Hey, it's Jade!

Homeschool Fundraiser!

2012-02-15T14:53:00.001-06:00

I am in the process of getting ready to buy next year's 2nd grade curriculum for Preston. I thought it would be fun to do a fundraiser - hey, all the other kids in my neighborhood have hit me up to support THEIR school... why can't we do it to support ours? Am I right, homeschoolin' mamas? So, I am holding a Cards for a Cause now through Feb 25th! Please call or email me to get your order in (you cannot purchase these through my site, though buying books from me helps too... so, feel free to do that as well!).

The greeting cards are high-quality, colorful, hand-crafted and so much fun! We have two versions you can choose from (or get one of each!).

All-Occasion

Specifically for Kids!

Each box of cards is $30, contains 30 cards (yes, making them only $1 each - but these are no typical dollar store cards!) and has a nice keepsake box as well! These are so great to have on hand for those emergency "Thank you" or "Happy Anniversary!" needs. You know you have 'em! You'll be covered!

So cute!

Help support our homeschooling, buy a box of cards today! And tell your friends!

*If you are interested in learning more about our Cards for a Cause fundraising for your needs, email me at HeyJadeBooks[at]gmail and I can get your group started right away!

Handwriting Meme...

2012-02-10T17:44:00.000-06:00

1. What is your name

2. Blog URL

3. Write: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

4. Favorite quote

5. Favorite song (at the moment)

6. Favorite band/singers (at the moment)

7. Say anything you want

8. Tag 3-5 bloggers

Hope you can read that! Was tagged by Tina, who has gorgeous handwriting! How 'bout you give it a try?

Homeschool Recap, Feb 10th (Week 20)...

2012-02-10T13:59:00.000-06:00

In my life this week...

Despite a ton of run-around with the bank and the buyers, we finally sold our Rav4 and purchased a Kia Soul! Woo hoo! It's super cute and drives like a dream! That was a huge relief off my shoulders. I swear it's just been one thing after another and I have been wound so stinkin' tight, I can barely breathe! When we get our tax refund, we plan to buy a cheap mini-van or 3rd row SUV that I can use. I'm so tired of being a one-car family and not being able to even run to the store when I need to! Praying that a certain pizza place that Michael worked at last year gets our flippin' w2 to us pronto, so we can file - we're just waiting on you, pizza place!!! Grr.

Being all stressed out has made me one cranky mama, too. I have been a total jerk to my kids lately, and I feel so bad about it. But every two seconds one of them is doing something naughty. It's hard to keep from losing my cool when it's just a constant battle, one after the other. Mix that in with some other stuff, and man... yeah, jerk city over here. =( I attempt to re-adjust my attitude every few minutes, TRYING to snap out of it, but... blehhhh, just one of those valleys, I guess.

A picture and story to share...
This big cardboard stand up was at the Kia dealership. I had to go stand next to Vince Neil and send the picture to Rosie to see what her reaction was. Lol! When we visited her in California (a million years ago now!), we were sitting outside The Roxy in Hollywood waiting for The Rocket Summer & Watashia Wa show to start, and right in front of us a fancy, red sports car pulls up and scrapes the heck out of the bumper on the curb. We laughed, and Michael was all, "Don't laugh, it's probably one of the dude's from Motley Crüe or something." We laughed even harder because Michael wouldn't recognize those guys anywhere! And then... who was it? Vince Neil. Hahah! Oh man, we were inconsolable by then. I ended up getting a photo with him, and it was just such a ridiculous nite... something we'll never forget or stop laughing about, I'm sure!

With Motley Crüe, haha!

Praying for...

The pieces of the puzzle to fall into place.

In our Homeschool this week...

Tot School: Callen is picking up some new words, but he is as ornery as ever. You cannot leave him alone for two seconds before he's either on top of the cabinet or has already destroyed something into a million pieces. My goodness, he wears me out. But then, we have nites like this, too. Cutie pie!

Bible: Proverbs 20:11, "Even a child is known for his actions, whether his conduct is pure and right." Been trying to use that one to convince Preston to behave! Haha. We started in on the books of the New Testament, Matthew-Acts so far. And we talked about the Israelites not having enough faith to enter the Promised Land and having to spend 40 MORE years wandering. Here is a video of Preston reciting the books of the Old Testament from memory!

Reading/Writing: Preston has been reading a lot of books on his this week because we're doing the Winter Reading Club at the library. Other than that, just continuing through our MFW workbook.

Cute drawing of a mouse under the chair!

Math: Worked on reviewing addition and subtraction, just continuing on with some pages in his Complete Book of Math, moving into subtracting bigger numbers and adding three values!

Science: The subject this week was water's skin. We did a few activities from Science With Water, like floating a needle on top of the water and playing with water drops. Today we went outside to enjoy the sunshine and played with bubbles!

Blowing bubbles!

Stitch blows 'em, they chase 'em!

Music/Art: This week's hymn was "Rejoice, Ye Pure In Heart." We also talked about the sousaphone and french horn and watched some youtube videos of those instruments to hear the differences. For art, we looked at a painting of a country road and house and Preston worked on some abstract drawings using various designs/shapes/lines.

Spanish: We continued with words having to do with our community or neighborhood.

We are using My Father's World First Grade. See our curriculum here.

Blog Hoppin' with:

Sometimes I could just EAT HIM UP!

2012-02-07T21:19:00.002-06:00

Like tonite's cuteness...

More Tickles!

Who Loves You?

As in, Bob the Tomato. Yep.

And, of course, this:

Rock it, Callen!

Switched! by Billy Myers Review

2012-02-06T15:20:00.001-06:00

Switched! is the fifth title in the "TJ and the Time Stumblers" series written by Bill Myers. We had not read the previous books, but were quickly and easily brought up to speed with what we needed to know to understand the current story. Apparently TJ Finkelstein is destined to become a great leader, and a couple of goof-ball teen travel back from the 23rd century to do a history report on her. Only they cause way more trouble than anything else and send TJ off into all kinds of bizarre adventures. In this particular book, a mishap with a "Thought Broadcaster Pen" causes TJ to switch bodies with the person she despises the most! And, of course, chaos ensues.

My son was a little young for this particular type of book, which I think is probably best suited for tween girls, but he found parts to be absolutely hysterical (a giant crab with sunglasses?! everyone suddenly losing track of who's who?!). I read it aloud to him, one chapter per night, and personally was a bit annoyed by the so-called humor and the use of adjectives as last names ("Mr. Hatemijob"). But then, I don't fit the demographic for this type of book either. Again, I'm thinking a tween girl would find this book amusing and interesting, as there is also just the slightest hint of a love story there.

