Performing Surgery On Contractions in 4th grade

 I know I've mentioned this before, but I just love Abeka Academy DVDs! I am so thankful for a first class curriculum that my children can watch and gain so much knowledge!

Silas was having a good time in language today. He loves Mrs Tupua! She really does a great job. Today she was teaching on contractions and she put on a surgical mask and stethoscope and performed surgery to break apart 'I' and 'Will' to make I'll. 

 She stitched them back together with an apostrophe. She did this whole skit with the kids in her class and she was the surgeon and the students were the assistants.  It was absolutely adorable and I know my Silas won't forget about contractions. So thankful for great resources for my children for school!

An Awesome Day

It's been a rough day. I haven't had one in a while so I don't know why it took me so much by surprise. But, as the school day went on the pressure increased and the the symptoms I was feeling were not pleasant. My family noticed it and as usual were so sweet to take care of me. After school was done I hopped in the tub, soaked for a bit, then put on my robe and crashed on the recliner. Not really how I wanted to spend my Thursday evening.

My husband declared that Friday was a day off from school. Usually I fight that idea. Being a homeschool mom, I want to keep on schedule! But I didn't fight it this time instead I slept in way longer than I normally do. I can't remember the last time I stayed in bed till 10 a.m.!

 As I woke up the house was a flurry of activity with children getting ready for their day, the laundry being done and shortly after having them head out to do some duties at the church. With only one child at home that was in charge of "taking care of Momma" I went to the recliner with a cup of coffee my husband had prepared and grabbed my Bible. I know Patrick didn't pick the cup on purpose but as I looked at the coffee cup it said to "Make Today Awesome."  That brought tears to my eyes. I asked God how? How can I do this today? How can It be an awesome day if I don't feel well?  How can it be awesome when I won't be able to do much of anything at all?

I opened my bible and began reading in 2nd Thessalonians and as usual God gave me exactly what I needed. In chapter 1 verse 11 Paul tells the church at Thessalonica he has a prayer for them. In verse 12 he says he's praying that the name of the Lord Jesus Christ would be glorified in them. Glorified? How can His name be glorified in me today? 

When I think about glorifying the Lord I think about winning souls to him and doing a mighty work and I guess sometimes that Mighty work includes things that many others will see. That work means many results will be seen.  Today was going to be a productive school day with my house being straightened and cleaned  having a wonderful family fun night  and preparing as we head into a busy weekend of ministry serving Him! But this is not always so. Today His plan for me is to sit. And to rest.  And to let my family take care of me. Sometimes I fight that plan but that does not bring Him glory. Resting in His will will bring Him glory.

 So my plan today is to make it awesome and to glorify His name and here's a few ways that I can do this.

 #1 I must lower my expectations.  It's not about my plan for my day. It's His plan for me. God's ways don't always make sense to us .

#2 I must accept the circumstances of today that's beyond my control. Today I can't control if my house gets messy. Today I can't control that I won't be having a productive school day. Today I won't even be able to control that it's our family fun night and I won't be able to coordinate all the activities and desserts. I must accept that this is beyond my control.

#3 I need to think about what God has put in my control today.  I can control my spirit whether it will be sweet or whether I'll be fighting the circumstances God has given to me. I can control what I do with the time that I have that's little more down time that I have planned. I can control the thoughts I have. I can control my tone of voice. I don't know about you but when I don't feel good I get a little grouchy . It doesn't have to be that way.  I can choose to have extra time to listen to my children as they come and sit with me and put their arm around me and tell me about their day. I can use my extra time for others just to listen and be an encouragement to them.

#4 I can trust that God has this day in His control. He had this day planned out long before I wrote out my weekly to-do list. Though it's not how I thought I would try and glorify His name today,  He knows what's best and He knows the best way for me to glorify Him today.

So today's a down day for me. I'm working on those four points and I know that He loves me so very much!  Tomorrow will be a different day. Probably tomorrow I'll have more energy and feel better. I'm thankful that usually I don't have too many down days in a row. But for today I will Accept and I will Trust.  God sure is so good to me.

Baker County Fair

*Warning* Tons of fair pictures that will make you wish you lived in a great place like North Central Florida!

Last month we found out about a county near us having their county fair.  I love stuff like this!  And when they advertised $1 night, I knew it was where we wanted to be!

We loaded up the van and headed out to Baker county.  I remember going to the fair as a kid with my parents, and I loved it!  They always had us go through the huge civic center and look at the vendors and craft displays...as I kid I thought that took forever!  This fair was no different.  We didn't linger too long, but I did love seeing the gorgeous quilts on display.  I could just picture making this one, but making it with a white stripe down the middle in honor of Josie Pie.  (who is growing quite nicely, I might add!)

You never know what the atmosphere will be like at a county fair.  We were thankful that the Baker County Fair was clean, not too crowded and very family oriented.

