve had never felt afraid or fearful until after they had sinned, because up until that point, they had enjoyed a perfect, beautiful relationship with the Lord. But after Adam and Eve had sinned, they felt afraid when God came into the garden looking for them, and they hid. Satan knew if he could cast even a little doubt into Eve's thoughts, he could cause her to sin. Satan hates God and he hates God's people. Satan enjoys distracting us from God's perfect love, and he will use any tactic possible to do so, including casting the shadows of fear and doubt. I believe fearfulness came into the world due to the fall of man.
What can I do when I feel afraid, when the shadows of doubt or fear begin to creep into my thoughts? Well, 2 Timothy 1:6-7 reminds me that the Lord has equipt me with 'power, love, and sound judgement'. I have power by the Holy Spirit within me and the Truth of God's word; I do not need to allow myself to be decieved by the lies of this world. I have the love of Jesus, a love that cannot be broken, a love that is unstoppable, unchanging, and forever. And, I have been given a spirit of sound judgement; I can prayerfully consider the circumstances and seek guidance from the Lord, and I can also seek Godly counsel.
Sometimes I when I blog, I like to write stories about our children that I don't want to forget, sometimes I enjoy writing about our family adventures, and other times, I write about something that the Lord has put on my heart. Today, friends, I am writing to share with you about the lesson God has shown to me through this passage of scripture; I am blogging all of this because I just can't seem to shake the idea that I need to write specifically about these verses. If you are reading this post and you have seeds of fear or doubt within your thoughts, I pray that you will be encouraged by God's Truth.
Have a great weekend!

The girls got their first set of legos this year for Christmas. Lots of fun!!!Bella completed this Miss Spider puzzle all by herself! She was SO excited about this accomplishment! She worked very,very hard.

A homeschool picture. Bella doing her 'work' and Wubs is deep in thought. wink.

"The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him."- Nahum 1:7

Photojournal: Valentine's Day 2012

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day! We made homemade Valentines, we delivered cookies to our neighbors, we completed our special activities, we ate lots of treats, and we enjoyed our traditional date night with daddy to Chic-fil-a! It was a day filled with blessings. Here are just a few pictures of our day:

Sweet sisters! They really are the best of friends.The girls with little man. We love these precious children so much!I tried a new hairstyle on the girls for Valentine's Day. I watched a tutorial on-line about 'heart hair' and we tried it out! It was an inverted french braid with a lacing technique. The girls loved it!Date night! David is the absolute best husband and father. I love, love, love this amazing man.

"Therefore, I remind you to keep ablaze the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgement."- 1 Timothy 1:6-7

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! Today we have many fun Valentine's Day activities planned for homeschool, and tonight we are going on our traditional date night with daddy! (We have gone to Chic-fil-A for Valentine's Day for the last four years. It is so much fun! And as you can imagine, Chic-fil-A isn't very busy on Valentine's day. wink!) Below are a few pictures, taken bright and early this morning! Daddy got the girls Skittles and I baked cookie-pops last night after the children went to sleep. We didn't want Wubs and Bella to think we had forgotten about JJ so I tied a bow on a jar of baby food! The flowers were my gift from David. He surprised me yesterday morning because as I was leaving for Bible study, he had left beautiful flowers, a card, and one of my favorite songs playing in the car. Oh, how I love my husband! I am so very very blessed!Bella woke up Wubs when she saw the kitchen table. Wubs loves her sleep but Bella is our early bird!

JJ knew exactly what to do with his cookie pop!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart."- Proverbs 3:5

A Night at the Circus!

We had a special treat this weekend- a night at the circus! It was such a wonderful evening, filled with memories for our family! Emma Grace said that her favorite part of the circus was at the very beginning, when all the performers came out to sing the theme song ('Fully Charged') and of course, she l.o.v.e.d the animals! We saw elephants, horses, and tigers! Bella liked the tightrope walkers, the clowns, and the dancers. JJ was amazed by the lights, music, and all the clapping. David and I kept smiling at eachother throughout the entire show because we were enjoying watching the looks on our children's faces. It was priceless!

Snowcones! What a yummy circus snack! JJ was adorable, his little head looking from side to side, trying to take it all in! (*sniff* Sadly, we didn't get a family picture at the circus! A man offered to take our picture so David could jump in the photo but our camera batteries died. )

"Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you."- Psalm 9:10

The littlest garbage man

Since we have been spending lots of time at home due to our quarantine, the girls have become very resourceful. They have created lots of new games, pulled out toys that they haven't enjoyed in a while, and I've gotten out some toys from our 'special stash' . (I have a little stash of new toys inside our homeschool closet. The girls get so many fun things when we go visit our family for Christmas; I always try to put a few aside and save them for rainy days or sick days. My 'trick' works wonderfully, especially in times like this! wink!)
Bella wins the prize for creativity, though! She took her dolly bed and transformed it into a 'garbage truck' for JJ. She was pushing him all around, claiming he was a garbage man. As you can see, JJ loved this new game! (I did not allow Bella to put real trash inside the dolly bed, although she pleaded. Only make- believe trash allowed. )

"An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up."- Proverbs 12:25

A Valentine's Day idea...

