One Thousand Gifts

I was so excited to receive One Thousand Gifts in the mail over the weekend! I cannot wait for the Bloom Book Club discussion to start. I have already begun to read it and know already that this will be one of those books on my all-time favorite, life-changing books list.

I am so glad that I made the decision to begin to count the many blessings in my life. Right now I am going through a particularly difficult time and it is very healthy and good for me to stop and focus on the gifts I've been given. Not to focus on the prayers yet unanswered, the *doors* that remain closed, but to focus on each day as it comes and be thankful.

So I continue to say, "thank you, Lord".


0241. waking to birdsong in the early morning

0242. a cold bottle of water on the night stand

0243. a spontaneous hug from one of my children

0244. a long, hot bath when your muscles ache

0245. brownies warm from the oven

0246. reading my dad's *praise reports* on Facebook while he's in the mission field

0247. a surprise phone call from a far-away dear friend

0248. recognizing a *new* kindred spirit

0249. playing at the park with my son on an unusually warm winter day

0250. smelling a pot roast cooking in the oven all afternoon

Menu Plan Monday: January 31st

My mom decided to inventory her deep freezer and kitchen refrigerator/freezer today. Unbelievable!! I think we have enough food to last for at least 6 months in this house~if rationed properly..haha Even she couldn't believe how much she has stockpiled, although I've been teasing her about it for a couple of weeks now. Now we have it all listed and organized, so meal planning should be even easier.

I've got a week full of comfort foods all lined up! I can't wait! And I do have one new recipe that I'm trying out from The Pioneer Woman, of course: Cajun Chicken Pasta. Vince and I used to eat a dish by that same name at TGIF's years ago when we first started dating. It was sooo yummy...and then they discontinued it. So I was excited to find this recipe.

Here's the lineup:

Monday: Pot Roast with carrots, mashed potatoes & gravy, corn and rolls
Tuesday: Chicken & Dumplings
Wednesday: Beef and Noodles with rolls
Thursday: Cincinnati Chili
Friday: Cajun Chicken Pasta and garlic bread
Saturday: leftovers

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

The Weekly Wrap-up: Stomach Bugs and Sunshine

This school week has definitely had its challenges, but it has turned out well in the end. The kiddos began the week with at stomach virus...ugh. We were so glad when that was over~I was especially happy to have a full night's sleep again.

So once again we played a little game of catch-up this week, but it was okay. I was pleased that we were able to still be on schedule by the end of it all.

Bible:
We're still studying *Determination* with Character Sketches and I had to reference the definitions we've been learning more than once this week to try to keep them motivated:) I think I mentioned them a few times to myself, too...heehee

Math:
The Princess wrapped up her first workbook in her Horizons program for the year. Math is sometimes a source of frustration to her, but I think she's doing very well. She's especially enjoying multiplication. I am going to try to use flash cards with her on a more regular basis (like when we're driving in the car:) and am also going to start her on some fun math games on the computer. If you have an recommendations for me for computer math games, be sure to leave me a comment!

Mr. B began his second math workbook for this year. He's doing well with addition and I think he'll also enjoy some math games on the computer. They both also enjoy playing a game I bought from Discovery Kids a couple of years ago, Toss and Tally. It's a fun way to practice math facts as well.

Language Arts:
The Princess is doing well with her grammar workbook, but I think we are both a little bored with it. I am looking into a literature-based curriculum for next year. She's a wonderful reader and I think we would both enjoy that better.

Mr. B is clicking right along learning consonant letter blends. He's doing great with his third reader as well. I have noticed a significant improvement in his willingness to sound out words on his own this past week. So happy about that! I have ordered a new grammar workbook for him that should be coming any day now and am looking forward to beginning that with him.

Science:
We finished up our study of Mars this week, completing the notebooking part of it. I can't tell you how much we all are enjoying the Apologia science! I'm already looking forward to next year!

History:
We studied the Middle Kingdom of Egypt this week. I love how the Story of the World reads! It's quite possibly the kids most favorite subject, right up there with science. We also made *gold bracelets* in the style of the Nubians (a people group conquered by the Egyptians who wanted their gold mines). They reminded me of Wonder Woman's bracelets:)

This afternoon has been a perfect ending to our week. The weather has been in the 60's and the kids have been able to play outside all afternoon, swinging and using their imagination to get into all sorts of things. It's been very good for them after a week indoors! I even had the windows open to enjoy the breezes.


