Fresh Start Academy Homeschool

Creating A Masterpiece Review #HSReviews #homeschoolart

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 16:45:00 +0000

Out of all my boys, Taylor is my one that has always been drawn to Art. He loves creating and has always been drawn to more professional type art classes even at a younger age. So he was pleased as punch to get the opportunity to review Creating a Masterpiece which has multiple levels of Art projects to choose from to fit all ranges of Skill levels. We were given the Monthly Plan for Taylor to work with.

Taylor likes to take a project and put his own spin on things, a little creative freedom, this is where our local homeschool art class did not suit Taylor as everyone had to do the same thing, He has found that at home art classes whether on the computer or in a book are more suited for him.

He started with a beginner project but looks forward to progressing into the more advanced levels as he gets back into his art groove, he took a long hiatus from last school year and was just looking to get back into when we were offered the review. He chose to do the Sailing Adventure piece that uses charcoals. Charcoals are something Taylor had dabbled with but was looking to dive a little deeper into using them and using them the proper way.

When you log in to your account you click the project that you would like to tackle, so for us Taylor started with Sailing adventure. There are several components for each project. There is a picture of what the finished piece should look like, There is a complete list of supplies that you can download and print as well as a shopping link to order the supplies from dickblick.com, we had most supplies and chose to buy the rest at our local art shop as we like to shop in person. This is completely up to you.

There were 3 video classes for this project all in length 5-8 minutes. The teacher Sharon Hofer is a pleasant, soft spoken woman. Taylor says "very teacherly, in a good way".There were tips for when you are actually drawing, when evaluating your project as well as protecting your project when you are finished. Taylor found these hints particularly helpful, especially when using mediums you are not used to using like in this instance the charcoal.

Some of the supplies needed for this project were, Drawing Paper, Vine Charcoal, Fixative Spray, Kneeding Eraser. Nothing too extreme or hard to find. I like supply lists like this, straight and too the point. Makes gathering the supplies so much easier in our busy life. Taylor was particularly drawn to the Sailing Adventure as we just moved closer to the lake and are using many nautical elements to decorate our new home. We can walk to the lake just 3 houses down and across the road. It is a beautiful and calming area and we like bringing those elements into our home.

These art lessons are set up in a manor that all level 1-5 classes are 3-4 parts, so working on Art just one day a week, each project should take no more than a month. You could easily do Art more than once a week I know we did that when the boys were younger. Being that it is Taylor's Senior year he is trying to keep his workload as light as possible and keep it all balanced along with his job. I like that this is self paced and can be done as often as you want and you just click the next lesson in the project area.

There are projects for all types of art mediums, as we tried charcoals, there are acrylics, carving, glass mosaics, silk painting and wood burning as well as many others. Taylor is looking forward to continuing with Creating a Masterpiece ans expanding his art supplies as he moves through the courses. I am excited to add more of his art work to our new home..

Monthly Access is $39.99 a month for your whole family to have access to all of the projects, 144+ lessons in all, they also have a yearly price of $349 and an individual level price for all projects within a level, this is $119
Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/createamasterpiece

Celebrating Manhood Review #hsreviews #celebratingmanhood

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 16:38:00 +0000

digital copy 14.95 print edition $18.95
Hard to believe we only have one "child" left, One boy turning into a man. I was searching for something different to "send" this one off to the world. I was so excited when offered the opportunity to review Celebrating Manhood, a rite of passage guide from Homeschool Adventure Co. written by Stacy Farrell.

Having never really made a big deal of our boys becoming men, I felt a pull from God to make this last son turning to man a more significant event. Maybe more for me than him, but needing to nonetheless. "How?" I wondered. Then comes along this well written book about the journey of a boy into young adulthood and becoming the Man God chooses him to be.