Since Valentine's Day is approaching, I started brainstorming ways we could celebrate. Even though I know Wubs and Bella don't even really know what they are missing by being homeschooled (classroom parties, Valentine card exchanging, etc) I have a strong desire to make our time at home together fun and filled with memories.
I looked online for some Valentine's Day activities and I found coloring sheets, bingo games, mazes, and lots of cute printables...but it just wasn't what I really had in mind. I clicked around the internet for a few minutes when the Holy Spirit gave me an idea. Since Valentine's Day is all about love, and Jesus is love, we should celebrate with the Truth! I chose ten scriptures about love and wow- it was so exciting because as fast as I could copy them out of my Bible, the Holy Spirit was giving me a fun activity to do with our children to celebrate that Truth! I made little red and pink folded cards and I glued the scripture and the activity prompt inside. On Valentine's Day, I am going to let the girls pick the Valentine game cards and then we are going to complete all the fun activities together! We will read the scriptures about love, discuss the meaning of God's word, and then complete the challenge inside the card. I'm sure this game will take us all morning long on Valentine's Day, but I know the girls will love this time that we'll share together. I wanted to go ahead and blog these ideas, just in case you'd like to join us by trying these cards at your house, or maybe the Lord will use this post to get you started in creating your own special Valentine's Day celebration! I am really excited! Here are our game cards:
Card 1- "Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days."- Psalm 90:14 Activity: Sing (loudly) and dance (joyfully and silly) to our favorite praise and worship songs.
Card 2-"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who he has given us."- Romans 5:5 Activity: Practice pouring and have a tea party.
Card 3-"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not relunctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."- 2 Corinthians 9:7 Activity: Pick a toy (or two!) to give away with a happy heart. Mommy will give something belonging to her away, too!
Card 4-"How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings."- Psalm 36:7 Activity: Shadow puppets outside in the sunshine or in a dark closet with flashlights... it will depend on the weather.
Card 5- "Jesus replied, ' Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself."- Matthew 22:37 Activity: Make homemade Valentines for our neighbors and deliver them
Card 6-"If you love me, you will obey what I command."- John 14:15 Activity: Play Simon Says
Card 7- "Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you."- Psalm 63:3 Activity: Using a small handheld mirror and a dab of lipgloss, allow your children to watch their lips move as they recite this scripture, smile, and make silly mouth shapes.
Card 8- "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."- Deuteronomy 6:5 Activity: Practice strength (and endurance!) with some races to the mailbox, jumping jacks, toe touches, bunny hops, chair squats, etc.
Card 9-"Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs."- Proverbs 10:12 Activity: Have your children lay on the floor and cover them up with a big blanket. Play the 'parachute' game with them by lifting the blanket waaay up high and dropping it down on them. (Our children LOVE it when I wash the sheets and they beg me to do this to them!)
Card 10- "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love:not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."- 1 John 4:9-10 Activity: Write a letter to a family member or a friend to say 'I love you' and take a car ride to the post office to mail it.
ps- I would love to read any ideas you have to share!

Happy Reading!

We love books! We read atleast two storybooks in homeschool each day, and we also read from our Bible. We have been trying to read chapter books, too, and we love the Junie B. Jones series. I read Junie B. Jones and the Mushy Gushy Valentine with the girls yesterday, all at one time! JJ was napping, and each time I'd finish a chapter, Wubs and Bella would beg for 'just one more, Mommy!'. This cute, easy book has only 70 pages and there is one illustration per chapter. We laughed and laughed at this sweet Valentine story of friendship. If you have a chance to check out this book from the library, we recommend it. It was a full two thumbs up at our house! Happy reading!
"The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him."- Nahum 1:7

Homeschool: a Valentine activity

When we homeschool, most of our lessons are separated between preschool activities for Bella and first grade work for Emma Grace. However, I do try to create Bible lessons and crafts that are appropriate for both girls, serving both of their ability levels, so we can learn together! Bella thinks it is SO fun to do 'big girl work' and Wubs loves anything that requires art supplies!
Today we looked at our February calendar, and now that we've already celebrated Daddy's birthday, the next special day this month will be Valentine's Day! I drew hearts on several pieces of construction for the girls to cut out. We talked about candy conversation hearts and the little messages on those candies. For our creative writing lesson, I asked the girls, "What if... Jesus got to write messages for you on conversation hearts? What do you suppose He would write?" I teared up at several of their responses! We made a list together and then we set to work writing on our hearts. Wubs wrote on her hearts and Bella colored on hers. Below are a few pictures of our activity:

I loved all of their ideas but my favorites included the hearts that say "I forgive you", "I'll be your best friend", "I love you", and "You are mine". We had a lot of fun and we had some wonderful conversations due to our paper conversation hearts activity! Oh, and one last part of this homeschool lesston... we had to gobble up a few real candy hearts, too! wink.
"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."- 1 Corinthians 9: 24-25

A Super Bowl birthday for our Super Daddy!