The overlying message of the story, however, is a good one: the importance of forgiveness. It is weaved into the story on multiple levels, though not overly shoved down your throat. I enjoyed that at the end of the story, TJ learns to be forgive and keep on forgiving even when it's difficult - that is certainly a lesson we all need to keep in mind!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Tyndale Blog Network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Homeschool Recap, Feb 3rd (Week 19)...

2012-02-03T15:32:00.000-06:00

In my life this week...

Ugh, we've all been sickish this week... cold, sinus... whatever. It's yuck. I have been so unmotivated to get out of bed, it's not even funny. I have not been a very patient or nice mom this week, basically I've been a slug. I'm also sad that it's been stinkin' 70-something degrees everyday when it's supposed to be WINTER! Grr. A little cold weather isn't too much to ask, is it?

I did get around to making phone calls like crazy trying to get my Usborne business hoppin'. There's an awesome challenge over the next 4 months and I want to earn myself an iPad2... so I'm trying really hard to meet my goals. Plus, I need/want the extra income that comes with the diligence. Now, if people would just answer their phones or return messages, we'd be doing well! Lol. I'm trying, though.

So, the car situation is at a stand-still. Haven't had a buyer for our current one, haven't bought a new one either. Still just waiting and watching for what's to come. Hoping for a buyer soon!

Places we're going and people we're seeing...
This week was such a blur, I don't even remember what all went on. I made it out of the house last nite to go to the Mom's Support Meeting with our Homeschool Group, so that was a nice little while away from the house! Other than that, not much excitement around here since we've been sick.

Praying for...

The car to sell. For us to make a wise decision regarding a new(ish) car for the family. For my business to pick up. For all of our sickness to go away for a long, long time. Energy and motivation!

A recipe and photo to share:

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

I love using my crock pot for dinner, and I love Chef-In-Training's recipes. Put 'em together! Yes, please! I have made this Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken twice, and both times it came out more creamy than expected, BUT it's soooo good! The first time I turned it into enchiladas and this time I just put it over rice and the next day chips. Yum! Even the kids gobbled it up, even though it was just a bit spicy! They LOVED it! Super easy recipe, very few ingredients, and it cooks all day and makes your kitchen smell so delicious you can barely stand to wait till dinner time!

In our Homeschool this week...

Tot School: Gahhhhhhh! That is all I can even say. Lol.

Bible: Proverbs 3:6, "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." This week we finished up the Old Testament books of the Bible. Preston has nearly all of them memorized and only needs just a little prodding here and there to keep going. So proud of how well he did at this task! Talked more about Moses as he was leading the Israelites over the desert for 40 years... bitter water, manna and water from a stone.

Reading/Writing: I love when Preston takes his time and really focuses on his writing, he can write SO WELL! He just needs to focus! I know that's hard for a 6-yr-old boy, of course.

Math: Worked on reviewing addition and subtraction, just continuing on with some pages in his Complete Book of Math he started a while back. I was able to assign him a page and leave him at the table while I attended Callen several times, and came back and found the page completed and almost completely correct (just a miscalculation here and there). Yay! We also read a couple of really fun books that had word problems in them, and Preston did such a good job of figuring them out. They were called You Can, Toucan, Math and How High Can a Dinosaur Count?

Science: The subject from Science with Water this week was boats. We read a lot of story books about boats and some fact books about how they work. Didn't do much hands on this week since I wasn't feeling well. On Groundhog's Day we went outside and put our little Phil to work:

I think he sees his shadow!

Winter? It's 70degrees out here!

Music/Art: This week's hymn was continuing "The Lord's My Shepherd, I'll Not Want." We also talked about the tuba and baritone horn and watched some youtube videos of those instruments to hear the differences. For art, we looked at a portrait of some young boys and I let Preston watercolor a picture of his choosing. He wanted to paint a castle and dragon.

Getting started.

Spanish: This week we started on words having to do with our community or neighborhood.

We are using My Father's World First Grade. See our curriculum here.

Blog Hoppin' with:

January 2012 Tweets to Remember...

2012-02-01T06:07:00.000-06:00

Jan 1st - Will prob regret this w/all its little parts, but they love it!

Jan 4th - We're not gonna get things back to normal. It's only gonna get more abnormal, which will soon become the new normal. Right?

Jan 4th - Oh my goodness, big boy bed for Callen! http://twitpic.com/839pmo

Jan 5th - I am about to put the crib back together & give it to Preston... the crying, the whining, the fussing!!! Auugghhhhh! #MommyVent

Jan 6th - I just spent an hour outside, in my driveway, vacuuming books and fake plants. What? What do you do on Friday afternoons?

Jan 8th - Gahhhh, I hate being so needy, dependent on people and having to ask for so many inconvenient favors. =(

Jan 12th - Just heard P explaining,"That's cool! ....OH! Cool means 2 different things, Callen. Cold and AWESOME! Get it, baby?" #BrotherlyLove

Jan 13th - Cleared my RSS feed of 3000+ unread blog posts (since before Christmas) and I am probably not seeing your tweets either. #NotKeepingUp

Jan 15th - "Sometimes that peace comes from knowing that you are NOT in control!" Pastor Reggie

Jan 17th - I have a puking Preston. =( Poor kid, bad fever 2 nights in a row last week, now this? No idea whats up.

Jan 18th - One kid hurling, the other falling out of bed. After a nite like that, glad the roofers next door waited til 8. =/

Jan 19th - My Winter/Let It Snow window clings are melting off of the front door. #NotCoolTexas (literally). Hmph.

Jan 19th - Coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, #coffee, coffee. That is all. Carry on.

Jan 20th - Not to be a broken record, but sometimes life does revolve around #coffee. Ok?

Jan 20th - In the middle of a Ghoti Hook dance party, I realized we never finished school today. Picnic, nap, dancing...check. School... nope.

Jan 21st - Sipping pumpkin spice #coffee, letting the boy stay up late so we can all watch Bolt together. Had a great nite with new & old friends!

Jan 26th - The sound of hysterical laughing coming out of a toddler, caused by his big brother? Best.Thing.Ever. :::melt:::

Jan 27th - I know my scale is broken, but it was still nice to stand on it and be at my goal weight after only 3 weeks of WW. Ha!

Jan 29th - Our family just grew by 5! My nieces & nephews have moved in. http://twitpic.com/8dc0gz

Jan 31st - Both of our alarms are set correctly, his clock & my phone, yet neither went off! How does that happen? =(

Jan 31st - Just caught my not-yet-2-year-old attempting to make #coffee with my Senseo machine! Oh dear, he's starting awfully early!