This book is a blueprint of sorts on how to plan the prefect event that will signify your son becoming a Man.I thought to myself this is just what I have been looking for. So I started to read and I was immediately put into daydream mode. I love planning events and this would tie in perfectly with this boy of mine and his graduation. So I set the date in motion in my head, we are going to execute this event the night of Graduation, it gets done early enough and it is a special day anyway.
Now the author suggests this is done at age 14-15 but I truly think it is perfect for that age up to turning 18. Senior is absolutely perfect in my eyes.
Included in this book is the story of the importance and significance of this special rite of passage in your son's life.
A sample Menu, invitation ideas and suggestions on who to invite, this will vary from family to family,
In our house Male Mentors have been a huge importance due to my husband's mental illness but I feel it is important to included men from all aspects of the young man's life, in our case that would be Dad, God Father, important male influences such as our good family friend Eric and uncles and Grandpa. Along with big brothers, as well as important members of our church family like our Pastor.
Question cards as well as how you the Mom should play an important role in this evening. For the question cards I plan on including them in the invitations to the special guests so they can ponder them ahead of time. I would like to have them write out their answers so that Taylor can keep them forever. So he can always look back on the wisdom even when these important men in his life are gone from this Earth.

I want this to be a separate event from his actual Grad party, so doing this on Graduation night seemed more intimate to me as we are very selective who we invite to this event. I want Taylor to be able to focus on the importance of the event.

I am so excited to host this at our new home around our new huge dining table that I got from the boys at Christmas. It will have the intimate feeling I am looking for.
I am still planning the menu and decorations I am making myself as well as I am working on small keepsake book for each of the important men in Taylor's life as well as one for Taylor himself, my hope is to add photos from Graduation and the special evening as well as include the question cards from our guests. My hope is that Taylor will remember this evening forever and truly gain from it all that I hope and pray for. I want all of my boys to realize that becoming a MAN is a huge milestone in their life and I hope that they all if they have boys when they are married will follow suit and do a similar special evening for their boys who are becoming Men.

I think this would be a fabulous inspiration to turn this into something similar for girls turning into young women as well. I am so excited to execute this event and I am praying over each decision I make regarding the evening, but also being very careful to keep it TOP SECRET! I will be sure to post photos of the event after it is over on May 5th.

This is an easy read but I warn you it will immediately get your brain swirling with ideas if you are anything like me, sometimes all I need is that spark to ignite the fire within me. I am so excited to make this happen and I am thankful for all the people in our life that will help make it the event I pray it will be.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HomeSchoolAdven @HomeSchoolAdven
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HomeSchoolAdventureCo
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Wordless Wednesday CRAZY WIND #windstorm2017

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 16:45:00 +0000

C/1LT Kasprzak Goes to Washington! #NLD2017 #CAP #CivilAirPatrol

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 16:23:00 +0000

So proud of Alyx and all of his accomplishments, he was one of only 6 cadets from Michigan Wing Civil Air Patrol to travel to Washington for National Legislative Day 2017. They also got to sight see and get some behind the scenes opportunities that only a few get the privilege of doing. This opportunity is something Alyx has had on his list of CAP goals since he first joined CAP. He applied last year but was not chosen but all that did was make him more determined to make it happen this year and HE DID IT! He has learned over the last few years with CAP, that when you do not achieve something it is not you are not able it is YOU NEED TO WORK HARDER and it will happen later.
They had an opportunity to chat with a Tomb Sentinel and they also got to meet the horses that pull the coffins in the funeral processions to Arlington National Cemetery. They stayed with a retired Colonel, and were treated to dinner out in the underground Mall. They visited a few of the memorials and Mt. Vernon and on the drive home they stopped in Pennsylvania at the Flight 93 Memorial. He highly recommends a visit there to everyone. I am sure he has more pictures but these were all he has posted so far.

Wordless Wednesday Ready for St. Patty's Day! #luckoftheIrish #StPattysDay2017

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 16:41:00 +0000

Throw Back Thursday!! #babyofthefamily #lastborn #graduate2017

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 16:39:00 +0000

Reminiscing over Taylor looking for a baby picture for the CO-OP yearbook for Graduate page. How is it that I am doing this just this one last time, It is so very bittersweet.

9 mths old

16 mths old

18 mths old

Updated Family Pictures... Finally! #AllGrownUp #WhereDidTheTimeGo?

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 15:17:00 +0000

We finally after 8 years got new family pictures taken, it was a birthday present to my Mom, she has been asking for many years. We did a all in one photo shoot, some with my parents, some with just us and Alyx in his uniform now that he is an officer and A couple for Taylor's Senior pictures, I forgot how hard it is to coordinate everyone's clothes. I think we did pretty well though.

