Unfortunately the pictures of my kids below ended up being how they looked the entire day. I normally only give them an 1 1/2 on the PSP (I know that is still to much time on video games) but today ended up being an exception to the rule thanks to a family emergency.
So my kids were in a video game daze most of the day. Does that make me a bad mom? I admit I could have thought of something else for them to do. Should have made them grab the Lego's or Magnetix instead. To bad I didn't put on my thinking cap today.
Now 2 out of 3 are down for the count. To bad the one that I wish would go to sleep is the one standing in the toy basket on top of the toys emptying the shelf. Maybe, just possibly, Lord please let him go to bed soon...
Gaming Daze
This is what my children look like when they get a new game for their PSP and it is nasty outside...
Here is the face of the baby who was left alone for a minute so I could take pictures of his brothers...
Here is the face of the baby who was left alone for a minute so I could take pictures of his brothers...
Playing
I have repeatedly fixed the chair but Isaac will have nothing to do with my attempts. He played like this for a good 15 minutes or so before I got the camera out. Of course as soon as I turned my back to put the camera away he fell backwards. At least he didn't climb on to the shelf this time. I will have to get a picture of that the next time he does it.
Family Worship & Being a Pastor
We are trying to have family worship time daily. It has not been the easiest habit to start but having a son remind and become quite upset if we do not read from our book helps a lot! So we are reading Christian Soup for the Preteen Soul and The Gospel of Luke. We have been reading before bed but I hope we can start reading some in the morning also. Small steps though first we will make the nighttime study a habit.
Last night after our reading and prayer Xavier informed me that he thinks that preaching is pretty cool. He also told me that he thinks God wants him to be a preacher. WOW! Didn't expect that one. I don't know if God is calling Xavier or not but I was taken aback with how serious he was. Wouldn't that be something? Xavier - a preacher... Look out world!
Last night after our reading and prayer Xavier informed me that he thinks that preaching is pretty cool. He also told me that he thinks God wants him to be a preacher. WOW! Didn't expect that one. I don't know if God is calling Xavier or not but I was taken aback with how serious he was. Wouldn't that be something? Xavier - a preacher... Look out world!
Pioneer Settlement
I forgot my camera - boo hoo, so unfortunately I don't have any pics to post of today's field trip.
We joined up with IMPACT (a homeschool group) for a trip to The Pioneer Settlement. The boys had a wonderful time. It was a hands on learning experience at its best.
The setting: colonial times
The activities: dipping candles, weaving a rug using a big loom, making butter, spinning wool (by hand), feeding the farm animals, visiting the country store and an old 1 room home and the best part watching a blacksmith.
The blacksmith was awesome and my kids talked about it on the way home. As soon as the blacksmith heard we were a homeschool group he started talking about the Lord. Giving us verses (Genesis 4:22) about Tubal-Cain, the word bellows is only once in the Bible (Jeremiah), a blacksmith had to make the nails that were used to nail Christ to the cross, and other tid bits of information. My boys were totally impressed with him demonstration of why you never touch metal in a blacksmith shop. He made a nail and a horseshoe, well a donkey shoe while we were visiting him. It was truly a blessing to have him working today.
The only downfall to the day was that when we left the house this morning it was not that chilly. Xavier was in shorts and t-shirt, Isaac in shorts but by the time we got to Barberville it was down right cold. Luckily I had my Nebraska hoody in the car for Xavier to put on and a blanket to wrap Isaac in.
It was a really nice day and I am so glad that we were able to go. The only sad thing about today is that because I woke up late, I was not able to go walking this morning like I had planned. That is okay though, next week I will definitely make it to the walking group.
We joined up with IMPACT (a homeschool group) for a trip to The Pioneer Settlement. The boys had a wonderful time. It was a hands on learning experience at its best.
The setting: colonial times
The activities: dipping candles, weaving a rug using a big loom, making butter, spinning wool (by hand), feeding the farm animals, visiting the country store and an old 1 room home and the best part watching a blacksmith.
The blacksmith was awesome and my kids talked about it on the way home. As soon as the blacksmith heard we were a homeschool group he started talking about the Lord. Giving us verses (Genesis 4:22) about Tubal-Cain, the word bellows is only once in the Bible (Jeremiah), a blacksmith had to make the nails that were used to nail Christ to the cross, and other tid bits of information. My boys were totally impressed with him demonstration of why you never touch metal in a blacksmith shop. He made a nail and a horseshoe, well a donkey shoe while we were visiting him. It was truly a blessing to have him working today.
