Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!  I hope you have enjoyed the entire Christmas season.  My girls have watched "The Nativity Story" many times already.  It is fabulous.  I love the part at the end when the shepherds come to see the baby.  The old shepherd puts his hand out to touch Jesus and then pulls it back.  Mary looks at him and as she is lifting Jesus toward him says, "He is for ALL people."  The shepherd touches Jesus.

Oh if those that I know who are hurting this year would just put their hand out and touch Jesus.  He is for ALL people.  No matter what our sins are, no matter where we live, no matter what our past contains, no matter what our current problems are....Jesus is for us ALL.  He came into this world as a helpless baby.  He was fully man and fully God.  When the time was right He willingly went to the cross for my sins and yours.  We deserve the cross.  The Bible says that our righteousness is as filthy rags compared to God.  There is nothing righteous about us.  But God's love is greater than our unrighteousness.  He made a way for us to be righteous.  We have to accept that Jesus took our sins upon Himself on the cross.  We have to believe that His blood paid the price for our sins.  We have to believe that He died, rose again on the third day, and is sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven.  Jesus will return again to get His bride, those who have accepted Him as their Savior.   I look forward to that day...to see my Lord and Savior face to face.  

I pray that you are looking forward to that day as well.  All of the above is what Christmas is all about!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Lulu is 9


Where does time go?  It just seems like she should still be that curly-headed two year old....

Lulu is turning 9 today.  Happy birthday Sweetie!  I love you very much.  The Lord blessed me when he chose me to be your mom.  I cannot think of a better Christmas present here on earth.  There were some scary moments when you were born.  But God gave Daddy and I peace.  We knew you were going to be okay.  And look at you now!

Lulu had her birthday party a couple of weeks ago with her friends.  She had a winter theme.  The girls had a great time.  So today is just the five of us.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Fun Times

We have had a lot of fun the last month.  First up was our Family Fun Night at our church last month.  We had a chili/pie baking contest.  The kids can dress up if the want to.  Of course....most kids want to!  Lulu made two chocolate sundae pies.  They were yummy, yummy.  She won a prize they were so good!  It was a great evening of fellowshipping with our church family.

Lulu went as Princess Leonore from the Medieval Dinner Show.


Monkey went as Padmae when she married Annikan.


Lil went as SuperGirl!


Three very beautiful little girls if I do say so!!!

Next up on our fun list was a night out bowling.  We had never taken all three girls bowling before.  This was Lil's first time ever.  They all had so much fun.  Their Papaw is a big bowler and James used to be as well.  So needless to say they liked it.  They told their Papaw last weekend when James and I were away for the evening that they wanted to go bowling with him.




Last week we had our annual Thanksgiving Feast Day at co-op.  We love our co-op.  God has blessed our group with a terrific leader and with wonderful Christian families.  It is a strength to me to know that I have women at my fingertips that I can go to with questions and for support.  Anyway back to Feast Day... this year's theme was prairie days.  Since my girls love all things Little House on the Prairie this was perfect for them.  I managed to come up with dresses, aprons, and bonnets for all three.  (Not the best aprons and bonnets, but I tried)  We have several stations set up for the kids to travel to and learn about different aspects of living during that time period. 


Lil was practicing a leaf rubbing.  They also did potato prints.


At this station the kids learned about living without electricity and all the luxuries we live with today.  They listened to a story.  How sweet that Lil is in Lulu's lap!


Here is Monkey at my station.  We talked about how hard it was to get food.  The kids got to crack corn, grind applesauce, and crack nuts.  Thanks to James, some of the boys even got to try their had at using flint and steel.
I hope everyone has a very blessed Thanksgiving.  I know that I will.  I am already extremely blessed. 

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Couple's Retreat....Well One Couple Anyway

Friday night was a couple's retreat for our church.  Well, it was supposed to be anyway.  We had plans to go to Natural Bridge State Park and spend the night in the lodge fellowshiping with other couples.  Due to various circumstances the other couples could not attend. 

James and I have not been for a night away since Lulu was born.  That's nine years in case you were wondering.  The only time we have spent the night away from home without the girls is when I was in the hospital giving birth to the next one.  So we were  not about to cancel our plans.  The girls were spending the night at Papaw and Nana's house, going out for pizza, and bowling.  So we could not have told them plans changed either.  They were very excited about their night away as well.

So off we went.  As soon as we left our van started sputtering.  It has been doing this for awhile now.  But this time it was much worse.  We kept driving and contemplating turning around.  James pulled over and looked at it.  Once we started driving again it had quit.  So away we went. 

We had a great time just the two of us.  Yesterday morning we went hiking.  I was very surprised at how many other people were out hiking in the snow too.  We found Grey's Arch.  We had looked for this arch three times.  When all the leaves are on the trees it is hidden unless you know where it is. 



