more on the Ladies Retreat

Before I share my pictures from the Ladies Retreat, I first must tell about the mixer game I planned for Friday night.

It's called "Two Truths and a Lie".  Have you ever played it?  I played it several years ago at a new teacher meeting.  The idea is to tell two things about yourself that are completely true and one thing about yourself that is a lie.  Get it?

We started the game and everyone really enjoyed it.  Somewhere in the middle of the game, I decided to change one of my truths to a different truth and I'm glad I did...

1) I can play the piano backwards (TRUE)

2) I've never had a pedicure. (LIE,  I love pedicures.)

3) I'm pregnant! (TRUE)

The ladies were SO shocked at my third one that they didn't even try to figure out my lie.  It was HANDS-DOWN the best reaction I've ever received after telling our big news.  I love my church; they're part of my family, and I'm glad they love me back and can share in our excitement.

Here are some pics from our retreat, the wonderful waterfall at Trinity Pines camp, and the prayer garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overjoyed

coming just in time for flip-flop season

Overjoyed.

EXCITED, SHOCKED, STUNNED, ANXIOUS, BLESSED....THANKFUL. That doesn't even halfway describe how we feel.  We are overjoyed that the Lord has chosen to bless us with another child.

As I was writing our story several weeks ago, I was completely unaware that I was already carrying a new life.  Wow!  I had contemplated writing that particular post for several months, finally got the courage to put my words to writing, and little did I know that the Lord had already answered our prayer.  Again...overjoyed!

Here's our prayer which is similar to what Hannah prayed in 1 Samuel 1:27-28:

We prayed for this child, and the LORD has given us what we've requested.   So now we give this precious baby to the LORD. For his/her whole life he/she will be given over to the LORD.  We give our Father all the honor, glory, and praise!

{Our Joy...His Glory}

Please praise Him with us!

Ladies Retreat

This weekend, I headed off with the ladies of our church for a little retreat.  We went to Trinity Pines in Trinity, TX.  It was wonderful.  I will post more about the retreat at a later time.  For now, here's some instagrams from the weekend...

While I was away, the girls slept together with Graham....

How stinkin' cute are they?

disaster

Y'all remember this:

That's the cute little shelf in the school room that holds a lot of our supplies.

And for those of you that think I keep things tidy all the time...

Yep!  This happens when your 2 year old hangs on the shelf like it's a monkey bar.

The pic is terrible because I was in such shock that I took one really quick to show Graham what I would be doing today.  It's really hard to see all of the broken glass and porcelain that is scattered all over the floor.  Just take my word for it.  it.was.bad.bad.bad.

So, we lost a total of 6 mason jars, a black owl container, and  a white vase in this catastrophe.  Did I mention the nail that got ripped out of the wall left a nice hole?  I had to putty that up and repaint.  It was AWESOME! *sarcasm*

After a few hours of work, I can breathe...

 

You win some....you lose some.

Prayer and Praise

Let me start this post by saying, How great is Our God!  Isn't He worthy of all of our praise?  Things don't always go as planned, but isn't it comforting that God is in control and He is on the throne!  Amen! 

I'm reminded of these truths daily, but even more during tough times.  I haven't had a chance to mention this, but Graham's brother has been in ICU for the past 23 days following a routine surgery  he had about four weeks ago.  After his surgery, he spent a few days in the hospital and then was discharged.  Everything seemed fine, but a few days later things weren't good and he was back in the hospital for another surgery that landed him in ICU in critical condition. A week after entering ICU, he was back in the OR for another surgery to find the infection that was keeping him so sick.  Luckily, the doctors found the issues and were able to take the steps necessary to get him on the path to recovery.  I'm here to tell you, these past weeks have proved very difficult for Corey and for his family and loved ones.  There have been a lot of uncertainties, close calls, etc.  Corey has been heavily sedated for most of the 23 days he has been in ICU, but over the past two days the doctors have lessened his medications and he is beginning to slowly wake up.  He is getting better, his white counts are almost normal, he is breathing on his own for the most part, and we are now confident that he is going to make a complete recovery.  Praise Him!  The coming weeks are going to be new for Corey.  He is going to need PT, speech therapy, lots of prayers.  He is very confused (he has been out of commission for nearly a month).  I know that baby steps are what the doctors are calling his progress, but I've been told of some leaps he has made over the past few days and I am so thankful! Please pray for him.

I don't know how my brother-in-law will feel about this post.  Get over it, Corey! lol.  I'm writing it because I love him and I miss him.  I am ready for him to be well. 

Corey has had an outpouring of love and support.  There have been countless letters, emails, texts, visitors, and gifts over these past weeks.  I praise God for that.  