The only downfall to the day was that when we left the house this morning it was not that chilly. Xavier was in shorts and t-shirt, Isaac in shorts but by the time we got to Barberville it was down right cold. Luckily I had my Nebraska hoody in the car for Xavier to put on and a blanket to wrap Isaac in.
It was a really nice day and I am so glad that we were able to go. The only sad thing about today is that because I woke up late, I was not able to go walking this morning like I had planned. That is okay though, next week I will definitely make it to the walking group.
Epcot
Monday we went to Epcot Homeschool Day. I did not sign up the boys for the extra programs so the only thing we needed to do other than explore the park was listen to a speaker at 10 a.m. Lee Wilson an attraction and show engineer spoke for about 20 minutes and then answered questions. The boys were impressed when he asked who liked video games (over 1/2 the audience raised their hands) and he laughed. Then he asked who plays games like Thrillville and another game I do not remember. Which most of the kids raised their hands again. Then he explained that making simulators like on Thrillville is exactly what he does for a living. Micah asked a couple of questions and when we were dismissed we hit the park.
Now I must confess I was not that impressed. It was fun and I am glad we went but considering it cost $70 for an adult ticket. I am glad that I did not have to pay full price for homeschool days. We did learn a few things and took a lot of photos. The boys and I had fun and that is the important thing. Here are some pics but I think the boys (Xavier especially) will be posting some on their blogs also.
Waiting for the lecture to start
Making Paper
Brother Bear
Visiting the sharks
Morocco
Smile
Now I must confess I was not that impressed. It was fun and I am glad we went but considering it cost $70 for an adult ticket. I am glad that I did not have to pay full price for homeschool days. We did learn a few things and took a lot of photos. The boys and I had fun and that is the important thing. Here are some pics but I think the boys (Xavier especially) will be posting some on their blogs also.
Waiting for the lecture to start
Making Paper
Brother Bear
Visiting the sharks
Morocco
Smile
Missed the Mark
The sermon started out fairly well and I had my notebook and Bible open. It was looking like this was going to be a good message. That didn't last long, I was trying to listen but kept coming up with key points the Pastor did not even come close to touching. Is it just me or is there something wrong with this picture?
I know I prefer a different style of preaching but that does not mean a sermon is not any good. I just think it could have been so much better. Today's message was "Sin: What Is It?" Now this is a message the church needs to hear, especially a Methodist church (well at least mine). This is a message that should light a fire and get people thinking, moving, praying, repenting. This is a message that should hit on the major points and bring someone (meaning me) to my knees. Instead I was left coloring in the circles on my bulletin and praying that the nursery would send a signal to the buzzer that was currently clipped on my jean pocket.
When Pastor asked what sin was, he gave the most basic definition. That I could handle, what I could not handle was the fact that through an entire message on sin he could talk about God forgiving us, us crucifying Jesus again every time we sin, but not once did he say that the wage of sin is death and that we must repent. Instead he wrapped it in a pretty package and everyone can go home feeling fine. The conclusion of his sermon was to be forgiven we must forgive. Nowhere in his message did he mention that to be forgiven we must be saved. Nowhere did he make an altar call other than telling us that we don't have an altar we have a mourners bench. Which we can use and pray at. I guess that is where we are forgiven but there was no emphasis on asking for that forgiveness. In my opinion he really missed the mark on this one.
I know I prefer a different style of preaching but that does not mean a sermon is not any good. I just think it could have been so much better. Today's message was "Sin: What Is It?" Now this is a message the church needs to hear, especially a Methodist church (well at least mine). This is a message that should light a fire and get people thinking, moving, praying, repenting. This is a message that should hit on the major points and bring someone (meaning me) to my knees. Instead I was left coloring in the circles on my bulletin and praying that the nursery would send a signal to the buzzer that was currently clipped on my jean pocket.
When Pastor asked what sin was, he gave the most basic definition. That I could handle, what I could not handle was the fact that through an entire message on sin he could talk about God forgiving us, us crucifying Jesus again every time we sin, but not once did he say that the wage of sin is death and that we must repent. Instead he wrapped it in a pretty package and everyone can go home feeling fine. The conclusion of his sermon was to be forgiven we must forgive. Nowhere in his message did he mention that to be forgiven we must be saved. Nowhere did he make an altar call other than telling us that we don't have an altar we have a mourners bench. Which we can use and pray at. I guess that is where we are forgiven but there was no emphasis on asking for that forgiveness. In my opinion he really missed the mark on this one.