Yesterday was a special day at our house! David's birthday fell on Super Bowl Sunday this year and we wanted to celebrate despite the sickness in our family. (JJ is improving every day from his RSV and now Emma Grace seems to have it. ) While daddy was at church, the girls helped me prepare for our surprise party. We made some homemade decorations and prepared lunch together. We decided to make Mexican food because we usually celebrate birthdays at one of our favorite restaurants, Los Tres. Since we couldn't go out to eat with all our germs, we made our own restaurant here at home! We set the table with real napkins and water goblets, so the girls thought we were being very fancy. wink! (It's the small things in life, huh?) Bella suggested that we needed to dress fancy as well, so the girls wore their dresses from Aunt Paula's wedding. I curled their ponytails, painted their finger nails, and allowed them to put on a spritz of perfume! woo woo! We love you daddy and we hope you had a wonderful birthday!David and his fancy girls! Bella thought it was so fun drinking out of a real water goblet... especially since it was filled with soda! Par-tay at our house, I tell ya!Wubs and her sweet little birthday smile for daddy! "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."- Matthew 6:34

Quarantined

This has been an 'exciting' week to say the very least! While David was away in Pennsylvania on the pastor's retreat ( he got home last night- hooray!), our family was officially quarantined by our pediatrician. Our little man was diagnosed with a case of RSV.
David left on the retreat after church on Sunday, and in prepration of this week without daddy, I had made lots of plans for playdates, trips to the park, etc to help us pass the time without too many tears. (Poor Wubs- she absolutely melted when she had to hug David good-bye for four whole days!) On Monday morning I debated taking JJ to the pediatrician because he had been running a fever of 102 through the night and he was pulling at his ears. But, I decided to give little man some Advil and try to wait it out for one more day. I have learned over the years that if you take a child with a possible ear infection to the doctor even just a day too early, you spend $25 to find out that you need to come back in a day or two for an additonal $25 recheck before those sweet little ears are infected enough to be worthy of an antibiotic. I was trying to be a good steward of our finances and JJ seemed okay with pain reliever medicine. Plus, I slept on our couch with JJ so I could hold him in an upright position to help with the congestion. So he was happy with that! By Tuesday morning, I was debating the pediatrician for a second time. The fever was down to 100 and perhaps this meant he was improving? However, by about 3pm that day, the Holy Spirit burdened my heart so strongly that I knew I needed to call for an appointment. I could hear this strange wheezing sound when JJ was breathing, and even when he would cough, it wouldn't seem to clear his throat. We got the last appointment of the day on Tuesday.
Things at the pediatrician's office began happening really fast as nurses zipped in and out of our room to check and recheck JJ's oxygen levels. I had suspected the ear infection (which turned out to be a double ear infection, yikes!) but I had never considered RSV. I was sent home with instructions to administer a breathing treatment every four hours around the clock and I needed to come back to have JJ re-examined on Thursday. His oxygen levels needed to reach a 97-they were at a 93- or we were going to need to discuss further action. (Some babies are actually hospitalized for RSV so I kept telling myself the truth- the Lord is in control. God loves JJ more than we do. God's ways are not my ways. He is sovereign. And then, after I would tell myself the truth, I would repeat it. wink.)
In the midst of all of this, God's hand was so apparent. Even though David was six hours away, he was praying with the entire team of pastors from our church for our son. We had friends and family who were calling regularly to check on us, prayer warriors who were praying without ceasing, meals provided, a nebulizer machine provided, movies for the girls to enjoy delivered, and my friend, Meghan, even came over twice to check JJ's oxygen levels for me. (Thank you Meghan for being so brave to come, even though this disease is extremely contagious. Thank you for sharing your pulse oximeter, kindness, and your wisdom!)
Yesterday, we returned to the pediatrician and we were given the best possible outcome! JJ's oxygen levels were only at a 96 but since his wheezing had improved considerably and he was clearly responding well to the breathing treatments, we can continue healing at home. Because RSV is so contagious, everyone in our family is now considered a 'carrier'. We are quarantined until the end of next week. Below are a few pictures of JJ during a breathing treatment. He does not like for me to put the strap for the mask around his head, but he will allow me to hold it up to his face. He has been a trooper!
"May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word."- 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

Wordless Wednesday: Mommy's lil helper

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."- 2 Timothy 3:16-17