To end, I'm posting a pic of Corey's nieces--my girls.  He is a great uncle to my babies and they miss him so much.  They pray for him every single night. 

Hope this makes you smile, Uncle Corey!

Get well soon, Corey.  WE LOVE YOU!  We are praying for you and we are praising God for your recovery!

Schoolroom

Some of you may remember my office makeover that I posted well over a year ago.  Since the office is now the schoolroom, I had to make some tweaks. 

First, I changed the paint color from brown to a light gray.

New bookshelf:  Who loves the Billy Systems from IKEA? I do, I do!  

 

Some of you may remember that I got these old desks for $15.00 a piece!
The girls love them!

lots of school supplies

 

Since school just began, I don't have a lot up on the walls yet, but that is sure to change.  I can't wait to display my girls art work, learning, and progress.

School @ Home

Today was the day!   I already posted our 'first day' pics so this post is going to be devoted to our daily schedule, curriculum, and a short video at the end.

This morning, we started school around 9:15.  We got started a little late due to our school pictures.

First, we began with The Pledge of Allegiance, The Pledge to the Texas flag, calendar and weather, Bible/memory verse, Reading, Phonics, Handwriting, Math, Art,  and then review.

 In an earlier post, I wrote about reading The Well-Trained Mind:  A Guide to Classical Education at Home.  I suggest anyone that is contemplating homeschooling to read this book.  Very informative, empowering, and a ton of resources.  If you are wanting to research classical teaching methods, it's a great resource.

In WTM (The Well-Trained Mind), the authors suggests several books for teaching students that are in the trivium stage (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) of learning (beginning learners).

Here's a list of the different books we are using.  I got them all on Amazon for very inexpensive.

ART:  Draw.Write.Now.
BIBLE:  The Bible (KJV for memorization purposes), The Jesus Story Book Bible, The ABC's of Church History
MATH:  Saxon math and manipulatives, workbook supplements from Dollar Tree, flashcards
PHONICS:  Modern Curriculum Press Level A Phonics
READING:  The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, workbook, BOB books supplements/flashcards
SCIENCE:  From Mudpies to Magnets

For Edy, I got several books on shapes, numbers, counting, letters, and flashcards to give her something to keep her actively learning while I am working with AG.  She participated in our morning routines, songs, rhymes, and memory verse, too.

For now, this is the plan.  I'm sure that over time things will change.
Check out this video of AG learning her short vowel A poem:

First Day of School

Today marks the very first day of our homeschool adventure!  We woke up bright and early, ate breakfast, made beds, and got ready for the day.  Here are our first day of school pics...

 

 

 

I can't forget Rosie!

Our first day has gone really well.  Later, I will post our daily schedule, the books we are using this year, and some pics and videos from our first day of learning.  Stay tuned...

First Day of Dance

Yesterday, AG went to her very first ballet/jazz class.  It was so wonderfully cute!  

she.was.in.her.element.

I'll shut up--the pics are much better than my ramblings...

*check out the video at the end

 

 

 

 

 

Fall Mantel

It's in the mid-70s, it's breezy, the windows are open, muled cider candles are burning, it's absolutely WONDERFUL!!

It's Fall Y'all!

I've been working on a little Fall decorating around the house.  It's not all together ready because I'm patiently waiting on all the wonderful pumpkins--we already have our trip to the pumpkin patch planned.  I love decorating with real pumpkins.  Plus, we roast the seeds when we are ready to smash them!

On to the mantel...

 

 

 

  

 There ya have it!  I am looking forward to seeing everyone's Fall decor!  Bring it on.

I'm off to get ready for our first party of the season.  We are about to have over 30 folks over for a bbq (ribs and chicken...my house smells wonderful right now!).

Happy FALL to You ALL!

Gift for the teachers

 

 

 I saved the A&W logo as an image and made my cards in PowerPoint.  

I think they turned out pretty cute!

1st Day of MDO

Today, the girls and I started our Mother's Day Out adventure.  Two days a week, I will be teaching two-year-olds (pray for me!) and the girls will be tagging along!  

They were SO excited about going to pre-school.  I think mostly they were pumped to take their backpack and lunchbox with them...

AG is in a 4/5 class and has a wonderful teacher.  She couldn't quit talking about all the fun she had when we made it home.

 

 

Edy is in the other two year old class.  I thought it would best to have her in a different class from mine.  Every so often, I peeked in on her--totally adorable.

 I ran into both of the girls on the playground.  They said, "Hi!" but that was about the extent of it.  They were in their element--play time!

I am excited to have this little job two days a week, but I'm getting really anxious/excited about starting our homeschool adventure in two weeks.  I'm sure there will be lots of post to come.

Stay tuned.