this week.

man...a whole week gone by and no bloggin...and last week was suppose to be fairly quiet. how is it those quiet weeks get filled up. it's like a vacuum.

this week we are on break from school. unfortunately the weather does not look very spring like as we woke to more snow on the ground this morning. but everyone is ready for a break and so this will be the week. after we get back to our studies we should have about 6 weeks left of formal studies, and i need to work on a plan for summer.

so this week looks like:

some time off

working on photo albums (using the photo freedom system as a guide...i am loving this).

birthday party.

mom's night out

maybe some indoor swimming

piano lessons resume

also time to change out home decorations for the new month. this month's theme is butterflies as inspired by jenni bowlin's feb kit...

here is my wall art for march, i really liked it even though i am not a pink kinda gal:

will post more projects later and hopefully get some april inspiration up soon as well.

this week.

no dental appt.

no ortho appt.

no club.

no wh network mtg.

no birthdays.

no holiday.

just home...ah....

birthday musings

thursday is my birthday. do you know what is so great about birthdays? it can be a way to receive how much people love you. i am loved. i am loved greatly. the above gift is what we call around here a 'birthday fest gift'. it's when you get a gift everyday the week of your birthday. simple and sweet gifts...the best kind. these are from my sister. the first day was a starbucks card...i love starbucks and this is the first time i had ever received a card! it was great. the next day was candy. i have a weakness for chewy sweethearts and laffy taffy. i know, low standards, but so yummy.

another point about birthdays, is the time of reflection on one's life. in light of what we deem 'big' birthdays {...um...like 40...} the reflection seems to go a little deeper.

my life is blessed. abundantly. my life is alot of work, but it is a good life. i have a beautiful and healthy family. the highlight of my life. i have family very close by and always eager to lend a hand. i have great friends far and near. they make me laugh, sometimes they make me cry. but i love them all. my church is a great place of worship and fellowship. my house is simple, but filled with alot of love and energy.

guess you could say i love my life.

i am blessed.

holiday decor.

a new addition to easter decorations this year. very simple decoupage project, but it was a lot of fun to put together. the paper is from the making memories noteworthy line. i have loved working with that paper. also found ribbon from that line sold by the yard. did not even know it was even ever available like that. very pretty.


now i am not usually a flowery girl, especially in my home projects, but i came across these little adhesive pears, and loved pairing them with making memories paper flowers. just sweet!

friendship tag.

again loving tags for greetings. they are a bit more sturdy than a card so i think the recipient is a bit more inclined to hold on to the sentiment longer. this was a simple thinking of you type tag for a good friend. blue and chocolate have been cool colors for me for a while. the tag on this one was cut out of chipboard i had in my stash. i don't usually buy chipboard tags, when they are so simple to make. i decoupaged the patterened paper to the tag. it is a better hold for when i sand the edges. same with the chipboard hearts. hard to tell in the photo, but the blue heart is edged in brown paint, same for the 'friendship' definition.

supplies:

patterened paper: stampin up: cardstock: stampin up; chipboard hearts: heidi swapp; word sticker: making memories; ribbon found in my stash.

this week.

birthday

holy week

school

dental appt

team mtg

birthday

grocery shopping

club night

dinner party

did i say birthday?

good friday

easter

big birthday week...stop me if you've heard this one

birthday tag

currently into making tags for birthdays instead of cards. i love to be able to hang a tag up here or there around the house, and so i make and give what i love.

supplies:
patterned paper: stampin up
chipboard letter: daisy d's
sentiment stamp: stampin up
ghost heart: heidi swapp
ribbon: may arts
flower brads: making memories
chipboard tag: cut from chipboard myself, so would that make it my design?

good reads.

we are still working on mara daughter of the nile. getting so interesting.

i am almost finished with hittite warrior. perspective: causes one to reflect and be so thankful to have been born in a more free time. there is so much oppression in the world currently, and there always will be, it's man's depravity. but in the ancient world, unless you were of great affluence and your country was never conquered by another, then all life was oppression. the constant fear as a peasant of being captured and deemed to live a life of slavery was simply a way of life. one must be thankful and live life accordingly.