Thursday, November 6, 2008

Happy Birthday Monkey

Monkey is 7 today!  My babies keep growing and growing.  Her birthday starts the two month spread of all five of our birthdays.

She was excited because she got the day off school.  We ran errands and went to the dentist.  Two fillings is probably not the best birthday present she ever received !  She is used to them unfortunately.  Monkey chose chicken pot pie for her birthday meal.  Her daddy brought her home a little cake for us to enjoy after dinner.  She is having her party tomorrow night with all her friends.  I will update about the party with pictures sometime this weekend. 

Happy birthday sweet girl!  I love you!!!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Time Passes So Quickly

Life sure gets in the way sometimes, doesn't it?  I have so many things I want to share but can never seem to find the time to post.  I have also wanted to change the style of my blog around for awhile now.  I am not sure if I like this new design yet.  I will leave it up for a few days and see how if it has grown on me at all.  There are more changes I want to make.

Anyway...on to the updates.  School is going really well for us this year.  I am seeing big results this year.  Monkey has busted forth with her reading abilities.  She took a reading assessment test this week and scored a reading level in the 9th month of 4th grade.  I am so proud of her!  Monkey is in 2nd grade at home, but she is only 6!!!  I have not given Lulu a reading assessment for a long time.  I will try to do one with her next week and she where she scores. 

Both girls are doing really well in math this year too.  Lulu is sailing through multiplication.  She began division this week along with a more in-depth look at fractions.  She finally likes math.  RightStart Mathematics is a great program. 

Lil can recognize A and M.  We are learning E this week.  She knows 1, 2, 3, and 4.  School is a lot easier with her this year.  And I am happy to be able to say that she is not spending her time watching movies.  She is either working on something in the schoolroom or playing with her toys in her room.  I have seen so much growth, dare I say maturity, in her over the past few months. 

I have lots of pictures to post soon.  I had planned on doing that tonight, but my computer will not recognize my SD card at the moment.

Friday, September 5, 2008

We Won!!!

I'm so excited right now!   And so are my girls!!!!

Last month I entered them in a drawing for a FREE American Girl Doll.  They have really gotten into American Girl in the past few months.  Lulu got the Julie series for Christmas from Poppy and Georgia last year.  She is reading through them now.  So her favorite doll is Julie.  Monkey likes Molly.  She has one of her books and checks the other ones out at the library.  Lil says she likes Julie...I wonder why?

Anyway....back to the FREE doll.  For those of you not familiar with AG dolls, they are expensive.  $105! 

The lady called me from the bookstore just a little while ago to let me know that we won the Kit doll.  They were running the contest around the opening of the movie.  I hope it goes to the dollar movies soon.  I'm sure the girls will want to see it for sure now. 

So I'm guessing that school will go smoothly for us today.  They have a great incentive for getting done quickly.

Now I just have to be in much prayer.  How do three little girls share one new doll?

Sunday, August 24, 2008

One Week Down

We just completed our first week of school!  The girls had a good time this week and so did I.  It was nice to get back into a routine.  The routine still needs some tweeking and a few things added to it but nice none the less.

Monkey flew through her week of phonics.  She is reading so much better.  I really think all the reading for fun over the summer did it.  Now for Bible her and Lulu have been taking turns reading our selection for the day.  Lulu reads from the Old Testament one day and Monkey reads from the New Testament the next.  It is working out really well.   Math also went well for both girls. 

Lil has been wanting to do her school work each day too.  She has done some of her activity bags, a sequencing page, painting, and handwriting.  Last year when I would try to get her to do some pre-writing worksheets she would just scribble on them.  She had no desire to follow the dotted lines.  This time, though, she did really well at tracing the lines.  She is very excited about her work.  This week we are going to start on the letter A.  I want her to be able to recognize the letters and their sounds.  Lil is going to be making an ABC Notebook this year.   She is 3 1/2 so all of this will be done as her desire stays with it.  If she does not want to or looses interest we will put it away for another day. 

JBQ will be starting soon for Lulu and Monkey.  They are looking forward to it this year.  We have just briefly begun to review the 10 point questions.  Lulu will also be learning 20 point questions this year.  We have to really get started on those.  Their first match will not be until the first of October.  So we only have about five weeks. 

I hope everyone has a great start to their school year.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Three Girls and a Boy

Last week my niece, B, went home and her brother, Junior (as my husband lovingly called him all week),  came to visit.  The girls hated to see B go home.  Lulu told her she could just live with us and be her big sister.  It was sweet.  But as much as they hated her leaving, they were equally excited for Junior to be here.

