Here's some of our other projects

As promised, notebook pages

I have one small flaw in my plan from a few weeks ago. I didn't plan to give myself any breathing room. So I took today to catch up. We mounted things in our notebooks. We've really had some fun over the last 2 weeks. Here's some pictures of the last couple of weeks. I 'm just notice that some of the pictures in the slide show are wonky. So I'll post some still shots later.

Rock Collections & Faith

There is never a dull moment w/ my boys. Sometimes they make me laugh. sometimes they make me think. But I never ceased to be amazed at how God grows me through my children. I'm so thankful for the family God gave me.
First the funny.

Yes, that is exactly what you think it is. A bowl of rocks. "W" found these new "friends" a few weeks ago. He & his brother dug them up. As they were bringing in their toys I catch "W" bringing in a shirt full of rocks. I ask him what he's doing & he informs me that this is his new rock collection. Being the "good Mommy" that wants to encourage creativity I gave him a bowl to keep them in. It was lunch time So I convinced him to leave them out side. Well that night after supper he saw them on the picnic table. & had to bring them inside. After all they will get cold outside. Then later on that evening & a few times since I've found this.
Yes that is "W" watching TV w/ his new friends. Now ask me what is "W"'s favorite toy right now. Yep, his rock collection.
Now for the thinker.
As I mentioned I've become quite the Jeremy Camp fan as of late. I Will Walk By Faith has really ministered to me lately. Yesterday when we were in the car I asked the boys to be a little quieter so I could hear the song on the radio. When we stopped the car FireMan asked me what that song meant. "You know walk by faith?" I said that the song was talking about choosing to follow God even when the way life is going doesn't make sense. Because even in hard times , God still has a plan for us. And God's plan is always for our good & His ____. FM responded , "glory" Then he says that he's going through a time like that right now. I asked him to tell me about it. He shared that he didn't like some changes that we are going through. How it doesn't make sense to him. Then he said that I guess that song is right God has a plan & we just have to trust Him. I'm struggling w/ some of those changes myself. But God used FM to remind me that He is good and always faithful.

New look & music

Now, that I have gotten my template worked out. I always liked the 3 column look. I've changed some of my music list & finally finished my post about Women of Joy. I can get back to bloging about my life. Stay tuned for Rock collections and notebook pages.

WOW!!! What a weekend part 2

Saturday morning started off w/ Liz Curtis Higgs. Now my only knowledge of Mrs. Higgs is kindly looking Grandma who writes those great parable books. You know Pumpkin , Lily, Pine Tree, & my boys favorite Sunflower. It was quite surprising to find out that there was much more to her than meets the eye. I still have a hard time picturing Howard Stern telling anyone to clean up their life. But it just shows what a truly awesome God we have. Along w/ the stories of her life she expounded on the story of the woman who touched the hem of Jesus garment & was healed, found in Mark. What touched me most was that scripture referred to this healing as being set free. She pointed out that Jesus didn't call her out about touching him to embarrass her (which is how I feel when I have to admit my needs & sins to others.) He did this because she had to admit her need (to be healed) & her sin (touching someone while she was considered unclean) in order for her be set free from the shame of her past.
Next was Kay Arthur. There is so much that I could write about here, but I won't make a long post even longer. I'll just throw out the main point. The battle of all sin starts in the mind. This is why it is so important to have our minds filled w/ the Word of God. I know I'll share more on this later as my friend has loaned me a copy of her book Youniquely Woman, which Kay quoted from.
Jeremy Camp led us worship on Saturday evening. I was familiar w/ more of his music than I first realized. But I have to admit that he still fell in the teeny-bopper music category. That is until he started to speak. As he told his story and the place in which these songs were written it truly spoke to my heart. Particularly the song I Will Walk By Faith. My pastor says that if the Gospel is not enough to get us through the day to day struggles then how can it be enough for someone going through the most difficult things like a spouse dying. By contrast if the gospel can carry us through a moment like that then how can we doubt Him in the the day to day stuff. Jeremy wrote I will walk by Faith knowing his young bride had cancer. She later died. That kinda makes my stuff seem small. But it also reminds me that sometimes life is hard but our God is still good. His testimony of God's goodness & faithfulness is an inspiration to my faith and as you may notice I added a few of his songs to my music list.
By Sunday morning God had showed me so much that I'm not sure I could take any more of the heavy stuff. So I'm glad that our speaker was Sylvia Harney. She didn't short change us on truth but oh my she shared it in such a funny way. I laughed so much and was touched at the same time. This was a weekend that I will not soon forget. I'm so glad I went.