Not-Yet-Terrible-Twos...

2012-01-31T20:11:00.000-06:00

In just a little under two hours, my not-yet-2-year-old racked up quite a list of achievements...

Pushing a chair over to the homeschool supplies drawer where he dumped out the pencil sharpener shavings and pulled all the tape out of the dispenser.
Poured a large bowl of popcorn all over the living room floor and ground most of it into the rug.
Climbed up on his changing table, stood up, ripped the "autographed" photo of Stitch from the wall and into pieces.
Moved the rocking chair away from the closet door, opened the closet door and drug out old clothes all over his room.
Smacked his brother in the face because "Bubba" was trying to keep him from getting in trouble.
Pushed a chair from the table to the kitchen cabinet and proceeded to put a (breakable, eek!) coffee cup under the Senseo machine spout and was about to fire that puppy up.

In between each one of these incidents, I scooped him up, gave him a talking to or smack on the hand/bum, set him right, and cleaned things up. I only left him for about 5 minutes at a time while I was trying to make business calls.

I love that he is such a go-getter, and is incredibly smart... but my gosh, he wears me out!

Homeschool Recap, Jan 27th (Week 18)...

2012-01-27T07:34:00.001-06:00

In my life this week...

We are on the hunt for a new/new-to-us car. We need to replace the Rav4, as we just don't want to put any more money into and with our plans to expand our family, we need something slightly bigger anyway. Just a little, really. We don't want any mammoth vehicle, but it needs to fit three carseats across or have a third row. And be good on gas mileage, preferably not already have too many miles on it... and be in our price range. Which is low. Haha, yeah... it's gonna be an interesting ride. We put our Rav4 up on Craigslist yesterday, so hopefully it'll sell quickly. Then we can turn around and get ourselves into something. We test drove a Kia Soul (we love everything except that it doesn't have much cargo space in back at all, like... my stroller won't fit back there, I don't think) and a Subaru Forester (which, I really liked, but is not quite big enough). Also looking at Hyundai Santa Fe, Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander. We are kind of all over the place, not really sure WHAT we want. Truth is, we need two cars. Replacing the Rav4 doesn't really solve our one-car family problem... need a BOGO car deal, please! Lol.

Places we're going and people we're seeing...
This past Saturday, I had an Open House Bazaar and it was so much fun! I had my Usborne stuff out, my mom brought her chain mail jewelry, her best friend Mel brought her handmade photography greeting cards, we had Scentsy, Pampered Chef (Kelli, whom I haven't seen in like 12 years came! Yay!) and my friend Ginger's Delightful Decor. Having that mix of people was fun, but also the people that came to hang out/shop was such a neat thing. At one point I looked around and was just overwhelmed at how cool it was to have such a random mix of people from all areas of my life in one room, getting along so well! I loved it! This afternoon, the boys and I are going to eat lunch with our homeschool group. Hooray for a sweet lady who is going to come pick us up and bring us home so we can attend! Thank you, Kathryn! I really enjoying hanging out with those families... hoping we can make it a more regular occurance! And later today I have an Usborne booth at a lady's event... pretty excited about that!

Praying for...

Obviously wisdom and guidance on the car thing. It's scary to buy a car, new or used... for different reasons. I just pray we make a good decision and don't jump into anything we will regret. And that we can get a good price on our current car so we can pay our property taxes (eep, due Jan 31st!) and have money to put down on whatever we decide to get. Also, on a less selfish note, praying for friends who are also struggling with finances, job issues and a need for clear guidance!

A recipe and photo to share:
I tried a Mini-Pineapple Upside Down Cake recipe from Pinterest. And it was soooo good, and really easy! Not good for our diet though (I dunno how many WW points these are, but they're worth it!). Yum!

They LOOK good and TASTE good!

Callen loved it, for sure!

In our Homeschool this week...

Tot School: Oh my goodness, the closer we get to two-years-old, the more of a handful Callen becomes! But, he's also getting smarter and saying a lot more words lately... so, it comes with the territory, I suppose! The other day, he got hold of his washcloth and laid down in the floor and started "cleaning" it... I guess seeing me do it after every meal is rubbing off on him. He is one messy baby! It's about time he start cleaning up after himself! Lol!

I put him to work cleaning the floor!

Bible: Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in the Lord your God with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding." Oh, how this verse will serve as constant reminder for year and years to come! We went through books of the Bible Micah through Zephaniah. Talked more about Moses, the burning bush, the 10 plagues and passover. Is it bad that Preston giggled the entire way through the description of the plagues? I mean, he's 6 and the idea of frogs hopping all over the place could be amusing to a boy. To me, it's complete nightmare... eeeep!

Reading/Writing: Went over the sound |n| spelled "gn" and "kn," and the use of "ough."At bedtime, we've been reading a book that I'll be reviewing soon called TJ & The Time Stumblers. Yes, he actually let me pause our Hank The Cowdog series! Anyway, it's ... interesting so far.

Math: This week was pretty much a review of shapes/geometry. Though we did talk more in depth about different kinds of triangles, polygons and quadrilaterals. He got to play with his food a bit!

Pretzel triangles!

Coming up with designs together!

Science: The subject from Science with Water this week was sinking and floating. Using some other fun books from the library, we did some fun experiments like creating an iceberg and seeing how it floats, making a floating rainbow and just throwing a bunch of stuff in water and guessing if it would sink or float.

Does the iceberg sink or float, guys?

Water, oil & alcohol!

Why do some things float or sink?

Music/Art: This week's hymn was "The Lord's My Shepherd, I'll Not Want." After reading through it, Preston declared that kind of stuff should be in the Bible. Lol! Yes, dear... it is pretty much STRAIGHT from the Bible, so good call! We also talked about tenor and baritone saxophones and watched some youtube videos of those instruments to hear the differences. For art, we looked at an abstract work of a city and I introduced Preston to pastels (oh, what a mess!).

It's smudgy!

Spanish: This week we continued talking about words having to do with family. We checked out some bilingual books from the library from Carmen Lomas Garza about her family. These are neat because they have a painting of a scene, and she describes it in English and Spanish. I'm reading the Spanish, and letting Preston tell me what words he recognizes, then reading the English so he understands what was said. Also, last weekend, while we were at the library, Preston picked up a bilingual book and spent the whole time reading it out loud in Spanish. He really enjoyed it!

We are using My Father's World First Grade. See our curriculum here.

Blog Hoppin' with:

Homeschool Recap, Jan 20th (Week 17)...

