my blessed life

It's that time of the year again~time to talk homeschool curriculum choices!  And I love this time of the year.  All of the planning, reading, preparing, praying, thinking, list-making ....it's exciting each year to think of all the possibilities that the new school year holds for our family.  It's so much fun to talk with other homeschool moms (and read their blogs!) about what their curriculum choices are.  There are so many choices out there and getting first-hand recommendations is such a good thing. After much prayer and thought (and sometimes much frustration with something that wasn't working) I think I have made all of our final choices for our homeschool this year. It's hard to believe that I will have a 5th grader ( The Princess ) and a 3rd grader ( Mr. B ) this year! Bible and character training We will be using several resources in this area: Character Sketches , The Bible Story books , and We Choose Virtues parenting cards .  These...

Another week has (quickly) passed and we are now in August.  Wow. How did that happen?   I know, I know ...the same way the entire year is flying by.  It almost makes me want to be a child again to experience those long, lazy days of summer. In my life this week... I have been ridiculously busy going to planning meetings, enjoying and working fun church events, and doing life in general.  Our home has been sadly neglected lately, although I did manage to run the vacuum this week.  There is still that pesky layer of dust on everything though that I need to address, but I've been too busy trying to find clean clothes to wear to take time for that. In our homeschool this week... We are still on our summer break.  I know lots of fellow homeschoolers are (or already have) starting back very soon.  However, our first day of school is almost always the day after Labor Day.  Only once in our five years of homeschooling have we started before L...

Last night I had some of the best fun I've had in a while.  I went to a paint-your-own canvas party!!  If you've never painted your own canvas before, you totally should try it.  It's relaxing, fun, and challenging all at the same time. There is a business, Creative Canvas By You , in our area who will actually come to you for a paint party rather than you going to a studio (and their workers were awesome~I highly recommend them!).  So we hosted this party at our church.  The ladies who came had a blast!   Our party got to choose between three different paintings.  Then the ladies from the business walked us through our paintings step-by-step.  Isn't it fun to see how each person's painting looks different?  Even though you might be doing the same painting as several other people your own personal touches shine through making it your very own. I can't wait to find a place to hang my beautiful new cross paint...

Where has July gone?!  I really thought (in my apparently delusional mind) that this month wouldn't be as busy as it has turned out to be.   I've been getting organized for another busy week.  Vince and I sat down together tonight and made sure we had everything coordinated so that hopefully there will be no surprises in our schedule.   Even though it's going to be busy we will be having most of our meals at home however.  And that's why I love menu planning.  If you plan ahead for it then it goes so much more smoothly than looking at your watch at 4 pm on a weekday and freaking out about what's for dinner ;)   So here's the plan: Monday:   Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes {before we head to a homeschool co-op meeting} Tuesday:   {paint-your-own-canvas party with my church ladies} I'm taking a cheeseball with Spicy Saltines , Vince and the kiddos are snacking at home Wednesday:   Grilled Hawaiian Dogs with Chips ...

This week has been a little bit slower than the last--thank goodness!  We've had a little more family time and that has been so nice.  It's just been a season of extreme busyness with some renovations at our church and it has kept us (especially Vince) very busy.  I'm very thankful to have a husband that loves his family wholeheartedly and knows when to take some extra time for us.   Yesterday was one of those times.  We just needed a fun family day, so we took one!   We decided to head to Nashville.  It's nice having a large city nearby and we are enjoying exploring more and more of it.  Yesterday we only had three things on our "list": McKay Books , the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park area (and a little bit of downtown), and a Sounds game .  Check, check, and check!  We did it all and had a blast!!  My sister was even able to join us:)  We all came back home ready to crash, but full of some really great memories....

Well, I survived last week .  And the busy weekend.  We were so tired by the time Saturday rolled around that we didn't even follow through with our plans for that day, but stayed home instead. Except I "made" Vince take us out for lunch since I had to eat two meals of hot dogs at kids' events on Friday...haha This week should be a little bit slower.  Thank goodness, because I was so tired by last Thursday that I went to bed before 10 pm.  And for those of you who know me, that probably hasn't happened since I was 10 years old! While I only cooked one meal last week (easy spaghetti) this week I'm doing a bit more.  And making a few special requests. Monday:   Poppy Seed Chicken over rice, with green peas (always a huge favorite with everybody!) Tuesday:   Avocado-Egg Salad Wraps Wednesday:   Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes  Thursday:   Meatloaf with potatoes Friday:  {out...family fun day} Saturday:   {s...

It's been a while since I've done a weekly wrap--since we finished full-time school for the summer actually.  But I this week warranted a wrap.  It's been one busy week! In my life this week... I have gone at break-neck speed taking the kiddos places, going to ladies Bible study, going to meetings, running the never-ending list of errands, cleaning off my desk, attempting a project or two...  It has been exhausting.  By Thursday night I was able to get in bed before 10 pm--something that I NEVER do because I am simply a night owl.  But I was asleep before 10:30 that night and actually got a full 8 hours of shut-eye.  I awoke on Friday feeling refreshed, if still somewhat tired.  I went to bed earlier than usual again last night and since today was Saturday I was able to sleep until I woke up.  Another good 8 hours!  So nice and so needed.  Sometimes we just have to say "no, not now" to things that need to be done in order to t...