The first thing they did to the poor boy was do his hair.  I was very proud of him.  Not many 13 year old boys would let three little girls put hair bows in his hair.  Junior just sat there with the occasional "Ouch".  To protect his coolness I won't post any pictures of the outcome...although I do have the pictures for the future if necessary!

We were able to take the kids to the Louisville Science Center.  When we got there we were happy to find out that the Car Art Festival was going on right outside the science center.  There were some pretty crazy looking cars there.  My favorite one was the red telephone.  It was really cool on the inside too.






When we left we saw this great mirror wall.  It was concave in shape with lots of mirrors attached.  The results were some neat echoes and really cool pictures.



This past weekend my Dad and his girlfriend came to visit.  When they left on Sunday they took Junior home with them.  The girls, once again, hated to see him go.  He and his sister do not start school until the 26th, so they have two more weeks of summer left.  But while my Dad was here their hotel had a pool. My girls are really improving on their ability to swim.  Lulu has gotten the freestyle technique down.  She is doing really well.  She also loves to go underwater.  Monkey is the doggie paddle queen.  She is starting to do the freestyle but only with one arm.  She also loves to go underwater.  This is huge for her.  Only about a year ago and she would have a fit if water got on her face.  It was very fun washing her hair the first 5 years of her life!  Then there is our fish....Lil.  Lil can swim the whole length of the pool with no help...at 3 years old.  She loves every aspect of the water.  She has her own technique.  I'm not even quite sure what to call it, but it works.  They had a great time.


Saturday, August 2, 2008

Our Curriculum for 2008-2009

Lulu is in 3rd grade this year, Monkey is in 2nd grade, and Lil is in Preschool. We will be using Ambleside Online for our History, Literature, and Poetry readings. I want to implement more of Charlotte Mason's way of doing things. I really hope to do more nature study, artist study and composer study. What changes I have made so far the girls really seem to be responding well to.
Curriculum For All
Bible - The girls do their own readings each day. Lulu is currently reading through the New Testament. Monkey is starting in the Old Testament.
Artist Study - Van Gogh, Michelangelo
Composer Study - Beethoven, Mozart
Geography - Tree in the Trail, Seabird
Chemistry Experiments - Molecules
Science - Pagoo
Nature Study
Parables from Nature
Poetry - Walter de la Mare, Eugene Field, James Whitcomb Riley
Shakespeare
Handicrafts - Spool knitting, crocheting, knitting, painting, etc.
History For All
This Country of Ours
Our Island Story
A Child's History of the World
Trial and Triumph (Church History)
Lulu's Curriculum
RigthStart Mathematics Level C / D
Daily Grams 3
Copywork - Cursive
Spelling Workout Level D
Touch Typing
Monkey's Curriculum
RigthStart Mathematics Level C
Saxon Phonics 2
Daily Grams 2
Copywork - Print, Learning Cursive
Spelling Workout Level B
Lil's Curriculum
Rod and Staff Preschool Books
ABC Notebook
Felt Stories
Preschool Activities in a Bag
Updated 1-31-09: We are having such a good school year. We are really enjoying the readings from Ambleside. I feel inadequate at times with what we do. But I know we are progressing and I hope to do even better next year.

Our Curriculum 2008-2009

Our Curriculum Choices for 2008-2009
Lulu is in 3rd grade this year, Monkey is in 2nd grade, and Lil is in Preschool.  We will be using Ambleside Online for our History, Literature, and Poetry readings.  I want to implement more of Charlotte Mason's way of doing things.  I really hope to do more nature study, artist study and composer study.  What changes I have made so far the girls really seem to be responding well to. 
Curriculum For All
Bible - The girls do their own readings each day.  Lulu is currently reading through the New Testament.  Monkey is starting in the Old Testament.
Artist Study - Van Gogh, Michelangelo
Composer Study - Beethoven, Mozart
Geography - Tree in the Trail, Seabird
Chemistry Experiments - Molecules
Science - Pagoo
Nature Study
Parables from Nature
Poetry - Walter de la Mare, Eugene Field, James Whitcomb Riley, Christina Rossetti
Shakespeare
Handicrafts - Spool knitting, crocheting, knitting, painting, etc.
History For All
This Country of Ours
Our Island Story
A Child's History of the World
Trial and Triumph (Church History)
Lulu's Curriculum
RigthStart Mathematics Level C / D
Daily Grams 3
Copywork - Cursive
Spelling Workout Level D
Touch Typing
Monkey's Curriculum
RigthStart Mathematics Level C
Saxon Phonics 2
Daily Grams 2
Copywork - Print, Learning Cursive
Spelling Workout Level B
Lil's Curriculum
Rod and Staff Preschool Books
ABC Notebook
Felt Stories
Preschool Activities in a Bag
Updated 1-31-09:  We are having such a good school year.  We are really enjoying the readings from Ambleside.  I feel inadequate at times with what we do.  But I know we are progressing and I hope to do even better next year.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Four Girls in Tow

The past week and a half my niece has been visiting with us.  B is twelve years old.  The girls have really enjoyed having her here with us.  It is funny to see reactions and the tone when people ask if they are all mine.  People usually mistake my age to be younger than I am.  B is almost as tall as I am.  There has often been a little relief on their faces when they find out only the three youngest ones are mine. 