New Business Adventure or Revisited I Guess You Could Say! #TupLove #KraftyTupperMom #Tupperware

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Thu, 02 Feb 2017 14:41:00 +0000

I have been Tupperware consultant in the past and it something that I seem to be drawn to. Now that we are almost done with Homeschooling I have been looking for a business that is not crafting, I find that my craft businesses when doing them full time take the fun from my hobby. So while I am still doing tshirts by request I am focusing my business efforts on my newly rejuvenated Tupperware business. I am off to a great start and I am excited to see what God and Tupperware have in store for my family. If you would like to check out my Tupperware website or facebook page please check out the links below.
http://kraftytuppermom.my.tupperware.com/
https://www.facebook.com/KraftyTupperMom/

What would you do?

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 03:46:00 +0000

Recently a friend had an issue with her middle school daughter who is in Public School. The issue was her daughter never received her message that she needed to go to latchkey due to her cell phone battery dying. So she exited the school and waited for her ride and when it did not come and she was the last one left she tried to get back in the school. Only it was locked... A couple of teachers came to the door and she asked to be let in and was told no that she could not come back in once she exited. Not even to make a phone call. Her daughter in 20 degree weather was outside for over an hour. She was curled in a ball when the mom arrived and sobbing. Mom took her home she was shaking from the cold and continued to shake for a couple hours and ended up sick. The initial call to the principal was not anything short of I hear your concerns but that is the policy. The next day with a clearer head Mom calls the school back and gets a call back that they will look into it. Now I know that myself having had my son who was sent outside in the cold of February when he had a documented health issue that was life threatening due to cold temperatures was the straw that broke the camels back and the deciding factor for finally pulling him from the school to homeschool. Our homeschool anniversary is coming up on the 10th of February so this is an extremely sensitive subject with me. What would you have done, mind you there have been multiple issues over the last year and half of her daughter being in this school. How would you have handled this and what would you expect to be the reaction of the school in regards to this matter? Do you feel that the policy is warranted? Do you feel it should be changed?

It scares me to think what could have happened to this girl in this hour that she was alone. God definitely had his hand on her for sure, but it could have ended so differently. What would it take for you to say enough is enough. I know many people felt I over reacted when we pulled both of our boys from the schools but I knew in my heart I did what I needed to do and today that decision is very apparent every day. It is sad that there has to be policies in effect for these types of things because there have been issues that made them necessary. What if you were a teacher and you saw a student out in the cold, crying and all she needed was to call for a ride. Should you be afraid you could lose your job for breaking the rules. Isn't a teacher's #1 priority to protect the students? Would you be able to turn away from a child needing help because of rules?

As a mother this whole thing makes me mad and feeling that there needs to be changes made so that this type of thing never happens to another student. How can we help to change things to that schools are like they used to be? I grew up with a parent working for the public school system that I went to, the same exact middle school that this happened at was the middle school I went to many moons ago. When I told my Dad the story he was appalled. He could not believe there was such a rule in place and that things had changed so much since he retired a less than 10 years ago. He was sad and outraged. That made me mad too. He loved working for the schools but how they have changed I do not think he would still have those same feelings. I was never anti school until we felt like we were the enemy standing up for our children and trying to advocate for them. Schools should be there to help the student not the bottom line. How do we change this?

I think ahead to my grandchildren, what will schools be like for them. I shudder at the thought when I hear things like this story that are happening now, what will it be like in 10 more years. When will all the madness stop in this world. I am thankful that for now we only have a few short months left and I for awhile will not have to give schooling another thought but then I think about the future and my grandkids and it makes me sad to think about it. All I can do is Pray.

Wordless Wednesday Ready for Valentine's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 18:19:00 +0000

Getting back to business

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 18:19:00 +0000

I took a long Hiatus off of working my business, between Grama passing, and the Summer and then moving it was just too much to add to my plate. I did an occasional order by request but usually did not share so that I would not get flooded with more orders. Life is finally feeling normal for the first time in many many months and A friend needed some help with some onesies for gifts so with her help we designed 7 different files for 10 onesies and they turned out adorable and seemed to be just the thing to get my creative juices flowing again. I have missed it but was truly just in a funk of being overwhelmed and full of grief. I am finally feeling like me, and boy does it feel so good. The house is pretty much the way we want it, there are a few boxes still needing unpacking but I work on a few a week and that is ok, they are not out in plain sight and I am not feeling pressured to get to them.