2012-01-20T18:01:00.001-06:00

In my life this week...

Michael started his classes. It was a little stressful there at the start, but he, of course, pulled it off beautifully and seems to be enjoying it so far! I'm so proud of him - he's a stinkin' professor! Haha! It's awesome! Took Preston for his 6-year check-up this week, he's gained 5 lbs and 3 inches since last year. Checked out great, except the quick vision screening they gave him resulted him maybe needing to get a real vision test soon? One eye wasn't quiet perfect, but... honestly, he was in a mood and wasn't completely cooperative so I dunno if it was that or a real vision issue. I guess we'll have to take him to get tested at some point just to be sure!

My favorite thing this week...

Sneaking out of the house on Thursday evening to have coffee with my friend Candi! We got kicked out of Starbucks 'cause they closed, and as we sat in her van still chatting away, we were completely surrounded by a street racing meeting or something. It was pretty funny. But, most of all, I just love spending time with her - and I needed a break from my house!

A photo to share:

It was so warm today (77degrees in the middle of January!?!), that we had a lunch picnic in the backyard! The boys loved it. And it really was a beautiful day, even though, personally, I could go for a tiny bit of snow right about now. =)

In our Homeschool this week...

Tot School: Nothing new on the tot front. Same 'ole mischievous monkey havoc around the house. It's a good thing he's cute...

Bible: Proverbs 2-:22, "Do not say "I will pay you back for this wrong!" Wait on the Lord and he will deliver you." We finished off Jacob and moved on to Moses this week. Preston did a great job of writing a recap of the story of Moses in the Basket. He put some effort into his writing, and it came out so great - yay!

Illustrating Baby In The Basket

Reading/Writing: Worked on the various reading rules and all that. Lol. This part is never very exciting, but he trudges through it and doesn't seem to have much problem. So, that's nice.

Math: We talked about fractions this week. He did great, seemed get it just fine. Read several fraction books (see below) and did the Complete Book of Math sheets on the subject.

Science: The science theme this week was the start of Science with Water, we just talked about the basics of water... what it is, what it does, it's 3 forms and whatnot. We did a few little water "experiments" along the way. In the picture below, I put one cup of water in each container and asked him which one had more. The answer was that they were all equal, of course!

Which one has more water?

Music/Art: This week's hymn was still "Amazing Grace!" We also talked about the alto saxophone, which I used to play in concert and marching band all through school. For art we looked at a French portrait of two girls, and worked on differences in lighting from Drawing with Children.

Spanish: This week we started talking about words having to do with family.

We are using My Father's World First Grade. See our curriculum here.

Blog Hoppin' with:

Seven Lies About Homeschoolers (Hilarious!)

2012-01-17T10:23:00.001-06:00

http://www.facebook.com/blimeycow
http://www.twitter.com/blimeycow
http://www.blimeycow.com/

Uummmmm... I love this dude. Lol.

Homeschool Recap, Jan 13th (Week 16)...

2012-01-13T12:26:00.002-06:00

In my life this week...

Things settled down once we got our car back, completely fixed! Woo, again, Praise God for that miracle! We threw a Going Away party for my in-laws on Sunday, it was a success, I'd say! They officially closed on their house this morning and have to be OUT by Sunday, wowzers! It's also my Mother-In-Law's birthday today... crazy times, for sure! Michael had two meetings with his new school just this week, he's so pumped about being a professor. We're excited about the opportunity!

My favorite thing this week...

After all the craziness lately, it was fun to get out and be with other homeschool moms on Thursday evening (sans kids!). It was our monthly homeschool group meeting, and we ended up spending the time chatting, laughing and playing Book Bingo. Oh, you know how I love books!

I'm dieting...

Michael and I have been doing pretty well on our diets for nearly two weeks now. I have lost 6 pounds as of this morning, even though we've slipped a few days (um, a going away party with food everywhere - not exactly perfect dieting conditions!). But I'm feeling good about it, and still certainly motivated to keep at it. Super proud of my hubby... I was wondering if he'd be able to stand it, and he's doing so great at it so far! Go guy!

I'm praying for...
My in-laws as they have to tie everything up, get the house cleared and get going to Michigan by Sunday morning! It's a lot of work, and they're pretty stressed, but I think it'll all come together. Also praying for Michael as he starts his new professor job next week and doesn't really have a solid plan (eep!). We thought they were going to give him the outline and have most things ready to go, but now it's not looking that way. He has just a few days to prepare before class starts on Tuesday! Wow!

A photo to share:

My silly gooses!

Studying the counties of Texas.

In our Homeschool this week...

Tot School: Callen has been being a monkey about napping. A few times this week, he just played in his room for HOURS when he should have been laying in his bed. I'm hoping the novelty of being in a big-boy bed (which means he can get OUT of it anytime he wants) wears off, and he realizes how important naps are. Wishful thinking, ok?

Peg Board Time!

Bible: Proverbs 15:3, "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere; watching over the wicked and the good." We also talked about Jacob and Joseph. Planning to watch the Dreamworks movie, Joseph: King of Dreams, later today. I've never seen it, but we own it. Weird.

Joseph was thrown in jail.

Reading/Writing: Preston is getting better and better at writing, as long as he is interested in what he's writing, of course. And reading is steadily improving as well!

Writing the scripture verse.

Math: We talked about money this week. Read several money books and did the Complete Book of Math sheets on the subject.

Money Math!

Science: We skipped most of the science this week as I just got lazy and it was more of a review about measuring than anything else. We read the pages in Things Outdoors, and measured the kitchen table in standard and non-standard ways.

Music/Art: This week's hymn was "Amazing Grace!" Preston really enjoys listening to the Hymns CD we have when he's resting, and usually falls asleep to it. But I like it when he ASKS me to listen to it! We also talked about maracas and cabacas. For art we looked at some modern symmetrical wood prints, and worked on shades of gray in positive and negative spaces from Drawing with Children.

Spanish: This week we continued with the face and some emotions.

We are using My Father's World First Grade. See our curriculum here.

Blog Hoppin' with:

God Will Make a Way

2012-01-10T09:00:00.000-06:00

I will be completely honest, not a big fan of Rick Warren... but that doesn't mean God isn't using him. He certainly is. The following devotional was posted on his blog yesterday and a friend of mine forwarded it to me. Timely? Of course! God knows. He always knows...

Don’t See How? God Will Make a Way

by Rick Warren

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV)

You may be facing a dead end right now — financial, emotional, or relational — but if you will trust God and keep on moving in faith, even when you don’t see a way, he will make a way.

