A Birthday Girl's Ramblings

This month has been one eventful month. Nothing major, just lots of little things.

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Yesterday, was my birthday. My sweet friend Sherry told me that when you turn 35, you start going backwards in years. I like that & I'm going to stick to it. So I am now 34 years old.

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Funny thing happened on my birthday. Will, my first born, was born on our preacher's daughter's birthday. Savannah, her first born was born yesterday, on my birthday.

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In the last couple of weeks, I've been able to see the strength of God through 2 amazing ladies.
On Thursday, a precious friend of mine's son was in a motorcycle accident. This dear lady has had a rough year & then to have this happen. Even in the center of it all, as I was driving her to the hospital, she was praising God. Acknowledging Him for His protection. God gave her

Strength when she needed it, because of time that she had spent with the Lord. (Because of God's protection & many prayers for this young man, he survived. He will have to be in the hospital for some time.)

Another Lady, Mrs. Carol, lost her daughter last December. Through it all, this sweet lady has been able to still praise the Lord. Of course, she still grieves, but she clings to the One who can guide her through life's journey.

Mrs. Carol told me of a book called 31 Days of Praise. It's an marvelous book. It is mostly scripture (which is why it is marvelous). Teaching you how to praise our Savior & Lord. When one praises Him daily, it changes the mindset. We focus on God. We fix our eyes on Him with a basic trust in Him.

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As fire melts unrefined silver, bringing the impurities to the surface, so trials bring the "scum" to the top in your life. When you praise God in the midst of a trial, you cooperate with His plan to remove the scum; when you complain, you resist His plan and stir the impurities right back into your character. this means that God, to accomplish His good purposes, may have to send or permit another trial; it may delay the unfolding of His good plan for you and your loved ones.

Above is a quote from 31 Days of Praise. Oh Lord, help me to praise your name through the midst of trials. Help me cling to you.

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Since I teach the children's choir, on Sunday night, Tony & I drive in two different cars. He took Collin & Faith to pick up supper. When I came home Faith meets me at the door and yells (for all the neighbors to hear) "We've got Subway - Eat Fresh!" Wish I could've had it on video & sent a commercial to Subway. :)

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This morning, Collin was helping Faith button her "new" dress for church. Such a sweet picture perfect moment that I did not get. I did, however, get a picture of Faith in her "new" dress. It was my dress that my Nanny made for me when I was a little girl. Faith loved it.

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It's that time of year again. Ordering curriculum. I decided to go with Sonlight curriculum. It would have been almost $500 for just reading, history & science. I found a wonderful homeschool used book fair on the internet. I was able to get it forless than half. Woo Hoo! What an answer to prayer. I was doing the happy dance.

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We finished with school 2 weeks ago. I sent in our reports last week (it took me 2 days to complete). We are going to try something new this year. We are going to do school year around. We will start the last full week of June, off the next week for music camp and then on for 3 weeks off for one week for the rest of the year - taking off most of December. We were so burned out when April came around. I've talked to several homeschool moms that do this & they all love it. We'll see.

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So thankful to be born in America. Thank you to all the men & women who have protected us. For all of those who gave their life, may God bless your families.

Here's to a wonderful 36 years for me. I can't wait to see what new and wonderful things that God has planned for me this year.

Longing for the Days of Old

I love watching shows & movies and reading books about the days of old. I love the simplicity of things & the slower pace. Yes, they had a lot more work to do, but they didn't have "things/clutter" to keep them busy. No internet, no phone, no toys here and there, no gadgets that we don't use, no driving from here to there... I could go on and on.

This past year I have cut out a lot of going, buying, TV, etc. I still feel the need to do more. I feel that we (as society) have lost sight of what is important. Spending time with our family - quality time, teaching Christian & family values, & doing for others - not being a "what's in it for me" person. I can't do much about the rest of the world, but I can work on our little world.

One thing that I've been trying to do more of is letter writing. Not e-mailing, but writing letters on stationary & mailing them. A thank you note for someone's kindness, "I'm thinking of you" note, a letter of encouragement, and a letter of what's been going on in our life to a friend miles away. Yes, it would be cheaper and faster to e-mail, but I know how it brightens up my day. I want to do that for someone else. I love to get a letter in the mail. It's not to often that I get one, but for some reason, every day when we go to mailbox, I get a little giddy inside with the anticipation of what awaits. Most of the time, it is only junk mail & bills. Oh well, I think, tomorrow is another day.

Last night, Will & I started crocheting a bag ~ one each. As we worked, we talked about this and that. Nothing of real importance, but I got a little glimpse of what was on his mind & in his heart. Something that I might have not gotten otherwise.

Collin & I love sewing on the machine together. Making gift bags, quilts, you name it. Making memories.

Faith & I love our tea parties. (The boys like to join in too.) We love the etiquette, life lessons and making up wild tales that come along with our tea time.

We also love to bake and give it away ~ just to let someone know we were thinking about them.

Going back to the movies & stories of the days of old, I have noticed that they only have the bare essentials. Not a lot of material things. Which allows them to have time for everything else they needed to do. I am trying to declutter (as Flylady tells us to do) the clutter in our home. I have spent way to much time picking up things that we don't even use.