We road a few rides first.  Wow, they were fast!  As a kid they didn't go fast enough!  Either the speed of the rides has changed, or it's me. It was a lot of fun and we screamed as it went faster and faster.

Callie has been talking for while a about riding a ferris wheel.  She was so excited to see one there and ride it!

Micah is a motorcycle/dirtbike lover.  When I saw they had a stunt act, I wasn't sure if my baby should see it...he's already too brave and daring!  Needless to say, he loved it!  And his dreams of getting his own dirtbike have grown even more.

Even Liberty loved going to the fair.  She loved the lights, and loved looking at the animals.

And she especially loved having some of Pops funnel cake.  Such greasy, sugary goodness right there!

Such great fun for our family!  I love hearing them all laugh and talk together.  Moments like these really are priceless.

We've got celery!

  I'm loving hearing all the responses to the previous post for homeschooling ideas! So many wonderful ideas! Today in Callie's science class she's learning the parts of a flower and the parts of a plant.  They recommended doing a celery science experiment where you put food coloring in a jar and put the celery stalk in and watch the food coloring gravitate towards the leaves. I remember doing this experiment when I was a kid!

 What is really neat is that we even had celery! We never buy celery. We really aren't fans. I don't use it in cooking.  We don't like to snack on it we just really aren't celery fans ,but for the football game last week I decided to have some celery on the veggie tray for the friends that came over. I just happened to have a few stalks left that we can do this experiment.  How fun!

To have a smooth day

I love schooling my children.  It's super tiring, very busy, mind boggling, and amazingly rewarding!  Each year I tweak things a little bit trying to make sure things run smoothly....or try to!  Each day is quite unpredictable.  But, I find that the more I plan beforehand, the better our days go!  So, I thought I'd share a few tips of what works for us and some new things we are doing this year.

~Schedule out our day.  I like to have posted a basic schedule for our day.  Do we follow it to a 'T'?  Ha!  Not  all the time.  But, it is a good guide and a general goal.  I also like to have the kiddos morning chores posted so they know which one they are assigned for the day.  I also have a list of the things that must be completed before school starts on their "Good Morning" chart.  They know we cannot begin until those things are done.

~Start at a good time.  If we run behind first thing in the morning, it sets our whole day back.  By early afternoon my kiddos are done...no matter what time we start.  So, my goal is to get started early and with a fresh start.

~This year I've started "spot checks" in math for my Silas.  At the end of Math class he comes to me and I randomly ask for answers on about 5 questions.  It keeps him accountable and it lets me make sure he understood what was taught.

~Abeka is big into "mini sheets."  And last year there were mini sheets all over the place!  (mini sheets are pieces of loose leaf paper that the kids work on in class.  It may be to write some new words, blends, or combination problems.)  I decided to forget having random pieces of paper with a few letters on it and gave them a notebook for each subject.  Any time they need a mini sheet or they need to write spelling words, or a place for their math work, it's all in one place.  I told them to try and use each paper completely.  It's easier now for me to go back and check their work and not have to look for a mini sheet somewhere!

~This year we also started to have "To Do Boxes" and "Done Folders"  During Bible class, I go into the kids work and tear out each paper for the day.  I also write down on a 3x5 any extra work or homework they need to check off.  Then, I put all this in the "To Do Box"  They put their box on their desk and know they have to do everything in there for their day to be done.  I also put in a "Done Folder."  My kiddos like to show me their work throughout the day and what they've learned.  But, with 3 kids doing school, I was finding that my day was going from kid to kid looking and grading, and the DVDs were being paused so much that it was taking Forever!! So now when they finish a paper they put it in their folder.  At the end of the school day I look through every paper, correct, grade it, and we talk about it.  They get the joy of letting me brag on their work, they get the benefit of seeing the corrections being made, I get to keep on top of grading, and we have some one on one time together.  It also helps to keep school flowing without stopping so much.

~We've also started a sharpened pencil rule.  At the end of the school day they are in charge of sharpening 3 pencils.  That way when it's time to start they are all ready.  There's no looking for pencils and sharpening them.  It's really helped us start better!

So these are just a few tips from that help us.  It's been a great year so far!


Linking Up with A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

And Raising Homemakers

Let the Season begin! And I finally finished!

It was a little over 5 years ago (yikes, this quilt took me too long!) that Patrick asked me to make him an Eagles quilt.  I started gathering fabrics that were Philadelphia Eagles midnight green.  I began cutting and sewing and then....I stopped.  I did make a few quilts between then and now, but I never finished his quilt. And he hadn't forgotten. :o)  So, with the new season ready to begin, I had a great goal of finishing his quilt.  I'm proud to say that I finished!  (even if it was only an hour before the game. :o) )

It has an Eagles emblem sewn to the top that we cut off of one of Joshua's old Eagles jackets.