My craft closet is coming along, and the decor is coming together, I need to get my curtains sewed and my chairs painted and my bench cushion made for the kitchen but I will get to that and I am ok with it the way it is for now. The chairs I think I will wait until spring so I can get outside to sand and paint them anyway.

I am officially signed back up to teach two classes at our co-op in March for the Spring session, I cannot believe Taylor will be finishing up his last two months of school when the session begins. It sure does seem surreal. I did not realize how much I have missed teaching and all of our co-op friends until I filled out my class app and syllabus last week. I am so excited to be teaching a new craft class as well as returning to teach another high school sewing class.

I am excited for the projects I have in mind and cannot wait to see everyone each week.
Here are the onesies Bonnie and I made, they turned out so adorable.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com Schoolhouse Review Crew Review 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 15:39:00 +0000

When I started homeschooling I was looking for any and all of the info I could get my hands on, when I stumbled on The Old Schoolhouse Magazine I was sure God had sent me the most wonderful gift. Well let me tell you I still believe that, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine has continued to be a blessing to my family with offering me an ability to return to their Schoolhouse Review Crew, after taking a break last year. The amazement of this company never ceases, they just continue to come up with more and more to help out us homeschool parents.

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is so much more than a magazine, there are many valuable resources on SchoolhouseTeachers.com. For my review I was given a Yearly Membership to help my family along on this our last year of homeschooling. Wow! Every Time I utter that sentence I am still in shock! Last year seems so final. Many of these resources can help you even when you are done with your homeschool journey. Many household helpers as well as all the homeschooling support. You are given daily, weekly, and monthly online content to help bring variety to your homeschool classroom, support to you and your kids and endless learning opportunities. For the price of a fast food meal or maybe less, you can have access to this wealth of information and fun and learning.
There are two levels of membership, well three if you count the 30 day trial for only $1. The Silver level plan, is a pay by the month, and right now until January 15th, there is a coupon code to save a couple of dollars per month but you would have to be quick to snag that deal. There is also a gold level plan and that is when you pay for the entire year up front and there is a special savings code until January 15th for that level as well. This is the level that I was lucky to receive. So this is the one I am going to focus on tell you about.

One of my favorite aspects of the Gold level plan is the ability to create Taylor's transcripts for this year as well as keep track of all of his grades and classes and create a schedule for him. He is now fully independent and this helps to keep both of us on the same page and keep him on target for graduating in May. I cannot begin to tell you how helpful just this one little bit of SchoolhouseTeachers.com is. This saves me both time and frustration and keeps the communication going, if you have teenagers especially boys you have to know how that can be a little frustrating for you both. It is almost like they speak another language sometimes. There is so much more than that though.

There is literaly content in every corner of SchoolhouseTeachers.com, every subject and for every age group, K-12 and Moms and Dads too. We have loved doing unit studies in the past and the unit studies offered, they are some of the most fun and complete unit studies we have done over our years of homeschooling. We love lapbooking and there is plenty of that to find within the site as well. Recipes, columns written by and for homeschooling families. Topics for anything you would need to know about, organization, support, recipes, frugality, raising kids with great morals, helping special needs kids, the list goes on and on. One of my absolute favorites, well two actually, the monthly menu with recipes , we tried the Easy Peach Cobbler and it was absolutely delectable and My all time favorite the downloadable Planners. My go to is the Hey Mama! Schoolhouse Planner. I am a huge planner user I even belong to planner groups where we get together and plan so this is my heaven!! You save so much money just being able to get your planner as part of your membership. There is so much to use and do and see and read I cannot possibly tell you about them all. This is why you need your own membership, you would not want to wonder what you are missing out on!