I hope your week as been great, too! Now I'm looking forward to a slow and lazy Saturday.

Egypt Bound: UPDATED

Update: Vince's trip has been postponed indefinitely due to the political turmoil going on in Cairo right now. We heard from his hosts there while going to the airport early this morning. They've been monitoring the situation closely and decided that the conference would need to wait. Of course, right after that we got that news that Delta had canceled all flights to Cairo. Vince is a bit bummed about not getting to go, but is still looking forward to going soon.
**********************************************************************

Well, I'm not Egypt bound, but Vince is tomorrow! I have to admit to just the tiniest bit of jealousy over his trip. I would love to be going with him. Maybe next time.


He'll be there helping to train local pastors and youth pastors on many aspects of youth ministry. It will be an exciting time!


I would really appreciate your prayers for his safety, the safety of the ministry team traveling with him and also the safety of their luggage.

And maybe a few prayers for me and the kiddos, too.

Thanks!

Some Linky Love

I've had a few links I've been wanting to share lately and today is as good a day as any to do that, right? Right!

A new-to-me craft blog a friend shared with me:

Live a Little Wilder~go check it out! Sarah has some wonderful projects to share with you!

A great homeschool mom's blog:

Just Another Day in Paradise~Kathy and I are kindred spirits! I am so glad that we are becoming friends, even if right now it is only online. I just know we'd be great neighbors!

A great mommy blog:

Three Meals & a Baby~Amber is a pastor's wife and her blog is filled with tons of fun stuff about her adventures with her husband and little girl.

A fun site I'm still browsing because there's so much to see:

Becky Higgins~a great site with free downloadables, recipes, products for sale, you-name-it!

So there you go. Have fun checking out these wonderful blogs! And have a great day!

Have I Mentioned That I {heart} Cookie Cutters?

As I was recently busy packing up my kitchen I realized that I have not shared my love of cookie cutters with you. So, of course, I must. Aren't you glad? heehee

I can't remember when exactly I began to collect them. Sometime early on in my marriage, I think. But, as with most collector-type-people (aka: me), I couldn't stop with just a few.


Thus I have acquired this massive jar full of fun cookie cutters. This jar is nearly 24" and is cram-jammed full! There are cookie cutters for spring, summer, fall, winter, Christmas, Valentine's day, St. Patty's day, Easter and the 4th of July. There are also hands and feet cookie cutters, a Texas cookie cutter, a Canadian maple leaf cookie cutter and dinosaur cookie cutters.


Then I also have these sets from Williams-Sonoma, which were gifts from friends and family.
One is a set of the alphabet and one is a very fun circus animal set.

We even have a set of Star Wars cookie cutters. Aren't they the coolest?!


Before I had children I used them several times a year, usually around a holiday. Then the kiddos came and it was a few years before I used them again.

Now we use them all the time! We have SO much fun with them, too. I am so glad that I have these to share with my kiddos~we have made a lot of memories with them.

This is one *collection* that gets used a lot and I'm so glad. I always wanted to make cut-out cookies as a child, but that wasn't really my mom's thing. So that is a totally new family tradition that I have made with my children and I'm so glad I've taken the time to do so.

Yes, it's a mess most of the time, but it's totally worth every bit of frosting stuck between the leaves of the dining table! And I'm looking forward to baking snowflake cookies soon with my kiddos~I didn't pack my snowflake cookie cutters for that very reason:)

One Thousand Gifts: the book

Since January 1, 2010, I have been actively counting the many gifts God has blessed me with. I was inspired by Ann at A Holy Experience to begin this quest. It has been such a blessing to me and a daily reminder to be thankful for so many things.

I was very excited when I discovered that Ann has recently authored a book, One Thousand Gifts. Mine should arrive soon (they're on sale at Amazon.com for $10 through today!) and I am so looking forward to its arrival.

I'm also looking forward to reading it with an online book club, Bloom, over at (in}courage.
Discussions will begin in two weeks so there's still time for you to join up as well. I know it will be great!