picked up the big picture by stacy julian to read along side of photo freedom. her insight is always enlightening. she helps me to have a broader perspecitive on life. another good history lesson.

also got a hold of abba's child by brennan manning. he is one of my all-time favorite authors. the way he opens himself up to his faults and failures, yet wraps them in God's eternal love is what makes his writting so attractive. it is truth. a new favorite quote came from last nights reading: "the grace to grasp grace is grace". love it.

friday file.

the week started off busy.

art and pe classes on monday as well as a laura ingalls wilder presentation.

the girls went to the thurlows afterwords for the afternoon.

seth had eric over.

this allowed me to get paper craft projects completed and ready to ship.

tuesday we were home and trying to stay focused on lessons.

wednesday it was off to the dentist for paul and ortho for seth and avery. we stopped and did some easter dress shopping after that. those girls are a hoot to go shopping with. i am in for it the older they get. hilarious.

wednesday evening was awana and celebrating st patrick...see my lepruchan:

thursday again home and trying to stay focused. first signs of some sickness coming on for me.

friday i was down and out. on the couch for most of the day. the kids were good: the girls listened to audio books most of the morning. seth read or worked on legos. it snowed most of the morning, so before lunch they went to tear it all up as well as clean off the back porch. after lunch they watched rick steve's israel and egypt. israel was appropriate in light of the easter holy week we are entering into. and egypt was useful to followup with some of the history they have been studying.

gracie did not get much one on one attention this week. i say that by way of confession, as it just proves that when we are out and about so much that tasks at home get put on the back burner. she is doing so well in her reading too. let's hope we can make up for lost time this week.

let's hope i get better soon and off this couch!

thursday projects.

my thursday blogs are suppose to be about the current creative projects taking place in my home. as you can see it is friday, and i did not get to do my thursday projects blog. i woke up feeling icky. so the creative energy went towards the kids and their academics. which is really the main creative pursuit that i have. but i will update that more on friday files.
i saw this abc list on another blog: just a minute , i found it interesting and wanted to play too, although no one 'tagged' me...how pathetic is that?

ABC QUESTIONS

A- Attached or single: attached
B- Best Friend(s): alicia and brenda
C- Cake or Pie: apple pie ala mode
D- Day of Choice: Sunday

E- Essential Item (s): journal, bible, camera
F-Favorite type of music: very inclusive: classical, classic jazz, christian, 80's rock, 80's wave...not too terribly picky
G- Gummy Bears or Worms: Neither
H- Hometown: manassas, Virginia

I- Indulgence(s): reese’s eggs (currently…try me again tomorrow
J- January or July: july
K- Kids: 4
L Last movie: an unfinished life (dvd…don’t watch many movies)

M- Marriage Date: october28.1998
N- Number of Siblings: 1 sister
O- Oranges or Apples: apples
P- Phobias or Fears: constant fear someone close is going to die

Q- Quote(s): Creativity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual. (and) It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.
R- Reason To Smile: my family…sometimes this is actually hysterical laughter
S- Season: summer
T- Tag : Alicia, Brenda, holly, jill

U- Unknown Fact About Me: studied modeling
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: give me a break
W- Worst Habit: too high expectations of those around me, including myselfr
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: hmmm?
Y- Your Favorite Food: grilled pork stead with mandarin salad (guess that makes me an oppressor of animals)
Z- Zodiac: really no clue

this week.

wvc homeschool network

piano recital

ortho appointments

dental appointment

paper crafts projects

s c h o o l

a great thing...susan took the girls today for the afternoon after our meeting. a treat for me. seth and i picked up eric so they could have the afternoon together. they had a blast. this allowed for me to complete and ready to ship the paper crafts projects. they are due friday. i am pushing the envelope a little. am a little unsure about the love letters. let's hope they ship okay.
it was just so great to have a couple of hours to focus on them and not worry if the littler ones were being tended to. this happens so rarely, and so that was why it was such a treat. plus, the girls loved being with their friends. a great combination.