It will become more understandable as you head down the path he sets before you, but understanding is not a requirement for you to start down the path. Proverbs 4:18 says, “The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day” (NIV). One day you will stand in the full light of eternity and view the big picture. You’ll see God’s purpose behind the path he specifically chose for you.

In the meantime, do what Proverbs 3 says: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Be patient. God knows what he’s doing. God knows what is best for you. He can see the end result. You can’t. All those problems, heartaches, difficulties and delays — all the things that make you ask “why” — will one day be clear in the light of God’s love.

But for now, we’re learning to trust God.

----

And we couldn't fathom what we were going to do with the whole car situation yesterday. The guy was talking like he wasn't going to fix the stuff they messed up. I prayed, and prayed, and cried and asked for prayer, and got down on my face in the floor and prayed some more. As I literally picked myself up off the floor, the phone rang... it was Michael. He was at the car shop, and was on the way home with the car. The FIXED car. The guy fixed everything that was wrong, even though he still claimed they weren't responsible for some of it. Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! And while that doesn't bring an end to all of the woes piled on us right now, that was certainly the most pressing, the most fateful. So, with that out of the way, I can breathe again, and realize how silly I am for even worrying at all, because God always provides. Why can't I get my head to know what my heart knows in the midst of my panic? Sigh. God will make a way, where there seems to be no way!

Fully Relying on God...

2012-01-09T14:21:00.004-06:00

Y'know, I don't usually want to blog about things that are going to be depressing. But maybe it would actually help me to get it all out. These past few weeks have sucked. Now, don't get me wrong... there has been so much joy and love and blessings flowing through my life... I really can't complain for the most part. I know that God is good! But there are all these things bearing down on us right now, and I don't know what to do with them. I keep giving them to God, then snatching them right back up to worry about some more. I can't help myself. I'm a natural worrier. I want to have a plan of action, and know how things are going to go. I don't have anything like that right now.

What's wrong? Well...

- My husband's back is in such bad shape that he can barely move at times. Nothing seems to help. (Not to mention he still has his full-blown migraines constantly)

- Husband also starts his third job this week. He has a full-time job, and now two part-time jobs (and that doesn't include a few things he does on the side and the volunteer work he does for church). It makes me feel awful that he has to work this hard (while in such pain too!) for us to merely survive. It's not like we're rolling in dough because he's working that many jobs, it's still only getting us by, barely. We have property taxes due by the end of this month...

- My youngest child has decided that he MUST climb on everything, which, in turn, means he must fall off of everything. It's seriously becoming a problem. How many bonks can he get on his head before he becomes brain damaged? And he doesn't listen. But, ya know, he's not-quite-two, that's kinda standard and I understand that.

- My in-laws are moving this week. Not just across town or anything, but 1,000 miles away. It's really difficult to imagine how things are going to be without them nearby. Especially right now in the throes of this mess we're in.

- The car situation. Where do I even begin? The car (our ONLY car) had some sort of a leak. It wasn't overheating, didn't blow up, just had a leak so we wanted to get it fixed before it got worse. We took it to a shop that was recommended by a friend, was on the lower end of the price quotes we got and could get it in the soonest. We weighed our options, and this place seemed like the best one. Well, two weeks later we get our car back with MORE problems than when it went in. It appears that the engine was put back together wrong. It grinds and vibrates, has a leak still and doesn't start every time. We've had several people who know engines look at it, and tell us that the place put it back wrong and they need to fix it. So, we take it back to the place and the guy says he did a little work on it, but the rest of it isn't anything that they did, and he doesn't see anything wrong with it. Um... what? Michael will go this afternoon, after work, to check it out and see if the car is fixed. If not... I really don't know what we do. If he's refusing to fix what they messed up, I'm not even sure what our options are. We don't have another car to fall back on. We can't afford to buy another car or to pay for more repairs (the amount of money that we paid him for this "repair" wasn't chump change... it's a huge addition to our debt). We don't have time for small claims court or anything like that. It just feels so dirty and hopeless. And completely unbelievable. How do you do that to a family? "Fix" their car by making it worse and then not owning up to it? Wow.

- I am madly trying to hash out some sort of plan to get me back working so I can bring in some extra income. Usborne is not bringing in enough money, no one will call me back or answer my emails, people are avoiding contact with me completely it seems. I don't really have any other skills that I do at home to make money. And I don't know what I could do outside of the home either. But something has to give. Then what do I do about child care? About homeschool? Me working would probably just have me spending my income on child care anyway, how does that help? I feel like God called me to be here at home with my children, homeschooling. We always knew it didn't make sense financially... but things always worked out. Well, now that they're not working out anymore, does that mean it's time for a change. I don't know.

Things just feel like they're spiraling out of control right now. I know a lot of this stuff is menial, completely silly compared to most people's suffering and major things wrong with the world (oh, and speaking of... my laptop, still broken after many different people trying to help us fix it, sigh). God has blessed me far more than things have gone wrong. But you know, sometimes when you're in the midst of battle, it's hard to see anything but what's directly in front of you. and all you can think of is how to get past it, then we'll worry about the rest. I will just keep trying my hardest to give it to God, and not spend my energy worrying. His plans are better than ours. His ways are always right and just. I just need His guidance and direction as we have to quickly make some serious decisions about major things. Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement, friends.

It is my hope that I will be able to look back at this blog years from now and think about this time in my life and laugh at how God brought us out of it, and it all worked out for His good.

* Update #1 - The car is fixed! The guy fixed everything, including the stuff he said they weren't responsible for, and was completely civil about it when Michael and his brother were up there. They test drove it, and everything is in fine, working order. Drove it home with no problem... no grinding, vibrating or even any sensor lights on anymore! Praise God!!!! This is a HUGE burden lifted from us, which means we can focus on other things... because at the moment this was the biggest roadblock. :::happy, praise dance:::

Homeschool Recap, Jan 7th (Wk 15)

2012-01-06T14:32:00.000-06:00

In my life this week...

Oh my word, where are we? Let's see... my laptop is still not really fixed. We replaced the back-light lamp and then couldn't get the computer parts all back together. After a friend's help and then just trying anything possible, we got all back into order. Only... the lamp only partly works. I'm sure it's the way we put it back together, or the wiring was loose. Something easily fixable... BUT, taking it apart and putting it back together again sounds like the WORST IDEA EVER at this point. So, it's kinda just sitting in a box. =/

The car is back! THE CAR IS BACK! We had our car (yeah, our ONLY car) in the shop from Dec 23rd and just until yesterday. Geez. Thankfully, my father-in-law let us borrow his car so Michael could work. There was all kind of work that had to be done to the engine block. Long story short, $1600 later - our car is back! ANNNNDDDDD, it still has problems. Different problems? Oh my heavens. 'Scuse me while I hurl.