*****

0231. feeding my family nourishing, homemade food

0232. giggling over a funny book with my daughter

0233. experiencing the joy of sledding all over again through my children

0234. having a needed tough talk with someone and it going well

0235. my new, amazingly comfortable tennis shoes

0236. having my son show me his *magic* tricks

0237. helping my daughter meet her goals

0238. listening to my children recite Scripture from memory

0239. a quiet evening out with my hubby

0240. unexpected words of encouragement

Menu Plan Monday: January 24th

One week down cooking in someone else's kitchen. It was interesting. Trying to find where everything is located. Seeing what seasonings are available. Realizing that my mom has a ridiculous amount of food in her house for someone who almost never cooks anymore:)

So rather than necessarily try new things or make my parents our faves, I'm focusing on *pantry clean-out* for my mom...heehee I guess I expected her to have more convenience-type foods since she doesn't cook that much and she does have a little of that. But she also has tons of meat in her freezers and lots of things to prepare meals. So pantry clean-out time it is! Oh~and she thinks that's great, just in case you were wondering if I'd become the kitchen nazi:)

So this week we're having:

Monday: Pinto Beans with Ham, Fried Potatoes and Cornbread

Tuesday: Pot Roast with Carrots, Potatoes and Corn

Wednesday: Tostadas

Thursday: Vince and I are taking the kiddos out before he leaves on his Egypt trip

Friday: Steak and Potato Scallop with salad

Saturday: most likely leftovers

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

The Weekly Wrap-Up: Mars, Volcanoes and SNOW!

Whew! We made it through a very full week of catching up and getting back to routine. Overall it went very well. I was proud of how hard my kiddos worked.

Being in someone else's household makes it much more of a challenge to create your own routine. Plus right now we do not have a separate *Learning Room* {sigh} which means that wherever we are there are new distractions. This week was spent mostly at the dining room table~which was great for a workplace, but also in a heavy-traffic area. I am considering moving our school area upstairs to a quiet bedroom next week. That means more work and set-up for me, but it will probably be worth it. I'm sure having us disrupting their routine has been a challenge for my parents as well:)

Character Sketches:
This month we are learning about *Determination*. I just love the different definitions that our study gives, they are always so applicable to our lives.

Language Arts:

The Princess worked super hard in her grammar lessons this week and completed her first workbook and reader in her 2nd grade Horizons curriculum~yea!!

Mr. B started a new grammar workbook, learning consonant letter blends. He's also nearly finished with his third reader for the year. Even though it's hard to get him to sit and read to me, he's doing so well reading!

Math:

The Princess had to really get back into the groove with math this week. She's either on or off with math and she did fairly well this week, but it was a challenge for her to get her head back into it.

Mr. B finished his first math workbook in his K5 Horizons curriculum this week.

They are also both working in a couple of extra workbooks from The Critical Thinking Co. that they are enjoying. I'll be reviewing those for you soon!

History:

This week we were learning about ancient Africa~very interesting! We all love The Story of the World books!

Science:

We are learning about Mars right now with our Apologia Astronomy study (have I mention that I love their books?). We have had a lot of fun with that this week!

First off Mr. B made his very own Lego Mars Rover, of which he was very proud:)

Then one day we made *edible* Mars rovers from cookies and frosting~very fun and yummy!

Our final project for the week was a re-creation of Olympic Mons--the largest volcano in our solar system which is found on Mars. This was a lot of fun! I've always thought that making a volcano would be fun, but for some reason I never did it when I was in school, so I really had a great time with the kiddos this week making this. They loved it! Although I think they may have been a bit disappointed that it didn't spew all over the room...heehee

And that's a wrap on our school week!

Did I mention that we also had a lovely snow day in there, too? That was a lot of fun~my kiddos are crazy about sledding:) I'll leave you with a little video of some sledding fun:

This post is linked to The Weekly Wrap-up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

A Snowy Day

This morning I awoke to a winter wonderland! Everything was beautifully frosted with snow and the flakes were coming down so prettily. I enjoyed taking quite a few photos around my parents' home today and just had to share some with you.

I hope you're enjoying winter as much as I am!