other things {not getting done}

2peas photo class

correspondence

school days album

recipe book project

good reads.

a way to track our literary pursuits in our home, as well as personal. we are all always reading. i believe if you can read, you can teach yourself most anything.

as a family we are reading Mara, Daughter of the Nile. as the kids are all studying world history, this one follows. this would be a good adult fiction read, as i myself am thoroughly enjoying the story. it has intrigue, mystery, a little bit of possible romance. mostly it is a delightful and descriptive look into egyptian life during the reign of hapshetsup, the female pharoah.

another book of seth's happens to be a reader for history that he says he "just can't get into". and that is Hittite Warrior. again a very descriptive look at life during the early tribal years of europe. it obviously includes hittites, as well as canaanites and it appears a few lowly hebrews. i like the book, even if he does not.

on my nightstand currently is a book fueling a renewed habit in my life. (habits: for another post). that is the habit of de-cluttering. Too Much Stuff by kathryn porter is the fuel. not only is the book written in a witty and convincing manner, but kathryn is a woman of faith too. of course i love that! she is eager to tell the why of de-clutter and maintain the stuff in our lives, and she also takes you room by room to show the how of it. my goals in this area will not happen over night, as it is just like life: a journey.

i just finished The Singer by calvin miller. how i love that book. it is beautifully written pose about the cosmic conflict between good and evil. in the spirit of the holiday of easter it is a timely read. well, i guess that gives you the end of the book: the good guy wins.

and...a book i have been waiting for since i first heard about it on ali edwards blog, is stacy julian's PhotoFreedom. all in the spirit of de-cluttering, she explains her system of sorting, storing and getting those fav photos on lay outs. i read half of it last night in one sitting. it will take my mind a bit to wrap itself around some of her concepts. she goes about her actual albums differently than i have in the past. but it's all about adapting what works for one in their own world of scrapping. her ideas are timely, and very doable. this is a great resource even if one is not an avid scrapper, but has photos and likes to take pictures.

the friday file.

here's a look at the week in passing. it is my goal to make friday an update on academic as well as personal pursuits in our home.
gracie is my star pupil this week. we had great fun doing lessons together these past few days. she takes to her math without challenge (she is working on telling time). but most notable is her reading and writing skills. she made it through her little reader (vic the ostrich) several times this week. that is quite the accomplishment for us. her struggle has been in reading for quite some time. but the joy on her face at her known accomplishment made us both so happy. i love to see children hurdling over their challenges and becoming stronger through them.

avery acquired a 'superior' on her Federation of Music audition a week ago. what a great accomplishment. she takes it all in stride, which makes me giggle at her. there is a notable turn in her playing ability. and it's thrilling i almost never have to remind her to practice, she is on the piano many times through out the day working on her newest piece. this sunday night we are having another neighborhood piano recital at the dejong's. always a great time to get together with the neighbors (especially this time of year when we never see each other as it is too cold!)and, need to mention her reading is taking off!! great strides have been made very recently.

seth is taking an even, balanced approach at his studies these days. we received his testing scores a couple of weeks ago, and we were all pleased with the knowing results. he is well aware of his 'room for improvement' opportunities. and he took those in stride which i thought was a sign of maturity. he is fairly independent working in his history and science. he has actually become the mad scientist with all of his electrical experiments of late. it's quite a hoot.

and then there is keaney...she is in the deep study of play and getting along with her sister gracie. she is becoming eager to want to write, and it looks like i need to pull out the ol' reading in 100 easy lessons. i love to watch her sit with avery while a is doing her reading. she just watches the book and watches avery. sweet!

paul is back and forth between the pueblo store and broadmoor. alot of people said good bye to him yesterday which he said was a sort of sad time. alot of changes have occured in that store, as well as in him as a manager over the past three years. now maybe we can save a little on gas expenses.

the weekend holds activities at the church on saturday and sunday. and hopefully a family dinner sunday afternoon, which will then lead into recital that evening.
have a good weekend.