So are you ready to see what you and your family are missing out on? You can visit and see a tour of the site. You can try out your first month of SchoolhouseTeachers.com for just $1. When you are ready to keep getting blessed with more and more, month after month you can continue your membership for only $12.95 a month, soon to be increased to $19.95. I told you it was a great value, and like I said when you continue your membership each month when it renews you will be blessed with many downloadable and printable activities, e-books and other valuable resources. If you want the cream of the crop then you will want to just pay for the whole year up front that is just $139. (Remember though there is a discount code until January 15, 2017 that makes the yearly membership only $99, THAT is a STEAL)

SchoolhouseTeachers.com's NEW SITE is totally AWESOME!

Beautiful new look, easier to use and over 300+classes and tutorial videos to help you get started.

Join during SchoolhouseTeachers.com's Super Christmas Sale and Save!

Use Code:CHRISTMAS for $9.95/month or CHRISTMASYEAR for $90/year.

50% discount on upcoming price increase ends: 15 January 2017

In mid-January, SchoolhouseTeachers.com is having a price increase. The promotion is to LOCK IN NOW at the $9.95/month rate so that you save 50% on the NEW prices. In about a week and a half this same monthly service will be $19.95/month--approximately twice as much!

If you are not ready to take the plunge just yet, keep reading I know by the end of this review you will be ready.

There is another handy area I like to use, this is where you can create lesson plans. I use my own but they have some ready for you to download and use so all the work is done for you. This is so helpful and I wish I would have had this last year, it would have helped out tremendously. There are progress checklists to help mark and keep track of your child's progress throughout the lesson plan. Taylor because he is self sufficient in his schoolwork uses this as a task list and helps keep him on track. It is one of his favorite ways to keep organized.

Being able to browse by grade helps to keep things simple and easy to find. This helps to not waste time they we know we do not have extra of. I can simply click the tab for browse by grade and then the box drops down and I can click the 12th grade link. There is also a tab to search by subject, there are so many to choose from, one of Taylor's favorites are Computer and Technology, once you click on the category it is then divided into sub categories, for instance, Computer/Technology has the following sub categories or classes if you will.
1.Experience Video Making
2. How to use Microsoft Word( I am going to use this one myself)
3.Internet Entrepreneurship for Teens
4.Keyboarding
5.SQL Server Beginner Course
6.Web Game Designer
Each of the classes per se' are then divided into lessons some are video type lessons and others are pdf worksheet style to use on screen or download and print. Taylor has been really enjoying all of the classes that SchoolhouseTeachers.com has to offer, his only complaint was that their foreign language section does not include Japanese but I think it is safe to say that is not the majority's cup of tea.

You will be able to check back each day. week and month to see fresh, fun, new content. All of the collaborative efforts or the writing team shows in all that comes to the site for us to enjoy. They spend countless efforts and hours to bring us all of this to enjoy. I know there have been many days where I feel stuck in a rut, sometimes even frustrated and ready to throw in the towel and then I am blessed with an inspirational story from one of the writers delivered right to my inbox. I know in my heart that TOS has come to my rescue more than once.

This has helped take a burden off of me, Taylor craves as much learning as he can get his hands on and at this point he is tired of the same old bookwork we have been doing and he is pretty much done with all his required learning but did not want to graduate early. Using SchoolhouseTeachers.com I did not need to put forth hours of planning, searching for the activities, it was all given to me with my membership and all the work was already done for me, all that was left was for me aTaylor to do was enjoy. Sure doesn't get any easier than that if I do say so myself. Now I am sure by now you are convinced you just have to sign up? Still not entirely sure? Well be sure to check out that free preview and take advantage of the $1 first month deal. That is all it will take to convince you that you simply cannot live without SchoolhouseTeachers.com. One month of access and you will be begging for more. You will not know what you did without it. I am sure my fellow crewmates are saying the same thing, but just to be sure you should check out their reviews as well.

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Weekly Wrap Up!

