Birthday Party

We had the boys' birthday party today. It was a bowling party. They have always wanted to have a bowling party, and I found it to be very easy. The place provided the cake, drinks and paper goods. All we had to take were the goody bags and ice cream. It was great to sit back and watch the kids enjoy themselves bowling. I usually do all of the entertaining at their parties, so this was very different for me.

After the party, we took the boys shopping to spend their birthday money. That's always fun!
Maybe next year I will be ready to tackle another slumber party :)! Maybe!

A Very Blessed Day

We had a very good Thanksgiving day. We spent a day surrounded by family and friends. We had lunch at my Dad's. Both of my sisters and my brother were there with their families. No one was missing!
We went to Jeff's parent's last night and had dinner with them. I love it when we are able to spend time with both families on Thanksgiving.
We have so much to be Thankful for. I just can't believe how big our family is getting...and how the children are growing. It is so amazing!

A Willing Helper

Madison was amazing today. She wanted to help with the Thanksgiving cooking, and I was more than willing to let her. She is always willing to do whatever I ask her to in the kitchen, but I can truly say that she HELPED me today. She chopped up all of the vegetables and did 75% of the work making the vegetable bars. She even helped with supper during all of our cooking. She did not leave out of the kitchen until everything was done. She was wonderful. I am so incredibly lucky to have a daughter. It's not just about the help, but the companionship during these times. We laughed and joked a lot while we cooked. She asked so many questions and was so willing to be taught. I never really had a chance to be taught to cook by my mom. I want to be the one to teach Madison.

Trees

We studied trees this week. I took the kids on a walk to collect bark and leaves for impression pictures. The day before, we watched a video on the different parts of a tree. They learned what the roots are for and how they hold the tree up. We saw how the rings are made in a tree and that they each stand for a year that the tree has lived. It was great to take them out and show them these things. We saw a tree that had been cut down, and the rings were so clear.
Afterwards, we brought the bark and leaves inside and made impressions with them using crayons and paper. They cut the impressions out and glued them to poster board to make trees. We had a great time.

Happy Birthday Patrick

Our precious middle child turned 8 yesterday! I can't believe that Patrick has made it to 8.
I remember the day that I turned 8 years old. We were visiting my grandparents in another state. I can remember sitting by the door waiting for my grandfather to get home from work. He was a farmer, so it was very late by the time he made it home. My twin sister and I insisted on waiting until he got there to have our little party with the family. I can still recall a card that we got that read, "Gee, it's your birthday. Isn't that great. Yesterday you were seven, and today you're eight."
Patrick had a good day. Madison, Patrick, Carter and I went to the mall to eat. We did a little shopping for fun things and then went home to wait for Jeff. When he got home, Patrick opened gifts, and then we had his favorite meal and birthday cake. That night, we played BINGO with some little prizes I bought. Afterwards, the kids slept on the floor and watched a movie. Patrick told me that he had a really good day. That makes me happy!

My Articles

Here are some links to a few articles that I have had published. I love to write about my family and the past that made us who we are. I have so many feelings inside of me about my role as a mother and about those who have influenced that role. I want to share these with my children.

Christmas Traditions

I'm Still Invited

The Good Old Days

Pumpkin Life Cycle

We studied the life cycle of pumpkins right before Halloween. We cut some little pumpkins open and got some seeds to plant in a clear container so we could see the root systems and all. We planted the seeds very close to the edge and tilted the container in the window so they would grow toward the side. The kids were amazed at how fast the plants came up and how well they could see the roots. They are so excited to see blooms. I'm sure I will need to replant them in something larger soon!

Pumpkin plants Day 12 

Pumpkin seeds Day 1 

Our School Room

Here are some pictures of the school room after we finished painting it. I am pleased with the color. It was scary for me to go so bright, but I am happy with it. It makes me want to add color to the rest of the house!

School room with new paint job 

School room with new paint job 

Movie night

We finally made it to the movies to see Chicken Little with the kids. It was better than I expected. We all laughed a lot and had a good time.
We took the kids to McDonalds afterwards for dinner and Chicken Little toys :). It was a fun night.

Zoo field trip

Here is a picture from our zoo field trip. We had a great time. The kids got to participate in a wonderful class where they got to pet all types of animals from different regions.
We met some wonderful new friends. The kids all got along so well, and we are looking forward to seeing them again. They are here with them in the picture.
The field trip was very different from those that we are used to taking with the school. The zoo workers had more time for the children because it was a smaller group and we had more freedom while at the zoo. We were very pleased.

Zoo field trip 

Straw fun! 

Fun with straws

The kids and I had a great time making cubes out of straw and clay during math. It was such a great way to teach them about plane shapes and solid shapes. It really brought it to life for them. I enjoyed it too :).

It's Too Hot!!

Here it is November and we are in the high 80's. I don't mind a little heat, but this is so unseasonal! We went out today to take down our tent and I felt like we were working out in the middle of July. The ironic thing is that the night we slept in it we were so cold that we nearly couldn't stay. The weather is so unpredictable.
Back to painting today. We still have one more coat to put on the play/schoolroom walls. I love the color!

Seeing Yellow

We have spent the day repainting our play/schoolroom. I never would have thought that I would agree on yellow, but it looks good. It is a pale yellow, though not as pale as I thought it would be.
I have been wanting to change our color scheme to soft colors, so I guess this is a good start. I am really pleased with it and think that it is a good color for school....bright and cheery.
My back hurts from painting, but I'm sure Jeff's hurts worse. He did most of the painting. I spent a lot of the day trying to catch up on things around here. I don't have as much time for housekeeping since I started home schooling, but have no regrets about that. My house stays very straight. I just have to get more creative with finding times for the clothes and deep cleaning. It's all very worth it to me. I wouldn't change a thing!!

Wet night

We managed to trick or treat even though it rained. We just took our umbrellas and got a little wet. The kids seemed to have gotten just as much candy even though we didn't stay out as long as we usually do. I guess everyone was trying to give it all away quickly so they could go in out of the rain.
We had a good time and laughed alot.