GMC Trucks For All
Twice a month we hit Lowe's for their kids project. Today was the GMC Truck, next time a toolbox (just what my child needs another wooden toolbox). Micah had a few problems this week. For some reason his nails wanted to bend and his pieces did not have the precut holes. So a couple of finishing nails and stealing a few pieces from Isaac's truck later he finally got his put together. Xavier was done before all of us - the first time ever! I put Isaac's truck together but instead of having a bed with sides his is a flat bed thanks to Micah the thief. That is okay Isaac was just happy to be able to eat it when it was done. Yum - wood! At least he knows how to roll it when he wants to.
Visiting Family
We decided to skip school today for an important mission. Since we have moved back to FL we have not been visiting Nana & Papa like we use to. We go to their house every Sunday after church BUT we use to go once a week when we could visit without the rest of the family. So today we decided to drop in and spend a couple of hours. The boys and I really enjoyed it and decided we need to start going over to visit sometime in the week like we use to. So I am going to have to pencil it into our schedule somewhere :-)
Animal Tracks and Scat ID
Track animals and identify poop - every homeschool mother's dream! You can check out a few pictures that Micah took of different scat on his blog. Trust me he took a lot more but I only let him put a few on there. He wanted to put all of them and out of 61 pictures taken today I believe 40 are of tracks and scat. So I will post a couple of the actual children learning about this interesting subject.
I must admit though I to learned something new today. I did not know that owl pellets are actually like a hair ball. They cough it up - it does not go through their digestive track!! Interesting to me but I know some of you may not find that as appealing, lol.
The actual program though was good. The boys had a wonderful time. The only downfall was that Xavier's track he had cast was to close to the river. Therefore when a boat went by it had made a wake which got his cast wet again. So his turkey track broke into a few pieces. The instructor was really nice and gave him some plaster to take home so he can find another track and make a cast of it. Of course he went looking as soon as he got home. Unfortunately he could only find the rare Shortcake dog and the old Tune-Tune dog's tracks. Maybe in the morning he will have better luck. They were lucky enough to find gopher tortoise and rabbit scat in the yard (as well as the Shortcake & Tune-Tune) Luckily they are not drying out the dog poop. But I do have polyurethaning rabbit and tortoise poop in my near future. The things I let my children collect. Lord please help me because I know this is just the beginning of our adventure.
I must admit though I to learned something new today. I did not know that owl pellets are actually like a hair ball. They cough it up - it does not go through their digestive track!! Interesting to me but I know some of you may not find that as appealing, lol.
The actual program though was good. The boys had a wonderful time. The only downfall was that Xavier's track he had cast was to close to the river. Therefore when a boat went by it had made a wake which got his cast wet again. So his turkey track broke into a few pieces. The instructor was really nice and gave him some plaster to take home so he can find another track and make a cast of it. Of course he went looking as soon as he got home. Unfortunately he could only find the rare Shortcake dog and the old Tune-Tune dog's tracks. Maybe in the morning he will have better luck. They were lucky enough to find gopher tortoise and rabbit scat in the yard (as well as the Shortcake & Tune-Tune) Luckily they are not drying out the dog poop. But I do have polyurethaning rabbit and tortoise poop in my near future. The things I let my children collect. Lord please help me because I know this is just the beginning of our adventure.
Co-op & Cranes
The boys absolutely loved co-op today. They can not wait to go back and are actually wanting to remember the memory verse! Even Isaac had fun playing with some different toys. Although next time I think I will bring one of his walking toys. Peanut was so tired that he fell asleep before we even got out of the parking lot. Of course that didn't last long. He was wide awake once we got back to the house. I thought he was going to nap but nope I am not that lucky, lol.
When we got to the house there were a couple of Sandhill Cranes in the backyard. Micah was able to get about 2 feet away from one before he (the crane) started yelling at him. Micah did get a few pictures which he posted on his blog here.
We did go to church tonight at my church. It was an interesting night I did enjoy going to the Bible study since I didn't work with the kids tonight. Which is a whole story in itself. There are some things going on and I am not quite sure how to deal with them at his time. So I really need to pray about it and then OBEY. The hardest thing for me to learn to do is obey. Can't it just become a habit easily? Lol.