And, my in-laws found out their house sold and have been frantically trying to pack and prepare for a move ACROSS THE COUNTRY. Sorry for all of the CAPS in this post so far, but my gosh... it's been a trying couple of weeks. We're excited for them to get to do what they want and get to move back to Michigan, but it's extremely sad to know that they won't be just down the road anymore. They'll be more than 1,000 miles away! Wow. Just wow. It's... crazy.

Questions/Thoughts I have...

God, what are You doing? I know Your plans are always best, but why do they always have to be so mind boggling to us? Let us in on a little of it, huh? A hint? Please?

I'm cooking...

I usually don't have anything exciting to share in the cooking department, aside from some desserts. But, I found this recipe for Cowboy Stew on the DutchOvenDude's website (I receive a Dutch Oven for Christmas, LOVE IT!), and it was a huge hit in my house! It seemed super easy, and I have never really gotten very good at making stew, so I figured... why not? Well, it was super easy and DELICIOUS! Preston doesn't usually like that kind of stuff, but he ate two bowl fulls the first night and then requested it as a snack the next day. I'm serious... that's saying a lot! Yum!

I'm praying for...

A lot of friends going through sticky situations right now. 2012 is off to a very interesting start for a lot of people!

In our Homeschool this week...

Tot School: Callen is in his "big boy" bed (a toddler-sized bed) now. He's saying more and more words every day. I believe he's getting pretty close to really want to start potty-training. Things are going well. He is still as boogery as ever, of course. Always in trouble! But then, he's almost two, I have to expect that, right?

Bible: Proverbs 11:25, "A generous man prospers; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." We also talked about the books of Ecclesiastes through Jeremiah. Preston is starting to have trouble with the last half of the Bible books we've learned so far. And we went through the stories of Abraham and Sarah finding out about Isaac and then Isaac and Rebekah. We also read about Esau and Jacob, and ate Lentil Stew!

Abraham, Laughing Sarah with Baby Isaac

Giving some Lentil Soup a try!

Reading/Writing: Preston is reading so well lately, I'm very proud. His writing is nice when he's interested. When he's not... it's like pulling teeth to get him to do write something. Something we still struggle with on a daily basis.

Math: This week's theme was time. This is something we covered in Kindergarten, but he certainly needed reminding. We read several books we already owned like The Grouchy Ladybug and Telling the Time (an Usborne book!). We used some clock face flash cards I have, and I asked him what time it was over and over, till he was tired of hearing it. Haha!

Science: Snow and Ice was the theme for science. Unfortunately, we haven't had any ice or snow yet this Winter, not sure if we will! Had to live vicariously through books about it. We had a really fun time doing some activities like cutting snowflakes, watching a video on Wilson Bentley (the first guy to photograph snow crystals), and playing in snow. What? I had this little kid of Insta-Snow, and when you add water to the powder, it fluffs up and acts like snow. Preston LOVED that, of course.

Unique Snowflakes!

What's gonna happen?!

Cool, snow!

Bury my hand!

Music/Art: This week's musical instrument was jingle/sleigh bells. Easy enough. We looked at a portrait painted by Eduard Manet called The Railway. And we discussed positive and negative space from Drawing with Children. And our hymn was the same as several weeks ago, "How Firm a Foundation."

Spanish: This week, we started working on the face, la cara!

We are using My Father's World First Grade. See our curriculum here.

Blog Hoppin' with:

Playing Musical Beds...

2012-01-05T16:41:00.000-06:00

So, for the past few months, Callen has been on the verge of discovering he could climb out (or FALL out!) of his crib. Thankfully, he never did... but we initiated Project Find-Preston-A-Bed-So-We-Can-Move-Callen-Into-The-Toddler-Bed. Wow, that's a long name. Anyway, after asking around, my mom and mother-in-law came to the rescue! My mom's friend had an extra guest bed that they were looking to get rid of. And the best part is, it's part of a bunk bed! Yay! So when we're ready for Baby #3 to inhabit the "nursery," we will have a bunk bed for the boys! Love that! And since my in-laws are moving, they said we could have the twin mattress off of their guest bed. So, Preston is now officially in a twin bed. Man, that thing looks gigantic in his room! We just got it today, so he hasn't slept on it yet... but he's enjoying it so far.

Reading in his new bed!

Pretending to sleep in his new bed!

I took down the crib last nite (:::sob, sob:::) and put the toddler bed into Callen's room. I was so nervous about how to get him to sleep in his bed. I honestly don't remember much about this stage with Preston, though Preston was 20 months when we moved him to a toddler bed, and Callen is about to be 22 months. I think Preston just slept in bed with me most of the time anyway 'cause Michael was working overnites. Anyway, I didn't know what to expect with Callen last nite. He seemed pretty excited, got all settled in, did his usual routine (he has a pretty funny bedtime routine, which consists of putting the book we read under his bed, along with his "Bob" (veggie tales) book and any other book he decides needs to go under there - sometimes a dinosaur book, sometimes Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - but always "Bob" and if "Bob" is missing, look out! Anyway, then he usually wants a ball in his hand, and he has to be covered up along with his Stitch stuffed guy. He pats Stitch night-night, and I have to too. It's ridiculously adorable). So anyway, he did alllll that and settled down, then the minute I turned the light off and started to walk away, he freaked out. Screaming! I soothed him, read him "Bob" again, did the whole routine over... nope, he wasn't having it. So, I had to put the gate up in his door and walk away. He screamed and cried for a while, and while I was getting Preston settled into bed it suddenly got quiet. I figured he must have fallen asleep there at the gate, but when I checked on him, he was in his bed all covered up. He must have given up and gotten into bed and went sleep. Whew! I heard him at the gate around 2am, but after just a few minutes, he went back to bed. And then when Michael got up at 6am, he came to the gate and wanted out, but Michael told him to go back to sleep... I guess that worked, 'cause he didn't get back up till 8am!

Nap time today was much the same. He refused to stay in the bed after we did the routine, but I put up the gate and left him alone... he played for a few minutes with some toys, then it got quiet... when I checked on him, he was in bed all covered up, conked out. So, I guess we're on the right track. My goodness, they're growing up so fast!

Prestonism on Being Tired of Writing...

2012-01-03T13:59:00.000-06:00

Scripture copywork

Me: Keep working on your sentence. The next word is "refreshes."
Preston (hating every minute of it): That word is too long! My pencil doesn't have enough ink!