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Fri, 06 Jan 2017 17:52:00 +0000

I think I am going to try to post a quick weekly wrap up to touch on the highlights of our week.
Since I use this as our sort of family scrapbook of sorts and have the posts printed into a book each year, I guess I better get on the ball around here.
One of my ~~resolutions~~ Goals for the year is to blog more regularly now that life seems to be settling down for us. I won't say that too loud as it always seems to change.
1. Christmas wrap up, all the Christmas was put away Thursday and the tree to the curb since it was trash day and we did not want to have it around a whole other week. Time to start the Valentine Decorations, I love decorating for all the holidays and now with a bigger space it is even more fun and I found that I am lacking in the Valentine decorations so I am going to be making some new ones this weekend, starting with a burlap heart wreath. I will be sure to post photos once it is complete. Alyx scored all the new packs of Christmas lights in the photo for 90% off plus his added employee discount so basically $1 a pack. I also got a 4ft. prelit tree for next year for my Disney tree. I haven't had a separate Disney tree since before our garage fire. I feel like I finally have gathered enough to start with a small secondary tree.

I think I may have mentioned previously that I was getting an Air Fryer from my parents for Christmas. To say the kids and I are obsessed with it is an understatement. We have made mozzarella cheese sticks and taquitos and corn dogs up until yesterday but then I got adventurous and we made Air Fried chicken and as you can see by the picture below it turned out perfectly. Pushed the chicken button and 20 minutes later perfect crispy fried chicken. OH MY! Goodness. I am hooked.

Alyx is changing uniforms for CAP, they are going with the Air Force Camo, ABU. So this means sewing all new patches on the new uniform. Not my favorite thing to do. My favorite question when sewing CAP patches, "Is this correctly crooked?" Good grief, 1/8in rollover and measured this much from this seam and parel 1 inch from this seam. Makes me crazy. But it is all so worth it in the end. Happy Alyx is a happy Momma. The good news is he promoted recently to 1lt. So patches should not need to be changed for at least a couple of months from now when he promotes to Captain. I am so proud of his accomplishments.

That seems to be all the highlights for this week. Have a great weekend and keep warm.

Zonderkidz The Beginner's Bible Schoolhouse Review Crew Review 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Fri, 06 Jan 2017 16:48:00 +0000

When my boys were little the last thing I thought to get them was a Bible, in hindsight I wish I would have had a bible like The Beginner's Bible from ZonderkidZ. Starting the kids off at an early age with their own Bible is a wonderful way to keep them on a strong journey of faith. I was so excited to get the opportunity for this review as I had just received an invitation for a friend's daughter's baby shower that is tomorrow actually. We were requested in place of a card to bring a book dedicated to the new baby boy. What better book to give than THE BOOK, a Bible perfect to start the wee one on his journey towards God. I know I would have cherished a gift like this for my baby shower back 20 years ago.

The Beginner's Bible selling for $16.99 has been recently updated with beautifully and vibrant new 3D illustrations and is a full book with 512 pages.

I was simply in awe as I flipped through The Beginner's Bible at the detail of each story of the bible. My favorites that stood out I found were some of the same ones that were my children's favorites when they were younger. The story of Noah is and will always be my all time favorite. The animals are simply adorable in the pages of the story of Noah within this child friendly Bible. I love how they depict Noah with his hands outstretched towards the heavens with the animals relaxing on the grass.

My second favorite story is the story of Jonah and the Whale. These colorful images seem to jump off the page like the whale jumping from the ocean in the story. I love how the illustrations add to the stories themselves. What child would not love to sit down each evening at bedtime for story time with a Bible like this. I could envision my kids as youngsters eagerly awaiting story time if they had The Beginner's Bible in our library back when they were little.

I feel this is a good choice for any age beginning with baby up to middle elementary school, although the recommended age is 6 and under by the publisher. This can be adapted as the child grows from you reading to them to them beginning to tell you the stories by using the pictures and reciting from memory in their own way. Then as they begin to actually read they can read the easy text that is worded in language that is easy to read and comprehend. You will go through more than 90 stories with your kids. There is also an added curriculum component that is available for purchase as well. This then could be used as Bible time during homeschooling lessons or on the weekend for your child that is in a more traditional school setting. This is a book that will grow with them and hopefully be kept as a treasure to pass down to their own children. Being a hard covered sturdy book it will hold up for many years to come.

Purchasing The Beginner's Bible from Zonderkidz would be the perfect way to start the New Year off right with your littles. If you are like me and do not have littles in your home anymore, think about purchasing one for the perfect gift, baby shower, baptism, birthday or just because.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Zonderkidz/Twitter: https://twitter.com/zonderkidzYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/zondervanPinterest: https://pinterest.com/zondervanp/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zondervan/

New Year's Eve Bowling Fun!