When we got to the house there were a couple of Sandhill Cranes in the backyard. Micah was able to get about 2 feet away from one before he (the crane) started yelling at him. Micah did get a few pictures which he posted on his blog here.
We did go to church tonight at my church. It was an interesting night I did enjoy going to the Bible study since I didn't work with the kids tonight. Which is a whole story in itself. There are some things going on and I am not quite sure how to deal with them at his time. So I really need to pray about it and then OBEY. The hardest thing for me to learn to do is obey. Can't it just become a habit easily? Lol.
Getting Back on Track
We have decided to get back o track even though we are not in our own home I think we can go back to our old schedule with a few minor adjustments. We have officially decided to do our school after lunch for the most part. We tend to have things going on in the morning and the afternoons are free. The only problem is the one thing I did not pack to bring with me when we came to FL is the one thing I most desperately wish I had. I so wish I had brought my Household Manual. What was I thinking!! So I picked up a notebook and more paper today so I can make a new one on a smaller level. Now to find my old forms, I think I saved them on my other computer which is packed away. I knew I should have put them on the external hd.
Isaac calls...
Isaac calls...
Tuesday's Happenings
The boys and I went to "Mom's Group" at Deltona Lakes Baptist Church today. We had a nice time and are going to be checking out there co-op tomorrow. I really like the ladies there and the church seems pretty nice. We are going to go on Sunday and see if we like it. We are not leaving our home church but we may go to both. Xavier and Micah had fun hanging out with other kids. They played on the playground and then Xavier tossed a football around with a few other boys.
On the way home we ran by Wal-Mart to pick up a few items. I got a new dry erase board, it would have been cheaper to get a tile board instead but I wanted it now and I don't have a place to put the tile board. Now we can go back to having our English lessons like we use to. I cannot wait to get started!! I started doing vocabulary with Micah. He gets 1 word a day (for now) soon we will move up to 2 words. He is making a vocabulary notebook. I decided to wait until next year before I begin this with Xavier. As I need to separate them somewhat. Xavier has started his Astronomy book that he got for Christmas. Which is really interesting but we have to discuss certain aspects of it because it is not a creation point of view. But it makes for some interesting conversations.
Anyways got to go save the diapers from being thrown all over the floor. peanut strikes again...
On the way home we ran by Wal-Mart to pick up a few items. I got a new dry erase board, it would have been cheaper to get a tile board instead but I wanted it now and I don't have a place to put the tile board. Now we can go back to having our English lessons like we use to. I cannot wait to get started!! I started doing vocabulary with Micah. He gets 1 word a day (for now) soon we will move up to 2 words. He is making a vocabulary notebook. I decided to wait until next year before I begin this with Xavier. As I need to separate them somewhat. Xavier has started his Astronomy book that he got for Christmas. Which is really interesting but we have to discuss certain aspects of it because it is not a creation point of view. But it makes for some interesting conversations.
Anyways got to go save the diapers from being thrown all over the floor. peanut strikes again...
Monday Madness
We got up this morning and headed for church (yes on a Monday) supposedly they had camp forms at the office - but they don't. So we are still waiting to get them. Hopefully they will put them up on the camp website soon because the deadline for turning them in is Jan 27th. I did get the church scholarship form though - the church pays $100 per child if you are a member. So that will drop the price down to $500 for both of the boys to be able to go.
Afterwards we stopped by my momma's house and checked out her new computer. It is nice looking :-) We hung out there and talked for a little bit then headed back to the house. The boys had lunch then we did some schoolwork.
The boys had cub scouts this evening. What fun, lol. Micah made a wallet out of leather and Xavier started planning his Pinewood Derby Car. I chased Isaac up and down the halls of the church since I am suppose to stay there at the meeting. Afterwards we came home and the boys hung out and watched TV until bedtime at 9.
Isaac didn't go down until almost 10 so I am praying he sleeps most of the night.
I need to get back on a routine. Which is really hard to do because we are living at my MIL. But I think we are just going to have to go back to doing things they way they worked for us. Xavier needs structure and having everything in fly by the seat of your pants mode has been testing my patience and he is testing his limits.
We still have no idea where we are going but after talking with my 2nd mom (aka MIL) I feel better about staying here at her house. I also am not worried about it as much because I know that for now I will probably be here until Joel finds something out or July if not longer, lol. I just have to remember the Lord has a plan. I may not know what it is and wish I was let in on it. But He does have a plan.