New Year Goals...

2012-01-02T12:25:00.001-06:00

There are two things that stick out in my mind that I'd like to work on as I start this New Year.

One is losing weight. Yeah, I know... cliche. But, Michael and I are starting to talk about Baby #3 and I'd like to lose some weight before getting pregnant. That's what motivated me last time... I dropped 75 pounds(!) before becoming pregnant with Callen. Thankfully, I don't need to lose that much weight again... but I certainly need to lose quite a bit again. Michael and I are going to try to stick close to the Weight Watchers diet and points system. That's what worked for me last time, so here's hoping!

The second thing I'd like to work on this year is being more patient and gentle towards my boys (all of them!). I blow up and lose my temper way too easily with them much too often. They seem to know how to push just the right set of buttons to set me off. But I don't want my sons to think back on their childhood, remembering Mom as being "mean." There are ways to keep them in line with out yelling, scolding, etc. And I need to hold my tongue more often against my husband!

So, no resolutions... just a few goals to throw out there and work on to better myself in 2012. What are your 2012 goals?

December 2011 Tweets to Remember...

2012-01-01T15:18:00.000-06:00

Dec 1st - So, I'm about to kick off the first annual Dec 1st Financial Panic Attack! Anyone with me?! =/

Dec 1st - Noooooo, waited too long to order P's big Christmas gift and they're out. Will not be in till next Spring. #SantaFail #MommyFail

Dec 2nd - I spend a few mins in the kitchen, come out to find this: http://yfrog.com/obs2yxnj Callen reading my Bible in just a diaper. Silly bear!

Dec 3rd - The #Usborne "Look & Say" books REALLY work, 'cuz Callen just looked & said like 6 new words from the Farm one! Hooray, baby! =)

Dec 4th - Happy birthday to my first-born! Preston turns Six! Wowzers! http://bit.ly/t2w9xt

Dec 5th - Before noon, I had vacummed twice, swept 3 times. Good grief, haven't even had lunch yet! #KidsAreWorthIt

Dec 8th - Playing my own version of Chopped because I am long overdue a trip to the grocery store & I HAVE to be creative... Eep!

Dec 8th - Callen is obsessed with his "Bop!" book (Veggietales w/Bob on the front) so I got out the @Veggietales Nativity set...no Bob included. Drat!

Dec 10th - Spent the first 2 hours of my birthday holding a ladder. Yay 31?

Dec 11th - I love asking Callen what Santa says. He answers, "Oh Oh Oh!" Heehee.

Dec 14th - Trying to get Callen to sing "we wish you a Merry Christmas" & he puts his finger up to his mouth, tells me "sshh!" Wow, ok.

Dec 18th - Callen fell really hard on his nose last nite, didn't bleed, but swelled. Today it is bruised, but he isn't complaining. #BrokenNosedBaby?

Dec 22nd - God has provided for us, and He will continue to provide. His plan is good. (Having to repeat this to myself right now, big time).

Dec 25th - Santa brought Callen a toybox & Preston a kid sized guitar! http://twitpic.com/7ydonn

Dec 25th - Merry Christmazzzzzzzz! http://twitpic.com/7yl8z2

Dec 25th - Santa came & blessed our family above & beyond. I don't know who you are, but thank you! Bless you! Praise God!

Countdown to Christmas - Names of Jesus Recap...

2011-12-27T19:30:00.000-06:00

During the Advent Season, the days leading up to Christmas, Preston, Callen and I did something I found on Spell Out Loud. It was a Names of Jesus Chain, which helped us not only countdown the days to Christmas, but also learn more about Jesus - the Reason for the Season!

Our Names of Jesus Chain!

The boys enjoyed pulling a chain link off every day, and watching it go from long to short! We also learned some new ways to refer to Jesus, like Rose of Sharon, Bright & Morning Star and Friend. =)

Along with that, we colored an ornament for each name, which we found here. Most of the time Preston did the coloring, but occasionally Callen or I did one. The final product on our tree branch is quite lovely!

Very colorful, indeed!

And we also filled in the Usborne Advent Calendar to Color. There was a door or window scene to open and color for each day December 1st through 24th. This was Callen's favorite part... he LOVED coloring on this book.

Working together (Callen coloring my table!)

Final product! Definitely one-of-a-kind!

I enjoyed doing something this season that helped us focus on the real meaning, Jesus!

Christmas 2011 Recap...

2011-12-26T13:24:00.001-06:00

My goodness, I have a serious Christmas hangover. I'm not the only one, right? Geez.

Christmas Eve...

My parents came over, we all went to church for the Christmas Eve Service at Grace Fellowship Church. It was really good - loved the music! When we got back home, we ate delicious food like taco chili, my mom's tuna sandwiches (YUM!), Nutella Tarts, brownies, tamales, cheddar bacon dip, and so much more. Then we got to open presents. We mostly watched the boys enjoy their gifts. They got books, clothes including a winter coat for Preston and cute monkey pjs for Callen, a tent/tube thingee to climb around in, a puzzle, a Glow Station and more! My parents really spoiled those kids! Michael got a tool and I got a Dutch Oven (yay!). After the kids were in bed (finally!), Michael and I stayed up and watched It's A Wonderful Life.

Christmas Morning...

The boys got to check their stockings, and then peek inside the Santa bags to see what their big gifts were. Preston got a kid-sized guitar and Callen got a toy box for his room! Then we headed back up to GFC for the Christmas Morning Service. It was the exact same program, but the boys and I were helping with the nursery and Michael was helping with the stage.

Christmas Day...

After that, we came back home and gathered things up and went over to Michael's parents' house for lunch and more gifts. We had the traditional ham and cheese sandwiches and potato chips, along with lots of sweets, of course. And then, yes... more presents! We again, mostly watched the boys tear into their haul (again, they were totally spoiled!). They got more books (lol!), more clothes, a dinosaur, a car, a giant stuffed Scooby Doo, a neat art set and more! I got some kitchen gadgets (yay, a garlic press!) and Michael received some gift cards to Abuelo's and Lowe's! And we got a cotton candy maker! We brought over Michael and Preston's guitars, and along with the piano and the various toy musical instruments they have, the family did some Christmas carols. Lol. It was kinda ridiculous.

We hung out some more, Michael took a nap, the kids played. Then, as soon as we got in the car to head back home, the boys crashed... we took more naps at home.