And I bought iron-on jersey letters for the bottom. 
The pattern I picked was a lot of fun to make and I think I'm going to be using this one again, just with more blocks.

Since it was the first game, we decided to have a kick off party!  It was so fun to have over great friends and have great food. 

Even Liberty is an Eagles fan!

My hubby was happy about his quilt, and he was happy about the Eagles first win....even though it was a down to the last second, stressful game.  Football season is here!

Is my name "Busy?"

My kiddos have recently been introduced to the 1960s cartoon, The Jetsons.  They think it's quite funny, yet I think they may relate somewhat to it.  During lunch yesterday they were talking about how Mrs Jetson was complaining about having to do laundry.  She would put the dirty laundry into a machine and it would come out clean and folded.  (I sure do like the folded part!)  Micah said, "Those people are lazy!  That's not really doing laundry!"  Silas then put on his philosophical look and said that the easier we have it, the lazier we become.  I reminded them of how laundry used to be done and that people 100 years ago might think that we are quite lazy because of all the things we have to make it easier and quicker for us.  Then, Brenna said something that caused me to stop and Ponder.  She said, "Yet, we are busier than ever.  Even though we have it easier."

Why are we so busy?  With all the modern conveniences, we should have more time on our hands.  Yet we don't.  Not at all.

There are definitely "Time robbers" in everyone's life.  I think it's different for everyone.  But, I think it comes down to our enemy.  He knows us too well.  And he knows if he can get us busy, then we can forget to think on the Lord and our purpose He has for us here.

I've been reading the book,  I feel precious to God  by Beverly Hyles.  I am enjoying it so much!  I read a quote today that goes along with the thought from yesterday.  Mrs. Hyles was writing about an unexpected time she had in Virginia to rest and be refreshed. She said,

"One thing that refreshed me most was a small river lined with trees and willows.  I just took time to look at the perfect reflection of each one in the water.  One reason Christ is not reflected in us is because we are often filled with "busyness."  We are never still."

This morning I wrote out my to-do list, like I usually do.  Busy.  Yes, I am.  There are many good things on my list.  And honestly all are necessary.  But I don't want my kids to see "Busy"  I want them to see a Momma taking care of them and doing the necessary tasks of the day.

   Busy says, "I have to do this so don't bother me. "
   Busy says, "I have all this stuff to do and I'm not enjoying it!"  
   Busy says, "There's too much on my plate!" 
   Busy seems to grumble and complain about being busy. 

On the other hand, a Momma that is reflecting Christ will say, "I have many things I get to accomplish today."  She focuses on the blessings of having a family to take care of and a home to beautify.  She doesn't rush about from task to task, because she has wisely looked at her time and hasn't planned too much.  She's careful of time robbers and cherishes every moment.  She redeems the time.  She keeps things in "Apple Pie Order" because she plans carefully, but doesn't busy herself with too  much stuff to take care of.  The people in her home are her focus, not the stuff. 

Busy.  Not a name I would like to be called.  I need to work on that. For Christ to be reflected in me is my goal.  I pray that He will!

3 lost to Haemonchus contortus

I confess. Learning how to take care of these goats has not been very easy. It is a lot of fun! We enjoy taking care of them. And as much as we try not to too much, we do get attached to them. But learning how to take care of them and keep them healthy has been difficult.

It seems like ever since we've gotten this sweet girl, Trixie, our goats have been sick. They've had eye infections and coughs, they've had runny noses and diarrhea, we've sought advice and treated and sought more advice and treated and googled and googled and googled. We're trying to learn but this month three of our goats died. We lost poor Charlotte, Heidi, and Bubba. So we knew it was time to say "We have no idea what we're doing!" And call a Vet.

 Now, if you have ever called a vet you know that they don't really come for free. They're quite expensive! But as we looked at our diminished heard of three we realize the investment that we had out in the field was dying. So it was either let our investment die or call in the Vet.  So call in theVet we did.

 Come to find out we have been treating our goats wrong. Poor things. We thought they had coccidiosis. We thought they had pink eye. We thought they had a gerneral worms. But, come to find out that raising goats in Florida is not quite the same as raising goats in other places. We have a humid wet climate. Especially during the summer months. And this summer has been VERY wet! There is a certain type of worm that likes to infect goats in a wet environment that is most common in Florida. And that's what our goats have. Haemonchus contortus

 There isn't anything over the counter that we were buying that would have treated it. So the goal is to treat the three remaining goats that we have. Jenna, Trixie, and Corduroy.

The Vet also recommended that our goats not return to the same area for 6 months until all those worms are removed and die off. Or we could burn their pens or till them up.  We decided to buy a propane torch and burn off their paddock.  My sweetheart worked and worked in the Florida heat to burn off their pen.  He's amazing.  And he's trying to make this work for me and for Silas.

 So, we're learning more and more about caring for our goats.  So far they seem to be doing better and we seem to be on the right track.  I'll keep you updated!