We went to the local children's museum yesterday.  The girls had a good time.  They had a couple new exhibits.  Afterwards we walked across to the civic center to visit the chocolate store.  Always a favorite for my girls...






Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Our Garden

This is the first year we have put out a garden.  We tore down our old shed and put up a new one.  We decided to turn the ground where the old shed was into our garden area.  It has worked out great.  We (well...mainly James) planted potatoes, various tomatoes, red onions, white onions, radishes, carrots, corn, watermelon, peppers, and strawberries.  So far we have enjoyed some onions and radishes. 




We decided to plant some herbs as well.  James and Monkey, with a little help from Lulu and Lil, built a bench to sit our pots on.  Lulu and Lil, with a little help from Mom, planted lavender, basil, mint, aloe, oregano, and thyme.  I really like how it all turned out.  It looks really nice on my patio.




The girls have been catching fireflies each evening.  They put them in their bug boxes they made with their Daddy last year.  Each night they ask if they can keep them.  But we open the lid and watch the all fly away.  It's fun to watch our kids enjoy things that we enjoyed when we were young too.




Thursday, June 5, 2008

More About Vacation

Well tomorrow is finally here.  I am seeing that summer is going to keep me very distracted from the computer.  That will be a good thing though.

While we were on vacation we went back to Waccatee Zoo in Myrtle Beach.  The "zoo" was birthed from one family's collection of exotic animals as pets.  It is very inexpensive and you can get really close to the animals.  Most you can feed too.  The girls really enjoyed the zoo two years ago and this year was no different.




Notice the big "CAUTION MAY BITE" sign.  No fear for this Daddy and Lil.  Several times she had her hand all the way through the fences to either feed or touch the animals.  So far she has never gotten bit.  Except for the neighbor's dog!

We went to Barefoot Landing one day.  They have a store called Teddy Bear Circus (I think).  It is like Build-A-Bear.  The girls had to jump in order to stuff their animals.  Lil would not do it so Monkey jumped for her.





Lulu adopted a zebra named "Lulu".  Monkey adopted a giraffe named "Ginger".  Lil adopted an elephant named "Dave". 

We also went to Alligator Adventure at Barefoot Landing.  We all really enjoyed this place.  There were over 1,000 alligators and crocodiles.  Kind of creepy at times....  Everywhere you walked you were surrounded by them.  Monkey even got to pet one during one of the demonstration shows!


After that we went to see them feed the alligators.  Two girls walked out a little bridge and began tapping on the side.  The alligators began swarming that area.  They feed them chicken.  They would jump up out of the water to snap the chicken.  It was really cool to watch.



After the feeding they all swam back off.   James told Lulu one was looking at her.  Thought she might be a nice snack!  There was even a crocodile there who had been born without a tail.  It was so funny to look at.  Unfortunately I got away without taking a picture of "Bob".

Another highlight of our trip was an evening we spent at "Surf's Up".  All five of us played laser tag.  I carried Lil the whole time with my vest and gun.  Needless to say I was hot, sweaty, and out of breath by the end of it.  The girls really enjoyed it though.  As did Daddy!  They also had a rock climbing wall there.  Monkey and Daddy climbed the wall.  It was Monkey's first time.  Now she wants to start rock climbing.  Lulu has decided that she would like to give it a try as well.  Here are some pics of Monkey making her first climb.





I have some pictures from the Medieval Dinner Show we went to but they are on my other camera.  I have not loaded them yet.  When I get to it I will post those photos as well.

After this weekend I am sure I will have some more fun family photos too...

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Vacation Photos

I promised some vacation pictures and here they are.  I made up travel binders for the girls again this year.  It works really well for them.  The have their activity sheets, coloring pages, pencils, and extra paper all in one place.  We are very fortunate that all three of our girls have always rode well in the car.  My family is four hours away from us, so I guess that helps.  They have traveled since they were born. 

Here they are snuggled up and ready to hit the road.


Lulu and Monkey had even more fun on the beach this year than last year!







We enjoyed watching this little guy for a long time.  He kept coming in and out of his hole.


Putt-putt is always a big hit on vacation!





This is the first peek into our trip.  I will have more pictures tomorrow of rock climbing, alligators, and more. 

Can you tell who the photographer is in our family?  The only picture of me is on a boogie board riding a wave.    That picture will definitely not appear here !  I would hate to scare you....