When I awoke from my nap, I opened the front door to turn on the Christmas lights and there was a box on the front porch that said "To The Clarks." Inside were some toy trucks, a duck hunting game, some clothes for Michael and me... and an envelope of cash. Michael and I just started crying, it was such a blessing. We don't know where it came from, but thank you, Jesus! The money is definitely going to help with paying for our car repairs (our car is in the shop right now to get the head gasket and water pump replaced). We are still just in shock about the whole thing. God is such an amazing provider! I know He is. It's still just such a neat thing to experience it like this!

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Homeschool Recap, Dec 23rd (Christmas Break)...

2011-12-23T07:24:00.000-06:00

In my life this week...

Christmas is merely days away. DAYS! Like... two! Whooooaaaa! Ok. So, I made a last minute decision this past weekend that we would go ahead and take this week off of school too (was already planning to take next week off because Michael will be off of work all week then). I'm glad I did. It's been a nice break, for sure. On Thursday, we found out that our car needs a major engine repair. Our ONE car. Yikes. So, today I'll be calling and maybe visiting some mechanics/shops trying to find a place that can a) get us in and out quickly and b) not cost us an arm and a leg. Not sure either of those is even feasible, but we'll see. Sigh. The car will be paid off in May. Figures, huh?

On top of that, Callen fell flat on his face last Saturday night, and I'm not sure, but he might have broken his nose. It was crazy. I felt so bad, but I didn't think there was much we could do. His nose was swollen and he got some bruises around the top. The next day I was able to poke it a bit and he didn't flinch or fuss, so I figured it must not be hurting him. He kept pointing to his nose and saying "Boom!" like he was retelling the story of how it happened. Poor kid.

A few days after the fall.

What's not working for me...

Broken car. Broken laptop. Yep, the lap top is still in disrepair. We got the inverter part delivered (finally!) that we thought would fix it. Nope. Still dark. So, we've ordered a back-light bulb and we'll see if that will fix it. We're trying these low-cost options first, next will be to replace the whole screen... and after that? Nothing. We can't afford anything else at this point. Christmas, broken big ticket items, end of the year bills due... it's been a bit trying around here the past week. I know God will provide, though. He always does. So, it's not hopeless.

I'm praying for...
A blessed Christmas for everyone! We've had a rough week, and could use some joy and peace. I know nearly everything I wrote about this week was negative and depressing. But Jesus is the reason for the season and with Him, there is only joy and love and hope and peace and prosperity! I know that He is the greatest gift of all and He lives in our hearts!

In our homeschool this week...

Well, ever since I announced to Preston that we'd be taking two weeks off for Christmas break, he has been saying, "I wish it was January 2nd so we could do school again." What? This is the same boy that complains nearly every morning that he doesn't wanna do school. Silly kid. We have been doing Fall, Winter and Christmas activities, though... so we are kind of doing "school." I had some Fall activities printed and ready to go for a while, we just never had the time (or energy) to work them in. So, I figured, hey... earlier this week was still Fall, so we did 'em. Preston liked it. He traced and colored leaves that I had flattened from our various trees around here. He also completed a little booklet about signs of Fall.

Our workboxes this week!

Then, on Thursday, we read books about the First Day of Winter! And we have been reading Christmas books all week, of course, too! See our book basket post from this week here. We did lots of baking earlier this week as well... Nutella Fudge and Pumpkin Spice Cookies, which we gave to the neighbors and our delivery people (UPS and USPS mail carrier). It was some delicious stuff!

Advent/Seasonal activity: Our first full week of doing the Names of Jesus Countdown Chain from Spell Out Loud. Each day we take off a chain link, learn about that particular name for Jesus, color an ornament from here and put it up on our tree branch. Preston is also doing the Advent Calendar to Color from Usborne each day as well. Callen wanted in on the action this time around, and has lovingly scribbled his additions to the Calendar. But that makes it all the more special. =)

We are using My Father's World First Grade. See our curriculum here.
Blog Hoppin' with:

Homeschool Kids Who Don't Do Anything...

2011-12-22T10:27:00.000-06:00

This is adorable. And... oh, so true:

"And we have the same great teacher every Fall!"

Read Aloud Thursday: December 22nd (Christmas Edition)

2011-12-22T02:25:00.000-06:00

Read-Aloud Thursday @ Hope Is the Word is a fun weekly meme to showcase the books you are reading aloud to your children. It is so important to continue reading to your kids, even after they've learned to read themselves! Read to them until they move out if you can! I read to my 21-month old at naptime and bedtime and to my 6-year-old a chapter from a book every nite at bedtime, and read to both of them all throughout the day. Sometimes my older reads to my little, which always blesses my heart! I also use this opportunity to highlight some of the great Usborne Books & More titles I have to offer.

Christmas Book Basket #2

Last week, I gathered up a bunch of our Christmas books this week and put 'em in a basket in the living room so that the kids could look through 'em as they wanted. I did the same for this week, only this time we used lots of library books too! Books like Mrs. Claus's Crazy Christmas, Pooh Bear's The Sweetest Christmas and The First Day of Winter (which we, of course, will read today - the first day of Winter!). I don't really have time to review them all, but the boys really enjoyed Santasaurus - a story of a little dinosaur who's only only Christmas wish is to fly in Santa's sleigh. It's pretty cute to see the little dinodeers (instead of reindeer) and refer to the little guy's parents as Momosaurus and Dadosaurus. Heh. And, as always, The Polar Express is a delight to read and enjoy. Can't miss out on that one! I have all the makings to create a lapbook for it, but since my computer was down all week and we're nearly out of ink anyway, I decided that it can wait till next year. Preston will probably benefit from it more next year anyway. Lol.

A quick spotlight on a few Christmas Usborne books we played with this week. Yes, I said "played with" instead of read because they're fun! The first one is the Pull Back Busy Santa, which just so happens to be half-off right now (only $12.50!). It's a delightful book with a little story about Santa's journey on Christmas Eve, punctuated with four tracks that a little toy, pull-back Santa uses to zoom all over the place! The kids LOVE this one, of course! Who wouldn't? The other book we played with was the Christmas Sticker Book. Adorable Christmas and winter scenes, then decorated by stickers! Preston loved getting to design his own pages. Sadly, this one is out of stock, not available anymore. Glad we got our hands on it when we did! More Christmas Usborne offerings can be found at www.HeyJadeBooks.com.

A lot of the books we checked out from the library were pretty old, and not available to show up in the Amazon widget, unfortunately, so I also added some movies we watched!:

[This post does contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product through a link clicked here, I do receive a small compensation, and I want you to know I greatly appreciate it!]

The Story of Christmas...

2011-12-21T12:19:00.000-06:00

Here's another video from a mixture of Christian musicians/artists, telling the story of Luke 2...