my blessed life

reading together Whew !  Another week down.  Is it still September?  This month has seemed really long to me.  It's almost over though.  I'm ready for a new month, as great as September has been.   Maybe it has just seemed long because of all of our starts and stops with school this month.  This week was really a pretty rough week.  I'm chalking it up to lots of fatigue on my behalf, a son who just. could. not. focus., and ...did I mention that I was tired?  That means my patience level was probably pretty low, too, which isn't a good addition.  I'm so glad that "tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it"!   We had a fun field trip this week to tour the LST Memorial 325 .  This ship actually landed on the beaches in Normandy on D-Day.  What a history!  We really enjoyed our tour and speaking with the veterans who were stationed throughout the ship.   with my sister before our tour Th...

We are music lovers here in this house!  All kinds of music!  We often incorporate music appreciation into our homeschool as well.  Recently we have been enjoying Music Together , our latest review product from the Schoolhouse Review Crew .   This award-winning program is designed for children ages birth to 7 years old.  Traditionally it is designed for parents and children to come together in a class setting with a recognized Music Together teacher to lead the class in musical fun and activities.  However, we received the Family Favorites songbook and cd combo to review for use in our homeschool. The basic philosophy of Music together can be wrapped up into 4 main points: All children are musical Therefore, all children can achieve basic music competence--learning to sing in tune and move with accurate rhythm The participation and modeling of parents or other primary caregivers is essential to a child's musical growth This growth...

This past weekend my hubby threw a party for my birthday!  He hasn't tried that in quite a few years and, frankly, it was a total blast!  Just a really good time with really good friends.  Oh--and did I mention that he cooked up quite a spread of food, too?  Well, he did!  There were three kinds of chili ( Cincinnati-style , white chili and a special new chili that I'll be sharing with you soon), and all the toppings, Cowboy Caviar (UH-mazing!!) and ranch dip with chips, pumpkin cupcakes, and the most gorgeous pumpkin birthday cake!!  Yes, we ate a lot at that party :) And now for our dinner plans for this week... Monday: Beef Vegetable Soup with Cornbread Tuesday: Vince's Chili  Wednesday: Tostadas Thursday: Pan-Fried Talapia Po' Boys  Friday: Homemade Pizza Saturday: {leftovers} This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

You probably know by now that I love to read.  And, thankfully, my children also love books.  So we were happy to receive a new book recently to review.   A Cry From Egypt is a newly published book brought to us by Hal and Melanie Young of Raising Real Men   and Great Waters Press . We have been enjoying A Cry From Egypt as our family read aloud together.  I'm glad that I chose to do this and not just give it to my 9-yr-old daughter to read on her own because I am enjoying it as much as the children are! This story is historical fiction (one of my favorite genres).  It introduces us to a fictional Hebrew family living as slaves in Egypt during ancient times with the main character being a young girl.  The characters are well-developed and my children (especially my daughter) have really connected with them.  And even though we know the main plot line of the story from the Bible, the author of this book has done an amazing job...

Well, apparently I've been partying too hard to get around to posting here for a couple of days, eh?  It really has been a great birthday week for me though!  We kicked it off with dinner out with my parents who were just passing through town for a night.  It's always fun to see them, of course, we can't wait till they can move here! This week was also our first totally full week of school (after starting weekly co-op in August, having an intro week the first week of September and going on vacation last week).  It certainly had it's challenges--for me, too, not just the kiddos.   We all struggled with rising early and getting started on time.  Then there were the math issues.  Mostly the ones that involve "not liking math".  So, yes, there was some stress this week as I struggled with patience (not one of my finer points).  {sigh} We did more than just struggle with math though (thank goodness!).  We are really enjoying...

This is what we did last week :) It was our much-anticipated family vacation and it was SO relaxing! 

When I first heard about Family Time Fitness I was pretty excited because true physical fitness has been  somewhat lacking in our homeschooling routine.  Not that my kiddos aren't active, because they are.  Running, biking, scootering, tree-climbing, swinging ....they're pretty busy!  However, structured exercise is something that doesn't happen too often with us.  I admit I'm not very committed to regular exercise myself, so I feel as though I'm probably not setting the best example.   Family Time Fitness has changed all of that! Family Time Fitness' Fitness 4 Homeschool Core 1 curriculum K-8 provides the perfect way for parents to teach physical education to their children even if they don't have any prior knowledge of athletics.  This program is designed to make exercise fun and create an engaging atmosphere.  This program gives me the opportunity to teach them fun relays, calisthenics, and games that they have a blast with...

(dontcha love my espadrille tan?) This past week was a lovely little break from regular life.  We took our family on vacation to Gulf Shores, Alabama, and I got to wiggle my toes in the sand all week long!  I adore the beach and it was such a beautiful week weather-wise with perfect temps and a great breeze.  Sitting on the beach, watching my children play in the sand and jump in the waves (they get along so well there), soaking in the sun with a good book ....well, that's my own little paradise:) I also got to enjoy a week of eating out ...mmmmm!  We had yummy home-style food at Lambert's , delicious fresh seafood at our Gulf fave: The Shrimp Basket , some of our fave pizza at the Mellow Mushroom , and we tried out two new-to-us places: LuLu's and Bahama Bob's --both very good!!  I think I could almost eat fresh Gulf shrimp every day!  I have to admit it, when The Princess asked what my favorite part of vacation was I had to say not cooking ...

Many of us as Christians have often heard quoted the verse from John 10:10, "The thief does not come except to kill, to steal, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly." (NKJV) When I've heard that verse in the past I've always thought of things like car wrecks, plane crashes, terminal illnesses ...in other words, BIG events that bring death and destruction and pain. However, a couple of months ago I was thinking about my family and some of the challenges that I was facing as a mom and this verse popped in my head (seems like there was something I heard that triggered it, but, for the life of me, I can't remember what it was now--only the verse stuck). All of a sudden it occurred to me that things that " kill, steal, and destroy " are most often the little things in our lives.  The little things happen so daily and we become immune and accustomed to them and don't even pay them much attention at all....