With only 2 more days of school left in this school year, I am looking forward to getting back to simplicity.

Bitter Sweet

Yesterday, was a bitter sweet day. An end to 3 good things.

1. We finished our Swiss Family Robinson Unit. Will read the book, we all watched the movie and the the T.V. series . We really loved doing this. It's funny how you get so into the characters when you do a study. We will miss the Robinson family. We are now looking for a new adventure, in reading, to start.

2. Our dear friends, the Murrays went back to the Philippines where they are missionaries. We are so thankful that we've had them in our lives over the years. Their love for the Lord is so evident. They love the filipino people very much. They are our spiritual heroes.

Will & Calab. (the little girl is Calab's cousin, she was not happy to see them go either.)

Collin, Andrew & Will

Our preacher praying before they boarded the plane. There are so many lost souls that need to be saved ~ to hear the gospel from them. They are adopting a little girl that will be waiting for them in their living room when they arrive back to the Philippines. Bitter sweet. So hard to see them go, but so excited for them for what lies ahead.

After the plane left.
No matter how hard I tried, I could not get the 'lil Bucks to smile. They were soooo sad.

3. Faith had long beautiful curls. It was time to get her 1st hair cut.

She had some split ends, the tangles were unbearable (for both she & I) and it was getting caught in things.

Tony cuts the boy's hair at the house. When I first told Faith she was going to get a hair cut, she was very upset. All she had ever known was the boy's hair cuts ~ very short. After talking to her about it, she started getting very excited. She was telling everyone she ran into about it ~ even the cashier at Wal-Mart.

Mrs. Carolyn had to brush out her curls before she could cut it.

Faith was very curious about these "space" looking things. After her haircut, she wanted to try it out.

Even though, it was very sad for me to see the curls go, she did have a very cute hair cut and Faith was happy.

Since we have 3 guys with an inch of hair & had 2 gals with curly hair, I don't own a brush. I don't even know how to fix straight hair. Oh dear........

El dia de los ninos /El dia de los libros- Children's Day/Book Day

Saturday, we had a nice surprise. We went to the library to check out books. When we got there, we discovered they were having El dia de los ninos - Children's Day. It is a celebration of children, families, and reading held annually on April 30. The celebration emphasizes the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

The kids made passports and received a stamp for each country they visited.

They made oriental fans from Asia.

A karate demo representing Asia.


Story telling representing Guam.

Guam masks.

Dancing representing Guatemala.

The librarians read Book Fiesta. One read it in English and the other read it in Spanish.

They made paper roses from Guatemala.

Belly dancer representing the Middle East.

Beaded bracelets from the Middle East.

A day of fun and learning at the library.

The Dos & Don't of a Tea Party

We love having tea parties. Even the boys like to join us. I try to use this time to teach manners, proper etiquette, a time to talk about our blessings & praising God.

Today, the boys went with their daddy to help work at their aunt's new house. So Faith & I cleaned the house and then, as a treat, had a tea party.

Faith said that she wanted to show & tell everyone what to do and not to do at a tea party. So without further adieu....

Set the table and get the food ready.

Never, never put the food on someone else's plate. You bring them the tray and let them get what they want.

The hostess pours everyone's tea.

Always pray before you eat.

Never stuff your mouth & then try to talk with food in it. Knees are not allowed to be up in the chair.

Never put your elbows on the table.

Never wipe your mouth on your sleeve. Always use a napkin.

(Faith's addition) Ladies (and only ladies) must always hold their pinky up while drinking their tea.

You Must Be Homeschooled If...

My Monkeys: See no evil, speak no evil & hear no evil.

Came across this list on a homeschool site. We fit the list.

You Must Be Homeschooled If...

• Someone asks what grade you're in and you're not sure.
• You sometimes go to school in your pajamas.
• Your favorite author is Jane Austen (girls) or Robert Louis Stevenson (boys).
• Your birthday is an official school holiday.
• You don't get to stay home from school when you're sick.
• You are unaware of the current fads, fashions, and slang terms.
• Your favorite activity is reading.
• You know what a unit study is.
• Watching a movie means you'll have to write a report comparing the film to the book.
• You can get science credit for going to the dentist.
• You go to the park for P.E.
• You check out at least ten books every time you visit the library.
• You have no idea what rock bands are currently popular.
• You get books and science kits for your birthday.
• Your board games all have names like "Bookworm", "Scrabble", "S'math", "Game of Knowledge", and "Name The State".
• Your favorite place to study is outside, under a tree.
• You can quote lines from Shakespeare, but not from South Park.
• You never get nervous on the first day of school.
• The only bully you ever run into is your big brother.
• You don't have to remember a locker combination, just your computer password.
• It takes you less than a minute to walk to school.
• You don't have to worry about forgetting anything - you can just run back to your room and get it.
• Your school bus is a van.
• There are only 3 students in your class and they are your brothers and sisters.
• You have a 9-year-old, a 6-year-old, and a 4-year old in the same class.
• You can get extra credit for cleaning your room.