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Sun, 01 Jan 2017 15:24:00 +0000

For the last 3 years I have spent the earlier part of the evening of New Year's Eve with my friends from MOPS and sometimes my boys too. This year was no different except none of the boys went and I went with my good friend Bonnie. We had a much smaller crowd this year but I think we enjoyed it more than years past, It was a new venue, smaller and less chaotic. I have not bowled since last New Year's Eve but still had fun, they did a Mock Toast at 6 pm, with a countdown and hats and blowers and champagne flutes filled with sparkling grape juice. Bonnie and I headed to orange leaf on the way home and used a groupon for a treat of froyo. Then she went home to be with her hubby and I spent the night in with my boys and Dave. Nick had plans with Brenna so he went out for a while. All in all it was a great way to end 2016 and bring in the New Year of 2017.

Wordless Wednesday Feeling Betty Crockerish! Chocolate fudge cupcakes with candy cane topping

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 15:24:00 +0000

Merry Christmas from Our family to Yours.

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Sat, 24 Dec 2016 15:21:00 +0000

Our New Table is finally finished.

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Thu, 22 Dec 2016 15:18:00 +0000

There is nothing better than homemade gifts in my opinion, especially those made with so much love from those you love most.

This gift is my Christmas gift from Alyx and Nickalas. My Dad and Alyx spent the last 3-4 weeks working on this table day and night and wow! does it show! They delivered it today and I cannot wait to have Christmas dinner at it this weekend. It is absolutely beautiful. Now the only thing left to do is find some more chairs and then paint the chairs to match the base and trim of the table. I will treasure this gift from Nick and Alyx forever and always.

How is Christmas almost here? Wasn't it just Summer?

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Thu, 22 Dec 2016 04:23:00 +0000

Here I thought Alyx's Senior year flew by, but here we are almost Christmas and only a little more than 5 months from Taylor Graduating. Can we rewind a bit? Between moving and the holidays I can honestly say the last couple months seem like a blur. It has helped keep my mind off of missing those that are not with us this Christmas season, especially Grama, that was until we decorated the tree. One of the first ornaments out of the box was the new one from last year with all of our family names on little owls and one of them says Grandma :(

Time Hop keeps popping up pictures of our last move which was 4 years ago December 1, I really need to stop moving during the holidays. At least my house is always nice and clean and organized for company. Anyway sometimes I feel as though Time Hop is both a blessing and a curse, it reminds me of fun times but it is sometimes hard to see those that are no longer here, especially pictures of Grama. There are days when I find myself looking for her still, and then there are days when I am thankful she is not here suffering through her alzheimer's any longer. I miss her terribly, but I am thankful that she is in Heaven and no longer dealing with the dreaded disease that consumed her life.

We are finally 97% settled in our new house and all of our wall hangings and photos are up, and most of the boxes have been dealt with except for a few tucked away in the closets. I am thankful we no longer have a leaky basement to deal with, literally every time it rained I cringed with what mess I was going to have to deal with cleaning up, but on the other hand I miss the extra space to stash things I did not want to deal with. I am glad though as it forced us to part with many things that we were just simply hanging onto. I feel so much lighter in so many ways with all the destashing we have done and I highly recommend it. I have 2 bins ready for the resale shop after the holidays and have listed some things on facebook garage sale groups and Letgo, not having much luck right now but hoping after the holidays it will pick up.

I am super excited my new table Alyx and my Dad built me for Christmas is being brought over tomorrow morning. This leaves the dilemma of what to do with our current table until it can be sold. The whole not having a basement thing again, The garage is no help as it is full with stuff like tools, bikes, my scooter and Alyx's motorcycle and stuff to sell. If it wasn't in such good shape I literally would just put it to the curb but there is nothing wrong with it except the size for our family.
Praying it sells quickly .

We focused on a couple things that everyone wanted and are keeping things low key as far as presents go, money is tight with moving and the kids thankfully understand. I think I stress about it way more than they do anyway.