So for now. I am at least a little more at peace with everything that is going on.
Afterwards we stopped by my momma's house and checked out her new computer. It is nice looking :-) We hung out there and talked for a little bit then headed back to the house. The boys had lunch then we did some schoolwork.
The boys had cub scouts this evening. What fun, lol. Micah made a wallet out of leather and Xavier started planning his Pinewood Derby Car. I chased Isaac up and down the halls of the church since I am suppose to stay there at the meeting. Afterwards we came home and the boys hung out and watched TV until bedtime at 9.
Isaac didn't go down until almost 10 so I am praying he sleeps most of the night.
I need to get back on a routine. Which is really hard to do because we are living at my MIL. But I think we are just going to have to go back to doing things they way they worked for us. Xavier needs structure and having everything in fly by the seat of your pants mode has been testing my patience and he is testing his limits.
We still have no idea where we are going but after talking with my 2nd mom (aka MIL) I feel better about staying here at her house. I also am not worried about it as much because I know that for now I will probably be here until Joel finds something out or July if not longer, lol. I just have to remember the Lord has a plan. I may not know what it is and wish I was let in on it. But He does have a plan.
So for now. I am at least a little more at peace with everything that is going on.
Sat 1/5
Today we headed out the door to make Castle Banks @ Home Depot. They are pretty cool. Xavier lets me help him but Micah prefers I stay away from him after the first time we made something at Lowe's because I skipped a step in the directions. Micah is now staining his while Xavier has decided it is time to play video games.
We did make it out to Journey's End Sanctuary . It was really neat. Xavier was in heaven in the cat house. He petted and petted and played with a lot of them. He even got some of the kittens to come out of hiding. Micah although he liked the cats ok preferred hanging out with the dogs. The sanctuary has 150 cats, 55 dogs, 2 pigs, 4 horses, 3 sheep and chickens and roosters. It runs on donations only. So I am sure they need a lot! We plan on going back out there next week. We all seemed to really enjoy it, even Isaac. Although he didn't like some of the kisses he started getting. It was perfect for the boys though especially since this is exactly what they want to turn our own house into. After volunteering and doing some of the clean up work we will see if the still feel the same way.
I think we are going to visit the local Humane Society also. The one locally gives tours to school age children. I plan on contacting them this week to try and set up a field trip. Now if I could only get them to come up with some kind of service project...
We did make it out to Journey's End Sanctuary . It was really neat. Xavier was in heaven in the cat house. He petted and petted and played with a lot of them. He even got some of the kittens to come out of hiding. Micah although he liked the cats ok preferred hanging out with the dogs. The sanctuary has 150 cats, 55 dogs, 2 pigs, 4 horses, 3 sheep and chickens and roosters. It runs on donations only. So I am sure they need a lot! We plan on going back out there next week. We all seemed to really enjoy it, even Isaac. Although he didn't like some of the kisses he started getting. It was perfect for the boys though especially since this is exactly what they want to turn our own house into. After volunteering and doing some of the clean up work we will see if the still feel the same way.
I think we are going to visit the local Humane Society also. The one locally gives tours to school age children. I plan on contacting them this week to try and set up a field trip. Now if I could only get them to come up with some kind of service project...
The new year
We are slowly getting back on track when it comes to school. We started back up on Wednesday and I have been making plans for the next couple of months. We will be going on a few field trips this month, Epcot (for their Homeschool Day), Pioneer Art Settlement, and maybe a few more if I can come up with some. We are also going to be joining a co-op on Thursdays. Micah has started the first Harry Potter book and Xavier is still working on The Journey (#3 in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series).
Tomorrow we will be heading to Home Depot to make a craft and then go out to Journey's End Sanctuary in Deland. We will be taking a tour of the place and hopefully if it works out we will start volunteering out there a few times a month.
Isaac is still cruising along. He has taken a few steps here and there but is not walking independently yet. Well that is about the gist of what is going on here. I will try to update more often and post some pictures of our adventures soon.
Tomorrow we will be heading to Home Depot to make a craft and then go out to Journey's End Sanctuary in Deland. We will be taking a tour of the place and hopefully if it works out we will start volunteering out there a few times a month.
Isaac is still cruising along. He has taken a few steps here and there but is not walking independently yet. Well that is about the gist of what is going on here. I will try to update more often and post some pictures of our adventures soon.
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