WOW!!! What a weekend

First let me say ladies if you ever have an opportunity to attend one of the Women of Joy Conferences, Do it. You will be blessed!
Like I said in my last post I almost didn't go this weekend. There is just a lot of stuff going on in my life. It would be real easy to just hide out in my little emotional cave. But I got some Godly counsel that reminded me that God has a plan. It's no coincidence that I registered for this conference a year ago. God knew what would be going on in my life & how much I would need to hear from him. That's really what happened. As soon as the first session started, God began to show me that He was meeting me there. The music was led by Charles Billingsley. I liked that he did more of his music, this year. I also loved his choices of praise music. One song that just hit me right where I'm at was called I Have This Hope. If you get a chance you can listen to it here. I realized that praise is a choice, praise is is a gift, & when we praise God in troublesome times there is joy & peace that comes to you in a fresh way. God met me there in this way. The Speakers were just amazing. Friday evening the speaker was Priscilla Shirer. She was just rock solid. I honestly don't know which one quoted more scripture her or Kay Arthur. Not only that she was so real. She spoke like she was having coffee w/ girlfriends. Her scripture focus was Luke 18:35- 43. As Priscilla expounded on this passage, I thought my heart would just burst. I could just see me as she talked about the beggar. I saw how circumstances in my life kept telling me stop calling out to Jesus. She challenged us to take this weekend as a chance to cry out even louder to God. Because Jesus would stop & He would give us sight. This was just Friday night. I'll save Saturday for another post.

I'm off!!!

I'm leaving in just a few hours for this great conference. I was so blessed last year & I'm very excited about what God will do in me this year. The last several months have not been easy. The last 2 weeks have been horrible. So much so that I really thought about just skipping it. However my pastor made a good point. God is in control! He knew the date of this conference & he knows all the trials that I'm dealing w/. So if I could ask a small favor, pray for me. Pray that I can shake off the burdens of life & experience the joy of being in the presence of the Lord. Pray that the Lord will speak to the specific struggles that I'm dealing w/. Pray that I don't worry to much about my guys. Pray that I have fun. ( I know that sounds weird, but sometimes I'm too serious for my own good.) Well I've gotta go pack & get the kiddos breakfast.

Growing things

I love flowers. Some of my fondest memories as a child are growing things w/ my Ninny (grandmother). She could grow anything. I was not blessed w/ that gene. However, I have had some recent successes. This is my African Violet, that I have kept alive for over a year. Big C got it for me on my birthday.

Our pastor brought this Poinsettia to us at Christmas and it is still doing pretty good.

And a peace lillyfrom My Uncle's Funeral. It now has 5 blooms on it

All this success has inspired me to try something new. A container garden. Yes I know we have plenty of space for a traditional garden. But every year that we have tried this, I have gotten really overwhelmed. So I decided to go small & see what happens. So far we've planted lettuce, blue lake beans, cucumbers, & carrots.

Build & Grow

I'm trying to do a little blog house keeping. I've been keeping a running list of things I wanted to blog about when I get the time. One the items on the list is the Lowes build & grow workshops. FYI local friends they are having another one this weekend. My guys loved this. Here are some pics of our first outing.

"W" putting his frame together.
Fireman finishing up.
Finished products !

Purse of the month

I needed to catch up on these. Here is February's purse. This one really had to grow on me. My favorite part of this one is the button


Here's March's Purse. It is my favorite so far.
I do have April's finished but I don't have pictures yet. It was supposed to be the easiest one so far because we used pre-quilted material. It has the award for the most frustrating one so far. Thus the reason I haven't made pictures yet. I should have it done before next month. Just a little teaser. I'm really looking forward to next months bag. It's a charm square kit and I know I'm keeping this one.

Homeschoolshare Blast 2008

When you read my posts about my lesson plans there are 2 abbreviations that get repeated most often FIAR (Five in a Row) and HSS (homeschoolshare). One of the reasons that I chose FIAR is because of my love for stories. So it made sense that there were books that I loved & wanted to row with my guys. I was so excited when I learned about HSS because I found out there where lots of other moms just like me. HSS gives us a place to find even more great units to experience w/ our children. These great units are written by other homeschoolers and they're all free.
These ladies are already gearing up for next year w/ HSS Blast 2008. This is a contest to gather new units for next year. So go on over check out the site. Then find your favorite book and start writing. I know this is one mom that will be thankful for all your help.