Countdown: Day 18

Here's my future soldier getting in some play time with his Daddy.

Engagement Anniversary

14 years ago today my wonderful husband asked me to marry him. I'm so glad I said yes!!! Here we are getting ready to board the ship for our honeymoon cruise.

Countdown: Day 17

Here's my future soldier with his Barney punching toy. Yes, he loved Barney back in the day! ;)

Countdown: Day 16

Here's my future soldier with me on his first birthday. He loved that train cake!

Countdown: Day 15

Well, I started the countdown at 30 days, and we've reached the halfway point. Time is going by so quickly, and my heart is heavy; however, I know that God will give us strength as we reach this new season of life. Meanwhile, enjoy this picture of my future soldier striking the Heisman pose.

Countdown: Day 14

Here's my future soldier at the age of 8, holding his first baby sister.

Scheduling for 2010-2011 Homeschooling Year

I've made our schedule of what days we will do what subjects. We do 4-day school weeks and school year-round. (WP CAW=Winter Promise Children Around the World, GTG=Galloping the Globe.) Bible is included in both WP CAW & GTG. Here is the schedule I made:

Dd9: Monday-Thursday: WP CAW, GTG, Saxon Math, Intermediate Language Lessons, Cheerful Cursive; Tuesday,Wednesday: Ambleside Online Read-Alouds; Monday, Wednesday: GTG Science; Tuesday, Thursday: Nature Walk & Nature Journaling; Tuesday-Thursday: Prima Latina; Monday, Thursday: Story of the Orchestra

Ds7: Monday-Thursday: WP CAW, GTG, Saxon Math, Primary Language Lessons, Phonics, Saxon Math; Tuesday, Wednesday: Ambleside Online Read-Alouds; Monday, Wednesday: GTG Science; Tuesday, Thursday: Nature Walk & Nature Journaling; Tuesday, Wednesday: Spelling; Monday, Thursday: Copywork; Monday, Thursday: Story of the Orchestra

Dd2: Monday-Thursday: I'll be following this schedule: http://www.letteroftheweek.com/nursery_age_1_schedule.html

My Morning Visitor

This is what greeted me beside my carport early this morning. Yikes!!! Thankfully my future soldier was here to kill it.

Countdown: Day 13

Here's my future soldier and his sweet girlfriend at his senior prom.

Countdown: Day 12

My future soldier and his little brother and one of his little sisters....wishing everyone a Merry Christmas from Walt Disney World!

2010-2011 Homeschooling Plans: Time Lines and Nature Study

I got the timeline from http://www.guesthollow.com/index.html. You can click the button at the left to go to that site. I purchased The Handbook of Nature Study used, and the nature journals came from http://www.geomatters.com/. I bought the hand lenses at Dollar Tree--what a bargain! I've been looking over Galloping the Globe, which can also be purchased from http://www.geomatters.com/ and Winter Promise Children Around the World (purchase at http://www.winterpromise.com/), as well as http://amblesideonline.org/, and I'm putting together some ideas in my head as to how to combine. I'll post written plans as soon as I actually write them. :) I'm really excited about this upcoming year & looking forward to having my little one join us. I think we're going to have a great homeschooling year. I'm actually ready for August!

Countdown: Day 11

Here's my future soldier enjoying some time at Disney World. :)

Countdown: Day 10

Here's my future solider--dressed in his tux at my sister's wedding. He actually wore it to Wal-Mart afterwards. :D

Countdown: Day 9

Here's my future soldier...roasting marshmallows to make s'mores.

Happy Father's Day!

I'm wishing a very happy day to the father of my children. He's wonderful, and I am incredibly blessed...as are my children.

Countdown: Day 8

My future soldier and I....baking gingerbread cookies for Christmas 1996.

Countdown: Day 7

Here's my future soldier, playing with one of our favorite former pets: Stella, the dalmatian.

Countdown: Day 6

My future soldier...all dressed up for his first middle school dance.

"School" for my Wee Little One?!?!

I found this wonderful FREE online curriculum: http://www.letteroftheweek.com/nursery_age_1.html
That link is to the age level I'll be using with my little one. It looks wonderful--fun, educational, and easy to implement. I already read, play games, and sing to my little one. I already show her things outside and let her explore during nature walks...so, why not? This is a great organized list of lesson plans for things I'm already doing, so it looks like my little one will start her first year of homeschooling this August.

The site has curriculum for several age groups, so I'll be using it with my little one for several years. I think she's going to have a blast with it. She is so eager to learn and she amazes me with her determination and cognitive reasoning. Here is a link to the home page of the curriculum: http://www.letteroftheweek.com/

Countdown: Day 5

Here are my future soldier and I--enjoying some mother/son cuddle time in the sunshine.