We had the CAP Christmas party and awards banquet last night and Alyx received the award for Emergency Services Cadet of the Year. He loves the ES aspect of CAP and it shows through all of his hard work and dedication.

I am thankful for time off from watching Auntie to finish getting the house in order and to work on some crafts for the house that I simply have not had time to get to. I truly enjoy the time we spend together and I will miss seeing her everyday but boy did it feel good to not set an alarm clock today. Between my schedule and Taylor's and David's I have not had a single day to sleep in for several weeks. pretty bad that 8:45 felt like sleeping in but what a difference that little more than an hour can make. I felt refreshed and ready to tackle my to do list. I got just about everything done that I set out to do today and that felt amazing as well. I am hoping to do some freezer meals while I am off too, this will help for days that I work or have an event at night without turning to pizza or prepared foods that are not healthy.

I am hoping to get back to Weight Watchers after the New Year as well, I have been weighing myself and trying to stay on program and I am happy to say I am down a couple of pounds since I stopped going when my pass expired. I miss my group and the support from the meetings and connect though and I know I would do so much better being back on Mondays at the meetings.

Well I guess that is all the updates I have to share right now and hope you all have a Blessed Christmas and New Year's. I will be sure to post pictures of my new table before and after it is decorated for the Christmas weekend.
Blessings!!

MOPS CRAFT NIGHT Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 02:30:00 +0000

Adding a little personality to our home Made a big difference in my week.

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 13:30:00 +0000

I have been in a little funk lately as far as wanting to unpack, something just hasn't been feeling right. I finally figured it out.... We just needed a little personal touches on the walls and around the house. Let me tell you, that simple task changed the whole mood of our home.
Bathroom is going Nautical since we are so close to the lake, starting with the shower curtain, some DIY coming soon.

Continuing with owls in the kitchen for a little whimsy and was so happy to find some with the turquoise that will be one of our main kitchen accent colors, best thing is I got these free with a coupon from Jcpenney that showed up in my mailbox yesterday, $10 off a $10 purchase!

My crosses are back up and blessing this house, the exciting thing is I now have room for so many more. So if you are ever in doubt for a gift for me, a fun and or different cross will join my wall happily.

Alyx and my Dad working on my Christmas present. Can you guess? Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 13:21:00 +0000

New piece to add to the kitchen Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 18:11:00 +0000

My friend needed to rehome this and it fits perfectly in our new kitchen. Everything is starting to come together nicely.

Not always our plan but ALWAYS GOD's plan!

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 18:03:00 +0000

So we had planned to move to New Haven and get a new manufactured home but that was not God's plan. So instead we are moving to Harrison Township and we are loving it. The more that New Haven did not work out the more this new house we found seemed to fit more for our family. It is halfway in between our old house and Nick's new work. It is a shorter distance to Dave's work and Taylor and Alyx are only 15 minutes from work and we are only 15 minutes from my Mom and Dad and Auntie. Also this puts us in walking distance of metro beach and there is a fabulous park around the corner. The house has so much more living space. There is no fenced in yard but Alyx is putting in an aerial dog run and there is no basement so now I am able to do the laundry more and the kitchen is absolutely huge. No more moldy leaky basement and no more busy street with a school. I think this is going to be the perfect. Here is some moving pics to tide you over until we get settled.

Happy 17th Birthday Taylor

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Kasprzak) — Tue, 08 Nov 2016 17:49:00 +0000

I cannot believe that here we are celebrating Taylor's 17th Birthday. He is a Senior this year and I am sure I am going to cry a lot this year. So many changes. We got the keys to our new house today and he said it was the best birthday present ever. We celebrated by going to his favorite restaurant for lunch and because it was election day his girlfriend had the day off of school. Everyone got to come as it worked out perfectly with work schedules and such. He had a blast as usual and was excited to show his girlfriend Kelsey our new house for a few minutes after lunch. We hope to be sleeping in the new house by the weekend. If Taylor has his way it will be tomorrow lol. Alyx is leaving for a work trip tomorrow so I do not know how much we will get done with him gone but I am definitely motivated. Our new house is 500 sq ft bigger than our last and no more leaky basement. There are so many exciting new things happening this year that I am sure Taylor would agree and say this is the best year ever by the time his birthday rolls around next year.