Pre-Handbook of Nature Study Nature Studies

Well, yippee!!! I just received my Handbook of Nature Study in the mail yesterday: http://books.google.com/books?id=3ix-uuxWk2MC&dq=handbook+of+nature+study&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=HisZTMK3IMO88gbps5HCDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CDcQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false

I've already started reading it , and I absolutely love it. We've always incorporated nature study into our schooling, but I've been dying to have this book for several years now. It's an excellent resource and gives guidelines and other information--859 pages worth--of nature study ideas, tips, etc. It's recommended by http://amblesideonline.org/ which is one curriculum source I'm pulling from for this upcoming school year. Anyway, here are a few pictures of some nature study ideas we're already doing: 1) A moth rests on my daughter's hand. 2) My daughter feeds some peach skins to the caterpillar we caught. 3)Our hydrangeas are beautifully blooming.

Little Miss Busybody

Oh, my....she's on the move now!

Countdown: Day 4

Here's my future soldier...proudly displaying The Jungle Book VHS that he received from Santa Claus.

Countdown: Day 3

Here's my future soldier, stirring up some trouble!

Countdown: Day 2

Here's my future soldier--loving his swing as a baby!

Insecurity Issues?

Well, as I'm praying and preparing to teach a Bible study on Beth Moore's book So Long Insecurity, the following verses have come to mind. These words from Scripture should encourage us to be secure in the truth of what God says about us:

1. God cares for us and sees us as worthy...yes, the very same God who created the entire universe. Scripture tells us this is so in Psalm 8:3-5.
"When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor."

2. God's love for us is everlasting.-- Jeremiah 31:3.
"The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: 'Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.'"

3. Jesus came to set us free. Why do we allow ourselves to become slaves of insecurity? Jesus fulfilled the prophecy given in Isaiah about setting captives free. Read the entire chapter of Isaiah 61 and Luke 4:16-30.

Countdown: Day 1

Here is a pic of me giving my future soldier a bottle. Hard to believe this newborn will leave for basic training in 30 days!

30 Days Countdown Series

Starting tomorrow, I'll be posting a picture of my oldest child each day to count down his departure for basic training. I can't believe he has grown up so quickly. I am so blessed to be his mother, and I'm so thankful for all the memories of his childhood and now his entrance into manhood. I love you, son!

Upcoming School Year Plans

You can see our curriculum list on the sidebar. Our grammar, math, Latin, phonics, and cursive are pretty basic, but I've decided to do some tweaking for our history, science, and literature. I'll be combining elements of Winter Promise Children Around the World, which you can view at: http://www.winterpromise.com/children_world.html,
Galloping the Globe, which you can view at: http://www.geomatters.com/products/details.asp?ID=75,
Ambleside Online, which you can view at: http://www.amblesideonline.org/,
and Guest Hollow, which you can view if you click the button on the left side of my blog. How am I going to implement this and what will it look like? Well, I've got about two months to plan it all out. I'll keep you all posted. :)

So Long Insecurity--Be Brave. Ladies

Continuing from my previous post.....where are the rest of the brave ladies? I'm still looking for comments about what insecurities you struggle with. Come on, you can do it! Be courageous. Share your struggles!

Letting Go of "Junk"

Well, let's see....I'll probably ramble in this post, but here goes: I've come to the realization that there's a lot of "stuff" in me that I need to let go of, or more accurately, allow God to cleanse me of. I also started the Atkins diet this week. I need to lose 3o lbs.--you know, that same 30 lbs. I mentioned I needed to lose a year ago. :( I'm fed up with myself! During my quiet time Sunday morning before church, as I was reading my Bible and praying, I came to see that this extra weight is an outward manifestation of an inward problem: sin. I've got some attitudes and some things from my past that I've allowed to build up inside me. I'm letting it all go, through the strength and endurance that only comes from the Holy Spirit living in me. I'm ready to be free. I'm also reading Breaking Free by Beth Moore. God is really using this book to speak to my heart. Also, toward the end of next month, I'm going to start teaching a Bible study on Beth Moore's newest book So Long Insecurity. If any of you ladies are brave enough, I'd love for you to leave a comment on this post about what insecurities you struggle with. I'll go first:
1) Body image
2)Marriage--am I a good wife? is my marriage as good as ________'s?
3)Motherhood--are my kids as smart, well-behaved, Godly as ________'s? if they're not, is it my fault?
4)Homeschooling--is the curriculum I use the best for my children? are they really learning?
*5)Sharing my struggles with others--will they still like me? will they be so shocked that they'll never speak to me again? am I the only one that deals with this?

*This one I'm getting over, obviously. :)

Semi-wordless Wednesday

Our messy little one is learning how to use a "big girl cup." She loves her blueberry smoothie. The question is, though, did she wear it or drink it?